As you wait for the morning ferry to the Woods of Grimm, you see that it is (as almost always) another beautiful day in Feymoor. Despite its proximity to the swamp (often called simply "The Mire"), the air is clear and fresh, as the wind always seems to blow towards the woods. The town itself is bustling with just the right amount of mid-morning activity to be peaceful yet alive. A few early shoppers browse among the roadside stalls, looking for trinkets and souvenirs to take back home. From your location (wherever that may be), you can see the dock clearly, and see that it is devoid of anxious travelers, as was the norm only a few weeks ago. For one reason or another, tourism has slowed; as, apparently, has the boatman.
His sign would have you believe that Mike Fink, the experienced and somewhat well-known boatman, the only man (according to him, at least) qualified to cross the Mire, is ready from dawn til dusk to carry those bold enough across the muddy waters and to Woods. But it's already near noon, and Fink is nowhere to be seen. As locals to the area, you know that his house isn't far from the docks where he works; if he's late, he's probably just being slow.
You've waited long enough; any longer and you won't be at the Woods until nightfall, which you know is a bad idea. Time to go see what's up with Fink.
Taking a swig of whiskey , Bob - at a formidable seven feet four inches (a 223 centimeter giant) - stands up from his seated position and casts his gaze over the heads of the crowd.
You look about for Fink, but see neither hide nor hair of him in the crowd, making you fairly certain he isn't there, as he has an abundance of both. You know from your time spent at the bar that he's a big drinker. In fact, the only two activities he's known for are working and drinking; when he's not doing one, he's sure to be hard at work at the other.
Bob jumps over to Fink's house.
"I'm in the mire! Harrumph!"
"Nevermind, harrumph!"
"I'm in the town, harrumph!"
Bob, seeing no sign of Fink, takes a mighty bound over the crowd, heading in the direction of Fink's home by the docks, kicking up large clouds of dust as he goes. At the speed of his bounds, Bob will reach Fink's home in about 30 seconds. And does.
"Who's this fella saying he's the only one who can navigate the swamp?!?! I live there!
The little man shuffles his way towards Fink's locale, cloaked attendant in tow.
Bob leaps back to Stein, picks him up, and carries him and his cloaked attendant to Fink's house.
Stein is picked up off his feet by the massive Bob. You both arrive very shortly at Fink's house. It's a fairly small wooden shack right on the edge of the Mire, in a state of moderate decay, though still plenty livable.
A sign on the door proclaims proudly that this is the home of "Mike Fink, Feymoor's #1 Boatman". A smaller sign underneath reads "No Soliciting, Marketing, or Otherwise Bothering Me Here". From inside, you can hear loud snoring, and can smell the strong scent of dwarven whiskey.
Bob opens the door, regardless of whether or not is locked, and yells for Mike Fink to get up and also bring out the whiskey.
Bob pulls on the door handle, and it opens without much resistance, as the metal lock merely pulls away a small portion of the wood along with it. You see Fink in a chair pulled up to his dinner table, his upper body laid out across the top of the table, a bottle of whiskey in his hand, still half full. Alongside him on the table are several empty bottles of various alcohols.
When you shout at him, Fink awakens violently, dislodging himself from his position on his chair and the table and falling to the ground with a loud thud. A moment later, he clambers up to his feat and stares at the two of you groggily. Fink is a large man, probably around 6' tall and barrel chested with a gut to match. His sideburns cling to his face, covered in alcohol, and his jet black hair hangs down messily.
"Whozzat? Why are you at my housh? Didn't you read the shign?"
"I am here because you said some nonsense about your preeminent skill at swamp navigation! I'll have you know I've lived in that swamp for the past 19 years and never met anyone with nerve to match yours! Harrumph!"
"I wanna get to that there forest, and I ain't walkin'!"
Fink shakes his head, clearly trying to make sense of the situation through the alcohol.
"Get to the forest...so you need a boat ride, eh? I can...I can do that. Give me a moment."
He turns and stumbles across his room, and fumbles through a bag on the floor. After a moment of searching, he pulls out a small, flat green leaf, which he pops in his mouth and begins to chew. He stands up and turns to Stein.
"I ain't lying about my skills at swamp navigation. So you live out there, eh? That's pretty good. But you ever made it to the forest? I don't think so."
He smiles broadly and begins gathering his things.
As soon as he finishes, Bob will take him and Stein back to the place where Fink keeps his boat. By jumping, of course.
Fink handles the sudden movement surprisingly well, and when you arrive, he seems to have sobered considerably. His boat is near the dock, in a small shack on the edge of the water, where he runs his business from. He straightens his jacket and produces a set of keys. He enters the boathouse, and a few moments later emerges on the water in his boat.
The boat is fairly small, like an large rowboat. There's room for about 10 people besides Fink, with benches set along the sides and middle of the boat. Short sidings keep the mucky water of the Mire, as well as the things that live in it, out of the boat. The entire outside of the craft is roughly camouflaged with moss and paint.
Fink moves over to the side of the boat and pushes down one of the side panels so you can get on. He holds his hand out expectantly.
"2 Gold Pieces for the ferry across. Maybe a bit pricey, yes, but well worth it."
"Ok."
Bob pays up.
"Hmm."
Stein lets out an eerie whistle into the swamp, then turns to the others.
"A moment please. I have a few additional passengers. They await nearby, so it should be but a minute."
Provided nothing unusual happened, Stein's undead troops will emerge from the swamp. They are heavily wrapped in thick cloaks (concealing their undead bits) and most wear wooden armor and carry weapons. The only obviously unnatural items are a large crocodillian skeleton perched upon the back of one of the bulkier figures, and a single entity shrouded completely within the folds of a holocaust cloak. The reptile glistens dark green with the moss of the swamp, but the wrapped figure appears to begin giving off steam from the soaked holocaust cloak. Finally, a single orb of light emerges from behind a tree nearby and hovers towards Stein, stopping once it reaches him
"These will accompany me. I'll pay their fee as well."
He hands Fink 10 gold pieces. Then turns and begins conversing softly with the orb. At his command, the others will silently huddle near the barge's entrance at a little distance.
"Spooky."
When he sees Stein's accompaniment, Fink shrugs and mutters under his breath.
"Guess I'll bring the dead ones along as well. Better not stink up the boat..."
He picks up his oar from the deck, speaks a command word quietly, and the boat begins moving at a moderate pace. As it moves into the Mire, a thick fog seems to settle around the boat, and a strong stench of mud and filth fills the air.
The boat ride passes mostly without incident. Once or twice, you think you catch a glimpse of something moving near the boat in the water, and you're certain you see a few creatures watching the boat from behind trees and rocks, but none of them seem interested in approaching.
Bob will drink a fair amount of whiskey, and offer some to Stein as well. He soon becomes somewhat intoxicated, and intermittently mumbles vague threats to whatever killed his dog.
Stein will politely decline.
The undead will shuffle aboard.
Then, without much ado, the boat arrives at its destination. You see the island the Woods are located on from a distance away. It's a fairly small island, but compared to the others in the Mire, its size is impressive. The entire island is covered in tall trees, and very little is visible beyond the shore, even as you get closer. By the time you arrive, the sun is sinking below the horizon, and the moon shines brightly in the dark sky. The boat pulls up to a small pier, and Fink ties the boat to one of the beams.
"Final stop. If either of you lost your nerve on the way here, now's the time to tell me. No idea when I'll be getting back here, but lately I haven't had to come across very often, so don't be surprised if you want to leave and I'm not here."
He points at a sign post at the edge of the woods.
"That sign should tell you the right direction to go to find the Three Bears Inn. It's also the last proper sign you'll see for a while; the Woods are dangerous, so ya better have your senses all in order or you'll get lost pretty quick."
"Sounds good."
Bob starts thumping off in the direction of Three Bears Inn.
Stein will bow politely to the ferryman with a muttered harrumph, then motion for his gang to follow him. He in turn will follow Robert.
You head down the marked path, little more than a dirt road, and into the Woods. As you pass through the tree line, you notice that the cloying smell of the Mire disappears immediately, and the air feels cooler and fresher. The trees also seem far more plentiful, and even taller than they looked from the outside. You hear animal noises from the forest around you, but they are mostly distant.
The path winds around in a haphazard manner, but always moves deeper into the Woods. After about half an hour of walking, the Inn comes into sight. The Inn is in two parts: a log cabin, which appears to be of a decent age, about 50 feet tall, and a much newer-looking building protruding from one side, about 20 feet tall. A large sign hangs over the entrance to log cabin stating "Employees Only - Customers Use Other Door", and another sign hangs over the entrance to the smaller building that reads "Three Bears Inn" with a carving of a family of three bears of increasing size.
As you approach the entrance to the Inn, you hear the snapping of a twig from the nearby trees, and catch a glimpse of a large, hairy figure bounding off into the woods.
Stein will pointedly refuse to give the figure his attention, instead approaching the main entrance to the inn. He will quietly whisper to Wispington, who will vanish from sight. He then turns to his other followers.
"Wait here, fight only to defend yourselves and the others of my minions. If any of you are attacked, Mule, come inform me after releasing the croc. Do not leave the clearing."
He will then enter, hailing his hosts.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE JUST UP AND RUNNING FROM ME?!?"
Bob scoops Stein up and sprints after the hairy thing.
"HARRUMPH!! JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU RUFFIAN?!?!"
He thumps the half-ogre on the arm angrily.
"THIS IS A FOREST! Things will run from you on occasion. PUT ME DOWN! ARE YOU LISTENING?"
He shouts out as he is carried into the undergrowth, "Wispington! Watch the Stein Squad for me! STEIN SQUAD FOLLOW WISPINGTON'S ORDERS UNTIL I REturn..."
Unless something unusual happens or Robert listens to him, he is dragged away into the distance, unable to contest the half-ogre's strength.
You take off in pursuit of the fleeing figure. Past the treeline, you soon encounter thick undergrowth. You bound over as much of it as you can, but its presence still slows your movement slightly. You catch occasional glimpses of the creature from through the trees. You seem to be gaining on it, and you emerge into a clearing to see the in creature full.
It stands hunched, but tall enough to tower over even Bob, easily over 10 feet tall. It's form is a horrible mixture of human and wolf, covered in thick, jet-black fur, with long arms that hang almost to its feet, ending in massive clawed hands. It turns when it hears you enter the clearing, and you see its face: a warped, sinister wolf head, its mouth overflowing with yellow, razor-sharp teeth. It raises its head and lets loose an overpowering howl.
Everybody, roll for initiative!
You are about 30 feet from the creature. The clearing is good, even terrain with no major obstructions, but the trees surrounding it can provide cover. It is a full moon, so the lighting condition is low-light.
Bob will drop Stein in the space behind him upon catching up with the creature, and let it come to him, as he menacingly brandishes his reinforced keg.
Stein will give two quick blasts on his horn, informing Wispington of his current endangerment and requesting aid. He will then cast Ape Walk upon himself and leap to a tree within 10ft that is away from the werewolf-like creature and quickly scramble 20ft up said tree.
What is't.
Tis a thing.
First off, Stein, you have no idea what the creature may be.
As soon as Bob drops Stein, the creature takes its action. It takes in a gigantic breath, and releases a mighty blast of wind that strikes both of you, tearing up the earth and undergrowth. Roll a fort save each.
If you fail: nonlethal damage, and get knocked prone. If you succeed, take half damage, and don't fall prone.
Additionally, roll another save at the beginning of your turns, DC 20. If you fail, take , get pushed back 20 ft, and fall prone. If you succeed, take half damage, don't get knocked prone, and don't get pushed back.
Bobs steps up and clocks it on the head with his keg of ale.
Edit:
Beginning of the turn save.
You move forward through the wind easily and smash the creature across the face with your keg of ale. Blood and a couple teeth spray out. You feel the rush of wind continue to rage around you; it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Stein rolls off to go meet someone, quite unintentionally.
He casts about for any signs of a boundary to the AOE.
The boundaries of the AOE seem to be a 5 ft tunnel that projects a good distance into the forest.
rounds.
rounds.
HP: 60/95
And yes you can cast while prone.
Just to clarify, this would count as weather with dust and debris for the concentration check.
I can't fail...
SO I SCRAMBLE UP A TREE!!