Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

Lam whirls around again at the sound of the soldiers’ voices. Thankfully his friends are keeping up, but why do the soldiers keep talking about the boss woman who is dead? He glances at her corpse to see the two magical-looking items, one of which seems to be another sending stone ring. He watches Hemlock take the amulet and disappear into thin air, and the only thing keeping him from being startled is that he’s seen Hemlock do that before. He fumbles for a bit to take the ring- the situation and the sight of the corpse keeps him from thinking straight- but then he runs into the trees, where he hopes Hemlock has gone too.

The ring is definitely the same sort as the messenger ring you took from Hermes - which means somebody is on the other end.

Kieran's feet are still rooted, so despite the range being too long, and his view of her being slightly obscured by the tent, his only real move is to hurl the javelin twice at Saoirse. To hit: 6 Damage: 15 pierce + 1 lightning; To hit: 6 Damage: 11 pierce + 5 lightning.

Both shots miss, one hitting the tent between him and you, and the other hitting the tent beside you. Then he shouts to his men "let them run, we'll hunt them down later. Secure the traitor." He grunts with effort, and Saoirse can feel that he has broken free of her curse of binding, while she remains bound by his. 

Initiative: Saoirse, Hemlock, Lam, Viconia, Servant, Firbolgs, Sha-Gravis, Soldiers, HMC group North, HMC pair West, Billy and Ahmed, panicking horse

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

Sha moves towards Hemlock and Lam.  “Are they talking about Billy & Ahmed?”  Looking at both Lam &Hemlock for responses

action dash + movement follow Hemlock and Lam.

The soldiers heed Kieran's command, and continue south through the clearing, into the bright sunlight emanating from just south of the skyoak. Most focus their energy into running or pushing through the last of the overgrown plants, but one does stop along the way, and fire his bow at Billy. Billy and Ahmed shout in synchronized pain as the arrow's sting is spread between their link. The worker dueling with Ahmed gets in a good hit, and clearly has the upper hand. The other, still bound by Hemlock's vines, has his crossbow aimed at Billy. "Sorry. Give up," he says.

Billy drops his hammer, and indicates to Ahmed that he should do the same. They are outnumbered and surrounded. Billy makes eye contact with Saoirse through the trees. "Go. We'll be ok," he mouths silently.

"We'll take care of them back at Coldwater. Take them alive."

You may choose to continue into the woods, and in that case you are out of initiative, and Ill describe the forest. But if you still want to interfere, then it's Saoirse's turn.

Saoirse, who had hoped the dwarf and his dragonborn companion would also be able to flee, mouths back to Billy, "Stay strong. We'll free you and Jonah." Even though she has every intention of keeping her word, she can't help but feel anguished for them. So she mutters a prayer that not so long ago would have been directed to the Lightbringer, but today isn’t sent toward any particular figure - or perhaps, it is adressed to every god she's ever heard from - hoping that none of their allies are harmed. 

As the party makes their way through the forest, the young genasi shares a final glance with the older one. Saoirse is torn. On the one hand, she is relieved that they are escaping, but on the other, she wants to know more about this figure who minutes ago had meant no more than the standard servant but now feels much more important. That is when it strikes her. Is Kieran going to follow them? Does he have the means to do that? Wait. He does. Even if she isn't able to do this just yet, she's heard many times about the brand that experienced blood hunters can impose on their targets. An arcane tether that allows them to pursue their enemies until they decide to terminate the connection, or the target finds a way to sever it. What if Kieran had managed to brand her, or Lam, with any of his lightning attacks? Would she be able to know this? (OOC: Arcana check 4. Rerolled with inspiration: 18)

The last thing Saoirse feels before the bushes and trees hide the armored genasi from view is him breaking free from her curse of binding. She tries to do the same with his curse but fails once again. Letting out a long and frustrated sigh, she holds onto Sha-Gravis tightly. "Sorry, Sha, I can't seem to shake off this curse by myself, but it should wear off soon."

One of Lam's wounds, where the javelin pierced his abdomen and knocked him out of the fight, has a strange and unnatural scarring around it. In the pain and drama of the battlefield, and of collapsing into unconsciousness, nobody immediately noticed it as different than the other lightning-accented stab wounds. When Saoirse looks at it more closely, however, she can immediately see that the electricity has seared a mark into Lam's skin and fur: the brand of castigation. It is an advanced technique, one that she has not yet mastered, but she knows what it does. Kieran will know where they are, for as long as Lam bears the mark. Now that she looks closely at it, she even realizes that the rune is the same as the one used in the mark that allowed Vince to find Saffron.

Regardless, you aren't being followed yet. You've left the clearing behind, and left Billy and Ahmed to the justice available in an HMC now directly controlled by Strixwell's people. The fire slowly died out in the skyoak in the middle, and the tree will survive. But if it lives 5000 years, it will still bear the firescar on its trunk. Kieran will probably be forced to retreat back across the river for now, and the local firbolgs' show of magical strength has made it clear that they will not be so easy to assault. One of their women is dead, but so is Viconia.

Even just a few minutes' walk away from the clearing and into the wood, the battlefield seems mercifully far away. The undergrowth is thick, but Hemlock is quick to recognize thin trails that the local firbolgs use to move quickly and silently in the forest. Each of the skyoak trunks you pass has some marking near it - a bent sapling, a pile of stones, a ring of long-lived mushrooms - that Hemlock recognizes as druidic phrases. At first they seem like random phrases (Races-towards-sun or leans-into-wind or gives-mice-shelter), but he soon realizes that each of the trees has an individual name. The trees are well cared for, and have grown quick and strong even for their species, so though 500 years is relative infancy for them, the canopy is already thick and verdant, and more than 100 feet high. There are layers of other plants beneath, from hanging vines up high to smaller shade-loving trees (many hemlocks, as it happens, alongside dogwoods and hollies) and thick shrubs. Berry bushes are common along the firbolg trails. 

Saoirse soon regains use of her legs, and the soothing twilight around Sha-Gravis fades. It does not feel like you are in immediate danger. You reach a trunk that has slightly more well-trodden trails coming to it from the north and the west. Birch trees with sharp bends in their young trunks serve as trail markers, with druidic carvings on the bark that are signs for each direction. To the north, 'cartref.' To the west 'ty llyn,' and then a couple more runes added afterwards: 'perygl, llyffant.'

After she finishes examining Lam, Saoirse steps a little away from her friend, her face a mask of concern and embarrasment. The genasi lets out a weary sigh, raises a hand to her temples and presses her fingers into the tense muscles before speaking again. "I'm so sorry for this. I never thought I'd be seeing one of these brands in any of you. And I see now that this is the same symbol Eliza had on her back! These are not meant to be set on people, but on monsters! That's what I was taught! We blood hunters were supposed to fight evil, in ainm dhia, " she curses "not to control people's lives."

She falls silent for a moment. "We need to have that brand removed, or Kieran will be able to locate us pretty easily. But I don't think we will be able to do that ourselves. Brands of castigation can be dispeled, but the stronger the blood hunter, the harder it is. And that man ... he is very strong." As she says this, her shoulders drop visibly and she sits next to the trunk marked with strange carvings. "Shall we rest here for a moment? Lam is pretty battered, and so am I."

Once Saoirse regains her feet Sha goes into several stretches feeling a warmth all across his shoulders and back.  He also checks his companions offering healing to whomever needs it cure wounds.  He will then renew vigilant blessing to Lam and give guidance liberally to Hemlock and Saoirse as they puzzle over the next course of action.  “I agree Saoirse, a short rest would be welcome.  If possible.”

When Sha offers his healing touch, Saoirse raises a hand to refuse the spell and gestures towards Lam. Anticipating the bugbear's objection, she insists, "You fell unconscious, Lam. That's something I hope I never have to see again. Please." Then, looking at the three of them with sheer gratitude in her eyes, the fire genasi adds, "Thank you for taking care of me back there. I just hope next time I'll be able to fend for myself a little better. It got very confusing. I'm still trying to make sense of it all."

(OOC: Rolled my 2 hit die and got a 9. Will add them to my sheet if no one objects to rest here)

Hemlock only reluctantly leaves the battlefield behind, retreating sitting uneasily upon him. Especially with Billy and Ahmed captured. But leave he does, and direct the others through the forest trails, taking special note of druidic signs along the way. He is quiet as they travel though, listening to what Saoirse in particular has to say, but offering no reply as he remains deep in thought.

When Sha eventually sets Saoirse down, and she calls for rest, he finally turns his attention to the others.

"I did not expect it to be like that. There is obviously more to this Kieran you speak of. Some link to your past as there was with Sebastian", he says watching her closely. "You asked us to stay our hands, and we did so. You asked us to flee, and we did that also, leaving Billy and Ahmed behind. You attacked a horse, Saoirse, instead of our enemy!", he says incredulously at the last part.

"I agree we need to rest, but there is so much that needs to be explained", he adds with a sigh, before his face softens a little.

"If Lam has been branded and that puts us in danger, maybe the Firbolgs can help. I reached out to them before we left. Asked them to seek us out. And there are signs throughout the forest, signs only druids can read. They are close, possibly watching us even now. I told them we are friends, my hope is that they believed me after what we did".

Lam seems to have all the energy drained out of him- his eyes are glazed over and his breathing is heavy as he stumbles along into the forest. He’s had many wounds in his life, but he has been shocked very few times before. His eyes dart wildly around, only stopping once he has seen that Sha is carrying Saoirse along and Hemlock has re-appeared, leading the way through the forest. He tries to think about what exactly has happened. Viconia is dead. Her servant is not, and Saoirse didn’t want him to be. Lam and his friends are fleeing. Billy and maybe also Ahmed helped them. Those two are being left behind.

He stops and lets Saoirse examine the wound on his abdomen, doing his best to hide how sensitive and painful the area is at the moment. When Saoirse points it out, he wishes he’d noticed it sooner- he has been branded. He had been interested in learning how to remove a brand like this earlier, but that was before it was on him- and he never actually learned how to do it. He watches Saoirse, listening intently as she speaks, but turns his gaze to the ground when she says that the brands are not meant to be set on people, but monsters.

When Saoirse gestures for Sha to heal him instead of her, he raises his arm in objection- but since her heartfelt insistence is accompanied by an involuntary expression of pain from him just for raising his arm, he doesn’t get the objection out and instead gives Saoirse a look of silent thanks. He breathes deeply in relief as Sha’s magic washes over him- a feeling he has come to recognize and rely on. He turns to Sha and gets out in a gravelly voice, “…Danke.”

He listens to Hemlock, shocked at the Druid’s uncharacteristically raised voice even as it retains its signature slow drawl. He does look at Saoirse in surprise when Hemlock says she attacked a horse- he did see that happen, but had been too preoccupied at the time to wonder what it meant. He nods to Hemlock’s words about needing an explanation- the last 20 seconds or so of that battle were hard to make sense of, let alone before that when red had colored all of Lam’s actions.

He turns to everyone and says, “I need rest. I am sorry,” before looking away from everyone again. When they all settle to rest, Lam finds a spot to sit down and begins silently addressing his wounds. He spends a disproportionate amount of time of the wound that has been branded- he seems particularly fixated on that one.

Saoirse didn't see that scolding coming. Perhaps she should have, but she was still processing the fact that they were out of immediate danger and hadn't yet come to terms with everything that had happened. Too much had transpired—and too quickly—at least for her. As the druid finished talking, her eyes dropped to the ground, unable to meet the firbolg's, and her shoulders slumped even deeper. It took her a while to raise her face again and find the words to answer.

"And what was I supposed to do? Should I have kept attacking? Even as he begged me to flee, and as he apologized for following orders he clearly didn't want to follow? We made a vow, godsdamnit. A vow to free everyone under mind control. She warned me this would happen —that I would find others like Sebastian. And there I was, fool of me, replying to his pleas saying that I could free him. I thought, 'Saoirse, you can do this. You only need Viconia's and this man's blood, and you'll free him, same as you did in the mines.'  Imagine how stupid I felt when he said he was bound to Silvia Strixwell. And how very confused when Viconia said his name."

She rubbed her eyes tiredly, searching for what inner strength she could muster to keep going. "You didn't get to see him up close, did you? Kieran is a fire genasi, just like me. When I heard his name, I remembered how everyone back home would shut up whenever I entered a room where that name was being mentioned. And that time I overheard my parents arguing with the village elders because someone with that name didn't want me to go through the Hunter's Bane. Why would my supposed parents promise some Kieran to keep me away from that? I just put two and two together." She paused, "What would you have had me do, Hemlock? He might me my father. But even if he wasn't, we made a vow. And I promised myself I would free every blood hunter suffering as Sebastian did, as long as I have the ability to do so. Because, you see, the servant you fought on the mines and the one you fought today ... that could have been me."

The genasi finishes, "I was wrong about the horse. It won't happen again. I thought that if I spooked the horses they would interrupt the soldiers, giving Billy and Ahmed a chance to escape. But I didn't think straight. I hurt the poor creature, and Billy and Ahmed have still been taken. It won't happen again", she repeats, once again dropping her gaze to the ground.

Hemlock's eyes widen in surprise as Saoirse gives him the explanation he had asked for.

"I...I had no idea", he manages to say. "I just saw him almost kill Lam, and try to kill you, and I couldn't understand why you protected him still. Why you would seemingly rather die than take his life. I guess...well it makes sense now", he continues.

"I didn't know he was a fire genasi, I didn't know what he and you were talking about. I just wanted to keep us all safe, and Billy and Ahmed. If I had to trade his life for any of yours, I would do it in a heartbeat. But that was before I knew why you protected him", he says, rambling a little now as he feels a measure of guilt for scolding her.

"I...am sorry for making this harder on you", he finishes, also dropping his gaze.

The moment he drops his gaze, Hemlock can feel a hand upon his. An unusually warm hand. As if the firbolg had sat next to a crackling bonfire. When he looks at Saoirse, he can see her shaking her head. "Don't be", she said, and then added with a slight smile, "If I am still keeping it together is because you are all here with me."

Saoirse falls silent for a moment. Then she breathes deeply and adds "At least we did some good today. That young firbolg girl, she made it out alive, didn't she? Let's focus on that. Viconia is dead, and that girl lives. We did something good today."

Lam has already sat down, but he manages to keep his eyes focused on Saoirse as she talks. His brows are furrowed in an effort to hold focus. Flashes of the battle, such as Kieran saying he was bound to Lord Strixwell, and Saoirse requesting they not fight the other clearly hostile genasi, begin to make sense from Saoirse’s words. And he feels terrible for Saoirse. That would be an awful condition to discover a parent in. And imagining Saoirse in that situation is even worse.

He looks back and forth between Saoirse and Hemlock, unused to seeing them disagree. He relaxes a little when Hemlock apologizes, and relaxes more when Saoirse accepts the apology. He watches both of them with concern, tuned into the conversation, but he says nothing. Then he looks back down at his brand. He wishes he could scrub it off, but even the thought of how painful such an action would be right now makes him wince internally. He knows he was nothing but a liability in this battle, and he will continue to be so unless and until he can get his strength back. He goes back to trying to treat his wounds, watching his friends for reassurance that they are ok but too tired to keep any meaningful watch on the premises.

Noticing Lam looking at his wound, the blood hunter tells him, "We'll find a way to fix that, Lam. I'm sure our very smart and dear Tortle will know something. Or perhaps Fitz. And if not, they will point us in the right way to find the solution. I'll contact Tesfaye in a while to update them, okay? Speaking of, who do you think that ring is connected to? Strixwell, perhaps? We could try to eavesdrop as we did with Hermes' ring."

"Yes, we stood up for what was right, and we helped the Firbolg's", Hemlock says looking up to meet Saoirse's gaze. "And we will be here whilst you figure all this out. Anything you need", he adds.

A smile crosses his face, "Together we are strong, together we can achieve anything. I think those we face might just be starting to realise that, and it is about time. Of course, for some it is too late".

"We should ask the Firbolg's about removing the brand. Did you see the power they wielded when they sang together?", he suggests.

As Saoirse talks, Lam pulls out the ring which he had all but forgotten he picked up. “Should I wear it? Or someone else?” He asks Saoirse, then he remembers something else from the battle and turns to Hemlock. “Did you take something from her?”

He nods in agreement when Hemlock tells Saoirse they’ll be here for her. His eyes gain just a bit of life again as he watches Hemlock bring up the other Firbolgs again, noticing how his Firbolg friend gets just a bit more animated talking about the other druids. He hopes they do get to see the other Firbolgs again- as much as the battle was a blur, that singing was a sound to behold.

Hemlock nods and holds out the amulet.