Megadungeon C (IC)

[Malimar]

Travelling from far and wide for their own varying reasons, Ekin "Quickfix" Lodert (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=312582) (ForzaFiori), Keylin Lakar (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=313081) (mrcarter11), Haseo Bune (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=418194) (Doxkid), Francisco DeLaverde (http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=37962) (rorikdude12), and Kethin Lanthar (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=417569) (Madcrafter) have found themselves in the great city of Endeesy. It can't compare in magnificence, wealth, or amenities to the other capitols of the world. It offers only two things: first, almost anyone can find a way to fit in in this city of misfits; and second, even keeping the king's peace is almost beyond the military's ability, so non-violent offenses that might be crimes in other nations are overlooked here. So Endeesy, like its predecessor the Disreputable City, has naturally become a hub for pirates, smugglers, and adventurers alike.

But Endeesy has even more to offer than even the Disreputable City did in its heyday, for the lands north of the city are peppered with unexplored caves and ruins both ancient and recent, filled with fruits ripe for the plucking by those adventurers brave enough to seek them out.

That's where you come in, finding yourselves in the grand Adventurer's Guildhall. Barely more than an oversized tavern, really, the draw of the Adventurer's Guild for adventurers is that here one may encounter like-minded adventurers with whom to form a team, and then one may consult the corkboard by the door for a myriad of opportunities. (The draw for everyone else is, of course, that one may post a bounty on the bulletin board and eventually it will be done, if the reward is high enough.)

Currently posted on the corkboard, there is a map:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACPbruhXdSU/T_zRahw9h3I/AAAAAAAAAD8/FW_dFqwjYcc/s1600/gusmap.gif
(the map is labeled "PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS MAP, IT IS PROVIDED AS A COURTESY TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS")

...and a number of notes (in no particular order; spoilers'd only because they take up a lot of text space):

By order of Terek, Second of His Name, King of Gus, Vice-Admiral of the Dread Fleet, Ninth Count Rogan, and Emperor of the Mongrelfolk:
The king desires, to be brought before him for marriage, the most beautiful woman to be found in the all the reaches of the cosmos, whomsoever she may be.
The reward to any man who brings such a woman to the King shall earn the eternal gratitude of the kingdom and ten thousand platinum coins, or some equivalent favour.
Addendum from the Dowager Queen:
This woman must additionally be clever, competent, capable of defending herself in battle, and should preferably bring an alliance to some powerful nation.
If these conditions are met, the queen will see to it that he who completes this task shall have his greatest desire fulfilled to the greatest extent of possibility.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/5940730603_27740416c3_b.jpg


Sir Peph of the Kingsguard offers a bounty to any who would explore the ruins of Mat~sya and the Disreputable City on the slopes of Mount Dis. Somewhere, deep within the ruins, is rumoured to lie the tomb of Gus Dreadworm, bloodthirsty pirate king of legend.
Return with specific instructions, or preferably a map, and Sir Peph will part with his +1 cutlass and ten thousand gold.


Sir Randolph of the Kingsguard offers the following standing bounties:
1,000 gold for the head or plate and horns of a brass dragon.
1,500 gold for the head or horns and frill of a silver dragon.
2,000 gold for the head or horns of a copper dragon.
2,500 gold for the head or crest of a bronze dragon.
7,500 gold for the head or barbels of a gold dragon.
Juvenile or younger dragons shall earn half the listed bounty, while old and older dragons shall earn twice the listed bounty.
Additionally:
500 gold for the head of a metallic half-dragon of any race.
250 gold for the head of an individual of any race partially descended from a metallic dragon.
750 gold for the head of any Dragonborn of Bahamut, who are always metallic.
Moreover:
2,500 gold for a live chromatic half-dragon individual of any race.
1,250 gold for a live individual of any race partially descended from a chromatic dragon.


By order of Terek, Second of His Name, King of Gus, Vice-Admiral of the Dread Fleet, Ninth Count Rogan, and Emperor of the Mongrelfolk:
As befits a state of war between two nations, the king offers a standing bounty for the destruction, capture, or other removal from engineer hands, of any engineer-controlled submarine.
This shall earn a captain a letter of marque and official status as a privateer for the kingdom of Gus, with all the rights and responsibilities due thereto. Additionally, a reward of 1,500 platinum coins per submarine shall be granted.
Additionally, engineers, sea- or war-forged, or githzerai, captured while working for or with the engineer nation against Gus, shall earn a bounty of 25 platinum coins per captive.
The heads of engineers, sea- or war-forged, or githzerai, killed while working for or with the engineer nation against Gus, shall earn a bounty of 10 platinum coins per head.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6014/5940730773_9752efdb9f_b.jpg


As many may already be aware, the countryside has been plagued by foul and fiendish beasts, issuing forth from the caves and mines of Mount Dis. As a protector of the Realm, I feel it my duty to investigate, but other duties keep me occupied between N.D.C. and the Omorashi border. As such, I issue the following bounties:
> For concrete, verifiable information regarding the ultimate source of the infestation: 2,500 gold
> For a detailed map leading from the surface to the ultimate source of the infestation: 5,000 gold
> For the temporary or permanent stoppage of the infestation, by any means: 50,000 gold
Bounty posted by Sir Nakazawa of the Kingsguard
Additionally, Sir Ravenwood of the Kingsguard
offers gold for detailed maps of the complete
cave system, for other use. A copy of a map
for each level or section shall be rewarded
with 1,000 gold pieces.


Sir Bill of the Kingsguard seeks a worthy mount:
Some flying beast,
alive and unharmed,
large enough to comfortably carry a full-grown man,
young and intelligent enough to tame,
healthy enough to live for quite some time
The quality of the beast shall determine the amount of the reward.


Seeking the following effects, in any form – spell, scroll, wand, wish or limited wish, or miscellaneous:
Animate Object and Permanency
Stone to Flesh
Awaken Construct
See Pumayyaton the Sculptor. Rewards include a powerful elephant statuette, a taciturn yet loyal Dread Guard, a snarky yet effective sword, or elegant custom-crafted statuary.


GLADIATORS WANTED
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK
PROVE YOUR METTLE
EARN FABULOUS PRIZES
ENTERTAIN THE CROWD
INQUIRE AT THE TEMPLE OF INGLIP AND ARENA COMPLEX
NO ENTRY FEE


CREATURES WANTED
WE NEED LIVE, DANGEROUS BEASTS
TO CHALLENGE ENTRANTS IN THE ARENA
REWARD FOR EACH MONSTER
INQUIRE AT THE TEMPLE OF INGLIP AND ARENA COMPLEX


REWARD:
Information sought leading to the whereabouts of a band of evil adventurers who broke into the monastery on Perch Hill, terrorized the monks, and murdered Prior Trakis, a paladin of the faith. See Abbot Waxter at the Monastery with any information.
Be on the lookout for a group consisting of:
> an orc-descended man, in possession of a horse
> an engineer man
> an Omorashi human woman
> three additional human or elf men
Be warned: these individuals are armed and extremely dangerous. They may be in league with an evil erinyes devil – this creature is very powerful and should not be engaged without proper training. They may also be in possession of copies of several volumes of the Evil Encyclopedia of Evil – if found, these books should not be read and may be returned to the Monastery for an additional reward.
Authorized by Numiel’s Archbishop of Shell, Jov Sauart


Lord Yuz-Perry, First Viscount Noodleton, seeks Aid for his Township:
The Don’t Drink This River, also called the Poison River, has been foul and fetid since the Colonization of Gus, hence the River’s Name. However, in the past few Months, the Horribleness has seen a marked Increase. A Man can no longer venture within a Mile of the River without becoming nauseated. Crops have begun to wither and die on the Stalk. Even Wells accessing Groundwater far from the River have become tainted and unpotable. Moreover, perhaps unrelatedly, Serfs and their Livestock have begun to vanish from their Fields, even in broad Daylight. (warning: wrackspawn demons)
Anyone who can venture to the Source of the River and render its Water fit for Consumption shall earn the undying Gratitude of the House of Yuz-Perry, as well as a Grant of Land and may choose among the Viscount’s many Daughters and Sons for their Hand in Marriage.
By order of Terek, Second of His Name, King of Gus, Vice-Admiral of the Dread Fleet, Ninth Count Rogan, and Emperor of the Mongrelfolk:
The King endorses this undertaking, and has ordered one thousand platinum coins laid in escrow, to be awarded to whomsoever achieves this task to the satisfaction of the Viscount Noodleton.


Interested parties seek copies of any volumes from the Evil Encyclopedia of Evil. Bring these documents to the temple of Quasxthe; ask for Viblet Kewne. The reward shall be 1,000 gold pieces per volume.


The proprietors of the Tiv-Beckett Cold-Iron Mine seek adventurers to clean out the primary mine system, which remains infested with monstrously huge centipedes and other vermin. The source of these creatures has been found and eliminated, but some vermin remain to terrorize our workers.

We shall pay
one copper piece for the remains of any centipede of less than 2’ length;
one silver piece for the remains of any centipede between 2’ and 8’ length;
one gold piece for the remains of any centipede of greater than 8’ length.

Additionally, we have struck ancient ruins of an underground civilization in our digging. We offer no reward for exploring these ruins, but adventurous types may choose to investigate nonetheless.


Becoming a Member of the Adventurer’s Guild carries a flat fee of 25gp. Among other benefits, Members get a 50% discount on rooms, food, and drinks at the Guild, and may request rescue party insurance for each mission they undertake.

A member of the Adventurer’s Guild may become a Journeyman if he finds and returns one of the five Journeyman’s Keys, hidden somewhere in the caves and dungeons of Mount Dis. Among other benefits, Journeymen get free room and food at the Guild, and receive a 10% discount at participating adventurer supply stores.

A Journeyman may become a Guild Master upon completion of some special quest for the Guild Masters. Among other benefits, the discount at participating adventurer supply stores increases to 20% for a Master.

Members of all levels must pay dues of 5gp per month.


Levethixi, vorastrixi, vur lyrik xiekivi svaust klae wer suiaerl auneli, usv tikilvi sweekmonir ekess xkhat mishun: siofme voranir ekess wer hertan di hewi. Drekim vin kamati persvek wer hertan ui aaiovew aurix vur asildk aurix rinovup welun. Nezcaubolic re vi cuaili sva wer hertan, zadl ekess shio yorir ini hertan ankini, zadl ekess wer kivan korshim ihk tija kirmipri, vur zadl ekess kemir vur vdri cuailiri.

(Translation for characters who can read Draconic:Wizards, Sorcerers, and other Wielders of the arcane Arts, or any One seeking to become Such: consider joining the Mage’s Guild. Apprenticeship in the Guild is 50gp plus 10gp per Month. Benefits include a Room at the Guild, Access to all Lectures by Guild Teachers, Access to the vending Machine for material Components, and Access to Training and Meditation Rooms.)


Legend holds that, buried somewhere wast of Serpent Pass, lie the mortal remains of the ancient, pre-Inundation dwarven adventuring party led by Savzad the Bard-Queen, founder of the ancient dwarven nation which once occupied this land. Supposedly, the tombs grant great benefits to those they find worthy.

Sir Fred and Sir Gilbert of the Kingsguard offer a handsome reward: locate the tombs of Savzad, Georpe the mage, Fesus the priest, Jumas the burglar, Kheseus the hunter, and Faucon the fighting man. Provide detailed maps and instructions for finding the tombs and bypassing their guardians. You may reap the rewards of the tombs yourselves, and we will pay 1000 gold for the location and description of each tomb.
Sir Winden of the Kingsguard seeks a live sample of Green Slime. He suggests the sample be placed within a glass flask (as it will eat through almost any other material) and covered with thick fabric, as sunlight will kill it.

He also seeks the flesh of a recently-slain Violet Fungus for his curative experiments. It is worth twice its weight in copper coins to Sir Winden, or 1 gold piece per pound. The average Violet Mushroom may contain upwards of 150 pounds of flesh.

Lastly, Sir Winden requests the prompt delivery of one or more live Dire Maggots, to combat the serious infections of Oobort’s Necrosis of the Skin contracted by several members of the King’s staff. He will pay 250 gold per maggot.
By order of Terek, Second of His Name, King of Gus, Vice-Admiral of the Dread Fleet, Ninth Count Rogan, and Emperor of the Mongrelfolk:

A royal quarantine has been imposed upon the village of Doublebridge, for reason of a horrible infestation of dangerous undead monsters. The bridges at Doublebridge have been demolished. All travelers intending to cross the Bitey River are required to detour to the bridge at Riverford.

Additionally, any adventurer or group of adventurers who devises a successful method to exterminates the undead menace of Doublebridge shall receive a reward from the Crown on the order of one thousand platinum coins.

Bounties may range from the unambiguously good to the rankly evil, offer rewards ranging from piddling to riches beyond your wildest dreams, and mount challenges ranging from child's play to downright unachievable. None of these factors necessarily correlates with any of the others.

Not every location you visit necessarily contains anything of value. Not all creatures you encounter will necessarily pose a challenge appropriate to your power, or even be hostile. Areas cleared of creatures will not necessarily remain cleared for long.

This is an organic world, with many options and correspondingly many risks. How you choose to respond is up to you.

(OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206967))

(Please include your character's name at or near the top of every post.)

[rorikdude12]

Francisco


REWARD:
Information sought leading to the whereabouts of a band of evil adventurers who broke into the monastery on Perch Hill, terrorized the monks, and murdered Prior Trakis, a paladin of the faith. See Abbot Waxter at the Monastery with any information.
Be on the lookout for a group consisting of:
> an orc-descended man, in possession of a horse
> an engineer man
> an Omorashi human woman
> three additional human or elf men
Be warned: these individuals are armed and extremely dangerous. They may be in league with an evil erinyes devil – this creature is very powerful and should not be engaged without proper training. They may also be in possession of copies of several volumes of the Evil Encyclopedia of Evil – if found, these books should not be read and may be returned to the Monastery for an additional reward.
Authorized by Numiel’s Archbishop of Shell, Jov Sauart

Francisco pulls down the bounty from the board and says loudly, I seek four men of a combat-ready nature willing to face large threats for good pay. Who shall join me on this venture to slay these devil worshipers?

[Doxkid]

Haseo
"Now, when you say devil worshipers..." Haseo gets a look at the bulletin Francisco pulled down. "Ah...THOSE devil worshipers. I wouldn't actually call followers of an Erinyes 'Worshipers' though. They're more like thralls or slaves really."

His eyes dart scroll the other listings for a second, before honing in on another posting.
Interested parties seek copies of any volumes from the Evil Encyclopedia of Evil. Bring these documents to the temple of Quasxthe; ask for Viblet Kewne. The reward shall be 1,000 gold pieces per volume.
"This is the other half of that job. If you're recruiting to slay the Devil and hunt down the volumes, we might as well compare rewards to see which is better."

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

The man extends his hands for a handshake.

"Name's Francisco. In any case, we need to talk to the abbot first. We can kill the thralls or whatever if the priest says."

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

Ekin turns to Keylin. "I think I see us a new band of troublemakers to join. Provided your not afraid of any demons, that is. Maybe this time they won't ditch us in a cave somewhere." he says, before walking over to Francisco.
"I'd be interested in joining you. Name's Ekin. I can unlock or take apart anything."

[Madcrafter]

A shorter man with a cunning grin walks up between the those in conversation, shakes Francisco's hand heartily and introduces himself. "Kethin. Nice to meet you. Looking at the posting, they only want the information. Engaging said "devil worshipers" directly is probably a foolish idea. He takes another scan over the board. "Perhaps I can dissuade you from your crazy idea." He points towards the slime and fungus collection posting. "That one might be a little safer. Or we could go repossess some stuff from the dead; tombs are only full of horrors in books, I think. Plus we can always see if we find the devil on the way."

Rolling Decipher Script to see if I can make sense of the one in code: [roll0]. Using cunning knowledge on it too, for that extra +1.

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

They are but mortal men, as far as we know. Plus, the abbot ill probably have something to help us combat them. If you're chicken, Kethin, don't bother. If you're with me, out the door we go.

Francisco leaves the Guild Hall and begins the trek to the abbey.

[Doxkid]

Haseo Bune
Dealing with Devil Thralls is …one option, yes. Haseo pulls down several interesting jobs.

But just getting the information for that job will take us quite far away; we also wouldn’t be fighting good odds even if the Devil isn’t actively aiding them. The Cold Iron Mines and Mount Dis are both rather close compared to that rock infested with cultists of that foolish Deity Pelor; we have the opportunity to complete three jobs in one fell swoop, assuming we can work out a decent map between the four of us. Perhaps we’ll even find some of that fungus, or catch a few slimes too…

He pauses for a moment to think, before offering a handshake the others. Oh, where are my manners. Haseo Bune, mage of the dark arts, at your service. If you don’t mind, I’d like to at least know the rest of your names before we charge off without thinking or talking like silly little paladins.”

Sir Peph of the Kingsguard offers a bounty to any who would explore the ruins of Mat~sya and the Disreputable City on the slopes of Mount Dis. Somewhere, deep within the ruins, is rumoured to lie the tomb of Gus Dreadworm, bloodthirsty pirate king of legend.
Return with specific instructions, or preferably a map, and Sir Peph will part with his +1 cutlass and ten thousand gold.


As many may already be aware, the countryside has been plagued by foul and fiendish beasts, issuing forth from the caves and mines of Mount Dis. As a protector of the Realm, I feel it my duty to investigate, but other duties keep me occupied between N.D.C. and the Omorashi border. As such, I issue the following bounties:
> For concrete, verifiable information regarding the ultimate source of the infestation: 2,500 gold
> For a detailed map leading from the surface to the ultimate source of the infestation: 5,000 gold
> For the temporary or permanent stoppage of the infestation, by any means: 50,000 gold
Bounty posted by Sir Nakazawa of the Kingsguard
Additionally, Sir Ravenwood of the Kingsguard
offers gold for detailed maps of the complete
cave system, for other use. A copy of a map
for each level or section shall be rewarded
with 1,000 gold pieces.


The proprietors of the Tiv-Beckett Cold-Iron Mine seek adventurers to clean out the primary mine system, which remains infested with monstrously huge centipedes and other vermin. The source of these creatures has been found and eliminated, but some vermin remain to terrorize our workers.

We shall pay
one copper piece for the remains of any centipede of less than 2’ length;
one silver piece for the remains of any centipede between 2’ and 8’ length;
one gold piece for the remains of any centipede of greater than 8’ length.

Additionally, we have struck ancient ruins of an underground civilization in our digging. We offer no reward for exploring these ruins, but adventurous types may choose to investigate nonetheless.

Sir Winden of the Kingsguard seeks a live sample of Green Slime. He suggests the sample be placed within a glass flask (as it will eat through almost any other material) and covered with thick fabric, as sunlight will kill it.

He also seeks the flesh of a recently-slain Violet Fungus for his curative experiments. It is worth twice its weight in copper coins to Sir Winden, or 1 gold piece per pound. The average Violet Mushroom may contain upwards of 150 pounds of flesh.

Lastly, Sir Winden requests the prompt delivery of one or more live Dire Maggots, to combat the serious infections of Oobort’s Necrosis of the Skin contracted by several members of the King’s staff. He will pay 250 gold per maggot.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"I am Ekin Lodert, most recently of the Submarine Glanydd." he examines the postings and continues,
"Ah, Tiv Beckett mines. I'd like to go back there and finish up that business, if the rest of you are up for it. Though Mount Dis and chasing after demons also sound... intriguing"

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Finish up that business? You were one of the ones who solved the infestation as the posting says? If so, it might definitely be worth going back there if you think it is."

[ForzaFiori]

"Me and Keylin. He's the quiet one over there in the corner" he motions over his shoulder, to where he had walked up from. "I nearly died when one of the people we were working with left. Keylin saved my life. I mostly want to go back just to squish whatever is left, the little buggers. Then I'll try my hardest to never see a centipede again."

[Malimar]

DM
Kethin examines the coded message. He's got a pretty confident guess that yes, it's in encoded Common, not in some foreign language. Due to the syntax of Common, the first symbol, there on its own, is probably "i" or "a". More likely "a", given the formatting of bounties in general. The last symbol, the thing that looks like "._.", is probably a full stop. From the dearth of "._."s in the general middle area of the bounty, there appears to be at least one run-on sentence.
One can also deduce that this bounty was written and printed before I switched to a new computer (losing the relevant font in the process (though it would be easy enough to go download it again; I've just been too lazy to do so)) and then retconned the world's pantheon. The word that decodes to "Vecna" should actually be "Mirk". "Vecna" is one of Mirk's several ancillary names.

Francisco... departs! Does he realize that the abbey would be about a 25 mile journey through Doublebridge, which is currently, according to another bounty, monster-infested? If he detours east, it'll be even longer; if he detours west, part of the trip will be over rougher and wilder terrain. At least it's a reasonably pleasant and sunny 77 degrees (Fahrenheit) out, not a bad day for a road trip.

...and I just noticed that my map still says "Monastery of Pelor" when it should say "Monastery of Numiel". I don't even have the original image file, either, so fixing it will be challenging. In the meantime, "Pelor" is one of Numiel's several ancillary names.

[rorikdude12]

Francisco turns back around and grabs the bounty for clearing Doublebridge.

Fine. We can deal with this undead problem and have some more experience in combat and such when we fight the demon-thralls.

Wait, did somebody say insects? That bounty looked like it lacked promise.

[Doxkid]

Francisco turns back around and grabs the bounty for clearing Doublebridge.

Fine. We can deal with this undead problem and have some more experience in combat and such when we fight the demon-thralls.

Wait, did somebody say insects? That bounty looked like it lacked promise.
“I must apologize for correcting you again, but it isn’t so much an ‘Undead problem’ as it is a misuse of the ‘Undead Solution’. Undead themselves are almost never a problem. And back to the demon thralls? Heh…you’re definitely a paladin.”

Haseo looks at the map for a moment. “So…its either go East to pick up a few servants but risk running into a powerful undead that someone has irritated, or go West for a few easy bounties…and miss out on free skeletons and zombies. Unless there are other bounties you lot wish to pursue, of course.” He nods to Keylin, Kenthin and Ekin.

“Otherwise I think we should just vote for where we want to go and have at it; we could always swing by the other places later to see if anything nice is left…”

[rorikdude12]

Francisco


If you can fix their problem by capturing all their undead and using them as servants, then by the Hellish Elemental Plane of Water let's go! Then we'll have backup when we fight the thralls! I vote east.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"If defeating the undead will give you some ...pets..., then by all means let us go that way first. I've never seen on of your craft in action, and I admit to a bit of morbid curiosity."

[mrcarter11]

Keylin
Keylin, quiet to this point as is his way finally walks up to join the group at large and speak his own piece. Now he can only hope these new bloods listen to him.

"Ekin, I've never been one to let a man die if I could help it." Pausing for a second to look towards Kethin. "We went there once, had a group of four men, one lost his mind and run, the other was devoured. Took all I had to save Ekin and we barely made it out with our lives. As for what business to attend to now, I'd suggest we avoid the infernal for now, I honestly doubt we have the strength to take them down. East and some hopefully mostly mindless undead sound like the right idea though. "

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

We can do it! Let's go now!, he says energetically

[Doxkid]

Haseo
"Quite honorable of you, Keylin. You will find, however, that death is not as much of an impediment as most think it is. At any rate, shall we depart?"

[Madcrafter]

"Sounds fine to me. Do you think we need any extra supplies before setting out?"

@DM
That's quite the storied dagger there. And a nice reward too. Thanks for the puzzle, it was quite entertaining.

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

No. And I'm decent at hunting for food. Our journey will be a bit longer, but we won't need to buy as much food.

[Malimar]

DM
So, the party is agreed: they shall sally forth to the northeast, heading towards Doublebridge? And then, from Doublebridge, on to the Monastery at Perch Hill, to ask for more detailed descriptions of the perpetrators?

Then off they go!

Is the plan to head by road to the southern of Doublebridge's eponymous bridges and see if they can find a way across the Bity River once they get there? Not the only option, but possibly the quickest one, depending on how easy it is to get across the river.

If so, then to the east! Over the bridge over the River Easy, through Eastside (nobody in either place can decide if Eastside is a suburb or a district of Endeesy; it's slightly more distant from the central government (such as it is) of Endeesy than the rest of the city), then northeast, I assume?

[rorikdude12]

Over the bridge!

Feel free to NPC me for a bit.

[ForzaFiori]

I'm good with over the bridge. get into the action sooner rather than later.

[Malimar]

DM
So the party sets out east, crossing the River Easy and passing through Eastside! It's a pleasant day, nice for walking. The road is well-enough traveled that it isn't hard going at all.

Before they've even been travelling an hour, they crest a gentle hill and see, about a hundred feet away, a creature, gamboling on the road. It appears to be some sort of enormous weasel, ferret, or stoat, roughly the size of a man. It does not appear to have noticed you yet.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"That should make for easy practice. Shall we crush it?

[Madcrafter]

"That thing looks dangerous." Kethin says, as he quickly flips through his brain to see if he knows what it is. He pulls out his bow and a poisoned arrow just in case. "Maybe we can capture it alive..."

Know (Nature): [roll0] (Using cunning knowledge too)

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

Ekin loads a bolt and ***** his crossbow, and checks that his sap and rapier are loose on his belt before speaking. "Capturing it alive is a nice plan, but what are you planning on keeping it in? I don't know about you, but I don't carry a giant weasel sized cage around with me at all times."

[Malimar]

DM
Kethin is pretty sure that the creature they see before them is a dire weasel. These creatures can be playful but deadly, latching onto their prey and sucking them dry of blood. The party can probably defeat it. It might even be possible to capture it alive; so far as Kethin can remember, dire weasels are susceptible to everything normal animals are susceptible to.

[Madcrafter]

"Dire weasel; try not to let it bite you, they can be nasty. As for capturing it alive," he twiddles the arrow, "poisoned."

Taking aim, he fires the arrow at the weasel.
I'm hoping I can initiate combat now, if I should wait, this will be my first action.
Attack: [roll0] (Using cunning insight).
Damage: [roll1]
If hit, the weasel has to make a DC 13 Fortitude save or fall unconscious.

Also, how big is the weasel roughly? In terms of weight to see if my horse could carry it.

[Malimar]

DM
This particular dire weasel is not the biggest specimen, though it is awfully big for a dire weasel. It's maybe a few hundred pounds heavy.


Kethin initiates a surprise round! He pegs the dire weasel with a poisoned arrow. The drow poison flows through the creature's bloodstream... but it does not immediately collapse.

But now it is aware of you, and appears inclined to attack.

Initiative is currently Keylin, Haseo, Francisco, Ekin, the weasel, Kethin.

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,.Y............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
..HT.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.EF.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
, - grass
. - path
w - weasel
Y - Keylin Lakar
H - Haseo
F - Francisco
E - Ekin
T - Kethin Lanthar

[Doxkid]

Haseo

Haseo carefully calculates how easy the beast will be to capture. "Cakewalk."

With his mind cleared, Haseo focuses upon the target Weasel and forces it to experience the terror of its own death.

On his turn, Haseo casts Doom. Standard save DC (15) vs will.

[mrcarter11]

Keylin waits until the animal nears them to attack. His chain already at the ready to sever the thing when it attacks.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"I think your poison was out of date, Kethin. Any more bright ideas on taking it alive?" Ekin says.

He also readies an action to shoot the weasel if it gets within 30' of any member of the group.


attack (if needed): [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin readies an attack!

Haseo casts doom on the dire weasel! It looks visibly shaken.

Francisco... oh, let's say he readies an action to shoot it with his bow if it gets too close and looks too hostile? Seeing as one of his companions has already pegged it with an arrow, he probably won't have time for wild empathy. (He would just delay, but his player's explicitly on vacation.)

Ekin readies an action!

The dire weasel has been pegged with an arrow, and then it feels doomed! It briefly considers running away. There is a pack of humanoids. It would normally figure that it can easily take any pack of humanoids it comes across, but one of them already pegged it with an arrow and made it feel a little woozy, and then made it feel afraid. So it elects to stop its gamboling and run directly away from the party at top speed.

Kethin delays until the top of the next round.



,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,..... ..........,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,......... ...........w.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,....................... .............
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.................................. .,,,,,.......
,,,,,,,,,........................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,......................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,.................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,.Y............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
..HT.....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.EF.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

, - high grass (20% concealment, difficult terrain)
. - path
w - dire weasel
Y - Keylin
H - Haseo
F - Francisco
E - Ekin
T - Kethin

[mrcarter11]

Once the thing starts to run away, the battle has been won. Keylin returns his weapon to his back and looks back to the path they are following.

"Smart little guy. It's not likely to be worth following, so why don't we just move on then. "

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Well, no way we are catching it now, unless the poison kicks in and we find it in a bush down the road. That poison doesn't expire, I'm sure it's still potent.

I'd say we continue on then.

Kethin puts his bow and the second arrow he was holding away.

OOC:
Didn't know I would get another action after the surprise round there, seeing as there was no initiative rolled or anything. Delaying is fine though (I would have just shot it again, which I doubt would have made much of a difference.

[Malimar]

DM
So... the party lets the dire weasel go and continues on its way?

Continuing on the path! Eventually, about a third of a mile on, they come to... the dire weasel, sprawled, unconscious, by the side of the road. Apparently the poison just took awhile to take effect. (Read: it failed its second save.)

...you gain 120 XP each for defeating the dread dire weasel.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

Ekin looks at the weasel, then turns to Kethin. "I guess I was wrong about the poison. So how are we planning on getting this thing back to the city? I sure as hell ain't carrying it."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"You might not, but it should be light enough for Chabba to carry." Kethin says, as he winds the weasel in rope and tries to lift it onto his horse's back. If you don't mind giving me a hand here."

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Are you quite sure it will still be unconscious when we reach...well...anywhere we could sell it? We might be better off slaying the beast; I will not stand by while a horse gets ravaged by a monster strapped to it's back."

Haseo makes a Heal check, trying to calculate when the Weasel will wake. If he can ballpark it at all, he compares that time to how long it will take to reach town.

[roll0]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kething shrugs "If it starts to wake up we can always stab it with another arrow. And it won't be able to do anything to the horse while tied up, the worse it could manage is to scare him."

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"And if we stab it after it wakes up, we only have to deal with it for a few minutes before it finally passes out again. If you're dead set on this, I wont stop you though."

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo, on inspecting the dire weasel, is pretty sure it'll be out for at least a few hours. Probably plenty long enough to get it back to Endeesy.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"Want me to tie it up anyway? You learn how to make something secure at a young age on submarines." Ekin offers, not wanting to see the creature get loose.


not sure if anyone else has use rope ranks, but it'd suck for it to shake loose in the middle of town or something.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

Well...it looks like it will be out cold until we reach town, at the very least. Come to think of it, I believe there was a posting that asked for captured monsters; we should have taken that down.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"I believe they wanted creatures for the arena. We had planned to take some centipedes there after we cleared the mine, on my last excursion. The plan didn't exactly pan out, obviously."

[mrcarter11]

Keylin
Keylin looks at his comrade in arms trying to remember if Ekin had ever seen payment from the temple of Kord.

"It seems time has made you forget Ekin. Myself and Leodric sold the centipedes once we returned with you unconscious. I still even have the cart and cage back in town. "

Just realized this thread started a year and a day after the old one started.

[Malimar]

DM
Either way, the creature is trussed up and on a horse! Probably the temple is open. You haven't been travelling all that long, it shouldn't be all that much of a detour for one or more party members to return to town to sell it and then be on their way again.

In the event that the creature wakes up and tries to escape, somebody remind me to use Kethin's Use Rope with an Aid Another from Ekin.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

We're only just outside of Eastside. I can bring it to the temple and catch up with the rest of you before you even make it into the hills. Owning a horse has its benefits." He looks compassionately at Chabba and his burden. "If there's no objection, I'll be off right away, and back before you know it!"

If there is no serious objection, I'll head back to Endeesy, drop the weasel at the temple, and ride back to rejoin the others. Based on the previous travel time, I guess that it would take approximately two hours, at the most 2 and a half (~45 min to return, and ~1:15 to meet back up).

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Well....be quick about it. I can't quite reanimate your corpse yet, so you would be useless to me dead."

[rorikdude12]

I'm back

This nonsense shall not delay us! Kethin, make haste in your plan! ONWARD!!!, Francesco shouts as he runs along the path.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

*Sigh*"...didn't he hear? Even if he's a paladin, we can just let him run off die...not until I can reanimate him anyway." Haseo sets off in a brisk paced walk after Francesco. "I have no idea how you paladins live long enough to become such problems..."

[mrcarter11]

Keylin

Hearing Haseo, Keylin offers the only answer that comes to mind.
"The gods perhaps? It would make sense after all. "

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin takes off as well, shouting, "Wait up! I can't run as fast as you long legged freaks!"

[Malimar]

DM
So Kethin heads back to town, to exchange the dire weasl for currency! He gets to the Temple of Inglip and Arena Complex, and a priest he finds there examines the creature, and takes it away to a cage somewhere. Then he returns with a purse of 200gp.


About 2 and a half hours later, Kethin catches up to the group again, a few more miles down the road. Then they travel uphill for another few hours.

As the walk, angry, dark reddish clouds roll in from the north, occluding the sun. There is a metallic tang in the air, as of iron or rust.

Late in the afternoon, they reach the crest of a hill, coming within sight of the Bitey River, still a ways away, and it finally starts raining. Fat, angry red drops. Dark red. The rain swiftly becomes a downpour, soaking you, the road, plants, everything, coating everything in a layer of dark, metallic red.

It's raining blood. Always a good sign, yes? (Getting soaked in blood rain being such a profoundly unpleasant experience, Ekin, Francisco, and Kethin take a -1 morale penalty to attack and damage rolls, checks, and saves for 24 hours.)

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

Ekin looks around in shock as the blood starts falling. "Now, I'll be the first to admit that I haven't spent much time on the surface, but raining blood is a bit unusual up here, right?"

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Oh, not at all. It's usually a good sign in my line of work." Haseo is all but frolicking in the blood-rain. "I know, I know...it looks delicious. I wouldn't catch it on your tongue if I were you though; the people who do try that usually end up adding to the rain, if I remember correctly."

...

When Haseo calms down slightly, he remembers his role in their group. Knowledge religion check to remember the most typical cause of this type of phenomenon: [roll0]

Knowledge nature check to determine how well or poorly the environment will respond to this: [roll1]

[rorikdude12]

Francesco keeps walking.

"Onward!"

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo is pretty sure that very large groupings of undead are not an unusual cause of blood rain. There are many possibilities -- angry deities, evil wizards doing it deliberately, certain rare conjunctions of the planes -- but given that they're pretty sure there's a large grouping of undead nearby, that's probably it.

Blood, being organic, is probably not particularly harmful to the environment. The local carnivores might be confused for awhile, and the local herbivores will have a nice sauce that should pass right through their system, but the plant life should be fine. Assuming the blood is just blood, and is not also poison.


In the blood rain, the party continues onwards, to the river! It's only a little bit more travel, and then they're there.

The river appears to be about 400 feet wide at the wide, stone bridge. But the middle half of the bridge has been blasted away by some sort of fire or acid; rocks of all sizes are scattered across the landscape. The river is deep enough in the middle to have swallowed even the largest stones, and appears to be flowing swiftly.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin walks up and down the banks as far as he can while still in eyesight of the party, looking to see if there are fords in the river, or places where the current slows.


not sure if search or spot is needed here, so here's both:
Spot: [roll0]
Search: [roll1]

[Doxkid]

Haseo

Likewise Haseo paces at the water's edge, trying to judge the strength of the current.

Knowledge Nature check to determine whether the current is too strong to try swimming across.

[Doxkid]

The Knowledge Nature roll that I omitted.
[roll0]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin checks his supplies after calming his horse, who is still agitated from the rain. "I have some rope, but it's not long enough to span the entire gap. Perhaps we could build a raft? I have a feeling the first one who tries to swim across is going to have something nasty happen to them."

The raft idea is conditional on the current being slow enough to actually allow a crossing.

[ForzaFiori]

"My idea exactly. I'm not sure how swift that current is though. We may want to put in up stream and let it pull us back down as we cross."

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

Francisco frowns.

"I have a grappling hook. We could try to pool our rope and go across at the bridge, seeing as it's only partially gone. Since it looks like we need 200 feet of rope , and I have 50, how much do you folks have?."

[ForzaFiori]

50' of the finest silk rope. I also have the same length in twine, but I doubt it'll hold us."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

I have another fifty feet, but even if we have enough, we still need to get an end across. A grappling hook isn't going to cut it.

[rorikdude12]

Francisco

Francisco frowns and begins tapping his foot.

He looks over to see if there is a tree on the other side he could snag and, if so, how far away it is from the edge of the remaining bridge.

Taking 20 on spot check for a result of 22.

[Malimar]

DM
Ekin and Haseo find a couple wide, relatively shallow, relatively slow-flowing places upstream where the fording or swimming might be easier. Downstream is definitely not a good option: just downstream of Doublebridge, the two rivers become one deeper, swifter river. (The other concern there, of course, is that crossing downstream would put you north of both rivers, bypsassing Doublebridge entirely. Crossing upstream puts you in Doublebridge, where there be monsters.)

Haseo is pretty sure the Bitey River is infested with ravenous piranhas. These creatures are not quite as vicious as the stories would have you believe, but they're still pretty vicious. He's pretty sure that the current isn't the problem at the upstream spots Ekin points out. He's pretty sure the piranhas would be the problem.

Kethin thinks they could probably take the better part of a day to construct a raft which could definitely get them safely across the river.

Francisco sees very little in the way of convenient trees. This is a young continent, and most trees on the Doublebridge side of the river have long since been harvested to build and/or heat the town. However, he's reasonably confident that, if somebody can come up with a way to launch the grappling hook 200 feet horizontally, the railing of the other side of the bridge could serve as a decent anchor.

[ForzaFiori]

"I have a crossbow - It could maybe make the 200' across the river, but it'd be a tricky shot. Or we could try wading through the piranhas. Anyone want to chime in as to their opinion? I'm up for trying the shot with the grappling hook. We'll have the other end of the rope, if something screws up, we'll be able to real it back in." Ekin directs this to the group at large as they meet back up and discuss their options.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"I have a bow and could probably make the shot, but it won't make a difference unless we can find some more rope; we're a little short by the looks of things. If you don't mind the delay, I think the raft would be the best way to cross."

[mrcarter11]

"Anyone against crossing upstream. We should be able to deal with any possible threats that are through that way. And I doubt we'd run into much of anything anyways. "

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"I'm in favor of the raft - We can build it and attempt the crossing at one of the fords up stream, that way if anything goes wrong, even I might be able to keep my head above water."

[Malimar]

DM
As the party discusses their options, they notice a handful of shambling humanoid-ish figures wandering around on the other end of the destroyed bridge. They don't appear to be able to get to you, and it's not clear that they've even actually spotted you or if they're just wandering aimlessly, but they're there.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin peers over to the other side. "I'd be nice if we could lure them to cross over to us instead; save us a trip over. Anyways, does someone have an axe or the like to bring down some trees? I'd hate to have to use a sword."

[Malimar]

DM
Francisco appears to have a small throwing axe. Not necessarily very good for chopping wood.

[ForzaFiori]

"I think Francisco's throwing axe is the best we're going to do. If you big people could cut some trees, I'd be willing to tie them together with whatever rope we have."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin looks around, but the big people don't seem to be up to the task. Taking the axe himself, he strolls slowly towards the tress and begins to chop.

Well, unless mrcarter shows up again, it seems we are down to two.

[Malimar]

DM
It's slow going, especially because trees are so few and far between in this area, so the chopped logs have to be dragged a fair distance to make a pile near the river. All the trees are young and smallish, which is a blessing and a curse: the throwing axe is more up to this task than it would be if the trees were older and bigger, but it also means more trees need to be harvested. But Kethin and the others make some slow progress over a matter of hours collecting suitable logs. Without proper tools, the raft will definitely not wind up being pretty, but it might wind up at least serviceable for crossing the river.

It begins to rain -- normal rain this time, a light drizzle of actual water, not the blood that rained down earlier.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin waits for several logs to be gathered, before getting together all the rope the party has in order to tie them together.


Use Rope: [roll0]

[Malimar]

DM
Ekin puts together the beginnings of a crude raft! It doesn't look entirely trustworthy yet. It might get them across the river, but if it hits a rock, it'll probably completely collapse.

Eventually, during a break in the construction, it comes to his attention that one to a few of his fellow party members have apparently grown bored of this procedure and wandered off. Or else have been snatched and eaten by grues or something.

[ForzaFiori]

"Kethin?" Ekin calls into the trees. "You still alive, or did the grues get you? I think I have a raft that might get us across!"

[mrcarter11]

"So this is the raft that will take over? Something here feels unsafe. "

[Doxkid]

"Even the paladin seems to agree; notice that the righteous man vanished when our project took more than a few minutes. Still, it would be a shame to put our time an effort to waste; shall we give this a shot?"

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin

"You want to build a better raft, Kethin, you go right ahead." Ekin retorts. "Now help me get it in the water."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin stops chopping and wanders back from the trees when he hears his name being called. He casts a not-particularly-critical eye on the raft and group surrounding it. Not seeing the axe's owner around, he places it in his own bag instead before turning right into Ekin's retort. "What me? I... think it looks alright. As long as it floats." He bends down to grab it while giving it a more careful look-over.

[mrcarter11]

"Well if everyone else thinks it's good. Then sure sign me up. I'll keep my weapon ready just in case we run into trouble."

[Malimar]

DM
The crude raft does not disintegrate as you pull it to the water's edge!

Does anyone in particular intend to take a pole (or whatever means of navigation Ekin has provided)?

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin will grab a pole. Or a long, wrist sized stick if he forgot to carve a pole. Might be better if someone stronger poled though.

[Doxkid]

Haseo will also pole, using his Scythe to do so only if normal implements are not available.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin wraps a coil of rope over his shoulder, grabs a pole and tries to push the raft out as far into the river as possible without it floating away. "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go."

(If he succeeds in actually pushing it out far enough into the water, he'll go stand on it as well).

[mrcarter11]

Keylin will help push the raft out and climb in as well, still looking highly unhappy with this course of action, but also looking quite nervous over whether or not it will hold up.

[Malimar]

DM
The party pushes the raft out into the Bitey River! At first, all goes as planned, though Ekin's pole snaps when it twists unexpectedly in the current.

The raft holds up okay for a little while! The ropes strain a bit, but nothing they can't handle.

Then, about halfway across, the raft is seized by an unexpectedly fast bit of current! Kethin's pole is snatched out of his grasp by the alarmingly abrupt shift in water speed.

Haseo poles valiantly, but the raft is beginning to come apart at the seams. If nothing is done, they might have to swim the last third of the way.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Not good. Not good!" As the raft begins to float apart Kethin falls to his knees and begins trying to tie it back together as fast as he can, grabbing the runaway bits and crudely lashing them back with sections of rope. "Come help me. And you, keep pushing us to the other bank like your life depends on it, because it very well might!"

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin drops down to help keep the raft tied together as well. His engineer sized pole had stopped hitting the ground anyway.

[Doxkid]

Haseo continues poling at exactly the same sedate pace, occasionally shaking his head or rolling his eyes at the fear of death his companions seem to be experiencing.

[mrcarter11]

While not afraid of the water, swimming seemed like it would require a bit more effort, and so Keylin attempted to help his two companions lash the raft back together before it came apart completely.

[Doxkid]

Haseo poles harder, somewhat annoyed at the progress they are making.

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo, despite his calm and unworried attitude, completely loses control of the raft.

Luckily, working fast, Kethin, Keylin, and Ekin manage to hold the thing together as it careens, spinning wildly, down the river. You manage not to get dumped into the river!

You pass under the wide stone bridge, with its 200' gap in the middle. The river sweeps you inexorably downstream.

But eventually you wash up on a shore! There was so much spinning that it's difficult at first to tell which shore you've washed up on.

But it only takes a few moments to get your bearings: up on a hill about to your left, about 400 feet away, is a largish manor house. You've probably wound up on the Doublebridge side of the river. In every other direction is river. You've probably wound up at the east corner of the town, where the two rivers meet.

But you only have a few moments to get your bearings, as you notice, shambling towards you from the northwest: a gaunt, undead mongrelman!



,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,w,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,HET,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,K==,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~
,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

, - grass
~ - river
= - raft
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - undead creature

[Doxkid]

Haseo's displeasure at being completely immersed (because of his the incompetence of his allies, and by no means because of his own failures) melts away as he notices the undead approaching.

"...Dibs!"
Initiative, if anyone will fight me for going mano-a-mano with it...or if I need to actually battle it.
[roll0]

Haseo approaches slowly, carefully timing his movements; the moment the undead reaches 60 feet from him Haseo summons forth dark magics into his unholy symbol and thrusts it forward at the zombie.

"OBEY! You will obey the will of your new master!"
turn check: [roll1]
Turning damage: [roll2]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin, still a little rattled from the wild ride on the river, takes a second to notice the creature approaching. He tries to see if he can identify what it is.
Know (Religion) [roll0]
Here's hoping it's just an ordinary zombie or something.

I also got a 4 for initiative from the die roll thread, so I'm not going anytime soon.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin ***** back his crossbow and takes aim. With their luck recently, Haseo was only going to piss it off...


Initiative: [roll0]

Readying an action to shoot the zombie if it goes overtly hostile after Haseo's turn attempt

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin delays until the top of the next round.

Haseo cautiously approaches a few tens of feet, then brandishes his unholy symbol with great vigor and power! He's pretty sure he channeled great negative power, and is satisfied. Until the creature, worryingly, completely fails to cower or fall under his control. It's either quite powerful, or extra rebuke-resistant.

Ekin readies an action!

The creature tilts its corpsified head at Haseo, and begins to shamble angrily towards Haseo --

-- at which point Ekin shoots it in the shoulder. It grunts, slightly injured --

-- and keeps going, charging Haseo, swinging its fists. Its blow glances harmlessly off Haseo's chainmail.

Kethin examines it. He's pretty sure it's not a zombie -- unless it's a peculiarly fast zombie. Also, it isn't all slack-jawed like zombies, it looks wrathful, with a keen intellect behind its hateful beady eyes.



,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,w,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,H,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,ET,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,Y==,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~
,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
, - grass
~ - river
= - raft
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - undead creature

[Doxkid]

"What? How...?"

Haseo wracks his memory for undead like this while drawing his scythe. He's still setting his mind to order when he launches his attack.

Knowledge Religion: [roll0]
Attack roll with my scythe: [roll1]
Damage roll: [roll2]

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin moves up along the bank of the river, reloading his crossbow. Turning, he takes sight, and shoots again.


moving 20' north, and reloading (free action thanks to rapid reload). Then shooting the creature again.
attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Seeing that whatever magic Haseo was using on the creature had failed, Kethin draws his sword and moves in to engage it.

Shame the charge lane is blocked.
Move: Drawing greatsword.
Move: Moving up beside Haseo w/in melee range of the wight.

[mrcarter11]

A small smug look comes across Keylin's face as he moves forward. His hands already at work, unwinding the chain from his waist where he secured it.

No sooner then the moment he's within reach of it does he attack, the chain flying between his allies to attack the undead. As the chain flies forward, a second more ghostlike chain joins in the assault.



Attack 1 [roll0] Damage [roll1]
Attack 2 [roll2]

If both attacks are above 15, then use the rolled damage plus [roll3] Cold Damage. If they aren't above 15, then use the higher roll and damage as normal.

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin moves up, swinging his weapon! But, alas, his chain scrapes harmlessly against the monster's toughened flesh.

Haseo is reasonably certain that this creature is a wight (which, given a wight's dangerous ability to raise slain foes as new wights, could explain how Doublebridge was so quickly overrun). He misses the creature altogether with his scythe.

Ekin effortlessly pegs the monster with another crossbow, right through a lung. Unfortunately, the creature isn't using its lungs right now, so this is not completely debilitating, though it was definitely injured.

The monster swings its fist once again at Haseo's face! Haseo leans away, and the creature completely misses. Then, recognizing a new threat, it turns and shifts southwest, bringing Keylin within range of its fists.

Kethin moves up (as it has moved, the only place within melee of the monster and one move of Kethin is between it and Haseo, which I presume won't be a problem)! The creature hisses at him.



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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,E,~~~~~
,,,,,,,wTH,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,Y,,,,~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~
,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
, - grass
~ - river
= - raft
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - undead creature

[Doxkid]

Haseo takes a step forward and looses a wild swing at the wight, in hopes of finishing it before it can finish him.

His allies becoming undead wouldn't really be a problem though.
attack:[roll]1d20+2[/attack]
Damage[roll0]

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin continues to circle as the wight moves behind his friends, reloading and taking another shot. It may not be using it's organs, but put enough holes in them and they're gonna die anyway.


moving up one and left 4 (20' of movement) and reloading freely, then shooting again.

attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin also tries to finish the creature off.

If it isn't dead already. Moving after the enemies is sorta weird, I almost feel like I should be posting after Malimar's updates.
Move: Moving into melee range if necessary.
Standard: Taking a swing with my sword.
Atk: [roll0] (the +4 is from an inspiration point)
Damage: [roll1] (also an inspiration point if it hits)

And then if I didn't have to move before, I'll take a five foot step away to the NE.

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin delays until the top of the next round.

Haseo steps up, swings, and hits, for a solid whap to the thorax, doing substantial damage! It grunts, and eyes him grumpily.

Ekin steps closer, and shoots the thing! Even with the penalty for shooting into melee, he pegs it.

The wight isn't looking particularly happy at this point. Another couple hits like that, and it looks like it'll probably go down. It elects to target... Haseo, because he hit it pretty hard. It swings its eldritch fist! And... completely misses! Then it takes a 5' step north, to threaten Ekin.

Then Kethin has a burst of inspiration, swings his sword, and... apparently was not actually quite inspired enough, because the wight leans out of the way of the blow and the sword sails harmlessly past its head.


,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,E,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,wH,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,T,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,Y,,,,~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~
,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
, - grass
~ - river
= - raft
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - wight

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin changes the direction of his movement, stepping back as the wight steps forward. Snapping another bolt down, he brings up the crossbow and puts another feather in the creatures hat. Or head. Or wherever he hits - he isn't feeling very picky right now.


5' step north, then attacking.

attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[mrcarter11]

Taking a single step over, Keylin swings his weapon of reach out once more, this time flames dance along the chain as it moves towards his enemy, he allows himself a brief moment of reflection as his chain moves it's intended target.



Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"This will be your end! Do not be foolish. I will spare you if you merely kneel before me and accept me as your one true master!"

Haseo hesitates a moment, gauging the Wight's reaction to his demand. If it does not obey immediately, he strikes out at it again with his scythe.


Attack: [roll0]
amage: [roll1]

"The next one will take off your head; please be wise my little undead. I do not wish for that to be your fate, but I will make it so if you do not cooperate!"

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin's spiked chain slams into the wight with great efficacy. It stumbles, and turns to look at him.

Haseo finds that the wight pays him little mind. It might have actively scoffed, but it's too busy glowering at Keylin. So Haseo attempts to reap a harvest of its head (or other convenient bits)! But his scythe only scrapes on its tough hide, to no effect.

Ekin pegs the creature right in the back. The bolt lands right exactly in the place where the wight won't be able to get it out on its own. Hopefully, that won't be much of an annoyance to it for long.

The wight isn't stupid, and at this point it looks very injured indeed. So it weighs its options for a very brief moment. Keep fighting? Submit to the necromancer? Flee? Yell for reinforcements (and give up on the possibility of getting such a scrumptious meal all to itself)? It apparently elects to keep fighting, because it takes a 5' step to bring Keylin within reach of its grasping claws. Unfortunately, it appears to have broken its streak of terrible rolls. It slams Keylin right in the chest. He takes 2 damage and feels his life draining from him.

Kethin delays until the top of the next round.

Scratch all of that. That's what happened in an alternate universe where Keylin didn't do any extra fire damage.

What really happened: Keylin's fiery chain brings the wight down to exactly zero hit points. It has a fraction of a second in which to look baffled and surprised, before it collapses into a heap of deadness.

Each of you gains 338 experience.



,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,,E,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,*H,,,,,~~~~~
,,,,,,,,T,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,,,Y,,,,,~~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==,,,~~
,,,,,,,,,,,,==~~~~~
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~
,,,,,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

, - grass
~ - river
= - raft
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
* - defeated foe

[Malimar]

DM
The wight is defeated. (It doesn't appear to have any equipment to speak of.) A handful of other creatures can be seen shambling in the distance on the near shores of the river to the north and to the west, but none seem to have noticed the commotion.

Just up the hill to the west (and a little north), about 400 feet away, is a medium-ish mansion. Other houses and buildings are scattered about, but that's the closest one.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin, kneeling beside the dead wight, looks around at the others. "We are definitely not prepared for this." Glancing over at the mostly destroyed raft, he adds "I think we should salvage the rope from that and try to find a proper boat to get off this island. These people lived in the middle of a river, there should be a small dock somewhere."

[ForzaFiori]

"Are we ever prepared for anything, Kethin?" Ekin goes over to the raft and starts pulling the rope off of it. "At least the raft got us this far..."

[Malimar]

DM
None of the party recalls having seen very much in the way of docks on the north bank of the southern fork of the river, as they surveyed for crossings. Maybe a few places that might be adequate launching-places for canoes or rowboats.

However: Keylin, at least, distinctly recalls having heard somebody mention, at some point in the course of his travels, the boathouse and docks of Doublebridge, on the north fork of the Bitey River, somewhere west of the northern of the two bridges. (Ekin and Kethin catch, in the moonlight, the faint sight of what may be the bridge in question: a wrecked hulk just like the southern bridge, barely visible about a quarter mile to the north.)

[ForzaFiori]

"It's only about a quarter mile - I say we head towards it. We need a boat, and other than the infested town, it's the only sign of civilization we can see."

[mrcarter11]

Keylin seems at peace with the idea, mostly since it was he who had remembered in the first place. Now it was marching time.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Alright let's go then." Standing up from the body, Kethin sheaths his sword and readies his bow instead. "I don't want to be meeting any more of these things on the way."

[Doxkid]

"Why would we want to leave? Sure, these undead seem to be somewhat uneducated and I will admit they are probably tools of a slightly more powerful necromancer...but that's no reason to abandon such beautiful pieces of work!" Haseo mills around for a while, fuming. He spends quite a bit staring at the deanimated undead before him with regret before he bitterly acquiesces to the group consensus.

"...FINE! Fine, you cowards. When we need to take action you all want to sit down to enjoy a cup of tea, but when we have masterpieces in front of us you're rearing to go explore. Fine! Lets go before I change my mind."

[Malimar]

DM
The party sets off, following the coast, being as quiet and stealthy as they can (no wights seem to notice them)! Northwards! Well, northwestwards at first.

After a few hundred feet, they pass a medium-sized house, and then the coastline turns to the north. About a hundred feet west, a bit uphill, one of Doublebridge's main roads is now parallel to the coast, parallel to their path. The going on the road might be easier and quicker, but it's also closer to the center of town, and so probably more likely to be spotted by wights.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"I think I have an idea on how we might be able to deal with these extremely dangerous creatures," Kethin says thoughtfully, glancing pointedly at Haseo at the last part, "but let's secure some transportation off this island first. I say we stay as far from the town as possible." After a few moments he adds "Does anyone here actually know what creature lives in it so that it is called the Bitey River?"

Kethin will try and judge how many people would have lived in Doublebridge based off the size of the town he can see, to get an estimate of how many wights we would be dealing with.

[ForzaFiori]

"At a guess, some form of piranha or other fish with sharp pointy teeth. If we're really lucky, it's one of the more... exotic aquatic animals with pointy teeth. There's things in the deep that would scare the willies out of anyone raised up here." Ekin pauses, then adds "Of course, a bear would freak out most Engineers...

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"That was my best guess too. It's a shame we left that corpse behind."

[Malimar]

DM
Keylin, Haseo, and Kethin have heard rumours about the legendary horrible tiny bitey fish of the Bitey River. Probably, yes, piranhas.

(Fun fact that I can't remember if I've mentioned before: Earth piranhas are actually quite harmless, unless they've been starved and worked up into a lather by blood in the water. But in the campaign world, you're pretty sure piranhas actually do match their reputation.)

Kethin isn't sure. From what little he's heard about the town, and from what he's seen of it from the far bank and now walking through it, he thinks the town may have had a population somewhere in the vicinity of 500-600 people. It's hard to tell how many people, over the course of the outbreak, would have gotten out safely, or thrown themselves to the piranhas to escape the wights, or died of other things things entirely.

The party passes another house. One of the its locked shutters rattles and bangs, as if something is trying to get out.

Ahead, the road splits in two: northeast, to the north bridge (looming in brokenness), and northwest, further around the coast.

[Malimar]

DM
The party, quietly, passes by the burned-out wreck of the north bridge.

As they cross the road, skirting between the bridge, river, and a small house, the party hears a scrabbling -- far too late and distressingly close, as another humanoid undead monster -- looks to be very likely another wight, though with a bit less of a glow to its eyes -- bursts from its ambush place under the bridge at just the right time.

In a flash (i.e., in a surprise round), the wight is upon you! But even with its target flat-footed, the creature whiffs and misses Kethin entirely.



,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,,,,,,,......+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.HE.,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..YTw,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,,~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,....,,,,,,~~,~
,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~

, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - wight

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"You poor little guy...under whose watch did you and your kin become so wild? I rather dislike needing to do this, but..." A skeleton appears behind the wight in a burst of gravedirt and ash. Forgoing the use of its skimitar and shield, the skeleton lashes out at its fellow undead with both claws.

Haseo casts Summon Undead to conjure a human-warrior skeleton. behind the wight, flanking it.

The skeleton then Full Attacks the wight using its claw attacks.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Attack 2:[roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin, surprised by the wight's attack, lets out a stream of choice curses as he recovers from the close call. He retreats carefully to the other side of the road. Even with a flanking buddy, he wasn't going to fight this thing in melee if he could avoid it, especially since he already had his bow in his hands.

"A much more reasonable choice" he mutters to Haseo as he passes by.

Using a withdraw action to head up into the field in the NW there.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin steps back when the Wight appears, raising his crossbow and taking a shot.


5' step NW (away from the wight) and then shooting it:

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[mrcarter11]

Keylin's reaction is seamless to the threat. As it moves for the kill, Keylin had already begun his dance. A soft spin left his chain moving through the air around, the links starting to glow a fierce red as the chain spun around. With a subtle and precise flick of his wrist, the chain broke its pattern and snaked towards the wight, fire now emanating from the chain in waves. As the chain neared the wight, a second nearly ghostlike chain followed in the shadow of the first moving towards the wight for a kill.


Since the summon won't be here for a round, I'm not including a flanking bonus to my attack roll.
Attack 1 [roll0]
Attack 2 [roll1]
Possible Cold Damage [roll2]
Fire Damage [roll3]
Well using attack 1 for sure, but even that's still gonna be a miss.. Dam it I want level 3 to be here.

[Malimar]

DM
Initiative order is Ekin, Kethin, the wight, Haseo, Keylin.

Ekin steps away from the creature, but it leans slightly out of the way, and the crossbow bolt flies harmlessly past its head.

Kethin withdraws in a manner reminiscent of the recent child born to Kanye and that one Kardashian! (Hopefully, having gotten that reference out of my system, I'll never feel the compulsion to do it again.)

The wight hisses and gives its retreating target a reproachful look. Then it turns its attention to the other three. It takes a 5' step SW, putting half the party kind of between itself and the other half of the party, then it swings a fist at Keylin! Its fist, however, bounces harmlessly off his armor.

Haseo begins to chant and gesture. Assuming the wight lets him finish the spell, a skeleton shall appear at a spot of his choosing on his initiative next round.

Keylin swings his chain, imbuing it with doomyness, and... the wight leans out of the way, avoiding both the real chain and the ghostly extra one.



,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,T,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,,,,,,,.E....+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.H..,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,...w,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
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,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
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,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - wight

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin steps to the side as he draws a bolt, cocking the crossbow, slapping the bolt home, and firing it at the wight again


attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

His initial panic having subsided, Kethin moves forward to get a clear shot and lets fly at the wight.Moving straight south near the corner of the building, then shooting the wight.
Attack: [roll0] (Spending an inspiration point to cancel out the -4 for shooting into melee).
Damage: [roll1] If it hits, spending another inspiration point to boost the damage.

Oh forum roller, how I love thee.

[Malimar]

DM
Ekin shoots and -- whap! The bolt lodges right in the wight's neck. A bit of viscous black goo oozes out. Of course, the creature doesn't need its neck to breathe or eat or transmit blood or anything, but it's still a solid shot.

Kethin heads south, then turns to try to peg the creature with a shot, too! But alas, his missile flies high, and sails off to plop harmlessly into the Bitey River.

The wight appears to have changed its mind about Keylin and the others, and takes a 5' step north, before attempting to punch... Keylin again! Whoosh, the blow completely misses Keylin.

Haseo... delays until the top of the next round!

Haseo's skeleton, on the other hand, claw-claws at the wight! Neither blow penetrates the monster's tough skin, but both came very, very close.

Keylin... delays until the top of the next round!



,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,T,,,,,.E....+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.H..,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Yws,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,,~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,....,,,,,,~~,~
,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
s - Haseo's human warrior skeleton
w - wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin reloads and takes another shot, relaxing and aiming through the crowd. Unfortunately, his arm hits the wall behind him as he draws, and the arrow misses completely.Attack: [roll0] (Spending another inspiration point to once again cancel out the -4 for shooting into melee).
Damage: [roll1] If it hits, spending another inspiration point to boost the damage.

Wooooow. Best shot ever.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin steps up, standing in front of the wight as he loads and shoots.


5' step to the right
attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo and Keylin... delay!


Ekin takes another shot at the wight, but his bolt whistles past it as it leans out of the way.


Kethin's shot, disrupted by the house being closer than he thought, plunks off the stone of the bridge, nowhere near the fighting.


The wight 5'-steps north, and... ohballs. Not only does it hit Keylin, it critically hits Keylin. It punches him in the leg for 7 damage, and inflicts a negative level. By RAW, he dies, no save. But I'm going to institute the houserule I was thinking about, that if you would be killed by a negative level, you get to save against it immediately instead of after 24 hours (I might wind up partially balancing that out by inflicting supernatural aging every time this rule comes into effect.)

So Keylin's very life hangs in the balance: he dies if this Fortitude save is less than 14: [roll0] Aha, he survives! He's injured, and the wight still looks healed, but at least he's alive!


I believe Haseo's skeleton vanishes at the beginning of its turn now, having gotten one full round of action.




,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,T,,,,,..E...+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.Hw.,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,,~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,....,,,,,,~~,~
,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
s - Haseo's human warrior skeleton
w - wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Well, at least they are being a distraction. It would help if they would defend themselves though. Kethin plunks another arrow towards the river. You know the drill
Attack: [roll0] (Spending another inspiration point to once again cancel out the -4 for shooting into melee).
Damage: [roll1] If it hits, spending another inspiration point to boost the damage.

I'm great at this no?

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Hmm? Ah, right. You lot are moments from death. I forgot how troubling that is for the non-initiated; it's just so disappointing that none of the wights here accept my inevitable control over them. One moment..."

Haseo slashes as the undead creature with his scythe.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin backs up fast as the wight moves to him, again reloading his crossbow


backing up 20', and reloading.

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo swings all sorts of off-balance, missing so badly that he becomes fatigued. (A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.)


Keylin delays.


Ekin backs up and reloads!


Kethin, meanwhile, merely completely misses!


The wight... chortles with glee at having lucked upon a group of what is apparently turning out to be easy pickings. So it swings and punches at Haseo! ...And completely whiffs, too. Must be something in the air.



,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,E,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,T,,,,,......+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.Hw.,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,,~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,....,,,,,,~~,~
,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
s - Haseo's human warrior skeleton
w - wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin fires another shot towards the river. He was concentrating too hard on not hitting Haseo, and kept shooting wide. Same deal. I keep forgetting I'm not using a crossbow and don't have to stand around to reload.
Attack: [roll0] (Spending another inspiration point to once again cancel out the -4 for shooting into melee).
Damage: [roll1] If it hits, spending another inspiration point to boost the damage.

Yeah, definitely all that negative energy in the air.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin shoots at the wight, hoping that his bolt will finally hit home as he slaps a new one in place.


attacking and reloading
attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo and Keylin... delay!


Ekin and Kethin shoot and... miss!


The wight swings at Haseo and... misses!


Most productive round ever.




,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,E,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,T,,,,,......+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.Hw.,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,,~~
##,,,,,....,,,,,,~~~
##,,,,....,,,,,,~~,~
,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin fires another shot, his mind now working on a theory relating large concentrations of negative energy with negative outcomes.Same deal.
Attack: [roll0] (Spending another inspiration point to once again cancel out the -4 for shooting into melee).
Damage: [roll1] If it hits, spending another inspiration point to boost the damage.

Gonna run out of those in a round or two.

Wooo, finally a better outcome. Hopefully that's enough to hit the thing.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin lets off a string of curses in Engineer, checking the sights and tension in the arms of the crossbow before lifting it and shooting again, quickly reloading.


shoot and attack again. Hopefully this time at least getting a double digit attack.

attack: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[Malimar]

DM
Haseo and Keylin delay again.


Ekin and Kethin both manage to peg the monster square in the torso, thwip-thwip. It's no longer looking particularly healthy.


The wight realizes that the other two are just tanking. It would charge Kethin, whose shot did the most damage, but Haseo's in the way, so instead it charges Ekin!

Buut that gives Keylin and Haseo attacks of opportunity! Haseo hits for 5 damage. Keylin attempts to be so fancy with his chain that he drops it! (Keylin then comes out of delay to pick the chain back up again, once the wight is past)

The wight is looking pretty badly beat-up, now, but the sight of it charging at Ekin, swinging its lugubrious fists, is still a little terrifying. But Ekin still manages to duck and roll over the blow!



,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
,,,,,,,,,,,~~~~+++++
,,,,,,,,,,,,,~++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,E,+++++++
,,,,,,,,,,,w+++++++~
,,,,,,,,,,,..+++++~~
,,,,,,,,,,,...+++~~~
,,,T,,,,,......+,~~~
##,,,,,,,.H..,,,,,~~
##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
##,,,,,,....,,,,,~~~
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,,,,,....,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
w - wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

It may be nearing the end, but those fists were still deadly dangerous. And now that it had figured out who it was better off attacking, they had better finish it off quick. Kethin carefully aimed, trying to make this shot count before the wight killed Ekin.Alright, I was going to save them, but I'll put the last few inspiration points in here.
Attack: (-4 cancelled with an inspiration pt.)
Damage: 1d20+4[/roll] point used if it hits. Oh whoops. I don't think that hits anyways, if it does you can roll it out Malimar.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin dodges backward as the wight attacks, his small size letting him duck the blow barely. As he gets some space, he pulls the crossbow up. Well, at least I doubt I can miss at this range... he pulls the trigger, and hopes the wight drops before it can attack again.


5' step back, then shoot.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Malimar]

DM
Now our heroes' luck has turned!


Haseo continues to delay.


Ekin takes a step back, but his bolt shoots past his target!


Kethin, though... because the wight charged Ekin, it's slightly off-balance, and Kethin manages to just get past its defenses. His projectile lodges deep in the creature's ear! It flails for a moment, then, ranting obscenities, collapses into a dry heap.


The foe is defeated! You all gain 225 XP.


,,,,,,,,~~~~~~~~++++
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,,,T,,,,,......+,~~~
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##,,,,,,..Y..,,,~~~~
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,,,,,...,,,,,,,,,,~~
,,,,....,,,,,,,,,~~~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
,,,....,,,,,,,,,,,,~
, - grass
. - road
~ - river
# - house
+ - bridge
H - Haseo
Y - Keylin
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
* - defeated wight

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin puts his bow away, calming himself after the rush of combat. "As much as I think we need to get out of this place, I have a plan I want to test now that we have a body." he says, the sentence trailing off to near inaudibility by the end. He pulls some rope out of his pack and ties it around the wight's body, before slowly dragging it towards the broken bridge. "Can one of you lend a hand here. This thing is heavier than it looks."

[Malimar]

DM
The others help Kethin drag the wight's corpse to the bridge, aiding him in his plan!

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Reaching the top of the bridge, Kethin looks around for something to secure the other end of the rope to, before kicking the corpse off the edge and into the water. "Right, now we just have to wait a while, and hope nothing attacks us."

Assuming nothing untoward/obvious happens, Kethin waits a while with the rope, eventually announces "Let's see if we were right about the Bitey dwellers." and hauls the body back up for examination with some assistance.

Basically, he's checking to see if the things in the Bitey river will eat dead stuff. If they do, then there is the second part of a plan to get rid of the wights. Even though he desperately wants to get out of here, doesn't stop him from testing his ideas. I'll take an answer, but then wait for Ekin.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin watches Kethin with interest as he goes about his test.

((Feel free to keep going with ur idea))

[Malimar]

DM
There are three possibilities: a.) the piranhas won't eat things that are already dead; b.) the piranhas will eat things that are already dead, but not things that were at any point undead; or c.) the piranhas will eat anything that was ever alive. Right now, Kethin's testing to see if it's (A or B) or if it's (C).

There are still stone balustrades going up almost to the destroyed part of the bridge, so there are options for tying.

They dump the tied-up corpse off the edge, wait a few minutes (there appears to be some sort of activity under where the rope meets the water), then haul up the rope again. And it is just the rope they haul up; Kethin doesn't need any help. Indeed, the damp end of the rope is frayed and chewed through. In their feeding frenzy, the ravenous piranhas appear to have torn the corpse entirely from the rope it was tied with, and chewed through the rope itself while they were at it.

So, uh... C, I guess?

[ForzaFiori]

Well... that makes me wish for a strong hull between me and the beasties... what's this miricle plan u have to get rid of the wights? Clearly it involves getting them down to the water, but I'm not sure even wights are stupid enough to walk in on their own...

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin rubs his head ruefully while staring at the frayed rope. "Er, that was as far as I had gotten really. I didn't even know if they would get eaten, so I figured I could muddle it out after. Your kind specialize in watery... stuff, maybe you have a bright idea?" he adds hopefully.

"Regardless, I think we should keep on our way before it gets dark. We can think while we walk."

[Malimar]

DM
And so the party continues on along the shore, to the north, then northwest, then west! They catch sight of a handful more undead monsters, but manage to stay out of sight and let the flowing river mask the sound of their passage.

Soon, they come within sight of a building built right up to the water, with (empty) docks arrayed nearby. Clearly a boathouse. Maybe they'll get lucky enough that there's an undamaged boat inside the boathouse.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Hmm, looks like people took all the boats to escape. Maybe our luck'll hold and there'll still be one inside" Kethin whispers, gesturing towards the boathouse.

Drawing his sword, he creeps towards the door. He'd read enough horror stories to know the monster would jump out as soon as he stepped inside, but Keylin and Haseo were looking very dazed by everything that was going on, so it was up to him to take point for the time being. Plus, a bow wouldn't be very useful inside anyways.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin draws his rapier and moves around the building, looking for another door, preferably on the opposite side. You three go in there. Ill come up behind anything in there, or come through that door soon if there isn't anothee one somewhere.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Just don't try and swim in." Kethin says, somewhat unnecessarily given what they had recently witnessed.

After giving Ekin some time to make his way around, Kethin tries to open the door slowly to peek inside.

[Malimar]

DM
Ekin moves around, and does indeed find another door on the opposite side of the building!

Kethin opens the door and peers inside. The light coming in through the windows is dim, but he sees movement. He also sees scattered boat parts, half-wrecked hulls and disconnected masts, sawhorses, planks, assorted carpentry tools. It's hard to tell at a glance if there are any whole boats in here, but if there aren't, there are certainly the tools and materials to build one. If the wights give you time.

Speaking of which: the glowing eyes of a wight peer at you from the part of the warehouse where there's movement. Which is to say, you see, in the dim light, a wight.

Ekin, when he opens the door, sees the same things.



≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
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,,,#...<.....#Y,,,
,,,###########,,,,
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
, - sand/grass
. - floor, dim light
_ - wood floor
≈ - water
# - building
= - dock
╪ - closed door
| - open door
<> - boats, boat parts, carpentry equipment
H - Haseo
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
Y - Keylin
w - wight

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin moves northeast drawing his crossbow and ducking behind the half built boat in front of him. he sheathes his rapier, and draws out his crossbow again.


moving to directly S of the boat piece to the NW. Should take the full 20' of movement. Then using a move action to draw a weapon.

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin had been about to try to draw the wight outside, but seeing Ekin rush in, he decided to follow suit. Dropping his sword beside him, he pulls out his bow and takes a shot at the wight before stepping back. With any luck it might come over to him and let itself get trapped between them.Alright, we'll go first I guess.
Inspiration points have refreshed. Move to draw the bow. Standard to attack. Attack: [roll0] (Spending a point to boost)
Damage[roll1](spending another point to boost if hit)

And the take a step back from the door.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

The necromancer seems to shrug off whatever has been making him torpid during combat, immediately firing off a ray of sickening green light from his hand at the undead before you.

"It really is a shame...I swear to you that wights are quite majestic when they are controlled properly..."
Haseo casts Ray of Enfeeblement
Ranged Touch attack: [roll0] vs Touch AC

If that hits the Wight takes a strength penalty of [roll]1d6+1/roll] for 1 minute.

[Malimar]

DM

Ekin advances and draws his crossbow!


Kethin leans through the doorway and looses an arrow at the wight! It, caught flat-footed, is struck through the shoulder by the projectile with a thwipk.


The wight, assessing threats with a reasonable degree of intelligence... does exactly what Kethin hopes it'll do! It ambles casually over to the doorway, snapping the arrow in its shoulder (leaving the arrowhead in). It stands in the doorway, brandishing the broken arrow, and accuses, in Common, "Isz thisz yoursz?"


Haseo... steps back, I imagine, then fires off a greenish ray that briefly illuminates the interior of the boathouse, but completely misses the wight.


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,,,|.........w,T,,
,,,#...<.....#Y,,,
,,,###########,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
, - sand/grass
. - floor, dim light
_ - wood floor
≈ - water
# - building
= - dock
╪ - closed door
| - open door
<> - boats, boat parts, carpentry equipment
H - Haseo
E - Ekin
T - Kethin
Y - Keylin
w - wight

[Doxkid]

Haseo
"I apologize on behalf of the archer over here; taking that shot at you was rather impolite.

The other wights we have run into around here have been rather impolite; it seems you are much more intelligent than them, or they have fallen to the influence of a foolish necromancer who does not understand your true power."

Haseo bows to the Wight, his scythe held loosely at his side.

"Could you, by chance, direct us out of this town? We have had terrible luck in leaving your domain up until this point."

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin keeps his crossbow trained on the wight. "Are you gonna try to talk to it, or should I shoot it now before it tries to eat us?"

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

A look of confusion briefly crosses Kethin's face as the wight responds to his shot. As Haseo speaks, Kethin slowly steps behind him, keeping his bow on the wight should it attack. "Can they usually speak this... intelligently?" he whispers to Haseo.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

Please ignore the Crossbowman; this group has only recently escaped the rule of a paladin and I'm sure you are already aware of how they function. Being attacked left and right while we traveled here certainly did not ease their transition into being my servants.

And yes, archer, Wights often have intellects that surpass what humans can scrounge together. Why wouldn't they be able to speak common?

In fact rabid, demented Wights who attack without discussing the situation (much like we have attacked this unfortunate wight because of our previous encounters) are the exception instead of the rule." As he prattles Haseo gives his scythe a dramatic whirl, bringing it to rest with the blade against the ground.

"But listen to me go on and on. Trust that I did not intend to sing your praises; it is so easy to do so I couldn't help myself. Alas, I must once again ask for those directions or I fear the paladin's former pawns may create trouble within your territory."

[Malimar]

DM
The wight completely 100% buys the story about the paladin. "Hsssz, paladinsz." So there's some common ground already! (So that point of common ground balances out Haseo's ally having just shot the wight, if nothing else.) This wight, despite being probably at most weeks old, already knows to hate and fear paladins. (Presumably it has some leftover memories from its former life relating to what paladins are about.)

The wight, after a few moments of consideration, apparently decides it likes the odds of coöperating more than the odds of fighting -- maybe it's fed recently, and so isn't as desperately hungry as the others. It brushes off its clothes (which bear only a few tears: mostly it still looks like alive-person clothing) and says, "The bridgesz are blown; there isz a wall to the weszt, well-guarded; the piranhasz of the river will not heszitate to attack even we undead. I wasz attempting to repair a boat to eszcape: the fleszh of unwary adventurersz will not feed our multitudesz forever."

[Doxkid]

Haseo

It seems we’re going in the same direction: away from here.

If you wouldn’t mind our presence, I believe it would be in all of our best interests to work together to repair a boat and depart from this place. Obviously the boats here are yours - and I wouldn’t dare imply we have a¬ claim over them, - but a few extra hands would almost certainly speed the repair process and get us all back to where we belong, right?

[Malimar]

DM
The wight considers Haseo's offer for long moments, "Hmmm-mm-m." Eventually, it decides this deal is in its best interest, and assents: "Agreed. But on the other szide, we go our szeparate waysz. No long-term team-up, no szhooting me, no eating you."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

The point of Kethin's bow dips a bit as the wight becomes less hostile, and then drops to the ground as he stares dumbstruck between the two. "Wait, uh, you're thinking of working together?" He leans over to Haseo again and whispers "We're here to solve this problem, not propagate it!"

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin also looks a bit skeptical at the arrangement. "When did the dead become trustworthy? he thinks to himself, but bites his tongue before speaking it. At least they weren't fighting for their life anymore. He turns to Haseo and the wight. "Against my better judgement, and probably at least one tenet of my religion, I suppose we can work together... if you so much as smile to big though, well, you can try your teeth against the piranhas." He turns to start looking at the boats, then turns back. "I don't suppose you have a name, wight? Something to call you besides 'hey you' or 'that not quite but also completely dead thing'?"

[Malimar]

DM
The wight allows the party to discuss this arrangement amongst itself.

It attempts, not entirely unsuccessfully, to smile toothily at Ekin without smiling too big. But then it looks a little perplexed, as though the concept of a name hadn't occurred to it. "I... huh. Well, in life, I wasz called 'Hank', szo perhapsz that will do?"

Hank indicates one of the boats: "Thisz one szeemsz closzeszt to complete." He appears to be correct: there's one largish wooden rowboat that has a pretty big, ragged hole in the bottom and is missing seats, but is otherwise intact. Hank had apparently been in the process of cannibalizing another, rather more wrecked, boat for a few planks to patch the hole.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Hank, while I'm sure you are more than capable of completing this on your own it would be a great honor if you allowed my men to work under you. Simply give them an order and thy will shalt be done."

Haseo seems quite satisfied with standing there and watching, as he makes no move to help anyone (re)construct a seaworthy vessel.

"You lot will help, won't you?" He stares expectantly at the troop of adventurers. "I'm sure you don't expect Hank, who was already generous enough to allow us passage upon one of his boats within his domain, to complete the repairs alone, do you? While we you may have become accustomed savagery, that is no excuse for bad manners."

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin looks at Haseo. "First, I fix submarine engines. Not rowboats, and even in that I had barely finished apprenticeship before coming up here. Second, I'd rather not be within biting range." He looks at the boat "Feel free to help your pet yourself though."

[Malimar]

DM
Hank nods to Haseo, "Thisz arrangement isz acceptable to me." It doesn't seem to be so acceptable to the rest of the party, though. Hank returns to work, paying little mind to whether anybody else is helping (or pointing weapons at him, or much of anything at all -- he's apparently focussed on getting out of this town, overriding all other desires for now).

The wight does not, however, appear to actually know all that much about fixing boats. He appears to have basically been nailing planks down to patch the hole in the boat. Which, while he isn't an expert carpenter by any means, is probably basically what it needs. No matter how securely the planks are nailed down, though, it'll probably still end up slowly taking on water.

So Hank (after visibly considering a moment, but apparently deciding not to take violent offense at being called Haseo's "pet") says to Ekin, "Fine, no biting range. Then look around, szee if there isz any tar or anything we can properly seal thisz with."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin had been hesitating nervously about helping mend the boat, but the wight's unconcerned attitude was starting to wear off a bit. Rankling a bit at Haseo's goading, he nonetheless starts searching the boathouse to find something to seal the bottom with. Not completely without caution though! Kethin makes sure to stay well out of the lunge range of the wight.

[roll0] Hah, I even have a skill point in that.

[Malimar]

DM
Kethin, after awhile of looking, finds a small barrel of pitch in just about the unlikeliest place! (No, not on the roof. So I guess the second-unlikeliest place.) Somebody, for some reason, stashed it in a dry space under the docks.

The pitch probably has to be heated up to apply it, yes? (I don't know all that much about shipbuilding.) Well, firewood is easy to find in this building, so that shouldn't be a problem.

After awhile of work, Hank manages to carpent the hole in the boat closed, and then they apply the pitch. It's not pretty, and it's not particularly hydrodynamic, but it should at least serve to get the party across the river.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Excellent work men. Now we just need to get into the water and see just how good the repairs are; I'm sure it would be prettier if a certain someone who claimed he could fix anything contributed, but Hank's expert craftsmanship more than made up for our limited numbers.

Ekin, would you care to help with this...or would will you continue to gape at us with your mouth ajar and your eyes wandering? As impressive as my scythe is, my eyes are up here."

[Malimar]

DM
And so Hank, with the help of anybody who wants to help, drags the boat to the docks and drops it into the water!

It bobs for a few moments, and it turns out, it... floats! Hardly any leaking at all! Definitely secure enough to get them to the other side of the river.

Hank appears satisfied; he goes to grab some oars from one of the other boats.

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin takes an oar and hops in with the others, sitting as far from Hank as possible as they start to row across the river

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

As the finishing touches get put onto the boat and they confirm it does float, Kethin decides they might as well see if their new "friend" has any information about what exactly happened in Doublebridge. "So, er... Hank. Do you know why the town suddenly converted to undeath?" He gets in the boat and grabs the other oar.

[Malimar]

DM

Hank is apparently content to sit at one end of the boat, far from the others, as Kethin and Ekin row.

He considers Kethin's question! "I think maybe a wight juszt got loosze, and it eszcalated from there? All I remember, from that sztrange other life, isz panic, then being caught and killed. And enszlaved." He taps his forehead. Mentally enslaved. "Szome time later: freedom." Something must have conveniently killed the wight that killed Hank.

[Malimar]

DM
It's a bit difficult to coördinate at first, rowing the boat that's slightly less aerodynamic on one side, with one rower smaller (and with shorter arms) than the other, but they get it sorted out eventually.

Piranhas, sensing movement, begin to swarm around the boat, nipping and chomping at the air. But they can't get at you within the boat.

The current sweeps the little boat downstream, under the northern of Doublebridge's two bridges (you manage not to hit any of the whatchacallits holding up the crumbled remains of bridge or any of the chunks of blasted stone that jut from the water at crazy angles) and past the river's triple forking.

But at last (assuming nobody tries to push Hank into the water or anything on the way), you land on the north shore of the Bitey River. Some of the buildings of the town of Riverford are barely visible in the distance, on the other side of the river.

At this point, Hank hops off the boat, bows, touches his forehead, and airily declares, "It hasz been a pleasure, but now I would like to take my leave of you. I am a man of my word, but I muszt admit your preszencze makes me hungry."

[Doxkid]

Haseo
"I assure you that the pleasure was all mine; it has been an honor to stand beside you, even if the circumstances were a bit...unfortunate. I can only hope we'll meet again when fortune favors us both a slight bit more."

Haseo Bows to the Hank and watches asthe wight departs, studying the creature's every move hungrily. After a few moments he releases a whistful sigh and draws several of the notes procured earlier from his bags, hoping they haven't been ruined by water.

"So...where to next? We're practically climbing the mountain already, so I'm sure there's plenty to do around here before we settle down for the night or find a bit of civilization; I'd absolutely love to accomplish something before nightfall."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

Kethin stared at "Hank" as he made his departure, some conflict evident on his face. "I'd rather not meet him again. I can't think that the situation would be any more fortuitous." He huffs with some repressed frustration. "I'd like to go retrieve my horse before we head off again, though finishing something else today would be nice. We're already at negative one jobs done for the day after all. What notes do you have there?"

[Malimar]

DM
Well, back across the north fork of the river, the Stank Cave is a little ways away. There might be monsters there, ripe for the killing or capturing. There were certainly some stank-related monsters that one bounty requested samples of.

Or they could pass by the Stank Cave and investigate the ruins on the peak of Mount Dis.

Riverford is across the main river. Could find an inn there and recover their strength.

Alternately, the road is also right across the main river: could travel back to Endeesy for reinforcements and to consult the bounty board again.

Maybe from head from there to the dwarven tombs on the other side of the mountain from here; "tomb" usually indicates corpses, if not undead.

[Malimar]

DM
Poke.


Sir Winden of the Kingsguard seeks a live sample of Green Slime. He suggests the sample be placed within a glass flask (as it will eat through almost any other material) and covered with thick fabric, as sunlight will kill it. He will pay 200 gold for a usable sample.

He also seeks the flesh of a recently-slain Violet Fungus for his curative experiments. It is worth twice its weight in copper coins to Sir Winden, or 1 gold piece per pound. The average Violet Mushroom may contain upwards of 150 pounds of flesh.

Lastly, Sir Winden requests the prompt delivery of one or more live Dire Maggots, to combat the serious infections of Oobort’s Necrosis of the Skin contracted by several members of the King’s staff. He will pay 250 gold per maggot.

Green Slime, Violet Fungus, and Dire Maggots sound like the kind of thing one might find in the nearby Stank Cave. On the other hand, who would willingly enter such an evocatively-named location? (Also, 150-250gp may be a fortune to a commoner, but is rather a pittance to a group of adventurers like this one.)

[ForzaFiori]

((I'm up for the stank cave. it may not be worth much, but we should at least get some XP out of it, plus we can go back to town saying we've done something other than cross a river.))

[Madcrafter]

"Alright, I've had enough of nearly dying today. I say we head up to the cave and butcher some plants to get at least a bit of something out of this endeavour."Cave sounds good.
Know nature to see if I know about these things.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Stank Cave? It doesn't sound particularly interesting. Offensively odoriferous perhaps, but I can't quite see us discovering anything of importance or value in that cave other than a variety of vermin.

Still, you humored my request to investigate the rapid propegation of undead here; I suppose there would be no harm in returning the favor and making a tidy little profit from this trip."

Haseo thinks for a moment, considering what he remembers of many notes the group (and he himself) acquired earlier.

"You...you do have a means of transporting that samples or subjects back to town with you, do you not? Jars, rope, other things of that nature? Assuming you do, then I have no problem with this plan."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"Maybe not interesting, but it would be more profitable than what we've done so far."
At this last question though, he pauses.
"Oh... right. Not me. I guess if we wanted to do that we'd have to stop by in town first to pick up some supplies. Unless you have something else in your notes that wouldn't require such a long trip."
Well, that is a good point. Is there another job we know and can do that doesn't require a shipping run?

[Malimar]

DM
Kethin knows of these things. He doesn't know many details about them, aside from the obvious (e.g. dire maggots are presumably the larvae of dire flies or something and eat necrotic flesh) and what was in the bounty (e.g. sunlight kills green slime, it eats through anything other than glass). He might be able to identify them if he sees them, if only because they're so straightforwardly named, although there's a risk of false positives (e.g., not all fungi that happen to be purple are Purple Fungi).


A list of other bounties can be found here (http://highseas.wikia.com/wiki/Bounties); presumably one or more of your characters took notes or can remember the details.

(In particular, Haseo might find the dwarven tombs promising: where there are tombs there are bodies, and where there are bodies there may be undead, and probably less powerful undead than the wights.)

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"I'm sure you are all somewhat tired of dealing with bloodthirsty undead ready (and willing) to disembowel you to gorge themself on your digestive system, but I think I know what our next stop should be the Dwarven Tombs (which may or may not be filled with similar undead).

This would actually be much safer than looking elsewhere; you see, are typically filled with either the absolute weakest or the absolute strongest of undead beings. The ones here will surely be of the first variety, if we find undead there at all; by now living animas may well have driven out those beautiful little creatures, leaving us only with the need to explore the caves and record our findings.

Won't it just be delightful to visit the Dwarven Tombs? I'm reasonably sure any Ghouls, Zombies and Skeletons we find there would be well within the range of what my power can control..".

[ForzaFiori]

"the Dwarven Tombs... That was the one that wanted a map of the tombs and explinations of how to get around any traps, correct? Sounds nice and deadly... Why doesn't anyone ever want a map to fluffy kitten funland..." Ekin sighs. "Oh well. Lets go see my ancestors I guess."

[Malimar]

DM
This apparently decided, there are (approximately) three paths to the Tombs: directly over the mountain, through the ruins of Mount Dis; taking the north roads around the mountain, through Noodleton; taking the south roads around the mountain, through Endeesy (and maybe picking up some more people while they're there).

It's not actually exactly nearby, but they might be able to get there before dark if they hurry. (Both the road routes are about 30 miles, or about 5 hours hustling. Over the mountain is maybe 2/3rds the distance, but over rougher and more dangerous terrain.)

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"I favor taking the shortest and most direct path. We should cut straight across the mountain; from there we will be able to scout out other areas we will need to visit later, so the undead we acquire control of can be used most efficiently.

After we explore and clear the tomb we can pick up our reward, acquire supplies with said reward money, and give Stack Cave a visit en bloc."

[ForzaFiori]

"Shorter in distance yes. Would it be shorter in time though? That does not look like the easiest route, and from what I've learned about the surface, many of your more dangerous beasts live in the mountains."

[Madcrafter]

Kethin

"It's probably not shorter time-wise to go over the mountain, since there won't be any roads and will be a lot more rough terrain. Plus, if we go through town, we can grab some supplies. Given our experience so far, it might not be very good idea to run into these tombs empty handed."

Not actually sure what supplies we might need. Probably more rope, maybe some holy water or something. Other useful adventuring gear.

[Doxkid]

Haseo

"Hmm...I was hoping to see a little action before reaching the tomb...I understand your concern though. Not all of us are guaranteed undeath after this life, after all." Haseo sweeps his scythe outward, trimming the grass between himself and Endeeasy.

"Through town to the Tomb. I'll split off once we clear if out; you two go back to town to collect our reward and amass new supplies while I lead the undead specimen we collect around toward the cave.

Shall we?"

[ForzaFiori]

"Yes, onward and downward, as we say below the waters."

[Malimar]

DM
Oh, by the way, you each gain 300XP for dealing with Hank and getting out of the town alive.

So the party heads to the ancient dwarven tombs, by way of Endeesy!

They cross the river by rowboat, then they head south until they hit the road, then they head southwest on the road!

On the way to Endeesy, they pass a caravan of mongrelfolk merchants, disturb a nest of tiny vipers (which flee into the high grass), and see many sheep on the horizon. But they encounter nothing hazardous.

When they arrive at Endeesy, the party goes shopping! Rope (you should each have 50' hempen rope already in your adventurer's kits), holy water, other useful adventuring gear, perhaps additional adventurers if you're so inclined?

[ForzaFiori]

((somehow this didn't pop up in my subscribed thread O.O Lets see if anyone is still here

Also, Ekin just leveled up. Since we're in Endeesy, can I just go ahead and level him?))

Ekin doesn't have any money (assuming they don't have any loot to sell. I've honestly forgotten :/), so unless someone else is going shopping, he will spend a day resting and being happy he isn't on the road for once.

[Malimar]

DM
Everyone rests for a time in Endeesy, leveling up to 2!

[ForzaFiori]

Ekin is leveled - ready to go whenever the rest of the party is.