Re: Phinneas in the Sunset Mountains

[Elliott the Undying]

"Ooh! He can see in the dark now, Jaenus! He's old enough to work in the mines. Maybe one of yer spells went wrong and is turning you into a dwarf! HAH! Wouldn't 'at be right dead brilliant!"
"Brilliant, stupid, whatever. It'd be brilliant to get some sleep around here, Kolgrim. So shuddup!"
"I'm with the dwarf, Phinneas. Go back to sleep."
"Probably. I doubt that goblin's spear gave you super vision. I remember Roderick saying something about seeing in the dark. Maybe you stumbled on a new invocation. Do you remember what you did that made it happen? Try to remember so you can use it again. I doubt it's permanent. When we get back, we should look it up in that book they had."

[Zaueski]

He's talking low with the intention for only Andra to hear now "I stubbed my toe and got mad... I think I accidentally let loose some eldritch fire and then it sparked and circled my vision or eyes or whatever and now I can see in the dark. Dawn's coming soon anyways I'm just going to start packing up so we can get a move on." He goes and starts organizing his pack and then waits til breakfast if no one else has anything.

[Elliott the Undying]

Breakfast is served about an hour after dawn. A tray of biscuits and a pot of watery gravy (inspired by KCU cafeteria gravy) is set out in the dining area. Some kind of seared meat slices are set out too. Maybe beef, maybe pork, who knows? One thing is certain: it's definitely not Doreen's cooking. After breakfast, Emmerson shoves his plate toward Andra. "Not that I'm not eager to walk for a few more days, but are you sure we can't stay around here for one more night? Those goblins didn't get much food from the raid, and they might be back. Jus'sayin."

[Zaueski]

"We need to stick to the schedule. Uncle Roderick expects us to be in Hluthvar not Asbravn and we don't know how quickly they can get us the information and our money so I think we should continue ahead...." He finishes eating and thinks for a moment "You there! Dwarf. Where is the little pesky goblins layer? If it's on our way we could attempt to clear it out for you"

[Elliott the Undying]

"Oh, they've infested every cave and crevice from 'ere to the foothills. Be careful poking around in caves though. No knowing if you'll stumble on a giant or an ogre cave instead of goblins."
"The more the merrier I say."
"Overconfidence in combat is a deadly disease I say."
"What I'm hearing is that we're taking the fight to the baddies instead of waiting for them to have the advantage."
"Yeah, no. They definitely won't have the advantage in their own caves."
"Either way, goblins breed like gnats. Killing a few dozen never makes a dent in how annoying they get. Knock yerselves out, mages. Less gnats to bother the mines."

[Zaueski]

"If there is no definitive nest I say we just go straight to Hluthvar and you can kill the goblins or whatever else only if they come to us. I don't particularly fancy wandering into a goblin cave for so little reward." He finishes up eating and says "Everyone ready to go?"

[Elliott the Undying]

"Absolutely."
"Hluthvar, here we come."

[Zaueski]

If nothing else happens he packs up and walks along the path toward Hluthvar occasionally practicing his aim on generic birds and critters when there's no risk of burning down the forest.

[Elliott the Undying]

Andra and Emmerson are determined to not let you have all the fun. They attack critters on sight as well. The dry rocky terrain at the foothills of the Sunset Mountains provides a safe learning environment for those throwing fire about willy-nilly. We'll assume that between the three of you, you can deal enough damage to the critters before they scamper out of view. Emmerson still has trouble getting the fire sometimes.


Critters for 4 days of travel:
Rats: d4-2 (2)
Dire rats: d6-4 (2)
Crows: 3d4+5 (15)
Lizards: d4+4 (7)
Monitor lizard: 2d4-6 (0)
Snakes: d4+1 (2)
Legendary super serpents of Armageddon: d100-98 (0)
Total XP: 500 

In the morning of the second day, you all wake up to the sound of a dull thudding echoing across the foothills. It occurs about every second.

[Valor]

The member 'Elliott the Undying' has done the following action : Dices roll

#1 'd4' : 4

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#2 'd6' : 6

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#3 'd4' : 4, 3, 3

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#4 'd4' : 3

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#5 'd4' : 3, 1

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#6 'd4' : 1

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#7 'd100' : 42

[Zaueski]

"Huh? Emmerson shut it already I'm trying to sleep.." He trails off and then bolts awake when he realizes it isn't his brother "What is that? That's not footsteps is it?!" goes back to sleep.
Spot (-1): 1 (For when it comes within eyeshot)
Listen (-1): 0
(Wow talk about crappy rolls)

[Valor]

The member 'Zaueski' has done the following action : Dices roll

'd20' : 2, 1

[Elliott the Undying]

You hear Emmerson's voice outside the tent. "Dude, that ain't me." There's a moment of silence. "It just started a couple of seconds ago. If it got closer or kept going for too long, I was going to wake you two up."
Andra's sleepy head pokes out from her bedroll. "Should we investigate the anomaly?"

[Zaueski]

"What is that??" He says as he comes to "We should male sure that whatever it is isn't going to interfere with any of our plans in Hulthvar. Lets go but carefully" He packs up his tent quickly and begins heading towards the source of the noise.

Move Silently (+2): 9

[Valor]

The member 'Zaueski' has done the following action : Dices roll

'd20' : 7

[Elliott the Undying]

Emmerson helps you break camp while Andra "looks out for bad guys." While you're breaking camp, the thuds stop after a minute followed by a crash. The echoing thuds resume shortly after with a much more random interval.
Emmerson and Andra follow you up a tall steep hill. Peeking over the rocks on top of the rise, you see a fallen tree several hills over and a humanoid much larger than your average human with dark gray skin chopping at another tree near that hill's base with a hatchet. 
Emmerson's eyebrows go up. "So that's what a giant looks like?"
Andra bites her lower lip and clicks her tongue while inhaling slowly. "Anomaly assessed, and no evident threat found. How's about we back away now and put some miles between ourselves and that thing?" 
"Don't tell me you're scared now. You went bloodthirsty on the little ones when there were like 10 of them all around me, and your feet get cold now that there's one big one?"
"10? There were like 7."
"I rounded up."
"I don't think avoiding an altercation with a giant is 'cold feet.' I would consider it basic intellect. If you want that axe sticking out of your side, by all means charge in and become a notch on his belt."
"Is that how they keep track of their kills? I should start doing that."
"Will you ever grasp non-literal language?"
"It's going to be easier to grasp my sword as I slide it through that giant's belly. Look at all that fat! Imagine the look on its face!"
"Imagine the smell. Go ahead. Imagine every part of your suicidal fantasy."
"I can imagine us getting good treatment in Hluthvar with that axe as a trophy of our victory over a giant." His voice adopts a dwarven accent. "Imagine tha free drinks, lass! That's it! I'm going in." Emmerson crests the hill and starts sneaking his way down to the next shorter hill.
"Dammit, Emmerson, get back here. Crap. Crap. Crap. He's actually going to try this, Phinneas. Do something!"

(Player knowledge: just under 1000 feet away)

[Zaueski]

"I can't knock him out and you know he doesn't listen to reason..." He pauses and adds jokingly "Can't we just leave him? No? Fineee." Not shouting but loud enough that Emmerson can hear he hisses "Get over here before you kill yourself moron!"

[Elliott the Undying]

Andra's eyes look panicked. "If I try to use the bats to stop him, he'll bleed to death before we can reach a town. Then what would we tell... Wait." She stands on top of the hill and shouts loudly down at him, "EMMERSON ALEXANDER, YOU TURN YOUR BUTT AROUND OR I SWEAR TO ASMODEOUS I'M TELLING DOREEN THAT YOU'RE BEING RECKLESS." Her body shakes like she's about to cough, but she's stifling it.

Andra intimidate: +11 (17)
Emmerson resist: +4 (faaaail)
Andra Concentration: +6 (15)

Emmerson turns around with the raw terror of a child that was suddenly screamed at by an otherwise gentle aunt. He looks at her with fear and then to the large humanoid that just started scanning the horizon for the source of vocal fury. "Here." She coughs slightly and you barely see green sparks dance from her mouth. "Now." She coughs again and an inch of green flame spouts from her mouth. "Yeah. Okay. I'm coming." Emmerson starts climbing the hill back to you guys.

[Valor]

The member 'Elliott the Undying' has done the following action : Dices roll

#1 'd20' : 6

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#2 'd20' : 1

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#3 'd20' : 9

[Zaueski]

"Andra what is that? Why are you coughing up fire???" He keeps glancing between the giant and his two siblings ready to catch Andra if she suddenly collapses.

[Elliott the Undying]

The coughing reminds you of the coughing Emmerson had when he caught bronchitis. The wretched sound echoes over the foothills. She remains standing, holds her throat with one hand, and clasps her chest with the other. She coughs several times, each time with an inch of green flame leaving with her breath. As you glance between her and the large humanoid, you see it start hurriedly gathering wood in its arms and run off to the East. Struggling to breathe in among the violent expulsions of air and eldritch energy, Andra manages to speak. "I don't know," violent cough, "It just happened." 
Emmerson reaches the top of the hill. "What did she do? What happened?"
Andra puts braces her hands on her knees and coughs a final time and the two inch flame resembles forked tongue. She breathes heavily for a couple seconds, and when she speaks, her voice is much smoother and appealing than before. "Whatever it was, you running off triggered it." 
Her right hand suddenly shimmers green and she tries to slap him across the face.

Attack against dex and shield (14): +3 (20)
damage if hit: d6 (1)


"I'm sor-" He doesn't even see it coming because he's looking at the ground in shame. Her hand leaves a hand shaped first degree burn on his cheek. "DAMMIT EMMERSON! A GIANT? YOU'RE GOING TO KILL A GODS DAMNED GIANT ALL BY YOURSELF?" 
"I'm sorry." 
"OR WERE YOU HOPING YOU'D CONVINCE US TO JUST JUMP ON INTO THAT SITUATION JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE? I DON'T KNOW WHAT CRAP THOSE SOLDIERS FILLED YOUR HEAD WITH, BUT YOU CAN DIE OUT HERE!
"I know." 
"DO YOU REALIZE THAT?" 
"I know." 
"YOU COULD DIE, AND PHINNEAS, ME, DOREEN, RODERICK, WE'D ALL HAVE TO TRY TO MOVE ON WITHOUT YOU."
"I know." 
"YOU'RE 19 YEARS OLD, IDIOT! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN THAT THE WORLD IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS?" She throws a blast into the rocky soil and storms off toward the tent. "Unbe-LIE-vable!" 
Emmerson keeps looking at the ground. "I'm sorry."

[Valor]

The member 'Elliott the Undying' has done the following action : Dices roll

#1 'd20' : 17

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#2 'd6' : 1

[Zaueski]

"Andra you need to quiet down... that giant is still over there!" he interjects.

[Elliott the Undying]

Andra points out toward the East. "It's running away too. Look." You look and see it hurriedly dragging one of the trees Eastward. It eventually crests a large hill and disappears. "You're welcome for saving our brother. Now if we're done criticizing how I did it, then we can continue this miserable journey and find somewhere quiet in Hluthvar to settle down for a week or so."

[Zaueski]

"Fine, but you're still not off the hook for that stunt. However it would be better discussed later."

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