Champions of the Spheres - IC

[pi4t]

OOC thread. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?628984-Champions-of-the-Spheres-OOC)

The early-morning sun shines through the windows of the Grinning Troll. You are all gathered around a table. You've been making your final preparations for rescuing Lilya, and are now preparing to make a move. Your employer, Guildain Haldenfrond - a well dressed, rather stout man - has been giving you some unwanted advice, while anxiously wringing his hands.

"As far as I can see, there are two places you could look for clues. First, you could try that big rock. You know, the one where the letter said to put the gold? There's been a report of some figures being seen around there. Makes sense the scum would be keeping an eye on it - making sure no one else takes the gold they think I'm just going to put out for them. Secondly, you could try to follow Lilya's own path. We know where she was going. She was visiting the grave of my dear wife, a short way to the west. You know the place? Good. That's the most likely place for...for...you know. Lilya to have been taken. It's been a couple of days, and the sheriff's men didn't find anything, but you might still have more luck."

Of course, you're already aware of all this, having discussed all this and more with one another over drinks the previous night. But Haldenfrond seems eager to be able to contribute something to the rescue of his daughter.

Guildain removes a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Here. It's the letter I was given. I don't know if it'll be much use to you, but there might be some clues you can figure out from it."



haldenfrond.
If you wish to see your daughter again deli er fifty gold pieces to the big rock north of town.
you ha e one week.

Close inspection of the letter reveals that the writer has a most peculiar handwriting. All the characters are separated, and different copies of the same character all look virtually identical to each other.


"Thank you for agreeing to do this for me. I owe you a great debt. And I will repay it, as we agreed. Bring her back, and you get the full 50 gold, and a discount of one quarter the price on all my stock." Haldenfrond suddenly looks very serious indeed. "I'm putting a lot of trust in you here. Don't mess this up."

Some of the Haldenfrond's seriousness fades. He points towards the door. "Go on! You're wasting time! Hurry up and rescue my daughter!"

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna plucks out a quick series of three even notes from her lyre, followed by an inquisitive fourth higher note. She maintains eye contact with Guildain as she does to 'direct' the question towards him, then takes a handful of coins from her belt and cascades them from one hand to the other. She ends the question with furrowed brows and a slight tilt of her head, looking curiously at him.

[pi4t]

Haldenfrond looks confused. "You'll get the reward once you've brought Lilya back safely. Not until then."

[jscape2000]

Targan speaks up, "Sir, I believe my companion means to inquire as to whether you intend to pay the ransom? Certainly, we shall endeavor to rescue dear Lilya, but the risk to here would be far less should you pay the bounty, and then we hunt down the ruffians, rather than endanger her while we mount a rescue. The kidnappers have given us know reason to believe they would not fulfill the bargain they have proposed. And, like cornering any beast, a desperate brigand will become more unpredictable."

[pi4t]

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm not so sure. Even if they do hold up their end, you'd have to track them down very quickly after that. You can bet they'll try to disappear, move somewhere else and do the same thing again if it works here. And that's assuming they actually do what they said. I've heard stories of a group of bandits which just kept demanding bigger and bigger ransoms, until they couldn't afford to pay. If this is them, or some sort of copycat...

"Still, keeping Lilya safe is the main thing. I'll pay the ransom, if you really think that's the best approach."

[Anyr]

One group member seemed just as anxious as Haldenfrond. Varia Drake paced back and forth. Objects vibrated with arcane energy as she passed them. She wasn't some random, detached mercenary. She was a close friend of the victim. The monetary reward barely mattered to her. Lilya's safety would be reward enough. Varia surveyed her fellow recruits.

"So, are we ready to go? Every second counts."

[Frog Dragon]

"We'll get yer daughter, if she still breathes."

Heraeus glances towards the door. "They gave a week for her ransom. We should find out who they are, if they be honorable as far as brigands go, or beasts simply. In the case of the latter, every second counts. In the former, paying the ransom could secure more favorable ground to find them afterwards."

"We should start by following her trail. Better the brigands don't know we trail them."

[jscape2000]

Targan nods at the wisdom of Heraeus' plan, and rises from the table.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna, having been prepared to elaborate, instead nods when Targan correctly interprets her. From there she simply listens, nodding again at Heraeus's plan and rising to leave with the others.

[Holy-hunter]

One of the group had sat in silence during the whole exchange. Her pale blue eyes distant and elsewhere while her semi elven ears caught and held every word.
Her simple dark cloak was drawn tightly around her body and she rest a hand at her breast-line where a bulky amulet lay hidden beneath. As the conversation came to a conclusion Raeh stood up. She wasn’t an imposing figure. Being short, petite, slender and with soft features. Her dark hair, somewhere between stages of regrowth and recovery, sat uneven and choppy around her ears and neck.
Despite her meek stature, she held an aura of confidence and surety. As the others began to leave, with steady purposeful steps Raeh strode towards Guildain and put a hand on his shoulder. She was one of few words but when she did speak her words were often filled with impact.

“You will see your daughter again Mr Haldenfrond, to you that I promise.” she said with a gentle reassuring compassion and firm unwavering sincerity.

“Did your daughter visit your late wife often?” she asks. Half interested in the answer, half using the question to open the topic of the deceased. Once breached Raeh would further question about Misses Haldenfrond. Gaining her name and attempting to familiarise herself with the type of person she was.

The questioning would then turn to briefly asking who could do this, who was desperate enough, if the family had any enemies or personal grievances, was Lilya hanging around any new people?

With a final reassuring nod Raeh turns and joins the others heading towards the graveyard. A place she had been spending too much time over the last year.

[pi4t]

Raeh engages in a brief conversation with Haldenfrond. She learns that his wife's name was Irilia, and she died of a sickness several years ago, when Lilya was ten. To hear Guildain's description, she was as wonderful a person as one could ever hope to meet - he clearly still feels her absence deeply. Guildain and Lilya generally go out to visit her grave together about once a month; on this particular occasion Guildain was unable to come due to urgent business in his shop, to Lilya went out alone. It's about an hour out of town, in a glade near the river which Irilia always loved. You bring up the possibility that someone knew they would be going and had gone ahead of you, but Guildain says they only even started talking about it when they saw the weather that morning.

Haldenfrond admits that some of his competitors might be a bit annoyed at him for undercutting them, but he thinks it's very unlikely any of them would stoop to this. And if Lilya has been meeting new people, she certainly hasn't mentioned it. He does, again, bring up the bandits he mentioned before. The Black Hunters. You've all heard about them before; not least from Haldenfrond's own tavern stories. They were known for kidnapping relatives of wealthy people and demanding ransoms. But they were defeated a couple of years ago, when they pushed their luck and kidnapped the husband of a retired adventurer. She sent messages to her old party, and they turned out not to be quite so retired as all that. The bandits were believed wiped out, and became just another tavern story. Haldenfrond seems worried that they've somehow survived, and moved to the vicinity of Oakhelm.

As you go, Haldenfrond checks whether you want him to go and pay the ransom, or whether you think it would be better to hold off for now. He points out that if he's going to, it would be a good idea to be accompanied - the designated location is a good way out of town and rather isolated.

[Holy-hunter]

“Not yet.” Raeh replies. “Give us a day or two.” she encourages with a soft reassuring smile. “We will get to the bottom of this, I promise. May I please take that letter though?” she asks softly, looking towards the parchment, intrigued by its unique lettering.

Once outside and reunited with the others, Raeh speaks.
“I do not believe it will take all of our eyes to retrace the young woman’s steps, instead I would prefer to see what I can learn of the townsfolk and the lettering of that message. There may still be clues here.”

Raeh’s mind seemed to be made up.
“Since we are here I will start with Aldir Colwatch and hear of the tavern gossip then I believe the sheriff might have some insight. This path could be for naught so I understand if I am left doing this alone, please just keep me informed of your progress. We can meet back up here tonight.”

With that Raeh turns to head back into the Grinning Troll.

[jscape2000]

With a sudden thought, Targan pauses. "Actually, could I see that letter?"

He draws a jeweler's monocle from one of the many pockets on his outfit, and examines the letter closely, looking for the pressure marks that would tell him whether the letter was created by hand or mechanically, or if this is a smooth piece of paper created by magic.

[pi4t]

Targan and Raeh both investigate the letter. Targan looks closely, and finds the pressure marks he was looking for. They seem more consistent with it being written by hand than anything else he can think of. Under the jeweller's monocle, he can see minute differences between instances of the same symbol in the letter - they aren't completely identical, although they're close enough to make any scribe proud. He also scans it for magical residue, and finds none. This doesn't guarantee it wasn't made using some sort of magic device, of course, but the message itself is definitely non-magical.

He also notices something odd - a few of the letters ("w", "y" and perhaps "p" or "g") seem to be written in a different style to the rest. They're a bit messier in style, and seem more angular. It's hard to be sure, though, since you have limited material to work with.

Raeh is more interested in what the letter is made of. She sniffs at it. It smells, as one might expect, of paper and ink, and there's an undertone of something else. Some sort of earthy smell? It reminds her of something. For a while she has trouble placing it, but then it hits her. Bird droppings! It's faint, but the letter definitely smells of bird droppings.

Her other investigations into the composition of the paper and ink reveal nothing unexpected. The paper and ink are of poor quality, and smudge easily when she runs a wet finger over them. She runs her fingers over the page, but feels nothing unusual, either in the letters or in the two gaps where letters seem to have been missed out.

[Anyr]

Varia lingered restlessly by the door. She wasn't good at calm planning. She preferred fast, decisive action. On the other hand, making the wrong move might doom Lilya. Maybe the others were right to hesitate.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna continues with the others to the site of the crime, occasionally playing short snippets and bits of melodies just as one might talk to themself. The tone of those segments is suitably curious and evocative of intrigue.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh shares her thoughts and curiosities with Targan as she waits for an audience with Aldir.

She opens the conversation with some gentle flattery based around his business and then goes on to enquire if he has overheard any whispers of the recent events in his tavern.
Next she will probe into his thoughts on the matter, ask if there have been any new shady people floating around and finally dig up what he knows of the supposedly wiped out kidnapping gang.


Persuasion [roll0]
Insight [roll1]

[jscape2000]

Targan lets Raeh take the lead, but chimes in with supportive comments when possible, aiming encourage Aldir to open up.

Rolling with Raeh's stats to reflect advantage from Targan's help
Persuasion [roll0]
Insight [roll1]

[pi4t]

The Tavern

Raeh begins to question the tavern keeper gently. Targan is eager to assist, but his "help" proves less than useful as he keeps interruppting Raeh's patient questioning to demand answers. Despite this, though, Raeh is able to question Aldir, who's quite happy to discuss matters so long as the pair buy drinks.


Unfortunately, Aldir turns out not to know a great deal. There haven't been a lot of new people in town over the last week; it's not a great time for travelling, what with the goblins attacking places. Bands of ne'er-do-wells have been springing up, or creeping closer to town, which hasn't encouraged travellers either. A month ago one visiting peddlar was found by a passing farmer, knocked out, bleeding and with all his posessions missing. Aldir shakes his head. "I don't want to speak ill of someone who suffered that, but I think he should have stayed longer to recover. He was obviously still suffering from the blow to his head when he left. He insisted his attackers were giant birds!" The tavernkeeer chuckles at this absurdity. "I do hope he recovers his mind again, though."

You ask him about the kidnapping gang, but he isn't able to tell you anything you weren't already aware of. Most of his information seems to come from Haldenfrond and other travellers, and you've already heard it from them yourselves.

The Grave

Lorhanna and Heraeus (and Varia?) get directions and head out along the main road in the direction of Irilia's grave. It's a pleasant walk - the sun is shining, the river is on your right, and you pass a few farmers and one man sailing a raft of logs down towards the town. (He gives Varia a cheerful wave, if she's present.)

As you travel, the trees of the Feywood, draw closer on the other side of the river. After about an hour, you reach a place where they come right over to your side, and the road turns away from the river. There's a small jetty here, on the north side - the logging camps are nearby, and this is where they make the rafts like the one you saw earlier. The grave is in there. Following the directions you were given, you don't try to walk in immediately, but continue along the road, skirting the wood, for about five minutes, until you reach a small path leading roughly Northwards into the wood.

The path is a little difficult to folllow in places, but you manage it. Here, at least, the wood is pretty pleasant too. Birds sing in the trees, and you see squirrels running up and down the trunks. Occasionally, you have to jump over small streams. The dappled shade is quite pleasant after your walk in the sun. After a while, you begin going downhill and can hear the sound of falling water ahead. Then you emerge into a wide clearing. At the Eastern end of this clearing is a cliff, about twice your heights, and a small river pours down from it in a waterfall before flowing away West. (Those of you who are trained in survival, or have a backstory involving living in the area or navigating the river, will be aware that the river splits into several streams around here and can't be navigated; this must be one of the larger courses.) Ahead to the North, you can see the land gradually rises again. The sunlight shines into the glade, making rainbows through the falling water. The area feels very peaceful, and its natural beauty is spoiled only slightly by the fallen tree that's lying right across the river.

At the edge of the glade, there's a small mound, with a gravestone at its head. Written on the grave are the worlds


Irilia Haldenfrond
Beloved wife and mother
Taken from this world too soon

Near the grave, you notice a crushed and trampled bunch of flowers.

[Anachronity]

rolled a 26 on the discord

As the group ventures on, the occasional notes which Lorhanna plays begin to take proper musical form. Though no less sparse, they start to play subtly into eachother and form a larger whole in harmony with the woods, both the low roar of falling water and the chitterings and chirpings of its residents.

The impromptu piece grows more quiet and takes a solemn turn as the three(?) arrive at Irilia's grave. From there, she tries to look carefully about. Rather than looking for clues she prefers to place herself into the mindset of those involved. Where the kidnappers might have approached from, which way she might have fled if she had been Lilya, and any other insight she might glean. But if Haraeus or Varia begin to search about, she will prefer to inspire them with slow, ponderous notes and a bit of magic to aid their concentration.


If anyone attempts to investigate (or otherwise further the investigation with a check), Lorhanna will use Bless to give them advantage on the roll, and then if needed Greater Insight to add an additional 2d4 to the result

I'll use the earlier perform check to segue into my casting rolls, since in this case I'm not spending more than 1 SP and neither effect depends on my proficiency, so I can't actually fail.

If nothing more pressing presents itself after the others investigate, she herself will attempt to use insight to try to get into Lilya's headspace as she was being kidnapped to figure out where she may have tried to run or similar.
Insight: [roll0]

[Holy-hunter]

”Well, another hint towards birds.” Raeh says quietly to Targan after thanking Aldir for his time and the drink, tipping him a further Cp. She looked at the measly 8cp she had remaining which only added to her hope that this all turned out well.

”I wouldn’t mind hearing from someone that no one else may listen too. Let’s go see this Granny Upperbrick.” Raeh says Leading Targan out of the tavern towards town hall.


Raeh will not rush her but hold a special patience reserved for the elderly.
Has she heard of the kidnapping?
Who does she think did it?
Has this town ever had any problems with giant birds?
Does she find the letter strange? (Shows her the letter)
Has she had any strange requests lately?
[roll0] Persuasion
[roll1] Insight

[Anyr]

Varia journeyed with her fellow recruits. Under different circumstances, the walk would have been nice. It even came with musical accompaniment from Lorhanna. But Varia was too worried to enjoy the scenery. Still, she kept up appearances. Everyone who greeted her received the usual smile and wave. No sense letting her problems spoil their day.

The journey took over an hour. Varia knew these paths well. The rivers in particular were old friends. Today she walked alongside them, instead of sailing on them. Eventually, the group reached its destination. The grave was in a beautiful spot. While the others searched for clues, Varia took a minute to pay her respects. She silently vowed to find Irilia's lost daughter. This family had already suffered too much.

[Frog Dragon]

"Whoever was here didn't care a hell of a lot for the grave, or was in a big hurry," Heraeus regards the gravesite, kneeling down next to the flowers. "Damn shame." His eyes scan the trampled area, trying to see if it leads anywhere.

[pi4t]

In Town

The pair of you leave the tavern, and head just round the corner to Granny Upperbrick's house. It's a pleasant-looking, well maintained cottage with a thatched roof and a small garden. Your knock - a nice loud one, as you've been told Granny can be quite deaf - is answered by a call of "I'm just coming!" followed a moment later by the door being opened by a grey-haired old woman leaning on a walking stick.

"Oh, hello, my dears! It's so nice to see you." Once she establishes that you've come to talk, she smiles. "I don't get many visitors these days, I'm afraid. Do come in. Sit yourselves down, and I'll put the kettle on and make us a nice cup of tea. Don't mind Beauregard."

Before you quite know what's happening, you find yourselves sitting down at the dining room table with Granny, with a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits, and Granny is offering you some of her homemade jelly. Beauregard, her cat, settles himself on Targan's lap and starts purring loudly. It takes some time before you manage to get down to business.

Has she heard of the kidnapping?

"Now, let me think. Yes, I think I heard something about a kidnapping. The Mosely's little boy, wasn't it?" You share a confused look. There's no one by that surname in town that you know of. "But we found him again, didn't we? Yes, I remember, I was helping look for him. Of course, I was a bit younger back in those days..." Granny rambles on about the old days for a while more.

Who does she think did it?

"Well, it was those smugglers. You remember, they were hiding in that old temple in the forest, and little Timmy went exploring and stumbled across them?" A few followup questions and you realise she's still talking about the incident in her past. When you finally get her to understand that you're talking about the kidnapping that's happening now, she only looks vague and says she doesn't know anything about that. But she hopes you can find whoever did it.

Has this town ever had any problems with giant birds?

"We had trouble with some pigeons at one point. Someone spilled a load of seed right outside the town hall, and they were flocking to it for months. I could hear them outside my window all through the day."

Does she find the letter strange? (Shows her the letter)

Granny goes to get her spectacles, then holds the letter at arm's length and squints. She's clearly having difficulty even reading it, with the strange writing and missing letters. She certainly doesn't notice anything odd about it, although when she realises it's a ransom note she expresses alarm and hopes someone will rescue the poor girl.

Has she had any strange requests lately?

This question sets Granny off talking about the strange things she's been asked to produce through the years, which somehow leads into a tangent about a badger. The upshot, as far as you can gather, is that she hasn't had any strange requests recently.

Addendum
The tea Granny gives you has a slightly unusual herby undertone. Not that it's unpleasant, quite the opposite in fact. When you bring it up, Granny tells you that she's fortified the tea with certain herbs from her supplies, which will clear the chest and improve the constitution. She lists the herbs she's used; neither of you recognise any dangerous names.

Granny is clearly starting to get rather offended, and keeps encouraging you to drink up if you're about to go on an adventure. If you change your mind and drink the tea, go ahead and read the other spoiler. Otherwise, the conversation plays out in the same way but Granny is clearly quite upset.

Granny is as good as her word. Whatever else sure may be vague on, she clearly still knows her stuff in regards to teamaking. You gain 4 temporary hit points, which last until you take a short or long rest.

The Grave

Most of the area is rock, but there is some dirt capable of holding tracks, and Heraeus is a skilled tracker and being given magical help. His search bears fruit. The ground is scuffed and marked with prints in the mud. Several heavy pairs of boot prints enter the glade by the same path as you, walk around for a while, then leave again - these probably belong to Guildain, and the Sheriff's investigators. Underneath them is a single smaller pair of boots...and several three toed talon prints. To your concern, the talons are enormous, a bit larger than your own feet, and you think you count at least six pairs. The boots came along the same path as you, while the talons, as far as you can tell, seem to have emerged from the trees all around the glade. There was some sort of scuffle at the spot you found the flowers, and then the talons all move north onto rock, in the direction of the fallen tree that lies across the river. You don't see any boot prints walking away from the scuffle.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh, who expressed nothing but pleasantries during the meeting, shared with Targan her clear frustration with the long drawn out exchange once they were a decent distance away from the house.

“The temple could be something though.” she mentions to after apologising for leading him there.

“Oh and while she can really work a tea, let’s still make sure none of us rely to heavily on her for potions, sooner or later she is going to mix her roots up and who knows how that’s going to turn out. I’m amazed it hasn’t happened already.” Raeh chuckles softly, imaging the possibilities. ”I hope the others are having more luck, where should we go next? Lead the way.”

[jscape2000]

Targan thanks Granny for the tea. "It's truly wonderful. I'll have to come see you some day and help you gather herbs. I'd love to know the recipe."


After a polite time, he will excuse the pair. He suggests we check with Sheriff James next.

[Frog Dragon]

"Fight here," Heraeus points at the scuffle-tracks on the dirt, circling around them to avoid disturbing them. "The sheriff already trampled the tracks, but these are a bit older. Little boots. Like the girl's maybe." he says, as much to himself as to his companions. "And that's a talon," he continues, half-crouched following the trail. "Something with big bird feet picked up and carried the girl. This way."

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna follows Heraeus, trying to see things as he describes them. She makes out a few unusually large talon-prints once they've already been pointed out, but doesn't realize where they're headed until she's lead there.

She picks carefully upon her lyre all the while, being careful not to cross over from prompting to distracting.

[Anyr]

Varia stood up again. The hunt had resumed.

"Talons? That might explain the note. If the kidnapper can fly, things might get complicated."

Varia could also fly; Sort of. It was more like slow levitation. She'd be no match for an actual avian in the sky. Now more worried than ever, she followed Heraeus.

[pi4t]

In Town

The Sheriff turns out to be rather preoccupied by the town's defences. He apologises, but says he's only able to spare you a few minutes. You run through a few questions, but they only serve to verify what you already knew: she went out to the grave, never came back, and then the ransom note was delivered. The Sheriff sent a couple of watchmen to look over the grave in case there was anything obvious there, but they didn't find anything and he wasn't willing to risk a longer investigation right now. You also question the guards who were sent to the grave. You have time for more thorough questions for them, but don't get anything much there either. While their intentions were good, they're no rangers and are more used to keeping public order and helping cats out of trees than tracking down missing girls. They established there was some kind of fight, likely a kidnapping, but weren't able to work out more than that in the limited time they had. The only other unusual thing they noticed was a fallen tree which hadn't been there last time the Haldenfronds visited, but since there had been a big storm a few weeks ago they thought no more of it.

The Grave

The log is wide enough to cross the river on, which is convenient since the water looks rather tricky to wade through without being swept over. The trail picks up on the other side, and you're able to follow it. It leads roughly northwards, deeper into the Feywood. After a while, you start spotting other, older, talonprints, heading in the opposite direction. Perhaps surprisingly, the talonprints are always walking - you don't see any signs that they started flying at any point, either the ones you're following or the earlier ones in the other direction.

The trail doesn't seem to be going anywhere very quickly; it looks like you may have quite a hike ahead of you. Perhaps you should see how Targan and Raeh are getting on before you continue along this path.

[jscape2000]

"Raeh, we're not getting anywhere in town. If these folks could have solved the mystery among themselves, I think they would have done so.
How about heading up to the lumber camp? The loggers figure to spend more time in the woods than anyone. If there's a large bird or hippogriff involved, maybe they have an idea where the nest might be."

Targan leads the way.

[Anyr]

Varia continued onwards. It felt like there was no time to lose. Regrouping with the others would take too long. In her opinion, each party should follow their own leads. Lilya could be retrieved by whoever found her first.

[pi4t]

Leaving Town

You head down the road to the point where it meets the wood. There you cross the river, using a small boat-and-pulley arrangement kept there for the purpose. A wide trail leads north; it's easy to see that many logs have been dragged along it. After only a very short distance, you come to a clearing, with many tree stumps. Workers are busily felling trees around the edges of the clearing, and an angry man is shouting orders at them. This is the start of the logging camp. The man - Kurt - turns towards you as you enter, looking annoyed. "What are you doing here? This is a worksite! Get out!"

You explain who you are and what you're doing. Kurt grumbles a lot, but agrees to answer your questions. His answers are terse, and to the point. No, they haven't seen any sign of Lilya, or any bandits. Try the grave. Nor have they seen any giant birds (Kurt explodes a bit at this question, clearly suspecting you're just wasting his time.) But they have had a few odds and ends disappear over the last couple of weeks. A few tools, some food, and (Kurt snorts derisively) a book someone was writing. Maybe you should make yourselves useful figuring that out who's taking those rather than going on a wild goose chase. Oh, sorry, a wild giant bird chase.

You take advantage of Kurt's challenge as an excuse to investigate the camp a little more thoroughly and talk to the workers. You don't manage to find much out. The items seem to have vanished overnight, on two different occasions. Any tracks have been thoroughly obscured by drag marks of logs and a rainstorm a few days ago. But you do discover one interesting fact. The "book someone was writing" was a diary, recording the stories the author heard in the local tavern. He hopes to become a travelling bard some day. He hasn't got very far, though - he'd only recorded one story before it was stolen. On a hunch, you ask him what the story was. It was Haldenfrond's story about the Black Hunters.

[Anachronity]

As Varia continues onward, Lorhanna catches her attention with a dinnerbell-like series of high notes.

She plays a series of three-note strings in an ominous pitch, followed by a menacing cascade of many fast and small string plucks. Her concerned frown implies much.

Then she holds up a finger, as if having an idea, and points back towards town.

She plays a series of five-note strings in much the same fashion as before, but now with a triumphant tone to them. She then refrains the army of many small notes, yet they seem scattered and disorderly. Broken and defeated.

She smiles expectantly, hoping that Varia understands.

[Anyr]

Varia tried to interpret the strange sounds.

"You...want to fetch reinforcements? I really don't think that we have time for that. It took us over an hour to get here. A return round trip would take twice that. Every second we waste risks Lilya's life!"

She resumed walking. Unless someone else objected, she'd continue onwards.

[jscape2000]

After checking out the camp, Targan makes a few notes on the camp. He turns to Raeh, "Let's go find the others."

[pi4t]

Varia, Heraeus, Lorhanna

The trail follows a winding course, deeper and deeper into the Feywood. On several occasions, you have to stop and hunt around for the tracks, but Heraeus is a skilled tracker and never leads you astray. (OOC: natural 20 on the survival check!)

Although there was a pleasant breeze for your walk along the road, the air gets very still as you travel in the Feywood. As you go further north, the tree canopy grows thicker and the shade gets deeper. You get the uneasy feeling you're being watched, though you never see anything but the odd squirrel when you turn and look. After a while, you begin to feel hungry. You have no idea what time it is, but decide to stop for "lunch", supplementing your rations with some blackberries that Heraeus finds. Then you carry on.

Eventually, you begin climb a small hill, and the trees begin to get thinner. You finally get a glimpse of the sky, and are shocked to find that the sun is almost set. You must have spent the whole day walking, though it didn't feel like it at all. Ahead,, at the top of the hill, the trees end entirely in a clearing. It's a bit hard to see with the fading light, but you can vaguely make out the shapes of stone statues and old stone walls. Perhaps more interestingly, you can also see the flicker of shadows dancing in some unseen firelight. The trail leads through the remaining trees and straight to these ruins, and in places you can see cobbles on the path, poking through the general leaf debris.

As you're contemplating this, you suddenly hear the sound of someone coming through the undergrowth behind you, along the same trail you've been following. You turn around, finding hiding places and preparing for battle against whoever, or whatever, might be using this trail...

But what actually emerges is Targan and Raeh.

Targan, Raeh

You come to the grave in the same way as the other group before you, only to find the area deserted. But looking around, it's clear that the party has set off into the woods. After some discussion, you decide to follow them. You find the route easier to follow than your companions did (because you're following a fresher trail) but it's still evening before you reach a place where the trees get thinner.

At the top of a small hill, the trees end entirely in a clearing. It's a bit hard to see with the fading light, but you can vaguely make out the shapes of stone statues and old stone walls. Perhaps more interestingly, you can also see the flicker of shadows dancing in some unseen firelight. The trail leads through the remaining trees and straight to these ruins, and in places you can see cobbles on the path, poking through the general leaf debris.

Before you can investigate this further, however, the trail turns a corner and you suddenly find yourselves face to face with Varia, Heraeus and Lorhanna, ready for a fight.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh let’s out a deep sigh followed by a small laugh as she lowers her crossbow and tries to relax her beating heart.
“UnHoly mo..” was all anyone heard of her long curse before it faded out to a near silent mumble.

“It had been some time and we have learnt all that we can, how goes your part? Has there been trouble? We decided to come find you when you had not yet returned. I half expected to meet you making your way back.”

Raeh looks over everyone assessing their condition.

[jscape2000]

Targan gives everyone a jaunty smile. "Well, it is good to see everyone! I take it you've found a lead worth following?"

[Anyr]

Time became strangely distorted. Varia lost track of how long she'd been walking. Only when she neared her destination, did she realise the journey's length. Was this some kind of fae magic? Or maybe it was just her anxious mind playing tricks. Said anxiety went into overdrive, when Varia heard footsteps behind her. Twin daggers appeared in her hands. She readied blade and spell for whatever approached...

...Then let out a big sigh of relief. She warmly greeted her teammates.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes! Welcome. Yes, we do indeed have a lead. It looks like Lilya was abducted by taloned creatures. We've been following their trail."

[Frog Dragon]

"Could be harder to follow this trail on the rocks," Heraeus says, lowering his bow as he sees who emerges from the brush. "But they could also still be here somewhere. We should move carefully"

[Anachronity]

After the initial tension Lorhanna strums a soft, breezy greeting no louder than a hushed voice. After all, there seemed to be some sort of firelight in the deepening dusk ahead. She points it out to the others but aside from that simply seems intent on moving ahead.

[jscape2000]

Targan takes a few steps in the direction Lorhanna indicates, looking more closely at the flickering light, the statues, and the surroundings.

[roll0] Investigate if you want it.
What are the statues? Are the flickering shadows caused by natural light or by some kind of magic?

[pi4t]

Targan steps forward, investigating. The flickering light clearly looks like a fire - you can even see a small plume of smoke. The statues are hard to make out from this distance (they seem to be some kind of warriors?). There are some stone buildings near the statues, in various stages of decay.

You proceed along the path, but when you come to a narrow point you suddenly notice the ground is sagging slightly in front of you. Stopping and looking closer, you can see that the ground drops away here and the leaf-matter covering it is supported only by a lattice of sticks. There's some sort of pit here.

Fortunately, now you've found it, you should be able to walk round it pretty easily and continue on towards the statues. You're just about to do so, when you all hear a noise off to the West, away from the path. It sounds like children playing. You glance over in that direction, and Targan just catches a glimpse of the sillhouette of some moving figure.

[Holy-hunter]

Torn between directions Raeh moves forward and finds a small space of her own.
“We need more eyes.” she says cryptically as she looks at the land around her. She silently decided to herself there was no rush nor reason to disturb it.


Taking hold of the solid chain around her neck, she shuffled her robes to draw out the bulky pendant that had been sitting concealed beneath. It was a hand.
Not jewellery or crafted, nor merely of shape and design, but an actual severed human hand with signs of discolouration and decay. It clung to the chain, each finger wrapped around tightly.
Just beyond the wrist it was attached to something man made. It looked to be a thick metal bracelet about two inches thick, only it was solid and filled where the dismembering wound should be. Despite its simple materials and design it held a unique pattern to it with many tiny slits indented along its sides, making it appear like a small tightly bound cage.

Raeh turned her back to her comrades, instinctually more than fear for there was no hiding what would come next.

With the severed hand and strange phylactery hanging before her face, she speaks to it in soft whispers. You cannot make out the words but there’s no mistaking that they are filled with emotion and affection. Soon the wind begins to whip up around her and shadows begin to flutter like they were made from dancing fire light, only there was none. A soft haunting moan escapes from nature itself as it tries to deny her wishes. Raeh’s voice grows louder and you can see the strain in her tense body. The shadows respond accordingly, growing darker and running across the floor towards her where the growing darkness slowly finds form beneath her outstretched arm. The wind follows no pattern or path, instead spasming back and forth, sifting through the dirt digging up loose rocks, decaying wood and old forgotten bones.

The darkness and debris continues to coalesce before Raeh. The wind that violent buffers her continues to cry out with an eerily haunting howl, always competing with and trying to drown our Raeh’s own words which are now a firm commanding demand instead of the gentle plea of earlier.

Still holding the chain around her neck with one hand, she places the other into unnatural, and likely to be unholy, dark physical concoction floating in front of her. Her arm disappearing seamlessly into the small orb of black inky abyss.
Whether with will or her hand, the debris-filled darkness begins to take form. Raeh voice suddenly ceases as her lips press against the back of the severed hand. After a soft kiss, a flicker of red light appears in the phylactery. With a deep breath she takes it into herself then breathes it into the form she had created.
Having lost the fight, nature gives in. The wind settles, the shadows still and the howling cries fade to nothing.

All that remains of the incident was the now formed infused debris and negative energy.
It was a dragon, but a very small one. It had the spark of life in its eyes otherwise it appeared very dead. Ghoulish even. It stretched its small neck to a chorus of cracking and popping as it reached out to nuzzle it’s rotten face against the severed hand Raeh still held. Recognition for its old owners limb existing in the creature beyond the boundaries of life and death.

Water danced across Raeh’s eyes but no tears fell. With unspoken commands the dead pseudo dragon she had summoned, opened its wings and jumped into the air. It’s flight began clumsy as it adjusted to its condition and headed out to scout off the path towards the mysterious sound of children.

[jscape2000]

Targan signals to the group behind him, indicating the pit trap. He drags his heel across the dirt, leaving a clear line in the foliage marking the width of the pit.

He tests the balance of his crossbow before proceeding (activate enhance equipment- 0sp, concentration).

He proceeds cautiously towards the figure, alert for other traps and dangers.

[Anyr]

Varia marvelled at Raeh's complex spell. The ritual was so intricate! It carried real emotional weight. Varia's own magic was much simpler. She called upon her power without word, gesture, or even understanding. Watching a different tradition at work was fascinating.

The newly conjured dragon flew off, to scout ahead. Varia would wait for her comrades' signal before she too advanced. Her sneaking skills were mediocre. She didn't want to spoil anyone's attempt at stealth.

[pi4t]

You follow the sounds of the children playing, and the occasional glimpses of the figure. After about three minutes of pursuit, you're started by a loud roar up ahead. A moment later, you hear the sound of children screaming followed by a sudden silence. The sounds both came from up ahead.

OOC: Three ability checks

The roar sounds like it came from a bear.

As the childrens' scream ends and you begin to wonder how to help them, you notice the figure slipping away to the right, in the direction of the ruins. It looks like you'll have to choose whether to pursue or find the children. As the figure turns, you catch a glimpse of a large, curved nose or beak, like the mask of a plague doctor.

The children you heard playing before were both boys' voices. Which is strange, because those were definitely the screams of young girls.

Note that these are two different perception checks; roll it twice!




You wait around anxiously as the others vanish into the forest. The sound of the children playing gradually grows fainter. After about three minutes, you hear a roar in the distance, followed by screams which suddenly stop.

[jscape2000]

Targan continues to follow the hooded figure. “Hey there! I’ve got questions for you!”

[Frog Dragon]

"Should be no children here," Heraeus says.

Keeping his bow at hand but lowered, he follows the sound. As he sees the beaked figure, he follows on Targan's heels after him.

[Anyr]

Varia couldn't ignore children in need. She rushed towards the sound of screaming. Her comrades could handle the fleeing figure.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna frowns. Though normally one to trust, she misliked the situation entirely. She was familiar with illusion, and the children sounded too young to possibly be the goal of their mission.

She moves to follow Targan instead, who'd seemed to have noticed something.

[pi4t]

Varia rushes in the direction she heard the screams. But there's no sign of any children. Despite a thorough search of the area, she finds nothing but a rather startled squirrel, woken by the commotion.

Everybody else runs after the figure, who is now heading straight towards the ruins. Before it gets far, however, it trips over a tree root and sprawls on the ground as you rush up and surround it. It raises its hands above its head in surrender.

The creature stands about five feet tall, or would if it wasn't lying on the ground. Its shape is roughly humanlike, but its head is covered with feathers and dominated by a large beak. Its legs are large, scaly talons, and it has clawed hands, one of which was holding a small sword until a minute ago. It does not seem to have any wings.


This is a Kenku. Kenku are a birdlike race which are incapable of creating anything of their own, but are excellent at imitating what they see and hear.

[jscape2000]

“Hello there friend.” Targan kneels beside the kenku, making a point to aim his crossbow away, but not releasing his concentration on the enhancement spell.
“Let’s start with introductions. I’m Targan. Who are you? And do you know anything about a girl who went missing from the local village?”

[pi4t]

The creature stares at you for the moment. It seems to be thinking. Then it makes a sound like an owl's hoot. It pauses, and then repeats back Targan's own words: "a girl who went missing". The voice is Targan's, and the inflections are exactly the same as Targan's were. The effect is quite unnerving.

[jscape2000]

“Oh? You’re a mockingbird aren’t you? No words of your own.

Ok. Did you take the girl, or do you know who did?”

He gestures with his free hand, palm to the left and right, when he emphasizes the words he hopes the kenku will repeat back.

[pi4t]

"Know who did? take the girl," replies the kenku, rather unhelpfully.

[Holy-hunter]

“We need to give it more words and a reason to talk.” Raeh sighs as she steps forward. She sends a mental command for her summon to return to her.
With it sitting on her shoulder snapping hungrily at the bird-like creature, Raeh loaded her crossbow and aims it at the Kenku’s head.

”Listen carefully, I will kill you and feed you to my monster if you don’t help us. We are looking for a human girl. Your footprints were found where she went missing. If we don’t get her back soon everyone in that town will be hunting your kind and calling you baby snatchers. The news will pass from one town to another. Maybe the mob won’t get you, maybe it will be your brother or sister, mother or daughter. If we don’t get her back there will be bird blood to pay.

Now! do you understand?
Yes I do. No I don’t.”

[pi4t]

"reason to talk" - Raeh's voice. "Maybe...maybe it will let us go-" A woman's voice, not one you recognise. Sobbing.

[jscape2000]

“Take it easy Raeh.”

To the kenku Targan says “will you lead us to the girl? Can you mimic any sounds the creature made?”

[Anyr]

Varia soon realised that she'd been tricked. Still, the chance had been worth taking. She rushed off to rejoin her comrades.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna frowns at Raeh's tactics. She moves to slowly but firmly press the aimed crossbow off-target, interposing herself if necessary.

Instead she looks to the bird, trying to make eye contact to capture its attention. She props her lyre up at her side and uses one hand to play a simple "running" tune of two fast, alternating notes, while illustrating the same by walking her other hand across the air like it was a person. She then stops the tune abruptly and grabs the one hand with the other which had played the lyre, pulling it away and "abducting" it. The look of concern on her face is clear.

She then resets and makes an over-dramatic "searching" motion, hand to forehead, before finally tilting her head questioningly at the bird and throwing her hands up in a perplexed manner.

[pi4t]

The Kenku looks confused at the babble of questions. Then as Targan finishes, it brightens and speaks.

"Unhand me, you beasts! How dare you? Give that back at once! It doesn't belong to you."

Varia, at least, recognises the voice as Lilya's. The Kenku looks pleased, obviously thinking it's found something helpful to say.

[jscape2000]

Targan nods helpfully as the kenku recites. “Do you know what they took from her? Could you draw it if you don’t know the words?” Targan finds a stick and offers it to the kenku.

[pi4t]

The kenku takes the offered stick, and stares blankly at it. It makes a few aimless scratches in the ground, then offers the stick back to Targan.

Then it pauses suddenly, apparently thinking of something. It speaks in a child's voice:

"Heehee! He’s got a shiny stone! Can I has one mister birdie?"

[Holy-hunter]

”Bird for dinner anyone!” Raeh asks sardonically.
“Let’s just make it walk and follow it. It’s gotta lead us to something.”

[jscape2000]

"Raeh, that's a good way to walk into the same trap that this girl fell into. I understand your impatience, but we should learn all we can here."

To the kenku, Targan says, "Thank you, that is helpful. Was the child speaking to a kenku like you of the stone, or to something else?" Again, Targan gestures with his hands to emphasize the choices.

[pi4t]

"A kenku." The creature points at the clearing on top of the hill. It edges away from Raeh, nervously. Then it points at itself, and into the woods, and repeats Lorhanna's "running" theme. "Maybe it will let us go-" it says, again.

[jscape2000]

Targan talks through his thoughts out loud.

"So a creature, maybe something unintelligent something that could be distracted by shiny things, so possibly a kenku, has captured the girl and other children. It is or was in that clearing.

I say we proceed cautiously that direction. What do you all think?"

[Frog Dragon]

"If we can get nothing more from this odd creature," Heraeus says. "Maybe we will encounter another trail."

[Anachronity]

When Targan mentions the mysterious kidnapper's intelligence, Lorhanna draws a cutaway side view of a spikey pit with a foot, then taps her own noggin, giving him a meaningful look.

But they were there for a reason, and Lorhanna nods in agreement to Targan's proposal

[Holy-hunter]

“Let’s get going but don’t leave this thing behind, it’s coming with.”

[pi4t]

This suggestion is apparently too much for the kenku. It suddenly turns and makes a dash for the darkness of the forest.

Here's how we're going to handle this. The kenku has potentially surprised you, and is hoping to get away before you can react. It's moving from adjacent to all of you, taking the dash action to get away into the shadows of the forest. If you want to try and stop it, roll initiative: if you equal or exceed the kenku's roll of [roll0] then you can make an attack of opportunity (or AoO-equivalent maneuver) or use any other abilities you could normally use in response to the kenku's movement. Raeh was clearly ready for this, and automatically succeeds at her initiative roll. She may attack with her crossbow as a reaction (i.e., as a readied action).

You don't have to take the attack if you don't want to, of course.

[jscape2000]

"Let him go. He's not our enemy." says Targan.

[Holy-hunter]

“There goes our bargaining chip along with any hope of surprise.” Raeh mutters to herself in disappointment as she lowers her crossbow. A moment later she pats the dead pseudo dragon on the head and softly thanks him before the creature starts to decay and crumbles away into dust and a dark mist.

Raeh begins walking but is deliberate in the position she puts herself, not at the front nor the rear.

[jscape2000]

"Thank you. I think that creature is an enemy of whatever abducted the girl." Targan says to Raeh.

"It pointed that way," he adds, pointing to the clearing at the top of the hill. "Spread out a little, and keep your eyes peeled."

To Lorhanna he says, "Maybe the abductor made that pit, or maybe not." He breaks into a grin. "Let's find out!"

[roll0] Investigating for traps as we climb the hill.

[pi4t]

The Kenku runs away into the darkness, and you turn your attention back to the hill. After a little effort, you reach the top where the clearing and ruins are. Targan carefully checks for traps on the way, but doesn't find any - the pit traps seem to be limited to the path. You reach the edge of the clearing, and hide behind the last few trees while you get a better look around.

The six ruined statues surround a stone well, set atop a cobbled mosaic. The statues depict warriors with swords and shields; there were once six of them, but one has been broken and only the legs and a heap of rubble remain. To the north is a large building, which looks distinctly like a temple; to the south is its mirror image. Scattered around to the east and west are five more buildings of varying sizes. Both the temples and the smaller buildings are in various sates of decay; one of the smaller buildings has collapsed completely and trees are growing inside the southern temple.

https://i.imgur.com/zW4lSlF.jpg

Disregard the compass rose; North is going to be at the top of the map to make things easier to describe in PBP. Each square is 5ft. The path comes in to the SE; you've arrived from the NW after getting turned around in the forest.

Near the well, there is a small fire built up, and in its light you can see three more kenku walking to and fro. They're "talking" to one another with snatches of words and bird sounds, and seem unaware of your presence. As well as the kenku, there are also a huge number of dark birds around, perched on every available surface, right up to the edge of the trees. Crows, by the looks of them. A whole swarm of them.

[jscape2000]

Targan signals the others to hold, as he strains to hear what the kenku are saying.

[Anyr]

Varia crept forward. When told to stop, she stopped. Her eyes scanned the area for one vital thing: Lilya. Was this where she was being held? Her anxiety kept rising. One wrong move here could spell disaster. That's why she deferred to the group's more experienced scouts.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna holds her harp at the ready, waiting for some sign that they would, or even should attack just yet.

[pi4t]

Two of the kenku are walking back and forth, while the third, which appears to be wearing some sort of shabby robe, is standing still near the southwest statue. They're at ease, and are calling across to each other, in various frightened voices. Each one is followed by sounds of coarse laughter from all three kenku. You catch a dwarven "Ye gods’ run! It's got a knife!" Then an elderly woman's voice, the same voice you heard earlier: "I think.. I think it wants our money – Charles, please, just, just give it our coins. Maybe... maybe it will let us go-SLASH-ooaAAHhhhhhhh!" Then a child: "Where's papa?" Then Lilya's voice: "How dare you? Let me out of here this minute! Hey!"

Currently you're still hidden at the edge of the trees. If you want to step out into the open, you should fairly easily be able to find a moment when none of the kenku are looking at you, but there's no way you can avoid being noticed by some of the crows.

[jscape2000]

Convinced now that these kenku are holding Lilya and others prisoner, Targan signals the others to get ready and sights his crossbow on the robed kenku.

So targetting the robed kenku,
Initiative 15 (dex +2)
8 to hit with potential 6 damage,
and 14 to hit with potential 10 damage

[Frog Dragon]

Heraeus glances over at Targan. Like him, he had heard enough. Drawing his own bow as well, he takes aim at another of the kenku, waiting for the moment to loose his arrow.

Initiative: 4
Attack: 21
Damage: 4

[Holy-hunter]

Time was precious, Raeh lifted her light crossbow, took aim at the robed Kenku. Holding her hand up she counted down with her fingers, 3,2,1 go.

She stepped forward finding some semblance of cover and fired.


Initiative [roll0]
Stealth [roll1]
Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[Anyr]

Varia also joined the ambush. Her magic couldn't reach the enemy from here. So she drew her backup short bow. It had been a while since she'd fired a physical weapon. Hopefully she wasn't rusty. Varia took aim at the same Kenku as Heraeus. These creatures would pay for kidnapping Lilya.

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna spins a bit of magic into her allies' actions, aiding their aim with sharp, dire notes.

Initiative: [roll0]

grants advantage to the next attack an ally makes after her turn
(use this die): [roll1]

[pi4t]

The two kenku - the robed one, and the other one you shot at - are each hit by two missiles and fall to the ground. The remaining kenku jumps up, shouting out "What's this? To arms, men, to arms!" in a male voice. The cry seems to echo around the ruins. Meanwhile, the crows take flight, gathering into a flock that hovers menacingly above you. They seem to be preparing to attack.

You now have two enemies, a swarm of crows and the remaining kenku. They got initiative 12, so Raeh, Targan and Varia (who I rolled for to save time, you got 21) are up in whatever order you like.

[jscape2000]

Knowing his crossbow will be of little use against a swarm of crows, Targan sights on the last standing kenku and fires.


shot 1: to hit [roll0] ; damage [roll]1d8+3[/roll[
shot 2: to hit [roll1] ; damage [roll]1d8+3[/roll[

[jscape2000]

[roll0]
[roll1]

[pi4t]

Targan's first shot misses, but the second just manages to hit the kenku in the shoulder. It makes a noise like a bear roaring in pain and turns towards him.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh calls upon the soul in her phylactory again. This time with more haste than before. The land around her weeps in a 30ft radius as the negative energy she calls rots the life from the trees and soil, spoiling the land and air.
Immediately after its summons she touched the creature again and it’s dead flesh gave way to hard scales.
“Protect us” Raeh pleaded, placing the creature between the flock of birds and herself.

(Terrain casting drawback- land blighted 30ft radius for 1year
Twisted reanimation to add an alteration.((scales from blank form))

HP 5
AC 16
Attack 7
Damage 1d6+4

Spare rolls
[roll0][roll1]

[Anyr]

Varia lowered her bow. The enemy had strayed within range of her real weapon. A point in front of her suddenly shimmered. From it erupted a ray of force. No words, no gestures. Just an act of will.


Varia sends a destructive blast (Confining Ray) at the kenku.

Attack:[roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

On a failed strength save, the enemy can't move closer to Varia this round.

[pi4t]

The grass near you suddenly turns a sickly black colour as Raeh casts her spell. The nearest trees drop their leaves, and a stench of rot fills the air.

The cries of the remaining kenku are suddenly cut off as Varia blasts him, and he collapses to the ground. The crows, meanwhile, swarm at the nearest target, which happens to be the undead pseudodragon that Raeh has just created. Fortunately, their beaks prove unable to penetrate its scales as many of them shrink back, unnerved by its undead nature.

The kenku is dead, leaving just the swarm of crows. The swarm is currently in the same space as the pseudodragon (which is roughly at ground level, since it hasn't had a chance to move since Raeh summoned it). The crows tried to attack the pseudodragon, but rolled very badly on its attack roll. All of you are up.

[jscape2000]

Targan fires into the swarm.


Rolled on discord
14 to hit
9 damage

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh panics as the murder of crows rush towards her and swarm her summon. The creature disappearing in the flutter of dark wings. She stumbles back giving herself some distance before raising her crossbow and firing again.

‘Fight!’ She mentally commands her undead.
‘Kill them all!’

[roll0] crossbow
[roll1] damage

[roll2] claw
[roll3] damage

HP 5
AC 16

[pi4t]

Targan's bolt fires straight through the crows, killing several birds before it comes to a halt. The dragon's claws tear through some of the crows near it, but more quickly replace them.

The crows have taken damage, but not a lot (swarm traits give them resistance to physical damage). Varia, Heraeus and Lorhanna, what are you doing?

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna lunges at the remaining crows, a knife in hand

attack: [roll0]
dmg: [roll1]

[Anyr]

Varia loosed another ray of force. Perhaps magic would be more effective than metal here.

Varia uses another Destructive Blast (Confining Ray).

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

Strength save, can't move closer, etc.

[Frog Dragon]

The Kenku had fallen in short order, but the swarm of crows seemed less vulnerable to arrows than the birdmen had been.

However, Heraeus didn't exactly have anything better than a bow on hand. Nocking another arrow, he looses on the swarm.

[pi4t]

Crows corpses litter the ground around you. The remaining birds flutter away into the darkness, but not before one pecks sharply at Raeh's dragon. The area around you is silent, for now.

The dragon takes 1 damage (attack roll 19, 1d6 damage; you got lucky). You've reduced the swarm to less than half hp; the remainder are running away. You can take potshots at them as they go, but it won't make a difference to the outcome of the battle so we won't bother rolling it out.

[jscape2000]

“Check the bodies,” Targan says to Heraeus. “If any are alive, let’s question them.”

He scans the area for traps, alarms or other threats.

“Let’s spread out and search these buildings.” He heads towards the big one.


[roll0]

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh runs to the centre of the statues and calls out the girls name, spinning and looking around.
If she hears no reply she will scan the smaller buildings furtherest away. Leaving the closer ones for her comrades.

[pi4t]

Targan scans the area. All three of the kenku seem to have died in the fighting, although there are a few crows that are still clinging to life. He doesn't notice any traps or threats, and moves towards the building to the north. Its entrance - a gaping doorway with the door missing - stands at the top of a short flight of steps. Because of the height, he can't see very far into the building from down here, but there seems to be some foliage to the right.

Raeh heads towards the statues. In their centre is a deep well with the fire nearby; and around the well a compass has been carved into a large circular flagstone. She calls out Lilya's name, but she doesn't hear any reply other than the echo of her own voice. She moves on southeast, towards the largest of the smaller buildings. It's dark inside, and she's grateful for her darkvision - a human wouldn't be able to see anything from out here, but she can see as clearly as if it were day.

The back wall is lined with a mishmash of small animal bones and refuse from what appear to be stolen goods – smashed crates and barrels, torn linens, and debris. In the middle of it all is an enormous brown bear, peering at Raeh suspiciously. It wears a heavy iron collar and appears to be chained to the back corner of this room. Even from where Raeh is, twenty feet from the entrance, she can smell waste and rotting fish.

[jscape2000]

Targan flips down his night vision goggles, readies his crossbow and moves into the northern building.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh looks on the creature with pity and quickly examines the length of chain, ensuring she is out of its reach. ”I’ll be back for you in a moment, promise.” she tells the enormous bear softly before carefully backing out of the room.

Back outside she runs to the next building.

[pi4t]

As Targan nears the top of the steps, suddenly he feels his feet slipping away beneath him. He tumbles down the steps, smacking his head on a flagstone as he falls and making a tremendous clatter. A large number of little stone spheres roll away in all directions as he falls - until recently, they were cunningly concealed on the step he just tried to walk on.

To make matters worse, at this moment three more kenku appear from the path with drawn swords, attracted by the warning cry from the kenku you killed earlier. They're accompanied by some large bird like an ostrich, with a beak that looks like an axe. One of the kenku calls out "Halt! Who goes there!" but they don't seem like they're going to wait for an answer. Raeh has the misfortune of standing nearby, and before she can react they swarm around her. One of the kenku makes a stab which Raeh just manages to dodge, but while she's distracted one of the others snatches her crossbow out of her hands and runs away. Then the third grabs the severed hand that Raeh carries. The hand suddenly twitches, and the kenku drops it with a childlike cry of terror and begins stamping on it vigorously. Raeh has no time to deal with this, however, as the oversized bird is attempting to strike her with its beak, and it takes all her efforts to dodge it.

Sorry Targan, you rolled dreadfully on both your investigation and your dexterity save, and your passive perception wasn't quite high enough to see this. You take 4 damage and are prone.

And sorry Raeh, you happened to be nearby while everyone else is over the other side...Just be glad your AC is 13. Both those attacks rolled 12s! But you're still adjacent to two of the kenku, and the bird.

Unfortunately, the kenku managed to get a natural 20 and beat everyone else on initiative.

Everybody is now up.

I've taken the liberty of numbering the buildings, so we can talk about them more easily.

https://i.imgur.com/2h9NnQ9.jpg

[jscape2000]

Gritting his teeth as he falls, Targan focused his attention inward, brushing aside the pain in his elbow and tailbone as he falls to keep his focus on the enchantment enhancing his crossbow. Cursing, Targan rises to his feet. "Yellow livered slit tongued sons of a dung beetle!"

He flexes his fingers, relieved that he is bruised but nothing is broken.

He focuses his sites on the kenku has grabbed Raeh's crossbow and fires.

rolled over in discord: 19 to hit, 9 damage

[Anyr]

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Varia moved to reinforce her allies. She fired an arrow at the nearest Kenku, as she rushed towards it.

Varia casts a Destructive Blast (Gravity Ray) fires an arrow at the nearest Kenku.

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

All attacks made against that Kenku this round have advantage.

[Frog Dragon]

"What in hell's name is that?" Heraus nocks an arrow, looking up at the strange massive bird. He looses it on the large bird before ducking into a nearby doorway.

Use the Scout feature of my sphere on the ostrich as a bonus action, then fire an arrow at that bird, and then go into the doorway of building 7.

Rolled in discord.
Attack: 19
Damage: 4
Scout: 24

[pi4t]

Varia's arrow misses. Targan's shot deals the crossbow kenku a nasty blow, and it staggers backward bleeding heavily. Heraus can't see any particular weak points on the axe beak, and the force of his shot is mostly absorbed by the thing's feathers and deals little lasting damage.

Waiting for Raeh and Lorhanna.

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna had just begun casting about for some sign of the missing child when more kenkus show themselves. She swaps to a shortbow as she places some distance between herself and them, then lets loose an arrow at the one who'd spoken.

[roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[jscape2000]

Targan calls out to the kenku, “we won’t kill you all if you give us the townsfolk you captured!”

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh distracts the Kenku that took her crossbow while her Pseudo dragon attacks it.

[roll0] [roll1]claw with advantage
[roll2]damage
HP 5
AC 16

[pi4t]

Raeh's Pseudodragon can't get a good hit, but Lorhanna's arrow strikes him and he falls. The kenku who stole Raeh's hand continues trying to crush it without success, while the other strikes at Raeh with a blow she easily dodges. However, she isn't able to avoid the attack from the axe beak, which strikes her in the back and leaves her staggering and opens a large gash.

Raeh is attacked by the axe beak: Attack 16, damage 7. Unless you have a way to avoid that, I think that puts you to 1hp?

The other two kenku rolled very badly and missed their attacks.

Everyone's up again!

[jscape2000]

“Focus on bringing down the bird first “ Targan instructs his comrades.


Unlikely to follow his own instructions
8 to hit, 5 damage if...

[Anyr]

"Raeh!"

Varia rushed to save her comrade. She hastily crafted a new type of ray. The previous one had been designed to repel enemies. This one would instead attract things towards enemies. If successful, it would make her allies' jobs easier. Varia sent this creation at the creature which had just wounded Raeh.

Varia sends a Destructive Blast (Gravity Ray) at the axe beak.

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

If it hits, future attacks against the same enemy in this round will have advantage.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh screams in a pain and turns on the bird creature, drawing and attacking with her dagger.
14 attack
7 damage

Pseudo dragon
23 attack
[roll0]damage
HP 5
AC 16

[pi4t]

Varia's blast, Raeh's dagger and the pseudodragon's blows between them finally fell the great bird. It collapses to the ground, twitches briefly, and lies still.

[jscape2000]

"Well done!" Targan calls to his friends. To the bird men he says, "Which of you would like to die next?"

[Frog Dragon]

"How 'bout both!" Heraus calls out, loading two arrows into his bow and firing them at the remaining kenku.

Attack: 13/20 (Disadvantage roll)
Damage vs Kenku #1: 5
Damage vs Kenku #2: 5

[Anachronity]

Having some awareness of the importance of magical foci, Lorhanna looses her next arrow at the kenku which busied itself with destroying the hand. It was hard to say how durable any particular magical item might be, but perhaps she could at least distract the thing away from the hand.

[roll0]
damage: [roll1]

[pi4t]

Lorhanna's shot misses, but the kenku abandons the hand, and Lorhanna had hoped. Unfortunately, it abandons it to draw a small bow and shoot at Lorhanna. The arrow hits her in the chest and she collapses to the ground in a pool of blood. Then more disaster strikes. The other remaining kenku takes advantage of Raeh's disorientation from the previous blows, and strikes her on the head with the hilt of its sword. Raeh drops to the ground, unconscious.

...Ouch. I think Raeh's pseudodragon disappears as well, since she can't concentrate on it?

I've written the above stuff in the assumption that there's nothing anyone can do. If you have abilities that can negate these attacks, feel free to make use of them.

The shot against Lorhanna was a 19 to hit, and does 8 damage if she can't negate it.
The swordblow that Raeh took was a 20 to hit. It does only 4 damage, but Raeh is already down to 1hp. Fortunately, the kenku has merely knocked you out, so you're not bleeding out like Lorhanna.

Everyone who's still conscious is up.

[jscape2000]

Targan fires his crossbow at the kenku with the sword.

13 to hit, 4 damage

[Anyr]

One by one, Varia's allies fell. Desperation crept over her. Could she even win this battle? But fleeing would doom the whole group. She had to keep fighting. She frantically launched another ray of force.

Varia fires a Destructive Blast (Confining Ray) at the sword wielder.

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

[Anachronity]

She saw the bird-creature point its bow at her and fire, and her reaction was not quick enough...

The arrow didn't really hurt much. More of a dull, forceful sensation that was hard for her to immediately associate with the action she'd just witnessed. Had it missed her? No, that didn't make much sense. Why was she on the ground, now? That's, oh... that's quite a lot of... blood.

Perhaps she had erred in trying to play the hero, and to go about it as she had. It all felt a bit rediculous to her in that moment. She belatedly tries to call out for help, but it comes out as only a soft rasp before the ground presses against her cheek.

[jscape2000]

"Hmmm," Targan muses, "We seem to be taking damage at a faster than ideal rate. Can I suggest we dodge more, or else bleed less when struck?"

[Frog Dragon]

Drawing another two arrows, Heraeus draws the bow again with all his might, trying to fell two kenku with one shot.

Attack with splitshot: 17/20 (Disadvantage, so 17)
Damage vs Kenku #1: 6
Damage vs Kenku #2: 4

[pi4t]

Heraeus' shots hit both the kenku. The one with the sword collapses on top of Raeh. The bowman survives, just barely. It takes a look at the slaughter around it, and the arrow in its own arm, and runs in the direction of the path.

The remaining kenku takes the dash action and runs away. I'm going to say if you want to pursue it you need to start immediately, or it will get away. Alternatively, you have one more round to make ranged attacks, etc, before it reaches the cover of the trees, if you prefer to do that. Or you could just, y'know, let it go.

Lorhanna is also still bleeding out, and has a 1/20 chance of dying at the end of this round. Someone might want to deal with that. Just saying.

[Anyr]

Varia didn't pursue the fleeing Kenku. She instead rushed over to her fallen comrades.

"Hold on, you two! Please don't die!"

She laid both hands upon Lorhanna. Healing light flowed into the wounded woman. Once Lorhanna's life was no longer in danger, Varia would move on to Raeh.

Varia spends 2 SP to Cure both of them.

Lorhanna: [roll0]
Raeh: [roll1]

[jscape2000]

Targan sights on the fleeing kenku and fires a final bolt.

17 to hit 4 damage

[pi4t]

Targan's shot strikes true, and the fleeing kenku falls to the ground, dead.

[jscape2000]

Targan considered his fallen opponents. He was invading their home after all, and the message from the other kenku had made him think something or someone else may have captured the missing girl. But the kenku had made no effort to parlay despite him calling out to them, and two of his companions were down. Better to leave no survivors to strike back than to risk the group with misplaced mercy.

After taking a moment to refresh his wards, he turned to continue search the huts.

[jscape2000]

Targan heads into the building where he had triggered the trap, more cautious this time for dangers.


Investigate [roll0]

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh thanks the party for saving her and spends a few rounds gathering herself and her things while keeping a watch on the treeline.

[Frog Dragon]

"Now where did they come from," Heraus puts down his bow, walking over to where the Kenku emerged to confront them. He kneels down, looking for tracks.

Investigation Result: 16

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna rises dizzily, glancing about in confusion to find any remaining bird-creatures before realizing that, at least for the moment, they'd been slain or driven back.

She momentarily looks as though she was about to say her thanks to Varia, but opts to nod her head in thanks instead. Once she regains her bearings she investigates some of the downed kenku.

[pi4t]

Heraeus can clearly see the tracks leading back along the path. Unfortunately, they are mixed with many other tracks going back and forth along the path you walked along earlier, and he doubts he'll be able to tell exactly which tracks this particular party made or where they joined.

Lorhanna searches the bodies; they each have a small sword, a bow and a few arrows, and a handful of shiny knickknacks of little value. Between them, they also have a total of eight gold pieces.

Targan walks cautiously forward into the building, keeping a careful eye out for traps. The room seems empty, other than another statue in the middle of the room, and some foliage in the right. But the hair on the back of Targan's neck rises as he walks deeper into the room. He feels like there are eyes on him, from all directions. Was that a glimpse of movement in the trees? Is it just a trick of the flickering firelight, or is that an impression of dark feathers behind the statue? Are there figures lurking in the archways to the west and east?

[jscape2000]

“I’ve got something here.” Targan calls to his friends.

Is the statue here a warrior like outside? In the same state of disrepair?

Targan puts his shield-crossbow before him. “I’m not here to harm you, though I will defend myself. What are you doing in this place here?”

[pi4t]

The statue is in better repair than those outside, most likely because it's been shielded from the weather. It's also rather larger. It depicts a female soldier in armour; after a moment's thought, Targan recognises it as a statue of Alairra, a goddess of heroism, strategy and knowledge. He's more familiar with her in her role as patron of the sciences, while this statue seems to emphasise her warrior aspects.

Targan's call is answered by a muffled female voice. He can't make out any words - the speaker sounds like she's trying to speak through some sort of gag. It seems to be coming from further back in the building.

[jscape2000]

“Hold on, we’re coming for you! Say something. What’s your paternal grandmother’s given name? The name of your first pet? What street did you live on in the second grade?” He tries to pinpoint the source of the sound.

“I think she’s here!” He calls to his companions outside.

When his allies regroup with him, Targan moves forward, conscious that the kenku are master mimics and they may be walking into a trap.

22 on discord

[Holy-hunter]

Rae follows behind Targan, weapon at the ready. She is not feeling super healthy so stays a distance back.

[pi4t]

There's silence for a moment, as the echoes of Targan's call die away. He waits, refusing to move further in. But just as Raeh is entering the building, suddenly you all hear a cry: "Strike them down, men, I'll have no thieves on my watch!" A large kenku wearing a crude metal circlet leaps from behind the statue, sword drawn. At the same time, a rain of arrows fires at both Raeh and Targan. Two strike Raeh, who collapses to the ground again. Another hits Targan in the chest and he collapses too. The kenku with the circlet points its sword at Targan's throat. It calls out to the rest of the group in a voice that sounds like a frightened young man: "I'm warning you! Stay where you are!"


Targan is 20ft in front of the statue, next to the kenku with the circlet. Raeh is in the entrance. Everyone else is some distance away, though Targan's call means you're closer than you would have been; I'll say that it will take your full movement for the first round just to reach the entrance, and if you want to go beyond there you'll have to Dash.

One arrow came from each of the side archways, another came from behind the statue, and the fourth from the greenery on the right.

The kenku rolled extraordinarily well, I'm afraid, both on initiative and attack rolls. Raeh is hit by two arrows (attack rolls 21 and 23; damage 5 and 4). Targan is hit by one (attack roll 21; damage 6). The other missed, but unless someone has a way to negate that I'm afraid that seems to be enough to knock you down!

Everyone, give your action (or make your death save).

[jscape2000]

Targan tries not to die.


[roll0]

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna's mind spins for a way to change this awful scene playing out before her. Perhaps, if she could only buy some time...

She drops her bow to retrieve her abandoned harp, then strums lightly on it, checking it as though looking for any damage. Or so she tries to feign.

But then, from near the building immediately counterclockwise from the path - as near as Lorhanna could manage, a dread growl and roar can be heard. A low-pitch thud like something metal had been pulled taut with great force, then the distinct sound of chains breaking. The bear they had seen before emerges from a position where she hopes the kenku can't see it materialize, near the building which still housed it. Shattered chain gently clacking as it looks about, the illusory creature locks eyes with the circlet-bearing kenku and roars again, ready to charge.

Retrieving the harp, then casting the Figment effect from the Illusion sphere (augmented to include both sight and sound).
I'll have it charge headlong at the circlet-wearer if I can, but my reading of the figment ability seems to suggest that making an illusion appear to move is a separate action from creating it.

Performance: [roll0] (I'm only spending 1 SP anyways, so no real consequence for failure here)

[Frog Dragon]

"We're na' here to steal!" Heraeus calls out, lowering his bow. However, he does not drop it. Then as he see the bear, he calls out "Look out!" and runs off in the opposite direction, trying to hide behind the statues.

Trying to use bear as a distraction and hide behind a statue, then sneak off into the wooded area. Hopefully they think Heraeus is tyring to warn them about the bear & also scared of bear.

Stealth result: 5

[Holy-hunter]

[roll0] death save

[pi4t]

The kenku threatening Targan opens its beak in shock. It drops Targan's body, pointing its sword at the bear nervously. Then, suddenly, the kenku kicks Targan in the direction of the bear - and incidentally nearer to the rest of the group - and rushes off through the arch to the left. Heraeus takes advantage of the confusion to slip off and hide among the statues; he trips over the flagstones while backing away but there's no sign he's been noticed in the general confusion.

Raeh regains consciousness, and looks up to see the bear apparently standing next to her and Targan lying unconscious in front of it.

Based on the current positioning of the kenku, the only sensible place to make the illusion is near the entrance of the building they're in; any further back and they probably won't be able to see it. And it wouldn't be able to charge, what with the steps and the distance.

I'm playing a little loose with the action economy here, taking this to be an adjusted readied action. Raeh has just woken up thanks to her natural 20; Varia and Raeh can take actions. Raeh is prone, of course.

[jscape2000]

[roll0]

Was that kick hard enough to cause damage? Has death save implications.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh gets up and moves away from the bear, standing between it and Targan as she summers her dragon

[jscape2000]

With a groan Targan assesses his surroundings.
No kenku with swords to his throat; good.
****ty kenku arrow protruding from his chest; not good.
Charging bear; suboptimal.
Raeh coming to nearby; better than expected.
No solid evidence of the missing girl, no way to know whether Targan is a home invader or a liberator; frustrating.

“All around,” he says sitting up, “I’m filing today under the heading Not What You Want.”

[pi4t]

Varia moves towards the entrance, pausing uncertainly and looking for someone to fight.

She's soon answered. Four more arrows shoot out of the darkness at the bear. Lorhanna is able to make the bear "dodge" three of them, but the fourth passes right through it. Incongruously, you hear a "Well I never!" in Lilya's voice, near where the arrow came from.

You notice the kenku with the circlet slipping out of a gap in the building's wall. He seems to have had the same idea as you, and is slipping off towards the woods. He's close enough to your hiding place that you could reach him without dashing, if you wanted. At present, he doesn't seem to have noticed you.

Everyone's up.

[jscape2000]

Scrambling to his feet, and putting his shield between himself and the opening to the hut, Targan scrambles for the safety of the tree line. He remains alert to other enemies, and will take a shot if something threatening comes into view.


So 15' of MV to get his feet, and move 15' towards where the team came from.

Ready action - attack. Rolled on Discord, 22 to hit and 6 damage.

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh looks for cover and goes on the defensive, commanding her dragon to defend her.

[pi4t]

Targan emerges. The kenku which attacked him earlier is also rushing for the trees. Still running, Targan takes aim and fires a quick shot with his crossbow, striking the bird in the shoulder.

[Anyr]

Varia was momentarily shaken by the sound of Lilya's voice. But she'd already fallen for this trick once. With an effort, she ignored the imitation. She took aim at any foe that presented itself.

Varia will fire a Confining Ray at the first enemy in range. She'll only move if doing so will keep her in cover.

Attack: [roll0]; Damage: [roll1]

[Frog Dragon]

Glancing at the running Kenku, Heraeus elects to ignore him. If needed, he could be tracked down later. Moving back towards the entrance, Heraeus looks to loose an arrow on one of the kenku who isn't yet running.

If I have a target. If I have no target except kenku who are escaping, I'll ready instead to fire at a kenku who is still fighting. Heraeus also has 60ft darkvision.
Attack: 22
Damage: 3

[Anachronity]

Lorhanna keeps her distance from the crossfire, not having fond memories of the arrow she'd taken to the chest not even a minute ago. She takes cover as she works to sway the fickle fingers of fate to their aid.

Bless Heraeus
If anyone rolls between 7 and 12 on an attack, I'll spend a spell point to use Greater Inspiration on them as a reaction

[pi4t]

One of the kenku in the shadows moves, repositioning itself. Heraeus and Varia quickly shoot at it, both striking it. Varia's ray also catches the kenku in a protective barrier, trapping it as it staggers backward into a corner. It's now clearly visible, and bleeding badly.

The kenku respond with a wild hail of arrows at the party and at the "bear". All of them miss, and those of you with a good view of the inside of the building notice three more kenku leaving the shadows and running to the west wing of the building. There's time to follow them, if you're quick.

The kenku you fired at is still there, trapped by Varia's barrier for a few seconds.

The attacks against the kenku had disadvantage because it was hidden, but I rolled both the disadvantages and you still hit both of them. The kenku, meanwhile, rolled extremely poorly.

[jscape2000]

Targan steadies his crossbow and takes another shot at the crowned kenku, then sprints for the cover of the trees.

Rolled in discord. Crit! 15 damage.

[pi4t]

Targan's shot flies true, striking the fleeing kenku right through the heart. The kenku stumbles, staring in disbelief at the bloody bolt tip that has emerged from his chest. Then, with a horrible croaking, wheezing sound, he falls to the ground. His crown falls from his head with a clatter, rolling across the ground until it hits a tree. The kenku himself lies still and silent, in a rapidly spreading pool of blood.

[jscape2000]

Reaching the safety of the trees, Targan trains his crossbow on the building. “Your king is dead, slain while fleeing the battle. Throw down your weapons and come out with your wings spread. No one else needs to die today.”

Targan positions himself so a large tree offers nearly complete cover in case the bird brains come out shooting.

[pi4t]

Three kenku emerge from the gap in the building, their hands in the air. The kenku who's still stuck inside drops his weapon too. There's a brief silence, as the kenku wait to see what you say next.

[jscape2000]

"Very good. We don't want to hurt you. Slide your weapons to my associates there."

Targan waits for them to do so.

"We're looking for a girl. One of you seems to have heard her voice. So where is she?"

[pi4t]

The kenku have already abandoned their weapons inside the building, but they look at one another and then one of them points towards one of the buildings.

It's the one labelled 5 on the map (on page 4 of this thread).

The one kenku indoors is too far away to hear Targan's instructions, other than his shouted command to surrender. He continues to wait for Varia or someone else inside to give instructions.

[jscape2000]

“Ah, sure. She’s right there and this is definitely not another trap? Then go get her and bring her out, my fine feathered friend.”

Targan points to the lead kenku and gestures with his crossbow.

“The rest of you stay very, very still.”

[pi4t]

The kenku you've pointed to responds, imitating you: "definitely not another trap?" He then cautiously walks into the building. The other kenku stand still, eyeing the crossbow nervously and darting glances at the trees.

After a few moments, the kenku emerges again, pushing a frightened Lilya in front of him. Her hands are tied behind her, and a dirty rag covers her mouth. The kenku has produced a small knife from somewhere, and is holding it against Lilya's throat. He imitates Targan, again.

"Throw down your weapons...No one else needs die today."

Then a single word, in an older woman's voice:

"trade"

[jscape2000]

“I’d love to trade.” Says Targan with a smile. He lowers his crossbow.

“Give us the girl, and you can have a head start fleeing this country. But if any harm comes to her, you know that the town will send twice as many soldiers here to truss you.”

He grins welcomingly. “Would you like to make a counter offer?”

[Anyr]

"Lilya!"

Varia let out a desperate cry. She stared, transfixed, at the knife held against her friend's throat. She didn't dare make any sudden moves. At the Kenku's command, she lowered her weapon. She couldn't do the same for her magic. Varia tried to give Lilya a look of reassurance. But the fear in her eyes was obvious.

[pi4t]

The kenku looks relieved as Targan lowers his crossbow. Then a more greedy look seems to come over it.

"I'd love to trade...Throw down your weapons...slide your weapons to..." The kenku points with its free hand, first at Targan's crossbow, and then to the ground in front of it. It adds a "trade" "Lilya!", the latter word copying Varia's cry.

[jscape2000]

“No.” Says Targan, still smiling. He makes a point to keep his weapon aimed away from his enemies for now.

He holds out a hand. “Give us the girl and you can walk away.”

[pi4t]

The kenku begins edging towards the woods, still pushing Lilya along with him - and keeping her between himself and Targan.

[jscape2000]

Targan brings his crossbow back to bear on the kenku, moving forward and to the right (increasing his distance from the other kenku).

“Stop. You want to trade you need to tell me what you want. But you’re not leaving with her.”

If the kenku continues to flee, Targan takes his shot - 15 to hit 4 damage

[pi4t]

The kenku stops, and points again at Targan's crossbow.

[Holy-hunter]

“Let it go!” Raeh says firmly to her comrades.
“It can’t get far with a hostage and will have to release her if it wants to run. It’s not worth us risking her life just to harm it.
We’ve killed enough of ‘em today. If this one doesn’t harm her it might just get away.”

She looks to the girl, locking eyes with her. “It’s going to be ok. Stay brave.”

Raeh struggles with every breath and word, her pains deep and fresh.

“Weapons down, spread out and follow slowly at a distance, keep an eye on them”.


If/As soon as she reaches the shrubbery Raeh will release her crawling hand.

[pi4t]

The kenku continues to wait, looking at Targan nervously.

The other Kenku you've caught are trying to slip away while your attention is on Lilya.

[jscape2000]

Targan keeps his aim steady on the kenku with the girl. “you and Your friends can, and you can too, if you leave us Lilya.”
He tries to add a note of compassion to his voice. “Her family wants her to come home.”
(Persuasion 18 in discord)

[pi4t]

The kenku wavers. Suddenly, there's a commotion from behind you. While you were paying attention to Lilya, the other kenku have been slipping away, and now they make a break for it! Before you can react, they've reached the edge of the woods.

This was what was hidden in that perception check; they rolled well on their stealth. You have time for one more action, e.g. a parting shot at the kenku, but attack rolls will have disadvantage because they have partial tree cover.

The kenku holding Lilya is still present.

[jscape2000]

Targan manages only glances in the direction of the fleeing kenku. If anything, this simplifies the negotiation, as the one holding the girl is now clearly out numbered.

"Like I said, you all can walk away, if you return Lilya to us." He tries a new tack: "I don't understand what you hoped to gain by kidnapping her in the first place. Why go to the trouble?"

[Frog Dragon]

"We'll track em' down if needs be," Heraeus mumbles to his allies glancing at the fleeing Kenku. Still holding his bow pointed at the ground, he waits for the creature to react or try to run.

[pi4t]

The kenku opens its beak, but no sound comes out. Apparently, it doesn't have the words to answer Targan's question.

Instead, it shifts around nearer to the woods, nervously looking around at all of you and noting it is now badly outnumbered. "all can walk away, if you return Lilya to us. Weapons down". It pushes Lilya towards you slightly (though still holding her firmly). Then it studies your faces, looking for comprehension.

[jscape2000]

Targan holds his crossbow in one hand, aiming away from the kenku. He holds the other out for Lilya.

“Acceptable. We’ll all leave in peace.”

[pi4t]

The kenku pushes Lilya stumbling forward, and backs away hastily towards the forest. Lilya's hands are still bound, but she spins and aims a sharp kick in the vague direction of the retreating kenku.

[jscape2000]

Targan relaxes at last. “Come along, hon. Let’s get you home.”
He steps forward, drawing a small blade to free her hands.
“Have they fed you?”

[pi4t]

As soon as her hands are free, Lilya rips the cloth off from her mouth and spits.

"Feh. Yes, if you can call it food. Some sort of foul-tasting muck, though the uncouth creatures seemed to eat it themselves happily enough. My deepest thanks for freeing me from that uncomfortable situation, by the way. Did my father send you?"

[jscape2000]

“Yes,” says Targan. “And if you’re well enough, I’d like to return to town as quickly as possible. Were there other captives? Any idea why they kidnapped you?”

[pi4t]

"Money, I suppose. I saw no sign of other captives, although I was not exactly able to explore the area. It might be good to check the other buildings, if you have not already done so. Besides, the birds stole something important from me and I would like to get it back before we leave."

Lilya walks over to the corpse of the kenku 'king', and picks up his sword. She wipes Targan's blood off it, with a look of distaste. "Not bad craftsmanship. This must have been owned by a captain or a knight or someone. I'll take it; I will need a weapon if we meet any more of them."

[jscape2000]

Targan laughs. “If we meet any more, we’ll be slain. They bloodied us well, you may notice the arrow wounds my companions and I sport. Let’s return to the inn, rest, and discuss our next steps to recover what they’ve taken from you.”

As he speaks Targan loots the corpse of the slain kenku leader. (Investigation 17)

[Frog Dragon]

Heraeus kneels down near the kenku tracks, noting their shape and size after the creature has left his sight.
"These kenku, they may be back. We'll get ye safe, but danger is not past."

[pi4t]

Lilya folds her arms. "And leave the ones who ran to come back and take what they stole? I think not!"

Quick reminder, Targan - it's already dark, and the inn is many hours' travel away along a trail that's not easy to follow even in daylight.

Targan picks over the corpse of the leader, but the pickings are disappointing. He has a shortbow, and a pouch containing 5 gold pieces and a knot of tangled grey hair. The circlet is made of brass and seems to have originally been designed to hold some wooden object together, but it could be worth a couple of gp.

[jscape2000]

"Wait. I'm maybe misunderstanding you. You think your important but unnamed thing is still here? Then come along. Let me stay a couple steps ahead to look for traps."

Targan pockets the gold and the circlet. If anyone on the team uses arrows, he holds those out to them.

I propose just moving clockwise, starting with the building that the kenku were in. Investigation 8 on the first search for traps.

[Holy-hunter]

“Our job was not to hunt down and slay Kenku or to search for lost trinkets, our job was to rescue the girl and we have done that. Now let’s take her back and get the hell out of here.”

Says Raeh, constantly grimacing from the pain of her many near death wounds.

“I for one do not wish to spend the night out here.
We can come back on the morrow or day after, rested and prepared.... if someone pays us to.”

[pi4t]

Lilya folds her arms. "Fine. I'll look for the picture on my own. Anyone who wants to can go back to my father and tell him you left me behind in the place with the birdmen. But I'm not leaving yet."

[jscape2000]

Targan sighs. “Lady, we’re not leaving you behind. But we’ve gotten beat up pretty good by those kenku. Who, I’ll venture to remind you, had you trussed up like Sunday dinner just a minute ago.

“I get this picture is important, so sure, I’ll help you find it. But you’ve been here for days and I’m still bleeding from the last trap I stumbled into.

So.” Targan takes a deep breath and paces out his questions:
“How many kenku did you see here?
“Are there other prisoners?
“Do you know of any other dangers in the area?”

[pi4t]

Lilya calms down a bit. "My thanks. I'm sorry, friend. I am free; that is the most important thing. This picture was of my mother, and we have little else to remember her by. But I agree, we should at least pause for long enough to bandage your wounds and catch our breath.

"I was attacked by four of the birdmen...kenku, you said? They caught me when I was visiting her grave. My mother's, I mean. I saw three more when they brought me here. There might be more around, but I'd say you've got most of them. And the rest might be hiding. I didn't see any other prisoners. There aren't that many buildings to hide people in. Especially as they seemed to be avoiding going into that one," she points to the southern temple building, the one you haven't been into. "Oh, they also had some sort of a beast in one of the other huts."

[jscape2000]

“Yes, there’s a bear there, I’m aware.”

[Holy-hunter]

Raeh sighs, takes her time and summons her familiar, sending it into the southern building with a murmur of thanks and apology.

[jscape2000]

“We could have a nap first. I love a good nap.” Says Targan.

He resets is enhancement, this time improving his armor.

[pi4t]

The southern building is in fact in ruins, overrun by the forest. The roof has completely fallen in, and a line of trees crosses through the building. The familiar begins to pick its way through.

[pi4t]

I'm going to say you can pause long enough for a short rest at this point, since that seems to be the consensus. So spend hit dice, and do whatever other things you want to do during a short rest.

As Raeh's summon explores the southern building, a faint sound of singing suddenly fills the area. It's very faint - you'll have to get closer if you want to hear any words. It seems to be coming from the south temple.

[jscape2000]

Targan readies his crossbow, signaling the others to fan out as they approach the building.

[pi4t]

After a bit of searching, you locate a pile of valuable items in the temple building you've already cleared. As well as several gems and coins, you find two items of interest: the portrait of Lilya's mother, and the notebook of the aspiring bard that Targan and Raeh met in the logging camp. The story about the Black Hunters and their kidnap operation has been read through repeatedly, and several small feathers are scattered over it. The handwriting matches that used in the ransom note: being unable to create their own writing, the Kenku seem to have copied the letters from it.

You gather the items, splitting the valuables between you, and return home to deliver Lilya to her extremely grateful father. He gives you twice the promised reward when he hears about how close you came to being killed during the adventure, and invites you all to a banquet at his own expense.

But the events that happen during that banquet are a story for another time.