”I’m not much for shooting from the back of a horse either but I could make some pretty long shots to soften it up. That or Flouncy could hit me with a fly spell.”
Beorn and Loarin look toward Flouncy...
Flouncy will cast Fly on Beorn, no problem.
Without further ado Beorn flies and shoots at the blob. After the first barrage it turns invisible.
"Anyone have glitterdust?" Beorn asks the group hopefully.
I don't have it prepared, but I can cast it!
Using his ring, Flouncy summons the spell from his memory.
The creature has likely moved.
"Fine, be ready. Can these things fly?" Beorn asks flying a little higher (full move) just in case. "We'll need to find it and then mark it so we can finish it off. I wish I had asked for the ability to summon a beast today. Can either of you summon a monster we could use as bait to get the thing to reveal its location?"
Not today. Not now.
Flouncy realizes his mistake. He should have cast See Invisibility, then he could have cast Glitterdust on it.
Let's keep moving, and come back to it later.
Koldur offers, "I should be able to pinpoint its location but will have to be within 30 feet of the thing. I could play as bait!"
"Nah, if it overcomes the sanctuary, Koldur could be grabbed and then we'd be in a tight fight. Let's move on and maybe get it later." Beorn suggests not wanting to use any of them as bait.
I'll be ready for it next time. It was my fault that it got away. I could have seen it first, but it's no use now. We should just put a pin in it and keep moving.
As you travel along you see a well atop a hill, there is an orchard of fruit bearing trees around the hill.
"Shall we go say hi or just keep moving? I'm inclined to keep moving but then again, I'm anti-social."
"So be it, let us go down and see who has a fine orchard in the middle of nowhere."
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He takes his ride down a good 100+ feet from the outside trees. He lands and pats down the Pegasus before giving it an apple. He slips on his shield over one arm leaving his scimitar in the scabbard. He moves forward as the team's shield. Once he is next to the first trees he sees if everyone else is following?
Flouncy is there. He casts Shield on himself just to be safe.
Beorn follows, bow to n hand as he dismounts though he does not nock an arrow.
As you walks forward Loarin and Beorn doesn't have to bend down as all the limbs of the trees were at least ten feet off the ground. You are walk8ng through apple trees, their sweet smell is amazing. There is no sign of life but the birds that flit about the trees.
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He cautious approaches and walks along the apple trees as he says in a loud voice, "Hello! Anyone here, we don't mean to intrude! These apples just smell so exquisite. Speak up or I am going to pick one."
He diverts to the closest tree and puts his shield on his back. Looking at the thick trunk he wonders.
'How am I going to get one of those apples.'
”They smell good but there’s no sense in breaking your neck for one.” Beorn says as he scans around.
If he notices the compulsion he leaves the apple grove and tries to get Loarin to go with him. ”Leave it, get back to the horses.”
Don't mess with the apples. There's something strange about them.
Flouncy casts Detect Magic as an SLA to try to determine the spell used to make this enchantment.
Looking around you see many magical auras. One is on a nearby apple tree's trunk. Another is the squirrels that are jumping from branch to branch above your heads. Last you see all the apples have a faint trace as well.
Nothing here is as it seems. This isn't a simple orchard.
"No sense in staying and being turned into a squirrel or angering some treant gardener. Let's get out of here." Beorn suggests.
With no complaint, Beorn remounts and lifts off waiting for the others to follow suit.
The group remounts and heads out, continuing on the flight plan... until... you see a sluglike humanoid has neither arms nor legs and is covered in spiked, rusted chains. Its lolling tongue drips with thick saliva.
Joyful Thing
CR 6
Source Nidal, Land of Shadows pg. 57
XP 2,400
LE Medium outsider (native)
The most dedicated of Zon-Kuthon’s faithful sometimes undergo a brutal ritual in which their limbs are amputated and their nonvital organs are removed. This imbues the so-called Joyful Things with powers drawn from the Plane of Shadow but also makes them embodiments of pain, sacrifice, and the eternal torment that awaits Kuthites in the afterlife. These exemplars of the Midnight Lord’s glorious suffering hold positions of influence among other Kuthites, and any temple that hosts one or more Joyful Things is considered blessed by the god of darkness.
Immune fear, pain effects; it has SR
It attacks with a spiked chain and has many spell like abilities.
Special Attacks taste fear, 15 foot long reach...
"That's no treant nor is it a dryad. Anyone know what it is?"
It's known as a "Joyful Thing," though there is nothing joyful about it. It's a hideously mutilated servant of Zon-Kuthon. Very dangerous.
"It doesn't look that fast. Perhaps we could land a good range away from it, shoot it once or twice and then take to the air again. Thoughts?"
This thing is nasty. If we're going to commit, we kill it. I'm fine with that.
If we're not prepped, we move on, and kill it on the way back. Can't have these horrors walking around like they own the place.
"Alright, let's kill it. Land about 200' away and move up on it a bit? As it gets closer we can move back a bit. Shall we?" Beorn says as he takes his steed in a lazy dive to land a couple hundred feet away from the slug like creature.
Sounds good. Shoot it. We can take it down.
Flouncy prepares to dismount once Beorn does.
As soon as Beorn lands he dismounts and moves forward a bit (until he is about two range increments out, 140'). Then he launches several arrows at the thing.
ROUND 1: move 60' from 200' to 140'
ROUND 2
Koldur agrees and follows Beorn as well. Now beside Loarin with his two axes ready!
Round 2
The slug creature turns in the direction of Beorn and runs towards him. 40 feet! It will continue to run in round 3, 80 feet, if not dead it runs again...!
Flouncy goes invisible, then casts an Empowered Snowball.
Beorn moves back 30’ (that should be a range of 130’) and fires again. ”A few more seconds before it closes with us.”
Round 3
Beorn shoots an arrow at the thing and it sinks deep into the slug like creature, then he backs up 30 feet towards the group. The creature slows down only moving 10 feet forward. Beorn is 130 feet from the creature and hears a terrifying noise not of this world.
Duration 1 round/level (D); see text
Saving Throw Will negates; see text; Spell Resistance yes
Description
The subject becomes paralyzed and freezes in place. It is aware and breathes normally but cannot take any actions, even speech. Each round on its turn, the subject may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect. This is a full-round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A winged creature who is paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A swimmer can't swim and may drown.