The Orphanage

[still watching fma]

The young Bast darted past the group of youngsters who had just finished off the shadow. He made no attempt to sneaky, if he did, it was poorly executed. The boy would stumble through ruble and reach the darkened section of the library's second floor. Bookshelves that were only meant to hold the knowledge of the barbarians and what little is known about magic items, were now concealing monsters. As he dashed forth, he would on the shadows lying in wait. Most held their place due to the tabaxi witch's orders, but they recoiled and trembled under the weight of his boots. The darkling boy, had entered a trap and the end of his stamina at the moment. Though his place was in the mess was convenient, maybe advantageous at first glance. He was a mere 25 feet from the source of these undead scum. In the dim torchlight that almost seemed to have its light swallowed by a suffocating darkness, one could see the witch's voluptuous curves. She was adorned in rags which reeked of ocean and seaweed. Her matted fur no longer had a sheen to it, instead numerous bald spots could be seen in her lackluster coat.

The woman knew he was there, but she did not act on it. She held an hand up slightly, just enough to stay the aggression of her pets. Down the aisle next to Bast's came heavy set footsteps, that practically slapped against the floor. An old man met with the woman, though he had a sullen expression. Head slunk and posture deflated, one might have wondered how he managed to even stand, let alone walk. The witch pat the old man and said, " There there, you know we're no longer parents". The woman's voice was soothing and lyrical, but that impression would be betrayed by the extent of her decay as an extra gaping hole in her cheek presented itself to Bast. Before quickly fading into the darkness again. The old man began to change. Its tendons and muscles started to make audible ripping sounds and its shadow, now cast upon bast to reveal a gaunt pale figure who could only be considered human by the shape of its body alone. Its voice however, was guttural and crackly, like a malfunctioning radio."B-but my dan--ceeey", it said, slamming its wide illshapen hands into the floor, causing a rough thud to reverberate throughout the library.

[initiative still in effect, just replying to jody]

 

[Afropuppy]

Thia hears all the commotion and drops the carrots she was holding immediately. Worried, she runs to the source of the noise, the wooden fence. She looks around to try and find what had just crashed into it. She didn't know how she would be able to help, but she thought that she would try her best anyway. (The investigation roll is if she finds it quickly or not, I'm sure she would find it eventually)

 

[still watching fma]

Thia finds cracks in the wooden beams and small slits between them to see whats outside. On the ground she would find a scaley creature with a long snout and a whip like tail lying on the ground. Its remains are charred and still a little smokey. The wood is hot enough that you don't even need to touch it to feel the heat. Although as you investigate the scene, a diamond shaped eye is looking back at you. It's low growl is not indicative of rage, but rather, intrigue. It takes a step back to reveal a bipedal creature with lanky curve arms that possess grisly claws at the end of its thic scale covered fingers. It chirps toward the woods, before running along the side of the perimeter of the orphanage.

Afropuppy

 

[Afropuppy]

Thia, intrigued as always, tries to follow the unknown creature. She walks over to the gate of the orphanage, trying not to make any noise in case she scares the creature. She tries to approach it as slowly as she can, making sure to also not make any sharp movements. She can't remember ever seeing a similar creature to that, which was just another reason for her to follow it.

 

[still watching fma]

Thia, intrigued as always, tries to follow the unknown creature. She walks over to the gate of the orphanage, trying not to make any noise in case she scares the creature. She tries to approach it as slowly as she can, making sure to also not make any sharp movements. She can't remember ever seeing a similar creature to that, which was just another reason for her to follow it.

Concealed somewhere on the Orphanage's property, an unknown figure notches its bow. Thia on the other hand tried follow the creature, who kept chirping with a low whine as she drew ever closer. Occasionally it sniffed the ground and kicked up dust with its exhaling on the other side of the fence. The two, were on a collision course with the entrance of the orphanage, the only weak spot in the perimeter. Loman who was usually on gaurd, was nowhere to be seen. And Hoein had yet to return.

 

[still watching fma]

Spoiler: maps of the current situation

I have made two maps. one with a grid, one with out. the grids all represent 5 feet.

white hair kid = dancy
hunch over kat person = zotar
purple = kali
io = the kid with the robes.
the kat person on the circle with the alien looking thing are the bosses. one is the tabaxi witch. the other is the changling dad.
Bast is the kid in the back
visibility is 15 feet unless you have dark vision

 

[Snek]

Io peered ahead down the line of bookshelves, his aasimar vision enhanced by his patron's noon, and he made out the shapes of two larger humanoids down the aisle. One of them looked feline in appearance, perhaps she was the witch? She must be the one behind the shadows attacking them.

He moved to his left so the two wouldn't see him coming, walking to the next aisle over about 30 feet while he tried to close the distance between himself and the witch. Upon rounding the corner to the next aisle of shelves, he noticed the shadow lying in wait, and Io lashed out at it with another blast of power.

 

[Felix]

Yellow = The path to kali's flute
Purple = artisan district
black = path for io if he fails the wisdom check

On the surface the walled city of Pearlgarden is lovely and well kept, with a bustling and stout heart. Although as you venture forth, deeper past the caravan of migrants from all directions, you'll see people of all walks of life. Orcs travel from the east with humans and dwarves, some with veracuse veins they could not hide under their dented armor. From the south come the elves and humans escaping a colossal flood that threatened to breach Aeirth's wall, the famed capital erected during the golden age. From the west come merchant ships in convoys with galleon escorts, which half run by machinery alone. As you make your way past these people you found a clearing and broke up for now, in search of your desired supplies.

Kiki and the captive Sam flew into the weather's stalls of the artisan district. The wooden beams smell of ocean and fish carcass and the tent rooves smell of mold of seaweed. The ground is sloppy like mashed potatoes, with a black rot that seems to have intertwined with each blade of grass. Around you are families shopping for food and other goods. You'll see statues of dragons made with skill, some whose teeth resembles knifes more than anything else, while others look like floating snakes that are an amalgam of other animals. The will be pictures too. Some are ameteurish, while others depict a landscape with lush green fields and a clear blue ocean set against a tan beach line. Though all these pieces of art will have a tinge of rot, lacking the luster of a true pristine work of art. Among the many stalls of coughing artists trying to sullenly sell their art, are poets performing along the edges of the streets.

Soul of steel, heart a roaring forge
Determination of the lion
Rage of the fire breathing drake
Will as stout as the stone walls that protect us, but compassion of the life giving rain
Or so they say.
King goldan. Where art thou?
Have you passed, like sands in an hour glass?
like the setting and fleeting sun?
////
Darkness, her warm embrace mi lord
it is tantalizing like the bosom of a merry wench.​

Among the many stalls and ill stricken populace is a goblin, spitting flames onto a couple of pieces of metal. He grins with sharp beguiling teeth, as he slams his hammer into the softened iron. Among the scrap metal, are what can only be described as trash with a couple of gizmos and gadgets. Something that resembles a rifle is hung above his head, with a glowing fiery stone sticking out of its butt. He squacks and squibbles in goblin and common as he Tinkers with his latest invention. Amongst these things is a sloppy arrangement of tools(you come up with them) with a price of 6 gold displayed with artisan paint underneath it.

@Orikanyo Felix Your tinkerer tools are 6 gold pieces. you should have at least 12. Orikanyo has 15 if he didn't choose the gear. Although since he was late, Loman gave him nothing as passive aggressive punishment.

At first the freedom had felt amazing. Kiki frisked from shop to shop, running her arcane hand over the teeth of dragon statues to see exactly how sharp they were. Some shopkeepers shot her some angry glances as she reached inside to see if they forgot to make a tongue or not. "Be careful, or it might bite you!" a man teased her. She rudely bit her tongue and continued further. There was this poem about some old dragon king, but she was sure that it wasn't important. Real knowledge was in stuff, not in sentimental poems or flutes.

It got even better when she discovered this strange goblin creature that was making some awesome stuff. She had no idea what it was, but it looked awesome nonetheless. She was basically drooling over the handcanon and was very tempted to touch it. However, she knew she did not have the money and somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Kali telling her to not make a fuzz. She hated it when the girl was right. Maybe she could make one of those herself some day. Her hands were already rummaging through the goblin's pile of junk before she could even think about it. She pulled out some cogs, an old rusty screwdriver, a dirty piece of cloth with grease and several connecting bits. When she felt like she had as much as she could pay for she showed it to the goblin and made the transaction without much words. Then she turned around: "Sammy! Look at all this stuff I found!"

There was no one there. "Sammy?! ... Sam!" She felt the dread overtaking her body from her feet as she walked around and called out for his name. Suddenly all the statues seemed way bigger and scarier than before. Her throat let out a sob, but she could catch herself just in time. Big girls don't cry. In panic she ran back to the gate, looking for the others to comfort her and help her look. Nobody was there. At this point some small tears were running down from underneath her mask. She would never be able to find Kali and Io in all the shops, but she could find Dancy and Wash at the library, right? Right?

Once again she darted through the streets on her way to the library. She ran inside and stopped at the front desk. She looked up at the librarian as she was still catching her breath. She let out another sob to get his attention. He looked down at her. "H-have you seen my friends?"

still watching fma

 

[Zotar]

Wash was at a loss for words. Mingled fear and frustration was all he could answer with.

A mental message from an enemy?
A beast made of shadows?
Io's terrible power?

All of it was met with a primal roar. Wash watched the first beast fall, and then saw Io attack another. Wash practically leaped over Io's head to bury his claws into the next shadow. But he fell with a humiliating thud next to Io.

 

[Ilikepie]

As Io defeats the monster, Kali looks at him with concern about his strange condition that seems to be magical in nature, but doesn't seem like something that should happen to a wizard. Before she can ask about what's happening to him more of those monsters appear. She then hears a couple of voices from a couple of figures she sees in the distance near the end of range of her dark vision. Tears begin to follow from Kali's eyes as hears the words they say. Kali's body freezes for a moment as her mind processes the new information. Memories of spending hours reading books trying to find out what happened to their parents without any luck as the others played and had fun flashed through her mind. 'The thing that killed our parents has the power to turn our parents into it's undead servants. Mommy did this happen to you too?' For a moment Kali remembers her mother singing a song to her and the happiness she felt on that day. 'How dare that monster do this to our parents'. Anger and tears flow through Kali's eyes as she stares towards the creatures and what was once the parents of her friends.

In her anger she focuses her magic through her voice as she casts vicious mockery at the closest monster. "You pathetic creatures, you will regret ever messing with us". Kali draws her rapier in her other hand, with that she is now holding a flute in one hand and the rapier in the other. "Io you can do it, destroy these monsters".

vicious Mockery dc 14 wisdom save take damage on dice on fail plus disadvantage on next attack.

Bardic inspiration Io now has inspiration that he can use to add a d6 to one ability check, saving throw, or attack roll with the next 10 minutes. 1/4 used

 

[still watching fma]

Thia, intrigued as always, tries to follow the unknown creature. She walks over to the gate of the orphanage, trying not to make any noise in case she scares the creature. She tries to approach it as slowly as she can, making sure to also not make any sharp movements. She can't remember ever seeing a similar creature to that, which was just another reason for her to follow it.

A message flies through the air and lands in Thia's mind. "Hide you fool, before they tear you to shreds"! Thia was lucky she was quieter, but now the creature was nearing the entrance of the yard. It growled and began to prod for more traps by kicking up dust and debris at the fence. It would only take around 30 seconds for the creature to enter the premises.

The creature steps forward, out into the open. It bobs its head a couple of times, looking around the yard. It is 6 feet tall with a long snout filled with razor sharp teeth. It starts to call out once again, releasing a hoarse chirp into the air, before being joined by its breathren.

Afropuppy if you dont succeed a stealth che k to hide or dont want you, you have to fight veliciraptors.

At first the freedom had felt amazing. Kiki frisked from shop to shop, running her arcane hand over the teeth of dragon statues to see exactly how sharp they were. Some shopkeepers shot her some angry glances as she reached inside to see if they forgot to make a tongue or not. "Be careful, or it might bite you!" a man teased her. She rudely bit her tongue and continued further. There was this poem about some old dragon king, but she was sure that it wasn't important. Real knowledge was in stuff, not in sentimental poems or flutes.

It got even better when she discovered this strange goblin creature that was making some awesome stuff. She had no idea what it was, but it looked awesome nonetheless. She was basically drooling over the handcanon and was very tempted to touch it. However, she knew she did not have the money and somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Kali telling her to not make a fuzz. She hated it when the girl was right. Maybe she could make one of those herself some day. Her hands were already rummaging through the goblin's pile of junk before she could even think about it. She pulled out some cogs, an old rusty screwdriver, a dirty piece of cloth with grease and several connecting bits. When she felt like she had as much as she could pay for she showed it to the goblin and made the transaction without much words. Then she turned around: "Sammy! Look at all this stuff I found!"

There was no one there. "Sammy?! ... Sam!" She felt the dread overtaking her body from her feet as she walked around and called out for his name. Suddenly all the statues seemed way bigger and scarier than before. Her throat let out a sob, but she could catch herself just in time. Big girls don't cry. In panic she ran back to the gate, looking for the others to comfort her and help her look. Nobody was there. At this point some small tears were running down from underneath her mask. She would never be able to find Kali and Io in all the shops, but she could find Dancy and Wash at the library, right? Right?

Once again she darted through the streets on her way to the library. She ran inside and stopped at the front desk. She looked up at the librarian as she was still catching her breath. She let out another sob to get his attention. He looked down at her. "H-have you seen my friends?"

still watching fma

The giant leaned in close to eye kiki. His head tilted to the left, then to the right. "Perhaps, I have seen these..uh friends. Perhaps not". He stood up and held out his arms, which revealed grey veracuse veins jutting pulsating rhythmically. "Little one, we have big friends. Small friends. Tall friends short friends. Friends that help friends", he said before pausing to eye her again. "Wouldnt you like to be friends? Friends".

The library was deathly quiet, dedpite the rucus from above. There was an incessant buzz accompanied by the environment starting to ripple like water. The way forward is clear for now. The librarian is slely approaching you with an almost comically exaggerated stride. Each step he took was slow, but it was mechanical and nearly 4 feet long. Each step accompanied by a thud that could not have come from any human. The sound of marble cracking, was ever prevalent.

Io peered ahead down the line of bookshelves, his aasimar vision enhanced by his patron's noon, and he made out the shapes of two larger humanoids down the aisle. One of them looked feline in appearance, perhaps she was the witch? She must be the one behind the shadows attacking them.

He moved to his left so the two wouldn't see him coming, walking to the next aisle over about 30 feet while he tried to close the distance between himself and the witch. Upon rounding the corner to the next aisle of shelves, he noticed the shadow lying in wait, and Io lashed out at it with another blast of power.

Wash was at a loss for words. Mingled fear and frustration was all he could answer with.

A mental message from an enemy?
A beast made of shadows?
Io's terrible power?

All of it was met with a primal roar. Wash watched the first beast fall, and then saw Io attack another. Wash practically leaped over Io's head to bury his claws into the next shadow. But he fell with a humiliating thud next to Io.

The shadow zipped along the bookcase's shadow as the ethereal eldritch attack collided with the bookcase and nothing else. This send a thunderous boom echoing throughout the library as wash went for where he believed the shadow to be. The two brazen boys butted heads with eachother on wash's way back down.

The witch smiled and snapped her fingers, causing her pets to shriek at their prey. The one io attacked used its strength to launch a book shelf at the boys. Roll for a dex check to dodge it(10) or a strength check(14) to smash it to bits. Failing to deal with the bookcase may knock one or both of you out(incapacitated).Though as they would be dealing with that, the shadow would practically fly toward the boys and slam its long snake like body into them, which would inflict 5 damage if it succeeded.

As Io defeats the monster, Kali looks at him with concern about his strange condition that seems to be magical in nature, but doesn't seem like something that should happen to a wizard. Before she can ask about what's happening to him more of those monsters appear. She then hears a couple of voices from a couple of figures she sees in the distance near the end of range of her dark vision. Tears begin to follow from Kali's eyes as hears the words they say. Kali's body freezes for a moment as her mind processes the new information. Memories of spending hours reading books trying to find out what happened to their parents without any luck as the others played and had fun flashed through her mind. 'The thing that killed our parents has the power to turn our parents into it's undead servants. Mommy did this happen to you too?' For a moment Kali remembers her mother singing a song to her and the happiness she felt on that day. 'How dare that monster do this to our parents'. Anger and tears flow through Kali's eyes as she stares towards the creatures and what was once the parents of her friends.

In her anger she focuses her magic through her voice as she casts vicious mockery at the closest monster. "You pathetic creatures, you will regret ever messing with us". Kali draws her rapier in her other hand, with that she is now holding a flute in one hand and the rapier in the other. "Io you can do it, destroy these monsters".

vicious Mockery dc 14 wisdom save take damage on dice on fail plus disadvantage on next attack.

Bardic inspiration Io now has inspiration that he can use to add a d6 to one ability check, saving throw, or attack roll with the next 10 minutes. 1/4 used

As Kali was focused on the shadow attacking wash and io, the second shadow creeped toward the bardic tiefling. It crushed wood and other debris as it stood its full height of 8 feet tall. Its tail reeked of death, glowing with a dark sinister aura as it turned its body and pivoted to send try and crush with its size. If kali is hit by strength drain, she will lose strength until her next long rest.

 

[Felix]

Kiki already thought Ma was scary at times, but she ain't got nothing on the giant standing in front of her. She pouted. "No, I don't want to be your friend. I want my own friends!" She had no idea what was happening, but she knew it wasn't right. As the giant reached for her she darted away in the direction of the stumbling she could hear. Most other paths seemed strange anyway.

She hurried up the stairs and ran into a dangerous scene. She saw three of her friends on the ground, shadows lurking over their bodies. Dread overtook her body. She cried out: "Nooo! Leave my friends alone!" She felt a power welling up inside her and thrust it forward. A ghost hand flew out of it, ready to grasp the shadow that was attacking Kali.

 

[Snek]

Io was about to berate Wash for messing up his attack, but his words fell short as the shadow began to tip the massive bookshelf over on them. He leapt to his feet and tried to dive out of the way.

As he rolled safely away from the hazard, he felt his hatred boiling up again, and he felt empowered as Kali egged him on to destroy the monsters. He unleashed another blast, saving Kali's inspirational power for when he would really need it.

 

[Zotar]

With humiliation came clarity, like an ice bucket being dropped on Wash's head. Wash got to his feet and fed his rage a new idea. Dodging danger wasn't his thing. He knew he must not be pinned. He threw his strength at the book shelf. It was smashed away from him and his friends.

Wash moved backward a few steps and put up his dukes.

[Now I can use Strength advantage from rage. Rolling. Roll of 22 to smash!]

Spoiler

Put up your dukes.