Histrok's page

After entering the tent, Histork listens to the report and Drekisal's reaction before speaking. "Thank you for the report. I believe that Leader Drekisal is correct that letting the rumors continue at this point is in our best interest. Our secret will come out eventually, but having a reason for our success isn't a terrible thing for others to learn eventually. I do have a couple questions about the situation though.

"Finally, have Urim and his band returned from their hunt yet? We met them in the field and found them more open to interaction than I had expected. If they were here when we had a confrontation with Kulwa that could work to our advantage, assuming it went well."

Histrok nods at the sergeants's assessment. "For tonight we set up camp and make sure that the wounded are tended to. Today was a learning process in many ways, not what we were expecting. We need to make plans for the coming days based on this new information.

"Speak of which, if you or any of your soldiers feel that you've learned anything that we might be missing I want you to be sure that you pass it on. It's important that we take any steps we can to preserve lives and increase our success a the hunts. I want it known that ideas are to be rewarded in our company, not punished. We're far from the homes we've known and need to adapt to information as we gain it. This is true of Leader Dresikal, but it's true of everyone else in the company as well."

Histrok helps set up the camp and make sure that the watches are set before joining Drekisal, Jhaelwyn and Sir Gork at the central fire, being sure to invite the sergeant to join the discussion as well.

"So we've learned much about the Mantids and scored a victory. What should our next steps be?"

We're retconning Drekisal as the leader immediately with Histrok as adviser and face to the world when it's useful to keep connections to the dragon hidden. Surtur's memory has magically been wiped.

We're early enough in the story that none of the decisions made would need to be different so far, so that should work as far as I'm concerned. As long as Histrok believes that Drekisal would plan to build a kingdom that welcomed all who were willing to peacefully be a part of it, including, but not limited to, hobgoblins, Histrok would be a loyal advisor.

As far as how much Dreiksal hides his true leadership behind Histrok, I'll leave that up to him as Histork is comfortable making decisions on a small scale on they fly.

This will change what some of our encounters will look like down the road, but I'm cool with that.

Histrok nods, not apparently bothered at how the attempt goes. "Learning is a process. We're taking the first steps now, and in time it'll seem as natural as if you've always known how to do it. For now, let's just remember what didn't work and do different things next time." With that the hobgoblin steps away from the corpses and reports to Surtur. "I believe that we've done what we can do here, Leader Surtur. The men are ready to move out at your command."

Let's head directly out of the Mantid territory for now if possible to set up camp for the evening and figure out what our next plans are.

I'm fine with a Surtur proxy for Drekisal leadership. After talking with Drekisal about it Histrok could probably help make that happen.

Once the wounded have been seen to and the venom glands have been harvested the group readies itself to move. Looking over the field of battle Histrok nods solemnly. "Well fought everyone. We learned much today, and at a high cost. We'll bury the body of Soldier Chalmers here. For now I will recommend that we withdraw from the Mantid territory for the day, and return to hunt again with this new knowledge. In addition to gathering the venom glands we should harvest trophies of our victory as well as any other parts which can can be sold back at the . Every soldier should take the time to find whatever token from our fallen foe will remind them of our victory here and inspire us for the future. This is our first victory, but we should be aware that it is far from our last!"

After turning to Leader Surtur for acknowledgment, Histork leads a group of soldiers that don't see otherwise occupied to the Mantid corpses and beings to point out the parts that are worth harvesting.

Heal to harvest: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Well, several of them took hits without going down from our soldiers. I'd guess that they're CR more than 1. They were stated to be in the CR 2-3 range way back around page 2 now that I go back and look. At least some of the value must be in the venom sacks for us, but the other hunting expeditions must be doing something else with the parts.

So we should start harvesting. I can do either heal (+7) or craft alchemy (+10) checks. We should get everyone that has applicable skills working on it and we should start mentoring the soldiers to help out with such tasks for the future (whatever that looks like.)

I can also cast preserve on potentially as much as 90+ lbs. of materials within the next 2 days depending on how much we can harvest and how long we can wait for me to do it (that would use all my spell slots for the next two days.) That keeps them fresh for up to a week, and I'd imagine that I could repeat the process. If there's much more than that to be harvested and it's things that would rot then we probably need to head back to the Lodge with just this load of stuff. If not we can keep hunting. We'll need to wait to hear what the situation is to decide I'd think.

Drekisal is the most obvious choice, and his character is ambitious, though I think he was looking for more of a power behind the throne approach. He's welcome to chime in otherwise!

Also, I've just realized, I'm not sure how we're supposed to benefit financially from this hunt. Do we sell parts of the Mantids back at the lodge? How do the hunters make a profit and stay in business? We've certainly had a successful hunt (sorry Soldier Chalmers who I've just named our first casualty,) but I'm not sure how we capitalize on that now.

Hmm, as long as we're treating this as a council style thing where everyone has a role in decision making I can take point I suppose. IC Histrok is much better suited as an independent lieutenant helping someone else by getting things done to complement their plans. Having said that, I don't know that anyone else's character of the group that's left is well designed to lead the expedition (for various different RP reasons, and feel free to speak up if you think otherwise,) and we'll make do with what we've got regardless.

As the others tend to the soldiers wounds, Histrok begins to take a survey of the enemy corpses to how many will be harvestable for new batches of the anti-venom.

I'm traveling for the weekend and won't be able to post much until Monday at the earliest.

While Surtur continues to attack the Mantids near him, moving to assist the nearby soldiers as he has a chance, Histrok focuses on the Mantids harassing the other troop. The hobgoblin glares at the nearest Mantid, hexing it with Misfortune, and then begins to chant to keep the hex active.

Standard action to use Misfortune Hex on the Mantid with the green arrow pointing to it (Will Save DC 15, anytime the creature makes an ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result.) Move action to chant to extend the hex an additional round (to 2 rounds.)

At least you and Ham both get extra attacks this time with Haste!

Combat Round 4
Surtur will take advantage of his haste to make many attacks against puny bug things near him, starting with the ones that also threaten the soldiers.

Histrok watches the Mantid that was supposed to be trapped by the shadows move to attack Surtur and gives a small shrug. At least it chooses a target that can fight back well. The hobgoblin then shuffles forward through the rough terrain directly ahead and tries again on one of the Mantids Jhaelwyn distracted.

Move action to move 10 feet through rough terrain, cast shadow trap (DC 14 will save) on the Mantid the green arrow points to.

Sorry for not posting here sooner, it's both been a busy week and I've been waiting to see what Jhaelwyn was going to do, but it doesn't really matter for what Histrok and Surtur do next.

Surtur will order the men to continue to engage appropriately (melee attacks for the group engaged, ranged attacks for those that aren't,) and move to attack one of the Mantids attacking the engaged group.

Histrok looks out at the wave of mantids that have sprung from the ground and frowns before moving. The haste helps improve the hobgoblin's normally slow speed, and upon getting within range of some of the currently unengaged Mantids one calls on the spirits to help bind one of them in place.

Move Action to move, Standard action to cast Shadow trap on the Mantid with a green arrow pointing towards it.

Shadow Trap DC 14 Will save to avoid getting trapped and not being able to move more than 5 feet.

Histrok will start by holding his action to cast haste when Surtur is within 30 feet of Sir Gork.

At Histrok's beckon Surtur will come slightly closer to the hobgoblin and the mounted ogre. Once they are within 30 feet of eachother Histrok will cast Haste on Surtur, Sir Gork, Ham, Histrok and the leader of the closer unit of warriors.

Once this is cast, Surtur will, if possible use any movement he has left to return to the forward unit of warriors.

OK, we can make that work for now. Surtur's role in the battle should be fairly straightforward anyhow.

Surtur distributed the antivenom to everyone this time around (presumably a dose for Ham as well.)

Looks like we're waiting on the Mantids for initiative at this point before Jhaelwyn tries to distract some of them from some other direction.

With Jhaelwyn setting off to get things started, Histrok moves to where Sir Gork sits ready to charge. With a low chant, the hobgoblin reaches out to bless the Ogre's mighty lance. "This should make your already ferocious attacks even more so. We're counting on you Sir Gork. You and Ham will be the ones to break them if all goes well."

Moving 20 feet to Sir Gork, casting Magic Weapon on his lance (which will last 5 minutes.)

Have a lovely vacation! If we do get Surtur back that would be excellent!

As the group approaches, Histrok takes a scroll from one of a couple scroll cases and quietly chants while gesturing towards Jhaelwyn. When the hobgoblin has finished the elf begins to lift from the ground.

Casting fly on Jhaelwyn to allow her to get into position quickly and scout more precisely where the mantids are. We'll do it form slightly off the map and use that to pick our edge of assault if at all possible. If not we'll enter from the south more or less as shown unless others want to move their characters.

I'm sure we can work with this. As long as we can get to the edge of that map without them noticing us I'll take less room than we were expecting.

OK, we'll be engaging closer than I'd imagined. That's fine. If we've gotten to here without them noticing, then does anyone object to my flying up to scout their position more precisely? Or even better Jhaelwyn flying up to scout as that would let her figure out the best spot to position us and herself using her knowledge. I'm thinking we won't even need to be too fancy with my crossbow to draw them to us, we can probably just make noise from this side at the same time that the Ghost Noise goes off at the other and hope it splits them for long enough for us to have a couple rounds or so with just half of them.

Sounds good! Good things are worth waiting some for!

Histrok nods as Sir Gork moves into position. "Agreed it is time.

"Leader Surtur, Jhaelwyn and I leave now. I will return with our prey and to assist with our efforts here as soon as I am able. I'll do my best not to be quiet about it so that everyone will know we approach."

Turning back to Jhaelwyn the hobgoblin nods again. "You lead and I will follow. When we get to an appropriate spot tell me to wait and I will give you as much time as you request beyond that for you to get into position before casting my spell. I'll fire my shot when I see any of the mantids reacting to your distraction. Is this plan acceptable?"

Stealth to follow Jhaelwyn once she starts leading: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Well that's a luck roll to start things off.

As Surtur to move the men into position Histrok moves to the front with Jhaelwyn to get ready for their parts in the plan. "I'm going to rely on your knowledge of the mantids here. How close do you think I should get before casting my fly spell, and how much time do you think you will need to get into position and start the distraction?"

OK, even though I said I was waiting for Surtur to say to start, we're going to get things going. Jhaelwyn can start sneaking into position, I'll give her some time, cast my fly and get ready to plink a mantid with my crossbow and fly back to the army. What's the limit for how many I've got following me before I abort and fly straight up and lead them somewhere other than towards the main force? How many do you all think we can handle at once?

As the intelligence from the spectral hawk, the experience of the party and the lay of the land all comes into focus, Surtur sets the group in motion. As the hunting party gathers, Histrok explains the plan.

"Surtur will personally lead both of our units in the fight, leading from the front and using his skill to protect those around him. Drekisal will stay nearby providing support as he sees fit. This is the main force. We will be taking position over there, approximately half a mile from the mantid's position. When the mantid start their approach, we'll start hitting them as soon as they are within range of our shortbows. As they close, we'll retreat, trying to get in a couple more volleys before engaging in melee if we have the option to do so. We will concentrate fire on the targets that Surtur selects, trying to drop as many as possible before engaging in melee, rather than weakening several.

"When the melee engagement comes, soldiers will do their best to flank the enemy with their nearest partner. The goal is to have a zig-zag pattern when the engagement starts, with those in the back line wheeling in to flank the target of their neighbor to the right. If your target goes down, your next option should always be whichever mantid looks weakest that you can reach and ideally flank with an ally. The more we can drop quickly the less they'll be hitting us back.

"Sir Gork will stay to that side of the main force, mounted on Ham, about 30 feet out. As the mantids are known for attacking weaker targets he isn't likely to be their first target, though if he is, we'll change the plan on the fly and provide support. Assuming things go as plan though, as soon as the main force engages the mantids in melee Sir Gork will begin charging through their ranks, taking out what he can and then wheeling around to hit them again from the opposite side.

"Jhaelwyn has the most dangerous job and we are relying on her for heavily. She'll be providing a distraction to attempt to split the enemy forces. If she succeeds we'll likely see two waves of enemies. The hope is that we'll have mostly dealt with the first by the time the second gets to us, but as this is our first engagement with this particular enemy, we'll have to see how that goes.

"My role will be to draw the mantids to us. I will be doing this while flying which should give me the speed I need to reach the main force ahead of the mantids, and will also give me the option to abort the attempt if too many seem to be coming for us at once. After I've determined that I'm being followed by a force we will be able to handle, I'll land behind our main force and assist Drekisal with supporting our units."

Histrok pauses and looks around at the assembled company, making brief eye contact with each person in turn. When the hobgoblin speaks again, it is with a voice is slightly louder than before and a tone steeled beyond what others have heard in the past. "What we do today is the start of something important. This is the first step in reclaiming this land from the scourge that came pouring from the bowels of the earth a generation ago. The first step in driving that scourge back. What we're attempting won't be easy, and this fight won't be one we'll win without the hard work of every single person here with us. But know that you are here to witness and wage the first battle in a glorious campaign that will heal this land and be remembered as something truly great. I know that I can count on all of you and it is my honor to fight along side you this great day."

Turning to Surtur, the hobgoblin bows his head. "Leader Surtur, we await your command to begin."

And this week started busy for me. I'll try to get a post in the gameplay thread today getting things set up, but if anyone has anything more to say about tactics do post!

Right now I'm thinking Jhaelwyn sneaks around to the other side, gets set to cast ghost noise to hopefully draw some away. At the same time we send someone to shoot an arrow at them and run back to the group. Surtur and one of our units will be there to meet them head on and Sir Gork and the other will be waiting to hit them from the side as they engage (hopefully with some concealment so that they'll surprise the Mantids.) Gork charges through and then wheels around for another charge the following round (or whatever he does that makes sense,) and the unit could either engaged in melee or with ranged attacks. Surtur's unit should try to get a round or two of ranged attacks as they're approaching before dropping bows and preparing for melee.

Drekisal and I will buff some before we go, probably one of us with Surtur the other with Sir Gork.

Does that sound good or should we just stick with Surtur and both units prepared to meet them, ready to try a bit of a pincer from both sides if there are few enough coming at us, with only Gork hitting from the side? I guess that would be more ranged attacks as they approach.

We also need to know who's doing the ranged attack to get their attention. We need to be pretty sure they can outrun the mantids on the way back to Surtur.

Yeah, I've been hoping that Surtur will get back soon and make some final decisions. If he's not here by the end of the weekend how about we start acting with these basics for a plan. Sound fair to everyone?

I think it has to be an option that gets their attention and draws them to us even if it does no damage at all.

I also think that we have to have our warriors stay grouped together and couldn't send just one. I'd had to risk an entire squad of them out in the open if the mantids get the jump on them. I know that one of Surtur's priorities is keeping them all safe to the greatest extent possible, given that this is a dangerous task.

Pulling with a ranged attack could work, but do we have good options for that?

I'm fine with a Gork charge to grab the ones he can grab and bring them back to an ambush, but ideally we could grab less than all of them. If they are at the upper limit of numbers then even if we've got good terrain for a trap, I'm worried that there's still too great a danger we'll be overwhelmed. A lot of it depends on how easily the individual mantids go down, but whatever we can do to get less attacking at once must be good.

What if Jhaelwyn sneaks in and around to the opposite side first, and sets up a ghost sound for 20 men coming close, seeing the mantids and then retreating at the same time that Gork hits. If that can draw some of them towards the sounds and the rest to us we might be more able to deal with two smaller waves rather than one big one.

OK, I'm back from break as well and we're about to get to excitement!

I like the idea of using someone as bait to draw them mantids to us, though if they all come, we'll need to try to get some down quickly so they don't overwhelm us. We know that the mantids are fast and jump well, so there's some chance that the bait would be a good candidate for fly as well so that they've got a good chance to not get killed bringing the mantids to us.

Do we know about any ranged attacks we need to worry about?

Right, at this point I think that I'm waiting for Surtur's reaction to the hawk's inability to draw the mantids to us. We probably want to set up a force to meet them either a ways off or at the ridge that might provide an advantage if we can sneak to it, but it's not clear to me at either is the obviously better action. Gork on a flying, invisible Ham would still get attacked by leaping Mantids, but still might be worth it for the ability to charge every turn and lay waste to our foes. It does take invisibility away from Drekisal, but if he's hanging back then hopefully we can keep the mantids occupied on others anyhow.

Does anyone have an AoE options they want to talk about now? Drekisal's breath weapons and what else?

We know that they're good leapers if memory serves.

So Grog's Lance is a reach weapon. What if Ham was flying during this fight. Would that give Grog a chance to make charge attacks every round from above the height of everyone else and not need to worry about folks being in the way? Would that be worth it for this encounter given the numbers we're looking at? This is as much a question to GM Mercy (feasibility) as it is to Grog and the other players (do you like it?)

*edit*

That might even help some if we're worried about stealth from Grog. If he can hang back behind everyone else and plan on air charging in maybe we can get away with less stealth needed. If not, then we should consider using invisiblity on Grog (or anyone else that isn't stealthy,) just for that bonus to get into position perhaps?

Thanks for the retcon! I'm much happier with that outcome even though mechanically it's essentially the same.

"It seems that the Mantids won't take the bait of the hawk to draw them to us. Perhaps the simply know that birds are not interesting prey and Jhaelwyn's ghost sound will have better luck. It could also be the lack of scent or any number of other things. Hopefully we'll learn in time exactly which ways to lure them to us work best."

Histrok points to the east and continues. "The good news is that there is a ridge that we should allow us to get closer without being spotted if we are able to move carefully enough."

So the spell should last 50 minutes. If the first flight only took 10 or so there should be time to try to have the hawk pull the mantids to the east with an attack and see the results, right? I guess I was counting on that math when making plans.

Yeah, I hadn't been expecting anywhere near these numbers. I should probably check the shaman spell list for more AoE spells for future encounters as right now I'm loaded to take care of maybe 1 through 4 stronger creatures. Well, really I'm loaded to do scouting and information gathering, but I didn't have these numbers in mind at all. Should be good fun! I'm glad we didn't just stumble into them though!

Before sending the hawk on it's next flight Histrok will ask about the terrain between the party and the Mantids, seeking any that might give the party an advantage in a fight.

After listening to the Hawks report Histrok relays the information to the hunting party. "It sounds like around 15 to 30 mantids are set up to ambush people that walk through their area. The terrain they currently occupy seems to naturally lend an easy walking path that I expect they are looking for prey to follow into their trap. They all seems to be of the smaller variety, around the height of dwarves or smaller humans."

Histrok pauses, thinking some. "This is a larger group than I was expecting. I'd like see what happens if I try to use the hawk as bait to lure them away, but I'd like to do a test run in the opposite direction to see how they react to it before doing anything to lead them here. Is there any reason that I shouldn't try that? We should have time to test their reactions once, and then if they behave in a way we find acceptable, to draw some number of them this way instead."

Assuming the others approve, Histrok will command the hawk to circle around and approach the mantids from the east (so the side of their group opposite us.) It will then dive at the nearest mantid, screaming, and then fly off from the direction it came for two minutes before gaining altitude looking to see how many moved to follow it. If that's too complicated for the hawk to understand then try to get as much of it as possible for a test run that pulls them in a direction other than towards us. As soon as it isn't being followed it should return and report its finding to Histrok.

@Surtur, we'll see what information we get and how much time we have. As for the scout, it takes a third level spell, so it has to give more use for the situation than haste or fly would, but for today it seemed likely it would do that when we're encountering a new type of enemy for the first time and want to have as much idea of the situation ahead of time as possible. I do like it though, and given that we're likely to be in these sorts of situations somewhat often in the early stages of the campaign, I might make a scroll or two of it when we've got some down time.

I don't know the shaman spell list well at all, so the good news is that I'm taking a close look at it each day to see if I can find anything that might suit our needs better rather than just going with the good spells (in part because I don't know what the good spells are.) It's a good exercise to get more familiar with what I can do.

@GM Mercy, I think that we're looking forward to them as well! The dread will set in once we realize what we're fighting.

Histrok nods. "At once, Leader Surtur."

The hobgoblin begins to a low chant and weaves some mystic signs in the air. After nearly a minute a ghostly, glowing blue hawk apperates out of nothing, sitting on pommel of Histrok's saddle. The bird and the hobgoblin begin having a conversation, though the birds part of it sounds to everyone else shrieks for a hawk and the hobgoblin speaks low enough that nothing much can be made out. Before long, the hawk turns it's head to the east opens it's wings and takes flight, quickly gaining altitude and blending in with the open sky.

Casting Spectral Scout to summon a hawk. I'll then command it to fly east (specifically in the direction that the birds from the Commune with birds spell told me the Mantids are in,) and scout the number and position of the mantids. It should look for any that are hidden and knows that the half-burrows in the sand are spots where they rest and should receive extra scrutiny. When this is done it will fly back and report to me.

I've used both my commune with birds, so they're out, but Spectral Scout is the better option this time anyhow. It lets me summon a tiny incorporeal animal for 50 minutes that I can talk with and understand, and which I can command as though it was an animal companion without my having to use handle animal. It can relay any information it has witnessed with perfect clarity (though wouldn't be able to interpret that information at all which isn't likely to matter too much here.)

I can use it to summon a hawk which would have a perception of +17 on sight based and opposed checks assuming we're in bright light (I think we are as it's daytime, though if it's particularly overcast it might not in which case it would just be +14.) I can then have it go see how many mantids it can find and report back. They might be hiding, but hopefully viewing them from above will negate that as that's probably not where they're worried about being spotted, and even if it doesn't the perception check is high enough that we've got a decent chance of spotting them (hopefully.) We should then be able to learn exactly where they are as the hawk should be able to describe the terrain it's flown over in enough detail. Possibly that would give us enough information to find a favorable spot for the encounter.

Assuming we can get set up quickly enough with the information that the hawk brings, I can potentially use it to go make a big noisy presence and draw one or more mantids to us. As it's incorporeal they won't be able to hurt it unless their attacks count as magic weapons, so it should be able to go rile them up with an unexpected something and then fly back either towards us or wherever else we might want it to, hopefully with mantids in tow. The advantage there is that there's no risk to any party members.

For the fight itself, I should be using either misfortune or shadow trap. If we could land shadow trap and have it stick for a couple rounds then killing it at range would be safer than engaging in melee. I do need to be within 35 feet of it to cast though, and the spells DC will only be 14, so there's a fair chance it saves. If we know that it's coming and are set up I should probably be able to ready an action to fire off the spell once it gets within 30 feet. That way we'd know if the spell lands or not and could go either melee or ranged depending on the success. That does assume just one mantid at a time likely. If there's more than one perhaps I try to lock one down that way while the melee deal with the other. If I land misfortune on it the second round I'm more likely to be able hold it for up to 5 rounds and keep at least one of them out of the fight.

Jhaelwyn, I'd probably hit Drekisal with the extra invisibility. He'll be buffing and possibly healing some for this first encounter, so he should keep it up longer than I would. He should be able to use spiritual weapon to attack while it's up (I think) if he wants to directly contribure to combat. I'm also squishy, but I'll be actively debuffing, so I'd lose it as a useful tool as soon as we got started.

Histrok nods as Jhaelwyn shares her knowledge. "That's very good to know. Thank you. We should then not count on being able to separate one from the pack and instead be prepared for all of them. If we can get just one it will be a bonus, but we'll prepare for the worst. It also makes knowing how many are there that much more important as we make our plans."

I will be able to haste the party before combat starts assuming we are able to predict it well enough. Alternatively I could haste our three melee options and two of the soldiers (the leader of each squad?)

I'll also be able to help Drekisal with magic weapon (I've got a couple ready) and also potentially cast Bull's Strength from a scroll if we think the fight warrants it. I'm happy to coordinate buffing with others since I hope that we're going into a fight that we have the chance to coordinate.

As Histrok reports the findings of the birds, the Hobgoblin offers to provide more detailed information if Surtur would like it. "Shall I summon a spectral hawk to pinpoint the location of the mantids and give us the exact number that are in the group to the east? Depending on how they act and how they are spaced I might even be able to use it to lure one of them to an ambush that we set if we can find a suitable spot."

Turning to Jhaelwyn, the hobgoblin asks, "I know that it's been some time, and it's possible you never would have had the chance to learn this part of the mantid's behaviors, but should we expect them to act as a pack in close communication or is it likely we would be able to separate an individual from the group?"

Histrok nods. "I will consult the birds and spirits and do what I can to find our prey."

Assuming that Histrok did not receive any word from the birds of mantids within a mile of the campsite last night, the Hobgoblin will cast Commune with Birds again after we've traveled about half a mile to the east, again asking about any mantids in the area. If there's still none that the birds can find Histrok will wait for about another mile and try once more. If there's still no sign of any Mantids after that, Histrok will wait another mile and then cast Spectral Scout to summon a Hawk (blue glow as I need to choose a color) with fly speed 60 and Percpetion +17 (assuming we're in bright light, +14 otherwise) to scout the area within 1 mile of the party for 50 minutes for mantids. If Surtur or anyone else finds a good trail or an actual mantid before any of these methods reveal one then Histrok will not cast the spells and we'll follow that other lead instead.

Histrok, while spending an hour communing with the spirits about the day ahead, will ask whether using the anti-venom during the first battle with the Mantids has any significant danger of raising the suspicions of the factions in the area about the party's mission.

So the divination can provide a useful piece of advice in reply to a question concerning a specific goal, event, or activity that is to occur within 1 week. I could ask about how our interactions with the elven-heritage hunter might go (or lack thereof,) but I need to frame the question in terms of how we're acting, and they're short term-ish, so I might work some of them into the future questions (I get one each day.) Asking if ignoring the interaction that Jhaelwyn had will harm the party is probably legitimate. Asking if Urim is likely to change his opinions if we lobby the hunter might work. The world is sort of our oyster here, but it's got a one week expiration date, so trying to figure out long term plans is trickier for now, and we have to ask about how we're going to eat the oyster and how that will go (to torture a metaphor.)

Let's try to sort out how to ask those in the coming days I guess (unless we think that it will effect how tomorrow goes.) And I should have been using detect magic for most of the time we were in the camp to answer some of those (like the disguise ones,) but apparently didn't think about it. Seems I'm not quite so suspicious as Histrok would have been, my bad.

For tomorrow, I can ask if heading directly towards the nest is a good idea (the answer will be no.) I could ask if waiting until the middle of the day would be helpful (I don't know what the answer would be, but I don't expect it to be an obvious yes.) If there's something more specific we don't know about the fight that could matter I'm happy to ask about it. I could maybe try to ask if attempting more than one mantid battle tomorrow is wise, though that depends so much on how the first goes that I don't expect a useful answer.

So far, based on the times I've used the ability till now, I know that mounts might or might not get in the way (which makes sense,) that we're better served by Sir Gork holding ceremonies to honor Merry and letting those who come come, rather than proselytizing, that how we talk to Urim's party will determine how that interaction goes (unsurprising,) and that going after the half giant should be done after we've done something of note (hunting the mantids now should be that.) Or I've read the answers incorrectly.

Anyone have any questions they'd like to ask the spirits before our first likely battle tomorrow? It doesn't need to be about the battle itself. If Jhaelwyn has any questions about her encounter with Urim's hunter that might help us that might be an option (assume she's interested in sharing the information with Histrok.)