Entering Blackspell

[Todd Spengo]

Zaid agrees.

"At least we've confirmed that they like the fish."

What does Zaid's trap skill say about making something using the fish as bait? Maybe some kind of covered pit trap or something else?

[drpete]

Rego seems very excited about your having killed this crab, and shaken by the experience. He suggests taking it home and eating it, unless you have another idea.

Zaid:

trapping will let you build something like a covered pit trap with fish in or on it for bait, sure. That's exactly what it's for, and you can trap something up to elephant size in it. Crabs won't fall in, or can climb out if it's not built correctly. It would need to be fairly big to hold one, and take a while to dig, and some shovels. You could also probably rig up some kind of snare that would grab it, or a big rock/cord of wood that would fall/roll onto them. They definitely seemed interested in the fish, bait wise.

[Todd Spengo]

Zaid:

"I think I can rig up some sort of crab trap. Perhaps a snare or deadfall. Perhaps more than one. A pit might work too but it would have to be wide and fairly deep and there's a good chance the crabs might crawl out or fail to drop in."

He scratches his head. "Ultimately, I think the key is that really giant crab. We must take her down."

Now that Zaid's had first-hand experience, does his naturalism reveal anything about the crabs?

[drpete]

Zaid realizes that these crabs seem like "natural" giant animals, and they would probably be susceptible to his music. They are not very intelligent. They likely can't feed themselves for long exclusively from this cove, but they must be living in a nearby (underwater?) cave.

[Todd Spengo]

Zaid crouches down and examines the crabs's tracks in the sand.

"This cove cannot alone sustain crabs of this size. They must lair somewhere in the water with access to several places such as this."

He stands up and looks about to see if he can salvage either of the two arrows he earlier shot astray. "I may be able to pacify some of the beasts if I can reach them. And they are not agitated."

Zaid can't use his ability if the crabs are in combat.

[Rodriguez]

Allright... I just want to check out the boat once more and then we can head back with the crab if you want. says Ludwig before riding to the upside-down boat. He will get a branch or some something like that to tie a glowing cloth around it so he can spy into the dark round openings.

[The-Dungeon-Shaker]

"Well then, be on your guard, Ludwig. Heraclides, I think this monster hurt me. I know you have knowledge on these matters, so would you please take a quick look at my wounds? Just in case those exotic crabs infected me with some disease, see?"

[granger44]

I'll go with you Ludwig, says Lucius. When he gets there, Lucius will stand a few feet to the side of the boat keeping an eye out while Ludwig delves into the mystery of the boat.

[drpete]

Ludwig investigates the hole in the boat-like object with the illuminated cloth. He is able to see that the space beneath the boat is actually mostly full. It seems to be covering something with dark, shiny fur that takes up much of the space beneath the hull. There's no sign that whatever it is is moving, it may be a body, or something covered by a furry blanket, from what you can tell.

Heraclides looks Minos over. "I'm actually not a doctor, but you were valiant. Do you know the difference between Athena and Ares? They are both gods of war, you know..." Heraclides talks quietly to Minos as he detaches the warrior's leg armor, to have a look at the wound. "Athena represents fighting with wisdom, and I think this crab's little scratch might remind you that it's not wise to fight these things on their terms..." When he reveals the wound, it's actually not nearly as bad as Minos thought... Just a little scratch. Heraclides wipes some blood off of it, and pats Minos on the shoulder. (Minos is at 23/25 due to Heraclides' laying on hands for 8 HP. Strategy wise, healing spells Will be much more valuable as ways to revive the downed... We don't have a medic in the group).

[PyroArrow]

Erico will help turn the boat over.

[drpete]

You carefully flip the boat/sled over, and find that someone has hidden a large cache of seal furs under it. More than a mere hunter's stash, this might be a staging point for a smuggler, or some dead merchant's haul long forgotten. The top furs are badly damaged by age, but underneath them, the fur seems to be good quality!

There are 9 bundles of seal fur... each bundle has an encumbrance of 3 stone. So that's a LOT of furs, like 300 pounds.

[Rodriguez]

Ludwig opens his visor and scratches a small scar besides his nose.
Now that was unexpected. Might be worth a few coins, eh Erico?

[PyroArrow]

Erico says:
"A few coins indeed! We can buy supplies with the coin from this haul!"

[drpete]

Minos (at least) can see that this haul might be worth about 130 gold, but it would be hard to hide, and subject to a tax when brought into town Erico might be able to get it into town unnoticed, but that, and finding a buyer, would take time. (this pile of furs is effectively a "load" of furs, and if you want to sell it, we'd do it through that system... Taxes, looking to find buyers over an extended period, etc)

[The-Dungeon-Shaker]

Minos looks after their halfling employer.

"Hey Rego, know someone who would be interested in those furs? Yourself, maybe? We could agree on a fair price."

[granger44]

Lucius gives a slight smirk at Minos's mercantile banter as he maintains his lookout.

[drpete]

Rego smiles at Minos. "I might be able to find a buyer, but it's not my main business... Tell you what, bring them back to town for me, and when you solve the crab problem, I'll give you an extra 100 gold. As your employer, I've got a stake in our find, no?"

[Todd Spengo]

Zaid will begin excavating a spiked pit trap between the campsite and the beach. He uses whatever implements are at hand.

[granger44]

Seeing that not a lot is happening near the furs and seeing Zaid starting work at the campsite, Lucius will move to the rise near the campsite and starting keeping a lookout from there.

[drpete]

As Lucius and Zaid start to work on the pit, the others notice another group of 6 giant crabs amble up on the beach, about 100 yards from the furs, and a further 50 yards from the fire/pit area. These crabs are also ambling along slowly, oblivious to the party at the other end of the beach.