A Quest for the Stars

Initiative Table

Character Result

Lenoria 1d20+3 = 15 (Fourth)

Alistair 1d20+1 = 15 (Last)

Clara and Tsukuyomi 1d20+8 = 18 (Third)

Aquamarine 1d20+3 = 20 (First)

Laester Matriarch 1d20 = 20 (Second)

The dice were rolled for initiative.

The giantess was outnumbered, but in her mind, she was far from outmatched. No human has ever seen her angry and lived to tell the tale. As a matter of fact, any human she encountered never lived to tell their kin what they saw. She was a monster, but she was also reclusive and preferred to send her family out to bring food to the table. Her husband may have been a tactician, but she was the true mastermind behind the operation. She could not afford to be seen.

For the first time in years, her appetite was spoiled. Funnily enough, the date coincides with the last time she was truly angry.

The insolent boy from earlier was back, and with more numbers. Next to him was a machine with great fists. Both of them charged in and did their best to push her away. It all happened in an instant, with the boy declaring her demise being her only warning. With a strike to the leg from his mace, the boy managed to get a shriek out of her.

But soon she realized their role was not to strike her down, but to keep her at bay from the main attack force. A blonde woman pulled the trigger of her weapon, the ensuing explosion echoing throughout the cave halls. The elf next to her had fired from her crossbow, and both attacks hit their mark. All accompanied by a beautifully sung aria from the smallest of the three women.

Surprise Round log

Actions Rolls

Aquamarine initiates her inspire courage bardic performance as a standard action. All allies receive a +1 bonus to attacks, damage, and saving throws vs fear and charm effects.

Clara opens fire with her crossbow while Tsukuyomi charges with Alistair. Out of the two melee attackers, Tsukuyomi strikes first. Attack: 1d20+9 = 24 vs 23 FF AC, Damage 1d8+1 = 5 (Clara)

Attack: 1d20+11 = 22 vs 23 FF AC (Miss) (Tsukuyomi)

Lenoria opens fire with her flintlock pistol. Since she is close enough to the enemy, she only needs to overcome the giant's touch AC. Normally, touch AC is 10 + Dexterity modifier plus other modifiers, but with the giant being flat-footed (and lacking a significant Dex score to begin with), this gets brought down to a measly 10. Attack: 1d20+10 = 16 vs 10 touch AC, Damage: 1d8+1 = 7

Alistair, being the last to act, charged along with Tsukuyomi. Using Smite Evil beforehand, not only does Alistair score a hit, but his smite damage is surprisingly doubled for reasons that will be revealed soon. Attack: 1d20+16 = 34 vs 23 FF AC, Damage: 1d8+5+14 = 21

~Lenoria and co.~

Defending herself from all of the attacks, it was immediately clear that Alistair's strike did the most damage against the giant. The mark on the giant's belly reacted to Alistair's charge by lighting up intensely for a second. "It's just as I feared!"

Lenoria reloaded her pistol. "Fear what, Alistair?"

"The wings, the fire...I should have known something was off. She's a dragon!"

"Are you sure, Alistair?"

"Positive! Only fiends, undead, and evil dragons take this much damage when a deity has marked them!"

"Don't dragons have four legs?" Aquamarine asked.

"Dragons are known to get around. The spawn of a dragon and a different creature typically carries some of the dragon's traits," Clara clarified.

"And if she has red scales, that will make her immune to fire!" Lenoria glanced over at Owen, who was just as surprised as she was.

"I'm sorry, Lenoria. I didn't know," Owen said. "She rarely opened up about herself, even around family. But we are not without options!"

The giant prepared her counterattack. Flames gathered inside her mouth, which exposed her sharp dragon fangs. At the same time, Owen glowed with a maroon color, which he soon transferred to Lenoria.

"If you survive this, this makes us even!" With the aura gone, Owen dropped to the ground and quickly disappeared.

"Owen!" Transferring all of the energy to her fist, Lenoria dared not look back a second time and instead opened her palm just as the giant unleashed her breath of fire.

The result, while transparent, could be seen by all who possessed a Soulstone. A rectangular wall of heat - as tall as the giant and just as wide - shielded the group from the great flamethrower. This caused the stream of flames to split to the sides, but some wayward flames managed to burn our heroes.

Despite the damage done, everyone was still standing. The maroon light vanished from Lenoria's hand, and she was ready to fight once more. "If Owen hadn't given me that, I would have been a goner."

"No! My fire!" The giant looked at Lenoria. "You little gnat! I will eat your heart!"

"You can try, but I've already given it to someone else!" Lenoria smiled cheekily and pointed at the giant. "Attack!"

After giving the order, Lenoria instantly felt her body cool down as if she had been splashed with water. Her burns disappeared as well as the wounds that had opened from the fire.

"Thank you," Aqua said as she released Lenoria's arm. "It's not much, but I can restore wounds."

Lenoria raised a thumb, but quickly spotted Aqua's left elbow had been encased with ice. The redness of the skin around it indicated signs of frostbite.

It's up to the rest of you! I'll do what I can!

Clara fired another crossbow shot while Tsukuyomi mercilessly slammed his fists on the giant, but her thick hide repelled their attacks. Alistair's strike, however, hit a weak point and fractured a bone.

As for Lenoria, she managed to readjust her gloves and reloaded her firearm.

Round 1 log

Actions Rolls

The Laester Matriarch, no longer surprised, opens up with a breath weapon that is usable once per day, and blasts the group with a 30-ft. cone of fire (DC 20). As an immediate action, Lenoria spends Owen's power to create a ward that reduced that damage by half. Damage: 9d6 = 40 fire damage (reduced by half from Owen's ward, Reflex half)

Aquamarine: 1d20+13 = 30 (success)

Clara: 1d20+6 = 24 (success)

Tsukuyomi: 1d20+3 = 6 (failure)

Lenoria: 1d20+7 = 10 (failure)

Alistair: 1d20+7 = 16 (failure)

Result: Successes take 10 fire damage, failures take 20 fire damage

Aquamarine activates her Kinetic Healer wild talent, restoring some of Lenoria's hp. She, in turn, accepts 1 point of burn, taking 7 points of nonlethal damage. She spends a free action to continue singing her aria. Accepting burn also activates her Elemental Overflow, boosting the power of her kinetic blasts. Kinetic Healer roll: 2d6+6 = 11 hp restored

Burn accepted: 1/7

Clara fires a crossbow shot, but misses. Attack: 1d20+9 = 12 vs 23 AC

Tsukuyomi attempts a full attack with both fists, but misses all. 2 slams: 1d20+9 = 15, 1d20+9 = 11 vs 23 AC

Lenoria spends a standard action to reload her weapon and spends a move action to activate her Martial Flexibility to gain the benefits of Rapid Reload for 1 minute, allowing her to reload her pistol with a move action instead.

Alistair initiates a full-attack action, using his mace to attack twice. He hits with the first swing, but not the second. Attack 1d20+14 = 32 vs 23 AC, Damage: 1d8+5+7 = 14 bludgeoning

Remaining hp

Lenoria: 23/32

Alistair: 54/74

Clara: 24/34

Tsukuyomi: 24/44

Aquamarine: 57/67 - 7 nonlethal Notes

Nonlethal damage: If current hit points are decreased to a number equal to the amount of nonlethal damage sustained, the character is incapacitated.

~Alistair~

Both sides have taken significant damage. The giant boasted only a fraction of dragon blood, but that alone made her significantly more powerful than the rest of her kin. The silver lining was that dragons typically needed time to recharge their breath weapon, and the giant only being half of one meant that she would struggle to do the same thing again.

Raise your shield, Alistair! Raise it so that even the heavens themselves cannot hope to crush you!

Recalling the words of his paladin mentor - fierce like a lioness on the hunt - Alistair raised his shield just as the giant snapped her jaws at him. She bit down on the metal shield, her teeth still hot from the dragon's fire, puncturing Alistair's defense just a little. Unable to remove herself immediately, she clawed at him erratically, her efforts allowing her to scratch Alistair on his left side.

Protect your party so that they can deliver the finishing blow!

The boy shouted as he pushed his shield upwards, keeping the giant at bay. "I could use some help, ladies!"

Hearing this, Aquamarine got ready. She opened her hands about half a foot apart from each other. She then revolved her hands vertically, each spin forming an orb of water. Raising her hands, the ball hovered above her until a dainty spin gathered momentum and launched it at the giant. The impact was enough to push the monster away from Alistair, granting him sweet reprieve.

Next was Clara. Seeing her shots were not doing much, she resorted to spellcasting. "Since you're so obsessed with food, I hope you don't mind your body getting a little greasy!"

A puddle formed at the giant's feet just as she regained her footing. The greasy coating on the cave floor proved to be slippery enough for the giant to fall in, creating a loud THUD as she slipped and fell. "Alright, Tsukuyomi! You're up!"

Hearing his mistress's words loud and clear, Tsukuyomi raised his fists at the fallen giant and slammed them down. Despite his smaller frame, Tsukuyomi's ground-pounding smash knocked the wind from the monster.

"We have her now!" Pulling the trigger, Lenoria had aimed for the head but her target was not as big this time. Still, given how close she was to the monster she still managed to get her shot in.

"You meatbags," the giant roared, "my family just wanted to eat the delicacies of the surface! Couldn't you have just left us alone?!"

Alistair recalled Beau's words to him. Contrary to the lioness, Beau's savagery was defined with some words of advice.

I'm not a fan of his, but one of the Hammer's rules that I like is to never show mercy to those receiving the death sentence. The world is cruel, and you must be just as ruthless even in the criminal's final moments.

The boy just needed to remind himself. The giant from the night before almost tricked Lenoria, and what the dragon-like creature before him was doing now was surely meant to trick him as well. But it failed to work.

"You robbed a father of his daughter. The rules of Helix are different those from the underground. Man, giant, beastfolk, they all live in harmony. Had you reserved your love of food for game and crops, your life would have been spared."

"Isn't the world a big ol' craphole right now," Lenoria whispered.

"I think he means relative to primitive lands," Clara corrected.

"I'll let the girl go!" The giant fearfully snapped her fingers. A clink is heard in the distance, and when Lenoria looked behind her, the shackles from Allie's hands had dropped to the ground. "S-see?"

Alistair unflinchingly stepped forward. "You killed a man simply because you believed he was here to rescue the girl. Even before he acted weird, you had already declared you would eat him." He raised his mace threateningly. "I don't believe for a second that you'll change your ways after we leave."

Consumed by the fear of death, the giant lunged forward jaws-first. She was once again stopped by Alistair, who held her in place with his shield and struck her twice with his mace. The first strike caused the giant to sink her fangs into the shield, breaking from the impact against the metal object. Already knocked unconscious from the pain, Alistair followed with another strike that caved in her skull.

And just like that, the battle was over.

Round 2 log

Actions Rolls

The giantess attacks Alistair with a bite and both of her claws. Attack: 1d20+15 = 34 (claw), 1d20+15 = 16 (bite, nat 1), 1d20+15 = 17 (second claw), Damage: 1d6+10 = 16

Aquamarine, boosted by her power, launches a water kinetic blast and takes a penalty to her accuracy with Deadly Aim. Attack: 1d20+9 = 26 vs 23 AC, Damage: 2d6+6+4+4 = 19 bludgeoning

Clara casts Grease, conjuring a puddle of slippery liquid beneath the giant's feet, forcing a Reflex save from the giant. Grease (DC 14): 1d20+3 = 5

Result: The giant slips and falls. The prone condition grants her a +4 bonus to AC vs ranged attacks, but also inflicts a -4 penalty to AC vs melee attacks.

Tsukuyomi wastes little time to capitalize on the opening provided by his mistress and slams both fists on the prone giant. 2 slams: 1d20+8 = 24 vs 19 AC, 1d20+8 = 21 vs 19 AC

Damage rolls: 1d8+4 = 6, 1d8+4 = 12

Lenoria opens fire once again, spending a standard action to do so and reloading as a move action, ready to shoot again next turn. Pistol: 1d20+10 = 17 vs 14 touch AC

Damage: 1d8+1 = 4

Alistair, seeing a vulnerable opponent, sacrifices accuracy for more power. Attack: 1d20+12 = 22 vs 19 AC, 1d20+7 = 19 vs 19 AC

Damage: 1d8+9+7 = 20, 1d8+9+7 = 18

***

16th of Cobre, 6:23 pm, 1659 (169 days before Starflower's trial)

Everyone had a job to do.

Alistair spent hours getting the corpses off the meat hooks, Lenoria checked the rest of the giants' dwelling for treasure, and Clara and Aquamarine sought out a private spot and helped Allie get clean.

Lenoria was done with her task first. The giants had accumulated a lot of silver and copper coins from wayward adventurers, as well as mundane weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. Some had even written a journal detailing their escapades. One adventurer wandered in a gnoll camp, naked, and stole a chieftain's hat, while another was a fugitive who nearly died after a run-in with Constable Richards back in Helix City.

She skipped to the final page of a journal belonging to a former mercenary who had just finished his police training before setting out for a job in Hammer's Reach. Her heart skipped and broke upon reading the final entry of the journal.

Just you wait, girls. Dad's going to make you proud.

Lenoria assumed he simply never made it to Hammer's Reach.

With nothing left to do, she returned to the fork of the cave where she found Alistair lining up the mutilated corpses neatly. He knelt in prayer, holding his holy symbol tightly, urging his patron deity to bless the poor souls in the afterlife.

She had to ask him. She had to confront him about it. Once he was done with his prayer, the girl cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Oh, hey Lenoria. Did you get a good haul?"

The two of them were alone. Lenoria heard no word from Owen, which worried her but had to leave off for later.

"I couldn't help but notice just how bloodthirsty you are. The two giants we fought got the same treatment."

"I prefer to solve things peacefully, Lenoria. I'm just not as open to it with monsters."

"I'm not saying you should be. It's one thing to show no mercy, but it's like the thought doesn't even cross your mind."

Alistair let out a remorseful sigh. "And the thought scares you."

Lenoria smiled. "It's more like I don't want you to turn into someone like Spark."

"Spark." Alistair scoffed. "The fool was no paladin. His holy symbol was aquamarine in color. I scoured my books after my first meeting with him and there's no mention of that color being part of our history. It was no surprise he turned on us, really. As for your concern, well..."

"Yes?"

"It's not a sin to fight for what's right. It's a paradox to fight to end all fighting, but that is exactly why I became a paladin. But Lord Beau taught me that people rarely play fair at the hour of their death. That's why we can't let our resolve wane, not even for a second."

"Al..."

"The giant we fought last night was planning to throw burning ashes at you based on his body language. I'm glad you snapped out of your daze in time, but things could have gotten ugly if you hadn't. Enemies like those man-eating giants spared no one during their hunger binge, and I doubt they would have shown mercy to us if we had been weaker."

Lenoria applied the same logic to her school days. Bullies gave her a wide berth only after she learned how to fight. Until then, there was no escaping their harassment.

"You're right. I'll be more careful around whatever enemies we face in the future."

"I should also make sure my zeal does not go beyond what's necessary. I didn't mean to worry you. I promise to be gentle with you in word and deed."

Alistair didn't realize it, but he had set himself up to be teased by Lenoria, who did her best to hide a goofy grin. Fortunately for the young paladin, she decided against it due to being present around dozens of corpses.

"What are you going to do with them?"

"Well," Alistair said, "I was thinking of a funeral pyre. But I don't want to risk a forest fire, especially not with the manchineel trees around. Once we return to Hammer's Reach, I'll report our findings to the guards." He scratched his head. "And give them a heavily-worded scolding for releasing criminals from jail."

***

7pm

The sun was setting, and everyone was finally done with their duties. Everyone gathered by the cave entrance to discuss the next plan.

"Spark and his goon ran away. Are you satisfied with this result, Miss Aquamarine?"

"That's totally fine, Alistair. I'll write my report on the way back to Helix City. Besides, the goon they left behind had an interesting letter on him." Aqua waved around an opened envelope. "He had it in a knapsack, so it didn't get stained by any of the blood. This details some of their plans, which included their goals, movements, and setting up some dark shrines. I hope this gives me and the Church a clue to their whereabouts."

"Right, the Church. Are you a believer?"

"Not really. Religion never sat right with me, but that doesn't mean I don't help people in need. They asked for a favor, and I obliged. Nothing complicated."

Clara addressed a concern. "There is one thing that worries me. Spark said he could use the Order's resources to gather information about us and find out where our families live. I know we couldn't stop them from running away, but..."

"Let them keep their threats," Lenoria said. "It's not like my parents are helpless."

"And my family is back in Thule," Alistair said. But after seeing Clara's worried expression, his face changed. "Oh."

"Aren't your parents retired adventurers, Clara?" Lenoria said this as to remind her they were not helpless, either. "It will be okay!"

"R-right." Clara smiled, but her tone was not convincing.

"Should we return to Helix City?" Alistair asked.

"No! We spent a lot of time here already. You still have to go through the Jaguar Lands if you mean to get to Thule as fast as possible. I-I don't want Lenoria to be late just because of me. But," Clara then faced Aquamarine, "if it's not too much trouble, can I accompany you to Helix City? I-I could use some help protecting my parents from the Order."

"Miss Clara, is this truly what you want?"

"No. I wanted to travel with you guys all the way and enroll in the College of the Wilds! But this is a lot more important."

"Then we're going back with you!" Lenoria grabbed Clara's hands. "Listen here, you! I woke up today wanting to explore Hammer's Reach with you, and you're going to let some punks scare you into running away from me?!"

"No, but-"

"Lenoria is right, if you let anyone get into your head, you will have a hard time kicking them out. If it eases your worries, I don't mind returning to the city." Alistair grabbed the rock he used to contact Gabrielle. "I'm sure Lady Gabrielle will understand our delay."

"But-!"

"No buts!" Lenoria pulled Clara for a hug. "I'm not letting them take my best friend away from me."

"That's admirable and all, but don't I get a say in this?"

The main trio paused and looked at Aquamarine, who at this point had her hands on her hips with an annoyed look.

"Clara, I got sick of doing favors once the Blue Jays started asking me to wash their clothes three times a day. It was exhausting to pretend to be this sweet little girly girl who did everything they asked. And now you're trying to strong-arm me into doing you a favor. Have you no manners?"

"I just...asked if I could go back with you." Clara found it embarrassing that a woman her age was being scolded by a teenage girl.

Lenoria seemed to find it amusing, but Aqua's next words bit her just as hard. "And you! I don't know the full story, but don't you think it's silly to sacrifice your career for the sake of a friend?"

The young artificer was speechless and had no retort.

"And you," Aqua said to Alistair, "you lead a charge against something much bigger than you, but once these two get started, you automatically fall in line? Take charge! What do you want to do?"

In the end, the trio were powerless before the mighty Aquamarine.

"I guess it doesn't matter, because we're going to do this." To Clara, "You are going with your friends," and to Lenoria, "and you better treat Clara nicely after going through the trouble of staying with you for the sake of your career," and to Alistair, "and you, take command once in a while! If these two like you, they won't mind you taking charge when you're skeptical about something! Geez!"

"But," Clara said tearfully, "my parents-"

"I'll look after them. Melodious Aquamarine never abandons her friends, after all," the magical girl finished with a smile. "Just give me an address, a letter written by you explaining things, and I'll make sure those punks never lay a hand on them."

Fighting the tears, Clara walked slowly towards Aqua, which quickly became a dash and a tackle hug afterwards. "T-thank you! Thank you!"

"Gah!" Aqua pushed Clara away. Her face beet red, the magical girl stumbled in her words of admonishment. "L-listen here, y-you!" She pointed at Clara. "D-don't misunderstand! It's not like I'm doing this for you or anything! I just, uh, have nothing better to do, that's all! Be thankful Melodious Aquamarine's schedule is open all season."

After writing a letter to Clara's parents, the trio bid farewell to Aquamarine, who made her way back to Helix City while they made the return trip to Hammer's Reach.

***

9:17 pm

The return trip to Hammer's Reach went smoothly. The girls tried their best to cheer Allie up, but the young girl kept quiet throughout the entire walk back. She must feel relieved to be going back home, but the trauma of getting kidnapped and almost getting eaten would surely stay for some time.

The group was soon startled by the sound of neighing in the distance. Neighing Alistair knew too well.

"Chestnut! Is that you?" The boy whistled. "Come here, boy!"

The horse neighed in response, much louder this time.

"It is him!" Alistair followed the voice back to its source, and it didn't take long to find his steed. Chestnut had a rope around his neck, and planks of wood dangled from the reins used to pull their carriage.

"Pieces of the wagon?" Clara asked.

"Just as I feared," Lenoria mumbled.

"Who...who did this?" Alistair removed the wood from the reins. "This wood's from our wagon! What happened?"

Rewards

Encounter treated as having a party of 4-5 people.

XP awarded for stopping the machinations of three CR 3 creatures (The Order of the Blue Jay): 600

XP awarded for one CR 8 monster (Half-dragon cave giant): 1,200

Bonus XP awarded for keeping Allie safe: 360

Total XP awarded: 2,160 each

Lenoria: 14,155/15,000

Clara: 14,065/15,000

Alistair: 27,065/34,000