Varielky takes a few seconds to process what happened. She's seen strange kinds of magic, but this was stranger than any. Is that how a mighty warrior meets his end? No, the captain warned against killing the animal. Still, she makes a mental note not to piss the bard off. She'll try to consider her words before she answers his questions.
Varielky picks up the animal holding it firmly but without applying any unnecessary pressure. Just to make sure it doesn't slip and fall from her hands. "Is he going to be like that forever?" It felt like a stupid question, and yet it had to be asked. "And if not, what should we do with him? I doubt he'll just go away, even if we release him outside the castle, or even some distance away."
Granophyre enters the bedroom, astonished. “Your capabilities will never cease to surprise me,” his basso conveys, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind whipping through the broken window. “Snow has given us the gift of time. How shall we use it?”
Lightning flashes once more outside, answered a few seconds later by a distant rumble.
There is no sign of Lady Izzebudgin, but Snow hears her voice echoing in his mind, “Fie!, minstrel, your tongue is as sharp as your voice is comely. Goblins do not ‘plan’…,” she titters wryly before hitting a sour note, “...but oh!… what destruction have you wrought here…”
Snow may send a reply without expending an action, although he feels that if he moves farther from the stairs he may lose the connection.
Snow leans back against the stairwell door, closes his eyes and slides to the floor, looking a bit exhausted. He struggles little to separate out the conversations in the room and that in his mind, but responds first to the Lady.
"Oh they plan, I had a nice conversation with one who had plans. As for your plans, they were on a scale of destruction many magnitudes more than what you see, you cannot deny that", he sends and then opens his eyes again and locks them on the others.
"The Lady is downstairs surveying the destruction, and is not happy. She can whisper into my mind. She is powerful and will return. As for the Lord there, I can keep him in that form for an hour, as long as my concentration remains, after which he will revert back to normal", he says in answer to most of their questions.
He looks particularly to Varielky, "As for what to do with the Lord there, I am aware we didn't finish our conversation about honour and do not wish to cause offence, but I am not sure we can simply let such a powerful enemy go", he ends with a shrug as if it was a question more than a firm statement.
Concentration: Polymorph Movement: None, just slides to the floor into a sitting position, back to the stairwell door Action: Pretty much just speaking this turn
Auger thinks of the various capabilities he saw from the Lord in the short time he was fighting him. And now he examines the tortoise in Varielky's hands. His only thoughts are about how to completely remove the threat, wondering whether impaling the tortoise on something would also end the man. The man. Auger now starts shaking his head at himself. Again, killing had become so easy for him. He did not like it. "Perhaps we can find a way to trap it. Or him. So when he changes back he cannot get out. Maybe in the vault downstairs."
Turning to Snow, Auger says, "In my brief duel with her I found her quite able to block my most powerful spells. She may be the bigger threat, but if we fight again with both of them present... I wonder if we can truly hold. Perhaps we should throw him out the window there and be done with him." Auger walks over to the window and with the Diadem's assistance brings forth the motes of light and uses them to see how far a drop it would be from the window. Would this have been a killing blow?
Details
Casts Dancing Lights and speaks with everyone
Side note: I forgot to label the damage Auger did to the Lord with his Eldritch Blasts - it is Force damage which I only want to belatedly point out because that damage is more rarely resistible.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
"Well, even if you say that captain, I cannot defeat him. His abilities far surpass mine. And throwing him out the window? Out of the question. Perhaps locking him would work, though. I'm not sure how that helps us, however, unless you plan to make him starve to death, which is also out of the question. He is a mighty warrior and one who fought fairly even when his wife stood right next to him, despite her being more than capable of helping him. He deserves more than to be killed by being thrown off a window or starving to death. This is exactly the kind of honour I was talking about, earlier." Even as she openly admits defeat, there is no shame in her voice. There is no reason to be ashamed of losing to a fighter more capable than oneself.
Varielky falls on the floor. Her body needs rest, even for a short while. Stamina, holding on for a long time... that was never one of her strong suits. "So I can't let you toss him out of the window, and I can't defeat him either. Meanwhile, you two might have a problem fighting a woman who can... block your spells, you said?"
Varielky sighs. It was not a fox's tunnel they entered, but a lions' den. Lions. This reminds her of the skeletal lions they fought, so many nights ago, when she first met Auger. The night Mittens disappeared. They all fought. Ednyss, Benita, Granophyre, Wad, Flint, Tuff... Tuff, whose shield now serves her. Varielky runs her hand on the shield, and on the lines she began to carve, which yet to make any distinct form. "But what if..." Varielky mumbles, a plan starting to form in her mind, though it takes a few seconds for Varielky to recall each piece of information, and then put them all together.
"Master Strewn, you once told me this shield is enhanced with magic, and that its protective magic is meant to ward off spells. Is that correct?"She's actually wrong. He never told her that, as he wasn't very talkative at the time. In fact, it was something she managed to discover on her own. Though, for the purpose of her plan, this makes little difference. "Perhaps if I were her opponent, the battle would go differently, maybe. Unless her magic can block my blade too, her own magic might be less effective." And although there are many holes in this plan, Varielky doesn't take them into consideration. "Meanwhile, you could fight the Lord. He is strong, but at least he cannot block your magic... as we can see." Varielky raises the tortoise slightly, to prove her point.
Auger walks over to the window and with the Diadem's assistance brings forth the motes of light and uses them to see how far a drop it would be from the window. Would this have been a killing blow?
Side note: I forgot to label the damage Auger did to the Lord with his Eldritch Blasts - it is Force damage
The drop is perhaps 30' to the courtyard. Yes for force damage, already knew.
"You could be right," Granophyre replies to Varielky, "however... I do not feel bound to your code of honor, courageous as you might be. I would feel no remorse joining together arm-in-arm to defeat this one foe while the other tarries elsewhere. Surely, Varielky, after acknowledging that he is too strong for you to defeat singly -- indeed, for any of us to defeat singly -- you would not dismiss willing allies from your side to defeat a man whose recklessness puts thousands of Shians at risk of losing their homes and lives?"
"I... ah..." Speechless, Varielky tries to weigh the options. There was sense in his words, despite her immediate instinct telling her it is wrong. Acknowledging that one were so powerul they had to be defeated by the combined efforts of many was, at the same time, honouring their battle prowess. And yet, Varielky found it hard to accept. Perhaps, a voice at the back of her mind questions, because if they kill him in their combined effort, it would mean Varielky would never again have a chance to defeat this man? Was it honouring a great warrior, or just being selfish and greedy?
"It is true you're not bound to my code of honour. You could do whatever you want, and I'm not even in a state I can stop you, even if I really wanted to." Varielky pauses. For a moment, she wonders how much harder she made this journey for him. Would he have reached his goal if someone else were reccommended instead of her, if she chose not to accept the offer, or if she weren't saved in time from the Amazigh's poison? No, none of that matters now. "But... I hope you care enough to allow me to use the captain's 'gift of time' as you called it. He said the Lord should remain in this state for an hour. Would you please wait that duration, and allow me to thoroughly consider each option?"
Before Granophyre can answer, Snow’s sharp ears — despite the continuing whooshing of wind and rain through the broken window — detect a slow rhythmic booming sound coming from the stairwell behind and far below him. The sound is getting louder, or nearer, with each repetition.
Snow gets quickly to his feet and moves away from the door. "I do not think I bought as much time as that, something is stirring down the stair well. I hear a sound not dissimilar to the one we heard earlier, a booming repetitive sound which is getting closer", he says to the others.
"Either the Lady has found more allies, or...", his eyes go wide as a thought occurs to him. "Or she has the ability to raise the dead! We were told the Lord and Lady were unequalled at battle and sorcery, I assume the battle part was the Lord, so...", he let's the thought drift off.
"Either we finish him now, together as one", he says pointing to the tortoise, "Or I can try something that could get rid of him for a much longer time, but is by no means certain to work".
"What say you? If the latter, pass me the tortoise", he asks the others, a look of urgency on his face.
Concentration: Polymorph Movement: Stands up and moves 15ft into the bed chamber, turning to look back at the door. Action: Pretty much just speaking this turn
"Or the fire didn't kill it." It didn't matter which option it was, they were all bad. Varielky grits her teeth. With no other ideas, she passes the tortoise to Snow. "Try what you find to be right." Varielky then hits with her fist against her armour, in the place where the centre of her chest would be. "What you feel is right." She then raises her hand and puts two fingers against her temple. "Not what you think is right."
Varielky then draws her sword. She'll need it, whichever course of action Snow chooses. She decides to trust him to make the right choice, even though she knows they usually don't agree on the right course of action. And, besides, he has agreed to follow her demands multiple times now, so it is only fair she'll force herself to do the same... within reasonable limits.
Auger watches the tortoise change hands and then says to Snow, "Let me know if you need assistance with it." To Varielky Auger responds simply, "Looking within heart and mind I primarily find a very persistent and strong urge to live through the day. Perhaps we can all agree on that."
Seeing Varielky ready herself for battle, Auger looks around and tries to figure out the best place from which to act. Briefly he thinks on going back down the hall before he remembers the dead bodies of the Goblins making the area a disadvantageous place from which to act and so he ends up staying in the bed chamber. Auger does move himself so that he can clearly see anything that decides to come through the stairway door.
"I am beside myself with curiosity," Granophyre says to no one in particular as he watches Snow take the tortoise, while handing Varielky another healing vial for 10HP.
The rhythmic sound resolves into shuddering footfalls of something huge, which now seems to be one floor below you and closing.
Snow quickly takes the tortoise. "If this doesn't work we will need to be ready to fight the Lord, and quickly, whatever that is coming up the stairs sounds huge", he says before taking a deep breath.
He wraps the Tree Wild cloak around the tortoise and concentrates on pushing through the membrane between the material plane and the Fey Wild, and taking the tortoise with him.
He enters the Feywild, marvelling at the vivid colours and otherworldly nature of the place. Remembering his task, he pulls his focus away from the awe inspiring sight.
If he manages to take the tortoise with him, he will then place it down whilst traversing within the Feywild, exiting without it.
To the others in the room, he simply disappears (with or without the tortoise), and then re-appears at the far end of the bed chamber.
Concentration: Polymorph Action: Dimension Door using the Treewild Cloak (1/4 charges used). Interact: Place the tortoise down whilst within the Feywild before returning.
(OOC: Obviously this is a DM call as to how willing the tortoise would be / how much it would know about what is happening, but I think Snow would believe it could work so is trying it)
Unsure what he is planning, Auger is momentarily shocked to see Snow disappear but maintains his focus on the doorway and the rumbling sound coming from below. He considers some use of illusion to distract any creatures and idly wonders if the sound he hears is something similar. He reforms his motes of light and brings them into the area of the stairway.
After a moment Auger starts to feel some concern. Snow. Where did he go?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
For the first time, Varielky begins to wonder how many vials does Granophyre carry with him. Not that it stops her from opening the vial and inhaling its vapour. What are they made of? Varielky shrugs the thought away. It doesn't really matter, does it? "Thanks, you're a life-saver." Varielky never really thanks him, as she's usually focused on fighting. This was a good chance.
Snow's disappearance and reappearance elsewhere in the room comes as no great shock to Varielky. She's seen Auger do it multiple times, why would the captain not be able to do it too? The fact that the tortoise doesn't come back with him, though, is a concern. She'll inquire later, maybe.
For now, Varielky prepares for the coming fight. She remembers the huge figure they saw when they escaped into the vault. It made a similar sound, and Varielky wouldn't be surprised if it is the same one. It was big, and likely very strong. She could wait and attack the moment it comes into view, but decides to take a different - if similar - approach. Varielky exits the room and walks towards the stairs. It might be easier to defend from there, in the tighter quarters of the staircase. There, standing at the top, Varielky stands at a low stance, ready with her shield forward. The moment anything reaches the top of the stairs, she'll push with all her strength. Maybe she'll be able to knock it prone, though there is no telling. And sure, it might simply stand up, but if she's quick enough, maybe she'll be able to act before it does.
Move: To the top of the stairs, or as close as possible as her movement allows her. Action: Ready the Shove to knock the first enemy that comes within range prone. Athletics: 13+8=21.
Snow disappears in a cloud of tree pollen, which whips around for a moment before dissipating, just as he reappears at the far end of the bedchamber in a similar puff of pollen.
The tortoise has dropped to the floor where Snow disappeared, and is now slowly spinning on its back or shell, its legs clawing ineffectually at air.
The stairwell door had been closed by Snow. Varielky reopens it and stands waiting as a familiar smell hits her from below and she knows before she sees it that the stomping sound is the same troll which attacked earlier, and now sees it coming around the spiraling stairs below her, enormous and frog-green. It roars furiously, leaping up the last flight, but is stopped in its tracks by her readied shield bash, although it is too strong to be toppled.
Granophyre has moved into a defensive position and sends another 12HP healing to Varielky from his seemingly self-replenishing supply of alchemical vials.
Still wondering where Snow went, lights near the stairwell, and a clear view of the door, Auger feels he is ready. Then he looks down and sees the tortoise spinning on its back while looking up again he sees Varielky has moved up and appears to have engaged the thing while blocking his view. Moving quickly, Auger sidesteps the spinning Seneschal and enters the hallway in order to get a view over Varielky's shoulder at the thing she is fighting. Yes, a troll it was. But no good angle for hurting it. Not right here anyway. Seeing Varielky engage it with her shield bashing approach Auger decides to support her strategy.
Allowing his lights to blink out, Auger reaches into the Sea of Stars and summons a dragonfly of sorts. It is lifeless and strange purple eldritch energies drip from it. Auger sends it inexorably into the troll, hoping its strength-draining effect would aid Varielky in her fight. Auger then steps back into the bedchamber where he sees Snow across the room. "Your attempt. It did not work?"Auger looks at the now more slowly spinning tortoise. Throwing the thing out of the window did seem to be the best option at this point.
Details
Action: Dash
Move: To P5 (45')
Bonus Action: Cast Hex on Big-T. Big-T now takes 1d6 extra necrotic damage from Auger's attacks and has disadvantage on Strength-based rolls.
"It's here! Save the tortoise for later!" Varielky calls to the others. If they have to deal with both simultaneously, there really will be no chance. She had no idea where the lady is either.
Granophyre's vials may help to close wounds, but weariness was not somethimg they helped with. One cannot work their muscles non-stop without causing lasting damage to them, and so, fully aware of that, Varielky feels she cannot do much more than the most basical fighting techniques. Especially when she knows blocking the troll's attacks would not be easy, if even possible. Perhaps dodging was a better idea, in which case, choosing to fight in a cramped place might have been a bad choice.
Nevertheless, already in this situation, Varielky chooses to make of it what she can. If she can hold it off here, then at least it would not hurt anyone else. If.
Varielky slashes with her blade twice, at the troll's toes. She hopes to make it lose its balance, so perhaps with a lucky shove, she could make it tumble down the stairs. Can somehing this big even tumble down these spiral stairs?
Action: Attack.
Attack #1: 9+10=19. Damage: 4+9=13.
Attack #2: 11+10=21. Damage: 5+9=14.
BA: Shield Shove, trying to shove the troll 5' backwards, down the stairs. Athletics: 18+8=26.
Varielky takes a few seconds to process what happened. She's seen strange kinds of magic, but this was stranger than any. Is that how a mighty warrior meets his end? No, the captain warned against killing the animal. Still, she makes a mental note not to piss the bard off. She'll try to consider her words before she answers his questions.
Varielky picks up the animal holding it firmly but without applying any unnecessary pressure. Just to make sure it doesn't slip and fall from her hands. "Is he going to be like that forever?" It felt like a stupid question, and yet it had to be asked. "And if not, what should we do with him? I doubt he'll just go away, even if we release him outside the castle, or even some distance away."
Varielky
Granophyre enters the bedroom, astonished. “Your capabilities will never cease to surprise me,” his basso conveys, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind whipping through the broken window. “Snow has given us the gift of time. How shall we use it?”
Lightning flashes once more outside, answered a few seconds later by a distant rumble.
There is no sign of Lady Izzebudgin, but Snow hears her voice echoing in his mind, “Fie!, minstrel, your tongue is as sharp as your voice is comely. Goblins do not ‘plan’…,” she titters wryly before hitting a sour note, “...but oh!… what destruction have you wrought here…”
Snow may send a reply without expending an action, although he feels that if he moves farther from the stairs he may lose the connection.
Please post Round 7 actions.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Snow leans back against the stairwell door, closes his eyes and slides to the floor, looking a bit exhausted. He struggles little to separate out the conversations in the room and that in his mind, but responds first to the Lady.
"Oh they plan, I had a nice conversation with one who had plans. As for your plans, they were on a scale of destruction many magnitudes more than what you see, you cannot deny that", he sends and then opens his eyes again and locks them on the others.
"The Lady is downstairs surveying the destruction, and is not happy. She can whisper into my mind. She is powerful and will return. As for the Lord there, I can keep him in that form for an hour, as long as my concentration remains, after which he will revert back to normal", he says in answer to most of their questions.
He looks particularly to Varielky, "As for what to do with the Lord there, I am aware we didn't finish our conversation about honour and do not wish to cause offence, but I am not sure we can simply let such a powerful enemy go", he ends with a shrug as if it was a question more than a firm statement.
Concentration: Polymorph
Movement: None, just slides to the floor into a sitting position, back to the stairwell door
Action: Pretty much just speaking this turn
Auger thinks of the various capabilities he saw from the Lord in the short time he was fighting him. And now he examines the tortoise in Varielky's hands. His only thoughts are about how to completely remove the threat, wondering whether impaling the tortoise on something would also end the man. The man. Auger now starts shaking his head at himself. Again, killing had become so easy for him. He did not like it. "Perhaps we can find a way to trap it. Or him. So when he changes back he cannot get out. Maybe in the vault downstairs."
Turning to Snow, Auger says, "In my brief duel with her I found her quite able to block my most powerful spells. She may be the bigger threat, but if we fight again with both of them present... I wonder if we can truly hold. Perhaps we should throw him out the window there and be done with him." Auger walks over to the window and with the Diadem's assistance brings forth the motes of light and uses them to see how far a drop it would be from the window. Would this have been a killing blow?
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
"Well, even if you say that captain, I cannot defeat him. His abilities far surpass mine. And throwing him out the window? Out of the question. Perhaps locking him would work, though. I'm not sure how that helps us, however, unless you plan to make him starve to death, which is also out of the question. He is a mighty warrior and one who fought fairly even when his wife stood right next to him, despite her being more than capable of helping him. He deserves more than to be killed by being thrown off a window or starving to death. This is exactly the kind of honour I was talking about, earlier." Even as she openly admits defeat, there is no shame in her voice. There is no reason to be ashamed of losing to a fighter more capable than oneself.
Varielky falls on the floor. Her body needs rest, even for a short while. Stamina, holding on for a long time... that was never one of her strong suits. "So I can't let you toss him out of the window, and I can't defeat him either. Meanwhile, you two might have a problem fighting a woman who can... block your spells, you said?"
Varielky sighs. It was not a fox's tunnel they entered, but a lions' den. Lions. This reminds her of the skeletal lions they fought, so many nights ago, when she first met Auger. The night Mittens disappeared. They all fought. Ednyss, Benita, Granophyre, Wad, Flint, Tuff... Tuff, whose shield now serves her. Varielky runs her hand on the shield, and on the lines she began to carve, which yet to make any distinct form. "But what if..." Varielky mumbles, a plan starting to form in her mind, though it takes a few seconds for Varielky to recall each piece of information, and then put them all together.
"Master Strewn, you once told me this shield is enhanced with magic, and that its protective magic is meant to ward off spells. Is that correct?" She's actually wrong. He never told her that, as he wasn't very talkative at the time. In fact, it was something she managed to discover on her own. Though, for the purpose of her plan, this makes little difference. "Perhaps if I were her opponent, the battle would go differently, maybe. Unless her magic can block my blade too, her own magic might be less effective." And although there are many holes in this plan, Varielky doesn't take them into consideration. "Meanwhile, you could fight the Lord. He is strong, but at least he cannot block your magic... as we can see." Varielky raises the tortoise slightly, to prove her point.
Varielky
The drop is perhaps 30' to the courtyard. Yes for force damage, already knew.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"You could be right," Granophyre replies to Varielky, "however... I do not feel bound to your code of honor, courageous as you might be. I would feel no remorse joining together arm-in-arm to defeat this one foe while the other tarries elsewhere. Surely, Varielky, after acknowledging that he is too strong for you to defeat singly -- indeed, for any of us to defeat singly -- you would not dismiss willing allies from your side to defeat a man whose recklessness puts thousands of Shians at risk of losing their homes and lives?"
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"I... ah..." Speechless, Varielky tries to weigh the options. There was sense in his words, despite her immediate instinct telling her it is wrong. Acknowledging that one were so powerul they had to be defeated by the combined efforts of many was, at the same time, honouring their battle prowess. And yet, Varielky found it hard to accept. Perhaps, a voice at the back of her mind questions, because if they kill him in their combined effort, it would mean Varielky would never again have a chance to defeat this man? Was it honouring a great warrior, or just being selfish and greedy?
"It is true you're not bound to my code of honour. You could do whatever you want, and I'm not even in a state I can stop you, even if I really wanted to." Varielky pauses. For a moment, she wonders how much harder she made this journey for him. Would he have reached his goal if someone else were reccommended instead of her, if she chose not to accept the offer, or if she weren't saved in time from the Amazigh's poison? No, none of that matters now. "But... I hope you care enough to allow me to use the captain's 'gift of time' as you called it. He said the Lord should remain in this state for an hour. Would you please wait that duration, and allow me to thoroughly consider each option?"
(Essentially, Varielky offers a short rest.)
Varielky
Before Granophyre can answer, Snow’s sharp ears — despite the continuing whooshing of wind and rain through the broken window — detect a slow rhythmic booming sound coming from the stairwell behind and far below him. The sound is getting louder, or nearer, with each repetition.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Snow gets quickly to his feet and moves away from the door. "I do not think I bought as much time as that, something is stirring down the stair well. I hear a sound not dissimilar to the one we heard earlier, a booming repetitive sound which is getting closer", he says to the others.
"Either the Lady has found more allies, or...", his eyes go wide as a thought occurs to him. "Or she has the ability to raise the dead! We were told the Lord and Lady were unequalled at battle and sorcery, I assume the battle part was the Lord, so...", he let's the thought drift off.
"Either we finish him now, together as one", he says pointing to the tortoise, "Or I can try something that could get rid of him for a much longer time, but is by no means certain to work".
"What say you? If the latter, pass me the tortoise", he asks the others, a look of urgency on his face.
Concentration: Polymorph
Movement: Stands up and moves 15ft into the bed chamber, turning to look back at the door.
Action: Pretty much just speaking this turn
"Or the fire didn't kill it." It didn't matter which option it was, they were all bad. Varielky grits her teeth. With no other ideas, she passes the tortoise to Snow. "Try what you find to be right." Varielky then hits with her fist against her armour, in the place where the centre of her chest would be. "What you feel is right." She then raises her hand and puts two fingers against her temple. "Not what you think is right."
Varielky then draws her sword. She'll need it, whichever course of action Snow chooses. She decides to trust him to make the right choice, even though she knows they usually don't agree on the right course of action. And, besides, he has agreed to follow her demands multiple times now, so it is only fair she'll force herself to do the same... within reasonable limits.
Varielky
Auger watches the tortoise change hands and then says to Snow, "Let me know if you need assistance with it." To Varielky Auger responds simply, "Looking within heart and mind I primarily find a very persistent and strong urge to live through the day. Perhaps we can all agree on that."
Seeing Varielky ready herself for battle, Auger looks around and tries to figure out the best place from which to act. Briefly he thinks on going back down the hall before he remembers the dead bodies of the Goblins making the area a disadvantageous place from which to act and so he ends up staying in the bed chamber. Auger does move himself so that he can clearly see anything that decides to come through the stairway door.
Details
Move to X7
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
"I am beside myself with curiosity," Granophyre says to no one in particular as he watches Snow take the tortoise, while handing Varielky another healing vial for 10HP.
The rhythmic sound resolves into shuddering footfalls of something huge, which now seems to be one floor below you and closing.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Snow quickly takes the tortoise. "If this doesn't work we will need to be ready to fight the Lord, and quickly, whatever that is coming up the stairs sounds huge", he says before taking a deep breath.
He wraps the Tree Wild cloak around the tortoise and concentrates on pushing through the membrane between the material plane and the Fey Wild, and taking the tortoise with him.
He enters the Feywild, marvelling at the vivid colours and otherworldly nature of the place. Remembering his task, he pulls his focus away from the awe inspiring sight.
If he manages to take the tortoise with him, he will then place it down whilst traversing within the Feywild, exiting without it.
To the others in the room, he simply disappears (with or without the tortoise), and then re-appears at the far end of the bed chamber.
Concentration: Polymorph
Action: Dimension Door using the Treewild Cloak (1/4 charges used).
Interact: Place the tortoise down whilst within the Feywild before returning.
(OOC: Obviously this is a DM call as to how willing the tortoise would be / how much it would know about what is happening, but I think Snow would believe it could work so is trying it)
And what are Auger and Varielky doing, meanwhile?
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Unsure what he is planning, Auger is momentarily shocked to see Snow disappear but maintains his focus on the doorway and the rumbling sound coming from below. He considers some use of illusion to distract any creatures and idly wonders if the sound he hears is something similar. He reforms his motes of light and brings them into the area of the stairway.
After a moment Auger starts to feel some concern. Snow. Where did he go?
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
For the first time, Varielky begins to wonder how many vials does Granophyre carry with him. Not that it stops her from opening the vial and inhaling its vapour. What are they made of? Varielky shrugs the thought away. It doesn't really matter, does it? "Thanks, you're a life-saver." Varielky never really thanks him, as she's usually focused on fighting. This was a good chance.
Snow's disappearance and reappearance elsewhere in the room comes as no great shock to Varielky. She's seen Auger do it multiple times, why would the captain not be able to do it too? The fact that the tortoise doesn't come back with him, though, is a concern. She'll inquire later, maybe.
For now, Varielky prepares for the coming fight. She remembers the huge figure they saw when they escaped into the vault. It made a similar sound, and Varielky wouldn't be surprised if it is the same one. It was big, and likely very strong. She could wait and attack the moment it comes into view, but decides to take a different - if similar - approach. Varielky exits the room and walks towards the stairs. It might be easier to defend from there, in the tighter quarters of the staircase. There, standing at the top, Varielky stands at a low stance, ready with her shield forward. The moment anything reaches the top of the stairs, she'll push with all her strength. Maybe she'll be able to knock it prone, though there is no telling. And sure, it might simply stand up, but if she's quick enough, maybe she'll be able to act before it does.
Move: To the top of the stairs, or as close as possible as her movement allows her.
Action: Ready the Shove to knock the first enemy that comes within range prone. Athletics: 13+8=21.
Varielky
Snow disappears in a cloud of tree pollen, which whips around for a moment before dissipating, just as he reappears at the far end of the bedchamber in a similar puff of pollen.
The tortoise has dropped to the floor where Snow disappeared, and is now slowly spinning on its back or shell, its legs clawing ineffectually at air.
The stairwell door had been closed by Snow. Varielky reopens it and stands waiting as a familiar smell hits her from below and she knows before she sees it that the stomping sound is the same troll which attacked earlier, and now sees it coming around the spiraling stairs below her, enormous and frog-green. It roars furiously, leaping up the last flight, but is stopped in its tracks by her readied shield bash, although it is too strong to be toppled.
Granophyre has moved into a defensive position and sends another 12HP healing to Varielky from his seemingly self-replenishing supply of alchemical vials.
You are now situated like so. Please state R1 actions.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Still wondering where Snow went, lights near the stairwell, and a clear view of the door, Auger feels he is ready. Then he looks down and sees the tortoise spinning on its back while looking up again he sees Varielky has moved up and appears to have engaged the thing while blocking his view. Moving quickly, Auger sidesteps the spinning Seneschal and enters the hallway in order to get a view over Varielky's shoulder at the thing she is fighting. Yes, a troll it was. But no good angle for hurting it. Not right here anyway. Seeing Varielky engage it with her shield bashing approach Auger decides to support her strategy.
Allowing his lights to blink out, Auger reaches into the Sea of Stars and summons a dragonfly of sorts. It is lifeless and strange purple eldritch energies drip from it. Auger sends it inexorably into the troll, hoping its strength-draining effect would aid Varielky in her fight. Auger then steps back into the bedchamber where he sees Snow across the room. "Your attempt. It did not work?" Auger looks at the now more slowly spinning tortoise. Throwing the thing out of the window did seem to be the best option at this point.
Details
DM of RotFM | AUGER the Warlock (Archfey & the Chain) / Shadow Sorcerer in Age of Resurgence | Rahui & Javier in Sea of Memory
"It's here! Save the tortoise for later!" Varielky calls to the others. If they have to deal with both simultaneously, there really will be no chance. She had no idea where the lady is either.
Granophyre's vials may help to close wounds, but weariness was not somethimg they helped with. One cannot work their muscles non-stop without causing lasting damage to them, and so, fully aware of that, Varielky feels she cannot do much more than the most basical fighting techniques. Especially when she knows blocking the troll's attacks would not be easy, if even possible. Perhaps dodging was a better idea, in which case, choosing to fight in a cramped place might have been a bad choice.
Nevertheless, already in this situation, Varielky chooses to make of it what she can. If she can hold it off here, then at least it would not hurt anyone else. If.
Varielky slashes with her blade twice, at the troll's toes. She hopes to make it lose its balance, so perhaps with a lucky shove, she could make it tumble down the stairs. Can somehing this big even tumble down these spiral stairs?
Action: Attack.
Attack #1: 9+10=19. Damage: 4+9=13.
Attack #2: 11+10=21. Damage: 5+9=14.
BA: Shield Shove, trying to shove the troll 5' backwards, down the stairs. Athletics: 18+8=26.
Varielky