Psalm's indication that the nicely dressed female, who was absolutely paralyzed by fear of the chaos surrounding her, escape to the west, was immediately heeded, and followed by the guards that had their clothing fires doused by Nikeisha and Luna following suit. Apparently whatever the guards were getting paid to guard the shipment was not enough for them to continue to risk their lives. Loyalty, apparently, is more costly than their wages. At leas the street is cleared of most bystanders at this point, Luna thinks, as she watches the heavily armored warrior that Hack had tried to halt slide through the wooden gate of the mansion north of the street. Then, to her absolute horror, she watches the man slice down two of the people that came pouring out of the compound's main building as if he were simply cutting through paper, and then enter the building that Jun just went into. That coupled with the fires spreading up the sides of the compound's wooden palisade wall, and would be guards becoming porcupines of arrows, makes processing the whole scene a brain-hurting mess.
Then it goes from brain hurting to potentially body hurting as another of the flaming crates on the furiously burning wagon explodes with a crack of thunderous noise spraying flaming bits all over the area. Hack takes a couple burning scraps in his flesh, cutting and singeing, because he's too busy trying to avoid be sliced by a massive spectral glaive that floats in middair beside him. Luna barely dodges out of the way of the burning hunks of wood.
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Inside the main building of the compound, Jun tears off up the staircase, imagining anything crucially important to be in a master's office or bedchamber on the top floor. After turning the corner Jun stops in the threshold of a door where he watches a massive half orc, well armored and armed hastily throwing scroll tubes, and parchments inside a large leather sack.
For the moment the man, distracted by gathering up whatever documents he's rapidly packing away, does not notice Jun is there.
Hack swings at the man pulling away from him.
Stay here, friend!
He then flies into a rage, pursuing the man to attack again, recklessly.
Quint considers starting to take out the archers on the roof, but still can't decide whether they're actually enemies.
Oh, I know, I'll use mage hand to steal something from one of the archers. Ideally something that might be able to identify them, but failing that, I'll take one of those arrows with the oil vials strapped to it.
Hacks reflexive swing is turned away by the warrior's splintmail, but after pursuing the man into the main building he throws his rage and muscle behind a second swing and cuts through mail into flesh, though not quite as deeply as he would have liked. A small trickle of blood is all that his heavy effort gains. The warrior turns to face him and clangs his swords together in a taunting display.
Quint not having a good enough angle to locate any tell-tale items on the archers on the rooftop adjacent to his own, uses his newly practiced magical talent to swipe items from a distance to grab one of the arrows with an oil flask strung just behind the tip. Giving the arrow and vial a quick inspection relates nothing important, no markings, no particularly unique details. It appears, very much so now, that whomever these agents are, they do not want to have their identities discovered.
In a flash, literally, the chaos on the street erupts into nightmare. The caster with his mirrored images invokes magic and fires forth three separate beams of red-hot flame from his fingertips. One narrowly misses Luna, another flies well over Psalm's head hitting the wall of the stable behind him and leaving a scorched mark in the wood. A third though slams directly into Nikeisha's chest burning clothes and singeing flesh. At that same moment the man next to him that called for the spectral floating glaive fires a beam of his own magic, this also flies directly at Luna, but her reflexes are too quick to be struck by something she could see coming. Unfortunately in so dodging she did not see the spectral glaive float right at her. It struck down in a wicked arc, and cut the elf's back open causing her intense pain. Bright red blood begins to stain her clothes.
Embroiled in the combat on the street level does not prevent anyone from seeing arrows fly into the roof of the mansion behind the walls of the compound to the north, hearing the shatter of glass and watching the sudden fire erupt on top of it. The blaze spreads quickly and it is lost on no one that that is the roof of the building where Jun and Hack disappeared. It seems obvious that whoever these attackers are, they want this mansion destroyed, and possibly all its inhabitants with it.
Psalm clearly growing frustrated with this situation looks about. He strides forward. He pulls forth a piece of Feldspar and a silvery dust. His eyes glow with a rage his companions have not seen before. As he prays a shaft of dim silver light shies on the 2 spell casters who have engaged them. At the completion of the spell he flattens himself against the wall hopefully keeping himself out of range of some of the aggressors.
He looks back at Quint, "Do you have any idea why this is happening?"
2 Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V S M (Several seeds of any moonseed plant and a piece of opalescent feldspar)
Duration:
Up to 1 minute
Classes: Druid
A silvery beam of pale light shines down in a 5-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point within range. Until the spell ends, dim light fills the cylinder.
When a creature enters the spell’s area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it is engulfed in ghostly flames that cause searing pain, and it must make a Constitution saving throw. It takes 2d10 radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
A shapechanger makes its saving throw with disadvantage. If it fails, it also instantly reverts to its original form and can’t assume a different form until it leaves the spell’s light.
On each of your turns after you cast this spell, you can use an action to move the beam 60 feet in any direction.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 2nd.
Nikeisha winced as the attack hit, her attention now more focused on the guy doing the burning that the burning building. Still, she couldn't just leave the men who were wounded...
A quick glance showed Nikeisha they were dead. Gritting her teeth, she moved up to Luna, hoping to help, and opened fire on the man who fired the Scorching Ray.
Two could play that game, and Nikeisha could play for longer.
As Psalm invokes his druidic magic suddenly a shaft of moonlight slams down from the fullness of Laureoth above. The beam is so coalesced as to almost be fog-like, light made into matter and the screams of pain that emit from both the casters caught in the shaft of light are horrifying.
Nikeisha's anger gives her uncommon clarity and her blast of glowing green Eldritch force slams into the real magic-user, bypassing all his illusory selves. The ball of glowing green force slams directly into the caster's face, knocking back, and knocking him over. His head hits the cobblestones at an alarming rate of speed. It is somewhat funny to watch the three illusions all smack the pavement simultaneously. The images flicker, but remain, all four images leak blood onto the street, but they also can be seen perceptibly breathing. The enemy caster is alive, for the moment. He may not be so shortly.
Luna, seeing opportunity runs full force, skirting the area of Psalm's searing moonlight. As she runs she draws on her inner power, wreathing her hands and feet in flames.
Luna's fists flash with lightning speed and hit like a boom of thunder, the flames engulfing her hands explode into the priest in bright flashes.
Her second punch lands squarely on the priest's jaw, the flames burning his garments and hair. When the priest hits the stone of the street, there is an audible crack so loud that even Quint, hidden though he is on the stable roof, hears it. Just like that Akassa's volunteers have dispatched two of the most dangerous foes in this skirmish. Now, the question is, do they run to help Hack and Jun, or attempt to destroy these archers who are raining fire down upon the mansion?
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Inside the house, Jun realizes that he has not been seen, and decides to try and play that to his advantage. He steps to the side of the threshold and invokes a bit of magic to suggest that the half-orc just leave, and leave all the paperwork behind.
Jun's magical suggestion that the half-orc run out as fast as he can leaving the papers behind, for his own good, of course, sticks, and Jun watches in absolute delight as this captain of the mansions forces does exactly that, blowing past him and straight down the stairs. Jun then walks into the room and grabs the leather sack the captain left behind, he also begins stuffing as many of the loose parchments and papers from the top of the desk into the satchel as he can.
Hack finds out rather quickly that the warrior in splint that he was chasing is not some street thug. The man strikes so quickly with his swords that Hack has zero time to react, and takes three quick slices in rapid succession. His own blood is nothing new to the expatriate Highlander, and it serves only to continue his angry fury.
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Beyond all reason, having clearly displayed themselves as enemies, the archers on the roof do not target Nikeisha, Psalm, or Luna. Instead, they once again launch arrows with vials of oil. Having no flame themselves since Quint took away their torch, they launch them all at the flame that is spreading across the manse's rooftop, the fire started by their cohorts on the rooftrop across the street.
It appears as though the distraction of the combat below has thrown off their aim, as several of the oil-flask arrows fly well wide of their mark landing on the wall beyond the building, or on the ground inside the compound, doing very little. Two, though land right next to the existing flame on the mansion's roof, and they cause the fire to quickly spread. Clearly these archers are focused, heavily, on making sure that building does not survive this encounter.
Hack stands to to toe with spittle flying as he attacks again!
Quint, seeing that his friends have committed to battle, pulls out his bow. He sees Psalm approaching the group of archers near him, and suspecting that he has some spell in mind for that group, instead targets on of the ones on the distant roof.
He reaches behind him for an arrow, then holds for a moment, feeling the fletching between his fingers. He closes his eyes and slowly lets out a breath, then in one fluid motion, he whips the arrow around, presses it against the bowstring, and hooks the string with the iron ring on his thumb. His eyes flash back open as the string pulls back. He doesn't hold, but he tugs on the string until it slips from his grasp, sending the arrow hurdling across the street.
Without waiting to see if the arrow hits its mark, Quint takes a step back, ducking down to take cover behind the slope of the roof.
Above, the owl continues to look for any mark on any of the attackers, or any gear that might have such a mark, or for any telltale sign of where they came from (perhaps a bit of soot on someone's shoe that is distinctive to a certain part of the city, or a maker's mark on a weapon that would indicate where it was purchased).
Hack's axe slams into his opponent's shoulder and cuts through splintmail and flesh, drawing a spray of blood, but it appears to slow the warrior down not at all. He simply grimaces a bit, and once again slams his blades together in a taunt.
The street is now clear of all bystanders, as they have all run away in various directions after seeing so much death and magical carnage. One thing is certain, the streets of Rydwyrna have suddenly become intensely, savagely, lawlessly, more dangerous than they were just one day before. Moments like this are the kinds of moments that shake a people's belief that their systems and governance can protect them at all. It takes heroes to restore that faith. Heroes ready to act at a moments notice. Heroes ready to do what's right regardless of wages or accolades. Perhaps such heroes are here on the street now? Under the four moons of Eafphqu, waging war against evil and chaos.
Quint has surely got to come up with a name for his bow at this point. Loosing his arrow, it flies straight and true directly into the heart of the fire-bearing archer on the cross-street rooftop. The archer tumbles forward off the roof and hits the ground, thoroughly dead.
Watching his partner fall dead gives the remaining archer on that roof a moment to weigh the risks and rewards of his mission. Clearly, to the owl overhead who is the only thing capable of seeing what he's doing, he has decided the rewards no longer outweigh the risks. He grabs a hold of the knotted rope of black silk that is attached to the roof's chimney, climbs down, and shoves off, at rapid speed. Instinctually, or perhaps at the subconscious direction of its master, the owl follows him...
Psalm reels back on his heels where he can see the archers on the roof and moves the moonbeam over their location.
Luna rushes around past Hack and attacks the man attacking Hack.
Following the arrows, and the Moondbeam, Nikeisha put her hand in a small pouch and waved at the archers. Flower petals gently fell as she tapped the ground with her staff again, casting Sleep.
Psalm sends his shaft of Laureoth's magical coalescing radiance down upon the roof full of archers. The thick searing light causes all three men to scream in pain, though one scream lingers longer than the others.
Then, Nikeisha drops a puff of magical slumber amongst them, dropping them all instantly to sleep. After dropping their bows they all hit the roof tiles and then tumble in three different directions off the roof. Two of the archers fall so awkwardly and hard that their bodies lie on the ground bloody, twisted, and broken. They will not be getting up, ever. A third though, the leader of the group, hits the ground hard, but instantly pops his eyes open, very much awake. He instantaneously pops up from the ground and, weaponless, tears off at a dead sprint into the alley between buildings southward. Perhaps somebody should take off after him? Or perhaps everyone should go and check on what's going on in the building behind the wall. The flames atop the roof have become a blaze so furious that they light up the entire street, and even Quint, from his position across the street, can feel the heat of all the separate fires.
--------------------------
Meanwhile Luna charges into the building just in time to watch a hulking half-orc charge out right past her. She also sees Hack and the warrior he followed doing furious combat, axe and swords fly about at breakneck speed.
Hack's studded leather armor, as fine as it is, is no match for the sharpness and swiftness of the veteran warrior's swords. Luna watches as three fresh and deep gashes are opened in the Highlander's flesh. Dark drops of blood drip in rivulets onto the floor, but the axe wielding barbarian refuses to fall.
Upstairs, Jun continues to ferociously file any thing he thinks he might need later into the leather satchel that his suggestable friend the vacated half-orc left behind for him. As he does so he begins to smell and then see smoke pouring down into the room from above. The building is most definitely on fire.
Hack grunts as he attacks again!
Get out, Jun!
Unaware of what's going on inside the building, Quint gets a good look at the nearest dead archer, filing the information about his appearance away for later. He then takes off after the fleeing one, trying to stay out of sight on the rooftops above.
Jun pauses for a moment: while it is good that his ruse has worked so far, the smoke means that he is now on a timetable, so he decides to stop shoving documents into the satchel - the free satchel - he reminds himself with a silent chuckle, and instead does his best to think like a cultist would.
If I had important paperwork that I needed to keep on site, but didn't want anyone to find, where would I hide it? he thought to himself as he stopped and really took a look at the office he was in.
Taking a quick but thorough look at his surroundings, Jun notices some telltale scrapes on the wooden floor in front of the chest of drawers just inside the door. It can't be that easy, can it? He thinks to himself while pulling the chest forward. When he sees a part of the floorboards cut out with an iron handle on them, he thinks, I guess it can be that easy. Pulling up the handle Jun finds a small chest. Unfortunately it is locked and he knows he doesn't have time to unlock it here and now. Giving the small chest a quick heft, he realizes, though it won't be particularly easy, he can carry it and still move at a close to normal pace. Whatever is in it, it isn't just paperwork. In fact, it might not be paperwork at all, but no doubt whatever is in it, will provide some clues to the inner workings of whatever group was operating out of this, soon to be burned down, building.
Luna believes she cannot do enough damage to this warrior to outlast him in combat. She hopes he will cease his attacks on Hack once Hack goes unconscious, so she moves to another room to get out of the immediate danger , and hope she can then heal Hack later.
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Not having time to waste trying to pick locks, a skill he realizes that he now needs to learn, Jun hoists the chest and flees the office. Once down the stairs, he will say "My friend, is this fool really all that stands in your way? Cut it down like the dog he is so that we can be on our way!"
Turning to the other man, Jun says "And you, you shame your ancestors with that blade technique. Your father turns his eyes away from your shoddy footwork and haphazard stance!"
.
Nikeisha looked around in confusion. "Where the bloody hell did everyone go?" It seemed like she was missing something, but for now she was going to focus on putting out the fire.
Psalm moves up to the casters who are lying in the street to confirm they will be staying down.