Eustoma only scores one good hit, while Rogar's blast careens into the sky. Wulfram's stinking cloud doesn't seem to slow the bugbears down.
The bugbears continue to stab at Nik'o, trying to finish her off, but only manage one good hit this time.
Wulfram couldn't tell what was going on inside the Stinking Cloud; he had hoped that the Bugbears would flee the gas. He cast a spell and rose into the air. "I'm coming, Niko!"
"Ah can' see a thing." Rogar mutters, but looks for his opportunity to attack, meanwhile amassing a sizeable amount of rock and stone swirling around him.
Eustoma waits for the enemy to show itself.
Readied attack.
Using the cover of the stinking cloud, Nik'o hurries to her mistress's side, where Karla protects her with mirror images. As Wulfram flies up into the air and Rogar gathers power, one of the bugbears succumbs to the stinking cloud. She emerges coughing and retching, the other, wounded, one covering her. Eustoma shoots that bugbear with a pair of arrows, further adding to her injuries.
Seeing Wulfram nearby, the bugbear grabs another dart from her belt and hurls it at him!
Rogar sees his opening and sends off a powerful blast at the exposed creature.
Rogar's blast tears the wounded bugbear to shreds! It plummets to the street and lies still, but even so, it continues to slowly regenerate. The nauseated bugbear remains uninjured.
Wulfram flew up and stabbed at the unwounded bugbear. "Die, Ironfang scum!", he bellowed.
"Why is it regenerating? Why?" Eustoma doesn't know any better so she casts Produce Flame, and flings a ball of fire at the bugbear. "It worked on the trolls."
Wulfram stabs the remaining bugbear with his spear, while Nik'o pounces on her, tearing into her and grabbing a hold so that the goblinoid cannot escape.
Eustoma scorches the fallen bugbear with fire, but that doesn't stop its regeneration. Karla racks her brain, but she's not sure what might stop the creature's regeneration. Usually some sort of energy like acid or fire does the trick, but in certain cases regeneration can only be stopped by silver or cold iron weapons, or blessed weapons or spells.
Unable to fight back due to its nausea, the second bugbear soon falls as well. But they'll be back up soon unless you can stop them from regenerating.
"Fire doesn't seem to be the answer, so let's try cold iron," Wulfram suggested. He loaded his crossbow with a cold iron bolt and fired it into one of the regenerating assassins.
That doesn't seem to be the answer, either, as the bugbear continues to slowly regenerate.
Wulfram had a closer look at one of the bugbears, trying to determine why it was regenerating.
He asked, "Does anyone have any acid, or silver? I could meditate for a few minutes and memorize Call Lightning, in case electrical energy does the trick."
Rogar steadily pounds both of the regenerating creatures, reducing them to little more than smears on the ground.
While Rogar keeps the bugbears pulverized, it doesn't take long for Longshadow's militia to arrive on the scene. One of the archers hands Wulfram a pair of silver crossbow bolts to try, and they seem to do the trick. The shaman fires one into each bugbear, and they finally lie still as their regeneration ceases.
Naval and Mayor Crawbert arrive soon thereafter as Wulfram and Karla try to figure out what was up with these bugbears. It's Navah who provides the answer. "These are nightmare creatures. They had forged a connection to the darkest regions of the Dimension of Dreams in exchange for vile powers and supernatural resilience. How a pair of bugbears achieved this task, I can't say."
"Likely the Ironfangs sent them to try to stop you before you did any more damage to their operations. I'm glad to see that they failed!" Thom says.
Navah shrugs. "Having silver weapons can't hurt. If not more nightmare creatures, you might come across other monsters who can only be harmed by them. I can create vials of silversheen to coat your companions' natural weapons, but they are only temporary solutions and could be prohibitively expensive."
"I'll have to get some silver crossbow bolts tomorrow, just in case," Wulfram said.
"Let's go and get some rest. I'm thinking we should set up a watch; there may be more of those creatures around."
When they got back to their accommodations, Wulfram went about setting up the dreamcatcher. He performed the protective ritual on Karla just before she went to sleep.
Navah can create vials of silversheen for 250 gp each.
Fortunately, the night passes without incident. No nightmares plague your sleep. Perhaps the dream catcher is doing its job. You awake in the morning refreshed, and Karla has a clear mind to replenish her arcane reservoirs. Four days remain before the Legion attacks Longshadow!
Wulfram healed Niko's wounds and his own.
*******
1st lvl: Bless x2, Cure Light Wounds x2, Liberating Command, open slot
2nd lvl: Barkskin x3, Dream Shield, open slot
3rd lvl: Magic Circle against Evil, Stinking Cloud, Dispel Magic, open slot
4th lvl: Blessing of Fervor, Divine Power
5th lvl: Overland Flight
Wandering Spirit: Battle
Wandering Hex: Battle Master (one extra AoO, weapon specialization longspear)
Wulfram awoke refreshed, and was glad to hear that Karla had a good night's sleep. After meditating with Pele, he went to buy some silver crossbow bolts, in case they ran into more of the bugbear assassins.
He returned from his shopping trip and said to the others, "I'm ready to go and destroy the Warbeast Camp!"
The next morning Eustoma rises, and gets ready for the day. "I need to get some silver arrows. I hope someone in town has them available." Eustoma goes on a hunt for the arrows.
"I would like a vial of the silversheen as well. It can't hurt to have Sia able to damage nightmare creatures."
Rogar settles for nothing more than a silver dagger, in case it's needed to stop regeneration once again, content in his powers.
Once everyone is done shopping, Rogar encourages his teammates to teleport away quickly to destroy the final camp.
After making your purchases, you meet Navah outside the Canary. The wizard casts her spell, and you suddenly find yourselves in a dry streambed winding through a broad canyon. You head north along the streambed for a short distance before you spot what appears to be the camp in the distance. A wooden tower and a half-dozen hide tents stand outside a cave entrance in a sandstone cliff. The wind carries the sour smell of animal dung and sounds of inhuman bellowing from the darkness.
There's no cover on this approach. Any sentries are likely to spot you coming.
Rogar turns to Karla, ”Ah don’ suppose ye coul’ turn mah invisible, coul’ ye?” he asks.
Assuming she does, he makes his way up close to the camp to find sentries.
Wulfram felt the disconcerting lurch in his stomach as Navah teleported the party to the vicinity of the warbeast camp. After taking a moment ot recover, he said a prayer to give him the power of flight, and several more protective prayers on himself and the animal companions.
He crept forward and observed the enemy camp from a distance.
"Sia would love to be dropped behind enemy lines. If I can get a clear shot from a distance we should be able to mow some of them down." Eustoma looks excited at getting more enemies taken out.
”Ah jus’ need ta be close enough ta hit the wi’ a rock” Rogar says ”Jus’ drop in once tha fightin’ star’s an ye’ll be golden”
Karla renders Rogar invisible, then the dwarf creeps down the riverbed to get a better view of the camp. Two hobgoblin archers keep overwatch, while a pair of wolves lounge in the shade beneath the tower. The earth is trampled flat all around in an open area in the camp's center. Many sturdy wooden posts—some of which are clearly uprooted trees—dot the area, with chains wrapped securely around them. A hulking minotaur tends to an enormous wyvern the size of an elephant. The wyvern is chained to a post with a 30-foot length of chain.
Further west stands a collection of tents—five sized for humans, three larger ones, and a pavilion. Three hobgoblins and two minotaurs relax in this area.
The cave mouth is barred by a 12-foot-tall fence of thick logs. The gate is 10 feet wide and secured with a simple but sturdy padlock.
"Karla put us where we can see inside the walls. Sia should be able to jump down." Eustoma gives her suggestion to Karla.
Wulfram said a prayer to bolster his allies. "Let me know when you're all ready. I'll give everyone a blessing from the battle spirits."
*Shall we set things on fire now?*, Pele asked with a glint in her eye.
Wulfram replied to Pele, speaking in barks and yips, *Soon, Pele; we have to wait for the others to get ready.*
After Karla cast her preparatory spells, Wulfram said a couple of prayers to the battle spirits, first doubling in height, and then invoking a exhortation to victory. "Remember Phaendar!"
He rose into the air, and started to fly towards the enemy camp.
Before his invisibility expires, Rogar gets in position by the camp. Wulfram flies up the riverbed while the invisible Nik'o keeps pace with him. Karla teleports herself, Eustoma, and Sia to the top of the cliff near the pavilions.
The archers atop the watchtower spot Wulfram as he draws near. They shout warnings to alert the camp!
The hobgoblins fire several arrows at the giant shaman, one piercing his defenses.
Before the battle Eustoma casts Greater Magic Fang on both Sia and Nikko. Then she gives Sia the Aspect of the Monkey. She casts Gravity Bow on herself.
Once Sia is in position. She gives herself the aspect of the bear and shoots at the minotaur that Sia is attacking.
Sia uses the Blessing of Fervor speed boost to move up to the minotaur, and bit at it.
Wulfram said a prayer; thick yellow-green vapours billowed out of nowhere, and enveloped the top of the watchtower.