Happy Reunion (Everyone)

"Wait, what?" asked Thimb looked at the guards, completely baffled. When would they have- why would they have? Was Laedrya working against them now? "He's right there! Commissioner, are we trying to kidnap you? Because if we are nobody told me!"

Ok, Tree knew Thimb's plan, well, "plan" and Hamish was in position, and Tree wasn't giving Thimb any "DON'T DO IT" signals... but she also drew a sword...

Hamish looked to Thimb with big snek eyes, waiting for her to tell them.

Fuck it, she could do this as a plan B and give Korogur some extra time to escape or get into position to stab.

Thimb took a deep breath, and started to hum a lullaby.

Thimb casts sleep! She rolled 27 so she affects up to 27 hp worth of creatures.

"Fucking jackboots," Ka'Ri spat out bitterly, possibly more bitterly than usual with the new influx of embarrassment at so thoroughly misreading Thimb's intentions as well as accidentally having put herself between an angry pirate and her prey.

She let the spell fizzle on her mind, flinching slightly at the energy release and ducking behind a nearby pillar to shift into the shadows. She wasn't exactly great at fighting before her recent death, but the months cutting her own rations down to slivers hadn't done her frame any favors. Nonetheless, she knew she could still give a wound one of those jackboots would strongly remember on a cold day if she could catch them unawares.

(Ka'Ri dashes into cover and uses the hide bonus action in order to prepare for a next round sneak attack. Stealth roll of 22)

At last. Jarek's world falls into simple focus: the knives of air for him to stay away from, his sister's lullaby reminding him not to disturb anyone who passes out, and, most satisfyingly, the "guard" who is distracted by the snarl of the little panther at his feet, leaving him unaware for a critical moment. With a martial bark, Jarek sweeps his trusty staff back in a long overhead arc that drops on the unaware Gharak like an axe splitting timber.

((Jarek enters a rage and makes a quarterstaff attack with advantage: 23 to hit for 12 bludgeoning))

He usually does his best to cooperate with the authorities. He'll have to let them know afterwards.

Sighing in exasperation at everything sinking so quickly into violence, Sithani aims her rod at one of the guards unaffected by Sunrise's daggers and spits a word in what barely counts as language to mortal ears. An arc of purple unlight sears through the air to her intended victim. (OOC: Eldritch Blast, 22 to hit, doing 10 damage if it hits)

[OOC: This is not my post; this post is just to let you know where everything stood at the end of those actions. Stand by.]

[OOC: I'm not going to hold people to movement rules because I don't have them on hand at the moment. The NPCs are getting two hexes per turn, but I'll allow players more.]

---

From the temple at their back, a heavy door opens and two acolytes spill out with lanterns into the darkness. "Is someone hurt out here?" one of them asks, alarmed by Sunrise's screams, before both their eyes widen at the sight of the town guard being attacked by hooligans. Around the rest of the temple complex, other doors can be heard opening in response to the scream, but how quickly anyone will investigate is an open question.

Weakened by magical knives, the leader drops from the effect of Thimb's lullaby while Gharak crumples under Jarek's shattering attack. Sithani's target falls back a step with a yelp even as the others surge forward. The guardsmen quickly focus on Jarek and Sunrise as the most alarming--and immediately reachable--of the group.

[Guard #3 moves to attack Sunrise, but is intercepted by Tree.]

[Guard #4 attacks Sunrise. (17 to hit, 5 damage)]

[Guard #5 attacks Sunrise. (12 to hit, 5 damage)]

[Guard #6 attacks Jarek. (18 to hit, 5 damage)]

[Guard #7 attacks Jarek. (20 to hit, 9 damage)]

Tree screams a curse that would turn her mother's ears red and clashes swords against one of the guards menacing Sunrise, preventing his attack and demanding all his attention.

"Wait, Gwyn!" Luther calls as he follows in her wake, hand darting under his short cloak to draw a long coiled whip out.

"I don't think--" Rik begins, but his voice is drowned out by a sharp scream as a long blade pierces the heart of Sithani's earlier target. The man's chest blossoms red blood as Korogur fades into visibility behind him, already dragging his weapon free from the dead man.

Sunrise stumbles back under the force of the two attacks, but recovers quickly. Glaring, she points a finger at the first guard to attack her and mutters "[You're not a tiefling,]" under her breath in Infernal. Flames, tinged with a whiff of brimstone, flare up around the unlucky guard. (OOC: Guard 4 needs to make a Dex saving throw, DC 15; if he succeeds he takes 6 damage, if not he takes 12.)

Then she focuses her attention on the other, her rapier flashing out with a dancer's grace. (OOC: 15 to hit Guard 5, 8 dmg.)

Glancing to where people are reacting at the temples, she forces fear and desperation into her voice and cries out, "They're not guards! Help!" This is, if not entirely true, close enough to the truth without getting into messy details. (OOC: Persuasion 21)

[OOC: Both guards take damage but neither of them drop. One of the nearby Yondallan clerics scrambles back inside whilst calling for help. The other drops his lantern and appears to be praying.]

Glen speaks another word in elvish and his mark shifts to another of the guards. He then mutters a quiet incantation, reaching out to the natural magicks inside him. His hand glows softly and he presses it against Jarek's back, the warm light transferring into him, healing his wounds. Elen prepares to again distract Jarek's target, a low growl escaping from his throat.

((Reaction to transfer Hunter's Mark to Guard 1. Cast cure wounds on Jarek, who is healed for 4. Elen readies an action to assist Jarek again and give him advantage.))

Ka'Ri keeps an eye out for lines of sight and then continues to move through the shadows behind the pillars until she's on the southeast edge of the southeast most pillar. She had an idea but it would require her greatest acting challenge yet.

Once in position, she twisted her ring, letting it shift and change the perception of her clothes and hood into that of a street sergeant's armor and helmet, shrinking her ears to human, and shifting her gender to male complete with a big bushy beard. She then let the powerful forces of magic begin to build up again in preparation for her next action.

(Moves into position, uses the ring to disguise self, rolled a nat 20 for 26 on stealth)

Thimb had been told growing up that she lacked a killer instinct. She had never thought that was a bad thing. Who wants murder instincts if they don't need to hunt and kill their own food? Seemed like unnerving instincts to have. But right here, right now, there were people who were trying to hurt her friends and brother and and- Thimb raised a shakey hand, readying to blast the guard in her face (and her brother's) with fire, but instead half shouted, her voice breaking "How many apples grow on trees? ALL OF THEM!"

#6 needs to make a DC13 wisdom saving throw or fall prone unable to stand until they save. Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Hamish, also lacking the killer instinct but not the trolling instinct, fluttered over to the guard in Tree's face, flicking their tail up their nose before darting back into Thimb's tunic.

Hamish takes the Help! Action. Tree will have advantage on her next attack. Hamish does not take an attack of opportunity because they have fly by

"Don't you touch her!" Sithani yells at the guards attacking Sunrise. Guard #4 hears this cry echo again and again in their head, gaining new and horrifying facets each time it bounces off the inside of their skull. (OOC: Dissonant Whispers: if Guard #4 fails a Wisdom save (DC 13), they take 13 psychic damage and use their reaction to move as far as possible away from Sithani. If they make their save, they take 6 psychic damage and don't have to move.)

Jarek sputters when he overhears Thimb's spell, and almost loses the thread of his furious mantra, but even the glancing blows of the false guards' swords caused enough pain to hold his focus.  And yet the enemy she assailed refuses to fall.  No sense of humour?  Jarek would try to touch a different emotion.

"Fear the dark," Jarek growls, prompting the patch of shadow that is Elen to harry the guard from below, and make an opening where Jarek can bring down his staff.

((Jarek attacks #6 with advantage and still only gets 16 to hit, but a nice 13 bludgeoning if it lands))

With that impact, Jarek steps north over his fallen foe, and flashes a tusky grin to his sister, so she knows he appreciated her effort at least.

[OOC: Here is the map at the end of your actions.]

"Holy Yondalla's light, grant clarity!" The praying cleric finishes a string of words and makes a sweeping gesture which encompasses the entire courtyard. Every object in a 20-foot radius of the center of the area flares with an outline of vibrant living green--including the pillars which tower over the area and which now spill dim faerie light in a ten-foot radius around them. [Every person in the area has to make a Dex save of 14 or gain a glowing outline which gives others an advantage to attack you, and which prevents invisibility benefits. All the NPCs are now glowing.]

The guard targeted by Sithani's yell screams and flees into the night with a visible Korogur hot on his heels. Tree screams another oath, absolutely outraged now, and renews her attack on the guard she's crossed blades with. She draws blood with Hamish's excellent help, but he remains standing until Luther smoothly wraps the business end of a whip around his neck and hauls him forward for a finishing stab.

"How dare you menace my daughter?" Rik storms forward in an attempt to block the remaining two guards from harrying Luther and Tree, his massive broadsword out and in a defensive position.

[Guard #1 attacks Rik. (5 damage.)]

[Guard #2 moves to attack Luther. Intercept to Sunrise.]

[Guard #5 attacks Sunrise, unsettled after watching his companion catch fire. (14 to hit, 10 damage)]

[Guard #7 attacks Jarek. (3 to hit, 10 damage)]

[Guard #8 moves to attack Sithani. (19 to hit, 12 damage)]

(OOC: this is not my turn; it's a reaction to the guard attacking Luther)

As the now-glowing guard begins to swing at Luther, Sunrise (who is not glowing, with a 17 Dex save) sneers loudly at him, "Hey Sparkles: your fly is down."

This, apparently, is unsettling enough to knock 3 off his attack roll.

The guard falters mid-swing and Luther is able to deftly avoid the attack with an amused chuckle.

The sword coming at Sunrise glides off one of the studs in her leather armor, leaving her unharmed; giving her attacker a grim smile she stabs forward with her rapier again. (OOC: 16 to hit, 6 damage)

[OOC: That was Guard #5, and that put him down for the count.]

The guard gurgles something unintelligible but probably not complimentary and collapses at Sunrise's feet.

Glen deftly dodges the light quickly turns and, in one motion, draws an arrow, nocks it, and lets it fly at Guard 1, while Elen deftly runs from the fallen Guard 6, running through Tree and Luther's legs to distract Guard 1 and give Glen an advantage.

((Dex save 21. Natural 20 to hit for a critical. 22 damage. Shift Mark to Guard 8 as a reaction if 1 drops.))

[Guard #1 is down, falling from an arrow to the face.]

"Shit," Ka'Ri mutters quietly as the column she was leaning against flares bright and she barely ducks out from its bright glow. She watches the panic as the Yondallans seem to rebel against the make-shift guard. Perhaps, as she had been learning all too often lately, honesty was the best policy.

Though that didn't mean she needed to play nice with faux or corrupt jackboot scum.

As such, she turns her ring, reverting her back to her hooded appearance and ducking behind the guard who so unwisely took a swing at Jarek.

Taking a chance, she slips her blade against the guardsmen's throat and in a low growl whispers in his ear.

"Between my blade and his club, I'd say your chances of surviving this fight are slim to none. Spill who you are really working for and you may yet go home to those you care for."

(She rolled a 16 to dodge the faerie fire, and rolled an unnatural 20 for intimidation on Guard #7 and is in flanking position with Jarek on him)

Why did that spell never work??? Were her jokes not good enough??

Ok. New tactic.

No killer instinct.

She sucked in a deep breath, deeply unhappy with what she was about to do and raised her hand in a finger gun and fired at guard number 8, not liking how close it was to her brother as she fell back a few paces. She did not notice she was glittering like a shojo manga protagonist.

((Thimb moved back 15 feet and uses Fire Bolt!, 13 tto hit, 10 damage if she hits)

Hamish decided to Also Help and once again darted around the head of one of the guards (this time one of the ones near Jarek since Jarek was his friend) not that they understood with all the sparkles they were not needed to help right now. Still, they were determined.

[Guard #8 takes damage but does not fall. Guard #7 is adequately persuaded by that intimidation roll.]

The guard yelps as Ka'Ri presses the blade against his throat and drops his sword. "I- I don't know anything!" he spills in a rapid babble. "I just do what Gharak and Thrensen tell me to do! They pay well and it's all guard work anyway, so it's no big deal!"

Jarek plants his staff and somehow, with a twist and a hop, the glittering flames wash past him without sticking. Instincts appear to have moved him without his notice--with another foe down under Ka'Ri's threats, he's got his eyes on the one Thimb scorched, specifically the way the faerie lights have emphasised a vulnerable spot in their side armour. Jarek slams the eighth guard like he's ringing a gong.

((Quarterstaff with advantage against guard #8: 22 to hit for 12 bludgeoning))

"ANOTHER!" Jarek bellows, somehow straddling the line between a battle cry and a man enthusiastically ordering a second drink.