A Clash of Earth and Sea (El Jefe Judging) [See Part II]

[Steve Jung]

Charlarn of Phyrah: Male human cleric 3/ranger 1

"Lots of dangerous things in these woods, though we don't see them very often, thankfully. There are water ogres that sometimes hunt up on land, and some sort of nasty thing that hunts with them but is even worse -- more violent and almost impossible to kill. The stonebird men rarely fly this far from their mountains, but when one does come, we have to be especially on our toes, since they fly right over the walls. A long time ago we had some trouble with some ghouls, but nothing much since we got the local cemetary consecrated. I remember some trouble with Griffins, too, but they generally leave us alone unless the huntings gone real sour. A griffin would rather eat a deer than one of us, anyway."

Charlarn whistles. "That's a lot of monsters you have around here. How often do those water ogres come up?"

 

[Dalamar]

Zack lets the more talkative members of their troupe to do the talking. When it becomes apparent that they'll have trouble contacting the merfolk his brow furrows, however.

 

[Patlin]

One roll, read as much as your skill allows:

Knowledge (Nature) DC 12: [sblock]Aquatic trolls, called Scrag, are very difficult to kill and exceptionally violent. It's not unheard of for Ogres and Trolls to hunt together, so Merrow and Scrag may as well.[/sblock]

Knowledge (Nature) DC 16: [sblock]Scrag are amphibious, but are more at home in the water than on land. Like normal trolls, fire and acid are harmfull to them. They shrug off hurts of other types fairly quickly.[/sblock]

Knowledge (Nature) DC 20: [sblock]Scraggs only regenerate if in water. It's much easier to kill them if they can be tricked into coming up on land. For this reason, they rarely do so.[/sblock]

"The ogres seem to come up on land every several months or so. We try to avoid them when they do. They've never been interested enough in us to seriously attack our walls."

 

[Patlin]

"The stonebird men live in the mountains, but fly down from there to hunt. They're really our worst problem -- they are sadistic creatures, and we've seen what they do to a deer when they catch one. Wouldn't want any of mine to encounter them close on."

 

[Manzanita]

Iggy strokes the sparse whiskers on his chin. "I think we're agreed that as we have no way of safely descending under the water, and no way of contacting the merfolk, our best option is to take action on land. You folks have been very hospitable, these creatures are clearly evil, and the merfolk did mention trouble with merrow. Would you be interested in putting us up for a few days if we were to use your enclave as our base? Do you have a suggestion as to how we could find these monsters who menace this area?"

 

[Patlin]

"We'd be more than happy to put you up, especially if you can make the area a bit safer for us all."

The party is given general directions to the lair of the "stonebird men."

"Mind you, they'll probably attack you if you get anywhere close, so I don't suppose the details matter much. While you're gone, I'll look through my father's old things. Maybe he left some notes or some such that might be of help."

 

[Manzanita]

"OK. One last question. Are these 'stonebird men' intelligent and evil? Or are they simply preditors who eat whatever they find?"

To the others. "Are we set, gentlemen and Sara? I don't want to just sit around waiting for the mermen or the merrow to show up. So eliminating the stonebirdmen seems like the best plan."

OOC: Revised spell list:
detect magic, daze, light, message, ghost sound, mage armor, color spray, True Strike, magic missile, summon monster I, invisibility, detect thoughts, scorching ray

 

[Patlin]

"Oh, they're intelligent and extremely malicious. Very dangerous creatures. Watch your back!"

 

[Steve Jung]

Charlarn of Phyrah: Male human cleric 3/ranger 1

To the others. "Are we set, gentlemen and Sara? I don't want to just sit around waiting for the mermen or the merrow to show up. So eliminating the stonebirdmen seems like the best plan."

"I agree. The road calls to me. Danger must be searched out and uprooted."

Cleric Spells Prepared (4/3+1/2+1: save DC 13 + level):
0-detect magic, guidance, light, mending;
1-bless, detect evil, magic weapon, sanctuary*;
2-bull's strength, shield other*, status.
*Domain spell.

 

[Patlin]

After additional conversation, the party is provided with comfortable rooms in which to stay, and everyone gets a good nights rest. Iggy memorizes the spells he has listed above, and the group heads off towards the mountain lair of the "stonebird men."

You get the feeling that you are close to their lair, and you may encounter these creatures at any moment.