The little Tiefling squirms to get loose!
And then takes advantage of the flank!
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;
And scores a hit!
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Annoyed at its headache, and its maw now available, the creature takes a fresh bite out of Trig!
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Seemingly satisfied at the destruction it has wrought, the beast carefully loops around the armed Tengu and pounces at the lizardfolk!
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Otova
Quetzhal
Chupko
Trig
Mutaq
???
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"You should never grab someone without consent." advises the tiefling. Watching the gnome fall, he shakes his head. "Of all the issues with the slow ones...let be remembered, he died doing what he loved! He died making a halfling great!"
"If you'd stop running away, this would be over already." he growls, chasing down the beast. In his haste, he fails to plant his feet prior to swinging his tail at the foe.
for
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Mutaq winces as the team's healer is downed, but lacks the means to assist directly. Instead he turns to pursue the wereporcupine and attempt to finish it off, thankful that Trig's spell remains upon his sword despite the gnome's fall. Once the creature's attention is drawn by Otova, Mutaq moves in with a swift pair of stabs.
Chupko was SURE that strike would be successful, but alas, the creature dodges at the last moment.
Leaving it open to Mutaq slashing a big gouge in its shoulder.
Not content to leave someone uninjured, the beast steps away from the melee twice, then pounces at the lizardfolk.
;
;
Otova
Quetzhal
Chupko
Trig
Mutaq
???
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Trig pops back up with a splitting headache and side ache and leg ache and well, everything hurts. "Good Lord Nethys, that hurt!"
He stands up, tries to blast the creature twice with a pointy icicle and then retreats to a safe(r) distance.
for (crit doubles damage and slows speeds by 10 for 1 round)
for (crit doubles damage and slows speeds by 10 for 1 round)
Chupko's witty repartee does indeed confuse the spiky creature, leaving it open to a very fanciful and elaborate finishing move.
Otova
Quetzhal
Chupko
Trig
Mutaq
Searching the rest of the grove you find THREE more pitfalls , and the desiccated remains of several forest creatures.
Once you return to Farmer Wilhuff with news of your victory the deeply grateful farmer thanks you for your work and provides you each with the promised reward . He goes on to say that one of the alpacas was recently discovered to be pregnant, with Majesty being the father! Wilhuff asks if any of you would be willing to name the soon-to-be-born alpaca?
The farmer scratches the back of his head. "Chupa-Chups, eh? Must be a Tengu name? Alright! 'Chupa-Chups' it is! Makes right sense to name it after the hero who struck the final blow on that wereporcupine! Thank you all for your help!"
Back in Petitioner’s Port, Administrator Salayah and the villagers express their extreme gratitude for saving their economy and livelihoods from the bloodsucking menace. To commemorate your victory, the town establishes an annual Petitioner’s Port Porcupine Hunt in your honor so that the ravages of these foul beasts are never forgotten!
Your next lead takes you near the Atteran Ranches, a loose confederacy of horse breeders and trainers in the northern plains of Nidal. Among the largest of these settlements is Rannan’s Ranch, a village built around the homestead of Rannan Atteran. After finding your way to the town square you arrive just in time to observe a short human man wearing riding leathers, hammering a piece of parchment onto the village messageboard:
RANCHERS AND FARMHANDS, BEWARE!
Several people have gone missing over the last month, leaving their possessions behind. Locals believe a rampaging monster to be responsible: a haunted scarecrow that roams the fields. Travel in groups, don’t tarry in dangerous places, and keep your children under constant watch until the creature responsible is found and slain.
Anyone who finds the missing people or kills the beast will get a half-share of profits from the sale of my finest steed when it’s taken to market at the end of the month, or food and supplies of equal value. If you can’t leave the ranch without putting your family at risk, don’t pursue!
—Rannan
After posting the notice, he lingers nearby, speaking solemnly with a handful of villagers.
Mutaq knows the Atteran Ranches act subservient to Nidal’s leadership and the deity Zon-Kuthon, but many shelter secret followers of Desna, known as "Dreamers".
Additionally, Mutaq also remembers that Kuthite priests and mercenary “dream hunters” take perverse pleasure in rooting out these dissidents.
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Trig's sharp eyebrows raise when he hears about the crusade against Desnans, "Well I'm glad none of us worship her. Let's get this thing done and split."
Today he's dressed in a somber affair. Mostly black with random little white wound-stitched-closed patterns all over it. Perhaps he is feeling a bit more somber with how much injury the group took last mission.
"And let's try not to let it eat us this time. All ready to track this thing down?"
The druid approaches the man who just fixed the bounty.
Excuse me but can you please tell us more about the missing people? Who are they? Where did they disappeared? When did they disappeared?
We could help...
The man looks up, "Ah! Yeah! Well, see, I just returned from a trip to another ranch, so I don't know much, but I'll tell ya what I heard. In the last two weeks, four villagers have gone missing: a rancher named Nema; Lieraka and Maredine, a married couple who were abducted from their homes overnight; and Etendon, a halfling farmer who was taken while working in a pasture just yesterday!
Probably should talk to Teflar. She's the local priestess of Zon Kuthon, and she's taken charge of searching for the missing people. If ya don't know, Zon-Kuthon is the deity of these parts, so step carefully around here. Outsiders always get a bit of a scrutinizing eye. Anyways, you can most likely find Teflar tending the nearby shrine to the Midnight Lord. Might also want to check with the families of the missing people, too."
Finding the modest shrine to Zon Kuthon is not difficult, and the priestess Teflar easily stands out among the few patrons packing up from their morning flagellations. When you are alone, she gets right to the point.
"A scarecrow? Hahaaha! Oh that is precious. NO. That is a rural legend grown wild! I suspect my former acolyte—a young woman named Kareida—is responsible for the disappearances. I sent Kareida away a month ago because her faith simply wasn’t up to the Midnight Lord's standards. Can you believe she cut back on her own whippings? Pfft. She set a poor example for the village youth! No. I fear Kareida's cowardice has turned into vengeance. That is simply the only plausible explanation."
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Trig feels a bit of a lustful pang, "Oh wow, I absolutely love your look, bravo!"
She definitely has her own style, though I doubt I'd enjoy a relationship, pain hurts too much!
Another through crosses his mind.
She's probably into were-porcupines anyway.
He puts his finger to his lips and adds a question, "Is your acolyte also dressed in a similar manner?"
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Never having talked to a Kuthite cleric before, it takes Mutaq a minute to get over Teflar's appearance and demeanor and think of something to say.
"What leads to believe Kareida is responsible, if I may ask?" he eventually tries. "Is your conclusion based simply on your assessment of her personality, or have the recent abductions included specific evidence of her involvement?"
"What does she look like?"
"Shorter than I.. Perhaps five-and-a-half feet? Nidalese, of course, so pallid skin and silvery blonde hair. Blue eyes. And an incompetent err about her."
"Any clue as to where she would have gone?"
"I suspect either the nearby hills, although the entire region would take weeks to search thoroughly, or hiding out in one of the nearby ranches."
"Is your acolyte also dressed in a similar manner?"
"I ripped off her garments the day I sent her away! As well as her skull chain," she shows off the religious symbol of Zon Kuthon, "but she probably still has her ritual spiked chain and mace."
"What leads to believe Kareida is responsible, if I may ask?"
"Simple. It's what I would do! And I trained her. She is nothing without me to guide her."
"Is your conclusion based simply on your assessment of her personality, or have the recent abductions included specific evidence of her involvement?"
"I am sure it is her, but I can't very well go door to door investigating," she waves her hand dismissively. "That is what I need you for."
Of course! This fellow will pay her forfeiture by her death, except if she surrender. But they don't surrender often.
Teflar nods approvingly, with the evilest of grins.
The infirmary is little more than a stalled barn with a circular paddock. A sole human man dressed in black with skulls and chains embroidered in white is busy trying to wrangle one of the region's famed Nidarrmar stallions into a sling. The horse appears lame, and is clearly in pain, and is putting up more of a fight than the man seems capable of handling on his own. When you try to get his attention, he ignores you.
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"Right! So we are looking for a tall, pale-skinned, blue-eyed, naked woman." sums up Otova, jotting down a few notes.
"Thank you for your time miss. We's gonna check in a few other clues on the way, but we'll let you know if...err...when we find your naked companion."
"Oh, looks like you're having some issues there." calls out the small man, confidently approaching the horse.
"Allow me to help. You see....ya gotta plant your feet like so and...SHOVE!"
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Mutaq strides up to the man and attempts to shake his hand. "You're Hektril, I presume? We are terribly sorry about the disappearance of your spouse, and we are doing everything in our power to find the cause of these vanishings and return those who are missing. Is there anything you can tell us about the circumstances of Nema's disappearance?"
The lizardfolk calms the steed enough for the halfling to shove it into the sling, and Hektril secures it in place before turning to address you.
"Much obliged. You must be the bounty hunters town's talkin' about. Yeah, I been mighty depressed ever since my wife disappeared. I was with Teflar when it happened. We both started searching for Nema right quick. In fact that's why Dou-Bral here's in the state he's in. Found some tracks of that scarecrow at the base of a drainage line, but Dou-Bral got spooked and rolled an ankle. Hopin' a few days lifting some weight off his feet will give 'im time to heal. Heard the Priestess has been searchin' the hills ever since. Pillar of the community, she is. She'll take care of that monster, I'm sure of it."
"Kareida?!" he spits on the ground. "That two-bit.. broke Teflar's heart that Kareida didn't have the same gumption as the rest of us Kuthites." he gestures to his black and white outfit. "No, Teflar sent her away a while back. Come to think of it.. that was back before this scarecrow started takin' people. Wonder if Kareida was caught first when she left town. Teflar reckoned the creature might be up in them hills, and by golly we found these strange tracks up there, so she must be on to something. But I gotta take care of poor Dou-Bral here. Can't lose my wife and my prize stallion."
Well I think we can go now to Etendon's parents. They live in a farm near it seems.
The Arborshade farm consists of low-cropped fruit trees that provide shelter for shade-loving vegetables such as beetroot, chard, kale and lettuce. A portion of the halfling-owned farm is also dedicated to raising small-sized herd animals such as goats, ponies and sheep. Ernam and Airill Arborshade operate a shed at the entrance to their property where they sell goods direct to consumers.
When you mention the name of their son, Airill's eyes well up with tears and Ernam addresses you, "We noticed Etendon went missing several days ago. We tried looking for him, but we can’t go far because we have two younger children. Avienu and Meira always looked up to Etendon. Free spirit, he is. We're hoping he just got some wanderlust, but it's not like him to disappear this long without leaving a note.
If you want, we can lend you a couple ponies to search around the farm. Cover more ground." And acknowledging that not all of you are small-sized, he adds, "We got a couple horses, too."
Airill bursts into tears when confronted, but Ernam consoles her.
"Well, we didn't want to admit this. Was hopin' you might find something different. But we saw some strange tracks out where Etendon was seen last. Singlepoint. And we think.. It musta been that monster. Please, hunt it down for us. We just hope our boy's still safe."
And, indeed, when you go to the location they describe, you see strange, singlepoint tracks in the dried mud, placed over some of Etendon's tracks.