Caerth comes to, helped to his feet by his companions. He rubs his wounds carefully; they have stopped bleeding but are not healed yet. The half-orc shrugs, not fearing scars or visible wounds as long as his body works as it should. He will look for curative plants and fungi later.
"Purifying these lands only works for a few days, if not less," he answers grimly. "The source of the blight must be removed if nature is to stand a chance at all."
Aureus looks out around the oasis as far as her darkvision and light emanating from Cruel Justice allows. The oasis, and the land around it, is awful in ways she hasn't seen since being on her home world.
"Many parts of Maran are cursed like this land. In so many places, undead run rampant and the land is cursed by eons of unchecked death and destruction," she sighs shaking her head.
"I had hoped... that I'd seen the last of such blight, but it seems evil festers in many places on this world too."
"Death and destruction can be widespread on this world... on any world," Qi advises. Qi
"It is how you face it that matters."
The hutaakan nods.
JustinCase said:
Then, with a smile, the druid takes a handful of seeds from his backpack and sprinkles them over and between the corpses of dire wolves. Next, he produces a large, strange-looking mushroom and with a few muttered Sylvan words, waves it over the seeds, dew drops raining from the spongy fungus and moisturizing the potential plants. Lastly, Caerth takes a large twig of wood and waves it over the just-watered area, speeding up the growth of the small plants and flowers.
"For now, these will grow and bring some life. And hopefully, prevent those unnatural things from rising once more."
Then without warning, Caerth transforms into a large owl, similar to his companion Screech but much larger, and flies up to watch whether any other threat is near.
Aureus watches as new growth takes root through the fallen bodies of the destroyed undead creatures. The plants that grow are a pale green and the flowers that sprout are white or yellow in color. Even in the pale light from Cruel Justice, it is easy to see that Caerth's magic makes a noticeable difference. Hopefully, the land will blossom over the coming weeks and some healing, at least, can begin.
Quinn nods his approval.
"Well done, my friend."
He and the others watch as Caerth shifts into a dire owl and takes to the air. The half-orc druid finds that the land is mainly rocky desert and scattered low hills. In a few places the hills rise into low peaks that are more like foothills than true mountains. As Caerth wings southwest towards the taller hills in the distance, he finds a wide valley that is filled with desert cacti. Beyond that he can see the more substantial hills rising into night sky with jutting crags and what looks like a dead forest spread out among higher peaks and desolate hills. To the west and north are wide vistas of sandy desert with shifting dunes.
He feels a sense of dread from the dying forest, even high above the land. He sees and senses a shimmering barrier of what feels like pure evil. Not wanting to get any closer, he wings back to the group while continuing to look for signs of danger. Caerth notes several other oases, but he can't tell if the oases are inhabited. He does see a small ruin right at the outskirts of the valley of cacti. It looks old but might still be intact. Caerth doesn't see anything out in the wilds that would pose a danger. He does see some animals but nothing that seems dangerous. However, he knows there could be creatures hiding the valley of cacti. The possibility of hidden deadly plants.
OOC: New map will be posted on the OOC thread after I have lunch.
"If we're gonna rest here, I can cure more wounds." says Maur after Caerth finishes his ritual.
"I cannot maximize the healing like in that room at the inn, but I have full complement of spells, so..." he shrugs "...I can probably keep you healthy even if the rest here doesn't help. I would send Zelekhut to scout around and kill any other undead he finds. With its flying it can cover good area. And I can still prepare to call another. I cannot do it too often, the opening of the gate costs me some life. But I think it is warranted in this case. If we want to rest safely. What say you?"
"I must rest," Quinn says matter-of-factly.
"I'm okay to rest here now," Aureus nods while stifling a yawn.
"Cearth's magic gives me some solace. A tent would be nice, however."
"It wouldn't be the first time we've slept under the stars, Aureus.
"True."
Neurotic said:
Looking around estimating the health of everyone
"We can go on, I guess, at least a bit closer to Eike so I can send that Zelekhut directly to him, but it may prevent any further resting once Eike is alerted. But we can rest closer to our goal. And I will prepare remove paralysis, just in case. Two."
Aureus looked read to find a spot to lie down and sleep, but she pauses to wait until the group comes to a final decision. Quinn, however, goes to where he dropped his haversack, when the fight began, and begins to pull out his bedroll.
"Unless Caerth sees something from up there," the gladiator-knight says while glancing into the night's sky.
"I say we stay here. away from the fallen ghouls and sleep until dawn."
"Maur, I'd say gate in the Zelekhut and have it search for Eike while we rest," Phar replies.
JustinCase said:
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OOC:
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Alright, there's a few things I want Caerth to do:
Cast Create Water (level 0)
Cast Plant Growth (level 3) - the spell is not completely clear on whether it can do what I want it to, but it seems like the most logical choice
Wild Shape into a Giant Owl (if that is impossible because it's technically not an Animal but a Magical Beast, then a regular Owl is fine)
The Wild Shape is for two reasons: One, to scout (Spot check: 17). Two, to regain some hitpoints (11hp, as a good night's sleep), which happens each time I transform.
If any of these don't work (or take too much time), let me know and I can skip some.
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OOC:
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I'm fine with it. Enrichment, right?
However, you can have Caerth wildshape into a dire owl instead.
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I have a tournament tonight, so I'll do it tomorrow after work, I promise.