Azura stands and starts casting a sleep spell.
Saersha spotted the mage, or more like cleric, as he cast a pall of fear over the field to weaken their focus.
She shrugged off the effects and Saersha narrowed her eyes as she chanted and gestured while ignoring Ulfr's song as usual. When she finished she pointed at the boggart that cast the spell over at it causing a tightly focused ball of lightning lance from her hand at the boggart as she yelled, "You are going to be extra crispy!"
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[ooc]The boggard wears leather armor, so it's effective against the shocking grasp.
Saersha extends her hand and the charge of electricity that builds around it suddenly snaps to the boggard, leaving a bluish afterimage for a few seconds. The boggard is caught quite by surprise, having just barely managed to stave off Trendon, and the discharge manages to catch him squarely in the chest, causing his whole body to light up.
Ever seen a toad hit by lightning?
The moisture in the boggard's skin flash-boils, causing his entire body to erupt in bloody steam as his head detonates.
The spiritual weapon that was striking at Ulfr winks out of existence.
The two remaining boggard warriors seem very demoralized by this turn of events, and they start trying to back away, making startled croaking noises.
The dragonfly, startled, buzzes away at high speed.
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Saersha saw the effects of her spell and realized mayyyybe that was a bit overkill. She did decide to work with it though and glared at the other two boggarts as she called out, "Who's next!"
Dashing out to where she has a clear line of sight to the fleeing boggarts, Ryn does a twisting spin in the air to harnes the momentum of her charge, hurling her shield at the back of one of the fleeing frogmen.
He had been willing to let the frog men just run, but when Ryn chased after them he let out a sigh and moved closing with the running frogmen.... As he closed with them his fingers waggled forth and brilliant fires erupted forth engulfing the frogmen.
Ryn's shield smashes into the back of one of the boggards, who stumbles and tries to keep hopping. Trendon advances and his burst of arcane fire engulfs the creatures; the one that was already smashed by the shield falls to the ground, smoking, while the other one drops to the ground, covers its head with its hands, and cowers.
Catching her shield out of the air, Ryn strides toward the cowering boggard. Though clad in just her shift, the angry gladiatrix towers over the surviving would be raider like a statue of judgement.
"Anyone speak frogman?" she asks over her shoulder.
My club does. Grumbles Ulfr like an oncoming storm as he steps up next to Ryn. His club audibly drips frog blood in the mostly quiet clearing.
"I can try i know several languages...."
He began waving a handkerchief in front of his nose as if warding off the burnt frog smell.
"Anything in particular you want to ask?"
Realizing the had no language based way to communicate with the creature, Ryn Improvises, raising her shield in a sudden movement to bring it slamming down, inches from the cowering boggart's head with a resounding clang.
As the terrified creature looks up, surprised an not having been killed, she locks eyes with it over the edge of her shield, a clear wordless promise of certain death should there be any further hostility, slowly, pointing back off into the darkness in a clear sign of dismissal, she picks up her shield, turning her back on the creature as she walks back toward the camp.
The last boggard lets out a combination of croak and whimper before it scurries off into the dark, exploiting its last chance at survival.
As the sound of battle fades, the noise of the tiny frogs and crickets in the marsh rises again in the background, and the camp becomes still once more.
The halflings slowly peek out from the cover of the boat, and finally the cap'n gives a wide grin. "That'll show those beasties!" he guffaws. "Amazing work! I sure am glad to have you folks around. Makes this kind of travel a mite bit safer."
#LOOT
Among the remains of the boggards you scavenge four crude but effective morningstars made from swamp-wood studded with sharpened, lacquered bone spikes—the one carried by the priest instead made with metal barbs and clearly of superior manufacture from somewhere beyond the swamps (masterwork); four sets of rancid but... usable leather armor; a necklace with a piece of amber on it; and, incongruously, a broad leather belt with a silver buckle that bears the glyph of the Open Road on it—a symbol familiar to many Pathfinders. The back of the belt buckle has the name "Eando Kline" scratched on it, and it radiates magic (transmutation) when checked.
With the boggards soundly defeated there's nothing to trouble you for the remainder of the night, and that gives you the chance to get back to sleeping and to wake up with the dawn for cleaning, breakfast, and then... back on the river.
Azura takes the opportunity to reinvigorate Ulfr before going back to bed.
"Looks like that whip barely missed your eye," she comments as she places a gentle hand on his shoulder and hums a low tune.
"Ouch, that is nasty!" Ryn comments as Azura heals Ulfr. "Sorry it took a bit to wake up there."
Ulfr accepts the care and healing with a stoic nod of thanks. To Ryn, he waves off her contrition. It's fine. you more than made up for it.
He approaches Trendon and notes wounds that mirror his own. Ulfr's bearing is softer? now. More comfortable around Trendon. When he looks at Trendon his gaze actually stops on the other man. I must admit. I have been unfair to you, Trendon. You are a true and good friend. Your magic likely saved my eye back there. I think I was waiting for you to walk away again. But that isn't good enough reason, of course.
You have my apologies, and a favor as restitution. Anything you ask in my power, I will do.
When Ulfr approached for a split second he felt his body stiffen. As the hulking man spoke however he felt a slight bit of heat and color rush to his cheeks. He was very used to people treating him a certain way... and most the time he felt they had some right to it. This was unexpected. He offered the large man a genuine smile followed by a nod.
"Thank you really Ulfr. It means a lot. I'm glad to be of use to someone and the organization besides just a name to throw about and research. I suppose those boggard will think twice about attacking merchant shipping for a bit, guess its time to settle back down."
He offered clapping the large warrior on the back. Once back to his bedroll he slid a flask out and whispered a small prayer before taking a long pull. He would heal himself he supposed. He pondered the name on that belt buckle.
When Ulfr approached for a split second he felt his body stiffen. As the hulking man spoke however he felt a slight bit of heat and color rush to his cheeks. He was very used to people treating him a certain way... and most the time he felt they had some right to it. This was unexpected. He offered the large man a genuine smile followed by a nod.
"Thank you really Ulfr. It means a lot. I'm glad to be of use to someone and the organization besides just a name to throw about and research. I suppose those boggard will think twice about attacking merchant shipping for a bit, guess its time to settle back down."
He offered clapping the large warrior on the back. Once back to his bedroll he slid a flask out and whispered a small prayer before taking a long pull. He would heal himself he supposed. He pondered the name on that belt buckle.
"Need a little extra assistance?" says Azura to Trendon after checking in on Ryn.
The night passes uneventfully, with none of the boggards... or anything else... bothering you except for the occasional mosquito. Once you're packed up in the morning, you load your gear back onto the riverboat, and it begins its inexorable journey once more.
It's a few more boring days until it reaches the town on stilts, Wartle. As described by Othlo (and as Trendon recalls, since he's familiar with much of the region), it's a town entirely on stilts, with precarious boardwalks between buildings. Othlo pulls the riverboard up to a dock, which sports a large ladder and a cargo platform that goes up to the levels above. Just as he mentioned, the place seems mostly to be peat-farmers, trappers, and bog-fishers, and the only tavern of note is a precariously-leaning structure aptly named the Lean-To. Othlo and his crew plan to take the evening drinking the local "bog grog" and perhaps playing some dice games before turning in with rented rooms that at least have fur-padded beds.
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The stop at the leaning stilt-town is a welcome respite from the sameness of the river and marsh, but there's little to see in this fishing-and-trapping town. The novelty of the canted tavern wears off quickly, and it becomes clear why there are multiple brothels for such a small settlement. On the upside, it's possible to do a little trading and haggling, as the locals are more than happy to part with their fish and furs in exchange for any coins or luxuries that they can get their hands on. This results in a rather extravagant dinner as there's a feast of mixed wild pork and seafood, including a crawdad bake and lots of local tubers, that proves surprisingly tasty.
After overnighting at the town, the group leaves in the morning, invigorated by the hefty meal but ready for a change of scenery.
It's still a few more days to the underground passage that leads to Kaer Maga, and the terrain changes from marsh into a forested riparian corridor as you head upriver. In some places, the trees hang over the river; in others, they line the riverside in sparse stands. It's occasionally difficult to see beyond the banks of the river due to the thick foliage. The weather becomes slightly less hot and humid and much more pleasant, which leads to a sense of lazy timelessness aboard the deck.
Three days out from Wartle, Trendon catches sight of movement among the tree line just in time to point it out before a huge rock comes hurtling out toward the boat. It splashes short into the river only a foot from the edge of the Lucky Jenny, causing the entire boat to bob about from the waves. Othlo starts steering the boat erratically as best he can in the confines of the river, and another rock comes sailing out of the tree line, caroms off the back of the boat, and bounces into the water, causing the back of the ship to take on water before bobbing back up. River water cascades off the boat and the damage to the deck leaves a crushed area aft (fortunately, without destroying the superstructure). Soon you spot the aggressors: A gaggle of tall, lanky humanoids, hurling carrying large rocks or even chunks of trees. They are green-skinned and lanky, wearing crude fur loincloths, though one of them (smaller than the others) wears a panoply of plate armor.
"You gotta do something about them!" shouts Othlo. "Otherwise they'll just keep lobbing rocks at us until they sink us!"
"We're going to have to take those %!@!%^ers out before they sink us! Anybody have any ranged spells to give us cover to get close?" Ryn asks, quickly grabbing up her shield.
"We're going to have to take those %!@!%^ers out before they sink us! Anybody have any ranged spells to give us cover to get close?" Ryn asks, quickly grabbing up her shield.
Staring across the distance at the green giants hurling rocks at them, Ryn considers the danger to everyone on the boat, her expression taking on a calm, set cast as she makes a decision. Wordlessly, she swiftly strides to the side of the boat away from the attackers, taking Azura's hand and drawing her with her as she does. " Ulfr, Embyr, Trendon, try to get to me as soon as you can to take the fight to them. sooner they have something the worry about up close, the sooner they stop throwing. Azura, we can use all the enhancing magic you can throw at us love. Saersha, if you’ve got anything offensive that works at a distance, now would be the time!”
Turning to look down at Azura, she flashes the aasimar a wild grin, one that she by now knows as a sign that her lover is about to do something reckless. ”Wish me luck!” she says, before pulling her into a deep sweltering kiss.
Taking a deep breath as she releases her girlfriend, she locks eyes on the far side of the shore, eyes going steely as begins to move, building speed with every step as she practically blurs across the deck, racing to the other side to launch herself off in such a powerful jump that the entire flat-bottomed boat momentarily lists to that side as she takes flight, hurtling herself across the water despite slipping on the wet deck to land on the shore, sending dirt, rocks and muck flying with the explosion of her impact.
Ulfr is sleeping on deck when the first rock hits. He wakes with a start and rolls to his hands and knees just in time to take the rocking of the second stone and stay stable. He admires Ryn taking charge like she does. Then he is impressed by her leap. He conciders following, but knows he can't make that jump. No way.
Othlo! Can you get me within 30 feet of one of them? He shouts.
Ulfr curses under his breath and takes out a scrap of paper with a few notes on it. He makes a couple simple gestures and the paper evaporates. The beast suddenly assaulted by a Cacophonous call of magical noise!
Saersha began to chant and gesture as she called forth her magic. She shaped it, imaged it in her mind, and then overlay the image into reality with a little added bit of shadow to give it more realism. When she released it a pall of noxious green smoke expanded in the center of the giants making it hard for them to see and turning their stomach.
He thought about casting the spell that allowed him to share the battering Ulfr was liable to take, but when the man asked to get 30 from the shore he realized that he was going to do something to get that far and quickly. He needed to be somewhat close for the shielding spell to work.
"Well better something dumb and active than nothing and passive they say."
He muttered aloud grabbing his holy symbol and casting a spell. He touched Ulfr and for a brief moment as the spell took hold the taste of a fine ale was on his tongue... and he felt stronger.
He then moved to the edge of the boat. He didnt really want to swim, but uh if the boat was struck he didnt want to be in the middle of a sinking ship that was for sure.
As the tiller moves the boat somewhat closer to shore—and, luckily, passes under another large rock—Saersha unleashes her horrid illusionary stench magic upon the foes.
There's a raucous sound of coughing and anger and the tall, lanky creatures move out to either side of the cloud, doing their best to get away. The shorter armored one shouts something in a guttural language.
Then, Ulfr launches himself straight off the boat like a Tianese firecracker, landing right next to one of the creatures, though his aim isn't quite good enough to smash it with his large club.
His foe counters, swinging long arms at Ulfr and battering him, then actually getting talons into his chest and tearing away a chunk of flesh!
The other lanky fellow circles around the stinking cloud the long way, while the armored one wades into the water, plants his sword point-first into the river dirt, and pulls out a javelin, which he hurls at Saersha.
Saersha stumbles back and avoids impalement (the bad kind), but only just barely.
"Hold Ulfr we are coming!"
He called out concentrating for a moment an explosion of golden dust exploding in the armored ones face.
He then moved to the side of the boat and leaped as far as he could torwards the shore. He closed his eyes at the last moment and shook his head from the sudden wetness of the water drawing his sword from the cane.
The armored fellow waves his sword in front of his face a few times, and though he's now sparkly like he has craft herpes, he doesn't seem disoriented by the spell.
Blood flows freely from Ulfr's chest. Pain rips through him. He Laughs!
Fate oft saveth a man not doomed to die, when his valour fails not! he bellows. He then swings again as his furious magic tingles in the air!
Ulfr's mighty club slams hard into the wiry giant, knocking it back and forcing its talons away from him while he bleeds profusely. The green-skinned fellow grunts but seems fearless, almost berserk in its slavering desire to tear Ulfr limb from limb.
Azura starts to sing, letting the magical power of her music wash over the group and inspire them.
Saersha gasped in pain as the javelin slammed into her but she fortunately managed to at least partly avoid it. She looked at what was attacking them as she worked on her next spell to figure out what they were.
Saersha let out a foul curse as she realized what the bigger creatures were and said, "Trolls! Hope you've fire or avid!." She promptly began to cast a spell and sent a glob of acid flying at the nearest of the trolls.
trolls! He called a second after Saersha did and his eyes seemed aglow will flames at the revelation.
Saersha's cantrip zips by the troll with minimal effect.
Toll vs. Ulfr
Ulfr's foe tears into the skald again, savagely biting his shoulder and tearing once more at the bloody warrior.
The other troll comes around its compatriot and reaches for Trendon!
One claw manages to hook Trendon's bicep and narrowly misses opening an artery.
The armored foe wades to the edge of the boat and starts to climb aboard.
The bite sinks into Ulfr's shoulder. He roars in the monster's face in pure defiance. The last thing he sees is a clawed hand striking at his torso....
As the armored enemy moves in, Ryn brings her shield up in a perfectly timed blow to the side of his head, her combat honed tactical reflexes catching the enemy completely offguard.
He yelped in pain but his response was to erupt into flames. A burst of fire arose from him in the shape of a large bird who stretched out its wings... then the image vanished leaving just the man there a halo of flames around him. He let a burst of positive enetgy flow through him.
He then ducked low and moved to try and position himself better.