Red Dead Annihilation: Campaign Thread

 "I thought it was decided? We deal with the dragon after we deal with the Death Curse?" Meili did not see those fires but believed Hew knew better if it was the one and did not doubt his conclusion. "It is good to know the exact place, though. Now we will find the dragon easier when the time comes." 

Maybe it was the three successive quiet nights but right now she truly believed the group will do just that - handle the curse and return to deal with the dragon.

Hew shakes his head at Meili.  "Not her lair.  She dens in the old Wyrmheart mine, another week to the south.  This would have been her out hunting.  A long way from her usual haunts... picking must be getting slim in the Valley of Lost Honor."

"She's unlikely to linger at the site of whatever it was she killed.  But that doesn't mean it's worth investigating.  The chances of it having anything to do with you mission are slim."

“Not a forge or dwarfhold” Mica shakes his head at Nalomanterys “Wrong direction from where we are going and too high in the sky.  It was a streak in the sky, almost like a falling star.”  He looks over at Ran and the others as they discuss the potential for a dragon and shrugs his shoulders. “Might be. Now that would be a trophy worth taking. Only one day out of the way, we could probably make up the time.  Still, I am good with whatever and if Hew thinks she is no longer there, may not be anything there worth looking for.”

Ran chuckles at Mica's interest in getting a dragon trophy.

"We'll have time enough later to track down the dragon," Ran says. "You and Hew can take your pick of parts then."

He looks in the direction of the reported flames in the sky then shrugs.

"This dwarf stronghold might be nothing but a pile of shite but if they're not trying to kill us, that would be a nice change of pass."

“Couldn’t be any worse than continuing to tromp out here in the boonies.  Let’s keep on toward the dwarves then.  If we are lucky we can resupply and maybe get some information about what’s out here.”  Mica shoulders his pack and prepares to move on for the day. 

"Yes, to the Dwarves. It would be nice to see even just a modicum of civilization again..." Although Nalomanterys' clothes are kept perpetually pristine, the dirt and scratches from weeks of traipsing the jungle are immediately noticeable.

"Mr. Hew, I have never visited a Dwarfhold before. What shall I do to prepare myself? Have we need to bring some sort of gifts?"

The matter decided, the party continues on a direct course for Hrakhamar.

"Not this dwarfhold," Hew says with a dry laugh to Nalomanterys.  "You missed the background.  Hrakhamar itself - the caverns, the forges, the mines - aren't in dwarven hands.  The clan that built it had to flee due to volcanic instability.  Over the years, beasties and other things settled inside."

"But it isn't all bad news.  For years, a troupe of wild dwarves have maintained a village outside the mountain gates.  Now and again they launch raids into Hrakhamar to keep the monsters in check.  I know they are still there - when our group left Port Nyanzaru, there was a wild dwarf guide there trying to recruit fighters to help him retake the hold.  We should be able to trade with their village and perhaps pick up some news about what's happening in the southern jungles."

These dwarves, Hew explains, aren't quite like shield dwarves.  They are more at home in the open jungles than underground.  More mud and grass, Hew would say, than iron and stone.

 "Recruit fighters for the cause?" The flashback about all the happenings in the Vengeance Camp made Meili shudder. "How...mmm...  passionate they are about retuning of their property? Will they try to ...persuade us to help?"

She said "persuade" but everyone who was there in the camp could understand the true meaning of the question.

Hew doesn't think you have anything to worry about.  

"Those Gauntlet types... you have to remember, this is an unfamiliar, foreign and hostile land to them.  They have no idea how to deal with the damp and the bugs, let alone the undead.  Add in a commander who has lost the last bit of his marbles... well, you saw what happens."

"These dwarves... Chult is their home.  I doubt very much they'll have succumbed to insane desperation."

Hew charts a course angling you toward the still far-off Kobold Mountains.

The day turns hot, hotter than any you've experienced on this trek so far.  You don't run into any obstacles through the first part of the day, but the stifling heat and choking humidity make travel slow and exhausting.  You burn through your water reserves but the damp air and dark clouds over the mountains suggest you won't have to wait long to refill them.

This holds true.  While taking a break in the middle of an afternoon thunderstorm to rest and set out the raincatchers, Hew and Mica both notice something is coming.  Taking cover in nearby underbrush, the party sees a herd of colorful horned dinosaurs emerge from the jungle.  There are 10 animals, including an old, battle-scarred bull.

The animals don't detect your presence, but as they graze in the heavy rain, they draw dangerously close to your raincatchers, threatening to trample them.

Nalomanterys whispers, "I can repair the raincatchers if they are broken. I would rather not disturb these beasts."

The meeting with the giant undead dinosaur was still fresh in Meili's memory and she nodded immediately. "In the worst case, we are close to dwarves now to get new rain catchers. Better than get caught in a stampede of these animals."

'Do these dinos work the same way as animals on the mainland?" Ran asks. "They're eating plants. Maybe that means they don't like meat. We might be able to just move the raincatchers."

He looks at the dinos for a while longer, finally registering Nalomanterys' comment about being able to fix the raincatchers if they get damaged.

Ran looks to the forest around them, looking for anything that might like to eat these kinds of dinosaurs. That zombie dino was huge. That could mean living ones of those wandering around looking for lunch.

Mica watches the animals as they graze and whispers back to Ran “Just because they don’t eat meat doesn’t mean they won’t run us through with those horns if they think we are threatening the herd “ Mica nods toward the old, scarred bull “Like the others said, best to stay out of sight and let them be.” Mica scans the surrounding jungle, making sure the herd is not drawing the attention of some other, more dangerous predator.

The party chooses discretion over valor and stays silent and hidden, watching in dismay as the grazing herbivores wander overtop of their raincatchers.

Careful watch of the surrounding jungles does not reveal any creatures stalking these giant horned dinosaurs.  As dangerous as this jungle can be, there probably isn't much out there that would risk hunting such dangerous prey.

Almost an hour passes before the dinosaurs move safely away.  A few times they pick up your scent, but they lack they eyesight or the smarts to identify you in your hiding place.  Once they are gone, Nalomanterys is able to follow through on his promise and begins to mend the raincatchers.  It doesn't take terribly long.  Though the damage is extensive, he is able to repair both raincatchers piece by piece through the mending cantrip.  By the time he is done, however, the rains have ceased and you have no choice but to carry on without refilling your depleted waterskins.

While Nalomanterys works, Hew answers Ran's question from earlier.  "Mica was right.  Picture the orneriest cow or water buffalo.  Then make it twice as dumb and four times as big.  Thats what you get with those Styracosauruses.  They'd have tried to gore us if they knew we were there.  At least the Trikes can be domesticated... ". 

Continuing on until sunset, Hew spots a low rise and suggests you make for it.  It has the look of a defensible campsite.

As it happens, you are not the first to think so.  As you crest the ridge, you come upon the remains of a broken camp.  Logs had been laid across the easiest approach, creating a barricade, but it was for naught.  Mixed up with broken tents, torn sleeping bags and tangled ropes are the remains of four human fighters.  They are continentals, clearly not native to Chult.  Two are in their small-clothes, while the other two are wearing dark steel breastplates stamped with the imprint of a flying bird.

The sun is setting as you stand in this place of death.

Ran sighs when he sees the carnage awaiting them at the 'defensible' campsite.

"These unlucky bastards beat us to it," Ran says. "What are the chances those turn into zombies right quick?"

Ran draws his swords and makes his way into the mess. He pauses to make sure the fighters are actually dead. If they are he quickly severs their heads from their bodies.

"I know we'll burn the lot, but didn't fancy the odds of them staying still until then."

Ran then starts scanning through the mess, as well as the pouches and pockets of the warriors, looking for anything useful.

Perception: 14  

It might have sounded a bit callous but at this point, Meili saw so much death that she only nodded "A good question".There was no even sense in preying for the dead, their souls were already lost.

Meili sighed and crouched near the bodies to see better. She tried to determine the cause of death (Medicine: 7), or, better say, what kind of creature did it. "Whoever killed those people, was not an undead or an animal. And took the gear of only two of them. I wonder why?"

She touched the bird symbol. "Anyone knows what it means?"

Flashing a brief but grateful smile to Meili, Danica nods halfheartedly at her offer to try the herbs she had found that helped those who ate it against fright. "Perhaps. I'll keep them in mind. Thanks Meili." She worried that they wouldn't last her a full rest, but she didn't think it could hurt, simply be better used when more important.
Humming at Nalomantery's intricate explanation she replies, "I wouldn't want you to waste your magic on me, but if you have some to spare before we lay down for the night, I wouldn't mind you taking a peak. Just want to make sure it's just regular bad sleep and not those Hells damned hags messing around or something else. Even if we can't remove it." 

Frowning at Mica's description, Danica listened to Nal's wonderings but her eyes were focused on Hew's expression. Nodding along with Meili she agreed, "Good to know that the dragon might have expanded her hunting grounds but she'll wait until after we finish. Can't imagine her going too far from her lair." Giving their guide a hopefully reassuring nod. She truly did intend to help him in his quest as long as it wasn't 'suicide by dragon'. 

Snorting a little as the dwarf burst the wizard's hopeful bubble at expecting 'civilization' in Hrakhamar, her amusement quickly soured into a grimacing sneer at allusion of the last group that tried to 'persuade' them to help. Nodding at Hew, "Let's hope so. Don't think I can be as 'civil' as we were in Camp Vengeance." 

As the day gets even more hot (which Danica didn't think was possible), the sleeves of her once mostly white shirt were rolled up as far as she could get them to stay and the collar pulled back. The loose bangs of her hair sticking to the sides of her face and forehead from profuse sweat even with drinking as much as she could. For once she truly was grateful for more rain to replenish their water supply. The arrival of the herd of dinosaurs (herbivores or not) was not welcome considering their proximity to the raincatchers.

"I could try and speak with them, but there's no guarantee that they won't be spooked as soon as I step out." Knowing how quick to bolt and charge prey animals were, she certainly didn't want them to be on the receiving end of a stampede. She watches, already thirsty as the herd of Styracosauruses trample their hopes of drinking fresh water anytime soon. "Could be worse." Danica sighs as she helps hold the various pieces of the raincatchers together for Nalomanterys to Mend. "Be a bit longer before the next sip, sorry Pterry." Offering a scritch under the beak of the small dinosaur at her hip. 

The scene of their chosen place of rest was rather foreboding. Looking around and humming at Meili's supposition, the elf interjects, "Could be that two armored ones were on watch and the other two were sleeping. Gets awful hot, even at night. Maybe their gear is still around, just weren't wearing it when they died." She squats down to peer at the bird sigil on the armor. (Guidance: 4 // Religion: 18)  

((Can Danica or perhaps someone else give Meili the help action to get her advantage with that Medicine roll?))

(Meili is hopeless with her rolls but in case Help is allowed, Medicine: 8 +1 Guidance)