RECAP: 5th Avengers, 6-7-20
By Tucker
Geth notices that Culdock is studying the ground more intently, and with more attention to detail after last session.
We set a watch, with Jarry going first. As we all settle in for bed, Jarry hears something out away from the camp. The night is partly cloudy, some stars visible with a gentle breeze. Over the last fifteen minutes of the watch, nothing really happens. Upon changing the watch, Jarry describes a weird wind sound. Geth listens and pauses and declares that it is the wind. He later hears something that is definitely not the wind and walks toward it, attempting to be stealthy but failing miserably, stepping on all manner of twigs and making enough noise to wake the dead. Geth turns over the watch to Lauris. Near the end of his watch, Culdock hears footsteps running approaching. He casts Detect Magic but fails to find much of anything. A scarecrow runs out, and Culdock can immediately sense that it is magical. Culdock is distracted because an arrow strikes it right in the head as it runs. Geth wild shapes into a Giant Boar and charges a nearby scarecrow, goring it with his tusks. Jarry launches a fireball at another scarecrow and when the flames subside there is no trace of where it once stood. Lauris plugs another with a shot from his shortbow, and Caela, a half-elf unknown to the party dashes out of the woods and buries a hand axe in the scarecrow. Culdock swings his warhammer at the closest scarecrow and deals it a mighty blow. A flaming scarecrow walks toward Jarry but collapses into ash as it raises its arm to strike. Geth misses the scarecrow with his tusk. Jarry again launches a fireball at the other three scarecrows and sets them all ablaze. Lauris strides up to the nearest scarecrow and strikes it with his rapier, cutting it nearly in half but the scarecrow still stood. Caela, the half-elf, sent an arrow into it for the kill. We spend a short while freaking out about the flames scattered about before dousing the flames with waterskins.
Caela emerges from the woods. She informs us that we almost killed her and took her job. We figure out that we are both hired by two different groups of people; Caela the villagers and the rest of everyone the Emerald Enclave. We ask Caela some questions, and Culdock does his routine that he does whenever he meets a female elf, and they try to size each other up. Caela is just looking for work, and the rest of everyone decides that they are looking at someone skilled at lying to the law. We head to the village to put it to the test, attempting to extort the villagers for more money by playing up the danger of the mission.
The hair begins to stand up on the back of Culdock’s neck. We smell kind of a smokey smell, not like the fires we’ve just put out but familiar. The villagers, noticing the concerned looks on our faces, ask what is going on. Caela tells them that we may have been followed and the villagers flee. Caela sends her owl flying above to scout it out and finds that there are many imps in the area. Culdock notices the imp smell.
Caela prepares for combat by casting Goodberry. Culdock casts Spiritual Guardians and moves forward. Lauris hides behind a rock, and Jarry casts Darkness on Culdock. Geth wanders forward up towards the front of the party.
Jarry opens with a Magic Missile. One falls to the ground, but Jarry notices that it doesn’t look like an imp.
Geth notices all of them hiding in the trees, but notices that they are not imps; rather, they are stirges. He runs under the nearest tree and casts Thunderwave, dropping all six hiding in that tree. Lauris pegs one with a crossbow bolt and it falls out of the air.
After a few more rounds of combat, all the stirges are dead. They were apparently coated with brimstone to mimic a demonic origin.
