After a few days of travel in the early morning some of the party members discovered large boar tracks and the hope for bacon had most of the party crashes through the woods tracking the creature. Harl and Gareth stayed on the road for lookout in uneasy silence.
It was not long before yells and the sound of battle alerted Gareth and Harl and instances they rushed to the sounds drawing their respected weapons as they ran. It does not take Gareth and Harl long to find their comrades but the scene before them caused a pause. Their fellows were fighting a grotesque hybrid of man and pig! The battle was fault cautiously as all were trying to avoid the tusks but it was Enama or leaped from the trunk of a close by tree and connected with a flying kick ended the creatures life with a sickening crunch of the skull.
A lively discussed was had over the dead body about the creature being a wereboar and the ethics of eating it as bacon was strong on some minds. In the end, it was put to a vote and the side stating that it was unethical to eat the wereboar due to it being to close to cannibalism won.
In late afternoon the party came across a group of strange looking green creatures with four legs, a long body, and an oversized head. These odd creatures were feasting on the remains of bodies from a small caravan. Helenista noticed the part of the caravan looks like it was burnt and there was a large black smear in the middle of the road. Enama raises a hand up to lips and motions for the party to try to walk around and avoid detection. In a whisper, Enama explains that she has not seen these creatures since leaving the homeland but they have an unique ability to explode, which can cause a lot of destruction. The rest of the party nods but once again, Stephonocles lute gives the party away and the strange green creatures give chase. Enama yells, "Try to keep distance if you can, you don't want to be caught in the blast zone."
The creatures closed in as everyone tries to keep them at bay with arrow, stone, and magic. It was a futile effort as some of the creatures survived the onslaught from afar and closed in. As Prince Claren slays the first creature up close and personal, Prince Claren notices that as the creatures perish, they let out a "poof" from the undersides of a strange black powder that creates a pile. Before Prince Claren can even think the next thought, one of the green creatures charges directly into the parties formations and explodes in a cloud of gore and fire. This explosion sends Prince Claren and Valdimir flying backwards to land unceremoniously on the ground some ways a way. This explosion creates a new desperation in the rest of the standing party members and the rest of the creatures are dispatched without further explosions.
After helping Vladimir and Prince Claren to their feet Enama explains that the powder they leave behind is highly flammable and can be packed in small containers to create explosions. Enama, Gareth, and Vladimir take some time collecting the piles of black powder in pouches before everyone moves on.
The party eventually finds a suitable place to camp as the last rays of sun vanish over the horizon. Anari sets up the fire as watch orders are discussed and every snacks on some rations. As the light of the fire dwindles, Harl screams out in pain as an new arrow is found to be sprouting from Harl's shoulder. Before Harl could stand up, a group of bug bears rush the party and Vladimir cries out, "AMBUSH!"
During the ensuring bloodletting, Enema falls and as the last bugbear is sent to meet its maker, everyone is left with injuries. Harl quickly comes to the aid of Enama and announces that she still lives, but barely. Harl calls about his divinity to heal Enama and everyone else Harl can before Harl becomes exhausted with the efforts. Other wounds are tended to and it was quickly decided that the party needs to find a settlement to rest in and get some much needed sleep.
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PLAYER NOTES: I will have to say that the in character discussion regarding the ethics of eating the wereboar was hilarious and highly entertaining. There was good arguments on both sides and the vote ended up being 3-5. The Creepers from Minecraft became an interesting and unexpected encounter which was refreshing as it took awhile for some of the players to realize what was going on in a meta-gaming type of way. Though, the Dungeon Master's son runs his own campaign set in a Minecraft adjacent world with all of the trappings. There was some good role play between the characters and the player playing Stephonocles sang us some road worthy ballets to easy dust covered feet and life the ye old spirits.
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