"A mess? This isn't a mess. Havrin here has convinced me that the beast is incapable of negotiations for peace. When we get back to civilization, I can show you a mess."
Adam's sarcasm and light humor sound a little out of place in the high stress of their current situation.
Round 1 (final):
The cavalier lands a mighty blow with his lance. It isn't enough to stop the beast, though, and it screams all the louder. Updated map is HERE.
Round 2:
Initiative Order:
Foe-acted
Katya-passing
Adam-igniting
Havrin-
Sabrina-
Bea-
Jacyn-
Jacyn's timely arrival gives the monster another target, but it elects to press its attack on Bea. Again, the paladin dodges both claws, but the creature bites her again.
Katya continues to delay. Adam is able to get the fuse lit; the firework will go off immediately after his action next round. Havrin is up!
Round Three:
Encouraged by Jacyn's appearance in the battle in the nick-of-time, Havrin draws his greatsword and spurs Stepper to charge and attack the giant owl creature.
Jacyn drops his lance to the ground and draws his longsword. Not deterred by the creature's refusal to die from his last blow, the cavalier guides his mighty steed forward to take up the fight as well, telling the creature, "You will find no victory here, beast. Flee now, or die!"
Round 3 (final):
Whether Bea hits or not, Havrin and Jacyn between them do enough damage to take the massive creature down.
Havrin heaves a sigh of relief as the giant owl creature falls. At the same time, the lit firework in Adam's hand begins to launch flaming projectiles in the air. Stepper snorts and sidesteps in surprise, but Havrin manages to calm the horse. "Well, Jacyn. What to you think of our little surprise to celebrate your return?" the ranger jokes good-naturedly.
"I always feel like celebrating. Does this mean we can break out the better rations?" Adam asks as he watches the dancing colors and slides down from Stepper.
"I believe it's 'Carve Your Own Steak Night' Adam. Of course, someone will have to do some plucking first," Havrin quips, examining the corpse of the owl creature.
"Oooh, steak! Or is it poultry?"
Havrin heaves a sigh of relief as the giant owl creature falls. At the same time, the lit firework in Adam's hand begins to launch flaming projectiles in the air. Stepper snorts and sidesteps in surprise, but Havrin manages to calm the horse. "Well, Jacyn. What to you think of our little surprise to celebrate your return?" the ranger jokes good-naturedly.
"Ah, you shouldn't have. Now I feel bad that I didn't get you anything.", the half-elf responds with a wink.
"If we are going to make camp for a bit to eat, then I will take care of the horses. Smoke and I have been out here for awhile looking you lot, and your own horses don't look in much better shape. All look like the could use a good brushing and some food and water."
Bea is about to swing her greatsword once more when she's surprised by Jacyn's sudden arrival and the beast crashing down before her. "Boy, are you a sight for sore eyes! Glad you showed up when you did - we may have been alright without you, but I rather just not have to worry about knowing. That thing laid into me hard 'nuff as it is." She rubs a few of her wounds trying to dull the pain a bit.
"I don't know if these things make good eatin', but I can't imagine it's any worse than the rations we've been living on. Katya, you can start a fire, right? Adam, help her with some firewood so Havrin can help me with this carcass. We'll have some feast! There's enough meat here we could probably try and dry some to add to our rations too."
"Sounds good, Bea. Here, let me see what I can do with dressing that carcass."
"A fire would definitely be nice. If it gets dry enough, I might even sing something to commemorate the occasion. It would be nice to break the lute out again."
Adam assists Katya and Sabrina to find firewood, casting unseen servant to aid in the gathering process.
Sabrina spends several rounds tending to Bea's wounds, while dropping in a slight lecture. "That beast is really dangerous. I know you're brave but we have to be careful if we face such a beast again. My magics can't tame it the way it can most animals. And father says you can't die before you've taught me about the world."
Beatrix nods and is about to respond to Sabrina when she says her last line, sending Bea laughing in stitches. With a broad smile, she finally manages, "Well I'll be sure to be more careful and stay alive a little longer, if only for your sake. Now go help Adam and Katya with the fire so we can eat this thing!"
Katya shakes herself out of the haze of fear she had been under. Still clutching her staff in her hands, Katya stares at the massive beast in front of her. Having never seen an owlbear before, she takes in the sight of its massive frame while the others go about preparing for a feast.
When Bea asks her question it takes Katya a moment to respond with a "Yes... I can," but it does get her moving again. Settling herself down to prepare for the fire, she rubs her hands together and fans them out as she speaks the familiar words and a burst of fire flows from her hand into the stack of wood once it is ready.
Assuming that the rain lets up a little over the night, Adam procures his lute, and begins to sing an old folk song he once heard.
"The gold, it does glitter.
The silver does shine.
The fire sparks flicker,
In the treasure divine.
-
But where is the child?
Where is our home?
When things have gone wild,
and the creatures that roam.
-
The gold it was useless.
The silver no good.
The fire was heatless,
in the cold of the wood.
-
Where is the savior?
Where are the gods?
To prevent evil behavior,
and unwilling nods.
-
The ice, it does glitter.
The stars, they do shine.
The fire sparks flicker,
In the treasure divine."
Adam plays another refrain of the chorus on his lute, allowing the melody to drift off into the night when his music had finished.
With a bit of time, the party is able to butcher the owlbear. ("Tastes like chicken!") If you spend the rest of the day preserving it, you'll have enough to keep you in rations for another week without expending the usual two arrows per day.
Jacyn brings the horses back after a while an ties them up before joining the group for the meal. As he sits down in the grass to eat, he asks, "So, what did I miss?"
"Honestly, not much. A bit more mapping, found some berries, and we'll likely wanna stop back at Oleg's to check up on things and resupply shortly."
The day and night are uneventful, except for chasing various small (and some not so small) scavengers away from the leavings pile from the owlbear butchering. Once the party has gathered enough meat, in fact, Havrin decides it's best to get some distance away from the carcass before nightfall.
Jacyn informs his companions of his goings-on.
Beatrix muses over this for a moment. "Did he mention where the bandit group is? General direction even?"
Beatrix muses over this for a moment. "Did he mention where the bandit group is? General direction even?"
"I wonder if that was the group we encountered at the pit. Some of them got away; for all we know, they may be regrouping with an even larger band. We'll need to be wary as we continue mapping. Let's keep going until we find that dead horse and that statue that Ionescu mentioned, and then head back to Oleg's."
The next day is 16 Desnus, and the weather isn't too bad. The party continues to slowly move northwest, exploring the area as they go. The Skunk River winds through the forest here, but it's easily fordable in spots.
You've just finished a quick lunch of smoked owlbear and begun to get moving when everyone hears the sounds of frantic howling some distance ahead of you, interspersed with vaguely metallic-sounding snarls.
"Ummm, guys. Sounds like more trouble up ahead." Adam puts up his lute and draws out his rapier.
"Sounds like," Havrin agrees with Adam's assessment.
The stoic ranger draws his bow and nocks an arrow to the string as he guides Stepper to lead the way toward the sounds of snarls and howling.
Jacyn rides up alongside Havrin as the group advances, doing his best to stya out of the ranger's firing arc, but also making sure the ranger doesn't impede his charging lane, should he need to move headlong into battle.
Unconsciously Sabrina follows Havrin's lead, pulling out her bow, nocking an arrow, and stalking ahead.
As the party moves towards the noise, a pack of wolves comes hurtling out of the undergrowth, apparently fleeing in the party's direction.
"Get out of their way. They're fleeing something."
Sabrina makes a readied action to cast hold animal if one of the wolves tries to attack, but otherwise does nothing but observe until she can clearly see if in fact they are running from something more dangerous.
The horses (well, except for Stepper and Smoke) are spooked by the wolves' onset, so Bea, Katya, and Sabrina need to make DC 10 Ride checks to keep them under control. The wolves go past the party in a rush, and it can be seen that most of them are wounded.
Bea struggles to keep her horse under control as the wolves rush past, barely managing to keep it from bolting. "What are they running from?"
"I can't tell what happened to them. They're going by too fast."
Bea and Havrin, the wounds--mostly parallel slashes--look to have been made by claws roughly half again the size of a human hand. Not bearlike, though.
"Looks like they were attacked by something with claws bigger than a human hand - not bearlike, though," Havrin announces to his companions. "Shall we check it out?"
Beatrix nods, dismounts, and helps Adam down too before securing her horse and proceeding in the direction the wolves ran from.
Adam nods his gratitude and draws his rapier. He won't be caught unawares of any beasts with claws big enough to crush his head.
Havrin remains mounted on Stepper, bow in-hand with an arrow nocked to the string. Guiding with his knees, the ranger directs his horse to continue approaching the direction from which the wolves fled.
Remembering a trick that Jacyn had taught her, Sabrina is able to stay her horse quickly.