Siege of St. Andral's - Round #6 - Cerio's Turn

Both the vampire spawn look taken aback by Cerio's comment.  "Impossible!" the woman hisses.  "Most improbable," the gentleman agrees.  Proceeding to dash around Dallid, Cerio unleashes a particularly vicious attack against the female vampire spawn currently being held by Galqarin.  She lets out a cry of pain and anger.

Sandu - It once more falls upon you to dispatch these foul creatures.  Galqarin looks to be in pretty rough shape as he holds one of the spawn at bay.  Ferelyon, Dallid's wolf companion, appears to have the other under control.  It is your turn.

Battlemap:

With Valerie emerging from the church to back him up, Sandu felt emboldened to press the advantage. There currently were a male and a female vampire still present, the latter of which was grappled by Galqarin and had just suffered a blow from Cerio. A small part of his being resented the tactic but he had to resort to the classic bullying tactic of ganging up one a single target. Should the female vampire go down, it would free up the others to press their own attack on the remaining vampire. To that end Sandu blasted off another bolt of purple-green magical energy at the vampiress.

Action: Eldritch Blast at the grappled female vampire. Attack: 27 Damage: 13

Roll crit, roll 1, deal average damage. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #6 - Sandu's Turn

((Unlucky))

Sandu's Eldritch Blast hits its target with unerring accuracy.  The Vampire Spawn's head is flung back as the beam strikes her directly in the forehead.  She lets out a cry of pain as her face looks like she has just gone toe-to-toe with a heavyweight; she is sporting two black eyes and there is heavy bruising to her face.

Vampire Spawn's (Woman) Turn

The Vampire Spawn's face heals slightly but not completely on her turn; some of the swelling around her eyes diminishes.  Unable to escape Galqarin's grasp, her eyes narrow in on him.  "Release me, wretch!" she screams in his face.

• Attack: 9 Damage: 6
• Attack: 16 Damage: 7

Whether overwhelmed by her pending doom or still dazed from Sandu's blast, the Vampire Spawn's attacks prove ineffectual and fail to connect with the bugbear.

Dadeveth - You watch as Galqarin manages to avoid the Vampire Spawn's attacks.  He still appears to be in a fair deal of pain but surviving nonetheless.  The Vampire Spawn fights against his grasp, unable to break free.  She stands no more than 10ft away from you, Cerio flanks her right side, the other Vampire Spawn is being held in place by Ferelyon 10ft to her left.  Though she appears to have regenerated a little, the Vampire Spawn is showing signs of damage; her lip is split and there is heavy bruising to her forehead.  It is your turn to act.

DM Rolls:

Dadeveth skittishly steps forward, attempting to drive her rapier into the vampire woman. She is clearly scared though, as her blade goes no where near the woman yet again. (Rolled a 3 on the d20, so a total of 8 to hit. All in the Game log.)

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #6 - Dadeveth's Turn

((Crikey - it appears the rapiers cursed!  How many misses is that?!))

Nervously moving forward, Dadeveth stabs at the Vampire Spawn.  Unfortunately, the woman sees her coming and is able to manoeuvre her body enough to avoid the tip of the rapier.

Galqarin - Your grip on the Vampiress does not falter.  She attempts to lash out at you but fails miserably.  You get the sense that desperation is driving her attacks now.  It is your turn.

Battlemap:

Whilst maintaining his vicelike grip on the foul creature, Galqarin attempts to force her to her knees, following it up with a wild kick. "Mock me not, witch"

Shove: Athletics 8.
Bonus action unarmed attack: 8, damage 7 (bludgeoning).
(on the off chance the shove succeed, 2nd to hit roll for prone advantage: 7)

Dormark dashes for the door of the church. Seeking to help the others.

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #6 - Galqarin's & Dormark's Turns

The Vampire Spawn howls in Galqarin's face as he attempts to shove her.

Attempt to resist the shove: 10

((Damn, that was close!))

Fortunately, for her, she is able to withstand Galqarin's shove, standing firm.

Dormark charges towards the outside of the church, passing both Valerie and Sandu on his way.

Valerie's Turn

Holding her longsword in both hands, Valerie advances on the Vampire Spawns.  "Have heart friends!" she cries as she slices down on the female spawn.

• Attack: 23 Damage: 12

Her attack crunches down on the vampire spawn, cracking through bone and flesh.  "Time for you to go back from whence you came, She-devil!" she yells triumphantly.

Dallid - A number of your companions, as well as seemingly a new ally, come streaming out of the church.  It seems like they are currently attempting to focus on the woman vampire spawn; a number of unhealed wounds scarring her skin.  Ferelyon appears to have the other vampire spawn held in place with his mighty maw.  It is your turn to act.  

Battlemap:

Dallid pulls out his whip again and lashes at the female spawn 

Attack: 26 Damage: 7 

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #6 - Dallid's Turn

Dallid cracks his whip at the female vampire spawn.  Unfortunately, it finds only air as it fails to make contact with its target.

Vampire Spawn's (Gentleman) Turn

Believing himself to be in a spot of bother, the gentleman attempts to free himself from Ferelyon's jaws.

Contested Grapple Roll against Ferelyon: 10

Ferelyon strength roll to maintain grapple 13 

Vampire Spawn's (Gentleman) Turn (Continued...)

Breaking free from Ferelyon's jaws the gentlemen straightens himself up, dusts down his clothes and bows.  "A pleasure.  Truly," he says, his voice dripping with charm.  "However, one must go and check on Mrs Popofsky.  One was charged with chaperoning the dear girl.  Why, if anything should have happened to her, the Count would not be best pleased."

With that, the gentleman's form changes into a puff of black mist which proceeds to go shooting off into the night sky.

"The hells!  Come back you coward!" the remaining Vampire Spawn curses, Galqarin's hands still holding her firm.

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #7 - Initiative

As the gentleman retreats from the battlefield but one foe remains.  The woman claws and scrapes at Galaqarin's arms with increased panic as she watches the rest of the part close in.  Her initial confidence in tatters.

Gritting her teeth, she gobs out a mouthful of blood.  "Knew you'd come here, he did." she says with a laugh, "said you'd try and protect the old man."

She leans in towards Galqarin and grins.  "Ain't gonna be much left of Vallaki after he's done".

Cerio - The Vampire Spawn shouts taunts in Galqarin's face.  However, you are able to tell that she is more worried than she is letting on.  Perhaps a few more attacks with your khopesh might end the fiend.  It is your turn.

Battlemap:

Initiative:

• Cerio - 24 - Light Blue Dagger
• Sandu - 22 - Purple Wizard's Hat
• Vampire Spawn (Right; Woman) - 21 - Light Orange Bat
• Dadeveth - 20 - Light Green Horse
• Galqarin - 19 - Dark Blue 'Raven'
• Dormark - 19 - Dark Grey 'Robot'
• Valerie - 19 - Pink Holy Shield
• Dallid - 18 - Dark Green Bow & Ferelyon - Small Dark Green Shield

"Aw, shut yer trap!" Cerio snarls, swinging savagely with his blades.

Attack: 18 Damage: 5 piercing plus 7 sneak attack damage, plus 2 necrotic damage.

Two Weapon Fighting (shortsword): Attack: 18 Damage: 6 (if first attack misses but this hits, apply sneak attack damage here).

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #7 - Cerio's Turn

Cerio's blades ferociously cut into the flesh of the Vampire Spawn.  The wounds are deep and expose the bone.  Blinking back the pain, she bares her pointed fangs at Cerio and returns his snarl.

Sandu - In front of you, a pile-on of sorts is occurring.  Cerio, Dadeveth, Galqarin and Valerie surround the clearly wounded Vampire Spawn.  Her actions are becoming increasingly desperate now that the battle has clearly turned against her.  Will you put her out of her misery?  It is your turn.

Sandu's ears perked up when the male vampire spoke up. He registered the name Popofsky and mentally linked it to that one memory he personally never experienced. It seemed that said Mrs Popofsky was someone dear to Strahd. That too was valuable information. She did yell something about her husband. The vampire then up and left in a mist of black. He would most likely become a future problem but for now Sandu felt some relief that another adversary had chosen to depart from the battlefield. That just left the one vampiress. From the looks of it, she wanted to go down swinging. Perhaps it would be better to restrain her and ask her some pointed questions but he realised that if she put up such a struggle, she would never submit quietly. 

Dutifully he trained his arm at her and focus for a moment to account for her wild thrashing, lest he accidently hit somebody else. The vampiress was dishelleved and pallid and her long black hair was streaked with dirt and blood but for the briefest of moments Sandu saw her as she must have once been. Was that a twinge of regret he felt? The feeling was as abruptly gone as it came and Sandu's mouth turned into a thin, hard line. 'Pleacã.' He said, the word dripping with malice from all the ordeals he had faced up to now. A purple bolt of energy with a tinge of green flared toward the vampiress. Sandu hoped it would be the final nail in the coffin for her, though he could not tell whether he wanted her dead or simply stop her suffering.

Action: Eldritch Blast Attack: 25 Damage: 12

For the DM:

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #7 - Sandu's Turn

Sandu's sickly, purple bolt streaks through the air between Valerie and Galqarin, striking its intended target in the left shoulder.  The vampire spawn is hit with such force that Galqarin struggles to maintain his grip as the bolt crashes into her.  The impact seems to have dislocated part of the woman's arm and it hangs limply by her side.

• Constitution Save: 22

Fortunately, for her, the toxic bolts poison does not take root.

Remaining Vampire Spawn's Turn

As before, some of the woman's skin and bone begins to knit itself back together.  The momentarily limp arm pops back into place, causing the woman to howl in triumph.

Her eyes narrow on Galqarin.  "Die!  Pest!" she screams before unleashing a number of frantic attacks on the bugbear.

• Attack: 24 Damage: 9
• Attack: 19 Damage: 11

The woman's claws rake across Galqarins face, dislodging his mask and causing blood to streak down his face.  The mighty bugbear sways on the spot, the blood loss from wounds already sustained becoming too much for him.  He collapses to the ground at the feet of the woman.  "Who's next?!" she bellows.

Galqarin is now unconscious.

Dadeveth's Turn

Watching, mouth agape, as the Galqarin crumples to the floor, Dadeveth struggles to keep her head.  This was a strange land, with strange people, as bleak as the mists that engulfed it.  Fidgetting with the rapier in her hand, she had been unsuccessful in striking with it thus far.  Though this weapon had been entrusted to her, she could practically feel the blade's eagerness to draw the blood of the vampire spawn standing in front of her.

Spotting a brief lull in the fight, Dadeveth darts forward and attempts to land an attack on the woman with her rapier;

• Attack: 14 Damage: 6

((Sod's law.  Sorry, DragonDenn - looks like I cannot hit with it either!  Always the case that the dice betray you when you want to reveal something to a PC!))

Unfortunately, it appears that Dadeveth is overcome by the importance of the moment and her attack sails just wide of its target.

Galqarin's Turn

Galqarin lies on the ground, bleeding profusely from the wounds on his face.  He fell protecting those he cared about most, those that had shown him some degree of dignity, kindness and respect in this god-forsaken realm.

• Death Save #1: ((Don't really want to roll, so shall wait until Buxton's return))

Dormark - Just when the tide of war had seemed to be turning in your favour, you watch as Galqarin collapses to the ground in front of you.  The Vistani cloak he wears is now shredded and bloody, his mask torn from his face.  It looks like your companions are in desperate need of you, of Moradin's might.  Every second is vital, it is your turn to act.

((Simmed both Dadeveth & Galqarin's turns as both gave prior notice to do so!))

Dormark lokking towards the vampire spawn makes another hammer in his hand. "Die foul beast," yells Dormark tossing the hammer.

14 10

(Galqarin's first death save 9: Failed 1/3) 

Siege of St. Andral's - Round #7 - Dormark's Turn

Dormark's hammer narrowly misses the vampire spawn as she contorts her body to avoid the attack.  "Not today, Tinpot!" she screams at the warforged.

Meanwhile, blood continues to pour from Galqarin's open wounds, staining the stone path.

Valerie's Turn

Wasting no time, Valerie leaps forward and strikes down, wielding her longsword in two hands;

• Attack: 17 Damage: 8

The sword cuts into the vampire spawn, though it meets some resistance it, nonetheless, carves a wicked wound in the woman's side.

Dallid - Only one foe remains and she is heavily wounded.  You get the sense that you need to grab hold of the initiative and end this now.  Ferelyon's jaws drip with the blood of the vampire spawn that escaped.  The twin-headed wolf looks at you expectantly, waiting for your command.  It is your turn.