As the party pours itself into the bag of holding for a five minute trek away from the spiders and into the unknown, the venom from the spiders makes it's way through the party victims. Only Vel and Tara are further affected by the venom. Tara takes an additional 3 points of STR DMG, and Vel's STR is brought to 0.
The party begins making its way in the direction the spider being pointed to at one point. They, well really only Alton, since the only other conscious party member is a medium sized cat, realizes the direction pointed in is not that far from the direction taken by the spider being and the swarms that travel with it.
Alton spreads out the members and starts a fire after some difficulty made easier by placing the fire in the dried out location of Kaellanna's flaming sphere. Through shear mental effort Vel manages to trigger his Fiendish Resilience and heal himself, while Kaellana sleeps away and recovers in her own way.
ReplyDeleteThe oppressive heat, however, continues to affect the party, and now all four members are fatigued from heatstroke and have taken nonlethal damage. After a couple hours of rest Kaellanna awakes, having healed HP and STR DMG enough to wake herself. Realizing the insanity of the heat situation Kaellanna immediately begins meditating to recover her spells before the heat drops her to unconsciousness, as it most certainly will within the next few hours. After her meditation completes she finds herself still conscious, and able to act ... for now.
With nothing better to do with his time, Vel extends his senses and focuses his mind in order to investigate the magical field itself that permeates the jungle. (K.Arcana/Planes/Religion)
ReplyDeleteVel begins to expand his mind in an attempt to learn more about his environment. He's not that successful, but he is doing a good job of not getting any sleep and not healing up any from the encounter. The rest of the party takes watch (Alton), sleeps (Tara), or meditates (Kaellanna) while waiting for the spells to be ready and the druid to do her thing. The waiting continues and the party encounters no creature, though they can hear many beasts crawling and climbing around them. For the three hours spent resting and waiting for Kaellanna the party is quiet and attracts no overt attention from any creatures that could do them harm. The rest of the party will need to get a full eight hours rest, each, for natural healing to ensue.
ReplyDeleteAs the party waits they begin to hear a sound in the distance. The direction is indeterminate at this point due to the nature of the has amounts of trees and undergrowth. Even the humidity, which is close to hot fog, seems to impede the sound. What the group hears is a slow thumping. At first like a distant drum, but then becoming like the heavy footfalls of some large creature with not to many legs, as it seems to get louder or closer. Thump ... thump ... thump ... thump ...
ReplyDeleteKaellanna readies her spells: O: 3x create water, 2x know direction, 1x detect magic; 1: 4x endure elements, 2x hide from animals; 2: 5x lesser restoration; 3: 4x neutralize poison; 4: 3x repel vermin; 5: 1x awaken, 1x commune with nature
ReplyDeleteShe casts lesser restoration on everyone as well as endure elements. She then starts healing everyone with her wands of cure light wounds, using up 9 wands in the process (12, 15, 10, 15, 12, 11, 17, 12, 15).
Please let me know what the total HPs are for everyone in the party after the healings. Also, please roll the 1d4 for each lesser restoration and let me know who they are applied to.
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DeleteOk sorry ignore those top numbers... 20 wand charges were used. Health: Avegnum 100, Kaellanna 47, Vel 41, Tara 40.
DeleteLesser restoration: 2 Tara, 2 Tara, 2 Tara, 4 Vel, 3 Vel.
"Sounds... big," Avegnum mutters uncomfortably, still having to deal with the occasional shock that his change in size creates. "If anyone can tell which way it's coming from the question is do we head towards it, or away?"
ReplyDeleteWhile Avegnum tries to Listen in order to tell which direction the thumping is coming from, Vel slowly sits up as stiff and poison aching muscles protest his commands to move. Feeling groggy, the human looks around at his companions and then says somewhat slowly, "If these wings can lift me up, I could take a peak above the canopy if we think... it'd be safe.."
As Alton listens for the creature he in interrupted by the sight of it. Just t the extent of his dark vision, and partially obscured by the vegetation he sees it. The creature has the basic features of a dwarf except for being 15' tall with fire for hair, two large, brass-colored, horns-like flanges poke out of the fire, large dark brassy dragon wings and massive clawed hands. All around the creature the air wavers from the heat radiating off it's body. The creature is wearing a large, shiny, silvery breastplate with blackened and annealed spikes the size of human hands. No weapons are visible, but the creature also has an extensive set of pointed teeth protruding from it's mouth. It slowly makes it's way through the trees and undergrowth. Each step is labored, but the vegetation all around the creature wilts, withers, and bursts into flames from the intense heat given off. It does not seem to yet notice the group hidden in their webbed cave. It heads in the same basic direction of the spidery creature fought a few hours ago. It's basic path will bring it closer to the group if it continues in a straight line. Even though most of the vegetation burns around the giant creature it does go around the larger trees rather than stand a wait for them to burn to ash. In it's wake it leaves behind a burnt trail about 10' wide.
ReplyDelete'I saw a lot of dren during the War but this has to be up at the top of the list', Avegnum thinks to himself as he shakes his head in disbelief. Whispering tersely to his companions, "Quiet! Big potentially bad giant dwarf/dragon/demon...?(trailing off) Hmm, if your magics will let us know more about the area Kaellanna, we might just be able to follow that bloke's path if we're careful."
ReplyDeleteK.History mayhaps to see if Avegnum's heard tales of this being?
Delete*this sort of being - not this one specifically though that would be cool too if there are
DeleteAlton's knowledge of history reveals to him that while giants are pretty much found everywhere, they are best known from Xen'drik, the continent to the south of Khorvair. Though those giants expired over 40,000 years ago as a civilization due to a great magical cataclysm brought on by a draconic retaliation against the giants for using magics to powerful to rid themselves of the rebellious elves and drow who were on the verge of overcoming the giants tyranny and enslavement (after having used similar magics to fight off the Dal Quor from the dream realm which resulted in much unanticipated destruction). The dragons of Argonessen taught the giants arcane magics many thousands of years prior to this, and even lived amongst them for a while. However, he does not know of any specific "giant dwarf/dragon/demon" things that are know to exist anywhere, aside from the general influence both dragons and fiends have in producing offspring throughout all of Eberron and deep into Khyber. And that fire giants have been compared to "giant dwarves" due to there very stocky build even though there are about 10-12 feet tall.
ReplyDeleteVel, on the other hand, thinks what is now 50' away and making lots of noise, is probably some kind of giant-dragon hybrid. He does not have any idea what kind of hybrid, but given the particularly fiery nature of the creature he is willing to bet that it is both a fire type of giant and a fire type of dragon. Given what Vel knows of the nature of dragons there is no guarantee if this particular one is evil or good, or what's it's intents are. It may be on it's own and more given to it's giant nature, or it could be working with it's draconic parentage and have some kind of though-out objectives. He is certain, though that it is no simple minded brute based on his observations of the way it is going about what it is doing (though what it is doing is unclear).
ReplyDeleteConferring quickly amongst themselves, the two men deduce that the being is some sort of dragon descendant and likely to be extremely powerful. "I don't know about you," Vel says, "But the path he's leaving looks too tempting to ignore, we should definitely follow it once it's safe."
ReplyDelete"I have to agree with you," Avegnum nods, "though we could also risk simply speaking to it and seeing if it's friendly, though given our luck that effort may go as awry as our teleportation."
Having said their pieces, the duo await input from the druid, and possibly her companion.
Seeing that they'll have more time, and in an effort to take his mind off of his damaged body, Vel studies the fiery giant-dragon hybrid with new eyes to see what further details he can glean, any weaknesses or capabilities he can discern now may prove vital in the long run.
DeleteK.Arcana/Planes/Religion and toss in a Spellcraft when Vel studies the creature's aura to see if it is a spell or just an innate quality of the being)
Vel has expended his knowledge of the creature he has seen. His eyes are as old as he is unless something odd has happened to him to give him new eyes. As far as an aura, Vel sees with his detect magic ability that the creature is not magical, but the armor is. The school of magic he is picking up is abjuration.
DeleteThe creatures path takes it to within 40' of the party before it gets father and farther away, burning everything around it. When it's about 50' away and getting farther a section of of the woods erupts in flames and scurries off. Vel realizes it was on of the spider swarms that caught on fire.
What is the party going to do?
Assuming that the druid and her companion must be in some sort of trance, Avegnum decides to run with the luck and instructs the weakened Vel to keep an eye on the other half of the party. Leaving the webbed sanctuary, the short and stocky warrior pushes his way through the dense undergrowth until he finally breaks out onto the being's charred trail. Ashes drift languidly through the air as the warrior's footsteps crunch through charred vegetation after the creature. Moving to within 40 feet along the trail, Avegnum calls out loudly in his most polite voice, "Hail glorious sir! Might I have a moment of your time for conversation?"
ReplyDeleteKaellanna slowly drifts out of her trance and immediately regrets it.
ReplyDelete"Well, looks like Avegnum is dying again... And this time I probably won't be able to reincarnate him..." She whispers to Tara while scratching her behind her ears.
Both Tara and Kaellanna hide (9 and 16) in the undergrowth, waiting to see what happens to Avegnum.