The first kech shrieks what are probably expletives in his native tongue, and he tries to break free of the web.
The kech breaks free but is still surrounded by webs that he doesn't want to try to move through so stays put and pulls out his bow and nocks an arrow.
The second kech drops his bow and lunges at Lark with tooth and claw.
The first two strikes pass by Lark so closely he can feel the kech's breath upon him, but they miss. With the third strike, he is not so lucky.
Thren's previous arrow landed just before Lee's web obscured her view. Nocking another arrow and letting it fly where she had seen the kech before, this time her arrow gets caught in the webbing just a foot before finding the creature's face.
Lark tries to attack while still finding his footing in the tree and both swords swing wide of their target.
Lee points at the first kech and shoots a volley of magic missiles at him.
The kech is severely wounded, but simply snarls in anger, and raises his longbow to try to shoot Lee ().
The arrow is deflected off Lee's magical armor. The first kech doesn't like his situation at all.
The other kech doesn't like how slippery Lark seems to be and tries to push Lark off the tree instead.
Lark is knocked backward five feet and finds himself not standing on a branch on the same tree anymore. He'll need to be quickly reflexive if he wants to try to find a landing on a branch on the nearby tree!
Lark begins to fall!
Lark manages to grab the rope as he descends, but it still pulls hard against his spine, a delicate thing, as he falls about 40 feet. He finds himself hanging ten feet above the ground, a kech looking down upon him and laughing.
Another arrow gets stuck in the webbing. Thren looks at Lee, raising one eyebrow, and says, "What? You couldn't just put a wall between us?" The tiefling says ironically.
"Well, as you well know from our lessons, "wall" spells are only available to more advanced casters. Further, being a spontaneous caster with limited spell choices..."
Lee trails off, realizing that Thren was winding him up.
He shrugs.
"I don't know. It seemed like the thing to do at the time..."
"It was. At the time. Now...?" Thren replies, seeing two arrows hanging in the webbing. "And I know all about limited spell choices and not casting from books, remember?" She grins. "Well, at least you've made it interesting."
Lark slices through his rope harness and this time his fall is graceful and has a soft landing. "Lee, did I mention yet you were right about swinging through trees?
On the ground the rogue sheathes his swords and draws his bow, ready to continue the fight.
Lee banters about spellcraft. It occurs to him that maybe he should also be doing something.
The first kech falls into the thick webbing within the trees, blood soaking into the white silk strands.
The second kech pulls out a pod from a hide pouch and throws it at Lark.
Lark too gets covered in itchy powdery seeds.
Lark just barely recovered from his fall now is unable to shake off the deeply uncomfortable sensation and breaks out in a rash all over.
Thren turns back towards Lark's opponent and lets fly another arrow. Her shot streaks by over the kech's head and she curses under her breath.
Lark grits his teeth against the urge to scratch and manages to land a hit despite the distraction.
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Lee casts Magic Missile at the remaining Kech.
While things don't look great for the kech, the bloodied ape grits fanged teeth and keeps fighting. Ably climbing over a bit to get a better view of the foes on the path, he pulls out his bow, nocking and then firing an arrow at the little man who seems to be dealing such damage to him and his hunting partner.
Luckily for Lee, the tree canopy gets in the way, and an arrow whistles past his head, just barely missing him.
Lark steps forward to keep the kech in view and looses another arrow. This one sails wide of its mark.
Thren frowns at the arrow that passes by her and close to Lee, nocks one of her own, and waits for a second. The tip of her arrow begins to glow, then the shaft. Her previous arrows had glowed as her magic filled them. This time, she waits that last second, takes aim, and lets fly. The crimson shaft slams home in the ape-creatures ribs and she smiles grimly.
"First and last!" She crows.
The last kech wobbles and falls forward, and if any life was in him when he left the tree branches, there is no more by the time he hits the ground.
Thren stands and basks in a victory pose for a moment as the party gathers themselves.
Lee's web spell dissipates, and with it the sticky strands holding the other kech in the tree disintegrate, causing the creature to also fall conveniently to the jungle floor.
Miraculously, eggs were tucked away in pouches on the opposite side of the kechs from the one they landed on. They are still warm, and likely they can still be brought to term if protected and returned to the lizardfolk in a timely fashion.
Although a gory business, the next step is to collect the kechs' ears and return to the lizardfolk.
"If you're done hanging around up there, Lark, we've got ears to collect. If they somehow have anything valuable besides the eggs, you might want to grab that too." Thren says saucily, one hand on her hip. Her tail is twitching actively as she teases her friend. "Hop to it now!"
Having gotten that done, Thren pulls a blanket from her pack and prepares to wrap the eggs for transport.
"Solid shooting. Well done."
Lee looks at the eggs.
"The blanket's a good call. If it was needed, I could Scorching Ray some rocks, heating them up and we could put them into the same bundle. Probably with a few layers of blanket between the rocks and eggs, of course. Otherwise, let's collect trophies and hustle back..."
Lee will assist with the messy work.
Thren secures the eggs in a blanket. Lark and Lee cut off the kechs' ears and search the kech's bodies. They find a number of goods, some of which were also likely stolen from the lizardfolk, though some were likely also their own trade goods or rewards for battle.
They are all still very itchy, and the powder's getting into their clothes.
4 ears
2 longbows
32 arrows
4 rash pods (these work like itching powder with a 15 foot diameter effect)
Roughly 8 coins, each worth 10 gp, similar to the ones Jenesara gave you. (They look old and salvaged.)
1 potion of ant haul (CL 1)
[60 gp] carved ivory scroll case
[90 gp] ancient censer with silver filigree
[60 gp] decorated ceremonial ebony helmet
[75 gp] a beautifully painted rhino hide depicting a scene of lizardfolk fighting what appear to be humans bearing the symbols of Abadar. The hide is edged in hoops of mother-of-pearl
[10 gp] 2 unworked obsidian stones (each worth 5 gp)
[8 gp] 2 unworked abalone shells (each worth 4 gp)
[10 gp] 2 unworked rhodochrosite (each worth 5 gp)
(All of these could be made more valuable with a Craft (jewelry) DC 10 check)
Our bard checks her work, making sure the eggs are well-cushioned for transport. Satisfied, she looks over the haul. "Some of this we should definitely see about leaving with the lizardfolk, though I'm going to keep some of those arrows. Lark, I'd keep the rest if I were you. Maybe drop all of it off for that matter. Seeing her friends scratching, Thren thinks. "You two are going to rub yourselves raw that way. Maybe you can wipe the stuff off? Will it wash off if we find a stream?"
Thren pauses and smacks her forehead. This gets a frown out of her as she feels for a moment her broken horn stub.
Then she casts prestidigitation and starts cleaning the mess off of herself, Lark, and Lee.
"Thanks! It's good to be clean. Can you get Muffin, too?"
"As soon as I'm done with you and Lark, sure." Thren proceeds to use her magic to clean off Lee, Lark, Muffin, and herself of the itchy plant powder.
Finally free the maddening rash powder Lark sighs in relief. "Threnody, thank you kindly. That's good thought about leaving some of this with the lizardfolk. I might even say we should gift this painted scene. If it's significant to them we might get more in goodwill than we'd get in gold just selling it."
Threnody takes some time to use her magic to clean off the party.
The group turns around to go back the way they came, and prays they don't get lost.
The party makes their way back to the Lizardfolk camp, though they get turned around a few times and a group of lizardfolk scouts comes out to find them. They admit they were expecting to find your dead bodies, so they are impressed to find you alive--and doubly so when you show them the kechs' ears. Still, you don't get back until sundown, and when you return you are told Hinsin has gone back to the lagoon to guard the launch.
Word of your triumphant return spreads within seeming seconds of your arrival. Nearly as quickly as you arrive in the treetop village are you surrounded by clusters of towering lizardfolk, all expressing joy and pride in both your successful battle as well as the return of the eggs. You find it hard to move within the throng--indeed you are more carried along by the jubilant lizardfolk toward the village square, and rhythmic chanting breaks out. Lark's considerable bruises and claw scrapes are particularly admired. You're given little space until you are brought to Krentak to formally present the ears.
Krentak is overjoyed to see you return not only with the kechs' ears, but moreover the eggs you were able to save. The matron assigned to protect the eggs takes them from you and, cradling them, takes them to a new and hopefully better hidden creche for their incubation. Krentak asks you to regale the village with the story of your victory, which she translates into Draconian for the village.
When you are finished, you are invited to step forward and be welcomed formally into the tribe. Krentak casts healing spells upon you to close your (mainly Lark's) wounds, and your faces are painted and you are given what look like bird skull epaullettes to mark you as warrior-caste of the tribe.
You are given a carved scepter of bone which works as a wand of cure light wounds ().
No sooner is the ceremony completed than more chanting and celebrating breaks out, and you are offered a feast of coconut, roasted jungle birds, and a variety of fruits, all accompanied by a rather strong fermented coconut beverage. A good amount of requisite feasting and further storytelling time passes, but Krentak manages, later into the evening, to summon you into her hut.
"I know you have business in the Shrine of the Wild God. I will tell you what I know, but I would know more of your duty as well. Tell me that, and ask any questions you may have as well."
Lark nods to Krentak and says, "We follow in the footsteps of Warvil. I think he was known to you. Just as you hide your eggs for safety, Warvil put something very precious to him in the Shrine. Varossa and her crew are heir to Warvil, so we go to retrieve what he left for us." Lark adjusts one of the skull epaulettes on his coat. "Warvil proved himself worthy to the Wild God - do you know how he did so? Do know what guardians still protect the shrine?"
The lizardfolk also present each of you with very carefully scrimshawed ivory bracelets, each worth 300 gp.
Krentak nods at Lark. "Indeed, Warvil was a pious servant of the Wild God and that would be where he would keep something precious to him. I have only been to that place when I was named chief; the others do not go. It was once built as a holy-place to another god, A-ba-dar. These were bad men, who fought my grandmother's grandmother and her people. They fought them, or tried to do something called 'ci-vil-ize' them, which meant they wanted to take away our stories and songs and rituals and stop us from hunting forever." She curses and spits at the idea. "We and the island drove the bad men of A-ba-dar away. We stay away from the temple now so as not to disturb the ghosts of our ancestors who fought the men of A-ba-dar. But you may go--you have been welcomed to our tribe, but our ancestors are not yours."
She pauses, then continues the history of the shrine: "Later a priest of the Wild God, who you would call Goes-Ray"--(you realize she means Gozreh)--"took over the holy-place, and the Wild God's power caused the jungle to over-grow it, so that civ-il-iz-a-shun cannot ever harm our island again. I have made pilgrimage as far as I could go when I was young, to pray that the god watch over our island and our tribe. The priest is gone--dead or moved on, I do not know--but a great living wind guards the temple. If you show honor to the Wild God, the living wind should let you pass. If not, the wind will be as a storm and try to drive you out."
Krentak picks up a hide pouch and opens it. She hands each of you carved bone tokens in the form of a curled leaf--crude but clear symbols of Gozreh. "Carry these and the Living Wind should let you pass."
"We are honored and grateful for these," says Lark. He takes one token and passes the others to Thren and Lee.
Lark unfurls the painted rhino hide and says, "Your ancestor's story is a good one, and perhaps this is part of that story. We took it from the kech and I hope you will do me the favor of accepting it as a gift."
Lee will cast Detect Magic and look over the bracelets and the Gozreh tokens.
He'll report anything unusual and is ready to go.
"As a point of interest, I'm probably not going to me a mystical blockbuster due to the number of spells I've used today. I suspect resting isn't an option, but I thought I'd share the info so that we can plan accordingly."
Krentak accepts the rhino hide painting with a bow. "I am humbled, Warrior Lark. You have protected a piece of my family." She reaches into a long basket next to the "throne" she sits upon, and hands Lark what appears to be a very well made javelin. "In return take one of the old prizes we found, left behind by the A-ba-dar men. It is old, but we have kept good care of it, and it flies even truer than many of our own spears." (It is a masterwork javelin.)
At this point it is well after dark (you were lost in the jungle for awhile, and the celebrations upon your return went on a good while). The lizardfolk are happy to give you a place to rest so you can set off at first light, if you so wish--though none of course will stop you if you wish to traverse the jungle at night.
The bracelets are not magical, simply nicely made and valuable. The holy symbols of Gozreh are just that: holy symbols.
Lee is for resting.
Are there any errand that we need to run, though? If so, he's willing to join in.
Yes, let's rest for the night and head out in the morning.
The group chats with Krentak a little more before being given a place to rest in the hut adjacent to hers. The floor is lined with dried banana leaves and topped with smooth hides, and though perhaps not what you are used to, if any of the party has trouble sleeping, it is more likely that the sway of the treetops does not quite match the sway of the sea.
Guides point the party toward the path and the three intrepid mariners head their way through the jungle--this time, presumably, all on the ground. Myriad creatures hoot and shout in the treetops.
The party narrowly manages to miss confrontation with a giant gorilla of some kind, who bounds off into the trees once he realizes the party has no interest in a nearby grove of bananas.
Once used to the shape and drift of the path, the party realizes they can follow it, and even notices occasionally ancient stone markers, often overgrown with moss or underbrush, meant to lead to the temple. When the party rounds to the western side of the path, they can even eventually see occasionally worn cobbles or other markers that at some point long ago, someone likely human had attempted to construct a more permanent pathway than merely a worn footpath.
The trip takes a good while, and the party has to stop on occasion to rest sore feet or drink water or have a bite to eat. In mid afternoon, they arrive at a rope bridge suspended across a gorge carved by a broad stream below. The gorge also cuts a line of sight through the jungle canopy, and the party can for the first time clearly see a large ruined building at the top of the hill that is the island's pinnacle. Hopefully getting there will not take much longer.
The bridge appears to be relatively well maintained and, as it was likely built by the lizardfolk, can sustain a good deal of weight. Still, the part to walk across is quite narrow. Crossing should be more than doable--provided one does not lose one's nerve.
Muffin bounds forward and, equipped with claws and a feline sense of balance, crosses the bridge with ease. He looks back at the three of you, and while he is now 100 feet away, you can feel the smug gaze from where you stand.
Lark balances easily, crossing first, then holding the rope steady for Thren and Lee. They manage to all get across safely, though they hear some larger creatures in the trees beat a retreat as the party reaches the other side.
Not long after, they come to another bridge, this one much older, built of sturdy hardwood and treated alchemically to withstand the weather. While it creaks as you cross, you make it across with little issue.
The path curves east and north, and the ruins of the monastery now fully rise before you. Nearby is a large fresh trickling stream, rising out of the stone from a perfectly smooth stone basin. The riverway it forms here also looks quite smooth and even. This suggests magic or rather fine engineering was involved in its creation. The water is certainly clean and clear and probably safe to drink.
Ahead the entrance to the monastery rises to the north, built close to the cliffside. Massive stone walls stand, though time and nature has caused some areas to collapse on the cliff's edge to the east and, presumably, to the north. Jungle growth penetrates through aging crumbling windows and archways. In some areas you can see faint outlines of the symbol of Abadar--but in each instance you can see plant life growing out of the stone, obscuring part of the symbol.
Ahead of you lies the most obvious entrance, crumbling but usable stairs rising to a large door way, the wooden doors half rotted away and open to a courtyard within.
It is currently late afternoon. You have a few hours of light left.