The Life and Times of a Dead Man - Episode 16 - On the Road

Zita sends a note to Ceseli letting her know she will be gone for about two weeks. The adventurers hit the Orien road. After traveling for a while, they arrive at the forest. Hendra takes out the map and leads the group further into the forest. The group travels for hours. They are covered in sweat and bugs.

A monkey steals Hendra’s bag of caltrops, and a foot-long dragonfly alights on Audrey Rose’s head. Sabrina throws a dagger at it. It’s a miserable journey, but the companions plod ahead.

It’s raining the next morning. Audrey Rose sees a branch full of Scarlet Crested Parrots who keep saying hello to her. She’s seriously tempted to bring one home but realizes they would require upkeep while traveling. While she watches one of the parrots suddenly disappears. It’s being reeled in by a large blue and red carapace.

The next day the group moves faster. They manage to put two days of travel into one day. Despite the continued rain, the adventurers find a dry spot to camp. During their nightly watches, the adventurers notice a colony of bats watching. They are Brelish Mobats. The adventurers have their best night of sleep.

The next day there is a close call with a falling tree branch, and Hendra chases off a bunch of monkeys from the packs. The rain finally lets out. Sabrina keeps watch and tries to keep the fire going when she notices a large lizard with great claws and teeth attacking a sleeping Hendra. Sabrina casts glitterdust on it. The lizard glows a bright green and grabs Hendra. Hendra stays asleep during the attack but hollers that she doesn’t want to go to school. Audrey Rose awakens and throws a frost bomb at the creature. Zita hears a loud cracking sound and wakes up. She gets into position to attack the creature. The lizard goes after Sabrina. It attempts to bite her and misses, but it does claw her across the arm.

Hendra draws her sword and attacks the lizard. Audrey Rose throws a shock bomb and dazzles the creature. Sabrina casts glitterdust again, but to no effect. Zita flanks Hendra and double-daggers the lizard. It rears around and attacks Zita upside the head. Dol convinces the wand to let her heal Hendra. Meanwhile, Audrey Rose throws a bomb into the lizard’s mouth, finishing it off. Hendra identifies the nasty, carnivorous creature as a Blade Tooth. Sabrina skins it and takes a tooth. She suspects it is a particularly old specimen. While skinning the lizard, Sabrina sees a shiny metal. When she digs it out, she finds a magical stiletto with conjuration magic. When you say the words “Kibym Kilf” it starts a fire. Sabrina gives the weapon to Zita.

The following day Zita stealthily makes her way through the rainforest when the group hears voices in the distance. The group seems to have come across two arguing red caps. They are three feet tall, have long dirty beards, and carry scythes. One of them steps forward and attacks Hendra, knocking her unconscious. Zita double daggers one of them, and Sabrina steps in front of it and casts glitterdust. Audrey Rose drinks her mutagen. Dol sends in Tweetie-Bear and backs away from the redcaps.

One red cap swings at Sabrina and misses. The other redcap gracefully dances across the greased area and goes to attack Sabrina but also misses. Sabrina casts Hideous Laughter on one of the redcaps. It falls over laughing. Zita double daggers the laughing one. Audrey Rose throws a shock bomb on the one rolling on the ground. Tweetie Bear claws the laughing one through the eyes and kills it. Dol heals Hendra back from unconsciousness.

The other redcap misses Sabrina again. Hendra stands up and downs a healing potion. Sabrina casts Hideous Laughter on the other redcap, but he makes his save. Zita double-daggers the monster. Audrey Rose’s bomb goes slightly off course but still does splash damage to the redcap. Dol increases Tweetie-Bears size. The redcap swings at Sabrina and misses. Hendra beheads the last redcap.

Dol wants to take the heads back to the village. Hendra wants to put the heads on the crosses. Sabrina wants to leave them behind. Since the two can’t agree, Hendra suggests the group vote. The group decides to bury the heads.

As they prepare for sleep that night, they hear a voice holler, “Hello.” A woman dressed in peasant clothes appears near the fire. She is carrying a basket of red and green apples. Sabrina takes one and eats it. The woman introduces herself as Dressela, the wife of the local woodsmen. Dol asks her about the missing people and describes the professor and students. Dressela remembers seeing them a week ago. She offers to play a game with Dol. She’ll tell Dol where the professor has gone if she can solve Dressela’s riddles.

“Before I’m born, I live in the earth, but to be shaped I bathe in flames. When I die, I’m red or sometimes green.” Zita answers, “Iron.”

“Every day you’ll find I’ve grown. And you bite me, clip me, …” Sabrina answers, “Nails.”

“I am a family of sisters. One in the forest. One by the sea. The third is in a mine hidden from the sky, but among us, we have only one eye, what am I?” Dol answers, “A hag coven.”

Dressella did see the professor with two young men making their way through the rainforest, headed to Iron Cavaya’s house. She is a powerful and dangerous witch. Dressella wants us to kill the witch because the witch killed her husband twenty years ago. Dol asks for advice about her. The witch is adept at poisons and narcotics. She also has an entourage and a son. She is known for animating inanimate things.

(Audrey Rose plans to brew some antitoxins before they visit the witch.)

Dressela points to a tree in the distance. She tells them there is a game trail behind the tree. Dressela adds that by following the trail, they will be at Iron Cavaya’s house by sunset the next day.