Meryelle "Mery" Keryndon
Level 4 Half-Elf Sage College of Lore Bard
AC: 13 (Leather Armor) | HP: 30/30 | Speed: 30 ft.
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft; Passive Perception 11, Passive Insight 11, Passive Investigation 14
Str: 8 (-1) | Dex: 14 (+4) | Con: 14 (+2) | Int: 14 (+2) | Wis: 11 (+0) | Cha: 18 (+6)
Languages: Common, Elven, Solamnic, Kharolian, and Draconic
Spell-casting: +6 or DC 14 | 1st 4/4 2nd 3/3 | Bardic Inspiration: 4/4
“My words,” | ‘My thoughts,’ | My actions
Mery gives Hunni a friendly wink when she adds a correction about one of the dying Draconian types causing petrification and not paralysis, letting her know silently that she appreciates the Gully Dwarf's commitment to accuracy and is not in the least put off or irritated by it. 'With the sheer number of facts I'm having to lay out, I'll be lucky if one is all I get wrong.'
She had wanted to let her companions do some of the talking in this meeting and was hoping that they could at least handle the boilerdrak without any input from her, but she finds herself inwardly astonished by Decimus' complete lack of practical information about the machine as well as the lack of any comment about the machine's origins. 'He cast that spell that lets someone understand any language in order to read the machine's instructions. Can it be that he didn't know what language the instructions were written in and simply trusted the spell to translate what he needed to know? Does he just get nervous in front of a group like this? Or maybe he's not the most practically minded person?'
Deciding that the only thing that really matters is that useful information gets shared, she rises to her feet. "One of the Draconians manning the boilerdrak stated explicitly that the device is Gnomish in origin," she clarifies, "although whether the maker is part of the Red Dragon Army or not I do not know. There were instructions written on the machine in Draconic, which I could read, and in another language which I could not but due to my scholarly pursuits recognized as Gnomish. Assuming those instructions have not been removed, I suspect any Gnome in the city capable of reading the language - including your own Ser Marbleheart - could make sense of it. While I have no particular familiarity with Gnomes, their talents for inventing and tinkering are well-recognized, at least in the Great Library of Palanthas, and that boilerdrak strikes me as the sort of thing that would be right up an inventer/tinkerer Gnome's alley. Perhaps Ser Marbleheart," and she gives the elderly head of the Knights of the Rose a courteous nod, "might have some thoughts as to which of his kinsmen have the requisite skill to build such a thing, once he's had a little time to consider the matter." Then, addressing the elderly Gnome specifically, she asks him, "Tell me, do your kinsmen ever put anything akin to a maker's mark on the devices they create? We did not examine the machine all that closely, but since you do now have it in your possession, it would be simple enough to search for such a thing. It might yield a clue as to the maker, which, if followed up, might give a sense as to how many of these boilerdraks the Red Dragon Army actually possesses."
Wanting to make certain that the practical aspects of the device don't get overlooked, she continues, "When we came across the device, it was being manned by four of the Draconians, although I'd hazard the guess it could be worked by two if both of them knew what they were doing. I don't remember what all of the stations were for, but there was one for driving and I think maybe aiming as well as firing. And probably another one for attending to the fire that is necessary to use the thing. What my Sea Elf companion Merituuli," and while she does gesture to him, she doesn't dare call him 'Kai', not in such a formal gathering as this one, "observes about the enemy having difficulty using the machine is important, I think. Baronetess Raven uth Vogler," and she pauses to gesture to the Mayor of the now destroyed village, "had fired an arrow that jammed the machine, and because I understand Draconic, I understood the command to unjam it as well as their struggles to do so. The unfamiliarity they showed with the machine at that time gave our group enough time to kill enough of those manning it that they were unable to fire it a second time."
She started getting the feeling she sometimes got when she was on the verge of seeing something in a new light - like there was a new thought burrowing its way from her subconscious to her conscious mind. "The whole thing felt like..." and she pauses, waiting for the thought to finally break through, "they were figuring out how it works as opposed to using it in the most efficient way to do the maximum possible damage."
Upon finishing, she subsides into quiet and takes her seat again. She wasn't sure whether these leaders would need more discussion about the boilerdrak or the Red Dragon Army and they still had the needs of the Voglerites to see to. Whatever the case, she wanted to be ready.
Actions & Resources
Actions:
Shortbow (simple, ranged, ammunition, two-handed). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Dagger (light, ranged or melee). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, ranged 20/80 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Bonus Actions:
Healing Word
A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains hit points equal to 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d4 for each slot level above 1st.
Bardic Inspiration (3 per long rest, for 1d6)
As a bonus action, a creature (other than yourself) within 60 ft. that can hear you gains an inspiration die (1d6). For 10 minutes, the creature can add it to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. This can be added after seeing the roll, but before knowing the outcome.
Heat Metal
Until the spell ends (up to 1 minute), you can use a bonus action on each of your subsequent turns to cause this damage (1d8 fire damage for each level the spell is cast at, minimum 2nd level) again.
Ammunition:
14 arrows in quiver, 0 arrow bundles in backpack.
Spellcasting:
Mery is a 2nd-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following bard spells available for spontaneous casting:
- Cantrips (3/3 slots): prestidigitation, vicious mockery, message
- 1st level (4/4 slots): healing word, hideous laughter, cure wounds, unseen servant
- 2nd (3/3 slots): invisibility, heat metal, enhance ability
Class Features:
- 3/3 Bardic Inspiration, recovered after a long rest
- Song of Rest (Use on any short rest - anyone who hears her performance and chooses to regain a hit die gains an extra 1d6 of HP.)
- Jack of All Trades (add 1/2 proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn't already include your proficiency bonus.)
- Bardic College = College of Lore. Gain expertise in 2 skills you already have proficiency in, and proficiency in 3 new skills. (Choosing Persuasion and Deception for Expertise, adding Nature, Stealth, and Religion for Proficiency.)