Sheepish Expedition

The Guild of Explorers is clearinghouse for all matter of business, ranging from investigate services to fighting MONSTERS.

Today, you're fortunate enough (by a certain degree of fortune) to have been tasked with the latter. Apparently, a flock of sheep were ravaged by *something*, as it happens, and the hired shepard has gone missing as well. It's assumed that whatever ate the sheep ate him.

This is how you cam eto be in the middle of the forest, having been tracking the signs of a rampaging... set of... /somethings/. It's hard to say what, but whatever it is, they've got two feet and long claws if the marks on the trees you've been following are any indication.

Not only that, but Alaryn is a merchant and a crafter of arcane items who -also- does business with the guild. She locked up her wagon and supplies though and packed a backpack heavy enough that it appears she should be -dragging- it, not carrying it.

But trudging along, she busts out one of her best bad jokes, "Hey. What did one shepherd say to the other shepherd." A brief pause and she mutters, "Let's get the flock out of here."

But.. that's when you guys start to see signs of disturbances and the like. She reaches a hand to her waist and draws her pistol... the dragonspitter resting easily in her hand as she continues moving along.

GAME: Echo casts Light. Caster Level: 1 DC: 13
GAME: Merek casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 1 DC: 14

Merek has put on his longcoat upon his black attire, and keeps with him an alchemy belt, as he makes his way with the others also, his dragon-like eyes keeping watch upon things, while he nods a bit, then he weaves a shield of energy about him, "Well, whatever it is, I am hoping the pay is nice, I need to make scrolls as well as potions."

Walery hrms. Two feet and claws. Could be anything. So he gets his death ray handy. That's his dealing with anything weapon. It's all-purpose.

Echo happens to be along, his quarterstaff glowing brightly as he used light a bit ago. The Seer of Eluna happens to be shining as well, just slightly from having all the crystals glowing just a bit. As a war golem, Echo's not in need of light itself, but he is making sure others can see at the moment.

Eyeing the area around him, Echo says towards Alaryn. "Be at ease, please. We need to find these things first."

"I have a few backorders to make some wondrous items too." mutters Alaryn. "But if any of you need such things made... I'm the person to go to." she says, working an advertisement in due to being nervous.

Zeke moves along the back of the group, keeping mostly to himself. He's offered a name and not much else, certainly he didn't make any offer to shake hands or accept one. Instead he offers a nod here and there that's polite but perhaps a bit distant. Now however he merely observes the marks of something's passing silently with his right claw tightening around the shaft of his quarterstaff.

Brandur seems experienced enough at tracking and lurking about in the forest, even wearing his steel cuirass and with the round Myrrish-crested shield strapped to his arm. The sword on his back is still in its sheath, but the small hatchet on his belt seems to be the weapon of choice, hacking at the occasional bit of underbrush.

The trip out here, he was relatively quiet, his oft-broke nose buried in a small book, or eyeballing Echo or the implements of artifice with a sneaking side eye here and there. Once Alayrn's pistol is produced, a visible grimace appears and he states rather matter of factly while putting a hand in one of the tracks to get a size of the feet of these creatures, "Don't fire that near me. The damn things are loud enough to wake the dead even when they aren't blowing up in your hand." The death ray gets a withering look but no comment, before Brandur stands up and stalks along further at a little quicker pace. "I don't suppose any of you recognize these tracks? It's sure as hell not wolves."

The war golem shakes his head, moving so the light can get a better view on the tracks. "I do not know. I am not well versed on tracking or the like. I was brought along as a scribe, after all."

Narrowing her eyes, Alaryn reaches behind her back and unslings the half-staff she keeps there. It telescopes into a full length staff with a crystal surrounded by gold and copper fittings on one end. "I will fire what I decide is necessary to fire, when I decide it is necessary to keep myself.. and perhaps you... alive. Be so kind as to not attempt to dictate what I may and may not do again in the future?" she asks, -totally- distracted by being told she can't put to use, one of the few things she is -good- at... and so completely missing anything about tracks or whatnot.

GAME: Merek rolls survival: (10)+3: 13

Walery looks at the tracks, and nods. "Definitely tracks of something," he agrees. "We should find it and drive it off or kill it." So decisive.

Merek looks at the tracks, while he seems to consider it for a moment, then he nods while he looks to some of the others a moment when there's arguing. He takes a staff he keeps with him, and uses that to walk with while he looks around, "I wonder what it'd be like if adventurers weren't needed anymore." Echo shakes his head, "That will be an interesting day. Which way are those tracks going so we can try to find these things?"

GAME: Brandur rolls Survival: (13)+10: 23

Everyone's a canny enough tracker that you're making good time. The fact that they left sheep parts in their wake is also helpful. It's like they turned the sheep into snacks on the way back after stealing them, tossing them aside.

There are no survivors so far but you are sure you're getting close to what you presume might be some kind of den.

Walery looks worried at whatever ate a bunch of sheep and just tossed them aside. "They don't care who followed them," he points out. "If we're lucky, it's just, like, wolves or something." Not on two legs, though.

Zeke is clearly slower than the others, managing to keep up, but definitely trailing behind a bit. His green eyes trail over the broken bodies, but there's nothing he can do for the sheep. This clearly wasn't anything natural. Anything else would have merely eaten them and moved on. Not killed them in this fashion and left them behind. "Thisss one thinksss it wasss a ssentient being." He offers his words quietly.

Echo shakes his head, "I think we might be dealing with something at least humanoid. Perhaps hungry. It makes me glad that I am not flesh and blood at times." He keeps the light on his quarterstaff just in case, glancing around as he does.

"Perhaps a werewolf," Merek mentions, while he nods a bit to the others also.

It certainly speaks to a casual excess. No grant of sentience, certainly, but most normal animals wouldn't behave so wantonly. Most.

There, up ahead, a bloody pile of dead sheep, more tracks leading into what appears to be a tall burrow.

...and there, out front, rooting through the bloody pile of sheep is...

Oh no.

It's an owlbear.

Not one, but TWO owlbears. Who knows how many are in the den?

The broad back and hackles of Brandur rises as Alynna fires back and stays as if he's holding his breath. A brief tense moment hangs in the air until he exhales and bends back down, picking up something in front of him after burying his hatchet in the trunk of a nearby tree. "Do as you please, kid, but if you are going to save my life with that little Kulthian tinker toy, you can-" He grumbles as he turns around, gesturing to the front of him with a severed sheep foot he picked up to pull down a thick green tree branch, revealing the burrow and the two owlbears. He freezes and slowly lets the branch rise back up as quietly as he can muster and throws a finger to his lips, wide-eyed and deathly serious.

Zeke slows to a stop at the sight of the owlbears. It's clear immediately of course that they are responsible for the dead sheep, but there's no way of knowing how many of them there are. Still... He backs away slightly, making sure that he can not be seen and then quietly offers a prayer to the Dragonfather in draconic. The words hiss and pop, but he keeps the words as silent as he can so as to not rouse the creatures.

GAME: Zeke casts Sanctuary. Caster Level: 4 DC: 13

Echo blinks a few times it seems. Then he cancels the light spell quickly. Yeah. No dealing with owlbears when they can see you. Nooot a good idea. He whispers as quietly as he can, "Two of them? Please tell me we can take them or get some others who can?"

Even as Baldur does that, Alaryn stops stock still and lifts her firearm to aim forward. Her finger is not anywhere near the trigger, but she's taking a moment to line up a shot at the very least. She doesn't speak now. Doesn't move. She's just aiming there just in case.

Merek looks to the owlbears, then to all the others, while he offers a nod to them also. He places up his staff while he takes a moment to focus upon his will while he watches also.

Walery acks as we stumble across the owlbears. "Two of them, too. Not good." He considers. "But still, better than three, right? We should probably kill them, then. They're going to be a menace if we don't." He'll shoulder his death ray, though, and cycle the action to put a fresh charge in the chamber. "Let me know when we're ready?" he says.

Brandur holds his hand up after pulling it from his lips and makes a fist, swat-team commando style. Looking back to the other gathered adventurers, he nods backwards, further down the path, trying to back up out of earshot. Walery gets a look that could kill and the finger goes back to his lip as he takes another slow step backwards.

GAME: Brandur rolls Stealth: (14)+5: 19
GAME: Echo rolls Stealth: (4)+2: 6

Starting to step back, Echo unfortunately finds the one thing that you seriously do not want to find in the woods. The loud snap of a twig, followed by a branch snapping, and Echo looking a bit ashamed. "... oops." Is all he can say as he starts to reach for his star knife and sword.

It's only natural that they'd react to this. The two owlbears hear that loud snap and their ears perk and their eyes go focused on that area and they immediately begin to bound in that direction, roaring.

GAME: Echo rolls 1d20+3: (20)+3: 23
GAME: Echo rolls 1d20+3: (3)+3: 6
GAME: Echo rolls 1d4+3: (1)+3: 4

Pulling out his star knife, Echo brings his hand back before letting the weapon fly like an overgrown throwing blade that it practically is as he calls out, "Eluna, guide my blade!" The soaring blade is aimed at the left owlbear's head, actually careening along and giving it at least a small slice before the weapon amazingly boomerangs around towards Echo's outstretched hand as he holds his sword ready.

GAME: Zeke rolls weapon1: (18)+8: 26
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d6+3: (3)+3: 6

The two owlbears rush forward, of course, eager to SAVAGE. Their eyes light on Echo first, but Zeke's moving in, their interception, distracts them and one wheels around to strike him. Both of them are hooked on sets of vicious claws that have them dragging them forward.

Merek lifts up a hand while he calls to Eluna, "Eluna, offer your assistance in our need, empower the will of the people, that we strike at the darkness!" he exclaims, a sigil on the grass appearing to encompass all that are there and imbuing them with holy energies.

Zeke swaps his weapon around, bashing one of the owlbears like a trainer telling a dog 'no'.

GAME: Brandur rolls 1d20+8+2-2+1: (9)+8+2+-2+1: 18
GAME: Brandur rolls 1d8+8: (5)+8: 13
GAME: Walery casts Cure Light Wounds. Caster Level: 6 DC: 15
GAME: Walery rolls 1d8+5: (7)+5: 12

Brandur barely has the attache case in his backpack half pulled before the war golem sets off a feathery hell upon himself and Zeke. "Bunch of goddamn amateurs." He growls to himself as he breaks into a full run, gripping his shield tight. The blade on his back gleams with an oily black patina as it's drawn and with one smooth motion, he plants it directly into one of the creatures backs to the hilt with a scream of guttaral pain through his comrade's flesh (or equivelant theroef) as it gnaws away and a spray of blood when the sword is wrenched free. "OVER HERE YOU WORMY PIECE OF SHIT." Not exactly a clever battle cry, but hopefully the yell and the gaping wound in it's torso will draw it's attention away.

Walery grumbles as these owlbears grab his erstwhile companions. Sadly, though he's pretty good with the death ray, he can't be sure of hitting friend or foe when they're wrapped up like that. And the war golem looks damaged. So, Walery shoulders his death ray and reaches into his belt for a phial of red liquid. It might glow a bit. "This is a curative," he tells the golem. "Unfortunately, it tends to sting. I can't quite get that out of the formula." He shrugs, triggers the phial, and the red drains from it with a hiss.

GAME: Alaryn rolls ranged+2: (11)+4+2: 17
GAME: Alaryn rolls 1d8+2: (2)+2: 4

As things go to shit, Alaryn has her firearm aimed. The Owlbears make their charge based on the cracking noise caused by Echo and she just sighs softly, exhaling in a manner that shows she does know how to use that pistol. She lets her breath out slowly... watches the Owlbears charge in and attack. Then after Brandur does his thing, the left side of her mouth quirks up in a minutely visible smirk.

Then she lowers her finger to the trigger and green light on the side of her pistol flares as the gunpowder ignites and sends a bullet into the flank of the creature.

Calmly, she lowers the weapon and slides it into its holster... lifting the hand that holds her staff. AKA Death Ray.

GAME: Echo rolls 1d20+4: (7)+4: 11

Finding himself getting clawed, Echo can do nothing more than trying to break free of the clawing grip. His hands move his weapons to attempt to push the owlbear claws away with the full strength of his artificial body to no avail at the moment.

GAME: Zeke rolls weapon1: (15)+8: 23
GAME: Zeke rolls 1d6+3: (5)+3: 8
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (19)+8: 27
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (13)+8: 21
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (6)+8: 14
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d6+4: (3)+4: 7
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d6+4: (1)+4: 5
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (4)+8: 12
GAME: Whirlpoopin' rolls 1d20+8: (6)+8: 14

Zeke is unrelenting, unworried about the owlbear's counter so that he can whack the thing once more. "Are you alright?" He asks of Echo, his voice deeply accented.

GAME: Merek rolls 3d6: (9): 9

The owlbears are vicious predators. It is their instinct to grab on to their prey, to viciously claw and bite, but even the yare instinctively smart enough to recognize that 1) Echo doesn't taste good and 2) That they're surrounded by more enemies and can't let themselves get pinned down. Animalistic predators are just that, after all.

Still, both Echo and Zeke /do/ eat some nasty claw strikes, even if their beaks thankfully miss making contact.

Merek places both of his palms together, then he lifts up one of them, while he makes a call to the energy planes, as he channels the positive energies that flow into Zeke and Echo as well as others, rebuilding the pattern of their form.

GAME: Brandur rolls 1d20+8-2+2+1: (8)+8+-2+2+1: 17
GAME: Brandur rolls 1d8+9+1d6: (1)+9+(6): 16
GAME: Walery activates his Titan Armor, gaining: +4 Dex
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (7)+11: 18

Brandur falls back a step, throwing his shield up to take the brunt of a wild claw rake as the creature thrashes. The veteran soldier doesn't go for anything fancy or colorful, just one solid clean thrust into it's exposed armpit that leaves the tip of blade to exit the creatures neck, turning a animalistic scream into a gurgle in one fell swoop. Brandur yanks the blade free in one clean pull, showering himself and probably one of his melee-entrenched allies in arterial spray.

Walery sees that the owlbears have dropped their prey, and so he steps back and draws out his death ray once again, belatedly activating his titan armor for the targeting boost. The selector on his death ray is set to fire, and he squeezes off a shot. A lance of flame strikes one owlbear, and it is not happy with him scorching off a patch of fur.

GAME: Alaryn rolls ranged+4: (14)+4+4: 22
GAME: Alaryn rolls 2d6+7: (6)+7: 13

Standing there in the path as everyone moves about her in frantic ways, Alaryn has the staff in her hand. She reaches her right hand for her left bracer and runs fingers along a stud. This augments her agility in her armor... burning through the stored mana quickly though. Then she hefts her staff in both hands.

"Why do so many folks who work in artifice seem to go out of their way to make things bulky when there is no need to do so? Crystals can store and channel power so much more efficiently than those things." she says before she twists her staff, checks the power capacitor and then aims and sends a pulse of lightning outward, slamming into the remaining Owlbear.

Then she eyes Echo and nods approvingly, "At least -someone- has a proper idea of how to do artifice." she mutters.

GAME: Echo rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19
GAME: Echo rolls 1d6+3: (5)+3: 8

Rising to his feet, Echo, despite having claw marks all over, brings his tasselled short sword up and stabs the owlbear that remains quite hard into the side. Then he backs off as he pulls the blade in one smooth motion and turns to look around, keeping star knife and short sword at the ready for the moment.

With the last owlbear defeated you have only the burrow to explore, which reveals a nest in the beginning stages of construction.

Twisting the haft of her staff back into locked position, Alaryn powers the death ray down. Then she deactivates the boost of her armor and rolls her neck. She triggers the stud and collapses the staff down to one third length before tucking it into her belt. "Well, that was ugly." she mutters.

Merek nods a bit to the others, while he crosses his arms, longcoat lightly shifted a bit as he looks to the cave where it looks like a nest is being made, "Well, we'll probably need to fix this also," he says.

Brandur wipes the blood from his eyes with an upper sleeve and surveys the carnage around him, rubbing a tinitus stricken ear. Shield is abandoned for the moment and He begins to fish around for an oil cloth in his belt pouch and wipes the blood from the blade before he sheaths it. "I was going to suggest falling back while I spread caltrops across the trail and put together my pike, with you gunners to the side in the brush for cover and then lure them in," He makes sure to let his eyes fall on Echo, "But it looks like the price for heavy feet was paid. Can you function? Be repaired?"

Walery puts some straw and flammable materials in the nest, and will light it aflame. Next owlbears will have to start fresh.

"Ssome healing isss all that isss required." Zeke offers, looking around the creatures and with a soft sigh he closes his eyes, letting a pulse of healing energy do what is required. Though his astute eye notices that there is little in the way of repair that is needed. "Even golemsss resspond to ssuch thingsss ass thisss."

Echo hums as he checks the damage. The worse seems to be that the outer skin is damaged, including the intricate crystal work. Then the healing energy passes over and it all knits back together, even the wood and metal regrowing as the golem looks to the others, "I am fine now. I could have healed myself as well if need be. Sadly, stealth is not something I know despite my more monasteric training."

Putting her stuff back away, Alaryn watches the nest get burned. She nods her head and reaches to pick up her heavy pack that she dropped when the fight started. "Well, it seems we solved this problem."

Inside the burrow are the remains of one shepherd. His family is going to be grateful no doubts. Interestingly, there is s lot of trinkets, shiny ones, there as well.

Merek assists with the setting of the flame also, as he makes his way back from the place, using his sparks to set up some places for what he's doing to make it work better.

GAME: Merek casts Spark. Caster Level: 1 DC: 13

-End