(Forgot about Ori’s Savage Attacker feat [roll weapon attack dice twice and choose whichever is best], last round.)

Ori snarls, and aims her crossbow at the putrid insectoid. She takes aim and lets her thoughts aim true. 

(Attack with advantage and bless: 22.  Psychic Damage: 8)

Cramaris continues shooting 

20 to hit, 10 piercing damage 

16 to hit, 4 piercing damage

Jadzia watches as Duncan heals not only Ori, but also one of the dying bystanders. She and Cramaris keep pressing the attack, and a smile tugs at her lips—they don't make half a bad party, really. Even this Kerrigan person has come to aid. Who might she be? Seems like everyone here knows her.

Setting those thoughts aside, the bard turns her attention back to the remaining ankheg. "Back to the soil you came from—and soon, it’ll feast on you instead," she says, once again leveling her flute at the creature.

Vicious Mockery. WIS ST DC 13 for ... ouch ... 1 damage + disadvantage on its next attack.

(not sure if people have missed yet but don't forget you all have bless too)

Duncan, not feeling overly threatened will continue to help the villagers. He will either cast spare the dying on another unconscious one, or if they are all alive enough, he will position himself in the way of them and dodge. 

With a few last blows and spells, you all manage to dispatch the second ankheg, leaving it a chittering corpse on the street.

(COMABT OVER!)

Once things settle down a little bit, the druid approaches and says with a commanding voice, "I speak for the forest and all creatures, both mortals and monsters, who dwell within these alnds and call them home. There are many monstrosities within this realm, and this mine should be counted among them. It has ripped open the natural world and in its suffering, the creatures within have lashed out with no sense of right or wrong--much like those who approved of this mine's construction. The land is in pain. It will not be safe here as long as this mine remains."

Carlsbad, who had been giving the speech earlier, spoke up quickly after Kerrigan finished, with a forced laugh. "Please, settle down! Look at all the good that's come to this town! The jobs, the renown!" Several people nearby begin to murmur in assent, and one surly looking man starts to rally them a bit, looking important as well, gathering some of the miners together, clearly forming a band against the druid. However, before too many words can be exchanged or more blows dealt, one of the town elders, raises his arms and calls for attention.

"All right! It's been quite a day! Why don't you all come to the Quaint Flask for a free round of drinks on me!" He comes over to you all as well, "I'm Tug Tannerhide. I'm sorry about all of this but I appreciate your stepping in there. Come share a drink with me, I think you should be involved in us deciding what to do about Kerrigan and the mine." As he's talking to you, Carlsbad shouts out once more, this time mentioning that the celebration will be held at dusk the next day.

As the dust settles from the ankheg fight, Jadzia turns to her friends, concern in her eyes. "Guys? Are you okay?" She lingers on Ori and Cramaris, who bore the brunt of the second creature's attacks. "Glad to see Duncan's healing got you both back on your feet quickly."

She glances around, brushing a strand of breeze-swept hair behind her ear. "Well, this is a mess," she mutters. "I get where Mutterall and the miners are coming from, but… the druid has a point too. Not sure how this is going to turn out."

Before the crowd disperses, and assuming Kerrigan is still nearby, Jadzia approaches her with a tentative smile.

"Um… Kerrigan T'Kay, right? I'm Jadzia. Nice to meet you—and thanks for your help back there." She hesitates a moment, then adds, "Would you consider coming to the Quaint Flask as well? This is clearly a big issue, and the townsfolk should hear all sides. Maybe we can find some kind of balance ... if we can all actually talk things through."

“I’m fine,” says Ori, quietly, when questioned. Her crossbow is replaced on her back, and she pulls one of the two crossbow bolts she fired from the Ankheg’s carapace intact. 

In the time you have know Ori she has been a jovial, if unreliable, figure. Now, her face is grimly set and her mouth forms a harsh line. 

She follows Jadzia to Kerrigan the Druid and lets her speak. Adding, at the end,

”Mighty Druid. I understand your bond with nature. I have sought my magic in the wild, and found it, in the cackling shadow under the weaved boughs, and in the slaughtered wolf that decomposes in the mushroom circle.”

”I seek to know nature’s mind, and I seek to serve its court.”

She pauses, her breath short pants.

“Which of the mine folk must we murder? Over which lintel must we daub the blood and praise the small folk that live amongst the cobwebs and smile from morning dew. Let me be as you are. Let me learn the mysteries of those mighty druids who bestride nature and direct its wroth!”

At some point she has begun to kneel, her head bowed and her hands held up to the Druid in supplication. 

Duncan has made his mind up before the discussions. But still wants to attend to make sure his point is made. He goes with Jadiza to see if Kerrigan will come, adding "I don't think a balance is needed. From the sounds of it, it's either all or nothing. And Kerrigan is right, if the mine stays open it will be too dangerous. You can't fill jobs if all your workers are dead. And it will still have renown but as the town that got slaughtered for ignoring advice"

"It's just a singe that will go away with a good meal" Cramaris removes last drops of acid with a piece of wet clothand and offers it to Ori.

"Lady T'Kay, thanks for making a swift appearence and help"

"Well," Jadzia says to Duncan, "I was wondering if the mining could continue in a way that didn't disturb the local habitat. But if that's not possible..."

She trails off mid-thought, her gaze snapping toward Ori. "I'm sorry, did you just suggest we murder mine folk? Wow. Okay. That escalated."

Cramaris is shocked and his eyes dilate, he finaly registered what Ori said."Murder is loud. You should avoid that".

Cramaris turns to see if elder Tug is still here and his reaction.

“Errr, joking?” Says Ori taking in the faces and gazes of the party. She winks at the Druid, gesturing with one pointed figure between the two of them then tapping the side of her nose and winking again.  

"Ori. There will be no murder of anyone. I am not forbidding violence if and only if it is necessary to get them to be sensible. However I would be very disappointed if you don't leave them alive enough for me to prevent a premature departure from this world."

Kerrigan looks you all over for a moment with a wary eye, with a particularly longer stare at Ori. "I must return to the forests for now, the mine needs to stay closed, make sure that happens." She'll then turn to leave, walking off with a slightly hobbled gait toward the forest's edge in the near distance, leaving you to decide whether to join Tug at the tavern or not.

Jadzia arches an eyebrow after Kerrigan leaves. "Ain't she a chatty one?" she says dryly, then sighs and turns to her companions. "To the tavern, I suppose?"

The blue-skinned genasi considers asking Ori to dial back what she considers "jokes" once they're there—but this is Ori's town, after all, and the bard assumes the witch knows what she should or shouldn't say to her own neighbours.

"I will go to the Quaint Flask. To be honest, I would prefer if mine has recruited hunting squad but considering this fight townsfolk doesn't have enough fighting spirit for that.

Ori nods at Duncan's words as if given this lesson for the first time, and scratches one antler absent-mindedly. "Never much had the gift of knowing exactly what I was supposed to say, or what not to say. But I guess honesty is just part of my charm! No premature departures. A time for everything, and everything in its time. Got it!"

She waves to the distant back of Kerrigan, then follows along to the Quaint Flask with the others, smiling at a job well done and a drink well earned, happy to be back in the nearest thing to a home-town a hermit can have. 

Once you all make it into the tavern, fairly lively at the moment with quite a crowd there for the free drinks and natural conversation after the incident, Tug sits down with you and gets a weary look in his eyes. He leans in and says with a shrug, "The mine has been good business, if you're a digger. But some of us aren't diggers, we're farmers, and them it hasn't been good at all. Crops came up pretty slim this year, and those that did have a decent harvest claim they can't sell what they grew--tastes like slate and shale. I'm not saying it's the mine. But I'm not saying it ain't either."

Anyone make a Nature check (DC 14) as the food and drink are served here:

After a drink Tug goes on, "Look, the town was never the biggest or best, I get that, but the mine was shuttered long ago by the founders of the town because those who lived here were experiencing similar maladies. Children were dying. Horrific creatures wandered the woods, and even the streets of town. Once the mine was closed down, the jobs here dried up, people moved away, and instead of creatures roaming the streets, bandits and looters did instead. When Mutteral Mining Works agreed to buy the mine and began operations here in earnest, things started to turn around pretty quickly." Tug takes another swig and looks down at his cup.

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” says Ori, putting a tankard down heavily (‘Delicious’). “Seems the Druid thinks the mine is worse than the alternative though, and folk can’t live on metal and jewels.”

She waves a hunk of gristly bread in the air to emphasise her point.

(Nature: 11)

Once they'd settled into the tavern and taken a few sips of ale, Jadzia pulled the bandore into her lap and began plucking a few quiet notes—not a full tune, just enough to tune the strings and keep her hands busy. Her blue eyes drifted between her companions and the townsfolk scattered through the room, drinking like the ale was a reward for surviving the ankheg attack. She listened as they talked, letting the music hum quietly beneath their words.

The genasi gave a small nod at Ori's remark, then added, "Bandits sound easier to deal with than ankhegs. You can scare them off, bribe them, talk them down. Ankhegs just want to crush and eat you alive."

Her fingers paused on the strings, and looked at Tug.

"From what you're saying, this feels like a story you've already lived through once. If the crops were rich before the mine reopened, and you weren't losing people to creature attacks, then maybe reopening it has already brought more harm than good. If the land could heal again, you might build a stronger market around it. Hire guards to deal with the bandits. Maybe even get Kerrigan to help—if you gave up the digging."