Onu turns, blade out, looking for new threats.  He spares a glance at KD - a quirked eyebrow to make sure they're ok and then a flick of the eye to get them to set a defensive position around the exhausted casters.  

The monk keeps his blade out, his sense alive and alert as he expands outward, looking for anything that might threaten the party.  Only once he's satisfied himself that they've beaten back their assailants, does he holster his blade and straighten the lapels on his suit.  Presentable once more, he returns to the group, a wide smile on his face and a spring in his step 'Well, that certainly was exciting!'

Hamish embraces Hansel in a tight hug as he is put down.  As he pulls away, he face is wet.  He addresses the group through sobs, "I know some of us are hurt.  I can ask Kelemvor to heal five others besides me if you give me a few minutes."  Hamish is trying to stifle himself and try to appear that he is not crying.  It's not working.  He casts Prayer of Healing on himself and 5 additional people for 13

KD finds her footing, and meets Onu's eyes. She raises a hand and then drops it, palm down, to let him know he can stand down, that she's okay. She's actually completely unhurt. "Hamish, please focus on others, I was defended well and got lucky. That was quite nasty, but it could have been nastier. Does anyone else need healing?" She steps closer to Hamish. "Ham, are you okay?"

She also checks on Fae. "How are you holding up, dear one? This must have been a lot for you. We're here, however you need us."

Hal begins to walk a perimeter, looking for any sign of new threats, and ensuring that the fallen enemies stay down.

Auric:

Still sitting, Auric graciously accepts the healing as he performs his ritual for the detection of magic.  He then scours the bodies and the well for any interesting auras.

Perception:  16

Onu paces himself opposite Hal, working methodically around the perimeter, occasionally toeing a body or driving the point of his blade into a corpse to be doubly sure nothing comes back to surprise them.

Hamish wipes his face and looks at KD.  "I'm ok now.  It just really hurt and I was so scared when I was being pulled into the fire."

In the aftermath battle, the once serene courtyard of the manse had been transformed into a scene of chaos and destruction. In the centre of the courtyard the fires continue to burn and crackle. From the marred well, plumes of thick, acrid smoke are sent billowing into the air. Bodies of slain orc warriors and burning vines litter the yard.

A tree, often a symbol of life and beauty, now engulfed in flames that danced and flickered with an eerie intensity, revealing it's true tainted nature. This malevolent tree's branches and root systems now charred and gnarled, bear witness to the violent turmoil that had swept through the area. The intense heat radiates from the inferno warping the air around it, distorting the view of the surrounding structures and courtyard.

The mansion itself, with its ornate architecture and grandeur, bore the scars of the battle. Broken windows, crumbling walls, and scorched facades reflect the tale of the fierce conflict that had taken place. Yet, the tree of darkness within the well at the courtyard's centre remained the epicenter of destruction, the focal point of the violence that had unfolded. The flames, continue to consume the tree within the well, casting eerie shadows that dance upon the shattered remnants of a place of tranquility.

'Well, that certainly was exciting!'

Onu chimed. Blade out, the enthusiastic monk begins poking and prodding the bodies, nonchalantly sifting through their possessions. There wasn't much that remained of their attackers' gear as it was either burned away or melted to their flesh. While there were no reusable weapons, there technically could be a few pounds of scrap metal his companion could recover, should she wish. He knew how resourceful KD could be, and noted them along the way for her. As for his interests, Onu does recover the odd piece or handfuls of coin from the remains.

Monies found: 37g 171c

"How are you holding up, dear one? This must have been a lot for you. We're here, however you need us." 

Burned. Charred. Smoked. The smell permeated everything. Consumed everything. Breathing sharp and shallow. Burns. New and old. Marbled, blistering skin. Wide eyed. KD's voice. Shock sets. Focused flesh. Facing fear. Failing facade. Feeling far... fading... faint... Fae falls.

Soft gentle sobs could be heard amongst the constant crackling of flames. Accompanied by some sniffles, the sobbing eventually subsides enough into coherent words from the deep feeling Hamish. As much as he tried, his cup of emotions was still full and overflowing a bit, however, he found himself amongst peers. More than once it has proven that it was a safe space to express himself. There was solace in that. Hamish is able to settle himself amongst the company of his exhausted and wounded companions. He then finds, and shares, his deepest comfort of healing through his prayers to Kelemvor.

Having come to sit and taken his breath much sooner during the water works, Auric graciously accepted the healing words of his companion as he prepared for his own ritual. The dragonborn steadies his breath, clears the fog from his brain, and expands his senses. Once the ritual was complete, and the majority of his wounds mended, he rises to his feet. Then in his search for aura, he begins to walk amongst the dead.

The scholarly dragonborn doesn't find any trace of magic amongst the bodies themselves. However as he carefully moved about the aftermath, he'd pick up various random passings of faint auras coming from a few spots scattered within the manse, most likely rooms they haven't investigated yet. Unable to pinpoint them at this specific moment in time, something within in reach does catch the wizard's eye. Auric notices that the half-orc leader appears to have a map scrawled on the torn-off flap of a leather satchel. It shows Neverwinter Wood and marks the location of 'The Circle of Thunder'.

Meanwhile, together with Hal, Onu completes perimeter checks of the courtyard. In terms of hostile threats, all is eerily silent. Only fire.

Hamish manages to keep concentrating on his prayer of healing and barely notices Fae fall.  After he completes his prayer, he will move over to Fae to check on her.  He is used to treating injured people. He speaks softly and asks if he can assist her.  If she agrees, he will proceed.  He is calm, gentle, and thorough as he examines Fae.  Medicine Check - 19

Auric:

Picking up the map, Auric shows it to the others and asks, “Doth anyone have knowledge of a locally known as the ‘Circle of Thunder’?”

He adds, “Precious little of value remains on these corpses, though magical auras are emanating from the structure.”

Hansel enjoys the relative peace for a while, but soon the reverie is ended and it's back to work. First he checks in on the members of the group, ensuring they are still looking appropriately fabulous (no rumpled/soiled clothes or dirty hands/faces) and then joins in the search of the rest of the manse for any remaining dangers.

Hansel doesn't think he's heard of the Circle of Thunder, and isn't from these parts. However he thinks back to recall if he's heard of it...  History? 9

Anyone need healing? I can't see the char sheets of most of the group...

(Auric is fully-healed, though very low on arcane power.  He will be happy to use his Detect Magic to help guide the searching of the Manse, but he will need a rest soon to replenish his magical reserves.)

History check for Circle of Thunder:  8

Considering his own experience with panic, currently being in tune with his emotions, and aware of the environment, the assessment of Fae came naturally with no hesitation. Outside of the obvious drain on the wizard's magic reserves during the battle, she pushed herself further, fully immersing herself in, and facing her greatest fear. Fire. Whether one was aware of, or remembered the wizards story, there was no denying the burn scars that blanketed her limbs. She was flush, yet cold and sweaty to the touch, with shallow breathing and a quickened heart beat that was working it's way calm, now that she was passed out. This was post trauma, post shock, panic. And the fire's still raging, with no immediate end in sight. The moment the situation calmed enough, the realization, thus the full impact of her fear hit her, and her body shut her down to protect her psych.

(Spoiler for everyone, but specifically in response to Zorg)

Thinking back and going through historical notes, Auric recognizes the now dead half-orc leader as an Anchorite of Talos. It explains the possession of this map. The scholar confidently recalls lore related to the Circle of Thunder.

Auric

Auric:

"Ah, yes, the savage Anchorites of Talos and their thunderous champion Gorthok," says, Auric, going on to describe the half-orc devotees of Talos (see the above spoiler).

After he speaks, he says, "Mayhaps we should investigate this manse, extract items of value, then take our ease for the evening.  This Circle of Thunder is likely the nexus of Talos' malign influence here."

KD stays with Fae, comforting her until she wakes (and helping Ham heal her). She agrees to explore the rest of the place after the blaze abates, the group gets some rest, and Fae wakes,.

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.

Nova saunters into the courtyard with a large pumpkin in one arm, and reaching into it with her other. Her cheeks are full, she’s chewing and there’s orange all on her face. Her eyes ping wide as her mismatched hues set their sights on the carnage before her. She gasps, dropping the pumpkin. It hits the ground with a large splat. “What in the nine hells!?” The young woman looks around in grave concern. She finds Fae safely amongst a couple of the party while others are casually poking about the scene while the building is literally left to burn around them. Her brows furrow. Was there truly no sense of urgency to the situation?

Nova strides over bodies, hops over cracked earth and climbs over death with surprising grace and purpose. As she does, she flings ice shards into the inferno which explode, creating steam on impact with the heat. Repeatedly, Nova continues to hurl ice, doing her best to smother some flames, making her best efforts to get the fire under control in attempt to save the building from ultimately becoming consumed by the cleansing blaze. 

[Are players planning on taking a short or long rest here? Is Auric pressing on to go locate the sources of magic? Would others follow him?]

Hansel meanders around the chaos, checking on everyone, poking gingerly at the bodies, and searching through the nearest sections of the building. The fact that the tree still rages in flames, or that the building itself is starting to catch alight [if that is indeed so] doesn't seem to faze him. In fact, every so often he stops to simply stare up at the flaming tree, watching the sparks and smoke rise into the darkened sky. He is equally unbothered by Nova's attempts to put out the flames on the building, unless she attempts to extinguish the tree, at which point he would intervene.

Hansel has no powers from the goddess that he thinks could aid Fae, but he takes a few moments to sit beside her unconscious form, and sings softly:

KD, not realizing that the fire had spread to the building, hops up and begins to look around for any source of water that could be used to douse flames, or anything structural that could be done to try to minimize the spread. Or if not, she looks to the areas fire has not consumed to try to find anything of use or interest, for they did come here to seek aid in their broader struggle, did they not?

Onu is good for a short or long rest (and sorry for just popping my head back up ;)

Being left uncontrolled, the fire was licking at portions of the building, thus posed a threat to it. While Nova couldn’t quite understand right away why Hansel would stop her from putting out the source of the fire, he’d eventually get through to her by explaining what Fae said about the tree within the well. It was then she’d come to understand that it was the source of the darkness and this was the most natural way to cleanse it. With that, she allowed nature to take its course. 

However, there was something fueling Nova to want to protect the building. She remembered Fae mentioning that should they succeed at cleansing the manse from it’s darkness, it could be restored to become a home… Maybe even their own home… A place she could call home… The young woman would relentlessly pace the perimeter, keeping the flames at bay from the building, even the smallest spark, protecting it from further damage. 

KD, with Hal’s help, could assist by moving any flammable debris away from the manse, collecting the remainders of the twig blights and scorched tree roots, then hurling it all into the core of the burning well.

Fae’s eyes would eventually begin to flutter awake. 

(Short rest is had, unless another speaks up for a long rest specifically. Either way, I owe you all some XP. I calculated it but currently having difficulties accessing it. Will update and provide as I can. Hopefully by this weekend before I’m away out of country.)

Auric:

With others protecting the building before exploring it, Auric sees the sense in doing so.  He allows his concentration on the spell to lapse and instead uses Prestidigitation to kick up dirt and smother any flames that get within a few feet of the building proper.