The creature, battered by Bob's assault, retaliates with two mighty swings of its claws and a vicious bite.
Total: 28 damage.
The creature's first strike slashes across Bob's chest, leaving a line of bloody cuts. The second strike is easily dodged by Bob, but the creature seemingly predicts Bob's movements and bites deep into Bob's shoulder, tearing off a small chunk of flesh. The wounds burn with an unnatural putrid feeling.
Bob responds with two brutal hits.
Bob retaliates to the creature's attacks with two mighty blows. He swings his fist in a herculean arc, and catches the creature alongside the head, spraying blood and bits of bone onto the ground and nearby trees, and with a sickening ripping noise, the creature's head completely separates from its body, still bearing its enraged face. A moment later, its body slumps to the ground, lifeless, dark red blood gushing from its neck, wilting the grass and undergrowth where it flows. A heavy stench seems to emanate from the fresh corpse like one that has been left to rot for days.
You hear the sounds of approaching animals from outside the clearing. Judging by the noise they're making, it's around a dozen large animals, which have surrounded the clearing and are moving in.
Stein hears the approaching animals, and from his vantage point casts...
Then he shouts suddenly, "BACK, YE DENIZENS OF THE FOREST! I MEAN YOU NO ILL WILL, BUT IF YOU SHOULD ENTER THE CLEARING UNNANOUNCED OR WITH ILL WILL... I shall have no choice but to destroy you."
Of course, if his undead show up he will not attack, and if the creatures do not appear to be looking for a fight, the same applies. However, he will cast Entangle on the area any hostiles (or the most hostiles) enter from. He pulls himself further up the tree and readies the action.
A moment after you shout into the woods, a jet black wolf the size of a horse steps into the clearing near Bob (about 15 feet out), teeth bared and its hair raised. Shortly behind it you see four more similarly aggressive dire wolves, as well as three more from each the left and right sides of the clearing. Eleven dire wolves in total.
Stein, seeing that the animals are hostile, casts Entangle on the largest group, the ones near Bob.
Three of the wolves in that group are caught in the vines that shoot from the ground to entwine them. The first wolf easily avoids entanglement, as does one of its companions.
Round 3/10 for River of Wind Begins!
Alright, roll for initiative again! (And hope that your luck is a bit better this time in that regard) Also, Bob, you need to roll a reflex save against being entangled as well.
Stein is some 40-50 feet up a tree, and is glad to be there. Seeing as the wolves are closer to the edge of the clearing than Bob, he will seek to destroy them with a Flamestrike while avoiding Bob.
Recall, half of Flamestrike's damage is divine.
With a thunderous roar, Bob pounds through the forest and slams his keg into the skull of the biggest dire wolf.
Bobs shrugs off the flame and the wind.
Bob smashes the alpha wolf over the head with his keg, generating a solid crack, and some teeth fly out of its mouth with the powerful blow. A moment after, Stein raises his hands and fire descends from the sky upon Bob and the nearby wolves. One wolf is instantly killed, charred to a crisp, but the others manage to somehow avoid total annihilation.
The alpha wolf, frightened by the display it has just been witness to, and injured from Bob's assault, turns and darts off into the forest (provoking an attack of opportunity). Seeing their alpha run, the nearby injured ones scatter as well.
The other wolves tentatively continue into the clearing and surround Bob, hoping to bring him down through numbers.
Bob easily dodges the wolves' attempts to bite him, but one still manages to catch him.
However, the wound is barely a scrape to Bob.
Bob begins laying waste.
Seeing the Alpha Wolf trying to flee, Bob hammers his keg into the animal's neck with a loud crack. The wolf stumbles a bit and a fair bit of dark blood leaks from the wound, but it manages to dart off into the woods.
Bob turns to the wolf that bit him and beats it into the ground with a single strike. He doesn't let up, and caves in another wolf's skull with ease.
Assuming there are no wolves remaining, Stein casts Longstrider.
Seeing their friends easily dispatched by Bob, all but one wolf scatter into the woods (provoking 3 attacks of opportunity for Bob). The remaining wolf, still snarling and baring its teeth, lunges for Bob again.
Bob, caught off guard by its ferocity, gets bitten.
It clamps its jaw down with full force, and attempts to pull Bob down, but to no avail. The creature releases its grip, leaving a deep bite mark.
Suddenly, from the woods you all hear graceless movement. A moment later, Stein's undead army march into the clearing, covered in dirt, leaves, and other evidence of their difficulties getting through the woods.
"Number One, Number Three, kill that wolf."
The four-armed mudra skeleton springs into action, as does the heavily wrapped skeleton. The wrappings fall from its arms as they ignite.
Both charge into melee and attack.
No. 3 moves in and attacks the wolf. It lands a solid blow on the side of the wolf, tearing it wide open and burning the wound. The animal dies instantly, and its innards slowly slide onto the ground, with the occasional popping of a bubble from the heat of its burning corpse. The clearing is silent, save for the receding sounds of the wolves running away. A few moments later, the sounds of normal wildlife begin to return; the chirping of birds and crickets, the squeaking of small rodents, etc.
"Number Three, extinguish."
No. 3 quickly re-wraps its frame, cutting the flames off from the outside.
"Well Bob, that appears to be that."
"Good job, Stein. You were very helpful."
The drunken slur on Bob's speech makes it utterly impossible to determine whether or not he is being sarcastic.
"I assure you, if you hadn't decided to run gallivanting of into the woods, I would have been much more so. But, what's done is done."
"Well, let's go back."
Bob hops up into the tree, grabs Stein, and leaps back to the inn - sparing a glance to the corpse of the wolf-thing he killed to see if there is any treasure on its body.
Looking at the wolf creature, you see that it didn't seem to be carrying anything on it; though its now-decomposed stomach holds a ring, a crushed pair of spectacles, and a few metal buttons, along with some partially digested pieces of meat and bone.
When you move into the woods, roll a Survival check.
Stein will pick up the buttons and spectacles, allowing Bob to take the ring if he wants it. He will also command his minions to fall in line, and motions for Wispington to join him.
You head back towards where you came (I assume), and you can immediately tell that the path itself has changed, and become much longer than it was previously. However, it still provides little challenge to Stein's incredible survival skills, and he successfully guides through the woods, ignoring inconsistent details and noting those that are the same. The trip takes longer than it did the first time, but you eventually arrive safely at the clearing around the Three Bears Inn. The lights inside are dimmer than when you first arrived. However, the Inn is still open and operating.
Bob sets down Stein and heads inside.
Stein follows shortly after, this time motioning for his merry band to accompany him, which they do in silence.
The inside of the Inn is warm and well-lit, if not bright, both in part to the large fireplace burning on the far side of the room. The room seems almost entirely empty, save for the full-grown brown bear at the counter cleaning dishes (which it seems to do just fine, despite not having proper hands) and a cloaked man sitting at the rear of the room, mumbling quietly to himself and working on some sort of paperwork. When you enter, both look up from their work. The bear gives a short wave, and then speaks in nearly perfect (if a bit gruff) common. The voice sounds distinctly feminine despite the rather low, roaring tone.
"Customers at this hour? Well, come on in and take a seat. Could I get you something to eat or drink?"
"Yeah. You got any beer?"
"Something to eat would be lovely."
Stein will mutter something to his followers, and all save Wispington will take a seat at an empty table.
"Just for me though, my companions here aren't the eating type."
He will take a seat at the bar.
"I'm afraid no beer. We do carry mead, if that will suffice. It's a bit strong, but you don't look the type for that to be a problem."
She turns to Stein.
"As for you, what would you like? We have venison steak, venison stew, or hot porridge and berries."
"Mead. And stew. Both, actually. Mead stew."
"Porridge, good madam."
He pauses.
"Do you know aught of any... blowhard wolves in the area?"
"Alright. So, porridge, mead, and stew. As for 'blowhard wolves', there is a small family of wolf-like creatures that live in this area. No real idea what they are, though. One of our previous guests said he thought they were 'Debased Fey', whatever that means. Nice man, but I think he took his studies too far, because I haven't seem him since."
She leaves to the back and returns a little later with your orders. The food and mead is all pretty good, if a bit gamey and simple. While you eat, you are approached by the cloaked man from the back. He clears his throat when he reaches you. He points to a stool next to Stein.
"Hello, travelers. Do you mind if I take a seat next to you?"
"Sure, pal. You can sit right here by me."
With one massive arm, Bob shifts the furniture around so that the stranger has no choice but to sit next to him, rather than next to the squishy caster.
He moves into the seat you provide.
"Ah, thank you Mr. Flannigan. I haven't seen any other travelers around these parts for a while now. What brings you here?"
After he sits, he pulls back his cloak. His features are an unpleasant mixture of goblin and human traits, like a goblin stretched out over a human's body. His limbs are long and gangly, which combined with his green tinted skin, gives him the look of a deathly sick man.
"Y'know," Bob says as he pats the man on the shoulder, "I never told you my name."
At this, Bob's pat shifts to a viselike grab.
"So, who're you?"
He becomes obviously uncomfortable when you grab him, but does not pull against you or try to escape in any way.
"Rumpelstiltskin, at your service, Mr. Flannigan and Mr. Biscuit. I apologize if I made you wary. Knowing names is simply one of my talents. A useful one, at that. You see, I run a business here, providing services and selling goods to those that travel these woods."
He glances about the room somewhat as he speaks, as well as constantly rubbing his hands together in his lap.
"Ok. Are you Fey?"
Stein says nothing, merely raising an eyebrow and motioning for the strange creature to continue.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Information is a service, too my large friend, and all services have their price. If I told you, would you release your grip on me? I can assure you that I mean you no harm, so long as you do not attempt to swindle me."
He stops glancing around, and meets Bob's eyes as he waits for his response.
"Very well. Gimme an honest answer, I take my hand offa you."
He nods, and smiles widely. "The first deal of many, I hope. I am, in fact, a Fey creature. From these very woods, actually. I simply have very little love for nature, unlike many of my fellow Fey. Now, your part of the agreement?"
He looks at you expectantly.
Bob takes his hand off of the little man.
"Okay."
He seems to think for a moment, before deciding what to say. "I tried to deal with Fey once. That did not go well."
Bob leans in slightly, towering over the small man. "So you know what I did? I ripped holes in their chests and strung a cold iron chain through 'em - hung 'em up as an example."
"Don't go tryin' to trick me, little man."