The group trudges around in the thick woods for another long stretch with no sign of boar. "Odd that," says Foxglove puzzled. "I had heard the hunting was quite good here. Seems the story was quite incorrect. I am starting to get put out." He takes a silk handkerchief from his pocket and dabs the sweat from this forehead as the tramping around in the muggy woods is quite wearying despite the cool day.
The Tickwood - Surprise Round
20 Foxglove
19 Aviel
18 Claudia
13 Rotomo
8 Priscilla
3 Giant Tick
As the hunt wears on and Foxglove starts to become uncomfortable and impatient Aviel starts to consider what diversions might take his mind off the current situation.
Her mind preoccupied with trying to see anything that might look like a boar trail and thinking of ways to keep Foxglove entertained she keeps looking down at the ground and fails to notice the creature lurking up in the trees.
Priscilla took the boar spear with some trepidation, unsure how to use such a thing - I mean, it's a spear, Pris. Stab stab stab, she thought to herself, as they began to trudge through the forest. While she wasn't out of her element in natural places, she was less comfortable here than she would be squeezed underneath a crawlspace in Magnimar.
Still, the moving shadows of the forest felt familiar to her as they moved through, and she tried to stick to them as much as possible - stealth wasn't really possible at this speed, but they at least kept her cool from the sweat she was generating, walking through the woods. She kept her eyes sharp and moving swiftly about, though. Hunting for rats or boar, what was the difference?
"Woah!" Pris exclaims, taking a shocked step back as the relatively enormous creature drops down in front of the party, but her body moved with instinct. She didn't have her bow out, but she might still be able to do some damage with this spear... She moves to be ready to intercept the creature with the small spear, stepping up next to Rotomo.
"It's no boar, but maybe this'll satisfy Foxglove..." Pris mutters underneath her breath.
Rotomo is lost in looking at the forest floor for boar tracks when he should have been looking up. He stands frozen in place as the tic descends and attacks.
The Tickwood - Surprise Round - concluded
While the rest of the heroes are slow to react, the vigilant Priscilla sees the tick moving in the boughs of the tree above just before it drops. As such she is able to rush to the side of the surprised Rotomo, her spear in hand, as the tick advances.
The blood-sucking tick, almost driven mad with hunger makes a short charge along the ground attacking Priscilla. The sucking mouth parts of the horrible bug attach to the poor halfling's skin, causing a bit of damage, but also draining part of her life-blood.
End of Surprise Round
The Tickwood - Round 1
20 Foxglove
19 Aviel
18 Claudia
13 Rotomo
8 Priscilla (2hp dmg, 1 CON dmg, attached)
3 Giant Tick (grappled condition, -2 AC from charge)
Screaming like a little girl, Foxglove drops his spear and bolts away from the action.
At the screaming Aviel glances over at Foxglove. Seeing that he is not in immediate danger she snaps the visor of her helmet down. "By the second pact! What is that thing?" she exclaims as she moves to Priscilla's aid.
As the creature seems firmly attached to the halfling, Aviel moves forward to give herself a clear strike and limit the beast's ability to wiggle out of the way by catching it between herself and Rotomo.
With that Aviel lunges forward with the boar spear
As she does so she calls out over her shoulder "Do not wander far your lordship, we will have this thing dead in but a moment and we can't keep you safe if you run too far."
The Tickwood - Round 1 -continued
Reacting most quickly, Aviel snaps her visor in place and pushes forward, circling the attached tick. Her boar spear works on ticks as well it seems, and she is able to skewer the bloated body as it fills with blood, causing a serious wound, but not killing the large insectile creature.
Claudia intones magic words, and then a bolt of force flies and strikes the tick.
Trying not to hit his diminutive companion Rotomo thrusts his spear at the feasting tick.
”Ack!” The level of sudden pain and disgust as the thing suddenly charged forward and latched onto her was high, but it only increased as she could feel her own blood being drained by the creature. Dropping her spear in surprise, she attempts to snake away from the probiscus, using her natural talent for slipping out of tight squeezes. ”Get off me, ya abomination!”
If she is successful, she will take a moment to pull one of her daggers out of a sheathe sewn into her cloak, ready to counter-attack once she catches her breath.
The Tickwood - Round 1 - concluded
Claudia fires a force bolt through the air, which unerringly strikes the grappled tick, smashing it.
Rotomo stabs at the blood-sucking freak with his boar-spear but the sharp point is turned aside by the hard outer exoskeleton of the tick.
Priscilla easily pulls herself away from the sucking mouth parts of the tick, reaching for a dagger sewn in the lining of her cloak instead.
Continuing after the tasty prey, the tick attacks Priscilla once again but the halfling is again able to twist out of the way of being consumed once again.
End of Round 1
The Tickwood - Round 2
20 Foxglove
19 Aviel
18 Claudia
13 Rotomo
8 Priscilla (2hp dmg, 1 CON dmg)
3 Giant Tick (2hp dmg)
From a safe distance away, Foxglove stops and turns to watch the fight, twisting his body and shouting encouragement to the fighters, as if he were on the front line (at least theatrically).
With Pris free Rotomo takes his time and trusts his spear and the insatiable tick trying to skewer it.
As the tick tries to move out of her reach, Aviel effortlessly shifts her position to keep in in melee . With Pris free, but still threatened by the creature Aviel switches tactics. She drops the boar spear and slides her shield off her back with a practiced ease as she moves to reposition the tick between herself and her allies as well as give Pris an opening to retreat from the creature.
Once in position her sword is in hand in the blink of an eye and she strikes at the tick once more.
Claudia will try and hit the creature with a glob of acid.
Tickwood - Round 2 - concluded
As the tick stumbles away from the flanking maneuver, Aviel follows up, readying her shield and choosing her practiced longsword over the boarspear. She hacks a mighty chunk out of the tick, which quails under the stroke, not quite giving up altogether.
Rotomo hits the tick from the other direction, and his spear-thrust kills the blood sucking bug.
End of Combat
Satisfied the thing is dead Aviel lifts her visor and gives her sword a quick flick to remove the majority of the thing's ichor. Then she wipes the blade with a stained cloth to clean off what is left before sheathing it. "Well done Rotomo. A fine fight."
She hefts the giant tick and is about to turn away before she pauses for a moment as if considering something and then asks Priscilla "Your keen eyes do you credit, but if I may make a suggestion? Moving to cover Foxglove was a good move, but with your light armour I would counsel you to keep a step or two behind Rotomo or myself as the case may be. If the enemy tries to break through you will be there to stop them, otherwise let them spend themselves against our heavier armour and when they are engaged you can step up to finish them off. I do have to say though that the way you twisted out of its grasp was quite remarkable."
Aviel appraises Priscilla's condition.
"How bad is your wound? Are you OK to continue the hunt or should we head back to get you medical attention?"
Aviel then asks Claudia "Your magic, it looks like it produces arcane projectiles. I admit I know little about magic. Do you need me to keep clear lines of fire open like I would for an archer?"
Aviel then takes the giant tick and lays it at Foxglove's feet. "It is a vile creature, no? I've never seen its like before. Not the boar we were looking for but a good taxidermist could mount it and it might make an interesting conversation piece. What do you say your lordship? Should we take it or leave it?"
Aviel waits for Foxglove's answer before asking "Do you wish to continue the hunt?"
"Don't worry about it. I really don't hit with the acid all that much, so I don't want to get in your way. If it's really an issue, I have more powerful magic that never misses."
Pris quickly pats at the blood stained onto her shirt, scrunching up her face just a bit at Aviel's criticisms. I mean, she is right, Pris, the halfling thought to herself as she staunched the blood flow. She felt a little woozy, but nothing that would affect her combat effectiveness. "I am fine to keep going," she nods to Aviel. "It's gonna take more than a big bug to put me out of commission!" At the mention of keeping sight lines clear, Pris clears her throat. "If I'm ever sniping for you, just saying there's no need to worry about that sort of thing. I've shot in enough cramped places to know how to shoot around trunklegs like yourselves."
Rotomo wipes the gore off his spear as he waits for the craven nobleman's response about continuing the hunt.
Foxglove picks up his boar spear, and rejoins the rest of the group. "That was very well done indeed! I had the rear, in case another of those blood-suckers came upon us from behind. I believe I scared one of them away, in fact!"
When asked about continuing the hunt, Foxglove looks at the time, and agrees they can try for one more session before he must return to Sandpoint, and then on to Magnimar.
Claudia will go with Rotomo and try to help him find a boar.
Rotomo once again casts his eyes down upon the forest floor hoping to find some trace of the game that had eluded his best efforts to track. After a few minutes he smiles widely and announces, ”Found sign here”
Pris, not enjoying the experience of being drained of blood by a giant pest, decides to forgo the small boar spear that was provided to her - it wasn't really doing much for her. Instead, she opts to keep her bow strung and at the ready, knowing that if there was another assault, a small but accurate arrow would likely be of more help.
"Capital!" shouts Foxglove with earnestness. "Then let the hunt begin." He holds his boar-spear with a flourish and hustles himself beside Rotomo.
The trail of the boar leads through a heavily wooded area which eventually opens into a small clearing. At the far end of the clearing stands a pile of boulders and downed tree limbs, the perfect lair for a great boar. Without dogs, it is hard to know if the boar inside its lair or elsewhere, but the etiquette of the hunt calls for all hunters to line up with their spears, and approach the lair in an ever-tightening cordon, unitl the beast charges.
Foxglove attempts to get the hunters lined up but with Aviel's sword and Priscilla's bow, he is at a loss (for once). He dithers a bit frustrated, but puts the ladies on either end of the cordon, with Rotomo in the center.
"Carefully now," he says, perspiration breaking out on his forehead. "If it charges, set your spear, and hold on tight!"
Aviel dutifully takes the position assigned her at the end of the line. She held the spear ready and squinted her eyes, trying to see if she could spy the boar in its den. A sudden thought has her concerned and she asks "Lord Foxglove, how many boar hunts have you participated in?"
"Oh, very many!" says Foxglove, full of confidence. "But...none without my huntsman, I must say." He quietly considers this before taking the center of the line again, a little more worried looking than before.
The Boar Hunt - Round 1
25 Claudia
22 Rotomo
18 Aviel
18 Foxglove
16 Priscilla
2 Boar
Rotomom examines the ground trying to determine if he can fine a definitive sign that the boar is in its lair.
Claudia will prepare to shoot acid at the first enemy who appears.
Aviel shifts her grip on the spear, preparing for the boar's rush if it came at her. She slowly advances on the den to a position where a large rock covers her left flank. She then pauses for the rest of the line to advance, ready to set the spear as needed.
The Boar Hunt - Round 1 - continued
Claudia holds her position, readying a quick cantrip that conjures acid if a foe appears.
Rotomo continues seaarching for some sign that the boar is actually in the lair, but cannot confirm or deny that fact from is present location.
Aviel, sticking with the spirit of the hunt, secures the groups left flank against a big boulder and readies to set her spear if the boar charges.
Foxglove, bouyed by the courage of Aviel, also advances, but keeps looking back over his shoulder fearfully, and only covers half the ground as the Chelish fighter.
With an arrow knocked and ready in her bow, Priscilla moves in order to search for a better angle on the cave - while she searched for any place to conceal herself, the open field proved to be difficult terrain for her skullduggery. Instead, she planted herself and lowered her bow against the possible boar lair.
The Boar Hunt - Round 1 - concluded
Priscilla creeps across the line of march, trying to stay low and cover the boar lair with her bow.
End of Round 1
The Boar Hunt - Round 2
25 Claudia (ready action)
22 Rotomo
18 Aviel (readied action)
18 Foxglove
16 Priscilla
2 Boar (readied action)
As the tension mounts, a loud angry squeal is heard from within the lair indicating a boar is, in fact, present. It can be heard breathig heavy, and pawing the ground in anger as the group of hunters draws nearer.
"I think we found pig. Hold ground let pig come to us," Rotomo Cautions as he sets his spear against a charge and yells, "Arrrrrggg"
With the boar confirmed to be in the den Aviel cautiously moves forward a few steps before setting her spear again, hoping to bait the animal out in the open.
Boar Hunt - Round 2 - continued
Claudia calculates she isn't close enough to use Acid Splash so she moves forward, and readies that spell if the boar comes into the clear.
Rotomo immediately sets his spear, bracing it for the charge attack.
Aviel strides forward a bit more, again bracing her spear. The forward movement is all the boar can take, and it rushes from the lair, squealing in anger, its razor-sharp tusks flashing in the mid-day light.
Claudia acts when the boar breaks cover, lobbing a glob of acid that strikes the charging beast, burning it slightly.
Seeing the movement in the lair Aviel calmly braced the spear by securing the but against the ground and holding it in place with her foot. She then lay the spear flat against the ground to mask its presence as the boar charged. Just as it got close enough, she snapped the spear tip upwards to minimize the boar's opportunity to avoid the deadly shaft.
Pris takes a couple of surprisingly long steps forward to close ground between herself and the boar, and steadies her shot - though the melee currently ensuing between Aviel and the creature are making it hard for her to pin the target down. Still, she shoots with a concerted effort to bring the thing down.
Boar Hunt - Round 2 - concluded
As the boar charges at Aviel, she stops and braces her spear. The charging boar cannot avoid the point of the weapon and skewers itself on the braced spear.
Despite its wounds, the boar crashes into Aviel. Its sharp tusks goring at the well-armored warrior but missign anything vital.
Dropping his spear, Foxglove runs the other direction, until he trips over a root, and falls head first into the forest floor, where he lies motionless.
From the side, Priscilla fires a small arrow into the flank of the wounded boar, which screams indignantly, foam flying from its mouth in rage.
End of Round 2
Boar Hunt - Round 3
22 Rotomo
25 Claudia
2 Boar (19hp dmg, disabled)
18 Aviel
18 Foxglove
16 Priscilla
The great boar, seriously wounded by Aviel's spear, staggers about in a death-throe, as the party closes in for the kill.
Claudia will fall back on shooting Acid at the Boar.
Boar Hunt - Round 3 - continued
With the boar critically wounded, Rotomo hurries to its side but his spear thrust misses initially.
Lobbing more acid, Claudia scores a hit on the injured prey, doing a bit more damage.
Crazed and wounded, the boar staggers into Aviel again, taking a last swipe at her but the mauled creature misses badly.
Aviel glances over at Foxglove's still form and mutters in exasperation, her patience finally wearing thin. "By the first pact, unbelievable. Would one of you check to see if he is still alive."
She easily avoids the wounded beasts attack and then steps in to try and end the hunt.