On Pirates River, Giant Elk Eats You

The day after Mia, Murai, Lorcan, Manu, Ka, and Maghris returned from Marshfork, the group finished breakfast, and found they all had a newfound appreciation for the cook after days of rations.  Maghris left for the stables, to continue socializing Blaze, the giant bat he's acquired from the grblins, and the others rose to go upstairs and be about their day.

The main stairwell up was from the front tavern, which was public, something they all found odd.  As they passed through the public tavern, a human flagged them over to his table.  He was thin and pale, and somewhat sweaty-looking despite the hour, with lank, dark hair.  The Freelancers looked at each other, didn't-quite-shrug, and walked over to him.

Thin guy:  I have an incredible business proposition!  <checked for people listening, lowered his voice>  Go into the east side of the marsh!  There're a lot of valuable herbs – and some animals – and I can sell them, and give you a 50% cut.
Mia:  nope
Murai:  unfair cut
Lorcan:  what kind of herbs?
Thin guy:  valuable ones.  House Ha'aheo can't have all of them
Mia:  that's tcay fee
Thin guy:  would never stiff the Freelancers!  You get them; I know who to sell them to.
<Mia cracked her knuckles in obvious prep to start a brawl.  Ka used prestidigitation to darken her complexion to be more intimidating.>
Murai:  <unintelligible>
<Manu took the thin guy's purse while he was distracted by the others.>

Lorcan, who had stayed very quiet after asking about the herbs, wandered upstairs.  After a moment, so did everyone but Manu, who held out the guy's purse.

"You dropped this," Manu told him, "I found it.  50/50, finder's fee, yes?"  He poured the gold out into his other hand, then put it back, deftly hanging onto 5 gp, then handed the purse back.

From the corner, Myev, the half-orc bouncer, suppressed a smile, but wasn't subtle about it.

"Freelancers!" the thin guy exploded.  "I came here to offer an honest job, and this what happened!"  He stormed off, but nobody else batted an eye, although Myev and Nohea marked his leaving.

Anyhow this conversation had made the group feel like they should seek out a mission from Arnari, so they all went to her office upstairs.

Arnari blinked in surprise as the group came into her office and took various seats.  After all, they'd just reported in the previous evening.

Mia grabbed the comfiest-looking chair.
Lorcan was front and center, the Pastoral gnome clearly giving Arnari his full and polite attention.
Manu sat in the weirdest chair, a newly-added garish chair which was a clear symptom that Arnari was fond of shopping in thrift stores.
Murai sat in the peacock chair in the back, and contemplated their magpie amulet of the devout.
Ka sat in a delicate chair.

Arnari said, "Okay, I have a couple missions for you."

• Pollution – go there, find something weird and unpredictable that's likely to hurt something that isn't a Freelancer.

Lorcan clapped his hands in delight, then stood up, walked over, and grabbed Manu.  Everyone looked at him.

"That was affected by magical runoff," Arnari said sternly, and Lorcan's shoulders slumped.  He went back to his seat and gave Arnari his attention again.

• Next two missions are gryphon and hippogryph eggs.  The gryphon eggs, in the mountains north of Three Rivers, pay 150gp each; the hippogryph eggs, in the Haven Hills to the south, pay 100gp each.
• Find Klepperich's boss; we still have the location–

Lorcan:  so we know they haven't moved?
Arnari:  we don't fully know where they are, so unsure
Lorcan:  do we think they are operating on their own?
<Arnari consulted her papers.>
Arnari:  it looks like there are two bosses and two locations.
Murai:  presumably then interrogation.
Arnari:  just so.

• Last mission:  Lorcan tracked to the northwest that grblin.  The Mayor of Marshfork wants to know what's up.

Huh.  So, apparently the Mayor had a sending stone or something, as he had not sent a mission with them on their return trip from Marshfork.

Lorcan:  most interested in pollution and Klepperich's boss.
Mia:  if we go for eggs, bad, because Ursula is a fiend for eggs.
Murai:  about the same, slight preferences against pressgangers.
Mia:  we were just there [Marshfork] for grblins; seems silly
Ka:  Murai mentioned a flying harness for Dudley, but the pollution is most likely to yield that stuff.
Manu:  I'd like to see what's going on there.
Mia:  all the hydroose
<Lorcan gave Mia a side-eye.>
Lorcan:  sound like nothing but Klepperich and pollution, and a preference for pollution.
Murai:  yes, I want to punch things.

So, they would head to Pirates River.  As they headed out of Arnari's office, the Freelancers discussed whether to follow the treeline from Cliffshadow or, take the roads.  They all looked to Murai, as it was a question of their comfort riding along on Dudley.  Murai looked outside at the blustery weather and said, "Let's take the short cut," since it would cut the travel time to 2 days.

The first day of travel was relatively easy, despite the blustery day; Mia led the way on Ursula, with Lorcan helping check things out on the much-faster Bandit.  They kept Dudley out of trouble, and found a good camping place sheltered from the wind.  Since they were only a day out of Cliffshadow, and Lorcan had the blowgun of warning, they did not bother setting a watch.  Lorcan also went to sleep slightly later than the others, and busied himself with herbs and chemicals in that time.

The second day was mostly the same.  With Mia leading and Lorcan helping, they made good time, and got to where the Pirates Dream river fed Mossey Lake.  They others were keeping an eye out as well while they travelled.  Murai and Manu could see, to their left, some pegasi in the distance, flying over the plains.  Ka was paying closer attention.  He saw travellers flying to Cliffgate, and far to the north, his right, he saw some gryphons flying around the mountains.  He also noticed Mia and Lorcan navigating around giant elk.

That night the Freelancers camped near, but not on the lake; and they set watches.

Murai & Lorcan took first watch, but they were not terribly attentive.  They had the blowgun of warning!  They did hear some hoots, which could be nearby owls, for further-away owl gryphons.  The lake occasionally had splashing noises, but nothing that led them to conclude an attack was imminent.

Manu took second watch.  He heard more hooting, and realized it was both, owls were close, and there were owl gryphons in the far distance feasting on a giant elk.

Mia & Ka took third watch, and paid more attention to each other than the world around them.  Their conversation swirled around politics, religion, and ideals, eventually wandering into talking about the Daystar cult.  As dawn approached, Mia offered to show Ka some Daystar worshipping positions in her tent, but Ka's mind was elsewhere and he pointed out the rising Daystar wouldn't be shining in her tent.

The following morning, Mia suggested that the Freelancers go "where we found the bears."  Lorcan suggested going up the east bank until the fork; then crossing to the west bank.  Since these were compatible plans, the group went up the east bank of the Pirates Dream river, and didn't really encounter anything untoward.

At the fork, they had to search for a good place to cross for Dudley; but in the end the dire corgi had to swim across, because his legs were too short for any ford.  Once on the other side, Dudley shook himself off, which was awkward for Murai.

As they started up the western bank, Lorcan, Manu, and Mia saw some tracks that didn't really make any sense.  They were contiguous, but a weird mix of hooved like a giant elk, and claws like a wolf.  Puzzling over the tracks, the Freelancers concluded it was similar to hippogryph tracks, but if so, it's like… like… a dire elk plus a giant wolf… ?

The initial reaction of the Freelancers was that Manu and Lorcan, who had fast pegasi, should scout, but these latter two pointed out that the entire affair was in trees.  Murai then suggested everyone follow the tracks on the ground, so the group would be together.

Mia again took point on Ursula, with the others following and watching around them for any sign of danger.  Or rather, Lorcan and Manu were watching for signs of danger.  Murai's attention kept getting drawn to the overly colourful fish in the Pirates River, flashing in the daylight.  Ka was more introspective than watchful, as he'd finally realized what Mia had been euphemistically offering during their watch, and he was having a significant oops moment.

Mia was not challenged at all in terms of effort to track the creature, which clearly had a large stride.  After a short while she realized there were more than one of these creatures.  The tracks led away from the river, and Murai tried to pay better attention, but they were distracted by the amulet of the devout bouncing, where they'd bound it to their forehead.  Manu and Lorcan frowned; the way the tracks were going, something was not right.

They did not get to say much beyond that, as the blowgun of warning went off, warning the entire party.

To the left and right of the Freelancers were creatures… that used to be giant elks.  Now, they looked carnivorous.  They had claws instead of front hooves, and their faces did not look right.

Lorcan and Bandit took to the air, the Pastoral gnome applying the potent poison, that he'd made two nights prior, to three blowgun needles.  He had Bandit circle 10' over the head of the … pseudo-elk to the left, and shot it with a poisoned blowgun needle, which flew past it to lodge in the ground.

• As Bandit circled away, the pseudo-elk reared up and clobbered Lorcan with its horns.  Bandit screamed.  Lorcan lost his composure, exclaiming, "OW, what the fuck?!"  But he relaxed a little seeing that Bandit was unhurt.
• Manu's eyes widened upon witnessing that and he had Nāhōkū fly a bit higher, and cast mind sliver on the same pseudo-elk, which perhaps gave it a headache but who knows with an elk.
• Murai got into their head they wanted to mount the pseudo-elk on the right.  Dudley obediently trotted over to it, and Murai channeled the divinity of the Magpie to invoke peerless athletics, and leapt on the creature's back.
  • They then leaned over to apply the boathook to the creature's throat, but underestimated just how big the thing was and were unable to do much.
  • Murai rolled back off the pseudo-elk and onto Dudley's back.
• Mia and Ursula moved to the pseudo-elk on the left, and Mia raged and slashed it with her longsword.  The ancestors shimmered into the air and also hassled it.
  • Ursula bit the creature, but critfailed; her teeth found no purchase in its flesh, and instead got a mouthful of fur the winged bear could not manage to spit out.
  • So the bear slashed the creature with her claws.
• The pseudo-elk did not enjoy being clawed, so in return it… stretched out one of its front legs sideways, and slashed from that angle.  The slash tore into Ursula's shoulder, but the ancestors helped her resist it and the wound was not as bad as it could have been.
• The other pseudo-elk had clearly taken Murai in dislike, and tried to slash the Wind sagani in much the same way.  They ducked low onto Dudley's back and avoided the slash.
  • It appeared the elk hooves themselves had been split into claws.
• Ka and Ohenui flew over to the pseudo-elk attacking Murai and landed in its face.  He thrust with his black rapier, and missed.  He thrust with his steel rapier, and missed.  Ka was disappointed.
  • Ohenui bit at the pseudo-elk, and also missed, although he avoided getting fur stuck in his mouth.
  • So the bear slashed the creature with his claws.

Lorcan, circling higher this time, buried a poisoned blowgun needle in the shoulder of the pseudo-elk that had clocked him with its horns.  It managed to avoid getting poisoned.

• The creatures's faces were weird because of a bulge in the middle of their foreheads.  Both of them opened up a third eye, which stared at the bears in their faces, thoroughly frightening Ohenui and Ursula.
• Manu cast mind whip on the needled pseudo-elk, which definitely had a headache this time, interfering with its reactions.
• The pseudo-elk in front of Ka took an unnatural-looking swipe at him with its claws, and missed.
• The other pseudo-elk slashed Mia, but her rage shook off most of the damage.
• Murai raised their boathook as Lorcan shouted, "Go for that extra eye!!" but was in mid-swing, so the boathook hit just the pseudo-elk with a little pop announcing a smite.  Glitter joyfully exploded out of where the boathook struck, burning the pseudo-elk with holy radiance.
  • Dudley bit the creature.  It kept its feet despite the dire corgi's attempts to bring it down.
• Ursula bolted, moving away from this scary not-elk as fast as she could.  Mia leapt off, landing prone at the pseudo-elk's feet; she regained her own footing and slashed it with her longsword.
• The pseudo-elk did not like the longsword either, and slashed Mia again with its unnatural mechanic.  Mia's rage held fast, allowing her to ignore some of it.
• The other pseudo-elk turned and slashed at Murai with its side-slash attack, but the paladin flattened themself against Dudley's back and the swipe passed over harmlessly.
• Ohenui bolted, and Ka looked to mimic Mia with a leap off his winged bear's back.  <Narrator voice:  Brian rolled a nat 1 on acrobatics for this.>  Ka landed on his back on a rock, which was ow, and is lucky he could still walk after.  He managed to stand back up, but that was it. 

Ohenui was beelining away, but Ursula, spitting out the fur in her mouth, remembered it's an elk, and simply ducked behind a tree.

Lorcan missed with his third poisoned needle, so he prepared 3 more with poison.

• Manu used his sorcerous abilities to dual cast mind whip on both pseudo-elks.  They both got headaches enough to interfere with reactions.
  • Manu felt the magic surge when he did it, but it seemed to do … nothing?
• The pseudo-elk on Mia tried to swipe her with its claw again, but she ducked and it passed over her head harmlessly.
• The other pseudo-elk tried to slash Murai with the same fail.
• Murai, however, was having none of it, and caught the creature in the throat with their boathook.  The hook caught, and the pseudo-elk died, falling somewhat unnaturally as that's all its joints would allow.
  • Ohenui was no longer frightened.
• The remaining pseudo-elk stared balefully at Mia with its third eye.  Mia's entire world started swirling, and she felt like vomiting.
• So of course Mia used her longsword to slash at the pseudo-elk recklessly.  She missed and moved to join the dire corgi.
  • Ursula started ambling back from behind her tree.
• The pseudo-elk started running away, back towards where the Freelancers had approached.
• Ka, not seeing Ohenui, moved a bit towards where the pseudo-elk was fleeing, then raised his black rapier and sent an eldritch blast at the creature.  It struck with force, and the pseudo-elk died, pitching forward awkwardly.

Lorcan looked at his poisoned blowgun needles and made a face.

Mia, once assuring herself that Ursula was alright, set about trying to harvest the horns of these pseudo-elk.  Ka was looking around the clearing in case there were any items to be found, if this was a lair.

However Lorcan was interested in whether they had grown up mutated, or if they'd become altered, and so were the others, once he posted the question.  He and Manu went over the corpse of the creature, and discovered the mutations occurred after they were half-grown.  These two were young adults, now.  Had been.

Ka joined them, and said, "the joints and such, are not right on this giant elk," and then pointed out that as he'd looked around the clearing, he saw how the tracks had split and they'd set up an ambush, which was predator behaviour.

At that, Murai peered into their mouths.  "Look, they have meateater teeth," they told the others.

Manu was looking closely at the third eye.  After a bit he cut it out, to see the skull had not really mutated, but the eye had been impressed upon it, which was probably painful.  "This can happen to you, y'know," Lorcan cautioned him quietly.  Manu nodded, "Yes, I know," he responded equally quietly.

Mia, meanwhile was trying to harvest everything.  Horns, hides, eyeballs, teeth, claws… the others stopped her.  No!  We bring back 1 head!

It was mid afternoon before they were done, and the Freelancers headed back down the river, and back to Cliffshadow.

Mia, Murai, Lorcan, Manu, and Ka stood there, in various postures, as the big head of the giant pseudo-elk sat there making a mess in the big meeting room.  Arnari looked the head over, and walked around it – occasionally wrinkling her nose at the smell – snapping her fingers occasionally with prestidigitation to prevent the mess from getting out of control.

"This is awesome, and disturbing," she told them.  She glanced up at the green dragon head.  "Will mount."  She pointed at Manu, then at the mess, then went back to her office briefly, and returned with a bunch of potions and a handheld vault.  "Bring out your badges," she told them, and put the 90gp on their badges for the mission fee.

Then she handed out the potions:  potion of water breathing (Ka), philter of love (Lorcan), potion of growth (Mia), potion of hill giant strength (Murai), and finally, a potion of lightning resistance (Manu).

Manu looked disappointed.  "I already have this," he said wistfully.  Ka told him, "I have a duplicate potion of water breathing, if you want to swap."  Manu immediately brightened.  "Sure!" he replied, and they swapped.

• Mia → lvl 5!