[IC] The Dragonmaster's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft

[TheDragonmaster]

Out-of-Character Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?492534-OoC-The-Dragonmaster-s-Expedition-to-Castle-Ravenloft)

Shadowdale, the 29th of Eleint 1374 DR

Taking on the urgent mission asked of them, to make all haste to the remote village of Barovia bearing a holy relic of Lathander, and with its help repelling whatever undead menace had fallen upon the poor inhabitants, the group of Lightbringers emerged from Morningdawn Hall into the mild autumn day. An air of providence was about them as they began their arduous journey; Aelthas of Silverymoon, Arrin of Cormyr, Gerik of Mulhorand, Helena of the Moonwood and Iseldra of Rashemen.

After exploring their options, their minds were eventually set to avoid the dangers of being delayed or worse braving the territory of the barbarians of the north by instead taking the sea route to Impiltur and crossing into Damara from the south. A stroke of good luck had a mostly unloaded barge heading downstream towards Scardale that very afternoon, even as trade and travel were slowing down in anticipation of the Highharvesttide celebrations, and they made good speed downstream in the gentle wind, reaching their destination in a mere handful of days. Fortune favoured them still, and after a day's ride south to Yhaunn the group found a docked ship leaving for Ilmwatch two days later.

Initially apprehensive about taking passengers along in lieu of more trade goods, the captain, an honest Sembian merchant sailor by the name of Elbrec, 'the Shark' to his crew, was convinced over by a rousing speech by Iseldra, particularly after hearing of their noble quest and of the precious relic in their care. So swayed was he by their story, in fact, that he offered the group a much better price for the journey than they had initially expected to pay... though allowing them to bring Kersik and the horses along for no extra charge may have been a slip of the tongue.

With little knowledge of what to prepare themselves for at their journey's end, and little to do aboard save for staying out of the way, the Lightbringers, Gerik in particular, took to more closely studying the relic in their possession. The first time they had seen it it had seemed an almost dull grey, but in more natural conditions, away from the warm pink light that suffused Morningdawn Hall, subdued greens, blues and violets danced across its steely surface. The true significance of the simple symbolism eluded them, but such variations were not uncommon among fringe groups of worshippers; instead they focused on trying to determine the item's function. While the cleric's patron did not seem to allow him to channel actual spells through the relic, the case was entirely different when he attempted to invoke his ability to harm the undead directly while brandishing it. Light rippled across its surface, and Gerik could feel the positive energy resonate with the relic, instilling in him a passionate, almost euphoric feeling as it did. While no other experimentation yielded any results, the cleric was sure some of the relic's powers were still hidden from them as they stored it away safely in its ornate box for the rest of the journey.

Three more days went idly by until in the middle of the fourth night of the voyage their luck ran out. The Lightbringers were awoken in the dark of midnight, being in some cases literally thrown out of their bunks as the ship suddenly began rolling violently, turning unsecured items into dangerous projectiles. Clambering on to walls and ceilings as much as the flooring, they could hear the clarion voice of the first mate call out for all able hands on deck as an unexpected storm was upon them. The hour that followed was tense, but the sea had already calmed considerably before they made anchor outside Sarshel. Nonetheless, the episode delayed them a full day as the crew repaired rigging and sails and as the captain reassured himself and the others that the unnatural storm were not heralding more strange weather phenomena, and as the Lightbringers finally reached Ilmwatch, a full six days had passed since setting out from Yhaunn.

The journey into Damara was largely uneventful, following the trade route towards Trailsend before continuing on lesser roads towards Bloodstone Pass. At one point, however, the group came upon what seemed like a prepared roadside ambush by a tree felled across the road, though whoever set it up must have left at first sight of the heavily armed and armoured party of Lightbringers. Though some in the group may have felt conflicted by leaving bandits to set upon the next group of travellers that passed, their mission was already too urgent to suffer more delays, and the group settled for thoroughly clearing the obstacles and covered hiding spots away before continuing.

Most travellers they encountered at this point in the journey had come all the way from Vaasa and further still, and no one could honestly say they had heard of a village called Barovia. Thus once in Bloodstone Village the group spread out to ask for directions to, or any general information about, this the object of their search. Even here, most had never heard the name at all, though a small handful of people, a few merchants as well as the innkeeper, recognised a "Barovja" as the supposed place where a group of traders of ill repute, smugglers and even thieves according to some, hailed from. The name "Vistani" was mentioned, but no one seemed to know of a village, or even at all whence they came save for somewhere to the north.

Another clue about this elusive location came from a visit to the court, where a conversation with one of the record keepers revealed that Barovia was a historical barony, reaching as far south as they now stood, pre-dating the founding of Damara itself and dissolved some three- or four hundred years ago. Whether that name still lived on in the name of any settlements, however, seemed unknown, and the historian thought it unlikely anything but ruins would bear it still. He referred them to the records kept in Heliogabalus for further information, but unwilling to take the detour of a tenday or more, the Lightbringers had to abandon that line of investigation, electing instead to press on north along the mountain range to perhaps find the origin of these "Vistani".

What little roads led further north were overgrown and in poor condition, and long stretches of the last few days were spent leading the horses on unmarked trails following directions from farm to farm. The pleasant remains of summer heat in the Dalelands had this far north been replaced by biting winds and freezing rainfall, the first hints that the dark season would soon be upon them, and few among the Lightbringers enjoyed the nights they had to spend under the open sky. Though one or a handful of people on almost every farm seemed to have heard of either Barovia or the smugglers, it took four days before the group stumbled upon a more concrete lead than "it can't be far", "further to the north", or "those wretches probably hide in the mountains somewhere".

The group spent the fourth night after leaving Bloodstone Village with a family running a large farmstead at the base of the Galena Mountains. Repeating the story of their quest over a generous cooked dinner, the elderly family matriarch told them that she did indeed know of the location of the place they were looking for, or at least of the ruined gates that marked the right mountain pass. After fruitlessly trying to dissuade the Lightbringers from seeking it out, she let them know that the ruins could be found deep in the Svalich Moor by following the remains of a long-deserted road. Being herself too old to go, she told one of her sons to show the way in the morning, though she warned them yet again that people stay clear of that place, and for good reason... few, if any, who had dared venture past those gates had ever been seen again.

The morning came, and the group left towards the Moor in the first light, guided by Artem, the eldest son, and accompanied by a cold, light drizzle of rain. The man seemed very tense, as if something was weighing on him beyond the mere unease caused by their destination, and when pressed about it, he reluctantly told them that it was not only a handful of curious farmers that had gone missing near the ruins... no, people were seen going there once in a while still, and not just the hideous smugglers either, regular people too from all over, maybe a dozen or so every year. They all had something strange about them, a determination in their eyes... and none of them ever returned.

The rest of the trek was spent in sombre silence, and the rain eventually clearing did little to lighten the mood. Soon after arriving at the bog and pointing out the trail forward, the farmer swiftly left them to return the way he came, his parting words a short blessing of safe passage in the Broken God's name.


Damara, the 26th of Marpenoth 1374 DR

The humid air forms a mist over the moors that thickens to a fog towards the distant mountain pass ahead. Low shrubs and bushes scatter the soggy ground between pools of stagnant water, joined by the occasional gnarled birch or pine, remnants of the forest left behind them. Silence lies heavy over the fen, and despite the cold, a faint, fetid smell rises from its murky pools. Crumbled remains of a cobbled road, overgrown and reduced over centuries to only a scattering of roughly hewn stones, partially sunken into the mire, marks an otherwise featureless path almost straight west towards the pass ahead.

The journey from Shadowdale took a total of 28 days; 4 days by barge to Scardale, a day's ride to Yhaunn, a day waiting for the ship to leave, 4 days on the sea before being forced to anchor in Sarshel, a day in port before the last day's voyage to Ilmwatch, 5 days ride to Trailsend followed by 6 days to Bloodstone Village and lastly almost five days until the group finally finds themselves in the Svalich Moor.

Your characters paid 20 gp each for the four day barge ride as well as an additional gold piece each for the six horses, and 48 gp for the five days by ship. They stayed ten nights in inns (7 common, 3 poor) for 41 sp per person and also ate and bought perishable food there for another 24 sp. Six nights were spent as guests in private homes, primarily on farms, where apart from sharing stories and news the characters paid 6 sp for their food. The remaining three nights were spent camping in the wild, eating dried food as necessary (a total of 7 Trail Rations (or 35 sp) between all of you), though Arrin managed to forage to cover a lot of their needs. In addition to all this, ten nights of stabling and an additional 18 days worth of bought feed cost 59 sp per horse.

In total, the group spent 75 gp 1 sp each for transport, food, and lodging, plus 6 gp 9 sp per horse, for a grand total of 416 gp 9 sp (plus seven Trail Rations, or 3 gp 5 sp to replace them).

In the past, the Lightbringers have provided compensation for such expenses as part of an undertaken mission after it has concluded, if confiscated property and potential rewards have not covered them.

[Kish]

"Lovely weather," Aelthas murmurs. "What do you make the odds that all these rumors are pure superstition?" He takes the lead, scanning the mists ahead of the group for danger.

[DontEvenAsk]

Iseldra maintains a position at the indecisive middle of the group, wanting to push ahead and see whatever is ahead but also apprehensive about hidden dangers. She steps carefully from stone to sunken stone, her nose wrinkled at the general muckiness of the fen. Kersik follows at her heels, to her side so as to not be in anyone's way, halfway between an amble and a trot. His paws are splattered with various marsh liquids that are probably best left unexamined.

Iseldra's breathing is shallow. She stands on that edge between fearless excitement at the mystery of it all - mists in the marsh! Dubious disappearances! A chance at glory! - and outright fear at the danger of the unseen things the Lightbringers hunt. It's a thrill, and it keeps her looking ahead.

"That's not funny," she tells Aelthas. "You know, Rashemen is cold and full of slush and if the snow's melted it gets sort of muddy, but at least it's not like that all the time." After a few moments of misty-eyed consideration, she adds, "Well, every legend has a grain of truth, right?"

[Blinkbear]

Arrin is not responding to the question, although he likely heard it from his scouting position in front of the party.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik

Gerik sighed deeply and thought on the question for a moment before adding his piece. "Well, ghost stories and superstition can easily be brushed aside or attributed to gossipy farmers. However, people never returning or disappearing forever isn't something that can be imagined or exaggerated. Either the place is an absolute paradise that no one ever wants to leave or something is preventing them from leaving, possibly by killing or enslaving them. The look in the boy's eyes told me he didn't expect to see us again. Best to stay on your guard either way."


Gerik scratched his forehead and stretched his back. All this travel was starting to take its toll.

[Ionbound]

Helena shakes her head as she replies, wiggling her feet anxiously, "Never mess with superstition. What you don't believe in might just kill you. I could be wrong, but...I don't think so. There's something going on out here."

[TheDragonmaster]

The group has little problem following the trail; only occasionally does it disappear fully to emerge again a few yards ahead, and while the stones that once formed it lie too far apart to provide secure footing, the remains of the gravel bed they once rested on have not yet fully sunken into the marsh. Taking their time stepping between the thick tufts of grass that form stable islands among the pools of muck and grimy water, the group members mostly manage to avoid missteps; even their horses seem to manage slowly negotiating the terrain with only a little encouragement.

As they press on, the only apparent change is the fog ever thickening around them. The low sun a mere diffuse blot in the grey sky above, the Moor takes on an almost dreamlike feel as the ground and sky blend together in the distance. Minutes and tens of minutes pass as the group continues on, cold and wet in the fog and without a real sense of how far their destination may be. The mountains no longer visible, only the dimming of the light suggests their presence as the group forges ahead in their shadow. Himself barely visible to the rest of the group, staying twenty or thirty yards ahead, Arrin finally spots something, stopping for a moment to let the rest of the group, too, come upon his discovery.

Two large stone statues flank the trail on either side, worn and eroded with time until now little remain of their features. The leftmost one stands mostly intact, while the one to the right of the road is split from shoulder to waist, lacking its head and one arm. The stance of the more complete statue suggest they were built to stand guard, rather than welcome newcomers, though the metal staves or spears they once grasped have long since rusted into nothingness. Several other stones of varying sizes litter the area, including what appears to have once been a pillar that lies collapsed to the side of the road in sections roughly two feet in length.

The foggy air has so far been very still, almost unnaturally calm, but you swear you just caught a glimpse of movement in the distance ahead.
The horses, while generally docile, have for the last five or ten minutes occasionally stopped to listen for something, and Kersik has grown unusually silent but is clearly agitated, as if hearing or smelling something the rest of you are not.

[Blinkbear]

Arrin stays silent for a moment, but his raised right arm gives everyone the signal to wait a moment.
"I think there is something ahead. Anyone else seen it?" He asks lowly, just as loud enough to overshadow the breathing of the horses. The grip of his left hand tightens around the shaft of his glaive.

edit I had remembered falsely that there were lights.

[Ionbound]

Helena frowns at the unnatural stillness, but when she sees the movement up ahead, she perks up and says, "There's something in front of us. Dunno what it is...We should be careful."

[Blinkbear]

Arrin sounds tense as he speaks "So you saw it, too. Alright, I'll try to sneak ahead again. Be prepared. Ranged weapons could be useful to pick them from afar." With that, he unsheathes his bow.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik


"We should probably keep moving in any event." he says quietly. "The sooner we are off this blasted moor the better."

[Kish]

"Wait, if there's something we need to fight, do we have time for me to put on my armor, or will I need to fight without it?" Aelthas asks.

If the reply he gets from Arrin or Helena supports immediate combat-readiness, he'll draw his sword. If they indicate likely having time to put on his armor, he'll do so.

[Ionbound]

Helena nods and draws her weapons, twirling them as she says, "We should keep moving. I hope it was just some wildlife...But with how silent it is, I doubt it. Keep on guard."

[Kish]

"I'm afraid this is going to take a little while," Aelthas says as, with Gerik's help, he starts to put on his armor.


To avoid being confusing about what's going on, as long as Gerik is willing to help Aelthas put on his armor, Aelthas isn't going anywhere for the next four minutes unless something outside the party pushes us to.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik


Gerik helps with the armor and doesn't voice any complaints. "oooph, this is heavy." he observes.

[DontEvenAsk]

Iseldra frowns. "I don't know what you saw, but whatever it is, I think the horses smell it. Kersik, too, isn't that right, Kersik?" She says that last in baby talk, briskly petting Kersik in the fashion she reserves for when he's done a good job of something but his work is far from done. She halfheartedly tries to hide her concern for him, but when her heart's not in it her face is easy to read, and right now it speaks greatly to her worry.

She purses her lips, considering. "Would someone please pass me my armor? I won't need help getting into it like Aelthas, but, I mean, it would be so helpful. And faster! I don't want to slow us down or anything, you know?" Of course Iseldra isn't worthy to just ask any other Lightbringer for help. She's not senior enough. It would be rude. Or, that's what she tells herself, anyway.

[Ionbound]

Helena nods and hands Iseldra her armor, tapping her feet impatiently as she watches the others change, grumbling, "This'd be so much easier if you people would just wear sensible armor. Plate's not gonna stop anything that chain wouldn't...And magic's gonna kill you either way. I'd rather be able to run away from something."

[TheDragonmaster]

Silent at a whisper, Arrin presses forward into the whites and greys while the rest of the group stays behind at the broken monument, preparing for confrontation with all haste.

As you move further, you can just barely make out a few darker shapes ahead, about as far from you as you are from the rest of the group. You lose sight of them after seventy or perhaps eighty feet, though something tells you they did not just disappear into the fog...
Kersik seems uncharacteristically unaffected by your attempts to calm him, staying low against the ground and making himself small, as if hiding from something. He is panting heavily, ears flickering back and forth, but does not whimper or growl.

[DontEvenAsk]

"Thanks!" Iseldra chirps with a smile. "I see what you mean about armor. Mine's special, though, I didn't want to be all clunky." She gives Kersik another quick concerned glance, then sets about strapping on her armor, checking straps for snugness and so on, and true to her word, she handles it like it's half the weight you'd usually expect. Because it is.

As soon as she's all girded for battle she crouches to look at Kersik again, brow furrowing ever deeper. "Something's really wrong," she says. "Kersik's not doing well at all." She straightens and draws her sword, squinting ahead to see if she can spot whatever's scaring her precious puppy.

If we're making an extra effort to find something do we still do checks on our own, or is that no longer a thing?

Spot: [roll0]

Here's hoping it's still a thing.

[Blinkbear]

Arrin changes direction again to return in the direction of the group.

If he makes it there without interruption, he will declare that he has lost sight of the creatures. "First, it looked as if they were actually moving away, but now... I am not sure, I lost them. Maybe they... turned invisible, or incorporeal... Or I am simply fantasizing, or its an illusionary effect. Something's really not right here." He slightly shakes his head. "We need to stick together, or they can pick us out one by one, cause we don't see each other." Maybe that was not the most panic-stopping thing to say.

[Kish]

"No one panic. Everyone stay behind me and keep your eyes open. Helena, can you guard our rear?" Aelthas says, his voice echoing through the chestpiece currently over his head.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik

"Well that is creepy" Gerik announces. "Let's move on. Either they'll attack or not. Nothing we can do about it. No sense lollygagging"

[Ionbound]

Helena nods as she brings up the rear of the group, on-guard for whatever was moving about in the mist as she says, "Yeah. We need to find this 'Barovia' as soon as we can. Gods know what's in this mist, but it...It makes me uncomfortable."

[TheDragonmaster]

Several tense minutes pass as Gerik helps Aelthas into his heavy armour and Iseldra dons hers; the less so occupied members of the group circling them, peering into the haze with weapons drawn. Despite the group staying stationary, the fog still appears to be thickening around them and the sky darkening, if ever so very slightly. Before the half-elven warrior has finally donned his armet, every member of the party is convinced there is something out there following them, and even the horses seem aware of this unseen company, tramping and looking around anxiously but eventually stilling.

While donning your armour, you react several times to little movements in the periphery of your vision, but as you turn to look, there is nothing there but swirling fog, and you eventually begin feeling that perhaps it is all just the work of your imagination, sparked by Arrin's disconcerting words.
Returning to the group, you struggle to shake the feeling someone is watching you, following you back, and soon enough after you reunite with your companions you again spot the same dark shapes just off of the trail ahead, about where you turned around. A momentary thinning in the swirling fog lets you catch a better glimpse at one of the three figures, still only a dark silhouette but undeniably humanoid in form, if almost impossibly thin and somehow... frayed... along its outline.
While somewhat distracted helping Aelthas with his armour, you still keep your eyes out for whatever it is Arrin could have seen, and while at first you can see nothing but the fog surrounding you, you eventually spot dark figures appearing in it ahead of the group, as if following the ranger back towards them.
Tense and ready to spring into action at any moment, you see shifting motion in the fog in the direction Arrin went and returned from, ever in your peripheral vision but never when you look straight at it, the movement of dark figures in the corner of your eye turning out to be nothing but bushes and the black stone of the ruin at further inspection. Like the ranger, you almost begin questioning your sanity, or at least suspect you may only be imagining things in the thick, almost suffocating haze.
You try to keep an eye out while strapping on the cuirass, though much of your attention is spent on the dog at your side. As you finish, drawing your sword, the horses tense up and freeze, a sure sign that they are about to bolt in panic. Before you completely manage to take in this sudden change in their behaviour, you notice its cause; in the distance behind the group, ten or fifteen feet to the right of the trail you followed here, stand two shadowy figures. You can only make out their gaunt outlines in the fog, their dark forms further obscured by tattered cloaks or perhaps robes.

[DontEvenAsk]

"HA!" Iseldra points with her sword into the fog just off the trail. "Arrin! Is that them?" What had started as a flicker in the corner of her eye is now something that might be important, something she spotted, something potentially dangerous so she needs to be at the ready now. She shifts to grip her sword at an angle, holding it diagonally across her torso and pointing it up to avoid accidentally stabbing an ally.

And Kersik! Kersik doesn't like these things, and neither do the horses. The horses she's not sure how to start wrangling - no time - but Kersik she's used to consoling. She stands just in front of him, and murmurs some of his training phrases in Rashemi, careful to keep her stance confident and not vulnerable in any way. He'd pick up on anything like that, and she doesn't want to dishearten him more by basically telling him his big sister is scared too.

Even if she is. Oh dear. Oh bright shiny god of happy things. She's starting to regret how loud she just was.

An afterthought strikes her: "Anyone know what those things are?"

Handle Animal: [roll0]
To try and make Kersik more cooperative. If he tries to run away, for instance, he might put himself in even more danger... :smalleek:

[TheDragonmaster]

Iseldra is pointing in a direction about ⅚π away from where you can see the three dark figures.

[Ionbound]

Helena grumbles irritably as she makes her way through the fog, the ever-present crunching and rattling of armor, as well as the ephemeral nature of the figures floating about, even imaginary as they are. She sighs and looks around, saying, "Could you lot make any more noise or move any slower? We need to go to this town before something bad happens."

[Kish]

"I'm not seeing anything but fog. This place is certainly creepy." Aelthas makes slow but steady progress, keeping an eye out for any enemies more solid than fog.

[Blinkbear]

Arrin focuses his vision on the place Iseldra is pointing to. "No. But I assume that the three I saw are not the only ones. Let's just go through this thing steadily. If they want to fight, we fight. But with a bit of luck, they're just wandering around without being controlled or so. "


I assume that we know that unsupervised undead exist?

[TheDragonmaster]

The horses tense up and freeze in place as shrouded figures appear out of the fog; long, gaunt forms obscured by dark cloaks that merge with the very mist around them, five in total circling the Lightbringers in two smaller groups on opposite sides. Almost floating rather than walking, the shades seem to close the distance much quicker than their slow movements would suggest, and as they draw near the swirling strands of fog come alive, thickening to impossible levels and almost blotting out the sun altogether. The shapes make no sound against the brush as they move, but as they approach, they are accompanied by a high-pitched ringing sound, rising from inaudible levels to a piercing noise that drowns out sound and thought alike.

As the noise builds to a climax, a dull glow awakens from beneath the hoods of the figures, radiating from where a mouth would be were they humanoid but illuminating no appreciable features. As one, the shapes draw long blades from the folds of their robes, suffused with that same sinister glow, and swoop in to strike in unison with unimaginable speed against the travellers. The horses bolt in an attempt to flee from the spectres, which after the assault seemingly vanish into nothingness only as new specks of the same eerie glowing light appear in the surrounding fog.

The shades superficially resemble wraiths, as dark shrouded humanoid figures that hover off the ground, and animals flee from them, but several dissimilar features such as the dark glow and their disappearance are not consistent with such a classification; thus they are either some variation or perhaps some form of a ghost or other kind of undead entirely.
The floating movement of the figures, their ragged hooded appearance, and the fact that the animals flee from them all point toward them being the undead creatures known as wraiths.
One of the shades Attack each of the Player Characters; Arrin easily sidesteps the attack against him and Gerik barely dodges out the way of another, but the others are all struck as the blades seemingly pass through their armour and clothing without resistance, causing a dull, muted pain and intensifying the ringing to mind-numbing levels.

Aelthas takes 7 points of Damage and 2 points of Wisdom Damage.
Helena takes 3 points of Damage and 3 points of Wisdom Damage.
Iseldra takes 8 points of Damage and 1 point of Wisdom Damage.

The ringing sound renders all of the characters effectively Shaken, and in addition, Helena is Frightened for 2 Rounds. All tasks requiring full attention, such as Spellcasting, require successful Concentration Checks to succeed. The fog now restricts vision to about 40 feet, though sources of light might be perceivable from even further away. While the light is very dim, it does not restrict vision further than the fog already does.

Aelthas stops his horse from fleeing but it is still in a panic and struggling to get away. Gerik loses the grip on both his own horse and the pack horse after barely managing to retain his balance as they almost fell him in their flight.
Helena retains her grip on the reins of her own horse, but Arrin's horse barely slips her grasp. While perhaps not managing to calm her horse, she pacifies it momentarily with a steady grip of its upper lip.
Iseldra resists her horse's attempt to run away and manages to calm it somewhat, at least for the time being. Kersik cowers at her feet, staying small against the ground.

As for the Initiative order, all Player Characters are up before anyone else acts. I am borrowing Kish's style of using Google Spreadsheets for mapping encounters; the PC's and Kersik are marked by initials and colour in the map, 'H' marks a horse, and for the sake of convenience, rather than shading almost every square, just count the entire area as Difficult Terrain. The trail runs ESE to WNW, the most distant of the fleeing horses are barely out of view, and the newly appeared specks of light are somewhat more than 40 ft. from the group in the WSW and E directions, mirroring where the first wave of figures appeared out of the mist.

Encounter Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RI3T3cxhNIsxxmlXxkVHUJ3Du04jssbK5tu2GrGGUWM)

[Kish]

"Oogh." Aelthas lets go of his horse before he can consider whether this is a good idea. Shaking his head, and reflecting dully that his "I don't plan, I hit things" affectation is currently less of an affectation than he'd like, he says thickly, "Stay...stay behind me." Drawing his sword, he moves toward the ominous lights.


Aelthas moves 10 feet to the east, assumes Bolstering Voice stance (we all--and our horses, should any of them not bolt out of my range quickly--have +2 to Will saves, and +4 to Will saves against fear effects), and readies an action to use Leading the Attack should a monster come within reach of him. Attack roll in case: [roll0] Critical threat check, should it be a not-undead or mysteriously-critical-vulnerable monster: [roll1] Damage: [roll2] slashing damage from a silver weapon + [roll3] electricity damage; critical damage: [roll4].
New maneuver at end of turn:

Crusader's Strike
Stone Bones
Mountain Hammer
[roll5]

[Ionbound]

Helena's eyes widen when she sees the spectral figures, seeing horrors unknown as they strike at her with ethereal blades. In the next moment, she's snapping the reins of her horse, shouting, "YAAAH!" as she tries to hurry ahead, fleeing the spectral monsters.

Dunno about y'all, but I got nothing for ethereal. I'm running.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik


Gerik watches helpless as the horses pull away and scatter. He steps forwards with his glowing holy symbol and shouts "Begone Wraiths! Let the light shine here once more"





Gerik will use 'Destroy Undead'. 30 ft burst that does [roll0] Damage vs undead. DC 16 will save for half.


Note: his holy symbol has continual light cast on it, so that might help with the foggy darkness (?)

Movement: Not sure where the wraiths are on the map, but he'll move if need be to try and catch all three enemies in the burst.

[DontEvenAsk]

Iseldra flinches, covering her ears at the noise, and bites her lip to stifle a scream as the ghostly blades bite into her. It comes out as a pained groan. Not thinking, she half-turns to grab her horse's reins with her left hand - the one not occupied with her sword - and clings to it. When she opens her mouth again after the figures vanish, her teeth are bloody.

"Uh," she says, shakes her head, and looks around. Seeing the specks, she presses her mouth into a hard, disgruntled frown. About to turn to her right and approach the lights, Aelthas' words reach her slightly addled brain, and she grimly stays put, eyeing the wisps to both sides warily. "Kersik, heel," she says, pointing stiffly ahead with her sword, towards Gerik and Aelthas.

Trying to get Kersik to move into the space right next to hers, in the same row as Arrin and diagonally next to Gerik. Roll:
[roll0]

[Blinkbear]

Arrin quickly stows his bow and tries to make sure that there won't get too much space between Helena and the rest of the group. He has his grip around his glaive tightened, hoping to at least hold them at bay for the moment.

[TheDragonmaster]

In a remarkable display of athleticism, Helena vaults into the saddle of her horse, which, mimicking the other horses, requires no further encouragement to set off in a frantic scramble across the precarious marshy ground, hooves slipping in the mud and splashing across the shallow pools of grimy water. Through sheer force of will, she manages to steer her steed from veering off the trail even as two more of the apparitions come into view from her left, one of which drifts in front of her, as if to intercept her path.

Three more of the dark shades appear from the east as Aelthas and Gerik move to face them in their approach. As the priest presents his holy symbol, a pulse of bright light escapes it, and suddenly the cloaks of the spectres begin whipping furiously, as if caught in some intangible gust of wind, an invisible force tearing and clawing at them until two of them disintegrate into nothingness, their eerie glow fading. The third of the figures, still intact, brandishes a short, wicked-looking blade and resumes its slow approach.

Kersik hesitantly follows the command, still cowering against the ground, and lets out an almost inaudible whimper as he does. Temporarily pacified but still very much anxious, Iseldra's horse moves to put the marshal between it and the approaching danger.
I barely moved Arrin, given the rather low effective distance Helena's horse manages to cover over the Difficult Terrain.
In order to get into range for Destroy Undead, I treated Gerik's action as Move + Readied Standard Action, waiting for the enemy approach. In practice, it makes no real difference as he still acts before them in the next round, but for whatever reason I still felt like mentioning it :smallsmile:.
All Player Characters are up. The horses continue their flight, the only unattended horse still remotely in sight is Aelthas'. The hooded figures are appropriately enough marked 'F'. They move more or less straight towards the group, save for the one chasing in front of Helena.

Encounter Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RI3T3cxhNIsxxmlXxkVHUJ3Du04jssbK5tu2GrGGUWM)

[Kish]

Aelthas moves grimly toward the monster ahead of him, sword upraised.

Moving 20 feet to the east and, once again, readying Leading the Attack for should it come within range.

Attack roll in case: Critical threat check, should it be a not-undead or mysteriously-critical-vulnerable monster: [roll1] Damage: [roll2] slashing damage from a silver weapon + [roll]1d6) electricity damage; critical damage: [roll3].
New maneuver at end of turn:

Stone Bones
Mountain Hammer

[roll4]

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik

"Move close together so we can protect each other." Gerik advises.


He breathed a sigh of relief as two of the foul spirits were destroyed. He kept a death grip on his holy symbol hanging on for dear life.




Gerik will move towards Z-13 and wait for the 'spirits' to close again before using Destroy undead. He is hoping to catch all 3 of them in the next burst.

[Blinkbear]

"Can you destroy them all?" There is a mix of hope and uncertainty in his voice.

He moves a few feet toward the enemy, his glaive ready to strike.


Move to U13 (10ft). As such, skirmish enabled and AC +1.
Prepare to attack any baddie that comes into sight. If required:
[roll0]
[roll1]+4 if undead from favored enemy, +2d6 from skirmish if vulnerable to it, weapon is silver but not magical.
[roll2]
[roll3]+8 if undead from favored enemy.

[DontEvenAsk]

Iseldra makes an uneasy sound. "If they get Kersik," she says, "heal him first, yes?" She reassumes her defensive sword posture, grits her teeth, and braces herself for the next attack, remaining where she is as per Gerik's order to stick together.

Something about her stance - making herself narrow, clearly afraid, but stubbornly grounding herself with her feet and gripping her sword, face determined - and her self-sacrificing request are inspiring somehow - not in a fire-and-trumpets-and-battlefield-glory way, but a quiet reminder to persevere.

Projecting major aura Resilient Troops.

[Ionbound]

Helena, pretty much in the process of losing her mind, screams as she rides directly through the ghost in front of her and pulls on the reins of the horse as she sees the priest destroy the undead and rides back in their direction, trying to get back to the safety of the group.

[TheDragonmaster]

Helena, her will having so far mostly aligned with the flight instinct of her steed, now attempts to stop and turn as the shade pursuing her closes the distance. As it slashes at her with its glowing, serrated sword, its form passes straight through the horse, which again sets off in full panic away from the statues and the trail, its rider barely managing to stay in the saddle, much less rein the animal in.

Opposite the path, the scout attempts to face down the shade swiftly approaching him, weapon in hand. Striking at it with all his might, the glaive seems to strike true, only to pass unhindered through its wispy form. Taking a moment too long to react to the spectre's relentless advance, Arrin sees its blade strike true and feels not the sting of sharp pain he was expecting, but more of a subdued pain deep within him, the ringing in his head rising to a violent shriek.

The third of the dark shapes swoops past Iseldra and Aelthas in pursuit of the cleric backing away. The half-elf's sword grazes the dark, billowing form as it glides past him, but he does not feel his sword impact anything, and there is no indication that the strike had any effect on the shadowy figure at all. It continues implacably forward, its blade slashing through Gerik's cuirass as if it was not even there.

Once more, the spectres carry out their attacks only to fade away into thin air, leaving nothing but trails of fog in their wake. Moments later, more motes of light visibly appear in the distance.

As Gerik is struck by the wicked-looking curved blade of the shade flying past him, he feels a cold painful numbness spread from the point where he was hit, the ringing in his head rising to drone out his very thoughts... and then, just as suddenly, it recedes somewhat as he gathers himself and finally homes in on a thought that has floated at the edge of his consciousness from the moment he first saw the spectres... they do not seem to be entirely there at all... it is hard to pin it down exactly what it is. Not only are they intangible, something about them just feels... unreal... somehow.
Iseldra's horse bolts again in panic as the shade glides past, but she reacts quickly and manages to yank down on its reins to keep it from taking off, despite her other hand being occupied and her purchase on the soft ground being precarious at best.
Arrin takes 5 points of Damage and 4 point of Wisdom Damage.
Gerik takes 3 points of Damage and 3 points of Wisdom Damage.
Helena takes 7 points of Damage and 2 points of Wisdom Damage, and is no longer Frightened, just Shaken.

All Player Characters are up. Arrin can see a mote of light in the fog south-east of him, Helena spots one dead ahead (almost straight north), and the others can barely make one out off the trail to the west. All unattended horses have now disappeared out of sight, though the sounds of their escape can still barely be heard through the ringing cacophony.

Encounter Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RI3T3cxhNIsxxmlXxkVHUJ3Du04jssbK5tu2GrGGUWM)

[Kish]

"Everyone behind me," Aelthas says. I think there's something else we could do...but I can't think of it. He racks his fogged brain in vain, moving toward Helena.

Aelthas can't run through difficult terrain, so he'll double move to AC9. His last Crusader maneuver is granted; maneuvers will reset next round.

[Blinkbear]

The realization that there was nothing he could do against these fiends (not even outrun them) struck Arrin with even more terror than their mere presence. But at least Aelthas seemed to have a plan. Without further hesitation Arrin moved towards his comrade, and be it to put more meat between the cleric and the beasts. Of course, they could just move through Arrin, but maybe they wouldn't. He takes a defensive stance back to back with his comrades.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Gerik

Gerik feels a rush of confusion and fear race through his mind as he is touched. "What sinister blackness! The light God protect us!" he mumbles.

Gerik feels some of his faculties abandon him. Perhaps something important, maybe something about the relic.




move to AC13 (10 feet east or there abouts)

Readied action: Gerik will wait till the undead materialize/show themselves and then use a 'destroy undead' attempt

Destroy undead : [roll0] DC 16 will save for half, 30 foot burst

[DontEvenAsk]

Iseldra wavers. If she moves, Kersik and her horse might not go with her, and then the things might kill one or both of the animals. But they'd target the people first, right? They haven't gone for animals at all so far...

And most of the party can't really fight back that well, these things are some kind of ghost. Aelthas going off to attack, should she follow him, it's a conundrum...?

Can't abandon Kersik. Don't want to be useless. Don't want to get hit with those stupid ghost blades again.

She stays put.

Ha. All that confusion and halt over how to comply with Aelthas's order and then Issy doesn't do it.

I figured that Iseldra would have time to get familiar with the fact that Aelthas has a magic weapon on the journey. Also, since she's taken the least Wisdom damage, I thought it made adequate sense for her to sort of see why Aelthas's suggestion is a bit of a bad idea. Of course, she did still take some Wisdom damage, and she wasn't that wise to begin with, so she doesn't exactly get it, and sure as Baator doesn't advise anyone else on the matter, heh. The writing sounds confused because she is.

[TheDragonmaster]

The young woman from the Moonwood makes one last desperate attempt to rein her horse in before giving up, opting to rather let it run than abandoning her companions. She rolls out of the saddle with remarkable fluidity despite her current state of mind, reflexes and instincts taking over, and immediately begins scrambling back towards her compatriots through a haze clouding both vision and thoughts alike.

While Iseldra takes a stance to protect the animals, the other Lightbringers begin converging as better to protect each other.

The motes of light, and the spectres the Lightbringers have come to associate with them, do not approach this time as they did before, remaining at what seems a constant distance, just far enough away for their forms to be fully obscured in the fog.

No Undead Creatures came within 30 feet of Gerik and as such his Readied Action did not trigger this round.

The mote of light to the south-east seems to slowly follow Arrin towards the other Lightbringers (remaining at about a constant distance from him), the other two more or less stay put.

The Player Characters are up and the Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RI3T3cxhNIsxxmlXxkVHUJ3Du04jssbK5tu2GrGGUWM) is updated.

[Kish]

Aelthas continues moving toward Helena, sword still ready. Them not attacking is probably not good. He grasps for why they would not be attacking, but it eludes his slowed mind.

[TheDragonmaster]

The seconds pass slowly as Gerik remains motionless, ready to react at moments notice as he anticipates the shades next advance, though the tiny motes of light remain distant in the fog. As Aelthas and Arrin fall back towards Helena, the priest suddenly notices two glowing points towards the eastern trail where only one was moments before.

Gerik's Readied Action does not trigger this Round either. Iseldra remains where she stood while the other three members of the group convene.

The two motes of light to the north and to the west very slowly circle around the group towards each other (meeting somewhere vaguely west-northwest of the group), and the one to the southeast has now been joined by another.

The Player Characters are up and the Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RI3T3cxhNIsxxmlXxkVHUJ3Du04jssbK5tu2GrGGUWM) is updated. The post deadline (see the OoC thread) is 20170102.

[Kish]

Aelthas keeps moving toward Helena, ready to strike if an enemy comes within reach.

[Blinkbear]

Arrin: "We should not just stand here. We must make a decision, either backwards or forwards."

[DontEvenAsk]

"Agreed," Iseldra replies. "Kersik and the horses won't like it, but we have a job to do." Despite advocating moving forward, she stays put, waiting for a consensus and reluctant to leave the animals.