Looks like someone will need to go swimming. Without this armor I am a passible swimmer, though I've no formal training. Unless someone else wants to swim, Beorn will begin stripping off his armor to explore what is left of the pond. Perhaps it is not so deep any more and I can just wade.
"If we can come back tomorrow or remain in the area until tomorrow, I can prepare some spells that would allow us to explore the pond. I can create a bubble of air to allow one of us to spend time under water and touch of the sea allows one of us to swim as fast as you can run on land. Perhaps one of us can swim around enough to see if there is anything worth investigating with those spells."
"I also did not prepare a way to detect magic. Perhaps Kas can see if there are any magic items in the water or other magic auras."
The water, severely drained due to the Meteorite's landing vaporizing most of the pond only gets up to about chest deep for Beorn as he wades into the water towards the meteorite.
Its smoking and steaming even after a couple of hours of having touched down.
"Wha? Oh, sure, right just a moment..." says Kasimyr as it leans heavily upon his glaive after walking back from the water, looking quite pale and bloodied. He checks the bruised areas of where the frog bashed into him, wincing with clear pain. "I think I broke something. Is anyone else injured? Just a moment..." His voice is faint as he squeezes his eyes shut, exuding a warm radiance from his hands holding him steady upon the glaive.
Feeling a bit better from his patron's power, Kas takes a deep breath and steels himself for what needs to be done. His face, however, is a bit of a frown. "Well San, I'd like to sense what that is out there like you said, but truth to tell I don't have that power this day of our travels." He shrugs sheepishly and says, "I can get us some pure water though, or mend a torn bag! Not too helpful though in this bit right here..."
No need to wait for your spells Saniana. Look, its not so deep, on me at least. But its quite warm. Hotter than any bath aught to be. the big man seems to stub his toe on something And here I think have found our query. He goes under the water for a moment and resurfaces wet a a little muddy. its here. Some large hunk of rock or metal, or both. Too heavy for me to pull from the mud, but I can get a rope or two around it I think then we can all help pull it out. But as he speaks he slaps his forehead. Horse. We have horses to help pull!
"This is like an egg. Most of the precious sky metals, if any there be, will be in the center. Can we break it open? If not here, perhaps Oleg has a hammer and anvil where we can open Desna's present."
Watching Beorn wade into the pond Rosetta will join her companions at the waters edge. At the mention of horses Rosetta perks up " Here Beorn let me help you, Here is some rope to tie it up and I can attach it to Luca here." she says as she grows the rope to Beorn and pats her horse Luca.
As she ties her rather intricate knot she hums a little tune to herself...
"Desna's present eh? I have a rascally Desnan friend that would've loved to have witnessed this - ah well at least we can set the mood properly then!" Rather than wade back into the cold water, Kas gives a grin and sits down at the pond's edge, pulling forth his small hand drum from his backpack. He listens to Rosetta's tune for a moment and then starts an accompaniment with a practiced hand.
Saniana begins to talk to the horses, whinnying and neighing as she capers about to the music being sung and played. She explains what they hope to do and coaxes them to pull in concert, since there is a concert to entertain them.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star/
Fallen from the sky so far/
Rise from deep below the sea/
Twinkle once again for me."
Saniana improvises a song, altering the lyrics of a song gnomes sing to their children to provide counterpoint to Rosetta's melody.
With the ropes secure Beorn wades out of the water, but still stripped to the waist he lends his back to the task the horses are set on, helping as he can.
Getting this thing out of the water is less than half the task I fear. We still need to get it to Oleg's! Perhaps we can rig a litter that the horses can drag?
You guys are able to tie a rope to the horses and Rosetta is able to knot the rope a couple of times around the meteorite, its difficult work in the darkness.
Saniana is able to convince the horses and they begin pulling and working in concert to drag the rock from the mud.
Once out of the water, it sits there, sparkling in the torch light and dripping wet. It looks much like one of those rare rocks that once split open sparkles like a thousand shimmering diamonds.
Hmm. Can't be that hard to knock some sticks together to drag this thing on. I'll just cut these saplings here and use this rope like so.
Beorn ends up with a tangle or ropes and saplings too small to hold the rock. Er, help?
"Beorn it looks like you could use a hand with those saplings and rope... Rosetta jaunts over to Beorn and attempts to assist him in creating the litter.
She effectively cuts ups some more saplings and knots off the rope
Beorn and Rosetta team up and build a sling to help haul the rock with the horses help.
Saddling up, you guys begin the trek back to Oleg's Trading Post, sore, bruised and exhausted.
Its early morning by the time you guys arrive.
Thank you Rosetta, I could not have managed that without you.Beorn says with genuine appreciation. I think we all are becoming a better team. I am feeling like I can trust and depend on each of you. I hope you feel the same about me.
You're welcome! It was no problem, and I agree without trust how are we to depend on each other whilst we traverse the Stolen Lands.
Upon reaching Oleg's Rosetta helps unload and goes to see if Oleg has anything in his shed to help open the meteorite.
Saniana clicks her heels at Beorn's compliment and doffs her hat in a friendly bow, and then examines the meteor. She talks all the way home wondering where it came from, perhaps one of the planets or other regions of the deep. When the stone gets back to Oleg's she eagerly waits near it to see what it looks like when cracked open.
In case either of these helps in the study of the meteorite.
When she next gets the chance to prepare spells, she will prepare Detect Magic and uses it to study the rock for auras. "It is possible, likely even, that the meteorite caused those frogs to rise as zombies. We should be careful in case it has other evil effects on us or animals nearby."
Exhausted, you guys drag yourselves into bed, resting for a while and rising near dinner time. Oleg and Svetlana have a dinner ready for you,
Oleg commenting "That's an interesting rock you've dragged back here, I've never seen anything like it,"
Saniana is able to discern that much of the rock is iron but you guys are able to crack it open with some hammers and chisels Oleg had in the shed revealing a number of sky metals, some Adamantine and some Siccatitte.
Both rather rarer metals!
Beorn assess the metal but really has no idea what it is.
There are at least three different metals here. he notes.
"Wow, I've never seen such beautiful metals like these before..." She trails off as she looks at the different sky metals.
"Now I'm no expert but I'd probably guess that these sky metals are rather expensive given how rare they are. Have any of you come across these before in your travels?" Rosetta asks her companions but to no one in particular.
The siccatitte emits a cold frosty aura, it's almost like it'd cold burn you if you touched it with exposed skin.
Rosetta is able to judge that there is about 3-4 pounds of Adamantine and 2-3 pounds of Siccatitte but its also possible more could be gleaned from it with a more practiced hand.
"Never have I seen its like in my humble travels in Restov or the River Kingdoms," answers Kas in something of an awed tone. "I can't give a notion of worth or what-not over what you've gleaned here Rosetta, but I'd like to think this is a good beginning to our exploring of these here 'Stolen Lands'...even if I did get thumped good by that turned frog!"
Kas nears a finger towards the frosty aura of the siccatitte, but extracts his hand quickly before long. "My my...how wondrous!"
With a chuckle he muses at the find a moment longer, and then says with more seriousness, "Well now, we know we have these mites to tend to...and Rosetta wanted to take a gander at that fort if we think we can manage it sneakily enough. I want to right the wrong that was committed here before and get at those mites m'self."
And I want to reach the mites in a spiral search pattern, exploring as we go. We need good maps of these unknown lands. Lets be off.
Saniana is always ready to explore, particularly the forest. She's looking forward to dealing with the mites, but is content to work our way out to the lair. Before starting out the next day, she provides another weather report, using read weather.
Rosetta is ready and itching to start exploring me seesing more of what these Stolen Lands have to offer. " maybe as we explore we can find someone to make some weapons for us out of these sky metals. I'm ready to keep exploring! " she seems very excited to get back out of the open road.
Weather will be cooler than normal but otherwise an average 45 degrees in the day, dropping down to about 32 at night for the next few days. Small amount of clouds, mostly sunny.
As you guys head out for a new day to explore some of the surrounding regions, in a field nearby Oleg's hut you guys spy what looks like a small cottage with smoke rising lazily from it in the distance, maybe a mile or two away.
"We need to get to know all the people who are already settled here. They can tell us so much about the area," Saniana says, eager to spur her reindeer to approach the settlement. She knows there could be danger there, however, so she waits to see what the others will do.
"Well now, seeing how close they are to Oleg and Svetlana's, I'd think of 'em as neighbors eh?" Kas adjusts his hat and purses his lips as he looks at the cottage in the distance. "I think we should pay a brief visit, even if it's to let them know about recent events with the bandits."
The total distance ends up being about 15 miles total from the Trading Post.
Riding up to this small, home-y cottage, the most interesting smells are noticeable as you approach. Through one of the windows and eldery man with a long gray wispy beard and a few missing teeth greets you.
"Well howdy-do there folks! Ya here to rob me today cause I ain't givin' ya nothin'!"
"Ha, ha!" Saniana laughs at his question. "We've been hunting robbers. We already killed a few, sent some to jail, and a few others are going to be redeeming themselves by working for others. Have you been robbed lately? I'm Saniana, by the way. We're going to be neighbors. What are you cooking?"
Beorn manages a smile for the man. We will not be robbing you today good sir, or any other day. In fact you might say we are part of the solution to banditry here in the Sword Lands. At least we aim to be part of the solution. Like little Saniana here says we have already cleared out one group of bandits and plan to take out the rest of them, eventually. Now I am Beorn. You have met Santana. The gentleman there is Kasimyr and the lovey lady there is Rosetta. Might we have your name? And I too wonder about what you might be cooking that smells so, interesting.
Lookin' at ya with his one good eye, "Tha name's Bokken, I'm brewin' up some herbal potions, some stew and tha like, just humble Alchemist tired o' being robbed. Good ta hear you folks are trying to put a stop to the banditry issue," He disapears from the window and you hear a number of locks unlocking from the door where he appears, "Well, come in, let me have a look at ya folks,"
Entering his humble abode, it is adorned with all manner of herbs, flowers, fruits and dead bugs in jars. A giant cauldron is brewing up something fierce, it smells like a dark forest after a heavy rain.
A smaller cauldron is bubbling and every now and then emits a bubble and a spark.
"Well, if ya're takin' care of the bandits, I might be able to help, I have a couple of potions brewed up if ya need ta buy 'em,"
two potions of endure elements(50 gold), and a potion of cure moderate
wounds(150 gold)
Pleased to meet a neighbor with such a useful skill Beorn offers to shake his hand. Let us consult with ourselves and see what we can afford. Your prices are fair but each potion still represents a lot of gold my new friend. He ponders for a moment before offering I wonder if there might be some task or deed you need done that might be worth some coin or even a discount on some of your wares?
Nodding at you, "Yes yes, well I do need some more Fangberries, and they have to be high quality fang berries, I use them for my potions, if you can fetch me at least 7 good fang berries I could offer a 25% discount,"
He'll lay out a rough map, similar to the one you guys have and show you where the fang berry grove is.
Its luckily only a few hours ride away from your current location.
Saddling up, you guys take to the road to head out for this Fangberry grove for your new good friend Bokken.
Its not far into the woods but as you begin approaching, it becomes quite tangled and you realize your horses & reindeer are tromping on some fang berries as you approach the outskirts of the patch.
Bjorn pauses, not making any sudden moves. He looks to Santana. What should we do? I would hate to have to fight those and killing such creatures seems a waste.
Rosetta studies the map as our new friend points out the berry grove, trying to commit it to memory.
Not seeing whatever it is Bjorn is talking about she also looks towards the rest of her party to see what the hold up is. " Bjorn, is there something out there? If there are creatures I don't want to kill any innocent ones..."
"Hmmm?" Kasimyr's reverie on his stout horse Gerdie along with an accompanying tune he hums is broken up by the warnings of Beorn and Rosetta's reply. "Oh...are we here then? What's the matter?"
"Oh...ohhh!" Kas peers into the distance towards the nearby trees and seems surprised at what he sees. "My my! Now that'd make for quite a honeycomb find eh? Don't think though that I want to see what happens if I put my hand in that honeycomb, no siree!"
Kas chuckles and pats Gerdie a couple of times reassuringly, adjust his hat and peers some more at the stand of berries and their protectors. "Well now, I'm fond of bees as it relates to the Lady's blossoms and flowers and what-not, but I don't have much that can help us in the favored way I reckon. Just a bit to protect us if it comes down to it. Hmmm...well if San doesn't have a way to entreat with 'em, well, perhaps we can smoke 'em out somehow?"
Saniana sees what Kasimyr sees and shakes her head. "Giant bees. I can sometimes influence animals to cooperate, but these things are mindless. They do not like smoke. Anybody got a smoke bomb? I can summon an ally in case they want to want to make us fight for these fangberries."
The giant bees are starting to get pretty agitated in this stare-down and rise out of the trees buzzing pretty loudly to try and scare you away.
Rosetta draws her longbow, knocks and arrow and fires at one of the bees. "I've never been a fan of large flying insects, so take this!"
Saniana steps back a little and sacrifices her shillelagh spell and uses the energy to summon an eagle. Holding a sprig of holly, she gestures toward the air above and says, "Do mo Prionsa cabhair an aer!"
Rosetta draws her bow and fires an arrow at one of the angry bees and it hits the sucker, sticking into its abdomen oozing green blood.
It starts buzzing angrily and rather loudly.
Meanwhile Saniana starts to summon some help!
Round 1 - Initiative - bold may go!
Saniana
Rosetta
Beorn
Kas
Giant Bee 1 | 2: 8 damage
Stepping forward in front of the other defensively Beorn readies to attack any bee that tries to come close enough to sting any of them. He is somewhat relieved that Saniana thinks its ok to fight these foes.
Kas draws forth his favored glaive and takes up a defensive posture himself, intended to strike down any bees that come within his reach even as Beorn readies his tried and true greatsword to protect them. It's not much he muses, but he hopes it will be enough to give Rosetta and Saniana time to work their more effective skills.
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Both angry bees surge forward at the maruading interlopers, one of them narrowly avoiding Kasimyr's glaive.
They both swarm Kas, he is the closest and most deserving of stings because of that!
The first bee pierces through his domain defense but his stinger catches him in the folds of his shirt and fails hurt him.
The second bee suffers no such distractions and stabs Kas right in the arm.
But Kas being a lover of flowers has been stung by bees many times before and even these larger cousins can't poison him!
Round 1 - Initiative - bold may go!
Saniana
Rosetta
Beorn
Kas 3 damage
Giant Bee 1 | 2: 8 damage
Hey there. Get off of Kas. Beorn shouts as he gingerly tries to cut a bee without hitting his friend. He would try to step to flank with Kas but I believe Kas does not threaten with his reach weapon.
”Eeeeyowww!” exclaims Kas as he jolts from the dreadful sting, even protected as he feels he is from the bee’s poison. Swinging his glaive back and forth in an attempt to keep their attention upon him, his maneuvers are truly meant to block and no longer to injure, trusting that Beorn and Rosetta can down the insects with their superior martial skills.
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Beorn steps up and cuts down one of hte giant bees, bisecting the insect, green blood splatters to the ground and oozes down his greatsword.
Kas works to fully distract the second one, weaving his glaive around.
Round 2 - Initiative - bold may go!
Saniana
Rosetta
Beorn
Kas 3 damage
Giant Bee 1