Hex14
After several days peaceful travel you reach new territory, for some hours now the stench of rotten egg has filled your nose. Finally you clear the forest and see before you several large, steaming springs, the cause of the smell, and the source of the aptly named Skunk river.
As you look the pools over you note several giant frogs eyeing you with some hostile intent, they don't seem to be leaving the pools, but it's obvious they will attack if you get closer.
What are you doing now?
Colwyn keeps a wide distance from the foul waters. He works to keep his steed calm and guide her, cautiously, in the other direction.
Leaving the over sized frogs to their hot pools you continue exploring.
After more days of peaceful exploration you discover another long lost wonder.
A 15-foot-tall statue of Erastil stands near the edge of the Narlmarches, partially overgrown at the base but towering above the surrounding shrubbery. Once the stony sentinel standing before an old hunter’s lodge, the lodge has long since vanished after a fire and centuries of growth, but the statue remains. Yet despite years of
neglect, the site remains sacred to the god of the hunt, for the priest who built it was particularly favored among the Taldan explorers.
A worshiper of Erastil feels safe and at peace within 60 feet of this statue, and no wild animals will approach within that range—any wandering monster rolls resulting in a wild animal encounter in this
area should be treated as no encounter, making this an excellent site for a camp.
Are you resting, or moving on?
"This would be an excellent place to rest," Mykhael suggested. As he examined the statue he shared, Perhaps we could build a more permanent base camp here?"
"It's certainly drier than the last few miles of land," Colwyn says, dismounting to examine the statue's base, clearing away a bit the overgrowth.
"There's no monstrous, bewitched bear this time, which is always a boon."
Niadroub Kliip dismounts and studies the vine-covered statue. Just as he begins to relax, feeling the presence of his god's blessing, his horse nips his ear, ruining any serenity the aracanist might have felt.
"Ded-gum flea-reeden beast! I sweear your going to end up turning on a speet one of these days!" He rants at the horse for a while.
"Wonderful!" Elena says as she looks up at the statue. "Old Deadeye truly has a presence here."
As the rest of the group makes camp, she spends her time cleaning up the statue, pulling weeds, cutting grass with her dagger, and otherwise making the statue look as presentable as possible.
Richard starts helping Elena clear the area, he had said more than a few prayers to Erastil over the last few weeks. "If we ever pull this off and start settling the area it could be worth keeping this spot in mind. It'd be a nice spot for a festival to be held. A cross country hike before some competitions to honour Erastil beneath his gaze as it were. Archery and displays of horsemanship for example. A market for bowyers and other craftsmen to show their skill and wares."
He looks at the others and smiles. "Or does all this fresh air have me addled?"
"No, you might be on to something, Richard. That sounds like a hoot and a half. Maybe one of the events could be hunting giant frogs? It'd save us the trouble."
Colwyn assists Elena in clearing the statue. The affair with that accursed bear haunts his superstitious mind anew, so the scoundrel is keen on appeasing Old Deadeye.
You have a peaceful nights rest around the cleaned statue.
Continuing on the list of hexes now?
Onto Hex13.
The ground just east of the Skunk River here slumps away into a soggy mire, notable for the fact that a pair of ruined stone buildings jut from the soggy ground.
As you draw closer to the ruined buildings a Boggard, riding a hideous Slurk scrambles out of the nearest building and bellows something in Boggard at you.
What are you doing?
Richard turns to Niadroub "What did it say?"
Niadroub Kliip holds up a finger in front of Richard's nose as he looks at the boggard. He responds to it in its own tongue.
"We're exploring. What are you doing?"
"Great, more grotesque frogs," Colwyn grumbles, edging Sandy back by the reins.
He scowls, perhaps suddenly realizing the irony and wondering if the gods are mocking him.
Mykhael looks from the boggard to Colwyn and back again. He decided to hold his smart comment and focused on Niadroub’s translation.
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Richard's eyes narrow before he leans over to Niadroub's mount and says in a stage whisper. "Bite him once for me."
Elena gets her bow ready.
"We come in peace. We mean no harm," she says carefully. She eyes Niadroub waiting for his translation.
When you do not immediately attack him the Boggard relaxes a little, he's still wary, but open to talking. Explaining he has been exiled from his tribe for attempting a leadership overthrow. He now lives by himself here and just wants to survive.
He can tell you about the surrounding hexes. You know of the statue, and of the temple. However he can tell you about the huge boar lairing in Hex22, and the Tatzlwyrm den in Hex27.
What are you doing now?
Mykhael looked to the others, "Hog roast?"
"It sounds like we know where to find Tuskgutter. Let's keep our weapons ready as we explore the area to the west. Bekken's reward for it is fair and he's not the first hunter to suffer at it's hands. After we slay it, back to Olegs while it's still worth roasting and making sausages out of?" Richard nods at the Boggard.
When the boggard doesn't immediately try to attack him, Niadroub Kliip also relaxes and is willing to translate any questions the rest of the group or the boggard have for each other.
He asks the boggard its name, and he asks where the tribe that he was exiled from lives. He also mentions the other boggards that the group recently encountered.
You advance cautiously on Tuskgutter's lair when you have prepared. What are you doing now?
As they approach the lair the oracle looks toward the heavens and supplicates the forces of nature to watch over his companions.
"Should we try to flush it out into the open?" Elena asks. "I'm not much good at shooting through undergrowth."
"I agree but first lets set up a few of these bear traps. I for one would rather avoid getting gored by a boar on a charge." Richard will attach two traps by rope to some of the the nearby trees before drawing his bow and preparing to shoot at it once it burst out of the bushes.
Niadroub Kliip loads his crossbow and casts mage armor.
"Clever touch with the rope, Richard. Not only can we wound it, but we can restrain it."
Colwyn hitches Sandy to a tree far from the anticipated battleground so she is not gored by the enraged boar.
He retrieves his silken rope from his pack and helps set up the bear traps.
With his new, well-crafted bow strung and drawn, Colwyn climbs a tree for a better vantage point and conceals himself among the foliage.
The hulking boar, a scarred veteran of it's kind snorts furiously and hustles out of it's nest, coming straight for you in a rage.
Hitting the bear trap in a straight rush. For the moment it's stuck as it struggles to free it's self.
The party may now cruelly slaughter the little piggy.
Mykhael strode forward and thrust his longspear at his future supper.
Elena shoots an arrow that goes sailing into the bushes.
Richard's brow furrows in annoyance seeing Mykhael move up to it but doesn't want to leave the man face it up close alone. Dropping his bow he draws his blade as he steps forward and strikes.
Moving up alongside Richard, Xan's sword was at the ready to cleave into the beast.
EDIT:
Colwyn's arrow whistles out from among the leaves and branches.
Blundering into the bear trap leaves Tuskgutter trapped and easy prey for Richard, Xantria & Colwyn.
Mykhael & Elena look up from their attacks on a deceitful shrub and realize they have been fooled.
"This is a good kill. It is best to celebrate a successful hunt with a feast!"
Elena says. She draws her knife to get ready to gut and clean the beast. "We could wait to do this when we get back, but it will be lighter to carry if we do it now," she says.
Mykhael silently helps Elena clean the boar.
While the boar is cleaned, Niadroub Kliip searches the area to see if he can find any other victims of Tuskgutter's gutting tusks.
"Hah! My old hunts never went this well. I wish I'd met you folks years ago.
Colwyn collects some long, straight branches to transport the meat back to the trading post.
"Be sure not to damage the beast's ugly head too much. That hunter'll want it as a prized trophy."
”And people say swords aren’t hunting weapons,” Xan remarks before helping to search the area while the others prep Tuskgutter’s corpse.
Niadroub soon sends up a call, only a few yards into the undergrowth is a body. A fresh kill in fact,
Elena looks it over and can tell that whoever he was, he was in a fight before he ran into Tuskgutter. Whatever he fought poisoned him enough to weaken him badly and leave him easy prey for the old Boar.
Like the band that ambushed you to the west this man carries an oiled pouch, in it he has a map etched onto parchment showing much of the area you've explored, and more.
Oleg's is marked on it, river crossings at Hex25 and Hex30 are noted, and Hex36 has a small sketch of a set of antlers. Of particular interest to you are the two marks of camps in Hex35 and Hex26.
His equipment
MW agile breastplate,
MW composite longbow (+3 Str) with 20 arrows,
MW greatsword,
Cloak of resistance +1,
Basic maps,
Fflint and steel,
Grappling hook,
MW backpack,
Silk rope (50 ft.),
MW thieves’ tools,
Waterskin,
103 gp.
What are you doing now?
"Do we head back to Olegs or go investigate this camp on the map to the West while we are nearby now."
Looking at the thieves tools he hands them to Colwyn "I think you'll get a little more use with these than I will. The backpack would be useful for most of us and the cloak... I imagine everyone is interested."