Azruk Gives Vic and Bela the stink eye.
"That's enough wasted time. We walk." He seems to be in a sour mood. More than usual.
After a sigh of relief at seeing the last of the spiders fall, Bela takes a look at their entangled companion before helping to extricate him from the webbing with a grimace. "Of course," Bela agrees with Azruk, all too easily attributing his gruffness to their unwelcome run-in. "I'll just need a few moments to heal his wounds and try to work the poison out of our systems."
Can we make it back the the group?
"If they haven't moved camp and nobody stops to fight more vermin." The massive reptile idly scratches the base of a tooth as he finds his direction again.
Which way is it?
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"Why yes, please. As soon as we are inside a safe camp and outside this blasted jungle I will be thoroughly happy." says Vic trying to clean his blood and others from his clothing "Ag, I will need to prepare mending and prestidigation coming morrow to solve this mess."
As the groups walks, the wizards turns and points his finger at the spider's carcasses "I truly hate spiders." and with a flourish, the carcass is set aflame.
Azruk gives a routine attempt to retrace his steps. Less than 100 feet doesn't seem like much distance, but in a dense jungle, it could be worth double checking.
Bela walks beside Vic as they make their way back to camp, periodically looking over to the wizard to see if he's in danger of succumbing to the poison. For the altruistic young woman, nothing provides a greater distraction from her own pains than focusing on another's wounds. "Let me know if you need to stop for a rest. Trying to push yourself past your limits will only exacerbate your condition."
The soon we get to camp the better.
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"Why thanks, Bela. You would make an excelent Doctor, if I may say so." says the wizard as the group makes their way "Do you mind if I ask you some questions regarding your extraordinary abilities? I have yet to finish my "Arcane-Divine Unification Theory" but that doesn't stops me from being marveled by those, like you, who can conjure forces unknown not unlike wizards like me do, sans the long years of study and even longer daily studies."
Though the forest is thick with brush Azruk and Artemis find the path once again, though in the rush to get back to camp Artemis finds himself Fatigued and begins falling behind even Vic.
Just before nightfall you manage to get back to where the campsite was, though not to a pleasant site. The site is bloody, corpses ripped asunder and tossed around.
Several smaller dinosaur's pick apart and feeding on the bodies, they scatter quickly as you approach . There's certainly a lot of bodies, but you can tell it's not everyone, thanks to Bela.
The site is an absolute massacre, and know one seems to around.
what do you do? there information to be gleamed with the right checks.
"No, no, Azruk hurries his pace as the grisly scene comes into view. He gives a look around for Nighttail.
Artemis will look around in silence. Looking for anyone that could still be alive or evidence to what happened.
Bela walks through the horrifying scene at the camp, stumbling with every few steps and clearly in a state of shock. Although she didn't know many of her fellow escapees very well, if at all, her main motivation for her actions the past few days had been to see these people safely back to Belhaim. Feeling crushed by the weight of this tremendous failure, the young woman falls to her knees beside the bodies nearest her, looking over the corpses wounds with watery eyes, but her grief distracts her from her task. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."
The snarl that crept up on Azruk lowers at the sound of Bela's murmuring. He keeps his beady eyes peeled at the camp and stomps his way over to the bodies she examines. He isn't in the habit of expressing himself but that doesn't mean he can't see turmoil.
"Do you... need a minute?" He crouches to try to get down to eye level, but ends up about two feet taller still anyway.
Azruk's question elicits a response from the healer that's half a sob and half a bitter scoff. "Yes, but I can't... You were right before. We... I wasted too much time, and look what it cost," she says, furiously wiping away tears. Pushing herself to her feet, Bela looks around at all the bodies while pointedly not making eye contact with the others, tallying the dead before saying, "Not everyone is accounted for here. There are others who may still be out there, and, if we mean to save them, then there is no time for grief now. ...Does anyone see tracks leaving the site?"
Artemis tries to pull his eyes away from the horror and help look for tracks.
amidst the blood and gore you find small tracks leading into the forest, the opposite direction from whence you came.
The corpses have different injuries and deaths, some have been dead longer than others.
some killed with spears and other's large bite marks clearly from local predators.
amidst the blood, gore, and rotting corpses. You smell something foul, different from the smell of the bodies, almost like sulphur or rotting eggs. though it's very faint. whatever left it is no longer around.
inside one of the piles of bodies you detect magic.
Azruk gets up and walks, following the footprints he's found. Partly choosing to let his actions clue the others in on what he found, and partly looking for an excuse to not have to admit he doesn't know what to say next. He already has his sword out, having unsheathed it at some point.
"Smell sulfur. Eggs. Victarion. What did ya say the trogs scent was?"
Artemis sees Azruk following something he doesn't see and with his sword out. That enough for him. He pulls his bow readies an arrow and trails Azruk about 10ft back.
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Victarion face betrays anger as he turns to Azruk. "Sulfur and rotten eggs? Those are foul stenches... like that of a trog. Some of the bodies have spear wounds... they will pay, I swear it. There will be no mercy, I swear it by all that is dear to me."
Afterwards, the wizard walks towards the source of magic, doubtful... in the end the wizard's practical nature wins, and looks for the source among the pile.
Though still brimming with tears, Bela's green eyes harden as she overhears Vic and Azruk considering the possibility that the survivors were attacked by troglodytes. She watches as the lizardfolk starts walking away from the camp, and after a final glance around at all the mangled bodies -- Forgive me, please -- she follows them back into the forest, her morning star clutched in a white-knuckled grip.
Vic reaches through the gore, picking up a belt, that detects as magic
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After walking awhile Artemis begins to drag behind. I am sorry but I need to rest.
Azruk turns to acknowledge Artemis, but keeps walking.
Getting away from the cruel site, the group follows the tracks, hoping for some glimmer of hope.
Getting further along, eventually you hear the sounds of combat in the distance, Nighttail's familiar voice shouting orders.
You get closer, finally able to see the actual fight Vroka, go now! get whoever's left at the caves out of here. don't worrry about me the black scaled Kobold, is facing off against 5 spear wielding Trog's. Vroka runs off to the east as told.
Azruk says nothing at the scene, until after he runs his way in and begins working to chop the head off the nearest troglodyte. The reptilians speed relative to his size becomes readily apparent.
Artemis will cast Gravity Bow and move up to cover if available within 30ft of the Trogs.
Despite the part of her that vengefully calls out for blood, Bela still has the presence of mind to recall what she knows about Troglodytes and wisely chooses not to engage in close combat with them. Instead, she stops 30 feet away from the nearest trog and calls on the power of the spirits to confound its primitive mind.
1d100 Behavior
01–25 Act normally.
26–50 Do nothing but babble incoherently.
51–75 Deal 1d8 points of damage + Str modifier to self with item in hand.
76–100 Attack nearest creature (for this purpose, a familiar counts as part of the subject's self).
Vic burns two of the Trog's rather badly, whereas Azruk chops one i two.
Artemis takes cover behind a tree, and Bela casts her spell on the untouched Trog though he shakes off the curse and charges at you spear in tow. stabbing you in the arm for 9 points of damage.
The two flaming Trog's seem interested in the close mage that just burned them, tapping the untouched Trog and pointing at Vic and all charge him. Stabbing viciously with spears
Initiative
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Victarion
Artemis
Azruk-Hal
Belasara
Nighttail draws a small longbow, knocking an arrow she strikes one of the Trogs near Vic down.
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To the untrained eye, Victarion's act of puking blood and half eaten food may be caused by the mixed stink of burnt flesh and trog's fragance. To the canny observer, though, it's obvious that the spear lodged between his ribs may be the source of the blood.
The trogs truly stink, though.
"Agh! You son of a cockroach! Grt off me, damned ugly abomination!" as he starts chanting and waving his arms, aiming to turn invisible.
"No, magic! Don't fail me now! yells the wizard as the spell fizzles away with no result. Feeling panic for the first time in a looong time, the wizard tries to flee from the trog's reach, desperately trying to dodge the incoming blows.