Though the chaos remained, the Heroes that had come to answer the Call had half of the townsfolk evacuated within the first moments of the fracas. The town councilors helped as they were able, calling folks out by name.
"Vance, ye lazy sod! Don't jus' stand there! Move yer feet, man!" Jorsk hollered at one man who was looking around wide-eyed.
"It's going to be fine!" Trini Sprizzlegig said cheerfully to a frightened little girl and her mother. "Come with me, I'll hold your hand!"
Enough folks had gotten out now that a line had formed, and people at the wells were beginning to pass buckets of water down the line and back into the town hall. These were handed off all the way to the councilors, who prepared to carry them towards the flames, or pass them to the heroes and go for more.
Events were going a little more poorly at the front of the room. The nimble mephit that had dodged everything Dario and Hornet could throw at it breathed forth flames that set poor Hornet's fur aflame...
"Appears you're injured and in danger of being engulfed. Tell me something I don't already know." Dario muttered more to himself as the mephit continued to evade his attacks. Assistance came with Hornet rushing up to the stage, her armor clicking and adjusting before a wave of frigid air escaped that left frost on the ground around her. Unfortunately, the mephit seemed to be just too agile to be caught in the blast. A moment later, it escape from his clutches and unleashed a torrent of flame at the two of them. "Hornet, look out!"
Flame covered him and hornet, singing his flesh and leaving him wobbling for a moment. Amidst the flames though, he still stood alive and well. Dario couldn't deny the pain his body felt, the unconscious desire from the heat to lay down and let it go. Looking to his left though, the rest of the party had done well in evacuating the populace from the building.
"That's good at least. Got to get the kids out." Dario thought, brushing soot off of his form. "Y-you alright there Hornet?"
"Appears you're injured and in danger of being engulfed. Tell me something I don't already know." Dario muttered more to himself as the mephit continued to evade his attacks. Assistance came with Hornet rushing up to the stage, her armor clicking and adjusting before a wave of frigid air escaped that left frost on the ground around her. Unfortunately, the mephit seemed to be just too agile to be caught in the blast. A moment later, it escape from his clutches and unleashed a torrent of flame at the two of them. "Hornet, look out!"
[dice=Reflex Save]1d20+9
Flame covered him and hornet, singing his flesh and leaving him wobbling for a moment. Amidst the flames though, he still stood alive and well. Dario couldn't deny the pain his body felt, the unconscious desire from the heat to lay down and let it go. Looking to his left though, the rest of the party had done well in evacuating the populace from the building.
"That's good at least. Got to get the kids out." Dario thought, brushing soot off of his form. "Y-you alright there Hornet?"
"Dario! Hornet! Move closer! Let me give you strength."
Trusting that the rest of the townspeople are going to be escorted safely out and work on bucket brigades, Oren is going to double move and then bring his maul down on Mephit 1!
"My fur is on fire, 'am I alright?'" she snarls. "I am going to f+@&ing eat these things."
A slight quirk of the Gnoll language - its words for "kill" and "eat" were the same.
Lisi clambers over the bench and unleashes a spray of frost over the fire.
"Be sure to wash them down with plenty of water, Hornet," says Lisi, his hands briefly surrounded by a tiny halo of fog and ice crystals as he focuses the power of the natural world upon the mephitic flames.
"Isn't anyone skilled with a bow in here? They're going to vomit fire on you every chance they get. We need to douse these verminous creatures forthwith," says Lisi, with the true irritation of an Isgeri who has seen far too much of his homeland ravaged by flames.
"Isn't anyone skilled with a bow in here?"
"Yes. Unfortunately I didn't think I would need to bring mine with me to a town meeting. I will avoid making that mistake in the future."
Oren flies to Hornet's side, bringing his maul down on the creature. It's an odd sensation...fire elementals are solid-ish. He can feel the resistance as he sweeps through it, similar to swinging his weapon through water, and flames scatter about. Much like waving one's hand might disperse a cloud of flies, the fires of the mephit are lesser now, and it barely seems to be maintaining its form. It should not take much to finish it off.
Lisi's hands splay outward as he pulses heat away from the area, dropping the temperature dramatically and spraying a visible cloud of frost over the newer patch of flames, extinguishing most of them. Greta's seat is charred, but the fire was put out so quickly it still appeared structurally sound. The mephit, still in the doorway, hissing in rage and scuttles forward to attack.
piercing and fire damage
The mephit's teeth snap shut, barely missing their mark.
The fires to the north, still ablaze in the hallway, are unable to spread across the frost, for now, though the heat is quickly melting the ice. The initial fires continue their hungry path along the walls.
The ferocity of the gnoll brought a pained grin to Dario's face. She was fierce and loud, a welcome addition. Oren entered into combat, his maul nearly dissipating the creature. It still managed to coalesce itself to a degree, fighting fiercely for its life.
Cevendyll called out for them to move closer so that he could aid them and the gunslinger would give a nod, lifting his pistol upwards to take aim down the lane at the injured creature. Again, the thunderous roar would rise above the chorus of the growing fire.
Dario moves after taking his shot, he gets into position when he eyes down the other fire mephit. "Is this what you want to do? We'll put you down to, you know." The threat lingers in his voice as he tightens his grip on the blade.
Hornet draws her axe and brings it around in a wide arc, cleaving through the mephit. She then moves to regroup with her allies.
Fur still badly singed and actively smoldering in places, Hornet lets out a short snarl of pain and annoyance.
Cevendyl sees his comrades moving towards him, and opens the silver holy symbol in his bracer to begin bringing positive energy to them.
"Mother of Magic, we will fight the misuse of your gift. Let your strength flow into these heroes."
30' AOE
Caiten feels the healing magic wash over him.
Good. That will at least help quite a bit. It may heal the slightly injured second enemy, but that is a small price to pay. Keeping our allies in fighting form is more effective than reviving them after they have fallen. And falling to persistent damage is very often fatal.
Dario's shot ended the badly injured fire mephit, which almost seems to pop, a rain of lifeless sparks sprinkling down onto the floor. He moves closer to Cevendyll, threatening the other elemental as he stares it down.
Mephits, unfortunately, are stubborn, willful little creatures that do not understand common. Though his tone of voice is indeed threatening, the beast just hisses, a sound akin to a pocket of sap boiling in a burning log, pitched so high as to border the upper edges of human hearing.
Dario realizes his clothing is still aflame as the fires lick at his sleeve. He grimaces. As if he wasn't hurting bad enough already.
Hornet sees the blasted creature that set her ablaze was felled by Dario's shot before she gets a chance to swing her axe. She moves to regroup with her allies...
Cevendyll pulses a wave of healing that hits all his nearby comrades. Just as the mephit could not understand Dario's earlier threat, it does not know what the elf is doing, and it does not willingly allow the magic to wash over itself, fearing it to be an attack of some kind and bracing itself against it.
Three of the councilors continue shuffling people out, while Greta and Jorsk run with their water buckets to try and douse some of the flames. More buckets are being delivered to the main doors, one carried by Warbal who screams "Warbal is brave! Warbal is helping!"
Smoke is beginning to fill the room, and you can hear the remaining townsfolk beginning to cough, even as your own eyes tear up and breathing becomes more taxing...
Joran catches sight of the lone woman toward the front. "You! Miss! Near the front! Time to move! Come to me and I'll point you toward the exit!" he tells her, holding out one hand while coughing a couple of times as he cuts his attention to another lady. "And you also, miss! Yes! Let's go!" He holds out his other hand for her also so he can direct her as well.
We may need to abandon this building soon. Getting the remaining people out will be a higher priority than destroying these fire creatures.
With a bit of thought, Caiten continues the magical emotion effect on Lisitsei.
"Sir. If you and your young one would make your way this direction please.
Yasami looks at the fiery creature behind the council desks, and the folks around it. She coughs a little due to the smoke, looks at the civilians in the room, and shouts at them. "Hey! Smoke, fire, and wooden roof above you! What are you waiting for? Get the hell out of here!"
Then she turns back to the front of the room. "You got this, guys!"
Lisi steps back on the desk and aims his Chilling Spray directly at the mephit. "Whoever summoned you is going to pay," says the druid, his eyes blazing with Caiten's arcane power.
Noticing a patch of his jacket still on fire, he slams his hip against the desk and immediately smothers it. His grimace grows only slightly as he readies himself to continue the fight.
"owowowowowowowOwOwOwOwOWOWOWOWOWOWOW" Dario mentally thinks, banging his hip bone painfully but trying his best to play it off like nothing happened.
Joran, Yasami, and Caiten continue ushering people out the doors. The stragglers at this point are mostly the old or infirm. The billowing smoke is impairing vision, and several of the benches have been knocked over, slowing them down.
Lisi again fills the space before him with frost, but the cursed elemental manages to leap into the air and evade it.
The fire continues to rage. The smoke is getting dangerous at this point, and the sound of hacking coughs echoes throughout the room.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oren moves up and tries to finish off the Mephit!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oren has had enough of these motherflipping mephits in this motherflipping town hall. He strides purposefully towards the last of the beasts. Dodge, this he thinks to himself. With a powerful swing of his maul, he absolutely splatters the creature, sparks bursting out underneath the blow.
Oren's lungs began to burn from the fumes he was breathing. This wasn't a healthy environment, that much was for certain.
The fires are still raging and spreading, creeping forward ever faster. Not even half a minute had passed since the chaos begin, though time had seemed to stretch for the heroes as they fought the creatures. No more foes presented themselves, but they weren't out of this yet.
The councilors shepherd more folks out, except for Greta and Jorsk. They throw their buckets on the flames eating up the corner of the room, then run back for more.
Warbal runs past Yasami. "Many pardons! Must be drenching fires!"
Joran tries to control his coughing but he's finding it more difficult the longer he remains. He looks over and notices another lone person trying to help those on the other side of the aisle. Looking to the bystanders on his side, "I'll be right back! I'm going to get more help! Give me just a few seconds!" He then pulls his shirt off and covers his mouth to try to alleviate some of the smoke as he moves across the way. "HEY BUDDY!" he screams through his shirt, addressing the android. "I'M HERE TO HELP! I FIGURE IF WE WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN GET A HECK OF A LOT MORE FOLKS OUTTA HERE AT ONE TIME!" The hulking, well-built and currently bare-chested barbarian then looks to the townsfolk, "OKAY ALL OF YOU! WE'RE GETTING YOU ALL OUTTA HERE! GO DIRECTLY SOUTH TOWARD THE MAIN HALL ENTRANCE AND GO NOW! GO SAFELY BUT QUICKLY! GO! GO!" he yells, trying to be heard over the raging fire, the chaos and the covering over his mouth.
"Of all the days to not ask you to purify the air," says Lisi, coughing, to the leshy perched on his shoulder. Guba shrugs.
Lisi hastens to the Main Hall with everyone else.
Sweat dripped from his pores and sapped at his strength, while the smoke began to sear his lungs. The initial days back within the smithies of the dwarves came to Dario's mind. For a moment, his vision blurred as his head began to feel lightheaded. A voice called to him, calling him back to strength.
A surge ran through his very being, like being immersed in a cold but refreshing river. It almost made the gunslinger gasp as the cleric's magic work to soothe his wounds and calm his lungs. Turning his head at the elven man, he would tip his wide-brimmed hat in thanks before turning to the enemy at large.
The same enemy, a moment later, who was viciously and unceremoniously ended. Dario would whistle if his lips didn't feel so damn dry already. Licking them for just a moment, he turned to see through the dark crowds. There were still others who needed help there.
"I'm going for the eastern side!" Dario shouted, trying to be heard over the roaring fires. He slid, albeit it with a little less gusto, across the way and towards the families in need of direction. Stepping between overturned benches, he spoke softly to them.
"Ya'll need to get going. Stay low, smoke rises. Wrap cloth around your face and wet it with water if you can." He says in his calmest voice, trying to sooth the family as best he can. He coughs hard afterwards, his own run filling his lungs with burning ash.
Yasamina shouts towards the back of the seating area. "You, with the kids! Grab your darlings and take them outside. Tell people outside to bring water to the door! Hurry! We need to douse these flames befor ethey get out of control."
She takes a slow breath, and feel the smoke inside. *cough* "Not good..." *cough*, sme mutters to herself as her eyes start watering.
With the horrible elemental creatures dealt with, the heroes were able to focus on the suddenly more pressing matter of the fire and smoke, and the remaining townsfolk. Joran and Caiten work in concert to herd out the remainder of the stragglers on the western half of the room, with Joran grabbing one kid piggy-back style so her father, with his lame leg, could climb over the benches hands-free.
Dario calmed the Breachtons down best he could, Yasami appearing nearby to help a moment later. Together, they got those on the eastern half moving towards the door.
Lisi stepped out into the main hall first to see a line of townsfolk, spaced 5 or 6 feet apart, leading all the way to the wells. The man or woman on the end filled a bucket and passed it along the row, handing them off as quickly as they can be filled, and the town councilors brought them into the auditorium. Quentin Posandi excused himself from the line as the smoke became too much for his old lungs, and someone brought him a waterskin as he sat and coughed, spitting ash from his throat.
As quickly as it began, it was over. Enough water was brought out to halt the advance of the fire, and all the folks that attended the Call were ushered to safety. The hallways leading to the auditorium were charred messes, as were the patches that raged while the mephits were being dealt with, but nothing beyond a couple weeks' worth of repair by the industrious Breatons.
As you all emerged outside, breathing the fresh air into your irritated lungs, it's almost strange to recall what a beautiful day it is. The sun is out, it's warm with a cool breeze, and everywhere are the sounds of coughing. Folks who had not been in attendance have gathered by this time to offer help, including Trinil and Fadelby, who made their way over from the Wizard's Grace across the street when they noticed the smoke.
Greta Gardania, council president, emerged from the building once she's seen for herself the fire is out. She whistled loudly to get the crowd's attention. She looked around, clasping the shoulders of some of the folks around her who need a little steadying. "What manner of madness just happened? This was no accident. Did anyone see anything?"
A man jogged over, one of the guards who had been posted outside the doors as the Call began. "It was a goblin! Folks started running out yelling 'fire' and we were set to come in and help, when we saw a goblin running out of the building and tearing off like all the Hells were chasing it. Conrick gave chase, but I lost sight of them." Little wonder, as the guard had a very padded midsection and was breathing hard.
All eyes moves to Warbal, who was just emerging from the building, and she looked confounded by the attention. "What?
"HEY BUDDY!" he screams through his shirt, addressing the android. "I'M HERE TO HELP! I FIGURE IF WE WORK TOGETHER, WE CAN GET A HECK OF A LOT MORE FOLKS OUTTA HERE AT ONE TIME!"
"The assistance is appreciated. Help me move this bench out of the way so that these people may move past."
"I have soot in my mouth and all through my hair. It is going to take me forever to wash this out."
A man jogged over, one of the guards who had been posted outside the doors as the Call began. "It was a goblin! Folks started running out yelling 'fire' and we were set to come in and help, when we saw a goblin running out of the building and tearing off like all the Hells were chasing it. Conrick gave chase, but I lost sight of them." Little wonder, as the guard had a very padded midsection and was breathing hard.
All eyes moves to Warbal, who was just emerging from the building, and she looked confounded by the attention. "What?
"Analyzing... Was it these main doors that you saw the goblin running from? It may be that this is the goblin that was seen running from the building. As you can see, she also returned with water to assist in the efforts to fight the fire. Many other townspeople did the same thing, leaving the building and returning with water."
"The assistance is appreciated. Help me move this bench out of the way so that these people may move past."
"You got it!" Joran then aids the android in shoving the bench clear out of the way. "Now let's get the rest of these folks out of here and get this fire doused!"
As they make their way outside in triumph, Joran pulls the shirt off from around his face and starts wiping the sweat off of himself. Managing a cough or two more, he finds a tree to lean against as he takes a moment to catch his breath before the guard comes rushing up. Looking to the android as he speaks, Joran turns back to the guard. "Yeah, you sure it wasn't just Warbal you saw?" he asks the guard as he continues to try and wipe off the black soot upon his arms and chest.
The guard looks over at the two men. "Oh, naw, wasn't Warbal, we know her, she's a good egg. This goblin was ugly as sin, had a really big head, and he was a clever little bugger. Slipped through a broken fence post we couldn't fit through. Conrick went to try and head him off, I thought I'd better report back."
"I am unfamiliar with who Sin is, I haven't been in town long enough to know everyone. Could you bring them here for comparison?"
Lisi thinks. "I don't know the Bumblebrashers well, but I know a few forest goblinoids."
Lisi cannot recall any nasty looking goblins he's run into, but goes over any legal cases he's had with goblins setting fires...
Lisi has a good list of "fires in Isgeri" villages in his head, at least.
After a few exhausting minutes of breathing in smoke and ash, Yasamina looks at her clothing once she finishes couging in front of the Town Hall.
"Welp. I might need to wash this stuff. Is everyone okay?"
She looks at the gathered crowd, and is a little concerned when they mention a goblin starting the fire. She looks the one who tried to deliver a speech. 'Warbal', was it? But when the guards mention another one, she is hit by a combination of relief and concern. A pyromaniac goblin tribe outside of town is no good news. She approaches Lisitsei.
"Hey there. I am Yasamina. Say - any idea whether goblins usually employ emelentals to do their bidding?", she asks the half elf with a hushed voice.
Lisi bends down slightly to give a quiet reply, while keeping an eye on the families who have rushed out of the smoke-filled seating area.
"Yasmina, well met under strange circumstances. Lisitsei. I'll have to think on that. They could given the proper magical abilities--but it would be a fairly high ranking priest, I think, to summon such creatures, and in my own limited experience, goblins like to set fires themselves, and watch them burn."
Lisi has noticed Yasamina before at Shelyn's Smile, having sung there before on a rare off night, but he doesn't feel it's appropriate to mention that during this crisis.
He takes out a satchel absently to see how many fresh berries he has at the moment.
Lisi follows up with a final thought.
"So why would the goblin be running off, afraid? Fanatical fire-burners don't usually do that..."
"I have soot in my mouth and all through my hair. It is going to take me forever to wash this out."
"Come here little one ... my goddess may not have the answer for everything, but this, she does. I don't like being dirty either."
Cevendyll casts Prestidigitation and begins to clean the strange little creature, and himself, and his comrades (in the order of their comments)
"Does it seem reasonable, to anyone, like at all, that Warbal was here to ask for the town's help on behalf of the known goblins in the area ... but 1 random goblin had something to do with this fire? 1 random goblin able to summon not 1 but 2 creatures of elemental fire?"
Cev moves to Yasamina to offer help cleaning
"Maybe we should ask Warbal if she knows of such a goblin ... and then begin a broader search for smaller members of the community and enemies of the community, who would misuse magic this way."
"Welp. I might need to wash this stuff. Is everyone okay?"
Oren comes out of the Town Hall, coughing after breathing in the smoke. "I've done better."
"I am unfamiliar with who Sin is, I haven't been in town long enough to know everyone. Could you bring them here for comparison?"
Looking a bit confused at the android, "No, buddy, there's no one named 'sin', it's just a figure of speech."
He then listens in on the others. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's ask Warbal." Joran then locates the goblin. "Hey, Warbal, you wouldn't happen to maybe know who this goblin is, do you? Any ideas?"
"Caiten, again it is a figure of speech. He isn't talking about a person."
"Oh. Well the concept of sin doesn't have a consistent visual representation, so I had to come up with an alternative meaning."
"But that does give me an idea. Yasami, would you or one of your associates at Shelyn's temple be able to create a drawing of the goblin in question based on a description that this guard provides?"
Yasamina thanks Cevendyll for the cleanup. "Much better. Thanks. Got anything for the good old lungs, by chance?" she coughs a bit, but forces a smile.
"Yes, asking Warbal about other goblin tribes in the area is a good idea, but probably in private. Who knows what people of Breachill will do if they know the locations of goblin tribes in the area after this..."
As she says that, she overhears Joran shouting Warbal. "Ah - so much for subtlety.", she shrugs.
"As for the drawing... Yes, I am sure someone could do that. Depending on the quality and details of the verbal description, I suppose."
"Got anything for the good old lungs, by chance?" she coughs a bit, but forces a smile.
"Indeed. There are likely many people who are injured from the smoke, flames, and fire creatures. Cevendyll or I would be able to use magic to heal them, but that may be a bit costly."
"Lisi, do you have any herbal remedies that would help heal the injured?"
"And Greta, could you start organizing the people and get the injured together. In either case, having them in one place will be more efficient."
"Got anything for the good old lungs, by chance?" she coughs a bit, but forces a smile."Indeed. There are likely many people who are injured from the smoke, flames, and fire creatures. Cevendyll or I would be able to use magic to heal them, but that may be a bit costly."
"Lisi, do you have any herbal remedies that would help heal the injured?"
"And Greta, could you start organizing the people and get the injured together. In either case, having them in one place will be more efficient."
"This had been my thought as well; I am trained in Medicine and would like to make sure that everyone who needs it receives treatment. We should setup an area for triage if needed. Perhaps towards the end of the day the rest of us could gather? I would be pleased to expend the blessings of healing again for the group."
Warbal fidgets nervously, approaching the gathering that includes the lot of you, the guard, and Greta. She places a hand on the dagger Cevendyll gave her and takes a deep breath, steadying herself. "Warbal is not knowing any goblins with ugly big heads. Warbal is only knowing about goblins in many troubles! That is what Warbal was needing Heroes for. The Bumblebrashers are needing many helps!”
Greta frowned at Warbal. "Yes, your petition. I'm afraid that will need to wait a moment, as we see to folks here. She nodded at Caiten’s suggestion, and was about to go and do just that when the second guard, Conrick, jogged up looking disappointed.
”The little blighter escaped. But wouldn’t take a genius to know where he’s going, though. Made a beeline out of town for Hellknight Hill, 'fore he hit the treeline.”
Warbal danced from foot to foot in nervousness. ”Bumblebrashers would not be doing this!”
"If we have a few minutes of time to spare, I would like to go and retrieve my bow. I am feeling somewhat nervous about being unarmed considering recent events. Cevendyll, may I borrow one of your blades during the process?"
"Oooh, can I change my clothes and wash my hair while we are there?"