Journey to the West (Pt 6)
Session 25 Recap
General Summary
A night in the Darkbough Forest brings the expedition a new appreciation for the open sky, as the dense overhead foliage blocks out any view of the moon or stars, and oppresses them with a claustrophobic sense of inky blackness all around them, held back only by the meager lights that Erik Cove allows the night watch. When the sun finally rises enough to bring light back to the forest, the members of the expedition team are anxious to get under way, if only to put the increasingly foreign feeling forest at their backs. Teagin Wavewinder supplies a quick and unsatisfying breakfast of hardtack and rations before the group starts moving again, headed northwest with a sense of urgency tempered only by the caution they all now share.
Erik, no longer content to let the guards move about freely, organizes them into groups - placing Rayne and Oskra with himself as trailblazers while Bara and Morgan Greyson take the read guard, leaving just Qas with the other lizardfolk guides to protect the main body of the expedition. Finally content with the protective setup, Erik leads the group further into the forest, with all eyes on constant vigil for the next threat.
After several hours breaking trail through the forest, the party hears the sound of running water coming from up ahead. They notify the others in the group, and Erik halts the caravan to discuss the situation with Genis Ailer. They decide to push to the water source and break to refill their water supplies, now nearing exhaustion, and rest for a moment. However, as they approach the river, one of the few breaks in the dense forest canopy, Rayne spots an enormous anthill. Remarking on the size of the local fauna, Erik tries to find an alternate path to the water, but realizes that there are many anthills all around, and opts instead to have the group push past the hill in order to head directly to the water, rather than chancing running afoul of other dangers off the path they've already made.
The expedition moves carefully past the anthill in a single-file line, as to not stir up the residents, but something on Aemon Aemonson attracts the attention of some of the ants, and soon the colony starts streaming out by the hundreds and thousands, now on the scent of the group's supplies. Bara manages to temporarily stop up the swarm with a tanglefoot bag, sealing most of the anthill, and trapping the ants already on top, but ants simply burst forth from the other anthills instead, and the expedition finds itself quickly overrun. In a desperate gamble, Erik calls for everyone to try to ford the river by whatever means they can, but the water is deep and fast, and the few rocky paths across are slippery, making the route treacherous.
Thankfully, despite many close calls, and more than a few serious injuries from insect bites or bad falls into the river, the entire expedition manages to arrive on the far side of the river, safe from the ants still swarming on the opposite shore. As the healers are attending to those who were injured, however, the lookouts notice movement from the wood line. Moments later, a group of a dozen Vass'anasss lizardfolk, armed and ready to fight, step out from the forest. One of them, a head taller than the rest, and wielding two ichor stained spears, looks to his companions bemusedly and remarks in Draconic, "Why is it lately, that whenever we go hunting a shambler, we find a group of foreigners instead?"
Missions/Quests Completed
- Make contact with the Vass'anasss Tribe
Character(s) interacted with
- Worked with Erik Cove and Morgan Greyson to protect the expedition through the forest and safely cross the river.
- Encountered the Vass'anasss Tribe in the Darkbough Forest.
Rayne
Bara
Qas
Report Date
02 Feb 2020
Primary Location
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