In the dead of night, the party waits, both eager for and fearful of the approach of daylight and what it may bring.
The night passes without incident - only the beating of hearts and the intake of breath can be heard in the deepest darkness.
As light approaches, the party rouses itself. As expected, a search appears to be on - just barely visible beyond the trees, a small group of men - perhaps a dozen - appear to be performing a methodical sweep near the compound that was the scene of the fighting the night before.
The party creeps slowly away, careful to remain concealed in the far-away trees. A few minutes later, another search party comes into view from the north - it appears to be the same size as the first, and joins up with it. Mere seconds later, a third party comes from the south to join up with the other two.
The entire spectacle seems rather abstract and distant for a while, until the combined enemy force, a few dozen strong, forms up, turns vaguely in the direction of the party, and begins to move. Your hearts, human and otherwise, begin to pick up speed themselves as it becomes apparent that the enemy, three dozen strong, is marching in your direction!
OOC: This is part III in a series - part II can be found here. The above is the last 'action' post from Part II.
Last edited by nerdytenor; 28th October 2009 at 11:15 PM..
OOC: Main party - what do you do? Run? Hide? Fight? (ha ha good luck ) To the east are further trees, and about a mile beyond that a long stretch of swamp stretches out. Reminder - Joshua has not yet made his daily use of the teleportation/homing-device/stone/thingy.
Bavak and Jack - please hold - your DM will be with you shortly.
ooc: Running seems like the way to go. If we try hiding, someone is sure to roll a 1 on their stealth and we'll end up fighting. But which way? Presumably we can see which way they're coming, and go at right angles to that so they'll pass us by. Unless they spot us...
The big dragonborn looked carefully in the direction of the large search party, drawing his heavy sword almost reflexively as he watched. "Are we going to stand and fight? I'd hate to take on that many men at once..." Despite his words, it was obvious from his tone and his expression that he would NOT, in fact, hate to face so many foes- he would relish such a challenge.
OOC: Trees to the east, right? Which direction are the searchers in?
While the party mulls their next move, a shout can be heard from one of the search parties to the west. Seconds later, a hail of arrows (about half a dozen) lands about twenty feet to the west of the party.
OOC Searchers are to the west. It is hard to tell how far they are - they could probably catch up to you in a minute or two if you stand still. Trees/forest are to the east, and beyond that is a desolate swamp. Some patches of a broken-down road run parallel to the forest north and south about half a mile east of here
Rellek quickly withdrew his bow, Friends our time for departure has come. We must make haste so that friend Joshua might perform the ritual, I suggest we make haste for cover.
OOC assuming the party are with this, Rellek is happy to lead the party with Covaithe away form our persuers...
Rellek prepares to scout the way as the party flees from their pursuers.
OOC: Skill Challenge! Three rounds. Everyone must participate once per round. You MUST make an endurance OR athletics check once per round, DC 19. You MAY make a nature OR perception check once per round, which will add a bonus (or penalty) to the athletics or endurance roll (19 or better grants a +2, 15 or better a +1, less than 10 a -1). At stake are healing surges... For now .
Jack and Bavak
You are awakened by the same lizard-woman that has awakened you in your tent for the past five days. After you emerge from your tents, you see three lizard men starting a small fire in the center of the camp. The heat is comforting in the cold morning air. Your noses detect the familiar scent of a roasting.... something as one of the men turns some kind of small land mammal on a stick over a makeshift stove.
As the sun begins to rise a few minutes later, you are each presented with a small bowl filled with the meat of whatever it was that was just cooked. Though you have experienced several shared threats with these lizard-folk, and living off the land has proven a challenge, by far the most difficult part of your time with them has been keeping down their so-called food. As per usual, one of the lizard men presents each of you with a small, straight stick. It wasn't until the third day of your cohabitation that you both realized, almost exactly at the same time, that these lizard-folk were trying to provide you with forks. Clearly they don't have the concept quite down. Nevertheless, you have made a token use of the useless implements in order to remain polite.
You sit down and begin your communication with the lizard-man whom you think of as leader. Though you have all gotten better at communicating with each other, the process is still laborious. It is unclear whether it is the ability or the desire to speak that this particular tribe lacks. Fortunately, their ability to communicate in both picture and gesture is quite sophisticated. After about ten minutes, it becomes clear that the morning's activities are to include gathering supplies in order to brew various potions for use in battle. Three lizard-men are to accompany you in your search - they will show you examples of the herbs, plants, and roots that you will be searching for along the way.
OOC: Skill challenge! Applicable skills are Nature, Perception, and whatever else you can make a plausible argument for. Three rounds, DC 19 - at stake are potential potions for use later.
When posting to this thread, please post in a 'Jack and Bavak' sblock (like this one) so that your posts are not visible in the main thread (if and until you join up with the others, of course).
Kraegyn followed the more woodswise members of the group through the forest. The heavy brush and trees were nothing like the farm he grew up on, but he knew about how to avoid being tripped by roots, and remembered to watch out for the 'random branch in the face'. It helped of course, that he was strong as an ox, and his heavy armor let him just force his way through most of the brush...
OOC: Nature 1d20+4=20; Athletics 1d0+9=26 (+2 for Nature roll =28); rolls Roll Lookup
Jack does his best to keep a lookout of the area as they move through the marshland, but his eyes are not as keen as the lizardfolk and they are forced to help him out.
He does manage to find a particularly useful herb in the morning, which bolsters his spirits after the earlier failings, but the afternoon sees him almost eating a poisonous berry. Even he can't understand why he thought it was a good idea. Jack ends the day rather glum.
Karis, Kraegyn, and Rellek make an impressive sight, flitting through the trees to the center of the patch of forest. Unfortunately, the only one to witness their athletic display clearly is Joshua. He tries to focus on the terrain as best he can. His chosen path is clear - nevertheless, he has trouble keeping up with the rest of the party, and they have to slow slightly. (OOC: Joshua gets 18 for nature, adding +1 to his endurance roll of 12 = 13. )
One of the archers that must be running behind decides to take a shot at the fleeing party - an arrow flies through the forest and hits Karis in the back, despite the distance and cover of trees (OOC Randomly chosen target = Karis. 1d20+10 -2 for distance -2 for cover hits AC 23 for 1d10+4 = 8 damage.).
OOC: RESULTS
Karis, Rellek, and Kraegyn pass round one. Joshua fails, losing a surge.
Karis takes 8 damage
ROUND TWO - FIGHT! errrr RUN! Same rules as round one. The forest is thicker now, so you will have superior cover against any arrows coming your way in round 2.
Jack and Bavak
The lizard folk are remarkably patient with you, despite your feeling at times that you are being something of a burden. Though they have to discard many of the specimens you provide (some of Jack's offerings in particular elicit what you have learned are gestures for laughter), they seem genuinely pleased with some of your other finds.
You return to camp, whereupon the lizard-man you take to be something of a shaman investigates the haul. Reasonably pleased, he begins to prepare the ingredients.
OOC: Three successes = three potential potions. If you would like to aid the shaman in his alchemy, you may provide either a nature or an arcana check to help him - you may make this check only once - 20 or higher grants him a +3, 15 or higher a +2, 10 or higher a +1.
Kraegyn continued to push his way through the underbrush. The thicker growth was less familiar to him, and it was obvious that the pursuit was distracting him- he didn't want to run, he wanted to stand and fight... In his distracted state, he managed to blunder into a tangle of brambles- and while they couldn't get through his armor, they did manage to poke beneath several of his scales in spots where the armor didn't cover him.
OOC: Nature 13 (adds +0); Athletics 10 (hurrah for a Natural 1!); rolls Roll Lookup
Though strongly tempted to turn back and give that archer a piece of her mind -- a piece about eight inches long, made of sharpened steel -- Karis grits her teeth and puts on a burst of speed.
, but somehow he confuses the different jungles he recalls. Or is it something more sinister...
. Will post in the next day or two. 
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