Post by David on Nov 20, 2008 15:43:46 GMT -5
The heroes (Ichi, Torr, Maedhros, Idky, Squattingbeaver, Lowdog, and Yavin) came upon a massive canyon mid-morning. Spanning the chasm nearly a mile across is a slender, delicate, framework of metal with the road of rails running through the center. The heroes began to cross, only to discover that there were gaps between the bridge-structure's "ribs" -- the wooden planks which would have allowed easy progress had been largely removed, leading to over a mile drop to the roaring river below. With GREAT care, the heroes escorted the three horses across, discovering at regular 100' intervals glowing gems set into the bridge.
The heroes had been moving across the chasm for 45 minute and were nearing the edge when they spied a massive bird approaching -- a roc! The bird circled around the bridge several times, keeping well clear of it. The party chose to leave one of the horses behind; the animal panicked and fell through one of the many gaps in the structure, trapping itself. The roc flew beneath and ripped off the animal's leg, leaving the beast to die. The rest of the party, meanwhile, hurried to the end of the structure. Squattingbeaver called out to the roc in the language of birds and the beast responded...it wanted to eat the party!
The shaman stopped the group 100' from the far end of the canyon. There, Squattingbeaver called lightning at the roc, which immediately flew away. The heroes hurried across and continued on their way, looking back periodically in case the massive raptor returned.
About an hour later, the heroes realized that three invisible whirlwinds began to circle them, staying at least ten feet away from Torr at all times. The party gathered in a tight and Idky and Yavin cast faerie fire to outline the invisible stalkers. A serious of magic mouths then spoke to the group, asking them to quietly allow these aids of Queen Sidra to rescue them and bring them to the safety of her palace. Squattingbeaver again called lightning -- two strokes destroyed one 'stalker, but the clouds moved on before he could take out the others. Idky, now standing on solid ground, abjured a second 'stalker and the heroes charged the second. Torr, Yavin, and Ichi caused serious damage, but the invisible stalker slipped by, scooped up Squattingbeaver, and carried him skyward. The paladin and monk each leapt onto one of the magic brooms to give chase, but the shaman got his spear clear and destroyed the stalker himself, falling to the ground.
In the evening, Squattingbeaver cast a firegate to contact Blackrobe and let him now of the party's status, including Maedhros' lost leg. The Lakota shaman agreed to use a dream message Squattingbeaver to let the heroes know when Treblo returned and could teleport the hapless half-elf to someone who could regenerate his missing limb.
The climate on the other side of the chasm quickly turned wet, green, and wild. The heroes spy many quail, hare, and prairie dogs among other animals. Unlike the ecosystems near Chateauenfer and Pommeville, this area is quite healthy. It isn't until the 14th that the heroes encounter anything dangerous; in the predawn ours a large group of giant wasps attack the sleeping heroes. The party deals with the giant insects fairly effectively, with Squattingbeaver casting a repel insects to create a safe zone while Lowdog is nearly killed and carried off repeatedly. In fact, the totemic warrior was forced to battle his foes unarmed as he'd been carried off before being able to grab his weapons. Meanwhile, one of the party's horses was ripped apart while the second fled into the night. The shaman summoned a pack of wolves, but by the time they arrived, the last of the giant wasps were dead, although Idky and Squattingbeaver used the last of their more powerful spells to neutralize the wasps' poison.
The terrain turned more hilly with a definite uphill slope. By mid-morning of the 18th, Meadhros, flying ahead of the rest of the heroes in hawk-from (thanks to Squattingbeaver's cloak) spied on the other side of the low mountains a flooded river valley, complete with a massive city. The city, clearly Fleureville, lay under at least ten to twenty feet of backed up river water, the road of rails sloping out many miles away. Strangely, many massive patches of wild flora lay like a patchwork across the flooded city valley.
And now...?
The heroes had been moving across the chasm for 45 minute and were nearing the edge when they spied a massive bird approaching -- a roc! The bird circled around the bridge several times, keeping well clear of it. The party chose to leave one of the horses behind; the animal panicked and fell through one of the many gaps in the structure, trapping itself. The roc flew beneath and ripped off the animal's leg, leaving the beast to die. The rest of the party, meanwhile, hurried to the end of the structure. Squattingbeaver called out to the roc in the language of birds and the beast responded...it wanted to eat the party!
The shaman stopped the group 100' from the far end of the canyon. There, Squattingbeaver called lightning at the roc, which immediately flew away. The heroes hurried across and continued on their way, looking back periodically in case the massive raptor returned.
About an hour later, the heroes realized that three invisible whirlwinds began to circle them, staying at least ten feet away from Torr at all times. The party gathered in a tight and Idky and Yavin cast faerie fire to outline the invisible stalkers. A serious of magic mouths then spoke to the group, asking them to quietly allow these aids of Queen Sidra to rescue them and bring them to the safety of her palace. Squattingbeaver again called lightning -- two strokes destroyed one 'stalker, but the clouds moved on before he could take out the others. Idky, now standing on solid ground, abjured a second 'stalker and the heroes charged the second. Torr, Yavin, and Ichi caused serious damage, but the invisible stalker slipped by, scooped up Squattingbeaver, and carried him skyward. The paladin and monk each leapt onto one of the magic brooms to give chase, but the shaman got his spear clear and destroyed the stalker himself, falling to the ground.
In the evening, Squattingbeaver cast a firegate to contact Blackrobe and let him now of the party's status, including Maedhros' lost leg. The Lakota shaman agreed to use a dream message Squattingbeaver to let the heroes know when Treblo returned and could teleport the hapless half-elf to someone who could regenerate his missing limb.
The climate on the other side of the chasm quickly turned wet, green, and wild. The heroes spy many quail, hare, and prairie dogs among other animals. Unlike the ecosystems near Chateauenfer and Pommeville, this area is quite healthy. It isn't until the 14th that the heroes encounter anything dangerous; in the predawn ours a large group of giant wasps attack the sleeping heroes. The party deals with the giant insects fairly effectively, with Squattingbeaver casting a repel insects to create a safe zone while Lowdog is nearly killed and carried off repeatedly. In fact, the totemic warrior was forced to battle his foes unarmed as he'd been carried off before being able to grab his weapons. Meanwhile, one of the party's horses was ripped apart while the second fled into the night. The shaman summoned a pack of wolves, but by the time they arrived, the last of the giant wasps were dead, although Idky and Squattingbeaver used the last of their more powerful spells to neutralize the wasps' poison.
The terrain turned more hilly with a definite uphill slope. By mid-morning of the 18th, Meadhros, flying ahead of the rest of the heroes in hawk-from (thanks to Squattingbeaver's cloak) spied on the other side of the low mountains a flooded river valley, complete with a massive city. The city, clearly Fleureville, lay under at least ten to twenty feet of backed up river water, the road of rails sloping out many miles away. Strangely, many massive patches of wild flora lay like a patchwork across the flooded city valley.
And now...?
