Back in the wilderness
The last session ended with a very informative talk with Lieutenant Kampf. After a short visit to Hein Mück, the lighthouse keeper of Fichtenstein harbour, and a restful night, our four are ready for the next tasks.
They decide to go back to the harbour first and then decide what to do next. This decision turns out to be rather foolish half an hour later, when they decide to gather the ingredients for the potion for Rosvita first. In addition to the oysters, which Aldric has already stolen, they also need parrot eggs. However, the local parrots live on the Green Cliffs of Telz, and to get there they would either have to go back up the mountain and take the long detour via Fichtenstein. They would also risk getting too close to the Chiraque residence, which they are not yet comfortable with. . Although climbing is a bit of an exaggeration here, as it is more of a steep ascent that has to be tackled on foot. So they opt for the shorter and quicker option and start climbing. While Aldric, Löwenzahn and even little Theo have no trouble making their way up the slope, Kel Tuh Las has much more trouble. One critical mistake later, he slips on the rocks and hits his face on a ledge without braking. Groaning, he gets to his feet and holds his aching face. He immediately realises that something must be broken, and Aldric uses his medical expertise to diagnose the injury as a broken cheekbone. As a result, Kel will receive double damage for hits to the head until he fully recovers in four weeks. Completely annoyed and with his face contorted in pain, Kel Tuh Las struggles up the mountain without any accidents until they finally reach the top a few hours later.
Now it’s time to take a break and catch our breath. Aldric also takes another look at Kel’s wound and, with the help of Löwenzahn, they are able to treat it a little better, reducing the healing time to three weeks. That makes Kel feel a bit more positive, but he’s still not a big fan of climbing. At least they are at the top now and can continue their hike to the green cliffs of Telz. The way there is unspectacular, but when they reach their destination, they are still impressed. Mighty cliffs rise several hundred metres into the depths, and the roaring sea smashes its waves against the greenish rocks with tremendous force. Flocks of parrots circle above the cliffs and occasionally plunge into the roaring water.
After a short period of silent admiration, the four realise that the parrots do not fly to the mainland to reach their nests. Instead, they seem to be nesting in the middle of the cliffs. This doesn’t sit well with Kel in particular, who has just had some excellent climbing experience. So they decide to tie a rope around the lightest of them, the halfling Theo, with the strong Löwenzahn and Kel Tuh Las holding on to it. Aldric accompanies Theo as far as he can to the edge of the cliff, to help him climb down and hopefully back up again. Theo almost dances down the cliff with astonishing skill, and is once again happy to have invested a few skill points in acrobatics. With a variety of eggs in his luggage, he is back on the cliff in no time, proudly displaying them. To breed his own parrot, Aldric quickly puts one of the eggs in his pocket before moving on.
Your next destination is the marshes of Telzer Bog. It is said to be home to creepy crawlies, some of whose legs you will need as the final ingredient for Rosvita’s love potion. So they criss-cross the Telzer Marsh until they suddenly hear noises in a small stream ahead of them. They discover two adult caterpillars with three little cubs. Roaring, Löwenzahn and Kel pounce on the surprised family, while Aldric diligently shoots arrow after arrow under the crawlers’ thick armour plates. Meanwhile, Theo looks for an ambush from which to launch his most powerful surprise attack. Unfortunately, there aren’t many ambushes around at the moment, especially in the middle of a battle. And before his three colleagues do all the work themselves, Theo takes pity on them and attacks once or twice with his dagger. The four of them don’t really have any problems, as the crawlers are well armoured, but otherwise not really dangerous. After splitting one or two more bodies, Kel cuts off the legs of the creepers with a powerful swing of his magic axe. Satisfied with their progress, our four heroes look at each other and decide to find a quieter spot to set up camp for a short break. Whether they’ll be able to enjoy their rest here in the wilderness, or whether they’ll be attacking the relatives of the recently killed brown crab family in a few minutes’ time, you won’t know for another two weeks in Arkanthia Pen and Paper.
