Grax's weapon slashes some beef off the cow, but the grace of Vildeis protects Nar from the mandibles!
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Graaxyn
Too-tuk
Artemis
Poppa (2)
➤ Zher’myeh
➤ Nar
???
Jakobi
⠀⠀Vengeance
DC 28 (crit success), second success by another PC, or DC 20 as second check after first success:
Zher’myeh hops to it, drawing his rapier and maneuvering alongside Nar while drawing his blade...and chiding Artemis. What, one wasn't enough, you had to bring out more of 'em? Whose side ya on, anyway?
Zher’myeh's blade almost slices off the creature's head but it skitters underfoot at the last moment! Nonetheless, it does some damage. Too-tuk takes his AOO and also hurts it a little.
Nar is up!
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Graaxyn
Too-tuk
Artemis
Poppa (2)
Zher’myeh
➤ Nar
?????
Jakobi
⠀⠀Vengeance
DC 28 (crit success), second success by another PC, or DC 20 as second check after first success:
”You are going to blame me for that? I didn’t touch the cow corpse!”
Nar takes an adjustment step, then digs deep into his blood to produce the innate magic of his kind. A ball of flame appears as he hurls it at the bug!
for
Another giant roach wriggles forth.
It skitters over and attacks Zher’myeh
— but misses.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Graaxyn
➤ Too-tuk
➤ Artemis
Poppa (2)
Zher’myeh
Nar
Momma (3)
➤ Jakobi
⠀⠀➤ Vengeance
DC 28 (crit success), second success by another PC, or DC 20 as second check after first success:
"How many can fit inside that thing‽"
”You are going to blame me for that? I didn’t touch the cow corpse!”
Another giant roach wriggles forth.
2d4
It skitters over and attacks Zher’myeh
And yet they keep coming! Zher'myeh replies. Nothing attacked me until YOU showed up!
Graaxyn strides to protect the toad. He swings his flail at Cockroach #2.
"Get out of our house, Roach!"
He swings again!
He prepares his reaction to protect his allies.
"Are you in the same room I am?" asks Artemis, astounded by Zher'myeh's accusations. "Besides, aren't you a frog? You should love this!"
Artemis then uses his dimensional assault to appear next to Poppa Roach and bite!
He performs a spellstrike against #2 with produce flame
He Steps up and punches Momma #3.
Graaxyn and Artemis destroy poppa roach!! Pieces fly through the air.
Vengeans moves in and tries to bite roach #3! But misses...
"Besides, aren't you a frog? You should love this!"
That's species-ist, Zher'myeh says, shaking his head. You don't hear me commenting on your heritage, do you? Like your mange? or whatever that stuff is?
The last roach falls mid-skitter. All that's left are the grisly remains.
Nar continues his medical investigation of the cow. He discovers it was killed by a blow to the head, probably several days ago.It is obvious the cow was dragged to its current position moments after it died; hence the bloodstains.
If you follow it out back you find a fenced-in pen and marks that make it clear where the cow was killed. You can search the area.
"Hey, look at this, a human tooth... what do you think this implies?"
"That we need to search for a human missing a tooth? What kind of tooth is it?"
"Looks like it's a top left lateral incisor to me... Well, it's a clue anyway." Nar pockets it.
"Let's check this building too before we move on."
Jakobi slides his mask to the top of his head.
"It's not a good sign if humans were chewing on this cow without cooking it first."
Whatever happened here was terrible. After you turn over every nook and cranny for clues (and spend time healing), it becomes apparent that there's nothing more to discover here.
⚰ ⚰ ⚰
You head back out onto the slick road, which descends sharply to the bottom of the valley that cradles Fiorna's Faith.
Thunder booms overhead and the rain comes down in violent sheets. Rivers of mud begin flowing, gathering force at an alarming rate. In minutes the road is essentially washed away — along with sharp branches and bushes — threatening to pull you along with it!
Ah, I'm gettin' too old for this...
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Nar slips in the mud and takes an awful ride downhill but thankfully takes little damage.
Artemis howls as he slides in the mud, but he is able to grab hold of a stable tree limb and prevent his fall. "Too-tuk! Nar! Hang on!"
As Too-Tuk is sliding by, Artemis reaches out with his left hand and grabs the Tengu fighter by the leg as he slides past. "I have you, Too-Tuk! Hang on." He chuckles quietly as he saves the burly bird.
The rush of rain and mud is too much. Jakobi slips and falls!
"Ouch!"
|
Too-tuk feels his leg catch on something as the mud washes him down the slope. He struggles to reach for whatever has caught him until the torrent subsides long enough for him to raise his head out of the water. Sputtering rain water and dirt, he plants his polearm and hoists himself to a standing position once his companion releases his leg. "Too-tuk is thankful Artemis was there to catch him," he says.
Graaxyn whispers a prayer of thanks.
"To die in this miserable way would put an end to my suffering, and there is much yet to atone for. Praise Vildeis for saving me so I may be punished in a more fitting manner."
Jakobi is helped along by Vengeance, bruised but not too hurt. The party sprints to safety as the torrential downpour turns the trail into an impassable river of mud. High in the pass, you can hear trees cracking and boulders crashing together — a massive mudslide on the mountain pass.
Until this rain stops, you are sealed in the valley. Cut off from escape… or help.
⚰ ⚰ ⚰
After two more hours of slogging through treacherous terrain, a cluster of tiny homes rises from the gloom. You have arrived on the outskirts of Fiorna’s Faith.
No smoke rises from the chimneys. Doors hang open, windows are shattered, and no light or sound emanates from what appears to be an empty, abandoned town. It's difficult to see detail in the distance but you can make out structures in the gloom — a whole town, silent as a tomb.
Something here is terribly wrong.
Something here is terribly wrong, Zher’myeh observes, following Nar to the nearest hovel to investigate.
"Vengeance." Jakobi draws his eidolon near, and pulls his mask over his face as he approaches the nearest house.
"Be ready." growls Artemis, as he prepares to move in (after a quick prestidigitation).
Graaxyn sniffs the air, scouting for unfamiliar scents.
You enter the nearest home, which seems to be a single-family residence much like the other in the vicinity; its walls are made of wattle and daub and its roof is thatched. The door is broken in from the outside and there's dried blood all over the floor.
The contents of the house are turned over — as if a violent struggle took place in here, or it was ransacked… or both.
Artemis carefully moves in, looking around for any clues as to what happened. "This close to the Deadlands... wait, that's where we are, right? I fear it can only be one thing."
The next home's door seems to have been removed; whoever did it seems to have been in a rush as they gouged the frame with their hand tool.
Graaxyn smells mildew and wet earth.
Inside, you find a single room with a bare earth floor. it's apparent that the place has been raided for supplies. Sheets lay twisted along the floor next to the two beds, as if their occupants were dragged away in their sleep.
The earthen floor slopes down to a freshly-collapsed collapsed sinkhole that's about two feet wide.
The sinkhole is now collapsed and there is no safe way to follow it.
Other huts here on the outskirts of town are in similar states: holes in the floor or broken-in doors and windows. They've all been ransacked for supplies.
⚰ ⚰ ⚰
You move on through the gloom, approaching the town proper. With homes surrounding you now it's hard to shake the creepy feeling you're being watched.
There's a crossroads ahead. To the right the road ascends a up hill on which a large manor sits. Ahead and to your left is what looks like a sturdy stone building.
"This is getting worse as we go." Nar points slightly left, trying to stay consistent in his attention and readiness.
"I concur."
You pass by the house on the hill and head towards the center of town. Another location of interest coalesces in the gloom: a large single-story building — perhaps an inn — with a ramshackle barricade built in front of the entrance.
For now you go into the sturdy stone building chosen by Nar and Too-tuck.
There's a sign painted on the wall: a pile of timber behind a crossed mining pick and shovel. The front door — which is intact and closed — proclaims this to be “Warland’s Yard, purveyor of general goods and supplies.”
As Graaxyn pushes the door open, he smells rotten food. Tall shelves line the walls and form aisles along the center of the room, and a long countertop runs along the wall to the left. There are two closed doors on that end of the shop as well.
The place has been ransacked — foodstuffs, tools, and containers lie scattered all over the floor.
"Let's check the other rooms."
Graaxyn heads to the door to his left, and opens it if no one objects.