Housepets: World of Fantasy

[NHWestoN]

Collar and license always give it away.

[Krytus The Dreamer]

If you do end up drawing then posting and digitally coloring an OC or other character, can the character instead be a hunk male please? XD

cause of the proposition I was given earlier today, I may be able to quench your thirst not now, but eventually, I do need more things to practice on, after all, both anatomically and digital coloring wise. since I had the majority of the sketch already down so I didn't feel like reworking the anatomy so here she is.



She's a Bard who's mute but her main form of bardic magic/inspiration come from her dual-wielding prowess, dancing skill and ability weave in and around her targets while ensnaring them in her ribbons, a fighting style she learned from the bardic college of swords. Also, her ribbons are magical and grow back to the size they were if they've been cut or torn.

also also, yes I am aware that she's basically a gender-bent version of my HP character, but while fiddling around with what dnd class I find interesting I eventually settled down to bard and I wanted to do something fun with her

[D-Rock]

She looks really good, and that fighting style sounds awesome! Neat swords, kinda look like cutlass'.

[Amazee Dayzee]

She looks like a taller and more action-orientated version of Tarot! I love how this has came out!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

I'm not caught up with this story, but these character drawings are really cool!

[JageshemashFTW]

Bino had his disguise, and the fact that the kitchen had a good half-dozen or so chefs milling about, entirely focused on the task of feeding a whole manor of insatiable nobles, meant he was able to blend in with the hustle and bustle quite easily.

Peanut and Sasha were still waiting just outside for Bino to find some way to either clear out the kitchen or, if Breel was really in some underground pantry, find some way to smuggle Breel to them.

Bino did notice that there was apparently a door leading to some kind of storage room. More so, he noticed a sign crudely attached to the door that read ‘Restrictive Access’.

They might as well have put up a big sign that said ‘Prisoner Here’.

Still, Bino needed to confirm his suspicions, so he started blending in, taking a few discarded plates and bringing them to the sink to wash them. There was a conveyor of workers handing plates to and from one another as they washed.

Bino nonchalantly inserted himself into the conveyor, rinsing his dishes then passing them down the line.

“That thing is such an eyesore.” Bino lamented, gesturing to the sign on the door, working his frou-frou accent up. “When will they take it down already?”

The worker next to him shrugged. “Believe me, friend. You are not saying anything I haven’t thought a million times. Ever since Lord Rainier imported those exotic vegetables, the head chef has been so paranoid of letting anyone back there.”

That sounded promising. Bino needed just a little more info to clear all doubts.

“How long has it been now? I can tell you now any vegetables brought from out of Babylon will not last long in our storage.” Bino asked.

“Ah, how long has it been again?” The worker wondered himself. “Remi, you would know?” He asked another worker further down the line.

“Couldn’t have been more than a week ago.”

Bingo.

Bino washed his hands then walked away from the sink. “I have to speak to the head chef. I still need him to taste the entree I’ve been preparing.”

It wasn’t exactly difficult picking the head chef from the other workers. Just look for the man with the tallest hat and the shortest temper.

True enough, the head chef was currently engaging another chef over what he apparently considered poor prep work.

Bino mercifully saved the poor boy, who looked close to being on the verge of tears, by tapping the head chef on the shoulder.

“Excusez monsieur?” Bino said.

“What!? What!? What is it you want!?” The chef ranted, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. “Like children, little babies, always crying to daddy! What do you want!?”

Oh, Bino was going to enjoy this.

“Forgive me monsieur, but I need you to taste this next entree to ensure it is perfect.” Bino said, being sure to give a most respectful bow of the head.

“Yes, yes. Alright, already. Show me the pitiful slop.”

It didn’t really matter what Bino took credit for, so long as no other chef was around to contradict him. Ah, an abandoned station of mini-weenies in a slow-cooker. No doubt left behind by the poor fellow now sharing a bunk in a closet with the guard.

“Right this way, monsieur.” Bino said, gesturing towards the mini-weenies. “I just need to be sure this next batch is ready to go out.”

The head chef sniffed disdainfully over the snack, clearly thinking it beneath his palette. But he swallowed his pride and plucked a weenie in his mouth all the same.

“Idiot boy! You forgot the hollandaise! I should fire you right now you incompetent mealworm!” The head chef ranted at Bino.

Bino bowed his head low in shame. “A thousand apologies, monsieur. I must have accidentally used the poison instead.”

“Do not make excuses you pitiful… what did you just say?” A look of panic flashed across the chef’s face.

“I think we can put an end to the performance, don’t you?” Bino said in his normal voice. “The poison is currently working its way through you now. I imagine you will be dead within the next ten minutes or so.” Bino scratched his chin. “Quite horribly, too. I’ve seen what this stuff does to people. Not a pretty sight.”

“I-” The head chef started to say, all of the color starting to fade from his face.

“Oh, and if you try to call for help or anything clever, well…” Bino lifted the apron on his disguise, revealing his daggers just out of view from the rest of the kitchen. “Let’s just say you won’t have to worry about the poison.”

The head chef wisely clammed up.
“Now, here is what is going to happen. You and me are going to take a very casual stroll through that door. Once were on the other side, I’ll give you the antidote to the poison. Nod if you understand.” Bino said.

The head chef nodded.

“Good boy.” Bino said. “After you.”
---
Bino will give the chef credit, he remained calm throughout the whole charade. Or maybe he was just terrified beyond the ability to outwardly display it. Considering the veins threatening to pop off his clenched fists, Bino was betting on the latter.

The door to the storage closed behind him, and Bino saw exactly what he wanted to see: A set of stone stairs leading underground.

“Alright, I did what you wanted.” The head chef said, his accent apparently just as phony as Bino’s considering he no longer bothered with it. “Now where’s the antidote?”

Bino punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

“Idiot.” Bino remarked before picking up the chef and unceremoniously dropping him behind a stack of wooden crates.
---
“I’d say I wasn’t so sure I deserved that…” Zach said, sputtering out the last bit of wine that got caught up his nose. “But that would be a lie.”

“Oh, you deserve far worse, bunny-boy…” Jessica snarled. The few nobles who noticed the display quickly averting their eyes when Jessice turned her glare towards them.

“Jessica, I know you have no reason to believe me, but all I can give you is my word that my brothers and I never betrayed the Rajann.” Zach pleaded, hoping he could pacify Jessica before Lady Kay took notice of them.

“Oh, I know that.” Jessice said flippantly, rolling her eyes as though it were obvious.

“Y-You do?” Zach said, surprised.

“I never believed that you’d be capable of that, Zach.” Jessica admitted. “I knew Jata was lying the second he opened his mouth.”

“Oh.” Zach said, now more confused than before. “If that’s the case… Then why the wine bath?”

“Why?” Jessica parroted, her anger returning in full force. “Because you left, that’s why!”
“You were Rajann, Zach. Temporarily, I know, but we still considered you part of the tribe. And you just… abandoned us in the middle of a battle. Do you have any idea how many Rajann perished that day? How many could have been saved if you and your brothers stayed to help?”

“Jessica, I’m so sorry.” Zach pleaded. “I wanted to go back and help, but my brothers were worried the Rajann would kill us. You didn’t see the look in their eyes Jessica. You might have believed us, but the other Rajann wouldn’t.”

“So that’s it?” Jessica scoffed. “You really think that, even if the Rajann believed Jata’s lies, that we would just kill you? Is that what you thought of us, Zach? Barbarians and savages?”

Zach was silent for a bit. “You are right to be mad at me. I knew it was a mistake to leave, but I did it anyway.”

Jessica exhaled a sharp sigh. “Save your pity-party for your own time, Zach. That’s not why I’m here.”

Zach did raise an eyebrow at that. “Um… That does beg the question: Why are you here? Certainly, you wouldn’t know I would be here, so I can only imagine you’re here for your own reasons.”

“In a sense, it does have to do with you.” Jessica said. “I’m here to try and find out how exactly Jata found our camp.”

“What?” Zach asked.

“Think about it, Zach.” Jessica said. “It was very convenient for Jata to have a scapegoat to blame for finding our camp just when we happened to take in a group of outsiders.”

“You think…” Zach began. “You think Jata arranged for us to be in the camp?”

“It makes sense.” Jessica said. “If we somehow slipped up or, gods forbid, have an actual traitor within the tribe, then we would devote all of our efforts to finding the weak link. But if we already had someone to blame, then Jata’s source would remain undiscovered.”

“Do you remember how you got sick in the first place?” Jessica asked.

“I was cursed. Soulrot, wasn’t it? Elaine thought a necromancer… Wait, you don’t mean…?” Zach said.

“Exactly. I think Jata managed to get a necromancer on his payroll, then landed on the three of you to play his patsies.” Jessica said. “When I brought my theory to Lucretia, she… was hesitant to believe it, but she still gave me leave to investigate it myself.”
“Wait, Lucretia? What about Miles? Is he…?”

“Alive, but…” Jessica paused, wondering how much she should actually tell Zach. “He’s in a coma, Zach. Whatever poison Jata used on him, it’s caused his body to completely shut down. He’s been asleep for over a year now.”

“What about the water? I thought it could cure anything!” Zach said.

“It’s the strangest thing. We tried the water, but it only seemed to make things worse. According to Elaine, whatever was in that poison reacted… violently to our water. Whatever it is, it’s not natural. I think the same necromancer who poisoned you also poisoned Miles. What’s odd is that this is the very first thing we’ve ever encountered the water couldn’t cure. It’s like it was tailor-made to fight against it.”

“But…” Zach trailed off. “None of that explains what your doing here and now?”

“There aren’t many necromancers in Babylon, Zach. A handful at most. I figured if I could track down at least one, then I’d either have a good chance of finding the one working for Jata, or at least get an idea where other necromancers might be.” Jessica looked askance. “Not the most airtight plan, I’ll admit, but it’s the best I can do with what I have, which isn’t much.”

“The reason I’m here is because the Lord of this manor has quite a few nasty rumors about him. Shady deals in the dead of night, servants who go missing while the staff is pressed into silence. It could be nothing, or it could be something. Either way, I intend to find out. A forged invitation and a stolen dress later, and here I am.”

Jessica took a swig of what little was left in her wine glass. “Look, I get that you’re here for your own business, so I’ll tell you what: You don’t interfere with my business, and I won’t interfere with yours.” With that, Jessica turned to leave, making way towards the outdoor gardens behind the manor. She stopped a turned to face Zach once more. “Whatever your relationship is the Rainier woman, be careful. Whatever her father does behind closed doors, she is absolutely complacent in it.”

Zach quickly held up his hands. “Nono! It’s not like that at all! I’m just pretending to be interested so as to distract her.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Was that supposed to console me? Don’t feel as though you’re obligated to protect my feelings, Zach. Whatever there was between us…” Jessica trailed off. “Was a long time ago. I’ve gotten over it.”

Zach had to stop himself from saying “But I haven’t.”

Instead, he merely watched her leave through the archway to the outside. With a sigh, Zach turned towards his impromptu stage. He still had a show to put on.
---
Bino couldn’t believe his luck, the good and the bad. At the bottom of the stone stairs was a large chamber. Indeed, it looks as though it was mainly used for storage for the kitchen above, but the presence of a bound and gagged marten, tied by his wrists to one of the supporting wooden posts, told Bino that is was currently far more than that.

To complicate things, Bino spied two of the Rainier’s guards at attention, thankfully having not seen Bino yet as he peeked around the corner of a wall separating the stairs from the room.

Bino weighed his options. While he was no pushover in a fight, he didn’t like his odds in a two-to-one engagement. Especially considering the not-too-small swords both guards had sheathed at their sides.

Bino definitely could use Peanut’s help here, but he couldn’t think of a way to get him passed all the kitchen staff upstairs.

With a sigh, Bino realized that he would just have to handle this himself. He would just have to be smart about it.

Reaching into his belt, he pulled out an innocuous looking gray marble, about the size of a pearl. Bino considered the distance and the position of the guards, before flicking the marble right at their feet.

A sound was released like a bag of air suddenly popping before the entire room was covered in thick, choking smoke.

“What the-! What’s going on!” One of the guards yelled out, already drawing his sword.

Bino was already charging ahead, pulling a piece of cloth up from his neck to cover his mouth. He drew his daggers and flipped them to hold them underhanded.

One of the guards spotted Bino’s shadow drawing near, and gave a blind swing with his sword in his general direction. Deflecting the sloppy attack with his dagger, Bino lunged at the guard and wrapped his arm around his neck, pulling him down to the ground and putting pressure on his windpipe. Bino lifted his dagger and struck the guard’s head it’s pommel, knocking him out cold.

The smoke was already starting to dissipate as the other guard started to see Bino more clearly, raising his sword to chop into the thief.

Bino released his hold on the guard to roll out of the way of the other guard’s sword, hearing it clang on the stone floor just behind him.

Rolling to his feet, Bino reached into the pouch hanging off his belt and flicked a throwing knife at the still conscious guard’s hand. The knife grazed the top of the hand, forcing the guard to drop his sword as he winced in pain, holding his cut hand tight.

With not even a second to act, Bino lunged forward again, stepping on the jutted out knee of the guard to bring his own knee to the guard’s chin. The guard took a startled step back before Bino brought the pommel of his dagger down on his head, knocking him unconscious as well.

Bino took a second to consider the fact that, by these guard’s perspective, they had just been assaulted by one of the manor’s cooking staff. That was sure to be an interesting conversation to their employer.

Setting that thought aside from now, Bino knelt down to the bound captive, taking in his appearance.

It only just now dawned on Bino that Prince Keene never bothered to give them a description as to what Breel looked like. Bino supposed Peanut and Grape would have seen him around the castle so they might be able to identify him, but Peanut and Grape weren’t here right now.

Still, Bino felt pretty confident that this was the man they were looking for. A brown marten with a peanut-colored tuft on his chest. Unless Lord Rainier made a habit of kidnapping and extortion, Bino figured he wouldn’t find any other imprisoned mustelids around.

Working as gently as he could, Bino removed the gag from Breel’s mouth, and had to wince when he saw how beaten and battered the Prince’s boyfriend actually was. Bino very quickly decided it was a good move on his part to bring Sasha along with them.

Breel himself was still unconscious, and Bino wasn’t sure if waking him in his condition would be the smartest thing to do.

Still, awake or not, Bino still had to figure out a way to get him past the kitchens and back to Peanut and Sasha.

He looked around the storage room for anything he could use when his eyes fell on a spare serving cart. A little more searching led him to find a piece of linen in the laundry that looked clean at least.

Well, he was still in his chef disguise, Bino thought. And the guests were probably waiting for more entrees.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really love how this chapter turned out! Awesome job!

[JageshemashFTW]

So, purely for the funzies, I've decided to make some D&D character sheets for all of the main characters while I'm working on the next chapter. It should be noted that I played so loosey-goosey with character creation to better match their depiction in the story. While World of Fantasy is heavily inspired by D&D, it's not a 1-to-1 parallel, so for any D&D nerds out there, I'm sorry if anything you see here gives you a brain aneurysm. (Sasha's sheet is going to be the most... interesting by far.)
Couple things to keep in mind, while their Race will say things like Cat, Dog, Rabbit, etc. Pretty much all character sheets are built with Variant Human rules. Also, the character sheets made here use a special Homebrew rule I use where if your Background gives you a Proficiency you already have, you don't gain an extra Proficiency. I just always thought gaining a random specialization that might not match your Class or Background was a bit too odd.

Anyway, without further ado, here's Grape's character sheet. More to come soon.

Name: Grape
Level: 3
Race: Cat
Age: 21 (In WoF, animals age like humans due to the magic of Narrative Convenience.)
Sex: Female
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Lawful Good
Class: Fighter
Background: Soldier (Infantryman)

AC: 21

STR: 16 (+3)
CON: 14 (+2)
DEX: 13 (+1)
INT: 12 (+1)
WIS: 11 (+0)
CHA: 10 (+0)

Hit Dice: 3d10
HP: 28

Class Traits:
Fighting Styles:
-Defense: While wearing armor, you gain a +1 Bonus to AC
Second Wind: On your turn, use your Bonus Action to restore 1d10+Fighter Level to your HP. Requires Short Rest between uses.
Action Surge: On your turn, take an additional Action on top of your Main Action and possible Bonus Action. Requires Short Rest between uses.
Martial Archetype - Shield Master:
-Shield Bash: You can perform a Shield Bash attack with a Bonus Action as though you were attacking with your off-hand. This attack deals 1d4 damage plus your STR mod.
-Armorer: You gain Proficiency with Artisan’s (Smith) Tools. In addition, when repairing or fashioning a shield or piece of armor, add half of your Prof. Bonus.
-Shield Maneuvers: You gain the ability to use Shield Maneuvers powered by Armament Dice. Each Shield Maneuver can only be used once per round. Saving Throws regarding Shield Maneuvers are calculated as DC=8+Prof. Bonus+STR or DEX modifier.
-Armament Dice: You have a pool of four d8s that can be used to perform Shield Maneuvers. An Armament Die is expended upon use and requires a short rest to replenish this pool.
--Barrier Defense: If caught in an Area of Effect damage, you can roll an Armament Die as a reaction. You automatically gain Advantage on DEX Saving Throws in response to the attack and you reduce damage by the roll of your Armament Die.
--Shield Slam: You can make a Shove Attack as a Bonus Action, dealing 1d6 plus STR mod in Bludgeoning Damage. Roll an Armament Die, and add the result to you opposed STR (Athletics) check to either knock the opposing creature prone or push it 5 feet away.
--Swift Block: As a reaction, you can use your shield to block an oncoming attack to you or an adjacent ally. The attack automatically suffers Disadvantage and, if it still hits, the damage is reduced by one of your Armament Die rolls.

Feats:
Grappler:
-You gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against creatures you are currently grappling.
-You can use your Main Action to pin a creature you are currently grappling. Make a second Grapple Check, if successful, you and the creature you are grappling are both restrained until the grapple ends.
-Creatures one size larger than you no longer automatically succeed on checks to escape your grapple.

Armor: Plate Armor (+18), Kite Shield (+2)
Weapons: Short Sword (Dmg: 1d6 Piercing) Finesse, Light

Proficiencies:
Armor: All armors, shields
Weapons: All Simple Weapons, All Martial Weapons
Tools: Chess, Carts
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Athletics, Insight, Intimidation

Equipment:
Insignia of Rank (Babylon Royal Guard)
Torn piece of a banner
Short Sword
Kite Shield
Set of common clothes
Explorer’s Pack

Appearance: Purple cat with white-purple muzzle and stomach and yellow eyes.

(Yes, I know her Ability Scores are unusually high for her Level. Believe it or not, she just rolled really lucky during creation. I choose to believe it's just Grape's radiant awesomeness increasing her Scores.)

[Krytus The Dreamer]

I always thought she was a paladin till i realized she hasn't cast any magic whatsoever

[Amazee Dayzee]

This came out very nice! Awesome job! I especially like the stats you posted!

[JageshemashFTW]

And here's Bino's sheet. At first glance, it looks like Rogue's are rather overpowered, but really they just have a lot of options. This will probably be the last one until after the next chapter is uploaded. Hope you guys are enjoying these!

Name: Bino
Level: 3
Race: Dog
Age: 19
Sex: Male
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Class: Rogue
Background: Criminal (Burglar)

AC: 15

STR: 13 (+1)
CON: 13 (+1)
DEX: 17 (+3)
INT: 9 (-1)
WIS: 15 (+2)
CHA: 12 (+1)

Hit Dice: 3d8
HP: 21

Class Traits:
Expertise: For Deception and Sleight of Hand rolls, your Proficiency Bonus is doubled.
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, deal an extra 2d6 of damage to any creature you attack with Advantage on the Attack Roll. The attack must be dealt with a Finesse or Ranged weapon. You do not need Advantage on the Attack Roll if another enemy of your target (An Ally, for example) is within 5 feet of your target, said enemy is not Incapacitated, and you otherwise don’t have Disadvantage.
Thieves’ Cant: You are intimately familiar with the secret codes, slang, and jargon of the local criminal underworld and could potentially leave messages through such channels.
Cunning Action: You can take an extra Bonus Action during each turn in combat. This action can only be used for the Dash, Disengage, or Hide actions.
Roguish Archetype - Thief:
-Fast Hands: Once per turn, you may use your Cunning Action to make a Sleight of Hand check, use your thieves' tools to open a lock or disarm a trap, or take the Use an Object action.
-Second Story Work: You climb faster than normal and climbing no longer takes up an extra Movement Action. In addition, when making a Running Jump, the distance you cover is increased by a number of feet equal to your DEX Modifier.

Feats:
Dual Wielding:
-You gain a +1 Bonus to AC when wielding a melee weapon in each hand.
-You can use Two-Weapon Fighting even if either or both of your one-handed melee weapons are not light.
-You can draw or stow both melee weapons when you would normally only be able to draw or stow one.
Criminal Contact: You have knowledge of how to spread word discreetly, including knowledge of local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who you can contact for their services.

Armor: Leather Armor (11+DEX Mod)
Weapons:
Dagger (Dmg: 1d4 Piercing) Finesse, Light, Thrown (Rng: 20/60)
Dagger [Off-Hand]
Hiltless Throwing Knives (Dmg: 1d4 Piercing) Finesse, Light, Thrown (Rng: 30/120)

Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, hand crossbows, shortswords, longswords, rapiers
Tools: Thieves’ Tools, Fixed Playing Cards, Loaded Dice
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Acrobatics, Deception, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

Equipment:
Leather Armor
Two Daggers
30 Hiltless Throwing Knives
Burglar’s Pack
Thieves’ Tools
Set of common clothes
Dark hood
Belt pouches for tools

Appearance: Brown dog with large, dark brown ears and green eyes.

Once again, ridiculously lucky Ability Score rolls. Why is it I only get really high rolls on character sheets I'm not actually going to use?

[Amazee Dayzee]

Once again I really do like the character sheets that you put together! I hope that you keep posting them! ^^

[JageshemashFTW]

As his fingers strummed the frets of his lute, filling the dining hall with a light, somber melody, Zach wondered how the other teams were doing on their end.

He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when and if Bino, Peanut and Sasha managed to extradite the captive Breel. Bino had only told him to wait for a ‘signal’ before wrapping up his show and making his way outside the manor. What that signal was, Zach had no idea.

With an idle thought, Zach glanced around the main hall, carrying a vain hope of seeing Jessica again somewhere in the crowd, perhaps returning to listen to his performance.

No such luck. Jessica was on her own mission, and she would not be distracted from it.

Although, that’s not to say Zach wasn’t without his admirers within the crowd. While the majority of the guests were only enjoying his music passively, the bulk of their attention either staying in their own conversations or in the food on the banquet table, some were giving Zach their full attention, whispering animatedly to each other regarding his skills.

But one among the crowd kept their eyes glued entirely on Zach. Lady Kay, daughter of the manor’s Lord Rainier, sat in a chair among a row of chairs off to the side of the dining hall. A contented smile was plastered across her face as she stared longingly through half-lidded eyes at the young lapine bard.

Zach almost struck a dissonant chord in the middle of his playing when he swore he saw Lady Kay shoot a wink in his direction. Zach hadn’t forgotten the little… arrangement he had made with the Lady before. But considering what Jessica told him about Kay’s complacency in her father’s schemes, Zach hoped that he might be able to make his own escape before she absconded him to some private room in the manor.

After all, whatever kind of woman that can be complacent in a scheme of kidnapping and extortion from the crown itself was not the kind of woman Zach wanted to be alone with.

Particularly with that hunger in Lady Kay’s eyes.
---
“How much longer are we to wait?” Fox said, having cleaned his flintlock for the umpteenth time. He had little else to do while sitting on top of the little atoll their group had grounded themselves in.

“As long as we need to.” Grape replied, keeping a weather eye on every window and opening on the manor with the spyglass Bino left behind. “So far, everything seems calm. The second something seems off, that’s when we’ll charge in. Until then, we wait and hope we’re not needed.”

“I hate waiting.” Fox said, holstering his flintlock. Better to keep his hands off it for now, he thought. If a rescue attempt for the rescue attempt was indeed needed, he probably didn’t want to be caught with a half-disassembled flintlock.

Max, to his credit, was keeping himself busy, having wandered a little further into the more heavily wooded borders of the manor grounds, though still near enough to jump into action the second he was needed. Fox watched with bemused curiosity as Max scrounged around the grass and dirt on all fours, giving his already stained clothes some new patches of green and brown.

Occasionally, he would pop up with an ‘A-ha’ or ‘There…”, holding an herb or root of some kind up to the moonlight. Fox’s curiosity finally got the better of him as he spoke out.

“Are any of those twigs going to help us in anyway?” Fox asked, leaning back on the rock he had appropriated as a chair.

Max barely looked up from his foraging as he replied. “For the immediate mission? Eh, probably not. But I like to keep up a good stock of supplies either way. Never know when you’re going to need a good root tea.”

Max plucked what Fox assumed was some kind of fungus from the base of a tree. “Besides, beats waiting around doing nothing.”

Fox couldn’t necessarily argue with that sentiment, so he deigned to let Max continue digging in the dirt. Before he could pull out his flintlock to clean it again, purely out of desperate boredom, he heard Grape speak up against the muffled ambience of the ongoing party.

“What the-?” Grape said, fidgeting with the focus of the spyglass.

“Everything all right?” Fox asked.

“I… I don’t know. The party is still going on, no change there. But…” Grape trailed off, not sure how to describe what she was seeing.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense.” Fox huffed.

“I… I don’t think we’re the only intruders.” Grape said.

“What?” Max said, finally looking up from his foraging. “What does that mean?”

“One of the guests, at least, I thought she was a guest, is trying to break into one of the upper floor rooms through the balcony. Looking through the windows, I don’t think there is anyone else in that room.”

“You sure she’s trying to break in?” Fox asked.

“I know lockpicking when I see it.” Grape replied.

“Maybe a thief looking to make some quick cash? If we're lucky, we might be able to take advantage of this.” Max offered.

“Maybe, but I would like to know why she’s… Oh no…” Grape trailed, lowering the spyglass in shock.

“What? What is it?” Max asked.

“We might be going down there sooner than we thought.” Grape said, peeking through the spyglass again to confirm what she thought she saw.

Zach, led by the hand by some ocelot woman Grape didn’t recognize, were entering the very same room the other intruder was trying to break into.
---
Moments Earlier…

Zach was about to run out of ambient songs very quickly. Pretty soon, he’d have to start singing just to keep his performance fresh. Something really only done when he had his brother’s to harmonize with.

Thankfully, Zach saw what he hoped to all the gods above was the ‘signal’ Bino spoke off. Peeking over to the door back to the entrance hall, Zach saw Bino, wearing a chef’s hat for some odd reason, poking his head out of the door, gesturing Zach to follow him as he ducked back into the entrance hall before anyone else could see him.

With a grand flourish, Zach finished his melody and gave a humble bow to the gathered guests. Most of the guest’s applauded Zach’s performance while others gave him a simple raise of their wine glasses in acknowledgement.

With the show over, Zach stepped down from the corner alcove and tried to look like he wasn’t rushing towards the door before-

“Mister Arbelt!”

So close, yet so far.

Forcing a smile, Zach turned back to see Lady Kay approach him, all her noble splendor on full display. “Mister Arbelt, once again I must thank you for your wondrous performance. You truly have elevated tonight’s festivities into one to be remembered.”

Zach gave another low bow, head below his waist. “My Lady honors me with such kind words. I shall carry your joy with pride while on my travels.”

Lady Kay giggled as her eyes drooped once more. “Come now, Mister Arbelt. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my… invitation.”

“Ah… Were it not just a few hours earlier and I not so tired, my Lady, I would happily oblige your… very generous offer. But, alas, the hour is late and the night calls.” Zach said, turning to leave once more before feeling Lady Kay’s hand on his shoulder. He only just now noticed how sharp her claws were.

“As the night calls to us all, Mister Arbelt. Wouldn’t you prefer a moment of quiet solitude before you go? A moment reserved for just the two of us?” Kay said, leaning her face closer to Zach’s ears. “Alone?”

Zach pushed a whimper down his throat. Clearly, this was not a woman in the habit of being told ‘No’ to. Zach knew that the more he tried to weasel away from her, the more suspicious she would become. But, if Zach did manage to get alone with her, maybe he could charm her with another sleep song. At least long enough for him to get away.

“Ahem! My… My Lady has quite the silvered tongue. Very well, you’ve convinced me. Though I cannot pretend I needed much coaxing.” Zach said, flashing what he hoped to the gods came off as a charming grin.

That now familiar hunger returned to Kay’s eyes. “Follow me upstairs. We won’t be disturbed up there.”

Upstairs… Upstairs!

Thinking quickly, Zach hurried to the door before Lady Kay could get close to it, opening it by just a crack. “Please, Lady Kay, allow me to get the door for you.” Zach said, hoping his message got through to anyone on the other side of the door.

Lady Kay smirked. “My, much more eager now, are we?”

As Zach opened the door, as slowly as he dared without raising suspicion, he peered around the corner of the door and saw the entrance hall was thankfully empty of any intruders. Any Zach could see, at least.

“Follow me, Mister Arbelt.” Lady Kay said, moving passed Zach and grabbing him rather forcefully by the hand.

“You’re sure we’ll be alone upstairs?” Zach asked, hoping someone, anyone nearby would hear and come to his rescue.

“Just the two of us, Mister Arbelt.” Lady Kay assured, her grip on Zach’s hands tightening.

As Zach and Lady Kay disappeared passed the stairs, Bino, Peanut and Sasha risked looking out from the corner wall the stairs built into, covering a linen-covered lunch-tray from view with their bodies.

“Well…” Bino said, bringing a palm to his forehead. “That’s… Not good.”

“You’re the one that wanted a honeypot.” Peanut reminded him.
---
Zach wasn’t familiar with the room Kay brought him into. Clearly it was closed off from the guests as Kay needed to unlock it with a key kept hidden within the folds of her dress.

Walking into the room, Zach saw it was a study of some kind. Very reminiscent of Keene’s study back at Castle Milton in Griffonrock. Swinging glass doors at the back of the room gave a view of an outside balcony where one could enjoy the fresh air and contemplate the night sky.

“Is this your study, my Lady?” Zach asked, keeping up pretenses as best he could.

“My father’s, actually.” Kay said. “But my father isn’t here right now…” She said, Zach noticing a bit of mischievous edge to her voice.

Now was the time, Zach just needed to play one little song to get Kay into a trance. Then he could book it back down the stairs like Hades itself was after him.

“Er… So… Why don’t I serenade my Lady with a ballad just for you-” Zach’s words were interrupted when Lady Kay abruptly ripped the lute out of Zach’s hands, nonchalantly tossing it to a sofa off to the side of the room.

“No more need for that, my dear.” Kay purred. “You’ve already charmed me plenty enough…”

Interesting choice of words, Zach thought as he started to panic.

Kay stepped closer to Zach, little by little, until she was bearing down on top of him. “It’s just you and me now, Mister Arbelt. No more need for words, wouldn’t you say?” She said, as she snaked her arms around Zach’s shoulders.

Zach was about to squeak out a reply, when he saw something he definitely wasn’t expecting to see behind Kay.

Opening the glass doors as silently as possible, Zach saw Jessica creep into the study from the balcony outside before stopping in surprise, clearly just as shocked to see Zach as he was to see her.

As always, fate decided to be cruel to Zach by only allowing him to see Jessica in the very few times he didn’t want to.

To make matters worse, Lady Kay could clearly sense a presence behind her, despite Jessica’s stealth. She would have moved to turn around had Zach not acted as quickly as he did.

“You’re right!” Zach said, pouring on the charmspeak thick to make sure Lady Kay’s gaze stayed on him. “Let’s just… stare into each other’s eyes, my dearest Kay.”

“Oh… Mister Arbelt…” Kay said, transfixed on Zach’s voice. For a split-second, Zach thought his ruse would work and Jessica would be able to make her escape.

Instead, Zach was brought out of his own focus when Lady Kay clasped her hands over the sides of Zach’s face, grinning her predatory grin at him.

“I’ve stared into those emerald gems long enough…” With that, Lady Kay closed her eyes and puckered her lips, inching closer and closer to Zach by the second.

Zach started to panic all over again. Not like this! He thought. Not in front of Jessica!

Zach tried to think of something, anything, to halt Kay’s oncoming kiss. In his desperation, his mouth spoke before his brain could fully contemplate what he was saying.

“B-But aren’t you to be engaged soon!?”

Zach realized his mistake the second he opened his mouth.

Just like that, the spell was broken as Lady Kay opened her eyes, backing away from Zach ever so slightly.

“How… How did you-?”

Whatever Lady Kay was going to say was interrupted by a loud Crack! Followed immediately by a discordant, metallic Twang!

Kay stumbled on her feet as she went cross eyed, her legs crumpled beneath her as she tumbled to the ground.

Zach looked up from Kay’s collapsed form to see Jessica wielding his lute in one hand, slightly damaged from thwacking Lady Kay across the head, and a stack of papers tucked under her arm.

Before either of them could say anything, Lady Kay was already starting to rouse herself back to her feet, clearly only dazed by Jessica’s sneak attack.

Without a second to waste, Jessica tucked the papers into a sash on her dress and slung Zach’s lute across her back. Grabbing a hold of Zach’s hands, Jessica hurriedly pulled him back out towards the balcony.

“Come on!” Jessica cried out as Zach followed half-dazed.

“What are we going to-” Zach began but was cut off by Jessica.
“Trust me!”

With that, Jessica wrapped her arms tight around Zach and pulled him over the railing of the balcony with her, sending them both falling to the ground as Zach screamed.

[trekkie]

Good job. I love what you are doing with the characters.

[Amazee Dayzee]

This story is actually getting really nice and I am looking forward to more!

[JageshemashFTW]

This story is actually getting really nice and I am looking forward to more!

I’m just now noticing the dragons in your signature are actually growing up over time. That’s actually really cool!

[Amazee Dayzee]

LOL yeah I am on a site that lets you take eggs and when they get enough clicks, they hatch and then grow up and are able to be bred with other dragons. I found the site a few years ago but completely forgot about it until recently.

[JageshemashFTW]

And here's Fox's Character Sheet. Gotta say, took me a while to really pin down how I wanted to do this. I'm actually thinking of making updated Character Sheets later on in the story to show how all the characters are progressing. If that does end up happening, I think Fox might be the first Multi-Classer in the party and have him take some levels in Fighter to get the Gunslinger Archetype. But, for now, he's only a Rogue so I could give him the Swashbuckler Archetype. Also, for those who are interested, I changed up Grape's sheet a little and switched Champion for Shield Master. Thought it fit her Defense-oriented combat style better.
---
Name: Fox
Level: 3
Race: Dog
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Rogue
Background: Pirate (Captain)

AC: 14

STR: 8 (-1)
CON: 10 (+0)
DEX: 17 (+3)
INT: 12 (+1)
WIS: 11 (+0)
CHA: 16 (+3)

Hit Dice: 3d8
HP: 23

Class Traits:
Expertise: For Persuasion and Acrobatics rolls, your Proficiency Bonus is doubled.
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, deal an extra 2d6 of damage to any creature you attack with Advantage on the Attack Roll. The attack must be dealt with a Finesse or Ranged weapon. You do not need Advantage on the Attack Roll if another enemy of your target (An Ally, for example) is within 5 feet of your target, said enemy is not Incapacitated, and you otherwise don’t have Disadvantage.
Thieves’ Cant: You are intimately familiar with the secret codes, slang, and jargon of the local criminal underworld and could potentially leave messages through such channels.
Cunning Action: You can take an extra Bonus Action during each turn in combat. This action can only be used for the Dash, Disengage, or Hide actions.
Roguish Archetype - Swashbuckler
-Fancy Footwork: You learn how to strike fast then slip away without reprisal. If you land a melee attack on an opponent, that opponent cannot make Attacks of Opportunity against you during the remainder of your turn.
-Rakish Audacity: You can add your CHA mod to any and all initiative rolls. In addition, you do not need Advantage on a Sneak Attack roll if no creatures other than your target are within 5 feet of you and you otherwise don’t have Disadvantage.

Feats:
Sharpshooter:
-You no longer have Disadvantage when attacking with a Ranged Weapon at Long Distance.
-Enemies in three-quarter or half cover no longer gain a bonus to AC when attacked with a Ranged Weapon.
-You can choose to take a -5 penalty to an Attack Roll with a Ranged Weapon. If the Attack still hits, add +10 to your Damage Roll.
No Honor: You have spent a great deal of your life dealing with seedy, underhanded individuals who all-too quickly try to pull fast ones over you. You've learned the hard way how to parse out the liars and the fakers. You gain Advantage on all Wisdom (Insight) Checks.

Armor: Light Leather Jacket (11+DEX Mod)
Weapons:
Cutlass (Dmg: 1d8 Slashing) Finesse
Flintlock Pistol (Dmg: 1d10 Piercing) Ammunition (Rng: 20/60), Loading

Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Rapiers, Longswords, Shortswords
Tools: Thieves’ Tools, Navigator’s Tools, Vehicles (Water)
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Acrobatics, Performance, Persuasion, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Perception

Equipment:
Light Leather Jacket
Cutlass
Flintlock Pistol
Navigator’s Tools
Explorer’s Pack
Thieves’ Tools
Sailor's Flask
Grappling Hook
Set of common clothes

Appearance: Silver and white husky with gray-blue eyes.

(So, I'm thinking of doing one more before the next chapter. Does anyone have any requests as to who they'd like to see next?)

[trekkie]

Good job on the character sheets! I’d vote for you to do Max next, personally, as I like what you’ve done with the character.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I think that the character sheet for Fox has came out really interesting! I can't wait to see who you do next!

[JageshemashFTW]

And we have our first Spellcaster of the Party! You know he’s a Spellcaster because his Character Sheet is looooooooooooooong. Max was a challenge to get right. At first, I thought about making him a Warlock since his whole deal with Efreet is rather a lot like a Warlock with their Patron. I decided against that mainly because the Warlock spell list did not provide nearly enough spells to really invoke the whole Pyromancer thing Max has going on. So, instead, I went with Sorcerer to give me a bit more wiggle room in what spells to give him. That actually does work better lore-wise, since Max was capable of magic before bonding with Efreet and said magic originally came from Efreet teaching Max’s ancestors. In hindsight, Sorcerer was probably the more obvious choice. I still had to cheat a little and went to homebrew content to really go whole-hog into the Pyromancer thing. I actually found a really interesting Sorcerer homebrew for Phoenix-blooded Sorcerers if anyone’s interested. (https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/down ... 20617s.pdf) This uses the same rules for that homebrew, but re-flavored to change ‘Phoenix’ to ‘Elemental Spirit’ like Efreet. EDIT: So, I have a bit of an addendum to make. I was under the impression that Phoenix Sorcerers were a homebrewed sub-class, but it turns out they are indeed an official expansion to Sorcerers as of the Unearthed Arcana.

Name: Max
Level: 3
Race: Cat
Age: 22
Sex: Male
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Hermit

AC: 10

STR: 10 (+0)
CON: 16 (+3)
DEX: 11 (+0)
INT: 13 (+1)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 17 (+3)

Hit Dice: 3d6
HP: 24

Class Traits:
Sorcerer’s Spellcasting: Charisma is the Spellcasting Ability for Sorcerers, as your ability to perform magic comes from your ability to impose your will on the physical world. Whenever a spell calls for your Spellcasting Ability, use your CHA Mod. You also use your CHA Mod to determine the DC for Saving Throws for your spells as well as adding your CHA Mod to Attack Rolls for your spells. As a general rule, the DC for the Saving Throws of your spells is DC = 8 + your Prof. Bonus + your CHA Mod.
Spellcasting Focus: You can use an Arcane Focus in place of Components to cast Sorcerer Spells. In your case, Your Arcane Focus is a small ruby worn as a pendant around your neck.
Font of Magic: You are able to tap into a wellspring of mystical energy within yourself to enhance your spellcasting. This power is represented by Sorcery Points.
-Sorcery Points: You currently have a pool of 3 Sorcery Points. This pool is replenished after a Long Rest. You can never have more Sorcery Points than your current maximum pool.
-Flexible Casting: As a Bonus Action, you gain the ability to convert Sorcery Points into Spell Slots and vice-versa. Any conversion is undone after a Long Rest as both your Spell Slots and Sorcery Points are replenished. When converting Sorcery Points to Spell Slots, The ratio is as follows: 2=1st Level, 3=2nd Level, 5=3rd Level, 6=4th Level, 7=5th Level. When converting Spell Slots to Sorcery Points, you merely gain Sorcery Points equal to that Spell Slot’s Level.
-Metamagic: You gain the ability to slightly alter the effects of your spells by using your Sorcery Points. You can only use one Metamagic ability on a spell at a time, unless otherwise noted.
--Careful Spell: If allies are caught in the Area of Effect of a spell that requires targets to perform a Saving Throw, you can expend a Sorcery Point to allow a chosen number of allies equal to your CHA Mod to automatically succeed their Saving Throws.
--Empowered Spell: Whenever a spell you cast causes Damage, you can expend a Sorcery Point to reroll a number of dice rolled for Damage equal to your CHA Mod, reroll the same die equal to your CHA Mod, or a combination of the two so long as the number of rerolls do not exceed your CHA Mod. You must use the new rolls, even if they are lower than the original roll. You may use this Metamagic ability on a spell that already has another Metamagic ability placed on it.

Sorcerous Origins: Elemental Spirit (Efreet). Your power is drawn from a primordial spirit of the Elemental Plane. You are a descendant of those who practiced the engulfing power of Fire from the mentorship of this great spirit. This power is a mixed blessing, for while Fire can be used to warm and inspire the hearts of men, so too can it destroy and consume all he has built.
-Ignite: As an action, you can magically ignite any flammable object you are physically touching with your hand, such as a torch, a piece of kindling, the hem of drapes, etc.
-Mantle of Flame: As a bonus action, you can channel the radiant fury of Efreet for 1 minute. Once the minute is up, you must pass either a CHA or CON Saving Throw or you will be rendered unconscious for 1 minute. This requires a Long Rest between uses. While under the effects of Mantle of Flame, you receive the following benefits…
--You radiate a bright light in a 30-foot radius and a dim light for an additional 30 feet.
--Any creature takes Fire Damage equal to your CHA Mod if attacking you with a melee attack or otherwise touching you.
--All spells you cast that deals Fire Damage gain an additional bonus to Damage equal to your CHA Mod.

Spell Slots:
-1st Level: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
-2nd Level: [ ] [ ]

Spell List:
-Cantrips
--Light: You touch an object no larger than 10 feet in any dimension and, for 1 hour, that object emits a bright light for 20 feet and a dim light for an additional 20 feet. The light may be any color you wish. The light may be blocked by covering the object with anything opaque. If you attempt to use this spell on an object held or worn by a hostile creature, they must make a DEX Saving Throw to avoid your spell.
--Green Flame Blade: With the same action used to cast this spell, make a melee attack with a weapon on another creature. If the attack hits, a spit of green fire will leap from your target to another creature within 5 feet of your target of your choosing. This second target will then take Fire Damage equal to your CHA Mod.
--Create Bonfire: You can create a mystical bonfire anywhere on the ground within 60 feet of your Field of Vision. This bonfire takes up 5 feet of space and can be dismissed at any time. Any creature that is within this space when the spell is cast, passes through this space, or ends their turn in this space must succeed a DEX Saving Throw or take 1d8 Fire Damage. Any flammable objects caught within the space will ignite if they are not worn or carried.
--Fire Bolt: You hurl a mote of fire at a target within range of 120 feet. Make a Ranged Spell Attack roll. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 Fire Damage. Any flammable objects hit with this spell will ignite if they are not worn or carried.
-1st Level
--Burning Hands: As an Action, hold your hands outward with thumbs touching. Upon casting this spell, a jet of fire will shoot from your fingertips in a 15-foot cone in front of you. Any creature caught in the cone must make a DEX Saving Throw each. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d6 Fire Damage. On a successful save, the creature takes half-damage. Any flammable objects hit with this spell will ignite if they are not worn or carried. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, the damage increases by an additional 1d6 per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Magic Missile: You conjure three glowing darts of arcane energy. The darts automatically fly out and strike 3 targets of your choosing within 120 feet of your Field of Vision. You can choose to have more than one dart strike a single target. Each dart deals 1d4+1 Force Damage to their target. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, the number of darts is increased by one per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Absorb Elements: When receiving any kind of Elemental Damage (Fire, Cold, Acid, Lightning, or Thunder), you can cast this spell as a reaction to absorb the Elemental Damage, giving you resistance to the triggering Elemental type until the start of your next turn. This spell also stores some of the mystical energy from the initial attack which you can channel into one melee attack, dealing 1d6 of the triggering Elemental Damage. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, the damage increases by an additional 1d6 per Spell Slot level above 1.
-2nd Level
--Scorching Ray: You create three rays of fiery light and hurl them at three targets of your choosing within 120 feet of your Field of Vision.You can choose to have more than one light strike a single target. Make a Ranged Spell Attack for each ray. For each successful hit, targets take 2d6 Fire Damage. If the spell is cast with a 3rd Level Spell Slot or higher, the number of rays is increased by one per Spell Slot level above 2.

Feats:
Herbalist:
-You gain Proficiency in either the Herbalist’s Kit or the Poisoner’s Kit.
-Using an Herbalist’s Kit or a Poisoner’s Kit, you can craft various poultices or poisons, respectively, that are comparable to some potions. You must spend an half-hour gathering materials from a natural landscape such as a forest. The effectiveness of your search is determined by a Medicine or Nature Skill Check, while the DC for this Skill Check is determined by your DM via any number of circumstances. You must then spend another half-hour preparing these materials into either a powder, liquid, or treated bandage. This requires yet another Medicine or Nature Skill Check with an added Prof. Bonus if you are using a kit you are Proficient with. As a general rule of thumb, use the Herbalist’s Kit if the desired effect of whatever you are crafting is beneficial to the target, and use the Poisoner’s Kit if the desired effect is harmful to the target. You can craft as many items as equal to your WIS Mod (Minimum of 1) and store on your person as many crafted items as equal to your WIS Mod (Minimum of 1). After 24 hours, any crafted items that have not been used will have lost their potency and must be discarded.
-A Healing Poultice made this way will restore 1d6 points of health for every 4 Character Levels you have (Level 4, Level 8, Level 12, etc) to any wounded, humanoid creature, starting with 1d6 at Level 1. This poultice is expended on use.
-A poison powder or liquid made this way will give a target one status ailment of your choosing for 1d4+¼ of your Character Level (rounding up) number of rounds. This status ailment must be chosen at the time of crafting and can be either: Poisoned, Deafened, or 1 point of Exhaustion. This poison can take the form of either a liquid that can be applied to a weapon or a powder that can be thrown at an enemy. This counts as a Ranged Attack with a range of 10 feet. If you are Proficient with the Poisoner’s Kit, add your Prof. Bonus to the Attack Roll. Ingesting the poison, in either form, will also cause the effect to take place.

Armor: None (10+DEX Mod)
Weapons:
Rune Dagger (Dmg: 1d4 Piercing) Finesse, Light, Thrown (Rng: 20/60)
Enchantment: As a Bonus Action, expend a Spell Slot to charge the blade of the Dagger with Elemental Fire. Higher level Spell Slots give an amount of charges equal to the Spell Slot’s level. Each charge will deal an additional 1d4 Fire Damage for a single Melee Attack. You can only charge the Dagger a number of times equal to your Prof. Bonus.

Proficiencies:
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, Quarterstaffs, Light Crossbows
Tools: Herbalist’s Kit, Poisoner’s Kit
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Arcana, History, Insight, Medicine, Religion

Equipment:
Rune Dagger
Arcane Focus (Ruby necklace)
Herbalist’s Kit
Explorer’s Pack
Set of common clothes

Appearance: Black cat with dark-gray muzzle and stomach, seafoam-green eyes, and a bite mark on his right ear.

(I love just how completely overpowered Spellcasters seem at first. Then you take a look at that AC of 10 and suddenly all balance is restored to the world. Also, for those wondering why Max has proficiency with both the Herbalist’s Kit and the Poisoner’s Kit when the Feat says you only get one or the other, he managed to get the Herbalist’s Kit proficiency by taking the Hermit Background so, win-win.)

[trekkie]

You’re doing a very good job on the story and the character sheets. Keep up the good work! Also, thank you for doing Max.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really am enjoying everything that is going on! Can't wait to read more!

[JageshemashFTW]

If there is one thing the gathered nobles at Lady Kay’s soiree could agree on about their host, it’s that she never hosted a dull gathering of their ilk.

Still, perhaps two of the guests careening past the balcony, screaming as they landed what looked to be painfully in the bushes just underneath the balcony’s railing, was a bit too much excitement for some of their tastes. Perhaps some of Lady Kay’s more private guests had a few too much of her wine.

Of course, Zach and Jessica had far more pressing concerns than the judgemental stares of the gathered nobles in the manor courtyard. Lady Kay was still conscious, only momentarily stunned by Jessica thumping her head with Zach’s lute, and chances are she was not going to be happy.

Jessica hurriedly clawed her way out of the branches of the bush, pulling at Zach’s arm the whole time to orient him towards the same direction.

“Come on! We don’t have much time before-!”

“GUARDS!! GUARDS!!” Lady Kay’s voice rang out into the night. Zach mused that this is the first time he ever heard her raise her voice.

“That…” Jessica grimaced, grasping Zach by the arm once more and pulling him through the crowd, pushing more than one noble to the ground, cursing them about how their fathers would hear of this.
---
“Okay! It is officially time for us to get involved!” Grape said, putting away the spyglass.

“Dare I ask what in the gods' names just happened?!” Fox said, only seeing the white streak that was Zach and their unknown fellow intruder, falling down passed the manor’s balcony.

“I don’t know who this other intruder is, but I think she’s on our side. She just managed to get Zach out of the house, but now that noble-looking lady is calling for their heads.” Grape surmised. “My guess is she’s either Lord Rainier’s wife or one of his daughters. Can’t tell from here, and it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the infiltration team needs a distraction now!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Max said, drawing a flame within his hand. “Let’s go say ‘Hello’!”
---
The inside of the manor was on high-alert, as Bino and his team only just barely managed to spirit Breel’s unconscious form back to the lounge they had first infiltrated from before locking the doors.

Bino could hear a commotion outside as he pressed his ear to the door, hearing Lady Kay ranting and raving at her guards to capture Zach and ‘The other one”.

Who this ‘other one’ was, Bino had no idea. But he did hear one other thing that gave him pause for concern.

“You three!” He heard Lady Kay say out in the hallway. “Stay here and search the premises for any other uninvited guests! Do not let anyone leave!”

Drawing away from the door, Bino turned to Peanut and Sasha, the latter of whom was currently cradling Breel’s head in her lap, hands grasping the sides of his head.

“They’re looking for us now. How much longer?” Bino demanded.

“I’m a cleric, not a miracle-worker!” Sasha snapped. “...Okay, I’m kind-of a miracle-worker, but even I have limits!”

“What’s wrong with him?” Peanut asked, worry clear on his face.

“Gods above, what isn’t wrong with him…” Sasha said. “Just a cursory check with my magic tells me that he’s in the advanced stages of exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation. He’s practically a husk. A few more weeks, maybe days, and we would have been too late.”

“Look, we don’t have time for a full diagnostic here.” Bino said, glancing back towards the door. “Yes or no, can you get him back on his feet?”

Sasha huffed in frustration. “Possibly. I know a spell that can give him a jolt of energy. That will at least wake him up. But as far as standing on his own two feet, much less walking…” Sasha trailed off, though Bino caught the meaning well enough. “And it will only be temporary. My magic can mend wounds and dispel poisons, it can’t undo days of atrophy and starvation.”

“Get him awake for now.” Peanut said. “We’ll work on the rest from there.”

Sasha nodded, getting to work. Reaching into her robe, she pulled out what looked like a clay disk with some kind of symbol Bino was not familiar with. Most likely, some kind of holy stone.

Sasha clutched the clay disk in one hand and began trailing her fingers across Breel’s chest, leaving a glowing mark on his tattered clothes.

While Sasha prept the spellscript, Peanut gently pulled Bino away by the shoulder, wanting to confer without distracting their cleric.

“Listen, we don’t have much time to make a plan. I say we hold out here until we hear a commotion outside. Grape and the others are sure to have noticed the manor’s on alert now. Once their distracting the guards, we repel out the window with some rope. Worse case, we can tie Breel to one of our backs and carry him to the docks.” Peanut said.

Bino nodded after a second of thought. “You’re right. If they come in here, we can bottleneck them with smoke bombs and arrows. We just need to hold position long enough to-”

The first gunshot echoed throughout the already cacophonous manor, snapping everyone in the room towards the noise.

“Looks like the cavalry’s already here.” Bino said.
---
“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!!!” One of the guards stationed at the front door yelled out, looking over his fellow guard who was clutching his shoulder in pain. “WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS OUT FRONT, NOW!!!”

Grape had to stop herself from slapping Fox across the head. “Watch what your shooting at!!”

Fox shrugged. “What? I hardly grazed him. Besides, now we definitely have their attention!”

Max huffed, gathering more and more fire into his hands. “Underhanded, but effective. Here they come!”

Grape decided she would have to chew Fox out later as she drew her sword and readied her shield. The manor guards were coming three-fold, one group from the left side of the manor and one from the right, obviously coming from the courtyard during their hunt for Zach and the mystery intruder. The last group came from within the manor itself, rushing past the two doormen through the front door.

Each group was about three-strong, a sizeable platoon of about nine in total plus the two doormen who were steadily getting to their feet, ready to pay Fox back for his earlier shot.

“You think Rainier has enough of these guys?” Max said, waiting for his signal.

Grape waited until the guards were just a little bit closer. Too close to change their minds and turn in the other direction.

“Max, now!” She yelled out, and Max released his flames.

But the fire didn’t shoot out towards the guards, but rather around them, creating a funnel of flaming walls that filtered them towards the trio in a neat, manageable line. With a little bit more effort, Max clutched the amulet around his neck and willed the flames to spread behind the guards as well, cutting them off from escaping back to the manor, and back towards the other members of their group.

The guards only paid as much attention to the flames so as to not be burned by them, saving their focus for the three intruders in front of them rather than thinking of the possible intruders behind.

“I hope you know how to use that thing.” Grape said, clanging her sword against Fox’s cutlass.

“Hmph, shall we keep score then?” Fox said, getting into stance.

The guards charged as quickly as they could with the walls of flames surrounding them clashing irons against the squire and sailor.
---
To say that Lady Kay was upset was equivalent to saying the surface of the sun was a bit stuffy. While she had no idea who this other woman was, or even if Mr. Arbelt was truly who he said he was, she could garner a good guess as to what they came for.

Which is why she was currently shoving her way passed her guests, despite their pleas and demands to know what was going on and why they couldn’t leave, as she made a beeline straight for the kitchens. Or rather, what was under the kitchens.

While the gathered chefs wisely gave their fuming employer a wide berth, Kay slammed open the doors to the underground pantry and hurried down the stone stairs.

She saw exactly what she was hoping not to.

“Nonono…” Kay hissed under her breath. “No no no NO!”

She marched over to one of the mercenaries her father hired to watch over the Prince’s paramour, grasping him by the straps of his cuirass and lifting him closer to her snarling face.

“WHO DID THIS!? WHO TOOK HIM!?”

She received only a pained groan in response.

Slamming the mercenary back towards the ground, Kay let out a bestial roar of rage as she charged back up the stairs.

Needless to say, she was shocked to see the head chef of the kitchens woozily clamber up to his feet from behind the shipping crates at the top of the stares. Almost as shocked as the chef was to see her.

“Oh-OH! My Lady Kay! You have to help me! I’ve been poisoned by some brigand dressed as a che-!”

Kay punched the chef in the face, knocking him unconscious.

“IDIOTS!!!”
---
In a way, Zach was glad he was able to bear witness to his new friend’s fighting prowess. It might make for good inspiration for a sonnet later. Assuming his lute was still in working condition after clubbing Lady Kay’s head.

Indeed, thanks to the distraction team’s timely assault on the manor, Zach and Jessica had just enough breathing room to race to the woods behind the manor before doubling back across the hillside atol surrounding the manor grounds.

Zach was able to see the fight ongoing from his vantage point above them, wishing he could give some kind of signal that he was okay and making his way to the docks without giving away his location to the guards.

Oh well, Zach thought. This was the plan, after all. The distraction team would wait for a signal from the infiltration team before breaking off and making their own way back to the ship. It was just a question of whether or not they could hold off for as long as needed.

That said, it seemed the frontline fighters of their party were well selected for their role. Fox was showing off some impressive derring-do, taking point and flourishing his blade in every which way, focusing more on driving the guards back with wide, swinging arcs, than actually landing any blows. Any guards that did get passed Fox had to contend with the living bulwark that was Grape pushing against them with both sword and shield, acting in defense for both herself as well as covering Fox’s blindsides.

In the rear of their formation stood Max, wisely staying far back from the maelstrom of clanging blades, but taking potshots at the more isolated of the guards with flashes of fire, putting particular focus on covering Grape’s backside.

All in all, while they weren’t dropping any bodies, they were in a steady rhythm of defense. They were the sentinels, and it was only a matter of time before they broke ranks and disengaged from the Rainier’s goons.

“Where to?” Jessica said, taking care to not raise her voice.

“Uh… There’s a ship at the docks.” Zach said, not paying much mind to the fact that Jessica was apparently aping their own escape plan. Not that Zach took any particular issue with that. “White and blue frigate with silver sails, called the Heaven Bound.”
“Heaven Bound. Got it.” Jessica replied, racing out of the manor’s grounds with her grip still on Zach’s wrist.

Zach took one last look behind him, hoping this would not be the last he saw of his new friends.
---
Breel’s eyelids felt as though they weighed thricefold what they usually did. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious for. The last thing he remembered was spitting in Lord Rainier’s face and receiving a kick to the ribs in kind.

One thing Breel noted was that he no longer felt bound as he was before. Indeed, he felt mercifully unrestrained as he experimentally clawed at the carpeted floor he had apparently been laid across. He also felt soft, warm hands gently cupping the sides of his face and what felt like a warm lap under his head.

While Breel normally considered himself an optimist, even he thought his current theory of who these hands and lap belonged to was too much wishful thinking on his part. Still, he had to be sure.

With more than a little effort, he finally managed to croak out in a scratchy voice, stinging his raw throat.

“K-Keene?”

“I’m afraid not.” A woman’s voice said, gently.

Of course, Breel thought, only just now realizing how large the hands and lap were compared to his lover’s. Still, whoever this mysterious savior was was taking great care to be gentle with him, both in touch and in demeanor.

Breel finally managed to open his eyes, again not without effort, and saw a young female dog looking down at him with radiant, pink eyes.

“Oh, please don’t tell me I’m where I think I am.” Breel said, forcing a smirk on his face. “Because I think I see an angel.”

Despite the circumstances, Sasha couldn’t help but giggle. “They never told me you were such a charmer. Be careful, don’t want the Prince getting jealous.”

With that, Breel’s demeanor changed drastically. He tried sitting up and immediately regretted said decision as a sharp pang shot through his stomach. Forcing himself to not collapse back into unconsciousness, Breel looked back up at Sasha and said through gritted teeth. “Keene! Where is…”

Sasha laid a gentle hand on Breel’s forehead. Within an instant, Breel could feel magic coursing through him as the pain started to subside. It did not vanish, but rather fade into numbness.

“Prince Keene is still in Griffonrock, waiting for you. We’re going to take you back to him.” Sasha explained.

“We?” Breel asked.

“Glad to see you’re alright, Breel.” A familiar voice said off to the side.

Looking to his left, Breel saw another dog, a brown fellow wearing an all leather outfit keeping his ear to the door. Standing close next to him was someone Breel knew quite well.

“Peanut!” Breel said with a smile. “Good to see you, lad! How’s your mother?”

“In good spirits. Maybe when we get back to Griffonrock, we can all have tea together?” Peanut said, kneeling next to Breel and offering his hand.

Breel accepted the hand gladly. “Sounds lovely. How about we get going, then?”

Bino stepped away from the door, satisfied that the guards were apparently more focused with fighting the more obvious threat out front. “Can you stand?” He asked, brusquely.

“He’s barely alive!” Sasha hissed. “Give him a moment.”

“No, he’s right.” Breel said, gingerly pushing Sasha’s hands off him. “We’ve not a moment to waste.”

With Peanut taking one hand and Bino taking the other, the two dogs supported Breel as he awkwardly hobbled onto his feet. With both feet firmly planted on the floor, the two slowly released their grip on his hands. There was a bit of a scare as Breel leaned a bit too far forward, but he managed to balance himself before either of the two dogs had to catch him.

“I’m alright. I… I think I can walk.” Breel said, flashing a reassuring grin towards Sasha.

“Good.” Bino said. “But you probably won’t be able to climb. You’ll latch on my back while we rappel down that window. Peanut, prep the rope.”

Peanut nodded, pulling an arrow from his quiver and driving it deep into the wall of the lounge before getting to work tying off a length of rope to the arrow.
---
While her guards was far too focused with fighting the other intruders out front, Kay was smart enough to realize that others might still be in the manor. If she managed to mobilize her guards quickly enough to keep them from simply waltzing out the doors, then the only way they would be able to get Breel out was by spiriting out of the windows like the flies they were.

While this hunch was borne mostly out of desperation, she was not going to just sit around while her salvation was taken right from under her nose.

But on that hunch, a realization dawned on her. Her father’s lounge! She gave that lying charlatan Mr. Arbelt practically unfettered access to the room! If he was indeed involved in Breel being taken right from under her nose…

Sprinting as fast as she could back upstairs, she shoulder-checked the door to the lounge to force it open, not wanting to give anyone who might be inside any warning.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, she made it just in time to spy a brown dog in leather armor about to cross the threshold of the window with Breel riding piggy-back on his back.

“Stop!!” Kay said, twisting around to grasp a sword hanging with a twin across the wall of the lounge. Twisting back, she pointed the tip of her blade towards the dog.

“You are not going anywhere…” Kay seethed, her voice dripping with venom. “I cannot let you leave with him.”

Bino stood stock still. At this distance, Kay would have ample time to close in and skewer him before he made it out the window.

“Lady Kay, may I presume?” Bino said. “What interesting sport you nobles take part in. Tell me, would you have released him into the woods later for a hunt?”

Kay snarled. “You have no idea what you’re getting involved in. You think my father and I would go to all this trouble for... What, exactly?” Kay spat out. “Marriage to some halfling I could care less for? A pretender’s crown that would give no true power?”

“I don’t pretend to understand what goes on in nobles’ heads. You’re so concerned with preserving or elevating your bloodline. Skews with your priorities, I would say.” Bino said, slightly turning his side toward Lady Kay.

“My bloodline!?” Kay repeated in disbelief, giving out a humorless laugh. “I’m more concerned with keeping what blood I have inside me! Make no mistake, if you take that marten off this island, you will be dooming me to the Reaper’s scythe!”

Bino raised an eyebrow. “Even if I believed that, you expect me to simply trade his life for yours? I’m being offered quite a bit to bring him back to his beloved.”

Kay smirked at hearing this, an opportunity seemed to beckon. “If it’s money or some other kind of material prize you’re after, I assure you my father can provide whatever you seek. Especially after my coming nuptials.”

Kay continued, knowing she had Bino’s attention. “And if you’re worried about your conscious keeping you up at night, we still need him alive to make the Prince agree to our demands. I promise, no harm will ever come to him in our care. We’ll even treat him like an honored guest, if that will help you sleep better at night. Still a cage, but a gilded one from hereafter.”

Kay lowered her sword, lilting her eyes as she adopted a more coquettish tone. “After all, you wouldn’t want my blood on your hands, would you?”

Bino seemed to regard Kay’s offer… long enough to finally reach into his pouch and grasp a smoke bomb between his fingers.

“My condolences.”

With a flick of his thumb, the smoke bomb struck the floor with a Pomf!, spreading a choking gray-colored cloud throughout the room.

“NO!!” Kay shouted, throwing the sword in Bino’s direction in a desperate gamble.

A loud Thunk! was heard across the room as Kay was forced to wait for the smoke to dissipate, not wanting to risk wandering about and falling out the open window.

When the smoke cleared, the sword was embedded into the wall next to the window.

While Bino and Breel were nowhere in sight.

Kay’s scream of rage could be heard echoing clear into the docktown near the coast.
---
When Bino and Breel cleared the treeline into the woods, Peanut readied the firecracker arrow he had prepared earlier that day. With the fuse lit, he launched it straight into the night sky.
---
The shower of color and light against the starry-blue curtain above them was a clear indicator to the trio still fighting for their lives against the guards. And none too soon, as while a few guards fell in battle, merely fighting for time would only go for so long.

“That’s the signal!” Grape called out over the cacophony. “Max!”

“Gentlemen, you have been a wonderful audience!” Max called out to the guards who were only half paying attention to his grandstanding. “Au revoir!” Max said, bowing low.

Hearing the code-word, Grape and Fox quickly pushed against the guards they were currently locking swords with, quick-stepping back to stand side-by-side with Max.

With a spot of distance between them and the guards, Max quickly stood back up, waving his arms upward in a single motion as a wave of fire shot from his finger-tips.

The guards acted on instinct, drawing back away from the torrent of flames coming towards them. Of course, Max’s target was not the guards, but the ground in front of them which erupted into a wall of flame that joined with the previously formed border to entrap the guards in a cage of fire.

“Let’s go!” Grape said, rushing back towards the docks.

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Fox said as he and Max followed behind her.
---
Spring sighed as she walked up the gangplank to the Heaven Bound. Another port, another wasted effort.

Spring idly wondered to herself how many times was too many before she just had to accept the truth and give up any hope of finding her sister. She had no idea if Summer even could be found.

Through normal means, at least.

Spring cursed those thoughts yet again. She knew there was one way to tell where Summer was, or at least if she were indeed anywhere in the world to be found. But that called for a heading that would invite far too many questions from the crew. Questions she was not prepared to answer.

There was a little bit of guilt in thinking that. Why can’t she simply tell them the truth? They were her crewmates, her friends, her family! She faced no danger of judgement nor any danger or misunderstanding, not from them.

But if not from them, then certainly from others if the truth ever got out. And she would be courting danger to her home and family should that happen.

A few more years, Spring promised herself. A few more years searching before she finally gave up and accepted her new life with her new family. One way or another, she would see Summer again in time.

Maybe she and Fox could finally…?

Spring was shaken from her musings by a comforting hand on her shoulder. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

“Still nothing, hun?” Bailey said, worry clear on her voice.

“No… But I’ll keep trying.” Spring said, resolute.

No words were said for awhile, before Bailey forced a grin for her friend.

“I can’t wait to meet her! If she’s anything like her sister, then she must be a great gal!” Bailey said, cheerfully.

Spring looked back at Bailey, smiling warmly. “I know she would love you, Bailey. She would love all of you.” Spring’s smile faltered as tears began to drop from the corners of her eyes. “She… She would love all of you… So much…”

Bailey turned Spring to face her as she scooped her into a tight hug, letting her cry dark stains into cotton shirt.

“I-I miss her… I miss her so much…” Spring choked between sobs.

“Shhh…” Bailey hushed, cupping her hand to the back of Spring’s head. “It’s alright.”

As Bailey held onto Spring, not caring who in the crew watched, and indeed the crew were smart enough not to interrupt, King watched his wife comfort the young doctor as he leaned against the railing.

Must be nice, King mused to himself. Having siblings who actually give a care about you.

“HEY!!” A voice rang out over the still night-air.

Turning to look where the voice came from, King saw the rabbit bard from Griffonrock hauling butt as he made a beeline straight for the ship. What was odd to King is that he was running hand-in-hand with someone he didn’t recognize, a female o’possum decked out to the nines in a gossamer sky-blue dress. That said, both of their attires had seen better days as they were both scratched up and covered in patches of dirt.

Zach and Jessica sprinted up the gangplank before stopping in front of King, drawing Bailey and Spring out of their moment to see what the commotion was about.

“What’s going on? Where’s the Captain?” King demanded before turning his attention to Jessica. “Who the heck is this?”

“Fox is fighting the guards with Grape and Max to give the others time to slip away. We need to get this ship ready to sail by the time they break off from the fight and get here!” Zach explained.

Bailey nodded. “Understood. Did they manage to grab that Breel fella?”

Zach shook his head. “I don’t know. But if they did, they’ll be bringing him here.”

Bailey turned to look at Spring, an apology written on her face. “Spring…”

“I’m needed.” Spring said, wiping the last of her tears on her sleeve. “Bring Breel straight to me when they get here.” She said before heading down to the hold below, ready to prep her office for whatever may come.

“Gods bless that girl.” King muttered under his breath as Bailey got to work mobilizing the crew. “But that still doesn’t explain who you are?” He said, turning to Jessica.

“I’m a tagalong.” Jessica said, bluntly before gesturing to Zach. “He can vouch for me.”

King turned to Zach, clearly still waiting for some kind of explanation.

“It’s… a long story.”
---
By the grace of providence, the two teams were able to reunite in the woods as both sprinted at full speed towards the docks.

“There!” Fox said, as the treeline gave way to Coraggio’s docktown. He pointed outward towards the dock where the Heaven Bound was already treading shallow water, just waiting for them.

“They’ve already weighed anchor! We just need to get on that ship and we’re home free!”

Breel, being the only one not running but clinging for dear life to Bino’s back, risked looking behind the group.

“Bit of a complication with that plan!” Breel shouted at the group.

Indeed, the Rainier’s guards managed to circumvent their fiery imprisonment and were currently gaining on the party and their charge.

“We just need to reach the docks, then I can slow them down!” Max said.

“Can’t you slow them down now!?” Bino yelled out.

“Not unless you want us to get caught in a forest fire!”

“Guys, they’re getting closer” Sasha called out to the party.

“Just a little further!” Grape yelled.

With little more than adrenaline and desperation, the group blazed through the docktown, surprising the townspeople and local fishermen alike as the Rainier’s guards knocked them down in pursuit of their quarry.

When they finally reached the wooden planks of the docks, Max turned back to face the coming horde.

“Max!” Grape yelled towards him.

“Keep going! I’ll catch up!” Max called back. Satisfied that the others were not stopping, Max reached to grasp his amulet, clutching it tightly as power started to course through his body.

The guards faltered in their chase for just a moment as the black cat in front of them underwent a bizarre metamorphosis, as horns and wings sprouted from Max in flashes of hellfire. Teeth and claws elongated into knives and spears, and black fur became course and rugged.

As Max opened his eyes, red flaming energy emanating from them like hot coals, he snarled and growled at the guards, daring them to come closer.

When one guard finally did find his courage and took a single step onto the wooden plank of the docks, Max let out a bestial roar and let loose a volley of fireballs at the edge of the docks.

The guards had just enough time to dive towards the hard, cobblestone ground of the dock-town’s central clearing before the explosion from the demon’s fireballs knocked them further away.

From the impact of where the fireballs hit, a terrible flame had started to spread across the docks. Thankfully, all the dockworkers had gone home for the night. Unfortunately, they would have a lot of rebuilding to do the morning to come.

Max took a bit of cruel pleasure at the thought of the Rainier’s footing the bill.

“Max! Let’s go!” Grape called out from the deck of the ship, half the party already aboard and the other half still climbing the hull after diving into the water.

Luckily, Max didn’t need to get wet himself. Unfurling his wings to his massive wingspan, Max gave a single flap then took to the air. He kept himself low, more just gliding to the ship than actually flying, but he managed to cross the threshold of the ship’s deck all the same.

Of course, Efreet had to choose right then and there to draw his power back from Max. While Max was still in the air, his wings and horns dissipated into nothing while his body shrunk back to it’s normal proportions.

While Max was low enough to where a fall towards the Heaven Bound’s deck wasn’t going to seriously injure him, the landing was going to be hard all the same.

Instead, Max found himself being caught right out of the air in someone’s arms. While the landing was still hard, a lot of the impact was absorbed as Max’s saviour cradled him gently to the ground.

“Max! Are you okay?” Grape said, turning Max around in her arms to face her.

Max opened his eyes, staring up at Grape’s concerned face, framed in the moonlight.

He gave a tired smile. “Much better than last time.”

With everyone aboard, Captain Fox gave Bailey the order to shove off into open water. The Rainier’s guards unable to do little more than watch helplessly from the other end of the wall of fire still eating away at the docks.
---
With her very perturbed guests given leave to vacate the premises, Lady Kay sat in her father’s study, waiting to hear back from her Guard Captain as to the damages.

Said Captain stood nervously at the door to the study, knowing his news would bring the Lady’s ire, but also knowing that keeping the information from her would truly incur her wrath.

“Well?” Kay said.

The Guard Captain gulped before entering the room. “The intruders… have escaped, my Lady. And… we’ve confirmed they’ve taken Breel.”

Kay closed her eyes as she exhaled through her nose. “Was the bard among them?”

“Yes.”

“And the o’possum woman?”

“...Yes.”
Another exhale. Lady Kay opened her eyes and very calmly addressed the Captain. “Ready my ship and prepare to set sail. We know they’re going to Griffonrock. If we stick to trade-winds, and power through any stops for food or rest, we’ll catch up to them before they reach the borders. Tell the men to that we’ll sail in shifts to keep us moving at a constant pace.”

“Yes, my Lady.” The Captain said, bowing low. He turned to carry out her word, before he stopped as something dawned on him. “Wait? Did you say ‘we’, my Lady?”

“Of course. I have not come this far to give up on my quarry now. I’ll drag that flea-bitten rodent back myself, if I have to.” Kay said, more to herself than the Captain.

“Er, my Lady Kay, if I may, the open seas is a harsh terrain. Wouldn’t a woman of your station not want to sully her hands with such an arduous task?” The Captain said, choosing his words very carefully.

Kay looked up from her musings to stare straight into the captain’s eyes. “I think you’ve made a grave misunderstanding, Captain.” As she said this, she slowly sat up from her father’s chair, making sure the Captain got a very clear look at the sword she was holding under the desk. “They did not simply take our prisoner. They took my lifeline! Without Breel, I am a dead woman come dawn! And if I have to, I will slaughter all of them with my own two hands to keep that from happening!!”

[trekkie]

Nice action-packed chapter. Keep up the good work!

[Amazee Dayzee]

You just keep on making these chapters get better and better! Kudos to you!

[JageshemashFTW]

And now for Sasha! Like I said earlier, she’s going to be rather interesting because of her pacifism in the story. In actual D&D, Cleric’s are Martial Casters, meaning they spend just as much time fighting in the frontlines that they do casting spells. Once again, I had to go to homebrew territory and, once again, I found something rather interesting. (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions ... fficial-li) Unlike Max, this doesn’t invent an entirely new sub-class. It just tweaks the Life Domain sub-class from the Player’s Handbook a little.

Name: Sasha
Level: 3
Race: Dog
Age: 20
Sex: Female
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Cleric
Background: Acolyte

AC: 13

STR: 9 (-1)
CON: 13 (+1)
DEX: 11 (+0)
INT: 11 (+0)
WIS: 16 (+3)
CHA: 11 (+0)

Hit Dice: 3d8
HP: 22

Class Traits:
Clerical Spellcasting: Wisdom is the Spellcasting Ability for Clerics, as your ability to perform magic comes from your devotion to the god you have sworn service to and your ability to spread their will. Whenever a spell calls for your Spellcasting Ability, use your WIS Mod. You also use your WIS Mod to determine the DC for Saving Throws for your spells as well as adding your WIS Mod to Attack Rolls for your spells. As a general rule, the DC for the Saving Throws of your spells is DC = 8 + your Prof. Bonus + your WIS Mod.
Prepared Spells: As a Cleric, your Spell List must be prepared before-hand. The number of spells you can have in your Spell List is equal to your Class Level as a Cleric + your WIS Mod. You can only have spells in your Spell List that you have appropriate level Spell Slots for. During a Long Rest, you can exchange the spells in your Spell List for any other Cleric Spell. This requires you to perform Prayer and Meditation during your Long Rest, 1 minute for each exchanged spell.
Ritual Casting: When casting a spell that has the Ritual trait, you can instead choose to cast the spell as a Ritual. Casting a spell as a Ritual means the spell will take 10 minutes longer to cast, but will not expend a Spell Slot on use. Ritual casting does not gain benefits from higher level Spell Slots.
Spellcasting Focus: You can use an Arcane Focus in place of Components to cast Cleric Spells. In your case, Your Arcane Focus is the holy symbol of your church, the Brand of the Emerald Dragon, or your Whitewood Staff.
Channel Divinity: You gain the ability to channel the power of your god for a variety of effects. When you begin Channel Divinity, you choose which ability you wish to use. You may only perform one Channel Divinity ability each use. You start with the Turn Undead ability and gain more through your Clerical Domain. Requires a Short Rest between uses. If a Channel Divinity ability requires the target to make a Saving Throw, the DC for said Saving Throw is equal to the DC for your spells’ Saving Throws.
-(CD) Turn Undead: As an Action, hold out your Holy Symbol and utter a prayer. Each undead creature that can see or hear you within 30 feet must make a WIS Saving Throw. Each undead that fail their Saving Throw is Turned for 1 minute or until they take damage. When a creature is Turned, it must spend its Actions trying to move as far from you as possible. A Turned creature cannot willingly move within 30 feet of you, it cannot take reActions. For its Action, it can only take the Dash Action to move further away from you, or try to escape any effect that may prevent it from doing so. If it is impossible for a Turned creature to move any further from you than it already has, it may take the Dodge Action.

Clerical Domain: The Life Domain. Clerics of the Life Domain devote themselves to healing the sick and wounded, caring for the under trodden, and driving away the forces of death and undeath.
-Domain Spells: Domain Spells are spells you automatically learn from your Domain. These spells are always prepared in your Spell List and do not count against the limit to the number of spells you can have prepared. The Domain Spells you currently know are: Bless, Cure Wounds, Lesser Restoration, and Spiritual Shield.
-Disciple of Life: Your healing spells are more effective. Whenever you cast a spell that restores Hit Points at 1st Level or higher, add an additional 2 + Spell’s Level to Hit Points restored.
-(CD) Preserve Life: You gain a new Channel Divinity ability. As an Action, present your Holy Symbol and utter a prayer. You emit a healing energy that can restore a number of Hit Points equal to 5x your Class Level as a Cleric. Choose any number of creatures within 30 feet of you and divide these Hit Points among them however you choose. You can only restore a creature’s Hit Points this way up to half of their maximum Hit Point amount. This ability does not work on undead or construct creatures.

Spell Slots:
-1st Level: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
-2nd Level: [ ] [ ]

Spell List:
-Cantrips
--Guidance: You touch a willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4, then add this roll to one Ability Check of their choice. They may roll this d4 before or after said Ability Check. The spell then ends. This is a Concentration Spell that lasts for 1 minute.
--Resistance: You touch a willing creature. Once before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4, then add this roll to one Saving Throw of their choice. They may roll this d4 before or after said Saving Throw. The spell then ends. This is a Concentration Spell that lasts for 1 minute.
--Mending: You can repair a break or tear no more than 1 foot in distance for any small object in your hands, such as a broken chain link, two halves of a broken key, a torn fabric, or a leaking waterskin. While this can physically repair a broken magical construct or item, it cannot restore their enchantment.
-1st Level
--Bless: You bless up to 3 creatures of your choice within 30 feet of your Field of Vision. Whenever a target of this spell rolls an Attack Roll or Saving Throw within the duration of this spell, they may roll a d4 then add the result to their roll. This is a Concentration Spell that lasts for 1 minute. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, you can target one additional creature per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Cure Wounds: You touch a creature. They regain Hit Points for 1d8 + your WIS Mod. This spell has no effect on constructs or undead. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, they regain an additional 1d8 of Hit Points per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Detect Poison and Disease: For the duration of the spell, you can detect poisons, poisonous creatures, and diseases within 30 feet of you, as well as identify the specific kind of poison, poisonous creature, or disease. The spell can penetrate most barriers but can be blocked by a foot of stone, an inch of metal, 3 feet of wood or dirt, or a thin sheet of lead. This is a Concentration Spell that lasts for 10 minutes.
--Healing Word: A creature of your choice within 60 feet of your Field of Vision regains Hit Points for 1d4 + your WIS Mod. This spell has no effect on constructs or undead. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, they regain an additional 1d4 of Hit Points per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Sanctuary: As a Bonus Action, a creature of your choice within 30 feet of your Field of Vision is warded against attacks for 1 minute. Until the spell ends, any creature that targets the warded creature with an attack or harmful spell must make a WIS Saving Throw. If they fail, they must immediately target another creature within range or lose their attack or spell. The ward does not protect against Area of Effect damage such as an exploding fireball. If the warded creature makes an attack or casts a spell that affects an enemy creature, the spell ends.
-2nd Level
--Lesser Restoration: You touch a creature and can end one of the following ailments: A non-magical disease, Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Poisoned.
--Spiritual Shield: As a Bonus Action, you conjure a spectral shield that manifests on a creature of your choosing within 60 feet of your Field of Vision for 1 minute. If the targeted creature moves, the shield moves with it. With another Bonus Action, you can move the shield to another creature within 20 feet of whichever creature currently possesses the shield. Upon casting, the shield provides one of the following benefits to whichever creature possesses it: Provides a +2 bonus to AC or provides resistance to Necrotic, Poison, or Psychic Damage.
--Protection from Poison: You touch a creature. If it is Poisoned, you neutralize the poison. If the creature is afflicted by more than one poison, you neutralize one poison you know is present or you neutralize one poison at random. For 1 hour after casting, targeted creature gains Advantage on all Saving Throws against being Poisoned and gains Resistance to Poison Damage.
--Prayer of Healing: Up to 6 creatures of your choice within 30 feet of your Field of Vision regain Hit Points for 2d8 + WIS Mod. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs. If the spell is cast with a 3rd Level Spell Slot or higher, they regain an additional 1d8 of Hit Points per Spell Slot level above 2.
--Enhance Ability: You touch a creature. For the duration of the spell, the targeted creature gains Advantage on all Ability Checks for one Ability Score of your choosing. If you choose Constitution, target also gain 2d6 Temporary Hit Points which are lost when the spell ends. If you choose Strength, target also doubles their Carrying Capacity. If you choose Dexterity, target also takes no damage from falling from 20 feet or less if they are otherwise not incapacitated. If the spell is cast with a 3rd Level Spell Slot or higher, you can target an additional creature per Spell Slot level above 2. This is a Concentration Spell that lasts for 1 hour.

Feats:
Lucky:
-You have a pool of 3 Lucky Points. This pool is replenished after a Long Rest. You can never have more than 3 Lucky Points. Whenever you roll a d20 for an Ability Check, Attack Roll, or Saving Throw, you may spend 1 Lucky Point to roll an additional d20. You may use this ability after the initial role but before the outcome of the roll. After rolling your second d20, you may choose which of the two rolls to apply to your Ability Check, Attack Roll, or Saving Throw.
-You may also spend a Lucky Point when an opposing creature makes an Attack Roll against you. Roll a d20, then choose whether your d20 or the attacking creature’s d20 applies. Any modifiers to the initial Attack Roll stay the same regardless of which roll you choose.
-’Lucky Rolls’ are NOT the same thing as rolling with Advantage or Disadvantage. Meaning you can still spend a Lucky Point on a roll that has Advantage or Disadvantage, and you still get to choose which roll applies.
-If two opposing creatures with the Lucky feat each spend a Lucky Point on the same roll, the effect is cancelled out for both sides, and the roll proceeds normally.

Armor: Chain Shirt (13 + DEX Mod [Max. of 2])
Weapons: None

Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Weapons: None
Tools: Calligrapher’s Supplies
Saving Throws: Charisma, Wisdom
Skills: History, Insight, Persuasion, Religion, Medicine

Equipment:
Holy Symbol (Brand of the Emerald Dragon)
Whitewood Staff
Chain Shirt
Priest’s Pack
Calligrapher’s Supplies
Prayer Book
Priest’s Vestments
Set of Common Clothes

Appearance: A light cream colored dog with chocolate-brown ears, muzzle, paws, and tail with vibrant, pink eyes.

(They just keep getting longer and longer! Free tip for any newcomers to D&D: If you want to play as a Caster class, be ready to commit to it! So, like before, I’m gonna do two of these before the next chapter. The only ones left are Peanut and Zach plus a Mystery Character for the last one to round things out. So, between Peanut or Zach, who would you guys want to see next before the next chapter?)

[trekkie]

Good job on the sheet! As for the choice between Peanut and Zach, I’d choose Peanut, personally.

[Amazee Dayzee]

These sheets are still coming together very nice! Wonderful job!

[JageshemashFTW]

So… Turns out Rangers are another Martial Caster class. And Peanut has not used any magic in the story, whatsoever. Say it with me now: I had to find another homebrew. Thankfully, this one was much easier to find. It helps that Spell-Less Rangers are actually a pretty common homebrew concept already. Everybody wants to be Strider, I guess... (https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LAYVrbgCY1yYIv3nZTx). It’s actually rather clever in how it’s set up, taking classic Ranger spells like Hunter’s Mark and reformatting them to work more like a Rogue’s natural abilities called Tricks. I might just have to use this one myself on an actual game. Also, I tweaked Fox’s Character Sheet a little and switched out the Sailor background for the Pirate background. The only major change was switching out the Background Feat Charter Passage for No Honor.

Name: Peanut
Level: 3
Race: Dog
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Ranger
Background: Outlander (Bounty Hunter)

AC: 14

STR: 9 (-1)
CON: 11 (+0)
DEX: 16 (+3)
INT: 9 (-1)
WIS: 14 (+2)
CHA: 9 (-1)

Hit Dice: 3d10
HP: 26

Class Traits:
Favored Enemy: You have chosen Humanoid as your Favored Enemy. You gain +2 to all Damage Rolls done against your chosen type of Favored Enemy. You also gain Advantage to all Wisdom (Survival) Checks used to track a creature from your Favored Enemy type, as well as Intelligence Checks to recall any information about them.
Natural Explorer: You have chosen Forests as your Favored Terrain. While you are in your Favored Terrain, you gain the following benefits: You ignore Difficult Terrain; you gain Advantage on all Initiative Rolls; and in the first round of combat, you have Advantage on Attack Rolls against creatures who have yet to act. If you have Travelled within your Favored Terrain for more than an hour, you receive further benefits: Your entire group ignores Difficult Terrain while Travelling (But not in combat); your group cannot become lost other than by magical means; even if you engage in other activities while Travelling (Such as Foraging, Navigating, Tracking, Etc), you still remain Alert to danger; if you are Travelling alone, you can move at normal speeds while Stealthing; when you Forage, you find twice as much food; while Tracking creatures, you can also learn how many they number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through an area.
Ranger’s Poultices: During a Long Rest, you can craft Health Poultices without the use of an Herbalist’s Kit. You must spend a half-hour gathering herbs from a natural landscape such as a forest. The effectiveness of this search is determined by a Medicine or Nature Skill Check, while the DC for this Skill Check is determined by your DM via any number of circumstances. If the landscape is your Favored Terrain, you have Advantage on this Skill Check. You must then spend another half-hour crafting the poultice as treated bandages that only you know how to apply. You can craft as many bandages as equal to your WIS Mod (Minimum of 1) and store on your person as many crafted bandages as equal to your WIS Mod (Minimum of 1). After 24 hours, any crafted bandages that have not been used will have lost their potency and must be discarded. Applying a bandage to a wounded creature takes 1 minute and restores 1d6 Hit Points for every Two Class Levels of Ranger, rounded down.
Fighting Styles:
-Archery: You gain a permanent +2 bonus to any and all Attack Rolls made with a Ranged Weapon.
Primeval Awareness: You have an innate ability to understand and communicate with beasts (non-sentient animals) and are recognized by beasts as a kindred spirit. Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas to a beast as an Action, and can read a beast’s basic mood and intent. You can learn a beast’s emotional state, whether it is currently under the effect of any magic, its short-term needs such as food, and actions you can take to persuade it (if any) not to attack you. You cannot use this ability on a beast you attacked within the last 10 minutes. Additionally, you can also attune senses to your surroundings to see if there are any of your Favored Enemies nearby. By spending 1 minute in Concentration, you can sense if any of your Favored Enemies are within 5 miles of you. This reveals which of your Favored Enemies are present, their general direction from you, and their general distance from you (measured in miles, rounding up). If there are multiple groups of your Favored Enemy within range, this ability gives you the information for the largest group.

Survivor’s Tricks: You have spent plenty of time learning how to survive, and have picked up a few Tricks to keep both yourself and your party alive. Some Tricks target other creatures and requires them to make Saving Throws to resist the effects of your Tricks. In this case, the DC for the Saving Throws of your Tricks is DC = 8 + your Prof. Bonus + your STR or DEX Mod (your choice).
-Hunter’s Quarry: You pick one enemy within range of your Field of Vision and mark it as your Quarry. Until the Trick ends, any attacks dealt with weapons against your Quarry deals an extra 1d4 of damage. You also gain Advantage on any Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) Checks to track your Quarry if you lose sight of it. If your Quarry’s Hit Points drop to 0 before the Trick ends, you can spend a Bonus Action on your subsequent turn to choose a new Quarry. This Trick requires Concentration, and will last for however long you can hold Concentration.
-Snare Trap: Over the course of 1 minute, you can set up a Snare Trap. This trap is camouflaged with the terrain, requiring a successful Intelligence (Investigation) Check against your Trick DC to spot. The trap triggers when a Small, Medium, or Large creature passes through the trap’s radius, which you determine during set-up between a 5-foot circle to a 15-foot circle. Upon triggering the trap, the creature must pass a DEX Saving Throw or be hoisted into the air by their feet, hanging upside-down 5-feet above the ground. The creature is then Restrained this way until the Trick ends. The Restrained creature can attempt to make a DEX Saving Throw on each turn to free itself. Alternatively, someone else who can reach the Restrained creature can use an action to cut the creature down.

Ranger Conclave - Hunter’s Conclave:
-Hunter’s Prey - Horde Breaker: Once on each of your turns, when you make an attack with a weapon, you can make a second attack with the same weapon against a different creature within 5 feet of your original target and within range of your weapon.

Feats:
Skulker:
-You can attempt to Hide even when you are only Lightly Obscured from the Field of Vision of the creature you are trying to Hide from.
-When you are hidden from a creature and miss with a ranged weapon attack, the attack does not automatically reveal your location.
-Dim Light no longer imposes Disadvantage to Wisdom (Perception) Checks made with sight.
Wanderer: You possess excellent memory for cartography and geography, and can recall nearly everything having to do with your current terrain, settlement, or other features around you. You can also reliably provide food and fresh water for you and up to 5 people each day provided the land has enough bounty such as berries, small game, fresh water, and so forth.

Armor: Leather Armor (11+DEX Mod)
Weapons:
Kukri (Dmg: 1d6 Slashing) Light, Thrown (Rng: 20/60)
Longbow (Dmg: 1d8 Piercing) Heavy, Two-Handed, Ammunition (Rng: 150/600)

Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons
Tools: Flute
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Investigation, Nature, Stealth, Perception, Survival, Athletics

Equipment:
Leather Armor
Kukri
Longbow
Quiver of Arrows
Dungeoneer’s Pack
Hiker’s Staff
Ranger’s Trophy (piece of tree-bark)
Set of Traveler’s Clothes

Appearance: A brown mutt with cream colored stomach and muzzle, dark-brown ears, and sky-blue eyes.

[Amazee Dayzee]

These definitely are very well thought-out! Awesome!

[trekkie]

Yes, excellent work on these sheets. Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to read more about our intrepid band of heroes.

[JageshemashFTW]

“Well, Doctor? What’s the verdict?” Fox said, hanging out the doorway to Spring’s office. “Is the lad going to make it?”

Spring sighed as she watched Sasha perform her ritual, waving her staff above a sleeping Breel, now resting on one of the medical cots prepared for him. “I’ve done everything medically possible for him, given my resources.” Spring said. “He’s not really injured as much as he is… drained. The Rainier’s were depriving him of nearly anything for the weeks he was their captive. All we can do, really, is give him everything they didn’t: Food, water, and plenty of rest.”

“Course, it’s not the simple.” Sasha picked up, never faltering in whatever spellwork she was administering. “While he does need rest, he also has a lot of muscle-atrophy from inactivity. Too much bed-rest will only make the atrophy worse. So it’ll be a balancing act between making sure he gets the rest his sleep-deprived body needs while also making sure he goes through the necessary physical therapy to get his body in working shape again.”

Sasha took a moment to give Breel’s body another onceover, trying to hold back her disgust at just how much of the young man’s rib-cage she could see through his skin. “My magic can help supplement some of that, repair some of the damaged muscle-tissue, but it won’t be an end-all be-all cure.”
“And that’s just covering the exhaustion and atrophy.” Spring said. “As far as starvation goes, he’s gone without anything resembling nutrients for so long, it’s like his body is eating itself. But if we try to feed him too much and too soon, his stomach will outright reject it and hack it all back up. All he really can stomach right now is bread and water, and that will not be enough to get him his strength back. And it’s the same problem with the dehydration. Short story: I do not have the equipment nor the resources to properly heal this man. He needs an actual doctor, as in shoreside with access to medicine and equipment we don’t.”

Fox nodded. “Then it’s a good thing we’re taking him straight to Griffonrock. The Prince will ensure no expense is spared in giving him all the treatment he’ll need.” That all said, Fox did notice Spring taking another side-long glance at Breel.

“Will he… survive long enough to get to Griffonrock?” Fox asked.

Spring was silent for more than a few seconds before she finally sighed. “I don’t know.”
---
“So… Let me see if I got this straight.” King said, rubbing the bridge of his snout, sitting across from Zach and Jessica in the ship’s mess hall, the rest of the party, sans Fox and Sasha, sitting nearby, listening to their story with varying degrees of interest.

“You met this lady some two years ago when you joined a tribe of warrior mountain people, got framed for betraying them to some bandit chief, went your separate ways and haven’t seen each other in said two years.” King said, recounting the cliff-notes of their story.

“And she just happens to be casing the Rainier’s manor just when we happen to be there to rescue the Prince’s boyfriend? Because she believes Rainier just happens to either be, or is working with, the very same necromancer that just happened to poison you.”

Jessica, more than a little annoyed at the interrogation, gave another sigh. “Look, this Rainier guy kidnapped the Prince’s man and held him hostage for weeks, all for some insane power-play for the crown. Considering the rumors I’ve heard, is it really much of a stretch to assume he would add ‘finagling with dark magic’ to that repertoire?”

“Except Rainier and Kay weren’t doing this for the crown. Kay said as much herself.” Bino added.

“What do you mean? You spoke with Kay?” Grape asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Briefly. She made me and Breel right before we leapt out the window.” Bino explained. “She seemed utterly convinced that she would literally die without Breel under lock and key. Said she wasn’t doing this for a ‘pretender’s crown’, in her own words.”

“And you believed her?” Max scoffed.

“More like I can’t find any reason why she would lie at that particular moment.” Bino shrugged.

“Well, regardless of her motives, her and her father’s actions were deplorable.” Peanut added. “And it doesn’t really have much to do with the topic at hand.”

With that, Peanut turned back towards Jessica. “Please, continue.”

Jessica nodded. “Like I said, I heard some nasty rumors about Lord Rainier. Shady deals in the dead of night. Workers who ask too many questions disappearing without a trace.” She patted the stack of papers, still hanging off the sash of her dress. “I figured, maybe I could find a paper-trail behind those rumors: Correspondences, payments. Heck, maybe even a confession.”

“And did you?” King asked.

“Don’t know yet. I’ll have to read them first.” With that, Jessica stood up. “Look, I meant what I said earlier. I had no idea Zach, or any of you for that matter, were going to be at that manor tonight. I had no idea about Breel or the Rainiers extorting the crown. I really was there on my own mission that just happened to coincide with yours.”

King was silent for a second before turning his eyes on Zach. “She said you’d vouch for her?”

Zach nodded. “And I do. Jessica saved my life, once upon a time. I’ve never known a woman more honorable and more devoted to the cause of protecting her people. I would trust her with my life.”

“Laying the flattery on rather thick, aren’t you?” Jessica said, side-eyeing the rabbit.

“It’s only flattery if it isn’t true. I’m just stating facts.”

Jessica was silent at that, breaking eye-contact from Zach with little more than a ‘hmm’.

Max coughed into his fist, bringing everybody’s attention to him. “If it helps, I can vouch for her too.”

Jessica cocked her head at this. “You can? Do we know each other?”

Max chuckled. “Not personally, no. But you can say we are family, of a sort.” With that, Max bent downwards and pulled up the sleeve of his right pant leg, revealing a white tattoo ingrained against the black fur of his shin.

For a second, Zach thought it was the same symbol the Rajann tattooed to their bodies. And while certainly similar in style and aesthetic, the symbol itself was altogether different.

Instead of a circular spiral, the brand was in the shape of an S, like a snake coiling itself about to pounce. The same spikes on the Rajann’s symbol was present on Max’s tattoo, but tapered and curved at the points instead of jutting straight out, almost looking like licks of flame.

Jessica allowed a wry smile to play across her face. “A Telani! Now what is one of the Firedancers doing with such an… interesting crew?”

Max smiled, smoothing his pant leg back down. “I’m afraid that’s a story best told in private, perhaps over an ale when we get back to the mainland. But enough about that.”

Max sat back, shooting a wide, toothy grin at Jessica. “Come now, sister, you know the rules. I showed you mine, now you show us yours.”

Jessica scoffed but still played along, undoing the ties to one of the evening gloves on her right arm and sliding it out, purely content to just let the glove fall on the floor of the mess.

With little reverence, Jessica held up her wrist for everyone to see, displaying the symbol of the Rajann.

As Jessica did so, she also gave a small nudge to Zach’s leg with her foot. “You too.” She said.

Zach looked around, now realizing everyone present had their eyes on him. “Are… Are you sure? I mean, is this… allowed, or…?”

“You still have the tattoo, don’t you?” Jessica asked.

Zach, not sure what to say, only nodded.

“Then show it, just as the Telani here showed us his. It’s a display of trust.”

Zach gave another glance around the mess, the rest of the party, sans Max, just as unsure as to what the proper proceedings to this ritual should be.

At last, Zach took a breath and pulled his shirt over his head, stopping just short of taking it off his arms as he displayed his back to the party.

The mark of the Rajann still just as clear as the day it was first branded on him.

Satisfied, Max turned to face King. “The Rajann are not known for deception and trickery. If they don’t like you or have any designs to harm you, believe me, you will know. Absolutely nothing this woman has said tonight was a lie. I’d bet my life on it.”

As Zach put his shirt back on, King sat in contemplation for a few seconds.

Finally, King sighed as he sat up, addressing the room as a whole. “I’ll inform Captain Fox of everything you all just told me. In the end, it will be his decision what we do with this… tagalong.”

King turned his attention towards Jessica. “That said, I think you’re enough in the clear that we can call you as much a guest as the rest of this group. So, for now at least, you’re welcome to stay with us until we reach Griffonrock.”

Jessica nodded curtly. “Thanks. I don’t suppose I could trouble you for a change in clothes? Maybe something a little more practical than…” Jessica trailed off, gesturing vaguely to her elegant, if damaged, ensemble. “This.”

King nodded. “Wait here and I’ll have a proper room prepared for you. You’ll have a change of clean clothes waiting there.”

King took a second to regard the rather disheveled state the entire party was in. “Hmm. Perhaps some clean clothes are in order all around?”
---
As it was already late at night, many of the party had deemed an early retirement to bed to be the best course of action.

Indeed, Grape was just getting ready to hit the hay herself, having just shed her armor in favor of the much more comfortable linen shirt and pants the crew provided her.

Instead, she was slightly surprised to hear a series of muffled footsteps stop just outside her room.

“Knock-Knock.” She heard Max’s voice say, in lieu of an actual door to knock on what with the only form of privacy between her room and the rest of the crew-deck being an opaque, green curtain.

Smirking a little to herself, Grape drew open the curtain to see Max in a very similar attire to her own, holding his hands behind him as he gave her a small smile.

“Hope I’m not bothering you. I know it’s late and you probably just want to pass out.” Max said, awkwardly shuffling his feet. “But I was just thinking about getting a bite to eat before turning in and, well, I was wondering if you’d like to join me?”

Grape leaned against the doorway to her room, crossing her arms. “I see. And… did you think to offer anyone else in the party the same courtesy?”

Max chuckled. “As it happens, I did not. I suppose you took precedence on that matter. Funny that.”

“Yeah, funny that.” Grape smiled. “And… This would be a perfectly casual dinner together?”

“Well… I suppose, if your feeling up to it, we could abscond to the deck for our meal. The stars are quite lovely tonight.” Max said, contemplative.

“That sounds like quite the backdrop for dinner.” Grape said accusingly.

“Heh… Very well, you caught me.” Max said, holding his arms up in surrender. “I suppose I do have… ulterior motives. Getting to know you while your outside your armor. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t an… honest interest.”

Grape’s smile faltered, but never left her face as she stood up from the doorway. “Look, Max. I… I’m flattered, really.”

Max’s ears drooped a little hearing the reluctance in her voice. “But?”

Grape sighed. “But… I don’t think now is the best time for… courting. Unless I’m reading the intention wrong.”

“You… are not.” Max admitted.

“Right.” Grape continued. “It’s just… So much going on and so much still to do.”

“We don’t need the distraction.” Max offered.

“Right… Right, exactly.” Grape nodded. “Maybe when things have calmed down, when we get Breel safely to Griffonrock…”

“Right.” Max said, softly.

As the two stood awkwardly for a few more seconds, Grape quickly leaned forward, planting a quick peck on his cheek. As she pulled away, she seemed just as surprised at her own actions as Max did.

“Ah...” Grape said, closing the curtain to her room and leaving Max alone in the hallway. “Goodnight!”

Max stood stock-still for a second, absently touching the spot on his cheek where Grape kissed him.

Good enough, Max thought to himself. Good enough for tonight.

As Max turned to walk towards his own quarters, he passed by Bino’s room, his curtain drawn open as he laid across his cot while reading a book.

“Swing and a miss.” Bino said.

“Shut up.” Max said.
---
Zach weighed his options as he stood outside Jessica’s room.

On the one hand, Jessica was probably still upset over the whole ‘abandoning the Rajann’ thing. Chances are she wouldn’t be too receptive to him intruding on her privacy.

On the other hand… he really wanted to see her.

He really wanted to talk to her. He really wanted to work through this lingering distrust and, maybe, find some modicum, some fraction of the friendship they used to have.

Maybe even…

Zach shook his head. He knew that was selfish on his part. It’s like Jessica said, she moved on. What right did he have to pull her back to the past just because he was stuck in it?

Zach was about to cut his losses and turn around when Jessica’s voice called out from the other side of the curtain.

“I know you’re out there Zach.” Jessica said. She didn’t sound upset, but she didn’t sound particularly welcoming either. “You can come in, if you want.”

Now Zach was conflicted for entirely different reasons. Does he honor her invitation and risk things becoming even more awkward?

Finally, he decided against spurning her attempt to reach out to him. Why look a gift-horse in the mouth?

Zach drew open the curtains slightly, taking a peek inside before coming in.

There was Jessica, sitting at the foot of her cot with the stack of papers stolen from the Rainier Manor next to her. The papers were separated into two piles, and Zach took a guess that one pile were papers she had already read while the other pile were papers she hadn’t gotten to yet.

Given the size of each pile, it seemed like she was close to finishing her impromptu research.

“So… uh…” Zach mumbled. “Anything interesting?”

“Actually, yeah.” Jessica said, absently. “Sit down and take a look at this.”

Zach breathed a sigh of relief. Seems she was at least making an effort to maintain professionalism during all this. Least Zach could do was meet her in kind.

As Zach sat on the bed across from Jessica on the other side of the paper stacks, Jessica gave the space between them a quick glance before picking up the stacks and moving them to an end-table at the corner of the room, patting the space between them.

With only a little reluctance, Zach shuffled closer to Jessica to get a clearer look at the paper in her hand. “What is it? Is it the paper trail you were looking for?”

“Possibly.” Jessica said. “It’s mostly just a series of correspondence between Rainier and his daughters. Mostly just pleasantries and updates of their daily lives whenever he was at sea on business.”

“Huh. I wasn’t expecting something so… mundane.” Zach admitted. “Wait… Did you say ‘daughters’? As in, plural?”

Jessica looked up at him for the first time since he walked in, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “Yeah, why? That mean something to you?”

“Er, it’s nothing, just… The entire time I was with her, Lady Kay never mentioned any sisters. I was under the impression that she was an only child.” Zach explained.

A small smirk crept across Jessica’s face. “And you and Lady Kay were quite intimate with each other too. How thoughtless that she didn’t mention them.”

Zach blushed, looking away. “I told you, it wasn’t like that.”

Jessica softened, nudging Zach with her elbow. “I know, I’m just teasing. But that does actually fit with what I found.”

Zach’s ears perked up, now fully attentive. “What do you mean?”

“Well, see here.” Jessica said, pulling an older looking letter from the read pile. “This is a letter from Kay and her sisters from a few years back. Seemed they wrote their letters round-robin style. Kay started the letter, as the eldest. Then she passed it to the middle sister, Rowan, and finally to their youngest, Isa.”

“Wow. If it were any family other than the Rainiers, I would almost say that’s adorable.” Zach said, giving a cursory glance to the letter. As Jessica said, the letter was mostly general pleasantries and empty platitudes of ‘we miss you’ and ‘come home safe’, coupled with some charming anecdotes or other of the sisters’ daily lives.

“Uh… The thought occurs that what we’re doing right now could be seen as… morally questionable.” Zach said. “Isn’t this kind of an… invasion of privacy?”

Jessica scoffed. “They kidnapped and practically tortured a man so one of his daughters could get hitched in a farce of entitlement. To the pits with their privacy.”

“Alright, that’s fair.” Zach relented. “So… What’s so interesting about this letter?”

“Well, that letter alone, nothing.” Jessica said. “But after a few months of the letters more or less being the same drivel, something changed.”

“How so?” Zach asked.

“The youngest sister, Isa, just completely stopped writing her segments of each letter. What’s more, no mention of why nor any talk of Isa ever occured in any of the letters going forward. It’s as if she had simply ceased to exist entirely.” Jessica explained.

“Well, maybe she died?” Zach offered. “And it was just too tragic for the family to talk about?”

“No. I’ve had friends and family die, Zach.” Jessica said. “There’s denial and then there’s not even acknowledging her existence. There would have been something, some form of wistfulness or another regarding her fate if all she did was die.”

“But there’s none of that. Almost as though they were making a conscious effort to pretend like she never existed. Like she was never a part of their lives. She didn’t just die. They did something to her.” Jessica said, adamantly.

Zach was only half paying attention, taken aback a bit at Jessica’s blink-and-missed confession. “I’m… I’m sorry you had to go through that. The death of a loved one-”

Jessica waved her hand, dismissing whatever Zach was about to say. “Please, spare me. Everyone has dealt with loss in one form or another. That is neither here nor now. Try and stay focused.”

Zach blushed at the dismissal, though nodded all the same. “Er, that all said. Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions a bit? You make it sound like the Rainiers murdered their own youngest.”

“No, I don’t think they went that far.” Jessica said. “But my point still stands. Something happened to Isa Rainier, and her family chose to ignore it.”

“So…” Zach pondered. “What happened next?”

“Well, in short, history repeats itself.” Jessica said. “Exactly one year after Isa mysteriously vanished from the picture, the middle daughter, Rowan, drops out of the letters as well. And Kay carries on the letters as she did before, refusing to acknowledge that she ever had sisters at all.”

“So both Isa and Rowan Rainier completely vanished without a trace?” Zach said. “Bino said something about how Lady Kay was convinced that she would die if she didn’t keep Breel as her prisoner. Maybe she felt that whatever happened to her sisters was coming for her next?”

“Got it in one.” Jessica said, smirking at the rabbit beside her. “This is the most recent letter of the bunch that Kay sent to her father, and you’ll notice it has quite a different tone from the others.” She said, offering Zach the paper in question. “Go on, read it.”

Zach, more than a little afraid of the contents of the letter, took the stationary and began to read. Each word more illuminating than the last.
~
Dearest Father,
Enough is enough. We cannot continue living in the shadow of our family’s curse. For three years, the guillotine has dropped ever lower, and has threatened the very existence of House Rainier for too long. First we lost Mother, then Isa, then Rowan. And if nothing is done, I will be the next to be buried and you will follow shortly thereafter.

I do not blame you. I know you’ve only done what was necessary to ensure our House’s survival despite these… sacrifices. But we cannot merely stem the tide anymore. We must redirect it.

I have the beginnings of a plan, already in motion. It is barbaric in prose, but a truly epic undertaking in scope. And should it be successful, we will have the means to, if not free us from this curse, then at least be able to hold it off indefinitely.

The Shadow of House Rainier demands blood, and we shall give it. But no more shall it be Rainier blood.

I will arrange everything, Father. All I ask is for your contacts and financial support. I promise you: The Rainier name will NOT die with us!

With Love and Hope,
Kay
~
“A curse?” Zach said. “All of this to try and break a curse?”

Zach gave the letter another read through. “Even their mother as well. This has been going on for more than three years!”

“And if the dates on these letters are to be believed, then we’re wrapping up year number four. Which means Kay’s turn is coming up real soon. Check the date on the letter. Four weeks ago, only a few days before Breel’s kidnapping.” Jessica said.

“All of this raises more questions than it answers.” Zach said. “In what way will marrying Prince Keene and becoming Queen of Babylon will aid Kay in ‘holding off’ this curse? What form does this curse even take?”

“Read this line again.” Jessica said, pointing at the letter. “‘The Shadow of House Rainier demands blood, and we shall give it. But no more shall it be Rainier blood.’ I think Kay wants to use her influence as the Would-Be Queen to set up some other poor saps to fall to this ‘curse’, keep her and her father off the chopping block. How and in what way, I have no idea.”

“My theory?” Jessica continued. “Her father, the Lord Rainier, was playing with some dark forces beyond his comprehension or control. And now, it’s biting him and his family.”

Zach started to feel pale. “If any of this is even remotely true, then… We just condemned Lady Kay and her father to death.”

Jessica shrugged. “After everything they’ve tried to pull, and considering they were perfectly content to let gods know how many innocents die to this curse in their place, I’d say they’re getting off light.”

Zach ‘hmm’ed to himself. “On the one hand, I can’t help but agree. On the other, I wish there was some solution that didn’t involve death for either side of this conflict.”

Jessica shook her head. “Still a better man than what most men deserve. Good to see some things haven’t changed.”

Jessica looked back at Zach, expecting to see his light face smile at the complement, but saw only a heavy burden on his mind.

“Hey…” Jessica began. “Look, this doesn’t have to be the end of the story. Maybe when we get back to Griffonrock, we can explain the situation to Prince Keene. The Rainier’s should still be imprisoned for their crimes, I don’t think you’ll argue against that. But… maybe we can find some way to break whatever this curse is. Keep it from taking any more lives.”

Zach finally allowed a small smile. “Thank you.”

Jessica scoffed. “Too good of a man, Arbelt. That’s what you are.”

"Too good of a man."

[trekkie]

That was awesome! Keep up the good work!

[Amazee Dayzee]

Awesome job on this chapter! It came out really great!

[Krytus The Dreamer]

in my new class, they're asking to make a pseudo portfolio so I tried to make something with all my current skills. I know a few chapters back it says that Fox brings him down to his knees but this just has a more dramatic angle. still a work in progress tho

[trekkie]

That is awesome!

[JageshemashFTW]

Nice! Love the attention to detail with the wounded ear.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really think that pirate Fox is just so dashing in that picture! He actually fits perfectly as a swashbuckler!

[JageshemashFTW]

Luckily, I didn’t have to go hunting down any homebrew stuff for Zach. He’s pretty traditional as far as Bards go.
—-
Name: Zach
Level: 3
Race: Rabbit
Age: 18
Sex: Male
Base Speed: 30
Proficiency Bonus: +2
Alignment: Neutral Good
Class: Bard
Background: Entertainer (Instrumentalist)

AC: 13

STR: 8 (-1)
CON: 14 (+2)
DEX: 14 (+2)
INT: 11 (+0)
WIS: 12 (+1)
CHA: 16 (+3)

Hit Dice: 3d8
HP: 20

Class Traits:
Bardic Spellcasting: Charisma is the Spellcasting Ability for Bards, as your ability to perform magic comes from your ability to charm and entertain through music. Whenever a spell calls for your Spellcasting Ability, use your CHA Mod. You also use your CHA Mod to determine the DC for Saving Throws for your spells as well as adding your CHA Mod to Attack Rolls for your spells. As a general rule, the DC for the Saving Throws of your spells is DC = 8 + your Prof. Bonus + your CHA Mod.
Ritual Casting: When casting a spell that has the Ritual trait, you can instead choose to cast the spell as a Ritual. Casting a spell as a Ritual means the spell will take 10 minutes longer to cast, but will not expend a Spell Slot on use. Ritual casting does not gain benefits from higher level Spell Slots.
Arcane Focus: You can use an Arcane Focus in place of Components of your spells. For Bards, their Arcane Focus is almost always an instrument they are Proficient with. In your case, your Arcane Focus is your Lute.
Bardic Inspiration: As a Bonus Action, choose 1 creature within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That creature gains a Bardic Inspiration Die. Within the next 10 minutes, that creature can roll a 1d6 and add the number rolled to any Ability Check, Attack Roll, or Saving Throw. They may choose to roll their Bardic Inspiration Die after rolling the d20, but before the outcome of the roll. Each creature can only have 1 Bardic Inspiration Die at a time. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your CHA Mod. After which, you must perform a Long Rest to regain uses.
Jack of All Trades: Add half of your Prof. Bonus (Rounded down) to any and all Ability Checks and Skill Checks you are not already Proficient in.
Song of Rest: During a Short Rest, if you or any of your allies regain Hit Points during said Short Rest, you can play a song to have them regain an extra 1d6 Hit Points each.
Expertise: Your Prof. Bonus is doubled for Charisma (Performance) and Charisma (Deception) Skill Checks.

Bardic College - College of Lore:
-Cutting Words: With either song or insults, you cut at the enemy’s pride to make them falter when it matters most. When an enemy makes an Ability Check, Attack Roll, or Saving Throw, you may expend 1 use of your Bardic Inspiration ability to roll a 1d6 and subtract the number rolled from the enemy’s d20. This can be done after the enemy has rolled but before the outcome of the roll. This will not work on creatures who cannot hear you or are otherwise immune to being charmed.

Spell Slots:
1st Level: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
2nd Level: [ ] [ ]

Spell List:
-Cantrips:
--Prestidigitation: You are able to perform a variety of minor magic tricks. Within 10 feet of yourself, you can perform any of the following magical effects: You create a harmless sensory effect, such as a flash of light, a series of sparks, a loud noise, a puff of wind, or an odd odor; You can instantaneously light or snuff a candle, torch, or small campfire; You can instantaneously clean or soil any object no larger than 1-cubic foot in diameter; You can chill or warm 1-cubic foot of non-living material; You can make a patch of color, a symbol, or a small mark appear on any surface for 1 hour; You can create a small magical trinket or illusory image that can fit into your hand that lasts until your next turn. You can cast up to three of these effects at the same time and you can dismiss each effect with an action.
--Minor Illusion: You can conjure an illusory sound or image for 1 minute within 30 feet. If you create a sound, the volume can range anywhere between a whisper to a loud scream. This sound can be anything you can imagine, including your own voice speaking or someone else’s voice. If you create an image of an object, it must be smaller than 5-cubic feet. Illusory images give off no other sensory effects such as smell or sound, nor can they give off light or cast shadows. These illusions are intangible and simply physically interacting with them in any way will reveal the illusion immediately. Beyond physically touching the illusion, a creature can make an Intelligence (Investigation) Check to determine if the image is an illusion.
-1st Level:
--Charm Person: You can attempt to Charm a humanoid creature within range of 30 feet. The creature must make a WIS Saving Throw to resist the effect of your spell. The target will have Advantage on this Saving Throw if they are currently in Combat with you or your allies. If the spell is successful, the target is Charmed for 1 hour or until you or your allies do anything to harm it. Charmed creatures regard you as a Friendly Acquaintance, regardless of your prior history, if any. When the spell ends, the creature will know it was Charmed by you. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, you can target 1 additional creature per Spell Slot level above 1. Each target must be within 30 feet of another target.
--Sleep: On casting, roll 5d8 for ‘Sleep Damage’, then target a point within 90 feet of your Field of Vision. All creatures within 20 feet of that point will start taking the rolled Sleep Damage in ascending order of total Hit Points per creature. Sleep Damage deals no true damage, but if the number rolled for Sleep Damage meets or exceeds a target’s current HP, that target falls asleep and the number is taken out of the remaining Sleep Damage total. The spell then targets the next creature in range with the lowest current HP. Creatures who are affected by this spell are Unconscious for 1 minute, until they take damage, or until someone uses an Action to either shake or slap the sleeping creature awake. Undead and creatures immune to being Charmed are not affected by this spell. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, add an additional 2d8 to the Sleep Damage roll per Spell Slot level above 1.
--Heroism: A willing creature you touch is infused with bravery and courage, gaining immunity to being Frightened as well as gaining Temporary Hit Points equal to your CHA Mod each turn for 1 minute. After which, the spell ends and your target loses all Temporary HP gained from the spell. If the spell is cast with a 2nd Level Spell Slot or higher, you can target 1 additional creature within range per Spell Slot level above 1.
-2nd Level:
--Enthrall: You target a creature within range of 60 feet of your Field of Vision who can hear you. The creature must make a WIS Saving Throw to resist the effect of your spell. The target will have Advantage on this Saving Throw if they are currently in Combat with you or your allies. If the spell is successful, the creature gains automatic Disadvantage on any Wisdom (Perception) Checks to perceive any creature other than you. This spell ends after 1 minute, if the creature can no longer hear you, or if you are Silenced or otherwise Incapacitated. Undead and creatures immune to being Charmed are not affected by this spell.
--Suggestion: You target a creature within range of 30 feet of your Field of Vision who can hear and understand you. The creature must make a WIS Saving Throw to resist the effect of your spell. The target will have Advantage on this Saving Throw if they are currently in Combat with you or your allies. If the spell is successful, you can make a simple suggestion to the creature that can be conveyed in two sentences or less. This suggestion must be reasonable. For example, suggesting that the target wound itself, jump off a cliff, or do something that would otherwise obviously harm the target will end the spell. The suggestion can take up the entire time of the spell’s duration which is 8 hours. You can set specific parameters to be triggered within those 8 hours, such as suggesting the target give all of their gold to the first beggar they see. The spell ends if you or your allies do anything to harm the target. Undead and creatures immune to being Charmed are not affected by this spell.
--Hold Person: Target a humanoid creature within 60 feet of your Field of Vision. That target must succeed on a WIS Saving Throw or be Paralyzed for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the target can attempt another WIS Saving Throw to free itself from the spell. If the spell is cast with a 3rd Level Spell Slot or higher, you can target 1 additional creature per Spell Slot level above 2. Each target must be within 30 feet of another target.

Feats:
Actor:
-You gain Advantage on both Charisma (Performance) and Charisma (Deception) Skill Checks when trying to pretend you are someone you’re not.
-You can imitate another person’s voice or sound of a creature if you have heard said voice or sound for 1 minute. An opposing Wisdom (Insight) Check must be made against your Charisma (Deception) Check to determine if another creature can tell if your voice is being faked.
By Popular Demand: You can always find work as an entertainer in establishments such as an inn, tavern, possibly a circus, theater, or even a noble’s court. If you regularly perform each night, you can barter for free room and board at a modest to comfortable standard (Depending on the quality of the establishment). Your performances make you somewhat of a local figure, and stranger’s who have seen you perform will typically take a liking to you (If they don’t already have reason to despise you).

Armor: Leather Armor (11+DEX Mod)
Weapons:
Rapier (Dmg: 1d8 Piercing) Finesse
Stiletto Dagger (Dmg: 1d3 Piercing) Finesse, Hidden, Undersized, Thrown (Rng: 20/60)

Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Rapiers, Shortswords, Longswords.
Tools: Disguise Kit, Lute, Flute, Violin,
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Acrobatics, Performance, Sleight of Hand, History, Deception, Persuasion, History, Arcana, Insight

Equipment:
Leather Armor
Rapier
Stiletto Dagger
Entertainer’s Pack
Lute
Diguise Kit
Set of Costumes
Set of Common Clothes

Appearance: Grayish-white rabbit with white stomach and muzzle with bright green eyes.
—
Jeeeeez! And I thought Grape got lucky on her stat rolls. Zach’s a monster for 3rd Level!

Bard’s may not be the biggest damage dealers in the game, but their spells do invite a lot of ‘Creative Interpretations’.

Only the Mystery Character Sheet left! I’m kinda curious if anyone can guess it before I upload it. Though it’s probably WAY more obvious than I’m making it out to be...