[IC] Destiny's Veil - Chapter 1: Frayed Threads and a Thousand Traces

[Tyrann]

In myths so old that all factual detail has long since been polished away by the sands of time, there is word of floating cities suspended in ethereal clouds. Wizards, sages, sorcerers, ruling from tall spires of ivory white over a world dying. The tree of life and all its branches slowly withering away as Parthenon - the name of their old empire - drained the life very essence from the land below.

Until the patient Earth could endure no more. Rising against the magical tyranny, Gaia chose the champions, seven, and bestowed upon them each an artifact of immense power. As your late father would have it, among these champions was your great, great, great, great, great... and then some, grandfather – the Hero of Fire, Ignatius.

This used to be your favorite bedtime story. Whenever he told you about this, he showed you an orb - the Orb of Fire, he called it. And it would always respond to you, glow, when you touched it. Your parents died a long time ago, fending off a goblin raid, but on nights like these, when the memento glows, it still gives you courage.

It takes you a while to notice, but you realize you're dreaming. The moment you do, your father squeezes your shoulder and his deep voice, warm like a fire in a hearth, tells you: "Wake up."

*BOOM*

Your eyes fly open to a loud crash, the screeching sound of metal on stone, wooden beams breaking, and the shattering of glass. After the first whiff of sawdust and cement comes the stench of smoke, burning flesh and the heavy metalic scent of fresh blood.
The smoke burns your eyes, but through teary eyes you can see the outside through a new hole in your parental house.

Somehow you managed to sleep through this, but outside you see chaos in the streets. Imperial soldiers, all over the place. Your militia are fighting back bravely, but they are severely outnumbered and are fighting a losing battle, tied down defending civilians and therefor unable to utilize guerilla tactics. From the corner of your eye, you notice a few of the village teens rushing into your shed to hide, and the baker's wife trying to hide behind a tree near your house.

In the distance - too far away to immediately act on - you can just make out a girl being dragged away. She is knocked out and there's a bag over her head, but even from a distance you recognize her figure and the red hair coming out form underneath that rag, and you are positive that's Isabella. There's what looks to be a commander with the soldiers over there a large man wearing matted black armor adorned with bones, skulls and horns. They are dragging her to a flying lizard. The commanders seems uninterested in the village at large and seem intent on taking off as soon as Isabella is hoisted onto the flying beast.

Meanwhile your entire village is overrun by soldiers, who look to be under instructions not to leave any witnesses - and they seem to be quite ruthlessly efficient. You're pretty sure they've spotted you - one of them is looking directly at you and is pointing your way while shouting.

Map:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[Thokk_Smash]

Holding the Orb of Fire in his hands, Tyrell would always feel a sense of relaxation. The well-used words of his father's storytelling would waft through his ears and provoke imagery that sparked the boy's imagination. Sitting here on the bed beside his father, the boy would feel safe and secure.

He hasn't felt that way, truly, in years.

So when between breaths he is an adult, holding the orb of fire next to his dead father, he gives a rueful chuckle. "Of course I'm dreaming..." Still, he leans into his father's touch as the dream fades to white...

__________________________________________________

Before he opens his eyes, he thinks his dream has simply turned into a nightmare. What else could be the reason for the stench of blood? The sound of his fellow villagers screaming in terror? It must be a nightmare.

When he opens his eyes to see a hole in his childhood wall, he cannot delude himself any longer. There's a split second he allows himself to feel despair. To feel anger and berate himself; why had he allowed himself to skip tonight's scouting party? Even if he was a bit tired, he should have gone!

Then that second is over, and he forces himself into action. Luckily he hadn't been so daft as to sleep unarmored, so when he springs to his feet all he has to do is grab the single pre-strung longbow resting by his bedside. He quickly grabs his sheathed rapier and slides it into the belt loop and spares one look at the Orb of Fire. "Wish me luck, father," he murmurs before he tucks it into a belt pouch.

Then he rushes forward into tragedy. It's all he can do not to hyperfocus on the dead and dying. If he looks too close he will recognize the faces lying dead on the ground. So when he sees the soldier who is shouting and pointing at him, he simply puts an arrow to the string and lines up his shot.

"You saw me."

twang

"Cheers for you."

Then he rushes forward in a burst of speed that leaves him breathless, the opposite side of the fleeing and hiding civilians. He ducks below the tree's branches, past the fire, as he prepares to foil their response to him.

Spoiler: OOC

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I hope it's a free action to gather my weapons and the Orb of Fire.

Swift action: "cast" (until he mutates, I'm fluffing this as an innate ability he doesn't consider magic, but is of course still an SLA from Sagittarius) Swift Expeditious Retreat.

Standard action: Fire at whichever soldier saw him. Power Attack for -1/+2, (1d20+5)[11], (1d8+2)[4] damage.

Move action: Into AH 16 because that's literally the best spot with cover holy fyuck. I can't edit the map, otherwise I'd move Tyrell's token.

EOT.

[Tyrann]

You grab your gear and loose an arrow, which would have hit the archer operating the catapult, had he not managed to duck behind it in the nick of time.

You then dash towards the tree that's been there as long as you can remember, now with the crest in flames, and duck between the familiar branches, positioning yourself for a shot and being covered between the branches and smoke.

The imperials have some idea of where you went, but seem to have lost sight of you; none of them are looking directly at you. Several of them move up as the heaviest fighting around here is clearly around the area you are in now. They aren't as fast as you'd think because of the mass produced armor they're wearing. Meanwhile, your militia are fighting 2 on 1, and are holding on for dear life.

One of them, Theo, a burly man with a dark tan and a full beard, manages to drive his axe deep into the shoulder of one of the two soldiers he was facing. Rowan, a blonde youth with a preference for rapiers and bucklers manages to dodge the incoming attacks, but doesn't manage to get a hit in himself.

The archers in the barn ahead manage to take down an imperial, too.

You notice the civilians manage to hide a little better.

The cows stampede away from the fire and manage to hit one imperial along the way. You also notice three of them charging at the imperials trying to get to the barn; clearly they don't know much about dealing with spooked cattle.

The commander in the distance doesn't seem to care much, Isabella is casually being dragged towards the lizard.


Edit:
Map for convenience: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[Thokk_Smash]

Part of him grieves the tree that he used to hang upside down from as a child. But that part is buried deep now, pushed down by his focus. Sighting down his arrow, Tyrell fires a close-range shot at the enemy still engaged with Theo.

"Big man! What the hell's going on here?" he shouts at Theo as he dashes forward, past the soldiers attempting to encircle his home. "Back up Rowan and don't let 'em flank you!"

This is reckless, going so out into the open. He knows it's stupid.

But they have Isabella. Aside from Uncle Luna, she's all the family he's got left. He can't let her be taken by the Empire, no matter the cost.

Spoiler: Actions

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Standard action: Attack (From hiding?) the soldier engaged with Theo. PA for -1/+2, remembering PBS: (1d20+6)[22]+2 if Concealment gave me Hiding, (1d8+3)[6] piercing damage.

Swift action: cast my last use of Expeditious Retreat, Swift.

Move action: Across the battlefield into AA 24. He can't reach the next-closest tree even with a double move, and again, he's trying to get to Isabella as fast as he can. I doubt I'm making the optimal choice here, but I'm not too worried about it because we're doomed from the start, haha.

[Tyrann]

The remaning soldier enganged with Theo is far too busy to pay attention to you, so you catch him completely flat footed. The arrow strikes above his collar and beneath his helmet, piercing the soldier's neck. He staggers forward while gurgling and collapses.

"Boss!" Theo charges forward, now freed from his direct assailants. "Raaahhh" He strikes down an unfortunate enemy archer as he charging aslongside you, looking like a demon in a shower blood while his deep gentle voice booms. "No idea, they just appeared out of nowhere. Half of them went to the mayor's house and the other half pushed us back here, so we came to get you. What now?"

Meanwhile Rowan has managed to disengage his opponents to regroup with you. He manages to duck just in time to be missed by an arrow that came from behind, though you suspect that maneuver probably cost him some hairs and almost an ear.

Ahead if you, you notice Finn, who has always favored large shields, holding off two imperials at the same time. He fails to inflict damage to his opponent, but blocks all their attacks in turn, including an arrow that came his way.

Next to him is Miles, an older man with a moustache who likes longsword duels and libraries, clutching his sides. He looks gravely wounded and appears on the verge of collapse, but is still standing.

Two arrows whiz down from the barn, and one of them strikes true. The archer twins, Nolan and Iris, your rivals in archery and about your age - though neither are quite as good a shot as you - jump down from the barn and take cover behind the nearest tree, so they can move with you.

Now that your militia are intuitively falling into a formation as you've taught them, the imperials seem to take note and are trying to encircle you.

Noticing you seem to be the leader, three of the enemy soldiers throw javelins at you.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Isabella is moment away from being hoisted onto the lizard.

Spoiler: Mechanics and map

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attack 1 - (1d20+1)[21]
damage 1 - (1d6+1)[2]

attack 2 - (1d20+1)[11]
damage 2 - (1d6+1)[5]

attack 3 - (1d20+1)[6]
damage 3 - (1d6+1)[4]

So that's one javelin that hit you, for a total of 2 damage.

Map: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[Thokk_Smash]

It wouldn't be fair to say Tyrell was numb to the death he had just inflicted. Uncle Luna had taught him that to kill his feelings is to kill himself, even if his body keeps moving. So instead he takes his revulsion towards death and uses it as fuel to spur himself forward.

As it is, his frustration and fear are strong enough to choke him, and tears of rage are pricking the edges of his eyes. Isabella is hundreds of feet away. He would have no chance of such a shot if he had all the time in the world, let alone in the middle of pitched combat. An internal war is fought within the teenager: does he try and strike forward to attempt what is likely a suicide mission? Or stay and consolidate his forces?

The answer is obvious, but it takes him too long to make the inescapable decision. "Nolan, Iris, counter-snipe the archers!" he shouts, turning around to face the soldiers close to his home. "Miles, get to cover and try to wrap those wounds! Rowan, give Finn some backup; don't stay in one place too long, don't make yourself an easy target!"

He side-steps twice as he lines up a shot. "Theo, help me take out these guys at our rear! We'll stop them from flanking us, then worry about the rest after!"

With that, he fires two arrows in rapid succession, hoping to thin the herd. The tears of impotent anguish have begun to flow. He doubts they will stop soon.

Spoiler: Actions

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Full Attack: Rapid Shot. First shot at the soldier in AA18, -2 for Rapid Shot, +1 for PBS: (1d20+5)[18], (1d8+1)[6]

Second shot at AA18, or AE21 if AA18 is down: (1d20+5)[21], (1d8+1)[3]

Free Action: five-foot step into Z25.

[Tyrann]

Taking naturally to your orders, your militia rise above themselves and fight like lions. Your first arrow cleanly downs a soldier and injures another by striking him deep in his chest, leaving him off balanced which gives Theo room to charge him and chop him down. "Boss man, what the hell is this?! This thing is rotting!" he shouts.

Spoiler: Will save

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Spoiler: 16 or lower

Show

You see a normal soldier, losing normal blood

Spoiler: DC 17 or over

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That soldier looks like a corpse that's been dead for a few months. The jaw hanging by a few ligaments, one of the eyes is out of the socket the skin is a mottled pale rotten green. In fact, now that you've noticed, all the enemy soldiers look like that. Including the ones who are moving.

Theo then pulls his axe out of the downed enemy and uses it to block strikes from the two soldiers that have caught up to him.

Rowan repositions himself to take up the flank and protect you from the soldiers that lagged behind. He swings but only hits armor, and then nimbly dodges two attacks that come his way.
(see IC for enemy attack rolls)

Finn is fighting 6 on one to keep the bulk of the soldiers away from the rest of you. And he's doing a great job of it, too. He positions himself so that two melee assailants can't get to him and blocks the attacks from the other two with his shield. He manages to position his attackers in such a way that the first archer that shoots at him can't get a good line and misses, but the second archer pulls off a miracle shot and manages to hit Finn in the leg, just beneath his chain mail. It looks like a deep wound, the leg is almost immediately soaked in red

The archer twins take cover behind a tree, so they can counter snipe like you asked.
Iris misses her shot, but Nolan takes a shot at the enemy archer that hid behind the tree behind you and hits them clean in the head, finishing them off. He then takes a shot at one of the archers that hit Finn, but misses.

Miles runs for cover and downs a potion, which causes his wounds to patch themselves.

All the repositioning left one archer with a clean line of attack to you, and he takes a shot, but it's a clumsy attack and you manage to dodge it.

In the distance, Isabella gets hoisted onto the large lizard.

Spoiler: OOC

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Rolls that didn't succesfully get made in the OOC that I stupidly put here because I had 2 tabs open:
I think they bugged out in the OOC because I used brackets in the description

W22 against Rowan - (1d20+1)[5]
X22 against Rowan - (1d20+1)[3]

AD21 against Theo - (1d20+1)[8]
AE21 if alive against Theo - (1d20+1)[10]
AF21 against Theo - (1d20+1)[15]

AF29 if alive against Finn - (1d20+1)[14]
AF30 against Theo - (1d20+1)[11]
AM 37 archer against Finn - (1d20-3)[11]
AL 40 archer against Finn - (1d20-3)[17]

AN 27 archer against Tyrell - (1d20+1)[10]

[Thokk_Smash]

Tyrell curses as the arrow whizzes by his face. Good, Miles is back up, but hells, Finn took a bad hit. And now Theo is talking some madness about rotting?

"Focus, big man, that's just a dead body! Nothing we haven't seen before!"

He takes a step towards Theo in order to get the man's enemies in a better angle. He fires two shots at the soldiers Theo is engaged with. Part of him doesn't want to turn back around, but he does in order to see how Miles and the twins are doing. In the distance he sees Isabella being hoisted onto the big flying lizard, and he snarls in pain and impotent rage. "Everyone, we're aiming to regroup around the tree with the twins and Miles! Finn, edge your way over there if you can! Iris, Nolan, keep picking off the archers! Theo, try to back up Finn if you can!"

Every fiber of his being is yelling at him to run towards Isabella. Seeing her about to be taken away from him is like a knife in his chest, and every second it is twisted and jerked to cause more pain. But as long as his comrades are fighting, he will not abandon them.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free action: 5-foot step into AA24.

Full Attack: Rapid Shot at AD21 and AF21. -2 Rapid Shot, -1/+1 PA, +1/+1 PBS.

Vs AD21: (1d20+4)[5], [roll]1d8+3[roll] piercing damage
Vs AD21 (Or AF21 if AD21 dies): (1d20+4)[24], (1d8+3)[11] piercing damage.

[Tyrann]

Due to Theo's bulk, you struggle to get a good window for your shot - the only thing available, really, is the head of the enemy soldier. Your first shot just misses, but your second arrow goes clean through the enemy soldier's eye, making a dent at the back of their helmet. They immediately collapse.

Theo takes a swing at the other soldier he was facing. Unfortunately, whatever he just saw may have spooked him a little, and his attack swings wide and misses. Dodging the counter from his direct enemy, he then steps 5' back so he can take a swing at the enemy soldier who has broken through your ranks and is charging at you. Now that one of them is running directly towards you, you notice how weirdly stiff and awkward their movements are - coming to an acute end when Theo swings and cleanly takes the man's head off. Due to the momentum some of the ensuing blood shower spatters onto you.

Spoiler: Will save

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Spoiler: 16 or lower

Show

Nothing to see here, just another soldier with poorly fitted armor.

Spoiler: DC 17 or over

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That's not blood, that's bits and pieces of a rotting corpse. It totally reeks - you can't believe you didn't smell that earlier - and the head that just tumbled on the floor in front of you is missing half its skin. Now that you've noticed, all the enemy soldiers look like that. Including the one Theo was shouting about earlier.

Rowan hasn't verbally acknowledged your order, but you can tell he's heard you and understood - he gets like that when he's in the zone.
Slowly fighting backwards, but holding the line to not let you get overrun, he stabs at one of the two soldiers he's facing. He misses, but creates enough space for himself to dodge the enemy's attacks in turn.

Finn disengages and falls back as instructed, staying just outside of the range of the enemy melee combatants. The archers fire at him again, but he blocks it all this time - he now has several arrows sticking out of his shield, which he strikes off with his sword.

Iris hides behind the tree - quite well - and for a moment you almost lose sight of her, but then you see a crossbow bolt fly just an inch wide of one of the enemy archers.
From that same tree you see two of Nolan's arrows fly, one of which lands in the chest of an enemy archer who collapses.
Only two archers remain in normal firing range, and another drawing closer in the distance.

Miles, now back in the fight, takes up a dueling stance and skewers the enemy soldier closest to the tree, taking them down.

In the distance, the commander and lieutenant are climbing onto the big lizard. You do notice that they don't move as awkwardly as the regular soldiers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Map for convenience
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

That was a LOT of misses on both sides.

[Thokk_Smash]

As the blood splatters into Tyrell's face, realization smacks into him like a ballista bolt. That's not just blood he's tasting from the splatter on his mouth. It's...oh, gods.

"What the hells and heavens! Theo, I see it now!"

And with that sight comes a sickening thought. All of these...creatures that were glamoured to look like soldiers...were they created by those two on the flying lizard? He had been planning to take one of these soldiers prisoner if his militia managed to defend against them all...but they're not even alive to begin with! He won't be getting any answers out of these creatures.

If the creators or leaders of these things escape with Isabella...what will they do to her? What do they intend for her???

"I don't suppose any one of you has a hidden talent for working a catapult?!" he shouts to the group at large as he fires two more arrows in rapid succession at the two soldiers harrying Rowan. "We can't let them take Isabella!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Five-foot step down into AA25.

Full Attack: Rapid Shot at W23. -2 Rapid Shot, -1/+1 PA, +1 PBS.
W23: (1d20+4)[10], (1d8+3)[6] piercing damage

W23 (or X23 if the first kills W23): (1d20+4)[8], (1d8+3)[8] piercing damage

[Tyrann]

Even though, after the realization hits you, you cough so hard it makes your eyes water, you still take your shots. Unfortunately both arrows miss.

Rowan, who still hasn't caught on, yells "What are you two on about? I'm fighting two guys here, can we please focus?!"
He takes another stab at the enemy directly in front of him and takes him down, only to be stabbed in the flank himself.
Meanwhile, Miles charges over and takes a stab at the other enemy that was harrying Rowan. His blade bounces off the enemy's armor - it would have been a hit otherwise.

Theo grunts and executes his remaining opponent, causing another head to roll. While he's distracted, an arrow hits him in the back, causing his breath to become raspy almost immediately. You think you see blood leaking out of his mouth.

Both Theo and Rowan appear seriously hurt.


Finn looks over with concern. You think he might have noticed about the zombies, too; he's still kiting his pack that now consists of 6 zombies directly following him, and some in the distance.

The archers countersnipe as you've instructed.
Iris takes down one of the enemy archers with a crossbow bolt to the unprotected neck.
Nolan fires two shots at the archer who hit Theo, but misses both.

In the distance, the big lizard takes off. It's surprisingly fast and coming your way. In a span of 6 seconds it took off and moved 300 feet towards you, rising to about 50 feet off the ground.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll spot, kn. arcana, kn. nature and psicraft please.
Also, all of your milita carry a potion on them that can heal for 1d8+1. I forgot to mention this in my house rules in the recruitment thread, but as a house rule all adventurers, including your militia, can carry one potion on their person and use this as a standard action, without having to spend time to retrieve it. Think of it as that one vial you always carry on your belt, even if you don't have specialized equipment.
Miles has already used his.

[Thokk_Smash]

"If you don't see it, don't worry about it, Rowan!" Tyrell shouts, voice perhaps a bit more shrill than it normally would be. He spits out the last of the rotten blood from his mouth and focuses up. The giant lizard is on its way, and it looks like it's not just a common pet. Either it's been enhanced, or it can enhance itself to become larger.

The sinking pit in his stomach is becoming too large to ignore. If it were just the zombie soldiers--and isn't that a scene from a nightmare?--they might have been able to pull through. Against a giant lizard...

But that won't stop him from trying.

"Rowan, disengage and take your potion! Miles, cover for him!"

Tyrell takes aim at the remaining archer within range. Two arrows fly out, trying to snuff out its unlife.

"Theo, take your potion and back up Finn! Iris, Nolan, try to thin out the herd around Finn, ease up the pressure on him! And after that, get ready to aim at the giant lizard about to knock on our door!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Five foot step into AA25

Full attack on AN27. -2 Rapid Shot, -1/+2 PA. More than 30ft out, so no PBS.
AN27: (1d20+3)[7], (1d8+2)[4] piercing damage

AN27 (or AE30, if AN27 is down): (1d20+3)[14], (1d8+2)[4] piercing damage

[Tyrann]

Rowan disengages as instructed and takes his potion, causing the red on his flank to stop expanding. Theo wipes the worst of the gunk out of his beard, grits his teeth, pulls the arrow out and takes the potion right after, causing him to stop rasping. After a quick sigh he readies himself for a charge. Neither of them are fully healed, but both do appear to not be on death's door anymore.

Miles takes down the remaining zombie that Rowan was fighting earlier, leaving only one straggler and an otherwise clean flank.
"Sir Tyrell, should I fight the straggler or would you like me to join Finn?" the silver moustache asks in his erudite voice.

Finn, meanwhile, is still kiting, and doing a good job of it. He even manages to heal his wounds by downing a potion himself, and is fully healed by it.

The archer twins manage to pick off two zombies between them, easing the burden on Finn a little.

The big flying lizard moves another 300 feet towards you. You're not entirely sure but you think you saw fire leaking from it's nostrils.

Among the zombies shambling over in the distance - you can't believe you thought those clumsy movements were actual soldiers now that you've seen through the glamour - you notice one archer, about 120 feet away, and another inside a building 180 feet away, not moving towards you. The rest within remote striking distance are all dressed as footsoldiers.

[Thokk_Smash]

Fire from the nostrils...?

Tyrell's blood freezes as he allows himself to realize exactly what that thing probably is. A dragon, here? Who are these people? Why did they choose to rain such destruction upon their quiet village?

The gentle pulsing heat of the Orb of Fire beside Tyrell's breast tells him he knows why. And Miles invoking his father's title for him brings it into perspective as well. Necromancy and controlling dragons...are these people some sort of cult around the ancient magic civilization? This is too much. They were doomed as soon as these people set their sights on this village.

At least, Tyrell was doomed...

"New plan!" Tyrell roars, aiming to kill the final straggler up north. "Anyone not named Tyrell Blaze is hereby commanded to split up and retreat, immediately! Finn, you run northwest! Twins, sprint west! Miles, go north, Rowan, northeast, and Theo, east! That thing is a dragon, but if you all split up then at least one of you might survive!"

Then he whips around and faces the oncoming dragon with bow held threateningly. "There is no shame in this! Find Uncle Luna! Tell him the stories my father spoke are true! Tell him that whatever else he hears, the empire did not destroy our village! My final command to you is to live!"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Five-foot step into AA24.

Rapid shot on Z19. -2 Rapid Shot, -1/+2 PA, +1/+1 PBS.

Z19: (1d20+4)[5], (1d8+3)[4] piercing damage
Z19 redux: (1d20+4)[7], (1d8+3)[8] piercing damage

[Tyrann]

"What? Boss.. No!" Rowan shouts. He grabs his saber tight and moves next to you.

"Sis, what are you doing?!" Nolan shouts while Iris hesitates but still runs. "If we go, we go out with Tyrell!"
"Don't be an idiot. Run!!" Iris yells back with tears in her eyes.

Miles says "You remind me of your father. I am proud to be your friend." And starts running.

Finn just stoically keeps kiting, but does pick up the pace while he gives you a sad look.

Theo gives you a conflicted look - you're sure he's frowning below the blood, gore, and massive beard, then nods with a steely look in his eyes and rushes into the eastern flank, still full of zombies, like you told him.

And then, it comes. The flapping of huge heavy wings drawing near, beating so hard that the flames on the burning barn go crazy. Followed by the bulk of the massive black lizard itself - a dragon - swooping into view. It opens its giant maw and your entire view fills with a huge curtain of dark red flames that almost look alive as they pour down on your men. And what's worse, it doesn't stop. The dragon just keeps breathing down a torrent of flames as it flies, dragging a streak of fire underneath it, until finally, the heat reaches you, too. The fire almost immediately engulfs your skin as your armor literally melts, and everything burns. It hurts in ways you could have never imagined. You hear the horrible, heat-warped screams of Nolan, of Iris, and Rowan as the flames touch them, too. But you fail to scream yourself; the heat has stolen the air away and swollen your throat. Through your last tears, that literally boil on your face, you see Isabella on that dragon, passed out.

You are about to lose consciousness. Your last thought, perhaps, with Finn, Miles, and Theo who did not get hit by the dragon.

And then, the hurt stops. The the flames still move, but no longer burn. Air returns, but your voice doesn't. Instead, you feel a deeply benign presence and a graceful female figure, about twice your size, forms out of the essence of flame, gently wiping the burning tear from your face. You look at your hands and they are blackened, caked in the charcoal of what used to be your skin, but her touch sends tingles through your chest and you see little veins of fire crack through your skin, healing you, and you feel your heart starting to beat again, only now noticing that it had stopped.

Her touch reminds you of everything benevolently female, all at once. A loving mother's embrace. A passionate lover's kiss. The innocence of a young girl's smile and the piercing gentle wisdom of a sagely old lady in a rocking chair. You innately understand that, as long as you strive to be your best self, whatever this spirit is, it will nourish you. Support you. Make you laugh when you are down, and be your light when all seems lost. What she asks from you is to be brave. To courageously keep struggling. To keep protecting what you love. To face your fears, so that others may be safe.

All of that, with a single touch. And then her voice rings in your head like a melody.

"You have suffered much, and have been truly brave. Champion, will you accept what I offer?"

[Thokk_Smash]

He was too late. Even choosing to engage with the soldiers had been a mistake. As soon as a hole had opened up in the northern flank, he should have immediately ordered his militia to retreat. If only he had realized the giant lizard was a dragon sooner. If only he hadn't stubbornly fought on longer than he needed to. If only, if only.

Now Tyrell is left with nothing but his regrets as the dragon bears down on him and his allies. His instinct was right; he was the one they were after, in the end. The dragonfire is awe-inspiring in the truest sense. In the seconds before it impacts him, Tyrell thinks he can see scintillating colors other than orange and red curling within the flame. It's like a liquid, he realizes, as it finally makes contact with his very flammable body.

As the dragon's flame consumes him in its obliterating embrace, the physical pain is only outmatched by the lance of guilt in his heart at hearing Iris, Nolan, and Rowan cry out in their own pain. He can't even cry out himself, the fire is so all-consuming: consuming the breath from his lungs, consuming the flesh from his bones, trying to consume his very essence. It is only his stubborn pride that keeps him conscious long enough to see Isabella on the back of the dragon. The sight brings tears to his eyes, right before they are almost boiled in their sockets.

So when the pain suddenly vanishes, Tyrell thinks he has perished. Died. Shuffled off of the mortal coil, to wherever souls go when their physical containers succumb. But still he can see. And what he sees he does not fully comprehend. As his heartbeat reemerges within his chest; as his blackened muscle becomes threaded with molten orange; he considers the entity's words.

Brave? Is he truly brave? What is bravery, in the end? Tyrell has only ever acted the way his parents taught him. Is it truly bravery to act the way he wishes to act, no matter how much it hurts? Or is it simple mulish stubbornness?

No matter. Now is not the time for introspection. Through lips cracked and broken from flame, Tyrell says, "I accept. Please...help me."

[Tyrann]

The fire coursing through you with every heart beat becomes more violent, warmer. It doesn't hurt, but you can sense the enormous amount of energy that's being circulated throughout you. The entity touches your forehead then then backs off a little, and white light erupts from the cracks in your blackened skin. Small fires begin to turn over every part of your body, crafting it anew. It's not an unpleasant sensation, but it is very very weird, all the while still giving you that experience of nearly exploding with energy.

The sheer amount of power is overwhelming to the point that it's starts blurring your vision and your thoughts. It's frankly overwhelming and though you don't want to, you can feel yourself losing consciousness.

Just before everything goes white, you hear:

"One more chance, but this time blessed. Send them off soon, have them run west. Hide from the beast, 'till they think you are dust. Then follow, to Orion's Gate, where you'll find her, and the gust."


Then you wake up, about 1 minute into the past, to the exact same rumble, and broken wood, and dust as before. The same soldier - a zombie, you now know - pointing at you. Your men outside.

But you are not the same.

Your body feels different. Almost as if it were made of living flame. Your bow is enchanted, somehow. And so is your armor.
But what's more, you are wearing an obsidian crown and new boots - gifts from the entity, you know.
Both of them powered in ways they wouldn't normally be, probably due to just having made the pact.
And then there's the orb. No longer just pulsing, but floating, on it's own accord, to your bow. You instinctively know how to wield it. You instinctively know what to do.

Another chance. What do you do with it?

Spoiler: Spoiler

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Ok so let's not do this on the map, but just in the theater of the mind. Same events as before, so Theo and Rowan are close to you, then Finn is fighting a pack, Miles is hurt, Iris and Nolan jump down from the barn and make their way to the tree to snipe.

For the remainer of this scene, you are under the effect of a CL 20 greater magic weapon (+5 to attack and damage with your bow) and CL 20 magic vestment (+5 AC to your armor)
Your Circlet and Boots are both shaped, bound, each have 4 essentia in them and count as being shaper level 20.

Between your magic weapon and inspire courage and magic weapon, you can no longer miss the zombies, even on a 1 when using rapid shot, and any attack will kill them. So you can just assume you always hit.

For the sake of getting the story going, feel free to describe what you want to do in the first 5 turns and we'll theater of the mind it from there. Anything within reason can be pulled off, but keep in mind that getting to the dragon with constant run actions would take 11 turns, and doing so would leave you unable to create a path out for your militia.

Also note that turn 6 is when the dragon napalmed you and your team.

Orion's Gate is a rather infamous prison. You would need a map but could find if easily if you had one.

[Thokk_Smash]

The entity's words ring in Tyrell's very soul as he opens his eyes from waking for the second time that night. His every heartbeat sends fresh fire thrumming through his veins, a faint echo of the all-consuming dragonfire that had just engulfed him. Had it been a nightmare? A premonition?

But no. His eyes land first on the zombie pointing at him, the macabre facsimile of a soldier. His mind goes back to it somehow managing to dodge his first arrow against it earlier. He moves as if in a dream as he gets to his feet from the bed. His bow is wreathed in flames that burn but do not consume as he levels it against the zombie. As he draws the bowstring back he doesn't even draw an arrow--instead, a semi-real arrow forms as the string draws back. As easy as breathing he lets the arrow fly, and even before the zombie falls he runs out of his parents' home.

"Everyone! To me!"

His command reverberates in the immediate area, grabbing the attention of all of his militia. The burgundy boots that crawl up his lower legs flare white, and in a flash he teleports right next to the flaming tree he had swung on as a child. Another arrow flies out, taking a zombie through the head that was harrying Finn. And then he is in the midst of his militia, standing tall: hair a flaming, waving orange, skin burnt-red and veined with orange, his obsidian circlet flaring orange with every heartbeat.

"Miles, take your potion! Frontliners, clear a path to the west! Archers, cover us! We're breaking through and getting the hell out of here! We need to be in the woods before that dragon comes our way, now let's go!"

His voice holds utter confidence and brooks no dissent. In as many breaths he takes out two zombies harrying Rowan, then repeats it with the zombies harassing Theo. With every thrum of his circlet his militia feels their hands become more sure, their weapons held more tightly and with greater confidence.

Spoiler

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This'll be, like, the first three or so turns. Also, I love the rhyming the entity did. I may be overthinking it, but did the entity want Tyrell to stay with his militia and go to the Prison, or separate from them to keep the dragon away from them?

[Tyrann]

Rowan's mouth literally drops open when he sees you. "B-Boss, are you.. okay?"

"What in the nine hells..!? You exploded that guy.." Theo adds, looking suspiciously first at the zombie, then at your burning hair.

Miles, after downing the potion, wipes his mouth and looks at you dumbstruck, while Finn, still holding off zombies, shoots glances over at you often enough that you worry he might get hit - he doesn't though; due to the courage you've inspired in your men they have turned into a meat grinder. With almost every slash they make, another zombie falls.

The twins, hidden behind the same tree as before, are cleaning up and take out several enemy archers before finally looking your way. Both of them appear deeply confused.
"Tyrell! Y-y-your h-h-ha-. Your hair is on fire!" says Iris.
"All of him is on fire, sis." Nolan scratches the back of his head. "Including his shots.." he mutters under his breath. "But he doesn't seem hurt. Right?"

And yet, though all confused, your men do follow your commands unerringly, with a calm as if they're doing afternoon drills, and making attacks with the kind of form you'd only see in their very best practice sessions.

After you create a path out for them, they start running for the trees, shouting at the civilians near your house and behind the barn to join them.

In the distance, you see the zombie soldiers have hoisted the unconscious Isabella onto the dragon, and it's about to take off.

Spoiler: OOC

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The entity did suggest fooling the enemy into thinking Tyrell gets turned to dust in dragon breath. But it's up to you how you want to handle this.

[Thokk_Smash]

Even despite his altered and alien appearance, the childish, confident grin he gives his militia is the same as it always has been. "I'm still me," he reassures his friends as he draws back his bowstring and takes the head off of a zombie without looking. Seeing Iris and Nolan and Rowan still alive and unburnt almost brings a tear to his eye. If he had any regrets about taking up the strange entity's offer, they are resolutely gone by now.

"I'll explain everything after you all are safe. Stay under the forest canopy and do not come out! Bring whoever follows to the grotto in the forest and wait there for me!" Long ago, Logan had found a hidden grotto a fair distance away from the village and had shown all of his militia where it was. It should be easy for them to bunker down and fortify it as needed.

And now...the dragon. He grabs the hood of his cloak over his enflamed hair to try and hide its abnormality from his attackers. Then, as the dragon approaches, he channels all of the fury and frustration he can muster into a roar of anger as he fires futile arrows at it. He most certainly does not want to actually draw its attention to the ground, so he aims his shots to just miss the dragon and its riders--and give the appearance of a boy making a last stand.

And as the dragonfire washes over him once more, he falls to the ground, unmoving. But as the dragon flies away, he does not stop glaring at it until it is lost to sight.

Spoiler: OOC

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As per the narration, he's not actually trying to hit them so they don't realize he might have powered up. Also why he's trying to hide his flaming hair.

[Tyrann]

While the militia run for the trees, with the remaining civilians in tow, in the distance you can see what you suspect is a dragon rushing over again.

Now that you have a moment to actually pay real attention to it, you notice just what a murder machine that thing is. Interlocking teeth each the size of your lower arm, and even larger curved talons. Even a hooked claw on the wing joints. Massive onyx black scales that cover it like armor, predatory forwards facing eyes with irises that look maliciously aflame and cat-like slitted pupils that are narrow enough to suggest that even this level of violence bores it, three knife-like bony protrusions frame its head, two from its very sharp cheekbones and one from its nose to between its eyes. In all honestly, it looks like its head was built to literally carve into very large prey and eat them from within. As before, it's casually blowing fire from its nostrils as it flies.

And yet, your years of hunting tell you that its eyes are too big for its size, and its head is too big for its body. Whatever that thing is, it's probably not an adult specimen of whatever species it is.

You now also notice that the commander isn't actually flying the thing. There are no reins, only a harness to provide seating - and probably some protection from the spikes back there. The commander is wearing black armor adorned with skulls on the shoulders and bones that frame his chest like a rib cage. You can't make out his face because a helmet covers it fully, but he looks fairly huge and muscular.
The lieutenant - at least, that's what the purposefully exposed crest on his chest suggests he is - does have a visible face under a hooded cloak that seems like its made of living shadows. He looks androgynous, way too pale, and has oddly shaped pointy ears. He mumbles something and the dragon, who was about to go for the tree line, changes its course to go back to you.

As the dragon approaches, you fire your arrows, missing on purpose. Though somehow, your form does make an impact on the dragon. Its pupils widen and it flies straight at you, to bathe you in fire like before, but this time it hovers in front of you and breathes a cone instead, that does linger.

Just when the fire is about to hit, you blink away into the barn. You're almost positive the lieutenant noticed - he looked straight at you afterward - but he didn't say anything. Instead, the dragon speaks in a voice that literally rumbles through your entire body in a horribly malignant growling baritone that makes even the burning hairs in your neck stand on end.

"DID YOU SEE THAT FLEE BURN?! HOW DARE IT SHOOT AT MY BEAUTIFUL SELF. IT'S LUCKY IT MISSED, OR I WOULD HAVE HAD YOU RAISE IT SO I COULD MAKE ITS SPIRIT DANCE IN THE FLAMES. THIS BASTARD." The beast snorts. "I ALMOST REGRET BURNING IT NOW. THERE'S NOTHING LEFT, IS THERE? OR CAN YOU STILL RAISE IT?"

"No, I can't raise him." Answers the heavy voice of the commander. "You were thorough. There's a full contingent waiting on the other side of that forest. They can clean up. We should move before you're noticed."

"WE SHOULD. ELF, DO THE THING."

Then, the lot of them vanish from sight after shadows crawl over their forms, including the still unconscious Isabella on its back, and you can hear the dragon's heavy wings flap off to the north.

After the dragon is gone, you do notice a few more civilians scattered amongst various hiding places or stuck in burning buildings while and being hunted by the undead. The zombies seem to have gotten a bit dumber and less organized, though they do still pose as soldiers and the glamour is still on them.

Spoiler: If you take the time to search one of the zombies

Show

Its armor and weapons are made of metal, but it's not quite steel. It looks and feels the same, but your trained hands notice the sleight difference in weight. You also notice that, hidden beneath the helmet or armor, each zombie is wearing a piercing made of that same metal. Furthermore you notice that all weapons, including the bows and all of the arrows, are made from this same metal looking stuff. And in different items, it weighs, bends, and feels different.

Spoiler: if you remove the piercing from a zombie

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The zombie disappears fully into a cloud of shadows. Nothing is left except for the armor and weapons, and the piercing you now hold.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll knowledge religion and arcana

Spoiler: OOC

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Feel free to either rescue civilians first or to head straight to the grotto. If you choose to rescue civilians, there will be some banter on the way over, so I'm not going to end this scene quite yet, but all the combat that requires rolls is over. You can assume that any zombie you meet is quickly turned into a burning pincushion. If you want, you can literally solo every zombie still in the village in a few minutes. Do keep in mind that this will delay your arrival at the grotto, though, especially if you also choose to bring the civilians.

[Thokk_Smash]

Trying to keep himself from hyperventilating from the stress of what just happened, Tyrell considers it a miracle that worked. The elf, the lieutenant, whatever it is...why did they say nothing when they noticed him? It gives him a bad feeling, but he isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, not in this situation.

He sends two arrows downrange, and two zombies go down that were about to reach two cowering villagers. Then Tyrell teleports in a flash of fire to those two same villagers to stand beside them protectively.

"We must flee, now! Gather yourselves and run west into the forest!"

He teleports to the burning wreckage that is trapping other civilians, and with a grunting heave he wrenches the blazing wood to the side with his bare hands. As he ushers the civilians out, he takes precious seconds to inspect a zombie. The metal feels different, feels odd. And when he rips out a piercing from the zombie's skin, it just...dissipates into shadow. He stares at the piercing for a moment, confounded.

Spoiler: OOC

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Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+4)[24]

Knowledge (Religion): (1d20+4)[7]

[Tyrann]

In the aftermath of the dragon, the village now almost seems quiet, punctuated by the crackling sounds of spreading flames and the shifting of rubble as you make your way through the ruins of what, until just a few hours ago, had been your life. Or at least the village where you lived.

The villagers are understandably incredibly grateful, saved from being trapped beneath the debris and surrounded by the encroaching fires. Almost universally, after they have a moment to compose themselves, they each look at you with a mix of relief and amazement. Their eyes widen as they take in the surreal sight of your flaming hair, the regal obsidian crown, and the enchanted boots that almost seem to leave traces of embers with every step.

While you rescue and gather more of them, effortlessly dispatching of any remaining zombies along the way, you increasingly start to notice a difference in how they behave around you. The charisma exuding from your very being, heightened by the Everspark Criclet, creates an irresistible aura that captivates the rescued citizens. You were well liked and respected in the village before, you know that, but they now gaze at you with an amount of trust you've never seen before, their confusion and awe giving way to unquestioning faith in your capabilities.

As you guide the displaced individuals to safety, a few of them can't help but express their admiration with audible gasps and murmurs of "Ohh" and "Ahh." In whispered hushes you even hear them refer to you as the "Beacon of Hope", pointing at your flickering hair. Some of the girls turn bright scarlet when you look at them, the boys look at you with a mix of envy and admiration. Even the elders - Annie, who would always pinch the cheeks of anyone that gets too close, and forgetful Charles who always yells at anyone and everyone that they stole his apples - are quiet.

Meanwhile, there's the mystery of the piercings. After you take a moment to really examine them, you notice that they are enchanted with potent necromancy hat somehow tethers a soul a corpse. These piercings prevent a bound soul from dissipating. Almost like a death ward, but slightly different because the soul doesn't belong to whatever it's tethered to.

You're not entirely sure about how the soul is used after it's tethered, or why a soul is involved in the first place, but you are sure that these piercings serve as anchors of sorts. Removing these piercings would be like cutting the strings to a puppet. You don't exactly know how the dissolving into shadowstuff thing works, either, but it seems like there might be divine hocus pocus involved because that's unlike any normal spellform you've ever read about.

After exploring a bit more, you eventually get to Isabella's house, where you manage to drag Geoffrey, his wife lady Anastasia, and two sons Marcus and Xavier, from the rubble just before they would have gotten swallowed by flames. All four them are knocked out, but appear stable. No burnt airway, no head or neck trauma, no rapid breathing, no major wounds or crushing damage. Normal powerful pulses of about 60 beats per minute. Geoffrey does snore a little, but that's just something he always does, and gets better when you turn his head.. You suspect they may be under the effect of magical sleep.

Several other villagers are wounded as well, and a few of them are just plain old, to the point where they couldn't exactly march.

Spoiler: OOC

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There are enough non-burned carts to take the villagers. If you'd like to do so, make a handle animal or ride check to round up a few horses. Or an athletics check if you want to drag them yourself.

Alternatively, you could just leave the villagers somewhere you think is safe. That would be a survival roll. Knowledge local also applies but I'll let you take 20 on that since this is literally your village.

Or you could just leave them all together.

Spoiler: DC 15 heal, nature or arcana

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Magical sleep is a bit more potent that normal sleep, but in theory they should wake up if you poke them hard enough.

[Thokk_Smash]

Tyrell isn't sure what to feel or how to think about the villagers' collective change in attitude towards him. It's a consequence of his new appearance, he understands, in addition to the apparent supernatural ability of the crown which sits atop his head. It just feels...strange. He's never been sure what to do with an abundance of attention paid to him. He much prefers smaller groups, no larger than the size of his remaining militiamen. He isn't sure how it looks on his new features, but he is fairly certain his own cheeks are flushing from the heightened attention.

Nevertheless, he pushes through his own discomfort as he gathers the remaining villagers. Annie and Charles most definitely will not be able to keep up with the speed they will need to march at. To rectify this, Tyrell rushes to the remaining horses and, mainly through sheer force, manages to force them to the carts.

"Tomas! Marcus!" he calls to two of the boys who are glaring at him with envy and admiration. "Tether these horses to the carts! There is no time to waste, hurry!"

Once the boys are put to work, he sets the other villagers to gather what supplies they can and to help the elders into the carts. Then he finally makes it to Geoffrey's home and pulls the mayor and his family from the clutches of the flames. As he sets the last of them down, he realizes they are unharmed. A magical sleep? But why? Why did that commander leave them alive?

At least they should be simple enough to wake. As he gestures for others to come help him, he grabs Geoffrey by the shoulders and roughly (but not painfully) shakes his shoulders. "Geoffrey! Wake up!" he commands, and in his stress his voice gains a supernatural timbre of command. "We need to leave, now!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Can Tyrell tell whether the piercings would be traceable, like could they be used to find him if he kept one of them?

[Tyrann]

"Hmm.. what." Geoffrey sleepily blinks his eyes a few times after you poke him out of his slumber. He looks around with a dazed look and then, after two more blinks, the sharpness that you've come to know him for settles into his face, followed almost immediately by a deep frown.

"Are you.. Tyrell? What's going on here? Why are there dead soldiers all over the place? Did the empire defend us?" With a look of guilt he looks around some more. "And from what? I'm sure I.." He trails off, looks at the moon and wrinkles his nose in confusion, then looks back at you. "How many of our own died? And where is.. Oh, gods. Where is Isabella?"

Meanwhile the boys, who you know work as stable hands, handle the horses to the best of their ability. Although the animals get a lot more spooked once they're out of your aura, the pair do seen to manage to calming the horses down enough to put the harnesses on. Barely.

Spoiler: OOC

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Some context to Geoffrey's questions and remarks:
- His assumption is that the glamoured zombies are imperial soldiers that died fighting off a threat to the village. He is confused because there should be no army around, and he probably wonders how long he was out for (because moving an army takes time). That's why he looked at the moon.

- Between the villagers you've managed to save, and sending your militia off into the forest with some survivors as well, you've saved all the people you could, but there were deaths before you woke up.
In total there are roughly 75 survivors, 50 of whom are here and the rest headed for the grotto. The village population was about 100. So there are 25 casualties.

- Geoffrey's trailing off is probably him mentally reviewing (geo)politics around the village. As far as you know, there were no neighbor conflicts and he always paid taxes in full and on time. He also has a large amount of boons he can cash in from various nobles. If anything your village was in a very safe and stable position, especially since you also had your militia to actively scout.

- You yourself are very sure that there is simply no way an army this big would have gone unnoticed in your scouting and the various lines you have with the neighboring villages. If the imperials had moved here via the roads, you would have known several days in advance.

[Thokk_Smash]

Tyrell grimaces. He had hoped Geoffrey had at least seen or heard something before being put under. Instead, the man seems as in-the-dark as Tyrell is. So many questions swirl: why were Geoffrey and his family left alive when they were planning to kill everyone anyway? Why did they capture Isabella? His hair of dancing flames flickers and waves in time with his gnashing thoughts.

Speaking of his newly-changed features, he supposes he can't blame Geoffrey for not recognizing him fully. "Today is a day for impossibilities, sir," he says, voice calm with understanding as he hauls on Geoffrey's arm to bring him to his feet. The act is not rough, but it's hard to be gentle when you're trying to hurry people along. He gestures for Geoffrey to pick up his lady wife, and Tyrell follows suit by hoisting the man's sons as well.

"Everything I'm about to say is true to the best of my knowledge. We were attacked by a man and elf riding a dragon. The elf--the lieutenant--can manipulate shadow. The man--the commander--can command the undead--these soldiers are in truth zombies glamoured to appear like soldiers. They came so fast my men couldn't even wake me before they were swarming the village. We've lost maybe twenty-five. My men took some others to a nearby grotto--that's where we're going just as soon as the horses are hitched."

As he corrals Geoffrey to the horses and carts, Tyrell grimaces in pain at the memory of Isabella on the back of that dragon. "They took Isabella. I don't know why. But I believe I will be able to find them at Orion's Gate. I plan to bring you all to the safety of the grotto, then I will make for Orion's Gate as soon as we have you all settled. We need to move fast, because the commander said there is a contingent of some kind on the other side of the forest that are meant to clean up the village. We need to get you all hidden before they arrive."

Spoiler: Question

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Can Tyrell tell, with his nat 20 for 24 Arcana from before, whether the magical piercings would allow the necromancer to track or locate him if he took one?

[Tyrann]

"Twenty five.." Geoffrey looks ruefully at the ruins of his village. "I've know most of those people for longer than you've been alive Tyrell.. And we can't even bury them." He sighs.

At the mention of Isabella and Orion's gate, he very clearly steels himself, to focus on the village and the people here and now. You can see he's deeply affected, but he doesn't fully allow that to sink in just now.

"I've never heard of either of the men you describe, but if we make it through this alive I'll move heaven and earth to find out. The dragon might have been an illusion. I don't mean to doubt you, but those are creatures from legend. There's hardly a scholar alive today that believes they exist. We have bigger problems, though."

He looks around at the mobilizing old and injured, and at the youth trying to coral them towards the carts.

"Good thinking getting everyone to the grotto. I'll take over the logistics here so you can focus on the road ahead. I'm sure it won't be safe."

After waking up his wife and sons and quickly explaining, he rushes over to the carts and start to create some semblance of order, along with his sons.

His wife, lady Anastasia, gets on one of the carts, too, and is sobbing.



You look at the piercings another time. You don't think they could be traced right now, but that might change if they were tapped into large amount of energy of any sort. Like if they got hit by a higher level spell, or struck by lightning, or something.

[Thokk_Smash]

Tyrell thinks back to the life that no longer is--when he was consumed in fire like lava, draping over him like a blanket--and suppresses a shudder. Whatever the two humanoids were riding, it was most certainly real. And why create an illusion of a dragon when they had intended to leave no witnesses? One that spoke for itself, in such a self-important and arrogant tone?

No, Tyrell thinks as he watches Geoffrey walk to the carts. No, the thing that fell upon their sleepy village was most certainly real...and it was most certainly a dragon. Geoffrey does what he does best and wrangles some order into the chaos of the battle's aftermath. Now that is a true leader, with the confidence and experience needed to really get the villagers through this to the other side. Tyrell has no delusions of his own skills, despite the supernatural enhancement of his new crown.

Yes, Tyrell knows his limits. Which is why, as Geoffrey wrangles the villagers into order and prepares them, Tyrell moves to his home with a feeling of disassociation. He needs to see it, needs to internalize the destruction of his childhood, before he can move on. It's like he's looking at his own body as he picks through the rubble, finding broken pottery and furniture. This chair he had helped his father make, over a decade ago. Now it's nothing but shards and ash. That mug he had made for his mother just a week before she died, and now it lies in dozens of pieces.

Tears like rivers of flame pour down his cheeks as his childhood memories lie in tatters and shards before him. Something jogs his memory, and he scrambles through the rubble. It has to be here, it just has to be...his tears fall harder when he manages to find a small portrait of his mother and father, with him as a child on his mother's knee. A small, hand-sized portrait his father had commissioned when he was a little less than a year old, now it's the only way he has to keep the faces of his mother and father in his memory. If he had lost this, he truly may not have been able to go on.

He presses the portrait to his forehead, then his lips, then ever-so-carefully tucks it into his pouch. Then he takes a deep, steadying breath and one last look around the crumbling home. Let this be the foundation, he thinks, as he walks out. Whoever did this, this will be the foundation that burns them down.

"Geoffrey, I'll scout ahead and give you the signal when I confirm it's clear."

With a nod, he steals off into the woods in the direction of the grotto, melding through the woods as if he belongs there.

Spoiler: OOC

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Lemme know if I need to roll anything.

[Tyrann]

A nod from Geoffrey acknowledges both the mission and a solemn understanding, the unspoken pact between leaders forged in the crucible of tragedy. The forest, draped in darkness, receives Tyrell's disappearing figure, the way ahead lit by his new crown of flame.

- End Scene -

[Tyrann]

As you thread through the twisted labyrinth of the woods, a symphony of fleeing fauna plays out in the shadows around you. The woods throb with the skittering of panicked creatures escaping not only the haunted village but also a lurking terror on the far side of the woods. Moonlight, like a restless spirit, dances through the gnarled branches overhead, casting ghostly reflections on the forest floor. A lone crow, eyes glossy like liquid midnight, perches on an ancient bough. It squawks with a foreboding resonance. The scent of smoldering remnants hangs thick in the air, a reminder of the inferno you narrowly avoided.

As you delve deeper, the ghostly symphony solidifies into a more tangible threat. Stray zombies, the vanguard of the undead horde, emerge from the thicketet umbra. Uncoordinated and devoid of reason, they stumble towards you. Yet, the fiery heartbeat within you answers with a fierce intensity. With a fluid dance of fire and arrow, you dispose of the wandering lost. Limbs crumble like discarded puppetry, and the forest floor transforms into a macabre tapestry of the vanquished.

But the true challenge looms ahead. The forest falls silent as you sense a more malevolent presence. A pack of zombies, guided by a skeletal figure with eyes gleaming like azure lanterns, in the middle of a clearing spanning roughly a hundred feet in all directions. You yourself are still just barely on edge, hidden in the foliage. One knee grounded, the leader projects a sapphire glow onto the soil, absorbed in tracking, while its undead entourage, like four obedient sentinels, surround him, vigilant in their silent guard.

To the uninitiated eye, the subtleties might elude notice, but to one well-acquainted with the whispers of the woods – you, in this case – the truth is immediately apparent. This intelligent undead, with its luminous eyes fixated on the trails beneath its feet, is tracking the militia that fled towards the grotto.