Quest #14 "Hidden Fortress of the Poison Spider Monsters"

[SpinwardMarch]

Brother Gilbert

He is being careful and trying to notice any disturbances along the way, and also tracking in reverse his trip to Beachtown.

Quietly, We are doing quite well for time, with luck we may reach the structure in about four more hours. Let us continue to use great caution.

After hearing the grunting, he motions to the group to move quietly, in hopes of passing by unnoticed.

[SirOwen]

Avaala the Grey

In what amounts to a stage whisper, Avaala says, "Brother Gilbert is right. Why are we waiting here? Do we plan to stop and fight everything that makes a noise in this jungle? I don't have the spells for that sort of thing, and I doubt any of you warriors have enough blood in your veins for it, either. Let's go!"

[SirOwen]

Jaxsen Reiter

Hearing Brother Gilbert and the mage speak of moving on, Jaxsen nods agreeably and drops quietly from the tree, grabs his weapon again and continues to move along the trail behind the Cleric on point. He continues to stay near the edge of the trail and make use of stealth and shadow to make himself less obvious.

[Xaxyx]

Eawad Driftwood

Seeing that everyone was making a serious effort at being less noisy, Eawad stops strumming and stows his instrument. He then begins taking more careful steps, hoping perhaps to impress the others with the quietness of his movements.

[kruk]

Judson nods in a approval, then waits for everyone to leave, at which point taking up the rear position again. He still has his sword out ready ready to pounce if something shows up with the intent of threatening the party.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Wooden Structure Awaits
Earthday, 4th of Goodmonth
Afternoon, Hot, Humid, Sunny, Buggy

This overgrown trail through the wild jungle is nothing like the nice wide loggers trail back at Beachtown. It is a tight, single file trod through heavy foliage that continually needs to be chopped out of your way as you proceed. There is no safe "side" to walk on, or any side at all. The trails tight, dark, confines, along with the constant onslaught of insects, makes the trip extremely unenjoyable at best for everyone involved. Yet, the stoic group pushes onward towards the north.

The strange snorts and grunts coming from the west do not abate once the group departs, though it doesn't seem like the noises are following along with you. It seems more likely that there are several of the creatures making these noises as you travel. When Jaxsen takes the time to climb up into a tree for a look, he detects that the denseness of the jungle begins to lessen towards that direction, possibly indicating a large clearing beyond.

After another hour passes, the noises can still be heard to your left. Again, they don't sound aggressive, but the fact that they are still present after this distance causes some concern amongst the group. A few hours away from reaching their destination now, Brother Gilbert seems certain they can make it to the structure before nightfall. That's when the normal din of the jungle starts to become overtaken by a different noise, this one far louder and more annoying than the ongoing snorts.

From above your heads this time begins a painful cacophony of ear splitting howls and shrieks, growing even louder the further you travel north. The noise is so deafening that it starts to hurt your eardrums, making normal conversation nearly impossible.

Storm the druid covers his ears while he scans the trees above. He spots movement about 50' up in the higher branches and then notices a pair of possible culprits behind the audible assault.

IMG_0993.JPG (111.43 KiB) Viewed 394 times

Actions?

map:
viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6346#p358103

Brother Gilbert C
Jax M
Gramble F
Storm D
Saracen F2/C3
Avaala MU3
Eawad T
Judson F
Maag F/T

[wolfpack]

Feightus synagermós

axe in hand Gramble continues on.

If we get through territory perhaps the shrieking will stop

[SirOwen]

Avaala the Grey

Once the monkeys are spotted, Avaala watches them carefully. He thinks the howls must be a warning to other monkeys, but he tries to determine whether the monkeys feel their company is the threat, or if they seem agitated at something else. He pays close attention to where the monkeys are looking, actually hoping it's theirselves.

[Storm11]

Storm calls out to the powers of the natural world and casts a spell to communicate with the screeching monkies. casts speak with animals

Hey ho, what’s all the noise about. We aren’t your enemy. We mean no harm. Why are you making such a racket? Are you warning someone of our passage?

[OGRE MAGE]

Any verbal spell-casting attempted in this chaotic racket will require a successful Hard Intelligence check first.

And....

The howlers are currently about 20' out of the range of that spell. Will he still cast?

[kruk]

Judson, hearing the howls from up above quickly sheaths his sword and takes out his longbow. He then notches an arrow, then scans the area for a potential target other than the howling apes above.

[SirOwen]

Jaxsen Reiter

Jaxsen, speaking only as loudly as he needs to be heard, tells Brother Gilbert, "I think the sooner we get past those monkeys, the sooner they'll calm down again. What do you think? Keep going?"

[Jernau35]

Maag

Maag considers using his crossbow to give one of the monkeys something to really howl about, but decides that their howling is more likely to draw a threat on the ground. He keeps 'arry the bastard sword ready to swing at anything that flings it's furry face from the foliage.

[SpinwardMarch]

Brother Gilbert

Jaxsen, I agree, we must make haste. He motions to the group to keep moving, quickly.

He puts his left hand over his ear, to avoid losing his hearing in one ear, at least.

[Storm11]

Any verbal spell-casting attempted in this chaotic racket will require a successful Hard Intelligence check first.

And....

The howlers are currently about 20' out of the range of that spell. Will he still cast?

No. he will keep moving with the rest of casting spells is difficult.

[Storm11]

Saracen keeps moving with the others as well, bow stowed away and flail back in hand.

[Xaxyx]

Eawad Driftwood

The cacophony from the monkeys rattles Eawad's teeth. Glancing around, he sees his compatriots wielding a mix of melee and ranged weaponry. Unsure of whether to ready a weapon of his own, Eawad refrains for now, hurrying along with the group.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Wooden Structure Awaits
Earthday, 4th of Goodmonth
Early Evening, Hot, Humid, Very Buggy

The noise becomes almost unbearable as the group presses even further north, hoping to get away from the annoying animals. A few rotten fruits and handfuls of.....well, your not really sure if you want to know what the other objects are that are flung from above towards you as you pass through the howlers area. Some of you are hit by their projectiles, but none of them cause any real damage. Brother Gilbert does not remember having to deal with this threat on his first trip here.

After a few minutes of accelerated marching through the thick bush, the noise starts to diminish, until eventually, it stops all together. Wiping the rotten fruit and other substances off of themselves, the undaunted group continues their long march north. The snorting and grunting noises come back once the group can hear again, but eventually they stop as well.

It isn't long after that when the group starts to catch a glimpse of their final destination. As the light of the day begins to fade, a dark and foreboding structure begins to appear up ahead on the trail. Once they arrive at the entrance, which still looks exactly the same to Brother Gilbert, it is nearly completely dark out.

In the failing light, the group can see that the structure is about 15 feet high and made up of thick logs intertwined with living trees and plants that grow up in, around, and out of the thicker logs. The whole structure looks like a living wooden fort that has been growing and surviving here for centuries. The trail eventually leads right up to a ten foot wide opening in the outer wall. You see nothing but complete darkness beyond the opening. There is a small plaque made of copper affixed to the outer wall alongside the opening that looks like it has been recently wiped clean. The good Brother doesn't remember seeing that last time either.

Actions?

map:
viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6346#p358103

Brother Gilbert C
Jax M
Gramble F
Storm D
Saracen F2/C3
Avaala MU3
Eawad T
Judson F
Maag F/T

[Xaxyx]

Eawad Driftwood

Never having found himself in this sort of circumstance before, Eawad looks to the others to see what the group intends to do next. Out of habit, he glances at the shadows forming with the setting sun, assessing whether they'd make good hiding spots in case anything unpleasant comes out of the ominous opening.

[SpinwardMarch]

Brother Gilbert

How odd. I do not remember the howler monkeys on my original visit, and the plaque is new, as well.
As the light is fading, he will look at the plaque to see what is on it.

This has been cleaned recently, hmm.