User blog:ATK1734/The Intrepid Tales of Brazen Storm - Volume 1: The Curse of Umbrygal, Chapter 5

The following morning, the party decided to stock up on supplies before setting out from Byroden. Hathonier bargained with de Rolo, the Tavern Keeper for Healing Potions, haggling successfully for the prototype potions and the head of a Colossus from the Glass Waters (even learning his origins as an adopted child of Percival and Vex’ahlia); and Luna purchased some navigational equipment, attempting some negotiations of her own…with much less success.

With their preparations made, and their immediate goal being some town two days away, the party set out towards the south-east.

Fenrir, flanking his teammates from the trees, spies a large blue, lizard-like creature that he identifies as: a Glavios. However, knowing the creature’s inherent nature, Fenrir assures the party that they creature will not attack them (much to Luna’s dismay, longing for a pair of lizard skin boots to accompany her croc-skin garments).

Later that day, as the party set up to rest, Fenrir found a gravely wounded squirrel that he brought back to perform an experiment on. He placed the creature inside the Magical Shrinking Fortress and shrunk it to its pocket-sized form; as they opened the fortress back up, Fenrir was elated to learn that the creature still lived (though he promptly broke its neck, preparing to eat it). As Hathonier watched on, Dilista and Luna both noticed the Glavios from before mere feet from them. The Half-Elf startled the creature with a shout of surprise, which caused the lizard to roar in retaliation, scaring all save Hathonier and Dilista to paralysis.

Despite his teammates frightened pleas, Hathonier attempted to reason with the Glavios, learning that he sought not to eat them but find his little squirrel friend. With some luck and deception, Hathonier is able to persuade the Glavios to take the squirrels body and go in peace.

Though pleased with his diplomatic skill, Fenrir admonished the Paladin for his arrogance for gambling with their lives and Luna told him off for wasting her chance at Lizard skin boots, much to Hathonier’s chagrin.

Continuing their journey, the party was set upon by a Tusked, Frog-creature; however, the party got the drop on their attacker as Dilista paralyzed it with insults, while Luna and Hathonier riddled it with bullets and arrows, respectively.

After defeating the creature, the party spent the next hour harvesting: meat, skin, and its tusks. However, they were soon set upon by a secondary attacker: a Rathalos-wyvern. Fenrir and Luna fled back into the fortress, while Hathonier and Dilista tried diplomacy again…but no parleying words would reach the feral beast.

As Dilista retreated into the Fortress, arrogance overtook the Half-Elf Paladin again as he charged the creature; Fenrir coming to his aid. However, the wyvern proves too strong an adversary against the already spent adventurers. Soon all-party members retreated to the safety of Fenrir’s Magically Shrinking Fortress to lick their wounds from their first retreat…and Hathonier, as the most injured, was forced to face an important lesson of arrogance and pride.