oh, snap.

This owlbear is going to mail us a TPK!

“Wait. You don’t want us to follow that owl bear, right? I mean, we get all killed.” Burt warns. “If that crazy gno… ahem, person can’t follow simple instructions like stay together on the meadow, we can’t be hold responsible, right? He’s old enough, I think, that he knows what he’s doing. If he wanted us to join, he had ample time and opportunity to ask for it.” He adds, “Surely if he had jumped into the river to wrestle an alligator, you wouldn’t expect us to assist him in that?”

Morgran slowly nods as this sinks in.

"Perhaps we should slowly, stealthily, track him after we deliver the passengers back to the ship and explain what happened."

[[yesterday I was giving players some time to brainstorm what they wanna do. Today I am getting absolutely crushed at work so please bear with me, may not make a post till later in afternoon, I apologize]]

I'm just waiting for everyone else.

Captain Circuit agrees that Renn should be found. He'll look after the others and get them back on the ship. What's the plan?

Gil is torn between his promise to keep the young woman safe and helping the gnome...but he trusts the Skipper to keep her safe and nods to Morgan as he heads into the forest.

I'm assuming that we follow the tracks. If needed to find the tracks again, and follow them, here's a survival check: 9

Uncertain if the captain alone will be able to reign in the kids, Burt follows the others with mixed feelings. They shouldn't split up. Running clueless through the jungle wasn't part of the job, or was it? Well, following the captain's orders was, and his wish is clearly that they risk their lives for this thieving gnome's follies. He keeps a number of stones, that he had collected for the children's entertainment, with him and imbues three. Then, while following the others, he points at one of his companions after the other and sends the same message to each of them, "Raise your arm or hand to communicate silently, if you see a need for this. You can reply in your mind, when I contact you and I convey your message to any of the others. Be careful!" During the hunt, Burt observes his companions for signs and tries to figure out if there is a dominant wind direction and if it changes, 'In nature, most beasts rely on smell. Do I feel a breeze? Does it change often?'

The flower meadow is nestled between two craggy rock formations, like a valley in miniature, and in that way seems to be sheltered from breezes, or anyway there is little wind on this day. The meadow tapers to a point as it slopes upward and away from the river, but at the end of the tapering is a jumbled maze-like network of natural pathways cutting into the craggy cliffs. Above the rocky cliffs can be seen more and more of the typical jungle foliage.

The gnome tracks lead on through the jumble. Before long you hear scuffling snuffling growling sounds ahead. You turn a corner around a large boulder to see Renn Crumbleroot up in a tree and a young owlbear reaching up into the tree, clawing up at Renn and trying to fetch him out, not quite being able to reach. The owlbear is making the snuffling growling sounds. Renn is about 10 feet off the ground, clutching a tree branch with one arm while with the other he pathetically waves his big-catcher’s net at the owlbear as if to shoo it away. Even as you take this all in, the owlbear swats at the net, snagging it in his claws and yanking it out of Renn’s grip, and snaps the pole cleanly in two with one chomp of its beak.

Burt would never say no to a refreshing wash and accepts gratefully Parth's offer. On seeing the dilemma, (if there is a minute to spare) Burt contacts each of the crew asking, "Any ideas or suggestions?".

Morgran telepathically responds to Burt: "I'm quite sure that we will not be able to defeat the owlbear. On the other hand, we may be able to extract the gnome with clever maneuvering and a smart plan. Perhaps we could distract the owlbear somehow?"

Burt mentally forwards Morgran's insight to the other two, "Morgan says we can't defeat it. Can we distract it? Or scare it? Or talk to it?" Burt searches his memory for anything that he ever heard owlbears are afraid of, or their favourite food, or really anything he has ever heard or read about owlbears. Nature: 19

Burt, you recall reading an excellent series of scrolls written by an explorer who famously and dangerously studied owlbears and other savage creatures. You suspect based on sketchings and descriptions from those scrolls that this owlbear is a juvenile, old enough to leave the protection of its mother and find its own way in this world, but not yet reaching its full growth or full strength. As such, the creature would likely be more easily be scared off if it were to meet a formidable foe.

Burt replies to Parth, "I don't trust the gnome. If I tell him we're around, I'd say he will give his everything that the owlbear notices us and let go of him. If we could only find something that can scare it off. Do you think it's afraid of fire? We could light torches and set some parts of the jungle on fire. Maybe one of us could get close and light a fire near it. Might be it'll run but I'm not sure how close we can get and if we can control the fire afterwards."

"This will be tough. Perhaps we could give the gnome some of those stones, as I'm sure that you have other options that would hurt the owlbear. Perhaps we all try to kill it, and it'll flee when it realizes how hurt it is. We'll need to make sure that I'm attracting it's attention; I should be able to take 2-4 hits without dying or being knocked unconcious."