Jararaka's initiative: 5

(Just getting an idea of the layout, is there a way around the street to seem like Jirel and Jararaka have gone away, but circle back to the cultist building via a back alley or something? I'll also wait a bit to see what Jirel would do before anything else!)

    Seeing the knife pulled and the dude calling for reinforcements Finn curses at herself for not having a better plan.  "Still... I guess we're doing this," she says to herself and casts Hex on the guard and then draws her rapier and attacks...

Rapier Attack:  2+5 for a 7...

     Missing (I assume) Finn hisses "There are guards right outside!  Flaming Fist!  Best run away while you still can!"

((Yes, I did specify that Yeshil cast Mage Hand before Invisibility went up, but also Yes, it's probably been a minute by now, so no problem with the fizzle.))

Yeshil Initiative: 23

The good thing about the cultists becoming aroused, is that it might take them out of the way and make it easy to look around. The bad thing about the cultists becoming aroused, is that it could make it difficult to get out of here. Yeshil just hoped that if they went outside to investigate the ruckus that Jirel and Jararaka had caused, that there were also enough Flaming Fist gathered by now to prevent the two being murdered by angry cultists.

Yeshil remains behind the door for now, waiting for the cultist in the room opposite to leave. Judging the size of the room to the rest of the building (as best she can remember it), she thinks it increasingly unlikely that there were any prison cells on this floor, and most likely just more dormitories. All the same, if there was no Frulam Mondath to be found, at least she would gather as much intel (or loose valuables) as possible. Meanwhile, she begins to formulate her plan against the possibility that the spell of invisibility could drop at any moment...

Tylaerys initiative: 13

1. Yeshil
2. Kitchen Guard
3. Rest of the Guards
4. Jirel
5. Cultists
6. Finn
7. Tylaerys
8. Jararaka

Inside: 

Yeshil holds, waiting for an opportunity to snoop.

In the kitchen, the guard easily ducks away from Finn's rapier.  He smiles devilishly when Finn warns about the Flaming Fist.  "Is'at right?  Best give a holler for them to come save ya then, m'lady."  Then he rolls the knife one more time and lunges for Finn.  

Attack: 21 Damage: 5

After he attacks, Finn sees two more guards climb up the ladder from below, and it sounds like more are behind them.  She also hears the sound of footsteps in the hallway below her, down the stairs....

Outside:

Jararaka would surmise there is probably a way around this block, to get back to the alley alongside this flophouse without being seen.  [FYI - she wouldn't know this in game, but it would take 4 rounds for Jararaka (or anyone else) to dash around the block and come up the alleyway from the other side.  Still, as far as you know this is the only entrance to the flophouse.]

The two Flaming Fist guards are now right alongside Jirel and Jararaka.  They aren't attacking, but they do have their swords out and are trying their best to herd you down the street and away from the building.  [So far, they haven't succeeded in moving you voluntarily, though next round they will try to start shoving.]

Tylaerys, there is no sign of the other two Flaming Fist guards you sent on a wild goose chase.

1. Yeshil
2. Kitchen Guard
3. Rest of the Guards
4. Jirel
5. Cultists
6. Finn
7. Tylaerys
8. Jararaka

Jirel chuffs. "I ain't afraid teh play with fire." The giantess tilts her head to each side to crack, then rolls her shoulders back before moving into a readied grappling position like a wrestler. She's standing her ground and not backing down, but also not drawing her weapon even though they drew theirs on them first. "Wanna play, Flame?" A small smirk tugs at the corner of her lips, causing a fang to poke out. Should they attempt to initiate force against them first, then she'd have no choice but to act in defense.

Action: Dodge

As the Flaming Fists close in, and Jirel stands her ground, Jararaka snaps her jaw, "can't say we didn't give you an out..!"

Sparks seem to fly off her jagged teeth, but it's gone in an instant, and when the guards try to physically move them, she will growl out a command: "scram!"

(mechanically, holding an action to cast command on whichever closest guard if they attempt to shove. I suspect I won't have time to check in tomorrow so Acrobatics against a shove if needed: 9)

Jirel and Jararaka hold their ground in the street, while upstairs...

Upstairs

The cultist across from Yeshil's hiding place finishes grabbing his gear and leaves his room, shutting the door behind him.  He approaches the other man in the hall.

"What's happening?"

"Dunno.  Guild says something's up and there's fighting in the kitchen.  Get everyone up, and upstairs."

The man who just came out of the bedroom moves to look into the kitchen, while the other one opens the door to the other bedroom across the hall and steps inside.  Just then, another robed figure arrives from further down the hall, joining the other at the kitchen door.

1. Yeshil
2. Kitchen Guard
3. Rest of the Guards
4. Jirel
5. Cultists
6. Finn
7. Tylaerys
8. Jararaka

((how are the cultists in the hallway dressed? Are they robed and hooded like the tokens? Are their faces visible?))

[The one who had started in the hallway and is now in a bedroom was wearing studded leather under a robe.  The rest look like they are just throwing clothes on.  They are wearing cloaks and robes, but nothing ostentatiously cult-like.  I am calling them 'cultists' not because they look like cultists, but because Yeshil has been informed that they are probably cultists. None of the ones you have seen so far have their hoods up.  Their faces are plainly visible.]

     "Help!  Guards!" Finn calls out behind her.  "They're kidnapping children!!"  Hey, a lie is more likely to get help she figures...

     Meanwhile she is, of course, defending herself, flashing out first with her rapier then with her scimitar at the hexed cultist in front of her...

Rapier Attack:  16 to hit for 9 piercing damage plus 4 necrotic damage
BA Scimitar Attack:  7 to hit for 7 slashing plus 1 necrotic if it somehow hits...

Finn badly wounds the original guard who attacked her with the knife.

Out in the street, everyone hears Finn’s shout from inside the flophouse.

Jararaka could take a different action other than the command she mentioned above, if she likes.  Tylaerys is also up.

Hearing Finn call out from inside, Tylaerys realizes whatever is happening they want everyone inside now. She hopes the Flaming Fists will not prove to be hired by the cult but they would soon find out. The young blonde Half-Elf maintains her concentration on the spell keeping Yeshil invisible as she approaches the entrance to the cultist hideout. "Did you hear that, there are innocent children in danger in there, we must help." She implores the Flaming Fist guards.

Deception: 16 Another roll if help is provided: 20

(Hey all, sorry for the late post, I’ve been having trouble logging in and finally got onto mobile for a super short post to not do command…)

Jararaka, hearing Finn’s words, attempt to head inside the building. She yells to the guards as she tries to run into the building, “Oi! You hear that! Y’wanna waste time with us or help out here?”

[using movement to run into the building, action to cast toll the dead on the guy Finn is fighting if she can see them, if not, then using action to dash]
toll the dead, Wisdom save DC14, 2 necrotic damage

Jararaka shouts at the Flaming Fist and then charges into the flophouse.  She sees four heavily armed rogues filing out into the hallway from a small doorway.  There is no sign of Finn or Yeshil here.  

[Jararaka's described action (spell or dash) could change given this new information.  If you like, Jararaka can still dash forward, or do something else.  The current location on the map is where her standard movement would have gotten her this turn.]

The two Flaming Fist seem unmoved by Jararaka and Tylaerys' appeals.  If anything, swapping out Jararaka for Tylaerys in the street seems to have emboldened them.  

"Enough games.   We told you to get out of here.  You're under arrest if you don't leave right now!"  One of the guards attempts to grab Jirel's arm.  [Applying disadvantage due to Jirel's Dodge...]  Athletic check to Grapple:  2

He completely misses here, losing his balance and falling to the street with a clattering of chain and metal armor.

Back to the top of the order...

1. Yeshil
2. Kitchen Guard (wounded)
3. Rest of the Guards
4. Jirel
5. Cultists
6. Finn
7. Tylaerys
8. Jararaka

Upstairs Map...

Ground floor map...

The upstairs was getting a little crowded - too crowded to move around freely even while invisible. Yeshil calculates that only cultists' occupy this floor, and that it's unlikely any prisoners would be housed higher in the building, and therefore she has exhausted the value of this foray. It was time to leave, and the downstairs was probably now the least congested path of egress.

Judging by the commotion in the room next door, passing a cultist in close proximity while invisible may be riskier than passing in disguise, so Yeshil makes the decision to change tactic. The invisibility spell drops away as she reaches high in the air with arms crossed, then waves her hands down and across her body, intoning in Sylvan the words athraigh tú féin. Immediately her appearance changes to her best approximation of the cultist that returned to his room in the corridor. 

Now visible and in disguise, Yeshil strolls as confidently as she can into the kitchen (through the north door that she entered the larder by) and hurriedly climbs down the ladder once again into the room below, then does her best to remain in the shadows until she can observe the movements of the remaining guards.

Action: Disguise Self. Yeshil can appear as much as 6'4" if needed, but anything above 5'4" is only an illusion.
Bonus Action: Cunning Action: Hide. Stealth: 18

(Yeshil's eyes glow green as she casts the spell, and her shadow on the wall appears a little more hunched and hook-nosed than it should. The Hex Magic power is a product of her fey heritage rather her study of magic.)

(Spell Save DC for inspection of the illusion is 14.)

Jararaka's eyes almost bulge out when she runs in only to see a bunch of cultists filing out with no sign of Finn or Yeshil. She changes her plan again and points to the tail of that file of cultists, "where do you think all y'all are going?"

(For the last round still... Jararaka casts Sacred Flame on the last guy in the file, the one in the door) Dexterity save DC 14. 5 radiant damage on a fail

DEX: 21

The guard in the small doorway looks in Jararaka's direction and just ducks out of the way of her sacred flame in time.  "Eyes up!  Its showtime!" calls one of the other guards in the downstairs hallway.

Yeshil disguises herself as one of the cloaked cultists and slips into the kitchen.  She sees the new-ish face of Finn near the stairs, fighting a pitched battle against several guards.  Climbing down the stairs in the middle of the floor, she has to fight for room against two more guards on their way up.  "Stand aside, fool!  You want us to take care of these snoopers, then get out of our damned way and let us work!"

She is able to work her way down, back into the room where she saw the guards playing cards before.  The 'secret' door into the main hall is open.  It looks like half of the guards went out that doorway and are now fighting someone in the downstairs hall, while the other half went up the ladder after Finn.

In the downstairs hall, the guards all raise light crossbows toward Jararaka as she stands in the doorway casting her spells.  After loosing their bolts, one of them [the one Jararaka tried to hit with Sacred Flame] moves entirely back into the secret room [full cover from Jararaka's position].  Another moves into the secret doorway [1/2 cover from Jararaka's position].  One stands in the middle of the hall, while the fourth moves down the hall and a few steps up the stairs, continuing to keep their weapon trained on the lizard folk. 

Light Crossbow Attack: 8 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.

Light Crossbow Attack: 8 Damage: 4

Light Crossbow Attack: 23 Damage: 6

Light Crossbow Attack: 20 Damage: 9

Up on the second floor, the original kitchen guard, suffering a grievous wound from Finn, disengages from combat with her, sliding between the tables and stopping 15' away, near the stairs.  

That's the only good news, however, as two more guards come up the stairs from below.  That makes four guards, plus the wounded one, all staring down Finn.  Two of them climb up onto tables and level crossbows at her.  The other two, [having to waste movement getting around Yeshil on the ladder] can't attack but spend this round getting into position... one of them in melee range with Finn, the other taking 1/2 cover with their crossbow behind the stove.

Light Crossbow Attack: 13 Damage: 9

Light Crossbow Attack: 24 Damage: 11

As all of this is going on, Finn sees cultists beginning to file out from the upstairs hall.  Luckily, the don't see interested in attacking her, instead filing up the stairs toward the third floor.  She can hear and see more of them still moving around down the upstairs hallway.

Upstairs:

Downstairs:  

[To simplify things, the whole party is up again...

Initiative:

• Party
• Flaming Fist
• Baddies ]