It Stares Back IC

[Lank]

Dorkas spits some blood on his foe.
"Now you are ticking me off! Begone beast!" he yells before he reels back. Lightning starts crackling from his wand before a thunderous explosion breaks the silence right on the beast's face.

Spoiler: rolls

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Dorkas is casting Thunderwave,
I'd like to not hit any allies if possible
But even so, Dorkas is going to go down if he doesn't.
Anyone caught in the 15ft cube originating from Dorkas needs to make a con save of 14 or take (2d8)[9] thunder damage and be pushed back 10ft. Creatures who save only take half damage and are not pushed back.

[Mada]

Dorkas spits some blood on his foe.
"Now you are ticking me off! Begone beast!" he yells before he reels back. Lightning starts crackling from his wand before a thunderous explosion breaks the silence right on the beast's face.

Spoiler: rolls

Show

Dorkas is casting Thunderwave,
I'd like to not hit any allies if possible
But even so, Dorkas is going to go down if he doesn't.
Anyone caught in the 15ft cube originating from Dorkas needs to make a con save of 14 or take [roll0] thunder damage and be pushed back 10ft. Creatures who save only take half damage and are not pushed back.

If Dorkas creates distance is he going to run away after?

[Lank]

If his foe is pushed away he will run 30ft away.

[Hemnon]

Loraxina

Lora breathed out a sigh of relief and hurriedly took aim with another Eldrich Blast at another nearby enemy in order to ensure no more of those nasty beasts ends up stalking her like the one just before.

Spoiler: Rolls and Stuff

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Combat Action: Attack nearest beast within 120 ft. with an Eldritch Blast.
Move Action: Stay in place or Move up to 30 ft. in order to be within range, if need be.

Attack Roll: (1d20+6)[11]

Damage Roll: (1d10)[6]
Crit Damage Roll (If Applicable): (1d10)[5]

-----------------------
HP: 9/9
AC: 14

[Mada]

Sorry to Heart and Sally but I'm going to skip ahead and you'll see why...

Enemy 4 fails its saving throw against Create Bonfire and takes 2 damage.
Lora successfully hits with her Eldritch Blast and does 6 damage.
Enemy 4 misses Dorkas twice with an 8 and a 12, then fails his saving throw against Thunderwave and takes 9 damage, reducing it to 0 hitpoints as it ragdolls away from the wizard and collapses to the ground.

That marks the end of combat, as the final creature is slain and the festival grounds turn quiet.

People begin to poke their heads around and look in on the event. Luckily, none of the villagers died thanks to the party.

As it's confirmed the danger is gone, people step forth. Hushed murmurs fill the open area as a crowd reforms and the town is almost completely gathered here. A few run up to the stage and look around frantically. One young woman investigates the ground on the stage, picking up the ripped dance costume that is crumpled on the wooden flooring. She stares in horror for a moment as if her brain is processing something impossible, then turns to the beasts and lets out a mortified scream. "No! Johan no! How could this happen to you?!" She scrambles to one of the monsters bodies and kneels, face in her hands, too afraid to get close but clearly crying in mourn. A few others seem to make a similar connection and begin to weep as they realise what has happened to their loved ones.

There's a sombre quiet, some people are looking to our five combatants, almost desperate for some guidance or... anything.

A reasonably well dressed, older human male takes a moment of respectful silence then steps forward and beckons the five of you to him.

[Lank]

Dorkas, breathing heavily, stumbles a bit before falling on his bum. Clearly wounded he lays down on the ground.
"I..." heavy breath "need to learn..." heavy breath "a close range cantrip".
Dorkas pants on the ground before tilting his head up and takes stock of the others who assisted him in the fight.
"I will be up..." heavy breath "momentarily".

Dorkas sheaths his dagger and returns his wand to his coat.

[Aranfan]

Sally seems ready to start leading a prayer for the departed when the old man interrupts to call a moment of silence for the departed. When he beckons the five of them to him, she goes to him.

[JNAProductions]

Heart looks to mother, and seeing that she's okay (for the most part) moves towards the man. What... What happened? she asks. What were those?

[Hemnon]

Loraxina

With some mild exhales to calm down her breath, Lora finally began to relax post-monstermadnss, keeping a bit away from everyone else. Mostly because she did not have an real relation with anyone that died, she's also a Shadar-Kai, so there's much less extremity in terms of emotion and reaction.

[miniatureaddict]

Im sorry guys but i am going to have to bow out sorry have fun also if any wants to control krogthar also thx

[Xenoph0n]

Feren walks over to the man beckoning him over. He's uncharacteristically silent, with a rather shocked look on his face.

[Mada]

As the group approaches, the man looks grim. "No, I don't know what they were, all I know is that damned half-elf brought them here... I don't know what he stepped through but nobody's seen him since he left..."

He looks around at the group with an eye of uncertainty, "I run this little town and this festival, I feel that some sort of reward is in order... is there anything you particularly desire...? He clearly looks out of his depth and nervous, but like he wants to step up as an authority figure.

Should Dorkas still be on the ground, some people will come over to ask if he is okay.
Lora manages to step away and gain the solitude she desires.

[Xenoph0n]

Feren asks, Is there any way you know of that I could return to the Feywild? Someone who can make a portal, a portal in the area, anything along those lines.

Spoiler: OOC

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I sincerely hope that there isn't, because if there is the only in-character thing Feren could possibly do is return to the Feywild immediately.

[Lank]

Dorkas scrambles to his feet when he hears the prosepct of a reward.
"I don't think any of us intervened with reward in mind. But since you are offering, coins and medical attention would not go astray".

[JNAProductions]

What? Reward? Heart asks. Look, I just did what anyone who knows how to fight would do. Is there anything I can do to help you?

[Aranfan]

Sally shrugs. "I just want to know what's going on. This was a fun festival and then..." She shakes her head. "It's worrying."

[Mada]

The man looks at Feren quizzically. "Portals? Feywild? I'm not even sure what you're talking about. Isn't that some sort of powerful arcane stuff? Nobody like that around here." He turns to one of the crowd who's nearby and beckons them over. "This is Garth. He runs one of our inns, you can rest there tonight. No charge. It isn't far so I'll send a doctor over to meet you there." He makes a vague handwaving guesture at a nearby building.

"Pleasure to meet you all, though I wish it was better circumstances. It's just over there. I'll get your rooms ready, come by at your leisure." Garth wanders off towards the inn, peeling off a closed sign as he enters.

The head of the town looks to Heart. "I don't know what you can do to help. Done all of you can I think... though I would like to know who that man was, why he attacked us and what those monsters are. I'll sort out a reward for you by morning. If you can bring me any information about this attack we can negotiate further payment. I'm sorry, but I have a town to settle, souls to mourn and bodies to bury."

Unless anyone stops him, the man steps away to address a growing crowd of onlookers.

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: OOC

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Wrong game, Mada. Tanis is in the game we're both players in-Heart is my PC here. :P

Heart nods, and goes to find her mother.

[Personification]

Suddenly, Alston comes running in from the direction of the guildhall, tailed by two other armed guild members. Gasping for breath, he goes up to Heart.

What *breath* happened *breath* here? Is everyone *huff-huff* OK?

[JNAProductions]

Looking around, Heart shakes her head. We don't know fully what happened yet, but someone summoned demons, or transformed people into them. I don't THINK anyone off the stage is too badly injured... But I'm not sure.

I need to find my mom now-we were in the fight, and I want to make sure she's okay, she says. You can talk to... Um... I don't think I got his name, but the guy who looks like he's in charge, about how to help.

[Hemnon]

Loraxina

Lora found herself a small stump to sit on, a bit further away from everyone, slightly near the outer reach of the little town. The festival center.... it seemed like it, well it felt tainted somehow, to her and she did not feel comfortable near that place right now.
Like she so often did, whenever something disturbed her or made her feel out of place, she always drifted towards the place she had landed a year back, when that rift into her homelands sucked her through it. Now it was her own way to cope with things, a place that was hers, at least in her own mind.

[Aranfan]

Sally takes stock of herself, and heads towards the inn. She needs a drink.

[Mada]

Spoiler: Heart

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Heart can find her way to her mother, who's sitting on a crate not far from the stage. She appears rough, there's blood stains in her fur around some non-vital areas. The kind face gives you a smile as you approach and she reaches out to hold your hands. "You were quite impressive out there, my girl. If I wasn't so awed by your skill with a blade I might have been paying more attention to myself." She says the last few words with a chuckle. "Are you okay after seeing that? After taking a life?

Spoiler: Dorkas

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An injured woman Dorkas may recognise as the one who was being attacked before he intervened will come up and begin wrapping some sort of make-shift bandage around one of his arms that appears to be hurt. "Thank you... for helping me, you look much worse off for it."

Spoiler: Alston

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Stryker and Rurik begin looking at the corpses closely, apparently taking note of their features and mumbling some things to each other before returning. "Shame we couldn't have gotten here sooner," Stryker grumbles as she returns, "Less injuries and more fun for us."
Rurik looks solemn and shakes his head. "We might have been able to recognise that they were our people and saved some more lives... though I don't know if that's a life worth living." He looks towards Feren and Dorkas. "Thanks for saving our people, strangers."
Stryker comes right up to Alston. "We're going to do some research on these beasts, stay here and talk to Cuttler. If they're interested, maybe bring these out-of-towners by the hall tomorrow, we might have some work for them."

Spoiler: Lora

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Her raven caws as Lora sits upon the outskirts of town. It's almost surreal to think such a quiet place was no different a few moments ago while blood was being shed only a few hundred meters away. She gets the sense that someone is with her, a familiar feeling. Her queen is by her side, at least in spirit. Lora should know by now that such a feeling means important things are coming. The ways of a warlock's patron are cryptic, but perhaps some more solid guidance will be given soon.

[JNAProductions]

Heart nods, but stops. I... Maybe? I think I'm kinda in shock.

She hugs her mother, then, and tears start flowing. Words come out, but nothing comprehensible for a little bit, just blubbering. Eventually, she pulls a little bit away and takes a deep breath. I'll... I'll make it, okay?

[Xenoph0n]

Feren looks around to see if there's anybody in need of medical attention who isn't already being treated. If there is, he goes to them. Otherwise, he heads into the inn.

[Hemnon]

Loraxina

Lora gave a sideways smile to her trusty raven. She'd always seen it as being an emissary of her Queen, more than just a regular living bird as well. Her raven aided her, as if a personal servant of the Raven Queen was with Lora right now, always. It was a big comfort when her contract was made, even if it required her to have a contract mark on her body.

After a little while, along with a few Sentinel Raven headpats, Lora finally got to her feet and plodded along towards her chosen-inn, the one that had been closed earlier. Hopefully the innkeeper hadn't died back then during the massive beast-invasion commotion. She also hoped her regularly-rented room was still available. She'd been staying at it every day the last year after all, so it was more or less 'her room' by now. She of course paid for it, and often did a few illusionistic shows for the other patrons in order to ensure a healthy income so she could pay the food-and-board fees.

[Personification]

Alston nods to Stryker and turns to Cuttler.

Is there anything that I, or the guild can do for you, sir?

[Lank]

"Eh, between you and me, I need to get use to pain. Might be experiencing a lot more in the future". Dorkas gives a wry smile before rising up and heading to the inn. Some food and drink would surely help as he had exhausted all of his magic during the fight.

[Mada]

The Inn
Sally enters first, it's dead quiet and she appears to be the only one in here. The chairs are still flipped upside down on the tables, the fire is out and there's nobody behind the bar. A faint fiery light can be seen coming from a room out the back, there's some clanging and hissing noises accompanying heavy boot-steps coming from the room. After a moment, Garth pokes out his head and looks towards the dark entrance "Won't be a moment, just getting some food ready, would you mind lighting the fire for me?" As quickly as he arrived, he disappears again.

Ferensees nobody in need of immediate care and makes his way to the Inn, seeing a similar picture, save for whatever Sally has done in the previous minute or two before he got there.

Lora makes her way to the inn at which she calls her home in this town, coincidentally, it just happens to be the one that Garth is running. She arrives a few minutes after Feren does.

The woman looks after Dorkas as he walks away and reaches out a hand to him before pulling it back. "Be safe... thanks again." The wizard enters the inn about a minute after Lora does, finding it in whatever shape the group has made it to be in.

The Showgrounds
Heart's mother returns her hug with a smile, when it breaks, she holds her face in her paws and looks her dead in the eye. "Something out there decided that you were to be a part of this, I don't think you're meant to run from it. You were always made to be more than what the tribe had to offer you, my daughter." She leans in and holds her head against Heart's, expressing her kinship with her. As she holds her close, she says something in Tabaxi that sounds like a mixture of gargling phlegm and hissing. It's an old family saying that I'll let you decide what it means. Her mother breaks the embrace then gives another smile. "It's not far to the tribe from here, I think you're meant to begin your journey from here. I will get patched up then head home. You'll do wonderful out here, I'm sure. I love you." Unless Heart has anything else to say, her mother will wander off and disappear into the crowd.

Spoiler: OOC

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The family saying, I imagine, is something similar to "Ohana" from Lelo and Stitch, but it may be something entirely different.

Cuttler turns to Alston and looks him up and down. "The guild? A bit late don't you think?" he grumbles to the gnome before scratching his head aggressively. His solemn expression seems to have turned into stress and frustration. "Sorry, it's a difficult time now. I'll send a letter to the hall later detailing a contract which will provide more benefits to the guild while expecting more stable protective services. For now, I want to know about these monsters. I want to know how that damned bard turned our people into them and I want to know exactly what he was doing leading up to the festival. He was a stranger but his dancers were locals, that certainly spells malice. Tomorrow their families should probably be interviewed. I'll send a list with my letter. For now, I think it's best if you work quietly and allow the people to mourn."

[Hemnon]

Loraxina

Lora went for the nearest empty table, most likely a corner-one to sit at. She'd not initiate talk with anyone, but if anyone were to approach her, she'd of course acknowledge their presence and she'd also talk if talked to.