Abishai's Dragons of Icespire Peak

Rasziel all but freezes in the spot as he sees the younglings, realizing he had already incinerated their three mothers. His mind briefly ponders how the only female race would procreate, but evidently somehow they did. He couldn't argue with the reasoning of the bearded veteran but to his own surprise he struggles to participate in what could still possibly be seen as an act of mercy, the young human faces touching something still there deep within him, perhaps whatever was left of his soul. Seeing the younglings, he wanted to believe they weren't inherently evil and bloodthisrty, but he knew he would probably be wrong.

Alisande raises a hand, shaken by the cold-blooded, callous manner in which her companions speak of dispatching the young harpies. "You cannot be serious. You speak of killing children, however ill-favoured their lineage may be. It is true that in time, these younglings may be triggered by something in their nature to become the cruel sirens who delight in leading mariners to their doom. In all probability, that is the trajectory set before them."

"But let us be clear - these creatures pose no threat to us. Who among you can confidently say that it is not their nurture, their expriences that leads them to malice? I like to think we are not so intellectually indolent as to accept inevitability without investigation."

She gives Zephyros and Meira a reproachful look, then steps forward and draws some rations from her satchel. "If I am mistaken, I am quite happy to bear the mortification of looking the fool. But as a principle, I will always incline towards mercy over slaughter, kindness over killing."

The mage tentatively offers the harpies strips of jerky, humming a familiar melody - the melancholy, longing song that Meira sang for Lyra when the Tymoran left the group. Yet even as she sings, her voice betrays her - it trembles, edged with the very real expectation that her fine intentions and goodwill may be answered with tooth and talon rather than trust.

Performance: 5
History: 25 ((How much does Alisande know about harpies? What created them? What do they desire? Can they be turned away from a life of cruelty?))

Zephyros' suspicions are confirmed as Alisande chastises him for being ready and willing to end the lives of these monstrous abominations. He wants to scoff and ridicule the softness of the witch, but decides instead to withdraw. "Very well. You can care for the creatures if that's your desire. I must go find my love."

With a lack of patience, and sensing this path was a waste of valuable time, the bearded warrior moves back into the room with the alter and the frescoes. He runs fingers across the stone tapestry wondering to himself, 'what happened to you, Silvara?' His anger growing as he takes in the artwork.

In a sudden fit of anger, the armored warrior takes his trident and swings it down as hard as he can on the stone altar. Seeking to destroy the altar devoted to a god he'd decided was evil.

Attack: 26, Damage: 9

[[OOC: I realize I failed miserably describing this "room" the harpy nest is in fact on a patio located outside. My apologies!]]

Zephyros shoulder checks the door, breaking some of the Harpy nest in the process as the door opens wider. The group is greeted with a strong wind swirling around the lighthouse as you step out onto a ledge enclosed by a 3' high wall. The nest is covered in rotting vegetation, egg shells, and various sized bones, including some humanoid skulls. The waves constantly and chaotically crash against the lighthouse island over and over. The green glow from the top of the lighthouse casts an earie light on everything. You all get the sense you're being watched and though none of you can be certain, you all think you hear whispers on the wind, but can't make out what's being said. The sound mixes with the relentless wind and gives everyone a sense of dread. 

The three small Harpies look up at Zephyros expectantly as if waiting to be fed, as Alisande walks up and begins singing to the small monstrosities, they seem more agitated... [[OOC: Alisande, please make an animal handling check as you try to feed them.]]

Alisande,

 Zephyros,

You walk back into the altar room and ponder the frescoes before losing your temper and striking the altar with your trident. The weapon strike cracks the altar down the middle. A charge of lightning streaks up the trident into your arms and chest. For a moment you're muscles lock in place, preventing movement, but the feeling dissipates quickly. You take 8 lightning damage and tiny sparks crackle in your eyes as if you were Thor himself. 

Lady Immerwood's gray eyes follow the gaze of the young harpies, and the anticipation they seem to have for Zephyros in particular. 

Three harpies on the causeway, three small harpies in the nest, three devouring figures in the frescoes. A false, inveigling voice that calls to Zephyros, not unlike the song of the harpy  which lures men onto the rocks to suffer their doom. How much of this is real? 

Alisande begins to doubt the reality of the obstacles they face, but having begun, continues her attempt to feed the small harpies. 

Animal Handling: 13

Meira sighs softly as Alisande starts to speak of sparing the young creatures. She keeps her bow at the ready for a moment, waiting to see what the woman will do now. She's about to say something when Zephyros lashes out at the altar and is rewarded with a charge of lightning.  She drops her bow, turning her attention more to the old man. "Are you okay there?" she asks him. 

The young dark-haired purple-robed man casts concrned glances at the others around him, Alisande trying to feed the harpy younglings while the Ironheart seemingly attacks the interior design in rage, giving the old warrior quite a schock. Things had started to spiral out of control and Rasziel couldn't help but wonder what was happening to them all. "Should we perhaps simply move on now and try to solve the mystery of this haunted lighthouse before we become permanent residents." He suggests with a firm tone and all the calm he can muster.

Alisande,

It appears as if the harpies are about to pounce on you, but you stop singing to them and provide them with some dried meat from a ration, which they devour quickly. They press forward, expecting more. One flaps into the air and attempts to grapple your left arm. A second one hops over to your right leg. The third flies straight at your face with razor-sharp claws. [[OOC: Please give me two Strength or dexterity saving throws.]]

• Little Harpy one grapple attack: 9
• Little Harpy two grapple attack: 16, hit DC 6 to break grapple
• Little Harpy three claw attack to the face: 7

((OOC: Dex Saves: 7 and 9; Acrobatics to break grapple: 7))

Alisande,

Being adolescent harpies, they are easy to dodge or kick off you. The second Harpy attaches to your right leg for just a moment before you shake it off. However, their quick assault on your person catches you off guard, and you trip and fall prone on the nest as you backpeddle. Luckily, this prevents the third harpy from scratching up your face as you fall backward. Unfortunately, the harpy lands on your chest and looks like it's about to attack again!

Combat has started! Round one Initiative:

• 22 Meira
• 21 Gareth
• 17 Rasziel
• 17 Zephyros
• 12 Harpy
• 11 Alisande

Map:

Meira swiftly turns to fire off an arrow at the closest young harpy. (Shortbow Attack: 9, miss)

She then waves her arms and yells out at the creature, "Look here for your meal! There's more here!" (Master of Tactics - HELP to Zephyros on his next attack.) As she makes the commotion, she retreats back inside, weaving between Rasziel and Gareth, leaving room for others to get outside. And continuing to give herself line-of-sight to the harpies.

Seeing no other solution now than to put the winged rascals down in order to save the neverwintan lady, Rasziel places his hex on the closest harpy and unleashes two beams of purplish eldritch crackling force towards it.

Eldritch Blast: 27 Force: 8 Necrotic: 4
Eldritch Blast: 9 

Zephyros, still seething with anger inside hears the ruckus outside and runs back to the nest with trident poised to strike. Seeing the baby harpy on top of Alisande, the warrior no longer hesitates as his training takes over to end the threat. 'Next time I will trust my gut... We can't afford to be soft.'

Attack: 3/Nat 20+8=28 Damage: 15 piercing

Without a second thought, the bearded warrior swings his trident around seeking a new targets.

Attack: 23 Damage: 11

Seeing an end to hostilities, the Ironheart extends a hand to Lady Immerwood to help her back to her feet. "My lady. I'm sorry these ones were not hospitable for you." He offers a nod and slight frown as a condolence. He then walks up to Meira to answer her question, "I'm okay... bit of a jolt, but I think I'm okay. I guess I should learn to control my temper. I just... I mean... reliving these events from my past and seeing them painted upon the wall was... too much." 

Turning his head to Rasziel, the armored veteran says, "Nice shot there and fast thinking! Well done, sir." He walks past the group through the room with the frescoes and into the main lighthouse entrance again. Intent upon continuing, the fighter stops only long enough for the group to catch up. Looking up the lighthouse tower, and then down, Zephyros asks out loud, "Which way?"

As the small harpies attack Alisande, the party jumps to action. Meira's arrow misses by an inch while she taunts the little monsters. Gareth appears to be daydreaming about taking a vacation with Sylvie while Rasziel calls upon his patrons power to blast one of the creatures. The purple fire incinerates the bird quickly while the second blast just misses. Zephyros sees his opening and quickly impales the harpy on Alisande's chest. While the dead monster is still attached to the trident, the warrior swings his weapon around catching the last little harpy across the neck. Both birds get slammed against the 3' ledge with one bouncing over into the turbulent water below. 

Combat has ended.

 Zephyros,

As you make your way over to the lighthouse tower, you see another door on this level of the lighthouse on the northeast part of the tower. You also see the stairs descending into darkness, and ascending to an earie green light.

Everyone,

What do you do?

"Well, that went really well tending to those innocent little birds," Meira says, trying not to roll her eyes too much at Alisande. She follows after Zephyros.  "I still think we should check out the rest of this level first. There was another door in the stairwell, right?" 

"Thank you for the assistance. It is greatly unfortunate how things have transpired." She says to Zephyros, taking his hand and then climbing astride her broom. Lady Immerwood casts a glance down at the broken bodies of the adolescents who were evidently incapable of putting up much of a robust fight. How very heroic we are.

Alisande shakes her head with undisguised contempt for Meira.

"If you imagine I am ashamed to offer food to children - be they hobgoblins or harpies - you are profoundly mistaken. Perhaps you believe there is something gallant about running around like an itinerant cutthroat whose first recourse is to simply butcher without thought or question. However, I prefer to approach the world through inquiry and compassion, striving to leave it better than I found it, even at personal risk to myself. The notion that the proper moral instinct is to simply kill children - yes, even harpy children - who have only peeked in our direction and exhibited no aggression, is utterly detestable."

The mage's eyes are full of venom for Meira, but when she draws her sword it is to turn her back on the woman, move away from the nest and back into the lighthouse.

Meira had already started to head after Zephyros when Alisande spoke up.  Immediately though she spins about, a mischievous grin on her face. "Hit a nerve did I? The fact that I do not prattle on assidulously with grandiloquent phrase, is not contraindicative of discernment of prudent action!" She tilts her head a bit as she adds, "If you didn't catch all that, I meant maybe some of us got to the right answer a bit faster than you did. And with less scratches!"

She then continues after Zephyros, though now walking a bit backwards, clearly eager to see what response she might get. 

"The 'nerve you hit' was your reprehensible haste to commit infanticide. Since you fail to comprehend the enormity in this - allow me to repeat it in the dull, simplistic terms that you are wont to speak in. Rushing to kill children who are not trying to hurt you is bad. Trying to avoid such a grim outcome is good."

"Do you suppose that I was unaware that these child harpies might attack me? Are you so dull of sense that you could not see the trepidation with which I approached them? Do you imagine I had forgotten what harpies typically grow up to be, given the battle on the causeway, but a few minutes earlier?"

Alisande's voice softens, as if bewildered by the idea that such a thing needs explanation. 

"I approached them regardless - not from ignorance, but out of principle. There was no 'answer' to be gleaned, only an act of attempted mercy, in spite of the odds. Whatever the risk of 'scratches', I strive towards compassion, a concept that is apparently foreign to you. No, this venture did not unfold as I might have wished, but such is the life of an adventurer. When Zephyros sang for the banshee in Axeholm, the outcome was by no means assured. Would it have been right to deride him for the attempt, should it have failed? Or is scorn a privilege you reserve for some and not others?"

As the mage floats along on her magical broom, her expression hardens once more. 

"You seem to believe you are in some respect amusing, so permit me to disabuse you of the notion. From the moment I joined this company, you have been snide and unwelcoming to me. From your last remarks, you have betrayed that this stems from some insecurity about the limited scope of your vocabulary."

"You have, on numerous occasions, challenged me when I chose a direction of travel, complained when I initiated movement to the next chamber over once our exploration was complete, and have produced an excruciating level of tension in what might otherwise been a fellowship of comrades and equals. I have sought to bear this with good humour and gentle indications that I do not care for such control. In an effort to seed friendship, I have even gone out of my way to extend you the opportunity to take my broom so that you might enjoy an evening's diversion with Lyra."

"You have compensated the goodwill I have shown you by being thoroughly rude and controlling. Let me be quite clear, Meira Dheran. You are not charming or mischievous in the least - you are immature, unpleasant and should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself."

Meira is unable to suppress her grin at first, clearly not concerned with Alisande's words.  But as the other woman goes on, her expression softens. She responds, sounding neither upset nor cowed either. "Look, I'm glad you were not hurt. And the others here know I've thrown out my share of ideas they don't agree with. I was trying to joke. I just don't always choose the best moments to do it."

She readies to continue on. "We should get back to our task." There's a longer pause before she adds, "If you want to have a more serious talk when we have a better moment... I'd be willing."

Zephyros shakes his head as the women argue, thinking to himself, 'Is the lighthouse and whatever unholy creature housed here manipulating our company to turn us against each other?' Perhaps... 

He seems about to interject to get the group back on track when Meira offers up an apology. "Agreed, Meira. Let's check this room next." Recognizing he isn't needed for any kind of de-escalation, the armored warrior moves to the door across from him in the lighthouse tower and tries to open it.