Honeymarsh Academy (D&D3.5) Chapter 2

Ok, overland map posted.

Your group sets out overland, in the morning hours- not too insanely early. There is a cool wind blowing in from the western outlands- the Arcadian Wind, some call it.

The order of march is something with Arvin up ahead, and Bartlin scouting around on his bee. Bahuman. and Alek find themselves nearest the front of the group. Yarin and Kytheria are somewhere in the center of the party, and Seeks The Darkness is at the rear.

It honestly isn't too bad of a hike, and after a couple of hours you pause to pass a flask of melon-juice around and finish off the supply of bacon-stuffed honeyrolls someone swiped from the dining hall. Then continuing on, you reach the eastern edge of a copse of woods nearest the Wastecomb Hills. Arvin picks his way along carefully, and Bartlin zooms back and forth along the length of the group, keeping an eye out for known local dangers such as other giant bees (known to be on the island, at least) carnivorous plants, or giant spiders.

You have reached square J5. SEE OVERLAND MAP.

OOC: Mutual opposed spot checks. Arvin and Bartlin (and the bee) can roll. Arvin gets a circumstance bonus for being in the wild. Bartlin gets one for being up in the air. (The bee doesnt get this one because he's always in the air). The monsters get one for being in a tree.

Arvin: +8 (+2 Circumstance): 15
Bartlin +2 (+2 Circumstance): 17
Morninglight(the bee) +7: 19

unidentified gorilla-monsters: +7 (+2 circumstance): 23.

The monsters spotted your party before you spotted them!

At a distance, a pair of massively muscled orangutanlike creatures wearing heavy iron and bronze armbands are lurking in a tree. One of them nudges the other and points, and both suddenly shift colors to a dark green mottled camoflage and take up ambush positions.

OOC: You'll all get a second spot check vs their hide to act during the surprise round.

The two Gorilla-things hide, sliding into the leafy shadows. Hide DC: 22

Arvin +2: 18
Bartlin +2: 21 (so close!)
Morninglight +7: 21 (so close!)
Bahuman +4: 16
Alek +1: 4
Kytheria +4: 5
Yarin +7:11
Seeker +5: 19

Everyone missed their spot check! See next post!

First- surprise round. You are travelling along through the forest- fairly cautios, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

Unfortunately, trouble finds you! As Bartlin (mounted) and Yarin move past a certain area of the jungle, there is a sudden green blur as two leaping gorilla-like shapes launch themselves out of the trees at them with terrific force.

"GRaaaah!" (slam!)

Vs. Arvin 16
Vs. Bartlin (mounted): 15

(You are both flatfooted, losing shield and dex bonus) thats a hit on Bartlin for 6 damage. The Gorilla-thing that lands near Arvin is thrown-off though, and misses with it's claw attack. The monsters snarl demonically, and their eyes burn with a smoldering green glow.

They are squaring off at you at once.

One of them speaks- an oddd.. strangely cultured and evilly intelligent voice that sounds about two octaves lower than it should, and hollow as if it were coming from somewhere far away.

"Brother, I believe these students are trespassing".

"Could it be? In my day students knew better than to break the rules so blatantly."

They chuckle together. "Perhaps we'll become instructors, brother.."

"and for our first lesson?"

They laugh again.. you get a distinctly unnatural vibe from them.

Initiative is rolled! (Morninglight will act on Bartlin's init)

Yarin +3 : 20
Arvin +7 : 16 (higher dex)
Bahuman +1 : 16
Gorilla-things +4 : 13
Bartlin +3 : 10
Alek +4: 9
Seeker +0: 7
Kytheria +2 : 3

We're in full rounds. Yarin is first to act!

OOC: I noticed some of you haven't posted character sheets to the Rogues Gallery thread. Can you help me do this? I still need Alek, Bahuman and I think Yarin...It will help me speed things along!

Bartlin: Queens Knight 6

Bartlin's back still stinging from the raking swings Morninglight around and charges."I wouldn't gloat like that. I'm no mear student. I am Bartlin Appleblossom A Queen's Knight and your personal slayer."

ooc: Attack with my +1 Lance. Forgot to mention I'm attacking T1

(OOC: still waiting for the rest of the players to turn in actions, but I'll just have a bit of dialogue fun with Bartlin. )

"A queen's knight?"

"Brother, could it be?"

"Why yes, we have --as they say.. fallen on a bit of luck"

"Look now, Queen's Knight. Holy Smidgin. Look upon the brothers of **Thrugroshkt Bar-Lgura**"

They then speak in an unsettling unison, and their hair seems to catch flame with green wisps of unholy fire. Their eyes brun from green to red to white.. shifting and flickering with abyssal energies. Curved horns covered with green and black arcane symbols seem to grow spontaneously, twisting out of their heads.

"Look upon the leaping sons of the Endless Abyss."

"We'll make a special prize out of you, oh paladin."

A pair of flaming red pentagrams suddenly seem to alight in the area where they stand. Bartlin now has the full attention of both demons.

OOC: Bartlin is still mounted and armed and everything, but if you look at the map, he is adjacent to the closest demon. He can't exactly charge... would you like to revise your action?

** the name section here is spoken in perfect Abyssal, in case anyone understands that.

OOC: Did I say "Queen's Knight? No No No... I'm a um.. Tree blight. Yeah I'm tree blight."

Bahuman growls in anger. He moves to J8, unleashes his psychic focus on his weapon, and goes to strike the Gorilla-things. "Foul things!"

Strike: +12/3d6+9+2d6/x3

Yarin says quietly "Hope this works better than last time" and draws his dagger and flings it at the nearest demon-gorilla.

OOC: Draw dagger and throw it at the nearest thing. I forgot to post to the rogues gallery, I'll try and get that done.

Arvin remains motionless and draws his shortswords.

"Why is it these butt-uglies always want to jibber-jabber before we stomp them?"

Arvin focuses on the gorlla-beast in front of him and brings his blades to bear.

OOC: Arvin attacks T2

Alek, githyanki warmage

((My apologies for my absense, caught abit of the flu, hopefully out of it now though))

*Alek glares at the menacing demons while he makes a tactical sidestep, sounding out the eldritch syllables to appropriately scour the new threat*

"Arvin, I do believe that is the smartest thing you've ever said." *Alek turns in midstep, calling out to Kytheria* "Kyth, you have the beasts titles, and they're sure as Sigil not from our cozy little island, a magic circle against evil should be enough to keep them out of our hair, if you have such prepared?"

*Alek finishes his spell with a devilish grin, sending off a jittering orb of electricity for the nearest demon* "and if not, there's alwasy the direct approach"

((Alek moves to F6, firing off a lesser orb of electricity onto the Bal-Lgura in square L6, which does 3d6+3, assuming I can hit it with a +6 ranged touch attack.))

(Background Info for Alek: Bar-Lgura are a species of mid to low-level "leaping demons" that are sometimes summoned by arcane casters with ties to the Tanar'ri. They are fairly savage and dangerous fighters- accomplished leapers, and have a few demonic tricks up their sleeves, such as the ability to teleport.)

(OOC: They date back to Lost Caverns of Tsjocanth-S4.)