Sarloc's Heir [closed]

It is 713DR, the Year of the Firedrake, and what will become known as the Weeping War rages on in Cormyr, the Dalelands, and the Dragon Coast. Humans and high elves fight what appears to be a losing battle against the drow and tiefling armies of Iyachtu Xvim and his fiendish lieutenants.

Having fought and adventured in the Dragon Coast for the better part of the past two years, your party has journeyed south through the Shining Plains toward Nimpeth in the Vilhon Reach for some much needed rest and relaxation. Nimpeth, known for its peerless vineyards and soothing mineral baths, still lies several days’ journey away, however, and night is falling.

Unfortunately, the “shortcut” you took earlier today through the Wetwoods turned out to be anything but. You face an irritating choice – journey on through the night on an unfamiliar road in an unfamiliar land, or camp by the side of the road and hope to arrive in the next village along the road tomorrow in time for a late lunch. The climate of the Reach is temperate, and at this time of the year the nights are balmy, but the moon is new so Selûne will not light your way this night.


OOC: The party (as of 07/17/05) currently includes:

Fizahn, gnome mercenary adventurer/rogue
Thokk, dwarf warrior out for vengeance
Elthan Moonshade II, clone of the original Elthan
Taern Torminson, female wild elf barbarian*
Linda the White, circle mage
Graevic, scion of Ebonhammer
Ssathiya, lizardkin druid

The OOC thread is here.

Philodus:

"This is as good a place as anywhere else. We might as well set up camp here."

*clears a small patch of ground, makes a circle of stones, and starts gathering together fallen sticks and leaves for a fire* (Survival check)

Fizahn

"I agree."

*Slides off his pony and begins unpacking his tent.*

"Ach, you pansies. We should keep going through the night and we are that much closer to our goal. If we must, Ill stand first guard."

*Sits down, and Takes out cookkit*

"any of you, see if you can catch any animals. Im hungry"

Pansies

Fizahn:

*Stands at his towering (Yeah, right) height of 3' 3"; in front of the dwarf.*

"Who're you calling a pansy? We happen to have lots of time on our hands. Making sure we get enough rest isn't pansyish. And I'll take first watch, you can take second."

Why are all the dwarves in the world so rude?

"If you saw the life of your beloved sucked dry right before your eyes, you would be too. Every minute spent resting is a minute wasted. Im not goint to waste my time. I have somethign do to, so I will take first watch"

Elthan:

*Gazes at the horizon*

"I would have much more appreciated the comfort of a inn bed, but I supposed we do need rest."

*Unmounts his horse and puts his backpack on the ground*

"If you would prefer, dwarf, we could make this night a short one and leave early tomorrow morning, if the others agree."

*Takes the saddle and bags off his horse and starts petting him*

I don't have much left to feed you, I hope we get to a town soon.

Ephiliastokles chuckled, leaning back in his cart while his horse pulled it, moving at a slow trot. "I'm not tired," he said flatly. "But I suppose I haven't been doing anything tiring all day."

He pulled back easily on the reins, indicating that his horse should stop, and the cart followed suit. His two dogs, evidently quite relieved by the stop, both immediately hopped into the wagon and layed down. Ephiliastokles chuckled at this, and layed down his ranseur beside the animals, taking a moment to pet both quickly, before taking out his bedroll and laying it out on the ground.

"So this is where we're stopping, eh?" he said, stroking his small goatee. "Could've chosen a place with nicer scenery. Oh, well, beggars can't be choosers."

At this, Ephiliastokles placed his backpack in his cart, and sat down on the bedroll. Early to bed and early to rise made a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Fizahn

"You were just a tad too rude, dwarf, and don't think you are the only one who has lost loved ones."

I wonder if the dwarf can get his past out of his head long enough to live in the present....

"You can take first watch then."

Philodus indicates a nearby stream that can provide fresh water for the party and the group's three horses and two ponies.

The location he has chosen as a campsite is a stand of mangroves with a central depression that appears to be highly defensible. He has no trouble at all collecting enough wood and tinder to get a fire started quickly.

Philodus sets up his tent as the rest of the group unfolds their bedrolls. Thokk wonders if anyone will share their trail rations with him.

The stars shine brightly once the sun has set. All is quiet as Thokk takes the first watch...



OOC: Philodus' survival check= 27! [18 + 9]

Please work out among you who will be on watch when. Each person on watch should send me ([email protected]) a Spot check and a Listen check via the Online Dice Roller.

Please indicate if you are doing anything unexpected, like sleeping in your armor or casting any spells. Also, Ephiliastokles, let me know what your two dogs will be doing.

Thokk

"What has happened has happened. Ill wake you at midnight."

Elthan:

*As he eats a trail ration around the fire*

"We could cut this night short and leave early in the morning. We are closing on the next town and we can take more time to rest there."

*Drinks some water from his recently filled water skin*

"Max, Bruno," Ephiliastokles called, adding a whistle. "You help the watchmen watch. Sorry, boys, but it's either you or me, and I'll let you guys catch some extra winks in the back of the wagon tomorrow if you behave."

The dogs both yawned, then reluctantly hopped out of the wagon. Ephiliastokles layed himself down on the bedroll, within easy reach of his wagon if he needed to get up and ride away at some point in the night. The two animals stayed nervous, yet alert, at their master's side.

As long as they keep lookout, I guess they can stay here.

Philodus:

"I'll take the third watch, I guess. 'Night, all."

*crawls into tent*

(After a few minutes, a careful listener can hear soft snoring and occasional muttered words coming from the enclosure.)

Fizahn:

"Very well, second watch it is, good luck watching sir dwarf."

*Fizahn crawls into his tent and you can hear grumbling about size differences between the tents.*

Elthan:

*Takes his bedroll off his backpack and unrolls it near the fire.*

"If you see or hear anything, wake me up Sir Thokk."

*Takes his crossbow, quiver and shortspear and puts them beside his bedroll. He then takes off his cloak and puts it on his weapons.*

"If anyone cannot take their whatch for any reason, I'll replace them. Let's hope we don't get any unwanted visitors tonight, I would much appreciate the sleep."

*He then quickly falls into a slumber*

OOC: My daggers are with my backpack, witch is with my saddle, and saddalebags in a pile not far from my horse. The horse in question is tied to a tree. I'm still wearing my bracers. My quiver contains 10 bolts, there rest are in the backpack. The crossbow is not loaded.

The night passes uneventfully, as have most of the past nights here in the Shining Plains.

Thokk, having had nothing to eat tonight, is grouchier than usual when he awakens Fizahn. He reports having neither seen nor heard anything unusual.

Fizahn settles into position, noting that Philodus has chosen an excellent location for tonight's camp. Hours pass uneventfully. Fizahn's eyelids start to droop, and he is just wondering whether it is too early to awaken Philodus or not, when he hears a faint crackle in the dark.

Fizahn almost convinces himself that it was just his imagination, but now that he is more awake, he realizes that the horses and ponies are restless, snorting and stamping their hooves. Casting a glance back towards Ephiliastokles' wagon, Fizahn sees that both dogs are on their feet, facing towards the horses and sniffing the air, their ears erect.


OOC: Please identify who you are when you submit an online roll.

Thokk's (?) Spot check: 15
Thokk's (?) Listen check: 1 (stomach grumbling too loudly?)
Fizahn's Spot check: 9
Fizahn's Listen check: 20 (!)

Fizahn:

*Fizahn draws his rapier and goes to wake the others. He then grabs his everburning torch from his backpack and strains his eyes into the darkness.*

OOC: Fizahn's kinda paranoid, so he slept in his armor because it's light and doesn't get you any penalties. He buckled his rapier on after Thokk woke him.

"SNOORE"

"Rubling Stomach"

OOC: Might be a good idea to wake us soon as you are the only character awake right now

The songs of birds are carried along on a soft breeze. It's a beautiful morning, and dew still sparkles on the undergrowth surrounding the forest path. The leaves have just just unfolded on the trees above, forming a living mosaic that filters the light of the sun into a green glow.

Now the sudden wind carries a chill, and clouds race to cover the sky. Branches shake and twist, seeming to form strange and terrible patterns as they move. 'Can you see them?' the wind whispers. 'Can you see the hidden signs?" Thunder shudders through the air, and countless small bodies fall from above: dead birds.

*Philodus stirs fitfully in his sleep*

Fizahn is moving to wake his companions when Ephiliastokles' dogs growl and start barking frantically at the horses. His friends begin to stir.

Fizahn peers into the darkness, holding up his torch. At the edge of the illumination, he can see the horses and his ponies shifting anxiously, the whites of their eyes showing. There is no obvious reason for their skittishness.

Suddenly, there is an audible "crunch" as one of the ponies is slammed to the ground in a spray of dirt and blood. Thokk's warhorse rears up, screaming, its front hooves flailing. Elthan's horse also rears up on its hind legs, dancing away from the fallen pony. Ephiliastokles' horse and Fizahn's other pony break their traces and run off into the night.

The sleeping members of the party are jolted awake by the unearthly cries of the panicked horses, the barking of the dogs, and Fizahn's shouting.



OOC: In this surprise round, only Fizahn can act. All characters are now awake however. Everyone please submit initiative rolls for the next round, and let me know what actions you would like to take.

[Fizahn's Spot check opposed by a Hide check of 19]



Fizahn is in the center of the camp, about 60 feet from the horses, which were tied to trees at the edge of the grove, away from the road. (The campfire has more or less died down by this time.)

His everlasting torch illuminates 20' clearly and 40' dimly, but as a gnome, he can see better in low light than humans can. He can see the commotion 60' away, but can not make out what is attacking the animals.

He has one standard action in the surprise round. The other party members are as close to the horses as he is, but they are surprised/flatfooted this round.

Fizahn:

*Fizahn strains his eyes into the darkness around the commotion and points his rapier in that direction, obviously waiting for the monster*

OOC: I ready an attack if the monster charges and comes within my striking distance.

Initiative for Round 1

Thokk: 25 (20 + 5)
Philodus: 19 (18 + 1)
unknown creature: 17
Elthan: 16 (15 + 1)
Fizahn: 13 (10 + 3)
Ephiliastokles: 6 (4 + 2)


Warily, Fizahn levels his rapier, but before he can shout out any words of caution, he sees that Thokk has launched himself out of his bedroll, snatched up his bastard sword and shield, and is already (some might say rashly) sprinting towards the horses.

Awakened by all of the noise, Philodus is groggy (and not just a little bit freaked out by his nightmare), but he has the presence of mind to immediately grab his bullseye lantern. With merely a word, he summons a point of brilliant light inside the lantern. Poking his head and arms outside his tent, he focuses the beam of light from his lantern toward the commotion. There is a moment during which Thokk's small, but rapidly pumping, legs are highlighted in the beam, then it falls on the horses. The two war horses, still tied to some trees, are frantically trying to get away from a dark fog that threatens to surround them. Even the powerful beam of light from Philodus' lantern doesn't seem to be able to penetrate the mist.

Meanwhile, Elthan whips his cloak off of his weapons, which he had left lying on the ground next to his bedroll, and smoothly but rapidly loads his crossbow and stands. He searches in vain for a target.

Seeing Thokk begin his reckless charge, Fizahn shakes his head then charges forward as well, hoping to flank whatever creature has attacked (and possibly killed) his pony.

Ephiliastokles, despite the barking of his two dogs right next to him, seems slow to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. The dogs take up defensive positions between him and the horses, but do not charge forward.


OOC: Round 1

Thokk stands and moves 20 ft toward the horses. Philodus casts light. His lantern focuses the illumination into a 60 ft cone (and dimly illuminates a 120 ft cone). Neither it nor Thokk's darkvision, however, can penetrate the darkness in the midst of the horses. Elthan stands and loads his crossbow. Fizahn attempts to flank whatever attacked his pony, moving 40 ft. (He is still 20 ft from the darkness.)

Ephiliastokles hasn't checked in yet. After his action, we can start round 2.

Ephiliastokles stands up slowly, hearing several loud noises.

"Now what's all this," he says, yawning and slowly walking over to his cart, just in case he needs to make an escape.

It is obvious that he has not noticed the disappearance of his horse.

Without any hesitation, Thokk plunges headlong into the leading edge of the mist. He is suddenly cloaked in darkness, but his form can be barely discerned as he slashes wildly about with his bastard sword.

Philodus clambers out of his tent, still focusing his lantern beam on the dark fog. His lips move, and the air in front of him seems to shimmer for an instant.

Elthan picks up his short spear in his left hand and carefully steps toward the darkness, his crossbow held extended in his right hand, ready to fire. He looks puzzled. "What manner of dark magic is this?" he wonders aloud.

Fizahn follows Thokk into the mist, his rapier held at the ready.


OOC: Round 2 begins.

Thokk moves 40 ft, just entering the darkness, and tries to locate the unknown creature by sound. He has no specific target, but makes an attack roll anyway: [16 = 9 + 3 BAB + 2 STR + 1 weapon focus + 1 masterwork]. In the darkness, his movement is halved, and he cannot charge. Any attack he makes in the darkness will have a 20% miss chance due to concealment.

Philodus stands (I assume?) and casts shield, surrounding himself with an invisible aura of telekinetic force (+4 AC).

Elthan, moves 30 ft, as described. He makes a Spellcraft check: [11 = 2 + 9] to try to identify the origin of the darkness. He is unsuccessful.

Fizahn follows Thokk into the darkness, planning to flank the creature if Thokk finds it.

Awaiting Ephiliastokles' actions...

Seeing now that his horse is missing, Ephiliastokles curses under his breath. He leans forward to pick up his ranseur, then peeks around the corner of his wagon at the dark mist, thinking that discretion should be the better part of valor until he can figure out what in Kelemvor's name is going on.

His dogs continue barking and growling, hackles raised, eyeing the mist uneasily. They pace back and forth, but move no closer to the mist. Ephiliastokles sees this hesitation as a bad sign.

Thokk, meanwhile, edges forward deeper into the mist, which is thick with the putrid odor of rotten fish. The deeper he goes, the darker it gets. Being blinded by darkness is a new experience for the dwarf. He strains his ears for any indication of the whereabouts of any creature or creatures lurking in the mist. He readies his bastard sword, slowly turning in circles so as not to be ambushed from behind.

Philodus runs forward with long strides to the edge of the darkness. He transfers the lantern to his left hand and draws a dagger, planning to cut loose the frantic warhorses. Even at this distance from the mist (a couple feet) the lantern beam hardly penetrates the darkness.


OOC: End round 2. Begin round 3.

Ephiliastokles (NPC) picks up his weapon and takes cover behind his wagon. Thokk readies an attack and moves 10 ft deeper into the darkness. He is competely blind and thus will incur the relevant penalties if he engages in combat. Philodus runs 60 ft to the horses at the edge of the darkness. He can draw his dagger as a free action in between this round and the next.

Elthan:

Let's have a peek through this darkness.

*Elthan approches the darkness. Facing it, he then drops his spear and starts chanting what is incomprehensible words to most. At the same time he makes movements with his newly freed left hand.*

OOC: After having walked 10 ft, Elthan faces the darkness. He then drops his shortspear to cast detect magic. Its area is a 60ft long cone.

"Ach, come lads, lets destory this wee beastie. And someone try to get rid of this cursed darkness"

Thokk calls out from within the darkness. He sounds frustrated.

As Elthan peers into the dark mist, he can sense that a moderately strong aura of magic pervades the whole area for as deep into the mist as his magically enhanced senses can penetrate (40 ft). As he concentrates further, it seems that there might be a small creature with a faint magical aura moving about within the mist.



OOC: Thokk calls out as a free action. Elthan is 20 ft from the mist. His detect magic spell reveals both a general magic aura and a smaller, fainter aura within the mist. Next round, a successful Spellcraft check will allow Elthan to identify the auras' type/school of magic.

Fizahn's action is next, then Ephiliastokles'.

Fizahn:

"Just because something's small doesn't mean it's not powerful. I'd be careful about it dwarf, it wouldn't have attacked a camp unless it was starving or powerful."