Stepping forward Bowen tries not to looked to unsure of himself. Not knowing if hitting the cauldron will injure Turnipin or not.
The fear overwhelms Bowen as he tries to attack the cauldron.
Bowen's swing goes wide.
The Cauldron jumps around and Bowen can almost feel the eyeless kettle staring at him. The cauldron grinds its rim together on the gnome's kicking legs one more time and then... swallows. The gnome dissapears from view and the cauldron dances happily.
Balnar swings too hard and with a derisive hop, the cauldron dodges just out of the way.
Rall is not sure if it is entirely wise to stab at something with his friend inside but fear overcomes wisdom and not for the first time in his life.
Rall’s sword strikes the side of the cauldron and the sound is as of a bell being rung. Flakes of rust fly and the hut resonates from the blow.
The cauldron skitters to the side and then turns and somehow manages to glower at Rall.
Fee’s small weapon is ineffectual against the iron monster but he moves to provide flanking for Bowen.
Jeva shrieks and then shouts, “Get ‘em! Get ‘em!”
Death in the Pot - Round 2
Bowen - Initiative: 18
The Cauldron - Initiative: 14
Balnar - Initiative: 10
Rall (a little distracted) - Initiative: 8
Fee (a lot distracted) - Initiative: ?
Moving into a flanking position, Balnar takes slightly more careful aim than before and attempts to ring the death knell on this creature.
Rall attacks the cauldron again yelling "Spit it out you overgrown teakettle."
Bowen swings his scimitar trying to find a weak spot in the metal.
As Bowen's attack rings ineffectually on the rusty Iron Cauldron, the monstrosity of metal attempts to bite Rall.
The Cauldron Bites at Rall: (1d20+2=3)
Cauldron's Reflex Save (DC 10): (1d20=3)
It not only misses but upends itself, rolling like a ball. As it strives to regain it's footing, Balnar land's a mighty blow that rings the ears of everyone in the room.
Jeva grabs her ears and yelps in pain.
And then Rall's attack hits and the Cauldron spins as it continues to try and regain it's footing.
Death in the Pot - Round 3
Bowen - Initiative: 18
The Cauldron - Initiative: 14
Balnar - Initiative: 10
Rall - Initiative: 8
Fee (doesn't seem quite with it) - Initiative: ?
With a low growl Bowen finds yet another spot that may have been weakened after Balnar's swing.
Balnar makes another swing and misses the surprising hard to hit pot.
Rall hacks away at the pot.
As the pot attempts to right itself, each person in the melee can attempt an attack of opportunity before it then attempts to bite off Rall's head.
Attack of Opportunity: (1d20+5=19)
Damage: (3d6+6=17)
Getting into his rhythm, Balnar's next swing is much more precise.
Rall beats out a tune ...1d20+2=21; 1d8+2=5
The Cauldron rights itself and opens its maw as Rall's blade bounces off of it with a ring of metal on metal. But, before it can attack, Balnar's massive blade slices into it. Sparks fly and a hideous screech rebounds through the small building and the cauldron splits asunder.
The two halves of the once animated cauldron rollaround on the floor rusted and... empty.
As the four men catch their breath, Jeva rushes forward and peers at the wreckage of metal. "Where's the body?" There is a good deal of shock in her voice.
"Great, just great... Fee's dissappeared somewhere and I've got some great cursed nicks in me blade. It's gonna take a week to hammer these out." Grumbling and griping, Balnar eyeballs the remains of the cauldron, then the rest of the room.
Dropping his axehead to rest it on the ground, Balnar gathers his breath...
"FEE! Where in the name of Gorum's soggy jockstrap are you?!"
Having made enough noise to wake the dead 2 towns over, scare the girl nearby almost senseless and somehow managing to profane the god of combat's underwear all in one breath, a slightly panting Balnar starts looking for cupboards and other hidey-holes the diminuitive priest might turn up in.
Fee looks at the big man strangely.
"Hi! I'm right here. I know that we're both shorter than you but really. I don't look like a gnome do I? I guess my great grandfather, if I had known him, could have been a gnome but I don't really know and it seems unlikely. Wow, what a fight. Where did Turnipin go to? The pot just ate him. That was so wierd. I never saw anything like it. except the one time the Father fell into the soup pot at the temple. But that was because he was drinking too much and afterwards he was still there. Do you think Turnipin is alright? " *pause for breath* "Is anyone hurt? And where is the dwarf too? Do you think a pot ate him in the woods?"
Fee looks at the big man strangely.
"Hi! I'm right here. I know that we're both shorter than you but really. I don't look like a gnome do I? I guess my great grandfather, if I had known him, could have been a gnome but I don't really know and it seems unlikely. Wow, what a fight. Where did Turnipin go to? The pot just ate him. That was so wierd. I never saw anything like it. except the one time the Father fell into the soup pot at the temple. But that was because he was drinking too much and afterwards he was still there. Do you think Turnipin is alright? " *pause for breath* "Is anyone hurt? And where is the dwarf too? Do you think a pot ate him in the woods?"
As the four men catch their breath, Jeva rushes forward and peers at the wreckage of metal. "Where's the body?" There is a good deal of shock in her voice.
"You tell us Witch!!" shouts Rall.
Rall will be making a sense motive check on her response.
Doh! got them mixed up
"You tell us Witch!!" shouts Rall.
Rall will be making a sense motive check on her response.
Rall
The girl whirls around expressing surprise on her face."I'm no witch!" she shouts angrily, "And this is not my house. I just... I just wanted to... to give you a place to spend the night."
"You tell us Witch!!" shouts Rall.
Rall will be making a sense motive check on her response.
Rall
The girl whirls around expressing surprise on her face."I'm no witch!" she shouts angrily, "And this is not my house. I just... I just wanted to... to give you a place to spend the night."
** spoiler omitted **
Rall stares at the girl a long time but doesn't reply. He then begins to search the room.
Balnar is going to position himself by the door and keep an eye out for trouble.
"I really don't like this..." he can be heard to mutter.
Bowen keeps his scimitar out and examins more of the room opposite that of Rall.
Jeva glares at the men and then announces, "I'm going out. I'm hungry and we'll need food cooked. I'll get firewood." She pushes past Balnar and stomps across the yard towards the woods.
Rall and Bowen, after a cursory examination, find that the room is filled with an odd assortment of things: spices, jars of canned goods, funny looking rocks, the talking shrunken head. A more detailed examination would be necessary to determine whether any of it was valuable.
Jeva, who sulkily bends over here and there to pick up twigs, disappears into the woods. In the hut the minutes pass as the men take a little longer to search.
There are several herbs of some note, many well preserved. There are also several minorly valuable small statues and some rare stones. All told, they could probably be sold for a few gold. Fee, also searching points out some rare salts often used by wizards.
"Too bad that the gnome has left us. He could have used this for that staff he wanted to make." Fee quietly continues to talk with some sadness, mostly to himself.
And then finally, there is the shrunken head, which is not talking at the moment, but which Fee confirms is indeed magical in some way.
Aeryn and Arla
The tracks have led you on more than one occassion to the ruins of a local orphanage but just as often they lead into the Darkwood Vale, a dark forest bereft of sunlight and home to a number of dangerous inhabitants.
It is on the trail of this monster that you have come across the tracks of a larger party. You would have avoided these tracks except that following behind them are the tracks of a small bare footed humanoid that look very similar to those you have at other times followed away from scenes of slaughter.
The Chronicler & Arla
"So I guess we just keep following the tracks and hope nobody gets hurt before we get there."
My bat familiar will be flying 20-30 ft ahead of us scouting the path, and alerting me to any possible danger.
Aeryn and Arla
** spoiler omitted **
The Chronicler & Arla
"So I guess we just keep following the tracks and hope nobody gets hurt before we get there."
My bat familiar will be flying 20-30 ft ahead of us scouting the path, and alerting me to any possible danger.
For Aeryn and the Chronicler
Arla nods in reponse to Aeryn. "Hopefully we can find whatever and wherever this is before there is any more slaughter. If we make haste, then we can hopefully close in on it."
She clutches her short spear in her hand, gazing around for a brief moment before moving to follow the trail again, some way behind the bat ahead. Her dog moves around behind her, staying close for the moment.
The Chronicler & Arla
For 'The Chronicler':
1d20+4=14 sleight of hand Rall tries to pocket a few of the valuable stones without the others seeing.
Initiative Roll: 1d20+1=19
As the companions in the hut continue to examine the roots, herbs and stones, Jeva's voice sounds shrilly from somewhere in the woods to the west.
"Help me! HELP! Aaaaaah!"
The cry echoes through the sunless trees and is heard by Aeryn and Arla as they make their way along the path they are following. From their perspective, the cry for help is to the north-east.
DM:
Rall heads out to see what is going on.
All around the clearing that the hut lies in, the woods are still and silent. Even the razor crows that had been sitting in the trees when the party arrived have flown away.
Rall runs in the direction he believes the sound came from thinking 'no more dead children no more dead children nomoredeadchildren."
Without a second thought Aeryn starts to run in the direction of the scream, assuming Arla will be behind her.
Balnar bolts from the hut, headed for Jeva as fast as he can.
As the scream carries through the forest, Arla looks up sharply from the trail they had been following. She breaks into a run, following after Aeryn as she sprints down the path. The dog picks up his pace too, moving to keep up.