A Shadow Over Arvinon IC

[razorback]

Spoiler

Show

Some needs to feed the forum so it will stop eating my posts

The creature continues to run knowing that it cannot overcome the superior numbers it is confronted with.
Oloek, yelling to his companions, continues to give chase.
Karven fires off a blast that narrowly misses both the creature and Maispar. Unfortunately for the creature, Maispars punch lands in what he assumes is the kidneys and the creature buckles, falling to its knees. It tries to rise and gets to one foot before collapsing.

Part of the remaining survivors come around the corner, armed with spears and torches. As the come on the fallen beast, questions about what this thing is as no one there has ever seen or heard of one before...

[Linguz]

Karven stopped chasing the creature, as it had fallen.

[TheDon]

Oloek stops by the creature. "So, what now? Tie it up? It's clearly intelligent." Oloek slowly studies the ground, looking around to see if there are tracks on the ground to where the creature was running toward. Something to see if it was heading there frequently or if there are more of them.

Spoiler

Show

Spot take 20 : 25

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar grabs the fallen creature by its leg and drags it into the open. He drags it to the center of the mutinous caravan company. He seizes the helpless creature by the top of his head and shouts so they all can hear.

Bad stuff has happened and Tevan is gone. A lot of you are thinking of how you can steal what does not belong to you, how you can loot our cargo and run. This is not acceptable. As the foremost warrior here, I will head up the expedition from here on out, and I will see to it that we all get through this safe with our fair pay in the end.

Maispar lifts the upper body of the creature enough so it is sitting up. He grabs the unconscious creature by the center of its skull, and squeezes.

Spoiler

Show

Charnel touch:

Charnel touch emits negative energy, the antithesis to life. Maispar is going to continually emit the energy through his arm, so along with the squeezing, Maispar will crash creature's skull in his hand.

If anyone has a problem, now is the time to speak up!

[TheDon]

Oloek raises an eyebrow "Very well, Oh mighty leader, what do you propose we do next? We have limited amount of food and water, and no idea if there's an exit anywhere. Feel like killing some more people to make the rations last?" Oloek says sarcastically, annoyed at the pointless death.

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar drops the deceased creature and walks back over to Oloek and Kraven. He speaks lowly. "Now we don't have to worry about a mutiny." Maispar looks back at the caravan survivors and back at his comrades, looking a little heartfallen. "Pity that thing had to die as an example, but it was good as dead anyways." Miaspar starts to look serious again. "What is our next move? Is our priority to check out these caves, or to make camp for the night?

[TheDon]

"I'm torn, on one hand, making camp means leaving ourselves exposed for roughly eight hours without knowing what else is in the caverns. On the other hand, I'm pretty much tapped out and could certainly use the rest." Oloek shifts from foot to foot, thinking. "Hmm, if we setup camp now, we could use the time to try and get some push carts going with some of the wood. Try and get this party mobile. Up to you."

[razorback]

Rendal, longspear in hand, prods the creature.
"What in the 9 hells is that? Looks a bit like a minotaur... but a lot not like it?"
After listening to the party, he buts in "Why do you guys want to check out this place? We need to get out of here. I don't want to be food for one of these things or worse!"
As the torch light flickers back and forth, drawing shadows across his face, it is evident that Rendal is terrified, sweating a bit in the coolness of the cave.

[TheDon]

Oloek turns to Rendal and rolls his eyes "Oh good! you've found an exit? I do realize it's not ideal, but without an exit we need to explore the place. As for resting, if more of these come, I'd rather not be fighting them and sleep at the same time. We're clearly going to be down here for a while, it's not like we have a choice, we just have to keep it together and work together."

[razorback]

Flustered, Rendal blurts out "Can't one of you... magic us out of here?"
Realizing how foolish he sounds, he sputters into silence.
Some of the other guard poke the beast with their longspears, unwilling to move any closer.

[TheDon]

Oloek turns to Maispar "So, esteemed leader, what is your decision? Shall we setup a defensive position for the night?"

[Linguz]

"Screw leadership, vote. I vote to stay the night. I'm almost out of spells and I'm sure we're all tired. If we do or don't camp, either way, we'll be here in the morning, or not. If you don't want to stay here, there's a dead end with a building down that way, we can stay there."

If they do end up staying here or at the building...

Spoiler

Show

Karven asks around for any large container to fill and, if given it, he fills it up with the most he can, up to 2 gallons of water. Then he asks for any torn items that need repairing and mends a single one that he considered most important (something that's needed to survive). He asks if they have any food around and, if not, takes about a cubic foot of the dead creature's flesh, skinned and all that, and casts purify food/drink on it to make it edible, then splits up the food among the survivors. He casts a spell on himself, healing his wounds, and then sets up his bedroll.

Cure Light Wounds: (1d8+3)[9]

[VestigeArcanist]

Hmm... It does not look like we have much choice whether to stay here or not. I will be asking for two or three men to volunteer as night watchmen. I myself am going to check the immediate vicinity of this cave, to ensure that no creatures are lurching just out of our sight.

Maispar pauses, and looks over to the building. I believe the building is the most defensible position. We should check out the immediate surroundings and the inside, but it should be safe.

[razorback]

The others stand, grumbling to each other, but none of them step forward to offer any sort of leadership position. Even Rendal sits back and waits, the air thick with fear from the creature dead before them.

[TheDon]

Oloek nods and helps with exploring the building

Spoiler

Show

If nothing eventful happen, Oloek will use his last PP on Repletion and refuse any food or water to preserve rations. He will then meditate for the next 4 hours and then take it easy for the 4 hours after, but kinda keep watch.

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar is going into the cave. He'll explore the first 60 feet and see if there is anything of interest.

[razorback]

Spoiler

Show

Spoiler

Show

Description to follow when I get to work... woke up late this morning.

[razorback]

Spoiler

Show

Spot checks, please. Maispar give me two, please.

As the group comes together, they decide to take refuge in the building.
While dusty and without servicable furniture, the structure itself seems to be solid. The soldiers and hobgoblins bring in the supplies, keeping their distance from the creature. They then go about cleaning some of the refuse to make the building a bit more defensible.

Karven, getting the material he requests, goes through his ritual of healing himself and then readying himself for a nights sleep.

Oleak helps to clear the building, finding nothing of significance: usable items, tracks, clues.

Maispar walks down the cave, until he comes to a fork and, looking to see how far he can see, decides to turn around with the comfort that, at least they have an immediate section cleared for the time being.

[Linguz]

Spoiler

Show

By the way, any XP from the fight?

After doing all that and before sleeping, he asks if anyone needs healing (including the two PCs, even if they're not around him). He waits to basically give everyone the chance to get healed before going to sleep. The first person who came to him got healed for (1d8+3)[6].

Then he went to sleep, planning to wake up around the morning and pray for his spells from Yondalla.

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar is heading back to the building, lest he runs into anything. He is goign to climb on top of the building, and sleep on the roof, as he is used to sleeping by the cliffs back home.

[razorback]

Karven and Oloek only

Spoiler

Show

As the group retreats towards the building where they met the creature, the two of you see that two of the hobgoblins are looking at the dead creature and, while they have fear on their face they also show something of a sense of... familiarity...

Maispar only

Spoiler

Show

As you travel down the cavern, you notice that sections of it seem to be natural, as if cut from rock, but at the intersection, you can tell that the section to your right has been been worked from the stone by tools of some kind.

Spoiler

Show

Looking at the map, it would be the winding passage on the left, not the one that ends on the right.

[TheDon]

Oloek stops his walk back to the building and instead, heads toward the hobgoblins. He stands next to them and waits for a few seconds before speaking. "Talk, what do you know."

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar will go down the tunnel to his left a little ways.

[razorback]

Oloek and Karven

Spoiler

Show

The hobgoblins shake their head and say something in goblin that you don't understand.
Itzel comes over and they talk for a few moments, after which Itzel points to the creature.
"He called it a Pare'yakkvitixx or something. It sounds goblin but I've never heard of it before. Says they are bad news and usually come in groups, been popping up over the desert for a few years. Says his brothers were killed by some. Says its all he knows but he seems afraid of going near it."

[razorback]

Maispar only

Spoiler

Show

Maispar continues to follow the path for another 60 feet that, while a bit windy, seems mostly straight, until it makes a hard turn toward his right, at which point he stops.
The passageway is the same as before, natural cavern that has been worked and enlarged by tools. You don't see any fresh tracks on the ground.

[TheDon]

Oloek nods at the information. "Wonder if they nest here, or if it became trapped here like us... I don't know which one I'd prefer. A nest of them would probably be deadly, but if it's trapped here like us, then that means it hasn't found a way out yet in the whole time it was down here..."

Spoiler

Show

Have we rested yet? If not, Oloek will rest now.

[VestigeArcanist]

Maispar suspects that there is more to this tunnel than he is currently prepared for. He is going to head back out to the building to rest for the night. He will be sleeping on the roof of said building.

[razorback]

The 'night' passes and everything is quiet.
As guard duty is passed around, nothing is heard except what sounds like the scratching of small animals passing in the night, rodents and such.
As the three of you and the others that are sleeping at the same time, the smell of something cooking wafts through the air. Itzel, it looks like, has woken before you three and has fixed up the fireplace in the building enough to beginning boiling what looks to be some kind of stew, which sets your stomachs grumbling.
Outside, you notice that one of the hobgoblins is on duty with a longspear and some of the other guards have set up a small blockade at the front of the door.

Spoiler

Show

At this point I am assuming everyone, PC and NPC, has rested enough to level up and regain all their hit points.

Itzel hand each of you a bowl with a spoon and says "Well, for better or worse by somes standards, it would seem that leadership has fallen on you three, even if some don't like it" he says with a nod to Rendal and his group. "What's the plan now?"

[TheDon]

Oloek turns down the food "I can take care of my own sustenance, it'll be one less ration to worry about. We have to move, no point staying here. By tomorrow there'll be no water left. I think we need to all travel light and travel at the same time if we are to survive.

My suggestion is, drop everything unnecessary, like the chest. Split rations evenly among everyone. If we find water, awesome, we come back for it. We can build a sled or something and drag it over the sand. Until then we need to think about our survival.

As for the actual travel, I think we should scout roughly fifteen minutes ahead with the hobgoblins, with everyone else following behind. Make contact every couple of hours or so." Oloek turns to the other two, looking for their opinions.

[VestigeArcanist]

"There is one thing of note." The cave over there Maispar points. "Is not entirely natural. It has been artifically widened, it appears. There is a possibility that there are inhabitatents in that cave, or perhaps a spring or water source. I recommend that it is explored it to determine if it indeed has a water source. And of course these remaining buildings should be searched in case any supplies are to be found."