In the aftermath of the battle the writhing plants continue to reach out and try to grapple with anything they can find. This continues for a few minutes causing intermittent slowing of any movement the party makes. When the plants stop moving Kaellanna's polar bear form is dropped to the ground. Now that the plants no longer make noise the party can hear that the jungle is very quiet. More quiet than before. Tara claws her way over to her companion having seen her move and expecting her to get up now. The cat paws the bear then sighs and lays down next to Kaellanna getting as close as she physically can.
All around are the bodies of the dead and dying.
Not long after the drow leave Vik's strength returns. Once he is strong again he douses his inferno. "That went sort of well," He comments quietly while exhaling smoke, "We should heal up and get ready for round two quickly. That scorrow will get reinforcments and be back soon. I think we must be close to their camp. I've never seen so many drow before. Never have I seen anythig like this, either." Vik'Gotror kicks the carcase of the mechanical scorpion, "I've no idea what t is."
Avegnum finds Vel covered by and in the middle of a puddle of some thick, sticky, clear to off-white colored liquid. The plants around him are burnt and bubbling where they touch the slimy substance. All of Vel's non-magical items are missing. Vel has a certain obscured look to him, like someone crossed Vel with a changeling, like his features are softened. As Avegnum looks on Vel's features return to look exactly like Vel, except for being covered in the viscous liquid.
Vel Suddenly opens his eyes, and gasps as if he had been swimming underwater well past his ability to hold his breath. Looking around with wild eyes he lets out a short scream that sprays a little of the thick liquid out of his mouth. Scrambling to get up, he stands in a hurry looking around with wide eyes and a panicked expression on his face. Within a couple seconds he seems to have recovered his senses and have some memory of where he is. He mouths words but makes no sounds at first, then stops mouthing words as he recognizes his surroundings.
While dead Vel experienced the most vivid dreams he has ever had in his short life. They were full of great and awesome creatures made of slime and scales, wings and horns, teeth and eyes, and fur, claws and blackness. These dreams initially filled him with dread and horror, but as he found himself in a vast stinking swamp full of rotted plants and half-dissolved corpses the horror and dread are replaced by awe, respect, and even love. Then, being ripped from this slimy heaven, his mind races as he tries to recall where he is, why he is there, and who he is. As he opens his eyes flashes of his past come back to him, and memories of the lost life of a different person who strikingly resembles him fill his mind. Standing and looking around he remembers everything he has been through including the latest ambush and the attacks that drove him to unconsciousness.
The wetness covering Vel drips to the ground where it hisses and burns anything it touches. After a couple seconds Vel seems to hear the dripping and hissing and looking down he stop producing the acid which seems to be reabsorbed into his skin leaving him dry with a blank expression on his face.
Avegnum was watching Vel's reassociation with his surroundings in silence with wide eyes. When the "human" looks like he could competently respond, the "halfling" says, "Well you look surprisingly good for a dead man, nice trick there."
ReplyDeleteAfter the vivid images of the only place he could truly say felt like... home, Vel gives Avegnum a strange look as if attempting to determine how to speak and what was talking to him. His memories continue to resurface and when he begins to speak, it is in a hoarse voice as if under great strain or from acidic searing.
"I guess we won?"
Avegnum looks around at the battered fighters and dead foes before replying, "... Sort of."
Remembering a key part of any battle, Avegnum starts going around to all of the bodies and stripping them of anything valuable looking or potentially useful. With Vel's BoH intact they might be able to get away with a number of useful supplies.
"I've got to be honest Vel, it seemed like they might bring us all down but after we broke their warforged toy, they seemed a lot less certain of their chances. Their leader ran away like the pansy it is which really hit their morale. I wish we could've killed him but he and his friends had a ton of tricks up their sleeves."
"Oh, it seems like I missed a lot then." Looking around at the verdant jungle brimming with life, Vel is slightly nauseated and annoyed; this place has none of the tranquility of his vision. "Avegnum, can you cut off some of those drow ears for me, maybe I can use them as a deterrent in the future."
Avegnum pauses from what he's doing in surprise since the request, though not entirely unusual, seems very dark for the carefree spell slinger. "Well.. okay, you could be right about that, just don't go flaunting them in cities. It will probably get a negative reception," Avegnum advises as he sets about his grisly task.
"What should we do next Vik?"
(Avegnum will also do some flourishes to get the drow blood off of his blade and refresh his maneuvers.)
Vel uses his Deceive Item on his Wand of CLW and initially hits Avegnum for 5 CLW(+22hp) and Kaellanna for 5 CLW(+26hp)
He'll also heal himself for 17hp from the wand and then activate his Fiendish Resilience to gain Fast Healing 1 for 2 minutes.
DeleteItems found after the battle:
ReplyDelete6 masterwork chain shirts
12 drow long knives
6 hand crossbows
111 hand crossbow bolts
22 potions (minor conjuration)
6 potion bandoleers (each holds up to 6 potions) (minor transmutation)
1 masterwork composite longbow (+1 STR)
31 gold pieces
17 silver pieces
The giant replies, "We should heal up and get ready for the next encounter. Their base must be near by. We should look for it and see what more we have to deal with."
ReplyDelete"Yeah I think you're right, we have to hit them while their leader is
ReplyDeleteweakened," Avegnum says to the giant. "Hey Kaellanna, can we get some more healing here?"
Hearing the others talk about striking back at the ones that killed him brings a strange smile to Vel's face as images of dead, charred, and dismembered drow flit through his mind. Sensing that his odd grin might be unusual, he busies himself with attempting to identify the recovered potions using Spellcraft and if that fails he will sample a potion to see if he remembers the taste.
Vel is able to quickly determine that the potions are all the same and they are all cure light wounds.
DeleteGiven what I know of Kaellanna's spells I would guess her curing ability is limited at this point.
ReplyDeleteVik smokes and grumbles, "We were heading this way when they ambushed us and talked about their home. Aside from continuing that way the only other course would be to try to track the four enemies remaining. Though, I'm really not to good at tracking. Uh, do you guys think I could get some of those potions? That scorrow is a real scrapper, and put quite a beating on me."
ReplyDeleteWaiting for a few moments to see if Kaellanna would use her wands, Avegnum finally asks Vel to help out the giant when the warlock does not immediately respond. Vel wonders why he should keep healing these people, there seemed to be reasons before, but now... it isn't clear; though he realizes that teh halfling is good at killing things with weapons and the giant can burn and smash things. Comforted by these thoughts Vel uses 10 charges of CLW on Vik to heal him 59hp.
ReplyDelete"We might be able to track these guys down if Kaellanna can talk Tara into it, though the kitty will probably need to be healed too at some point," Avegnum says, wondering why the druid hasn't roused herself yet.
Kaellanna uses up 20 wand charges and ten potions and her last curing spell to heal the party up. Below are the current HP of each person.
ReplyDeleteVel = 37
Avegnum = 100
Vik = 178
Tara = 36
Kaellanna = 42
It has now been about 15 minutes since the end of the last battle. The natural sounds of the surrounding environment have returned and all seems well with the world except for the dead bodies lying around and the memories of fresh wounds. Vik is looking around anxiously, trying to keep watch through all the thickness of the under growth and the trees.
"I think we should move now, whatever we do. I don't like staying around in the same place we just had a massive fight. What do you say; which method do you want to use and which way to go?"
Kaellanna would be able to command Tara to track by scent if the party wants to take that path.
After getting her order from Kaellanna, who has reverted to elfin firm to give them, Tara takes off down the burnt path at full speed. Apparently scorrow and wild drow are particularly easy to track by scent. The group follows behind.
ReplyDeleteAfter going close to 100' down the path Tara turns north and heads into the jungle. At this point Vik asks, "Where do you want me in this tracking order and do you want me to burn a path?"
Tara easily outdistances the rest of the group, Vik choosing to stay close to the humanoids, and every so often she slows down and waits for the two-legged to catch up with her.
I need tracking order and positions and if Vik is trail blazing.
I'd say the order should be: Vik, Avegnum, Vel, Kaellanna and that Vik should not be trailblazing at this time so that we might have a chance at sneaking up on the drow, but who knows how stealthy a giant can be...
ReplyDeleteHopefully with Vik leading their will be a slightly crushed path that will make it easier for the rest of us to follow him.
Vel will also activate his Fell Flight invocation, sprouting shadowy wings that allow him to fly, though he will still walk amongst the others for the moment, holding a Wand of Haste in one hand and a Wand of Grease in the other. As they walk, Avegnum runs through a series of blade drills, practicing parries and attacks in order to change and refresh his maneuvers.
(Maneuvers Readied: Bonecrusher, Elder Mountain Hammer, Ironheart Surge, Mithral Tornado)
Setting out in the order described the party makes it's way north, at first, and then north west. The only difference to the order is that Tara moves quickly ahead of the group. She moves at least 40' away and out of sight before sitting still and waiting for the noises to catch up with her. The group always does and then the cat makes her way farther along the scented path in search of the drow and scorrow. This process repeated several times before the trail levels off and heads straight west. The whole time Vik'Gotror makes extra effort to push down the undergrowth to clear something of a path for the smaller members. Being slowed down as the group is in it's attempt to be stealthy and yet still make a path, it takes a full twenty minutes before the trail turns south and leads the group southwest.
ReplyDeleteWhile the group is walking, Vel looks around and surreptitiously pulls out a drow ear that Avegnum cut off for him and grips it tightly in his right hand between the palm and wand he's holding. Holding something from someone who was recently killed makes him feel a bit happier for reasons he can't quite name.
ReplyDeleteAvegnum attempts, in probable futility, to make Spot/Search checks as they go to see if he can also pick up signs of the drow's trail.
Vik suddenly stops and squats down while raising his hand in the air motioning the party down. Then he whispers as quietly as he can, "Did any of you hear that sounded like ... uhm, not sure, maybe arrows ..."
ReplyDeleteImmediately after both Vik and Kaellanna hear the sound of a soft bodies object weighing no more than 100 pounds collapse into the undergrowth.
DeleteVik'Gotror peers ahead then whispers back, "I think I see the kitten. She must be hiding ... wait, I think she's lying down. No, what's that red? Is that ... Is she wounded? She is not moving --- I think it's time for the inferno!"
Delete"Frell!" Avegnum thinks to himself as he draws his sword in preparation for battle.
ReplyDeleteSeeing the halfling get ready for combat, Vel is about to Haste the group when he wonders why he should.. if he doesnt there will be dead giant, haling-human, and elf bodies to glorify the world with. He could have so much fun with the parts, amongst them.. His fantasies are interrupted slightly when he realizes that in that scenario he would also be dead too, which isn't as appealing so he goes ahead and buffs the group.
"Why indeed Vel? Why would you subject yourself to the whims of these ... impostors ... those who have no concept of what it means to be you or the power you wield? In less that a single minute you could be finished with that small bitch ... all you have to do is fly away, and either allow it to happen while you watch, or cause it to happen. You know his weakness, you know his vulnerabilities. MAKE IT HAPPEN! You are the true power here! You have more in common with that dumb cat, or the dark elves, than with the short one or the female. DO IT! Do it for your own well being. Do it for the fact that they think less of you than you are. DO IT! The rewards will be eight-fold now that you are part of this. Do it to make you happy!" Vel hears a voice in his head that sounds almost exactly like his own internal musing.
DeleteAs he thinks on what the voice is saying he realizes that he never considered what the sweet ecstasy of betrayal and outright murder might feel like. The possibilities are enthralling and other voices whisper to the warlock that the others look down on him and think he's a fool, it's high time he taught them a lesson! A faint chorus springs up in counterpoint, though its power is clearly waning, that points out that these 'friends' have always tried to look out for him and that this jungle might prove troublesome if he was on his own.
DeleteGrimacing, he whispers "In time..." to the loudest voice. "I may have more in common with the drow, but they wouldn't be good company until they're dead. The others will prove useful to that extent at least for now. And after... once the elf has outlived her usefulness in life, her corpse will serve my desires in death.
With the giant pointing out her location Kaellanna can now just see Tara. The cat is slumped on top and between undergrowth. A few arrows are barely visible sticking out of Tara who is motionless and has patches of redness slowly spreading down her sides giving some indication that while dying she may yet be alive. Tara is about 60' away from Kaellanna, about 20' ahead of Vik'Gotror.
ReplyDeleteKaellanna moves up next to Vel and loudly whispers "They shot Tara with arrows! Quick, Avegnum, go get her and pull her back so I can heal her!"
ReplyDelete"Ah frell, perfect bait for an ambush," Avegnum mutters. Not entirely excited about receiving volleys of bolts he tries to come up with an alternative strategy.
ReplyDeleteNever having played with a cat corpse before, Vel uses his Wand of Invisibility on Avegnum and says, "Go bring it back to me... us, we have to get a look at it." He then switches the wand to Grease after the halfling has disappeared from sight.
Under the optical protection, Avegnum goes out to Tara as quietly as possible and starts to drag her back towards the group, hoping that the others are ready if fighting ensues.
Avegnum is able to slowly move up and pull the cat back. As he starts to he thinks he may see a form (medium humanoid) hiding behind one of the trees. Just in front of Tara's body is an area cleared out of undergrowth and significant trees. The cleared area is about 30' wide and 40' long heading south. He can also see a path cleared heading south. The whole area looks like it has been used a lot.
ReplyDeleteWhen he returns Vik asks "So what do you all want to do? How do you want to handle this?"
"Since Tara lead us here I assume we've gotten closer to some drow settlement or base. I think I saw one of those bastards hiding behind a tree and if there's one... I'm not sure, it seems like we should either go in stealthy using invisibility or brute force it with you leading the way. No offense Vik, but you can be pretty intimidating in battle and it seems like you should be in the vanguard," Avegnum whispers quickly.
ReplyDeleteWishing the others would get on with it, Vel sighs in frustration at the delays to bringing more deaths into the world. While Avegnum talks, Vel starts rubbing his hand in the feline blood, prodding and poking at the gaping bolt wounds with fascination. Momentarily shaking himself free from his entrancement, he pipes up, "Charge in, sneak in, I don't care, we need to kill these frellers and sow the jungle with their bones. We will rejoice at the offering!"
"How about we all get invisible and then we charge in anyway? Those dark elves won't be able to shoot us until we have found them and started hitting them." Vik Replies
ReplyDeleteKaellanna smacks Vel's hand when he starts molesting Tara. "Keep those filthy arcane hands off her you fiend-inspired, slimy, human child of halfling parents! I've got my eyes on you. Something different ... something sinister about you. Try to molest her again and I'll use my druid magics." The elf almost yells at him. She then sets about healing her companion while the rest of the party decides what to do next.
Vel's immediate urge from the druid's scolding is to unleash a barrage of eldritch blasts into her face, that would show the bitch! Channeling his energy he's about to let loose when the jungle's oppressive heat reminds him of where he is. Scowling, he eventually goes ahead and makes the party invisible, maybe then they could get to some killing, replacing the wand with the wand of grease after it is completed.
ReplyDelete"Let's get to it," Vel murmurs with anticipation.
(I had hasted earlier but it seems like it might have worn off by now, if he needs to do it again he will.)