Tiny's bolt nearly ends the air creature in a single shot!
Round 1:
Chark: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Hit
Charlier: Go
Dendillion: Go
Creature?: TBD
Mephit: 10
Haldan, having fallen behind his fellow circus folks, takes this round to catch up.
Charlie holds his hands up, dropping the armoire. "It looks like it wants to just get out of here like the rest of us!" He delays making no motion to attack the airy creature.
Haldan closes, while Charlie plays wait and see.
Round 1:
Chark: Go
Haldan: Triple move
Tiny: Hit
Dendillion: Go
Charlie: Delay
Creature?: TBD
Mephit: 10
Like Haldan, Chark has fallen behind a bit and spends her round catching up.
Torn about what to do, Dendillion opts to wait and see what the creature will do.
The air creature immediately flees from the flight via a cracked open window and heads off to who knows where!
"See, n..n..no need to kill it." Charlie moves to the window to watch it fly off, before looking through the rest of the rooms.
Tiny shakes his head in shame "After those last fey tried to kill us..."
Tiny will eventually reload his crossbow but with much sadness first.
Dendillion breathes a sigh of relief. "We've had plenty of blood today. One less death is a relief. But still... What was it doing here?"
The bard takes the time to thoroughly search the area for anything interesting, or that might explain what's going on.
Chark conforts Tiny. You tried to protect us. No one thinks less of you for that, she says soothingly. Your actions were both commendable and honorable. We learn as we go.
She takes the time to let the party investigate the armoire and the rest of the room.
Dendillion doesn't find any overt clues, but does find a strongbox, locked, in the bottom of the armoire.
Ever the curious sort, Dendillion pulls out a couple oddly-shaped wires and gets to work trying to open the strongbox
It takes the bard a bit, but he pops the lock on the box. Within he finds:
Charlie looks to Dendillion as he pops the lock on the lockbox. He gives a slightly disapproving look. "This is someone's p..p..place. Are we thiev..v..v..v..robbers now?"
Dendillion looks momentarily taken aback, but quickly smooths things over with a broad grin. "Not at all! Quite the contrary, even. I'm not looking for riches, I'm looking for clues as to what is going on. Just like we opened Thunder's place to find information, so it is here. Sadly, this tells us nothing. But," he raises a finger, as if coming to an epiphany, then adds, "We can probably conclude that someone does not actually live here. I mean, would someone who lived here let that massive wasp nest grow? That doesn't happen overnight, you know."
Nonetheless, the bard closes the strongbox.
We will take the strongbox, Chark says firmly, and pray to find those who lived here so that we may return it to them.
She will take charge of the treasure case. We still know little about what happened here. The airy creature seems a clue, but I can't quite figure out how it's connected. And Dendillion is quite right that a next of that size does not happen in a short time frame.
Charlie seems content with the course of the plan. He simply didn't want to go looting someone's property as they travel through. It wouldn't bring a good name to their Circus. "S..s..sounds good to me."
Still some space to check out Charlie opens the northern door and peers inside.
Charlie opens the final door. The room beyond is decorated with paintings of various fantastical beasts, including a hydra, a manticore, a centaur, and a phoenix. The clothing is feminine, as are the furnishings which are both durable and finely made. Whoever makes a room here is well off. At least they were...
A thorough look doesn't turn up anything of not or import.
"Doesn't look like m..m..much around here. Any sign of the M..m..miller or her family?" Charlie picks up some of the fine and expensive clothing. "Who would leave this?"
There really seems to be nothing.
"Well, this bring this stuff back to the mayor..." Tiny then pauses for a moment as though an idea suddenly came to him "Maybe give the garden a more thorough check and looks for any trap doors to the basement."
"Oh, a good idea. And maybe see if there are any tracks to be found, Charlie? There must be some sign."
The party moves outside and looks around for tracks, hidden entrances, a cellar, anything. Unfortunately, there's nothing to be found. Nature continues to run wild, but to what end?
"D..d..doesn't look like the Millers are here. Should we check the rotten smell at the church since we are nearby?" Charlie leans his head out the window.
Tiny nods "Ya, I can't see anything else to do here."
Frustrated at the loose end, the party takes an arrow shot's walk to the church. Upon arriving, it seems the church has seen better days; it's unkempt and in need of cosmetic repairs. A wide, high porch of white wood fronts the church. Two stained glass windows face the road; the one to the north depicts Abadar, the Master of the First Vault, and the one to the south is emblazoned with dozens of golden keys. Both are broken in several places, with bits of yellowish glass littering the porch. The door frame around the wood‑and-brass door is splintered.
"This place has seen b..b..better days." Charlie steps up onto the porch, and tries to push the front doors open.
The nave is filled with long wooden pews marred by long claw marks. Comfortable cushions of gold velvet have been shredded, their feather stuffing spilling out upon the benches and the wood floor. Leather-bound books have been yanked from the small wooden shelves built into the back of each pew and torn apart, their illuminated pages mixing with the accumulated mess that covers the ground.
A chancel at the west end of the nave contains an altar in front of a magnificent mural of Abadar and other gods defeating the monstrous Rovagug. The altar has the appearance of a desk, although its cloth-of-gold covering, abacus, scales, and ledgers are ripped and knocked over.
Sitting at the desk perusing papers is a strange creature. Ram horns curl back from its twisted head of this tiny winged demonic looking thing. Over its shoulder stands a man sized creature of awful countenance.
In the northwest corner of the sanctuary, an overturned stone font leans against a stone door.
Upon seeing the doors open, the pair move to engage!
(Scout)
(Search)
(Avoid Notice)
(Detect Magic)
(Search)
Round 1:
Haldan: Go
Chark: Go
???: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Charlie: TBD
The smaller winged creature is a quasit! A demon with minor spell power and a penchant for turning invisible to cause mischief.
Round 1:
Haldan: Go
Chark: 2 Actions
???: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Charlie: TBD
Closing this before I know the results.
Wrecker demons, also known as abrikandilus, despise beautiful things and do everything in their power to destroy both people and objects that might be regarded as such! They cannot stand their own reflection, and their bite can mutate and warp a person into something ugly.
Additionally Chark knows that demons are weak to cold iron and good weapons.
Round 1:
Haldan: Go
Chark: 1 Action
???: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Charlie: TBD
Demons! Chark says, her voice more panicked than perhaps she might like. Use good-aligned weapons, if you have them. Or cold iron, that works too!
She (foolishly, perhaps) moves directly toward the two foes.
Stride and throw a flaming card.
Chark steps in carefully, surveying the situation. Haldan makes a quick attack but his card is off target.
The creatures laugh and shriek! Thinking this destruction is quite fun, they don't immediately join in the fight, taking a moment to smash a couple more things before entering the fray. The larger monster grabs a chunk of something it recently smashed and hurls it at Chark!
and hits for
The tiny fiend flies up a bit and weaves a spell around Haldan's mind!
Round 1:
Haldan: Miss Will Save
Chark: Move
???: ATK
Dendillion: Go
Tiny: Go
Charlie: Go
Tiny hustles in, climbing on the rear pews, looking for a clear shot.
From there Tiny shoots his crossbow at the front monster.
"Goliath G..g..go!" Goliath hammers down the center of the pews at the monster, swiping a paw at it as he keeps his distance. Charlie move in close behind, whip in his hand as he hunt's the prey.
... ◆⃟ Charlie Command
... ◆⃟ Golaith Move
... ◆⃟ Goliath Attack
... ◆⃟ Charlie Move
... ◆⃟ Charlie Hunt Prey (Front Demon)
HP 30/30
AC 19 (21 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield [AC Bonus +2] [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Hero Points 1/3
Goliath
HP 24/24
AC 16
Action 1: Stride
Action 2: Recall Knowledge (Bardic Lore)
Action 3: Inspire Courage
Dendillion moves inside. "Oh my! What have we here?"
He then starts strumming his lute, letting the power chords fill the air and inspire his friends.
Dendillion suspects that they're fiends, but he has no idea what kind. His words gird the party for a serious fight.
tiny lands a great shot. The fiend is really tough though and takes it with little more than a grunt. Unfortunately Goliath can't get a good angle and misses!
Round 2:
Haldan: Go
Chark: Go
Fiends: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Charlie: TBD
Abrikandilu: 10
Chark summons a ball of white-yellow flame in her hand, which she throws at the ram headed fiend.
She then casts shield.
Chark strikes the quasit full in the face with her fire.
Round 2:
Haldan: Go
Chark: Fire!
Fiends: TBD
Dendillion: TBD
Tiny: TBD
Charlie: TBD
Abrikandilu: 10
Quasit: 7
Haldan waves off the fog in his brain and finger guns some Magic Missiles at tiny fiend.
Haldan resists the worst of the spell, but it still shakes him to his core.
It doesn't stop him from drilling the tiny fiend with a spell! The gross and disheveled fiend lays into Goliath with it's crooked teeth:
for
MISS
for
The tiny creature flies forth to Chark and swings its needle sharp claws at Chark:
for and and
Round 2:
Haldan: MM
Chark: Fire!
Fiends: ATK
Dendillion: Go
Tiny: Go
Charlie: Go
Abrikandilu: 10
Quasit: 21
Action 1: Inspire Courage
Action 2-3: Telekinetic Projectile
Dendillion keeps the riff going, the sound of his inspired power chords washing over the party.
He then spies a mostly intact leather-bound tome, and weaves in several notes using the Dorian scale. The musical magic takes hold of the book, which jerks up into the air before flying at the nearest demon.
Tiny drops lower to the ground as he enters his tiger stance and pounces into position before swiping twice at the annoying buzzing critter.
Dendillion's chords stir the hearts of his companion as his spell hurls a book at the fiend. The book snaps its head back and the tiny creature is sent back to whatever lower plane from which it came.
Tiny's opening attack is narrowly thwarted by the fiend, but it wasn't expecting the follow up, which tears a furrow across its midsection.
Round 2:
Haldan: MM
Chark: Fire!
Fiends: ATK
Dendillion: Kill
Tiny: Hit
Charlie: Go
Abrikandilu: 20