Nettle does not return to Soren, alighting instead behind the cover of the town walls, peeking down on either side.  Ready to dodge any attack.

Soren feels weariness and sorrow.  Cursed and sunless lies the land, cursed its beasts, cursed its monsters.  Aye, and cursed its people too...

The druid sighs softly and slows but does not turn his head as he speaks quietly to the entire group.  "Though we return bearing rescued cubs, we will be hunted, not welcomed.  A half dozen ambushers stalk us, hidden just inside the gate.  Cultists perhaps, garbed in robes of brown and red.  One bears the fiendish pentacle sigil we glimpsed in the lair below the Wachter den dedicated to the worship of fiends.  Lady Wachter's 'book club' await us, perhaps."

"I can summon wolves to aid us once more today, yet I hesitate, fearing I will never be able to replenish Silvanus' primal magic.  Morgantha has promised to render my dreams into harrowing nightmares with no benefit of rest.  How should we proceed, then?  We could circle the town to another gate, or skip it entirely, taking the cubs to Davian Martikov's winery with the orphanage abandoned.  Yet I think we must face these foes sooner or later."

Burr smiled at Soren, " I can walk through the gate.  When they reveal themselves you take them down.  I do not fear a bunch of pretenders to demonic power."

" Keep the children and the others back.  At the very least we may be able to get the children a house out of this if this book club was all ' upstanding citizens'......besides I owe them the chance, I did kill their leader."

Giles looks to the others, saying “I am nearly out of power, from my Lady, I can gain one spell back, but I am nearly spent.  Does anyone else have magic to capture the whole group as one?  Some cloud of noxious gas?  Some huge ball of flame to catch them all as they lay in wait for us?  If not, we will need to strategize how to attack and lure them out.  Some stratagem…”

Giles recasts his mage hand, having it float 30 feet forward, picking up a branch on the ground, then bringing it back to him.  He’s mulling over something in his mind, then he lets it drop to the ground.  

" If they are anything like their leader a few solidly thrown rocks should do it.", Burr mused.

Zefla pulls her rapier out and grins maliciously.  "These are made of flesh and blood.  They will bleed easily."

Turning back to Ireena, Tourmaline and Viktor, "Keep the children safe.  We'll take out the rifraf."  And to Soren, "So glad your pet saw their ambush.  I don't think we have time for anything other than a frontal assault.  Burr heads in, I'll try and sneak around the side for a surprise attack if possible, you hold back as much as you can.  But our friends need us."

Soren splutters at Zefla's turn of phrase.  "Wait, did you call Nettle my... my pet??"  From atop the wall, the owl glances back at the halfling, a little miffed.

Recovering his composure, the druid continues, "I too think we can prevail, but do not be so quick to underestimate these ambushers.  To my untrained eye, they have the look of... I do not know.  Devil cult assassins?  I think they may prove a more difficult quarry than Lady Wachter herself, who was also not expecting to be attacked in her own den.  I can summon my radiant moonbeam from a distance and Nettle can help as usual."

He turns to the other spellcasters.  "Not-father, is there any trickery or illusion you can perform to draw out their ambush prematurely?  I am concerned they may have rigged some trap if Burr just charges in there, or perhaps they have a way to shut off the gate to isolate melee attackers from the rest of us.  And yes, Victor, if you have any way to blast or incapacitate several of them at once from a distance as we make our move, all the better."

Soren closes his eyes and murmur's a brief prayer for Silvanus' Guidance, tapping Zefla's shoulder to grant it to her (to use on Stealth or Initiative).

Burr shrugged, " Whatever you've got planned do it because I'm going in on the count of 60."

" 1..2..3..4..5..6......"

Still concentrating on Silvanus' Guidance for Zefla, Soren readies himself to follow thirty feet behind Burr as soon as he realizes that the big man plans to spring the ambush in his usual, utterly direct way.  The druid shakes his head wearily with both exasperation and fondness.

"I will shine moonglow down on them.  Beware a trap at the gate, Burr.  Do not make the mistake of assuming any foe or prey is easy meat."

The instant battle is joined, Soren plans to drop concentration on Guidance and start concentration on Moonbeam, using Nettle's spotting to try to identify an optimal target location where he can encapsulate more than one ambusher in its five foot radius area of effect.

Giles takes a knee for only a moment, saying a quick prayer to his Lady, asking for strength.  He puts his coin into his pocket and his hand goes to his dagger, also fingers the handle of his crossbow.  He stands and observes the gate again for a quick second.  Then he walk/runs quickly in front of Burr, saying to him and the others as he passes in a low voice, "They've already seen us, they are waiting inside.  Let's try to draw them out, if possible.  Let me give a try.  If that doesn't work, then your way of course, Burr."

Giles walks up to the gate, approximately 10 feet from it, waiting the others to approach.  "Ho there.  Guard of Vallaki.  We are weary travelers needing rest, we have children with us and wounded, please, a little pity, a little help if you could.  How is the town, dear Vallaki?  Are you ready for your next festival?  We want to hear all of the latest as we have a nice drink of wine in the Blue Water Inn!  Come, help a traveler on the road, please?  Can you open the gate and give us some help, please?""  Giles takes a bow, shield in hand, ready to shift it up in a moments notice.  His floating mage hand is right to the side of the wall and the front gate.  

Deception : 15

(Readied bonus action) : Telekinetic Mage Hand to pull the first visible "guard" out of the front gate once they open the gate, DC 15 Strength save to resist.  

Burr raises an eyebrow to Giles unsure what he's doing but willing to be entertained.

Zefla cracks the smallest of a smile at Soren and Nettle's reaction to her word pet, but then focuses on what's in front of her.  She nods as Soren grants her guidance, but as Giles said, they have already seen them and her shoulders slump at that.

She follows behind Giles as he waits for them to catch up and is very interested on how his request will be received.

A heavy moment passes as Giles delivers his plea, voice carrying with the practiced weight of a holy man used to moving hearts.  The words echo faintly against the wooden walls, and for a breath, nothing happens.  Just the sound of wind through the trees, the creak of a hanging scarecrow, and the faint flutter of wings somewhere unseen.

Then — motion.  A figure rises just inside the gate. Brown robe.  Hood drawn low.  He hesitates, caught uncertain of what to do.  Perhaps the mention of wine and festival touches something familiar in his mind, or maybe it’s just that Giles looks too open to be a threat.

He steps forward and pushes the heavy gate open with both hands, creaking it ajar.  He doesn't speak, instead waving for the party to come inside.

And that’s when Giles strikes.

STR:  6

With a sudden upward jerk of his hand, Giles' mage hand yanks the cultist forward.  The man stumbles violently out of the gateway, skidding across the mud as the door swings wider in his wake.  He scrambles to a stop with a surprised grunt—but it's too late.  He is outside the walls and exposed.

From inside the palisade, there’s a startled hiss of movement—robes rustling, steel whispering from leather.  One of the others shouts, “Now!”

Initiative:

1. Burr  18
2. Giles  13
3. Tourmaline  10
4. Cultists  9
5. Zefla  8
6. Soren 5
7. Victor 4

[First round, only Giles acts [the telepathic shove] as everyone was is surprised.  Now we pick up with Burr at the top of round two.]

Burr charges through the gate swinging to the right as aiming for the figure on the facing side of the small square building.

Not quite able to reach him he snatches the handaxes from his belt and casts them at the form.

Attack: 26 Damage: 12

BA- Attack: 13 Damage: 2

Accepting possible AoO as he moves past the figure in the gate.

Giles backpedals 10 feet to the northeast, then points at the cultist that he pulled out of the gate, a gong sounding overhead.  As the cultist looks up for the source of the noise, Giles uses his telekinetic mage hand to pull the cultist 5 feet further out from the door, to the east.  He looks up, startled that Burr ran right by the man, assuming that he would have attacked him.  

Action : Toll the dead on the cultist outside the gate : DC 15 wisdom save or take 12 points of necrotic damage.  

Bonus action : Telekinetic mage hand pulls him 5 feet further out, DC 15 strength save to resist.  

Movement : 10 feet to the northeast.  

As Burr runs past the cultist outside the gate, the man draws a curved dagger and slashes at him.

• Dagger AOO:  20  Piercing Damage:  2

Burr runs inside, throwing both of his hand axes.  The first lodges firmly in the skull of the nearest cultist, and he slumps to the ground.  The other narrowly misses the man just behind him who has benefit of half-cover.

Outside, the cultist looks up at the sound of Giles' spell.

WIS:  7

Blood spurts out of his ears like a smashed melon and he crumples to the ground.

Tourmaline curses and creeps up closer to the wall, taking cover beside the open gate.

Inside, two of the remaining brown-robed cultists rush out from their hiding places to draw close to Burr, brandishing their own knives.

From cover, one of the red-robed cultists bellows a curse upon Burr.  "Our Lady!  Grip your foul killer from beyond the grave!  Enchain him with his own wickedness!"  Then he ducks back into 3/4 cover behind the building.

[Burr, make a WIS save DC12.  No effect on a success.  On a failure, Burr is Paralyzed for one minute.  At the end of each of his turns, Burr repeats the save, ending the spell on him on a success.]

The other red robed cultist casts a spell of his own.  A spinning, top-like item of shimmering gold materializes beside Burr.  Its attempts to crash into him.

• Spiritual Weapon Attack:  16 (or if Burr failed the save and is paralyzed, 18)  Force Damage:  6

The last red robed cultist, after summoning the weapon, moves and hops over a fence, and ducks down into 3/4 cover.

1. Burr  
2. Giles  
3. Tourmaline  
4. Cultists 
5. Zefla  
6. Soren 
7. Victor 

Zefla runs in after Burr, not wanting him to be surrounded on his own.  Drawing her shortsword and dagger, she's ready for battle.  Thoughts of the Inn owners still fresh in her mind and the worry that goes with it, she charges - right up next to the one SW of Burr.

With her shortsword:
Attack: 18, Damage: 8
Sneak attack: 8

With her dagger:
Attack: 18, Damage: 4

Burr Wisdom Save- DC 12- 17

Burr shakes off the effect and chuckles at the two before him through his minor injuries.

"Enchain... enchain him with his own wickedness??"  Soren splutters as he had when Zefla described Nettle as his pet, only this time with visible anger towards an apparent enemy rather than befuddlement towards a friend.  The druid's voice cracks with emotion as he raises it.

"You name us wicked when it is we who rescue cubs from fiendish hags, battle vampire spawn in this city and devil-worshippers in these dens, thwart dark druids and barbarians summoning abominations on foggy hills, all while you seek to ambush us?  In no place in any world, forest, desert, mountain, swamp or sea, or even city, aye, are we the wicked ones.  Do words have no meaning in Barovia?  What lady beyond the grave do you call to?"

Almost.. almost, Soren itches to summon his lupine friends, darkly imagining the wolfpack tearing into these apparent cultists.  Instead he speaks the Elven word for moonlight and gestures upwards as he had in the Baron's house before it burned.

Movement:  None

Action:  Soren casts and concentrates on Moonbeam on the cultist to the south (centered on the grid point at the southwest corner of the cultist's square).  No line of sight required.  Creatures entering or starting their turn in the 5' radius cylinder must make a DC15 CON Save or take 7 radiant damage, half on success.  Shape-changers make their save at disadvantage and revert to their original form on failure.

Bonus Action:  None

Nettle flies down from the town walls to flap her wings in the face of any surviving guard engaged with Burr and Zefla, returning to her roost using Flyby.  Taking the help action and granting advantage on the next attack against them.

Zefla swiftly moves through the gate, skewering one of the cultists with her shortsword.  The man collapses in a gasping, bloody mess just inside the gate.  Moving on [her movement would allow her to get within reach of the other cultist so I assume she would want to do so] she stabs him violently with her dagger, hurting but not killing him.

CON:  7

Soren's spell cast baneful moonlight down upon the cultist hiding to the south burning his exposed skin.  

Concentration:  16

Victor [Who I am just now realizing was left off of all of these maps] walks forward with a miserable, furious look on his face.  He walks to the open gate and hurls three blasts of force toward the remaining cultists near Burr and Zefla.  

• Arcane Burst:  7
• Arcane Burst:  11
• Arcane Burst:  9

Somehow, the rapid fire burst all side high of the cultists, who screams with a mixture of terror and suicidal zeal.

ROUND TWO

1. Burr  
2. Giles  
3. Tourmaline  
4. Cultists 
5. Zefla  
6. Soren 
7. Victor