Eighteenth Session

The session begins the morning after Faran's departure, with a beautiful sunrise, no clouds in the sky, and a day and a half's journey to Thracien still ahead. This makes it strange when Markoris hears a distant thundering sound coming closer through the tall grass on either side of the road. After failed attempts at hiding and coming up with a plan, the party is caught in a STAMPEDE by a HERD OF ANGRY TRICERATOPS, and has to ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!

ROUND ONE
Raul - holds action
Talith - holds action
Markoris - climbs on Talith's back for a better vantage point, holds bow attack out of fear of Alana
Ishaq - casts level three magic missile at the ugliest Triceratops (#2), 11 damage
Alana - advances, casts level two Animal Friendship, charms three Trikes into being friendly
Max - advances, makes animal handling check with mediocre results
Alice - holds action
Celia - casts Toll of the Dead on the wounded dinosaur, 18 damage
Triceratops - we hear a voice! An arrow goes past Celia's head! "DON'T HURT THEM!" A woman emerges from the grass, carrying a bow.
The three charmed trikes come to a halt in front of Alana and stomp with fear, other two keep running past Alana and Max
Sol - very confused, holds turn
Fishboy - gets out of the way of the dinos, yells for group to do the same

ROUND TWO
Raul - moves to right
Talith - moves to right
Markoris - carried along with Talith on her mighty shoulders
Ishaq - holds Charm Person
Alana - asks the lady what's going on - 'it's a stampede obviously, get out of the way'  do they belong to you - 'they don't belong to anybody'
Max - gets out of the way, holds axe attack for next creature to attack a party member, rolls perception check, sees that the dino-ranger has a feathery little raptor companion
Alice - runs over with Talith and the others
Celia - insight check on the ranger, perceives she is surprised and annoyed by party's presence and the dinosaurs getting hurt, casts Guidance on Ishaq
Triceratops - end of initiative

Everyone starts running! The three charmed trikes move in an arc around Alana, chased by the ranger. Alana tries to magically bond with them, but has to settle for petting them. Ishaq perceives that the ranger is a firbolg, a rare and ill-treated people in Raith, and then decides to Charm her just right off the bat.

Peering past where the Triceratops came from, Max perceives that there is something else out there, and there is still a sound of thunder, getting closer. Markoris and Fin can see something BIG, heading toward them at a full run. Fin grabs Raul and everyone basically runs after the ranger, who tells them 'The Red One' is out hunting.

After a couple failed attempts at riding dinosaurs, the Ranger leads them to a ravine they can hide in. The party runs in wtih her and the dinosaurs, who keep running out of the scene. The Ranger's name is Thora, and Ishaq explains to her that the encounter with the triceratops stampede was a misunderstanding. Thora draws them a very memorable picture of the Red One: a T-Rex.

The party now has a dilemma. There is less than an hour left on Ishaq's Charm spell on Thora, and she will likely not be pleased when it wears off. But there is only one way out of the ravine, and it leads to where the Red One will still be hunting until nightfall. The team huddles while Thora heads home to her hut in the ravine, and it's decided that they will stay around and face the ranger over the Rex. Ishaq will apologize for his Charming ways while hiding behind Max, who agrees to be Ishaq's bodyguard on a trial basis until they reach Thracien and agree on hiring terms.

With that decided, Alice, Markoris, Fishboy, Raul, and Talith all go to talk to Thora, while the rest of the party hangs around to keep a watch out for the Red One. Team Thora finds her hut surrounded by animal buddies, including a Triceratops with a bridle. Thora explains that she helps protect animals from local poachers. Markoris pets a chicken with immense skill, instantly befriending the bird.

Meanwhile with Team Watch, after playing dice for a while they realize that there has been no sign of the beast for a while. Max and Ishaq creep into the grass, but Ishaq realizes he can't hear any birds, which they take as a sign that the coast is not yet clear. They return to the ravine, and the party reunites at Thora's hut. The Charm has now expired, and the session ends with the fallout of that spell about to unfold.