"Talia!"
Magna go to her bags and retrieves 50' of rope.
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"Inibrix nelecori 'KALDRUKTH' menagadri!" Naralesh called out with a gesture toward the pit. Another section of the muddy wall slid down, landing atop the animal's back as the familiar form of the wizard's mud elemental ally materialized, slamming its arms into the creature savaging Talia.
With the sudden confusion Dregan moves forward stoping a couple of feet from the edge of the pit trying to look over the edge to get a shot on the creature. "Elf have you magic that'll make the edge here firm?"
The creature nips at Talia's leg as she stands up, but she just manages to yank her leg out of the way as it snaps its jaws shut.
The edge gives way under Dregan as he peers down, casting him down on top of Talia, and giving her a second mud shower. The two of them end up prone next to the 'dog'.
Just then Naralesh's elemental emerges from the side of the pit, landing with a splat (and another shower of mud) on the beast's flank. It smashes its fist into the side of the creature's head, dropping it dead to the muddy floor.
It's all over before Vosil can react - but he keeps his head. "Good work, Naralesh! Lady, Dregan: are you hurt? We're throwing down a rope."
He helps Magna tie one end of the rope round a nearby tree before - staying well away from the edge - he throws the rope down.
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Edric, cursing to himself as he misses Taalia's hand, leaps into the pit, landing with his warhammer out just as Naralesh's elemental deals with the problem. The arrival of Dregan serves to make matters worse...
"Are you hurt Taalia?" He askes, trying to extract her from under Dregan. Once she is standing Edric will help Dregan up as well. When the rope comes sailing over Edric hands it to Taalia and cups his hands to help boost her out of the pit.
Once the noblewoman is safe Edric turns to Dregan and the corpse left in the pit with them. "What do you make of this thing? Worth our time or do we just leave it here and get out?"
"Bugger, sorry Talia." He say trying untangle himself from her. Once they are up with the aid of Edric he'll take a look first at his bow then the beast "I don't know let me 'ave a closer look."
Magna makes sure, with Vosil, that the others can climb out of the pit safely.
"Is this a made trap? Who you think made it? We must make sure traps, in the future, are set up in a way to avoid accidents."
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Squashed in the mud, Talia's face turns a bright shade of crimson, almost as red as her hair. "Get. Off. Me. Please. Dregan."
Reaching up for Edric's hand, Talia nods, expression still grim, but her temper calming. "No I'm fine, thank you. Twisted my ankle a bit is all. That was brave of you - both - jumping into this pit like that. I owe you."
The anger almost subsided, Talia looks to Dregan and feels a pang of shame for snapping at the man. He'd been a strong and stout companion, and asked little from anyone in return. Reaching over, Talia grabs his shoulder and squeezes. "Sorry I snapped. Truthfully though, if anyone told me a year ago I'd have a woodsman on top of me, I would never have guessed it would be with a holy warrior standing over us, in a pit in the Stolen Lands! Ha!"
Looking up at Magna, Talia grabs the rope and starts to climb. "Naralesh's magic saves the day again! And Magna, I think you and I need to have a stern talk with some of those hunters that come through Oleg's!"
Magna smiles.
"I am so happy you all are ok."
Dregan face visibly reddens at Talia comment and seems releaved to be able to answer Magna's question. "A geezer certainly made this, most 'unters'll leave signs fer uvver 'un'ers so they don't accidentally 'urt each uvver. I might 'ave missed i' awer perhaps i' was tha bandits."
Magna makes sure, with Vosil, that the others can climb out of the pit safely.
"Is this a made trap? Who you think made it? We must make sure traps, in the future, are set up in a way to avoid accidents."
Vosil nods, slowly. "I'd have to say it was a made trap, by the look. But I doubt they intended to catch - whatever it was they caught..."
He waits until Talia, Edric and Dregan are safely up, and is sure that they're OK. He then - carefully - lowers himself down using the rope and spends a few minutes trying to identify what the beast was. He takes careful notes in the margins of Beagle's work before he climbs back up, carelessly brushing the mud off his knees.
"Magna, I think you and I need to have a stern talk with some of those hunters that come through Oleg's!"
"But, in fairness, the trap was already sprung. Can you truly fault the one who set it for the fact that some got too close and fell in?" Vosil looks keenly at her, wondering whether her true character will reveal itself in her embarrassment.
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Talia runs one of her parlor tricks over her clothes, smiling as the dirt lifts away and a rip in her leggings - where she caught a tree root on the way into the pit - sews itself shut.
And then, there's Comarenza in her face again, opining, pushing a prodding, and her temper starts bubbling to the surface, Talia's face blushing red. Looking back at the pit, she's about to lay into the warden, when she hears Dregan and Edric talking of the creature in the pit, and the realization hits Talia harder than the mud floor she'd just been laying on. She wasn't angry at Dregan for landing on her, and she's not angry at Comarenza for his constant needling. Talia's angry at Talia, for once again putting herself in a situation that could have been avoided.
Sighing, she waves away the anger like so much mud from her leggings, into thin air. As aggravating as Vosil was, it a good thing to have someone around always questioning and doubting. It was, actually, exactly what the playwright needed, if she was going to surivive the perils of the Greenbelt.
"The issue, Master Comarenza, is not that the trap was sprung. As we both just witnessed, a sprung trap can still ensnare a sucker. A little background is probably necessary - this is not the first time one of our group has fallen prey to a hunter's trap. Poor Dregan's leg was caught in a trapper's claw, and nearly snapped off."
"The issue is this: in both instances, there has been no signal, no warning, nor marking that denotes a trap was set. It would be a simple enough thing, I'd think, to come to an agreement with those traveling through Oleg's to put some sign - a red kerchief on a stick, perhaps - near a set trap, so that intelligent creatures can steer clear. The hunter's prey won't know the difference, and it would save us from mishap or, if our luck turns to the worse, death."
Taking some feed from her saddlebag, Talia holds her hand out to Apple, a little snack while they wait on the identification of the animal.
"Twice now, our expedition has fallen prey to the traps of the men we are striving to help. It is a simple matter of communication and education, and I'm sure it will be the last time."
Taking a quick look around the area, Talia looks for any sign or warning from the trap setter. "And if there was something posted here, a sign or warning, it eluded not only our woodsman, but also our warden. If that is the case... the warnings must be more obvious, yes?"
"Bugger, sorry Talia." He say trying untangle himself from her. Once they are up with the aid of Edric he'll take a look first at his bow then the beast "I don't know let me 'ave a closer look."
[dice=K Nature]1d20+5
This is a thylacine. Thylacines are marsupial carnivores. They typically hunt alone, only occasionally forming small packs. Thylacines hunt at night, and rest during the day in nests hidden away from the world in hollowed trees or bushes. Farmers fear the creatures, blaming all manner of problems on them. However, thylacines are quite shy and antisocial, and usually avoid human settlements. Because of their odd, almost hybrid appearance, thylacines have a far harsher reputation than they probably should, playing a sort of bogeyman role in farming communities.
28 Gozran 4707
After days in the forests of the Narlmarche, you emerge into the Kamelands again. The hills stretch away to the north, east, and south. At one point, standing on a high hilltop, you can see the blue waters of a large lake to the south. What's more, there appears to be a ruined structure of some size on the edge of the lake.
The exploration goes on. Just before dusk, you find yourself in a long, low valley between two low hills. A dense patch of raspberry-like berries in a dense thicket here. Much of the thorny thicket is draped in the white gossamer silk of spider webs. Fangberries! The name is well earned - the bushes sprout three-inch long spiky thorns. Harvesting these should be interesting...
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Vosil's eyes gleam speculatively as he eyes the distant ruin on the far shores of the lake. "Oh, what might be..." He almost breathes the words, as if to speak too loudly would be to dispel the thought forever.
Then, more prosaically, he regards (with caution) the fangberry bushes. "What think you, Master Naralesh? Could one of your summoned minions perhaps undertake this task on our behalf?"
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"I'm afraid I can't communicate such specific instructions to a conjured creature yet... I know the truenames of some simple beasts, mostly. The elementals are the most intelligent, but I am still learning their languages. I'm afraid our muddy friend Kaldrukth might simply smash the berries to bits."
Naralesh was lying. He did know the truename of one being which he could communicate with easily, a name he had found scrawled in shaky hand in the margins of a ratty old summoning manual during his schooling as a child. It had been decades, but truenames have a way of staying with the mind, unable or unwilling to fade away along with hazy memories of the past. He could speak its name now, command its obedience... but Naralesh was not about to conjure a devil simply to pick some berries.
Quietly Magna removes her new armor and prepares to help Edricto harvest the berries.
"Wait a second" Dregan finds a couple large rocks and chucks them in the middle of the thicket to scare or provoke anything large hiding in it. Dregan then asks Naralesh "Is there any magic you know that'll help protect us?"
Seeing Dregan about to hurl some rocks into the thicket, he casts mage armor as a precaution. "Hopefully the thorns aren't so dangerous that you need magic to protect you."
Dregan's stone arcs through the air, crashing into the thicket with a 'thud'. A small cloud of pollen and webbing floats up with a 'puff'. Then a small dark mass begins moving about the tops of the bushes. As you watch, the outliers of the mass begin to coalesce, and when it gathers, it starts scuttling towards you!
"In Torag's name, what is that?"
Magna gets in front of the others, her shield on the ready.
Talia stands behind everyone, quietly, as they talk about the fang berries. For her part, she's no farmer, nor does she have much armor to keep her from being stuck by the long "teeth" of the berry thicket. What she does have, however, was one flask of alchemist's fire.
Pulling the flask from her bandoleer, the playwright tosses it into the middle of the swarm, marvelling as the glass vial's breaking erupted the area into flames.
Pulling out a torch, Vosil lights it; he is about to stride forward when Talia beats him to the punch and throws the alchemist's flask.
Once the flames die down, he strides forward ready to thrust the torch toward whatever spiders survive.
"Talia, you said you wanted to see more of my summons?" Naralesh asked. "I think I know the perfect one for this."
Naralesh inhaled as deeply as he could, lungs practically bursting with air. That was certainly the most esoteric spell component he had encountered in his studies, but it made plenty of sense given the being he was about to conjure. "Inibrix eskentari 'Sussurri' indolirix!" he breathed, the words accompanied by a rush of wind from his mouth, ten times the amount he had inhaled. The winds rushed to the site of the swarming spiders and whirled about, transforming into a miniature tornado. Dark, consistent patches in the spinning cloud suggested a face for a moment, but the cloud continued to spin, faster and faster, sucking up dust and debris.
The tornado was no longer miniature. A 20 ft. high whirlwind had formed, and the spiders were directly in its path.
The kobold, who'd been slinking and sulking for the better part of the last few days. How dare she think I'm a dog type creature? I'm a dragon! A fire dragon! He at least got to eat some tasty tatzelwyrm out of the deal, and even had some lovely thylacine as well. So he wasn't so put out.
When the spider swarm came out of the berries, he came out of hiding also taking a deep breath, but not to exhale wind. He spat fire from his mouth, engulfing the whirlwind and the swarm together.
+50%= 28
"Scotch ouht wiv tha fire!" Dregan yells just too late as Talia launches the flask then he just looks unbelieving at the roar of flames from Kaalib. Turning to Naralesh "Quick anouher mud fn' t' put ouht tha flames."
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Edric barely has time to react before the rest of the group bathes the berries and its accompanying spiders in waves of flames and wind.
After mastering his surprise Edric readies his shield and wades into the bushes, either to take what berries are left or to do his best to stamp out the remaining spiders.
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Talia's flask bursts, the alchemical fire crisping many of the spiders, but not nearly enough. The swarm keeps coming, thousands of multi-faceted eyes glinting in the green light of medieval science. Then the air elemental rushes into the thicket with a whoosssshhhh, leaves and berries flying about with its passage. Gleefully it forms its vortex, and the debris of the thicket rockets into the sky along with the swarm of chew spiders. Into this 20' tower of swirling dirt, fangs, and debris Kaalib adds a fan of flame. The fire from his hands is swept up into the whirlwind, rising up and up until the whole thing is a conflagration worthy of awe.
Then it ends, the air elemental expiring, with burning embers and charred spider corpses falling in and around you. The stench of burning arachnid and cooked berries fills the little valley.
Vosil carefully picks bits of scorched, dead spider from out of his beard as it falls around him like a chitinous, grisly snow. Delightful. Still, at least they're alive and unharmed.
"Impressive display of firepower, that," is all he says aloud. "Shall we proceed on our way?"
29 Gozran 4707
You continue eastwards into the Kamelands. The hills continue here all around: north, south, east, and west. Every once and a while when you crest a particularly large hilltop, you see the lake far off to the south.
The most notable feature is the river crossing at the point where the Thorn River empties into the Shrike River. The Thorn grows unusually shallow here, never more than 3' deep just before the rivers meet.
Take Edric and Vosil to know the silver mine...
"We should 'ead back an' drop off deese 'eads. But I'd like a look at dis staglord's fort so we can plan. I don't fnk its far from 'ere."
Vosil is again withdrawn as the others discuss what route to take next: on the one hand, he's aching to return to what passes for civilisation and the delights of hot water; on the other hand, he really wants to put off making any decisions about what - or whether - he reports to the Society about his current actions. Temporary leave of absence or not, he's still obligated to report on those events he encounters that are out of the ordinary - especially if they have potential political ramifications.
He therefore nods when the redheaded wench suggests continuing the exploration. "Let us do that. I should be interested to see more of that fort..."
And thus resolving the problem is postponed for yet another day.
30 Gozran 4707
You re-visit Nettle's Crossing while exploring the area in the surrounds. The undead Davik Nettles does not make an appearance, but you can feel his presence in and around the wrecked bridge.
1 Desnus 4707
The day is spent exploring the hills here. Nothing of note occurs, but there are storm clouds moving in from the north. It's going to be a wet day tomorrow...
2 Desnus 4707
A heavy rain comes down at dawn. The wind drives this rain sideways, but fortunately from where you stand, it blows towards the fort, helping to mask your position. The best vantage point to observe the fort is the heavily vegetated hills some 300' feet away. From this distance, the fort looks like this. A narrow path of hard-packed earth winds up the hillside approaching the Stag Lord’s fort—this path is 30 feet wide, 300 feet long, and provides no cover. The remaining hillside surrounding the fort is a swath of hill devoid of shrubbery save for isolated thorny vines, but periodic large boulders provide better cover for a stealthy approach.
The palisade itself is 15 feet high, consisting of logs which are set no further apart than 6 inches apart.