"Prrrf," the Owlbear huffed, its whiskers rolling in its breath. "It is cold, still. Come melting, I hunt."

---

Rhydd:

Bears, does Rhydd need to make a Check in order to form an opinion as to the Owlbear's difficulties? Thanks.

Animal Handling Survival would be the roll. I've gone ahead and rolled for you.

Rhydd's Animal Handling Survival into the reason for the Owlbear's lack of appetite [16]: The Owlbear was simply moderating itself after a long period of fasting. It's inclination to hibernating for an extended period of time was more concerning, and had been the reason Stormheart had brought them here. It was unlikely to starve itself to death inside the cave, but if it awoke too weak to hunt it was going to die of starvation. The batch of food made that less probable.

This was likely the utmost anyone could do for it, so if it decided to not awaken then that was it. Further deliveries could only make it dependent.

This message was last edited by the GM at 19:23, Mon 19 Feb.

"You did well to see that -- I did not," Rhydd replied to Khulekani's pointing out the Frost Salamander's eggs and nest.

"I have heard it said that the Hells have no fury like a woman scorned. To that, I would add the example of any mother defending her young. My advice would be to leave the Frost Salamander and her eggs undisturbed."

The archer turned and smiled at Stormheart. "And now that it has a full belly, the Owlbear seemed more inclined to nap than to venture out of the cave."

Rhydd glanced back down the cavern corridor from whence the threesome had approached.

"Mayhap we can find a spot near the entrance to the cave that will shield us from the worst of the Frostmaiden's icy breath, yet which will be far enough from this chamber so as not to seem a threat to the Owlbear or any of the Frost Salamanders, either adult or young."

Stormheart frowned at the owlbear and then over at Rhydd. He reached up to rub his eyes, but did then give Rhydd a nod of agreement. He turned his back to the owlbear and moved away towards the front of the cave once more.

"I believe this is one of the owlbears I was looking for, and I cannot just leave them here if the frost salamander is likely going to come back and the heart-eater is hunting around this area as well." He let out a sigh.

"But it does not sound like the owlbear will want to leave. It does not even want to out and hunt right now." He smirked. "And moving an owlbear against its will...seems like it will present challenges."

"If we moved the Salamander eggs, or less ideally, destroy the nest, would the Salamander either move to follow, or move on now that this nesting site has been compromised?" Khulekani asked the other two, as they would be much more knowledgeable of the local creature behavior than she would be.

Rhydd nodded at zstormheart's observations about the Owlbear. "I also had the impression that it has no desire to move until what it referred to as "The Melting" -- if we even have one of those this year, given the odd weather that we are having."

When Khulekani asked her questions, the archer stroked his chin-whiskers thoughtfully. "In my opinion, the Salamander will fight to the death to keep us from disturbing her nest or eggs. Thus, we need not be concerned as to whether she will follow if the eggs are moved -- or leave, if they are destroyed. In either case, I suspect that she will be dead, beforehand."

"Truth be told," he added after a moment, "I am not convinced that the eggs or nest need to be destroyed. Frost Salamanders are not high on my list of favorite creatures, but they are part of Nature's natural order, without being actively malicious or evil, in the fashion that some are."

Stormheart frowned for a moment in thought. Then he held up a hand. "Let me see what I can do before we do anything drastic."

He stepped towards the owlbear once more. "I apologize, but it is not safe for you here. We need you to come with us, so we can find you somewhere safe. Another creature has already made a nest here, and there is a predator hunting this area."

The Owlbear had shut his eyes and resigned himself sleep. But when Stormheart spoke, it was with words of wisdom the creature respected, words from someone who knew the wilderness. Stormheart wasn't just any ordinary biped, after all – he was an equal. So it was that it opened one eye, peering at him pleadingly before a last protest was squelched before it was voiced. It knew it was weak, and Stormheart knew it knew. "Prrrfh," it tutted lazily, then rallied its remaining strength to rise. It lumbered over to the pile of food, taking a larger piece of stockfish in its beak, then shuffled along toward the exit. "Let us then go . . ."

---

Stormheart's DC 22 Animal Handling check to convince the Owlbear to abandon its den (made with Advantage due to Animal Friendship) [22]: Success.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:45, Wed 28 Feb.

Stormheart looked just a tiny bit surprised but then broke out in a wide grin. "Wonderful!" But then the smile faltered slightly. "Actually...go ahead and eat a bit more and get some fuel for the trip. I need to go see if that predator is still waiting outside for us. I don't want you to get attacked."

He then relayed the news to his two companions before he headed straight towards the entrance and stepped outside to see if the creature was still there or if he got attacked.

There was limits to the commands the Owlbear would. He did not, in fact, stop to eat some more, but continued straight on and expected his visitors to follow.

Outside, the Peryton had indeed attacked. Farwalker stood primed with her shield and axe, her circle of aurora swirling around the perimeter, visible as Stormheart, Rhydd, Khulekani, and the Owlbear reached the mouth of the cave. The creature was, however, prone on the ground and unharmed, appearing to be unconscious. "Good timing," Farwalker spoke. "I have cast a spell on it, it will remain asleep for a minute."

---

Farwalker's upcasts Sleep at 2nd level, targeting the Peryton. She rolls 37, which is enough to put the Peryton with a HP of 33 to sleep.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:08, Sat 02 Mar.

Joining his companions outside the cave, Rhydd was surprised to find the Peryton lying insensible upon the ground. Farwalker explained that she had cast Sleep magicks upon it.

"Well done," the archer said, favoring the big Goliath with a nod of his head.

"Now what?" he asked, glancing around at his companions. "I dislike attacking defenseless foes. But in this instance, I fear that given the Peryton's aggressive nature, it will soon enough be attacking us if we simply leave it lying -- a minute is not o'erlong."

Stormheart frowned as he glanced back and saw the owlbear following him. He restrained a sigh. It was going to be difficult to keep the creature alive, he wagered silently. He flashed a quick smile at Rhydd's compliment, "Thanks."

About the peryton he quietly said, "no, while I take no pleasure in it, we must kill it quickly. the owlbear needs to be gotten to safety and having this gluttonous predator at our backs is an unacceptable risk."

He contemplated shifting but instead, for the moment, did not. He walked over to the creature and reached down to touch it, the other hand on his holy symbol.

OOC: Casting Inflict Wounds at 2nd level. Should have advantage since it's prone but wasn't sure if we needed to roll initiative first or anything - or if anyone in the group would stop him, lol.

In reply to Stormheart (msg # 112):

Rhydd nodded his agreement with Stormheart's analysis, and readied an arrow. Pulling the bow-string taut, he waited a moment to time his own attack with the onset of the Goliath's magicks.

"Must we murder this beast? Could we not simply bind it in a way that would take a few hours to escape from? Predator though it may be, it slumbers, and it seems dishonorable to butcher it while it cannot defend itself..." Khulekani asked, biting her lip in concern and uncertainty.

Stormheart gave a dismissive snort even as he finished the spell and touched the creature. "Honor? Is it honorable to stalk a victim and eat only its heart?" He shook his head. "I serve the greater good, not my own personal honor or combat glory."

He then stood back up once the deed was done. "And I won't waste time while I have a live creature that still needs my help." He let out a sigh, glancing back at the owlbear.

"We should move one before the salamander returns."

The necrosis spread through the Peryton's body like wildfire, quickly reaching its heart and stopping before the creature could even awaken. The Owlbear, surprisingly, remained fully uncaring about the whole situation, having dropped to scratch behind its neck.

"Not my preferred way of doing things," Rhydd muttered, glancing back and forth between Khulekani and Stormheart, "but needs must when Devils drive."

Timing his shot with the onset of the Goliath's magicks, he loosed an arrow into the Peryton's chest.

Understanding that Khulekani might think less of whoever attacked the Peryton in its helpless state, Rhydd did not wish for Stormheart to bear that burden alone.

Khulekani looked away as the two butchered the Peryton. She understood their reasoning. But she had never been able to fully set aside her heart, or her faith, in the face of pure pragmatism. But these were good men. She had no cause to raise her blade to stop them, when they were simply taking the direct path. But still...

"The wickedness or natural viciousness of our foes should have no impact on our actions. We should be better than that..." she said softly, but without venom.

"If you wish to weep for every death," Farwalker said as she stooped, jumping the axe in her hand so she held it right by the head, "you best start soon." With the sharp blade she cut a length of rope which she used to bind the Peryton's taloned feet. Then, after she had plucked a good few of the shimmering red and purple feathers that were unscathed by Stormheart's necrosis, she tied the wings down to the best of her ability. She had honestly preferred if Stormheart hadn't cast his spell. Rhydd's arrow was a cleaner method and if that wasn't enough, they had ready access to its jugular.

She hoisted the beast atop her shoulders. It was large and bulky, but so was Farwalker.

---

The Owlbear mostly kept beside Stormheart, but he wasn't overly wary of the Goliath's three companions. In fact, although lethargic and somewhat unstable, he was quite brazen in his pathing and oft threatened to sweep any of their feet from under them as they went down the mountainside. Stormheart was intimately familiar with the terrain and knew there would be at least a few candidates for a new den a bit further down the slope.

When they came to the first one, a smaller cavern with far less headroom, a quick inspection was enough to clear it of any threat. The only thing he found inside was the spent arrowheads of the Green Moss tribe, but the Orcs seldom had it in for Owlbears. The cave's layout, being narrow and winding, lent itself to defense, so any delve would likely be their last should the one he had in tow accept it. Which it should, for it was frankly superior in every sense except sheer volume.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:01, Sun 10 Mar.

Rhydd was a little wary of the Owlbear, which seemingly paid little heed to where its traveling companions might be walking. And with the footing being snowy and slick, the outdoorsman did not wish to find himself pushed off-blance by the massive creature. However, on the bright side, Stormheart's magicks seemed to be keeping the Owlbear calm, even if somewhat unstable.

The archer liked what he saw when Stormheart pointed out a new cave for them to consider. It seemed clear enough that no other creatures had taken up residence in this one, and its natural shape seemed to lend itself to defense.

"This one should do nicely, in my opinion," said Rhydd, "although it is not quite as roomy on the inside as that last cave."

Turning to Stormheart he added, with the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "You may need to cuddle up with your new friend. At least that will make for warm sleeping."

Stormheart spared only a glance for Khulekani when they spoke. Farwalker replied to her before he could say anything, and he let it lie there. She even made it sound poetic almost.

He didn't comment on the owlbear being slightly passive-aggressive towards his allies. It was a little amusing, so long as no one actually fell or got hurt. It wasn't nice, but Owlbears weren't really known around the world for their kindness and compassion.

He inspected the cave they found and smiled widely. He nodded and looked over at the owlbear. "I think this will do nicely, don't you?"

He stepped aside and let the owlbear take a look. Then he set a bit more food down at the entrance before he began to move away.

The Owlbear shoved his way past Stormheart in response to his question, wishing to inspect it firsthand before he reached a verdict. He snooped around a bit, finding the space was just big enough for him to turn around in. "Good enough," he concluded, laying down to rip off the last shreds of the stockfish he had brought along, the food Stormheart had set looking more and more appetizing as his hunger slowly returned. He had smelled a hare on his way here too, which he hoped he could happen upon. Better to hunt here than to travel to the lakeside to fish.

Stormheart took the 'shove' goodnaturedly enough, and then smiled at the owlbear's proclamation. "Wonderful!" He gave the owlbear a nod of respect. "Rest well. I wish you good life and good hunting."

He felt good about being able to help a creature out. Too often his life seemed to involve violence, so it was nice to have one that wasn't completely full of that...though there had been the peryton. He shrugged that off.

He turned back to the others and made a shooing motion. "We should go back the way we came and head out. We don't want to stay around here and bother them or the salamander."

"Very well," Rhydd replied with a nod.

"Just be aware that we will either need to find ourselves another cave in which we can spend the night . . . either that, or I can hollow us out an ice-cave."

The outdoorsman smiled. "It's not as bad as it sounds."

---

OOC: Rhydd would not wish to get too wordy about it, but another possibility would be to find a spot up against a cliff-face or overhang, situated so that the rock would block the prevailing winds.

I'm certain that Bears knows lots more about snow-camping than I do, considering that I live in Florida. Now, hurricanes, though . . .  :)

Okay, there's a storm coming, then! :)

---

Stormheart could feel it just as Rhydd could — that the winds were changing. Some snowfall, sharper than one would expect from a genuine calm, had begun to fall and refuge would have to be arranged. It was about that time, after they had safely left the Owlbear to its new abode, that Khulekani received a message in her mind from a voice she didn't recognize.

It was a male voice, high-pitched and nasally to the point of note, but it was declared the message was Mallory's. It consisted of a brief instruction to heed the original plan and head to Bryn Shander, whereupon Mallory would meet them. The spell allowed Khulekani to immediately mentally respond in an equally concise message, should she wish to inform her on their state of affairs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Wed 20 Mar.

Halfway between Termalaine and Bryn Shander, the storm hit for full. The wind blew like an erratic battering ram spurring on flurries of sharp, painful snow, and the visibility was reduced to nearly nothing. Neither Rhydd nor Stormheart knew if they were still following their trail, and ultimately it was decided they would have to seek shelter. The squat hills in the area provided little relief, but after a search they were able to find a small ledge they could reinforce with packed snow that at least kept the worst of the winds away. Goliaths were handy to have around in the circumstance, their skin more acclimated to the frigid onslaught and their hands more willing to toil.

The four huddled in close for a long night. Thankfully the storm abated somewhat in the deepest hours — not enough to light a fire, but it at least made it possible to sleep. Nearing dawn, Farwalker was up first, preferring to keep watch and tend to the project she had brought along. She had hoped to roast the meat of the Peryton that was still good, but that plan was out the window, so she contended herself with stripping some flesh off some bones she wanted to carve later. And unless Stormheart, Rhydd, or Khulekani wanted it, she planned to bring it along as she headed south for her tribe.