Aided by his own eldritch understanding of the wild, Taranis wades into the thicket with nary a scratch while Toth paces, growling, at the edge. The others ignore the tiger and debate whether they think fangberries will taste any good.
What Taranis did not count on, however, is the fangberry thicket's current inhabitants. A writhing mass of disturbed spiders churns toward him, each arachnid the size of a man's thumb, clicking madly with serrated mandibles!
+2 if Surprise
Round I
1. Unrak, Taranis, Augrym
2. Swarm
3. Zed, Marc
"Gorzeh's salt!" Taranis takes a full move out of the thicket and draws an alchemist's fire. "Toth, heel!"
Ha! I got the tool for this job!!
Unrak pulls out the wand of Burning Hands, shifts forward a step, and prepares to let loose.
Readied: set off wand if the swarm comes within range.
Taranis makes a quick exit and his brother gets ready to blast as soon as he is by...
Round I
1. Unrak, Taranis, Augrym
2. Swarm
3. Zed, Marc
I attempt to disappate this swarm with Create Water
The mass of spiders swarms after Taranis. The rain of water thrown by the half-orc does little to dispel their hungry hate, so Unrak employs the opposite element.
Thousands of arachnids die in an instant, but still they come!
Round I
1. Unrak, Taranis, Augrym
2. Swarm (7 dmg)
3. Zed, Marc
Round II
1. Unrak, Taranis, Augrym
2. Swarm (7 dmg)
3. Zed, Marc
Taranis tosses his own alchemical weapon at the swarm the fire misses the target, and nearly splashes Unrak, but
ROUND 2
Unrak lets loose another charge from the wand, then moves back a bit.
The brothers Redleaf combine to deliver fiery death to great crispy masses of spider. The few left alive, devoid of their hive-like energy, scatter into the bushes.
Dealing with the spiders leaves Taranis free to collect as many fangberries as he pleases while the others make themselves lunch on the edge of the thicket. After about an hour, Taranis feels that he has collected enough fangberries to help Bokken adequately restock.
The rest of the afternoon and the following day are all you need to map the area.
11th Gozran heralds rain, though so far it is only overcast.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zed wants to use these plants as a potential revenue stream.
Is it reasonable to harvest a live Fangberry bush to potentially transplant to the locale around the trading post? Can it be done successfully with a sufficient Survival check higher than that crap?
"Zed, depending on what Bokken can do for us, we might be able to turn this into a boon of either commerce or supplies."
Taranis ponders the use for Fangberries:
"I suggest we slowly make our way to Bokken. We have full bellies and full packs."
Zed knows that fangberry bushes, though quite hardy, are extremely slow-growing, which probably explains why you have not encountered any before now.
Checking the map, Taranis realizes that the company has ventured as far south as their Charter instructs them to, reaching the southern boundary of their proscribed territory. As such, he guides the Huntsmen northeast.
After a half-day's ride, you come across a wide river which passes through a deep gulch. You suspect that this is the Thorn River you saw by the bandit camp, though it is substantially larger here. An old, poorly maintained, rickety wooden bridge spans the river.
The bridge is barely wide enough to accommodate a single horse...
Zed and Taranis dig up a fangberry bush and wrap the rootball loosely in some burlap from an old sack. Under the Ovate's supervision, Zed carefully waters the soil around the bush's base as they proceed.
"Zed, how sound is this bridge? And if it be not, ought we to fix it up for a future trade route?"
Taranis and Toth try to stay sharp-eyed, bridges bring bandits and trolls after all.
Sniff. Sniff
Zed and Aurora look over the area skeptically as well. There are bound to be some hidden dangers here!
With appropriate caution against banditry, beasts, or other hazards, Zed examines the bridge's construction, the banks, its footings, and the general sturdiness of the structure.
Unrak draws his bow, ready for a physical assault from the other side of the bridge.
Zed sets to work attempting to remove one of the outer fangberry plants.
Digging despite the scratches, he finds that the root network is both rather deep, and substantially interlinked with the surrounding plants. He cuts haphazardly and comes away with a minimal root structure attached to a 14-foot-tall mass of thorns weighing at least 150 pounds.
He soon realizes that this is somewhat difficult to transport.
* * *
The suspicious Huntsmen cast about for any potential ambush, though their efforts are stymied by a cloud of gnats that assaults their eyes. Fortunately, Zed knows structural integrity when he sees it... which he does not.
In Zed's estimation, the bridge may be able to withstand the weight of a single person. The old beams will almost certainly collapse if you attempt to ride a horse across it.
The nearest known ford is approximately a day's ride north to the Thorn River Camp.
Zed makes detailed observations on the bridge and draws up some plans to repair or replace it as a means of improving commerce. Are there trees nearby from which to produce appropriate timbers? Before moving on, Zed wants to have a good plan on paper.
”Gentlemen, would any of you agree that re-establishing a means to cross here by either repair or wholesale replacement of the rather inadequate bridge we see before us would be a worthy endeavor aligned with our charter?”
Taranis agrees. "Let's mark it. We'll come back another time with either tools or magic."
”Gentlemen, would any of you agree that re-establishing a means to cross here by either repair or wholesale replacement of the rather inadequate bridge we see before us would be a worthy endeavor aligned with our charter?”
*blink*
*blink*
Yeah!
“Let’s rig up a litter to drag the bush behind a horse. 2 pokes with a couple crosswise supports should do the trick. And we can get our Druidic friend to strap the bush into the litter before we hook it up to the horse!”
Zed builds a litter that will take the bush’s weight and avoid damaging the horse.
Zed spends considerable time attempting to rig a litter for his new pet while the others watch the sun cross the sky. The thorns continue to give him trouble when finally, sun hanging low in the sky, he tries to mount the bush onto his makeshift litter.
Having spent the day on this project, the company makes camp and prepares to ride northeast in the morning.
With Zed's horse dragging a litter behind it, progress is considerably slowed. The litter and its cargo manages to catch on nearly every rock, root, or crevice possible as the Huntsmen slowly wend their ways through the hills. It is late afternoon by the time you arrive at the bridge, and the cargo's handler is nursing several new scratches and punctures.
With the bridge a dangerous proposition, the explorers must contemplate riding to the Thorn River Camp crossing, which is two days away at their current pace...
Zed cuts the litter off in frustration and continues to explore.
”Given how rare this plant is, would it not be prudent to replant it before we come back? Also, I vote we ride around this bridge but we will need to fix it later. Some kid could come along, and I would not be able to live with myself after...”
"Unless Zed has a spell of mending. I agree. Let's ride around, long though may the trek be." Taranis looks about. "Let's follow it southeast and hope for a better option."
Augrym, if you're worried about some innocent trying, and failing, to cross, maybe we should put a sign of some kind on the bridge? Maybe a blaze of warning?
The Huntsmen examine the environs surrounding this area, and once they find a suitable spot with the right amount of sunlight and soil, Zed casts Expeditious Excavation. With Taranis' help soothing the subtle natural magicks associated with the transplanting process, established a new and hopefully healthy fangberry patch here near the rickety bridge.
Next, Zed considers the locale, geography, and potential for danger before settling on a suitably simple blaze.
Borrowing from the locale's reliance on symbolism vice explicitly written warnings, he settles on a large "X" of two stripped saplings bound together with a bit of red cloth. He then gathers a dozen or so stones from the transplant's detritus. He fashions a stylized skull of the stones and arranges it so that it appears superimposed over the crossed sticks.
"We must hope that any traveler approaching this bridge, if indeed a structure this ramshackle could aspire to that appellation, recognize the danger inherent in trusting such a flimsy construction with their well-being and detour around it."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Either that, or they'll see it's in bad shape and go around.
The fangberry bush replanted, and the bridge newly christened Fangberry Bridge, the Huntsmen set about exploring the few unmapped wilds on this side of the river in the immediate area, make camp, then ride north to the Thorn River Camp.
The Camp and its ford have not been re-inhabited by bandits, fortunately, so after a short and late luncheon the explorers ride south again to find the other end of the bridge, which they do the following morning. The rest of the day allows for surveying the lands east of the bridge, which are much the same hillscape as that to the west.
The next morning brings heavy rains, and the Thorn River churns madly in its gully, drowning out all sound just as the sheets of rain drown your vision. The weather is wet, cold, and miserable.
"We don't have a huge amount of feed left for the animals. I actually suggest we deliver the fangberries, then return to Oleg's to offload plunder. Once we reset we can head forth. Now is the time to give thought to what you'll spend your coin on."
”As always, leader friend Taranis’ wise words will lead us to success. Let this be the plan.”
The Huntsmen ride for Bokken's hut, now conveniently marked on their map. The rain makes for slow going, but fortunately it clears just before sunset, though the sun remains obscured by heavy clouds. The night passes uneventfully at the edge of the Kamelands.
The next day is clearer, if a little chilly. The Huntsmen make good ground over the hardening plains and arrive at Bokken's hut at high noon.
"Ooh! Fangberries, yes. Was just running out," the eccentric twitters, immediately dumping a handful into a cauldron . "Any potion you like, at a discount," he adds, absentmindedly waving a hand at the grubby table nearby. "I'll brew something different, if you'd like."
On that table are the following potions, labeled:
Potion of Cure Light Wounds (x2)
Potion of Endure Elements (x2)
Potion of Comprehend Languages
Potion of Protection from Chaos
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds
A short ride west carries the Huntsmen back to Oleg's Trading Post. It feels strange not to have Jhod standing by the gate to eagerly await your arrival, but the old proprietors offer the same welcome as always. Oleg is eager to show off his new stock, and makes certain that you take notice of two new Wanted posters that he's got nailed up. "Request down from Restov, and one o' my own..."
"Got that guisarme you wanted, too," the grump comments to Marc.
In addition to the Levetons, Kesten, and the other Rostlanders, there are a half-dozen trappers and hunters passing through the Trading Post at the moment, as well as a merchant come down from Restov. There might be some news you can pick up .
”Perhaps some of my fellow Hunstmen can help gather information. Dealing with people is hardly my strong suit.”
Taranis picks up the potion of Protection from Chaos and gives Bokken a hearty handshake.
Once back at Oleg's, the druid catches up with everyone, copies down the details of the wanted posters, and pokes around a bit looking for scuttlebutt with Augrym.
Unrak checks the new posters. These sound like fun!!
Mine still failed the Aid
After several weeks in the field, the Huntsmen are not the most genteel lot. Still, Augrym picks up some bits of news.
The merchant from Restov complains of the closure of the East Sellen River to the west, a major trade route between the River Kingdoms and Brevoy, in the Hooktongue Slough. Apparently there has been a surge in violence from the boggard tribes that live there -- "hopefully those froggy buggers don't turn their eyes east to the Narlmarches!"
Augrym also bumps into a trapper with a penchant for history, an old woman with a well-thumbed copy of The Eight Scrolls tucked into a satchel. She tells what she knows of the area, and comments that a group of evil monks dedicated to a lesser-known goddess of hatred and spite once kept a temple on the northern shore of a big lake into which the Thorn and Shrike rivers flow. "Perhaps they've come back to practice banditry," she chuckles.
Theres certainly no shortage of exercise for a sword-arm out here!!. Unrak is practically gleeful
"Indeed not. We have much to explore, and more to make right. It appears that our timing has been fortuitous. Sometimes Desna pulls on Gozreh's beard. New threats and new geography mean we should plan well."
Zed bumps into the Restov merchant, who raises an eyebrow at the elf's stately but disheveled robes. "Had a friend of a friend whose brother went missing in the Stolen Lands a while back, you know. A traveling wizard. Looked a bit like you. I bet his spellbook's just rotting in a ditch somewhere. Shame, really."
I'd REALLY like to get that bandit so we could get MW weapons, but I don't think there's a particular direction we currently know where to go.
Zed bumps into the Restov merchant, who raises an eyebrow at the elf's stately but disheveled robes. "Had a friend of a friend whose brother went missing in the Stolen Lands a while back, you know. A traveling wizard. Looked a bit like you. I bet his spellbook's just rotting in a ditch somewhere. Shame, really."
"Do you know some more detail about this traveling wizard? Do you reckon perhaps this friend of your friend might be interested in some news about his erstwhile fraternal sibling? Could you perchance share anything that we might later use to identify his remains should the worst have befallen him?"
Zed probes gently, keeping the discovery of the mouldering spell book to himself until he understands a bit more about what the story might be, if indeed the spellbook is related.
Once Zed gets the result of his questions, I suggest we head out in that direction if he gets one, or for the hex due east of Bokken.
We could just start killin' folk till we level up, then Zed can learn it. This Merchant fellow looks squishy....