Ghadmyr crouches to the ground to see if there are any tracks or other signs of the boar, as well as any clues as to other kinds of creatures who have been through here.
Healaugh rolled a 4 on his nature check. 13 total. Oh goodie. And a 3 on his perception check giving him 12. He's better off looking passively around (PP 19).
The halfling keeps his eyes and ears open, scanning the trees around him.
"I don't see any tracks. All things being equal, I think we should search the path without the hangman tree first," Ghadmyr says without cracking a smile.
The group press on down the southern trail, the wood growing darker. The adventurers come to a grove; the trees here are tangled and moss-covered. The path is strewn with a drift of old dry leaves, apparently immune to natural decomposition in the damp atmosphere.
Macmoor has heard of this weird plant; it's obliviax, also known as memory moss. It steals memories, specifically spells from the memory of the caster without the victim realising. It's probably a good idea for the arcanists in the party to keep their distance...
Nodding at Macmorr and scowling at the potentially memory threatening plant in a way which assures it that he will not be forgetting what it looks like, Healaugh plods inexorably onwards.
The trail swings east as you head north along a lengthy avenue of tall black trees. You can see that the trees on each side of the route are occupied. For a distance of perhaps 50' or more, batlike creatures hang head down from the branches.
Ghadmyr notes that the creatures have long snouts.
Stirges. Lots of them. They're sleeping now, but will come out at night. It's now just after mid-day, so they're unlikely to wake if the group is quiet and leaves them alone.
His voice barely rising above a whisper, Ghadmyr tells everyone, "Those things are stirges. They're nocturnal creatures, so as long as we pass quietly, they shouldn't stir from their sleep. We'll want to stay clear of this area come nightfall, though."
Stealth roll 1d20+5=20. I don't know if we are all particularly stealthy, though, so hopefully these things are sound sleepers.
I rolled for Ynyr - he got 8... but I was reading a messageboard post where it was suggested to take the average of all the party's Stealth rolls when making checks like this. So, I've tried that and you get an average of 18. The stirges have Passive Perception of 11. You're through!
The group creep past as best they can, with Ynyr stumbling over some branches, but they manage to do so without waking up the huge number of stirges roosting in the dark trees.
Kibbles? And there was poor old Healaugh innocently thinking it was acorns and truffles. He'll bow to Ghadmyr's far greater knowledge of the natural world :D
Recent Posts
