Quest #38 "Betwixt Water And Stone"

[Jernau35]

The Knife

"Ah....yes", whispers The Knife. "That probably wasn't the best time for chatting..."

...


"...Anyway, what if we carry on a little bit further? If it's a herbivore, it will probably get spooked and run away. But if it's a predator, it will probably sit there quietly and wait, right? So we'll know what it is". He looks at the others and beams. "What do you think of that as a plan?"

[sastaz]

Amun stares at the gnome, apparently not sure what she's expected to respond to that.

[Urson]

Luther
Luther shakes his head. If the animal is a mother with young, she'll stand her ground to defend the young ones, no matter what.
We go forward, slowly. If we are not attacked, we leave it alone.

[sastaz]

Amun nods in agreement.

[OGRE MAGE]

Cliff path it is, I guess.

Bug Hunt
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

Pressing forward carefully, and as quietly as possible, Keg and Luther breach the outer edge of a small clearing where they see the backside of a single bovine-ish animal. The rear half looks a bit like a bloated buffalo, with a long tail and an even longer thick neck. Its head is currently stuck in a large patch of green ferns that grow very low to the ground.

Although only the backside of the creature is currently visible, the stench it gives off is quite potent. It appears to be rooting around near the ground, though you still cant hear the munching noise you heard earlier.

104-catoblepas-150.png (216.61 KiB) Viewed 476 times

Actions?

Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13

[sastaz]

Amun stops and stays silent, waiting for Keg and Luther to make the call.

[Bluehorse]

Keg using his "inside voice" he whispers to the rest of the group. Ugly as sin... but... might be able to feed all the folks back at the camp... I am not one to want to cut a trip short, but priorities... what do you think? Take it down or go around? If you think we can take it, I certainly don't mind turning back with a prize and leaving again in the morning.

[gurusql]

Wake

"Also with a quiet voice. I cannot imagine that something that smells that bad would be good to eat. I vote for go around." says Wake.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife starts backing up slowly. " We should go around," he whispers. "It heard us coming and didn't run away. It's not scared of us. And look at that thing at the end of it's tail!"

[sastaz]

Amun

"Stench is for defending, animal can be eaten for sure. But lots of beasts on island for later, Amun say we go on search."

[Urson]

Luther
Luther's face is pinched in a scowl from the stench. Back up, circle wide around it. If there were a small herd, it would be different. A single grazer tells me it has a powerful defense.

Saying this, Luther leads the way. He'll back up some 50 yards, then circle wide, staying well clear of the clearing and the stench.

[Bluehorse]

Luther
Luther's face is pinched in a scowl from the stench. Back up, circle wide around it. If there were a small herd, it would be different. A single grazer tells me it has a powerful defense.

Saying this, Luther leads the way. He'll back up some 50 yards, then circle wide, staying well clear of the clearing and the stench.

Keg concedes to the all around sentiment of the others and follows Luther's lead.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bug Hunt
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

Luther wisely draws his group back away from the small clearing before the swampy smelling beast caches sight of any of them. As they backtrack, they spot the path the wide creature trampled through the jungle to get here, apparently from the direction of the river.

Pulling back along the edge of the cliff base, they give the monster a wide berth, and after a bit of backtracking, are soon free from any danger it might bring. Luther thinks it would be pretty easy to travel the long way around this thing and meet back up with the cliff path beyond it.

Keg and TK remember the area well, believing that the group is about an hours hike from their tangle with the weird jungle piercers.

Actions?

Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13

[Urson]

Luther
This place is a monster zoo... Luther shakes his head, leading the 'long way' around the Stench Beast.

[sastaz]

Amun tags along, staying focused on the surroundings as they travel.

"Why they travel to his monster island? In search for treasure?"

[Bluehorse]

Amun tags along, staying focused on the surroundings as they travel.

"Why they travel to his monster island? In search for treasure?"

Keg gives a sidelong glance. Yeah, let's go with that.

[sastaz]

Keg gives a sidelong glance. Yeah, let's go with that.

Amun nods subtly, seemingly in agreement.

"Ay."

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife nods."Yes, definitely treasure. We even had some for a while, technically. After catching that big fish at the other end of the beach. But after the unfortunate dwarf-shooting incident...well, easy come, easy go..." He slaps at a couple of the multitude of bugs swirling around them. "Now we'd give a dragon's hoard just to have five minutes of peace from these things!"

[gurusql]

Wake

"While we have a minute, what was the story with the jungle piercers? What should we be looking for? It does not sound like a creature that likes to wander much."

[OGRE MAGE]

Bug Hunt
Starday, 27th of Goodmonth
Early Morning, Overcast, Warm, Buggy

As the group leaves the monster behind for the villagers to deal with, if it should wander that way, Wake inquires about the rocky jungle stalactites some of the group dealt with the last time they were out here.

After about another hour long hike, they reach that area and can now show the priest one of the strange little monsters in person.

Actions?

Keg (F3) AC:1 23/23
Luther (R4) AC:3 30/30
The Knife (T2) AC:4* 8/8
Wake (C1) AC:3 10/10 3/3 first
Amun (F1) AC:2 13/13