Dragon of Icespire Peak ***CLOSED***

Not a great fighter by any means, but also not one to be cowed by danger, Norbus charges the large orc who appears to be the leader of this group.

”Thought ye was gonna waylay us did ye?! Well, ye’v got another thing comin’ if’n you think we’re gonna just give up without a fight! Have some of me pickaxe you pig-faced knuckleskull!”

NORBUS attacks ORC 3 with his pickaxe Attack: 2 vs. AC ??, dealing 6 piercing damage on a successful hit.

Norbus brings his pickaxe down hard on the orc’s foot, slamming the tine all the way through effectively pinning the orc in place (OOC: ORC 3 has the ‘restrained’ condition until he can free himself.) The orc roars in pain as the pick punches through his foot and into the rocky ground beneath.

As the javelin strikes Barric, the world seems to slow, as it always does when a battle began. Orcs. He has fought orcs before. This he could handle. Taking a deep breath, he drops the torch and rips out the javelin, which clatters to the ground and he rushes forward, slashing at the orc in front of him with his blade in quick, controlled cuts.

Free Action, Drop the torch. Bonus action, second wind: 11. Move: 1S, 1SW in front of Orc 5. Action: Attack: 18 Damage: 8. Action Surge: Attack: 9 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.

Tabesha'l frowns as she sees her companions being gouged by the orcs' javelins. While marveling at their courage as they rush into the melee, the elven enchantress decides to even out the odds in her group's favor. Raising her staff with her right hand, she executes a few gestures with the fingers of the left: suddenly a fine, silvery, scintillating dust seems to be blowing and falling around the faces of the orcs further back from the group, whose eyelids now feel heavier... and heavier...

** Casting Sleep far behind the orc squad, so as to catch Orcs #1, 2 and 4 in its 20' area of effect (all the while leaving Vaxis just out of it, if possible). Hit Dice affected: 23 **

Two of the orcs targeted by Tabesha’l sleep spell begin to feel very tired and drop their weapons at their sides as they stretch, yawn and collapse into blissful slumber, even as their raid leader screams at them hysterically. A third orc feels the tingle of magic coursing over his body, but the feeling passes quickly and he steels his resolve to slaughter the haughty elven wizard and her comrades.

(OOC: ORC #2 and ORC #4 are unconscious for 10 combat rounds unless something triggers the spell to end sooner.)

(Movement Down 3, Left 1)

Seeing how the Orc’s (3) foot is stuck and I’m pinned down by the pick axe.  Brutus will rage and charge forward.  Planting his foot in the chest of orc with a spartan kick as a shove attack to push the orc backwards.  He keeps his position there to make a front line.

Bonus Action: rage 

Action: shove attack 25

Brutus’ genetically-predisposed smile and cheerful nature dissolves quickly at the orcs’ aggression, unmasking a volatile, rampaging behemoth...Brutus charges the hefty orc, executing a flying throat-kick with nearly 700 lbs of mass behind it...the orc’s foot is torn free from the rest of its body as it is unwillingly propelled backwards by the firbolg’s unarmed strike...fully aware of the ramifications of such a movement before it plays out.

And in the few brief moments between the rear orcs plunge into irresistible slumber and their leader having a critical extremity forcibly torn from his body by an angry firbolg...a fleeting shadow passes over head...the slap of leathery wings against scaly flesh...the slam of clawed feet onto dense, rocky terrain...

...the young white dragon shows himself, with terrifying presence...(and rolls initiative...)

18 - CRYOVAIN

Connak is going to say in elvish, "Oh shit."  Then he'll yell in common, "FALL BACK!  Let the dragon feast on the orcs.  Back to the temple!"

Action: Bow attack on Orc 5:

Short Bow Attack: 16 Damage: 8

Cunning action (bonus action) disengage.

Move: diagonally up and right 35 feet (off the map) and find one of the ruined walls to use as cover.

The orc raiding party leader falls prone, blood hemorrhaging from the lower portion of his left leg, having just learned a hard lesson in savagery from the gentle, friendly and occasionally terrifying firbolg.

(OOC: Brutus does 8 damage to ORC #3...1 + STR mod (4), which was then doubled for the “critical shove”)

As the orc boss slides to a halt a full five feet away from the remainder of his lower extremity, a large ghostly-white dragon plows into earth just south of the melee. It cocks a curious head at the large group of humanoids, as if it was simply selecting cuts of meat at the local butcher shop.

The prominent head vane bristles to full extension as the wyrm thrusts its neck to full extension and forces out a terrible roar...a spectacle few humanoids witness and subsequently live to tell about....

Through dilated eyes, Vaxis spots the dragon. He gives a roar of bloodlust, and turns towards the dragon.

"Your time has come, foulspawn of Tiamat!"

(Crow said dragon joined initiative, but it looks like we are posting out of it - maybe just our reactions)

After righting his stance after being overextended he turns around at the sound of the dragon landing and Vaxis yelling.  Brutus’ mouth drops in awe of the creature, hearing stories of ferocious dragons.  But the immensity and strength is almost baffling to him (like most things to be fair).  He’s only able to let out “The call me Brutus.”

(OOC: posting RP comments outside of initiative order is OK to add flavor or, better yet, to shout a warning to a teammate, but just so we don’t get confused IRL on who’s turn it is, maybe just start it out with the phrase “RP-ONLY:”)

Dazlyn Greyshard’s eyes widened to the size of a halfling’s dinner plate as the fearsome white wyrm descended from the sky and touched down with all the resplendent horror that one might expect upon seeing their first dragon. “Alrighty then mates, I think I’ll be takin’ me chances back at the haunted temple full of ochre jellys...” (OOC: Dazlyn will take the Dash action to move as far away from the orcs and dragons as possible.)

The white dragon sniffed at the orc who lay fast asleep at his feet (ORC #4) and then surveyed the rest of the crowd as if deciding whether to go for the easy meal or enjoy a bit of sport before dining.

The orc next to Barric pushes past him and attempts to shove the human in the direction of the dragon before running to the northeast: (ORC #5 8 vs. Barric’s Strength (Athletics) 5)...ORC #1 will follow the example of his comrade and will move past Norbus and then attempt to shove him towards the dragon before moving closer to the gate portal: (ORC #1 17 vs. Norbus’ Strength (Athletics) 8).

(OOC: ORC #5 will incur an attack of opportunity from Barric and Tabesha’l as he maneuvers around them to make his escape.)

The footless orc scrambles backwards toward the canyon wall. Howling with pain and gushing blood, he seems to only entice the dragon’s attention upon him. The dragon shoots skyward and then flips inverted and tucks his wings in close allowing him to dive like a falcon striking a field mouse. Preferring a chilled meal, it releases a formidable blast of icy exhaust upon the unfortunate orc as it comes in for the kill. Brutus and Norbus both look above them, captivated by the stunning spectacle of the wyrm’s aerial acrobatics. As it plunges towards them, they glance briefly back at one another in a disappointing, “it’s been nice knowing ya” sort of way.

(OOC: dragon uses breath weapon from directly above ORC #3, who is therefore the only one caught in the area of effect...which deals 37 cold damage...)

The dragon’s icy breath is deflected in all directions by the canyon floor, and the small valley of the pocket canyon briefly fills with an opaque, frosty mist. When it clears, the dragon is gone and all that remains of the prone orc is a foot impaled by a miner’s pick.

Vaxis yells at the missing dragon, "YOU COWARD!"

He seems to speak to the invisible thing again, "No you most certainly WILL NOT!"

He turns back towards the orcs he was fighting, notices them asleep, and takes off at the escaping orc.

"Brutus, Barric, take the lazy ones, I shall have hunting the runners!"

He moves in front of Orc 1 and swings his mace!

(Place me directly in front of Orc 1. Mace: 22 to hit. Damage: 7)

Barric digs his heel into the ground as the orc shoves against him, and his blade flashes out as the orc stumbles past, off balance for a moment.

Attack: 15 Damage: 5.

More out of instinct than actual will to kill, the elf stabs at the passing shape of the orc with a thin, sharp-looking stiletto as he brushes past her.

** AoO at Orc 5, Attack: 17 Damage: 4 **

The orc in Vaxis’ crosshairs deftly dodges the cleric’s mace. His fellow green skin was not so lucky and took blades from both Barric and Tabesha’l as he fled the dragon, falling dead at the wizard’s feet.

Norbus looks around as if he is surprised to still be alive. “Well, thanks fer waitin’ on me!” He shouts aloud, presumably to Dazlyn, who is almost completely out of earshot. The dwarf walks over to the disembodied foot and tugs his pick free from the ground. He makes his way over to one of the sleeping orcs and begins  to line up the tine with an arc’s forehead, taking a couple of practice swings to make sure he has his aim just right...

Both sleeping orcs are completely unbothered by the events unfolding around them.

Barric was so focused on his battle with the orc that the reality of the dragon just starts to sink in. He feels his stomach do a quick loop and bile rise in his throat as he realizes how close to death he and his friends had just come.

"Follow Connak! The dragon could be back at any moment! Does anyone see it?"

He rushes towards the gates, draws his other blade and bears down on the orc blocking the way, trying desperately to clear a passage before the dragon returns.

Moving 3N and 1 NE next to Orc 1. Drawing his second short sword as part of his action. Action: Attack: 24 Damage: 4. Bonus Action: Attack: 21 Damage: 8.

In a few quick steps, Tabeshal'l finds herself against the ruined wall of the temple gate and points her staff towards the orc facing her companions as she utters an incantation. Soon the familiar, lugubrious sound of otherworldly bells fills the air around the green-skinned humanoid.

** Moving 2E until she's next to the wall, then casting Toll the Dead on Orc#1. **

The orc leaned to the side out of the path of Barric’s first blade, which was a clever feint for his second blade thrust catching to orc perfectly between two ribs. He winces with pain and frustration as a dolorous tone began to fill the air (WIS save: 10 vs. DC 13)...damage 11)...the sound slowly grew to consume all of his senses, reverberating through his cranium at just the right frequency to liquify his brain.

(OOC: ORC #1 is down, leaving just #2 and #4 who are still sleeping.)

Brutus will pick up the sleeping orcs from the ground.  “I’m taking the sleepy ones, Vaxis!”

mechanics:

Connak will move 1 down (through the gap in the wall), 1 down/left (to the other gap in the wall) and hold a bow shot for any hostiles pursuing the group:

Short Bow Attack: 18 Damage: 8

Waiting for the rest of the party to catch up, bonus action Hide in the rubble.  

Stealth: 15

(EDIT: the Hide has to come before the held action, but I can't move the rolls around or else the forum will explode.)