(Stealth: 22)

Try again... Dahme'dre sends a mage hand and knocks over a barrel across the street.

(Stealth: 10)
Aurelia crouches under the windowsill, trying to be quiet.

(OOC: I'm confused, the kobolds are flying?)

(The kobolds are flying. It seems my Grammarly edited out this part of the line.)

They are flying in place, flapping their wings, but seem to be looking around themselves to find something.

Crouching, Slade points down behind behind the house following the river as a possible path to avoid detection whispering , "Let's try to to avoid as much conflict as possible before the keep. We grow weary, and I worry about the children."

Stealth: 13

(Stealth Roll: 15)

(I have 10 HP btw (added my +2 con modifier to short rest)

(initiative?)

One of the flying kobolds seems to start squinting in Aurelia's general direction until Dahme'dre's trick forced the barrel to draw his attention. 

Eleth looks positively seething. Linan and her family look ready to follow Slade out the back, though the husband is still limping and might slow you down. Zomith is willing to guard the rear if this is how everyone would like to proceed. Klobs just shrugs. Lucien looks rattled again.

(We are initiating a Skill Challenge. Your group doesn't necessarily want to fight with the flying kobolds and the firebreathing cultist, and so in order to avoid this fight, you must accumulate 4 Successes before you accumulate 3 Failures. The DC for this challenge is: 10. For this challenge, you can only use Help and Guidance once for the entirety of the challenge. The same character cannot use the same skill twice in a row. NOTE THAT CRITICAL FAILURES WILL NOT END THE SKILL CHALLENGE.

Relevant Skills: Stealth, Perception, Persuasion, Deception. Directing any overt action at the Cultists will result in an instant failure of the Skill Challenge. However, feel free to try any skill. If you can adequately describe how you are using it, then I will reward you the success. You can use Inspiration to give yourself advantage.

Your goal... escape from the cultists without them seeing you and keep the NPCs with you as you guide them to safety. Bonus: calm Lucien down.
If you fail... you will need to fight whatever cultists seem to be around.
If you succeed... you will be allowed to instantly level up to 2, replenishing your HP AND spell slots. You will also gain a point of Inspiration. Bonus: you will find the tunnel if you managed to successfully inspire Lucien to stop panicking.

Post only once and wait until everyone has had a chance to try a skill at the challenge.

In short, pass a DC 10 to gain a success. If you can use a skill in a way that makes sense, it will be allowed if you describe how it will give you a success in your goal. If you accumulate 3 failures before 4 successes, you will fight the kobolds and firebreathing cultist.)

Dahme'dre pads softly back down the stairs.(Stealth: 8)

She sees Lucien is clearly agitated. "No sense fighting those guys, am I right?" she pokes Lucien softly in the ribs. "Relax we'll pop out the back. Those guys'll never have a chance at us... And if they do, we'll mow them down like the others." She gestures to the cultists strewn about the room hoping to help calm him down. "We'll come back and punish them for their deeds once we've got these folks to safety." She states less playfully.

(*Curses*)

(Ohh, FYI, NPCs won't be rolling! Purely a party tactics thingy)

As the group moves out the back window, everyone manages to make it through quiet soundlessly except for Dahme'dre, who stumbles. Lucien lets out a low whine and the combination of these noises nearly catches the attention of the kobold that originally almost spotted Aurelia. You hear the firebreathing cultist yell at his presumed subordinate, "STOP LOLLYGAGGING, YOU FOOL!"

Lucien covers his face with his hands and whispers. "My goodness... that was too close..."

(Successes: 0/4 Failures: 1/3)

Aurelia whispers a brief prayer to herself and climbs out next to Lucien placing a  reassuring hand on his shoulder. As she does so a faint calming radiance suffuses him, "Take heart Lucien, you are with friends now. Whatever troubles may arise we will meet them together with the Silver Flame as guidance."

(Persausion with Guidance 14+3)

Slade glances back as well whispering, "Yes, buck up friend. Remember how well you did with me on the way up to this place? We got this." With that Slade starts to lead the party down away from the house, slowly creeping along in hopes in discovering a path both quiet and out of sight.

(Stealth 24)

Lucien seems to calm as Aurelia speaks to him. He gives her a soft smile, and thanks her for being so kind. He gains some level of resolve and comes near Slade in the front in order to lead the group to the tunnel.

Slade manages to sneak by the small patrol made up of the kobolds and fire breathing cultist, he manages to find an easy path for all of the non stealthy people to follow away from that group.

(Successes 2 of 4. Failures 1 of 3. You successfully got the bonus for calming Lucien down.)

Ashehee eyes Lucien with disgust. She whispers, "quiet down coward or I'll take that tongue from you."

Ashehee is annoyed that her group has resorted to hiding instead of fighting, but even she knows that this rag tag group needs to be cautious.  Deploying a trick from her younger days, she tosses a rock in the direction to distract the enemy, hoping they sound creates enough distraction so the group can safely pass by.

(Deception (using advantage from inspiration): 16): 

She tosses the stone hoping to distract the cultists from seeing her group, but actually what ends up happening is the sound attracts another patrolling unit made up of four kobolds of the non-flying variety. The two patrolling groups of Cultists join forces and are now actively seeking the group.

(Successes 2 of 4. Failures 2 of 3.)

Slade carefully observes the patterns of the patrols looking for a gap for the group to slip through, "This is going be to close. If we don't time this just right we'll have to fight our way through."

(Perception: 10, If I pass Aurelia will help the last roll to give advantage. I'm not sure what that will be so narrate as you see fit)

Dahme'dre walk's along side Aurelia. As they move up close to the river bed the two lie low as they peer over the edge looking for threats and cover.

(help Aurelia with her check.)

Peering over the riverbank, Aurelia and Dahme'dre scan the last stretch in the open before the relative safety of cover behind the buildings leading up to the keep. The path seemingly clear, they signal for the group to quickly move forward before the patrol returns.

(Perception: 17)

(OOC: Phew! We were cutting that close.)

Success! 

Through your coordination and efforts, you managed to make it past all patrolling cultist. Lucien leads in the front more assured of himself than you had seen him previously. He leads you around the water bend and you see before you a mess of a thicket. It's quite tall and covers a portion of a hill that leads up to the forested area that is between yourselves and the fort.

He uses his claw-like hands to pull apart the thicket showing metallic bars. The further inspection shows a lock preventing you from Gaining entry into the tunnel. Lucien gives everyone a sheepish grin and pulls out a small tool kit. It looks like it's for fishing, but he pulls out one of his hooks and begins to finick with it. Twisting it out of its proportions, once he is satisfied he puts it into the keyhole and manipulates it until everyone hears a click. He pushes the gate open and gestures for everyone to get in.

Everyone levels up to level two! You regain max hp, all your spellslots, and gain an inspiration point.

Dahme'dre exudes confidence after this victory. As they travel through the tunnel she can feel her magical power growing within. She uses shape water to keep from splashing through the puddles keeping her dress dry, as her spectral hand carries a torch ahead of her.

Slade wrinkles his nose as he steps across the threshold into the sewer, "I never thought I would be so glad to be crawling through a sewer. Lucien, I trust you know the way into the keep from here?". Aurelia follows, saying brief prayer to Silver Flame as a soft white light emanates from her holy symbol.

"Yes, it's actually a straight shot from here... no winding paths to be found," Lucien gave Slade a toothy smile. 

Linan spoke up, "This tunnel used to be a way to sneak water back up into the keep during a siege... lucky us it seems no cultists had found it."

As you move, you can hear the skittering of many rats. They seem to be keeping their distance from you. Sometimes you can see the flashing of their eyes reflected by Aurelia's light as you travel.

Slade moves a bit ahead of the group eyes keen for danger, "Call me paranoid, but I don't consider sewers a haven for safety. Stick together everyone...we are almost there now."