The group has no other issues escorting Noromo Esdallefin to Levoča village just after sunrise the day after dealing with 'Dib's wagon fortress'.
The muddy byway you are on winds its way through the forest and eventually reaches a damp clearing where the sun struggles to reach the ground through a canopy of forlorn trees. About thirty moldering, thatched cottages sit in this clearing. Local children chase pigs and sheep in play, but they all rush toward you. They take your hands and lead you into the dark village, the clearing around which is watched by hundreds of scarecrows made from bones and branches wound together.

As the children lead the group into the village several of the animals around seem a bit more aggressive than what you'd expect, with a sheep turning around and giving a child a bit of a chase before a dog comes by and barks at it. The really odd thing is that the sheep looks ready to attack the dog for a moment before it backs down and trots off. The children stop and look at the unexpected spectacle and the boy that was suddenly chased by the sheep speaks up as he is a bit surprised and startled, and even slightly worried "Think something like that happened with Olay Yurt and his bull?"

Another child shrugs and says, "Who knows, perhaps it is why we haven't seen Karda or her pet pig today."

After reaching the village proper, Noromo thanks the party for their services and pays everyone their 10gp payment for services rendered and heads off to prepare his wagon to vender his wares and possibly acquire new merchandise to sell elsewhere.

Some of the children run off to resume playing with the pigs and sheep, along with the dog that has shown up, while others follow Noromo to see if he has any sweets or toys to sell. A few other children remain near the party to observe the strangers.

Upon seeing the beauty of the tree canopy and the darkness caused by it, Amalar closed her eyes with a soft smile and began gently singing an elvish song about the beauty of the forest.

Amalar was a bit surprised by the children and smiled and followed when they led the group. The surprisingly aggressive sheep and what the children say after, causes her smile to fade into an expression of concern and she looks at Caeldrim. "What sort of evil would cause even a gentle animal like that to turn aggressive?"

With some of the children still following, she is happy to share in showing them whatever they are curious about, be it questions about her crystal-infused glove, her skin and hair colors, or what it is she does. Though if asked about what she does, the way she will put it is "I like to dance, and nature likes to dance with me. Together, we create beauty. And like many beauties in nature, it can be used to bring harmony." And will gladly demonstrate things like making the elements swirl in her hands. Nothing TOO fancy yet, as she doesn't know how fearful the village would be towards seeing fire, water, earth and wind swirl about her entire form.

  "Way things go? Probably some hypocrite ready to very loudly start throwing a tantrum about harmless people 'not respecting nature'.  Who will then hold their livelihood hostage until you humor them that twisting nature to their whims for personal gain is okay if they do it."

  He sighs, "At least things honest about being the most evil thing for miles wouldn't drag things out." So many pay attention to the bad rep of 'Chaotic Neutral', but it's almost always the self proclaimed True/Lawful ones that cause the most long term trouble.

  Nature is a lot like fire. A real good time until it starts getting pushy for attention.  Most don't take the effort to make both deserve the attention at once like Amalar does.

Hunter enjoys Amalar's song when she sings it. But much as he'd like to close his eyes to enjoy it more, he keeps his eyes open to be alert.

Upon seeing a swarm of children come to greet the group, Hunter smiles brightly and immediately gets to running around with them and being playful. Then the weird thing with the sheep happens. His expression becomes stern. Hearing Amalar amd Joe, he answers, "Whatever it is, we will stop it. Clearly, that is why we have been guided here. Margreve guide us to what ails you, that we may remove the cancer quickly."

He is somewhat amazed that the children half-shrug off the extremely disturbing display, but then they are children and are still learning what counts as weird or not. He loves children and wishes he could be in a more playful mood, but the seriousness of the situation is a bit too ominous for him to ignore. Still, he calms himself by remembering one has to take these things one step at a time and there is nothing he can do about it for now, so why worry before he needs to?

Mix is grateful to have more kids around is excited to share her ability to shapeshift... but doesn't know this place yet. So she keeps to her human form and answers questions about Barby in a half-bragging sort of way. Much like a kid bragging about their cool big sister would.

Mix gives Joe a confused look. "If they hold people's livelihood hostage, they will be proclaiming their evil and we'll just kill 'em. But like Hunter said, whatever it is, we'll fix it. It's what we do."

If any kids object to Mix saying "we", she will gladly explain that she is Barbara's squire.

At first Pyrus was staring at the thatched cottages, fantasizing...  ( https://www.deviantart.com/won...art/Trogdor-14789603 )*

But when the kids show up to escort the group into the village, he gets a proud grin and starts bragging.  "Yeah!  Lady Barbara and the others already took out a band of goblin bandits on the way here, and burned down their fortress!"

No longer wearing her helmet, Barbara gets a disgusted look upon reaching the outside of the village.  What's with the zillion creepy scarecrows?  And what a dreary place this is.  I've seen a prison cheerier than this.  And as if that weren't enough, the livestock act like they have rabies.  The strangest part is that the animal snapped out of it.  Maybe it's just bordering the madness stage.

Barbara listens to her allies, and nods.  "I hope you're right.  That this is a simple matter of slaying an evil druid.  An epidemic of rabies would be a far worse problem that we are not equipped to handle."

Upon receiving payment of 10 gold, Barbara stares at it for a moment.  It still stuns her that people are willing to put their lives on the line for such a small reward.  But then she reminds herself that she would risk her own life for another without any promise of reward.  Still.  10 gold.  Yeesh.  She off-handedly hands the money over to Mix.  "I trust you to keep track of the treasury."

Wildfire cheers and claps for Mix.  Pyrus looks jealous.

*OOC: Is reference to this: https://homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Rocky would frown if his face could adequately make that expression as he sees the event with the sheep and hears the comments the children make. "Odds are that the missing Karda and her pig is related to this as is the situation of Olay Yurt and his bull. But are we to do about it?"

Caeldrim replies to Amalar, “There are several possible reasons why this is going on. We don't have enough information to rule out anything yet. The bigger question right now is the one Rocky pointed out... which situation do we deal with first, Karda's or Olay Yurt's?”

One of the children overhears the group's conversation and speaks up, "Can you all find Karda? None of us have seen her today...I saw her mother Jarka searching for her this morning over in that direction." The kid points off in a northwestern direction. The boy then continues, "There isn't much you can do for Olay Yurt, his bull killed him without warning three days ago and his son Drash wasn't able to kill the bull due to how angry it was... so he's now cleaning out his father's house, which is over there." as the kid points in the direction of Olay Yurt's house.

Rocky turns to Caeldrim and says, "It should be easy to deal with finding out what happened with the Bull I can use speak with animals to question him since I use it all the time to talk with Don."


OOC: Not needing to make a separate narrator post at this time since I included what would be added here. The question is, which task does the group deal with first... Find the Missing Girl or deal with the Angry Bull?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Wed 07 Aug 2019.

  "Well, the expected thing would be to go straight to looking for lost kids.  But I would not be surprised if the problems with the Bull are related to why nobody has seen Kardra today.  So I think we should swing by to ask some basic questions first. If ten minutes of fact checking got Karda killed, then the kid probably wouldn't last another month anyways.

  Also, 'speak with animal to the bull that killed a man' counts as basic questions when you are Adventurer.

Amalar looks to Barbie and says, "I don't think rabies acts this way, so you can rest easy on that one."

She listens to her bro, then to Joe, then nods. "You have the right of it. And the bull is a danger right here and now to more than one person."

Amalar looks at Rocky. "Thank you, Rocky.. your ability will be needed very shortly."

Hunter knows better than to suggest splitting the party. So it really is a matter of what the group does TOGETHER first. "While I am loath to suggest it, I think caging as many of the local animals as possible is going to be needed in the near future. But I guess we'll see what the bull has to say first before we make such decisions."

Mix looks a little proud when Barbie entrusts the money to him, but she glances at Pyrus, seeing the hint of jealousy and asks, "Wanna help me count it and sort it, Pyrus?" in an attempt to involve him so he doesn't feel left out. That and thanks to Mix's background, she SWORE to never be even remotely like the tyrannical bullies from her old home. Never lord over others unless they are villains. And even then...

Besides. Pyrus is her friend. And Mix wants to make Barbie and Wildfire proud of her. And a whole host of reasons...

Barbara listens to the others with her usual stern expression, hiding the urgency she feels for rescuing the missing girl.  And the expectation that it is already too late for her.  Amalar's point is some comfort, at least.

"We will search for Karda, if that wasn't clear.  Where was she last seen?"

The Mom is probably checking her daughter's usual haunts.  Unlikely to be found in any of them under the circumstances.  More likely to find the remains by following a trail of blood that starts somewhere near where she was last seen.

In Sylvan she comments, "I doubt the bull will be in a chatty mood after murdering his best friend.  Steel yourselves for the likelihood that we will have to put him down."

Pyrus hesitates to answer Mix.  But then smiles and nods.  "Sure.  I'll help."

It only takes the group a few minutes to walk to the small croft with a pair of walled fields at the rear that was Olay Yurt's house and the field with the bull.

It doesn't take Rocky long to ritually cast speak with animals and then approach the bull. Rocky pauses in his approach when the bull suddenly looks up and bellows. Rocky then translates for the group, "The bull is complaining about a maddening singing voice that is coming from the forest."

Rocky then asks the bull, "Why did you attack and kill the man."   and the bull angrily bellows out a response.

Rocky then backs away and turns to the group, "The bull doesn't even remember an attack, he's distracted and agitated about that maddening noise. I doubt I'll be able to get anything more out of the bull and it would probably be best to leave the bull alone since he's likely to attack anything nearby for little to no reason without even realizing what he's doing."

Caeldrim rubs his chin and speaks up, “What are the odds that all of the afflicted animals are hearing this 'maddening singing noise'? Guess that means we'll need to find a way to stop that noise...but finding the girl needs to come before we try to find the source of the noise. We probably should let Olay Yurt's son know what we've found out... if only to make sure he doesn't risk injury going near the bull until we can resolve this issue.”

  "While it is good to have confirmation something is changing their behavior, 'It's coming from the forest' isn't exactly specific in a place like this.  Particularly when it's bound to be related to where the girl ran off to. Is there a specific direction? Or, knowing our luck, is the answer 'all of the forest' full three sixty degree problems?"

  It's a good thing Hunter would be very good at tracking small frightened children. And also a good thing Joe ops not to say that out loud about his goblin pal right now.

Amalar says, "Joe has a point, though. Especially if we wind up with no decent leads on how to find Karda."

She hurries off to Olay's son and says, "Leave the bull alone and make sure people stay away from him until we find the source of the problem."

Hunter says, "Once you ask it that last question, Rocky, we need to subdue this bull and knock it out... and any other animal. If the animals in this town are that unstable, anyone could be killed any moment, let alone while we're off looking for Karda."

Mix looks worried at the revelation of what the bull said. He's happy to have the task of keeping track of the money, but.. can't help worry in the meantime. Which means he actually NEEDS Pyrus' help counting. And soon, the counting is a very welcome distraction from what the adults are doing.

Well.  That is much better progress than Barbara was expecting.  More likely would be the animal saying, "Rrreeaaarggh!" and charging the moment Rocky tried to reason with it.  And wouldn't it just go to figure that this was all a string of unfortunate coincidences like the farmer getting drunk and antagonizing the bull and the adventurers were jumping to conclusions about some nefarious magic.  At least now its much more certain that this isn't a huge waste of time.  So there's that.

She nods in agreement with Caeldrim's prioritizing finding the girl.  And Joe's conclusion that her whereabouts are likely connected to the mystery.  Though she's not entirely sure what he means by 'knowing our luck.'  Have they been a team long enough for a pattern of having to search entire forests to have arisen?  If so, clearly this means Barbara hasn't been paying enough attention, and she'll have to assign herself proper punishment for her failure.  400 knuckle pushups over a bed of coals?  We'll see.

Watching Amalar scurry off to warn the farmer's son, Barbara listens to Hunter's suggestion and gives it thought.

"I have a suggestion.  What if we were to plug the bull's ears?  I don't expect it'll work, but it may be important later to have ruled that out as a solution.  I'm sure the bull will be willing to give permission for a remedy to the singing, so that should be the first question before we go asking for directions and get a 'leave me alone' response to everything from then on.  Instead, it may be more willing to do us favors if it thinks it'll be getting relief by being cooperative."

She turns in Amalar's direction and hollers, "Ask if the bull needs subdued or if he's certain the fence is enough to keep the bull contained even if in a frenzy."

Pyrus pauses from the counting and leans in to whisper to Mix, "Don't look now but you've become a 'he.'"

Rocky turns to Joe and then says, "Unfortunately the bull isn't able to give a more precise answer than in the forest."

Caeldrim follows along with Amalar to help explain things to Drash with Amalar. Drash looks to Amalar when she approaches him and responds somewhat angrily, "And why would I do that? The bull has gone made and killed my father. It needs to be put down."

Caeldrim then speaks up, “Our druidic friend used a ritual to try to speak with the bull and has discovered that a sound coming from the forest is driving the bull mad. The bull does not even realize he killed your father. We are just asking that you don't endanger yourself or anyone else by confronting the bull until we do what we can to try to stop the sound which should end the madness that is affecting some of the animals of this village. You have had to have seen animals doing some strange and aggressive things over the past few days. We have already seen some and have only been in the village for a few hours.”

Drash frowns at Caeldrim's explanation but nods before saying to Amalar and Caeldrim, "I have seen things... I'll wait to deal with the bull until you have gathered more information about what in the forest is causing this madness. If it cannot be stopped or if it is irreversable then the bull will still have to be put down. If whatever is causing the sound can be stopped, then stop it permanently... and if anyone is behind the sound then those individuals need to be killed or this village will never be safe." It goes unspoken that Drash also wants those responsible killed to avenge his father.

Meanwhile, Rocky turns to Hunter and shakes his head, "No if we try to subdue the bull it will fight to the death, and could cripple or kill someone before he is put down. We are better to leave him trapped in the fenced-in field where he can't hurt anyone. Trying to knock out all the animals wouldn't work either. There is no way the villagers would tolerate people just coming into the town and trying to do so without having the village turn on us. Plus the animals would likely flee into the forest where we couldn't get them all. It would be better to just let the villagers know what we have learned and for them to be on guard and to not travel alone. After all, if the animals in the village are being affected, so too are the animals around the village, like wolves or bears... and such wildlife might attack without warning."

Rocky then turns to Barbara and contemplates her suggestion, "Hmm, while that might work, getting close enough to use the earplugs would be too dangerous, as the Bull would attack from what he's already said. However, that could work to keep Donny, Parne, and Wildfyre safe since they could also be vulnerable to the effects of the sound."

Parne, who has remained with the group as Caeldrim followed Amalar looks around and sighs as he knows he'll have to speak up in order to explain things since Caeldrim is with Amalar and hasn't returned yet... Thus a soft voice can be heard coming from the Leonino with brown and white fur, as he speaks up in the elvish tongue. This possibly surprises those around Parne since he has not previously spoken up in their presence, (Elven)"Earplugs of some sort is a wise precaution as I am hearing a strange sound from the forest although I can't tell from where it is coming from... it seems to echo off all of the trees somehow and is most annoying in that regard. Unlike with the bull, it isn't affecting me, but that may be due to my higher intellect since this sound only seems to affect animals, not creatures with enough intelligence to be sentient, like me. I doubt Wildfyre would be vulnerable, but Donny is at risk, so we should at least use earplugs for him before we head off to find the girl. Oh, by the way, Caeldrim and Amalar have managed to convince Drash to not approach the bull until the group finds more information about what is causing the sound."(Elven) There is a slight hint of a mixture of both a sense of superiority and boredom in Parne's voice.

Rocky blinks as he listens to Parne as he knows Parne's voice is not due to the speak with animals ritual and that the Leonino actually can speak, and probably understands any language that Caeldrim knows since Parne is some sort of familiar. Rocky also realizes that not everyone in the group may understand Elven and thus what the Leonino said so the Warforged Druid translates it for the rest of the group if asked to.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:26, Thu 24 Oct 2019.

  Joe is counting on the fact Mix is always the same amount adorable to reduce the amount of people who notice the shapeshifter's momentary oversight, be it one in or out of character.

  "Well, at least this group isn't any stranger to tracking things down the old fashioned way.  Though hopefully we can work out something more convenient than long term self induced deafness if the noise is a repeat occurrence, and we're not lucky enough that smacking down one asshole deals with it long term."

Hunter looks over to Rocky when he speaks up and nods. "I trust your judgement, Rocky."

Mix glances around and looks back at Pyrus. He gets an impish smile, pops out a ponytail, and whispers. "Tada. Instant she." Then "lets her hair down" and shakes her head a little to loosen it up, disguising the fact he is completing the disguise and making hair grow a bit and subtle changes in face shape to be back to being a girl. He whispers again, "Guess I'm feeling... boyish today. But darned if I don't enjoy doing that particular trick with the hair." followed by a girly giggle.

But Hunter and Mix both do a double-take when the cat speaks. At length, even. Not just parrot-talk.

Hunter listens to the Leonino. He does catch on the air of aloofness, but doesn't mind. It's speaking elven, after all. AND it's a cat. The aloofness levels should be off the charts! He responds with a respectful tone, <Elven>"As you say, Parne. Glad you're not affected. If I may... why haven't you spoken till now?"</Elven>
This message was last edited by the player at 04:10, Thu 03 Oct 2019.

Amalar is lightly startled by the angry tone. <Elven>"I thought this man didn't want the bull dead since the bull was still alive..."</Elven> she comments very quietly and somewhat defensively as if expecting to be flogged. But she calms down when Cael explains things more thoroughly. "We will..." she answers to the man's demand for justice.

She turns to walk back to the group with Cael. <Elven>"Thank you, Caeldrim. I don't mean to sound impatient, but the sooner we deal with this problem, the better."</Elven>

Barbara tries not to let it show that a weird cat creature suddenly speaking in fluent Elven surprised her too.  She carefully mulls over what the cat had to say, though.

Wildfyre shrugs and answers in her tiny voice, "I don't hear any strange annoying sounds."

Listening to Joe, Barbara becomes convinced that her confusion with Joe's way of speaking is because she hadn't noticed till now his proclivity for exaggeration.  But animal earplugs for the duration of an adventure being described as long term deafness finally convinces her to consider everything he says as an exaggeration.  But princess training also convinces her that it's not her job to correct him on just how vast a difference there is between earplugs and long term deafness.

"Donny shall be our answer, then.  If the madness appears in spite of the earplugs, we shall know that the remedy doesn't work.  I expect you won't have any trouble convincing Donny to wear earplugs, Rocky."

What's more surprising?  An exotic cat-like creature who speaks Elven?  Or a goblin who speaks Elven?  Either way, the obvious question asked, Barbara remains silent on that.

Pyrus grins at Mix.  "Love how you do that."

He then leans in close and whispers, "I would think that Donny would have mentioned something about a maddening sound to the druid by now.  But I'm betting they'll get all defensive if I bring it up.  And Lady Barbara didn't.  Sooo maybe she hasn't thought of it?  I'm gunna say something to her."

He gets up, and unless Mix stops him, he goes over to Barbara to whisper his thoughts into her ear.

Parne seems to sigh, as much as a cat can make those facial expressions, and answers Hunter's question as if stating the obvious, (Elven)"Because something needed to be said and Caeldrim was not here to say it."(Elven) Parne doesn't seem impressed by Mix's 'trick' but it could just be that the Leonino just wasn't paying attention to Mix.

As Caeldrim wakes back to the group with Amalar, Caeldrim answers, (Elven)“It seems that the reason Drash hasn't killed the bull yet was that he was busy dealing with his father's final affairs and belongings. At least he was choosing to mourn before attempting vengeance. But I agree that we need to solve this problem quickly, I don't believe this village would last long if packs of wolves or families of bears were affected and attacked this village. And let's not forget swarms of insects, they can be dangerous as well.”(Elven)

Rocky's eyes contract and dim as he says, "I'll go ask Donny about the sounds since I haven't used this ritual in the village before we approached the bull."

It doesn't take Rocky long to reach where the group left Donny and the carts where Rocky asks Donny about any strange noises or other oddities... upon getting Donny's reply Rocky rushes back to the group and says, "Donny is hearing a strange noise but it is faint and ignorable for now so we'll need to try out the earplugs before we leave the village to search for Karda."

OOC: This also includes the narrator's posting since there is nothing more the Narrator needs to mention at this point in time.

  Amalar is going to need to learn to deal with bipolar NPCs with annoyance at worst, or they will be afraid of at least 37% of exposition.

  "Why can't 'the animals have it worse in the forest than people' be things like chipmunks unable to get a date instead of voices telling them to kill."

  OOC: Joe hopes Barbara gets to continue to live in the world where "Joe exaggerates every concern" remains true, because that means Joe gets to live there too.

Mix doesn't know whether Parne didn't notice or is simply jaded. She just thinks a talking winged cat is cute and wonderful. Then Pyrus gives positive commentary on Mix's ability to change with graceful ease and she smiles at him. "Thanks."

Mix doesn't stop Pyrus from going to ask Barby the question he was gonna ask.

Hunter seems indifferent to Parne acting like the answer was obvious. He's just happy to be able to freely speak with Parne in the first place and smiles. He then looks at Rocky, "I don't have earplugs, but I do have some cotton, which can easily serve as earplugs. If you want it, I'll dig it out."

When he spots Cael and Amalar approaching, he watches expectantly.

Amalar decides to not think too much about what might happen and focuses on how to prevent it. Seeing the rest of the group up ahead and seeing Hunter waving, she waves back. "We need a plan, but it feels like our only choice is to search without much clue. However, the noise has only driven some animals mad and only some of the time. Maybe Rocky will be able to speak with some birds and learn if the madness is more prevalent in a particular part of the woods."

Barbara listens to Pyrus' question, nods to him, and listens to the others.

This is my talking cat.  But he's taken a vow to only speak when absolutely needed.

That and chipmunks unable to get a date sounds like something the court jester would have come up with, so Barbara can't help but smile ever so slightly.

Upon hearing the answer to the question of why Donny didn't complain about the noise yet, Barbara simply turns a glance to Pyrus as if to tell him, "Well there's your answer."

To Hunter, "I'm sure cotton will work just fine."

To Amalar, "The plan is that we pick up and follow Karda's trail.  When we find her, we return her home, then follow whatever animal tracks were near the body."

Though her statement is only technically accurate to her expectations, she deliberately avoided saying, "When we find her corpse," in order to avoid discouraging the team.

Pyrus returns to Mix, looking relieved.  "Convenient when awkward questions don't need to be asked after all."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Fri 01 Nov 2019.

Rocky nods and says to Hunter, "Cotton should work and wouldn't harm Donny's ears so let's try that."

Rocky then turns to Amalar and says, "We can try that although if they are affected by the voice they might attack us."

Rocky shares Barbara's sentiment that Karda is probably already dead, but isn't giving up hope that she might still be alive but keeps silent regarding that topic.

Upon Being offered the cotton, Rocky explains the situation to Donny and then places cotton in the donkey's ears and uses a strip of cord wrapped around the donkey's head like a headband to hold the cotton in place so the pieces don't fall out when the donkey moves.

Caeldrim says, “Since there is little else we can do in town right now shall we begin searching for Karda?”

OOC: There is no need for the narrator to post right now.

  Joe expects the cat at least will be fine by embracing 'I'm a cat, I'll ignore you if I want to' stereotypes that prove to be working so far.  But it is good to take extra precautions where plot devices are concerned.

  "Might as well get started, now that we've covered all the 'oh, by the way' bases with the locals."

Mix nods to Pyrus and gently elbows him with a smile.

Hunter says, "I'll get on Karda's trail, then."

He gets to it! ...and is going to need the fact Cael and Joe are ALSO trained in survival. >.< (Rolled a 2. +4 from skill bonus for a 6 total.)

Amalar just follows. Tracking is not her thing at all.

Same with Mix, honestly. Mix says, "I sure hope Karda's still alive..."

"I'll be at the ready for ambushes."

True to her word, Barbara draws her javelin, ready to skewer whatever hostile surprises should happen along the way, and follows those working on tracking.

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, Mix."

Pyrus follows along and offers Mix an assuring side-hug.  But he too is on high alert.

Caeldrim seems to have more luck than Hunter as he is easily able to find Karda's track from the village and leads the group deeper into the woods. Caeldrim explains to the group, “There are also tracks of a pig that Karda seems to have followed... I suspect the animal ran off because of the sounds which have made animals aggressive..”

Caeldrim then stops the group after around an hour of following the tracks as he points to a large beech tree where a girl's body can be seen. “It looks like she's been dead since last night, but what would have stung her to death like this?” It is obvious that she has been stung to death. Both Joe and Rocky spot a beehive that hangs 15ft up in the branches.

Rocky points out the branch with the beehive on it and says, "I suspect those bees are what stung her to death. But why would they swarm and attack a human girl?"

Caeldrim frowns as he realizes that bees normally do not swarm and attack unless they are provoked and there is no way Karda would have provoked the bees,  “Normally bees wouldn't do that. We must be careful as that beehive must be affected by the sounds and will be aggressive if we approach. Lest we suffer the same fate.”

OOC: Now that the party has found Karda's body, what will the group do... currently the party is approximately 40ft from the tree and Karda's corpse.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:39, Mon 09 Dec 2019.

  Well, the GOOD news is she has clearly been like this before the party even arrived at the village, so in the clear!  The bad news is she is dead.  The awkward news is 'oh and we still didn't find the pig'.  Only one of these things should be mentioned out loud.

  "You know, while it also wouldn't fit the 'natural' state of bees?  This really, really feels like the bees are laying bait for concerned citizens."

Amalar gets a sad look and says, "Most natural creatures have been acting unnatural thanks to that crazy sound. And it must be worse closer to the sound. Poor Karda..."

Amalar does that almost dwarven-looking dance with a stomp and spreading her stance to be grounded before raising her arms and the ground below Karda rises at a tilt to roll the body five feet away from the bees. She then repeats to continue rolling the body towards the party, but is careful to watch the bees. If it looks like they are agitated by the body moving, she will pause for a bit to let them calm down. If they attack, well, she is ready for combat.

Hunter is with Joe on the "well at least we know we *couldn't* have gotten to her in time" as that would have really torn at him. As it stands, though, whoever is causing this is already guilty of murder and now make that two counts of murder that include a child. His face hardens as he gets a steely expression. He looks around, in case the bees are a distraction from some ambush.*

Mix tries to put on a brave face. The idea you could DIE from a swarm of bees had never occurred to her.

*Perception roll total: 16

From GM: Hunter notices that while there are other animal tracks in the area, nothing appears to be waiting to attack... in fact most of the tracks look to hurry away from the tree... as it seems the bees are aggressively territorial and not just towards humans.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:59, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

Barbara idly wonders if this is "the worst" that she was warning Mix about.  Not likely.  Could have been much worse.  Like the corpse standing up and attacking.  Because she was stung by zomBEEs.  She's ready to intercept the corpse should it attack.

"It seems strange to find her corpse so close to a tree with a bee hive in it.  Like she was already mortally wounded when they attacked.  Otherwise, she would have run and died a long distance from the hive.  Unless these bees have been infused with such powerful poison that it kills instantly, I suspect there's more to this than just an aggressive hive of bees."*

Pyrus is disappointed that the heroes didn't save the girl.  "We should destroy that hive with a fireball either way.  Clearly too dangerous."

*Ignore this if pointing this out will derail the story.
21:24, Today: Barbara Naur rolled 3 using 1d20 with rolls of 3.

As Amalar starts to use the move earth cantrip to 'roll' Karda's corpse away from the tree, a swarm of angry bees flies at the corpse and within moments it is stung hundreds of times... revealing just how a swarm of normal bees could quickly kill someone in a fashion that can be considered 'death by a thousand cuts' within a matter of moments since while anyone sting might be trivial, hundreds of stings within moments would be fatal for a typical human adult, let alone a child.

As long as the corpse continues to move due to the shifting dirt below it, the bees continue to attack it thinking it is still alive.

As Caeldrim sees the bees swarm Karda's corpse as soon as the shifting earth moves it he says, “Amalar, stop moving the corpse it will only bring the swarm to us. Those bees are obviously hostile to anything that moves and it is clear how they killed the girl, but at least it looks like she was killed quickly so she couldn't have suffered long. Still probably was frightened, confused, and scared when it happened though.”

Caeldrim then glances to Barbara and nods, “I agree that the swarm and its hive need to be destroyed as this is a threat that will kill again if left alone but perhaps when we burn it with fire we don't set the surrounding forest ablaze with it.”

Parne simply stays back as the Leonino knows that he'd be killed by the swarm in seconds if he approached it.

OOC: OOC Parne's just staying back so next up in the initiative order is Amalar, assuming combat is about to begin.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Fri 27 Dec 2019.

Rocky sighs as he observes the swarm of bees relentlessly attack Karda's corpse and says, "I hate to admit it, but I have to agree... this hive of bees are a threat to those in the area. So we have several votes for 'kill it with fire'...I do agree that it would be safer to attack the swarm at range than to try to wade into it and swing a weapon... even if you kill a few bees there are dozens more for each one you managed to kill, and each would be trying to sting you to death."

  "Well, that's a good idea to get her back at least" Is it more or less morbid than dragging the body with a lasso?  Well, certainly the winner in 'easier'-oh...  Well, looks like Nature is doubling down on giving the party cause to declare 'the body was like that when we got there'.

  "I shouldn't be surprised, but I had the nerve to expect any nature unrelated to Rocky and friends to function even slightly reasonably.  While normally 'kill it with fire' would probably be no fuss, I get the feeling we're going to need something a lot bigger than a couple firebolts to avoid 'and then the bees unerringly flew at us with perfect coordination and accuracy, in spite of being tiny bug on fire'"

Amalar nods and says, "Destroying the bees it is."

Amalar does a twirl that looks like a rising flame and forms fire at the tip of her hand before hurling it at the swarm and burning some of the bees!

---

Firebolt v bees. rolled 20 total.
dmg: 4

The Swarm of Bees stop attacking the corpse and flies towards the group but stops short of the group. The swarm is agitated but also seems hesitant to leave its hive unguarded.

  Adventuring leads to some really twisty turny logic.  Running from the bees sounds sane, but wouldn't help anyone.  Stepping closer to the bees sounds insane, but Joe has to do that to smack them with a module specific torch.  To make it more likely people not stuck resorting to burning sticks can finish it off with magic before someone else gets stung to death today.

OOC: Dual wield, hit and miss. 32-7= 25

 "max damage" doesn't sound so impressive when "7, now they still have twice as much HP as the Paladin" is the result. But beats four or less
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Sun 29 Dec 2019.

Caeldrim casts a firebolt at the swarm of bees inflicting a moderate amount of fire damage followed up by a hobble cantrip but the swarm resists the effect.

OOC: Action for firebolt, hits and does 7 damage dropping the swarm down to 18 health which is half the maximum so the swarm's damage is now dropped due to half life.
As a bonus action, Caeldrim also casted Hobble, but the swarm resisted with a Dex save of 13

"That's showin' them who's boss!" Pyrus cheers for Amalar and Caeldrim!

Oh wow.  Pessimism guy is killing them with fire too!  The cheer includes Joe too!

Pyrus turns to Mix.  "Is it just me, or is it kinda spooky that Joe's prediction about 'unerringly flying at us with perfect coordination and accuracy,' was perfectly spot on?"

Barbara is all the more convinced that there's something even more unnatural about these bees beyond what she already said.  There's Joe's point about their apparent supernatural coordination, but there's also half remembering something about stinging a person will mean a bee loses it's life in the process, "A willing sacrifice not unlike what royal guards will do for the royal family."  Shouldn't that swarm all be dead just from attacking the girl?  They've been magically augmented!  Which means that if the queen survives, these monster bees will become a problem again and again.

Barbara knows what she must do.  She flips her face mask down, rushes toward the tree, and hurls a javelin perfectly aimed at the point where the bee hive is held to the tree, knocking it down to the ground!

"I'm calling you out, swarm!  Leave my friends alone or your queen dies!"

What?  With all this magic going on, maybe they can understand Common too.  At the least, even normal bees should understand that the noisy beast is the biggest threat to the queen and will go after her instead of Joe.  Either way, Barbara has no intention of letting the queen bee survive.

(( Crit!  XD ))
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Mon 30 Dec 2019.

The beehive is destroyed by the javelin strike as it is knocked from the tree and falls to the ground shattering into small pieces and the buzzing swarm gets louder as if agitated. If Barbara's intention was to get the swarm angry at her, she's succeeded.

Hunter scurries up next to Joe to form a wall with him and swings torches at the bees, decimating more of them! "Next time I run across someone who makes fun of people for being afraid of bees, boy will I have a story for them."

Meanwhile, Mix is watching anxiously, a hand on one of Barbara's backup weapons in case she should need it. "Barby..." she only says quietly. Then to Pyrus she nods without taking her eyes off the fight. "Either Joe is an expert on enchanted bees, or there is something else to his prediction, like expecting the worst because the worst is what likes to happen."

---

Twin torch attacks! 22 and 20, both hit.
2d4+3 dmg: rolled 9 total
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Mon 30 Dec 2019.

Rocky says, "Joe just applied what he saw among the village animals and applied a worst-case scenario to the bees." The warforged druid then uses a Thorn Whip to strike at the swarm of bees and while the swarm is struck it has very little effect.

Parne just continues to hang back since there is little he can do at the moment.

OOC: While a solid hit with a spell attack roll of 20, rolled a 1 for the damage. The swarm of bees is now down to 8 hit points. And Parne ends his turn as there is little the familiar can safely do.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Mon 30 Dec 2019.

Amalar does another fire dance and hirls fire at the bees, but her attack goes a bit wide. Thankfully, the firebolt doesn't catch anything on fire. Amalar briefly puts her hand on her mouth at having missed, but gets back to battle mentality. She doesn't have a comment on what's going on or being said for the moment.

---

Firebolt! Miss with an 8.

The swarm flies over to Barbara provoking an attack of opportunity reaction from both Hunter and Joe. Joe manages to land a strong strike with the alchemical torch on the swarm which weakens the swarm but Hunter misses his swing. The weakened swarm flies over to Barbara and successfully manages to sting her but the stingers fail to penetrate her heavy armor so while she is probably annoyed by the swarm, she is unharmed.

OOC: While the swarm hits with a 19, the 3 piercing damage is reduced to 0 due to H.A.M. which means the 1 point of poison damage isn't inflicted due to suffering no piercing damage.
(Joe landed his AoO for 6 damage reducing the swarm down to 2hp, while Hunter missed his AoO.)

Barby is not annoyed with the bees.  She's furious with them!  To ensure the queen is dead, she crushes what remains of the hive with her shield.  With the shield now sticky with all that honey, she swings it in an arc at what's left of the swarm, sticking them to the face of the shield, and then slams her shield again into the ground.  "DIE!"

The swarm of bees is crushed beneath the shield and the buzzing in the area stops.

  Given the circumstances, Joe opts against 'you crushed them like bugs, GET IT!?' jokes.

  "I get the feeling we wouldn't have been so lucky with our armor, so thanks for getting their attention Barbara." Her resist 3 Mundane Now > Plate AC and no stealth penalty later on Joe's long distant to-do list later.

  With no further excuses to morbidly radgoll physics a dead girl, Joe goes to (after ensuring no lingering live bees waiting for one last revenge sting) carry Karda.

Amalar hurries over to Barbara to check on her. "Are you OK, Barbara?"

Mix cautiously approaches the destroyed hive and bees, curiously looking at them.

Hunter looks for any sign of tracks or whatnot around the beehive that isn't the little girl's tracks.

Hunter:rolling d20+4 survival to search area for tracks
(8)+4=12

Pyrus woulda loved the jokes, at least.  "That was awesome!"

Barbara stands up, lifting her facemask.  "Yes.  Well done, team.

"I'm fine, thanks, Amalar.

"I expected the same, Joe.  And expected that even if magically enhanced with enough tactical intelligence to recognize that fact, the bees would naturally attack the one that threatened their queen anyway.  You're welcome, but isn't it my duty to keep you safe?  Thanks to you and the rest of you as well.  You fought bravely."

Calmed from her earlier rage, she sings a hymn to the bee goddess to appease her, lest this become a recurring problem.  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIdKjoa2pJ8 )

"Hopefully Devi Bhramari will hear and protect her daughters from this madness."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Sat 04 Jan 2020.

While Hunter finds tracks in the area, only Karda's and a pig's tracks approach close to the tree and Hunter is able to follow the pigs tracks and realizes that the pig only made it another 40 feet before being attacked and killed by wolves as their tracks are all over the area where the pig's tracks ended.

Odds are that if nothing else, the bees kept Karda from learning that her pet pig had been eaten by wolves.

Joe is easily able to pick up Karda's corpse to carry it back to Levoča village.


Caeldrim and Parne follow Amalar over to Barbara and looks at the remains of the beehive, “There is little reason to linger here. If we head back to the village now, we will reach it before nightfall. I'd rather not sleep out in this woods with what is going on right now.”

Rocky glances towards Barbara and says, "I do not believe that the swarm of bees was tactically intelligent, but that they simply attacked anything that moved into their territory, so in short they acted smart due to the simple rules they followed because they were so stupid."

OOC: And in another universe with Graboids, a Shrieker sneezes.. Go watch Tremors 2 if you don't get the reference.

  'Oh and also your pig was eaten by wolves'. The most normal bad news to happen today... Oh right, NORMAL people won't react to seeing the swollen up remains of a dead child with a practiced world weariness.  So Joe wraps Karda's body in a spare cloak.

  "Honestly, I've found degrees of intelligence hardly change everything finding some logical loophole to be as troublesome to deal with as possible."

  OOC: Thankfully, we don't have any car engines for 'hunts by heat' wildlife to try and eat-Oh wait horses would get eaten too, and have proven to be found delicious by that franchise.

Amalar says, "I don't like having to stop before we have the answer to what is causing the sound that is driving the animals mad. But Caeldrim is right that we cannot afford to spend the night surrounded by such animals when we could sleep in the safety of a community."

Sure Cael and Amalar could forgo sleep more or less. Sure there could be a rotating watch. But what is likely to happen is attacks at random intervals in such a way as to  deprive everyone of any rest.

Hunter simply nods and seeing Joe wrap the child in a blanket, looks a little relieved.

Mix follows Barby as usual, no longer in the mood to count coins or whatnot, and still holding spare weapons to be vigilant in case of an ambush on the way back to town.

Barbara simply nods to the conjecture about bees and troubles in general.  Though she inwardly marvels at a druid using the word "stupid" when talking about an advanced creature such as the bee, and at the pessimist considering this as troublesome to deal with as possible.  But no need to voice more negative thoughts in an already demoralizing situation.  Seeing the child wrapped in a blanket tightens the jaw muscles and worsens the lump in the throat.

"If the village hasn't already organized a night watch, I'll be spearheading that.  The more eyes and ears we have open for deadly impending attacks in the night, the better."

Hyper-vigilant villager hears a twig snap.  Hits the panic button.  The village huts transform and merge into a giant mecha...

Pyrus has fallen silent.  It's cool when the heroes light dangerous things on fire, but a grim reminder of innocent lives being lost isn't fun.

Caeldrim leads the group back to the village using the same tracks he used to find Karda's remains to avoid any risk of getting lost in the Old Margreve woods. In response to Barbara's statement, Caeldrim speaks up, “If you're going to do that then you may also want to make sure they don't panic and just shoot arrows at shadows.”

Rocky adds his own thoughts to the matter, "Make sure those on the night watch have plenty of torches since fire can both be used to shed light but to drive off animals that fear the flames, without having to kill them... although if the animals are as corrupted as that swarm of bees... then we may have little choice in the matter."

It isn't long before the group safely reaches the village and upon informing Jarka about the fate of Karda, the woman takes her daughter's corpse and cries, but takes solace in knowing that the swarm which killed her won't be able to harm anyone else.

Since it is now evening, Caeldrim points out, “We do need a place to consider where we plan to stay for the night.”

Jarka voices a suggestion, "Anna is a widow who allows travelers to stay in her barn for a rather modest fee." as Jarka points in the direction of Anna's farmstead.

Rocky shrugs as he is content to stay with Donny and the cart since it isn't like he sleeps.

Parne remains quiet throughout this as he sits perched in a tree nearby.

OOC: If Barbara is intent on getting an organized night watch, I'll need a Charisma check with advantage and with an extra +4 modifier (due to recovering Karda's body, destroying the swarm, and letting Drash and the others know about the connection between the bull's madness and the forest') The higher the number the more villagers join in to help with a night watch.

  So mech huts would be the chicken walker variety, right?

  "Well, guess we know where we're staying tonight then.  Also given recent events, it may help to know how long this village has been here." while the end results are often the same, there is still a distinction between problems caused by swift anger compared to a long held grudge.

To Barbara's suggestion, Amalar says, "By all means, Barbara. And I shall help you with that. Caeldrim and I do not need sleep, so while one of us stays near where you all sleep, the other can be on another side of town to signal with a whistle so the one who stays with you all can wake you if there is trouble."

Hunter opts to not try comforting Jarka. Last thing he wants is the town to be in an uproar when a woman screams that a goblin tried to grab at her while she was holding her dead child.

Amalar, however, goes to comfort Jarka if just to sit by her and put an arm around her. Upon hearing the suggestion, Amalar thanks Jarka.

Amalar will, however, get to helping Barbara with putting together the night watch before the group decides to rest for the night.

OOC: Reminder for Barby to roll charisma check. If I need to make a check, I have done so already. Advantage or not, I get 12 because I rolled the same total twice. But if Amalar also gets the +4 modifier, then the total is 16.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:39, Sun 02 Feb 2020.

20:56, Today: Barbara Naur rolled 11 using 1d20+7 ((4)).
20:57, Today: Barbara Naur rolled 8 using 1d20+7 ((1)).

Barbara nods.  "Thank you."

She's sure to give last rights for the girl.  If it wasn't already mentioned, the paladin makes certain that the bereaved mother knows that the child was already dead before the heroes arrived in town, assuring her that "there was nothing more that could have been done."  This so the mother won't try and shift the guilt she feels for failing to keep the girl safe onto the ones who put their lives at risk to find her.  She's seen it before.  Mom and Dad get blamed for the most outrageous things.

Wildfyre is sent back home with an urgent demand for as much backup as can be spared.  Soldiers, healers, mages, the works.  (( Though the player is fully expecting that the module will be wrapped up long before any backup will arrive. ))

When it's time to organize a night watch, Barbara really puts her foot down.  With a powerful, stern voice that suggests much practice at giving orders, she addresses the village.

"Good people of Levoča.  We are officially at war with an unseen diabolical malevolence that clearly has no regard for whom they hurt.  I have already sent for the army, but until they arrive, consider yourselves conscripted.  The death toll is rising, and your taking this seriously now will mean the difference between your loved ones surviving or being the next to fall victim.  I will be enforcing martial law until my allies and I find and crush our enemy.  Your orders are to simply do what should come naturally to you: defend your homes.  To that end, there will be a rotating night watch.  Those who volunteer will get the shift of their choice and will be the first to be considered for promotion.  Those who do not will be chosen to fill in the gaps."

Pyrus' eyes go wide, and he quietly asides to Mix, "Yeesh.  Spoken like a real queen of hearts.  You ever seen her like this before?"

While Barbara's militaristic approach doesn't sway the villagers, Amalar's more comforting approach does inspire villagers to help out and six of them are willing to help as an improvised night watch.

While those six members of the improvised night watch think that Barbar's address is overbearing since as far as they know she doesn't have the authority to do much, even with her retainer heading off, probably to Zobeck as the nearest large city and figures it would be a week or two before anyone responded at best.

However with Caeldrim and Amalar relying on trance instead of sleeping, and Rocky's Sentry Rest there are at least two members of the party alert throughout the night. (The two elves only need four hours of rest and while Rocky will remain inert and stationary for 6 hours, he's completely aware and alert to everything that goes on around him throughout that period.)

Thus the night guard is situated in three shifts of two with either Caeldrim and Amalar lending aid with their Nightvision while the other elf and Rocky keep on guard at Anna's barn.

Throughout the early hours of the evening, nothing is amiss and the first shift wonders if this was all a wasted effort, but during the second shift, a half a dozen wolves can be heard howling nearby as the rest of the party and the other two shifts of the night watch are woken up with the night watch having torches and short bows. However, the howls grow silent as the pack appears to be trying to scare the villagers into acting in fear before trying to pick stragglers off.

Despite Barbara's earlier efforts, the villagers are disorganized and scared... however Amalar's comforting words and Barbara's stern approach manages to calm the villagers from wasting arrows at shadows and instead to only fire an arrow when they see a wolf. From the tactics being displayed, it is obvious that the wolves are angered by whatever has made the beeswarm that killed Karda angry and they are far more aggressive than normal, without having lost their normal tactics and instincts.

Initially, one of the wolves lunges at Barbara but misses as the villagers let loose on the three wolves they see, with two arrows hitting the wolf that tried to hit, one hitting a second wolf, and two hitting the third visible wolf.

Rocky tries to finish off the first wolf with a casting of Thorn Whip but the wolf manages to just evade being struck.

A second wolf then tries to lunge at Barbara but also misses, in part due to being struck by an arrow with a second arrow from the 6th villagers coming close to the wolf's snout which threw off its bite attempt.

Caeldrim quickly casts Firebolt and manages to not only hit the first wolf, which finishes it off. Caeldrim then casts Hobble on the third wolf, but the wolf manages to evade the etherial trap.

OOC: All 6 villagers, Wolves 1 & 2 have acted for this turn along with Rocky and Caeldrim. So far 1 Wolf is dead, Wolf 2 is at 6/11 hp, Wolf 3 at 5/13, Wolves 4, 5, & 6 are out of sight. After everyone rolls initiative, anyone else with an Initiative of 12 or higher can post now, then I'll post for Wolf 3 and we will continue the initiative order...

00:59, Today: Barbara Naur rolled 8 using 1d20 with rolls of 8.  init.

  Promotions are for when you are sticking around long enough to need to remember who got promoted.  But of course that would make for a terrible speech.

  "And to think, all these wolves could have stayed alive eating delicious elk as nature intended if they were not driven to take needless offense to farmland."

01:25, Today: Joe Margreve rolled 9 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 6.  Joe initiative.

Wolf 3 also lunges at Barbara and thanks to the wolves' pack tactics with Wolf 2, it manages to land a savage bite on her even though its effectiveness is reduced somewhat by Barbara's Heavy Armor Mastery. Fortunately for Barbara, she resists being knocked prone by the wolf.

OOC: Wolf 3 managed to hit Barbara and rolled max damage but instead of the 10 damage it normally would be, Barbara only suffered 7 damage and is now down to 6 of 13 hit points. Looks like Caeldrim's next action will be to use a healing kit charge to heal Barbara for 1d6+5hp which will bring her back to full health on a 2+. Next up in the initiative order is Joe, Amalar, Barbara, Hunter, and Parne. (Wolf 6 and Wolf 4 are both going to remain concealed and out of the immediate fight due to being part of the following wave.) So the exact order of who posts when among them isn't important. Although Parne's post will wait until Rocky and the Villagers.Commoners/Night Guard' next post (which will also include wolf 2 and Caeldrim). Also if Mix or Pyrus are going to be part of this fight let me know and have them act during Barbara's initiative, although I figure they are back with the cart trying to Keep Donny calm and safe during the attack...which wouldn't be hard for them.

  Joe was this close to blaming himself for Barbara's 'Even damage reduction leaves you under half health in one bite' injury.  But as he manages to barely finish the job on ending that particular wolf's life with an arrow to the throat, he settles for being glad to have been of assistance instead.

OOC: Longbow shot at Wolf 3.  Exact hit (13).  5 DMG. Wolf 3 is dead. Not moving this turn.

Amalar was indeed quite empathic and sweet to the townsfolk, playing good cop. Though in her opinion, Barby wasn't playing "Bad cop". She was just telling it like it is and what the townsfolk likely knew by now.

Seeing a wolf bite Barby, and then Joe finishing it, Amalar says, "Thank you, Joe."

Amalar sees only one wolf left. Although she knows more are out there, she doesn't know where they are. So her other plan will have to wait in favor of "just blast it with fire" being the answer to life's problems once more. She does a little dance, twirls, and hurls her hands towards the remaining wolf, burning it decent but not enough to take it down.

OOC: Amalar hit with firebolt doing 4 fire dmg on a d10.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:21, Thu 06 Feb 2020.

Mix looked ready to leap at the wolf that bit Barby, but Joe takes it down. "Bad dog! I'll teach y... nice shot, Joe!" She takes a sword and chops the dead wolf's limbs off so that if the enemy decides they are such jerks they can animate corpses, this one won't be able to do much but wiggle on the ground. "I'll be lopping limbs so they can't suddenly get back up."

Technically a smart idea, but it sounds just as much an excuse for her to vent her anger on the attackers for having hurt her friend.

Hunter lunges at the remaining wolf and it dodges one of Hunter's attacks and ALMOST dodges the other, but Hunter manages to graze it with a slash. The wolf looks barely standing. "Darn it... Don't these creatures realize they're beaten? How many do they have to lose before survival takes over and makes them flee?"

OOC: Mix ALMOST got into combat, but Joe kept her out of it. So Mix is making herself feel useful by lopping limbs off fallen wolves so they can't get back up even if magically animated. Meanwhile, Hunter did a two-weapon attack. First attack missed. Second attack hit for 1 damage. Couldn't add mod because it was the second attack.

Rocky's second attempt at using Thorn whip on a Wolf proves to be far more successful as he manages to get a devastating blow on the remaining wolf with the whip piercing the skull through an eye socket before the thorn whip yanks it's dead body hard enough to decapitate the dead wolf...

Rocky blinks and says,  "Okay..." as the warforged druid was not expecting that.

The village grows silent as the last of the three wolves of this wave has fallen dead.

The villagers look around for the next threat as they know there are more wolves but only see shadows and hold their fire.

Caeldrim takes this lull in combat to heal Barbara's wound using his healer's kit.

OOC: Rocky crit with Thorn Whip... it was super effective. Caeldrim rolled an 8 on the amount of health to heal Barbara so she's back to full health but Caeldrim can't use his Healer's feat ability on Barbara again until after the next rest.
Everyone can post what their characters are doing for the moment before I start the next wave.

When dropped to half dead in one bite, Barbara was in such pain she couldn't even scream.  Well that and the fact that her voice box was torn up from the savage bite, staining her breastplate with blood.  Well at least no one else got hurt for now.

"Good work, everyone," Barbara says, sounding like the healing made her voice box completely forget that it was shredded a moment ago, "But we're not out of the woods yet.  Those who do not have sniper positions, please tighten your formation behind me so that the enemy has to get through me first.  It may not look it from our total victory, but these things are quite deadly and could kill an exposed mage in the blink of an eye."

Leaving the sensible mop-up to the retainers, Barbara positions herself at the best place she can find to intercept any more hostile animals that look like they'll be targeting someone other than herself.  Pyrus helps Mix with mop-up.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Sat 08 Feb 2020.

As everyone follows instructions, the group waits for around thirty seconds of occasionally hearing a howl followed by the dead silence of the night and occasionally the sound of a torches in the distance as the rest of the villagers are no dought awake due to the wolves.

Then without warning, three sets of yelping and snarling can be heard as in the distance, a dozen villagers are rushing the remaining three wolves with torches. With the torches being waved in their faces, the wolves are driven back. In combination with the deaths of three of their pack, the remaining wolves are demoralized and flee from the village, although not before a single wolf gets a singed tail causing it to yelp and run a bit faster.

With the last of the wolves driven off, the other villagers approach the group and the accompanying night watch and quickly learn of the 3 other wolves that have been dismembered.

Caeldrim speaks up, “With how the wolves were routed, odds are whatever is behind this will send something more dangerous next. So we'll need to prepare... if only we could figure out where the sound is coming from we could take it out at the source but we haven't been able to find a clue as to the origin of what is manipulating the animal life in the area.”

Rocky suggests, "I can keep the Speak with Animals ritual going and check around the village to try to see if I can find an area where the sounds are weaker or where they were first heard from...That might at least give us a direction."

Caeldrim nods as Parne lands on his shoulder as the alchemist adds, “And while that is going on we could try to set up some defenses for this town, maybe some traps and ways to lure a hostile force into a killing zone... A fire pit trap could work. With Amalar's Move Earth Cantrip she could create a pit that is 10ft by 10ft by 10ft in size within a few minutes... then with other means to funnel a threat into the pit, which we could do with the villagers using torches like with how they drove off the last three wolves, we could lure the threat into the pit, and then Mix could dump in that cask of oil we have and someone could light it on fire to burn the threat while restricting its ability to attack villagers or harm the village. While that is going on I will be helping villagers get supplies ready to help with the village's defense and possibly craft some alchemical supplies that could help. Blast Patch crystals would probably help the villagers as an early warning system at night, or maybe some alchemical torches or tindertwigs...”

OOC: Okay with this encounter wrapped up, everyone has now reached level two. Rocky has already stated what he plans to do during the day to try and find a clue as to the source of the sound troubling the village, Caeldrim is going to try to help the village with his alchemical knowledge.

  "This is another reason an armed and angry mob is more dangerous than 'one guy with a bigger bow'.  Filling things with as many arrows possible in a hurry tends to hurt more until you start basically cheating with magic." Or incredibly inflated levels or plot armor.  But Joe has neither of those.

  Then Caeldrim starts explaining how they should help the peasant work go better by basically cheating with magic. "Yeah, see. Like that."

Amalar goes to Barby to pet her hair. "Goodness, Barbie, you just had your throat ripped out and are still going without asking for a break. You sure are stalwart and inspiring! You sure you don't want to take a break and swap out for the night shift?"

Mix smiles at Amalar and says, "Not only can she handle it, she feels she has to handle it. Barbara will rest when she is tired, but as long as she has energy, she uses that energy to help people."

Amalar ohs and nods with a smile. "We'll be more prepared next time so none of us have to get hurt."

Amalar nods to what Cael said about her magic and gets to demonstrating with an almost dwarf-like "dance" that has frequent stomps and rigid moves. She gives Joe a wink when he comments about her magic.

Once the pit is created, she says "I also had the idea of using my dancing lights to distract incoming aggressors." If the other wolves had joined the fight by Amalar's turn, she would have done so. But the wolves got killed entirely too fast for her to bother since there was only one wolf left by the time her turn came around.

To Rocky, Amalar says, "That will be very helpful, Rocky. Thank you."

Amalar goes from one person to the next, commending them for their part. First with her teammates, and then the townsfolk. She pretty much stays with Cael, but while he is preparing them physically, she prepares them emotionally with uplifting comments and encouragement such as how easily the town defended itself.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:15, Sun 09 Feb 2020.

Mix thanks Pyrus for his help and once the cleanup is done, he has Pyrus help with making "fire" traps, smiling at him. "Bet you love this idea, Pyrus... more fire."

Hunter feels a bit small right now. He did all of a tiny gash in that recent fight. He keeps from showing it, though, and has more of an attentive expression. He nods to Rocky. "Do you think following the wolves' tracks would help at all? I get the feeling the animals probably were just roaming then suddenly got directed here."

He ponders what kind of punishment to give the perpetrator, assuming this isn't some really unfortunate accident. Which seems more and more unlikely as the days go on. He figures nobody will object to the person being publicly spanked.

To Joe's comment, Hunter says, "Good thing we have magic users too since our enemy is cheating in ways I never even heard or thought of." Heck even the player has never heard of such a method of attack in gaming before.

Hunter decides to go to sleep until awakened for the next attack. It is night time, after all.

Rocky nods to Amalar as he appreciates that his suggestion is being viewed as helpful...

When Hunter asks the Warforged Druid about tracking the wolves, Rocky shakes his head as he replies, "No, their tracks would lead to their den. Odds are that is not the source of the sounds affecting the wildlife in the area. Anyone smart enough to pull this off wouldn't overlook minions being tracked to their homes. Thus the individual would send out creatures that lived elsewhere. Although I suspect when we do find the individual, that there will be creatures around which will try to stop us. Those creatures probably live around the individual causing this mess."

Rocky then adds, "It might be a good idea to find some sticks and leaves that can be used to cover the pit and mark it so villagers won't stumble into it while masking it enough that whatever threat comes to the village can be maneuvered into it without realizing they are moving into a pit trap."

And thus did the innocent little village of Levoča earn the nickname, "Pit of Fiery Doom" and, "Blast Patch Village."

Pyrus cheers and claps.  "Brilliant ideas, Caeldrim!"

He grins impishly to Mix and winks. "You bet."

Barbara lifts her visor and relaxes a little.  She even has a soft smile for Amalar and Mix, nudging them on their shoulders.  Then reminds herself that the prophesy didn't say anything about any of her friends surviving the calamity.  Oh well.  Enjoying the cuteness while I can.

To Rocky she nods then addresses the group, "Rocky has the right of it.  He of all of us has the best chance of getting to the root of the problem as soon as possible.  As many seasoned adventurers as possible should accompany him on his task.  I'm very happy to say that these villagers have proven to be courageous enough to defend this place, so we're free to go for the throat instead of worrying about holding down the fort till reinforcements arrive."

To Caeldrim, Barbara answers, "Excellent suggestions.  I would prefer you in the advance team, but, would you like to stay behind and take full command of the village's defenses?"

  "That is the problem with 'just throw wildlife at people and call it a day' plans that seem to be in effect.  While normally it would be a good idea to track down and finish off those wolves, the problem is everything else still in the forest that would attack instead."

  Also, they can't just burn EVERYTHING.  Because that would mean less trees to cut down for lumber to build more houses and defenses, duh.  Very tempting already though.

Tempting, sure. Until you realize burning down the forest is probably doing a favor for whoever is up to this and the forest, in this case, is actually one of the victims.

At least, Amalar is assuming the perp is someone who clearly hates the forest, the people and creatures living in it, and nature in general.

She doesn't answer for Cael and since she wasn't addressed, doesn't have anything to say either.

Hunter folds his arms, frowning. The situation is rough and annoying. He is heartened that his team is working on both defense AND offense. But he's more the offense type. "I'll help make a sample pit trap so the others in town will know how to make one. But after that, I'd like to be on the advance team."

Mix says, "I'd like to go with you, Barbara, but I will understand if you need me to be here."

Caeldrim realizes that there might be a misunderstanding as he clarifies, “I'm not suggesting that a group goes and hunts down the threat while the rest of us wait here in the village. I'm suggesting that some of us focus on preparing the defense of the village while the rest gather what clues we can around the area since we have no leads at this time. Besides splitting us up and having some head into the forest is a recipe for disaster...as whoever is manipulating the wildlife could use the opportunity to send forces against those who wander too far from the village and the rest of us would be unaware of what has transpired.”

Rocky nods and says, "So you want me to stick within shouting range of the village while using the Speak with Animals ritual to learn what I can..that way if attacked the rest can come to aid us."

Caeldrim nods and then turns to Amalar, “Make sure to leave some subtle sign the villagers won't overlook but someone in a fight might so that no one accidentally walks into the pit traps that are made..and once the threat has passed the ground can be moved back to fill in the pits so no one is accidentally hurt by the traps.”

Caeldrim also discusses what sort of items he can make with the villagers and they decide against using blast patch powders as an alarm system since wandering animals in the village or children could get injured...but they admit that they would like Alchemical torches and tender twigs as those would be useful even after the current threat has passed. Several women also point out that the village does have a supply of herbal poultices and healing kits for simple first aid, but that there isn't a dedicated healer in the village.

Say the word.  Pyrus will support any ideas that involve burning the forest down.  He arm-arounds Mix with a devilish smile and says, "Barbara would never forgive herself if you were killed while she weren't around.  Same with me.  So unless positively unavoidable, she's gunna insist we stick with her were all the fun happens."

Sure, the danger is probably greater in the woods, but Pyrus wants to make it clear that the village is plenty dangerous so he and Mix don't wind up left behind on boring guard duty.

Barbara skews her lips.  Sounds like Caeldrim is overly optimistic about how quickly these traps can be built.  Or perhaps I'm being overly optimistic about how quickly Rocky will find us a lead we'll need to jump on.  No way of knowing which task will take longer.

"Just so.  Those with trap making skills will do so for as long as possible - until Rocky finds a good lead that I'm expecting will require leaving the village behind to follow up on.  I and my squires will be providing Rocky with protection while he searches.  Whomever feels they'd be better suited for that task than staying in the village helping with defensive preparations may join us.  Once a lead is found, or sunset approaches, whichever comes first, we will regroup back in town to discuss the next step."

Traps built for animals will need subtle signs for people to know to avoid them?  Writing the words, 'DANGER!  TRAP!' on the trap...  won't work since magically enhanced animals can probably read.  Caeldrim has the right of it.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:41, Sat 15 Feb 2020.

  Plus Caeldrim's naive optimism for 'Clearly people will labor in a logical manner'.  Minus Barbara's 'MARTIAL LAW ALL SHALL FALL IN LINE!' naive optimism.  Equals Reasonably Average Time Frame expectation from Joe.

  "So, hunter.  You figure these guys would get competitive, or throw the match to get put on the bench if we set up a ten minute archery contest to see which of them has better odds of consistently hitting rampaging wildlife?"

Hunter looks up at Joe. "Probably best not to tempt fate. Those who were going to volunteer have volunteered. Let them get a couple more victories. Then if the badguy still isn't caught, have a competition. Though I will say this; it is exceedingly rare for someone to throw a match when a large cash prize hangs in the balance."

He then looks up at Barbie. "I'm a wilderness survival guy. Which means I'm good with both. But being a druid means Rocky is a wilderness guy. So I'll stay and help with traps."

He looks at Caeldrim. "Don't go too subtle or the people will forget the clues. Besides, I'm relatively sure the control is just "go that direction and attack" rather than something as deep as the user peering through the eyes of the animals. So a little paint might go a long way. Like painting the tips of a few sticks red?"

Amalar says, "My power saves time here. I will stay and help the villagers."

Mix nods, but can't help smile that Barbie specifically said Mix and Pyrus are joining her. She nudges Pyrus as if to say "I see how you just manipulated her", but again. Smiling.

Caeldrim nods and responds to Hunter with, “Painted sticks and leaves on the ground should work nicely.”

Rocky conducts the Ritual form of Speak with Animals and then starts conversing with the animals around the edges of the village making sure to keep in earshot of the village in case he is needed, or if he is attacked.

Caeldrim looks to Amalar as the Alchemist says, “I figure you and Hunter can coordinate on where to set up the pit traps and how to mark them. We can have Mix and Pyrus ready to pour the cask of oil into a pit trap once a threat falls into one so we need to make sure the Cask isn't too far from the Pit traps. I doubt Rocky would have an issue with using his Cart for that if needed. I'll head off with the villagers to craft some alchemical supplies for them to use to aid us with herding and fending off threats to the village.”

Barbara "follows" Rocky a few steps ahead to ensure that whatever deadly wildlife should jump out, will more likely do so targeting the paladin.  She remains silent lest she interrupt anything important Rocky should overhear from the bird chatter in the trees, relatively relaxed in her vigil.  The young princess is doing the best she can to enjoy the beauty of nature in spite of it being used as a weapon lately, thinking on if there are any proper nature guardians in the woods, such as ents or dryads, and what they may be doing to hunt down whatever evil is behind this worsening calamity.

Pyrus follows close behind Rocky, fascinated with the druid and his magic.  "The stories I hear of fey and other creatures of nature are never good ones.  They give the impression that being pure evil is a prerequisite for being in league with nature.  But I'm guessing they're in the same boat as Tieflings, Changelings, and royalty: 99% of them make the rest look bad."

  "Hunter, no.  Villagers pay US to show off, if adventurers had to pay villagers to not die, there wouldn't be many towns left." Probably not the Goblin's point, Joe.

  "Don't forget oddly arbitrary hatreds Barbara, like loving bows but hating crossbows... Though I honestly can't remember what god that was."

Hunter looks back to Joe. "Who said *we'd* be giving the cash prize? Such prizes are offered up by town officials like the mayor or something, not strangers. Such are the weapons a town official has at their disposal: throw money at the problem and let the danger to the non-officials. That's how human society works, right?"

Either way, Hunter and Amalar get to making the traps (and marking them with paint) while Rocky, Barby, Pyrus and Mix go scan the parameter. Mix does her usual of keeping near Barbara with spare gear/weaponry on hand. She is quiet like Barby, not wanting to attract attention either.

After spending most of the day speaking with the animals around the village, Rocky returns to the group and says, "Animals seem affected in all directions equally, the one common factor is those affected are angry and not just at humanoids. I saw an affected bird dive after a deer that ran off after failing to retaliate against the bird... Whatever is causing this is indiscriminate and if not stopped soon could continue to spread and eventually render sections of the forest hostile enough to be practically inhabitable."

Caeldrim nods and adds, “Well I've spent the day mostly making Alchemical torches and tinder twigs for the villagers. The night guard patrols will probably stick with normal torches until something is amiss and then switch to the brighter alchemical torches as a warning signal and as a means to fend off whatever has been sent to attack the village.
 I suggest using the same night watch shifts as last night since that worked well for us.”

OOC: Assume evening is now approaching so characters will probably be getting ready for whatever they expect to attack the village during the night.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 08:24, Fri 21 Feb 2020.

"Do you realize how what you said could be taken as rude?" Barbara asks Pyrus, doing a good job of keeping a calm tone.

Pyrus' confidence completely melts away when his eyes meet the paladin's steely gaze.  "Erm.  Yeah, I guesso.  Sorry."

He stays pretty much quiet for the rest of the day.

Barbara is baffled that Rocky wasn't able to get a lead even after a day of searching.  If anyone could, it would be a druid, right?  It's difficult to remain positive after the best chance of getting a good lead didn't succeed.  But it's the job of a commander to keep morale up even in the face of dire news.

"Good work, everyone.  We now have more important clues, and the village is that much more defensible.

"Caeldrim's idea is a good one.  Let's do that.

"We should discuss tomorrow's plan.  I'd like to hear from everyone in our team."

Only two come to mind.  Trailblaze toward the center of the woods to see what's radiating malice equally in all directions.  Or evacuate the town and torch the woods.  But Barbara's been trained to not give her opinions first.  Too often yes-men will keep quiet whatever other options they had in mind and just agree with your first thoughts.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 05:31, Fri 21 Feb 2020.

  "They probably favor attacking people, given how many animals those wolves would have had to ignore to get here.  Plain old rage would have everything running in circles trying to kill eachother.  Still, birds chasing herbivores does at least imply it's not a perfect control either."

  What was their first sidequest again? Ah, yes.  "Also someone should probably keep an eye on the bull during whatever rushes this place next, to make sure it doesn't pick that exact time to bust down a fence and start trying to kill people."

Amalar doesn't like seeing any of her allies down, but Pyrus is Barby's responsibility and she was taught by the elves that parent-child relations are sacred and not to be meddled in lightly. So she just continues to be generally positive and smiley towards the whole group, trying to be uplifting overall.

Being an orphan, Mix wasn't taught much of anything by anyone, so she has no such compunctions about meddling. So she often gives Pyrus hugs (and surprise hugs from behind) to try and help him feel less down.

Being rude may be a sin greater than mass murder in the eyes of many, but this group has their priorities straight. We think. We hope? Anyway, Mix doesn't think it's worth brooding all day over.

Today, Mix wanted to be a guy, but refrained from it because changing genders in the middle of a town crisis when a town isn't used to changelings is far from ideal.

With evening approaching, Amalar puts into practice what she was suggesting earlier and casts Dancing Lights so as to light the area far out from the town gates. She also keeps a bow on hand so that when she isn't casting spells, she can have it handy to shoot arrows if needed.

Upon Barby asking about tomorrow's plan, however, Amalar says, "We have little choice but to begin combing the woods one direction at a time. Once we have defended the town another night, and gotten sufficient sleep, we should begin by doing that. With no real clues to go on, it's all we have left."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Sun 23 Feb 2020.

Hunter doesn't understand how what Pyrus said could be considered rude... then again, etiquette is all about lying to yourself and others, right? So truth should be rude. OK, so Hunter has reasoned it out in his head.

Hunter worked slow and steady throughout the day, not seeming to be rushed by anything or anyone. It is just how he works; only rush in combat.

During the meeting with Barby, Hunter says, "I'm with Amalar. Combing, at the very least, would allow us to find clues we otherwise would not have. Human tracks that don't belong, for example. Unnaturally disturbed grass or dirt. Stuff like that. It would not hurt to offer up a prayer to the god of nature and perhaps to the Old Margreve itself for some guidance. Joe's point about the bull goes back to my point at the start of this: ALL the animals in town need to be kept locked up until this blows over. Last thing we need is a fight from within the town while we're trying to defend from an assault outside of town. All it would take is a single bite from a dog to its master and the whole town would start panicking and everything falls apart."

Caeldrim nods to Barbara and says, “Not sure what more we can do at this point other than fortify the village with a few traps and defenses since the villagers aren't likely to abandon their homes at this point.”

Rocky shrugs "All I can do is widen my search area and home we stumble across something, although once we finish getting the village ready we could venture farther out away from it to try and find the source, but we have no clue as to which direction to search in."

From that point on, things seem calm till close to midnight when the night patrols spot something strange approaching the village along the northeastern footpath. By the time the village patrol and those on watch rouse the rest of the party the creature is approaching the door to the Kostya's house on their farmstead.

It is a crooked thing that has lurched into view - a creature made of moldering briar, bone-white parched branches, and polypore-infested tree trunks. It grips a long, cruelly bent sickle in one hand, the weapon hung with the corpses of countless animals, some of which seem to still twitch. The creature has no eyes, but it seems to be looking for someone, and as it raises its formless head of aged wood, an idiot moan drones from it as it stares around slowly.

Accompanying this creature is one of the wood wards that normally are inanimate totems placed for protection around the village. Apparently it has somehow animated one and has gained control over it.

Upon seeing the creature, Caeldrim, Hunter, and Joe recognize it to be a Hollow man told in in cautionary tales about the constructed beings haunting the woods in and around the Margreve for centuries.

Caeldrim speaks up, “I never thought I'd see a Hollow Man. But at least the children's rhyme tells how to defeat the creature.
Knock, knock, knock;
   The Hollow Man calls.
Swing, swing, swing!
   His greedy sickle falls!
Chop, chop, chop;
   He takes another head.
Burn, burn, burn!
   The Hollow Man is dead!”

Rocky listens to the rhyme as it is one he's never heard before, nor has he heard of a Hollow man before now, but the lesson behind the rhyme is obvious, "So we have to burn it to stop it... fortunately we have the means to do so."

However, the villagers who comprise the night patrol are just as horrified that the Hollow man has animated a Wood Ward and they admit they refuse to destroy what is meant to protect the town.

Caeldrim glances at the villagers and responds to their concerns, “Since we plan to use fire on the Hollow man, don't attack the wood ward, instead try to keep the two at bay with torches while we try to corral the Hollow man with sources of fire towards the closest marked location where we can fight the Hollow man without damaging the village in the crossfire.”

OOC: From here on we are in Initiative order... these villagers have insanely good initiative rolls... and fortunately the Hollow Man and Wood Ward don't.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:51, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

Amalar looks quite horrified at the sight. She even has tears rolling down her cheeks. A normal person might be frozen from such a sight, but she inwardly sees the townsfolk completely ready to fight the horror, but only being stopped by not wishing to destroy their totem.

Her horrified expression turns to anger. She hurls a fire bolt at the Hollow Man! Although it misses, her intent was like the villagers: herd the monster towards a pit trap. Just that in her case, her fire is ranged, so she had the chance to hit the monster in the process. Maybe no damage this moment, but soon!

Feeling the need to encourage herself, not to mention the villagers, Amalar calls out in a loud, clearly angry voice, "We know how to defeat it! We will have this monster destroyed very shortly!"

(Fire Bolt! Rolled 7. Miss)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:59, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

The Levoča villagers assisting the group wield their torches waving them at the Hollow Man and Wood Ward. This causes the Hollow Man to back up and actually allows the villagers to get around the Hollow man and the Kostya home.

The Hollow Man produces another idiot moan that drones on in anger at the firebolt that flew near it and the torches being waved at it.

Hunter has a pair of alchemical torches in hand, since Cael warned the group about how to handle such a thing (and the group had such torches anyway). He too misses the monster as he swings wildly at the thing, but at least no attempt at attacking this monster with fire is wasted because it cowers from the fires. So even a miss sends the monster closer to the pit trap as planned!

Meanwhile, Mix stands by, near the pit trap, hidden. He is very nervous, but has shapeshifted into a piney so as to blend in with his surroundings. He has the means of lighting the pit trap on fire, but doesn't have a lit fire yet, lest he give away his position.

(Hunter rolled an 8 and a 9! At least the rolls are improving!)

FLASHBACK:
Barbara gave everyone an austere nod.  "Good points, everyone.  Thank you.

"I would have us aim for the heart of the woods tomorrow.  Even though it is unlikely we will reach the center in just half a day before we should turn back around, chances are we'll have better chances of finding something combing in that direction than any other.

"Should we fail to find a good lead, I will bring up the option of evacuation in a general assembly of the village tomorrow evening."

Burning down the forest will not be mentioned yet.

---

"Keep your eyes peeled for something else attacking the village while we deal with this!" Barbara commands, "Those without fire attacks, keep the Wood Ward busy!"

Driving the hollow man to a pit trap is a good strategy, but she's not liking that so many vulnerable people are within charging distance of the monster.  She moves to take up a protective position, placing herself between the monster and the most exposed, and prepares to interpose herself in the way should the monster move toward any other than herself.

In an attempt to get the monster hostile toward herself, she shouts commandingly, "LOOK HERE, FIEND!  I AM YOUR OPPONENT!"

(( Readying an action:  Will move to cut off the monster if it looks like it will attack someone other than Barbara. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 23:50, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

Caeldrim flings a firebolt at the Hollow Man that strikes for an impressive amount of damage before trying to Hobble the Wood Ward to slow it down, but the Wood Ward resists the Hobble. Caeldrim then moves in the direction of the pit trap and behind Barbara to ensure that the Hollow Man would have to dash through Barbara to reach him, which would also bring it closer to the pit trap.

OOC: Caeldrim's Action: Firebolt hits for 18 damage (after vulnerablity) Bonus Action: Hobble (Wood Ward makes the save DC) Movement: as per description.

Rocky uses his action to summon a Wildfire spirit in the air 10ft from both the Hollow Man and the Wood Ward without the flames produced by its summoning harming the villagers or the nearby building. Both the Hollow Man and the Wood Ward are struck by those flames and are severely burned, with the Wood Ward actually collapsing into a pile of ash as Rocky says, "Oops, didn't mean for that to happen. I'll help replace it after whatever summoned the Hollow Man is dealt with."

Rocky then has the Wildfire fling a Flame Seed which hits the Hollow Man causing it to produce another loud moan of anguish and anger as the Wildfire Spirit moves next to the Hollow Man with its arms outstretched while Rocky moves adjacent to Caeldrim.

OOC: Rocky's Action: Summon the Wildfire Spirit with a usage of Wild Shape. Both the Hollow Man and the Wood Ward fail their saves which results in 32 fire damage to the Hollow Man and 28 fire damage to the Wood Ward (after vulnerabilities) which drops the Wood ward. Bonus Action: Command Wildfire Spirit to use FLame Seed which hits the Hollow Man for 14 fire damage (after vulnerability) Movement: as per description for both Rocky and the Wildfire Spirit. The Hollow Man is now down to 12 of 76 hit points due to all the fire damage (60 points after vulnerability to fire) that Caeldrim and Rocky+Wildfire Spirit have done to the Hollow Man. Honestly, I didn't expect the Hollow man to botch the save on the summoning fire attack with an advantage on the Save DC rolls getting 9 and 4, and the wood ward managed to roll a 1!... 6 more fire damage dealt to the Hollow Man prior to the vulnerability and he goes down... (Which is very doable as Joe using an Alchemical Torch to attack is 1d4+3 so he actually has a 50% chance to take out the Hollow Man if he hits with an attack. Anf given that he uses TWF like Hunter.... if both hit the Hollow Man is toast no matter what the damage rolls are.

  Joe considers bravely attacking the (nearly dead) monster that could probably punch his head clean off.  Yes, he considers bravely attacking like women and children (sized men) already have in dramatic melee.

  Joe, alas. Can be a huge baby coward sometimes.

  So he cowardly throws his own torches from a safe distance, like a fiery game of lawn darts.  Nothing like a bullseye because the bull still in it's pen, and Joe's torches hit TWO eyes (or what passes for them) anyways.

  There is an awkward pause as the Hollow man turns it's impaled face towards Joe, then topples over into the pit.

  "Captain Killsteal is not a nickname I need, but is probably the one I'll get at this rate."

  OOC: "...Oh that's right you can throw with dual wielding so long as it's a light weapon in this edition" and the rest, is Hit/Miss/Exactly enough damage as needed history. 

Amalar hurls another fire bolt at the downed enemy, just to be sure. "Horrible horrible monster..."

Hunter looks at the downed monster and says, "...that it? I was kind of expecting more from a monster that had a rhym to go with it. Guess they REALLY meant it about the burning."

Mix secretly shapeshifts back into the human girl he'd been disguised as since coming to town. "On the bright side, Pyrus, you still get to see it burn. Even if it wasn't us who burned it."

Barbara was keeping to herself her thoughts that the taboo against destroying an animated Wood Ward that could kill you was insane.  Never know what might set off a panicked people.  You killed the thing that was trying to kill us!  You monster!  So the druid burning it to a crisp with a promise to build a new one in its place was a relief.

And then The Hollow Man is taken out before it could even get off a single attack!  Pyrus cheers and Barbara busts out laughing!

"Oh I dunno.  Most horrible monsters will fall when firebolted, blasted, branded, and had two torches thrown into its eyes.  Still, I'm very happy that nobody got hurt.  Good work, everyone!"

To Joe she smiles and says, "Captain?  Looking for military rank?  I'm sure you haven't anything to worry about.  We all contributed."

Barbara puts a hand on Amalar's shoulder.  "Good thinking."

To everyone she orders, "Stay sharp!"

Nevertheless, she sings a victory hymn.

Pyrus grins and nods to Mix, then goes to each of the heroes to shake their hands.  "That was amazing!"

It isn't long before the fire on the remains of the Hollow Man burn out with its weapon oddly undamaged, which is when Rocky lends Caeldrim his rope so the Alchemist can enter the pit and retrieve the two Alchemical torches and the Hollow Man's two-handed sickle. After putting out the Alchemical torches the Elven Alchemist uses the rope to bring the torches and the weapon up to the rest of the party. The weapon is obviously made of ancient wood, bleached and smoothed by time and is moderately heavy at 10 pounds and is a two-handed weapon.

Caeldrim says, “Since we aren't pressed for time at the moment, I'll perform an Identify ritual to figure out why this weapon didn't burn with the rest of the Hollow Man.”

After performing the ritual which takes a few minutes, Caeldrim says, “This Harvester Sickle is a magical War Sickle polearm It has a few features that can be utilized without attunement such as creating a glowing halo of light above a target even if the attack misses. That light follows the target even if the creature becomes invisible. Also, anything struck by the War Sickle is hobbled for a short time. With attunement, the wielder can use the tree stride and Find the Path spells once per day. Also, any wooden construct wielding the weapon is completely repaired at midnight...so if the Hollow Man had escaped, it could try again tomorrow and the next day and so forth. Good thing we didn't let it escape. So does anyone want to use this thing? Although with how heavy it is I doubt Hunter would like it much”

Rock shrugs as he says, "Not my style of weapon, but the Hollow Man isn't some wild animal... it had to come from someplace so now we have a clue on where to look. We should be able to follow its trail which should lead us to whatever it came from to see if we can determine what is behind all this."

OOC: The Harvester Sickle is a +1 War Sickle is a polearm that has the Reach (5ft), Deadly (reroll a single damage die if it rolls a 1 and must accept that second roll), High-Critical (On a critical hit from a natural roll of a 20 any final damage die that is a 1 is instead treated as a 2), Two-handed, and Heavy properties and it can do either Slashing or Piercing damage. Its attacks do 2d4+1 damage before the wielder's Strength modifier. It also has the Marking and the stronger Hobbling quirks Also if you attune to it you can use Tree Stride and Find the Path once a day without any components. Does anyone want to take this magical polearm?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:30, Sat 07 Mar 2020.

  It's Legend of Grimrock 2 all over again, right down to 'ooh look at this high crit scythe... that your frontliners are not built for'.

  "I mean, weapons are usually more durable than people and constructs Caeldrim, even the ones that are not magic. That's what they are for." Man, can you imagine the implications of 'no fair your wooden item didn't catch fire!' if you asked it to casters using flame bolt or fireball with their wands and staffs?

OOC: Weapon chat reminds me, did Barbara ever confirm their Fighting Style on level 2 level up?  It was gonna be Duelimg (+2 DMG when wielding a one hander and no other weapons) because that's the most helpful one for a shield user even beyond the shield gimmick style.  Hobble is some pure strain homebrew bull**** though. It's why Seth promised to never use it on the party-wait.... Well, good thing it didn't get the chance to stab us then.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Sun 08 Mar 2020.

Hunter looks the weapon over and says, "Neat sickle, but Caeldrim is quite right. Heavy weapons isn't my style. Barbara, maybe, if she wasn't a sword-and-shield kind of gal. But those magical properties are useful to *all* of us, so we could have the kids hold onto it."

Mix goes to try and hold the weapon and says, "Good grief this is heavy... I'd ask why people bother with something so unwieldy, but that monster was really big." It looks kinda silly for a little girl to be holding such a big weapon. She then passes it to Pyrus to try holding it.

When Barbara puts a hand on Amalar's shoulder, Amalar puts her hand on Barbara's hand. "The people of the town should make the best use of the slaughtered animals."

She figures it obvious she won't be using the sickle. She looks at Joe and says, "The kind of durability you're talking about is swinging them around and hitting things, which is entirely different. Weapons are not designed to sit in a blazing fire for several minutes."

She brightens up as Rocky's words sink in. "Oh finally! So should we get on that right away before whoever it is figures out his monster isn't coming home?"

Caeldrim shrugs and says, “Well even if none of us are going to use the weapon we might as well hold onto it, for now, might find someone we can trade with to get something we can actually use. No sense leaving it here for someone to just walk off with.”

Rocky nods to Amalar and points in the general direction that the Hollow Man came from, as the group comes across the freshly mangled corpse of a magpie. From the wounds on it, it seems the Hollow Man killed the bird, which would only have occurred if the bird got in its way and attacked the Hollow Man, which meant that the magpie was enraged like the bull... this indicates that whatever controlled the Hollow Man can't properly control the enraged animals all the time. From that spot, it isn't hard for Joe and Hunter to find a trail of similarly mangled animals that they can follow at a normal pace. Sadly it seems a lot of the animals in the area had been enraged and were angry enough to even attack the Hollow Man enough for it to kill them on its way to the village.

Pyrus does a decent job of pretending like the heavy weapon doesn't strain him any.  (Because it doesn't according to encumbrance rules.)  And it doesn't take him long to playfully imitate the Hollow Man.

Barbara takes the the weapon from Pyrus and looks it over.  Even as strong as she is, her frown as she hefts it shows that she thinks it too heavy to be very practical.

Even so, she asks of the spellcasters, "Those magic features all sound very useful.  Especially, 'Find the Path.'  Suppose I were to attune to this weapon for that alone and use my sword for real combat, would there be any drawback?

"Though if the hobble and halo features are useful enough, I can give using this in combat a try."

Pyrus' eyes go wide and he asides to Mix, "Now there would be a terrifying sight."

Barbara notes the path of destruction left by the Hollow Man and adds, "Then again.  At this rate maybe there won't be any need for 'Find the Path' at all."

  Joe is still finding it hard to get over the concept of a problem like 'everything wants to kill you!... more than usual!' that would mildly inconvenience his enemies as well.

  "Well, at least now their tiny lives are not entirely a waste, Barbara.  The Hollow man wasn't exactly limping into battle covered in claw and peck marks like the rest of us would have been if attacked by this many animals in one outing."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:14, Wed 18 Mar 2020.

"Too bad none of those animals had fire breath or they woulda kicked the Hollow Man's butt." Hunter points out. "It's a good thing for us it is weak to fire or we probably would have been in for a *very* tough fight as Joe's point shows. Also a good thing this vile plan is backfiring so as to leave a trail even a baby could follow."

Mix nods to Pyrus with a grin and then looks at Barby. "Heehee.. hay Barbara. I wanna see you wield that sickle outside of combat at least once to intimidate a jerk. Wanna see how much of a wet spot forms on their pants."

Amalar looks annoyed as the trail of bodies grows. With her team pointing out how handy this trail is, she sighs a relenting sigh. "I'm sure the Hollow Man would have left a trail easy enough to follow even without our enemy having such reckless disregard for life that they left us a trail out of their incompetence. But I'll take what we can get. However... now that the trail has gotten this obvious, let's quiet down and approach silently. We don't want to be as obvious as our foe, do we?"

While moving stealthfully slows the group makes descent progress along the trail left by the Hollow Man, around 4 hours into the journey the group is alerted to the sounds of an angry Giant Boar which has just turned to face the group after finishing up eating a snake that it either gored or found already dead.

The Giant boar is constantly looking around for something to attack, either to eat or to drive off from what it no doubt views as its territory. It's obvious the creature has been driven mad and will attack and it's glancing around has it noticing the party as it gives produces a load squealing cry of anger and rage.

OOC: Roll initiative, already handled the initiative scores for the Parne, Caeldrim, Rocky, and the Giant Boar. No surprise, mostly because the giant boar is maddened and paranoid right now, so while it wasn't expecting the party to suddenly pop up it wasn't caught off-guard.

Caeldrim starts off with trying to Hobble the Giant Boar and manages to catch the beast in the ethereal trap, slowing the creature down from 40ft/rd to 20ft/rd. The Alchemist then quickly follows up with a Firebolt that strikes the Giant boar.

OOC: The Giant Boar rolled a 1 for resisting Hobble, but is still able to charge and is struck (barely by the roll of a 13 for the firebolt which dealt 6pts of fire damage.)

The Giant Boar charges at the closest party member, which happens to be Barbara and manages to penetrate Barbara's armor dealing significant damage, but failing to knock her prone.

OOC: The Giant Boar managed to pull of a charge to hit Barbara and inflicted 12 damage after H.A.M. reduction but failed to knock Barbara prone.)

Rocky is displeased that Barbara was stuck and retaliates by summoning his Wildfire Spirit 10ft behind the Giant Boar to try to cut off its escape and the initial burst of flame from the spirit's appearance scorches the Giant Boar. Rocky then commands the spirit to use its Flame seed attack on the Giant Boar and it is quite effective at further roasting the giant boar, which now looks rather injured.

OOC: Rocky manages to roast the giant boar as it fails its DC to resist being burned and takes 18 fire damage when the Wildfire spirit is summoned and the Flame Seed attack from said spirit hits for another 5 points of fire damage, leaving the Giant Boar with only 13 hit points left.
It is now Joe's turn followed by Amalar, Hunter, and Barbara. If the Giant Boar survives to Caeldrim's turn, he'll probably use the healer feat's feature to heal Barbara for 1d6+6 hit points on his action, followed by trying to hobble the Giant Boar again.

  Joe's flagrantly metagaming the math past experience tells him if this goes horribly wrong, he will only almost die from his injuries.  So he steps in past Barbara with a swing of a short blade, the boar deflecting it easily with a tusk while Joe thrust his second sword into it's throat.

  His attempt to flee back to safety behind Barbara is interrupted as the Boar remains too stubborn to die, lunging after Joe "Oh **** ... Well, too late to pretend I meant to do that."  Thankfully for Joe, the boar ran face-first into a sword before it ran through his armor.  It definitely looks like it's on its last legs now.

OOC: I was pretty worried at first, but thanks to the Rocky post's paper trail I knew the boar only had 13 HP left.
Action Surge turn: Miss, hit, hit. 6 and 8 DMG = 14.  13-14= -1, but Relentless keeps the Giant Boar in the fight at 1hp (Relentless can't trigger again during this fight).
Since the boar had lived, it hit me with vs 19 AC AoO (So, not even Medium armor mastery would have saved me)... for "Rolled double 1's" minimum damage (5pts total).
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:15, Mon 30 Mar 2020.

Like Rocky, Amalar is displeased by Barby getting hit. She twirls and does an axe-kick that has a flame attached to her foot. Upon slamming her foot to the ground, the fire is loosed, flying just inches above the ground before hitting the boar in the neck's open wound from Joe's attack! It cauterizes the wound, sure, but also burns the inside of the boar enough to finish it off!

Amalar looks ready to keep going since the boar should not have been able to attack Joe after what Joe did.

(17 hits. did 4 dmg, but minimum woulda killed it)

Hunter goes to stab the boar in the same wound, just to make sure. But since it doesn't react, he retracts the blade and says, "I think it's dead..."

Mix is first to rush to Barby and check on her wounds. But Amalar and Hunter corral both Joe and Barby to Cael so they can be healed.

Hunter says, "That's a big boar... we're going to have jerky for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure we can preserve the skin well enough. But all that will take hours. For now, let's hang it up in a tree, smoke it, and keep going."

He gets to setting up the rope for hanging the boar in the tree so as to preserve it for the group for their trip back. Worst case scenario, a scavenger or two might manage to nibble a little. Which is nature's way anyway.

Caeldrim is quick to heal the wounds of both Joe and Barbara, managing to heal all of their injuries with his medical skills and two charges from his Healer's Kit.
Caeldrim then asks, “Well now that everyone is patched up. Do we immediately press on as soon as Hunter finishes hanging the carcass, or do we rest to recover?”

Rocky shrugs and says, "The Wildfire Spirit will remain for an hour, and I can summon him once more without needing to rest. So I'll leave it up to everyone else since I can see benefit to resting and benefit to pressing on ahead immediately."

OOC: Managed to roll well for recovering health, easily healed Joe's wounds with a result of a 10, and managed to heal all of Barbara's injuries with a maximum roll of 12! Neither Joe or Barbara can benefit from Caeldrim's Healer's feat in this manner again until they take either a short or long rest. Caeldrim has 6 more charges in this Healer's Kit. Although a second healer's kit is on Donny's Wagon back in the village. Also, remember that Joe did use his Action surge and Rocky used a Wildshape charge, Rocky has one more charge remaining atm. Both of these abilities will be recovered on a short rest.

Over 200 lbs of angry boar barreling toward you at top speed.  The sensible thing is to jump out of the way.  But Barbara knew that if she did, Caeldrim would be the animal's first target.  So she yelled a challenge to the beast and leaned far forward to brace for the impact, sword raised to hopefully skewer the boar with it's own momentum.

WHAM!  It hits above center, slamming the top of her shield into her face guard, denting them both!  The force of the blow is enough to break her nose, crack a few vertebra, dislocate her ankle, and dig a trench into the ground with her foot!  Barbara's sword was shrugged aside like a butter knife, but the team takes out the boar so fast the paladin doesn't even get a swing in!

Pushing through the pain, the proud princess stands back up on her one good foot, though she's not so proud as to refuse Mix's offered help.  "Well fought, my friends!

"Thank you, Caeldrim.  I really needed that."

When she takes off her helmet, the group can see the blood staining the bottom of her face.  "I'd like to wash this up and give proper thanks to the gods for victory.  I doubt our quarry will elude us for taking a sensible breather to collect ourselves while Hunter cleans the carcass."

During the fight, Pyrus cheered on all the fire being flung about.  (Joe's stabbing was cool too.)  He's quick to lend a hand helping Hunter with starting a fire.

"Hot dang, you all are amazing!"

Seeing all the blood all over Barbara's face wipes the smile from his face, though.  Kinda took it for granted that since she wasn't hit with the tusk and stood strong she was OK.

"Yikes," he mutters, "And to think she boasts that her royal parents are tougher than she is..."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:32, Thu 02 Apr 2020.

  Not exactly what Joe's background feature for free forage per day means, but more snacks are always welcome outside of civilization.  Even if the effort to get them is not always welcome.

  "Thanks Caeldrim.  Given how quickly things go from fine to horrible, keeping everyone as health as possible between brawls is appreciated."  Joe is well aware how easily he could have ended up even worse off than Barbara, though that wouldn't exactly be much comfort for the paladin.

Amalar makes a few pretty hand gestures before ending them with the heart-sign! Barbara feels the magics of prestidigitation clean her face. It feels like refreshing water that immediately dries behind itself. "Thank you for the affirmation, Barby."

She will leave the casting of Mending on Barby's armor to her brother Caeldrim, since he has that spell and Amalar does not. "I vote for resting. There is no need to overly exhaust ourselves. If this villain is like most, he will continue to feel over confident."

Amalar smiles at Pyrus, bends down, tweaks his nose a little and says, "Sweetheart, Barbara is responsible and mature. So taking a hit, while still painful, is less painful to her than watching you or I take a hit. We all are willing to give of our time and risk our well-being so that others do not have to. That is how the heart of a hero works. Even if her parents are physically tougher, I can say with confidence they would brag that on the inside, she is every bit as tough as they are."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:05, Sat 04 Apr 2020.

Hunter nods to Barby for her commendation! "Thanks!"

Hunter ponders what Amalar said about the enemy. "Amalar has a point. If anything, the bad guy might gain more confidence if we don't show up quickly. He will believe we are back in town licking our wounds."

He does what he can to make the boar usable while making it not an attraction for predatory animals.

Mix hugs Barbara and asks, "I can't become a paladin quick enough. I wish I could have helped you so you didn't have to get hurt."

When it is pointed out to him, Caeldrim casts Mending on both Barbara's helmet and shield to remove the dents in both of them. While mending Barbara's gear, Caeldrim says, “It seems that we are in an agreement that a short rest is the better option as it lets us recover, prep the Giant Boar Carcass so we can bring it back to town on our way back, and throw our adversary off guard. Assuming the foe even knows we are coming.”

With any assistance the others provide, Rocky has his Wildfire spirit assist in getting the Giant Boar Carcass hanging from a nearby tree while also making sure it's sufficiently smoked to not rot without being overcooked. Afterward, Rocky sits back and rests while letting the Wildfire spirit roam around as a guard to make sure the group isn't ambushed.

Barbara blink-blinks from the magic on her face, touches her lips, looks at her fingertips, then smiles at Amalar.  "Thanks and you're welcome."

She pets Mix's hair, trying to figure out the right words to say.  ~But then I'll be the one suffering the heartache of seeing you hurt?~  (Amalar kinda already covered that angle with Pyrus.)  ~Actually, if you want to keep me from being harm, Artificer's healing infusions or wizard's protection from elements are better bets than Paladin~  But they don't quite ring as the right thing to say at this moment.

Barbara smiles at Mix and says, "Then you're already a Paladin in your heart.  Thank you."

She chuckles at the interaction between Amalar and Pyrus.  "And thanks again, Amalar."

Pyrus blushes, boops Amalar on the nose in return, and answers in a teasing tone, "You're responsible and mature."

As promised, Barbara sings a hymn of victory.  (( Yay for Hindi Rocky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SVzUYlgk1c ))

  Joe thinks Amalar's speech makes perfect sense for the kind Drow, it would have sounded strange coming from himself.  "Being as rested up as we can between injuries makes sense. This is the sort of business where saying 'there are things tougher than wild pigs in our future' alas, isn't the least bit sarcastic."  Even without the excuse of 'magic made me do it!', incidental wildlife tends to be just as if not more dangerous than heartless mercenaries or the like.

Amalar giggles from Pyrus copying her and returns Barby's smile.

Mix blushes being called a paladin.

Amalar and Hunter rest with the rest of the group. Amalar takes the time to idly chat with the group, though she is sure to keep her voice to a relatively quiet tone, lest she attract yet another animal to fight them.

Hunter helps with the skinning/smoking of the boar carcass. Once he's done with that, he sits next to Rocky to rest.

Amalar is sure to cast prestidigitation to clean any residual gore off any teammates so they won't stink.

After finishing their short rest with the corpse of the giant boar prepped to be retrieved later, the group resumes tracking the trail towards wherever the Hollow Man came from. After two more hours of travel, the group comes across a tree that stands in a clearing blighted by decay and covered in fungus. The air here is thick with buzzing things, even in winter, and the ground crawls with insects.

Here is the pitiful wreckage of a once magnificent tree. Now, the plant is riddled with sick fungal growths; its thorny boughs hang wasted, swaying in the wind; its once great girth withered to little more than a black, lightning tortured canker swollen by disease. An elven head leers from the branches of this monstrosity, the meeting point of plant and flesh a cluster of lesions.

The Hollow Man's track lead straight to the tree.

Barbara is guessing that this... creature... is the master of the Hollow Man, and addresses it as such.

"I am Barbara Naur, and these are my friends.  Who are you?"

She stands protectively in front of the others, shield raised, sword lowered.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Sun 03 May 2020.

Amalar and Hunter are ready for combat and stand by to see how this goes. Will Barbara actually talk with this abomination? Or will it just break out into combat?

Either way, they are ready.

  While this tree with a serial killing monster's trail leading right to it falls under 'clearly evil', he also knows he'd be considered the amoral rude boy for just shooting it in the face before it is overtly hostile.

  Just because Joe has been spoiled by traveling with reasonable nature loving elves, doesn't mean he's forgotten the average sort adventurers have to put up with in a forest full of magical BS.

Caeldrim notices a few peculiarities about the tree and says, “This ancient tree was once a weeping treant...but it's been cursed into something darker for it is no warden of the forest.”

It is at this point in time that the tree moves and notices the party and a horse and frail voice can be heard in the wind, "You took my hands that chopped, my legs to fetch and carry... so now I'll take your heads," as the tree weeps and eight giant centipedes emerge as they answer her cry.

Caeldrim quickly casts Faerie Fire catching the Singing Tree and three of the centipedes within the area of effect, but one of the insects manage to resist the spell.

Caeldrim then tries to hobble the Singing Tree to further hamper it, but it resists the attempt.

OOC: For up to the next ten rounds, or as long as Caeldrim concentrates all attacks against the Singing Tree and the two affected Giant Centipedes have advantage.

Hunter charges in and in a tornado of blades, slashes two of the giant centipedes, chopping them to pieces! He half-growls, "You take and take and never give back. Your toll has come due."

OOC: Hit (23) and hit (22). Min dmg 4, but still takes out two centipedes.

Rocky summons forth his Wildfire Spirit which manages to severely burn the Singing Tree and kill two of the three Giant Centipedes near it, the spirit then flies up a few feet and at Rocky's command flings a Flame Seed at the Singing Tree which burns it even more.

OOC: Action to summon Wildfire Spirit, only one of the 3 Giant Centipedes makes it save, the other two burns to death taking 10 fire damage and the SInging Tree takes even more damage (20) from fire vulnerability. Bonus action is to use flame seed on the Singing Tree which burns it for another 16 damage (after vulnerability). The Singing Tree is now down to 30 health.

  Whoever made the phrase 'two out of three aint bad' popular, was probably thinking of times like this where you only manage one out of four.

  The first dagger thrown by Joe pins the skull of a centipede to the ground... The next three don't even come anywhere close.  Joe, you sure that feat is named Sharpshooter?

OOC: Murphy is very dedicated to my dice today. a pre-rolled initiative got a 1 in wastelands.  Then an action surge for a double 1s.

Still, at least my first roll hit and killed one of the centipedes.

Parne flies into a position to aid Caeldrim by being in a position to be both safe and to channel Cure Wounds to heal one of the party members should the need arise.

Amalar does a pretty fire-dance and says, "The suffering ends here." before thrusting her hands forward, a pillar of fire fwooshing from her hands and into the tree, shooting fire out its eyes and mouth!

She hopes that was enough. But time will tell if the tree attacks or stops doing anything.

OOC: Chromatic Orb hit (16) and did 21(3d8) fire x 2 = 42 dmg. Tree dead.

"Well that's confirmation that this thing was the source of the Hollow Man," Barbara concludes when it complains about having legs and hands destroyed and gets hostile.

She begins rushing the tree, expecting an outcome similar to attacking the queen bee, but... FWOOSH!  KABOOM!

Suddenly changing course to attack one of the last remaining centipedes doesn't go perfectly and Barbara whiffs.

The Singing Tree cries out, "Noo..." as it burns with the single elven head falling off of the tree. The tree itself turns bone white, resembling an ashen-faced woman of great beauty that is clasping a bright red apple.

The three remaining Giant Centipedes all try to bite Barbara but fail to get past her armor.

With nothing remaining under the effects of his Faerie Fire spell, the Alchemist stops concentrating on it. Caeldrim tries to take out one of the Giant Centipedes but the centipede avoids the Firebolt and resists the Hobble.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Sun 03 May 2020.

Hunter charges at two of the centipedes to Barbara's right so she won't have to worry about them and slashes them down! Is he making up for those times he kept missing in previous combats? Who knows? But can't complain about the results!

OOC: Hit(18) and Hit(17) two more centipedes down

Rocky flings a firebolt at the last Giant Centipede remaining and strikes it causing enough burn damage to kill the creature. Rocky then glances at the now 'transformed' Singing Tree and says "It would seem whatever curse or affliction that was placed on that creature has ended."

OOC: Rocky's firebolt hits (22) and inflicts 6 fire damage which drops the last Giatn Centipede.

  "It might have been evil in the first place though, considering how often 'cursed' monsters were horrible things that got cursed to become even better at what they do.  So don't go trusting apples from murder trees just yet."

  Not even Sci-Fi is safe from that.  This place reflects what's inside you! That's why Alligators get shark teeth, homicidal bears gain voice mimicry, and humans get random bizarre pointless death mutations... Okay why is this movie using the 'humans are the real monsters' speech again?
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:36, Sun 03 May 2020.

Caeldrim chuckles at Joe's statement and says, “Okay I'll use an Identify ritual on that apple to try to learn more about it while everyone else can search the area.”

OOC: Can post how and where your searching, also perception checks and investigation checks are beneficial for this.

Barbara hears "creature" from the Druid, and it looks like what she imagines a dryad would look like, so...

"I'm going to use my holy power, 'Heart to Heart' to save the life of this creature.  Then we can question it."

She approaches the tree, her hand glowing with holy fire.

Rocky notices Barbara moving towards the corpse of the tree and speaks up, "I do hope that tree found the peace in death that it was denied in life. I am quite surprised at how its form shifted upon its death, but that corpse of a tree is no creature... so there is little we can do for it unless you wanted to pull it up, put it on a wagon and take it to the town to have turned into a wooden statue. Personally I don't know if doing that would aid or hinder this area of the woods."

Hunter searches the area carefully and meticulously.

Amalar ponders. "I am... still surprised the horrid sound would come from this thing. Let's see if the creatures of the woods are still hearing the sound."

Mix is trying to hide the fact she was shaking in her boots. "Seriously, what is up with these creepy monsters?!"

  Even though he isn't surprised nothing came of it, Joe can hardly blame Barbara for hoping to salvage at least one not horrible example of airquotes """nature""" in this forest.

  "That's a good point Amalar, though even if crazed wildlife remains an issue at least there is one less headhunter adding to the local problems."

Barbara's hand stops burning.  She takes a quick glance around, and reminds herself that the group succeeded in destroying the threat without casualties.

"Well done once again, everyone."

Pyrus was plenty creeped out too, but once the fireworks started he was all too eager to see the enemy burn.

"I dunno.  Here's hoping that if there's more enemies like this, that they're just as flammable."

Rocky notices what is likely the buried possessions of the former victim of the singing tree buried near where the tree's corpse still stands. "It seems our foe buried its treasures among its roots." and begins to carefully dig the items up.

Around this time Caeldrim finishes the Identify ritual on the apple and says, “I can determine that the apple is magical and has a strong aura of enchantment magic tied to whatever permanent effect it bestows. I am sure that the apple will lose potency and turn into ash after one person takes a bite out of it and it no one does after picking the apple off the tree's corpse twill wither shortly after being removed..”

OOC: So what is learned so far, the apple has a permanent effect but not sure what it is. and only 1 person can benefit from it.

Several items are found from the digging, these items seem fragile and show strange filigree, almost disturbing fey imagery. As these items are discovered, Caeldrim performs the identify ritual on each of them. These items are a silver mirror with an ebony handle (worth 75gp), a potion of poison resistance in a green glass jar with a silver stopper (the jar is worth 10gp), a Scrimshaw Comb with dire boar bristles (with an apparent value 30gp but worth more due to being enchanted), a frayed but intact pouch that contains 34 platinum pieces, 20 gold pieces, a diamond (worth 50gp), and a vial containing Ruby dust (total value 100gp) (360gp in coins, 510gp including gem and dust), an elaborate ring fashioned of walnut depicting dancing fey (Ring of Spell Storing with no spells currently stored within it), a chain shirt (sell value of 25gp), a bleached white wooden quarterstaff with four spiraling inlays which run the length of the staff. This staff is identified to be a Staff of the Four Elements, a shard identified as a Crystalized Derende Shard which is small enough to fit in a hand yet stores information similar to a book, and a tattered journal.

The journal is written in Elven by an unidentified elven wizard and the contents which can still be read reveal that he had noticed strange things were going Margreve woods and was investigating a possible source of information, a rumored sentient ancient tree that once was known throughout the Margreve before falling asleep for some reason unknown to the wizard. The last entry is that he believes he has found the tree but he couldn't figure out how to wake it up to learn its secrets. Apparently someone else knew what to do and chose the elf for the first victim. It's clear he's been dead for at least a month and that someone strung his severed head upon the Singing Tree to wake it up... the question now is who did it and why?

OOC: So what is learned so far, the apple has a permanent effect but not sure what it is. and only 1 person can benefit from it. The magical items found have their descriptions listed at the bottom of the Margreve Narrator's description.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:22, Sun 03 May 2020.

After confirming the apple is, in fact, not cursed or harmful, Hunter offers, "Well since it isn't harmful, any of us could eat it and gain its mysterious benefit. But since we don't know what that is, there is no way know who should eat it to best maximize the benefit. I'd be curious enough to eat it. Although..."

He looks at Mix, Pyrus and Wildfire. "If there is a benefit to be had, why not give it to our young, inexperienced friends?"

Amalar looks skeptical at the idea, but since it isn't harmful...

Mix says, "I'm all for becoming more useful to the team."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Sun 03 May 2020.

  Testing unknown magical effects on NPCs is often the 'practical' thing given how unreliable the Identify spell is.  Essentially every cursed or worse item around tells the identify spell it's a perfectly normal bag of holding until it eats you or whatever.

  But in this case, one and done results make that a bit more iffy on actual benefits should it not be a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

  "Mix, I get the feeling anything this does won't be a big enough difference to make you safer in a fight all by itself anyways."

Barbara sighs.  "I heard Caeldrim say, 'permanent effect,' and 'enchantment.'  What I did not hear was 'benefit.'  And even if I had, what qualifies as 'benefit' from a magic item could be very broadly debated.  'Benefit: This apple, when eaten, permanently improves the person's ability to tell the truth.  Henceforth, they will forever be compelled to answer truthfully when asked a question, even if doing so divulges a sensitive secret.'  Or perhaps, 'Benefit: This apple grants the eater a fantastic sense of humor.  Until he dies, he shall laugh uncontrollably even at a funeral.'  And so on.  I must insist that none touch this likely accursed apple until such time as the gods verify it is not harmful."

She says a quick prayer over the apple, expecting to be immediately told by the gods, "Destroy it!  NOW!"

(( Kinda figured the whole point of identify was to prevent equipping cursed items.  If 5e identify is really that useless, can we say that at least augury can warn PCs off cursed items?  Surely the gods would know well enough to tell their servants, 'But of the tree of the severed head, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' ))

Something decides to answer Barbara's prayer, but whether it is divine or something else remains unknown. What is known is that one of the larger insects that were roaming around suddenly stops and then shakes its head as if it had just been awakened from a long sleep and was now remembering something it didn't even know it had forgotten.

The insect suddenly speaks as if in a trance, "This part of the forest is now calm... the twisted tree no longer sings a song of madness and discord. Its torment has ended. And without the loss of the villagers. It will take time before this area is restored to how it should be." The insect then turns its head towards the dead tree holding the apple as it continues, "That apple is all that remains of the boon granted to the awaked tree so long ago for its original purpose to calm the lands with its singing and call forth a bestial ally. Even the twisting taint of madness could not corrupt the forest's boon. One of you should take it as a reward for protecting the villagers and ending the slaughter of life in the area."

As the insect heads off not bothering to wait or listen to how the group responds to its final words before it can no longer be heard, "Winds are changing... things are stirring... the forest will be watching. Much to do before the next Fang's Challenge..."

Rocky looks at the insect as it heads off and says, "I have heard that the Margreve has the power to do many things, among them the ability to awaken the life native to it whether flora or fauna and charm it to carry out its will. There must be far more going on here for it to use such power here as it has since it largely ignores what individuals do unless they draw its ire.. apparently, the Singing Tree had done just that with the slaughter of so much wildlife in the area. But at least it explained what the apple does before the insect left... The ability to call forth a bestial ally similar to how the Singing Tree called those Giant Centipedes. Sounds like it grants a spell, one that only Hunter or myself would normally be able to use..thus it would probably be best if either he or I took the boon, but since I can already summon my Wildfire Spirit, Hunter would probably benefit from it far more than I."

Hunter's eyes are wide as he watches the briefly awakened insect speak.

Amalar ohs with her hand up to her mouth before smiling. It is a wonderful, beautiful thing.

Hunter watches the insect leave and then looks at Barbara. "Well. There is always the direct approach. OK, Barbara. Way to get answers."

He then nods to Rocky. "Makes sense. Thanks, Rocky." and goes to get the apple unless stopped.

  ...Well, if you can't get an exposition fairy, then an exposition bug will have to do.

  "Okay. So. That's encouraging?  I'm honestly not used to getting answers that straightforward and lacking pretentiousness except from you guys... Well okay, that last bit seemed contractually vauge."  Not even patting themselves on the back by claiming how blessed the party should feel for such a boon, just a bug going 'hey this that thing was a real asshole, have a cool apple'.

  Joe isn't going to stop Hunter from getting his apple snack time.  It has nothing to do with the fact Hunter killed way more centipedes than he did, that's an entirely unrelated factor.

Barbara is unsurprised at getting an immediate answer.  This happens to her with surprising frequency, hence her being named high priestess of Agni on top of being his chosen Champion.  How the answer came, and the content, however, are quite surprising.  A spirit of fire arising and consuming the tree speaking cryptic message of impending doom is what she was expecting.  It's the kind of answer she usually gets.  Gee thanks, Agni, for the oh so helpful reminder that the world will end if I take a vacation.  But at least your ignoring my question about the apple tells me that it's not harmful to me if I eat it.  Joe's right that this was refreshingly straightforward.

The paladin listens to Rocky and nods.  She turns to Hunter and nods to him as well.  "Rocky's right.  You are the best choice to receive this boon.  I trust you to be responsible with this new power.

"Don't suppose anyone here knows what the 'Fang's Challenge' is?"

'Lacking in pretentiousness?'  This princess will count that as a win if a jaded commoner says that of her in spite of her royal and holy tendencies.  Especially when she plans on being pretentious with the forest...

Barbara turns her head up to the canopy and answers, "We are honored to hear your words and happy to have lent you our aid.  And you are honored to have the chosen Champion of Agni, god of the fires of creation, destruction, and wisdom, watching over you.  We invite your watchfulness as you invite ours.  You granted our friend a boon for his valor.  We shall grant you another on top of the healing already granted: A blessed song of calming in place of the song of madness that is no more."

She lifts her voice, singing a soothing hymn.  (( https://youtu.be/oNHoqLKGAuI?t=143 ))
This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Tue 05 May 2020.

Caeldrim arches an eyebrow at Barbara's question regarding the Fang's Challenge and considers things for a moment before he answers, “An ancient story that is halfway between a rumor and a legend... it is a battle of sorts between wolves representing the tooth and claw of nature and humanoids who represent the fire and steel of civilization. However, I do not know the prize for winning or the penalty for losing that challenge. It may occur in our lifetimes or it may not as it is said to only occur once every three generations. Although a generation for a human is far shorter than for an elf so I do not know what time scale is involved. What little I do know is that an innocent is sent out, one side, the wolves, tries to devour her, the other side, humanoids, tries to save her... whichever side succeeds gains something...but I am not sure what. The most common version of this story has been called Little Red Riding Hood.”

Rocky looks to Caeldrim and says, "I am not familiar with that story, but if preparations are being made now, then odds are it is going to occur at some point within our lifetimes. I can see why the corrupted tree had to be eliminated one way or another... Its song of madness would have prevented the wolves from participating in the challenge without outside interference.. and that outside interference, namely that tree's singing, might have given the wolves an unfair advantage as you saw how the tree managed to get a handful of wolves to attack the village in a manner wolves don't normally use when on their own."

Caeldrim nods and sighs “In any case, there is little we can do about that challenge now since we have no clue when it would occur or who the innocent would be, but the fact we were warned...I suspect the woods may be considering us to participate if we are still around when the challenge takes place.”
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:05, Tue 05 May 2020.

When Hunter takes a bite of the apple, the rest of the apple withers and turns into dust.

"Well... nice! I can call a bestial spirit!"

Concerning what Cael says, Hunter says, "Huh. Hadn't heard of that. Wonder why they involve an innocent instead of just having a straight-up fight. Sounds like the kind of contest run by an evil, bored rich guy or something."

OOC from GM: Hunter gains the boon Bestial Calling (Learns the Conjure Bestial Spirit spell and can cast it once a day without a spell slot and not needing concentration at a level equal to your proficiency bonus) This means that it won't count against the known ranger spells for Hunter and he could use normal slots for it.

"Congratulations, Hunter!" Amalar says cheerfully.

Mix fist-bumps Hunter with a smile, also happy for him.

Mix then meeps at the description of the Fang's Challenge. But then frowns. "What kind of sick, twisted individual came up with that? Everyone knows that honorable combatants don't involve the innocent. A contest should be between contestants. A combat should be between combatants. Involving the innocent in a fight is what distinguishes one as evil in that fight."

Amalar says, "The origin is unknown, Mix. And wolves will always hunt to get food, not because they are evil, but because they need to survive and don't understand morals the way that you and I do. Presumably, the contest is a case of the wolves already hunting someone, but people like us are told and given an opportunity to rescue them. But that is just my own assumption."

Nobody has had satisfactory answers to Amalar's questions about it growing up anyway. "What counts as innocent?" "Why offer up such a person instead of, say, a criminal?" "What was the origin of this contest?" "Who gets chosen and why?" and so on.

While the concept of it bothers her, Amalar is happy the Margreve gave a heads-up of its coming. "Whatever the case, we should get back to the boar we left behind and then head back to town."

  "I know magic powers and all, but you'd think they'd let you eat the whole apple."  RPG food. Either you can eat an entire roast turkey you found by breaking open a stone wall, or you get one bite and it's gone.

  Joe gets the feeling the wolves vs people with supposed 'prizes' at the end is one of those 'Teehee, I'm still neutral! Can't get mad, lore says I'm neutral!' situations.

  "Why can't these things ever cultivate extra delicious herbivores and faster growing crops, instead of pretending blood sport has anything to do with the circle of life?"

So... Clearly grandma was the innocent, and Little Red was the Fire and Steel of Civilization.  Yes.  https://youtu.be/hE0JkatzplA?t=134

Pyrus grins challengingly.  "We've got plenty of fire and steel.  Bring 'em on!"

Barbara listens to everyone and nods.  "Quite."

Though she agrees with the points made, she doesn't feel the need to elaborate any more on the topic.

Barbara puts a hand on Mix's shoulder to calm the squire.  "We can talk more about comparing chivalry vs. how life really goes at another time.  Getting back to town soon and determining if the madness has truly been lifted take priority."

As usual, she leads the way.  Pyrus leans over and whispers to Mix, "Dirty tricks prove that the villain is afraid of you."
This message was last updated by the player at 05:07, Sat 09 May 2020.

Rocky ponders the wolf vs civilization issue and says, "I suspect the rules for the challenge were either set up by a Fey or some primordial spirit, possible the Margreve itself, in some fashion and its views on innocents and morality don't align with our own. Whoever it is may have been inspired by some event and chose to have the challenge be a reenactment of that event, not realizing how many people would frown on an innocent child having to take part in each reenactment."

Caeldrim nods and says, “In any case, we have time before the challenge occurs possibly years. Let us collect what we can and return to the village to let them know the source of the madness has been eliminated. Plus we need to collect that giant boar carcass on our way back... could use it for a celebratory feast back in the village.”

With the remaining treasures collected up and no further reason to remain near the now dead singing tree, the party has an easy time retracing its steps to reclaim the Giant Boar corpse and return to the village.

Upon reaching the village and informing them of the death of the Singing Tree and the end to the animal madness, the villagers rejoice and award each of the party with a Charm of Restoration as a reward for saving the village.

The party also learns that shortly before they returned to the village a Piney merchant named Whihop Aidren had arrived and is willing to buy, sell, and trade items.

OOC: While carrying a Charm of Restoration, whenever a person is healed by a spell or magical effect which restores hit points, you gain an extra hit point. This effect does not stack with itself.
Items Whihop Aidren has, most standard adventuring gear (inquire if interested in any specific item), plus a few magical items:
Smolder, a +1 Maca that deals 1d8 Slashing or Bludgeoning damage, 5lb weight. [Alternative [B], Deadlier, High-Critical (from being masterwork), Heavy, Wounding] has both the Mending Quirk and an enhanced Ember Quirk, where the bonus action adds 1d4 fire damage to the next hit plus 1 point of fire damage if the wounding damage is inflicted at the end of the creature’s next turn, but the fire damage is not magnified on a critical hit. Due to the Deadlier property, this weapon rerolls all 1s from the base weapon damage and not damage from other sources, including the fire damage this blade can produce.  The High Critical property means that on a critical hit, any die result that is a 1 is instead treated as if it was a 2. With the Wounding property, a creature hit by this weapon will take 1 point of slashing/bludgeoning damage at the end of its next turn unless it or another creature uses an action to use a healer kit or to make a Medicine DC 11 check to bind the wound. (Instead of animal teeth or obsidian blades normally used in a maca, the slashing surface is made from a series of razor-sharp thorns that regrow if broken off the blade. The bonus action makes a tendril of flame erupt along the striking surface among the thorns on Smolder with an ember of the flame remaining in the inflicted wound.  Otherwise, with the Ember quick, Smolder can start fires by touching an object as if it was a lit match or used as a tinderbox.) (Worth 400gp)
A +1 Longbow creates its own ammunition. This magically created ammo vanishes the instant after it hits or misses a target. It has the Etching quirk and sweats acid onto any ammunition it fires which inflicts 1 point of acid damage to any target the ammunition hits. (Worth 400gp)
A +1 Repeating Shot Light Crossbow. This masterwork crossbow has a 100/400 range due to the aerodynamic property and due to magic ignores the loading property and if you don’t load ammunition into the weapon it produces its own aerodynamic bolts automatically when you make a ranged attack with it. This magically created ammo vanishes the instant after it hits or misses a target. It has the Marking and Mechanaut quirks. (Worth 400gp)
A Lightweight Tower Shield with Shield Sconce has a minor magical property and is worth 145gp (Can carry a light source and as a reaction in response to an attack or when subjected to a dexterity save to gain half-cover until the start of your next turn. Also when you take a Dodge action, the benefit is not lost if you gain the stunned condition or if your speed is reduced to 0. +2 AC, This shield weighs 15 pounds and has no strength requirement. [Normal is 30lbs and STR 15 plus disadvantage on stealth checks]) This is created out of the scales from a Giant Alligator and has the Lightweight (95gp version) quirk.
Everbright Lantern (Common wonderous item, 50gp) This bullseye lantern sheds light in a
120-foot cone; the closest 60 feet is bright light, and the farthest 60 feet is dim light as if the light was produced by a continual flame spell.
Heward’s Handy Spice Pouch (Common wonderous item, 50gp)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:24, Mon 23 Nov 2020.

Amalar, Hunter and Mix all enjoy the party. Amalar provides dancing for entertainment and Mix strums a lute for her. Amalar will also provide magic effects, both getting used to her new staff and enjoying spreading beauty with her magic.

Between noms, Hunter is sure to offer some food to Donny to keep the donkey happy. But he is also checking now and then that the town doesn't get snuck up on while distracted with a party. This doesn't keep him from partying, but he is ever vigilant in keeping an eye out now and again, just to be sure.

Mix is also sure to take Pyrus and go play with the children of the village during the celebration.

To the merchant, Hunter eyes the crossbow with admiration. Mix oogles over the lantern, but also shows Smolder and the Lightweight Towershield to Barbie. "I'll bet these would be handy for you, Barbara..."

OOC: Unsure we can afford any of the magic items the merchant is selling.

  "The amount of terrible things people try to play off as 'can't blame me! I just don't understand your stupid mortal ways!' is staggering.  And yet they always suddenly understand perfectly enough to complain with the verbose nature of a mortal law scholar if the day ever comes they suffer consequences for their actions."

  Rocky probably gets a lot of sass for being 'unnatural', and yet Rocky is still a valid consideration for knowledge and spells that effect natural beings. Which one can hardly say for things like Dryads.

  Now that Piney merchant? Totally natural (Unless they have 'PC versions get different keywords than NPCs' reality bending going).   It isn't meta logic when it is in character reality the party has to deal with.

  During the much deserved respite from 24/7 terrible no good very bad days the villagers have, Joe takes some time to sketch out some maps from his BS map memory to give the locals.  Not exactly the most exciting way to party, but still something that makes it easy to watch his friends enjoy themselves and entertain others through the night.


OOC: Armchair Intern Analysis: According to the kind loot tracking by Seth, we got 34 platinum (=340 gold) in the community pile. All the gems etc are spoken for as spell components.

The misc combat gear pile (Minus a shield I'm hindsight nabbing for joe just in case, even though shields ruin his playstyle) of Scimitars, leather armor, shields, shortbows, and single chain shirt add up to: 340 gold full value. 170 by "half resale" logic.  For 510 total community coin pile value. (340+340 = 680 if we were allowed full resale value, but that hardly ever happens).

The comb is uncommon tier, so worth more than the common price scale weapons on sale.  So at worst case scenario resale we could trade it in for One of the magic weapons, or all three of the Not Weapons.

The Villain Sickle is a Very Good STR Weapon without for something without attune. Tark still gets constant flashbacks to 'reach enemies on the ceiling' so Barby probably wants to keep this just in case rather than sell it.

Either way as tempting as "Shoot more good for the shooty boys" is, Smolder and/or the big shield for Barbara seems the most sensible thing to prioritize. Even if we end up putting off buying magic items till later.

OOC: For what the party can afford, with current assets the party has
Personal Funds
Amalar 48.2gp, Barbara 41.89gp, Caeldrim 15.1gp, Hunter 45.59gp, Joe 40.71gp, Rocky 15.21gp
Shared/party acquired funds: 381gp (587.7gp including all personal funds)

Tradeable magical items:
Harvester Sickle (Will trade for 400gp), Scrimshaw Comb (Will trade for 400gp), and
Potion of Poison Resistance (valued at 50gp plus 10gp for the container)

Tradeable nonmagical gear: 201gp
4 Scimitars (50gp), 4 Leather armors (25gp), 5 shields (25gp), 5 short bows (62.5gp), 100 arrows (2.5gp), 1 chain shirt (25gp), A box with 20 pounds of salt (11gp)

Can pick up 2 uncommon magical items (400gp each) via trade plus has 788.7gp worth of funds and tradable goods not counting the potion of poison resistance (worth 60gp with container) or any of the other items the party has on the cart which Donny the Donkey pulls (those items are mostly types of torches and other alchemical/herbal items and survival gear/food the party can look through... if the party wants to sell any of them then that is possible.

Also, the party has acquired another 50gp diamond which is a material component for Chromatic Orb, and enough ruby dust for 2 castings of Continual Flame (100gp total) - both of those spells are in the crystalized derende shard so Caeldrim could learn them and use them.

Since it has been asked I'm using the base price for magical items from Xanathar's guide to everything...
Common 50-100gp, uncommon 400gp, rare 4000gp, very rare 40,000gp, legendary 200,000gp with consumable items at half that price.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:05, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

Barbara nodded to Rocky, Caeldrim, and Joe.  "I am thankful that my allies' views on innocents are in harmony, that they have the integrity to keep to them even if inconvenient, and that they have sense enough to remember the practical matters at hand."

During the celebration, Barbara sings along with Mix's lute and Amalar's dancing.  Pyrus is plenty happy to recount the epic combats the heroes had in their quest for kids and adults alike, exaggerating only by implication lest Barbara correct him.

"That colossal boar hit Barbara so hard, I could literally feel the ground shake under my feet!" for example, "So gigantic I can't even... well you can see for yourself just how enormous it is!  We're feeding an entire village on just one leg!"

When shopping time comes, Barbara considers in her mind if the bigger shield would have made much of a difference at all compared to the other magic items.

"I doubt that the sentient forest would approve very much of a magic weapon that lights fires.  No complaints about our torches and fire spells so far, though.

"I'm used to being taught how to budget a kingdom's finances, so I'm rather out of my depth when it comes to spending this much on magic items.  All I can think about is how many soldiers I could equip for the same price as just one of these things."

(( OOC: Couple things.  First: I don't recall feeling quite so badass of a tank in a PnP game as in this game.  And for that I blame you all.  Built a tough-as-nails tank in another game and in the very first fight the entire team splinters to engage separate enemies, making it impossible for me to hold a front line.  So thank you all for cooperating in a way that enables Barby to do her job.
  Second, I'm getting a very distinct hint-wink-nudge from the module that you reeeeally want all PCs to have some sort of effective fire weapon or fire attack for this entire story.  Might want to keep that in mind for choosing magic item priorities.
  Third, did the module come up with those prices?  Has 5e finally settled on a less wishy-washy "whatever the DM feels like between 5,000 and infinity gold," magic item pricing convention?  If so, I'd love to know.
  Fourth, outside point 2, I don't have much in the way of input for what to spend gold on.  ))
This message was last edited by the player at 00:28, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

OOC shopping results:
The party trades both Harvester Sickle (Will trade for 400gp), Scrimshaw Comb (Will trade for 400gp) and the previously the listed nonmagical goods (201gp), along with 394gp (the 381gp of party funds along with 13gp from the party member's individual funds leaving everyone with  the following:
Amalar 46.2gp, Barbara 38.89gp, Caeldrim 13.1gp, Hunter 43.59gp, Joe 38.71gp, Rocky 13.21gp
 in exchange the party has picked up Smolder, the +1 Longbow , the +1 Repeating Shot Light Crossbow, the Lightweight Tower Shield with Shield Sconce, and the Everbright Lantern.

Barbara takes Smolder and the Lightweight Tower Shield with Shield Sconce, Hunter takes the +1 Repeating Shot Light Crossbow, and Joe takes the +1 Longbow. The Everbright Lantern is used by the party and carried on the wagon when no one is specifically holding it.

Summary of Roll20 session.
The party has learned that the Challenge of the Fang encompasses the entire Margreve and has the Would-Be-King of Wolves try to devour and innocent that a Hunter tries to protect by killing the wolf before it can eat the innocent. The winning side gains the Margreve's favor for three generations.

Also, the party has learned that to replenish the supply stocks for the village of Levoca, a rare herb found around Cambervale is needed and the party has headed there via the norther footpath from Levoca.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:10, Sun 06 Dec 2020.

Hunter scouts ahead of the group just to make sure they won't get any surprises on the way. Though he does trade shifts with Joe every half hour or so, both so he can report what he found by scouting and so he can socialize with the group for a bit.

Mix, of course, stays with Barbara. She practices various voices, saying things like "Hello... pleased t'meetchya..." or "Wow... you really are impressive." ...Mix is practicing not just voices, but also acting/deception. Also, seems to be shapeshifting into the various kids from Levoca and trying her hand at pretending to be them, and then playing with their looks while looking in a mirror to come up with personas...

Amalar is in a singing/dancing mood and a somewhat talkative mood. So she fills the travel time with stories in song, walks in a dancing manner, and flits about happily. The girl also summons a water elemental with her staff and shows it off to her allies. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Amalar encourages Barbara to sing as well, but figures that won't take much. Much as Mix enjoys the music, she looks in directions Barbara doesn't to make sure her extra set of eyes are being helpful.

Despite how whimsical Amalar is acting, she is still keeping her eyes and ears open. You never know what might try to sneak up on the group.

  Joe makes a note to keep an eye out in case 'We are desperately out of this thing!' is one of those cases where it is practically right outside.  Though to be fair the town they just left was a bit too busy to notice even if such an outlandish yet surprisingly common thing happened.

  "Nature does tend to look much nicer when you guys are involved, yeah." Though for some reason he'd expect a water elementals to be involved with a stab wizard more than a sorcerer.  Must be his player making in jokes again.

"You're beautiful," Pyrus counters.

Barbara takes a moment away from thinking on the logistics of burning the forest down without killing the people in it to consider Amalar's question and Pyrus' retort.  "Indeed."

She then speaks to the forest.  "HEAR ME, MARGREVE!  YOUR CHALLENGE IS FLAWED!  PUTTING AN INNOCENT PERSON IN DANGER NOT ONLY LEAVES THE WOLVES WITHOUT A THREAT TO THEIR PACK THAT THE CIVILIZED PEOPLE WOULD HAVE, BUT YOU YOURSELF RISK THE FIRE AND STEEL OF CIVILIZATION BEING BROUGHT TO BEAR AGAINST YOUR TREES SHOULD THAT INNOCENT PERSON BE SLAIN!  MARK INSTEAD A WHITE STAG AS THE TARGET AND THE CHALLENGE WILL BE EQUITABLE FOR BOTH SIDES!  AND YOU RISK NOT THE RETRIBUTION OF CIVILIZATION!"