The brown glow bled out of the wide opening of a tall, wide tree stump. Two men with scimitars stood on either side of the opening. The tree had broken off perhaps 20 feet up, and the opening to the inside stood at least 10 feet wide. This was the sacred site that Ysel had called Hal-ghit Hal.

“There,” Ysel whispered. “In my vision I saw two men and a huge hollowed out tree trunk - a tree as big as a room. I saw the older man sprinkling a powder, and the younger man grinding something with a pestle.”

Fara said, “I see a small fire perhaps 50 feet from the tree. Guards?”

“I would expect no less.” Ysel motioned the three closer. “The older man - he is a cleric, and he must not finish the ritual. Disrupt him as best you can.”

They all nodded, and Ysel stood. She reached to her belt and took out a handful of a dark fiber. Cupping it in her palm, she whispered words and then smeared it down the front of her armor.

Mellar did the same and then he moved swiftly but silently the edge of the tree line. Isa padded up beside the man and peered through the branches. Isa could see a man speaking and waving one hand. At the man’s elbow, Alice. She was naked, gagged and tied to a plank, and she flinched as the man sprinkled something on her head.

Alice was alive! And Isa would make sure she stayed that way. She rose, ready to run full tilt at the guards.

Mellar gripped her arm like a vice. He said, “I know this place. The tree has openings on both sides. One moment and we will flank them from behind.” He whispered some words, creating shapes in the air. Instantly a tiger appeared in front of the guards. With a shout, they both brought up their scimitars.

Mellar took off at a swift run, and Isa followed. From the corner of her eye she saw sparks fly by and heard a cry as someone got hit. She and Mellar were at the side of the trunk so her view was blocked. She could only hope that it hadn’t been Alice crying out.

They rounded the side of the tree; Isa overtaking Mellar. She raced through the back and brushed past a man in a hooded robe. The man next to Alice had his hand at his side. A sparking javelin quivered in the ground behind him.

“Alice!” Isa gripped the side of the table that supported her girlfriend. In a moment Isa took it all in. Alice gagged and bound at the hands and feet. A garland of purple-black flowers draped around her neck. A series of shallow cuts across her belly - this was start of the ritual Ysel had mentioned.

Through the gag Alice tried to speak.

A flaming arrow hit the hooded man. He dropped the tray he was holding, beating with his hands at the flames. With a cry he pulled a pouch free and spilled something into his hand, then he smeared it across the robe. The same protection spell that Ysel and Mellar had done, Isa realized.

While Isa was distracted, the high cleric reached across Alice and grabbed Isa’s hair, pulling her across Alice’s body. With his other hand he cupped Isa’s cheek and hissed out a string of words. Pain burned across her face, and she jerked away instinctively, losing a clump of hair in the process.

Mellar stepped up beside the cleric, a flaming blade in hand. Alice flinched as Mellar swung the blade.

Isa touched Alice’s shoulder. “He’s a friend,” she said. At least that’s what she intended to say, but the side of her face felt swollen and numb, as if she’d just left the dentist’s chair, so what came out was more like, “Sh’s fren.”

Hearing Isa’s voice seemed to enrage the cleric. His eyes grew large, and he pointed a finger at Isa and spoke strange words again. She felt her body clench up, and her hands shook. What horrible spell had he cast on her?

She pushed away from Alice, grabbing for her rapier with a shaking left hand. If only she had her old staff at hand, she could have used it as a cane.

With effort Isa lunged around the far side of the table and jabbed at the cleric. The strike hit his foot because of her shaking hands, and she realized in a flash that she should put that club to use - bigger surface, still not very heavy, and if her hands were going to continue to shake, she’d have a better chance of hitting something with the club than with the thin point of the rapier.

Another seizure doubled her over, and the cleric pushed her aside and laid his hands on Alice’s chest. He began to mutter a spell. When his hands touched her, Alice cried out and tried to pull away. Blood trickled down from her ankle where the rope had rubbed the skin raw.

Isa could hear fighting just outside the entrance of the tree trunk. She couldn’t see Fara, but she saw Ysel fighting in the middle of 4 men. One slim man whirled 2 swords in the air just inches from Ysel's face. Before Isa could even think if she should leave Alice's side and run to Ysel, the man with 2 swords disappeared and a cat sat in his place. Everyone but Ysel paused at this change. The goddess laughed and began to cast another spell. The remaining 3 men began to scramble away, but as they did dark halos began to descend on them. The men began to swat at the air around their faces, and one man tried to run and swat at the same time. He slammed into a tree and fell down.

A grunt from nearby brought Isa back to her own fight. Her ally Mellar struck at the enemy cleric again with his flaming blade, hitting the man on the arm. Blood began to flow from the wound, and Isa was heartened to remember that meant he was close to death. She squeezed Alice’s foot and said, “Hold on.” With her shillelagh in her right hand, she swung at the cleric’s head and caught his ear.

The tiger Mellar had conjured yowled in rage or pain - Isa didn’t know which. Ysel called out, but the cleric began to speak again. He waved his hands, and Isa tried to shield Alice from whatever magic he was casting. When nothing happened Isa looked up to see the cleric holding his mace. Blood no longer flowed from his wounds, and his helper, the hooded man, was somehow beside Isa. He brought his own club down on Isa’s hands which gripped the table. She wasn’t quick enough, and the club caught her left hand full on, breaking her fingers. She screamed in pain, and Alice screamed through her gag, too. Had she gotten hurt from the blow, too?

The cleric raised his hands, but before he could speak, a flaming arrow hit his shoulder and flames trailed down his sleeve. With a cupped hand and a muttered word, he quenched the flames. He stepped toward the entrance, raised his hands again, and in a thunderous voice called out a spell. Isa felt a fetid wind whip past her. Mellar cried out once and fell over.

“Ah fuck,” Isa muttered. "Ysel! We could use a hand!" She swung at the cleric and missed. With an effort she brought the club around again and slammed it into the cleric’s side. His hands were still raised from his spellcasting, and Isa felt his ribs give way.

A cry behind her made her glance over her shoulder. The hooded man was about to bring his club down on Mellar. The cry had been his triumph at felling Isa’s compatriot. Before Isa could make a move to protect Mellar, the cleric slammed his mace into Isa’s side, mirroring the blow she’d given him.

Blood dripped from her side as she tried to catch her breath. Spots swam in front of her eyes. Her face was level with her girlfriend’s. “Alice. Alice. I’m--”

The former bladesman turned cat by Ysel jumped on the table and lunged at Alice’s face. Without a thought, Isa grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and flung it away. She heard a thump and a cry as the cat hit the side of the tree trunk.

The hooded man tried to hit Isa again with his club. It glowed with brown light as it swung past her head. “Wrath,” she whispered, and her own club gleamed with green light.

From outside the tree, Isa heard Ysel say, “Heal my people!” A wind blew the tree branches overhead, and small white flowers drifted down on Isa and Alice. She felt worlds better, even though her hand was still broken. With that hand Isa tried to pat Alice. “Courage, love,” she said. “Courage.”

The cleric bent down, growled out a phrase, and then in accented English he said, “Lif a gain!”

To Isa’s surprise, the bladesman pushed himself up beside the cleric. He was no longer a cat, and worse, he had a sword in each of his hands. He gave a great laugh. The hooded man leaped toward him. “Grenyen!” he said and put his hands on the new man’s shoulders. “Welcome back and be healed.”

“Where the fuck did you come from?” Isa blurted out.

“Shouldn’t have thrown me against the wall. This cat’s got dangerous claws now,” the man said to Isa. "First you and then that bitch who hexed me. I'll show her what kind of cat I am."

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 4 / Cleric level 1

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Domain: Nature

Hit Points: 34 AC: 16

Current Hit Points: 17 (bloodied)

Combat: +6 to Hit / +4 on club/shillelagh

Weapons: Rapier (left hand) 1d8 +3 / club/shillelagh +4 (right hand) 1d8 +4 (bludgeoning)

STR

11

0

DEX

16

+3

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

5

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

4

Nature* (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

3

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

3

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.

Cleric Spells: DC = 12 Spell Attack +4

Cantrips – Shillelagh / Spare The Dying / Sacred Flame / Thaumaturgy

Level 1 - Animal Friendship (domain) / Healing Word / Bane