Sigil

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan@Shoe Thief@Sigil@Arty Fox@Archangel89

Hello once more, Adventurers! We have stepped out of Initiative order and, as far as anyone can tell, we are officially out of bad guys! Congratulations to all of you who didn't die. Those characters who still had the Stunned condition find that it will wear off over the next few seconds after the messy passing of our late friend, Mr. Necrophidius. Rejoice and start patching up those scrapes.

Now that we're out of Initiative, standard posting rules apply. I will not be doing an official update until my usual spot in the week, here in a few days. HOWEVER, timers have restarted. Do what you feel your characters might in this instance, now that combat is done. Don't worry about the "two post minimum" rule for now, ending combat resets everything. To reiterate, the Mosswaters are upstairs, still fully prepared for the Tea date and quite possibly ignorant of ...most... of what just happened. There was a knock at the door, which admittedly only the couple in the Taproom knew about, but it might come up in conversation, so there's that.

Anyway, best of luck with the upcoming. It looks like there is both loot, information, and questions aplenty for those who choose to look into it. Oh! And tea. Lest we forget the tea.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 28 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: Stunned Location: E6 Action: N/A Bonus Action: Morty Reaction: N/A

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Victoria was doing something, right? Of course she was in the middle of doing something. Victoria knew that she held her violin in one hand, so it stood to reason that her bow was in the other. She tried to focus. No, this was a dangerous situation - she had been playing her music to channel magic, and she knew exactly why. People were in trouble around her. She could see the trouble mid-happening, and she knew exactly what she needed to do. But something put a damper over her capacity to reason or act. Victoria was upright, but that hardly meant a thing. She was adrift in a sea of translucent mental fog, robbing her of opportunity. Maybe, if she was incapable of doing something herself, the tiny piece of herself which animated her undead companion likely might be able to do something for her.

Blank. Nothing. Nevermind then, either she was unable to have her Morty act through her condition, or the creature was likewise affected by this condition as well. Even if it could, Morty was acting as bodyguard to Lizbeth right now. Protecting the child was more important.

Okay, her Familiar, then. Maybe she could, at the very least, get her Raven in there to assist. Victoria couldn't move, couldn't speak enough to sing or spellcast, and had only the coordination to remain on her feet. But the Raven was capable of acting for itself, and telepathic communication was still possible. Or at least she thought. The Bard could tell that her Familiar was still in the Taproom, and issued the mental command, "...Help... ...distract. Cellar."

From above, within the main room of the Coach House, the quite still, unassuming form of a mostly unnoticed Raven perched upon an unused light fixture gave a sudden, barking, "CAW, CAW!" before it took to wing, moving past the Mosswaters (who were apparently unaware of the presence of the avian companion) and in the direction of the open cellar door.

@Shoe Thief Kathryn is up.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan@Shoe Thief@Sigil@Arty Fox@Archangel89

Now that things have changed somewhat, here's the new and improved, Updated "Initiative Order:"

Baronfjord
Victoria
Kathryn
X (Necrophidius)
Daxos
Kosara

And it's speeding away like a scalded dog.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Battle Map

*****

"Oh, but are you sure?" inquired Tarace, a hint of pleading in his voice.

"Yes, I am dead certain," replied Barbal, angrily applying jam to toast with the back of a spoon. "They knew we were going to be here, and they're still doing, er, whatever it is they're about down there. Loudly, I might add." His face took on a smug air as he motioned to the basket full of goodies, "Ungrateful, I say. Especially after we prepared those Ankheg sausages all nice - and with that herb blend you know I like, too."

Tarace didn't look like he fully believed Barbal's explanation of the probable events downstairs. In fact, he looked concerned, casting a glance in the direction of the open cellar door behind the bar. Then he noticed something quite appealing upon the polished wood of said bar. "Well, look at that, Barbal, dear: A cask of fine brandy!" He motioned to the tapped barrel upon the bar that Victoria and Kathryn had been sipping from, since the Hidden Distillery incident. "I'll tell you what: How about we relax and have a dram of this ...the branding says this is Rose River, and from a long time ago... yes, let us have a dram for our trouble, nice and slow. If they're not back up here for your lovely tea spread by then, I'll go down and see what all the fuss is. Deal?"

Barbal was willing to listen to the possibility of skimming a bit of alcohol, fine alcohol, for his efforts, especially if it was set out for service like that. "Hmm." He considered for a half second. Almost. "Deal."

*****

Too fast. Too impossibly fast, the creature of bone and horror uncoiled and sped in an indirect path, winding about the stunned or otherwise occupied group of bipeds in the room with it. It shot off like an thing possessed, winding to the right of the glowing circle upon the ground, and crossing back in front of it, skirting past Morty and shooting past Lizbeth, thought its empty sockets seemed to give the girl fleeting notice as it passed by. The creature was moving out of the door, and into the cellar proper. From there, it was a scant handful of meters before it got up to the taproom, and to the guests therein.

Lizbeth was locked in a primal terror that she had not known in her lifetime. She had no idea why the others were standing there blankly - most of the others, anyway (even Morty, which was surprising) - but this meant next to triviality when the human-skulled snake sped right up to her, with the briefest of pauses. She could have sworn it was smiling at her. Smiling, as impossible as that might have been without skin to demonstrate any sort of derision, but the impression flashed into her psyche. The fear was interrupted for a fragment of a second, replaced in that startlingly temporary instant with embarrassment and outrage, tears immediately finding purchase on the girl's face even after the terror flashed back into dominance. Lizbeth was so unbelievably scared, but the curved chopping blade she had acquired from her grandfather's study found its way into her hand as something opened inside of her core.

She reacted with instinct. Anger, shame, fear, and a dose of something growing within her mixed with Kathryn's weapon and footwork drills. A tearful scream erupted from Lizbeth, now quite by herself in a crowded room, as her foreign blade lashed out at the creature when it passed by her. Swirling, thunderous energy passed from the sword as it struck the mobile collection of horror-bones, passing it along where it struck. The damage from the sword itself was textbook, so far as these things go, but after the creature traveled a few feet, the energy from the strike reasserted itself with a contained thunderclap, shaking its snake-like body into the nearby door frame and breaking small pieces of bone away. Lizbeth looked just as surprised as anyone, then immediately scrambled to the other side of Morty.

The creature gave the briefest of pauses, whether to right itself or express its own disbelief, and continued on a path that would eventually take it upstairs.

*****

Back up above, there was another series of knocks from the front door. Heavy, solid thunks of a rough fist against solid wood. Not that anyone could hear it downstairs with all the commotion (that nobody invited the Mosswaters to - rudely), but someone up top might have. It looked like there might be quite the get-together assembling in the Coach House's Taproom for Tea.

It would be a shame if anything happened to spoil it.

@Arty Fox, Baronfjord's time to shine.

Round Three

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan@Shoe Thief@Sigil@Arty Fox@Archangel89

Results of the CON Save are in! Huzzah!!!

Okay, not quite huzzah. bear with me. Kosara, Victoria, and Daxos FAILED THE SAVE. Baronfjord and Kathryn PASSED THE SAVE, albeit barely in the case of the latter. Those who failed are Stunned for one minute, but may repeat the CON Save at the end of the Necrophidius’ next turn, and subsequent turns thereafter.

Now, I didn't want to continue with the whole of the big snakey guy's turn until the save was passed, and I wanted to leave time for reactions, so, Kat and Baronfjord may react to their heart's content, if possible. Otherwise, I will have to move along to the end of this round and the continued actions of the Necrophidius at this time. Good frigging luck here, team.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan@Shoe Thief@Sigil@Arty Fox@Archangel89

Alrighty! Our new best friend, Mr. Necrophidius, will be taking over for our dearly departed (crushed to shards) Booty Bones in the Initiative Order. Congratulations on meeting new acquaintances. It's hard, this day and age.

COUPLE OF THINGS:

First off, if you feel like metagaming and looking this creature up, it doesn't officially exist in 5E. I'm a little old school, remember. It has a hard and fast stat block, don't get me wrong. I'm not making this up as I go along (hey, that rhymes!). Moving on, while this guy isn't presenting as very tall, it is long enough and coiled in such a way that it will count as a Large sized creature. While this will reflect on the next map update at the bottom/top of the round, for now, though it says that the location is B6, it presently controls B6, B7, C6, and C7. Top leftmost square listed for the sake of the Location in the header, per usual for Large creatures.

Let's see, what else... Ah yes! I will require a CON Save from everyone in that room, before anyone attempts any sort of action or calls for any sort of roll. Roll in our Discord and tag me so that I may record for the upcoming slaughter fight.

Thank you all, and have just the spiffiest of days.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Necrophidius

Location: B3 -> B6

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The destruction of the well-booted set of bones is cause for celebration, as the last obvious enemy has fallen. Truly, its final death was momentous. The day was saved, right?

Shattered bones upon the floor skitter and slide almost instantaneously to the far wall, to be met by a piling rush of other clinking, clattering masses of osseous matter, many of them curved in a manner that vaguely resembled dozens of disarticulated ribs. Horrifyingly, it took less than a second. Again, in about the span of time of a fearful heartbeat, the thing became. A giantesque constrictor snake in skeletal form, with the enlarged, fanged, humanoid skull at its fore. Maddening with the intensity with which it assembled itself, it is an appropriate descriptor to say that it did so with the speed of a striking snake.

The thing of bones and terror rose and swiftly regarded the room around it, and instead of immediately attacking those within its area of notice, it began to sway. Back and forth, to and fro, oddly blurring and shifting around the edges. Despite its fear-inducing nature, this odd dance of animated bone feels...

...hypnotic...

@Archangel89 Daxos is up next! Best of luck.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Victoria Belmont Half-Elf, Bard, Level 5 HP: 28 / 33 Armor Class: 16 Conditions: N/A Location: E6 Action: Spellcasting: (Shatter) Bonus Action: Morty Reaction: N/A

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Victoria saw a flash of wood and metal just prior to her sight going fully white. It was a struggle to hold concentration to her Faerie Fire spell. This was not a thing which the Bard was especially good at, as she had mainly trained her dexterity, her mind, and her unparalleled talent, as opposed to her ability to take a hit. As good as the was at many things, this was not counted among them. It surprised her that, when her vision cleared, she mentally held a tendril of the spell intact. This was enough to maintain the effect upon the surroundings and the beastie in the cell.

But enough was too gods damned much. Fresh blood ran down the side of her head and onto her collar. While this wasn't specifically her favorite fitted coat, the garb she wore was nevertheless a lovely piece of bespoke clothing, covered over with her new, highly prized acquisition of a black-and-gold pashmina shawl. The fact that it was taken from an animated corpse notwithstanding, it was absolutely lovely and highly expensive. And she just sullied it with her own blood. Cold anger flushed her cheeks, which bore the black, tear-like markings of her Bardic magics manifesting within her.

It wasn't just the shawl, though. Nor was it her fancy purple top which now bore stains of arterial crimson. There was a certain indignance about being whacked in the head with a shoe, yes, but really, it was the screaming. The constant, melody-less wail of a thing which would not shut up was annoying far beyond her head wound. Fire beats fire, or so some sages have suggested. Maybe sound beats sound. Victoria let her violin bow drop from her strings and swept her arms out to her sides, gathering up a lungful of air and releasing it in one of the most bracing, hauntingly gorgeous vocalizations one might hear in their lifetimes. Her crystal-blue eyes flashed with brilliant, arcane understanding as harmonizing sounds began to manifest inside the cell with the backing of the Weave and the strength of Victoria's personality, fracturing that which resided therein. The creature ceased movement and fell apart in a series of loud beaks, like splintering ice in a stone room.

At least the screaming stopped.


@Shoe Thief Huzzah! Kathryn is up next!

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

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Screaming Corpse

Location: E3 -> F4 -> E3

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The creature who was a person once had taken quite the unexpected series of hits, delivered by mystical, magical people of more than moderate annoyance. Except for that one hiding partly behind the crates - that display of scintillating, violet light might have been rather fetching in its own way, were it to have the upper capacity to enjoy things like this.

It didn't stop the screaming. The unholy klaxon from literally beyond death continued unabated, even if if took on a somewhat more gravelly tone now. Movement was harder. Not for the sake of effort, as those without proper life weren't burdened by the limitations of fatigue. Movement was harder because physical damage makes for suboptimal locomotion, and this particular corpse had indeed been damaged. This didn't stop it from fulfilling its purpose, with the unerring surety of a mindless automaton of bone and desiccated flesh.

Swiftly, the Screaming Corpse vaulted from its corner in the cell, landing at an angle to attack whomever was closest to its perception. It took up a stance that, while it had puppet-like, jerky motions, was highly reminiscent of a stylized unarmed combatant. It sprung lightly into the air, whipping its body around in a graceless but highly effective spin. One of the blocky, wooden sandals flew from its foot and arced slightly, passing between the bars of its enclosure at an almost leisurely spiral, before making connection with Kosara with an audible BONK. This attack cracked with an amount of force which felt quite critical in nature.

A second assault, this one in the form of a wide circle kick, sent another sandal flying between the bars. Almost impossibly, the sandal sailed at just the right angle to miss the bars, miss the crates, and occupy the same space as Victoria's head for the brief instant it needed to knock it sideways, disrupting her music and quite possibly the Faerie Fire spell she was maintaining.

The sandals, kicked off of the Corpse's feet, blinked back beneath them soundlessly. In contrast, quite soundfully, the creature yet howled. It retreated back to its corner among the straw.

Kosara has taken 13 points of magical bludgeoning damage.
Victoria has taken 5 points of magical bludgeoning damage.

@Sigil Victoria is up next.

Avonshire - D&D Based Adventure

@rivaan@Shoe Thief@Sigil@Arty Fox@Archangel89

As promised, now that everybody has joined the fray (or everybody we're aware of), here is the Updated "Initiative Order:"

Baronfjord
X (Screaming Corpse)
Victoria
Kathryn
X (Booty Bones)
Daxos
Kosara

Let the spookiness proceed!