Soren faces Izek, brown eyes still mirroring the image of the raised axe and simmering flames in the madman's two hands.  He attempts to fight back the visceral terror in his gut at the sight of fire, which is far greater even than his fear at the prospect of decapitation upon the blade of Izek's axe.

(Self-imposed) Soren's WIS Save to overcome his fear of fire and fight Izek, (which he deep down, he believes must be done) DC12:  8

(Failure) With his free hand, the druid gestures behind himself at the upstairs hallway.

"Come then, rabid dog.  I can only guess at who you mean by your sister, but I think it is a good guess.  The only brother I believe she has is named Ismark, not Izek, and he lives in the village of Barovia.  Nevertheless, I will take you to her and then we shall see what happens.  But let us be clear about one thing.  It is we outsiders who slew the undead abomination, not you, nor your guards, though it was your duty as leader of these warriors to defend the den.  You scarce seem to care that both you and the other monster carved your pack leader, the Baron, in half."  Soren shakes his head in disgust.

He begins to turn to move east, beckoning Izek to follow.  IF Izek takes this as a trigger to attack with his readied action, then Soren will take his action to fight desperately regardless of his fear, moving the Moonbeam (if still concentrating) onto Izek and holding his ground (will post further if so).

In this first eventuality of an immediate fight, Nettle takes the help against Izek.

IF Izek does NOT attack with his readied action, Soren turns and motions Izek and his own companions to follow him east along the hallway at a trot (30' movement, trailing his Moonbeam 5' behind him with his action)  But he does not lead them to Viktor's attic.  He leads them east, aiming to take the eastern stairway down and then outside so that they are in full view of the window to Viktor's attic, in range of a rope being lowered.

In this latter eventuality, Nettle wings ahead east along the ceiling (120' dash with flyby) to observe whether the bewitched guard on the staircase seems to have recovered now that the source of the bewitching (presumably the Vampire Spawn) has perished.

While the promise of being led to his sister is tempting, the combination of insult (even if accurate) and move to walk away from him, as well as Burr's aggressive approach, is enough to invite Izek's fury.  

He lashes out with a one-handed attack with his battleaxe, noticing too late for this attack that is seems to be the flames which Soren seems fearful.

• Battleaxe readied attack:  9  (Miss)

He growls even as the Moonbeam slides over him.  "Kills these two!" he shouts at the guards, gesturing at Zefla and Burr.  "But I want this one alive!" he adds, glowering at Soren.

(Thanks for giving me the disengage action, didn't realize it was right next to her, even though you wrote that....)

Zefla relishes the fact that her seemingly helpless arrows against the face of undeath actually are what finally bring down the accursed creature.  But her thrill is short lived as Izek suddenly turns on them.  Anger starts bubbling up within after everything they did!

"Are you serious?  We just helped rid this house of these creatures when we could have stayed out and let them feast upon you as they did upon your employer!  What happens now that the Baron is no longer?  Don't you turn your guards against us!"  Turning to the guard that is facing her, "He is a madman and needs to be taken care of.  Without the Baron, he is no longer in charge, help us rid Valkorie of his presence!"

Disengaging from the guard just so she can move away from him a bit, she heads SW towards the bottom of the stairs and fires off an arrow at Izek, appreciating Nettle's assistance to distract him.

 Attack w/adv: 23, Damage: 6 + 10 sneak attack

Burr pays no attention at all to the two guardsmen, " Izek. Your a moron."

He drives the Bloodspear at the insane man.

Attack: 16 Damage: 9

BA- Rage.

Soren let's out a fearful, yet resigned breath as Izek attacks.  "Do your worst, rabid dog.  You must have always known it would end this way."

Nettle flies in Izek's face, talons out, then back to Soren's shoulder, taking the help action once more, granting advantage on the next attack against him.

The brilliant, dappled Moonbeam settles itself over Izek, though in his effort to avoid Burr, Soren fails to focus its radiant lunar energy fully.

DC14 CON Save for Izek.  4 radiant damage on failure, 2 on success.  Shape-changers save at disadvantage and revert to original form on failure.

Hoping that Izek's hurled flame will be less accurate with Burr next to him (disadvantage on ranged attacks with enemies in melee?) and seeing the guard captain overbalance himself with his missed attack (used reaction for readied attack, so no AoO?), Soren steps back east 5', 10' from Izek.  Or if necessary, 10' east to be 15' from Izek?  (Soren's goal is to make it so for Izek to attack him with his axe, he will have do leave Burr's range, but that as soon as he does so, he will enter melee with Soren, so that either way, any ranged attack by Izek will be at disadvantage, with either Burr or Soren in melee with him.)

To the guards, Soren calls out, seeking to aid in Zefla's attempts at Persuasion:  "Guards of the Baron's broken pack, this is a beginning, not an end.  Izek bullies you through fear, yet you need not follow a murderous brute who allows his obsession with a female to jeopardize your town's safety, letting your own pack-leader, the Baron, be slain in his own den by undead horrors which we outsiders were forced to destroy.  Join us now in defeating him!"

[Zefla can make a Persuasion check w/advantage.]

CON:  5

The Moonbeam burns Izek slightly, but he hardly seems to notice.  As Soren retreats a bit further up the stairs, he moves as if to follow, but Zefla's arrow and Burr's missed spear attack halt him.  He spins instead toward Burr, gripping his battleaxe in two hands and swinging wildly at him.

• Battleaxe 2-Hand Attack:  22  Slashing Damage:  13

• Battleaxe 2-Hand Attack:  10  (Miss)

He screams back over his shoulder at the guard upstairs, "Seize the mouthy one!"

[The actions of the guards will depend on Zefla's persuasion check.]

Zefla’s persuasion: 12

Burr grunted slightly when the hit came in, the edge was mostly stopped by his belt but he felt the force behind it, " Thats it?  That little owl hits harder than that."

The guard in the kitchen, listening to Zefla and Soren's words, falters.  "The Baron... he's dead?" he asks, voice quivering.  He looks briefly at Izek, then at the party... then he grabs a bottle of wine from the kitchen, tucks a basket of apples under his arm, and flees out toward the front of the house.  Izek hardly seems to notice, his gaze fixed on Burr.

The guard upstairs, perhaps because he is only faced with a scrawny-looking druid, is less easily convinced.  He closes on Soren and gives him a probing stab with his spear.

Spear Attack:  12  (Miss)

Soren is able to block it easily with his shield.  "Hold still, you.  Best surrender now and hope Izek calms down before he goes to work on you... though I wouldn't bet on it.  Your goose looks likes its well and truly cooked."

• Soren, Burr, Zefla
• Izek and Guard 

Relieved that the guard didn't follow Izek's orders, but a bit disappointed that he chickened out, she realizes that Soren is now surrounded.  Happy that at least her foe now isn't an undead and her arrows should work as normal, the halfling stands her ground to take Steady Aim

Attack: 26, Damage: 7 + 10 sneak attack

This time Soren shouts as loudly as he can in Elvish, not caring who hears, as long as Giles does:

"Not-Father!  We have slain the Vampire Spawn, though not before it slew the Baron.  Now the rabid brute Izek attacks us in a fury.  Obsessed with the one we protect, as we saw from the dolls in his room.  He calls her his sister.  If you or the others can come and distract this guard while we deal with Izek, all the better.  Upper hallway.  We should not slay the guards - they fight us in fear of their mad dog of a leader.  Non-lethal for them is best."

Soren himself continues to defend himself, shaking his head sadly at the guard.  He remains where he is, 10' from Izek.  (In Common to the guard):  "There is still time to come to your senses and stop obeying this mouth-frothing madman who has slain your pack-leader, the Baron in his own den."

Since Izek has remained within the Moonbeam, he will continue to take damage from it at the start of his turn without Soren needing to spend his action to move it.  Instead, a thorny vine extends from his free hand towards Izek, though it only nicks his side.

Thorn Whip to hit Izek:  24
Thorn Whip damage:  1 magical piercing
Forced Movement:  none - Soren chooses not to drag Izek.

Izek starts his turn inside the Moonbeam's AoE:  DC14 CON Save, 17 radiant damage on failure, 8 on success.

Not even needing Soren's telepathy, Nettle performs another flyby help sortie on Izek, granting advantage to the next attack against him.

Burr had had it up to here with these folks being their own worst enemies......and it wouldn't be the first time in the last day or so that he'd broken into a property and murdered one of the occupants....it was becoming a tradition at this point.

He jammed the Bloodspear towards Izek in annoyance.

Attack: 23 Damage: 13

CON:  8

This time, the moonlight surrounding Izek flares with brightness, scorching the madman's flesh.  Though Soren's vine makes little impact, the piercing of the Bloodspear along with Zefla's arrow spur Izek into a frenzy.  He hefts his axe high in two hands and bellows "I will kill ALL of you!" bringing the edge down on Burr.  His chest is heaving and he seems to be badly hurt, though it isn't slowing him down.

• Battleaxe Attack:  21  Slashing Damage:  18

Then he throws a leg over the banister, stepping down from the stairs, whirling and leaping over boxes, to stand between Burr and Zefla.  He brings the axe around with him, targeting Zefla this time, throwing all the weight of his spin into this strike.

• Battleaxe Attack:  26  Slashing Damage:  13

[Izek (for now) leaves the zone of the Moonbeam.  He doesn't ever leave Burr's reach, not provoking an AOO.]

At the top of the stairs, the guard hesitates, his grip tightening on his spear as Soren's melodic, foreign words fill the air.  His brow furrows, and his lip curls slightly in confusion and distaste.  "What in the gods’ names are you even saying?" he snaps, his tone a mixture of pity and exasperation.  "Speaking gibberish, are we?"  He shakes his head.  "That nonsense won’t sway me."

He shifts his weight nervously, glancing at Izek, who’s still roaring and swinging his axe with wild fury.   "Look," he says, his voice dropping to a shaky growl, "I don’t want to hurt you, but  this is out of my hands.  If you think you’re gonna talk me into abandoning my post, you’re madder than you sound."  

With that, he plants the butt of his spear on the ground and gives the druid a firm shove with his shield, aiming to knock him off balance and push him down the stairs, closer to Izek's frenzy.

• Shove:  8

[Soren can contest that shove with an acrobatics or athletics check (his choice).

• If (and only if) Soren should fail that contest, he is knocked one space west.  He also then needs to make a DEX save DC 12.
• If Soren should fail that save, he tumbles all the way down the stairs, stopped only by Burr already occupying the space at the bottom, taking 3 Bludgeoning damage, and landing prone in the Moonbeam zone. ]

If Soren is knocked back or down the steps, the guard moves forward to close the gap between them.

From somewhere in the house, there is a mournful howl.

Upstairs, Giles can hear the sound of Soren shouting in Elvish.

 At the same time, below the window he sees a guardsman fleeing into the night, a bottle of wine and a basket of apples in his arms.

• Soren, Burr, Zefla, Giles
• Izek and Guard

[This map assumes Soren passed his initial check, in which case he and the guard are in the same location as the last upstairs map.]

Soren's Acrobatics to avoid guard's shove:  17 (success)

OOC:  Will post Soren's actual turn later tonight - ran out of time this afternoon.

As Soren sidesteps the guard's telegraphed shield-shove, Nettle uses the momentum to launch into another help sortie against Izek using flyby, avoiding the Moonbeam's area and granting advantage on the next attack against the madman, returning to the druid's shoulder as always.  This time, in addition to the flapping wings and feinting talons, a small amount of owl excrement also ends up atop Izek's scalp.

Soren faces the guard in front of him calmly, shield up, shaking his head sadly as he stands his ground.  He speaks in Common this time.

"The mouth-frothing monster whose orders you follow out of fear is not as invincible as you believe.  Wounded and surrounded, despite his desperate attacks, soon his corpse shall reenter the great cycle of life, nourishing the little creatures who burrow beneath the earth.  Then you will find yourself fortunate that we outsiders who, unlike you, have slain two of the Vampire Spawn, show you more mercy than your brute of a captain would show us."

He shifts his dappled Moonbeam, careful to avoid his friends below.  Five feet north and two and a half feet west.  (5' radius cylinder can fill at least 50% of two adjacent 5' squares?  Soren tries to cover both Izek's square and the square just to the east of him).

Izek starts his turn in the Moonbeam:  DC14 CON Save, 15 radiant damage on failure, 7 on success.

Soren's heart breaks a little at the loneliness and grief for his pack master in what he assumes is the mastiff's mournful howl.  But he knows he must remain focused on the fight at hand before he can console the noble canine.

To Zefla and Burr, he murmurs calmly:  "Fight with determination, friends.  The pack shall survive.  I promise you, while I still stand, even should you be knocked down and grievously hurt, if you are in my sight, I have a bit of Silvanus' grace remaining to me yet tonight with which to revive you."

Burr growls low in his throat to Izek, " Why are you SO WEAK? ", hoping to draw his ire from Zefla. Then rams in again with the Bloodspear.

Attack: 19 Damage: 8

Giles stops what he is doing, stands motionless as he listens to the elvish speech shouted in his direction, he recognizes Soren’s voice.  He turns quickly and says to Lady Bauer, Ireena, and Viktor, “They need us, down below, the vampire was slain, thanks be to Tymora.  Now it's the monster armed Captain of the guard, Izek..." he turns to Ireena pointedly now, he continues "your brother, apparently... who torments and threatens to kill my friends.  And the guards that bow to Izek's fury.  You want to stand with us?  Stand with us now.  We need help, we need to act fast and we can end this.  We are needed on the upper level.. Viktor, what is the quickest way, out the door and downstairs or through the window with the rope?  You can come with us, or wait here, your choice..". He says to Ireena and Lady Bauer, "I need you.  Both of you.  To kick some ass.  But no running off."  He looks pointedly at Ireena, "Promise.  And if you can't raise a fist against your... brother... let me know right now and you can stay here."  

Giles listens quickly to Viktor's reply and takes the fastest route downstairs, dashing towards the sound of the voices and the battle, as fast as he can.  He looks behind him a time or two to see who he has convinced to follow...and he says to them as he's running "Only knock out the guards, do not kill them, they only follow the madman Izek by threats alone.."

Upstairs:

Victor blinks at Giles in stunned silence, his brow furrowing as if he’s struggling to process the words.  He opens his mouth, hesitates, then gestures wildly toward the fortified laboratory door.  "Downstairs?  Are you mad?  You want to leave this room, my warded room, to go join a fight that - frankly - sounds like its already won?  Izek is strong, certainly, but if your friends have already dealt with the vampire... Izek’s nothing but muscle and anger.  He's a bully... he won't be able to handle your friends, but..." he glances at the women.  "... softer targets are right up his alley.  Just— keep the door closed, and wait.  They'll surely be able to handle this bloody business without us!"

When he realizes Giles won't be deterred, a flicker of incredulity crossing his face. "This 'Tymora' may favor you, but I’m no gambler, Priest."

Before Victor can say more, Ireena steps forward, her expression resolute and sharp. “Izek is not my brother,” she snaps, fire in her tone.  “He’s a madman with a fixation.  My real brother is a thousand times the man he’ll ever be.  If we're goint to end this, I’m with you.”  She nods firmly, tightening her grip on her sword.  “Let’s go.”

Lady Bauer huffs, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.  Her crimson tail flicks in irritation, but she winces as the movement pulls at her injuries. “Oh, yes, let’s all march to our glorious deaths,” she mutters, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “What a fabulous idea.” She sighs, glancing at Giles with a raised brow. “You do realize I’ve nothing left to offer but spite and sharp words, don’t you?  My spellpower is exhausted.  But fine.  If you’re determined to get yourselves killed, I’ll come along.  Someone has to drop a pithy one liner when this all goes belly up.”

Victor groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This is madness,” he mutters.  "You all realize this, right?  It's madness."  Begrudgingly he moves to the door.  “Fine.  I’ll disable the ward.  But when Izek cleaves one of you in twain, rather than engaging the real fighters, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  He waves a hand over the door’s intricate glyphs, muttering a string of arcane words.  The symbols flash once, then fade.  “There.  Your quickest route is through the house.  Try not to die before you’re halfway down the stairs.”

He steps back, arms crossed, clearly intent on staying behind. 

Giles, Ireena and Lady Bauer dash through the attic toward the ladder down.  One of the cat skeletons boldly moves to follow, but Victor shoos it back into the room with his foot and shuts the door.

He scares her.  She hates to admit it, but the brute is truly frightening, more than the vampires.  As the man charges her, she can't help it.. she skirmishes away from him, 15' N. She tells herself so that if he chases her it gives Burr an extra attack, and so she can still use her bow... sure.

She fires off her arrow, hoping it finds it's mark.

Attack: 25, Damage: 6 + 6 sneak attack

CON:  23

This time, the berserk Izek shrugs off the effects of the Moonbeam, but the combined spearthrusts of Burr and arrows of Zefla are clearly taking their toll.  He is bleeding from a half dozen serious wounds and the fur collar of his cloak is now stained crimson.  He looks first at Zefla, but as she has moved out of reach, he turns back to face Burr.  Up the stairs, he belows wrathfully, "That vagrant!  He's casting a spell you fool!  Subdue him and turn off this damned light!"  Then he striked at Burr twice more with his battleaxe.

• Battleaxe Attack:  22  Slashing Damage:  13

• Battleaxe Attack:  10  (Miss)

The guard, panicking, thrusts at Soren with his spear.  His sudden move is almost enough to get past Soren's guard, but he reacts just in time and the guard ends up merely jabbing the wooden shield.

Spear Attack:  16  (Miss)  

• Soren, Burr, Zefla, Giles
• Izek and Guard