Syllyn begins to beat a rousing tune as he moves to engage the foes.
Inspired by the music, Flyn buries an arrow in the two closest creatures in rapid success, dropping both with ease.
Before the final foe can react, Abaal's blade swings up over his head and back down bisecting the furry creature. The tip of the blade bounces off the rocky terrain with a sharp *CLANG*
A quick once over in the area reveals no further hazards, save the raging storm above and nothing else of interest.
Flyn easily relocates the path of the Razmirans...seems they didn't expect anyone to be following. He finds no evidence of attempts to hide their trail as it heads due east in a relatively straight course.
Cautiously continuing on, the strange weather continues to strike the ground around you intermittently with a few close calls. You leave the ruins behind and the terrain begins to change. Starting as a barren plane, you begin to find sparse...warped vegetation as you continue. Ultimately, it turns into a swampy marsh on the shores of a lake of black fluid. Suddenly, one of those vicious bolts streaks down and slams into Syllyn with a vengeance!
You spot a somewhat sheltered region just up ahead. Within, you find evidence those you are tracking camped here as well.
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** spoiler omitted **
Syllyn begins to beat a rousing tune as he moves to engage the foes.
Inspired by the music, Flyn buries an arrow in the two closest creatures in rapid success, dropping both with ease.
Before the final foe can react, Abaal's blade swings up over his head and back down bisecting the furry creature. The tip of the blade bounces off the rocky terrain with a sharp *CLANG*
"Huh? I have hit gold, come see." He says sliding his adamantine blade free. "Nevermind. It is simple iron ore."
"Are you alright Lizard Man?"
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" Wow, that is some lightning!" "Syllyn, you really took that bolt in stride, but it probably would have knocked me into next week."
"Perhaps it is getting dark, a camp site might be a good thing." "Flyn, can you see anywhere to shelter, preferably in a dry area?" "We can't follow tracks in the dark anyway."
Whendel pulls out and starts gnawing on some tack biscuit. "I am pretty hungry, do we have anything interesting for dinner tonight?"
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Flyn sees the tracks lead to a sheltered region. "We can rest up ahead..."
Upon reaching it, the ranger notes, "Looks like Iramine was here before us..."
Once they're settled in, Flyn will use his wand to heal Syllyn and Abaal...
"I'll take the first watch...then Phoebee, Abaal, Whendel, and Syllyn, if that's acceptable to you all..."
Flyn will do his watch from stealth if possible...
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"Sounds good to me. I am more concerned about dinner. I did get a chance to acquire some apples and a little butter, sugar and flour. I think I might be able to cook up a cobbler or baked apples. We will need a fire and a few more spices. Anyone have some cinnamon? As for the main course, I took some carrots, onions an turnips, with a little tack meat I could put together a fair stew."
Whendel builds a small cook fire, he then lashes some branches together into a decent tripod suspending a pot of water over the fire. Next he starts adding the vegetables and tack meat. In the fire coals, he places a pot with a lid, he cores the apples, adds a little butter and sugar in the middle and places them in the pot. He puts the lid in place and adds coals to the lid.
"Dinner should be ready in an hour and a little. The baked apples will take about half that. I hope you don't mind dessert first. I took the liberty to do all this because at least the first night out we can eat fresh. From here it will be tack day in, day out." "So as my gift I have cooked. Hopefully it will bring a little cheer to you. We have a tough road ahead, but I trust we will succeed in our task."
After dinner, Whendel dumps the dreggs and cleans his gear.
When his watch is due, he stands it positioning himself just out of the fire light and in some concealment.
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Once they're settled in, Flyn will use his wand to heal Syllyn and Abaal...
"Thank you. May the gods bless you with ever-fruitful loins."
"Sounds good to me. I am more concerned about dinner. I did get a chance to acquire some apples and a little butter, sugar and flour. I think I might be able to cook up a cobbler or baked apples."
"What!? You are going to cook a maker of shoes for us to eat!? I have heard that on some desolate plains of existence halflings turn to cannibalism, but I did not imagine that the practice had come to our world. I will not eat long pork dishes. Next thing you will be serving us shepherds baked into pies."
The evening passes more or less uneventfully, as the storm continues to rage. Thankfully, your meager protection shields you from the angry bolts of energy.
One by one, you all arise and see to your standard morning rituals. Loud claps of thunder remind you of the dangers lurking here. Once you are sufficiently ready, Flyn finds the path for you again and leads onward...into the storm.
Just under an hour from where you camped, Flyn stops suddenly...narrowly missing a strike from the sky. The heat from the explosion warms his toes.
Glancing up, he spots a strange looking man emerging from the nearby brush. His human arms are raised high and he bears no obvious weapons. The man stands approximately 6ft tall, with a tangle of long, dirty red hair and a long beard. He's adorn with tattered, hole-ridden clothes and soaked through with mud. Even before he gets close, his stench is nearly overpowering...as if he hasn't bathed in years.
The closer he gets, you begin to believe he may have intentionally covered himself in the most vile smelling things he could find on the island: a blend of rotten eggs, human waste, and decaying organic matter assail your senses. From the back of his right leg protrudes an arrow, yet he walks as if not even aware of the projectile. Stopping abruptly, he offers a gap-toothed smile and shouts, "I FOUND YOU!"
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Upon seeing the man, Flyn recalls Reginar mentioned that other Pathfinders explored this island but few returned...he tries to show no visible discomfort with the man's appearance and smell. He smiles and bows.
"Greetings friend, I am Flyn; my friends and I are Pathfinders. Who might you be? I see you are injured... I can heal that if you wish. Did people with masks do this to you? Are you a Pathfinder?"
Flyn nods towards Syllyn, motioning him to come forward as he is better skilled in persuasion and diplomacy...
As you speak to the man, he stares at you dumbfounded. At the mention of pathfinders, he rips a hunk of his hair out and shakes it at you...as if his missing hair is somehow your fault. Looking to Syllyn and Phoebee, a strange faraway expression on his face, he nods slowly.
Finally, the strange man speaks. It's as if a flood of verbal diarrhea is spewing from his mouth...rapidly the words come. Just as you hear the sounds...he's blurting out more and more...faster and faster.
“Venture-Captain Tree Roots said we should come to... island to island and then we left the city and swam north, keeping abreast of each other to fend off fish and then we swam and swam and we swam for years and came here to the island and we went inside the island and saw its heart and it was black and we knew it was black and we came out and we were black and then the blackness consumed them, ate them alive, ate me alive, and then we were all dead all dead all dead and I was dead and they were dead, and they were dead and I wasn’t dead—do you see? I was alive! I was alive and they were dead and then I lived here and I lived in a tree and a cave and in the ruins and I saw, I saw, I saw things, and then the men in masks came and they fought the lizards and many died on both sides, many died, oh yes, many died and they did not get back up they were not dead like me and they headed to the doors, to the many doors by the river, the many doors where I slept once when the storms reached down and grabbed me. They are there now, they try to open the doors come with me, yes, come come come with me. I can show you where they are.”
Concluding the story, he smiles and oooooooo what a tooth! Seems his dental plan is quite lacking. Turning swiftly, he points towards the east. "Lead, lead, I...uh...I DUSAN DREMLOCK!! lead. Follow, follow, follow, follow me! I lead you to men in masks!"
Without another word, he turns and starts slogging his way in an easterly direction. His back to you know, you an clearly see the wound in his leg from the arrow. It's quite red, swollen, and a viscious puss leaks from the open wound.
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Flyn shrugs. "I know not, but I can find my way back here if needed...and he knows the island better than we do. I can't in good conscience leave a fellow Pathfinder without at least taking care of that wound...he'll lose the leg or worse, he'll die, if we don't..."
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"Are you suggesting lightning, an act of nature, has a sense of smell? That would be must unusual, as it has no nose or even breaths or ... I don't think you are serious. That is just too silly." Whendel smiles at the ridiculousness of the thought.
"Doth not the natural fire search out food to consume, and grow from like any living thing? Might not lightning, like a bird, have a bit of metallic mineral in its beak to guide it in its migration from sky to ground?"
Flyn sighs. "He's a Pathfinder...we can't leave him like this...."
"Well obviously. Just look at the man; he almost screams the words crazy homeless murderer. That, and you know the Lodge does not cover the costs associated with dentatia."
As the females words float into the mans ears, he stops suddenly. Compliantly, he stands still while Flyn address the wound.
"Nos time...time time to go. Need, need, need go stops men in masks. You, you, you either here to stop men in masks or...or...takes gold, gold for self. No, no, no bother. You no, no, no, no attacks right right away."
"Men, men, men in masks no good. Dremlock shows, show you, you city! You stops men...men in masks!"
His wound tended too, the mans aggravation seems to build. Ripping another chunk of hair out, he turns and shakes it at you again. "Time! TIME! TIME! No time wait! Go, go...go! You stop....stop men in masks!"
Turning back, he sets out again hobbling eastward.
"Smell...smell, smell too pretty. No can...no, no can hide from shadow demons. You, you, you smell too pretty." he mumbles to himself as he trudges along.
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Flyn frowns...and then sighs again...
"I think we should follow him...he was obviously attacked by Iramine and her gang, knows they are evil...and sounds like he knows the way to the city...
"Besides, he has lived here a long while...he may know how to avoid the dark lightning as well as other dangers we may not know about...so..."
Flyn shrugs, draws his bow, and follows the deranged dude; he'll keep his senses alert to any tracks as well as any signs of danger...
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Suddenly, the strange man veers off the path of "The Masks" towards a cave at the edge of the swamp. "You stay second. No no no need go in Dusan home. Dusan be right right back friends...friends stay."
Disappearing inside for a brief moment, he returns a few moments later...holding two overflowing ratty backpacks. A heavy wooden shield, missing half its circumference, is strapped to his arm. He holds a jagged stump of a sword in his opposing arm and smiles. "Dusan good good ready!" he announces and tosses one of the packs to Phoebee before setting off, back along the path.
Flyn easily confirms they are again following the cultists tracks, as they wind through the strange wildwerness. The man rambles, almost nonstop informing you everything about the island he's learned and the dangers within. A couple times he stops just short and readjusts his path, pointing out quicksand to you.
As the terrain begins to change again, he quietly points ahead and allow Flyn to take point. Cautiously approaching, he discovers nine shallow graves, like those found in the ruined fort. A burnt out campfire reveals they were here less than 2 days prior upon inspection. Recognizing a battle was fought here, he notices numerous items strewn about in the weeds.
Feeling confident it's safe, the archer motions for the rest of the party to join him. Just as the group arrives, All save Abaal, Whendel, and your crazed guide notice something amiss. Four Reptilian beasts have crept out of the tall grass and....appear hostile!
Syllyn
Flyn
Phoebee
Whendel
Syllyn
Abaal
Flyn
??
Phoebee
These are Terror Lizardfolk native to the island.
They absorb negative energy and are immune to fear and poison.
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Syllyn will begin a raging song and approach the one at the end.
Raging Song (Su): When the skald begins a raging song and then on each ally's turn, if the ally can hear the raging song, that ally must decide whether to accept or refuse its effects. This is not an action. Unconscious allies automatically accept the song. If accepted, the raging song's effects on that ally last for that ally's turn or until the song ends, whichever comes first.
Inspired Rage (Su) Affected allies gain a +2 morale bonus to Strength and Constitution and a +2 morale bonus on Will saving throws, but also take a –1 penalty to AC. While under the effects of inspired rage, allies other than the skald cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
+6/1d4+3
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Whendel hoping all the arrows sticking out of the pink lizardoid will drop it, decides to shot the green lizard thing.
"Zappo!" Twin streaks of red flash from his fingers and disappear in the chest of green.
"Dusan, what are these things? Do we need to run?"
Whendel resists the rage knowing he must keep his head clear for his magic.
Noticing the beasts, Syllyn immediately begins to tap out a rhythmic tune to encourage his companions.
Flyn tugs an arrow from his quiver and launches it with lightning speed. *SSSshhhhh PLOOP* rings out as it whistles across the field and plunges deep into his target. Wide eyed with surprise, the creature drops in it's tracks.
Phoebee launches an arrow as well. Her projectile flies straight and true...into a rather vicious looking bush.
Alerted by his companions quick actions, Whendel sights in on another of the creatures and calls out the magical words of the ancients. "ZAPPO!" echoes across the plain as two translucent red bolts shoot out of his fingers and collide with a *ThTHUD*. The creature seems...annoyed by the experience, eyeing the man with hate in its eyes.
Anticipating their continued approach, Syllyn prepares himself: keeping the rhythm flowing as Abaal smiles. Calling out, he invites the humanoids to join you.
With a nod to Abaals invite, Flyn quickly fells a second opponent with another arrow. Turning to the next one in line, he lines up and fires again! This time impaling his targets right leg.
The one with the blue mask surveys the scene. Shaking it's head, it rushes forward while drawing a javelin. "你在我的域名！我們就像殺了他們一樣殺了你" shouts the creature, and it hurls the pointed weapon in Flyn's direction. Falling short, he simply impales the ground nearby.
Glancing towards the remaining reptilian, he orders "沒有活著!"
"You are in my domain! We kill you like we kill them!"
"LEAVE NONE ALIVE!"
With a nod, the one clad in yellow rushes forward, morningstar held high. As Syllyn's blade pierces his flesh, he howls in triumph...bringing the weapon down. Just before he can connect, the ever-familiar black tentacle breaks into the material plan and collides with his skull sending him to the ground with a sickly *THUD*.
Rushing back towards a bush, your guide hunkers down. "Friends Friends doin goodlike! Dusan...Dusan protect bush for for for friends! You...no get...get no no get close to that that ones. It it scary when when close. Stay stay distance from that...leader!" he advises.
Terror Lizards
Phoebee
Whendel
Syllyn
Abaal
Flyn