Beyond the Ragnarök

The girl nods at your words Kora and glances down toward the bodies, "My.. n..name is Glimgriss. They call my Griss." she manages after a moment, "I didn't do anything wrong. They were going to hurt me.. last night I mean."

(With an 18) Back home this girl would be a creature of the gutters, smelling of damp rags and the sour sweat. She appears to be around sixteen summers though it is difficult to tell under all that grime. She has the hollowed-out look of a girl who has already lived three lifetimes and found them all wanting. Her hair is a dark, lank curtain that clings to her temples like oil, framing a face as pale and sharp as a whetstone. But it is the eyes that strike you; black, bead-like, and wet, darting with the frantic, scavenging hunger of her name-sake. You can not help but think that "rat girl" is an apt name as unkind as the thought might be.

Also, (with that 18) when the wind catches her tattered sleeve, it reveals a jagged brand upon her forearm. It is not a scar of iron or fire, but a mark of ink-black veins crawling upward toward her elbow like frost on a windowpane. (Religion check DC 20 to identify)

Leif, still stooping behind his shield, is relieved that the rat girl didn’t immediately scurry away or attack. (Passive perception:15) He strains to hear their conversation, realizing that 40’, lowered voices, and/or possibly unfavorable winds might carry the sounds away from his location. Likewise, he studies the girl’s body positioning. Did he catch a glimpse of her blackened veins, or did distance or obstruction keep him from perceiving it?

Kora nods as the young woman talks, "I know they were, so many against you curled up on the sand.  That's why I stood between them and you.  Why were they attacking you?  That wasn't right."

Noticing the black vein markings, Kora tries to think about what those could possibly be.  In her haze of exhaustion, she has a bit of clarity (uses heroic inspiration to roll straight - and it's a nat 20!)...

Eldon drops what he's doing and inches closer to hear and see

Leif (with a 15) you can not hear much of what is being said, but you can see the marks on the girls forearm. 

Glimgriss explains to you Kora that the men blamed her for the sinking of the ship, blamed her for the killing of their helmsman. She speaks of how they did not like her, how they treated her badly on the voyage, but the words fly by like whispers on the wind. You know that mark... suddenly in your mind you are back in Midgard, surrounded by the violence and chaos of the Ragnarök. At your feet there is a body, a foul creature of darkness dressed in the skin of a man. "He killed fifty men before he finally succumbed to his wounds." you hear the voice but can not place it... not here, not now, like a whisper on the wind. The dead man has a mark on his arm... the girl has the same mark.  A curse... or a pact. Seeing your eyes grow wide the girl quickly covers her arm and giving a sharp hiss she turns to run from you toward the cliffs. That girl bears the Mark of Loki, the Lord of Lies, a death sentence back home. (You can contest a Dex check of 12 to grab her).

The rest of you see the girl turn to run.

The Mark of Loki?  Here?  Well shit.  Honestly, before all hell had broken loose, before the world had burned, Kora honestly would have just let the girl go.  As long as she didn't bother her or anyone she cared about... what was it to her?  But no, things were different now.  And hell, somehow she was now under the eye of the freakin King.  How did that happen?!  

All this flits through her mind as she realizes what is happening when the girl hisses and turns to run.  Kora reaches out and tries to grab her.  (DEX check 8) But the girl slips through her fingers as Kora stares at the hollow-eyed woman, wondering why those men were attacking her... what she might have really done.

Seeing her run Eldon fully drops what he's doing and tears after her in confusion. 

"What's going on?" he shouts to the others.

From a construction in his hands fire blazes and he prepares to launch if there is any indication she is an enemy.

Firebolt: 18 to hit. 7 fire damage

Quote from Dreamhobbit >>

OOC: @Sólmyrkvi she is on the far side of Kora and Halp to the south of you, at the edge of where the bodies have been laid...She has a clear path to run away to the south or south west if she wishes, though to the south are sheer cliffs with large rocks at the base....

Sólmyrkvi your instincts are correct and the other workers pay little attention to the conversation happening between Kora and the girl. (With an 11) You manage to quietly divert others away while (with an 18) carefully closing the distance to around sixty feet between yourself and Kora.

When Sólmyrkvi first sees the wan, bedraggled girl, he immediately starts to doubt what Veldir told him.  Even among the refugees, the indigent girl looks particularly wretched.  He can't imagine that she caused any real harm.  He's too far away to see much of what's going on, but it looks like Kora is talking to the girl, and he hopes that they can bring her back to the camp and get some food in her.

Then, suddenly, something happens.  The girl starts to run, and Kora tries (and fails!) to grab her.  Not wanting the girl to vanish again, Sólmyrkvi takes off running.  He's trying to close the distance to the girl while also cutting off her route to the west.  If the group could drive her toward the rocks, they could hopefully corner her there and take custody of her.  He's so focused on the girl that he hardly notices the straight staff of dark wood that's now in his hands.

As Sólmyrkvi runs, he calls out to the only ones closer to the girl than him: "Leif, Halp, stop her!"

Movement: 60-ft of movement (dashing).  Running south and to the west of Kora and Griss, trying to cut off the girl's route to the west.
Bonus Action: Conjure Pact Weapon, Quarterstaff
Action: Dash
Free: Talking

Leif instantly recognizes the accursed Mark of Loki. (Religion: 22) The moment he sees her escape the clutch of Kora he unleashes a Starry Wisp at the fleeing potential changeling. (Attack: 16 Damage 6 radiant and target emits dim light in a 10’ radius and can’t benefit from the Invisible condition until end of his next turn) Leif moves 30’ towards Kora, shield raised. Perhaps they could create a small shield wall, should the viper turn to strike, he thinks.

”AGENT OF LOKI” he shouts in alarm to all within earshot.

Seeing the actions of the others Eldon let's loose his firebolt (See above)

Through the fog of exhaustion, everything seems to happen so fast.  The girl... she slips out of her grasp and the people she met with the King start in on her after Leif calls out her marking.  She thinks back to the creature at her feet... she can't seem to shake the memory as though it is starting to haunt her.

Before Griss is able to run too far, Kora points towards the area the girl is fleeing in, demanding creeping vines emerge from the earth and wrap around the frail girl's legs to prevent her escape to the cliffs.  (DC STR save 13 or be restrained)

Leif your whisp hits the girls shoulder and she cries out in pain as yes races toward the rocks. She tries desperately to bat away the radiant light that now emanates from her skin. Sólmyrkvi you race onward cutting off her escape to the west but sacrificing distance to do so. Eldon you release your firebolt and almost knock the girl flying as the flames impact upon her scrawny back. She screams out in terror and pain as she charges headlong toward the rocks.

Kora you cast your spell and vines burst up from the earth to entangle the terrified girl. STS Save 13

Unable to move she turns and screams "why?" desperately trying to get away. Her voice changes then, her black eyes glistening before glowing red. You can not make out the words she is speaking... it is not a language you  know... Kora make a Dex saving throw DC 12 as the dead body at your feet makes a grab for your legs. 

The rest of you see that the girl is now restrained but around Kora three of the bodies begin to rise from the sand, one of them making a grab for her. 

OOC: no initiative required here, post in turn as you see fit.

As Eldon charges closer he quickly throws another bolt of fire. This time at one of the zombies

Firebolt: 13 to hit. 10 fire damage

Round 1: Sólmyrkvi

Sólmyrkvi didn't see what happened between Kora and the girl, but he wants to prevent her from running off again.  As he charges forward with his staff, he's surprised to see Leif attack the girl with magic!  He's about to protest when he hears Leif say that the girl is an agent of Loki! 

As Sólmyrkvi gets almost even with Kora, her spell causes vines to restrain their quarry.  He had no idea that she had acquired such power since they were kids!  He looks to Kora, impressed.  But then -- the dead body at her feet reaches out to grab her!  "What dark sorcery is this!", he exclaims. 

Without a thought, Sólmyrkvi swerves toward Kora.  He doesn't have time to cast one of the few spells he knows.  He simply grips his quarterstaff in both hands and whispers to whatever  Power has helped him in the past, asking for protection and the power to protect his friend.  

Movement: Up to 30-ft toward Kora and into melee with the zombies.
Bonus Action: Cast spell (LVL 1 slot) Armor of Agathys.  The spell lasts for 1-hour or until he has no temporary hit points (THP).
  Sólmyrkvi gains 5 THP.  (If a creature hits him with a melee attack while the spell is in effect, it takes 5 cold damage.
Action: Attack one of the zombies, [Tooltip Not Found] (pact weapon, two-handed): 18, Damage: 9 (radiant)
  He targets the zombie who grabbed Kora.  If that one has already been "killed," he instead targets whichever zombie seems to have been most damaged by his allies.
Free Action: Talking, Causing his pact weapon to deal radiant damage.

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Action: Attack one of the zombies, [Tooltip Not Found] (pact weapon, two-handed): 14, Damage: 7 (radiant) 

[[ OOC: Typo should have been Quarterstaff.  He didn't have time to switch to a better weapon when Kora was attacked, and I didn't want to edit a post where I used the forum dice roller. ]]

“CURSE YOU FOR DESECRATING OUR LOVED ONES”, Leif spits at the witch. He turns his attention to the rising monsters, animated to hideously follow the command of this harbinger of evil brought with them across the seas. He quickly scans the area to be sure Kora, Halp, and Sólmyrkvi are within 30’ of him and hastily casts Bless on the three. He then backs away some distance from the zombies (25’) and clenches his hand wrapped hand, preparing to help finish off the zombies before returning attention to their creator.

(Remember to add a d4 to all your attacks and saving throws for the next 10 rounds, or until Leif loses Concentration)

(OOC:  While a am loving everyone's enthusiasm - like, a lot! - can I ask folks to space their posts just a bit to give everyone else a good chance to contribute to the story? Cheers)

Halp spits, when the girl runs from Kora. And grimaces at the cry, "Agent of Loki!" 

He shouts to the others, "Finish her!" then he powers up Shillelagh on his club with his BA, draws his hammer in his off hand and wades in on the undead rising around Kora. If he's lucky enough that one goes down, he shifts his second attack to the next.

As he hits at them he mutters through gritted teeth, "Stay." ... "Dead." with each blow. 

Club: To hit: 22 + 3 (Bless, if applicable)  >>  Dam: 11 bludgeoning 
Light hammer (off hand with two weapon fighting): To hit: 15 + 3 (Bless, if applicable) >> Dam: 3 bludgeoning

Kora's DEX save: 9

A disgusted scream, gurgle sound erupts from the druid's throat as the zombie's emerge from the ground and one grabs hold of her leg.  She holds out her quarterstaff, casting Shillelagh on it again and swinging it at the zombie attached to her.

Attack: 22, Damage: 4 + 3 bless

Looking up and seeing Leif and Eldon apart from the zombies, she calls out to them, "Grab Griss!  She can't get away and do this to others!"

Richter your mind in a fog of cold memory the time slips by until your attention is suddenly drawn to this commotion. Like a sharp cold breath upon your neck you feel the pull of necrotic magic as the dead rise around Kora. 

Kora the dead warrior grabs you emitting a low crackling moan as it's glassy eyes fix upon you. You swing your Shillelagh strike your assailant across the face. 

Leif as you cry out your blessing takes hold, aiding your companions.

Eldon you release another bolt of fire, striking the undead rising behind Kora and staggering it. 

Sólmyrkvi as the spectral frost forms around you, you run to Kora and strike the creature that has her grappled. You hear a meaty thud followed by the sharp snap of bones.

Halp you charge in Shillelagh swinging. Your first crushing blow bursts the skull of the creature grappling Kora and you watch as it slumps heavily to the sand. Wasting no time you loose another blow toward a second creature doing serious damage to it. (Kora you are now free)

Halp and Kora make DC 9 Dex saves as the remaining two zombies attempt to grapple you.

Amidst the tangled vines Griss screams out in frustration and points toward the ocean. The waters churn and shift as a thick fog rises from the surface and drifts in to obscure the area surrounding the girl. The fog settles in thick as she disappears from sight. 

OOC: We have two zombies up trying to grapple Halp and Kora, with Sólmyrkvi also in melee range. (Bless is active on all three of you). Richter you stand 60 ft to the north east and can act this round if you wish. Leif you stand 55 ft away from the melee and Eldon you stand 30ft away.

30ft further to the south Griss is held by the entangle spell (difficult terrain for anyone running in) and also now obscured by fog. Perception DC 10 at disadvantage to find her within the cloud (DC lowered until the end of Leifs turn due to the Whisp then DC 12). Attack spells fired into the fog will be rolled at disadvantage.

Phew that's a lot. Over to you guys :)

(OOC: Leif intended to back away or sidestep only enough to be 25’ from the melee)

Leif charges (up to 30’) into the fog looking for center mass of the glowing witch.

Perception with disadvantage: 15

Finding a misty target he attempts to keep her ‘lit up’ and at the same time break her concentration, hopefully removing either the zombies or this troublesome fog.

Starry Wisp straight roll (perception and restrained cancelling obscurity): 22 for 5 radiant damage. (Disadvantaged attack roll: 24)

”Ah, there you are.”