The Cockatrice of the Woods
After the negotiations, both groups retired to their camps. Talk was largely of the implications of the treaty and the execution of its terms. Sildar sat down and drafted an official wording of the treaty several times, sending it to the hobgoblin camp and receiving one in return. By the next morning the treaty was fully written and agreed by both parties. It was signed into effect.
With the treaty business done, our groups split ways. Kronk decided he was better off heading back to town to help Sildar and the townsfolk with this new chapter of Phandalin's growth. Heartfelt goodbyes were said and Kronk passed on the Crystal of Locating and wand of Magic Missiles.
Captain Bloodsword greeted the party and introduced them to Spear Rovu Sunbelt. An outstanding soldier and representative of all that is good in hobgoblin culture, Rovu is being assigned to aid the newly allied Heroes of Phandalin. He will be your authorized guide if you ever need to pass through Cragmaw lands.
With that, the hobgoblins cleaned up their camp and marched back into the forest. The Phandalin group (including Gundren and Kronk) headed back towards Phandalin as well.
Our party decided their best action here was to take up Captain Bloodsword on his hints that Lhupo the Red-axe should meet an unfortunate end. They set off into the forest on a direct path. Between Stuu and Rovu the party was pretty sure they were moving in the quickest way they could find.
Later that day the party felt they were getting close to their destination. They came upon a White Giant Elk standing in a small clearing, ready to spring away. Remembering all they could about these magnificent creatures, the party realized that such a specimine often means a Feywild crossing is nearby, or that a druidic sacred site is at hand.
Stuu decides he wants to approach it carefully. He calmly and steadily closes the distance, the Elk never flinches but remains coiled ready to leap away. As Stuu gets closer he realizes slowly but surely that this elk isn't moving at all.
It's a statue.
The party gathers round and examines this exquisitely carved statue and finds several oddities. Namely that they think this is actually a Giant Elk that was turned to stone, but perhaps in an incomplete manner. Basilisks, Gorgon, Medusa, Cockatrice all possess this ability. They try healing the statue and notice several gouges in its 'flesh' close up, but the stone remains.
Resigned to make camp here and try to break whatever binds it in the morning, the party sets up a small camp. Hada decides he wants to track where the Elk came from and moves a little ways away from camp. Through the brush he sees the familiar sight of a threatening Owlbear.
After attempting to get a reaction out of the owlbear, the party is suspicious that it's another statue and moves closer to investigate. As they do so they're attacked by a massive Cockatrice and its nest-mates.
A quick scrappy battle later, half a dozen dead cockatrice litter the forest floor around them.
An account of the battle, as chronicled by Hada Freeblade #
Creeping toward the frozen Owl Bear, Torrfig and Hada begin to see it has suffered the same fate as the white elk. Out the corner of Torrfig's eye he spots...a head. A massive head with a red frow and beak sharp as steel rises from one of the bluffs nearby. A Cockatrice, such as the party had assumed was the culprit of the petrified beasts nearby. Careful to not startle the Cockatrice, Torfig and Hada began to slowly back away while not breaking eye contact. This however made them unaware of the rocky terrain behind them.
Hada stumbled along side Torrifig and they both fell to the ground. Shortly after, a deathly screech sounded and the beating of wings soon followed. The Cockatrice was coming. Eager to defend its nest, the cockatrice stormed up to Torrfig and Hada towering over them ready to pounce.
From the back of the field Stuu and Rovu herd the screech and beating of wings and assumed the worst. Rushing toward the sound of the commotion, they saw the source. Stuu, seeing his comrades beneath the mighty cockatrice left fly a volley of steel death. His aim, impeccable. Bolt after bolt pierced the beasts fictile feathers.
Reeling in pain, it turned its attention toward Stuu and in a bout of rage let out a cry that could pierce thru stone. Quick to cover his ears, Hada avoided the deafening cry. Torrfig however was not so quick to react and quickly felt his muscles sieze unable to grab his ears in pain. With that cry the Cockatrice took flight and headed toward Stuu. While in flight, similar calls came from the surrounding cliffs. Lesser beasts flew down from their roosts in attempts to claw at Torrfig, Hada and Rovu. Rovu quickly dispatched of one and then Stuu let fly another volley, pinning one to the cliff face.
Ready dive toward Stuu, the Cockatrice narrowed its sight. Just as the beast was about to plummet, Hada bit into his hand, the blood shooting toward the beast and paralyzing it mid flight. It falls.
Torrfig shaking off his paralysis quakes with rage! His eye glow blue the sky grows dark! "Valkur, protect us!!!" Just then a blue bolt of lighting cracks through the air, striking the tail of the Cockatrice singeing it clean off. It cries in pain.
Rovu, seeing the anger of Torrfig, helps defend him from the lesser beasts so he can concentrate on the Giant Cockatrice. Turning toward a group of the beats, Rovu extends his arms outward with his palms facing the enemy. Just then his hands glow red and the air begins to burn! A cone of fire erupts from his palms, incinerating the beats that are heading for Torrfig.
Badly beaten the beast crashes to the ground. In a final attempt to protect its nest, it lashes out once more, missing Stuu by a hair. Torfigg, not yet satisfied, cries to the heavens again and lighting strikes the beast dead. All that remained was the lesser cockatrice, those were sure to be of no trouble for the party.
