Lenelle invoked a subtle spell on the redhead whom she’d eyed suspiciously from nearly the moment they met. Connie’s eyes opened wide as if Lenelle had just slapped her. Then, she regained her composure. The woman smiled, but her smile held none of the affable quality she’d displayed before. “You’re a clever little girl, aren’t you, Lenelle?”

Connie chuckled. “Such a clever little Lenelle. What a clever little Lenelle!” Connie’s chuckles grew manic, as she threw her head back and cackled. “Eee-hee-hee-hee-HEE!”

Rubbing her hands together, Connie grinned at Lenelle, more of a wicked sneer than any kind expression she’d feigned with the others. “What gave me away? Was it the tea? As she asked, Sundos slumped unconscious against the table! Miriam sat in a daze, oblivious to the scene unfolding in her own home. “Or were you jealous of me laying with young, trusting Joshua?” Her eyes gleamed cruelly as she mocked Lenelle with the last query.

Elise looked up and clapped in delight, beaming in admiration at Connie.

“I’ll do better than tell you, dearie! I’m gonna SHOW you! Hah-HAH-HAH!” Connie cackled as she swung long fingernails toward Lenelle’s eyes! Only the Elven grace of her ancestors saved Lenelle, as she reflexively stepped back!

OOC:

16:57, Today: Secret Roll: Connie rolled 9 using 1d20+6.  Hit Lenelle.
16:54, Today: Secret Roll: Connie rolled 6 using 1d20+2.  Wisdom Save.

Lenelle, YOU CANNOT TELL OR ALLUDE TO ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS SCENE FROM HERE ON OUT.

Whatever she had been expecting, Connie cackling like a harpy and trying to claw her eyes out wasn't it.

Elise's reaction gouged her soul like a shard of broken glass; the girl had been manipulated, twisted - "Elise - RUN!  She's lying, she's using you!"

Connie called Joshua 'young,' implying she wasn't.  'Granny Grim' -- I found her at last!

She was used to casting at range -- being this near was bad; she wasn't a melee fighter --

And so Lenelle reacted, and did what might have impossible for many other casters:  maneuvering quickly and carefully back from 'Connie.' While casting a ray of celestial light, with the briefest gesture and the utterance of but a single syllable...

Quickened spell (metamagic)- 2 sorcery points
Action: Disengage
Move: As far back as possible
Bonus action:   Cast guiding bolt - as 2nd level spell
Lenelle Toreth rolled 23 using 1d20+6.  guiding bolt.  To hit Connie.
Lenelle Toreth rolled 13 using 5d6.  damage + next attack advantaged

 - All rolls done 'secret' in the d-roller...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Thu 16 Sept 2021.

Lenelle frantically backpedaled, trying to stay out of Connie’s reach! The red haired woman grinned manically, rushing to cut off Lenelle from the door. The Sorceress wouldn’t have much time to act, so she cast her most reliable spell.

Celestial light flared bright in Lenelle’s hands as she conjured a dazzling bolt of pure Magic. The bolt flew like a divine arrow and hit Connie squarely in the chest! Connie screeched as the bolt flung her back against the table! The table bumped, jostling the unconscious Sundos. Miriam stared around the room in a foggy haze. Elise covered her mouth with a tiny hand as she giggled at Connie’s stumble.

When Connie recovered, she smirked at Lenelle. “You’re as talented in the Art as you are clever. But our game isn’t quite done yet, dearie!” With that vow, Connie plucked and quaffed a vial of umber-colored fluid. She gagged, then belched what seemed like an endless fog of brownish-geeen fog! The Stinking Cloud quickly filled the cramped space as Connie’s voice also filled the room with a wet, taunting laugh!



OOC: Connie takes 13 damage, but retaliates with Stinking Cloud! Roll a Constitution Save vs. Poison!

Lenelle did her best to hold her breath tightly, as the noxious, awful cloud spread out her direction.  But it was suddenly everywhere --  and even a blessing from somewhere up above couldn't protect her from it --  could it?

Lenelle Toreth rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  con save.
Lenelle Toreth rolled 4 using 2d4.  favored by the gods.
Total save = 12  (am pretty sure not...)   
Or maybe?   used to the higher saves in pathfinder.
What a drag; just like downtown LA... 
This message was last edited by the player at 23:33, Thu 16 Sept 2021.

The noxious stench assaulted Lenelle’s stomach. It smelled so raw and foul that she barely kept her gorge down. Only the sheer luck of doubling over as she retched helped her avoid a cheap shot from Connie! Lenelle heard a *SWiSH* that shredded her cape! She could hear her enemy fumbling amidst the cloud, cursing as she struck a piece of furniture.

Wait - what happens now?   Can I attack again?   Or are we rolling initiative?

OOC:

That’s a good idea! It’s only you, but roll Initiative in case it can help you.

Make another Save Vs. Poison check, too.

 

With an act of will, Lenelle focused past the nausea --  almost managed to shrug it off.  Though her slender frame was possessed of no great strength, her stamina was another matter, bolstered by the celestial magic with which she had been imbued.

As well, she was desperate to see this perpetrator of Deadwater's ills stopped  once and for all.   She struck with the heaven-light once more...

Lenelle Toreth rolled 8 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.
Lenelle Toreth rolled 24 using 1d20+4.  con save vs. poison
Lenelle Toreth rolled 21 using 1d20+6.  guiding bolt. As level 2 spell
Lenelle Toreth rolled 18 using 5d6.  damage - guiding bolt.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:23, Fri 17 Sept 2021.

Whatever sacred being empowered Lenelle favored her by granting the stamina to overcome the worst effects of the cloud’s stench. Lenelle recovered enough to counter with another Guiding Bolt. Through the the cloud, Lenelle saw the telltale sparkles of her first bolt. Her second bolt struck Connie again, drawing a pained shriek from her enemy!

“You’re…ever at the ready with your wretched Divine magicks!” Connie spat in Lenelle’s direction. Then, she grinned. “Well, the time for playing fair is past, I would say!” Then, Connie muttered a quick phrasing in a vaguely familiar language and faded from sight!

OOC:

Connie just cast Invisibility! I’m ruling that your Bolt nimbus cancels out the Disadvantage imposed by her Invisibility.

You can make a normal attack roll.

The telltale glitter left by her bolt gave Lenelle a decent idea where her foe was --   she was desperate for this to be over, there was no pride for her in this sort of combat -she just wanted all the depredations, the deceit and the malice to finally have an ending. 

Her aim was more than true...

Lenelle Toreth rolled 26 using 1d20+6.  guiding bolt.  As level 1 spell
Lenelle Toreth rolled 33 using 8d6.  damage - guiding bolt, critical hit.

Lenelle’s third bolt burned Connie’s flesh with sheer radiant magic. The woman growled in pained rage and charged Lenelle. She reared back a clawed hand and gut-punched Lenelle! Suddenly, Lenelle felt as if she were nearly ripped in half!

That Connie herself appeared grievously wounded offered Lenelle precious little comfort. Lenelle loathed violence, certainly not when she suffered it herself. Connie locked eyes with Lenelle, sparing a glance at the door, but too afraid to fully take her eyes off the Sorceress. “Help me,” she croaked.

Lenelle might have felt a little confused, perhaps even wondered if her foe begged for mercy. However, any musings were suddenly rendered moot when she felt something bludgeon the back of her head! Lenelle’s vision filled with white spots of pain, as she touched the back of her hand. Her fingertips came away soaked in blood! Lenelle tried to turn around to protect herself, but swayed and crumpled as she lost consciousness.

As she hit the floor, Lenelle had time to look up. She saw Connie leering down with a twisted grin that seemed too large for her face. Beside her stood what she thought was an…the world went black.


OOC:

18:41, Today: Secret Roll: The Dungeonmaster rolled 14 using 2d8+4.  Damage.
18:40, Today: Secret Roll: The Dungeonmaster rolled 16 using 1d20+6.  Melee.
18:39, Today: Secret Roll: Connie rolled 12 using 2d8+4.  Damage.
18:39, Today: Secret Roll: Connie rolled 21 using 1d20+6.  Attack.

You put a serious hurting on Connie, but she had a surprise ally there to bail her out!

Between Connie’s attack and her ally’s cheap shot, you’re at 0 HP. Unconcious, not dead.

You’ll have a chance to RP a groggy reaction after my next post. You can’t fight back, you’re a captive now.

Lenelle lost consciousness. For a few seconds, she came to long enough to feel herself lugged off the floor. Her hands were bound, her mouth gagged, and a dull throbbing pounded in the back of her skull. She felt dry, calloused hands holding her, while another opened a large burlap sack. The world suddenly gave way and went dark as Lenelle tumbled headfirst into the bag! She felt herself slung over a large shoulder.

“Careful, you fool! She’ll want that one intact for the ritual!”

“It’s your own fault if she arrives in poor shape! You never shouldn’t have let her discover you!”

“My fault?! If you had done YOUR job and slain the interlopers with our ghouls, she never would have lived to discover me!”

“Bah! We waste time bickering over blame, when She Who Aids Us awaits! Prepare the girl. I will take ‘Princess Lenelle’ to join that wretched Halfling! Make sure her friends don’t discover you, too!”

“Bitch!”

“What was that?”

“Ahem, I said, ‘Mind her twitch!’ You’ll want to tread cautiously with the Half-Breed!”

Lenelle heard their words in a vague, detached sort of way.   Different, disconnected thoughts wafted through her semi-consciousness mind, like morning mists carried on a breeze...

The Fey she'd promised to help...she had failed to keep her vow to them... and she would never get to see Elise and Phoebe grow up...  nor be at Sundos' and Mercion's wedding... or learn if Joshua really was the one for her... or finally get to meet his mother...?  No, no... she was gone... yet somehow she felt that she wasn't very far now... Pockets... Pockets was wherever she was going... at least there would be fun...

The world faded away again.

Pelor...help me Sundos thoughts and body were sluggish. He could barely string two thoughts together, but he recognized voices.

The last thing he remembered was drinking the tea from Connie and then suddenly there was a knock at the door. Lenelle! his mind spiked in fear when he thought back to her voice on the other side of that knock.

He couldn't move, could barely think, but he could hear two women. Connie's voice sounded like she'd gone horse since he last heard her speak. The tea...how could I not see it? his thoughts slowly put together the self-recrimination as he floated along, carried by something or someone unseen.

Connie and her unseen accomplice carried Lenelle and Sundos through the Swamp. “It’s good that I remembered to bring along the Priest! It wouldn’t do to leave a witness who could follow us.”

“Yes, yes, you covered your tracks! Stop fishing for compliments and mind how you tread. We needn’t jostle the ‘packages’ too hard.”

“Yes, well perhaps you shouldn’t have hit the Half-Blood so hard! We’ll need to heal her before we can even use her for the ritual!”

“If I hadn’t hit you, she would surely have slain you, and then where would we be?! The child isn’t ready. She’s still too young for our needs.”

“No, I’m not! I brought you Phoebe and Mr. Pockets, remember? And those others before! Granny said that I did well. But you’ll let Phoebe go when you finish, right?”

“Ohh, of course, my sweet child! Once we finish with the others, we will send darling Phoebe back to the village!”

From inside their bags, Lenelle and Sundos heard a rustling. They bumped backs that felt almost as hard as iron as their captors halted to a sudden stop. “Georg! Conner! What a surprise to see you out here…!” Once more, Connie’s voice sounded honeyed and clear.

“Yes. I thought you went back with Miriam? What are you doing out here? Who’s that with you?”

“Oh, this is my Auntie. She…is helping me with errands before the town gates close.”

“Why is Elise with you, then? Did you need her to help with your ‘errand’, too?”

“Oh…why, I am looking after sweet Elise for the day. Poor Miriam has had quite the shock and needs her rest.”

“Hmm. Maybe that’s so and maybe it isn’t. We had enough trouble over the child today. I think you ladies better return with me to town.”

“My apologies, lout, but I’ve walked these woods enough today and do not care for another hike!” The bagged captives fell and hit the ground hard. The “Auntie” said the last words in a gravelly voice.

“What’s happening…? Oh, Pelor! SWEET PELOR HELP ME…!” Georg shrieked and the captives heard commotion. “PLEASE—GLERGCK!” A wet ripping sound penetrated the bag, as did the sudden, reeking odor that  one usually smelled in a slaughterhouse. Seconds later, they heard what sounded like a body hitting a tree.

“Oh, that was unfortunate! Georg was always one of my favorites!”

“Damn Georg and damn this unneeded distraction! That’s another mess we must clean up. Damn them!”

“Oh, I don’t know, dear. Conner still draws breath, and he’s still innocent enough for Granny’s tastes. I’ll see that we put Georg to good use,too! Hee-Hee!”

Lenelle and Sundos felt themselves hoisted up again and slammed against their sturdy captors. Once again, they resumed their trip to Granny Grim’s house…

The blow that Lenelle had been dealt was, by far, the worst she'd ever sustained.   She drifted in and out of consciousness --  and when she was in, the pain made her want to be out again.   Despite that some part of her battered mind was screaming you can't afford to pass out!

Amidst other things that made no sense, or that she couldn't muster any concern for -- Elise's betrayal rang like an ugly, discordant note.     A child unloved by her sole parent; with a heart gone bitter --

"You're ill luck on this family," she heard her father's voice. Or, more truly her adoptive father:

"A curse on your mother, who had the ill luck to be seduced and enspelled by an elvish wastrel and thief!  You imagine your tainted blood and your 'gift' of magic make you special, don't you?  But they're curses, just like you're a curse. And a fool.  Foolish girl...that's all you ever be..."

Her father vanished once she was dropped and struck the ground.   It nearly returned her to darkness, except the sounds of carnage kept her awake.  The smell of death nearly made her wretch, which could be fatal, gagged as she was.

C- Connor! With every iota of her soul she wanted to help.  But, there was nothing she could do.  Barely conscious, banged around and bandied about like a sack of potatoes.

Sh- shouldn't have been -- taken out like that...m- my father was right...

Darkness once again.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:05, Tue 21 Sept 2021.

While Lenelle passed out, Sundos heard footsteps approach. They sounded deliberate and slow, almost cautious. However, he heard no defensive response from Connie and her companion. “How kind of you to greet us all the way out here…!”

Sundos heard a low voice that sounded like knives grinding together. “Silence, you fool! We have no time for idle chatter! The Half-Blood’s friends know and they converge here soon. Take our ‘dinner guests’ to my house and await me there!” The speaker then cackled, a hideous sound that made him breathe a softly whispered prayer to Pelor. “I will prepare a treat for the others!”

He felt himself being carried again. Soon, he heard a dog’s growl, a tustle, and then a man’s agonized death cry. Then, the rumble of thunder as Connie and her Co-Conspirator carried them to their destination…

Sundos and Lenelle eventually heard the creaking of an old wooden door. The door slammed as they felt themselves jostled about by whoever carried them in their bags. Their captors mumbled as they shifted what sounded like heavy furniture across a wooden floor. Another creak of old hinges followed. Then, they heard a sharp crack of thunder and lightning before the sensation of being carried down a set of stairs.

“Hurry, Irma. We’ll put them in the high chairs.” Sundos felt the bag open, and a withered hand with a grip like iron clutched his arm. Irma yanked Sundos from the bag, setting him forcefully onto a stool with a back. Before he could react, his elderly captor slammed a tray into place that pinned him in the chair. He saw a hideous old woman with stringy black and gray hair grin at him with a row of unusually long teeth. “Now, sit still, Sonny! It will be dinner time soon, and children must take their seats! Hah-hah-HAH!”

Irma slapped down manacles fitted onto the sides of the tray that immobilized Sundos’ arms. Nearby, Connie lugged the unconscious Lenelle and locked her into a similar chair. Although the dim lighting in the room(?) made it hard to tell, Sundos thought that Connie looked older. Wrinkles scored flesh that had been smooth when he’d first encountered Connie at the Sulphur’s Spit. Her mane of lustrous red hair was now run through with white streaks. She smiled down at Lenelle with teeth  colored a dirty yellow. “The Pretty Princess joins us for supper! What a special occasion!”

The room was filled with rows of bookcases that held faded books, scrolls, and vials containing different body parts—a Gnoll’s paw, eyeballs floating in liquid, and a shrunken Halfling’s head! Sundos felt his chest tighten when he saw the head, until he noticed a small cage across the room that held a bruised and bloodied Pockets. While Pockets looked roughed up, he still lived. A butcher’s table with Georg’s body quelled any relief that Sundos might have felt, and what he saw next dashed that burst of hope.

Two little girls sat on chairs near a long table of gnarled old wood. Elise swung her legs happily, clearly comfortable and pleased to be there. Beside her, a little girl with frizzy red curls stared helplessly at the priest, her cheeks dirtied by dried tears. New tears trickled down her plump cheeks when Irma looked her way. “No tears, Phoebe! If you’re a good girl, Auntie Irma might have a treat for you!”

Sundos saw Pockets discreetly wriggling in the cage. The Halfling shook his head at the Priest and silently mouthed “Shhh”. It looked like Pockets was trying to touch the backside of his pants.

"...tsk tsk, just look at you.  A pretty bird in a dirty cage."

A cage that served to nullify her magic...

The face that regarded her was that of the hero most girls dreamed about.  A face whose smile had once lit her heart. Fired her imagination with visions of a blissful life, and happily ever afters - just like those in the fables.  A face that had compelled her to stray far from home. And give of herself in ways she never had before.  And let her guard down in ways she never would have...

But the face was a mask. And she didn't know the man who lived behind it.

The face smiled.  "What a set of contradictions you are, pretty bird.  Insightful, yet such a little fool.  Powerful, yet easy to humble.  Innocent...well, not anymore."

"Why are you doing this?  Is that all you want me for-?"

"All? No - no, of course not!  I mean, I could've just gotten a whore.  It would've been simpler."  The smile again.   "I don't believe that you - nor especially your half-wit family - ever appreciated your heritage the way others do.   With your blood, and the divine magic that laces it.   You have no clue what value you have.  For more than one use."  The smile again.

"Sleep, pretty bird.  Why don't you sleep.  You look so very tired...and it's really all you can do."    He turned, walking from the room.   He was right -- she was so very, very tired.    Yet Lenelle knew that she must not sleep; if she had any hope of escape -- then she must stay awake...

Open your eyes!   Who was that-?

Wake up, Princess. We’re in trouble.   Elise...Elise calls me that. And Connie...in spite.  Now -- Pockets?  Is he being mean?  It's like a joke, it's...

Pockets!

Consciousness and pain returned hand in hand.  It made her want to pass out again.  But she did not -- forced herself to bear it, and strive to focus.

She didn't like the way it smelled in here.   Here...where was she?  They had been carried...in sacks.  She had to see.  Get some idea...

Lenelle's eyes blinked opened.   Among the things that greeted them --  hairy paw, detached eyeballs, shrunken head - Georg! - that made her want to wretch -  the worst was Elise's cheerful demeanor.   Obscene on the face of a child, who should have been horrified.

Phoebe and Pockets were alive, at least.  Like Sundos and herself.  But - alive for what?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Fri 08 Oct 2021.

Sundos looked at Lenelle and was about to speak a word of power to revive her when she opened her eyes on her own.

He'd noted Pockets actions and held his tongue and power for now, biding his time and holding his power for the best and most wise time to strike.

“Save your prayers, Padre.” Connie cackled as she mussed up Sundos’ hair with dirty fingernails that seemed more like knives. Fortunately, those claw-like fingers didn’t slice open his scalp. “I heard that word in another realm. It means ‘Father’ there. Heh-heh!” She walked over toward her shelves with a stooped gait.

Then, Connie approached Lenelle with a picnic basket in her hands. She grinned at Lenelle and Sundos as she opened the basket. She dipped her hand into the basket and dumped a handful of…things…on Lenelle’s head. Things that squirmed and crawled all over her head and shoulders. Lenelle realizes that they were spiders!

Suddenly, the heavy wooden door flew open! A hunched old woman in a hooded black robe entered the musty room lugging a large burlap bag. “I’ll need your help, Sisters!” The new arrival waved her hand, and the door slammed closed. “Auntie Irma, place another high chair at the dinner table! Auntie Constance, drag the another cage over here. Mind that you maintain a little distance from our sticky-fingered Halfling guest!”

“Yes, Granny Grimfiddle, at once!”
“Yes, Granny!”

“Connie”—who Sundos immediately knew was “Auntie” Constance—left the spiders skittering all over Lenelle. She entered a dugout closet near the fireplace, fumbling loudly inside. Soon, she carried out a heavy bronze cage with one hand. She dropped it near the table. The gray haired crone who’d helped Constance capture Lenelle & Sundos set one of the heavy chairs beside Sundos. “We’re setting a chair for another guest, Sonny! Why, I bet it’s one of your playmates! Won’t that be so nice?” When Irma glanced at Sundos, he saw that her skin had turned a sickly green.

Granny Grimfiddle opened her bag. With one hand, she pulled out Skye and dropped her into the cage, which Constance hastily locked. Then, she pulled out Simon and placed him in one of the chairs. With Irma’s help, Granny Grimfiddle locked Simon into the chair. “Gag the Warlock before he awakens, Sister! Bind his hands extra tightly, too. We have company coming, Sisters! Set the watchdogs out.”

Lenelle had encountered much worse than bugs and arachnids during her short adventuring career.  Still, the surprise of it was unsettling and repulsive, especially given the injured and helpless state that she was in.

She would've screamed, but the gag prevented it.

And was disheartened and distressed to see Simon and Skye brought in as captives.  She had prayed her comrades would be successful; more so than her own botched effort.

Amidst all else, she managed to remember-  Connor.  They said he was still alive -- where-?