Lockdown

They make it to the guild and enter to find the same guards from before with a few leftover travelers with weapons and arguing with a few guards trying to get in on the fight with the forest. Sarale leans over and whispers for Tunda and Vajor to hear.

SARALE:

"Looks like we won't have to fight alone after all."

Tunda nods to Sarale and approaches the crowd. "OY! Where's the head guard and guild master!?' Tunda had no care for the arguing between the guards and travelers as he calls everyone and steals their attention. Most of them recognized him and Sarale and made way for him to pass. Sarale follows after Tunda and Vajor follows close behind her. Tunda makes his way to the back room and the door opens as the Furbolg guard steps out to greet him after hearing his shouting.

GOLDEN FURBOLG:

"Welcome back."

TUNDA:

"aye. Where's the head of the guild?"

GIRL:

"I'm back here!"

TUNDA:

"Oh, so it was you."

GIRL:

"Wh-what does that mean?"

TUNDA:

"Nothing. We know where the attackers are in the forest. we just need a few teams to invade."

Vajor's arms cross over her chest as he surveys the room and Sarale shifts her weight from foot to foot eyeing the injured with a solemn expression. Tunda explains to them what their party experienced in the forest to give them an idea of what their were dealing with. he also tells them the stories of the dead that he was able to speak to to keep the story straight. he had noticed a lot of the adventurers were ready to burn the forest down to fish out the wrong enemy, adding confusion to their worries.

GIRL:

"... B-but... if that's the case, why would the forest chase them out instead of asking for help from the druids?"

TUNDA:

"Just because he's a druid doesn't mean he's affiliated with anyone in particular. He just happens to learn to do so for the sake of his home."

Sarale:

"The forest is being overrun by homunculi; it wouldn't be safe for anyone not prepared. The reason people were being chased out was to keep them safe. He's not the source of this affliction, he's trying to quell it. A large group is an easy target for people highly trained in stealth and subterfuge. I also have reason to believe devils or demons of some kind might be influencing this cult, keeping Lolth's sight skewed from her subjects. They think they're doing her biding, while in fact they're doing the bidding of the demon. Without the proper protection the situation could be lethal to anyone, even a paladin like me. I had an incident with one myself and I've been trained to deal with fiends. If the Druid hadn't stepped in, I'd be dead. He's a bit of a recluse, but he means well."

Vajor's ears flatten as he listens to her, his arms crossing over his chest, and he glances at Tunda in frustration. Tunda glances behind him after feeling the heavy stare on his skull. There were many eyes on them, but Vajor's stare was particularly harsh on him. He looks back at the girl in front of him to ignore Vajor for a moment.

GIRL:

"Dear gods. Is that true?"

TUNDA:

"Every word of it. The druid in the forest is an alley and he's asked us for our help to cleanse the forest after finding out my sister is a druid paladin. but we don't have the manpower to fight them ourselves. If you all want to survive the coming doom that lingers there, then you can either fight or leave. The choice is yours. if you're leaving, you damn well better bring the rest of the town with you."

Vajor frowns as he uncrosses his arms and shoves his hands in his pockets.

VAJOR:

"If ya don't fight an' ya can't leave then stay indoors until we return. Limit anyone goin' to tha forest, nobody goin' would be best until we return with news. Is there a buildin' everyone in town can congregate at? Somethin' easily defendable an' preferably hallowed ground ta try an' defend against tha hellspawn."

SARALE:

"Hallowed ground won't work. Not against this demon. He's strong enough and with the fear everyone would be feeling it would likely negate the effect. Having everyone in a common area could be a good idea provided you can keep them calm. All it takes is one person to cause a panic. That could be disastrous for everyone involved."

VAJOR(sigh):

"This'll be tricky."

Girl:

"We'll do our best to help."

GUILD MEMBERS:

"So what do you expect us to do?"

"Yeah. we lost everything to those freaks."

"You expect us to just walk back in there as we are?"

TUNDA:

"don't you idiots realize how many of us are in here? What kind of lazy excuse is that!? We just said if you want to leave, then fucking leave. Ain't no one's stoppin' you cowards! you don't wanna avenge your fallen comrades then spare us the trouble of draggin' your carcasses back."

FURBOLG WOMAN:

"the shadar-kai's right. If yur not gonna help, then quit yur bitchin an go. Now. and while your at it, you can hand over your guild licenses too."

The group that complained went completely silent. None of them wanted to lose their license but they didn't want to be part of fight they felt they couldn't win either. The furbolg woman goes into the crowd and stands in front of them waiting for their answer. one of them finally caves and hands over their license and rushes out the door. a few others start to line up to do the same, leaving over half the guild left to help.

TUNDA:

"So everyone here is fine with this?"

GUILD MEMBERS:

"If it means taking back my checkpoint, then I'm all for it."

"I gotta redeem myself for running off on my friends when I couldn't find them in the woods. I must make up for my mistake of leaving them behind."

TUNDA:

"Then get some gear, some food, and plenty of potions. cuz we're all gonna need em."

Vajor huffs as he watches the members leave and shakes his head in annoyance.

VAJOR:

"We still need a way ta defend tha common folk."

Sarale sighs and rubs the back of her neck.

SARALE:

"I might be able to put a blessing around the building. The concentration for that alone would be difficult to maintain, unless I was able to gather the necessary tools to cast it ritualistically. If that were the case I could even cast it over the guildhall."

GUILD MEMBERS:

"allow us to help you with the ritual then. Please."

A few adventurers approach them. Most of them seemed to be clerics with a few paladins following after them.

CLERIC:

"We may have what you need for it, and if you will have us, two of our clerics will join you for the fight."

GUILD MEMBERS:

"here as well!"

A few fighters and mages call out. The rest of the guild was ready to fight back. Sarale smiles and nods.

SARALE:

"Alright, fighters and mages go with Tunda and Vajor and the commander. They'll give you the rundown on what we should be expecting and introduce you to the rest of our comrades. After we're done with the blessing we'll meet up with everyone and you can fill us in on the strategy. (to guild master) Does that sound good to you?"

FURBOLG WOMAN(guild master[GM]):

"aye. it does. But I'll need to know what we're up against to help the most I can."

TUNDA:

"I got you covered. Vajor, can you lead the guild back to the tavern?"

Vajor:

"Aye, let's go. I'll introduce ya ta Karma and Aktlass."

Sarale, the Paladins, and Clerics begin to set up for the ritual. Gathering the necessary items and prepping the guildhall. A stubby looking adventurer with a large scar covering half his pale face approaches them to greet Sarale.

ADVENTURER:

"Ey der', miss. you n' ya bruda' gotta way wi' words."

Sarale looks towards the sound of the voice and smiles when she recognizes the man she healed the night before.

SARALE:

"We're just doing the best we can. How are you feeling?"

ADVENTURER:

"beda 'anks ta ya help, lass." the man pulls a large glaive from the sleeve on his back. "if you don' mind it, I'd like ta join ya all on dis purge o'dah hells."

Tunda and the man make eye contact as if they had connected somehow. He simply cringes at the sight of the man when he sees the scar on his face. the man simply smiles at him with recognition.

ADVENTURER(Rodneharts):

"dah names be Rodneharts. hope you can have me."

SARALE:

"My friends call me Sarale, we'd be glad to have you on board Rodneharts."

Rodneharts bows his head as his fist thumps his chest.

RODNEHARTS:

"you ave me tanks."

TUNDA:

"I'm called Tunda... You'll be with me for a while. to see the druid."

Rodneharts smiles brightly at the mention of the visit. Vajor touches Sarale's back gently.

VAJOR:

"be careful, dove."

Sarale smiles up at him and nods.

SARALE:

"Of course, you too. We'll catch up when we're done here."

Vajor nods and motions for the others to join him as he leaves the guildhall to meet back up with Aktlass and Karma. Sarale watches him leave, her brows drawing together as she glances at Tunda.

SARALE:

"brother, please be careful."

Tunda gives her a hug and pats her head.

TUNDA:

"I'll be back to ya soon, sister."

He looks at the guild master and she nods to him.

TUNDA:

"Let's get moving. we shouldn't waste time."

RODNEHARTS:

"ey, sir."

GM:

"lead the way."

GIRL:

"Let me go with you too! I can be of help."

TUNDA:

"Then get your second in command to take care of things here. we need to go."

GIRL:

"Right."

Sarale watches them leave, concern clear on her face as one of the paladins rests his hand on her shoulder.

PALADIN:

"They'll be alright. They have each other to rely on."

SARALE:

"you're right, we should get started and meet up with them."

She turns back and smiles at the others.

SARALE:

"Everyone ready?"

The others nod and get in position to start the ritual.

CLERIC:

"Ready as we'll ever be."

"Let's get started. what do you need?"

SARALE:

"We'll need holy water, rare incense, and I'll supply the powdered ruby. Are any of you familiar with the forbiddance spell?"

Everyone in the group pulls out the different items she named from their bags of holding; others from their large pouches. they hand them to her waiting for their next order. all with proud smiles. Sarale pulls the pouch of powdered rubies from her bag and sets up the ritual circle with the components.

SARALE:

"Alright, I need everyone to take a position around the circle and repeat after me. While chanting, focus on fiends and undead. It'll protect the people inside the barrier from those types specifically. The homunculi aren't hard to defend against. They're fragile and easily slain. The barrier will protect against magical travel and cause damage to any fiend or undead that enters it and remains inside. Let me know when you're all ready."

everyone quickly does as she says. Sarale begins chanting, her eyes shutting, and saying the words slowly for the others to repeat. Their voices meld with hers as they begin to chant faster and with purpose. The material components begin to glow a golden radiant light as a runic circle appears on the ground and rises up off the floor forming a barrier. The barrier burns brighter and bursts out in a large circle that grows and domes to encompass the building and some of the area outside of the guildhall. After the ritual is complete Sarale opens her eyes and sighs the glow that had encompassed them fading as she collects her powdered rubies.

SARALE:

"That should do. You can collect your materials and we can head to meet up with Vajor and the others. Then we'll go find my brother. Do any of you want to stay behind to help in the event the guildhall gets attacked?"

Most of the clerics and a few paladins raise their hands to stay. the others step forward to go with her, all with determination in their stance.

SARALE:

"Alright, I appreciate all of your willingness to help. The people are your charges now, keep them safe. The rest of you come with me, I'll introduce you to the rest of my comrades. We'll be fighting together. It'll be good to know each other's names. You can call me Sarale."

She gives them all a bow with her fist to her chest. The group does the same.

CLERICS/PALADINS:

"We'll be in your care, Sarale."

"Let's catch up to your brother."

"or should we go find your mate?"

SARALE(blush):

"We'll find Vajor first, then we can all go find Tunda together. It'll be easier than having them explain the plan multiple times and we can ensure all questions, comments, and concerns are answered then. Does that sound alright?"

CLERICS/PALADINS:

"yes, miss!"

"lead the way. we're ready when you are."