Quest #16 "What's On The Other Side Of The River?"

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

With natural darkness now completely set in, the team goes about the grisly task of beheading the huge lizard, right there on the beach. The phanaton gets a few words out to Wes as the spell diminishes.

"Thank you friend, lizard slayers! May we speak again some day!" He turns to the others as the head is handed over to them. As they bound away with their large prize, Wes comprehends one last sentence before the speech turns back into squeaky chattering.

"I can't believe that worked! Now we can tell everyone WE killed this thing! Oh shit! I hope he didn't hear that."

The tree people vanish into the jungle, leaving the three of you alone on the beach with another hour of dragging a slightly lighter animal carcass ahead of you. The insects attack your eyes and try to fly into your nose and mouth when you breath. Wes begins to have flashbacks of his three day hellish ordeal alone in the jungle.

The cacophony of noises grow to nearly deafening levels and there is movement and rustling coming from all along the beach trail now.

Actions?

Wes D2 16/16 2/4 first 3/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[tomlowshang]

Gwethglersinwen Larendirina

Survival first. Mission second.

Gwen abandons the lizard carcass and quick marches towards the water.

[Karaunios]

Galanthas

Seeing Gwen's reaction, Galanthas starts behind her, going to the water as fast as he can to a part where he won't drown with his chainmail.

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes decides to emulate his companions and slowly backs away from the lizard. As he does so, he looks along the treeline with his half-elven night vision and tries to gauge the amount of noise and movement, comparing it with his previous experience of spending nights in the jungle. He also tries to judge if there is a specific spot that seems more active or noisy.

Wes doesn't go too far away from their prize, nor too near the water. He remembers the story of the sea-troll that was recently slain here, and the fact that something big apparently bumped the rowboat that Saracen and Avaala used in their raid on the pirate ship. Wes tries to stay within about 80' of the trees so he can use his magic if necessary.

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

Waving the swarming bugs away from their faces constantly, the group drops the dead lizard again and moves towards the water. They watch on as a disgusting looking creature begins to emerge from the tree line. The canine beast sniffs the air as it starts to walk up the sand towards the carcass. It lets out a nasty sounding squealing noise, but doesn't seem too bothered by your presence.

IMG_1011.JPG (88.88 KiB) Viewed 779 times

Two more beasts suddenly appear behind the first, following it straight towards your fresh kill.

Actions!

Wes D2 16/16 2/4 first 3/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[Karaunios]

Galanthas

Galanthas draws his longsword slowly, looking hesitantly at his companions, to see what they do (we have a druid after all!).

OOC: To the DM: Am I able to cast spells having a weapon in one hand and the other free? Just asking

[OGRE MAGE]

I would say that you can't cast a spell (with a required somatic component) with a weapon in your hand.

But since there are no restrictions to sheathing a weapon, (or just sticking it in the ground, or leaning a staff or sword against your body when you cast, etc.) I don't think that will come into play too much.

Weird. I don't think anyone has ever asked me that before. I don't recall if any rules exist on the matter.

[Jernau35]

Wes

Assuming that the first animal is the leader of the of the pack, Wes uses the power of Obad Hai to try and Charm him.

Wes is going to try Charm Person Or Mammal first, then Speak With Animals next round.

Sorry, I could have sworn I posted this about two hours ago...

[tomlowshang]

Gwethglersinwen Larendirina

Gwen immediately recognizes that the new arrivals are more interested in the carcass, and that a cautious escape is possible.

The smell of blood is in the air. Every predator in the vicinity may be headed this way.

When Gwen realizes Wes intends to defend the carcass, she is horrified. Unable to inform the others without alerting the monsters and ruining the chance to escape, Gwen shakes her head in resignation.

Gwen moves cautiously but continues to distance herself from the carcass. She is alert for anything else that may be approaching, including from the sky.

OOC: How far are we from the water in our current location? According to the map, for most of the length of the trail, it is at least ½ mile from the water. Are there many places where they much closer together?

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

Wes backs away from the animals as he casts a spell on their alpha male. It doesn't seem to have any affect on the creature, who slowly approaches the free meal. It continues sniffing the air, seemingly unconcerned about the three onlookers. The lead dog starts biting at the carcass where the head was just removed, licking and tearing flesh from the bloody stump. The other two wild dogs approach the dead lizard as well, ready to eat.

Galanthas takes a few more steps back too, waiting for Wes to take control of this situation. He notices Gwen hasn't stopped moving since the jungle dogs arrived. She is near the water and slowly continuing up the beach towards town.

The wild beasts begin tearing into the lizard, ignoring their elven audience completely.

Actions!

The shoreline is not as far from the jungle as the map indicates. The beach is only about 30-40 feet wide on average, but that does vary slightly depending on where you are.

Wes D2 16/16 2/4 first 2/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes takes a look at the way the hyenas are feeding. He looks to see how the animals are spread out around the lizard. If there's one at the neck, and one on each side, or two on one side and one on another, he'll outline a plan to Galanthas.

"If you can loan me a dagger, I might be able to salvage something. I can be invisible to them, cut off a leg or the tail, then we can leave quickly. Hopefully they will be too busy eating to be bothered about us and we'll have a few minutes head start on them".

Wes looks again at the animals, to see if it's feasible to get close to the lizard while only getting close to one hyena at a time.

[Karaunios]

Clenching his teeth out of resignation, Galanthas approaches Wes slowly and hands him his dagger, staring at the hyenas.

"Be careful."

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

Wes begins casting another spell, this one on himself. When he finishes, Galanthas doesn't notice anything different about the druid. The elf keeps a close eye on the hyenas while handing over his dagger to the druid, who appears to be about to try something really crazy. Instead of using the weapon or any spells on the wild dogs, he uses it on the dead lizard, instead.

As the animals rip and tear at the carcass, flipping it around wildly despite its size and devouring large chunks of your precious gift to the townsfolk, the druid moves in slowly. Unfortunately, the aggression and wild abandon that these creatures are showing will make the task of cutting off a limb or two, especially with a small blade, nearly impossible. (give me a hard STR and a hard DEX roll to succeed with this action)

Completely out of her magic spells, Gwen slips a bit further down the beach, unwilling to lend aid just to save a few dozen meals for the people of Beachtown.

Actions!

Wes D2 16/16 1/4 first 2/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[Jernau35]

Wes

The druid tries his best to salvage some meat...

Hard Dex Check (Dex 8) [4d6] = 18

Hard Str Check (Str 8) [4d6] = 16

but fails miserably.

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

Wes is unable to put his plan into action due to the violent nature of the feeding animals. In fact, he almost gets his hand bitten in the process, but pulls it away at the last moment. The hyenas seem far more interested in eating than fighting off unseen threats.

A different approach will obviously need to be taken if the group wants to save any of their prized catch.

Actions!

Wes D2 16/16 1/4 first 2/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes backs off and considers a different plan. Galanthas! Stand in the water and try to shoot them! If they go in too deep, they won't have the leverage to bite you!"

Wes takes a look around, especially along the tree line, for rocks, loose branches and anything else he can throw at the hyenas.

[Karaunios]

Galanthas

"Done and done!"

Galanthas steps back into the water down to stomach height. He sheathes his sword, knocks an arrow on his short bow and fires to the closest hyena!

To hit with short bow [1d20] = 9; damage with short bow [1d6] = 4

I also include the damage regardless of the 'to hit' score, because who knows?

[tomlowshang]

Gwethglersinwen Larendirina

Now some distance away, Gwen glances at the two and realizes they haven't given up yet.

Hopefully they will be rewarded for such tenacity.

Gwen moves towards the centre of the beach away from the water where she waits for the other two to either succeed, fail, or give up. She scans around any other threats.

[OGRE MAGE]

Heading Home
Earthday, The 4th of Goodmonth
Evening, Hot, Muggy, Very Buggy

Gwen, now well ahead of the others, stops to scan the area for any more threats. She doesn't see anything dangerous other than the bugs that are trying to eat her alive. She keeps a watch on the others, hoping their ordeal will be over soon.

Galanthas does as instructed, heading back into the water and firing an arrow past the druid, well over the heads of the wild dogs. He feels something bump up against his leg under the surface of the sea.

Wes moves to the tree line looking for rocks or sticks to throw at the dogs. He doesn't see much natural ammunition lying around, but he does notice a broken branch hanging off a nearby tree. He rips the branch free and grabs ahold of the thick end. He rushes at the hyenas, shaking the large leafy branch in their direction as he approaches them.

With their stomachs now totally engorged, the dogs don't seem as willing to put up much of a fight anymore. They are a little frightened by a floating branch, so they move away from it and start heading back into the jungle with as much of the lizard carcass as they can carry in their mouths.

Down about 100 pounds, covered in sand, slimy saliva, and peppered with bite marks, the elves prize remains there in two pieces on the dark beach. But, at least it should be much easier for the group to carry it now. The hyenas stay at the edge of the tree line, growling in Wes's direction. They seem unwilling to completely give up on one of the easiest and biggest meals they have ever acquired.

Actions?

Wes D2 16/16 1/4 first 2/3 second
Gwen 8/8 0/1 first
Galanthas 8/8 1/1 first

[Jernau35]

Wes

Wes calls upon the power of The Shalm to produce a bright flame in the palm of his right hand. He uses it to ignite the large branch in his left hand, setting it well aflame. Once done, he tosses the flame at the hyenas, watching it flash brightly as it impacts the leader on the snout.

Produce Flame (THACO:20) [1d20] = 20

Then he advances towards them waving his burning branch.