Before the Rise of Tiamat

[gargoyleking]

Mornok follows the others, warhammer out and ready to go. He doesn't worry about stealth so much as speed at this ppint, relying on the smoke to mask his identity and intent.

 

[Envisioner]

OOC: Watch this space.

 

[gnarlygninja]

OOC: Sorry, not quite sure what that means

 

[Envisioner]

OOC: Since the entire party is on like 2 hit points and the enemies they're facing are similarly pathetic, I'm going to dispense with die rolls and fiat that they succeed, so that we can get on to the more interesting scenario which proceeds from this one.

With the party as severely battered as their last two battles have left them, their only hope of success is to strike before their opponents know they're present; fortunately, with the thick smoke fouling the eyes and noses of the six kobolds, and the two presiding cultists (a human and a dragonborn) both even more helpless, the trio have a golden opportunity to do just this. Lyle vanishes entirely into the smoke, and has no trouble slitting a couple of kobold throats before they can so much as choke out a cry of alarm; Mornok's more impetuous charge attracts the dragonborn's attention, but with only a vague idea of where his target is approaching from, the cultist impulsively decides to vomit a stream of acid in the wizard's general direction. And as luck would have it he not only misses by two full yards, but in the process incinerates another of the dragon-rats, whose anguished yelp immediately breaks the resolve of the remaining three, sending them screaming for the hills in every direction. "You idiot!" the human cultist howls at his counterpart, and he charges toward Mornok - right past an unseen Grimnir, who promptly kneecaps him and then steps on his neck. Left suddenly alone and with his natural defense wasted, the dragonborn cultist throws down his weapon and puts up his hands. "Goddess forfend me...I surrender," he says to the now-visible cleric.

The group can hear shouts of alarm from the horde at the temple's front gate, presumably because they noticed the commotion and spotted the fleeing kobolds. You have only seconds before reinforcements arrive, but luckily someone inside the beseiged temple has noticed; the stout wooden door which the villains were trying to burn through suddenly opens from within, and a woman in her nightclothes hisses "Quickly heroes, in here!" in a whisper that can barely be heard over the din.

 

[gargoyleking]

Mornok slings his warhammer as quickly as he'd drawn it and grabs the dragonborn's wrist, wrenching it behind him just hard enough to let him know that he is no longer in charge of his own body. He orders the new prisoner to put his other arm behind his back and grabs it with his other hand, locking it in a similar position and crossing the other. Then, hearing the woman's voice he forcefully marches his prisoner through the door.

"Aye, we be in yer' debt m'lady, though we come t'help."

 

[JustinCase]

Grimnir nods gratefully, not wasting his breath on words before he’s reached the relative safety inside the temple.

Only then he speaks, echoeing Mornok. ”Thanks for saving us. We’re here to rescue you.”

The gold dwarf smiles awkwardly, realizing the irony.

 

[gnarlygninja]

Lyle tries his to flash his best grin. Given the night he's had, it comes off as more of a sickly grimace. "What they said, heroes and all that. We've been sent by the sheriff."

 

[Envisioner]

"Is the whole army or whatever it is still out there?" the woman asks, somewhat nonsensically since the sounds of the combatants rushing around and barking orders is still clearly audible. Frayed nerves are to be expected; you soon discover that there are more than two dozen people huddled in a chapel barely capable of housing them for the duration of a single service, and they've been besieged for close to an hour by now. You find that several people are distinctly ambivalent about leaving the short-term sanctuary, while many others are so frantic to get away that they're impossible to reason with, pacing like caged animals and seemingly on the verge of hurting themselves (or anyone else in arm's reach). A Persuasion roll at DC 15 will be required to get any one person to cooperate in any particular task you might suggest (such as watching over the captive so that Mornok doesn't have to keep holding him personally).

 

[gnarlygninja]

"There are a few less of them now, ma'am. We saw to that. Is anyone in charge here, maybe a priest? We need to figure how to get all of you out of here, and I need to check everyone in here against my list of missing people." Lyle glances around, noticing how many more people there are than he expected. In a quiet voice he whispers to Grimnir and Mornok "I'm not sure Brandobaris himself could sneak this many people back unnoticed. We're going to need amazing luck or a brilliant plan here, and it'd be better to have both."

 

[JustinCase]

Grimnir nods at the halfling.

"And it'll be even more difficult if they can't stay focused," he whispers back, indicating the frantically pacing villagers. "Idle hands make for mutinous acts. Let's get them occupied first."

Turning to the whole group, the sailor priest starts with a small introduction and then gives out some orders.

"My name is Grimnir Hammerdeep, and I am a priest. Together with my friends Mornok and Lyle here, we have come on behalf of the sheriff to get you to the keep. Now, we need everyone to work together for this to succeed, and I will therefore give everyone a task."

Not waiting for answers, he immediately asks three villagers to help Mornok with the prisoner, any sturdy looking people to scavenge the temple for makeshift weapons, and any halflings to discuss with Lyle the options of getting to the keep without being observed. Two more people are asked to watch the goings-on outside, and any remaining villagers are instructed to gather all water and liquids in the temple.

Then he turns to the woman who let them in, and asks quietly, "Are there any priests or healers that can tend to injuries? "

OOC: Not sure if my (low) Persuasion check can do all that, but I figured as a sailor Grimnir at least knows a bit about giving orders... Persuasion: 1D20 = [11] = 11 Ooh, and the water gathering is mostly to keep everyone busy.