The Wildemount Irregulars (2020)

(OOC: What was the approximate size and shape of these snakes? Are we talking large pythons or more like small and fast rattlesnakes/cobras?) 

(They are classes as tiny, so perhaps a few feet long, far from anything of monstrous size or power.  If you wish to make a Nature check to think on what you know of snakes, you can.

23

Dajarkal inspects the bodies.  This species groups together, sometimes.  It's not too common.  Perhaps the earthquake disturbed their usual home territory.  She doesn't seem interested in further discussion about snakes, dropping the one she is holding onto the ground and wiping her hand on her clothes.

(OOC: An INT based skill check, Silent's favourite :D)

12  

Silent, you know much the same as Dajarkal.  It's not so unusual for a group of snakes to be scared up by some large event, or perhaps you wandered into what they think of as their territory.  As for the type, they are more like cobras than anything else.

Silent wipes snake guts off his blade with a sheepish expression on his craggy face. My bad on the lookout... haven't seen any of these critters in a while, you don't get 'em much in my parts. Rather snakes than pirates though, eh? 

I dunno.  I feel like snakes are a recurring theme for us.  I think Uk'otoa was supposed to be some sort of serpent monster.

Dajarkal grimaces and nods to silent, and you resume your journey north.

On the third day, you enter the Vezdaweald, the ancient forest that separates the small settlements of the Vezdali Peninsula from the rest of the Menagerie Coast.  Dajarkal is making sure that you don't go in too far; you are keeping close to the ocean, and the smell of the forest mingles with the salt sea air.  Much more than the last two days, you hear sounds, and see signs, of beasts moving - tracks on the ground, broken twigs, faeces - some strange and brightly coloured.  The forest is beautiful, with weird pink and yellow flowers a common feature, some as large as a human head.

Dajarkal is nervous.  I heard stories of this place as a kid.  Witches and all sorts.  A pit that would drag you down into Oblivion.   Fools who entered and never left.  She shrugs, but you can't help noticing she's more worried than she's trying to suggest.  Nonsense for the most part.  There are hunters who make their living here and there at the edge of the forest but still... it's a dangerous place.  We should be careful.  Watchful.  And quiet.

Can you please give me a marching order.  Dajarkal is scouting the path and will be in the lead, and assuming that Silent continues to keep lookout, he's second.  How about Arael, Pockets and Keyo?

Please also give me a Perception check each - this will cover Silent keeping watch during the day, and the others during the night, for the full three days of your journey through the forest.

Pockets will take the rear position.

Perception - 21

Perception 7  

(OOC: two 7s in a row for lookout... silent what the heck are you doing, man)

Arael walks behind Pockets, attempting to remain alert.

Perception: 12

(OOC: Do any of the animal tracks/feces look like something I've ever come across or might be familiar with?)

(OOC: My intent was to have Pockets the furthest back. With the two casters already injured, I figured the two with the fixed ACs  could surround you two as human shields.)

(OOC: DM said we entered the Vezdaweald on the third day of the journey and snake fight club happened on the second day so I'm guessing we got a long rest in, otherwise we're all probably Exhausted by now)

(OOC: I think my point re: AC still stands. Even more so now, probably. If we had a a long rest, that means Keyo lost Mage Armor. Silent and Pockets are still the most heavily armored.)

Ideally Keyo would travel towards the middle of the group.

Perception: 15

Yes, you're all getting a long rest each night.  I'm not going one day at a time, but that's just for the sake of speeding up the journey.  You should all now consider that you've  had a long rest after the snake fight.

Okay, so the order is Dajarkal, Silent, Keyo, Arael, Pockets.  Good to know.

2  19  19  5  19  12  18  7 4

It's three cautious and uncomfortable days.  You hear creatures large and small moving through the forest, but Dajarkal's tactic of sticking close to the edge of the forest seems to be working.  You manage to pass through untroubled.

Until the third night.  Perhaps only a couple of hours from the northern edge of the forest, Dajarkal calls a halt and you make camp, unwilling to travel further during the night.

First watch is quiet, and Silent hands over to Pockets for second watch. It's looking like you might escape the forest unscathed.

Thump.

Thump.

Crash!  A giant frog lands near the fading campfire in the middle of your place of rest.  Pockets has time to call a warning, and the rest of you all wake just in time.

Everyone roll initiative.

Initiative - 7

Initiative - 6  

Initiative: 12

Initiative: 15

Assuming Keyo goes early in the initiative, he would cast mage armor and begin his Bladesong.