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The stranger seems to tense a bit at the mention of the recent coordinated attack and he seems to sniff the air.... "Did this occur far from here? What did they look like?" Seeing nothing immediately amiss, he'll continue to acknowledge the group "I am called Alordan. Well met. Perhaps we should indeed head back to town for now and you can tell me," as he seems to relax and then become very interested, "about these wild creatures...?"

Lightfinger

Bursting from the jungle directly next to Saracen and snatching the waterskin, the Tallfellow gulps heartily, then passes it on. Ah, He waves his good arm in dismissal, The apes were nothing but more clever than we expected. The Shadowcats, however, a completely different story. I'd be a feast now were it not for my Gnome friend, what's his name? Festus? Well met, Aladdin! Tho I have been scout before my unfortunate mauling, since you have just tread the trail, perhaps you would lead us on our return?

Ferris

"Yes we should return to Beachtown with most haste. To lift our spirits in this fly infested dark canopy of death and disease, so much better underground with the 'Shinies' this island is famous for, anyway I have composed a little ditty for us to march along to...perhaps it will enter the sags' of the island?

One, two, three, four five.
We all caught a cat alive
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then we let it go again.
Why did we let it go?
Because it bit my comrade so.
Which comrade did it bite?
This LittleFinger on my right!"

Chauncey gently places the pinch of sand back in his pouch and dusts off his hands. "You've come at an opportune moment..." he says, glancing at the water-skin as it makes its rounds. "I am Chauncey the Adequate, the most talented wizard on the island. It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. We could use one of your talents, if you are willing to "hitch your cart to our... pony," as it were. Is that the saying? We being the pony, collectively. ...I'm not good with colloquialisms..." he extends his hand in greeting even as his eyes drift once again to the water-skin.

Alordan nods with small smirk. "Indeed. Adequate, i believe you said?"

Cinching his water skin, he checks his gear out of habit to ensure he moves as silently as the landscape provides. "Let's make our way back to town on our guard. We can discuss your adventures when we get back." He'll walk briskly ahead to take point and keep an eye out for the clever beasts that seem to hunt in these jungles.

Wes

"So it seems we are caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. Stay out here in the jungle and drink our own piss. Or go back to Beachtown and drink Randall's grog....Will the horror never end?" Wes grins, and takes up his place in the line.

One, two, three, four five.
We all caught a cat alive
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then we let it go again.
Why did we let it go?
Because it bit my comrade so.
Which comrade did it bite?
This LittleFinger on my right!"

Lightfinger

Hey, that's not funny! The Hobbit acts offended by the march cadence, and turns to his Half-Orc guardian. I don't think that's funny, do you? Seeing Saracen's huge grin with that... That tooth... Oh, never mind, forget I said anything. Let's just get back to Beachtown.

Early Evening
Almost Home

After exchanging greetings and passing around the last of his water, the group plus one decides to let the newcomer lead the way back out of this hellish game trail. The ranger Alordan happily obliges and begins heading back the same way he just came in. Ferris sings a little ditty that he thought up on the spot, but Lightfinger doesn't care for his part in it very much. Wes is happy to leave as well, though he shudders when he thinks about his reward of grog waiting for him at the Treehouse when he gets back.

Alordan leads the group to the edge of the trail where the hobbit scout first noticed the smallish sized footprints. Just as the party is ready to leave the tight trail and enter the much larger and easier to traverse loggers track, they begin to hear a nasty little chattering noise up ahead in some tall weeds. The ranger puts his hands up for the group to stop as he reaches out with his sword to part the weed veil.

Alordan jumps back quickly once he discovers what is making the irritating noise. He spots a huge insect, easily 2 feet long, with hundreds of legs and an apparently extremely nasty disposition. The bug scurries towards the ranger immediately with frightening speed and agility. It snaps its mandibles at the human, catching him in the shin and sinking its stinging fangs through his armor. The blow causes no damage, but Alordan can feel its nasty poison already coursing into his bloodstream. Save vs. Poison, please.

To his horror, the ranger sees yet another one of these disgusting creatures coming at him from a nearby tree branch as he begins to feel feint from the utter shock and from the venom now inside of him.
Actions!

Lightfinger 1/7
Brufrig Granitesunder 15/15
Ferris 7/7...... DM, RM, 0/1 first
Waesfaren Rhey 7/10.....2/4 first
Saracen Solaris 7/12 ......0/3 first
Chauncey the Adequate 4/6...... CL, DM, RM, 1/1 first

No better way to get aquatinted than a quick battle.

Saracen will drop his flail and unhitch his bow, setting an arrow to the string me aiming at the arriving centipede presumably that takes this round right?

Wes

The Druid will judge the distance to the second of the approaching bugs. If he can cast Entangle on it while it's still in the tree, without catching any of the party members, he will do so. If that's not possible, he will light it up with Faerie Fire instead, all the while maintaining a healthy distance from the nasty things.

Alordan winces at the bite!

Save vs. Poison (14) - [1d20] = 14

Lightfinger gasps.

What ARE those things? Keep them AWAY from me!

Brufrig Granitesunder

The dwarf quickly tries coming to the aid of their newest companion. Unfortunately, his attempt misses badly due to the squirming of the creature.

Ferris

Thinks for a minute while dodging the legs of the big uns' and casually surveying the ground he stands on, maybe more critters will pop up if they nest nearby? He decides not to fire his crossbow but to reach into one of his kitbags and retrieve a lost artefact, a relic of the journey from Saltmarsh....he pulls out the joint of ham [/i](seasoned and salted and probably pungent in the heat...no wonder the panther came sniffing...). Ferris will use it as bait, laying it in front of the centipedes movement to entice them with an easier meal.

Duty served and with an extra leg of pork stuffed secretly in his pack (salted and seasoned)

from the last action before we jumped ship.

Alordan tries to cut the one biting him in half before any poison has it's way with him...

Long Sword Attack [1d20] = 8 (THACO=20)
Long Sword Damage(+1 str) = S/M: [1d8+1] = 3+1 = 4 / L: [1d12+1] = 12+1 = 13

Chauncey, horrified, decides it's time to stop being stingy with his spells. He dips into his component pouch for a pinch of sand and flings it toward the first of the creatures, hoping to catch them both, the horrible things. A burst of phosphorescence swirls from his figure, seeming to erupt from every pore simultaneously, and surrounds the centipede in a fine mist as he deftly casts Sleep.

Creepy Crawlers
Round 1

After the initial shock of spotting these ugly giant insects, the ranger feels the things poison entering his system. He just barely shakes off the effect of the creatures debilitating attack. This newest party member thrusts his sword downward at the slippery thing, missing it when its entire body undulates into another position. It takes another biting attempt at Alordan but is not able to penetrate his armor this time.

Saracen switches weapons but does not fire his bow. Lightfinger shrieks out like a little girl. Brufrig bounds up and swings at the monster with all of his might, killing the ground below it but missing the insect completely. Ferris gets a better idea, thinking that these things are just hungry and that they might be more interested in going after an easier meal. He pulls out a molding and maggot infested salted ham shank from his backpack, tossing it to the ground in front of the giant centipede. They ignore the tasty treat, apparently enjoying the kill just as much as the meal.

With limited magicks left at their disposal for the day, two of the groups spell casters quickly jump into action. Wes chants to himself a bit as he grinds a hemp stem between his thumb and finger. Trying to keep the circular area of his spell away from the others, the druid is amazed when he sees the results of his spell this time. Unlike at the beach, where only a few vines and roots popped up out of the hot sand, this time the shocked nature priest makes a large portion of the jungle literally come to life. Branches, vines, trees, fronds, leaves, and shrubbery all begin twisting and grabbing at the bug. It only takes a second for all of this wonderfully annoying vegetation that you all have been tromping through for several hours to entwine and completely envelope the 2 foot critter, totally halting it in its many tracks.

The Adequate wizard is also very much on the ball, watching carefully as his closest ally easily dispatches the first bug on the scene. He tosses his pinch of sand at the tree branch perch of the other monster just as it is ready to drop onto the horrified party members below. The others look on in awe as a swirl of magical energy forms around the insect, dropping it harmlessly to the grass below. It lays there in the soft grass in a curled up position, no longer making its nasty chattering noises.

As quickly as this intrusion started, it seems that the threat has been thwarted just as easily. With still about 4 hours of walking ahead of them before reaching Beachtown, the group dreads that there is only about 2 hours of daylight left to illuminate their way.


Alordan 10/10
Brufrig Granitesunder 15/15
Ferris 7/7...... DM, RM, 0/1 first
Lightfinger 1/7
Waesfaren Rhey 7/10.....1/4 first
Saracen Solaris 7/12 ......0/3 first
Chauncey the Adequate 4/6...... CL, DM, RM, 0/1 first

Saracen switches back to his flail and stows his bow once again. He will smash in one of the insects if the others don't do it first.

"Can you eat these?" the holy champion asks his half-elven Druid friend, thinking of the request of Beachtown and it's meat shortage.

"Did you come across an ape carcass on your way here Alordan?" he enquiries of the ranger, thinking they might be able to take it back with them now if it's still there as they pass by.