Lissandra had traveled for days to reach her destination. The weight and importance of the message she had received from her contact had become evidently clearer the closer to Greenest she came: Villages and homesteads had been plundered and abandoned. She had cautiously traversed the countryside, hoping to avoid any unwanted confrontations or maybe meet survivors or fugitives. Instead she came upon Greenest under siege, and what a terrifying one at that! Not even in her wildest nightmares had she dreaded a dragon, despite the warning signs.
It appeared the keep was holding fast, at least partially, despite the fact that a dragon was wreaking havoc on the far side of it. From the look of it, people were retreated. If Lissandra would have a chance of finding either of her contacts, she would have to make her way to the keep and hope it would hold. Stones were far better shelter from flames, than open landscape, so she hurried along – perhaps foolishly so – towards the keep. Smoke and buildings shielded her approach towards the keep. Midway there she noticed a group by the gates and hunched down. These were not villagers. She observed the group assail the gates. Not wanting to be caught out in the open, she made a dash for the walls, looking for a place to stay out of sight while the attackers were preoccupied with their assault.
Before she could even reach the walls, the assailants were already in. She had only glanced at them, but noticed a drake, several smaller reptile creatures, and a robed man. Reaching the walls, Lissandra took a quick breath of air before moving towards the entrance. Commotion could be heard from inside. The guards could benefit from her help.
”Chauntea,” she offered a small prayer to her goddess, ”what lives will wither, what withers will die, the circle is set and new crops will rise.”
She tightened her pack, adjusted her shield, and with mace at the ready, entered the melee.
From the Sally Port, suddenly a new combatant entered: A young human woman clad in in a neatly adorned chainmail in in silver with earthen toned straps, methodically made her way inside, registering the incapacitated kobolds and other combatants. The hooded vestments underneath her armor are flowing, but practical, in white and sky blue almost symbolling she’s an epitome of purity. They are contrasted by her armor and brassy shield and mace. The hood is down, revealing long, blonde hair tightly set up to avoid getting in the way of her vision. Her shield carries a rose in bloom atop a sheaf of grain. The same symbol is carried in an amulet around her neck, and a sickle is tucked in her belt. She ignores the kobolds and goes straight for the robed figure, obviously noting that the drake is locked in combat.
(The way I read the map, I'm able to reach the Acolyte if I start the combat effectively outside the gate? Attack: 13 Damage: 4
Edit: made aware the acolyte was prone, missed that detail, so advantage: 11 )
Lissandra's mace comes crashing down on the robed man's shoulder with a cracking sound. Standing up, the goateed man stares Lissandra down, spreading his legs for balance while grabbing his mace off of the floor. Circling to his right without ever taking his eyes off Lissandra, he kicks the nearest kobold awake before addressing the drake in Draconic.
Draconic:
"Sic 'em, boy!"
Initiative Round 1
Kobold Alpha(4 damage, bloodied) Valji Quarion Skiaceq Ambush Drake Guard A Other Kobolds (2 asleep, 1 prone) Lissandra Guard B (stunned, bloodied) (10 damage) Robed Man (7 damage?)
The ambush drake snarls at Skiaceq, who glances in its direction.Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, the kobold jumps and plunges his blade into Skiaceq's wing. (Attack: 23 Damage: 5). The kobold's weight on the dagger pulls it down through muscle and sinew for a brief moment. Kicking off Skiaceq's wing and withdrawing his blade, the kobold lands a couple feet back, barking triumphantly.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Valji twists his hands and mutters a new arcane phrase, one the group had not yet heard. The mystical words felt cold on their ears, like a grave in winter. A ghostly, skeletal hand appears near the robed man, grabbing for his arm... (Casting Chill Touch at the robed man!)
Quarion stows his viol and emerges from the corner of his wall gripping his rapier, and charges the kobold who had threatened him, trying to finish him off before he has a chance to follow through on the threat.
If the kobold is dead, Quarion goes back around the corner for cover and if the acolyte is also dead, shouts to Skiaceq, "Get the one on the ground before it can stand up!"
The goateed man's attention is focused on Lassandra carefully when the skeletal hand grabs him from behind. His eyes widen and he cries out in pain as the hand viciously grasps his injured arm. As Lassandra watches, every ounce of moisture and life is drawn out of the man, leaving nothing but a mummified husk. The former acolyte drops to the floor as the skeletal hand disappears into a cloud of purple smoke.
Across from Skiaceq, the kobold is ready to lunge again at the Aarakocra when Quarion runs up silently and expertly spears it in the heart with his rapier. As Quarion withdraws the blade, the kobold runs forward a few steps toward Skiaceq before falling face first into the ground. Seeing this, Quarion calls out to Skiaceq and retreats back just out of sight.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Skiaceq craws as the blade punches through his wing and winces as it draws out. Before he can retaliate, a blade appears in the kobold's chest. Reassured, Skiaceq turns to face the drake. "She can handle that one," he replies to Darvin.
He tensely stares down the beast, feathers piqued. 'Might not come out of this one,' he thinks to himself, yet his fear is muffled by concern for Leosin. This distraction needs to be over and dealt with.
Slashing the air with his wings, Skiaceq ignores a surge of pain and sails over the drake. His talons bite firmly into its hide, then he grapples its throat in its hand, pulling back with all his strength. He shifts the grip of one foot over its front haunches to avoid retaliation from its claws, then plants his other foot on the ground. With the weight of his entire body, Skiaceq drives the drake's jaw into the dirt while raking his taloned hand across its throat.
Grapple: 18, Unarmed Strike: 8 Damage: 5
"Finish that one!" he shouts to the woman standing over the defenseless kobold, "Then give me a hand! I can't hold it for long!"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Skiaceq somersaults over the ambush drake, deftly grabbing it around the neck and one of its forelegs. The drake falls forward, unable to maintain balance. Feeling a surge of mystic energy, Skiaceq deftly digs his talons into the drake, causing it to roar in pain. The drake shakes its head and pulls back, trying to squeeze out of Skiaceq's grasp. (DC: 13).
Meanwhile, the guard who opened the gate disappears out of view, dragging his friend with him towards the infirmary.
Ignore this
Free once again, the drake darts towards the wall, turning around to face Skiaceq with an angry snarl. The prone kobold grabs its dagger before picking itself up and turning to face her. Angry at its ally's death, the kobold lunges at Lassandra with its dagger. (Attack: 5 Damage: 5 )
The prone kobold grabs it's dagger off the floor before pulling itself up. It slowly backs away toward it's sleeping comrades, a look of fear in its eyes as it holds the dagger shakingly toward Lissandra. (Taking the Disengage action)
The skirmish became more chaotic the more it heated up, it seemed, as prone and sleeping participants were awakened and live ones were dispatched. Lissandra kept her guard up, even as her foe crumbled to the ground in an unnatural way. Certainly one of her newfound allies was quite the spellcaster.
However, it was the Aarakocra close to her that caught most of her attention. He seemed capable, up to speed, and fit the description. It was certainly the one she had came to meet. Shouting his orders, she nodded. The kobold close to her had used one of the many distractions to get ahead and possibly awake his friends. Lissandra had no trouble agreeing to stopping him before he could awaken his allies. After her quick nod to the Aarakocra, she quickly moved after the kobold, trying to incapacitate him. ( Attack: 20 Damage: 8 ). Afterwards she shifts over and assists the Aarakora if the kobold isn't down for the count.
(Will attack the Kobold that's running towards the other two. If he's down and out, Lissandra will move to flank the drake. If he's not out, she'll move to block him from reaching the other two - possibly by standing atop of one of them.)
There is a loud thud as Lissandra knocks the kobold out with a single blow to the head. Standing over its unconscious body, she moves to assist Skiaceq with the Ambush Drake.
Valji will cautiously approach the sleeping kobolds and attempt to restrain them. "Maybe they can answer some questions, and the others look like they have the drake in hand...or claw, in Squee's case!" If, for some reason, the kobolds awake while he is tying them up, Valji has no issues with torching them with a fire bolt!
Valji makes his way up to the gate, but as he tries to walk through it, the drake, while still grappled, snaps at him and he reconsiders whether he can get through right this moment.
The Kobolds will be unconscious for another minute, but the ambush drake is right at the other side of the gate. I'll treat it as a hold action for you if Skiaceq wants to move the ambush drake out of the way for you to pass. It can't move on its own, but it can still totally attack. (Its focused on Skiaceq, though, so no worries about being right in front of it)
(OOC: Missed that I couldn't get to the kobolds...can I change actions and help to finish off the drake?)
Valji nods grimly as the robed man falls dead, the visible portion of Valji's spell fading from the material plane. He looks around the area and sees the next most imminent threat is the big drake, so the gnome wizard moves his hands in a certain pattern and speaks words of power, causing a small ball of fire to appear in his hand. "Fire in the hole!" he shouts as the mini-fireball streaks towards the reptile. (OOC: Casting fire bolt again.)
(Sounds good to me. I figured if you got back within the round it would be easy enough to retcon. :-) Still heading in closer?)
Valji's fireball flies true, striking the drake on its side. The drake lets out a cry and glares at the source of the spell before resuming its ongoing struggle with Skiaceq.
Quarion is up. He is close enough to get in Melee with the drake.
Quarion, seeing that the only conscious enemy is being held in place by his avian monk ally, charges in to pile onto the drake. He stops right in front of it, looks it in the eye, and with the performative air of a stage swordsman, attempts to thrust his blade into the beast's abdomen.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The drake roars as Quarion thrusts his blade into it. Blood spews from the wound and the drake fights harder for a moment before going limp in Skiaceq's grasp.
Silence falls on the room, save for the snoring of the two uninjured kobolds on the opposite side of the open gate. Outside, the sounds of fighting seems to have calmed as well, and you can no longer hear the beating of dragons wings... at least for the moment.
I'm suspending Initiative, but you have around 48 seconds until those 2 kobolds wake up. The kobold that Lissandra is standing on is stable and will wake up in 4 hours.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The beast goes limp in Skiaceq's grip and he sighs in relief. Just to be safe, he hastily bleeds its throat with his talons, then hops down and greets the woman who more than likely saved his life. "Thank you. Skiaceq." He droops his wings, then arches them in greeting. Before she can reply, he strides to one of the sleeping kobolds and drives a talon through its throat. "Spare that one," he gestures to the other sleeping one. "They will know nothing, but interrogate still."
(Not sure if I need a roll to coup de grâce, but here ya go.) Unarmed Strike: 18 Damage: 6 Bonus Action: 24 Damage: 7
Lissandra had traveled for days to reach her destination. The weight and importance of the message she had received from her contact had become evidently clearer the closer to Greenest she came: Villages and homesteads had been plundered and abandoned. She had cautiously traversed the countryside, hoping to avoid any unwanted confrontations or maybe meet survivors or fugitives. Instead she came upon Greenest under siege, and what a terrifying one at that! Not even in her wildest nightmares had she dreaded a dragon, despite the warning signs.
It appeared the keep was holding fast, at least partially, despite the fact that a dragon was wreaking havoc on the far side of it. From the look of it, people were retreated. If Lissandra would have a chance of finding either of her contacts, she would have to make her way to the keep and hope it would hold. Stones were far better shelter from flames, than open landscape, so she hurried along – perhaps foolishly so – towards the keep. Smoke and buildings shielded her approach towards the keep. Midway there she noticed a group by the gates and hunched down. These were not villagers. She observed the group assail the gates. Not wanting to be caught out in the open, she made a dash for the walls, looking for a place to stay out of sight while the attackers were preoccupied with their assault.
Before she could even reach the walls, the assailants were already in. She had only glanced at them, but noticed a drake, several smaller reptile creatures, and a robed man. Reaching the walls, Lissandra took a quick breath of air before moving towards the entrance. Commotion could be heard from inside. The guards could benefit from her help.
”Chauntea,” she offered a small prayer to her goddess, ”what lives will wither, what withers will die, the circle is set and new crops will rise.”
She tightened her pack, adjusted her shield, and with mace at the ready, entered the melee.
From the Sally Port, suddenly a new combatant entered: A young human woman clad in in a neatly adorned chainmail in in silver with earthen toned straps, methodically made her way inside, registering the incapacitated kobolds and other combatants. The hooded vestments underneath her armor are flowing, but practical, in white and sky blue almost symbolling she’s an epitome of purity. They are contrasted by her armor and brassy shield and mace. The hood is down, revealing long, blonde hair tightly set up to avoid getting in the way of her vision. Her shield carries a rose in bloom atop a sheaf of grain. The same symbol is carried in an amulet around her neck, and a sickle is tucked in her belt. She ignores the kobolds and goes straight for the robed figure, obviously noting that the drake is locked in combat.
(The way I read the map, I'm able to reach the Acolyte if I start the combat effectively outside the gate? Attack: 13 Damage: 4
Edit: made aware the acolyte was prone, missed that detail, so advantage: 11 )
Lissandra's mace comes crashing down on the robed man's shoulder with a cracking sound. Standing up, the goateed man stares Lissandra down, spreading his legs for balance while grabbing his mace off of the floor. Circling to his right without ever taking his eyes off Lissandra, he kicks the nearest kobold awake before addressing the drake in Draconic.
Draconic:
"Sic 'em, boy!"
Initiative Round 1
Kobold Alpha(4 damage, bloodied)
Valji
Quarion
Skiaceq
Ambush Drake
Guard A
Other Kobolds (2 asleep, 1 prone)
Lissandra
Guard B (stunned, bloodied) (10 damage)
Robed Man (7 damage?)
The ambush drake snarls at Skiaceq, who glances in its direction.Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, the kobold jumps and plunges his blade into Skiaceq's wing. (Attack: 23 Damage: 5). The kobold's weight on the dagger pulls it down through muscle and sinew for a brief moment. Kicking off Skiaceq's wing and withdrawing his blade, the kobold lands a couple feet back, barking triumphantly.
Valji, Quarion, and Skiaceq are up
Valji twists his hands and mutters a new arcane phrase, one the group had not yet heard. The mystical words felt cold on their ears, like a grave in winter. A ghostly, skeletal hand appears near the robed man, grabbing for his arm... (Casting Chill Touch at the robed man!)
Attack: 20 Damage: 3
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Quarion stows his viol and emerges from the corner of his wall gripping his rapier, and charges the kobold who had threatened him, trying to finish him off before he has a chance to follow through on the threat.
Attack: 18 Damage: 4
"Darvin" | Changeling | Hexblade 1 / Swords Bard 6 | Descent Into Avernus (AC 19; PP 14; 52/52 HP)
Anton Chergoba | Human | Battlemaster 4 | Lost Mines of Phandelver (AC 20; PP 14; 36/36 HP)
If the kobold is dead, Quarion goes back around the corner for cover and if the acolyte is also dead, shouts to Skiaceq, "Get the one on the ground before it can stand up!"
"Darvin" | Changeling | Hexblade 1 / Swords Bard 6 | Descent Into Avernus (AC 19; PP 14; 52/52 HP)
Anton Chergoba | Human | Battlemaster 4 | Lost Mines of Phandelver (AC 20; PP 14; 36/36 HP)
The goateed man's attention is focused on Lassandra carefully when the skeletal hand grabs him from behind. His eyes widen and he cries out in pain as the hand viciously grasps his injured arm. As Lassandra watches, every ounce of moisture and life is drawn out of the man, leaving nothing but a mummified husk. The former acolyte drops to the floor as the skeletal hand disappears into a cloud of purple smoke.
Across from Skiaceq, the kobold is ready to lunge again at the Aarakocra when Quarion runs up silently and expertly spears it in the heart with his rapier. As Quarion withdraws the blade, the kobold runs forward a few steps toward Skiaceq before falling face first into the ground. Seeing this, Quarion calls out to Skiaceq and retreats back just out of sight.
Skiaceq craws as the blade punches through his wing and winces as it draws out. Before he can retaliate, a blade appears in the kobold's chest. Reassured, Skiaceq turns to face the drake. "She can handle that one," he replies to Darvin.
He tensely stares down the beast, feathers piqued. 'Might not come out of this one,' he thinks to himself, yet his fear is muffled by concern for Leosin. This distraction needs to be over and dealt with.
Slashing the air with his wings, Skiaceq ignores a surge of pain and sails over the drake. His talons bite firmly into its hide, then he grapples its throat in its hand, pulling back with all his strength. He shifts the grip of one foot over its front haunches to avoid retaliation from its claws, then plants his other foot on the ground. With the weight of his entire body, Skiaceq drives the drake's jaw into the dirt while raking his taloned hand across its throat.
Grapple: 18, Unarmed Strike: 8 Damage: 5
"Finish that one!" he shouts to the woman standing over the defenseless kobold, "Then give me a hand! I can't hold it for long!"
Skiaceq - Lvl3 | Aarakocra | Monk - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Skiaceq somersaults over the ambush drake, deftly grabbing it around the neck and one of its forelegs. The drake falls forward, unable to maintain balance. Feeling a surge of mystic energy, Skiaceq deftly digs his talons into the drake, causing it to roar in pain. The drake shakes its head and pulls back, trying to squeeze out of Skiaceq's grasp. (DC: 13).
Meanwhile, the guard who opened the gate disappears out of view, dragging his friend with him towards the infirmary.
Ignore this
Free once again, the drake darts towards the wall, turning around to face Skiaceq with an angry snarl. The prone kobold grabs its dagger before picking itself up and turning to face her. Angry at its ally's death, the kobold lunges at Lassandra with its dagger. (Attack: 5 Damage: 5 )
Skiaceq tightens his grip and gives the drake a violent slam against the ground to subdue its resistance.
DC: 22
Skiaceq - Lvl3 | Aarakocra | Monk - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
The prone kobold grabs it's dagger off the floor before pulling itself up. It slowly backs away toward it's sleeping comrades, a look of fear in its eyes as it holds the dagger shakingly toward Lissandra. (Taking the Disengage action)
The skirmish became more chaotic the more it heated up, it seemed, as prone and sleeping participants were awakened and live ones were dispatched. Lissandra kept her guard up, even as her foe crumbled to the ground in an unnatural way. Certainly one of her newfound allies was quite the spellcaster.
However, it was the Aarakocra close to her that caught most of her attention. He seemed capable, up to speed, and fit the description. It was certainly the one she had came to meet. Shouting his orders, she nodded. The kobold close to her had used one of the many distractions to get ahead and possibly awake his friends. Lissandra had no trouble agreeing to stopping him before he could awaken his allies. After her quick nod to the Aarakocra, she quickly moved after the kobold, trying to incapacitate him. ( Attack: 20 Damage: 8 ). Afterwards she shifts over and assists the Aarakora if the kobold isn't down for the count.
(Will attack the Kobold that's running towards the other two. If he's down and out, Lissandra will move to flank the drake. If he's not out, she'll move to block him from reaching the other two - possibly by standing atop of one of them.)
There is a loud thud as Lissandra knocks the kobold out with a single blow to the head. Standing over its unconscious body, she moves to assist Skiaceq with the Ambush Drake.
Initiative Round 2
Kobold Alpha (DEAD)
Valji
Quarion
Skiaceq
Ambush Drake (grappled)
Kobolds (2 asleep, 1 unconscious)
Lissandra
Robed Man (DEAD)
Valji, Quarion, and Skiaceq are up next.
Valji will cautiously approach the sleeping kobolds and attempt to restrain them. "Maybe they can answer some questions, and the others look like they have the drake in hand...or claw, in Squee's case!" If, for some reason, the kobolds awake while he is tying them up, Valji has no issues with torching them with a fire bolt!
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Valji makes his way up to the gate, but as he tries to walk through it, the drake, while still grappled, snaps at him and he reconsiders whether he can get through right this moment.
The Kobolds will be unconscious for another minute, but the ambush drake is right at the other side of the gate. I'll treat it as a hold action for you if Skiaceq wants to move the ambush drake out of the way for you to pass. It can't move on its own, but it can still totally attack. (Its focused on Skiaceq, though, so no worries about being right in front of it)
Quarion is up.
(OOC: Missed that I couldn't get to the kobolds...can I change actions and help to finish off the drake?)
Valji nods grimly as the robed man falls dead, the visible portion of Valji's spell fading from the material plane. He looks around the area and sees the next most imminent threat is the big drake, so the gnome wizard moves his hands in a certain pattern and speaks words of power, causing a small ball of fire to appear in his hand. "Fire in the hole!" he shouts as the mini-fireball streaks towards the reptile. (OOC: Casting fire bolt again.)
Attack: 17 Damage: 4
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
[OoC: I think Quarion is too far away to get into melee with the drake this round ... Is that right?]
"Darvin" | Changeling | Hexblade 1 / Swords Bard 6 | Descent Into Avernus (AC 19; PP 14; 52/52 HP)
Anton Chergoba | Human | Battlemaster 4 | Lost Mines of Phandelver (AC 20; PP 14; 36/36 HP)
(Sounds good to me. I figured if you got back within the round it would be easy enough to retcon. :-) Still heading in closer?)
Valji's fireball flies true, striking the drake on its side. The drake lets out a cry and glares at the source of the spell before resuming its ongoing struggle with Skiaceq.
Quarion is up. He is close enough to get in Melee with the drake.
Quarion, seeing that the only conscious enemy is being held in place by his avian monk ally, charges in to pile onto the drake. He stops right in front of it, looks it in the eye, and with the performative air of a stage swordsman, attempts to thrust his blade into the beast's abdomen.
Attack: 19 Damage: 10
"Darvin" | Changeling | Hexblade 1 / Swords Bard 6 | Descent Into Avernus (AC 19; PP 14; 52/52 HP)
Anton Chergoba | Human | Battlemaster 4 | Lost Mines of Phandelver (AC 20; PP 14; 36/36 HP)
The drake roars as Quarion thrusts his blade into it. Blood spews from the wound and the drake fights harder for a moment before going limp in Skiaceq's grasp.
Silence falls on the room, save for the snoring of the two uninjured kobolds on the opposite side of the open gate. Outside, the sounds of fighting seems to have calmed as well, and you can no longer hear the beating of dragons wings... at least for the moment.
I'm suspending Initiative, but you have around 48 seconds until those 2 kobolds wake up. The kobold that Lissandra is standing on is stable and will wake up in 4 hours.
The beast goes limp in Skiaceq's grip and he sighs in relief. Just to be safe, he hastily bleeds its throat with his talons, then hops down and greets the woman who more than likely saved his life. "Thank you. Skiaceq." He droops his wings, then arches them in greeting. Before she can reply, he strides to one of the sleeping kobolds and drives a talon through its throat. "Spare that one," he gestures to the other sleeping one. "They will know nothing, but interrogate still."
(Not sure if I need a roll to coup de grâce, but here ya go.) Unarmed Strike: 18 Damage: 6 Bonus Action: 24 Damage: 7
Skiaceq - Lvl3 | Aarakocra | Monk - Hoard of the Dragon Queen