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[Slyph]

As soon as the sun rose, Linea and Edwarg had begun their small-range investigation.

"See, I told you they are coming from the lake." Said Edwarg, kneeling to look closer to the footmark.

The elf whispered under her breath."You don't say."

The details about what kind of animals wrecked their camp didn't interest her. The giant lake monster? Now that's the real deal. Edwarg mentioned it before and the information came from an undisclosed source.

It must be from Jack, nice try, Snewden!

So, after taking a while letting Edwarg poring over the footmark and whatnot, Linea returned to the camp and announce:

"We stick to the initial plan, proceed to the lake. But I am afraid the initial route we planned has been compromised. Needless to say, this path would be more dangerous and there could be an ambush or two, but I and Edwarg will take this path nonetheless. If you have an alternative let's say it now."

[wierd]

Jack awoke to light filtering in through the small gaps in the brushy canopy he was sleeping under.  Mama was still fast asleep, her huge head huffing air in big, long breaths, as she weighed down on top of him, keeping him pinned in the leaf litter they were sleeping in.  He was in no real hurry to get up.

Linea, however, seemed to be quite keen to move on, and could be heard arguing with her associate about the route to take. Apparently she felt that the speedier route was the better route, despite the scant intelligence he had given dixie having found its way to her orc companion, and he being the wiser about it.  Linea was arguing that the path of chaos left by the stampeding animals left a very clear path to follow that was guaranteed to reach the lake, and would be the fastest route.  He was countering that it was also the path that guaranteed ending up at 'monster ground zero'.

Jack tried to tune them out, and go back to sleep.

The smell of roasting deer was wafting through the air, but the idea was bittersweet to him. 

He would let those kids decide what they wanted to do; For now, he just wanted to get a little bit more sleep before they came to kick in his door.

[wierd]

Jack was roused more urgently by little Plune, who had been taking to sleeping near where he and mama had been putting up shop each night.

"Are you going to get up or not, you big oaf?" she prodded, pulling one of his ears after crawling over the leaves and sitting cross legged beside his head, opposite side of mama's head.
"They cooked food, and you and her are just gonna sleep?!"

Jack groaned, shifted a little under Mama's heavy weight, trying to get away from the ear pulling.

Plune crossed her arms indignantly, then pulled harder.
"You remind me of--" she started crossly, then trailed off, as her memory suddenly hit a blank. There was something about his slowness to rise that reminded her of something or some one, but she could not place it. As soon as she tried to recall it, it vanished like a puff of smoke.

"Nevermind!" she said irritably, before pinching and twisting that ear.  "GET UP, YOU big sleepy thing! It's time to be awake!"

"Don't you ever get tired?" Jack asked rhetorically, while curling up tighter underneath mama's head, trying to place her between himself and Plune's ear-pinching.

"I Slept just fine-- YOU'RE the one who stayed up all night doing this and that!"

Jack groaned, and wanted very much to just please, let him go back to sleep, just a little bit more.  "I don' s'pose you could build a brushpile, a temp'rary shelter big 'nough for all that lot, *AN* go see about why all the critters as was running 'round like chickens wit' dere heads cut off--, so a'course ye just slept! Other's o' us gots ta do stuff when they's awake, and shit happens!"

"You mean that thing you made that NOBODY EVEN USED!?" she chided, pulling on some of his exposed beard hair with a tug, refusing to give him the peace he desperately wanted.

"Ain't my fault they's a bunch a loonies..." he drawled, stifling a yawn. "Yah can lead a horse ta water...-- Naw stahp pullin on muh face!"


The protestations, and repeated shifting weight underneath her roused Mama, who promptly pinned him down with her face right against his.  There was no winning this-- He made contact with her, and determined that she wanted him to sit still.  He let her know he was trying to get away from the pixie trying to roust him from bed, to go get food.  That last bit caught mama's attention profoundly, as she became aware of the heavenly smell of slow roasted fatty venison, and she agreed with Plune that it was time to get up to go eat some.

"I jus' cain' win..." sighed the old man, caught between two women.

[The Centipede]

"Hm, you cooked it nice. Well done, uh... Skye! Right, I'm Dixie by the way. A swordsman? Air magic, that's cool. Oh, mine's fire. I can do basic healing magic too. Hm? Oh, black peppercorn. There's vines of it around here, want some? Huh, what's up with that question all of a sudden? I... I like someone, but I don't think we're, y'know, in an actual relationship? I'm not really sure. Why? Nothing, huh... How old are you? Oh, it's unrelated, I just wanna know. Wait, twenty? Really? You look very young. Hm, that hut? Unused? I thought Jack and his bear would be using it, where did they sleep then? They built that thing. That's unusual."

Dixie, cross-sitting close to a bonfire where the deer is being roasted, turns her head to Linea who's announcing their departure. She quickly swallows, and raises her left hand holding a bunch of pepper berries.
"I mean... That's the faster route, isn't it? Since the animals came through there last night. It's an easy choice. Plus, it'd be bad if we split up if there's really such a monster around."

She stands up, raising her dagger currently piercing a decent-sized chunk of roasted venison. "Let's kill the giant alligators!"

[wierd]

Jack stumbled out of the brush pile after Plune flittered out first, followed by a very salivating adult bear, as they headed to where the food was.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and tried to adjust to the light, before collecting his gear, and following after.

This adventure was exhausting in so many ways.

He rubbed his beard where Plune had tugged at it, then looked at Mama lumbering quickly toward the fire at the center of camp, and Skye suddenly being confronted by a 400lb female brown bear demanding some of his cooking.

She had a very nice shape and build. A very fine bear.

Maybe it wasn't so bad being exhausted.

Skye was reassured by Dixie, that it was fine-- and to just give the bear some food, while the swordsman gawked with an incredulous expression.

Jack chuckled to himself quietly, then lumbered up behind the other two.

"Good morning Jack!" Greeted Dixie, before practically inhaling her food. "Better get some food while you can, we're leaving soon."

[Horizon]

"Aye that I am," Kothrias chuckled amicably as he took a seat atop a bar stool, seating himself with a tired sigh "Ye would nay believe the trek it took to get ere' I tell ye" the dwarf told the innkeeper as he stroked his auburn beard which was intricately braided. "But before I tell ye, owe' about we trade my tale o'ere a pint of your strongest ale?" he gave the innkeeper a mischievous smile "An' trust me I can drink any sot under the table." Kothrias added with a hearty laugh.

(Unfortunately Discord won't load for me, it get's an error and crashes unexpectedly. I could PM you?)

[wierd]

The barkeep eyes Kothrias warily, as if to non-verbally enforce the understanding that he was not born yesterday.

"The town's been going through rough times with the wild animal attacks, and people going missing. Liquor stocks are going low; Normally, I wouldn't mind at all about people drinking to help ease their sorrows, but without trade caravans, nor crops being grown and sold, there's no money in the town, and that means no new brew can be bought. Until then, I'm afraid I cant indulge in such a spectacle; would run me out of business.  I do apologize master dwarf; There's plenty of folk in town that would fancy a good drinking game, but none can really afford it.  What little funding we scrape together mostly goes to getting what word of mouth we can to encourage adventuring mercenaries like yourself to come out here, and the rest mostly goes to paying you when you do.  There was some mild celebratory spending a day or so ago, when the last group came back with some coin they lifted from the tower to the north-- Shop keepers had a boom day that day, and they indulged a little after those fellows departed. I expect most of it still got socked away inside mattresses across town though."

The barkeep brightens a little, and tries to look comforting and cheerful.

"But I can get you 3 tall flagons for 2 gold. My treat, for being a good sport."

[Horizon]

Kothrias wasn't as offended as he was embarrassed by his forgetfulness of the difference in their economies, fleeting was the life of a human to that of a dwarf and his kind often forgot that their own customs were different to that of other races. He nodded his head and gave the innkeeper a telling look "Aye, I'd accept yer offer but ye see I'm a wee bit short on coin," Kothrias explained to the innkeeper "But as soon as I ave' coin master innkeep I'll be ere' teh tell ye a tale that'll burn yer chest hair like fire from a dragon's snout." and that was a promise, above all else that Kothrias would keep.

[wierd]

"That's not a problem master dwarf;" the barkeep extolls jovially.  "If you go see Arven at the Adventuring company office, and get properly set on the rolls, I can offer basic lodging here. (though I would stay away from the far room on the upper floor. Nasty business there in the past month or so, and recently some scruffy fellow and his pet bear stayed in it.) The last lot went out on some fool errand for the Mayor, so goodness knows if they are going to come back or not.  Lots of adventurers have up and vanished out there. I for one am happy that you are in town; The animal attacks have been getting more.. Organized, and desperate lately. It's hard to know when or how the beasties are gonna show up."

The barkeep's face momentarily looks irritable and worried.

"The city guard do their best, but things have been getting dicey.  The last lot of adventurers played a big hand in repelling the last wave the forest threw down our throats-- Big burned patch to the north east of town left over from that.  Two fire mages, and one curious old man with a hygiene problem-- Seemed able to calm one of the critters down somehow-- He's the one as had the bear. People still askin' me about that one.  Brought it here and stayed the night one night and all. Talk of the town the next day, just not to him directly-- Also your usual assortment of oddballs and merc types.  Still, they turned a nasty situation around with minimal damage.. Aside from my back door that is....."

[invul_nerable]

GSH continues to dig traps all around the village/town.

[Remuri]

Skye silently pack up his things into dimention storage. Shapeshifts his cap into a gliding cape looking.

Create a magic circle with Wind pattern on his feet and launch himself into the empty air. Flying around the camping site and scan a whole wide area with his Mana Interaction.

He then land on the ground and walks into Jack and Tells what are those he detected nearby their area by few words of speech.

[wierd]

Just as Jack was contemplating weather or not to partake of the roasted venison, at the urgings of his ursine companion, and the teasing of his pixie pest, Jack is once more struck by the wave of "triggering" that Skye's magic probe ability induces in him.  Knowing what it is this time does little to help setting his teeth on edge. 

He was SURE he had warned that boy about doing that--

Moments later, the source of the discomfort came floating back down from where he had launched himself overhead.  Jack listened irritably as the swordsman reported not a whole lot:  The lake is nearby, maybe a half-day's travel if there are no interruptions.  The lake edge is unremarkable from the air, and he did not really detect any obvious magic.

Jack rubbed his forehead, trying to get the lingering twinges of danger-sensation to subside, un-aware that 2 of the seemingly innocuous piles of rocks in the clearing had responded to the probe, and had begun coalescing into vaguely humanoid shapes...


Party encounters 2 rock trolls

(They aren't happy about being woken up.)


Begin round 1:

Trolls have initiative.  Trolls 1 and 2 attack the firepit where the deer has been roasting, dealing 20 physical damage. The deer is rendered completely inedible, and the fire pit is rendered into a smoldering hole from the over-head pile-driver hits the trolls deal it--


----

Jack, Mama, and Plune move:

Mama spawns next to fire pit--drops her breakfast and lumbers as fast as she can away from the site of the disturbance, then looks at Jack trying to figure out what is going on. (Full travel distance; 6 theoretical tiles movement)

Jack spawns co-habitation with Mama-- Rolls away 3 theoretical tiles distance, and draws bow, then fires. The arrow hits and barely even scratches troll #1, for 1 damage.

Plune flies straight up, high overhead. Grabs a handful of leaves from the tree canopy on the way up. (6 tiles vertical movement)

[Remuri]

Skye charge into the trolls and perform flurry attacks with his sword upon a random troll. Physically not good for a blade on the rock but his enhancement sword does the trick.

He then guard himself with an enhanced counterattack.

[wierd]

Skye's sword becomes a blur in front of him as he dashes through just past the second troll.

Several small chips of rock fly off, as 8 hits strike--

First strike hits for 4 damage
Second strike hits for 4 damage
Third strike hits for 2 damage
Fourth strike hits for 2 damage
Fifth strike hits for 0 damage
Sixth strike hits for 4 damage
Seventh strike hits for 4 damage
Eighth strike hits for 3 damage

23 damage dealt to Troll #2.  It looks pretty banged up, but still in the fight.

Skye guards.

[The Centipede]

Dixie jumps back, frowning as the delicious venison gets reduced into rubble. Two giant rock trolls from out of nowhere, landing a sledgehammer on the bonfire! The immediate thought that comes into Dixie's mind is... Why?

Before she could think, Skye launches himself towards the second troll, seemingly dizzying it with his sword attacks. Dixie will handle the first troll, then! But, with its size and strange physical state, fire would surely be an ineffective choice. So, then...!

Dixie opens her Bag of Hygienic Accoutrements and then moves to seemingly spill its contents towards the first troll, and sure enough, a huge splash of water comes out of her bag! As the water makes contact with the first troll, she freezes it and with her right hand, continues to channel mana through that ice to grow it, hopefully seeping into the first rock troll's joints and constricting it.

Her left hand brandished the Oaken Staff, and the Magical Orb attached to her hairstick starts to glow, followed by the Oaken Staff's tip: tiny concentrated fireballs, shooting towards the second troll that Skye has just finished attacking, aiming to explode at it instead of simply burning. If it cannot damage, surely it would at least daze!

Dixie would.keep at both freezing the first troll and blistering the second, however long she can!