Rushed by the alarm Kyra reaches for the door and swiftly opens it while Xuan positions at her back.
The heat is palpable inside the primitive, one-room hovel. Tinder from the fireplace is strewn about, sparking the fires that now climb the reed walls. The room itself is in shambles. An eviscerated human body sprawls across the floor, and a butchered wolf lies against the wall by the front door with an atomie's corpse on its jaws. Puddles of blood surround them. The man’s hands are tied to a rough wooden table, upon which sits an ornate—but empty—box and a blood-spattered manuscript.
Kyra casts detect magic and on this first round she senses there is indeed magic on her cone of effect.
Actions dedicated to fighting the fire can slow it. As a standard action, a PC with a blanket, a waterskin, or another appropriate tool can extinguish one five-foot square. Alternatively, water or cold spells delay the entire timetable by one round per spell level (minimum one round).
Put the fire out! We must save that manuscript. the cleric says, moving to her left and dumping her waterskin on the fire
Kyra quickly reacts approaching the fire, sacred to her faith, and pouring over her waterskin. That puts off that piece of fire but many other smolder around.
Seelah rushes to the fallen body while retrieving some water.
Goldur does similarly examining the druid's body to find out it is not apparently moving.
Hudor moves in and starts sending rays of frost to the fire smolders. The fire is not put off, but his magic is clearly containing the spread.
Duath moves in and grabs the fur of a dead bear the druid have been probably sanctifying.
Xuan moves in and does something heroic to put off the fire.
Goldur feels a sudden push on his back that throws him over the fire at the end of the hut where it stumbles with the desk!
A strange human pops in out of invisiblity and draws an axe "You are not going to bother the fey's anymore, prepare to die"
This is an unseelie, a human transformed into an evil fey through a tortuous eldritch ritual.
They are able to turn invisible at will, create illusions, sleep people.
Depending on their base creature, they can also have any kind of abilities, including being expert fighters.
Kyra starts to bat at the dirt with her cloak, not caring about the flames.
I'll deal with the fire...take care of him!
|
Caught off-guard, the dwarf stumbles into the flames; he manages to throw out a hand and push himself sideways, so that his painful landing smothers the flames. "We're not... here for... the fey," he says through gritted teeth, pulling a hammer from his belt. "But my friends and I will be happy to bother you."
Xuan puts off the fire attempt by the door, then pushes forward while looking with stuff to help in his backpack.
With the help of her cloak, Kyra puts off the fire by her side, no need to burn herself inside.
Finding the fey-tainted human by her evil, Seelah slashes with all her strength but the strange looking human dodges the blade.
Duath leaves the fur and gets his bow at hand, shooting an arrow that goes wide and lodges at the wall at the end of the hut.
With a quick movement Goldur puts off the flames that were taking on his body and jumps over the fallen body of the druid starting an inspiring song of heroics!
Hudor repositions to avoid cover and conjures a ray of freezing cold that hits the human with painful frost.
"Liars! You covet the fey secrets but Cyflymder will not allow you. Die!" with a spin the creature descends its battleaxe on Seelah.
Someone at the back of the room completes a spell that suddenly takes Goldur, Kyra, Seelah and Hudor.
The caster pops out of invisibility revealing it is another human with fey features like the one who started the attack.
The new creature steps forward and attacks with his battleaxe to Xuan.
The blade cuts hard through the stony skin of the monk, leaving a clearly painful mark.
Although the group has put off the flames at the entrance of the hut, the ones at the back still smolder the place menacing to ruin it all!
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Seelah, mild frustration tinting her voice, Goldur, keep up the good song! her eyes flick toward the suddenly appearing fey creature, realizing too late its casting a spell in her direction.
Her eyes feel heavy for an instant, and Goldur's song cuts through the drowsiness, and the light of Iomedae strengthens the paladin's resolve. Easily sidestepping the fey's clumsy swing, and with more focus than in the previous seconds, she launches a crosscut at the unbalanced fey's head,
her perfect momentum carries her forward, drawing even with the creature, and poised to deflect its next attack with her shield. She blinks the smoke from her eyes and readies herself.
Oh for the love of the Dawnflower... Kyra almost seems on the verge of cursing, when she focuses her attention to snuffing out the fire. She moves over top the body and stamps it out with the now singer cloak.
My apologies...I will give you a proper burial after this is over... she says to the body
Enduring the pain of the cut Xuan steps forward and pours more water on the farther fire, putting off another area.
Fighting off the sleepiness, Seelah slashes on the fey-human opening a deep wound on his axe arm.
Goldur comes by and finishes the woman with a solid strike of his warhammer, without losing the cheerful tone of his song.
Meanwhile Kyra jumps over the corpse and flaps the cloak to put off the fire in this area, reducing the fire only to the fireplace area.
Resolved, Duath raises again his bow and shots another arrow, this one totally precise, lodges itself at the remaining fey-human right shoulder "Ouch! Argh!"
Meanwhile, Hudor cannot beat the fey magic and falls to the ground sleeping like a log.
The remaining fey-woman swings his axe trying to finish what she started with Xuan "Your attempts are futile! This is our forest get out of here!"
The swing is precise and it opens another deep injury in the monks left arm.
Kyra darts over to wake the slumbering Hudor. End this madness! Xuan...hold on!
Still enduring the considerable pain, Xuan puts off most of the remaining flames.
Seelah's blade is deflected by the red humanoid's breastplate.
Kyra moves over Hudor and shakes him up. The sorcerer opens his eyes a bit confused.
Goldur tries to attend Hemzel but the smoke is making him feel sick and can hardly continue singing.
Duath fires another arrow, but the considerate amount of smoke at the room, makes it difficult for him to hit.
The fey touched woman delivers another swing of her axe, this time to Seelah "Die invaders!"
But she blocks the attack with her shield.
Although it seemed practically controlled, the fire phase advances, the remaining fire in the fireplace area going wilder and extending to all adjacent spaces, burning Xuan in the process.
In addition the smolders around the journal revive and start to burn the druid's notes!
If that was not enough, the smoke inside the hut is starting to be so abundant that it becomes difficult to see farther than 10 feet away. It is still not dense enough to choke your lungs, but you start to feel the environment oppressing and sickening.
On my way...the priestess says as she darts over to heal the monk.
|
|
Xuan frantically waves Kyra off, pointing at the flames which are continuing to spread.
"I appreciate the gesture, but I would prefer help with the flames, if you please... It's going to take more than the two of us to get the fire under control. The fire is the real foe here; the other is just a distraction!"
Your call...I shall look to your wounds later... Kyra says, a bit worried the oread might drop from his injuries.Your determination is admirable...I assume it is an inherited trait?she jokes as she stamps out the fire.
Xuan puts off the fire around him before he can catch on fire.
Seelah's swing is not precise enough and the fey-woman deflects the sword with a quick movement of her battleaxe.
Kyra, stopped on her attempts to heal, uses the cloak, which is taking a very bad shape, to put off another section of fire, leaving only a couple more.
Duath's arrow is accurate this time, and finding his quarry among the smoke, it lodges firmly deep in the back of the fey tainted human "Ouch!! Coward! Come here!"
Goldur quickly puts off the fire that was starting to burn down that area.
Hudor stands up and sends a ray of cold to the enemy that freezes her arm, disabling her.
Tumbling through to the door she slashes at the archer "Away!"
But Duath is ready and steps to the side letting the swing pass. With the injuries accumulating on her, the fey touched woman falls to the ground unconscious after the last effort.
Only the fireplace area remains alight, menacing to extend unless it is put off very quickly.
Kyra heads over to stop the bleeding on the fey as the others deal with the fire.
We are not your enemy... she says as she tries to rouse the fey.
Xuan and Goldur manage to put down the fire in the fireplace, while Seelah stops the smoldering of the druid's journal.
With a mighty healing fist Kyra revives the fallen human fey. He looks with hate at the cleric and looks for his battleaxe "You human, I will delight with your blood, just let me reach my battleaxe"
Still it seems confused and it will be very easy to reduce it if you work on it.
Once the creature is dealt with, you can check Hemzel is really dead. That said, you have saved his journal. It is written in pidgin shorthand of Common and Druidic.
|
Duath quickly looks away when receiving the compliment from the paladin, Seelah.
"I-Thank you for the compliment. We all worked well as a team." he says with a nod before stepping outside to keep watch, and escape his embarrassment. He looks up wondering if Giren was still around.
"Giren, have you fled? Did you know those things were skulking in there?" he asks with some irritation in his voice.
The pinch of salt becomes sour as Goldur's spell completes and the undecipherable gliphs of the Druidic secrets suddenly become clear to the dwarf. Reading through, he quickly discovers much: the lorestone is keyed to druidic circles, and one lies several hours’ travel north from the hut on a lake island; a band of fey has recently been harassing Hemzel and threatening to destroy the lorestone; Hemzel assiduously avoided exposing the lorestone to sunlight; the sun’s rays striking the lorestone inside of a druidic circle disintegrates it.
Meanwhile Hudor searches through the room and finds a cache of Hemzel's possessions behind the large table at the north wall: two potions, a scroll, an amulet and a pouch with 240 gold pieces.
There is also a wooden box Hemzel still grasps between his hands, but it is empty.
Potion of barkskin.
Potion of bear's endurance.
Scroll of lesser restoration.
Amulet of natural armor +1
At the same time Duath looks out of the hut but finds no trace of Giren, whether the atomie left or turned invisbled and does not want to answer back. What he finds is the corpse of another atomie in the door entrance, still grasped by the jaws of the dead Hemzel's wolf companion. This atomie's dead body still has a bag that irradiates magic, a light crossbow, and onyx ring a quiver with tiny bolts and an equally tiny short sword.
The onyx ring is worth 1500 gp.
Unfortunately I am not trained in the art of identifying magical objects...healing and religion were the main areas of my schooling.