"We can find where the trail starts, but we can't follow it worth a damn." Grunts one of Devrim's guards, pointing you to a set of footprints in a muddy area. The tracks quickly disappear into thicker and thicker brush, in a general northeastern direction.
Hadrian With Xarian'shelp, Hadrianis very quickly able to pick up where the trail continues. If you choose to follow it, you're confident you could stay on it without much trouble.
Xarian From what you've seen of the fight, and the other guards you've asked - all of the cultists fled in an easterly direction. So presumably, whatever place they were running off to wasn't anywhere to the west. Armed with that knowledge, you start asking around the rest of the caravan. No one saw anything useful, but after hearing your logic, one of the merchants has some useful information to add: "Well it's not all woods out there you y'know?" Says the middle-aged man, nursing his knee while chewing on the end of an unlit pipe. "Stream runs all the way up n' down not by a mile from the road, same one that runs into Greenest n'fact. N' the whole area is basically one big connected cave system. Downright maze, but I 'eard it's where them bandits tend to hide their loot."
"Thinkin' there's some old temple out there too. Up the road a bit you'd find the path that leads to it. Mightin' be overgrown some but it's there."
"We might lose the trail in the water if they all beelined for this stream..." Xari's brow furrows. "Still, nothing for it but to follow. Might find an entrance to one of these caves if they're hiding there. Or we could make for the temple. If there's enough of these cult bastards though, maybe we should just scout and come back. Could be that Greenest has some guards or militia they'd be willing to lend us to help clear out something as... messed up as this."
The big man shakes his head, thinking how little sense the kidnappings make, with more risk than bandits usually take for ransom of commoners.
"I have their trail now, I could follow it even in this darkness."Hadrian says after the other man shares his findings. "...Unless they do something like cross a stream, probably."He adds.
In a sign of frustration, the young nobleman leans his face into his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he considers their options. "You're not wrong. Reinforcements from Greenest would be helpful." But he needed to know they could find them, tonight. Else he would spend the rest of this forsaken night obsessing over what could have been. "At least scouting out where they are tonight sounds like the right move. I can follow the trail as far as I can. If that doesn't work, we can try that temple and work our way towards the stream."
"Those two guards Devrim had sent searching would likely come with us. And we still have Rox. Just in case we run into unavoidable trouble, would be nice to have them." He says as he looks around for where the goblin had gotten off to.
When you approach the two guards, the one who spoke to you earlier raises his brow in surprise. "You can follow their trail in this nonsense?" He asks incredulously, gesturing towards the general fog, darkness, and brush. "Devrim wanted us to follow after them anyway, so of course we'll come with you. Call me Kite." The young man says - by his clothes and accent, you can tell he isn't from anywhere on the Sword Coast. His skin is the color of dark mahogany and his eyes copper. A blue pendant is tied around his spear.
"And this ray of sunshine you may call Roga." He says, gesturing towards his companion. In response, the stocky hill dwarf grunts something that might have been a greeting. Ember-red braids fall from underneath her half-helm.
And Rox of course has been quietly hovering nearby the whole time. It strikes you as odd how willing they seem to be to help...But perhaps now isn't the time to question good fortunes.
After alerting the wagonmasters of your intent, you head off into the foggy darkness of the woods. True to his word, Hadrianis able to follow the cultist's trail as if it were painted bright red. There's no struggle to find the next track. No stopping to pick the trail up after losing it. Just a slow hike through the thick brush of the woods. After the first ten minutes or so heading straight east, the trail veers slightly to the north. Another ten minutes go by, and the woods become less dense, giving way to rocky hills and more sparsely spaced trees, allowing you to move quicker.
You eventually come to a small cave entrance, sloping downwards into the face of the hill you find it on. Nearby, you can hear the sound of running water - the stream is no doubt near. Just inside the entrance, you can quite easily see the 8-pointed star symbol freshly carved into the rock.
Xarian(Passive Investigation 16) Underneath and slightly offset from the freshly carved symbol, you can see another just like it - but faded and worn with time, indicating that it was carved far in the past. At least a thousand years, maybe older.
As you stand just inside the cave entrance considering your next steps, you begin to hear something over the ambiance of the stream and the woods. A faint chanting, echoing from deeper within the cave. Almost imperceptibly, it seems to be growing in both volume and cadence.
Xari points stoically at the faded eight-pointed star below the freshly-hewn one inside the cave's mouth, his face flickering and wan in the torchlight.
"Robed cult kidnapper bastards had this same star carved into their tongues, just like the ones in the stone here. The older carving underneath - much older - it might mean this isn't some new thing. Could be some ancient thing that's coming back. Or maybe never went away."
The big man's whisper is grim, and grows grimmer as he hears the chanting becoming slightly louder and faster from within the cave
"Sounds like some sick ritual they're having. Should we drop in and pay them a surprise visit? If there are too many of them, just scout?"
Xari doesn't particularly look like he wants to visit or scout the cultists, but is clearly also angry about the abductions. He will follow Hadrian.
"Whatever 'thing' it is, it's evil."Hadrian says, staring blankly at the star symbol etched into the wall of the cave's entrance. "And we should not suffer evil to endure." He breaths like a sigh. The spear he had been carrying fades into mist as he holds out his hand. In the next moment, he is instead grasping the hilt of a longsword.
"As you said, we'll go in quietly to see what's what first."
Casting a grim glance to the two guards with them, and Rox, the young nobleman begins to make his way down into the cave. He tries to move quietly, straining his ears as they travel to try and pick out how many voices are chanting. Should they catch a hint of light at any point in the cave, he'll extinguish his own torch.
Trying not to clank in his armor, Xari follows Hadrian's lead, ushering others ahead of him so he can act as rear guard, keeping his torch lit for now.
"Maybe Roga and Rox up front with their darkvision," the big man says, gesturing the dwarven guard and the goblin forward. "Kite, back here with me."
After the first few steps, the big man mutters and gestures awkwardly, casting Blade Ward on himself and concentrating on it.
Hadrian You can hear 5 voices layered together, slightly out of sync as they chant the same words. Beneath them, you can hear a 6th intoning something entirely different.
The chanting grows louder to a crescendo as you move forward - and then is silenced. A scream follows, growing quieter as if the source were rapidly moving away.
The chanting resumes, little more a whisper once more.
Roga moves up to the front of your party as you descend further into the cave. You do see light in the tunnel up ahead at some point, and douse the light of your own torches in response as you move closer. The chanting grows louder again over the next few minutes as you move further down the tunnel. While Hadrianand Xarianstumble or nearly run into loose rocks, the other members of the group quickly stop their mistakes from becoming too noisy.
Eventually you find yourself in a hall lit by sconces along the wall. The cave tunnels branch into darkness in two other directions, but straight ahead you see a chamber also lit by torchlight. Five cultists stand around a chasm in the center of the room, a black void of which there seems to be no bottom. You can see some of the kidnapped travelers tied up, leaning against a wall. On the far side of the chamber is a cultist dressed in more ceremonial robes atop an old altar built against the chasm. They stand on the edge, grasping a bound young woman by the back of the neck.
Though they haven't noticed you yet, the chanting grows in both volume and cadence once again...
Thanking the others sheepishly for helping keep his own clumsiness quiet, Xari trundles on at the rear of the column until the chamber comes into view. The sight of chanting cultists apparently conducting ritual sacrifice and dumping screaming victims into a chasm sets his teeth on edge.
"No way... no way this s-stands!" The big man's whisper is flat and raw despite his stutter, all hesitation gone. "We end this now or d-die trying."
(Xarian would have, from the rear and as quietly as possible, restarted his Blade Ward that he is concentrating on).
Truth be told, even since he'd left his sheltered life in Waterdeep, Hadrian had seen little of the evils of the world. Read about them: yes. Heard about them: yes. Seen them with his own eyes? Not like this. Never like this.
He hears the large man's declaration beside him, and struggled to find words of his own. At last, he manages to choke out: "And so our steel will speak for us." He brandishes the longsword in his hand, and moves into the chamber.
The big man nudges Hadrian ahead with a whisper. "Y-you got this."
(Using the Alert Feat, Xari will switch Initiative with Hadrian, if he is willing, to give Hadrian an Initiative of 11 and Xari an Initiative of 8 to match Kite's. Which would make sense since Xari and Kite are bringing up the rear).
As you step into the chamber, you see that the ceiling of the cave above the pit also opens up to the sky. Oddly enough, gone is the fog that seemed to blanket the entire region. Gone are the other stars. All you can see as you look up at the sky through this opening is a star with a sickly red radiance. The very sight of it sets your stomach unease, and makes your skin crawl.
Shouting something in dwarven, Roga sprints into the room, hooking around one of the pillars to stab one of the chanting cultists with her spear (2 piercing damage). Your entrance seems to have caught the kidnappers by surprise, as they fail to immediately react. You also notice that save for the apparent leader on the far side of the pit, the cultists all seem to be injured from the earlier fight.
Go ahead and post with your PC and NPC turns for this round. Once that's all done, we'll see which cultists are still alive and how the initiative goes.
The little goblin warrior trots around the first pillar, taking the scimitar Hadrian had returned to him before they left and slashing up at the cultist (E) Action: Scimitar (19 to hit), (5 slashing damage)
Hadrian's free hand goes to the leather cord around his neck, grasping the onyx crystal as he speaks words he doesn't full understand. The air around him chills as an icy sheet of armor spreads across his torso and limbs. He goes in a wide arc to the right, sending a lance of emerald energy hurdling towards one of the cultists(D).
Giving the pit a wide berth, Kite lopes around Roga to attack the same cultist she had speared.
Movement: Kite moves NW - W - NW - NW - N - NE (finishing NW of Cultist A) Action: Kite'sSpear attack to hit Cultist A: 16, Damage: 5 (piercing)
Xarian wants nothing more than to dash straight for the the leader of this vile group under the light of the bleeding red star. Yet, despite himself, he remembers his training, such as it was, from the Amphail town watch. Do not break too far out of formation and get ahead of yourself, Xari!
He splits the difference and circles to Cultist B, dropping the torch and drawing his greatsword for a diagonal cleave from collarbone to opposite hip.
Movement: Xarian moves NW - NW - NW - NW - N - NE (finishing W of Cultist B) Action: Xarian'sGreatsword attack to hit Cultist B: 20 (dirty), Damage: 15 (slashing) GreatswordGraze Weapon Mastery: on a miss, Xarian still does 4 damage (slashing) to his target.
Xarian has one usage of the Shield spell as a reaction. Also, he is concentrating on Blade Ward (attack rolls against Xarian subtract 1d4).
The cultists are taken by storm as you burst into the chamber. Rox fells the first with a vicious uppercut from his scimitar, cutting open a deep gash across the already wounded cultist's chest. The second falls to the energetic blast that Hadriancalls forth - the crack of the enemy's ribcage being shattered echo throughout the cave. The combined force of Roga and Kite handle the cultist closest to the entrance, stabbing him clear through with their spears. A fourth is nearly bisected as Xarian's greatsword falls upon them, sending them sprawling backwards in a spray of blood.
Well, you're just an overstacked pile of slag, aren't ya!?"Roga roars as she continues around the pit, stabbing her spear through the neck of the last remaining cultist from the caravan attack.
The leader of this small group of cultists has stopped their chanting at this point, still holding onto their hostage. The man wears no hood over his shaved skull - instead a circlet of some dark iron rests upon it. The robe he wears is a deep black, shot through with speckles of red thread. His eyes are but twin pinpricks of red light - no pupils. Above you, the red star seems to pulse like a beating heart, and you begin to feel a pressure building behind your eyes.
Roga has already taken her turn in the new initiative round. It is now onto Rox and Hadrian.
As fast as his legs will carry him, Rox dashes around the side of the pit, circling round the other side of the cult's leader.
The young nobleman ignores the rising pressure in his head, and the ill feeling that seems to set into his very bones every time he glances upward. With a straight shot towards the last cultist, he charges them, gripping the longsword with both hands as he thrusts it forward.
The cultist leans backwards to avoid the sword thrust, glaring at the young noble with contempt. With a gesture and a whispered word, a spectral sword with a jagged blade materializes next to Hadrian, arcing down towards him (Melee Spell Attack:11to hit). Hadrian is quick enough this time however, as he pulls back his own longsword, deflecting the attack with the flat of his blade.
Again, the cultist whispers an arcane word, leaning down to speak in the ear of the young woman at his feet. "Fall."(Kidnapped Commoner Initiative:18, WIS Save:14). This too however, fails. As the young woman's willpower refuses to crack against the enchantment.
Kite strides purposefully around the western edge of the pit towards the Cult Leader with a menacing look, feinting a spear thrust so that the blue pendant affixed to the haft flashes in his foe's face and distracts him. (Kite takes the help action against the Cult Leader).
Stowing his greatsword and trying to ignore the building mental pressure from the red star above, Xari takes off at a lumbering run around the far stone pillar, drawing his maul and bringing the massive weapon down on the Cult Leader's shoulder with a roar, attempting to knock the villain to the ground.
"You g-gods damned bully! She's helpless and unarmed. Why don't you see how it f-feels!" The big man appears to be vividly reliving some event from his past, his face twisted with emotion, close to tears. (From Xarian's Ideals: The world has bullies. Someone needs to stand up to them.)
Kite's Movement: Kite moves 30' N - N - N - NE - NE - E, ending just SW of the Cult Leader. Kite's Action: Kite takes the help action against the Cult Leader.
Xarian's Movement: Xarian moves 25' NE - NE - NE - N - NE, ending just NW of the Cult Leader. Xarian's Action: Xarian attacks the Cult Leader with his maul, with advantage thanks to help from Kite. Maul attack to hit (with advantage): 22 Maul attack damage: 11 (bludgeoning) MaulWeapon Mastery: Topple. The Cult Leader must make a DC 14 CON Save or be knocked prone.
(Also, I believe the 2024 Spiritual Weapon spell now requires concentration, so I think the Cult Leader must make a DC10 CON Save to maintain concentration whenever they take damage... or a higher DC if the damage is 22 or higher of course.)
As their red eyes track the tumari's spear, the cultist seems to lose track of Xarian- until his maul comes crashing down on them. With a strangled cry the man drops to his knees, the spiritual weapon shimmers briefly, but remains hovering near Hadrian.
Roga moves around the pillar behind Xarianand Rox, stabbing her spear(Melee Attack:13to hit, 3piercing damage.) into the back of the cult leader's thigh. Through gritted teeth, he again maintains concentration on his spectral weapon.
"We can find where the trail starts, but we can't follow it worth a damn." Grunts one of Devrim's guards, pointing you to a set of footprints in a muddy area. The tracks quickly disappear into thicker and thicker brush, in a general northeastern direction.
Hadrian
With Xarian's help, Hadrian is very quickly able to pick up where the trail continues. If you choose to follow it, you're confident you could stay on it without much trouble.
Xarian
From what you've seen of the fight, and the other guards you've asked - all of the cultists fled in an easterly direction. So presumably, whatever place they were running off to wasn't anywhere to the west. Armed with that knowledge, you start asking around the rest of the caravan. No one saw anything useful, but after hearing your logic, one of the merchants has some useful information to add: "Well it's not all woods out there you y'know?" Says the middle-aged man, nursing his knee while chewing on the end of an unlit pipe. "Stream runs all the way up n' down not by a mile from the road, same one that runs into Greenest n'fact. N' the whole area is basically one big connected cave system. Downright maze, but I 'eard it's where them bandits tend to hide their loot."
"Thinkin' there's some old temple out there too. Up the road a bit you'd find the path that leads to it. Mightin' be overgrown some but it's there."
"We might lose the trail in the water if they all beelined for this stream..." Xari's brow furrows. "Still, nothing for it but to follow. Might find an entrance to one of these caves if they're hiding there. Or we could make for the temple. If there's enough of these cult bastards though, maybe we should just scout and come back. Could be that Greenest has some guards or militia they'd be willing to lend us to help clear out something as... messed up as this."
The big man shakes his head, thinking how little sense the kidnappings make, with more risk than bandits usually take for ransom of commoners.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
"I have their trail now, I could follow it even in this darkness." Hadrian says after the other man shares his findings. "...Unless they do something like cross a stream, probably." He adds.
In a sign of frustration, the young nobleman leans his face into his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he considers their options. "You're not wrong. Reinforcements from Greenest would be helpful." But he needed to know they could find them, tonight. Else he would spend the rest of this forsaken night obsessing over what could have been. "At least scouting out where they are tonight sounds like the right move. I can follow the trail as far as I can. If that doesn't work, we can try that temple and work our way towards the stream."
"Those two guards Devrim had sent searching would likely come with us. And we still have Rox. Just in case we run into unavoidable trouble, would be nice to have them." He says as he looks around for where the goblin had gotten off to.
Xari bobs his head in acceptance, falling into the subconscious, reflexive mannerism of a baseborn gutter rat turned guard when addressing a nobleman.
Once any guards or goblins who are coming have joined, the big man hefts his torch and follows Hadrian into the darkness of the woods.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
When you approach the two guards, the one who spoke to you earlier raises his brow in surprise. "You can follow their trail in this nonsense?" He asks incredulously, gesturing towards the general fog, darkness, and brush. "Devrim wanted us to follow after them anyway, so of course we'll come with you. Call me Kite." The young man says - by his clothes and accent, you can tell he isn't from anywhere on the Sword Coast. His skin is the color of dark mahogany and his eyes copper. A blue pendant is tied around his spear.
"And this ray of sunshine you may call Roga." He says, gesturing towards his companion. In response, the stocky hill dwarf grunts something that might have been a greeting. Ember-red braids fall from underneath her half-helm.
And Rox of course has been quietly hovering nearby the whole time. It strikes you as odd how willing they seem to be to help...But perhaps now isn't the time to question good fortunes.
After alerting the wagonmasters of your intent, you head off into the foggy darkness of the woods. True to his word, Hadrian is able to follow the cultist's trail as if it were painted bright red. There's no struggle to find the next track. No stopping to pick the trail up after losing it. Just a slow hike through the thick brush of the woods. After the first ten minutes or so heading straight east, the trail veers slightly to the north. Another ten minutes go by, and the woods become less dense, giving way to rocky hills and more sparsely spaced trees, allowing you to move quicker.
You eventually come to a small cave entrance, sloping downwards into the face of the hill you find it on. Nearby, you can hear the sound of running water - the stream is no doubt near. Just inside the entrance, you can quite easily see the 8-pointed star symbol freshly carved into the rock.
Xarian (Passive Investigation 16)
Underneath and slightly offset from the freshly carved symbol, you can see another just like it - but faded and worn with time, indicating that it was carved far in the past. At least a thousand years, maybe older.
As you stand just inside the cave entrance considering your next steps, you begin to hear something over the ambiance of the stream and the woods. A faint chanting, echoing from deeper within the cave. Almost imperceptibly, it seems to be growing in both volume and cadence.
Xari points stoically at the faded eight-pointed star below the freshly-hewn one inside the cave's mouth, his face flickering and wan in the torchlight.
"Robed cult kidnapper bastards had this same star carved into their tongues, just like the ones in the stone here. The older carving underneath - much older - it might mean this isn't some new thing. Could be some ancient thing that's coming back. Or maybe never went away."
The big man's whisper is grim, and grows grimmer as he hears the chanting becoming slightly louder and faster from within the cave
"Sounds like some sick ritual they're having. Should we drop in and pay them a surprise visit? If there are too many of them, just scout?"
Xari doesn't particularly look like he wants to visit or scout the cultists, but is clearly also angry about the abductions. He will follow Hadrian.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
"Whatever 'thing' it is, it's evil." Hadrian says, staring blankly at the star symbol etched into the wall of the cave's entrance. "And we should not suffer evil to endure." He breaths like a sigh. The spear he had been carrying fades into mist as he holds out his hand. In the next moment, he is instead grasping the hilt of a longsword.
"As you said, we'll go in quietly to see what's what first."
Casting a grim glance to the two guards with them, and Rox, the young nobleman begins to make his way down into the cave. He tries to move quietly, straining his ears as they travel to try and pick out how many voices are chanting. Should they catch a hint of light at any point in the cave, he'll extinguish his own torch.
Stealth: 9
Perception 24
Trying not to clank in his armor, Xari follows Hadrian's lead, ushering others ahead of him so he can act as rear guard, keeping his torch lit for now.
"Maybe Roga and Rox up front with their darkvision," the big man says, gesturing the dwarven guard and the goblin forward. "Kite, back here with me."
After the first few steps, the big man mutters and gestures awkwardly, casting Blade Ward on himself and concentrating on it.
Xarian's Stealth, at disadvantage due to his scale mail: 5
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Hadrian
You can hear 5 voices layered together, slightly out of sync as they chant the same words. Beneath them, you can hear a 6th intoning something entirely different.
The chanting grows louder to a crescendo as you move forward - and then is silenced. A scream follows, growing quieter as if the source were rapidly moving away.
The chanting resumes, little more a whisper once more.
Kite Stealth: 14
Roga Stealth: 12
Rox Stealth 24
Roga moves up to the front of your party as you descend further into the cave. You do see light in the tunnel up ahead at some point, and douse the light of your own torches in response as you move closer. The chanting grows louder again over the next few minutes as you move further down the tunnel. While Hadrian and Xarian stumble or nearly run into loose rocks, the other members of the group quickly stop their mistakes from becoming too noisy.
Eventually you find yourself in a hall lit by sconces along the wall. The cave tunnels branch into darkness in two other directions, but straight ahead you see a chamber also lit by torchlight. Five cultists stand around a chasm in the center of the room, a black void of which there seems to be no bottom. You can see some of the kidnapped travelers tied up, leaning against a wall. On the far side of the chamber is a cultist dressed in more ceremonial robes atop an old altar built against the chasm. They stand on the edge, grasping a bound young woman by the back of the neck.
Though they haven't noticed you yet, the chanting grows in both volume and cadence once again...
Thanking the others sheepishly for helping keep his own clumsiness quiet, Xari trundles on at the rear of the column until the chamber comes into view. The sight of chanting cultists apparently conducting ritual sacrifice and dumping screaming victims into a chasm sets his teeth on edge.
"No way... no way this s-stands!" The big man's whisper is flat and raw despite his stutter, all hesitation gone. "We end this now or d-die trying."
(Xarian would have, from the rear and as quietly as possible, restarted his Blade Ward that he is concentrating on).
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Truth be told, even since he'd left his sheltered life in Waterdeep, Hadrian had seen little of the evils of the world. Read about them: yes. Heard about them: yes. Seen them with his own eyes? Not like this. Never like this.
He hears the large man's declaration beside him, and struggled to find words of his own. At last, he manages to choke out: "And so our steel will speak for us." He brandishes the longsword in his hand, and moves into the chamber.
Initiative:
4Heroic Inspiration - 8Xarian's Initiative: 11
Kite's Initiative: 8
The big man nudges Hadrian ahead with a whisper. "Y-you got this."
(Using the Alert Feat, Xari will switch Initiative with Hadrian, if he is willing, to give Hadrian an Initiative of 11 and Xari an Initiative of 8 to match Kite's. Which would make sense since Xari and Kite are bringing up the rear).
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Roga's Initiative: 21
Rox's Initiative: 21
As you step into the chamber, you see that the ceiling of the cave above the pit also opens up to the sky. Oddly enough, gone is the fog that seemed to blanket the entire region. Gone are the other stars. All you can see as you look up at the sky through this opening is a star with a sickly red radiance. The very sight of it sets your stomach unease, and makes your skin crawl.
Shouting something in dwarven, Roga sprints into the room, hooking around one of the pillars to stab one of the chanting cultists with her spear (2 piercing damage). Your entrance seems to have caught the kidnappers by surprise, as they fail to immediately react. You also notice that save for the apparent leader on the far side of the pit, the cultists all seem to be injured from the earlier fight.
Go ahead and post with your PC and NPC turns for this round. Once that's all done, we'll see which cultists are still alive and how the initiative goes.
The little goblin warrior trots around the first pillar, taking the scimitar Hadrian had returned to him before they left and slashing up at the cultist (E)
Action: Scimitar (19 to hit), (5 slashing damage)
Hadrian's free hand goes to the leather cord around his neck, grasping the onyx crystal as he speaks words he doesn't full understand. The air around him chills as an icy sheet of armor spreads across his torso and limbs. He goes in a wide arc to the right, sending a lance of emerald energy hurdling towards one of the cultists(D).
Action: Eldritch Blast (13 to hit), (4 force damage)
Movement: 10 E -> 15 NE -> 5 N
Bonus Action: Armor of Agathys
Giving the pit a wide berth, Kite lopes around Roga to attack the same cultist she had speared.
Movement: Kite moves NW - W - NW - NW - N - NE (finishing NW of Cultist A)
Action: Kite's Spear attack to hit Cultist A: 16, Damage: 5 (piercing)
Xarian wants nothing more than to dash straight for the the leader of this vile group under the light of the bleeding red star. Yet, despite himself, he remembers his training, such as it was, from the Amphail town watch. Do not break too far out of formation and get ahead of yourself, Xari!
He splits the difference and circles to Cultist B, dropping the torch and drawing his greatsword for a diagonal cleave from collarbone to opposite hip.
Movement: Xarian moves NW - NW - NW - NW - N - NE (finishing W of Cultist B)
Action: Xarian's Greatsword attack to hit Cultist B: 20 (dirty), Damage: 15 (slashing)
Greatsword Graze Weapon Mastery: on a miss, Xarian still does 4 damage (slashing) to his target.
Xarian has one usage of the Shield spell as a reaction. Also, he is concentrating on Blade Ward (attack rolls against Xarian subtract 1d4).
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
The cultists are taken by storm as you burst into the chamber. Rox fells the first with a vicious uppercut from his scimitar, cutting open a deep gash across the already wounded cultist's chest. The second falls to the energetic blast that Hadrian calls forth - the crack of the enemy's ribcage being shattered echo throughout the cave. The combined force of Roga and Kite handle the cultist closest to the entrance, stabbing him clear through with their spears. A fourth is nearly bisected as Xarian's greatsword falls upon them, sending them sprawling backwards in a spray of blood.
Well, you're just an overstacked pile of slag, aren't ya!?" Roga roars as she continues around the pit, stabbing her spear through the neck of the last remaining cultist from the caravan attack.
The leader of this small group of cultists has stopped their chanting at this point, still holding onto their hostage. The man wears no hood over his shaved skull - instead a circlet of some dark iron rests upon it. The robe he wears is a deep black, shot through with speckles of red thread. His eyes are but twin pinpricks of red light - no pupils. Above you, the red star seems to pulse like a beating heart, and you begin to feel a pressure building behind your eyes.
As fast as his legs will carry him, Rox dashes around the side of the pit, circling round the other side of the cult's leader.
The young nobleman ignores the rising pressure in his head, and the ill feeling that seems to set into his very bones every time he glances upward. With a straight shot towards the last cultist, he charges them, gripping the longsword with both hands as he thrusts it forward.
Movement: 20 NW
Action: Longsword Attack (10 to hit), (14 damage)
The cultist leans backwards to avoid the sword thrust, glaring at the young noble with contempt. With a gesture and a whispered word, a spectral sword with a jagged blade materializes next to Hadrian, arcing down towards him (Melee Spell Attack: 11 to hit). Hadrian is quick enough this time however, as he pulls back his own longsword, deflecting the attack with the flat of his blade.
Again, the cultist whispers an arcane word, leaning down to speak in the ear of the young woman at his feet. "Fall." (Kidnapped Commoner Initiative: 18, WIS Save: 14). This too however, fails. As the young woman's willpower refuses to crack against the enchantment.
Onto Xarian and Kite!
Kite strides purposefully around the western edge of the pit towards the Cult Leader with a menacing look, feinting a spear thrust so that the blue pendant affixed to the haft flashes in his foe's face and distracts him. (Kite takes the help action against the Cult Leader).
Stowing his greatsword and trying to ignore the building mental pressure from the red star above, Xari takes off at a lumbering run around the far stone pillar, drawing his maul and bringing the massive weapon down on the Cult Leader's shoulder with a roar, attempting to knock the villain to the ground.
"You g-gods damned bully! She's helpless and unarmed. Why don't you see how it f-feels!" The big man appears to be vividly reliving some event from his past, his face twisted with emotion, close to tears. (From Xarian's Ideals: The world has bullies. Someone needs to stand up to them.)
Kite's Movement: Kite moves 30' N - N - N - NE - NE - E, ending just SW of the Cult Leader.
Kite's Action: Kite takes the help action against the Cult Leader.
Xarian's Movement: Xarian moves 25' NE - NE - NE - N - NE, ending just NW of the Cult Leader.
Xarian's Action: Xarian attacks the Cult Leader with his maul, with advantage thanks to help from Kite.
Maul attack to hit (with advantage): 22
Maul attack damage: 11 (bludgeoning)
Maul Weapon Mastery: Topple. The Cult Leader must make a DC 14 CON Save or be knocked prone.
(Also, I believe the 2024 Spiritual Weapon spell now requires concentration, so I think the Cult Leader must make a DC10 CON Save to maintain concentration whenever they take damage... or a higher DC if the damage is 22 or higher of course.)
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
As their red eyes track the tumari's spear, the cultist seems to lose track of Xarian - until his maul comes crashing down on them. With a strangled cry the man drops to his knees, the spiritual weapon shimmers briefly, but remains hovering near Hadrian.
Roga moves around the pillar behind Xarian and Rox, stabbing her spear(Melee Attack: 13 to hit, 3 piercing damage.) into the back of the cult leader's thigh. Through gritted teeth, he again maintains concentration on his spectral weapon.
Hadrian and Rox!
Xarian take Heroic Inspiration.