Lilata looks around, following the natural sings as they pass as she rides the eternally uncomfortable camel. While she doesn't quite manage to follow them entirely the first day (at least without a bit of help), she picks up the trail day two, and by the end of the week, they're nearly there.
Once they entered into more difficult terrain, Shadrach moved forwards slowly, looking for hidden dangers ahead on their path.
As they near their destination, Lilata dismounts and vanishes into the sands as they advance.
Midway through the fourth day of your journey, you reach the part of the trail that veers off from the main route. The looming presence of Pale Mountain rises to the northeast, its slopes rugged and forbidding. The overgrown tracks of an old road wind through the foothills, but no visible trail leads up into the tangles of scrubs and brambles between here and the dormant volcano's slopes.
You pick your way through the difficult terrain, Anklebiter and Lilata sneaking ahead of the group a short ways. After about a mile, you reach an area with a few bramble patches and four spindly trees.
The monk and the ranger notice a trio of creatures lurking in the undergrowth. A pair of snickering hyenas prowl the region, accompaning by a hulking hyaenodon. They haven't noticed the pair yet, however.
Lilata leans around the tree and narrows her eyes at the hyaenodon, focusing on its weak points and loosing a pair of arrows at it.
The hyaenodon yelps in pain as both of Lilata's arrows find their mark, sinking into its hide!
Elya is just along for the ride. She looks around excitedly at everything. She excitedly waits her turn to use her magic on the hyenas.
Shadrach considered which inspiring song would be most suitable for fighting hyenas.
Anklebiter launches themself at the hyenaedon, falling short and landing on their ass. Not to be deterred, they stand up and chuck an alchemist's fire at the beast.
The hyaneodon howls in pain as the alchemist's fire sets it ablaze!
The two smaller hyenas cackle and rush through the undergrowth at Anklebiter, snapping at the goblin and biting their legs. Then the hyeanodon lunges, taking advantage of the pack attack to strike a vulnerable spot, its jaws crunching down on the monk's head! It shakes the goblin back and forth before dropping them to the ground!
"Get back, you monster!" Shadrach shouted; he drew his sword and rushed up to the hyeanodon, swinging his weapon with both hands.
Lilata moves out from behind the tree, her swords flashing out of their sheaths and slashing across the hyenodon's throat, one helplessly failing, but leaving the other open to draw a line across the beast's body.
Taking a moment to center themself, Anklebiter does what they do best, and bites the hyenaedon's ankle.
After which, they crawl and hide behind other, bigger people.
"These dogs should get put down," they say calmly, brushing the fur off their tongue.
Sercha moves closer to the conflict.
She then gestures and speaks liquid words that vanish. With a hand wave in the direction of the hyenas an arc of electricity streaks towards the smaller canines.
Elya fires an acid arrow at the hyaenodon, but it sails past the hulking beast. The smaller hyenas dodge the worst of Sercha's electric arc, though both are slightly singed by the lightning.
Shadrach's blade grates against the hyaenodon's thick hide, causing no harm. Lilata lands a good hit with her sword, and Anklebiter chomps down on the hyaenodon's leg before crawling away.
The smaller hyenas move to pursue the goblin monk. While they manage to fend off the first beast's jaws, the second one chomps down on their neck, leaving the monk dying!
Meanwhile, the hyaenodon bites Lilata, knocking the ranger to the ground. It grabs her by the legs and drags her a few feet through the undergrowth, worrying the wounds and leaving the half-elf badly hurt!
Shadrach cast a spell, raising a shield of force, and started singing; he swung his sword in time with the lyrics.
"Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who, who, who, who
Who let the dogs out?"
Inspired by his own earworm of a song, Shadrach decapitates the nearest hyena with a mighty chop of his bastard sword!
Ankle Bonk stubbornly clings to life, kicking the hyena off their face. They stand up and cower behind the tree, painfully aware of the lack of actual protection afforded to them by it.
Lilata hits the ground and rolls backwards, springing back into action and doing her best to ignore the gaping wound on her leg, her swords flashing in the light as the blades heartily fail to hit anything except air.
Sercha continues her movement around the tree and attempts to catch the remaining creatures in another casting of the same spell.
Elly lets loose with another Acid Arrow. She aims for the hyaenodon. "Take that. Don't you hurt Anklebiter."
The smaller hyena takes Sercha's electric arc on the nose, though it doesn't seem to hurt either beast much. Elly's acid arrow strikes the hyaenodon, sizzling away at its fur. Lilata's swords slice only air as the big beast dodges.
The smaller hyena moves to flank the ranger, biting her and dragging her to the ground again. The hyaenodon chomps down on her and drags her a few feet along, but she fends off its followup attacks before it can finish her off.
Shadrach continued to sing,
The party was nice the party was pumping
Ah yipee aye yo
And everybody having a ball
Ah yipee aye yo
Until the fellas started name callin'
Ah yipee aye yo
And the girls respond to the call
A woman shout out
He rushed around to give the hyaenodon something other than Lilata to think about.
She moves forward and casts the cantrip Tanglefoot on the hyena.
Anklebiter attempts to scramble up the tree, but stressed and worried, falls down. They reach into their pack and throw another flask of alchemist's fire at the hyenaedon, trusting fate to protect their friends from its blast.
Elly conjures a vine that wraps around the hyaenodon's legs, entangling it and rooting it to the spot! Shadrach chrages in and swings his sword, but misses as the beast twists away. Anklebiter's alchemist's fire flies true, though, further scorching the hulking beast. It howls in pain and collapses to the ground, fur smoldering!
With what could pass as a smirk, Sercha again arcs electricity towards the remaining beast.
Lilata stands up slowly, bleeding and battered, and moves around the last hyena to flank it with Sadrach, striking at it with her sword.
The hyena yelps as Sercha's lightning singes it and Lilata stabs it with her sword. Critically wounded, the beast tucks its tail between its legs and scurries away!
Shadrach finished his song and caught his breath. He said to the gnome, "I think it's time to try out that healing staff, Elya; Anklebiter and Lilata look pretty beaten up!"
"I'm fine," Anklebiter insists, falling over due to bloodloss. "At the monastery they would have called this a teaching moment. I don't know what I'm supposed to be learning though."
They fall forward, into the sand. "Please heal me."
"Perhaps you're supposed to be learning that you've picked the wrong vocation," Sercha snarks.
Shadrach healed Anklebiter and Lilata.
Anklebiter shakes their large gobliny head. "I didn't pick being a monk, I was rescued, uplifted by the light of Irori. Unless, do you mean hobby? In that case, yes. Anklebiter is a terrible chew toy."
They seem to carry themselves brighter, taller, after the healing takes place. "Thank you, Shadrach," they bow.
With a deep inhale they begin to meditate, closing their wounds with sheer faith and belief in their own power.
Elly moves up to Anklebiter. "Here goes nothing." She shakes the brand new wand she has to see what happens.
Shadrach expended the last of his spells to heal his wounded friends.
After tending to your injuries, you move out of the undergrowth and find a safe place to camp for the night. Fortunately, you are able to do so without incident, and you awake the morning of the fifth day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Once you have prepared, you continue onwards, traveling for about 2 miles. The brush, brambles, and trees have receded, replaced by a sandy flatland bordered by the winding tributaries of a river. The small river flows down from the slopes of Pale Mountain, cascading over a few small waterfalls. The widest fork of the river passes to the north of the sand flats, most of which are saturated with enough water to be packed hard.
As you draw near a patch of sand, Elly notices a strange, low mound protruding from the ground. The gnome points it out, and Anklebiter is able to recall seeing something like that before. It's the telltale sign of a burrowing insectile creature called an ankhrav lying in wait for prey.
Lilata, when the ankhrav is pointed out, draws her bow, "Should we just shoot it until it dies? I don't want another fight like yesterday." she says.
Shadrach replied to Lilata, "It may be protected by the soil, but it can't hurt to try." He moved into position to protect the ranger, should the creature emerge from it's hiding spot.
Elly takes a position in the back and watches the mound of dirt carefully. "I'd rather leave it alone. Does anyone know if they will hunt us down or will leave us alone if we leave it alone.
"I agree. Why don't we just let sleeping dogs lie," Sercha says with a frown.
Elly knows that ankhravs are slightly more intelligent than insects, but they prefer to hunt with ambush tactics. They have tremorsense, but only out to about 60 feet or so. As long as you give the creature a wide berth, you should be able to avoid it without it noticing your presence.
"Let's do that." Lilata says as Elya mentions how they can avoid it, rubbing her leg where the hyenodon dragged her around the day before.
You circle around the hidden ankhrav and continue on undisturbed, traveling for another hour or so. Eventually you reach a crystal-clear river that rushes down the gentle slope of the land. On the river's far side, three ratty tents constructed of leather and sticks stand near the river's bank. A couple of crude fishing rods are propped up along the river, and the logs and ashes of a large bonfire rest near the tents.
From afar, you can see a pair of gnolls milling about the camp. They appear restless and aren't keeping a good watch, so they haven't noticed you yet. Each has a white streak dyed in its hair and wears necklaces and other adornments made of scorpion carapaces.
"So," Sercha says quietly. "Does anyone speak Gnoll?"
"I don't. They look mean though." Elly peers at the gnolls.