Nabi and Ephie work simultaneously on Clover. Leaf-on-Wind focuses on Rulean. He seems to be doing quite a lot with various medicines, much more than either Nabi or Ephie. Whether it helped or not, the end result is that Rulean feels relatively better.
Clover, on the other hand, finds her chest no longer burns. Though her muscles feel like she's been carrying boulders uphill for hours, she can breath without wheezing or coughing.
Rulean's relief is short lived as he is momentarily wracked by a coughing fit that leaves him aching .
Nabi joins Leaf-on-Wind in tending to Rulean now that Clover seems out of the woods. Their work seems to be quite beneficial as Rulean actually feels a little stronger.
Vaguely Encounter Mode. Round 4
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Clover (55/76 hp) (drained 2)
Ephie (53/53 hp)
Rulean (21/58 hp) (poisoned stage 2, drained 2, +2 circumstance to save)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (58/58 hp)
Rulean make another Fortitude
Figuring there were enough people providing him medical attention, he instead uses a heal spell on himself.
Rulean feels the pain in his chest subside. His body feels like rubber, but his breaths come easy after his companions administrations.
“Whatever that was, I didn’t like it!”
Frowning, he then asks “Do we continue on in this state, or go back and try to get some rest before the wolves come tonight?”
WELL THAT WAS… FUN?
"If that was actually a trap, it was a pretty heinous one," Clover grimaces, still feeling a little sore from all the coughing. "I feel a little weak but not so much that I can't keep going. Either way, I think we'll have to face the wolves but we need to decide if we want to do it here or back at camp. We'd have more room at camp but it'd be more likely that people who can't fight might get hurt. So...I think we should press on, if we can."
Clover mentioning the danger to the rest of the camp seems to convince Rulean.
“Right, press on!”
He decides he better focus more on traps and such than keeping his shield ready.
While Leaf-on-Wind works on restoring Rulean's and Clover's stamina, the rest of you can inspect the decorative sack. It looks empty at first glance, but when you reach into it, you feel an impossibly wide space and a few items that seem to float near your hand. There is a small reed capped at both ends that sounds like it has sand inside, an aromatic elixir that Ephraim recognizes immediately as an elixir of life, and a lensatic compass engraved with the words: "Always find your way back to me."
Type I Bag of Holding
Dust of Appearance
Lesser Elixir of Life
Lensatic Compass (30 gp)
After you recover, you brace yourselves and prepare to delve deeper into the caves. Around the bend of the cave, the smell of death and wolf grows stronger. Once you come into view of the den, the sound of canine growls greets you.
Six wolves sand in a pack around a much, much larger wolf. All have their teeth bared and ears back.
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<"Great Alpha, we come to talk. Your pack says you are not happy we are out in the swamps. We are not here to take your home or your prey from you, only to rest our heads and make the people within the walls smile for a time...and then we move on. Such is how our pack lives,"> Clover explains, speaking very slowly and deliberately in the language of the wolves. <"Is there nothing we can do to gain your trust or your permission to rest within your territory for a time?">
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The larger wolf stops growling and relaxes his ears as he barks his answer to Clover. <"We do not care. The great master tells us to do and we must do. Last night he sent us to test your pack. Today he has commanded us to protect this den.">
If there is someone commanding this giant wolf, they must be ferocious indeed.
Wait...what?
Clover shoots her companions a surprised and worried look. "He says they take orders from someone called the 'great master'. They were sent last night to test us and today they're set to protect this den."
<"The great master...is there some way to speak to them? Why are we being tested?">
"I asked if there's some way we could speak to this 'great master'," she adds, more softly. "Unless someone else has a better question or suggestion..."
The giant wolf takes a more indifferent stance, and the rest of the pack stops growling, at least. <"No. The great master demands we keep everything away from him.>" The wolf does not bother to answer the second question.
Presumably, this great master is through the tunnel on the other side of the pack of wolves.
“Ask if this Great Master has fur. Wolves are pack animals, so I would guess asking if it is like them would give a useless result.”
<"Yes. But he is strange and does not keep his fur clean."> The dire wolf glances over his shoulder toward the tunnel.
Oh geeze...was Nabi actually right about werewolves??
Clover tries a slightly different approach, hoping to learn anything they can about who or what they're dealing with.
<"How did you come to serve the great master?">
______________
As Clover converses with the giant wolf, he seems to become more and more relaxed. The rest of the pack gradually follows suit. <"The great master arrived a few weeks ago and commanded us to protect him. We could not disobey. His words were strong. But we do not like the great master. He is lazy and eats more than his share of food. But he is strong. We cannot win. You speak to us like the great master. Maybe you are strong? He fears you. He thinks you will put him in a cage again.">
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Rulean thinks a moment about how best to phrase things.
“We are strong enough as a pack that we are willing to test the strength of this great master. It does not sound like they act as part of your pack.”
Hold it! Put him in a cage AGAIN?!?
Looking at Clover, he then says “Can you describe Leandrus to them? Given what they said about a cage it might be him!”
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"Oh boy, this just keeps getting better..." Clover mutters as Rulean suggests a possible and very unwelcome theory. She describes, to the best of her ability, Leandrus to the pack of wolves...
<"That sounds like a cat. No. The great master is a wolf. A wolf that looks like someone dropped a rock on his snout when he was a pup. He has red fur,"> the giant wolf answers. <"I will make a trade with you. You free us from the great master, and we will leave you people alone.">
Looking to the rest of the group, Rulean says “This sounds like a good deal to me.”
Red fur and a flat snout? I’m missing something,
With an arrangement brokered between Clover and the wolves, you prepare to face the "great master" in the back cave.
Fragments of bone glint among blood‑soaked scraps of fabric, tufts of fur, and unidentifiable fleshy masses that once belonged to living things. Jagged claw marks gouge the cave’s granite walls, and a fetid odor hangs heavy in the humid air.
This cave is nine feet high and smells like rotted meat and fresh blood. A pool of water in the cave’s lowest point buzzes with insects.
A horse-sized, wolf-like creature lounges against the stone cave wall. He bears a rust-colored coat, clawed hands, a head that is somewhere between a wolf's and a human's with a bat's nose, and a lopsided mouth full of oversized fangs on one side. Rulean also notices a brand on his left shoulder: a conjoined "CM," which is the brand Madame Dusklight places on the creatures of the Celestial Menagerie.
He jumps to his feet and snarls when you appear in the cave entrance without the sound of battle. "Worthless wolves! I will not go back!"
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 1.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
Demon Wolf
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp)
Clover (66/66 hp [drained 2])
>Snowy (48/48)
This is a greater barghest, the full grown and mutated version of a barghest. Barghest are demons with insatiable appetites whose only purpose is to consume mortal souls and grow until they mature and can then find a way back to the lower planes.
Critical Success or success by a different character or second success at +2 DC:
They are capable of disoriented magics.
Rulean tries to figure out what the creature is, but can’t quite remember.
“We are not with the Celestial Menagerie.”
He then wards Clover against evil.
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Song, who had been eating popcorn in the corner when Clover was howling with the wolves, puts the popcorn down as the fiend shows up.
◇Lingering Performance
◈ Inspire Defense
She dances defiantly to protect her friends, and then tries to figure out what this creature is.
She also casts life boost on Clover.
◈ Life Boost
Rulean wards Clover against the influences of evil. Song-of-Air inspires her companions. However, neither of them remember a creature like this.
Ephie flings his axe at the creature, then a ray of frost.
The humanoid wolf with a lopsided maw bats the whirling axe away and ducks out of the way of the ray of frost.
The beast's only answer to Rulean's statement is a hungry snarl. He speaks Abyssal words and makes a series of signs with his human-like fingers. Upon completion, he begins to fade back and forth between solid and ephemeral states of being. He then bounds off to the side of the cave. "Try to get me!" he growls.
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 1-2.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Demon Wolf
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp)
Clover (66/66 hp [drained 2]) (protection)
>Snowy (48/48)
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
This is a greater barghest, the full grown and mutated version of a barghest. Barghest are demons with insatiable appetites whose only purpose is to consume mortal souls and grow until they mature and can then find a way back to the lower planes.
Critical Success or success by a different character or second success at +2 DC:
They are capable of disoriented magics.
Ephie launches a fireball into the room. [
Then he raises a shield.
Rulean casts Magic Weapon on Clover’s fighters fork and raises his shield.
"Oo-kay, this is fantastic," Clover gulps as she stares at the strange wolf-like creature; she has no idea what it is and she even briefly wonders if it's really an animal at all, given that it seems capable of speech. But there's nothing for it but to defend herself and her allies as best as she can, so she takes a moment to study its movements and mark it as her prey before maneuvering into the cavern.
"Snowy, with me!"
______________
Snowy, faithful attack badger, scampers after Clover; his fur bristles and he seems ready to give it his all!
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Nabi winces when she sees Clover go into the cavern alone. "Gah, you were supposed to let it come to us!"
But there is no hope for it. Clover walked in, so Nabi follows.
◈ Stride
◈
"Hey ugly, your shoe's untied!"
◈
◇Lingering Performance
◈ Inspire Defense
Song dances, and this time the song lingers!
She moves towards where she can see the demon, and she casts her favorite spell, arrow to the face...
◈ Stride
◈
...but it turns rapidly into arrow in the cave wall.
The wolf-beast whips water from a fetid puddle over himself as the ball of fire zooms into the room, saving him from some of the burn, but his fur must also naturally resist flames as he appears completely unharmed after the explosion .
Leaf-on-Wind follows the others as his sister inspires the others with her dance and Nabi bounces a dagger off of the beast's hide. The tengu archer steadies himself for battle.
The wolf-beast rushes forward and snaps his lopsided jaws at Clover. The teeth close down right in front of the halfling's nose. The smell of rotting meat wafts over her. Then the orange-furred monster disappears in a blink and reappears a fair distance away.
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 3.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Demon Wolf
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp) (archer stance)
Clover (66/66 hp [drained 2]) (protection, magic weapon)
>Snowy (48/48)
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
This is a greater barghest, the full grown and mutated version of a barghest. Barghest are demons with insatiable appetites whose only purpose is to consume mortal souls and grow until they mature and can then find a way back to the lower planes.
Critical Success or success by a different character or second success at +2 DC:
They are capable of disoriented magics.
Ephie is rather annoyed this creature is so resilient to his magic. He opts to stop acting resources on it and fires off everyone's favorite cantrip before raising a Shield spell.
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"I don't know, I think letting it come to us wouldn't work like we'd want either," Clover scowls as the creature proves capable of some extreme magical maneuvering.
Two can play at that game...
Opting to test the creature's defenses, Clover quickly darts around and comes at it from the side. She attempts to strike with her fork...
...and then just as quickly falls back to her original position.
______________
Nabi, who was hoping to set up for a flank, pouts. "Fine. We'll forgo sneak attack to dart back and forth."
◈ Stride
◈
◈ Stride
"Wow. How does your Electric Arc crackle with so much energy, Ephie? Is that a wizard thing?"
Song gracefully tosses a rock.
Then she shoots, casting the Arrow to the Face spell!
◈
Rulean chants and a spectral javelin appears in the air. It flies at the wolf.
Then he raises his shield.
The wolf-man very nearly escapes the lightning that Ephie conjured, but it grazes him and leaves his skin blistered.
Clover advances and drives her enchanted fork into the wolf demon's belly. He howls with pain and snaps his lopsided jaws onto her neck as she moves away. The beast narrowly misses her carotid but still tears open her jugular vein, which leaves her with a dangerous bleed.
Nabi finds her blade turned away by the demon's supernaturally thick hide. Song-of-Air's rock bounces off, and the beast ducks under her arrow .
Kurgess' javelin misses the mark as soon as it manifests.
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 3.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Demon Wolf (-30 hp) (reaction used)
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp) (archer stance)
Clover (39/66 hp [drained 2]) (protection, magic weapon) (persistent bleed d6)
>Snowy (48/48)
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim[/b] (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
With no one hurt yet, Leaf lets fly a bunch of arrows at the demon.
The demon wolf scoffs as he bats aside the arrows the fly too close. The beast then disappears and reappears right next to Clover. The demon bites down hard on the halfling and shakes her in his jaws . Overconfident, he releases the animal trainer and tears at Snowball's hide with his claws, expecting Clover to be dead or near enough.
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 4.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Demon Wolf (-30 hp)
Nabi (53/53 hp)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp) (archer stance)
Clover (15/66 hp [drained 2]) (protection, magic weapon) (persistent bleed d6)
>Snowy (33/48)
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
This is a greater barghest, the full grown and mutated version of a barghest. Barghest are demons with insatiable appetites whose only purpose is to consume mortal souls and grow until they mature and can then find a way back to the lower planes.
Critical Success or success by a different character or second success at +2 DC:
They are capable of disoriented magics.
[spoiler=GM Screen]
Rulean maintains the Spiritual Weapon, but it strikes at where the wolf had been.
“So, do you have a name?”
He then channels the healing power of Kurgess to Clover.
Clover, thankful for Rulean's healing powers, grits her teeth and stays the course this time. "Come on Snowy, let's get him!"
______________
"Grawr!"
◈ Nabi moves into position.
◈
◈
Since Clover just got healed, Leaf unleashes another barrage of arrows.
Song moves, and gracefully tosses another rock.
Ephie fires off a frosty ray at the devilish dog!
Help me, mr. Splinters!
The puppet giggles as Ephie's eyes roll and he speaks in Mr., Splinters' voice. I'VE GOTTA AXE HIM SOMETHING GOOD…
The demon wolf snarls in answer to Rulean's question and continues to dodge the spiritual javelin with ease while the iruxi channels healing energy into Clover.
The halfling's enchanted fork pierces the demon's hide with ease, if not as deeply, on her next strike. She continues to bleed. Snowy has trouble penetrating the wolf's hide.
Nabi moves into position, but the wolf turns and snaps at her arm as she moves behind him, tearing open a bleeding wound. The acrobat drives her sword directly into the beast's side, but her blade does not penetrate .
Leaf-on-Wind's first arrow from his enchanted bow grazes the wolf hide. He seems to loose focus after that.
Song-on-Air cracks the demon in the head with a rock while he is busy chewing Nabi's sleeve .
The wolf demon bites down on Nabi's arm one more time then breaks away, rushing toward Song-of-Air. Then he disappears and reappears behind Rulean and next to Ephie. "Boo!"
That’s Not a Wolf. Round 5.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Demon Wolf (-63 hp)
Nabi (15/53 hp) (persistent bleed d6)
Leaf-on-Wind (50/50 hp) (archer stance)
Clover (45/66 hp [drained 2]) (protection, magic weapon) (persistent bleed d6)
>Snowy (33/48)
Rulean (48/48 hp [drained 2])
Ephraim (53/53)
Song-of-Air (51/51 hp)
This is a greater barghest, the full grown and mutated version of a barghest. Barghest are demons with insatiable appetites whose only purpose is to consume mortal souls and grow until they mature and can then find a way back to the lower planes.
Critical Success or success by a different character or second success at +2 DC:
They are capable of disoriented magics.