The Order Of The Shining Plume [IC]

[Xihirli]

Leflabah surged back but found herself wrapped in a human spine. She grunted in surprise as she was entangled, then looked the monstrosity before her in the eye.
"Unlike you, I don't dish out what I can't take. I've burned before, and I'll burn long after you're ash."
Then one more phrase.
"Kadör Ahash!"

Spoiler: Fireball

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(8d6)[27] fire damage, which I resist.

DEX saves from each of us, mine is (1d20+2)[6] I suppose unless I'm taking the same as her no matter what.

Spoiler: If she survives, read this fellow players!

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"Take her down! Don't worry about me!"

[JNAProductions]

When the flames clear, she's still there. "I'LL DIG INTO YOUR THROAT AND RIP YOUR ORGANS OUT ONE BY ONE!" she screams as the fire dies down. "I'LL PUPPET YOUR CORPSE LIKE IT'S A TOY!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Not gonna track damage-short of doing her entire HP in one blow, you ain't killing her in one strike.

But she is dying-you don't rip your own body in half and start spining people without damage. One failed death save.

[Valmark]

Eris screams through the fire "NOW I CAN STAB HER!" before downing her sword on whatever merge of bone and body she has in front of her. Even if she manages to get her off of Leff she keeps crushing the body in fury.

[JNAProductions]

Eris hacks away, two clean slices that separate first an arm, then sever her spine in two. She continues to twitch and move sporadically, but you think she's ACTUALLY dead this time.

Even if she's not, she's in several pieces-her legs are flopping, connected by a single sinew. Her spine's tentacular end is wriggling on the ground, failing to find any purchase. One arm is missing, a few feet away, and her skin is singed and smoldering.

[Xihirli]

At each hack, Leff felt the spines digging in deeper as if squeezing a hand in pain. Except instead of a hand it was a wizard.
When the spine stopped gripping, Leflabah threw herself backward, practically crabwalking away from the body.
She got to her feet, then watched the body twitch in silence.

[Valmark]

"WILL YOU STOP MOVING ALREADY!?" Eris screams hacking the still twitching remains, pounding the corpse, grinding the bones to dust and reducing the meat to tiny chunks.
When she finally stops she leans on her weapon, breathing ragged.
"I... will have... nightmares tonight" she says, falling on one knee.
"You alright... Leff?"

[Athaleon]

Variel was shaken to his core by what he'd just seen, but he wouldn't show it. At least, he didn't think he was showing it. Instead he grimly drew his weapon and formed it into a two-handed warhammer before setting to work on the twitching pieces—starting with the head.

[Xihirli]

A few answers occurred to Leff.
No, a human’s spine just ripped itself from a body and attacked me.
I’ve been better.
But instead she said;
"I will be in a second. Everyone come over here."
Once the others came near, her eyes burned white, and that blaze shot itself around her in a thirty foot disk of white fire, wrapping around the ankles of the others and filling them with healing energy as their wounds closed in the healthy inferno.

"Heal-ah shel hii-oon-yote."

Spoiler: Aura of Vitality

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HEALZ
First to Eris (2d6)[10]+5 (5 to me)
Then to Variel (2d6)[7]+5
And then to me
(2d6)[5]+5
(2d6)[5]+5
(2d6)[6]+5
(2d6)[8]+5
(2d6)[7]+5
(2d6)[3]+5
(2d6)[4]+5
(2d6)[7]+5
I think my minimum should bring us all up to full, but if I’m filled up before I finish and someone else isn’t I’ll redirect to them.

As the white fire receded into Leff’s body, closing her wounds in the process, the Genasi gasped in exhaustion, slumping over somewhat. But there would be time for rest later.
"We don’t have time to forage so we’ll have to make do with what the refugees left behind. I suggest we gather food and supplies then meet back at the church."

[Valmark]

"...is there something you can't do with fire?" Eris says, resting as the flames closed those few cuts she had.
"Also I totally called it when I said we could take whatever was thrown at us. Well, off to find supplies then!" she says, breaking away from the group.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Investigation (1d20-1)[1]
Perception (1d20+3)[8]
Survival just in case (1d20)[6]

Finding fooooood~

[JNAProductions]

It's not too difficult to find a good amount of food-perishables were, by and large, left behind. Whether or not you can stomach the good food is another matter, but it's there.

Spoiler: OOC

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Want to take a short rest as you scavenge? If so, spend hit dice or anything else you'd do on a rest.

[Athaleon]

"We can't linger here long. Now that the immediate threat is... dealt with, we should stay with the villagers until they reach their destination. And this piece of work will be missed when she fails to report to her masters—if they don't already know she's dead. Let's burn the pieces and be on our way."

[Xihirli]

Once at the church, Leff ended up both nodding and shaking her head.
"Burning the pieces is a good precaution. But Meekly is already overseeing the evacuation, and they’re already well ahead of the Slaughterhouse. We should head back to where we last saw Goultard, meet up with him and continue looking for Scribe."

Spoiler: Short Rest

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One 3rd level spell slot back!

[Valmark]

"Will he even be there?" Eris asks.
"It's not like we said to meet up there again, right? Given the dangers. We're strong, but even I have to recognize that going back there with that Siberia around would be extremely dangerous" she sighed "Not that I'm against the challenge. Besides, I'm not too keen on letting the villagers go by themselves... there're other dangers aside from the Slaughterhouse out there"

Spoiler: Short rest

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Recharging Action Surge! Rage and Fighting Spirit uses stay the same though

[Xihirli]

Leff, outvoted, nodded a single time.
"Okay. Let's see if the horses are still nearby and bring some firewood to the body. I'll burn it and we can go."

Once the firewood was gathered, Leff laid it out into a wide fireplace near the body. She picked up one of the narrower sticks, heating her hand until the stick lit up. She put the stick on the pile, then spread out her hands and the fire with it, lighting the pyre entirely.

"Alright, pile the parts on." Leff didn't so much as look at the body.

[Valmark]

"On it!" Eris says, scooping up the remains with whatever she can find, not wanting lo touch the corpse just in case.
After all the remains have been gathered she looks at the smoke.
"If the smoke starts laughing now I'm killing myself rather then fighting her AGAIN" she says.
"Well, I ready to go whenever you want"

[JNAProductions]

You take a brief period to rest and recuperate, as well as burn the unholy daylights out of the corpse that, thankfully, stays dead this time.

Once that's over and you've eaten what you could stomach, you find the horses. While nervous, you're able to calm them and mount up, heading for the villagers.

It takes about an hour to catch up at a fast gallop-your horses will need rest, but the caravan shouldn't be moving too quickly that they can't manage.

As you see the first signs of the villagers, how do you hail them?

[Athaleon]

Variel gave the standard greeting with a wave. "Hail, villagers." He kept his weapons sheathed and slowed his horse to a brisk trot. No point risking getting shot at by a panicking militiaman.

Spoiler

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Short Rest: Recovering his one expended Warlock spell slot.

[JNAProductions]

The people seem not as nervous as you'd expect-then again, the only thing that's really happened to them personally is glass breaking. There's a quiet commotion, and a tired-looking Meekly comes over to greet you as you get waved into the group.

"What..." he starts, before letting out a loud yawn. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

[Xihirli]

"An agent of the slaughterhouse was headed this way, but we were able to defeat her. We thought it best to accompany you the rest of the way through your journey," Leff answered, leaving out a fair bit that wasn't strictly important to Meekly.

Spoiler: OOC

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What time of day is it?

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: OOC

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Deep into the night.

"Is anyone injured? We... No, I suppose you're probably better equipped to heal yourselves than our doctor," he replies. "But you look exhausted. Do you need to sleep?"

[Xihirli]

Probably. Though... The image of a spine shooting at her face and wrapping around her body did little to relax Leflabah.
"Unless you wish to push on through the night," she ended up saying.

[JNAProductions]

"Oh, we'll be moving," he says. "But you can find space on a cart or something."

Spoiler: Insight

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(1d20+4)[6]

Meekly's trying to see if you're okay. I leave it to you to determine what he gets from this roll.

*Sad trombone noises*

Welp, he believes what you want him to. :P

[Xihirli]

Leflabah weighed her options before nodding.
"I will accept. But if something arrives, I would have you notify me," she requested.

Spoiler

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I suppose he gathers I'm exhausted but not that I've just had a near-death experience.

[Valmark]

"I think at least one of us should stay awake with the villagers at all times" Eris says, trying not to show that all her muscles ached at that point "just in case. Possibly taking turns since, you know, I'm NOT stating awake all night at this point. But I can stay here in case you want to go ahead" she tells the rest of the group.

[Athaleon]

"I will take the first watch then, though I believe dawn is only a few hours away. If something arrives, you will know it."

[Xihirli]

Leflabah nodded thanks, then tied her horse off to Variel's and climbed into any cart offered her.

Spoiler: OOC

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Is the cart full of people? Is there any potential covering?

[Valmark]

"Wake me up as soon as you're tired then Variel" Eris says, yawning and following the mayor to whatever cart they were going to stay in.
"Can't wait to get out of this armor"

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: OOC

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Just keeping track:

Watch 1: 14
Watch 2: 15
Watch 3: 13

If that's incorrect, let me know. Not that it really matters, because...

Morning comes, without anything too eventful. A few times during your watches, you head out to investigate, but it ends up being a bear or something similar-potentially dangerous, but not an active threat.

As the sun crests over the horizon, everyone starts to wake up. And then the complaining starts.

"Why did we have to do this?"
"We could be home right now!"
"There's nothing dangerous!"

[Xihirli]

Because she'd taken the last watch, Leflabah at least didn't wake up to complaints.
Complainers sit in the campfire to eat breakfast.
She went to look for Variel, then laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I think we should tell them about the glass lady. The danger isn't past, she was sent expected to destroy the town no problem. When she doesn't come back the Slaughterhouse will send someone tougher, maybe even Somalia."

Spoiler: OOC

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If Variel starts addressing the people I will Guidance him.

[Athaleon]

"You're right. We can't have them looking over their shoulder, but we can't have them getting complacent either." With that, Variel got up heavily to find the mayor and gather the villagers before they get under way again.