Brynlee reaches down into her pocket and clutches the crystal hard within her palm. The ringing of the Great Rhythm begins to speed within her veins, as the sound become deafening in her ears. 

[[With her Bonus Action, she will activate Innate Sorcery -- Spell save increases by 1, Adv on Sorcerer spell attacks]]

Brynlee pulls the crystal from her pocket and holds it high to the sky. At once, everyone can hear the striking of the Rhythm's beat as a strike of electrical energy feeds from the sky directly into the Vulpin, Fray. 

[[Brynlee casts Witch Bolt with Adv. 22 + 3 from bless = 25 to hit ; Damage if hit = 11points lightning damage ]]

[[ Had to check the PHB to confirm my suspicion, but versatile weapons unfortunately only use their larger damage die for melee attacks. For this turn I can just subtract the difference between average d6 and d8 rolls (1) which would be the same as if you'd rolled a 6 on the d6. ]]

B'Reh moves with precision, taking advantage of the sudden distraction provided by Vira's charge forward. Her spear flies towards Sasha, the mapach bandit who only moments before had been tasked with collecting the group's payout for this stickup, and pierces her right leg. Sasha cries out, badly injured, and Fray whips around just in time to catch a bolt of lighting in the center of her chest. Smoke rising from her armor, she fixes her gaze on Brynlee, holding forth her crystal which now crackles with electrical energy. "Filthy mage. Kill them!" she shouts to the other bandits. 

[[ Concentration: b'Reh (bless), Brynlee (witch bolt) ]]

Vira attacks the closest Mapach with a hefty swing from her greataxe.

To hit: 14 + 3 Bless, Damage:13

Then, using her Cleave weapon mastery, sends another swing towards the one next to it as well, careful not to send the blade too close to the figure on the ground.

To hit: 10 + 1 Bless, Damage: 4 (Used her Savage attacker feat to roll damage twice, this was the higher number; second Cleave attacks don't get the damage modifier added)

(Also attacks that hit while she is raging get +2 damage)

Aric, both excited and a bit scared clears his mind and focuses on what needs to be done. He moves swiftly to confront the Mapach (or next creature in line) and strikes the enemy with a right strike that goes wide (6 to hit) but follows through with a left foot strike (17 to hit with 8 damage) that hits true. He will also elect to push the enemy back 5' (Push feature).

Vira races forward in a fury, driven by her anger at these bandits who would prey on someone so defenseless, just like the bandits she'd fought only last night in the ruins of Ashbarrow. In a rush of feathers and talons, she clambers up the cart, surprising the two mapachs on the other side. Her axe cleaves through the one who'd been rifling through the carts contents, barely giving him enough time to let out a yelp before he falls to the ground. Her swing continues toward the other male mapach, but he manages to deflect it off the flat side of his sword.

Rushing around the cart in the other direction, Aric swings with a fist that fails to connect, but follows it up with a swift kick to the stomach that sends the mapach reeling backwards, nearly tripping over the fallen figure, who lets out a small whimper and tucks her head even further under her hands. 

Fray shakes off the shock from the lightning, and reaches for the ornate pommel of her sword. Noticing the felled mapach and the others badly injured, she lets out a low growl and instead draws a bow from across her back. She retreats towards the trees until the smoke dissipates from her armor and the crackling glow around Brynlee's crystal fades, calling out "Very impressive, strig! I'd love to cross blades with that axe, but alas, I'm afraid it will have to wait." She looses two quick arrows at Vira before calling out "If I ever see you again, you'd better be ready for a hell of a lot more fight than this!" and fleeing north into the thick trees. 

The mapach bandit that Aric kicked away from him takes a swing at Vira with his shortsword, but is still off balance and strikes the side of the cart instead. Sasha hears Fray's parting words and calls out, "No, Fray, wait!" before attempting to follow her, firing an arrow back towards b'Reh that arcs wide and collides with a fencepost as she tries to flee. 

Combat Round 2

[[ Players' turn. Concentration: b'Reh (bless). ]]

Aric moves forward to engage again with the enemy and strikes out with a left knife hand. (16 to hit for 6 damage). BA back kick (23 to hit with 4 damage)

Vira barely registers the pain from the arrows lodged in her side, her rage turning the wounds into little more than an irritation. She charges at Sasha as she flees, instinctively dropping her axe and pulling out Thorn's spear, which she sends flying at the Mapach with all her might.

To hit: 19+2 bless, Damage: 11

At Aric's first strike, the remaining male mapach crumples to the ground by the cart. Vira, seeing only one remaining enemy, rushes Sasha as she attempts to flee, striking her square in the stomach with her spear. Already heavily injured from the wound in her leg, the final mapach falls, just short of the treeline.

Vira hurries over and retrieves her beloved spear, the arrow wounds starting to smart as her rage fades. It's a shame the leader got away, but if they meet again, she'll be ready. She pauses to check the Mapach over for any items or clues about Fray.

Perception: 15

B'Reh's keen eyes followed the fleeing vulpin, Fray, as she darted into the trees. Without hesitation, she sprang into the air, her black-and-white feathers catching the wind as she glided swiftly after her. The air rushed beneath her wings, propelling her forward in a graceful yet controlled dash.

Within moments, she landed in a tree about sixty feet closer to Fray, tucking herself behind its thick trunk for cover. Her breath steady, she kept her focus on the vulpin, eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of further threats, ready for the next move. In the lower branches, she braced herself, waiting for the right moment to act.

B'Reh just makes it to the edge of the woods, but is forced to land on a small branch at the very edge of the treeline. Upon closer inspection, the trunks are far closer together than expected, and the branches tightly interwoven. These trees are much younger and much smaller than those of the Wood near Alderheart, such that only the most graceful of luma or raptors would be able to fit through the small gaps between trees. 

[[ You may make a perception check to attempt to spot Fray as she flees, but you will have to pursue her on foot. It also becomes clear at this range that most of the forest floor here will constitute difficult terrain. ]]

Vira searches Sasha's body, but finds nothing besides a small coin purse containing 5 gp. She is wearing a suit of worn leather armor, and carries a poorly kept shortsword and shortbow with a quiver of 6 arrows. 

Vira sighs and takes the coin purse before limping back towards the others, stopping to grab her greataxe along the way.

B'Reh perched briefly on the branch, realizing the dense treeline made it impossible to pursue Fray from above. With a soft sigh, she glided back to the others. "Fray’s fled into the woods—too dense to follow," she reported, moving toward the crumpled trader. She knelt beside them, checking their pulse and breathing before glancing at Vira. "Did you find anything on the bandits? Did any of them survive?"

"No, just a few allers. Seems that 'Fray' was taking everything. No survivors among the ones I hit. How about yours, Arik?" She looks towards the monk curiously.

The figure on the ground flinches slightly as you reach down down to feel for a pulse, but upon realizing the touch is friendly, she slowly lifts her head and looks around cautiously. "Are they gone? My whiskers, that was close!" Before you sits an eluran, one of a catlike race hailing from the south, far beyond the Mokk Fields and the Talongrip Coast. Several of you have likely encountered eluran traders before, either in Alderheart or as they pass by Meadowfen on their way to the great tree, but they still number quite few here in Humblewood.

The eluran finally looks to her left and notices the fallen bandits. "Oh my. Thank you all for protecting me and my cart! My name is Eliza."

"Of course we couldn’t let those bandits get their way," Vira says, her voice firm but carrying a hint of relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. They won’t bother you anymore."

Vira glances at the fallen bandits one last time, satisfied at a job well done. "You’ve got nothing to worry about now. Where are you headed, anyway?" She casually pulls the arrows from her side and tosses them away, grimacing for just a moment.

"Oh dear, you're injured! Let me just find something for that." Eliza climbs to her feet and moves to the back of the cart where she sets about rifling through the various boxes, bottles, and pouches the bandits had scattered about, placing them back into an order that looks no more organized than before, but that seems to please her. As she works, she says, "I'm on my way to Alderheart. You see, my sister recently returned home to the Tanglewilds and decided that she was going to retire from her work as a trader. She used to manage a shop in the canopy market, which is vacant now, so I decided I'd make my way up here and take over where she left off. Ah, here we are!" She pulls a small leather pouch from a crate near the edge of the cart and reaches in to grab a handful of an herbal mix. Wetting it with a splash of water from her waterskin, she works it into a poultice and holds her hands out toward Vira's wounds. "May I?"

"Glad you're ok. that must have been scare for you. Yep, scary. But you are safe now." aric says in quick fashion 

Vira raises an eyebrow, watching Eliza work through the scattered goods with surprising ease. Despite her instinct to shrug off the injuries as minor annoyances, Vira appreciates the gesture. She nods in response to Eliza’s offer, still standing tall, though the adrenaline of her rage has worn off.

"Sure," Vira replies, holding still as Eliza approaches with the poultice. "It’s nothing serious, but I won’t turn down a bit of healing. And that sounds like a great idea! Family business, hm. We’re on our way there too."

Eliza smiles, and begins gently spreading the poultice across the two spots where Vira was shot. "Oh really? Any of you ever been? It's a lovely city. I'm planning to stop in Winnowing Reach first to do some trading. Those scientists always have such interesting knick-knacks and gear." She pulls a bandage from the same bin as the herbs and wraps it tightly around the wounds. "It's a bit out of the way coming up from the south, but I much prefer traveling up along the mountains to going through that dreadful swamp to the road out of Marshview. There we go dear, all fixed up!"

"Say, I don't suppose you all would be willing to accompany me the rest of the way to Winnowing Reach? I normally don't worry so much about traveling on these main roads, but I've never encountered any bandits like these before, and I'm not sure what I'd do if I was attacked again."