What does Benedict know about the hazards of this Valley of Aloi? Drakes could be a problem depending on their size, strength, and number.
He will ask Mayor Crawbert and Navah about what they know about the valley and its dangers.
And he will attempt to recall anything he may have heard in his schooling.
Benedict is unable to recall anything specific about the valley. Navah recalls that dwarves settled the valley hundreds of years ago and there are still significant structures that they built that still stand to this day.
Mayor Crawbert lets you all know that he's heard that this time of year, the valley gets a lot of fog rolling in from the mountains that take the better part of the day to burn off. That makes scouting difficult during the mornings because line-of-sight is greatly reduced.
Aerel considered what he has heard of this valley, as well.
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Grum walked along, completely unconcerned. Knowing where to go wasn’t his job. They had a dwarf for that! He was brimming with excitement at the idea of going to a Dwarven Sky Citadel. The very idea of being allowed into such a grand fortress? How could he say no to that? Especially as how there was no way he could imagine that “Tuskers” like himself would usually be allowed to enter. Let the others worry about how to get there. He’d March, he’d hunt and he would daydream.
"Aerel, I will defer to you. How do you think we should approach this Valley?"
Aerel estimates that it will take about five days of travel due to the rough terrain between the valley and Longshadow. Mountainous switchback trails and rugged hills will make it difficult for mounted travel. Only the hardiest species would be able to surely traverse the terrain.
The valley itself is generally inaccessible except from the southernmost end, since it is otherwise ringed with steep slopes or sheer cliffs.
”We would be setting horses free or walking them pretty quickly. If there’s no magical option, better to stay afoot.”
"Okay, let's proceed with bows ready. The drake we encountered before - only two days after the attack on Phaendar - had a breath weapon. So we can't count on these drakes closing for melee.
And let's try to keep to cover where we can, having Aerel scout ahead while hiding. He should be able to spot flying foes from a good distance."
The Heroes of Phaendar say their heartfelt goodbyes to the town and citizens of Longshadow. The citizens and refugees who owe their lives and freedom to the brave adventurers line the streets to cheer them and bid them farewell.
Food stores are opened up and the heroes are given as much as they can carry. The townsfolk know that they embark upon a long and treacherous journey, and foraging will be difficult as it's likely the hobgoblins have stripped the land bare.
After two day's travel across lands pacified of major threats because of the Legion, the group reaches the rugged untamed foothills. No signs of the Legion indicate that their scouts have not reached this far, and the tiny trail that winds through the terrain does not look to have been traveled in some time except by the local wildlife.
On the third day, Aerel notices a colony of small burrowing mammals ahead, like some species of prairie dog. They start barking in alarm at his approach and popping in and out of their burrows, but he can tell there's something wrong about them. Their movements are wrong and seem more like a lure to entice some sort of predator to investigate.
"Hold, Grum. There's more to them than meets the eye. Their behavior doesn't seem correct."
He begins looking around them, suspecting an ambush or trap.
Aerel has no idea what natural phenomenon might be causing this, but then he notices the ground around the burrows is cracked in an odd pattern, almost like it could give way and collapse.
"Trickery and deception, Grum. You've seen how effective they can be when I use such tactics.
And we have gotten in trouble before by assuming our foes were less dangerous than in fact they were."
”It’s not them, per se. I think they aren’t what they appear, but bait. There are creatures that have arms and such that they wave about like helpless prey so they can entice larger creatures in to attack. See how the ground there is cracked? I think we are looking at a plant that traps and consumes animal prey. But an impetuous avatar of Gorum would work, too.”
He starts looking around for stones. ”I want to try to elicit a response from a distance. Maybe we can get it to reveal its true nature without endangering ourselves.”
The rock bounces along the ground and comes to a rest. The prairie dogs alter their yips and yelps in response to the disturbance, and some withdraw into their holes. The ground does not collapse.
There is enough room to skirt this area and continue, Aerel is able to determine.
Aerel advises they pass by the ambush predator that he believes this to be.
"What do you all think? Bypass it, or fight it?"
"It wouldn't be very responsible to leave this hunter on this trail. If we were being pursued by hobgoblins, it would be different, but..."
Aerel plucks a small bead from his necklace and flings it at what he has identified as a threat. Less about damage and more about reactions, really.
The prairie dogs that were still above the surface ignite and burn like old carcasses. Fur catches fire and quickly they wither, sending up small plumes of dark, greasy smoke.
A few more of the small mammals pop out of burrows, yipping in an almost taunting fashion.
”Those did not burn like living creatures. I still think there is more to this than meets the eye.”
No, the ground is blackened a bit, but nothing else.
Aerel shakes his head. ”I don’t think any good comes of pursuing this further. Let see if I can get past.”
He attempts to move past safely, keeping any eye out for ambush on either side of the path before waving the next man across.
Amkarang nods, ”Wholeheartedly agreed.”
The party easily bypasses the mysterious ambush predator by giving the area a wide berth. It doesn't take long, and they're back on the rugged path.
A couple hours later, the group crests another rise and sees a strange rock formation about a mile away, looking like a mountain in miniature. It's several dozen feet high, pocked with holes. As they view the terrain before them, they see numerous giant ants busying scrambling over and around the ground.
Benedict tries to recall what he knows of giant ants - specifically, if they are rumored to be aggressive or territorial.
"More wildlife that we should avoid if possible, I would think. They are not our targets, and a large number of them could be a problem."
Benedict is aware that individually, the worker ants would not be much of a threat to the experienced warriors of his group. Soldier ants are tougher, but even they are only moderately stronger than a worker ant. The problem, of course, is numbers. The size of this hive indicates that it might contain hundreds of workers and dozens of soldiers.
The trick will be to cross this territory without enraging the colony.
[b]”I could potentially draw them away and use the shroud to remove myself as a target while the others cross the ant territory farther away.”[/dice]
"That's an idea, Aerel. We could also use the dragon figurine to fly us past."
Aerel will seek out a path around the ant hill that isn't otherwise dangerous, searching for traps and other threats.
"Wait here."
It's a circuitous path, but Aerel leads the group away from the giant ant hill and around the ants' territory.
They reorient themselves and continue to travel.
The day ends and the party makes camp in a narrow, sheltered canyon. The night passes uneventfully. However, just as they break camp and begin to travel through the crevasse, the earth itself stirs and starts to move!
Huge, vaguely humanoid shapes of earth and rock rise up in the early morning light, and start moving menacingly towards the interlopers!
Benedict drops his bow and charges while drawing the warhammer
"Charge!"
Haela doesn't even have a bow - almost always axe and shield for her. She sighs and charges alongside Benedict. "We'll hold this one!"
William sees the threat to his side and steps next to Amkarang and then unleashes a number of arrows at the creature.
Benedict and Haela both land solid hits after closing with the creature made of earth. William follows up with a barrage of arrows, all but one punching deep into the creature. It seems badly damaged, but it continues to stand.
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CHARGE!" Grum laughed, happily, as he followed the human and dwarf into battle. He was sure that they could handle the ones in front of them, so he decided to hold the rear. This was exactly the kind of situation that he lived for, and which he was ready to die for. It didn't really bother him that he didn't know why the creatures attacked them. What mattered was that this was going to be fun.
Aerel fires a trio of arrows into the one Grum is attacking.
His arrows strike true, damaging the earthen creature even further.
The one on Grum strikes hard with two rocky slams.
The one coming from the southeast glides through the earth, popping up within striking distance from Grum.
The one coming from the northwest moves up and takes a big swing through both Amkarang and William.
Benedict's foe slams through both him and Haela.
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Grum was buffeted by the elementals, their attacks being impossible to fully parry given that they came from all sides. Laughing in pain and excitement, he went with the second hit, using it to push him at the other. Already damaged by his previous attacks, he lunged at it, and plunged his blade deep into what would be a living creature’s chest.
Benedict strikes at his foe with his warhammer.
Haela tries to bring down the creature.
They only manage one good swing between them.
William steps behind Amkarang and unleashes more arrows at the creature.
Aerel lends what support he can to the disciple of Gorum.
Grum's two swings finish off the elemental, so Aerel targets the other one, sinking all three deep into its earthy form.
Benedict can't seem to get through the rocky armor, but Haela's first strike is true.
William's shots bring down the elemental.
The two remaining earth elementals continue their attacks.
Aerel continues to drive missiles into his target, attempting to put them in a tight grouping for maximum effect.
Benedict continues to take a beating from the creature but Haela manages to dodge under its giant fist
They continue their assault.
Benedict, off-balance from being slammed by the creature, misses wildly with his first swing before setting his feet and striking again.
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It wasn't as satisfying killing elementals, Grum decided. They didn't bleed, they didn't feel pain...it just wasn't the same. But seeing them crumble was something of a reward in and of itself. Turning to the remaining one attacking him, he hacked into it, glad to know that his enchanted blade wouldn't lose it's edge. He didn't even want to think about what would happen fighting a pile of rocks with a normal sword.