"If Ake is allright with continuing to be carried I can do so. Besides, if I pull my hood back I'm likely to draw the attention of the locals anyway." Ingrid volunteers.
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From the darkess corner of the room, Ioann, half talking to himself, utters a few words:
"Bundle all the tools in a bag and I wil carry it..."
Don't drop me papa! I like playing horsey!
Terrance chuckles loudly over what is going on with Ake.
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Having not paid any mind to the man carrying the child until now, Jorfa looks a little closer. Her eyebrows shoot up and she opens her mouth to speak but Kendra cuts her off. "Jorfa, this is Ake. She was a friend to my father. She has come to pay her last respects, as have the others."
Jorfa pauses as this bit of information and all of its implications settle into her mind, "Well is it, erm, she sick or something?"
A huge smile spreads across Kendra's face and the amusement dances in her eyes, "No, Ake is quite well. It is just that her appearance tends to alarm some of the people in town. Apparently, Ioann here has found a bit of a solution to that problem; holding her close like a swaddled child draws less notice."
Jorfa begins to laugh so hard that soon her face is a bright red and tears are beginning to stream down her face.
Ioann stays stern, not finding the laugher at all funny, Ake's joke even less.
"More jokes like that and you will end up in the river. Got it?" he whispers to the goblin.
Once the purchases have been completed.
Shall we go then ?
You step outside to be on your way to smite ghost and ghouls and are startled by the sounds of a sudden commotion. You hear screaming and people running down the path from The Laughing Demon.
Hearing screaming, Terrance takes off in the direction of the screaming.
MAKE A HOLE, COMEING THROUGH, MAKE A HOLE!!! He starts yelling at the townsfolk to get them to clear a route.
"$#!+" Ingrid mutters drawing her sword as she begins running in the direction the villagers flee from.
Ravel mutters "Thank you, Jorfa." before quickly following the others towards the ruckus. She keeps her parasol up, and her right hand keeps Narcissa's cage from bouncing too much on her belt as she moves.
Onward, mighty steed! To battle, to death, and glory!
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Outside, Ioann squeezes Ake hard before dropping (almost throwing) her to the ground. Without even looking at her he mutters something about not caring whether she burns or not before he jogs toward the Laughing demon.
You arrive at the tavern, the sign outside is of a comical image that adequately sums up the name "Laughing Demon" that is written above. You don't pay much mine to the stereotypical red demon caricature; the sounds of people screaming from within is far more pressing. Terrance flings open the tavern door to see that several people remain inside. The music you heard earlier must have been coming from the bards you now see cowering in the corner onstage. Two stirges are flitting about attacking some of the patrons.
The stirge nearest the door latches on to a man and inserts its proboscis into the man's neck and begins to feed.
Stirge 2
Terrance
Ingrid
Ioann
Ake
Orin
Ravel
R1
Stirge 1, Terrance, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
As soon as Ravel can see the beasties, she wracks her brain to remember what to do with them.
Stirges are most vulnerable while they are latched on to a creature. They are easier to hit then, but they are also quite difficult to force off once latched on. Their bite can transmit various diseases.
Let go of him you foul beast
Terrance moves to a spot where the table isn't blocking his movement.
Torag, smite this foul beast
Only to have the acid dart hit the table as he is bumped by a running patron.
Scanning quickly to try to determine the effect the feeding creature was having on it's victim, Ingrid charges straight ahead at the other stirge, her swing off target.
Terrance, Ake, and Ingrid all rush into position and attack but each fail to hit their target. Terrance thinks that he was bumped into by a running patron, however, he really just tripped over his own feet.
R1
Stirge 1, Terrance, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
Orin, at seeing the others panic, pulls his bow and goes to spot L11.
Orin, at seeing the others panic, pulls his bow and goes to spot L11.
"Ew, bloodsucking bugs. Stirges. Nasty little blighters, but they are easier to squish while they are feeding. Their stings can carry vicious diseases though."
The second stirge turns on Ingrid, having had her just take a swipe at it, and attempts unsuccessfully to latch onto her.
R1
Stirge 1, Terrance, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
Upon entering the Laughing demon, is taken aback by the presence of strange creatures he has never seen. For a moment, he falls into a daze, unable to decide on his next action. Yet, upon witnessing one of the creature latching on to a patron, he recovers and runs toward it, jumping on the closest table and unsheathing his dagger.
Ravel steps into the tavern by Orin and exerts her will upon the closest stirge (Stirge 1), using her slumber hex to put the creature to sleep.
As the stirge drains the life away from its victim, Ravel's spell hits the creature and suddenly it becomes motionless; asleep but still attached to its victim by its proboscis and the barbs on its legs. For now, at least, the man it has a hold of suffers no more damage but remains completely horrified and possibly on the verge of a mental breakdown.
R1
Stirge 1, Terrance, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
You are torn from your thoughts by the sound of screaming, and look up to see people running down a path. In response, a dwarf starts barreling up the path yelling at the people to get out of the way. He is shortly followed, and then overtaken by several other people. One of which is a man who appears to throw a child to the ground as he runs. The child, rises, dusts itself off and runs along after the group.
Terrance then moves up and with as much care to not hurt the patron, swipes the stirge off of him.
Ravel whispers, "Alazhra má rohy, tieto veci sú nočná mora."
Blood gushes out of the stirge and it slides off of the man's body, it's proboscis tugging a bit as it pulls out. It lands with a splat on the wooden floor, blood pooling out around its destroyed body. The man backs away a few steps before turning and running in terror.
R1
Stirge 1, Terrance, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
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That they are Ravel, that they are.
Well that one is done, now the other
The nearby screams dismissed Uklod's sorrowful memories of the late professor and quickly brought him to the present... must be serious for such a capable looking group heading towards those screams with purpose...careful guy, they could have friends causing this commotion...
A calloused hand rested on the hilt of his sword as he fell into their wake with a sigh... yet another night that I shall find no rest...
The size of the creature and it's position on the victime prove problematic for Ingrid her greatsword not suited to surgical precision, she misses wildly in an attempt not to bisect the person she seeks to rescue.
Ukold, you arrive at the tavern that is the center of the commotion in time to see two stirges fly up and land on the roof.
Stirge 3
Stirge 4
New Initiative Line Up
R1
Stirge 4, Stirge 1, Ukold, Terrance, Stirge 3, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
Darting under the tables, Ake moves to get a clear attack at the creature.
Giant mosquitos? This is what all the fuss is about?
Still, the bugs looked dangerous and relief was evident that the active group wasn't involved in anything nefarious and to the contrary...they appear to be helping....
With caution that they wouldn't take him for an enemy, Uklod drew his blade and moved closer.
Ake's spell hits the creature hard, but it manages to stay in the air.
R1
Stirge 4, Stirge 1, Ukold, Terrance, Stirge 3, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
Orin lets an arrow fly at the stirge that Ingrid is struggling with so much.
Orin's arrow tears through its wing, making flight difficult so the stirge once again attempts to attach itself to Ingrid.
R1
Stirge 4, Stirge 1, Ukold, Terrance, Stirge 3, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Stirge 2, Ioann, Ravel
Seeing the creature in front of him, Ioann turns around, jumps down from the table and runs toward close to the bar. As he nears the stirge, he tries to stab it, increasing the force of his blow by pushing the pommel of his dagger with the palm of his left hand
Ravel stands jaw agape for a moment, impressed by Ioann's display, then proceeds to check on the horrified patron that Terrance rescued.
Light: A light weapon is used in one hand. It is easier to use in one's off hand than a one-handed weapon is, and can be used while grappling (see Combat). Add the wielder's Strength modifier to damage rolls for melee attacks with a light weapon if it's used in the primary hand, or half the wielder's Strength bonus if it's used in the off hand. Using two hands to wield a light weapon gives no advantage on damage; the Strength bonus applies as though the weapon were held in the wielder's primary hand only.
Uklod sees that the stirges have no intention of staying outside, as one of them makes its way inside of a venting hole near the top. Those inside the Laughing Demon barely have a moment to sigh in relief, believing the threat passed when another stirge flies down from the rafters and begins to attack one of the bards on the stage. The man swats the stirge away, and the woman behind him, trembling, begins to play her flute again. Tears roll down her eyes. This seems to give the stirge pause.
R1
Stirge 4, Uklod, Terrance, Stirge 3, Ake, Ingrid, Orin, Ioann, Ravel
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Sticking close to the tavern, Uklod flexed his wrist to cause the dagger hidden there to drop into his hand. Once he felt close enough... but not too close... he whipped his arm and let the blade fly at the stirge.
Terrance in looking around see's the one that is still harassing the band and moves to attack it.
Uklod's dagger sinks deep into the stirge's body, its wings stop fluttering and it falls with a splat to the ground at his feet.
Meanwhile inside, the stirge Terrance swings his hammer at explodes with the impact. Blood and gore splatter all over the band. The woman continues to play the flute, though it can hardly be called music at this point as her body is wracked with sobs. The tears streaming out of her eyes swirl in the blood on her face.