Grimnir's revelation assists the other on the team to recognize the illusion of the orcs.
Eventually the orc images dissipate and the trail is quiet once again. The team begins their journey towards the crypt once more.
The group manages to follow the right trail according to the map and after a while realize they will not make it to the crypt before nightfall. The party manages to find a nice spot that overlooks the countryside on a slight hill; it is very picturesque and serene. A good place to meditate...or picnic... or make camp.
unless anyone objects we will continue
There is plenty of dry wood to be found to start a fire, and the rations can be cooked into a fine stew if everyone contributes. As the party is sitting around the camp, they hear howling off in the distance. Over the next hour, the howling seems to grow closer before becoming eerily silent. Then all is quiet and the guard shifts begin.
A little while after your shift begins, you spot a lone wolf on the edge of the forest line watching the group. The wolf leaves after a while. The groups snoring continues and about a half hour later three wolves appear in the same spot.
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Coatl shakes his head when he sees the young snake move into a tent
-Posted with Wayfinder
Teena:
Toctep:
Grimnir:
Chankotu:
Necuametal:
Elric:
Wolves:
Combat
Necuametal, Grimnir, Teena
Wolves
Chankotu, Toctep, Elric
Grimnir's alarm wakes Necuametal quickly and the nagaji is able to get up with speed... while the rest of the group found themselves deep in sleep when the alarm went out, possibly due to the dwarfs accent...
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Toctep slowly wakes up from his dream in which he could not pronounce ssss anymore. It truly wassss a nightmare! He quickly leaves the tent, not bothering with armor or weaponry and gets out to see what is happening, he will move up to the nearest wolf while his claws elongate...
Combat
Necuametal, Grimnir, Teena (waking up)
Wolves
Chankotu, Toctep, Elric
Grimnir moves to a favorable position to protect the party as they get themselves ready...
NECUAMETL COATL is up
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Coatl and his python move next to the dwarf and with a quick incantation the pythons mouth drips acid
-Posted with Wayfinder
The red wolf moves to attack Necuametl's pet and as it gets close Grimnir takes an opportunistic swing with his dwarven chain weapon striking the wolf but not stopping it... .. MISS
The teal wolf moves to attack the dwarf and as it gets close Grimnir swings his ball and chain and cracks the wolfs skull dropping it cold...
The orange wolf also moves to attack Grimnir and the dwarfs momentum from the also swing allows the dwarf to also attack the last wolf striking it in the chest but not stopping it from attacking... .. MISS
Combat
Wolves
2nd Chankotu, Toctep, Elric /3rd Necuametal, Grimnir, Teena
Red-8
Teal-14
Orange-9
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Elric had gone to sleep under the stars, with only his bedroll and Anto's furry side for a pillow. A small chuckle escapes him when the nagaji goes into the tent, but it's not derisive, only marveling at the difference of preferences on something so simple as where to sleep.
When the cry of attack sounds, though, the Ulfen wakes and stands, drawing his sword from the ground beside him. Anto stands ready at his side, growling menacingly.
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Coatl moves his hands as a orb of acid forms and he tosses it at the wolf in font of his pet. The powerful python moves biting the same wolf
-Posted with Wayfinder
Anto hurries into battle, letting out a disgruntled Murmph! at being directed at a foe not being battled by Elric. When he's beside the dwarf, he snaps out with his giant mouth.
Chankotu sends a bolt at the red one but misses...
Toctep moves towards the red wolf as well...
Elric and Anto move to the wolves, each striking their wolf targets...Elric manages to put down the red wolf while Anto bites the wolf and severely wounds him... the wolf looks to run away...
Coatl preps some acid to throw at the red wolf but upon seeing Elric skewer the beast Coatl saves his energy...
Grimnir notices the wolf get skittish and as the canine turns to flee its head gets crushed by a weighted ball...
For good measure Teena flings a burning log into the area illuminating the local darkness and then all is quiet...
[ooc]If there are no other interactions I will continue[ooc]
The group calms down after the fight, check to make sure the animals are dead, look over the area and then begin to slumber once more.
At dawn they prep themselves and break camp. They continue journeying until mid day.
The trees begin to thin, revealing a field of short, green grass that leads to the shores of a wide, calm lake reflecting the overcast sky above. A dense fog hangs over the center of the lake, obscuring the far side. Near the shore of the lake, a dark form lies next to the water.
The group advances towards the fallen body rather slowly and with weapons at the ready...anticipating a trap or another trick as earlier...
When they finally come upon the body they discover it is not trick, it is in fact a dead body...
A cursory inspection of the body reveals huge bite marks all over the upper torso...
a finely crafted short sword lays on the ground near the body and a coin pouch with 87 gp inside was left undisturbed...
The group also notices the clothing is in poor condition from exposure, but it is obviously of a kind purchased in larger cities and not from Kassen...
The group buries the body and then continue on their journey. it takes them another three hours of walking to reach the part of the map that shows where the entrance to the crypt is located.
Their trail leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley. A cold rain starts to fall, making the ground slick and treacherous.
The arty realizes they will have to get to the bottom of this valley to enter the crypt. They know the rain has made the descending conditions slippery which could prove disastrous once they start their descent.
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"Whoah Teena, careful! It sssseeemssss ssssslipery! Let me ty a rope around thisssss tree" Toctep cries out in warning to Teena, hoping to stop her before she descends.
Toctep will get the hempen rope and grappling hook they got from Kassen and lodges the grappling hook behind the tree in such a way that he can shake it loose from a distance.
"Who wantsss to go firstsss? I will hold the rope here and slowly releasssse it ssssso you can't drop all the way."
His intention is that the others tie the rope around their waist and Toctep slowly lets go of the rope to prevent the climber to drop to the bottom of the valley in one long tumble. Toctep has a 50 foot silk rope + the 50 foot hemp rope they got from Kassen, for a total of 100 foot of rope.
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Coatl nods to his kin
The python and his master descend down the rope...
-Posted with Wayfinder
The team struggles to get down the steep slope except for the Kitsune who manages to descend gracefully much to the ire of the others.
Grimnir and Teena try their hand at a free descent and fall some ways down (first roll), then observe the lizard-kin make their way down using a rope. The two bruised pathfinders wait for the rope to reach their locations and then continue climbing down with the rope.
The team will have to leave the rope anchored up at the top while they are int he cave, but the rope will also serve their purpose of climbing up if and when their task is complete...if not one decides to steal a rope just lying about in the woods...
At the bottom of the valley the party continues to the entrance depicted on the map. After a while the Crypt comes into view...
An archway of stone is set into the side of a small hill at the bottom of the valley. Moss has overgrown many of the details, but one is still quite clear. The keystone of the arch is carved with a flame symbol with a stylized rune in the middle. Beyond the archway is a darkened tunnel that leads to a pair of massive wooden doors, one of which is slightly ajar.
A pair of horses and a trio of ponies lie slaughtered next to the archway, each corpse still tied to a post set into the ground nearby. A swarm of flies hangs lazily in the air above them.
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After the treacherous descent, Grimnir looks relieved the be on flat ground again.
He looks curiously at the entrance to the place.
"It appears we're nae th' only ones haur...these poor sools didne fair sae weel," the dwarf adds as he looks at the ponies and horses.
He investigates further, searching nearby to see if he can figure out what happened to them.
A cursory search of the scene uncovers one saddle pack that is still full. Inside are 2 days’ worth of rations, a pair of large, comfortable pillows, a quiver with 10 blunt arrows (as normal arrows, but they only deal nonlethal damage), and 2 pints of lamp oil. While searching the horses the monk uncovers the scattered bones of a human underneath one of the horses.