Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

Sha-gravis utters an undeniably dictate attempting to catch Poniros still in the moonbeam, "grovel".  Wis 14

Poniros, with its semi-liquid skin bubbling and boiling in the radiant moonlight, sees an opportunity to escape as Saoirse's strength fades, but Sha's command stops his action before he can take it. Instead, he goes limp while still burning, and instead begs and grovels. "Release me, and I will tell.you where he is hidden, I swear it!"

Turn order: Poniros; Lam; Bearlock; Hermes; Teens; Saoirse; Sha

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/room/5nRs1L_uFdxM/HeavyistheHeadPBP

Lam had been ready to attack Hermes the moment he tried anything, but he had gotten into his own head and when the time came, he swung his greataxe just a bit too late. Now all of a sudden, the situation is much more precarious than before. He stares unblinking into Hermes’s eyes, aware of the kids staring at him. He doesn’t look at them as he gets out each word slowly, “…You heard him. Do not fight. Sit down.” Lam himself makes slow, cautious movements to put his own greataxe away, then holds his hands up to show he isn’t holding anything anymore. “Hermes, leave us. Walk away.”

Bearlock sees Poniros fall to the ground, and hears the words he speaks, but trusts him not an inch.

Reaching out with his mind once more, he tells the doppelganger, "That is not the way it works, speak the truth whilst you still can. Your life is forfeit until you do".

With that his claws flash down followed by his maw once again, taking full advantage of the fact the doppelganger lies prone.

Action: Multiattack against Poniros, with advantage due to him being prone
Claw: To Hit: (20,19)+4=24 (crit!), Damage 3+4+4+4+2=17 [slashing]
Bite: To Hit: (16,20)+4=24 (another crit!), Damage 6+3+2=11 [piercing]

The mighty bear tears away layers of doppelganger flesh, despite the overwhelming stench of something like burning rubber, and between the power of the moonbeam and the ferocity of his attack, some vital organ in the doppelganger's shifting body gives out - and Poniros dies with a final shriek. "THEY WILL DIE TOO." The grey skin stills into a single form, and it moves no more, though it continues to burn in the moonbeam.

 Hermes holds Karla tightly as it slowly moves to the edge of the circle nearest the ramp to the village's central circle, then pushes her slightly forward and turns, beginning to run away. Karla swirls and grabs towards him as he runs, but she is too slow, even though the fight has not left her. It seems for a second that Hermes will be getting away, until suddenly two large arrows in short succession stab into the floor between Lam and the Doppelganger. The arrows crackle with energy for a moment, and when Lam looks up from them he sees two holes through Hermes' torso. Hermes falls to its knees, and Cylence drops from a branch above, landing just next to Hermes. "I hope Rhys hasn't already gotten to you with his ridiculous 'never kill' philosophy. Some threats are too dangerous to be left alive." He holds Hermes' head under the chin, and produces a hunting knife, ready to cut at the throat and extinguish the last spark of life left in the doppelganger. Hermes groans weakly, and its strange flesh slowly tries to close the holes in its chest.

The teens all stare at Cylence in abject admiration and relief.

We are out of Initiative.

Saoirse looks at the bear that Hemlock is now with a mix of awe and relief. She had been so certain that Poniros would escape that she had not counted that the mighty bear would be able to finish him right away. She sees the body dropping on the floor and would almost mimic it were it not because something was happening outside of the pantry and they should check the situation there.

- Let's go check outside the pantry. Also, we need to know if Lichen might be in danger... We can check Poniros' body later.

 Saoirse begins to limp her way out of the pantry.

As Sha hears Saoirse mention Lichen in danger his knees go weak he goes to Saoirse and casts cure wounds +10hp, “No no not Lichen, please no…”

Seeing Poniros is clearly dead.  

 Sha-gravis turns and rushes (move, dash, feline agility, climb speed) back the way he came (dropping moonbeam) hoping to get answers from Hermes, if Lichen ends up hurt or worse…

If Sha-gravis sees Cylence in time, “Stop, he can help us find Lichen!”

Bearlock looks upon the body of Poniros, mutilated by claw, teeth and cleansing fire, and feels no regret or guilt. He had chosen his fate when he first decided to run, and when he stood his ground to fight them.

But he does worry about the fate of Lichen and these others Poniros mentioned. He watches as Sha heals Saoirse and then disappears faster than he would believe possible, and so turns to Saoirse as she limps away.

"I will try and track the doppelgangers scent back to lichen", he says telepathically. "I will need you with me so people aren't afraid I am a real bear".

He then attempts to follow the smell trail left by Poniros back to where he came from.

Perception (with Advantage due to Keen Smell): (17,19)+6=25

The fire genasi straightens up the moment she feels Sha's restorative power healing her aching body, and is able to look at the tabaxi with gratitude just before he runs off.

- Stay safe out there! - she tells him, but can't be sure that the cleric has heard her, fast as he was. She'll have to remember not to anger Sha ever, now that she's had a taste of his harmful magic. 

Turning to Bear-lock, Saoirse replies:

- You're right, sorry - she then walks next to his impressive figure and will keep at his side at all moment. 

If the curious pair ever meet anyone, Saoirse will quickly do a calming gesture towards them, indicating that the bear is as friendly as every other wildshape they've might have seen Rhys transformed into.

Lam feels awful about letting it get to this. His plan had been to go after Hermes again the moment Karla was not within his reach, but letting Hermes get away again had been a preferable bad outcome in his head over getting any of the teens killed. He is embarrassed that his reflexes had not been enough to keep them all safe in the first place. He swallows his pride at needing to be rescued by Cyclence and focuses back in on the situation. He nods in agreement at Cyclence’s words, ashamed he hadn’t taken matters into his own hands the moment João showed up earlier. He slowly, taking effort to steady himself, walks towards Cyclence and Hermes and gets his greataxe back out- but he clearly doesn’t intend to stop Cyclence from finishing Hermes off. He just wants to be closer to the doppelgänger than the teens are.

There is no doubt that Poniros is well and truly dead.

"I'm glad to see you agree," Cylence says to Lam, and the knife is lifted and pressed against Hermes' exposed throat. Just before he pulls it to end Hermes permanently, Sha zooms in front of him, and barks, “Stop, he can help us find Lichen!”

The teens seem shocked. "Lichen was here, less than an hour ago... although i guess he was behaving strangely.." "Yeah, actually, he's the one who suggested that you might be a doppelganger," Karla and Leonor say to each other almost at the same time. "Ooooh. Shit, Lichen!"

Cylence stops, and grunts in frustration. Then he speaks with a voice as hard and certain as a gemstone. He lifts the visor of the helmet, to stare directly into Hermes' eyes. "Listen, worm. You will die. Here, today, in the next few minutes. That you can not change." Hermes whimpers, lacking even the energy to make his despair more clear than that. "But, if you tell us where Lichen is, I will grant you one boon. A message, a favor, or similar, and I will carry it out so long as it harms no-one."

"Centaur family, has a magic chest, bigger on the inside. South Branchl. Please." Hermes stops speaking, Cylence bends down, and Hermes begins to whisper into the wood-elf's ear.

Bearlock can clearly smell the doppelganger's path here, the sweat as it ran from them, the wrongness of the shapechanger, and even a hint on trail that tells him that Poniros had been in contact with a young male firbolg just before their encounter with him. Following this scent is simple, although there are countless other scents that vye for your attention as well, especially the berries, nuts, and drying meats on North Branch, and the fragrance on each person you pass who had just sat to lunch. Right, Poniros, Lichen! You follow the scent, and it leads you through the east Branch and onto the main platform, towards South Branch.

Saoirse walks by your side, and is more attentive to the faces and expressions of the people you pass. They are remarkably unconcerned at seeing a bear walking around their village, and Saoirse realizes slowly that here, druids are more commonplace than Genasi. She is still getting more lingering looks and glances than Hemlock is, and not a few whispers. Mostly people are happy to see her, but not all. It seems that there are mixed feelings about whether she and the rest of the party have been a good thing for Village Tree or not.

As they walk by, and as a result of some of the looks she's getting, Saoirse places a hand on the bear and mutters:

- Turns out you didn't really need to be accompanied that much. I hope we can fix what is happening here, Hemlock. All the wounds that have been caused. It's hard to feel all those looks on us...

Then she falls silent, realizing that she might distract Bear-lock.

Bearlock turns a large head to focus on Saoirse, and in her mind she hears a reply tinged with sadness.

"However noble our intentions, we brought trouble, Hermes and Poniros, to this place. It may be we have to leave for good to draw the dangers away".

That said, he goes back to following the scent trying to zero in on where Lichen might be. He finds himself moving toward South Branch. The fact none of the villagers pay him any heed is good, it makes the hunt simpler.

Sha-gravis once again rushes out to free Lichen from the Centaur’s magic chest.  Only in this moment his heart is heavy considering how this infiltration will affect Saffron.  He gives a quick look over his shoulder to Lam also considering how love for the teens and hate for these attackers balances and may harden his friends heart…

Lam watches Sha rush off to rescue Lichen, aware that his friends have found something out that he doesn’t understand yet- and aware that he will need to join them soon, though he doesn’t want to leave this scene just yet. He watches the exchange between Cyclence and Hermes, wondering what sort of boon a creature like Hermes would ask for. He wants to see this loose end tied up- he keeps his grip on his greataxe as he watches what Cyclence will do. Then he wants to head over to the South Branch- possibly with the teens to make sure they also make it there ok- to see what’s happened to Lichen and if he can help.

"Consider your message sent, and I will see the other bit done. Peace be unto you." Cylence slides the blade back, and smoothly cuts without showing any serious physical exertion. Hermes' head separates easily from the rest of its body - and both pieces go limp and still. Hermes is clearly dead. (Lam, the phrase 'peace be unto you' doesn't sound particularly elvish. Make a history or religion check.)

During the execution, Kurt, Kristof, and Leonor avert their eyes, but Karla (through a bruised and bleeding face) and João watch with steadfast intensity, profound respect for Cylence - and a little bit of morbid curiousity. Cylence looks up, and speaks to them all in Elvish. "Amigitos, hablaría con ustedes. Lo que ha ocurrido hoy deja claro que necesitáis más tiempo para entrenar y aprender, y que no deberíais enfrentaros al enemigo todavía. Por favor quédense aquí, Lam y los demás encontrarán a Lichen." He turns to Lam, and to Common. "Lam, I'm going to talk to them a bit. Go ahead and save Lichen." 

Jogging straight to South Branch, Sha quickly catches up with Saoirse and Bearlock, as they carefully follow the scent. As you cross onto the branch, Bearlock notices a shift in the scent... the wrongness is still there, but the traces of Firbolg seem to go away, replaced by centaur... you realize that Poniros must have shifted from one form to the other here, and are still able to follow the trail.

It leads to a small circle of grass and moss on the branch, with indentations on the ground, and pillows, that make it clear this is the regular sleeping area for a group of centaurs. There is also a large set of shelves, with most of the family's belongings, including an oddly ornate chest of dark wood, inlaid with ivory. Bearlock recognizes a young male centaur there (the shy pooper from the latrine), and they all recognize the centaur who has clashed with Saoirse a few times, and his very young son. The young child is playing with some wooden dolls, but the father and the young adult are speaking in Elvish in tense, worried tones. "Mira, tía ha estado extraña durante toda esta visita y ahora no sabemos dónde está. Necesitamos pedir ayuda".

The father bites back: "¡Creo que lo sabría si mi esposa hubiera sido reemplazada por uno de ellos! ¡Así que no insinúes lo peor!"

"Solo digo. Ella siguió revisando su cofre, al principio apenas me reconoció, y hay gente aquí tratando de ayudar"

"Sí, la gente que los trajo aquí en el..."

 The father notices you all approaching, and goes red with shame. "You are coming here... Look, I'm trying to do what you said and help keep our community together. I get that now. What do you need from me?"

Bearlock hears the centaurs conversation but ignores the majority of it as he keeps on following the scent. When the chest is mentioned, and the fact the female in question kept going to check on it, that catches his attention.

Following the scent and also keeping an eye out for the chest, he continues moving. He is hoping that one of the others will give the centaurs a bit of an explanation.

Bearlock can smell that Poniros frequently and repeatedly came through this area, and Hermes as well. They've been here for almost a whole day - must have been sent immediately upon Vince's retreat, and must have travelled most of the distance here by magical means. That ornate chest has definitely been visited by them both multiple times.

Moving over to the ornate chest, Bearlock turns to look at Saoirse and saying into her mind, "We need to open this chest quickly. Hermes and Poniros have both been here many times, we need to free whoever they have placed in it, and find out what else they might have left. It could even be trapped".

Saoirse silently nods towards Bear-lock, then raises her hands towards the older centaur as a sign of goodwill and says:

- Don't worry, no harm done. Quite the opposite in fact, as I think you have all acted correctly. But there's been recent developments in the pantry that you are not aware of yet. Please, trust us. Now, listen to me: we have reasons to believe that Lichen might be trapped inside that chest. We need, with your permission, to open it. But we need to be careful, as it might be trapped. The enemies that are trying to harm us all have been tampering with it. So will you please all keep away and stay out of harm so we can deal with this? And don't worry if you haven't noticed anything weird: doppelgangers are terribly difficult to detect. It's no one's fault they are so good at what they do...

If the centaur allows, Saoirse will say:

- We'd best ask Saffi to help us with this. She's the best to check for traps and open the chest. Because - she looks at the centaur again - even if you had the key, it is possible it won't work anymore?

(OOC: if we can count on Saffi, I'd say let's try to help her however we can so she can look for traps and open the chest more easily. If we can't, then the same for Saoirse. She's the next best thing regarding DEX checks. Saoirse has Thieves' tools because she took them from Hermes, but has no proficiency to use them.)