"Yes, wake Pious but be careful, there could be others, this may be but a distraction." Kal remained ready should something present itself in the gloom.

Snow begins to fall, further obscuring your sight from the thus far unidentified menace. You do know the sound grows louder - it is a fierce growl, deep and gutteral, and everyone grips their weapons a bit tighter as the thing draws closer.

Suddenly, Elora opens her hand and a small dot of light ascends toward the heavens. Reaching it's apex, it explodes and covers the surrounds in a wide swath of light. Some fifty yards away is a huge, bipedal form, probably eight feet tall and some 400lbs. Caught in the open, it snarls in anger and charges toward the party.

Roll initiative, please!

19:24, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 4 using 1d6 ((4)).

ooc: Unadjusted, have to admit, don't recall how you handle init.

Initiateive as follows:

Elora: 9
Kalmus 6
Agrax: 5
Pious: 4

Big baddie: 2

ooc: DM note, if you think one of the NPC's should do a certain action, that's fine - good coordination is integrel to good parties. I'm happy to roll the bones, just tell me what you want them to do. That includes Elora, though she may or may not listen to your suggestions.

Battle is on!
Elora fires three magic missiles at the beastie, who screams his rage. 9pts damage to the bad guy.

Kalmus is up next

Kal rushed forward and slashed at the thing with his longsword (specialized)

16:07, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 7 using 1d12+3.

16:07, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 17 using 1d20+1.

?: is it one attack first round, 2 the second for specialization or vice versa in your opinion?

My understanding is 1 attack odd numbers, 2 attacks even. Your attack hits, by the way.

ooc: Nice! That's the way I do things as well... W

Attacks by Elora and Kalmus strike true, causing the beast to growl in outrage. Agrax and Pious take their turns to no avail. Pious being the nearer victim, is lined up for two strikes from the beast, but the priest's armor proves mightier than the claw/claw tandem.

Elora, perceiving their numbers, surrounds the beast with Faerie Fire. "Follow the outline!" she calls out to the others.

+2 to hit the monster

18:04, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 6 using 1d12+3.

18:04, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 14 using 1d20+1. (16 actually, forgot to add the 2)

and a 3 misses even with the 2 I'm guessing...

Kalmus hits on his first attack, a sturdy strike that causes the beast to rear back in pain. Pious & Agrax are again feeble in their attacks despite Elora's best efforts. The beast retaliates in strong fashion: Kalmus takes 6 points of claw damage, though the second strike misses as Kalmus dances away from further danger.

For her part, Elora drops a bit of sand in effort to cast a sleep spell, but the monster seems unaffected.

Kalmus is up!

Kal stepped in and swung hard!

09:17, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 6 using 1d12+3.  damage.

09:16, Today: Kalmus the Grey rolled 21 using 1d20+3.  roll plus faerie fire bonus.

The intrepid adventurer steps forward and swings his mighty sword to great affect, opening a gash at the nexus between neck and shoulder. Blood gushes from the beast. It staggers meekly from the mortal wound before falling face down some two feet from the fire.

As mentioned, it was a large beast, but new details come into play: what seemed yellow fur is actually white, and great, sharp claws adorn the beast's hands. Closer inspection indicates and older beast, a lone bachelor of sorts, out foraging on its own. A rudimentary pack crosses from the other shoulder over it's chest.

ooc: nifty little scrap to get the blood flowing. Actions?

Kal stared at the creature. "It has a pack? Was this an intelligent beast?" He hoped someone knew the thing and the habits of these sort of critters. He'll also search the pack to see if the thing had anything worth keeping.

ooc: at first read, I thought this was an ogre! Suspect it's a yeti but that's just me, not Kal...

Further inspection indicates that the fur is more than rudimentary, it's very thick, leading Kalmus to believe that the fur is an effective insulator. The beast is bipedal, stands/walks upright, seemed to have some intelligence, though really you hypothesize that it's more brawn than brains.

Your initial search of the beast's pack indicates a heavy load. Unfurling the pack leads to a discovery of some 500 gold and 6 gems of similar size and color (emeralds). Elora, female, notes immediately, "Ooh, pretty stones!"

500g + 6 emeralds of fine cut worth 250g apiece.

Nice haul for a yeti rogue. Dice roller was kind today: I rolled a 2% on the emeralds.

The party is pretty keyed up. Sleep is now out of the question, so the party breaks camp early and continues the journey north as the first vestiges of dawn break the horizon. Thick stands of pine break up the monotony of the journey; for her part, Elora studies the gems like a jeweler in Lahnkmar. Eventually she tires of them and hands them back to her beau.

ooc: another post coming today/tomorrow.

The final leg of of the journey is long and hard. Four and a half days have passed, and still no sign of civilization. Even worse, the cold clime has turned hard. Each of you shiver despite the foul weather gear you possess. Occasionally Elora fixes each of you up with a warmth cantrip...but that only serves to make the cold even colder when the affect wears off.

An early night falls; Pious and Agrax start to argue whether to continue on or make camp. Agrax wants to keep moving, Pious wants to stop. Their arguing grows heated, to the point where they are near blows.

Actions?

Kal said, "How far to the village? If we're not close, let's stop and set up camp, see if we can warm up but, if we are close, let's press on and see if we can find some real shelter for the night."

To the best of your knowledge, you should be very close to your destination. However, as of yet, you haven't found any settlements, though there are indications that civilization, such as it is in the north, is near.

Agrax makes that point once again to Kalmus. "It would be foolish for us to stop now," she said in ill temper. "Much better to push on than freeze in the long, dark night."

Pious, who's been mostly quiet during the journey, reiterates, "It's dark, Kalmus. And cold. Let's set a fire, set the order of watches, then, come the dawn, we'll have light to guide our way."

ooc: command decision - both make good points - whatcha wanna do?

Kal nodded, "You're both right. Agrax, I'd love to just push on, but in the dark without knowing where this town is, could make us ripe for ambush. Do you smell smoke or anything that tells you a town is near? If not: How about this? Let's push on half an hour. If we don't see outbuildings and farms, we hole up somewhere and build a big-ass fire to ward the chill."

Agrax seems energized by the proposal.

"I'll find the damn settlement, if it kills me!" she yips, her voice high pitched and a bit tinny. Like a bolt, she takes the lead, lopes at a great pace despite an ungainly gait and disappears into darkness."

OOC: as she disappears, what is the rest of the party doing? Continuing on? Stopping and waiting for her return?
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:48, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Kal nodded, "Let's follow but give her some room. You know how she is. She has to be hating this cold!" He led onward in the direction the gnoll had vanished.

Less than a half an hour passes and Agrax comes loping back. She has a fierce grin on her face.

"A round house," she said. "Tucked neatly in a wide glade with a thick stand of trees surrounding it. Some out buildings, look like small hovels for families not fully attached to whomever rules here. The round house appears to be in good shape. Smoke rises from the fire, food's being cooked. Guarantee it's warm in there."

"Then let's see if we can convince them to shelter us for the night. Lead on." Once they arrive at the house, if nothing is amiss, Kal will take Elora with him to knock on the door and ask politely for entry, food and warmth, offering to pay. Kal thought, Elorna can sing for our supper if nothing else. No one can resist that!

Agrax leads the way through a grouping of pine trees, which seem the predominant specie of flora in the surrounds. Eventually, they enter a wide space. Off to the left is the round house as perfectly described by the gnoll warrior. Surrounding the main structure are smaller constructs like little islands in a sea of snow.

A gathering of 12 women have congregated upon the stairs looking down at you. One matron stands regally at the front of the group, one step down, her eyes a bright blue, a twisted staff held in her hands.

"Who are you that trespass upon our lands?"

"I am Kalmus the Grey," Kal said in a friendly tone. "We apologize for the trespass, we were seeking shelter for the night when we spotted your settlement. Have you a barn or other shelter we can spend this cold night in? We can pay."

The woman raised a single eyebrow before replying.

"I'll give you credit, lowlander, you're not shy. Before I say yay or nay, what purpose your journey to the north?"