Against the Cult: Meet Me at the Bar Fight (1.9)

Round seven, continued...

Theran stepped into the hallway and instantly took in the situation: Chase clashing with Traver, Myrtha dying on the ground, the door held shut despite heavy blows and muffled shouting. The druid drew on the magic of life around him - particularly the plentiful fungal life in this Inn - and touched Myrtha on the ankle. The life energy blossomed through her, the fighter's flesh knitting together and mending. The black spots cleared from Myrtha's vision and she gasped a deep breath, restored almost to full health.
Myrtha gains 11 HP and is no longer dying.

"We wouldn't want murderers like you anyway!" Traver babbles. Barely standing and unaware of the nonsensical irony of his statement, Traver nevertheless tries once more to avenge his fallen comrades and attacks Chase with the spear. Chase avoids one stab, but then Traver catches him on the reverse.
Chase takes 9 damage and is dying.
Lhari, on the other side of the door, is kicking it and hitting it with his club. Luckily, the doors in the Golden Grain Inn were built of solid timbers to protect the occupants (and possibly to prevent them from escaping when attacked at night). Faintly you can hear him through the wood: "What's happening? Traver, what's happening?" He still hasn't figured out that he can go around like the others did.



This concludes round seven. What do you do for round eight? Chase has collapsed, dying. Myrtha is awake and prone. Theran has an unobstructed view of Traver holding Donovan's bloody spear. Aanbo heard the spell being cast, the banging on the door, the nonsense from Traver, the thud of the body.

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22 - Chase (0/11) Dying
16 - Myrtha (11/12) Prone
15 - Theran (5/13)
15 - Aanbo (12/19)
13 - Traver, Melano, Lhari (-21, -23, -8)
1 - Derek

Round eight
(this was preceded by round seven, followed by round nine)

Myrtha bounds to her feet, steps over Chase and into Traver's reach and dispassionately knocks the spear aside with her sword, then sinks her sword all the way through the villain's chest. Traver takes 8 slashing damage. As Traver's eyes widen in shock, Aanbo's dart flicks past Myrtha's ear and catches the zealot in the neck. Traver takes 4 piercing damage. Myrtha feels his death rattle, then lets him slide off of her blade and onto the floor. The magic spear clatters from lifeless fingers and splats into pooled blood. The hallway is quite gory now.



Note that I have Aanbo in the space by the door, but do not consider that he is blocking access to Chase's form. Chase is now blocking the doorway, so Lhari won't be able to do more than open the door a crack at most.

Chase struggles to hold on despite his vision blurring and his breathing coming ragged. Chase has one success for his death saves. Theran drops to Chase's side, rolls him over, and applies bandages to the deep spear wound, staunching the flow of blood. Chase is stable and unconscious at 0 HP.

Lhari yells and slams his full weight against the door; the door shoves Chase and Theran a little but stops only open a couple of fingers and no further. That view is enough for him to see a little bit of Myrtha standing over Traver's bloody corpse. Lhari finally realizes that he's in trouble and runs for it. The party can hear him slamming against walls and furniture as he runs pell-mell through the adjoining room. He bursts out of the middle door in the north wall of the hallway, bounces off of the wall (leaving a bloody handprint, as he's still injured from Chase's earlier stab), and takes another two paces. "No oh no oh no oh no..." he pants. It's clear that he intends to run away from the Dungeon Busters if he can.

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22 - Chase (0/11) Stable
16 - Myrtha (11/12)
15 - Theran (5/13)
15 - Aanbo (12/19)
13 - Traver, Melano, Lhari (-33, -23, -8)
1 - Derek

Round eight, continued...

Theran drops to Chase's side, rolls him over, and applies bandages to the deep spear wound, staunching the flow of blood. Chase is stable and unconscious at 0 HP.Lhari yells and slams his full weight against the door; the door shoves Chase and Theran a little but stops only open a couple of fingers and no further. That view is enough for him to see a little bit of Myrtha standing over Traver's bloody corpse. Lhari finally realizes that he's in trouble and runs for it. The party can hear him slamming against walls and furniture as he runs pell-mell through the adjoining room. He bursts out of the middle door in the north wall of the hallway, bounces off of the wall (leaving a bloody handprint, as he's still injured from Chase's earlier stab), and takes another two paces. "No oh no oh no oh no..." he pants. It's clear that he intends to run away from the Dungeon Busters if he can.



This ends round eight. What do you do in round nine?

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22 - Chase (0/11) Stable
16 - Myrtha (11/12)
15 - Theran (5/13)
15 - Aanbo (12/19)
13 - Traver, Melano, Lhari (-33, -23, -8)
1 - Derek

Round nine
(this was preceded by round eight)

Aanbo says "I think he might have answers" and rushes back into the fancy bedroom, vaults onto the bed (landing on Melano's contorted body) and then down into the secret passage. Running down the darkened corridor, Aanbo can see the broken door on his left (north) but also a new opening at the end of the corridor (east), leading into the torturer Derek's former room. Seeing the new opening, Aanbo puts on an extra burst of speed and runs forward into Derek's room and slams open the door, interposing himself in the corridor so that no one can get to the stairway except past/through him.

OOC:

This shows where Aanbo is after moving just 45'. Looking through the hole that Theran broke in the wall, you see that the party left the bedroom door open in the hallway, so that door is not going to block Lhari, but you could easily move Aanbo to stand in his way, or you could continue straight/east through the door into the torturer's room to cut him off from the stairs that way.

Theran nods to Myrtha. "Go help Aanbo. I'll watch Chase." Theran proceeds to -- carefully -- move Chase out of the hallway at least, and stand guard over the downed warrior.

Myrtha follows the last attacker, as he attempts to escape.

"Surrender!" she calls out in a level voice, "You need not die here."

Lhari quails at the sight of Myrtha approaching with bloody sword, the light of the lantern illuminating her face from below. He drops his club and stammers "I s-s-s-surrender!", tears streaming down his face.

"Good choice," Aanbo whispers into Lhari's ear. He kicks the club further away, then nudges Lhari back down the hallway towards Myrtha and the rest of the Dungeon Busters.

This ends the combat encounter.

Lhari quails at the sight of Myrtha approaching with bloody sword, the light of the lantern illuminating her face from below. He drops his club and stammers "I s-s-s-surrender!", tears streaming down his face.