The adventurers spot the den on the other side of the lake, surrounded by reeds and other various plants. Smears of blood on the ground lead the way to the den. The band dismounts, and ties their horses to a nearby tree. The four, weapons drawn and ready, round the lake towards the den. They inch closer, hearing insects chirp in the water and wetland area. A cool breeze blows through the flora, brushing past the adventurers. As they grow close to the cave, they witness a woman making her way to the entrance on the opposite side of the water.
Perplexed, Shea quickly walks towards her, attempting to discern her intent.
“You must leave this area. There is a strong creature here, and we are going to destroy it,” he informs her.
The woman replies quietly, “This creature killed my husband, among others, in my village. I will have my revenge.”
The creature roars in defiance. A giant stream of greenish fluid jets towards Shea and the woman. Morgan tackles them both in the nick of time. Behind them, some plants singe and disappear as acid eats away at their cellulose. The two cease their arguing, and prepare to battle the fiend.
It steps out into the light. It stands 10 feet tall. Four giant eyes stare at the adventurers and widow, with yellow teeth gleaming at them. Stubbly whiskers protrude from the sides of the mouth. Scaly ears lift from the top of the head. With a greenish-yellow body with bright blue patches on the side, the creature’s front legs are clawed, while the back legs are cocked, ready to hop. The fiend appears to be a hybrid of a frog and a jaguar.
Josh begins to sling spells, some to protect the adventurers and the woman, while others are damaging the creature. Fish shoots enchanted arrows, attempting to pick apart weaknesses in the creature’s skin. Morgan swings his axe, hacking at the muscled front legs. Shea draws the attention of the creature, blocking the lightning-fast claws of the creature with his shield and sword. The woman begins to also hack at the legs of the creature with her two long daggers, ducking in and out of reach of the creature. The creature knocks Shea down and quickly descends upon him, jaw open. Fish quickly knocks an arrow, firing at the right-most eye. Direct hit! The creature howls in agony as blueish-grey blood drips from its ocular cavity. Capitalizing on the moment, the woman throws one of her daggers at another eye, puncturing her target. The creature is now enraged. Josh uses all of his remaining magic to cast a giant blaze right underneath the creature, frightening it and causing it to fall on its back. Morgan and the woman quickly follow the creature, hacking at its softer interior and looking for a weak point. Morgan slashes the crease between the creature’s front right leg and body, cutting deep. The woman begins to stab the same area on the back left leg. Fish drags Shea away from the immediate area while the two work, disabling the creature. Blood overflows the den as the creature quickly bleeds out.
After the battle is won, the woman retrieves her dagger from the creature’s eye. “Thank you.” She simply replies. She begins to walk back the way she came.
“Wait! Hold up! What is your name?” Morgan asks, as she continues to walk off.
“Melanie,” the woman states, as she walks until she disappears over the crest of a hill.
This week on the Chompcast, we are joined by the lovely Melanie Dunn, the host of the Rare Candy Podcast. The crew, sans Shea, discusses story vs mechanics, gaming with kids, and Pyre. Join us as we round up the Summer of Guests here at Swordchomp!
Recorded August 11, 2017