Zahara’s voice is quiet but certain as she walks, her words meant more for herself than anyone else.
“If there was danger behind us, we would have already felt its weight,”she muses, fingers trailing over the reins of her camel. “Ambushes wait ahead, not in places we’ve already passed. A ruin may shelter something, but it doesn’t hunt—hunters move with their prey, always watching, always one step forward.”
She exhales slowly, gaze fixed on the path stretching westward. “If someone or something means to stop us, they will not waste their time hiding in the bones of a dead tower. They will be where we must go next.”
She walks on, content to leave the past behind where it belongs.
Satina almost seems to turn towards Zahara, but she doesn't. Currently walking beside her camel, she lets her pace slow a bit, dropping behind most the others. She mutters, "Hopefully you are right there's nothing to the ruined watchtower. Fortunately, Thoth will likely let us know." She keeps to the rear, and away from the majority of the group, looking a bit wearier than when they set out yesterday.
The encampment is eerily silent, a graveyard of torn canvas and scattered belongings. The fire pit is now a smoldering ruin, its embers barely glowing beneath the weight of wind-blown ash. The scent of charred wood mingles with the metallic tang of blood, thick in the dry desert air. The tent is torn, some of its poles snapped like broken bones, fabric stained with dark splashes. The sand is churned and darkened, marked by the chaos of battle. Deep grooves evidence where bodies may have struggled. There are trails of smeared crimson, perhaps where the dying tried to crawl away. The mounts are gone. Saddlebags and supply crates have been ransacked, their contents strewn haphazardly across the sand—spilled rations, shattered clay jars, and silken garments trampled into the dirt.
Arrows, fletched with blackened feathers, protrude from a single body sprawled in an unnatural position, its eyes open and unseeing, staring into the uncaring void of the sky.
Thoth notices a movement in the rocky canyon to the south. A medium creature is camouflaged with the dusty hues of the desert rock.
Ophelia ambles along with the others. Her expression seems oblivious to the decisions being made to scout or bypass, though almost subconsciously, she touches the shimmering vine that cinches her waist, then hugs her arms tight around herself. The protective shimmer surrounds her entire body.
(Hardly aware of what she is doing, Ophelia casts Mage Armor upon herself... d20 roll for Wild Magic Surge: 9 - no surge).
Her singsong murmur scarcely rises above the level of the wind whistling past the watchtower.
"Past visions and towers, onward the strangers, Entering not the abiding danger, Yet wondering 'til it drives them mad, What would have followed if they had..."
As he notices the camouflaged creature in the canyon, the tiny blue invisible sphinx flies closer to take a look for details, if there are more of them, what kind of creature it is, what purpose it could conceivably have for trying to hide here, which direction it seems to be looking and so forth.
A pack of gnoll raiders lies in wait, their lean, hyena-like forms blending seamlessly into the jagged rock formations of the rocky formations and canyon. Their mottled, sand-colored fur and crude desert-worn cloaks mimic the shifting hues of the sunbaked stone, making them nearly invisible against the weathered cliffs.
"Hold up a moment..." Nephthys suddenly says just loud enough for the team to hear, holiding up her hand briefly. "...Thoth has spotted at least five gnolls in ambush south of the watchtower. We could possibly sneak by them, but perhaps we should go around the tower and give them our own surprise?" She says quickly, looking around at the others. "I don't think they see us right now but they might be expecting us soon so time is probably of the essence here."
Zahara slows her stride, exhaling sharply through her nose as her fingers tighten subtly on the camel’s reins. Gnolls. Not a mere relic of the past like the tower—something living, something waiting.
“South of the tower… so they hold the ground we would have passed if we lingered,”she murmurs, eyes narrowing in thought. Ambushes wait ahead, not behind. Her own words echoed in her mind, and now here was proof.
She glances at Nephthys, then to the others. “If we slip by, we leave them at our backs—free to track us, flank us, or pick off stragglers in the night.”
“Our options are limited by time,”she continues, measured and methodical. “If we strike, we do so decisively. No drawn-out fight, no giving them time to rally. A swift, brutal engagement, then we move before more arrive.”
Her grip on the reins loosens, readying herself. “Or we take another route entirely. But if they are hunting, they may find our trail regardless.”
She looks to the others, awaiting the choice. Either way, forward remained the only direction.
Zephirah lets out an exasperated sigh, folding her arms and shifting her weight onto one hip. “Gnolls don’t roam in polite little bands. This is likely a scouting party or hunting pack, with the rest of the clan holed up somewhere nearby—potentially that tower. You’d have us strike first and risk the whole pack pouring out around us?”
She flicks a sidelong look at Zahara, one brow arched. “As for ‘stragglers,’ we’re traveling together. I doubt any one of us plans to wander off into the dunes alone.” She waves a dismissive hand. “Knowing where they are is enough to give us the edge in slipping by unseen. If they track us, we still only fight these five; if we attack them now, we may find five more coming out of those ruins. Doesn’t sound like an improvement.”
Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
Zahara listens without interruption, her gaze steady on Zephirah as she speaks. When the woman finishes, Zahara tilts her head slightly, considering.
“You assume the pack will wait,” she says quietly, her fingers idly brushing the camel’s bridle. “That they will not send another group ahead while these five trail us. That they will be content to lose their quarry in the sands.”
She looks past Zephirah, to the ruins where the sphinx had flown. “If they were waiting in the tower, Thoth would have seen them. No,this is a hunting party, and hunters do not sit idle when prey slips from their grasp.”
Zahara exhales, shifting her focus back to Zephirah. “Slipping past them is an option. But it only works if we vanish completely—if we leave them with no trail, no reason to follow. You’re confident in that?”Her tone is even, free of challenge, but the weight of the question lingers.
She adjusts her grip on the reins and steps forward, her intent clear. “So choose. We either become ghosts in the dunes or cut them down before they can call the rest.”
Satina looks at Nepthys as she relays Thoth's observation. "Did Thoth see any way we could sneak up on the ambushers?" She assumes having chosen the spot, the gnolls likely would not have left themselves exposed.
"I assume that there won't be," she says, looking at all the rest. "In that case, it's probably best to draw them out. But I'd rather not wait too long to deal with them. Can we find a spot where we might become the ambushers? Or at least make sure we're on an even footing."
(Note - edited to correct that Thoth wasn't there.)
"As far as I understood from Thoth's report we could possibly have gone up the other way around the tower, coming up behind them." Nephthys answers Satina, then following along as the decision is made to move along the side of the cliff to avoid detection from the gnolls above.
As the invisible tiny blue sphinx from his vantage position in the sky realizes the group is trying to sneak past the ambush site, he decides to help out by creating a distraction to draw the gnolls away from their positions.
"You there, don't think we don't see you, come here and fight us or you force us to slay you like rabid dogs." He calls out in the common tongue from behind them over by the tower, stirring up some dust to give a sign of movement there before invisibly flying up on the tower roof.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The party, save for Thoth, halts, then swiftly backs away from the watchtower in an attempt to pass by without drawing attention. You pass northwest, then west of the watchtower without incident.
Thoth:
A pack of gnolls, at least seven in number, emerges. Their forms hunched and menacing, they rush from the crevices and shadows of the jagged rock. The air is thick with tension as their low, guttural growls echo through the hot air. Eyes gleaming with hunger and malice, the gnolls move in a predatory, coordinated formation, clutching bows, whips, and javelins made from bone. At their side, an enormous hyena, its pelt patterned with a mixture of sandy and mottled brown fur, leaps from the edge of the cliff. It prowls around the encampment barking at the sky.
Thoth’s efforts seem to have drawn the attention of the gnoll pack. But as you skirt around the western edge of the rock formation, a large creature separates itself from the rocks and bounds across the sand. With thunderous growl, its massive paws strike the ground with a heavy impact. Its yellow eyes glint in the sun, filled with an unsettling, feral intelligence.
The giant hyena is upon you in moments. Can you subdue it quickly before its absence, and the sounds of fighting, draw unwanted attention?
There is no combat map for this one. I use block initiative, meaning that anyone bolded may act, and your actions occur in the order you post (unless you specify otherwise). The hyena is 30 feet away from the party across open sand.
Zeph tries to befriend the Hyena with a bite from her rations hoping to charm it before it creates a commotion that might alert the gnolls. (She casts Animal Friendship DC 13)
If the spell fails, she tries to work her fey magic and frighten the creature (see below).
Beguiling Magic
You always have the Charm Person and Mirror Image spells prepared.
In addition, immediately after you cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell using a spell slot, you can cause a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC of 13. On a failed save, the target has the Charmed or Frightened condition (your choice) for 1 minute. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
Zephirah attempts to magically befriend the hyena, but it is too focused on hunting its prey. Meanwhile, Zahara calls upon entangling roots from beneath the dry earth, but the creature steps around them, avoiding the snare. Nonetheless, the sand around it is now riddled with dry, gnarled roots.
The critter is 30 feet from the party. Entangle has created difficult terrain in the 15ft closest to the hyena. Difficult terrain costs double movement.
Ophelia's intake of breath is sharp as the snarling predator interposes and her newfound companions begin to react. She stumbles backward.
...there shall be in the shadows a grace and mercy from which shall spring laughing jaws, and their teeth shall devour and herald the passing of an age...
With none of the grace of a practiced archer, she draws her shortbow as she retreats, scarcely seeming to aim as she nocks an arrow. The cinch around her waist shimmers as do her violet eyes before they close and she takes the shot blind, relying only on wild magic to guide it.
The arrow, itself warbling with a violet aerial trail, appears to shoot off in the wrong direction before curving back impossibly (Seeking Spell Metamagic) to lodge itself directly into the Giant Hyena's center of mass in a lavender sunburst. Only then do Ophelia's eyes re-open.
Nephthys stretches her hands towards the sky in prayer to the gods, drawing down a bolt of divine radiant power on the massive beast. (Cast Guiding Bolt with luck Nat 20 Radiant damage: 39)
Meanwhile the tiny invisible sphinx keeps trying to draw the gnoll hunting party away from the team. (Another deception if relevant: Another Nat 20)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Nephthys nods over at Zephirah and keeps moving.
Zahara’s voice is quiet but certain as she walks, her words meant more for herself than anyone else.
“If there was danger behind us, we would have already felt its weight,” she muses, fingers trailing over the reins of her camel. “Ambushes wait ahead, not in places we’ve already passed. A ruin may shelter something, but it doesn’t hunt—hunters move with their prey, always watching, always one step forward.”
She exhales slowly, gaze fixed on the path stretching westward. “If someone or something means to stop us, they will not waste their time hiding in the bones of a dead tower. They will be where we must go next.”
She walks on, content to leave the past behind where it belongs.
Satina almost seems to turn towards Zahara, but she doesn't. Currently walking beside her camel, she lets her pace slow a bit, dropping behind most the others. She mutters, "Hopefully you are right there's nothing to the ruined watchtower. Fortunately, Thoth will likely let us know." She keeps to the rear, and away from the majority of the group, looking a bit wearier than when they set out yesterday.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Thoth:
The encampment is eerily silent, a graveyard of torn canvas and scattered belongings. The fire pit is now a smoldering ruin, its embers barely glowing beneath the weight of wind-blown ash. The scent of charred wood mingles with the metallic tang of blood, thick in the dry desert air. The tent is torn, some of its poles snapped like broken bones, fabric stained with dark splashes. The sand is churned and darkened, marked by the chaos of battle. Deep grooves evidence where bodies may have struggled. There are trails of smeared crimson, perhaps where the dying tried to crawl away. The mounts are gone. Saddlebags and supply crates have been ransacked, their contents strewn haphazardly across the sand—spilled rations, shattered clay jars, and silken garments trampled into the dirt.
Arrows, fletched with blackened feathers, protrude from a single body sprawled in an unnatural position, its eyes open and unseeing, staring into the uncaring void of the sky.
Thoth notices a movement in the rocky canyon to the south. A medium creature is camouflaged with the dusty hues of the desert rock.
Ophelia ambles along with the others. Her expression seems oblivious to the decisions being made to scout or bypass, though almost subconsciously, she touches the shimmering vine that cinches her waist, then hugs her arms tight around herself. The protective shimmer surrounds her entire body.
(Hardly aware of what she is doing, Ophelia casts Mage Armor upon herself... d20 roll for Wild Magic Surge: 9 - no surge).
Her singsong murmur scarcely rises above the level of the wind whistling past the watchtower.
"Past visions and towers, onward the strangers,
Entering not the abiding danger,
Yet wondering 'til it drives them mad,
What would have followed if they had..."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Thoth:
As he notices the camouflaged creature in the canyon, the tiny blue invisible sphinx flies closer to take a look for details, if there are more of them, what kind of creature it is, what purpose it could conceivably have for trying to hide here, which direction it seems to be looking and so forth.
Thoth:
A pack of gnoll raiders lies in wait, their lean, hyena-like forms blending seamlessly into the jagged rock formations of the rocky formations and canyon. Their mottled, sand-colored fur and crude desert-worn cloaks mimic the shifting hues of the sunbaked stone, making them nearly invisible against the weathered cliffs.
"Hold up a moment..." Nephthys suddenly says just loud enough for the team to hear, holiding up her hand briefly. "...Thoth has spotted at least five gnolls in ambush south of the watchtower. We could possibly sneak by them, but perhaps we should go around the tower and give them our own surprise?" She says quickly, looking around at the others. "I don't think they see us right now but they might be expecting us soon so time is probably of the essence here."
Zahara slows her stride, exhaling sharply through her nose as her fingers tighten subtly on the camel’s reins. Gnolls. Not a mere relic of the past like the tower—something living, something waiting.
“South of the tower… so they hold the ground we would have passed if we lingered,” she murmurs, eyes narrowing in thought. Ambushes wait ahead, not behind. Her own words echoed in her mind, and now here was proof.
She glances at Nephthys, then to the others. “If we slip by, we leave them at our backs—free to track us, flank us, or pick off stragglers in the night.”
“Our options are limited by time,” she continues, measured and methodical. “If we strike, we do so decisively. No drawn-out fight, no giving them time to rally. A swift, brutal engagement, then we move before more arrive.”
Her grip on the reins loosens, readying herself. “Or we take another route entirely. But if they are hunting, they may find our trail regardless.”
She looks to the others, awaiting the choice. Either way, forward remained the only direction.
Zephirah lets out an exasperated sigh, folding her arms and shifting her weight onto one hip. “Gnolls don’t roam in polite little bands. This is likely a scouting party or hunting pack, with the rest of the clan holed up somewhere nearby—potentially that tower. You’d have us strike first and risk the whole pack pouring out around us?”
She flicks a sidelong look at Zahara, one brow arched. “As for ‘stragglers,’ we’re traveling together. I doubt any one of us plans to wander off into the dunes alone.” She waves a dismissive hand. “Knowing where they are is enough to give us the edge in slipping by unseen. If they track us, we still only fight these five; if we attack them now, we may find five more coming out of those ruins. Doesn’t sound like an improvement.”
Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus ||
Zahara listens without interruption, her gaze steady on Zephirah as she speaks. When the woman finishes, Zahara tilts her head slightly, considering.
“You assume the pack will wait,” she says quietly, her fingers idly brushing the camel’s bridle. “That they will not send another group ahead while these five trail us. That they will be content to lose their quarry in the sands.”
She looks past Zephirah, to the ruins where the sphinx had flown. “If they were waiting in the tower, Thoth would have seen them. No, this is a hunting party, and hunters do not sit idle when prey slips from their grasp.”
Zahara exhales, shifting her focus back to Zephirah. “Slipping past them is an option. But it only works if we vanish completely—if we leave them with no trail, no reason to follow. You’re confident in that?” Her tone is even, free of challenge, but the weight of the question lingers.
She adjusts her grip on the reins and steps forward, her intent clear. “So choose. We either become ghosts in the dunes or cut them down before they can call the rest.”
Satina looks at Nepthys as she relays Thoth's observation. "Did Thoth see any way we could sneak up on the ambushers?" She assumes having chosen the spot, the gnolls likely would not have left themselves exposed.
"I assume that there won't be," she says, looking at all the rest. "In that case, it's probably best to draw them out. But I'd rather not wait too long to deal with them. Can we find a spot where we might become the ambushers? Or at least make sure we're on an even footing."
(Note - edited to correct that Thoth wasn't there.)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"As far as I understood from Thoth's report we could possibly have gone up the other way around the tower, coming up behind them." Nephthys answers Satina, then following along as the decision is made to move along the side of the cliff to avoid detection from the gnolls above.
As the invisible tiny blue sphinx from his vantage position in the sky realizes the group is trying to sneak past the ambush site, he decides to help out by creating a distraction to draw the gnolls away from their positions.
"You there, don't think we don't see you, come here and fight us or you force us to slay you like rabid dogs." He calls out in the common tongue from behind them over by the tower, stirring up some dust to give a sign of movement there before invisibly flying up on the tower roof.
The party, save for Thoth, halts, then swiftly backs away from the watchtower in an attempt to pass by without drawing attention. You pass northwest, then west of the watchtower without incident.
Thoth:
A pack of gnolls, at least seven in number, emerges. Their forms hunched and menacing, they rush from the crevices and shadows of the jagged rock. The air is thick with tension as their low, guttural growls echo through the hot air. Eyes gleaming with hunger and malice, the gnolls move in a predatory, coordinated formation, clutching bows, whips, and javelins made from bone. At their side, an enormous hyena, its pelt patterned with a mixture of sandy and mottled brown fur, leaps from the edge of the cliff. It prowls around the encampment barking at the sky.
Thoth’s efforts seem to have drawn the attention of the gnoll pack. But as you skirt around the western edge of the rock formation, a large creature separates itself from the rocks and bounds across the sand. With thunderous growl, its massive paws strike the ground with a heavy impact. Its yellow eyes glint in the sun, filled with an unsettling, feral intelligence.
The giant hyena is upon you in moments. Can you subdue it quickly before its absence, and the sounds of fighting, draw unwanted attention?
Nephthys Initiative: 7
Ophelia Initiative: 20
Satina Initiative: 21
Zahara Initiative: 21
Zephira Initiative: 22
Giant Hyena Initiative: 12
There is no combat map for this one. I use block initiative, meaning that anyone bolded may act, and your actions occur in the order you post (unless you specify otherwise). The hyena is 30 feet away from the party across open sand.
Initiative (bold may act):
Zeph tries to befriend the Hyena with a bite from her rations hoping to charm it before it creates a commotion that might alert the gnolls. (She casts Animal Friendship DC 13)
If the spell fails, she tries to work her fey magic and frighten the creature (see below).
Beguiling Magic
You always have the Charm Person and Mirror Image spells prepared.
In addition, immediately after you cast an Enchantment or Illusion spell using a spell slot, you can cause a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC of 13. On a failed save, the target has the
Charmedor Frightened condition (your choice) for 1 minute. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus ||
Zahara will attempt to slow the Hyena down and restrain it with:
Entangle (STR DC13)
Zephirah attempts to magically befriend the hyena, but it is too focused on hunting its prey. Meanwhile, Zahara calls upon entangling roots from beneath the dry earth, but the creature steps around them, avoiding the snare. Nonetheless, the sand around it is now riddled with dry, gnarled roots.
The critter is 30 feet from the party. Entangle has created difficult terrain in the 15ft closest to the hyena. Difficult terrain costs double movement.
Initiative (bold may act):
Ophelia's intake of breath is sharp as the snarling predator interposes and her newfound companions begin to react. She stumbles backward.
...there shall be in the shadows a grace and mercy from which shall spring laughing jaws, and their teeth shall devour and herald the passing of an age...
With none of the grace of a practiced archer, she draws her shortbow as she retreats, scarcely seeming to aim as she nocks an arrow. The cinch around her waist shimmers as do her violet eyes before they close and she takes the shot blind, relying only on wild magic to guide it.
The arrow, itself warbling with a violet aerial trail, appears to shoot off in the wrong direction before curving back impossibly (Seeking Spell Metamagic) to lodge itself directly into the Giant Hyena's center of mass in a lavender sunburst. Only then do Ophelia's eyes re-open.
Movement: Ophelia retreats 30'
Action: Ophelia casts True Strike to attack the giant hyena with her shortbow:
True Strike to hit:
6 (Nat. 1)replaced using Seeking Spell Metamagic to be 25 (Nat. 20)True Strike damage: 9 (radiant)
Bonus Action: none
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Nephthys stretches her hands towards the sky in prayer to the gods, drawing down a bolt of divine radiant power on the massive beast.
(Cast Guiding Bolt with luck Nat 20 Radiant damage: 39)
Meanwhile the tiny invisible sphinx keeps trying to draw the gnoll hunting party away from the team.
(Another deception if relevant: Another Nat 20)