Monday Recap: Inclined Pain

Daring, Dashing, Caring and Clashing

Hello everyone! It's Makayla again, bringing you another recap of Jandar's Lions. It's been a bit since the last recap... But let's not worry about that for now and get back to the adventure!

(Jon here. Apologies for this coming out on Tuesday! I didn't get a chance to edit it until today. However, it's a great adventure that is definitely worth it.)

This story is part 5 of a series. The campaign is ongoing.
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Jandar's Lions: Inclined Pain

Jandar's Lions Crew:
Makayla: Dungeon Master
Jon: Captain Jandar Monroe, Human Paladin, Captain of "The Golden Duchess," Explorer of the Horizon (As of 2 weeks ago), tries not to kill things.
Wes: Barry the Basher, Mountain Dwarf Barbarian, has many memories of his mother, superb angler, can't write.
Tom: "Barth" Perth, Human Rogue, likes to challenge Jandar with moral quandaries, can't take a hit or drink alcohol.
Shannon: Otaroinae “A’ro’wan” Kalepeach, Water Genasi-Halfling Coast Druid, thoroughly enjoys being in and around water, likes to 'kelp' people.
NPCs: Lin and Dekkard: High Elf Blade Bard and Mountain Dwarf Eldritch Knight, First-Mate and Purser, respectively. Jandar's Friends.

When we last left off, our heroes were in the Elven port city of Jium searching for adventure. The morning after Otaroinae's kidnapping, Jandar gathered his crew and they resolved to find adventure by checking around at any of the local merchant guilds. The group eventually came across a guild that was to send out a caravan the next morning into the mountains, and they were looking to hire adventurers to help protect them from a group of bandits that were known to be on the path ahead.

After some quick preparations and purchasing items in the market, the group was ready at dawn the next day to set off with the caravan. After Jandar met with the leader of the caravan, Ailluin Maghorn, and discussing some basic information, the group set off.

The slight rain in the morning did not dampen the group's spirits as they traveled with the caravan. While in the forested area, the group had a run in with a fairy dragon that played a few pranks on them. Otaroinae tried her best to befriend it by playing with it using some water, before it flew off again.

While the caravan rested overnight, the crew took shifts to keep watch and resting. While Otaroinae and Barry were on watch, Otaroinae heard an owlbear and roused Jandar and Barth. After a quick planing discussion, the group decided to enter the forest to try and lure the owlbear in a direction away from the caravan.

Otaroinae used Druidcracft to make a smell of meat in an area where an owlbear appeared to have just passed through. After spying the owl bear, Otaroinae heard another owlbear hoo from some distance away. She then used Entangle to attempt to ensnare the owlbear, while Barth and Jandar fired arrows at the owlbear. The group launched another volley of projectiles at the owlbear, enraging it. The owlbear came up and pecked Jandar in the chest, while Jandar drew his rapier and used Divine Strike on the owlbear, hurting it a significant amount and exclaiming "Do not impede our journey!"

Barth managed to shoot an arrow into the owlbear's paw while Barry brought his hammer down on the owlbear's skull, finally killing it. Otaroinae and Jandar both cast Cure Wounds on Jandar while Barry set up a hunting trap. Barth climbed into a tree and prepared to attack again with his bow when the second owlbear appeared.

Barth managed to get off a solid shot while the rest of the group hid, and Jandar attempted to shoot at it with his crossbow. The owlbear ended up activating Barry's hunting trap, restricting it to a tree. Otaroinae turned into a panther and prepared to pounce at the owlbear. Barry pushed forward and hammered it with his maul, causing it to turn around and peck and slashed at him with it's claws. Barth dropped down onto the owlbear and buried his rapier into it's backside while Otaroinae pounced on it. Jandar ran up and lays his hands on Barry, healing him. The owlbear failed to shake off Barth, but it was shaking to vigorously for Barth to hit it. Jandar prepared a Divine Strike again, feeling a large surge of power flow into his sword as it glowed brighter than it had ever before. He thrust his rapier into the owlbear, causing a burst of light, and the owlbear collapsed shortly thereafter.

Looks like he couldn't bear it at owl

The group gathered themselves as Otaroinae turned back into her normal self, and they set to work taking what they could of the spoils. After heading back to the caravan's camp, the group finished their night watch and rested as the night passed in peace.

The following morning, Ailluin Maghorn came over to the group after noticing that they had an owlbear pelt and thanked them, saying that his mind was at ease for having such strong traveling companions with the caravan. The travel was quiet overall for a while, with only mountain goats around for the next few days.

In the afternoon of the 4th day, Jandar and Otaroinae noticed a few rocks coming down from an area on a slope to their right, and they were able to make out a few hidden figures behind some rocks up higher on the slope. Jandar asked "Are you friend or foe?", to which one of the figures responded with an attack order.

Otaroinae started off by casting Entangle on the middle group of bandits. Barth and Jandar shot a few bolts and arrows at the bandit groups, managing to down one bandit, while Barry sets up a bear trap in front of one of the side groups. The bandits entangled at the top of the slope slowly started helping each other out of the entangling seaweed. Otaroinae and Jandar engaged the group of bandits at the front of the caravan, while Barry and Barth engaged the group at the back of the caravan. One of the bandits was so unobservant that he ended up in Barry's bear trap.

Otaroinae and Jandar are surrounded by bandits and fail their attempts to hit them. Barth and Barry managed to get a good few hits in on their side, knocking out the bandit in the bear trap. When Jandar finally landed a hit, he knocked another bandit out and tried to perceive if the bandit that he dropped with an arrow was doing okay.

Barth dropped a bandit, and Otaroinae managed to Poison Spray one of the bandits. Jandar knocked him out immediately afterwards. Barry and Jandar then both took some hard hits from the bandits. Otaroinae recast entangle on the middle group, but only the one that hadn't been freed yet was restrained again. Barry hammered another bandit unconscious with his hammer, and the caravan guards managed to do enough damage to take out one of the bandits on Barth and Barry's side. Barth then proceeded to brutally back-stab the final bandit on that side through the neck, outright killing him.

Otaroinae Poison Sprayed another bandit, while Barry tried to intimidate the remaining bandits higher on the slope that were starting to flee back up to the top. Jandar knocked one of the two remaining bandits unconscious, and had everyone surround the final bandit. Jandar began interrogating him, and eventually convinced him that honest work is better over all.

The crew went around, rousing the bandits that were unconscious while Barry gave the two that died a proper burial. Jandar managed to convince all but one that honest work is the answer. He then had Barth and Barry intimidate the one that absolutely wouldn't listen to reason into at least coming with them to show him that honest work is better than banditry.

After a long day, the group took a well earned rest. Barth, who had killed someone, was told not to drink alcohol, so he imbibed instead. The following morning, Otaroinae was awake first and was outside looking around at the scenery of the mountainous landscape when she noticed two monstrous bird like shapes circling overhead. She decided to wake Jandar and have him take a look. After Jandar and Otaroinae confirmed that these were not birds, but were a monstrous creature they could not identify (Peryton), Jandar went and tried to rouse Barth and Barry and went back outside.

They are not your friends

After returning outside the tent, one of the two Peryton swooped down and tried to attack Jandar. Barry sleepily walked out of the tent with his hammer. while Barth was struggling to get up due to being exhausted after imbibing too much alcohol. Otaroinae managed to cast Create Water over the Peryton and soaked it's feathers, forcing it to land. Jandar used Ensnaring Strike to cover the Peryton in magical ice vines. It failed to hit Jandar with it's horns, but managed to kick Otaroinae hard. Barth walks out of the tent with only his bow and fires an arrow at the creature. Meanwhile, the other Peryton dove down and attacked somewhere else on the caravan.

Jandar told everyone but Barry to go to the other side of the caravan, while Barry was left to smash the grounded Peryton. Otaroinae threw an Ice Knife at the Peryton before heading over to the other part of the caravan that was being attacked. Barry brought his hammer down on the semi-frozen Peryton while the others took off towards the other side of the caravan. Barth and Jandar shot an arrow and a bolt respectively at the second Peryton.

Otaroinae cast Cure Wounds on one of the two guards fighting off the other Peryton. Said Peryton pecked the other guard, and he dropped to the ground. Berry once again brought the hammer down on the Peryton he was fighting and managed to kill it. Jandar finally reached the other Peryton and used Ensnaring Strike and Divine Strike at the same time to begin his attack against the remaining Peryton. Otaroinae turned into a spider and prepared to attack, while Barry dashed over to join up with Jandar and Otaroinae. Barth meanwhile walked over casually, knocking another arrow and shooting the Peryton from a ways back. Jandar and Otaroinae, now a spider, continued their attack against the Peryton, however the guard that Otaroinae healed managed to get in a good solid strike on it, finally bringing it down.

The group continued their travels, healing the few wounds that they took. In the afternoon, there was singing heard coming from down the slope to the caravan's left side. Three harpies flew up out of the valley. Otaroinae cast Ice Knife at two of the harpies who then began singing. Barth, Barry and Jandar ended up getting charmed by the harpies and were forced to walk and fall a short way down the slope trying to get closer to the harpies. The harpies then tried to claw at Jandar and Barry. Jandar eventually broke free from the harpy that charmed him, grasped and plunged his rapier into it, killing it. Otaroinae and the elven archers managed to kill off the other two harpies with a moonbeam and arrows.

After a long day of being attacked by flying creatures, the group breathed a sigh of relief as they finally spotted the village they were bringing supplies to. After arriving in the village of Sunjao, Jandar decided to visit the Sunjao monastery to talk to one of the samurai leaders. A female samurai named Seere Utoren met with Jandar over tea and explained briefly about the workings of the monastery.

Jandar then remembered something important and dug into his bag...

And pulled out a puzzle box and asked, "What do you know about this box?"

The coolest elf samurai

And that's where I'll end the recap. There was some other stuff that happened, but I'll put it in next time because this felt like a good spot to deliver a cliffhanger, especially after all the mountains they traversed and nearly were charmed into walking off of.

Apologies for this being posed so late... Life gets in the way of many things at times.

Thanks for reading!