Figuring she doesn't have time to keep stopping the bleeding, Nez just runs as fast as she can from the swarm. The vines ahead are a problem for those in front!
Varuzhan moves back and draws his trusty sickle. He gets ready to slash any tentacles that might come in reach.
;
Kith does his best to follow Nezari, looking back to see that the Swarm has taken flight once more - but is still well behind the group:"Those insects are at it again. I guess we have 10 to 15 seconds before they are on to us..."
Nezari, still bleeding, but only lightly so, continues unharassed towards the others in front - Boros attempts the same, only to be greeted with a Vine suddenly lashing upwards while he moves - he can just barely avoid it with a jump to the side.
Varuzhan focuses on the threat the Plant presents, well aware his allies would also need to pass it for all of them to make it to safety. A vine lashes forward and wraps around his arm, but the Strix easily shifts stance and cuts it off.
Miranda is less lucky - as the Halfling attempts to fall into a sprint forward, a previously hidden vine wraps around her leg, causing her to fall prone as she is dragged back towards the bulp.
"Eep!" Miranda nearly faceplants the ground and feel the direction of gravity seemingly reverse. Not a pleasant feeling; she'd rather be flying... Blinking once or twice she realizes that yeah she better not be wherever those vines wanted her to be. She sqiggles and worms for all she's worth to get out of its grasp and - if she can - sets off in another dash away from it.
Miranda, slippery as ever, manages to wiggle free from the vine pulling her, then starts running again, getting slightly past the spot where she was grabbed before.
Cursing unintelligibly at the near-miss, the soldier alters his pace to cut through another segment of scum-coated water, the path suddenly no longer viable. Though strongly tempted to draw his pistol and put a few rounds into the hideous mass of vegetation, the combination of limited ammunition and the impending arrival of yet more vermin from behind convinces him to step right along and leave well enough alone for now. "Varuzhan, quit playin' with your new friend and let's go, there's another batch o' vermin formin' up back there and we don't have time to handle this before they get here and eat us raw and bloody," the soldier yells to the strix as he clears the water.
Once back on land, Boros turns and yells back to Nezari, and Kith whom he can see struggling beyond her.
Varuzhan keeps up with the same slashing strategy, moving and being prepared to slash the next tentacle.
"I'm never saying anything bad about our sewer again if I make it out of this bloody swamp!"
Varuzhan and Miranda seem to make it far enough from the plant to no longer draw it's attention.
Boros and Nezari are assailed by more vines, but manage to avoid them, prepared for the attack.
But Kith has few options but to move straight forward, before having the option to turn right towards the others - the plant seems to have anticipated such, and with a whiplike motion curls around his legs, then starts pulling. Kith barely manages to draw his dagger while being drawn towards the plant.
In the back, the reformed Swarm is moving closer, but seems...less aggressive, so far from the hive. It still moves towards you, but less focused.
Nez, reeling and dizzy from the still bleeding room, stumbles as best she can towards V.
Miranda whispers a spell to Grease up Kith and then activate the Sudden Speed and scoot further away!
Boros can only palm his face in frustration as the elf stumbles down the path and is snatched in spite of his warning. The blood loss must be affecting his ability to think clearly. After a moment of indecision, the soldier draws his pistol, levels it carefully in the direction of the heaving vegetative bulk that's currently reeling in his companion, and pulls the trigger. While he doubts the shot will do much in the way of actual damage, Boros has the faint hope that it'll at least distract the thing from its efforts at hauling in its current catch.
Varuzhan turns and waits, seeing if the situation unfolds favorably or if he'll need to fly back for a rescue.
After Miranda greased up Kith, the plant fails to maintain it's grapple on him. At first he struggles to get up, and some traction on the ground, but eventually manages to put some more distance between himself and the plant.
Boros's shot hits the plant right in what - for lack or a better term - you'd consider it's jaw. At first, the plant does not seem to react, but then the mouth closes, and the plant vibrates as if regurgitating something.
Nezari makes it past V, and hopes to be safe - but was still bleeding profusely. As she makes it out of the plants range, she stops to again attempt to staunch her wounds - this time with more success.
The swarm, albeit very close already, seems to lose interest as you move farther and farther from their hive. You have a strong feeling they might have been willing to stick around if someone was helplessly dragged back by the plant.
The plant blindly lashes out with a multitude of vines, cutting through the air like thorny whips - but with predictable paths of movement. Already on edge, even those still in range are quite able to dodge the assault.
With Kith clear and free, Boros maintains a rearguard position with his gun still drawn. While he does occasionally mark the position of the distant swarm, most of his attention is fixed on the plant thing and its odd reaction to the bullet striking it.
Varuzhan begins offering help to anyone who appears unable to stop their own bleeding.
"Pew ..." Miranda breathes out. That was unpleasant; though her companions seems to have taken the brunt of it. Air Varuzhan for the win!
As you move a bit further away from the plant, you see a cloud of miasma erupt around it that seems surprisingly resistant to the wind, and mostly conceals the plant itself, slowly wafting in your direction.
But unless you wanted to wait for it to reach you, you can easily move out of the way before it arrives.
With coordinated efforts, everybody is patched up and ready to continue - or ready to try and recover further, a hundred meters further towards the coast or so.
"Well.. Unless I chug like a dozen healing potions, I think I'm not fit for much more'n marching. I'm certain that hive'll be twice the size on our way back what with all the blood they drank off me." Nez is visibly exhausted and coated in enough blood that she looks to have more on her outside than her inside.
Watching the cloud of something the plant conceals itself with is enough for the soldier, who decides that it's time to get moving before anything else interrupts their already-troubled day. "I think we'd do well to find another way back to the city," he remarks as he rejoins the others. "And do our best to avoid any fights," he adds with a worried look towards Nezari and Kith.
"Let's get somewhere safe to recover."
Once they do, Varuzhan checks over everyone to see any signs of disease. If he can tell that anyone is or might be diseased, he would administer treatment.
Surprisingly, nobody seems to be diseased...so far...
While the encounter has left you tired and bloodied, you feel that too close to the area would not be safe to rest. After all, if the storm subsides, the insects are likely to hunt for prey more aggressively. None of those attacked look forward to that possibility.
So after a short rest to make sure everybody is fine, you press on - and as 2 hours later both wind and rain eventually stop - albeit the clouds suggest a temporary break rather than an end to the storm - an eerie silence settles over the swamp, and you can hear the sound of waves in the far distance.
If your navigation was on spot, you are likely not far from your goal.
Kith uses a short break to prepare 2 infusions of CLW, one for himself and one for Nezari, who seem to be hurt the worst.
"Ey, not bad! That puts a bit of skip back in my step!" Nez certainly isn't full of health, but she's not doing too bad anymore, and she puts on a big smile about it.
"Oh I hope they're welcoming to weary travelers. The wilds have already worn out their wonder." The halfling wishes out loud. Though probably not - typically people sheltering refugees didn't want people snooping around. But maybe they were just kind souls? Just in case though, she uses her Pearl of Power to cast Mage Armor on herself. "There. Not sure I have more precautions to take."
Varuzhan uses his Hat of Disguise to take on a human appearance once more. "Let's make sure we're at full health before pressing onward."
Examining Kit and Nezari with a critical eye, Boros digs briefly into his equipment and comes up with two stoppered vials full of fluid, passing one to each of the wounded pair. "Potions to help your wounds. Not the strongest, but better than nothin'," he offers by way of explanation.
"Well I'll not say no..." Nez knocks back the potion immediately.
Varuzhan pulls out a slender wooden wand. "Lily left me this--she figured we'd need it. And she was right."
He starts tapping the injured.
"Let's see if we made it to the right place."
After everybody is healed up, you continue on your way towards the coastline. As you approach, you realize that out of the Marchland, there's actually a rocky cliff rising up and protruding out into the sea.
There's a rough-hewn footpath leading up the slippery stone, but it has fallen into disrepair, with algae and moss covering large parts of it.
On top of the rock, one can actually see quite far out to sea. At the far end on top, away from the march, there is a small stone building, about 15 feet times 25 feet - looking like a shrine, of sorts. It has no windows, probably to protect it against storms and weather, and a single door the path leads towards. But that door is locked.
Miranda looks up and around as they finally gets out of the swamp. The shore was much more scenic! It had a sort of desolate beauty to it. "Hey, it kinda looks like someone tried to skip a stone - only to realize it was muuuuch too big. Heh." She played with the thought for a few moments before continuing on. "Better be careful. The streets get pretty slick after a good rain. Bet these rocks do too. And it's a lot further to fall..."
---
"Hmm. I don't recall; was this place supposed to be abandoned? Could use a good scrubbing." She throws a glance over her shoulder. You know, just in case someone was following. Or something. "Aight. This place is locked. Wanna try knocking or should I..?" She trails off and gestures towards the hopefully pick-able lock.
Considering the building that is supposed to be their destination, Boros nods in agreement with Miranda's suggestion. "Aye, we've got to walk back through that muck, and there's no tellin' what'll be waitin' when we do. Probably better if we're not all chewed up and near dead from a fight beforehand." Though the soldier voices his support for a peaceful approach, he doesn't bother to hide that he's readying for trouble, rapier and gladius drawn and ready for action at a moment's notice.
"Aye...aye...of course you can decide that it's too risky for you, I only wanted to know if I was judging you right, and you would be up to doing the deed."
While talking, she places a Pitcher of Spiced Ale in front of Miranda, so that she can refill as she wants. It's in a simple holding mechanism, with a candle heating the metal bottom.
"Well, thing is, I don't know EVERYTHING myself, as said, I'm just pretty confident I know where he's holed up. You see, in the swampy west side of Argo Island() there's a little shrine, for drowned sailors or some such. Dedicated to Saint Senex, I believe. There's still a few people there kinda taking care of the place, and the Order or the Torrent had good relations with them. I think he may be holed up there. But the caretakers of the shrine will probably not give him up to some strangers - and some predatory creatures lair in the marshes - AND I believe our unbeloved overlord has strenghtened patrols in the vicinity of the city - so there's your dangers, or those I can think of."
She then turns to Nezari, thoughtful:"As to where he wants to go, that would be up to him. He is outside the city, so I believe if he wanted to flee to safety he would have done so. But I doubt it. It's why I think he might be holed up in that shrine. He HAD to flee to avoid the fate that had befallen others of his order. But he wouldn't just leave Kintargo - and his torrent brothers - behind. He has contacts, but precious few allies - and I am well aware of the risk i am taking by contacting you about this, but I fear he may despair and do something brave but stupid if no other path presents itself to him."
She takes a big gulp from her own mug:"So...what are your thoughts?"
Varuzhan reminds everyone of what he remembers. "Assuming this is the Shrine, there'll be some caretakers here. Someone'll have to convince them that we're helping out here. Either that or I knock them out and apologize later." Varuzhan hits the end of his quarterstaff against an open palm as visual demonstration of what he had in mind.
"Right handy Varu!" Nez gives a cheery thumbs up for the extra healing.
"OOOY, WE'RE THE GOOD GUYS! HEARD YOU NEED HELP?" Nez walks up to the door and yells loudly. Not technically knocking, but of similar effect.
Nobody reacts to your yelling. You hear nothing from the inside.
Miranda decides that the lock does look very pickable, being a rather simple mechanical one.
Surprised that no one is answering, Varuzhan decides he's going to look for signs of recent tracks, or other activity.
He also starts looking around to see if there's any other potential living space or if this shrine is it.
"All yours, that's my good faith effort." Nez wheels away from the door to let Miranda have a crack at it. "Might double check to see if they left anything cheeky though."
No other potential living spaces are visibly - and any signs of recent tracks...assuming anyone who passed left them on the mostly stony surface was washed away by the recent storm. The building itself does seem in good shape, though. There is no vegetation on or near the door - so that suggests it's not completely abandoned.
The rock area you are standing on is about 20-30 meters above sea level. The coastline is about 60 meters behind you on ground level(beyond that the rock extends another 60 or so meters inland before disappearing below ground). The rock extends another 20 or so meters towards the sea, and waves break on it at sea-level.
So for purposes of seeing far, it is meaningful elevation due to the relatively flat swampland surrounding it. You see no other structures anywhere nearby, nor any ships passing in the distance - that may have to do with Kintargo's lockdown, though.
"All right then." Miranda flexes her fingers a bit to warm up then moves up closer to inspect the lock. Yeah, she could probably handle this. For sure. Hopefully though the desolate shrine wouldn't be the sort that cursed interlopers - they didn't need more trouble right now!
A deep breath and hard concentration later ...
Nezari's unexpected shout draws a startled oath from the soldier, and he gives her a glare that has absolutely no effect. "Just because it doesn't look like there's anyone here isn't reason to be shoutin' out our presence like that," he says as his gaze shifts back to the land around them. "Try to remember that we're not the only ones wantin' to find this fellow, and we've no way o' knowin' if anyone else lookin' for him is around." Boros' briefly interrupts his scan of the swamp to point to the strix searching the ground for tracks. "Thrune's got imps, and those little bastards don't need to walk get here." With that, he resumes carefully examining the area, the elevation of the rock hopefully allowing him to see anything of note in the vicinity.
The lock is indeed as simple as Miranda anticipated.
And the trap connected to it is also only practical. One could say almost shoddy. The lock is connected to some pipe that doubles as a bolt, and would spray some kind of gas from a connected container, if not disabled before unlocking(or unlocking with a special key that would block the pipe.
It takes Miranda some fiddling, but it's all well within her ability. Soon, she can safely turn the pins and hears a click as the door is ready to be opened.
"Aye, but like, Imps and devils can teleport can't they? That's why they got that fancy stuff at the worldwound right? Couldn't it get through the door if it was already here?" Nez's knowledge of devils might be wrong on multiple points.
"Hey, at least they're not expert trapmakers." Miranda slowly works the door. She did actually prefer well crafted traps - they were less likely to accidentally do something scary. Not that there were that many people that had traps in their antiquities but still. A poorly secured cabinet could be a terrifying experience for someone a third of its size! "Let's hope they're not expert ambushers either..."
"Well, they've got to get here somehow. Maybe you could summon them into awkward places? And they have wings, maybe there's a rooftop window." Wings. As she recently learned, those were really practical. Bet the imps wouldn't have to trek through the swamp either.
"I hope this isn't some elaborate trap from the woman who sent us here."
Varuzhan decides to lead the way, and starts looking around.
Boros breaks off his inspection of the swamp to answer Varuzhan's comment. "While I'm not one to ordinarily dismiss such concerns, this would be entirely too much effort to get rid o' the likes o' us. And, considerin' how we had trouble just gettin' here, a trap that we might have never reached as well."
"The swamp was a pretty bleeding good trap and they didn't have to set up nothing for that!"