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The four of you wade through the rising tide, and it as though you are walking onto another planet. The undergrowth, once you step off the sand, is composed of thick wiry tangles of lichens and grey fungus, growing on a foul muddy surface. Each step brings a small puff of spores, and Jask wastes no time in cutting up strips of cloth for each to fit over their mouths.
The first island you encounter has less vegetation than the rest of the shiv, but doesn't show the same greyness as the island further north. After a couple hours of walking and exploring, you reach the causeway between the two islands, and as it is still relatively low tide, you should be able to cross without difficulty. On the other side, you see almost a wholly different environment. Where the rest of the island is covered in all manner of wild jungle vegetation and drenched in sunlight, this patch of land appears to be shrouded in grey. Your keen eyes peer across the causeway and see that, what appeared at first to be trees, are in fact tall stalks of fungus, with fibrous vines reaching down from them to the ground, also appearing fungal in nature. As you strain your ears towards it, though there are waves about you and the light jungle behind you, you can tell that no sound is coming from that foul-looking island. Sasha gives a low whistle. "Now that's a new thing under the sun! If I didn't know better, I'd say those are Darklands fungi, but how in Asmodeus' codpiece are they growing above ground?" It is now past noon, the hottest part of the day. Aery's fans herself with her hat. "We should wait out the heat," she offers, "but tarry too long and this causeway will be awash in heavy surf until midnight. Do we cross now or brave it in the dark?"
She shakes her head. "sadly, no, I know not what it is." As she listens to you, she nods, then chimes in. "it would make sense for there to be something more at work here. Perhaps you will get a chance to delve deeper and discover if something lies further down?" When you mention the snake dreams, she shakes her head. "Their import is lost to me, for there are many snakes here on this island, more than I care to number." When you do turn in for the night, Aycenia offers to watch over you all. "I do not require the same sleep as you, and so invite you to peaceful rest." When the four of you do turn in, she shows you to soft pallets of reeds and leaves, and you fall asleep quickly. During the night, however, you cannot shake the feeling, even when dreaming, that you are being watched. At one point, you wake, as do the others, and when you look around and up to the sky, you see against the moon a winged form flapping in a lazy circle around the large tree, before flying off. Aycenia approaches you, keeping her eye on it as it heads east. "That devilish thing lives by the red mountain to the east. A bloodsucking thing with no natural place, so it thrives here quite naturally. Fah!" she curses it as it disappears. "It harms no plant or tree, but I still like it not." She motions for each of you to lie down again. "He shall not harm you, I swear it. Rest well, dawn is not far." When morning dawns, the four of you rise and find at your sides a small pile of island fruits and nuts for your breakfast. The others listen to your plan, and nod in agreement after looking over the map. "We'll probably run across that giant crab again," Sasha notes, tracing a finger along the bay, "But it looked pretty slow. Let's do it!" Aycenia bows as you leave, and invites you to return as you may. "I will follow your progress through the trees as I am able. Peace upon you!" After four hours of hiking back through the trees, you have passed the small cove with the discarded oyster shells, the shipwreck you have explored, and the one you have not on the small island further out. As you continue along the beach to the north, another two hours pass, bringing you to the warmest part of the day, when you reach the small point leading out to the grey-shrouded island further north - the one inbetween being a less vibrant green than the rest of the island. To the west, on a small island perhaps a hundred feet off shore, there is a shipwreck. The causeway between the main island and the first island to the north is currently open, though a minefield of urchins that should be easily avoidable. "Looks like this is impassable at high tide," Aerys notes. "We came at just the right time - in six hours, this'll be completely submerged. We should cross now, though it will be quite warm soon."
She raises her hands. "I wish you no harm, only peace. It has been many cycles since I last spoke with a hospitable soul." She motions for you to sit in the shade of the great tree, which towers over your surroundings. "A castaway? I know not. There are no others like me here to care for this place. It has been many ages since I first knew consciousness. In that time, it was only recently that others of your kind have come here. First those on ships attempting to build a settlement here, but their attempt came to naught. The later ship arrived, and its occupants went mad. You have met them perhaps?" She shakes her head. "They are no conversation. The worst of my fears are to the north. You have seen the darkened island, shrouded in shadow?" Sasha nods. "Looks damn unnatural," she offers. Aycenia inclines her head to agree. "Something there is destroying the island. It is indeed unnatural, and I have no power there, for fear that I might catch whatever blight is on that land."
Checking to make sure that all of you are now all right, Jask nods in approval. "Alton would be pleased to know. It is good that it serves you well." The four of you continue on, and after but another hour of hiking, Jask calls out, "Ah, I can see the top of it now!" and presses forward more quickly to lead the way up the current incline. A single, immense banyan tree grows atop this hill, surrounded by a smaller grove of trees that seem almost like supplicants gathered around a revered elder to bask in the wisdom of the ages. As you approach, a most curious sight appears: seemingly from nowhere, or perhaps out of the tree itself, a beautiful humanoid woman with deep green hair and gold-brown eyes steps forward, and calls out, "Greetings, travelers, and well met! Be at peace in this place, for if you mean no ill will, you are safe here in my home. I am Aycenia; be you friends or foes?"
The lizard does run up towards you and your allies, but though you step around and strike, your companions are not quite ready, and your swing goes wide. The lizard turns and bites at you...
Sasha steps up to flank with you and lets fly with her rapier...
Your second delayed strike, now that Sasha is in position...
Aerys pops up and lays a solid punch at the lizard...
Jask has delayed to appraoch, but now comes up behind you, and you feel his hand on your shoulder, healing. The lizard, now bleeding and bludgeoned, attempts to bite you again...
The remainder of your rest is uneventfully, and soon the afternoon rains appear to cool off the day somewhat. You begin your march south, and after three hours of wading a shallow but swift river and trudging through the jungle...
...when you spy a large shape out of the corner of your eye: a huge lizard, much like the one tied up outside the cannibal's camp! It prepares to charge your party!
You aren't sure, but you think that Aerys may have blushed slightly at your words, though it could just be the heat. "It sounds of a plan, then. I look forward to a continued partnership." After your next bit the others nod in somewhat agreement. "Now that we have taken care of the cannibals," Sasha pipes up, "it's just the wild beasts now, right? There can't be much more than that here... Right?" Jask shakes his head a bit before saying, "I'm not sure. Between the ghost of Kinkarian and some of the other oddities about this place, there may be something else. It was always rumored in Eleder that unnatural tides drew ships to this foul island." When you finish your later note about Kovack, the others agree silently. "But why did we find no sign of him at the lighthouse?" Aerys asks. "Or Iaena? We followed their trail there, no? And then... nothing. No trace." The others are quiet for a moment. "I saw no trace of them before we headed this way," Sasha notes. "Perhaps when we have the others back there, we can take another look?"
Aerys nods in agreement. "We share a dream. I have not sailed long, and this last voyage - though marred by our present surroundings - was thrilling enough. You should join me in Eleder in seeking out my...friend, Kassata. She and hers are always looking for good sailors and shipwrights."
You spend two hours resting in the shade of the wreck. Jask spends the time attempting to identify the various vials he picked up from the Witch's hut yesterday.
The heat must be getting to him a bit, as Jask states, "I can only definitively identify 4 of the 8 potions. 2 cure wounds, though mildly, and 2 will restore your health - again, mildly. I believe the other 4 will cure wounds, but I am not sure. It would be an unsafe conjecture. The wand," he sneers at it, "is clearly of vampiric properties, but I cannot discern the command phrase for it today. I can tell that I am close, but until then it is useless to us." As you recline in the shade, Sasha pipes up, "So, we've a bit of spoils now from our combing of this isle, Aaron. What say you? Do you have a plan for your share?"
The blow lands solid, and the skeleton is leveraged apart to a mass of bones on the deck. Jask looks at your wounds, then applies a hand to your shoulder and speaks a word of power. A search turns up no more skeletons, but in the captain's cabin you do find a small leather satchel with four vials inside. Three have green wax over the stopper, and one has a red wax seal. Jask looks at them, intones a word, then shakes his head. "They are alchemical, not magical, but likely quite helpful." Sasha steps up, "Most of the rest is rotten through, no food stores to speak of. We wait put the heat here, then where?"
It manages to catch you with one for a pretty deep scratch. Jask calls out, "Do you need my assistance?" Otherwise, he holds.
10th of Arodus - Midday
Unfortunately, even attempting to bludgeon with your sword does not quite work. Aerys picks a couple steps forward past Sasha and tries to double down on your idea...
Sasha steps up with her makeshift club...
The remaining skeleton takes a swipe at you with its 2 claws...
iPad. I would really dig: An initiative tracker and/or condition tracker. A way to post to boards a little easier w/o having to use code. the [ and ] marks make it pretty time consuming. If a cross-platform digital tabletop is too much to ask for, could there be a way to use Paizo-created maps via Google Drive/Play some other service that could then be shared across users? I run a couple of online PBP games, and the trickiest thing is always an easy to run battle map. One where I could move icons, but folks couldn't necessarily download the background image, thus keeping them accessible for those that pay for them. Me hand drawing maps takes a wicked long time, and I don't want to violate the CUP. Also, though this is on Goblinworks, an App that tracks things for PFO: character status, stores, properties, etc.
10th of Arodus - Midday
Aerys picks a couple steps forward and readies her fists against the upcoming skeletons. Sasha reaches down and tears a chunk of rotting wood from the rail, then steps forward to meet the remaining skeletons The skeletons work their way forward, one heading straight for Aerys and Sasha, and Aerys strikes out hard...
Jask acknowledges your request to hold back, and does nothing at this time.
10th of Arodus - Midday You quickly scale the rope ladder, and the others follow up behind you. The skeletal remains of many crew members litter the deck. It is not until the four of you have all landed safely on deck when you notice a stirring that is not the wind... six skeletons stand and brandish claws and fangs to attack!
The skeletons slowly pick their way towards you, but they are hampered by all the bones on the deck. However, this gives Jask the opportunity to stand tall, raise his holy symbol, and speak a word of power to Nethys, catching the four closest skeletons.
Though three of the four just shudder instead of exploding outright, they too shake apart under the holy strain.
10th of Arodus - Just before midday It takes roughly an hour to get across the sandy beach to the wreck on the shore, which you now identify as the Bloodwalker. There is a rope ladder leading over the rail down to the beach making it easy to approach the main deck. You can see several sizable gashes in the side of the ship - it won't be going anywhere soon. The heat of the day is beginning to return , and soon it will be too hot to do more than sit in the shade. "Perhaps it will be cooler inside," Jask offers, "Or there may be some tarp that we could set up out here to make shade and enjoy the breeze."
Ally Status:
... And thankfully you are able to spot another snare before Aerys steps into it. The path winds northwest, and after leaving the lighthouse over three hours later, it ends at a beach. The waves are breaking against a reef a score of yards from the shore, creating a protected area of slightly calmer waters here.Half a mile to the southwest, along the shore, you see the remains of a shipwreck. A mile and a half north, another, and beyond it, the isle that appears to be shrouded in dense fog. Here on the beach are the discarded remains of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of oyster shells. Sasha picks one up, studies it, then says, "Pried open. Wild animals can bash 'em, but looks like the cannibals did this." She walks up to the water's edge and, looking down, calls out, "There's a whole mess of 'em down there. Must be where the cannibals got those crazy red pearl pendants." Jask looks around, then to you. "Where now? Recall also the great tree that is south of here. Even in the Expanse, such sights are rare. It was atop the rise as we first approached the lighthouse, but unreachable from when we first saw it. We should be able to get there from here, though it would take us through the jungle. If we are not to immediately go back to the others, who knows what we might find. Aerys looks down the shore. "If south, then I suppose I'd like to check out that shipwreck first. Never know what might be there."
Day 8 After you are all awake, Jask gathers you together and intones many successive prayers to Nethys while holding up his holy symbol. Four waves of healing energy burst forth to heal your wounds.
Jask then spends an hour in focused meditation, and Aerys and Sasha spend the time doing a combination of stretching, running, and otherwise working the previous evening's knots and wounds out of their systems. The four of you secure many of treasures you have collected on the upper level of the lighthouse, piling them together and covering the lot with a blanket that used to belong to Klorak, or so Aerys has chosen to call him after the combat the previous evening. You then set out for back up the path, avoiding the large Shiv Dragon that is leashed to a tree on the path, and make your way back north to the last fork in the road. The others are a little wary of doing other than heading back for the remaining castaways, but are convinced to follow the path where it leads. After an hour's travel...
You all slowly make your way back to the lighthouse. Aerys leads back up to the second level at first, but the smell of the carnage is a bit too much. "Well, these are going to have to go," Sasha says. "We could drop them down the hole out there. Strip 'em of their stuff first?" Jask shrugs at first, but steps up to help. "If this is the most secure location, then it will likely work best. This is grim work, but they would have done little better to us." You all work together, though stripping the cannibals of their possessions takes some time. From the dozen cannibals, you find on each a light wooden shield, three javelins, a shoddy scimitar ("I can fix those up," Jask offers), and each wears a red pearl amulet. Klorak, besides his excellent scimitar, carried a heavy wooden shield, five javelins, and a very large red pearl amulet. It takes a couple hours, but well before daylight you are able to finally clear out a clean space, reinforce the door, and set a watch. Jask expends a final spell to pass some healing on to you (), the gives a sigh. "I have not been this drained in some time! I shall sleep well this night... After my watch, of course!" Each watch passes without event, though Jask reports that during the first watch he is fairly certain he heard the sound of scrabbling, crunching, and running feet. Jask shudders for a moment, "I'll say no more. Suffice to say that it took many prayers to Nethys to block out those sounds and get good rest. Let us be away."
The others agree, but look quite weary. Sasha pipes up, "After that fall down the hole, I'll be ready in the morning." Jask begins taking a look at the various vials you found in the shack in an attempt to identify them, but soon shakes his head. "These three are antitoxins, and will be excellent to have on hand. This is a thunderstone, which makes quite a lot of noise. Best be careful with that! The other eight vials will need to wait until the morning. However, let us also check that old crone. She may have additional items of value on her person. Aerys, will you help me?" Aerys nods, but first prods open the door to the other room... Before quickly slamming it shut. "Gods, the smell... We're sleepin' somewhere else!" They go to the crone, chase off the monkey, but only find the cruel looking wand that she used to prod you. Jask holds onto it for further study.
Nothing threatens your approach (though the monkey does howl at you for a while). You enter the east room of the shack, only ten feet to a side. It is a workshop of sorts, smelling of all manner of alchemical creations and rudimentary cures mashed together for use by the tribe. Among the rubble, you search long enough toxins eleven vials of various sorts, two smokestacks, a cobalt blue stone (looks man made), and three small pouches that you think you have seen before - tanglefoot bags, perhaps. There is a door in the west wall, appearing (from the outside of the building) to lead to a larger room.
Success! Your sword slams home and the old woman cries out in agony. You hear a nearby shriek as a small - yet viscious looking - monkey darts forward to huddle into and among her robes, hissing at you and your allies. The others sigh in relief after she falls. Sasha looks warily at the monkey, but is still catching her breath. You see that the path winds around to the west, where you can see the faint light of a fire flickering out of the doorway of a small shack. Jask calls out, "A tactic I would not recommend again, Aaron! You are nearly dead, and it will be difficult to keep you alive if you are on the other side of our foes!"
Aerys hops forward... , and slams a heavy fist into the old woman, just before your sword cuts into her as well, but she is just barely managing to stay upright. Sasha also runs forward and attempts to slam her with the femur she plucked from the skeleton... , ...but the weapon is so poorly balanced that it swings wide. Jask cannot get at her from his current position, and cannot channel energy to heal to heal you without also healing the crone. The crone, knowing that she is surrounded, turns toward you and attempts once more to drain life from you...
...but fails horribly and curses you, knowing that her last breath is near!
The skeletons each take a swipe at you as your attempt to tumble becomes more of a stumble...
...each slashing into you with a scimitar. Your sword cuts into the crone, who curses at you again. Aerys steps up to flank one of the skeletons and deliver a crushing blow with her fist...
...but manages only to overcompensate while the skeleton turns to pursue you. The two skeletons continue to press their assault against you, as you threaten their mistress...
...but only one is able to land a blow. Sasha steps up with her makeshift club and tries to bash one of the skeletons...
...however her swing, too, goes wide. Jask advances and uses one of his last abilities to channel the energy of his god against the skeletons...
...and the positive blast completely undoes the two remaining skeletons, who collapse in piles of bones and dust. The crone shrieks at the loss of her allies and flies into a rage, stabbing again at you with her wicked wand...
...and when the wand prods you in the chest, sapping your health, and appearing to flow into the old woman.
Chase deck. Pathfinder Battles like Hero Academy or another Tactics game. It's too bad that "Card Hunter" got to the idea first, b/c your paper minis are excellent Beginner Box becomes solo or co op adventure w/ push notifications, GM optional A series of Pathfinder Tales that's like the old Lone Wolf books, but digital so I can't cheat :) PF Online Character/Guild manager.
You deftly sprint past the rusty scimitar held out by the first skeleton and quickly score a pair of hits on the aged crone. Aerys steps up and tries to plant a fist through the skull of the leering skeleton.
Aerys puts just enough force into her blow for the skeleton down hard, and Sasha runs up beside her, giving the toppled bones a good kick and wrenching free a club-sized femur from the pile. "Swords aren't going to work on these!" The skeleton closest to you also strikes out, attempting to cut you down.
The other skeletons are unable to find position, and hold in place for a moment, waiting for the chance to rush forward. Jask steps up, raises high his holy symbol to Nethys, and a burst of energy washes forth over the gathered skeletons.
The old woman grimaces further at the wounds you have inflicted upon her, and prods at you with a wicked-looking wand.
Even your party is a little taken aback by your direct assault, and the old crone starts back a step at your ferocious assault. The skeletons, not yet perceiving more than your existence, stand idly.
Caiden chuckles. "You are hardly that, Zelaria, and I'm sure your aim will be just fine. Oog," he holds his head after the chuckle. "How long will it take to get there?" he asks Walthus.
Walthus thinks for a while, mentally computing your strides against his own, then spouts, "Maybe six to seven hours. Less, if I ride with one of you on the way there. Don't need my own pony in the swamp, so I'm not going to buy one now." "Right then," Kharia chimes in. "If we are planning to leave today, we should do so quickly. You two will need to get your things and recover on the road." Caiden and Walthus groan in protest, but appear to acquiesce. "I will go back to the cathedral to prepare my armor and bow. Zelaria, you appear to be mostly ready for travel. Would you be able to go past the Armory whilst the three of us prepare? We can meet up again in front of the Dragon here to depart."
I think that the Serpents Skull AP volume 1 runs quite well as a 1 on 1 game. Comes with premade non-generic NPCs to use as well. Just give Nima slightly higher share of xp initially to catch him up to their level 2 start, or start him at level 2.
You head east toward the skeleton cage, but as you approach you hear a crackling voice bark out a few words and the rattling ceases. Thick foliage makes it difficult to go around either side of the cage. You see that the front door of the cage is closed, but upon closer inspection see a back door standing ajar. It is quite dark, but with Jask's magical light once again upon your shoulder and your sharp eyes, you are able to make out five silhouettes in the darkness behind the cave. Four are quite slender, and the fifth appears bowed over and decrepit, and carries a staff. The staff thuds on the ground, and a set of sparkling, swirling red lights appear over the heads of the five figures. Clearly, the four slender ones are the skeletons, standing at attention a few feet in front of an incredibly old looking woman. A small monkey is racing round her ankles, and eventually leaps up to perch at her shoulder. "Who be you?" she crackles out in Common, clearly out of practice with the tongue. "Where the Thrunefangs? Where is Klorak?!"
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