Red Dead Annihilation: Campaign Thread

As someone with a dark vision (now), Meili volunteers to watch the camp at the dark hours.

This night, once they settled, Meili asked Nalomanterys a question, that had to be asked before. "How familiar are you with the fauna of the island?" She elaborated immediately. "We've got that book with a description of most animals and monsters, the one Mr. Volo wrote, and had to practically memorize it. Would you like to look?"

Ran can't see much past the firelight. He'd be best for first or last watch. He'll volunteer for last watch.

He helps set up camp but will be fast asleep before long, punctuating any conversation with snoring.

“Well, Meili read most of it to us in truth, around the fire at night.  Even then I missed the signs of the hag until it was too late.”  Mica frowns at that unpleasant memory. "We have another book as well, pulled from the body of a wizard in a pterafolk nest.  Maybe you can make some sense of it.”  Mica circles the camp and places the hunting trap along a likely approach and takes the first watch.

Perception: 10.

(Without darkvision as well, Mica will take first watch in our standing order)

((Nalomanterys can take first permanent watch. It'll give him time to set up the alarm spell and what not.))

Nalomanterys sits down around the campsite they picked for the night and begins his nightly ritual of mending and cleaning his gear. He looks miserable in the rain and tries to hide under the massive leaves of some sort of palm, but to no avail. He sighs, "I shall take first watch and get the alarm spell up and running. Which one of you am I waking up?"

[How does this sound:

1. Mica
2. Meili
3. Hew
4. Ran

Nalomanterys can contribute to the defense via his alarm spell.]

Sounds good to me, and probably for the best (no darkvision and my perception is bad)

Danica was fairly shaken after running from the gargantuan undead dinosaur. She had barely even flinched at previous zombies and wights and other such results of deplorable necromancy.... But seeing it animate something of that size was beyond jarring. Running for her life was a good center though and it was easy to simply focus on that and staying close to Hew before her wits slowly began to return to themselves as their crew reunited finally, which made her much less tense. Speaking for the first time since they'd been attacked, Danica followed Mica's mention of the book they had found by reaching into her pack. "I'd forgotten about that. Here, be my guest." Handing over a heavy red leather bound book held shut with a brass clasp with the cover etched with geometric patterns and runes to Nalomanterys. "Pretty sure the dead person that we found it on was a wizard, so maybe it'll be useful to you. Or at least an interesting read."  Fetching a bit of non-meat ration, Danica tries to feed it to Pterry to see if the pterosaur was omnivorous or carnivorous. 

Danica completes her nightly ritual of setting up the insect repellant incense, checking the weather with Druidcraft and helping set up the raincatchers if needed, performing Protection from Evil and Good with the fetish, checking the stars if any were visible and saying her nightly prayers before finally settling into her her bedroll for a hopefully peaceful trance. 

"Ah, a book." He accepts the gift, perhaps expecting a traveler's guide to Chult or something. He cracks a smile when he realizes its true nature. "Ahhhh... a spellbook. To whom did this belong? Just some dead person? A Thayan, perhaps?" He unclasps the leather band holding the book shut and begins poring through its pages. His silence is occasionally broken with murmurs of frustration, joy, or admiration until the sun fully sets, and then he puts it away to head to bed.

"Wake me if you need me." He says as he ritually casts an alarm around the camp and then lies down, occasionally moving an arm to slap a bug or scratch a bite.

Meili Perception: 18

Nalomanterys:

Make an Arcana check against DC 15.

Then make an INT save against DC 15.  If you passed the Arcana check, make the INT save with advantage.

Arcana: 19

Int save: 23 (at advantage)

Nalomanterys' demeanor changes slowly as he becomes more and more engrossed in the book. It looks like all his attention is being drawn into the arcane diagrams, charts, and magical shorthand...

Nalomanterys:

Three days pass.

After the last two steady weeks of beating back crocodiles and fleeing from zombie dinosaurs, the relative calm is both welcome and surreal.  Though you are not assailed by any predators or undead, it is impossible to relax or feel that you are ever safe.  You pass the days and nights waiting for an attack that never comes.

The group settles into a routine.  Rising just before dawn, you break camp and push hard in the early hours before the heat gets too intense.  There are no trails here and the travel is often slow, with Hew leading the way, cutting through dense brush with his machete.  A break for lunch and water during the hottest part of the day, and then another hard push in the afternoon, with an eye out for a defensible campsite for the night.  Even the weather settles into a pattern... light rain at dawn... a heavy downpour at lunch... the rumble of thunder but no rain in the evenings.  Humid but rainless nights.

The lack of actual attack doesn't mean the jungles are empty, or silent.  Several times Hew or Mica call a halt and the party waits quietly for something moving through the brush to pass, or for dark shapes in the treetops to move on.  You see venomous snakes, vampire bats, and the tracks and scat of innumerable dinosaurs.

You are forced to rely on Hew and Mica's sense of direction.  You encounter no helpful landmarks, and the dense jungle canopy offers few breaks to see the horizon or sky.  Even the great Peaks of Flame are hidden from view.

On the third evening, you make camp at the base of a spire of rock that reaches up through the canopy.  Hew announces it should be another three days to Hrakhamar.

Mica:

 Danica:

The lack of any attacks or sinister interference from hags should have been reassuring. But as each night passes, Danica only seems to look more tired and haggard. Always waking up from her trance gasping like she couldn't catch her breath. Eerily reminding her of drowning, even on land. She checks in with the crew and makes sure no one is hearing any creepy songs or seeing foreboding trails of ants or any unusual dreams or nightmares. More and more often she turns her gaze south with a troubled expression. After the third night as they are still breaking their fast, Danica sidles up quietly to Nalomanterys. Keeping her voice at a casually low volume, she nods at the book that he often pours over and asks, "Don't suppose you know any magic to detect curses? Or to put someone under a dreamless sleep?" Saying the last question as a joke, knowing unfortunately that even if such a spell did exist, it wouldn't work on her. 

DM:

"We can try that little plant I picked up three days ago. Helps with fright and not much else, and only for a short time, but maybe it will be enough to let you at least begin your rest peacefully?"

Meili wanted to think that the unnerving "calmness before the storm" did not affect her that much but the prolonged meditations said otherwise. Today, once the sun has set and darkness covered the trees, she even tried to fly around the camp sight and above the canopy. Just to be sure the group is indeed safe from unexpected guests.

As they party breaks camp in the morning, Mica stares to the south, a confused and questioning look on his face.  “No dreams for me” he replies to Danica looking over at the Captain with some concern, in truth the miles trekked across the jungle leave his body and mind tired and ready for sleep each night. “And no sign of being followed either.  But last night I did see something from the rock above.  A line of fire in the southern sky, blazing bright, then sinking out of sight. Some miles distant. Not the right direction for the flame peaks, so not a volcano.  At least I think not.” 

“Is it a sign or signal, should we investigate?” he looks over at Hew “Is it on the way, or at least just a slight detour?”

Quote from Piera_Jade >>

 After the third night as they are still breaking their fast, Danica sidles up quietly to Nalomanterys. Keeping her voice at a casually low volume, she nods at the book that he often pours over and asks, "Don't suppose you know any magic to detect curses? Or to put someone under a dreamless sleep?" 

 

 Nalomanterys shrugs: "I might be able to detect a curse, depending on its nature. If it was created through an active use of magic, I might be able to detect those threads of magic attaching it to the person." ((DM, would detect magic detect curses? I don't see any other spell that would detect them.)) Then he smiles, as if to soften the blow of bad news, "Removing a curse, however, is another story. There is a spell for it, but it is not in my book. Casting it without a precise formula to reference would be... disastrous. We might find the spell though: keep your eye out for more books like this." he raises the spellbook the group gifted him a few days earlier. "And some ink to transfer it to my book. I can barely read this one - I swear, some wizards simply cannot understand the value of penmanship." He shakes his head, ashamed of whoever wrote the spellbook now in his hands.

"As for your sleep problem." He raises an eyebrow. "Such a spell exists; I have never studied it, but I am sure it would not work on Elves and Elfkin. The world of dreams is entirely different from the Elf-trance, as I understand it. Why not take Meili up on her offer? Perhaps the herb will help clear your mind."

Concerned with the fire in the sky to the south, he turns to Mica. "Could it be our Dwarfhold? I have heard tale of the plumes of smoke and fire from their great forges being visible for many miles."

"Fire in the southern sky..." Hew says in a soft, cold voice, looking off into the distance.  Without saying so, it's clear to see the dwarf suspects it is his arch-foe, the red dragon.  

Discussing the location of what Mica saw and comparing notes, ranger to explorer, Hew and Mica determine it will take you a day out of your way if you wish to explore this fireball and its aftermath.  This would get you to Hrakhamar in four days instead of three. 

Hew refuses to weigh in with a recommendation, leaving it up to you whether to press on to Hrakhamar or deviate to investigate.

"If that's who you think it is," Ran begins, "I say we keep our walkabout on route to Hrakhamar. We're in no shape to tussle with a dragon right now."