"Is there a connection between these elemental cults and Mirabar? Judging by the fact that they all show only either wounds from arrows or some blunt impact, and that they all have been buried together, whatever they were fighting, they were fighting as allies", Kenna muses, mostly to herself but loud enough for the others to hear it. She then turns directly to the group: "We should see if we can find tracks."
Keaton shrugs his shoulders with an open palm hand gesture.
I was told he was a scholar?
Keaton will conjure a small overly ornate bejeweled shovel wrapped with a soft grip. He will assist with uncovering the bodies, though he seems to get in the way more than actually be helpful. He is notoriously lazy and being pushed to work one could imagine this is the best someone could get out of him for a physical task.
Hey do ya think this dwarf we think was a blacksmith could be a fire... fire related... fire cult... guy? Maybe the Mirbar lady is a water one...? Maybe they have tattoos or something.
Keaton will do his best to not harm the corpses while he exposes them looking for tattoos or something that shows the elemental symbols.
Looking over the wounds of the victims once again and the confusing tracks in the area showing obvious signs of combat the group tries to piece together further what might have happened. The dwarf and the man that had the 'Earth' symbol were killed by black feathered arrows that match the feathers on the man's white robes with the feather shoulders with the symbol of 'air'. While the woman wearing the Mirabar surcoat with the symbol of the black axe and the man with the 'air' symbol was killed by crushing blows of probably a maul or other heavy blunt weapon. It was as if the two elemental groups were fighting each other and maybe the dwarf and soldier woman just happened to be among them for some reason. But why would they be buried together? Where were they headed? and what were they doing out here in the first place?
Looking for tracks that leave the area it is really hard to determine with all the footprints in the area, obviously it was a pretty decent sized force of whomever that headed off northeast but over the rough terrain the tracks don't go far before it is too hard to keep up with them any longer, almost as if they disappear entirely.
Making camp for the night everyone takes there assigned watch hours and no fire is lit so the night does not go comfortably and the chilly air is quite unpleasant. During the second watch of the night while Kenna and Ember are awake and on watch there keen eyes spot a large contingent of men carrying torches headed in there direction from the south and the direction of Cairn Road. There has to be over a dozen at least and very faintly on the breeze you believe you can almost here them singing? listening closer you can make out a few words "Shiver My Timbers, shiver My Soul, Yo Ho He Ho, There are men whos hearts as black as coal, And they sailed there ship across the ocean blue, A Blood thirsty captain and a cut throat crew. Its a darker tale as was ever told, Of a lust for treasure and a love of gold..."
The group of men would soon be upon the site in about fifteen minutes, Kenna and Ember quickly wake the others.
The shepherd ask "What are we going to do? There are too many of them. What do they want?"
They do not match the description of the delegates that you were give, but the female human warrior dressed in a red surcoat with a black axe definately looks to have been a guard with the group seeing how her armor and clothing matches that of the Mirabar army. Searching the bodies in secret turns up no further clues or signs of the message.
"Perhaps we should hide and see if they pass."
Hearing the sounds of old pirate songs Keaton gets very angry. He speaks in a very serious tone, abandoning the cheerfulness that usually drowns out his silliness, for those who know him it is scary.
Pirates. I hate pirates. No we leave them no plunder. Keanna move your ass and cart away from here take one corpse, Molok gather the rest of the corpses, I have work to do.
Keaton begins casting Keaton's Fabulous More-er Improve-id and Better-er Floating Disk as a ritual.
The shepherd ask Keaton "Won't they be able to follow us? That cart is going to leave a easy trail. Plus I don't have the ability to see in the dark so I don't even know what direction we should go in? We can't head back toward the road that is where they are coming from. Where do we go?" he says now in a full blown panic.
Keaton continues casting his spell, it was clear that he was choosing not to listen to the boy.
Narnel aids Kenna in getting the ass and cart on their way. He readies himself to head off with her.
Ember puts a hand on Larmon's shoulder. " Relax, these sailors will probably just pass by. Follow Narnel and Kenna, everything will be alright. "
She watches Keaton cast the now familiar ritual, wondering what he plans to do with the magic disc while also keep INT an eye on the approaching men.
Molok remains with the wizard as he casts his spell.
As the men get closer the wagon and the group head over a small rise to the north and Keaton gets his ritual completed just in time to scamper over the rise before the men are upon the grave site. Watching from the top of the rise the group can now see that there are a fourteen men in the group. As they look over the empty holes in the earth and sniff the decaying scent that is still in the air. Eleven of the men set up a parimeter around the site after being ordered to do so from what appears to be the leader. This gives the group a chance to better see all the members....
The eleven members that have fanned out carry shields made of giant crab shells, and the blades of their swords are lined with shark’s teeth.
Picture of them.
There are another two men that are investigating the holes in the earth. They are much larger men and have a greenish blue tint to their skin with a strange mix of tattoos upon them.
Picture of them.
Then their is what appears to be the groups leader. A human in full flowing skirt that look to be made of seaweed that bear the alchemical sign for water upon its vestments. His bare chest looks to have barnacles attached and carries a makeshift staff that serves as a torch, seashells and conch shells adorn his belt. The leader seems more concerned with the spire in the distance and you can hear him speak to the greenish blue men at the graves "We are too close to the windy ones. They are temperamental and may consider this close of an approach to be a threat."
Picture of Leader.
The greenish tinted men confirm to the leader that the holes are freshly uncovered graves and that the bodies have been removed recently, another of the eleven come and report wagon tracks that lead off to the north which are fresh and ask if they should follow them to see what treasures they might lead to.
After a few moments the leader looks back toward the tower and then back to the greenish men. "We are too close. We risk conflict that is not needed or would not do our cause any justice. We must learn to work together. We must return to the road and setup the ambush of the caravan like we were ordered. Grimjaw would be highly upset if we did not follow his orders. We must return to the camp, do our jobs and flow over our enemies like a crushing wave. Most of you are due back at Riverguard Keep within the next few days. Once you escort me back to the ambush site then you can be on your way back to Riverguard."
The group then prepares to leave the area back the way they came.
Well it seems the spire in the distance must house the Wind Cultists, and this Riverguard Keep houses the Water Cultists, who possibly attacked the delegation because they seek to waylay yet another caravan.
We can follow their tracks to the ambush spot and ambush the ambush. And we can wait until the ones that are leaving are a bit down the road so we fight a thinner crowd. Hopefully the ones that leave will return after they hear the noise and we have already killed all their friends, then we can kill them.
Keaton pauses, makes a forgetful face and addresses Molok.
Those things are pirates. They are OK to kill. They are not like people. or evil wizards, they are worst-er. If ever you have a chance to kill a pirate do not lose the opportunity! They are vile.
Talking back to the group.
It will be most pleasing to murder every one of those pirates. It will sadden my heart that we must provide them with a fast death and not the long drawn out torture they deserve for their crimes. And before anyone gets all high and mighty all of them are guilty even if just by association and must be dealt with using complete lethal-ity-ness.
Larmon the shepherd speaks up "Well I most certainly did not sign up to follow no.... pirates as it were. I agreed to lead you here to the graves. I would like to return to Red Larch as soon as possible, given it is best to travel during the day and not in the middle of the night."
His voice is obviously nervous and laced with quite a bit of fear.
Molok looks down at Keaton and simply shakes his head.
Ember shakes her head at Keaton's manner as well, I'll have to remember to talk to him about this pirate thing once we're all safe back at town...
" I'm sorry Larmon, but we can't just let these men ambush a caravan. You can stay here and look after the donkey and cart, wait for us and we'll come and get you once we've dealt with this. "
"Land pirates. I've never even heard of those before. I agree, we shouldn't allow this to happen."
With the quick voting done the group had decided to break camp and follow the pirates, it was still plenty dark and following their torchlight from a distance would be easy enough to do, however when light came that would be another decision. The Shepherd refused to stay here with the bodies and the cart so he came along as well "Under protest" he noted as they broke out after the group of men.
The first thing Keaton realized was that following the men would not allow the continued recasting of his disk so everyone would have to walk and he did not want to ride in the wagon with the smelly dead bodies.
So they followed...... heading back down toward the Cairn Road by the time light came they were almost to the road out of the foothills from their position still up in the edge of the hills they could see the group of men turn south on the main road and head toward Wormford still keeping a study pace. Hopefully they would have to rest soon as everyone was on edge from not having a complete nights sleep.
At this point the group would have to make a decision again, to follow the men during the day would mean they would have to get closer and risk detection to keep the men in sight or they could just follow at a distance without seeing them and keep a good watch for their ambush somewhere along the road.
If the group chooses to follow closely then everyone needs to give me a stealth roll at advantage (due to the lack of sleep of the men) to keep out of sight, if you follow at a distance at a slower pace to keep a good eye out for an ambush site then no stealth would be needed and you would have advantage on perception checks to spot anything out of the ordinary but risk loosing the group if they turned off somewhere.
What do you do?
I suggest that we continue to follow at a distance. I am fairly confident we will not lose them. I do not have much faith in a pressed pursuit. Some amongst us cannot keep so silent.
"I agree, it's safer and I can pick up their trail, should we lose them."
Current Battlemap Link: Road Encounter Battlemap
Being now daylight and being back to the main road the shepherd Lamon bids his farewell to the group and heads back north toward Red Larch as the rest of the group head south on Cairn Road keeping a good distance back from the group they followed, keeping their pace slow but study so they could keep a watchful eye out for any ambush sites or where the group of men may have left the road.
The group had tracked the water cultist all of the morning and it was about midday when the ground began to shake and tremble around them, then suddenly in front of them just off the road a strange creature burst forth from the ground. It resembled an enormous many-legged insect, its long antennae twitching in response to any movement around it. Its legs end in sharp hooks adapted for burrowing and grasping its prey, and its powerful mandibles could snap a small tree in half. It's antennae twitched around in your direction as it looked at the group as its next food source.
Round 1 Initiative
Kenna
Keaton
Molok
Creature
Narnel
Ember
Names in have already gone this round.
Names with a * have already posted their action and I am waiting on players ahead of them to post before processing their actions.
Battlemap is active at the top of the post, please use grid coordinates.
Kenna, Keaton and Molok are up first.
None
None
Seeing the monstrous insectile creature, Kenna tries to remember if she had ever seen or heard of such a creature.
She starts running forward as her body begins to change, limbs extending, coarse fur growing as she assumes her lycanthropic shape, this one similar in size but slimmer, more agile looking than her previous form, and continues to race toward the creature, slamming into it with sharp claws.
Wild shaping into Pack Werewolf (Lion) form. With 50 ft. move I should be able to reach it this round and attack.
Move to OP/10 11
If hit, the monster has to succeed a DC 12 Strength save or be knocked prone. But I don't get the bonus attack because I used my bonus action to wildshape.
Molok moves forward to confront the beast, tossing a javelin at the monster as he closes.
Move to R-14
Attack-ranged:
Damage:
To the shepherd before he leaves.
Ah good, tell the others to mind this road for bandits. And tell the sheriff we are in hot pursuit!
Seeing the monster appear in the road like that was truly amazing to Keaton. It was ashame that the monster wanted to eat him, he would of liked to study it for some time. But he would be no meal today! Not with scummy pirates on the loose!
move to P 18
Shoot a ray of frost at the monster.
If hit, its movement is reduced by 10 feet
Current Battlemap Link: Road Encounter Battlemap
Kenna tried to recall any information about the creature she may have knew but she couldn't recall ever seeing anything like this. This giant insect was something totally new to her. She then starts running forward as her body begins to change, limbs extending, coarse fur growing as she assumes her lycanthropic shape, this one similar in size but slimmer, more agile looking than her previous form, and continues to race toward the creature, slamming into it with sharp claws, ripping the creature's hide.
Keaton unleashed a blueish cold ray at the creature but it moved out of the way just in the nick of time avoiding the attack.
Molok moves forward to confront the beast, tossing a javelin at the monster as he closes. The javelin piercing the creatures side slightly.
The creature let out a series of chips and chirps as it was under the barrage of attacks. Antennae still swirling wildly seeking out its prey. It shifted left in front of the Pack Werewolf to put both her and Molok in a line together in front of it. It then opened its mandibles and a line of acid sprayed across the Pack Werewolf as well as Molok. Their skinned hissed and burned as the acid sprayed across them.
Round 1 Initiative
Narnel
Ember
Names in have already gone this round.
Names with a * have already posted their action and I am waiting on players ahead of them to post before processing their actions.
Battlemap is active at the top of the post, please use grid coordinates.
Narnel and Ember are up next. Followed by Kenna, Keaton and Molok.
Creature takes 7 hitpoints of slashing damage from Pack Werewolf's claws.
Creature takes 4 hitpoints of piercing damage from Molok's javelin.
Creature has taken a total of 11 hitpoints of damage.
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Pack Werewolf takes 9 hitpoints of acid damage from Creature's Acid Spray.
Pack Werewolf has 17 of 26 hitpoints remaining.
Molok takes 9 hitpoints of acid damage from Creature's Acid Spray.
Molok has 19 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Creature has taken a total of 11 hitpoints of damage.
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Pack Werewolf has 17 of 26 hitpoints remaining.
Molok has 19 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Ember charges forward conjuring flame in her palm and hurling it at the insectile beast.
Narnel moves forward and splays his fingers with his hands extended before him as if he is pushing something at the creature.
Move to N14.
Ember has put her rope and bedroll on the cart so she isn't as weighed down anymore...
Kenna shifts around the creature and snaps her fanged jaws at it.
After being sprayed with the creatures acid-like spittle, Molok dashes towards the beast and hacks at it with his great sword.
Dash to 7-P
use action surge to attack as bonus action.
Attack-melee:
Damage: re-roll 1 = 8 damage
Stay still critter bug!
Keaton yelled after his first ray missed. Then took another shot.
Speed reduced by 10 feet
Current Battlemap Link: Road Encounter Battlemap
Narnel moves forward and splays his fingers with his hands extended before him as if he is pushing something at the creature. A rush of air suddenly hits the creature like a mighty fist but the creature holds its ground as it is pummeled.
Ember charges forward conjuring flame in her palm and hurling it at the insectile beast. The flame ghoes wide left and misses the creature as it hits the fround and disapates harmlessly.
The Pack Werewolf shifts around the creature and snaps her fanged jaws at it. Biting into its hard shell with her fangs, tearing away the white flesh of the creature underneath.
Keaton aimed another cold blue ray at the creature and this time he did not miss his mark as cold spread across one of the creatures legs.
Molok dashed around the Pack Werewolf, coming to bare arms on the far side of the creature, pulling from his strength reserves the stone man raised his greatsword and leaped into the air bringing it down upon the creature's back. Bones and shell broke, the creature wobbled but did not go down.
Hurt, near death and slowed by the cold magic the creature knew it could not escape, using only its instincts now to fight for survival it lashed out with its mandibles at the stone man who had hurt it. It's attach was futile in its injured condition as Molok easily avoided the flailing jaws.
Round 2 Initiative
Narnel
Ember
Names in have already gone this round.
Names with a * have already posted their action and I am waiting on players ahead of them to post before processing their actions.
Battlemap is active at the top of the post, please use grid coordinates.
Narnel and Ember are up next. Followed by Kenna, Keaton and Molok.
Creature takes 7 bludgeoning damage from Narnel's Fist of Unbroken Air.
Creature takes 7 piercing damage from Pack Werewolf's bite.
Creature takes 3 cold damage from Keaton's Ray of Frost.
Creature takes 8 slashing damage from Molok's greatsword.
Creature has taken a total of 36 hitpoints of damage.
Narnel used 2 Ki Points (1 of 3 remaining)
Creature has taken a total of 36 hitpoints of damage.
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Pack Werewolf has 17 of 26 hitpoints remaining.
Molok has 19 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Narnel used 2 Ki Points (1 of 3 remaining)
Narnel moves quickly down the road an swings mightily with an overhand blow of his Staff, as he simultaneously attempts a roundhouse kick on the follow-through.
" Protegat nos lumen Lathander " Ember chants holding her symbol out towards the creature. A bolt of pure white light lances towards this beast
If the bolt hits then the creature sparkles with dim light giving advantage to the next attack roll against the target before the end of my next turn.
Narnel moves toward the creature and uses his staff to jab into its eye socket killing the creature dead.
We are out of combat and the battlemap is no longer in use.
Please add a section on your sheet to track your experience. Your current experience point level should be 900 before this encounter.
Each player gains 90 experience points from this encounter, so everyone's total should no be 990.
You need 2700 to get to 4th level.
Creature takes 11 bludgeoning damage from Narnel's staff.
Creature has taken a total of 47 hitpoints of damage.
Creature is dead.
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Pack Werewolf has 17 of 26 hitpoints remaining.
Molok has 19 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Narnel used 2 Ki Points (1 of 3 remaining)
Narnel cleans the end of his staff from the goo and brains of the giant insect where it penetrated the eye.
Come, let's get back on the trail of these pirates.
Narnel returns to his point position.
Keaton falls back into line ready to keep moving.
As the group quickly falls back into their marching order they continued down the road following after the direction that the cultist went. They traveled for the rest of the day and the sun was setting on the horizon. Just when the group thought that the cultist would never stop to rest or camp they saw campfire light just ahead off the road to the north. They ventured close as they dared get without risking detection and Keaton used Lemmy to fly up over the camp while he closed his eyes and shared the hawk's sight for a moment before recalling the familiar to him once again....
A small, carefully banked cooking fire smolders in the middle of this haphazard encampment. Half a dozen battered old tents and crates of provisions are scattered around, along with racks on which pieces of smoked fish are curing. Several fierce-looking human warriors are hunkered down in front of their tents, tending to their gear or quietly conversing. Comparing what you see in the camp to the group you had seen in the hills you note that the man that looked to be in charge was in the camp but only two of the men with the sharktooth longswords are present with him and there is no sign of the pair of bluish green skinned men that you had seen earlier. Along with the leader and what is apparently his pair of personal guard are five men that look like typical ruffians much like you encountered off the road outside of Red Larch after you had gotten there. In fact by the looks of them they could have been part of that same group.
So accessing the situation there was 1 leader, 2 guards and 5 bandits for a total of 8 men they could see in the camp at the moment. Hopefully the tents were empty.
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Molok has 19 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Narnel used 2 Ki Points (1 of 3 remaining)
After Keaton tells of the vision of the campsite through the bird, Narnel ponders the layout of the camp.
I think we can take them with a stealthy assault from multiple angles. Thoughts?
" Well, a stealthy approach would give us an advantage, if we can pull it off... I'll do my best. " Ember replies moving over to Molok. " Before we get into another fight though let me do something about you wound Molok. "
" Mane Domino mutabunt cura haec vulnera vitae "
Molok smiles as Ember heals some of the acid-pocks that cover his arms and chest.
"My thanks Ember! I did not wish to deplete your power before our attack, but I am grateful! As to a silent approach, I will do my best, but stealth is not an area that I excel in....sorry"
Keaton returns to his mission driven emotionally cold attitude.
I am ready to invade the ambush camp. I plan to try and use my sleeping magic on them. If a pirate drops his weapon and begins exercising leave him alone, I own his mind.
Keaton will also sneak up with the group. He will cast the sleep spell on as many low level guys as he can using a 2nd level spell slot.
He then plans to cast suggestion the following round. Making the person exercise to show they are under his control. "Drop your weapon, and do continuous jumping jacks for eight hours."
Sleep
1st Level Spell
Enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: 1 minute
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S, M
This spell sends creatures into a magical slumber. Roll 5d8; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can affect. Creatures within 20 feet of a point you choose within range are affected in ascending order of their current hit points (ignoring unconscious creatures).
Starting with the creature that has the lowest current hit points, each creature affected by this spell falls unconscious until the spell ends, the sleeper takes damage, or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake. Subtract each creature’s hit points from the total before moving on to the creature with the next lowest hit points. A creature’s hit points must be equal to or less than the remaining total for that creature to be affected. Undead and creatures immune to being charmed aren’t affected by this spell.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, roll an additional 2d8 for each slot level above 1st.
Material Component: A pinch of fine sand, rose petals, or a cricket.
Ember nods to Keaton, " Right, sounds like a good plan. Let's get this underway. Everyone spread out a little as we approach. "
Ember readies her shield and with a hand hovering next to one of her axes starts moving slowly towards the camp.
Kenna nods toward Keaton, transforms once more into a beast form, very similar to the pack werewolf, but even more vicious, and begins to prowl into position.
Narnel grabs his staff with both hands and moves into position, quietly.
Molok also nods his agreement to the plan. Readying his sword, he attempts to move quietly into position.
Stealth:
Stealth (adv.):
All business, Keaton spreads out from the others as directed and sneaks in.
Current Battlemap: Reaver Ambush Map
As the group of heroes moved into hidden positions around the cultist camp they took a quick note of their opponents equipment and defenses. The leader was wearing a chain shirt made from hardened sea shells and had a quarterstaff with a large conch shell on the end of it. His personal guard wore no armor other than shields made of giant crab shells, longswords fitted with sharkteeth and they carried a array of sharpened sticks in a quiver on their backs. The other ruffians around the camp wore leather armor and carried light crossbows on their backs along with a scimitar at their sides.
Once everyone was in position the group was ready to strike.
Round 1 Initiative
Narnel (Hidden)
Kenna (Hidden)
Ember (Hidden)
Molok (Hidden)
Keaton (Hidden)
- Suprised Opponents will not act during the first round of combat.
- All party members are currently hidden and the enemy does not know your position. Once you move or attack then you will loose this status. If you attack from your current position before moving then you will have advantage in the first round.
- Names in have already gone this round.
- Names with a * have already posted actions for this round and they will be processed as they come up in initiative.
Good Luck, Everyone post up your round one actions.
[/ooc]
[spoiler=Active Effects]
Kenna used wildshape (Pack Werewolf (Lion)) (1 of 2 remaining.)
Molok has 23 of 28 hitpoints remaining.
Narnel used 2 Ki Points (1 of 3 remaining)
Continues to hold until there is a cluster of 2 or 3.