Chương 186: Chapter 185 [Feathers And Fury]

Lauren moved the owlbear forward on the map, its movement clearing more space than most of the group were expecting.

"It doesn't hesitate," she said.

"Comes barrelling in — straight for Bjorn, since he's closest — but that's its whole turn used up just getting there. Sam, you're first up."

"Tywin casts Bless," Sam said, already rolling.

"On Torren, Leo, and Phil."

"Take a d4 to your next attack rolls and saving throws, all three of you," Lauren said.

"Rika, you're up."

"Aura casts Fire Bolt at it," Rika said, rolling.

"Fourteen to hit."

"That lands." She rolled damage.

"Seven."

"Scorches its shoulder," Lauren said.

"Barely seems to notice. Torren, your go."

"Bjorn swings," Torren said, rolling.

"Nine to hit, plus the Bless."

"Not enough. It shifts just out of range."

"Titus tries next," Leo said, rolling.

"Sixteen to hit."

"That connects." He rolled damage.

"Ten."

"The glaive catches it across the midsection," Lauren said.

"Draws real blood this time. Phil, you're up."

"Sylas isn't in stealth this round," Phil said, rolling.

"Twelve to hit, plus Bless." He rolled the bonus die.

"Three. Fifteen total."

"That's enough to land." He rolled damage, pulled a face at the result.

"Four. Not exactly my best work."

"Dagger nicks it, nothing more," Lauren said.

"Shai, your turn."

"Lydia fires," Shai said, rolling.

"Nine to hit."

"Misses. The arrow skims past its ear."

"Barry's up," Luka said, already lifting the little one-handed crossbow he'd loaded before the fight started.

"Firing this time, not singing at it." He rolled.

"Fifteen to hit."

"That's a hit." He rolled damage.

"Six."

"Bolt catches it in the flank," Lauren said.

"Steve — anything from you?" Everyone looked toward Parmo, who grinned back.

"Squeak."

"Wow. Nice going with the roleplay. Idiot," laughed Phil.

"Steve does nothing," Lauren said after matching Parmo's grin, and moved the miniature.

"Round two. It's still standing, still angry, and it's noticed Sylas to its flank. It swings its clawed paw."

"Oh god, I'm playing rogue, man, can't it attack someone else?" Lauren laughed.

"Multiattack." She checked her notes.

"Claw first." She rolled.

"Sixteen to hit."

"That lands."

"Nine damage."

"Fuck..."

"Bite's next," Lauren said, rolling again.

"Fourteen to hit."

"Lands again." Another roll.

"Eleven." Phil did the math, and his face fell.

"Yeah, I'm on zero. Am I dead?" The table went quiet.

"Not yet," Lauren said.

"You're unconscious. When your turn comes round, you'll need to make a death saving throw — roll a d20, ten or higher's a success. Three fails before then and it's over, but if someone heals you before your turn comes up, you never even have to roll."

"I'll try and get you up before then, dude," Sam said.

"No worries."

"That's very reassuring coming from someone who hasn't rolled yet," Phil said.

"It's all good, dude. I don't need to roll to heal — just for how much."

"Oh, fair enough then. Nice." Lauren nodded at the bearded healer.

"Your turn, Sam."

"Tywin's already moving," Sam said, reaching for his dice before Lauren had even finished.

"Cure Wounds." He rolled.

"Six healing."

"That's enough to bring him back up," Lauren said.

"Not much of a buffer, though."

"Jesus. Was worried I was going to die off before Parmo's fucking weed wizard over there." Sam glanced over at Torren while sorting his dice back into a pile.

"You're not raging, by the way."

"I'm not?"

"Not once this fight." Torren looked down at his sheet, properly this time.

"... Huh."

"Bonus action. Costs nothing, halves physical damage while it's up, and you still get your full attack same turn."

"I'm an idiot."

"Nah, man, it's a lot to learn first time you play and you don't have the benefit of seeing or hearing about people playing like Luka does. You're doing fine, man." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Rika, your turn," Lauren said.

"Aura casts Magic Missile," Rika said, already rolling the damage dice without waiting for a to-hit prompt.

"Three darts, straight at it."

"Nice. You don't need to roll for hit, just damage," Lauren said.

"Awesome." She rolled.

"Four, three, two. Nine total."

"All three darts slam into it at once," Lauren said.

"It shrieks properly this time."

"Torren, your turn."

"Bjorn rages," Torren said, "then swings." He rolled.

"Seventeen to hit."

"That lands." He rolled damage, added the rage bonus.

"Fourteen total."

"The axe bites into the beast's front leg," Lauren said.

"It staggers. It's bleeding freely now, favouring one side badly."

"Leo, you're up."

"Titus swings," Leo said, rolling.

"Eight to hit."

"Misses."

"Man, that sucks."

"Phil, your turn." Phil considered his options for a second.

"Sylas tries to disengage and get back into cover so he can try and set up a proper sneak attack next round instead of just standing here getting mauled."

"Reasonable," Lauren said.

"Roll stealth once you're clear." He rolled.

"Fourteen."

"Enough. You break line of sight behind one of the wooden platforms."

"Shai, your go."

"Lydia fires," Shai said, rolling.

"Ten to hit."

"Misses as well." Shai groaned.

"Why do we keep missing? Fuck this game," Phil complained. Leo and Sam smirked at each other.

"Luka, your turn."

"Barry fires his crossbow, taking an overly flamboyant stance while doing so," Luka said, rolling.

"Seven to hit."

"Misses."

"Holy shit, it's so tanky."

"Steve?" Lauren asked.

"Steve shifts back to his humanoid form," Parmo said.

"That uses your whole action," Lauren said.

"Fair enough." Parmo dropped straight into Steve's stoned drawl, staring at the owlbear like he was seeing it clearly for the first time.

"Whoa, dudes. What the hell is that? Did one of the goblins eat some of old John's stew? I have it on good authority he puts all sorts of weird stuff in there." The table looked at him. Rika didn't miss a beat.

"Really? How do you know that?"

"Well," Parmo said, entirely straight-faced, "'cos I'm the one giving him the weird stuff."

"You're loving this, aren't you?" asked Luka, with a wide smile.

"Little bit," said Parmo, with a grin.

"Okay, back to the Owlbear's turn," said Lauren.

"It turns its black eyes on you, Bjorn." She rolled her dice.

"That's a twenty-two to hit."

"Hits," Torren said, sitting up straight.

"It swipes its claws at your chest. Eighteen damage."

"Bjorn's raging," Torren reminded her, already calculating in his head.

"So nine."

"Nine damage taken," Lauren agreed, nodding in approval.

"Bjorn takes the hit like a wall of granite, blood spraying across his chest as he shoves the beak back."

"Sam, you're up," Lauren repeated, looking across the table.

"Tywin steps in to take the pressure off Bjorn," Sam said, rolling his d20.

"Eighteen to hit! Swinging the mace straight for its ribs!" He rolled his d6.

"Seven bludgeoning!"

"Solid strike, bones crack under the blow," Lauren said.

"Rika!" Rika reached for her dice.

"Aura casts Fire Bolt again!" She rolled her d20, showed the face to Sam, and beamed when he nodded.

"Sixteen to hit!" She picked up her d10, let it fly, and Sam pointed out the face for her.

"Eight fire damage!"

"A blast of flame punches right into the beast's chest, scorching feathers and flesh," Lauren said.

"Torren, back to you."

"Bjorn swings again," Torren said, rolling his d20.

"Seventeen to hit, plus Bless." He rolled his d4.

"Three! Twenty total."

"Hits," Lauren said.

"Thirteen slashing," Torren called out, reading his damage die.

"The axe bites deep into its shoulder, tearing more feathers loose," Lauren said.

"Leo, your go."

"Titus lunges over Bjorn's shoulder with the glaive," Leo announced, dice clattering.

"Twenty-one to hit! Plus Bless... another two, so twenty-three. Ten damage!"

"Glaive catches it deep in the flank," Lauren said.

"Phil, you're up."

"Sylas steps out from cover behind the platform," Phil called out, rolling his d20 with a sharp flick of his wrist.

"Twenty-four to hit! Sneak attack!" He rolled his pool of dice.

"Sixteen damage!"

"Sylas buries both daggers under its wing," Lauren said.

"Shai, take your shot!" Shai rolled her d20, held it up for Leo, and got a quick thumbs-up.

"Eighteen to hit! Plus... three," she said, checking the extra die.

"Twenty-one!"

"Hits," Lauren said.

"Eight damage!"

"Arrow sinks right into its neck," Lauren said. She looked down at her notes behind the screen, counted up the massive pile of total damage, and her mouth dropped open. For a second, pure shock hit her face before she caught herself — the beast was standing on a single, solitary hit point. The lads caught the look immediately.

"Oh, it's on its absolute last legs!" Phil cheered, pointing across the table.

"Look at her face!"

"It's wobbling," Lauren said quickly, trying to cover, though her grin gave it away.

"It's coughing up blood, swaying on its feet, barely holding itself up. Luka, your turn." Luka picked up his crossbow, rolled, and winced.

"Nine to hit..."

"Misses. It sways right out of the bolt's path," Lauren said. She turned her eyes to the end of the table.

"Steve?" Parmo sat up properly, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Steve casts Thorn Whip." He rolled his spell attack.

"Fifteen to hit."

"Hits!" Lauren said. Parmo rolled his d6.

"Four damage!"

"How do you want to do this?" Lauren asked, grinning behind her screen.

"Wrap it round its throat and choke the bastard out," Parmo said, deadpan.

"Thick, thorny vines sprout from Steve's palm," Lauren described, leaning forward over the map.

"They lash out through the air, whipping straight around the Owlbear's massive neck. Steve yanks back hard, and the thorns dig deep into its throat, strangling the last bit of life out of the beast. Blood squirts out from every single wound you lot carved into it, spraying across the cavern floor before the massive creature finally collapses, hitting the stone lifeless with a heavy, deafening thud." Silence held for a brief second before the whole table let out a collective breath.

"Combat over," Lauren said, smiling at them all.

"You're all still standing."

"Jesus, that was tense," said Phil, blowing out a breath.

"Whoa, hang on a second. Leo, does that seem like the reaction of someone not enjoying themselves?" Leo stared at Phil, who rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't think it is, mate. Almost seems like the guy who claimed group make-believe was going to be boring as fuck actually enjoyed himself. Strange." The table laughed as Phil gave the pair the finger.

"Okay, fine. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I can see why people enjoy this."

"Just wait 'til we get more levels, dude. Some of the shit you can pull off, you're going to love it," laughed Sam.

"We'll see. Anyway. We loot the place, right?" Phil asked, already reaching for his die.

"Go for it," Lauren said.

"Roll investigation, whoever's looking." Phil rolled, then Rika, then Luka trailing a beat behind.

"Between the three of you," Lauren said, "you find a fair bit of coin scattered between the platforms — enough that it's worth splitting properly rather than counting on the spot. Some decent gear as well, though nobody's quite sure what half of it actually does yet. And further back, past where the owlbear was chained, a few more tunnels head off deeper into the rock. Looks like this cave system goes a lot further than just this."

"More rooms?" Sam asked.

"Loads more," Lauren said, glancing at her map, most of it still covered in paper.

"This was never going to be a one-session dungeon."

"So there's more?" Rika asked, practically bouncing again.

"There's more." Lauren checked her watch, then did a visible double take.

"But unfortunately, not tonight. I need to be up early to open this place back up." A few of them glanced at their own watches. Phil's eyes went wide.

"Wait — how the fuck is it this late?" Lauren, Leo, and Sam all grinned at once.

"That's D&D, mate," Sam said. Phil let out a long breath, leaning back in his chair like the question needed proper consideration.

"If I had my PC and internet back, I don't think I'd be up for this most nights. But with no League, nothing competitive online out here — this isn't a bad alternative."

"High praise," Leo said, grinning.

"I loved it," Luka said, cutting through before Phil could argue further.

"No hesitation at all. That nat twenty on the persuasion check — that was exactly what I hoped this would feel like. It was sick."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Lauren said.

"You did an awesome job as DM," Sam said.

"Seriously. Great first session."

"Really good," Torren agreed, and the rest murmured much the same. Lauren smiled properly at that.

"Thanks. Means a lot coming from all of you." She started gathering her books and dice back into their bag.

"Let me know when you're all free again, and we'll pick it back up."