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Niss clutches the ring but stops focusing on it, wincing with the spike of pain the strong negative feelings carried along. "Nothing new. She hated this town."

She took a deep breath, and smiled as she let it out. Fin would sort out the poison lingering in the rock, and he was right about the orcs in need of help, but they'd won.. It was over. Vilree was defeated, and the town was safe.

Niss looked at the ring again. Vilree had experienced a terribly unfair life, and it had corrupted her into a monster. Niss's life hadn't been one of happiness either... But the Princess Guard, her family, had helped her become strong, and confident. She wouldn't let her past rule her, as Vilree had. She tucked the ring away into her belt pouch, a keepsake and reminder of everything that had happened since the caravan stopped in Etran's Folly. She'd keep her distance from the stone, until it was safe, and ensure the ring did, too. She walked over to Drake and slipped her arms around him. "We did it, husband. And you even managed to not nearly die, this time. I think we're getting better at this."

Niss takes the ring and focuses, preparing herself for whatever awful emotions Vilree may have imbued it with.

The little monster moved unerringly forward, closer to the stone, its deadly cargo in tow. If it managed to reach its goal, the whole town would die. The Princess Guard would die. Drake would die.

Niss wouldn't allow it.

She threw Drake's extra hatchet into the air and grabbed it with her mind, then flung the thing towards the little creature, aiming for its skull. She hoped against hope the dangerous substance it carried would not cause problems if it fell to the ground upon the creature's death.

tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8

Niss ◆moves forward as well, then tears the corner off a dilapidated brick building and launches it at the creature.

◆◆TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2) + 4 = 9

Niss smiles, watching Drake at work. Where she saw nothing but dirt, grass, and bushes, he seemed able to work out the history of the place, as if seeing the past overlaid upon the present. Tiny impressions, broken twigs, scuffs on trees, all telling him a story. She loved watching him at work. Spending the time settling my emotions by admiring him, removing the fatigue from Catharsis.

He led them methodically back to town -- it was a gamble, they all knew. Riding ahead of the creature would guarantee they beat it to town -- but they'd have to meet it at the stone itself, the perimeter of town too large to cover entirely. If Drake could track it though, before it got to town, the confrontation would be much less dangerous.

The closer they got to town the colder the pit in her stomach became. Would they be too late? She kept glancing at Baradim. Tamli was back there, and she didn't need to use her powers to know that was at the forefront of his mind.

Finally, Drake pointed the creature out. Niss rushes with the others to intercept it. Not sure if we're gonna use a map or what so I'll hold off on actions other than running towards it until we hit initiative or something.

Niss follows the others, lingering a moment and holding out a hand to Drake. "Ready to finish this, love?". She glanced past him to where Baradim had laid Vilree's body. "I was so worried coming here... And in the end? I almost feel bad for her. All her planning and defenses didn't amount to much.". Don't mind me, just poking fun at Fey's terrible luck with rolls <3

Niss breathes a sigh of relief -- it may not be entirely over, as it seemed they had a minion to stop and a town still to save.... But Vilree would not hurt anyone else.

Speaking of hurt, Baradim looked it. Niss made her way to the orc's side, slowly, waiting for her headache to fade before trying to heal him with the wand. waiting two rounds for stupified to wear off. Still fatigued.

wand soothe to Baradim: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Yeah.... I just was indecisive regarding whether Niss would heal Drake given her power is about to suck for a couple rounds and figured that was a good deciding factor, even if it wasn't mechanically relevant. =D

Niss, still in her heightened form, oozing power from every pore, sees Vilree go down. Knowing it's harder to hit a person at range while they are down (which might just be a 1E thing but whatever) she instead unleashing the burst of power towards Drake, soothing his wounds, just in case things go poorly.

soothe, lvl 1 slot: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Also restore the mind, flat 10 hp on top of the soothe healed up.
So 18 total to Drake.

With that, she burns herself out a bit, and the headache descends upon her. She grits her teeth as she fights it off. Stupified 1 for 2 rounds, fatigued until I spend 10 min settling my emotions.

It was time to end this. She'd conserved her strength, and this was the time to use it. They need to end Vilree's threat and catch whatever she'd sent to town.

Been a while:◇ Unleash Psyche, damage bonus 2x spell level. Catharsis reaction to Drake being hurt, damage bonus 1x spell level.

Amped, jacked up Tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
out of hero points so sadness. Probably misses. Rolling damage anyway.
damage that might have been: 4d6 + 4 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 6) + 4 + 4 + 2 = 21

Niss moves closer and launches her hatchet at Vilree at incredible speed, but the woman dives aside before it strikes.

Yay for my 2nd level spell doing something useful! *Glares at her spiritual weapon, while patting resist energy on the head*

Also no one look at the time stamp of this post. I should not be awake.

Niss saw the thing focus on her and got very worried for a moment before Baradim charged in and distracted it, most effectively. When it missed him with the meaty fists it swung, she thought it best to try and finish the creature before it could try again. The sooner they got past it to Vilree, the better. She over channeled her power into a burst, launching her borrowed hatchet into its skull.

amplified Tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
amplified Tkp, hero point: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 3, 1, 6) + 4 = 20

"I'm really not that concerned, he says," Niss quipped, as the fleshy monstrosity arose. "Well dearest, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that."

She looked past the monster. "C'mon, Vilree. We've fought everything your little funhouse had to offer and we've barely broken a sweat. Call this thing off or we'll have to hurt you." Her words fall on deaf ears.

diplomacy, make an impression: 1d20 + 12 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 12 - 5 = 12 Glad Hand feat, I don't need to talk for a minute, I amke an immediate impression. Too bad it was a s!%&ty one, lol.

She sighed. "Okay. Hard way it is." She launched a broken stalagmite at the monster, since Vilree was too far away to reach without moving dangerously close to the thing.

TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17 Hero pointing that.
TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 Hope that hits!
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 4) + 4 = 14

Niss peers into the next room and sees their quarry.

"Make it quick. We found Vilree, and she looks pretty mad.". She moves to Drake's side. "Her labs are full of acid, so I'm betting she favors it. Let's hope I'm right." Laying a hand on her husband's chest, she channels her power around him and places a shield there, the air around him shimmering faintly. "I can only attune it to a single element, but this will keep you safe from avoid for a few minutes. Be careful, love." She gave him a quick kiss for luck.

Resist energy, acid, grants resistance 5, lasts 10 min. I've used both my level 2 spells now but am still rocking everything else.

yeah, and since they are both 3 for my spell, they cancel out

Niss sees the cave ahead fill with bats, including one huge one. She briefly considers amplifying her power to prevent Fin from being overwhelmed, but she holds back. Who knew what Vilree still had in store for them? She wanted to go into the fight with that woman as prepared as possible.

So she attacked both the targets, stirring up a cloud of sharp, slicing rocks to try and mow them down, but didn't push herself.

Telekinetic rend. Basic fort save, DC 20.

slashing area damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Meta knowledge because forever dm, I know swarms are weak to area damage and resistant to physical, so physical area damage would cancel out the modifiers, wouldn't it? *Eyes Fin*

stealth FTE: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Niss follows behind the others, squinting into the darkness ahead. "Bat? Where?"

Niss frowned at the ominous ore in the walls and heard Fin's words. Not only did she want to keep the folks in the town safe -- failing them now, after all the effort they'd made, would be awful -- but the caravan was still in town. The Princess Guard was her family, but the caravan were her friends. They had to hurry.

She stayed in the back, as usual, but kept close to the others as they entered the rough-hewn, natural looking tunnel.

Niss smiles at Drake, and agrees with Fin. "I've kept most of strength in reserve. I'm ready to go." Her conjured sword faded and she made a little face at how poorly it had fared, but all that mattered was they'd won. She hung back from where Fin was checking the door, not especially stealthy -- though the sounds of the fighting likely alerted anything in the next room already.

Niss sees the drudge clinging to life and shifts her magical sword over to it. She growls in frustration as she misses, then launches debris at the thing but it dodges that, too. "Ugh, just die already, stupid little thing!"

tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
sustain: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

I'd hero point just to end the fight and not have to wait on our busy busy driver, but I wanna save them for scarier circumstances >.>

Niss saw the little creatures going after Drake, and she launched a glass beaker at the one nearest him, broken shards of glass cutting deep into the thing.

Her attention split, she tried sustaining the magical sword, and swept another strike at the monstrous amalgam, but frustratingly missed it again as its limbs flailed about unpredictably.

◆◆tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 3) + 4 = 12

◆sustain spiritual weapon: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

gonna hero point the tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Seeing the huge monstrosity, her eyes widened. She moved to put a table between herself and the smaller creatures coming from the south, then closed her eyes and envisioned a weapon.

She wasn't all that knowledgeable regarding weaponry. So she didn't focus on anything in particular -- instead she let her power shape it and give it form. Despite her worry at it's arrival, it wasn't great that powered her now. It had been, once. But her friends...her husband, and her brothers... She loved them all. And it was that love, and a fierce need to protect them, that she embraced now

A ghostly sword appeared beside the amalgamation. It swung at the beast, but she was clumsy with this new form of offense, and the blade missed.

strike: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

She kept a wary eye on the smaller creatures as she began to ready debris from the room to fling at them...

Stride, Spiritual Weapon.

Niss sees the smoke coming off the rat but the tables and things are in her way. Trusting the others to intercept their newest friend before it gets to her (and hoping the creepy body in the glass tube doesn't choose now to wake up), she hurries into the room and lifts an empty vial with her mind, breaking the end of it so the jagged glass presents a threat and hurling it at the rodent.

TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 4) + 4 = 13

Niss hangs behind the others, but when they enter the room and she peers in to see the glass cylinder she grimaces. "Why do I feel like that thing is going to come to life and break out of the tank?" she voices, with concern. She uses detect magic repeatedly as the group descends to see what it might reveal to her as they approach the room.

"Forward. It's the only way to finish this," Niss agreed. " 'Stone Body Mutagen,'", she reads. "Sounds like something Baradim or Drake should quaff before the next fight? Unless we're keen on not trusting anything she makes, which I get. But if she's shipping this to Egorian and not Etran's Folly, chances are it's not poisoned or anything."

tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 = 9

Niss finished the wretched thing off before rushing into the room to check on everyone, Drake especially, avoiding the acidic pools. "Everyone alright?"

Seeing Drake wasn't too badly hurt, she held off on the healing for a moment. Sometimes the best defense was a strong offense. Niss took aim at the nearest living homunculus and sent her borrowed hatchet flying towards it.

◆◆TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
damage, crit =): 4d6 + 8 ⇒ (1, 2, 2, 3) + 8 = 16 (super low rolls, lol, but I won't complain.)

The weapon sliced into one of the little creatures, and Niss ◆moved up a bit to get a better view of the room. Will move later when I can get on Roll20, but gonna stand just outside the room in the doorway.

"Better run into the room full of acid," she murmured to herself, as Drake became surrounded. She had magic that could protect him from such elemental damage, but he ran off before she could touch him with it.

"I'll just carve a path to him, then."

◆◆TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4) + 4 = 12

She ◆draws her wand of soothe, ready to heal him if he gets hurt any more.

"Well. Seems disarmed now." Niss walks over and closes the lid gently, making sure it's securely shut. "I can probably manage to carry it, unless one of you want to -- I can still fight with something in my hands, yours should be on weapons." She glanced at Baradim. "I'll follow your lead, in terms of trying to use it against Vilree."

"Look, if it's not even her ashes and we take it and threaten her mom with it, she's just going to laugh at us. I'll open it from across the room, and we'll see what we're even arguing about. You said it shoots acid? I'll stand back around the doorframe."

Shooing the boys out of the room quickly, Niss will use mage hand to lift the lid, using the doorway as cover and only barely peeking into the room, just enough for line of sight, ready to hop back.

reflex if I need it: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"Afraid not," she answered. "I could try lifting the lid from afar, though? But do we need to open it, if they are ashes? Or did it feel like something else is in there?"

Niss considered Baradim's words. "He's not wrong. She likely put those elementals there to protect it. Would it not be better to hold her mother hostage, and hope she surrenders without a fight, rather than having to kill her? I would think her mother wouldn't mind being used in such a way. At worst, Vilree might fly into a rage, and angry people make mistakes that might allow us to take her alive."

Niss was not overly disturbed by the thought of using the ashes. She was not especially devout, nor did she have memories of her real mother to understand that bond herself. And goodness knew, life was cheap in her former Mistress's eyes.

Tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Niss launched the broken bit of statue again, but missed her aim as the shark moved.

"Well not the girl, apparently. As for the boys, as long as somebody kills it -- can you even kill water?"

Niss tried to finish off the injured one. Her aim was slightly less skilled than before as she had turned to shoot a confused look at Drake and Fin, wondering what in the world they were on about with red and blue fish.

Tkp: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 3) + 4 = 12

She notes they're making a racket, and gives a quick listen at the door behind her in case anyone or anything is approaching, but all she hears is the watery sound of the sharks and the grunts of combat.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

PS Niss snagged the two lesser elixirs of life and will hang on to them as extra healing for folks when she's out of magic, unless someone else wants one on their person.

nature/arcana(same modifier): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Niss ◆followed Fin into the room and jumped in surprise when the water erupted towards him. She tried to think of what she knew about such creatures but came up dry. Ba dum tss.

She broke off one of the statue's hand's just flavor ◆◆launching the blunt object at one of the sharks experimentally, to see if that would even harm it.

TKP: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30 (Oh god I hope they aren't immune/resistant to bludgeoning lol)
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 2) + 4 = 10

Agreed, she'd be within 5 ft of Drake, probably in the rear though.

"Wonderful. Let's go find her and stop her then." They were so close to finishing this mess. Niss was eager to find Vilree and deal with this once and for all. "Does that key work in the chest as well?"

Niss reluctantly falls back, hoping the key will work. "Fin, how worried should I be?" She begins focusing her power in case Drake needs healing.

stealth FTE: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 Ruh roh raggy.

Niss tried to follow along quietly, but her foot found the creakiest floorboard in the place, and she winced as she stepped on it, mouthing 'sorry!'

Niss took the books, tucking them away for now. "I can read them later. We need to clear this place before someone wanders out and sees the guards are gone. Upstairs? Or scope out this floor first?"

"I don't want to split up, we don't know what else is in here."

She approaches and glared at the creature, speaking into it's mind whether it understood her or not. "Shut. Up. Hold still and be quiet."

intimidation: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

My thievery is +0 so Niss should not tie it up, lol.

No worries, friend! Get some rest!

Niss winced at the sounds the thing was making and looked for a suitable soup pot with a lid.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Arcana: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 See previous post, lol.

Niss yelps as the soup crashes and cringes back from the creature in Fin's paw. "Yeaagh! What is it?!"

Niss looks to Fin with confusion. All this noise, and no one had come to investigate? Spoiled and burnt food? With so many slave guards out front, Niss would have expected Vilree to have a housekeeper.

She was not a fan of the squealing, and was not about to be the first one to walk into the room and find out what it was. Perhaps it was a rat trapped in a pot, but the way these people altered animals, she didn't want to come face to face with some mutant creature.

She made a little 'after you' gesture to the others, followed by lingering eye contact with Drake, urging him, wordlessly, to be careful.

stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Niss crept towards the kitchen door, peeking in to see if she could see or hear anyone moving around inside. If she heard someone she'd signal the others and back away. If not, she'll peruse the bookshelves looking for anything of interest, especially if her magical detection alerted her to anything as they entered the room.

Niss told the orcs not to stop walking until they were a mile away, to guarantee no problems. She'll use Detect Magic as her exploration activity.

"Which way should we go in?" she stood close beside Drake, pleased things had gone better than expected thus far.

Yeah I think we're ready to proceed as soon as we have a grasp on what's ahead of us =)