Perception:
Rsss'tak:
Vess'Sothek:
Djatrix:
Palag:
Yochtanl:
Benjamin:
Tharrek:
INITIATIVE:
Yochtanl: 19
Vess'Sothek: 18
Benjamin: 14
Palag: 9
Rsss'tak: 8
Djatrix: 7
Tharrek: 4
As the party approaches, all ravens within a few yards fly away to treetops, toward the ruins, or take flight to the sky. They watch you intensely, and do not seem afraid, but do not let you approach, either. As you come to the ruins themselves, you all see glimpses of fountain jets spraying from statues between the ruined walls and foliage.
There are hundreds upon hundreds of ravens, and their mottled blue plumage unsettles you all. The ravens are more bold here, and do not fly away until you are a few feet away. The ground is covered in raven feathers and bird droppings.
Yochtanl and Palag move like shadows among the foliage, and the din of the ravens makes them impossible to hear as they pass; the rest of the party finds it nearly impossible to keep sight of them. Yochtanl finds a nook behind a wall, next to a fallen statue of the same woman from earlier. Unfortunately, the ravens are a bit too distracting, and the wall a bit too high to see over. Palag keeps to the foliage behind the warriors, ready if needed.
As Djatrix approaches the ruins with the group, he asks the spirits for aid and seeks out magical auras in the vicinity.
Tharrek and Rsss'tak march forward, unwary of whatever lies ahead. Visssila seems a bit uneasy at the number of birds around, but proceeds regardless.
Djatrix stops, eyeing the aura that seems to surround all living things in this place. He speaks in a low tone, nearly to himself, audible to those nearby.
"There is magic in everything. Something... I have never seen." He steps further on, following the others, mindful of the ravens. His grip tightens on the morningstar's handle. "It seems to... transform and protect every..."
He stops suddenly as he notices movement on the fountain, his head frills going up, his long neck straightening up.
The flock of ravens makes it difficult to see or hear for Yochtanl. He listens as closely as the setting allows to what Djatrix says, but unfortunately can't hear anything. However, he does see the lizardman's frills stand up, and takes it as a signal of danger. Determined to know what it is that's troubling the lizardman so much, Yochtanl attempts to climb on top of the statue of the lady using his tail as leverage, and from there leap over the wall to view the shrine.
Benjamin closely follows the others and becomes concerned when the frills on Djatrix's neck stand up. Had he seen something? Cautiously he takes his scythe to his hands. If a fight was to break out, better to be ready. What he had said had concerned him. Everything in the area had magic in it? Flora and fauna, from Benjamin's experiences, never had magic flowing through it. What made these plants different? Maybe after the fight he could determine that.
Something moved in the fountain! Be wary...
Rsss'tak & V will move to 15/16 J/K and ready an action to stab anything threatening that comes into range with my lance/longspear.
Vess'Sothek moves over to Yochtanl, and, at talk of the fountain, tries to peer through some of the holes on the way there to see if he can confirm the potential threat.
As there is rubble on the ground, he tries to avoid putting himself at a precarious position on it to find a vista, but if necessary, he does so.
Perception
On my turn, once armed, I move to M14, being as sneaky as possible (double move at half speed), and taking cover behind the pillers.
Stealth
... Should we post in order when we're in initiative, or does everyone post something and actions get resolved in order and then we call it a round? How freely can we talk during initiative? Should we state explicitly what our standard and move actions are?
Palag listens to Djatrix and a look of concern lingers in his eyes. "Everything?" he echoes in a quiet tone. He doesn't really know what to think of everything there being magical; he didn't actually expect it.
He turns sharply at the fountain when he hears laughter. As Rsss'tak informs he saw something there, Palag also shares what he heard. "And it spoke and laughed..."
Palag heads to where Yochtanl is, hops over the wall and seeks cover from the pillar. He tries to spot whatever it was that he saw briefly in the fountain.
Djatrix looks intently towards the fountain, trying to see if he can get any of the magic aura out of it or whatever he has spotted in the water.
He walks calmly to just besides Rsss'tak, whispering for his spirits to guide his companion. He does not seem particularly interested in hiding his presence, moving forward in genuine curiosity.
ROUND 1:
Yochtanl continues to survey the surroundings from his hidden perch upon the statue. Vess'Sothek joins him, but is unable to see beyond the ferns, and is distracted by the ravens about him.
Benjamin moves forward with the others and readies his scythe, while Palag bounds silently over the wall and disappears from sight.
Tharrek, Djatrix, and Rsss'tak (astride Visssila) proceed forward, heedless of danger, and the ravens flee at their approach. As soon as they step onto the raised floor of the ruins, all the ravens suddenly cease their raucous.
Aside from your astonishment, footsteps, and shifting equipment, the entire area is deadly silent. All the ravens watch you from their perches, and one ruffles its feathers, nearly startling you all.
Tharrek reaches the clearing, armed and alert, and Djatrix casts a spell on Rsss'tak to aid his tribesman. As Djatrix casts his spell, he looks toward the fountain as his previous spell fades.
You are all left standing in an eerily silent, magic-infused blue daydream, with hundreds of ravens watching your every move.
Yochtanl begins sneaking around the wall he was crouched at when suddenly the birds all go silent simultaneously. This causes him to jump a bit, losing his balance and bumping into Vess'Sothek. Deciding that he couldn't possibly avoid the eyes of every one of the birds, Yochtanl ceases to walk stealthily and instead walks cautiously forward with his spear clutched tightly to his chest. Quetzalcoatl slithers off of Yochtanl and moves beside him , now on high alert for danger after sensing Yochtanl's surprise. Seeing his companion takes the edge off of Yochtanl's tension, though he's still eying the birds and fountain carefully. He takes one hand and fishes into his cauldron, retrieving a homemade smokestick sitting in it. He puts it in his belt, ready to quickly grab it should the need arise. Giving a silent prayer to the Feathered Serpent, he says to the others in a low voice, "If I let out a cloud of smoke, that means that i'm running. Just as a forewarning." A shallow gulp can be heard in the stark silence.
Speaking out of turn immediately after he goes up and it goes silent...Someone throw something into the pool like an apple, if there is some watery beast in the pool it should snap at it. The marshes are filled with such creatures...
Djatrix turns his attention from the fountain to Rsss'tak. "The water. It has the same magical aura. It may be causing the magic that has seeped into the vegetation and birds." He inclines his head, trying to see the creature that was inside the fountain. "But what has caused the water to flow with such magic?"
Yochtanl was walking towards the fountain very slowly, but when Rsss'tak mentions a creature being in the waters he stop and turns to him, saying in a hushed tone, "Wait, do you think some beast is inside the water?" He looks back at the fountain warily, wondering what it could be that the lizardman saw. Maybe their real problem here would not be these birds...
Djatrix's descriptions of the magical auras sounds very weird to Yochtanl, as he hasn't heard of anything similar before. He stays still and thinks to himself, If their theories prove sound, meaning the water is the source of this magic aura in all the wildlife, and there's some creature living in the waters... There might be a problem. He tightens his grip on his spear, thankful that his mask is hiding his facial expression from the rest of the group.
Perception, if needed:
From behind the men, Benjamin couldn't see well, mostly because they were larger than him. He would have to go on what they said.
A beast in the water? It could be highly possible. But who was the person, or thing, feeding it? That seemed to way more on Benjamin's mind.
Sticking close to the Djatrix, Benjamin keeps a close eye on his surrounding, just in case if the attacker or attackers came from behind, and this "fountain" was just a decoy.
Knowledge(History):
I was hoping one of the people that isn't right next to the fountain would throw something in....Rsss'tak is still delaying at this point...
This place is giving my the willies. What do we do if there aint no body here to fight?
As soon as Tharrek tosses the stone into the fountain, a torrent of water bubbles forth in all directions, momentarily flooding the area and pushing against most of the party. Visssila is pushed against the wall, but it allows her to brace against the surge. Palag is pinned against the wall until the wave runs its course, but otherwise remains where he is. Yochtanl and his familiar are not so lucky, and are forced backward by the torrent. Tharrek is pushed back a little by the flood, but then poor Djatrix slams into him, the both of them sliding further away from where they stood.
Immediately after the water surges forth, you hear a loud, yet alluring laughter coming from the fountain. As you all struggle with your footing on the slick surface, the ravens begin their cacophony again, as if a twisted parody of the laughter you just heard. The ravens take wing and start to circle the ruins, almost as if they were a living maelstrom.
As the ravens swarm around you, they start tugging at your armor, clothing, hair, and equipment. Dozens of ravens cling to you, buffeting their wings to throw you off balance, dragging you down...
[spoiler=What happens after you make/fail your save...] If you fail your save, you gain the Entangled condition. If you are entangled, you can attempt to break free as a move action with a DC 14 Strength or Escape Artist check. If you make your save you can move as normal, but if you remain within the swarm of ravens you must save again at the end of your turn.
CAW CAW cawCAW caw caw CAAAWW caaw Caw CAAW caaaw CaAAW caw CAW CAW CAWCAW cAW caw caw CAW....!!!
Visssila claws at one of the Ravens,
While Rsss'tak tries to stab one on the end of his Lance
As Tharrek tosses his stone into the water, the ensuing silence tells the hunter something is amiss in the area. Be it interference from some broodmother, a greater threat, or some sort of bizarre magical working, he felt scared for the first time in a while.
The second time came slightly afterwards with the jettison of the watery torrent from the fountain, the laughter in symphony not helping matters. After the soaking blast is heard, Vess'Sothek releases himself from cover and stalks towards the fountain , the instinct of defending his tribe still strong. Oddly enough, though many of the travelling companions were not of his kind, the urge was stronger with this group than it had been before.
Though not especially worried about his health from the birds directly, their obscuring effect was indirectly more dangerous, he knew; if whatever was in the fountain could force out that much water ... well, the Lizardfolk didn't want to think about what it would do to them. He relied on his group to defend each other though, and that belief gave him the courage to stand up to what he expected to be quite a formidable beast.
Vess'Sothek tries to deter the ravens - in vain - with his swipes, as he tries to at least cover his legs with the blue fern next to him. Try to cover your sides with something - there are too many! he shouts to the group, hoping they hear it over the cawing din.
Also, is one attack your AoO and the other your attack after movement?
Reflex save:
Palag is rather taken by surprise by the sudden flooding and the following swarming of ravens, but he fears more that it might only be a distraction. He therefore still observes.
Also, you feel confident that had the ravens not swarmed the area that you would have remained hidden from them. They more found you by sheer chance of bumping into you, as they filled the entire area.
Palag feels the ravens and the shower from the fountain are too much of a distraction. Therefore, he hops right back to the other side of the wall and onto the statue Yochtanl was standing on earlier. Not really knowing what to do to the ravens, he just releases the crossbow bolt at them to see what happens – with luck he could maybe skewer a few.
DM:
However, his mind quickly recalls that something really big just pushed a lot of water at them, and looks toward the fountain. If he can see a definite enemy there, he will move toward it.
Quetzalcoatl attacks another raven, appearing as a multicolored flash as he strikes.
Benjamin could only watch as the others were blown back by the surge of water. Hearing the ravens only made him more fearful. As the ravens got closer, he swung at a group.
Having missed the ravens, they quickly enclosed on him. This enraged Benjamin and only caused him to struggle to get free.
Strength:
Entangled: The character is ensnared. Being entangled impedes movement, but does not entirely prevent it unless the bonds are anchored to an immobile object or tethered by an opposing force. An entangled creature moves at half speed, cannot run or charge, and takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) or lose the spell.
As the ravens claw and caw at the party, they struggle to gain their bearings and find the best course of action.
Tharrek's Ref save:
Rsss'tak's Ref save:
Visssila's Ref save:
Quetzlcouatl's Ref save:
Djatrix's Ref save:
Yochtanl reacts quickly enough to kill the first raven to fly near him, Rsss'tak cannot find a mark with so many birds about, Visssila hits air, Vessothek fells two ravens with his claws--their purplish blood all over his hands, and Palag flips over the wall and kills one more.
*Time for Round 3*
Yochtanl 19
Djatrix 7
Tharrek 4a
??? 4b
Rsss'tak 3a
Vess'Sothek 3b
Palag 3c
Benjamin 3d
Morningstar attack:
Entangle Reflex Save:
Slashing at the murder swarming them with his claws, Vess'Sothek wondered at the sudden hostility of the birds. It wasn't natural, and as the cloud obscured his eyes, he wondered how many of them there were.
Despite his size, he felt the small birds overwhelming him. Hoping the fern or pillar would help him, the hunter backed away to the East . In doing so, he felt comforted at seeing Tharrek beside him.
Palag slips away from the ravens and heads past Benjamin and under a tree , where he hopes the ravens won't pick on him so much but where he can still see into the fountain's area.
After Quetzalcoatl bites at the birds, he moves toward his master, angrily hissing at the birds surrounding him.
Reflex at end of turn from last round:
Tharrek struggles forward towards teh fountain, cursin g loudly as he goes.
End of turn Reflex Save: (includes -2 from penalized Dex)
Round 3 part 1
Quetzalcoatl snaps at a raven that got too close, envenoming the bird. It stumbles and flutters away, obviously struggling with the poison in its veins. Quetzalcoatl's master is not so fortunate with his aim, and the snake slithers back to Yochtanl.
Djatrix swings futilely at the murder, and advances toward the ruined fountain, though he can make out no sign of creature in the water.
Tharrek is mercilessly harangued by the swarm of blue-tinted ravens, but he manages to push forward, adjacent to the fountain.
As Djatrix and Tharrek reach the fountain, they can hear the sound of laughter from near the fountain through the din of the ravens, but it is hard to pinpoint. Something about the quality of the laughter is different than before...
Djatrix:
Tharrek:
Tharrek, you start giggling and laughing uncontrollably. You can still talk between bursts of laughter, but you are Staggered. You can save again at the end of your turn on Round 4.
Palag and Benjamin both hear a strange laughter from behind them, coming from the trees to the south. It is impossible to pinpoint over the ravens, but is obviously laughter.
Palag:
Benjamin:
Palag, you start giggling and laughing uncontrollably. You can still talk between bursts of laughter, but you are Staggered. You can save again at the end of your turn on Round 4.
To everyone's surprise, both Palag and Tharrek start laughing and giggling uncontrollably, tears in their eyes, and their sides heaving...