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"Aaargh!" After being hit by the red bearded warrior, Darathys barely holds off hitting the unconscious man. Focusing on the situation, he sees Lini and Droogami fighting against two more warriors and quickly reaches the gnome and her tiger companion, trying to strike the green robed warrior from behind.
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Ydresus continues to bite his target.
Darathys misses the green, while Titus stabalizes blue.
No signs of a peaceful resolution.
And Dulcinea puts the last warrior down.
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"I speak their tongue, though I'm still a tainted foreigner to them."
Kayanor spends a moment thinking through his plan before the others finish tying them up and bringing them to.
"Noble Warriors, your fight was just and brave. You have not died a warrior's death because now is not your time. We are not your foes. There is a warrior's death in your future, of that I am sure. Please, we mean no harm. We are aware that we have defiled the land with our presence. We seek to undo the damage by hunting down one of our own."
Kayanor waits before continuing.
After some struggling and cursing, in Hallit, the men finally accept their situation. They do not speak any other language, so Kayanor translates the basics for everyone. These Snowmask clansmen attacked, it seems, to prevent you from joining your other defiler allies who recently passed this way.
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Titus tries to explain to the warrior that they are not the same people they recently pass this way.
They want to fight these defiler and that they are sorry if they make something bad as they are stranger on these lands.
he says to Kayanor
Tell them, we want to help them fight these defilers and hope to go peacefully in their lands and not make mistake.
Eventually, they give you the information you ask, more because they see no harm in it rather than becoming more friendly. Do you leave them bound or let them go? Or something else?
After you decide, you continue on your trek. Shortly after nightfall, you come across a cave indicated on Skagni’s map. There is enough room for all of you to huddle inside to escape the elements overnight.
The next morning, the sky is cloudy and ominously gray.
A storm is heading down from the north, and may cross your intended path. You think you can stay ahead of the storm if you minimize breaks for rest and food (so basically, a forced march).
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Dulcinea is happy to let them free if they give their word or--as Thessaly suggested--leave them bound in such a manner that they can wriggle free if they don't.
She waves at the Snowmask tribesmen as they depart. "Goodbye, boys! Next time, maybe talk first, attack later. You get fewer wounds that way." She doesn't seem to care that they don't speak Taldane, making the comment more for her own amusement than anything.
The men do agree to leave you, and when let go, they head in the opposite direction of your travels.
Lini heals herself once again with her wand before binding the narrow pine branch in with the rest of her stick collection. Frowning at the large gashes in her clothing, she will cast mending, the natural fibres of her tunic seeming to grow and stitch back together. As she works, Droogami makes to stalk after the fleeing snowmask tribesmen, as Lini bids him to heel without so much as turning her head. "Remember, sweet friend. We have more important quarry."
Lini watches the gathering stormclouds, her thin green brows furrowed. She suddenly comes to a stop at the front of the procession, closes her eyes and listens to the howling voice of the wind. "Storm. A big one. We need to hurry if we don't want to risk losing our quarry."
With that, Lini and Droogami will lead the party on a forced march, draping an arm around the leopards shoulders as her wounds begin to take their toll.
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Through Kayanor Titus explained to the Ulfen their goal and that they are member of a Tribe far south who doesn't want to conquer but to understand History, to record it.
He wish them well and hope they will let them pass the next time.
Each day, Titus renew his endure elements spell.
A Storm ? Are you sure Lini ? I don't see anything... but knowing that Lini is a druid, Titus is finally convince that that's true and follows Lini's behavior, augmenting his path.
I agree, if we want to find our quarry we need to hurry !
Kayanor and Lini are already showing that the forced march is taking a toll, but watching the winter storm rolling in certainly provides motivation.
Ydresus tries to catch up with its master's pace.
Ydresus and Droogami also becomes fatigued.
However, as weary as many of you are, you did manage to find the cave just as the snowstorm hits.
Ten feet into this dark granite cave, a large cavern opens up, its ceiling rising as high as thirty feet. Warm, humid air fills the chamber, and colorful fungi cover the floor and walls. Beneath a layer of iridescent algae, the faint images of cave paintings can be seen on all the cavern’s walls. Signs of a rockslide block what may once have been a passage farther into the cave.
Unfortunately, no rest for the weary. As you enter the cave, 3 tiny dinosaurs that have taken up residence here are starving, and attack you.
Kayanor puts an arrow in one, pinchusioning it to a giant mushroom. It is disabled, and struggles its way to unconsciousness.
Most importantly, you recall these dinosaurs, called Compsognathus, have a poisonous bite that zaps a person's strength. The also are strong swimmers, and fast runners. (Nothing else to really know about them - decent Dex, medium AC, low hit points).
Darathys slams one of the other dinos into the wall, but misses cutting the last one in half.
Lini drops off Droogami, too tired to try and stay on. Droogami, while fatigued, is a cat, afterall, and pounces on the remaining tiny dino.
The cat is a little sluggish, but still manages to swipe the creature quite well. The creature pounces back on the cat.
Dulcinea is able to put the final dinosaur down.
You explore the cave a bit, and find no other creatures. You also find only one other exit, and it has been blocked by a rock slide.
Amid the fungi are the remnants of a long decayed party of Kellid hunters. You find:
3 bandages of rapid recovery, 2 masterwork throwing axes, a masterwork bolas, a potion of barkskin, 2 potions of endure elements, 6 pairs of snowshoes, a fully charged wand of longstrider carved from a smilodon’s tooth, and a bag of unworked gemstones worth 40 gp.
The cavern’s tall walls are covered with cave paintings under a thin layer of faintly glowing algae. The paintings depict a castle at the base of a mountain. Outside the castle, a large creature with wings and a long neck lies on the ground before a figure lifting a huge red axe over its head to strike. Other humanoid figures cluster around the scene. The mural is then interrupted by a repeated design: two mammoths with a smaller one in tow marching east. This motif is repeated over and over in an orderly line from the top wall of the cave to the bottom. There are 30 copies of this design.
The next scene shows the wielder of the red axe lying on a raised mound within the castle, his weapon clutched to his chest. Other figures leave the castle carrying large bags on their shoulders.
The drawings continue on the other side of the cave, showing an avalanche cascading down to cover the tower. The last drawing shows more of the humanoid figures standing over the edge overlooking the castle’s previous location, while four drawings of the moon in various states arc above the scene. In this last picture, all of the humanoid figures have a smear of white color around their lower faces.
The axe-wielding figure in the first scene is different from the other humanoids depicted, as he is shown with a white beard, a feature uncommon among the Kellid peoples. The painting of the three mammoths symbolizes migration, and each painting of three mammoths stands for the passage of a single year. The moon in its various stages symbolizes eternity or a period of time that cannot be depicted with the migration symbol, usually meaning hundreds of years.
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"Looks like we weren't the first people to camp here. Check this out! 3 bandages of rapid recovery, 2 masterwork throwing axes, a masterwork bolas, a potion of barkskin, 2 potions of endure elements, 6 pairs of snowshoes, a fully charged wand of longstrider and it looks like it's carved from a smilodon’s tooth, and a bag of unworked gemstones, looks like it's worth about 40 gold."
Kayanor starts mucking about with the treasure. "These shoes look like they'd be a big boon. If anyone can use that wand, even better."
Kayanor yawns and stretches. "That's it gents. I need a rest before we see this through."
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Dulcina is busy cleaning off the blade of her rapier as the party progresses forward and pays little attention to searching the surroundings. Her interest suddenly returns when Kayanor mentions the loot he's found.
"Not bad! Your eyes are both pretty and keen."
She takes one of the pairs of snowshoes and one of the bandages. "I'll hold onto these, if you don't mind."
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Thessaly spends a little longer in front of the murals, brushing off some fungus to squint at them a bit longer. "These are kinda interestin'. History, alright. I bet the Society would want a record of this. They love buggery old stuff like that."
She traces the figures she sees with her fingertips. "Look at all this-- big white snake? no, it's got wings-- maybe it's a big version of that little thing we killed before, a dragon-- and then this bloke is killin' it with the red axe. Hey, remember this is all supposed to be about some big, secret weapon? Bet that's it. Looks like the old Ulfen bugger died and got buried with his axe, like you're supposed to... than an avalance covers the cave. Hmn. The Shadow Lodge will have work to do if they intend to dig it out from that."
Darathys Kressen
Dulcinea de la Mancha
Kayanor
Thessaly
PJP
Bodkin Brandyway
