Expedition: Earc/Guhra's Tower - 15 July 2021

[Stirling]

Issachar

Issachar to hit melee [1d20+3] = 18+3 = 21 heavy flail damage [1d8+3] = 3+3 = 6

wiping a streak of blood upon his sweating brow, the priest of Gwanwen pulls the hood up over his cloak and with a scything swipe flails at the dismounted rider (or if he is not there he bashes the horses head in to end its mortal cycle), Issachar to hit melee [1d20+3] = 18+3 = 21 heavy flail damage [1d8+3] = 3+3 = 6

"Death walks among us today. It is a day of grace and proving, we should be worthy lest the fingers of the Grim Reaper points in our direction and summons our own souls to judgement.", he says with a grim finality.

Looking around he assesses we need to move very quickly for he believes that the bandits will be enraged and will seek revenge. "15 bowmen, a dozen cavalry, our only hope is the thick forest and to force our march".

To Bianca he says,"Sorry, I can pray no more, it is beyond me. Still you have a hope available to the repentant and worthy if you lay yourself prostrate in the temple."He points up to the sky,"you witches adore the moon, then seek shelter beneath the Blue Crescent's aura."

what to do? So many bodies, so little time. Does Olaf care more for Drunil than for non-dwarves? Can a giant Olaf carry a couple of bodies over his shoulder until he shrink back to size and we flee through the forest or do we trek back to the relative safety of the gnoll's bathroom?

[Marullus]

The bandits all made it out of the clearing while the party rushed to tend the wounded. Issachar ensures the wounded horse ends its suffering; it now lies still on the grass.

Issachar indicates he cannot call on Gwanwen's blessing further to restore those on the brink of death. Halfpint checks Earc's belt pouch, where she finds four flasks of potion and a pair of spectacles. Hoping for the best, she pours one of the flasks into his unconscious mouth, bit by bit. After two sips, he begins to stir and in a few minutes is able to regain his feet.

Bianca is anguished over the still-unconscious body of Winnie. Issachar offers that she can absolve her guilt by offering her own life as a sacrifice for the one she stole for Winnie at the temple of Gwanwen, also indicating she might even be accepted into the Reapers if she repents her Witchcraft.

The group assesses options for how to move forward, with Drunil and Winnie still unconscious - moving them before they are more stable will surely injure them further.

Date: 11:50am, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: None
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Winnie (Near Death, unconscious), Drunil (Near Death, unconscious), Earc (Mortally Wounded, unconscious), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Olaf (superficial injury)

[Zhym]

Olaf leaves Bianca and Issachar to do something about Winnie, who seems to be spending a lot of time in, out, and near death today. He bends down...way down...and gives Drunil sips of his healing potion until the dwarf regains consciousness.

[Marullus]

Olaf finds that the enlarged potion takes much longer for the unconscious dwarf to drink as it is poured from the enlarged flask lip into his mouth. The whole potion is administered, sip by sip (+5hp), but is not enough to bring the dwarf to consciousness.

Date: Noon, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: None
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Winnie (Near Death, unconscious), Drunil (Near Death, unconscious), Earc (Mortally Wounded, unconscious), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Olaf (superficial injury)

[onlyme]

Halfpint will take a 2nd vial from Earc with the promise to have the other patients pay him back and attempts to nurse the closer of the two comatosed back to consciousness. In this case it appears to be Dunil.

w odd, d even [1d40] = 4

( I assume she would have access to another one before he really knew what was happening.)

[Marullus]

Halfpint administers the rest of the first vial to Drunil (+3hp), restoring him gradually to consciousness as well.

Yes, she can do so before Earc is recovered enough to object.

Date: Noon, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: None
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Winnie (Near Death, unconscious), Earc (Mortally Wounded), Drunil (Severely Wounded), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Olaf (superficial injury)

[Stirling]

Issachar

Conscious of time, Issachar wants to keep moving. Seeing the glows tick he has an idea. If the witch can summon a rabbit or fox, it could drag the glows tick off into the forest while we exit the other direction. Hopefully the bandits follow the fleeing light and we escape.

Halfpint, the mule is yours. I guess we follow where you lead. North to Gaul, East to Idmi or SW to the gnolls lair?

Unless ... stupid idea but desperate times call for desperate measures. We track the bandits and raid their horses. They won't be expecting that even though it is very high risk given how close the Grim Reaper is breathing down our collars.

[Zhym]

"What the Nine Hells ye be on about?" grunts Olaf. "Pony be mine. The bandits be gone. Yer a bigger idjit than ye look if ye be keen on chasing them bandits now. Soon as the dead-not-dead-almost-dead witch be all not-dead again, we be going back to Gaul."

I'm assuming someone will use a healing potion to get Winnie upright. Olaf has used all of his.

[Stirling]

sorry pony is yours, not going to argue with a 9'ft dwarf. says the red faced priest.

[onlyme]

Halfpint will attempt the same elixir on Winnie, since she has now had success with both the others.

[Marullus]

Halfpint poirs the whole second potion into Winnie (+6hp), awakening her as well. In a few minutes they're all able to be mobile, though all are still wounded.

(Earc, subtract the two potions.)

Date: Noon, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: Giant Olaf (1:20pm)
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Earc (Mortally Wounded), Drunil (Severely Wounded), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Winnie (minor injury), Olaf (superficial injury)

[Zhym]

Olaf takes some of the bags off of Pony to give his mule a rest for a while. Looking down at his companion's heads, he decides they look better than their nostrils, anyway.

"We be going?" he asks.

[Bluehorse]

Bianca

She hugs Winnie tightly but carefully when she comes too, and then once she is sure Winnie is okay, she jumps up to embrace Halfpint, weeping tears of joy. "Thank you! Thank you, so much! I am in your debt!"

[Zhym]

"Why don't she be hugging Earc?" wonders Olaf. "Was his potions."

[Alethan]

"Which will come right out of the takings, to be sure!", Earc manages a hoarsed whisper, still tending his wounds.

For good measure, he retrieves a third potion of healing from his pack and drinks it down in one swig.

"Lets get everyone patched up as best we can and get back to Gaul. As soon as we're healed up, we have to decide if we're going back to the tower for more or if we're going hunting for a bandit with glowing eyes..."

Healing potion [1d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

Well, didn't go as well that time. What does that put Earc at now for HP?

[Rusty Tincanne]

Winnie sits up weakly and sees the party covered in their own blood. She is visibly shaken from almost dying a second time in as many days but returns Bianca's hug, glad for a release in the tension between them. She rises to her feet and picks up the brain-stained arrow that was recently in her skull. I have been weak. A misplaced trust in the world, but I understand more deeply now. The world is hard and uncaring, and we are just food for one another, none of are exempt from it. But I won't give up this life so easily a third time. The spells in those books... I will use them to fight for this life. I won't be food for the worms, or for anything else, for that matter. I swear it to Beith, and to each of you.

She let's Earc know she is happy to repay him the cost of the potion, then helps Drunil to his feet. Olaf, Can you carry our packs for now so we can move faster away from here? I will use my floating discs after that. But let's not waste time here.

As the walk, she speaks excitedly to Bianca and anyone else who is willing to listen, that after she was resurrected, she felt out of the cycle of life, Like it was spinning around me, but I was no longer part of it, but the arrow that is now strapped to her staff showed her that she is still in that cycle. I feel more alive now that I ever have. She explains that, she knows the resurrection was wrong, but she is fond of her life and is unwilling to let it go without a fight, even if it means a lengthy penance from the coven to "pay" for it. Even if... even if it means I must leave the coven. I won't surrender this gift.

I suggest we redistribute the weight so we can, at the least, move at 1/2 movement. How much can Olaf carry right now and how fast can he move?
After that, we can load up a Floating disc (400#) and keep moving at a faster clip. That gives us 3 hours between the spells and the potion.

[Zhym]

I am going to assume you are wearing/carrying enough of the magic items to cover that small gap. With the mule at 400lbs, I am letting you move at half-speed instead of 1/4 speed (with sledges).

(Emphasis added.)

[onlyme]

Halfpint smiles at the effects of the potions and is relieved to see the others are back and well.
She will check out the battlefield to see if anything was left from the bandits in their hasty retreat.

Perhaps the horse had a saddlebag full of diamonds.

[Marullus]

With Issachar now finished with beating the dead horse, Halfpint checks its saddlebags. Not a proper saddlebag, even, but a sack tied on containing the bandit's lunch (1 day fresh rations) and a coil of heavily-used rope (50', no resale). It seems the bandits must keep their diamonds at their encampment.



(Zhym is right: You're currently at 50% speed, not 25% speed. I will give you one hour at 100% speed with both Olaf giant-sized and the floating disc, then will resume your 50% speed march. With a second casting of Floating Disc, I'll give you 75% speed for two additional hours. Good? Post your plan.)

Date: 12:10pm, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: Giant Olaf (1:20pm)
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Drunil (Severely Wounded), Earc (Severely Wounded), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Winnie (minor injury), Olaf (superficial injury)

[Zhym]

"What we be waiting fer?" asks Olaf. "Lets git."