“Definitely suspicious.”
Rulean tries to figure out where the second voice came from.
◈
"I know what these are!" Song nods as she figures matters out. "Will o’ wisps are physical creatures with power to manipulate their internal luminescence. They are immune to most magic except magic missile." She smiles as she remembers what spell is on her spell list, and she does a little happy dance.
◇ Lingering Performance
◈ Inspire Courage
◈
Rulean strains his eyes searching the copse and thinks that he sees a distortion hovering in front of one of the trees . Meanwhile, Song-of-Air inspires her companions after she reveals what she's heard about will-o'-wisps. She fires an arrow at the orange glow, but the sphere darts out of the way.
Foxfire. Round 1.Bold may act.
Rulean (58/58) (2 actions left)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
Blue (undetected/hidden to Rulean)
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:
Rulean will point out where blue is and then raise his shield.
The air ripples as the invisible will-o'-wisp floats away. It soon reveals its location known as arcs of electricity leap from a space just off of the log toward the iruxi strongman. The first arc zags and crackles into a metal nail in the log. The second arc bounces off of Rulean's shield.
Foxfire. Round 1.Bold may act.
Rulean (58/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
Blue (Hidden: flat check DC 11)
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 will-o-wisp. Corporeal creatures whose physiology contains mechanisms whereby they manipulate their internal luminescence. Famously immune to most magic except magic missile.
Ephie casts glitterdust in the area of the nearest one.
Gold flecks explode over the water and sparkle in the afternoon sun as they fall. The invisible will-o'-wisp is coated in the glittering dust and far easier to see now.
Foxfire. Round 1.Bold may act.
Rulean (58/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
Blue (dazzled) (Concealed: flat check DC 6)
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 particularly agile .
Critical Success:
"They've got a form? You're sure?" Clover asks, looking deeply skeptical at the thought. More than anything, the wisps remind her of the small orbs of light she's sometimes seen mages and priests conjure. But trusting in Song's expertise on the matter, she squints her eyes and tries to spot the wisp Rulean indicated...
Your eyes are sharp, allowing you to make out small details about concealed or even invisible creatures that others might miss. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus when using the Seek action to find hidden or undetected creatures within 30 feet of you. When you target an opponent that is concealed from you or hidden from you, reduce the DC of the flat check to 3 for a concealed target or 9 for a hidden one.
"Should we fall back to solid ground?"
______________
Clover's keen eyes can make out the invisible but glittering orb as she jabs with her fork. The tines make glancing contact, confirming to her that it has a physical form but doing no harm.
Her second thrust, however, drives into a spongy mass. The wounded orb hovers and bobs out of the way of her next strike.
The orange glowing sphere darts over to the edge of the island and releases a series of electrical discharges. One of the arcs strikes and courses through Rulean, making his arm muscles twitch momentarily.
Foxfire. Round 1-2.Bold may act.
Blue (dazzled, -7 hp) (Concealed: flat check DC 6)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Red
Chani (58/58)
Rulean (49/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
No specific weakness. Use personal antithesis.
Critical Success:
Rulean empowers Clover’s weapon with magic and then raises his shield.
Chani pulls his amulet over his head and fidgets with the chain again. He looks around and answers Clover's question. "We are certainly slowed down more than they are. If you two head back, I would follow. I'll protect your retreat."
He turns his attention back to the flickering lights and pulls his mace from its loop on his belt. "Hrrrr. Hope. A seed." He pulls a small seed from his pocket. "Hope that there will be peace while it grows and food in the future." He drops the seed through the hole in his amulet where it vaporizes into a fine power. He coats his weapon and amulet in it and waits to see what the others do.
“I can jump to shore from here, just need a clear path.”
◈
◈
◈
Song-of-Air continues to fire arrows at the perfectly visible orange sphere. Two of the arrows manage to strike.
The glittering orb of emptiness floats around to the other end of the log and releases a pair of electrical discharges. One of the arcs is on course to strike Chani's tail.
Foxfire. Round 2.Bold may act.
Blue (dazzled, -7 hp) (Concealed: flat check DC 6)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Red (-8 hp)
Chani (58/58) (-4 hp OR block with reaction)
Rulean (49/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
The glittering orb of emptiness floats around to the other end of the log and releases a pair of electrical discharges. One of the arcs is on course to strike Chani's tail.
Chani watches mildly intrigued as the floating sparkles head towards the island. But he is still rather quick with the amulet chain as it arcs electricity in his direction. The electrical burst is met in the air with glowing blue lines of magic of his own, and both dissipate in a small shower of sparks.
“Now is the time to back up if you are going to, Clover.”
Ephie fires magic missiles at the one they can see.
The magical missiles slam into the gold dust covered will-o'-wisp.
"Alright!" Clover says and dashes back across the log to the larger island. "Get it, Snowy!" She jabs her fork at the glittering orb-shaped void.
Snow manages to pull off a chunk of strange, spongy material that manifests as a cloudy looking gelatin once it is separated from the invisible body. Clover feels her fork glance off of the ball.
The glowing orange will-o'-wisp floats around Rulean in order to discharge its electricity at Chani. The first arc strikes him in the chest, which causes excruciating pain . The second arc catches him in his knee.
Foxfire. Round 2-3.Bold may act.
Blue (dazzled, -21 hp; <50%) (Concealed: flat check DC 6)
Ephraim (53/53)
>Mr. Splinters (15/15)
Clover (76/76)
>Snowy (48/48)
Red (-8 hp)
Chani (33/58) (reaction available)
Rulean (49/58)
Song-of-Air (51/51)
The glowing orange will-o'-wisp floats around Rulean in order to discharge its electricity at Chani.
"Ow!" Chani howls. "Mrr. Wait your turn," he mumbles as he ignores the one wisp to focus on his target.
Chani swings a couple of times and then steps away from the wisp at his back.
Chani's first swing causes the invisible, glittering orb to appear and fall to the ground as a gelatinous mass. He then devises an antithesis for the remaining wisp.
“Or I suppose you could just kill that one…”
Rulean swings his pick twice at the one still adjacent to him.
Fatal d10
crit, die increase, extra die for fatal
Fatal d10
crit, die increase, extra die for fatal
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“Or I suppose you could just kill that one…”
Chani nods. "It seemed like a reasonable thing to do."
◈
◈
Song shoots twice, and then renews her Inspire Courage spell.
The iruxi swings his pick into the spongy, glowing ball and takes away chunks of gelatinous goo with each strike. The will-o'-wisp's light begins to fade, and Song-of-Air plants two arrows into the mass.
Barely glowing and wobbling unsteadily in the air, Clover, Snowy, and Ephie are able to make short work of the creature.
While those not busy tending to the wounded or having their wounds tended return to searching the larger island, the day wears on toward dinner time. You find nothing within the ruins of the old building, but the halfling skeleton bears a few valuable trinkets, which you are able to identify.
Beckoning cat amulet
Potion of Invisiblity
14 gp
Once the talisman and the potion are identified--Rulean determines that the potion is the source of the illusion aura he was sensing--Rulean wanders a bit more and discovers another magical aura, evocation, that must be somewhere on the smaller island where the will-o'-wisps were hiding. It is not in the quicksand as that would certainly block the divination.
Chani watches, mildly impressed, as the other people in the group pile attacks onto the remaining wisp and bring it down in seconds. "Hrrrm. Yes. Much better than fighting such things alone." He puts his weapon and amulet away and looks at his burns from the electric shocks. "Alone, I would have had to run and hope to not encounter something else while injured. Things have been strange in this land for many days now." He finds a place to sit on the larger island and begins tending to his burns. "That is why I needed more supplies in the first place."
It was effortless!
"We are grateful to have you with us. Those things were unpleasant." Song kicks some of the gelatinous goo out of her way. "Where to next?"
“Past that quicksand I detected some more magic.” Rulean says.
Rulean then goes across the log again and maneuvers to a position where he can jump across.
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Chani finishes patching everyone up and nods at Rulean. "Sounds good. The water should be reasonably safe to swim in. And the sections of the island with plants should be more stable to walk on. At least, I would expect so. We might still want to use rope to help pull people out of danger though."
"Yeah, rope's never a bad idea when there's quicksand around," Clover agrees. She takes a moment to shrug off her pack and dig out the rope she keeps on hand. "Here, I can toss it across to you if you wanna tie it around your waist," she calls to Rulean once he makes the jump across.
Rulean leaps to the other side of the small island where the ground is more stable. Clover tosses him a rope in case something untoward happens. Looking around, Rulean finds an amulet lodged in between tangled tree roots and covered in grime. Prizing it free and wiping it off, he reveals a brass housing with tiny brass wings. In the center of the housing is a translucent spindle-shaped gem affixed in such a way to give the impression of an open eye.
Meanwhile, some of the others crack the skeleton's hand open to free the rolled parchment. This turns out to be a map. On the map, the tiny island Rulean is standing on is circled and the words, St. Alkitarem's Eye? The map also shows a small keep on the east side of the hills just past where you can see through the trees.
Ephie is able to discern that the gem is an aeon stone and that the amulet allows one to gain the benefits of that specific aeon stone as well as the resonant power. He does not think it would work with any other aeon stone, even another of the same type.
Chani pries the map from the hands of the skeleton. "You don't need this any more, do you?"
Looking at it, he realizes that it is a map of this very area. He reads the writing on it. "Does 'St. Alkitarem's Eye' mean anything to any of you?" he asks the rest of the group as he pulls a card from his pocket.
Rulean returns. When Chani asks about St. Alkitarem’s Eye, Rulean snows them the gem still in the housing and says “This sort of looks like an eye.”
Gesturing to the map, he says “Given the map, I distrust it being coincidence.”
Rulean returns. When Chani asks about St. Alkitarem’s Eye, Rulean snows them the gem still in the housing and says “This sort of looks like an eye.”
"It does," Chani responds while looking curiously at the amulet Rulean is holding. "We have been finding amulets very quickly around here." He considers for a moment. "I think I prefer my own though."
"'St. Alkitarem's Eye'? Hrm..."
Clover gives it a think but it sounds church-y and formal and mysterious and she's never been too interested in such things.
"Also, a keep? I don't remember anyone mentioning there being a keep out here. Wonder if anyone lives there? Maybe we should go over and say hello, like good neighbors," she jokes, though only partly.
It is close to dinner time. You should decide whether to explore more or return to camp and continue later.
Looking at the housing Rulean says “Looking at it again, wonder if it is supposed to be the Eye of Aroden?”
“I’m in favor of returning to camp for the night.”
Looking to Ephraim, Rulean asks “How long does it take to move runes around on weapons? We really should do that soon.”
"Maybe we should go over and say hello, like good neighbors,"
"Meeting neighbors would be good. Though perhaps not by interrupting them at night."
"Ooh yeah, good point," Clover agrees as she squints up at the late afternoon sun. "And it'd be dangerous to stomp around out here after sunset, especially now that we know there's quicksand in places. Let's head back for now."
She glances over at Rulean. "The Eye of Aroden? That's...that's odd, if that's really the case. Or maybe just a weird coincidence?"
"This was Aroden's isle," Song shrugs. "We've found other Aroden relics around here. It would not be surprising to find more. Let's head back for dinner and explore tomorrow."
Not needing to eat would make my days much more efficient.
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YES EPHIE… YOU DO NOT WANT TO EAT. DO NOT WANT TO DRINK. MORE AND MORE LIKE A MANNEQUIN AS THE DAYS GO BY.
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"You'd still want to sleep though - but sleep is *great* so that's no big loss," Clover remarks, giving Mr. Splinters a bit of side-eye.
Might want to sleep with one eye open, though.
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You return to the camp for dinner and take care of various menial tasks.
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Ephie gets to work, etching delicate runes on Clover, Chani, Rulean, and Song's weapons.
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Ephie spends the evening in the wagon, transcribing scrolls into his spellbook…
CANTRIPS
Detect Magic
Electric Arc
Light
Ray of Frost
Shield
Telekinetic Projectile
LEVEL 1
Jump (1/1)
Magic Missile (1/1)
True Strike (1/1)
LEVEL 2
Glitterdust (0/1)
Scorching Ray (1/1)
Dispel magic (1/1)
LEVEL 3
Sudden Bolt (1/1)
Haste (1/1)
DRAIN
Level 1: 1/1
Level 2: 1/1
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Ephie also purchases and scribes grease and acid arrow into his book.
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In the morning, Chani watches Ephriam etching runes on people's weapons. "That is remarkably detailed work. Does the rune say anything, or is it just abstract?"
He spends the rest of the time while Ephie works trying to figure out a way to load his new crossbow while his hands are full. So far it is not successful and he ends up dropping either the cards, the amulet, or the crossbow bolt on a regular basis.
Later he finds Song-of-Air. "What can I do to help around the grounds today? Clover mentioned rocks and brambles that needed removed so that we have more space for tents and booths. Or are we instead heading back out to the ruins for more investigations?"
"I don't wanna move rocks. Let the other circus people do some of the boring stuff. I wanna explore ruins, even if I have to do it with that creepy doll..." Oolong peers sidelong at Mr. Splinters.