Avaria's heart drops to her stomach as she sees what is going on. They are going to get away! She looks behind herself to see if anyone has followed her and isn't surprised to see empty wind and snow. It is clinging it her fur and as she stands there contemplating what to do, the cold starts to seep in.
Well, she wasn't going to sit by and do nothing. She quietly approaches the riderless horses, trying her best not to spook them and focusing solely on them as she moves. She hopes she can get on one...
Animal handling 7
So that didn't work as well as she'd hope. Keeping one eye on the riders and one eye on the horses she is attempting to befriend, she hunkers down in the cold and attempts to Speak with Animals. Unless something stops her as she casts.
Solomona pokes his head out of the ceiling again, and calls down to Ula and Hammerdasher:
Ah, yeah, they must have gone this way. There's footprints in... Oh, that sheila just jumped off the roof! Ah geez, I better go look.
Clambering back up onto the roof, Sol crunches through the snow to the edge and launches himself off. In this dark, deserted winterscape, there is no-one around to witness the rotund ex-prisoner leap out into the dark, but instead of plummeting to the ground, he extends his arms out sideways, keeps one leg cocked with knee raised, and glides about twenty feet out onto the snowy ground, as though attached to a great rope in the night sky...
(Use 1 ki point and bonus action for Step of the Wind, to double jump distance to 20', and take the Dash action.)
(Use reaction to activate "Slow Fall", reducing any falling damage by 25.)
(Use full movement, 120' total, including Action: Dash, and bonus action: Dash, to catch up to Avaria.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Avaria approaches the corner of the building, sticking to the side of the prison as she goes, as much to stay in the shadows as to stay out of the wind.
Her attempt to get at one of the horses that comes near doesn’t go well, as the beast rears up at the sudden appearance out of the dark of the shifter. It whinnys and then trots away.
She considers using her connection to the animal world and the spirits that speak to her to try and actually talk to the horses but she knows that will take time - more time than she has (Avaria can only cast Speak with Animals as a ritual - that would take 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, Solomona leaps effortlessly down to the snow covered ground, his landing as gentle as a leaf falling on a still pond. The monk then races off after Avaria.
Though she’s failed to get ahold of a horse, Avaria has gotten close enough now to see the riders of some of the other horses.
She can now make out Godrick, his parents, Korda and a black armored soldier on 5 of the horses. Avaria waits a second as the sixth rider finally turns - Ethel.
Three more riders approach - all black armored soldiers.
“Tell the rest to retreat, now,” bellows the distinctive voice of William Hargrove, Godrick’s father.
The nine riders turn their mounts and start to leave.
At the same moment, Solomona arrives to stand next to Avaria.
From behind them, Avaria and Solomona can both hear the crash of armor, and some very loud dwarven cursing. It appears that the others have followed Solomona off the roof.
Jan (looking like Marrin looking like Marta) guides her enchanted energy into another black clad soldier. He collapses, leaving a clear path for both Jan and Marrin to make it down the hallway.
As they run past the fighting they can see into the guardroom. The warden and several guards can be seen in pitched battle with another handful of soldiers. Smoke pours into the room from the mess hall side.
Once Jan and Marrin pull up at the broken doorway leading to the outside, they see dozens of horses, several with riders some without; the rest of the black armored soldiers look to be retreating to grab what horses they can.
Several prison guards lie dead on the ground. The remaining ones have formed a semi-circle, trying to keep a group of soldiers from getting into the stables to get at what must be the last of the horses.
There’s no sign of Ethel anywhere until Marrin and Jan hear a familiar voice bellow "“Tell the rest to retreat, now."
That draws their attention to a group of riders on the far side of the chaos in front of them. They see the Hargroves, Korda, a few soldiers and Ethel, all mounted and turning to go out onto the frozen plain.
Soren races along the hallway at a pace Vonth has no trouble keeping up with. As they round one corner they see dead bodies ahead by the next intersection. Three dead soldiers and three dead guards. Scorch marks mar the walls
Turning at that last intersection, the pair feel the icy cold wind blowing up the hallway from the southern entrance.
Ahead of them, five prison guards are pressing the fight to three soldiers.
Smoke drifts out of a doorway on the east side of the hallway.
Past all that fighting, Vonth spots two, now familiar, figures.
Soren points at the same pair. “There. Marrin and Jan.”
Without hesitating, Soren weaves his way down the hallway, avoiding the fighting as best he can.
Soren leads without hesitation, and Vonth follows.
Bodies lie scattered through the halls—guards and soldiers alike, each cut down by the other. Vonth gives them little more than a glance. These dead have no claim on him.
At the next intersection, an icy wind spills down the corridor. The southern entrance stands open. The cold bites through smoke and sweat, sharp and clean, and Vonth feels his chest ease at the familiar touch. It smells faintly of freedom. Of home.
Ahead, five prison guards press hard against three soldiers in black armor.
Soren points past the clash, toward two figures beyond the fighting. “There. Martin and Jan.” His focus never wavers, as if the melee between them and his friends is little more than difficult terrain.
Vonth recognizes the pair—faces from the kitchen, fighters from the side he’d thrown in with. Solomona is nowhere among them, and the absence registers like a dull ache before being set aside.
Soren is already moving, slipping through the chaos with practiced ease, ducking blades and sliding past struggling bodies. Vonth follows in his wake, relying on bulk where Soren uses finesse.
Questions can wait. Causes can wait.
If Soren is willing to leave the meaning of the fight for later, Vonth will do the same. For now, forward is enough.
((Marrin and Jan stand just barely outside the doorway of the southern entrance, looking out and around. Vonth and Soren are now right behind them. Avaria and Solomona are outside at the corner of the prison - more or less right in line with Marrin and Jan. The entrance to the stables is between the two groups. Neither can see the other until at least one group moves forward (guards and soldiers are faced off at the entrance to the stables). And best anyone can figure, Hammerdasher, Ula and Geffroi are making their way up the side of the prison to join Avaria and Solomona. Ethel appears to be on horseback about 50' south of the entrance with the other riders (The Hargroves, Korda and several soldiers))).
Frustrated by her current situation, Ava gives up on speaking to the horses and turns to see Sol shivering in the cold. "We aren't really guards, we're here for her." she answers the monk and turns back as she registers that Ethel is on one of the horses.
She takes off at all full run straight towards her friend, all other thoughts pushed away as she dashes. She takes hold of the reins of Ethel's horse if she can and looks up at her friend, "Where are you going?!"
Vonth gives the others a brief nod of recognition and nothing more. Familiarity is noted; sentiment is not indulged. His eyes keep moving, measuring angles, exits, threats. Opportunity.
One of them looses a pair of magical blasts toward a foe Vonth doesn’t bother to track. If it is dangerous, it will announce itself soon enough. His attention is on the fallen instead—judging blades by length and balance, armor by straps and buckles. Anything he can claim quickly, anything that might keep him standing a little longer.
He shifts his grip on sword and shield, never lowering either.
“Is there a plan?” he asks quietly, as if the answer is optional. His vigilance is not.
_____
Vonth will grab a dagger or three, if they appear available on nearby fallen soldiers. Bracers or helmet or any other bit of armor that is quick and easy to remove and don in the amount of time between party movements. He's not otherwise looking to loot the bodies but he wouldn't NOT grab a coin pouch or such if he stumbled across such. It sounds like we're near the southern Guard room? If so Vonth would poke his head in there to see if there was anything to grab before the group moved on to whatever is next...
((Jan and Martin saw Ethel was already outside of the prison. She’s not in the guard room))
Avaria's heart drops to her stomach as she sees what is going on. They are going to get away! She looks behind herself to see if anyone has followed her and isn't surprised to see empty wind and snow. It is clinging it her fur and as she stands there contemplating what to do, the cold starts to seep in.
Well, she wasn't going to sit by and do nothing. She quietly approaches the riderless horses, trying her best not to spook them and focusing solely on them as she moves. She hopes she can get on one...
Animal handling 7
So that didn't work as well as she'd hope. Keeping one eye on the riders and one eye on the horses she is attempting to befriend, she hunkers down in the cold and attempts to Speak with Animals. Unless something stops her as she casts.
((Carving a path to the outside as needed then?))
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
Solomona pokes his head out of the ceiling again, and calls down to Ula and Hammerdasher:
Ah, yeah, they must have gone this way. There's footprints in... Oh, that sheila just jumped off the roof! Ah geez, I better go look.
Clambering back up onto the roof, Sol crunches through the snow to the edge and launches himself off. In this dark, deserted winterscape, there is no-one around to witness the rotund ex-prisoner leap out into the dark, but instead of plummeting to the ground, he extends his arms out sideways, keeps one leg cocked with knee raised, and glides about twenty feet out onto the snowy ground, as though attached to a great rope in the night sky...
(Use 1 ki point and bonus action for Step of the Wind, to double jump distance to 20', and take the Dash action.)
(Use reaction to activate "Slow Fall", reducing any falling damage by 25.)
(Use full movement, 120' total, including Action: Dash, and bonus action: Dash, to catch up to Avaria.)
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
((Marrin, looking like Jan, would head to wherever she saw Ethel go. I thought the shoving was to get there, all the better if not!))
OUT IN THE SNOW:
Avaria approaches the corner of the building, sticking to the side of the prison as she goes, as much to stay in the shadows as to stay out of the wind.
Her attempt to get at one of the horses that comes near doesn’t go well, as the beast rears up at the sudden appearance out of the dark of the shifter. It whinnys and then trots away.
She considers using her connection to the animal world and the spirits that speak to her to try and actually talk to the horses but she knows that will take time - more time than she has (Avaria can only cast Speak with Animals as a ritual - that would take 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, Solomona leaps effortlessly down to the snow covered ground, his landing as gentle as a leaf falling on a still pond. The monk then races off after Avaria.
Though she’s failed to get ahold of a horse, Avaria has gotten close enough now to see the riders of some of the other horses.
She can now make out Godrick, his parents, Korda and a black armored soldier on 5 of the horses. Avaria waits a second as the sixth rider finally turns - Ethel.
Three more riders approach - all black armored soldiers.
“Tell the rest to retreat, now,” bellows the distinctive voice of William Hargrove, Godrick’s father.
The nine riders turn their mounts and start to leave.
At the same moment, Solomona arrives to stand next to Avaria.
From behind them, Avaria and Solomona can both hear the crash of armor, and some very loud dwarven cursing. It appears that the others have followed Solomona off the roof.
—-----------------------------------------------------------
AT THE SOUTHERN ENTRANCE:
Jan (looking like Marrin looking like Marta) guides her enchanted energy into another black clad soldier. He collapses, leaving a clear path for both Jan and Marrin to make it down the hallway.
As they run past the fighting they can see into the guardroom. The warden and several guards can be seen in pitched battle with another handful of soldiers. Smoke pours into the room from the mess hall side.
Once Jan and Marrin pull up at the broken doorway leading to the outside, they see dozens of horses, several with riders some without; the rest of the black armored soldiers look to be retreating to grab what horses they can.
Several prison guards lie dead on the ground. The remaining ones have formed a semi-circle, trying to keep a group of soldiers from getting into the stables to get at what must be the last of the horses.
There’s no sign of Ethel anywhere until Marrin and Jan hear a familiar voice bellow "“Tell the rest to retreat, now."
That draws their attention to a group of riders on the far side of the chaos in front of them. They see the Hargroves, Korda, a few soldiers and Ethel, all mounted and turning to go out onto the frozen plain.
—-----------------------------------------------------------
IN THE PRISON:
Soren races along the hallway at a pace Vonth has no trouble keeping up with. As they round one corner they see dead bodies ahead by the next intersection. Three dead soldiers and three dead guards. Scorch marks mar the walls
Turning at that last intersection, the pair feel the icy cold wind blowing up the hallway from the southern entrance.
Ahead of them, five prison guards are pressing the fight to three soldiers.
Smoke drifts out of a doorway on the east side of the hallway.
Past all that fighting, Vonth spots two, now familiar, figures.
Soren points at the same pair. “There. Marrin and Jan.”
Without hesitating, Soren weaves his way down the hallway, avoiding the fighting as best he can.
Vonth...
Soren leads without hesitation, and Vonth follows.
Bodies lie scattered through the halls—guards and soldiers alike, each cut down by the other. Vonth gives them little more than a glance. These dead have no claim on him.
At the next intersection, an icy wind spills down the corridor. The southern entrance stands open. The cold bites through smoke and sweat, sharp and clean, and Vonth feels his chest ease at the familiar touch. It smells faintly of freedom. Of home.
Ahead, five prison guards press hard against three soldiers in black armor.
Soren points past the clash, toward two figures beyond the fighting. “There. Martin and Jan.” His focus never wavers, as if the melee between them and his friends is little more than difficult terrain.
Vonth recognizes the pair—faces from the kitchen, fighters from the side he’d thrown in with. Solomona is nowhere among them, and the absence registers like a dull ache before being set aside.
Soren is already moving, slipping through the chaos with practiced ease, ducking blades and sliding past struggling bodies. Vonth follows in his wake, relying on bulk where Soren uses finesse.
Questions can wait. Causes can wait.
If Soren is willing to leave the meaning of the fight for later, Vonth will do the same. For now, forward is enough.
((Marrin and Jan stand just barely outside the doorway of the southern entrance, looking out and around. Vonth and Soren are now right behind them. Avaria and Solomona are outside at the corner of the prison - more or less right in line with Marrin and Jan. The entrance to the stables is between the two groups. Neither can see the other until at least one group moves forward (guards and soldiers are faced off at the entrance to the stables). And best anyone can figure, Hammerdasher, Ula and Geffroi are making their way up the side of the prison to join Avaria and Solomona. Ethel appears to be on horseback about 50' south of the entrance with the other riders (The Hargroves, Korda and several soldiers))).
THE PRISON:
"****, they've got Ethel.", Jan (who looks like Marta) spits, willfully ignoring or not registering that their friend doesn't seem to be bound (?).
She'll unload a pair of blasts at the bald bastard Godrick, taking what cover she can while moving forward.
Attack: 25 Damage: 16
Attack: 15 Damage: 6
(Plus 3 bludgeoning on 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
Solomona stands barefoot and shivering in the snow beside the female guard, watching the horsemen prepare to depart.
I reckon they m-might be too m-many for us, eh? Why you so worried about K-Korda escaping, and n-not all us others?
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
((How far away are the 9 on horses? And I would also like to support Spider's question about if Ethel looks coerced somehow?))
Marrin, looking like Jan, brings her flute to her lips...
Frustrated by her current situation, Ava gives up on speaking to the horses and turns to see Sol shivering in the cold. "We aren't really guards, we're here for her." she answers the monk and turns back as she registers that Ethel is on one of the horses.
She takes off at all full run straight towards her friend, all other thoughts pushed away as she dashes. She takes hold of the reins of Ethel's horse if she can and looks up at her friend, "Where are you going?!"
Vonth...
Vonth gives the others a brief nod of recognition and nothing more. Familiarity is noted; sentiment is not indulged. His eyes keep moving, measuring angles, exits, threats. Opportunity.
One of them looses a pair of magical blasts toward a foe Vonth doesn’t bother to track. If it is dangerous, it will announce itself soon enough. His attention is on the fallen instead—judging blades by length and balance, armor by straps and buckles. Anything he can claim quickly, anything that might keep him standing a little longer.
He shifts his grip on sword and shield, never lowering either.
“Is there a plan?” he asks quietly, as if the answer is optional. His vigilance is not.
_____
Vonth will grab a dagger or three, if they appear available on nearby fallen soldiers. Bracers or helmet or any other bit of armor that is quick and easy to remove and don in the amount of time between party movements. He's not otherwise looking to loot the bodies but he wouldn't NOT grab a coin pouch or such if he stumbled across such. It sounds like we're near the southern Guard room? If so Vonth would poke his head in there to see if there was anything to grab before the group moved on to whatever is next...
((Initiative rolls please - and no, there’s no sign that Ethel is tied up or being held.))
Avaria's initiative: 20
((For everyone? Just in case... Vonth Initiative: 19))
((Yes, everyone - May not affect Vonth this round but he’s close enough to be in the mix)).
Jan: 22
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
Solomona: 17
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Marrin: 16
((Also, are the 9 on horses within 60ft of Marrin?))