Sword Coast Rambling

Beetle, sees his target crushed by Zyltris, looks at the elf, nods in approval, then speeds towards the other 2 wolves.  As he nears W3, he raises Talon and casts green-flame blade and strikes...

Attack: 23 Damage: 8  as Talon bursts into Green Flame as it strikes and some flame jumps over to w2 for 3 damage

(thanks for got about the auto crit and adv.)

Seeing Zyltris crush the elf beside him, Beetle nods in approval before speeding forwards. As he bears down on his next target, the paladins sword ignites, shining brightly with green flame as he swings it through the air. 

Attack: 18 (Advantage against Unconscious: 9)
Damage: 7 (Auto Critical Hit vs Unconscious: 2) = 10

With a single motion the sharp edged blade cleaves the wolfs head from its shoulders. As the still sleeping head spins away wildly, an eruption of green flames burst through the air setting fire to the other sleeping wolf.

Green Flame Blade Damage to W2: 3

As the green light begins to fade and the remaining wolf stirs, Beetle casts a glance back to Zyltris. The elf equally impressed with the apparent ease with which his ally dealt with the beast. 

 Leaving the elven maiden in Synas capable hands, Serak leaps into action, charging up the hillside to join Brots. Below him a bright flash of green flame erupts in the meadow as Beetle dispatches another wolf. The bard nocks a goblin arrow, aiming at the awakening wolf. He draws his bow string backwards, prepared incase the wolf rises to its feet.

Holding the prickled arrow in his hand, Brots tightens his bowstring once more. This time taking the wind direction into account, he aims for the burning wolf, hoping to nail it before it rises to its feet.

Brots Attack Roll: 19 (D/A from Prone)
Damage: 5

Hail of Thorns Dexterity Save: 5
Save DC: 12

Loosening the arrow into the wind, Brots watches in hope as it flies in a beautiful sweeping arc carried on the wind. In the distance, the gnome hears the cry of the wolf as the thorn filled arrow plunges into its target. The arrow splits into a thousand shards as it hits, spreading all around the whimpering hound. The wolf scurries backwards from the pain, barely dodging the thorns that fall from the sky.

In the relative safety of the valley, the woman finally manages to make it to her feet. Trying to take a step she staggers, catching herself on one knee before gently lowering herself back to the ground. Feeling stronger but severely weakened, she realises how lucky she has been to have had these heroes arrive when they did.

 To the north, the remaining wolf also manages to rise to its feet. With Beetle barely a few feet away it steps forwards, sharp jagged teeth visible in its gaping mouth. Pricking its ears it hears a high pitched whistle gradually getting louder on the wind.

Attack: 15 
Damage: 4

Seraks arrow bursts onto the scene, piercing through fur as the beast prepares to pounce. Again the wolf collapses. With the slender wooden shaft puncturing its lung, the wolf struggles to breathe. In a matter of seconds, it takes its last breath and falls still.  

OOC: Not much of a challenge this one! Thats the three wolves dealt with - 30xp to each of you.

The wolves dispatched with nary a scratch to the adventurers, Syna kneels beside the woman, "Mistress Jelenneth, do you know me?  It is Syna.  Rest easy now, you are among friends.  Here," he says offering her some water, "drink.  Then you can tell us how you came to be here?"

As the others gather round, Syna cradles the woman in his arms, holding his waterskin to her mouth. Opening her bleary eyes, the fair elf struggles to string a sentence together. "Sy.... Syna? No.... Can't be... you." The world around her is blurred and confusing. After resting for a few minutes, Jelenneths strength slowly returns. 

Stroking Synas face with a slender hand, she smiles warmly. Her eyes fill with tears as she struggles for the words, "My dear Syna, it seems my prayers to Angharradh have been answered. And Brots too! My boys I am so glad to have you both with me now. I'm afraid my tale is a long one.

The elf glances around at the group that now surrounds her. Strong fighters all of them, her prayers have not been in vain. "Almost immediately after Dayereth had written to you, we were ambushed in the forest by a gang cloaked all in black. They said they needed us to treat with a dragon that has laid claim to a village near Neverwinter. When we refused to help, they attacked, outnumbering and overwhelming us. We were taken prisoner and carried across the Dessarin River. The situation looked hopeless. We were both so badly injured from the attack, Dayereth could barely open his eyes. After a few days we made camp in an old abandoned village some distance north of here. It was that night I managed to escape. Dayereth was too weak to move so I ran, hoping and praying that soon I would meet somebody on the road that could help. I must have passed out here at some stage, but I can't tell you how long I have been here."

Jelenneth looks deep into Synas eyes, pleading with him, "We must find them. We must find Dayereth!"

"Easy, Mistress. Of course, we will come help.  But first, we must get you well.  We will need you to guide us and your strength to free Master.  Where did the wolves come from?  Do you know?

OCC. Can I tell how badly she is still wounded?

Syna Medicine Check: 12 (Adv from others)

Cradling the injured woman in his arms, Syna attempts to subtly check her over. Thanks to Seraks quick actions, the worst of the bleeding seems to have stoppped. Her cloak, stained with dark red patches, shows evidence of injuries at least a few days old - though difficult to tell, it would seem as if she has suffered a sword strike to her back, as well as her right arm. From the way she stood, Syna also deduces that she may have broken or sprained one of her ankles. Her severe need of rest is obvious as is her shortage of magic, having used the last of her spells in a desperate effort to protect herself from the wolves.

"Wolves?" Jelenneth looks confused, " I had seen no sign of them before you cam.....perhaps they followed me? To them, I would have been easy game." Barely able to keep her eyes open, she slumps back into the druids arms. Syna catches Brots worried gaze as he looks to the others.

"So, it seem our quiet druid friend here has some other friends...friends in need...." Beetle says, "Whatever you need to do Syna count me in, you have been a trusted and great companion on our journey so far, I will gladly help..."

Beetle then says a brief prayer to Tyr and touches the woman to heal her for 10 hp using his Lay Hands ability.

"Mistress, be strong.  We need to set this arm before deep healing."  Nodding to Beetle to hold arm, Syna runs his hands along her arm before setting (as 2nd) the bone with a quick motion. 11

Serak: Keeping a respectful distance until Jelenneth has a chance to recover, Serak strokes his goatee as he ponders the woman's story. He approaches slowly, bowing low as he says, "Serak The Skald, at your service. M'lady, any friend of Syna's is a friend of ours. Of course we will help in any way we can."

Gesturing toward the wolf corpses, he continues, "Wolves usually hunt at night and sleep during the day. I suspect these wolves may have been sent to hunt you down. There may be a hunting party nearby looking for you even now. We should leave this place as soon as you are able to walk, m'lady."

"Let's move into this copse of trees and remove these wolves bodies from sight."

OCC: If Brots is still available, then can we have his Hawk act as guard?  If not, Syna will leave Jelenneth with the party, take wolf shape (with a distinctive marking) and scout the wolves trail for a distance of 1 league.

OOC: Brots will continue to be available for the time being! He’ll be able to scout the area if that’s the plan

OCC:  I am thinking a rest here, let our NPC heal up (heal her if needed) and prepare.  I am guessing we are in for a fight when we get close.  Thoughts?

OOC: As it stands Jelenneth has two levels of exhaustion. Lvl 1 gives her disadvantage on ability checks, Lvl 2 halves her speed. The level of exhaustion decreases after 1 long rest. The last 17 of healing hp took her back to full health. So she’s combat ready if you need her.

You can continue travelling with her at half speed - you’ll make it out of the foothills today and be a few miles short of the road - or long rest here and have the full 24 miles at full speed tomorrow.

Remember as well that Neverwinter is at least 5-6 days march away along the road if you plan to go that way, and that Jelenneth will have left her attackers some time ago. 

Not sure who has the map that Sildar have you, but I can put it up again if it’ll help work out where you are and plan your route

I think moving towards Neverwinter is a good plan. We can always travel in two groups, one slightly ahead for scouting and the other in back with Jelenneth. Zyltris can travel with her to defend her. 

OOC: Phandalin is on the way to Neverwinter. We have quests to turn in there. How much extra time to travel there?

I think we should rest 8 hours nearby. See if anyone comes looking for her and then travel together. If Brots keeps a lookout with his hawk, we can travel at full speed.

OCC:  I am for waiting also...  I can spend a bit of time scouting as a wolf if needed.

OOC: Syna, good idea. Go wolf for the first 4 hours of rest and scope things out? Hawk can watch the camp.

So, I was looking at the loot list. Zyltris will have an attuned Ring of Protection after this rest I believe. 

Are the Coins of Tymora magical? You never said anything when I cast Detect Magic, so I assumed not. Maybe just lucky somehow? Serak will visit the library in Neverwinter. lol

Also, I was thinking Phandalin would be a good place to part ways with Brots. He's useful, and I was actually about to ask him to be the forward scout so Serak could cover the rear from now on, but we'd be ultimately losing XP keeping him. Maybe he goes off to send word of the attack to the druids? Oh, and not to sound heartless, but if we get that Potion of Healing back from Brots, there is one for each of us to carry. 

OOC: So many questions! lol

Travelling to Phandalin will take you 2 and a half days marching along the road. (From the Triboar Trail to Phandalin is only half a day so going to Phandalin will only cost you a day overall.) From there Neverwinter is a further 3 days along the High Road. 

Zyltris has had the Ring of Protection since Old Owl Well though it hasn't been attuned. To be honest I'd forgotten so I'll just take it as done by this round. Glasstaffs staff is knocking around somewhere as well, it wasn't sold to Linene

The Coins of Tymora are interesting! Was wondering how long it'd be before someone asked lol. They aren't magical as such so you won't find anything from studying them as you usually would. You'll find out more later on hopefully

I have a special mission in mind for Brots. This story line has been coming for a while regardless, but it's a shame that Brots has had to leave. You're very close to the mark with your idea! - When the time does come for him to go, I will share out any items that he has that he won't need - Although at the minute I think its just the potion he has.

To confirm everything then. Syna will activate beast mode and head off for two hours before returning. The others will carry Jelenneth to the glade of trees and watch over her during a long rest. Lucas will fly over head scouting. Then in the morning you guys head off towards the road again. 

Busy morning today, but I'll give you guys an update this afternoon.

It is not long before night falls over the shallow valley. As the party fortifies itself under the shade of the old oak trees, Jelenneth rests. 

While Beetle and Zyltris stand guard, Brots calls out for Lucas. With a loud shriek the blood hawk takes flight, soaring high above them, his keen eyes constantly on the lookout. Syna on the other hand, morphs in to his beastly form. A long curled stripe of white casts along his flank. His senses awaken, he sees, hears and smells everything with perfect clarity. In a flash he disappears, off into the night following the trail of the other wolves down the hillside.

Several quiet hours pass, Lucas landing for rest every half hour. Eventually Syna returns, surprisingly from the south. Following the trail, the Druid has circled around them. Regular scent markings indicating edges of the wolves territory. It would appear to him as if these particular beasts were simply on the hunt for easy prey. Other than wolves, Syna only smelt the faint presence of orcs, Jelenneth or the occasional temptation of rabbit or deer. 

When Syna returns, the others are happy to announce that Jelenneth appears to be improving. Sleeping soundly, her breathing  grows stronger, her face fills once more with colour. With the leftover supplies Brots puts on a small meal for the party, assuming his master will be hungry when she wakes. One by one the party settle for sleep and meditation as the night wears on.

The following morning, Serak jolts upright from his rest, suddenly aware of a presence under the trees. Sunlight blazes through the canopy, obscuring his vision. Nearby a silhouetted figure notices his movement and shuffles towards him. As he grabs for his sword, a slender hand ruffles his hair. Blinking the brightness away, the bard focuses on the fair face of Jelenneth, up and moving, obviously feeling much better. 

Continuing along their way as soon as they are able, the party makes their way out of the foothills of the Sword Mountains. The high winds that have persisted over the last few days show no signs of abating, as if blowing them away from the rebuilt tor. 

A slight chill haunts the fresh air this morning. To Syna and Brots delight, Jelenneth seems happy to be able to enjoy nature once more. She sings quietly to the birds that take off from the grass as they pass by, praises the flowers for their beauty, bids good morning to the squirrels. A shining example of her pure joy in nature and all its gifts. Despite her bright demeanour however, it is obvious that she still harbours some level of exhaustion, brought on by the dark cloud that hangs heavily over her. 

Having stopped for another short break, the party find themselves back on the Triboar trail shortly after noon. The levelled earth a welcome change to the rugged hills that they had been accustomed to of late. 

No sooner have they joined the road, than Lucas shrieks above them for the first time. Circling sharply over head the hawk soars down towards them. Before Brots can even say a word, the danger is obvious. A low rumble echoes down the trail, very gradually getting louder. Passing glances between each other Beetle and Zyltris reach for their swords. Seraks first instinct, to look for a hiding place. A horn blows from the north as the rumble of approaching hooves continues to swell. 

"Could be a Neverwinter patrol,"  Beetle says, "but I think we are still kinda far from the city so I'm not sure. Better be ready for whatever..." and he draws a sword.  "If the rest of you want to duck under this bridge, Zyl and I can stay just ahead a bit a meet the coming horses and see what's going on."