Chapter 4 - The Tieflings at the Wall
Vexir sneered at him, however. "Why do you care about these fool Tieflings?" she asked.
Kaedyn was already making his way back towards the path up onto the wall. He was jogging. "I care about every soul," he replied. "Even those people consider evil." Then he smiled at her, clearly indicating that she was normally considered evil and he still cared about her.
Vexir snicked at him. "Fool," she muttered. The others followed, but only because they didn't want to stand around doing nothing while they waited for him to return. They also wanted to make sure they gave Zevlor time to spread the word.
So they went up onto the wall. Sure enough, Kanon was dead beyond any hope. Kaedyn bowed his head and said a prayer. As he did, one of the Tieflings nearby said to him, "Aradin's back with his tail between his legs. I'm glad for your help, but I'd hoped you were Halsin."
"And Halsin is?" asked Ryth-Shan.
"The First Druid," said the Tiefling.
"Sounds like you've crossed paths with Aradin before," said Kaedyn.
"Yeah, when he ran off with the druid that saved our hides the first time. Without Halsin... this grove's not so friendly. I'll tell you that."
"Halsin saved you?" asked Kaedyn.
"Yep. We were refugees on the road north of here," explained the Tiefling. "We were ambushed. The Gnolls would have torn us to bits if Halsin hadn't shown up. He transformed into a massive bear and tore into them. He and several of the druids and animals with him sent the Gnolls fleeing into the hills."
A young female Tielfing nearby then interrupted their conversation. She was cradling Kanon in her arms. "He's not breathing. Go find a healer!" she snapped at another Tiefling, a male, near her.
Lae'zel decided to chime in. "Do not embarrass yourself. He is gone."
The Tiefling woman looked up at her with venom in her eyes. "No!" she screamed in Lae'zel's face.
"I'll say a blessing to guide his soul," Kaedyn offered, trying to smooth the situation over.
"We'd like that," said the male. "I'm Mennos. This is Arka." Both were yellow-skinned Tieflings who could have been cousins. Arka had straight, white hair combed back with pupil-less eyes. Mennos had dark brown hair in a braid with the sides and back of his head shaved. He had fiery eyes.
Arka then threw Kanon's body to the ground in a rage. "No! We wouldn't like that. It's pointless. Someone's going to pay for this." Then she grabbed a crossbow and fled the scene.
Mennos chased after her. "Arka! No wait! What are you doing?" And with that, they were gone.
"Should we go after them?" asked Gale as he watched them go.
Kaedyn shook his head. "Best to leave them be."
Feeling guilty for Arka's behavior, another Tiefling female approached. This was Elegis. She had short, dark hair and wore Ring Mail with a bow on her back. "Glad you made it inside," she said kindly. "Doubt we'll be safe here for long, though. There'll be more coming. Goblins hunt in packs."
"You could hold off a horde of goblins from this position," said Vexir.
"Ah, maybe," said Elegis. "But we're not fighters. If they broke through, it'd be a massacre. The sooner we leave for Baldur's Gate, the better. If the road was clear, it would be about a tenday's walk, maybe. But while the goblins are out there, it might as well be the other side of the world."
Kaedyn nodded. "Well, we'll see what we can do to help."
"Thank you," said the Tiefling. "Oh. Could you do me a favor?"
"What's that?" asked Kaedyn.
"There's another Tiefling woman up on the hilltop there," she said, pointing to the east where the grove's natural wall rose to form a hilltop. "She's got long, straight, pink hair. Her name is Nadira. She's our stargazer and lookout. Could you tell her that I need to chat with her about something? My name is Elegis. I can't leave my post here, at this point. I need to keep watch for more trouble."
Kaedyn looked up to the hilltop. "Wouldn't take us much to do that," he replied.
"So, now we're messengers?" said Astarion. "Are we going to run errands for everyone here?" Kaedyn lost a relationship point with Astarion. Vexir, Lae'zel and Shadowheart also didn't approve, and he lost a point with each of them as well.
"What else have you got to do right now," said Kaedyn. "We need to wait for Zevlor to spread the word anyway so people don't just outright attack us." Then, without another word, he made for the cliff, jogging along the wall as he went until he reached a path that led up to the hilltop. The others reluctantly followed along. Only Gale seemed to be content with Kaedyn's decisions.
When they reached the top of the hill, however, they were quite surprised by what awaited them. The pink haired Tiefling, Nadira, was busy staring through her telescope at the surrounding countryside, and so she was oblivious to the reality that a bugbear was creeping up on her from behind. Somehow, the monster had gotten into the grove, and he was about to attack her. Kaedyn and the others had arrived just in time to stop it. The bugbear spotted them just as they spotted him.
Initiative. Kaedyn rolled 7+2=9, Vexir rolled 17+2=19, Ryth-Shan rolled 11+2=13, Shadowheart rolled 2+2=4, Astarion rolled 4+3=7, Lae'zel rolled 19+1=20, and Gale rolled 15+2=17. The DM used Bugbear Chief stats for this bugbear and rolled 10+2=12.
Initiative Order. Lae'zel, Vexir, Gale, Ryth-Shan, Bugbear Chief, Kaedyn, Astarion and Shadowheart.
Lae'zel threw her Spear+1 and used her Bonus Action to draw it back to her using her Weapon Bond. She rolled a 10+6=16 to hit. She needed a 17 and missed. The spear came at the bugbear's chest, but he knocked it to the side with his morningstar. Then Lae'zel summoned it back to her hand.
Vexir used Dash to charge the bugbear, moving to melee range so that he would provoke an attack of opportunity if he continued to try to attack the Tiefling. Gale cast Ray of Frost, but he rolled a 1. Critical Miss. He basically completed his spell with poor timing. Before he lined up the shot, the beam of ice shot from his hands, striking the ground instead of the monster.
Ryth-Shan fired his longbow. He rolled a 14+6=20. He did 4+2=6 damage. His arrow grazed the bugbear's leg. Nothing more. He still had 57 HP remaining. The Bugbear Chief then recovered and took a swing at Vexir. He rolled a 1, swinging at her with his morningstar. She deflected with her greataxe, but he was fast. He took another swing, for he had Multiattack as an ability. His first attack tipped her off balance and left her exposed. His second swing came in with a Natural 20. A blow to the head! He normally got 2d8+3 for damage, but since it was Critical, he got a 4d8+3. He rolled a 17+3=20.
However, Vexir had her Leather Cap which provided Resistance against just the Critical Hit dice. So the Bugbear Chief rolled a 4, 2, 3, and 8. The 4 and 2 would not have Resistance applied, but the 3 and 8 would. So, with Resistance, it would be 4+2+1+4+3=14 rather than 20. Though the bugbear hit her in the head, it was not a skull-cracking blow. Still, she was reduced to 11 HP and was dazed.
Kaedyn saw her get hit, and he rushed 30 feet before attacking. "Vexir! Blast it!" was all he had time to say. He wanted to chew her out for once again rushing into battle before him. He used Healing Word and fired a crossbow bolt. He was out of spell slots now. He healed her for 6 HP. As for his crossbow bolt, it hit the bugbear solidly in the upper left shoulder and stuck fast. Critical Hit! He did 2d8+2 damage and rolled 6+2=8. (Critical Hits don't always mean headshots.) The Bugbear Chief was reduced to 49 HP. Vexir was back to 19 HP.
Then Astarion took a shot with his bow. He rolled a 19+5=24. He got advantage because Vexir was flanking the monster. Therefore, he got to use his Sneak Attack to add 2d6 to his damage. He only rolled 5+3=8. His arrow jabbed into the bugbear's leg armor, barely penetrating.
Shadowheart was last in the round. She used Guiding Bolt and rolled 4 and 20. Critical Hit! Vexir's flanking maneuver really paid off in this case. Though the bugbear had been mostly dodging and avoiding the attacks of her companions, he failed to see Shadowheart's Guiding Bolt until it was too late. She did 8d6 damage. She rolled 28 total. The bolt blasted into the Bugbear Chief's chest armor, searing into its chest.
Round 2. Lae'zel threw her spear again. It grazed the bugbear, and returned to her hand. She did 5 damage, reducing the bugbear to 8 HP. Vexir then swung her greataxe and imbedded it into the Bugbear's skull. She did 11+2=13 damage, finishing it off. The party gained 100 XP. They now had 1,721 XP with 979 more to go to reach Level 4.
"You have good timing," said Nadira after the bugbear fell dead before her. "Never been much of a fighter, so wrestling a bugbear would have gone poorly. I wonder how that thing got in here. Curious. I didn't see it with the others, but it must have come with them. How did it slip past everyone?"
"Not sure," Ryth-Shan replied. "It must have been the other bugbear Zriek spotted with the goblin party. There were two bugbears with the goblin pack. However, only one was at the gate with six goblins and the worg. We should keep an eye out for the rest."
"Zevlor spotted them running back to their camp in the west," said Vexir. "That's probably where they went. The bugbear must have somehow sneaked up here while everyone was focused on the dead Tiefling and that idiot Aradin."
"Zevlor saw a few," said Ryth-Shan. "We should still remain vigilant. Could be one or two lurking around."
Vexir nodded. "I suppose you're right."
Then Nadira gave them all an odd look. She went from being totally friendly to suddenly defensive in moments. She was scared. "Hells! You're not here for heroics, are you? Avernus' stench is all over your skin. Let me guess. Your devil mistress sent you to get her soul coin back. Well, too bad! I earned it fair and square."
"We've been to Avernus," said Kaedyn, "but we're no devil's servant."
"Care to explain why you reek of the Hells?" asked Nadira with heavy skepticism. She was not at all convinced.
"A Mind Flayer abducted us, and its ship went straight to Avernus," Kaedyn explained. As he said this, he pointed over the countryside at the ruined ship. "Please, try to calm down. Do we really look like the servants of a devil?" He made a Persuade roll of 13+3=16 and succeeded. "I swear by Tyr, my god, that we are friends."
"Well," she replied, relaxing a bit as she looked out at the downed vessel. "That's quite the story." Then, she laughed at herself. "And I thought I was doomed. I feel like an idiot. You saved my life, and I repaid you by interrogating you and accusing you. Now, I feel sorry for you."
She pulled out the soul coin she had mentioned and looked at it thoughtfully. With a heavy sigh, she said, "So, you're a real cleric of Tyr?" Kaedyn nodded in response. "You know, I used to think this would buy me a fortune, but a fortune's not worth much if you're dead, is it? I've had nothing but misfortune since I acquired it, and I can't rest. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, expecting someone to ambush me and steal it from me. Look how I nearly bit your head off about it, and just AFTER you saved my life. I guess... I guess it's probably better if I just..."
She sighed again and held it out to him. "Here. Take this. Maybe you can find a good use for this; free the soul somehow, or something. Consider it payment for saving my life just now."
Then the DM had everyone roll a Religion or History roll, whichever is higher. The DC was 10, for the knowledge was relatively common. The higher the roll, the more a PC would know about what a soul coin even was. Kaedyn, Vexir, and Lae'zel knew the basics. Ryth-Shan and Shadowheart had a bit more knowledge about them. Astarion and Gale knew next to nothing.
Kaedyn took it, somewhat stunned. "Thank you," he said genuinely. "I will, indeed, do what I can to free the soul within. This is a great gift. I truly appreciate it."
Nadira smiled, and it seemed a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. "You're welcome," she said sweetly.
Then Kaedyn remembered his reason for coming up there as he pocketed the coin. "Oh, by the way, Elegis wanted to see you. She had something she wanted to discuss with you."
Nadira's eyes lit up. "Oh! Thank you so much! I'd better go see what she wants. It probably has something to do with the soul coin, actually." She laughed lightly. "She's been a bit worried about me. Thanks again!" And with that, she was off down the slope towards where Elegis stood by the gate mechanism.
The moment she was beyond earshot, Astarion approached Kaedyn and put his hand on his shoulder. "Bravo!" he said with a greedy smile. "I must say. I thought we were wasting our time, but I guess there are benefits, sometimes, to performing meaningless tasks for people. She said she thought she could earn a fortune with that. How much of a fortune are we talking?" He gained 2 points of relationship with Astarion.
"A soul coin is rather valuable indeed," said Shadowheart. Kaedyn gained 2 points with her as well. "They are made from a special type of iron called infernal iron. Both sides of the coin have infernal script etched onto its surface. Each soul coin is infused with the soul of a single creature. The soul is tormented and filled with despair. As a result, any creature of a non-evil alignment is only able to carry a few coins at a time. A creature of an evil alignment is able to carry as many coins as they wish."
"So we could use them to determine who is evil and who isn't," said Kaedyn with a grin. "We'll just start collecting these and passing them around to see which of us is truly evil." He said this in jest.
"A creature in possession of a soul coin could use its innate powers," Ryth-Shan added. "The coin can be used to drain the life of a target creature. Another ability is that the soul inside the coin can be communicated with telepathically. It will typically answer questions but the soul often gives vague answers. Devils and demons will pay handsomely for one of these."
"But it is possible to release the soul within a soul coin," said Kaedyn. "This can be achieved by casting an anti-curse spell, such as remove curse, on the coin. Once a soul is freed, the coin will start rusting and will eventually be destroyed. If the soul is of a good alignment, they are transported to the realm of their deity. If the soul is of an evil alignment, they are transformed into a lemure."
"Why would we want to release the soul?" asked Astarion. "Sounds like it's worth more in the coin. Who knows how that might benefit us?" The others also pondered this and agreed. Kaedyn, therefore, gained 2 points with everyone.
Kaedyn had a feeling that he was the only one thinking about freeing the trapped soul within the coin, but he said nothing more about his intentions. He figured it was best to keep that to himself. No sense in getting into a fight with them about it. He would cross that bridge when the time came. He then pretended to put the coin into his magic pocket, but he slipped it into a different pocket instead when no one was looking.
"Hey," said Gale, suddenly, as he stared down at the bugbear. "You know. I just thought of this. Why not use the Amulet of Lost Voices. We could ask the bugbear ourselves how it got in and how many more could be in the grove."
"Not a bad idea," said Astarion. "Any objections?" There were none, so he chanted the words of the spell. His eyes glowed as magical energy surged around him. Then the bugbear's body lifted into the air, floating above the ground as its eyes and mouth glowed and emanated an eerie light.
"How did you get into the grove?" asked Astarion.
The bugbear's voice was devoid of life and it sounded like a wheezing, dying creature. "During fight. Snucked around. Climbed up from south cliffs, near big rune."
"Big rune?" said Gale. "I wonder if there's another Netherese portal rune around here."
"Anyone have any other questions?" asked Astarion.
"Are there any others?" asked Kaedyn.
The bugbear didn't respond. "It must only respond to me," said Astarion, then he repeated the question.
"Gresh, other goblin captain. Chased druid. Secret entrance," the monster replied.
"Secret entrance?" asked Astarion. "Where is that?"
"Cliff wall. West of gate. Just off path. Hidden in bushes."
"We should probably report that," said Kaedyn.
"We don't even really know where that is," said Vexir.
"Plus, we haven't even met the druids yet," said Ryth-Shan. "Who knows, but they may want to keep that a secret from the Tieflings and others who are visiting. We should be careful about who we mention that to."
"I agree," said Shadowheart. "Let's not be too hasty about giving up what information we know. If they don't want anyone to know about that secret entrance, they might try to kill us to protect that knowledge."
"Good point," said Vexir. "I agree with Shadowheart." Her relationship score with her went up by 1.
"We should be quick," said Astarion. "I can feel the spell waning. Any other questions?"
"You can ask up to five questions," said Gale. Though he didn't actually know the spell, he knew how it worked. "You have up to ten minutes to ask them. We're fine. We've only asked three so far. Still, make the last two count."
"Why do you want to destroy the Druid Grove so badly?" asked Ryth-Shan, and Astarion repeated it to the bugbear.
"Minthara's command. Drow cleric. Absolute. Kill Tieflings. Kill Druids. Find True Souls."
"Last question," Gale commented.
"True Souls?" asked Kaedyn. "What are True Souls?"
Astarion looked around at everyone else. They seemed to approve of the question. Astarion repeated it. The bugbear replied, "Absolute's Chosen. Special. Powers. Priestess Gut." Then the spell's power waned and ended. The bugbear's body floated back to the ground and became lifeless once more.
