Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

- ... not going to trust a nothic's words anytime soon... - Saoirse replies, as she pierces the escaping aberration.

AoO with the Rapier. To Hit: 20. Damage: 8 piercing + 2 radiant.

Lam stops his steady move forward when he notices the withered root on the path. When he inches a bit closer, he is horrified to realize that’s Esmerelda- No doubt a victim of one of these creatures. He stops in front of her and carefully crouches down, continuing to hold Frederico in his arms. He looks over Esmerelda’s body- he isn’t up to date on his dryad biology, but this doesn’t look like something she could recover from. Still he stares at her, searching for any sign of life.

Lam can see that the dryad's body is literally rooted to the ground, or at least that something planty is sticking out of the body and down. He can't actually tell whether the root goes deep without putting Frederico down, or kicking her a little. Both seem like bad options, so he doesn't touch her. Other than that, well, she's a plant person, and she looks pretty dead. So, must be dead.

Saoirse can feel the rapier plunge into the center of the Nothic's chest, and whatever twisted organ counts as a heart finally stops beating. The monster collapses a few feet away from her, and its eye shrivels down, looking like a deflated white beach ball, limp in its socket.

Eliza points at the final surviving Nothic and throws a fire bolt its way, which misses, crashing against a young skyoak, but doing no lasting damage to its thick bark. She is still shaken by whatever it said to her.

Owlbear Rodeo

Turn order: Lam; Eliza; Sha-Gravis; Nothic 1; Saoirse; Hemlock; Saffron; Nothic2; Nothic 3

“You know my secrets, but you do not control me!”  Sha-Gravis charges the Nothic (dash & attack).

11 to hit 12 damage if it hits.

Sha can keep up with the Nothic, but it manages to avoid his hammer, and Saoirse's crossbow bolt flies wide, rustling and sliding through leaves and underbrush. It broadcasts a message to Sha's mind as it ducks and dodges:

Owlbear Rodeo

Turn order: Lam; Eliza; Sha-Gravis; Nothic 1; Saoirse; Hemlock; Saffron; Nothic 2; Nothic 3

Seeing the creature finally fall to his onslaught, Hemlock takes a deep breath, a little perturbed by what had transpired. He shakes that off though as he sees one of the creatures was still standing, and steps forward a little before sending a radiant arrow at it.

He allows the patch of grasping vines to dissipate as he looks around for any further threat.

"Is everyone ok? Is it just the one left?".

Movement: 5ft closer to Nothic 3 to bring it in range
Bonus Action: Luminous Arrow attack on Nothic 3: To Hit: 17+6=23, Damage: 3+4=7[radiant]
Action: Perception check to spot other threats: 16+6=22
Movement: Depends on what he sees please.

(OOC: @Polaris: if his perception check reveals anything, he might use the additional 25ft to head that way - e.g. if he notices what Lam is doing)

The Nothic hisses at the sting of the luminous arrow, which melted a patch of its skin.

Hemlock takes a moment to open his senses to the world around him, and lets the hunter's narrow focus of battle slide away temporarily. He can see no other immediate threats, no movement in the trees or bushes other than what comes from gentle breezes or small animals and insects. Your companions' breathing, including your own as you catch your breath, and the Nothic's raspy exhalations, are just about the only sounds. No birds call in the immediate vicinity, as you would expect around a battle. Your breath carries the scent of Nothics to your nose, beyond that there is the scent of your companions. A faint whiff of skunk somewhere in the forest, a background of the scents of fir and oak. There is no other threat right near you at the moment.

And yet, you become certain of something, as though the very forest had whispered it to you. Perhaps some slight indication among the varied and multitudinous faint footprints on the road. Perhaps a nearly faded scent under all the others. Perhaps some intuition about the Nothics' behavior and their attempted ambush. Perhaps the spirit of the forest simply wished you to know it. But you become certain of this: The nothics did not come here alone. They were with two others - not Nothics, not humans, dwarves, or elves - and the two others were their leaders. Those others are somewhere in the valley.

With the knowledge that there are other things out there, Hemlock backs away towards Lam so as not to leave him alone and exposed.

"These were merely fodder, something else was leading them. Two of them, out there somewhere", he says ominously as he moves.

Movement: remaining 25ft north.

Saffron throws two more psychic daggers at the Nothic, and while one misses, the other stabs into its unsuspecting flesh, leaving the creature hanging on by a thin strand of life, and no more than that. The last of the Nothics turns and runs, doing what it can to disengage from Sha-Gravis.

Lam and Hemlock both hear a rustling in the underbrush 30 feet or so north-northwest of Lam and Frederico. Someone is moving towards the road, and towards you.

Owlbear rodeo

Turn order: Lam; Eliza; Sha-Gravis; Nothic 1; Saoirse; Hemlock; Saffron; Nothic 2; Nothic 3

Lam tries to say loud enough for at least Hemlock to hear, “Esmerelda was-“ but he doesn’t finish that thought when he hears that they still aren’t alone. His first instinct is to reach for his greataxe, but he can’t do that because he still has a boy in his arms. He stands up with a huff, and turns and runs the other direction.

Frederico moans slightly with the sudden movement. "No estoy cansado, pápa(elvish)" he mutters sleepily, not quite woken from whatever dream he's having.

 Eliza moves slightly along the cart, just enough to get in range of the fleeing Nothic, but not willing to leave the relative safety. She throws another fire bolt, which just barely makes contact, leaving a small burn mark but not bringing down the weakened aberration. (Hit, but rolled a 1 om damage.)

Owlbear.

Lam; Eliza; Sha-Gravis; Nothic 1; Saoirse; Hemlock; Saffron; Nothic 2; Nothic 3

Sha-Gravis charges the nothic 17attack 14damage on a hit.  “Uma mente é sagrada, nunca deve ser acessada sem consentimento ou necessidade absoluta!” -sylvan

Seeing the last nothic fall, Saoirse lowered the crossbow and released a exhale.

- Good one, Sha - she said to the cleric - I feared that one would end up getting away. Everyone alright? - she asked, turning to Saffron an the rest. 

She proceeds to stow the crossbow away, gathered the rapier and dagger from the ground, and then walks up to Lam and Hemlock.

- Is he okay? - she says, taking a quick look to Federico to check his status - And what's that about the nothics not being alone, Hemlock? Did they say something into your mind? In my case one tried to convince me to not kill him so Vince didn't learn about the ... well, you know. But I didn't believe any of it.

Sha-Gravis' hammer has fully popped the balloon-like eye of the last Nothic, drops of unspeakable fluid splashing his fur. A wordless scream sounds in each of your minds, and the creatures are gone.

"Eliza is injured, but I'm alright and she will be too, in time. Good fighting, friends. And thanks."

There is near silence in the woods again, and we are out of initiative. 

The underbrush still gives small indications of someone or something moving towards Lam.

Lam turns to Saoirse to allow her to take a look at Frederico, taking for himself some time to breathe and steady his movements so he doesn’t fully wake the boy up. He half-listens to his friends, unconvinced that the battle is over. He seems to be focused on the direction he came from. As soon as he hears something from that way, he fully turns away from it and says in a low but urgent voice, “Something is here. Something is coming.”

Sha-Gravis’ war hammer seems heavier somehow, he doesn’t react to swipe away the gore, even his feet seem booted in lead, for him at least this was not a victory, more of a wake up call and a warning.  There will be time to share the truth, to atone for the past.  An eclipse of the moon is soon to occur and when it does Sha intends to be at peace or face the consequences, for his past.  As he looks up the road and sees Esmeralda tears form in the corners of his eyes, even the sight of Fredrico cradled in Lam’s incredibly massive arms, brings a sadness.

Not knowing much about dryad physiology Sha still approaches to take a look… medicine 11.

As Lam warns that something is coming, Saoirse prepares her weapons again. The rapier is still shining with radiant light. But it is when Sha keeps moving forward and crouches upon something in the ground that she understands that something very wrong, even wronger than the nothics presence, has happened.

She follows Sha, recognizes Esmeralda and doesn't want to believe what she is seeing. Her arms, holding the weapons, almost fall limply to her sides, but Lam's warning still resonating in her mind makes her stop that reaction, grit her teeth and begin searching for what is supposedly approaching with her weapons at the ready.

Lam wants to follow Sha and Saoirse over to Esmerelda, and briefly turns his head to do so, but then he instead takes one step towards the wagon and faces away from anything that might be coming. His heart refuses to calm down, and he listens, ready to take off running again if he needs to.

João and Leonor finally get closer and emerge from out of the brush, and speak in excited Elvish. "¡Eso fue increible! ¡La forma en que los iluminaste con luz estelar! Y tú, Saoirse, enfrentándote cara a cara con un monstruo, y Sha persiguiendo a uno, y esas dagas que seguía sacando del aire. Ustedes son mis malditos héroes. Y como tu he protegido a Fred,  Lam. No podemos agradecerte lo suficiente. "

Joāo interrupts his sister: "¿Eran todos ellos?"

Then they seem to notice Esmerelda. "No... no. Esto fue culpa nuestra, ¿no? Los hicimos enojar con el pueblo. ¡Dioses!"

 Sha's brief examination is enough to see that the root growing from her body does reach down towards tree roots. Dryads are tree-people, so that's... good, right? Maybe she's regenerating. Or maybe she's merging with the tree or something? You don't really know, but it feels like a hopeful sign.

Seeing even a glimmer of hope Sha casts his most powerful (2nd level Cure Wounds) healing on Esmeralda bestowing 12 hit points of hope.