Continuing her performance, Talia steps to the side, hoping that this would put her just out of the beast's reach. Conjuring her last flashbang, she sends her magic once again washing over the momma and her child, a silent plea to Abadar that this time the flashbang sticks and buys them a few seconds.
Portia clambers down some cliff that leads to the top of this mountain. With her shoulders at ground level, she extends a finger and launches a dribble of acid while Wulfgar's sword and bat attack.
While Portia and Wulfgar's attacks land, the wounds they deliver are erased when Wulfgar's channeling heals all living creatures near him. The divine energy brings health and life from celestial realms, restoring a bit of the adventurers' strength. Meanwhile, Talia's attack fails against the massive owlbear but succeeds against its smaller child.
"Another hit like that and I'm as good as dead! Hit it with whatever you've got left, and bring this beast down!"
Tanu's weathered gaze hardens in determination as both he and Nisha open up with everything they have against the owlbear.
Wulfgar starts to topple down the mountainside when he steps onto the slope leading to the crest, but he lurches forward and grabs onto handholds. He manages to not slip farther down the hill than he's already stepped.
Tanu's horse manages to bite the owlbear painfully and forcefully, and the knight's second lunge of the lance pierces the creature's natural defenses. It begins to falter, and when it unleashes all of its might on the knight in front of her, it takes the owlbear three attempts to get through Tanu's defenses. Its jaws and claws are deflected by Tanu's armored protection. Frustrated, it swings its claw a second time and smashes Tanu painfully with a bludgeoning wound -- the Vudrani teeters but remains upright.
"And now you fall, beast! You may be mighty but our powers and the strength of law and order will see you destroyed."
Pavo unleashes with a mighty swing, aiming for the injuries the owlbear has already suffered, from lance, blade, and spell.
to hit, for
to hit, for
Confirmation: to hit, for additional
True to his word, Pavo's two swift and powerful strikes finish off the owlbear mother. She groans, staggers, and falls to her side, bleeding and breathing her last breaths. Her remaining child, blinded to events and badly wounded, makes easy prey for those merciless souls seeking finality.
With the defeat of the mother owlbear, the threat is definitively ended. The party stands atop a high hill in the southwest of the Vale. It is three hours until sunset, and an hour's hike back to the valley floor where the horses remain. Most of the party is badly wounded from their battle with the massive owlbear.
"Are these creatures edible? If we are able, we should take this massive one as a trophy. Such a large and potent monster will make for a good display of our martial prowess."
Pavo steps into the cave area and glances around, looking more for threats than hidden treasure or magic.
"Perhaps one of you more nimble folks can take a look in here? If the eggs are viable we could return with them as well, maybe raise our own force of these monsters."
Pavo levers the smaller corpses off the side of the cliff, after piercing their necks with his dagger to bleed them out.
He addresses Talia, Portia, and Wulfgar, "Do you know how to raise these as unliving allies? If so, this one seems like a great prize for such magics."
Talia's nose wrinkles at Pavo's mention of the undead, the slightest hint of disgust playing across her face. She appreciated the Chelish drive for an orderly society, but their embracing of any tool to do so was often, well, bracing. She decides to ignore the question, but addresses Pavo's others.
"The large beast would make a fantastic trophy, but the time to get it back to the fort... it may be too much. Still, we could build a sled, perhaps, from the skins of the smaller owlbears, and drag it back that way."
"As for the eggs, yes, let's take them. I can explore the nest. Then we'll leave, Wulfgar."
Talia and Pavo head into the sheltered caves at the top of the hill after Wulfgar heals everyone. They find four large eggs, the size of teen children, nestled in a huge straw bed. Each weighs at least 75 pounds and is about three feet across, so Talia finds it difficult to lift more than one of them.
Also in the cave are the remains of several victims of the owlbears. The half-eaten bodies of what look to have been a burly logger, a spindly hermit, and a traveling merchant lie about, along with even older skeletal remains of both humanoid and creature.
Pavo tests his strength against the size of the owlbear remains and finds that he cannot move them. The creature must weigh at least a ton, if not half again more than that!
Talia groans as she sees the eggs, having pictured them much smaller in her mind. "Don't think we'll get those down the cliffside in one piece." Turning her attention to the remains in the nest, Talia holds her breath and starts going through the clothing of the newly dead, and then the skeletal remains left over from previous meals.
”Our horses can carry extra weight, even if it takes us longer to get back by walking. We’ll have to construct something to Cary the giant eggs safely. I can still conjure my Phantom Steed and ride it, if my own pony needs to carry extra weight. And of course, we’ll bring the victims’ clothes back for identification as well as the heads, at least, of the Owlbears.”
Portia Porphyria-Jeggare is mostly interested in searching the remains of the merchant.
And she has Tiamat help her listen out for any signs the Imp is following her around.
Tanu breathes a sigh of relief as the giant beast finally falls. Barely holding upright in the saddle after the vicious onslaught, hurting as he hasn't hurt in some time, he is quite glad when Wulfgar's healing magic flows through him, closing up his wounds. He grins at the suggestion of the salt, saying "I don't mind the lack of scars, comrade. I live to fight another day, is enough."
Tanu will generally leave the looting to the others, keeping watch for any returning owlbears or other hostile creatures instead. He will nod along with Portia's suggestions, though. "Nisha here is pretty strong herself, and I have something that would make her even stronger; I'm sure we can figure something out."
Many of the things once worn or carried by the unfortunate owlbear victims have long since rotted away, but a few items remain intact:
- In a frayed and torn wallet, the merchant carried banknotes and change: seven notes worth fifty gold each, redeemable at any Chelaxian bank, as well as thirty copper pieces and ten silver pieces.
- In the merchant's backpack is a sample brown clay pot of paint. The pigments are rainbow, and appear to be enough to cover about a ten-foot square surface.
- The logger has gripped in his half-rotted hand a handaxe of remarkable preservation and craftsmanship. With a darkwood handle, a gleaming blade, and engravings of a variety of trees down the haft, it was clearly a prized heirloom.
- The hermit's corpse is clad only in the remnants of rags. The only thing of note that can be found on the body is a small black glass bead.
Other than the money and the three small items, there are some personal effects, such as a bracelet or charm, a picture of a loved one, or a damp and half-rotted notebook. The travelers' clothing has all been badly torn, and even the newest corpse is days old.
Pavo pushes at the dead owlbear and stops after realizing it's mass.
"No wonder they hit so hard, it looks like feathers and fluff but underneath this thing is solid muscle. A good challenge, indeed."
He then sets about securing ropes for the descent,looking down the cliff face.
"This seemed less of a sheer drop going up. Oh well, nothing doing but to do it."
Once the others have decided how to transport the eggs and found whatever spoils of combat they can, Pavo sets out to climb down.
climb, with rope
A blanket is large enough to contain two three-foot masses, and Wulfgar's knot is secure enough that the two eggs can be laid across Nisha's back with ease. The horse can take the weight easily, but not a rider at the same time. Not without constantly kicking the eggs, at least.
Meanwhile, Portia feels the telltale signs. Talia's climbing magic expires.
Laying the possessions of the dead in front of her, Talia casts a minor magic that will tell her of any auras or power imbued within their things, and concentrates.
After checking the items, Talia gathers the merchant's money, banknotes, and the personal effects from all the corpses. Thumbing quickly through the notebook to make sure there's no information relevant to their mission, Talia places the personal effects and money in her pack. The money would be divvied later, and the personal effects taken to Fort Thorn for disbursement to the families of the victims, if possible.
Talia detects a magical aura around all three items. The pot of paint is powerful transmutation -- too powerful to identify with any specificity. The handaxe is a logger's tool. It allows its wielder to ignore the hardness of wooden objects and the DR of plant creatures. The bead is a camper's item. When thrown at the ground, it erupts into a campfire, which extinguishes itself and transforms back into a bead after 8 hours.
Hiking back down to the valley floor takes about an hour, a trip punctuated for Wulfgar by frequent falls, bumps, scrapes, and other injuries. Once he and Pavo reach the lower elevation, they make a startling discovery: the horses are not where they were left.
Where the horses were two hours ago, one -- Wulfgar's tough pony -- lies dead. Its leg is broken, and its torso is marred by several stab wounds. The other three horses are missing.
When Pavo and Wulfgar are able to reach the bottom, it is well and truly evening. The sun hovers a few hand's breadths above the horizon, and below the canopy of the forest it is getting dark. Even with horses, Fort Thorn is a four-hour ride. On foot, it's likely to take a day and a half.
Talia nods, giving Wulfgar a slight smile. "Please, Wulfgar. Take everything."
Talia takes her time descending the cliffside, . Once at the bottom and the missing horses are made plain, panic rises in Talia, battling an equally powerful sense of rage. Noleski had been with her for years. Whoever took him would pay. "No point in searching for them in the dark. Let's hunt the thieves in the morning. And extract some blood for your Jenny, Wulfgar."
"I can carry most things without a problem,but I am slowed by my armor over any real distance. I agree with Talia, however. We will not be able to track and chase these horse thieves tonight, in the dark. I could use some assistance with the armor if we're setting up camp. There are a few straps I simply cannot undo on my own,and I'd really rather not cut them."
Twilight, Talia had learned on the trail in the Stolen Lands, was a an optimal time to hunt. With her pack gone with her horse, she'd need food tonight - and so would many of the others. "Get the firebead going, I'll be back soon."
Nocking an arrow, Talia slips into the forest. Birds chitter from the trees, and soon Talia's found a tree dripping with fat, talkative chachalacas settling in for the night. A few well-placed arrows brings six of the large birds down, and some nearby cane-reed can be softened and charred to an edible state over the fire.
Returning to the camp, Talia drops the dinner at Wulfgar's feet, figuring the man is more likely to know how to gut and cook a bird than the others, and then gets to work scrounging underbrush for shelter. She works while the others cook, and well into the night has built a large lean-to close to the fire. It will keep most of them warm and dry this evening. Dirty and exhausted, Talia lays on a bed of leaves and is asleep in a matter of minutes, though her sleep is restless and plagued with worry for her horse.
Tanu gladly gives his blanket over in service of trying to bring some eggs back with them. While Wulfgar ties them up, Tanu quickly straps his lance and shield to secure spots on Nisha. Once Wulfgar has the eggs secure in the blanket, he'll work with Wulfgar to secure the weighty blanket to Tanu's back, using the rope to tie it off. Bit heavier than a backpack, but doable.
Once settled back on Nisha and everyone else is ready, he'll have Nisha start working her way carefully back down the cliff side.
When it came time to establish camp, he would first make sure the campfire was going using his own campfire bead , and he will also plant his lance upright firmly in the ground. He quickly explains "The flag is magic. If planted in the ground like so, it will protect everyone within 30ft of it from extreme temperatures."
Tanu then turns his attention to removing the load from Nisha and himself. He gratefully removes the egg bundle and sets it on the ground, then removes the gear that Nisha carries. He gives her a quick brush down before removing his own armor and gear and setting up his own tent.
"I can take second watch."
After trying different means of securing the eggs to himself and finding that none of them seem to work, Tanu shrugs, gets off his horse, removes his armor, ties up everything on Nisha, and climbs down separately.
The descent doesn't go super smoothly, and he bangs his shin once or twice and gets a couple of scrapes, but he gets down mostly in one piece.
"Thank you for the food, both of you. This is much better than hard tack and jerky. As for the thieves, absolutely we should hunt them down and hang them from the closest tree. Theft, especially horse theft in the woods, cannot be tolerated in a civilized society."
Out of his spiked armor, Pavo seems more human, but his face carries lines from a near permanent frown.
"Hopefully they will lead us to their hideout, and we can eliminate another threat all at once."
The group beds down for the night in a set of lean-tos assembled by Talia, eating some meat also collected by her. With a magical bead capable of fuelless burning for 8 hours, the group is able to have a fairly illuminated camp all night long.
During the night, the crickets chirp nicely. The nighttime noises of the woodland are all that keep the night watchers company.
Pavo spends his time on watch cleaning and oiling his gear, making sure the straps and buckles of his armor remain flexible and rust-free. After he is satisfied with that, he paces a bit to remain alert,halberd in hand and bow standing nearby and ready to grab.
When Wulfgar awakens Tanu, he comes alert quickly, just as he has for many years. Advantage of being a soldier, he was used to this sort of thing. Nisha was already awake, as usual. Horses didn't actually sleep as much as most people assume, and she likes to keep an eye on things. When he shares a watch with her like this, it is usually more her watch and he helps out on occasion.
Tanu gives her a light brushing while they keep a look out, not doing any serious grooming but more keeping his hands busy while keeping watch and thinking. He tried not to do too much of that, as his thoughts inevitably turned to dark thoughts of night watches past. At least he now had people to share the watch with again; it had been just him and Nisha for so long, he had forgotten how nice that felt.
When the two hours had passed, he gave Nisha a loving pat and went to go wake the next person in watch order before returning to bed himself.
Talia rises for last watch, shaking off the cobwebs from yesterday, and begins planning as she sets about quietly setting up breakfast. Leftover chachalaca and the caneroot will be heated over the fire. They will eat quick, and get onto the trail of the horses. Three horses and whoever took them shouldn't be too difficult to track. Of course, they would be outpaced, and there was the chance the thieves may simply be able to put too much distance between them to ever be brought to justice.
Talia scowls at the thought. Horse thieves will get the rope in my lands, she thinks, comforting herself with images of bandits, complete in her imagination with wide-brimmed hats and mask-bands over their eyes, hanging from an imaginary castle's walls.
Nighttime in the mountains of the Bloodsworn Vale is not exactly peaceful, but with a fire and an alert guardsman, no animal is daring enough to try to ambush the group. Whoever messed with the horses don't show their faces, so the night passes by without any significant incident.
In the very early hours of the morning, it begins to rain. Combined with a light breeze and fog, the temperature falls. While it isn't quite frigid, it certainly is chilly and damp as the sun rises. Not only that, but whatever tracks there are to find start to wash away.
You think you could follow these tracks, but you doubt following them would lead you to the horses.
Pavo trudges through the cold rain without complaint, water sheeting off his black painted armor.
"Are we going to be able to find those responsible in these conditions? I will assist as I can, but my skills are not tailored for this task."
"Yes, I imagine so. We mustn't allow such criminals to flourish in this area, and a lack of transportation will hamper our efforts to secure the land. I can walk for all day if necessary,but I am not fast, that if for sure. These bandits have an appointment with a noose, assuming we can take them in one piece."
Pavo turns towards Wulfgar and raises the head of his halberd.
"I suppose it is possible they will surrender when faced with overwhelming force. I do not think it likely, but possible."
While the others eat and prepare spells, Talia uses her magic to boost her nature skills, and sets about looking for where the horses were taken to. She starts at the edge of the scene of the crime, her cloakhood pulled high to ward off the cold rain - to little effect, and Talia's frown deepens, her mood glum.
"Pavo, Wulfgar, look for prints, indentations in the mud, hopefully almost like half-moons. That will be the horses."
It brightens when she finds a hoofprint, and then again a broken tree branch, indicating flight. But then Pavo finds another set of prints, headed in the opposite direction, and Wulfgar yet another headed somewhere else...
And worst of all, a set of bootprints near the fire, from some sort of rough boot, and more that lurked nearby, all three that left to the northeast after Jenny was murdered.
"They didn't take the horses," Talia murmers, standing and wiping some mud from her knee. "They killed Jenny and moved to the northeast. The rest of the horses scattered. We have a choice to make - our horses - maybe only one of them, depending on how quickly the washes the tracks out, or the killers."
Sadness swells in Talia; the smart thing would be to find the killers and replace her horse and gear, but leaving her companion of years to the wilderness was not a welcome thought.
The rain is not extremely heavy, but it is unrelenting. Clothes quickly become wet, and tree branches hang low.
Tanu looks at the various tracks, and at the obvious concern that Talia is showing for her horse. He certainly understood that - if anything had happened to Nisha, he would stop at nothing to get her back. He looks at Talia and asks "Do you think you can tell which set of tracks is Noleski? Barring that, do you think he would be able to make his way back to where we came from?"
He frowns and continues "I don't think tracking down those that did this would be a wise course of action. We have no way of knowing if they are a larger threat or not, but it would certainly take time to even begin to try to find out when we have already known large threats we have to deal with. However, I know how close a bond can be formed with a horse, especially one you've been with a while. If there is any chance of getting them back, I'd think that worth the detour."
Talia examines the tracks. While there are minor differences in the hoofprints, they are not significant enough to accurately tell the difference between the three horses. It would be up to luck which horse was found first, and Talia was right -- the longer it took to find them, the harder it would be, due to the rain.
Regarding traveling back to Fort Thorn: The distance is about 14 miles. Hilly terrain and forested terrain both impede travel, and several of the party members are heavily armored. Travelers should not expect a speed greater than one mile per hour, which means camping in the woods again and facing wild dangers.
"If there is no chance to accurately track these horse thieves, I must agree that we should return to base. We can report our findings and decide on the next objective, and hopefully acquire some more mounts or other transportation going forward."