Hammurabi and Liet take the final watch...
Lotus awakes as from a nightmare as she recalls her close encounter with the Tatzlewyrm. She shivers once more and decides she won't ever come close enough to something that can grapple her like that. In silence she prepares for the day's journey.
Indo softens a bit, pulling a bloody towel from his wound to see that it has healed completely. He turns to Liet.
I will allow you to return to sleep, or to finish my watch as you wish. If you need the rest, I will be fine, thank you.
He nudges a carved, wooden box with his toe. The lid flips open and severl rolled strips of hide, tattooed with unusual symbols, are revealed within.
Of course, whatever we do when we keep watches, I must have time every morning to devote to my studies.
Walking back to his pack, he stands next to the huddled form of the female rogue. You have courage, little one. You are safer with us, and we with you.
Hammurabi and Liet take the final watch...
Lotus & Skittle had the first watch.
Bedu & Indo had the middle watch, when the tatzlwyrm attacked.Leaving Hammurabi & Liet to take the final watch.
So there's only one watch left, but you should bee able to heal everyone up and people can still renew their spells in the morning.
The book will take you more than one night to read through, but you can glean the following information from a quick scan tonight.
These two rulers – twins, in fact – occupy a misty place somewhere between fact and fantasy, mythology and history. How much of the stories told of these legendary figures are accurate remains open to debate.
Takshak is said to have led the first human settlers into Iskandria across the Banshar Kush, fleeing some undefined oppressive evil in their homeland.
No further information about the items in the tatzlwyrm's cache, other than perhaps the men were hunters or woodsmen, based on what remains of their gear.
Lotus & Skittle had the first watch.
Bedu & Indo had the middle watch, when the tatzlwyrm attacked.
Leaving Hammurabi & Liet to take the final watch.
So there's only one watch left, but you should bee able to heal everyone up and people can still renew their spells in the morning.
The book will take you more than one night to read through, but you can glean the following information from a quick scan tonight.
"Most interesting," Liet notes as he closes the book for the night, "I wonder what exactly our friend Samir stumbled upon while robbing that tomb? I would imagine this Haatim the Cinderborn would've had some mastery of fire to command. Has someone now unleashed the god-king's power to burn those from the city? And if so, to what end?"
Skittle wakes up, refreshed both from sleep and from being back in the jungle. He adds his bow to the pile of stuff he retrieved from the trees.
"So, are we ready?" he asks of the others.
"I believe I am..." Liet announces. He swings his arms to get the blood flowing and breathes deeply of the sultry jungle air, "I trust everyone slept well...umm, despite the late-night visitor, of course."
He begins packing his things for the next leg of their journey.
"You know," he adds, "At some point, we should really formulate a strategy for how we'll approach this tomb our good friend Samir discovered. I've been reading the book we found among his things and it mentions two different god-kings. One dealing with serpents. And another with claims of being Cinderborn, whatever that means."
"It does seem plausible, however, that some power or lore from the Cinderborn could explain those spontaneous immolations occuring back in the city. We should be prepared for that, lest we suffer a similar fate."
Indo rolls up his spellscrolls and puts them away, his mouth half full of stale cheese.
A good word, my friend. Once we get near the tomb, we have to be prepared for whatever guards it. Sometimes, creatures claim the land for themselves, sometimes those who passed away leave something behind.
He lowers his voice and looks off into the distance. When my grandfathers grandfathers began exploring the old cities for knowledge and riches, they learned many lessons the hard way. The first lessons were that every lesson will be different. We will do our best to be prepared.
Lastly..if it helps and makes sense, I'd like to occasionally cast resistance on those who look like they are about to falter, or during rest breaks. Cinematically, this would be like encouraging and offering water to someone who looks like they are about to pass out. Indo will simply pass along some water, say a few words, and gesticulate. Certainly, I don't mean I'll be casting the spell every minute.
Could the God King that deals with serpents have anything to do with the Queen with the burning eyes? Hammurabi wonders a loud towards Liet
Give me one Survival check for the party to stay on course.
Then everyone needs to make a DC 15 Survival check and 2 DC 15 Fort saves for the heat. Liet and Lotus don't need saves because of endure elements. If you make the Survival check, you get +2 to the Fort save, -4 if you're wearing armor. Indo or anyone else who makes the check can give the bonus to 2 other people (say who they are).
"I'm sorry, Father!" Skittle yells at the sky as he strips off his armor, "but being in the city has made me soft! The heat is too much!"
Survival 1d20=10+4=14, Survival 1d20=4+4=8, Fort 1d20=7+5-4=8, Fort 1d20=3+5-4=4
Hammurabi, feels the heat, but as the day progresses his jungle legs start to get to him.
Fort saves 11, 17.
DC 15 Survival check to stay on course (1d20-1=15)
With the heat taken away by the endure elements effect on her, Lotus can focus again on keeping the party on course.
Once bitten, twice shy, Bedu does not keep his armour on. He travels behind the scouts, trying his best to keep fit and healthy. He keeps his bow at the ready for monkey goblins.
"Maybe we can discuss the tomb, when we get there and see what is happening? Perhaps for now everyone can help each other get there."
Survival=12, Fort Save=10, Fort Save=20
But the humid forest makes Bedu sweat like a pig. "I would like a cool sherbert, in the shade of a beautiful jacaranda tree, with air wafting over me from two, no three nubile young dwarf maidens! This is intolerable!"
Liet claps Bedu on the shoulder as he passes him along the trail. "It's all in what you make of it, my friend..."
"And perhaps you're right...maybe we should just focus on getting ourselves to the tomb of the god-kings first. Then, we'll figure out our plan from there."
At their next break, the priest once again prays over his companions to help strengthen their fortitude for the journey ahead.
"Make sure you drink lots of water," he advises, "The humidity is stifling out here, but you can still get dehydrated pretty quickly if you overexert yourselves."
Skittle walks along, a little apart from the group, bow in hand as his eyes move from tree to tree, almost to the point of ignoring the trail.
"Careful," he says to no one in particular, "It was just over a year ago that the final four stars spoke to me of a monkey goblin ambush, and me mother tells me there is another one coming."
"What exactly is a monkey goblin anyway?" Liet wonders aloud, "I've certainly heard you speak of them...with much rage, I might add...but I can't say as I've had cause to study very much about them."
Indo helps keep trck of everyone's condition as the party travels, and climbs into the lower levels of the canopy to get his bearings when the party breaks for meals. Unfortunately, the heat and extra exertion appear to take their toll on the big man over the course of the day. Not long after lunch, the weary warrior works a small spell over himself, as he did with Lotus earlier in the day. He takes a bit of moist earth and holds it under his tongue while he speaks and moves his sword through the air by its pommel (this last part you don't remember from the spell he casts for the young girl). After he concludes and spits out the mud, he seems to feel more refreshed.
[ooc]Rather than have a ranger falter in the outdoors every day, I'll cast endure elements using the sword on any day that Indo lets the heat get to him. So that's a first level spell and the bonus focus spell down for the day.
"What exactly is a monkey goblin anyway?" Liet wonders aloud, "I've certainly heard you speak of them...with much rage, I might add...but I can't say as I've had cause to study very much about them."
Skittle spits at the dirt in response and mumbles something unintelligible.
Skittle spits at the dirt in response and mumbles something unintelligible.
"Hmmm...that's a curious dialect," Liet obliviously notes, "It doesn't sound very goblin-esque. Perhaps their tongue is based more on monkey calls?"
Hammurabi chuckles at Liet's remark, he nudges the Priest of the God Kings and whispers, "Its best you not mention the monkey goblins in front of Skittle there, it is rumored he had a romance with one and she broke his heart..."
Another long day - it seems like you should be getting used to the heat, but it just doesn't seem to be the case. The thick foliage around you seems to press the heavy, moist air even closer around you. Even worse, the clouds of stinging insects and biting flies seem unaffected by the heat and humidity and plague your every step. Those born to the jungles tolerate it as they always have, but those of the city can only think with longing of cool drinks and shaded fountains. By the end of the day, you've about reached your wits' end, and gratefully collapse to the earth in exhaustion at your chosen campsite when you decide to stop for the night.
As dusk falls, and you go about making camp, make Perception (sight) checks.
Lotus is much too preoccupied with what happened last night to notice anything but keeping on track.
"We seem to have made good progress," Liet comments, despite the wearied looks on everyone's faces, "Hopefully we'll be there soon."
Perception 1d20=5+4=9 (10 if touch or smell)
"Thank you, priest," Skittle says. "I've never had much use for religion, but you're good company." With that, he sets about looking around the camp, and even climbs up in the trees to have a look.
"In my experience," Liet replies, "It's never so much about how much 'use' someone has for religion...as it's about how much 'use' the god-kings have for us. Once I came to that understanding, I knew my purpose in this world. I'm here to act as a vessel through which the god-kings can make their will known."
The priest smiles and squeezes Skittle's shoulder the same way he would offer encouragement to a small child while discussing the philosophy of things they aren't quite ready to fully comprehend.
"The fact that the god-kings continue to bless our swift recovery from this arduous journey, means they also approve of you and me and everyone else's efforts to investigate this tomb Samir found, he finishes, "And I, for one, look forward to what we find there. For I believe it will reveal the plans the god-kings have for opposing the Rani and returning Iskandria to its former glory."
Bedu, Liet, and Hammurabi:
Roll inititative and state actions for a surprise round (remember you only get one standard OR move action in a surprise round).
Lotus and Indo go about setting up camp, as Skittle scrambles up a nearby tree to get a look around.
Liet suddenly stops in his conversation with Skittle as something catches his eye among the treetops. At first, a part of him imagines that maybe the mythical monkey-goblins have finally appeared. But then he makes out the spindly legs and bloated bodies.
"Arachnids!" he cries out in warning.
The priest then immediately steps back from the gnome and calls to the god-kings to protect him against the aggressive predators.
"I see them Liet, maybe the god kings have brought us dinner too, Skittle be warned Spiders move in the trees amidst you!
Initiative=21.
Hamurabi thrusts at the air in front of him and a concussive ripple of air flies towards the arachnid closest to Mr. Beck "Almudin"!
Range touch attack=15; damage=2.
Bedu spots the movement simply because everything seems to attack from above. Snakes. Tazlwyrms. Even Goblin Snakes did that before. He points out the giant spiders as Hammarubi and Liet act.
Then he yells, "Spiders of the first water come to feed on our flesh. Watch for their weak poison, ware their nets and webs and above all know that together we shall prevail!"
Surprise round:
Liet breaks off his conversation with Skittle. "Arachnids!" he cries out in warning, stepping back and casting a spell.
"Skittle be warned - Spiders move in the trees amidst you!" Hammurabi warns the gnome. The Charlatan sends a blast of concussive force into the trees, but it only succeeds in knocking down a flurry of branches and leaves, the spiders beyond his telekinetic fist's range.
Skittle notices the spider above him just as the giant arachnid launches a web at the gnome. The sticky strands envelop and entangle him.
The second spider drops down on a line of webbing, and fires its own web at Indo, who looks up just in time to throw himself out of the way, the web passing harmlessly past him.
A moment behind, Bedu adds his warnings to the others', and shouts his encouragement.
End of the surprise round.
His preparations for the camp interrupted, Indo looks about for his bow. Not finding it within reach, he draws his sword and aims it toward the descending spider. Let nu krocia! he murmers as a series of tattooes glows over his dark skin and then vanishes. He assumes a stance in case it drops to meet him.
Now that the spiders have begun to drop down, Hammurabi casts Mage Armour as a bright plumb of feathers surrounds his body
Seeing Skittle in trouble, Bedu laughs and plucks a small piece of hard pig fat out lobbing it his way. "O-Greco-restlo-freo!"
Then Bedu grabs his shortbow and steps back a pace from the giant spiders above.
Lotus reacts quickly to the new threat. She brings forth her crossbow and loads it, ready to be fired at the arachnids.
Liet realizes the spiders could very well draw Skittle into the trees before anyone can stop them. So, he switches tactics to try and fight them from range, hoping he can somehow launch a slingstone into the canopy with enough force to wound them. It takes him a moment to ready his sling and begin whirling it as he move within optimal range.
"Gaah!" Skittle gasps as he tries to squirm his way out of the spider's web.
Round 1:
Initiative order:
24 Skittle
23 Lotus
22 Liet
19 Hammurabi
Spiders
14 Bedu
2 Indo
Skittle struggles to get free of the spider's sticky webbing, but is stuck fast.
Lotus pulls out her crossbow and loads it, preparing to take careful aim at the spiders, as Liet readies his sling and looks for a clear shot. Hammurabi chants, surrounded by a bright plume of feathers that slowly fades away.
The first spider scurries down its webline to the thrashing form of Skittle and sinks its fangs into the struggling gnome.
Its attention drawn by the explosion of feathers, the second spider launches a second web at Hammurabi, enveloping the Charlatan. The spider begins gathering up its web, attempting to pull Hammurabi into the air.
Bedu greases up Skittle to help him esape, then prepares his shortbow to attack. Indo draws his sword and casts his own chant as glowing tattoos flare and fade on his skin.
End of round 1.
Seeing Skittle under attack and tangled up, Lotus aims her crossbow at Spider 1 and lets fly her bolt. Seeing it fly true a sly smile comes to her face and she reloads for another shot.
Hammurabi strains against the webs to both prevent being pulled into the spider's maw and to attempt to break free of the silkened strands.
"Foul Arachnid, I was not put here to be spider food!"
Go to Str check 14; Strength to escape 10.