Karethas shrugs "I'm not sure." He unrolls the scroll and examines it.
The scroll has the following, written in archaic calligraphy golden ink:
Greetings and Welcome, Brave Hunters, to the Serpent Isles. Here you will find a hunt to satisfy your thirst for challenge, danger and adventure. A tale to be told as you relax at my Pleasure Palace.
Your task is simple: you must hunt down the Golden Ram and take its horn. There are many challenges to be faced on these islands, but only by sounding the Ram's horn can you call the ship that will bear thee hence.
This is a test of skill and skill alone, of courage and cunning, not raw power. One Ram's horn, you must sound from this spot and present to the boatman for passage. The other is yours to keep as a trophy and reward for your daring. May Fate smile upon you and guide your aim!
In crabbed erratic script at the bottom is another message:
Such was the Imprisoner's greeting from long ago. He is gone, but his world remains. The world WE created. You have just arrived, but we will learn if you are an ally or enemy; capable or inept. We watch and wait.
Kzrira finds that the font can produce warm flat bread and bean paste as well as a selection of fruit. Nothing fancy, but filling none the less.
"Hmmm...It seems we have an observer. He reads the scroll to the entire group. We should probably go along for now, since we don't really know much about this place. Let's rest up. Tomorrow, Varkata can pray for the spells and I can prepare some to hopefully restore Amir. He could be useful to track this ram, but I think we should restore him and rely on Kzrira's skills as a hunter instead. Varkata's condition is going to be more difficult, I think."
Varkata shakes her head, "Can sleep most of it off... Or use my magic to do it. Didn't ask Cayden to restore because Vaultmaster was going to do it, and wanted to save magic to find the Dean and Ravi. Be fine tomorrow, especially if testing now and tend myself. "
She shrugs, "Amir is harder to fix."
The food, water and shelter of the waypoint are tempting. Especially as the beach continues indefinitely in either direction and inland the sand dunes quickly turn into tall grasslands with intermittent copses of trees and hills in the distance.
Lets rest for the night. Varkata and Karethas need to recover spells and Kzrira could use a little healing.
*bark* :p
She shrugs, "Amir is harder to fix."
Gen looks thoughtful and speaks to Karethas though in the common tongue. "I remember hearing Andrathi mention the Golden Ram once. It was quite a famous challenge of this realm. The horn that was to serve as the prize had powerful restorative magics that might return your friend to his regular form." So saying she transforms back into a staff.
The font provides food water and bedding for all and you rest fitfully. The demi-realm does have a night cycle with strange stars and a large pink moon that crosses the sky marking the hours.
The next morning arrives warm and clear.
Karethas gives a jump as Gen disappears. He looks down at the staff, "She can change back I guess...
"Ok, so the course is clear. We need to find this ram to get Amir back, to give us a way off the island, and apparently to impress our unidentified observer." He looks down at Amir, "Since you are still a canine for now, perhaps we use it to our advantage. Do you have any scent of something that might be this Golden Ram. If not, let's start moving inland and see if we can pick up it's trail."
Kzrira once more looks at the area about the hut:
Strange that there would be gnolls here. Do you suppose they were serving the efreeti?
Heal:
Kzrira can provide long term care for Varkata, and Varkata can do the same for Kzrira, although Kzrira just has HP damage which would probably have been cured using CLW/CMW spells before going to sleep.
The magical waypoint does wonders to restore the wounds and blight of the last couple days and the Heroes of Kelmarane awake prepared to begin the hunt for the Golden Ram.
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Posted 3, no sure how many are needed.
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Varkata wakes, rubbing her head, happy to finally be free of the headache -- and, more importantly -- the fog and pressure that had made shaping her thoughts so difficult. She smiles, then says, "Bloody Lamashtans. Trust them to make something even Cayden's chosen shouldn't drink. Couldn't just have been a font of stout or porter, could it?"
She sits to offer her prayers to the Accidental God, thanking him for her companion's continued survival and the restored clairty of mind. Though, if you wouldn't mind directing me to the way out of here, that would be great too...
Finally, spells in her mind she rejoins the group, making sure that everyone is well before suggesting, "Would it help if I used my magic to locate the ram?"
Kzrira is the first to rise and scours the gleaming white sand beach for any sign of a ram. Even when Amir joins her, sniffing in a degrading manner surely, they only detect old drag marks from a hydra and locate a decrepit outrigger stinking of gnoll hidden in a grove of palms, but no ram.
Karethas and Varkata have completed their morning rituals by the time their companions return and it is decided that the grasslands are a more likely area to search than the beach. Moving inland, the party finds waist-high grasses broken by small copses of thorny trees and broken rock outcrops that occasionally hold springs of fresh water. It is near noon when Amir notices that distinct scent of metal and musk.
Nothing more promising is found however and after nearly another hour of beating the grass only to disturb vipers, Varkata impatiently asks if a spell might be more effective. It is then that Kzrira spots a heavy hoof mark in the mud near a spring...
Kzrira points down.
Although it might be one of the demon b!tch's followers, this track appears to be the best we have found so far. Lets keep looking, perhaps something will turn up.
With that, she continues to comb through the grass. When Varkata asks about using a spell, Kzrira looks up at the cleric.
Can you just find anything? Do you need to know anything about the creature, or does the magic just enable to know where the creature is?
Kzrira tries to follow the hoof marks hoping they might lead to this elusive ram, but not expecting much success since the creature is allegedly legendary and really hard to find.
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Survival(tracking): <-- +2 more if gnolls
Unfortunately, the track isn't that fresh and Kzrira finds no other trace in the tall grass. The hunt continues. It is late afternoon and still no sign of the Ram when Kzrira spots a trio of tall lanky humanoids with dog-like heads appear in the grass only fifty feet away.
Karethas
Kzrira
Varkata
foe
Round 1
Suddenly spotting the creatures, Kzrira draws her bow and nocks an arrow.
Anyone want to talk with them, or should I start shooting.
Move: draw bow
Standard: ready action to shoot as soon as the gnolls make any threatening action
If applicable - Attack-bow: <-- +1 more if < 30'
Damage: <-- +1 more if < 30'
"Wait, I would guess we are about to be ambushed, but we should talk with them first. Varkata will you do the honors." With that he casts a spell and vanishes.
Sighing as she suddenly remembers that Faelar was the one who usually spoke with the curs. Generally with little or no success. But, also that she is the only member of the party with knowledge of the dog people's language, Kzrira speaks up.
In gnoll:
We do not seek a quarrel and prefer to not fight.
It makes her teeth hurt saying these words to such horrible creatures, but knows that some local knowledge will go a long way in this alien land.
Diplomacy: <-- add +2 more if Bluff is appropriate from FE bonus
Varkata snarls, "I hate hyenafolk at least as much as the Archer... And I have some frustrations to work out from being trapped here...", then sighs, "But, maybe they've seen the ram. Fine."
Gnolls respect strength, so let's make sure we have some on display...
She steps beside Kzrira, her longsword in hand, saying in Common, "Do not mistake our willingness to talk for weakness, we just have more pressing concerns. "
.
The gnolls stop, but don't lower their bows. They bark and whine something back to Kzrira in their language.
Kzrira barks back at the gnolls.
Powerful magic brought us here. How did you get here?
Kzrira can see that the bits of archaic armor they've patched together bear some resemblance to certain motifs seen at the House of the Beast.
Kzrira thinks, trying to determine how to respond to this inquiry.
Yes, we know how to leave. We are now hunting the tools that will unlock to doors to freedom.
She pauses for effect, before asking another question. Not one she really cares about, but one that will hopefully get the gnolls to continue talking.
Were you trapped here? Or your forefathers?
After saying this, she turns to Karethas and softly repeats what was said in Kellish hoping that any confusion will not be recognized by the gnolls.
The gnolls growl and aim their bows at the human, ignoring the small talk.
Varkata's features twist into an angry smile as she sets the bows raised, and she asks, quietly, "Oh, is this the part where we pry what little they know from their skulls? I like this part."
Kzrira smiles:
Doors of magic. The key is a horn. We are hunting the horn.
Karethas listens to Kzrira's account of the conversation, but is much more interested in peering into the grasses around the party looking for more gnolls.
The gnolls exchange glances lowering their bows just a touch.
Kzrira also lowers her bow slightly, into a less threatening position, but where she can raise it and fire in the blink of an eye if necessary.
Golden Ram's horn? You know of such a thing? That may be what we seek, and it will be easier hunting one creature, than killing all in this land with a horn to find the right creature.
She licks her lips before continuing.
As I have said, the door is magic. I am no magician, although my companions are. My job is to find and retrieve the horn. If others were to assist in this retrieval, the door might allow them to escape this land as well.
Amir paces in front of the archer then tries to add to the conversation with a series of yaps and whines,
The gnolls look a little astonished at the 'talking' jackal and step aside a bit to confer while keeping an eye on the strangers. Karethas takes the moment to surreptitiously look around, but sees no other gnolls. The trio return shortly with bows lowered.
Karethas nods transparently at Kzrira's interpretation, catches himself and says, "That could work, but we get both horns."
The gnolls grunt and exchange silent glances upon translation, but reluctantly nod in agreement and the unlikely alliance begins tracking again albeit suspicious of each other and at a decent distance. The combined forces soon spot fresh tracks leading toward a distant salt marsh. It will be a race to find the Golden Ram before sunset, however.
Survival: <-- probably don't need to add the Gnoll FE bonus since they are with us
--> apparently Kzrira is spending too much time watching her most distrusted of races
The group draws closer to the salt marsh as the light of whatever serves as a sun on the artificial world sinks behind the forested hills beyond. The shrill cries of birds fill the air at sunset and then fall silent with the coming of night. The gnolls motion a stop. One reports that he saw a glint of gold in the fading light, but the wetland is too dangerous even for the dark sighted at night.
"I'm not sure if Rope Trick will work here, but I memorized it and it could help keep us safe tonight...even from our allies."
To Karethas' surprise, the spell works. The trio of gnolls move off to set their own camp for the night.
Happily, there are no encounters during the night and you arise ready to continue your pursuit. Two gnolls join you, tersely explaining that the third was dispatched to tell the pack that they wouldn't be returning immediately.
Kzrira is not happy to hear that one of the gnolls left.
We will need to watch our backs. It would not surprise me if we had twenty curs following us before too long.
Survival(tracking):
Survival(tracking):
Survival(tracking):
Survival(tracking):
More concerned about the missing gnoll, Kzrira does not really pay attention until well into the day.