Servants of the Thrallherd IC [3.5, high speed]

[BelGareth]

Rex growls a deep throaty angry growl, and dismounts, ignoring the fleeing manticores for now, if they came back, they would deal with them.

He picks up his sword after reloading his crossbow, and slinging it back on his back. He then looks to everyone, making sure to be projecting his aura of vigor, and makes his way back to the beguilers dead body.

He kicks her, almost gently, as if regretting her death, but also making sure she is actually dead, and not feigning it. Once convinced, he kneels down on one knee, and searches her body, taking the time to be thorough.

Spoiler

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Take 20 for a 22

[J-H]

Spoiler: Loot

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The party is now 1/3 of the way to level 7 by XP...and almost halfway to level 7 WBL. That beguiler was a pretty successful robber.

Eternal wands function 2x/day.

Cloak of Resistance +1
Ring of Protection +1
Unidentified Brooch
Masterwork Alchemical silver short sword
Masterwork dagger
800gp

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Spoiler: Loot

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The party is now 1/3 of the way to level 7 by XP...and almost halfway to level 7 WBL. That beguiler was a pretty successful robber.

Eternal wands function 2x/day.

Cloak of Resistance +1
Ring of Protection +1
Unidentified Brooch
Masterwork Alchemical silver short sword
Masterwork dagger
800gp

Spoiler

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Does the broach or either of the weapons radiate a magical aura? Grassis has detect magic at will and Spellcraft: 9

[Feathersnow]

I'll trade the hammer for the short sword and the ring, unless someone needs it more. Having usethe dagger for throwing might be good, but anyone needing a side arm is a better use.

Chimaerae aren't The Enemy or Jossenites. Their death isn't regrettable, but it isn't especially desirable, either. At least outside of Great Leader's lands. Lets move on.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Grassis


"Such a waste of talent. " Grassis says darkly looking over the body of the mage. "We should keep moving."

Spoiler: OOC healing

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Grassis will burn 2 charges on his healing belt for Rex and 1 on himself

Rex: (2d8)[9] hp
Rex: (2d8)[8] hp
Grasis: (2d8)[13] hp

Grassis will also take possession of the wand of lesser vigor (UMD + deceive item 'taking 10' on check = 22 UMD to activate wand )

1 charge on Joas = + 11 hps
2 charges on Rex's horse = +22 hps
2 charges on Rex = +22 hps

[J-H]

Spoiler: hp update

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Rexthaun's horse heals to 22 before being cured, I assume.

RexThaun 8 damage out of 96hp
RexThaun's horse fully healed
Grassis 5 damage out of 48hp
Joas 2 damage out of 36 hp
Zrabhas 6 damage out of 50hp

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas

Joas is thankful for the healing. "Well, that was close..." he says while he wipes his clothes clean "...always a hassle when monsters decide to come at me physically." He smiles. "Anyway...we made it!" When the loot is being divided Joas is not too much concerned. "Our first priority is to get you guys well armed and defended." And the second to keep me out of harms way. "Let`s keep moving, aye."

[J-H]

Riding on

The trail continues along the face of a cliff for another quarter-mile, and then becomes almost straight as it goes uphill and towards one of the peaks; Joas remembers that the mountains are highest close to the Yal river. The group rides on for another 3 hours (total = 5 hours riding, 15 miles covered). A couple of giant eagles pace the group for a while before losing interest.

You come to a split in the trail just past lunchtime. The stone cairns marking the trail diverge. Luckily, it’s on a small raised area, so you have a good view.

One path, narrow but steep, goes almost due north up a ridgeline. It’s in the direction you most want to go, but it looks like it may reach into one of the snowy areas.

The other path runs eastwards – looking that way, you can see that it winds its way around several shoulders of the mountain. You think you can see several routes up and down into the valleys around the mountain, but they’re miles away so you can’t tell for sure, even in the cold, clear air.

Off to the west, the good visibility lets you see a couple of wyvern-riders (probably from Josen), scouting the hills along the edge of the mountains. They are far away, and below you.

[Feathersnow]

ZrabHas

I think we should go east. If the Wyvern riders figure out what we are about, there is no way our presence could remain undetected. Regret and grim determination colors her breath.

Actual enemies. ZrabHas had trained her whole life for battle, but this was nearly the first time an actual Mind Flayer uh, Jossenite was before her. Could even the cause of Gith er... needs of Great Leader be cause enough to forgo the great glory of life? It seemed so. She hoped the others talked her down...

Her head hurt, but she couldn't remember why.

[BelGareth]

~before leaving~

Rex nods and hands the ring over to Zrab, "Here take it, you took far fewer licks than me, and seem much worse the ware for it" He then reaches down and takes the dagger, it felt good, and you could never have to many good daggers. He nods to Grassis as he heals him, letting his many wounds heal up and the energy wash over him, it felt good. He was a tough one, but no matter how tough he was, he wasn't immortal.

The battle had been enlightening, he need to bard his horse, Roger, better, and so he stopped to do so, making sure the animal was protected felt like a good investment, they couldn't have one of their mounts be killed, it would slow them down incredibly.

Spoiler

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He takes the masterwork dagger, Bards his horse with the banded barding and also takes the bow and arrows from the previous encounter.

As they head to leave, he nods to Joas, "Yes, you should never have been that close. We should be working better as we go, hopefully no one will die during that process." he says, flat faced, and deadly serious. "And on that note, Zrabhas, my friend and fellow companion, I believe you and I should talk...." he says as they move on, up trail. He talks about tactics and procedures, how the two can work well together, his perceptions of everyone, what each person should, etc..

He reigns in Roger while looking at their options, and then the Wyverns.

"Wyvern riders are bad, we cannot fight them, and they could report our position....I suggest we move up the mountain, that snow would be great cover for us, and points us in the right direction."

Spoiler

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AC: 19
HP's: 82/96
Mount AC: 20 <- My horse has a better AC than me!!!
Mount HP's: 44/44

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Grassis

"Not sure how well the horses or us would fair in the snow. I say we go east for now." Grassis speaks up.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas

Joas nods gravely at Rex. He agrees that he should not ever be the focus of melee combat. Still, he appears to be rather composed, as if confident he would have been able to sort it on his own in then end. You never know with these magician-types....best to assume they can and would have.

Joas looks up at the mountains and snow and then down to the longer (but warmer) path.

Spoiler: Knowledge check

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Knowledge nature: (1d20+8)[18] to figure out whether the horses can take the high mountain path.

[Feathersnow]

ZrabHas.

Er, yes? What would you like to talk about..?
She looks creastfallen.

Oh no, here it comes. I'm not pulling my weight. I need to do better. It's worse than thee weight room at the monastery, because me failing is letting down Great Leader...

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas

"Grassis has a good point. The horses won't take the high mountain route well. Therefore, I suggest to take the alternative route."

[J-H]

The group heads east; leaving the ridgeline area, the trail winds back and forth along the side of the mountain, following its natural curves. There are occasional shrubs and scrubby trees, a few of which the horses can get some nourishment from. You sight a few goats or sheep on the mountain, but they stay well away.

Close to the end of your riding day (total = 7.5 hrs riding, 22.5 mi covered), you notice a cave set about 20’ above the trail, up the hillside. In fact, as you approach it becomes difficult to not notice it due to the foul stench. Joas can’t think of any monster or civilized species that would want to live in such a smelly place.

Do you continue past, or do you investigate this as a place to spend the night?

[BelGareth]

Rex sighs, this Democratic reasoning was going to be their down fall, he wasn't sure the Lord ruler Jon Il-kim would have approved, he should have appointed a leader, then this team wouldn't falter at every opportunity.

He moves on taking a moment to heal his own wounds that were left.

Once they arrive he sniffs the air and growls quietly.
"I'm not sure we should entertain this cave our not, how are we feeling about our resources for the day?"

Spoiler

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Touch of vitality the rest of my lost hp's (14)

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas

"Hmmm...choices, choices. I must admit that I am curious to find out what lives up there. One might argue it is not relevant for our mission, but we also don't want to find out what it is when it goes out for hunting in the night, eh?" Joas looks at the cave. "Should we run into trouble, I have some reserve left to fight."

[Feathersnow]

I could fight it well enough, but it seems like a risk worth avoiding.

She is cheered up by the idea she is still a valued member of the Rrathmal, er, raiding party, and trying to surpress her natural bloodlust. Huh, what was that...?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Grassis

"The horses will need to rest soon so no matter what we will be camping in what is likely walking distance to the cave. Not sure I could sleep with that terrible smell or that the horses would tolerate it. On the other hand if that smell is something ..well, mobile, we may be exposing ourselves with an indefensible camping spot out in the open. I can see an argument for doing either. No one seems keen on charging into the cave so perhaps we shouldn't."

Grassis shrug indicating he didn't care much either way.

[BelGareth]

Rex hears the comments, they made sense. He smiled, they were coming together as a team. Finally.

He nodded "You make sense Grassis, I think we should go in and investigate, with Zrab and I in front, we should be able to take care of most things."

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Grassis

"Lead on..." Grassis says with a sinister lear. With a wave of his hand, Grassis disappears from sight once more. He slipped off his horse and looked for somewhere secure to tie it up and gave it a small amount of feed to keep it occupied. " I'll be right behind you.... mostly. "

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas

Obviously excited by the prospect of finding out what lives in the cave, Joas smiles. "Yes, good idea. You guys take the front, I´ll be right behind you. Alternatively, we can try to lure it out, so we get the jump for a change. If the creature is curious enough, we should be able to do that."

[BelGareth]

Joas' idea had merit.

He turned his head towards him "I like the idea, but the cave should allow us to force a front, and provide cover for you two, whatever's in there will be at home, yes, but we avoid being outmaneuvered"

He jumped off Roger and found a place to tie him up, like Grassis, hefting his sword and shield, he pulsed his aura of senses, hoping to provide the edge they needed to detect their enemy.

He motions to Zrabhas, "Let's go Zrab, I'll lead the way, you watch my flank." and then starts to head for the cave entrance.

[J-H]

Investigating

Leaving the horses behind, the group ascends the path to the mouth of the cave. It grows swiftly dark inside, and widens to about 20’ wide. There’s just enough light for even Zrabhas and Joas to make out a group of about half a dozen javelin-wielding medium humanoids crouched behind and on some rocks, with more behind them. Their skin is colored like the rocky walls, so it’s hard to make out details for some of them.

Spoiler

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Joas rolled a 15+8=23 and recognizes the humanoids as troglodytes, cave-dwelling primitives that probably speak draconic (as most reptilians do) and that can emit a foul, debilitating stench.

Grassis rolled a 28 on his sense motive (17+11) and can tell that they are very nervous.

(I rolled this dice 3 times for the other Sense Motive checks and it came up 17 each time. I need to swap it out for another one.)

=> Party

[BelGareth]

Rex pulls up, holding a hand out rest the group.

He speaks to them in Draconic "we mean no harm, we are traveling, and seek shelter, we thought this cave was a good place. We had no idea you were here. Is this your home?"

Spoiler

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diplomacy - (1d20+14)[19]

[J-H]

The troglodytes relax slightly, and one in the back speaks. “You speak tongue of Kings! Yes, this our nesting place. Nothing here you want. Travel safely on you may.”

[Feathersnow]

Thank you for your hospitality. We shall not impose.

Reasonably people!! I didn't know there were any in this plane.

[BelGareth]

Rex turns to relay what they had said.
He regards Zrab with a raised eye. I under estimated this one

"They don't want us here, but they seem happy to let us go." he said, in common to the others.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Joas


Joas nods at Rex and smiles at the troglodytes. "Then, indeed," he says in draconic "we shall be on our way. Good night and fare well."

[J-H]

The group moves on, leaving the smelly cave behind. Shortly, your horses begin to tire, but the track continues on through the hills.

Spoiler

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(8 hrs riding, 24 miles covered).

You can stop where you are, or if you dismount and lead the horses, you can proceed at a slower rate, and the horses will take 1d6 non-lethal damage per hour instead of lethal damage.