Move: M13
Minor: Healing Word , target Qadim Sul, 1d6+3 = 9
Standard: Sacred Flame , target S1 , Wisdom vs. Reflex , 1d20+3 = 17, Damage 1d6+3 = 8, Qadim Sul receives +3 heal as well
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Sorry, I wasn't explicit. I only posted initiative sequence for Lafiel and Qadim-sul as their turns were going to heavily impact the next few. I should have asked everyone else to hold off. Here's the order, I'm not going to try to narrate it because of the confusion.
First, Lafiel attacks s2 with her shuriken, maneuvering it away from Qadim-sul and doing 16 (halved for 8) to s2. s2 is in very bad shape.
Second, Qadim-sul takes aura attack from s1. That missed, so Qadim-sul is still conscious at 6hp and prone.
Then Qadim-sul gets his turn. It is now for Qadim-sul to post.
After that, the sequence is Drivish, Barshevy, Rin. Drivish is delaying until after Barshevy. So:
Qadim-sul
Barshevy
Drivish
Rin
Swarms
Lafiel
I encourage people to give Qadim-sul time to post. As it currently stands Barshevy plans to heal Qadim-sul; Drivish plans to whale on s1;; and Rin hasn't yet posted. And yes, keep your rolls.
Qadim-sul rolls away from the swarm and painfully gets to his feet. Hoping he's now out of range of Rin's magics, he reaches deep inside himself, preparing to re-enter the fray.
Concentrating hard, Rin unleashes a bolt of flame on swarm 1.
Deciding the time has come for decisive action, he takes a deep breath and tries again, before ducking behind a tree feeling cowardly.
Coming out from behind his tree, Rin carefully doesn't look at Raivek's remains.
"We should bury him. I'll dig."
He desperately tries to mask the fact that this is the first truly violent death he's seen. Something tells him it won't be the last.
Lafiel approaches Raivek's corpse, looks through his backpack, and puts his bedroll on his corpse. A couple of tears drop from her eyes as she agrees quietly with Rin : "Thats the least we could do for him. And salvage whatever's left of his equipment. He won't have any use for it". Altough she has seen quite a few corpses and violent deaths before, the corpses were always... whole. The horror of seeing Raivek being eaten by the drakes before her eyes disheartens her, and even more so because she herself was quite close to the same fate. She starts thinking whether taking this job was the right thing for her to do.
Still thinking, Lafiel gathers some close rocks, then starts digging.
The cleric begins singing a mournful requiem for the fallen ranger. But he soon falters and stops. Taking a moment to compose himself he tries to continue singing. Instead he turns away and vomits.
"The horror," he cries stumbling across the gore-littered ground. "Oh the horror!"
Qadim-sul is out of immediate danger (as much as any of you), and indeed feeling better than his norm
Qadim-sul wearily cleans and sheathes his sword, then joins the others in preparing Raivek's body for burial. "He was a warrior, and he died as one. It was a fitting death. But think on this: Raivek was cocky, perhaps even arrogant. I know, for we were similar in many ways. And perhaps his arrogance was his downfall. Remember his sacrifice, but remember also the danger that we all face. Any one of us could be the next to lie in the ground, and we should each take more care than ever to prevent this from happening again."
After placing the last stone over Raivek's body, Qadim-sul pours a small libation of wine on the stones over Raivek's head. "May you revel in strength and victory on Kord's eternal battlefields, and I will listen for your voice in the storm's thunder."
Burying a comrade focuses Rin's mind considerably and he looks unusually serious. Seeing Lafiel's distress, he puts a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"I just bounced into this without thinking. Well, I'm thinking now. My powers aren't like your swords and shurikens, I can't tell them not to hit my friends. Qadim-sul's right. We should talk about what we do next time we meet an enemy."
Still in his chainmail armor, Barshevy looks dejectedly into the campfire. His nose and eyes are red, as if he has been weeping.
Drivish respectfully listens to everyone's words concerning their companion's passing, even nodding at Qadim-sul's speech, but adds none of his own. As the others start building a cairn, Drivish searches about the immediate area for a suitable campsite and does his best to remove the corpses from the area lest they draw more predators.
Nudging Qadim-sul gently, Rin makes a hushing gesture and mouths "Someone out there. Do you hear them?"
Qadim-sul comes awake, shaking the sleep from his head. He quietly withdraws his khopesh from its sheath, and strains to hear the sound Rin mentioned. Perception (1d20=13)
"Cover your light," he hisses to Rin.
A dwarven man, with a long golden braided beard, very well groomed, approaches. Dressed in scale armour, a warhammer hangs at his side, and a heavy shield hangs on his back with a backpack underneath. He lights a sunrod as he gets closer.
Quietly he says, "Sleepin' in the woods? Not a very good idea. Dangerous 'round here. Best keep an eye out, lest ye want to be food for some beastie."
He stops in front of the group, "Might I rest for a bit? I've been walking for a while now, and me feet are hurtin' somethin' fierce."
After finishing Raivek's cairn, Lafiel seems distant. She doesn't talk unless talked too, and even then she responds quietly and shortly. When everyone goes to sleep, Lafiel lies awake, trying to fall asleep but to no avail. Many thoughts run through her mind. She thinks about the little she knew about Raivek, about the tougher adventure ahead with one less party member, about the higher reward waiting for her now and so on. However, the one thought that looms over all others is the quickness death can come to one.
The dwarf's arrival at the camp is a good excuse for her to stop thinking for a while, sit up in her bedroll and look at the dwarf and the other party members. For change, she doesn't say anything this time, but lets the other party members deal with the dwarf.
"You'll excuse us if we don't welcome you with open arms," Qadim-sul says, holding his khopesh warily in front of him, "but we've had a hard night. Who are you and what is your business here? And I'd advise you to speak quickly and honestly."
Holding the censer defensively in front of him, Rin backs up in case he needs to blast the newcomer.
"What are you doing in the woods?"
He holds his hands in front of him, as if to gesture for them to stop.
"Now now, come lads. Don't ya think I'd be wielding my weapon and shield if I wanted to harm you?"
He takes a deep breath.
"I come from the homestead. Three Zain-kin attacked before one went off on some sort of mission. I got lost in the woods after runnin' from the devastation. Not generally a coward, but after seein' what those ape-men could do.." he trails off as he lowers his hands to his side.
He says quietly, lowering his head in shame, "Moradin, forgive me."
"Ape men?" Rin lowers the censer cautiously.
"Forgive this less than rapturous welcome. We have lost a comrade tonight. But the ape men are beings we have met. If you have suffered at their hands, then you're welcome. We're hunting them. Them and whatever is behind them."
The cleric eyes the newcomer suspiciously.
To DM:
"Ya.. those 'ape-men' call themselves Zain-kin. I happened to overhear them talking. Couldn't understand them mostly, but I caught enough to know that."
"I am sorry for your loss." He bows his head for a moment.
Lafiel watches most of the conversation silently. The dwarf's story seems suspicious, but she doesn't say anything yet.
"Snore"
Barshevy smiles and pats the dwarf's broad back.
"And we are sorry for your loss."
He then bear-hugs the dwarf and bawls as a lost child would.
"You are welcome to share our campfire for the night," Qadim-sul says. "I'm sure no one here would refuse you that. After that, it's up to you. In the morning, you may go your own way, and we'll go ours. But if you seek revenge, we may have an opening..."
The genasi extends his hand to the dwarf. "I am Qadim-sul. Welcome."
"Rin. If you're any good in a fight, I for one would rather have you with us than against us."
The half-elf grins cheerfully as Qadim-sul welcomes the dwarf.
"Have a spot of ale. Keeps out the chill and scares away the horrors. I'll join you. Anyone else?"
Lafiel gets up, walks to Rin, takes a cup of ale and thanks him. Sitting next to the campfire, she gazes into the fire, ignoring the dwarf.
"Snore"
When Drivish is woken up for his watch, he will question the dwarf as to every terrible detail of ape-men in an attempt to learn anything useful about them.
Fargrim takes Quadim-Sul's hand, "Ya can call me Fargrim. Thank ye for the hospitality."
He approaches Rin, "Aye, if ye don't mind," nodding agreeably to the offer of ale.
After finishing the ale, he lays down for a bit. Until Drivish wakes, he's going to be pretty restless. When he sees the Dragonborn ready for his watch, Fargrim looks over to him from his bed, "Name's Fargrim. Yer comrades were generous enough to let me camp here with ya. I come from the homestead. Damnable Zain-kin slaughtered everything in sight. Me backbone left me when I saw, bit of a coward at the time. May Moradin forgive me." He says the last bit quieter, still loud enough for the Dragonborn to hear.
"I am called Drivish." Drivish listens with patience to the details. "Well, it is not for me to judge, but someitmes intelligence is mistaken for cowardice. It did not appear that the homestead was prepared for a battle. From your tale and from what we see saw, it didd not seem that 1 dwarf, no matter how doughty, was about to change what happened. It took 6 of us warriors to take down one. The fact that you escaped their wrath may just be the will of Moradin."
"I am Father Barshevy. We may have come across your ruined village yesterday. We found no survivors. All we could do was pray for the lost."
"Aye, as ye should. Senseless killin'. None of them deserved to die like that. None at all." Fargrim says with a tear as his fatigue overtakes him.