Kess does her best to fight the nausea and debilitation effects of the poison within her body, as does Lumen. Consuming the healing potion he had just found in the muck at his feet, he finally gets some good dice rolls from the gods, just when they're needed, 🎲 😂 and he feels a powerful surge of rejuvenation and vigor flow through his body.
Having obliterated the three snakes, despite enduring a few nasty bites, you look around once again at the incredibly, eerie and strangely quiet, slime covered, lightly forested swamp that lies all around you. In relative terms, you haven't traveled very far today, but the environment here is so vastly different than what you saw in Phelannie's grove and in the densely wooded lands around her tree. It's an indication that the High Forest is indeed a huge and varied place, made up of many different variations in the ecosystem that make up this immense region.
"... I'm gettin' the feelin' that we ain't gonna make it to the end of this swamp by the end o' the day. An' after all this, I don't fancy fightin' poisonous creepy-crawlies in the dark. What do ya say we find some dry an' slimeless place to make a camp?"Chrys asks the others. "Ev'n if we gotta backtrack to that other tree we cleared out, might be better than pushin' forward in this endless muck. How're the rest o' ya feelin'?"
Lumen will reluctantly admit he is fully tapped out and advocates going back to the tree they cleared out, or a couple hundred feet back to Phelannie’s tree to be safer, to heal and rest and set out early the next day. Maybe Phelannie even knows something more about this, or even a way to keep vermin away!
"I don't think we've much of a choice after that encounter," Kess grunted. "Continuing forward as we are would be foolhardy. We've all exhausted ourselves, and the gods only know what awaits further into the muck. I wonder if we should take some of the these carcasses... if we're going to make camp, we will need food, and it may not be a terrible idea to see what we can do with what we have at hand."
Turning around, you all follow Chrys back through the slimy, bug and snake infested swamp, reversing your course through the brackish puddles and across the wet, spongy, mucky ground. The heavy mist lessens gradually the further you walk, and eventually, scattered trees becomes larger and more dense all around you and the earth beneath your feet becomes drier and more firm. The wind and rain continue to patter at you this entire time, as you keep moving steadily back into the undulating forest and away from the rotting expanse of muck.
As you backtrack across the swamp and into the thickening forest, it suddenly occurs to you that navigating here is actually quite difficult. Both Lumen and Kess look around with confusion and realize they don't know the way back. Everything looks the same, and to them, it's all just a vast jumble of puddles, trees, twigs and leaves, and fail to spot any landmarks that look vaguely familiar.
Chrys has much better luck, and she's able to pick out specific aspects of the terrain and identify a few recognizable rocks, twisted tree branches and large puddles that allow her to keep moving in what seems to be the right direction. However, it's Vesper who ends up successfully leading you all back. Whether it's her keen eyesight, her memory of specific features in the terrain or just a good dead reckoning sense here in this forest, she's the one who keeps pointing you in the right direction during those few times when Chrys finds herself a little confused.
Eventually, you all find yourselves back at the empty ettercap lair where you took your short rest earlier in the day. By now, it's late afternoon, the air is still dim, spooky and eerily silent, although the rain has stopped, and fortunately, you don't see any spiders or ettercaps here right now.
"I have a lot of faith in the rest of you, but I don't think I'm cut out for this forest. Let's press on to Phelannie's tree. I feel we'd be safer there. And I think it's just a few hundred yards ahead. Good chance to regroup."
"I'm good to keep goin'",Chrys agrees. Mostly because Lumen seems to be an incredible bug magnet, and nothing would make her happier than a bit of vermin-free rest at the moment.
Passing by the new abandoned ettercap nest, the five of you continue plodding through the dense, dim woods, until, after walking the few hundred paces back to Phelannie's grove, you pop out into her small clearing and find yourselves standing once again in front of her tree. It looks even more lively than it did this morning, with even more signs of new growth, and you see new wildflowers blooming in some of the plants immediately surrounding the trunk.
The light here is noticeably brighter than it was where you just came from, and you even see the warming glow from the late afternoon illuminating the clouds overhead. This is the first time you could see the sky all day. The ground in her grove is dry, and it appears that the rain has not fallen here. You see a few squirrels and chipmunks and some small songbirds scurrying and fluttering about on the trunks and branches of the nearby trees at the edge of the clearing, although you do not see any signs of the dryad.
Lumen staggers over, half-falls, and just embraces the tree gingerly, eyes closing. "That was not fun,"he says with closed eyes. He then advocates that the group try planning a bit better. If Phelannie reappears, he'll ask her how to keep insects and snakes away. He'll ask her to think what might be haunting the swamp. He'll ask if it might have anything to do with Shar. He'll try to come up with some options to be safer, with torches or smoke as Chrys suggested, or anything else the rest of the party might suggest. But he's happy for a chance to rest up and try again the next day or later that day.
Chrys sets herself to preparing a camp, keeping an eye out for Phelannie. She asks for Krackle's help to try and chose a spot that is least intrusive to the strange forest life all around her, particularly the supernatural bits, and once she has secured a safe place to settle, sets herself up for her evening prayers to the Duin.
"... Not much one for wildlife or campin' in livin' forests, but I guess sometimes the hammer o' justice is needed even in the deepest o' forests,"she mutters during her prayers. "Lord, help me land it on the right things, an' not end up smashin' any o' the beauty out here by accident..."
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He will also drink a healing potion.
10 hp
Kess does her best to fight the nausea and debilitation effects of the poison within her body, as does Lumen. Consuming the healing potion he had just found in the muck at his feet, he finally gets some good dice rolls from the gods, just when they're needed, 🎲 😂 and he feels a powerful surge of rejuvenation and vigor flow through his body.
Having obliterated the three snakes, despite enduring a few nasty bites, you look around once again at the incredibly, eerie and strangely quiet, slime covered, lightly forested swamp that lies all around you. In relative terms, you haven't traveled very far today, but the environment here is so vastly different than what you saw in Phelannie's grove and in the densely wooded lands around her tree. It's an indication that the High Forest is indeed a huge and varied place, made up of many different variations in the ecosystem that make up this immense region.
"I am really starting to not like this forest." Krackle would say with a look of concern.
"... I'm gettin' the feelin' that we ain't gonna make it to the end of this swamp by the end o' the day. An' after all this, I don't fancy fightin' poisonous creepy-crawlies in the dark. What do ya say we find some dry an' slimeless place to make a camp?" Chrys asks the others. "Ev'n if we gotta backtrack to that other tree we cleared out, might be better than pushin' forward in this endless muck. How're the rest o' ya feelin'?"
Lumen will reluctantly admit he is fully tapped out and advocates going back to the tree they cleared out, or a couple hundred feet back to Phelannie’s tree to be safer, to heal and rest and set out early the next day. Maybe Phelannie even knows something more about this, or even a way to keep vermin away!
"I don't think we've much of a choice after that encounter," Kess grunted. "Continuing forward as we are would be foolhardy. We've all exhausted ourselves, and the gods only know what awaits further into the muck. I wonder if we should take some of the these carcasses... if we're going to make camp, we will need food, and it may not be a terrible idea to see what we can do with what we have at hand."
"I can make us a dirt fort!" Krackle would offer with a smile.
Chrys leads the group back out of the swamp, looking for a safe place to set up camp...
Turning around, you all follow Chrys back through the slimy, bug and snake infested swamp, reversing your course through the brackish puddles and across the wet, spongy, mucky ground. The heavy mist lessens gradually the further you walk, and eventually, scattered trees becomes larger and more dense all around you and the earth beneath your feet becomes drier and more firm. The wind and rain continue to patter at you this entire time, as you keep moving steadily back into the undulating forest and away from the rotting expanse of muck.
Everyone roll a survival check.
Lumen survival: 7
Survival:21
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Survival: 6
Survival: 6
As you backtrack across the swamp and into the thickening forest, it suddenly occurs to you that navigating here is actually quite difficult. Both Lumen and Kess look around with confusion and realize they don't know the way back. Everything looks the same, and to them, it's all just a vast jumble of puddles, trees, twigs and leaves, and fail to spot any landmarks that look vaguely familiar.
Chrys has much better luck, and she's able to pick out specific aspects of the terrain and identify a few recognizable rocks, twisted tree branches and large puddles that allow her to keep moving in what seems to be the right direction. However, it's Vesper who ends up successfully leading you all back. Whether it's her keen eyesight, her memory of specific features in the terrain or just a good dead reckoning sense here in this forest, she's the one who keeps pointing you in the right direction during those few times when Chrys finds herself a little confused.
Eventually, you all find yourselves back at the empty ettercap lair where you took your short rest earlier in the day. By now, it's late afternoon, the air is still dim, spooky and eerily silent, although the rain has stopped, and fortunately, you don't see any spiders or ettercaps here right now.
"I have a lot of faith in the rest of you, but I don't think I'm cut out for this forest. Let's press on to Phelannie's tree. I feel we'd be safer there. And I think it's just a few hundred yards ahead. Good chance to regroup."
"Sounds ok to me!" Krackle replies as he follows along closley with Lumen.
"I'm good to keep goin'", Chrys agrees. Mostly because Lumen seems to be an incredible bug magnet, and nothing would make her happier than a bit of vermin-free rest at the moment.
Passing by the new abandoned ettercap nest, the five of you continue plodding through the dense, dim woods, until, after walking the few hundred paces back to Phelannie's grove, you pop out into her small clearing and find yourselves standing once again in front of her tree. It looks even more lively than it did this morning, with even more signs of new growth, and you see new wildflowers blooming in some of the plants immediately surrounding the trunk.
The light here is noticeably brighter than it was where you just came from, and you even see the warming glow from the late afternoon illuminating the clouds overhead. This is the first time you could see the sky all day. The ground in her grove is dry, and it appears that the rain has not fallen here. You see a few squirrels and chipmunks and some small songbirds scurrying and fluttering about on the trunks and branches of the nearby trees at the edge of the clearing, although you do not see any signs of the dryad.
Lumen staggers over, half-falls, and just embraces the tree gingerly, eyes closing. "That was not fun," he says with closed eyes. He then advocates that the group try planning a bit better. If Phelannie reappears, he'll ask her how to keep insects and snakes away. He'll ask her to think what might be haunting the swamp. He'll ask if it might have anything to do with Shar. He'll try to come up with some options to be safer, with torches or smoke as Chrys suggested, or anything else the rest of the party might suggest. But he's happy for a chance to rest up and try again the next day or later that day.
Chrys sets herself to preparing a camp, keeping an eye out for Phelannie. She asks for Krackle's help to try and chose a spot that is least intrusive to the strange forest life all around her, particularly the supernatural bits, and once she has secured a safe place to settle, sets herself up for her evening prayers to the Duin.
"... Not much one for wildlife or campin' in livin' forests, but I guess sometimes the hammer o' justice is needed even in the deepest o' forests," she mutters during her prayers. "Lord, help me land it on the right things, an' not end up smashin' any o' the beauty out here by accident..."