With one hobgoblin down, Rayne nods a thanks towards her companions, then moves to the next closest hobgoblin. Without hesitation, she plunges her dagger down into its chest.
Nisa launches a wood blast at the nearest hobgoblin, nearly killing the sleeper in a single hit. Not spying any other enemies, Dalvin finishes the job, his arrow striking striking in the hobgoblin's lung, leaving it unconscious and bleeding out.
Rayne finishes the second hobgoblin with a stab directly through the heart.
Dalvin moves quickly to the hobgoblin bleeding out, and calls out to the others. "Anyone have rope? Or something to tie this one up? We can stabilize, then interrogate him. Find out if there are more nearby."
Skalla wrinkles her nose as she digs up a coil of silk rope from her pack and swiftly binds the unconscious hobgoblin. "Too good for one such as this." Her anger is evident in the way she tugs at the rope as she makes the knots, causing the hobgoblin's body to jerk around.
Dalvin grimaces. "I know."
He checks the wounds he inflicted on the hobgoblin to find a way to stabilize the unconscious scout once they are secure.
Skalla sets to tying the unconscious hobgoblin up while Dalvin checks his wounds. Although the scout was hit by one of the gnome's arrows, the most severe trauma was dealt by Nisa's elemental blast—the force of it seems to have shatter many of the hobgoblin's ribs.
Dalvin might be able to staunch the bleeding from the arrow and position the injured hob in a more comfortable position to prevent any more internal damage, but without magical healing, it is a long road to recovery.
Nisa looks down at the hobgoblin scout, and sighs deeply as she rolls back one sleeve. Green light slowly begins to pulse around her arm as she gently presses her hand onto the scouts wound. The light coalesces into small vines that seem to dig into the hobgoblins side. After a few moments, the wound was nearly gone, and the green energy then slowly fades away.
The hobgoblins eyes snap open instantly and he begins to struggle against his bonds. When he notices that the party looms over him, he snarls and spits, but doesn't speak.
Skalla snarls right back. "The spirits of the dead cry out for vengeance. You'd better have something useful to tell us, or I will let them rip your soul apart." Wisps with vague humanoid features manifest around the half-orc.
Rayne stands beside Skalla and crosses her arms, glaring down at the hobgoblin. "No one here will stop her, either," she says simply.
Dalvin takes a quick step back as Nisa's healing power washes over the hobgoblin and he springs to life. He notches an arrow, ready for if this decision turned out to be a mistake.
"That's right. We want information about the Ironfang. You better talk. Now."
The hobgoblin glares from Skalla to Rayne to Dalvin before speaking in Goblin.
[spoiler=Sense Motive DC 8]Despite his show, the hobgoblin does know Common.
Skalla growls again, responding in the same language.
"You speak my language, half-breed? Then I'll tell you what I know." The hobgoblin shifts to Common, his accent harsh. "If you promise to make my death quick."
"I am Kurat, scout for the Ironfang. We were tasked with searching the Fangwood for ideal positions to make a larger camp and look for any sign of the human-likes that fled Phaendar."
Kurat chuckles darkly before descending into a hacking cough. "Phaendar is ours now, captured in a single night. Those that did not escape were put to work if healthy, put to the sword if not. I do not know how many of us there are. It was a battalion at first, but now? Who can say? More warriors arrive every day."
"Why did your people attack Phaendar?" Dalvin asks quietly, trying his best to keep calm as the wretched scout talks. "And how many more of you were sent to scout these woods?"
"I don't know why the commanders wanted Phaendar, only that we were told to capture it and take the survivors as slave stock."
The hobgoblin grimaces. "I do not know how many scouting parties there are, but know that there is a bounty on your head. My commander has offered 25 gold for reliable information on your whereabouts, double that for any heads, quadruple that for your heads."
"My commander has offered 25 gold for reliable information on your whereabouts, double that for any heads, quadruple that for your heads."
Dalvin glances at the others at hearing this, and can't help but grin despite the grim news that came before it. "Guess we must have caused them some problems. That's good to know, but we'll have to be even more careful. Any Ironfang that see us, we definitely can't risk them getting away."
Like Dalvin, Skalla takes pride in being a pain in the butt for the hobgoblins, and grins back at the gnome. "Yes, we cannot let any of them get away." But inwardly, she is dismayed by the intelligence on the overwhelming numbers in Phaendar. What small hope she had harboured of liberating the town is now extinguished. Out of sight and out of earshot of the Ironfang scout, she gives the others a worried look.
"Well, what now?"
Rayne smirks back. "Killing hobgoblins as we travel? Sounds delightful." She turns with Skalla and and lowers her voice. "Now we kill this one and continue on. We still need to get to the ranger outpost."
"Make it quick, half-breeds," the hobgoblin growls. "I told you what you wanted, now hold up your end of the bargain."
"Gladly." Skalla steps up and shoves her dagger through the hobgoblin's eye.
Dalvin lowers the bow he had trained on the scout, allowing Skalla to finish him off. He calls Drako over to him. "We should search their camp first before we continue on. Supplies, information that he didn't volunteer, anything that we might be able to use."
Dalvin begins with searching the bodies of the fallen hobgoblins.
Rayne kicks one of the dead hobgoblin bodies as she walks past it. "I really want to get ahead of these guys," she growls at no one in particular. "They're like the damned plague."
She sits on a nearby log. "He mentioned that they put healthy survivors to work. I wonder where they have them. Spread out across small camps or at a larger stronghold?" She chews on her fingernails as she thinks.
The hobgoblin spasms as Skalla stabs him through the eye, then dies with a sigh.
Turning over the hobgoblin camp, Dalvin finds a number of useful supplies for the refugees: blankets, tents, iron rations, waterskins. The hobgoblin soldier keeping watch, a scarred and pierced brute with ashen skin, carried a battleaxe of exquisite quality and a functional spyglass. One of the two sleeping warriors warmed himself with an exceptionally fine woolen cloak, dark gray and lined with camel-colored silk.
Additionally, each Ironfang soldier carried a tattered notebook, filled with rough maps of the area and noting water supplies, game trails, and ideal routes for marching large groups. Each also possess a folded scrap of parchment bearing a notice written in Goblin.
Phaendar has not been secured to our glorious general’s satisfaction, and in her name I now offer a bounty of 25 pieces of gold to any member of the Ironfang Legion who returns reliable information regarding the location of fugitive human-likes who fled Phaendar. The payment is doubled if you instead return their heads. Live captives may be claimed as slaves!
All rewards are doubled for the impudent ringleaders of this band! Return all information or heads to my cur of a son, Sergeant Scarvinious.
—Lieutenant Scabvistin
Skalla translates the notice to the others in a low voice, then begins to study the notebooks. "A good find, these. Hopefully it will make it easier for us to lead the refugees, although we have to be careful not to cross the path of any of their groups."
Taking one last look at the camp, she nods in satisfaction. "we should move out. Once the refugees are safe, we can look into liberating the captives."
The Ironfang patrol dealt with, the party returns to the main camp of the refugees. With their discovery by whatever hunters the hobgoblins have patrolling the woods still a clear danger, Aubrin has placed a moratorium on campfires, taxing the supply of ready-to-eat rations.
The following day promises some relief however. As the party moves closer towards the Chernasardo Ranger redoubt, they come across a patch of brambles growing in a sunny glade. The vines bear hundreds of ripe-looking purple berries, a virtual feast ready for harvest.
Upon spotting the berries, Skalla holds up a hand to prevent the others from approaching.
"Those berries are not as wholesome as they seem. There's lots of bones inside the patch, see? Nisa, you have a way with plants, any idea what these are?"
Nisa leans down to examine the berries more closely, taking care not to get caught by the thorns.
Nisa recognizes the hedge as a bramblelash, a species of carnivorous plant that uses its sharp leaves and thorns to attack animals that stray too close. Its victim's blood (and carcass if unlucky) then enrich the soil around it, sustaining the plant.
Nisa pauses as she looks over the plant before she points at the leaves and thorns. "That is a Bramblelash, a blood-thirsty carnivorous plant, it would be wise to avoid it. However those berries would feed an awful lot of mouths back at the camp."
Dalvin groans, watching the berries hungrily. He places a hand on Drako to prevent him from running up to the bush.
"Just our luck. We come across food and we can't harvest it." A low growl emits from the gnome's stomach. "Does anyone have a way to pick the berries from a distance?"
"Let me try something..."
Skalla concentrates for a moment, and a spectral hand takes shape in the air next to her to float towards the bush and attempt to tug a berry free.
Skalla's spell tugs at the berries, picking a juicy bunch from the vine. The bramblelash immediately begins flailing, thorny vines and razor-sharp leaves thrashing about in the open air. After a tense moment, the plant's waving ceases, with the berries floating gently towards Skalla.
The process takes a while, but eventually Skalla has picked the vines free of berries without alerting the bramblelash to the party's location.
---
Later that day, the party reaches the rangers' outpost, crossing the Tamran highway that slices eastward through the forest. The redoubt sits in a swampy gully well-hidden from casual glances, making it an ideal hiding spot.
The forest grows thick here, trees pressed close together with their branches intertwined. A gloom hangs in the air. Foliage around the base of the trees is sparse, stunted by the lack of sunlight. The songs of birds and noises of small animals, so omnipresent in the rest of the Chernasardo, have ceased, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the ancient woods.
The outpost itself is a large treehouse, constructed among the branches of a pair of towering elm trees. A rope ladder dangles from the base of the outpost to the forest floor, swaying gently with a light breeze.
Rayne sighs as they near the outpost, looking around and taking in their eerily quiet surroundings. "I'm not sure why I was hoping this place would be different than the rest of the forest," she quips from behind the party. "I mean, I wasn't expecting it to be cheery or anything— I think that's too much to ask. But I was anticipating there being at least... some people around." She stops walking as that realization dawns on her, an uneasiness creeping over her.
Upon walking closer, she happens to glance up, and stops in her tracks. "Hang on!" she says to the others. "Look." She points up to the branches of the trees, 15 feet or so above the ground. "Spider webs." She whistles. "Those are huge."
Skalla's gaze follows to where Rayne is pointing, and she sighs deeply.
"Of course. Because being hunted by the Ironfang, tussling with wights or avoiding killer shrubs was just not enough."
She unslings her crossbow and loads in a bolt.
"Well, let's get to it."
Dalvin whistles for Drako to halt. "Good catch, Rayne." Following Skalla's lead, he draws his bow and readies an arrow. He looks up into the trees for any way to disable the webbing and make it safe for them to climb up the ladder.
Rayne shoots Skalla a small smile. "I won't lie, I'd almost rather deal with the Ironfang than giant spiders." She pauses for a moment, thinking. "Almost."
The webbing doesn't actually impede progress up the ladder, it's higher up in the trees. Although their webbing has been spotted, there is no sign of the spiders themselves.
All that remains is to press forward.
"I guess we can just... keep moving. Keep your eyes open, though."
Still glancing around them, Rayne approaches the treehouse and the rope ladder, tugging at the ropes before she starts making her way up.
Before the party can cross the wooden causeway leading to the tree house, Rayne spots something curious: more sider webs, nearly invisible and hung hung like gossamer tripwires along the path.
Rayne crouches to look at the nearly imperceptible webbing across the path. "Hey, Dalvin or Skalla?" she calls down to the others. "Could either of you carefully come look at something for me before I get rid of it? There are more webs, but they're different than the ones from before."
Skalla walks over and goes down on one knee as she examines the spiderwebs.
"Just more webs, perhaps from smaller spiders as the strands are thinner."
Dalvin follows Skalla, but also sees nothing out of the ordinary. "The webbing looks strange, but I think Skalla's right. Just a different kind of spider."
Nisa frowns as she walks forward and leans close to the webs.
"I have never seen webs like this, or whatever spider would place them. Be on our toes."
She pulls back her hood and starts carefully scan the area around them.
"More spiders. Great." Rayne looks over the webbing once more before she begins clearing them from their way.
Party Buffs:
Dalvin HP: 26/26 - AC 15/13/13 Status:
Drako HP: 19/19 - AC: 20/15/16 Status:
Nisa HP: 28/28 - AC: 19/13/15 Status:
Rayne HP: 21/21 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:
Skalla HP: 27/27 - AC: 16/10/15 Status:
Ettercap HP: 30/30 - AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Red Giant Spider HP: 16/16 - AC: 14/13/11 Status:
Blue Giant Spider HP: 16/16 - AC: 14/13/11 Status:
________________________________
Order: Rayne (25), Nisa (22), Ettercap (19), Dalvin (19), Giant Spiders (9), Skalla (4)
Rayne begins the precise work of clearing the webs without getting caught in them, but before she can get too far, a hideous purple creature lurches out of the woods to the east. It walks upright like a man, but its face is that of a spider and its hands are sickle shaped claws. "Hurry," the creature shrieks, its voice distressingly friendly and feminine. "They've spotted the webs!"
As though commanded, a pair of wolf-sized spiders descend silently from the trees across the island. The scramble across the soft earth to get across the causeway, towards the party.
Rayne feels an unpleasant chill ticking its way down her spine at the sight of the two very large spiders ahead of them, and turns to see where the voice was coming from. "Well that's certainly a different kind of spider," she says wryly as she spots the spider-like creature below them.
Noting the creature's strangely friendly voice, she climbs down from the walkway and takes a couple of steps towards it, her hands held up in front of her to show that they held no weapons. "We don't have to do this," she calls over pointedly. "None of us attacked you, so why attack us?" She stands tense, waiting for an answer or an attack.
Nisa draws back her hood, and slowly begins to gather energy to herself, as Rayne attempts to communicate with the strange beast. Nisa turns to face the strange spider-woman before speaking, "Listen to the half-elf, this doesn't have to end in violence."
Party Buffs:
Dalvin HP: 26/26 - AC 15/13/13 Status:
Drako HP: 19/19 - AC: 20/15/16 Status:
Nisa HP: 28/28 - AC: 19/13/15 Status:
Rayne HP: 21/21 - AC: 16/13/13 Status:
Skalla HP: 27/27 - AC: 16/10/15 Status:
Ettercap HP: 30/30 - AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Red Giant Spider HP: 16/16 - AC: 14/13/11 Status:
Blue Giant Spider HP: 16/16 - AC: 14/13/11 Status:
________________________________
Order: Rayne (25), Nisa (22), Ettercap (19), Dalvin (19), Giant Spiders (9), Skalla (4)
Nisa Channels Power as a full round action.
Ettercap moves and misses Nisa with web attack.
The spider-thing lopes toward the party, apparently ignoring their pleas for diplomacy. It stops short of Nisa before spraying a line of sticky web toward the hobgoblin. Despite her focus on the waves of energy emanating from her hands, Nisa ducks beneath the strand, which sails harmlessly into the swamp.