Beordt brings his sword down again in the hopes of felling the best.
Dacknar spring out of the jungle and strikes the creature fighting with Beordt.
And then fades away again.
Lily continues to try and thrust both her physical and metaphysical horns into the beast.
Real Horns
Real Holes
Pseudo Horns
Pseudo Holes
Her labored breathing has a unusual rattle, as some internal injuries are probably making her panic a bit.
The gearforged mechanisms within Rilkus appear to be in serious need of maintenance and repair. Either that or some sniggering fey managed to magnetize the palm tree that once again draws the iron dwarf's mighty hammer. Gears grind and squeal and there is at least one definite popping of a spring as the silver hammer collides with the heavy trunk of the palm.
Distracted by the cascade of coconuts that come dropping out of Rilkus' favored enemy, Beordt's sword also misses its intended target. On the other side of the beast, Dacknar slips from the jungle shadows and buries his sword deep in the creatures back leg. The limb twitches and goes limp for a moment causing the drake to lurch backward and to the side precariously.
Meanwhile, Toki's magic pops a few blood vessels in the beast's brain causing it to swoon for a disoriented moment. Lilly tries to take advantage, but she swoons from her own injuries and blood loss. Her horns simply glance off the creatures hide, but her holy horns strike true and puncture the beast right in the chest.
Bleeding severely from multiple wounds and now with a badly hurt leg, the first drake opens its jaws and releases another cloud of superheated steam that rolls over Beordt and Dacknar. It then retreats, limping its way back into the depths of the jungle.
Then second drake snaps its jaws at Toki, but it moves just a bit slower because of the bards magic coursing through its beastly brain and the bite misses.
Drake One: 8/68 HP
Drake Two: 44/68 HP
Beordt twists avoiding be brunt of the steam but the smell of wet bear and burning fur cuts the scent of the fray.
Burnt and beyond bloodied the bearfolk staggers centers his balance and then unleashes another slash with his greatsword.
The slash goes wide and there is a long sad roar that lacks the normal grit.
Oh, were you trying to bite me? Toki taunts as he keeps the creature's attention on him!
With a whirr, a click and a definite pop, Rilkus stood up straight. The gearforged raised his hammer and brought it down upon the offending foe. And this time it was not a tree. It would seem that, for the moment, the inner workings were...actually working.
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Wait, it attacked AND Disengaged? I just want to be clear...
The sand shifts slightly beneath his feet and his blow misses by a hairs breath as the beast begins its retreat.
Lily continues to thrash and flail about. Her body covered in snot and blood she continues to bellow and try to gore the offending creature.
Gore
Gore Hole
and her spiritual assistant Minotaur head...
Ghost Gore
Ghost Gore Hole
But her weakness and loss of blood make her desperate actions fruitless.
Youth. Rilkus thought, as he brought his hammer down on the creature once more. So quick to call for aid. He then intoned "Endure. We shall prevail."
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Moving from hiding Dacknar strike fast as a viper.
And jumps back into the darkness of the jungle.
Dacknar slips forward, eyes intent on ending the fleeing drake. Unfortunately, Eshu hears his faithful servants cry for aid and decides to...laugh frivolously and hinder the minotaur and her elf ally just out of little more than pure spite. Trickster god or just malicious $#!^, scholars shall debate the question for as long as there are gods in the heavens above.
But scholarly debates do not keep hungry jungle critters from trying to turn you into lunch. Nor do they keep the vines from tangling in Dacknar's feet as he slips toward the retreating drake. One moment the elf is lurking death ready to make the death strike, the next he is busy spitting sand out of his teeth and trying to pry his blade from the ground where its embedded practically to the hilt.
Meanwhile Lilly is simply too delirious from blood loss and panic to fight back. She attempts to slam her horns into the spine covered drake only to miss once again and slam into another nearby tree already marred by several blows from a certain silvered hammer. The blow against the tree sends sharp pains shooting across Lilly's forehead. This causes the spiritual horns to do little more than flicker and waiver ineffectively in the air over the drake.
The retreating drake tries to cover its retreat. It flexes a set of muscles along its spine and suddenly a pair of quills launch themselves. One at Beordt, one at Dacknar. Both of the two foot long, poison infused quills strike true as the creature continues to flee into the jungle.
The second drake tries again to sink its teeth into the iron flesh of Rilkus, but they are no match for his metal body and they do little more than cause a few scratches before slipping off.
Drake One: 8/68 HP
Drake Two: 23/68 HP
Toki curses, Just focus on this one, chase it off, if we have to! It will think twice before deciding to lunch on us!
The northern raider, hoping to distract the creature and give his companions an opening, moves laterally, trying to keep the drake's attention, Yahhhh! Git, you overgrown skink lizard!
Worse for were Beordt pulls the poisoned quill from himself and slams into the other lizard.
A palpable hit, Beordt! Toki laughs!
Beordt half delerious from poison, rage and injury manages a look over and soft wooping sound.
For a moment Rilkus hesitated. He had been certain that his blow was going to fell the creature and thus had already started to turn away from it. This was, of course, stopped by it’s teeth grinding against him. With it latched on he couldn’t even hit it, for it was too close to get in a good swing. ”Oh bother.” The gearforged said, as the creature tried to chew on him.
Screaming out in pain, Dacknar pulls the two foot long quill stuck in his upper thigh (it hit just a little higher but Dacknar will always claim that it was his upper thigh). Slowly standing he pulls his blade free of the sand and stalks over to the remaining beast to finish it off.
The poison making his head swim he just strikes again.
The first drake slips away into the dense foliage of the jungle. The second once again pushes away Toki's mind altering magic, but too little avail. Beordt charges and brings his oversized sized scimitar around in a sweeping swing that opens a long gash along the creature's side. Rilkus tries to finish the creature off, but once again his aim is off and the hammer misses its intended target.
Recovering from his unfortunate fall, Dacknar spins on his heels toward the remaining drake. This time there is no stopping the elf. He slips beneath the big creature's swiveling head and slams his short sword deep into the drake's chest. Steel pierces flesh and the drake's heart. A second blade merely opens the deadly wound more. The drake manages one last blood filled snort and then falls to the ground dead.
Toki huffs, Well, that's was terrible. How is everyone looking? Are we okay to continue, or to I need to administer some tender care?
The Northman laughs and shoulders his shield, ready to continue...
Rilkus didn't say anything. Rather he stomped over to Dacknar and put a heavy steel hand on the elf's shoulder. The runes within him activated and a gentle golden light seeped out from the joints in his gauntlet and into the elf, healing his wounds completely.
Wordlessly he then repeated the process with Beordt. When finished he intoned "I am spent until I rest once more."
Beordt drops to his knees bobbing dizzily. His eyes light up and take on vibrancy when he receives the healing. He hops back to his feet.
Lily plops to the ground breathing and snorting hard. "Whoever put that thing down... Thank you".
Cure Wounds (2nd Level Slot)
Cure Wounds
"I have a curing spell available for someone, and I'll keep one in reserve".
Cure Wounds
"This hide might be useful. Perhaps worth selling if we can keep it and get it to a tanner."
Toki, seeing that Beordt is intent on salvaging the hide, hunkers down to help his ursine friend.
With Toki's help Beordt carefully takes apart the great lizard's skin the prep work is slow but the end result keeps the skin in more or less one piece. Additionally he cuts the head of the creature free, peels its skin and saves the skull.
Shall we head on then? Anyone have any idea how much further? Toki wipes off his arms, sweat and blood soaking his shirt, I'll have to wash this somewhere...
Beordt and Toki spend the next hour carefully skinning the dead drake. There are a few moments of cursing when both discover the smaller lining of quills on the beast's underbelly that results in a few poked fingers but fortunately nothing deep enough to cause much concern.
Finally, the bearkin removes the head and in doing so discovers where much of the acids and poisons coursing through the drake's body are produced. Unfortunately, he slices through said glands when removing the head, causing the caustic stuff to spill everywhere pitting and damaging his blade as it hisses and pops before soaking into the ground. For a moment the fumes and gases that spew forth from the severed neck, threaten to overwhelm the bearkin, but he's able to persevere. Of course, he now he smells like the overheated, acid filled, stomach contents of a jungle drake, a perfume not usually associated with making friends or influencing folk in a positive way.
Ugh, this is a nasty beast! Toki exclaims.
I want to take a bath! Loki's tuckus! Smell my hands, Beordt! Blechh!
"Not a bad idea."
"You know it is going to take a few days to cure that hide. I don't think we have anything to carry it in with the salt water. So are we making camp for a few days or push on. That hide I don't think will last to long with out being cured and I would hate to see it go to waste." Dacknar offers up.
After seeing the pitted blade. "I am glad you were not using one of my blades. And what in the hells is that smell?"
Toki holds his hands up to Dacknar with a devilish grin, This maybe?
"It is kinda prickly. Most hides you just roll up and get to a good place to cure it. Given the danger about I don't think stopping is a good idea. I will keep it bundled up and hopefully we will reach a good place to cure it or a tanner." He bundles the hide and puts it in the big sack that they had found previously.
"The smell is probably the poison. I was hoping that I could save the gland but it burst."
Rilkus remained at a safe distance. While he could not smell in the traditional sense, the magic that bound him allowed him a sort of experience similar to nausea. He did not care about how long they waited. Time was meaningless. It just mattered that the awful stench be dealt with.
Toki estimates it is only about an hour or so hike back to the shore if you backtrack a bit on your current trail. In general, your path has paralleled the coast occasionally dipping inland around larger hills or swampy wetlands and then returning to the shore. But there is no way to know for sure if the pattern will continue.
Estimating the time remaining on your march is difficult. It didn't look all that far on the frogkin's map, but then travel has been hard and slow and at times you've only made a couple miles of progress in a whole day. Worst case, it could be more than three weeks before you manage to arrive near the settlement, if it is even still there. Best case, maybe a week give or take a day. Both Beordt and Dacknar are pretty certain that by then the hide will be useless if not treated in someway earlier.
"In my opinion the value of the hide, is not worth the time we would need to 'Maybe' Preserve it... and 'Maybe' be able to make something worthwhile out of it. I know I have no skills in forming leather armor. I say we bury it, or leave it for scavengers and proceed towards our goal".
Lily speaks from afar as she has no desire to smell the stench of the hide.
Toki will sing an edda while skinning the beast...
Do you think that we can look for a path forward that brings us closer to the beach? The mountains are there, so I think that maybe we can catch a final beach before we turn inland again?
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Beordt looks at his work and knows its useless. "Well I had not accounted for the smell. Honestly I hoped that we might save the poison but that didn't happen. Oh well. Perhaps the smell will keep some predators at bay. . . . and friends too."
Once he realizes there is not easy way to keep the hide for the trip he drops the skull in his sack and nods to the others. Keeping an eye out for a good place to bathe as the walk.
Once at the shore Beordt dives into the water and cleans himself up as best he can. Figuring even sea water or brackish water will smell better than the smell that has worked into his fur.