The strange, floating light doesn't follow Matilda. She is able to successfully climb back down, the half-pocketed mannequin's feet bumping and scraping on the straw as she descends. She lands sloppily on the balcony with an ominous creak.
Bavlorna suddenly appears in the hallway doorway, her hand (at the ends of her extraordinarily long, spindly arms) on her hips in grandmotherly judgment at the scene before her. The second lornling tries to hide in the filthy ruffles adorning her shoulders.
"Oh, goodness!" she announces. "Look at all of you! Rummaging through my luncheon like a pack of little alley mutts. And you!" She steps up to Ben and opens her jaw to a grotesquely elongated degree before snapping at the lornling on the table and swallowing it whole in a flash of violent movement. She steps back again and smiles, the skin on her face cracking a little.
"It's not lunchtime yet! But it's long past time for my bath, and high time for the lot of you to go fetch my crate. I believe we had an agreement. We don't have time for you to be stealing my dining room candles, climbing out my windows, or snooping in my lab." (She glares at Ben at the table, Matilda through the open window, and Titaani standing in the southern doorway, in turn, as she speaks.) "Off with you!" She claps her hands expectantly.
"No!" Horatio says, a firmness in his voice that not even he suspected he could muster. "This... this house is old. You're not safe here. I've been inspecting it while the others have been trying to do small chores for you... to... impress you... and I am a trained carpenter. I'm telling you, this place needs major repairs. I... cannot in good conscious let an important monarch stay in such dangerous conditions. If you allow it, I will start to make repairs at once!.. For a... fee... of course." Almost in real time, as he talked, his forehead became caked in sweat and he began exuding a nervous energy.
”All your candles are here and accounted for, I was just….” starts Ben as Matilda softly (then Horatio loudly) make their opinions known.
“Thank you for your help, little one, hopefully your mistress will feed you soon. It appears we must go off on the next errand,” says Ben quietly, bidding goodbye to the helpful lornling and preparing to leave…though what Bavlorna’s reaction to Horatio’s pronouncement will be, he has no idea.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Titaani doesn't move, although she does hurriedly gesture for Tiny to join her side as Bavlorna enters.
"Not snooping, just cleaning...and mending!" she says hurriedly. "I agree with Horatio, we need to stay. I mean, this place is a huge safety hazard. I've lived in wooden structures my whole life, so I know a rotten board when I see one."
(Can I use the help action to aid Horatio with his persuasion? If not, here's my own roll: 17)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
”Now that you mention it, those steps did break away in a rather dangerous way just a bit ago,” says Ben, a bit more concerned, “Is the water below deep enough to cushion a fall if the woodwork here gave way?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
With the ease of a master thief, Matilda quickly and confidently conceals the marionette in a fold of her shirt and enters the room with a huff.
Horatio: "This... this house is old. You're not safe here. ... I am a trained carpenter. I'm telling you, this place needs major repairs. I... cannot in good conscience let an important monarch stay in such dangerous conditions. If you allow it, I will start to make repairs at once!.. For a... fee... of course."
Titaani: "I agree with Horatio, we need to stay. I mean, this place is a huge safety hazard. I've lived in wooden structures my whole life, so I know a rotten board when I see one."
"Oh! Trained carpenters? I see. I'm certain we'll find good uses for your talents." She drums her fingers on her chin, thinking. "But let's discuss some household rules first, shall we? One: We do not wander through my house without permission. In fact, we do not enter my house without invitation. Is that understood? This is my dining room, not a lounge for vagrants and oversized lagomorphs. But right now, I believe you had an errand. Go fetch my box. I'm just a poor old woman who can't carry but a cup of tea and a little lornlng. Surely you could see to fetching a little box instead of nosing around my woodwork?"
She holds out a long green finger tipped with a filthy nail, indicating the direction she is implying you should go, which is out of this room in the direction you came.
Tiny tilts his head at Bavlorna's comment about his size, seemingly a little insulted. Meanwhile, Titaani contemplates her crystal, only to shake her head and take a few steps closer towards the old crone.
"You might be a poor old woman, but I'm just a little gnomish girl, and Matilda is only kid as well," Titaani insists, trying to make her voice sound more childish. "We couldn't possibly carry such a large crate either. Better if we stayed, and helped make this place safer."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
”I am strong enough to grab a crate and carry it, if it isn’t too large and someone can show me the way to it,” says Ben, not remembering exactly where to go and get the crate and trying not to think of what might be inside it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Ben, why don't you and Cad retrieve the crate then, and me and the others will remain behind and try to figure out what repairs need to be made?" He looks thankfully at the others for stepping in to cover him. "Your, uh, Grace... am I to understand you are okay with us fixing this place up a bit then? If so, we'd really need to see all of it."
"My dears..." Bavlorna begins. She leans forward slowly and menacingly. Her mouth, already agape, stretches impossibly wide. Rows of sharp, slimy teeth become clearly evident. Flies flit in and out of her massive gullet.
"Get... out... of... my... house," she whispers, a deep ominous rattle to her voice.
Titaani steps closer to Bavlorna, and begins to play with her crystal. As she does, the light catches the many faces of it, sending dazzling displays of coloured lilac light in Bavlorna's direction. These shards of light are so beautiful that it is barely noticeable that her eyes have gone completely purple, and her voice has changed to one not quite her own.
"I don't think so. I think we should stay," Titaani declares. "And I think you should give us our stuff back. Isn't that fair?"
(Fey presence - Bavlorna needs to make a wisdom saving throw or else she is charmed)
The strange, floating light doesn't follow Matilda. She is able to successfully climb back down, the half-pocketed mannequin's feet bumping and scraping on the straw as she descends. She lands sloppily on the balcony with an ominous creak.
Bavlorna suddenly appears in the hallway doorway, her hand (at the ends of her extraordinarily long, spindly arms) on her hips in grandmotherly judgment at the scene before her. The second lornling tries to hide in the filthy ruffles adorning her shoulders.
"Oh, goodness!" she announces. "Look at all of you! Rummaging through my luncheon like a pack of little alley mutts. And you!" She steps up to Ben and opens her jaw to a grotesquely elongated degree before snapping at the lornling on the table and swallowing it whole in a flash of violent movement. She steps back again and smiles, the skin on her face cracking a little.
"It's not lunchtime yet! But it's long past time for my bath, and high time for the lot of you to go fetch my crate. I believe we had an agreement. We don't have time for you to be stealing my dining room candles, climbing out my windows, or snooping in my lab." (She glares at Ben at the table, Matilda through the open window, and Titaani standing in the southern doorway, in turn, as she speaks.) "Off with you!" She claps her hands expectantly.

Matilda makes sure to surreptitiously place the marionette fully in her pockets before reentering with a dramatic sigh.
" Come on, Ben. Our efforts aren't appreciated here."
Sleight of Hand: 22
"No!" Horatio says, a firmness in his voice that not even he suspected he could muster. "This... this house is old. You're not safe here. I've been inspecting it while the others have been trying to do small chores for you... to... impress you... and I am a trained carpenter. I'm telling you, this place needs major repairs. I... cannot in good conscious let an important monarch stay in such dangerous conditions. If you allow it, I will start to make repairs at once!.. For a... fee... of course." Almost in real time, as he talked, his forehead became caked in sweat and he began exuding a nervous energy.
(( Persuasion = 12 ... eek? ))
Ben:
”All your candles are here and accounted for, I was just….” starts Ben as Matilda softly (then Horatio loudly) make their opinions known.
“Thank you for your help, little one, hopefully your mistress will feed you soon. It appears we must go off on the next errand,” says Ben quietly, bidding goodbye to the helpful lornling and preparing to leave…though what Bavlorna’s reaction to Horatio’s pronouncement will be, he has no idea.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Titaani doesn't move, although she does hurriedly gesture for Tiny to join her side as Bavlorna enters.
"Not snooping, just cleaning...and mending!" she says hurriedly. "I agree with Horatio, we need to stay. I mean, this place is a huge safety hazard. I've lived in wooden structures my whole life, so I know a rotten board when I see one."
(Can I use the help action to aid Horatio with his persuasion? If not, here's my own roll: 17)
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
Ben:
”Now that you mention it, those steps did break away in a rather dangerous way just a bit ago,” says Ben, a bit more concerned, “Is the water below deep enough to cushion a fall if the woodwork here gave way?”
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
With the ease of a master thief, Matilda quickly and confidently conceals the marionette in a fold of her shirt and enters the room with a huff.
"Oh! Trained carpenters? I see. I'm certain we'll find good uses for your talents." She drums her fingers on her chin, thinking. "But let's discuss some household rules first, shall we? One: We do not wander through my house without permission. In fact, we do not enter my house without invitation. Is that understood? This is my dining room, not a lounge for vagrants and oversized lagomorphs. But right now, I believe you had an errand. Go fetch my box. I'm just a poor old woman who can't carry but a cup of tea and a little lornlng. Surely you could see to fetching a little box instead of nosing around my woodwork?"
She holds out a long green finger tipped with a filthy nail, indicating the direction she is implying you should go, which is out of this room in the direction you came.
Tiny tilts his head at Bavlorna's comment about his size, seemingly a little insulted. Meanwhile, Titaani contemplates her crystal, only to shake her head and take a few steps closer towards the old crone.
"You might be a poor old woman, but I'm just a little gnomish girl, and Matilda is only kid as well," Titaani insists, trying to make her voice sound more childish. "We couldn't possibly carry such a large crate either. Better if we stayed, and helped make this place safer."
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
Matilda starts heading out the door but hesitates at Titaanis words.
Ben:
”I am strong enough to grab a crate and carry it, if it isn’t too large and someone can show me the way to it,” says Ben, not remembering exactly where to go and get the crate and trying not to think of what might be inside it.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"Ben, why don't you and Cad retrieve the crate then, and me and the others will remain behind and try to figure out what repairs need to be made?" He looks thankfully at the others for stepping in to cover him. "Your, uh, Grace... am I to understand you are okay with us fixing this place up a bit then? If so, we'd really need to see all of it."
"My dears..." Bavlorna begins. She leans forward slowly and menacingly. Her mouth, already agape, stretches impossibly wide. Rows of sharp, slimy teeth become clearly evident. Flies flit in and out of her massive gullet.
"Get... out... of... my... house," she whispers, a deep ominous rattle to her voice.
(This had better work)
Titaani steps closer to Bavlorna, and begins to play with her crystal. As she does, the light catches the many faces of it, sending dazzling displays of coloured lilac light in Bavlorna's direction. These shards of light are so beautiful that it is barely noticeable that her eyes have gone completely purple, and her voice has changed to one not quite her own.
"I don't think so. I think we should stay," Titaani declares. "And I think you should give us our stuff back. Isn't that fair?"
(Fey presence - Bavlorna needs to make a wisdom saving throw or else she is charmed)
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
Bavlorna DC13 Wisdom Save: 18
"Oh, dear, oh dear," whispers Bavlorna, before trying to gobble her up.
Bite Attack: 24. Hit: 10 piercing damage and Titaani is grappled.
Roll initiative!
Bavlorna: 10
Lornling on her shoulder: 16
(Darn! I'm unconscious again)
Titaani tries to struggle only for her to fall limp in Bavlorna's mouth.
Tiny initiative? 16
Pronouns: She/her/her's
Currently playing as Titaani Leelathae in The Wild beyond the Witchlight
(( Initiative 6... ))
Ben initiative: 12
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Ben:
"No! Let her go!" exclaims Ben in horror. He tries to pry open Bavlorna's hideous mouth and rescue Titaani from certain death!
Athletics to free Titaani: 16
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Matilda Initiative: 17
Matilda swore, " Well, we all got to die some day."
She charged at the old hag, stabbing with her blade.
Attack: 6 Damage: 8
Action Surge:
Attack: 13 Damage: 5