The Kalarian Precipice - Chapter Six

[Jeovanna]

Jeovanna can sympathize with the fox a bit there; the speed with which magic has become their go-to solution is startling to her, as well. This use of it, at least, is little more than a bit of expedited digging... the magic to do the mundane, and much more quickly.

The barbarian licked her teeth at the splash. "Too big to be a fish," she muttered to Dain. Well... too big to be a normal fish. There were whoppers in the lakes and rivers of course- not that she ever did much fishing- but they were wily and hard to catch. And unlikely to breach the surface for bugs. There were also water monitors here or there. Dangerous to a small individual maybe, but unlikely to approach a large group.

This was the optimistic overview, though. Best case scenario.

If Metea tried to rush ahead to the river, well, there was no going for it today- she'd catch the tiefling by one horn and pull the woman back around behind her!

<Nature check= 6>

 

[Metea]

Mm, the wilds were certainly providing! So far, at least. Metea carefully plucks a leaf from the Yarramberry bush and tucks it into her book like a bookmark- but actually, it is just so she can sketch the leaf later. Even esoteric herbalism knowledge is useful knowledge. Metea is not generally too good at plants, so keeping a sketch of them and their effects in her book is useful knowledge, even if not secret. Still, she remembered reading something about preparing them a certain way...

<d100=42>

Stuff splashed and rustled in nature. Metea had apparently not learned paranoia in that regard yet. "Do we want to cross the river? I can take care of that, too," Metea began, but before she could cast something to freeze the water across the river for them, Jeovanna had grabbed her by one horn and dragged her back and away.

"Were you a nun in a prior life, Jeovanna?" Metea asked sulkily. She was worse than the teachers in the church, that was for certain!

 

[daindarkspring]

Dain's head jerks to his left as he sees what could be scales flashing in the sun. He rips his sword free of its scabbard with a strong motion and unslings his shield from his back to grip in his left hand.

It isn't that he's paranoid. Not after what happened to them in the old mine. No, it's healthy self-preservation that drives his actions.

"Jeovanna, on my right with eyes up the river." His voice is calm, but quick. He turns his head briefly to address Carthum and the others behind him. "Carthum: keep the others in the rear and eyes out for serpents in the grass." They could be dealing with a big snake, or they could be dealing with something far more terrible.

Or it could be nothing.

But I'll be a devil's arse if I'm not ready for the worst...

Dain kicked a stone, or a stick, or whatever was available, in the direction of the scales in the bush. "Out with you." He grumbled.

 

[Otiroth]

Hm. Did they really want to cross the river at this point? "If we can get past the thorns, it may be best to wait until the river is a bit... shallower?" Or perhaps, even where they could reach a bridge. This wasn't Otiroth being fussy about his clothes- obviously he could dry those off with some prestidigitation- but more that if they did take a tumble into the river and there was something unpleasant there, they'd have a hard time fishing their comrade out.

That was not to say he had forgotten about the berries, though- he had just gathered as much as was reasonable to gather for now. They might find more later.

<d100=100 >

But something was moving, in the brush. Closer than they might have liked, it seemed. Otiroth flicked his fingers forward, creating little dancing lights that skittered out over the top of the thorns and the grass. Little fireflies, perhaps? If it was a simple insect-chomper, perhaps they could draw it out.

<Deception check=6>

 

[Carthum One-Tusk]

Carthum nodded- but his shield was never far from his allies! He'd take up a defensive position, in case anything thought to sweep in from the reeds and encircle them.

They, at least, had a bit of a high ground!

 

[97mg]

Maybe these Yarramberries will be useful, Metea might consider, remembering that an over indulgence of their sweetness is rumoured to open a mind… to the powers of suggestion. An enchantment straight from nature herself. A favorite among seducers and negotiators alike.

Fluttering and dancing lights flicker throughout the suspect patch of thorny bush. Loose river pebbles and an old stick fly in, off the tip of a ranger’s boot as he kicks. All this, as well as the magical disturbance of earth, may have caused an aggravation.

Stood upon this narrow path, ahead some ten yards or so lies the twisting waterway. She is wide yet not so deep it seems, numerous rocks protruding above clear liquid making a journey far to the west and eventually out to sea. The banks are littered with small rounded stones and coarse sand, a mix of white, yellow and black.

Downstream there is another splash, but it is hardly the first thing on your minds, as a scaled beast whips out of the bushes, hissing and ready to strike! It is no tiny viper, or carpet snake, the ranger and barbarian might realise. Dusty scales of green and brown, a patch of yellow beneath the chin. This is none other than a Murras snake! Fiercely protective of young, territorial, aggressive and loaded with a poisonous bite.

<Lets roll initiative. Two characters can enter melee with it at a time. Disadvantage for range weapons firing into melee. For the pacifists in the group, you have the option of using an action on your turn, to jump over it and flee in the river’s direction in you like, we’ll make it a dex check DC12 to do so.

Murras Snake Init = 21.>

 

[daindarkspring]

Normally, if Dain had encountered the snake on his own, he would have simply ran from it and avoided a confrontation. This would have been both out of respect for its own right-to-life and not wanting to be bitten.

But now, with others behind him and all of them in danger, he decided he had little choice but to slay it and hope the power behind such things forgave him the trespass. It was a close thing, but Dain had the element of surprise on the creature and he used it to his advantage.

"It's a Murras snake! Get clear of it!"

From behind his shield, Dain slid forward and attacked. After his first strike, he followed up with another in quick succession, his sword sliding through the air with crisp swings.

<To hit: 20. Damage: 11>
<Dread Ambusher attack. To hit: 17. Damage: 18>

 

[Jeovanna]

Well, they hadn't wanted to eat field rations for the night, had they? Murras snake flesh was edible, wasn't it?

Jeovanna didn't actually know- she had never tried to fight one before. Usually she avoided them and they avoided her.

Still, Otiroth's investigation into every plant they encountered had made Jeovanna a bit curious as well, and she certainly didn't want to be eaten herself. She'd swing her greatsword in a vicious downward-swipe towards the snake's venomous mouth.

<Initiative=22>
<16 to hit, 14 damage>

 

[97mg]

The big ol’ snake was fast, it's fangs drawn and head flying into view for a grab at Dain’s ankles. Chop, slash, slish! Not quick enough. The alertness and instinct of the ranger and barbarian terminated the threat in a second. The scaled body continued to writhe from side to side, whilst the head now detached, became still. The snake’s jaw closed, one beady eye looking up to them as it clouded over and life drifted away.

“Well, that's one way to do it,” Magaw whispers quietly. “I quite like snakes actually...” Serpents and skulls, it seems the bodyless mage doesn’t mind the cliche.

A good thing they had removed this threat quickly. At two yards long and thick as a dwarven thigh, she would have been well and truly loaded with venom!

Downstream, another violent splash snaps your attention away from the murderous scene at your feet. A groan bellows out from down the way, and then another, followed by a low competitive snarl and the sounds of confrontational a slap.

Throaty deep rumbles. The ranger has heard such things before. Streams and rivers like this can bring easy meals to predators, especially the four-legged and powerful varieties. For a closer look though, it might be wise to keep things quiet.

<Feel free to stealth check if approaching river. Nature check to identify downstream animals based on sound only.>

 

[Metea]

"Hey, I like snakes too- but I also have flesh I enjoy having not-poisoned," Metea replied.

Dain and Jeovanna were in their element here, it seemed. And the river was becoming a hot-bed of activity, "is it mating season or something? Or just feeding time?"

The tiefling turned her attention to the river above, and would gesture towards it. Metea was trying to make an ice bridge of a sort- she could only affect so much water at once, but it'd cause less disruption to the river than damming it with 'mold earth'. Ice melted, after all. In the heat, it melted especially quickly!

<Spellcasting: shape water, cantrip>