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Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
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<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 2879287" data-attributes="member: 198"><p>The area that the Angels find themselves in is a study in contrasts. Most of it is rocky and barren, with small cracks and crevasses breaking up the ground, and large spires and outcrops of rock rising above it. Dotted across the area, however, are a large number of oases, made up of ferns and surrounding trees that overhang a central pool. Trillia says that literally thousands of underground springs emerge in such oases across the area. She also points out the rough trail that leads towards and away from the oasis they are near, saying that it was made by the Dhakaani empire.</p><p></p><p>Near where they appeared are the remnants of an old camp and a fire-pit, presumably left by the travelers whom Trillia had paid to come to this place. Six checks the fire-pit and says, “Something - or somebody - went through this some time after it was last lit.”</p><p></p><p>Trillia, who has been orienting herself direction-wise, says, “Probably not a creature from the city, but one can’t say.” She points and adds, “Heading directly south-east should get us there. I’m estimating it’s about a dozen miles away.”</p><p></p><p>Before they leave, Luna says that she wants to try something. “You can talk to other planes and stuff,” she tells Nameless, “But I’ll take getting information from nature any day. At least it doesn‘t rot your brain.” </p><p></p><p>Assuming a cross-legged stance, she recites the words and goes through the gestures of a <em>commune with nature</em>. As she proceeds, Luna feels herself becoming one with the land around her, information about the area flooding into her senses. Knowing that she cannot contain or comprehend all the information, she focuses on just three subjects - the presence of humanoids in the area, the presence of powerful aberrations and the presence of minerals. She picks up a sense of a large number of humanoids, perhaps over a hundred, about six miles to the northeast. She also senses two large sets of aberrations to the east and the southeast, near the limits of her ability, which is about nine miles. As for minerals, she picks up minor silver deposits very deep underground and a large concentration of iron very close to or in the same area as the large humanoid presence.</p><p></p><p>After she informs them what she discovered, the group heads southeast, following one of the old trails. It is quickly clear that the roads must have been excellent highways at one point, with millennia of wear and tear having reduced them to the state of a well-worn track. Nevertheless, it does make travel easier. </p><p></p><p>After they have traveled for about 2 hours, a few of the Angels notice tracks along the trail. They stop to let Six, aided by Luna, cast around and find more about the tracks. He eventually decides that they must have been made by four to six creatures of human size, wearing armor or at least metal-shod boots. He also finds a smaller track, about halfling size, which seems to have been made by a creature traveling with but ahead of those making the larger tracks, perhaps acting as a scout. He estimates that the tracks are only a day or two old. </p><p></p><p>“Perhaps they’re hobgoblins,” says Trillia. “There have been reports of hobgoblins in the area for decades, with the rare attack on travelers and even a couple of ineffectual raids on Flint Keep. Probably descendants of the original owners of Yarkuun Draal.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you want me to see if I can track them? This ground doesn’t hold tracks well, but I might be able to.”</p><p></p><p>“No need. As long as they don’t bother us, we shouldn’t mess with them.”</p><p></p><p>The group continues onwards, traveling through the afternoon. The weather is hotter than the Angels are used to in Sharn, but being outside the manifest zone means it’s also much drier, so the traveling is quite comfortable.</p><p></p><p>When they are about six miles away from their starting point, the group is startled by the sound of cries from above, combining a deep-throated growl and a loud hiss. Spinning around, they see three large creatures dive off the top of a thick rocky spire over a hundred feet tall and about eighty feet away. As they spread their leathery bat wings and come zooming downwards with claws extended, a number of the adventurers cry out, “Wyverns!”</p><p></p><p>Nameless is the quickest to react, throwing a pinch of powder in the air and casting a spell. Trillia gives a snort of laughter as she realizes what he’s doing, and the other spell casters grin too. A puzzled Six just begins to ask, “What’s so fu…” when two of the wyverns flatten themselves painfully against the <em>wall of force</em> that Nameless just conjured. With startled squawks and expressions of confusion and anger, they slide off and land on the ground. The third wyvern comes in talons first at Six, only to have him dodge aside and feed it a faceful of spiked chain.</p><p></p><p>After that inauspicious (for the wyverns, that is) beginning to the attack, the rest of the battle is quite one-sided. Neither Nameless nor Trillia even bother to <em>summon</em> anything for support, settling for a little supportive magic, while the other four rip into the wyverns. The creatures manage to land some powerful blows with their fangs, wings and talons, but not enough to be dangerous. The creatures are too stupid to flee during the very limited period when they have a chance and are quickly turned into wyvern steak, though only Luna (perhaps giving in to the animal instincts of her ursine form) tries some. </p><p></p><p>“Does she usually eat what you kill?” asks Trillia, watching with interest as the bear bites into one of the carcasses. "Especially raw?”</p><p></p><p>“Not that I’ve noticed,” replies Korm. “And she’s not eating it raw, or not completely. That's the one she used flame strike on. Seals in the flavor.”</p><p></p><p>Luna quits after a couple of bites and rejoins the others, and after taking care of the necessary healing and making sure that neither Korm nor Gareth (each of whom was stung by a wyvern’s tail) has been poisoned, the group heads on. </p><p></p><p>The rest of the day’s journey is uneventful, with the landscape remaining constant. The travelers do notice, however, that there is a change in the forms - or rather, variety - of life in the area. While the flora remains essentially the same, consisting of concentrated clumps of vegetation around the multitude of pools that they pass, the fauna in the area gradually becomes scarcer. As the miles pass, the birds, small mammals and reptiles diminish in number.</p><p></p><p>“I’m guessing they sense the proximity of the city in some way,” comments Trillia, as she brings the group to a halt, even though there’s enough light for the group to continue for at least an hour. “We're probably about two or three miles from the city and I’d rather be some distance from there.” </p><p></p><p>Once they have made camp, Trillia and Nameless spend a while studying every facet of the immediate and surrounding area. “Remember,” she reminds him, “If it ever looks like we’re in really serious trouble - and I’m sure we will be, sooner or later - get as many people as you can out and come here. I’ll get the rest.”</p><p></p><p>Once they are ready to turn in, Luna takes the staff from the island and places it upright in the middle of the camp. As she activates the staff, it expands to become a twenty foot tall sapling and roots itself firmly, despite the rocky ground. A small cluster of branches appear along its sides and at the top, with those six feet above the ground holding a small bunch of berries, an apple and a tangerine. A hemisphere with a diameter of forty feet forms around it, mimicking the effect of a <em>tiny hut</em> spell. Luna pulls off a berry and pops it in her mouth. “Aah, <em>goodberry</em> - don’t leave home without it.”</p><p></p><p>The first two watches of the night pass peacefully. During the third, the never-sleeping Six's keen eyes* spots movement about a hundred and fifty feet away from the camp. Looking around carefully in the light of the stars and Eberron’s multiple moons, he notices over half a dozen wolf-like creatures spaced around the camp, all stealthily creeping closer. </p><p></p><p>“Look out!” he says to Korm and Gareth, both of whom are on watch with him, “Company - there, there, and there!” Then he raises his voice and shouts, “Get up! We’re under attack! Wolves!” Taking a few quick steps to the side, he punctuates his words by booting Luna, sleeping in her bear form, in the ribs.</p><p></p><p>She comes growling out of her sleep, giving Six a dirty look as she realizes what he just did. Nameless quickly rises too, followed more slowly by Trillia, who is apparently as heavy a sleeper as she is loud a snorer.</p><p></p><p>Korm looks around, catching sight of the creatures now that Six has pointed them out, and says, “They can’t be wolves. This isn’t the right environment.” </p><p></p><p>He’s quickly proved correct, as the creatures - realizing that they’ve been spotted - leap to their feet and fully reveal themselves. Each has a canine form and a vaguely wolf-like (but much larger) head, but the long, almost serpentine neck that bears it grows out of the middle of the beast’s back. The sides are marked with what look like tattoos and runes. Those members of the group with better eyesight note that the creatures have no eyes.</p><p></p><p>“What in Hell are those things?” asks Gareth, with Luna adding a curious growl. </p><p></p><p>Nameless, in the middle of casting a <em>haste</em> on the group, says, “I think they’re runehounds. I’ve never fought one but I read about them. They’re creations of the daelkyr. They’re affected by silver weapons and their wounds heal very quickly.”</p><p></p><p>Trillia adds, “And can spit globs of acid and webbing over long distances. So watch out.” Luna promptly growls and waves a paw, casting a spell to resist energy on herself. </p><p></p><p>“At least,” says Nameless, as the others assume defensive positions, “They can’t see us through the tiny hut, so they can’t target us easily.”</p><p></p><p>This theory doesn’t last long. The eight runehounds come loping in to a distance of about fifty feet, before they all spit globs of acid. Despite the lack of evident eyes and the concealment provided by the <em>tiny hut</em>, they are clearly able to target the adventurers. Each and every one of the group is hit by at least one glob of acid, only Luna being unaffected, due to her protective spell. The runehounds all howl loudly and charge in.</p><p></p><p>“Damn!” swears Korm, trying to scrape the sticky, burning liquid off his chest. “Wolves would have been a <em>lot</em> better.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes,” agrees Nameless. “They would!” He casts a spell and a wolf more than thrice the size of one of the runehounds appears next to it. As always with Nameless’ <em>summon</em>ed creatures, this one has a writhing fringe of tentacles. It bites deeply into the side of the startled runehound and pulls it yelping off its feet.</p><p></p><p>“What happened to the wall of beef?” asks Six, as he tumbles past an onrushing runehound and then lays its side open.</p><p></p><p>“I upgraded,” says Nameless. “It’s wall of wolf now.” After a slight pause, he says, “Well, it will be when I get more than one.”</p><p></p><p>Trillia, beside him, grins as she prepares to cast. “Don’t worry - the first time’s always difficult.” She casts and three more such wolves appear, engaging more of the runehounds. “See - that’s how it’s done!”</p><p></p><p>With four of the enemies engaged, the rest of the adventurers have a much easier time of it. Though Korm, Six, Gareth and Luna are all further wounded by the end of the fight, four of the runehounds are soon dead and the others fleeing with the four pseudonatural wolves in pursuit. </p><p></p><p>Once they are certain that the danger is past, the adventurers fall to healing. Luna gingerly tries a little bit of runehound (finding it to be surprisingly tasty) before joining the others.</p><p></p><p>“That’s a small sample of what we’re likely to find at the city,” says Trillia, as she’s heading back to her blankets. </p><p></p><p>“Great!” says Gareth. “Make sure you guys have a few extra teleports on hand tomorrow!”</p><p></p><p></p><p>* Fricking 30 Spot check!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 2879287, member: 198"] The area that the Angels find themselves in is a study in contrasts. Most of it is rocky and barren, with small cracks and crevasses breaking up the ground, and large spires and outcrops of rock rising above it. Dotted across the area, however, are a large number of oases, made up of ferns and surrounding trees that overhang a central pool. Trillia says that literally thousands of underground springs emerge in such oases across the area. She also points out the rough trail that leads towards and away from the oasis they are near, saying that it was made by the Dhakaani empire. Near where they appeared are the remnants of an old camp and a fire-pit, presumably left by the travelers whom Trillia had paid to come to this place. Six checks the fire-pit and says, “Something - or somebody - went through this some time after it was last lit.” Trillia, who has been orienting herself direction-wise, says, “Probably not a creature from the city, but one can’t say.” She points and adds, “Heading directly south-east should get us there. I’m estimating it’s about a dozen miles away.” Before they leave, Luna says that she wants to try something. “You can talk to other planes and stuff,” she tells Nameless, “But I’ll take getting information from nature any day. At least it doesn‘t rot your brain.” Assuming a cross-legged stance, she recites the words and goes through the gestures of a [I]commune with nature[/I]. As she proceeds, Luna feels herself becoming one with the land around her, information about the area flooding into her senses. Knowing that she cannot contain or comprehend all the information, she focuses on just three subjects - the presence of humanoids in the area, the presence of powerful aberrations and the presence of minerals. She picks up a sense of a large number of humanoids, perhaps over a hundred, about six miles to the northeast. She also senses two large sets of aberrations to the east and the southeast, near the limits of her ability, which is about nine miles. As for minerals, she picks up minor silver deposits very deep underground and a large concentration of iron very close to or in the same area as the large humanoid presence. After she informs them what she discovered, the group heads southeast, following one of the old trails. It is quickly clear that the roads must have been excellent highways at one point, with millennia of wear and tear having reduced them to the state of a well-worn track. Nevertheless, it does make travel easier. After they have traveled for about 2 hours, a few of the Angels notice tracks along the trail. They stop to let Six, aided by Luna, cast around and find more about the tracks. He eventually decides that they must have been made by four to six creatures of human size, wearing armor or at least metal-shod boots. He also finds a smaller track, about halfling size, which seems to have been made by a creature traveling with but ahead of those making the larger tracks, perhaps acting as a scout. He estimates that the tracks are only a day or two old. “Perhaps they’re hobgoblins,” says Trillia. “There have been reports of hobgoblins in the area for decades, with the rare attack on travelers and even a couple of ineffectual raids on Flint Keep. Probably descendants of the original owners of Yarkuun Draal.” “Do you want me to see if I can track them? This ground doesn’t hold tracks well, but I might be able to.” “No need. As long as they don’t bother us, we shouldn’t mess with them.” The group continues onwards, traveling through the afternoon. The weather is hotter than the Angels are used to in Sharn, but being outside the manifest zone means it’s also much drier, so the traveling is quite comfortable. When they are about six miles away from their starting point, the group is startled by the sound of cries from above, combining a deep-throated growl and a loud hiss. Spinning around, they see three large creatures dive off the top of a thick rocky spire over a hundred feet tall and about eighty feet away. As they spread their leathery bat wings and come zooming downwards with claws extended, a number of the adventurers cry out, “Wyverns!” Nameless is the quickest to react, throwing a pinch of powder in the air and casting a spell. Trillia gives a snort of laughter as she realizes what he’s doing, and the other spell casters grin too. A puzzled Six just begins to ask, “What’s so fu…” when two of the wyverns flatten themselves painfully against the [I]wall of force[/I] that Nameless just conjured. With startled squawks and expressions of confusion and anger, they slide off and land on the ground. The third wyvern comes in talons first at Six, only to have him dodge aside and feed it a faceful of spiked chain. After that inauspicious (for the wyverns, that is) beginning to the attack, the rest of the battle is quite one-sided. Neither Nameless nor Trillia even bother to [I]summon[/I] anything for support, settling for a little supportive magic, while the other four rip into the wyverns. The creatures manage to land some powerful blows with their fangs, wings and talons, but not enough to be dangerous. The creatures are too stupid to flee during the very limited period when they have a chance and are quickly turned into wyvern steak, though only Luna (perhaps giving in to the animal instincts of her ursine form) tries some. “Does she usually eat what you kill?” asks Trillia, watching with interest as the bear bites into one of the carcasses. "Especially raw?” “Not that I’ve noticed,” replies Korm. “And she’s not eating it raw, or not completely. That's the one she used flame strike on. Seals in the flavor.” Luna quits after a couple of bites and rejoins the others, and after taking care of the necessary healing and making sure that neither Korm nor Gareth (each of whom was stung by a wyvern’s tail) has been poisoned, the group heads on. The rest of the day’s journey is uneventful, with the landscape remaining constant. The travelers do notice, however, that there is a change in the forms - or rather, variety - of life in the area. While the flora remains essentially the same, consisting of concentrated clumps of vegetation around the multitude of pools that they pass, the fauna in the area gradually becomes scarcer. As the miles pass, the birds, small mammals and reptiles diminish in number. “I’m guessing they sense the proximity of the city in some way,” comments Trillia, as she brings the group to a halt, even though there’s enough light for the group to continue for at least an hour. “We're probably about two or three miles from the city and I’d rather be some distance from there.” Once they have made camp, Trillia and Nameless spend a while studying every facet of the immediate and surrounding area. “Remember,” she reminds him, “If it ever looks like we’re in really serious trouble - and I’m sure we will be, sooner or later - get as many people as you can out and come here. I’ll get the rest.” Once they are ready to turn in, Luna takes the staff from the island and places it upright in the middle of the camp. As she activates the staff, it expands to become a twenty foot tall sapling and roots itself firmly, despite the rocky ground. A small cluster of branches appear along its sides and at the top, with those six feet above the ground holding a small bunch of berries, an apple and a tangerine. A hemisphere with a diameter of forty feet forms around it, mimicking the effect of a [I]tiny hut[/I] spell. Luna pulls off a berry and pops it in her mouth. “Aah, [I]goodberry[/I] - don’t leave home without it.” The first two watches of the night pass peacefully. During the third, the never-sleeping Six's keen eyes* spots movement about a hundred and fifty feet away from the camp. Looking around carefully in the light of the stars and Eberron’s multiple moons, he notices over half a dozen wolf-like creatures spaced around the camp, all stealthily creeping closer. “Look out!” he says to Korm and Gareth, both of whom are on watch with him, “Company - there, there, and there!” Then he raises his voice and shouts, “Get up! We’re under attack! Wolves!” Taking a few quick steps to the side, he punctuates his words by booting Luna, sleeping in her bear form, in the ribs. She comes growling out of her sleep, giving Six a dirty look as she realizes what he just did. Nameless quickly rises too, followed more slowly by Trillia, who is apparently as heavy a sleeper as she is loud a snorer. Korm looks around, catching sight of the creatures now that Six has pointed them out, and says, “They can’t be wolves. This isn’t the right environment.” He’s quickly proved correct, as the creatures - realizing that they’ve been spotted - leap to their feet and fully reveal themselves. Each has a canine form and a vaguely wolf-like (but much larger) head, but the long, almost serpentine neck that bears it grows out of the middle of the beast’s back. The sides are marked with what look like tattoos and runes. Those members of the group with better eyesight note that the creatures have no eyes. “What in Hell are those things?” asks Gareth, with Luna adding a curious growl. Nameless, in the middle of casting a [I]haste[/I] on the group, says, “I think they’re runehounds. I’ve never fought one but I read about them. They’re creations of the daelkyr. They’re affected by silver weapons and their wounds heal very quickly.” Trillia adds, “And can spit globs of acid and webbing over long distances. So watch out.” Luna promptly growls and waves a paw, casting a spell to resist energy on herself. “At least,” says Nameless, as the others assume defensive positions, “They can’t see us through the tiny hut, so they can’t target us easily.” This theory doesn’t last long. The eight runehounds come loping in to a distance of about fifty feet, before they all spit globs of acid. Despite the lack of evident eyes and the concealment provided by the [I]tiny hut[/I], they are clearly able to target the adventurers. Each and every one of the group is hit by at least one glob of acid, only Luna being unaffected, due to her protective spell. The runehounds all howl loudly and charge in. “Damn!” swears Korm, trying to scrape the sticky, burning liquid off his chest. “Wolves would have been a [I]lot[/I] better.” “Yes,” agrees Nameless. “They would!” He casts a spell and a wolf more than thrice the size of one of the runehounds appears next to it. As always with Nameless’ [I]summon[/I]ed creatures, this one has a writhing fringe of tentacles. It bites deeply into the side of the startled runehound and pulls it yelping off its feet. “What happened to the wall of beef?” asks Six, as he tumbles past an onrushing runehound and then lays its side open. “I upgraded,” says Nameless. “It’s wall of wolf now.” After a slight pause, he says, “Well, it will be when I get more than one.” Trillia, beside him, grins as she prepares to cast. “Don’t worry - the first time’s always difficult.” She casts and three more such wolves appear, engaging more of the runehounds. “See - that’s how it’s done!” With four of the enemies engaged, the rest of the adventurers have a much easier time of it. Though Korm, Six, Gareth and Luna are all further wounded by the end of the fight, four of the runehounds are soon dead and the others fleeing with the four pseudonatural wolves in pursuit. Once they are certain that the danger is past, the adventurers fall to healing. Luna gingerly tries a little bit of runehound (finding it to be surprisingly tasty) before joining the others. “That’s a small sample of what we’re likely to find at the city,” says Trillia, as she’s heading back to her blankets. “Great!” says Gareth. “Make sure you guys have a few extra teleports on hand tomorrow!” * Fricking 30 Spot check! [/QUOTE]
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