You have spent well over an hour coursing down the easy Matra river, taking in the sites that surround you and greeting the merchants and travelers you pass. Coming to a fork in the wide river, you turn further south where all merchant travel seems to avoid. The signs are everywhere - Warning! Jungle dangers ahead! Travel at your own risk!. But you press on. Calaak pulls out the map and rolls it across one of the benches, weighting it down with a compass and knife. We are here and need to get here-" she draws a line from the fork in the Matra through a simple maze of forking and rejoining rivers. Her finger ends where the map does. "Where everything fades, that is the Skittering Mists."
Despite having only one half-good eye, Calaak manages to guide you through the jungle river without err. The rocky plains that surrounded the Matra have begun to grow into dense forest cover. The sounds of wildlife are growing louder. You continue forward, following Calaak's guidance for almost another hour. Coming to a sharp turn in the river, Calaak stands up and lets out a large sigh of relief. Before you, the river creeps forward for almost two-hundred yards where it fades into the eerie mists of the jungle ahead. The lush forest growth has transformed from a vibrant green cover to a putrid yellow field of dying plants. The jungle still looms around you, but the stench of rot accompanies the dying mass of vegetation. The jungle cover grows thicker farther down the river, but so does the stench. "Here we are. The Skittering Mists. Prepare yourselves, for anything could be waiting for us in there."
Calaak, with your permission, I'd like to stay at the bow of the boat, with my bow at the ready. The stench of death in this place raises my hackles, if you get my meaning. Sukumar looks to his tiefling benefactor for permission to permanently drop oar, and stay on watch. Might not be a bad idea to take occasional soundings, or drop a pole in the water to test the depth. I wouldn't want to run aground of a sandbar in this filth.
"Of course the strong one wants to drop the oar. Wouldn't having you on the oar make this go faster? I'd like to rejoin Terra Firma as soon as possible, thank you."
Calaak nods at Sukumar, granting his request. She rolls up the map and slips it back into its leather case and takes Sukumar's spot at the oar. "The map won't be of much use here, we have to navigate by sight. And with this cover, I am of no use." She gives the oar a deliberately strong row, trying to prove she is more than capable of pulling her weight. "I do agree with Samuel though, we need to find our landing soon. We should take advantage of the swift travel that the river affords and make it to the Bull's Head Basin. Both Manjit Sandhu and Kalkin "Fortune-Seeker" wrote about the reservoir in their journals as "the first of many challenges" into Dokhamandir."
"At the 'bow', wit yerr 'bow', herr we arr, hafta row..." the Professor grumbles, clearly not enjoying the trip.
Remaining quiet the young girl continues to row. Turning her gaze to fall on the Professor at his mumbling she smiles and then turns her gaze back out into the river.
Looking about at the river while enjoying the rocking of the boat Nandita lets her eyes fall back to the bank that everyone seems so found of her eyes widen at what she sees. Calaak! There is a person there by the bank. Lifting her arm to point to the body she sees there.
"A what!?" Samuel nearly drops the oar in the water in his surprise. He looks around for the body.
Sukumar turns, bow drawn and arrow nocked. Looking for signs of what may have caused the poor creatures death.
Calaak perks up and looks in the direction of Nandita's outstretched finger, clearly struggling to find the person. She signals to halt rowing. "Alive or dead?" she asks, her voice calm and calculating. "Sukumar, keep your eyes peeled and your bow drawn."
Samuel aids Calaak's search with his own directions. "It appears to be a dead cow-man. Know of any creatures with steer heads, Professor?"
Aye Calaak! No need to tell me twice. I've got a bad feeling about this already. Sukumar keeps an arrow nocked and continues to scan the river and jungle for threats. I heard tell once of a creature, half bull, half man, I think the merchant called it a mini-tar. Since no one is rowing, you all might want to get weapons to hand. Like I said, I've got a bad feeling about this.
Are we going over there?
Landhan sits in the back of the boat, resting his oar on his lap. Keeping an eye out in the trees and bushes, he lets out an unsatisfying grunt.
Calaak drops the oars back into the water, preparing either to continue down the river or steer ashore. "I can say with confidence that Bull's Head Basin will not be found by that body. But if you're saying it's got the head of a bull, maybe it will provide us a clue of what's to come. Or..." her voice trails off as she recalls a past adventure, "Or it's a trap." Calaak pans her gaze across the boat waiting to see the party's opinion.
By all observations it's dead, Calaak. The treasure we seek is far down stream. My vote is to keep at the oars, slow and steady as she goes. I'll certainly grab oar, if somebody else wants to stand guard at the bow.
"Ded boddy ain't gud sign. Mi' wanna looksee. Trap's possble, who knows? An'thin kin be a trap."
Landhan thinks you should investigate the body.
"Mayhaps it is a warning. The connection between the body and the name of the basin cannot be ignored. I am, of course, not in favor of triggering any traps but bypassing the body does not mean bypassing the trap. I vote for investigation."
Still looking at the body, I think we should at least check.
Calaak turns to Sukumar and shrugs, "Looks like we're going ashore." She heaves the oars forward, sending the boat steadily forward towards the body. The boat slides easily onto the muddy bank and with a solid tug, you pull the boat onto land. Ferns and rotted undergrowth soften your steps but release the putrid stench of decay. Whatever the source of the death, it has seeped into the ground. "No way this is just from that one body," Calaak says. Ahead of you lies the mushroom and moss covered log that supports the half-bovine corpse. At a closer glance, you can tell that the bull head is in-fact a mask. It's painted blue fur has faded to brown in the thick humidity. The body beneath the mask belongs to a Vanara. It looks to have been here a while since it's beyond the stages of bloat and any sort of carrion bugs have come and gone. Its now hairless skin sags over its bones and you can see patches of frayed red robes. A rusted kukri lies in the growth just outside its grasp and around its neck hangs a golden pendant in the shape of a bulls head with a hollow carved in the center. Calaak stands back by the boat, grabbing a light crossbow from underneath the boat seat.
Landhan assists with carefully searching the body, then the caravan.
"Sumthin small 'n red zippin' around. Cu'be a snake. Be curful."
I don't like this Calaak. This guy didn't just drop dead here of boredom. Sukumar says, swiveling about, bow still at the ready and arrow nocked. You all go ahead and search for whatever pleases you. I've seen enough dead bodies, and my job is to deliver you all to the Dokhamandir temple, alive. Sukumar states with no less urgency or irritation. It is obvious that Sukumar feels this excursion off the riverway puts everyone in unneeded danger. He keeps swiveling about looking for enemies or traps.
As the boats hit the ground, Samuel tests the ground with his cane. Deciding that it is indeed walkable, he leaves the boat.
As he inspects the body, he casts prestidigitation to lift the pendant in front of him. "Well, this is interesting. Is it religious or cultural? Anyone here know anything about Vanara?"
Keeping her crossbow in her hand Nandita eyes the wreckage. Sickened at the sight but pleased that she doesn't recognize the body. Turning her gaze to look around.
[ooc]Looking for signs of a fight in the ground.[ooc]
After a brief moment of inspecting the wreckage and body, the stillness around you is disturbed. Shooting out of from beneath the felled log are two giant centipedes with alternating red and black segments. Their antennae whip back and forth in search of the prey that it can sense in the area, honing in on Samuel and Nandita. Their large venomous forcipules clamp open and closed in anticipation for the upcoming fight. From Landhan's warnings and the general sense of danger raising your awareness, you are on your toes and ready to act first.
Samuel looks at the centipedes with a look of utter disgust and contempt. He drops his focus on the amulet which in turn causes it to drop to the ground.
He draws his cane sword focuses his hypnotic stare on the centipede , and then casts flare on the nearest centipede.
As soon as Sukumar sees the centipedes he draws and looses his arrow.
I told you this was a bad idea Calaak. To arms everyone! Or to spells if that's your thing.
Sukumar then straps his bow across his shoulder.
Not wanting to use his more powerful abilities on these paltry vermin, Landhan draws a vial to his lips and takes a tiny sip, then points with one finger at the nearest centipede (left). A ray of cold shoots from his hand.
Unfortunately his shot goes wide.
Since the crossbow is still in her hands she fires off a shot. After firing her shot she would switch to her scythe.
As the large centipede burst from the trunk, Samuel's reflexes took over. With a blinding flash of light, Samuel summons a bursting flare that ignites in front of the centipede's sensitive eyes. It falters just so, giving Sukumar the perfect shot. His bow already drawn, he launches an arrow clean into its head, pinning it to the ground. He stows his bow in preparation of drawing his hammer. As the second centipede emerges, Landhan prepares to defend himself with a simple ray of frost, but the agility of the arthropod makes it impossible to line up a shot. The centipede now whipping towards Nandita, she hoists her crossbow and looses a bolt, but it only makes contact with the ground. She stows the crossbow in preparation for her scythe.
Calaak crouches on the boat, hoping to line up a shot with her crossbow, but her impaired vision and the hectic combat halts her from loosing a bolt. All she can do is shout warnings from the side-line, "Watch the fangs! They have a nasty venom!"
The centipede closes in on Nandita, raising it's head to strike with it's large fangs. She raises her arm to block her head from the bite and its pincers sink deep into her arm. The venom enters her bloodstream and its effects are immediate, causing her to feel sickened. The centipede lets go and prepares for another strike.
Damned bugs! Sukumar howls drawing his lucerne hammer and charges at the second centipede swinging hard.
And bug guts fly everywhere, Nandita is temporarily bathed in chitin and centipede flesh.
Boy that sucker just exploded, didn't he. Sukumar says, and reaches over to put a supporting hand on Nandita's shoulder. You okay? That bite looks to be swelling a bit. Maybe you should sit down for a second. Sukumar offers to help her to the ground.
Samuel sheathed his weapon as he saw how thoroughly Sukumar had handled the bug. He calmly walked over to Nandita instead.
"Now, now, my dear. Just because we are in a jungle is no excuse to present oneself improperly." Samuel gives a wry smile as he uses his prestidigitation to start cleaning the bug guts off of Nandita.
When the bug bites her Nandita looks a little nauseous but remains focused on the fight, despite her stomach rolling and the bitemark burning. Then Sukumar rushes the big and smashes it, which is fine when the bug is small. But this bug is big and she is covered in chitin and centipede flesh.
Wide eyed she turns to Sukumar torn between thanking him and yelling at him. When Samuel magic's the bug bits away. [smaller]Thank you.[smaller]
Samuel gives a small bow of his head to Nandita then turns to face Calaak.
"Now that this little diversion is over. I do hope we can solve this little mystery. It appears none of us are experts on matters divine which is odd considering the treasure we seek is in the temple of a god. So it appears we'll have to see if our travels illuminate the meaning of the amulet."
Harvest Tiger Centipede Venom: Survival/Handle Animal DC 10
Seeing the wound Nandita has suffered, Calaak drops the weapon and frantically scrounges through her bags. Disappointed, she stands up holding nothing more than bandages and offers to wrap her arm. "Thirty years ago, these bags would have been full of serums, salves and poultices for just this occasion." Turning to Samuel, she responds, "I agree. Hopefully this amulet will prove to be of use, or at the least some value. Strange that there would be a warrior caste's caravan this deep in the jungle, though. Must have been on a mission." As you stand on the river bank, the humidity hangs heavy in the air and you begin to sweat after your quick burst of action. To make matters worse, the small biting insects find you in your stillness and begin swarming.
Once everybody is settled in the boat, Calaak launches the it back into the river and hops into her seat at the head of the boat. She picks up both oars and begins to send you back up river. Once you are back in motion, the slight breeze helps to cool you off and keep the bugs at bay. As you enter deeper into the mists, the smell of the rotting wildlife begins to fade while the sound of skittering insects grows around you. During the long journey, Calaak tells you more about the vague details of Manjit and Kalkin's attempts to uncover Dokhamandir. "They certainly made no mention of bull headed creatures, I think I'd remember that. But Manjit did write about the cultist activity that was prevalent over a hundred years ago. He tracked their activity back to the basin but it was just a dead end. Kalkin's journal, on the other hand, only made mention of the 'trials' necessary to gain access to prove you were among the worthy. But he was known to weave tall tales."
You continue down the river for another hour. The red light of the setting sun beams through the canopy, reflecting in the mists and giving it an eerie red glow. You estimate another hour before the sky goes dark. The jungle has cooled slightly, but the humidity still leaves the air thick and heavy. You have come to a small clearing where part of the river flows into a small pond. "I hope that's not the Bull's Head Basin," Calaak chuckles. "This could be a good spot to camp if you don't want to push our luck. Since you guys are the ones doing the hard work, I'll leave that up to you."
"I say press on while we can see and the air is cooler. It's not as though we're safer here than anywhere else really."
When Calaak wraps up her arm Nandita smiles at her, Thank you Calaak. With a morbid kind of fascination Nandita watches the Professor removes something from the dead bugs.
Once back on the boat she turns to the Professor and asks, What did you collect from that bug?
As they travel along Nandita notices a reoccurring feature. Turing to Calaak, I keep seeing bull headed statues, what are they?
As to making camp. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other.
When Calaak wraps up her arm Nandita smiles at her, Thank you Calaak. With a morbid kind of fascination Nandita watches the Professor removes something from the dead bugs.
Once back on the boat she turns to the Professor and asks, What did you collect from that bug?
[dice=Perception]1d20+3
"Got sum poison. Mi' be yoosful latur. Got too dohses."
"M'fine with gon' on. M' not tyred. Havn't evun used mah x-tracs fer tha day yet."
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