A Sleepy Little Village [IC Team 2]

[unfairtosome]

"This is such a bad idea. Look, guys. We're not prepared for caving. We're not suited for it! A touch of humor briefly brightens Aderyn's face. "Gerbo's out of place anywhere but the inside of a cage, sure, but Nephtal probably can't support his own climbing weight, let alone another's, and how would we lower Pearl down a shaft should it come to that? Caellis and Smoky know the forest, but what do they know of the inside of a mountain? Did anyone even think to bring a rope??

"And besides," he gulps and continues more quietly, "I remember some men coming through Corle speaking of something dark, something shadowy that lives deep in the mountains and has been striking at people in the dark and depths of night. They spoke of finding animals with their blood drained- but with no meat missing and no bite marks on them. An ancient grave, or tomb, or town, or something. They was frightened. Adventurers, frightened!

"Guys, I really don't like this idea. I'm much better with people than with scary blood-drinking shadow monsters...."

[Spyder_Cel]

Looking back at the skeptics he nods at Smoke, "Yes, caution would be best. Who would be willing to scout ahead with me? Wait..." He looks around at at his companions. "Who is able to scout with me. Gerbo, Smoke, you're ah... small. Would one or both of you care to join?"

Looking at Aderyn, at first with concern, but then a smile crosses his face. "Aderyn, am I sensing a hint of claustrophobia? Or maybe it's the darkness. He laughs teasingly. "I have little but still some knowledge of caves, spelunking, and the such. And yes, I have rope and some torches. Be prepared, that's my motto. But getting out of our comfort zone is what adventuring is all about. There are pretty powerful creatures in all types of terrain, we need to leave it fate whether or not we get in over our heads because it can happen anywhere. We will use caution and get out if things look like they might get out of hand. But if something is killing people, it is our duty to at least check it out and help if we can."

He looks back up at the bunnies, "Given that none of us have ever seen those things before, and Aderyn's story of the blood drinkers. I think it wise to consider that those cute fuzzy bunnies are suspects until we can prove otherwise."

Putting his hand on his chin with the look of deep concentration, he tries to remember anything about Aderyn's description of the blood drinker or those curiously large rabbits.

Spoiler

Show

Knowledge Nature: (1d20+6)[10]
Knowledge Dungeoneering: (1d20+3)[7]

[unfairtosome]

Aderyn begins to perk up a little- it seems Caellis' calm confidence assuages his fears a bit more than Gerbo's haphazard display of rash decision making. Knowing that Caellis and Smoke were initially against the mountains, but have settled into acceptance is both worrying and comforting.

Aderyn looks up from his feet and, singing a little song to himself, begins to take a more active role in the proceedings.

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+3)[7] Bardic Knowledge about these strange giant rabbits
(1d20+6)[9] Knowledge: Nature about giant rabbits
(1d20+3)[20] Bardic Knowledge on this location (now that we've seen landmarks)
(1d20+3)[15] Knowledge: Geography about what we might expect in this terrain

[lorddrake]

"How more awesome can this be?" says Nephtalineus thrilled "Oh, boy! GIANT FREAKING BUNNIES!!! A CAVE!!! AND BLOOD DRAINING EVIL thing..."

He looks a little dizzy...

"Oh... I think I'm going to pass out of so much awesomeness..."

[inexorabletruth]

"Let me have a look We Gnomes have a way with burrowing animals," Gerbo says with a wink. "I'll go with Caellis and have a chat with the rabbits. They may have a thing or two to say about the region."

Gerbo moves into position next to Caellis and shoots back a thumbs-up to the rest of the group. "A little more information couldn't hurt, right? Let's go, buddy!"

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

The rabbits, apart from their extreme size do not seem in any way hostile. In fact they seem very much like normal rabbits, if you approach one then it will go hopping off at high speed in the other direction. They are timid and hide - and in the distance you can see a few playing with each other where you are out of smell / sight range for the rabbits.

The cave entrance seems to be about a solid three or four days travel away with boulders that there is no size comparison for with you being so far away - it is clear that they are boulders though, even from this distance. There also doesn't appear to be any clear cut path to reach it in any respect.

At least not from your current vantage point.

Caellis

Spoiler

Show

You can't remember anything special about this region in any mentions of anything. Dungeon-wise you have never heard mention of anything matching even a vague description in this area.

Aderyn

Spoiler

Show

With terrain like this you can expect heavy climbing and unexpected drops in both height and temperature.

Unfortunatley you can't remember anything about a region such as this with regards to the landmark or the giant bunnies.

[lorddrake]

"You know... If they are so tame... I guess we could hunt and cook one... Just saying..."

[unfairtosome]

"We'll have to, so we don't dip into our rations."

[inexorabletruth]

Gerbo snaps a pleading look back at Nephtalineus. "What? No. They're going to help us. Watch, you'll see." Channeling his innate abilities, Gerbo squeaks out a "kyu, kyu" to the rabbits.

"Hey there, little fellas! Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. We just wanted to know of any dangers in the area. As rabbits, I'm sure you have a keen eye for bad guys and hidden hazards in and near this cave." Gerbo sweetens the deal by rummaging through his own rations and pulls out some dried berries. He tosses them on the ground far enough in front of him so the rabbits don't have to hop too close to get to them. "I hope you like berries; I don't have much else."

[Spyder_Cel]

Following Gerbo's lead he approaches the bunnies slowly and attempts to gain their trust in his own way.

Spoiler

Show

Wild Empathy: (1d20+3)[9]
edit: ...

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

Gerbos efforts to attract the rabbits seem to work - they hop over closer and closer to the group, seemingly ignorant of them as they start to eat the berries. Each rabbit appears to guard a single berry, curling its body around the berry and taking it into its mouth before moving on to the next one. The only odd thing about how they eat the berries beyond the way they eat which is abnormal would be the fact that they have pre-hensile tounges and seem to grasp each berry individually with it....

Caellis' efforts to attract more rabbits doesn't meet with any success but his slightly bumbled efforts don't scare any more of the rabbits away either.

[tonberryking]

Smoke gapes, suddenly glad she resisted the urge to go wabbit hunting, but moreso upset and bewildered by the rabbits' strange behavior and stranger tongues.

"Okay, I know that's not how it works..." she grumbles to Pearl, before finally dismounting, telling Pearl to heel (in halfling) and approaching cautiously.

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+5)[20] Kn. Nature check on the rabbits coupled with a (1d20+1)[6] spellcraft check to see if it's obvious that some dopey wizard's been screwing with the fauna.

[inexorabletruth]

OOC: Italics in quotes is me speaking in rabbit talk... whatever you'd call that.

Gerbo raises an eyebrow, just as confused by the rabbits' odd anatomy as Smoke. "You're an odd little fella," Gerbo squeaks. "Can you speak? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

[unfairtosome]

Aderyn, baffled by the giant rabbits and horribly amused by both the looks on the faces of the druid and ranger and the unexpected success of Gerbo, sits down abruptly and begins laughing.

All the tension of worrying about the rumors of evil deeds in the mountains seems to vanish from his face. Reaching for some berries of his own, he tosses them in the air near the strange creatures, hoping to see them taken out of the air like a frog with a fly.

[lorddrake]

"Nice" says Nephtalineus with sarcasm on his voice "Everybody is friends with stupid giant berry-eating tongue-twisting rabbits! When we find some CAVE rabbits call me. Specially if they are made of mythril..."

"And we are not even going to eat them..."

[inexorabletruth]

"They aren't rabbits," Gerbo says to Nephtalineus in common. "They don't seem to understand what I'm saying, and... well... rabbits can't do that with their tongue. They're cute, though. I'll give you that, and I don't think they're dangerous."

Gerbo turns to Smoke who seems to share his confusion. "What do you make of it, Smoke? You know more about animals than all of us put together."

Gerbo tries again to speak softly to the... creatures. "C'mon little fella. What's your name? Can you understand what I'm saying at all?" He tosses another berry at them, hoping to establish a friendship and get a better understanding about the situation. He looks at the "rabbits" intently... a bit more curious than before, but no longer eager to get close to them.

[Spyder_Cel]

Not getting anything from the rabbits, Caellis starts leaving. Can't rightfully eat them now. Gerbo has made some new friends.

Looking back on the others, "Come on guys, the rabbits aren't talking. Big surprise there... I'm sure Smoke and I will be able to get some food for everybody. Lets leave these creatures be and move on."

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

As Gerbo continues to feed the rabbits extra berries that he has found deep within his pockets two slightly odd things happen simultaneously.

Firstly he notices that these rabbits have sharp teeth, now not sharp as in a normal rabbit, but double rowed razor sharp points of enamel that fill their mouths entirely. He notices this as the rabbit closest to the group finishes its berry on the floor and watches Gerbo - as he brings one out of his pocket to offer it to the rabbit it launches itself from the floor and rips the berry from his hands almost scoring a deep line down the side of the gnomes arm - only his relativley diminuative stature saves him from such a cut.

The rabbit doesn't appear to be pertubed at all and is sat at his feet eating the berry and protecting it from the rest of the rabbit pack.

Smoke;

Spoiler

Show

From a distance they look like completley normal rabbits, except for their obvious size difference. Up close you notice a few things that are slightly off with them;

Their tounges, their teeth, their ears are slightly pointier and less furry than would be normal and their paws have 4 wickedly sharp claws extending from there rather than just soft pads.

[inexorabletruth]

"WHOA!" Gerbo shouts as he leaps back in surprise, definitely not thinking they are cute anymore. "Not bunnies!" He shouts as he swings his hooked hammer defensively in front of him.

He looks to Smoke, this time with a freaked out expression. "NOT bunnies!"

Spoiler

Show

Move: Shift, weapon was already drawn.
Standard: Full defensive action.

[Spyder_Cel]

Hearing Gerbo's shouting, Caellis whips around pulling out his bow and knocks an arrow. We waits to fire assessing the situation. Seeing Gerbo was only startled he doesn't fire quite yet. "Well, that's off-putting. I'm starting to get concerned about their numbers, and the fact we're sitting right in the middle of them. We should move on, now... Probably slowly." He keeps his bow up and ready.

[inexorabletruth]

"I'm with you," Gerbo says to Caellis as he backs away slowly. "Eeeeasy... stay right there demon bunnies. Staaaay."

Action:

Spoiler

Show

Maintaining full-defense
Shift back

[tonberryking]

Eyes wide and suddenly scrambling back up on the protective saddle her dog wears, Smoke yells out a command while yanking her shield free.

"Oh, REALLY??" she snaps at Gerbo as Pearl bristles and bears her fangs. "Everyone back up and bunch together; if they act like normal predators a tightly knit team can scare them off. If they're freakish guards to something, we WILL have to fight... or give them the sheep."

Much to her horror, Smoke wonders if the sheep are rigged as well and with Pearl on guard, she stares back at them.

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+5)[8] Kn. Nature on the ferocious sheep.

[lorddrake]

"It just got me interested." says Nephtalineus. He moves his arms in a mystical pattern looking serious for once. He says some words that cannot be understood by the uninitiated.

Spoiler

Show

Detect Magic. He takes a good look at the rabbits - if he finds auras he concentrate 3 turns, if he doesn't he look at the cave - if he finds something, concentrate for 3 turns. If he doesn't find anything he take a good look 360 degrees and up (just in case ).

[inexorabletruth]

Gerbo looks from Smoke to Nephtalineus, torn between who to stand beside. But, finally deciding that Smoke and Pearl can handle their own, he stands beside Nephtalineus to protect him while he casts his spell.

"Hurry up," he pleads. "I don't like this."

Spoiler

Show

Readied action to attack any bunnies that move to attack Nephtalineus while he's casting and/or concentrating.

[unfairtosome]

Aderyn continues sitting right where he is, but slowly takes out his melodica and begins playing, directing his tune at the closest rabbits.

Spoiler

Show

(1d20+3)[16] Bardic Knowledge on prehensile-tongued demon rabbits
No roll for the melodica, just fluff

[Flash in't Pan]

DM

With no more berries being self evident in coming and the supply of food dwindling the bunnies start to become more and more skittish. From a distance you can't even tell they are anything but slightly larger than normal rabbits. Over the course of the next few minutes [barring anyone attacking them] they go to ground more and more, and once again the party is left alone on the boldour strewn plateau that you currently occupy.

Smoke;

Spoiler

Show

The sheep look almost exactly like a breed in town, but possibly have much finer wool, and much much more of it. You would have to take one back for this to be confirmed though. Otherwise they look exactly the same in all respects, including size.

Aderyn;

Spoiler

Show

Your not sure, but you do seem to remember something about evil infesting livestock. Not sure whether it was bunnies, or sheep or even cave dwelling bats.

Nephtalineus

Spoiler

Show

Your eyes almost explode.
Nothing from the sheep.
The rabbits light up almost like flare's each and every single one of them. Super strong necromancy and conjuration as well as something else woven in there, something that you have never seen before.
The cave and the pillars are giving off a glow, but not a massivley strong one, infact its only slightly more than general background levels.

[unfairtosome]

"Shoot one before they're all gone, Caellis! I vaguely remember hearing something creepy and I think we should try to kill and preserve one to show somebody."

Aderyn stands up.

"Besides, it's lunchtime."

[lorddrake]

"Duuuuuuude!" says Nephtalineus "What a trip!"

He recovers a little as he turns off his arcan-o-vision.

"There is all sorts of weird magic on those things... Necromancy, conjuration and something just plain unknown... Something not on any books I've read. Something curious... I... I wish we had eaten one of them... Just to see what happened..."

He looks a little disappointed.

"And there is some magic on those pillars there..."

[Spyder_Cel]

Without hesitation, Caellis fires at one of the bunnies upon Aderyn's request. He did want to check out one of these things himself, especially after the scare it gave Gerbo.

Spoiler

Show

Attacking nearest bunny. Favored enemy (animal) +2 damage, I'm sure it's within 30ft. So point blank shot +1 atk/dmg

Attack: (1d20+7)[19] Damage: (1d8+3)[9]

[inexorabletruth]

"Why is everyone's first answer to eat the scary demon mutant bunny? That thing is not right. What if it's meat is poison?" Gerbo asks with obvious consternation in his voice.