Culver’s Longsword whistles through the air, the blade guided not by rage but by resolve. The cut is clean and heavy, driven by shoulders hardened by mountains and captivity alike. The soldier staggers back and falls. A second steps up and is likewise brought to his knees by Vonth’s blade before he steps forward into the doorway again, reclaiming the space with his bulk and shield.
Another soldier forces his way forward, desperate to escape the fiery hell of the kitchen. Their blade cuts Vonth as they press in close. “Just let me by and we can stop fighting,” the soldier pleads.
The wound in Vonth’s arm burns, warm and slick beneath the soot, but it is nothing that will slow him. Pain is familiar. Duty is clearer.
The soldier’s plea hangs in the smoke for half a heartbeat—thin, desperate, almost reasonable.
Vonth answers with steel.
He had said he would hold the door, and by Morc eternal, he will do all he can to keep it so.
_____
Action: Longsword attack: 24 to hit for 8 slashing damage plus 4radiant from Divine Favor (2nd round for spell out of 10)
Bonus Action: None
Movement: None
Reaction: As before, Vonth will Riposte or Brace as situation allows (Attack if either someone melee attacks him and misses (Riposte) or if someone new enters into melee range with Vonth (Brace.)). If neither is applicable then disregard... If one is applicable then: Longsword Attack - 21to hit for 6slashing damage plus 1radiant plus 7from Superiority Die...
Avaria spots all sorts of boot prints in the snow on the roof of the prison. However, there’s a set that looks fresher than the others, pressing down on the recent light dusting of snow, the wind not having filled them in much yet. There look to be more than two sets, maybe as many as four - Godrick, Korda and?
The footprints lead to the southern edge of the roof (above the meeting room). Shielding her eyes from the biting wind and peering into the gloom, she can’t make out very much. Those might be bootprints on the ground, 20 feet below. They might lead towards the southern side of the prison but there’s no sign of anyone.
From what Solomona had said, Korda and Godrick have a good head start and are likely at least as far as the rear of the prison.
Solomona, climbing out onto the roof behind Avaria is hit square in the face, then chest, then belly by the howling wind. Flecks of snow and ice in the wind feel like small knives pricking his skin. This is definitely not the kind of weather he grew up in and he can tell that spending much time out here will be a challenge. Though, he suspects the stoic Vonth may actually enjoy it.
((The ground is 20’ down, with no ladders. There’s a short level up to the rest of the prison roof (about 5’), which would give access to the rest of the roof, except the central tower and the watchtowers in the corners. Down to the ground? Back inside the nice warm prison? Across the roof?))
AT THE KITCHEN DOOR
Vonth, having decided none shall pass, leans into his attack on the last remaining soldier. His blade finds purchase and bites deep, deflecting only after it hits bone. Blood oozes down the shield arm of the black clad mercenary.
The soldier yells loudly and seeing there’s no way out except through this goliath, leaps into a desperate attack. He slashes out once, then again. (23 to hit for 10 slashing and then 23 to hit for 4 slashing).
The frantic look in the soldier’s eyes versus the steely resolve of the goliath means only one will leave this encounter alive.
Smoke continues to pour out of the kitchen, filling the hallway. It won’t be long before the pair are going to both be choking on it.
((No Brace or Riposte used - Vonth is up)).
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE
The hallway is filled with soldiers fighting guards, though the general flow appears to be for the fighting to lead outside.
Marrin and Jan can slowly follow the group outside but that will take a few rounds. They can try and force their way through along one of the walls, to get through in one round. This hallway is a little narrower than the one they were in before and they’ll have to shove their way through to make room.
Vonth’s blade finds purchase, cutting deep into the soldier… But they respond in kind, swing twice and injuring Vonth with each.Both warriors stand opposed to one another, their only agreement a silent one that only one shall live.Vonth swings his blade again, determined it be him.
_____
Action: Longsword Attack - 17to hit for 11 slashing and 1 radiant damage (3rd out of 10 rounds for Divine Favor)
Bonus Action: None
Movement: None
Reaction: As before, Vonth will Riposte or Brace as situation allows (Attack if either someone melee attacks him and misses (Riposte) or if someone new enters into melee range with Vonth (Brace.)). If neither is applicable then disregard... If one is applicable then: Longsword Attack - 25 to hit for 7 slashing damage plus 4 radiant plus 3 from Superiority Die...
Surely the more sensible option of reaching the rear of the prison is through the interior of the prison. Godrick and Korda would only see pursuers coming if they were to hoof it across this frozen bleak landscape. And frankly, Solomona isn't as emotionally committed to this pursuit as Avaria is... He descends the ladder and rubs some warmth back into his limbs.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The gods of war must be looking down on this small piece of hallway, in this small corner of this very remote prison and smiling. They can sense that if this soldier hits the Goliath he'll go down. But they can see by the way the Goliath holds himself that if the soldier misses, he will be the one that goes down under the blow of the retaliatory strike.
The desperate soldier makes one last lunge at Vonth, driving his whole weight behind his longsword. He finds a gap between the shield and the strong arm of the Goliath, pressing the point deep into flesh (21 to hit for 5 slashing). In his already weakened state, it's enough to bring the big man to his knees. As darkness clouds his eyes, Vonth can only hear bootsteps then nothing.
((Death Save please))
ON THE ROOF:
Solomona ducks down out of the wind. Below him he sees the two dwarves looking up at him from the bottom of the ladder. What were their names? Ula and Hammerdasher? By the door is the skinny looking guard, Geffroi.
"Any sign of Korda or Godrick?" Hammerdasher asks.
((Will hold to see what Avaria does))
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE:
As Jan and Marrin size up the mass melee of an obstacle in front of them, the group continues to fight but make their way closer to all getting outside.
The sound of horses neighing and rearing can be heard from past the doorway.
The icy wind blows part way into the hall, swirling snow as it does, causing the soldier and guard on the western side of the hallway to slip a little. Perhaps they'll be easier to shove out of the way.
Ava curses on how slow they have been and that the two have got such a head start. She has no clue who the other footprints are from... Godrick's parents? Were they hiding in here? She shakes her head, no time to wonder. She heaves herself up on the roof and then jumps down to the ground, doggedly following the tracks deciding that is the quickest route to finding them. She doesn't even register that Sol went back down.
(Stubborn ol' Ava. Let me know if I need a roll for that jump.)
"They're falling back to where Ethel is... we don't need her getting cornered by five of those bastards."
Marta-Jan will unleash blasts of energy on the soldier on the western side, seeking to thin their ranks and further open up a route to slip past. She continues to wonder who the Warden is facing off against, sending K to invisibly investigate.
Attack: 20 Damage: 7 Attack: 25 Damage: 13
((Forgot this in the kitchen fight, but first hit also gets 3 bludgeoning damage. Hope forgetting that didn't sway things too much.))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Just that—one small, final cut after a life filled with pain. Not a glorious blow. Not some great reckoning. Just a brief, sharp inconvenience in the long accounting of wounds.
And yet it is enough.
The world tilts. Strength leaves him all at once, as if it had merely been borrowed. The smoke, the heat, the clash of steel all fade into something distant and unimportant.
At first everything is dark and quiet. At the very least it’s peaceful.
But then a sound begins. A howling of wind, but not that of the icy plain around the prison, nor that of the winds in Vonth’s mountain home. There’s more to it; something in the wind grinding.
The darkness begins to coalesce, leaving light at the edges of Vonth’s vision. He can now see what appears to be a sandstorm, relentlessly swirling and driving at the darkness.
The black darkness moves as well. It’s slowly coming down from the foothills of a mountain; one that Vonth has never seen. A desert runs right up to the hills and mountain and the sandstorm relentlessly beats against the dark black cloud.
“You have much to do still,” a voice echoes clearly. “You are only just discovering your purpose. You must get up and continue your journey.”
The sandstorm dies down and the black darkness begins to resolve into shapes - humanoid. Undead warriors, skeletons, ghasts, ghouls, abominations of all kinds and floating above them all is a black cowled figure.
Before Vonth can see the figure’s face, the sand erupts once more. Scales, bones, a massive creature begins to emerge.
“Let’s go big man,” a different voice says. “You’re not all dead. Only mostly dead. I can work with that.”
Suddenly the desert, the mountain and everything are gone and Vonth is staring up at the ceiling of the hallway in the prison.
The half-elf guard, Soren, stares down at him, a hand on Vonth’s shoulder.
“But if you stay here, you will be all dead. Come on, let’s get moving.”
Looking to the side, Vonth can see the soldier who had delivered the killing below lies against the wall, eyes open but unseeing, dead.
((Vonth back with the living and healed - Cure Wounds - 17 HP))
Solomona pops his head back over the roof to see what’s keeping Avaria. He sees her jump from the roof top to the ground below.
“What’s going on?” Hammerdasher calls to Solomona. “Where’s Avaria?”
Avaria leaps down to the ground below, her strong legs absorbing most of the impact, the soft snow blown in a drift against the side of the prison absorbs the rest.
Looking down at the ground, Avaria now sees for sure that the boot prints continue on from here towards the rear of the prison.
The bootprints are relatively easy to follow as long as she keeps low to the ground. She makes it about 60’ from the point she dropped when she spots a couple of riderless horses up ahead. They’re about 50’ ahead, just at the corner of the prison wall.
Then she sees six more horses, all with riders. The wind, and blowing snow make it difficult to see the riders clearly, but there’s something familiar about all of them, especially the smallest of the riders.
Marta-Jan’s aim is true and the twin crackling beams of energy find their target, bringing him first to one knee then flat on his face. The sudden collapse of her target causes Marrin’s bolt to miss, finding only the wall instead.
The prison guard who had been fighting the now dead soldier looks up and nods at Marrin and Jan and moves to press the attack with the other guards.
K’ flits up to the ceiling and disappears into the guard room.
Without giving up her own senses to see what K sees, Jan can now hear much more fighting in the guard room. There must be more guards and soldiers in there.
Just to the side lies the soldier who had killed him—or nearly had. Vonth stares at the unmoving body, his thoughts stumbling over themselves. Had he died? Was he alive again now? Undead? His mind reaches for the vision, for meaning, for the vast shapes and voices still echoing faintly—
“But if you stay here, you will be all dead. Come on, let’s get moving.”
The words cut cleanly through the haze.
Vonth turns his head toward the voice. Soren. The half-elf guard. The same one who had been fighting the black-clad soldiers alongside him and the others. There is no time in Soren’s expression for philosophy or visions—only urgency.
Vonth wants to pause. Wants to grasp at the memory of what he saw. But the threads are already slipping away, dissolving like a dream recalled too slowly.
He exhales, shakes his head, and pushes himself up onto his feet. The ache in his body is real enough. He retrieves his sword and shield, fingers tightening around familiar weight, and looks back to Soren.
“What is going on?” Vonth asks, forcing the last remnants of the vision aside. “What is this fight?”
He waits for the answer, ready to move—but needing to understand what he is moving into.
Soren looks at Vonth, not saying anything for a moment.
Then he cocks his head slightly to one side.
"Did you see something?" Soren asks. But realizing the urgency of where they are, seeing the smoke still billowing out of the kitchen, he doesn't wait for an answer.
"Nothing much. Just a fight for the fate of Faerun. Korda knows where there's a key to a vault that might give whoever gets there first a hell of an advantage in what's coming. And if this Godrick and his family get there first, well," Soren pauses as he moves to the intersection of hallways and locks north and south. "that's not something I want to think about right now."
He looks over at Vonth, gives the Goliath a smile and heads off down the passage leading southwest.
Vonth blinks but says nothing, turning the words over in his mind.
He has heard stories all his life—tales told around fires and carved into memory. Most sang the praises of the Ogelellum, or of goliaths as a people: endurance, strength, deeds that mattered. Others spoke of the little folk beyond the peaks. No matter the teller, no matter the land, the stories were always the same at their heart.
The world was ending. And someone stopped it.
Yet the world always kept on turning.
You grow up. You learn that stories are stories. They teach, inspire, warn—but they are not life. Life is smaller. Hungrier. More repetitive. Mountains endure not because of prophecy, but because stone is stubborn.
And yet—
Here he was.
A unicorn chased. A prison unjustly earned. Freedom delivered by chaos and fire. And now this—an inexplicable battle wrapped in words like fate and world.
If the world truly needed saving, then yes—it would apparently require Vonth Woundwatcher of the Ogelellum.
He nods once, absently, as if agreeing to a task already decided long ago, and falls in step behind Soren. Sword in hand. Shield ready.
Jan, her focus being on repelling the soldiers and capturing or killing the Hargroves, is momentarily unsure if Marrin is suggesting they kill the horses to prevent the Hargroves from being able to flee. She realizes that her friend is more likely suggesting that they depart instead.
"Maybe... Get Ethel first, then we'll decide."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
((In that case, Sol will follow Ava.))
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Vonth...
Culver’s Longsword whistles through the air, the blade guided not by rage but by resolve. The cut is clean and heavy, driven by shoulders hardened by mountains and captivity alike. The soldier staggers back and falls. A second steps up and is likewise brought to his knees by Vonth’s blade before he steps forward into the doorway again, reclaiming the space with his bulk and shield.
Another soldier forces his way forward, desperate to escape the fiery hell of the kitchen. Their blade cuts Vonth as they press in close. “Just let me by and we can stop fighting,” the soldier pleads.
The wound in Vonth’s arm burns, warm and slick beneath the soot, but it is nothing that will slow him. Pain is familiar. Duty is clearer.
The soldier’s plea hangs in the smoke for half a heartbeat—thin, desperate, almost reasonable.
Vonth answers with steel.
He had said he would hold the door, and by Morc eternal, he will do all he can to keep it so.
_____
Action: Longsword attack: 24 to hit for 8 slashing damage plus 4 radiant from Divine Favor (2nd round for spell out of 10)
Bonus Action: None
Movement: None
Reaction: As before, Vonth will Riposte or Brace as situation allows (Attack if either someone melee attacks him and misses (Riposte) or if someone new enters into melee range with Vonth (Brace.)). If neither is applicable then disregard... If one is applicable then: Longsword Attack - 21 to hit for 6 slashing damage plus 1 radiant plus 7 from Superiority Die...
ON THE ROOF
Avaria spots all sorts of boot prints in the snow on the roof of the prison. However, there’s a set that looks fresher than the others, pressing down on the recent light dusting of snow, the wind not having filled them in much yet. There look to be more than two sets, maybe as many as four - Godrick, Korda and?
The footprints lead to the southern edge of the roof (above the meeting room). Shielding her eyes from the biting wind and peering into the gloom, she can’t make out very much. Those might be bootprints on the ground, 20 feet below. They might lead towards the southern side of the prison but there’s no sign of anyone.
From what Solomona had said, Korda and Godrick have a good head start and are likely at least as far as the rear of the prison.
Solomona, climbing out onto the roof behind Avaria is hit square in the face, then chest, then belly by the howling wind. Flecks of snow and ice in the wind feel like small knives pricking his skin. This is definitely not the kind of weather he grew up in and he can tell that spending much time out here will be a challenge. Though, he suspects the stoic Vonth may actually enjoy it.
((The ground is 20’ down, with no ladders. There’s a short level up to the rest of the prison roof (about 5’), which would give access to the rest of the roof, except the central tower and the watchtowers in the corners. Down to the ground? Back inside the nice warm prison? Across the roof?))
AT THE KITCHEN DOOR
Vonth, having decided none shall pass, leans into his attack on the last remaining soldier. His blade finds purchase and bites deep, deflecting only after it hits bone. Blood oozes down the shield arm of the black clad mercenary.
The soldier yells loudly and seeing there’s no way out except through this goliath, leaps into a desperate attack. He slashes out once, then again. (23 to hit for 10 slashing and then 23 to hit for 4 slashing).
The frantic look in the soldier’s eyes versus the steely resolve of the goliath means only one will leave this encounter alive.
Smoke continues to pour out of the kitchen, filling the hallway. It won’t be long before the pair are going to both be choking on it.
((No Brace or Riposte used - Vonth is up)).
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE
The hallway is filled with soldiers fighting guards, though the general flow appears to be for the fighting to lead outside.
Marrin and Jan can slowly follow the group outside but that will take a few rounds. They can try and force their way through along one of the walls, to get through in one round. This hallway is a little narrower than the one they were in before and they’ll have to shove their way through to make room.
((Wait? Shove? Fight? Or something else?))
Vonth...
Vonth’s blade finds purchase, cutting deep into the soldier… But they respond in kind, swing twice and injuring Vonth with each. Both warriors stand opposed to one another, their only agreement a silent one that only one shall live. Vonth swings his blade again, determined it be him.
_____
Action: Longsword Attack - 17 to hit for 11 slashing and 1 radiant damage (3rd out of 10 rounds for Divine Favor)
Bonus Action: None
Movement: None
Reaction: As before, Vonth will Riposte or Brace as situation allows (Attack if either someone melee attacks him and misses (Riposte) or if someone new enters into melee range with Vonth (Brace.)). If neither is applicable then disregard... If one is applicable then: Longsword Attack - 25 to hit for 7 slashing damage plus 4 radiant plus 3 from Superiority Die...
((Can we get a rough count on soldiers and guards in the hallway?))
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Surely the more sensible option of reaching the rear of the prison is through the interior of the prison. Godrick and Korda would only see pursuers coming if they were to hoof it across this frozen bleak landscape. And frankly, Solomona isn't as emotionally committed to this pursuit as Avaria is... He descends the ladder and rubs some warmth back into his limbs.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
((Looks like 5 soldiers and 5 guards fighting, though the soldiers appear to be doing a planned withdrawal from the prison))
"What's the plan Jan?"
AT THE KITCHEN DOOR:
The gods of war must be looking down on this small piece of hallway, in this small corner of this very remote prison and smiling. They can sense that if this soldier hits the Goliath he'll go down. But they can see by the way the Goliath holds himself that if the soldier misses, he will be the one that goes down under the blow of the retaliatory strike.
The desperate soldier makes one last lunge at Vonth, driving his whole weight behind his longsword. He finds a gap between the shield and the strong arm of the Goliath, pressing the point deep into flesh (21 to hit for 5 slashing). In his already weakened state, it's enough to bring the big man to his knees. As darkness clouds his eyes, Vonth can only hear bootsteps then nothing.
((Death Save please))
ON THE ROOF:
Solomona ducks down out of the wind. Below him he sees the two dwarves looking up at him from the bottom of the ladder. What were their names? Ula and Hammerdasher? By the door is the skinny looking guard, Geffroi.
"Any sign of Korda or Godrick?" Hammerdasher asks.
((Will hold to see what Avaria does))
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE:
As Jan and Marrin size up the mass melee of an obstacle in front of them, the group continues to fight but make their way closer to all getting outside.
The sound of horses neighing and rearing can be heard from past the doorway.
The icy wind blows part way into the hall, swirling snow as it does, causing the soldier and guard on the western side of the hallway to slip a little. Perhaps they'll be easier to shove out of the way.
((Waiting on Jan and Marrin))
Ava curses on how slow they have been and that the two have got such a head start. She has no clue who the other footprints are from... Godrick's parents? Were they hiding in here? She shakes her head, no time to wonder. She heaves herself up on the roof and then jumps down to the ground, doggedly following the tracks deciding that is the quickest route to finding them. She doesn't even register that Sol went back down.
(Stubborn ol' Ava. Let me know if I need a roll for that jump.)
"They're falling back to where Ethel is... we don't need her getting cornered by five of those bastards."
Marta-Jan will unleash blasts of energy on the soldier on the western side, seeking to thin their ranks and further open up a route to slip past. She continues to wonder who the Warden is facing off against, sending K to invisibly investigate.
Attack: 20 Damage: 7
Attack: 25 Damage: 13
((Forgot this in the kitchen fight, but first hit also gets 3 bludgeoning damage. Hope forgetting that didn't sway things too much.))
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Vonth...
Is that it?
Just that—one small, final cut after a life filled with pain. Not a glorious blow. Not some great reckoning. Just a brief, sharp inconvenience in the long accounting of wounds.
And yet it is enough.
The world tilts. Strength leaves him all at once, as if it had merely been borrowed. The smoke, the heat, the clash of steel all fade into something distant and unimportant.
Darkness comes—not as an enemy, but as an answer.
Vonth falls.
_____
Death Save: 2
Marrin joins in by shooting a bolt towards the same soldier, but misses.
To hit: 10
"Should we try and get some of those horses?"
IN THE DARKNESS
At first everything is dark and quiet. At the very least it’s peaceful.
But then a sound begins. A howling of wind, but not that of the icy plain around the prison, nor that of the winds in Vonth’s mountain home. There’s more to it; something in the wind grinding.
The darkness begins to coalesce, leaving light at the edges of Vonth’s vision. He can now see what appears to be a sandstorm, relentlessly swirling and driving at the darkness.
The black darkness moves as well. It’s slowly coming down from the foothills of a mountain; one that Vonth has never seen. A desert runs right up to the hills and mountain and the sandstorm relentlessly beats against the dark black cloud.
“You have much to do still,” a voice echoes clearly. “You are only just discovering your purpose. You must get up and continue your journey.”
The sandstorm dies down and the black darkness begins to resolve into shapes - humanoid. Undead warriors, skeletons, ghasts, ghouls, abominations of all kinds and floating above them all is a black cowled figure.
Before Vonth can see the figure’s face, the sand erupts once more. Scales, bones, a massive creature begins to emerge.
“Let’s go big man,” a different voice says. “You’re not all dead. Only mostly dead. I can work with that.”
Suddenly the desert, the mountain and everything are gone and Vonth is staring up at the ceiling of the hallway in the prison.
The half-elf guard, Soren, stares down at him, a hand on Vonth’s shoulder.
“But if you stay here, you will be all dead. Come on, let’s get moving.”
Looking to the side, Vonth can see the soldier who had delivered the killing below lies against the wall, eyes open but unseeing, dead.
((Vonth back with the living and healed - Cure Wounds - 17 HP))
—-----------------------------------------------------------
ON THE ROOF:
Solomona pops his head back over the roof to see what’s keeping Avaria. He sees her jump from the roof top to the ground below.
“What’s going on?” Hammerdasher calls to Solomona. “Where’s Avaria?”
Avaria leaps down to the ground below, her strong legs absorbing most of the impact, the soft snow blown in a drift against the side of the prison absorbs the rest.
Looking down at the ground, Avaria now sees for sure that the boot prints continue on from here towards the rear of the prison.
The bootprints are relatively easy to follow as long as she keeps low to the ground. She makes it about 60’ from the point she dropped when she spots a couple of riderless horses up ahead. They’re about 50’ ahead, just at the corner of the prison wall.
Then she sees six more horses, all with riders. The wind, and blowing snow make it difficult to see the riders clearly, but there’s something familiar about all of them, especially the smallest of the riders.
—-----------------------------------------------------
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE:
Marta-Jan’s aim is true and the twin crackling beams of energy find their target, bringing him first to one knee then flat on his face. The sudden collapse of her target causes Marrin’s bolt to miss, finding only the wall instead.
The prison guard who had been fighting the now dead soldier looks up and nods at Marrin and Jan and moves to press the attack with the other guards.
K’ flits up to the ceiling and disappears into the guard room.
Without giving up her own senses to see what K sees, Jan can now hear much more fighting in the guard room. There must be more guards and soldiers in there.
Vonth...
Vonth blinks. And just like that, it is all gone.
The mountain. The wind. The darkness. The dead.
…Well. Not all the dead.
Just to the side lies the soldier who had killed him—or nearly had. Vonth stares at the unmoving body, his thoughts stumbling over themselves. Had he died? Was he alive again now? Undead? His mind reaches for the vision, for meaning, for the vast shapes and voices still echoing faintly—
“But if you stay here, you will be all dead. Come on, let’s get moving.”
The words cut cleanly through the haze.
Vonth turns his head toward the voice. Soren. The half-elf guard. The same one who had been fighting the black-clad soldiers alongside him and the others. There is no time in Soren’s expression for philosophy or visions—only urgency.
Vonth wants to pause. Wants to grasp at the memory of what he saw. But the threads are already slipping away, dissolving like a dream recalled too slowly.
He exhales, shakes his head, and pushes himself up onto his feet. The ache in his body is real enough. He retrieves his sword and shield, fingers tightening around familiar weight, and looks back to Soren.
“What is going on?” Vonth asks, forcing the last remnants of the vision aside. “What is this fight?”
He waits for the answer, ready to move—but needing to understand what he is moving into.
Soren looks at Vonth, not saying anything for a moment.
Then he cocks his head slightly to one side.
"Did you see something?" Soren asks. But realizing the urgency of where they are, seeing the smoke still billowing out of the kitchen, he doesn't wait for an answer.
"Nothing much. Just a fight for the fate of Faerun. Korda knows where there's a key to a vault that might give whoever gets there first a hell of an advantage in what's coming. And if this Godrick and his family get there first, well," Soren pauses as he moves to the intersection of hallways and locks north and south. "that's not something I want to think about right now."
He looks over at Vonth, gives the Goliath a smile and heads off down the passage leading southwest.
Vonth...
Oh. Fate of the Faerun. That’s all.
Vonth blinks but says nothing, turning the words over in his mind.
He has heard stories all his life—tales told around fires and carved into memory. Most sang the praises of the Ogelellum, or of goliaths as a people: endurance, strength, deeds that mattered. Others spoke of the little folk beyond the peaks. No matter the teller, no matter the land, the stories were always the same at their heart.
The world was ending.
And someone stopped it.
Yet the world always kept on turning.
You grow up. You learn that stories are stories. They teach, inspire, warn—but they are not life. Life is smaller. Hungrier. More repetitive. Mountains endure not because of prophecy, but because stone is stubborn.
And yet—
Here he was.
A unicorn chased.
A prison unjustly earned.
Freedom delivered by chaos and fire.
And now this—an inexplicable battle wrapped in words like fate and world.
If the world truly needed saving, then yes—it would apparently require Vonth Woundwatcher of the Ogelellum.
He nods once, absently, as if agreeing to a task already decided long ago, and falls in step behind Soren. Sword in hand. Shield ready.
Whatever waits ahead will be met head-on.
Jan, her focus being on repelling the soldiers and capturing or killing the Hargroves, is momentarily unsure if Marrin is suggesting they kill the horses to prevent the Hargroves from being able to flee. She realizes that her friend is more likely suggesting that they depart instead.
"Maybe... Get Ethel first, then we'll decide."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
"Sounds good, well I will head in and get her then. Cover me."
Marrin, looking like Jan, heads in and trips/shoves whomever she needs to get where she needs to get.
((Hoping to use a dex modifier rather than strength here.))
Shoving: 13 (or 8, depending on modifier)
Jan (looking like Marta), blasts any soldiers who get too close to Marrin (looking like Jan). She'll follow her friends progress.
Attack: 15 Damage: 12
Attack: 15 Damage: 8
Plus 3 bludgeoning on first hit.
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock