Caspian bides his time, continuing to inspire his allies. If it looks like the dwarves have another trick up their sleeves, he can always intervene.
... And it looks like they might. The four bandits capable of acting look at each other and drop their crossbows. Three of them pull out picks; the fourth breaks off towards the tavern at a lumbering pace that only a dwarf could call "running." Two of the guys with picks start hammering at the edge of the manhole opening, trying to cave in the roof, while the third stands guard.
The bandit that Wyvurn is choking feebly scrabbles for purchase, trying to escape:
You're pretty sure it will take the would-be sappers more than one round to accomplish anything that way. Then again, you're not sure how long your hypnotism spell will last. Meanwhile, the guy on guard duty kicks his companion that Miralda had put to sleep, waking him up. The abashed slumberer wipses his eyes, pulls out a pick of his own, and stands with his buddy.
Assuming Caspian sees no pressing need to intervene, Cricket's up, then Jaegr can climb up again.
Cricket lets loose a Tuelvi battle cry. Wolvie howls along. They both attack the nearest bandit.
Cricket:
Wolvie: , plus trip.
Whooping frightfully, the goblin attacks! Normally, a Tuelvi brave issuing a proper war-whoop can paralyze an opponent with fear. In this case, unfotunately, it's ignored, as the bandit spends his efforts fending off Wolvie's teeth. He is successful, but his inattention allows cricket to lat his staff alongside the bandit's shoulder. Again, to your annoyance, he seems hardly to notice .
Jaegr, undaunted, climbs back up the rungs. The two bandits on guard duty, frustrated at him immediately returning, foolishly make attacks of opportunity against him as he reaches the top, instead of simply pushing him back down:
One misses entirely; the other strikes a powerful blow, only to have it stopped cold by Jaegr's ceramic armor.
Cricket curses in Tuelvi.
"Die, bastards."
Kelgan waits while Jaegr climbes, determined not to spoil his shot again. He lines up on the one recoiling from Jaegr's armor and lets fly.
At first, Kelgan thinks he missed, and prepares to curse and hurl his steelbow to the floor in disgust. Then you realize the bolt, continuing past its intented target, falls to the ground only a few paces further along. As if in slow motion, the bandit falls to his knees, one empty eyesocket staring blindly at you... then pitches face-forward to the ground. The back of his head appears to be missing.
Miralda, realizing her sleep spell was mostly useless, angrily points her wand at the other guard.
Her precise shot feat enables her to avoid striking Jaegr by mistake, and the bolt of force from her wand disppears into the sky. She curses the brightness of the sun and sulks.
Caspian sees the tide turning and wisely conserves spells and magic for later on....
Though he does try and change the tempo of the battle by switching songs....
"Moves like Jaegr......."
Wyvurn's victim struggles feebly in his grasp; he barely has the strength to breathe. It's amazing to you that he is still conscious; maybe hill dwarves are tougher than you gave them credit for.
The miners continue work with their picks; a few cobbles fall into the water below, forcing Miralda to duck aside; Kelgan trusts his helm and hard head to protect him, for now.
The remaining guard swipes at Wolvie with his pick:
The "running" bandit scurries around the corner of the nearest building.
The four hypnotize dbandits begin blinking, and might be able to act next round.
Cricket: 5-ft. step; immediate action Aid Another to Wolvie; one quarterstaff attack:
Wolvie: 5-ft. step the other way; immediate action Aid Another to Cricket; one bite attack:
Cricket clocks the bandit with his quarterstaff, provoking a grunt of pain. At the same moment, Wolvie lunges at him, gettting a big mouthful. Wasting no time, Wolvie savages the hill dwarf to the ground, shaking him like a rag, and then he pauses for air it looks like the bandit is unconscious and bleeding.
Jaegr, you're at the top of the ladder, with your feet on solid ground. The two would-be sappers stop their activities and brace themselves to meet your attack.
Kelgan waits for Jaegr to attack one of the dwarves, then shoots the other one.
Wyvurn keeps up the pressure.
Huzzah! Good dog!
Jaegr slams The Finisher down upon one of the miner's head. "Stop digging into the ground now before you end up like him!"
Jaegr slays one of the bandits, just before Kelgan's bolt unerringly takes down another.
Wyvurn finally opens his arms, allowing an unconscious dwarf to slump to the ground.
The four caught by Caspian's spell stop staring at him long enough to see the carnage; they break and run, although Caspian can act before they do.
Caspian continues to insire his friends...
"If ya'll want to get em thas fine, we can finish up here."
"Cricket can tie them up when they get to the fields."
"Feck. Catch them, my fine goblin friends, and see who they're working for."
With the bandits fleeing, Kelgan approaches the diminutive elf's corpse. Giving a sympathetic glance to Miralda, he gently lifts the corpse and whispers into it.
Lissa's ghost hugs Kelgan -- or tries to; her arms pass right through him. It's clear she meant no harm, but a chill wave of entropy passes through you, and you feel your hair turning white.
It's suddenly clear why her corpse is so well-preserved, and why it's surrounded by dead rats and dead flies.
She whispers in Kelgan's ear,
The corners of Kelgan's mouth twitch at the embrace, but he is otherwise able to keep signs of his discomfort to a minimum.
"Miralda, we need to bring Lissa back to the Duke. Why don't you go up and get some sun, and I'll prepare her for travel. Caspian, please go with and play something for her - keep her mind off these dark matters."
Lifting the girl, he slides his shield under her and props her head with a bundle of boiled linens. Taking out his healer's kit, he wraps her in gauze, cutting away her clothes and cleaning the body as he goes.
While cutting away her clothes, he makes a small incision in her side, then gingerly reaches inside.
"Jaegr, be ready to pull her up."
He cuts his rope in half and tosses the ends out of the hole, then carries the shield to the entrance and sets it on the loops of rope, balancing it on them and steadying it from below as it rises.
Kelgan has no real skill at sleight of hand, but in this instance he outdoes himself.
"We've got one here to question when he wakes up. It's up to you, Cricket, if you wan to try and snare them as Caspian suggests. I don't think we'll be seeing them again, regardless. Whoever they work for, won't be pleased with failure."
Wyvurn will search and bind the unconscious dwarf.
After the battle, Jaegr help Kelgan raise his corpse laden shield. Once it reaches the top he drags it over away from the entrance.
To Wyvurn, "It would be nice to see if he'll give us some information on who they work for. I'm not going to hold much hope for that though."
Caspian goes for a fine old relaxing spiritual....
"Swing lowww sweet chariot comin forth to carry me home...."
"You guys can help out on the low part!"
Cricket and Wolvie exult in their victory.
Wyvurn's captive had brigandine armor, a quiver of bolts and cocking hook, a crossbow, a pick, a pair of daggers, a wineskin, and some loose change. Divested of these articles, he is soon trussed up better than a turkey; the rest of you wonder whether it will even be possible to untie him.
Eventually he comes to, groggily, and says, "Obmi will kill you for this."
"As I thought."
Kelgan taps his lips with his forefinger, eyes furrowed in thought.
"Tell me more about Obmi, or other things I might want to know. Deny me, and I wont kill you. I'll cut off your stones and send you back to the hills a castrati."
He sits down next to the bandit and draws out his knife and whetstone, sharpening the blade slowly and purposefully.
"Start talking."
"What the f$&@ is an Obmi?"
"What is to tell? Just as he controls the highlands, now he controls this town. It will be only a few more moments before he comes here and throws his hammer, taking your heads. If you are unlucky, he will send Keak instead -- that one is not sane."
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"Oh no!" Exclaims Caspian in feigned horror.
Bluff
"If that's the case and this one has no more to say, let's just bleed him out, so I can mount his head above my own."...
Caspian ties his cloak around the top of his head and points at the blank space.
Caspain pulls out his short-sword....
"As the ancients say any head will do when head-hunters come to call."
"Any last words?"
"Ha! As if his reach could stretch so far. Let him come, and meet his doom. I'm Kelgan Cragbelly, and my head is harder than his hammer. And what of this Keak? His name means nothing to me. Tell me the tales of his madness, that I might laugh and spit."
The sound of hoofbeats anticipates your words. A skinny high elf, mounted on a horse soon appears, along with five bandits on mules -- the ones who fled before. They stop about 30 feet from you and dismount; the elf, dressed in traveler's clothes and a cloak and holding a wand, titters before speaking.
"So, these are the so-called terrible warriors who routed you? More like a collection of nothings."
Seeing Miralda, he says, "You, b+@~$, you can dismiss your servants; we have business to discuss, as well as (giggle) pleasure. If you have the egg, give it to me and I won't rape you until after you're dead."
The five bandits stand in ragged line in front of him, ready to intercept any attacks on their leader.
"You mistake yourself, stronzo. It is not the elf, but I who lead this band. A rapist, are you? Let us see how much you like being forcefully penetrated!"
Kelgan stands and loads his crossbow, aiming it at the elf.
"Wow! this guy is trying hard to convince us he's into females, but I'm not buying it."
Initiative
"How's that go I'd rather be dead than lie with a female, or I'd rather she be dead?...."
Keak & co.:
Miralda:
Jaegr sighs as more riders come. He wonders what is so important about this egg. He listens as Kelgan and the newcomers trade jabs but is tensed and ready for a fight.
Jaegr moves up to fight as the mooks line up in front of their leader. He picks the middle one and makes an example out of him as he braces for the fight.
Jaegr's long fighting experience has taught him that standoffs like this one always end in only one way. Accordingly, he largely ignores the opening remarks and cuts directly to the chase, mowing down the lead bandit like chaff, while everyone else is still focused on the exchanges of insults.
This immediately sparks the inevitable general conflict; Kelgan fires his crossbow before the other guards can close ranks.
About to release his bolt, Kelgan gets the sense that all is not as it appears, and he deliberately fires about two feet to the left of Keak's head. The skinny elf, about to titter in glee at the impending miss, instead takes a hit in the shoulder.
The scarred hobgoblin reacts next after the fight breaks out, narrowly edging out Cricket, Caspian, and Miralda. Keak and his goons are apparently unused to serious resistance and act last; you get the feeling they're more accustomed to ambushes and back-shooting than to actual combat.
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Seeing you roll for a miss chance for Kelgan reminded me that I forgot to roll for my miss chance due to it being sunny
Wyvurn steps up to the elf and attempts to take the wand followed by a punch to the face.
"I agree Kelgan, and I think I have found the perfect instrument for it."
Might not have needed the miss chance but was not sure.
Wyvurn quickly steps past the flat-footed bandits in his way; with a deft snatch, he grabs the elf's wand -- although unable to clearly see where his foe actually is, Wyvurn's training and experience in fighting even while blindfolded makes this far less of a disadvantage to him than it would otherwise be.
Using his grabbing of the wand to guide his blow, Wyvurn again manages to overcome the displacement of his opponent to good effect, landing a solid punch that makes the elf shriek.
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Caspian begins an inspiration......
"Wyver is with it and he's my ace
So he grabbed the wand fop and he punched him in the face
The wand fops pout - the music stopped
These boys got a beef - but there gonna get dropped
Wyvern grabbed the money - i'll snatch the gold
I'll grab two girlies and a beer that's cold"
Cricket's Secret Spell List
1--cure light wounds x4
2--barkskin, bull's strength, tar ball
Cricket casts barkskin on Wolvie.