Farhaven IC

[esorscher]

Villagers of Farhaven have been complaining for some time that their crops are being destroyed and uprooted. Particularly the new class of farmers, who grow Devilweed on the outskirts of town, are finding strange tracks leading away from their farms to the forest in the morning. The farmers have asked Mayor Rathigan for help, and the Mayor has tasked his Chief of Staff, Josiah, who has in turn contacted various adventurers: Eric, a cleric of Fharlanghn and Farhaven native who has just recently returned from his travels; Aurora, an Etruscan spellcaster visiting Farhaven; Emmett, fighter and ward of St. Cuthbert; Tiberius, a mysterious wizard of sorts whose powers are not fully understood; and Ach Joh, an ambitious half-orc barbarian. Believing that this assemblage of skills and powers will be sufficient for the task, Josiah has promised a reward of 500 GP (split 5 ways) for INFORMATION—what is causing the damage to the crops, with a bonus for motive. He has also hinted at further work for the party, if they are successful. Mayor Rathigan seeks to expand Farhaven, and needs trusted lackeys to do so.

Unless you have other accommodations, you have rooms at the Flophouse, and may have seen each other on the streets of Farhaven before. You have each received a letter telling you to arrive at the Well to meet the rest of your group (in Ach Joh's case, a messenger was sent). When you arrive you are shown to the private room upstairs, where you can meet and discuss your plans in private. The publican, Ham, informs you that the Mayor is picking up the evening's tab and encourages you to order many things; he has already supplied you with food and drink to start. Josiah is there when you arrive, but he stays out of the conversation unless you specifically address questions to him.

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Accustomed to meagre fare (the Cuthbertans are all about self-denial), Emmett is a bit intimidated by the lavish spread.

"Do you really need this many types of vegetable?"

Always a bit of an introvert, he is unfamiliar with the rest of those summoned. He quietly picks at the food, using it as a shield for his social anxiety.

[Failed Phantasm]

Aurora had been setting camp for the evening when the messenger arrived, a leather satchel bouncing off his hip as he sprinted down the trail towards her. Her horse looked up from his grazing to whinny at the unannounced newcomer, causing Aurora to look up from the tinder she had been trying to light. It was surprising to her that anyone knew where she had been camping: even though she had not tried to hide or disguise herself when in town, she had taken great care to ensure she wasn't being followed whenever she returned to her little campsite in the grasslands off the farm road. Her surprise must have been evident on her face, since the man gave her the slightest of grins as he slowed to speak with her. "I have a letter here for a 'Miss Aurora'," he announced, his Common twanged with Farhaven's quaint rural accent. "A letter?" she repeated, eyebrows still raised, "For me? Whoever would be sending a letter to me?" she wondered aloud. The messenger produced a crisp piece of parchment from his bag, appearing very much like it had been written earlier that day, and promptly handed it to Aurora. As she reached into her coin purse to fetch a silver for the man, he smiled again and shook his head, saying "Not at all, my lady." With a jaunty wave, he turned around and sprinted off again, back towards farm road as it wound onward to the monastery.

She walked over to her horse and gently patted his neck, asking him as much as herself, "You don't suppose the Circle wants to have me recalled already, do you?" He snorted and shook his head once, prompting her to laugh. "No, I suppose not. Let's see what this letter has to say, then." She held the letter up over her shoulder to catch the light of the setting sun, murmuring aloud as she read,


"'From the office of the Honorable Lord Rathigan, Mayor of Farhaven, to the esteemed Lady Aurora,' et cetera, et cetera..."

She scanned past the introductory formalities, "'The township of Farhaven humbly requests the assistance of skilled men and women of able body and sound mind, to investigate the vandalism of its property and the subversion of the livelihood of its people.'" She skipped further down the letter, "'Your presence is respectfully requested this evening at the Well, whereupon my distinguished chief of staff will most gladly answer whatever inquiries you may have.

I have the honor to prepare this at the direction of Lord Rathigan,
Josiah, Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Farhaven'"

Lowering the letter, Aurora turned to her friend, who had since returned to his grazing, and laughingly said, "Well, that's certainly the most formal thing I've read since my days at the academy. I suppose we'd best go see what the Lord Mayor wants, if he's willing to ask for the help of a traveling druidess he can't possibly know very well. Underneath all of the courtly language, it certainly sounds quite serious." Her horse merely swished his tail a few times as she carefully folded the letter and placed it in one of the pockets in her cloak. Within ten minutes, Aurora had cleaned up her campsite, extinguished the small fire she'd managed to start, repacked everything carefully in her horse's saddlebags, and was leading him down the farm road to Farhaven. Fortunately, she wasn't camped too far beyond the town and, within another twenty minutes, she was walking down the last stretch of the road, the sun painting the quiet town with shades of red and orange. There didn't appear to be many people in the street, and she didn't want to tie her companion at the hitching post, so she gave him one final pat on his hindquarter, which he replied to with one final, soft grunt. Nudging her shoulder gently with his nose, he wandered off the road to find a good patch of grass to occupy his time while he waited for her.

Before entering the Well, Aurora stopped to straighten the wrinkles out of her robe and quickly combed a few stray strands of hair out of her face, until she was satisfied that she looked presentable enough. When she opened the door, she noticed that it was emptier and quieter than she would have guessed. There was a man there, who was roughly of Aurora's height, who was investigating an impressive and surprisingly generous array of food laid out on a table. 'I wouldn't have expected a small town like Farhaven to be able to provide such a feast,' she thought as she inspected the dishes herself, 'I don't think I've even seen some of these in Etruscan inns, either. How exotic.' The publican, who had noticed her interest, welcomed her and invited Aurora to take as much as she would like. She looked back to Ham, whom she recognized but did not know personally, and gave him a grateful smile. However, she also noticed a very well-dressed man standing away from the table, and she approached him, dipping into a short bow when she was close enough.

"Am I correct in guessing, my lord, that you are Josiah, the mayor's chief of staff?" she asked, offering a shy yet humble smile. "My name is Aurora. I came as soon as I received the mayor's letter," she continued, her eyes somewhat downcast and her hands folded in front of her, the way the Jasite priestesses had taught her, "and though I appreciate its urgency, it was not as descriptive as might be desired. May I respectfully ask if there is anything you might be able to tell me about the task the Lord Mayor would have done for the people of Farhaven?"

[SparowCrow]

Eric walks into The Well and after placing his quarterstaff next to the door he walks to where Aurora and Josiah are talking. Eric offers his hand for Josiah to shake "I'm here to help with your crop problem"

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Emmett had only skimmed the summon, and did not know anything more than there was a problem that they wanted help with. He was painfully conscious of his poor social skills, so he waited until he was spoken to to interact.

[Phyzor]

Ach was staying in the flophouse. He was running errands for different kind of townsfolk. Most of them hired fim for his strenght and others for his appearance. He could be quite convincing when showing little muscle and putting up a big mouth he learned. The reason for Ach staying at the flophouse was simple, he did not have much gold, the place was simple, but better than sleeping outside. All the gold he earned got spent at the tavern, which is where he was when the messenger found him.

As the messenger walked up to Ach, saying he had a messege, the man received a simple reply: WHAT!!?. Ach stood up in quite an intimidating manner and walked up to the man. Ach was expecting another threat from somehow he encountered during his errands. This had happened before, but never ever the words were put into actual action, so this was Ach his answer. The poor fellow was clearly upset, but explained what the message was anyway. Oh was Ach's reply and he went to his room in the flophouse.

He wasn't the most social, tactical person around and it showed. But the possibility of fame made him go to the Well and as he was shown to the private room he notices 4 others in the room. He has no idea of who is who, but the invitation of a free meal and free drinks (!) is by no means disregarded. He just eats as much as he can not paying attention to the others. He will just wait untill someone adresses him and tells him what the general idea is of this meeting.

[Howler Dagger]

Tiberius was walking down his favorite trail that passed through the border. It was an old hunting trail, not even most smugglers knew where it led. Unfortunately, its secrecy was compromised when he spotted what looked like a military border patrol.

Are you going to attack them? I bet they've been oppressing somebody! Let's go ask them!

Calm down, psicrystal. We don't want to get tangled up with them. Let's just move along...

This psychic conversation distracted Tiberius from noticing that the patrol had spotted him, and was headed towards him. They did the usual military patrol stuff that Tiberius had seen a thousand times. However, one of them recognized him. The man, or a boy really, said he was a messenger looking for him. He handed Tiberius a letter and ran off to join his friends.

Tiberius inspected the letter. It was from a small village called Farhaven. He hadn't been there before, but had heard of it once from Julian, who mentioned some smugglers or something like that. He didn't remember much about it. They needed help with finding information about crop destruction.

So, what do you think?

Ooh! Ooh! You should help them! I bet someone is oppressing the innocent villagers! I bet it's an evil lord, or a corrupt chancellor! Maybe it's a dragon! You should fight more dragons, they even have treasure! You like treasure right?

I'll take that as a yes. Might as well make some money.

...

Tiberius double-checked the letter to make sure he was in the right place. As typical, he was at some random farm. He hurried along the road until he got to the right place. He ignored his psicrystal's usual protests as he stuffed it inside a pocket before entering the tavern. He set his crossbow and bolts next to what he presumed was someone's quarterstaff. He looked around awkwardly for a bit before sitting down at a table with lavish amounts of food, as promised in the letter. He addressed his question to the well-dressed man he assumed was in charge:

I was summoned?

[esorscher]

Josiah looks at the party assembled, and reiterates, "So, the Devilweed corporation has asked us to look into the damage to their crops. As they represent a sizable portion of the population and the economy, it's our duty as public servants to do so--us and our in this case referring to the Mayor and his office. The farms on the outskirts of town have found that their seeds are being dug up before they can take root, and have found deep furrows in their place. It's not one farm, or even a handful of specific farms, but rather every farm on the border has been affected by whatever is causing this.

"I'm not a lord, and although he is Mayor, Rathigan is not a lord, either. That title is held by his son, Lord Rathigan, who will become Mayor on his 16th birthday, as is our custom. Confusing, I know. We want to know who or what is causing the damage to the crops--if it's something you think you can handle on your own, you're welcome to try, but if it's something you don't think you can handle on your own, don't risk your lives. You might want to ask the farmers who have encountered the damage what they know." He gives you directions to their farms, and after you finish your meal you decide to head that way.

Night falls while you travel. Along the way you hear a growling from the side of the road. An exceptionally large and terrifying wolf-like creature with red eyes bares its teeth as it blocks your path.

Initiatives:
Tiberius: [roll0]
Eric: [roll1]
Aurora: [roll2]
Emmett: [roll3]
Ach: [roll4]
Wolf-thing: [roll5]

[Howler Dagger]

Tiberius, while surprised at the presence of the wolf, knows what he needs to do. He begins drawing ectoplasm from the astral plane, directly in front of the wolf, in order to create a construct. He tries to recall if he has heard of a creature similar to this.

Tiberius manifests Summon Astral Construct for 1 PP, with the Buff ability. He makes a knowledge (Nautre check): [roll0]

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Emmett quickly draws his hammer and closes in to attack. After the uncomfortable dinner party, he was happy to simply hit things with his hammer.

[roll0]
damage if hit
[roll1]
crit confirm if needed
[roll2]

[SparowCrow]

Eric charges the beast with his quarterstaff

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Failed Phantasm]

Startled by the creature's sudden appearance on the road, Aurora was reaching for her bow when she managed a look at the beast's eyes. 'It looks maddened. Almost... intelligent? No, that can't be right. But I don't think I can do anything to calm this one,' she noted mentally, 'and it's much larger than wolves I've encountered before. Strange.' Nevertheless, Aurora stopped reaching over her shoulder and instead reached for one of the pouches at her belt, quickly extracting a pinch of what appeared to be multi-colored sand, which she grasped in her right hand while she began to make strange gestures with her left, her lips moving quickly as she whispered the beginnings of a spell, her voice rising steadily as she did.

In a moment, the sand in her right hand appeared to be shimmering, faint little streams of rainbow-colored light piercing through the gaps in Aurora's fingers. Pronouncing one final word, she reached out with her right hand, a coruscating spray of vivid colors springing forth from her fingertips. Aurora was taking care not to catch any of her traveling companions in the blast, nor would she have cast such a spell if any of them were at risk of being affected by it. "That might disorient it," she told the others. "You should have an opening if it does!"

-----
Actions taken

Standard action: Cast color spray (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/colorSpray.htm) at the worg. (15' cone, DC 14 Will negates, SR: Yes)

If worg has 3 or 4 HD: blinded and stunned for [roll0] rounds. Correction: blinded and stunned for 4 rounds, then stunned for 1 additional round.
If worg has 5 HD or more: stunned for 1 round.

[Phyzor]

Ach reaches for his greatsword and moves in to attack the beast. Raising the blade over his rightshoulder to make a cut at the creatures head.


[roll0]

[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]

[esorscher]

Aurora moves forward first, sending a spray of color at the Worg, who sneezes in response but is otherwise unaffected. The point is moot, however, as the rest of the party's attacks fell the beast. As it falls, it lets out a sad, almost poignant howl, and you wonder briefly what it is doing on the road before continuing on. (If any of you have a dagger you can pause to skin the beast). 120 XP

As you near the first of the farms on your list, you see a dark figure standing out in the field, holding a torch. Nearing you make out the shape of Farmer Magget. He nods at your approach. "Here for the beasty, eh? He hasn't shown up tonight, but that don't mean he ain't out there somewhere." He points in the direction of the edge of his farm. "I can answer any questions you've got, I'll tell you all I know about it. It's big, that's for sure. The tracks are over there, and I ain't never seen nothing like 'em." You might be able to follow the tracks into the woods (if you have the Track feat and a decent Survival roll).

[SparowCrow]

After the beast is slain Eric draws his dagger and skins the beast.
After farmer maggot asks about the "beasty" Eric holds up the hide "Did the beasts look like this"


[roll0]

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Emmett frowns. It could not be as simple as this. No way a single worg could be causing all this trouble.

Using his low-light vision, he peers off in the direction of the tracks Farmer Magget indicates. He has no knowledge of woodcraft whatsoever, but no harm in trying.

Spot Check

[roll0]

"I see nothing."

[Failed Phantasm]

After the farmer had indicated where the strange tracks were, Aurora walked over to investigate them, drawing the sickle from her belt in case she needed it. 'It would probably be best to have a lookout while I search,' she thought, so she put her fingers to her lips and uttered a sharp whistle. The sound of galloping could be heard not far off - the horse would have noticed Aurora leaving town and followed her at a distance because she was with strangers - and soon enough, he was trotting the last few feet to be at her side. She gave him a rewarding pat on the neck and then looked down to see if she could make sense of the tracks. The first thing she noticed was how very dark it was, and she wasn't able to see very well by moonlight. Aurora began to incant another spell, making precise gestures with her hands again as she did so. In a moment, a quartet of little spheres of light were hovering around her, each casting as much light as a torch. 'Best take my time with this,' she thought as she knelt down to inspect the tracks.

Aurora made as careful a search as she could with the time she had, knowing that the magical lights would only last a short time. She stepped carefully, trying to avoid leaving her own footprints in the earth around the tracks, but she was also looking for other telltale signs of movement that were easily missed: perhaps the leaves of the plants nearby were bent, or tufts of fur and hair had fallen to the ground or been caught on some weed. Maybe there were intelligent creatures behind the attacks who might have left some trace of their passing. As the magical lights began to dim and wink out, Aurora stood up from the ground and patted her hands on her robe to remove the dirt. Then she returned to the farmer, having committed the tracks to memory as best she could. She was not a skilled tracker herself, but maybe being able to identify the creature reponsible would help one of the others.

"I may be able to identify the tracks," she told the farmer, "in fact, now that I've seen the tracks, I might already have an idea of what they are. However, if you would kindly tell us everything you know about the creature, it would be very helpful." As Aurora listens to the farmer's response, she uses that information combined with her own knowledge to try to identify the culprit, or culprits.

------
Actions taken:

While investigating the tracks:

Cast dancing lights (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dancingLights.htm). (Beguiler spells remaining: 1st - 3, Cantrips - 4)

Take 10: Search the area around the tracks for any other signs or clues (such as tufts of fur, items that may have dropped, etc.) about what the creature might be: (1d20+8)[10](18)
Make a Survival check to determine the number and direction of the tracks: [roll0]

Correction: +2 synergy bonus while following tracks from having 5 ranks in Search, increasing the check result to 11. As Aurora lacks the Track feat, she can only use Survival to follow tracks whose DC is 10 or less, which means that she either succeeds or success is impossible.


After asking questions of Farmer Magget:

If applicable, make a Knowledge (nature) check to determine what kind of creature, or creatures, made the tracks: [roll1]
If applicable, make a Knowledge (arcana) check to determine what kind of creature, or creatures, made the tracks: [roll2]

[redzimmer]

Emmett

"Maybe instead of just looking at the tracks, let's ask what the famer has seen. Maybe then you can use your heathen pagan woodcraft to determine what to do next."

That is how someone with a -1 CHA penalty suggests using Gather Information to re-do our failed spot and knowledge: nature checks.

[SparowCrow]

Eric heads over to the tracks and looks around while trying to remember if he's heard of anything like this in his travels.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Howler Dagger]

Tiberius makes his best effort to search the area based on his areas of expertise.


Knowledge (psionics) [roll0]
Knowledge (nature) [roll1]
Search [roll2]
Spot [roll3]

[esorscher]

Farmer Magget nods. "A few nights ago, I was standing watch like this, and I saw the beast on the border of the woods. It was a large creature, bigger than a wolf. It walked on all fours. It had gray skin, or maybe it just looked gray in the dark. Its snout was a funny shape, like it had a protuberance or summat like that, a big spike. Maybe it was a horn, it was too far and dimly lit to tell. It seemed to notice me, and it turned back into the woods." Aurora is not able to determine what it is, but she can determine (and so can the rest of you) that it is not a worg from the description. Farmer Magget confirms when Eric holds up the hairy worg pelt--"It weren't nothing like that, it seemed to have smooth skin. Again, it was far away and not well lit." The tracks look like they may have been made by hooves, but not horse hooves or any other farm animal's hooves. Rather than a smooth arc, the shape of the hoof is more like a clover, like an arc but with a bump in the middle. You are not able to follow the tracks. Magget offers, "I don't think the creature comes when we're looking for it. Maybe if you hide it might show up. I'll head inside, now that you're here. If it shows itself, maybe you'll be able to identify it."

(OOC: As for the worgs, you know that they travel in pairs or more, usually, and that they can be trained and used by goblins. But the worg or worgs seem to be unrelated or at best tangentially related to the task at hand.)

[SparowCrow]

Eric attempts to remember anything similar to what farmer magget described
[roll0]

[Phyzor]

Having followed the conversation from a distance, Ach was looking around to see if he, with his darkvision, could see this creature the farmer was describing.

When the farmer was done he spoke: Well, we got information now, we can report back to the Mayor now... he pauzes a moment while thinking if he should say the following, but decided to do it. Or, perhaps we can hide in a shed or behind a farm to wait for the creature to come out and kill it. That will give us more fame, than the group that found out what was causing this all

[redzimmer]

Emmett

"Kinda makes sense, we'll probably be asked to kill the thing anyway."

Without waiting for consensus, Emmett heads to the Magget barn.

[esorscher]

Assuming the rest of the party follows, you take up positions in Farmer Magget's barn, with an eye on the edge of the farm facing the woods. After an hour or so, your waiting proves fruitful. A gray beast fitting Magget's description approaches, and begins to plow up the ground with its snout and the horn at the end of it. (Using your previous Know: Nature roll,) You accurately identify it as a rhinoceros. Having satisfied Josiah's request, you could go home now. Or you could attempt to kill the beast. If you choose the latter, roll initiative.

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Emmett motions at the rhino as quietly as possible, hoping someone will discern he is asking "what now?"

[Phyzor]

Grabbing hold of his greatsword he points in the direction of the beast. The look in his eyes says enough, but to emphasis his eager to kill the beast Ach draws a line around his neck with his thumb. It's obvious HE wants it dead.
He will stay put though to see if the others will follow him, only then he will move out to attack


[roll0]

[Howler Dagger]

Tiberius hides in Magget's shed, and plans on attacking. He notices Ach preparing to attack, so Tiberius gets out his crossbow and begins manifesting Astral Construct. He tries to whisper to Ach Joh: Wait until the construct appears to attack.

Initiative [roll0]

The Astral Construct will appear in six seconds.

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Emmett nods understanding. This hellbeast would not torment these honest hardworking people no longer!

initiative
[roll0]

Probably a bad idea, but that is what a 10 WIS/INT will get you.

[Failed Phantasm]

Aurora's horse was a bit skittish about being inside a barn, having not had the best experience with them in the past, so the two of them had chosen to hide behind the building instead. Even had she been with the others, she was too entranced by the sight of the rhinoceros to pay much attention to anything else. "What a fascinating creature!" she whispered in a low, awed voice, "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it before. " She leaned closer to her horse, whispering conspiratorially, "A big fellow like you could trample a man flat easily enough, but look at how heavy that one looks and how it carries itself. It must weigh well over twice what you do. And I can't imagine that horn it's got is just for show." Aurora continued to watch the beast in silence for a few moments more, as it plodded slowly along. 'I'll have to write the Archdruid a letter first thing tomorrow. I wonder if she's ever seen such a creature in her travels.' She reached up, idly touching the carved wooden unicorn she was wearing around her neck. 'I wish that I had readied the right spells today so I could talk to it,' she thought wistfully, 'I wonder what brings an animal like that all the way out here? Is it sick? Has something chased it from its home? Is it pregnant, looking for a place to birth its young? What would it have to tell me, I wonder...?'

The horse uttered a very soft snort, which snapped Aurora's attention back to the moment. "Oh, right," she whispered, "the mayor and his assistant would want to know about this. We still don't have any answers as to why it's here, but you and I might be able to come back another night and find out for ourselves." Aurora circled around from behind the barn to one of its sides, still hidden from the rhinoceros' view, trying to creep along without making enough noise to alarm the creature. Since she didn't want to risk panicking the rhino — it seemed to be uneasy around humans, if it wouldn't appear while one was in sight — she walked alongside the horse, rather than in front of him, so she would be "behind" the horse from the rhino's point of view. There wasn't any guarantee that seeing a horse wouldn't frighten the rhino, but since he was stubbornly refusing to allow Aurora to walk in front of him or on the side of him that was closer to the rhino, she gave up and followed along with his plan. Padding as quietly as they could along the perimeter of the farm, not making any sudden moves, the pair of them headed slowly and carefully back towards the road so Aurora could give a report to Josiah.

[SparowCrow]

Eric would prefer not to bother the mighty beast, But a quick glance at his companions reveals that most of them are already preparing for a fight. "They'll need my help If they intend to fight such a fierce beast" Eric Whispers to himself as he begins a prayer to Fharlanghn, a few seconds later an orb of light appears on the end of his quarterstaff.

[roll0]
Spells cast: Light

[esorscher]

You make ready to attack the rhino, and it does not notice you. It is about 50' away from you.

[Phyzor]

Ach hearing the words of Tiberius will wait untill his 'construct', whatever it may be, has attacked. Then he will charge he creature.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[redzimmer]

Emmett

With a silent prayer, Emmett moves to flank the creature.

And so he does.

[esorscher]

Tiberius's construct manifests directly in front of the Rhinoceros, blocking its vision. Eric's staff illuminates. Emmett moves to flank as Ach Joh charges in, successfully damaging the Rhino's thick hide. Suddenly surrounded, the Rhino lets out a startled, angry roar.

Round 1 (your move)

[Phyzor]

While Emmett positions himself on the other side of the rhino, the barbarian swing his blade across his other shoulder back at the beast.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]


Go get him! He shouts

[SparowCrow]

Eric charges in and positions himself to surround the rhino

[roll0]
[roll1]

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Something nags at the fringes of Emmett's conscience. Somehow attacking this obviously confused beast seems to offend something in his nature.

But he pushes aside these misgivings with the belief in helping those in need.

He wields his hammer and attacks.

[roll0]
damage
[roll1]
crit if needed
[roll2]

[esorscher]

The half-orc's sword cuts deep into the Rhino's flesh once more, and Eric's attack strikes true. Emmett's hammer bounces off the creature's thick hide harmlessly, and Tiberius's construct is similarly ineffective. Still, seeing itself surrounded, the Rhino leaps over the astral projection and runs at full speed across the farmland, reaching the safety of the woods before you can start after it.

Farmer Magget runs out of his farmhouse, having watched you thus far. "My god, you actually fought that thing! And you scared it off! Good on, folks, good on you!" Yet you feel that it was your presence more than any martial prowess that frightened the beast. Still, it is gone for now, and it doesn't seem likely that the creature will return tonight. It is a few hours before dawn; if you leave now you'll reach the Well by dawn.

[Phyzor]

When the beast starts running Ach runs after it, trying to finish it off. He is quite disappointed he cannot overtake the beast but follows it to the edge of the woods and then tries to spot where the beast was heading. In his eagerness he calls for the others Come, lets follow it and see where his resting place is!

[esorscher]

Ach tries to peer through the densely populated woods but is unable to see the Rhino through the trees. Although his darkvision does get him an excellent black-and-white view of the nearest tree trunks.

[Phyzor]

Gah! The forest is to dense to have a clue where the beast has gone. Although we couldnt solve the problem permanently, we still have enough information to go back to the Well.

With his head straight up, knowing he did all he could, Ach walks back past farmer Magget. With a satisfies voice he says I aint scared of no beast. In fact it was right to flee from us!
He won't be getting back soon. We will go back to the Well to see if we can think of a permanent solution.

[redzimmer]

Emmett

Still uneasy, Emmett tries to shake off his doubts with some bravado.

"No simple beast shall can overcome our might!"

[esorscher]

Reunited, the five of you make your way to the Well, and do so without interruption. When you reach the pub, Josiah is waiting for you on the porch. The first light of dawn is just creeping over the horizon, and neither Sergeant Otho nor Lieutenant Drogo are in their usual seats. Alone on the porch, Josiah gestures for you to accompany him across the street to the Mayor's Office. When you arrive you see that it is little more than a one-room building with a desk and a chair, and Josiah sits in the chair (which is behind the desk), leaving you to stand. "So," Josiah says. "What happened? Did you see who or what is causing all this trouble?"

[Phyzor]

There was a rhinoceros! It came out of the forest and it started to plow the fields with its horn. We tried to kill the beast to permantly solve the problem, but it fled in the dense woods.

The beast only seems to appear when it's quiet, so we had to hide before it showed itself.

When he's done explaining he looks around to the others, that maybe have additional information for Josiah that Ach forgot to mention in his enthousiasm.

While talking about the rhino Ach uses his hands to try to show how big the beast was and how it used his horn to plow the fields.

[SparowCrow]

There was a rhinoceros! It came out of the forest and it started to plow the fields with its horn. We tried to kill the beast to permantly solve the problem, but it fled in the dense woods.

The beast only seems to appear when it's quiet, so we had to hide before it showed itself.

When he's done explaining he looks around to the others, that maybe have additional information for Josiah that Ach forgot to mention in his enthousiasm.

While talking about the rhino Ach uses his hands to try to show how big the beast was and how it used his horn to plow the fields.

"we managed to scare it off for the night, buts its wounds were minor and it might return as early as tomorrow night"

[Failed Phantasm]

Aurora spent the time returning to Farhaven in silence, half-listening to the others discuss — or brag about — their encounter with the rhinoceros, but mostly she was reflecting upon the evening's events. 'Should I feel angry about their attacking the creature? What am I feeling right now?' she wondered. 'Not angry, no. I had no personal connection with the beast, nor any explicit mandate to handle the situation however I pleased. And I believe the mayor and his aide were honest with us, and acting in good faith when they explained how the damage to the crops were affecting the lives and well-being of Farhaven and the townspeople. Surely these four must have felt that they were doing the right thing. Which is really all any of us can do,' she reminded herself. 'So what, then? Anxious? Irritated? ...sad? Yes, I suppose I do feel all of those things,' she admitted to herself. 'Had I been inside the barn, I might have been able to persuade them to have let it be, so I could return again another night and see what might be learned by questioning it. We still have no insight into its behavior, and I've not learned anything that would help me convince it to leave the town's farms in peace. I don't even have any way of knowing when the creature will return again or in what state it will be if it does,' she thought. 'It's wounded, frightened, and probably even more distrustful than it was before. It would be hard enough to negotiate with a human in such condition, but an animal? Oh, Ehlonna save me, this isn't going to be easy,' she sighed, shaking her head at the thought.

As the group approached Farhaven, Aurora noticed the brightening sky that announced the new dawn, and she suddenly realized how tired she felt. Failing to stifle a yawn, she gave in and stretched her arms out, making a mental note for herself: 'As soon as this meeting with Josiah is over, I need to find a well-shaded location for my new campsite. I'll offer my morning prayers after I've set camp, and then get as much sleep as I possibly can given the circumstances.' She wordlessly followed the others into the mayor's office and listened quietly as the half-orc told Josiah what he and the other three men had done; the enthusiasm and wording of his speech irked Aurora, to her surprise, but she dismissed it as simple crankiness from want of sleep. When he had finished, and the man with the quarterstaff added his clarification, Aurora wondered whether or not to tell Josiah her thoughts and suggestions privately, since she did not know how receptive the others would be to her idea. After a moment of brief internal debate, she decided it would be best to speak now.

"If I may, sir, I should add that we've learned nothing about why the animal is disturbing the farmers' crops, nor why such a creature is so near to Farhaven in the first place. Despite never having seen such an animal before, I would gladly share my thoughts as to why it is behaving the way it has been, but I could not give you any definitive answer unless I am allowed another opportunity to study it more carefully," she said, pausing a moment before continuing, "Perhaps it is the nature of the crops that is attracting the rhinoceros. The animal may be ill, and it may be digging up the roots because they offer it relief from its symptoms. Perhaps it merely likes the taste and has come to prefer the farms' produce over its usual diet. I could not determine its gender from such a distance, but it may even be possible that the animal is pregnant," she added, "and it is seeking a place to give birth. An abundant source of nearby food would be a boon to a mother creature, and its shyness around humans may simply be the instinct of a mother to not unduly risk herself or her unborn child."

Aurora held up her hands in a defensive gesture, "However, that is entirely my idle speculation. I have magic that will allow me to speak with the rhinoceros, should you wish it, though most any druid will have the ability to do so, as well. Though now that it is wounded and, most likely, quite frightened, that task has become much more difficult. In its pain and fear, it may lash out violently should anyone attempt to approach it in its current state. If the people of Farhaven desire a permanent solution to the problem, you must either kill it before it does harm to more than your farmland, or," she said, emphasizing the word "or", "or you must leave it be until it has recovered, so that I, or any other druid of your choosing, can safely attempt to question the creature."

[esorscher]

Josiah listens without speaking as you give you report, nodding occasionally. Finally, he reaches into the top drawer of the desk and removes a small sack which jingles as he tosses it to you. Inside you find 500 gold, which you split 5 ways. "Well done," he says. "A rhinoceros is not native to these parts, so I wonder if its motives are natural or if it is following orders..." He lets his voice trail off. "I will speak to Mayor Rathigan, and he will determine what we should do. It may be that you will be called upon to speak with the creature, Aurora. Either way, the Mayor is looking for someone to clear out the old iron mines in the foothills to the north. Would you be interested? Better pay, but more danger."

Emmett shakes his head and takes his leave, leaving only the four of you. 380 EXP (for the farm mission).

[Phyzor]

First I need a rest and a good meal. Let's talk more details about the mines when i wake up. Ach looks around at the rest and asks. Would you all be willing to join this inquiry later?

[Failed Phantasm]

Nodding in agreement with the half-orc, Aurora turned to Josiah and began, "I think that all of us could do with some sleep before committing to the mayor's next request. Not that I wouldn't be happy if I might be of some further assistance to Farhaven," she added, "but I'd be of little help without my spells, and I expect this journey into the mines will require much more magic than a nighttime investigation. Speaking of which, I need to pray to Lady Ehlonna before I go to sleep in order to recover some of them. Would you happen to know anything about the creatures that have taken up residence in the mines?" Aurora asked, tilting her head slightly. "I would not wish to be caught unprepared this time."

[esorscher]

Josiah nods. "If you'd like, take the night to think it over. The offer will still be here in the morning. I think the mine is infested with goblins, I'm not sure though. From the report we got from our deputy, they are small and scaly." If you have no further questions, he dismisses you to return to your rooms at the Flophouse, or campsites.

[SparowCrow]

Josiah nods. "If you'd like, take the night to think it over. The offer will still be here in the morning. I think the mine is infested with goblins, I'm not sure though. From the report we got from our deputy, they are small and scaly." If you have no further questions, he dismisses you to return to your rooms at the Flophouse, or campsites.

Eric nods "I'll help with the mine, But After I get a good Night's rest," Eric returns to his room and soon falls asleep.

[Phyzor]

The half-orc nods Okay, I will return in the morning. He heads to the Flophouse. He dreamt that night that he ventured in the mines alone, slaying a whole goblinclan by himself. Triumphantically he held up his sword, while the people of Farhaven cheered at him when he returned.

[Failed Phantasm]

After having been dismissed, Aurora managed a final, weary bow to Josiah before leaving the mayor's office and stepping out onto the street. It was still very early in the morning, but, coming from the rows of houses off to her right, she could hear the sounds of families waking up and getting ready for the day. The sky appeared cloudless and clear, promising a warm day, and she made a mental note to study the weather after she had her rest. She turned and made for the farm road, seeming to recall a very pleasant-looking patch of grass that lay alongside a small creek, protected by a low ledge and shaded by a stand of graceful old willow trees. As she started down the dirt road towards her new campsite, she put her fingers to her lips and whistled; after a moment, her horse came trotting towards her from his resting place behind The Well. She gave him a gentle pat on the neck, and found herself wanting to yawn again, so she started hurrying along down the road.

Having hiked north-northwest for about an hour, Aurora found the site she'd been thinking of, and she began to take her gear from her horse's saddlebags so she could set camp. As she laid out her bedroll and blanket underneath the willow tree, she started talking apologetically to her companion, "I'm afraid you'll have to keep first watch this time. I know you can't fully fall asleep without another member of your herd keeping watch, but I'm much too tired this morning to let you sleep first." He uttered a soft snort in reply and swatted at something with his tail, though she wasn't sure if he meant something by it. "I think we're going to be safe here," she continued, removing the holy symbol from around her neck and holding it loosely in her left hand as she made a sweeping gesture to indicate their surroundings, "since most of the wild animals that hunt in this area won't be very active in the heat of the day." She sat down on her bedroll, then bowed her head and closed her eyes, clasping the wooden unicorn in her hand. Her mind was too sleepy for her to form a coherent prayer, but meditative silence in a natural setting was sometimes enough to please Ehlonna.

After a few moments of quiet reflection, Aurora felt the familiar rush of divine power streaming into her mind from the power of nature that surrounded her. It seemed to carry a gentle rebuke today, the unusual sensation that she should go to sleep and leave her prayers for later. 'Well, then, I don't suppose I can argue with that,' she thought to herself, and set her holy symbol to the side. Yawning and stretching her arms out, Aurora unslung her bow from her back and set it within arm's reach as well. Finally, she settled down under her blanket, the soft babbling of the creek quickly lulling her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

[esorscher]

You awake rested and rejuvenated. You prepare spells, if necessary, and make any preparation necessary otherwise. You meet up with the rest of the group and head for the mines, which Josiah has marked on your map. The front door is made of wood and it is barred, it wiggles slightly when you press against it. Ach Joh smashes through it easily, and you see two scaly, small humanoids ahead of you, guarding another door. They say something in Draconic.

Who are you? Get out of here!

The map is located on the roll20 site: https://app.roll20.net/join/176172/y4SKEQ

[SparowCrow]

Eric enters the mine through the now shattered door and upon meeting the scaly humanoids and hearing, although not understanding their Words Eric asks "Anyone Know what they just said?"

[SparowCrow]

messed up the roll so... [roll0]

[Phyzor]

I have no idea, but i did not sound very welcoming Ach replies. That said he instinctively gets a good grip of his greatsword and lunges it at the closest humanoid.


attacking the humanoid he sees to his right.
[roll0]

Ach charges
[roll1]
[roll2]

crits
[roll3]
[roll4]

[Failed Phantasm]

Aurora stepped gingerly around the splintered remains of the door, holding her shortbow in one hand as she picked out safe places to put her feet. 'The smell in that cave is going to be just lovely, isn't it?' she quipped to herself as she caught a draft of air that wafted out from the entrance. 'I wonder what we're going to encounter in there.' As if to answer her question, she heard someone inside bark something at them; it took her a moment to recognize the language as Draconic — 'the accent is terrible, though' — and she understood what had been said, even if it took her a moment to parse the accent out of it. "He asked who we are," she said in response to Eric's question, turning to look at him, "then he ordered us to leave. He doesn't sound friendly, so I don't think we'll be able to talk our way past them, but we could try."

'Perhaps I could use a charm spell on one of them? We could find out where their leader is, and maybe we can convince him or her to leave. We'd probably have to do something in exchange, but...' Aurora's thoughts were interrupted by the half-orc's charge over the threshold and into the cave. "Oh, blast. At least think before you do that!" she called after him irritatedly. As a quieter aside that only Eric would hear, "You'll have to patch him up if he get himself hurt. I don't have many healing spells prepared today." Aurora raised her hands and quickly began reciting the words a spell, her hands seeming to shape something in the air. After a moment, she uttered the final word and thrust her palm towards the remaining creature, attempting to cloud its mind with magical force.

"Stop attacking!" she shouted urgently at the half-orc, and then she repeated herself in Draconic to the remaining humanoid. She turned to Eric and quickly asked him, "Are you a very good speaker? If my spell worked — and maybe even if it didn't — I'm going to need your help convincing the last one standing that we're not going to hurt it. I don't think you speak Draconic, but I can translate for you; and, if we can find their leader, we might be able to convince them all to leave without any more bloodshed."

----------
Actions taken:

Initiative: [roll0]
Free action: If applicable, make a Knowledge (arcana) check to identify the creature: [roll1]

Standard action: cast whelm daze (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/daze.htm) (Enchantment (Compulsion) [mind-affecting]) at the remaining kobold.

Effect deal [roll2] points of nonlethal damage to the target. If nonlethal damage equals current HP, the kobold is staggered (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#staggered); if nonlethal damage exceeds current HP, the kobold falls unconscious.
Effect The kobold is dazed and can take no actions for one round, but takes no penalty to AC.
Save Will DC 13 negates

[esorscher]

Ach fells the first kobold, the second stands dazed by Aurora's spell.

[Phyzor]

Cutting through the kobold Ach turns to Aurora. Why do we need to stop attacking, these foul creatures clearly have no good intentions for us!

He runs towards the other kobold, but sees it is feeling woozy from the magic that Aurora used. What did you do to it he ask somewhat baffled. Don't ever try doing that to me he adds.

[Failed Phantasm]

"You don't know what their intentions are! None of us do! How could we, when you attacked before we could even ask?" Aurora snapped back. "When he asked for a translation," she said, pointing at Eric with her left hand, "you admitted you had no idea what was said, but you charged in anyway because it 'did not sound very welcoming'? It's Draconic! It sounds harsh and rough even if you speak it fluently, never mind if you've never heard it before!" Aurora uttered a frustrated noise that was halfway between a sigh and a growl, and massaged the back of her neck.

After a moment, she continued, in a much calmer tone, "What if someone broke down the door to your room in the Flophouse and attacked you because of the way you spoke? The way you look? Wouldn't that be wrong?" She shifted her stance to the right, leaning on the frame of the broken door before continuing, "Because, quite possibly, that's what you've done here: you may very well have just killed an innocent creature." She shook her head, "Maybe you're right about them not being friendly and there being no other way to do this, or maybe they would have been friendly before you killed one. I don't know. But at least I'm willing to give them the chance! If there's a peaceful solution to this that we can reach, I'm going to try reaching it! Now, put that weapon down. I want to try talking to it after my spell wears off, and it would be easier to do that if you're not waving that sword in its face."

[SparowCrow]

"Breaking down the door of the flophouse and going into a mine after being asked by the owner are two Different scenarios, Considering I actually own my room in the flophouse, The kobolds certainly don't own the town-mine"

[esorscher]

The kobold remains dazed, but you can see the effects starting to wear off (nearly a round has passed, if you are going to reason with it or kill it now is the time to do so.)

[Phyzor]

Fine, it is draconic. I do not speak draconic, but it seems you do. Did they invite us for tea? The orc replies in a sarcastic tone, obviously not impressed by the tone of Aurora.

If someone broke down my door, that person would have the same faith as this creature. Perhaps it wrong to judge, but it is safer than being killed yourself.Looking at the reamaining creature while Aurora finishes of her little lecture Ach lowers his sword, but he is ready to swing it in the case the creature takes any hostile action towards any of the three.

Fine, go ahead and talk to it. But know I agree with Eric.