Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

BROWN SNAKE - Wisdom (Save): 4 vs. DC 13; toll the dead (Tabesha'l) taking 6 necrotic damage on a failure.

The snake begins to coil and lash about violently as Tabesha'l's necrotic magic weakens it, making it an easy target for Connak to work in two vicious stabs with his blades.

The party can tell the serpent is severely injured...and severely angry...

Pell continues to look on from atop the crate of supplies, but with the odds now in the party's favor his adventuring spirit overtakes his need to stay out of the way. From the holster at his waist, he produces a small cudgel, intended for incapacitating chickens, squirrels, fish and other small animals to prepare them for gutting. The boy let's out a high-pitched war cry as he leaps down between Corwin and Connak in an attempt to bash the snake's head in:

PELL - Attack (Club): 11 vs. AC 12 (Brown Snake), dealing 3 bludgeoning damage on a hit.

As Pell lands at the edge of the raft, the sudden and unexpected shift in weight causes it to rock back and forth violently!
(OOC: Everyone make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw to avoid being thrown from the raft into the river.)

CORWIN - Dexterity (Save): 13 vs. DC 11 (Note: this is not Corwin's turn, just his saving throw.)

Corwin manages to keep his balance as Pell comes crashing down on his side of the raft. "Boy, have ye lost yer fool mind?! Get back up on them crates and stay out of the way!" he shouts as he grabs hold of the boy:

CORWIN - Action (Grapple): 14 vs. DC 4 (Pell); if successful, will attempt to shove the boy back up on the stack of boxes in the center of the raft on his following turn.

Connak DEX saving throw: 13

Minsys dex save 19

Minsys bends his knees and shifts his weight like he's had sea legs forever.  Nothing is going to stop him from pulling that snake in.

Spends action reeling in the snake.

Connak anticipates the turbulence as he sees Pell springing down from the top of the crate and is able to steady his balance before the boy lands.

Minsys was completely unaware of Pell's error, but his crouching stance more than compensates for the see-sawing motion of the raft. He manages to pull half of the green snake's carcass onto the raft at his feet.

ANDO - Dexterity (Save): 17 vs. DC 11
(OOC: used inspiration point to add ADV to saving throw)

Tabesha'l grabs her wide flopping hat brim with one hand and plants her staff on the deck of the raft, steadying herself with the other. She gives a quick look towards the unlikely pair at the back of their makeshift vessel and stifles a smile: " One day yon small lad couldst well become a mighty warrior indeed, if his flights of martial fancy do not deliver him into the Arms of Oblivion beforehand", she reflects thoughtfully, before turning her attention back to the winding, chestnut-colored shape of the snake coiling near her feet.

** DEX Save: 14 **

VAXIS - Dexterity (Save): 14 vs. DC 11

The makeshift watercraft rocks back and forth violently in response to Pell's ill-timed leap, but everyone manages to maintain their footing. They can see the bloody body of the brown snake cresting the water in several areas around the raft as it stalks its next target:

Attack (Constrict): 24 vs. AC 15 (Tabesha'l), dealing 13 bludgeoning damage and grappling the target on a hit.

Suddenly, the snake launches itself out of the water at the slender elven wizard. Before she can react, Tabesha'l finds herself entangled in the massive serpent, which despite its numerous injuries clamps down on her with crushing force! The snake's jaws open only inches from her face as it prepares to consume her, head first...

"Enough of this," says Ando as he snatches his longsword out of its scabbard and swings it with both hands at a point just below the brown snake's head. As his blade glides through the air, it illuminates with divine power:

Attack (Longsword, Versatile): 10 vs. AC 12 (Brown Snake); dealing 7 slashing and 6 radiant damage on a hit.

The snake hisses loudly at the paladin and quickly jerks its head to the side, narrowly avoiding decapitation!

Irritated, Vaxis prays, and a dolorous bell signals off, wracking what counts as the snake's ears.

"You will harrass my friends no longer, beast!"

(Wisdom DC 13, 8 necrotic damage)

BROWN SNAKE - Wisdom (Save): 18 vs. DC 13 (Vaxis, toll the dead); taking 8 necrotic damage on a failure.

The cleric's bell clangs loudly in everyone's ears, but the snake is undeterred from having its meal...

" Unnngh... !" Tabesha'l grunts as the snake slams into her and starts crushing her on all sides. Her aristocratic composure is all but gone when she screams an arcane command, her voice sonorous with pain intermingling with the furious, animal will to survive: " Do... Don' Odhrath !" 

The words of power barely make it past her lips as she feels the air being squeezed out of her lungs. Around her struggling silhouette tangled inside the snake's coils, a cloud of whirring blades manifests, but they seem to slide harmlessly against the creature's brown, scaly hide.

** Casting Sword Burst, DEX Save DC 13 or 1 slashing damage. **

Connak turns to track the brown snake as it launches itself out of the water.  Seeing it envelop Tabesha'l, Connak says, "Keep it distracted..." as he looks for an opening.

Shortsword Attack: 21 Damage: 9

Bonus dagger Attack: Attack: 15 Damage: 3

Sneak attack: 4

Connak's sword and dagger plunge into the snake, inches away from Tabesha'l's head, leaving her covered in it's blood.

Minsys sees Connak finish off the snake and smiles.  He continues taking a few more moments pulling the snake back up on the raft.  After which he begin to unroll Tab.  "Dairs so many cuts...  Might get some good skin.  Least it not burnt right.  HA HA HA," he says with a laugh.  Then he inspects the green snake, whips out a knife and goes to work trying to skin it and butcher some meat.  

Survival: 11

Tabesha'l slowly comes back to her senses, and seems totally overwhelmed to find herself literally drenched in gore. She wipes the thick, dark blood from her eyes, ears and mouth with her fingers at first then with the palms of both her hands, spluttering and gagging all the while. 

Finally, she recovers from her initial shock and starts splashing herself with the river water. Drenched and with her clothes and her whole attire now turned a nasty shade of reddish brown, she curses copiously in elvish before sighing resignedly as she inspects herself:

" Methinks yon clothes are ruined. I nevertheless thank thee for thy help, friend Minsys," she says with a small nod to the half-orc before turning towards Connak, " And above all, I am indebted to thee, fair Thuniviel, for saving my very life. I truly felt the cold grip of death closing on me, just for a moment, as my consciousness wavered and my breath grew short... I just wish thy lethal cuts hadn't been so precisely disposed as to destroy my favorite blouse."

She slowly finds a more comfortable sitting position as she proceeds to reflect on her quandary aloud, as is her fashion: " Well, there may be something that can be done still, so as to salvage what little I can..." she mutters to herself philosophically, before tapping the brim of her bloodied hat with one graceful fingertip, "... but sadly I will have to wait until tomorrow to get this all properly seen to, as my hat's magic seems to be depleted presently."

Dejected, she inspects the mess of blood on her clothes and gear with a desolate frown, sniffing disdainfully at herself.

Connak shrugs, "I think you look like a proper adventurer now, not some out of place noble.  Welcome to the bottom ranks, where we get dirty and gritty.  Oh, and it was very smart of you to let it grapple you so we could take it out.  Good job.  Maybe you can ask Minsys to make you a snake skin leather choker to wear, as a personal trophy."

Having not made great results of the first snake.  Minsys tries to improve with he second.  Survival  14

This time he has the technique down and feels confident that once stretched and dried there would be some usable skins.  He says, "shame about da green one, woulda brought out me eyes."

Minsys walks up to Tab, a hunk of snake meat on the end of a knife.  He holds it up.  "Its symbolic, it tried to eat you, you survive, you eat it."

Going a little slower this time, Minsys is more than able to find large expanses of undamaged hide, even though the snake sustained several deep cuts and punctures during its struggle to make Tabesha'l its lunch. The half-orc is working his way down the underbelly, when the tip of his blade plunges a little deeper than he intended, and he inadvertently opens up the snakes stomach...prompting a half-digested deer fawn to spill out onto the deck of the raft at Tabesha'l's feet.

As she recoils in horror, somewhere up ahead a tiny, screeching laugh can be heard...

The party floats the rest of the way to the logger's camp without further upset from the inhabitants of the Neverwinter Wood.

(OOC: if desired, the party may take a SHORT REST while the raft floats downstream.)

** Tabesha'l tries to keep from getting an upset tummy: CON Save 13 **

 The elf aristocrat visibly struggles to keep her nerve but the sight of the deer is just too much to bear: she abruptly swings around and violently retches into the river.

 As she slowly recovers, her knees trembling and her stomach still afflicted by violent cramps, she shakily wipes her mouth with her already filthy sleeve, before facing Minsys. Despite her weakened state, her eyes are throwing daggers towards the half-orc as she slowly enounces:

" Do. Never. Do this. Again. Ever. I beg Thee !"