[IC] The Cult of Brannulv, Chapter 2

[Xihirli]

Lana screamed and ran south seemingly not in control of her full mental faculties, her eyes darting around. She jumped away from trees and branches, in full panic mode.
"Fire! Fire! I'm on fire!" She shouted.

Spoiler: OOC

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Moonbeam for the round: (2d10)[3]
Aaaand dodge again, there's still one loser in the moonbeam.

[Zergrinch]

DC 14 Dex save:
(1d20+5)[7]

Zarron's eyes roll over in his head, and as Lana loses her wits for a moment, slumps over to the ground unconscious, as he starts to choke on his saliva.

[Zergrinch]

Death saving throw #1: (1d20)[15]
1 success, 0 failures.

[Fay]

Gritting through the pain of being cut and stabbed three times, Rose attempts to keep focus on the spell by quietly reciting old poetry she knows well to take her mind off the pain. After a second or two of breathing, still mumbling poetry under her breath, she swings the halberd both ways again, this time with righteous purpose. As the blade sings through the air, Rose without even thinking flows from reciting poetry to singing a song about a rainy evening in a fey garden. The notes somehow reverberate through the halberd and the head lights up with a green glow, glowing brighter from several small inscriptions. As the blade impacts the cultist, for a brief moment the air smells of the rain and flowers in the song instead of the blood and sweat of battle.

Spoiler: OOC

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Three concentration checks;

(1d20+1)[3]
(1d20+1)[6]
(1d20+1)[16]

Edit: This means Bless ends

Then whacking the red hooded cultist again.

(1d20+5)[13], dealing (1d10+3)[10] damage on a hit. (On a roll of 1 or 2, Great Weapon Fighting rerolls it to (1d10+3)[10]
Then the other end
(1d20+5)[8], dealing (1d4+3)[6] damage on a hit.

Edit: Oh also if the first attack hits, I'd like to smite. Damage was rolled on discord.
2d8 - 8, 6 - 14

[Valmark]

Ghiso didn't have the time to enjoy his nice little move as Zarron went down and those with healing abilities were otherwise busy.

"You aren't burning, Lanitfat" he called out "Everything around Zarron is burning and he's not strong enough to walk away from there either. You're the only one who can help him right now!"

Meanwhile he tried to do away with the last of his enemies.

Spoiler: Ooc

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Ghiso will unsheate his magic sword for the last allowed round before the curse damages him. And trying to dispatch his enemy.

(1d20+5)[25] (1d8+5)[9]+(1d6)[4] Booming Blade.
Edit: that's a total of 26 damage from critting! I think that's more then before!

If the enemy dies he'll move towards Zarron for now, ready to try and drag him to safety in the next. Which, given that one healer isn't healing and the other is sandwiched between two enemies, isn't apparently easy to find.

Always the same reaction (Arcane Deflection).

[Xihirli]

Lana took a second to catch her breath and noticed that Zarron was a little on fire. She let water run off of her hand, winding through the grass and into Zarron's burns, washing some of them away.

Spoiler: OOC

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Healing word for 6 hp.

[Gluteus_Maximus]

Taara pays no mind to the fireball and keeps on swinging with her astral arms, going for the leader.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+6)[16] hit: (1d4+4)[7] crit: (1d4)[1]
(1d20+6)[14] hit: (1d4+4)[6] crit: (1d4)[4]

[Zergrinch]

One moment, Zarron was floating off into oblivion; the next, a splash of water brings him out of unconsciousness. Every part of his body hurts. His right side was much worse for wear from the fireball explosion - something he's heard of before and has never experienced. He can almost smell bacon from his charred skin.

"It was very effective," a thought sprouted deep in the mind of the impressionable young bard. He has got to find a way to do that too.

Attempting to clear the haze from his mind, not an easy task given the haze filling his lungs, Zarron looks around frantically to assess the battlefield situation. He can't see Ghiso or Taara, Lana was trying to smother her smoldering clothes, and Rose seems to be nursing fresh stab wounds from the enemies around her.

"*Cough* W-what's the matter? You *cough* only fight women you outnumber? *cough*" he jeers towards the spearman.

He includes a healing enchantment with his words, and starts crawling away from the burning tree.

== OOC ==
Action: Vicious Mockery against BE7 cultist. DC14 WIS save to avoid (1d4)[2] psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll he makes before the end of his next turn.
Bonus Action: Healing Word: Rose regains (1d4+4)[7] HP.
Move: Crawl away from burning tree
Condition: 6/31 HP, prone, poisoned for 1 more turn.

[Izzarra]

Taara manages to catch up with the cultist leader and lands both strikes.

Rose's smite knocks the red hooded cultist out.

Imrin tries to hit one of the cultists but the war hammer only skates off of the armor.

The spearman shrugs off Zarron's jeer.

Ghiso skewers the swordsman who coughs up some blood but remains standing despite the pulse of moonlight.

The cultist leader speaks a word and is engulfed in a silvery mist appearing on the edge of the cliff where she shoots two bursts of eldritch energy at Taara before jumping off.

The remaining red hood casts a spell on Taara and moves to prevent her from pursuing the leader.

The swordsman takes a step out of the moonlight and tries to retaliate against Ghiso but only succeeds in spitting up blood on his armor.

The remaining spearman turns and thrusts at Imrin but misses.

Spoiler: OOC

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End of round 3
I am putting Lana at the top of the initiative as she is now a turn behind because she hasn't posted actions for round 3 yet.

22 to hit Taara for 8 damage.
22 and 19 to hit Taara for 16 damage.
Hold person on Taara, DC 11 wisdom save.

It is a 70 ft drop off the cliff

Initiative
Round 3
Lana (AC 15): 3

Round 4
Taara (AC 17): 20
Rose (AC 16): 19
Imrin (AC 16): 15
Zarron (AC 15): 10
Ghiso (AC 18): 9
Cultists: 13 9 (Leader, Red Hoods, Swordsman, Minions)

[Zergrinch]

Zarron rises unsteadily to his feet, still trying to clear the effects of his near-brush with being roasted.

"Will you just... fall already..." he glares maliciously at the spearman, sending a fair amount of indignant anger his way.

"W-where did that b**** go?" he mutters to no one in particular. For some reason, Lana is strangely invigorated by the swear.

OOC
Move: Stand from prone, move towards Imrin.
Action: Mind Sliver vs spearman. DC14 Intelligence save or suffer (1d6)[2] psychic damage and suffer the effects of Bane (subtract 1d4 from the roll) on the first saving throw he makes before the end of Zarron's next turn.
Bonus Action: Healing Word on Lana. Recovers (1d4+4)[8] health.

[Fay]

Seeing the opponent in front of her fall, Rose turned around and engaged the remaining cultist.

Spoiler: ooc

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First she's going to go for a good ol' whack

Attack with halberd (1d20+5)[6], dealing (1d10+3)[12] on a hit. If it's a 1 or 2, great weapon fighting rerolls it to (1d10+3)[11]

Then whack with the other end.

Attack with other end of halberd, (1d20+5)[18], dealing (1d4+3)[6] on a hit.

[Gluteus_Maximus]

Taara is slammed with the bursts of energy, and staggers, but remains standing. Seeing the leader disappeared then jumping off the cliff, she grits her teeth and then using her astral arms grabs the red cloaked cultist by the throat before kicking him in the gut in midair.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+6)[11] hit: (1d4+4)[8] force damage, crit: (1d4)[1]
Flurry of Blows
(1d20+5)[20] hit: (1d4+3)[4] force damage, crit: (1d4)[3]
(1d20+5)[9] hit: (1d4+3)[4] force damage, crit: (1d4)[1]

[Valmark]

"Taara, try not to go too far out or we might not be able to support you if need be!" Ghiso called out, continuing his now one on one duel with the cultist- parrying the blade with his shield, Ghiso dropped his frost sword before the cold became unbearable and pulling out the pickaxe he planted it into the swordsman's eye. Or tried to anyway.

Spoiler: Ooc

Show

Dropping weapon, grabbing pickaxe, stabbing enemy.

(1d20+5)[20] (1d8+5)[8]

If it dies Ghiso will follow Taara to try and keep the group somewhat together. Zarron/Imrin/Lana/Rose can handle themselves.

[Xihirli]

Lana moved closer to Taara, trying to stay with her sweetheart. At her extended hand, the pillar of moonlight pressed forward and surrounded the guy fighting Taara.

Spoiler: OOC

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Moving the Moonbeam to surround the guy Taara's fighting and moving back toward the action, he has to start his turn with a CON save to halve (2d10)[16] radiant damage.

[Izzarra]

After Rose fells the cultist Imrin runs to the front to see if there are any more enemies standing.

You manage to dispatch the last of the remaining cultists before hearing a single command word drifting up from below in an angry feminine voice. Light begins to shine out of the orifices of the dead/dying cultists before they explode in a burst of flame.

The bodies if the cultists and everything that they were carrying that was flammable burns away.

Spoiler: OOC

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End of round 4
Everyone that is adjacent to a body (Taara, Rose, and Ghiso) needs to make a DC 14 dexterity save or take 14 fire damage on a failed save, or half on success. Ghiso and Rose have disadvantage because they are adjacent to multiple bodies.

I think Taara is berserk right now and pursuit might be happening so we will stay in initiative for another round.

If you go over and look down the cliff the foliage of the trees provides total cover. There are a few that are close enough to the top of the cliff that you could try to jump into them to climb down.

Imrin is closest to Taara now.

Zarron's target dies before he can cast the spell, he can retcon a different action.

Initiative
Round 4
Lana (AC 15): 3

Round 5
Taara (AC 17): 20
Rose (AC 16): 19
Imrin (AC 16): 15
Zarron (AC 15): 10
Ghiso (AC 18): 9
Cultists: 13 9

[Gluteus_Maximus]

Taara, at seeing the Cultist go down, wheeled around with a wild haymaker to punch at Imrin and trip him up with a kick, but at the same instant fire burst over her small shape and she crumpled to the ground, the seethrough shape of her arms fading before striking their ally.

Spoiler: OOC

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Rolled an 8 on my dex save, so I took the 14 damage. 7 would have done it anyway though

[Zergrinch]

The resulting cultist explosions, coupled with the psychic damage of having been exploded and then resuscitated, seems to have temporarily overloaded young Zarron's fire-scrambled brain.

The bard limps out of any smoldering areas and just stands with his jaw wide open, swaying lightly and unsure of what to do.

OOC:
Action: Dodge.

[Fay]

Rose attempts to defend herself but the fire was completely unexpected. She then walks through the smoldering waste to attempt to catch a glimpse of the leader.

Spoiler: ooc

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Dex save 1:
(1d20)[9]
Dex save 2:
(1d20)[4]
Disadvantage picks lowest one

Walks down towards the others but still too far away to look down the cliff edge.

[Xihirli]

Lana gasped and knelt down next to Taara.
"My Star!" she called, water pouring into the burns to wash them away.

Spoiler: OOC

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Cure wounds! (1d8+3)[4] hp to Taara.

[Valmark]

Ghiso threw up his shield, and also with a practiced motion weaved pure, unbridled magic in his fingertips that exploded in contact with the fire- blasting it off, Ghiso was left reasonably unscathed.

Which kinda meant he looked like ****, but that was mostly due to all the stabs he got initially.

Spoiler: Ooc

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With arcane deflection and the bardic inspiration Ghiso got a total of 16 on the save. I think he's at 4 hp or something.

Lacking War Caster hurts.

For this round he'll just start sheating his two weapons.

Ghiso looked around- seeing that they all looked alive (at least after Taara was healed) he sheated his weaponry and said "We really shouldn't go after their leader. We don't look in the condition to"

Then to be sure he carefully moved away from the corpses in case they exploded again.

[Izzarra]

OOC

Imrin casts cure wounds on whoever needs it most for 8.

It looks like nobody is pursuing so combat is over.

Imrin was in the back of the group and didn't get a head count on the cultists and doesn't realize that one got away yet.

All of the remaining loot is damaged. Liberal application of the mending spell can fix the heat damage to the metal but will not replace the wooden components.

3 pp, 43 gp, 57 sp, 96 cp
9x cult medallions
6x chain shirt
6x spear heads
6x shield boss
9x daggers
longsword
shortsword
splint armor
the metal components of a heavy crossbow
3x manacles
grappling hook
hunting trap
hammer head
3x axe head
2x shovel blade
cooks utensils
iron pot & tripod
5x flasks
9x mess kit
2x +1 bolts (you can tell they are magical because they didn't burn up)
20x arrow head

[Valmark]

Ghiso started counting out the equipment.
"You don't happen to know how to Mend broken equipment Imrin, do you?"

He wasn't concerned with the runaway. They were heading in the same direction anyway.

[Zergrinch]

As the adrenaline fades away, Zarron takes slow, deliberate breaths. " That hurt," he whines. " Next time I say we cut her legs off."

The boy strides over to the pile of loot that Ghiso has assembled. A lot of what's left consist of naught metal parts of weapons. The crossbow bolts caught his eye immediately; it was clearly magical.

Making a long, lazy stretch, he turns to the dwarf. " She was leading the group that did that to your clan, Mr. Imrin sir. What do you think? They were marching back there. Can your people take them?"

[Fay]

Rose also approached the pile of stuff and crouched down in front of the flasks. "If no one else wants these I can take them. You can do all manner of things with flasks - move water, store paints, keep little bugs as pets...back in my homeland, there was a witch who lived in the forest and every morning she'd get up and go out and pick all manner of herbs, moss, mushrooms, roots and whatnot and brew all these strange potions." It wasn't entirely clear if Rose was talking to anyone in particular or just reminiscing about happier times when she wasn't surrounded by fire and death.

[Gluteus_Maximus]

After getting her wounds cured, Taara sat up, her long hair messed up and tangled. "Hm?" she asked to the air, lazily glancing about as if she didn't know what had happened in the past few moments.

[Izzarra]

Imrin tells Ghiso "I know my way around a forge and anvil if that is what your asking." After looking through the loot "The steel in most of these weapons and tools just needs to be quenched and tempered again, then they will be ready for new handles. Just about everything else can be used as is, it just looks scorched."

---

Imrin looks from Zarron to the different scorch marks on the ground "In a fair fight we could take this lot without many casualties. Which one are you talking 'bout?"

---

One of the flasks survived with the contents intact, smells like low quality booze.

[Xihirli]

"You fell over. Me and Zarron were on fire for a bit, but we're fine now," Lana said. She offered a hand to help Taara up. "There's a lot of metal on the ground."

[Zergrinch]

Zarron pockets the magical crossbow bolts after no one else took them.

He gathers together all of the medallions they have collected from the cultists, past and present, and adds the one de-attuned from him into the pile of thirteen.

"We captured this many medallions. They were bringing some manacles too. I am sure they were hunting for more victims to capture for their rituals. They were going towards where we came from, so your people better be careful. You saw that explosion spell she was flinging out, right? One of those in a cave, and..."

Imrin looks from Zarron to the different scorch marks on the ground "In a fair fight we could take this lot without many casualties. Which one are you talking 'bout?"

[Izzarra]

Imrin studies one of the medallions. "I didn't catch which one brought the fire, but they are dead now so it matters not."

Spoiler: OOC

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Imrin hasn't realized that one got away. Does somebody say something?

[Zergrinch]

Zarron shakes his head.

"No, Mr. Imrin sir. The woman leading them got away. She threw the fireball and got out. She was responsible for what happened to your clan and she could return with even more reinforcements."