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Zelaz moves to the front of the raft and stands, staring downriver.

Day 9, Asanda River, about 80 miles upstream from the village of Pramayama, midday

Roughly a week has passed since you began your journey up the river. The crowded raft, the still and foul waters of the river, and the barren grasslands on either side of it, have become your world. Tension and boredom have become your constant companions. The settlements have become fewer and further between as you make your way northwest, ever closer to the great Salt Swamp, and beyond that the Sind Desert. Sometimes a feeble breeze fills your sail; most days it's up to Pormas to pole the raft forward. Harsh as the environment has been, and though the dangers of the mission have been at the forefront of your minds, your bodies have managed to heal during the journey.

Once or twice per day, you pull the raft ashore, to give yourselves and your mounts a chance to disembark, stretch their legs and drink some fresh water. Tasrem discovered, the hard way, that neither the river water, nor the fish that live in it, are safe for human consumption. Sometimes you're lucky enough to find a clean stream that feeds into the river. Sometimes Roikos conjures up some food and water with his magic.

It is after one such stop, as Pormas as guiding the raft back toward the center of the river, that you hear, and feel, a knocking sound from underneath the raft. The vessel lifts ever so slightly out of the water, but not enough for you to lose your footing. This time. Pormas casts a worried glance at the deck, and then at you.

Aristide 44/44
--Max 19/19
Tasrem 11/15
Taranna 34/34
Zelaz 15/15
Sir Joffrey 51/51
--Zephyr 15/19
Roikos 50/50
--Peny 16/16

Actions?

ROIKOS: Cleric

"Pormas! What is this?" Roikos asks the rafter in a quiet but stern voice.

"Huh, I guess the raft is not sliding on a rock?" says Tasrem, half amused and half worried.

"Search me," Pormas says.

The raft grinds to a halt, as if it struck a sandbar, the sudden motion nearly knocking you off your feet.

What appear to be three mottled boulders start rising out of the water, surrounding the vessel, one right in front of you. Then a pair of tree logs break the surface, then another, then another.

As the logs click together, you realize that these aren't boulders and trees.

You're surrounded by three giant crabs! And they're looking to make a meal out of you. Or, at least your horses and camels.

Actions?

Zelaz casts charm monster on one of the crabs!

ooc: Yeah, we're doing this!

greyarea wrote:Zelaz casts charm monster on one of the crabs!

ooc: Yeah, we're doing this!

Heh heh. I knew you'd be excited about this encounter. Assuming you survive this one, and the next one, we'll finally have gotten past where we got to the last time I ran this adventure. I must confess I've gone a lot lighter on the descriptions and role-playing than I did the previous time, although sometimes I've copied and pasted passages from the other game right into this one. Soon I won't have that option, and I'll have to step it up and get creative again.

It's too bad Kevin's not in on this adventure. I'm sure he'd have all kinds of fun with references to crabs.

Steve

Edit: Oops. This was supposed to be a PM to Paul. No matter, I've got nothing to hide.

Aristide - Thief

OOC: Dang, yup - Kevin is missing some classic material here.

IC: Aristide jumps up and grabs his sword, casting a worried glance at the others. He pats Max reassuringly on his furry head and says "He'll have to eat me first, old buddy." And he stands waiting for the crabs to make their move.

Taranna

Taranna will unload a lightning bolt into whichever is closest to her.

Joffrey

Joffrey claps Aristide on the shoulder...

"And they'll have to get by me before you!"

Then steps in front of the thief to face the threat.