Adventure! [IC]

[JNAProductions]

You awake to flames and screams. You can feel the burning heat of a fire nearby, and at least a dozen people are yelling, though you can't make out the words.

What will you do?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ariel draws Longfang (her shortsword, which she keeps under her pillow) and scans her immediate surroundings. Where is she? Are there any people here?

[JNAProductions]

Ariel is in her small home near the eastern outskirts of the village. The sound seems to be coming entirely from the village-for the moment, she is alone.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Alone, good. Ariel puts the sword away and spends a long moment contemplating whether or not to put her armour on. In the end, she decides that it would take too long, and instead throws on her dark coat and walking boots, straps on her weapons and packs up everything she owns into a bag.

She could leave. No one would miss her. She just can't bring herself to run though, this time. Ariel's been here in Greenhollow for more than a year now, and grown quite attached to it. And she's stronger now; she feels... well-rested. Maybe she can help someone in need, start to repay the thousand little debts she owes to all the villagers who have been unwitting accomplices to her game of hide-and-seek?

Ariel heads towards the centre of the village, keeping to shadows where she can and looking out for anyone who might need rescuing.

[JNAProductions]

Roll a stealth check for Ariel, and a perception.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Let's try that again...

Stealth: [roll0]
Perception: [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

Ariel remains hidden, avoiding the notice of the four orcs she can see. In addition, she spots a taller figure in the distance, covered in warts and with hard, knobbly green skin.

[Gorgon_Heap]

It's the same nightmare as always, and the young woman jerks awake, clenching a threadbare old blanket and panting. Her eyes search the tiny hovel and is momentarily confused by the light. She looks at her tiny fireplace and the barely visible embers within. She frowns and looks at the shuttered window. Flickering light pours through the many cracks.

She can still hear the screams.

Sister Esperanza begins shaking despite herself, slowly realizing she isn't trapped in her old nightmare - she's living a new one.

Shaking herself and whispering a prayer for courage, she quickly tears off her nightshirt and replaces it with a more sturdy traveling tunic and then her armor. Her shaky hands fumble with buckles and she tries desperately to ignore the continued shouts as she tugs her long braids out from the chain links and pulls on her outer tunic. She finally slings on her healer’s kit and grabs up her large shield and spear and yanks the rickety door open.

She looks around, searching for danger and immediately seeks out her fellow townsfolk, hoping she won’t actually relive her past.

[JNAProductions]

As she opens the door, an orc rounds the corner and spots her. "Ey! I found a woman!" he shouts, then draws an axe and sets to charging.

[roll0]

[roll1] Your initiatve

[ProudGrognard]

Magurathi
HP7 AC14

Magurathi hasn't really slept for over a year. The night was the perfect time to search for It, as the barriers of reality became more translucent. He does indeed lie in bed and close his eyes. His breath slows down, as everyone else 's, But he does not dream. After the initial nightmares, his intellect rises and crosses the cosmos flying across stars he knows are real, to the very edge of what exists.

And there he finds It. Whispering, barely intelligible, revealing secrets of the eons, glimpses of power even gods would envy.

And Magurathi is there. He listens. He learns.

But the body has its own demands as well. Slowly, the smell of the burning feels his nostrils and then, his mind. Suddenly, reluctantly, Magurathi is torn from the Beyond and he stands up with a start as he realizes that there are voices outside. Donning his armor, taking his secret pouch, he sees that the sounds come from village side. Overcoming his natural -and very pronounced- fear of getting hurt, Magurathi tries to go closer to see what the fuss is about.


Perception I guess? [roll0]
Stealth [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

Magurathi sees a single orc, walking down the street. The orc does not appear to have noticed him.

[Gorgon_Heap]

While seeing the orc was a shock, Esperanza is actually relieved. Not a dragon, then.

She hunkers down and holds the spear in the crook between her body and the shield, bracing it and herself against the towering enemy and allowing his bulk and momentum to impale himself.



Attack [roll0]
Crit check [roll1]
Damage [roll2]


If advantage
Attack [roll3]

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ariel whispers a curse and looks for a good vantage point. The mayor's house towers before her and she resolves to gain its roof.

She will go the long way around, staying out of sight.

[JNAProductions]

The orc charges forward, sidestepping the spear and slashing down with its sword.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Dudeons]

Lucas wakes up, throwing a heavy book off of his face. Burning. Something was wrong. Lucas grabs his overcoat from a nearby peg, strapping on his rapier and parrying dagger and throwing a messenger bag, which held his investigating tools, over his shoulder. He bursts out the door, looking around to figure out just what in the world is happening.

Perception: [roll0]
Stealth?: [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

Three orcs shout when Lucas bursts out, a mingled garble of "There he is! Get 'em!"

You can either roll initiative or enter a Chase.

[Gorgon_Heap]

her body shakes at the huge orc brings its weapon down upon her, and Esperanza thinks she hears something snap. The orc is obviously much more experienced in combat than she is, and taken by surprise as she was, she needs to find allies.

She also needs a moment to cast a healing spell. She thrusts her shield at the orc's face to block its vision and speeds away from him.


Disengage!
Run away!

[Dudeons]

Lucas blinks once as he processes the incoming orcs. Then he turns and runs down the road, looking for alternate routes to detour the orcs.

Are there any narrow paths available, like an alleyway or something?

[ProudGrognard]

Magurathi

Magurathi freezes as he sees the orc. That at least explains the screaming. Frantically, he tries to formulate a plan that would not get him killed.

He waits for the orc to walk down a good distance. He then reaches into the Beyond and calls forth his newfound power, hurling it at the orc.



Waiting for the orc to move as far as possible within the range of Eldrich Blast and then firing, so that the orc cannot reach Magurathi in one turn.

Moving away after blast if the orc starts moving towards Magurathi

EB touch [roll0] dmg [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

her body shakes at the huge orc brings its weapon down upon her, and Esperanza thinks she hears something snap. The orc is obviously much more experienced in combat than she is, and taken by surprise as she was, she needs to find allies.

She also needs a moment to cast a healing spell. She thrusts her shield at the orc's face to block its vision and speeds away from him.


Disengage!
Run away!

The orc staggers for a moment, but then gives chase, trying to catch up to the injured woman.


Lucas blinks once as he processes the incoming orcs. Then he turns and runs down the road, looking for alternate routes to detour the orcs.

Are there any narrow paths available, like an alleyway or something?

Unfortunately no. This is a wide open little hamlet.

The orcs see him and give chase.

Make a Constitution (Athletics) check to outrun them.

[roll0]+2


Magurathi

Magurathi freezes as he sees the orc. That at least explains the screaming. Frantically, he tries to formulate a plan that would not get him killed.

He waits for the orc to walk down a good distance. He then reaches into the Beyond and calls forth his newfound power, hurling it at the orc.



Waiting for the orc to move as far as possible within the range of Eldrich Blast and then firing, so that the orc cannot reach Magurathi in one turn.

Moving away after blast if the orc starts moving towards Magurathi

EB touch [roll0] dmg [roll1]

The orc staggers, injured, but sees Magurathi and gives chase, closing nearly a third of the distance in one quick spurt of speed.

[JNAProductions]

Ariel reaches the mayor's home, running swiftly and silently. She almost has a few run-ins with orcs, but manages to avoid them.

When she arrives, the home is empty.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ariel heads to the roof if possible. If not, an upstairs window will have to do, preferably one overlooking whatever place fleeing people are most likely to go - main road, village green, market square, whatever.

Oh and: longbow out, trying to stay hidden from anyone outside the house.

[Gorgon_Heap]

The good sister leads her pursuer on a brief run while muttering a healing prayer under her breath.


Cast Cure Wounds - heals me up.
Run.

[JNAProductions]

The orc keeps pace, slowly closing the gap.

[Dudeons]

As he runs, Lucas quickly realizes that the orcs would catch up with him soon. Noticing that the Birghtley home is not quite as on fire as the other buildings, Lucas runs into it. Rustling through his bag, Lucas grabs a pouch of ball bearings and empties them as he goes in and tries to find a hiding place.

Athletics: 1d20[

If successful, Lucas runs into the Birghtley house and deploys the ball bearings inside (right at the door) before hiding.

Stealth: [roll0]

[JNAProductions]

The orcs slow their passage, carefully picking their way through the ball bearings to avoid falling.

That 11 isn't very good. You've bought yourself enough time to make one more check, though.

[Dudeons]

As the orcs start to come in, Lucas realizes his current position wasn't very good. He quickly moves to a different location as he draws his rapier.

*crosses fingers*

[roll0]

[JNAProductions]

The orcs come in just as Lucas is changing position. "Alright," one says, leveling his axe at the man, "You can either come peacefully or we'll cut your legs off and drag you away!'

[Gorgon_Heap]

She keeps jogging and peers behind her, seeing the orc, with his long strides, creeping closer, Esperanza calls upon divine power right upon hi.

Casts Sacred Flame (Dex DC 12 or 1d8 radiant)
Move

[JNAProductions]

[roll0] To have words edited in later.

The orc dodges the flame and pours on the speed, catching up to Esperenza.

[ProudGrognard]

Magurathi


Seeing the orc closing, Magurathi feels terror filling him. He starts to backpedal, once again calling power from the Void to hurt the orc. If it doesn't hit it again, he is deep trouble.


Again EB Ranged attack [roll0] dmg [roll1]
Moving back 30 ft

[JNAProductions]

The orc laughs as he easily sidesteps blow of raw magical energy. "You can make this easy, little man, or hard. I'm not here to kill you-just capture you," he says as he continues to keep pace with the mage.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Seeing things going from bad to worse, with no kind of defense or resistance in evidence, Ariel decides that it's time to abandon this position. She had hoped that the mayor's house would serve as a rallying point for anyone who wanted to fight the orcs, but clearly there were too many of them for that. Now, it would only be a matter of time until they either stormed the building or set it on fire.

Thus, she's going to head back downstairs, as quietly as possible, and check to see if there's any kind of secret hiding place, bolt-hole or trapdoor. Assuming no orcs have snuck in, she will lift rugs, check behind bookshelves, etc., hoping that the mayor was paranoid enough to have something installed.

Stealth: [roll0]
Investigation: [roll1]

[JNAProductions]

The orcs, assuming the house is empty after the mayor has left, don't come to investigate the quiet noises Ariel makes. Unfortunately, no bolt-hole is found, just some dust and dirt under the rugs.

[Ninja_Prawn]

In that case, Ariel will continue to wait, but now staying near the east-facing door.

[JNAProductions]

[roll0]
[roll1]

Ariel, make a perception check, equal to the higher of the two rolls. Also make an insight check, DC 15.

You notice some shifting winds and faint footprints in the dust. Something invisible and large is in the room with you.

You get the creeping sense that this place is NOT SAFE anymore.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ariel is always on the lock-out for anything interesting! Perception: [roll0]
Insight: [roll1]

Drawing her kukri, Ariel says quietly but firmly: "Who goes there? Are you friend or foe?"

[JNAProductions]

A low, menacing chuckle rolls out from about ten feet away. "What thinks you, little maggot?"

[Ninja_Prawn]

"A foe, then? I need no more of those, especially not some coward who won't even show his face. What do you want with this village?"

[JNAProductions]

"Because we want EVERYTHING. The time of you pathetic weaklings is over. Our time is now!" the invisible being says.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ariel lowers her blade a bit and generally takes a less pugnacious stance. "Oh yes, and you're so great and powerful, to conquer this tiny, defenseless hamlet? Fine. It's yours. Good luck with that."

Ariel walks out the door, and then breaks into a sprint, heading in roughly the same eastward direction that she saw some villagers go earlier.

[JNAProductions]

Ariel lowers her blade a bit and generally takes a less pugnacious stance. "Oh yes, and you're so great and powerful, to conquer this tiny, defenseless hamlet? Fine. It's yours. Good luck with that."

Ariel walks out the door, and then breaks into a sprint, heading in roughly the same eastward direction that she saw some villagers go earlier.

"You-get back here!"

The door bursts open, pieces of it flying off as something large charges out of it, chasing after Ariel.



As night falls, you all find yourselves in a clearing, about three miles east of the village. As Ariel saw, the orcs and others came from the west, making that not an option for fleeing. To the north is the mountains and dwarves. To the south, the forests and the elves. And to the east, the metropolitan human city.

Torg, who managed to escape with the rest of you, is saying "We should go north. My brethren might not like me a ton, due to that time I ran out from me marriage, but they'll damn well respond to an orcish invasion!"

[Dudeons]

Lucas looks over the others who had escaped with them. William was a reoccurring headach- er, client. Business is business, after all. Torg, while his advances were creepy, Lucas never did much to brush them off. After all, Torg's feelings resulted in him giving up information easily, making him a useful contact. And Naishtar was... Naishtar.

"Marriage?" Lucas repeats, running his fingers through his sweaty blonde hair, "Remind me how that one happened to you."

[JNAProductions]

"Arranged by my father, to the most beautiful woman in all the kingdom. O' course, I never was interested in the women, mind you," Torg says. "But tha's a story for another time."

"Agreed," Naishtar says. "We should head south immediately-my people will help keep us safe."

[Ninja_Prawn]

"The elves?" Ariel tries to looks skeptical (but probably comes across as incredulous). "What do they have in them, that they can stand against an army of orcs?"

[JNAProductions]

"Little girl, we have magic unbound at our disposal. No orc can match our arcane prowess!" he says with pride.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Esperanza looks shell-shocked and confused. "But maybe we should simply go toward whatever is closest? Find messengers and spread the word far and wide as quickly as we can? And what of our friends? We've failed them!""

[JNAProductions]

"The bastards weren't looking to kill. My daughter's still alive, I can feel it," Brightley says. "And what do you want us to do? I'd love to go in there and rescue her and everyone else, but we can't. That's simple reality."

Dwarves are the closest, but the terrain is treacherous.

Elves are the next closest, but the terrain is dense.

Humans are the furthest, but there's a road.

[Ninja_Prawn]

"Maybe we can't rescue your daughter and the other villagers," Ariel offers, "but we can stop the orcs from attacking anywhere else - by raising the alarm among the towns and cities. I agree with the priestess, we should go wherever is closest... and I figure that would be north. We don't have a wagon to speed us along the road, and the dense, forested terrain to the south is not good for moving quickly."

[ProudGrognard]

Magurathi

Magurathi just about makes it to the clearing, short of breath and quite afraid. He had never experienced anything like this. Seeing the others, his face lights up.

"Sun and moon, you made it! I am so glad to see you! Now at least there is a chance!"

He stops to catch his breath, and looks to the small village that had been his home for almost a year now. He is again uprooted, but this time, it was not his decision

"The village is overtaken for good. What should we do? Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Maybe we can wait for the orcs to seize their pillaging and then go rescue whoever is left"

[Ninja_Prawn]

"I do not believe those orcs came to pillage. During the attack, I ran into some kind of invisible creature that I think was directing the attack. It claimed that it wanted to conquer... everything."

[Gorgon_Heap]

The sister shakes her head in disbelief. "I ... we have no way of knowing what it is, or if it's truly leading that force. But we already know what we have to do and an invisible threat doesn't compare with a group of very real orcs sacking a village. Which of our allies is closest, and who can lead us there the fastest?"

[JNAProductions]

"I know the area... Or at least I did years ago, when I first came through," Torg said. "It's rough going, but I can lead us to Hearth."

[Ninja_Prawn]

"Sounds like a plan to me," says Ariel, "I say we go with Torg."

[Gorgon_Heap]

The priestess agrees with warrior woman, encourages everyone else to do so as well, and goes about occupying her otherwise terrified mind by tending to other survivors' needs. She offers whatever assistance or comfort she can, and finally sits down, exhausted, and goes about making herself up from the rush to dress and chaos of the attack.

Esperanza recognizes there's no need to look presentable under the circumstances, but it's less troublesome to fight without her armor ill-fit, skirts askew and her three very long braids dangling every which way. She won't want to take the time in the morning and it would best to be prepared in case some orc scouts stumble upon them in the night.

She suggests as much to the others and offers to take first watch, using that quiet time alone to care for her appearance and contemplate the recurrence of deadly disasters in her life.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Given the risk of orc scouts, Ariel will put her armour on and sleep in it. She will take second watch, as she is quite used to sleeping in fits and bursts - the disturbance will not faze her at all.