The Story So Far:
The Pathfinder Society received a call for help from the Blakros Museum, where intruders tripped the many defences and barricaded themselves inside the building. Upon overcoming these safeguards, they encountered Medda and her Twinhorn warriors. Medda was willing to discuss the Kellids’ reason for attacking. Valsin was angered to learn that museum agents resorted to theft to gain relics and promised Medda that Pathfinders would accompany them back to the Tusk Mountains to return the hilt.
The Pathfinders secured passage for their convoy through the Hold of Belkzen and fought off renegade tribes’ raiders.
However, they arrived at the Twinhorn encampment too late; Eshimka’s forces had begun flooding through a portal at the standing stones. The Pathfinders needed to fight back the undead and close the rift. Once sealed, they learned that the attack left an extraplanar scar. Expecting an even greater invasion the next solstice, the Pathfinders must prepare to defeat Eshimka and end the threat forever.
The Society members followed in the footsteps of the paladin Ivvora, seeking the place where she died battling a powerful white dragon. There, Medda hoped to commune with Ivvora in the afterlife, learning how to reforge the broken dagger or create a new weapon to destroy Eshimka. In the process, those present had to fight the new generations of white dragons and their kobold servitors who inhabited the area.
Now preparations are being made to travel to an ancient battlefield where Ivvora and her comrades fought against an overwhelming undead force.
The trip is long, and many Pathfinders have joined and left over the course of the journey. Having been split into smaller teams for ease of organization, the agents have plenty of time to get to know each other as they march.
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Karina is a typical varisian women. She wears bright colors, severals scarfs and moves like she's dancing. If not for her mismatched eyes and her very hard and long nails she will pass for a human but she's clearly not.
She proudly wears a token, given to her by a Venture Captain and don't seems to wear armor or weapon except for some of her scarfs that seems a little bit odd with some very shiny and sharp razors on the side, glittering like diamond.
She waves at her comrades and says with an almost too charming voice Hi, I'm Karina Vala, nice to meet you all!
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A rather lithe and scrawny ifrit bows back to Vala. He is dressed in a white cloak and simple leather armor. He has a bandier of daggers on his chest and very little else in terms of weapons other than a crossbow on his back that looks like it has never been drawn.
"Greetings. I am Maqej. A devout of Eritrice, imperial lord of finding the truth through honest debates. It is . . . good to meet you."
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The long journey south from the slopes of the Tusk Mountains to the edge of Fangwood took several weeks, during which many of the Twinhorns and Pathfinders exchanged ancestral stories and tales of daring adventures to pass the time on the relatively uneventful trek. By the time the Fangwood rises ahead in the brisk morning air, both groups are eager to confront whatever lies ahead.
Medda addresses the crowd gathered before her. “South of here lies a battlefield where the paladin Ivvora risked her life in a daring ploy to help her battalion defeat an undead horde. For her selflessness, Ivvora earned a token of Vildeis’s favor: the dagger she used to deal a terrible blow to Eshimka! For all the crusaders’ heroism, I can sense an undead taint lingered here, and that stretch of the Fangwood has expanded in the centuries since to absorb it. It is now our turn to earn Vildeis’s blessing, risking ourselves to end this threat so that in turn we might slay Eshimka once and for all.
“The terrain favors small groups over larger formations, so we shall divide into smaller groups to navigate the forest and identify the corruption’s heart. May Ivvora’s example guide us to victory!” With that, Medda and her phantom Anok turn and enter the Fangwood, followed by Pathfinder and Twinhorn teams that fan out behind her.
Brambles grow wild throughout the edge of the wood where a thick canopy of trees begins to filter out sunlight, turning day into night. The overgrown plant life forbids easy access deeper into the forest and fills the air with the sickly-sweet smell of decay. A quick examination of the foliage reveals many plants with large thorns and barbs hiding amongst their leaves, and many tiny creatures eager to bite at foes many times their size.
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Joining the party late, is dwarf in a wide brim hat and a unlighted cigar in his mouth.
"I'm Heorn and though late, by Cayden I'm the dwarf you can count on. " he stops to consider his next words even as he attempts to cross....
"Also while searching for the perfect brew, I have picked various skills and knick knacks. That includes the ability to use wands of healing." as he skillfully navigates through, his steps slow but sure.
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A tall, spare, Taldorian man wearing spectacles, a buff coat and and silk cravat around his neck quickly gathers his equipment off the pack horses and raising a finger he shouts,
"Friends, FRIENDS! I just need a few more seconds to...."
Seeing most have already disappeared into the forest, he mutters to himself,
"OH DRAT! Well I should be able to catch the dwarf up at least. FRIEND DWARF! Allow me to walk with you?"
Shouldering his pack, he gets his crossbow in hand and with inexplicable agility for his size scampers onto the trail the Dwarf has broken.
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Seeing the Dwarf turn and wave the wine skin at him Thadeaus strides the last few feet quickly and snatching the skin up ends it sending a long stream into his open mouth. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve he lets out a sigh and returning the skin to his new friend he says,
”Very good of you old boy and well met! Thadeaus Grimm, late of the Lepistadt University in Ustalav, at your service!”
Let me know if you have any questions!
The Pathfinders charge into the underbrush, some more successfully than others. Heorn, Thadeaus, and Jinath all dodge the worst of the brambles, but Maqej, Xantanax, and Karina are not so lucky. As the poisonous foliage tries to scratch and entangle them, they try to avoid being poisoned...
...but only Maqej is quick enough to keep the noxious thorns away from his skin.
The forest floor is blanketed with eerie dark flowers that paint the otherwise lightless woods with their purple incandescence. Disorienting paths cut through the trees, forward-facing paths seem to lead back to where they started, and retracing one’s steps leads to unfamiliar terrain. Glowing eyes glare hungrily from within the impenetrable thickets where the vines slowly curl around anyone who gets too close. A growl fills the air, but from which direction?
In the dim light of the forest, the Pathfinders watch as the vines that choke the thickets writhe and twist, searching for anyone within reach. The keen eyes of Maqej and Thadeaus notice two pairs of eyes in the bushes, and Xantanax realizes from the tracks on the ground that the creatures must be hunting them as two large wolves covered in glowing purple flowers burst from the undergrowth!
These are dire wolves, known for their aggressiveness and intimidating stature. Their noses are keen, allowing them to sniff out what they cannot see, and whenever they bite an opponent they try to knock it to the ground.
These are obviously wolves, but much larger than most.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Jinath
Heorn
Thadeaus
Xantanax (Sickened)
Red
Blue
Maqej
Karina (Sickened)
The tiger will roar in challenge and as an attempt to intimidate the wolves
As his companions ready their weapons, Thadeaus steps around Heorn for a clear shot at the red wolf. His bolt strikes true and the beast howls in pain, a cry echoed by its companion as they both charge forward! The red one meets the pointy end of Heorn's rapier as it approaches, but that doesn't stop it from snapping at the dwarf with jaws as large as his face...
...but those jaws clack together hollowly as Heorn easily sidesteps the attack. The blue wolf rushes at Xantanax, unbothered by the underbrush, and tries to bite him...
...and catches the warrior's arm in its mouth! Xantanax is too stubborn to pull to the ground as the wolf twists its head and he pulls his now-bloody arm free. The vines in the undergrowth stir and reach out towards Heorn...
...but he is again too quick to be caught!
Round 1, 2! Bold may act!
Jinath (Tiger)
Heorn
Thadeaus
Xantanax (-11, Sickened)
Red (-7, Charged)
Blue (Charged)
Maqej
Karina (Sickened)
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Jumping Ale bottles! That was too close for comfort. Heorn thinks as he sidesteps the bite and then hoping away to avoid the vines.
Everything here is out to get us. Raising his rapier as he thinks quickly, he stabs the wolf in front of him, stepping away from the undergrowth as well.....
"Watch out for them vines!" he warns his companions.
The tiger moves up to the blue wolf and attempts to scratch it
and attempts to grapple it if he hit
Xantanax and Karina both cut deep wounds into the blue wolf, while Heorn and Thadeaus poke the red one some more. Maqej is too distracted by the flowers and cuts a nearby vine instead of his target. As Jinath moves closer to the blue wolf, it lashes out at him...
...and tears off a chunk of flesh before the tiger claws it and knocks it to the ground. As it lies there unmoving, the glow of the flowers surrounding it seems to dim and flicker. The remaining wolf lashes out at Maqej...
...and catches the ifrit's throat in its mighty jaws! Sizzling blood covers Maqej's scarlet skin, but he keeps his footing and pulls himself away from the beast. As if that wasn't enough, the underbrush continues to try to warp itself around Maqej and Jinath...
...and it is not Maqej's lucky day as the vines wrap themselves around his legs.
Round 2, 3! Bold may act!
Jinath (-8, Tiger)
Heorn
Thadeaus
Xantanax (-11, Sickened)
Red (-19)
Blue
Maqej (-22, Entangled)
Karina (Sickened)
Maqej easily dispatches the vines grasping at him and puts Heorn squarely between himself and the wolf.
Karina whirls her scarves, but the fear of hitting her companions on accident causes her to miss the wolf - and her distraction gives the viney undergrowth a new target!
Round 3! Bold may act!
Jinath (-8, Tiger)
Heorn
Thadeaus
Xantanax (-11, Sickened)
Red (-19)
Blue
Maqej (-22)
Karina (Sickened, Entangled)
I never said I pounced. I know I didn't have the ability to charge. I should also be large correct?
With a mighty swing of his blade, Xantanax rushes to his companion's aid and slays the forest beast in a single blow. With the immediate threat of the wolves gone, Karina is able to cut her way out of the undergrowth with little difficulty.
The Pathfinders take a moment to catch their breathes before striking deeper into the forest. As they travel, Xantanax and Karina feel the effects of the nettles fade from their bodies.
The forest opens to a small clearing that is free of the dark flowers that seem to permeate the rest of the landscape. A ring of tall grey trees circles the clearing, their branches reaching toward each other to form a ceiling of black leaves. A chorus of whispering voices echoes within the clearing as countless faces form out of tree bark only to meld back in, flowing from tree to tree. Three of the faces remain in place and speak out in unison. “Who wanders these forlorn paths? Do you seek to join us? Join us!”