D&D 5E [IC] THE CURSE OF AMBERSTAR

Lyllie fires a spell at the first apparition she sees.

Chill touch vs. AC: 1D20+8 = [7]+8 = 152D8+1 = [5, 6]+1 = 12
Advantage: 1D20+8 = [12]+8 = 20

Greenmtn said:

On another note I've been intentionally not reading the things written for the other players to make sure I don't know fully what is going on. I am reading what they write, just because I find it interesting. Please let me know if with the limited vision Harfik sees anything that I need to go back and read about. If that complicates things more for you and you want me to read and just use my judgement about what Harfik notices let me know and I can do that. I don't want to make things harder on you.
[/ooc]

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Neurotic said:

OOC: [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION], I think advantage only removes disadvantage (mists), you cannot get advantage in this scenario

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EVERYONE

Aanzu's roars can be heard coming from the mists, but no coherent response reaches the group. Behind, Yttrian moves against the wall, back to back with the desperate miners, still delivering shots against the spirits. He chooses to attack the second one, though, before it vanishes, leaving the first one to Icosa's blasts, Thulwar's concoctions and Lyllie's incantations. Arrows continue to fly around, seemingly shot from the area where three indistinct humanoid outlines glow faintly.


[You have five magically outlined figures in the group's area. "Group", in this case, is everyone, except, Harfik and Aanzu. There are the two spirits that possessed Lyllie and Thulwar on the third round. They reappeared by the side of each of the respective possessed characters. There are three others that appeared in the mists as Lyllie searched for enemies a while ago. They, too, are outlined by Lyllie's spell. Attacks against all those affected by the glow are no longer at a disadvantage. Meawhile, in the mists, Harfik faces an archer, even though more roam around. The same goes for Aanzu. [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION], these ghosts are immune to cold, necrotic and poison attacks. Lyllie knows it, so it wouldn't make sense to waste the spell on them. You can change your action as you wish, and I'll adapt it throughout the next post, ok? ]


HARFIK

Once more, the projectile returns. The archer grunts as the arrow crosses his belly, finding its way across his flesh. Harfik is quick to follow, striking the humanoid with lethal precision. The bestial creature falls down with a moan, becoming visible to the monk for the first time.

Whatever lies down puzzles Harfik's comprehension. It resembles an orc. The size and the general shape matches that of a greenskin. It is, however, thinner, dressed in strange furs and leathers, and painted in curious, thick textures. the skin is a lot lighter on color, beyond the tar-colored painting and the dark-green blood that runs from the bruises. It resembles a sick, deadly white, with thin skin and vein-filled limbs. But the strangest part is the head. Misshapen, it mixes up the blue-green hues of old bruises and the sick white-yellowed tones of the rest of the body. It has a big area to go through, as well: between the larger-than-normal, bat-like ears, a huge grin houses many sharp teeth, and above it a baboon-like nose takes the rest of the face. No eyes are lodged in the cranium, not because they've been ripped out, but because they never existed in the first place. Where they should have been there's only the nauseating skin, stretching to cover the creature's oddly large forehead.

But that isn't all. As the creature dies, a strange cloud rises from it, just as it did right before from Thulwar and Lyllie. The body releases a vague, skinny soul, a meagerly dressed female. The spirit leaves the beast's body as the archer dies, the grasp over the bone bow loosening. The spirit rises and floats about the body, still dazed by the experience, and starts to vanish, as if released from its current state.

[Ok, archer dead! A spirit comes out of it, but it seems unable to hold its form and begins to disintegrate...]


ICOSA/THULWAR

Icosa manages to shoot the lingering soul, engulfing it with its blast, right before Tink's claw rips the effigy! The creature cries in fear, filling everyone's hearts with tantalizing horror, but still resists, only to be charged by Thulwar's acid flask! This time, its image hisses and twists as the acid takes effect upon it. The other spirit takes Yttrian's shots and, resenting the pain Yttrian caused, disappears, vanishing into the ethereal realm! Now only one phantom-priest is left, howling in terror as the heroes surround it...


[Ok, [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION], I just need Lyllie's attack, now, and I'll update the post accordingly! As for Tink, is he objectively big, or big in comparison to Thulwar? Just kidding! [MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION], I'm updating Arvid's Song tonight! I'm dying to see what happens there as well, hehehe.]
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION]

Lyllie uses the temporary enchantment she placed on her quarterstaff, and swipes it through the spirit nearest to her.

LYLLIE

Lyllie's sound effort does pay off, vanquishing the foe under attack with the swing of her staff! The creature curses as it disappears in a cloud of destruction. Her companion, on the other hand, leaves to the astral plane, abandoning the heroes to the archers.


EVERYONE

After Harfik's efforts, with the first archer down, hurried, faint steps are heard as they move away from the heroes. The three silhouettes that had appeared near Lyllie and Thulwar vanish once more, as if seeking protection. Lyllie's spell allows the heroes to follow their steps, though, as they leap a surprisingly ample distance by sinking into the mists once more. Their location is still quite clear as they split and march some thirty feet away from the heroes, each in a distinct direction. Seconds later, a second scream is heard under the heaviness of Aanzu's roar. It seems that the enemies are trying to regroup, since the spirits are gone and two of the archers are down.

The meager sounds of movement rasp against the floor, and in the distance they seem to go above the heroes, as if some of these unseen enemies were climbing up the walls with astounding alacrity.

FIFTH ROUND


For a brief moment, the enemies seem to reshuffle their positions, stopping the attacks altogether. The heroes know, though, that the creatures are still around, lurking as they move. Whispers can be heard all throughout the hall, possibly the result of confusion tactics. Whatever awaits in those steam clouds has intelligence and can build simple strategies at least.

The few seconds given to the heroes allow them to imagine the general layout for the room. The sounds help, offering an idea of the surrounding area. They are taking high ground positions, which might lead to alternative ways out of the hall.

As the party meditates on such thinks, the whispers begin to shape up, and a voice echoes through the halls, as if trying to communicate. It's as spectral as the others, but this one can't be located right away. Some kind of magical effect makes it climb from all areas at once, as if surrounding the heroes.

"We can see you mean what you say..." - the voice sounds old and tired. "You bring destruction, indeed. But why drag such actions towards a place that only knows death and misery? Have we not suffered enough?" - the exhausted voice seems to seek some kind of empathy. Surprisingly, it resembles the voice of an elder, compliant and patient, frail and suffering, much like the pleading voice of the spirits that were attacked first.

"These souls, broken as they are, remained here for so many years, doing no harm whatsoever to your living, much beyond the darkness of your woods. But you came, nonetheless. Why are you here?" - he asks in a pleading way.

[Ok, no more spirits are left. Three were destroyed, one escaped. Two of the strange pale archers are down, one by Harfik's hand and the other by Aanzu's. The three individuals that appeared near the heroes retreated. The sounds around give the heroes a vague idea of the room's shape and dimensions.]

[As for the area, the following drawing is a rough representation of Yttrian's map for the area. You have left the banquet hall - where you met Embla and Sardath's orcs - and are now at the Advent Hall - with the spirits and the eyeless creatures... And apparently this voice.]

NEW MAP

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B2SfFstj8WUE9XNlin6wC8cUHHTKsClN/view?ths=true

@Neurotic @JustinCase @industrygothica @Greenmtn @Shayuri @hafrogman

Harfik listens to the voice carefully weighting it's words while searching the mists for signs of treachery or of his allies, slowly making his way towards Thulwar's voice and this wall that they are regrouping at.

HARFIK


Once more, the monk's instincts work on his favor - and everyone else's, for that matter. As he studies the hurried steps and the intonations of the voice, he sees the lies behind such begging, frail gestures. The creatures are trying to reach perches around the roof, probably excavated long ago. The door behind is shut, odds being that the creatures within this hall control it. The size suggests other entrances as well, from which possible reinforcements will come soon enough. Indeed, the voice is stalling, allowing the creatures to find safe spots in the room to land the mortal blow! Harfik's trained senses can even catch the faint noise of many steps bashing against the floor, beyond the walls on the western side of the room!
[MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION] [MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6855102]Greenmtn[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6776182]JustinCase[/MENTION] [MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION]

Harfik Human Monk

As Thulwar comes into sight Harfik puts a concerned look on his face. He gets closer, close enough that his lips can be seen through the mist. Motioning to the west while mouthing the word "reinforcements" and to the above areas that he thinks they are moving making a trapping motion with his hands.
He mouths "Stalling", then pointing to Thulwar "Way out", then to himself "Distract"

Harfik turns in the direction of the voice "I! Am Harfik Thrice Bound. I have kept my word nothing more. I said that if I were attacked I would kill and I did. I meet your violence with violence and meet your words with words. Who do I speak to that attacks us from the shadows? What are these sufferings you speak of? And what kindness can I return to you when you show us kindness?"