Above & Below

Brask's DEX save:  4

Effort puts a hand on Pip's elbow and gently pushes him back.  "I will try to rescue Brask for you.  Please do not add to this fight with your arrows any more, though.  We are not here to defeat the Sisters, we are here to ask for their aid.  All of this is wrong, and was started by Kurama.  Kurama must be the one to resolve it without our help."

Pointing a finger at the flames, she sends a message to Brask:  

You know that Kurama is wrong in this, and that we cannot succeed without the Sister's help.  I suggest you withdraw, apologize if you can.  Kurama has brought this trial upon himself and must face it alone.  And Pip is worried about you.

Effort steps a few paces safely away from the heat and danger of the wall of fire and then sends Cadmael spiraling into the air above.

Avoid the flames, she instructs the owl.  Fly high, and simply observe.  Tell me what happens inside.

 Cadmael Perception: 15

Still need a DC15 DEX saving throw from Kurama. Rd 2: Pip > Brask > Kurama > Sister > Effort & Cadmael

Pip paces a bit, attempting to look through the flames. Unable to see what's going on, he resigns himself to waiting with Effort on this side. Through Cadmael's eyes, Effort can see the three on the opposite side of the flame wall. You see a bit of dark smoke coming off Brasks' back as he struggles to put out any remaining fire. 

Brask, you're up. You've got some pretty nasty burns and the smell of your singing fur fills your nostrils. 

Brask takes a deep breath and steels himself (bonus action Second Wind to heal 13 HP).

Then he slams down with his maul:

Attack: 13 Damage: 12
Attack: 21 Damage: 11

For the first attack, I'll re-roll the 2, for a 1.  That makes a total of 25 bludgeoning damage on the first strike, 17 on the second.

And then Action Surge, for two additional attacks:

Attack: 27 Damage: 11
Attack: 21 Damage: 10

Re-roll both damage die on the first attack, 3   So that's 15 bludgeoning on the first attack, and I assume the second misses.

You enjoying this? he growls at the woman.  'Coz I am.

(I'm sorry I missed that!)

• Kurama DEX Save 11  

Kurama stumbled as the fire engulfed him, fiercely burning his skin and clothes.  Rolling out of the way of the flames and towards the Sister, he prepared to attack her again before pausing and holding off.  He wasn't sure if one of the Sisters could be killed, but he did know that he needed to at least try to engage and reason with her one more time and see if, somehow, he could figure out what they wanted with all of them (and in this case himself in particular); fighting was the last resort.  Taking a defensive stance remembered from his days training with Tora, Kurama looked towards the Sister and said "We came here to seek your aid not fight!  What can we do to gain it?"  

• Hold Action to Attack should the Sister try and harm any of the party.
  • Hit: 13/ Damage: 7 Force
  • Extra Attack Hit: 23/ Damage: 10 Force
• Bonus Action: Patient Defense (1 ki point to dodge)

Brask's eagerness to fight combined with the adrenaline caused by his wounds seem to fuel him as he attacks the Sister. The first strike connects so squarely it knocks her onto her back. The next two pummel her as she attempts to get up, with Brask's unrelenting maul crashing down from above. Finally, she rolls out of the way of the final blow and pops back up onto her feet.

She raises an eyebrow at Brask's question of enjoyment. "What a curious creature you are." She turns her attention back to Kurama, and finally lets her arms down by her side in a show of non-aggression.

"Enough." She snaps her fingers and the flame wall collapses into a dark smoke. As it gathers on the ground, she seems to pull it closer to herself. As it moves, it mostly vanishes, save for four small creatures that begin to hover around her. They seem to be somehow made of the smoke, with pointy wings and long snouts. 

Pip rushes over to Brask. "You okay?"

Effort approaches after the flame wall disappears.  She looks with a disapproving eye at Brask and Kurama.  "Are you two done tussling with the one person whose aid we came here to request?" she says sourly.  Turning to the Sister, she bows low.   "I apologize for my companions.  They are headstrong and impulsive, but they really do only wish to help.  I suppose the question is, would you still be willing to help us?"

Fine, Brask says to Pip, sniffing his blackened fur.  I've had worse.  Looks kind of cool.  You okay?  You got a good shot in, I saw that.

As Effort speaks, the words 'But she started it!' cross his face and seem to be trying to force themselves out of his mouth, so he clamps his mouth shut, grunts loudly, and turns to continue his conversation with Pip.

Effort, give me a persuasion check with advantage (Brask's "help" was keeping his mouth shut).

Persuasion: 14

Kurama stayed quiet and waited to see how the Sister responded to Effort.  Though he kept it to himself, he was a bit miffed that Effort had apologized on his and Brask's behalf.  He had done nothing to provoke the woman and was beginning to truly understand the feelings the inhabitants of this realm felt about the Sisters.  As he waited for the woman's reply, he couldn't help but see a bit of a similarity between the Sister in front of him and the monk that had destroyed his home; both of them leaving Kurama with a sense of helplessness and a lack of control with his own life.

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" Pip nods his head. He seems to relax his bow a bit.

The Sister doesn't let on that she feels strongly one way or the other about helping you. The smoke creatures whirl about her, hissing occasionally as though steam were escaping from somewhere. 

"I am not sure what help I can be to this one," she gestures toward Kurama. "What is it you are seeking?"

Effort touches her forehead for guidance before she begins to speak again, considering her words.

"We have met with one of your Sisters in our quest; not your elder.  I know not if you share some manner of knowledge amongst each other, but after speaking with us, and testing my companion," and here, Effort nods her head at Brask, "She allowed us to have some of the fragments which you Sisters use to aid in your control of the balance of this world."  She bows her head.  "We have come from the middle world, because of the movement of two demons who conspire together to control the multiverse.  Your Gredica is in as much danger as our Osthait, for never before have demons agreed to put aside their mutual hatred in order to obtain the power of the fallen demon whose shattered heart -- these fragments -- exist in all of our worlds.  We must collect them, and battle these demons, before either one can fully realize their power and destroy all of the worlds."  She tilts her head.  "I would be happy to elaborate more if it is necessary, but I do not wish to further burden you than we already have.

My companions are men of action, not thought.  I believe it is obvious," she says, again nodding at Brask, "Where the former's strength lies.  The latter's..." And here, she tilts her head at Kurama, albeit grudgingly, "... is in his purity of thought.  Perhaps he has made an error in his attempts to deal with you, and the lesson you wished to impart to him.  However, he something that neither Brask nor myself have.  His child-like manner of thinking and ignorant naivety can more clearly define paths of good and evil, than those who have been tested and polluted by the dirt of our world, as Brask and I have."  She takes a deep breath, eyebrow twitching, and has to stop for a moment, clearly unwilling to continue with her speech.

Kurama was wrong, she thinks resolutely.  But her opinion holds no importance here, and there is a bigger game at stake.  "I am Effort," she mutters under her breath, reminding herself of her name.  "I am Effort, and not Pride."

Steeling herself, she lifts her chin and looks at the Sister.  "I ask for you not to forgive, but to understand... Kurama was not made for the tests of you Sisters.  His most precious asset to our group is that which your test would destroy.  He needs his ignorance and his innocence.  We need it, for we cannot all be of the same cut and manner of thought if we are to have the strength to defeat these demons.  Each one of us must represent the totality of our mortal world.  Both the good, and the bad.  It is our differences, and our separate schools of thought, that make us strong.

Knowing this, and knowing the insult we have passed upon the lesson you attempted to teach, I would still ask you for your aid.  To help us stop the machinations of these demons, and to defend our world, and yours.  I ask you to grant us a portion of your fragments, so that our journey and our battle may continue."

Roll another persuasion with advantage, and gain a point of inspiration for later use. 

21 (17+4 guidance, used previous inspiration on that roll that I got from before)

"Hm," the Sister takes all of this in. For the first time you see her brow furrow a tiny bit. "This would explain the recent findings in my research..."

As she considers all of this, the tiny, smoking creatures begin to dissipate. She takes brings her pipe to her mouth and, inhaling, brings the rest of their forms into her lungs. When she exhales, it's simply a plume of white smoke.

"You are only partly right about your friend. There is no need for ignorance in this world. It only brings more conflict. And we have enough of that, don't we? Be that as it may, your mission here seems to outweigh the reckoning that this one has coming," she nods toward Kurama. She takes another puff on her pipe, but this time the smoke lingers for a moment. It seems to condense, and in the center, you see a small shard begin to glow. She reaches up and plucks it from the cloud. "I cannot stand in the way of your knowledge about these demonic plans. I hope my sister does not either, though I cannot promise anything on that front."

She holds out the fragment in her hand, offering it to you. "While my Sisters are each deeply tied to this world, their knowledge does not meet that which I have obtained. If there is anything else that could be useful to you, do not hesitate to ask it now."

(Effort rocked Kurama to his core for a moment XD)

Kurama listened dumbfounded as Effort spoke to the Sister on the group's behalf. 

Child-like manner of thinking and ignorant naivety? 

Needs his ignorance and his innocence?? 

Not made for the tests of you Sisters??? 

Is this what she truly thinks of me?  What they all think? he thought to himself worryingly.  Cycling through everything he had been through with them since their first meeting, he couldn't help but wonder if the totality of his actions were remotely helpful or if he was just a dead weight, brought along more out of pity than anything else. 

As he continued his downwards spiral and crisis of confidence, he felt a jolt inside of him.  The Power.  The Force.  The Unknown Entity that was the root of all of his problems.  That jolt reminded him why he was here in the first place:  To find the Truth.  To find the man responsible for what was done to him and his people.  Find out why he did what he did.  And stop Him.

Shaking off his temporary distress, he heard Ryuu and Tora playfully in his head, echoes of conversations about his seemingly lax or cavalier nature; something they both simultaneously criticized and admired in equal measure.  Lifting his shoulders and standing up a bit straighter, he turned to face the Sister.  I am not a a child... he thought to himself as he looked at her directly in the eyes, determined.  And I am not a fool.  Refusing to be cowed or threatened by the being, he took a calming breath before saying, "You all call who I am and what I do ignorance.  My people called it 'Searching for Truth'.  And you say there is a reckoning coming my way?  If it requires me to fundamentally change who I am and ignore all the lessons and Truths learned from my past, then I would rather face it head on.  I am sure you will call that more ignorance on my part, but there was a saying among my people: 'Choose the path that speaks to your soul and it will be the nourishment that sustains you for evermore'."  

He had more to say, to both the Sister and the rest of the party; but now was not the time.  Continuing to look directly at her, Kurama added, "My only question for you is if you know anything about two others who came to this place at the same time that we did: A dwarven a Cleric and a Tiefling.  We have had no word from them since finding ourselves in your world."    

If the Sister betrayed any of her emotions, she might have looked impressed. She raises her head slightly and tilts it to the side, as if studying a newly found species. "Your conviction is a strength. But beware...your ignorance comes from your search for what you call the truth. It has blinded you, in a manner of speaking. Do not let it. If you and your friends are to be successful in your task, it will require you to see more than you are currently able to see. Writing down things about the superficial will blindfold you. You will not be able to see things as they truly are."

She blinks, looking out over the expansive grasslands. "No. These other two have not been here. I would know by now, as I knew of your arrival."

There is a long pause as she considers something. "If you truly understand what I have told you here today, I may be able to help you further. There is a monk who resides in Sketevik. Rastel. He and I are...well, in another place you might call us friends. Tell him I have sent you to him. Now, what else do you desire to know?"