We definitely need to keep watch. We should have had a watch posted last night at Oleg's.
Jutmon shrugs. Lesson learned, right? The Wizard looks thoughtful. If we each take a little over an hour and a half watch it should get us through the night.
Jutmon eyes the cave. If it's shallow, probably a good place to camp. I really don't plan on sleeping inside that hole though. ...Unless it rains again. I like the stars over my head at night.
Plus what Nareth said.
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Strewn across the floor of the cave are several small skeletons. mostly vole, rat and sundry other small vermin. . the soft silty ground has no prints of large animals, but thousands of small prints, perhaps insectoid or very, very small humanoids. The entrance is only four feet tall, but once inside the area expands to nearly thirty feet by thirty feet with a twenty foot ceiling.
in the far back, there is a small circle of stone covered in a thick layer of dust, perhaps a very, very old fire ring?
"I can keep watch whenever, I have no spells to prepare or prayers to make so my sleep schedule is flexible. This place looks okay to me. I'll sleep outside the entrance with Midnight. Don't like to leave him alone and he'd never fit in here."
"I am the same as Roga. I have no gods or magics to attend too so I can take a longer watch as well. We may have to camp longer but we can cover the time enough to allow the spell-slingers to get rested then we can rest."
Inuki, believing that he has won the party's trust, transforms into his foxlike form. "I will take one of the middle watches. I have excellent night vision."
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Roga, you are certain that the temperature tonight will drop to below freezing, and possibly below 0* . Looks like rain tonight, and probably throughout tomorrow.
You are more than capable of gathering enough wood before dark to keep the cave nice and toasty warm until dawn if you like.
You are the only wilderness born and raised type character, so you may need to explain the hazards to the group. Please see the Spoiler below for information on cold weather.
The sun is beginning to dip over the horizon, luckily, the cave entrance faces southwest, so there is yet a decent amount of light. Your dead deer made the trip intact, clean, and edible. There are various scrub trees and brush in the immediate area for firewood.
Cold and exposure deal nonlethal damage to the victim. A character cannot recover from the damage dealt by a cold environment until she gets out of the cold and warms up again. Once a character has taken an amount of nonlethal damage equal to her total hit points, any further damage from a cold environment is lethal damage.
A character who takes any nonlethal damage from cold or exposure is beset by frostbite or hypothermia (treat her as fatigued). These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the cold and exposure.
Extreme cold (below –20° F) deals 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Roga is quite certain that this type of weather is months away
"We need to collect firewood. It's gonna get real cold tonight. We should be able to keep the cave warm though. Looks like it'll rain as well, so we should be thankful for our roof and ready to defend it against cold damp critters. Keep your ears peeled. Nareth and Sergei will take first watch, then me and Nareth. After Inuki's gotten enough sleep to get his spells back he can take over for the rest of the night. Sound okay?" After confirming the watch schedule, Roga will begin the work necessary to keep the group warm.
If anyone is injured I will use my Cure Light Wounds before retiring.
Inuki follows Nareth to help with the firewood. "You know other kitsune? Have you traveled in the east?"
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Perception DC = 33 (21 (Stealth) +10 (Stone cave wall in way) +2 (Raining outside))
The night passes unremarkably. At various times, small scuttling sounds are heard. Waking in the morning, you find the horses about two hundred yards off, bedded down in the dense grass underneath a large oak tree.
Roga, you immediately notice that several of the shiny falderals covering your saddle are missing. Possibly pried, chewed, or cut off. Closer inspection reveals a couple small foot prints in the frost, quickly fading in the warmth of the morning and the rain.
It appears something small used a sharp pointy too, likely a dagger, to pry off the bits of silver.
After looking around for a moment or two more, Jutmon discovers a small creature, horribly ugly (goblins would probably mock the hideousness), creature. In his hands are two of the three silver decorations from Roga's saddle. The grotesque creature also has a small dagger, and a half dozen small darts. Burned into his backside is a perfect relief of a horse shoe. A painful looking bite mark oozes blackened blood slowly leaking out on the creatures head where an ear was likely once attached.
You know almost everything there is to know about a Mite:
Mite
This squat humanoid seems to be nearly all head—an unfortunate circumstance, considering how ugly its puffy blue face is.
XP 100
LE Small fey
Init +1; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+1 Dex, +1 size)
hp 3 (1d6)
Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +3
DR 2/cold iron
Weaknesses light sensitivity
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee dagger +0 (1d3–1/19–20)
Ranged dart +2 (1d3–1)
Special Attacks hatred
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
At will—prestidigitation
1/day—doom (DC 10)
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB –2; CMD 9
Feats Point-Blank Shot
Skills Climb +7, Handle Animal +0, Perception +5, Ride +2, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +13; Racial Modifiers +4 Sleight of Hand, +4 Stealth
Languages Undercommon
SQ vermin empathy +4
ECOLOGY
Environment any underground
Organization solitary, band (2–8), or tribe (9–20 plus 1 chieftain of 2nd–4th level and 2–6 giant vermin)
Treasure standard (dagger, 6 darts, other treasure)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Hatred (Ex) Mites receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against humanoid creatures of the dwarf or gnome subtype due to special training against these hated foes.
Vermin Empathy (Ex) This ability functions as a druid's wild empathy, save that a mite can only use this ability on vermin. A mite gains a +4 racial bonus on this check. Vermin are normally mindless, but this empathic communication imparts on them a modicum of implanted intelligence, allowing mites to train Medium vermin and use them as mounts. Vermin empathy treats swarms as if they were one creature possessing a single mind—a mite can thus use this ability to influence and direct the actions of swarms with relative ease.
Descended from even smaller fey, the mites are among the most pitiful and craven dwellers of the dark. Hideously ugly, even goblins have been known to mock mites for their homely appearances, mockery most mites take to heart and nurture for weeks, months, or even years in their tiny homes, until their distress and anger finally overcome their natural cowardice and impel them forth on short-lived bouts of bloody vengeance from the doubtful safety of a spider's back.
Mites, once closer to the strange realm of the fey, have grown larger and stockier after countless generations spent on the Material Plane. Yet still, their stature places them at the bottom of the pile in the dangerous caverns in which they live. Their traditional enemies are dwarves and gnomes, particularly the svirfneblin of the deep underground caves. The one thing that gives them a significant edge over an enemy in a fight is their natural ability to empathize with normally mindless vermin—mites are particularly fond of spiders, centipedes, and cave fishers, and a mite colony usually has a few of these far more dangerous monsters on hand to defend the group.
Although they have lost the supernatural ability to tinker with magic items, luck, or mechanical objects possessed by their more sinister and dangerous gremlin kin, mites retain the ability to perform minor magical tricks with prestidigitation, and often use these tricks to annoy their enemies. When faced with dangerous foes, a mite uses its doom ability to hex a foe—a mite's eyes bulge hideously open when it uses this spell-like ability.
A mite is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds.
Well, you are certainly full of surprises, my friend. Jutmon grins at Inuki.
The Wizard sits down with his book to study before breakfast. He had not used any of his magic the day before, but Jutmon is dissatisfied with his selection. It was specialized to defend the Inn. Now there other needs to be met.
Just as he finishes up he hears Roga cursing. Jutmon hurries out of the cave to see what the matter is. He finds Roga glaring at his fine saddle, now vandalized. The Wizard takes a closer look at the damage and realizes it was done with a dagger or knife blade. Then Jutmon spots the hoof stomped corpse lying under a small shrub.
Hey guys! Look at this thing. Whew! It sure is ugly!
"Hahahahaha. Good work Midnight." Roga says, stroking the horse's neck lovingly. He will look around for a trail from the little creature, wondering if he could track it back to its home.
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The creatures appear to have also come from the south. Being small, and deliberately moving in stealth:
Track Mite DC= Firm Ground (15); +1 Small; +3 (three hours of rain); +3 (Still raining); +5 (moving slow to hide tracks) = 27. You are certain you can not track these pests.
Likewise:
Track Bandits DC Firm Ground (15); -1 Large; + 9 (9 hours rain [8 hours sleep, +1 hour break camp, make breakfast, memorize spells, etc.]); +3 (still raining); +1 (24 since the bandits passed this way) = 27.
Even moving half speed to eliminate the -5 modifier, the roll is impossible.
However:
You have been following the bandit's trail set for a day, and the tracks stay true in their heading.
"Damn. This rain has ruined any chance I had of tracking either these pests or the bandits. However they were headed in the same direction all day yesterday. Lets just go that way and hope we get lucky?"
Inuki relates what he knows of mites. "I have heard stories of these evil gremlins. They sometimes ride spiders and other vermin. They are said to be cowardly most of the time but can get nasty in numbers."
Svetlana's ring, bandits, South. Sounds like a plan to me.
Jutmon's face takes on a look of concentration as he mutters some strange sounding words, coupled with an intricate gesture.
I want to look at the auras around here, for a minute though.
Jutmon gazes at the mite briefly, then enters the cave, spending a longer time there.
Once the others are ready, Roga will mount up and head south scanning the ground for tracks as he goes.
Inuki relates his history to Nareth. "Well, I guess you could say I'm half kitsune. My mother was a kitsune from Tian Xia. She could sing the most beautiful songs. That's where I got my love of music. My father was a human mercenary. When my mother died, we moved back to Brevoy and he bought an inn. So I don't often see others of my kind, here in Avistan. What about you, where do you come from?"
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Once again, you are able to survive off the land for the day. Taking ten, all but Inuki are able to keep reasonably comfortable in the cold drizzle. , though he shifting this way and that, he seems to be able to keep adjusting his cloak to keep the wet and cold at bay.
The morning passes without event. A small rabbit here and there will provide for your daily sustinance. Pushing through for five hours, you come to a wide, slow moving river. The dappled surface alive with rain, a myriad of ripples scatter across the surface. On occasion, you are able to catch brief glimpses of water nymphs flashing across the surface, though none seem to notice or care of your presence.
Along the muddy banks of the river you are able to locate prints. It seems that the group has reformed, and at least in part, is following the river. After another two hours travel:
DC 20
About a half mile away, you spy a small wooden platform. It appears to have someone standing on it, bundled against the constant cold drizzle. A smokey fire on the platform immediately draws Inukis attention. Ah, to be warm again. You are skirting the forest, near the river. You do not believe the person on the platform has spotted you.
"Strange. I have heard there was fey activity in the area, but nothing to this level. I doubt the last hundred years of history is wrong so something must have changed recently."
"Is that a watchman? Perhaps several of us could hide while one serves as a decoy, in case they have an armed camp ahead. Maybe a fast rider?"
"I wish I could remember the story about the fey here."
How about you put him to sleep, Inuki? We don't know how many are in the camp. I'd rather find out how many there are, before we tip our hand, to our presence.
Nareth frowns "I'd prefer we don't waste our small amount of magic on a target that we're not even sure is hostile. Caution is wise tho..."
"The sleep is a good idea. Be ready with ranged weapons in case it doesn't work. If there is a camp up ahead, there's bound to be more than one sentry. "
Inuki will approach stealthily in human form, on foot.
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Distances in terms of Inuki, everyone else is 140' back from the stated distance (So the 200-100 Distance puts Inuki at 100 feet, everyone else is at 240 feet.)
1500-1000
Huzzah for amazing Distance!
1000-500
500-400
400-300
300-200
200-100
Due in part to the light drizzle and the native din of the forest creatures, Inuki manages to sneak up to within 100' of the platform. Throughout the long journey to the platform, Inuki is constantly pausing to turn around and shush the rest of the group, especially Roga's horse who seems content to step on every branch available. Inuki, on approaching you spot what appears to be a huddled pile of furs, perched upon a 20'x20' pole platform about 40' up into the top of a tree. .
The Platform is 40' up. The distance to the Platform is 100' Applying Pythagorean Theorum: (40^2 + x^2) = 100^2 => x^2 = 100^2 => x = Sqrt(10000-1600) => x=sqrt(8400) => x=~90 ft. (91.65)) Yay Math!
Inuki, you are 90 feet away from the base of the tree containing the platform.
Go ahead and pull out a bow just in case, but I will approach a few steps more to get him into 110' range (I guess it counts the slant path.) and try to sing him to sleep. If it appears to be successful I'll climb up and look him over.
Round 1
Roga will mount up and knock an arrow.
"Bloody hell." The pistolero says as he lashes the horse to a tree. He moves forward as he draws his pistol from the holster at his hip.
Jutmon leaves the horse, and moves toward Inuki's position.
Inuki grimaces at the loud sound he just made. He tries to duck behind a tree (from the vantage point of the platform) and looks around to see if anyone notices him, bow in hand.
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Sergei takes a moment to lash his horse to the learest tree, and draws his gun as he moves quickly towards Inuki. Jutmon trusts in the horses herd nature to stay with the others, and drops the reins and runs to Inuki's aid. Nareth takes the moment to mount and moves towards Inuki.
Roga mounts, and nocks an arrow in his bow, scanning for danger.
Inuki dives behind a tree, and hopes his presence will go unnoticed.
Try as you might, none of you seem to be able to tell what may or may not be happening on the platform. Secretly you all hope that whoever or whatever is up there is having similar luck in dealing with you.
Boll*cks! Where are they all running off to? If he woke that guard up we should be running backwards, not into the unknown forces.
"Get back here!" Roga says at a loud stage whisper, hoping but not really believing that anyone will hear him or listen.