The Last King of Ireland

Game Master Amergin the Wise

I was waiting to see if anyone else had anything to say but it appears not! XD Guess I'll drop this here then!

"Ruadhán, I am your friend. I care about you. So believe me when I say, no one, for any reason, is going into anything around here alone!" Aoife stated as she crossed her arms. "None of us know this world well enough for that. We stick together, even when g**&#$n armies close around us."

Thorun nods. "Nobody goes alone in this God-forsaken land." He says with finality.

"Aye! We stick together!"

Thankfully.

Two choices: follow the compass or go to the Winter Court?

I was waiting to see what Ruadhán does but as a player I lean towards keeping to the compass.

Sorry

"Alright, well that is a debate for another day. For now let us finish the job we came here to do. Aine has waited a long while, a little more won't hurt. Which way from here does the compass say?"

"Ruadhán..." Aoife began as she stopped her friend. "Why do you believe she's here? I mean, she might not be in this world at all." She pointed out.

Ruadhan sighs and visibly deflates a little. "I..I don't know for certain, but I feel it. Aine was always more in touch with the older ways than anyone else I have known until Amergin. I even used to mock her for it." Ruadhan pauses, staring off into the distance, lost in a memory. Recovering himself he carried on. " And I haven't been completely honest. I always say that she died in childbirth, but it wasn't that. After Bronagh was born, Aine.. well she changed, she never really connected with Bronagh like she had with our sons, she cried a lot and we couldn't seem to make her happy anymore. She lost the bubbly confidence that I loved and she couldn't even make a decision over what to eat for her own lunch. To my shame, I assumed it would pass and carried on as normal, but nothing changed. I prayed for her, but my faith had never been strong, I even sort out advice on what the old religion would suggest, but nothing. Then one morning I found her....she had gone out to the.... well she had....she wasn't alive anymore and, well religions don't take suicide too well."
Cuffing at the streams of tears rolling down from his eyes, he snaps. "Now where is that damn compass heading!" and marches off at a quick pace as soon as it is pointed out.

Aoife was silent when Ruadhán explained the truth about what happened to his wife. She had heard about women who change after giving brith... she didn't know what caused it but it was part of the fear of childbirth.

Swiftly Aoife reached put and grabbed Ruadhán, pulling herself closer to him to hug him tightly. "I'm sorry." Aoife whispered to him.

When she let him go she looked to the others "We're going to the Winter Court." Aoife declared.

Daire goes very quiet indeed at Ruadhan's talk.

God in Heaven, what a burden to bear!

When Aoife speaks, he looks her in the eye.

"I would too, but we need a way to get in - and out - alive. Those crows would tear us to shreds if they have half a mind."

"Then we need the sword not the spear." Aoife said. "That means following the river..."

"Hmmm. So it would."

Daire does not seem happy about any of these prospects.

"S&%@." At Ruadhan's words he looks down in shame; his earlier joke, which was already in poor taste, sits heavily on his mind now. The big man shuffles his feet uncomfortably; he looks like he would like to say something to help or offer comfort, but doesn't know how.

Knowledge Geography: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"The Boyne flows, and rises at Trinity Well. It's near Carbury, in the Kingdom of Kildare, and about a week's walk away. Assuming that means anything in this place.", he finishes with a disgruntled mutter.

The sword or the spear?

??? Sorry, nothing in the spoiler about those. I likely am missing something obvious from a prior post.

To find the sword, you were told to find the Salmon of Knowledge at the source of the river Boyne...

Daire slaps his forehead.

"To Trinity Well, we must go!"

Returning the hug, Ruadhan stops them.
"Hold your horses, I want to find Aine, obviously i do, but I may be wrong that she is even here. Whereas we have an obligation to Fintan, who ruined the best kingdom in Ireland to save us, so let's get the spear first. If everything goes wrong here, then at least one of us can make it out of here with that and our journey here won't have been in vain.", then forcing a smile, "Plus we don't know what we will find at the winter court, so use me while you have me and we aren't burdened by me sobbing tears of gratitude!"

I say spear first.

"We did plan to get both while we are here." Aoife pointed out. "What does it matter which we get first?" She asked "Thorun what do you think?"

"Spears have their uses but swords are more versatile. If we end up only able to reclaim one, a blade is preferable." Thorun says, voting for the mystical sword over the mystical spear purely from a martial standpoint.

"We need to get both." Aoife stated. "Fintan wants the spear and we need to sword to keep ourselves safe."

"Yeah, both." He shrugs, indicating his response was more of a 'hey somebody asked which one to grab first'. "Which one is closer? Wish we had a map of everything so we could save time on travel."

"Oh we take what we can and seize it with both hands!"

"Ok, fine it seems sword first. Let is pick one and go with it. Come let us head off before the spirits return again." Checking his equipment, Ruadhan readies himself to set out at a light jog.

I'll get you on the road tomorrow as I am in full solo dad mode today!

Having travelled from Sawel Mountain to Slieve Gallion, the heroes now continue South towards the Trinity Well – and away from wherever the compass is pointing to the northeast.

The mountains turn to rolling hills and the weather gradually warms a bit. While the sun remains distant and cool, the landscape seems less desolate and the march is almost pleasant. As the sun sets, they find a good and seemingly safe spot near Lough Neagh to spend the night...

Aoife: please roll a Perception check.
You may all specify the precautions that you would have taken when setting camp.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Fairly sure that's a no...

I'll wait for some indications before continuing... What sort of spot would you have chosen? Near the water or further away? Near boulders? A copse of trees? In an open field? Are you sleeping close together or far apart? Whoever first makes the call can roll a Survival check to establish how successful you were in setting camp...

Survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
The day spent walking, gives Ruadhan the time he needs to push thoughts of his wife back to the room in his mind where he usually keeps her Not the bedroom! Filthy minds! ;) It helps to picture her sitting by the cosy fire, rocking their eldest to sleep in her arms, whilst a blizzard blows outside. That is how i will remember her, whatever happens here in this place."
The thoughts of his wife safely pushed away, he is able to focus on scouting for the day. As the day draws to a close, Ruadhan encourages them to push on a little further, expecting that if he has read the land right, there will be a spot in the next valley with a nice copse of trees for cover, but with open spaces around it to see enemies coming, and not too far from the water.
Once they find a spot suitable, Ruadhan lets Aoife do her usual taking charge of setting up camp, instead taking charge of the fire lighting. Finding a suitably covered spot, he is careful to fully check any wood to make sure it is completely dry and won't smoke, before setting a small fire.

"Right, who wants first watch?"

Ruadhan finds an ideal spot to set camp near a copse of trees for cover, with difficult terrain uphill, and a good view of the lough in the distance below. He lights a covered fire while Aoife and the others tend to the camp. When night falls, they rest uneasily...

Aoife stays alert during her watch, but the darkness is thick... Everything here is strange, odd, and offputting. Is there something rustling the nearby trees? No, it's just the wind in the branches. Her mind is playing tricks on her... She keeps warm under her thick blanket and focuses her senses.

Did that root just move?

It's just a tree, Aoife convinces herself. Keep calm.

It is moving! she realizes with horror.

But it is too late. Terror grips her as she watches the roots and branches of the nearby trees reaching out to her and to her companions!

And then, a rain of arrows falls upon them! Thankfully, they have cover and most of the arrows go wide. Aoife is struck once and barely notices. But Sister Cobhlaith is not so lucky. She is hit by two arrows that strike true.

A second volley follows before any of them can do anything. Sister Cobhlaith is struck anew, and Daire and Ruadhan are hit as well.

Aoife: Reflex save DC 13 vs Entangled + 1 hp damage
Sister Coblaith suffers 5 hp damage and is awake and entangled
Daire suffers 4 hp damage and is awake and entangled
Ruadhan suffers 3 hp damage and is awake and entangled
Thorun suffers 1 hp damage and is awake and entangled

Note: the Entangle DC is 13. All nearby terrain is difficult.
Note also that the volley of arrows was fired from downhill of your position.

You may all act!

Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Waking slowly, Ruadhan struggles at the tree roots binding him, barely managing to move at all towards the enemy.

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

The fear that had gripped her before began to settle into her stomach once more and it was enough to light a fire under Aoife. She jumped back, though in a bit more of a scrabble than normal.

"Get up! We need to move!" Aoife called out.

Thorun does not sleep in armor so his AC is 7 lower than normal.

Thorun wakes and immediately roars, pulling at the roots and branches.

Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

He rips them off like they were paper, climbing to his feet and looking around to find the source of the arrows.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Move action to break the entangle, 2nd move action to stand. So the arrows are coming from downhill, I assume out of the darkness? Can we tell how far away?

Your campfire shed light in a 20' radius. The attackers are further. The arrows are short, which suggests that they are using short bows, which have a range of 60'.

I'll forgo perception checks to ascertain the direction of the attackers for two reasons: 1) arrows flying down are pretty good indicators of the direction of the attackers and 2) your camp is in an excellent spot and an attack from anywhere else would be unlikely.

Having succeeded her Reflex save, Aoife can still perform her full action.

Aoife moved swiftly to Sister Cobhlaith's side, drawing her weapons and slashed away at roots and branches that held the sister down.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Distracted by his own thoughts and his bizarre surroundings, Daire does not employ his usual caution.

And thus, he awakes to find himself bound!

"Damn it to hell!", he swears, as he tries to slip free.

Escape Artist: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

As Thorun gets his bearings and Ruadhan and Daire struggle to free themselves, Aoife hacks at the vines that have entangled Sister Cobhlaith. In turn, the nun blesses Aoife and as she does, a bright light shines upon Aoife's sword.

Sister Cobhlaith's eyes widen and her faith seems, suddenly, restored.

Albeit only vaguely, the heroes now see the diminutive silhouettes of their attackers moving in the night, downhill from their position... And then another volley of arrows rains down upon them!

The enemies are 40' away, just beyond the area of effect of the entangling trees, vines, and tall grasses.

Thorun suffers 4 hp damage
Cobhlaith suffers 2 hp damage
Ruadhan suffers 1 hp damage

You must all succeed a DC 13 Reflex save to move. If you fail, you remain entangled.

Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Thorun growls at the vines grab at him again. He roars, trying to pull them off him. The vines seem to hold fast, but Thorun pulls with renewed vigor to clear them off.

He turns to face the archers...then leaps at them. His speed leaves behind a tunnel of air that buffets the others, and the sound of his axe falling follows a split second later. A laugh rings out, Thorun beginning the carnage, somehow already behind the enemy line of archers.

Attack (rage, fleet charge, reckless abandon, power attack): 1d20 + 13 + 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 13 + 1 + 2 - 2 = 24
Damage: 1d12 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

Move action to fail to pull off vines. Second move action to successfully pull of vines. Spending a mythic point to use fleet charge, which will allow Thorun to move and attack as a swift action (see below). While unarmored Thorun's movespeed is 70, so he will go completely around the archers to get behind them and take a hack at one of them.

The area is difficult terrain... But half of 70' will suffice if that works for you?

Also: re-roll your attack!

Yeah even with half Thorun can reach them lol, although he might not be able to get behind them.

Reroll: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
Damage: 1d12 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28

You may all act.
If you engage in melee, please roll your d20 attack twice!

Daire struggles to his feet, drawing his blade.

"To arms! I do not care if they are fey or men! We fight!"

Something in Daire's voice resonates in this strange place, something that lights fires in the hearts of him and his friends!

Draw, Rally, and Inspired Courage/Defense (see below)

Marshal’s Order: Rally (Su)

As a swift action, you can expend one use of mythic power to rally your allies. This gives you and each of your allies within 30 feet the option to reroll any one d20 roll after the roll is made. The granted reroll must be used before the beginning of your next turn, and the creature must take the result of the reroll, even if it is lower.

Inspired Defense (Ex)
Whenever you use bardic performance to inspire courage, the competence bonus against charm and fear effects instead applies to all saving throws. If you expend one use of mythic power when you start a bardic performance to inspire courage, you add your tier to this bonus.

Mythic power spent so a total of +3 to attack and saves

2 mythic power spent

If possible Thorun would like to take advantage of Daire's inspiration this round.

Up to you! Or you can use it on your next round?

Well as long as he continues to maintain it I will just keep using it. So a +3 to the attack and damage rolls. I will hold off on the reroll ability, since even with a 3 Thorun will have a 20 to hit on that attack after being buffed.

Attack 1: 1d20 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 3 = 8
Damage 1: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Attack 2: 1d20 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 3 = 16
Damage 2: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Gonna reroll that 2
Reroll of Attack 1: 1d20 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 3 = 11

With Sister Cobhlaith free Aoife moved to help Ruadhan, slashing away at the roots and Branches holding him.

Aoife, you owe me a Reflex save as you are still in the entangling area!

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 3 = 23