Heavy is the Head - Campaign thread

Hemlock is relieved when Ali drops his bow and it clatters to the ground, but that feeling is soon wiped away as Eliza steals Fitzwhistle’s tool. And finding out that the tool has recorded everywhere he has been makes it much worse.

“Ali, help us get back what Eliza stole. Fitzwhistle, send your flying thing after her”, he calls out just as Saoirse bolts down the stairs. He speaks a quick word of magic, sending healing energy into her.

He then starts to run for the stairs, and as he does so his form starts to change and shift. Deep black fur starts to grow all over him and he leans forwards dropping onto both his hands and his feet. But they are no longer hands and feet, rather paws. His face elongates and his mouth becomes a maw, whiskers growing outwards to the side just as his body and extremities bulge with new musculatures.

Without breaking stride, Panther-lock careens down the stairs after Saoirse, heading for an open window on the same side as Eliza was descending.

Bonus Action: healing word on Saoirse - 6 hit points

Action: Wildshape into a Panther

Movement: 50ft down the stairs towards the open windows.

Lam stares back at Ali for a moment with mixed emotions as he takes in a breath, finally still for just a moment.

Before he can process anything though, Eliza is leaving with something that’s apparently very important. Why is everyone running and fighting?? Lam struggles to keep his head on straight and determine his next move amidst all the chaos. Saoirse and Hemlock (newly transformed into a panther) dash down the stairs faster than he can think.

”Grah!! Fitz-“ he starts, his mind led by something Hemlock said on his way out- “Flybert! Cubert! Help!” As he shouts whatever words come to mind, he scrambles over to the window, greataxe in tow.

Hemlock realizes somewhere in the back of his mind that he would normally not be dextrous enough to drop onto all fours while running down stairs without stumbling - but it is far in the back of the mind, because the rest is consumed by a fierce, cruel joy usually foreign to the herbivorous firbolg. The joy is this: he is chasing something that is trying to run away from him, and he knows with all of his fibrous muscle and shining eyes that he is going to catch it. Because this is what his body is built for, and when he decides to catch a creature, the only question left is how long he gets to enjoy the thrill of the hunt before it lies bloody in his claws. Never has he felt so confident, beautiful, or deadly.

Eliza falls slowly and safely, but still unable to move her rigid body.

Ali looks like he's still trying to process everything happening so fast. He picks up his bow again, and runs after Pantherlock and Saoirse, doing his best to keep up. "I expect you to tell me exactly what the dragon asked of you as soon as things calm down."

Fitzwhistle is still drunk. He doesn't seem to quite have processed what all the fuss is about. He watchest the commotion, looking abck and forth between Hemlock's receding tail and Sha-Gravis. "So are we doing the ritual or what? Whoah, he just turned into a you, well you know, like a wild you, not a person you. Y'know I've always wondered how the animalmorphological races like you guys - and loxodons and aarokocra and leonins and all them - feel about there being a animal species out there that looks just like you. I mean, it's whack, right? Like, they probably came first, so you're just knock-offs or maybe improvements or maybe you feel proud abou--" He finally registers Lam's request. "You want to borrow my boys? OK, fine man, no need to yell about it. Temporary command authorization to the goblinoid called Lam." The two constructs whirr back to life, and 'flybert' approaches Lam, hovering just over his head with its trapdoor open. It is definitely possible to grab and hold on to that. (I'll consider your action held until after Flybert's next turn, and you can give a command to it now as a free action). "There, they'll help you out now. Anyway,  young master Sha - or is it father Sha? What do the clerics of your faith go by. I feel like I was making some important observation at you. What was I saying?.."

Initiative:; Sha-Gravis; Hemlock; Saoirse; Lam; Eliza; Ali; Fitzwhistle

Owlbear is updated - but please adjust your character. https://www.owlbear.rodeo/room/5nRs1L_uFdxM/HeavyistheHeadPBP

Sha looks at Fitzwhistle with a blank look overwhelmed by all the back and forth turning of events...”Ummm... just Sha-gravis or Chosen if you prefer.  The ritual the ah Spark of life... the best chance of success would be for me to rest and pray for guidance first, you see what I’ve done just to safely get here has left me empty- sorry.”  As Pantherlock races away Sha smiles a knowing smile recalling a recent squirrel-lock that Sha really wanted to chase...

Note: from Lam and Sha's current perspective, you can not quite see Eliza, or hear what's going on with the others' attempt at catching up to her.

"Hey man, chosen man, choice dude, I've been waiting 20 years stuck in here, I can wait another night. Gonna be here til i rot lock the doors dont talk to anyone outside and all that. Hell, i think when that little jerk sent me back here he thiught I'd starve. Didnt count on my smartbrain. Owowowow shit i remembered the jerk cant wont shouldnt do that hurts every time. Still, first time ive membered that without passing out from the pain in a longlonglonglonglonglong time. You know how when you sau a word enough times it sounds like a soind onsted of a word? Sound. Loung. Suond. Loooong. Soind. Loooooooooong. But if i do pass out just pull up a cushion and stay the night. Mi casa sus casa, as the elves say. Never was that good at Elvish, mostly because of all that conjugation....."

Saoirse keeps running downstairs, knowing that it will be difficult that she can reach Eliza, but trying nonetheless. She's surprised to see a panther appear, but this gives her hope. Perhaps Hemlock could succeed where she was surely going to fail. Perhaps there was a chance after all.

(Movement + Dash to try to reach Eliza)

Pantherlock bounds across the room after Saoirse, easily making it to the window before her. He then uses his powerful feline body to manouvre around on the ledge, digging his sharp rear claws into it as he leans down and virtually pounces to ledge below, and from there down to the next ledge.

His keen eyes look across at Eliza as she gracefully falls passed him, his hunting instinct locked onto the wizard.

Movement: 50/40ft across the room to the window and starting to climb down.
Action: Dash 40ft climbing down to the ledge with the evocation room.

Lam had been gearing up to smash through the window, but he pauses when Flybert makes its way over to him, and he realizes that Fitzwhistle had listened to him by letting him borrow the constructs. He puts his greataxe away as he stares up at Flybert, determining if it will be able to hold his weight- then he decides to try his luck. He jumps up and grabs onto the inside of Flybert’s trapdoor, preventing him from seeing anything but allowing him to be airborne. He hopes for Flybert’s sake that he is still lightweight. He thinks for another moment, then figures that the constructs must have some way outside this room, because he saw Cubert there. He says out loud, “Flybert. Cubert. Take me outside. To human- Eliza. She is bad.”

"Wait, Cu*hic*rt isn't designed fo-"

Cubert and Flybert dutifully misty step out the window, Lam experiencing the stomache-turning suddenness of teleportation for the first time (your instincts did not prepare you for this) as he holds on to the flying construct. Flybert begins to gracefully descend, carrying Lam, fast but controlled. You are gaining on Eliza, and make it 2/3 of the way down the tower before she touches the ground. Cubert, on the other hand, plummets like a chunk of marble. The permanent 'gust of wind' spell that usually keeps it aloft doesn't do anything to balance it without a ground to push off of, and it plummets dangerously close to Eliza, and reaches the ground in a shockingly quick few seconds, with a very loud crash against the stone below. Pantherlock is close enough to hear that the gust of wind is still emanating from it, and to see that it is still in one piece, but not close enough to see how much damage it took. It is not hovering.

"oh whatever. It's time for my baby to see life outside the tower, shouldn't keep him cooped up just 'cus i can't leave will stay here till I rot and all that." He winces when he hears a crash from.far below. "Oh my poor baby. I'll fix him up, he'll come back to papa." He looks suddenly directly at Sha. "I know they aren't sentient, and that I'm just projecting.... but sometimes when I'm imagining that they're real companions I really do hear then talking back to me. Like, I know it's not real, but sometimes I don't know, you know? It's like I can believe if I want to, but after a life of research and rejecting belief without evidence, that makes me sad. I don't like being crazy, you know? Gods, I'm still not 100 percent on whether you're real." Fitzwhistle is starting to cry, and is reaching towards Sha in a gesture that suggests that he needs a hug.

Eliza suddenly jerks in mid-descent, her arms and legs swinging wildly in the moment that she finally forces herself free of Saoirse's blood curse of binding. This, unfortunately, it not conducive to a controlled fall, and she begins to rotate and wobble as she descends. At the same time, she opens and flips through her spellbook, muttering "dammit, dammit, think of something, c'mon" as she scans the pages. She seems to be having trouble thinking of how to get out of this situation, and when she lands gracelessly but unharmed on the hard ground, she pulls herself up towards a running position, apparently having settled on the most direct escape option, for the moment. There is a momentary blur as she stands up.

Ali continues to run alongside Saoirse, seeming to have accepted that answers will have to wait.

It is Sha's turn.

Sha reaches out embraces Fitzwhistle.  “I’ll do all that I can do for you, friend.”  It is a real stretch for Sha to consider that Fitzwhistle’s creations were imbued with a spark of life/sentience but perhaps... 

"Thank you..." Sha begins to feel a dampness percolate down from Fitzwhistle's face, through his fur, and to his shoulder. "Oh your fur is so soft and warm. You smell like reefer though, or catnip. Not that I'm complaining." It's a bit of a forced joke. The gnome does not let up the hug though. It will likely stretch on until Sha ends it, with Fitz weeping, hiccupping and occasionally making some comment.

Saoirse runs to the window, sees Eliza trying to escape and mutters:

- Oh no. You are not going anywhere.

She aims her crossbow and shoots, trying to go for the wizard's legs.

"Ow, Shit!" The crossbow bolt passes through the ilusión version of Eliza, straight into the left calf of her real body hiding below.

Pantherlock seems to defy gravity in a way only a cat can as he simply runs down the tower wall before leaping to the ground next to Eliza. He moves right through the illusion as if it were not there at all.

He bares his fangs as he slowly circles the wizard, blocking any attempts to flee, ready to swipe a large paw at her if she so much as attempts to take any action that isn’t total surrender.

A low growl escapes his throat as his eyes lock onto hers, almost daring her to try something.

Movement: Down to Eliza in a position to block her escape

Action: ready claw attack (non lethal, advantage due to prone): To Hit: (13,14)+4=18, Damage: 2+2=4

Hemlock's body is having so, much, fun. He wants to smell her bleed, he wants to see her cower. He's caught her once, and some instinct in him wants to let her run away just so he can catch her again, and make her bleed a little more. All of these urges may be a little disquieting to his higher brain functions, and to a philosophy that abhors violence for violence's sake while also venerating animals.

"Ah, Nice kitty? Please be cool bro." Eliza lifts both hands in a gesture of surrender, but her eyes dart towards the open spellbook she's holding in her right. 

It is Lam's turn.

That subtle gesture - glancing at the book - is enough for Pantherlock to strike, three long thin claw marks appear on Eliza's cheek faster than she can react, bright red and dripping. Her mask of faux surrender slips, her face contorting into a wince of pain. There is no escape that she can see. A cornered animal is a dangerous one, however, and Eliza is not in the habit of giving up.

Lam also winces when Cubert hits the ground, realizing he made a mistake. As soon as Lam is close enough to the ground to control his landing, he lets go of Flybert to land as close to Eliza as he can, leaving Flybert hovering a bit higher. He gets one quick look at his panther friend’s face, and is surprised by the expression he seems to be making- a look in his eyes that had been totally absent from Hemlock up until now. Remembering why he came down here, he gets out his greataxe and swings to whack Eliza.

When Lam drops from Flybert, the construct seems to bounce upwards in the air, suddenly unburdened. At a word fro Lam, it begins flying towards Saoirse, making it most of the way towards her. It will be about 15 below her and 10 feet from the tower at the end of the round. That same word has Cubert's gust of wind intensify, but that air is blowing upwards, and the construct is not able to right itself.

The greataxe smacks across Eliza's back, pushing her and both hands fully back to the ground with a painfully loud sound. She is still awake, but seems to be just barely holding onto consciousness through the pain.

Fitzwhistle continues to hold onto Sha-Gravis and weep. "You don't *hic* actually have any pipeweed on you, by chance? Haven't had any in 20 years."

Ali runs past Saoirse and out the window, beginning to climb and jump from ledge to ledge to descend. He is graceful, though not as swift as a panther.

Eliza rolls over, onto her back. Blood from the scratches on her cheek is smeared across her face. She is wheezing, trying ro recover some of the air that Lam has just forced out of her. She opens her mouth as if to say something, struggling to lift her head, before appearing to collapse quite dramatically unconscious. Lam and Hemlock, roll insight, dc 18

Pantherlock reaches out with a paw and gently taps Eliza. Seeing no response he is satisfied she is no longer conscious and sits down on his haunches, disappointed the hunt is seemingly over.

Insight: 7+6=13 (Passive: 16)

Sha pulls away, digs around finds his smokin nip set sets one up for him and Fitz, “Man everything is gonna be okay.  Don’t worry.  Be happy.”