Long after the stranger is gone, Tanis' dark brown eyes continue to stare at the door through which he had departed, as if down into a dark well.

For once, the brooding ranger has no wry comment or anecdotal gallows humor.  Finally he swallows and looks away, his own drink forgotten.

(OOC:  ready to move on.)

Night falls, and you make your way to the harbour to execute the ambush on the drow skiff meant to be coming in any moment now, although when you arrive, there’s no sign of it on the tumultuous horizon, or any visuals on the mercenary guild member you expected to be here to complete the deal, which is strange, as you’d think they’d want to be somewhat visible to assure their trade partner can make it to them. Overall, aside from the crashing waves, things are far more quiet and desolate then you expected. Maybe too much so…

Warrick grips his crossbow handle in nervous anticipation, so much so he finds himself constantly needing to strech his arms as they seem to be cramping. Perhaps we were given bad or partial information about this job. Certainly too quiet, artificially quiet it feels. Warrick wants to call it off but refuses to be the first to throw in the towel this time.

"Maybe they were tipped off that we were here snooping around," Zifni whispers to his companions, his intense eyes and sharp ears searching for any signs of movement.

Tanis grunts.  His low mutter is philosophical as usual as he takes in the feeling of the docks.

"Night like this...  Makes a man wonder who's the ambusher and who's the one being ambushed, yeah?"

The ranger does a slow 360, peering through the storm and gloom for unexpected watchers in the spots he had picked out on their initial reconnaissance.

Perception:  13

Thamul stays at his chosen spot, waiting for what's gonna happen.

The party lingers in anticipation, unsure of what's to come, and Tanis peers about him, scanning every corner around. At first he can't see anything of note, but then spots something that sends chills down even his spine: the moonlit shadows of figures pressed up behind crates stretched out along the sodden cobbles, all around, and he counts about seven in total. Before he can get the words out to raise the alarm of an ambush, he's interrupted by the clinking of metal. Out from behind a large crate to the west, a tall, slender figure steps forth, wearing a luxurious purple rain cloak fastened with a large gold chain set with rubies, which knocks again the expensive necklace and medallions he wears below as he steps out from his hiding place. The brim of his hood covers his eyes, but a lock of light blonde hair hangs down the bridge of his nose, and his smile is fully visible. Amused, he says 'Well, well, well, didn't think anyone would actually pick up and follow that rumour we sent floating around. Seems a decent catch though; five in total, and seem to be the adventuring sort.' He sniffs and mutters 'Thought you'd come here to thwart our dark deal like some sort of gang of heroes, or are you just here with the more realistic ambitions of nabbing the payload for yourself? Well, your reasoning matters not...weapons, wands and spellbooks sell finely, so you're an ideal troupe to have caught.' He waves a hand, and you notice the other bandits of the unknown mercenary guild that set you up have crawled out of their hiding places, although they seem much less put together than their ringleader. The man in question is now stepping backwards into the cover of the sea mist and nighttime gloom, giving his goons a parting instruction to 'not pierce the armour and keep the blades intact.' You'd make chase, but fear the thieves would be on you before you'd get a chance to catch up to the individual. Your best option now seems to be to fight your way out of this mess. Investigation, interrogation, and sweet revenge can come later.

Roll for initiative!

[I've put Selene on the map though I'm not entirely sure if her player is still that active. In the case that they're not, I'll bot her for this battle before looking at what to do. Colours remain the same from last battle, so Thamul Blue, Warrick Orange, Tanis Green, Zifni Light Blue and Selene Red]

Initiative: 22

Tanis' Initiative:  18

(OOC:  one of these days, I'll remember.  I meant to have Tanis cast Blade Ward in my last post and completely spaced... next time.)

Warrick init: 13

Thamul init: 6

[Looks like no Selene for this combat. I'll bot her for now and contact Naiya_Varma afterwards!]

Enemy initiative rolls:
Bandit 1: 15
Bandit 2: 5
Bandit 3: 20
Bandit 4: 6
Bandit 5: 19
Bandit 6: 21

Zifni goes first! [For initiative ties between players and enemies, to avoid the extra rolling, I just put the player/enemy in the order that leaves them closest to their ally, as it means I can do more of the enemy turns in chunks rather than break it up between players! Hope that's okay for you!]

Initiative
Zifni: 22
Bandit 4: 20
Tanis: 18
Bandit 3: 18
Bandit 1: 17
Bandit 2: 16
Bandit 5: 16
Warrick: 13
Thamul: 6 
Bandit 6: 6

((All fine by me, let's take care of these bloody bandits.))

[Just realised I didn't roll Selene's initiative, got a 3 + 2 for her so she's up last!]

Zifni casts Toll the Dead at Bandit 4. [Thought I'd use a spell that doesn't use up spell slots and doesn't move him any closer to danger]

Bandit 4 DC 13 Wisdom save to avoid 1 necrotic damage: 1

The bandit puts up absolutely no resistance to the soul draining effect of Zifni's spell, and gets his revenge by firing off a crossbow bolt in his direction. [Light Crossbow to hit: 17, 9 piercing damage on a hit] 

Tanis is up! 

Initiative
Zifni: 22
Bandit 4: 20 (-1 HP)
Tanis: 18 <- CURRENT TURN
Bandit 3: 18
Bandit 1: 17
Bandit 2: 16
Bandit 5: 16
Warrick: 13
Thamul: 6 
Bandit 6: 6
Selene: 5

"Teach me to trust the word of a drow," Tanis mutters, as if he and his friends had not just been planning to deceive, murder and rob those same drow.

Movement:  N - NW - (attack Bandit 1) - then IF the second attack finishes off Bandit 1:  SE - E - NE

Bonus Action:  Tanis uses Favored Enemy to cast and concentrate on Hunter's Mark without using a spell slot, targeting Bandit 1 to his NW.

Action:  Tanis draws his shortsword and scimitar and attacks Bandit 1 with both, using a Luck Point for advantage on the first attack, a backhand thrust with his shortsword, intended to distract the bandit for his follow-up off-hand cut across the abdomen from his scimitar, which he then sheathes.

Attack 1:  Shortsword to hit Bandit 1, at advantage due to Luck Point:  19
Attack 1:  Shortsword plus Hunter's Mark damage on Bandit 1:  6 + 1 = 7 piercing
Vex Weapon Mastery:  on a hit, Tanis has advantage on his next attack against the same enemy before the end of his next turn.

Attack 2:  Scimitar to hit Bandit 1, at advantage due to Vex Weapon Mastery of shortsword:  18
Attack 2:  Scimitar plus Hunter's Mark damage on Bandit 1:  6 (not 9) + 3 = 9 slashing (subtracted 3 from damage - can't add DEX for off-hand attack)
Nick Weapon Mastery:  with light weapons, Tanis can make his off-hand attack as part of the Attack Action rather than needing a Bonus Action.

Free Action:  Tanis stows his scimitar so he has a hand free.

Provided that the second attack finishes off Bandit 1, Tanis uses the rest of his movement to step southeast, east, then northeast into melee with Bandit 2.  Note that Tanis has a Reaction (Shield spell from Magic Initiate Wizard) and may use it if needed.

Bandit 1 is struck down by a few quick nicks of Tanis' rapier, who quickly jumps away to face another opponent. 

Bandit 3 moves around and down to be between Selene and Zifni, coming down at the sorcerer's shoulder with a scimitar. Bandit 2 stands his ground against Tanis, also trying to ward him off with their blade, whilst Bandit 5 approaches Warrick to attack with a similar moveset. 

Bandit 3: Scimitar against Selene to hit: 7, 5 slashing damage on a hit.
Bandit 2: Scimitar against Tanis to hit: 15, 4 slashing damage on a hit.
Bandit 5: Scimitar against Warrick to hit: 6, 5 slashing damage on a hit.

Warrick is up! 

Initiative
Zifni: 22
Bandit 4: 20 (-1 HP)
Tanis: 18 
Bandit 3: 18
Bandit 2: 16
Bandit 5: 16
Warrick: 13 <- CURRENT TURN
Thamul: 6 
Bandit 6: 6
Selene: 5

Tanis' Reaction on Bandit 2's turn:

Tanis gestures with his free hand, having just stowed his own scimitar, and a deep, inky green shield appears, as if made from snaking, spectral vines from the inner reaches of some far off forest, warding off the bandit's blow.  Tanis' AC goes from 15 to 20 until his next turn, saving him from a wound.

(Tanis uses his Reaction and his Magic Initiate Wizard feat to cast Shield without using a spell slot, causing Bandit 2's attack to miss.)

Warrick scared stiff with the idea of a being ambushed. Dispite all their preparation efforts they still got stuck in this situation. Then as Warrick still is frantically assess the situation, the closest bandit races on and strikes at him. Slipping back out of the way of the attack, Warrick swings back with his quarterstaff in a wild arc trying to get some distance between him and his assailant. The mighty swing of his staff catches Warrick off guard and he's unable to control the strike.

To hit: 9 damage: 12 bludgeoning