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Faster than the eye can see, Vanetta's rapier practically leaps into her hand at the first sign of trouble. Maybe not the best option for this fight, but the warm leather grip feels natural and reminds her of the man who gave it to her, her Dad.
"Pretty sure my Dad killed a good few of these bat-cats," she taunts the one flying overhead.
Then she turns her attention to her teammates before setting her shield into position.
"Looks like you're the only one that'll be able to reach 'em, 'big guy'" she says to Khaul with a little playful encouragement.
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Hunkered down behind his shield, the surprisingly large dwarf snarls at the manticore.
Seeing there is no way he can harm them from the ground, he snarls and calls out "Trudd! Defend your servant." And defend he does.
Khauls warhammer glows with holy light as magical runes dart from it up into the foul creature who had dared dart the dwarf. For a moment the runes almost seem to miss the creature before they strike one of its wings.
* stride
* cast
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"That's not ideal," Liam mutters to nobody in particular.
Well, first step is always to get his enhancements and gadgets working in tandem... No, not quite there.
He has his bow for backup, but if they would get just a little closer... he eyes the creatures, ready to snap his mace forward if they try to approach.
"At least they're attacking us first!"
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Red makes a clumsy landing near the group - 15ft from Liam before firing a volley of spikes targetting both Vanetta and Avon.
For it's final action, it fires a third spike at Khaul
Avonathalasa, Vanetta and Miladistra are up before Green
As for the linnorms ...
Brulivex shrieks in panic and hides.
Crookscale sighs heavily, slinks away to a cozy looking rock, and watches from there, complaining that his meal was interrupted (which is all your fault, of course)
Manglefang returns to laughing at your expense, treating the battle like a grand form of slapstick comedy
Oridius spends the battle shouting horrible advice at you.
Scourtail settles in to watch with interest, in case something really entertaining happens.
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The manticore's spike catches Vanetta in her left arm, but she shakes it off. "Well, thanks for dropping down to visit. Not too bright, are you, giving up the one tactical advantage you have?" Vanetta asks the spikey bat-cat wearing the bright Red collar.
Then in a flash, she dances across the green grasses keeping out of the cat's reach to set up a flank with Khaul.
The tip of Dad's old rapier pierces Red's shoulder just behind the thich, dark mane. "See, that's what you get for landing. Of course, you could just fly away and leave us be."
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Seeing that red manticore has landed and knowing that her area affect spells will only impede her comrades, she turns around and sees green flying around. She grabs some bat guano from a spell component pouch and begins to chant once again Ast tsntinoth ignis prese dor as the flying creature is engulfed in a fireball.
fire DC 25 Reflex
and as her last action will turns around to look at red and stamp her staff on the ground as an eldritch bolt emerges from the crystal in the shape of a charging unicorn and strikes red
magic missile
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Oridius is quite annoying. Left side? Her left or his left? Right as in "right side" or right as in "correct"? Topwise?
Ugh, whatever. She unleashes a >Lightning Bolt< on the flying Green Manticore.
"Deroff, go get 'em!" She points at the grounded Manticore, who is all too eager to fight anyone who threatens the Missus.
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Khaul raises his shield and gestures to the red wyvern.
"Over here yer overgrown bat. "
He then swings his hammer at the beast, glad to see his teammates providing a distraction.
* raise shield
* strike
* strike
Reaction: Will use either shield block (-10 damage to me) or glimpse of redemption (-6 damage to ally and wyvern is enfeelbled-2) the first time either he or a nearby ally is hurt.
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They landed? That was good, right? Liam knows he's much more effective at close range; he has a bow, but, well.
But why would they choose that? The only reason is that they are also much more effective at close range.
He keeps working on trying to get his armor's systems running as he moves up to assist Rhaegel, snapping his weapon towards the injured beast.
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Rhaegal hisses as the manticore lands at bites him. With a short glance at the linnorms, he says, "Now watch carefully! See what a pathetic mistake this creature has made to face-off with even a Dragon of my size!"
The small kobold stretches to his full height, screaming. "I AM A DRAGON!" As Rhaegal stretches, he begins to lengthen farther than his small frame might allow. He quickly drops to all fours as he continues to grow and his snout shows vicious teeth. His scales shift and enlarge to accommodate the larger mass. It looks like the little Dragon is doing it!
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As Rhaegal changes, however, you note his small wings do not grow with him, and the tail that emerges is rather thin and short, not the massive one typical of a dragon. What emerges is more like an oversized scaly wolf.
The dragon-wolf gives a frustrated growl, but then locks onto the manticore prey in front to him. He lunges at its throat, biting with nasty teeth.
Deroff howls in sync with Rhaegal before barking.
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"Go on, get out..." Vanetta begins to taunt the one fleeing before Avontha lights it up again with another massive blast and a magic missile for good measure. Instead she nods in appreciation to the elf and weaves her way through the crowded pack of allies, patting Deroff on the head as she passes.
The other one was at least smart enough to back up to a boulder to prevent getting flanked, so Vanetta just gets close enough to stab it.
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"Oh no, yer don't." Miladistra Strides to the edge of the hill. "Ah know what to do with bullies like you!"
Another >Lightning Bolt< escapes from her fingertips, streaking towards the red furred Manticore. It deals damage.
Deroff, independently moves up to the Wolf that is Rhaegal and woofs.
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Red crashes and literally burns. ((only had 6hp left))
Vanetta steps up and crit strikes Green, stabbing it in somewhere vital. Green collapses as well.
Sourtail finds all the flashy spells and the enlarged dwarf highly entertaining, especially the crash and burn at the end and lets out a WHOOO! You GO girls She is now befriended.
After the battle is over, the linnorms begin the journey back to Halgrim. Sourtail admits it was her idea to visit their father “at work” and it was her bravery that “inspired them to finally leave the cave on a grand adventure.” Oridius admits they guided their siblings on their journey from home to Halgrim and boasts that they’re a good navigator—they have a collection of maps in their lair back home.
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"Sometimes you gotta know when you're the prey, not the predator." The manticores plummet against the earth, and Miladistra hears the relative silence. Smaller animals scattered as soon as the fight began, and she sees the birds returning.
Miladistra takes a deep breath.
"Deroff, what are you barkin' about?" She moves next to Rhaegal and Deroff, who barks happily, wags his tail and barks some more.
She casts Speak to Animals and starts barking, whining and yelping with him, clearly having a conversation of some kind.
She sighs and turns to Rhaegal. "Deroff thinks you're a wolf in disguise. I'm trying to let him down gently..." She looks back to Deroff and sighs. "And he wants to try the manticore carcass." She grips Deroff by the collar. "Come on, boy..."
Eventually the Linnorms catch up, and it seems Sourtail has become more talkative. Miladistra smiles, as she's genuinely pleased to make more friends. "Now, the important part is that we're all sharing, right? Halgrim shares with you, and share with Halgrim. It's only fair."
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The dragon-dog returns to his normal form with Rhaegal shaking himself out. "Ugh, still can't get it right, and it leaves me smelling like mammal sweat!" He pats Deroff on the head. "Sorry, boy. I wasn't trying to be a wolf, and I don't really understand things even like that. I haven't even been able to figure out how to speak like that. I need to work on that one..."
He turns to the linnorms. "Well, that was fun. You will have to learn to protect your prey from scavengers like that! Jinlong went through something like this himself. Next time, we'll let you try!" He winces at the bite from the manticore and pulls out some dragon ointment to help heal the wound.
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"Hrmph," says Liam, frustrated and a little embarrassed that he never got his enhancements going properly. "I can help tend wounds as well," he says, "I've got a trick for it!"
Once that's settled, he moves over towards Oridius. "Y'know, we do a lot of traveling too. Can you tell me where you'd most like to visit?"
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"Scourtail, did you happen to tell your father that you were coming to visit? Have you presented yourselves to him and the Court since you arrived?" Vanetta asks even though she's pretty sure she knows the answer and isn't going to like it.
She slips Deroff a small bit of some manticore that she carved off just for the pooch. "Who's a good boy? Who's going to get into flanking with me next time, huh, good boy?" With a scratch between the ears (and another bite of manticore haunch), she sends her new friend back to his mama with a wistful smile.
Well aware that healing is outside her baliwick, she goes to talk to Oridius about maps. She tells them of the maps that she and her caravan masters use to plot their treks across Avistan and beyond, and asks the wyrmling about the maps they like best.
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Scourtail just looks abashed but Brulivex admits that they miss their father, causing Oridius to further explain that Boiltongue spends most of the year in Halgrim rather than with them and their mother in the Stormspear Mountains. Brulivex and Manglefang are particularly saddened by this separation.
At the moment, we just wanna spend time with Father Oridius admits.
Once everyone is ready, after a ten minute rest etc, you head back to the city.
Back in Halgrim, the linnorms scatter, scampering down roads and over buildings, flying through the sky, and incidentally terrifying passing animals and locals. Soon, the linnorms reach the banks of the Rustflow River, which cuts through the city in multiple locations. Ice crusts the riverbank’s edges, but most of the river flows freely. Numerous locals row small skiffs down the river, transporting goods to and from the harbor. Fascinated by the “tiny ships,” Scourtail and Manglefang launch themselves at the skiffs, followed by Crookscale and Oridius, each landing on a different boat. The twelve sailors aboard abandon the skiffs, diving into the frigid water in terror and attempting to swim for shore. Only Brulivex lingers on the river’s edge, assessing the situation.
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Khaul spends a couple of minutes hammering the newly acquired dent out of his shield while the rest of the group try to wrangle the baby lorms into action.
"Now!" he declares, who be hurt during that little tussel?[/b]"
-=-=-=-=-
As the linnorms go wild in town, Khaul lets out a hefty sigh.
"I thought yer wanted to see yer pa... not play with his peoples ships." he roars out.
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Brulivex begins this encounter on the river’s edge. Her siblings urge her to join them in their game, but she hesitates, sensing the sailors are in trouble and upset.
Crookscale follows his siblings onto the skiffs, then spends the remainder of his time on the little boat complaining it’s moving too much, the river is too wet, and he feels sick.
Manglefang spends the entire encounter laughing at the sailors who dive into the water or giggling as he crashes his skiff into the other boats.
Possible actions are:
* Convince Bruivex to ignore her siblings (Diplomacy)
* Convince a linnorm to abandon the skiffs (Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check, or a Performance or Society check to tempt them into a different game.
* Craft Rescue Aid: A PC can quickly construct or scavenge a makeshift knotted rope, line, or flotation device with a Crafting check.
* Grab On: A PC can throw a knotted rope, line, or flotation device that they constructed with the Craft Rescue Aid action above to a person in the water (at the GM’s discretion, the PCs’ existing equipment may be able to serve this function as well). They must attempt a ranged attack.
* Swimming: A PC can enter the water and lend aid to people in the water. They must attempt a Athletics check to Swim. A creature with a swim speed treats the result of their check as one higher for the purposes of this skill check.
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Vanetta watches in horror as the *children* harass the townsfolk. *This* is why I never had kids, she reminds herself. Well, that and I was always on the move... Though that certainly didn't stop Dad, she finishes the thought with a fond chuckle.
She looks at how each of them are acting and notices Brulivex hesitating to join in the so-called fun. Her memories of her own dad, and how she always wanted to be like him give her a strategy.
"Brulivex, what do you think your father would want you to do? He's part-ruler of this realm, and these are his citizens. Do you think he'd want them tormented? Or should rulers protect and help their people?"
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"Well, that didn't last long," Liam sighs.
He moves over to start scavenging useful materials. "Look, little ones, now I have to prioritize getting the sailors out of the water. I think you don't realize how strong you are compared to these people. You should use that strength to help, then they would like you. To start, you need to pay attention and be more careful."
Can any of them even hear him from over there? Well, the drawback of leading by example is that he's a little too busy working on that highest priority to worry about such details.
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Deroff sniffs Vanetta's offering carefully before nibbling on it and devouring the whole thing in one go. He sniffs in appreciation before returning to the Missus.
---
As they travel towards town, Miladistra knows all too well about family matters. "My Mother's grove is hard to locate on a map - it appears when she wants me ta visit. My Father..." she trails off a bit. "He just appears when he's ready for a chat. Which is almost never." There's a tinge of anger she quickly shakes off. "I'm just glad Ma and Pa took care of me, and Uncle was ready to help me when they couldn't."
She looks to the linnorms. "Yer mommy and daddy love ya, don't you forget. Even if they can't get along."
---
As they reach town. "Moldy Onions, one moment please!" Miladistra watches the sailors scatter.
"Nicki the >Nixie<! Get over here and help me with these sailors!"
Miladistra casts >Summon Fey< (2nd rank/level) to bring in a Nixie and asks them to help people get ashore.
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Khaul crafts a rescue aid.
Vanetta convinces Brulivex to ignore her siblings.
Liam also crafts a rescue aid.
Rhaegal fails to intimidate.
Miladistra summons Nicki the Nixie who dives in the water wearing sba, Unfortunately, she fails to rescue anyone. ((failure))
Another Diplomacy check can be used to get Brulivex to assist in the rescue. The created rescue aids can be used for the Grab On action as above.
Avonathalanthalasa yet to act in Round One. Everyone else can take their Round Two actions.
A worried crowd is starting to form on the river bank. You can get the crowd to help with Diplomacy or Intimidate.