Please dot and delete.
You are all on the road, traveling together. You may all know each other. You may not. Perhaps one of you met the rest on that last bridge as you waited for the toll guards to let you pass (they claimed it wasn't safe to pass the bridge and you were forced to wait there for several hours). Or maybe you joined up back at the last town, having just met each other and enjoyed the mutual company over a mug of ale or cup of tea. Or maybe you're complete strangers who just happen to be on the same road at the same time, accompanied by your own attaché.
Whatever your circumstances are, you're all now traveling together. You're on the road headed to the town of Hillsfar, in the southern Moonsea region of the Sword Coast.
Watching a bird of prey circling over a stretch of prairie to the south, Shie replies boredly to her unhappy kinsman ”We would probably still be there if our dwarf friend would not have arrived, full regalia Battlerager.” She nods briefly ahead at Kag. ”Tymora’s work to be sure. The guards wanted nothing to do with an angry metal porcupine. Can’t say as I blame them”
Shiesha walked happily along with the others, viewing the extra security on this leg of her trip to Hillsfar as yet another boon of luck. At the mention of her Lady of Fortune she rubs her finger down a small feather tied subtlety into her blonde hair. She shifts the weight of her backpack, a crossbow and bolt case strapped to it making the weight considerable for her light frame. Her worn traveling clothes were in good condition but nothing fancy, she could easily blend into a crowd and not stand out.
Her attention returns to the bird of prey as it dives toward the ground, her elven heritage allowing clear view of the air strike. She watches as the bird flies back into the sky empty handed. The Tymorian cleric smiles to herself knowly and continues walking.
Allie walked along sadly with her crooked walking stick. The young girl plodded forward in her brown dress, eyes down. She didn't want to visit her aunt and uncle in Hillsfar. They always made her do so many chores and spoke harshly to her. But things were getting a little too, hot, at home. The watch was close to connecting her to the brawl. So, much to her parents' surprise, she begged to visit her grouchy relatives in Hillsfar. It's not fair! I didn't mean to start that brawl! But her justifications didn't make her feel any better...
She glanced at the handsome man and the beautiful lady. I'll never be as attractive as her to get a man as sophisticated as him... I'm just a walking disaster... But she brightened up at talk of the scary Dwarf. "Oh yes! He looks like he's been through some incredible battles... Um, have you Mr. Dwarf?" Remembering her manners at the last minute, she blurts out "Oh and I'm Allie, by the way!!"
Allie can't catch her giggle before it escapes at the talk of explaining the smell. She turns red very quickly however and mumbles something about coughing.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Farran hears the laughter float across the open fields to where he was hidden. He smiles at the well-dressed man's explanation and looks down at his own worn, but clean clothing.
He has been following this group since they crossed the bridge at the Nala River Station. He could not understand why people would pay to cross a river when you could just trave a bit north to the ford and cross there, but there was a lot about 'civilization' he did not understand.
Standing close to 8 feet tall and just over 300 pounds, Farran was a typical firbolg. With brown hair, green eyes and large, slightly floppy ears tufted with fur, he resembled most of his kin. The only difference was the wispy beard that he sported. Most of his tribe could not grow facial hair, so this abnormality allowed him to 'show off' his difference to the others and stand out in the tribe. Which was how he got this job of watching the tradeway for any bandits and creatures harassing the merchants. The elves of the Cormanthyr had asked his tribe to take on the mantle of protectors of this stretch of the road and picked him specifically for this honour. He was sure that it was his 'beard' that caught their attention.
His daydreaming was brought to an end by a sharp pain on his leg.
"Hey! What are ye doin'? That hurt!"
Hunkered down beside him was his friend and companion, Ewan, a badger of gigantic proportions.
Ewan snuffed and swung his head to and frow as if trying to pass on some information.
"Aye, I see them moving along...I was not sleeping ya hairy pig!", Farran says with a smile as he scratches behind the titanic badger's ear.
"Ok, let's move an and keep them near at hand then.", he says as he stealthily gets up and follows the travellers onward.
The wood elf gracefully ambled behind the collection of travelers at literally half his normal walking pace to not outpace the dwarf. He had been exploring the forests of Cormanthor looking for pre-Retreat Elven antiques. He had not been to Hillsfar and heads there to explore their Elven ruins. It was a nice day for a stroll.
Edlethron is average height with short copper-colored hair and skin with emerald green eyes. His leather gear is well-maintained, and his fabric clothes are Elven woven. He carries a leather-sheathed handaxe at his waist and slings the rest of his gear over his shoulders: backpack, quiver, longbow, javelin and spear.
He surreptitiously observes the two half-elves wondering about their parentage and otherwise keeps to himself.
The long road of the Southern Moonsea has the following features:
• Terrain. Rocky hills and narrow roads while the sea can be spotted to the north and the Cormanthor forest to the south.
• Weather. The weather is warm but often wet in the morning with a heavy fog clinging to the lands between the forest and sea.
• Light. Twilight leaves dim conditions past 60 feet. It is bright during the day and dark during the night.
• Smells and Sounds. The scent of the sea makes it this far inland, the sharpness of salt and fish mixing with the smells of plants and earth.
• Activity. During the last few days, there have been several other groups moving along the road, mostly armed merchants or nomads.
The day grows late as you make your way by road across the Southern Moonsea region upon a trade route connecting Hillsfar with Mulmaster. A beautiful sky of stars is slowing unfurling above.
The road itself has become increasingly rough, causing the route to wind around or over tall hills and rocky protrusion. Periodically, as you crest the knolls, you can see the glittering waters of the Moonsea to the north, the setting sun casting its colors across the flashing waves. To the south of you is the edge of the Cormanthor forest, an ancient woodland holding dead kingdoms and lost wonders. It is a great boundary to another world that encompasses all to the south.
As you ascend a tall hillock, shouts and panicked screams are heard ahead on the road, which narrows sharply between large hills.
A caravan comprised of five wooden-roof wagons, each pulled by two horses, is stalled in the narrow pass between the rocky hills.
The lead wagon appears stuck. Shadowy figures cloaked in tattered black robes menace the driver and passengers. Two horses are dead in their bridles and numerous guards lie motionless.
As the rearmost wagon begins to slowly pull away from the convoy, drivers struggling to get the horses to walk backwards in their bridles, more figures in ragged black come into view on a path thirty feet up the cliff face and begin to climb down towards the rear wagon.
On instinct, Edlethron heads toward high ground on the left side of the road. The high ground is his best defense as his speed.
He doesn't know the caravan, the black-robed bandits, OR his traveling companions. So, don’t expect him to save those who can’t save themselves. It is nature’s way that the strong thrive and the weak perish.
Allie panicks a little and whispers to the others. "Oh no!!! I'm so scared!! But we have to help them!"
The strange girl promptly disappears into some bushes. There's no sign of her except for occasional concerned mumblings coming from closer and closer to the apparent bandits.
Following the group from the bluff above, Farran sees the caravan and the creatures attacking it. He quickly moves forward with Ewan firing from his longbow at the dark-cloaked figures.
Stealth:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Shie sees the danger ahead and slips down into some foliage off the side of the road very similarly to the young Allie. The one difference is that as she does, inexplicably she still stands where she stood reaching into her sheath pulling out her dagger. The version of her still standing on the road then runs forward to battle.
Concerned, Allie stands up out of the bushes close to the bandits and flails her arms around wildly in concern. Accidentally, she brings forth a vivid cube of colors on top of the bandits. She yelps in surprise and ducks back into the bushes to take cover.
While the others move into position, Corso and Farran fires energy and arrows into the dark figures, three of them landing true. The cloaked figure turns and screeches at you, and you can see these are no ordinary bandits
Allie pops out from her hiding space and causes a beautiful rainbow to appear on top of two of the "bandits."
The revenant seems uneffected by it.
The wight and the horse both stop dead in their tracks.
The revenant turns towards you, and in a raspy, dry voices the undead warn you away, Come not between us and those who we hunt.
We deliver justice, for these greedy mortals have dared transgress against us. All who aid them are guilty. Our actions are holy, our mission sacred. It is our duty to guard the relics lain down in the barrows.
All who would compromise our duty are to be purged. We are the Order of Dawnfire, led by our Lady Alisandra Solina.
• The Order was mostly composed of paladins who sought to gather and secure evil relics and defend the settlements around the Moonsea.
• The order was named after the sect’s powerful holy sword and their keep, a bronze citadel that would blaze at sunrise. The leader’s name was Alisandra Solina. The paladins were sometimes referred to as the Knights of Solina or Dawnfire Knights.
• The order was wiped out six centuries ago fighting a frost giant leading a war band from the Galena Mountains. Oddly, the old chronicles mentioned the battlefield being littered with undead yet there were no known practitioners of arcane or divine arts among the frost giant’s band.
• Solina’s holy sword, from which the order took its name, had its blade shattered during the fateful battle. The hilt is rumored to still hold powerful magic.
Wight, -24 HP
Allie pops out of the bushes. "Funny! I've totally heard of those guys! My dad is a big nerd about them!" She then shares the relevant information.
Map updated!
Allie - you're currently hiding in some bushes about 25 feet ahead of several of the others. Did you want to yell out the info?
Shiesha looks to Corso from her cover behind the rocks. ”Allie is right about the name, these creatures seem to be acting oddly as well. There may be truth in what they speak but who is to say? Perhaps the undead will parle? If not, I see no other choice but to defend the caravan.”
The illusion reaches out her hand and a blast of radiant energy strikes the ground in front of the nearest undead creature. Obviously a warning shot. As the creatures look at the illusion Shie points at her dagger and and returns it to her sheath as instruction to the undead for them to do the same.
The creatures refuse to parley, only wishing to (reluctantly) attack the caravan
This is not right. Undead are a plague of life. Edlethron thinks while readying his longbow and knocking an arrow. He targets the far wight and looses two arrows in rapid succession.
"Fight me, undead!" He calls to the far wight to distract it from the caravan.
Farran looks down at the Half-elf and nods. Taking up his bow again, he fires at the same creature.
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Corso's Eldrtich Blast destroys the first Wight.
Edlethron's arrows both strike true on the far Wight, but don't seem to do as much damage as they should.
Farran, needing a new target, aims at the other wight, one arrow hitting and one just barely missing.
Allie firebolts the revenant.
The undead ingore Sheila's gestures of peace and parley.
The wight attacks the guard in front of it, hitting twice and slaying the final guard of the caravan.
The revenant ignored the new attackers and focuses on the caravan, reaching in and grabbing one of the occupants, an older man in dark clothing. The revenant pulls him out of the wagon and crushes his skull. The man falls dead at the wheels of the wagon.
Up ahead, beyond the first wagon, come three more of these shadowy undead monsters - another revenant and two more wights! They all close in on the first wagon!
The duplicate of Shie moves forward and places her hand into a strange pattern. Another bolt of radiant energy flies from her hands at the pack of undead creatures n the far side of the caravan. Shiesha then moves to the southern side of the large rock by Allie’s bush. She’s hoping her friends can end the threat of the revenant as she focuses further up the caravan.
advantage on the next attack targetting this creature until the end of my next turn.
Taking a moment to murmur a few mystical words over his bow (bonus action-cast Hunter's Mark), Farran aims at the creature which spoke to them, marking him as a special enemy of nature.
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Allie yelps at the carnage. "Ack!!! Help them!"
After firing his arrows, Farran feels a slight tingle travel throughout his body and suddenly everything around him seems to be moving slowly. He sees his 2 arrows flying towards the enemy, and reaching back draws and fires a third arrow with seeming ease.
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Edlethron feels a buzz wash over him as the world slows down. He hustles down the embankment. When he gets to the bottom, he lines up the two wights while unslinging his bolt of lightning. He throws his magic javelin triggering the a bolt of lightning.
With plenty of time to spare, he knocks and fires a couple more arrows at some wounded wight.
Allie causes time to slow down for two of her allies, allowing them to move much faster than a normal person could.
They immediately take advantage of it, the elf firing at the wights while everyone else focuses on the revenant.
The undead continue to ignore their own assaulters, choosing to focus on the target of their ire.
Three more citizens are ripped from wagons.
R1: -50
R2: -10
W1: -18
W2: -7
W3: -7
Civilains remaining: 16/20
The revenant who was not hit by Shiella's radiant guiding bolt seems to be healing itself.
Allie tries to cooperate and points at the creature Corso said to fire on. "Yeah he's the one to g... Whoop!" To her surprise, a burst of flame shoots from her finger.
The young girl turns invisible for a moment as the magic swirls randomly around her. But then she re-appears when the fire erupts from her confused hand.
Using the faint glow in the Revenant 2 she struck befor, Shiesha’s weaves a pattern with her hands and releases a dagger of mystic energy that flies toward the target.
The illusion then turns and twists it’s fingers and calls forth a less complex spell. Revenant 1 is surrounded by radiant flames.
With everything still slow, Edlethron slings his longbow and calls upon the elemental power of water and attempts to knock the wight (W2) down.
Then, the wood elf moves up and pummels the wight.
Farran watches the creature before them heal itself. Still experiencing the world moving in slow motion, Farran fires more arrows at the undead creature (R1).
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Attack:
Damage:
HM:
Allie's Firebolt misses, flying over the shoulder of the revenant and nearly catching some grass on fire.
Corso has a blast of magical energy hit the Rev 1.
Farran launches three arrows into Rev 1.
Shiela barely misses Rev2, but surrounding Rev1 with Radiant damage, but it seems uneffected by it.
The quick moving elf conjures a watery whip and then slams into the wights, fists a-flying.
The whip hits the wight, but not nearly as hard as when the elf hits the wight.
Three more civilians are dragged out of the wagon and killed.
Both Revenants start to heal. Now that you've been engaged in battle a little bit, you can see that these Revenants do not heal when they take Radiant damage.
R1: -77
R2: -10
W1: -18
W2: -29
W3: -7
Civilains remaining: 13/20
"Ack! This is really scary!!" Allie covers her face with her hands but, somehow, fire still shoos out of her hands at the undead. "Accckk a what!" She yanks her hands off her singed eyebrows in shock.
The wood elf tracker continues to pummel the wight.