Tyranny in Phlan (DM Lerus)

"Area still has the stench of something acrid to it. Making my guess to either be that a certain dragon could be somehow lurking nearby, or the

Doozey relays his findings, and pointedly mentions concerns of either the dragon or her brood could yet be lurking about given the acrid stench in the air. "There's also a wagon near one of the walls walls with someone moving about in it. Can't bue sure their friendly by any stretch, but certainly a concern all the same. As far as secret ways go, s'pose there's perhaps a sewer route of some kind-" He side-eyes Aleyd and her men. ".. but I wouldn't put it past'em to not have at least some folk down there watch it as well, consider'n they made use of'em elsewhere in town."

With that, Doozey sighed and muttered something underbreath, before eventually remembering to mention the piece of red garment and possible alternate route of approach through the buildings of the plaza in some way.

"I am not one for secret passages," Aleyd admits after listening to all that CRAP has to share. "You said it yourself, Utar. The gate is strong, defensible, and well guarded. Any secret passage would defeat the purpose of the gate. And if there is one only known to the inner circle, then I guess I am not part of it. Not surprising, given all the internal scheming with the Knightly Order. They even had time to come up with a name for themselves..." She is clearly irritated by this.

She takes a deep breath and tests her plan: "The Stojanow Gate is too strong of a structure for us to attack, but the shoddy barricade build in the entryway is the obvious weak spot. There are several turncoats filling the space between the barricade and us. So, building on something Doozey mentioned earlier, I believe what we need is a distraction." Aleyd looks resigned. “I see no other choice. I will take my soldiers and circle to the west. We will launch an attack and quickly withdraw. The corrupt knights seem intent on capturing or killing all of the Black Fists who remain loyal to the town and will likely give chase. When they do so, you will assault the barricade, break through, liberate the townsfolk, and get them out of the town.”

She steels her resolve and adds a final detail while looking at Neya: "There is a good chance that the capable warrior you saw is the Lord Regent himself. If you are able to describe them, I will be able to confirm it one way or the other."

The other Black Fists agree that there seems no other choice and are clearly willing to follow Aleyd’s lead, especially if it indeed creates an opening to rescue the Lord Regent. They understand the risk and thrive on the opportunity to demonstrate their knightly resolve. Cassyt holds her amulet of Kelemvor as she is clearly somewhat frightened. Nonetheless, she insists that "accompanying the knights to keep them up and running is part of my duty!" 

Villonah's facial expression is a serious one, but she, too, agrees with the proposed approach. "I am not confident we can spare the time searching for potentially non-existent alternate entryways. I trust the good captain and her men to succeed."

Utar nods along as the plan is laid out for CRAP, but feel that the plan is somewhat missing additional detail. 

"So you lead the guards away, we attack hopefully weakened barricade and free the captured townsfolk.  What then?  Will you and your knights circle back to the gate or disperse into the town?  Where will we meet after, presumably back at the Goblin?"

Aside from a small grin at Aleyd's initial admission, Doozey would otherwise go on to maintain a more serious and attentive demeanor as things further broken down from the paladin's perspective. "That's the rub, ain't it Utar? I think I got a few things that aughta help'em stay evasive, provided-" He looks to Cassyt and the Knights. "Any of ya good with slings." He says as much, and upon confirmation, looked to retrieve his spare sling from the bag of holding on Neya.

Though it took a minute or so more to reorganize, he offers alongside the sling half his stock of Djinni and Choker rounds, as well as quickly explains how they work. "S'pose if'n yer strong enough, ya could prolly smash the Djinni round on the ground near you for the same effect, but I'd reserve that as a last resort." He says, snorts, and then lets out a tired sigh. "Also, if ya'll see an urchin looking girl with a goat head on her try'na help ya, trust her. She's... a bit somethin'. But also, she's clever sort and on our side 'n all this." He further attests. "Other than that, if not the goblin, then if you can lose yer tail, perhaps where Moneus said to find'em?" He suggests while giving Aleyd a somewhat meaningful look. 

Aleyd turns to Utar and agrees that her plan was put together hastily. She expands: "The plan is to distract, engage, and retreat. Rinse and repeat as to buy your group as much time as possible. I can only surmise that at some point they will realize that they have moved too far from the Stojanow Gate. I hope that you'll be gone by then, but if not, I will lead my men back around to aid in your team's departure. If all goes well and you have indeed left by the time the traitors return, then I suggest you head to the Laughing Goblin to scoop your other friends. I'll meet you at the Cracked Crown instead. This way, we don't put all of our eggs in the same basket in case the Tears of Virulence are still looking for us. What do you think?" 

Not seeing any of the knights raise their hand following Doozey's question, Cassyt steps forward. "I used to play with the sling in my childhood," she says trying to sound as if she is farther past her teenage years than she actually is. Should Doozey agree to direct his instructions to her, she'll listen attentively. When the ranger mentions subterfuge and smoke, she does say something under her breath about those being the tools of thieves, but she continues to pay attention and internalize the instructions as "these will be used to save lives this night."

The knights take note of Doozey's mention of a potential additional ally, and Aleyd nods at the halfling as it seems the two of them were of one mind when it came to delaying the reunion until their arrival at the Cracked Crown instead of the Laughing Goblin.

At this point, Aleyd checks with all CRAPers to see if you'd like to quickly iron out any other details before setting the plan in motion.

Utar nods as the rest of the plan is laid out before them, "Ok then.  May Torm keep your feet swift and your arms strong.  See you all on the other side."

It took every ounce of willpower, and even then Doozey couldn't fully suppress the urge to sigh when Cassyt of all people volunteered for the task. Even so, he instructed her thoroughly, including noting any risks to their use and how best to mitigate them. But he was not going to let her snide remark under breath go without some form confrontation in due time.

"Aye, so they will be. 'cause of course we both know that sometimes it takes more than steel and a little magic to ensure we can protect those in need. Even if at times the method and tools could be misconstrued as something they most certainly are not." He says while meeting Cassyt's eyes with a leveled look. "Right then. Lessons over." With that, Biscuit perked up, and after a bit of stretching, made his way over to the halfling size so that Doozey could hop onto his back. "May Big Mama Yondalla lend ya a bit of good fortune as well, Cassyt."

- Removed 9 Choker Rounds and 9 Djinni Rounds. 

Cassyt's eyes meet Doozey as he delivers the lesson, only for her to look down a bit embarrassed when her comment is rebutted. She takes the supplies offered to her and moves to a position behind Captain Aleyd. When Doozey then offers her a blessing from Yondalla, the acolyte responds in kind with a sincere blessing from Kelemvor, even if it doesn't sound like one at first: "And may Kelemvor guide you when your time comes, Doozey Redfoot."

The good captain gives Utar a predator-handshake and replies with a friendly smile: "And may your hammers find their foes, recruit. We'll see you on the other side."

She turns to the group more generally: "Count to two hundred and then look for my attack from the northwest. As soon as my group withdraws and the Tears follow, you must act to save the townsfolk and the Lord Regent."

With that, Aleyd leads her knights and Cassyt toward their positions. CRAP is left waiting for their cue. You have but a few minutes to make any final preparations.

Seeing as his lesson seemed to have taken root, Doozey chose to take the blessing kind as sincere, and even cracked a smile in response. After which, he bid Aleyd and her crew what silently hoped wouldn't be a final goodbye in a curt nod, before turning his attention to final preparations. Once again he'd stand before the group in his hybrid state after guzzling down is second to last potion of healing. Yet even after layering on Protection from Poison and reinforcing at least one of his weapons, a moment of disappointment and worry flickers across the halfling visage before being quickly replaced by acceptance and determination.

- Drink Healing Potion, restoring 8 HP.
- Activate Hybrid Form
- Cast Protection from Poison on Self.
- Activate Crimson Rite on Apostle of the Wilds, taking 4 damage. 

(OOC: I forgot to answer before, but Gravy is staying by the tavern.)
(S/N: ALSO, I'm just NOW realizing after re-reading crimson rite that apparently it only goes away on a rest. Not also when you drop/sheathe the weapon like it used to. Geeze Louise!)

Doozey puts the short time afforded to him to good use, patching his wounds, transforming into Boozey, and making sure he is more resistant to poison. It just so happens that his most recently patched wound reopens a second later as the hunter uses his own blood for some magical buff (Crimson Rite activated; Doozey recovers 4 HP; Doozey takes 4 necrotic damage.)

For her own preparations, Villonah goes over her gear and informs the party that she can help with an Elixir of Health and a few more servings of her Restorative Ointment as needed (3/5 charges left). 

(@Ori: Got it, regarding Gravy. On Crimson Rite, did it get updated?)

(OOC: I'm giving it a bit more time IRL to see if others have any preparations. Also, everyone should go ahead and roll initiative.)

Raist stands.back from the group silently whilst plans are made

(@Lerus: Well, the funny thing is that it's probably been that way ever since they allowed you to use either Wis or Int for determining DCs/Spell Attack(for profane soul) for Blood Hunters a couple years ago... Give or take. But, because of the previous limitation and having my bonus action usually spoken for as a beast master, I didn't use it often. So, I never bothered to look/expected any changes to it. xD)

At first Boozey hadn't appeared to even notice the offer from Villonah, let alone register anyone's words after the transformation. Rather, the halfling appeared to hold the side of his head, looking as if he was wrestling with a headache. But everyone except Raist (and maybe Villonah) would recognize it as a sign of his inner beast testing its restraint now that he was in so physically a weakened state. "That... that salve. I could use a bit of it." Boozey eventually admitted, giving Villonah a pained smile while offering his arm. If treated, he lets out a small sigh of relief before thanking the gnome. Then as one final bit of preparation, he holds apostle before his forehead and half-muttered what sounded almost like a prayer in Sylvan. In doing so, the runes along the blade turn from their faint blue-ish glow to soft green tone. 

-Spending a charge from Apostle of the Wilds to cast Detect Poison and Disease.

Initiative: 18. 

Neya initiative: 11

Initiative: 9

Villonah approaches Doozey once the request is made. She is unfazed by the halfling's more bestial form having grown used to it by now. She applies a dollop of her restorative ointment to the halfling's aching shoulder with care.

-> Doozey's recovers 7 HP and is cured of any disease and the poisoned condition if any of that applies.

A moment later, the halfling busies himself with a new enchantment. He picks up poisonous particles in the air. They are concentrated enough to be picked up by sensitive noses, but not quite enough to cause any harm. The hunter also narrows down the general direction from which the poison is coming from: northward (i.e., Valjevo Castle).

Neya and Raist also begin to prepare for battle, though their preparations are more swift. Like the elf and the human CRAPers, Villonah also grasps her battle tools in readiness.

-> Villonah's initiative: 7 

(@Drache: I'm confirming here that Neya shared a description of the person she spotted with Aleyd, who then confirmed that the person-on-interest was indeed the Lord Regent.)

(@MB: Please roll initiative.)

Utar grips Bonecounter and readies his shield. He slowly begins to count down from 200.

Initiative: 20

DM's Screen:

Shouts of “For the Lord Regent!” and “For Phlan!” ring out as Knight Aleyd Burral and her escort rush the nearest barricade on the western side of the square. Their brazen attack takes their foes by surprise, and three Tear of Virulence turncoats are quickly cut down as the captain and her loyal Black Fist knights rush to the barricade from a street on the northwest of the square.

Unfortunately, their success is short-lived. Between a hail of crossbow bolts and an onslaught of blades, one of the knights accompanying Aleyd falls, and her small contingent begins to withdraw. Aleyd herself moves to cover their retreat but she is struck down by a pair of crossbow bolts. Two corrupt knights stab her a few more times as Aleyd stands back up with difficulty. She puts her experience in display as, even severely hurt, the captain maneuvers in such a way to put a bit of distance between her and her attackers. Cassyt pops around the corner preparing a healing spell as Aleyd turns around that same corner following her surviving knights. Blood leaks from the gaps in her armor.

Despite the heavy damage taken by the vanguard, Aleyd’s plan is working. The corrupt knights seem infuriated but the brazen attack, especially coming from loyal Black Fist knights. They shout threats wishing death to all loyalists as they break formation and begin to chase Aleyd and her group around the corner. Aleyd was right about their pride and vendetta against the loyalists. You count over twenty Tears abandoning their post in pursuit of Aleyd, leaving the square in front of you much emptier than just a moment ago. A small group of guards stay behind, however. One of the turncoats walks (instead of runs) in that direction, with a second one seemingly limping behind.

From the opposite direction (northeast) three armored cultists approach the barricade, with annoyance on their faces, to seemingly replace the large contingent of guards that just left. These three do not wear helmets, revealing their dragon-like humanoid faces. Utar had spotted one of them earlier: they have blue-colored dragon-like scales underneath they armor. Their allegiance to the Cult of the Dragon is longer-standing and plain to see, as their armor is dyed purple instead of the green-tinged black plate of the turncoats.

Beyond the barricade, the townsfolk begin to stir, clearly aware that something is taking place. Some yell for help, others cry in fear.

@CRAP: Your 200-count comes to an end! Aleyd has emptied the square ahead of you as best as she could. Now is your time to swoop in, dispatch the enemies that remain, and free the Lord Regent and the townsfolk beyond the barricade.

ALEYD'S PLAN - Initiative Round 1

• 20. Utar (120/120; yellow) - 
• 18. Doozey & Biscuit (66/118 +6 & 55/55; green) - concentration on Detect Poison and Disease, Protection from Poison, Hybrid From, Crimson Rite - Rite of the Storm;     
• 17. Cult Knights (x3) {P-21, R-23, P-24} -    
• 11. Neya (121/121; cyan) - 
• 11. Tears of Virulence (x2) {P-7, S-12} - 
• 07. Raist (39/41; red) - 
• 06. Villonah (62/62; pink) {AH-24} -

MAP:

Posted in the OOC Channel.

NOTE: Aleyd and her group have moved west (left) beyond {Q-0}. 

(Utar and Doozey can get things started for CRAP.)  

Boozey gives the others one last look and a reminder to boot: "Remember. Focus Fire as best you can, and let's take them out quick! Now let's move!" With that, Boozey hopped onto Biscuit and gave the beast orders to run down at least one of the dragon-scaled men. The duo become a practically a living blur on the battlefield as they quickly close the distance, only for Biscuit to leap forth and pounce upon one of the men, before Boozey swiftly followed things up with a sharp couple of strikes upon Biscuit's chosen's quarry.

Movement(Boozey): Mount up on Biscuit at half speed.

Bonus Action(Boozey): Command Biscuit to Charge in and attack!

Movement(Biscuit): To Y-24.

Bonus Action(Biscuit): Dash to Q-24.

Action(Biscuit): Charge Attack on Blue-Scaled Warrior(P-24).
(Melee, Lethal, Charge)Beastial Strike - Attack: 12 Damage: 14 of Force. If hit, target is also knocked prone. 

Action(Boozey): Storm of Stinging on Blue-Scaled Warrior(P-24).
(Melee, Lethal, Vex)Apostle of the Wild - Attack #1: 23 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll. of piercing plus 1 lightning.
(Melee, Lethal, Vex)Apostle of the Wild - Attack #2: 30 Damage: 13 of piercing plus 1 lightning.
(OOC: If at adv. from prone for attack #1: 18(if crit: 10), and adv. from #2 if target is prone or Doozey's 1st attack hit: 30,(if crit: 9))