"Let's do a thorough search and see if there's any indication that they were working with anyone else, especially another nation or the Stag Lord."
Larisa sighs. "Poor Jubilost." She shakes her head as she directs her horse up the path into the ruined fort. Pulling a set of rags from her pack she dismounts and set to the grisly work of cleaning up.
Within the store room, you find foodstuffs,lumber, mundane tools, household supplies, bolts of cloth, and so on. The supplies are worth a total of 4 BP to aid in building a kingdom, but you realize that it would take several full wagon loads to transport all of the supplies to civilization.
You find a hidden stash that consists of 1,902 sp, 888 gp and a dusty rose prism ioun stone.
Within Hargulka's throne room, tacked to the western wall of the cavern, is a large map drawn on the back of a thylacine hide. Several locations, including the troll lair and New Hope, are marked on the map, some marked with large X marks along with several arrows and other marks showing planned raids and routes of attack.
After studying the map for a few minutes you realize that the trolls have been carrying out a series of organized, planned attacks in the region against locations where civilization has intruded on the Stolen Lands. Areas where fey creatures live, however, have been carefully marked to avoid.
Within the wagon that serves as Hargulka's bed you find a locked chest.
Inside the chest are a small statue of a dragon carved from exotic wood worth 200 gp, a gold necklace with a jade pendant worth 500 gp, several pieces of minor jewelry worth a total 750 gp, five medium quality gemstones worth 100 gp each, three bottles of fine wine worth 15 gp each, an engraved silver tankard worth 50 gp, 1,484 cp, 3,550 sp, and 652 gp.
On Hargulka's body you find the large darkwood morningstar that he used to deadly effect. You also find exquisitely crafted hide armor and a necklace of red beads.
To your horror you recognized several of the decapitated heads in the troll's larder. One is Jubilost. Several others are those of his missing lieutenants and soldiers.
"Too late," Seres says sadly, carefully removing Jubilost's head and the other remains for cremation.
Larisa busies herself reading the map in the throne room. "Connor come look at this. The troll attacks were coordinated to avoid fey locales, it would seem logical that Narrisa's hand might be behind this." She scowls. "We should pay a visit to some of these places, see if we can't win the local fey over."
Veronica gently and sadly helps Seres to stack the remains for a funerary pyre. Her usual curious expression droops, and she doesn't even bother to wipe the spattered blood from her face. Instead she simply seems numb as she moves parts from scattered piles to the bier.
Connor comes over to Larisa studying the maps as she translates, "She could be. Could also be that the trolls know better than to screw with the fey ... perhaps they've been burned. But if their intel is that good, it could be valuable to us as we move forward."
Connor sighs, 'I hope all the fey aren't as difficult as Narrisa or Seres' aunt. We could use their aid as the Stag Lord builds his forces."
"One can only hope." Larisa responds, lingering for a moment before she joins Veronica in the cleaning.
After burning the dead and clearing the troll caverns of any valuables you rest the night and then head back to New Hope.
Upon returning home, you find the city in shambles. Newly plowed fields have been torn up, trees have been knocked down, livestock has been slaughtered, and buildings have been flattened. A pall of smoke and dust hangs over the town, and the few people on the streets mill about in shock, as if they have just come from a war zone. Your inquiries are met with blank stares and disbelief at the immense loss of life.
Eventually you encounter the druid Aldarion assisting the wounded. "My friends, the town was attacked last night by a terrifying monster of immense size - part bear and part owl. The beast crashed into the town and killed dozens before it had its fill of destruction and lumbered off into the hills to the south!"
"A giant owl... bear?" Seres asks, also shocked by the destruction.
Veronica drags into town and simply sits on the ground as she sees the devastation. Then she just puts her head in her hands and starts sobbing quietly.
Larisa looks around, shocked at the devastation as she moves to comfort Veronica. "By Erastil we will must find this beast and put it down before it harms anyone else." She turns to look at Connor. "If I may be so bold my Lord, we should collect the rangers and set off as soon as possible."
"No rest for the wicked..." Seres says, heading off towards the beast's trail south.
After much deliberation and interaction with the devastated populace, you head south to find the beast responsible for so much devastation. The monstrous owlbear’s trail is simple to follow. It heads south, leaving a swath of felled trees, trampled brush, and churned earth across the southern Kamelands. The trail eventually leads to a small cavern complex beneath a rocky tor overlooking the Little Sellen River.
A dark, gaping hole yawns in the side of a large, rocky hillock. The earth in front of the cave has been trampled flat, and shattered trees and stumps bear the marks of powerful claws. Tufts of dark fur are snagged in branches, and huge feathers litter the ground.
"He's got huge, sharp... He can leap about... Look at the bones!"
"We should set some bait to draw it outside. Any volunteers?" Seres grimly sets about enchanting his bow and looking around the area for a safe perch.
"I was thinking the same, Seres. Draw it out with bait or smoke it out with fire. Either way we want to fight it out here not in its lair."
From the tracks, the creature appears to be huge.
The cave is eerily quite. Nothing you do seems to have any effect.
"Is it even here?"
"Zeke, you feel like scouting?"
Larisa scans the cave entrance, on edge with weapon ready and loaded as the party tries to smoke out the beast.
Veronica looks drawn and haggard, and she is very quiet as the team tracks the giant owlbear back to its den.
She keeps her bow loosely in her left hand while waiting for Zeke to report back from his scouting trip, prepared to call for Erastil's magic to buoy the party against the monstrous creature once an inevitable fight breaks out, calming herself by running her free hand through Moondancer's sleek coat.
Ezekial steps into the shadowy darkness and finds that the cave mouth widens into a large cavern filthy with carrion and offal. A bewildering variety of molds and fungi grow on the floor and walls, some as big as a person, and countless insects scuttle about underfoot, feeding on the mounds of waste. A large tunnel slopes down to the south, with a similar opening to the north.
Ezekial can see no further without a light source.
"Shall I make some light, and we go in?" asks Veronica.
Larisa puts a comforting hand on Veronica's shoulder. "What's wrong? You've not been yourself lately." She asks.
With a gesture Larisa summons a ball of light above her head. "Sounds like a bright idea." She says, completely straight faced.
Veronica sniffs and wipes her nose idly.
"I just feel like we're barely keeping up with all of the destruction and evil out here. Those trolls tore Jubilost limb from limb... now the owlbear has knocked over part of the town... and hanging over it all there's that wicked malefic theocracy just waiting to invade. It's just a horrorshow, a constant cavalcade of failures and deaths. The pressure must be getting to me."
Seres grips Veronica's shoulder reassuringly. "I feel the same pressure. I feel like for every threat we vanquish, two more pop up to take its place. A streak of bad luck cannot run so long... I fear a dark force works against us, actively trying to foil our community's progress."
"I'd hate to face that thing in its lair. We could wait for it to emerge, but who knows when that will be?" He thinks for a moment. "Do owlbears hibernate?"
Connor stares intently at the cave as he waits tensely for the party's consistent and brave scout to return, hearing Veronica's words and forcing down the anxiety and fear that they bring. He thinks hard for a moment before replying,
"Veronica, it is hard and it does seem terribly unfair in the moment. And we who've been thrust into ... and accepted ... this leadership role see the good work undone by malice or by happenstance. But I'd ask you to consider where these people would be without what they've built. Sure some of it was destroyed and individual people paid the ultimate sacrifice, but the community they've built would not have happened without the dedicated work that we and others have done. They'd all be either bandits or the victims of bandits, robbing each other into poverty and ultimately death. Over these last months, New Hope as saved more lives and likely created more lives than the aforementioned malice and happenstance could ever hope to harm."
He glances over at her, ripping his gaze away from the cave, "And a steadfast devotion to Erastil led by someone with great spiritual strength is the foundation of that hard won effort. You have been their weather vane to look to when things go awry, and they need you to continue to be that guide."
The cavalier looks back at the cave and sighs, "These things will continue to rise like weeds, and we who serve New Hope will continue to cut them down, all the while slowly building strengths and alliances to ensure our people's community into the future. It's moments like these that the people turn to us and we must always meet the challenge."
He smiles warmly at both Vernica and the scout as Zeke returns, going to hear the man's report.
Connor looks to the others at Zeke's words and glances at Cinder, "Not a fan of entering tight spaces in the dark. Shall we set a fire in the entrance cave and force the smoke down in to the caverns ... see what emerges?"
Ezekial notices a gentle breeze flowing out from the cave.
; 1=in, 2=out
"Nice speech," Seres nods to Connor with a smile and wink. He eyes the cave with a dramatic sigh. "I think we're down to one option here. Ready?"
"Such is our lot in life then," Connor sighs, lighting a torch and securing it to Cinder's saddle before leading the party in to the cavern.
As Connor enters the two man sized mushrooms begin shrieking loudly. Three larger purple fungi begin lashing out with their tentacles.
; SM
; S
; OB
Seres recoils from the painful shrieking.
He backpedals a few steps, aiming and firing an arrow at the nearest shrieker.
;
Larisa braces herself against the sound, gritting her teeth as the fungus shrieks at her. She aims her weapon, focusing on the man sized one on the right before firing.
; success
; fail
; success
; success
Connor spurs Cinder into a charge, and he stabs the middle purple fungi with a lance and then, assuming it doesn't survive, rides through its carcass to the edge of the black.
"I know, Connor... I don't need motivation, I just need for something to break our way for once," says Veronica forlornly. She wraps her arms around her shoulders and looks off into the woods.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the shriekers start up, Veronica goes for her bow, of course.
She takes on a lupine cast as she draws down on one of the mushrooms.
She points for Moondancer to heel, and the wolf whines, hunkers down, and covers her ears with her paws.
One mushroom stops shrieking, but the second continues (
Larisa aims and fires on one of the violet fungi and pierces it with a bolt.
Ezekial throws two daggers through the fungus to his left.
Connor charges and hits with his lance - exploding the rear mushroom into fist sized chunks of purple fungus. He then rides through to the rear of the cavern.
One of the purple mushrooms shuffles towards Ezekial and the other moves towards Connor and Cinder.
; 1=C 2=E
; 1=C 2=E
Larisa reloads and fires again on the same mushroom man.
Veronica fires again at the nearest fungus.
She continues to try to ward off the horrid screeching.
Seres grits his teeth against the painful noise, takes aim and fires at the other shrieker.
;
Connor wheels about and charges back again at the closest approaching fungus. He will the wheel away uo to 90 degrees and move at least 30 feet away
Veronica fires her bow at the nearest violet fungi and pierces it with her arrow.
Larisa fires on the same mushroom as Veronica and blasts another bolt through it.
Connor and Cinder sally forward and shred the rear violet fungus.
Seres destroys one of the shrieking mushrooms.
Ekeial kills the remaining violet fungus with two deft dagger throws.
Veronica fires on one of the remaining shriekers, but her shot is wide.
From the rotting leaves and vegetation of the southern passage, a mass of tangled vines and dripping slime rises on two trunk-like legs, reeking of rot and freshly turned earth. A symbiotic swarm of red centipedes crawls on and around the mass of walking vegetation. The mound shambles into the cavern towards Ezekial .
Giant caveweaver spiders suddenly begin to boil out of the northern passage. The biting spiders surround Cinder but cannot penetrate the horse's armor. Two emerging spiders on the ceiling each shoot thick strands of webbing that wrap around and entangle Connor .
From deep in the rear center passage a loud shriek echoes through the caverns.