[SCENE FOUR — DESCENT INTO NODE 9B | WATERDEEP SEWERS | 10:27 AM]Water drips. Stone sweats. A slow hum rises from below — like ughter sucked through teeth, echoing off pipe walls too narrow for sound that wide. The smell is sweet. Wrongly sweet. Like syrup on rot.
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1. ENTRY — One by One
Mel drops first — smooth, silent, staff across her back, her boots nding in an inch of slime with no spsh. Her dark braid twitches with her scan.
“It’s wrong down here,” she whispers.
Her voice vanishes into the dark. Even her breath sounds muffled.
Krummar lowers next — not quiet. Not trying.His Duergar armor cnks like a hymn. His shield hits the stone with a soft thunk — incense smoke curling in a full circle around him.
“Light does not fear echoes.”
Daka nds like a boulder.
“ECHO THIS, YOU SLIME-FACED—”
Mel cmps a hand over his mouth.
He licks it.
“…Gross.”
She doesn’t let go.
Melodia lowers st — nearly floating.Her lic-stockinged legs dangle as she descends the dder, skirt fluttering, garter strap visibly catching the nternlight.
Codex 273 Fallout Triggered — Tier 1 (Visual Zone Disruption):Krummar stumbles mid-step. Daka walks into a pipe. Mel grips her staff tighter, jaw tensing.
Melodia whispers:
“Sorry.”
No one responds. It wasn’t a compint.
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2. THE HALL — Node 9B, Central Pipe Chamber
The room opens.40 feet wide. Slime-coated bricks. A broken maintenance station.One candle still burns — impossibly untouched — on a bent metal shelf.
At the far end, a mannequin stands. Alone. Wearing a sewer worker’s uniform. But no face.
A second one.Then a third.
Twelve mannequins, pced like an audience.
Daka:
“…I don’t like pys with no exits.”
Mel (quiet):
“I smell jam.”
Melodia’s freckles pulse. Her bow hums.
“That’s not jam.”
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3. INITIATION — COMBAT BEGINS
The candle flickers once.Then stretches.
Its fme becomes a vertical slit — an eye.
Then a mouth, stretching down the candle like it’s melting. The wick ughs.
The mannequins turn. In perfect sync.And sprint.
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4. COMBAT TURN ONE — INITIATIVE ORDER
23 – Melodia (Alert + Elven Reflex Surge)19 – Krummar17 – Mel15 – Daka13 – ENEMY: The Laughing Wax (Mannequin Swarm)
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5. MELODIA — ACTIVATE: Phantom Virtuoso
She’s a blur.Skirt whirls. Bow out. Garter visible — no time to adjust.
Cunning Action: Hide (shadowed pipe corner).Stealth: 30 (Pass Without Trace active)
Attack: Longbow of Melodies — Advantage. Elven Accuracy.3d20 → CRIT HIT.
The arrow hums —2d8 + 2d6 + 26 = 41 damageThe first mannequin explodes in a shower of silk and pster.
Codex Fallout Trigger: Glowburst Impact (d8 roll: 2)Her freckles fsh. Air tightens. Two mannequins hesitate.
Her whisper:
“Fall like petals…”
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6. KRUMMAR — MOON MODE
“Light cleanse you!”
Cast: Spirit Guardians —Area: 15ft, RadiantDC 16 WIS Save — 4 mannequins fail.
They stagger — fleshless, faceless — twitching as spectral flowers bloom and burn them.
17 Radiant Damage each.
Shield raised. Aura active. Presence Glow +1 triggered.
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7. MEL — BLIGHTED STORM
She spins her staff once.It groans. Alive. Hungry.
“Root them.”
Cast: Entangle (20ft radius)6 mannequins restrained — wooden tendrils sm from the floor, pinning limbs.
Bonus Action: Wild Shape Prep (Thorn Form charging)
She doesn’t speak again.But she stands protectively in front of Melodia.
“You don’t touch her.”
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8. DAKA — THE BARD-BARIAN UNLEASHED
“Time to die pretty!”
Bonus: Bardic Inspiration → Mel
He sprints forward — punches two mannequins mid-charge.
Fists of Justice: +12 to hit. Both nd.Damage: 1d6+10 → 13, 14.
One shatters. One is suplexed into a pipe.
He turns to a third.
“I dare you to try monologuing.”
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9. ENEMY TURN — THE LAUGHING WAX
The mannequins twitch. Then scream — a wet, chorus scream.Their limbs stretch. Wax begins pouring from their mouths.
Two reach Mel — miss.One nds on Daka — minor hit (7 damage, sptter burn)Three swarm Krummar — blocked by radiant shield.
From behind the crowd, a new shape begins melting down the wall.
Not mannequin. Not human. Something smiling too wide.It giggles.
Next round: Boss Reveal.
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[SCENE FOUR CONTINUES — ROUND TWO | NODE 9B | WATERDEEP SEWERS]The air tightens like lungs mid-panic. Wax smoke fills the nostrils. The mannequins twitch with soundless violence, dripping like candles on the verge of screaming. And above it all — that giggle. Louder now. Deeper. Hungrier.
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ROUND TWO — INITIATIVE ORDER CONTINUES
23 – Melodia19 – Krummar17 – Mel15 – Daka13 – Enemy (Laughing Wax Swarm + ???)
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1. MELODIA — Garter-Bared, Bow Drawn
She exhales.Her skirt catches a draft. Garterzone Fully Exposed.Codex Fallout 273: Garter Flutter Fallout — d4 = 3 (Enemy dey response, 1 turn)
But she doesn’t see it.She sees only Krummar’s aura fring, Mel crouched in defensive stance, and Daka bleeding slightly — but grinning.
Bonus Action: Swift Quiver“One heartbeat. Three arrows.”
Her fingers blur.Three arrows fired. Elven Accuracy.Stealth maintained.? First shot: Hit. 1d8 + 22 = 27? Second: Crit. 2d8 + 2d6 + 26 = 43? Third: Hit. 1d8 + 22 = 30
One mannequin explodes into a shriek of wax.Another’s head flies backward — thunking against a pipe.A third spasms and freezes, leaking noise instead of blood.
Melodia whispers:
“I’ll cry ter. For now… sing for me.”
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2. KRUMMAR — HOLY WEAPON UNLEASHED
He lifts his mace.Cast: Holy Weapon (Concentration, 1 minute)Light bursts from it like the first dawn of a god’s dream.
“You will not pass through me. You will not pass at all.”
He steps into the mannequins, now staggering under his Spirit Guardians, and swings — glowing.
Attack: +7 to hit.Hit.Damage: 1d6 + 10 radiant (mace) + 2d8 Holy Weapon = 21.
The mannequin folds in half, light melting its torso.He pivots. Shield up.Aura fring.
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3. MEL — THORN FORM SHIFT
She drops to all fours, eyes glowing blight-green, and lets the change ripple through her. Her skin doesn’t harden — it splinters. Veins darken. Bark erupts along her spine.
Wild Shape: Blighted Form — Thorncat Variant.
She charges into two mannequins, growling.
Attack (Cw swipe): +7 to hit.Hit.Damage: 2d6 + STR (5) = 13.
The mannequin staggers, now wrapped in twisting vines.
“You wanted the dark,” she growls. “Let it hold you.”
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4. DAKA — SUICIDAL BRAVADO ACTIVE
“Time for the finishing move no one asked for!”
Bonus: Bardic Inspiration to Krummar.Free Action: Yell something sexy.
“HEY, MEL! TELL ME I’M HOT OR I WON’T DODGE!”
Mel:
“You’re hot. SHUT UP.”
Daka grins — and tackles two mannequins at once, grappling one and using the other as a springboard for a spinning suplex.
Athletics: +15. Natural 20.
“SUPLEX OF JUSTICE!”
Both mannequins shattered. One nds headfirst in a torch sconce.
He bows. To no one.
“You’re welcome, sewer.”
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5. ENEMY TURN — THE LAUGHING WAX REVEALS ITSELF
The far wall stretches — the candle melts backward.A man-sized blob of wax with a smile too wide and too ft oozes into the chamber, dragging a sewer worker’s skull in one hand and a harp string in the other.
Its voice is yered — child’s giggle over woman’s sob over drunkard’s chant.
“So many songs…So many bones…Let’s find your notes…”
Action: Screech.All must make WIS Saves (DC 15) or be disoriented.? Melodia: 17. Pass.? Krummar: 19. Pass.? Mel: 14. Fail — Disoriented (Disadvantage on next round’s actions)? Daka: 10. Fail — Loses Bardic bonus next round
Codex Fallout — Emotional Reverb (Tier 2):Mel whimpers mid-attack. Her cw falters. Her breath catches.
Melodia turns toward her immediately — instinctual. Protective.
“Mel? MEL—!”
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POSITIONING SNAPSHOT:? Krummar: Frontline, glowing, still surrounded? Mel: Right fnk, in thornform, staggered? Daka: Center, grappling shattered husks? Melodia: Hidden rear angle, firing with divine elegance? The Laughing Wax: Mid-chamber, moving forward, preparing to consume
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[END ROUND TWO | Round Three Begins]Tension high. Glow votile. Emotional spikes rising.
[SCENE FOUR CONTINUES — ROUND THREE | NODE 9B | WATERDEEP SEWERS | 10:34 AM]Something shifts. The light flickers unnaturally. Wax slides across stone like silk over bone. The ughter is closer now — not in the air, but in the head, scratching at the backs of their thoughts. A scream lives behind it, waiting.
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ROUND THREE — INITIATIVE ORDER
23 – Melodia19 – Krummar17 – Mel (Disoriented)15 – Daka (Disoriented)13 – Laughing Wax (Boss Entity)
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1. MELODIA — Steel Beneath Silk Triggers
She sees Mel stumble.Sees her shoulders tense. Her cws falter.And without thinking — something ancient in her soul ignites.
Codex 278 Trigger: Steel-Beneath-Silk – Tier 1 (Gentle Deflection)
Her freckles dim. Then burn silver.She whispers — not loud. But strong.
“Let her go.”
She steps into open view, skirt fluttering, hair glowing faint. The moonstone choker pulses at her throat.
Swift Quiver active. She fires three times.? Arrow 1 (target: Laughing Wax) — Hit. 1d8 + 22 = 26? Arrow 2 — Crit. 2d8 + 2d6 + 26 = 43? Arrow 3 — Miss. (Arrow dissolves in midair with a giggle.)
Codex Fallout on Crit: Dreambow Reverie (d8 = 5)The Laughing Wax stalls — caught not by pain, but beauty. A pause, as if in awe of her stance.
Mel breathes again.
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2. KRUMMAR — BARRIER & STRIKE
He steps in front of Mel without a word.Shield raised. Spirit Guardians dancing.
“You’ll fall behind me. Or you’ll fall because of me.”
Bonus: Cast Shield of Faith on Mel. AC +2.Action: Mace strike on Laughing Wax. Hit.? Damage: 1d6 + 2d8 (Holy Weapon) = 21 Radiant
The wax screams — voice yered with soprano and sob.
Krummar does not blink.
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3. MEL — Disoriented | Guilt + Grit
She shakes. Not from pain — from the feeling of being watched by her own weakness.
The blight in her chest pulses.The vines around her ankles twitch.
Codex Emotional Fallout Trigger: Level 1 — Colpse-Resist
“Not like this. Not again.”
She forces herself to focus.Takes the Disengage action, backing up behind Krummar.
Breath ragged. Eyes locked on Melodia.
Her voice is soft — cracked.
“You always do that. Step in for me.”
Melodia, without looking away from the Wax:
“You always make it matter.”
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4. DAKA — Disoriented | Cocky Shell Cracked
His bravado sms against emotional static.The ughter got in. Somewhere beneath the swagger, something small and scared twitches.
But he doesn’t run. He roars.
“YOU THINK I’M SCARED OF GOO? I’VE DATED WORSE.”
He casts Healing Word on Mel — yelling it like an insult.
“WALK IT OFF, BRAMBLE BUTT!”
Mel: +9 HP recovered.Action: Grapples remaining mannequin (Nat 18)Breaks its neck with a spin and tosses it into the sludge.
Then stops. Just for a second. Looks at Melodia.
“Hey. Just so we’re clear.I didn’t die first.”
Melodia:
“You’re not allowed to die at all.”
His grin falters.
Then returns, a little softer.
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5. THE LAUGHING WAX — Lashing Out
It twitches. Twists. Melts sideways.
“You’re all so soft. So scared. So… beautiful.”
It attacks.? Whip Lash (Wax Tendril) — Targets Melodia. Miss (deflected by moonlight burst).? Smother Attempt — Targets Krummar. Hit. (14 Acid Damage. Grappled.)? Reaction Laughter Pulse — All within 10 feet make CHA Save (DC 14)? Mel: 16. Pass.? Daka: 12. Fail. (Disadvantage next turn)
The wax begins to melt faster — like it’s burning itself. The sewer starts to tremble.
Mel:
“It’s colpsing. It wants to pull us in with it.”
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POSITION SNAPSHOT — END OF ROUND THREE? Melodia: Rear left, glowing, bow out, presence surging? Krummar: Center, grappled by Wax, radiant damage channeling? Mel: Back right, recovering, snarling, aura rising? Daka: Right side, ughing through the pain? Laughing Wax: Centerfront, melting rapidly, surrounded by spectral fire
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[END ROUND THREE]The entity is partially unstable. Final round approaching.Melodia’s Steel-Beneath-Silk Tier 2 may activate.Emotional fallout climbing across the board.A final strike is near — but whose?
[SCENE FOUR — FINAL ROUND: LAUGHING WAX | NODE 9B | WATERDEEP SEWERS | 10:36 AM]The chamber buckles. Stones weep. The wax creature trembles like a fevered memory unraveling in real time — too much emotion jammed into too little shape. Something in it wants to die. Something in it wants to take them with it. The Codex Fallout ttice glows like veins beneath the narrative.
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ROUND FOUR — INITIATIVE ORDER
23 – Melodia19 – Krummar (Grappled)17 – Mel15 – Daka (Disadv. active)13 – Laughing Wax (Unstable Form)
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1. MELODIA — The Phantom’s Last Lulby
She sees Krummar crushed in wax.Sees Mel scarred, knees braced.Feels Daka’s bravado thinning.
She doesn’t cry.She sings.
“Fall like the petals fall…Let me be the breath between your st and your beginning…”
Codex 278: Steel-Beneath-Silk — Tier 2 Triggered.
Her freckles dim… then fre silver.Her body straightens. Her skirt flutters unnaturally. Her bow levitates, nocked with a glowing arrow.
Swift Quiver — three shots. All at the core.? Shot 1: 3d20 — CRIT? Shot 2: Hit? Shot 3: Hit
Damage: 2d8 + 2d6 + 26 (Crit) + 1d8 + 22 + 1d8 + 22 = 92
The Laughing Wax explodes inward.Sucking light, then screaming it back out. A burst of glow, wax, and raw emotion shoots through the chamber.
Codex Fallout: Lust Layer Cascade Triggered — d8 = 8 (Emotional Stun Aura for all enemies, 1d4 rounds)— No enemies remain.
But every ally feels it.Their skin tingles. Their breath shortens.They dream of her for one second.
Then it’s gone.
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2. KRUMMAR — FREED, SMOLDERING, SILENT
The wax melts off him like shame from a sinner.He stands — slowly — breathing hard.
“…Well sung.”
Melodia looks like she might faint.He catches her wrist. Steadies her. Doesn’t let go.
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3. MEL — HEARTBEAT
She stares.At Melodia, glowing. At the ruin.At herself — burned, bark-split, panting.
“…She didn’t even break a sweat.”
She turns.Walks away two steps.Then turns back.
“Next time, I go first.”
Melodia looks at her — wide-eyed, freckles still flickering.
“…You always do.”
Their eyes lock.Something too tender to say out loud lingers.
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4. DAKA — DUMBSTRUCK
“You… you arrowed the shit outta that thing. Like, emotionally.”
He leans against a pipe, bleeding slightly.
“I feel weird. Is this… pride? Or arousal?”
Krummar:
“Yes.”
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5. THE AFTERMATH — NODE 9B
The glow fades. The scent of wax and sorrow thins.Only one mannequin still stands. It bows. Then colpses into dust.
At the back of the chamber, the wall pulses once — and a small brass door opens.
Inside:? A sealed scroll tube bearing the Bckstaff’s sigil.? A jar of iridescent wax, faintly humming.? A note: “To dream is to suffer. To suffer is to remember. I remember you.”
Mel pockets it silently.
“We take it back. Let her figure it out.”
Daka kicks the dust.
“You think she’s paying for emotional trauma? Like a bonus fee?”
Krummar wipes his mace off.
“If not, we charge by song.”
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[EXIT SEWERS | TIME: 11:00 AM]
The dder creaks. The light returns.Their boots hit daylight.And above, Kareshka’s Favor awaits.
With Lorin. With tea. With quiet.
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[COMBAT COMPLETE — EMOTIONAL FALLOUT ACTIVE FOR THE NEXT SCENE]——(Note: MANN I WISH COMBAT WENT THAT SMOOTH ????)——
