Ruins of Azlant IC 2

[farothel]

"We still have quite a bit of island to explore," Laurelata said, "we can indeed, as Henri says, leave this patch for now and search some other patches. It's going to be a long time to explore everything."
She looked at Henri.
"What's the best direction to continue you think?"

[DarkOne-Rob]

With a shake of his head Henri acknowledges and recognizes the group's decision. "Stay close, go slow, don't trust plants to be nice," he says in his characteristic terse, blunt manner, and begins leading the party deeper into the strange area. For his part, he keeps a watchful eye out for either assassin vines or the strange yellow flowers, intent on not being surprised should either reappear...

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Henri has Perception at +9 and will be moving at about half-speed (on top of his already slower than most speed of 20 ft per round). He's intent on not being surprised or ambushed without providing his group with an option to retreat...

[farothel]

Laurelata followed Henri, bow ready, moving slowly and looking around for any weird or interesting stuff. She didn't speak when not needed, concentrating instead on spotting any problems before they became a problem.

Spoiler: OOC rolls

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perception: (1d20+9)[19]

[u-b]

You move deeper inside the strange red forest. Eventually, it becomes apparent that there are reasonably well tramplet trail running through it. This could be good or bad, depending on how you are counting. The plants outside the trail often seem all sorts of dangerous. These abnormal plants seem mostly stationary, and surely a minority in this forest, but they might be well-hidden among the rest of the plants and you might risk walking straight into them. The trails... well, they are mostly clear and out of contact with the flora, but some things are walking them, so it's your choice...

Spoiler: Henri

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The footprints on the trails are mostly of natural creatures of various kinds, but that does not quite match natural habits of some of those creatures. The footprints are, like, totally absent outside of the trails.

[DarkOne-Rob]

"This place is...wrong," says Henri as he kneels down yet again to inspect the tracks on the trail. "Dangerous plants, everywhere...everything walking the trails...not acting natural..." he continues as he looks around, clearly deeply unsettled.

"Don't like it, want to leave," he says finally, looking to the others in the party for their responses. If they ask for details he points out what he's seeing, obviously uncomfortable talking much, but willing to show - and teach - others about the craft of tracking and understanding what they see. It's clear he doesn't want to go deeper, at least not without a good reason beyond just exploring, but will follow the consensus of the party. "Not a coward, but not stupid either..." he explains, if anyone pushes. The observant will note he looks embarrassed at the admonition of his fear, but he's a soldier and will lead where he's "ordered."

[farothel]

Laurelata wasn't sure what to make of this.
"If the plants are dangerous it's logical that everybody else stays on the path or that the paths are created by animals avoiding the plants," she said, "but I agree we best leave this part of the island be for now. We can always come back later. Best tell anybody who's in a wandering mood to stay away from this part of the island for now."

[SanguinePenguin]

Taz stares down the path. “I don’t know. I have a vague feeling there are answers this way, maybe even to questions we haven’t yet thought to ask… but it is very strange. I vote we press on, but I also see the value in turning back.”

[DarkOne-Rob]

As everyone votes and the majority seems inclined to leave, Henri again takes the lead, intent on putting this strange and dangerous place behind them. Once outside of the strangely colored "bloom" of plants he heads further north, intent on exploring more of their island home, at least for now.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica swallows hard, looking around the thick foliage with an unusually suspicious eye. "You're the expert," she willingly admits. "I just wish we had any answers for all these questions piling up..." A bit sullenly, Jessica follows close behind Henri as the woodsman leads them back the way they came.

"Do we head back to the Bounty for now? Or do we have something else to look into first?"

Spoiler: OOC

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A relevant detail I overlooked the first time: Jessica can perform up to 2 Augury a week with her harrow-born trait. It seems like we should be using that, but I'm personally so out of the loop and/or confused that I don't really know what to suggest. I'll try to do some re-reading

[u-b]

You get out of the red forest safely enough. You don't even feel watched or anything. In fact, you have noticed the bird population there, while is not entirely absent, to be much more sparse and limited. A weird, weird forest. But now you have a perfect opportunity to decide where to go next. Maybe back to the bay where the goblins were fishing? Or maybe a bit north to the river that is supposed to run to the ocean north of the bay? Or right across the river and... somewhere?

[DarkOne-Rob]

Once clear of the disturbing red forest Henri sighs audibly in relief. He looks about for a moment, consults his map drawings, and then begins leading the party north of the bay where they saw the fishing monkey goblins towards the waterway and beaches at the northernmost portion of the island. "Haven't been this far yet, might as well see it," he explains to anyone who asks him for more details on his plan.

[farothel]

"Sure, no problem," Laurelata said, "we eventually have to map the entire island, so one direction is as good as any other."
She would keep at the end of the group, letting Henri do the front scouting while she kept an eye on the backdoor.

Spoiler: OOC

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in case it's needed: perception: (1d20+9)[13]

[u-b]

You reach the shore when the sun is already down at the horizon. The jorney is largely uneventful, as far as these jorneys go, save for two observations. First, you haven't seen any monkey goblins when you passed the north side of the bay. Second, you've seen a jaguar resting on a large tree branch. It also saw the lot of you and slowly left the scene. You decided there is no pressing reason to chase it and so also were on your way. Anyway, you are on the edge of the forest on one side, and the beach on the other side, it will be soon quite dark, even though a quarter of the moon should be visible between the sparse clouds more often than not, so you should probably set up a camp or some such...

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri admires the large cat and respectfully leaves it alone. From his expression he even seems a bit more comfortable with the more natural(?) wildlife present. "Behind the tree line, a small fire, out of sight of the beach," he says by way of explanation as he sets out to find a good campsite and settle in for the night.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica nods with a bit of a forced smile and falls in. She smiles more easily at the graceful predator and their respectful deference of one another. "Perhaps this part of the jungle remains largely untouched," she muses hopefully.

It's a bit of a surprise for her when the sun dips precipitously towards the horizon, but she dutifully begins to set up camp consistent with Henri's instructions. "I'll take mid watch. I'll let the fire die down some since I can see just as well without it, but I'll be ready to stoke it if needed."

Spoiler: OOC

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Because she's an Aasimar, Jessica can see just fine in total dark. She's also fairly invested in protecting the jungle, rather than imposing her will upon it, and would rather avoid notice than resist incursion.

[farothel]

"Sure, fine with me," Laurelata said as she started looking around for some rocks they could use to put around the fire to hide it and to avoid it spreading. She would also look around the campsite for small, dry twigs and leaves she would spread around so everybody approaching would make a noise the person on guard would hear. While doing that, she would also look around for edible stuff to add to the rations.

Spoiler: OOC rolls

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to search for edible stuff: survival: (1d20+4)[24]

[u-b]

You set a camp. It takes some time, but you are generally satisfied with the result. While searching for twigs, Laurelata has spotted a fairly large snake, a python or something, slowly retreating from her under a fallen tree. The dumb snake seemingly thinks that this should be enough and learns about its mistake the hard way when Laurelata is back with the rest of the group. There is enough of beheaded snake for everyone to eat through the whole of tomorrow. The night passes without incident.

DAY 49 AFTER LANDING

The morning weather is pleasant enough. You resume your way either along the edge of the forest or along the beach. After about 2 hours you have to cross the river flowing here from the sleeping volcano and through the depths of red forest. The river is about 20..30 feet wide depending on the peculiarities of its bending stream, and more or less swift. There is a waterfall on it, about on the edge of the forest, that might or might not make it any easier to cross.

Spoiler

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If you are on the beach, you are about one hour's walk from the waterfall. If you move along the edge of the forest, you are as close as you like.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri doesn't hesitate as he walks to the edge of the stream to get a good, long look at the waterfall. "Won't stop me. I'll carry our gear...come back to help all of you," he rumbles as he gathers several extra handfuls of equipment and casually walks over the top of the stream as if it were solid ground. Once at the other side he deposits his load and begins to repeat the process, ending by willingly carrying any of the PCs who don't want to try to cross another way.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica lets Henri and Tazmara make the river crossing safe and easy (not accounting for more sentient threats). She watches from the near bank as a few of her allies cross before letting Henri carry her across.

[farothel]

Laurelata covers the crossing with her bow until it's her turn to cross. Afterwards she will again take a place at the back of the group to keep an eye on the backdoor, while Henri can do the scouting at the front.

[u-b]

A clearing in the forest reveals a thundering waterfall. Large, flat rocks covered in green moss dot the waterfall’s plunge pool, and a stream continues through the forest to the north. The pool’s basin is gradually sloped, reaching a depth of 10 feet where the waterfall hits the pool. The stream itself is only 5 feet deep at the center, but quite fast. As soon as Henri is on the other side and looks at the waterfall from there, he notices a cave behind the waterfal, that seems not easily noticiable. From where he stands, Henri is unable to tell whether that cave is deep or not and whether it's natural or not. So, would you ignore it or alter your plans?

Spoiler

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[DarkOne-Rob]

After everyone is on the same side of the river Henri points to the hidden cave opening. "Look there," he says. "Cave. Worth checking?" he asks as he puts down his camping gear, gets ready to fight, if necessary, and moves towards the entrance to look inside.

[farothel]

"Best to have a quick look at least," Laurelata said, "especially if we're camping around here.
I'd rather not have some critters pop out at night."

She would cover Henri with her bow as he moves closer, ready to shoot at anything that comes out of that cave.

[Farmerbink]

Jessica nods. "It's at least worth checking whether it's inhabited, or indeed natural."

[u-b]

The pool made by falling down water is considerably deeper than the stream flowing out of it. You are not totally sure how deep it is - the water is clear, but bubbly and swirly. At least you are sure there is some rocky floor below the water. From the left bank it is easily seen that there is a cave behind the faterfall, which is not seen from the right bank. But there is a narrow way to the waterfall (and possibly the cave, you are not sure from where you stand) going along the right bank. That, and the fact that the cave does not quite look untouched natural, makes Henri suggest either sloppy work or erosion. Quite possibly the waterfall should have extended further to the left.

Spoiler

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You can see into the cave (and enter there without getting wet) by column E or row 24.

1. Everyone please position yourselves with Henri somewhere halfway to the waterfall by whatever route and everyone else further away.
2. Everyone roll perception checks, with optional area to watch in preference to the others (+2 / -2 to check).
3. Everyone make initiative (and dungeoneering too, if trained).

[farothel]

Staying a bit back and trusting Henri to look ahead, Laurelata looks more to the rear to make sure they aren't ambushed from behind.

Spoiler: OOC rolls

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I'll be around O11 (from the map, I assume the column is O, not E), watching the rear: perception: (1d20+9)[16] (if a +2 is allowed, add two to the result)

initiative: (1d20+9)[10]
knowledge (dungeoneering): (1d20+7)[18]

[DarkOne-Rob]

Henri guides the party to the eastern (right on the map) side and towards the cave mouth along the broader path of sand. He lights a torch and keeps his eyes trained forward, not trusting his ears over the noise of the waterfall as he peers into the darkness.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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1. Everyone please position yourselves with Henri somewhere halfway to the waterfall by whatever route and everyone else further away. - approaching 24/I
2. Everyone roll perception checks, with optional area to watch in preference to the others (+2 / -2 to check). - (1d20+9)[29] (unmodified by specific directions - please apply if appropriate towards the cave).
3. Everyone make initiative (and dungeoneering too, if trained). - Initiative: (1d20+1)[7], Knowledge (Dungeoneering, trained): (1d20+4)[23]

[Farmerbink]

Jessica follows a few paces further back, obviously distracted by the beauty of the falls. Something about sunlight glinting and refracting off the wet stones and gushing stream just commands her attention when perhaps she should be more focused on the task at hand.

Still, she picks her footing carefully, deliberately following the path set out by Henri. Occasionally she meets Henri's eyes and smiles encouragingly, testing another step with the butt of her glaive.

Spoiler: OOC

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I figure Henri is about O/20ish? I would think Laurelata wanted to be closer than O/11 in that case, but if that estimate is even close, I'll put Jessica O/14. Maybe a few paces further back or forward if Henri's further back or forward from O/20.
(1d20+2)[4] perception
not trained in dungeoneering.

[u-b]

While Laurelata stands the rearguard and looks mainly in that direction and Jessica is mostly in awe at the site itself, this leaves only two people to look where this is going. Unfortunately, Tazmara does notice what's coming. Fortunately, Henri does. He notices some stones(?) moving deep under the swirly bubbly surface of the water. Then they move up. And up. And, taking some distinctive shape, straight at him. By now it is too late to run, so Henri shouts a warning to everyone and gets ready for the confrontation. A large wet-stone-colored lobster thingie with claws almost the size of Henri himself sort of emerges from the water trying to grab the half-orc. The claw attack is successful, grabbing the half-orc right in the middle for 16 and a solid-looking hold. And Henri knows what the thing is then going to do...

Spoiler

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Chuul stealth: (1d20+9)[18]
Chuul init: (1d20+7)[11]

Tazmara perception: (1d20+7)[16]
Tazmara init: (1d20+2)[9]

Chuul and Henri act in the surprise round. Chuul wins the initiative, is spotted while still underwarer, but then Henri has a surprise round worth of actions, which is not enough to evade Chuul's next round worth of actions.
Henri does recognize Chuul.

Chuul claw: (1d20+16)[24] for (2d6+7)[16] grab (1d20+19)[34]

Chuul and Henri are in Chuul-initiated grapple.

=> Party (everyone, any order, and Henri has a surprise round worth of actions before the thing is at him, a readied attack, total defense, movement, or any other kind)

[farothel]

As the critter suddenly popped up, Laurelata swung around and fired a shot towards the critter.

Spoiler: OOC rolls

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initiative: (1d20+9)[17]

attack: (1d20+5)[10]
damage: (1d8+1)[6] (if it's evil: (2d6)[5] extra damage)