Midnight Meat Train
Like so many other adventures, this one starts with a simple handscrawled notice on the wall of the Explorer's Guild. "Need guards for a five day cattle drive. Mostly working at night. Contact Korbin Aglondier at the Green Hill Roadhouse." Out of need for coin, civic duty, or some of other reason, each of you has taken the trip outside the city to the the rustic roadhouse. Asking for Korbin gets you sent to a small room in the back, where a few assorted chairs have been set up opposite the small bed. Korbin sits on the bed, in the process of packing what few possessions he brought with him. He's a middle aged man, whip thin with the leathery skin and calloused hands that comes from decades of working outdoors. His clothing is simple and rugged, but he does carry a short sword in a well worn military sheath and a composite shortbow is propped up against the wall, unstrung. Upon the first arrival, he waves you over, gesturing to the seat, "Come on in, I don't got much time before I get back on the road, so we better do this fast if we're doing it at all." The rancher drawls.
Kirran figures some time out of the city would be good for him, though it's not back into the woods that he'd enjoy, but it's something. So the elf packs up his gear and heads out to this roadhouse, and asks for the person in question. He doesn't take a seat, but does stand off to the side, allowing others to sit down if they wish to do so.
Alice arrives along with the others to the road house, and head into the back to meet with Korbin. She looks the place over a little bit before giving him a slight nod. "Hello, I saw you needed a little bit of help."
Cressida, on the other hand, could certainly use both the coin, and a cattle drive sounds like a pretty good cause. She attends the meeting and takes a seat, hands in her lap as she looks to Korbin to explain the job. "It sounds like you need people to keep watch at night, so you can be rested for herding cattle all day."
Orion nods to the others that have come here, he has worked with them before. He sits down in one of the seats then looks to Korbin, "While I am doing this more to help out where I can, compensation does need to be talked about." Orion is wearing his half plate armor.
Korbin finishes cinching up and knotting the cordage to his pack and takes stock of the lot of you, "Ya'll do just fine. And naw, this isn't a nightwatch exactly. I'm from Sendor, originally. After the war, I got into the cattle business with my backpay and pillage. Anyway, this dwarf mercenary I knew back then, he came to me a few years back. Turns out the khazad have their own breeds that graze at night, sleep in caves they dig out for them in the day. Anyway, he wanted me to crossbreed some of his with my beef cows, get some more meat on them. It worked, only it made their eyes worse. Hate going out in the day. Anyway, it's time for me to bring them back to him and he'll meet me at Nixie's Rest and take them the rest of the way back to him. Normally, wouldn't be a problem, but I had a hand scout out the cattle path I usually take. He found some mutilated animals, clawed up trees. Might be a bear, might be some of those giant wolves. I don't rightly know, but I could use some extra eyes and sword hands, if you're interested."
Kirran listens to the rundown of what they are going to do, and gives a nod. "Definitely could be those, if we come across any markings along the way I can take a closer look, perhaps track the creature to try and identify it." Seems he's in for the job.
Cressida hms. "Those sound like interesting cattle. And I can see how whatever might be mutilating animals might want a bite of them. I'm up for a bit of a trip." She smiles to Kirran. "And if you can identify it before we see this thing, all the better."
Alice nods her head as she listens, "Could be anything really. That is kind of vague though. When you said mutilated does he means cut up and just left, or aten? A wild animal would eat it, or try to."
Seeing how the others do not seem to be worried about getting paid for this, Orion shall not let it be a concern to him any more, "Well you said we need to do this fast, so lets get started."
Once interest is secured, Korbin goes over some more of the details, including payment, which comes out to X per day (X being whatever the treasure roll happens to be when this is submitted). After gathering up his belongings, he leads you over to the livery where the stable hands have his wagon hitched up and ready to go. It's a two day ride to his ranch and after spending the afternoon there going over a few pecularities of the Rothe breed and how to handle them, you set out that following night after a hearty farm dinner.
It's a strange adjustment, traveling by night and resting by day while watching over the cattle, each of them with veils over their head to keep their sensitive eyes protective. Unfortunately, with spring in full bloom, there is more day than night, so travel is a bit slow going. Fortunately, the cattle path is well trod and beaten down, though it runs through thick forest. The more astute amongst you find some signs that had Korbin worried, but pinning down the predator exactly is somewhat hard. There are some wolf tracks through a muddy section where a game trail intersects the road, and Alice finds massive scratch marks in some of the trees, similar a bear or a large cat such a mountain lion. Chewed bones and tufts of fur from small game are scattered here and there. There is also a large feather sitting atop some of the bushes that line the road a day or two later. In any case, the first three days are entirely uneventful, but as you move on the fourth night, there is an ominous feeling hanging in the air. Crickets stop chirping abruptly, there is shuffling in the forest outside the range of both darkvision and lantern light.
Kirran doesn't like the sound of what's going on, or more the lack of sound and the shuffling. He falls back toward the others, "I can do some scouting if no one objects." He doesn't want to go wandering off without others having an idea of where he went.
Orion does not pick up on the signs, thinking that this night is like any others however he is on guard duty so he is always alert. He nod to Kirran, "Do what you think is best and if you need backup just yell."
Alice looks to Kirran, "Well be careful. Based on what we saw earlier it could be a bear, or something as large as a bear." She looks around while listening for anything approaching.
Cressida fishes out a few small stones from her pouch, keeping them in hand as she looks around, listening for where the thing might be. "If it's here, we'll want to keep it away from the cattle, just don't do anything too dangerous. We'll be ready to back you up."
GAME: Cressida rolls perception: (10)+6: 16
GAME: Orion rolls perception: (6)+-1: 5
GAME: Alice rolls perception: (11)+12: 23
GAME: Kirran rolls perception: (20)+9: 29
You paged (Kirran, Alice) with 'You two notice a shift in the wind. It was going generally down the road, but it shifts so that's blowing to your right, putting you directly downwind. A minute or two later, several owls start hooting and you can hear their wings fluttering, and then some thumping heavy steps to your right. Twigs snapping, branches bending, that sort of thing.'
You paged Kirran with 'You actually see something just outside the range of visible light of the lanterns. A reflection of eyes in the light. They strike you as being avian. Whatever it belongs to, it is very big.'
Kirran stops as he listens, ignoring the sound of wagons and the cattle. First his ears, twitching slightly, pick up the sounds, and the feel of the wind. As he pans, he stops. "There!" he points as he sees something. "Eyes! Bird!" He pulls out his bow and an arrow, taking aim, though not shooting just yet.
Alice lifts up her shield as she prepares for the strange looking creature. Her eyes narrow slightly as she looks around, "Be careful, that animal seems kind of strange. I have never seen anything like it."
"Birds?" Orion seems confused by that statement. He takes his longsword and his shield preparing himself for battle. He looks to the others, "It does not matter what it is, we shall prevent it from harming the cattle."
GAME: Kirran rolls initiative: Roll: 14 + Bonus: 4 = Total: 18
GAME: You roll initiative for Owlbear: Roll: 3 + Bonus: +5 = Total: 8
GAME: Alice rolls initiative: Roll: 8 + Bonus: 2 = Total: 10
GAME: Cressida rolls initiative: Roll: 15 + Bonus: 6 = Total: 21
GAME: Orion rolls initiative: Roll: 14 + Bonus: 0 = Total: 14
Cressida mutters a few words, causing the stone in her hand to start to glow as brightly as a torch. Winding up, she throws that glowing stone in the direction of the sounds, not trying to hit it necessarily, but more concerned with providing enough light to see it by.
Cressida's glowing stones light up the forest, revealing an amalgamation of grizzly bear and owl. It does not look pleased at the light and snarls, preparing to charge.
GAME: Kirran rolls bow30: aliased to weapon1+1: (4)+8+1: 13
Kirran steps forward and looses and arrow, but it lodges in the thick pelt of the creature, drawing no wound.
GAME: Orion rolls weapon3+2: (14)+6+2: 22
GAME: Orion rolls 1D8+3: (2)+3: 5
Orion can now see the creature, "Daues aid me!" He says as he tries to smite it not sure if it is evil or not, he just knows that it is big. He charges the creature and as able to strike it in the shoulder with his sword.
GAME: Alice rolls ranged-4: (19)+3+-4: 18
GAME: Alice rolls 1d6+1: (1)+1: 2
Alice looks to the strange monster as the light spell lights it up more clearly and she quickly summons forth a small ball of fire in her free hand and then throws it towards the owlbear, singeing the fur and feathers just slightly.
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (2)+8: 10
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (9)+8: 17
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (17)+8: 25
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d6+4: (6)+4: 10
GAME: You damaged Orion for 5 points. 15 remaining.
The avian-ursine creature, wounded by Orion's blade rears up on it's hind legs, casting a great shadow behind it as it's arm feathers ruffle and it stands it's full 8 feet tall. It crashes back down with both claws, trying to pin Orion underneath, but his armor is too strong and reflexes too fast. Unfortunately, avoiding the claws opens the Sithmakar up to the razor sharp beak that tears away a chunk of flesh from his side with a spray of blood that seems to drive it only madder.
Meanwhile, Korbin goes wide eyed and breaks out his bullwhip, snapping it across the backs of the cattle while he whistles and cajols the creatures into moving away from the carnage. Smelling the blood in the air and seeing such a fearsome predator, it doesn't take much to turn it into a full stampede and hooves go thundering down the dusty trail with Korbin falling back, "I'll lead the cattle away, you kill that thing!" As if you needed to tell a group of adventurers to kill angry monsters in the woods.
Cressida starts to get closer, ducking down a bit to keep from blocking any lines of fire from her companions. She gets closer, moving into position to keep Orion roughly between it and her, enough to keep it from charging her easily, but giving her enough room to throw a few blasts of fire without burning the paladin.
GAME: Kirran rolls bow30-2: aliased to weapon1+1-2: (18)+8+1+-2: 25
GAME: Kirran rolls bow30-2: aliased to weapon1+1-2: (8)+8+1+-2: 15
GAME: Kirran rolls bowdamage30: aliased to 1d8+2+1: (5)+2+1: 8
GAME: Kirran rolls bowdamage30: aliased to 1d8+2+1: (3)+2+1: 6
While his very first shot doesn't do anything to the owlbear, Kirran's next two hit their mark though. The two fletched arrows are now sticking out of the owlbear's torso as he works on pulling more, glancing back for a moment at Korbin's call to get the cattle to safety.
GAME: Orion rolls 1d6: (3): 3
GAME: You damaged Orion for -3 points. 18 remaining.
GAME: Orion rolls weapon3: (3)+6: 9
Orion is able to heal himself of a little bit of damage, sadly for him his aim is off causing him to swing and miss at the owlbear, he now braces himself against the owlbear attacks.
GAME: Alice rolls ranged-4: (7)+3+-4: 6
Alice moves forward and keeps her shield ready though she hopes it doesn't come at her. She summons forth another ball of fire and flings it towards the bear creature but it misses this time.
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (14)+8: 22
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (1)+8: 9
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+8: (9)+8: 17
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d6+4: (5)+4: 9
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+14: (8)+14: 22
GAME: You damaged Orion for 9 points. 9 remaining.
Slashed, scorched, and now bristling with arrows, a lesser creature might have died by now, but the Owlbear seems to run purely on pure hate. It snaps its beak and claws wildly, catching air and scraping armor for the most part, but one wild swipe catches the paladin in the outer thigh, pinning him against a tree as it starts to move in to finish Orion off...
GAME: Cressida rolls 2d4+2: (6)+2: 8
GAME: Pavel rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19
Cressida finally in position as Orion gets pinned, she incants the familiar words and lets loose with a wave of fire at the beast. It is fast, and her trying not to burn the paladin leaves it room to duck forward as it sees the fire start, leaving it only mildly burned along its back.
GAME: Kirran rolls bow30-2: aliased to weapon1+1-2: (17)+8+1+-2: 24
GAME: Kirran rolls bow30-2: aliased to weapon1+1-2: (3)+8+1+-2: 10
GAME: Kirran rolls bowdamage30: aliased to 1d8+2+1: (6)+2+1: 9
"We should take it down fast, in case there are others," Kirran calls out as he shoots at it, quickly drawing more and arrows. The next one buries into the torso again, but the second goes wide, somewhere off into the darkness.
GAME: Orion rolls 1d6: (5): 5
GAME: You damaged Orion for -5 points. 14 remaining.
GAME: Orion rolls weapon3-2: (14)+6+-2: 18
GAME: Orion rolls 1d8+3: (4)+3: 7
Orion is hurting pretty bad, luckily he was able to heal himself decently well. He takes his sword and stabs the owlbear in the gut.
GAME: Alice rolls ranged-4: (13)+3+-4: 12
GAME: Alice rolls 1d6+1: (5)+1: 6
Alice looks to Orion as he gets beat up by the bear and she positions her self for a clear shot then throws another bolt of fire at the bear. This time the small ball of fire hits him right in the back of the head and his feather catch on fire as he goes down. She then looks to Orion, "You okay?"
Kirran lets out a sigh as the owlbear goes down. "Good shot," he comments to Alice as he goes over to check on it, as well as the arrows, trying to recover a few. He gives a nod with a smile to Orion but lets the others worry over him. "Once we're okay to move we should catch up with the herd."
Fortunately, the owlbear was on a backswing, ready to take the Paladin's head off when the finishing flame struck, causing it's 1500 lb bulk to fall backward with a dust-raising thump and not on top of Orion. It takes a few last pained gurgling breaths as Kirran's arrows finally catch up to it, blood filling it's lungs. Even in death, the thing is a terrifying sight to behold.
Cressida was preparing to send another wave of fire at the beast, but when it stops moving, she holds back, approaching quickly to make sure Orion is okay before looking at the dead critter. "My, that is something. Good thing we were here, or it might have torn up Korbin and the cattle."
Korbin returns a few moments later on his horse, bow in hand in case the owlbear got the better of you. Pleasantly surprised by your success, he nods, "And Grubby said adventurers aren't worth the gold. Gonna put that head above my mantle when we get home."
Speaking of dismembering the creature, the more arcane inclined amongst you jogs a few memories about creatures such as this, their claws and organs being valuable as spell reagents. Combined with the payment from the rancher, it makes for a decent payday. The rest of the trip is uneventful and the nocturnal cattle are offloaded onto a steamboat to Korbin's Khazad partner. Not the most epic of tales, but it makes for a good tavern boast and the gold spends well enough.