Difference between revisions of "2017-10-22"
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The children have been captives for approximately 3 days and want to get out of [[Bonecrusher]] ASAP. | The children have been captives for approximately 3 days and want to get out of [[Bonecrusher]] ASAP. | ||
| − | [[Sardalis]] mentions that if they stay he's concerned that the children may be used as leverage by | + | [[Sardalis]] mentions that if they stay he's concerned that the children may be used as leverage by [[Morgthana]]. If they leave they may lose their opportunity. |
He suggests hiding the children in preparation for an ambush when she returns. | He suggests hiding the children in preparation for an ambush when she returns. | ||
Latest revision as of 13:17, 12 March 2018
Contents |
[edit] Two Down One To Go
The children have been captives for approximately 3 days and want to get out of Bonecrusher ASAP.
Sardalis mentions that if they stay he's concerned that the children may be used as leverage by Morgthana. If they leave they may lose their opportunity.
He suggests hiding the children in preparation for an ambush when she returns.
Ismark opines that they must be sure they can defeat her or they will be sentencing them to death.
Pavel arms the children (one with a spare dagger, and one with one of his hand crossbows) and they are tucked away in the highest room of the tower while our heroes prepare.
[edit] A Plan is formed
They plan to hide in waiting with Pavel impersonating the younger hags via Minor Illusion with Invisible Delg downstairs and Sardalis and Ismark upstairs.
After setting up Alarm spells, Sardalis inadvertently releases all the frogs from the chest on the ground floor. The plan is changed to have Pavel impersonate the croaking of the frogs within the chest. All is in place when Morgthana arrives with two more children on her cart.
[edit] A Plan does not survive contact with the enemy
As Morgthana enters she seems to detect something is amiss and sniffs the air suspiciously before rapping the barrel of ichor three times, summoning forth a Dretch forming from the ichor.
Morgthana then disappears, and despite his relative ignorance in the realm of the arcane Pavel feels relatively sure that she has travelled to some other plane rather than simply obfuscating herself. He uses his Awakened Mind to telepathically whisper a warning to Delg "She's travelled".
Delg charges forward and shouts "She's gone invisible or something!" and lacking a better target smashes at the Dretch, splattering ichor around the room and leaving it reeling. Sardalis casts See Invisibilty and peers down the stairs, directing Ismark to head down. Ismark does so and with two mighty blows slashes bisects the Dretch.
Pavel runs around in a panic, reaching the foot of the stairs and exclaiming "What the fuck is happening?".
Sardalis peers out the window and spots Morgthana's ethereal form hurrying across the clearing around the windmill in hot pursuit of the children who are 20 feet ahead of her. Sardalis cries out "She's outside!" and hurries downstairs, to be greeted by a blank look from Ismark. Delg asks "What do we do?!" and Sardalis responds "Do _something!_" and Delg shoots out of the tower at Maximum Dwarven Speed. Pavel runs out also heading towards the children, kicking into Rogueverdrive and streaking past him.
Sardalis and Ismark take up the pursuit with Sardalis firing salvos of magic missiles at the ethereal enemy, but he takes two salvoes in return and the second knocks him unconscious.
In the meantime Pavel managed to get within 10 feet of the children and called out to them to stay with him so he could protect them as he came to a stop around 50 feet from the forest edge, whirling around in a futile effort to detect the hag.
Delg rushes to Sardalis and manages to stabilise him, then starts dragging the Tiefling back towards the windmill.
The children have continued to run into the forest and Pavel makes a last-ditch effort scumbag move and reaches out with his Awakened Mind and urges them to return "Children it's me your father from the spirit realm, I have sent these men to help you!"
The children return tearfully and everyone regroups at the windmill. Ismark is found to have been shot by the children in the attic in their panic.
[edit] Shadows on the road to Vallaki
They load Sardalis into the hag's cart and start making their way back to Vallaki.
They notice 5 Vistani shadowing them for a time and then suddenly the Vistani are attacked by wolves.
Delg charges towards the fray, followed by Pavel who channels a new-found ability to send a beam of crackling energy streaking to slam into the closest wolf and Sardalis finishes it with a magic missile, with two others spearing into two of its packmates.
Two Vistani turn to aim their hand crossbows at Delg, one of which hits a moment before another charges up to the dwarf and slashes him with a sword. Delg responds with a traditional dwarven 2-hit percussive greeting with his warhammer.
Pavel moves to a defensive position and casts Armor of Agathys on himself a moment before Sardalis charges in to knock out the wounded Vistani with his quarterstaff.
The fight narrows down to two Vistani and two wolves as Pavel and Delg close in for melee combat. One of the Vistani closes on Delg and spits a curse at him before the dwarf takes him down. Pavel cuts down the remaining Vistani and roars at the remaining wolves. Sardalis backs this up by slaughtering the weaker of the two remaining wolves and this seems to convince the remaining wolf to back away dragging one of the corpses and growling.
Ismark fires a crossbow bolt into the unconscious Vistani, starting him bleeding out as the others form up between him and the wounded man. He stops short face to face with Pavel and tensely tells Pavel "Take my crossbow" who does so, gently. Ismark then takes out his anger on a nearby tree while they stabilise him again.
Pavel & Ismark move back to the cart with the children while Sardalis & Delg go through the pockets of the Vistani. Pavel & Ismark have a quiet, uncomfortable conversation where Ismark apologizes for his actions and Pavel acknowledges that he can understand the impulse to kill those who have caused so much pain in Barovia.
Sardalis & Delg find two shortswords and two hand crossbows, plus a note that Sardalis reads that seems to be a list of orders:
- Keep your distance.
- Track but do not engage.
- Find out as much as you can about the Tiefling.
- If compromised, flee.
- If forced to engage, test the capabilities of the Dwarf.
- Leave the miserable one alone, He is worthless.
They discuss this note and return to the cart, where further discussion is had and Ismark advises almost certainly it is Strahd who is at the root of this. There is talk of leaving the still-unconscious man to his own defenses driven by Delg, but it is Ismark who speaks up in strongest opposition to this. He explains that though he does not expect the man to be prosecuted effectively, it is the only ethical path before them. They bind him up and put him in the cart, then hustle towards Vallaki, racing the fading daylight.
