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Chapter Thirteen: Hearts and Darkness

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Character sheet
Hit Points: 26/26
Armor Class: 22
Touch Armor Class: 16
Spell Points: 3/3
Hero Points: 1/1
Mighty Blow uses: 1/1
Interpose uses: 1/1
Color code: 3399ff

Bren nodded. "All right. Then to maintain surprise, the rest of you attack first, with spell and arrow," he said, noting that Otiorin had prepared his bow first as well. "As soon as you do, I'll charge up and try to keep them where they are. Start with the one on the left, as Luna indicated. Keep to cover as much as you can and be wary of the spittle." He lowered his hand and nodded, readying his shield and axe but careful not to move his feet until the others cast or shot.
 
Luna nods, then the wizard prepares to cast her first spell. "On the count of three, attack the one to the left! One, two, three! Ray of Fire!"
Casting Ray of Frost but with the elemental aspect of fire on the one to the left.
All 1's count as 2's on the dice roll for damage.

Hit Points: 15/15 (+8 Ancestry, +6 Class, +1 Constitution)
Armor Class: 18 (10, +2 Dexterity, +2 Bracers of Armor, +2 Ring of Deflection, +1 Ring of Protection, +1 Ioun Stone)
Touch Armor Class: 17 (10, +2 Dexterity,+2 Bracers of Armor, +2 Ring of Deflection, +1 Ring of Protection, +1 Ioun Stone)
Resonance: 1/1 (Charisma modifier + character level)
Spell Points: 5/5
Hero Points: 1/1
 
Otiorin Taletrader

The half-elf worked hard to steady himself after all this was the first time he was fighting in his own body after what seemed like an eternity as a full-blooded elf. He also had to remind himself he no longer had the skills he'd worked to master, reduced to a time when he first embarked on his 'gloriously exciting adventure' all those years past. He nodded his readiness to Bren and Luna and, as the mage cast her spell, he leaned out at launched a bolt at one of the two beasts, not for the first time wishing he still had his spells to augment his attack.
 
Oreleth leans out far enough from her cover to let fly with an arrow at Luna's target.
Are we close enough for my Feat of Point Blank Shot to apply?

Hit Points: 17/17 (+6 Ancestry, +10 Class, +1 Constitution)
Armor Class: 22 (10, +6 Elegant Breastplate of Light Fortification +2, +5 Dexterity, +1 Ioun Stone)
Touch Armor Class: 19 (10, +5 Elegant Breastplate of Light Fortification +2, +5 Dexterity, +1 Ioun Stone)
Resonance: 2/2 (Charisma modifier + character level)
Hero Points: 2/2 (+1 for great roleplaying!)
Maximum Bulk: 7 (STR modifier + 5 = encumbered. Cannot carry STR modifier +10).
Senses: Low-light vision, Keen Hearing (Ancestry Feat)
 
.:| Nivirea - The Sorceress |:.

Nivirea abandoned her position behind cover to support Luna's attack, acting near-simultaneously. She cast Grease on the same Ankheg, hoping for the best.
 
Character sheet
Hit Points: 26/26
Armor Class: 22
Touch Armor Class: 16
Spell Points: 3/3
Hero Points: 1/1
Mighty Blow uses: 1/1
Interpose uses: 1/1
Color code: 3399ff
As soon as the two spells were cast and the two arrows in flight, Bren launched himself forward and out of cover towards the ankhegs, clanging his axe against his shield and shouting as he ran, "Look here, creatures of the caves!"
 
At Luna's command, she incanted and loosed her Ray of Fire cantrip against the Ankheg on the left while Nivirea cast her Grease spell. Nivirea's spell caught both monsters in its slippery wake while Luna's cantrip lit the area aflame. As long as the creatures stayed in that area, they would take additional fire damage until the spell's duration ran out.

Bria prepared an action and continued to use the column as cover and concealment. Otiorin's carefully-aimed bolt slammed home into the same creature Luna targeted. Right beside it, Oreleth launched her arrow and scored a bloody hit. But Brendoran swung with his Mielikkian might and scored a critical strike from his enchanted axe, slaying the Anhkeg immediately!

As the thing's flaming head struck the cavern floor, its insectoid cohort reared back to attack!

Luna struck for 6 hit points of fire damage.
Nivirea's Grease spell will cause an additional 1d4 fire damage for the remainder of the spell (which lasts 10 rounds/1 minute). The spell causes 2 hit points of damage to Ankheg #1 and 1 hit point of damage to Ankheg #2).
Otiorin's crossbow bolt pierced the burning Ankheg for 6 hit points of damage (rolled max!)!
Oreleth's arrow punctured the Ankheg for 5 hit points of damage. =)
Bren belted out 24 hit of damage! "He's dead, Jim!" - Bones McCoy of Star Trek (the Original Series).
 
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Sensing soft meat to chew on, the second Ankheg ravenously charged at Luna and Nivirea, but Brendoran valiantly stood in its path. The monster's green-tinged mandibles struck out at the paladin and Bren's shield saved him just in time from being picked up and chomped on!

The thing rolled a 21 to hit against Bren's Armor Class of 22... It's good to be a warrior!

It became Otiorin's turn to act. =)
 
Otiorin Taletreader

The Half-elf nodded triumphantly as the bolt not only struck home but sank deep into his target's body. Deciding that now was as good as ever, he returned the bow to his pack and withdrew the Sunfire Edge.
"Alright,", he sighed in his mother's tongue, "let's stretch your legs a little more, noble blade."
So saying, he darted out of cover and worked his way around the flank of the creature even as it clashed with Bren. His plan was to catch it from the side or behind and force it to fight on two fronts.
"I'm with you, Bren!", he called out.
 
Otiorin came in with a Surprise Attack, catching the Ankheg flat-footed (meaning all of its "feet" were flat!) and off-guard. Being a Rogue, if he acted prior to his target in the first round, he could Sneak Attack the creature and with great finesse, Otiorin succeeded in doing just that! The Sunfire Blade kept its glow low and red until the moment Otiorin struck, then it burst into angry flame as the bastard-sword-that-felt-like-a-shortsword slashed the insectoid open with a grueling slice! This first blow caused the creature to spin on Otiorin, eager to catch the half-elf in its acid-drenched mandibles.

Blue d20 roll = 19!
Damage roll = d8 (blade) + d6 (fire) +d6 (Sneak Attack) +3. 5 + 6 + 4 + 3= 18 total!

It was Nivirea's turn to act!
 
.:| Nivirea - The Sorceress |:.

Having helped eliminate one of the threats, Nivirea fell a little ways back for safety and surveyed the surroundings for additional threats or anything of note. She was as aware of her limited abilities as she was confident that Bren and the others would be able to finish the job.
 
The only cover were the columns Bria was using. Nivirea joined Bria.

It became Oreleth's turn to act. What does she do?
 
Leaning out from behind her cover, the elven archer lets fly with another arrow, hoping to be able to do enough damage to keep the giant bug from hurting her companions.
Hit Points: 17/17 (+6 Ancestry, +10 Class, +1 Constitution)
Armor Class: 22 (10, +6 Elegant Breastplate of Light Fortification +2, +5 Dexterity, +1 Ioun Stone)
Touch Armor Class: 19 (10, +5 Elegant Breastplate of Light Fortification +2, +5 Dexterity, +1 Ioun Stone)
Resonance: 2/2 (Charisma modifier + character level)
Hero Points: 2/2 (+1 for great roleplaying!)
Maximum Bulk: 7 (STR modifier + 5 = encumbered. Cannot carry STR modifier +10).
Senses: Low-light vision, Keen Hearing (Ancestry Feat)
 
The chaos and sounds of combat appeared to hamper Oreleth as she loosed her arrow a moment too soon. She watched it sail past the burning Ankheg and disappear down the tunnel from which they came.

White d20 roll = 8 (miss)

It was Luna's turn.
 
Since the Burning Ray of Frost worked so well before, Luna decides to do it again.
Casting Ray of Frost but with the elemental aspect of fire on the one left.
All 1's count as 2's on the dice roll for damage.

Hit Points: 15/15 (+8 Ancestry, +6 Class, +1 Constitution)
Armor Class: 18 (10, +2 Dexterity, +2 Bracers of Armor, +2 Ring of Deflection, +1 Ring of Protection, +1 Ioun Stone)
Touch Armor Class: 17 (10, +2 Dexterity,+2 Bracers of Armor, +2 Ring of Deflection, +1 Ring of Protection, +1 Ioun Stone)
Resonance: 1/1 (Charisma modifier + character level)
Spell Points: 5/5
Hero Points: 1/1
 

Luna conjured up the magic she knew best and aimed it at the maddened, Greased, fire-lit, Ankheg trying to grab Otiorin's face (to which Bria thought from behind her pillar beside Nivirea, "Don't do that, Mr. Ankheg! I like his face!"). The flaming bolt struck the monster right between the eyes, killing it instantly - for, in mid-combat, Luna had thrown a perfect Ray of Fire! Her collegiates and professors would have been pleased.

Orange d20 roll = Natural 20! Jeez! You guys are really doing a number on these bugs! Yay! =)
Damage (Ray of Frost/Fire delivers double-damage on a Natural 20) = 6 x 2 = 12 hit points of damage!

We now leave Encounter mode and return to Exploration mode. Well done, Wayward Wanderers!


Ankheg from monster.fandcomdotcom.jpg
(Image credit: Monster Wiki - Fandom )
GAME DETAILS Location: Pohjola, on a cliff not far from Castle Anguish.
Mode: Exploration
Click Blue Box for Ambiance =)
"D&D Ambiance - Dark, Dank Cave" by Sword Coast Soundscapes


 
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Oreleth slowly stands, keeping her guard up just in case more of the monsters show their faces. If she sees none, she will nod in satisfaction. "Excellent spell work, Luna. Very well placed." She then tries to listen down the tunnel that the Ankhegs came from, hoping that there will not be anything following on their heels.
 
And it was a very good thing Oreleth did!

About three moments of listening told the wood elf that there were indeed more such creatures, or at least creatures that sounded like them, down the tunnel at least 100 feet away, well within hearing range of their ambush. If Oreleth had to hazard a guess, she could with confidence say there were at least four more Ankhegs.

From the mad sounds of their scrabbling and scratching, it sounded as if they were hastily tearing into something. But what Oreleth could not tell.
 
Oreleth once more grabs her bow. "My friends, I hear sounds coming from the cave ahead. I would hazard a guess that it is at least four more of the giant insects down the hall. It sounds like they are attacking something out there."
 
Character sheet
Hit Points: 26/26
Armor Class: 22
Touch Armor Class: 16
Spell Points: 3/3
Hero Points: 1/1
Mighty Blow uses: 1/1
Interpose uses: 1/1
Color code: 3399ff

"Well done, everyone!" Bren smiled across the burning ankheg's body at Otorin, whom he had never doubted would have his back (or at least the enemy's!). He meant it, too. Nivirea's Grease had clearly had a good effect on Luna's fire spells, while Oscar and Oreleth had conducted less purely-magical but no less deadly attacks. Oscar had provided good information on the creatures before the fight, as had Luna, and Bria, well, none of them had needed it yet, but Bren knew very well that the healer had been ready to cure whatever injuries they suffered.

He turned to Oreleth when she warned them of more down the tunnel. "Good ears, friend!" He glanced down the tunnel, though of course he couldn't see far enough, then surveyed the area around them. "Do you think these might eat each other, given the opportunity? Should we try to place them nearer that tunnel and take cover once more, hoping they'll be satisfied with what they already have, plus these?"
 
Luna and Nivirea both knew it wasn't a bad idea. Ankhegs preferred meat, especially fresh, and the acid from their fellows would not bother them in the least. This went double for voracious Ankhegs which the last two were.

Oscar looked as if he were about to speak, but then he turned to the Wizard and Sorceress and waited.

In the distance, the sounds of violence and chaos slowly died off. Silence began to return to the far corners of the caverns. The only thing the Wayward Wanderers could hear was the frantic activity Oreleth had pointed out. Perhaps the horse-sized insects would come up the tunnel to see where their now-silent fellows went. Perhaps they would just move on. Still, on most battlefields, initiative lay in the hands of the perceptive and the bold.

What do the the Wayward Wanderers do?
 
Oreleth looks to Brendoran. "What is your call? Do you wish us to take on more of these creatures, or shall we hold our position here? I suspect that we will most likely have to deal with them soon enough, once SkySting is done with her playtime with the goblins."
 
Character sheet
Hit Points: 26/26
Armor Class: 22
Touch Armor Class: 16
Spell Points: 3/3
Hero Points: 1/1
Mighty Blow uses: 1/1
Interpose uses: 1/1
Color code: 3399ff
Bren shook his head. "I think we should wait here until SkySting gets back. I don't want us to be down the corridor in another fight when she gets here!" He thought for a moment. No one had answered his earlier question, but no one had objected, either. "Let's move these up closer to the tunnel entrance, then take up our positions behind the columns again. If whatever they're attacking now doesn't satisfy them, perhaps these will. If not, they will at least have delayed long enough for us to form a plan to deal with them then." Suiting action to word, he sheathed his weapon and started lugging one of the ankheg corpses.
 
"Errf... Oooff..." Bria tried to help Bren move one of the heavy, horse-sized Ankhegs while Oscar kept a lookout for more of the angry predators. "Oh, where is our Fuzzy Goof when we need him?" Her kindly voice echoed off of the cavern walls. She pushed and pushed, but was hardly helping Bren at all and she knew it. Still, she felt some help was better than none and so she continued to put her best effort into it like a Ko monk should.

You had just succeeded getting the corpse of one Ankheg to the tunnel mouth when you felt a mighty surge of wind from the cliffside coupled with a much-mightier presence. SkySting had returned.

The moment this occurred, Luna immediately felt the welcome and warm presence of someone she loved - for the first time since the Wayward Wanderers had been magicked away from Sharseya and into Pohjola, Sparkle was somewhere close enough to trigger their familiar bond! There was something blocking her ability to send her thoughts to the old lady, but she was here in Pohjola, Luna was certain of it!

SkySting's sapphire scales glittered with magical majesty as her enormous draconic form swiftly filled the cavern. She seemed to sit on a column of air and hover there. All of her. She seemed thoroughly pleased with herself. "Ah, my rescuers hath chosen to stay! I return to thee with a mystery. What pray tell should I--"

But she was interrupted when the half a dozen hungry Ankhegs you had been spying on detected the presence of something large and possibly meat-like and came scurrying up the tunnel in one mad, acid-frothing, loud-as-an-earthquake stampede. Without warning, SkySting glared at them with hatred only dragons possess combined with an appetite for destruction that would only be sated with their deaths. A great spectacle followed.

"Thou dare interrupt an immortal? Fooools!" Her eyes shone bright white, filled with wrath mixed with ancient magic - Dragon-magic! You saw her mouth soundless words and whip her head, tail, and one claw about in strange gestures. Two massive trails of energy left her eyes and struck the area where the Ankhegs scuttled and out of the ground, great chains of gold lashed them and bound them while the tunnel's rocky floor turned to some mystical mirror-like metal that reflected every source of illumination perfectly.

"The price for thine folly, fools, is death!" Her wings unfurled and concealing whirling storms brewing within them, but it was the blinding blast of purest lighting erupting from her maw that rocked the cavern and made the very stones shake and fall. SSSSHAKOWW!! Lightning struck the ceiling above the struggling pack of Ankhegs and bounced everywhere there were mirrors and danced down every golden chain holding them. Immediately after followed one tremendous thunderclap. The lightning combusted and the Ankhegs exploded into fiery pieces no larger than a hobbit's fist. The mirrors faded, the chains withdrew, and there sat SkySting, her maw gently smouldering with a wide and toothy grin across her face while shoots of dust and small rocks from the ceiling fell about her.

Having experience (current or past) as spellcasters, each of you saw what SkySting's spell was - it was, in truth, a damage amplifier for her breath weapon. The chains hindered their ability to move or defend themselves using mobility while the gold they were made of conducted electricity quite well. The mirror-metal surfaces augmented the lightning blast while changing the line-shape of her breath weapon to strike everything in the tunnel no matter where it was. The Ankhegs stood no chance against that kind of power.

"As I was saying," the dragoness continued, "what pray tell should I do with these? They hath something to do with thine curses, but what, I cannot tell!"

Out from her other claw, she appeared to drop a dark wagon-sized cloud brimming with strange energy. This cloud fell with all the speed of a feather to the ground. Once it touched it, a great blast of rainbow-colored sparks shot out in every direction. The cloud dispersed and in its place came Powerpaw the Felane swinging his bloodstained maul in one of his ferocious furies! His white and black fur stood out in great irritation while his blood-red eyes blazed in hot anger.

"LEMME AT 'EM!! YER ALL DEAD MEATS!!"

Snarling and hissing, the son of Sabrefang swung this way and that, but SkySting had placed him in a spot where he could not blindly whack her or any of you, especially Luna and Nivirea from behind the cover of the columns.

"Fuzzy Goof!" Bria cried.

Powerpaw spun on that sound and gazed, first at his harmless best friend, then at the rest of you. "GUYZ!!" He stopped swinging and stared at you, completely surprised.

"Well?" SkySting tapped one claw impatiently. "Is yon feline destroyer friend, fool, or foe?"
 
Dannigan said:
The moment this occurred, Luna immediately felt the welcome and warm presence of someone she loved - for the first time since the Wayward Wanderers had been magicked away from Sharseya and into Pohjola, Sparkle was somewhere close enough to trigger their familiar bond! There was something blocking her ability to send her thoughts to the old lady, but she was here in Pohjola, Luna was certain of it!
Click to expand...
Luna lets out a happy sound as the sensation in her mind tells her that Sparkle was near. It was a feeling that she had missed so very much, and it was almost a shock to feel it once more. "Sparkle! I can feel her presence here in Pohjola, somewhere nearby! Oh, how I have missed her. I just cannot send my thoughts to her, but I know that she is here."
Dannigan said:
"Well?" SkySting tapped one claw impatiently. "Is yon feline destroyer friend, fool, or foe?"
Click to expand...
Another wonderful feeling sweeps over the tiny wizard. "This is a wonderful moment! This is no foe, but is instead a very dear friend! Powerpaw! SkySting is not an enemy, thank the gods. Come here and get ready to be given a ginormous Luna-hug!" Luna runs forward with her arms open wide. After giving the big fuzzy guy as big of a squeeze as her tiny arms can manage, she finally lets go and looks up at him. "Is Sparkle with you?!? I can feel her close by! What of Mamapaw? Oh, I have so many questions!"
 
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