The Guild - Game Thread

(You are allowed to use Athletics for this so Gendan passes due to proficiency bonus)

Round Countdown 20

Val, Deva and Elsara search the bodies.

Curiously, the figure doesn't respond to Runt. Runt and Gendan work together to push the furniture over, gaining them access to the room (You use 30ft movement to enter). Now it becomes clear why the figure wasn't responding. The figure is another orc but this one is not mutated. He is suspended about a feet of the ground by a noose that's tied around his neck. He seems to have been dead for a few days now. There are no signs of struggle, which suggest that the orc did this to himself. Runt recognizes the faded markings on the orc's body. This one was the tribe chief. The room itself has a bed, a desk and a large chest for storing equipment here. The chest is not locked but it is closed. On the desk is a sheet of paper with some orcish writings on it.
Gendan and Runt, what do you do?

Runt will grab the paper with writing on it and start to head back to the exit.

Okay... what about the chest though?

Gendan will open the chest. 

Alright moving on then

Round Countdown 19

Runt grabs the paper and moves out. Gendan opens the chest and (I assume) grabs its contents. The chest contained a Hide Armor +1 and a Great Axe +1 as well as 250 GP.

Val, Deva and Elsara continue to search for the keys.

Round Countdown 18

Runt and Gendan reach the stairs to the upper floor

Val, Deva and Elsara is about to give up searching when they find the key.

Round Countdown 17
Runt and Gendan move toward the exit.

Val, Deva and Elsara run back to the prisoners.

Round Countdown 16

Runt and Gendan keep moving toward the exit.
Val Deva and Elsara begin to unlock doors.

Round Countdown 15

Runt and Gendan exit the cave successfully.
Val, Deva and Elsara continue to unlock the doors.

Round Countdown 14

Val, Deva and Elsara finish unlocking the doors.

Round Countdown 13

Val, Deva and Elsara got the prisoners and begin moving out of the dungeon.

Round Countdown 12 to 9 (Slow down due to prisoners having less movement)

Val, Deva and Elsara reach the stairs (With prisoners of course)

Round Countdown 9 to 6

They reach 2F stairs

Round Countdown 3

Everyone exits the cave successfully.

Round Countdown 0

The cave explodes.

Everyone managed to get out in time. A lot of the villagers were rescued. They thank the party.

For rescuing the villagers, everyone gets an additional 1000 XP. For completing this quest, everyone gets another 1000 XP.
I will now add it to your character sheet. You may level up.

Leveling up grants the benefits of long rest but spells/magic items that reset on long rest are not affected.

Also, I've given Deva the character specific feat that everyone got at 3rd level.

Seeing the cave exploding and collapsing Valwarin tries to recover his breath. 

"That was... that was close..." he says " I am glad that we managed to free the villagers... but we must rely the information we've discovered here. That... creature must be stopped..." 

(That creature is a paladin in weird armor. Also it is fully humanoid and probably a person like the rest of you.)

(Zulk, I saw you added the magic items to Gendan’s inventory, but did the 250gp make it? She only has 1gp right now.)

Gendan gives the magical Greataxe to Runt and says “You’ll probably get better use of this than I would.” Then she looks to Deva who seems to be the least armored fighter she’s ever encountered and tosses him the magical leather. “Here, put this on.” She keeps the coin to repair her dragonplate. 

Runt waits at the entrance, guarding its passage while she waits for the 3 missing members of her team to complete their task. As they, and a sizable group of villagersescape, she is rocked by the explosion and nearly falls over. As the dust settles, she greets her victorious band  Well done, all are safe yes?

As Genden gifts Runt with the axe, her already soft features soften more with gratitude. Thank you, sister. Runt says and gives Genden a near bone crushing bear hug.

(The moment you realize you multiclass too much, and your immediate thought upon finally leveling is to figure an excuse to do so. Thank the heavens Devarus' stats suck to help curb that.)

(Also, Fall Back? Niiice! I love it! So thematic)

Devarus has no air to speak with so

Having found a half-buried boulder or a comfortable

For the accolades delivered Devarus can only muster a half-smile or the rare and breathy word of "Just happy to help" before sinking back into his seat whenever left alone. Ears ultimately still ringing from the blast, Devarus misses any warning call from Gendan before receiving a face full of hide. "Huh... Ah! THANK YOU!" In his fatigue he starts to immediately put it on. Then he remembers himself, and embarrassed packs it a way.

At least five days worth of rations are dispensed to the throng of villagers, as well as his waterskin. Even knowing it wouldn't be enough alone, he hoped to bring some temporary relief before their march back to the village.

"ONCE EVERYONE IS GOOD AND -- oh, the ring stop... Once everyone is good to go, we.. we should get moving to report this." He winces. "Maybe after resting in what remains of town first."

"Yes you are right" says Val after start imitating Devan and giving away his rations and water to the villagers " we all need a rest and then we can report this... " he seems worried but for now speaks no more.

(@Gendan, Yeah thanks for the reminder. Forgot to add the gold. Also removed the magic items because those were given away. They are now added to Runt and Deva's inventory)

Summer 55
Time: 3:45 AM (New day starts at 4:00 AM)

After resting near the cave for a bit the party begin the trek back to the village. Rations consumed from everyone: 1. Having given away his waterskin Deva gets dehydrated. (Normally this would cause a level of exhaustion but since you reached the village after 12 hours, the effects are negated since there's water in the village. I suggest buying a waterskin as soon as possible). Also here are some things that happen during travel.

Everyone walks along the trail. As the sun begins to sink lower and lower in the western sky, the two rocky walls of Vitmore valley casts the path in shadow. The orange sky seems to match the shade of the rocks on the mountain wall. The darkness keeps increasing until the sky is filled with starts. Looking up toward the night sky from the valley, the mountains on both sides make the framed sky look like a river of stars. The moon behind you casts a very dim light. Your faded shadow falls on the trail, stretched thin due to the angle of the light. It's as if it is guiding you along.

I assume Runt reads the note she grabbed. It says the following (in orcish):

 Soon the yellow grass on the sides of the trail and rocks beneath your feet give way to more soft ground. It is not very fertile as the soil has a very high amount of sand. Not surprising since Milstorm Village stands on the edge of Drun Desert. The small grass and the dry shrubbery continue to decorate the path as you come to an incline (It was there before, don't worry). From the incline, you can see the remains of the village. With the sandy soil moving as you press on forward, you soon reach the village.

As you approach the village, Gendan starts to feel really tired for some reason (Unexplained 1 level of exhaustion gained). She feels really light headed and her body seems to ache mildly.

EDIT: Added extra descriptions because I wrote this post in a hurry.

In a manner very uncharacteristic of her, Gendan concedes that she’s feeling off. “Hey guys, I wouldn’t mind setting up camp and taking some rest.”  She looks to Val and Elsara for medical assessment.

On the way to the village, Gendan also spent some additional time speaking to, arguing with, and yelling at her patron. Ultimately, she was bestowed with additional abilities that are yet to be experienced. The purple sparks that flit between her fingers are more active than before and her skin has become even more pale, even a bit translucent. 

As fatigued as he was, Devarus tried to fill the intervening time at first telling tales about the places once visited in the half-drow's youth. It is never made easy how much of it is true. But the intent had been clear in that they were all meant to be uplifting in some way; pushing back the dark memories of time spent with the Orc. Only the aches of age and lingering pain eventually gives him cause to shut up. That, and Runt's note, if she should wish to read it out loud.

During the quiet period Devarus eyes were glued upon the heavens. Something about the river of stars sent him further back into memories. A melancholy expression grows in his features. For a while, the memories suppressed the pain even as subconscious twitch and motion of the hand led to pretending to strange motions. Strange at least for those unskilled in the bow. But to others, there was an improved efficiency in the motion as time went by, promising a faster draw of the bow in the future.

"Outside the village? But--" Devarus eats his own words remembering the devastation where even half-elven eyes failed to see in the dim light of night. "That may not be a bad idea, actually! These people could use a break from reminders. Even good ones, like us!" He chuckles, but the smile behind it fails to reach his face. Worry gnawed at him, but he would not press Gendan while Val and Elsara tended to her.

(I can't remember. Was it Gendan or Val bitten by the Blob near the end there?)

(It was Gendan)

After they party rests for the night with the survivors, Runt wakes in the morning feeling lighter. Maybe it was the fatigue of the previous day being refreshed away, but Runt feels like she could move faster and swing her massive weapons with more alacrity. 

Elsara checks Gendan's condition. 14

Elsara doesn't know the cure (DC17 Medicine to know the cure) but she successfully identifies what's wrong with Gendan. She's not sure whether it was getting vomited on or because of the nasty bite she received but Gendan has got the disease: Blood Poisoning. This disease is nasty and can even kill the patient. In this disease, the patient's blood becomes tainted and poisonous. As the tainted blood courses through the patient's body, it slowly eats away at the internal organs, damaging them. Early symptoms include tiredness and dizziness and then nausea and diarrhea. Later symptoms include muscle weakness, general body pain and severe weakness similar to extreme exhaustion, blurry vision and general deterioration of health.

Mechanical Effect: First, gain 1 level of exhaustion. Every long rest, roll CON save DC17. Failure gives another level of exhaustion and success removes a level. After 4th level of exhaustion is gained, every failed CON save reduces maximum HP by 1d10. Succeeding the CON save at this stage increases maximum HP by 1d10. Crit fails and crit successes doubles the die rolled.Dropping to 0 HP either from combat or from this disease when it is in this stage will kill the patient.

(Medicine: 27 )

"Let me see" says Valwarin checking on Gendan's condition.

Lesser restoration can cure this disease but a higher level spell slot is needed depending on how far the disease has progressed. In Gendan's case, a 3rd level spell slot is required to cure it.

Additional information:

 Val casts a 3rd level Lesser Restoration on Gendan. Her body stops aching, she doesn't feel tired anymore though she still feels light-headed. The disease is cured. When the party gets to the middle of town, the Guild Master, Horace greets them. The tabaxi says, "Ah! You guys look worse for wear but you also look more... formidable. I take it the mission was a success?"

"Try to take it easy for a couple of days Gen" says Valwarin to his friend when the power of Mother Nature cleanses the disease. 

"It was, we come with as many survivors as we could find. The orcs will never be a problem, for all of them are dead and their lair destroyed. I am afraid that this village were the coraterall damage of a larger plot and they should know that the orcs were turned into something horrible and it wasn't their intention to break their deal with them or cause them any harm... at least not until they were turned magically by some evil. Thing is, they  should be safe now and we hope that the ones we were able to bring back could recover soon in their homes. Horace, it was this wicked magic. We found this powerful full plate clad human, or at least it strike to me like one, that had plotted to try this magic on the orcs. We found a note of the orc leader talking about this and we destroyed an artifact that was fueling it. This must be sttoped. There must be someone who we can talk to. You should warn the authorities, what had happened here looked like a test... I fear that something terrible is coming..."