"If we are going to track these torturers down, we will have them this evening. It is not too far to the next camp."
"I sure will try to follow the track, if we follow those lumberers... But would it not be better to gather the ingredients for the townsfolk?
I do not want to make this decision... Quirk, you knew those victims. I think the decision is yours. I will do whatever you are going to do."
"I sure will try to follow the track, if we follow those lumberers... But would it not be better to gather the ingredients for the townsfolk?
I do not want to make this decision... Quirk, you knew those victims. I think the decision is yours. I will do whatever you are going to do."
"I think we have forgotten about Laural's attackers," Drint protests, "Is it possible that these men were, in fact, the same lumberjacks as those who did this? In which case, Quirk, your...friends must have gotten in their way. Is it not possible that the men are going to destroy the ingredients?"
"I think we have forgotten about Laural's attackers," Drint protests, "Is it possible that these men were, in fact, the same lumberjacks as those who did this? In which case, Quirk, your...friends must have gotten in their way. Is it not possible that the men are going to destroy the ingredients?"
"It would be possible, but would that not be a little far fetched? And Laurel said nothing about them destroying anything in her shop, so either they know exactly what to look for, or it is just coincidence, which sounds far more reasonable..."
"I think we have forgotten about Laural's attackers," Drint protests, "Is it possible that these men were, in fact, the same lumberjacks as those who did this? In which case, Quirk, your...friends must have gotten in their way. Is it not possible that the men are going to destroy the ingredients?""It would be possible, but would that not be a little far fetched? And Laurel said nothing about them destroying anything in her shop, so either they know exactly what to look for, or it is just coincidence, which sounds far more reasonable..."
"Alright. If you're sure." Drint says uncertainly.
"I sure will try to follow the track, if we follow those lumberers... But would it not be better to gather the ingredients for the townsfolk?
I do not want to make this decision... Quirk, you knew those victims. I think the decision is yours. I will do whatever you are going to do."
Coralee is chewing on her lip, with a thoughtful look upon her face.
"Well, personally I want to do both, but I just not sure how feastable that will be. Why do they call it feastable, it has nothing to do with food? I've always wondered that. Anyway, we did make a commitment to Laurel to gather these ingredients and we are under a time limit, but we should also try and avenge Quirk's friends as well. Their deaths were sensless and crule and should not go unpunished. The problem is that doing so will take time away from our ingredients quest and if we don't make it back in time then there will be a lot more people dead. Oh dear, I just can't decide. Quince, what do you think we should do? If we had a leader at all I would choose you, not that I'm forcing you to make the decision on your own, it should be something that we all do, but just that I think you should act like a mediator and be that medium voice. You know, the one that casts the tying vote, or the judge that rules on the verdict of the jury, or the trusted friend that people come to for advice, or the crazy old lady that has 50 cats that everone knows is crazy and they don't listen to her and... no wait that one doesn't work does it, because noone listens to the crazy cat lady. Forget that last one, but you get my meaning, right? Anyway I guess I'm just saying that I know I look up to you for guidance and I'm not sure about the others but I vote for you to be the leader if you weren't already, because I don't really know what you guys had decided before I met you at Jurin's house."
Quince looks a bit nonplussed at Coralee's suggestion.
"Wha-? Me, leader?" Quince shakes his head emphatically. "You don't want me as a leader. No, sir. I'm more like the crazy cat lady, and nobody wants to take orders from a crazy cat lady. Unless...no, you don't want me as leader."
Quince pauses, waiting for anyone else to chime in, but no one seems to want to make a decision. "OK, fine. Justs this once, you understand. I won't be a good leader."
He turns to Quirk. "Quirk, I'm sorry about your people, your friends, but we have more pressing responsibilities. We agreed to help Laurel find a cure, and all of Falcon's Hollow is counting on us. I don't think we can take the time to go after these men now. I understand this disease and the cure aren't your problem, and I'm sure no one here would hold it against you if you wanted to go after these men on your own. But we have to find the cure first. When that's done, I'm sure no one would have a problem helping you get justice. I will, at least. You have my word."
Drint looks very grave. "I'm afraid that I will not aid in...punishing the lumberers. When I was younger I would have. But I've learned. Vengeance is not a good force--those who wish to exact revenge will do terrible things to do so. I've feared vengeance for years, despite my religion. I'm sorry, Quirk, but I'll have no part in this. I've killed before. I will not do it again."
"But... but..." Quirk sighs and his shoulders droop a bit. "You are right. I gave my word. But please, let us cut them down and take a bit of time to mourn the dead and prepare their passage to the Fralnuflen."
He looks around and realizes, that the others did not catch that last phrase. "Emm, the Other Realm? The Afterlife? Fralnuflen is where you go, when you die."
"It won't take long. Can someone please help me up? To Cut them down?"
"Of course there's time to give the dead proper respect. Quirk, why don't you fly up there? Take some rope with you, and lower them down to us. Drint, Girther, perhaps you two could start digging some graves for them. And I'm sure Coralee would say a few words for the deceased."
The party quickly digs a grave. Laying the pixies' corpses on the moist soil, they look tiny.
Coralee helps everyone dig and place the bodies in the graves. She gathers everyone together around the graves and bows her head.
"Desna, please bless these spirits, Ljokel, Mixie and Lalma and make sure they find their way to the Realm of Fralnuflen, where they may play forevermore without a care. They were taken from this world by sensless violence, but their fun loving spirits will now know eternal peace.Let us mark their memories not with solemn silence, but with carefree laughter, to show them that we are thinking of them and know that they have gone to a better place."
With this, she lifts her head and gives a cheerful but forced laugh. Everyone can see however, that their are tears rolling down her cheeks.
"To Happy Ever After." Quirk says and he goes to the three graves they dug and pricks himself into his left index finger. A few drops of blood are let into the soil of each of the graves. With the intonation 'To Happy Ever After' repeated at each grave. Some of the drops may also have been tears flowing freely.
"I hops we can return here on our way back. We can see then, if they have arrived in Fralnuflen."
"To Happy Ever After." Quirk says and he goes to the three graves they dug and pricks himself into his left index finger. A few drops of blood are let into the soil of each of the graves. With the intonation 'To Happy Ever After' repeated at each grave. Some of the drops may also have been tears flowing freely.
"I hops we can return here on our way back. We can see then, if they have arrived in Fralnuflen."
Drint puts his hand on Quirk's shoulder. "It's hard, isn't it? To lose those whom you love?"
Girther listens as Drint talks to Quirk. “Yes it does,” he says softly in answer to a question that was not directed at him. Addressing the group he says, “Let’s find a way to cross the river.”
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Having finished the sad task of burying the pixies, you scan the river. You see that the river at this point is narrow and shallow. Perhaps the water level would only reach the forehead of Quirk if he is minded to walk.
You cross the river without any problems. But the memory of the dead you leave behind reminds you of the dangers that lurk in this forest. You travel without any further encounters but you are still a long way off from your goal as you stop to look at the setting sun.
The place where you are is a thing of beauty. You are on small rise overlooking a waterfall. The cool, crystal clear water reminds you that dinner would be most welcome.
"Yum! Dried rations for dinner! Ah, the joys of the trail. Blisters on the feet, dried rations for dinner, and lumpy rocks for a bed. It doesn't get any better than that!"
"Anybody have any wine, perchance?" Quince hopes to lighten the mood a little.
Quirk looks at Quince eating his ration. He is still shaken by the loss of his friends. "No, I don't have any wine with me, but I wouldn't mind speaking a toast to absent friends. But I am definitely not hungry. Not yet. Tomorrow perhaps. I will see what the new morning will bring."
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It is midnight and there is no moon up in the sky. The only light for miles around is the flickering embers of your campfire.
For those sleeping Listen DC 20 (penalty inclusive)
For whoever is on watch Listen DC 10
It is midnight and there is no moon up in the sky. The only light for miles around is the flickering embers of your campfire.
For those sleeping Listen DC 20 (penalty inclusive)** spoiler omitted **
For whoever is on watch Listen DC 10 ** spoiler omitted **
Fjyndel wakes by the sound he thought to hear in his dreams, looking out for the person to be on watch.
Perception (sound-based) (1d20+5=22)
Quince jumps up at the sound, looking around wildly. "Wake up!" he cries. "Something's coming!" He draws a dagger and tries to pinpoint the source of the sound.
It is midnight and there is no moon up in the sky. The only light for miles around is the flickering embers of your campfire.
For whoever is on watch Perception DC 10
Coralee has been on watch for a short while now and she is busy gazing up into the night sky at the stars, when all of a sudden she is startled by a loud boom and rustling in the bushes surrounding the camp. She quickly rushes over to Quince and whispers loudly "Quince wake up, there areat least three somethings out there and they're coming our way in a hurry."
She then moves to Girther, Fjyndel, Drint and Quirk in that order, skipping anyone that already appears to be waking up and repeating her warning. After that she rushes back over to Quince and stands with a Starknife at the ready looking around the camp into the bushes trying to catch a glimpse of whatever is out there.
Fjyndel quickly grabs his shield and club, then moving towards Coralee, looking into the darkness of the wood in the direction of the loudest noise.
Girther wakes with a start at Coralee’s whispered warning. Realizing that he will not have time to don his armor he grabs his shield and waraxe and moves to meet the danger.
Listen=23
Drint leaps up with a start and grabs his dagger next to him on instinct. "Where are they? Who are they?"
"Wha? What? Where?" Quirk comes out of the small brush that he used as his 'bed'. "Oh!" as he hears the commotion around him.
You regard the noise and notice that there are three distinct sets of footfalls coming to your campsite from East, South and West.
For those with Darkvision** spoiler omitted **
Drint's keen eyesight easily picks up the figures shambling towards them.
"They're ssssurrounding ussss...there'ssss something wrong with the way they walk, though...ready your weaponssss, we may have to fight."|
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Thirty feet away, and you can all now see the shambling figures. They are fat humans in lumberjack overalls, each one hefting a big axe. They are all pale-faced, as if their blood have been drained away.
Perception (Sight) DC 18
Perception (Sight) (1d20+3=20)
Fjyndel spots the wings hanging from the belt of the southern lumberer and immediately starts casting a spell to stop him from proceeding to come to them.
"I can barely see them! Are they human? Why are they attacking us?"
Quince casts flare on the closest attacker, hoping the burst of light will provide a little more illumination for the moment.
Perception (Sight)(1d20+7=9)
Initiative (1d20+6=7)
Quirk is stunned by the sight of the lumbering lumberjacks. "Who are these? They... they look like lumberers... but they are twisted... somehow..."
1d20+5=18
"Quirk..." Drint whispers, "It looks like you'll get your revenge after all. One of the men has...torn wings hanging from his belt.
Initiative 1d20+5=8
Perception: (1d20 1=10)
Initiative:
(1d20=16)
Girther tries to position himself in a central location. As soon as one of the creatures comes into range he will charge (if possible).
Coralee quickly decides to cast Mage Armour on herself so as to be ready for the fight at hand. Once done, she readies herself for the Lumberjacks coming towards them, holding her Starknife out in front of her, but still keeping an eye on the others in case they need some healing.
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Quince shouts an arcane word of power and a flash of light explodes before the eyes of one of the lumberjacks but the same appears to have no effect on him.
Fyjndel sees something on one of the lumberjacks. "Nature protects its own!" Vines shoot out of the ground to entangle the lumberjack coming from the South.
"Quirk..." Drint whispers, "It looks like you'll get your revenge after all. One of the men has...torn wings hanging from his belt."
Girther tries to position himself in a central location. The lumberjack entangled in the vines presents a good target.
Coralee quickly decides to cast Mage Armour on herself so as to be ready for the fight at hand. Once done, she readies herself for the Lumberjacks coming towards them, holding her Starknife out in front of her, but still keeping an eye on the others in case they need some healing.
Quirk is stunned by the sight of the lumbering lumberjacks. "Who are these? They... they look like lumberers... but they are twisted... somehow..."
A foul stench covers the entire area as the lumberjacks close in. They proceed forward and attack the stunned pixie. Punches that feel like hammer blows strike the pixie. No wound is apparent on Quirk's face.
For Drint, Coralee and Quirk
Knowledge (Religion) DC 14
A foul stench covers the entire area as the lumberjacks close in
Fjyndel casts Shillelagh on his club, then readying himself for the attack of the foul lumberers.
Quirk wakes up from his quasi-paralysis as Drint's words reach him through his stupor. He sees the wings dangling from the belt of the lumberjack and his senses also bring the stench of dead flesh to his mind. "This is wrong. Why do they walk? They should be dead."
His subconscious takes over as he is peppered by the strikes of those lurching men that have brought this putrid smell into the camp. His wings to begin to buzz and pull him up into the air. He does not realize that he is flying but his fixation on those lumbering humans continues. His eyes are fixed on the wings of his dead comrades.
"They killed my friends. Vengeance beckons. Cavandel! They will be avenged." He pulls out his bow and shoots an arrow at the entangled lumberjack with the wings.
Shocked, Drint gasps. "Oh my gods...they're dead...but not..." His spear fails to make impact.
Girther charges.
Attack: Melee waraxe, dwarven: (1d20 8=21)
Damage: Melee waraxe, dwarven: (1d10 3=12)
Trying to keep away from the strange, lumbering lumberjacks, Quince steps back. His right hand comes up, fingers moving in a complex pattern. He points his finger at the eastern lumberjack and murmurs, "Gillenfa hythkos!" A bolt of magical force shoots from his fingertip to impact the lumberjack's hulking form.
Quince 20
Fyjdel 20
Drint 18
Girther 16
Coralee 15
Quirk 7
Lumberjacks 3Coralee quickly decides to cast Mage Armour on herself so as to be ready for the fight at hand. Once done, she readies herself for the Lumberjacks coming towards them, holding her Starknife out in front of her, but still keeping an eye on the others in case they need some healing.
Attack of Opportunity vs. Lumberjack. (1d20+1=15) Damage. (1d3=3)
Coralee glances over at Quirk to see if he needs some healing assistance, but she can see no wounds even though she saw him get hit. She then screws her nose up at the stench and takes a swipe at a Lumberjack as it shambles into range.
Quince 20
Fyjdel 20
Drint 8
Girther 16
Coralee 8
Quirk 7
Lumberjacks 3
Drint recovers from his shock, drawing his spear and throwing it at the nearest 'lumberjack'.
Attack 1d20+6=16, 1d6+1=6
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Revised Init:
Quince 20
Fyjdel 20
Girther 16
Coralee 15
Drint 8
Quirk 7
Lumberjacks 3
In loud clear voice, Quince utters the mystic words, “"Gillenfa hythkos!" A bolt of magical force shoots from his fingertip to impact the lumberjack's hulking form, which promptly implodes.
Fjyndel casts Shillelagh on his club, then readying himself for the attack of the foul lumberers.
Girther then quickly guts his opponent but a putrid stench emerges from the wound that he has created.
Fort Save Girther DC 12, if fail
Coralee strikes the same creature that Girther just gutted. She turns to help Quirk but is surprised that he is unhurt.
Drint attacks the remaining lumberjack and strikes a point on his anatomy that should have rendered him helpless. To Drint’s surprise, the lumberjack regards him with cold, dead eyes.
The lumberjack raises his meaty fist to squash Drint like a fly but before he could complete his action an arrow flashes to bury itself right between the eyes of the thing. Foul ichor spurts from the death wound.
Drint Ref Save DC 12, if fail
Reflex 14, Perception 12
Drint looks shocked, seeing the narrow miss he just had.