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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4242226" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>“What are these, some kind of crocodile-men?” shouts Severin. It is hard for them to see; it’s dark. The ranger quickly pulls out a torch and thrusts it into the campfire in order to shed some light on things. As near as he can tell, there are only two of the green humanoid creatures. He hurls his torch forward through the night, towards the two strange creatures. </p><p></p><p><em>Thwack!</em> An arrow sinks into his side, scraping across his ribs. “Ack!” he exclaims. He feels a strange burn in the wound, and realizes that he is poisoned. His body throws off the initial effects, but...</p><p></p><p>“I can barely stand,” Kifla groans. She is trembling with weakness. Haltingly, she casts <em>mirror image,</em> hoping to protect herself from the assault. Suddenly there are six Kiflas, all shimmering and shifting around. </p><p></p><p>“Whoa there,” Barouk says gruffly to the dire boar. It is wounded, angry, confused, poisoned and worst of all, boxed in. Its eyes are rolling in its head from fear. It has no escape route- it must make its own escape route! The dire boar lowers its head and charges, churning the ground beneath it as it rushes Barouk. </p><p></p><p>The monk waits until the last instant and then steps aside. The huge pig doesn’t seem to be interested in fighting, just surviving.* Yet it really has no escape before it, since now the six shimmering Kiflas are in its way. It bellows frustration and confusion, and rampages through one of the party’s tents, totally destroying it.</p><p></p><p>“Nice piggy,” Kifla gulps.</p><p></p><p>Barouk cries, “Kifla, get out of there! Its head is as big as you!” He takes his own advice, beating something of a retreat and then attempting to assess where he can do the most good. He watches as Severin shoots one of the crocodile men in the chest, wounding him severely; so Barouk pulls out his own crossbow and quickly loads it. He takes careful aim as the crocodile man shoots another arrow at Severin, and then pulls the trigger. His bolt catches it in the throat. It spasms and drops its bow. For an instant it clutches the arrow, and then it collapses!</p><p></p><p>Severin whips <em>Frogspaw</em> from its sheath and advances on the other green-scaled creature. It has just shot the dire boar again, bringing out a terrific squeal from it. Kifla leaps out of the way as the pig charges forward, but then it stops, confused and upset by the fire and the smell of the other folk camped off the side of the road. Barouk quickly interposes himself between it and Kifla. “Stay back,” he commands his friend, who is so weak from the poison that she can barely stand. </p><p></p><p>“Don’t worry, I will,” she moans. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Severin and the green creature dance. The reptilian creature uses some sort of strange weapon with a long, short sword-like blade off one end and a shorter, shovel-shaped blade off the other. The two of them parry and dodge each others’ blows for the first few moments, but then Severin lands a killing blow, decapitating the monster in a single shot!</p><p></p><p>This gives the dire boar the opening it needs. Severin backs away as it shoots past them into the night. </p><p></p><p>“Is everyone okay?” asks Severin. “I’m poisoned.”</p><p></p><p>“Me too,” groans Kifla. </p><p></p><p>“Well,” Barouk opines, “it’s a good thing that we are resting anyway.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Indeed, they decide to extend their rest through the next day. They trade for a bag of fresh tangerines from some traveling farmers, but mostly just sit around recovering. Both Kifla and Severin have suffered fairly heavy strength damage, but by the next morning, both of them are in much better shape. They head off, moving along the trail with Kifla (who is still suffering worse effects from the poison) riding their garen while the others walk. In the middle of the day, they come to a town called Marthton, where they eat a hearty lunch. Kifla goes to a temple of Dexter in search of healing for the poison’s effects, but to her consternation discovers that she cannot afford it. (Barouk just snorts. He won’t go into a temple to that upstart pup Dexter.) The party spends the night in town, sleeping in Olin’s uncle’s barn. </p><p></p><p>In the morning, the party heads off with a new tent, lantern and provisions. They join the flow of traffic, and Barouk ends up buying an orange-yellow cat named Spadron from a merchant with a wagon packed with cages of cats.</p><p></p><p>“What happens if you can’t sell them?” Kifla asks. “Do they stay in cages forever?”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, they’ll all sell, even if just to a cook,” the merchant answers.</p><p></p><p>Kifla stares. She can’t believe her ears. “I’d like to buy all the cats,” she announces.</p><p></p><p>“Why?” demands Barouk.</p><p></p><p>“If he doesn’t sell them, they’ll kill them and cook them!” Kifla wails.</p><p></p><p>“No he won’t,” Barouk argues. “He’s just trying to sell them to you.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, I don’t personally,” the merchant says, “but like I said, I sell them to cooks.”</p><p></p><p>“I want to buy them all,” Kifla repeats. “How much?”</p><p></p><p>“One gold piece for the lot of them,” the mercnant replies.</p><p></p><p>Kifla hands over the money. The merchant starts pulling the cages off of his wagon, but Kifla says, “Just let them out.”</p><p></p><p>The merchant shrugs and retorts, “They’re yours now. If you want to, go ahead.” He doesn’t really seem to believe that the gnome is serious, but he is being good-natured about things nonetheless. When Kifla starts actually letting the cats out, he shakes his head and walks to the other side of the wagon.</p><p></p><p>Barouk sighs. “Oh, Kifla,” he says.</p><p></p><p>An elf walks up. “What’s this? Why are you letting all these cats go here? You can’t just dump them off the side of the road!”</p><p></p><p>“But he was going to kill them!” Kifla explains the situation to the elf.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, that’s different, then,” the elf says. “Where is that merchant, anyway?”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>By midafternoon, the party is in an area of gently rolling hills. Olin points out a swimming hole, and they decide to spend a few moments there. It is a hot day. A narrow trail zigzags down to a creek, where a few other folk are. Barouk tippytoes through water waist deep, being careful to keep his beard above it and lifting it up to keep it dry. Meanwhile Kifla makes the acquaintance of a handsome and charming male gnome named Lucky. The two of them really hit it off, and they are chatting animatedly when a scream rings out across the area. </p><p></p><p>Barouk cries out, “What’s that?”</p><p></p><p>There are shapes in the water- some kind of giant crayfish as big as Barouk is! And one of them is right near a child!</p><p></p><p>Lucky starts singing, and Kifla casts <em>expeditious retreat</em> and scurries over to the child. The others close in on the river, and the crayfish come in on the attack. One of them seizes Barouk’s arm in its great claw! He kicks the other one in the head, stunning it, while Kifla learns that her <em>phantom foe</em> spell won’t work on them- they are vermin, and thus mindless!</p><p></p><p>Barouk struggles in the crayfish’s grip, and it soon becomes a contest of fumbles, with both himself and the crayfish horribly flubbing their attempts to grapple each other. Barouk ends up stunned on the ground, while the crayfish drops him and retreats a pace. Kifla reacts instantly, using a <em>steam jet</em> to cook it in its shell! The first crayfish falls. Lucky and Barouk (once he has recovered) manage to quickly slay the other one. </p><p></p><p>“Hmm,” muses Barouk. “Smells tasty.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, you saved us!” exclaims one of the women present, sobbing in relief.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>The next day is warm and muggy, and as the party hits the road, Kifla pines for Lucky. “He was so handsome,” she sighs. “And smart.” </p><p></p><p>Barouk just shakes his head. “He was a <em>bard.</em> How can you take that seriously?”</p><p></p><p>But Kifla just heaves another sigh.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Next Time:</em></strong> Garbage Plot!</p><p></p><p>*We actually had a guest player for the wounded dire boar (Alcar). <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> That was really cool, and helped to make this whole thing a great atypical fight.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4242226, member: 1210"] “What are these, some kind of crocodile-men?” shouts Severin. It is hard for them to see; it’s dark. The ranger quickly pulls out a torch and thrusts it into the campfire in order to shed some light on things. As near as he can tell, there are only two of the green humanoid creatures. He hurls his torch forward through the night, towards the two strange creatures. [i]Thwack![/i] An arrow sinks into his side, scraping across his ribs. “Ack!” he exclaims. He feels a strange burn in the wound, and realizes that he is poisoned. His body throws off the initial effects, but... “I can barely stand,” Kifla groans. She is trembling with weakness. Haltingly, she casts [i]mirror image,[/i] hoping to protect herself from the assault. Suddenly there are six Kiflas, all shimmering and shifting around. “Whoa there,” Barouk says gruffly to the dire boar. It is wounded, angry, confused, poisoned and worst of all, boxed in. Its eyes are rolling in its head from fear. It has no escape route- it must make its own escape route! The dire boar lowers its head and charges, churning the ground beneath it as it rushes Barouk. The monk waits until the last instant and then steps aside. The huge pig doesn’t seem to be interested in fighting, just surviving.* Yet it really has no escape before it, since now the six shimmering Kiflas are in its way. It bellows frustration and confusion, and rampages through one of the party’s tents, totally destroying it. “Nice piggy,” Kifla gulps. Barouk cries, “Kifla, get out of there! Its head is as big as you!” He takes his own advice, beating something of a retreat and then attempting to assess where he can do the most good. He watches as Severin shoots one of the crocodile men in the chest, wounding him severely; so Barouk pulls out his own crossbow and quickly loads it. He takes careful aim as the crocodile man shoots another arrow at Severin, and then pulls the trigger. His bolt catches it in the throat. It spasms and drops its bow. For an instant it clutches the arrow, and then it collapses! Severin whips [i]Frogspaw[/i] from its sheath and advances on the other green-scaled creature. It has just shot the dire boar again, bringing out a terrific squeal from it. Kifla leaps out of the way as the pig charges forward, but then it stops, confused and upset by the fire and the smell of the other folk camped off the side of the road. Barouk quickly interposes himself between it and Kifla. “Stay back,” he commands his friend, who is so weak from the poison that she can barely stand. “Don’t worry, I will,” she moans. Meanwhile, Severin and the green creature dance. The reptilian creature uses some sort of strange weapon with a long, short sword-like blade off one end and a shorter, shovel-shaped blade off the other. The two of them parry and dodge each others’ blows for the first few moments, but then Severin lands a killing blow, decapitating the monster in a single shot! This gives the dire boar the opening it needs. Severin backs away as it shoots past them into the night. “Is everyone okay?” asks Severin. “I’m poisoned.” “Me too,” groans Kifla. “Well,” Barouk opines, “it’s a good thing that we are resting anyway.” *** Indeed, they decide to extend their rest through the next day. They trade for a bag of fresh tangerines from some traveling farmers, but mostly just sit around recovering. Both Kifla and Severin have suffered fairly heavy strength damage, but by the next morning, both of them are in much better shape. They head off, moving along the trail with Kifla (who is still suffering worse effects from the poison) riding their garen while the others walk. In the middle of the day, they come to a town called Marthton, where they eat a hearty lunch. Kifla goes to a temple of Dexter in search of healing for the poison’s effects, but to her consternation discovers that she cannot afford it. (Barouk just snorts. He won’t go into a temple to that upstart pup Dexter.) The party spends the night in town, sleeping in Olin’s uncle’s barn. In the morning, the party heads off with a new tent, lantern and provisions. They join the flow of traffic, and Barouk ends up buying an orange-yellow cat named Spadron from a merchant with a wagon packed with cages of cats. “What happens if you can’t sell them?” Kifla asks. “Do they stay in cages forever?” “Oh, they’ll all sell, even if just to a cook,” the merchant answers. Kifla stares. She can’t believe her ears. “I’d like to buy all the cats,” she announces. “Why?” demands Barouk. “If he doesn’t sell them, they’ll kill them and cook them!” Kifla wails. “No he won’t,” Barouk argues. “He’s just trying to sell them to you.” “Well, I don’t personally,” the merchant says, “but like I said, I sell them to cooks.” “I want to buy them all,” Kifla repeats. “How much?” “One gold piece for the lot of them,” the mercnant replies. Kifla hands over the money. The merchant starts pulling the cages off of his wagon, but Kifla says, “Just let them out.” The merchant shrugs and retorts, “They’re yours now. If you want to, go ahead.” He doesn’t really seem to believe that the gnome is serious, but he is being good-natured about things nonetheless. When Kifla starts actually letting the cats out, he shakes his head and walks to the other side of the wagon. Barouk sighs. “Oh, Kifla,” he says. An elf walks up. “What’s this? Why are you letting all these cats go here? You can’t just dump them off the side of the road!” “But he was going to kill them!” Kifla explains the situation to the elf. “Oh, that’s different, then,” the elf says. “Where is that merchant, anyway?” *** By midafternoon, the party is in an area of gently rolling hills. Olin points out a swimming hole, and they decide to spend a few moments there. It is a hot day. A narrow trail zigzags down to a creek, where a few other folk are. Barouk tippytoes through water waist deep, being careful to keep his beard above it and lifting it up to keep it dry. Meanwhile Kifla makes the acquaintance of a handsome and charming male gnome named Lucky. The two of them really hit it off, and they are chatting animatedly when a scream rings out across the area. Barouk cries out, “What’s that?” There are shapes in the water- some kind of giant crayfish as big as Barouk is! And one of them is right near a child! Lucky starts singing, and Kifla casts [i]expeditious retreat[/i] and scurries over to the child. The others close in on the river, and the crayfish come in on the attack. One of them seizes Barouk’s arm in its great claw! He kicks the other one in the head, stunning it, while Kifla learns that her [i]phantom foe[/i] spell won’t work on them- they are vermin, and thus mindless! Barouk struggles in the crayfish’s grip, and it soon becomes a contest of fumbles, with both himself and the crayfish horribly flubbing their attempts to grapple each other. Barouk ends up stunned on the ground, while the crayfish drops him and retreats a pace. Kifla reacts instantly, using a [i]steam jet[/i] to cook it in its shell! The first crayfish falls. Lucky and Barouk (once he has recovered) manage to quickly slay the other one. “Hmm,” muses Barouk. “Smells tasty.” “Oh, you saved us!” exclaims one of the women present, sobbing in relief. *** The next day is warm and muggy, and as the party hits the road, Kifla pines for Lucky. “He was so handsome,” she sighs. “And smart.” Barouk just shakes his head. “He was a [i]bard.[/i] How can you take that seriously?” But Kifla just heaves another sigh. [b][i]Next Time:[/i][/b] Garbage Plot! *We actually had a guest player for the wounded dire boar (Alcar). :) That was really cool, and helped to make this whole thing a great atypical fight. [/QUOTE]
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