Lord Vincent, seeing the creature dead immediately runs over to it, first stopping to put a hand on Durin's shoulder.
"It's over, you killed it." he says to the dwarf before lifting his blade and cutting the beast in two. "Grab the other half, if we can bath our two comrades in this blood, it can cure their ailment." as he says this he drags one of the halfs over to the nearest as fast as he can to try and bath them in it's blood.
At Vincent's touch, Durin peeks one eye open cautiously. Seeing the basilisk in ruin upon the ground, he pops his other eye open and surveys his handiwork for just a moment before Vincent's words spur him into action. Durin grabs the other half of the downed beast by a leg and drags it over to where his comrades stand motionless...
How much blood does it take Marcus? Do we have enough for both?!
Aye Vincent has the right of it but we must be quick and careful. We don't have long and we need to coat them completely.
Kiri fetch me that cooking pot, we'll use it to transfer the blood!
Turning to Durin, the wizard pauses to think before answering his question.
I just don't know. We should have enough for one. Two? I'm saving a prayer to Muir.
Marcus works feverishly with Vincent and the others to apply the blood, seemingly uncaring for once of the messiness.
Within half an hour; the grisly task was complete; and two gore & blood drenched statues slowly began to take on features of life once more. The stone seemed to dissolve into nothingness as Barak and Arachiel gasped in relief and shock at their fates; as well as the rather distasteful smell and feel of being drenched in blood. Nevertheless, they both seemed no worse for wear, at least physically.
The wind of the Desolation seemed to be picking up speed as the late evening was gradually transitioning into night...
"Glad to see you both back with us," Khun-duhn growls to Arachiel and Barak once the two return to living flesh. "We should probably find a safer campsite if possible. I'd rather get out of this muck."
The stone melts off Barak and his flesh begins to show under the gore there are an agonising couple of minutes where Barak doesn’t seem to move or breathe. Finally with a huge exhalation the first breath of life escapes from Barak’s lips. Barak stumbles and drops his crossbow, over compensating for his lack of balance he falls the opposite way to his knees. Eyes wide with shock he looks around at his location and proceeds to vomit into the mud below him.
Falling to all fours weeping and shaking uncontrollably he reverts out of instinct to his native tongue.
Barak pauses his speech and looks down at the foul blood and viscera coating his body and clothes. The smell seems to rekindle his nausea and he vomits again.
Rising now to his feet he walks over to Marcus and says “T-t-thank y-y-you for saving me...” offering his hand still shaking. But before anyone can react Baraks knees buckle and he falls grasping at Marcus’s robes sobbing clearly confused and in mental torment.
Marcus kneels in the mud beside the stricken dwarf, blood and muck and the basilisk's acidic viscera covering everything.
Its alright, everything is going to be alright. He moves to put a hand on the dwarf's head but not quite sure how that might affect his dwarven pride settles for an awkward pat on the shoulder instead.
Heavens what we would have done if we didn't have enough blood for both? Who would I have voted to save?
Ritually, the wizard starts the first of perhaps a score of cleaning cantrips.
Well the one good thing about fighting a basilisk is that there shouldn't be anything else too close to its lair. Maybe if we can work our way further into the chasm it will be drier?
Durin watches sympathetically, and truth be told a little uncomfortably, as Barak struggles with his return to life.
He offers a few words in dwarven to his stricken friend...
Before stating confidently to the sky as he helps Barak to his feet, Barak returns! And woe to those that should attempt to send him back to the beyond!
At Marcus' suggestion Durin grumbles, Protecting these damn horses has already gotten us into trouble! Do we wish to tempt the fates again so soon? We know this area and the bit behind us is clear, at least for now. Durin gestures further down the chasm. We don't know what awaits us down there. There could be more of these critters down there for all we know. The horses aren't worth the lives potentially lost...
I was thinking a few stone throws but aye I've no counter-argument. The safest thing to do is camp right here.
Kiri can watch as normal and she at least can look at the things.
Having helped with pulling the bloody carcass to Arachiel and dousing him with the blood, Zanzu clucks with disappointment and looks towards Durin. "Leave some excitement for us" the tengu says as he ruffles his feathers, removing the stinking dripping liquid of life.
"Now let's start a fire and eat some grub. At least we have some fresh meat. Barak, is it safe to replenish us? You know, if this was it's liar, where are its other statues?"
"If you believe it's safe we can, but i don't recall too much about this creature. There won't be a second for a mating pair will there?" Vincent asks curiously as he gazes around a little worried.
"Now let's start a fire and eat some grub. At least we have some fresh meat. Barak, is it safe to replenish us? You know, if this was it's liar, where are its other statues?"
I'll think you'll find they become its dinner, Marcus begins drily before apparently realising Barak and Arachiel may not find the half-jape very amusing.
Perhaps you would have gotten in on the excitement if you hadn't taken the time to tie your headband too low! Durin teases Zanzu.
Whatever we are doing, lets get to doing it. I am famished and tired...
As he looks around, Zanzu jokes, "I don't like to look at what I'm about to eat, especially when it's alive. Anyway Durin, if I'd known you were that hungry dwarf, I'd have warned that thing to start running...." He clucks joyously as he searches around.
Upon hearing Durin's words Barak regains a measure of composure. Standing Barak straightens his armour and clasps Marcus by the arm and clearing his voice says “Thank You.” Barak then turns to Durin and offers his hand ”Thank you to, your right of course we all need to work together whist out here there is no time to dwell on what has happened or what might have been from now on I will endeavour to focus on the here and now.” Barak gestures to the assembly ”Out here in this forsaken place I am glad to have true friends whom I may count on to keep one another safe regardless of the opposition. You all have my greatest thanks.”
Retrieving his gear and horse Barak sets about the task in hand. At the question of eating the thing Barak pales again. ”I...I wouldn’t eat it If I were you. At least not without being purified.” Barak looks to the floor. ”It came from that direction probably is where its lair is."
AR
K-D
CB to follow...
The group decided that to venture further into the rift would likely be folly and set up a Rope Trick against the southern wall of the chasm. Concerned about the safety of the horses, the group agreed to a rotating watch pattern, with one sentry just outside the rope trick while the rest slept inside the extra-dimensional space. It was Khun-Duhn's turn to keep watch, a few hours into the rest, when suddenly, the toxic, moisture-laden clouds of the Boiling Lands suddenly began to rain down upon him and the two horses in a localised downpour of acid. While the acid rain itself could be potentially lethal if it was left to pour on the horses unchecked, perhaps a larger concern was the panicked, awoken horses pulling on the slowly melting rope they were tied with. In addition, Barak's saddlebags and Arachiel's saddle were also clearly at risk...
Khun-duhn calls loudly toward the location of the extradimensional space in which his companions rest as he moves to calm the panicked beasts, gripping their bridles in an attempt to keep them from bolting.
Zanzu wakes with a start as hears the sounds on horses braying and a shout. It takes the briefest of moments to realise that something is wrong. As he gets up he shouts back, "ON OUR WAY." as he kicks the snoring dwarves awake.
Barak is on his feet in moments, grabbing his crossbow and moving out of the rope trick. once out side he takes a quick assessment of the situation...
...And with a cool detachment shoots his horse through the skull.
as the beast drops Barak moves over the the dying creature and fires a bolt point blank into its brain killing it instantly. "I may not have liked the beast but I wont see it suffer." Barak unbuckles his saddle bags from the dead horse and throws them into the rope trick. but not before he grabs his tent canvas out and drapes it over Arachiel's mount.
covered Barak returns to his dead mount and removes his riding gear stowing this also inside the rope trick (Bit bridel etc.) "Zanzu. do you like horse meat?"
Working quickly Barak will attempt to cut some flesh from the dead animal for food. without getting too heavily burned by acid.
Moving quickly while Khun-Duhn held the horses, within half a minute Barak slew his own mount and protected Arachiel's with his tent cover, which seemed to calm it somewhat. With this done, the pair retreated into the Rope Trick to wait out the rain, although not before the three of them were badly burnt by acid...
The tent held out bravely and protected the horse against the remaining minute or so of the acid rain; but when the rain abated almost a minute and a half after ot started, the tent had been utterly ruined by the acid. However, Barak's saddlebags had been swiftly retrieved and had only a few singes on them; nothing some needle and thread or a Mending spell couldn't fix.
|
"Barak, thank you for your quick actions. As we continue to travel, you are welcome to ride Argos if you would like, having sacrificed your own mount to save mine."
Arachiel then does his best to heal those damaged by the acid rain, muttering to himself, "Mathias was always so much better at this sort of thing..."
A few more hours pass as the adventurer's tried to continue resting inside the extra-dimensional space. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Chaos Rift had other ideas. While taking his shift on watch, Barak spotted a creature shambling up from deeper inside the rift, spotting it with his Darkvision at sixty feet. Apparently initially, making for the horse the monster turned its attention on Barak instead, stood by the length of rope that led to the extra-dimensional space. The thing was about the size of a full-grown man; a horrific mass of barbed tentacles, glaring eyes and gnashing teeth; and its form twisted and shifted as it made its approach, the only consistent feature to its amorphous body a pair of vicious looking claws that it held out in a manner akin to a crab...
Round 1-
Ordered Initiative-
Rift Monster- 12
Barak- 6
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Slowed as much by the muck and bog of the Rift as any humanoid would be, the tentacled, ever-changing beast moved closer and closer to Barak, closing distance rapidly. Its mouth became a disgusting, fleshy mass with tiny teeth that seemed more cosmetic than actually dangerous- although it was truly disgusting.
Barak converses with Kiri making small talk to pass the time. Both Kiri and Barak spot the creature at the same time. ”Go, wake the others. Looks like I have a new dance partner.”
Barak plants his feet and unloads his crossbow at the quickly approaching thing.
Durin opens one eye as Zanzu rousts him from his slumber with a kick. I'd be careful, one us might come up swinging being laid into like that... Durin sits up as Barak springs into motion. As Durin slips his breastplate on and grabs his hammer he witnesses Barak put his mount down.
Durin mumbles to no one in particular, Weren't no place for a horse anyhow. Durin's gaze drifts over to the last remaining horse. Tis cruel to have even brought them out here...
Durin wakes to the sound of Barak's voice and the thrum of his repeating crossbow...
"Don't fear, I was always told never to get attached to a mount by my mentor. He said never let the beast suffer but if there is only a chance one of you will survive... remember horses cant deliver messages on their own. As for riding I track better on foot but I would be grateful if Argos could the other half of my gear."
After salvaging some meat from the dead horse Barak smothers the Carcass in mud to dissuade scavengers.
------------------
Kirilarien swiftly woke those inside the Rope Trick. Running headlong into a flurry of bolts, the monster seemed to bleed a black ichor from the three wounds as it shambled across the Rift floor. The wounds themselves were difficult to spot, constantly morphing along with the lightning-quick changes the beast itself was making. Dozens of claws and dangerous looking appendages appeared, each for a mere moment before another mutation rendered them moot.
Round 2-
Ordered Initiative-
Kirilarien- 26
Zanzu- 16
Lord Vincent- 16
Arachiel- 16
Khun-Duhn- 15
Marcus- 12
Rift Monster- 12
Durin- 9
Barak- 6
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Round 1
Having done her part to wake the group, Kiri flies out of the extra dimensional place, drawing one of her wands.
Pointing it at the odd creature she attempts to trigger its powers.
vs DC 20
From the red sparks that shoots from the wands tip and the curse that sounds distinctly odd in Celestial what results is not what she was hoping for.
Groggy and tired from the long day, the adventurers inside the Rope Trick reacted slowly to the attack. Assuring the spellcaster's that he, Barak, Kiri and Zanzu could handle it, Durin began to get up while the latter was faster on his feet; getting up and climbing down the rope swiftly.
The rift monster slowed as it approached Barak, its many shifting claws now an active threat in melee .
Un-phased by the creature looming over him Barak stands his ground, trusting in his ability to sway with the oncoming attacks, he casually shifts his grip on his weapon firing from the hip directly into the beasts gut.
Barak's first shot blasts into the gut of the thing dealing a heavy blow the next bolt however disintegrates in the breach showering the creature with harmless splinters.
with a speed honed through rigorous training Barrak slots another 5 shots into his crossbow, momentarily tapping the bottom to settle the bolts, he grins at the monster spitting into its face and slams the trigger, once more the bolt explodes into the wounded flesh of the creature.
Durin forgoes his armor and snatches up his hammer as he scrambles down the rope to assist Barak. Upon spying the weird creature, Durin begins to frenzy...
Khun-duhn finally rouses himself from sleep and casts a protective spell on himself.
Barak was surprised by the sheer agility of the monster and was caught by a claw despite his defensive efforts, the tendrils raking his forearm. As it did so, Barak felt his body tremble in a feeling completely alien to him; as though it wanted to collapse in on itself, to fold and fall into a mass of flesh, much akin to the monster before him. Resisting his shaking body's inclination, Barak fired three bolts point blank; and with two more sunk into its flesh, the ever-shifting creature fell apart in a gooey mass of gore and flesh; life extinguished, apparently lacking any real form without its will holding it together.
With the assailant dispatched (although Marcus expressed a desire to examine its remains in the morning), the group finally settled down, the rest of the night proving to be uneventful.
Sometime in the early morning of the group's third day in the Desolation, the adventurers began to stir inside the Extra-Dimensional space they occupied.
In the morning Zanzu is a little unsettled, "Definitely not a friendly place this. Let's be quick about breakfast and break camp." he encourages the others. His feather covered skin, flaps in the breeze, as he holds his arms out, hoping that just the wind would remove some of the dirt.
Durin slides down the rope just in time to see Barak down the latest interloper. With a sigh, Durin begins climbing back up into the extradimensional space. As he nears the top of the rope he grumbles to himself, I'm not sure why I even bother rushing out here...
Durin scans the surroundings at Zanzu's remark. Shrugging his shoulders he replies, Not surprising, it is exactly as described. Did you expect something different from a place named the Desolation?
Durin stuffs some sausage and cheese into his mouth and hefts his hammer. I'm ready... he mumbles through his mouth full of food.
A little under three hours passed as the group marched through the boggy mess that was the Boiling Lands, marching alongside the Chaos Rift as they went and noting that it was gradually getting deeper as it approached the depth of 20 feet as they reached the other end of the bridge. The tracks were old but Barak was still able to follow such a large trail of wagon, giants and humanoids with relative ease- the caravan had obviously continued north along the road.
A couple of hours later, the group were about halfway up the northern road when they came across the caravan; and the group began to examine the sorry state of affairs it had found itself in. The stench of death and the buzz of flies filled the air on the road ahead. Shattered wagons and slaughtered draft animals lie strewn like toys. The corpses of men and ogres are likewise tossed about like rag dolls. The ogres and humans do not appear to have died in battle with one another. Rather by the positioning of their corpses they seem to have fought side-by-side. All bear similar marks of tooth and claw and several bear horrible acid burns.
Durin cautiously approaches the scene before him. Do you think the acid burns are the result of a rain like last night? Or something... more... focused?
Durin tries to ascertain if the caravan or bodies have been looted of their valuables.
Whatever killed them apparently didn't do so to feed...
Durin cautiously approaches the scene before him. Do you think the acid burns are the result of a rain like last night? Or something... more... focused?
"Like a black dragon's breath?" Khun-duhn rumbles.
Yeah... like that. We know at least one was active in this area recently... Durin replies as he scans the area looking for evidence of a pattern that would indicate a strafing run... or a concentration of burn victims clustered together.
The various acid burns upon the victims were much smaller and more concentrated than you would expect from a dragon. In all, the 23 dead men and 8 dead ogres appear to have been dead for about a week. A lot of mundane equipment and simple weapons appear to have been left, but the wagon's crates have all been broken open and rifled through; thoroughly looted. Of the weapons that are still scattered around the field, nothing of quality is left.
Last Night
A tired Marcus is not completely out of his bedroll before Barak is able to dispatch the monster and the wizard is soon back to a sleep that is seemingly troubled by bad dreams.
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Morning
The wizard is quite fascinated by the creature's remains, studying them carefully.
This is not a natural creature. Its likely the product of wild magic, perhaps the same chaotic forces that shaped the rift in the first place. Where there is one there will be more I would say, they were probably immune to the basilisk's gaze.
-----------------------------------------
Travelling
Again on the back of his conjured mount, Marcus is somber as the group continue although he's clearly satisfied to again find the road.
I'm not sure from where the Patriarch procured our map but I'm extremely relieved to find that it seems accurate. Lets not deviate from our course but see here deeper into the Boilding Lands to our west? It looks like it might be a fortification of some kind a few hours from where we camped this morning. If it still exists it might make a decent temporary base for exploring the area it looks only a few hours from Tsar itself.
The wizard takes a deep breach as the group finally come across the caravan nodding at Durin's observations.
Yes the dragon's breath should have thrown acid in sheets. After everything our dead giant may simply have been rained on. It must have taken him days to find his way back to the Camp after the battle.
Try as he might, Barak was unable to find any tracks leading from the caravan. Considering the attack likely took place over a week ago, this is unsurprising; particularly if a party took time to cover their tracks afterwards.
Morning
"Ah what a rest. It would only have been sweeter if not for the noise, but you handled it, right?" he states as he shrugs and gets ready to move out that day.
Travelling
"A fortification you say? Sounds like a good place to gain some shelter or supplies." he states as he looks up to the sky werily on the look out for another cloud that might contain acid again.
Edit: Knowledge Arcana:
Marcus recognised the monster's remains as that of a Chaos Beast; a creature native to planes such as the Abyss. Chaos Beasts were not native to the material plane, which piqued his curiosity about how it got to the Rift. He recalled little about the extra-planar creatures except that they were resistant to spells and especially resistant to Transmutation.
Aye, it might serve as a good base of operations... after we kick out whatever currently resides therein, or course... and for as long as we can hold on to it ourselves...
Marcus shakes his head after a further search of the bodies.
No. It wasn't acid rain then. An acid attack but not the black dragon's breath weapon. Heavens it could be anything. The black dragon's progeny, a spell? No tracks, no clue except the implication that whoever did it was intelligent enough to loot the corpses ... unless the looters came after...
Too many variables.
I mentioned the map in passing, hoping we could pick up a trail when we found the caravan but it seems as likely a destination as any. From our rate of progress so far it will take a full day though. If people want to keep to the road or return to the Camp and explore closer to there speak up.