"They are not gently tapping!" Xanxan gags
HP 39/39
AC 18
Spells in effect:
Jetro keeps squishing boids
Whoops
Venja again stands at arm's reach and strikes out with her staff.
Reflex for Beck
Fort failed move action only
Duardlara blind no real action taken.
Helgash attacks swarm for
Xanxan suffers from the swarms distraction just like Beck does but both keep their eyes from being pecked out. Jetro swings at the swarms but the flying creatures come too close to him and he pulls back to protect himself rather than connecting with the blow. Venja swings with her staff but it is a tentative strike at best which can't keep up with the swirling birds. Sheelah continues to jump into the melee surrounding Beck with tooth and claw to defend her master.
Bite for
Claw for
Claw for
Sheelah does land a bite and claw but the swarm remains fluttering albeit feebly and ready to collapse.
The swarms themselves continue to attack Beck and Xanxan for damage and fort and reflex saves again please.
Good guys up.
Venja musters all her strength and takes another swing with her quarterstaff on the feeble swarm Sheelah just attacked.
Stats
HP 39/39
AC 18
Spells in effect:
Jetro keeps whacking at the birds.
Duardlara gets herself a bit together and draws her rapier. "Venja, point me in the right direction, please. Friends, I cannot see you if you approach. Let me know if you come near."
Bloody eyelids firmly closed and grimacing with every move, the elf's rapier flashes and stabs at the sounds of wings before her.
Seeing that ducking isn't helping much, Xanxan can't do much but swing wildly at the birds on him, even as he hopes to keep his eyes intact.
Beck reflex
fort
The birds finally overcome Beck's ability to dodge the beaks and talons and his eyes are badly gouged and scratched until he can no longer see. Sheelah lays into the birds with a vengeance though trying to scatter the swarm in its entirety. +5 each for 5 damage each
Sheelah does indeed wipe them away as feathers and birds fall to tooth and claw but the damage has been done already to Beck.
On the other side of the fray Xanxan struggles mightily as he is overwhelmed as well as he goes blind and the cawing and flapping disorientate him completely causing him to be nauseated with the effort. Luckily for him Jetro and Venja are there to help as they both hit this time. the flock of birds is starting to thin out as Helgash wades in with his mace. for He does nothing but cause the air to swirl around Xanxan cooling the blind gnome.
The last swarm stays on Xanxan dealing damage and another DC14 fort save or nauseated.
Good guys up with only 1 swarm left at around half hp. 12 hp will scatter them.
Stats
HP 39/39
AC 18
Spells in effect:
Jetro keeps pounding
Beck moves to the sound of cawing and swings
miss low, hits 18ac.
For
And sheelah attacks viciously
for
for
for
That should do it!
Venja swings her quarterstaff at the dispersing birds anyway.
Missing any birds completely, she barely avoids hitting Sheelah on the rump.
Duardlara maintains her position, rapier flashing out whenever she judges that a bird has come within reach.
With a final flutter the ravens scatter to the four winds leaving the adventurers bleeding, bloody, and blind.
Those that are blinded can have their eyes healed by a successful DC 20 heal check. Failure will require another check 30 minutes later. Otherwise sight will return in days
"Are... are they gone?"
His eyes healed, Beck turns his attentions to the Duardlara and then assists venja with Xanxan and Duardlara.
*Squish* Whoops, sorry Xan, stepped on your eyeball.
Heal checks are successful restoring sight to everyone even though Jetro stepped on what he thought was xanxan's eye. It turned out it was just a clumped up all of snow with some raven entrails on it making it look like an eye.
Beck and Xanxan will each heal 5 from Helgash as he takes the 10 damage upon himself. He then LoH for bringing him back up to full.
As the ravens were a swarm there is no loot and nothing to gain from them unless someone wants to make a DC 20 survival to gain 2 units of rations by turning the birds into a pie.
Jetro finds the required 24 crows for pie.
A little shaken after the experience, Duardlara pats the arctic druid on the back. "My friend, I would wager you've never looked more beautiful than you did when my eyesight came back." She winks even as she suppresses a shudder from the disappearing adrenalin.
The rest of the day the travel is uninterrupted by weather or creatures. It seems strange that you have not seen anyone but perhaps that is because of the proximity to the Pale Tower that keeps people away.
That night, covered in winter gear and the aid of a fire you manange to stave off the cold without any adverse affects. You realize though that if a cold spell with gusting winds should occur that shelter would need to be found quickly.
The second day dawns crisp and clear as the 7 travel through the backways of Irrisen. Xanxan continues to ride on Sheelah as the big cat barely notices the small halfling riding on her.
Beck
Sheelah
"it certainly FELT like someone stepped on my eyeball... oh my. I no longer feel any guilt for putting feathers on hats." The gnome says, "And thank you folks for helping restore my sight. A world without color...horrid."
............
On the trip, the gnome seems somewhat subdued, he's been in one of those bouts of quiet that come onto him from time to time.
But that doesn't mean he's not chipping in when it comes to looking about.
Helgash perception
stealth check +18 each
As the group sets up camp and prepares for the night all is quiet in the glade where you rest for the night. As is customary you all set your watch and take turns doing your share. The fire is prepared from the campfire bead and tents are raised up. It seems like a perfect night as there is no cloud cover and the stars give off that somewhat familiar look considering you are miles from home. The night passes quite peacefully for everyone except Venja who could have sworn she heard something rustling around by a couple of the tents.
Walking around and peering into the gloom she sees nothing at first. On closer inspection though she sees that 2 of the tents have tiny cuts just large enough to allow a tiny creature to crawl through. Moving quietly she looks into the tent but only sees Helgash in his tent and Beck in his through the slits. Waiting there for some time she still notices nothing and leaves the men to sleep assuming that he opening must have happened on some previous trip. Resuming her watch nothing else happens of note and the rest of the evening passes uneventfully.
I need a will save from both of you please. The DC is 16.
In the morning as you go about starting the day and taking down tents and using the campfire to cook the food you notice that all of the food from the night before has been stolen or is spoiled except for the raven pie that was missed somehow. Beck you are wilderness savvy to know that with the permanent winter conditions that finding food is going to be much harder than normal. (-5 to survival checks to find food.)
Son-of-a! What the blazes happened!
At will they can use a SLA to cast putrefy food and water and 1/day can cast dimension door.
Venja lets out a little cry of dismay. "I guess I should have woken someone on my watch. I thought I heard something, but when I checked about there was nothing... though there were a couple of tears in your tents, Helgash and Xan, I peeked through and saw nothing amiss, and attributed it to being nervous and alone on watch. I am SO sorry..."
fail
the heels are these tracks?
"Before starvation sets in, I'd like you all to know... gnomes taste terrible."
Oh come on, you just need to marinate them in ale.
"Ale? Eech," Xanxan shudders,"... at least give me the courtesy of a fine vintage wine." It's not that the gnome doesn't drink ale, but still, if he must be devoured, he has standards.
"No, he's right. Gnome tastes terrible. You will just ruin the ale." She tries to deliver the line with a straight face, but fails completely.
"What sort of tracks, Beck?"
(Besides, he'd barely make an appetizer)
"I gots no idea?" Beck says, pointing at the tracks. Can Beck show the tracks any get someone else to ID them
Yes you can Beck.
Unfortunately the ale and wine is spoiled as well so Xanxan will probably taste horrible either way.
Studying the tracks indicated by Beck, "Could be a jinkin. It's a gremlin that is good at sneaking into a place and playing pranks - like spoiling food. I have heard they can 'step through space', make a step in one spot, but actually end up in another spot much farther away. That's what I have heard - I have never seen one. If they are like some fairies, you can offer them a gift to get them to leave you alone, but some gremlins are just mean - they will take the gift as their due and them play their jokes just the same."
"Well, we gnomes are distantly related to the First World beings... not that means he'll treat me any nicer. Any idea how big this thing might be? I could try to knit him a sweater."
Might be able to track them
"Guess we be doing some gremlin huntin then? " beck days, retiring to pick out the tracks and having sheelah help him