"Yes, let's go."
Our hero's journey on deeper into the forest eager to leave the smell and sight of this vicous little undead creature behind them. The undergrowth is still thick with leaves, plants and bushes as you trek on, the sun climbing higher in the sky, a constant reminder of the passing of time.
After just over an hour the forest starts to thin and you start to the see more wildlife. Birds chirp from the branches whilst rodents and other furry animals scuttle through the grass snapping up insects as they go. It isnt long before the tree's start to give way and the absolutly enormous lake comes into view. The lake is huge, absolutly huge, with the opposite edge being barely visable through the thin mist that rests on the lakes surface. Off to the north you can just about make out a smaller river flowing into the lake whilst at the south east another wider one flows out.
Compared to the rest of the forest and the recent encounter you just had this place seems remarkably peaceful. Wading birds storm through the reeds on the lakes edge whilst deer and bright red foxes creep up to water for a quick drink before darting back into the cover. The peace of this place makes the next sound you hear all the more painful...
Off to the north you can hear a faint whining in the distance. A quick scan makes out a dash of brilliant red fur amongst the green grass along the lakes edge, a fox, caught in a large rusted bear trap. The whining intensifies as the fox tries to escape, tugging its leg whilst whimpering all the faster...
Grn'nak moves a bit slower while following Brit trying not to startle the animal anymore than necessary.
"If you can calm him down Brit, I might be able to remove that trap from his paw."
Felmor says nothing, but some inner sense tells him something is wrong about this. He approaches more cautiously, his sensed trying to pick out any hidden dangers.
Brit's boots kick up dirt and leaves as he runs full pelt towards the trap. He skids down to his knees in front of the fox who is understandably eager to get away from the trap and this towering humanoid running towards him. The fox starts to panic and almost tears its own leg off trying to escape.
Felmor and Grn'nak both bring up the rear behind Brit looking down at the pained creature.
Armandia is cautious too. She does NOT approach the fox, because she doesn't want to scare it even more. She does, however, draw her crossbow and a bolt, look around for possible hidden dangers, and listen for any suspicious sounds while staying rooted to the spot.
"What say you there Brit? Is the fellow going to be alright?"
Disable Device:
Perception:
Brit's calm words coupled with the smell of the food in a time of crisis serve to relax the animal and it starts sniffing at the food, occassionally taking a bite whilst Grn'nak works the trap.
The trap is of simple design and quite old, it looks like it has been used often as dried blood stains the side. A close inspection of the trap reveals that removing two bolts at the base will disable it completely. Grn'nak does this and the beartrap collapses into two halfs. The fox, released from its painful ordeal, curls up on the grass and starts to lick its wound.
Meawhile while all this is going on Armandia has been deftly alert for danger keeping her eyes and ears peeled for another zombie or some other sort of danger.
She spots it all too late as an arrow plunges out of the tree's some 50ft to the north and straight into Brit's chest! The shock of the arrow forces Brit to the floor as the fox starts to yap angrily towards the trees.
A dark humanoid figure can just be seen squatting in the lower branches of the trees and as you all spot it a shrill whistle sounds from it and two oversized crows burst towards you. These crows are twice the size of normal ones! Their claws look as sharp as razor blades and their eyes pierce you with a beady glare.
Thankfully, Mezari's crossbow was already loaded and ready this time. The gnome's eyes lock onto the figure crouching in the trees as she pulls the weapon from its sling and takes aim; theoretically, animals with their trainer disabled will go on about their way, but something about these crows is off - and not just their size.
Still, first things first - take care of the archer. She pulls the trigger.
Felmor is startled by the appearance of the crows in front of him and barely has time to draw his weapons before they are upon him.
Attack club , Damage bludgeoning.
Grn'nak pulls his axe off his back and growls at the advancing bats.
AoO: Damage:
Another arrow flies out of the trees with a whoosh but this time falls just short of its mark, thudding into the ground at armandia's feet. A shout sounds from the figure in the trees.
Meanwhile Mezari replies with a shot of her own. Her aim is true and the bolt sails through the air with grace before flying into the trees. A rather nasty and vicious shout is what mezari gets in return.
Armandia tries to follow her gnome friends example but falls short this time as her bolt goes flying into one of the nearby trees.
The crows seem oblivious to their master's distress and swoop down on Felmor eager to scratch out his eyes. Felmor is engulfed in a swarm of black feathers as he weaves in and out trying to evade the birds. He manages to dodge most of the attacks but a claw catches him on the side of the face at the last moment leaving a deep scratch.
Felmor reacts almost instantaneously bringing his club in wide arc towards the bird. The small moving target is difficult to conect with though and the club whooshes through the air just below the crow.
Brit struggles to his feet looking down at arrow with shock and pain. He gives a low whistle which Lord responds to immediatly, sitting back on its hind legs but poised to move at speed if the command is given. The fox tries to move but gives up after a few steps, it collapses to the ground looking round with fear in its eyes.
Meanwhile Grn'nak steps in front of Brit protectively, his mighty greataxe drawn and ready still dripping with zombie blood.
With a grin, Grn'nak steps forward to attack. "Mmm...looks like chicken tonight.
Attack: Damage:
Goblintongue... perhaps hobgoblin? Seems too controlled, too well-planned for the average goblin, and not brash enough for bugbear.
Well, they would find out when they found the arrow-filled corpse in the trees. There was no point trying to hit the crows anyway, a stray shot could harm an ally... no, better to take out the sniper in the foliage. Mezari fetched another bolt from her belt and reloaded the crossbow before taking aim and firing once more.
Our mysterious assailant jumps down from the tree into a barrel roll. He rolls up to his feet and stands up tall an arrow shaft protruding from his thigh. This grey skinned humanoid has a muscular build, shart pointed ears and bright beady orange eyes...a Hobgoblin! This particularly hobgoblin wears shiny scale armour and a polished helmet. He also has a prodigeous cleft upper lip. The hobgoblin gives a loud roar then turns tail and flee's into the forest.
Mezari is quick to respond as she cocks the crossbow with a smooth straight action before firing a bolt straight through the trees into the creature's back. The hobgoblin thuds face first into the floor.
Meanwhile Armandia circles round the crows and draws her longsword with a loud *Schniit!* noise, whilst the crows continue their assault on Felmor.
The crow's array Felmor with their razor sharp claws, feathers flying everywhere. A couple of strikes manage to catch him off guard and Felmor is rewarded with two more large gashes on his shoulder and the back of his neck.
With a grin, Grn'nak steps forward to attack. "Mmm...looks like chicken tonight. His axe flies through the air and cleaves a crow in two. Black feathers burst everywhere and half a crow lands at Grn'nak's feet.
Felmor grunts in pain as the crows contunue their assault on him. Damn it, these buggers are fast! As he steadies himself for another assault, he sees the hobgoblin go down, felled by Mezari' well aimed shot.
Good shot lass!
Attack Club , Damage Bludgeoning
Attack Dagger , Damage Slashing
Felmor's club comes up in an uppercut motion smashing from below and breaking its legs and one of its wings. It falls to the ground, twitching in its death spasms.
The small fox growls a little at the corpse before attempting to walk back towards the forest. Its legs gives up on it after a few steps and curls up on the grass to lick its wound.
Felmor sees the crow drop to the ground and watches it die with a grim smile on his face.
"A fitting end for such ill omen fowl." he mutters before wincing in pain.
He turns to Brit and says with a tinge of sarcasm "Lovely forest ya got here."
|
Felmor sees the crow drop to the ground and watches it die with a grim smile on his face.
"A fitting end for such ill omen fowl." he mutters before wincing in pain.
He turns to Brit and says with a tinge of sarcasm "Lovely forest ya got here."
"Its reputation is well founded", Brit responds.
Looking out towards where the dead goblinoid attacked from. "I wonder if he's the one whose been setting these traps."
Brit gives an appreciative glance at Grn'nak. "Thanks for making sure I wasn't shot again when I went down." Then looking at the arrow shaft sticking out of his chest. "I'm gonna need help getting this cut out of me."
Armandia cuts the birds' throats to make certain they're dead. Then she checks the hobgoblin and, in the unlikely event that it shows any sign of life, asks the party "Do we want this one alive for interrogation, or something?" Assuming that no one objects, she cuts the throat of the hobgoblin as well. Once assured that all enemy combatants are dead, she returns to the party.
Then Armandia mutters "Right. Let's see if my faith is any stronger this time."
Also, Armandia retrieves her crossbow, and all the bolts that she can find.
A wave of healing energy floods out of Armandia's upstretched arms, those who it touches are sure they can hear the sound of a choir simultaneously chiming with the unsheathing of swords. Brit's wound completely closes up whilst the arrow drops out of his chest, leaving only a small scar. Grn'nak and Felmor's wounds also knit themselves back together leaving only a slight soreness where there was once huge gashes. The fox seems rather confused at the miraculous healing process, it tests its leg out with a few steps before giving a loud yap and running over to lick Armandia's boot.
"Funny, I've never had this effect on an animal before." Armandia slowly crouches down, just to see if the fox will lick her or bite her. Focusing her attention on the fox, she absently mutters "Oh, could someone check the hobgoblin for treasure?"
Felmor sighs in relief as his wounds heal up. He looks over to Armandia and says with a note of heartfelt gratitude "Thanks, M'lady."
He watches the fox approach Armandia, and after a moment comments, "I think he likes ya, lass."Looking around him in the forest, he adds "Good friends are hard t'find. Hope he is a true friend ta ya."
Grn'nak gives his leg a couple of test stretches, and looks it over to truly see that the effects from the disgusting beast is gone. He nods in appreciation to Armandia, "Thanks again milady. It feels good as new."
Grn'nak will then head on over and give the hobgoblin a thorough search, and return with anything that's remotely worth something.
The hobgoblin is still lying face down in the grass punctured by the two crossbow bolts. He is clad in very little, some leather boots, worn underwear and a rather shiny well polished suit of scale mail adorn the body. The hobgoblin's shortbow lies to the side in the grass along with his helmet, it too has been polished meticulously and bears the symbol of a sword set against a pulsing sun. A further search of the body discovers 2 silver pieces, a barbed short sword and a disgusting necklace of a petrified tougue pierced with a miniature blade.
Grn'nak will pull out the bolts, strip the armor, sword and coin from the body. He'll also grab the helm, shortbow, and any remaining arrows and take them back to where the rest of the group is gathered and pile them up there.
"Other than his skivvies, this is pretty much all the bugger had with him. Anyone have interest in any of this?"
Grn'nak will then defeather one of the birds and toss if over to the fox. "Here ya go pup."
Felmor looks at the pile of the loot gathered from the dead hobgoblin and wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Have these creatures ever heard of a bath? He looks over the loot without much interest. Nuttin' I can really use, but perhaps ya can take it to the sherrif, he may know 'bout this critter. Mebbe an outlaw, p'haps."
The fox devours the bird hugrily tearing flesh from bone.
"Hrnnh, this might be worth a few coins when we get back."
Armandia seems oddly distracted by the fox eating the crow. Abruptly, she turns. "Hm? Oh yeah, let's go."
Felmor takes up his customary rear guard position, deciding to load a crossbow. hefting it in his hands, he motions to the group "Times a wastin'
After the group heads off, his gaze lingers on Armandia for a moment. He thinks to himself "Aye, lots of baggage to go around.'
Our heroes make their way north through the clearing, skirting the edge of the lake. The wildlife is abundant here and it is hard not to notice the difference between here and the inner forest. The fox who you saved follows behind Armandia for a while but then spots a bunch of other foxes and darts off into the trees.
The lake is huge and it takes almost an hour to reach the northernmost tip. From here a river joins with the lake obstucting your path. The river is about 30ft across and seems to be rather calm. There are also several boulders lying in the river, the flowing water and the sun makes them look shiny, almost like gems.
Felmor looks at the peaceful scene and thinks to himself Aye just ta see that lake wus almost worth goin' through that forest.
He pauses for a moment and looks around for any sign of threat, knowing like the surface of the sea, this pleasant site could just be hiding danger.
Being unfamiliar with the territory Mezari isn't sure what sort of wildlife dwells in this particular river but she can hazard a guess - likely fish obviously, possibly snakes, maybe worse. Like Felmor, she takes a few moments to have a look around the area for trouble... paying special attention to the area scenery, looking for markings of wildlife, what exactly might be living here and if it might be dangerous. Plant life as well, what grows in the area often determines what lives there.
If she spots nothing out of the ordinary - given the events of the day, ordinary is hardly an appropriate term in this case, but... - she resumes following along with the rest of the group unless they stop. She also silently prays they don't think it a brilliant idea to try and cross here by hopping from one slippery boulder to another.
Grn'nak will examine the surroundings, and try to see how deep the river actually is at this break.
Perception
Also, to try and determine if there might be a tree close enough to the other side that might be able to be used to tie a rope to and get it back across for folks to use in crossing.
Turning to Brit, "Is this the normal ford, or do you know of a good shallow up river to cross?"
Felmor sees Brit approach the water and responds "Eh, hold up there Brit. Let me take th'lead 'ere. Used ta be a sailor, doncha know."
Felmor sees Brit approach the water and responds to him, Eh, hold up thar Brit. Let me take th'lead, used ta be a sailor, doncha know."