Fenna waits a little longer, a couple mor minutes for safety's sake, before she says anything. The delay also gives her time to think.
So... we sort of have a point of origin, kinda have a notion of what direction it's travelling in, and that's all...
When she's confident there's enough distance to whisper without alerting the whatever-it-is, she props herself up on an elbow.
"I think we should sit tight where we are until morning. If we try to move, we have a bunch of problems. We don't know when it might return or whether it will backtrack or return a different way, if at all. Without knowing more than we do now, we're just picking another random place that might be better or worse than this one. We might even make enough noise moving for it to hear us."
"Besides, we had no trouble hearing it coming the first time, when we didn't even know it existed yet. I think we'll hear it if it comes close again. We don't have any reason to think it would be closer next time instead of the same distance away or farther away."
Vexas listens to Fenna in the dark and he's relieved to hear that her plan does not entail them skulking around the whatever-it-is. The rest of the party cannot see him nodding vigorously, as he lay on top of his bedroll.
I think that is the best plan. This creature probably has a routine, and we need not disturb it. We will, of course, need to take turns keeping "watch", as it were, or listening. I am happy to go first.
Brannart quietly assents to the plan.
"Good point, Fenna. We don't know if any other place would be safer."
Those of you not on watch go back to sleep.
Sho and Vexas wake up for the last watch. Partway through their shift they again hear the sounds of the creature moving, this time coming down the caldera.
And, in the faint twilight before dawn, Sho's low-light vision allows her to see what the creature is.
The next morning, Fenna takes a look around near their camp for any signs of the beast, wondering if they might have had a close call. Otherwise, after a quick bites to eat from her rations, she is ready to make the crossing.
"To the boat then? Might as well go early so we save as much daylight as we can. I don't want to have to spend the night over there."
Vexas hears the creature re-enter the lake.
Sho can see this as well (and can tell Vexas what it was if she wishes).
---
Morning comes and you prepare your spells. There is no sign of the creature, though if you look to where you heard it moving you can see its tracks - as well as some patches of bloody goat hide.
The tracks are easy enough for Malakar to identify; this was an enormous crab.
To the boat, as Fenna suggests?
As Vexas studies his spellbook and thinking on their needs in recent days, he prepares one casting of Comprehend Languages instead of two Touches of the Sea.
It is fortunate that this crab did not find its way over to our camp last night. The random, eerie features that he caught glimpses of flash in his mid throughout the morning.
"Yeah," Fenna replies. "Too many oversized things with shells on this island. Remember The ankheg and nest? If something isn't crawling up from out of the ground, it's probably just crawling up out of the water instead."
It is no problem to navigate the raft across the caldera lake.
You head for the western side, which has the best beach for landing.
As you progress, Malakar, a druid attuned to water, can tell that something big is following you at some depth. The giant crab.
As you disembark, it emerges from the shallows, towering over you!
Round 1
Sho
Brannart
Fenna
Malakar
Vexas
Crab
When Fenna is made aware they are being trailed by the crab, she cusses first, then begins preparations for what's to come. She imbues Brannart with Heroism first. Then, just as they reach the shore and begins jumping out of the boat, she begins spurring everyone to hustle and form up to meet the crab as soon as it makes land.
Vexas figures that the crab will be most nimble moving up onto the sand. So he makes for the damaged pier in hopes he can attack it from relatively high ground as it makes land.
@Sho, that would be essentially impossible (it would be similar to a Trip attempt, and this thing's CMD of 29 increases to 41 against Trip). Do you want to just take a shot or 3?
Brannart readies to strike at the crab (and will take a 5' step as part of his readied action if it comes within 15'; he has a 10' reach).
|
Sho sends an errant arrow, her foot slipping in the sifting sands.
Then the ranger focuses her eyes on her target, her hands moving quickly to snatch a second arrow in her quiver.
The second arrow is an harbinger of death in steel, wood and feathers.
It buries deep in the crab's shell, right between its eyes.
Sho lands a perfect shot on the crab, wounding it grievously!
Malakar delays.
The crab lurches towards the party, and Brannart steps forward to meet it. He hits it, but it still does not fall.
The crab snaps at Brannart, but he just barely manages to deflect it with his shield.
Vexas watches in awe as Sho's arrow embeds itself deeply in the crab. He imagines that it now hurts for it to move very much with an arrow shaft doing further internal damage. Maybe there's hope for his little crossbow.
Placing the butt of the crossbow at his right shoulder, he doesn't even realize he's sticking his tongue slightly out as he aims intently through one opened eye.
Fenna follows her usual pattern in such fights. She moves up near Brannart, both to give him some cover with her spear and so she has his protection. She lines up the tip of her weapon on the biggest piece of crab meat near enough to reach and thrusts at it.
@Fenna, this thing has 15' reach, so moving to within 10' of it will provoke an AOO (the only reason it didn't for Brannart was that he took a 5' step).
It's on its last legs - let's see if Sho can finish it, and if not then Brannart probably will.
Malakar moves while drawing a spear and throws it at the crab.
The spear glances off the crustacean's carapace.
Brannart tries to finish off the monstrosity.
The crab falls!
The crab has no treasure, of course.
There is no reaction from anyone who may be in the tower. What do you do next?
Say, we should cut open it's stomach to look for... no never mind. This isn't the time.
The halfling turns and looks up at the tower. He looks to see if there are entrances less obvious than the Front Door.
I would imagine someone in the tower should have heard us by now...
He looks dubiously at it.
Vexas recalls seeing a small cave on the southeastern side of the island, seemingly leading into the interior of the island.
He doesn't see any tracks going up to the front door.
What he does see...
An immense stone double door bars entrance into the building. The right side bears a relief depicting a humanoid woman with ankle-length hair and large butterfly wings holding aloft a single shining star. The left side depicts a stern-looking woman with a blindfold over her eyes holding a single knife above her head, tip pointed down toward herself. At the middle where the both sides of the door join is the symbol of a single spiral with a five-pointed star at its center.
Fenna can tell that the right and left reliefs are Azlanti depictions of Desna and Pharasma, respectively.
Vexas definitely tells the rest of the party about the small cave he noticed. Then, once Fenna and Sho exhaust what they know, the team can decide whether the cave is possibly the more subtle way to enter.
"A shame to have killed such a mighty beast it must have lived long to reach such a size. At least let's not let it go completely to waste."
Malakar will take a portion of crab meat that would serve to feed the group for the next two camps. Anything more than that will likely go bad before use. Afterwards he will do his best to crack the shell at various places and spread meat and guts into the water and on the shore to attract other animals to dispose of the remains and continue the cycle of life.
"Do those two normally work together? I like Desna. I can't say I know more than what is common knowledge on the Lady of Graves tho. If this was once a holy sight maybe the Witch has fouled it?
Fenna looks at the crab, starts to look at Vexas like he's an idiot, then goes back to looking at the crab when he lets his idiotic almost-suggestion trail off unfinished.
"Do you think it a "crab" crab? Or is it some freakish magical mutant? I mean, if it's really crab, it's a pity we have to let it go to waste. The meat turns so fast..."
Looking about a little more, Fenna remarks on the art. "Do you think the one on the right might be Desna?"
Fenna looks at the crab, starts to look at Vexas like he's an idiot, then goes back to looking at the crab when he lets his idiotic almost-suggestion trail off unfinished.
Malakar realizes that by the time he shells the crab and extracts any meat, the crab will have been spoiled by toxins released with its death (as Fenna noted).
Still, there are scavengers that may be able to eat it.
Do you attempt to go in the front door or do you go to check out the cave?
Fenna frowns slightly.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think trying the cave first is best."