[KAUAI]The Rod of Seven Parts: Of Hexes and Gems

[Voadam]

Voadam bends down and shakes Chev gently, whispering "Shh! There is something big coming. Get your shield and weapons ready." Voadam's eyes remain trained on the tunnel.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

When Maelicent builds his bonfire, a few of the brambles and saplings that had prior to been skulking close shift backward away from the goblin and his licking flames. The forest becomes somber and shadows grow deeper while the wood ringing Maelicent's small clearing becomes thicker with malevolent life. Though the trees yield a respectful distance from the flickering bonfire built by Maelicent, the tallest of them drape their branches in a demi-canopy and lean in to closet the goblin and his campfire. Watching and waiting, the forest is still, the air thick and close.

Excellent touch with the fire arrows. It'll work. I'll wait to see what you do with them.

 

[Ambrus]

Maelicent didn't relish the prospect of having to fight an entire enchanted forest, but the trees baring his path seemed intent on either leading him into another death-trap or pushing him into a confrontation. The proud Gudwulf warrior didn't intend to disappoint them. First piling together a small collection of stones, the goblin finishes cutting the cloth sack into a long thin strips with the aid of his dagger. Maelicent then proceeds to wrap and tie several fabric strips ends together around a stone weight, repeating the process until he's produced ten such missiles*.

Collecting his newly created weapons, the Gudwulf warrior stands and turns in a circle to address the malevolent forest arranged around him. "I been livin here fer months an I was thinkin we had an understandin. But now ya wanna be startin somethin. Aright. Y'all can get the Hells outta my way or ya can all burn ta tha ground. Yer call ya bastards." The defiant Gudwulf warrior waits to see if the trees will respond to his challenge or not.

*It might be hard to picture what Mael is making; each fist sized-stone is intended to have three long trailing strips of cloth tied to it. Essentially these are designed to be swung around like a sling and then released into the air so that the strands trail behind the stone as it arcs through the air. Hope that's clear to you.

 

[Voadam]

In quiet voice that is still firm with command Voadam says "Gamad, help Brakkus with his armor. I've still got magic I'm holding for our guest but we'll have to get up close and poleaxe the beastie after I use it.."

 

[Strahd_Von_Zarovich]

Gamad

Gamad goes to Brakkus but is clearly puzzled about what can he do to help the human. It is true, dwarf knows armor, but this one hasn't got the slightest idea how to help the big fighter.
Hmmm… how can I help you Brakkus?
Gamad snorts to the tall human as he keep his eyes to the back of the cave, the lantern, still hanging in the air, illuminates the area, hopping to catch a glimpse of the crawling creature

 

[SlagMortar]

Brakkus says quietly, "Well, as to that, I suppose ... Hold this strap. Now, hand me this here. Bah, I wanted a chained shirt, but 'No', my father says, 'you need to look like a poor warrior.'"

OOC:
Brakkus does his best with Gamad's help to get into his armor in 5 rounds.

 

[Mista Collins]

Waking up to see Voadam above him, Chev rolls over to grab his shield and battleaxe. seeing Brakkus donning his armor, Chev looks to his and decides he probably doesn't have time if Gamad needs to help Brakkus into his. "Where is it coming from?" Chev asks.

Once Voadam points him to the noise, Chev turns and gets in between where it is coming from and the rest of the party.

 

[Voadam]

Voadam points down the tunnel and strains to hear the beast again.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Chev moves to stand where he can interpose himself between his companions and whatever is coming up the tunnel. As soon as Chev gets a good look down the tunnel, now dimly lit by the lantern being magically held aloft by Gamad, he spots a shadow unlike the others at play on the rock walls of the downward-canting tunnel. Hearing no sound at all, Chev peers intently at the shadow.

[sblock=Chev]That is an animated shadow of some sort coming at you from down the tunnel. It is incorporeal but to Chev's eye does not look undead. The shadow sports a pair of wings. Twice while Chev is standing there having a look, the shadow seems to vanish from sight but appears again in a more forward position than when it momentarily disappeared. Feel free to make use of everything the MM, PHB, or DMG has to offer on the subject of incorporeality for the purpose of this encounter. After Chev has his look, the shadow is 40 feet away. The light from the lantern extends 60 feet total.[/sblock]

[sblock=Gamad]Mage hand requires concentration to maintain. For Gamad to help Brakkus put on armor while maintaining his mage hand spell, I set a Concentration DC of 10 and rolled a natural 19. In this particular instance, if Gamad had missed his check, all that would've happened was that the lantern would settle on the floor of the cavern.[/sblock]

Out of the shadows comes a queer hissing speech that echoes up the length of the steep passageways.

[sblock=Voadam]The shadow hisses in Abyssal,

"Garn and gone, garn too long;
to drink, to taste, to gnaw on bone.
Miska one, kakku'u two,
all the yarns lead to you."[/sblock]

Initiative:
Chev 16
Gamad 14
Voadam 13
Creature 12
Brakkus 12

 

[Mista Collins]

With a quiet voice, Chev alerts the others. "The shadow is moving oddly over there. I've never seen anything like it, but I've heard of things like this described. It appears incorporeal, which means only attacks from a magical source will have a chance of inflicting damage if things get dicey."

Focusing on the holy symbol of Narn that hangs from his neck, Chev readies himself to call upon the guidance of Narn in case a battle starts with this unnatural shadow.

"Be prepared in case it comes to that."

[sblock=OOC]Chev readies to cast Magic Weapon if the shadow moves closer in a threatening manor.[/sblock]