As they walk deeper into the swamp, Chani comments, "These are not new smells. And not pleasant ones."
“Anyone want to speculate on dangers that dead bear corpse may pose if we try to move it?”
"I am more concerned about what caused it to become dead. It looks like it was attacked."
Chani's eyes and ears are paying close attention to their surroundings. He pulls his amulet over his head and begins fidgeting with it nervously.
Rulean is aware that a corpse can pass filth fever if one has open wounds while handling the corpse or one does not wash their hands before tending to the wounds of others or eating without washing their hands. The water risks transmitting filth fever if the corpse is not removed. Corpses can also be infested with voracious parasitic maggots that burrow into the flesh of those who touch an infested corpse.
However, the strong man sees no signs of infestation, so as long as you wash your hands or rinse your gloves, you should be safe.
Chani sees nothing threatening while he watches.
Rulean grabs the end of the rope that Ephie set up with the pulley and hauls the corpse out of the water.
He then starts hauling it towards a fire pit so it can be disposed of. Once done with that, he cleans his hands.
Ephie crafts a simple pulley system to help get the bear corpse out.
Chani watches with interest as Ephriam uses ropes and small bits of wood to help pull this large cow out of the water pool. He is also intrigued when Rulean uses magic to increase his strength and endurance while doing the pulling. "It seems that all of you have many surprises."
Once Rulean indicates where he is trying to take the cow corpse to, Chani busies himself by searching out and bringing over wood.
Once you dispose of the bear's corpse--whether or not you ease Chani's worry by explaining that you killed the demon that hunted this swamp--you head into town a few treasures richer to see about making some trades. Afterwards, you return to the camp.
"Shall we try the path with the rotting log?" Song looks around. "I'm kind of tired of wolves at the moment."
Song looks around. "I'm kind of tired of wolves at the moment."
Chani looks curiously at this. "Clover mentioned a Demon Wolf. Are there still more wolves around?"
“Yes, but they shouldn’t bother us provided we don’t bother them.”
Let's. Ephie gestures to the log with his grandma's battle axe.
Let's. Ephie gestures to the log with his grandma's battle axe.
Chani nods and heads towards the rotten log. He gives it a quick look over and if nothing seems out of the ordinary, climbs over it.
On the other side of the log, he somewhat nervously pulls his amulet off of his neck and fidgets with it again. He heads down the path keeping his eyes and ears wary of any dangers.
"Yeah, even though they promised not to bother us...it probably wouldn't hurt to give the wolves their space for a few days," Clover agrees with Song. "Or at least as much as we can."
She hustles after Chani, not about to let their newest member take point by himself.
Chani glances over the log and, seeing nothing concerning, clambers over it. Unfortunately, there was something about which to be concerned. As the log shifts under his weight, dozens of foot-long centipedes skitter out from underneath it. They appear to all be in a rather foul mood now.
A Swarm of Centipedes. Round 1.Bold may act.
Bold may act.
Song-of-Air (51/51) (undetected)
Chani (58/58)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Centipedes (red)
Centipedes (blue)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Rulean (58/58)
Swarming centipedes are resistant to many weapons–the can be squashed but bounce back, they’re very hard to poke because they’re so skinny–but slashing weapons work best for chopping them .
Critical Success:
Weak Splash 5
Critical Success:
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As the log shifts under his weight, Chani mumbles to himself, "Hrr, more rotten than I thought."
Then the chittering starts as thousands of tiny legs tap on the rotten and hollow log in non-unison. One ear spins around to take in the sound. "That doesn't sound like any of you." The ear is quickly followed by the rest of his head. "Ah bugger. Bugs." Not knowing the abilities of the rest of the team, Chani springs into action immediately.
Chani draws his small mace, and with an obviously well practiced movement, he shifts his grip on his amulet to just his smallest two fingers and whips the long chain around his arm. He reaches into one of his many pockets and pulls out a pinch of what looks like dirt. "Diatomaceous earth should do the job." He holds the amulet out flat with two fingers, while using his others to sprinkle the earth through the small hole that it has. The amulet begins having a few small blue sparks running across its surface. The dirt turns to a fine powder a it falls through the hole in the amulet, creating a fine mist of dirt powder hanging in the air for a second or two.
He waves his mace head through the mist and a lot of the diatomaceous powder clings to the mace. Then he uncoils the chain of his amulet by spinning it through the remaining powder. As it spins, you can see a soft blue afterimage of the chain.
With his weapon and Implement ready, Chani takes a swing at the closest group of centipedes that he can reach.
◇ Lingering Performance
◈ Inspire Courage
Song dances to inspire courage, and then casts an animated assault on the swarm of bugs. "Ewww... Why is it always bugs or demons?"
Song-of-Air inspires her troupe with a bold dance before unleashing her magic upon the nest of centipedes. Fallen branches and stones close enough to the surface begin to whip around in a wild telekinetic storm. Many of the centipedes take shelter under the log, but several are squished.
Chani slams his mace down into the closest mass. The for e seems to send ripples of force out through the nearby centipedes.
A Swarm of Centipedes. Round 1.Bold may act.
Song-of-Air (51/51) (undetected)
Chani (58/58)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Centipedes (red) (-5 hp)
Centipedes (blue) (-10 hp)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Rulean (58/58)
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Ephie tries to jolt each swarm, then moves bravely as far away as he can!
Some of the centipedes, though not as many as last time scurry out of the way of the incoming electricity. The mass of swarming chitin and legs regroups quickly and spreads out, crawling into boots and pant legs where they bite painfully.
A Swarm of Centipedes. Round 1-2.Bold may act.
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 3 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison damage (CF: +1d8 poison damage, clumsy 1, and flat-footed)
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 4 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison or stage advancement depending on previous result
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 5 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison damage (CF: +1d8 poison damage, clumsy 1, and flat-footed)
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 6 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison or stage advancement depending on previous result
Centipedes (red) (-18 hp)
Centipedes (blue)* (-19 hp)
Clover (76/76) (See Saving Throws above)
>Snowy (48/48) (See Saving Throws above)
Rulean (58/58) (See Saving Throws above)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
Chani (58/58) (See Saving Throws above)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Swarming centipedes are resistant to many weapons–the can be squashed but bounce back, they’re very hard to poke because they’re so skinny–but slashing weapons work best for chopping them .
Critical Success:
Ephie stays well back, taking extra time to wriggle his fingers like he's manipulating a marionette, pulling on the aether to extend his spell's reach:
Seeing the swarm of insects swarming over him, Chani spins the chain of his amulet in the air. The blue sparks trailing down its length blur into a large circle in the air. With a flick of his wrist, he releases the circle of energy from the chain and sends it settling over his own feet.
Chani clubs a few more of the centipedes, then dances his way out of the middle of the swarm - trying to knock loose as many of the bugs from his pants and shoes as he can.
With another well practiced movement, he slips his hand through the chain of his amulet and lets it fall down to hang from his elbow. He grabs a card out of the pack from his pocket.
"Yes, I know they are insects." He sighs. "And that they live in tight quarters where they get squashed on a regular basis." He looks up at the others. "Anyone have bladed weapons?"
Rulean moves out of the mass of insects and then turns and fires a cold ray at them.
120’ range
Crit Success double damage and -10’ speed for 1 round
“Would my pick work better than cold?”
“Would my pick work better than cold?”
Chani shrugs. "Hard to say. But these beasts are thin and hardy. They are long though, so slicing may be better than stabbing."
"If you could blanket the area with your ice ray, that would be good."
“Are you saying my claws would work better than my pick? Although I have some training with them, I don’t tend to use a sword.”
“Are you saying my claws would work better than my pick?”
Chani pauses for a moment and looks critically at Rulean. "Oh, you do have quite nice claws. Mine aren't big enough to attack with. If they were, I certainly wouldn't be using this mace. But I also haven't seen you hit something with your pick either."
"Aurmmm. Get off of me." Chani shakes off another centipede that is crawling on his boot.
Song-of-Air summons electricity to bother both swarms, and then moves back.
◈◈ Electric Arc (DC 20)
◈ Stride
"Bugs need to chocolate-coated and gift-wrapped, not on us!" Not wanting to get bugs in her feathers, she moves back a few steps.
The centipedes begin to bite into the iruxi over and over. The tiny fangs do not do too much harm, but the poison leaves him feeling woozy and off kilter.
Ephraim's electrical arc explodes the soil where it strikes amidst the mass of centipedes . Dozens of them lie charred, smoking and scattered.
Despite his dizziness, Rulean freezes a swath of the remainder on his side of the log, leaving the space relatively safe and bug free. On the other side of the log, Chani brings down his mace but the swift little vermin scurry out of the way before his weapon strikes the ground.
Song-of-Air sends a decently powerful blast of her own into the remaining cluster of bugs. There are still a few dozen agitated centipedes.
Clover finishes off enough of the rest by stabbing them with her elongated fork that the remainder scurry away under the dead leaves.
Status
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 3 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison damage (CF: +1d8 poison damage, clumsy 1, and flat-footed)
Basic Reflex Save DC 22 vs. 4 piercing
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs. 1d6 poison or stage advancement depending on previous result
Fortitude Save DC 22 vs.
Clover (76/76) (See Saving Throws above)
>Snowy (48/48) (See Saving Throws above)
Rulean (48/58) (poison stage 2 DC 22: Clumsy 1, Flat-footed)
Chani (52/58 hp)
[spoiler=GM Screen]
"Squishy. Squashy. Squoosh." Chani half sings to himself as he finishes hammering the centipedes near him - while also paying very little attention to the eletricity blasts and flying debris raining through the air around him.
After the last of them has disappeared back into a hole somewhere, Chani looks to the others. "Well, that was certainly unexpected. How is everyone doing?"
Rulean suffers from the centipede poison.
Clover scowls as she spears a few stragglers with her fork. "Centipedes are the *worst*. Nothing should have that many legs!" She looks okay aside from one or two small, angry bite marks.
Snowy, on the other hand, looks a little ill.
You tend to your wounded while the poison runs its course. Pressing onward down this path, you come to increasingly damp ground until Clover sinks in to her ankles. The woods open up to reveal a wide swamp full of buzzing gnats, chirping frogs, and the occasional oriole.
You can see a small island--and the word island is generous--a stone's throw away that is obscured by the bushes and small trees that cling to it. A slightly larger island--again, liberal use of the term--a little further to the southwest supports the stone remains of a a building.
Traversing the swamp here would require wading. Clover and Snowy would need to swim.
Clover stops and wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. Unless someone wants to give me and Snowy piggyback rides, it looks like we're going to have to swim for it. And then take a really good bath when we get back to camp."
Not really looking forward to either prospect, she glances around to see if there might be anything that could be used as a makeshift raft or flotation device.
But she quickly becomes more preoccupied with swatting the skeeters that have come to feast.
“Let’s backtrack and see if we can find a different path to those ruins.”
"Centipedes are the *worst*. Nothing should have that many legs!" She looks okay aside from one or two small, angry bite marks.
Snowy, on the other hand, looks a little ill.
"And perhaps with fewer predator bugs, the recycler bugs will be faster at dealing with this log."
Chani looks to the rather large badger and kneels down to be less intimidating. "I have some salve that will help with those stings," he says as he pulls out his new medical supplies and gets to work.
-----
“Let’s backtrack and see if we can find a different path to those ruins.”
"Sure." Chani mentions to Clover, "You seem to be the best with animals, would you take the lead through the wolf territory?"
Backtracking and heading down the wolf path, you take the fork to the right instead of heading on to the caves. This path ends at a felled tree that links the more solid land to the larger island you saw from the other vantage. It appears that someone had once hammered posts along the side of the trunk, but most of them have been lost to time. The ones that remain are rotted stumps. However, the trunk is broad, and you are able to cross without trouble.
The island is overgrown with grasses and a few sharp-thorned briars. The ruined stone walls that remain visible outline a pair of forty square foot rooms, but nothing of its old purpose remains.
A trunk bridge leads from this island to the tree-choked smaller island that you were able to make out earlier. The trees leave an opening where the bridge ends. A flickering orange firelight glows in the shadows under the trees on that island. To the southeast, you can see another small island that has a tree trunk bridge to a southern bank. It is a fifteen foot slog or leap to that island.
In the grasses of the larger island near the bridge to the smaller one, long dead, you find the mostly intact skeleton of a halfling. In one skeletal hand is clutched a soggy, rolled parchment. Around his ribcage is a chewed and weathered satchel.
Chani takes a good scanning look around the overgrown field outside of the buildings. "Hrmm. Not the best accomodations. Check the buildings, or the unfortunate former resident?" he comments, gesturing to the skeleton in the distance.
“The skeleton. It is dangerous to leave a body like that. Too much necromancy in the world.”
Rulean checks for magic and then slowly approaches the dead halfling, wary of it animating.
Ephie investigates, wary for more hidden swarms and fungi.
Chani follows along with the others, keeping his eyes and ears focused on the surroundings.
“Too much necromancy in the world.”
"I have heard rumor that undead aren't always evil. I'm not sure how much I believe that though."
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Rulean senses magic in the area, but the skeleton does not animate as he approaches. Chani sees that a few of the bones have been gnawed and pulled away from the whole. It is clear that while the halfling died a good month or more ago, that is much more recent than when the building fell into disuse. The stones are weather worn and dappled with moss while grasses and briars have covered whatever used to serve as a floor.
The parchment in the skeleton's hand turns out to be a map of the area. You recognize the three islands, the glade with the pool where you found the bear corpse, and the cave. The map bears a note over the island to the west--where the campfire flickers--that reads: "St. Alkitarem's Eye?"
The map also indicates a small keep on the hillside to the east, looking in that direction, all you can see are trees blocking the hill.
Several of the bones snap as you finagle the satchel off of the skeleton. The satchel itself jingles and clinks with the sound of coin and glass. A white clay cat amulet snags on the strap, tearing off of a tattered piece of a leather coat.
"Who's there?" a voice calls weakly from the island with the campfire. "I'm injured and need help."
“Strange, there is illusion magic in the area.”
Turning towards the sound of the person calling for help, Rulean warily moves in that direction.
Chani follows Rulean clearly pondering something. "Maybe I have just spent too much time in Ustalav. Is it common around here that if you are injured, that you announce that to strangers that you have not met? Normally that would just invite more trouble."
Rulean keeps his voice down as he answers “Calling for help is normal. Presence of illusion magics makes it extremely suspicious.”
"The wolves bit my leg, and it's infected," the voice laments weakly. "I can't walk."
As Rulean walks across the log bridge, you notices that the ground on the smaller island is not stable. Every bit of the ground that he can see save for where the trees grow is quicksand.
"The wolves bit my leg, and it's infected,"
"Weren't you fighting what was possibly a werewolf the other day?" Chani asks nervously as he follows behind Rulean. He begins fidgeting with his amulet hanging from his neck.
Rulean indicates to everyone they should stop. Pointing out the quicksand, he says “Clover, is there something you can do about the ground there?”
In response to Chani’s question, Rulean shakes his head and says “I’m sure that is the story going around the campfires right now. It wasn’t a werewolf.”
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Ephie crafts some orange powder to help clover flag the area.
While Clover cannot obviate the quicksand with anything on hand, she can easily make the surface clear with the orange agent provided by Ephie. The surface of the quicksand ripples, bubbles, disrupts the fallen leaves covering it, and generally becomes very orange.
The voice changes to a different language, "వారు ఇసుకలో పడటం లేదు."
A different voice responds in the same language, "ఫైన్. మేము వాటిని సీజన్ లేకుండా తింటాము."
The light of the campfire rises and coalesces into a glowing orange sphere.
Foxfire. Round 1.Bold may act.
Rulean (58/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
Blue (undetected)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Red
Chani (58/58)
No specific weakness. Use personal antithesis.
Critical Success:
Will o’ wisps are physical creatures with power to manipulate their internal luminescence. They are immune to most magic except magic missile.
Critical Success:
The voice changes to a different language,
A different voice responds in the same language,
The light of the campfire rises and coalesces into a glowing orange sphere.
Chani's ears droop a bit. He can't understand the words, but he recognizes the intent well enough. "Yeah, that's the other option in Ustalav too. Luring the naive who desire to assist. Which is why it is rarely help that comes when someone does ask."