Grym does what Grym does best; he lets out a blood-curdling roar and charges the plant with his greataxe!
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Round 1 continued
Yekskya tries to target one of the strange plant zombies. His aim is true, striking the figure where its human heart should be, but instead of flesh his arrowhead meets resistant plant tissue, lessening its effect.
Noting Aerys moving around the clearing, baring her fists, Rowena offers her mace to the half-elven fighter.
Grym charges forward, hoping to end the fight by chopping down the plant. He rushes forward with a mighty roar and swings his greataxe in a mighty blow, but misses the plant's vital areas.
Suddenly, at some unseen signal, the two zombie-like figures launch forwards. One rushes at Yekskya, and tries to grapple the archer before he bring up a weapon in defense.
The other plant-zombie leaps defensively towards Grym, trying to wallop the half-orc with a thick, tendriled arm. Grym easily ducks under the wild swing, and looks up to see writhing tendrils sticking out of the creature's eye sockets.
Updated initiative
18 - Zaghigoth
12 - Aerys
7 - yellow musk plant
6 - Yekskya
6 - Rowena
6 - Grym
5 - yellow musk zombies
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zombie 1 grapple
zombie 2 slam
Zag steps forward after Grym rushes past, moving to assist the fellow half-orc against the zombie and mysterious plant, calling Shiv to join in the attack.
Spear attack:
Damage:
Shiv attack:
Damage:
Surprised by how quickly the zombies move and one of them reaches him before he can raise a weapon in defense and he drops his bow instinctively. Yet, as soon as it gets its arms around him, he flexes his arms and explodes in a sudden motion, breaking free from its grip. As he breaks free, he takes a step away and draws his greatsword, ready to fight the creature.
Grym attacks the plant, seeking to end it's effects on the zombie. Grym grunts as the blow that should have taken the plant out completely seems to go wide of the mark by a hair's breadth although it stills scores a telling blow.
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Round 2
Zaghigoth steps forward, trying to assist Grym defend against the zombie trying to maul him. He pierces it with his spear, but again the well-placed jab seems to hardly do any damage. The plant-creature, swivels its head to look at the druid. Shiv shambles up and slashes at the zombie's legs with his jaws, but just misses as the zombie rocks forward.
Aerys tries to help Yekskya by walloping the zombie with her borrowed mace. Her strike should have smashed half the creature's head, but the brain case seems to instead be full of pulpy plant matter.
Another flowered tendril bursts, engulfing Grym in a cloud of pollen. A feeling of euphoria now threatens to overwhelm the other half-orc in the party!
In a burst of motion, Yekskya manages to break free of the zombie's grapple, stepping back and drawing his greatsword.
Seeing the zombie turn its attentions towards Aerys, Rowena springs into action, leaping forward with her rapier. The sword's piercing tip seems to do hardly any damage, just nearly getting stuck in the zombie's back.
The zombie that tried to grapple Yekskya now turns its attentions on Aerys, attempting to floor her with a heavy fist, but Aerys moves with the grace of a boxer, dodging out of the way. The other zombie turns on Shiv, trying to pound the crocodile's skull, but it's a clumsy attack and misses.
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Aerys attack
Aerys damage
ranged touch
zombie 1 slam
zombie 1 damage
zombie 2 slam
zombie 2 damage
Grym sneezes as the cloud of spores surrounds him, but he shakes off their entrancing smell with a bestial roar of anger!
Yekskya steps back forward and swings his greatsword at the zombie in a fierce attack.
"We need fire! Or something to chop these monsters to pieces. Stabbing and smashing ain't gonna work. Anyone got an axe or a sword I can use?
Without waiting for a reply, I draw my short sword in hopes of it being at least marginally better suited to chopping than the light blade of my rapier.
Hearing Cat's call to chop, Zag blinks, feeling foolish that he hadn't realized that. Dropping shield and spear, he hefts his falchion from its sheathe and aims a heavy swing at the zombie while ordering Shiv to attack as well.
Shiv Bite:
Damage:
Zag Falchion:
Damage:
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Round 3
Zaghigoth, heeding Cat's advice, switches to his falchion. With a mighty swing, he cleaves into the zombie, while Shiv tears at the shambling corpse from the other side. It suddenly seems to fall apart, collapsing in a heap of once-flesh and plant matter.
Aerys swings at the other zombie, hitting it in the head, but it shrugs off the attack! Aerys looks shocked and horrified.
The plant, as a defensive reflex, releases another cloud of pollen spores in Grym's direction.
Yekskya rushes forward and attacks the remaining zombie with his greatsword. With the large blade he slashes at the creature, reducing it to another mound of compost.
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Aerys attack
Aerys damage
plant ranged attack
"I just hate things that won't stay dead, don't you Aerys? I mean, it's obvious that this was a man once. Now? Not so much. But would it stay dead? No, of course not. It just had to come back and bother us. Now let's see if we can't kill it dead for good."
Shifting slightly to my right, I position myself to get the zombie-plant-thingy between myself and Aerys, my shortsword slashing in a vicious downward arc towards the thing's neck.
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Round 3 continued
This time the cloud of pollen spores seems to have an effect on Grym, and stops, motionless, a strange expression on the half-orc's face. The plant beside him writhes and twitches, its tendrils reaching for the trapper.
With the zombie before her collapsing into ruin, Rowena twists around, looking for any more targets. Spying Grym seemingly hypnotized by the strange plant, she springs forward and slashes with her short sword. Her slashing chop cuts away a few leaves and small tendrils, but doesn't seem to really harm the plant.
Not liking the look of the pollen the creature keeps spewing out or the strange thing its getting ready to do with its tendrils, Yekskya takes a step back to his bow and drops his greatsword. He bends down and picks his bow back up, then nocks an arrow and sends it flying into the plant.
After the zombie falls, Zag turns to face the strange plant, brandishing his falchion. He momentarily hesitates before quickly shaking it off and steps to the bizarre creature, lashing out with the sword while grunting a command to Shiv to flank and strike again.
Shiv Bite:
Damage:
Zag Falchion:
Damage:
Wishing that I would have given in to the calling of my elven blood and obtained a decent longsword, I am cursing under my breath as I try to make the best of the situation and continue cutting into the plant with my shortsword. "Shoulda is too late, Cat. But pick up a longsword as soon as you can. This pigsticker can only do so much. And precision striking is all nice and good if you have opponents that feel it. But some brute slashing is called for at times too. Like now. Ah well, nothing I can do to change it now, but try and kill this thing as soon as we can."
Moving and dodging the tendrils, I stab and slash at the plant.
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Round 4
With the zombies down, Zaghigoth leaps forward with his falchion and buries the large blade in the stalk of the yellow plant. On the other side, Shiv lumbers forward and begins biting chunks out of the stock as well. Soon, the plant shivers and then collapses on the ground. Its tendrils lie still.
With the plant down, you give Grym a shake. His glazed eyes suddenly come into focus and the half-orc looks around, somewhat surprised to see that the battle is over.
With the threat averted, you have a quick scan of the area for anything important, but you don't see anything. Then, coming to a quick agreement, you continue trekking south through the jungle.
Grym rubs his face vigorously, trying to shake out some of the cobwebs from the plant's musk. He feels a little perturbed at what has happened but presses on regardless.
Trekking onward, I continuously scan my surroundings, looking for dangers in the form of beasts, monsters or dagerous terrain features.
Still, I sense Grym's unease about the effect the pollen had on him and patting the big guy on the shoulder, I try to cheer him up. "Relax, Grym. Don't worry about that damned plant-thingy. Not much you could do about that pollen stuff it shot at you. Hell, I'm not even sure I would have fared any better. And besides, we all have stuff to deal with. Look at me for example. Got elven blood flowing through my veins and not even carrying a longsword with me. It's the blade my elven relatives grow up with and I sure could have used it to much greater effect than that stupid short sword I'm wielding. As soon opportunity presents itself, I am going to pick up a longsword and learn to use it. Now, you just get yourself together and we press on."
Slowing my pace just a little to drop back to where Aerys is walking, I look at the warrior woman and an affectionate smile flashes over my face. "Nice going there, Aerys. Too bad that thing didn't have a brain anymore. That was one seriously impressive blow. Remind me not to get on your bad side when you're wielding a mace."
Grym shrugs and smiles weakly. "I didn't like not being in control," he admits before Cat heads back to speak to Aerys. He keeps his eyes open, looking for threats.
"Nor do I. You were brave to get right up next to that plant Grym. It was your blows that helped us defeat it."
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Aerys smiles back at Rowena. "Thanks. Think that's the first time I've used one, just seemed like the right thing to do. I'm used to facing challenges with my fists. You did well yourself. I'll be glad to have you all around the next time I run into one of those things."
Pressing on through the jungle, you eventually discover more of an established trail through the jungle, heading south-west. It definitely helps, and you are able to make your way more swiftly.
However, at three separate points during your trek, you are halted by either Grym or Cat. Carefully, they uncover a trip line across the path leading to a snare much like the one that caught Rowena earlier. Having seen them, you are easily able to step around them without triggering the traps. Well-used trails, indeed.
At the end of the day, as you are starting to think about stopping to make camp, you notice something odd. A path branches off of the main trail, heading west. It appears to have been carefully camouflaged using the surrounding vegetation, so as to make it difficult to see from the main trail, but you were able to spot it with your keen eyes.
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Aerys perception
Grym perception
Rowena perception
Yeks perception
Zag perception
Yekskya quietly thanks Grym and Cat each time the save the group from getting dragged up into the treetops. When we finally reach the hidden trail he asks, "Hmm, so the road more or less traveled? Suppose that leads toward the cannibal camp or someplace else? I'd suggest we go that way...but carefully."
"Hidden paths reveal more, I say. The masking of this trail was no work of natural growth. This was done with purpose. These native peoples' doing, so I say; they have shown their knack for using the plants here. If this leads to their main camp, we may find ourselves the lesser pack by numbers. Perhaps we should send Grym or Cat ahead to stalk and scout and see."
Grym rubs his chin. The hidden trail could indeed offer more information and perhaps lead to a permanent base.
"I think we should take the hidden trail, the others are correct in that this is no natural work. Someone has gone to great trouble to hide their tracks." Grym unslings his shortbow and nocks an arrow.
"Cat, shall we head down the trail and see what we find? The rest of you should probably camp just off the trail to avoid anyone coming down the path proper," he says indicating towards the tree line.
"That sounds like a plan. I'll see if I can help hide us all when we get off the trail."
Nodding at the half-orc ranger, I grin as I drop my pack. "Right Grym. Let's go see what the bastard squad can find."
Winking at Aerys, I turn away towards the hidden trail and start making my way down along the path.
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Stealthily, warily, Rowena and Grym creep down the hidden trail. The rest of you try to find a sheltered area to make camp away from prying eyes. As the two scouts make their way down the trail, you are conscious of every sound: birds screeching, insects cricking, the breeze blowing the top branches of the trees, and you are aware of just how loud the jungle is. You examine the trail closely, and you can see that the tracks are old. In fact, it looks like someone, perhaps with boots, took the trouble of trying to hide the trail, but that later several barefooted people, humans probably, went back and forth here. However all of the tracks seem old.
At the end of the trail, the overgrown jungle path leads to a small clearing where a partially collapsed hut stands on the banks of a gurgling stream. The hut itself seems to have been made from a combination of driftwood and tree trunks, with a roof of wide leaves and strips of rotten canvas sail. The front door to the hut hangs partially ajar. Dozens of bones and skulls - quite obviously of human origin - decorate the hut and the surrounding area, each bearing numerous nicks and scratches.
Yekskya continues to hide in the jungle near the path, listening to a slightly different but similar chorus of birds, insects and breeze and hoping Rowena and Grym don't run into too much on their own.
Grym holds out his clenched fist as the hut comes into view, wary of the bones that decorate the area. Although the trail was old, that doesn't mean that the hut isn't lived in.
"We should search the area," Grym whispers, indicating towards the surrounding foliage, "If the area is safe, this could be a good camp for the night."
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Grym and Rowena scout the area around the secluded hut. Oddly enough, thouh the hut seems be quite old and not lived in for some time, the outside of the structure has been repaired more recently - you think several months ago, about the same time the last tracks on the trail were made. The skulls and bones seem to have been added over time, with the most recent by the door being added when the hut was last repaired.
Searching inside, you find few fragments left to mark it as a dwelling place - bits of an old chair carved from a tree stump, fragments of fabric, and rusted bits of metal. However, your search reveals a thin, leather-bound journal wedged into a sheltered niche. While the journal was quite well made, the years have not been kind to its contents, and you can only make out fragments of writing.
Apart from that, it seems quiet here, and certainly secluded. It could indeed make a good site for a camp.
"Could be used as a camp site, but I think the others may have some objections to the decoration. To be honest, they even creep me out a little." After reading what's left of the journal, I put down the remnants and look up at Grym. "Looks like there was a power struggle between two surviving parties of a ship wreck. And from the looks of this cabin, the one that remained of the losers in the end really lost. Bigtime. Let's go get the others, and see what they think about staying here."
Grym quickly scans the journal after Cat finishes with it and nods slowly.
"Yes, I think you're right. 'Thrune', isn't that the Royal House of Cheliax? I remember some of the crew mentioning something of a Chelish expedition to these islands in the past. Sounds like they went crazy. Immortality? Madness," Grym discards the journal again.
"Regardless, this is the only structure that we've seen that seems remotely safe to spend a few hours in. I agree that we should put it to the group to see if they would prefer to stay there. After all, we can discard the skulls into the undergrowth if it puts anyone off," Grym says, preparing to move back towards the group. As they leave the hut, he'll keep his eyes peeled and an arrow on his bowstring.
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Rowena and Grym retrace their steps, locating Aerys, Zaghigoth, and Yekskya where they find the others have begun setting up a camp for the night. As you slip through the jungle, Grym keeps eyes peeled for any danger, but you find none before you find the others. You explain what you've found, the hut, the journal remnants, the bones.
By now, having hiked all day, the sun has gone down and light is rapidly fading. The sounds of the jungle change, as creatures active during the day settle in for the night and nocturnal creatures rouse themselves.
"A hut you say. Sounds like interesting decorator. I think that would be a better place to spend the night than here in the jungle. Let's go."
"Agreed," Grym replies, waiting for the others to move towards the hut.
"Hmm, I will keep guard and sleep outside, I say. I much prefer the earth and plants and open air. Was there any sign of recent living?"
"From what we could estimate, the hut itself has not been lived in recently. But..., we did get the impression that the outside of the hut has seen recent repairs. Maybe a few months or so ago. No guarantees that whoever did the repairing wouldn't come back tonight, but even if so, with all of us together, I think we'd be kinda safe there for a while."
"Of course, whoever it was may have wound up in the cannibal's pot recently too."
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With the return of Rowena and Grym, you move your makeshift camp over to the empty hut. Despite the eerie surroundings, the shelter means that you have gotten a pretty good rest, the best so far on the island. Even Zaghigoth, who has spent the night outside, wakes up feeling more refreshed, despite horrible nightmares of undead rising from the sea and strange flying creatures swooping down from the mountaintops.
You quickly move on, following a ways on the main trail. As you move deeper into the interior of the island, you are careful, with Grym and Rowena looking out for traps as before. Still, Zaghigoth manages to step in a snare, and the half-orc is surprised as the woven vine cord tightens around his leg and whips him into the air. Sailing up 10 feet off the ground or so, the druid is impaled on a sharpened stick tied up in a tree.
After that incident, you are more alert for hidden snares on the trail, and with Grym and Rowena's help you are able to spot two more and easily avoid them.
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Grym perception
Rowena perception
trap CMB
trap attack 1
damage
trap attack 2
Grym perception
Rowena perception
Grym perception
Rowena perception
"With all of the protections they have on this trail sooner or later we're going to run into some guards. I think we should gt to within an hour or so of that smoke and then move into the jungle to go the rest of the way."
"Aye," Grym agrees, "I'm surprised we've not seen any yet. Even moving through the jungle we'll need to remain alert. We're on their hunting grounds so they'll have the edge on us."
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The Thrunefang Camp
You trek through the jungle, following the hunting trails that seem to lead southwest across the island. It's humid, and you are soon drenched with sweat as you pick your way along, attracting swarms of biting insects. After a few hours walking, stopping briefly at a few points to gather some food, you find that the path leads to the sea. By your reckoning, you must be on the western edge of Smuggler's Shiv, not far from where you saw the smoke rising. You move off the path and start bushwhacking through the jungle.
Before long, you come across signs of habitation, a cluster of several large wooden huts with palm-frond roofs arranged in a small clearing. They stand in the shadow of a large stone lighthouse, which doesn't look quite finished at the top. It seems fairly quiet, with a few men and women, dressed in similar fashion to the cannibals you've seen, going about their daily activities. They all seem heavily tattooed, and wear the same pendants as the others.
Updated map of Smuggler's Shiv [recent explorations marked in red.
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Rowena perception
Aerys stealth
Grym stealth
Rowena stealth
Yekskya stealth
Zaghigoth stealth
Shiv stealth
perception