The Way of the Manticore

[ewancummins]

BENN conjures his fiery orb, bringing it rolling over the broken, sunken burrow of the monster and against the beast's armored rump.
The creature leaves off attacking one of the horses and scuttle forward rapidly, coming closer to the wagon even as Dorn struggles to back the horses and turns them and the cart away from the monster.

Sir Clive unlimbers his great sword and hops down, stepping clear of the moving vehicle and its panicky team.

He strides toward the hissing beast and lays into it with his blade. Sparks fly from its scorched, sooty carapace, but it seems little harmed by the knight's double-handed blows.

Kat darts in as the knight's onslaught keeps the monster busy, needling to no effect with her sword—too much plating on this horror!

Sir Clive lands a hasty blow, the blade chopping off a few scales this time.
The monster suddenly leaps up, passing clean over the knight's sweeping blade and crashing down onto the man!
The knight falls amid the clatter of armor and the horrid scrape of claws on steel plate—but rolls clear before the weight of the monster crushes him helpless in the road.He snaps to his feet with his sword lifting back en garde.

The shrieking horses pull so hard away from the monster that Dorn tumbles from the driver’s seat.

The soldier lad lands on his backside right between Sir Clive and the monster.

The team keeps running, hauling the wagon off the road. Alwina falls out into the field beside the road with Benn, but Alain keeps his grip on the sideboard of the rocking cart.

Klokulf rushes in and braces the knight, chanting words of healing magic.

Raen dashes to rescue Dorn. The beast snaps at the wizard but gets more of the wizard's robes than anything else.
With a great rip of cloth, Raen twists free of the horrid jaws and drags Dorn back with him to the shoudler of the road.

Sir Clive hefts his great sword and lays into the beast, making sparks and kicking up dust but doing little harm.

Goaded by conjured fire from the rear and a sword raised before it, the beast leaps again!

Katrin rolls under as the monster leaves the pavement. She stabs upward, her rapier snicking through the underbelly scales and into soft flesh.

The monster is airborne, headed for Sir Clive in a deadly pounce of outstretched claws and massive armored bulk...

[RocEter]

Clive

Sir Clive jumps aside as he sees the beast come leaping towards him. He shoulder rolls down the small hill into soft grass.

[ewancummins]

Clive

Sir Clive jumps aside as he sees the beast come leaping towards him. He shoulder rolls down the small hill into soft grass.

And as Sir Clive hits the grass and rolls, the massive bulk of the monster slams hard into the pavement where the knight had stood a second before, cracking stones with the force of its impact.

The thing scrabbles its claws at the cracked, sunken pavement.

Its bloodshot eyes roll wildly in its armored head and it hisses one last terrible, long cry. Then it vomits a slurry of earth , gravel, and blood onto the road and falls quite still.

The thuds of the two falls seem to roll on. The noise comes from the hooves of the team and the wheels of the wagon-- the panicked horses are tearing off across the grassy fields to the south with Alain along for the ride!

[RocEter]

Clive

Sir Clive jumps aside as he sees the beast come leaping towards him. He shoulder rolls down the small hill into soft grass.

And as Sir Clive hits the grass and rolls, the massive bulk of the monster slams hard into the pavement where the knight had stood a second before, cracking stones with the force of its impact.

The thing scrabbles its claws at the cracked, sunken pavement.

Its bloodshot eyes roll wildly in its armored head and it hisses one last terrible, long cry. Then it vomits a slurry of earth , gravel, and blood onto the road and falls quite still.

The thuds of the two falls seem to echo despite the seeming impossibility of that outdoors in this terrain. The noise comes from the hooves of the team and the wheels of the wagon-- the panicked horses are tearing off across the sunlight grassy fields to the south with Alan along for the ride!

Clive

Standing, Clive rejoins the party on the road.

"Landsharks, the bane of the Southern Battalion." He says.

"Impressive work!" Clive says to Kat. "Haven't seen such skill since my time in the scout regiment, though I believe your skill may exceed theirs!"

The outlander knight laughs, forgetting for a moment the cart is charging off into the distance.

"You think your fellow needs help?" He says looking towards Benn and Klokulf.

[ewancummins]

ALAIN

moments before


The horses panic in the face of the monster, and pull the wagon off the road!

Dorn (the driver), Benn, and the blonde tumble out, but you keep your grip.

Looking back at the melee on the pavement , you can't get a clear shot--not with the wagon bouncing and skidding at this speed and with all the dust in the air.

The two horses ignore your commands, but keep running south, dragging the screeching wagon after them with you in it.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

The outlander knight laughs, forgetting for a moment the cart is charging off into the distance.

"You think your fellow needs help?" He says looking towards Benn and Klokulf.

"Most Vaasi are superb horsemen," says Klokulf, surveying the situation, "But I always preferred using my own feet. He will be better off without my aid."

He approaches the edge of the road, looking for Alwina. "Are you alright?" he queries.

[kintire]

Kat smiles brightly.

"Pretty nice work yourself. I had some trouble working out where the weak points were, but when you goaded it into jumping that was a perfect opening."

She looks thoughtfully after the cart.

"He probably does need help, but given how fast he's going I'm short on plans to get him any..."

[ewancummins]

Dorn stares after the runaway wagon.
''Oh! I'm in for at least a month of extra duty if we don't get that back!"

[ewancummins]

The outlander knight laughs, forgetting for a moment the cart is charging off into the distance.

"You think your fellow needs help?" He says looking towards Benn and Klokulf.

"Most Vaasi are superb horsemen," says Klokulf, surveying the situation, "But I always preferred using my own feet. He will be better off without my aid."

He approaches the edge of the road, looking for Alwina. "Are you alright?" he queries.

Alwina dusts herself off.
''I'm not hurt.'' She goggles at the armored carcass on the road.
''What is that thing?"

[ewancummins]

As the others look on from the stone highway, Alain brings the horses under control, slowing the team to a walk before turning and
driving back toward the road.

Dorn sighs, wiping his sweaty face.
''Oh, good! I was worried they'd bust the wagon, hurt themselves and Alain. "
The young soldier turns toward Raen, ''Hey, speaking of hurt, are you okay? It looks like that monster ate half your clothes!"
Dorn crouches, hands on knees, and squints at Raen's ripped undergarments and exposed skin. ''I don't see any big wounds, just scratches. How do you feel?"

Raen’s injuries amount to nothing more than minor bruises and scrapes.
A hasty search of the monster’s burrow reveals a gory, splintered femur, which Dorn suggests came from a horse or mule.
Kat spots something shiny in the landshark’s bloody vomit on the road— a bejeweled golden necklace tangled in a crushed and partly dissolved ribcage. These semi-digested bones look like those of a small human or demi-human.

Moving the wagon back onto the road on the far side of the sunken, dug-up area where the monster had lain in wait, the group travels on a short way before Dorn stops to let the horses rest.
The youth unharnesses the two draught animals, rubs them down, feeds them turnips, and waters them. He comments to no one in particular, “They didn’t like to be near the stink of that thing. I don’t blame them. Ugh! It puked out a nasty mudslide.”

The stop allows time for the party to rest, do something about Raen’s ripped clothes (change or hasty repair), drink water, and chat a bit.

Kat learns—as do the others who listen in as she draws Dorn into talking at some length—a bit more about the situation and recent history of the Protectorate.
It seems there was a kingdom called Cormyr that ruled these lands. It’s broken up into lesser states now. Over forty years ago, the boy-king and his aunt, a famous war-leader, vanished in a strange fog that stole away most of the folk in the city of Marsember. Dorn is not a historian and doesn’t know exactly how things played out. There was a civil war. He does know that Sembia sent settlers and soldiers into this region, formerly East Cormyr, during a time of anarchy and monster raids when he was just a boy. Things are better now that the lady Governor rules, but there’s been some trouble with “nobs who want their old lands back, and titles and stuff.”
One the horses are harnessed again and the party’s back in the wagon for the ride, Dorn sets the team to pulling west down the Way of the Manticore.

About noon, they spot an outrider headed toward them at a good long distance. Behind the rider, a freight wagon with what look like men in it.
When the outrider advances to meet the party’s wagon a while later, he keeps his right hand near his sword hilt but makes no menacing moves. The man slowly wipes trail dust from his suntanned, mustachioed face. More grit clings to the front of his armored jack. His bay shuffles under him, sniffing the breeze from the east. Sunlight glints from the brass horn slung on his saddle-bow
“Well met! I'm riding ahead of a repair crew. Did you see damage to the east? We’d report of a sunken section, broken pavement.”
He eyes the party with obvious interest.
“Who are you people, anyway?”

[alhoon]

Dorn sighs, wiping his sweaty face.
''Oh, good! I was worried they'd bust the wagon, hurt themselves and Alain. "
The young soldier turns toward Raen, ''Hey, speaking of hurt, are you okay? It looks like that monster ate half your clothes!"
Dorn crouches, hands on knees, and squints at Raen's ripped undergarments and exposed skin. ''I don't see any big wounds, just scratches. How do you feel?"

Raen’s injuries amount to nothing more than minor bruises and scrapes.

Raen is not too happy with the situation but doesn't take his frustration out on the youth. "I feel exposed and I don't have the spells to fix this mess. Can I have a cloak to at least be more decent?"

Once the rider approaches, he remains silent and tries to keep modest.

[ewancummins]

Dorn sighs, wiping his sweaty face.
''Oh, good! I was worried they'd bust the wagon, hurt themselves and Alain. "
The young soldier turns toward Raen, ''Hey, speaking of hurt, are you okay? It looks like that monster ate half your clothes!"
Dorn crouches, hands on knees, and squints at Raen's ripped undergarments and exposed skin. ''I don't see any big wounds, just scratches. How do you feel?"

Raen’s injuries amount to nothing more than minor bruises and scrapes.

Raen is not too happy with the situation but doesn't take his frustration out on the youth. "I feel exposed and I don't have the spells to fix this mess. Can I have a cloak to at least be more decent?"

Once the rider approaches, he remains silent and tries to keep modest.

Dorn lends his cloak to Raen.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

Klokulf begins his prayer regimen, relying on others to handle the conversation.

[alhoon]

Covered by the cloak Dorn has graciously offered Raen, and thanking the man with a nod, Raen moves closer to the discussion hoping his "unique" clothing options wouldn't violate some dress code. In case he gets curious looks, he would just shrug apologetically and whisper "Trouble on the road."

[kintire]

Kat deftly secures the golden necklace for later examination, then grins at Raen.

"It could be worse. Maybe some of us are enjoying the view!"

As the outrider approaches she steps forward.

"We are adventurers, good sir, on an errand to the Governor. We have just slain a... land shark which damaged the road indeed, but you may wish to be wary going forward. there may be more about."