With puzzled looks, the two warriors kept their weapons out, but seeing that the beast wasn't attacking them, they just continued to push Rolland behind them as they circled past the creature, never taking their eyes from it.

When finally behind it, the half orc took the boy and started to move on ahead, while the goliath slowly followed, constantly looking back at the beast.

The moorbounder huffed again and shook it's head. Instead of continuing to try to make itself understood though it rose and planted it's feet looking toward whatever was approaching. As the three continued toward the upside down mountain the moorbounder took steps backwards keeping pace but also keeping an eye on the cloud. It looked ready to react at any moment as it provided a rear guard for their retreat rather than what he'd originally intended.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Perception: 16 for whatever is making the cloud if it's visible

Otherwise dodging the time.

---

I stand there for a moment stunned as Erik suddenly shifts into his alternate form and launches himself over the palisade wall. Well...sugar; I cannot let him go out there alone! Dashing forward, I scramble up the ladder as quick as I can to stand on the platform above the gate looking out. Erik is racing away from the wall towards three figures in the distance and a cloud of dust is closing in behind them.

Crouching down, I dig through my pack and pull out a coil of rope with an attached grappling hook out before placing my bag on the platform out of the way of the guards manning it. I wecure my shield and find a firm anchor for the hook and jam it in place. Alright, I can do this; it is just like I practiced with Edish. Only this time there are not hay bales to catch me if I fall. Taking a deep breath, I swing myself over the wall with the rope in hand and my off hand set as a brake and push off from the wall. It takes three bounds but I make it down safely and my feet are once more on the ground. Releasing the breath I had not realised I was holding, I turn and follow after Erik as fast as I can.

Summary (Repeat as necessary)
Move: Full movement towards Erik
Action: Dash towards Erik
Bonus Action: Once I get close enough to visibly identify a threat cast Shield of Faith. (do not repeat)

There must be something more he could do for Erik than standing behind walls. Intrigued about the cloud, he sent Scamp, looking through its eyes for as long as he was in range. Wait, was that Andraste? The connection reached its limits then and the construct regained his own senses while Scamp was going out to follow his last instruction. There was no way the paladin could have gone outside through that still closed portal so fast. How did she do it?

Looking at his spear, he pondered if he should follow his original idea and stay up in the parapet to be at distance, or to be the front line when that door would open. With Clacker at his side, he stood to be more useful on the ground, so he decided to stay where he was. Any moment now….

Scamp flies to Erik and takes the help action for as long a possible until it is back in range.
Sand and Clacker take the ready action, until that door finally opens.

Seeing Andraste disappear over the side of the Palisade wall, I cursed under my breath. I guess we are bringing the fight to whatever is in the dust cloud. Grabbing the same rope Andraste used, I scaled down the wall and started running after her. While I believe she can hold her own in a fight, I would feel better knowing she has some backup in case things go south.

Move: 30ft toward Andraste
Action: Dash toward Andraste
(repeat as necessary)

Conditional- (Do not repeat)
BA: Cast hex on target that threatens me (can be a verbal threat or by means of an attack)
Item Interaction: Draw my rapier

Bemused, Thorn watched as Erik vaulted the palisade, followed by Giltris and Althaea. By the Pits, this was foolish! Though it bode well for their reactions should Thorn’s past catch up to her. Provided they survived. And too, perhaps performing well here may mitigate the fallout of the incident with Darcassan.

Remaining on the wall was useless; even once the enemies entered her range, she wasn’t certain she could throw properly in this press of people, much less maneuver or hide. So be it. But first . . .

She turned to the guard nearest her. Despite being extremely sensitive to the invisible flows of power, Thorn could detect no formal command structure in Vertigo. Under such conditions, people – particularly during times of stress – tended to instinctively obey anyone who projected competence and sounded authoritative. It was worth a try, at any rate. “Prepare to open the gates and standby,” she ordered before descending the wall.

The moment her feet hit the ground, she dashed at full speed toward the refugees. As soon as she was within earshot, the normally quiet Thorn bellowed at a volume that would earn a bannerman’s approval: “Get on the shapeshifter’s back! We’ll cover your retreat.” Apparently.

Without breaking stride, she sprinted past them, shouting “Erik,” and gesturing to the moorbounder to return.

First Andraste, then Althaea… and now even Thorn? What was happening outside that wall that so attracted his companions? Well, he surely needed to know, and to break that wave of dust. Quickly, he ran to the top of the wall and took out his rope of climbing, ordered it to have knots and to attach itself to the top of the wall.

He then used that to go down the wall and started examining the terrain in front of the door. Recalling how the water was breaking on blocks of ice, he started formulating a extra layer of protection for the city in his keen mind.

As the dust cloud bears down on the moor bounder, dark shapes finally begin to form, though it isn't until the cloud envelops him, that the humanoid shapes become clear.  The creatures that descend upon him are quite tall, easily over 7 feet tall, though slightly hunched in their current gait.  While relatively lean for their height, these creatures seem emaciated, with dark circles under their eyes, and deterioration of their muscles while ribs push hard and out of their greenish-gray skin.  Saliva drips from their long, elongated hyena like snouts; their eyes, crazed with a rabid hunger.  Their furry light and brown hides are dotted with spots and the manes on the back of their heads a dirty yellow to reddish-gray and crest-like in nature, each of which were standing up on end, clearly showing the anger of the oncoming onslaught.

Four of the humanoids surround the moor bounder and immediately begin chomping down on the poor druid, who tries to dodge this way and that, but any direction he goes, another creature seems to be right there, snapping at his face or limbs.  Two of the humanoids manage to bite down and through the thick flesh, ripping it right from his body and immediately swallowing the chunks of meat whole in their half-starved state, not wanting to wait a second longer for a meal.

The small horde of Gnolls that didn't stop at the moor bounder rush ahead, three jumping and slamming into the goliath nearly knocking the big man down, while many more continue on in pursuit of their next meal.  All the moor bounder can see while blanketed in the dust cloud, is the shapes rushing past him as he tries his best to keep from being eaten alive.


Damage to Erik from two bites:  14 points of damage

The moorbounder writhed under the assault from the suddenly present gnolls. As one of the hoard went by moorbounder swiped out with it's claws and ripped it to shreds. The mind beneath the monster reveled in the kill. Finally some things that deserved it were getting hurt.

There were a lot of these things. Some of them were going after his prey... The injured he'd come here to protect... Well let's see what they could do.

The moorbounder leapt and as it did felt the tearing of flesh from it's body once more. He couldn't understand it. He'd tried raw flesh a few times and never found it appealing. Only ever when it was absolutely necessary and unavoidable would he eat a living thing's flesh straight from the living body again.

As the creature that was Erik sprang up into the air it's trajectory sent it toward where it had last seen the injured. It came down on the gnolls that were trying to knock down the goliath and let out one of those strange croaking mewling throaty sounds that moorbounders were wont to make. It was much louder this time. It was the sound of a large tasty meal. The sound tapered off into a whimpering cry of pain of sorts like an animal on its last legs. A large tasty, and vulnerable, meal. Maybe, if the hoard of hungry gnolls heard the sounds of a big dying beastie they would converge on that point.

The injured, bleeding, loudly whimpering moorbounder backed up from the three gnolls attacking the goliath of a man and any others that it might not have initially seen. Leaving itself open and vulnerable to even more rending bites.

And then as it was attacked and the flesh morphed away and the man underneath was revealed he looked up with a wild manic smile on his face. Everything was happening so fast but for him it was like time stood still. In this moment all he knew was that he was surrounded by rabid and ravenous monsters that were fast as fast could be and that didn't care to look where they were going. The dust they kicked up obscuring their arrival may very well be their own demise. With nothing on his person but his old wooden shield, a small yew wand and the barely decent loincloth he began mumbling something in that strange animalistic tongue he knew. The ink on his back stirred and then plunged into the ground as he slammed his wand hand into the earth.

All around him and a little off toward where the gnolls had come from the ground began to twist and sprout hard spikes and thorns. To the unwary eye they appeared to be shadows but Erik knew them to be a deadly sort of trickery.

With the gnolls moving so quickly and without thought and with vision obscured it was the ideal sort of deadly trickery.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Moorbounder hp: 16
Movement: Leap up and toward the injured landing on one or two of the gnolls attacking goliath. Dealing potential fall damage (6)
AoOs = Moorbounder hp: 10
Movement: Back away from the three gnolls back toward other four,10ft from each group
3 or more AoOs = Moorbounder hp: ?

Rest of turn contingent on moorbounder health.

If drops to zero:
 Action: Cast Spike Growth
 Bonus Action: Wildshape into Moorbounder again.
  Continue mewling and moaning loudly pretending to be vulnerable

If above zero:
 Bonus Action: Wildshape out of moorbounder
 Action: Cast Spike Growth
 Stay right where I'm at, AC19, and hope the first sounds were enough to grab some attention.

Spike Growth
(Centered on original group of four, which extends it just to the injured but not enough that they'll get hurt in it. I'm standing in the spikes.):
The ground in a 20-foot radius centered on a point within range twists and sprouts hard spikes and thorns. The area becomes difficult terrain for the duration. When a creature moves into or within the area, it takes 2d4 piercing damage for every 5 feet it travels. The transformation of the ground is camouflaged to look natural. Any creature that can't see the area at the time the spell is case must make a Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC to recognize the terrain as hazardous before entering it.

---

This message was last edited by the player at 05:10, Thu 08 Oct 2020.

I had a feeling I would not arrive in the fight before it was too late for the entire group in addition to Erik. With renewed vigor, I ran forward as fast as my feet would carry me.

Movement: 30ft forward toward the group
Action: Dash

(This should put me at 780ft)

Well, this was going more or less as badly as expected. Even so, the hoard of gnolls seemed ruled by their mindless hunger, which meant she may still be able to employ hit and fade tactics despite all the attention she had drawn to herself. At least as long as she could stay downwind . . .

Thorn dashes 70 ft (to 980 ft)
Stealth (bonus action): 8

Sand knew he could not go as fast as some of the others and that he would inevitably arrive late to any battle. Trusting that Scamp would be able to help, and deducing that this inevitable fight would come over to the gate, he decided to prepare the future battle field.

First he needed to control the flow of the fight and reduce the amount of enemies that would come in at the same time. Looking at the dust cloud, he knew his time was limited to make something meaningful. He looked at the double door to Vertigo, each ten feet wide.

This can make a perfect funnel.

Using his earth magic, he lifted a wall of earth, packing it tightly against the door to the left, reducing by ten feet the width of the opening towards the town.

Now to break that wave...

The dry ground gives way unexpectedly under my foot causing me to stumble but I manage to stagger forward and continue forward at my fastest pace. Thorn has moved passed me moving at a light, predatory lope her Chakrams ready to throw as soon as she got in range. Maybe she will get there in time.

My breath catches in my throat as I watch tall figures bound out of the swirling dust cloud as it engulfs Erik and continues forward to cover the three fleeing figures. Though the creatures are tall their build is almost skeletal and over the sound of my racing heart, I can just make out a strange barking noise as they close in before Erik's hissing roar of pain drowns it out.

What will be left by the time I get there? Can any of them hold out that long? Will I just be an after-snack when the remaining creatures turn on me en masse? No, I cannot allow that to happen! Rao, hear my plea; grant me the means to intercede on behalf of the innocent and stop those who bring chaos and violence to a place of peace!


Summary:
Move: 30ft towards the fight.
Bonus Action_ Shield of Faith targeting Andraste.
Action_ Dash, move 30ft towards the fight.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:47, Sun 11 Oct 2020.

Thorn whipped ahead, closing the distance to the fight, but still out of reach.

From behind, a loud thumping sound can be heard, and just as Andraste turns to see what is making the noise, a giant rabbit footed Thorin, carrying Althaea in one arm comes speeding past, scooping up Andraste in mid run.  The world around you both seems to become a blur, until suddenly you find yourself standing between Erik and the wounded Goliath in a blink of an eye!

Just as they arrive, Erik lands on a Gnoll who gets the breath knocked out of him.  Erik then moves away cautiously, the other two Gnolls snapping at nothing but air.  Now in the middle of the two groups, Erik begins concentrating and just when his eyes open, a pack of at least 8 or 9 Gnolls come raging through, only to be ripped apart by the hazardous trap laid out before them.  Each of them hellbent on their next meal, never saw the danger, and as the spikes ripped through their feet and legs, they stumbled and fell, rolling over and over into the spikes.  When all was said and done, none of the rampaging Gnolls moved.

The rest of the Gnolls near the Goliath and on the other side of Erik, felt the pain as well, though seeing the destruction it caused, quickly moved back, but not before Althaea fell one with a piercing blow to the neck of one of the Gnolls.  The Goliath in his wounded state swung slowly and missed, his weapon looking heavy in his hand.  Thorin however connected with a blow from his shillelagh at the same time Andraste cut into another Gnoll, and that one fell as well. The Gnolls weren't really sure what to do.  After some quick barking that sounded more like laughing, they circled far and gave wide berth to the Druid standing there amongst his trap and resumed their hunt for the wounded ahead.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:08, Wed 14 Oct 2020.

I stumble forward as Thorin releases me after his mad dash and I thrust towards a Gnoll attempting to scramble passed me, the blade going in deep beneath its ribcage causing it to release a whumpf of foul air and collapse to the ground. It was a poor strike, its success due more to the creature's surprise than any skill on my part. I must do better.

Thank you lord. I was not expecting to be delivered in that fashion but I am, as always, grateful for your assistance. I will do my best to prove worthy of your regard.

Now that I am closer to the fray I can make out more details despite the dust hanging thick in the air around me. It seems that Erik had some other tricks up his sleeve, as a number of badly slashed Gnolls thrash on the ground before him bleeding out. That is a bad way to go. Unfortunately, they seem to have found the edges of the trap and are sweeping around it to continue their pursuit. With the three injured there is no way we are going to outrun them, well maybe Erik or Thorn could, and if we keep spreading out they will rip us apart one or two at a time and the leakers will break passed to chase down the others. We need a strong front; maybe then they will back off.

"Erik, Althaea, Thorin! We need to form a perimeter around the wounded and fallback to town. Form up on me." As I take position around the wounded stragglers I grasp my amulet and softly sing a prayer to soothe a savage heart and release the power towards the largest cluster of Gnolls approaching.

Summary
Move: Take a position in front of the wounded stragglers closest to the largest pack of Gnolls.
Action: Cast Sleep at the largest cluster of Gnolls approaching for a total of 20 HP.
Reaction: Attack of Opportunity with long sword (if prompted) 22 to hit for 10 Slashing damage.

Note: Andraste's current AC is 24.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Fri 16 Oct 2020.

A cacophony of animalistic death screams came from the battle field, still over 300 meters away. This just motivated the warforged, that simply continued to raise earthen walls, creating a funnel, to force what he assume was a large troop to attack only one or two at the time near the door. If he had time, he would spice things up with traps and holes, but the priority was the basic structure for now.

Lets hope this is not done in vain… run back friends!

Using mold earth, create a 5 feet high, 10 feet long and 2.5 feet thick wall on the side leading to the free door

Erik watched in an almost sick satisfaction as the savage nature of these creatures caused them to rip themselves to shreds on his trap. The trap he was now inside of. But that had been the plan after all. He looked up to see the Goliath still struggling to stand and with an unintelligible and guttural word poured out some of his own energy to get the man in fighting condition again. He would need to be if they were to do as Giltris suggested. Once more the transformation began and man beast Erik became tatted moorbounder beast before the same beast leapt to the Goliath's side and crouched a little motioning for the fighter to get on his back. Again. Perhaps with some of the gnolls taken out of commission they might stand a chance out here, but the opportunity to run back to the safety of the walls was still an option especially with rabbit-foot beautiful-beard here to help.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Bonus Action: Healing Word 11 hp to Goliath
Action: Wild Shape
Movement: bound out of my trap and to the Goliath's side blocking as much line of attack as possible.

---

Cowardly pack-hunters were not normally Thorn's preferred opponent, but under the circumstances, that was significantly better than any of the alternatives. A small group of gnolls was attempting to slink around her companions' organized resistance, which meant discouraging them fell to her. In coordination with Aisling, she darted forward, launching an attack on the gnoll nearest the wounded pair before vanishing into the lingering cloud of dust.

Aisling and Thorn move to 1015 ft.
Aisling helps.
Thorn attacks the nearest gnoll with advantage.
Primary Weapon: 9, 10 (Advantage)
Off-Hand Weapon: 17, 22 (Advantage)
Damage: 11
Stealth (bonus action): 22

Using the momentum gained from Thorin's release, I propel myself in the direction of the escaping gnoll; cutting off his escape. My rapier piercing his ribcage and protruding through the other side. Quickly pulling the blade back, the gnoll crumbles before me, its pitiful existence ended.

I heard Andraste call out to surround the wounded and fall back to town. "I shall join you momentarily. I wish to try something."

If this does not work this could be one of the most foolish things I have ever done.

I blink out of existence leaving behind a puff of gold and silver smoke and reappear in front of the two gnolls off to the left. Reaching up, I scratch both creatures under their chins. "Good pets, now run along before you meet the same fate of your brother over there. Take your friends with you." I ready my rapier to let them know I was not messing around.

Summary
BA: Fey Step in front of the group of two gnolls prompting Wisdom saves vs. Charm (DC 14)
Action: Ready to attack if one of the gnolls attacks or moves towards one of my companions/wounded rather than leaving.
Reaction: Readied action (if prompted) 19 to hit for 9 piercing damage

Thorn didn't realize how quick these creatures were, until her first attack whizzed past the leading Gnoll's head, who was circling around to with his brethren to get to the wounded.  That was cut short as the second attack found its mark, slicing his neck before momentarily crumpling to the ground.  Pulling herself within the dust cloud, she noticed that something about it felt, unnatural.

Andraste rushes over to the wounded, putting herself in between them and the Gnolls, readying her weapon for the coming attacks, but not before sending out waves of softly spoken words at the cluster of Gnolls.  One of the Gnolls gait quickly comes to a halt as it haphazardly lays down, becoming quiet.

Erik became his ever so familiar moor bounder form again and leapt out of his own trap, easily closing the distance between him and the goliath. With a strange guttural growl, the Goliath looked in his eyes and felt some of the pain washing away and knew that this creature, this MAN, was the source.  Seeing now the beast for what he was, when motioned to get on his back, he agreed, though it was hard to tell if from trust or just no more will to fight.

The last Gnoll rushed forward past her fallen leader, hunger still fresh in her eyes, but found herself face to face with Andraste, blocking her path to the wounded. She attempts to rush past the creature not baring nearly enough flesh to eat, seeing the smaller wounded humanoid much easier prey, but pays the price as she's cut down by Andraste as she leaps by...

The other two Gnolls coming from the right are quickly upon the wounded as well, both rushing past the Half Orc who swings much too late to connect with the dexterous Gnolls.  They both chomp down, one on the boy's shoulder, all the way down to his mid torso, and the other in his upper thigh, both removing large chunks of meat from the boy's body.  The boy screams out in horrific pain, falling down to his knees under the weight of them, even their scrawny malnourished state.

A puff of gold and silver smoke appears and suddenly Althaea is upon the two remaining Gnolls, scratching underneath their chins and whispering something to them.  Their eyes glaze over, before looking around the battlefield and leaping over the severely bleeding boy towards their sleeping companion.  As they do so, they swallow the large chunks of meat whole, almost immediately giving them some more girth to their middles, before they run up and snap at their lethargic companion.  Seeing the battle lost and only three of their group remaining, they flee.

Looking at them go, you notice that the dust cloud still approaches Vertigo, moving forward, yet no more creatures can be seen....
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:17, Wed 06 Jan 2021.

Unaware of all details of the battles taking place 300 meters from him, the construct continued working on the defenses he envisioned in his mind, creating the twin of the wall he had just created, placing it in face of previous one, creating a 10 feet wide corridor. HE then looked towards the still moving dust cloud, praying that his friends were safe out there.

As the Gnolls retreat I move back towards the survivors while keeping an eye on their retreating forms until they are lost in the cloud of dust. Once clear of the immediate threat, I turn back to the survivors to better assess their condition: the half-orc is close to exhaustion and has a number of injuries but none appear life threatening but the human boy is not doing so well. The Gnolls inflicted significant damage in that last attack and he is in danger of bleeding out.

I kneel down next to him as he lay prone on the ground, his chest rising slowly, haltingly and his eyes glassy, and take his right hand in mine and the familiar tingle flows from my chest, down my arm, and into him causing the rapid, steady flow of blood from the wounds in his shoulder and torso to stop and the wounds to close leaving a red, angry patch of skin behind; those will be quite the scars. With the worst of his injuries dealt with I look him in the eye and smile, trying my best to provide comfort and encouragement and I am shocked when I recognize him.

"Well met Rolland; it has been awhile."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:39, Fri 23 Oct 2020.

The moment the final refugee appeared mobile, Thorn interrupted, "We should move. Now. So few gnolls didn't cause this much dust. And it feels . . . unnatural." If possible, she would prefer to go somewhere it could be avoided entirely, but she suspected her companions would be dead set on returning to Vertigo. Hiding her reluctance to send her stimfay further into the heart of the storm, she instructed Aisling to scout for its cause.

The kite returned quickly and after conferring with him briefly, Thorn relaxed infinitesimally from paranoia to her usual state of alertness. "There's one gnoll fleeing under the cloud. Based on the ceremonial garb, probably some sort of," she paused for a moment, seeking the word in the distant recesses of her memory, "shaman." She used the Elven term, having never learned its equivalent in Common.

Nature Check: 19
Aisling's Perception: 18, 23 (Natural 20)
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Tue 27 Oct 2020.

As the pain starts to subside with the sudden flow of healing through his body, the boy looks up and upon seeing his old friend, he is only able to say, Giltris, is that you? before his body collapses in her arms, passing out from exhaustion, finally knowing he was safe.  Looking closer at Rolland, he seemed to be in a similar state as the Gnolls; his face thinned more than what Giltris remembered from the lack of food, though with wiry muscles from the constant travel and it seems, running.  There was something more though.  Though most of his body was covered in dust and dirt from his travels, upon closer inspection, on his neck and running down his chest are black and green lines, almost like veins.  They seem to alternate with no rhyme or reason.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:04, Mon 26 Oct 2020.

That cannot be good. With Rolland out of immediate danger I take the time to examine the others; fortunately, no one else is showing signs of whatever this is. They do not appear to have been bitten either so maybe that was the cause. Since we do not know the cause, what effect it will have, and whether or not it is contagious he cannot be allowed within Vertigo's walls. Sugar.

Thorn said there a Shaman attempting to escape in the dust cloud maybe they will have answers. First, we must tend to the refugees. "Thorin, can you take these neighbours back to the wall?" I say indicating the Half-Orc and the Goliath. "I am afraid that this young man has been affected by something and it is not safe to bring him inside."

I then turn my attention to Althaea and Thorn. "Can you please take him back to the gate, maybe Sand or Zail will know what this is." I make sure to make eye contact with both of them. "He is a dear friend, please look after him."

With that taken care of I move to stand in front of Erik in his strange frog-cat form and crouch down to get to eye level with him. "Thorn says there is a shaman fleeing in the dust cloud; maybe they can tell us what is affecting the boy. I fear I can not catch them on my own, will you help me?"