Crispin calms down after the latest excitement, looking around thoughtfully. "It's closing in on the evening. Perhaps now would be the time to look for a safe camping site? Rather than stumbling about in the dark I mean."
Mauro replies, "Well Crispin, I'm not to worried about camping sites - we have all these convenient houses to set up in... I'll admit, I'm not sure they're safe, but they are as safe as anyplace we could find, bar getting back aboard the Peregrine. You're right though, that we only have a couple of hours of daylight left. We can't hope to make the march to the extraction point today, not if we want daylight to do it in. Is there anyplace else we should look at around the settlement before we fort up for the night?"
Asher cleans the ichor off his blade and says that they should clear the graveyard before holing up for the night.
Not all of us can see in the dark, and anything afoot in the cemetery is better faced in the light rather than sneaking up on us in the dark.
He sheaths his sword and pulls his bow again.
Besides, where is the fun in putting off to tomorrow what may be the grandest adventure yet?
The party decides to continue onwards to the last point of interest (area 13.)
North of the colony, but well within sight, is a small field. Inundating the meadow is a series of large holes dug in at an angle. Piles of dirt surround each hole. A large copse of trees grows due east of this location.
After spending a bit more time examining the area, you count two dozen or more holes in this area. There are fragments of leathery eggshells in a few of the holes, sized for a Small creature—and one hole that contains a human skeleton bereft of clothing or equipment.
vs DC 18
1 rank +3 trained +1 wis +2 racial +3 Skill Focus
Mauro observes "Those holes in the field are burrows connected with tunnels. "
Horsechopper at the ready, and sense peeled for trouble, Mauro will take a closer look at the skeleton...
vs DC 20
1 rank +3 trained +1 wis +2 racial +3 Skill Focus
Crispin feels there is something amiss, but keeps his streak of not noticing what it is?
Asher looks around carefully and knocks an arrow.
+2 added for aberrations
Eggs and burrows. I hate bugs. Have a care!
"Hmmm, I'm not quite an expert on ankhegs, but they hatch from eggs, don't they?" Brodigan asks, scanning the shells and burrows.
"Oh dear!" Becky squeaks, sounding more like her mother than she would ever admit. "It looks like Talmandor's Bounty may have a second infestation beyond the cockroaches in the food cellar! We may have to organize a bug hunt tomorrow!"
Asher swings out to the side of the group, outside the group of burrows, bow at the ready, covering Mauro.
Mauro, back up a bit if something jumps out!
(+2 is racial now figured in)
Mauro notes some burrowing tunnels connect some of the holes. Brodigan takes note of the eggs. Becky identifies that there may be a bug infestation. People who make the initial perception check would recognize the borrows look similar to those of the anhkeg nymphs. Asher warns Mauro to back up from the skeleton, but as the ranger is finishing his sentence, a large, fully-grown anhkeg surfaces from one of the burrows! Back in the Barracks, the party knew there must be an egg-laying adult somewhere nearby and this looks like the culprit! Like its babies, the ankheg has six legs and drools noxious green ichor from its clacking mandibles.
Round 1
Anhkeg 1
Bold may act.
Crispin flickers for a moment and then steps through a gap in reality to move back.
He throws another Magic missile at the mother monster. Keeping quiet as his voice would be very squeaky if he spoke.
Mauro blanches and then he digs into his occult trick bag and calls upon a necromantic servant : the ground spits forth a skeleton! Which promptly attacks the ankheg... Mauro uses the distraction to step backwards, discarding his horsechopper and drawing his shield...
+2 Str
+2 str
JeVeAnne Cries out, "AARRGGHHH!!!!" in her best effort to sound fierce as she moves forward, but does not move up far enough to engage the creature since she's trying to follow the advice she'd gotten from Asher earlier.
As usual, she adopts her best defensive stance.
Brodigan looks genuinely apologetic as he says, "Sorry, mama," followed by some arcane words and an extended hand from which a blast of arcane force smacks right into the creature.
Asher runs off to the side for a clear shot and shoots at the Ankheg.
Mauro, have it step back to clear our shots!
. Doh!
Hearing Asher call for clear shots, Bey summons a
stirge.
Posh takes a defensive posture in front of Bey.
Becky spouts some more information about ankhegs, using the last bit of her daily bardic magic to improve her allies for this final battle. Then she spreads out, hoping to get a clear shot at the beast with her bow while offering a less concentrated target for the thing's acid attack.
Abeowin's familiar takes a defensive position in front of Abeowin. Anne reminds her allies of the ankheg's weaknesses, supporting them with her wisdom. Crispin summons up raw magical energy and sends a magic missile at the ankheg. Brodigan performs a similar action as Crispin, sending a Force Missile at the ankheg. Abeowin summons a stirge to flank the anhkeg. Mauro uses his occultist powers to raise forth a necromantic servant!
An ancient, charred skeleton pulls itself up from a split in the ground. It's first claw hits, the second misses!
Becky mimics Abeowin's familiar, also choosing to take a defensive stance. Asher shoots an arrow at the ankheg, causing a nasty amount of damage.
Enraged, the mama ankheg scuttles towards Abeowin's eidolon, who'd been the first to "front" on her nest when she'd surfaced, and attempts to bite the creature!
The power of the ankheg's bite is quite terrifying to witness. The ankheg grabs the eidolon in its acid-dripping mandibles. The eidolon makes a noise that can only be attributed to pain. As the ankheg bites down, the eidolon poofs back to its home plane!
Round 2
(back on home plane)
(-18 damage)
Bold may act.
I think mr Necromantic servant gets an AoO, as well as Anne, so...
+2 str +1 Naturalist (maybe, DM's call)
+2 Str
Mauro draw the Azlanti longsword and moves to attack, as does his skeletal servant...
+2 Str + 1 naturalist
+2 str
+4 Str + 1 naturalist+1 enhancement
+4 Str +1 enhancement
Bey moves back 20 ft. to maintain a safe distance. Being upset and pissed now at the ankheg's attack of Posh, He beigins to summon another Stirge
The other stirge moves in from behind for an attack.
and attatches itself on the backof the ankheg and begins to
Anne's face goes from a look of proud delight from hitting the ankheg to borderline terror as she watches it dispatch the eidolon with a single attack. However, she glances at her friends out of the corner of her eye, and resolves herself to be brave to protect them.
She resumes her defensive stance staying up by the beast since she doesn't want to leave Mauro there alone.
Brodigan extends his hand and utters some arcane words as he unleashes his last force missile for the day. Under his breath he mutters, "Gods, if you're listening, keep her safe."
Becky steps back as the ankheg gets dangerously close to her before firing her bow at the thing.
"We've got this!"
for
Asher mutters to himself as he tries to not hit his allies in his desperation to take down the ankheg.
I really need to practice more with the bow. I’ll pinion one of these people sooner or later.
I need a bigger weapon if we keep fighting threats like this.
Anne and Mauro's skeleton both get an attack of opportunity as the ankheg scuttles at Abeowin's eidolon. Anne manages to strike the creature as it passes! Anne resumes her defensive stance after the effective hit. Brodigan casts another force missile on the creature and its mandibles clack in pain! It sways like one last hit might do it in!
Then, Abeowin's celestial stirge attaches its barbed legs to the ankheg and begins to feast on the ankheg's blood! The ankheg sways again, but this time it is unable to catch its balance! It topples onto the ground, dead.
The party looks around but there don't seem to be any ankheg nymphs around. This pitted area seems to be the nest. The handful of unhatched eggs can be destroyed with fire or a blunt weapon.
The skeleton Mauro initially approached can now be examined without threat. A finger on one of the skeleton’s hands still wears a copper-colored ring engraved with arcane symbols. Someone with Spellcraft identifies it as a ring of protection +1, undamaged by the ankheg’s acid.
The investigation of Talmandor's Bounty was hard work, but the party feels stronger from the experience.
From the exploration of Talmandor’s Bounty, you have a sense that the infrastructure of the settlement is completely salvageable. Almost all of the buildings remain structurally sound. The first wave of colonists started construction of a defensive wall and dug two wells, and the plots of farmland need only a little attention and effort to still yield food this year.
The settlement seems to have abandoned for approximately a month. At some point the colonists appeared to turn against each other and evidently abandoned the colony, leaving their settlement and belongings in poor order.
A large group of colonists moving back in will do much to deter future incursions with the wildlife that the party cleared out. Ledgers from the first wave of colonists have little to no mention of the kinds of attacks your group encountered. You realize any effort to relocate the colony would cost so much time that the colonists would face a dangerously lean winter in the months ahead, and many likely wouldn’t survive.
According to the map Ramona Avandth provided you, the distance between Talmandor’s Bounty and the emergency extraction point is only about 9 miles. However, due to the lack of trails or paths, you can guesstimate it’s about a 6-hour hike. Despite the wilderness, the mapped trail doesn't look particularly arduous, as it skirts the coastline and the vegetation isn’t as dense as it becomes farther inland. Saltmarshes will keep the party from directly following the coast and force you all inland on your route.
With a six-hour hike, the party has plenty of time to discuss how you all what to explain what you have discovered to Ramona Avandth. Alternatively, if the party wishes to avoid traveling after sundown, there are plenty of buildings within Talmandor's Bounty (like the Barracks) in which they can rest for the night, a well with potable water, and a firepit. If the party decides to rest now, please establish watches.
Asher looks at the Ring of Protection,and subtly hints he should be the one to get it since he rushed headlong into every encounter.
After all, he's the one that has more brawn than sense. Winks at Mauro
Let's hole up here for the night. One of the barracks will be comfortable and near the well. I'll take first watch.
Mauro sits by the entrance of the barracks (or any other building the group prefers.. maybe house 7, since it has a full wall by it), looking through his supplies.
Who would have thought we would be greeted by mysteries and danger such as these on what was supposed to be a routine expedition?, he days to anyone still outside as he settles in for his watch.
I'll take second watch.Bey says and then promptly falls asleep without eating. He's been overtaxed physically today and the shock of seeing Posh taken out is still with him.
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Brodigan volunteers himself to accompany Asher on first watch so he can get some uninterrupted sleep before waking to prepare his spells for the next day.
Shortly before his watch ends, Brodigan awakens Anne who is on second watch and he quietly tries to instruct his apprentice on the finer points of arcane magic, but she's still not even able to do the simplest of cantrips. "You'll get there one day," he says, a kind smile on his face. "We just need to keep working at it." She smiles, somewhat unconvinced, and as she puts her little spellbook away, she thinks back on the curious turn her life has taken.
She was set. She had her plan. Stay in her nice, quiet home with mom and dad, and make her living from selling her knit goods. When the handsome wizard suddenly crossed her path, everything changed. She was still not entirely sure why it had been so easy to leave everything behind and run off after him. And now here she was investigating a disappearance of settlers and exploring an area occupied by wild beasts and monsters. And fighting them! Oh, if my parents could see their little girl now, she thought, a smile coming to her face. She then looked over to the little summoner in their group. She realized in that moment that he did, in fact, remind her a bit of her own father.
As it was now almost time for her watch to begin, she heated some water, added some leaves from the small bits of rations they had with them, and gave one cup of the brew to Master Brodigan and then greeted Bey with a warm cup of tea as she woke him for their turn on watch.
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Becky offers to take third watch. She sleeps like a contented log. Her dreams are pleasant: She sees herself making a detailed presentation to Ramona Avandth about all the party had found and theorized, earning the expedition leader's thanks and admiration. "Keep it up and I'll make you my second-in-command!" Ramona told her before kissing her affectionately on the cheek.
Becky basked in that dream a bit longer before things shifted, the real world encroaching on her dreamscape. It was night now, and the second expedition was living in the remains of the village. Strange sounds screeched and yowled in the night, but Becky was safe in one of the larger buildings. But something seemed off. There was a creak off in another part of the building, and then a bump. Becky went to investigate and was shocked by what she found: Ramona and her mom, both bound and gagged, apparently at the hands of a grinning monkey goblin standing over the captives. Becky drew her rapier and charged. It was a mistake: More monkey goblins emerged from the room's shadowy corners. One jumped on her back, tearing her magical shirt to pieces in mere seconds. Another grabbed her sword arm, trying to wrest the blade from her. She dodged a tail trying to trip her left foot but then another tail hooked her right and she went down hard, her rapier sliding away into the darkness. Then the little creatures were upon her. There were too many hands, feet, and curling tails to fend off: Her hands were pulled behind her back and bound, as were her ankles. The creatures then gagged her with the remains of her magical shirt. The last thing Becky remembered before waking was meeting the eyes of Ramona and her mother, both so full of disappointment at her.
I liked the first dream better! she thinks as she prepares to take her turn on watch.
"Ok, the barracks. If you're taking first watch Asher, I'll take the dawn watch. Before we settle in, let's take some time to grab some tools from the blacksmith's, and then we can use some of the spare furnishings to barricade the windows and such..."
Sure thing. I don't think Ramona will mind us using some of the furniture to keep ourselves safe.
"Well I do try to stay as far away from fights as I can, but the affray on the boat as we arrived showed that is not always possible." He pauses realizing he's getting longwinded. A bad habit picked up in academic life. "I would like to be given the Ring is that is all right with the rest of you?"
As the others divide the watches Crispin finds a quiet corner and prepares to sleep, Making sure his weapons are ready to be picked up if something dangerous happens. He had read that in an adventure book once.
Bey nods his head at Crispin, by all means take the ring. It's better to have you safe then have to replace you. the halfling says with a macabre humor.
The party decides it will be best to rest in Talmandor's Bounty before making the trek to the Emergency Extraction Point. The Barracks seems like the logical location due to its abundance of beds, nearby well, and location inside the incomplete palisade.
To ensure each individual gets eight hours of sleep, there are five watches, each lasting two hours. The party decides on the following watches: Brodigan on the first watch, Asher for the second, Abeowin and Anne third, Becky on fourth, and Mauro taking the fifth, last watch. Crispin doesn't volunteer to take a watch, but it isn't unlikely that he might wake up sometime during the last watch to keep Mauro company.
Each watch is two hours long. However, because of the party's recent exploration of Talmandor's Bounty, the entire night passes rather uneventfully. Fully-rested and feeling stronger from their investigation, the party is prepared to set off towards the Emergency Extraction Point! It's a pleasant atmosphere, albeit lacking the settlers. Birds chirp, waves lazily lap at the shore, and a gentle breeze rustles the surrounding fauna.
Today is Starday (Sat), 22 Gozran (April) 4717.
As you set off from Talmandor's Bounty, the party is quick to realize why the blacksmith had crafted two Masterwork machetes. Most of the plant life on the island consists of evergreens. Pines and live oaks make up the majority of trees in the inland forests, with palm trees appearing near the coast. Small evergreen shrubs cover the ground along with short palmettos. The plentiful number of pines and live oaks was crucial to the selection of this island as a colony, as palm wood can be used for constructing log cabins, but otherwise is not ideal for building. The pines and moss-covered oaks share space with magnolias and pecan trees, and mango and papaya trees provide fruit to many of the island’s inhabitants.
Anyone who was hired by the Bountiful Venture Company or has Knowledge Nature would know Ancorato (the island you're on) has a humid subtropical climate. The weather on Ancorato is warm to hot in the spring and summer months with cool, rainy winters. Rainfall is plentiful, which minimizes the need for elaborate irrigation of crops. Light showers wash over the island on many afternoons, rarely lasting over an hour. Insects are common, but the site of Talmandor’s Bounty is not particularly swampy, which reduces the risk of disease.
According to the map Ramona Avandth provided you, the distance between Talmandor’s Bounty and the emergency extraction point is only about 9 miles. But due to the lack of trails or paths, it’s going to be about a 6-hour hike. Despite the wilderness, the trip does not seem particularly arduous, as it skirts the coastline and the vegetation isn’t as dense as it becomes farther inland. Saltmarshes keep the party from directly following the coast and force you inland on your trip.
With a six-hour hike, the party has plenty of time to discuss how they want to explain what they discovered to Ramona Avandth.
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"The trouble with our report is that we have more questions than answers?" Crispin sigh in annoyance. "Trouble among the colonists split the colony, but where are they? The creatures we encountered were there to take advantage of the colonists absence, not the cause of their disappearance."
"If we say it is safe to move the new colonists in who's to say they won't disappear the moment the ship is gone?" He pauses and comes to a awful realization. His expression shows just how little he's looking forward to what is to come. "We're going to be sent out to find the cause of the problems aren't we?"
Creatures with the young template are immature specimens of the base creature. You can also use this simple template to easily create a smaller variant of a monster. This template cannot be applied to creatures that increase in power through aging or feeding (such as dragons or barghests) or creatures that are Fine-sized.
Quick Rules: +2 to all Dex-based rolls, –2 to all other rolls, –2 hp/HD.
Rebuild Rules: Size decrease by one category; AC reduce natural armor by –2 (minimum +0); Attacks decrease damage dice by 1 step; Ability Scores – 4 Strength, – 4 Con, +4 size bonus to Dex.
The party makes its way through a lightly wooded area (area b.)
Two young, hungry boars come running towards you snorting and squealing!
Surprise Round
See Survival check.
Round 1
Bold may act.
Crispin is mainly admiring the woods as the party travels along, as his idle glance spots two young boars he finds himself hopping to one side to clear his shot and putting a bolt into the Pink boar before he has even begun to think. "Oh my!" He yelps in surprise at what he's done.
(untrained)
+1 Wis
Mauro's eyes rake at the greenery as he searches for Mama boar...
The twang of Crispin's crossbow is greeted with "That may not have been wise...". Mauro steps forward to meet the expected charge, horsechopper held ready...
1 Bab +4 Str
+6 str (*1.5) +2 champion spirit
it's also probable that I will get an AoO from something moving into/through my reach, so...
As the Boars are seen Bey summons a dog to assist with the battle.
Mauro takes a five-foot step and readies an attack. Abeowin summons a familiar-looking dog. Crispin shoots a bolt from his crossbow deep into the pink young boar! As the pink young boar charges towards Mauro, the occultist is ready and cuts the beast down, dead!
Surprise Round
See Survival check.
Round 1
(-17, dead)
Bold may act.
With one of the boars already down, Becky decides not to initiate her bardic performance. Instead, she steps away from the group a few steps, getting a clear shot at the second boar. before loosing an arrow at the beast.
for