Chapter 2 - Marli and Barton's Mercenaries
One-by-one they descended into the crypt. The room was a mess. The mercenaries had obviously ransacked it. It had once been some sort of personal quarters for someone important, for the chamber was rather large. Once ornate furniture was now utterly decayed and wasted. Boxes were smashed open and drawers lay strewn about everywhere. There was literally nothing of value in the room.
It was only after he was ready to descend into the crypt that Ryth-Shan noticed that Bomrush was gone. He must have bowed out sometime after they'd escaped the nautiloid. Ah well. Ryth-Shan couldn't blame him. He didn't owe any allegiance to them. He was actually just happy that Zriek had remained.
"Let's try to avoid attacking the mercenaries immediately," suggested Kaedyn in hushed tones as they all gathered in the barely lit chamber. "Maybe we can convince them to leave similar to how we did the rest."
"I wholeheartedly disagree," said Astarion. "I say we assassinate them one at a time. That's the best solution, if you think about it. That way, we don't give them a chance to..."
The door suddenly opened to the room, and in came a burly human with long, dark beard and hair. When he saw the party, he froze. "Son of a... To arms! We're under attack!"
"No wait!" cried Kaedyn as he spun around to try to convince them they were not hostile, but it was clear the mercenaries were not going to have any of it. The battle began. The adventurers didn't even know who they were going up against or how many.
Initiative. Kaedyn rolled an 11+2=13, Vexir rolled a 17+2=19, Ryth-Shan rolled a 15+2=17, Shadowheart rolled a 20+2=22, Astarion rolled 7+3=10, Lae'zel rolled 4+1=5, and Gale rolled 5+2=7. All animals and famliars would take their turns on the same turn as their masters. The mercenaries were using Bandit stats with two Bandit Captains, Marli and Barton. After the DM rolled for them, the Initiative Order was as follows: Shadowheart, Barton, Mercenary 5, Marli, Vexir, Ryth-Shan, Kaedyn, Mercenary 2, Astarion, Mercenary 4, Gale, Mercenary 1, Mercenary 3, and then Lae'zel.
Shadowheart was the quickest. She decided that she wanted to hit Barton, who was the bearded guy who discovered them, as hard as she could. She cast Guiding Bolt, and rolled a 3+4=7. Failure. The bolt zipped past him and struck the wall behind.
Barton rushed Kaedyn, who was closest. He took a swing with his scimitar. He rolled a 9+5=14. Miss. But, he got three attacks. So, he attacked again with his scimitar and rolled a 14+5=19. Hit. He rolled 1d6+3 for damage and got a 5+3=8. Then, he had a dagger in hand as well, and took a swing with his offhand as a Bonus Action. He rolled a 3+5=8 and missed.
Then it was Bandit 5's turn. She was all the way in a different room, the library/ study. Thus, she had to do a Dash action to run as fast as possible towards the enemy. She could not reach them that turn. Marli was somewhat close by, but again, the heroes were in a different room. All she could do was position herself so that she could shoot at them next round. She used a Dash Action to line up with the open doorway so she could see them.
Then it was Vexir's turn. She rushed to attack Barton. She rolled a 2 and 16, for she got advantage for flanking Barton. 16+4=20. Hit. She rolled 1d12+2 for damage and rolled 8+2=10. However, she chose to also use Menacing Attack. After she hit, she decided to spend a superiority die to attempt to frighten her target. She added another d8 to her damage roll and got a 5. So she did a total of 15 HP off. He had 61 total, and now he was reduced to 46.
He also, then, had to make a Wisdom saving throw. If he failed, he received the Frightened condition until the end of his next turn. He rolled a 4 and failed. He was frightened. She scared the living tar out of him with her vicious growl and swing.
But she was not finished. She used Action Surge and swung again. She rolled a 5 and 17. 17+4=21. Hit again. She used another superiority die to then slam Barton away from them up to 15 feet into the wall. She only rolled a 1 and a 3 for damage, so she did 6 more HP off him, reducing him to 40 HP. He rolled a Strength saving throw to see if he was pushed away, and he only rolled a 6+2=8. Failure.
So, she essentially swung and hit him with her axe. She didn't manage to connect, however, with her blade, for he brought his two blades up to defend. Instead, she knocked him off balance and shoved with all her might. He staggered backwards, and as he did, she continued to rush him until she pinned him up against the wall between them and the adjoining room with the rest of Barton's Mercenaries.
Next, it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He had his bow out already. He moved to get a clear line of site with Barton and positioned himself in a corner so no one else could hit him from the room beyond. He had one spell slot remaining and used Hunter's Mark on Barton. He rolled 14+6=20. Hit. He got advantage, because Vexir was flanking Barton, but that didn't matter since his first roll hit. 1d8+1d6+2 damage thanks to Hunter's Mark. Dang! He only rolled a 3+2=5. Barton was down to 35. Because he used his own Action to attack, Ryth-Shan could not order Zriek to attack. Therefore, the Raven did nothing. He just hovered in the air near the hole out.
Now it was Kaedyn's turn. He rushed to the door and slammed it shut to isolate the enemies from his companions. Then, with his remaining movement, for it only took him 15 feet to get to the door, he used Shield of Faith on Vexir as a Bonus Action and rushed Barton with his mace. He increased Vexir's AC by 2. Then he rolled a Natural 20 to hit. Critical Hit! 2d6+2 damage. He rolled 9+2=11, reducing Barton's HP to 24. He had advantage, but he certainly didn't need it.
Thus, after slamming the door shut, Kaedyn rushed up to Barton and took a swing. Barton saw him coming and tried to shift to avoid Kaedyn's blow. Too late, the mace came down at Barton's head. Though it didn't solidly connect and crush Barton's skull open, it managed to swipe the right side of Barton's head, just behind the ear. The mace raked Barton's cranium painfully, but it wasn't enough to take him out.
Mercenary 2 was next in initiative order. She was in the same room as Marli and closer to the door. Seeing Kaedyn shut the door, she used a Dash Action to rush to the door and fling it open. Then she moved about 10 feet away from it to a barrel of gunpowder nearby. It was clear what her intention was for next round. She would toss the barrel on its side and roll it into the room. If someone lit that barrel up, it would make a powerful explosive.
Astarion took note of this, and it was his turn. He didn't even move. Instead, he just pulled open his magic pocket, pulled out an Alchemist's Fire, and lobbed it at Mercenary 2 and the barrel of gunpowder. He still needed to roll to see if he hit, because if he didn't, the alchemist's fire might land somewhere he didn't want it to go. He rolled a 2, in fact, and he needed a 10. Instead of hitting the barrel or Mercenary 2, the Alchemist's Fire flew past them and hit an unoccupied area beyond them. It exploded, but nobody was hit.
Astarion swore. Then he used Cunning Action to Dash, allowing him to Dash as a Bonus Action. He ran out the door and right up to Mercenary 2 with his rapier in hand. This exposed him to others, but he knew someone had to stop Mercenary 2 from rolling that barrel and exploding it in the room everyone was in.
Mercenary 4's turn. She was an archer, but she was in the library area, along with Mercenary 3 and 5. Therefore, she was too far away from the fight to do anything this round. Like Mercenary 5, she used Dash to try to get closer.
Now it was Gale's turn. He was not at all happy with Astarion. If the elf had not run up to the barrel, he could have ignited it with Fire Bolt. The two were not coordinating well as a team. Oh well! One enemy at a time. He wanted to hit Barton, but he decided that Mercenary 2 was the biggest threat next to that barrel. So he used Magic Missile on Mercenary 2. He rolled 3d4+3 for damage and rolled a total of 6+3=9. Mercenary 2 had 11 HP to begin with and was now reduced to 2. Gale then used his Move Action to try to run to a corner, and his Bonus Action to crouch behind some debris for cover.
Mercenary 1 was next, but he was in a dining room area near the main entrance. It would take him some time to get to the fight. He used Dash as well. Mercenary 3, again, was in the library area, so he had to do the same.
Finally, it was Lae'zel's turn. She decided to join in on the Magic Missile fun, using her last spell slot to do so. She launched 1 missile at Mercenary 2 and the other 2 at Barton. She did 2 points off Mercenary 2. The woman was so tired from the beating she'd received from Gale's Magic Missiles that she was barely standing. There was no way she could even remotely avoid Lae'zel's attack. The missile slammed right into her chest with white-hot fire. She screamed as she clutched her wound and fell dead on her back.
The other two missiles hit Barton. Lae'zel rolled a 3 and 1 for her dice, effectively taking off 6 HP. He was down to 29. Like Vexir, though, Lae'zel was not finished. She ran up to Barton to join in on the Barton bashing. She used Action Surge so she could use her longsword, swinging with both hands on the hilt. She rolled an 18+5=23 and hit. She then did 1d10+3 damage and rolled a 5+3=8. He was down to 21 HP. Her longsword hit hard, but it didn't fully penetrate his armor. Still, it was enough of a wound to weaken him further.
Round 2. Shadowheart made another attempt to blast Barton with her Guiding Bolt spell. She rolled an 18+4=22 and hit. She did 4d6 damage and rolled 15 total. Barton was down to 6 HP. The man was clearly tiring. He was enduring so much of a beating. He now had a mystical dim light around him, giving the next person advantage on their attack roll.
"Barton! Get out of there," cried Marli, and it was his turn. He did just that. He didn't even need to be told. Vexir had scared him half to death anyway. Using Disengage as an Action, he shoved Vexir off of him and dove for the nearest gap in between his enemies. He rolled to his feet and ran out the door. Trying to avoid his enemies as best he could, he threw himself up against the adjoining wall to have as much cover from them as he could. He was not far from Astarion, and his opponents could still catch him, but he would at least be luring them out of the room so his allies could hit them.
Mercenary 5's turn. She ran hard using Dash a second time. She had been the furthest from the fight, examining a blank wall behind a statue in the library. Therefore, she was still not in range to do any good.
Marli, however, was. Unfortunately, Barton was too close to the gunpowder barrel. She couldn't just shoot it with a fire arrow and blow it up on Astarion. Otherwise, there was too much of a chance that Barton would be hit. So she ran 30 feet away from Astarion and fired at him with a poison arrow. She rolled a 2+5=7. Miss. The arrow struck the back wall not even close to the elf.
But Marli was, in fact, the leader of the band. Though Barton was her partner, she was the true boss. Just as he got two attacks, so did she. She put another poison arrow to the string and fired in rapid succession. This time, she rolled 10+5=15. Astarion's AC was 14. Hit! She did 1d8+3, and she rolled 2+3=5 damage. He was down to 12 HP. The arrow penetrated his armor in his left shoulder, but only enough to prick him. "Gah!" he hissed in pain. He also had to roll a Constitution savings throw to avoid the effects of the poison. He rolled an 11+2=13. Success. The poison's DC was 12. Fortunately for him, there wasn't enough poison to enter his bloodstream to hinder him.
Next, it was Vexir's turn. She rushed through the open door after Barton without hesitation. Then she attacked with a 17+4=21. Hit. She rolled 9+2=11 damage and she used another superiority die to do Menacing Attack again. So she did another 7 damage for a total of 18. Barton had 3 HP left. Her greataxe came at him, nearly taking his head off as she let out another fierce battle cry. She was like a raging demon to him. He rolled another Wisdom savings throw to avoid the Frightened condition and rolled an 11 with no bonus for Wisdom savings throw. The DC was 8+Vexir's Proficiency Bonus of +2+ her Strength OR Dexterity bonus. Since both were +2, her DC was 12. Barton failed again. Not that it mattered. With 3 HP, he was not about to continue fighting her if he could help it at all.
Now it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He darted out the door and chose to try to finish off Barton. After all, he was his mark. He rolled a 15+6=21. He then rolled 1d8+1d6+2 damage and rolled 12+2=14. The arrow went right through Barton's skull. He fell to the ground; dead in a pool of blood.
"BARTON!" Marli cried in fury. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Ryth-Shan then used his Bonus Action to switch his Hunter's Mark target to Marli.
Kaedyn rushed out into the adjoining chamber where Marli was, and he immediately saw Barton's dead body. Marli was the next obvious threat, so he hurled a Guiding Bolt at her. He rolled a 19+4=23 and hit. Then he rolled a 17 for damage on 4d6 dice. Marli had 73 HP to begin with. Now she had 56 HP.
It was Astarion's turn. The barrel of gunpowder was too heavy. There was nothing he could do to kick it over or roll it. He only had Strength 8, after all. So, instead, he chose to use his Cunning Action to do a Dash as a Bonus Action. He charged Marli and attacked with his Rapier. He rolled a 15+5=20 and hit. Unfortunately, the conditions for Sneak Attack were not met, so he only did a 1d8+3 damage. He rolled a 5+3=8. Marli had 56 HP, so she was reduced to 48.
Mercenary 4 used Dash again and rushed into the room at last. She stepped to the side of the doorway and prepared her bow to shoot next round. Now it was Gale's turn. He ran through the open door and saw the three mercenaries coming from the library/ study area. His cat familiar followed him. Seeing the fight was far from over, he decided to hit the archer who'd just stepped into the room before she could attack the next turn. He had 2 more level 1 spell slots, so he used one to cast Magic Missile again. 3d4+3 points of damage. He rolled 8+3=11. All three missiles slammed into Mercenary 4, but she remained standing with 2 HP left.
Mercenary 1 used Dash again to reach the door to the room just in time to see the Magic Missiles slam into Mercenary 4. He could do nothing else. Mercenary 3 also made it into the room from the library/ study area with his great club ready for action.
Lae'zel's turn. She ran into the room, switched to her crossbow, and fired at Mercenary 4. 16+3=19. Hit. She rolled a 2+1=3 for damage, and her bolt stuck fast into Mercenary 4's chest. The woman fell to the floor; dead.
Round 3. Shadowheart raced into the room now. She was just in the doorway. She cast Bane on Marli, Mercenary 3 and Mercenary 1. Marli rolled a 2 for her Charisma savings throw. Mercenary 3 rolled a 1. Mercenary 1 rolled a 15. And so, Marli and Mercenary 3 would receive a 1d4 penalty to their attack rolls and saving throw rolls for up to 1 minute as long as Shadowheart maintained concentration. Shadowheart had 1 spell slot left for level 1
It was now Mercenary 5's turn. She came to the doorway from the library. It was then that they all saw that she was a mage. Still, she'd had to use Dash to get there, so she was done for the round. Marli, though, was the biggest threat remaining, and it was her turn. She used her first attack action to shove Astarion away from her. She rolled her Athletics skill and got an 18+4=22. Astarion resisted with his own Acrobatics skill and rolled an 11+5=16. He failed to resist, and she shoved him. He staggered backward 5 feet, effectively giving her the ability to make a ranged attack without disadvantage.
She was high enough of a level to get 2 attacks. Much to everyone's horror, she put a fire arrow to her bowstring and fired at the gunpowder barrel. She rolled a 10+5=15. However, because of Shadowheart's Bane spell, she got 1d4 penalty to attack. She rolled a 4, so Marli's attack total was 11. She needed only a 10 or higher. Still, she needed to do enough damage to penetrate the barrel to get to the gunpowder inside. She rolled a 1d8+3 for damage. She got a 4+3=7. The DM decided that she only needed 5.
BOOM! Everyone within a 10-foot radius took 7d6 fire damage. This included Shadowheart, Mercenary 5, Mercenary 3, Vexir, Ryth-Shan, Kaedyn, Gale and Lae'zel. If they succeeded in a Dexterity saving throw, DC 12, they would take half damage. The fire would also burn for 1 round. Anyone caught within would suffer fire damage each round. The DM rolled 29 for damage.
Shadowheart, Mercenary 5, Mercenary 3, Ryth-Shan, Gale and Lae'zel all failed the saving throw. They all scream in agony as they are consumed in the fireball. Their bodies are tossed 10 feet through the air away from the source of the explosion like ragdolls. Because the damage reduced them all to 0 HP, instant death was possible. Shadowheart lived because she was at full health of 21 HP. So the amount of excess damage was 8. If the excess damage had been 21, she'd have died. Mercenaries 5 and 3 were dead, for enemy NPC's die instantly upon losing all HP unless the DM makes an exception. Ryth-Shan was at full 26 HP, so he was also alive but dying. Gale had 20, so the excess was only 9. He was still alive as well. Lae'zel had 27, so she was also down but still alive.
Vexir and Kaedyn succeeded and suffered 14 damage. They managed to throw themselves to the ground, narrowly avoiding the concussion blast and debris. Vexir went from 27 HP to 13. Kaedyn went from 16 to 2. Finally, Kaedyn had to make a Constitution saving throw to keep up his concentration for his Shield of Faith spell on Vexir. He rolled a 16+1=17 and made it. He maintained the spell.
It was Vexir's turn. She picked herself up and activated Second Wind. She regained 1d10+3 (her character level) in HP. She only rolled a 2+3=5. Her HP went from 13 to 18. Furious, she charged at Marli. "Stupid WITCH!" she screamed in rage. Then she swung her greataxe. She rolled 13+4=17. Marli's AC was 15. Hit! She used Menacing Attack on Marli. 1d12+1d8+2. It was her last superiority die. She rolled 19+2=21 total damage. Marli's HP dropped to 27. Seeing Vexir coming, Marli tried to dodge and deflect the furious swing of the greataxe, but it still struck her in the chest. Fortunately, Marli had deflected the blow enough that it only barely breached the armor she was wearing. The blow seriously knocked the wind out of Marli, but she was not out of the fight. She then made a Wisdom saving throw and rolled a 7. She failed. Vexir successfully terrified her.
It was Ryth-Shan's turn, he had to roll a death saving throw. He rolled a Natural 20! Because he rolled a Natural 20, he actually regained 1 HP and was stabilized and able to act. However, all he could do that round was move. He could not act. He stood up, scrambled out of the fire and slumped against the wall near him, bow in hand. He used half his movement just to stand, and the other half he used to get away from the flames. He did not take fire damage because fire damage was applied at the start of his turn, before he rolled to see if he survived. Therefore, he regained 1 HP after the fire damage was applied. Since he immediately got out of the flames, he was okay.
It was now Kaedyn's turn. He used Cure Wounds on himself. If he died, no one could be revivified. He rolled 1d8+3 (his spellcasting ability modifier) and rolled a 6+3=9. He was up to 11 HP. Then, as a Bonus, he used Healing Word on himself. He healed another 1d4+3 and rolled 4+3=7. He now had 18 HP. He then moved into position to try to use a potion on Lae'zel. If he could get her back up, it would probably be the most helpful to their survival. But it would have to wait until next turn.
As this was happening, Astarion used Fast Hands to use his Cunning Action to pull out a potion and use it. This was one of the major benefits of Fast Hands for a Rogue. If drinking a potion was a Bonus Action already, it wouldn't benefit Rogues as much. He regained 2d4+2 HP and rolled 6+2=8. He now had 20 HP. He then got back on his feet using half his 30 movement points, and he rushed Marli. He would gain advantage on this roll because he and Vexir were now flanking her. He rolled a 6, however, so his total attack was 11. Miss.
It was Gale's turn. He had to roll a save vs. death. He rolled an 8. Failure. He could only fail 2 more times. Mercenary 1 then went. He immediately determined that their best hope of survival was to kill Vexir. He ran up behind her and attacked. "I'll save you Marli!" he cried.
Since Vexir was now flanked, Mercenary 1 got advantage on his roll. He rolled 10 and 9, so 10+3=13. He needed a 19 to hit because Kaedyn had increased her AC by 2 with Shield of Faith. He missed. After this, Lae'zel made a save vs. death roll and succeeded with a 10.
Round 4. Shadowheart failed a save vs. death roll by rolling a 5. Then Marli's turn came. The fires from the explosion abated. She was frightened. However, a person who is frightened can still attack. They just get disadvantage on their rolls. Marli decided that her best chance of surviving was to kill Vexir. She pulled out her scimitar and dagger and attacked. Like Barton, she got 2 attacks with her scimitar, because she was high enough of a level, and 1 with her dagger, her offhand weapon. She also got advantage.
For her first attack, she rolled a 15 and 6. 15+5=20. Hit. For her second roll she rolled a 15 and 1. 15+5=20. Hit. For her third attack with her offhand, she rolled a 17 and 7. 17+5=22. Hit. So, for damage, she rolled 2d6+6 and 1d4+3. She rolled a total of 7 with the dice and added 9 to it. (Note: Marli had a special ability that allowed her to use her damage bonus for her offhand.) Vexir lost 16 HP. Vexir now only had 2 HP.
Vexir trusted Kaedyn to heal her. Therefore, she just attacked, hoping to take Marli out. She was their greatest threat. She rolled a 6 and 13+4=17 and hit. (She had advantage still because of flanking.) Without anymore superiority dice, she just did 1d12+2 damage. She rolled a 3+2=5. Marli was reduced to 22 HP. "Kaedyn!" she cried. "Keep me alive or we're all dead!"
Ryth-Shan was the unexpected ally still standing. He was out of spells, and since he'd lost concentration he no longer had Hunter's Mark. Still, he could fire his bow and help his allies. He chose to do that instead of heal. Unlike Vexir, he chose to take out Mercenary 1. In that way, maybe Marli wouldn't get advantage on Vexir. He got advantage, however, because Mercenary 1 was flanked now by Astarion and Vexir. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2 and 13+6=19. Hit. Then he rolled 5+2=7 damage. Mercenary 1 was truly green. He had no real combat experience. A single shot between the shoulder blades, and he was dead. Only Marli remained.
Kaedyn heard Vexir's cry and used his Bonus Action to do Healing Word on her. He rolled 1d4+4 and healed her 7 HP total. That was his last level 1 spell slot. He was out of level 1 spells. She now had 9 HP. He glanced back at some of his companions. If he didn't start healing them, they could die. He had to risk not giving her anymore health. "Use a potion!" he cried. "I've got to save some of the others before it's too late." Then he whipped out a potion of healing, tilted Lae'zel's head back and made her drink it. Hopefully, another fighter would be better, he reasoned. He rolled 2d4+2 and got a 4+2=6. Lae'zel was up with 6 HP.
Astarion dropped his rapier and pulled out both of his daggers to attack Marli. He got advantage, so he rolled a 15 and 3 for the first attack, and 14 and 5 for the other. Both attacks hit because he took the 15 and the 14. He used Sneak Attack, since conditions were appropriate, adding 2d6 to his dagger's damage roll of 1d4+3. He rolled 7+3=10 total. For his offhand attack, he only rolled a 1. So a total of 11 off of Marli.
"Don't give up yet, Darling," said Astarion with a hungry look in his eyes. "I haven't really made you bleed yet."
As for Gale, he rolled save vs. death again and failed. That was his second failure. If he failed one more time, he was dead.
Lae'zel was back up on her feet, but she had just been revived that turn. She couldn't perform an action until next turn. (This is actually subject to DM ruling. The rules aren't real clear. Some DM's allow action after first waking up from being 0 HP. However, if you think through it clearly, who's going to wake up from being knocked unconscious and the immediately rush into battle all within 6 seconds. It would likely take a person a few seconds to reorient themselves.) Therefore, all she did was pull out her bow and prepare to fire.
Round 5. Shadowheart succeeded in her save vs. death roll by getting a 17. That was 1 success and 1 failure. It was Marli's turn. Vexir was weak, but she noticed that there were too many enemies still left standing. Her only hope now was to drink a potion. She whipped out a Greater Potion of Healing and recovered 4d4+4 HP. She rolled 8+4=12. She was back up to 23 HP. Although she had a weapon in her offhand, she could not use a Bonus Action to attack with it. A person could only use their Bonus Action to attack with a weapon if they had already used an Attack Action already. Since she used her Action to drink a potion, she was finished with her turn. She could only hope that her AC would keep her alive.
It was Vexir's turn. She decided to press the attack while Marli was trying to dodge and guzzle a potion. She rolled a 13+4=17. Hit. She rolled 11+2=13 for damage. She basically clubbed Marli with the end of her axe right in the chest. Marli gasped. "Gah!" she cried. Vexir could see she was weakening, but so was she.
On Ryth-Shan's turn, he saw that Gale and Shadowheart were still down. Kaedyn might not help them both in time. Therefore, he chose to help Gale. He ran to his side, pulled out a potion, and he forced it down Gale's throat. He rolled a 4+2=6. Gale was awake with 6 HP. Kaedyn then ran to Shadowheart and administered another potion. He did the same for her. She had 6 HP.
Now Astarion attacked with his daggers. He rolled a 3 and 15. Hit. Then he rolled a 5 and 11+5=16. Hit again. His first attack was with Sneak Attack again. He got 1d4+2d6+3. He rolled 13+3=16. Marli was exposed after being clubbed by Vexir, and Astarion saw his chance. He spun around behind her, grabbed her by the hair, jerked her head back, and with a single swipe, blood spewed from her throat all over Vexir. The battle was over. They all gained 146 XP. The DM decided to round it up to 150. They now all had 1,100 XP. They still needed 1,600 more for the next level.
As she watched Marli's body fall and twitch on the floor, Vexir made an Insight roll and got a Natural 20. She noticed the way Astarion was staring, wide-eyed, at Marli. It unnerved her. She got the distinct impression that he was overly delighted to have spilled her blood all over the stone floor. It was the look of a disturbed psychopath; someone who enjoyed eating his victims. He was even shaking as if he found it hard to restrain himself. What kind of person had they invited into their party? She decided right then and there that she would have to keep a MUCH closer eye on him.
They all picked themselves up and looked around, exhausted. "Remind me to avoid standing anywhere near gunpowder kegs," said Gale as she shook his head to clear it. "Well, that was fun." He was dripping with sarcasm. "Wha'da'ya say we call it a day. We won. Yay us! How about we take the keys, seal the place up and come back tomorrow to further explore it. Eh?"
Vexir shook her head. "I did not go through all this to quit now. Suck it up, Mage! We stay and loot the place. I don't want to risk some thief coming back while we're napping, and have them take all the good stuff."
"Agreed," said Astarion as he continued to stare down at Marli's dead corpse lying in blood. He had lost the look of total starvation, but he could not tear his eyes away. "While everything is still fresh, we should... you know..." He couldn't complete his thought. He was too distracted.
"We could at least search the areas that we know are empty," suggested Kaedyn. "The immediate area should be clear of enemies since others would have come to help them by now if there were any. I agree with Vexir and Astarion." His relationship went up by 1 for both. "Who knows if that Halfling, Gimblebock, might return with his four before we're able to get the best items."
