Wren fights the weather to make it to Marleena ‘s side. Smacking that tree almost did the halfling in, but she wanted to make sure the child was alright. She turned a spell slot into her divine healing power, curing what wounds and bruises the child suffered.
Clw
Once she healed the child, she grabbed her hand and made for the welcome discovery Caspan had skillfully found. ”Come on honey! Let’s get out of as much of this storm as possible,” she shouts at the top of her lungs.
Jillian curses herself for not pushing harder to keep them moving when she sees the chaos that ensues while trying to setup the camp in the storm. However, when the hole is found she breathes a sigh of relief. She follows behind Caspan into the hole as she shouts out to the others "Everyone come, get inside quickly! We'll make sure it is safe."
While Caspan waits for light Jillian forges ahead, able to see in the darkness. She pulls out her weapon and keeps an eye out for any immediate danger.
It doesn't take long to find the danger, it arrives immediately.
The cave is cold and muddy, but looks large enough to hold all of your followers. The only problem is that it is currently occupied. Two large eyes stare back at you from the darkness above, accompanied by a terrible growl.
Inside the cave is a terrible wolverine as large as a bear, its jaws and claws oversized and brutal, its eyes dark and filled with rage. It growls angrily as Caspan, Jillian and Thael approach.
From up above people are pushing and shoving to get into the hole behind you, "Keep going! Why aren't you moving! We're going to die! Please, go!" can be heard among the frantic hurries to get out of the storm.
Know. Nature when Wren is actually able to see the thing
"We're not alone in here," Caspan calls back. "And something doesn't want us in its home."
He concentrates, ready to fight if he has to.
Selde slowly draws back the string of her bow. "Dire wolverines are territorial and dangerous. Father Emil might talk it down but we should be ready for a fierce fight."
When Selde moves into the den, the large wolverine decides there has been enough encroachment on its territory and it acts. The 12 foot long creature rushes forward towards Caspan and clamps its mouth shut on his left arm, inflicting major damage to his body .
As the beast clamped down on Caspan's arm, Selde aim and loosed her arrow.
"Thael, stay back!"
Seeing the animal viciously attack Caspan, Jillian steps over and brings her blade to bear against the animal.
Selde's arrow plunges deep into the wolverine's midsection, causing it to howl loudly in pain from the strike. Jillian tries to quickly add to the damage to get the creature off of Caspan, but her swing flies too high and misses the large beast.
HP 21/21
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15, CMD 19
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +0 (+2 resistance bonus to recover from a continuing effect)
Unbreakable Survivor 0/1
Martial Flexibility: 1/4
Effects: Imp. Initiative
"Aargh, stupid critter!" Caspan cries out as it bites into him, his attempt to be ready for naught.
He tries to concentrate again through the pain, this time on hitting as hard as he can, and then puts his plan into action, slamming the creature in its stupid head!
"I'll teach you to bite me!"
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Thael turns to Selde. "Don't worry about me...I'll be alright!" he says as he shifts to her other side where he has a more open shot at the massive bear-sized wolverine.
Outstretching his arm and spreading his fingers wide, he utters a few unintelligible words and a jet of flame sprays from his hand.
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Caspan confirms a critical hit, snapping the head of the dire wolverine back. Thael blasts fire, but the wolverine deftly moves to avoid about half of the burst of flame.
The dire wolverine flies into a rage from all of the damage it has taken and furious slashes at Caspan with both claws and its jaws. Fortunately for the brawler, the attacks are done so quickly and without much coordination that he only takes one claw to his chest for nearly minimum damage as he pulls back as it scrapes his body .
Realizing the strength this creature possesses, the party realizes that this beast needs to go down quickly before someone gets mauled.
Jillian continues to maneuver around the creature trying to work with Caspan to distract it's attention while they both attack. Finding some better footing she swings the greatsword at the raging wolverine.
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Father Emil is distracted as people begin to spread the word of the animal den. Before he realizes it, Caspan and others have rushed in and people are starting to follow. Emil keeps ahead of the flood of people, yelling, "Sufferin' Serpents! Hold up! There might be somebody home who ... Outta my way and wait here!"
He forces his way into the den and his heart sinks.
"Seriously? A Brixen DIRE WOLVERINE! Erastil preserve us!" Emil exclaims as he arms himself with his scythe and attacks from the opposite side as Jillian.
Edit:
Ha, thanks! I was trying to help build the feeling of the environment a little bit to set the mood!
Selde is so busy watching the destruction laid down by her brother and friends that she only half aims her shot. The arrow flew wide and stuck in to the dirt wall.
HP 3/21
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15, CMD 19
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +0 (+2 resistance bonus to recover from a continuing effect)
Unbreakable Survivor 0/1
Martial Flexibility: 2/4
Effects: Power Attack
Despite his grievous wounds, Caspan punch and kicks again at the creature.
"Stupid creature! Burn! Die!" he growls.
Realizing it's imperative that this end quickly, the party pulls out all of the stops and lays waste to the dire wolverine. When Father Emil enters the den and realizes what is about to go down on Caspan, he pushes through the survivors and lets his scythe end the encounter before it gets too bloody. As the creature rears back and prepares to lunge on top of Caspan, Father Emil's scythe finds its mark, nearly severing the head from the creature.
A normal animal would be down right now, but this raged infused beast is clearly fighting on adrenaline and does not intend to give up its den that easily. Caspan's final kick does the trick and causes enough intenrnal injury that the creature relents and loses consciousness.
A loud whoompf echoes loudly through the den as the creatures tremendous 1200 pound body collapses, motionless.
"Wow... Selde quietly uttered as the great beast was slain. Putting away her bow, Selde knelt beside the animal and prayed to Erastil. As the others began to shuffle in to the cavern, Selde motioned for help in moving the massive carcass closer to the entrance. Once in a better position, Selde pulled out of knife and began to field dress the kill.
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Thael feels relieved when the creature goes down, but can't help feeling some regret that he couldn't have observed such a majestic beast under other circumstances.
A ferocious heart...a mighty creature, to be sure.
The wizard turns away as Selde begins to carve the creature.
Uggg...that is...something I can't believe she can do.
Emil slumps against the massive haunch of the wolverine after it gives up its life defending its home. Emil would feel more grief if he didn't know how destructive and mean these creatures were. He feels grateful he could help end its life quickly and without suffering more hurt to his comrades.
But his rest is brief as his blood races knowing the storm is about to hit. He hopes the den is stable as he steps back to the door.
"Quickly! Get everyone down here. We can ride out the storm here! Move!"
Emil helps people down the entrance to the den and lets others direct them to places they can rest.
Once everyone is down, he steps to the entrance and surveys the forest, making sure no stragglers were left behind. He braces himself and enjoys the moment. He always found storms thrilling. When he was younger, he climbed oak to ride out big storms in the middle of it all. He knows he can't be that reckless with his life now that others are depending on him, but he still breathes in the brisk smell of the oncoming storm. He hopes there are some hobgoblin patrols caught out in the storm.
By the time Wren made it to the group, the heavy lifting was done. ”Aww, I hate we had to kill it. We were the ones encroaching in its home, after all. Look around the place closely, if she had a litter, we need to make sure they are okay,” she call out as she begins looking through the rest of the lair.
Feeling drained Emil returns to check on people. He sends out healing energy to clear up the wounds caused by the storm and by the beast. He notices Edran looking uncomfortable among the other refugees. A perverse whim takes him and he sidles up next to the young man and says, "Can't get an experience like this back in the big city, kin ya? How ya holdin' up?"
Selde took joy in her work, in honoring the creature's sacrifice. The familiar movements of the knife, the smell of blood, the warmth that steamed in the cold air. It felt like being back home. A week felt like a lifetime ago to the young Half-Elf. "It is the way of the forest Wren, eat or be eaten. By this animal's sacrifice, we have food and shelter for the night." Her voice louder and more confident than normal.
Like every other survivor, Edran is soaking wet and exhausted from the hard day's push through the forest. When he spies the dead dire wolverine, his face turns pale and his eyes go wide. "You. You just killed THAT thing? That's. That's quite impressive..." His voice trails off as he looks over the party, lost in thought. "Hmm? What? Holding up? Oh, right. I can't wait for this traveling business to be over so that I can get back home. This is definitely not the trip I had in mind."
Meanwhile Selde is busy carving fresh slabs of meat from the large creature. A quick glance over the beast and you feel comfortable that this will certainly provide a nice meal to the camp but also make up for any lack of foraging your group was unable to perform today.
Once everyone is in the den and out of the weather, Wren does a head count and confirms everyone has made it safely into the den. A quick count of your herd however reveals that sheep were lost in the storm and did not make it down into the den. A brief discussion ensues to go look for them, but a peek outside shows that the storm has intensified and debris is flying everywhere. It simply is not safe to go out there anymore and the group cuts its losses with the three missing sheep.
The storm winds down around sunset, orange light beginning to drift down into the den from the outside. A quick scouting trip reveals that outside is a complete disaster with branches and trees down, but the storm apparently has moved on.
”I don’t see any reason to go tramping around out there in the pitch dark. I say we stay here where it is warm and relatively dry. We can get back at it in the morning and head right to the redoubt. I hate it for those poor sheep, though...no telling what might pick them off all alone,” Wren says, casting her vote for staying throughout the night.
Selde took another bite of meat. It was a little gamy but had a natural spice. With the superior cooking ability of the other survivors, it was one of the best things she'd eaten in the wild. "The woods are dangerous at night, rest would be best."
Leaning closer to Wren, Selde attempts to comfort the halfing. "...um, don't be too sad for the sheep. If something picks them off, that means that something got a meal too right?"
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”I know. You are right, of course, Selde. It’s only natural and all. But those few sheep we’d been able to herd up are so friendly. I was hoping we could just make do with them for milk and cheese, and we wouldn’t have to make steaks out of them. Part of me was hoping that we were only going to be out here for a few days, and we could take all of them back to town, but from what it sounds like, those hobgoblins might not ever leave. We might not ever have a town to go home to,” Wren says, as her words betray that she was more worried than just about the sheep.
”I know. You are right, of course, Selde. It’s only natural and all. But those few sheep we’d been able to herd up are so friendly. I was hoping we could just make do with them for milk and cheese, and we wouldn’t have to make steaks out of them. Part of me was hoping that we were only going to be out here for a few days, and we could take all of them back to town, but from what it sounds like, those hobgoblins might not ever leave. We might not ever have a town to go home to,” Wren says, as her words betray that she was more worried than just about the sheep.
Selde opened her mouth to speak but hesitated, no words coming forward. She wanted to comfort her friend, but what could she say? "I..." "I know it seems hopeless, but we have to keep fighting. We're Nirmathan, we fight, we survive, we rebuild. Our home is in our hearts, and our hearts are immortal. These invaders are only temporary." Her father's words suddenly ringing through her head. "We're...Nirmathan." But she struggled to repeated them.
As plans are being made for hunkering down for the night or continuing on Jillian agrees with the opinions expressed so far "Yes, it is better if we just rest her for the night. With the destruction the storm has brought it would only make the difficult task of travelling in the dark harder."
She thinks a moment before continuing "We should be sure to post guards tonight though, if we stay here. The animal could have had a mate or something else seeking shelter may stumble upon us, so we need to be prepared."
As Wren expresses concern about the sheep Jillian notes "Don't loose all hope, they may yet survive. If so we can try and find them to add them back to the rest of the flock tomorrow."
Thanks to the care provided by Father Emil and Rhyna, Kaleb and Braedon are feeling much better. Both of their fevers are gone, aches and pains are healed and generally they feel like tomorrow they should be able to return back to their assigned duties.
Mia however, is worse. Despite the care being provided to her she still continues to suffer from all of the symptoms she possessed the previous day. Her mobility has decreased and she drifts in and out of a sleep with high fevers. Rhyna is growing worried for her, but keeps a cheery and positive attitude about the situation as to not worry others. "She'll be fine. She just needed something over her head and a place to lay down is all. She'll be fine."
The decision is made to camp the night here and post guards to stand watch at the entrance should any further trouble arrive in the evening. Fortunately, it is quiet night that passes quickly in the warmth and security of the den.
When morning arrives the survivors are less enthusiastic about leaving the warmth and safety of the den, but eventually everyone makes it up and out except Mia. Rhyna continues to oversee her care and asks if perhaps she can stay here and rest while you check out the redoubt to the north. "Perhaps a few of us can look for the lost sheep around here as well?"
Jillian gets one of the best nights of sleep she has had in awhile inside the wolverines den, sheltered from the cold by the natural warmth of the earth and all the warm bodies packed inside.
The next morning she awakes early and sends Hunter off to scout the way to the redoubt, looking for any serious issues caused by the storm on the way.
When conversation turns to staying in the den she notes "Perhaps most of you can wait here while we take a look at the redoubt? No reason to drag everyone along while this place is safe and secure for now. Just be sure to keep guards posted."
Once Hunter returns and the others are ready to set out Jillian will lead the way.
Rhyna likes Jillian's suggestion and thinks it will work best. Aubrin agrees to oversee the camp in your absence and suggests they will organize a hunting party as well as search for the missing herd.
Hunter scouts to the north and returns after not too long to confirm that the building is still to the north, but he saw no signs of the rangers living there. Jillian confers with the scout and they seem confident that they should be able to reach the destination in a little under an hour.
"No sign of the rangers?" Concern evident in Selde's voice.
Caspan grunts as the group makes plans and he realizes he's not going to be able spend the day relaxing in the seeming safety of the shelter.
"Never thought I'd actually want to take a dirt nap," he grumbles. "Hopefully there'll be something more comfortable at that redouble. Let's go do this and see if we can't get some real food!"
As you set off north the forest begins to thicken and trees begin to press close together with their branches intertwined. A gloom hangs in the air. Foliage around the base of the trees is sparse, stunted by lack of sunlight. The songs of birds and noises of small animals have ceased, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the ancient woods. Insects appear scattered at first, but within ten minutes are biting you repeatedly. Shallow, standing pools of water and dead trees fill the area.
After twenty minutes navigating through biting insects and marshy, muddy waters, you find your target. About 100 feet ahead of you is a large tree house built above this depressing terrain. There are no signs of any rangers nearby and none respond to any verbal request you make.
As you make your way towards the underside of the tree house, everyone but Caspan and Jillian catches sight of some movement under the trees behind the tree house to the northwest. Whatever it was is obscured by the trees and you are too far away to see what it was.
"Movement in the trees." Selde whispered as she guided Nur to a better vantage point near the bridge, not trusting the creaking construction to support the elk's weight.
"Yeah, probably more of these stinkin' bugs!" Caspan complains, slapping at them, though he does look around to try to see what it was.
As the others draw her attention to the motion, Jillian draws her blade and moves to put herself between whatever it is and the others. She yells out "We know you are there. Show yourself!"
Whatever is in the bushes moves around again, but shows no signs of speaking or coming out to meet you.
Wren also takes a moment to focus her mind and bring her own shimming field of force into effect. Hers resembled a thick collection of vines that surrounded her only for an instant before fading away. ”We aren’t here to hurt you! We come in peace, just looking for some friends out here in the forest,” she calls out after Selde’s statement went unanswered.
"This is ridiculous," Caspan growls. "It's probably a squirrel, or another one of those fey things."
He starts moving toward the bushes.
Like every other survivor, Edran is soaking wet and exhausted from the hard day's push through the forest. When he spies the dead dire wolverine, his face turns pale and his eyes go wide. "You. You just killed THAT thing? That's. That's quite impressive..." His voice trails off as he looks over the party, lost in thought. "Hmm? What? Holding up? Oh, right. I can't wait for this traveling business to be over so that I can get back home. This is definitely not the trip I had in mind."
"I say we just move closer an' see what they do," Emil suggests. Then he calls out. "We're comin' closer, so decide what you want to do about that. We mean no harm but we defend ourselves purty well." Then he holds up his hand to indicate holding off a moment. His face takes on a flicker of the look of an animal and then returns to normal and he calls out with an assortment of yips, chirps, and clicks, speaking in a way animals can understand.
Then he gestures again and starts toward the walkway, pausing for a moment see if perhaps the rangers left any traps to defeat trespassers.
"Well, good cleric, I am from Taldan. I was traveling through this area, before the... the... the events of the other night. I've always been good with animals. That is why I was traveling here. I am, I mean, I was, looking for particularly good breeding animals to buy and bring back to sell in Taldan."
Edran pivots the conversation, turning inquisitive and questioning Father Emil. "So, tell me. Do you know if other groups escaped Phaendar or are we the only one? After we find some form of refuge, are you planning a counter attack against the hobgoblins?"
Father Emil begins to speak in a strange tongue, but nothing responds. He looks around for any traps set by the rangers, but finds none. He motions for Caspan to approach with him so that he's not going across alone. Unfortunately for both men, neither see a nearly transparent web that has been strung across the bridge. Since Caspan had pushed ahead, he walks into it head first and freaks out.
When Caspan starts to freak out, a hideous purple creature that walks upright like a man, but with a face of a spider and its hands are sickle-shaped claws, rushes forward towards him in a burst of speed. The creature seems intent on butchering Caspan before he can break free of his entanglement, malice in the creatures dark purple eyes. It screams loudly, making a series of clicking sounds off into the distance.
Ettercaps are typically 6 feet tall and weigh about 200 pounds. They are solitary creatures and rarely group with others of their kind, even to mate. When they do group, they tend to attract a variety of different spiders, forming a strange collective of ettercaps and arachnids. Ettercaps are known for building cunning traps out of webs and other natural materials, using them to trap prey. They build shelters out of webbing, often high up in the trees away from other ground-based predators, and use monstrous spiders as lookouts and guardians.
Ettercaps are not brave creatures, but their traps often ensure that the enemy never draws a weapon. When an ettercap does engage its enemies, it attacks with its claws and venomous bite. It usually refuses to come within melee reach of any foe that is still able to move, and flees if an opponent gets free.
To the right of the party four more creatures quickly descend from the tree tops, giant spiders. The spiders are elevated off the ground, hanging from a strand of webbing and keeping them out of melee reach.
As the spiders descended from the trees, Selde quickly took aim and loosed an arrow. "Don't let them separate us!" she yelled as she moved Nur back towards Wren.
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"That's an ettercap!" Thael exclaims, excited and revolted at the same time. Though he's never seen one before (like he hasn't seen a majority of the strange creatures he knows about), he has read enough literature and seen enough illustrations to know what it is.
Still, the spiders hold his attention more, being as they are in close proximity and clacking their mandibles at him. He steps to the side and tries to disable two of the spiders with a spray of blinding colors.
I hope this is enough to slow them down, or I'm hanging out to dry!