Initiative Order - Round 1
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Pan – moves up, readying sword
Frost – double move
Odo – double move
Quinn and Bacchus – climbs/flies
Marco – moves, casts grease
Wei Ji - charges Gorilla-man, misses
Beastmen:
Hyena-man – charges Quinn, bites for 7 damage
Tiger-man – moves onto grease, saves
Gorilla-man – claws and bites Wei Ji for 4 damage
-------------------------------------------Round 2
Pan – moves, aids Quinn
Frost – swings at Tiger-man, misses
Odo – double move
Quinn and Bacchus – crits the Hyena-man for 13 damage/dives to provide flank and bites, misses
Marco – moves in, casts color-spray
Wei Ji – fights defensively, misses
Beastmen:
Hyena-man -
Tiger-man - succumbs to color spray, Unconscious for 8 rounds, Blinded for 12 rounds, Stunned for 13 rounds.
Gorilla-man -
-------------------------------------------Round 3
Pan
Frost
Odo
Quinn and Bacchus
Marco
Wei Ji
Beastmen
Pangu closes on the Hyena-man to aid Quinn and the half-elf scores a critical blow, slicing deeply with her borrowed shortsword into the back of the feral-loggers neck drawing a high-pitched yelp of pain. Slavering, the beast-man rolls fearful eyes toward the leonine Empiricist and then turns away from Quinn to attack this more intimidating opponent. His claws are deflected by Pan's armor, but his bite finds flesh, sinking his teeth into Pan's fur-covered arm.
Marco moves closer to the fray, but is unable to reach his preferred target. Instead he targets the Tiger-man with his color-spray, the blast of dancing motes of rainbow-colored light overwhelming the beast-man's wits and he collapses onto the greased ground.
Wei Ji shores up his defenses, keeping the Gorilla-man busy. No matter how the beast-man claws and bites, he is unable to damage the cautious Tengu.
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With a shake of his head, he gazes at the creature who has struck him and studies it very carefully. Then, oddly, he strikes out at the creature.
Cursing under his breath, though it comes out as more a growl, he then, very swiftly, offers Quinn another assist. This time, his blade is whipping out and guarding his companions.
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Marco moves closer to the battle with the gorilla man. He sees Frost lining up to flank him if he comes out from between the buildings. He stands at a good distance to set the line for Wei Ji to draw him out.
"Wei Ji, hold the line with me here!"
Marco prepares to further entice the gorilla man to follow by firing a ball of acid at him if Wei Ji steps back.
Initiative Order - Round 1
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Pan – moves up, readying sword
Frost – double move
Odo – double move
Quinn and Bacchus – climbs/flies
Marco – moves, casts grease
Wei Ji - charges Gorilla-man, misses
Beastmen:
Hyena-man – charges Quinn, bites for 7 damage
Tiger-man – moves onto grease, saves
Gorilla-man – claws and bites Wei Ji for 4 damage
-------------------------------------------Round 2
Pan – moves, aids Quinn
Frost – swings at Tiger-man, misses
Odo – double move
Quinn and Bacchus – crits the Hyena-man for 13 damage/dives to provide flank and bites, misses
Marco – moves in, casts color-spray
Wei Ji – fights defensively, misses
Beastmen:
Hyena-man – bites Pan for 13 damage
Tiger-man - succumbs to color spray, Unconscious for 8 rounds, Blinded for 12 rounds, Stunned for 13 rounds.
Gorilla-man – attacks Wei Ji, misses
-------------------------------------------Round 3
Pan – swings at Hyena-man, misses
Frost – double move
Odo – double move
Quinn and Bacchus – drinks potion for +3hp/bites and claws H-man for 15 damage bringing him down
Marco – moves, fires acid orb, misses
Wei Ji – strikes G-man for 8 damage, steps back
Beastmen:
Hyena-man – unconscious and bleeding
Tiger-man - succumbs to color spray, Unconscious for 7 rounds, Blinded for 11 rounds, Stunned for 12 rounds.
Gorilla-man -
-------------------------------------------Round 4
Pan
Frost
Odo
Quinn and Bacchus
Marco
Wei Ji
Beastmen
The smell of his mistress' blood in the air sends Bacchus into a fury. The hawk rends fur and flesh with beak and talon, further opening the wound Quinn inflicted on the Hyena-man. The feral logger falls to the ground, bleeding, his blood mingling with Quinn's in the waters of the fountain.
A pained groan is all that comes from the Tiger-man, still locked in sensory overload from Marco's spell.
The Gorilla-man leaps forward, closing the space to continue to flail uselessly at the heavily defended Slayer.
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Quinn looks at Bacchus approvingly as the raptor cries triumphantly over the remains beast that wounded his mistress. With a quick glance skyward and the word "Fly!", the hawk soars again towards his orbit above the square.
Quinn seizes the opportunity to use her silk rope to bind the dazed tiger-man on the other side of the fountain, ensuring that its 'arms' and 'legs' can not gain the mechanical advantage of leverage, speed or animal efficiency.
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Wei sort of blinks as suddenly he's heavily reinforced by the rest of the party. He wasn't quite expecting it to happen so quickly, and he's not complaining.
However, because the focus of the assist seems to be at the spot he's at, and not further back, he's not going to be stepping back now.
"Marco, gonna hold him here."
Clearly on the edge of dropping unconscious, the Gorilla man swings a haphazard claw at the tengu. He is moving noticeably slower after his grievous wound.
Gorilla-man -
Frost strikes swift and hard and the Gorilla-man goes down, bleeding heavily from the falchion wound. Quinn sets to binding a greased Tiger while Odo looks over the Hyena-man.
The halfling knight sees little to encourage him. These men seem to be suffering from the same condition that has begun to effect himself and Pangu, but their bestial features appear much further advanced having formed true snouts and muzzles. He suspects their transformation may have begun exactly as his own and then advanced day by day until their human wits and manners had completely drained away.
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"As a hunter, I try and abide by the laws of the wilderness... Take only the game that you need, give thanks to the Great Mother for her bounty, and defend yourself always."
She continues, excitedly, "Maybe we should keep these poor creatures alive and lock then in one of these houses. Maybe, when we are successful with our quest, it will break their affliction and return them to their former selves."
With that, she glances at Pan and Odo. Her cheeks flush with embarrassment and she looks away busying herself with her equipment.
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Odo sighs, "And Sarenrae favors redemption. Leaving them behind is not without risk. If we are unable return this way, even if successful, who will release them from their bonds or captivity? If we leave them badly hurt, any predator, be it on two legs or four, could easily slay them. Nevertheless, I too favor restraining them some way and leaving them here for the hope of deliverance from this curse and rescue."
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The tengu will be leaving a couple of days of his rations where ever the party decides to leave the transformed loggers, so they at least have a chance. Hopefully that will be inside a nice tough building. He will also Rebuke Death on the two heavily wounded men once they've been thoroughly secured and he has a sap out.
As far as recovering from the fight, it doesn't look like he took a scratch, but he's visibly shaken from it, with more of that thousand-yard stare.
"The Master of Masters would have everyone learn from their experiences. I only hope we are successful in our mission so they can learn from it. Is there some way we could tie them up that would be hard for someone with diminished capacity to undo, but someone of average or better intelligence could figure out?"
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"Place each in their own building. Find a knife or something sharp enough to cut their bindings and leave it with them. In their bestial state, the cutting object won't be identified for what it really is, but if we can somehow return them to their original selves, they will regain the sense to free themselves. Simple, right!?"
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Wei Ji rebukes death on the wounded, bringing the Hyena-man back to consciousness, but the Gorilla-man was badly wounded enough that he still does not stir although his condition now seems stable. Based on the way the tied Tiger-man lunges as his bound fellows are brought near, Quinn's plan of confining them in separate buildings seems sound indeed.
Quinn, Odo and Frost spread out to search the buildings and find the necessary materials needed. Rope, knives, and containers for food and water are easily found in one of the supply buildings. The smaller buildings seem to be the best choices for the feral loggers’ temporary prisons and with some time and effort, you soon have them safely secured.
Odo also finds a pay box containing a tidy sum of gold in a southern building that looks to be the logging camp's offices.
The night passes uneventfully besides the muffled nearby sounds of the confined creatures’ angry snarls, howls and roars. In the morning, you feel reassured that their bonds will hold, at least until they regain their humanity. Somewhat less reassuring are the changes in your comrades. The ritual has advanced their animalistic traits yet further as their mouth and nose have begun to jut from their faces like muzzles. Their wits and graces have declined yet further as well. If there is any good news, it is that no one else has yet fallen under the effects of the fell ritual.
Satisfied that you have done what you can for the feral loggers, the party makes ready to proceed on your way. As you press deeper into the forest, the road becomes fainter and your progress slows as your mounts must move more carefully to negotiate the less traveled and thus less clear path.
Finally, you encounter your first real barrier which might prove problematic for the horses and ponies. A deep, placid river interrupts the path to Briar Henge. A few large logs have been placed across the river, providing a crude bridge to access the other side. Sunlight dapples the surface of the murky water, the result of branches crisscrossing the river high overhead.
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As the beastmen are stabilized the tengu will breathe a sigh of relief and come out of his fugue slightly to help with the preparations a bit more.
On the advancement of bestial features on the party members the next morning:
"I don't think anyone would fault you if you headed back to civilization now. You might be able to get out of the area of effect if you move fast enough?"
The tengu would rather stick together, but putting the option out there allows the afflicted party members to make the choice, rather than feeling like they're just being dragged along to uncertain ends.
At the river:
"Last time I was in the woods of Andoran, there were snakes in the trees over the bridge we had to cross. Figure that's a likely possibility or worse... I really do not trust that bridge." The thought of leaving the horses alone in the woods does give him pause, though.
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The half-elf summons Bacchus with a shrill, short whistle. The large hawk lands on her outstretched arm and his head actively seeks the warm pet of his partners hand.
After a moment, Quinn leans in and whispers "Seek."
With that, the large raptor takes flight and scouts the far side of the bank, looking for anything that might be lying in wait.
She then waits to see what the party will do.
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Odo speaks even less now with his facial changes, but his courage is unchanged as he starts to ride forward to get a closer look a the makeshift bridge.
_
The party moves toward the river, looking around carefully and considering their options. Mistrustful of the bridge, you pause and scrutinize the area carefully and your cautiousness is rewarded as Pangu and Wei Ji spot not one, but two carefully hidden traps. One positioned to impale a crosser with a javelin and one set to slash with an axe!
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Marco views the progression of the disease in his companions with stoic resignation.
"Wei Ji's advice may be most prudent. We are presuming that the effects will be reversed if we interrupt the druids' ritual. If it is only halted, however, it would be better to arrest the degradation today rather than let it continue as we close on the site of the ritual."
"Hmmm... on further reflection, however, I would posit that, once initiated, the metamorphosis is more likely progressed by time than proximity to the ritual site. This is suggested to my by the advanced state of those lumberjacks. It's unlikely that they strayed far from their worksite, as we intend to continue further. Yet their transformation clearly did not stabilize."
"I think the best course is to succeed our mission, and hope that the ritual's effect can be reversed. In fact, I'm convinced that it is our only course. If we do not expect to reach the site today, I think we should forego further rests until this unnatural ritual is ceased."
At the suspicious bridge, Marco hangs back, content to follow the lead of the vanguard.
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"Frost's suggestion sounds the best out of the options. That way, if there is an ambush set around that point, we can flank it and come in from the side, or avoid that mess entirely. Let's make that happen, then?"
Marco's detailed analysis does get a nod, and does spur the tengu to start working with Frost to make her plan work.