Ingrahild paid dearly for collecting her bow and arrows, as the creature carved deep gashes into her legs. But she had her tools, and now could go about her craft.
Keeping with the theme, Thozar pulls out one of his rods and tries to strike the remaining beast with more cold. "Time to wrap this up!"
________
The night hunters have been dispatched.
By the time Gundar can whirl about from one foe to the next and take a step, his fellows have put the other creature down. Catching his breath after the sudden, surprising violence, Gundar wipes off the bits of gore from his blade that its own heat hasn't already turned to ash.
"Never seen anything like 'em," he remarks to nobody in particular.
"Damn nuisances," Thozar grumbles as he puts his head on the ground and smashes a pillow into the side of his head. "Just got to the orc killing part of my dreams too," he pouts.
________
"Tracks are clear enough. May as well see where these things came from - might be more about."
”After we heal up, right? Damned things bit me right good.”
"UUUUUUUGGGGGH!" Thozar groans as talk of tracking surfaces. "Let's do it then. What's a Dwarf got to do to sleep around here?!" he says, prodding Ingrahild multiple times with the wand.
________
You try tracking in the dark, and manage to make your way to a shallow cave. All is quiet. No young.
Among the undigested remains of their prey that the leucrottas have
vomited up inside the shallow cave they call home are a +1 giant-bane heavy crossbow, a wand of crushing despair (32 charges), two opals (worth 600 gp each), a green sapphire (worth 900 gp), 40 pp, and 210 gp.
”Quite a haul. Looks like they are a giant-slayer. Who here is going to put this crossbow to use?”
"Suppose I'll take it. Always helps to be able to put a bolt in something before you get all up-close and personal."
"Does it shoot javelins like Ingrahild's?" Thozar asks with a laugh. "What a haul indeed! Now let's get back to bed. Just because I can see in the dark doesn't mean I want to!"
Indeed it is, and you rest relatively easily until daybreak. You make breakfast and get back on the trail.
The dusty path eases down a gentle slope littered with small boulders. Jagged gray mountains rise on all sides, their peaks resembling the broken jaw of a fallen god. On the surrounding slopes, small copses of fir trees cling desperately to patches of rocky soil, their exposed roots tenaciously grasping the earth in knotted tangles.
Birdzar doubles back to the party. Flapping his wings heavily to slow his descent, he scratches to tally marks into the dirt in front of the other Dwarves and an arrow with the direction. "CAaaaAAWW!" Hopefully that's clear enough to get the message across. Once we find an enchanter I'll have to see about getting something to speak even while in animal form.
________
”Feather-beard found something.” She said, preparing an arrow. ”Step carefully. Wish he could talk so we knew what wants to play.”
Gundar steps aside from the path, finding what cover he can, and prepares his new crossbow for its debut.
They must have sensed you, because suddenly you hear, "Whoever’s
hiding up there, show yourself and die!"
”Sounds like a Giant. Let’s get ready for a fight.” As Ingrahild said it, she focused her ki into a protective layer of force around her.
Birdzar continues to circle overhead, waiting for something to develop before taking any noteworthy actions.
In that case...
”To arms!” Ingrahild cried out, her bow already raised. A hail of arrows flew out, each promising a great deal of pain to the Giant. The effects of her runic bow would become well known in these parts if she had any say in the matter.
Three arrows hit, with the 4th just missing. The damage looks severe.
As Belir grows larger, the bear charges, biting at Ulark at the end of his 80' run.
Flying directly overhead of the Ettin, Birdzar releases his bowels. Aiming for one of their eyes, he can't help but to look down and admire his handiwork. Think I missed my calling here. So many clean windows back home...
________
"Argh! Acid bird poop!?! Really?!?"
It is a very demeaning way to die, but alas, this is now the ettin's story ends. With acid burning through his eye and into the tiny excuse for a brain, the creature with two heads and two personalities dies.
The cave bear, however, doesn't even seem to notice the change in events.
”That was its last words? I almost feel bad for it.” Her lack of concern was evidenced by four arrows flying at the cave bear. Her arrows no longer hit with the power of giant-slaying runes. But luckily she was a good enough shot without them for the arrows to still count.
Gundar lines up the shot and send a bolt from the crossbow at the Ettin, the weapon's magic helping him seek just the right angle...
Every one of those projectiles stuck into the bear target, and it slows, stops, and then falls. It lasted until the final bolt from Gundar hit.
”Well shot, Gundar. Your’s was the killing blow. Keep it up and we’ll make quite a team.” Ingrahild said as she strode forward to retrieve her arrows. It was always best to retrieve them so that new ones wouldn’t need to be made. As such, even broken arrows had their uses. She wondered if there was an enchantment which would make such a hassle obsolete?
"Helps to have a weapon so well fitted for the task. Not sure it would even feel right shooting rabbits for dinner with this," Gundar says as he holds up the magical crossbow again to inspect it.
With the latest threats looking like porcupines, Birdzar continues to circle overhead. Eventually, he lets out a mighty caw in support of his companions and heads off to scout further. Those weapons are damn useful. As long as we can see our foes coming, they'll be dead before reaching us.
As birdzar is lost in thought, he suddenly notices a shadow descending on him! Horns jut from this muscular dragon's beaked head, and spikes cover the dragon's hide even in places on its winged arms.
Thozar sees the threat in time to prevent the surprise attack, but not in time to get away.
The drake swoops on the bird-dwarf and attacks!
Thozar is too far away from the party for them to help. What is your flying speed? You are at least 3 rounds away at top speed in any case, since you were scouting ahead.
Birdzar frantically flaps his wings, sending blood everywhere. With every flap, increasingly large pillows of snow fill the air until visibility is all but blocked! Hoping this is enough, he heads as fast as he can towards the ground.
________
The sleet slows down the drake a bit, but then it comes out the other side and sees that it has been duped. In a surge of speed , it doubles back and and dives on Thozar again. Luckly, the frost on its wings have slowed him a bit, and the drake fails to bit the little bird.
Close enough to the ground now, Birdzar turns into Earthzar. Plummeting to the ground like a sack of potatoes, he curiously disappears into the earth below. Overgrown lizard better not be able to burrow too!
________
The drake screams in protest, which is loud enough to alert the others. You have 2 rounds before the drake finds the group, which is just enough time for Thozar to get back and shout a few words.
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”A drake? Where?!” She had her bow out and an arrow drawn without a moment’s hesitation.
Sadly, she was facing the wrong way.
A rocky head pokes out of the ground. "A Drake is coming and it's hungry!" Thozar shouts before submerging again. No need to make myself the best target again...
The drake flies in and at about 50-70 feet out, it coughs up a ball of caustic acid. As it hits the ground in the center of your group, it bursts into a cloud of acidic gas.
”Ach! Ye dirty fook!” Ingrahild yelled in surprise. Anger on her face, she fired a hail of arrows at the drake.
Earthzar only just manages to groan his words out before his lungs fill with burning gas. Unconscious, his rocky body lays partially suspended in the ground, his upper half bobbing like a buoy afloat in the ocean.
________
2 arrows struck home, but it isn't looking good for our heroes.