[IC] D&D 5e: Plight of Greed

[Lauder]

After a small bout of fighting, the group was united with Kosara and many of the the adventures inspected the centipede and the strange symbols it had on it. Many couldn’t quite figure out where it was from, nor had any of the them previously seen it, but Jakyn did know that the symbols were new to the time. However, many of you continued on after that, heeding the call of the voice. You all can see the image of an old man in leather armor standing in the trail looking at the Paladin who seemed far to overzealous for his own good, this was Gale of Dalfjour, another one of the voice followers.

As the party regroups with one another, albeit slowly and skeptically, it seemed that forest grew more blackened and dreary as they got closer to the tower, despite not having had seemed the dead wood from atop the hill over a mile and a half ago. That did not stop you though, you were so close to the tower that now seemed to tower even more over you than it did when you had seen it before.

Many of you can see the door, a little ways away, but there is also a bridge that seems as if it could snap at any moment. What is worse that it seems like some has made camp on the same side of the bridge you guys were walking towards. Then, you all spot the banner with the same symbols as the centipede had, clearly these were the ones responsible for that mounting that centipede. You can all hear activity from the camp as well, noises of preparation behind a ramshackle wooden stockade that seems flismier than a leaf.

“Come on lads! We haven’t got all day!,” you hear a harsh voice shout to the men, “We start the assault soon! Once Valmire and his men arrive, the tower becomes ours!”

>What do you do?

[rush99999]

It seemed that the tower's owner was going to be receiving some unwanted guests soon. But that was hardly Graham's problem. His concern was reaching the tower and that was exactly what he intended to do. After taking the bolt from his crossbow and putting both the weapon and its ammunition away, Graham quietly made his way to the bridge. But just as he was about to break cover for the home stretch, some of the bandits brought some crates to the bridge and then stopped for a breather right in front of him. 'Shit' Graham thought to himself 'A minor setback. I may need to change my approach to this though'.

[OrkytheOrc]

Orky didnt notice the druid come behind them until she started speaking.when she did speak he was definitely surprised but he just figured it was another adventurer who was called by the voice. Which she then spoke about. "Well hello, I myself didnt really ignore cause I didnt have anything else to do." Then another man joined an older one much older. He said his name was Gale and that he was a palidan. Orky didnt think much of him because he didnt speak much. Gale reminded Prky of the people who would always tell at him to get lost because how he was a Half-Orc, but Orky never really cared cause he is not the type to hold grudges. It was at that point the Druid, which Orky now knew as Kosara, told the group the plan about he calling in a bird she had saved awhile back to fly them into the tower. Orky was a little bit skeptical mostly because of how he had never been good with animals, but he did still try to be nice to them. They then came to the a good distance from the tower where the group observed what seemed a some type of merc/bandit camp. They then started to converse about plans to get into the tower when the Druid went off and summoned a giant dove which Orky thinks is a Dove because of how white it is.

[GodOfWar]

Jakyn chatted politely with his numerous companions as the group began to trek along the woodland road. Orky seemed a little more intelligent than the wood elf had previously thought; he was able to string together grammatically correct sentences, that's always a plus. The brute still seemed to give the warklock estranged glances every now and then, however. How curious. Norrlia gave the wood elf a fair share of glances as well, but in a much more innocent and intrigued manner. "No, I am not a follower of 'The Golden Goddess'. She is most foreign to me. I do wonder if such a deity is the source of the voice."

He spoke to the half-orc and half-elf about his time as an elven tribesman, humoring them on nature stories and tales of hunts he had taken part of. Soon more adventurers joined the group, Jakyn beginning to learn everyone's names and asking them if they had indeed been called by 'the voice'. Most everyone had.

✦ ✦ ✦

Soon, the party reached the precipice of the tower. Standing between them and their destination however, was a raggedy encampment, seemingly made up in haste. Those that inhabited this forest camp seemed... less than friendly. Quietly, Jakyn watched as those around him crafted plans on how to overcome this hostile band of humans. The wood elf suddenly spotted the druid slink into the woods, and call down a large, white owl. No one at the camp seemed to notice. Jakyn began steathily approaching her position in the woods, the gigantic owl landing down on a sturdy tree's limb. The druid began speaking to the bird, and her plan to stealthily fly her companions over the bridge soon became apparent to Jakyn. The warlock proceeded over to the druid, and began to speak in whispers to her and the owl. "If such is your plan, Kosara, I am all for it. I am more than capable of providing a distraction so your owl's voyages go smoothly."

[MrMoisterOyster]

Gale sighed heavily at the sounds of the band assaulting the tower.
"How many damn people were called here?" the elderly cleric grumbled.
If he must work with others, it might as well be with a group that seems to be organized, not like the group of assorted vagabonds marching up the road towards him. Granted, the group with strange colors flying in the breeze seemed a bit rough around the edges, but so was he. Couldn't hurt to join up for a bit and help them. After all, every armed party could use a learned medic, couldn't they? Gale made his way toward the party by the tower, being warry of the goliath stampeding toward him, and called out to the men nearest to him with his best friendly expression.
"Seems like you men got a good group together. Perhaps you could use an experienced healer? Who knows what you may face inside the tower!"
His hope was that the men in the camp would have the good sense to look past his wrinkles and realize how invaluable his knowledge and skills would be to them in their journey.

Dice Roll

Persuasion check: Roll 13 + Persuasion 3 = 16

[EasilyAmused]

Much to her shock the Orc, now named Orky asked if he could call her by a nickname. A look of genuine surprise traveled across her face as she processed what was being asked. Not even the monks at the monastery called her by a nickname and yet a stranger, a strange stranger, was willing to give her a nickname; it may be just for pronunciation but still, it was a bit surprising. A heartfelt smile moved across her face, something that her face didn’t do very often so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it was foreign feeling to her. “Sure, that’s fine. And if you ever remember your fancy name, let me know.”

It seemed like a general understanding that no one followed the teachings of the Goddess and she just casually shrugged. Growing up she never really cared and just learned to pretend to care so they would teach her the battle secrets of the Monks; it worked in her favor but she did have to remember to always put on the proper mask for those who did follow. A sense of relief moved over her as she had to think less and less about the mask and more and more about the voice.

Everyone seemed to be drawn by the same strange voice but no one seemed to have any answers and that was irritating. The voice called to them towards the tower and the blonde settled near the warrior as the two observed the scene.

The presence of the druid departing and the wood elf following suit did cause her attention to turn. However her turning was what she thought was only for a few seconds, she looked back to find the older cleric had advanced forward from near where they were. “So.” She whispered to the warrior next to her. “It looks like we were granted a distraction...” Feeling as though her words might be falling of deaf ears, her attention moved to see that the warrior had vanished… and was sneaking towards the bridge. “The fuck!” She cursed to herself under her breathe. What was with these people?!

A sharp and unhappy sigh left her as she climbed to her feet and ventured backwards out of any possible line of sight into the forest and ventured into the forest to find Orky, Jakyn and Kosara. “Do we have a more sensible plan than sneaking around a bunch of people or walking out directly asking if they’re recruiting?”

@ihinka @OrkytheOrc @GodOfWar

[Lauder]

To say the least, the bandits were stunned into place at the arrival of the old man who had offered to join their ranks. They looked at one another before their dwarven leader strode up to Gale with the biggest dumbfounded look stuck behind his beard, eventually it shifted into a skeptical look as he inspected Gale. He stroked his beard and looked back at his ragtag band of merry men, every single one staring at the strange man who so boldly came into their camp despite there being a threat that they would simply kill him for trespassing.

“Erm, listen ‘ere old man, we haven’t a need fer a person like ya. Especially since we are waitin’ fer our main force,” the dwarf stated once more looking back at his men then to the old man. “Howeva, if ye want t’ join an’ help then you could… cross that bridge an’ tell us if there be any fierce magics at play, surely that would be up to yer speed!”

Laughter erupted through the camp at the remark, the dwarf giving a smile before a muffled cry could be heard, loud enough and close enough to draw the attention of Gale and the Dwarven captain. Turning to the noise, he would find two people tied to a post, one a tiefling woman, barely out of her teens, and the other an orc child, not even past his tenth year of life. Both have been flogged mercilessly, more so the orc given their savagery. They were house inside a tent, it’s flaps open as no one had expected a man to just stroll into the camp.

The dwarf fell silent and glared at the man.

“I reckon it’s about time ya leave, old fool.”

>What do you do?

[GodOfWar]

A group of fellow companions began to crowd around Kosara and the owl, seemingly prepared for the avian journey as well. The druid spoke to the owl softly, giving it clear instructions on how to transport each person across the ravine undetected. The owl made equally soft hoots in response, alert and prepared for the task at hand. Climbing onto the giant bird, Kosara prepared herself to be the first on this risky endeavour. Jakyn nodded and, on her signal, began the distraction.

The wood elf closed his eyes. He began whisking his hands around in front of him and murmuring a fell incantation in abyssal, his fingers dodging and weaving back and forth like the unruly flames of a pyre. Suddenly, Jakyn opened his eyes, and within the camp a pillar of fire erupted, shooting through one of the middle tents. It's flames gleamed blue for a moment, before settling into deep oranges and yellows. Other tents and wooden structures began catching fire, as bits of shredded, burning fabric began littering the area. There arose a commotion within the camp almost immediately.

Jakyn held his breath as he watched the owl set Kosara off at the other end of the ravine, and then quickly double back to take another rider. No arrows were shot at it; that was good. The wood elf took the next ride, climbing onto the beast as it began departing from the ground once more. The warlock looked down upon the situation that was brewing; bandit-looking men scrambled to put out the fire, unable to because of it's magical properties. A grim-looking dwarf barked orders, tents caved in and equipment was set aflame. Many of the warriors down under seemed to be pulling out weapons. Suddenly, Jakyn spotted them. The old man that had just recently joined the group, and the stoic fighter Jakyn had met before nightfall. The former was committed to his own response to the fire and bandits, while the later crouched near the bridge, blocked by men who seemed aptly armed. "Quickly, owl, leave me at the foot of the bridge. By the camp.", the warlock said in Elvish, the bird thankfully complying due to it's new confidence in the group (all thanks to Kosara).

✦ ✦ ✦

The large bird glided down and deposited Jakyn off near the bridge, swooping away swiftly to go and pick up another party member. The warlock turned to the two bandits that stood in front of where the grizzled fighter hid, the men looking shocked at the elf's sudden appearance by owl-flight. Putting his hand together, fingers out stretched, Jakyn mumbled another string of abyssal phrases as flame began to erupt from his finger tips, smothering the bandits in a hail of brimstone-smelling fire. "Quickly, warrior, across the bridge!", the wood elf shouted to Graham, waiting for him to burst from his cover and get behind him. The flames quickly began to fade from the warlock's tan fingers.

Actions

Create Bonfire :: cast in the middle of the camp.

Burning Hands :: directed at the two bandits blocking Graham.

[Lauder]

In a mere matter of moments, everything that could have possibly gone wrong had gone horribly, horribly wrong. "It's the damned owl!," one of the bandits called out, only for the camp to suddenly erupt into flames and cause a mass panic within the ranks of the bandits. Suddenly an explosion rippled through the air as one of the tents containing the bandits' black powder went off, taking four bandits with it and creating a breach in the makeshift stockade. It was only the words of the of the drawf that had stopped a full route of the banditry.

"Oi! Get the knife-ear! Stop them from crossin' that bridge!"

His bearded fury turned towards the old man, believing him to have deceived them and attempted to distract them. "Ya think you can get the best of Krackow the Grudge-Killer!?," he shouted throwing his dagger at the old man. The dagger embedded itself within Gale's shoulder and the dwarf took out a longsword and egged on the old man, "Come at me, git!"

Meanwhile, Jakyn stood deathly still as the magic died away from his fingertips, the bandits in front of him having lunged away from his bout of flame. As they began to stand again, the warlock could see that parts of their clothes were singed, and that raw, pink skin was beginning to bubble up were the fire did strike. They turned to him in a fury, bringing up the sights of their crossbows as a third low-life joined the encounter with his own.

The warlock heard the familiar sound of an arrow being released from a point of tension, and instinctively, Jakyn fell to his stomach. The arrow whizzed above his ground-level head; that would of hit him straight in the gut if he hadn't fallen. The wood elf threw up his cloak around himself, and started rolling as the fabric flipped confusingly about him. Another arrow shot towards him, only to stick harmlessly into the fabric of his dancing cape. Jakyn finally bounced up to his feet as he waited for the third crossbow, the bridge swaying and creaking ominously under him. The third arrow found it's mark, embedding itself deep into Jakyn's shoulder. He winced at the pain, the digging sensation of a crude piece of metal burrowing through his clothing and ending within him. The bandits began to quickly reload their weaponry, the warlock yelling, "Human warrior, please, come out and aid me!" His mind raced for a solution.

>It is now Jakyn's turn

[GodOfWar]

The warrior didn't step out, didn't engage any of the bandits. He was either so stubborn and selfish as to retreat, or dealing with his own set of problems because of this chaos. Jakyn was angered, either way. He could hear a gruff voice call out in the distance, screeching, "Oi! Get the knife-ear! Stop them from crossin' that bridge!". There was too much attention being drawn towards the wood elf, he wouldn't be able to deal with this many bandits focusing their weaponry on him.

Jakyn conjured magic into his hands one last time, blasting forth another wave of hissing hell-flame onto the goons advancing in front of him. The two previously burnt thugs fell quickly, their legs collapsing under them, and their sticky clothes peeling away to reveal scared and broken skin. The smell of burning skin and hair disgusted Jakyn... yet also enticed a horrible urge of his. 'There is no time for such depravities', the wood elf thought to himself. The third bandit began to stumble, his abdomen burnt and nearly liquefied by the warlock's onslaught. He seemed alive, however.

Jakyn made quick haste to start crossing the bridge. The wood elf's cloak flew behind him as he sprinted, his boots clattering and legs pumping towards the other side of the ravine. He began to desperately hope that he may simply out-run anymore crossbow bolts; the one in his shoulder was beginning to sting and make his arm go numb.

Actions

Burning Hands :: attack on the three bandits

Jakyn moves 35 feet to the other side of the bridge.

[rush99999]

It took all of Grahams will power to not swear loudly when the explosion occurred. It was bad enough that the bandits blocked his path, now they were on high alert, which would make sneaking past considerably harder. Graham once again fought back the urge to swear loudly when a giant owl landed nearby and deposited his wood elf companion on the ground before flying off. Jakyn called out to Graham for aid as he poured fire on the enemy, but Graham was already turning to move away from the fight. 'Two against eleven? Thanks, but no thanks' Graham thought to himself as he made his way further into the forest. Someone who landed in a dangerous area and announced their presence to their enemies in so noticeable a fashion deserved everything they got. Graham stopped behind a tree and looked back to see Jakyn burning two of the bandits to death with a second blast of fire. As he watched the elf run for the bridge, Graham decided that just one bolt fired in the Jakyn's assistance wouldn't hurt. Graham pulled out his heavy crossbow and put down a particularly crispy bandit that came out of the camp with a shot to the throat. "My sight must be crooked again" Graham mumbled "That should have been a headshot...Oh well. A kill's a kill".

[EasilyAmused]

The idea of riding the owl over seemed like the best course of action and it should come as no surprise that the blonde agreed to it. As long as the voice wasn’t screaming in her head, she actually had the ability to focus and agree that this would be a good idea.

Kosara went first, followed by Jakyn and then Norrlia went third. “Thank you for your help.” She said politely to the owl as she climbed onto it’s back and it flapped its beautiful wings taking off into the air. Her sapphire blue eyes scanned the ground before her. Spotting Jakyn on the opposite end of the bridge making fire caused her to give the same response she gave earlier, “The fuck?” Something inside of her said ‘you’re going to be saying that a lot…’. The beautiful owl dropped her off at the opposite end of the bridge closet to the tour and near Kosara before it took off back towards the spot to retrieve the final rider.

Sharp sigh left her as she turned to Kosara, “I’m going to try to get the door open. Keep me covered.” With that she took off towards the door.

Movement

30ft movement
Dash = 30ft

After examining the door, Norllia let out a sigh and grabbed the hand giving it a firm yank. Inside laid a room, light only by a fireplace with an array of books, a few scatters of furniture, wood flooring and cobble walls. “Huh… kinda expected a staircase what with it being a tower and all.” She mused to herself before turning to look back at the group. Her blue eyes expanded and her jaw dropped open in shock, “THE FUCK?!” She screamed out in both a mix of surprise and to get people’s attention as she gestured towards the now open door; inside seemed better than outside at this point.

Rolls

Investigation: 1d20 = 4 + 2 Investigation + 2 Proficiency = 8

[Lauder]

Despite a blade being put through his shoulder, the old man Gale was hardier than he looked and it shocked the dwarven bandit. Gale let out a laugh and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and threw upon the ground, proclaiming, “Ha! You think a dagger can take me out? What are you stupid?! This will teach you to challenge me!” Then a mace came into contact with face of the dwarf, knocking back and making the captain turn tail and try to get away from the madman. No longer wishing to face someone who would fight tooth and nail in an open area such as the burning place of the camp.

However, through one of the burning stockades came the goliath, clad in armor and brandishing his longsword. Cleaving down at the dwarven captain who barely had time to stop the the blade by deflecting it with his own. David had let out a loud battlecry, loud enough to make his ancestors proud and upon hearing it and seeing how they have been outflanked, the remaining bandits dropped their weapons and broke formation, while their captain stood his ground.

“You fools! Get back ‘ere and finish the fight!” He roared, raising his sword to do combat despite being surrounded by this point in the fight.

[OrkytheOrc]

When Norrlia had left on the bird, Orky started doing light stretches preparing to dash through a horde of bandits while slaying a few. He finished his stretches, got into a ready position and bolted through the camp entrance and into roughly the middle of the camp. But to Orky's surprise the place was practically deserted, except for the old man, the dwarf and the goliath. Stunned for a moment because he was expection more action. After standing he went over to the old man and goliath and said,"Well looks like you guys took care of them all except for the stumpy one right there." He then pointed to the dwarf he was lying on the ground next to the Goliaths sword.