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Okay, Its time for me to admit that I just can't keep up with this game anymore.

Thaks all for participating, and happy gaming.

Greg.

You group spends a frustrating day slogging through muck and mire, constantly harassed by clouds of buzzing, stinging insects, and has a few close encounters with the biggest crocodiles any of you have ever seen (or were they fallen logs? You didn't venture close enough to find out).

You think you have been heading generally north-east, but you are unsure of exactly how much ground you covered today. You are moving through a densely wooded area - the canopy of vegetation obscures much of the light and makes it difficult to tell the time of day, though it must be getting close to sundown - When Kee-rik calls out and points ahead.

In the darkness and gloom, you can just make out a still lake, fog and mist clinging to its surface, and a hard-packed dirt trail winding through the bog towards its shores. There, upon the edge of the water, stands a mighty mangrove tree. Inside its roots looms a dark and foreboding cavern. Two large spikes set to either side of this cavern have been decorated with the now bloated and rotting corpses of a pair of elves.

After their battle with the hag and Kee-rik's healing of the woodsmen, it is well past sundown, so the two groups share the campsite for the night. In the morning the adventurers bid farewell to Celia and her woodsmen and sets back onto the trail of the stolen book...

Two successful DC23 survival checks will move you into the area Hrungir thinks the giant city is hidden in with out incident by mid afternoon. Failing these checks will still move you in the right direction, just slower and with the possibility of running afoul of...stuff. With Warden gone, who is making the rolls? (others may aid another as normal)

Also, hold on there buddy. I didn't say the whole chest...

LOL...that's good, I was starting to think the spirit of good old fashioned looting was wel and truly dead.

While Kennen and Dolph talk with Celia, Kee-rik begins a low croaking chant over the most debilitated of the woodsmen. He burns a variety of herbs and roots sacred to the grippli and wafts the smoke across the sick man's face and within ten minutes or so the man rises unsteadily into a sitting position - still weak but lucid and with colour returning to his face with each passing moment.

Within an hour or so, most of the men have regained their strength - If not enough to go monster hunting in the swamp, then at least enough to return home. Miracle of the goddess! some exclaim.

Celia is again very thankful. Well little grippli, I don't understand what strange amphibious herbology you have worked here today but we are grateful indeed.[b/] she leans down and kisses tKee-rik on the top of his head.

[ooc]Kee-rik, this expends one hero point and the daily use of your Chosen of the Goddess for today and tomorrow. Also, Good on ya for creative problem solving. Also also, thanks for embedding those spell links.

You...killed her?! Celia seems taken aback when the party returns to present her with the chest of loot and news of the hag's treachery and subsequent demise. She regains her composure and smiles at the group. Well, evil vanquished is always a good thing, no? And this gift! She waves a the chest. It is so generous! Thank you very much. This will be enough to mount a second expedition. My only regret now is that the vile bandit that I hunt will get to live another season.

As soon as my men are able we will return home. Will you be pushing forward or staying her with us until then?

Sorry, I'm having some serious time management struggles right now.

Just fininshed a seven day stretch at work...so tired.

Kennen and his companions find no sign of a cure or remedy within the hut. As the Warden surmised earlier, short of a priest's or druid's strung healing prayers, nothing but rest will cure what ails the woodsmen. On the upside, they are not in mortal danger from the hag's stew ( unless you count being bed ridden in a monster infested swamp mortal danger of course).

The next move is up to you to decide. Return to Celia's camp? Leave her group to their own devices and push on in search of the giants?

The little goblin cowers at the end of the pier and refuses to speak, or even make eye contact with Kennen. When asked about a cure, she simply shakes her head, eyes still downcast.

The inside of the hut is a cluttered mess of dried plants, with petrified animal bits hanging from the rafters. The smell is ... pungent. a stained clay cauldron takes up most of one wall, and a filthy reed stuffed bed the other. A rickety pantry contains foodstuffs of dubious origin and a row of jars containing colourful, syrupy liquids. Under the bed is a rotted sea chest. It is filled with rings, bits of jewellery, battered silverware and tarnished coins, likely taken from the hag's victims over the years.

Yep, that's the biggest problem with them - no one remembers they have them. But, in a campaign like this that uses story-based leveling points rather than XP, I find its a good alternate reward. You gain 1 each time you level up, and I give them out for accomplishing plot specific goals as well. You can only have a max of three at any given time, so you're better to use them than to hoard them. I've copied the info from the campaign tab below for your convenience - these are essentially the same as appears in the PRD, with a few teaks to accommodate the PBP format.

Hero Points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.

Act Out of Turn: You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.
Bonus: You may spend a hero point to grant a +5 bonus to any one d20 roll. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero Points spent to aid another character grant only a +3 bonus
Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.
Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.
Recall: You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.
Reroll: You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.
Special: You can petition the GM to allow a hero point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional hero points may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Cheat Death: A character can spend 2 hero points to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 2 hero points, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.

After a viscous struggle Kee-rik manages to wiggle past the hag's long, slashing limbs and clamp his jaws around her throat, and in a moment, it is over. Kee-rik burst up to the surface spittling blood and gasping for air as the deformed hump of Sartrise's shoulders bobs up a few feet away.

Out of combat! Hrungir receives one Hero point for avenging his fallen pack. What next brave heroes?

@Kennen: The raft is at the south end of the hut. You can use the pole to move it at 10' per round, or 20 with a DC 10 str check. It is only big enough for one poler and one passenger.

@ Dolph: Yes, kee-rik and the hag are still submerged.

Moving on

As Dolph nervously watches the struggle under the water, Sartrise makes one last to wrestle free of her attackers. She lashes out at Kee-rik with her sharp, black nails and pushes off towards the opposite shore.

Claw 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32; Dmg: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 +2 pts str drain ( avoid with DC 16 fort save)
Claw 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18; Miss
5'step

Kennen to close out rnd 5, Kee, Dolph and Hrungir to start rnd 5

Stats and Conditions
Hrungir 17/34 HP; -4 STR
Kee-Rik 17/24 HP; fort check to avoid STR loss
Kennen 22/22(24) HP; -2 CON
Dolph 23/23 HP; 6/7 SP
Sartrise: 47 HP taken

Hrungir teleports close to the hag and dives down to reach her - though he navigates the waters well, he is unable to lock his jaws around his foe's neck.

Kee-rik continues to lay into Sartrise with both tooth and claw.

Dolph is up for rnd 4

So, while the question of whether or not teleporting into a body of water is similar to teleporting into a solid object is an interesting one, its not one we have to answer in this situation.

Mechanically , the results are the same, whether Hrungir teleports directly underwater or to the surface of the water then splashes down. Since the depth is less than 10' ( remember the goblin chid poled across), all parties are adjacent either way.

@Hrungir: Yes, but you will require a DC 10 swim check each round or be off balance ( no movement, -2 dex, -2 to hit, half dmg on successful attacks, +2 to be hit) for that round.

Kee-rik chomps down hard on the hag's wrist as she reaches for him, eliciting a stream of bubbly curses from her ad letting him slip free of her attempted embrace.

Kennen is up to close out rnd 3, then Kee-rik and Dolph. I'll resolve Hrungir's attack above at that point.

Kee-rik swims swiftly after Sartrise, biting at her heels as she tries to get away. The is both suprises and infuriated that someone would be so bold as to challenge her in he own backyard, so to speak, that all thought of escape temporarly leaves her. She wirls around and tries to grab him by the neck.

Grapple: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Kee-Rik, you may take an AoO in response to the grapple. If you hit and cause 1 pt of dmg, the grapple is unsuccessful, otherwise you gain the grappled condition. All others: The struggle below the surface is somewhat visible through the murky water, but as stated in the underwater combat rules section, Kee-rik and Sartrise have total cover vs attacks from anybody on the surface.[/ooc]

Both Kee-rik and Hrungir draw blood as the Hag dives into the water.

I got a little sloppy with turn counting there...

Rnd 2 summary
Dolph concentrates on Haste
Hrungir full attacks
Kee full attacks
Kennen delays
Sartrise hits Hrungir then dives into water; Hrungir and Kee take AoOs
Kennen gets to take delayed action

Rnd 3
Dolph - action due
Hrungir - teleports to opposite bank
Kee- pursues hag into water, attacks
Sartrise - action due ( see below)
Kennen - action due

So, Kennen and Dolph get to take actions now, though neither have spotted the hag's exact location in the water at this point ( they take place before Kee enters the water.). After that I'll post Sartrise's Rnd 3 action, then its top of the order again with Kennen (rnd 3) and everyone elses rnd 4.

Stats and Conditions
Hrungir 17/34 HP; -4 STR
Kee-Rik 22/24 HP
Kennen 22/22(24) HP; -2 CON
Dolph 23/23 HP; 6/7 SP
Sartrise: 32 HP taken

Hag placed back on map - only Hrungir can see her at the moment. Hrungir, go ahead and place yourself wherever you like on the opposite shore.

Next up for rnd 2 is Kee-rik, then Sartrise, then Kennen.

Kee-rik's flurry of claws and snapping jaws fail to punch through the hag's leathery hide.

Botting Hrungir's rnd 2 action
Given the chance to confront the creature responsible for the destruction of his pack, Hrungir presses on despite his wounds...
Bite: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12; Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 66; Dmg: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Haste Bite: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29; Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 53; Dmg: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
...landing a savage bite against the hated hag.

Sartrise shrieks in pain and lashes out once more at Hrungir...
Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26; Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 63; Dmg: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 +2 pts str drain ( avoid with DC 16 fort save)
...cuffing the blink dog across the muzzle and taking advantage of the moment to dive off the peer into the water. This isn't over, curr! she spits derisively before disappearing into the murk.

Hrungir and Kee-Rik may make AoOs as she leaves their threatened areas

Players may make perception checks vs DC: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18 to spot her in the muddy water

Yes...
Miss chance 1: 1d100 ⇒ 84
Miss chance 2: 1d100 ⇒ 55
... ouch; so both claws still connect. On the up side, so does Hrungir's second bite.

All players can post for round 2

MAP added. You can also access it from the encounter map link under my avatar pic.

Inititive Order:
Dolph
Kennen
Kee-rik
Hrungir
Sartrise

Round 1

At the sound of Kennen hitting the water, Kee-rik abandons all pretense of stealth and swims full tilt towards the shack. He explodes from the water and takes a savage into the hag's calf.

Dolph reaches out and warps the flow round the shifting form of Hrungir, accelerating the canine's movements.

Hrungir howls in rage and snaps at his foe, but she rears back and away. Hrungir, Dolph's magic grants you an extra attack this round...

Kennen's wits return to him and he begins swimming. 1/4 movement while swimming, so double move moves you 15'. Please position yourself on the map.

Sartrise snarls wordlessly back at Hrungir and tries to rend him with her talon-like nails.
Claw 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21; Dmg: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 +2 pts str drain ( avoid with DC 16 fort save
Claw 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20; Dmg: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 +2 pts str drain ( avoid with DC 16 fort save

Fools and chattel, the lot of them cackles the old woman from the other side of the door. There is an ominous cracking and popping noise and her voice takes on a deeper, ominous timbre. They are paying the price for plundering MY bog - AS WILL YOU ALL!!

Suddenly the wooden door is blown off its feeble hinges as a twisted green monstrosity bursts forth from the hut with a roar.

Bill rush vs CMD16: 1d20 + 13 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 13 - 4 = 26

Kennen, this is an unusual situation. The bull rush first is against the door, then against Kennen as a secondary target (at a -4). The door provides cover relative to you for the hag, so Kennen wouldn't be allowed an AoO, but that seems overly harsh given the sudden, out of turn nature of the attack, so if you like you may make a reflex save or acrobatics check vs the CMB result above to just get out of the way. Failure means Kennen (and the unlucky door) is flung 15 feet out into the water.

Stringy, mouldering hair whips about her grotesque features as Sartrise the hag pivots to face Hrungir. And you, star hound; I don't know how you escaped the hobgoblins, but I'll skin you alive and suck the marrow from you bones like I did the rest of your pack!

Roll Initiative!
Hrungir beside Sartrise, 5' away. Dolph is immediately behind him. Kee-rik has traversed 30 of the 40' water so is 10' away from the shack. Olki he goblin is huddled in the skiff behind Dolph.

Sartrise's Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

No, Warden has dropped out and I have not the energy or inclination to ghost another abandoned PC, so - poof! he's gone! Carried away by the dreaded ethereal purple people eater.

Actually, I was patiently waiting for you guys. Kennen and Hrungir are on the porch. Kee-rik is stealthily swimming up to the side of the building. Dolph has just teleported over the porch, and the old woman has shut herself in the hut after seeing Hrungir at her doorstep.

The next move is yours. Sorry for not making that clear.

Ive been on my phone this week, so the map isn't always viewable for me. I'd like to do that please. And I think that would be my first SP spent today.

There is no map currently, so no worries there.

@ Kee: yes definitely swamp

@ Dolph: there's 40'of water between you and the others. You could spend a SP to warp over.

Olki who had frozen in fright at the appearance of Hrungin on the porch, regained her composure and began ferrying Kennen across the water.

Kee-rik slips into the murky waters just east of the hut and begins slowly swimming across. (2 rounds to cross, stealth check please)

Hrungir sniffs the air for clues as to what is going on, but unusual or suspicious.

Kennen and Olki make it to the hut, and Kennen hops up to join Hrungir as the goblin ties off the raft.

GM, can Hrungir use his Scent ability to "Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights" IS she a human or something else?

I read up on this topic before hand - scent allows perception checks in situations where other senses may not, but does not give bonuses to those checks per say. So if a creature were disguised, Hringir would still make a perception check following all the rules in the disguise skill write up. We may choose to apply different situational modifiers, ie a familiar scent may be more obvious.

Just taking a moment to run down everybody'd relative positions. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Kennen: On the raft with Olki the goblin; on this side of the moat
Dolph: standing at the jetty ( just an old post stuck in the mud
Kee-Rik: concealed, looking for another way to sneak onto the platform the hut is built on. With his natural swim speed and high stealth he could likely do it by circumnavigating the platform and coming at it from the side or rear. Lets assume that's what you were doing and place you 30' away from the jetty and ready to slip unseen into the water.
Hrungir: On the old woman's front porch
The Warden: vanished.

The old Woman calls back out from the hut. Poisoned? Why I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about... Yeargh!!! She steps back out of the hut to see the shaggy form of Hrungir crouched at her front door. Foul cur! She hisses at Hrungir and darts back inside, slamming the flimsy wood-plank door closed behind her.

Were we invited in or not? She sent Olki to fetch us but then says good bye.

Right, I could have made that clearer... The old woman invited Kennen over to pass the time while waiting for his friends - that's why she sent Olki over. When the friends showed up, she assumed their "tea date" was off, waved farewell and went inside, rather abruptly.

Olki's raft reaches the other side and she begins tying off.

Oh, its not about what they did, dearie, but about what they were going to do. She taps the side of her temple knowingly and disappears inside her hut.

Come Olki! Don't dawdle! The goblin girl gives a heavy sigh and starts undoing the knot she just finished.

The little goblin keeps making her way across the water to the little jetty where Kennen, and now Dolph, stand; seemingly oblivious to the sudden arrival of Dolph.

The old woman waves greeting to Dolph. Oh, you've been found. Well that's good news, my little 'alfling. The bog's no place for a little'un like yourself to be wandering about alone. Why just today I came across a band of no good ruffians not far from here. thugs and thieves every one of them everyone. Nay, can't be too careful, I always say. The old woman makes to head inside. Farewell little'un, travel safely.

And we're back...

The old woman peers across the water at Kennen. An 'alfling? Well, I've never met no 'alflings before. Why don't you come on over and I'll put on a nice pot of tea, and you can tell me all about these 'alflings of yours while we wait for your friends, dearie.

She turns back to the hut and ylls abrasively. Olki! Get out here you worthless girl! After a moment an unkempt goblin child wearing a blue pinafore comes scampering out. The old woman pats the goblin on the head and say to her, [b] Be a dear and go fetch our new friend there for tea. That's a good poppet.[b]

Olki obediently unties the skiff and begins poling over to Kennen.

Assuming everyone else is trying to stay out of sight?

The woman starts visibly as Kennen speaks. She twists around to face him and squints long and hard at him for a moment then shouts back, Its not nice to sneak up on old ladies little boy! What's a little lad like you doing wandering around out here on your own?

Have a great vacation

And, ugh, yeah I hate posting from my phone too.

The group has no trouble following Celia's trail, as her troupe made no effort to. On dal their passage, and quickly foundlocate the place where they amen across the old woman and stopped for that fateful rabbit stew lunch.

From there finding the old woman's path away from the site proves more challenging, but Hrungir and the Warden are up to the task and after about an hour spy a modest daub and wattle cottage built around a tangle of huge mangroves. A hunched-over figure putters about the porch, humming a nameless tune, seemingly oblivious to your approach.

The cottage is built on a series of rickety wooden platforms anchored to the trees and suspending it above the water, which surrounds the structure on all sides for about forty feet. A little raft is tethered to the cottage's porch.

tracking, stealth and perception check were made "off camera"

The Warden knows there is no easy cure for bad mushrooms. Drinking copious amounts of clean water to flush their systems will speed their recovery some but its going to b at least 24 hurs before these men are going to be capable of moving anywhere, and twice that time again before they are anything close to fighting strength.

Celia is startled by Hrungir's speech, but quickly adjusts and seems overjoyed by Dolph's offer of a trade. Really? that would be wonderful! She opens her satchel again and pulls out the potions and scrolls. I can give you these now, and I know my family will pay you more for the return of the heirloom - a ring. Do you have a map? I'll mark the location of Oakentombe on it.

To Kennen and Warden's inquiries about the old woman: Well, I don't know that she was any sort of witch, but we ran into her about a half mile back that way. She gestures south-west. Our trail should be fairly easy to follow.

We are on a quest to retrieve a family heirloom. A medusa that lives on the northern side of the bog, in a place called Oakentomb Wood, stole it from my family last spring as they returned from trading with the dwarves of the mountain. The warned me that it was too dangerous to confront such a fell creature in her lair over a mere trinket... but it is precious to me. So I planned and prepared all winter. I saved enough money to hire these brave men, [/b] here Celia bends down and show the group several scrolls and potions in her satchel. And I have the means to reverse the medusa's stoney curse.

Our quest began well enough, but earlier today we met an old woman out gathering peat and firewood. She offered to prepare us a hot meal in exchange for help with her chores, which the men were happy to do, seeing as they hadn't had anything but cold tack and porridge for the last three days. Ah, how foolish that turned out to be. Her she looks up and calls over to the stern man on guard duty. You were right Ethar!

She turns back to the group and finishes her story with a defeated shrug. Now I have no choice to turn back. The fight is gon from my men - I must sty and see to these brave souls who followed me out here. I have not the funds to hire more and daren't push on alone...

Celia is suitably startled by the appearance of Warden, and several of the men let out nauseous groans at the mention of mushrooms.

Mushrooms? Yes, that old woman we camped with man rabbit and mushroom stew for the men! Ah what rotten luck - now my quest is ruined before it even begins.

Its hrd for Warden to make any kind of assessment of the woodsmen's ailment from his hidden position, but he'd wager it was food poisoning of some sort. He knew of several varieties of mushroom native to the area that would produce similar symptoms in humans.

To Kennen Celia responds, We set out from Zaran wood yesterday, and were making good time until this. She waves her hand at her disabled troop, clearly exasperated by the situation.

The men started getting sick a few hours after we broke our mid-day camp Celia responds.

Dolph recognizes her garb as fairly typical of what the Edridal elves of Zaran wood wear. The men look to be lumberjacks and woodsman from one of the may logging camps that dot the edges of the wood.

The woman looks up as Dolpho breaks cover and introduces himself. Her eyes light up and she breaks into a grateful smile. Oh thank the Goddess! I am Celia. My men have all taken sick, and I'm afraid we are need of some help.

Looking the camp over a little more thoroughly, you see six miserable men grouped around the campfire in various states of discomfort, and one bearded man standing guard at the edge of the camp, now staring at you suspiciously, hand on axe handle.

Relevant skill checks: heal, know(local), sense motive

Hi all, sorry for the sporadic updates this week - better now...

Departing from the tower by mid day, the adventures strike north then turn north-east, eager to reach the area Hrungir thinks contains the secret city of the thawn.

Despite the stinging bugs, soggy, sucking mud, and oppressive, cloying air, the Warden sets a true course and they cover about 6 miles before the light begins to fail. The group begins thinking about a good campsite and heads for higher ground in the hopes of pitching their tents somewhere relatively dry.

You approach an area with a bit of dry ground, half a dozen woodsmen lay about on bedrolls hacking and coughing, their handkerchiefs stained with blood. A young half-elf moves amidst them offering water and gently tending to them. She is a stunning blonde-haired half-elf with deep black eyes and pointed ears.

It appears your approach has not been noticed yet.

Okay, so you have to tell me what you're doing before just rolling a check. I've colour coded the two directions you can explore in - blue or red. Are you moving forward as fast as you can ( 3 hexes/day) or are exploring as you go ( 1 hex per day)?

Whose Morgtii and Raigh again? Are they the two we replaced?

Yep

Harrol, the mercenary leader speaks up. Well, my crew and I have done what we were hired to do - Found these folks here. I know there's still this book to find, but I reckon you can't leave warlord Mukar lurking around behind you. He looks to Kennen. You saw what he did to that poor pig farmer back in the bush. Doesn't feel right just letting him roam loose to do that to more honest folk, or to retake this tower. I know the old elf and the wizard back in Eiren said this book had to be found quick like, So why don't you lot follow its trail and we'll mop up behind you?

Raidh jumps in. That sound like a good plan. I can't leave that hobgoblin free to prey on more of my kinsmen. And Morgtii here wants to visit the ruins of his old hive - look for survivors. We'll stay here with Harrol's crew while the rest of you go on. We'll lay in supplies here at the tower if you need somewhere to fall back to or resupply.

Recapping the rules for exploring the bog:
-Added notes on the bog map for Morgtii's hive, Kee-rik's village, the Seven Sisters territory and the Wardens shrine.
-Each hex is about 3 miles across and contains 8 square miles of land.
- To fully explore a hex requires one full day. This is the only way to find things hidden in the hex ( like the secret Thawn city!)
-Your group can travel through unexplored hexes at the rate of three per day. Moving through an unexplored hex requires a DC 23 survival check. Failure means you have gotten lost or triggered a random encounter.
-Your group may move through explored hexes at the same rate but require no survival check to do so.

I love tropes...

What!?! You are going to trust a talking dog?? Varamar''s rant takes on a desperate tone as his cage starts to ratchet slowly back into the murky water. [ b]. You're making a horrible mistake! You need me! You haven't heard the last of Vara...glub glub glub...[/b]

The cage swings awkwardly as as Varamar flinches away from the brandished great sword. No wait! His filmy eyes bulge in fright. You'll never be able to track the Thawn. Their whole culture is focused on keeping their city secret from the rest of the swamp's inhabitants - and the ambush site will do you no good. I was ambushed by Mukar's hobgoblins, not the giants. But I know where their city is.

He pauses, looking expectantly at his captors/rescuers. Met with only skeptical stares, he gives a disgusted huff and hurries on. I saw their maps - unlike my minions, the thawn have to sleep, and one night while we camped, I uh, happened study their maps. Their city lies to the north east of here. I can lead you right to it.