The big cat shakes off the redbeard with ease.
Round 2
3. Taranis (Toth 62/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 3
1. Bytor
2. Ngara (41 dmg)
Augrym turns around and faces Toth with his hand up.
”Bad kitty! Stop attacking the nice man. GREAT LEADER FRIEND TARANIS! Come get your cat. It’s being extremely rude to new snake like friend.”
Both Toth and Taranis are too distracted to pay much attention to Augrym's admonitions.
"Two issss plentyyyyy," Ngara hisses, again slithering out of Toth's reach. "That leavessss two for eating, yessssss. Niccccce and crissssspyyyy....." A huge plume of fire erupts over Bytor and Taranis.
A moment later another quintet of force-bolts slams into Toth.
Round 3
1. Bytor (Reflex)
2. Ngara (41 dmg)
3. Taranis (Reflex, Toth 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Looking to bring some more help to the fight, Taranis begins summoning something... robust
Toth continues to savage the naga:
for
for
Taranis ducks just in time to avoid the worst of the flames. Toth maneuvers around Augrym to again bring tooth and claw to bear on the naga.
Round 3
1. Bytor (Reflex)
2. Ngara (83 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Bytor, still coming to, takes the fire full in the face.
Round 3
1. Bytor (59/93 hp)
2. Ngara (83 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 4
Bytor maintains his inspiring courage, moves closer and casts Cure Serious Wounds on himself.
Bytor moves... closer... and gets a good look at the naga's furious, feral, friendly, cheerful, smiling, inviting expression.
Round 3
2. Ngara (83 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 4
1. Bytor (87/93 hp, WILL)
"BYTOR DON'T! You saw what happened to my brother, then Augrym! Stay BACK!"
”Toth! I specifically said to leave our snake fiend alone! Bad… KITTY!”
Augrym takes out his water skin and starts spraying water at Toth.
Unrak tries to tackle Toth again.
It all becomes clear to Bytor in a moment. The naga is not someone to fear, but rather someone to worship! A generous lady who provides for the land and culls only the weak. "Yessss, gooood!! Shhhhhut your mouth and give your chanting friend a niiiiicccccce tight hug."
Meanwhile, Augrym's admonishes continue to do little to distract Toth. Unrak, on the other hand, somehow gets hold of the massive tiger, holding him in place.
Ngara turns to face the held feline. "Yeeessss, ssssleeep now kittyyyy!" A wave of drowsiness washes over Toth.
Round 4
2. Ngara (83 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth WILL, 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 5
1. Bytor (87/93 hp, charmed, must cease Inspire and give Taranis a hug)
Toth already had a nap today, so he does not need one now!
Round 4
2. Ngara (83 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 5
1. Bytor (87/93 hp, charmed, must cease Inspire and give Taranis a hug)
Taranis curses the party's missteps, but as the spell ends, help arrives in the form of five leopards!
As the cats all tear at the naga, he strikes upon an idea, "Brother! Unrak! Come here and take this thing from my pocket to best help with handling Toth!" He immediately hurls a Thunderstone at the naga:
Leopard 1:
Leopard 2:
Leopard 3:
Leopard 4:
Leopard 5:
Toth reaches over his charmed companions:
for
for
The leopards have little hope of harming the naga---indeed, not a one pierces her scales---yet they may still prove a valuable distraction.
Ngara ducks the thunderstone at the last moment, and it lands just southeast of her with a deafening bang.
Toth, straining to his utmost limit against Unrak's mighty grip, gets one good chomp on the tail of the naga, whose wounds are beginning to mount.
Round 4
2. Ngara (105 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp; leopards FORTx2), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Round 5
1. Bytor (FORT, 87/93 hp, charmed, must cease Inspire and give Taranis a hug)
Augrym, frustrated by Toth’s lack of listening to him, he reaches into his bag for some scroll paper he can roll up.
”I did not want it to come to this feline friend Toth, but…”
And he starts lightly swatting at Toth’s nose.
Bytor moves up to Taranis and gives him a big embrace.
"Taranis, my brother. I want to thank you for welcoming me to this brotherhood. You have made me feel so much at home, even when we are far away from home!"
Unrak hears Taranis' words. If he's got something that'll help him keep Toth under control, maybe that's the best course of action...
Unrak furrows his brow, and mutters He's smarter than me anyway... He then admonishes Toth STAY!! I'll be right back, buddy then he gives the naga a big smile.
He releases the cat and hustles over to Taranis. Can you just call him off brother? She ain't THAT bad, is she???
Bytor and Unrak both come hustling over to Taranis with questions and admonitions.
Augrym begins swiping at Toth with a scrap of papyrus.
Surrounded by angry cats, the naga speaks a word to slip through an extradimensional portal, appearing directly behind Taranis. The naga stares hard at the Duke with her huge glowing eyes...
Round 5
1. Bytor (87/93 hp, charmed, must give Taranis a hug)
2. Ngara (105 dmg)
3. Taranis (WILL, 74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp; 2 leopards deafened), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Now as unhelpful as his teammate, the menagerie is forced to save the day.
Unfortunately, without a line, the leopards have to circle.
for
"Hhhyyyaaaeee!" Blood now running thick from her scales, Ngara hisses furiously at Taranis. "Callll off youuuur catssssss!!!" After a moment's hesitation, Taranis obeys, calling Toth to heel and a moment later dismissing the leopards, and the naga frantically casts a few light healing spells.
Curiously though, Ngara does not begin to eat you one by one. Instead, she starts to talk with you, learning about who you are, where you come from, about the growing kingdom to her east, the kinds of people living there, the burgeoning nation's spirit of exploration. After some hours of conversation, she simply sends you on your way---with one small favor to ask.
"Much gooood wooood to be found here, yesssss! The Sssswamp Sssscar has much tiiiimber, and would make a prettyyyy pennnyyy. Tell your loggerssss, bid them come. I willll heeelp themmmm, yesssssss!" Her friendly countenance brooks no argument, and you promise to do just that when you get home.
Just barely hanging on to his wits, Taranis keeps his litter focused on the snake.
She slips through another dimensional doorway into her lair and fires off a quick healing spell, the muffled noise coming from within the Swamp Scar.
Round 6
1. Bytor (87/93 hp, charmed, must give Taranis a hug)
2. Ngara (118 dmg)
3. Taranis (74/91 hp; Toth 43/83 hp; 2 leopards deafened), Augrym (charmed, must attempt to keep Toth away from the naga), Unrak (charmed, must attempt to restrain Toth)
Toth seeing all his master's allies turn like scruffed kits, savagely attacks the naga:
for
for
for
Faced with the powerful jaws of death, Ngara draws on the last of her mightiest powers to unleash a torrent of ice shards at the tiger.
Inches from death himself, Toth cannot be stopped. He shreds the naga as she screams.
A moment later, you all come to your senses.
Exhausted and frustrated, Taranis does not give customary post-combat remarks. Instead he simply enters the lair looking for either reward or information. When he finally emerges, he looks at the Huntsmen and says, "We need more in our ranks. We will fail our people if we end up dead like impetuous Pathfinders."
"Taranis, I apologize for falling for that Naga's charms. I promise to be more vigilant in the future and try not to let them get to me."
In the naga's lair, Taranis finds naught but bones---the bones of hundreds of creatures, mostly men and boggards. Upon the brow of Ngara herself, however, he spies a copper diadem set with a small yellow diamond in its center.
Unrak growls at the remains. That was an awful fight and I'm sorry she unmanned me--but it's good that we put a stop to THIS he lightly kicks a bone.
The big man then works to build a large bonfire as close to the style of a pyre he's able to manage, and then starts loading the bones onto it.
Bytor investigates the copper diadem set with a small yellow diamond in its center. First he casts detect magic to see if it gives off an aura of magic and then he attempts to figure out its properties.
Bytor determines the diadem to be a headband of mental prowess +2 (Wisdom/Charisma).
"Please, Taranis. This would be an honor to give you. It will help with matters of wise decision making and diplomacy."
"Thank you gentlemen. We have much to consider. Our foes are deadlier than they were four years ago when we started this all."
The druid mentally consults the calendar, "four years ago next month actually. When we return to see to our duties, we should consider who else in the ealm has the intestinal fortitude to join us. Let us continue to clear the lands and then return."
Taranis recommends travelling southeast