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Post by Nakan on May 6, 2019 3:36:48 GMT
Once the axe had bitten into the wolf's emaciated frame, Nakan gave the weapon's haft a firm yank. The blade cleaved its way through flesh until it slipped free, sending a mist of blood into the winter air. The goliath was dimly aware of the warm crimson droplets now plastered across his torso, but what little focus his trance-like furor allowed his mind to have was directed entirely on the beast that stood before him.
As the metallic smell of fresh blood reached his nostrils, Nakan readied himself for a possible reprisal from the wolf but instead found his focus momentarily shaken as an arrow whistled past his side, shortly followed by a sudden crack of thunder and flash of white light. The burst of light momentarily dazzled the goliath, his already hazy vision now filled with dancing white spots. He retreated a few steps, holding his axe defensively before him in one hand as he reflexively rubbed his eyes with the other.
As his vision swiftly recovered, Nakan looked up to see that the wolf had seemingly been unimpressed with the combined assault issued by the adventurers, instead choosing to continue pursuing Echo. As Nakan watched the beast lunge forward a second time, he also noticed a second lupine figure emerge from the howling blizzard, a stark white wolf in far better health than its grey-coated companion.
As the white wolf sunk its jaws into the distracted Echo, Nakan would let out another rage-infused, ursine roar. He hefted his axe high above his head, aiming to bring the weapon crashing down into the spine of the starved dire wolf.
Reckless Attack: m4dUbAyM1d20+5 or 1d20+5
Damage if Hit: 1d12+51d20+5·1d20+5·1d12+5
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 9, 2019 18:33:46 GMT
The wolf tensed and crumpled as the axe tore through its back, paralyzing it before it started bleeding out, dying at the feet of the enraged barbarian.
Wolf 1 is dead
I'd put a new map up, but Imgur is saying my account doesn't exist right now..... so just see map above without the grey wolf
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Kestrel
Approved
Icon by @ArtByRue on Twitter!
Posts: 319
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Post by Kestrel on May 11, 2019 0:53:21 GMT
Echo stood, already sliding in another bolt, as a blast of lighting struck the ground near their makeshift camp. She flinched as the booming crack momentarily silenced the rest of the fight. A plume of snow, ice, dirt, and static billowed out and battered at the massive wolf but, aside from a few stray flakes, stopped just short of hitting the rest of them. The tabaxi wiped some of the spit and blood from her forehead. She stared, eyes and mouth both wide and open. Was that…was that just, like, a thing? That had just happened? Not that Echo had any time to really find out. With a snarl the wolf charged once more, teeth and spittle glinting, and pounced at her. The treasure hunter jumped back again as its jaws snapped empty. Ha! Echo raised her crossbow, steadied it against her shoulder, and-
Yelped.
Pain shot through her entire leg as something sharp tore into her thigh from behind. Something with a lot of sharp. Heart thumping, fur bristling, and gasping, the tabaxi looked over her shoulder. Another dang wolf! With a strong jerk of its head the animal threw Echo to the ground. She landed with another cry as more of her pants, fur, and flesh were torn at by its teeth, and the snow around her became spattered with red drops. She thrashed her one free leg. This wolf was speckled gray against white, almost beautiful in an about to kill her kind of way, and just as big as the other but, with her stomach sinking, Echo could see that it was waaaaay better fed. That meant way stronger. She was…
In trouble. Big trouble.
As the wolf opened its jaws for another bite the tabaxi rolled to the side, dislodging her leg from its teeth, and leapt to her feet. She stumbled and winced as even more pain radiated from the wound. She was in a bad way. Not that she was out of the fight, yet, or even in as bad a position as she could have been. While Echo had been trying to free herself, Nakan, it seemed, had taken the opportunity to strike the wolf now behind her again. Its crumpled body of bones and blood-stained fur lie still. Mustering what energy she had left, Echo moved past the giant and the dead wolf, leg dragging and carving a gouge through the snow, as she steadied herself against their hut with her one free hand. Her crossbow dangled from the other. She reached Thea. At that her ears perked a little and her tail swished once, though even standing was now somewhat hard. Her heart still thumped loud in her chest.
Echo spit down, looked up, and then shouted at the wolf. Her voice was a bit shaky.
“N-n-nice try, but it’ll t-t-take a lot more than some d-d-dumb d-dog to kill this cat!”
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Move: Echo is going to use Cunning Action as a bonus to Disengage, Feline Agility as a free action to double her movement, and then stand. She's then going to use the rest of her 30' to move up to the square just to the upper left of Thea!
Action: She's then going to use Vicious Mockery against the big bad wolf. Thing's gonna need to do a Wisdom save (DC 13) or take 1d4 Psychic damage and have disadvantage on its next attack!
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 11, 2019 0:58:32 GMT
Wis saving throw! GklunaF51d20+11d20+1
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Post by moralhazard on May 11, 2019 1:12:36 GMT
Thea screamed again, more loudly this time, as the wolf seemed to shake off the thunder and lunged at Echo again. It hit – did it hit? Thea couldn’t tell; she could only see massive snapping jaws and hideous bloody teeth.
There was another movement – a flash of white – and Echo was on the ground, red blood staining the white snow.
Thea screamed once more for good measure.
Nakan lunged forward, swinging his axe to cleave the first wolf almost in half. Thea was shaking, but – somehow – Echo was back on her feet, and running, even calling out at the wolf, taunting it.
Thea let out a shaky breath, half-shocked that the tabaxi was still alive. She inhaled, deeply, gripping her arcane focus through her shirt so hard that she felt the fabric strain, pointed at the new enormous wolf, and spoke her arcane words yet again, hair whirling around her head.
Another ghostly lightning bolt lit the air behind the second bloody and terrifying wolf, and another burst of thunderous force swept through the air.
((Thea casts shatter on the square behind the white wolf – lower right – with a ten foot radius.)) DC 13 con save for half damage
Shatter damage (thunder): AympCRfA3d83d8
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 11, 2019 1:18:17 GMT
Con save! iKuE2dnW1d20+2
The female wolf with the heavier belly did not withstand the electrical shock as well as her mate had. Clenching and whining against the force she took wave after wave of electric damage, the static building in her fur and standing it on end.
The large one was in her way, in between herself and the one it wanted as prey. The one that had killed her pack mate.
It was desperate, but not desperate enough as the darker one had been to charge past it. Not desperate enough to face the lightning again, not like this.
Turning tail, the large white wolf lunged away from the group, back into the snow around it, running away.
Wolf's stealth roll: 1d20+4 1d20+2·1d20+4
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Post by Nakan on May 14, 2019 19:37:02 GMT
Perception to challenge Wolf's Stealth: 87WQgiOp1d20+21d20+2
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 14, 2019 20:21:53 GMT
The wolf, Nakan can see, has used all it's movement to run back into the woods. It is 60 feet away in a direct line as it runs through the snow, blood leaving enough of a trail and offset color enough for him to see the path she's taken.
60 'south' of where the wolf was originally on the map
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Post by Nakan on May 14, 2019 21:13:27 GMT
His boot braced against the broken body of the grey wolf, Nakan wrenched his axe free and turned on the spot to face the second beast just in time to catch sight of Echo.
The Tabaxi moved as fast as her injured leg could carry her, brushing past the goliath on her way to the safety of the group's makeshift shelter. As Nakan moved slightly, positioning himself between his companions and the wolf, he felt the back of his neck prickle as another burst of arcane static energy erupted around the wolf, courtesy of a well-placed spell from Thea. This time he was ready and avoided losing sight of his opponent in the bright flash and echoing report.
As the injured creature regained some semblance of composure, Nakan lowered himself into a fighting stance once again. He stared the wolf down, seemingly daring the beast to lunge forward and attack. The breath of both the barbarian and the wolf came as small white clouds of vapor, steam rising from the still warm crimson coating Nakan's weapon and the creature's jaws. It must have only been a split second, but the staredown seemed to last an eternity.
Finally, Nakan saw the white wolf's gaze flick from him to the hazy treeline to the south. As the creature turned to bolt, Nakan exploded into motion right behind it. HE racked it's movement, heading south towards safety. Letting his greataxe fall to his side, he wrenched a hand-axe free from his belt with his off hand. Rearing back, he put as much force behind the throw as he could, hurling the small axe towards the fleeing wolf.
((OOC))
Nakan will move one square right, and three squares down. This should put the wolf 55' - 60' away.
Reckless Attack: ga3R_LES1d20+5 Advantage cancels disadvantage from Long Range throw.
Damage if Hit: 1d6+3
Luck Roll to Keep Greataxe in hand: 1d1001d20+5·1d6+3·1d100
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 14, 2019 22:39:14 GMT
The handaxe bites into the flank of the retreating wolf, the yelp of pain signal enough he'd made contact.
Nakan himself, due to the vigor he'd thrown the much smaller axe, couldn't help but slacken the grip on the larger great axe - the weapon dropping into the snow at his side.
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Kestrel
Approved
Icon by @ArtByRue on Twitter!
Posts: 319
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Post by Kestrel on May 15, 2019 21:37:18 GMT
Echo leaned as hard as she could against their makeshift hut, breath short and ragged, and winced as she tried to balance on one leg and lift her wounded one off the ground. To lift some of the pressure off it. She gasped, bit her tongue, and whined as the stretching only worsened the already painful throb. Cat Lord, this…sucked! Bad! The tabaxi glanced down. The fur around the wound was matted and the torn fabric slick, and thin rivulets of blood ran down her leg and stained the snow red underneath her pads as they brushed against it. Really bad! Probably not bad enough to be dangerous, but…it hurt. Like, a lot. Echo’s ears twitched as another bolt of lighting struck the ground near them (what in the Nine Hells was, like, the deal with this weird storm anyway?) and she looked up just in time to see Nakan hurl an axe at the blizzard. She squinted.
At the now fleeing wolf.
The treasure hunter hissed. At the dumb dog who bit her leg! Her tail beat against the hut. The bigger wolf’s fur was puffed and blackened and, though it was hard to make out in the storm, also stained with blood. Her companions had done some damage already. Taking a deep breath, Echo flipped her crossbow back into her hands, swallowed back a scream as she planted her legs apart, and then aimed at the shadow of speckled white as it dashed through the darkness. She took another breath. She called out.
“That’s r-r-right! You b-b-better r-run!”
And then fired the weapon.
“And that’s just s-s-so you remember m-me!”
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Action: Echo is going to attack the wolf with her light crossbow - no sneak attack damage or anything like that of course.
Attack: iAKIF|qd1d20+5
Damage: 1d8+3 1d20+5·1d8+3
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Post by moralhazard on May 15, 2019 21:53:15 GMT
The wolf turned and fled, disappearing into the white snowy darkness. Thea was shaking still. Nakan hurled a handaxe into the storm and she heard a fleeting yelp as it struck the beast. Echo whipped out a crossbow from – somewhere – and fired a bolt off into the darkness.
The wolf was gone. Thea could hear her teeth chattering; it was the only thing she could hear. The wolf was gone, but – would it come back? Thea didn’t know enough about wild animals to judge. Would it sneak up again on them, in the middle of the night, biting and tearing? The first surge of adrenaline that the attack had provoked was starting to fade, but – not enough to let this end.
Nakan had a handaxe; Echo had a crossbow. Thea had a dagger, but she knew herself well enough to guess that hurling it into the white would achieve less than nothing. Instead, she pointed her hand at the spot where the wolf had been and spoke, again, calling out the words of her spell for the third time.
A distant ghostly lightning bolt flashed; another burst of thunder roiled through the night.
Shatter damage: jwxjCGw73d8
((DC 13 save for half damage))3d8
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Arikarka
Approved
Linked Characters: Citrine, Gigi, and Rhia
Posts: 316
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Post by Arikarka on May 15, 2019 21:54:07 GMT
Con save: KDpV3eov1d20+2A final yip from the wolf could faintly be heard. A splintering shock of energy explored out somewhere in the depths of the forest. Whether or not it fell was impossible to tell. In this storm? And her fur coloring? It'd be hard to track down to find out. The night wind howled, whether there were more wolves or not it was hard to tell. But nothing else disturbed the adventuring party that night. Despite the harsh winds and constant snow, darkening night and impossible cold the three relied on each other to survive. But survive they did. By morning the sun rose to a clear sky. The storm had passed leaving behind it mounds and mounds of fresh snowfall. This was nothing new to Nakan, accustomed to breaking through snow like this - and good thing too, as this wasn't something Thea and Echo had a history of dealing with. With no storm to slow them, the sun to guide them, and the "warmer" air to not threaten frostbite at every turn the trio were able to recover ground they'd lost by setting out in the snowstorm. It was still cold, but not polar vortex cold anymore. The rest of the two day travel to Ardeep Forest was quick and easy compared to the first night. The grasslands turned to slightly forested windbreaks, farmer fields dotting the landscape only to be called such due to the graineries and farm equipment left out over the winter. Not many wagons passed by, the snow depth making it difficult to plunder ahead. When the group ultimately came to the edges of Ardeep Forest - this had to be it after all, there were no other forests this close to Waterdeep. Stepping towards the dense foliage the snow reached into the forest a good number of yards before even the might of the storm couldn't force the snow in. It was a tad warmer here even in winter. The trees, the deeper they went in, still had leaves. The ground was loomy and mushrooms, glowing mushrooms, grew everywhere. The sounds of hooved animals walking around, or rodents scampering underneath, could be heard as long as the group was silent enough to listen. A river, no doubt Ardeep River, was to their right, flowing cold - but still flowing. And from behind them? A strange canine sort of snuffling and grumbles could be heard.
Welcome, finally, to Ardeep Forest!What do you all want to do now? You remember being told the caravan followed a river, and that the kids were playing at the end of a river. The map I am using can be found here. Did your character think to look up a map back in Waterdeep? Have they been to Ardeep Forest before? If there's something plausable, I'll let your PC know at least a general layout of the forest. Otherwise? Your characters are walking in blind, with the map mostly there for meta discussion of where to go next in an effort to help pace the story the rest of the way as it's been a drawn out adventure due to my absence for a month. Checks? Open invite towards rolls for what you might like to discover, look around for, etc. 1d20+2
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Post by moralhazard on May 15, 2019 22:26:19 GMT
Thea lowered her hand. She was out of big spells, but she still had small ones left. She wanted to lash out; she wanted to take the lighting inside her and fling it violently into the night. She was breathing hard, harder than the situation called for, given that she hadn’t even moved since the wolf first reached them. Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, freezing in the icy cold. She refused the anger, suffocating it, burying it down somewhere deep in her chest, and refused the storm too, shutting herself off to it.
Had it been her, flinging those spells? Thea realized she was gripping her arms with her hands, shaking, and she couldn’t tell if it was from cold or fear.
Echo was alive and Thea didn't think she was in immediate danger; they had survived the wolf, all of them. Now they only had to survive the cold. Thea would do her best to talk, but words were hard to speak through half-numb and frightened lips, and the night passed in a long, miserable haze as Thea fought against the storms outside and within.
By the time they reached Ardeep forest, Thea felt much like herself again. She wasn’t so conditioned to it, but there was nothing like a few days of steady walking to make one feel less sorry for themselves. The lack of further storms helped, and Echo’s cheerful company did its part as well, and by mid-morning the next day Thea was very nearly back to her usual self; the only constraint dampening her mood was her fear for the little girl they’d been sent to fetch, and how unlikely it was that she could have survived this long.
And how strange it was that her absence hadn’t been noted until Waterdeep.
Thea had taken the Trade Way from Daggerford to Waterdeep, and a lengthy stretch of that road ran alongside Ardeep Forest. She had been in the forest to help gather firewood a few times, and she hoped she remembered a few things about it. The trip hadn’t been so long ago.
“Should we check along the river?” Thea asked, looking to Echo and Nakan. Her face was drawn and serious, no quick and easy laughter now. “If either of you know anything about tracking…” Thea made a face. Perhaps either Echo or Nakan would be able to find signs of a small human in these woods; Thea doubted she was capable of it.
The snuffling noises from behind Thea worried her, though, and she turned to look, both right behind them as well as deeper into the woods, checking for any obvious dangers.
Perception roll: qk4ghKfv1d20+21d20+2
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Post by Nakan on May 16, 2019 1:02:09 GMT
As the wolf retreated in the face of not one but three parting shots, Nakan’s instincts began to loosen their hold on his mind. The dark edges of his vision pulled back, his pulse slowed, and he stood up straight rather than hunched forward into an aggressive stance. The first thing he noticed was the absence of his trusted greataxe. Looking around his feet for a moment, he thankfully found it, the weapon already partially covered in snow from the still raging blizzard. He picked the axe up before dragging the blade through the snow a few times to clean some of the blood from the weapon.
With that, Nakan would make his way back to the shelter to check on his companions and ensure the small fire was still burning. Once satisfied that neither his fellow adventurers or the campfire were in any critical danger, Nakan set about removing the body of the dead wolf from the edge of their camp. It was an immense beast, but through a combination of its emaciated frame and the goliath’s powerful build, he managed to get the corpse dragged to a suitable distance from where the party planned to sleep.
The rest of the night passed relatively quietly.
A few days later, the trio found themselves at the fringes of Ardeep.
Nakan was no expert on the forest’s layout by any means, but he had passed by them on his journey to Waterdeep a few months prior. What little he knew was in the form of landmarks, such as the river, and the general locations of a few points of interest given to him by a handful of villagers in Daggerford. He’d avoided entering the forest, for the most part, on the advice of several locals. They claimed that some of the remaining elves that tended the woods still held a fair bit of hostility against outsiders after some kind of conflict with a settlement called “Nightstone.”
With what little information he had, Nakan was confident that he would be able to lead the party out of the woods with little fear of becoming lost … but leading them into the woods was another matter. He was just as likely to stumble upon a nest of kobolds as he was to lead them to Elora. Maybe if the girl was missing in a mountain range, he could be of more use, but as it stood, he would just have to do what he could and hope for the best.
And on the matter of young Elora, Nakan realized that he had almost forgotten a rather significant bit of information. Maybe it had been the blizzard, or the wolf attack, or the rough road leading to their destination. As Thea raised the question of where to begin searching, Nakan decided it was a decent enough time to broach the unpleasant subject.
“I suppose the river should be the first place we check, but …” His voice trailed off, his mind searching for a way to say what needed saying less grimly. “The caravan left the child out here on purpose. And supposedly she was injured as well, from what those children told you, Echo. Three days in the wild, injured and alone. We should be prepared for the worst.”
With the topic finally brought out into the open, Nakan would turn his attention to finding Elora. He was no expert at tracking, especially in forested areas, but nevertheless, he would begin searching for any signs of foot traffic along the banks of the nearby river, barring any more important discovery made by his companions.
Checking for signs of tracks along the river: EFiNblm81d20+2
(Survival or Perception, both have the same bonus for Nakan. If you'd prefer it be Investigation, let me know and I'll reroll in a separate post with the -1 mod.)1d20+2
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