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Gareth casts a steely eye about and finds no evidence of anyone watching him.
Once the branch is thrown into the pit the creature claws and bites it's way up the branch, furiously yipping and snorting the entire time. Once it reaches the surface it pauses to try and intimidate everyone with a show of it's ferocious mien. Provided no one crowds the beast and it is given a clear path away from your group it will warily take, exiting with aggressive grace.
Picking berries, rescuing dogs from holes in the ground, truly he bards will sing of our legend for centuries to come Gareth amuses himself with a bit of fanciful thought.
"If the trap-maker left a trail then we should follow it in order to know who is about in these woods. Otherwise, lets return to the potion-maker and hope that he has been washing his hands since we left."
With the creature gone, something he would hope does not become a problem later on, he speaks.
"I don't see the point of tracking down the person who made this trap. There are hunters and trappers a plenty. It is not uncommon or strange, merely the target was. Even if we did what would we have any right to say to them. If anything we are in the wrong for ruining their trap without real reason. We may have cost them in gold or food. We should continue exploring as we head back, seems the best course in my mind."
Seems not everyone was use to the way of the wild, it was not kind or pretty. Nature could be cruel and always merciless, that would never change. Such was survival, something city folk often forgot.
Well whatever it was, let our concern vanish along with its own disappearance in to the forest
Natalya mounts up again
If we have nothing else pressing then let's return the berries to Bokken, then we can decide what else to do from there
Not feeling in any particular hurry, Natalya leads the group west, crossing her fingers that she'll guide her comrades safely.
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The next day you head west and find yourselves following the meandering banks of the Skunk river, so named for it's slightly sulfurous smell. Following the river Natalya calls a sudden halt. In the middle of the river are some sandy little islets that create natural choke points in the river. Upon one of those islands is coiled a reptilian creature that appears to be nearly 12 feet long. It has a fierce dragon-like head and only a single pair of limbs at the front of it's body.
It does not appear to have noticed you.
Gareth puts his finger to his lips in a "silence" gesture and points to the creature. Then he readies his crossbow but does not aim it yet.
As best he can he makes a walking motion with his fingers in a wide arc then points at the beast again. He ends his pantomime with a questioning shrug of his shoulders. The mouths the words "or fight"?
Marlani will grip her bow a bit tighter, and will consider the creature:
Lorald had his crossbow ready and prepared to fire at the slightest action. This was no strange wolf but a true monster and a clear danger to the region. At Gareth he simply narrowed his two colored eyes and with his non trigger hand put a thumb across his neck to state his opinion on the matter.
Natalya points at Lorald and nods, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, holding another one in her teeth. She looks around to make sure everyone is ready, then lets fly with her shots.
Gareth joins adds bolt to the volley of missiles.
Attack
Damage if it hits
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Natalya and Gareth's missiles pierce the dozing creature and kill it in an instant.
No sooner does that happen when another such creature explodes out of some of the rubble on the sandy island. The creatures roars furiously in anguish.
Here is the map adjust yourself as you see fit
The creature goes first and then you all follow, so I'll give you a few hours to arrange yourselves and then attack whoever is closest to it. Lorald has a held action, so if he wishes he might get a shot off on the creature before it attacks.
I remain hopeful that our allies will return to us when we need them.
[ooc]The terrain is not considered difficult, is is?[/url]
Gareth was moving closer to the shoreline to get a better look at the dead creature when its mate burst forward. The sudden appearance of the second wyrm caught him momentarily off-guard but he recovered his wits enough to draw his rapier and ready himself.
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Cruelty tells me that every single square of the map is difficult terrain, since none of it looks particularly flat. I've spent enough time traipsing around riverbanks to know the ground is always uneven and the vegetation is always in the way.
However, leniency will will this day. Any square that is green is normal terrain, any square that is not green will be difficult terrain.
Marlani calls out: "Try not to damage the heads! There was some demand and a bounty for them back at the trading post!"
She will also relay her knowledge of the Tatzlwyrm to her companions...
We'll bear that in mind Marlani! yells Natalya as she drops her bow and draws her sword, taking a step closer to protect her companions and wait for the worm to get to her.
Lorald shot the beast before it could make a move. Seeming to send a pair of bolts at once.
As the creature roars he sends another pair of bolts as he did before. Counting on the sheer number of wounds rather then a single blow to quench it's fury.
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Lorald sends a bolt flying towards the charging wyrm, which does not seem impeded by crossing either the water or the rough terrain of the river bank, and hits it for 5 damage, but it does not stop.
It hits, but only cuts into him for 3 damage closer now, you can see that it's mouth is exuding a poisonous green miasma.
Natalya steps up and brings her sword down to inflict a grievous wound on the creature, it bellows in pain.
Lorald's second volley of arrows desperately scares some fish as they disappear into the river.
Gareth and Marlani and then back to the wyrm, which is not looking so healthy.
The beasts claws knock Gareth back a few paces and he yells in response but retains his balance all the same. He retaliates by bolting at the monster behind his rapier, which shines with an unnatural glinting.
Attack 1
Damage if it hits
Attack 2
Damage if it hits
Spell damage if either one hits
Marlani will fire 2 arrows at the creature (with Rapid/Precise/Point Blank shot):
Valkus pauses to consider the strange creature as Natalya and the others open fire on it. He's taken off-guard as a second one erupts from the ground. As it quickly closes with Gareth, he is taken by a mood. I know not what strange manner of creature this is, but this is sure to be a story worth the telling! Pulling out his lyre, he begins strumming a melody to the tempo of the battle, timing his notes to the ebb and flow of the clashing combatants.
Shouting a primal exultation that sounds remarkably like a wolf howl, Natalya spins her weapon with great speed as if it weighed hardly a thing, swinging in a wide arc and bringing the edge of the blade down on the wyrm's neck
Lorald fires once more trying to finish off the beast with more bolts.
Natalya will use her sword to neatly sever the heads of the just-felled wyrms, picking them up and shaking them off before smiling and presenting the gruesome bundle to Marlani.
Presuming these things nest, anyone fancy a dip?
Natalya sheds her armor and wades out in to the water, sword ready just in case there are more threats present.
If she arrives on the sandy inlets without being assaulted she'll look around to see if there is anything of interest washed up in the natural choke points.
"I'm not touching those things," Marlani grimaces.
"Thankfully, we still have our retainer" Gareth says, referring to the bandit (whose name he cannot remember) that Valkus saved from the gallows.
"A swim sounds wonderful. It will be nice to wash this mess off" he says, referring to the blood from the tazlwyrms. And with that he removes his armor and most of his clothes. With his kukri still belted to him, Gareth jumps in from the shore.
"Join us, Marlani. And the rest of you unsightly male figures, please don't."
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Eusebius Jens sneers at you all form the riverbank, he's been extremely withdrawn of late, not that he was ever very friendly.
Natalya swims into the mess of the Tatzlwym nest and finds a disturbing reminder of how dangerous these lands can be. Wedged into the debris is a skeleton, still clad in armour and with a sword belted to his hip. She, presumably, pulls him out and bring him to shore, where it become evident that though it has been in the water for an unknown amount of time both his armour and sword are still in usable condition.
Would Gareth like to make a perception check to search the rubble?
Marlani will use Detect Magic on the body and items.
Perception
Gareth is too distracted enjoying his swim to note anything.
I'll attempt to identify the armor;
Gareth climbs out of the water and frowns. "Now I am dirtier than I was before." he complains to himself. As best he can he cleans himself and dresses with obvious discomfort.
In the hope of distracting himself from the filth he examines the corpses of the tazlwyrms in order to see if they have any parts that of magical use.
Knowledge (arcana)
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Gareth sort of kicks one with his boot and looks them over. From what he knows these creatures are technically dragons, which means their hide might be able to be cured into dragon hide leather and them crafted into dragon hide armour.
Skinning these creatures would require a survival roll, or another appropriate craft or profession, but it could be tried.
"Hmm, I have gutted deer and elk but I did not concern myself with keeping the hides intact. Perhaps Natalya or Aran would be better suited to such craft-work. I would lend what help I can."
Loralds arms still hold the prepared crossbow in case anything else shows up. At Eusebius Jens' sneer he gives him an appraising look, if any betrayal was forth coming he would be the first target. He clicks his tongue so his dogs are ever watchful of the man. Otherwise he simple remains alert while waiting.
Scrutinizing the sword and armor, Natalya shakes her head
Nothing there to persuade me to part with my bigger blade and prettier armor! she winks.
Right then
she stares appraisingly at the Tazywyrms
I've never tried my hand skinning these before, let's see how we go.
She draws a thin bladed filleting knife but then pauses a moment
Marlani, you might want to look somewhere else for a bit...
She proceeds to cut, slicing the tough hide as if it were butter beneath her fast-moving hands
Once done she packs the hides in to a bag for storage
So have we had our fill of exploring? We've two places to visit now and don't want any of our packages to spoil!
Lorald barrows the map as he did not normally carry it himself. His skill in the bookish arts were few and basic at best for a noble. He looked it over.
"If we can spare a day I would like to chart the northeast area from here. Once that is done with the additions we received from the other group we should have a solid charting of the region. We can head back to Oleg's with all haste to turn in our acquisitions then."
"That sounds like a good plan. This way we return to the post with a completed map for the area surrounding it. And we probably are not missing anything by not be at Oleg's, in any event" he adds with an air of certainty.
Ah it's on the way back Lorald, how could we not agree! she winks.
Strapping armor back on and packing gear, she mounts up and leads everyone off to the NE hex.
Marlani turns away from Natalya's activities, and has a drink to help restore color to her face.
While everyone is busy she will sit down in the shade of a nearby tree and write in her journal.
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Heading northeast you end up following the skunk river back up towards it's source. The ground here is among the marshiest you have seen yet. The mud beneath your horses hooves makes a sucking sound at every step.
You are glad when you spot a pair of ruined building, thinking there might be a well or at least a decent spot to rest for a bit. As you approach the spot Natalya draws you all to halt when she notices some movement.
There are two building, one larger than the other. The smaller features a ruined tower. Out of the larger of the two comes a large (medium sized) frog. The creatures features large walrus like tusks, and it's back is a disgusting mess to boil-like warts. It behind to croak as loud as a drum in alarm, it's giant throat inflating to several times it's current size as it does so.
Gareth raises his crossbow and sets his sight on the frog's throat then fires.
Attack
While Lorald prepares as is normal for him he holds his fire until the creature becomes hostile. Suddenly a bolt is fired from beside him, seemed his comrade was the hostile party in this encounter. While still keeping an eye on the creature he speaks.
"Is there a reason you attacked the creature?"
"Whatever that thing is, it is not natural and is probably croaking a warning to others of its kind."