Post
by Montaugh » Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:13 pm
My name is William Carver and I am a second circle Scout.
We were hired to find out what happened to some hunters. They had encountered some Cadaver Men and worms that were eating into the head of people. We learned that they were hunting in the area about 42.14 and 42.15. They found some bears and lions prides. Exotic meats are selling for quite a lot in Throal at the moment as well they informed us.
I found myself in the company of Zil once again. I found I missed the little windling, that air mattress spell of his gives a great rest, I bet it would be perfect with a Bedroll of Comfort. I was also traveling with some completely new adepts. One was a Nethermancer named Daldorer, A wizard named Dubhan, and Jael a beastmaster. Jael proved himself, not only was I impressed a second time someone had an animal with them, he could turn his very hands into claws. He didn't need any additional weapons as he was the weapon. His wolf Fang was also vicious, together they fought tooth and claw against the things we encountered out there. The others were competent but nothing special stood out about them, I hope that I remember that I traveled with them in the future.
I found myself in the role of Pathfinder once more, I believe myself to be quite suited to the role and I'm finding that I enjoy just charting the way and not getting lost. Jael was our quartermaster and he found some good food on the way, we didn't have to go into our emergency supplies and I didn't need to take a day to supplement our supplies. Daldorer was our security. He did his job well and we weren't caught unaware.
This was also the first mission that I used my newly purchased Troll Sling. I am finding I really like this weapon. It appeals to me because its a sling but I can also use it as a walking stick. I will need to think on how I want to carve into the Troll sling to give it some personal character. It feels right in my hands though. Perhaps I can find a way to carve a map into it, I will need to think on that. Carve it with places that I have been, I will need to become a better carver and to get a set of Upandal's Blessings tools. They will actually be my next purchase perhaps, that and a mount of some kind. A Huttawa seems like it could be a good mount, a bit different than a horse and I have heard they are easy quite docile.
Our Travels were eventful, we encountered some baby genis. These things are terrifying, if we found some of the babies I fear the other genis could ravage the countryside in their hunger. Perhaps seeking out and culling their numbers would be in order, and to find anymore pregnant genis and ensure their numbers do not get too big.
We also came upon a group of Great Bears. They looked to me like the cowardly bears that I was told stories of while growing up. If you kill the babies the oldest bear would submit or run away in terror. The others didn't believe me and Jael was saying that you don't want to kill the babies first. I thought I'd prove to them my way was the correct way and focused on killing the babies. Fang and Jael took down the mother bear and the final baby was knocked out soon after. At this point Jael decided to try to bond with the animals. He sent us away so that he could do so. He was not successful and we left the bears to their own devices, we were unable to prove who was correct. I bet if Jael had killed the babies though he would have been able to bond with that great bear without much difficulty.
We finally arrived at the location that the hunters were last seen. The hunters were all dead though and still walking around. These reminded me of the happy people that I had encountered on my first outing, but I have more experience now and I'm afraid I was wrong about what these things were. I now know them to be Cadaver Men. I used my creature analysis on them and found out that they possess some dangerous abilities. They can go into a rage, and that you can cause them to misdirect and attack another target, namely yourself. They are a very nasty creature and we had a lot of them to defeat. Zil made good use of his Ice Sheet spell, while Jael and Fang drew their attention. The rest of us attacked as best we could. We focused fire on single targets to reduce their numbers and to not have too many of them too wounded at any given time.
We were just about finished and were looking around for signs of the worm things when Duban began screaming. I rushed over and tried to get the worm that was attacking him and trying to burrow into his head. Jael tried but also failed, so I didn't feel too bad at my own failure and then Zil just jaunts over with a pair of tweezers and plucks the thing out like he was picking fleas off a dog. Zil is a physician though, so it makes sense that he could do something like that. We managed to kill it before it could infect one of us and that was when the other attacked me. This was a thing out of my nightmares, my first true encounter with a horror. I heard tales of them growing up, and seeing them in person filled me with fear. I did not hesitate though, I did not falter, I drew my short sword and aggressively engaged the creature. It nearly got me with its tentacle but at the last moment I avoided the blow. It was killed by the rest of the group shortly after. I learned that it was called a Mind Slug and is a minor horror, a minor horror that digs into your head and roots around in your brain. I am going to have nightmares for weeks after seeing what it did to Duban and could have done to me. I never even thought to learn about them with my creature analysis, I am not too proud to admit that in that moment I feared for my life when those tentacles reached out for me.
We burned the bodies and returned to Throal. We were told that horrors still walked the lands, but to actually come across one is very unsettling. I just need to breathe, keep calm and remember that this is the life I have chosen. I decided not to tell my family that we encountered a minor horror, with Throal being opened for such a small time we knew that this was expected, but why ruin their enjoyment of the outside near the the kingdom. Until something truly monstrous is found I will let them keep their innocence a bit longer, it might not be the wisest course of action, but it is the one I will do for now. When the time comes I or someone speaking in my stead will tell them of all that I saw, all that I learned and that I did for the future generations that are yet to come.
William Carver
Human Scout