Gaius shrugs. "There is merit in that too," he admits.
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Nodding to the others, Undari casts Nature's Path on the rest of the party to ease their travelling (total of 3 castings today) and then casts Tailwind on himself. Looking carefully at their map, Undari says, "Don't worry. I will be careful," he says and breaks into a sprint along the path.
Between one step and the next, Undari suddenly transforms into an eagle, his form shrinking and his armor transforming to match, nearly hidden as it blends seamlessly with his bright plumage. Gaining altitude and streaking towards Radya's Hollow, Undari begins his scouting mission, reveling in the freedom of flight!
"Let's get moving, then," Esperanza says, hefting her glaive.
The blessing of Nature's Path that Undari calls upon the party ensures that even as your path cleaves through the western fringe of the Chernasardo, your pace remains as quick as though you traveled a well-beaten road. After about fifteen miles, the tangle of trees gives way to the dry, sparse Hollow Hills.
As you wind through the shallow hills, Undari guides you away from hazards in your path, such as the natural caverns and lava tubes that break the surface in this infertile land. He also steers you away from the disturbed earth that his avian eyes observe, keeping you safe from unknown giant creatures that apparently lurk just beneath the thin soil.
More worrying, though, you spot long stretches of disturbed soil - what a lay person might conclude to be a giant mole or gopher. You recognize them as the telltale trail of a bulette. While you guide the party away from these trails, if there are one or more bulettes hunting in the hills, they could be a persistent danger.
By late afternoon, with the sky growing deep red, the party arrives at the remains of Redburrow. The ground here is freshly upturned and stained with blood. Several blast craters pock the area, and a makeshift palisade of sharpened wooden spikes - trampled to flinders in several spots - surrounds the burned-out remains of a dozen small houses. Sickly mist curls up from the blackened soil, and bloodstained weapons and armor lie strewn about the ground.
Esperanza stands in silence for some time, looking over the remains of the palisade. Her tail sways slowly from side to side, and she has a pensive look on her face.
"The last time I was here," she says, more to herself than anyone else, "Eurydicia was directing the construction of this palisade, for when the Ironfang would attack in force. I wanted to stay, but she ordered me to take the people who couldn't fight--the young, the old, the infirm--and take them to safety. It was the right decision, of course, but still...I wanted to stay and fight."
She looks up, taking in the scene as a whole. Her grip on her weapon tightens, and her tail snaps back and forth before settling down again. "I hope the bastards paid a heavy price for this."
Thorek glances at Esperanza then gives himself a small nod, satisfied that the knight is holding it together. Approaching the burnt-out shell of a village, the battle-priest tries to piece together how the battle went.
Thorek recognizes that Redburrow was once a productive little hamlet that survived by mining iron from the hills that cradled it. Several large pits and trenches surround the village, evidence of the residents' determined defense of their homes and livelihood. The battle was hard fought, but the villagers were eventually overwhelmed. Little remains now but charred walls.
Fortunately, you also see human tracks leaving the grim site. Not every resident of Redburrow fell in battle; at least some survived and escaped the massacre.
Making a lazy circuit of the town in a low pass, Undari sees a glint of metal and makes a landing on a steel box among the cinders, letting out a piercing cry to alert the others to his find.
"The folk of Redburrow were determined, but they were village folk, up against profession troops from the look of things," Thorek pushes back to his feet and points out the sets of tracks. "Mostly not hobgoblins on the attacking side, either. Hoofprints, big ones too. Maybe more centaurs, like that fellow who tried to poison us." The dwarf's scarred face twists in distaste at the memory. "We spared him, but if I see him again he'll not get a third chance."
When Undari screeches, Thorek walks over and hefts the lockbox. "Good eye, Undari!"
" Well should we follow them and see where they went ," she says staring blankly at the deserted village.
"I remember you telling me about that particular encounter. What's in the box?"
Gaius looks over the ruined town with a deep sadness. Hopefully we get to Longshadow in time before this is their fate too. How can anyone see this and think war is the answer?
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The tracks of the victors and the defeated depart Redburrow in different directions. The prints left by the fleeing residents - made by shoes, boots, and bare feet - lead to the southwest, likely skirting the Hollow Hills before making towards Longshadow.
The tracks left by the Legion, however, lead to the northeast - in the direction of Radya's Hollow.
When Thorek calls attention to the hoofprints, the party recognizes that they were made by beings traveling on two legs - not four. After a short discussion, combining your collective knowledge, you come to the conclusion that the bulwark of the attacking force was composed of minotaurs, rather than centaurs.
The steel lockbox has endured the flames with only a slight blackening upon its surface. A simple clasp keeps it shut without the aid of a proper lock; evidently the former owner believed keeping it hidden was defense enough. Most of the box's weight comes from its own metal construction, whilst only the sound of a few baubles can be heard rattling within.
Once you open the lockbox, you find a sextet of well-cut topaz gems that would likely fetch a couple hundred gold each. Wrapped in a length of oil cloth, you also find a wand made of heartwood bound with brass. As Gaius scans for magic, he readily identifies that this wand is fully charged.
That can't be good... "Hey! Everyone! Bring it in!" Gaius whispers urgently.
"Look there," he says, pointing to some trenches to the northern edge of town. "See the cloud? It doesn't move with the wind and is fierce with magic. I'm unsure what it is as of yet, but I'm wary of getting much closer. What should we do about it?"
________
Is there a knowledge/spellcrarft to go with it? The not moving part suggests a creature, but if I were hellbent on razing a town, Cloudkill, even on scrolls, would totally be on the menu!
Esperanza eyes the phenomenon warily. "Burn it?" she suggests.
Casting a spell to allow him to speak normally (Beastspeech), Undari says, "I will go take a look if you think it wise, Gauis--I could fly above it and then report back."
"Is it a ward? Something left over from the assault? Or do you think it's some sort of creature? I've heard of magic that lets beings take the form of mists and fogs..."
Thorek squares his stance at the mist as though confronting an enemy. "Whatever you are, depart in peace and leave Redburrow to its dead. We are more than capable of destroying you if it comes to blows."
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Gaius directs the party's attention to the northern edge of the razed village. There, a series of trenches is cut into the earth like jagged, uneven scars. You spot the cloud he indicates. It is a thick, mustard-colored mist that clings low to the ground above these trenches.
Gaius thinks hard about what exactly he's looking at.
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Gaius deduces that the northern trenches are affected by a miscast spell. In particular, he suspects that an inexperienced mage attempted to unleash the magic of a scroll that was beyond their ability to control. Based upon the lingering, twisted effects, it seems likely that it was specifically a scroll of acid fog that went awry.
While he is unable to identify the exact nature of the yellowish mist haunting the area, Gaius is certain that it is some manner of gaseous entity engendered by the destructive power of the miscast spell.
"I suppose our intentions for the town will dictate what we wish to do about it. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere, so if we don't wish to send people back here, we could just go around it. Otherwise, I fear we'll have to move closer and hope our abilities can dissipate it," Gaius outlines.
"Hmm...." says Undari/eagle, "If it is a threat to local flora and fauna, we may want to deal with it to avoid needless destruction of the local wildlife."
"Gaius, do you have any idea how we can dissipate this cloud safely?
If needed, I can transform into an air elemental and use my whirlwind ability on the cloud," suggests Undari.
"Wind of enough strength should do it, but the cloud's movement independent of the wind suggests to me that this is more than it appears. It is worth trying though. If we can't handle what happens afterwards, we can always flee," Gaius points out.
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"Well, go on then blow it away! It's not a pleasant wisp and I'd see it gone." Thorek keeps a wary eye on the cloud-thing but doesn't lose focus on keeping watch for any other dangers that might approach--the Ironfangs likely had patrols or raiding parties in the area.
Esperanza keeps her gaze on the cloud, glaive gripped tightly. She wasn't sure what, if anything, the weapon could possibly do to such a phenomenon, but at least it helped her feel better.
"Right, then. If you say it will work, Gaius, I will do it," says Undari.
The eagle leaps into the air and soars upwards, becoming more and more transparent as it does so, until its form shifts completely into a cloudlike substance. Undari/Air Elemental then flies over the low-laying cloud and looks down at it cautiously before deciding if beginning a whirlwind is a good idea at this point.
Lily just is staring ominously at this whole situation confused as to what's going on.
Thorek and Undari can see vaguely humanoid forms moving within the trenches, their appearance obscured by the mist. They shamble awkwardly, seemingly unaccustomed to their ungainly, bulky limbs. Although their height is hard to accurately gauge, owing to the mist and the trenches they patrol, but they look much larger than ordinary humans.
However, there is a moment when the mist thins and one of the beings turns at just the right angle. Thus, you can distinguish that they appear to be empty suits of armor, marching under their own strange power.
As you wait and watch, there comes a moment when the wind picks up. However, it is unable to stir the thick yellow mist, which seems to defiantly - perhaps even consciously - resist the air's attempt to dispel it.
Swearing in dwarven, Thorek takes a step closer to the mist to put himself between it and his companions as much as possibl. "Figures in that mist, bloody suits of armor. Burn it." At the warpriest's final words his dorn-dergar ignites in golden flames traveling the chain's entire length.
Undari starts spiraling into a thirty-foot tall Whirlwind, plunging the tip of it into the cloud below and trying to dissipate its form!
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The gargantuan swath of mustard-colored mist is drawn within Undari's whirlwind, like a sheet being spun together. Like a living creature caught in a river's current, it struggles against the whirlwind, but it struggles in vain as it lashes out wildly with tendril-like wisps of its gaseous bulk.
With the scarred and furrowed ground thus now uncovered, the shambling forms within begin to clamber out of the trenches and turn their attention on the party. They resemble pieces of armor melted and blended together into awkward amalgams, but they are each topped by a might horned helmet.
Maintaining his swirling form, Undari moves up high into the sky, pulling the dangerous mist along with him. As the whirlwind buffets the gaseous creature, Undari/Elemental tries to rend it to pieces with the power of air!
Esperanza hefts her glaive, looking uncertainly between the mobile suits of armor and Gaius. "Any advice?"
"Don't breathe in the mist, smash the armor." Thorek starts spinning up his blazing dorn-dergar and advances with grim purpose.
Gaius shrugs, hands forwards and palms up. "Basically that. Unless you wish to die, there is no amount of time you should be spending in the grasp of the cloud. Caution is less exciting, but will likely win the day," he elaborates.
Snapping his fingers, everything slows down from his allies' perspectives.
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" Great I hate ghosts..," Lily says while sending an arrow off that plinks off the armor of the one.
Gaius vests his magical Haste upon his allies.
Lily's second shot lands true, finding a gap between the haphazardly bonded armor plates.
Esperanza looks up warily at the floating death cloud, then back to the shambling armor. "Smash the armor it is," she says, advancing toward them. She braces herself for their oncoming assault.
As the first of the giant armors clambers out of the trenches, it quickly becomes a futile effort. With readied, practiced celerity, Esperanza hews one of its arms from its amalgamated bulk. It raises its remaining arm to swing a heavy flail at her, but she parries the strike and delivers a riposte that cleaves armored plates apart and render the undead monstrosity nothing more than an ugly heap of metal.
A second giant armor emerges, but its swing is unceremoniously sidestepped by the Shelynite warrior. The last marches across the pock-marked, furrowed ground towards Thorek and Lily.
Meanwhile, in the air above the battlefield, the trench mist attempts to lash out at Undari with its foul, burning touch, but the transformed druid keeps just out of reach as he keeps the mist spinning right round.
Undari/Elemental continues to maintain the whirlwind (standard action) and flies quickly up in the air, dragging the deadly fog away from his companions (speed 90 hasted, just put a vertical tag on them at about 100feet up or so, for simplicity).
"May Angradd speed you to your rest, you troubled souls." Thorek steps up to meet the scrap-hulk's charge, his blazing dorn-dergar leaving a trail of golden sparks as it spins through the air.
Flopsy speeds over to defend Esperanza, flying above the armor. With the tiniest but mightiest scream, she points the wand down at it, but instead of engulfing it in flame, something goes wrong! The wand turns red hot, singing the Pooka's hand and she tosses it away.
"Stupid stick! GAIUS! LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! I BURNED MY HAND AND ESPERANZA'S GONNA DIE! She has a sad, redepmtion story-arc and everything... Now we'll never know..."
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Gaius flinches at the undeserved chastisement, but does his best to power through. I'll pay for that later, I just know it! Unless the cloud takes me first... hmmmm... But then it might get the others!
Resolved to save his friends, he unleashes a barrage of raw arcane that collide with Undari's new pet cloud.
________
Esperanza twirls away from the flail thudding into the ground, translating the motion into a swipe of her glaive that slashes across its torso. She continues her assault, trying to carve up the second one just as she did its partner. She quickly glances back up at Flopsy, her deadly serious expression briefly replaced by one of confusion before returning to the undead horror in front of her.