Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn

Is the muck from the area that we've been walking through here as well? Does the place seem more diseased here than other places? Lumen's trying to look for other clues to help decide if this witch is the source of it all, if there's a concentration here, if there's a gut feeling that this is the source.

"We attacked your dogs because they attacked us. We didn't come here leading with our weapons. We're talking. Giving you a chance. But you didn't describe Haddie. Tell me what they look like. Also, what is your name?"

Yes, the landscape here is very much the same as what you've seen all around the lake. Same mucky, swampy ground, same fog, same foul smelling slime covering the ground which is now stuck to some of your clothing, since you were hiding in the reeds a few minutes ago. 

"I name Braida. My pups keeping me safe from many dangers living in forest. Protecting me from Haddie. Dogs not know you are not dangers... No peoples coming here."

"Haddie take many forms... sometimes old man, sometimes old woman. Haddie tricksy, hiding true self."

Insight check? Lumen wants to know if this seems like a cobbled together story, something made up, or if it's facts that seem to come easily because they are true. 13

"Why do you live so close to each other? And do you like the slime here?"

"I lives here many years... more years than you walk the world, orc man. Sometimes home is near peoples you not liking very much. I stays away from other side of lake, but sometimes Haddie coming bothering me... this is why I keeping dog pups for protecting. I no let Haddie drive me from Lake, like dwarfs and pretty elves no let goblins drive away from homes in mountains and forests."

"I not know what you mean when say slime. Wet ground like water on mud, just part of my home. You like rocks, orc man?"

Lumen

Chrys frowns and thinks about Gusof and what he said.  How he asked for help, and how he spoke to the others candidly and openly.  Narrowing her eyes, she looks at the witch.  "Oi," she says, drawing out Due Process slowly and advancing, tapping it in her hands.  "I don't think yer name is Braida.  I think it's Oolga.  And maybe you'll be callin' that old man Haddie now, but e'en he told us no one's called him by his real name for years.  We found his house, an' it was abandoned, likely for years, too.  And he also told us 'bout how you hate pretty things.  I ain't the prettiest thing in the book no more, not with this big ol' scar across my face that yer scarecrow gave me, but that's still the first thing you zoned in on.

I think your Haddie was right 'bout everythin' he said about you, and I think you're responsible for destroyin' the forest.  'Cause the tree nymphs are pretty too, an' you don't like that one bit, do ya now?"  She steps forward again, closing in on the witch.  "Now, I want ya to call back your vermin an' your poisons and leave them tree spirits alone.  They can't help the way they look any more  than you can, an' what yer doin' to this forest is the pettiest thing I ever done seen," she growls.  "An' stop tryin' to sow the seeds o' discord between us Pie Pals, 'cause it ain't happenin'!"

A glare of pure hatred washes across the woman's face when Chrys steps forward and lets loose with her rant. 

"Fools!!!" she spits, her gravely tone full of malice that quickly spirals into uncontrolled rage. "Stupid peoples!! You come with lies and pretty faces and threaten me with hammers. I will peel your skin off and squish your eyes between my teeth, and then we will see how pretty you are!!!"

With that, the woman suddenly and instantly changes appearance, as if some kind of illusion has been dispelled. For as wretched as she looked before, the creature that now stands before you with seemingly lifeless, glassy eyes, is utterly gruesome and revoltingly hideous. It still has the shape of a humanoid female with an oddly emaciated yet muscular body, but slimy scales cover its pale, grayish blue skin, long sharp claws extend from its bony fingers, and its long "hair" resembles a pile of slimy, greenish seaweed that falls down and hangs in wet tangles about her body.

You cannot help but be taken aback by the truly horrific nature of this creature, and everyone must now roll a WIS save of DC11 to avoid being frightened.

And now we roll initiative. 

Meep!

Lumenitiative: 20

WIS save: 9

Chrys is completely unintimidated by the woman's frightening visage, growling as she reveals her true face.  (Wis save: 23)

However her foot slips in the muck and mire as she advances, and she spends a moment regaining her balance.... (Initiative: 5)

Wisdom Save: 9

Initiative: 12

Kess edges back, her consternation visible as her breath quickens, her knees bent in unease.

"By the Seldarine, what are you...?"

Krackle WIS Save: 5 

Initiative: 11

Initiative:7

Wisdom (with advantage from Tides of Chaos):16

Initiative Order:

1. Kess
2. Lumen
3. Scary Witch Thing
4. Krackle 
5. Vesper 
6. Chrys

Kess finds herself utterly terrified by this horrifying creature as she stares into its blank, opaque eyes. Thoroughly afraid to her elven bones, she is unable to approach, although she can attack, but with disadvantage, and only from a distance. Fortunately, Lumen is able to keep his wits about him as he watches this sudden transformation that reaffirms his prior distrust. 

(Both Kess and Lumen can take their actions now, and Kess can roll a DC 11 WIS save at the end of her turn to try and regain her composure and overcome her fear.)

If Lumen casts heroism on Kess, can she get her turn this round?

No. That sounds like a good idea for some situations; effectively, it would require her to take the ready action on her initiative count, and then wait for you to do your thing, therefore triggering her reaction to attack. However, in this case, I would think that since she's terrified, she'd be unable to formulate that kind of plan. If you do cast the spell, she would longer be frightened, and would be able to function normally next round. She can still act this round, just at disadvantage if she wants to attack.

Kess curls up into a ball and whimpers, clearly too terrified to act and trying desperately to collect herself.

Wisdom: 7

(And Krackle is also frightened?)

Yes, Krackle is also frightened. 

I think Chrys still has her inspiration die? But maybe she's used it. Kess had hers on the other side of the lake, not sure if it's still going. So...

Lumen casts heroism on Kess, and then turns to Krackle and inspires him, hoping he can use it to resist the witch's thrall, or to aid in his bear mauling.

(No, the battle ended before I used it.  Though if I had remembered, I probably would have used it on that terrible initiative roll XD )

As Lumen casts his spell, Kess suddenly feels a surge of confidence that washes away her sense of terror and dread. She finds that she is now able to look at this creature with a much more clear head. She also gains 4 temporary hit points. (She and Chrys would not still have the inspiration form the other side of the lake, it's been considerably longer than 10 minutes.)

Lumen then turns to Krackle and encourages his own sense of bravery. Unfortunately, he's still very much afraid of this witch creature, but it's apparent that the druid is doing this best to fight his fears. 

The horrid witch thing seems to sense that Kess is no longer afraid of it, and so it turns its attention towards Krackle. It glares at him with the most awful, terrifying gaze imaginable.  Even though Krackle is still in bear form, it's perhaps the most frightening thing he's ever seen in his life and it's scary enough to make his hear skip a few beats. He fights the fear with every ounce of his soul, and is thankfully able to resist the terror of her glare. However, he still remains very much afraid of her. 

Krackle WIS Save from the witch glare: 14 (success)

Krackle end of turn WIS Save at disadvantage. (He'll use his own Game Inspiration to counter the disadvantage: 18 (success)

He continues to slowly back away from the witch, and as he does so, he finds his own inner courage to overcome his fears, instead focusing on the act of trying to help his friends. 

Ok, Vesper and Chrys are up now.