You manage to make your way through, over, or around the dangerous plants with relative ease--you can hear other Pathfinders struggling in other parts of the forest--and press forward.
"Lead way, Siva! Our allies are need of liberation!"
Crafty spies vents in the ground, which he knows are likely to be spewing poisonous fumes that are difficult to see. Siva whines as she smells the gas and dashes through the deadly, barely visible clouds as fast as she can carry her goblin rider, managing to get through the danger without succumbing.
The path exits onto a broad cliff sporadically dotted with trees and boulders fallen from above. As you begin to cross, wild winds suddenly pick up, and the gusts threaten to toss you from the ledge.
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Niklaas does his best to avoid the poisonous vents and better understand the nature of the stuff… as well as its potential to be harvested for his own, personal poisons later…
Then, catching up with the party as they begin to cross the cliff side, Niklaas slips into the shadows along the fallen boulders and trees – trying to make himself scarce…
Niklaas' nose and lungs sting a bit from the exposure, but with his companions help he manages to escape the worst of the poison gasses.
The winds batter him around, but he manages to avoid being blown off the ledge or into anything especially sharp. Kyra grips her symbol of Sarenae in one hand and places the other on her helmet as she marches into the wind. If you didn't know better, by the way she is wavering across the ledge, you might think she was drunk .
Not ones for subtlety, Klatzu and Siva brace themselves against the wind and attempt to brave it through their own might.
You all make it down the ledge to the forest below, though you do hear the sound of a gnome being blasted painfully into a pair of jagged boulders several yards behind you. Continuing onwards, you are interrupted by a rustling in the leaves.
Khoumrock Blackthane emerges covered from head to toe in leaves and bits of vine. “It appears that the Thorned Monarch has got the plants on their side. I just took out several, but watch out for more. They’re easy to miss until they’re trying to bite your head off. And bite they do! Watch your step!”
You move forward, ready for trouble. Some of you think that you can make out a giant flytrap at the base of a dead tree in the next copse. While you begin to form the words of warning in your mind, the dead tree uproots itself and charges forwards with supernatural speed. A scythe-like limb sweeps toward Klatzu, but the goblin blocks it with his shield . He is not expecting the backswing, however, which slices him painfully across his back. A second scythe-shaped branch swings down from above, but Klatzu once again blocks this with his shield.
Kyra calls upon Sarenrae and heals the wound across the goblin's back, leaving pristine skin and no pain. She cannot, however, think of anything important to say about the plants.
Encounter! Round 1. Bold may act.
Scythe Tree
Niklaas
Crafty
Klatzu
Kyra
Giant Flytrap
Crafty is not familiar with the horror that is trying to decapitate Klatzu, but he knows the flytraps are weak against fire.
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“Whelp Cheryl…” Niklaas hisses at the cold-iron rapier in his hand, “Don’t know quite ‘ow ta say this, but I’m thinkin’ I’ll need yer sista’ fer this one… Nothin’ personnel, kid…”
Dropping Cheryl, Niklaas draws Shirley, smirking to himself, “Nothin’ quite like tha tried an’ true… Ya ready, baby? ‘Cause it’s showtime, doll!”
Ducking under the massive tree’s scything limbs, Niklaas dives into position to capitalize on Scrappy and Rosebud’s distraction – striking out with his rapier at the arboreal’s exposed… bark…?
"LET'S SEE IF YA BARK'S WORSE THAN YER BITE, BIRCH!"
Flame jumps at Crafty's order and bites the tree!
RRRRRRRrrrrrroar!
+
Siva carries Klatzu around to the other side of the scythe tree and bites at the bark. The wolf comes away with a mouthful of bark . The champion of Milani brings his sword against the tree and hacks deeply into it .
Niklaas finds that the scythe tree's bark is far from exposed and quite tough. The goblin is making him look bad.
At his master's command, Flame pounces upon the tree and tries to sink his fangs through the bark. He too finds a mouth full of bark, but the heat from his alchemical alterations flares in contact with the wood .
The flytrap uproots itself and moves towards the source of the vibrations. It sends all of its snapping leaves toward Flame. The leopard escapes with a few cuts and burns from the acidic sap.
The leafless tree begins to twist and spin, sending sickle-shaped branches this way and that. Klatzu blocks most but not all of the branch that comes for him . Siva sidesteps just in time. Niklaas ducks a little as the branch swings well over his head.
"You asked for fire?" Kyra says and strides to get a good view of the flytrap. "Feel the power of the sun!"
The fire lances from her hand and strikes the giant flytrap. It erupts in a powerful conflagration that continues to burn after Kyra lowers her arm . You can see the silhouette of the plant moving within the fire. Somehow. Probably not for long.
Encounter! Round 2. Bold may act.
Scythe Tree (-31 hp)
Niklaas
Crafty (Flame 31/42 hp)
Klatzu (85/88 hp) (shield -3 hp)
Kyra
Giant Flytrap (-48 hp; burning 9)
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“Come on, Shirley!” Niklaas shouted at his rapier after his first abysmal attempt to scratch the scything tree, “Ya makin’ us look bad!”
Then to the tree he added, “THAT ALL YA GOT, DOGWOOD? YA SURE LOOK LIKE A TREE, BUT I THINK YA MIGHT BE A PANSY INSTEAD! I’LL HACK YA DOWN TO SIZE YET!” Seeing the effect of the goblin scrap heap on the giant tree, Niklaas decided that instead of stabbing, it was time to start hacking.
With that in mind, he continued his assault...
Niklaas hacks at the tree with his rapier. The first swing takes out a sizable chunk . He leaves himself open as he comes in for another whack, and a branch swings down and entangles the blade momentarily . The blade is nearly knocked loose in his grasp, but he holds onto it just barely .
Klatzu hacks away at the carnivorous tree, but only the first strike seems to do any damage . Siva worries the bark but cannot manage to pull off a meaningful amount of bark .
Encounter! Round 2. Bold may act.
Scythe Tree (-68 hp)
Niklaas
Crafty (Flame 31/42 hp)
Klatzu (85/88 hp) (shield -3 hp)
Kyra
Giant Flytrap (-48 hp; burning 9)
Flame steps and bites the giant plant.
RRRrrrr
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The flames blazing around the dying flytrap are so bright that both druid and companion miss the mark with their attacks. Then a giant pair of flytrap lobes, charred and smoldering, lunges from within the fire and snatches Flame and pulls him into the conflagration where it swallows the cat whole.
And then the flytrap shambles a few yards towards Kyra, and then it collapses in a burning heap--with the flaming leopard trapped inside.
The scythe tree continues its dangerous dance of sickle branches. A massive branch comes down at Klatzu and tears open his shoulder. The second branch ricochets off of the first branch and then swings towards Niklaas who deflects it with his shield .
Encounter! Round 3. Bold may act.
Scythe Tree (-68 hp)
Niklaas
Crafty (Flame 14/42 hp; flat-footed, immobilized, slowed 1, holding breath [rupture with enough piercing or slashing damage or, because the fly trap is dead, external help can perform a 3-action rescue])
Klatzu (39/88 hp) (shield -3 hp)
Kyra
[dice=Fire Damages (if it applies)]1d4
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Upon finally dealing considerable damage, Niklaas rasped, “’OW DO YA LIKE ME NOW, BIRCH?!?!”
-And after the goblin’s impressive hit, Niklaas realized suddenly - Dang; I need ta step up my one-lina's. That walkin' trash heap's gettin' tha betta' a' me...
Yelling back over the writhing tree and the blazing bonfire where once a flytrap stood, he then rasped, “NONE TOO SHABBY, SCRAPPY! YA KNOW? ME AN SHIRLEY ‘ERE LIKE LIBERATIN’ THINGZ TOO! WATCH AS WE LIBERATE DIS’ OL’ LOG’S LIMBS FROM IT’S TRUNK!”
Yeeeeah - still got it.
Flames flare from between the flytrap's toothy leaves, and the plant collapses to the ground. The burning flames consume the plant. The leopard rises out of the ashes like a phoenix and shakes them off his coat, slightly less injured that it was a moment ago.
Siva carries Klatzu around the tree, and the goblin strikes hard against the trunk. Wood chips scatter across the clearing with every backswing. The scythe tree still stands, though, until Niklaas hacks into it from behind. Then the tree simply sags and stops moving. Dark sap seeps from every cut in the wood.
End Encounter!
Niklaas
Crafty (Flame 19/42 hp
Klatzu (47/88 hp) (shield -41 hp)
Kyra
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“HAH! ’OW YA LIKE ME NOW, YA OVERGROWN PILE A’ TINDA’TWIGS?!” Niklaas cackled as he planted his foot on the tree’s backside and wrenched Shirley free of the now-lifeless bark.
Glancing over in the direction of the flytrap’s ashes, Niklaas grinned maliciously, “-An’ speakin’ a tinda’twigs, looks like that flytrap went up in smoke! Heh heh heh…” Giving the flaming kitty an off-the-cuff salute, he added, “Nice one, Burnie!”
Kyra refocuses while tending to Klatzu's wounds with mundane care first.
Niklaas
Crafty
Klatzu (61/88 hp) (shield -41 hp)
Kyra
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Khoumrock Blackthane sits on a rock, looking thoughtfully into the trees. “I could swear that I just heard a talking lizard. Can you go and check it out?”
You follow a stream in the direction Blackthane indicated. The terrain gets rather rocky and hilly, and you move into a shallow valley. Over the top of a hill on the opposite side of the stream crawls a thirty foot long orange and yellow-scaled lizard. It perks up when it spies you, and then two green and purple striped chameleons the size of horses slowly creep into view.
"Tazama! Tuna nini hapa? Umepotea?" the orange lizard suddenly calls down to you.
"Ha!" it suddenly bursts out in a coarse laugh after waiting a few moments for you to answer. "These warm blooded miscreants can't even speak a civilized language. I'm surprised they've figured out how to walk on two legs!" The irony that it is currently walking on four legs is apparently lost on it.
The giant chameleons turn to look at the orange lizard and nod their heads repeatedly. You notice that they continue to bob their heads while looking down at you with disconjugate eyes. You suspect that these slightly smaller lizards are less agreeing with the talking lizard and more moving their heads as a matter of nature.
"What are you doing cat? Wolf? Is that a wolf? No self-respecting wolf I know would let someone ride him!"
Social Encounter! Round 1.
Crafty
Klatzu
Niklaas
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I'm humbled by the presence of a talking Giant Lizard. As a servant of Nature, I usually speaks the language of animals. In my long life, I've never had the chance to talk to a creature such as you.
I'm Crafty, and this the elf points at Flame Is Flame, my friend and companion.
He was the victims of some alchemical experiment but I've save him from his tormentors and bring him with me.
Anyway, we are fighting the forces of Qxal, a powerful beeing of the First World that want only to conquer and destroy the ones who disobey.
If it is of interest of you, I would like that you join us in our quest against Qxal.
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"Bold of you to call Klatzu uncivilized when you the ones misgendering Siva!" Klatzu folds his arms briefly, righting himself in the saddle to look more directly at the lizards. "You are not first scaled ones Klatzu meet that talk. Klatzu name is Klatzu, and Siva name is Siva. We come to stop the tyranny of Qxal before it spread. We have seen the destruction his reign has wrought elsewhere and seek stop it from occurring here. Have you names?"
"Hmph. What do I know of mammalian reproductive parts? She was so big and strong, I figured she was a male of her species," the lizard comments, apparently impressed. "My name is--" The lizard opens an enormous and boldly colored frill around his head and hisses in some sort of pattern. It is clearly not a verbal language, but Crafty gets the sense that you are supposed to be impressed by his grand "name."
"I have not been having any problem with Qxal." The frilled lizard shifts to affect a bored demeanor. "In fact, things were rather peaceful until you--what are you?--whatever you are showed up and started raining lightning from the skies, setting things on fire, and generally scaring away out prey."
Social Encounter! Round 1.
Crafty
Klatzu
Niklaas
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Listening to the overly pompous set of lizard-skin boots, Niklaas rolled his ivory eyes, “Everyone’s a critic – even tha freakin’ fauna!”
Normally, I wouldn’t think twice ‘bout skinnin’ dis liza’d’s hide… but Jaldan might get upset if she ‘ears ‘bout it, soooooo…
“’Ight, so I take it ya don’t really care ‘bout what ‘appens ta anyone else – jus’ so long as you get yers; am I right, Scaly?” Niklaas paused for the briefest of moments, then shrugged, “Whelp, I can kinda sympathize with ya there – but ‘ere’s tha tick. We didn’t pick dis fight. Yer pal Qxal wiped out a city a’ our allies an’ forced our hands! An’ ya know what else? He don’t look likely ta start playin’ nice anytime soon neitha’. So, if’n ya want peace an’ quiet with that royal a-hole ‘round, I’m bettin’ ya gonna be out of luck. Cause even if we weren’t ‘ere ta take tha fight ta that looza’ – it’d only be a matta’ a’ time ‘til Qxie ticked off some otha’ superpowa’ an’ got ‘em up in arms too! All in all, guess what I’m sayin’ is dis – as long as Qxal’s around, you can kiss yer peace and quiet goodbye. So ya might as well get on board, or get outta tha way; ‘cause we’re tha Pathfinda’ Society, an’ we’re doin’ you lot a solid by takin’ this Monarch down now!”
"Is he even speaking a language?" the frilled lizard asks Crafty after Niklaas makes his canted spiel. "I mean, I understood the part where he mistook my lack of empathy for you all to mean that I don't care about anyone. And I think he's trying to say something similar to what you said. But the rest in between? Jibberish!"
He turns one of his eyes towards Klatzu and blinks.
Social Encounter. Round 2.
Crafty
Klatzu
Niklaas
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At the lizard’s words, Niklaas grumbled some choice curses under his breath.
Once he'd finally gotten that out of his system, he shrugged,“Jibberish, eh? Well, ‘ow ‘bout I communicate with a language that's universal?!”
Thus saying, Niklaas took a deep breath in – then blew his best raspberry in the lizards’ directions.
“Did’ja get all that Scaly – er would’ja like me ta repeat it fer ya?”
"No. I believe I underst--"
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Crafty ponders before continuing You know Great Crafy repeat the "name" that the lizard gave them, using the same sonority I understand that you are wary of us. but believe me, I've met the Bothaneese and heard the story of Qxal. At first, they believed they were safe, until she start plundering their home, sending their agents to take what was their.
Yes, we are the actual intruders, because we are looking for her and her minions before it's too late.
Before your friends will become her slaves, before your pond will become her pond and then, despite your power and your wits, you will become her toy for eternity...
"Ah, yes, I hear you," the giant frilled lizard replies to Crafty. "Sorry. I was distracted by the funny man."
The chameleons extend their tongues and undulate them in mimicry of Niklaas. It appears he has stumbled upon a language he did not know existed.
"What you say makes sense. We shall let you pass while we consider how willing we are to commit ourselves to this cause."
Later on, Calisro Benarry offers a flask from her coat pocket. “How you holding up, Pathfinders? Anyone need a little nip?”
She takes a swig. [b]“There are some real green agents on this mission. I don’t think they even know which end of a spyglass to look through. I just saw a group head that way looking like lost puppies. Can you make sure they’re not getting themselves into trouble?”