-- Session 6 --
Initiative is rolled. Order is Imp 1, Lae'zel, Imp 2, Diadell, Imp 3.
Me: Imp 1 shoots at Lae'zel with a crossbow. (I roll a 17 total.) Miss because of her increased AC due to her Potion of Speed. Lae'zel goes. She rushes Imp 2 and attacks. (I roll a 17 and a 1.) Hit and a miss. (I roll a 4 damage.) She takes 2 off the Imp. The Imp is already injured from prior combat. Therefore, it only had 6 HP. Now it has 4. Imp 2 moves and attacks her with a sting attack. Yes, it can sting with its tail. (I roll a 14.) Miss. Your turn.
Diadell: Can I just run right up to the transponder with a Dash?
Me: A Dash normally gives you 60 feet of movement. With Potion of Speed, you can move 120 feet. You can't quite make it.
Diadell: I'm doing it anyway.
Me: Imp 3 sees you and moves to attack you with his sting. (I roll a 15 total.) He missed. Next round. Imp 1 attacks Lae'zel. (I roll a 21 total.) Hit. (I roll 1d8 for the crossbow and get a 7. Imp gets +3, so 10 damage total.) Lae'zel falls.
Diadell: Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm so freaking close. Wait! You said if I fall the Mind Flayer will just heal me.
Me: The Mind Flayer uses Heal on Lae'zel, and she is full health. However, because he did this, the demons finishes him off with a slash to the chest. He flies backwards, blood spurting everywhere. As he hits the ground, you see him clutching his chest, trying to stave off the mortal wound.
Diadell: Dang! Seriously?
Me: Imp 2 sees you and rushes to attack you. Lae'zel is within Attack of Opportunity range, but since she is prone and just restored from unconsciousness, she gets no Reaction. Imp 2 flies at you and attacks with his sting. (I roll a 1.) Critical Miss! Your turn.
Diadell: I use Disengage as an Action and run up and take control of the transponder.
Me: The ship's transponder. You made it. Somehow, thoughts are projected into your mind as to what you need to do. You rush up to two disconnected tendrils. Grabbing each, you waste no time. You quickly slap them together. There is a spark of energy as the two ends meet. Then, all at once, as the Imps are coming at you from behind to try to stop you, you are all frozen with Dragon Fear. A red dragon has just landed on the viewport. He works his way around to a gaping hole in the wall. As your eyes widen, staring death in the face, he sticks his head in and aims it at you and everything around you. No time! He breathes fire right at your face, engulfing you, the transponder and everything else in the area. You are thrown backward onto the ground, dazed and confused. Somehow, you are alive, but you are utterly dazed. Near you, the imps shriek angrily. They have completely forgotten about you. The dragon has drawn their attention to them. The dragon then leaps into the air, roaring loudly. The imps fly out after it. The ship lurches and tosses you. You slide about on the hull and see the transponder coming at you. Instinctively, as if directed by another force, you reach out and grab the controls. Dangling with one arm from it, you find the strength to pull yourself up to grab the connected tendrils. They have also survived the dragon's blast. Grabbing the tendrils, suddenly, the entire ship lurches again. You see the Hells vanish as the ship bounces out of Avernus and into a darkened sky. Visions suddenly bounce about in your mind. You see the ship amongst the clouds in the night sky. A tiefling girl with straight pink hair is viewing the ship through her telescope. She looks away from the eyepiece and gazes at it with her own eyes. She is clearly frightened, and she runs off to warn others. Your vision shifts. There is a ruins. Standing on the edge of a battlement is a hobgoblin. He stares up at the exploding nautiloid, and he grins. A drow approaches from behind. She is wearing Ring Mail, and she has straight, white hair. She glances at the hobgoblin and smiles with wicked intent. The hobgoblin nods at her. It is as if they exchange thoughts. Then they turn to a goblin leader nearby and gesture with a nod. The goblin calls their forces together and rushes out the main gates of the ruins into the countryside. All at once, you are back in the helm of the ship. You stagger this way and that. Debris is flying everywhere as the ship is descending at a rapid pace. Something hits you in the head. You tumble and slide backwards, slamming into the starboard wall of the chamber. There is a gaping hole there and debris is flying out. Glancing to your left, you spot the Mind Flayer who had been battling the demon. You see no sign of Lae'zel or the demon. The Mind Flayer is glaring at you with a strange mix of hatred and adoration. You can't quite sure what it is thinking, but you almost get the impression that it is trying to save you. Before you can ponder this further, a slab of metal smacks you in the head. You are thrown out the hole in the wall as the ship lurches to that side. The next thing you know, you are plummeting towards the ground. The world is spinning. You can hardly maintain conscious thought. You barely recognize that the ground is coming up towards you, quickly. And then, all at once, your eyes shoot open to see that you are hovering upside down above a beach just a foot off the ground. Everything is glowing around you, including you. You stare in shock and fear as you realize that you have somehow survived and have not cracked your head open on the ground. You try to right yourself, twisting upward just as the glowing dies and you drop hard onto the beach. Smacking your head, you are rendered unconscious. You have no idea how long you are unconscious before you finally wake. End of the Prologue. Chapter 1 begins.
Diadell: How much HP do I have?
Me: You regain all your HP after a long rest. Therefore, since you were unconscious some time during the night, you awaken to find it is morning. You essentially slept all night. It's as if you took a long rest. Based on the position of the sun in the sky, you think it might even be mid-morning. Nearby, and all around you, the nautiloid lies in ruin. It crashed very close to you, so its parts and pieces are everywhere. Nearby, you see lots of bodies strewn along the beach. A wide river is sprawled out to the south and west. The ruined nautiloid blocks your path to the north. There is only one way to go. You can only head east along the beachfront past the dead bodies. The first bodies you find are fishermen. They must have been caught in the crash or killed by some sort of creatures just recently.
Diadell: Can I search them?
Me: Yes. Being that you are not in a hurry, I won't make you roll to see what you find. A thorough search of everyone on the beach allows you to find a total of 20 gold, some meaningless cups and fishing rods and plates and silverware.
Diadell: I take it all. I can probably get something for those things. I might need to sell tons of stuff to buy better equipment. At this point, I'm taking whatever I can get, especially since I have those magic pockets.
Me: As you pocket a few items, you discover that Lae'zel's magic pocket has returned to you. Apparently, yours is the master pocket. Only if an individual is in your party near you will they be able to use the magic pockets. If they are no longer in your party, the magic pockets return to the master user.
Diadell: Sweet! How convenient!
Me: You find a backpack near a fishing pier all the way to the east of the beach. Nearby, a bucket of fish is getting spoiled in the warm sun. You find a book about Umberlee on the pier. Are you still saying you're taking everything?
Diadell: Everything.
Me: Suddenly, you spot just to the north, the front of a ruins. There is an entrance there, but it appears to be locked because there is a woman there pounding on it as if trying to bust it open. You hurry towards her, gathering other useless junk from fallen bodies and barrels and crates laying strewn about the beach. Several fishing boats are also on the beach, but they are utterly destroyed. After taking your time to sneak about and gather everything from the bodies on the beach, you reach the woman. Do you continue to approach or would you like to head off to the west. There appears to be a path to the west. You could just bypass the woman. Oh! I should note. This is the woman that you tried to rescue in the pod; the half-elf with the ponytail and armor.
Diadell: I'm talking to her.
Me: As you approach, she notices you, spins around and cries, "Stop! Not another step or I'll..." She breaks off. Suddenly, a strange sensation causes both of you to grab your temple and widen your stance so that you don't grow too dizzy and fall. Your minds connect for a moment. You see yourself trying to free her from the pod, and you catch the hint of gratitude. The moment passes. The woman looks back at you as if in relief. "Ah! Did you feel that? Our minds connected. It must be the tadpoles they put in our heads. They're connecting us. Wait! I know you. You tried to save me on the ship. Well, at least you put forth the effort. My name's Shadowheart. After the crash, I have been trying to gather as many supplies as I can in hopes of surviving. I was hoping this ruins might have some valuable things I could use. But it's no use. The door won't budge."
Diadell: I'm a rogue. I could try to pick the lock.
Me (as Shadowheart): Be my guest. I certainly can't seem to get it open. Does this mean you'd like to travel together? It might increase our chances of survival. It would at least give us some company, if nothing else, for our final moments. You know, I think these tadpoles are going to turn us into Mind Flayers. We need to find ourselves a healer and fast.
Diadell: Sure. My name's Diadell.
Me (as Shadowheart): Pleasure! Well, if you can't get this door open, let's try to see if there's another way in at the top of the cliff. That was my next move. Hopefully we won't run into any more of these Intellect Devourers along the way.
Diadell: Intellect what?
Me: She points at several of the brain creatures lying on the beach nearby, completely dead. Shadowheart says, "Intellect Devourers. They are nasty slaves of the Mind Flayers. They can take control over people, and they are extremely dangerous. We need to hit them at a range. Getting too close could mean they can either take control over us or just kill us. Keep them at least 10 feet away. They are not easy creatures to kill."
Diadell: After everything I had to go through on the ship, now I have to watch for these things? Those dang imps nearly killed me. Now I have to worry about these things getting close and taking over my mind? Intellect Devourers. Geez!
Me: Shadowheart then says, "Well, lead the way. I'll follow you and support you. I'm more of a ranged person who heals and protects."
Diadell: Fine. So I start heading off towards the western path, I guess.
Me: You immediately find more dead bodies. Then you spot two Intellect Devourers near some of the bodies just before entering the devastated hull of the nautiloid. It is the only way to go. You have no choice but to go through. The Intellect Devourers spot you and flee into the wreckage, disappearing into the darkness.
Diadell: I'm sneaking. Can I sneak at least?
Me: You certainly can. Make a Stealth roll. (She rolls a 15+5=20. I roll a 14, 16 and 4 for the three devourers she doesn't know are within the wreckage.) You succeed. So you creep your way inside. Would you like Shadowheart to try to sneak in as well? She may make noise and alert the creatures to where you are. Your other option is to signal for her to remain at the edge. Then you can surprise attack the devourers and run back to where she is. This would allow her to hit them from a range while you lead them towards her.
Diadell: I'm doing that. I tell her to remain outside, and I sneak in. I just want to get within range of my bow and sneak attack one of them. Hopefully I can stay hidden and keep sniping them.
Me: As you creep your way inside, you spot three devourers. They are huddling around bodies and are either eating them or checking them for life. You can't be sure which.
Diadell: Ok. So I sneak up to about 40 feet from one of them, and I shoot, making sure to remain more than 40 feet away from all of them.
Me: You fire, and the battle begins.
-- Session 6 Ends --
