corneredbliss

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Before Araerys was able to move too far from her original position, the drake that had spotted Ceria had attacked, swooping down upon her and leaving her nearly dead where she lay. It seemed that the gods were toying with her today, dropping disaster and blessing in alternate fashion, perhaps to test her patience. It wasn't so much her patience that was being tested, however; more so her sanity from the constant back and forth of the day's events. And much like the earlier battle they had plunged into, the injuries began early on. The elf must have been in bad shape judging from the aggression of the attacks inflicted upon her, and almost immediately the half-breed snapped out of her curious - and admittedly, selfish - decision to investigate the altar further.

In the same instant that Araerys had made the decision to turn back for the elf, a greenish portal of light began growing at her feet. Her guilt quickly dissipated into fear as the foreign, toxic-colored glow grew, trying to engulf her. Reflex urged her to jump away from the pool, sidestepping further into the pew and nimbly jumping over the back of the one ahead of her as it sparked dangerously in her wake. Ary landed on light feet beside Ceria just as the girl swiftly loosed an arrow that arched above her head.

Her gaze followed the projectile as it found a home in the acolyte's esophagus. Somehow vines sprouted from the floor at the acolyte's feet and twisted and braided themselves up her body until she could no longer stand. In mere seconds her body fell to the floor, lifeless, and when Araerys turned back to her companion, she was surprised to see that tears were falling freely down her cheeks. She was still watching the vicious greenery work the acolyte in its hold, and without hesitation, Ary took Ceria's cheek in her palm and gently forced the girl to look at her face. With her free hand, she quickly made the gestures for the spell, and hurriedly murmured the words between them. "Hold it together, girl," she then said in a rushed, yet comforting, whisper, "The time for tears is later, when we leave here with our lives." She stepped aside and released the full blood's face, so that they now were watching the rest of the room.

Bloop

Ary moves one square to the east and hops over the pew to reach Ceria. She casts Cure Wounds on the elf and restores her HP by 7.

@Ermine is up next! @JBRam2002

Approaching the Guild's 10 year anniversary

Coming onto the Guild always feels like the final reunion hug in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

And because everything that could possibly go wrong should and must go wrong, the company in the church began their search party through the aisles. A sinking feeling plopped itself in the pit of Araerys's stomach as the drake soon found Ceria, prone and completely vulnerable beside the pew. By some miracle, the human had completely slipped past her, so she was safe, for the moment. She knew she needed to do something to help the elven girl, but not wanting a repeat of their last combat so soon, she wasn't too keen on attacking it right away. Additionally, there was a burning curiosity to find out what it was that they were chanting at on the altar.

Caught in a moment of split decision, Ary followed her initial instinct and repeated the hand gestures she employed only moments ago. By her will, a distracting pop! resounded from just behind the drake, hopefully making him jolt and look away, even if only for a few moments. It should be enough of a distraction to give Ceria time to react, and enough cover for her to sneak further up the aisle. She didn't wait to see it's reaction, however, and immediately began to make her way towards the alter. She was careful to try and be as stealthy as possible, though in her curiosity and spiked adrenaline, she wasn't really sure how loud she was being.

Stuff

Ary casts Minor Illusion at the Drake to make a distracting noise from behind it, then tries to sneak up to the alter in the aisle the human was in with a sad 8.

@Ermine is up next! @JBRam2002

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Not even a minute after she'd told Ceria to keep quiet, the girl proceeded to move from beside her. It was with great willpower that she didn't immediately burst with frustration. Araerys didn't have to wonder too long what she had in mind, and soon watched (with wild levels of incomprehension) as the full blood moved to the side of their pew and lay down on her stomach, like a plank of wood.

Ary had to force herself out of blinking stupidly at the girl; she had to do something to distract the approaching human - and quickly. She crept towards Ceria, just close enough that she would be able to keep an eye on her, before using both hands to make a few forceful gestures.

Immediately, from the left-most side and the furthest pew to the front of the church, came a scuffling noise, as if footsteps were creeping somewhere along over there. The desired effect was to have him think the two of them were on the other side of the church - far enough from their current position to give them time to sneak away or, if they were lucky, have them think the noises were a result of the wind.

Things

Ary casts Minor Illusion to make shoe scuffling noises on the left hand side of the room

After All {icmasticc x corneredbliss}

Posted! A bit of a chat before we tussle. Or not, heh.

After All {icmasticc x corneredbliss}

Almost immediately after her advance, she felt the steel barrel of the gun press against her midsection through the fabric of her olive green tank top. Lilith supposed it was her fault for underestimating how quickly he'd be able to draw it under attack, and admittedly, she was impressed by his sharp reaction. Any other normal being would have been regretting the amush right about now; but Lilith was no normal being, and instead of inciting fear within her, it only stirred her excitement even more. With the rest of the world in predictable shambles, it was hard to find anything surprising these days - an idea that depressed Lilith as much as their eternal banishment did. Perhaps this angel was going to be more fun to play with than originally thought.

Her sudden enthusiasm, wildly disproportionate to the situation, broke the impish grin into an open-mouthed smile. With the stolen blade still taut against the base of his throat, she let her head fall slightly to her left shoulder, almost seeming flattered that he had taken the time to come to this standoff with her. "A merciless killer and a gentleman?" she gasped, "My, my... Maybe I should have given you Lord-lovers a second look a long time ago. Where have you been hiding, hm?"

Then her gaze became intent on Gabriel's face, while still bearing the air of mischief. She would search for some flicker of recognition at her next words. Regardless of whether it came or not, she kept watching him as she continued, curious as to what his reaction might be. "I suppose you can say I played for the other team in the big, bad battle. Or the big inconvenience, in my opinion." She chuckled at her own joke, and tacked on an afterthought, in case she wasn't clear enough. "Lilith: ex-demon, at your service."

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Suddenly it struck her: they were chanting in Sahuagin, and somehow Araerys knew that she would be able to understand what they were saying if they could just get closer into range-

"Daisy I swear to any gods above, if you don't stop touching me...!" Ceria's outburst, whispered or not, definitely disturbed the silence in the echoey space. Once again taken by surprise at her wildly nonchalant actions, Araerys's eyes widened at her as they did when the girl darted off towards the front door, before snapping back towards the front of the church. She supposed the nudge would've jolted anyone in such a quiet space, but the reaction was not fit for the situation. This was not to plan, but there was nothing they could do to rewind the moment.

Quickly, Araerys followed the elf down behind the pew, and when she peeked her head above their cover, Ary promptly grabbed her arm gently - but firmly - and pulled her back down, holding a finger to her lips with a stern expression. They needed to get closer, but she was worried that Ceria's whisper might have disrupted events enough that they would come investigating. They might already be glancing this way, and Ceria's head popping out from the pew was not going to help things. She released her companion's arm and made sure to emphasize the finger to her lips before returning her attention to the company at the front, straining her ears to hear if they had perhaps left their posts to have a look, or simply continued on with their ritual.

After All {icmasticc x corneredbliss}

Hahaha ooh, a standoff. I love it. Will update you later if I'll be able to get a post in tonight!

Beginner's DnD 5e Game - Group 2

Araerys's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the elven girl heading straight toward the front door and, not wanting her to march right into the void without some sort of support, pointed in her direction. "Uhhh... I'll go have a look with Ceria," she murmured hurriedly to the rest of the group, and to Yvah, she added, "Go on along the sides. We'll meet you inside. Give us a holler if we're needed."

With a final nod to them all, she strode up to the doors and slipped through them, coming to a stop beside Ceria just inside of the threshold. The church was large, but was only occupied by a few bodies so far, including theirs. The strangers were at the very front of the room, near the alter, and had yet to notice their new guests. Not wanting to speak and call attention, Ary lightly nudged her companion's bicep with her elbow and pointed up at the front with a puzzled expression. From what Ary could see, there looked to be a few amphibious humanoids, an actual human, and a tiny red drake. All attention was being focused on the alter, but the woman wasn't yet able to make out what it was that was so important on it outside of the fact that it seemed to be some sort of statuette.

The room was filled with their chanting, and though Araerys couldn't understand the language, it sounded strangely familiar. Again, she glanced at Ceria, unsure of what the next move would be. While she normally would have sauntered up to the party ahead of them and pretended to be some mother in distress looking for solace in a church, she thought it best to sit tight and wait for further instructions now that there was a whole group to think about.

[Mentioned: @Mistiel]

After All {icmasticc x corneredbliss}

A gunshot.

Beneath a curtain of unkempt, black hair, a woman glanced up at the noise, which came from only a wall away. With a swift motion she slipped the protein bar and the can of beans she'd just fished out of a cabinet into her backpack before moving into the next room. She was stealthy, with a figure built for agility, and her movements were akin to some feline. Mere seconds after the trigger was pulled, she was already crouching down beside the fresh corpse in the living room. His blood had not yet cooled, and his predator had already killed the last of his men. She smirked at the looter's cheek. The shot was unexpected, and was sure to attract attention, yet he pulled it anyway. Still, she would do well to hurry her scavenge of the house, and returned her attention to the situation at hand. The man who'd fired the gun would no doubt be striding off somewhere by now anyway, and Lilith wasn't one very fond of losing her toys. Especially ones that she'd been following the whole day. What a waste it would be to let him wander off with all of her goods.

Big eyes, a mixture of where the sea met the sky, scanned the doorway for any incoming trouble as she gripped the handle of the forgotten knife and withdrew it from the poor soul's heart. At times, it would strike Lilith as funny how the motion had been something of a sport for her, many, many years ago. Retrieving a blade from some fellow's most vital organ after a nightly conquest had been as normal as taking a bath. Now, in this literally God forsaken world, it had become a motion of survival. It was a perfectly good knife, made even prettier by the deep red hue of blood on it's silver face; yet another thing she wouldn't let go to waste.

The woman scanned the rest of the room, including the silly chest, for anything she may have missed, before darting out of the front door. Sure enough, evidence of her prey's naughty deed lay in a pool of his own blood straight ahead. Lilith, still watching for any sign of her man, moved towards the human and sighed with disappointment as she looked down upon him. The cigarette, which still had a good bit of life left on it, had already been put out and ruined by his victim's blood. How inconsiderate. She quickly dropped into a crouch and shoved her hands into his pockets, happy to be able to produce a small pocket knife and a pack of cigarettes for herself. Slipping both prizes into the back pocket of her dirtied denim jeans, she hopped over the dead body and began her search for the 'angel' himself.

What a joke. He wasn't an angel. At least, not anymore. The proof was in all of the blood he'd shed in the day alone. She had been his shadow as he moved from house to house, having found him in the first place she was planning to scavenge. Clever woman was careful not to alert him to her presence just yet, making sure he took care of all the dirty work while she slipped in easily and nabbed whatever he had forgotten in his wake. Lilith overheard the short exchange between the two at the front of the house, making her all the more excited to finally meet him. They had a shared history, after all.

The meadow in which she spotted him after a short walk outside of the gate was much too open for her liking, though it was good to see that he seemed to be walking in the direction of a settlement a little ways away. So. He was a family man. Maybe old habits died hard? Or maybe Lilith was making assumptions based on stereotypes that probably didn't matter now. In any case, she strayed off into the trees on the right and decided it be best to get closer to him before making a move, knowing he still had a pistol on hand. And when he neared the end of the meadow, she was right there ready for him.

Without hesitation, she darted forward, coming from the man's right side, and used her shoulder to shove him by the ribs roughly against the trunk of a tree. The bloodied blade came up to rest its hungry tip against the hollow between his collar bones, but despite the threat, Lilith flashed him an impish grin. "I think you forgot this," she purred, "Gabriel, is it?"