Aelerie gives a pained cry as Jeva's claws tear deep gashes into her shoulder. Stumbling back from the werewolf, Aelerie reflexively presses her left hand to the wounds, her crossbow slipping from the suddenly nerveless fingers of her right hand to the forest floor. She takes a moment to assess the damage to her shoulder, but when her eyes find Jeva again, they narrow in a determined glare. Grasping the wooden handle sticking out from her belt, Aelerie draws her wand and brandishes it at Jeva with an angry flourish, the Sylvan incantation drowned out by the sound of the arcane missile streaking toward the werewolf.
Laro moves up across from the eagle (J15) and attacks Jeva.
Albus is taken aback for an instant when Jeval bounds over to Aelerie his started stroke missing. Then Javell and Laro charge after her cutting him off from easy access and any flanking. Then he see Aelerie take a hit from Jeva's claws, "Why did you cut me of--- Aelerie!" Albus moves swiftly to K17 and attacks.
To hit target. Critical on a 19-20, bless,masterwork
Damage
To confirm a critical if rolled, bless, Masterwork.
Damage from successful critical.
No flank bonus :( edit: not that it matters.
Can Albus think of anything else besides silver or making a massively damaging attack that might harm the supernatural creature.
edit Not holding my breath for an positive answer. :(
Virdel steps to the left, then reloads and fires again.
The group closes in on Jeva from all directions but the only damage that gets through comes from Hildrensock's gift to Aelerie. The werewolf yelps and snarls as the bolt of magic singes her fur and burns the hide beneath.
The eagle shifts to interpose itself between the werewolf and Aelerie and unleashes a flurry of claws and beak.
But all of them miss.
Jeva for her turn shifts in pursuit of the woman who hurt her with magic.
And while her attacks are not overly strong they easily get through the arcanist's flimsy martial defenses. Two more swipes find their mark, both of them dangerously close to Aelerie's throat. The pain and the blood loss is too much for the caster and Jeva howls in triumph as her prey collapses at her feet.
Jeva: 10 damage taken
Aelerie: 14 damage taken
Albus moves (5' step in difficult terrain ) to K16, cutting Laro off. "No! Damn, Laro fall back, your weapon is useless, please leave areas open for me and Javell."
@Virdel As a player I know what can effect a werewolf, it would help if Albus knew it. ;)
Attack
To hit target. Critical on a 19-20, bless,masterwork
Damage
To confirm a critical if rolled, bless, Masterwork.
Damage from successful critical.
Javell rushes forward to Aelrie and lays a glowing hand on her.
Aelerie brings her arms up in a feeble attempt to defend herself as she sees Jeva advance relentlessly. She flinches at the sight of the werewolf's claws glinting in the moonlight, shutting her eyes against the coming attack. Her last thought is if parents and her hope for them to start a new life away from the Hollow before the pain bursts to the forefront of her mind and makes everything fade to black.
Jeva takes a swipe at the holy warrior rushing past her but it just scrapes at Javell's armor as he goes by. Aelerie's eyes flutter open.
With a gasp, Aelerie's eyes flutter open, her gaze unfocused and a little wild until it settles on Javell. Confusion slowly gives way to understanding, and she thanks the man with a shaky nod. Searching the forest floor on which she lies, Aelerie finds the wand that slipped from her grasp during the moments she spent unconscious and picks it up again. Pointing it at the werewolf, Aelerie says in a weak voice, "I have more... where that came from. Taika-Ohjus!
Laro runs around the group (N18) staying well out of Jeva's reach to cut off her retreat. He yells to Albus as he moves, "We'll see about that."
Virdel rushes to Aelerie's side. "You are still gravely wounded! Let me aid you while you destroy our horrid little friend."
Javell revives Aelerie with the blessing of Desna and Virdel heals the worst of his wounds with his much more mysterious connection to the divine. Aelerie takes the opportunity to blast Jeva again with another bolt of arcane force.
Jeva snarls in rage as she is hemmed in again and, worse, denied her kill as Virdel and Javell bring Aelerie back. Aelerie's subsequent attack just adds injury to her insult.
An instinct of self preservation kicks in as Aelerie's missile slams into her. She whirls away from the group...
and easily avoids Laro's attempt to take a stab at her as she plunges into the woods with a frustrated howl.
As she runs an object, dislodged by her flight, falls on the ground right before she disappears into the trees.
Jeva 14 damage
Aelerie 14-3-6 damage
When moving in this way, you move at half speed. You can move at full speed by increasing the DC of the check by 10.
Laro manages to hit the fleeing werewolf but where the halfling should have left a cut it seemed like his blade just... slid off without leaving a mark on Jeva.
Javell watches the werewolf flee into the night. For a second, it looks like he might follow her, but then he shakes his head, "No. She'll be moving way faster than we are. Let's rest here tonight, let Aelerie recover her strength, and we can set off again in the morning. I can take first watch."
The woodsman moves to recover his thrown blades, and stows the silver dagger in his belt. He also looks around for anything Jeva might have dropped, or was tangled up in the assassin vine.
Albus looks exhausted and worn and worse somewhat broken; still he shakes his head at Javell, "What you are saying makes perfect sense to protect us. However it abandons the kids to their fate. We may never catch up. I'm going after them. I have no choice. Do as you will. Aelerie are you recovered? We can tarry a moment, to get you better."
Albus checks on Whisper. "Hi, boy, lets eat a bit then go, okay." Makes sure whisper is okay.
Albus recovers his bow and any other stuff around, will look at the dropped item.
Albus will attempt to resume tracking and the march, he'll go alone if he has to.
With Jeva gone, the steely resolve the arcanist had shown in the face of almost certain death disappears as well. Aelerie collapses back onto the forest floor with an exhausted huff. As much as it rankles to allow Jeva to escape, she knows she's all but reached her limits, physically and magically, and trying to hunt down the werewolf would only be asking for more pain. She was about to second Javell's idea to rest for the night when Albus voices his objections.
When asked if she has recovered, Aelerie is at a momentary loss for words. Slowly pushing herself up to her feet, Aelerie checks over her wounds. The bleeding had been staunched thanks to the efforts of Javell and Virdel, but the pain still lingered. When she finally finds her words, Aelerie isn't able to meet Albus' eyes as she says, "I want to find the children as much as anyone, but we have to be mindful of our limits..."
Javell shakes his head, "Look at us. Aelerie can barely stand and is magically exhausted, your stirge bites are swelling. And, in any case, we won't be any good to fight a tribe of kobolds if we show up exhausted and half dead. Yes, we could press on, but it might cost one or more of us our lives. We need rest, and we need it soon."
Laro shakes his head as Albus speaks, "No! We all need our rest or we are no good to the children as Javell said. What good is it to find the children only for all of us to be killed or captured by the kobolds. That doesn't do anybody any good. We rest up here and start in the morning. Trust me, I'm not one to leave anyone enslaved, but continuing we get us all killed. We have to worry about Jeva too now. We have to look over our shoulder constantly now and she may show up at the worst time for us like when she showed her true colors now. She'll need to be dealt with at some point too. We must rest and recover."
Virdel puts his arm as far around the obstinate woodsman as he can reach. "Master Albus, you know they are correct. The wise course is to rest and recover and track the children tomorrow. We have kobolds to deal with plus Laro is likely correct that we shall encounter Jeva again." Virdel looks up into Albus' eyes. "Your concern for the children is admirable my friend. But the only way to help them is to help ourselves first."
He steps away, speaking up: "Now, who needs to be healed before bed?"
Javell takes first watch after his wounds are healed from a quick prayer to Desna, holding his starknife at the ready as he guards against oncoming threats.
Albus, in the face of united opposition collapses. "They're dead, the kids, the orphans, dozens in town, Mom and Sis. They're all dead. We can't save them, too many dead. Failure. Terrible job fighting, no unity." Albus is on the ground spent. Without much will he goes through the motions of camp setup, not his usual top job. "Wake me when you will."
Laro sighs and says to Albus, "We survived without anyone dying and that is a good job. We'll learn more about each other's abilities as we work together. I do a better job when I have someone else opposite me distracting my target. I can get into more vulnerable places that way." He then prepares to bed down. "I'll take whatever watch is needed just let me know."
Aelerie watches as Albus turns in for the night, looking like a man defeated. His words only inflame her sense of guilt at stopping for rest, but she maintains that Javell has the right of it. Even if they did press on and managed to overtake the kobolds, they would all be at a marked disadvantage, and she would be little more than a liability. But she keeps her thoughts to herself, certain that there is little she could say to improve her friend's outlook. Best to hope that rest and the dawn of a new day would help him see that not all was lost.
"Thank you, Virdel. And you, Javell. Just before Jeva... I was sure that was it for me. I thought of Albus having to deliver the news to my mother..." Aelerie clears her throat, evidently a little choked up at thought. "Anyway, thank you both. I hope I can repay you two someday." After expressing her gratitude, Aelerie sets about helping to prepare their camp. Just before bedding down for the night, Aelerie has a brief conversation with Virdel, privately.
During her watch, Aelerie keeps a vigilant watch over their camp, keeping her crossbow loaded and lying across her lap. For the first couple of hours, every creak and rustle of the forest around her has her twisting around to peer into the darkness, expecting to see that snarling wolf face again. Eventually, in effort to take her mind off of her fear, Aelerie pulls out a scroll from the case and attempts to copy one of her newly purchased spells into her spellbook.
Whisper, who had spent the fight cowering in Albus's tunic, whines and noses at the distraught ranger, sensing his dark mood.
In the assassin vine Javell discovers the body of a kobold that has been dead for less than a day. It seems to have been strangled to death.
At the spot where Jeva disappeared into the dense forest the group finds a rag doll with brown button eyes, a blue dress and red hair made out of felt.
The group spends a fitful night in the dreary forest. They aren't disturbed by anything other than their own thoughts. Maybe it is the smell from the dead wolf or the stench of decomposition from the twenty foot vine that the group eliminated from existence.
In any case the next day dawns as sunlight filters weekly through the treetops. It seems like it is a cloudy day.
The trail is still easily followed by the two trackers of the party.
"I hope everyone is feeling better this morning. Let's go rescue those children!" Laro says in an effort to cheer everyone up and get them in a positive frame of mind.
Javell rises early, nodding greetings to whomever was on watch, and, after disposing of the wolf and vine's remains, watches the stars fade into the morning light as he practices his throwing skills.
Once everyone is up, he takes point on leading the group through the woods on the trail of the kobolds.
Virdel smiles kindly at Aelerie's request. "Of course my dear. These are dangerous woods."
He chats with her amiably as they sit watch. He is very intrigued when he watches her copying the spell. "I don't understand how that sort of magic works at all. I just kind of think about things and they mysteriously happen. Unfortunately for Jeva there are still limits. I wish I could cure her of her condition but it is beyond me."
In the morning, Virdel is eager to get moving like the others. He shaves his face, splashes it with water, and declares himself ready to depart.
During their watch, Aelerie looks up from where she is carefully making notations in her spellbook to give Virdel a shy smile. "To tell the truth, I'm still learning how it works myself. Master Hildrinsocks says he's never heard of someone who works magic like me. Apparently, there are unwritten rules when it comes using magic that I don't always follow." When he mentions how his gifts work, she is impressed by how effortless he makes the process seem. "So you don't have to... pray for things to happen? I'm sure Lady Cirthana might like to know how you manage that."
The next morning, Aelerie rises early, eager to be on the way. She tries to smile at Laro's attempt to lighten the mood, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. The guilt of having to stop for rest still rests heavily on her, and she passes the time trekking through the woods in solemn silence.
The group makes its somber way onward with Javell taking the lead while Albus makes up the rear guard. They ford the river as they head north and soon enough it's clear to Albus that the trail does, in fact, lead back to the abandoned monastery where they fought Graypelt for the ironbloom mushrooms.
It is about midday that they look down at it from a small rise right at the forest's edge. It is hauntingly familiar to Aelerie, Virdel, and Albus but Laro and Javell look, for the first time, at a squat grey building with its stones worn down by the rigours of time. It is falling apart due to a lack of care as sections of the roof have collapsed and parts of the outer walls have collapsed.
"I've never been one to pray, no, but I believe it is a similar process. I don't know who or what fulfills needs for me, to be perfectly honest."
When they approach the monastery the next morning, Virdel lets out a low whistle. "We were so innocent when we arrived here the last time."
Laro whistles at the sight of the monastery, "What a dump! Do we want to approach as a group or would you like me to scout ahead a little to see what danger lies ahead?"
"What is this place?" Javell inquires, "Does anyone know?"
Aelerie looks down on the decrepit monastery and feels a strange, unsettling feeling come over her. "I didn't think we'd ever be back here again," she says, sounding haunted by the thought of exploring the ruins once more. "It's an abandoned Dwarven monastery. We were here just a few weeks ago to find some ingredients to cure the Blackscour Taint." To Laro, Aelerie nods and says, "We will need to be careful once we're inside. The last time we were here, we came across a kobold who was rather fond of setting up traps."
Aelerie looks around, seeming to search the grounds for something before she turns to Javell and Albus. "Do either of you see where the tracks went, or should we go through the front door?"
Albus and Javell can see the trail goes straight in the front.
Albus shakes had at Laro's statement that just being alive made for a good ending. "We didn't work together. We got lucky. Luck runs out, when it does we die. And Jeva is a failure too, she should have been saved not tortured into lashing out." Albus works quietly but says little mostly plays with Whisper, trying to hold it together. He does take the dolly if no one else will, grieving for a lost, abused child, now a monster.
As they come up on the now popular former Dwarven Monastery, Albus replies and extends what he knows to the group. "The Kolbolds marched through the front, things are now very difficult; I wanted to catch them in the open. I don't need to tell our shorter friends that what smaller races lack in brawn they must make up in cleverness. The enemy is not smart but they are quite clever. Expect scouts, traps, ambushes, and surprises at every turn."
Somberly Albus goes on, "Also, what do we do if they just hold a knife to a kid's or all the kids' throats? If we surrender we should not have come, if we do not, they likely die, if we attack, they likely die. Our odds are not good."
Turning to Laro, "We should improve them. Yes, Master Laro, scouting is most useful, and you showed amazing ability to not be seen. Try to find out, numbers and locations, of the enemy, their preparations, the kids and their conditions, if you will."
Albus looks over the monastery what does he see. What can he determine about the situation from his experience?
Trying for better than default perception
See all that he can see.
What is his military assessment?
Albus sees that the monastery looks exactly like the last time he saw it. On the surface at least everything's the same from this vantage point.
Unfortunately Albus' military expertise has nothing to say about assaulting a crumbling ancient building other than his already made assessment that scouting is a good idea.
"I'll take a look around then. Were the kobolds here before? Do you know where they are likely to hole up in there? The more I know the better. Give me a head start if you would and then be close enough that you can run into the courtyard if I get into trouble. I won't enter anywhere off the courtyard until I report back to you" Laro address the group that has been here before.
He then attempts to disappear and move slowly into the monestary and looks around the courtyard. He moves right to left around the inner wall looking into rooms but not entering any.
Albus sadly recounts the essence of the last time here, "Great Scout Gurtelkep was enslaved by a worg here, if he had trusted us, he would have lived, but he did not. The worg killed him and we killed it and its wolf slave. The worg tolds us there was a room with shades or spirits
or somethings in it.. That was a couple of weeks ago."
Laro moves like a shadow through the overgrown yard right inside the main entrance of the abandoned monastery.
He sees no threat and waves the others inside. As he relaxes he sees at the base of a well a long dead corpse and a rotted backpack.
Inside are the remains
of a week’s worth of trail rations, a set of
thieves tools, 50 feet of silk rope, a small
coinpurse with 42 gp in assorted coins, and
a small blue vial containing a potion of cure
light wounds. All of this adventurer’s other
gear was taken long ago.
At Laro's cue, Aelerie moves forward into the courtyard, trying to follow his lead by stepping lightly. Keeping her voice low so as not to carry, Aelerie adds to Albus story. "We only came across the one kobold when we were here. If there were others, they stayed hidden. Of the few rooms we explored, none of them seemed like a place to hide out in. One was a partially flooded library, and the other was a defaced shrine to a Dwarven God. But there were stairs in one room, leading down into the darkness. We didn't see where they lead - we found the ingredients we needed and wanted to hurry back to the village - but I remember feeling... afraid of what lay down there." Aelerie looks to Albus and Virdel for confirmation, curious if they had felt the same thing back then.
"Yes it seems likely the children will be down those ominous stairs. I don't like being back here at all. The coincidence is too strong."
"Well, no time to waste, I suppose. Does anyone have a spare light to throw down the stairs?" Javell asks.