The entrance to the hermitage is an elaborately carved double door depicting both of Gozreh’s forms: on the left he is a sky god rising from a whirlwind with lightning in his hand, and on the right she is a sea‑goddess surrounded by a whirlpool. The artisanship is astonishing, but their placement means no one but the hermits and the handful of visitors who make the difficult trek to the hermitage ever sees them.
It opens with Tiny's firm push.
Whatever you expected, this probably wasn't it. A trio of similarly attired and armed men are roughing up the Mayor! Mayor Abber looks up and sees you, he takes a quick breath before shouting, "Thank the gods you’ve come! They’ve...” THWACK! as one of the retainers slaps him with his end of his trident, knocking the mayor unconscious. The corrupted retainers quickly advance on you!
Round 1:
Tiny: Go
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
(Scout)
(Search)
(Avoid Notice)
(Avoid Notice)
(Search)
Chark doesn't ask questions about this lot -- their intent is obvious. She moves in and sends a blazing band of orange-white fire arcing through the air at Blue.
Chark's ray strikes the man in the chest, leaving him burnt and seriously injured.
Round 1:
Tiny: Go
Chark: Charred
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Blue: 14
Siezing the opportunity granted by Chark's fire Ray Tiny ducks south around the pillar getting behind the ruffian in blue, there he lets go of his heavy crossbow with one hand as he drops into his more tigerlike position and claws at the man.
Tiny's opening blow is powerful. and the follow up is nearly as potent. The man wobbles a bit on his feet, stunned and near death!
Round 1:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Charred
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Blue: 27 (Stunned 1)
"Go help Tiny!" Charlie pushes Goliath into the fray. "I..is the Mayor alright?"
HP 41/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 32/32)
AC 17
Goliath finishes off the man before he can do much while Charlie directs the field and moves to position. The remaining two men give a war cry from someplace deep down as they attack:
Red v. Goliath:
Rage
for
Raise Shield
White v. Tiny (from cover):
Rage
for
Raise Shield
Round 1:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Charred
Charlie: Kill
Retainers: ATK
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Haldan strides forward and cases Electric Arc.
DC19 Reflex
CRIT FAIL
Fail
Haldan steps forward and gives the two men something to remember him by. The closer man takes the full burst of the arc. the other man is slightly less singed.
Round 1:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Charred
Charlie: Kill
Retainers: ATK
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Zip zap
Red: 16
Grey: 8
"You there! The one in the grey. You're obviously not anything we expected. But, to be fair, you weren't anything your mother expected either!"
"Because f~$+ me with a mangy rabbit, if she ever had a stupider clod," Dendillion adds, his invective infused with magic.
Dendillion softens the man up with a good word... and then follows it up with a blistering takedown! The man resists the worst of it, but still, he catches fire!
Round 2:
Tiny: Go
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Red: 16
Grey: 11 -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Chark, generally speaking, approves of fire, and gives a nod to Dendillion.
She moves swiftly into the room behind Tiny, her hands quick as lightning patching the dwarf back up.
Tiny grunts as the trident leaves a nasty wound in his side. Fortunately Chark patches it right up.
Tiny takes advantage of his recenty mobility and circles around to behind red.
Tiny's opening strike hits hard, a well placed sword-hand to the ribs. , knocking the wind out of the man! Unfortunately his follow up strikes don't connect.
Chark makes the best of the situation, patching up wounds quickly!
Round 2:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Heal
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Red: 23 (Stunned 1)
Grey: 11 -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Charlie points out another prey for Goliath to sink his teeth into. He watches as the trident's barbed edges sink inot the bear's fur and tear on their way out. He places a hand on the injury to stanch the bleeding. "It will b..b..be alright."
Status]
HP 41/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 31/32)
AC 17
Goliath's hit the man's shield as the attack is foiled. Still, Goliath's wounds are soothed.
The man, stunned slightly, stabs once at Charlie, and then raises his shield again! for
Meanwhile the crazed man continues to fight on while on fire. He steps over the mayor and goes after who he perceives is the easier target, Chark: . He also raises his shield to protect himself.
Round 2:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Heal
Charlie: Kill
Retainers:
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Grey: 11 -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Haldan, looking to finish one of the men off, summons a Sudden Bolt of lightning.
DC19 reflex
Haldan stays with the same thesis statement, and drops a massive jolt on the severely injured one . He tries to dodge, but the charge is too much, and he drops down twitching.
Round 2:
Tiny: Hit
Chark: Heal
Charlie: Kill
Retainers:
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: ZAP!
Grey: 11 -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Dendillion strums his lute, playing through a chord progression for the group. Each note bears a hint of magic to it, inspiring the group.
With a quick transition in the music, the bard uses his magic to lift a nearby stone and flings it with brutal force towards the remaining troublemaker.
Dendillion turns his rhetoric towards the party now, boosting them for the coda. He sends the stone hurling, cracking the man's jaw on impact!
Round 3:
Tiny: Go
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Grey: 19 -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Tiny Grabs the pillar and swings over the mayor's head, changing his grip at the last minute to bound towards the remaining foe with both arms.
Tiny then follows up with a 3rd attack.
Tiny's move takes the man by surprise. The man takes hit right in the temple and it knocks him senseless! The follow ups hit only armor and air.
Round 3:
Tiny: Stun
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Grey: 24, Stunned 1, -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Charlie and Goliath charge into the remaining man as the bear bites at his legs.
HP 36/41
AC 20 (22 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 12/12; [AC Bonus +2: [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Focus 0/1
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 31/32)
AC 17
Charlie and Goliath are met with the desparate last stand of a man. Nothing gets past.
Round 3:
Tiny: Stun
Chark: Go
Charlie: Miss
Retainers: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Haldan: TBD
Grey: 24, Stunned 1, -2 Will/Perception until Round 11. Half persistent fire
Chark summons a ball of white-yellow flame in her hand, which she throws at the last man standing.
She then moves near the mayor, paying to the Dawnflower that he still lives after the last blow from these brutes.
Chark's flame hits the man over his shield, immolating him! The room goes quiet. The lack of sound only intensifies the smell of burnt flesh. The mayor seems stable, but unconscious.
The three men are all similarly outfitted; hide armor, gray robes, trident, wooden shield
Tiny wipes his hands off and unties the mayor before working on treating his wounds.
Haldan searches the men to ensure we’ve found everything.
Chark looks to the Mayor.
The mayor comes too. He's groggy, but immediately recognizes you. "Thank the gods! After you left I took an old path, one most don't know about. I came looking for Harlock and was immediately imprisoned. Word of my capture must have been sent to those deeper in the hermitage, and a few priests came to see me—but all were as cruel and pitiless as my captors, the men you... killed. They were accompanied by small flying demons!" Mayor Abber shudders as he thinks on how the hermits are dealing so openly with fiends. "Through the abuse shouted at me during beatings, the I learned that Harlock is also a prisoner in the hermitage."
Mayor Abber is incredibly grateful to be rescued and prepared to quickly return to town. "Please, for all that is good and proper, do your best to rescue Harlock. He's a good man."
"Of course, good mayor," Dendillion says, full of reassurance. "What does Harlock look like, and do you know where he might be? Also, how many people and demons did you see?"
"D..d..do you know who these captors are?" Charlie helps the Mayor to his feet, brushing his off. "You are a..a..alright now." Charlie looks past the mayor at the complex within. "Are there m..m..more inside?"
"Harlock is a Taldan man, bald of pate. He typically sports a dark brown beard, but often shaves it in the hot months."
He shakes and rubs his head a bit, either in memory of the beatings or lingering pain, "I don't know. I've only seen these 3, and haven't gone any deeper inside."
His eyes clear up, "Thank you. You are all truly heroes. Find out what's happening here. I've had enough of this place. For your bravery, I'll have a stack of ten gold coins each waiting for you on your safe return."
Tiny nods to the Mayor "I'm glad we could save you"
Tiny looks around to his companions for wounds "Let's get you patched up Chark before we head up and put an end to this."
Charlie stands nervously by the door, waiting for Chark to get bandaged up. "R..r..ready?" Once ready he will open the door.
Charlie pulls back the curtain to reveal the rest of the room. The party looks around and at each other. There are a total of seven doors out of this foyer, not including the main door.
Chark refocuses as she treats her wounds
Tiny asks the Mayor "You at all familiar with the layout in here? Also you should probably go wait in the stables for us to come back out."
"I don't know it well at all. The rooms to the sides here are the farthest I've ever really come. I haven't seen anyone come in or out. All told, I think there are a fewer than two dozen residents here.... Three fewer after my rescue."
Charlie motions to the southern door he is near. "S..s..seven doors, this one is as good as any." He opens the door.
Charlie opens the door. It looks like the retainers unload supplies obtained from Abberton into this closet. Currently, this room is mostly empty. A few wooden casks half-full of salted pork and mead are all that remain, along with a crate of parchment paper and a few boxes of ink and goose quills. A dusty elixir sits forgotten on a shelf.
"Haldan? You're savvy when it comes to elixirs, lotions, and ointments, right? Perhaps you can take that and identify its properties later? We have a man to rescue, after all."
Dendillion motions for the group to keep moving, pointing at the northern door.
Dendillion opens the door to the north after the party checks it out. He finds a simple waiting room. The waiting room is simply furnished with a table and chairs, and its stone walls are bare. The furniture isn’t particularly comfortable, and the only nod to courtesy is a copper vessel filled with water on the table.
Moving on the party determines that the other side rooms off the vestibule are simple guest quarters, reserved for the rare guests allowed to stay overnight at the hermitage. Each room has a single uncomfortable bed, a desk with a candle and writing supplies, a chamber pot, and a copy of the Gozren holy book, Hymns to the Wind and the Waves. The bedsheets in the southwest room are stained with blood, and a few wooden shims rest just outside the door.
Chark moves in to check out he room with the bloodstained sheets.
The sheets look like they've been recently stained. Given the shims on the outside, this is likely where they kept the mayor.
Charlie grabs ahold of the bloodied sheet. "Th..th..th..this isn't good." He thinks of the grim fate of the remainder of the hermitage as he heads to the west.
The door here is a large and imposing granite slab broken only by a small viewing slot at eye level. It seems to be barred from the opposite side ...
Charlie takes a small step back. "Goliath, break the b..b..board" Goliath takes a few steps back, putting both hairy paws against the door, the bear begins to lean into it with all of its weight.
Haldan attempts to get the door open as well.