Toxim packs an extra bundle of arrows. He wants to be ready for an extended journey. If there are sunrods, he'll take several of those too.
Karkalla happy to take a short journey by ship
The one that we used to tow the Sea Wyvern back to port.
Why not take Amella's ship? Doesn't it need a maiden voyage anyway?
Daurros doesn't really care which ship, although Amella's may make more sense to avoid risking our employer's ship twice in a row.
Toxim is eager to get going.
With the ship selected and a the crew eager you set sail for the Blackfen. It is several days of travel so you will have time to prepare, the locales only had hear say to go on about this "Cat folk" temple. It is the thought it would be some ways past the fen.You also know that the Blackfen is home to the "scaly-folk" may be lizard folk and that someone near the mouth of the River the dragon known as "He who melts flesh" lairs. Many of the locales suggest you do not come ashore near the river mouth.
"That sounds like good advice. Is there a better place to make landfall?"
Amella rolls the rough map out on the deck "wel' I would put ye a shore well before th' swamp. Say, humm here." she says pointing to an rough area miles before the swamp, maybe half a day travel. "I say' lets be a leaving dragons sleep eh"
"We can make our way from there." Toxim takes the time to study the map carefully. Their first trip through that jungle was the most harrowing thing he had ever done. He wasn't totally sure that he'd fully recovered fromt the ordeal, but he wanted to be ready for it this time.
"Hmm... that dragon... you think it might be some false dragon like those lizard things we encountered before? But yeah, we don't have to run right into his maw."
Karkalla follows the others crossbow at the ready.
Finn agrees with Amella's suggestion of dropping the party off before the dragon's kill zone, although he suggests that Daurros might want to prepare some Resist Energy spells nevertheless.
"Thank you for the suggestion, Finn. I will take it under advisement." It's difficult to tell whether he's being sarcastic or not, but knowing Daurros ...
Three days after you started the ship floats off the shoreline. To the north lays the black fern but ahead of you lays the lush jungle of the inner island. Birds can be heard calling as well as large winged lizards flying above the jungle canopy. Water laps along the shoreline bringing with it driftwood and shifting sand. You see nothing close to the edge you have chosen to land. But footprints lay across the rocky shore, even now being eaten by the tide. Somewhere in the dark jungle, something roars sending more birds and other flyers high into the sky as well.
Take a rowboat to shore and start the trek to the weapons cache'.
Survival
Finn turns on his ring of invisibility and helps row to shore.
To better defend the ship against natural or un-natural attacks, Guard let's the other Millenium Falcons know that he will keep on the ship, waiting for their return in some days.
Karkalla resits the urge just to swim over and helps the others with the rowing.
Dauros wishes Guard well, and gets in the boat. He avoids rowing, if possible.
You make it to the shore, two crewmen rode along to bring the boat back while Amella and Guard will wait off shore for your return. Toxim spots a few game trails right off the bat, some he thinks might be smaller less deadly creatures. You still will have some issues as all you have to go on his hearsay about where these ruins are. However some of you might be able to guess where the best places might be.
Knowledge Geography
knowledge geography
Perception:
Finn prepares himself for danger by casting Mage Armor.
Finn and Toxim pick up game trails with ease, but no signs of ruins . Toxim and Daurros get together and come up with what they think might be good places to set up large cities within what they know of the Jungle. By the end of day one you have not neared the first area, but Toxim's Skills and Finns Sharpe eyes have kept you from any danger.
Day 1:
Perception
Perception
Daurros will cast fly to get a bird's eye view.
perception
Perception
K: Geography
K: Nature
Survival
Perception
K: Geography
K: Nature
Survival
also
knowledge geography
knowledge nature
survival (as aid another)
Most of day two leaves you simply following the game trails, however Toxim's skills with Finn's sharp eyes keep you out of damage of the local wildlife, other then a small pack of mice sized lizards who seem to find Daurros's bags tasty.
Late in the days however you do find your first sign of former civilizations. Groups of stones, mostly covered and buried by the jungle. You think maybe they marked something, the carvings upon them are unknown but somewhat familiar to you. They almost look like some of the native styles, but somewhat more elvish then what the natives use. Yet not elvish or native. It does however make you think you are going in the correct direction.
Day 2:
Perception
Perception
Perception
K: Geography
K: Nature
Survival
Perception
K: Geography
K: Nature
Survival
Mid day two you stumble across your first real ruin. Over grown and almost totally taken by the jungle it seems to have been a town or village, now its mostly mounds of earth and trees with vine covered stone sprouting from the soil like some kind of arcane crop. Trails lead off deeper into the jungle,some of which in ages past may have been a road. Your best guess is the one heading east and one heading northeast.
Let's go east.
By end of day two you have traveled across the sunken trails and it is clear that ruins are becoming more common. You would guess if this leads to something it will open up in a day or two of travel, the stones jutting from the jungle are just becoming to common for it to be thinning out.
"Looks like you guessed the right way, Toxim."
perception
knowledge geography
knowledge nature
survival
perception
knowledge geography
knowledge nature
survival
Copied from discussion thread
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
K: Geography 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
K: Nature 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
Survival 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
K: Geography 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
K: Nature 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
Survival 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Knowing very little of Geography or in tracking Karkalla helps best she can by keeping an eye out
Perception
Mid way though day three you crest a small hill and before you lays what was once a mid sized city, it is larger then anything else you have seen upon the island. The Jungle has claimed most of it, trees and vines growing in, around, though and over buildings. Birds and other wild life seem to move though the ruined city and near its heart, over grown with vines stands some kind of step pyramid, it dominates the view, lording over the ruins that surround it.
"This could be it. Let's start at the ziggaurat and work our way from there."
"Sounds good to me!" Finn agrees. He refreshes his invisibility and mage armor and checks the main stairs for traps.
Perception: take 10 for 35
"I agree. The ziggaurat would have likely been the center of this civilization, the most important building."
The Ziggaurat seems to have far less growth then the other buildings.The rest of the city is almost totally swallowed by the plant life, it however only seems to have a vines on it. That and its close to seven stories tall when the city around it was 2 to three stories on average. You see signs of a very active animal life though the ruins, calls, and movement of plants as things move around you.
Finn does spot many signs of life closer to the ziggaurat, tracks thick in the earth. A set of stairs reaches from the ground to the summit of the Ziggaurat. Scenes carved into the stone seem to be of the same unknown language of the other ruins and there is a strong cat influence in the artwork, with most of the images as man-like cat headed people.
Toxim will continue to be wary of disturbing the native fauna as he tries to read the language.
Perception
Survival
Use Eternal Wand of Comprehend Languages on Toxim and Daurros if he would like.
Daurros begins examing the ruins and symbols with intense interest. He also tries to determine if there are any other (hidden) entrances besides the top.
perception (take 20) = 30
knowledge (history)
linguistics
Daurros speaks the following languages: Common, Draconic, Riedran, Abyssal, Infernal, Giant, Sylvan, Goblin, Elven, Quor, Terran
Finn examines the steps of the ziggurat for traps. (still taking 10)
If he doesn't find any, he says: "I'm going up!" and leads the way forward (invisibly).
Toxim sees no threat, although animal tracks abound in the area around the Ziggaurat. What he does see as a bit odd , is that within say ten feet of the structure only tracks of great cats can be seen. They seem to circle it and in almost all cases looks like they can to rest at the Ziggaurat 's edge. He sees on exsample of a large, very large cat seemingly climbing the stairs. The tracks are no more then two days old.
The symbols and language is somewhat like Elvish, bot not elvish that Daurros can tell. It has some points of similarity with the native tongue however, he would guess it is not that one either. However the building is very similar to both the ruins under the mountains you passed after the ship wreak and the lair of the undead elders you meet not long ago. You are able to make out some idea that this is a holy place to the people who lived here, a Home of some sort, a place of worship of some cat like god.
Finn sees no sign of traps and as he climbs the very long set of sitars he sees no sign of any thing upon the stairs themselves.