Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

FALCON TO CONNAK: "Aye, probably a good call to rest up before ye go. The guest house is yours to use, free of charge and Corwin will prepare your meals and get the raft ready for you in the morning. I've a small forge here in case ye need to sharpen your blades or repair your armor. Other than that, just keep your weapons at the ready...never know when the next wave of greenskin filth will come bashing at the door."

(OOC: The party has free roam of the lodge grounds and can explore, talk to Falcon/Corwin/Pell, find a place to meditate or head off to the guest house when they are ready to call it a day.)

Connak will approach Corwin once Falcon has left, "This orc attack that injured Pell, was it provoked?  I mean, those trophies were not collected in a day.  Is Falcon hunting an established band of orcs, or were these orcs new?"

Minsys, having finally made his loop, comes back into the building with the others.  As he enters, he takes care not to look at the severed heads.  "Perimeter clear, for now.  Miss much?" Minsys asks upon return.

CORWIN TO CONNAK: "Gustav Stellarn - Falcon, as he is now better known, will take any opportunity to kill orcs wherever he can find them, be they an established group or lone individuals. You see, this lodge used to belong to his grandparents, but they along with his parents and all of his siblings were murdered by an orc raiding party that was moving through this area many years back. He was just a boy then, but old enough to hunt on his own and was out stalking his first owlbear near the western edge of the Neverwinter Wood when the attack happened. Poor kid wasn't strong enough to take on the greenskins on his own, so he had to retreat and survive in the wilderness until the orc horde moved on. Ever since then, he has had an unquenchable thirst to kill as many orcs as possible. Falcon rebuilt this place and eventually reopened the hunting lodge, with some help from Al Kalazorn, an old family friend.

Most of the time though, he finds the orcs before they find this place - he takes rich folks willing to pay for his guide services on 'thrill hunt expeditions' in other parts of the forest. I've warned him that such behavior will make him a marked man for the horde, but he won't listen to reason...his burning desire to avenge his lost loved ones simply overshadows all reason. I think his rage may have even driven him to lose all concern for his own safety, but young Pell and I..." The old man chokes up again as he remembers how Pell, though barely eleven years old, was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect him.

"Damn Pell's foolish bravery, bless his heart, but he absolutely idolizes Falcon. He was following Falcon's example when he jumped in front of that orc's axe to save me. But I'm not ready for me or that boy's souls to be released from their worldly vessels just yet, though I fear Falcon's bravado has earned the ire of some warband or other. And now we have evidence of an orc encampment over at the old manse...it's only a matter of time before another raid force shows up here."

Connak shakes his head, "If you know this, then you should leave.  You can come with us to the loggers camp by raft, then accompany them if they leave.  If they choose to stay and risk their lives, we'll have to come back this way anyway to investigate that manse."

Having heard enough, Connak takes his leave and elects to get his meditation done sooner than later.

Connak persuasion checks:

• Corwin: 13
• Pell: 3

Connak's words resonate with the old man. The group looks on as Corwin and Pell have a heated discussion about whether to go or stay, but ultimately the old man's wisdom and logic overcomes the boy's youthful exuberance and naiveté.

"Pell and I will get the raft ready after Falcon goes to bed and we shall leave before daybreak," says the old man to Connak as he departs from the others to go and find a place to meditate. The rest of the group separates up as they all find a place to rest and sleep.

(END OF ADVENTURING DAY)

The night is quiet except for the loud croaking of the tree frogs, which actually helps to cover the sound of splashing as Corwin and Pell ready the supply raft for the float downstream to the logger's camp. As instructed, the party wakes early and makes their preparations to leave. When they arrive at the river bank, the boy and the old man are already standing on the raft, which is straining against the mooring line holding it in place as the river current flows swiftly into the darkness. Everyone steps on board and Corwin cuts the line with a small knife sending the raft drifting eastward...

Connak looks to his allies, "The more sets of eyes, the better."

Perception: 16

" Indeed, fair Thuniviel. Eyes and ears..." Tabesha'l says primly as she gives a silent command that send Arvithiix to reconnoiter the path ahead in his bat form.

** Her new portents for the day are 3 and 11 . **

Minsys stands shakily on the raft.  He was use to solid ground, even mud, sometimes sand but the ever moving raft was annoying.  At least it was when he wasn't causing the shaking.  "I betcha get solid legs with all this bouncin' don't ya?" He comments with a gentle bounce to make his point.  Otherwise he stares out keeping watch like everyone else. Perception 11

Not long after daylight begins to poke through the canopy of trees enclosing the river, Connak spots two giant constrictor snakes hanging from the branches above and ahead of them. Unable to stop or steer the raft away, the party drifts directly under the huge reptiles. Neither snake alerts or moves as the raft passes under them, but as they drift further downstream, Minsys watches as the shadows of two massive serpentine bodies drop into the water...

"Them snakes are chasing us.  Anyone wanna shoot em or feed em?" Minsys asks the group.  The then pulls out his maul as a precaution.

Connak looks at his quiver before saying, "Every arrow I shoot at those is gone for good.  If you have something to feed them with, that would be my suggestion."

"We need lots of meat to use that tactic.  Big snakes eat whole deer.  My rations not good enough."  Minsys responds.  "I try this... if there time."  With that said he takes several deep breaths and begins to make hand signals mimicking the shape or movements of animals while he makes similar noises of various animals.

Minsys is ritually casting speak with animals.

Tabesha'l looks at Minsys with interest:

" I daresay I've never met someone who could directly communicate with cold-blooded animals, although I have seen it documented in Ethelred Bonifacius'  Compendium of Serpentine Sentience, vol. III,  back at the Taelessar Great Library," the elven magus comments, an eyebrow raised as she watches the half-orc proceeding with his ritual, " In any case I gather Friend Minsys shan't mind if I take a few notes... unless thee wouldst all prefer I simply cast one of my Witch Bolts into the water, which would somewhat compromise any attempt at direct - and friendly - communication with yon giant snakes, but shall most assuredly help us in removing the impending danger of being constricted, dragged into said-waters, then eventually eaten alive in short- to medium-order ?"

The group watches as the two serpentine bodies crest the surface of the water, then dip back under out of sight. As they get closer, the snakes stop surfacing and even their dark shadows fade into the rest of the murky background below them.

A few tense moments pass and then the raft receives a hard jolt from underneath!

(OOC: Make a DC 11 DEX save or be knocked prone...but not into the water. Yet.)

DEX SAVE:
9 - PELL
12 - CORWIN

Pell is tossed into the air but lands back on the raft, roughly but safely. Corwin was better prepared and widened his stance and crouched low as the snakes disappeared under the water's surface.

Reflex 10

Deep into the ritual the thud came as a surprise.  The snakes had moved forward too quickly and he still had minutes to go before the spell would take affect.  He stops and swears, "Dam snakes gonna get themselves killed." He then pulls out his maul.

Dex Save: 13

" Hum, I see..." the elf mage grunts as she struggles to maintain her balance after the raft gets pummeled by their reptilian foe. With a graceful movement, she calmly points her staff towards the surface of the water and a bright blue arc of lightning writhes into the depths, making the river's murky color take on an opaque, greyish hue, while the smell of ozone fills the air around the group.

** Basically in game terms = to respect the spell description she would ready Witch Bolt as a Level 2 Spell and then cast it on the closest snake as soon as it is in sight, although I'm hoping electricity behaves the way it's supposed to and everything inside the water gets a bit of a shock no matter if her actual targets are visible or not (DM, you tell me...) Attack: 22 Damage: 11 **

Connak grumbles.  He carefully wedges his longbow to be sure it doesn't fall off the raft, then draws his shortsword and a dagger, then stands slightly behind Minsys.

REMAINING DEX SAVES:
23 - CONNAK
17 - ANDO
12 - VAXIS

The crackling energy from Tabesha'l's spell illuminates the opaque subsurface of the river, thirty feet in every direction. The silhouettes of numerous fish and other water-dwelling creatures can be seen, including two massive serpentine bodies approximately 10 feet below the raft, and trailing 10 feet behind it. The snakes convulse as the lightening energy courses through them and seconds later the bodies of several catfish and trout float to the surface of the water.

 (OOC: Ando and Vaxis fall prone on the raft)