Arumil got up and cast a spell at the beast.
Arianna's face blanches as the large tatzlwyrm savages Bridgette, dropping the bloodied woman to the ground. Arianna hurriedly steps back chanting the words to a spell and disappears from view. The now-invisible woman reloads her crossbow.
Raxus sees Bridgette go down and his blood runs cold.
He rushes forward and lashes out with his savage hook.
Round One
Tatzlwyrm 23
Arumil 21
Arianna 19
Bydar 19
Raxus 11
Bridgette 1
Arumil's summoning goes off and a colony of tiny bats dart from behind him to swarm around the tatzlwyrm. It thrashes around and roars as the tiny fangs of the creatures tear into it.
Arianna steps back and casts a spell, disappearing from view!
Bydar moves foward, avoiding the tatzlwyrm and kneels to cure Bridgette.
Raxus charges at the monster and swings his ogre hook in a wide arc, ripping through the tatzlwyrm's hide and leaving a bloody gash along its neck.
Bridgette gets up
"Thanks Bydar. And I know I'm gonna be reckless about this next part and I'm hoping that thing does not hit me again.
Do you have any protective spells that could be useful, if not a bout of healing will help."
Round Two
Tatzlwyrm 23
Arumil 21
Arianna 19
Bydar 19
Raxus 11
Bridgette 1
The tatzlwyrm moves back, inhales sharply and exhales a deep yellow mist that covers the bat swarm while also hitting Raxus and Arianna.
Arumil puts some distance between himself and the beast then cast a spell. Sending a pair of sapphire eagles to slam into it's hide.
Bydar states, "I think the healing maybe more useful at this time." He moves forward a bit and a radiance bursts forth from him.
Retcon
The tatzlwyrm roars as it tries to escape the bat swarm, and begins clawing itself away from the nuisance. Unfortunately for the monster, Raxus deftly brings his ogre hook around and beheads the dragonkin in a massive stroke. The monster's head flies off and lands a dozen feet away while its body twists and writhes around itself for several seconds before ceasing its movement.
Inspecting the creature, you note its large claws have left distinctive prints in the ground. Following them a short distance, you find a huge pit that once held the roots of a fallen oak tree, apparently used by the tatzlwyrm as its lair. At the bottom of the pit, you discover coins and gems worth 3,450 gp.
Additionally, it's claws and fangs could be crafted into daggers. There is enough material for 14 daggers.
Arianna re-appears and moves over to study the now-headless tatzlwyrm. "Wow," she softly exclaims. "I've never seen one this large before. The hide is unusually tough, and could provide enough material to craft a suit of heavy armor, two suits of medium armor, or three suits of light armor. And the claws and teeth could be crafted into daggers - probably as many as fourteen. It'll take a couple of hours to skin it, though. Guess we should get to work?" she asks this last, glancing toward Raxus for confirmation.
"I wonder if Oleg would want the head?" she muses after a few minutes.
Bridgette adds
"Your right, it the biggest one I've ever seen.
after Arianna's comment on if Oleg would want it
I think Oleg would not mind having it's head mounted on the wall. As it'll be a rare trophy, and one that might cause trouble makes to pause and think."
"You've no idea how happy I am to find they don't, apparently, get any bigger than that," The cleric wipes his brow, "Is anyone else in need of healing?" He glances to Raxus, "And a special thanks to you, my friend. That was a truly amazing blow."
The next morning comes earlier than you expect, and after the short but intense fight last night, much earlier than you desire. But the sun rises quickly, and Soloman is up and ready to move. "I think I'm headed back toward the north. There are a couple of areas up there I want to explore. Bridgette, I'll come by Oleg's in a week or two and let you know what I find."
Raxus seemed conflicted by the fight. He seemed concerned for Bridgette, but obviously too uncomfortable to say anything directly. He'd simply grunted and gave a slow nod to acknowledge Bydar's compliment.
He helped skin the beast and was strangely reverent about it. He spent a lot of time staring at it's head.
In the morning, Raxus had come to a decision. "I would like to have one of those suits of armor." he said to Arianna, a bit nervous to be asserting himself to a woman, but far more comfortable speaking with the tiny lady than with Bridgette. "I would also like the head. It looks like the right size to use as a shoulder piece."
"I think that sounds great, Raxus," Arianna smiles as she agrees with the half-ogre's request. "As big as the tatzlwyrm's head is, it might even make a serviceable helm. I'll bet the Stag Lord would soil himself upon seeing the Dragon Lord coming for him!"
Raxus blinked. "Dragon Lord? I don't know if I..." his voice trailed off as he seemed to think about it. "I don't want to scare anyone." he said after a bit, not really sure what else to say. The idea was clearly interesting to him, but he was having trouble reconciling parts of it.
Arumil felt he should step in on the conversation at that point.
"I would remind you that Sootscale is a dragon. Calling yourself a dragon lord and wearing dragonkin armor could be a very fatal mistake. Simply comparing a tatzlwyrm to a true dragon would be insulting to them. I would advise you contend yourself with the armor and refrain from any grandiose title of that nature. I doubt Brevoy would approve ether considering their history and symbol of rule."
Bydar will need to pray for new spells, of course, "While good advice, Arumil,I don't think Raxus was seriously considering the title. He has a humility about him," Though I do think that he'd be surprised how many of the brotherhood admire him.
"I'm not going to call myself anything. My mother gave me a name. I don't need any others." Raxus said with a shrug.
Bydar notes the other remains, "Do you think any of the brotherhood could make use of them?"
Bridgette adds
"Most of the it is good for parts, though if you want to eat it as food it'll take a while to prepare."
The group travels fast, barely pausing to rest, in your haste to find Lanner and word of the Stag Lord. As luck would have it, you are moving toward the bridge in Woodbridge when Lanner appears from out of the brush.
"Greetings, I see you got my message."
"The Stag Lord passed by here a week ago, heading south. There is a place a few miles away where two rivers come together and combine into one. That river flows into the lake to the southwest."
"On the western side of the place where the rivers merge, a small castle rests on a natural hill overlooking the surrounding area. The Stag Lord has taken the castle for his own. As of this morning, he was still there with his men, though several trickle every other day or so, and his numbers continue to grow. When I left to return here, there were sixteen other bandits in the castle. There was also some kind of creature kept in a pen, but I couldn't get a good look at it. But I know all the bandits kept away from it."
"Happs is there, and he is apparently free to move around, but I haven't seen him carrying any weapons. Not sure if that means anything, but I thought I should mention it. Most of the other bandits appear to be armed."
"I found a rocky outcropping a few miles to the south that offers an excellent view of the castle without revealing my location. I'll draw you a map in case you want to scout the castle."
He pauses, "What other information can I provide?"
"That's some good scouting, Lanner. You were brave to do so on your own," Arianna compliments the tiefling. "I'm afraid we're not surprised to hear that Happs is there, but it's interesting that he's not carrying any weapons - at least not openly."
"A map to the outcropping you found would certainly be helpful. I'm sure we'd like to get a good look at the castle ourselves so we can plan how to gain entry. Maybe we can waylay some bandits heading there to obtain additional information as well."
Arumil thought for a moment.
"If the creature could be set loose. It could cause both a distraction and no doubt bring down the number of enemies as well as give us one less thing to contend with. At worst it would allow us to see the force and skill we will be dealing with."
Bridgette adds
"That outcropping would give each of us insight into the layout of the castle."
she pauses for a moment adding
"There are some dead tatzlwyrms back from where we came, and they could make useful hides, meat, fertilizer, and maybe a few other things, as it would be a waste to just let it rot."
Lanner nods, "The bandits are coming from all over. I'll note a couple of paths on the map I give you. There are a couple of places where two or more converge - if you wait there, you might be able to ambush some. Assuming more show up, the fort appears to be near capacity now, so I'm not sure how many more will appear."
He reaches into his pack and removes a piece of charcoal and a piece of parchment. Taking a few moments to draw, he finally hands it over. "Here is the rock outcropping, and here is the fort. The beast is located here, and the front gate is here." He points at a couple of lines running north-south, "These are the trails I mentioned. Most of the bandits who showed up came from these paths."
-----
"Good work, Lanner... thank you," Bydar nods. "We'll scout out the fort and that is probably the best way to start"
"Yes, let's get to that rock outcropping and take a look at the castle for ourselves," Arianna agrees with Bydar. "Lanner? Do you want to come with us, or get back to your family at the trading post?"
Raxus nods his thanks to Lanner and begins slowly making his way around towards the outcropping, keeping to the low areas and in the trees as much as possible.
He'd never had to attack a fortress before. He wasn't quite sure what to do, so for the moment he stuck to what he knew.
The large rock indicated on the map is a leaning slab of weathered stone propped against a large mound. From the vantage point, you can easily see the fort on a small hill overlooking the convergence of the rivers. The eastern side of the hill is a shallow rise, providing an apparently easier route to the wall than the other sides.
The fort itself is surrounded by a fifteen-foot tall wall of sharpened logs, making climbing them a difficult task. A wide trail leads to a wooden gate on the south side, wide enough for men and horses to access the interior of the fort. The three towers show signs of recent construction, and rise above the wall, giving anybody inside the structures a clear view over the wall on all sides.
A ruined stone building inside the wall provides basic protection from the elements. From the broken walls , it appears the building was at least as tall as the towers at one time. Outside this building, the group can make out the rough edges of what seems to be a pen of some kind. No doubt this is what holds the beast Lanner mentioned.
For about an hour, you see several people, all men, moving around on the ramparts or in the towers. At one point, Happs appears beside a man who wears a neatly trimmed beard and short hair. As they walk along the wall, Happs gestures grandly at the world beyond the walls of the fort.
He casually repeats this over and over as he walks along the wall. To your surprise, you notice the man beside him nods as they walk, apparently agreeing with Happs.
Arumil cast a spell to detect any magic at work while looking carefully over the place and people.
Bydar admires the view and considers the options, even before Happs comes on, he looks over the structure to see if there aspects that can be exploited or used.
When he sees Happs, he definitely tries to get a feel for the man's mood, and surprises himself when he manages to pick up on the hand language
He whispers softly what he picks up to the others.
At Bydar's explanation, Raxus seems confused. "Is he talking to us? How does he know we are here? What does it mean?"