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The woman lets out a few tears, "My daughter! They have my daughter! We went to the well for some water, and then these things came out of no where!" She points outside, and you realise that there is no time to lose.
You rush outside, and you find a few people in a small panic. There are no guards to be seen. You hear the distant plee of a little girl, "Help! Help!"
You don't think you have any time to prepare, as you hear a thud.
These creatures, when you eventually see them, are composed of half-formed body parts, this creature stands on two monstrous legs. A mouth full of jagged teeth dominates the creature’s bulbous head. Its veins pulse just beneath transparent flesh.
Round 1 ♭ -tba-
Flik
Maddie
Remy
Alustira
Fergus
Borgol
! Monsters (red, blue, green, purple)
O Girl
Everyone may act!
Borgol rushes forward, drawing his longsword as he moves, going around the north side of the cabin calling out, "Oi! Leave that girl alone!" as he does...
Borgol growls, "They're fleshdregs.... Think of them as half-baked sinspawn... watch for their bites, they can blind."
"Maddie! Mage armor!" Remy shouts, hesitating for the young wizard to cast her protective spell. Then she takes off at a run, bypassing Borgol and rounding the corner of the building. "Hey, uglies! Come and get some!" she calls to the monsters, dropping into her draconic stance and making a beckoning motion with her hand.
"Roderick's Cove used to be so quiet!"
Flik runs toward the danger!
"Right! Right. Umm... here it is" Maddie is momentarily flustered, but pulls out her wand after a moment of stumbling, and taps Remy with it.
Alustria smiles at Remy as she comes down. "If you want, I can sew you up something to replace your robes. Something a bit...less form-fitting, maybe? Unless, of course, that's what you want."
Alustria leans in and whispers, "Our friend and Lullaby spent the night together. Don't make a big deal out of it, though; we don't want her to feel like we're judging her or anything."
Alustria sees her comrades hurrying around the building, and she furrows her brow. Doesn't the inn have a back door? she thinks, and heads into the building to cut through it and move faster, drawing her scimitar.
Remy blushes and nods at Alustria. "Yes, that would be nice. I never had to worry as much about my wardrobe before. Those robes were the only ones I had that fit."
"Our friend and Lullaby spent the night together. Don't make a big deal out of it, though; we don't want her to feel like we're judging her or anything."
Oh. Oh? Fergus has no chance to say more when the commotion breaks out. He grabs his axe and follows his compatriots.
Careful! Those are fleshdregs and their bite can leave you blind and dazzled. Sometimes when you see them, there might be sinspawns about!
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The group rushes around the corner, just in time as one of the fleshdregs is about to pull the girl into the well. Green grabs the girl and dangles her over the well, snarling at you. The rest move to engage.
bites the girl
confirm?
The girl falls unconsious, limp in his large claws.
Round 2 ♭ -tba-
Flik
Maddie
Remy
Alustira
Fergus
Borgol
! Monsters (red, blue, green, purple)
O Girl (-12, unconsious)
Everyone may act!
"No!" Remy cries as she sees the girl go limp. With two monsters blocking her path, she focuses on taking them down as quickly as possible.
Flik hustles to the corner where he can see the assailants.
"Beware their bites, Remy! Take them down!"
Fergus growls at the fleshdregs in his way and he tries to cut one down.
Alustria opens the door...and yelps on seeing the creature behind it! She grips her sword's handle, hoping she can strike it down before it kills her...or anyone else!
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The bard at the back instill some well needed knowledge on these things, and the front of the party moves up to engage the enemy. Remy's instincts rise up, as she launches herself to help the girl being danlged over the edge.
AOOS
- Borgol
- Fergus
- Remy
The creature camptured by the dragon monks embrace, continues to hold the girl over the ledge, and Remy can feel his grip lousen.
Round 3 ♭ -tba-
Flik
Maddie (can act twice)
Remy (grappled)
Alustira
Fergus -4 lethal (DC 12 will, or blind)
Borgol -7 lethal (DC 12 will, or blind) (can act twice)
! Monsters (red -4, blue, green (grappled), purple)
O Girl (-12, unconsious)
Everyone may act!
Remy wrestles the girl away from the horrible monster. She holds the unconscious child close to her body, turning her back to the creatures to shield her from further harm!
Maddie works her magic, attempting to help Remy as much as she can, and doubles the monk's size.
Then, she uses her offensive magic to shoot a pair of missiles at the monster harassing Remy.
Flik continues to dispense advice about fighting the creatures, and he casts cure light wounds on Borgol.
Seeing the girl's injuries and being unable to reach her, Borgol places his hand on his holy symbol, feeling that resonance fill him with power, and then wills that power out of himself, having it flow in a wave to stop her from bleeding to death.
Borgol winces as the thing bites him, Maybe I did have saved the healing energy for when we all needed it... Hr shakes his head and blinks away the flashes of white in his eyes, then smiles as he feels Flik's spell wash over him. He calls over his shoulder, "Much better, thanks!", then swings his blade and shield at the beast that bit him.
for
Alustria steps up and slashes at the enemy Remy is tussling with!
Fergus continues to try and hack apart his opponent.
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The party focuses their attention on the creatures, dealing some good damage. Borgol uses his new found skill to stablise the girl, whom Remy helped pull back over safe ground. She forces the creature to yield his possition and places the girls safely on the ground.
- borgol
- fergus
- remy
The creatures look tired and annoyed, but are still flailing about trying to deal with the group.
Round 3 ♭ -tba-
Flik
Maddie
Remy (grappled)
Alustira
Fergus -3 lethal
Borgol
! Monsters (red -10, blue -6, green (grappled), purple -7)
O Girl (-11, stable, unconsious)
Everyone may act!
Remy unleashes her fury on the monsters, kicking at them while still protecting the girl.
Alustria tries to get a better grip on her blade, listens to Flik's advice to "aim for the knees!" and takes another shot!
Borgol thinks, we need to end this, and quickly. He whispers a quick prayer to Erastil, and feels power flowing through him, doubling his size. Yes, that should help..
for
for
Maddie sends another pair of bolts flying towards the monsters, her indecision for who to help carrying over to her spell.
Fergus continues to try and take his opponent out of the fight.
Desperate to help, Flik continues performing, moves up, and stabs at a creature.
for
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The monsters fall left right and centre as the group decides to kick their spirits up a notch. With the help of the druid, together the ladies swiftly take out both creatures, with Alustria dealing the finishing blow as it tries to limp away.
The other two are dispatched by the rest of the party. The quick flurry of strikes from various sources causes the creatures to lie on the ground. They twitch, finally on the ground, and begin to slowly fade away into ash.
The quick battle over, a few people begin to emerge and surround you. The guards finally arrive, "What is the meaning of this? Explain yourselves!" They look confused, but do not pull their weapons out as they see how spooked the rest of the civilians are.
The mother of the girl comes running through, and crashes into the well near her daughter. "Ella! Ella! My baby girl!" She begins to cry looking up at the group, "Is...is she alive? Please tell me she is still alive!"
After the dust settles, another familiar face comes out of the crowd. Larenza Thort is dressed in her formal attire, and has a stern look across her face. She addresses her people, "There is nothing to see here, please go on with your day. Ladies and gentlemen, the guard have this situation under control. Ella is safe, and will be looked after. The goblin attach was unexpected, but the treat is gone."
The crowd of people grows more and more restless, as a man shouts from somewhere down back. "Those weren't green skins! They were taller and much scarier! We saw them!" Whispers in the crowd slowly turn to shouting, as panic spreads. Larenza catches eye contact with your group, and he expression changes to one of ...help me please!
"Please, good people, remain calm. This is a very concerning event, but we are already working with the mayor to get to the bottom of it. The people of Roderick's Cove are hearty and adaptable. I know you will keep your wits about you and do what you can to help each other."
Alustria lays a hand on the child and the hand glows as positive energy flows into the babe.
Then, seeing the potential trouble, she casts Enhance Diplomacy on Flik before he begins to speak.
Remy gently passes the girl to her mother. "She will survive. Luckily we were quick enough to get to her before it was too late."
She stands behind Flik when he addresses the crowd, trying to appear strong and confident to back up his words.
Oh! Her shoulder looks infected! Fergus says when examining the wound.
Yes, Please remain calm. The danger has passed!
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The mother looks concerned at Fergus, but nods and thanks the group, "Thank you, this little gem is my whole world. Why...why would they go after her like this?" She picks up her daughter, and is escourted by the guards away from the scene.
Flik and the rest of the party do a good job to settle the crowd. Although some are still keen on causing more rattle, the group stands strong. After a few more minutes, the group begins to disperse, and the town goes back to their routine. The area is courtened off, and guards begin lighting torches and looking down the well.
Lorenza takes you aside, "Thank you for the help, heroes. you're presence was missed dearly...much has happened since you left. I hope yur journey was successful? What did you find out there, in the Churlwood? What of the goblin threat?" She is intrigued, and waits for a response.
After the group lets her know of their adventures, she continues. "I'm not going to lie, but I would be a fool not to use your help once more. This is the third day these things have attacked our children. And I suspect this is all has something to do with that dreaded manor. Audrahni went to meet with a friend, but never returned. Now, even Corstella hasn't been returning my ravens. They won't let anyone into that place. I'm completely lost as to what to do. Will you help me, will you help this town?"
Remy nods resolutely. "Of course. If the Order is behind these attacks, we will ensure that they can never threaten another child again." Her amber eyes blaze with conviction.
Borgol also nods, "Of course... Though I'm wondering if we think they may have come up the well -- that might not be the worst place to start exploring, if so."
He then smiles and looks at the others, "Well, I think that solidly addresses the question of what we should be trying to handle next."
"Nothing will stop us from getting in that manor."
”Audrahni?” Alustria seems deeply concerned. ”We have to go!”
Remy shrugs. "Diplomatic immunity, perhaps? If the Order is as influential in town as they seem to be, they might put pressure on you to dissuade our investigations. Other than that, I'm not sure what else we need."
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Lady Lorenza places forward a suggestion. "If I were you, I would start by trying straight at the source. Prepare yourselves, and go to the manor and see what you can find out. They at least have to keep up the illusion of being civilised. If they try to stop you by force, then we will know something is up."
She ponders, "But if you want to explore the sewers, then by all means. I wouldn't recommend it through, for it is easy to get lost. I am not sure where those things are coming from, but I know it's no where good. During high tide, the sewers are nearly unpassable."
Regarding Remy's suggestions, "You have not ask for that. If you are right about what is at stake here, we have more to lose than our reputation here. The people of Roderic Cove will be greatful, no matter what. It is who we are."[b] She continues, [b]"As for their influence, it is true they hold much sway here, but there are bigger things at play which I cannot turn a blind eye too."
Remy nods. "I think we're ready to pay the manor a visit, then."
Borgol nods, "Aye, let's. Flik, I think we'll need to let you do all the talking - you know me, I'll just glower and tell them what we actually need and generally get tempers up."
"Right-o. I've talked my way into a fair number of places over the years. Let's get to the bottom of this!"
Alustria nods, a firm set in her jaw. "I'm terribly worried for my cousin. She's normally very capable, so if something has waylaid her..."
Then she shakes her head, as if to banish the thought. "Flik, as always you will have the blessing of the Redeemer to guide your words. I have faith in you."
Fergus nods. Alustria, we will find your cousin and get to the bottom of this!
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The leader of the town muses, as she lets you all on your way. "Good luck. Please come back safely, and return to me if you need shelter from whatever it is you will find in there." She adds some additional information, "The leader in there is Corstela. Ask for her, maybe she will grant you audience."
As the team makes their final preparations to go to the Peacock Manor, you realise that this town has subtly changed while you were away. You make your way to the east of the town, passing strangers who give you a wary gaze. People now tend to avoid each other on the street, rather than smile politely.
The gates into the grounds of the manor are swung open, granting you easy entrance. The building itself is two stories, and stands proudly with the sun casting a beautiful pattern on the green grass below you as it shines through the open windows.
You don't see anyone on the grounds. How would you like to approach?
"It's a sad change for Roderick's Cove. It used to be that I could barely make it down the street here for people stopping me to chat. Now Todd Stover just walked past me without so much as a look--and I taught him his letters!"
Fergus muses at the manor. We can go and knock on the door or we can try to find a way to sneak in. Thoughts?
"If we sneak in, then we're in the wrong and, if they happen to be...less than savory, they can use that against us." Alustria crosses her arms and shakes her head. "I recommend a straightforward approach."