Battle of the Bards - The Chase

 Our intrepid Band of Bards are teleported back to reality.

The find themselves in the alleyway behind the Auditorium where they played.

The sun is out, so it is not the same time as they left.

Clodagh exclaims, are we back to now, or then or when, be could have arrived before we even set off.

The Band head out of the Alley into the main street, where it is deserted.

Bardo is a little disappointed that the apocalypse has not destroyed all the buildings, a boy can dream.

Hydrica spots some people about, and realises it must me a Sunday, but what Sunday they do no know.

Are they in the past, present or future?

The Band make the decision to head to Vivian Eastwoods, to make sure that the debt has been paid off, and possibly get the curses removed from their clothes (cause its wash day and these clothes don't come off anymore!)

As the band are heading down the street, they start getting the funniest looks from everyone they meet.

A few, become some, some become many and within a few blocks there is a mob following them.

The Band, well the whole band except Xlixi who is happily skipping down the street oblivious to all around him, see that the mob are all wearing "Arcane Fire" t-shits.

"oh, so at least we know we have arrived after the battle of the bands" proclaims Clodagh

Bardo lays down his original instrument (the non magical one), and announces to the crowd, that if they crawl to the instrument as played in the Battle of the Bands, the winner can keep it.

The Crowd goes rapturous with this, and scream like banchiees, rushing towards their idols token like love sick ravening dogs.

Violence erupts as they punch, trip, claw, bite there way in advance to the "holy instrument"

With this the band runs

For a while the band can only think of running in a straight line, when the sound of the instrument being ripped apart assails them.

Wood splinters and cracks

Strings and sprung free, whipping those in the bundle

The Crowd advances faster and with more earning

Stuck like rabbits in the headlights, the band bolt on

Clodagh is the first to break pace and misty steps into a house to hide.

Xlixi follows suit and goes invisible, hugging into a wall hoping the Crowd will surge past him

Bardo takes out the unattuned instrument from hell, and goes to play fly

Getting a massive headache for doing so

As the crowd is getting closer and closer within feet of the remaining band

Hieronymo transforms into a hell hound and scarpers away towards Vivian Eastwoods

As the crowd surge past Xlixi he is caught in the mix and ran across a wall until he pops into the alcove for a door.

Clodagh as quiet as a mouse searches through the house and opens the door to the kitchen, where there is an old lady doing the washing up at the sink

Bardo swoops down and with some jiggery pokery with inspiration picks up Hydrica and flys upwards, as the ground is amassed with the mob.

Xlixi scanning the room thinks it is empty and climbs into to bed, rolling over to be face to face with a teifling who is staring in horror right through Xlixi (cause he is still invisible)

Clodagh is caught by the old lady, who with a bit of friendship thinks she is one of Leslies friends, and offers her a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Someone from one of the houses near by casts hold person on Bardo and Hydrica and they are stuck motionless 30 ft up in the air.

Xlixi jumps out of the bed, and shrinks his size and scampers under the bed.

the Teifling lady jumps out of bed and screams "who is there" then casts faire fire to no avail

Clodagh makes her excuses and tries to exit the back door as the old lady shouts "Leslie one of you friends are here"

Bardo while motionless sees the hell hound Hieronymo come darting back across the street and heading in a different direction.

Xlixi changes into being a human boy child and steps out from under the bed, exclaiming that "He lost his mommy"

The teiflings heart melts at this and vows to help the poor child find his mommy, but not before he has a drink and bicciee

Leslie comes thumping down the stairs like a typical teen, but stops, goes instantly red and gushes over that fact that Clodagh is in his kitchen, Clodagh is in his home, Clodagh is within ft of me, Arcane Fire are back, and they are here.

Clodagh is panicked

Bardo and  Hydrica let loose a series of attacks against the person holding them to break her concentration.

Free at last they fly off towards Vivian Eastwoods

Clodagh makes a bolt from the back door and scrambles over the side wall

Leslie in hot pursuit of her idol

The teifling was to take Xlixi out by the hand to find his mommy, and Xlixi trying to buy time to think, comes up with a number of excuses not the leave now

not finished my drink

not finished my biscuit

need a wee

Clodagh is garden hopping, till she mis judges a fence and comes down legs a kimbo, luckily falling away from her chaser

Also as luck would have it, she hears a might "Oooph" and "Thunk" as Leslie also misjudges that same fence, but runs straight into it.

Xlixi as the teifling is about to take him by his hand so they can find his mommy, he bolts free to the back door and vaults the back fence, then heads off down the alley.

The Teifling screaming profanities at him

Clodagh vaulting the next fence, lands on a Tiefling, straddling her.

Before the Tiefling can say boo to a goose, Clodagh casts friends on her.

The Tiefling, in a very friendly embrace, kisses Clodagh!

Bardo and  Hydrica arrive at Vivian Eastwoods and find the place boarded up.

Bardo launches Hydrica at the door and with the might of strength plus Gravity plus velocity, squared, wiggly woo, numbers and things, Hydrica breaks through the door.

The place is gutted, nothing is in there

Vivian Eastwood has left the building....

Xlixi comes running out of the alley as a child, and is just about to move around the corner to go in the direction of the crowd, when is is pulled back by Hieronymo the hell hound, who snarls and makes deep guttural noises, but indicates that Xlixi should get on his back

Clodagh gets up, thanks the lady very much, and hands her a card - it is the Queen of hearts, and off she jumps over the fence and down the ally catching up with Xlixi and Hieronymo 

Of course the band is still caked in the viscera from hell so there is demon blood and Bardo blood on the instrument that Bardo gave away, and a nice clear fingerprint in demon blood on the Queen of Hearts

Hieronymo takes them to a large building with a big billboard with lights and with several pictures around the doors

 

Sniffs around the doors and growls in a deep guttural noise (Infernal).

Not understanding, Clodagh has an insightfull thought to meet up with Bardo and Hydrica at their usual breakfast place, and the trio head off with Clodagh in a basic disguise.

Bardo and Hydrica search the vacated shop and find under some fresh coat of paint, some glyphs

Bardo and Hydrica then meet up with the rest of the Band at the coffee shop and head back to the bar where they started all of this.

The bar is still empty and unused, the band decide to rest here away from the mob and try and recuperate their tiered exhausted bodies.