"I've never had better tree." - Drom, desert rider.
Tonight:
- Dan: Kiara, Elf Ras Godai
- Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
- Chris: Thorn, Dwarf Wizard
- Gordon: Gnashkrud, Half-orc Priest
- Roger: Drom, Dwarf Desert Rider
- Angie: Glo: Dwarf Priest
Departing the Drow-occupied fort, the party continued on its tracking of the old road ruins and hopeful connection to other landmarks.
Losing the track, they traversed a dune field. Drom (and Trixie) sensed something amiss, as a pair of whirlpools opened up in sand, threatening to cause them to reenact a 70's movie quicksand scene.
Avoiding this curious hazard, the party moved on.
Their dawdling had, of course, drawn the attention of predators.
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| source |
Damnit. The lizards attacked the camel, injuring her before one being slain and the second fleeing. Gnashkrud played veterinarian and healed the camel.
Around their lunch break, Kiara noticed that the sky had turned a sickly pink. Probably nothing to worry about out here...
Travel continued, with bits a pieces of road and dune-wandering. As evening approached, Trixie, ever diligent, gave a significant snort, indicating to Drom that she sensed water. As water skins were empty, he gave the camel her head, and she beelined to an oasis.
Fronds of a pair of massive palm trees were glimpsed over the sand as they neared the water, standing out over the normal stunted growth of the Cold Desert. The party found this odd, but approached cautiously.
Drom scouted ahead. He spotted a few corpses. Humanoid, animal. Not unusual for a remote oasis to be bait for ambush predators. As he neared, he saw that the bodies were shriveled and desiccated, almost as if they have been sucked dry. He reined in Trixie.
As he pondered, the "palm trees" shuddered and arose, walking on knobby, twisted legs, predator heads with sucking mouth parts swinging to target the new intruders...
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| Oh no! |
Yet another ambush predator. This desert is lousy with them... The creatures rose slowly, giving the party opportunity to attack/defend themselves. Drom lured one away (although not without damage to himself and Zanegar) and the pair with some help, slew it. The second was felled by a fortunate web spell and fire.
They were able to recover a bit of treasure from the prior victims of the predators, and were settling in for the evening when a group of desperate travelers crested a dune. They began to charge in. Glo stepped before them, calling for calm. This, and the intruders noticing the party stewing up bits of giant predator-trees, caused them to reconsider their actions. Marget, the visitors' leader, apologized for their brash entrance, explaining that they had lost a number of their group and were in dire straits. Apologies accepted, the four were invited to the fire, food, and water. Marget, a priest of Madeera the Covenant, was searching for some rumored tomblands in the area where relics of the god were said to reside. Night passed without incident (faulty dice). Marget's party had camped on the opposite side of the oasis, leaving before dawn. They left a pair of vials of holy water in thanks for the hospitality (i.e. not bein' murdered).
The search continued.
Eastward, again. And something interesting. Coarse pegmatite bedrock emerged from the sand and scrub. Any traces of road or travel disappeared in the resistant rock. Further on, and the rock descended into sand again.
Drom inspected the rock surface and exposed face. Smooth. Water-worn smooth.
Riverbed.
Oh, and a pair of silver spiders, bursting from the sand to make a nuisance of themselves.
So rude. The PCs fought them off, although Drom did roll a 1, hitting Thorn instead. One spider was slain, with the second disappearing back into the sand.
The old riverbed, though, did look promising, arachnids aside. Northish, now.
The sun was descending when a small ruin was seen. Fire spotted. Hopefully this one didn't have drow. A guard/mook spotted them, raising a hail.
Kiara replied, and the watch returned with another elf. Galfindir introduced themselves, part of another group in search of the city. They invited the party to their camp. The two groups exchanged some information, although the other party's apparent leader, Leopold, seemed a bit dismissive of the party's abilities and information.
Regardless, the evening passed reasonably amicably. The party set up camp in the remains of a ruined tower attached to the small fort.
DM Notes:
Some more fun exploring, with a new player at the table. I really need to have larger numbers of critters to prey on the party...
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