Kallie seemed to have a line on the undead, but her spell didn t seem to hit it that hard. She tries again.
I really should have prepared Kallie's cantrip as well. We do seem to have a knack for finding the undying...
Trusting that her companions will keep it from breaking free and menacing her, Jaya trots across the path to get a clearer shot for a quick glob of acid.
Cai’nan and Krodha continue to press their own attack...
With a glorious scream she continues her raging song, and bashes the undead thing in the skull, sending it to the ground in a twitching heap of rotten flesh.
"RRRRRRRRRrrrrrryyyyeeeeaahhhh!!!!!" she crows, shaking drumstick in the air (and in the process, spraying bits of undead gunk onto her friends.
____________
At the same time Croq caves in the Trailgaunt's chest, Cai'nan slashes its head in two!
Aurealia huffs, grabs the holy symbol, and sighs. "We'll have to get these unfortunates on their way back. For now I think we should continue on our way."
"Before we depart we should tend to the bodies of the guards. If they aren't buried, then we'll be unleashing another crop of these monsters by sundown. "
Croq nods. As she looks at the bodies her exhuberance fades. "Do you recognize this one, 'Lia? We never talked, but I think he came to a couple of my shows."
"Yeah, I've seen them all around. It was a terrible way to go...poor souls."
Cai’nan sighs as he looks over the bodies of the guards and the prospect of burying them. ”We won’t be able to get them very deep. So unless you are fine with scavengers digging the remains up and making a meal of them, it would be more respectful to burn them.”
"I suppose you're right, C. Their families will understand given the whole Trailgaunt thing, right?"
Jaya nods soberly and begins to clear an area of combustibles, trying to make certain that once they ignite the pyre, they don't also set the forest ablaze!
"Good idea, Cai'nan," says Galatea. From her backpack, she promptly pulls out... the pieces of a shovel and starts assembling the tool. "Luckily, I've got this nifty shovel we can use to dig the firepit! This morning, I had a hunch it would come in handy."
As she gets ready to dig, Galatea pauses for a moment.
"...Oh."
Since you all are on a something of a timetable, a compromise is struck. As Cai'nan suggested, the bodies are burned. In Varisia, it's actually a common method of handling the deceased; Audrahni once told the Andosana Sisters that she often buries people's ashes instead of their remains.
Speaking of who, Aurealia and Croq are able to identify the bodies, so if you take the time, the individual ashes and gear will get back to their respective families. Galatea's shovel is used to make a trio firepits. With everyone working together, the entire process only takes about a couple hours, and it is now early afternoon.
Once done, you all continue on your way.
Kallie is quiet and reserved when dealing with the dead. She takes a turn with the shovel if needed, but she mainly goes to collect firewood for the pyres.
After consulting the map, she suggests a direction. "I think it's this way?"
"Alright, that's sad business but I'm glad we were able to prevent their souls from being trapped in undeath." Croq shudders.
"Now let's get moving. Fortunately, I know this forest like I know the back of my sister's hand.
"Unfortunately, sometimes the back of mhy sister's hand gets totally batty...which reminds me...how does anyone ever make sense of maps, anyway?!?
"Someone else want to take a look at this?"
Jaya has spent enough time in the wilds to at least spot-check her guides, even if she's far from an expert herself...
Using the map, Kallie and Aurealia appear to determine the correct course, and the group decides to pursue it. However, now finally acclimating to the local wilderness, Cai'nan quickly realizes that the group would have ended up at the goblin cave instead of the Stonehouse and adjusts your trajectory accordingly. Thanks to his steady guidance, you are able to reach your desired destination by late afternoon.
After working your way around a small hillside, you stumble upon the Stonehouse! ...And a campsite surrounded by large wooden wagons! Sitting around the roaring campfire are six generic goons who look they walked straight out of a Zoli Tileani play.
"It's the Andosana Sisters!" says one nervously.
"...Ain't that the centaur gal from a few days ago?" another Roadkeeper whispers audibly.
"Yeah! And I think that one's the Treeslayer's girl!" replies the first.
A seventh stands up and steps forward. He looks like he's a cut above the others. The head goon takes a moment to study the group and chuckles.
"This the best the Black Arrows can send nowadays? Heh. I suggest you kids turn around and get outta here before we start cutting throats," he warns as he readies his greataxe.
"Oh, good, you're presenting yourselves. I thought we'd have to go find you!"
Aurealia casts shield on herself.
"Kids?!?" Kallie shouts while giving her whip a few test flicks. Then she starts casting.
”Yeah...you sound like reasonable folks...meet Krodha...” Cai’nan says as he quickly works some magic and suddenly Krodha grows to the size of a giant!
The dinosaur roars and charges for the nearest one...the lead man. His jaws chomp down hard and loud, but clumsily miss.
The head goon is put to sleep by Kallie's magic!
Despite their leader being asleep, the goons rather boldly charge into combat!
Much like the mooks in those Zoli Tileani plays, they prove to be rather incompetent!
Meanwhile, Galatea casts Bless on the group and then orders Chesire to attack the Roadkeeper fighting Aurealia.
Her teeth sink deep into the guy's unarmored shin!
Aurealia steps to the side and levels a hard chop with her spear at the Roadkeeper who just attacked her.
Krodha’s jaws snap at one of the thugs that rushed him, moments after Cai’nan weaves more magic that makes his muscles ripple and grow beneath his skin and armor.
Spittle flying from her lip, Croq continues her raging song and steps up to swing at the goon Cheshire bit.
As she swings, a howling spirit whirls around her and smashes toward the goon as well.
The goon drops with a loud crunch into a pool of his own blood.
Croq takes a moment in her Song to shout, "Surrender now, if you don't want to fall like him!"
Kallie smirks as the leader falls asleep. She lets Croq's chant fill her as she strikes with the sadist's lash.
Jaya shrugs at the ensuing melee and shrouds herself in an abjuration, just in case.
1) Should I go ahead and post attacks, spells etc. before initiative is rolled?
2) Have Sleep and Enlarge Person been house ruled to have a shorter casting time? If so, is that true for other full round casting time spells?
Her burlier compatriots seemed to have things well in hand, so Jaya flung a small globule of acid into the closest bandit.
Despite all the noise around him, the head bandit continues sleeping through the chaos!
As the group gets ready to go another round with the Roadkeepers, an old woman shuffles out of the Stonehouse. With her hunched back, thick eyebrows, silver white hair, ugly face, and large nose, she looks like the antagonist of a children's fairytale. Wearing what looks to be a dark green dress covered by a heavy black cloak, the old woman frowns at the sight of the fighting and points her finger at Croq...
And the mighty drummer promptly pauses in place like someone froze her in time!
The goon nearest the Andosana Sisters grins sinisterly and rushes up to attack the helpless Croq!
"I'm gonna slit yer throat for what ya did to Jerry!" he says as he presses his blade against her neck...
As his "attack" draws blood, it seems like he's preparing to make good on his threats...
Meanwhile, the remaining Roadkeepers arrange themselves to cut down the biggest threat amongst you all: Krodha!
Thankfully, the T-Rex's thick plate armor and scales protect him!
"Cheshire, KILL!" Galatea orders angrily, pointing at the man who intends to murder kill Croq.
The tigress leaps into action...
As the feline nearly mauls the man to death, Galatea rushes forth and tries to finish the job!
...She promptly trips on a rock and falls flat on her face.
"...I am so out of shape."
Damn. They're serious enough then.
Croq will probably be able to shake that paralysis on her own soon enough. As long as Galatea and everyone guards her til then she should be fine. Just need to clear the path so Krodha and Cai'nan can get to her.
Jaya's hands wove together in almost absent-minded perfection as she thought, setting up a ferocious blaze to engulf two of Krodha's assailants!
Cai’nan slashes his scimitar at the one nearest him, while Krodha chomps down on the one that moved recklessly at him, sending him reeling. He then turns and snaps his jaws down on another, rending flesh in a vicious display!
Kallie scowls at the appearance of the old crone. She'll complicate things, unless I can complicate her life, she thinks as she selects her next spell.
The centaur enchantress targets the man she'd already struck by her whip, trusting that its magic would make him more susceptible to her magic. Her spell suddenly fills him with the urge to rush to the object of his new affection -- the crone on the doorstep -- and hug and kiss her passionately.
Aurealia steps and stabs.
Kallie's spell appears to take hold!
Croq stands there, frozen motionless, with sweat beading on her crocodilian skin.
Then--moments later--she bursts out with a scream of fear and rage, and starts to glance left and right.
________
Despite the loud screams of agony all around him, the head bandit continues sleeping like a rock.
After watching her men get cut down like weeds, the old woman... promptly bolts back into the Stonehouse!
"Don't worry, Mother Nightthrush! I'll-" proclaims Kallie's lovestruck bandit before promptly passing out, his bleeding injury finally taking its toll.
"Uh, boss! Wake up!" says the most injured conscious bandit as he tries to wake up the head goon. A heavy slap to the face wakes the guy.
Meanwhile, the uninjured Roadkeeper takes a step away from Krodha and sets his sights on a certain druid.
"Call off your lizard!" he yells angrily as he tries attacking Cai'nan.
His weapon bounces off a certain set of secret plate armor!
Meanwhile, Cheshire promptly bites down on lovestruck bandit's exposed throat and ends his life.
Galatea (who appears to have caught herself before actually hitting the ground) utters an angry cry and attacks the bandit bullying Cai'nan.
...She casually walks over and cracks her morningstar over the man's head, killing him instantly.
"...Leave Cai'nan alone."
Moments after he wakes his boss, the goon is snatched off his feet from behind as Krodha’s jaws clamp down on his shoulder and neck! He shakes the man vigorously in the air, sending blood spraying all across himself, the head bandit, and the grass around him! Moments later, the unfortunate bandit falls roughly to the ground as his arm is torn free, dangling in Krodha’s mouth moments before being swallowed. The saurian stomps on the bandit as he steps forward, loosing a roar that resounds through the surrounding woods.
All the while, Cai’nan finds himself too distracted by the display to deliver a meaningful attack in the bandit leader.
Jaya lets her hands drop to her side and calls out loudly towards the cottage, "Mother... Nightrush, was it?
"You may as well surrender now. Things can only go worse from here."
Able to move again, Croq stumbles over to the (newly awakened) boss, and whacks him with Drumstick.
As she does, she asks, "You see where this is going, right? Ready to drop your axe and surrender yet?"
________
After seeing all his men get casually massacred in less than twenty seconds and hearing that he himself has a chance to live, the head bandit... drops his axe and raises his hands in surrender.
"I yield," he says in resignation.
Cai’nan kicks the back of the man’s knee to drop him to the ground. ”Good. Now be still before we keep cutting throats,” he says menacingly as he walks towards the stone house, Krodha snarling menacingly before falling in beside Cai’nan, his footsteps thudding heavily.
”Whoever else is inside!” Cai’nan calls out. ”Nobody else has to die! Surrender now, there won’t be another offer!”
"...I don't think anyone can hear you," says the Roadkeeper. "There's a... big basement. Mother Nightthrush is almost certainly down there rallying the others."
Cai’nan glares at the mans information. Helpful as it was, it didn’t make anything easier. ”Any traps or surprises in here we need to worry about?”