Ok, trying again….
ROUND 1
Full Round Action of Pain and Desire….
As the hyena glances off his greaves, he turns with it, and swings his axe down in the same deft, lumbering motion, like that of a trebuchet.
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Initiative: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24 Declared action: Ealianne will ready an attack to the first hyena that threatens her. Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19 Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
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With practiced ease Kestra raises her bow, draws an arrow and releases within the span of a heartbeat. The arrow buries itself deeply in the ruddy hide of the hyena but fails to prove a fatal wound. Anator shifts closer to Eilianne and flings his twin blades outwards from their sheaths in narrow arcs aimed for the hyena's vitals. The first blade parts the beast's fur but fails to find purchase but the second strikes true as it carves a path across the hyena's chest and shoulder. And Eilianne slashes out with her eastern blade defensively splitting the weakened beast's throat and finishing it off. The two remaining hyenas give no pause to their pack members fate and continue to strike and tear at their own victims. The beast struggles with Alain's guard but all its nipping and snapping is for naught as it can't make its way past his shield. The last hyena bites at Raznar but the burly and armoured Ulfen is more than able to keep the hyena's fangs from and vulnerable spots. Aizubike moves in to flank with Alain as his slim fencing blade slips in past the beast's shoulder blade and sinking in three or four inches. Raznar turns the tides on his own hyena and with a sweeping roundhouse slice batters the hyena away and buries the head it its side but not deep enough to finish it with one strike. Alain responds the his own beast's aggression, and Aizubike's help with a heavy overhand strike with his longsword that shears the hyena's head from the rest of it.
Outnumbered six to one and wounded, the hyena makes to flee but is brought down easily by the group.
The bodies of the hyena's show signs constant fighting and abuse but most telling are the strange collars that each of the hyena had around their necks with a strange symbol carved in clay
Anator wipes his blades against the fur of the hyenas. He examines the clay tag on the collar of one, anbd speaks over his shoulder while examining the rest of the animal.
"Nice work group. So. A mysterious symbol - anybody know whose?"
"Lamashtu. Mother of Monsters."
"Ah, the birthing she-b$@~+ of mutant monsters. So - these direct from her, or some twisted punk adherent?" the grizzled warrior grunts to no-one in particular.
He stands, dusting the earth of his knees.
"Well. The thlot pickens."
"These are just hyenas. They're entirely natural, non-magical scavengers and predators. Perhaps there is a pack of gnolls training them?"
Anator indicates understanding with a jut of his chin.
"Just what we need. Mebbe they do a sideline in undeath. Does Lamashtu have much truck with the undead types? A shaman who dabbles perhaps? Or this has nothing to do with anything except mangy gnolls..."
"I don't recall that she does, but as an evil deity I'm sure she doesn't much mind them."
Ealiannë wipes the blood of the hyena from her wakizashi.
Foul creatures, whether natural or not. Someone clearly owns them, she mutters as she unfastens the collars for a closer inspection.
I do not know that Lamashtu deals with undead extensively Kestra will say with a grunt as she rips her arrow from the hyena, but I agree with the sentiment that she may not mind them. It may be worth trying to track where they came from to see if our quarry and their masters are one in the same. She sets to work cleaning the arrow of blood while she says this, looking at her companions as if to ask for their thoughts.
"I agree. Anybody know how to track?
"Pity ve can't clean da beasts." The armored man pokes his kill with the blunt end of his axe, "Vhat a vaste." At the mention of tracking the metal man crouches and lifts his helmet briefly to get a look at the tracks.
"I think I haff a handle on vhich vay dey came," he says, standing and replacing his helmet and hood in a practiced motion.
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Kestra will also bend down and take a look at the Hyena's tracks and will look about for signs of their travel.
I think between the two of us we can find their masters with little trouble. Onward, then.
"Good. Nice work.[/b]" is all Anator adds, ready to follow the Ulfen and Dwarf.
Ealianne puts the collars in her backpack and silently follows the trackers.
Following the tracks is a slow and tedious job that eventually leaves you at the edge of a fallow field. In the distance you can all see a farm house, a barn and several other structures. Despite the waning day you can see no chimney smoke or activity around the buildings. The tracks themselves don't head towards the homestead but rather skirt around the edge of the cleared field near the tree line.
I can scout ahead and report back. Ealianne suggests as she wiggles a finger at Anator and Kestra.
I'll keep you posted.
Ealianne reaches into her Adventurer's Pack pulling out a small wand. With a flick of her wrist, she momentarily glows.
Keeping under cover as best she can, Ealianne approaches the farm carefully.
Leaning on his axe Raznarr pulls out his light crossbow and knocks a bolt. "If she has to escape some enemies and she comes back to us," he sits down with some effort and a grunt before finishing, "ve shoult be ready to cover her."
"Yes."
Aizu keeps his Estoc at the ready.
Kestra will also draw her bow and ready an arrow, nodding assent to Raznarr's statement, ready to fire on anything that may spot Ealianne.
Anator stands watching as Ealianne stalks toward the farm, kukris at the ready...
Eilianne moves quietly as she makes her way from brush to overgrowth moving closer and closer to the farm house. She moves carefully as she gets closer until her back is pressed up against the outermost building. Peering around the corner reveals the door to the house is open across the clearing but the barn door sits slightly ajar. Making her way carefully through each building she finds no signs of life but each building has been recently ransacked. Finally at the house, she peers in from the doorway and the house looks just like everything else, ransacked and devoid of life. Once she's sure that there's no one there she waves everyone over.
The house has been ransacked and everything metallic (utensils, cooking racks, spit, etc) has been taken but some valuables like artwork and jewellery are not.
As above plus. The coals on the hearth are barely cold. They're probably less than eight hours old which means that someone stoked the fire some time before dawn.
As above plus. The door lock has been tampered with. The door wasn't broken in, someone picked it to get in.
As above plus. Inside the master bedroom amidst the furs on the floor you find the shattered pieces of a clay medallion trampled into the fur. Gathering what pieces you can find reveals a medallion very similar to the ones you took off ooc the hyena's
Aizu turns his trained investigator's gaze upon the house.
Ealianne assists Aizu as they search the area.
Anator casts a once-trained eye over the quiet building and surrounds...pointing anyhting he sees out to the others...
Raznarr limps up behind the rest, and sees nothing that everyone else can't already see.
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Aizu stalks around the house, and with others' help puts together a picture of what happened.
"Whoever broke in had some skill in breaking and entering. Door lock was picked, not broken."
" House was raided. Everything metallic is gone, though valuables remain. Curious. Someone's been here in the last 8 hours or so. Coals in the hearth are barely cold. The thief needed a place to stay, and more practical equipment for some reason?"
He almost misses the final bit, but Alain kicks a fur in the master bedroom, revealing a shattered piece of clay underneath. Aizu reassembles the pieces.
"Another Lamashtu medallion like the one we found on the hyenas."
"I'm not sure how or if all the details are connected. It may be likely that the thief broke in and used the house for a night after the original occupants were kidnapped by this Lamashtu cult."
Raznarr nods.
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It would be odd for the thieves to stay the night, I would think... Though the missing metal is definitely odd. Perhaps they are building some sort of effigy? Kestra will ask to no one in particular. After thinking it over a moment, she will shake her head and say this information matters little at the moment, other than giving us inspiration to make haste in finding these cultists.
The party heads out again after the trail of the hyena. The trail leads through the woods, past several other farms and then deeper into the wilderness amidst a rocky area.
You've arrived in the rocky area with less than an hour of sunlight left and the tracks are lost amongst the rocks.
But before you have a chance to start searching you hear a faint rhythmic noise in the distance that resolves itself into the chanting of deep, guttural voicesas you get closer.
In the distance, maybe one hundred and fifty feet away there's a cave entrance with two figures concealed inside the entrance. The chanting is clearly coming from farther inside the cave.
"I think perhaps we've found our culprits. Is everyone ready for battle?"
"Just remember to be careful everyone. This is a second chance not immortality okay. If you die again that's it."
As he readies his sword and shield and checks his armour straps.
I think it best to draw them out rather than take them where others inside might be alerted. Yes?
"Hm. Would not the act of drawing them out in itself alert them to our presence?"
"Today is as good a day as any to die. That aside, I think whoever fancies themselves stealthy, should have their way vith tweedles dee and dum up there. The rest of us should hang back and cofer them." He hangs his axe on his back and arms his crossbow, and moves into range as quietly as possible.
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"I'm pretty stealthy... most of the time." With a familiar wiggle of her finger, Ealianne whispers to Aizu and Raznar.
Ducking into the overgrowth, Ealianne creeps up to the cave entrance to get a better look.
"I can manage myself as well." Aizu says, and creeps off, keeping a good distance away from Raznarr.
I don't trust my ability to sneak as much as the rest of you, I will hang back with Raznar and strike when the rest of you heat the iron, Kestra will inform the others, and when the iron is ready to hammer into shape, I shall move quickly to the rest of you to grant the blessings of Pharasma for strength in combat.
With this, Kestra will move up with Raznar to get within range.
Anator closes his eyes, thinking about all he knows from a lifetime of investigation and hunting quarry. But comes up with little mre than an irritating pain in his temples.
Upon arriving at the cave Anator watches.
"So...guards, with cultists inside chanting?"
When Ealianne and Aizu head off Anator stays back, moving up to position with Raznarr and Kestra.
[+3 Dex, -4 armor]
Eilianne and Aizubike make their way across the rocky ground towards the cave entrance carefully and keen for signs of detection. Several times either Eilianne or Aizubike are forced to stop mid-step and hunker down against the ground as the sentries shuffle. Once they're about halfway down, Raznar shuffles and everyone hears the sound of metal on stone briefly, the sentries whisper something to one another and you see the dark shape of an animal head peek outside briefly staring into the darkness of dusk. Eilianne is half hidden by a larger boulder and slowly, painstakingly draws her limbs up behind the rock and out of sight. Aizubike hunkers down and slides on his belly deeper down into an impression in the ground. Bot.h look back in the general direction of their allies before cautiously continuing. Kestra's muffled curse sounds loudly in Aizubike and Eilianne's ears but the sentries seem unaware of the noise.
Finally several painstaking minutes later both of you arrive at opposite sides of the caves entrance. Eilianne dares to take a glance in when she thinks the guards are looking away. Unable to see much of the cave in the darkness she is able to see two heavyset humanoids with monstrous canine heads shuffling about just inside the entrance. A dim, flickering light from deep inside the cave illuminates a form twenty feet beyond the guards that looks vaguely like a fence or a makeshift door of bundled sticks blocking the way further in.
Aizu drinks his Shield Extract and waits for the rest of the group to catch up a little.