Week 5: Lost, hungry, killed

Jan 29, Monday; Icy & cloudy

• The party splits in the morning into hunters and explorers.
• Cori and Brenna take the horse and donkey as mounts and head north-west. By noon, the hills finally slope down and the pair enters a deep forest. (#4.17, #3.17) While travelling through it is faster than through the haggard hills, they also completely lose track of their direction (#4.18) and stumble upon colossal amphibian skeleton.
• They want to give it a wide berth at first, but then Cori notices a glint of metal under the massive rib cage. Carefully, she climbs in there and finds a ring on the finger bones of a severed humanoid hand. She takes it.

"And what if I wanted it?" Brenna asks.

"I saw it first, I braved the spooky scary skeleton and you already have a ring, so tough luck!"

"But my ring doesn't glisten!"

• They keep going and when evening comes, they are in hills again. Except they have actually went in a circle and nearly returned to their starting point (#4.17), but haven't realised it yet.

ring of animal control, unidentified
new hexes traversed = 30 XP
feature found = 50 XP

Jan 30, Tuesday; Cold & clear

• The two of us, Cori and Brenna, continue our explorations, but we must have gotten turned around in the hills - by late afternoon, we have found ourselves deep in the mountains (#5.17), which on one hand was quite an unwelcome surprise, but on the other allowed us to get our bearings and even see the camp of the rest of our group in a valley below.
• With next to no sunlight left, we decided to camp here and return to the base camp tomorrow. Then we can plan further exploration.

new hexes traversed = 10 XP

Jan 31, Wednesday; Blizzard

• What a way to wake up. When we went to sleep, the sky was blue and clear, but now it cannot even be seen over the swirling snowfall thrown around by screaming winds. Also our tent is literally buried in snow.
• We have gathered no wood yesterday. The tent and our sleeping bags would be enough for one night in the mountains, we thought. Now if there is any wood to be found, it will be pretty much inaccessible.
• We also don't have much food left.
• How wonderful. We will have to break camp and get down into the hills, somehow.
• Though cold, wet, filthy and exhausted, we have managed just that over the course of the whole day. (#6.18)
• We have found a reasonably sheltered campsite, but still needed to drag ourselves into the woods to get enough firewood for the night. 
• We ate our last rations huddled around the fire, our horse and mule shivering and munching sadly on the little feed we still have.
• I'm starting to think that I hate winter.

Feb 1, Thursday; Cold & clear

• We woke up chilled to the bone, but the blizzard is gone, once again replaced by clear blue sky.
• We have veered off course yesterday, ending up several hours of travel away from the base camp, but with the better weather it wasn't difficult to find our tracks from several days ago and follow them back to the rest of the group. (#5.18)
• They were out in the forest, hunting, and returned in the evening in a rather bad mood. While they had some luck with quarry on Monday and Tuesday, the blizzard had chased all the animals into their dens.
• Brenna and Cori went to sleep very early, still deeply fatigued from their venture into the snowy mountains.
• An hour or two into the early watch, Maera roused the rest of the party. Close to the camp, a lumbering shadow was carrying its prey - presumably to its lair, to feast in peace - but the prey was still alive and crying loudly.

"It's a person! We have to save her," Maera whispered.

"Yeah, in the maw of a monster," Nissa retorted. "We're lucky it's not us it wants to snack on."

"Whoever that is, they were here in the wilderness, so they might know more about our surroundings. There might be a village or a farm they could lead us to," Cori noted.

"And we really should just save them," Brenna said. "It hasn't even noticed us, we can kill it before-"

• Several more shapes emerge from the darkness, following after the first one.

4x Owlbear
HD 5, AC 8, AT claw or bite (+1), ML +2, SP bear hug (2 dmg) if is hits twice

"-or not," Brenna sighed. "Let's be really quiet and pray to all gods that they don't notice us."

• They didn't.

Feb 2, Friday; Cold & clear

• Cori was still feeling a bit under the weather in the morning and Brenna was not much better off. Thus the exploration group was now to be Maera and Nissa, and they had a special plan - follow the tracks left by the monsters in the night and see if there is a lair and perchance even a surviving victim of the monsters inside.
• The tracks led them north-west, to the hills already crossed by Cori and Brenna (#4.17), but they lost the path. They turned around in the afternoon and returned to camp.
• Unfortunately, the rest of the party had little luck in their hunting attempts.

"We have one day of rations left," Maera noted, softly so that the hirelings won't overhear. No need to make them question their leadership.

"We could butcher the mule," Brenna suggested.

"Don't you dare," Nissa jumped up. "And if anyone, we should eat Cori's horse. He's bigger."

"What? No! Never. I already had to surrender Baldy the donkey to the gods-forsaken foreigners and their bloody cart, no way you are eating Limpy, understood?"

"Stop arguing!" Maera said. "We have one day left, so I need ideas, not quarrels."

"We could have another go at the monster lair," Brenna said.

"And that will help us with our food situation how, exactly? That poor soul will have been devoured by now for sure."

"We could eat the monsters. They were big, there's probably plenty of meat on their bones."

"I really can't tell if you're joking, Brenna."

"Well, the alternative is to eat either the mule or the horse."

"I'm in," said Cori and Nissa simultaneously.

"I hate you all," Maera grumbled.

Ragwretch

Feb 3, Saturday; Hail

• The hirelings were left in the camp and we followed yesterday's tracks once more. Pinkybone the puppy proved her worth when she picked up even the cold trail and led us confidently.
• The only thing to spoil this hunt was the strengthening, freezing rain.
• And, of course, being suddenly surrounded by a band of stooped men covered head to toe in rags.

6x Ragwretch
HD 2, AC 8, AT axe or bow, ML +1

• But instead of raising their weapons, they addressed us in silky voices and thankfully, Maera knew enough of their dialect to speak with them.
• They were on a hunt, too, and hunting the same creatures. The monsters we saw in the night are called owlbears and the tribe of these people was attacked by them, with several people dragged off to be devoured. They wanted revenge.
• They offered us shelter and supplies in exchange for helping them in finding and killing the owlbears. There really wasn't much to deliberate about.
• By later afternoon, we have found the lair in a well-hidden cave. We were lucky that Brenna brought enough rope to safely abseil the vertical pit it had for entrance.
• The narrow but uncomfortably high tunnel led us through a few bends into a nest where a single owlbear was snoozing. It raised its feathered head, weary but wary, and sniffed the air, yet it seemed that we've escaped its notice.

Owlbear
HD 5, AC 8, AT claw or bite (+1), ML +2, SP bear hug (2 dmg) if it hits twice

• Before it had a chance to do anything else, we have all peppered it with arrows. It died so fast it haven't even had a chance to roar.
• Carefully, we approached, but the rest of the cave was empty and the monstrosity truly dead. Cori and Brenna went to help the ragwretches drag the massive corpse back to the entrance pit and lift it to the surface, but Maera and Nissa inconspicuously stayed behind to search the monster's nest for anything that might've been left behind from its many meals.
• They were not disappointed. While no valuables were to be found among the piles of old bones, Maera discovered the remains of a satchel and inside - aside from long-rotted vegetables and a rusty knife - a map. Nissa happened upon something arguably even better - a short sword of silvery metal, its pommel shaped as an eagle's head.
• They also found a crack in the wall leading deeper, though only if one wished to squeeze through rough stone into darkness-choked unknown.
• At about that point, they've heard an ear-splitting screech coming from the cavern's entrance.

2x Owlbear

• The ragwretches with Cori and Brenna have just climbed out of the pit when two other owlbears emerged from the forest. Both sides froze in surprise, then the beasts roared in bloodthirsty anger. Their weapons sheathed and standing on the edge of a fall, the group tried to scatter.
• The bear-things lunged forward. One ragwretch was deeply wounded by a sharp beak, but a second wretch was instead bull-rushed into the pit, splattering its brain on the cavern floor below just in time for Maera and Nissa to emerge from the tunnel.
• Two ragwretches who were not fast enough to evade the monsters fought back, covering each other's back. Their axes left bloody bites in the owlbears' hides.
• The rest of the group had managed to get their bows ready and sent a volley into the bears' flank. It was Cori's arrow that found an eye of one beast, and through the eye its brain.
• The other beast tore one ragwretch to bloody shreds and forced another one fall prone lest his head be swiped off.
• But another volley of arrows later, even it was dead. Two ragwretches were killed in the skirmish, but the party avoided any harm.

• Before we got the corpse of the first owlbear out of the pit, it was getting dark. We also had no way how to transport the huge corpses whole and needed to bury our two deceased not-really-friends, so we set camp right by the lair. Of course, we have seen another owlbear the night before, thus half of our group will always be on watch, weapons ready.
• We gathered plenty of firewood, flayed and butchered the corpses, then put some meat to roast and other to be smoked. In the meantime, we prepared two pyres for the dead wretches.
• The whole time, we felt like we're being watched from the bushes.
• When the sun set and the pyres were reduced to embers, we gathered around the cooking fire and tasted the owlbear meat. It was fatty and filling and tinged with something strange. As it turned out, that something strange was magic, as these beasts were anything but natural.
• As we will discover only the next morning, Maera's belly full of magical meat will lead to her growing about twelve inches taller. However, a more immediate problem was Cori, who started vomiting a black tar-like substance, and Brenna, who tried to vomit as well but instead seized up and started to choke.
• At that moment, the last, lurking owlbear ambushed us and jumped at Cori. It grabbed her in a hug and with a sickening crunch, her rib cage gave in.

Owlbear

• With a pain-filled warcry, Maera rushed the monstrosity, slamming her iron-shod staff into its loins. So did Nissa, cutting at the creature with her newfound silvery sword, and the ragwretches with their axes.
• Still, the owlbear stood tall. Contemptuously throwing Cori's crumpled body aside, it tore a ragwretch apart and wounded another.
• We had it surrounded, yet it played with us like a cat with mice. Two more ragwretches were dismembered in quick succession.
• We have wounded it, but it fought with a wrath born of grieving. So did we.
• Its beak left a deep cut on Maera's armour, but that also meant it left itself open to a counter strike. She shattered its skull and fell to her knees, panting.

• Meanwhile, with trembling fingers, Brenna fumbled through her pockets until she found the single bezoar they have purchased back in Odawara. She swallowed it and though she still felt like puking her guts out, the crippling pain in her innards ceased nearly immediately.
• There was nothing left to do for the rest of the night but grieve, for sleep would not come.

Loot:
3 owlbear hides
83 rations of owlbear meat
treasure map
WE WILL SEE the iridescent mithril shortsword with eagle head pommel. - Unidentified. Allows the bearer to "throw" their gaze directly upwards, looking straight down. Safely up to 100 ft, any higher causes nausea and dizziness. Can light up as a torch. There's a rumour it was once an object of faith for a beautiful religion.

owlbears = 700 (175 x 4) XP
feature found = 50 XP
new dungeon floor visited = 20 XP

Feb 4, Sunday; Clear & windy

• There's only four of us left - Brenna, Nissa, Maera and the last ragwretch named Yt. We spent the morning gathering firewood and preparing a final goodbye for our dead.
• We lit the pyres and Yt started to sing. His voice is so beautiful. We cried.
• We buried the ashes along with some parting gifts - a silver hand mirror and a circle of silver coins to ward off the evil spirits.
• After much deliberation, Brenna took the shiny ring that Cori found inside of a gigantic skeleton. "Something to remember you by," she whispered.
• Yt was offered the chainmail and longbow that Cori will never use again and gladly he accepted. He also filled his pack with owlbear meat, something none of the rogues wanted to ever touch again.
• Then it was time to leave.
• In the afternoon, we have returned to our base camp. (#5.18)
• Our hirelings have confronted us immediately - yesterday, they went through all the supplies in the cart and discovered that there is basically no food left. The hunts are not going well, so they either want a plan to fix this, or to return back home.
• It took us a while, but we persuaded them to give us one last chance. Yt will bring us to their village and there we can resupply and rest for a few days.
• We prepared the cart and set off.
• Several hours later, we were found by a ragwretch patrol and lead to the village. (#5.19)

new hexes traversed = 10 XP
feature found = 50 XP