"When we get to that wall, we want two ladders to begin. That will force them to divide their efforts to stop our ascent. Archers, cover us as we go up. I will go up one ladder first. You two heavies will ascend the other ladder. For you with shields, use them. Protect the archers. Lindale, be prepared to use your ancestral magic to save anybody that falls off. Once we are up top, we need to secure the area and see what we can do about those siege engines. Gentleman, you know your jobs. Let us do them.
Toramin will pull out a dwarven war mask to protect his face from any boiling oil that comes his way.
Lindale crouches ready to assault the walls. "I can save upto two men that fall, that is all I am afraid. I can lift the same." he informed. He planned to levitate himself when the others began climbing. "Last one over the wall buys the first round tonight!" he shouts to them all, ready to advance when the order is given.
"Good idea, Lindale. If you think, it would be faster than climbing, send me up. I have the longest reach of us with my weapon. If I get floated up, follow me up the ladder, Gabriel, we have to secure this wall for our men!"
Toramin stills a shudder thinking about floating in the air, but Torag gave him a spirit of courage not timidity.
"That's mighty brave of you dwarf, thought you would have trouble climbing a ladder let alone floating through the air. Don't worry, I will see you safe on the ground again." Lindale prepares to lifr both himself and Toramin when the time comes, "When we are up you will have to pull youself onto the wall, I cannot move us horizontally. It is twice as fast if not three time faster than climbing."
You have three brief sprints between cover according to your scout. The instant you emerge from cover a volley of arrows finds your group. Three of the men get hit, two of them wounded and one is unlucky enough to get hit in the throat and drops on the spot. The next sprint is even worse, almost twice as many arrows finding your group. This volley is crippling, and the screams of dying mean shatter the air. As you manage to reach the final cover, one of the archers does a head count, then looks at you, wiping blood of his face. "Five dead, four injured. Six dead and injured total. Heavies are fine sir."
You fix a pair of ladders to the wall as Toramin steels himself and Lindale begins floating him up the wall. Two archers notice the magic and shout, firing arrows down, but neither pierce his armor. After a moment Toramin arrives on top of the wall, looking at dozens of enemies on every side of him.
Bottom of the wall
"Hurry your arses up! The dwarf's up there alone, go go go!" The men begin filing up the ladders.
The Aasimars smile broadens. "Such good manners! I wouldn't expect such men in a war; normally they're the ones ordering others into it." He turns and looks into a kettle over the fire. "Almost ready. Would anybody care for a taste?"
Geoffrey and the men remain on guard, some of them cursing under their breath and spitting on the ground. Geoffrey's eyes turn a solid gold, and then his gaze gets extremely serious. He says, in a controlled tone that holds much anger behind it, "He is an antipaladin. We've met before." Geoffrey looks like he wants to tear the aasimar apart, but he flexes his wounded shoulder and doesn't move.
The Aasimar turns sharply with a loud exclamation of laughter. "Right you are you holy bastard! Oh and I suppose you remember me, don't you? Oh yes, but a time and a place to discuss such things. Right now there are guests to entertain! Oh much, much to speak of. And I would think we should talk until I see fit." He makes a gesture, and suddenly iron walls come out of the walls and block both exits. "It's hot, are you sure nobody wants some?" He says, offering the kettle. He shrugs and pours some for himself, gulping the entire scalding liquid in one go. "So. I am here to discuss the terms of your surrender."
While the ladders are being seen to, Gabriel quickly moves over to the four injured soldiers, moving from one to the next. He places his hand on the shoulder of each just before the go up the ladder and a spark of prismatic light leaps from it to each of them.
Gabriel feels that power within him flicker each time he calls upon it, but he's unwilling to relent. These four could make it if they had this healing. Every injury he healed with this power was potentially saving another life. To each he offers a nod and says, "Iomedae guide your blade." When he finishes, he feels a bit more tired, but though he wasn't exactly gifted he had managed to at least close most of the injuries. And now he was ready. He turns to the ladders and starts the ascent as quickly as possible just beneath the heavies.
Dalton's cheeks quiver with fear briefly as he turns around at the slam! of the iron impasse. Seeing it was only such, and observing the antagonizing nature of Geoffrey and the antipaladin, he tried to broker some calm. "If you liked our manners, you could at least respond in kind!" Dalton was not interested in the sustenance the aasimar prepared, but the magic trick with the bars was interesting.
The wizard turns aside. "A parley, colonel?" Dalton's inquiry was more curious than unctuous.
Toramin is parking himself in front of the ladders at the top of the wall. He will not let the men under his command be sent hurtling to their deaths. At least not while he still drew breath.
Fighting Defensively [AC: 20]
If he gets an AoO before his next turn,
On the following round, Toramin will continue to fight defensively. [AC=20]
Any AoO:
On the Wall
The men try to rally themselves to face a melee threat, but the dwarf swings his hammer and shatters a mans ribcage completely. As they begin drawing their weapons, he takes another swing and breaks a mans neck before they fall on him. They stab slash and dice the stalwart dwarf, but only two of their blades find purchase.
Any AoO,
Lindale begins climbing the ladder as soon as his spell ends, the sounds of screaming coming from behind him. He held his buckler over his head to protect from arrows while he climbed. First protect me.
Gabriel scrambles up the ladder just behind Lindale. His tail twitched, though with eagerness or nervousness he wasn't sure. Geoffrey had shown him that trick for healing this morning, probably with the intention of making sure Gabriel could see to his own wounds. But he had spent all of his energy on the injuries of those climbing beneath him. The funny thing was, he didn't regret the decision at all. But now he worried Toramin might end up getting injured before they could reach him. He hoped the Dwarfs god watched over him.
The men's strength bolster with the healing, giving their quick thanks to Gabriel, new respect in their eyes.
As soon as the men fall under his hammer more replace them, the onslaught continuing. Toramin finds no purchase to swing his hammer, and one of the men manages to swing a mace at Toramins head, shattering his nose and making him cross eyed for a moment.
As the dwarf feels a flow of blood down his chin he hears his men reach the top of the wall, and they yell their fury and throw themselves into the fray. A heavy runs right through the line of archers in front of Toramin, shoving them off the injured dwarf. Instantly he is surrounded by allies, keeping the madness of battle at bay for the moment.
As Toramin defends his spot on the wall, he begins to chant a hymn to Torag that was old when the dwarves first saw the sun. His swings and his song quickly fall into syncopation. My ancestors had to fight for hours --days -- on end. Let their wisdom guide my arm. Let their song keep me from tiring.
The dwarf spits blood, but keeps up his chant to the Father of Creation and in praise to his holy people.
Gabriel swings up over the ramparts and draws his longsword. His expression was set with determination, but no anger or hatred. With a great bellow he shouts out to his allies, "Take the wall, watch each others backs! The good gods watch over us!" Gabriel moves to stand beside Toramin and swings at one enemy in particular. For once, his tail did not twitch. It swayed behind him as it would when he was relaxing or moving through the camp on a particularly pleasant day. This situation was neither, but as he brought his longsword to bear against one of the enemy soldiers he found that, while inner peace was not to be found, he was extremely focused.
The moment Lindale stands on top of the wall he removes his sword and rushes towards Toramin just as the heavy cleared the way.
He pointed his weapon towards the enemies and prayed Destruction upon them.
He stabbed silently towards the nearest enemy soldier. He had no battle cry, his would be the sound of their cry as they see their death.
The chanting dwarf fights beside his young friend.
We will secure this wall. We will be the fist that opens this city.
Trapped. Bjorkus hadn't expected a trick like this, but it was a fact now that he would have to deal with. He and his crew had escaped blockades worse than this. The Colonel's barely restrained bloodlust was the only que the half-minotaur needed. With a sneer he levels his weapon.
"Funny you mentioned surrender", the bull says. "I was 'bout to offer you the same thing."
The bull begins a low chant, wordless and bass-heavy. The song is the kind that sends shivers up your spine, stirs a man's heart, and tingles a woman's nethers.
"Cut this fool down", he rumbles.
Toramin will be trying to stay at the point of the spear. He knows he can take damage better than most of his men, and if they aren't busy dying, then they can be busy killing.
Gabriel removes the leg off a soldier and he falls pale faced, staring at the stump for a moment before passing out. Lindale stabs but a soldier twists around his blade, returning in kind. The archers outnumber and close in on the small group, but superior melee fighting wins and the line is pushed back slowly until the the archers break and flee. The stone beneath your feet is now slippery with blood and treacherous with bodies and limbs, but until reinforcements arrive you may call this portion of the wall your own.
Geoffrey cries out "I couldn't agree more! Charge!" And the men surge forward, battle cries filling the cavern.
"Good job men! We pushed them bck. Anyone whose injured rotate with those who aren't and stay on the inside of our perimeter. Anyone with shields be prepared to use them. Right now we're sitting out in the open." Gabriel jabs his sword at the Gatehouse to their left. "We take that one first, then the other, and make this wall our own. We hold them until reinforcements come and do what we can to make this job as easy as possible for those soldiers down below. Remember, they want to make it back to their families to, and right now its out job to see to it that it happens. Iomedae watch over you all, so that you can go home and proudly tell your family how many of your kinsmen you saved with your heroic actions today!"
The tiefling turns to the Dwarf and pats him on the back, gesturing for him to take the lead again. "I'll be right beside you." Longsword ready, the blonde man waits until everyone is ready, then charges to the gatehouse to their left, his expression determined.
"You heard the man, lads; !"
Toramin leads his co-captained squad towards the leftwards gatehouse.
Dalton's shoulders forced themselves back in reaction. "Oh dear!"
A quick glance behind him was a reminder those iron bars weren't going anywhere. He would have to fight.
From yesterday, he'd practiced force manipulation in the quick sense after the missed blow to Alice. Perhaps he would be luckier this time.
A disturbance in the air was barely visible around the antipaladin's chest as a fluctuation of forces took place.
Lindale follows the paladins, sword and shield ready
The door is barred shut, but it doesn't take the men long to hack at it and open it up. As the rest of the door is kicked away you are met with a fearsome man. He stands over 10 feet tall with unnaturally enlarged and deformed muscles. The rest of him is deformed as well, creating a monstrous terror that stands there, grinning at you greedily. It speaks in a gravely, broken voice. "Welcome, name's Captain Doyle, and I'd ask yours but I don't care much for the names of dead men" He raises a monster of a greatclub with nails and splinters sticking out of it every way, then swings down at the man that kicked through the door, reducing him to a tangled bloody mess on the floor with that single, devastating blow.
Gabriel growls, but knows his limits. The moment Toramin has the man engaged he charges, intent on taking him from the side while the much sturdier dwarf keeps him busy. His tail whips behind him as he furiously swings his sword, using the momentum of his movement to guide his blow.
Toramin activates Stonestrike as a swift action.
Lindale looks around for any exploitable advantage inside.
He will also try to move around the big man, staying out of reach until he can take a 5 foot to get close enough to flank.
Bjorkus’ chant slams into Psotheos’ soul and demands a harmonic response, not in music, but in action. He bolts from the crate he was sitting on and pulls the bow from side. Pulling an arrow from his quiver, he launches an attack at the anti-paladin.
Toramin will spend his move action detecting if this guy is evil. I think he can still do that hit the guy since I have reach. (I bet this guy does too.)
Bjorkus rushes forward alongside the other soldiers without missing a beat of his chant.
During a breath, he casts a nod at Dalton, "What's the lava 'bout?"
The mutated freak grins at the bloody pile he left, but his victory is short lived. Toramin brings a deadly side blow to his gut, and he feels several ribs crack underneath his hammer. The grin dissapears and he stumbled pack, coughing hard until a globule of blood comes out. Gabriel slashes the air in front of him and he backs up further. Then he wipes the blood off his lip and straitens up, backing further into the room.
Psotheos drops back a few feet and lets loose an arrow before the Aasimar can react, but the mans heavy armor protects him. Bjorkus rallies the soldiers while Dalton throws force magic at him. The Aasimar reacts as if he was friendly punched in the chest, smiling. "Oh now that's rude. And I was being so hospitable." He waits patiently for the soldiers to reach him, then brings his axe down with surprisingly swiftness. At the last moment the soldier manages to raise his shield, and he's hammered to the ground as his shield splinters into pieces, but other than that he appears unharmed. He Aasimar scowls at the mans quick reactions, then raises his shield and begins weathering the men trying to cut him down. He holds off most of the blows until one man slips past his guard, bringing his flail down on the antipaladins shield arm.
Psotheos moves to his right, closer to the cavern’s wall, as he brings another arrow from his quiver to his bow. Despite the vigor he feels from Bjorkus’ chant, the special serenity that archery provides is present as he releases his second arrow.
On the next round, Toramin shouts, "Gabriel, get between him and the weapon rack. Lindale, let us see if this human can see in the dark"
If Gabriel gets between the mutant and the weapon rack and Lindale drops a darkness on the interior of the guard room, Toramin will move up and attempt to sunder the man's great club. This should remove his greatest tactical advantage.
Swift Action: Stone Strike
Move Action: Move up into position
I ignore the first 4 hardness that the great club possesses but I don't think it matters.