Day 2

2022-12-10 New Entry (self link to subscribe to for updates)

Urtuk and his companions woke up after a restless night. They had survived their first encounter, but the remained uneasy about where they were and how they would manage to survive going forward. They had found 2 medicine bottles - bottles with a magical potion that can cure the most severe illness and bring anyone back from the brink of death.

Rumors were that a village was nearby that might have some supplies, but a gang of scavengers was occupying it. This sounded dangerous - the scavengers were likely numerous and armed. The group decided that they needed more companions, so they set out to the cave where an experienced Javelinier had gone missing.

After descending into a colossal cave structure, they noticed an injured man in the dark. They could hear the sound of ferocious beasts close by. Hayyel the hunter hid in the shadows and explored the cave. He spotted 6 strong, ugly beasts resting within earshot of the wounded javelinier. They would have to stay as silent as possible while helping the man up and out of the cave, if they had any hope to make it out safely.

There were 2 ways to get to the javelinier: one was hidden in the darkness, but the ground was covered with spikes. The other way would lead them close to an ugly monster with several tentacles coming from what must be something like its mouth, and an arm shaped like a sword. Urtuk decided they had to avoid the spikes - the path over them was too treacherous and would likely leave them injured. So they approached the tentacled beast, hoping to stay out of its sight.

When coming closer, it seemed increasingly impossible to get to the wounded javelinier without waking the beast. It was an impressive one - massive, probably 8 foot tall, and weighing as much as an ox. They tried to stay out of sight, but one of them must have accidentally kicked a pebble, or maybe it was just their scent, but they soon noticed the beast getting up and moving in their direction. Hayyel took the lead sneaking towards the javelinier. He saw the beast eye them, and took a shot with his crossbow. The shot was well-placed and hit it right in its chest. The beast seemed to not even notice. It closed in on the group and took a swing at Pelenne that left a gashing wound on his arm. Pelenne ducked and made his way to the javelinier. He helped him up, whispering: "Be quick and stay quiet. Too many beasts around."

Urtuk and Beryth joined up with them. Urtuk placed a trap for the beast. The beast may have spotted it - instead of coming closer, it stuck out what appeared to be a giant tongue with spikes, and pulled Beryth right next to. Beryth winced - the pull had been forceful and left him bruised.

Everyone took a swing at the monster as it was moving only slowly. Even the javelinier got a hit in, a javelin thrown right in the beast's neck which sent it reeling, but still standing. It swung its mighty sword arm and hit Beryth hard, knocking the air out of him. This was painful, but gave Urtuk an opportunity to sink his blade into the soft side of the beast. This was too much for it; it collapsed to the ground and remained motionless.

The group looked at each other. They didn't say a word, afraid to wake any of the other monsters still present in the cave. Beryth was wounded and looked exhausted. The javelinier was limping, but looked determined to make a run for it. He pointed in the direction of an escape - it was the only way out, but guarded by a giant, fat monster looking like it used to be a human, but its flesh had halfway into goo. It was massive, holding a long sword in one arm as if it was a twig. A few dark pits were along the way there - hard to spot, but looking deep and dangerous.

Pelenne noticed a movement in the corner of his eye - another beast started moving, closing in on their position. Not quite as large, it was coming at them from the side. An ugly beast, no visible eyes. It's legs looked like those of crabs, but gigantic in comparison. It was holding a misshapen blade in one claw.

Without a word, Urtuk, Beryth, and Pelenne went into a formation to guard the wounded javelinier from the beast. They were standing right behind Urtuk's confusion trap, ready to strike should the beast make the mistake of stepping on it.

But being silent wasn't of use anymore. The other beasts had taken notice and started to close in on the group from all sides. Hayyel the hunter was standing a little away in a corner and started rushing back to not get separated from the group. The javelinier's eyes flickered with panic for a moment: "Shit! They've spotted me! Keep them away from me!"

The big, ugly monster with the long sword that had been guarding the exit came closer. It stepped on Urtuk's trap - in its confusion, Urtuk slashed it, and Hayyel managed to shoot it. But the beast was still standing - it hit Urtuk hard with its sword, and the bite stung - Urtuk knew that he had gotten poisoned by the blade.

Pelenne was hit by another strike from a slow, but large beast wielding a club. He was severely injured now, and realized it was time to run for the exit.

They were in big trouble now. Hayyel got cought between 2 of the beasts. 3 strikes hit him, and he fell to the ground. The javelinier got cornered and was struck hard by one of the crab-legged beasts with a big sword. Pelenne just ran for the exit. Urtuk and Beryth followed him quickly, both wounded and poison eating at Urtuk's wound. One of the beasts was following them, but stepped on a bear trap that Hayyel had placed earlier. They realized that the rest of the beasts was going after the javelinier. Urtuk's stomach turned - not from the poison, but from the realization that they had lost the man. They heard the man's death scream as they barely made it to the exit, just running. Hayyel somehow had made it out with them, limping and looking like death.

They found a nearby hiding place, outside the cave. They waited and watched, but the monsters didn't appear. They must have lost interest.

They checked their wounds. Everyone was doing okay, except for Hayyel who had gotten injured significantly. Urtuk looked at the medicine bottles that they carried... There were only 2 of them. He knew they wouldn't last very long. They would need to find a way to get more, if they were to have a chance to survive in these lands. For a moment, Urtuk considered keeping the bottles to himself, but he realized that if Hayyel were to succumb to his wounds, they might not be able to fight much at all anymore. Reluctantly, he took one of the medicine bottles and gave it to Hayyel...

Hayyel thanked him. After drinking the bottle, you could see the life slowly returning to him. It would take a few more days for him to fully recover from these injuries.