Heroes of the Taisha (IC)

[Rysto]

The day had finally come. After four months of grueling workouts and interminable sessions studying Vertex tactics, your work had paid off. You had barely been able to contain your excitement when your trainer had taken the four of you aside for a special meeting with a visiting member of the Taisha. Your hopes were immediately answered upon entering the room and you saw, sitting on a desk in front of a stern-looking woman you didn't know, four brand-new Hero Terminals. The Shinju-sama was calling you into his service.

"Good evening," said the woman. "My name is Miss Inami, and I am in charge of the Hero Program in Matsuyama. As I'm sure you've already guessed, your team's training has come to an end. The time has come for each of you to take up the mantle of Hero. You will be transferring schools immediately, and the Taisha has established a dormitory in Matsuyama for Heroes where you will be staying. You don't need to worry about any of the details of getting your things packed and shipped from here in Utazu to your new home. Our job is to deal with the mundane details." Her face softened. "The Vertexes are more worries than I'd wish on anyone your age.

"Now," she continued, "I'd like you to meet your new teammate." She gestured to one side of the room, and to your shock you realized that a fourteen-year-old boy stood in a corner along with Sato Minowa, a local Taisha official. You'd been so fixated on the terminals and what they represented that you'd scarcely noticed anything else in the room. "This young man is Yamato Akimoto, who has a few battles against the Vertexes under his belt. We've learned that it helps to have at least one experienced member in each team. I'll let you all get acquainted over dinner, but first, does anyone have any questions?"

[Lentrax]

Nami stands toward the back of the room, her staff resting in the crook of her arm. Years of discipline under the Master, lets her control her excitement at being deemed worthy to begin the noble work of protecting the people here.

I have a question. When do we start?

[Rysto]

Miss Inami smiles. "Eager to prove yourself, child? Unfortunately, this is difficult to predict. There is little pattern to when the enemy sends its attacks, except that recently they have been coming in waves. The Shinju-sama sometimes sends oracles predicting upcoming attacks, but those can be ... challenging to interpret accurately. In any case, when a Vertex breaks through the barrier,l the Shinju-sama brings forth the Jukai to protect the people, and then sends a nearby Hero Team into battle. So really, it is the will of the Shinju-sama that will decide when your battles begin. But you need not worry about that just yet. I'm sure that you can expect at least a week to adjust to your new home before you are thrust into battle."

[bcool999]

Yamato scoffs slightly at the mention of a week of peace to ready themselves and says, "It is the enemy that chooses the time of battle as we cower behind our barrier. I would be facing the enemy now, were it my choice, even now, my flames of vengeance are straining to be unleashed." Yamato grabs onto his arm as if he no longer controls it before calming down with a sigh. "Either way, should the enemy attack do not panic, for I shall show them oblivion as stated in my pact to Shinju-sama." Yamato says as he covers one of his eyes with a hand.

[Lentrax]

The barrier is not for cowering behind, it is our only defense against what lies beyond. We few who fight do so to protect the precious life that is only able to survive because of the Shinju-sama. And as eager as I am to confront the enemy in combat, you would do well to not be so eager to destroy. For one with vengeance in his heart, when that vow is filed, they find too often that thirst not yet slaked, and turn their hearts darkness upon another goal, not always benevolent in intent.

[Saint Jimmy]

Standing in the back, you hear a child's voice. He is very small for his age, but carries himself with confidence not seen in many adults.
While I am uncomfortable waiting for the enemy to come to me instead of stalking it like a deer, I must admit that the barrier is important. Without it the entire Certex army could break through at once. Regardless of how powerful we now are, no one could stop that.
Having said his piece, Hanshiro faded back towards the wall again, and began sharpening his blades, and old nervous habit.

[DoctorFaust]

"Well, if you're dealing with that, I guess I don't." Kanade gives Yamato a smile and a bow, and says, "It's very nice to meet you, Akimoto-sensei. I hope we can get along well."

[Rysto]

Sato Minowa begins nodding as Nami speaks. "Wise words, child." He turns to Yamato and continues, "You'd do well to heed what Nami has said. A single-minded pursuit of vengeance can lead one to do terrible things...." He trails off and stares into space for a moment, but then shakes himself out of it and smiles. "But enough of that. Why don't we go down to the dining hall? I'm sure that your friends here will want to see you off before you leave for Matsuyama, and you all must be starving after your training today.

He stands up straight and ushers everyone out of the room and towards the dining hall. As you walk through its doors you are mobbed by a crowd of Heroes-in-Training, all shouting excitedly.

"Is it true? Did you really get your Terminals?"

"Bring them out! I want to see!"

"Oh, the food here is so good!"

"Oh wow! Getting through training in only four months is so amazing!

"Isn't it? I head that it usually takes at least six!

"I know! I never ate this well at home!"

"Yamato! You can summon your fairy whenever you want now, right? I want to see how many of these hot peppers it can eat!"

"Did you see Mahiru dueling with Sota? One punch and bam! Sent him flying across the room."

"Where are they sending you? Are you going to stay in Utazu?"

"Yeah, but he's tough. He got back up really fast. Hiroomi won't even get near her these days."

Sato and Miss Inami have already left you with your friends, and are sitting with the rest of the Taisha members. Food is being served buffet-style, and there are plenty of open tables.

[Saint Jimmy]

Quickly taking his food, Hanshiro retreats to a corner table far from the others, quite clearly weirded out at how some of those in the crowd, seemingly worshiping his team, were some of the people who bullied no him when he was younger. It wasn't a bad feeling to be looked up to, but change since even a few weeks ago was astounding, and it made him uncomfortable.

[Lentrax]

It is said that the true masters of martial arts, the keepers of the mystical truths of the universe can sustain themselves with nothing but a bowl of rice and a single glass of water.

Nami is not an ancient master.

Nami is helping herself to her third bowl of spicy udon before she even shows signs of slowing down to answer anyone's questions.

We are leaving soon for Matsuyama. There we will prepare ourselves for battle. Study hard and well, and perhaps you will join us there.

[Rysto]

Slowly the buzz around you dulls as dinner proves to have a stronger draw than newly-minted Heroes. You feel relief as the clamour around you is replaced with the ordinary sounds of several dozen Hero Candidates eating, laughing, and discussing their upcoming battles against the enemy's Vertexes.

"Look Megumin, it's really cool when you make a huge explosion like that, but in battle I really don't think that it's prac--"

Suddenly the room is plunged into dead silence. Looking up in alarm, you see Kazuma standing stock still, his mouth open after he was cut off mid-rant. At the Taisha's table, Sato sits completely frozen in place, holding a morsel of food in his chopsticks just before his mouth. At the entrance to the dining hall, the door hangs open behind a motionless Akari and Chinatsu despite the fact that nobody is holding it open. As you look left and right, you see see that every single person and thing besides yourselves remains fixed in place.

The quicker among you realize what is happening and have their Terminals out before their alarm blazes and the screens announce:

Forestize Warning!
Vertex Approaching. Deploy to protect humanity.

It's the last thing that you see before your vision goes white.


When your vision clears, you find yourself standing in an open plain. Surrounding the plain is a twisted, multicoloured forest formed out of giant vines with the occasional tree poking through. Directly in front of you looms a massive Vertex. It floats above the plain, with a long, tapering tube making up its bottom, some kind of veil floating around its pink-and-white middle, and its head has markings that look to be some kind of mockery of a face. Flanking the vertex are three astrum, each roughly humanoid in appearance. They all hold a shield in one hand and a sickle in the other.

Your minds race as you go over everything that the Taisha taught you about battle. The Vertex is your primary target. The astrum can be a threat to Heroes, but only the Vertex has the power to destroy the Shinju-sama and in doing so, bring down the barrier that humanity depends on. If the vertex is killed, the astrum will retreat.

The forest all around you is the Jukai -- the final barrier that protects humanity. Attacks from both the Vertex and the Astrum are capable of damaging the Jukai, and if it sustains too much damage, the Jukai will wilt and any further damage will be felt in the real world, putting innocent civilians at risk. Sealing magic, your most powerful weapon against the Vertexes, draws heavily on the power in the Jukai and if a Vertex is sealed for too long, then this will also wilt the Jukai and cause damage to the real world.


The Vertex bears down slowly upon your position, and now you stand as the only thing between the Shinju-sama and its destruction.

We're using side initiative. Specifically, I roll initiative for each PC and enemy type. Whichever team has a member with the highest initiative goes first. Actions for the team will resolve in initiative order, but please feel free to post in any order. Initiative order for this battle:

PCs (21)
Hana: 21
Yamato: 19
Hanshiro: 16
Nami: 8
Kanade: 3

Enemy (9)
Virgo Vertex: 9
Spica Astrum: 2

Here's a really quick map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing). As time goes on I'll try to mix future battles up with interesting terrain features and whatnot, but for starters you're fighting on a featureless plain. :)

PCs, get your actions for the round in! I'd like to finish this round by Monday evening EST (but if you get your actions in faster, I can keep things moving)

[bcool999]

Yamato
AC 15
HP 38/38

Unperturbed by the frozen time, Yamato activates the terminal as soon as the Jukai appears around them, his casual clothing appears devoured by black flames leaving behind a studded leather duster with gnarled branch motives, also spinning in Yamato's hand is a blackened wood staff that appears almost glassy as if the fire burnt it into glass. A feral grin is on his face as he says, "What did I say? You should treat every minute of rest as a blessing during war time, and we are certainly at war!" Appearing by Yamato's side is his sprite familiar, while most sprites are spirits of the forest, Yamato's looks as if it came from a forest that burned to the ground with her ash grey skin and black bark armor and bow.

"Since it's your first time, allow me to take the lead this time." says Yamato as he begins an incantation, "Beings of the void who have devoured all even light itself, come forth and sate thy most terrible hunger with the blood of mine enemies! [Hunger of Hadar]"

With a shout, Yamato swings his staff down toward the vertex and a tearing sound can be heard as darkness radiates out for 20ft in all directions from the vertex. From the darkness a cacophony of soft whispers and slurping noises can be heard from up to 30ft away.

Casting Hunger of Hadar with the center being the bottom right corner of the vertex. The area of darkness should start 10ft. from Yamato and cover all enemies who take 2d6 Cold damage (no save) if they start their turn in the area. Only those who can see in magical darkness can pierce the area otherwise they are blinded. The area is difficult terrain and any creature who ends their turn in it takes 2d6 Acid damage on a failed Dexterity save.

[DoctorFaust]

Kanade had been chatting with one of the younger recruits, a girl by the name of Tanya, before the world around them froze. She looks up from the shorter girl, confusion written all over her face, and sees that the only other people moving beside her are the ones that had just been issued Terminals. She has a moment of dawning comprehension, but it comes too late. By the time she's dragger her Terminal out of her pocket, the Forestize Warning has already sounded, and the dining room of the Taisha facility has been replaced by the technicolor forestscape they had learned all about in training.

"We need to push them back!" Kanade yells, pulling out her phone and opening the Hero App. "There's way too many kids around."

Her form is obscured by a brilliant flash of light, and when it clears, Kanade is wearing a blue haori over a short kimono and carry a number of very large weapons. She hefts the nodachi up and points it to where the vertex had been, and a blue-white beam bursts from the tip and disappears into the shimmering darkness.

Ray of Frost
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Saint Jimmy]

Ok first off, I'm so sorry! With the game I'm running I completely forgot about this one!

Hanshiro was by himself again when the alarm sounded, and with his reflexes was completely ready when they got there. After seeing his comrades attacks, he smiled and says

Yes, target the vertex.

Adter speaking, Hanshiro sarted muttering under his breath. Those who can hear it sounds like "Enough, creature. The Sinju-Sama has marked you as prey, and I am it's hunter.
However, the next part is easier to hear, as it is shouted as he looses two arrows at the vertex.

"Prepare to die!"


Attack vs vertex
[roll0]
Damage(?)
[roll1]
Plus [roll2]

Second attack vs vertex (extra attack)
[roll3]
Damage(?)
[roll4]
Plus [roll5]

Attack vs astrum (horde breaker)
[roll6]
Damage(?)
[roll7]
Plus [roll8]]
Actions:
1.hunters mark (bonus action)
2. Draw bow
3. Attacks (standard/attack action)

Edit: GOSH DARN IT, Withiut modifiers I rolled a 6, 2, and 3.:smallmad:

[Lentrax]

Nami turns to face the Vertex. As she does, her typically black clothing becomes swathed in light, and when it fades... its only change is that it has turned white.

With a look of determination, Nami rushes forward, her quarterstaff held in her hands. With a running leap, she launches herself at the foe directly in front of her, bringing her staff down in a high arc as she comes down from her leaping attack. As she strikes, she twists her body to kick at the creature as she lands, still spinning the staff. In another impressive display, she brings the staff to bear in another arc, this time aimed upward.


Attack One: Quarterstaff:
[roll0], Damage: [roll1]
Attack Two: Unarmed, granted by Martial Arts:
[roll2], Damage: [roll3]
Attack three: Quarterstaff, Granted by Extra Attack:
[roll4], Damage: [roll5]

[Rysto]

Hana was first to react. She had her Terminal ready before the Heroes were even transported into the Jukai. She quickly transformed and then shouted, "Shinju-sama, Grantor of Humanity's Blessings: Help us to strike true!". Her spell cast, she ran to the left, looking to cut off the Vertex's escape.

Yamato was next. As they'd practiced so many times before, he engulfed the invaders in a magical darkness. Within it, the vines of the Jukai came to life and began to strike at anyone who came near.

Hanshiro drew his bow and fired two quick shots. The first was not well aimed, but the target was so large that he could hardly miss, and you all heard a satisfying roar of pain from somewhere in the darkness. The second shot was worse and clearly was going to miss high, but then the arrow shone with the Shinju-sama's light and was pulled back towards the ground, and with the aid of the Shinju-sama's blessing the arrow stroke home.

Nami began moving before Yamato had even completed his spell, and delivered a series of solid blows to the nearest astrum before it had a chance to react to the sudden darkness.

Kanade launched a frigid beam of icy light at the Vertex, but was wide of the mark.


The invaders are stymied by the unexpected darkness. The vertex lurches in confusion to its right, but isn't quite able to fully extricate itself. As it moves it launches two blind missile attacks back at the last place it had seen the Heroes. The first explodes harmlessly where Nami had been standing. You all wince as the Jukai takes the brunt of the damage, but the barrier appears to hold. The second shot has better luck. Yamato finds himself trapped between the missile landing in Nami's former position to his left and a second missile heading his way, and the second explosion catches him full-on. Several vines, enchanted by Yamato's spell, strike at the Vertex, but it manages to float above the fray and dodges the attack.

The Alpha astrum stumbles out of the darkness near Hana's position. It takes a swipe at her with its sickle, but it is still disoriented and misses completely. It follows up with a blow from its shield that staggers her and makes her stumble back several paces. The astrum takes advantage of her being off-balance and retreats to a position near the vertex.

The Beta astrum found itself at the very centre of the darkness. It stays near the Vertex and is still engulfed by the darkness. Several vines strike at it and it gives a high-pitched wail of pain as the acid dripping from the vines eats into its body.

The Gamma astrum strikes back at Nami with its sickle but she anticipates the counterattack and dodges it easily. What she didn't anticipate was a follow-up blow from its shield that left her reeling backwards. As she regains her balance the astrum retreats to its left, towards its companions.

Hana and Nami have both been pushed back 5 feet (this is reflected on the map). Yamato has taken 15 fire damage and must succeed on a DC10 CON save or lose concentration on Hunger of Hadar (I can't believe the Vertex's luck here: I rolled 1d5 twice to determine who was even targeted, which is why the first shot hit empty ground, and then the vertex still hit with the second despite the attack roll having disadvantage)

Hana has cast bless on Hana, Hanshiro and Nami. They add +1d4 to all attack rolls and saving throws.

Status:
Hana: 44/44 HP
Yamato: 23/38 HP
Hanshiro: 44/44 HP
Nami: 38/38 HP
Kanade: 54/54 HP

Virgo: 26 damage
Alpha: 4 damage
Beta: 13 damage
Gamma: 28 damage

Map Updated (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[Saint Jimmy]

Smiling inside at the Sinju-sama's blessing of his arrow, Hanshiro decides that he doesn't want to switch to his blades just yet, so runs over to right behind Hana, firing two more arrows at the vertex, as well as its nearest ally, hoping to bring it down before it could reach his allies.


Vs vertex
[roll0]+[roll1] (bless)
[roll2] +[roll3] (hunters mark)

Vs vertex
[roll4]+[roll5] (bless)
[roll6] +[roll7] (hunters mark)

Vs Beta Astrum
[roll8]+[roll9] (bless)
[roll10]

[DoctorFaust]

"Fantastic!" Kanade runs forwards across the line of fire from Yamato and Hanshiro, coming to a rest across from one of the Astrum long enough to lift her sword and send another beam out at it.

Kanade is going to be moving from Y21 to T20, and then casting Ray of Frost at Gamma.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[bcool999]

Yamato
HP 23/38

Grinning like a madman despite being blasted by flames, Yamato takes a moment to steady himself. After Kanade starts to move, Yamato follows behind and after seeing her attack, follows up with one of his own. He first sends his familiar on ahead with a telepathic message, to harry Gamma from the sky. A short chant later, two orbs of pure energy launch from him, deftly weaving around his ally, one aiming for the distracted Astrum, the other disappearing into the darkness to strike at the Vertex.

Delaying until Kanade's move resolves, then sending my Familiar to T17, but 5ft off the ground (so someone could stand beneath her) and having her perform the Help action on Gamma. Meanwhile, Yamato moves to T21 and casts Eldritch Blast, sending one bolt to Gamma, and one to the Vertex.

Gamma's Bolt: [roll0]
Advantage: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
If Gamma is hit I will use Repelling Blast to move him back 10ft. back into the darkness.

Vertex's Bolt: [roll3]
Advantage (There is a wall of darkness between me and it that I can see through but it can't): [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]
I will not activate Repelling Blast if it hits the Vertex.

[Lentrax]

Seeing her companions double down on Gamma, Nami opts to press her assault. Charging back up along a thick vine, Nami plants her staff on the ground to launch herself at Gamma, delivering a series of blows with her feet. Then as she lands, she jabs at Gamma with the end of her quarterstaff.

Move to T17 and attack Gamma.
Unarmed: [roll0]+[roll1] Damage: [roll2]

Spend 1 ki point to activate Flurry of blows.

Attack 2: [roll3]+[roll4] Damage: [roll5]
Attack 3: [roll6]+[roll7] Damage: [roll8]

Quarterstaff: [roll9]+[roll10] Damage: [roll11]

And everything goes great. Until I use the staff...:smallsigh:

[Rysto]

Hana led the charge against the Gamma Spica, hitting it with two quick blows from her longsword.

Yamato followed up with a pair of energy blasts. The first harmlessly plowed in the ground several feet in front of the Spica. The second wasn't particularly well-aimed, but the Vertex never saw it coming and took a solid blow to its head.

Hanshiro followed up with a flurry of arrows. The first two score solid hits on the Vertex's body, and it let out a terrible scream after the second impact, looking decidedly worse for wear. The last arrow disappears anticlimactically into the darkness, missing the Beta vertex entirely.

Nami descended upon the Gamma Spica once more. Her first two kicks left it reeling before the last finished it entirely. Its body disintegrated into sand as she swung her staff uselessly where it's head had been a moment before.

Kanade had been lining up a shot at the Gamma Spica, but she said it collapsed she changed gears quickly and fired at the Vertex instead, landing a solid hit.


The Virgo Vertex, clearly hobbled by its injuries, slowly breaks free of the darkness that Yamato had summoned. It then turns the tube protruding from its lower end towards the Heroes, firing missiles at both Kanade and Hanshiro. Kanade has plenty of time to react and dodges easily. Hanshiro is slower and the missile impacts right at his feet, but the it is a dud and he was barely even singed.

The Alpha Spica struck back at Hana with its sickle and she took a minor cut to her shoulder. The Spica followed up with a solid push with its shield, and Hana sprawls into the darkness.

The Beta Spica takes a swipe at Hana that skitters uselessly across her armour. It then finally stumbles out of the darkness and takes a position to the Vertex's right.

Hana has taken 4 damage and must succeed on a DC10 Con save to maintain concentration on bless: [roll0] + [roll1]

Hanshiro has taken 4 fire damage and must succeed on a DC10 Con save to maintain concentration.

The Vertex is now vulnerable and may be sealed.

Status:
Hana: 40/44 HP
Yamato: 23/38 HP
Hanshiro: 40/44 HP
Nami: 38/38 HP
Kanade: 54/54 HP

Virgo: 74 damage (Vulnerable)
Alpha: 4 damage
Beta: 22 damage
Gamma: dead

Map Updated (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[Saint Jimmy]

After dropping his bow, Hanshiro runs forward over the multicolored ground, drawing his blades as he relishes the thrill of finally taking the fight to the enemy. He moves past the Alpha Spica, until he is right by both the Vertex and Beta Spica. As he began his assault on the Vertex and Spica with his storm of flashing blades, he shouts
"Now! Let's take the Vertex down hard and fast!"


The movement is 1 diagonal square right towards the Vertex and then 4 forward, putting him in the little spot right by the Beta Spica, Vertex, and the AOE.
Draws swords as part of the attack, and uses his attack, extra attack, bonus action (dual wielding) and Horde Breaker ability to attack the Vertex three times and the Beta Spica once.

Vs Vertex
+[roll1] (bless)
[roll2]+[roll3] (hunters mark)

Vs Vertex
[roll4]+[roll5] (bless)
[roll6]+[roll7] (hunters mark)

Vs Vertex
[roll8]+[roll9] (bless)
[roll10]+[roll11] (hunters mark)

Vs Beta Spica
roll]d20+7+[roll12] (bless)
[roll13]

Redoing the Beta Spica rolls in OOC.

[DoctorFaust]

Good reflexes don't necessarily transfer to good footspeed, and so even as she managed to land a hit on the Vertex with her magic, she is forced to call out, "It's too far for me! You guys deal with it in the meantime, and I'll try to catch up."

She takes her nodachi up in her second hand, switching to a proper sword grip, and then runs at the Spica that had been menacing Hanshiro. Swinging her sword more like a tombstone than a proper blade, she brings it crashing down twice on her target, hoping to take it out of the fight as quickly as possible.

Kanade moves from T20 to S17, and then attacks Spica Beta.

GWM v. Beta: [roll0]
[roll1]
Extra attack w/GWM v. Beta:[roll2]
[roll3]

[bcool999]

Yamato
HP 23/38

Displeased that the Vertex finally managed to remove itself from his spell, Yamato clicks his tongue and with a snap of his fingers, the darkness fades away. Before it fully disperses, Yamato reaches out a hand towards the vertex and clenches his fist, causing some of the fading darkness to coalesce into dark needles which race forth and pierces the vertex. "Now die for me." Yamato says as two more orbs of energy shoot forth towards the vertex.

Dismissing HoH since they managed to escape. And casting Hex as a bonus action Concentration duration up to 8 hours. Vertex takes an additional 1d6 Nercotic damage with each attack that hits it, and as a bonus it will have disadvantage on all Dexterity ability checks. Will then spend my normal action to cast Eldritch Blast and aim them both at the Vertex.

Blast 1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Force + [roll2] Necrotic

Blast 2: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4] Force + [roll5] Necrotic

[Lentrax]

The time is now. Let us end this.

Nami dashes up along the vines of the Jukai, twirling her quarterstaff in her hands. The motions are quick and the ends of the staff are a blur as the staff spins behind her. As she approaches the vertex, she snaps the staff across the Vertex, then uses her momentum to launch a spinning backhand. She follows that up with a roundhouse kick.

Move to U13.
Attack One: [roll0]+[roll1] Damage: [roll2]
Attack Two: [roll3]+[roll4] Damage: [roll5]
Attack Three: [roll6]+[roll7] Damage: [roll8]

[Rysto]

With the Gamma astrum finished, Hana charges the Vertex. A pair of slashes from her sword opens deep wounds in the Vertex’s side.

Yamato follows up with a pair of energy blasts. With an unearthly scream, the Vertex’s body dissolves into sand while its soul escapes into the sky on a beam of rainbow light. The ground around you begins to shake as the Shinju-sama dismisses the Jukai, and then your vision goes white


When it clears, you find yourself standing around the shrine near the entrance to the dining hall. Akari and Chinatsu stand before you, mouths gaping in surprise at your sudden appears. Behind them, the door to the dining slowly swings closed.

Akari is the first to recover. "Oh my goodness!" she says. "Are you alright? Yamato! You’re bleeding!" She produces a box of tissues and begins dabbing at the cuts that litter his arms. "Chinatsu! Go get somebody from the Taisha!"

Chinatsu turns around and darts into the dining hall. "Somebody, come quick! The new Heroes are hurt! I think they fought a vertex!"

Absolute bedlam follows Chinatsu’s plea for gelp, but you hear Miss Inami shout everybody down. "Quiet! Quiet down! Everybody stay here while we look after the Heroes." She walks placidly out of the dining hall towards you, an unreadable expression on her face. Behind her is Sato Minowa, and his mouth drops open as he sees you scuffed and bleeding from your fight.

"I see," says Miss Inami evenly. "You were called into the battle. Good work. Are you all feeling all right? The doctors will probably want to look the five of you over."

Everybody gains 560 XP. I plan on awarding XP to the party evenly, so you don't have to track XP individually, but go ahead if you want to

[bcool999]

"Hmph, sometimes power requires the sacrifice of flesh and bl-Itai!" Yamato begins to say but is cut off as Akari begins touching his wounds.

After listening to Miss Inami, Yamato agrees to see the doctors, but can't help but add, "At least Inami-san can fall back on a career in weather forecasting if nothing else eh?"

[Saint Jimmy]

Speaking uncharateristicly loudly so that everyone understands that there is no cause for alarm, Hanshiro says"I think Yamato was the only one to be injured, other then the Vertex and some Spicas, of course. He finishes the sentence with obvious pride in himself and his teammates.

As an afterthought, Hanshiro adds to Miss Inami
"It really wasn't all that challenging. Didn't even need to seal it, once we started concentrating fire on the Vertex, it went down in about twelve seconds. I take it that it is not going to be this easy for ever?"

[DoctorFaust]

"I didn't get hurt, Inami-san," Kanade says, bowing to their teacher. "And I actually don't think Nami did either. So, please, save your efforts for everyone else that was."

She looks around the room, and asks, "Are all the kids alright?"

[Rysto]

After listening to Miss Inami, Yamato agrees to see the doctors, but can't help but add, "At least Inami-san can fall back on a career in weather forecasting if nothing else eh?"

"Do not mock us," Miss Inami says sternly. "For ten generations the Taisha have safeguarded humanity. If we turn out to be incorrect about a minor detail or two along the way, so be it."


"It really wasn't all that challenging. Didn't even need to seal it, once we started concentrating fire on the Vertex, it went down in about twelve seconds. I take it that it is not going to be this easy for ever?"

You say you were fighting Spica-class Astrums? We usually see those with Virgos -- that's why it was given the name "Spica". Let me pull up the battle data from your terminals to be sure." She pulls a tablet out of a pouch on her side and fiddles with it as she leads you all to the medical wing. "Yes, a Virgo class. Its missiles have proven to be formidable weapons -- it looks like you were lucky to have sustained as few injuries as you did -- but it is not well armoured. Akimoto-san, you did very well with that darkness spell. Be careful that you do not come to rely upon it too much: the enemy has proven to be quite clever at creating Vertexes to counteract our strategies."


"I didn't get hurt, Inami-san," Kanade says, bowing to their teacher. "And I actually don't think Nami did either. So, please, save your efforts for everyone else that was."

Miss Inami shakes her head. "I'm afraid that the doctors will want to see all of you. We want to monitor your body's response to the Hero system, just to be safe.


She looks around the room, and asks, "Are all the kids alright?"

Miss Inami looks back to her terminal, then looks back up and gives you a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. The Jukai didn't take much damage today. However, it looks like your battle took place several kilometers from here. The Shinju-sama is able to transport you great distances to get you to where the battle will be, although the further you travel, the less precise it's able to be about the destination. When the battle is over and you're returned to the real world, you will arrive at the nearest shrine -- that's why you ended up outside of the dining hall."

As Miss Inami finishes her explanation, you all arrive at the medical wing. A small army of doctors and nurses descend on you, tending to wounds and setting up equipment for medical tests. Miss Inami says, "Unfortunately, it looks like our plans to travel to Matsuyama tonight will be cancelled. Instead we will leave tomorrow morning, so make sure that you are ready to leave. Unless any of you have any further questions for me, I will take my leave for the night." She turns to Sato and says, "Minowa-san, would you kindly have someone arrange a room for me?"

[Lentrax]

I do not. I shall see you upon the morrow.

Nami allows herself to be guided to a bed where she promptly sits upon it, folds her legs into a lotus position and begins to meditat as the doctors perform their tests.

[Saint Jimmy]

Likewise, Hanshiro silently allows the doctors to do all of their poking and prodding, and then quickly goes to his room to rest.

[bcool999]

Ignoring Miss Inami's indignation for the most part, Yamato allows the poking and prodding of the doctors.

[Rysto]

The next morning you are awoken by Miss Inami. "Good morning to you all. I have spoken with the doctors and you are all free to go," she tells you. "I want to leave immediately after breakfast, so please hurry down to the dining hall and eat. We've taken the liberty of packing your things for you, so you don't need to worry about that. Also, I have an announcement to make." She pauses, takes a breath, and then continues. "I am afraid that it has been decided that Hana's talents will be required elsewhere. There were a number of attacks yesterday and we want her to help shore up our forces elsewhere. You can say your goodbyes over breakfast."

Breakfast is a little downcast after this news. All too soon, the four of you find yourself in the back of a van, leaving Hana and Utazu behind. In the front seat is Miss Inami is fiddling with her tablet and and mostly ignoring you, while a Taisha official you don't recognize is driving. You all settle in for the two hour drive to your new home.

About two thirds of the way through your journey, the car comes to an impossibly fast stop and only your seatbelts save you from being sent flying forward. The whiplash leaves you dazed for a moment, and it's only when the alarm on your terminals sound and your vision goes white once more that it dawns on you what just happened.


When your vision clears, you find yourselves in the Jukai for the second time. A large, green Vertex with a pair of horns pointing downwards and topped by a large bell is bearing down upon you, floating several feet about the ground. Up in the sky, a pair of bird-like Astra with long, pointed beaks lurk to your left and right.

You're all still disoriented by your hard stop, and you barely have time to complete your transformations before the vertex strikes. Three arrows made of white light explode from the Vertex. The first strikes a ringing blow against Kanade's armour, but it holds firm and she escapes any damage. The second is targeted at Nami, but she's able to predict its motion and dodge it with ease. The third was vaguely in Hanshiro's direction, but poorly aimed and instead slams into the Jukai in an explosion of light. The vertex continues to close in quickly on your position, leaving it only 20 feet away.

The Alpha Astrum descends upon Kanade from the left, but it only suceeds in slamming its beak uselessly against her armour twice.

The Beta Astrum divebombs Hanshiro from the right, and its beak opens a deep, piercing wound in his shoulder. The Astrum follows up with a second peck, but despite the pain, Hanshiro is easily able to bat the attack aside.

Initiative:
Taurus-class Vertex: 19
Sterope-class Astra: 13

Kanade: (1d20+1)[14]
Nami: (1d20+4)[6]
Hanshiro: (1d20+4)[6]
Yamato: (1d20+3)[5]

(I flipped a coin to break the initiative tie between Nami and Hanshiro, not that it really matters. In case it's unclear, that bit about you being disoriented was just fluff to justify why you rolled initiative so badly. I didn't hit you with any mechanical penalties; the dice just hated you)

A map is here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

Hanshiro takes 13 piercing damage. The rest of you get off scot-free, as the dice very quickly switched sides.

Go ahead and get your actions in, and once again, sorry for the delay.

[Saint Jimmy]

Cursing as the creature tears into his shoulder, Hanshiro mutters an invocation, asking the Sinju-Sama to bless his attacks against it. With that, he draws his blades and begins to attack.

<ooc> sorry can't type spoilers on my phone. Since bonus action was used for hunters mark Hanshiro unfortunately can't use his bonus action to attack, so only two attacks this turn.

[roll0]
[roll1]+[roll]d6 (4-check OOC thread)

[roll2]
[roll3]+[roll4]
For a total of 19 damage. Hanshiro is at 31 HP

[DoctorFaust]

"For crying out loud! Again?" Kanade winces as the beaked creature strikes at her armor, but since it doesn't penetrate, decides that it's a target of somewhat lesser importance. Still, she slashes at it with her sword, the blade glowing green with eldritch energies, and then charges towards the Vertex.

Attack: Blade Boom on Sterope Alpha
[roll0]
[roll1]

Move: X14 to X11

[bcool999]

Yamato

"Hmph. It would be best if you treated every day as your last." Yamato says to his fellow heroes as enemies close in. "After all, isn't our duty to spend our lives in buying time against the inevitable! [Armor of Agathys]!" With a shout, armor of hoarfrost covers Yamato from head to toe, vapor rising from his body.

Casting Armor of Agathys. 1 spell slot remaining today. Yamato gains 15 temp hp and any enemy which damages him while he has temp hp remaining takes 15 cold damage.

Also, it wasn't said, but did we regain hp after the last battle?

[Lentrax]

Duty is often heavier than a mountain, but do not let your soul be crushed by the weight.

With these words, the girl is off, dashing steps taking her up the long vines of the Jukai. Reaching the apex of the vine, Nami leaps into the air, one foot stretched before her in a flying kick. As she connects, her feet blur as she brings them into contact with the Vertex again and again, pounding as mercilessly as she can, then as she breaks her contact with the Vertex, she lands before it, with her quarterstaff at the ready.

Moving to Y10.
Unarmed Attack 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Activating Flurry of blows.

Unarmed Attack 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Unarmed Attack 3: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

Unarmed Attack 4: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

[Rysto]

Kanade struck the Alpha Astrum with a glancing blow, but when her blade connected a small explosion was triggered, wrapping the Astrum in magical energy. Kanade advances several feet in the Vertex's direction. The Astrum tries to take advantage of his distraction by attempting to peck her before she left its reach, but the blow once again skittered uselessly along Kanade's seemingly impenetrable armour.

Nami closed on the Vertex and landed four consecutive blows, leaving it reeling.

Hanshiro put his mark on the Astrum who'd attacked him and followed up with a pair of solid blows.

Yamato summoned the power of the Shinju-sama to wrap himself in a frigid armour.


The Vertex retaliates with another trio of light arrows. The first finally finds a crack in Kanade's armour. The second impacts directly against Yamato's magical armour. In response, the armour flashes a blinding blue light and the air before him drops to inhospitable temperatures. Unfortunately the Vertex had launched the attack from long range and is safe from the effect. The third arrow catches Hanshiro in the leg, and the sudden pain makes him stumble in maintaining his spell. With the attack completed, it cautiously advances a few feet forward without leaving an opening for Nami to strike at its back.

The Alpha Astrum, unwilling to trigger the magic that Kanade had enveloped it in, instead strikes back at her with a ranged attack. Its eyes glow red, and suddenly a starburst explodes to Kanade's side, leaving her scrambling to dodge.

The Beta Astrum turns its back on Hanshiro and descends on Nami from behind, intent on protecting the Vertex. She never saw the attack coming but some sixth sense warned her of danger and she threw herself to the side, causing the Astrum to miss Nami badly with both strkes.

Kanade takes 6 radiant damage.
Yamato takes 4 radiant damage to his temp HP (AoA did not trigger damage back to the Vertex as it only applies to melee attacks)
Hanshiro takes 6 radiant damage, and must succeed on a DC10 Con save or lose concentration.

Kande must succeed on a DC15 Dex save or take 8 fire damage.

Hanshiro may take an attack of opportunity against Beta.

Status:
Kanade: 50/54 HP
Nami: 38/38 HP
Hanshiro: 21/44 HP
Yamato: 23/38 HP + 11 Temp HP

Taurus Vertex: 35 damage
Alpha Sterope: 17 damage
Beta Sterope: 19 damage

Map Updated (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[Saint Jimmy]

As the Astrum flees, Hanshiro attempts to deliver a riptose to it, asking his allies to "Get in closer to it! He can't shoot us from there!
[roll0]
[roll1] (hunter's mark)

Eyes gleaming, he begins to chase the Astrum, but is shot in the leg by the arrow, causing him to stumble as he continues the chase, like the hunter he is.

As he recovered from the wound, the Sinju-Sama still marking his quarry, he runs up by his allies, right by kanade, Nami, the Astrum, and Vertex. As his blades slash and stab in a whirlwind of steel at his prey, a feral smile grows on his now blood-stained face.

Attack vs Astrum
[roll2]
[roll3] (hunter's mark)

Attack 2 vs Astrum (extra attack)
[roll4]
[roll5] (hunter's mark)

Attack 3 vs Astrum (bonus action, dual wield)
[roll6]
[roll7] (hunter's mark)

Attack vs Vertex (horde breaker)
[roll8]
[roll9]

The Astrum target was the Beta one.
Hanshiro is at 21 HP.

[bcool999]

Shrugging off the blow as it blasts off some of Yamato's icy exterior, he chuckles and says, "Is that all you can do with your power? Allow me to show you true might! [Witch Bolt]!"

Chains of lightning flows down Yamato's arm and staff before leaping at the Vertex, connecting Yamato to it and sending surges of electrical power to burn the Vertex. Yamato then ensures that it can't escape it's bindings by moving right up next to the Vertex.

Casting Witch Bolt on the Vertex.

Ranged Spell Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] Lightning damage.

Since the range of the spell is doubled (thanks to Spell Sniper), the Vertex can only escape if it moves further than 60ft. from Yamato, or if Yamato loses concentration on the spell.

Yamato also moves to W11 next to Kanade, making it hard for the Vertex to escape the range of Witch Bolt.

[DoctorFaust]

Taken aback by the two sudden blows, Kanade cries out in pain as the blast of fire envelopes her side. She still manages to keep her composure enough to heft her sword up and take two wide slashes at the Vertex. They need to end the fight quickly, and bringing the mortal enemy of the Shinju-sama down is the best way to do that.

Attack v. Taurus: [roll0]
[roll1]
Extra attack v. Taurus: [roll2]
[roll3]

[Lentrax]

Nami continues her assault on the Vertex.

Attack 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack 3: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

[Rysto]

Kanade struck twice against the Vertex that had conveniently moved itself into the range of her sword, not considering why an enemy that had displayed only a ranged attack would do so.

Nami followed up with a solid punch that caused the Vertex to let out a terrible scream. Her second punch landed a solid blow, but her final kick missed completely.

Hanshiro charged the Beta Astrum and landed a series of strikes with his sword. That completed, he spun and attempted to strike at the Vertex, but stumbled on his lunge.

Yamato enveloped the Vertex with a writhing mass of lightning.


The four Heroes surrounded the Vertex, certain that victory was imminent. The smiles were wiped off their faces when the bell topping the Vertex began to clang a terrible, sickening peal. All of them were overwhelmed by the awful sound and could not bring themselves to do anything as the vertex blithely floated on, painfully slowly now, towards the Shinju-sama.

The Astra took advantage of the holes in the stricken heroes' defences. The Alpha Astrum descended on Kanade once more. Its first peck was still unable to pierce her armour, but the second opened a deep wound.

The Beta Astrum continued to attack Nami. Its first strike open a terrible gash deep into her torso, and its second strike barely missed critical organs but left her in a perilous state.

It took several seconds for the Heroes to snap out of the terrible stupor that had been inflicted upon them, and in that time their enemies struck once more. The Vertex fired another barrage of light arrows. Yamato and Hanshiro had both recovered enough to dodge the arrows sent their way, while Kanade felt the arrow strike a glancing blow against her shoulder that her armour easily deflected away. Its attack finished, the Vertex continued to advance on the Shinju-sama.

The Alpha Astrum decided to stop dulling its beak against Kanade's armour, and instead detonated a second starburst in front of Yamato.

The Beta Astrum to finish off Nami entirely, but she easily brushed aside both of its clumsy assaults.

Wow. That was not a good turn. The good news is that Nami's first attack brought the Vertex into Vulnerable territory, and by now it's well past Vulnerable and into "decidedly beat-down" territory. The bad news is, well, everything else.

All hostile creatures adjacent to the Vertex needed to make a DC15 Con save or be stunned until the start of the Vertex's next turn and take 5 psychic damage. You all failed (see the OOC thread for the rolls). Being stunned, you were unable to take actions or reactions, lost concentration on any spells, and attacks against you had advantage. All told,

Yamato took 5 psychic damage and lost concentration on Witch Bolt.
Kanade took 5 psychic damage and 9 piercing.
Nami took 5 psychic damage and 26 piercing damage.
Hanshiro took 5 psychic damage and lost concentration on Hunter's Mark.

Yamato needs to succeed on a DC15 Dex save or take 12 fire damage.

Status:
Kanade: 26/54 HP
Nami: 7/38 HP
Hanshiro: 16/44 HP
Yamato: 38/38 HP + 6 Temp HP

Taurus Vertex: 90 damage
Alpha Sterope: 17 damage
Beta Sterope: 52 damage

Map is updated (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[Saint Jimmy]

His head reeling from the psychic assault, Hanshiro found that he could no longer focus on his link to the Sinju-sama, so the spell was broken. Seeing the Vertex lumber towards the barrier. For the first time, the possibility of defeat crossed Hanshiro's mind. What would happen to his friends. His family. Maybe it was the bell, but for once it wasn't hard to think of the sort of wrath the gods would smite them down with. Blood everywhere, everyone massacred out hand for no reason, as if they were gnats. The only question was how much pain they would be in...

No...not on my watch...
Hanshiro barely managed to spit out. Coming back to reality quickly, he realized that he and his team had to stop this creature here and now, to make sure the vision the bell had given him wouldn't become a reality. Fully back to consciousnes, Hanshiro sprinted towards the Vertex, realizing that he would probably die. All he could do as he ran was mutter a prayer that the Astrum wouldn't kill him before he could reach it. Crossing the ground swiftly, he readied his blades, and with a jump and a primal scream, attempted to impale the creature and drag the weapons down as he held them with gravity, trying to open huge gashes on it and end the threat.

All against Vertex.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2] (bonus action)
[roll3]

[roll4] (extra attack)
[roll5]

[DoctorFaust]

Shaking off the last vestiges of stupor, Kanade begins running after the Vertex, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. As she reaches the Taurus, she slams her sword down at the Taurus in rage, cursing the fact she can't begin to seal it and stop it from moving further.

Move: X11-X14

Beginning Sealing

[bcool999]

Yamato

[roll0]

"Stop running!" Yamato shouts as he releases a pair of magical bolts of energy at the Vertex.

Casting Eldritch Blast

Ranged Spell Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Ranged Spell Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[Rysto]

Kanade turned and charged the fleeing Vertex. The Alpha astrum was caught off-guard and missed completely as it attempted to stab her back. As she approached the Taurus, she focused the Shinju-sama's power into the blade and it grew to an enormous size, dwarfing the girl who wielded it. Kanade attacked with a massive overhead swing and then followed up with a quick stab, but the huge sword proved to be too unwieldy and both attacks missed.

Hanshiro rushed in himself, heedless of the danger that the Astrum surrounding him posed. The Alpha was distracted by Kanade's charge and didn't even look his way, but the Beta's beak opened a deep gash in his shoulder as he ran past. Hanshiro felt nothing, though, so focused was he on the Vertex who he'd sworn to stop. As soon as the Vertex was in reach, he raked it with a slash from the sword in his right hand, and then followed up with a second slash from his left. He finished the maneuver by stabbing his sword to the hilt into the Vertex's body. The Vertex let out a dreadful wail and the four Heroes of the Taisha took a deep, relieved breath as the Vertex disintegrated into sand.

Hanshiro took 13 damage from the opportunity attack. Final status of the PCs:

Kanade: 26/54 HP
Nami: 7/38 HP
Hanshiro: 3/44 HP
Yamato: 32/38 HP

Everyone received 800XP. That should bring you to 7860 XP total

Back in the real world, you find yourselves at an unfamiliar shrine at the edge of a small city. None of the landmarks are known to any of you, although you can see the ocean and the Shinju-sama's barrier several kilometers off in the distance. As the adrenaline begins to wear off. Hanshiro feels light-headed from the blood loss and Nami is visibly labouring. After a minute or so, Kanade's Hero Terminal chirps once, and when she looks at it she's received a text message from Miss Inami.


Got your location from your terminal's GPS. Be there in 5 minutes.
- Inami

A few minutes later, the var pulls up to the shrine, and the two Taisha members jump out. The driver sucks in a breath when he sees the state of Nami and Hanshiro, but Miss Inami just ignores him. She turns and throws the back door to the van open. "Kanade, Yamato, help Nami into the van. Takanashi," she says to the driver, "Help me with Hanshiro."

Once the two stricken Heroes are belted in, Takanashi floors it and the van streaks off. "They need Spirit Medics. Where's the nearest Hero Program centre?"

"Saijo."

Takanashi looks over at Miss Inami in surprise. "Surely Sanshu is closer?

Miss Inami doesn't look up from typing on her tablet. "No one's there. We didn't restart the program in Sanshu because we got an Oracle from the Shinju-sama indicating that the area is well protected."

"Good to know that the barrier is still holding somewhere."

About half an hour later, you begin to see signs on the highway indicating that you're approaching Saijo. Suddenly, Miss Inami's tablet chimes loudly. She looks down at it and reads the latest message, and then swears vehemently. She takes a deep breath to compose herself, then turns back to face the four of you. "My apologies for the outburst. Apparently, Matsumaya has come under a series of attacks, and the local Heroes are being stretched to their limits. My second-in-command is begging me to deliver the four of you to the front lines as quickly as possible."

She sighs, indecision written plainly on her face. Then she brightens a bit, and begins flipping through her tablet. "Yes.... In Matsuyama we still have two leftover potion prototypes that we developed under the direction of the Shinju-sama. They should at least be able to close the worst of Nami and Hanshiro's wounds and get them close to fighting form. However, I leave the choice with the four of you. If you feel that you must rest in Saijo before moving on to Matsumaya, I will not force you. It will not be the literal end of the world if you choose to rest. However, I'm certain that if you press on, you can make a difference."

Okay, so that encounter took a lot more out of you than I really expected. So here's the deal: stay overnight in Kaijo and take a short rest now, or Nami and Hanshio each get 1 Potion of Greater Healing (heals 4d4+4 HP) and you'll enter a new fight in Matsuyama.

[Saint Jimmy]

Hanshiro sighed, wounds still burning and still dizzy with blood loss.

"Gha, damn awful time for Hana to get reassigned, I could really use her healing powers, if we move on I'll most likely be drained by the end of the fight."
With a grimace, he adds
"But, if we stop, we risk screwing this whole mess up even more"
After a minute of silent contemplation, he mutters
"Alright, hand me the potion. Well have to see what Nami says, but my obligation to the Sinju-Sama demands that I keep pressing. I'll stay in the back though, with my bow. Maybe get a little creative with some of my magic I haven't put to the test yet...

WAIT. I can make this better. We don't need Hana to heal, I forgot I was blessed with that ability as well! Nami, I can heal you to if you wish.

With that he downs the potion and casts Cure Wounds(if Nami agrees)

Potion:[roll0]
Cure wounds (target:himself. 2d level slot)
[roll1]
Cure wounds (target:Nami if she agrees. First level spell slot)
[roll2]

With that if he healed Nami, Hanshiro used up 3 of his four first level spell slots and both of his two second level ones.
He is at 44 HP.

Completely refreshed, Hanshiro smiled and proceeded to thank the Sinju-Sama profusely.

[bcool999]

Yamato

"Hmph, my spirit always burns brightly at the thought of battle." Yamato says, "Though I suppose as a hero Senpai, I should listen to my Kouhai if they need a rest."

Translation: Yamato is good to go either way.

[Lentrax]

Nami is in bad shape. She can feel it. She barely recalls the end of the fight, or their return to reality, or the ride in the van.

She does feel the surge of power flow into her.

She looks over at Hanshiro, and nods.

Th-Thank... You...

[Rysto]

Miss Inami smiles faintly. "Thank you, Heroes. May the Shinju-sama bless you for your efforts today." She turns to the driver and says, "Change of plans. Get us to Matsuyama as quickly as possible. I'll let them know we're coming."

Half-an-hour later, the van pulls in front of a large building located next to a large shrine to the Shinju-sama. A Taisha member is already waiting for you, but besides him the shrine is strangely deserted for this time of day. He hands two glass bottles containing a viscuous, green fluid through the window to Miss Inami, who passes them back to Hanshiro and Nami. "What's the latest?" Miss Inami asks.

"There's been another attack since I sent my message. The Jukai is becoming dangerously weak; there's already been a partial building collapse at a local school. It was mostly empty at the time but there was one school club holding a meeting at the time. The police are in charge of the rescue effort. Besides that, the Hero Teams are holding up, but they'll be very happy to see a fresh te--" He throws open the back door to the van as he's speaking, and cuts off upon seeing the blood staining Hanshiro and Nami's clothing. "I thought you said this would be a new team!"

"They were new, but the Shinju-sama has already called them into battle twice. They're still fresher than any of the teams who've been fighting for several days in a row, and they say that they're ready to keep fighting,"

It takes an unusually long time for the Taisha member to respond. At first you wonder if he's lost for words, but then it finally occurs to you that neither he nor Miss Inami are moving at all. Then the Forestize Warning alarm on your phone begins to sound, and you realize that the Shinju-sama is wasting no time getting you into battle.


When your vision clears, you can see two similar but distinct Astra types about 90 feet away. Both look vaguely like a man on horseback, but the torso of the human part of the Astra potrudes directly from the back of the horse part, behind the head of the horse. Directly in front of you are a pair of identical Pollux-class Astra, each wielding a pike. Flanking Polluxes to either side are two Castor-class Astra wielding shortbows. Behind the Pollux Astrum you can make out a small, humanoid-like Vertex with a long cylindrical head.

The Heroes' wits are dulled by a combination of their wounds and the long car ride, and so it is the enemy forces who move first. The Vertex moves first, sprinting at full speed at an angle to bypass the Heroes. Along the way, it launches a shining white flame at Hanshiro, forcing him to dodge.

Both Pollux-class Astra put their heads down and dash along with the Vertex, keeping themselves between it and the Heroes.

The Gamma Castor trots forward, and then launches a pair of arrows from its shortbow at Yamato. The only grazes his thigh but still manages to open a nasty cut, while the second embeds itself in his shoulder painfully.

The Delta Castor also trots straight forward, but it takes aim at Kanade. The first arrow finds a hole in her armour but it's not wide enough to allow the arrowhead to pass through, so the arrow stops just shy of hurting her. The second shot is pathetically aimed and buries itself into a vine 10 feet behind her.

Initiative:
Gemini: 22
Pollux: 19
Castor: 7

Kanade: (1d20+1)[11]
Hanshiro: (1d20+4)[7]
Nami: (1d20+4)[7]
Yamato: (1d20+3)[17]

The vertex took Dash as a bonus action. It has half-cover behind the two Astra in front of it from the party's current position.

Hanshiro must suceed on a DC14 Dex save or take 18 radiant damage.
Yamato takes 11 piercing damage.

Hanshiro and Nami had enough time before the forestization to drink their potions, so don't worry about wasting an action or anything on drinking it. Nami can just roll
4d4+4 for the potion, or hold onto it if she wishes.

The map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing). The Shinju-sama appears on this one, but you'll have to scroll down some to find it. If the Vertex reaches the Final Barrier, it can sacrifice itself as an action to destroy the Barrier, which would weaken the Shinju-sama but end the combat immediately (because there are no other Vertexes). Alternatively, it could attack the barrier. It would take some time to break through, but if it did then it could instead sacrifice itself to destroy the Shinju-sama outright.

[bcool999]

Yamato

Getting hit in the shoulder is enough to spin Yamato around to see behind him. Seeing the Shinju-sama's shield, Yamato starts cursing vehemently and shouts, "Ignore the Archers, bring down the Vertex now! Push it back!"

Moving back and to to side, Yamato puts himself in the Vertex's path before firing off a salvo of magic at it.

Well this is a fine encounter coming off of a hard fight... and we lost initiative. :smallsigh:

Yamato is moving 30ft. to AB:28 Then casting Eldritch blast with both aimed at the Vertex. No cover bonuses for the Vertex due to Spell Sniper allowing me to ignore half to 3/4ths cover.

Attack1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Attack2: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

On a hit, Repelling Blast for 10ft (each hit).

[Saint Jimmy]

[roll0]
Cursing almost as profusely as Yamato, Hanshiro drew his bow and responded to Yamato, saying
"Better yet, take it down!
As he his ran to get a better shot on the Vertex, he whispered a prayer of vengeance, beseeching the Sinju-Sama to help his weapons strike true. Feeling his will connect to the Sinju-Sama, Hanshiro knew that it worked. With that, he fired his arrows at the Vertex and the Astrum closest to him.

Move to (AF,16) (move)
Draw bow as part of the attack, fire at Vertex twice, one at Astrum (action)
Hunters mark (bonus)

Vs Vertex
[roll1]
[roll2]

Vs Vertex (extra attack)
[roll3]
[roll4]

Vs Astrum (Horde Breaker)
[roll5]
[roll6]

[DoctorFaust]

A moan escapes Kanade's lips as they are once again thrown into battle, but she still lifts her sword and charges at their enemies, this time with a hazy glow surrounding her. When she gets within what she thinks is appropriate range, a burst of light comes off of her sword and shoots out at the Astra.

Kanade moves to AA18 and casts Ray of Frost on Astra Alpha.

[Lentrax]

Our lives in service. We will give it our all.

Through her lingering pain, Nami pushes down her rising fear. To the back of her mind, she pushes her panic. Deep down, she pushes her pain. And she remembers her master.

Breathe. Breathing is the basic of life. Always remember, to return to breathing...

So she does. She closes her eyes taking a deep breath, holding her hand in front of her chest, thumb pointing to her heart, first two fingers extended together, making an 'L' shape. Her head nods down slightly. She exhales deeply, feeling her calm, her center, return. She opens her eyes, focused on the Vertex.

We can do this! We will not fall!

And Nami runs.

She runs to the Vertex, her staff trailing behind her. As she approaches the Vertex, she begins to yell as she swings her staff at the enemy of Life itself.

HaaaaaaaAAAH!

Spend one ki point to activate Step of the Wind to take a bonus dash action.

Move to AA13

Attack: Damage 1d6+4
Attack: Damage 1d6+4

[Rysto]

Yamato placed himself directly in the path of the charging Vertex and then let loose with his magic. His first blast caught the Vertex dead-on and left it somersaulting backwards. He was too quick to fire the second, though, and it wound up aimed at the Vertex's former position and missed badly.

Kanade launched a stream of icy, blue magic at the vertex, but it deftly launched itself into the air and the attack missed completely.

Hanshiro positioned himself on the far side of the vertex and then launched a hail of arrows. The first buried itself in the vertex's shoulder, but it was moving too quickly and Hanshiro missed with the second. He looked for an Astrum that he might launch a third arrow at but unfortunately the blast from Yamato's attack had push the Vertex too far away from them.

Nami charged the Vertex directly, calling upon the Shinju-sama to give her the speed to loop around the leading Astrum and still intercept the Vertex. It easily stepped out of the way of her first swing, but her follow-up caught it straight across the back.


The Vertex retaliated Nami's strike with a wave of sacred fire that she had little time to dodge. Quick as a flash, it retreated from her reach without giving her an opportunity to strike back and continued its advance on the Shinju-sama. It had slowed from its previous breakneck pace however, limping from a wound to its leg that was glowing brightly as it healed.

The Alpha Astrum descended on Kanade and drove its pike at her so quickly she had no time to invoke her shielding magic, piercing her armour and opening a gash in her midsection.

The Beta Astrum followed up with a second charge on Kanade, but it stumbled as it brought its pike to bear and buried it in the Jukai instead.

The Gamma Astrum charged straight past Nami and Kanade to close on Yamato, and then launched a pair of arrows from its shortbow. The first caught right him in the chest, leaving him gasping from the terrible pain. The second was aimed so poorly that everyone lost sight of it as it flew well over his head.

The Delta Astrum put its bow aside and drew a spear, then it advanced on Hanshiro. Hanshiro dodged its first stab rather easily, and on its second attempt the spear become tangled in a nearby vine.

Nami must succeed on a DC15 Dex save or take 21 radiant damage.
Kanade takes 12 piercing damage. Sorry, the roll was high enough that Shield wouldn't have helped, so I decided to save you the slot.
Yamada takes 11 piercing damage

Status:
Yamato: HP: 10/38
Kanade: HP: 14/54
Hanshiro: HP: 44/44
Nami: HP: 33/38

The Gemini Vertex has taken 21 damage.

The map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[bcool999]

Yamato

Panting as his blood soaks into the Jukai, Yamato coughs up a little more blood before muttering, "Cursed demon, you think riddling me with arrows will stop me? Foolish. Even in death I shall stand in your path as Benkei did for his lord." Despite possibly having a nicked lung, Yamato still completes the incantation for his Eldritch blast sending a blast at both the Gamma and the Vertex before retreating towards the barrier.

Eldritch blast vs Gamma and Vertex. Repelling blast on hit.

Gamma Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Vertex Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Move to AC:34

[Saint Jimmy]

"Ugh...it's like the last fight all over again. Let's hope this time I don't almost get killed... Hanshiro thought as he dropped his bow, charged towards the Vertex while drawing his swords, and proceeded to slash and stab at it and the nearest Astrum in a whirlwind of steel while praying that the attacks would actually hurt it.

Move to (AC,18)
Attack vs Vertex
[roll0]
[roll1]

2'd attack vs Vertex
[roll2]
[roll3]

Off hand attack vs Vertex
[roll4]
[roll5]

Horde breaker attack vs Beta Astrum
[roll6]
[roll7]

Good damage, poor attack rolls again...

[Lentrax]

The Vertex will not escape Nami. She will not allow it.

And so she charges at the Creature, ignoring the Beta Astrum, and attacking the Vertex with a blur of fists and feet.

Moving to AC18. I am pretty sure that I do not provoke an opportunity attack, but I will risk it either way.

Attacking the Vertex:

Attack One: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack Two: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack Three: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

[DoctorFaust]

Kanade sees the Vertex approaching out of the corner of her eye, and begins shuffling sideways while still facing the two menacing Astrum, trying to get close enough for an attack as soon as it gets close. And when it does, seeing the rest of the Heroes launch another flurry of attacks, she follows suit, launching a pair of quick strikes and then musters up the energy for a followup.

Moving to AB18 and attacking the Vertex, using my Action Surge to attack again, and then taking a bonus action to use my Second Wind.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Rysto]

Yamato blasted the Astrum who was showering his area with arrows and sent it tumbling backwards. He retreated further and aimed a second blast at the Vertex, but his aim was spoiled as he stumbled on a root as he ran.

Kanade stepped to the side to intercept the Vertex that had so unwisely strayed near her. Calling upon the power of the Shinju-sama, her wounds began to close of their own according while she swung her blade with remarkable speed and opened three deep gashes in the Vertex's torso. The Vertex's new wounds also glowed and began to heal, but the light was dim and flickering, making it clear that the

Hanshiro turned his back on the Delta Astrum to help Kanade pursue the Vertex; fortunately, the Astrum flailed ineffectually with its spear and missed him completely. He was a whirlwind of blades as he descended upon the Vertex. One of his strikes sliced the Vertex's forearm off completely, and the nearby Astrum was caught by one swing of his blade.

Nami pursued the Vertex closely, taking advantage of the Delta Astrum's preoccupation to slip by it unharmed. After Hanshiro's blow sliced off the Vertex's forarm, a ghostly, glowing arm took its placed as the Vertex attempted to regenerated it. Nami's first attack was a flying kick that the Vertex made the mistake of trying to ward off with its regenerating arm. Nami flew right through it unimpeded; the arm flashed brightly and disappeared entirely. Nami followed up with a pair of vicious punches that left the Vertex reeling.


The Vertex, down an arm and clearly crippled by the damage it had taken, has no chance of escaping the Heroes now. Instead it turns on the three who had struck at it and launches another Sacred Flame at Nami.

The Alpha and Beta Astra both drive their pikes at Kanade, but her armour holds strong and both strikes merely scrach her armour. The Gamma Astrum launches a pair of arrows at her with no more success.

The Delta Astrum tries its luck with Hanshiro instead, but he easily dodges the arrows.

The Vertex is now Vulnerable; this means that its speed is halved and it can't take bonus actions. It also looks like it might crumble if somebody breathes on it wrong.

Nami must succeed on a DC15 Dex save or take 21 radiant damage.

Kanade must kiss her armour in gratitude lest the dice turn against her.

Status:
Yamato: HP: 10/38
Kanade: HP: 27/54
Hanshiro: HP: 44/44
Nami: HP: 33/38

The Gemini Vertex has taken 96 damage.
The Beta Astrum has taken 7 damage.
The Gamma Astrum has taken 10 damage.

Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing)

[Saint Jimmy]

Eyes alight with the thrill of an winning battle, Hanshiro shouts as he slices and stabs, wearing his prey down even further as blood sprays.
"Keep pressing! I knew we made the right choice to continue fighting, we can take this bastard down! For the Sinju-Sama!


Attack 1 vs Vertex
[roll0]
[roll1]

Attack 2 vs Vertex
[roll2]
[roll3]

Attack 3 (off hand) vs Vertex
[roll4]
[roll5]

Attack 4 vs Astrum (horde breaker)
[roll6]
[roll7]

Great, a 7, 1, 2, and 3. How sad coming after a speech about how they are winning...:smallmad:
Maybe someone seal it?

[DoctorFaust]

"For the Shinju-sama!" Kanade cries as all four of the blows bounce off her armor. Aching from tiredness and all the wounds she's taken, Kanade nonetheless raises her sword again, lashing out at the Vertex.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Lentrax]

Nami's body becomes scorched with fire, and she stumbles back with a grunt of pain. She leans on her staff to draw a breath. Then, striking a pose, she attacks with her staff, her feet joining her in her continued assault.


Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

[bcool999]

Yamato

Yamato also fires a salvo of bolts at the Vertex.

Eldritch Blast the Vertex.
Attack1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Attack2: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

No push back this time.

[Rysto]

Yamato unleashed a pair of magical blasts on the Vertex. The first missed high, alerting the Vertex to the threat, and it nimbly dodged the second by somersaulting to the side.

That provided exactly the opening that Kanade needed. One mighty swing of her blade passed right through the Vertex's head, and that was the end of it. The vertex's regenerating wounds abruptly stopped glowing as its body collapsed in on itself. As the body disintegrated, a number of lights, each glowing a different colour, rose quickly into the sky and disappeared from your view.

Then the ground begins to rumble and shake as the Jukai dissipates. Your battle is done -- for now.


You all find yourself back outside the Taisha's building, standing next to the large shrine. Miss Inami and the Taisha member who brought the potions are standing somewhat dumbfounded, staring into the now-empty van. Miss Inami turns around, spots you, and the two Taisha members hurry over.

"I see we didn't get you here a moment too soon," Miss Inami says. "You must be completely exhausted. Soma-san, can you see them to their rooms? They need to rest. We can give them the tour tomorrow when they aren't so dead on their fe--" Miss Inami paused and puts a hand over her mouth. "Excuse me. That wasn't the best turn of phrase to use here."

Status:

Yamato: HP: 10/38
Kanade: HP: 27/54
Hanshiro: HP: 44/44
Nami: HP: 12/38

I don't have any more for this day. If you want to chat with Miss Inami or Soma, go for it, otherwise you can all take a short rest and we'll fast-forward to the next day.

[Lentrax]

Nami, her staff returned to plain oak, leans heavily upon it as she gratefully accepts the help offered. Her staff thumps heavily with each step she takes, and when she arrives in her room, she slumps into the bed, breathing heavily.

[Rysto]

Soma leads you all into a side door into the Taisha building. Initially he starts towards a nearby staircase, but then in deference to your exausted states, he opts to take the elevator instead. You're taken to the third floor, which consists of nothing but long hallways with an orderly arrangement of numbered doors. "We took over an old hotel for this dormitory, so you'll have plenty of space," he says. "For now, we have enough for everybody to get their own room. He assigns a set of four rooms, all adjacent to one another, and promises to have some food sent up to you at dinner time.

The night is quiet and uneventful. On a few occasions you can here the conversations of other kids your age, but for the most part things are quite peaceful.


The next morning, you blearily drag your aching bodies out of bed. Out in the hallway, a boy in his mid-teens gives a friendly way. "Hey, new faces!" He pauses, then his face lights up with relief. "Are you Heroes who're joining us here? Thank the Shinju-sama! For weeks now I've been telling the Taisha that we're underman-- uh, under-Heroed here; I'm really not sure why they took so long to transfer anybody here. From what I hear, the Heroes in Utazu and Saijo are doing just fine, and the ones on the sourthern shore aren't fighting too many battles; they're just having to scramble a bit because they have to defend a larger space. Oh, excuse me. I haven't even introduced myself yet." He bows politely, and continues, "I'm Ryogo Nagitsuji. I've been fighting for about a year now. Who are you? How long have you been fighting as Heroes?" He begins to walk back towards the elevators, and gestures for you to follow. "You haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? I'll show you down to the meal hall, and we can talk along the way."

[Lentrax]

Nami, battered and exhausted, but still alive, pulls herself out of bed, and sets her hair into a (mostly) presentable braid. Her fingers don't quite want to work properly, but she forces herself through the motions anyway, making her body do the work, as her master taught her to. Taking the end of the braid, Nami completes her morning hair grooming by pinning the ends of her braid to each other with a set of metal pins. She then dresses and moves toward the exit, her staff providing an excellent support for her limping weight.

Exiting her room, she sees that they are not alone. Pushing herself a little higher, so as to not present herself as weak, Nami bows in return to Nagitsuji.

It is a pleasure to meet you Nagitsuji-san. I am Kutsuyama Nami. We have been heroes for three days.

[Saint Jimmy]

Walking out of his room, Hanshiro sees the now gathering group. He nods, agreeing with what Nami said, then introduces himself with a bow.
"I am Hanshiro Ozaki. It is true that our team is new, but we've been tested in battle once for each day we have been together, so we are not completely green."

[bcool999]

Yamato

Ignoring much else until he finds a bed to collapse in, Yamato lets sleep heal much of his wounds. Upon awakening and meeting Nagitsuji-san, Yamato makes an arrogant pose and declares, "My time on the battlefield is as eternal as the flames of vengeance which consume my soul. I am known as the reaper of the souls, the merciless one, and bloody hand of the Shinju-sama, but to you I shall share my name, Akimoto Yamato. It would be to your benefit not to forget it."

[Rysto]

"Pleased to meet you, Kutsuyama-san, Ozaki-kun and Akimoto-kun..." Nagitsuji says, and then trails off while staring at Yamato. "Have we met, before? Your face doesn't seem familiar and I think I would remember having met the, uh, 'reaper of souls' before, but for some reason the name... Ah! Akimoto-san! Do you have a sister or cousin in the Hero Program? I went through Hero training with her. How's she doing now? After training we were sent to different cities and I haven't heard from her since."

The elevator arrives with a with a *ding* and the four of you pile into it. "So, just finished with training, huh? You must all be so happy. I remember mine vividly. Longest eight months of my life. Seriously, now that I'm a Hero at least the enemy gives us a break from time-to-time and doesn't send in Vertexes. Those Taisha trainers had no mercy, am I right?" Nagitsuji's sobers quickly. "Seriously, though, while we do get nice peaceful periods with no Vertex attacks, the flip side of that is when we get wave upon wave of attacks for days on end. The enemy's realized that they'll never get a single Vertex force through that can beat one of our Hero teams, so it's changed tactics. Now it seems to be building up a reserve force and trying to wear us down with a series of attacks. It's been really rough here lately."

[Saint Jimmy]

"I can see that. After all, on our first three days of being Heroes we fought three battles. I think each of us almost bit the dust at least once...

I can't even get the Sinju-Sama to help me fight or heal becuase I haven't had enough time to purify myself through meditation yet."

[bcool999]

Yamato

"She fell protecting the Shinju-sama." Yamato says, then changes the subject, "And these new enemy tactics are precisely why I keep lobbying for us to bring our wrath to the enemy. Allowing them to build up forces for a concentrated assault can only serve to wear us down with current numbers."

[Lentrax]

Leaving behind the barrier would be foolhardy in the extreme. I do not know exactly what has transpired that fuels your never ending thirst for vengeance. But I for one am quite sure that your need will lead not only you, but the rest of us as well to naught but an early grave.

[Rysto]

"I can see that. After all, on our first three days of being Heroes we fought three battles. I think each of us almost bit the dust at least once...

I can't even get the Sinju-Sama to help me fight or heal becuase I haven't had enough time to purify myself through meditation yet."

"You guys must have fought in some brutal battles then. My team's white mage rarely has to heal us all that much because we can usually draw on enough of the Shinju-sama's power to heal ourselves." In response to your blank stares, Nagitsuji tilts his head to the side. "You know, where you surge magical power into your body to force it to heal yourselves? If you've just finished your training the Taisha must have just taught it to you; it's one of the last things we learned." He pauses incredulously for several seconds as he realizes that you all have no idea what he's talking about. "What did they do; forget to teach it to you?" He shakes his head. "Stop by the practice yard some time after breakfast and I'll show you how."


"She fell protecting the Shinju-sama."

Nagitsuji is stopped short by this. "I had no idea. The Taisha didn't say a word about it. I'm so sorry, Akimoto-kun"


Leaving behind the barrier would be foolhardy in the extreme. I do not know exactly what has transpired that fuels your never ending thirst for vengeance. But I for one am quite sure that your need will lead not only you, but the rest of us as well to naught but an early grave.

"Well, you could always ask Inami-san about attacking outside the barrier" Nagitsuji says, sounding dubious. "But I'm sure that if it were a good idea, the Taisha would already have us doing it."

Another *ding* from the elevator indicates that you've reached the ground floor. Nagitsuji takes the lead as he guides you to the dining hall. "Now, I'm afraid that if you want a Western-style breakfast, you'll have to not sleep in so late. It's mostly only the Taisha members who go for eggs and whatnot so it's usually only served when they're in for breakfast, and they usually get an early start. Most of us Heroes are happier with a Japanese breakfast anyway. Breakfast just isn't breakfast without rice, you know?"

It's rather late for breakfast but too early for lunch, so the dining hall is pretty empty. Nagitsuji waits for you to fill your plates, then leads you to a table at the back of the room. "One of my teammates is still here, so I'll introduce you. Haruka-chan!" he calls, "Come and meet the new heroes. There are Hanshiro Ozaki, Nami Kutsuyama and Yamato Akimoto. Heroes, this is Haruka Kaibara."

At the table, a purple-haired girl looks up from a tablet and smiles at you as you sit. "How do you do?"

"What have you been looking at here?" Nagitsuji asks as he picks up her tablet. The web browser is opened to a local newspaper's website.


Breaking: Grieving Parents Speak After Vertex Causes School Collapse
'My family has paid a bitter price for Yggdrasil's wrath,' father laments

"Haruka-chan, you really shouldn't read this stuff," Nagitsuji chides. "Worrying about what might have been or what could have been done differently will just drive you insane."

[Saint Jimmy]

Hanshiro thanks him for the offer to teach them with a bow, and begins eating his breakfast.

[Lentrax]

Old thoughts move around inside Nami's mind. Thoughts of something glimpsed once long ago...

Then she brings herself back to the present. Taking what she can for breakfast, she bows her head over the bowl and offers a quick prayer over her food. Thank you seeing me through to this meal. If it be my last, let it provide the strength to fight until the end takes me.

Prayer finished, Nami unceremoniously begins shoveling the food into her mouth.

[Rysto]

As you devour your breakfasts, a sudden flash of light across the room catches your eye. When it clears, you do a double take as you realize that two Heroes just disappeared from the dining hall.

"Damn!" says Nagitsuji. "I was really hoping that the enemy would be out of Vertexes by now. We might be in for a busy day here." Raising his voice, he calls out to the remaining Heroes in the hall. "Can somebody let Inami-san know that there's been another battle?" A Hero waves back in wordless agreement and rushes out of the hall.

"Hopefully they didn't go far," Kaibara says. "The Taisha have been run ragged bringing back Heroes after the Shinju-sama had to transport them a great distance for a battle."

Partway through the meal, Kanade stumbles into the hall, gathers a plate of food and joins you. "Morning" she says blearily, then introduces herself to Nagitsuji and Kaibara. The rest of breakfast passes uneventfully, and when it's over Nagitsuji leads you to the training area. It's well-equipped, but in contrast to the bedlam of Hero Training, there are only a small number of Heroes doing some light sparring.

"Now, using the power of the Shinju-sama to heal yourself really isn't allow that complicated. Now that you've already learned how to channel that magic, it's just a matter of where you direct it. Rather than focusing the power outside of yourself, draw it inwards and, well, you kind of pull on it, hard. Surge it throughout your body and it will force wounds closed and ease some of your exhaustion. It's similar to the technique you use to heal yourself overnight, but you draw on a lot more power at once, and it's more forceful. That's the danger in the technique, actually. Don't try to do it more than once in a day. Drawing too much divine power through your body is going to hurt you rather than heal you."

It takes about an hour, but with Nagitsuji's help you manage to master the technique. He advises you to take it easy for the rest of the day, as there are still periodic reports of Vertex attacks and you need to be fresh if you're to fight for the third consecutive day.

Early afternoon passes quietly. The other Heroes are exhausted from days of hard fighting, and the Taisha are busy coordinating battle. For a time you begin to have hope that you might avoid fighting this day, but then your terminals alarm once more.


Forestize Warning!
Deploy to protect Humanity.


The four Heroes appear within the Jukai, but there are no enemies in sight. "Huh? says Kanade. "Did the Shinju-sama make some kind of mistake?" Her answer was a sudden flash of orange light within a large tangle of the Jukai's vines and stunted trees. Its source seems to be some distance away, and whatever it is, it's hidden away within the Jukai. The good news is that there don't appear to be any threats directed at you at the moment. Whatever is out there might well have no idea that you're here.

[Saint Jimmy]

"Perfect."
Drawing his bow, Hanshiro says "this is good, we have a chance to take these guys out really fast without much harm. Follow me.
Drawing his bow, Hanshiro bends down and checks the area for any sign of the Vertex. Once a trail is found he begins following it, being careful to avoid notice.


Survival (advantge from Favored Enemy)
[roll0]
[roll1]
This also applies becuase of favored terrain.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their
exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they
passed through the area.

Stealth
[roll2]

Ugh, completely mediocre.

[Rysto]

Hanshiro leads the way through the thicket of multicoloured vines and stooped trees. He doesn't find any trace of a Vertex's passage, but the frequent flashes of orange light provided an easy landmark to follow. Fortunately, the foliage isn't dense enough to restrict your movement very much, but it does seem like any of the larger Vertexes that you've faced so far would find it to be a tough slog.

After a few minutes of walking, a number of Astra come into view. None of you are entirely successful in your attempts to move quietly, but none of the Astra appear to notice your approach. They are all types that you have fought before. Directly in front of you, a pair of mounted Astra -- a Castor-class and a Pollux-class -- are hacking at pieces of the Jukai with their polearms. Off to the right, two Spica-class Astra are using their sickles to slice through vines clinging to a nearby tree. Off in the distance, a Sterope-class Astrum summons a gout of fire that engulfs a nearby tree.

As you watch from your hiding spot, you notice with a fair amount of alarm that while the attacks are only doing a superficial amount of damage to the trees themselves, the Jukai itself is beginning to wilt and turn grey. Fortunately, there is no vertex in sight, and the Astra are evidently too focussed on attacking the Jukai to have heard or seen you.

Here's the map. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tq7aJtYN8CtrzH7YvzQQSYvnJh7-LKo4rUPgilJo5pA/edit?usp=sharing) All of the Ts are trees large enough to be impassable terrain, and they also block lines-of-sight. The individual colours are meaningless.

[Saint Jimmy]

Whispering, Hanshiro says "I am going to try to take the Sterope, we don't want it blasting us. What ones are you all going for?" As he pulls out his bow and moves a sep out from the tree to fire at the Sterope Astrum. After the arrows fly, he quickly moves back behind the tree.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
A few questions: Do we get advantage since they don't see us, and can I get another stealth check after firing, or do they logically know the direction the arrows came from?

[Saint Jimmy]

On the next turn he fires again, at the same target.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]