Initiative: 16

Billy listens intently to Seri's retelling of her conversation with Smiler, glancing over at the sleeping islanders from time to time. Before Kairouani sets off to challenge Maheri, he says in a low, gruff voice, 

"Looks like we've fallen into a stew-pot here, mateys. You do what you need to do, sister. If it all goes windward, know that Billy Flint's got your back. You can lay by that."

With the others, he watches Kairouani leave the group and approach Maheri around the north side of the fire. He casts about for a stout piece of driftwood or something else that he could use as a weapon.

Seri hears Smiler's voice in her head responding to her message. "I protect my people. I will not interfere in your sister's challenge but please do not harm the boys. If I must, I will use what influence I have to calm them, but you must know that they are Maheri's. They worship and are devoted to him."

Sentry's wisdom save vs Kairouani's intimidation: 13

Initiative rolls:

Billy: 2

Smiler: 15

Sentry: 19

Sleeping boys group 1 (3 people): 17

Sleeping boys group 2 (4 people): 21

Maheri: 12

As Kairouani passes by the fire, steel in her gaze, the young sentry looks up sharply from the fire. His head swivels as he turns to look at the sleeping form of Maheri and then back at the purposeful Ranger. Seeing imminent danger to his leader, he scrambles to his feet and moves to cut off Kairouani's advance.

Initiative order:

Sleeping boys group 2: 21 (once they are awake, so not this round)

Billy: 19

William: 16

Sentry: 10

Kairouani: 5 (Thea has a higher Dex score but it makes sense to me for Kairouani to act first in this scenario. Let me know if you want to handle it differently).

Thea: 5

Seri: 5

Smiler: 5

Sleeping boys group 1: 5 (once they are awake)

Maheri: 4 (once he is awake)

Billy scoops up a stout, knobbled branch from the edge of the jungle and takes a few strides toward the fire. He stops, the improvised weapon hanging by his side, and watches Kairouani's progress.

William, do you want to move or act now, or ready an action?

William moved down towards the waterline to get a better view of the area. He did not know the full extent of how it was to go down but he nocked an arrow regardless. Kairouani would face the leader in single combat and he intended for that to be a fair fight. He kept his eye on his comrade, ready to shoot at the first person to interfere.

Move: 5 squares down
Ready action: Attack.
Trigger: anyone who would get too close to Kairouani and prevent her from reaching the leader.
Attack roll: 12 + 1 (bless) = 13
Damage: 8 piercing damage

OOC: Sounds good on the initiative thing. Though maybe it should be me who goes last out of the 5 initiative count people, since I'm the one who rolled the nat one. Gotta honor that crit fail!

Kairouani met the young sentries eyes but did not slow her pace, as she reached him her weapons were still held low at her side and her markings were clearly evident.

She called out in a booming voice, " Maheri Flesh-Peddler, One who stands without Honour and sells his Own People into Bondage."

" I issue Challenge and find you unworthy of your position."

" Strength of arm I see, but your spirit is corrupt and pitiful."

" Face me before the eyes of your men, your Ankoai and the eyes of the Sea himself."

She raised spear and axe over her head and sent the axe spinning high over his head to arc around and back to her hand.

" What say you?"

As the sentry moves across to cut off Kairouani, William draws and looses in one smooth motion, the arrow slicing through the gloom and thudding home into the young man's thigh. Suddenly unable to bear his weight on that leg, he collapses into the sand, one hand reaching for Kairouani but falling short. A look of confusion in his face turns to shock as he looks down to see the shaft protruding from his flesh. His mouth works but no sound comes out.

As Kairouani calls out her challenge to Maheri, he snaps into wakefulness, snatching up his blade and rolling to his feet in a fighting crouch. He has a fighter's instincts. He quickly scans the scene before him, taking in the fallen sentry, the rest of the boys just rousing from their slumber at the commotion, Smiler sitting with his face buried in his knees, Seri, Billy, Thea, and William observing from beyond the fire, and of course the fierce Igneri huntress bearing down on him like an avenging spirit. He says nothing (because it isn't his turn yet) but his face conveys anger and contempt.

I'm happy for Seri to go next. I wouldn't normally worry about crit fail for initiative, I'd just count it as a one, but if you want Thea to wait until after Seri that's fine by me.

Seri treads serenely westward towards the fire, her arms open (small driftwood shield donned).  Thirty feet, skirting past Billy.  In case any of the young hunters should be so blasphemous as to attack her directly, she takes the dodge Action.  She hopes it will not come to that.

As the sea elf walks, a sudden swirling wind with a distinctly non-tropical chill picks up from the lagoon, coalescing on the chest of the sentry and pulling him back southeast towards Seri, away from Kairouani and Maheri.  (Bonus Action Telekinetic Shove, DC 14 STR Save or be pulled 5' southeast).

Her voice sounds like the crash of converging waves as she calls out to everyone with calm confidence.

"My ship sister Kairouani has challenged Maheri, as Trondro's breakers wash ashore in witness.  You may hold Maheri in high regard for his power, yet consider that shackling anyone against their will for wealth is anathema to the Wave Father.  Those who interfere now on Maheri's behalf shall ultimately be judged by the Wave Father's far greater power as the rocks which once made the beach on which we now stand were pounded into fine sand."

(Seri maintains concentration on Bless for Kairouani, William and Thea.)

The young men around the fire are now fully wakened by Seri’s exhortation. They sit up. Some half stand. They are paralysed by a mixture of confusion and fear, glancing around variously between Maheri, Kairouani, Seri, each other, and the magically-moving sentry who is clutching his injury and looking rather pale in the moonlight. Smiler, looking up and seeing the injured boy, scrambles across the sand almost on all-fours, and crouches next to him. He begins tending to the wound and comforting his patient. 

Thea, your turn. 

Thea, who is perched in a tree, calls out from the darkness, her voice low and gravelly "The creatures of the wave father are watching. Any who interferes in the challenge of champions shall be punished!".

Moving swiftly, she leaps silently from tree to tree, and then she calls out once more, her voice like the call of nocturnal song-bird "The servants of Trondro are everywhere. If you try to interfere, his vengeance will be swift. REMEMBER THIS!"

She continues moving once more, leaping from branch to branch, her slender frame slipping through the night. Until, finally, she comes to rest in a tree directly north of Smiler (He is the green rimed one, right?) and calls out one final time, her voice booming over the silence of the night "As the herald of the Wave Father, I permit this challenge to COMMENCE!"

Crouching low, she uses her Bonus Action to Hide (thank you Cunning Action)

Stealth: 20

She readies an arrow, training it on whichever of the tribesmen seems likely to interfere, taking the ready action to fire her shortbow, with a trigger of one of the tribesmen makes a move. 

Shortbow Attack VS. Tribesfolk: 20 (with advantage due to most likely being hidden. Hope I don't roll a nat one on that Stealth check.) plus 1 (Bless) to hit. Hit: 10 Piercing damage plus 5 Sneak Attack damage.

I feel like I’m going to need an acrobatics check and an intimidation check from you for that. 

Advantage on the intimidation because it builds on Seri’s act. The acrobatics is all you though! 

OOC: I probably should have anticipated that. Luckily, I'm good at...

Acrobatics checks: 17

OOC: and I'm decent at...

Intimidation checks: 13

Still befuddled by sleep, and confronted by Seri's speech and the myriad mysterious voices from the trees, the youngsters around the fire are cowed into inaction.

Not so Maheri. His small eyes dart about, calculating. He spits in the sand and then without further warning launches himself at Kairouani in a sudden ferocious assault. His steel blade swings viciously at her head.

Attack: 23 Damage: 7

He growls at his men as he recovers the swing back into a fighting stance, "Stop them. Take them alive if you can."

Kairouani reacts fast but not fast enough to avoid the blade entirely. She takes the savage cut on her shoulder, where it bites deep and adds more blood to mingle with her war-decorations.

The four boys to the south of the fire are scalded into action by Maheri's command. They scramble to their feet. Three begin to advance towards Billy, Seri, and William, wielding their bone knives. The fourth raises a blowpipe to his mouth, aiming it at Billy.

Billy hefts his makeshift club, resting the heavy end in his left hand. His grin is as broad as when you met him in his cave. In a passable impression of the language of the islands, albeit not necessarily in a dialect the men can understand, he says, 

 William, over to you.

William, judging how fast their opponents were moving, retreated back towards where he presumed Thea to be. He judged the distance adequate for him to get a shot in or two before any of them could reach him. He prioritised covering fire for Seri, figuring that surrounded by the enemy is too dangerous a situation to leave her in.

William moves his full movement up and to the right, ending at the square 10 from the top, 3 from the right
Action: shoot the enemy down left of Seri
Attack roll: 19 + 2 (bless) = 21
Damage roll: 7 piercing damage

William's feet sink in the soft sand as he runs to reposition himself, making the movement more tiring than it ought to be. He finds himself breathing heavily as he turns to draw his bow. Concentrating to settle his breathing, he looses the arrow. It finds its mark in the body of the youth closest to Seri, who lets out a sort of startled gasp and staggers.

The injured boy who had been designated sentry is in no position to act. He lies in the bloodstained sand, face pale, as Smiler administers aid.

Kairouani, over to you.

Kairouani acknowledges the wound with a slight tilt of her head and bites deep into her lip letting blood spill down her chin, she concentrates on keeping her face stoic trying not to dwell on how terribly wrong things have gone so quickly....her only chance is to utterly dominate Maheri quickly so that the lads are so cowed that they will speak only what they are told to.  Too many lives both on this island and all those beyond weigh on her shoulders now....she must not fail.

She focused on Maheri as she dove low at him with the spear held in both hands the axe dropping to the sand.

BA- Hunters Mark.

Attack: 24 Damage: 7 + 5

( Forgot Bless but I don't think it'll help, still....   3 )

Kairouni slips under Maheri's guard and feels her spearpoint pierce the flesh of his leg. He grunts, whether in pain, surprise, or anger is not clear.

Seri, to you.

"This cannot stand," Seri roars in Olona, voice startlingly deep like the crashing of a wave over a reef.

"We witness a challenge between Kairouani and Maheri, which Maheri has already blasphemed by attacking her directly before accepting the challenge, just as he has done by shackling even his own to sell into slavery to the men with shiny coats and fire-sticks.  All other violence stops now, or crabs will pick all of the bones clean from all of your corpses, islanders.  By Trondro's vast horizons, I swear it is so."

Once more, the onshore wind seems to coalesce and Telekinetically Shove the islander to her SW in the chest, DC14 STR Save or be pushed 5' away (SW).

The sea elf continues to move serenely, but now 30' due south towards the shoreline, swaying like underwater kelp.  (Dodge).

If the islanders presume to attack Seri, she is subject to either one or two opportunity attacks, depending on the results of the Telekinetic Shove.