Chapter One - Kassen Town Square

[TheTick]

Kirdo's alchemical mix smashes in the ground, flames leaping forth with a whoooosh.  Perhaps it is the wounds already received or the starvation, but neither animal manages to get out of the way, and the smell of burning dog hair fills the camp.  The wolf furthest from Kirdo falls dead, the near one barely breathing.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Maura, Sandy, Dariel, one wolf left.

[Lotofsnow]

Wrinkling her nose from the stench of the burning hair, Maura steels herself against the odor in order to leap into an attack against the remaining wolf.

Attack 1d20+5 : 1 + 5, total 6
Damage 2d6+6 : 4, 1 + 6, total 11

[Scott R]

Seeing Maura move toward the remaining wolf, Sandy scratches his nose and follows suit, angling to flank the wolf with her.

Attack +3 +2 flanking 1d20+5 : 17 + 5, total 22

Dagger (Finesse/Dirty Fighting) 1d4+4 1d4+4 : 2 + 4, total 6

Sneak Attack 1d6 1d6 : 1, total 1

[TheTick]

Maura and Sandy swing at the last wolf at almost the same time, and the animal falls dead.  No further wolves appear - just like that, the forest is quiet again.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Well done!

[Rakeesh]

"Well," Kirdo said, sniffing the smoky air and making sure the fire from his bomb didn't spread. Contrary to gnomish reputation, that particular lesson had been learned easily-alchemists who didn't, didn't last. "That was bracing," he said sourly. And embarrassing, he thought but didn't say. He'd been badly wrong on wolfish behavior, and it still surprised him a little-he wouldn't have expected pickings to be so rough for wolves a half dozen or so miles from the nearest settlement. After making sure the fire was dying out rather than spreading, he moved with the awkward delicacy of someone bitten by a wolf to fuss over Hauler and make sure he hadn't taken too bad a scare. A horsey grunt assured him that Hauler had handled the whole affair rather better than his rider, but both seemed relieved to find each other well if not entirely whole.

Then Kirdo drew another, finer bottle from a pack on the ground near Hauler and began to focus his attention on it. A minute later, he downed the concoction swiftly and sighed in relief, his wounds healing. "If my skill were greater, I would offer to share," the gnome said sheepishly, well aware that others had taken considerably worse than he. But he wasn't a healer, and didn't have anything to offer in that line, so he waited to see if there was anything he could do.

OOC: Having taken only 2 points of damage, Kirdo doesn't need to roll since that's the minimum the extract can heal anyway.

[Lotofsnow]

Maura clenches her fist in a private gesture frustration. Each time she was presented with the opportunity to strike one of the wolves, she faltered. It was if all of her training fled her mind when faced with a true threat. If she performed this way during exams, she would be on pots and pans duty for a month.

Glancing around, she mutters a quiet prayer of thanks that none of her companions where felled by the wolves. Taking her holy symbol in hand, she prays aloud, feeling some of her wounds close as the light of Iomedae envelops her:

"Bolster us with thy light."

Cure Light Wounds 1d8+1 : 5 + 1, total 6

[Lotofsnow]

As the worst of her wounds close with the divine power of her god, Maura turns to her companions. The remnants of the light of Iomedae briefly flares in her eyes before dimming to the glare of flickering fire light.

"I can petition my god for healing once more before I rest. Does anyone else require Iomedae's blessing?"

[Scott R]

Sandy bows his head as Maura prays, then fetches the crossbow he'd dropped on the ground.  By the time he's come back to the fire, his stomach has settled and he no longer feels the insistent urge to run back to Kassen. 

"I think Dariel got it worse than I did," Sandy says when Maura asks about healing.  He hikes his trouser leg.  There's an ugly bruise forming on his shin where the wolf had bit him to tumble him down, but no blood.  "Didn't even break the skin," he says.  "I'll be fine."

He surreptitiously adds another log to the fire. 

[Scott R]

There's a longish pause. "What should we do with the bodies?" Sandy asks.

[Nighthawk]

Dariel staggers about on his feet, almost oblivious to the pain and more concerned about the group's inability to detect the beast's presence before it was too late.

"I thought you said you've done this before," he says, glaring at Sandy.

[Lotofsnow]

Maura looks up at Dariel's intense comment to Sandy, noticing that he is far more wounded than he let on.

"Let me help you," she says. Reaching out, she lays a hand upon Dariel's forehead. A faint glow washes over the half-elf as Maura speaks a prayer, "Extend they blessing to my companion."

Cure Light Wounds 1d8+1 : 7 + 1, total 8

[Scott R]

Sandy smiles, showing way too many teeth.  "Sounds like you're offering to take my watch from now on, Dariel. I'll finish up tonight, and then they are all yours."

[TheTick]

The rest of the night passes without further incident.  As dawn comes, the first thing you all notice is the deep red sky, followed by rapidly moving clouds.  You consult the next map fragment over breakfast, and determine your course through the Fangwood, towards the Grey Lake.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Any other chatting or prep you wish to do can be done now.

[Scott R]

The wolves' corpses smell sour. Sandy can smell them even though he'd dragged them off deeper into the woods and covered them with branches.

He motions at the sky. "Looks like rain." 

[Lotofsnow]

Maura nods at Sandy.

"We should set a quick pace before it starts then."

She quickly, but effectively, brushes down her mule before loading the saddlebags. After inspecting her sword for any wolf remains, she slides it into the scabbard. Looking around at her companions, she announces:

"I'm ready."