AA's Kingmaker Part I: The Stolen Lands

[Leviathan]

Zinovia's dark eyes go wide as Estanos is struck by the undead's weapon. "You shall not have him," she snarls. She feels her heart pounding as she sinks to her knees - half exhaustion and half desperation - by the priest. She touches her bloodstone choker and gasps as her body trembles. She draws from herself the power she needs with a fierce hiss.

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Casting Infernal Healing on Estanos, moving as necessary. That gives him fast healing 1 for 10 rounds.

[RocketMan]

"Blast," Ilya says, looking part disappointed, part desperate, as his arrows fall into the river beside the undead creature. "I'll have you this time."

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Attack #1: (1d20+4)[13]
Damage #1: (1d6+1)[2]

Attack #2: (1d20+4)[5]
Damage #2: (1d6+1)[7]

[Blisstake]

Tireas snarls as the creature manages to easily push through their attempts to stop it, and even more when he sees Estanos become impaled. He silently jumps off the bridge, swinging his katana in a downward motion.

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Since his reach wasn't impared by the water, I imagine it must be fairly shallow. Anyway, 5 foot step forward if possible (if not, acrobatics: (1d20+6)[8] vs CMD)

Attack: (1d20+5)[21]
Damage: (1d8+6)[14]

[Oh My God]

Estanos has only a moment of thinking they've driven the creature back before he's struck. Hands flying to his gut, he holds one up, covered in crimson. "That is... rather a lot of... blood...," and with this brilliant observation complete, the priest collapses backwards onto the bridge, his arms splayed out, sightless eyes staring into the sky.

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Currently at -3, healing 1 from Infernal Healing this round to -2

[Winterfell]

"Face me, coward," Viktor calls, frustrated that the creature will not come close enough for him to attack.

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5 foot step to Estanos's space, readying an action to power attack if the undead comes in range.

Power attack roll: (1d20+9)[18]
Damage roll: (1d10+7)[17]

[ApatheticAbacus]

Zinovia's frantic healing staves off a slow death for Estanos, but the priest is far from mended.

Ilya fires off a few arrows, but it seems as though the poor prince can never quite shoot straight. Viktor stands guard over his charge, and the others, sword drawn and ready.

Tireas is more bold. The tiefling leaps from the bridge towards the watery, undead foe. His sword strikes true, driven home by the speed of his fall. It cuts a deep gash into mortified, unclean flesh. But the water is far deeper than it would seem, unnaturally cold and dark around the vengeful corpse. It is slow-flowing, but it seems to suck at him, beckoning him to a drowning death.

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I'll need a swim check from Tireas on his next round. DC10 means he stays above water.

The waterlogged undead corpse shifts backwards. Its long trident spears at the tiefling. Tireas escapes the attack, the momentum of his fall carrying him away from the blow.

Round 3

Map

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[Oh My God]

Vitality flows back in to Estanos, groaning as his flesh knits together with a speed that is as unsettling as it is unholy.

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Fast healing from -2, to -1

[Leviathan]

Zinovia groans. Keep fighting! Tireas goes over the bridge into the water. Her vision is hazy; she cannot tell whether intentionally or not. Enough. I have had... enough She pushes Ilya aside as she stumbles to the bridge's edge. Leaning her pathetic weight against the railing, she lets out a blast of biting acid.

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Zinovia would like to move to Ilya's current position. Hopefully this is okay with RocketMan, who can free action-five foot step away. She'll then fire a burning hands (using her admixture ability to change it to acid, on the chance this creature doesn't like fire) out over the water so that it hits only the enemy.

Damage: (4d4+1)[10]. Ref DC19 for half.

[Blisstake]

Tireas swims across the river without too much difficulty, his conectration locked on the undead in front of him, rather than the currents around. He awkwardly attemps to swing while half submerged, rather than take the logical course of action and retreat.

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Attacking! There's probably a penalty, and a good chance I provoke an attack, but let's do it anyway! If I sink, the burning hands can't affect me!

Attack: (1d20+5)[24]
(1d8+6)[10]

[ApatheticAbacus]

The combined force of Tireas and Zinovia is enough to put an end to the undead menace. It writhes, its flesh disintegrating into the dark waters of the Shrike River, when Zinovia's spell touches it. Tireas' sword puts an end to it, severing its head from its shoulders.

With the threat gone, Tireas is able to emerge from the river no worse for wear (except for soaking-wet clothes). Estanos is revived by Zinovia's dark magic.

The bridge creaks slightly, and a blustery spring wind catches hair and loose clothing in its grasp. The pines along the river's banks sway slightly, the forest producing a low, whispering noise as needles rustle together. The river itself flows gently onwards. A palpable aura of peacefulness descends over the bridge and the charred ruins beside it...

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As usual, if you want to interact more with this scene, feel free.

15 Gozran, 4708

It is a dreary, overcast day full of hanging grey cloud banks and the threat of rain in the moist air. You venture away from the Shrike River, turning westward from its banks. Copses of trees litter the hills and ravines of the Stolen Lands here.

Though the terrain is scattered with trees, many of them old and gnarled, one catches your eye. At perhaps noon, when the sun peeks through the drab sky for a few fleeting moments, you make out the shape of a huge tree, likely a hundred feet high, sitting atop a small hill, all alone. It is a massive, greying hulk of an ancient sycamore, its trunk misshapen and bent, twisted, with ruts and bumps worn into it. Its bark its greying, though it clings precariously to life. Even its leaves seem bleached with age, and a whitish-green in colour, forming a drooping canopy over the area around the tree.

Estanos

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Amongst the tree's network of old roots, you make out a hole leading downwards. Clearly, it is not natural: there are scrape marks of small claws and perhaps some crude tools around the sides of the shaft.

[Oh My God]

" Well. That was an interesting experiment in empathy," Estanos remarks upon regaining consciousness, clearing trying to maintain a stiff upper lip. He looks over at Zinovia and nods, adding," My thanks."

He then applies himself to an important task; trying to grant some measure of lasting rest to the spirit of poor old Nettles. " Burn his burdens, oh Healing Flame. Quench his hatred, Flower of the Dawn. Forgive him his sins, great Sarenrae." Three times Estanos repeats this prayer, and three times he dips his holy symbol in to the water of the river. He is no expert at the removal and salvation of the souls of the dead and the damned, but its the best he can do at sort notice.

An astute observer might notice that that evening Estanos' ablutions take longer than usual, and he seems to be doing his best to fastidiously remove a filth which seems determined not to be.

~~~

As they approach the tree ( a great landmark! Estanos thinks to himself ), the foreigner thinks he spots something and says," There is.. , " Estanos squints, uncertain whether he's seeing something, or still recovering from his Near Death Experience the day before. " Yes. A hole. See it? " Pointing the way, his finger jabbing towards the hole.

The priest looks to the others, and makes his case, " I think we should descend, and examine the tunnels which this hole will almost certainly lead to. If I had to guess, it was made by hands and tools smaller than those typically used by men. Significantly smaller. Shouldn't be too much of a threat for Tireas and Viktor to handle. And if it -is- some sort of nest or den of evil, we should clear it."

[Blisstake]

"You should have joined me," says Tireas excitedly as he gets back up to the bridge, soaking wet. "The water was great!"

***

"Well, if they're a lot smaller, we shouldn't expect much resistance, right? My only real concern is getting stuck in those tunnels."

[Leviathan]

Zinovia smirks at Tireas. "A valid concern. I shall not be going in first, then." She shuffles forwards, her robes swishing against the ground, to inspect the tunnel entrance.

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Knowledge as to what made the marks on the tunnel (arcana, nature, or the planes): (1d20+9)[26]

Also casting detect magic on the entrance.

[ApatheticAbacus]

Zinovia

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Any number of creatures are capable of using claws and tools to dig, and many would happily carve out a lair under an old tree. Kobolds, some fey spirits, perhaps goblins all spring to mind.

From inside the hole, as you inspect it and decide what to do, you hear a whisper, high pitched and whining, but clearly saying something, instead of a purely animal noise. Large, squinting, yellowish eyes blink momentarily up into the sunlit world from the black hole, then vanish an instant later.

[Winterfell]

"It is likely that the kobolds mentioned by the Swordlords' missive dwell in this cavern," Viktor says slowly, looking into the depths suspiciously. "True or not, we must still explore this place. It is our duty to do so."

[Oh My God]

Estanos clears his throat and speaks in a firm, declatory tone down the hole in the ground," As a duly appointed representative of the civilized world of faith, I hereby request that the occupants of this den, burrow, warren or lair come forth to make themselves known, their numbers to be counted, and their presence included in the official census of the Stolen Lands. Any failure to present yourselves will be taken as a demonstration of ill will, and we shall be forced to take action accordingly."

The ultimatum delivered to the vanished eyes, Estanos seems content to wait, for the moment.

[Blisstake]

Tireas looks as if he is about to speak, but instead draws out his weapon, and passes a bemused glance to Zinovia. There had to be more effective ways of dealing with these creatures, but none of them really had any experience with these sorts of matters, so he decides to let Estanos attempt to handle it.

[Leviathan]

Zinovia returns Tireas' bemused glance with a raised eyebrow of her own. "Perhaps they will be obliging creatures, if we are in luck. Certainly I do not relish having to go down that hole."

[RocketMan]

Ilya laughs as Estanos finishes speaking. "Yes, because clearly whatever lives in a hole at the bottom of a tree speaks the common tongue and positively longs to be counted," he says, eyebrows raised and obviously suppressing further laughter. "The creature attached to those eyes probably wants to eat us, not join the 'world of civilized faith'! Still," he says, pursing his lips and looking into the blackness. "We should investigate. Let's see as much as we can of this passage first, though."

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Casting Light on a rock and chucking it down the tunnel.

[ApatheticAbacus]

The only response to Estanos' order is chirp from a bird that rests in the old sycamore's branches. The tunnel remains quiet and perfectly still for a long minute.

Ilya's stone is thrown. The hole is a tunnel dug into dark soil, sloping downwards dramatically. Roots hang from the ceiling and splay out across the rest of the tunnel. The tunnel is too long to observe its entire length; it falls away into blackness.

Suddenly, the eerie silence is broken by a cacophonous series of shrieks, nasally and vicious. Then there is a pattering and scraping of movement, and, from the darkness, an onslaught of beings rushes forwards.

They are small, with dull blue skin, warty and wrinkled in places. Their puffy-faced heads are far too large for their bodies, comically so. Shocks of grey hair shoot from their scalps, and they are naked except for ragged loincloths.

The creatures rush towards you, screaming angry war cries, and raising sharpened bits of metal and the occasional rusty dagger that are their weapons. They have equally shoddy protection in the form of scavenged wooden boards, pot lids, and bits of barrels strapped to their arms as shields.

They emerge from their cave, waving their arms and weapons with vicious fervour. There are ten of them in all.

Zinovia

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These beings are small, evil fey called mites. They have a mean streak a mile wide, matched only by their potential for cowardice.

The little blue creatures come swarming towards the party. Three of them jump up at Viktor, their knives, claws, and even little pointed teeth scraping over his armour. They scream in frustration as their attacks do nothing.

Another pair run forwards and jab their daggers at Tireas. The blows are poorly timed and delivered, and would likely have missed even if Tireas hadn't sidestepped them entirely.

The rest come scrabbling along behind their compatriots. They chant a babbling, mind-warping tune that is far more intimidating than they themselves are.

Zinovia, Tireas, Ilya, Estanos, and Viktor

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Will Save DC 10 or be shaken for 1 minute.

Round 1

Map

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[Oh My God]

Before the blue flood

" Standard contact methodology. I had to improvise on the wording, since I'm not here on behalf of the Empire. But.. you would simply not believe the number of stupid wars that have started just because one group of people thought another's housing looked dumpy." Estanos shrugs, before adding.

" And don't be silly, Ilya. Of course I wouldn't dream of trying Common this far north; they've probably never heard a Kelesh man before in their lives. I had to try Taldane; I suppose I could have given Dwarvish a shot. They -are- underground..."

After the blue flood

" In any event... ten," the cleric observes, dryly as he places a hand on Viktor's shoulder and points with the other at the one directly in front of Viktor. " Make it nine."

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Casting Guidance defensively on Viktor, +1 on his first attack of the round

[Blisstake]

"What are these things," questions Tireas, slightly panicked. He attempts to swing through the small creature that had advanced dangerously close to Zinovia. "These aren't kobolds, are they?"

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Attacking M9

(1d20+5)[12]
(1d8+6)[7]

[Leviathan]

"They are aptly called 'mites,'" Zinovia replies, with a slight smile towards Tireas. And it is time for them to burn. With a rasping incantation, she lets loose with her favourite spell; this time, though, the blast is a sheet of blue-white lightning that crackles.

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Zinovia will 5 foot step one square to the right. She'll then cast burning hands (lightning) upwards, so that it hits M3, M4, M6, M8, and M9.
If Tireas doesn't kill M9, she provokes an AoO from it. If it hits, she needs to succeed on a concentration check DC=11+damage dealt. Here's her roll for simplicity: (1d20+5)[16]

Burning hands: (4d4+1)[10], Ref DC19 half.
Also, will vs fear: (1d20+3)[9] Add +1 (for her Issian trait) if it's mind-affecting.

[Winterfell]

Viktor lashes out at the nearest mite with his blade, hefting it with force.

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Attack M2.

Attack roll: (1d20+8)[28]
Damage roll: (1d10+4)[13]

[RocketMan]

"What odd creatures," Ilya says, raising an eyebrow at the mites' unimpressive, if admittedly enthusiastic, charge forwards. "I do suppose we'll have to put these creatures in their place - I recall the hunters at Oleg's Post said these mites could be dangerous if unchecked," the young man continues as he fires off a pair of arrows. The tone of his voice suggests he remains dubious about the true threat posed by the blue creatures.

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Will Save: (1d20)[10]

Attack #1 (versus M1): (1d20+4)[19]
Damage #1: (1d6+1)[3]

Attack #2 (versus M5): (1d20+4)[18]
Damage #2: (1d6+1)[7]

[ApatheticAbacus]

Tireas catches the charging mite who comes close to Zinovia off balance, cutting the blue monster down without a second thought. Viktor does the same, to another, guided by Estanos' prayer.

Zinovia's lightning wave wrecks havoc over the mites. Four of the die, whether or not they manage to jump away from the worst of the spell.

And Ilya's arrows finally find their marks. Two mites fall, feathered by the runaway prince.

The remaining pair of mites take one look at the speed with which the big outsiders have slaughtered them and run screaming nasally little screams back down their hole.

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That's going to level you up. Take a moment to bring your characters up to level 2!

[Oh My God]

There is a significant pause after the mites flee from the storm of violence the party unleashes, filled by Estanos saying in a slow, cautious way, " That was... very well done. Good work, everyone," obviously being mindful of the danger that irony poses for any who think they are doing -too- well.

Estanos spends a few moments sorting out the mortal remains of the tiny creatures that assaulted them, trying to give them a measure of respect they themselves lacked in life. That accomplished, he straightens out his clothing and says," Right. Viktor, you up for taking point? "

[Leviathan]

"This was but a trifle. Who knows how many more there may be inside? Two, at least." The sickly wizardess grimaces at the thought of clambouring through the small tunnel, but nods her assent. "After them, before they regroup."

[Blisstake]

"Why not let them regroup? Makes them easier to take out with your spells, Zinovia. Hmm, then again these tunnels may be narrow. I can bring up the rear if you prefer."

[Winterfell]

"Yes," Viktor agrees with the rest of the party. "The sooner we root these creatures out of their lair, the better. Surely they have terrorized travellers in these lands before. Let us go."