Dreams Into Journey

Oswin goes a bit deeper and throws his spear, which harmlessly flies between the legs of the bugbear in front of Gark and returns to his hand. He sends his steel defender to  the side of the altar, where it is stands alert to attacks.

Bigbears' turn

The first bugbear retaliates against Gark with its main weapon.

Bugbear #1 Morningstar vs Gark: Attack: 8 Damage: 4 (Oof!that was a close one!)

The second bugbear moves around the altar throws his javelin at Valentia.

Bugbear #2 Javelin vs Valentia: Attack: 15 Damage: 7

The third bugbear is curious about the strange construct with the intruders, and will try to break it to see what it's made of.

Bugbear #3 Morningstar vs. Steel Defender: Attack: 7 Damage: 7

Gark and Oswin's Steel Defender are both able to avoid the big, slow attacks. Gark, just barely.

Valentia, on the other hand gets a scratch from a the edge of the spear through a gap in her armor (3 piercing damage).

Gark, Lia, Valentia and Andivus can post their turns!

Lia has the spiritual dagger attack...

Spiritual dagger to hit: 18

Damage: 5

She then fires her crossbow again.

To hit:  5

Damage: 7

Gark hacks again at the bugbear on the altar

Attack: 24 Damage: 5  + col slay 6 

Andivus runs at an angle to the right (don’t know how we are handling diagonal movement - leave it to dm discretion.)

He will send an eldritch blast towards Bugbear two.

Attack: 10 Damage: 12

Valentia moves over to L7, she places her hand on the ever so small wound from the last attack that hit her, and, picking in her hand just a drop of blood, she uses it as the material component for Bane, targetting all three bugbears. (DC 14 Charisma Saving Throw.)

Lia's ethereal dagger swipes at the bugbear on the altar but the bugbear moves out of the way easily, but it is distracted enough for her following bolt to strike it in the shoulder (8 piercing damage).

As the bugbear roars in pain, Gark takes the opportunity to thrust his sword upward through its abdomen and into it's chest cavity, right into its heart. It falls backward onto the floor with blood spilling out of its mouth (11 damage and dead).

Andivus moves toward the north side of the trunk and fires a bolt of arcane energy at the nearest bugbear, hitting it in its hip (6 force damage).

Prior to joining up with Oswin and his Steel Defender, Valentia places a curse on the remaining goblinoids.

Bugbear #2 Cha save [DC14]: 0

Bugbear #3 Cha save [DC14]: 14

Both remaining bugbears find themselves struggling a bit.

End of round 2

Begin round 3

Map:

 Oswin can take his turn.

Oswin will try and circle around the bugbear to flank it with his SD (J8) and stab at it with his spear at the same time SD attacks with his energy charged hands.

Oswin: Attack: 23 Damage: 7 (Second attack roll in case we're using flanking rules for advantage: 21)
SD: Attack: 19 Damage: 10 (Flanking: 16)

After the attacks, Oswin will order SD to protect Valentia (disadvantage on first attack roll against her with SD's reaction).

(The flanking rule is in effect, there just hasn't been any opportunities for it to be used up until this point.)

Oswin moves to surround the closest bugbear sinks his spear deep into its back (8 piercing damage).

On the other side of the hairy goblin, his steel defender blasts it with an unseen energy (9 force damage). It then prepares to guard Valentia from incoming attacks.

Bugbears' turn

Annoyed by the blue person who struck it, the bugbear approaches Andivus with its morning star

Bugbear #2 Morningstar vs. Andivus: Attack: 20 Damage: 11

Bane roll: 3 (total 13)

The other bugbear seems to figure out who has cast the curse on him and strikes at Valentia, but Oswin's steel defender makes it difficult.

Bugbear #3 Morningstar vs. Valentia: Attack: 16 Damage: 10

Bane roll: 2 (Total 14)

Andivus receives clumsy, yet heavy strike (11 piercing damage), but his attacker is punished with a blast of severe cold (10 cold damage to bugbear #2)

A combination of the other bugbear's sapped strength and the mechanical creature's interference forces the attack to miss Valentia by a few feet.

Gark, Andivus, Valentia and Lia can post their turns.

Lia moves the spiritual dagger to which ever of the bugbears looks least injured. She will then attack.

Spiritual dagger: 24

Damage: 4

Crossbow to hit: 22

Damage: 7

Gark sees Andivus take a blow from the bugbear and moves to help out.  Moving away from the altar and coming at the bugbear from behind, Gark slashes at the beast's back.

Attack: 23 Damage: 6 + Col Slay 8 

If Bugbear is still up that is in Andivus’ face:

 If The bugbear is down:

Valentia would go for Sacred Flame at the enemy that poses the most threat at the moment - either the one in front of her or the other one if that one is gone. (DC 14 Dex save or 2 Radiant damage.)

Lia directs her blade to the bugbear by Andivus and it is able to slice its heel. After the bugbear falls to one knee, a bolt from her crossbow suddenly finds itself in its eye, sending sprawling on the floor, lifeless (4 force and 7 piercing damage and dead).

Seeing his assailant perish, Andivus send a bolt of energy to the last bugbear, out it ducks out of the way of the blast.

Bugbear #3 Dex save [DC14]: 14

The stray cantrip bolt calls the surviving bugbear's to its compatriots broken bodies. Just as he turns back to the stairway he came from, he manages to call out something in his own tongue before being struck down by a combination of Gark's blade and Valentia's holy fire (8 slashing and 2 radiant damage and dead).

What the bugbear said (in goblin) just as it was killed

 Out of initiative. Take a moment to do as you please

Lia will quickly search the bodies while getting back what she can of her crossbow bolts.

Investigation: 10

Gark moves toward the stairs to listen for signs of activity downstairs

perception 5 

Andivus follows Gark, closely behind and listens as well([action]help[/actuon[/roll]).  He whispers “I can give us some cover if needed.” (fog cloud)

Perception: 5

"Eyes on the lookout! The last one we downed said something about his boss, I don't think we're done here yet." She asks the group while also looking around herself.

Perception 8 (Passive Perception 19)

Oswin will press a https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/cure wounds">glowing hand to his chest to mend his own wounds before https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/mending">addressing the damage to SD. Once done, he'll move over to join the others by the stairs.

Cure Wounds 5

(I know I'm doing something wrong, but can't figure out how I did it before, in any case, those are cure wounds and mending respectively.)

Taking advantage of a moment of respite, the team takes a moment to take care of things:

Lia gathers the two bolts that missed their targets.

Oswin takes the time to repair himself and his mechanical guardian.

Aware of the final bugbear's attempted warning, Gark, Valentia and Andivus listen for any activity.

While Gark and Andivus are struggling to hear anything with the odd acoustics of of the inside of a dead tree, Valentia's more acute hearing does detect some indistinct shouting coming from the stairway going down. It sounds like its coming from a deeper level compared to the bugbears. With a more concerted effort, she does hear a second voice underneath the much more dominant one.