The Harbinger of Ferocity

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I believe that would be for the best, in that removing Leosin from his bonds should be the priority. Freeing Brannor the second of those things then, seeing where we are at that point, needing to kill some of the guards only if need be. I imagine some amount of them are going to be present, at least problematic enough to be important. I have a few ideas for how Brannor could potentially free himself, but none of those I might act on now in broad daylight even to test them or their limits.

D&D 5e -- The Lost Children

Shaedra Galandoel rolls a 13 for her Perception check.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

Yes, so what you just described as needlessly touchy, @PrinceAlexus. This was a long time coming and a gesture the United States could no longer, and should no longer, ignore just to appease people and keep up the status quo. There is no better time I can think of than the present.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

Yes, the man did the exact thing he said he would do and that of which several Presidents of the United States before him kept postponing because the decision was politically inconvenient. This endeavor seats itself back in the year 1995, if my memory serves, but consider me impressed all the same by the boldness and willingness to uphold something he promised he would do, particularly this business with how needlessly touchy it all is. All in all, very good news, @PrinceAlexus.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

The sad reality is those articles along with others like them are as much ammunition for their intended audience as their opponents. They are not particularly wise about galvanizing the two opposing factors against one another, rather it almost seems to be plain intent beyond just having you on their sites or purchase their magazine or paper. Repeated observation into their content and what it is they are saying betrays them; one could say the findings to be shocking, anything absurd and outlandishly stupid such as the aforementioned "white people shouldn't marry and have kids" or that it is somehow racist for "white people to engage in marrying outside their race".

At the very least they deserve to be criticized and dismantled in argument, just as much as the current go-to of Nazism allegations. Personally, speaking for only myself, I have nothing but distaste for both, yet why is it so difficult to gain agreement that counter-isle arguments of much the same, although mirrored, are as bad and if not worse in our day and age? It isn't as though the Fourth Reich is mechanizing right under our noses and preparing the Final-Final Solution, but it can be damnably certain we do have extremes on the other end running free, even in full public view. These magazines and news agencies that are pushing these agendas are very much aware of what it is they are doing and what it is they are saying; it is not as though they are full of rogue agents.

One might question why this matters at all, but the average consumer of information, especially news information, is not literate let alone anything close to savvy. We might all remember that a good portion of the population fell for popup advertisements of years ago or email scams, but now and today a good portion falls prey to not only fake news, but too its cousin in agenda news. There is plenty of rational explanation for how we arrived here, you can see that reflection from the Millennial who hasn't experience really any legitimate hardship in life to the old vanguard of the fallen institutions and remnants of the Boomers, but that under no circumstance means we need accept or normalize this process of saying "Everything is racist! Even trying to not be racist is racism because if you weren't racist you wouldn't need to say you weren't racist!" through the media.

It should act as a foil to bring focus to, that something is just not right in what it is they are saying, but breaking people out of that illusion - that naive trust in going with what sounds good - is no small task. Fortunately there is some light in all of this, that there is an ever increasing revolt against such publications; they are not just being called out and criticized, but being hit in their purses. I would not shed a tear if any of them dove and closed their doors.

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

The Vale

The Crypt,
Currently

"A breakthrough at last!" Valmjr came to life as he noticed the bard, on an insane mission at that, dove straight into the darkness past their formerly unbreakable wall they had formed. He too charged, the pouring light to his back, into the deepening depths of darkness with his companion Hela at the ready.

He swung like a wildman, blow left and right, side to the other, angle after cutting angle and immediately the darkness surged to meet him. Perhaps the battering onslaught drew its attention, just as the formerly vulnerable and unarmed bard did, but now it had more of what it so desired - Heroes of the Light. How it so clearly wished to cover and smother them, swallow them up like it had their world before. It was beyond evident as they all seemed to clamor at the approaching entourage and the great glowing flame that danced upon the spry Katia, washing across her rich black fur like soothing waves.

The fire that had leapt to her, gifted by the sailor captain, urged her with no direction but forward to the unlit shrine. It had no voice, no words of wisdom, no pervading thoughts, other than it must return itself there. Were it not for the fact that the soothing flames were so pure and so great, the welcome presence of it might have been encouraging to keep hold of, but in the end, a fire such as it was still fire; it could and did burn.

Their own paladin on the other hand, wrought with nothing calm or serene but rather vengeful frustration, cried out with a blast of arcane energy that shot past the front lines. It hurtled like a glimmering, unstable blast of white-silver lightning and vaporized one of the tiny dark things, one less foe for them to worry about now. Though it wasn't alone, not in the slightest, for a purple, curling ray of glinting and dazzling magic lanced out as the tiny wizard Birbin danced along upon his stubby feet as fast as they could move him.

"No, no, no! Friend Cesar must not be alone in the dark! Birbin will come too!" The purple robed man cried as he kept running until he near tripped over himself, stopping then finally to prepare more magic of the same before.

But all was not well in the throne room of the flame, for as the zealot clambered to his feet and threw himself with all his tiring strength he could muster against the wild knight, whose body and its magical resilience deflected the light, he found himself under attack; vicious attack as it were no less. One had shunted them both away and a terrible retort came with it as the Green Man drew back a gauntlet, that of which was an inlaid snarling maw of a lion upon its fist, delivered with it what well would have been a bloodying strike in a realm apart from this surreal Ysgard, striking down the templar and laying the man unconscious. His entire posture shifted without delay and he turned to face the woman beside him, keeping her at sword point.

"Enough of this, outsider." He spoke low to Wick, oddly ignoring that the golden flame exchanged hands, starting to circle the woman at a slow pace, "You haven't any idea of what it is you and your troupe are doing. That must not come to pass. Not this one, not any other."

The man came to a stop, adjusting the point with his outstretched arm ever closer to her throat, he paused only then to look back to those who were about to dare the depths of the seemingly infinite darkness. Returning his focus to the ancient woman, rather quite young once more, he narrowed his eyes from under the great cat's teeth. There was more to be said, much more. Though perhaps between only these two ears, for that room behind where he had glanced, was alive with teeming shadows; black within black.

They descended upon the bold and brave sailor and his cohort in arms, the former of which was harassed and struck countless times while the latter evoked an arcane shield that buffered his enemies at bay, dropping his weapon to do so. Things were terribly desperate, growing only worse by the moment, for the warrior and his magic looked as though they could no longer hold - the man crying out under the great strain he found his ward being assaulted by.

"Do it, outlander! Do what it is you must! We will hold them off!"

Effects

Valmjr makes a series of attacks with his axe Hela and his offhand weapon, none of which seem to land. Either way, he draws some of the attention, as does Cesar's stepping into the darkness unarmed and only faintly illuminated now. Thea's Eldritch Blast defeats one Shadow and Birbin's strange magical ray takes out another.

The Green Man attempts to subdue Theodore with an unarmed attack and critically strikes. He inflicts 12 points of bludgeoning damage, but in place of killing him, chooses to render him unconscious. Theodore, unless he regains 1 or more hit points before then, is unconscious for 2 hours where he then automatically regains 1 hit point. Despite that he may make another attack, the Green Man declines to take it against the now alone Wick or the fallen Theodore.

The Shadow Summoners, the dark purple circles on the map command their forces, all black circles, and summon more Shadow Minions. The smallest of which are Shadow Minions, followed by Shadows, then Shadow Soldiers, and last by the lighter purple Shadow Sorcerers. From the combined assault of the Shadow Minions, Cesar suffers 10 points (3, 3, 4) of slashing damage total; Valmjr suffers none as he casts the Shield spell when he first would be hit as his reaction.

You may assume that virtually all spells and resources are depleted.

Score
Order Amidst Chaos

Map
Depths of Darkness

Initiative

• Cesar (19)
• Theodore (18)
• Valmjr (18)
• Thea (18)
• Birbin (15)
• The Green Man (14)
• Shadow Summoners (10)
• Wick (10)
• Katia (9)
• Haemar (8)
• Shadow Sorcerers (4)

@Cu Chulainn, @Gordian Nought, @Hekazu, @JBRam2002, @Rig

D&D 5e -- The Lost Children

"Oh..." The elf brought a thin hand to her lips just beneath the point of her nose, softly speaking through them, "There's so many of you..."

A bird-man, a man, a woman, a dwarf? Or was it a halfling? It could be both, actually come to think of it, which the woman pondered for a moment as to if such a thing even existed. It must have, because there was one there, but what if it was something else? All the same, the littefolk of questionable status to her appeared quite nervous, they all did really. They were not wrong for that either, in that no one for any reason should have well stumbled on to all the rest at the same time. That was odd, more odd than anything the shadow of the woods knew at least at the moment. Mayhap it was that they all knew one another and in the dark, lonely, quiet forest it was just confusion? That did not make any sense either, so she kept quiet for a moment and listened, but not for long.

"Robbery? Violence?" Her interest piqued as she felt herself at an even greater loss; it became increasingly more clear to her that this happenstance was none of those things here in the tranquil woods, rather the fate she imagined it to be originally.

Galandoel removed her hand from hushing her lips and softly raised her voice, "No?"

"I am none of those things, I am Shaedra... Shaedra Galandoel, just like that woman said she was..." The elf paused for a moment, she too not one too articulate with the way mortals thought or even spoke, "... Safira? Safira Garrus?"

The leather boots, folded at the top with a fur cuff and marked by their fine craft, wandered their way out of the brush before the tall elf turned back again to say something behind her in a hush voice. It wasn't quite a word, a command, or anything of the sort, almost as if it was a cue. It was as overt as it was subtle - the odd sort of thing one could not help but notice yet likely would have no idea what it was she was doing. That was the intent after all, at least in part and somewhat accidentally too at that. The company she spoke to was to ease their unquestionably suspicious demeanor, but who that company was in terms of specifics could not be said, at least not now. Just as it came, it too left and she turned front again.

Stepping out on to the ever so faintly moonlit path, the tall, pale thing she was dusted her fingerless gloves free and smiled softly. Company was rare, at least in any circumstance that had to be fated like this, so she decided to again pose the overt in her utter lack of not knowing any better and willing to trust the gestures of ease.

"Mister bird, dwarf, and human, lady Safira," She addressed them as best she knew them, looking from one to another in that order, "Did you come to see the star?"

This tactic of simplicity and directness worked with the animals, but people... even bird-people were different. Or so she could only guess in her absence of understanding. They seemed very polite thus far, none wanting any issue from the other, and this was no chance. The moon and stars, just like the sun, were messengers to all plant and animals, people too.

@Guardian Angel Haruki@JBRam2002@Pennydumb123@rush99999@ihinka

D&D 5e -- The Lost Children

Despite all the characters not quite having been introduced yet, might we be able to continue with our existing interactions? Or would you rather wait until we all are acquainted in turn? I could see a reasonable route either way. Not suggesting to flood the topic with responses, but some back and forth here and there until all finally do arrive.

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

In other news, so much for the artificial hype about General Flynn throughout the day and that this is somehow the lynchpin they have been looking for. There are even articles on it, as well as more or less definitive definitive destruction of the narrative, at least from this angle. To tap that article here below:

Mueller has charged Flynn with falsely telling FBI agents that he did not ask the ambassador “to refrain from escalating the situation” in response to the sanctions. In being questioned by the agents on January 24, 2017, Flynn also lied when he claimed he could not recall a subsequent conversation with Kislyak, in which the ambassador told Flynn that the Putin regime had “chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of [Flynn’s] request.”

National Review

As pointed out by others, there are no charges of lobbying being brought up or anything being directed - at least at the moment - against the President of the United States or General Flynn and the proposed "collusion".

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

It was back to work in short order, a blessing the man counted, never mind the nagging, lingering questions if they somehow succeeded or was this just the way things were going to be from here on out, assuming he ever failed to escape. The rest had all disappeared and now the man was given a far, far larger and heavier crate to move... one that was notably more silent as well. This revelation, as he hefted the wooden thing with astounding ease in the grip of his worn hands, spoke to him further than it regularly would have. Before his ears were alight with sensations, activity, focus, but now in this odd quiet, he could truly comprehend something ever more strange was afoot. Of course the voices of the boisterous mercenaries, cultists and their scaled vermin pervaded the camp no matter where he went - the enemy was everywhere after all - but this period of interlude afforded the armored hunter a means to an end with isolation of another kind.

Perhaps this was part of what was to test and temper him, that same compass unknowing that drew him to Greenest at all before the attack, that time that almost seemed so long ago before. Before a night of fires, smoke, raiders and raids, dragons and dragonkin. That before when he was wandering in search of a place to be and things he needed do there. This was no happenstance, it could not be realistically. How else would he have ended up here, a thing such as he, in the heart of the enemy's camp hidden in plain sight? The others were nothing short of divine messengers or agents, odd ones at that, likely even unknowingly outside the young priestess who had called upon a magic none too unrelated to his own. Yet, whereas she tapped it from outside, he called his own internally.

That same reserve of inner power proved to be his inner resolve, for as he dragged the crate along in clinking march with the other captives, he could not help but lift up his hope that the rest had succeeded in just whatever they were doing, yet at the same time he thought urgent thoughts of haste. It was an ongoing effort to keep all that was within retained and restrained, for it desired nothing but to burst free of the shackles and flee, no less killing anything and everything in reach, although at the same time it was just a great of struggle to not simply lash out where opportunity arose; a roiling mixture of emotions and thoughts, all of which needed to be shut out, thankfully at ease with the monotony of the work that began again.

There were other matters to focus on... the sights, the sounds, the smells, the distractions rather...

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Gordian Nought@Irredeemable