Ep. 27 Trials and Tribulations Chapter Three

## Listen

Ep 27 Trials and Tribulations Chapter Three

—William Shakespeare

The fun adventure through the jungles of Xen'drik turn sour when the party is attacked by some wereboars.

## Synopsis

### *"Ladies and gentlemen, our guide."*

Beric, Dex, and Therudak walk through the Xen'drik jungle, Sam guiding them. After about four hours of walking they come across a large strip of iridescent mucus looking stuff on the ground. Sam, distracted by trying to keep them on the correct path, walks over it. They point it out to him and he kneels down and touches it and tells them it's from a flail snail. They walk over it carefully and keep on their way.

As they walk, Beric pulls out Curse-Bringer and asks if anything is familiar. The sword tells him so far it's just regular jungle to him - where he was created was near the southeast section of the island, where it's a bit rockier and more mountainous.

Suddenly, on top of each of them a constrictor snake drops and starts coiling around their necks. Dex changes into a bear and move towards Sam, knowing their guide is squishy and will need help taking care of the snake. Therudak also ignores the snake on his and moves closer to Sam. The snakes head falls of with one swing.

Beric *Misty Steps* out of his snake and casts *Guiding Bolt* from the amulet at the snake around Dak's neck. The snake explodes with the energy and Dak is covered in snake goo. The snake he left behind starts slithering towards him and crawls up his leg.

The snake on the bear drops of and heads for Therudak, but Dak manages to avoid it. Dex runs towards Beric and claws at the snake, missing Beric's face by inches, and the pieces of the snake fall down. Dex looks at Beric and gives him another of those classic St. Bernard smirks.

Dak swings at the last of them and slices its head right off. He mentions how they cook up pretty good and collects some to take with him.

### *"Kill me."*

It's nearing the end of the day, the sun is setting, and everyone hears muttering and shouting as a figure comes onto the trail, panting heavily. He's wearing robes of a cleric of the Silver Flame and panting heavily. Beric steps up to him and the man begs Beric to kill him. Beric hesitates and tries to get clarification, but the cleric's answer turns into a scream as tusks grow from his jaw. Someone screams behind Beric and he turns to see Dex transforming into a bear, clearly not of his own choosing. He turns back to the cleric and swings Curse-Bringer at him.

Dex manages to keep control of his mind, despite not being able to stay in his human form, and claws at the cleric. The wereboar goes for the closest target - Beric. He feels corruption from the wound but his body manages to fight it off, and he swings right back at the boar. Dex claws again at the boar and smells something approaching from the west. Therudak hits the boar hard and he's thrown back and knocked against a tree. His head cracks and he crumples down to the ground and he slowly turns back into a human.

Two wereboars run out from the trees and see that their plaything has been killed, and go to attack Beric and Dak, missing both times. Beric places his Hexblade's Curse on one and attacks with Curse-Bringer. Dex and Dak both get hits in and the one on Dak misses. He tries to riposte but cuts himself instead and drops his greatsword to the ground. Beric keeps backing away from the boar, hacking at it as he does.

Dex had been managing to stay in control of his actions, but finally loses control to the bear. He attacks one of the boars, sinking his teeth into its shoulder. Beric sidesteps through the gore and stabs his sword into the boar's hairy back. With one paw, Dex knocks a boar out of the way and pounces at Therudak, clawing at him. Therudak picks up with sword and attacks the boar.

*"Being a lycanthrope is all fun and games, until you murder your friends!"
—Philip*
### Beric gets tusked

The boar Beric is fighting tusks him, and he feels the corruption seep into his bloodstream. Being of the Silver Flame he knows exactly what just happened, but there's a fight going on so he continues to try to kill the boar. He underhands Curse-Bringer and drives it down through its neck.

Sam sees what's just happened to Beric and turns off the trail, sprinting into the forest and calls back to make camp if they live. Beric goes over to the cleric and casts Cure Wounds on him. He opens his eyes and asks what's happening, to which Beric looks pointedly at his chest and says it's not going well. Dex is able to regain control and dashes off into the woods, climbing a tree when he's a good distance away. The hybrid form is starting to take over on the cleric. Therudak sees Beric's wound and asks the cleric if he can help him. They need wolfsbane - he had some in his pack, but he dropped it trying to run from the wereboars. Beric turns to Therudak and tells him to stay with the priest. He's going to go back and see if he can find the pack. He gives Therudak his silvered spear and starts down the path, casting *Cure Wounds* on himself as he does.

Therudak ties the cleric to the tree, as he's still about to lose control. He manages to make makeshift tourniquets with the ropes and stabilizes the cleric. He seems calmer for a moment, but then the ropes tighten and he begins to bulge and tusks grow. Dex smells a humanoid near him and looks down, seeing Sam frantically gathering plants.

### Drakir do Vrim

Beric is able to stop just short of a blade that swings up to his throat. A drow man looks at him quizzically. In giant, Beric says he means him no harm, and the drow asks why he speaks so strangely. Beric tries switching to elven. The drow tells him he was out hunting and tells Beric his tribe isn't far from here, and there's a shaman who could help his infection. It's about twelve hours south. He'll wait for Beric to get his companions, but not very long.

*"I mean thee not pain."
—Beric*
### Belladonna

After about fifteen or twenty minutes, Sam returns to Therudak with a bushel of plants, panting, and asks where everyone is. Dak shrugs and tells him. Sam tells him the plant is belladonna, an extremely poisonous plant, but it may be able to stave off the lycanthropy. Dak considers for a minute what do to, and decides to look for Beric. After walking through the jungle for a short amount of time, they hear voices talking in a language they can't understand, but they can take one out to be Beric.

Beric tells the drow that he can't just disappear without informing his friends where he's gone, and goes back to look for the group. Meanwhile, Dex has regained some of his control and is able to get himself in hybrid form. He drops to the ground and rushes back to camp, then uses his nose to find where everyone has gone and starts running.

Therudak and Sam hear footsteps walking in front and running from the back. Dak calls out to stop and gets his weapon ready. Dex comes out into the clearing and says he lost control and apologizes to Therudak, then hands him a healing potion. Beric tells them about the shaman. Sam tells him there's another option: the belladonna. It's extremely dangerous but could work.

Beric takes it without thinking and starts walking back towards the drow. His strength fades, and he falls on the path—dead. Therudak and Dex run to him. Dex wheels on Sam and starts yelling at him, and Sam defensively says it was Beric's choice. Dex demands, *"Well what do you have to bring him back?"*

End of episode.

## Spells

* **Beric**
	+ Cure Wounds x2
	+ Guiding Bolt
	+ Misty Step x2 [0:12:28]

## Quotes

"And then we'll be back for the exciting continuation of our three intrepid heroes traveling through the Xen'drik jungle."
"When did Sam become intrepid?"
*—Eric and Philip*

## Trivia

* First time Beric dies.
* First appearance of Drakir; he's played an as NPC.