(Adventure) The Island of Varras'zul (Manzanita Judging) (Concluded)

Rillian's caution paid off. They narrowly avoided running into quicksand in their movements. For his part, Scun identified these problem areas without difficulty.

As Rillian, Scun, Mona and Nezrak moved along, but they caught no sign of Rasereit.

Scun did find (2 rounds later) a small blade lying in the dirt. The woodwise half-orc also found multiple sets of tracks in the area. According to his survival skills,
Earstwhile, Rasereit was still searching for a branch in the thick mist.

"Someone went in here! Someone small. Rillian, can you fetch him like Mona?"

Scun offers spear or net, and strong arm to the cause.

"I'll try Scun. Here you and Nezrak hold the net."

Rillian grabs the other end of the net, tries to guess where Ogrin went in, and steps into the quicksand. As soon as he is in, he starts searching for the halfling, using his free hand and feet.

Wading into the quicksand, Rillian felt the cold mire soak into his clothing once more. T'was slightly unsettling to slip into the quicksand so slowly instead of his sudden entrance just a few minutes before. Using the half-orc's net to navigate and buoy, he let his limbs wander the depths of the mire for his quarry. Rillian Trillnason found his second catch of the night 'neath the quicksand's surface after some time of searching.

The air tasted sickly sweet for one deprived of it for so long. Rillian's aid was timely as Ogrin would've surely drowned in the mire were the human any later. It was a departure from smothering darkness to a rain-drenched darkness. After he breached the surface of his prison, Rillian directed the soaked halfling to the net for security. As soon as Ogrin held tightly enough, the net began to move.

Nezrak and Scun drew them in with some difficulty. Naturally, the powerful half-orc was the primary mover of the net, with the grey elf assisting in his own way. The aid was appreciated though, as it got the job done quicker.

And once they got back unto dry land they assessed the damage. Mona grimaced as she took out a cracked scroll case and took note of the contents. The map was now useless, beyond the aid of craft nor spell thanks to the mire. She threw out other ruined papers as well.

ooc: those who were submerged, take note of which items would be damaged by the water in the quicksand. Some damage is permanent such as paper. Others are merely unusable until dry, such as candles.

take note of these on your character sheets please and mention them here as well.

ooc2: all PCs receive 50 XP for this encounter.

After vomiting and coughing a few minutes, Ogrin begins to feel alive again. "Thanks... for getting... me out" After a few minutes of rest, he cleans himself up, fetches his rapier and assesses the damage to his gear. Most of it is wet, but seems to be serviceable. He even has some dry tindertwigs in a vial, should a fire be needed.

Seeing the wet maps on the ground, he is struck by remorse. He looks at Mona and apologizes for getting her into this mess as well.

"Hang in there, mate, Ah'm comin' for ye! Razh'll get ye out of this, just keep on keepin' on! Ah've got a branch! Ah've got a... Oh. Yer out."Rasereit continues to stumble about blindly in the fog on a wild goose chase for an evasive branch. He is totally unaware of the bustle back at the quicksand. He finally finds what he is looking for and runs back (carefully!) shouting, "Hang in there mate, Ah've got a branch! Ol' Razh'll pull ye through this one, just keep it up, friend! Ah've got a.... Oh. Yer out." He drops the branch exhaustedly and slumps on the ground, feeling a little embarassed. "It's the thought that counts, eh?"

ooc: Actually, Rasereit found no branch or the like in the immediate area, as stated previously. It appeared that there was no plant life in this marsh area, in contrast to the jungle surrounding it.

When Ogrin turned to Mona to deliver his apology, he found that she was visibly upset by the loss of the maps. There was some effort involved in swallowing those feelings, but she sighed then smiled sweetly to Ogrin.

"You didn't mean to do it. It's not your fault"

She threw the ruined papers into the quicksand then asked the Ogrin and the party what their next plan of action was. Would they continue into the ruins tonight or rest?

ooc2: The rounds of this encounter are below if anyone wants to view them. I decided not to count panicked swimming against holding one's breath (and thus would not reduce the duration of such).