Between Gaius and Azalmak’s aid, John finally manages to get up to the ledge.
Nice up there, he finds a masterwork light shield and a rusty metal cohosted with the symbol of the Isgeri army on it. A few minutes with a rope and John is able to lower the items to the rest of the group. He then climbs back down.
Although it looks like the canister originally had a lock, it has rusted away. Inside the box you find two potions of lesser restoration and 73 gp.
——
The group doesn’t find anything else of interest in the caves. If it weren’t for the smell, it would make a reasonable camp site.
Although John initially is looking at the wrong type of tracks, Cara and Gaius are able to lead the whole group further along the path through the forest.
The light is dim in this part of the forest, as the interlocking branches of the trees form a thick, shadowy canopy. Suddenly you hear a voice call out “”
Looking up into the branches, you see a small colorful creature hanging upside down by a strand of silk.
The creature makes a grand show of surprise when Evelyn says she doesn’t know it.
DC 15
“I am Asiclassus, ruler of this kingdom. You should bow when speaking with a king.” It stares at both Evelyn and Cara for a moment after saying this.
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Gaius bows to Asiclassus and says, "Greetings King Asiclassus, I am Gaius Marius, Inquisitor of Hathor from the City at the Center of the World. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Gaius will give a polite bow while eyeing his companions.
"We were not informed this was anyone's territory. We mean no disrespect; we are here on a mission to discover the source of increased goblin activity and why and how they became infected with an abyssal disease we have called Demon Bile."
Gaius recognizes this as a Katroome, a rather rare magical beast that is occasionally taken by people as a familiar.
Brilliantly beautiful but nearly as elusive as the breeze, the caterpillar-like katroome is a little creature with an enormous ego. Katroomes are rare and mostly live deep within forests or similar uninhabited areas. Most travelers confuse them with fey creatures, given their magical abilities, capriciousness, and haughty demeanors. In reality, they are magical beasts that almost never reveal themselves to others unless they wish.
They can turn invisible and have a couple of different ways to cause people to do as they wish. They can also entangle creatures in their sticky silken webs.
Katroome
CN Small magical beast
Special Attacks web
Spell-Like Abilities
3/day—command, detect magic
1/day—invisibility, suggestion
In response to Gaius, Asiclassus says “Ah, at least one of you was taught proper etiquette! I will forgive your ignorance.”
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"King Asiclassus, have you noticed an increase in goblin intrusions into your territory? Have you heard of Demon Bile? We just came from a cave system it smelled like the goblins had been infesting. The cave itself was marked with holes from a strong acid. Our mission is twofold: Try to discover why and from where the goblins have been encroaching on the nearby town of Saringallow and we are also looking for a missing human girl. Would you happen to know about either of these situations?"
Asiclassus evidently decides to ignore Cara, obviously not satisfied with her attempts at etiquette.
Looking to Gaius they say “Demon Bile? Sounds absolutely vile, please do not bring any of that into my kingdom.”
“I have seen some goblins pass through my domain. Perhaps we could discuss it more over a meal if you have anything tasty to offer.”
“I don’t think I’ve had salted fish before. Does it taste different than the fish from the streams?”
You settle down to a picnic of salted fish, rum, and maybe some other foods?
King Asiclassus considers the fish interesting, quite a bit different than the fish they have had in the past. They are less interested in the rum.
While eating, they give a good description of the bugbear and scarred goblin. The bugbear was called Mezodarath who seemed to be some sort of priest. Everyone deferred to them. The goblin was called Leeza and seemed to be in charge of the scouts. They saw them as the goblins were first migrating into the area.
They give you directions to the goblin fortress. It is some ruins up on the ledge of a cliff. You judge it to be another two days travel there. It is at the border where the forest meets the mountains.
King Asiclassus also recalls recently seeing a group of goblins carrying a human traveling towards their fort. Based on their description and what you tell them of Nixa, you believe that is who they were carrying.
Once the meal and discussion is done, King Asiclassus wishes you well. They invite Gaius to visit again, but to have his servants bring a different dish as an offering of food.
King Asiclassus really likes the bread!
——
You travel through the rest of the day. The landmarks are right where the katroome said they would be making the travel a little faster. Looking at your map of the area, you have a good idea where you are headed.
There are no problems that day.
You set watches for the night. Nothing disturbs you.
During the next day, you come across signs that you are getting close.
The rotting corpse of a goblin occupies the center of this small glade. Its eyes and face are missing, as if they were chewed or pecked off by wild animals, and its corpse is covered in purplish, festering goo that seems to be liquefying the body.
There is a flock of ravens that are feeding on the goblin’s remains. They notice you and all their heads turn towards your group. Those birds don’t look natural!
Gaius is the only one able to react before the birds!
Round 1:
Gaius
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
Gaius knows that fortunately normal weapons should be able to kill these birds on one shot. Other than being afflicted by the Demon Bile, there isn’t much to say about these birds other than they tend to be perceptive. Like all the animals afflicted, they are resistant to fire and cold.
One shot, one kill.
Green and blue take flight and attempt to peck Gaius. They both hit, but the damage is minimal.
Round 1:
Bolded may act.
Gaius 2 NL
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
The bird darts to the side just as Azalmak swings at it.
Orange and Red fly up to peck at Azalmak. Neither manage to hit him.
Round 1:
Bolded may act.
Gaius 2 NL
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak AoO available vs either Orange or Red
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
Evelyn moves up and swings at one of the birds attacking Gaius. Unfortunately these are spry birds, her attack misses.
Yellow raven flies up and attacks Evelyn.
Round 1:
Bolded may act.
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak AoO available vs either Orange or Red
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn 1 NL if miss with AoO available vs Yellow
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
Round 2:
Gaius 2 NL
Gaius steps back and fires off an arrow at each bird. Two more birds down.
Cara swings just as Gaius shoots the bird.
Cara knows that these are ravens that have been infused with demonic energy. The effects of this include a bad attitude, resistance to fire and cold, and the ability to see in the dark. Their attacks are too weak to be a real threat.
Fiendish Ravens
CE Tiny animal
Darkvision
Resist Cold, Resist Fire
Round 1:
Bolded may act.
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn 1 NL
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
Round 2:
Gaius 2 NL
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak AoO available vs either Orange or Red
John destroys the yellow raven with a single hit. It is thoroughly pulverized by the strike.
Round 1:
Bolded may act.
Orange Raven
Red Raven
Evelyn 1 NL
Yellow Raven
John
Cara
Round 2:
Gaius 2 NL
Green Raven
Purple Raven
Blue Raven
Azalmak AoO available vs either Orange or Red
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Seeing a raven attack Evelyn, John retrieves his cold iron mace and swings it toward's the tainted raven.
The half-orc cries out just before the bird's brittle bones crack and snap.
[dice=Melee (mwk cold iron heavy mace) v yellow]1d20 + 9
[dice=Damage (B)]1d8 + 6
[dice=Confirm?]1d20 + 9
[dice=Additional Damage (B)]1d8 + 6
Admiring the mist of blood and feathers John produced Gaius wryly notes, "He won't be tapping tapping at any chamber door."
Not to be outdone, Azalmak slices through the bird as it flies towards him, killing it.
He follows up by killing the other bird in a single attack.
It takes only a moment for the group of you to finish off the last bird.
Examining the goblin, you find it the source of the Demon Bile surrounding it. It looks like it fell from the tree and broke its legs only to perish shortly after that. You find a goblin-sized a composite longbow (+1 Str) and suit of masterwork studded leather armor on the body.
There is also the patch of Demon Bile that you know will grow if left undisturbed.
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Glad that's over with...let me check you guys...just to make sure you didn't get infected... Cara says as she gives the others a once over, then declaring they have clean bills of health.
Shall we deal with this evil goop? she says as she draws her cold wrought scimitar.
"Indeed. We don't need this corpse spawning anything else abyssal."
Gaius draws his cold iron dagger to help destroy the Demon Bile.
S
K
Goblin body looted and Demon Bile destroyed, you continue to follow King Asiclassus‘s direcrtions.
You stop along the way at a clear stream that you find. It likely leads into the river on the map. Feeling better now that none of you are covered in raven blood and entrails, you make good progress through the day. When there are gaps in the forest canapy, you catch sight of the mountains ahead. Most of the time your view is blocked by the thick trees.
In one clearing you find crumbling stone walls which mark the site of what was once a small cottage, but is now merely a ruin. The remains of a garden, now in disarray, surround the dilapidated and collapsed cottage.
As your group gets close to the garden, Gaius notices one of the plants and warns you all away from the garden. He points out a colorful plant with long, thin leaves and three prominent, bright pink pistils that reach elegantly toward the sky.
N Medium plant
It gets it’s name because it can suffocate creatures. I did a knowledge nature check for you to detect the plant. You’ve one question about it.
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** spoiler omitted **
Goblin body looted and Demon Bile destroyed, you continue to follow King Asiclassus‘s direcrtions.
You stop along the way at a clear stream that you find. It likely leads into the river on the map. Feeling better now that none of you are covered in raven blood and entrails, you make good progress through the day. When there are gaps in the forest canapy, you catch sight of the mountains ahead. Most of the time your view is blocked by the thick trees.
In one clearing you find crumbling stone walls which mark the site of what was once a small cottage, but is now merely a ruin. The remains of a garden, now in disarray, surround the dilapidated and collapsed cottage.
As your group gets close to the garden, Gaius notices one of the plants and warns you all away from the garden. He points out a colorful plant with long, thin leaves and three prominent, bright pink pistils that reach elegantly toward the sky.
** spoiler omitted **
"That plant is called a Breathless Orchid and its name is derived from its ability to suffocate creatures."
Right now the plant doesn’t appear to be moving. None of you see any wings or legs on the plant.