Initiative order:

Cordelia: 23

Professor: 19

Dragon Centipede: 17

Jean: 16

Perspicacious and Amaruve: 14

Thosn: 13

(Go!)

Flames leap from the professor's hands (he's really getting the hang of this battle thing!)

Dex save: 2

(With nowhere to turn, the dragon centipede takes a face-full of fire. 20 fire damage!)

(She probably would want me to roll for her =P )

Cordelia knocks an Arrow and holds it Ready 'till it's distracted (Sneak Attack-able) as she backs away from the monstrosity.

On trigger:

"Let's play, Pretend!" Amaruve taunts hoping to draw the enemies fire.

The centipede, smoldering and punctured from your sudden onslaught, turns toward Amaruve. It's surface ripples, almost as though it is shifting through itself instead of moving a physical body.

It rears back and strikes at the shifter for piercing damage:

Attack: 22 Damage: 15

(piercing damage)

Amaruve is knocked careening backward tipping over tables and chairs that seem to have been lined up behind him. He roars with monstrous, bestial Rage as his form grows into the shape of a Giant Hyena. He tries to resist laughing. Hgn hnn

 (Ouch, we're all gonna die.)

Thosn, seeing an opportunity, loosens and doffs her gray cloak while sprinting to the edge of the bridge. Without looking back toward Rog she shouts, "Open the gate!"

And she leaps, the liquid notes of a spell following her downward. She falls twenty feet (6 damage) onto the dragon centipede's back, and as she lands, long thin Arms of Hadar burst from her form, battering at the monster.

Dragon Centipede's STR save: 24

Damage: 12 (necrotic)

 The Centipede Dragon takes 8 damage, and it looks severely damaged. Inky black ooze is beginning to gush from between its armored plates. It is shuddering constantly, now- almost as though it's about to fly apart.

Jean spotting the centipede's damaged state held off on casting a Command from her blade and instead attacked. She didn't immediately notice, but the sword had transformed. The original straight blade had turned leaf-shaped, the runes became more elaborate as did the guard and the formerly plain pommel transformed the Tower insignia.

Attack: 23 Damage: 7

(Critical, double minimum damage. That's somehow really impressive.)

(still enough to do the trick!)

Jean's blade cuts cleanly through the creature's armor, severing its head. Black gore bubbles outward from the wound, but curiously it seems to harden and crystallize rather than splash downward. The head crashes to the floor with a thunk as its body begins to slide away from the bridge.

Thosn scrabbles upright and leaps to the broken window, landing heavily near the head just as the body falls. A few seconds later you hear it splash into the river below.

Thosn looks up at the group, then asks a question in goblish.

(DM note: I know the language is called goblin, but... C'mon- do we speak "human"?)

(Does anyone here speak goblish?)

**only Perspicacious**

(OOC Yes, added it with the Mastermind Rogue archetype so I'll keep it after we leap ((assuming we leap again)). Seemed thematic given her current situation. A la Keanu Matrix clip: "I know Goblin!")

(I was excited to say 'yes!' but then I realized I know Gnomish not Goblinese, which will obviously come up...)

(No worries, all. I've been traveling for work this week and most of my updates are mobile- harder to check your character sheets; thanks for filling me in!)

(You all witness a hobgoblin burst into the room from the monster's back- no idea what she's saying)

**it doesnt really specify, so DM call on this one**

Gordra sees the Hobgoblin obviously trying to tell us something so he attempts to reach into her mind to read her surface thoughts, hoping that the lack of a common language won't matter.

Detect Thoughts

(Jean speaks Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Infernal and Beat Cop)

(Gordra, I don't think people typically think in complete sentences, so instead...)

Gordra, you reach into the mind of the young hobgoblin. Her thoughts are awash in adrenaline and the lingering sickly effects of the necrotic spell she employed to help defeat it. In an instant, you are caught in a tornado of thoughts and memories. Fear is doubt are very much at the forefront of her mind, but she is aware enough of her surroundings to identify you as potential allies. You see the face of Rog (Not Perspicacious, as these are the hobgoblin's memories from her perspective) on the roof above, and you know that is where your tiefling companion must be still. You see her leap from the roof to strike out at the centipede. You also see a familiar grate, deep in the tunnel. Behind it you see rows of hobgoblins frozen on a glowing arcane symbol. Each face is a rictus of pain. You see Thosn (you learn her name to be) scratching an arcane symbol on a pewter disc and imbuing it with power. The disc is handed to Rog, and-

Gordra is broken from the flow of Thosn's mind as that tuning fork tone suddenly increases and the world lurches once more. Cordelia's device alarms more frequently than before. Looking in Vasht's direction, you see that the broken novascope has begun to move in orbit around him. 

(It's time to move! Get to the arena!)

"We all need to go back to the arena, quickly, I think our time here is coming to a close and there's something I believe we need to do. Will someone fetch Perspicacious up on the roof?" and Gordra starts making his way back to the arena.

Gordra, as you walk toward the exit...

(Everyone roll perception, please- Perspicacious, you have advantage)