"Like in a fairy tale?" Ran says in response to Velan's explanation of the potion. "Yeah, helpful if someone needs to slip through a small opening. Or if we need to carry someone injured."
He smiles at Mica.
"Yeah, given how long she's been down here site seeing, she'd figure I'd pop around eventually," Ran says. "No real place for a road sign but if there was a fork in the path she might leave a wee breadcrumb or two to point me in the right direction."
The rest of the afternoon goes as well as the morning before. You pass a section of river that Hewwarns may require another portage. But when you reach that stretch, the river has charted a new and more navigable course since the last time Hewpassed this way and you do not need to leave the canoes.
The weather holds the same pattern: Clouds, then a little wind, then rain, then clearing up before starting the cycle all over again. But it is a break from the oppressive heat and humidity, for a while at least. As you draw into the later afternoon, the heat rises and the humidity goes back to unbearable levels.
No beasts attack and the river is quiet and largely absent of notable beasts and creatures. Hewdoes steer you close to one shore to avoid an overhanging tree on the other side. He points out what appear to be snakes hanging from some of the branches. "Jaculi," he says. "Not true snakes... I think they have a magic origin or some such. Likely an escaped pet from an ancient Chultan sorcerer or other arcane nonsense. When they strike, they go rigid like an arrow, and can pierce you just the same. They aren't aggressive, but if you were foolish or unaware enough to paddle under that tree and startle them, you'd fast regret it."
A little further and Hewpoints to another copse of trees. "Mangos. Not fruiting now." Then he laughs. "Why, when we passed this way once, the trees were full of fruit and there were so many damned flying monkeys, you'd think the trees were weighed down with ships anchors. Melody tried to call them so hard, but they were so gorged on fruit they couldn't be bothered to fly to her. She wanted one for a pet so badly, she was so persistent, she -" he falls silent. He stops paddling for a moment and removes his pith helmet, wiping his brow. He remains quiet and before he can speak again, there is a deep rumble of thunder from the south. It lingers, rolling across the jungle canopy. You can all see that the sky in that direction has taken a darker turn than any of the rain clouds thus far today. "Storm coming in. Could be trouble." He resumes paddling while watching the horizon. "We made good time today. Let's get off the water and set camp for the night before that hits us."
*****
It isn't long before the canoes are safely dragged up on shore and a camp is struck. It is an idyllic spot. From a rocky crag above, a spring emerges into a waterfall, settling into a small pool. Hewwarns not to go for a swim. The pool is deep, and since it does not depart this clearing, he suspects there is an underground passage to connect it with the River Soshenstar. Going in to bathe could see hidden currents draw you down to a watery grave.
Before you can get a proper campfire going, the storm breaks. Winds rise and rip through the treetops. You need to grab hold of the tents to keep them from blowing away. Lightning flashes and thunder cracks and roars all around you. A few times, Hewshouts something but none of you can hear him over the storm. The rain falls in sheets, sometimes straight down, other times almost sideways when the winds pick up. Huge droplets propelled by tropical winds sting when they catch your exposed skin.
After 30 minutes it slows, but the wind and rain continue until well after dark. By the time it is done, all of your bodies and gear are soaking wet. As usual, this brings no relief from the heat, and clouds of insects rise up to fill this air with buzzing and whining. You shore up and retie your tent lines, get a fire going and settle in for the night.
Hewoffers to take the midnight watch. He asks for three more volunteers for the other shifts.
Any who volunteer, make a Perception check for the night's watch.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Once the wind dies down and the tents are secured, Ran just sits in the last of the rain, contemplating how his life has gotten to this point.
"This place has a beaut sense of humor," Ran says to the group. "I really don't think it's keen on having people here. The only things trying to kill you back in Waterdeep are other people. And maybe the stew of the day at the Mermaid's Arms. Calathia is a right shite cook."
He looks over at Hew, wondering about the man's past and the horrors he's faced in these jungles.
"You got family, Hew?" Ran asks. "Long way from here?"
Regardless of the answer, Ran volunteers to sit watch again - he's an early riser anyway and is happy to take last watch.
Hew doesn't answer you immediately. He works at the fire with his back turned. At last he replies, "... A long way from here." The tone isn't exactly unfriendly, but it doesn't invite follow up questions.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Danica stared blankly at Velan's declaration of what the strange vial was and then nodded with vague understanding after he explained before her eyes automatically slid to Hew as she asked with a sly smile, "I wonder how small it'd make a dwarf. Well hopefully we won't have to use it, but good to know. Thanks Velan." Then turning to laugh at Mica as he complained about being confined in the canoes she teased, "You just have to get more reach and range."
The rest of his musings she pondered on silently, rather not wanting to speculate about what horrors awaited them. At least not until they had more concrete clues. As Ran spoke of possible breadcrumbs she asked, "Do you two or your family have any sort of codes or signs amongst each other that would be easy to recognize? Favorite color maybe?"
Danica stared up at the Jaculi that Hew pointed out with curious eyes, biting her lip before asking their guide with a grin, "You think I could make one my pet? Just while we're in the jungle."Like she was trying to convince her parents to keep an owlbear cub she found. The elf knew logically that the Jaculi wouldn't do well on a ship, but it was a nice thought.
The sailor startles as Hew points out the mangos, not because that was startling but at the fact that she couldn't think of if they'd ever heard the dwarf laugh before. A smile crept over her face as she listened to the beginnings of his story with rapt attention before it froze and then began to fall as he drifted off. She didn't know what happened to this Melody but she could guess it wasn't anything good if it could sour such a happy memory for the man. It was quiet other than the thunder in the distance as they paddled to shore and began to make camp.
Or try to rather. The weather shifted rapidly in Chult and it was all the sailor could do to hold onto the tent she had been trying to set up as well as her things, feeling very much like she was in the eye of a storm out in the middle of the sea. The only thing that was odd was the solid ground underneath her. With a sigh that turned into a groan as she stood up once the storm finally passed, Danica began the fairly futile process of trying to wring herself out, starting with her hair and trying to do the same with her clothes. "I don't think I remember what being dry feels like anymore."Chuckling at Ran's joke she asked, "What is she doing to it? There's only so many things that can go in a stew. Unless she's actually adding poisonous ingredients. Sweet Selûne, maybe she thought they were spices."
As watches were being established, the brunette spoke up, "I'll take first watch if that's alright."Airing out the things in her pack as she lit the incense for the night, Danica quietly listened to the brief conversation between Ran and their guide, her thoughts wandering to what Amphyretta had said. She had known crew somewhat similar. Lost a spouse or child one way or another and signed up for longer and more dangerous voyages without care. But that couldn't endanger the rest of the crew. Unless that person was the Captain or Navigator...
While making sure everyone got some water from the rain catchers, Danica asked Hew casually, "So what happened with Melody and the flying monkeys?"
Mica attempts to hold down the tent lines during the driving rain and wind of the storm, getting soaked through in the process. As the rain passed and the wind eased, he helped start the fire and threw a block of the insect repellent on it, a small attempt to keep the swarms of bugs away that he knew would follow the storm.
He listened closely as Ran and Dancia tried to get Hew to open up about his past, the Dwarf had avoided most of Mica’s previous questions on the subject. He was still brought more questions than answers, but at least he had led them well this far.
“I will take one of the middle watches tonight, and I think I will place a trap out near the spring, just in case there are more su-monsters or the like lurking about.” Mica pulls a spring trap out of his gear with jagged metal jaws and places it in a likely spot along one of the approaches into camp, just to give them some early warning and extra protection.
“I suppose you could say that it is like in a fairy tale, but I thought more about the Enlarge/Reduce spell.” He answered to Ran, half surprised with the difference on their points of view. The wizard rarely thought about the fae, after all he had nothing bud experiences with them. A fact made ironic by the fact that he was a fae himself. “The potion has the exact effect of the Reduce part and I didn’t think about using the potion to carry someone injured, but it absolutely makes sense.”
When they made camp he considered going to talk with Inete. Not to ask if she wanted to try another reading, but to know if she was well. Normally he didn’t care much about how other people were feeling. The Crone made sure that became the case while raising him. But he didn’t like the idea of causing distress to someone. In the end he waved the idea and kept Ninlil on watch.
“I will have her watch too.”He mentioned pointing to the owl. “The sisters may be observing us so be sure to say if you hear anything, even if it doesn’t feel real. Their kind like to make their voices sound like a dream or illusion.” Maybe that was what Inete felt watching them. He was sure the Crone knew where they were, but maybe it was not her the acolyte sensed.
It was a rare occasion when Meili was too late to volunteer in time, maybe because the watch order was somewhat established before. Not that she would refuse an extra sleep hour, of course. The readings were officially over, but if Danica did not mind, Meili would take the book again, now to just flip through the pages in search of the monsters that were particularly fascinating. Even in this list of the most exotic creatures, some were standing out.
She sat by the fire a bit longer, almost half of the first watch. Hopefully, Danica knew what she was doing sticking a knife in an obvious proverbial wound Hew carried. Meili was not that curious and had vivid enough imagination to imagine the rest of the story, but she listened, quietly. Eventually, if everything was peaceful, she retired to her tent.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Hewcontinues to poke the fire as Danicajoins Ranin asking about his past. His body language tenses... but then relaxes. "Not much more to the story, boss. There were so many and so close, but she couldn't lure any to our canoe. There are a lot of them out here, especially in the deep jungle, but you seldom see them." He sets down his poker and tosses another handful of branches into the fire. "She eventually bought one from the Red Bazaar. A sickly-looking thing she named 'Baku'. Nursed it right back to health... surprised us all. Baku followed those girls everywhere." He takes a cigarette out of one of his pockets and lights it from an ember, taking a long slow drag. "Best damned monkey on this gods forsaken rock."
1
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Danicasettles in for first watch. Hewis the last to go to sleep, reminding Danicato wake him after two hours, then he rolls up in his bed. The wind is still gusting occasionally and heavy clouds obscure the stars.
Danica:
The wind does a good job keeping the bats and insects out of the sky over your campfire, and most of your watch passes without obvious incident.
After what feels like 90 minutes, you notice something... a rhythmic sound when the wind dies down. A... lullaby? It is faint but once you notice it, it is obvious. You strain your elven senses and immediately deduce it is coming from Inete'stent. Moving closer, you can hear it better. It is a sweet sound, like a loving mother might whisper to their infant. And it is unsettling in how out of place it is, out here in the middle of nowhere in a dinosaur and undead infested tropical jungle. Another step closer to Inete'stent, and you notice the ground is moving in the fire - no, not the ground. Ants. Thousands of red and black ants swarm.
You pull back the flap on Inete'stent to check on her... and you see a woman straddling her. She is softly singing a lullaby and she snips locks of hair off of Inete's head with oversized, rusty shears. She turns to look at you when you open the tent. Her eyes... where her eyes should be are just two large golden coins. Worse, you see where the ants are coming from. They have nests and anthills all over the woman's face and in her stringy black hair. She looks at you were her coin non-eyes and smiles a wide, gap-toothed grin - and then vanishes, along with her ants. Inetecontinues to sleep, seemingly unarmed. And then -
The entire camp is awakened by the sound of Mica'strap snapping shut with loud 'twang'. At the same time, Ninlil calls out loudly.
Five shapes are stumbling into the clearing from the south and another four from the north. A foul smell of decay wafts into the camp. Zombies!
A tenth rotted figure lurks behind, carrying a long yew wand.
INITIATIVE
Danica: 13
Ran: 18
Mica: 11
Velan: 25
Meili: 7
Hew: 19
Inete: 9
South Zombies: 12
North Zombies: 7
Deathlock: 13
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
ROUND ONE
Meili
Mica
Velan
Danica
Inete
Deathlock
Ran
Hew
North Zombies
South Zombies
[The zombie to the south with the orange dot stepped on Mica's hunting trap and took 3 damage and is stuck in the trap.]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Of course a full day of peace a quiet was nigh impossible in these jungles. Meili's body knew it even if the brain was still half a sleep - she practically catapulted out of the tent at the first signal of danger. For a change, the enemy was far enough to get a good look at it before attacking. The monk darted toward Mica's tent and stopped only to throw a dart at the attackers, waiting for them to get closer.
Movement: 40ft, should stop one hex to the right from Mica's tent and a bit lower.
It isn't Meili'sbest throw, and she is certain the enemy will be able to avoid the slow-moving dart with ease... until it thunks into the side of the even slower-moving zombie. "Hnng... Awwwwrrrooouch."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Mica wakes with a start and rolls out of his blankets. “Zombies!”he warns the others with a quick shout, then focuses his attention on the group in the north. Pulling out his hand axe, he whispers a quick prayer to the primal spirits for speed
He races forward 30 feet to close with the lead zombie and attacks with a mighty blow of his hand axe, feeling the extra energy from the spell. Careful not to get too far out in front, he disengages and moves 20 feet back toward his tent and Meili.
Attack: 23 Damage: 8 plus 1 force damage.
(Movement does not provoke AoO. Using the extra movement and damage feature this turn.)
Danica couldn't help but be even more curious about Baku and who "those girls" were that he followed everywhere were, but sensed that Hew wasn't in the mood to go into further detail and she didn't want to push the dwarf too far out of his comfort zone just yet. She just smiled at the idea of the best monkey in Chult and left it at that. Her watch seemed to go relatively smoothly. She had heard others say that they were naturally drawn to stare at their companions sleeping but she never felt such a pull, always looking upwards. It was a shame that the clouds were constantly shifting, making her view of the stars imperfect for further charting. So she contented herself with glimpses of the moon, its strong light glowing strong even from behind clouds. Thumbing the dangling silver pendant of seven stars surrounding silvery blue eyes at her hip, her mind wandering to all those of ill intent determined to thwart them. She had encountered the undead only once before and they were rather pitiful, a two bit necromancer easily outdone by her mentor's prowess. Hardly enough skill to raise an army. But that was what they had to look forward to apparently.
The elf tried to think on the teachings of Selune that her mentor had often mentioned when a strange sound turned her head towards Inete's tent. She stood, stretching her legs to investigate. Was the seeress singing? It sounded almost like a child's lullaby... Perhaps she was trying to comfort herself while she was away from home. Still...something put her on edge about it, prompting her to move closer to the tent. That's when she saw the ants, the sight of so many insects sending her own skin crawling and she instinctually threw the flap of Inete's tent open and whatever Danica had been expecting to find, certainly wasn't what she did. The sight of the ant riddled stringy haired woman that turned to grin at her with wide golden eyes, no, coins where her eyes should have been. Dread flooded the woman as her voice caught in her throat at the jarring sight, eyes registering the rusty shears in the horror's hands too late before- And she was gone.
Before she could even cry out, there was another sound what felt like a world away, that of a trap snapping shut followed by an owl's insistent hoot. Staggering back just a foot to poke her head out, Danica saw that they were being surrounded and shouted into the tent, "INETE GET UP! We're being attacked!" And prayed that the woman was alright but knowing they had more immediate concerns to handle at the moment, turned and momentarily deliberated before going towards the figures to the North. Going left around Mica's tent and the tree stump before holding out a hand and shooting out a spell to land amidst the zombies. Green grasping weeds and vines sprouting from the ground around them to Entangle and slow them down.
After the long day of walk and paddling, sleep came easy for the wizard. Normally he would spend the night thinking about what Inete had said to him before, studying his spellbook in an attempt to complete the formulae of even a single new spell. And attempt to be even a little bit more ready. But then he was too tired for that. He woke up with Ninlil’s warn. Great, another beast prowling the camp. He said with the voice of his mind while getting out of his tent. At this point it was already becoming a tradition, to be visited by unwanted guests mid night.
“They are coming from both north and south!”He shouted in case anyone had not yet noticed. Look at the jungle behind. Tell me if it’s safe to retreat there and stay out of danger. He said telepathically to Ninlil while pulling the arcane focus of his pocket. As fast as he could, Velan put his hands, one over the other, in his chest. Crystal on the right palm, his eyes flashed teal as he whispered an incantation, casting mage armor upon himself. “Ran, in which side are you focusing first?”
Velan asked preparing retreating further east. He knew the group needed to avoid being pined by the two undead groups and the best way to do that was to focus on eliminating one of the groups. Focusing fire. Why in the Nine Hells didn’t I specialize in Necromancy?
Notes: Velan casts Mage Armor on himself, commands Ninlil to look if there are threats by the forest and retreats towards her as much as his speed allows.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Micacleaves a large chunk of rotted flesh from a zombie, and most of its insides fall at its feet. It slowly plods onward, but looks like it is barely held together.
Danica'sspell causes plants and vines to erupt around the feet of the four northern zombies. Zombie STR saves: 6, 11, 20, 5
Ninlil communicates to Velanthat it cannot see any other threats outside of the undead already approaching the camp.
Inetestaggers out of her tent, groggy and terrified. She looks at the approaching undead, while also feeling at her head, where you can all see quite a bit of her hair is missing... she also casts mage armor on herself as she tries to get her thoughts together.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
One of the northern zombies becomes tangles in vines up to its waist, but the others stubbornly trod over the foliage.
The corpse-like figure behind the northern zombies gurgles out something in a strange language... perhaps orders to the zombies?... and then raises the long yew wand. Nine glowing motes of force burst from the wand and seek out Danica, Micaand Meili. They unerringly find their targets, slamming into the Seekers like a series of savage punches.
Danica: 4, 2, 5
Mica: 2, 3, 4
Meili: 3, 5, 2
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ran eyes the small vial and shakes his head.
"Like in a fairy tale?" Ran says in response to Velan's explanation of the potion. "Yeah, helpful if someone needs to slip through a small opening. Or if we need to carry someone injured."
He smiles at Mica.
"Yeah, given how long she's been down here site seeing, she'd figure I'd pop around eventually," Ran says. "No real place for a road sign but if there was a fork in the path she might leave a wee breadcrumb or two to point me in the right direction."
The rest of the afternoon goes as well as the morning before. You pass a section of river that Hew warns may require another portage. But when you reach that stretch, the river has charted a new and more navigable course since the last time Hew passed this way and you do not need to leave the canoes.
The weather holds the same pattern: Clouds, then a little wind, then rain, then clearing up before starting the cycle all over again. But it is a break from the oppressive heat and humidity, for a while at least. As you draw into the later afternoon, the heat rises and the humidity goes back to unbearable levels.
No beasts attack and the river is quiet and largely absent of notable beasts and creatures. Hew does steer you close to one shore to avoid an overhanging tree on the other side. He points out what appear to be snakes hanging from some of the branches. "Jaculi," he says. "Not true snakes... I think they have a magic origin or some such. Likely an escaped pet from an ancient Chultan sorcerer or other arcane nonsense. When they strike, they go rigid like an arrow, and can pierce you just the same. They aren't aggressive, but if you were foolish or unaware enough to paddle under that tree and startle them, you'd fast regret it."
A little further and Hew points to another copse of trees. "Mangos. Not fruiting now." Then he laughs. "Why, when we passed this way once, the trees were full of fruit and there were so many damned flying monkeys, you'd think the trees were weighed down with ships anchors. Melody tried to call them so hard, but they were so gorged on fruit they couldn't be bothered to fly to her. She wanted one for a pet so badly, she was so persistent, she -" he falls silent. He stops paddling for a moment and removes his pith helmet, wiping his brow. He remains quiet and before he can speak again, there is a deep rumble of thunder from the south. It lingers, rolling across the jungle canopy. You can all see that the sky in that direction has taken a darker turn than any of the rain clouds thus far today. "Storm coming in. Could be trouble." He resumes paddling while watching the horizon. "We made good time today. Let's get off the water and set camp for the night before that hits us."
*****
It isn't long before the canoes are safely dragged up on shore and a camp is struck. It is an idyllic spot. From a rocky crag above, a spring emerges into a waterfall, settling into a small pool. Hew warns not to go for a swim. The pool is deep, and since it does not depart this clearing, he suspects there is an underground passage to connect it with the River Soshenstar. Going in to bathe could see hidden currents draw you down to a watery grave.
Before you can get a proper campfire going, the storm breaks. Winds rise and rip through the treetops. You need to grab hold of the tents to keep them from blowing away. Lightning flashes and thunder cracks and roars all around you. A few times, Hew shouts something but none of you can hear him over the storm. The rain falls in sheets, sometimes straight down, other times almost sideways when the winds pick up. Huge droplets propelled by tropical winds sting when they catch your exposed skin.
After 30 minutes it slows, but the wind and rain continue until well after dark. By the time it is done, all of your bodies and gear are soaking wet. As usual, this brings no relief from the heat, and clouds of insects rise up to fill this air with buzzing and whining. You shore up and retie your tent lines, get a fire going and settle in for the night.
Hew offers to take the midnight watch. He asks for three more volunteers for the other shifts.
Any who volunteer, make a Perception check for the night's watch.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Once the wind dies down and the tents are secured, Ran just sits in the last of the rain, contemplating how his life has gotten to this point.
"This place has a beaut sense of humor," Ran says to the group. "I really don't think it's keen on having people here. The only things trying to kill you back in Waterdeep are other people. And maybe the stew of the day at the Mermaid's Arms. Calathia is a right shite cook."
He looks over at Hew, wondering about the man's past and the horrors he's faced in these jungles.
"You got family, Hew?" Ran asks. "Long way from here?"
Regardless of the answer, Ran volunteers to sit watch again - he's an early riser anyway and is happy to take last watch.
Perception for watch: 4
Hew doesn't answer you immediately. He works at the fire with his back turned. At last he replies, "... A long way from here." The tone isn't exactly unfriendly, but it doesn't invite follow up questions.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Danica stared blankly at Velan's declaration of what the strange vial was and then nodded with vague understanding after he explained before her eyes automatically slid to Hew as she asked with a sly smile, "I wonder how small it'd make a dwarf. Well hopefully we won't have to use it, but good to know. Thanks Velan." Then turning to laugh at Mica as he complained about being confined in the canoes she teased, "You just have to get more reach and range."
The rest of his musings she pondered on silently, rather not wanting to speculate about what horrors awaited them. At least not until they had more concrete clues. As Ran spoke of possible breadcrumbs she asked, "Do you two or your family have any sort of codes or signs amongst each other that would be easy to recognize? Favorite color maybe?"
Danica stared up at the Jaculi that Hew pointed out with curious eyes, biting her lip before asking their guide with a grin, "You think I could make one my pet? Just while we're in the jungle." Like she was trying to convince her parents to keep an owlbear cub she found. The elf knew logically that the Jaculi wouldn't do well on a ship, but it was a nice thought.
The sailor startles as Hew points out the mangos, not because that was startling but at the fact that she couldn't think of if they'd ever heard the dwarf laugh before. A smile crept over her face as she listened to the beginnings of his story with rapt attention before it froze and then began to fall as he drifted off. She didn't know what happened to this Melody but she could guess it wasn't anything good if it could sour such a happy memory for the man. It was quiet other than the thunder in the distance as they paddled to shore and began to make camp.
Or try to rather. The weather shifted rapidly in Chult and it was all the sailor could do to hold onto the tent she had been trying to set up as well as her things, feeling very much like she was in the eye of a storm out in the middle of the sea. The only thing that was odd was the solid ground underneath her. With a sigh that turned into a groan as she stood up once the storm finally passed, Danica began the fairly futile process of trying to wring herself out, starting with her hair and trying to do the same with her clothes. "I don't think I remember what being dry feels like anymore." Chuckling at Ran's joke she asked, "What is she doing to it? There's only so many things that can go in a stew. Unless she's actually adding poisonous ingredients. Sweet Selûne, maybe she thought they were spices."
As watches were being established, the brunette spoke up, "I'll take first watch if that's alright." Airing out the things in her pack as she lit the incense for the night, Danica quietly listened to the brief conversation between Ran and their guide, her thoughts wandering to what Amphyretta had said. She had known crew somewhat similar. Lost a spouse or child one way or another and signed up for longer and more dangerous voyages without care. But that couldn't endanger the rest of the crew. Unless that person was the Captain or Navigator...
While making sure everyone got some water from the rain catchers, Danica asked Hew casually, "So what happened with Melody and the flying monkeys?"
Perception: 23
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
Mica attempts to hold down the tent lines during the driving rain and wind of the storm, getting soaked through in the process. As the rain passed and the wind eased, he helped start the fire and threw a block of the insect repellent on it, a small attempt to keep the swarms of bugs away that he knew would follow the storm.
He listened closely as Ran and Dancia tried to get Hew to open up about his past, the Dwarf had avoided most of Mica’s previous questions on the subject. He was still brought more questions than answers, but at least he had led them well this far.
“I will take one of the middle watches tonight, and I think I will place a trap out near the spring, just in case there are more su-monsters or the like lurking about.” Mica pulls a spring trap out of his gear with jagged metal jaws and places it in a likely spot along one of the approaches into camp, just to give them some early warning and extra protection.
Survival for trap placement: 13.
Perception for watch: 13.
.
“I suppose you could say that it is like in a fairy tale, but I thought more about the Enlarge/Reduce spell.” He answered to Ran, half surprised with the difference on their points of view. The wizard rarely thought about the fae, after all he had nothing bud experiences with them. A fact made ironic by the fact that he was a fae himself. “The potion has the exact effect of the Reduce part and I didn’t think about using the potion to carry someone injured, but it absolutely makes sense.”
When they made camp he considered going to talk with Inete. Not to ask if she wanted to try another reading, but to know if she was well. Normally he didn’t care much about how other people were feeling. The Crone made sure that became the case while raising him. But he didn’t like the idea of causing distress to someone. In the end he waved the idea and kept Ninlil on watch.
“I will have her watch too.” He mentioned pointing to the owl. “The sisters may be observing us so be sure to say if you hear anything, even if it doesn’t feel real. Their kind like to make their voices sound like a dream or illusion.” Maybe that was what Inete felt watching them. He was sure the Crone knew where they were, but maybe it was not her the acolyte sensed.
It was a rare occasion when Meili was too late to volunteer in time, maybe because the watch order was somewhat established before. Not that she would refuse an extra sleep hour, of course. The readings were officially over, but if Danica did not mind, Meili would take the book again, now to just flip through the pages in search of the monsters that were particularly fascinating. Even in this list of the most exotic creatures, some were standing out.
She sat by the fire a bit longer, almost half of the first watch. Hopefully, Danica knew what she was doing sticking a knife in an obvious proverbial wound Hew carried. Meili was not that curious and had vivid enough imagination to imagine the rest of the story, but she listened, quietly. Eventually, if everything was peaceful, she retired to her tent.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Hew continues to poke the fire as Danica joins Ran in asking about his past. His body language tenses... but then relaxes. "Not much more to the story, boss. There were so many and so close, but she couldn't lure any to our canoe. There are a lot of them out here, especially in the deep jungle, but you seldom see them." He sets down his poker and tosses another handful of branches into the fire. "She eventually bought one from the Red Bazaar. A sickly-looking thing she named 'Baku'. Nursed it right back to health... surprised us all. Baku followed those girls everywhere." He takes a cigarette out of one of his pockets and lights it from an ember, taking a long slow drag. "Best damned monkey on this gods forsaken rock."
1
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Danica settles in for first watch. Hew is the last to go to sleep, reminding Danica to wake him after two hours, then he rolls up in his bed. The wind is still gusting occasionally and heavy clouds obscure the stars.
Danica:
The wind does a good job keeping the bats and insects out of the sky over your campfire, and most of your watch passes without obvious incident.
After what feels like 90 minutes, you notice something... a rhythmic sound when the wind dies down. A... lullaby? It is faint but once you notice it, it is obvious. You strain your elven senses and immediately deduce it is coming from Inete's tent. Moving closer, you can hear it better. It is a sweet sound, like a loving mother might whisper to their infant. And it is unsettling in how out of place it is, out here in the middle of nowhere in a dinosaur and undead infested tropical jungle. Another step closer to Inete's tent, and you notice the ground is moving in the fire - no, not the ground. Ants. Thousands of red and black ants swarm.
You pull back the flap on Inete's tent to check on her... and you see a woman straddling her. She is softly singing a lullaby and she snips locks of hair off of Inete's head with oversized, rusty shears. She turns to look at you when you open the tent. Her eyes... where her eyes should be are just two large golden coins. Worse, you see where the ants are coming from. They have nests and anthills all over the woman's face and in her stringy black hair. She looks at you were her coin non-eyes and smiles a wide, gap-toothed grin - and then vanishes, along with her ants. Inete continues to sleep, seemingly unarmed. And then -
The entire camp is awakened by the sound of Mica's trap snapping shut with loud 'twang'. At the same time, Ninlil calls out loudly.
Five shapes are stumbling into the clearing from the south and another four from the north. A foul smell of decay wafts into the camp. Zombies!
A tenth rotted figure lurks behind, carrying a long yew wand.
INITIATIVE
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
ROUND ONE
[The zombie to the south with the orange dot stepped on Mica's hunting trap and took 3 damage and is stuck in the trap.]
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Of course a full day of peace a quiet was nigh impossible in these jungles. Meili's body knew it even if the brain was still half a sleep - she practically catapulted out of the tent at the first signal of danger. For a change, the enemy was far enough to get a good look at it before attacking. The monk darted toward Mica's tent and stopped only to throw a dart at the attackers, waiting for them to get closer.
Movement: 40ft, should stop one hex to the right from Mica's tent and a bit lower.
At the zombie on the front: Attack: 8 Damage: 6
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
It isn't Meili's best throw, and she is certain the enemy will be able to avoid the slow-moving dart with ease... until it thunks into the side of the even slower-moving zombie. "Hnng... Awwwwrrrooouch."
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Mica wakes with a start and rolls out of his blankets. “Zombies!” he warns the others with a quick shout, then focuses his attention on the group in the north. Pulling out his hand axe, he whispers a quick prayer to the primal spirits for speed
He races forward 30 feet to close with the lead zombie and attacks with a mighty blow of his hand axe, feeling the extra energy from the spell. Careful not to get too far out in front, he disengages and moves 20 feet back toward his tent and Meili.
Attack: 23 Damage: 8 plus 1 force damage.
(Movement does not provoke AoO. Using the extra movement and damage feature this turn.)
Danica couldn't help but be even more curious about Baku and who "those girls" were that he followed everywhere were, but sensed that Hew wasn't in the mood to go into further detail and she didn't want to push the dwarf too far out of his comfort zone just yet. She just smiled at the idea of the best monkey in Chult and left it at that. Her watch seemed to go relatively smoothly. She had heard others say that they were naturally drawn to stare at their companions sleeping but she never felt such a pull, always looking upwards. It was a shame that the clouds were constantly shifting, making her view of the stars imperfect for further charting. So she contented herself with glimpses of the moon, its strong light glowing strong even from behind clouds. Thumbing the dangling silver pendant of seven stars surrounding silvery blue eyes at her hip, her mind wandering to all those of ill intent determined to thwart them. She had encountered the undead only once before and they were rather pitiful, a two bit necromancer easily outdone by her mentor's prowess. Hardly enough skill to raise an army. But that was what they had to look forward to apparently.
The elf tried to think on the teachings of Selune that her mentor had often mentioned when a strange sound turned her head towards Inete's tent. She stood, stretching her legs to investigate. Was the seeress singing? It sounded almost like a child's lullaby... Perhaps she was trying to comfort herself while she was away from home. Still...something put her on edge about it, prompting her to move closer to the tent. That's when she saw the ants, the sight of so many insects sending her own skin crawling and she instinctually threw the flap of Inete's tent open and whatever Danica had been expecting to find, certainly wasn't what she did. The sight of the ant riddled stringy haired woman that turned to grin at her with wide golden eyes, no, coins where her eyes should have been. Dread flooded the woman as her voice caught in her throat at the jarring sight, eyes registering the rusty shears in the horror's hands too late before- And she was gone.
Before she could even cry out, there was another sound what felt like a world away, that of a trap snapping shut followed by an owl's insistent hoot. Staggering back just a foot to poke her head out, Danica saw that they were being surrounded and shouted into the tent, "INETE GET UP! We're being attacked!" And prayed that the woman was alright but knowing they had more immediate concerns to handle at the moment, turned and momentarily deliberated before going towards the figures to the North. Going left around Mica's tent and the tree stump before holding out a hand and shooting out a spell to land amidst the zombies. Green grasping weeds and vines sprouting from the ground around them to Entangle and slow them down.
DC 12 Strength Save
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
After the long day of walk and paddling, sleep came easy for the wizard. Normally he would spend the night thinking about what Inete had said to him before, studying his spellbook in an attempt to complete the formulae of even a single new spell. And attempt to be even a little bit more ready. But then he was too tired for that. He woke up with Ninlil’s warn. Great, another beast prowling the camp. He said with the voice of his mind while getting out of his tent. At this point it was already becoming a tradition, to be visited by unwanted guests mid night.
“They are coming from both north and south!” He shouted in case anyone had not yet noticed. Look at the jungle behind. Tell me if it’s safe to retreat there and stay out of danger. He said telepathically to Ninlil while pulling the arcane focus of his pocket. As fast as he could, Velan put his hands, one over the other, in his chest. Crystal on the right palm, his eyes flashed teal as he whispered an incantation, casting mage armor upon himself. “Ran, in which side are you focusing first?”
Velan asked preparing retreating further east. He knew the group needed to avoid being pined by the two undead groups and the best way to do that was to focus on eliminating one of the groups. Focusing fire. Why in the Nine Hells didn’t I specialize in Necromancy?
Notes: Velan casts Mage Armor on himself, commands Ninlil to look if there are threats by the forest and retreats towards her as much as his speed allows.
Still blinking himself awake and finding the buckles for his sword, Ran looks at both sets of zombies.
"I don't like the look of the one with the wand," Ran says. "That doesn't seem right and makes him target number one in my book."
Mica cleaves a large chunk of rotted flesh from a zombie, and most of its insides fall at its feet. It slowly plods onward, but looks like it is barely held together.
Danica's spell causes plants and vines to erupt around the feet of the four northern zombies. Zombie STR saves: 6, 11, 20, 5
Ninlil communicates to Velan that it cannot see any other threats outside of the undead already approaching the camp.
Inete staggers out of her tent, groggy and terrified. She looks at the approaching undead, while also feeling at her head, where you can all see quite a bit of her hair is missing... she also casts mage armor on herself as she tries to get her thoughts together.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
One of the northern zombies becomes tangles in vines up to its waist, but the others stubbornly trod over the foliage.
The corpse-like figure behind the northern zombies gurgles out something in a strange language... perhaps orders to the zombies?... and then raises the long yew wand. Nine glowing motes of force burst from the wand and seek out Danica, Mica and Meili. They unerringly find their targets, slamming into the Seekers like a series of savage punches.
Danica: 4, 2, 5
Mica: 2, 3, 4
Meili: 3, 5, 2
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Not sure of the scale - are the hexes 5’? Trying to see what Ran’s options are.
If the northern group is more than 30’ away, Ran will use his full movement to head straight north and then use his action to dodge as he does.
If they’re closer he’ll beeline for the one with the wand and attack (can post that once I know the layout).