Grim looks at the group and back to the cabin and then he appears to look up in the sky. He does it for a few moments and then lowers his head back and looks to the group.
"Erastil would see this through... I agree with Hjor that is a horrible way to spend your days locked in your mind with some fungus in charge of your body. At the very least we should put the man down." He looks back at the cave and to the group. "We could try to draw him out of the cave, fire the entrance, and flank him with missile fire from all sides. Once we bring him down we fire the body." He pauses for a moment.
"That man is being used as a guard and food. I would imagine if we draw him out of the cave... More than likely the cave is the home of the mindslaver mold. We draw him out and we put him out of his misery from a distance. We burn everything inside the cave if we can otherwise we move on."
Easlis shakes his head disaprovingly "What am I going to do with you. Trying to save every damned soul will not get us anywhere. We don't need to get in more danger than we already are, but if you insist on releasing that human from the control of the fungus I'll give you a hand. But don't even dream of entering that cave if we can force a rockslide and block the entrance."
Easlis draws his longbow his eyes fixed on the entrance. "Your plan seems sound, but I doubt he would behave beast-like and charge at us once he sees he's being fired from every direction. What happens if he retreats in the cave?"
Grim laughs more in agreement with Easlis assessment..."I know...I know..." He looks at the cave and points to the entrance. "The only safe way of doing this I fear, and ensuring we put him down, is to draw him out and then block his access back to the cave. I would think a wall of fire would stop his access....plants, most of them...don't like fire."
Hjorleaf looks from the cave back towards the house off in the distance, biting his lip and shaking his head slowly as in deep thought.
...hmmm...
He turns again to look at the cave.
Grim
He looks to the Ulfen.
Do you think it is possible that this man...mold...thing...do you think it is possible that it fled the house back there...
with those last words spoken he nods toward the house.
...to protect his family...could it be he is still in there, keeping his distance, protecting his family?
His face shows a form of respect as he look to the mold victim.
Do you think we can save him at all?
Hjorleaf looks from the cave back towards the house off in the distance, biting his lip and shaking his head slowly as in deep thought.
...hmmm...He turns again to look at the cave.
Grim
He looks to the Ulfen.
Do you think it is possible that this man...mold...thing...do you think it is possible that it fled the house back there...
with those last words spoken he nods toward the house.
...to protect his family...could it be he is still in there, keeping his distance, protecting his family?His face shows a form of respect as he look to the mold victim.
Do you think we can save him at all?
He nods when Hjor finishes... "It might be worth it to approach the house and parlay with the women to find out. I don't like taking a life and I don't see how this would end any other way if we lure that man out of the cave without really knowing what we are facing in full." He looks back in the direction of the cabin.
"Grim, you mentioned that you saw two sets of footprints. It could be that both are mindslavers, but that would not explain why they won't stick together. They would have had a better chance to stave off dangers, like us."
What else do you know of this mold...any way we can kill it without harming...person?
the group discusses a bit more what to do, but they are still not able to come to a decision. the choice needs to be made between fighting the slaver mold now or first returning to the cabin to see if the woman there has any intel for them.
in response to Hjorleaf's question you remember something you have read about these molds. they can be killed separately from the host, but they will actively try to protect themselves by evading blows and allowing them to strike the host instead of the mold
Do you think it is like a plant in that when you remove it from its source of food it will die? Like pulling a weed out of the dirt?
Grim ponders on that question for a bit...recalling it was mindslaver mold he starts to think back to when he had heard about it. Ok...that is going to be dangerous but it is worth a shot if we all agree on it...
He looks at Hjor and back to the cave and then back to the group. "Hjor is right. I have read that we can separate the mold from the man but it will not go peacefully. It will try and protect itself and even avoid our strikes. We could end up hitting the man but if we can draw him out and some how drag him away from the cave. We could then fire the entrance to isolate the man and the mold on him from the main host. THat is if there is one in that cave. I think if we could then some how hold the man in place we could remove the mold...maybe with cold or fire. If this is our plan I suggest I move up and try to lure the man out. Before that...the rest of you move to the flanks of the cave. Once I get him out far enough get fire into the mouth of the entrance...oil, fire, wood, whatever it takes to hold the fire in place. Then we attempt to hold him in place and remove the thing from the man."
The half-elf tries to follow what Grim was saying but ended visibly confused. "Wait... wait... One minute we're planning to make a porcupine out of this being, now we're trying to extract the mould? Let's try to avoid big fires, we don't want to bring more attention to ourselves.
I'll try to subdue him first when he gets out of the cavern, if it doesn't work, what do you think Hjorleaf, can you hold the host?
Grim if you wish to set up a barrier of fire, I've noticed that you have some alchemist fire, maybe we can use that. The question is: will the parasite care if its host gets burned?"
The half-elf tries to follow what Grim was saying but ended visibly confused. "Wait... wait... One minute we're planning to make a porcupine out of this being, now we're trying to extract the mould? Let's try to avoid big fires, we don't want to bring more attention to ourselves.
I'll try to subdue him first when he gets out of the cavern, if it doesn't work, what do you think Hjorleaf, can you hold the host?
Grim if you wish to set up a barrier of fire, I've noticed that you have some alchemist fire, maybe we can use that. The question is: will the parasite care if its host gets burned?"
Grim knowing he is vomiting all this stuff out trying to put a plan together that could save the man and also protect his companions.
"The Alchemist fire would work and what I was thinking as well. One of you would need to cast it behind him as I get him to move towards me. Then if we can subdue him we can work on removing this mold... I would not recommend having anyone trying to touch it."
He pauses for moment as he thinks about a way to keep everyone away from this dangerous plant. He snaps his fingers.
"I have an idea. We have flasks of oil as well. What if we he draw the man out into a spot that we had a trap laid and bait on the other side. I would not recommend having anyone trying to touch it. Maybe we can scare the mold or deceive it into leaving the host by threat of fire or cold. If we lay oil out on the ground and cover it in leaves and twigs and put one of you on the other side of it and the rest of us with torches and alchemist fire we could bait the stuff to move away from the man and towards our bait. Getting hit to travel over the trap and we fire it. At that point we might be able to destroy it and move the man behind us." He seems to be talking out load working through this...he clearly doesn't want to physically engage this stuff.
"Whoever is the bait will need to be able to defend themselves from this stuff encase the trap doesn't work."
"A fire like that would generate a lot of smoke, Grim. With those ravens looking for us, they could see that and know where we are. Would this even succeed at getting the mold to leave this person? Does it have that level of sentience, or is it more animalistic?"
Grim nods in agreement. "I can't argue with that but no matter what we do there is a good chance those birds will see it. Do we have the ability to use cold or some other source of energy less revealing? Otherwise fire would be best. Of what I know of it this is not just a thing that thinks like an animal. My concern is what happens when we get it outside of the cave and isolate it. When it that one realizes it is trap we need to be able to focus on it. If there is a larger mass in the cave it could be a bigger problem which is why I suggest we block off that entrance and deal with the man and the plant on him."
Looking to grim and Porablum...
Let us just go up and drawl it out...I can rip this plant out of him. When I get it off of him you can then burn the damn thing. That is what we should do. I think there is enough wind and tree cover to obstruct the flow of smoke. Or if you do not want to use fire...I can always hack the s!%! out of it.
I will go after it and try to remove the mold.
He nods in agreement. Knowing that Hjorleaf is man of action and having a hard time disagreeing with him he stands up. "Let me move up and lure him out. You move to the right flank of the cave and hide. Porablum, Easlis...move to the left flank of the cave but move slowly and quietly. Once your two groups get set up I will walk up to cave as if I plan to explore it and try to lure him out. I will have my bow at the ready and will focus on the mold if I can if I need to defend my self. I will try and draw it out as far as I can so that we can flank it then."[/b He points to the left and right flanks of the mouth of the cave...far enough to not be seen but close enough once the man is drawn out to move up on the man's flanks. [b]"Be careful and quiet!"
"Okay. I'll do my best."
Porablum attempts to sneak off to the left of the cave.
She manages to avoid completely blundering through the underbrush.
after some discussion Grim directs everyone to their places. he stands center and prepares to try to get the attention of the mold host.
Grim drops his pack further back and carries only his combat gear. He puts two arrows in the same hand as his bow so he can quickly get to them and respond to any threat as he moves forward to the mouth of the cave. He doesn't bother to be quiet. Instead, as he moves forward he kicks a few rocks towards the cave entrance hard enough to get them to bounce and skip off the ground and other rocks to make noise to alert the man. He intends to get this man to notice him and agitate him enough to come out towards him. He moves slowly and then calls out to the man in the cave.
"Hey! Do you need some help in there? I saw you as I was tracking some game. I have water and food if you need it." His voice is gruff and to the point and loud enough to be heard by the man. "Hey you ok!? You all right?" As he does he scans the mouth of the cave and into the cave looking for signs of threats and for anything that would clue him into an advantage to getting the man out of the cave and into the open.
Easlis follows Porablum into the underbrush on the left side of the cave trying to be very careful not to draw the attention of the human inside the cave.
The magus waits silently at the mouth of the cave looking at how Grimgisli is trying to attract attention.
the man looks up when he hears your voice, but there is no recognition in his eyes. his eyes look very unfocused and blank, almost blind.
he picks up a large axe from the ground nearby and strides towards you
the man moves right up to Grim, threatening with his axe. a spore pod launches from the man's back, flying towards Easlis
the whole party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 37/37 - AC: 17/14/14 Status:
Porablum HP: 28/28 - AC: 17/13/15 Status:
Easlis: HP: 20/3220 - AC: 16/11/15 Status: cursed (-6 CON), 3 wisdom damage
Brominate HP: 32/32 - AC: 17/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 40/40 - AC: 16/12/14 Status:NPCS:
Witch HP -51 | AC??? | dead
Yellow elemental HP -13 | AC 16 |dead
black elemental HP -14 | AC 16 | dead
blue elemental HP -8 | AC 16 |
As soon he saw the man running towards the Grim with the axe Easlis had a feeling things would get ugly. He prepared to cast a spell but before he could finish it, he felt a nauseating feeling as if his mind was muddied.
When the magus finished the casting somehow the spell sounded all wrong, twisted somehow.
"This should handle him... Remove the thing off his back!" Easlis shouted grabbing his forehead with his palms in pain.
Grim sees the man charge him and the fungus-like arm bursts out and attacks his companion. He quickly jumps back and fires two arrows at the fungus trying not to hit the man.
No words are spoken as the large man charges forward with a steady gate. His ax is across his back as he comes up to the large man and grabs a large hunk of the creatures. Hjorleaf tries to grab it with both hands and pulls with all his might in hopes of freeing this man of his curse.
"Oh, no, Easlis! You've got the mold on you! Here, let's see if this helps you shake it off."
Porablum then casts a spell, trying to help Easlis shake off the effects of the mold.
Grim shoots the threat, trying to hit just moldy spots on the man, and hit hits it directly.
Easlis casts a hex that puts the man to sleep
Hjorleaf tries to grapple the mold on the man's back, but he is not able to get a hold of the mold, as it slithers out of the way of the big man's hands. he ends up with just a handful of the sleeping man's clothing.
Brominate moves in and tries to cut away at the mold with his dagger, but can't find a good spot to stab
Porablum heals some of the mental damage done to Easlis.
the mold throws another spore pod, this time at Hjorleaf.
as you try to grab the mold from its victim, you see many many small tendrils holding the mass of mold on to the man. you think you could break it free of the man with a strength check if you do manage to get your hands on it, but it will likely hurt the host some as well
the whole party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 37/37 - AC: 17/14/14 Status:
Porablum HP: 28/28 - AC: 17/13/15 Status:
Easlis: HP: 20/3220 - AC: 16/11/15 Status: cursed (-6 CON), 2 wisdom damage
Brominate HP: 32/32 - AC: 17/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 40/40 - AC: 16/12/14 Status: 4 wisdom damageNPCS:
Mold HP: -6 | AC: <22
Man HP: ?? | AC: ?? | sleeping
Grim quickly takes a 5 foot step back and slightly to the left to get a clear line of sight to hit the mold.
He takes a deep breath and focus on hitting the smallest but broadest spot of the mold that is all over the man. He pulls two arrows in rapid succession and fires them at the mold.
Slippery little f+%@
Again the large man attempts to grab the mold.
Tha magus lets loose an arrow flying past Brominate's ear.
Porablum pulled out her crossbow and shot a bolt at the mold.
Grim shoots the mold, striking it twice doing a bit of damage.
Hjorleaf manages to get his hands on the mold to pull it out
he yanks hard on the creature and it comes free with a tearing sound.
the man yells out in pain as the thing is pulled off, blood dripping form its tendrils.
Hjorleaf drops the thing on the ground and both Easlis and Porablum shoot it. it seems to be done for.
End of combat
the man comes to groggily, looking around in confusion and staring down at the weapon in his hands.
Where am I? where is Sylgja? who are you?
Grim steps up to support Hjor and checks him quickly to see if the plant got into his friend.
After that he turns to Easlis..."Burn that thing Easlis. We need to make sure it doesn't skitter off." He looks at the thing on the ground with its bloody tendrils.
He turns to Porablum..."I think we will need your skill Porablum. The man is not in good shape."
As he walks by the large man he attempts to calm him. "Rest my friend...you are in good hands. Let us tend to you and we can talk."
Grim moves forward to the mouth of the cave as he scans the ground carefully and then inside. Taking his time and making sure there are no more threats from within.
Hjorleaf brushes off the spores that the mold creature shot at him.
Looking down at the man, the Ulfen reaches a hand out to him.
Come get off the cold ground. I am Hjorleaf, son of Asvidr. I know not whom this Sylgja is or where they are. You were in that there cave under the control of some mold. We were able to dispatch the creature and you appear to be yourself again.
He looks to the gnome with a look of respect.
The little nisse will fix you up good as new.
The large human nods at Grim
Grim and I can help you get home if you wish. The lone wolf does not last long out in these lands.
"Hello, sir. My name is Porablum Flapzit. I can patch those wounds up right away."
"Sylgia is my.. wife. we live in a cabin, i don't think it is far. I am not sure where exactly we are, but i went out to cut wood and then everything got a bit.... fuzzy. i need to get back to her!
"Burn that thing Easlis. We need to make sure it doesn't skitter off."
Easlis does not waste a second more than he should and casts a spell setting his hands aflame then letting loose a burst of fire on the, now detached, creature. As soon as he sees the creature has been properly scorched the half-elf extinguishes the remaining small flame with his boot and covers the charred area with some snow collected from nearby.
The half-elf scowled noticing that the man has arisen just as he was getting rid of his former master through magical means.
Grim walks back from the mouth of the cave and walks back to inspect Easlis' work on the mold as it smolders into ash. "Nice...that should do!" He turns to grin at the magus.
Aye...there is cabin back a ways. Not far and I would imagine that be the maiden that our friend here speaks of that we saw on the porch.
He grabs his canteen of water and hands it to the man. Then he looks back to the trail they came from. "Once he is ready to go we should move back down our original trail and bring him back to his wife. We know that trail is safe...at least when we passed through the first time." He repeats what he said in Skald and smiles as he gives the water to man.
the man happily takes the offered water and drinks some down quickly.
[b]Oh good, you saw her then? beutiful woman, bright red hair? we should hurry back to her at once, I am sure she is worried about me. I do not even know how long i have been gone...
the man happily takes the offered water and drinks some down quickly.
** spoiler omitted **
He smiles at the confirmation of the women. "That would be her. Once you feel like travelling it is not that far. We can make our way back to her."
He turns to the rest of the group. "He said the women I spoke of is indeed his wife...the one on the porch that we bypassed. We can make our way back to her. It is not far away and we might get a good meal out this."
Very well, Grim lead the way and...
He looks to the large man.
...What is your name?
After he man answer Hjorleaf looks back to grim
We will follow you with little Nisse to make sure he is ok to travel.
.
thank you all. I feel much better now. please, let's be off.
my name is Finngarth. who do i have to thank for my rescue?
the big man stands to his feet with only a little assistance, and is eager to go. he looks around to get his bearings and apparently sees something familiar. he sets off at a slow but determined pace
Grim looks about to his companions. "I guess we are ready to go." He moves up along side Finngarth and keeps a close eye out along they path they take back to the cabin.
the group makes their way along a game trail that the man follows with obvious familiarity.
Grim thinks about the cave and what he saw of the mold, but doesn't know much new that they hadn't figured out already. the mold seems to have been mind-controlling the man, but that's about all you know.
soon you come to a small cabin. sure enough it is the one you passed by earlier.
The man calls out in Skald, and the woman comes running out of the cabin to meet him. they embrace, talking over each other. after a moment she looks up at all of you
I am so glad you returned! I thought the trolls got you... but who are all these people? and why did you leave me to run off with them?
Hjorleaf steps back a bit to allow the reuniting to continue without their interruption.
The tall human chuckles slightly as he scans the surround terrain.
Grim nods in agreement with Hjor. He scans the sky for any of the ravens that were following them.
"It might be best to not tempt fate and move this inside. We have eyes upon us and I don't wish for those eyes to see us in your company."
He finishes scanning the sky and smiles glad to see the man reunited with his mate.