We're much further apart than I expected, but sure, let's get it on!!!
The squad of gnolls continues its approach toward the bridge, evidently oblivious to your presence. They seem to be arguing among themselves for some reason though you cannot quite hear the details of their banter.
I will double move to AA18, holding Tempest at the ready and screaming a battle cry at our foes!
Oh, and swift action to start my judgement of destruction.
Round 1
Narkû rushes towards the bridge to stop the gnolls from attacking this fellow party members.
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Current Effects: Whetstone edge on Falchion, +1 damage on next successful hit;
Round One (Pt. 1)
Sarala, Narku and Thurrios all hustle, moving into position in front of the bridge. The gnolls on the other side finally catch sight of them, clearly surprised by their sudden appearance. All but the one holding onto the fat goat's tether (g2) are carrying spears.
Round One (Pt. 2)
As Anapa rushes forth to join the others in forming a front line, Marossa moves to the back of the group, ready to provide support.
Meanwhile, with a javelin in hand, Julius moves off to the side, closer to the river.
The gnolls' surprise quickly turns into excitement as they start to bark and yip amongst themselves in their strange tongue.
"No, you fool! The Chief said to take intruders prisoner!"
”Surely he does not need them all..."
"Then take three, and we can split the rest!"
Having apparently settled on something, the five armed gnolls start their advance across the bridge.
The last of them releases the goat’s leash, allowing it to run off into the village ruins. Unlike the others, he takes the time to strap a wooden shield onto his arm, as well as to draw a battleaxe.
End of Round One
I will charge to V18 and Attack G6!
Round 2
Seeing the gnoll not fast enough to close the distance to him, Narkû smiles that his brilliant plan as come together with such ease.
Slow gnolls... ha ha ha... now Narkû will slay you, goes through his mind, as he prepares to charge forward and cut the hounds head from this shoulder.
He start his charge, only to see the Vanara rush in front of him taking his kill. Keeping his momentum going he sides steps the young monk and brings his falchion to bear on the other lead gnoll.
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Current Effects: Whetstone edge on Falchion, +1 damage on next successful hit;
Round Two (Pt. 1)
Sarala is the first to enter the fray, approaching one of the leading gnolls with her temple sword drawn. The gnoll is just barely able to pull away from her swing, the edge of her sword fraying a few hairs as it goes right over its head.
Seeing that the Vanaran has claimed the opponent he had intended to engage, Narku instead charges at the gnoll on the opposite side of the bridge. The hyena-like creature snarls at him, holding up its spear defiantly, but the half-orc pays it no heed. A single swing of the sharpened blade cuts deeply into the gnoll's thick, unarmored neck, drawing out a spurt of crimson. With an abrupt yelp it drops to the ground, its blood pooling around it.
Sure, G5 it is!
Round Two (Pt. 2)
Thurrios' intended target drops before he has the chance to reach him, but there is fortunately another gnoll standing right behind him. The creature is caught by surprise when the ifrit charges right over his dying comrade, swinging at him with his scimitar. Tempest bites into his shoulder, drawing blood and a yowl of pain from the gnoll.
- Unconscious gnoll (g6) at U18 (14 damage).
Swing at G5 again
Marossa nervously pulls out her flute and presses the device to her lips, breathing in sharply before she begins playing a tune, infusing a bit of the magic she's learned from her instructors into it. The tune is fast and reedy, driving up her companions heart rate and reactions.
Round Two (Pt. 3)
Marossa steps up to just behind the front line before starting up her supernatural tune, inspiring her comrades to fight on.
Unfortunately, even the bard's music cannot salvage Julius' javelin throw. The thin spear hurtles right over his target's head, thankfully landing on an empty space on the bridge, rather than in the river or through Thurrios' skull.
Drawing his long, curved blade, Anapa joins the others on the bridge, stepping up next to Thurrios. He nods to the ifrit silently before bringing his blade down on the gnoll.
Already distracted by its wound, the gnoll is cut down in an instant, collapsing beside its companion in a heap.
While not entirely unfazed by the abrupt defeat of two of their companions, the rest of the gnolls seem eager to draw blood, despite now being outnumbered. Seeing that the half-orc is distracted after claiming its kill, the gnoll (g3) in front of Sarala favors him as a target, thrusting at him with its spear.
The tip of the spear finds its way through a vulnerable point in Narku's armor, biting into his side and drawing blood.
Spear in hand, another gnoll (g1) steps up to the front line, snarling as it vengefully thrusts its own spear at Anapa.
The wooden shaft stabs deeply into Anapa's shoulder, drawing out a spurt of blood.
Meanwhile, even as the dead gnolls pile up, Thurrios finds himself facing yet another gnoll warrior. Like its brethren, it eagerly attacks with its spear.
The inquisitor however has no difficulty with sidestepping the creature's thrust, much to the bloodthirsty gnoll's dismay.
Finally, the gnoll with the axe and shield hurries across the bridge to join the fray, its tongue hanging out of its mouth in anticipation.
End of Round Two
- Dying gnoll (g6) at U18 (14 damage).
- Dying gnoll (g5) at T18 (21 damage).
Round 3 (part 1)
Narkû looks down at the hole in his side, shocked at the insolence of the gnoll's attack. With all his willpower, he holds the rage building within him to strike down another gnoll once a path has been opened to his prey.
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Current Effects: ;
Thurrios will start working on G1.
Round 3
Marossa quickly steps forward as several members of the group are stabbed with spears, a particular note sending a wash of green healing energy towards Anapa.
Round Three (Pt. 1)
Sarala flurries with her blade, targeting the gnoll in front of her. Its decision to move its attention to Narku proves to be its downfall, as the first of of the Vanaran's blows splits open a wound on its chest. Caught entirely by surprise, the gnoll wobbles on its feet, leaving it helpless against the second slash. When the gnoll falls to the ground, Sarala steps right over it.
Narku holds his position, awaiting an opportunity to get closer to the enemy.
Changing targets, Thurrios thrusts Tempest at the gnoll on the center of the bridge. The scimitar's tip penetrates the gnoll's unarmored shoulder. It glances down at the large wound, before looking back at the ifrit with hateful eyes.
Calling upon her curative magic, Marossa steps forward; with a brief tap on the paladin's back, positive energy washes over him, partially closing the dire wound on his shoulder.
From afar, Julius points his wand in the general direction of the gnoll Thurrios is attacking. The magical projectile it launches however is unerring, streaking through air, slipping right past the inquisitor and the gnoll beside him, before slamming right into its target's face. The gnoll soundlessly crumples to the ground, dropping his spear.
Anapa stoically regards his wound for the briefest of moments before choosing another gnoll and swinging his blade.
Unfortunately, the paladin's wounded shoulder interferes with his swing. The gnoll in front of Thurrios is able to quickly step towards the bridge's short railing, dodging the falling slash. Gritting his teeth, Anapa quickly retreats from the front line with a five-foot step, quickly supplementing Marossa's healing with his own divine magic.
The wound's bleeding stops as the edges of the puncture start to stitch themselves closed.
- Dying gnoll (g6) at U18 (15 damage).
- Dying gnoll (g5) at T18 (22 damage).
- Dying gnoll (g3) at U16 (17 damage).
- Dying gnoll (g1) at T17 (12 damage).
Round 3
The sound of Marossa's song raises Narkû's blood to a boil, a point that he is unable to contain the rage any longer. With a mighty bellow of anger at the insolence of the gnoll's attack, he shifts his grip on the falchion as he steps forward and brings the weapon upward though a powerful backswing.
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Current Effects: ;
Round Three (Pt. 2)
With Anapa out of the way, Narku is able to rejoin the battle, immediately loosing his fury on the shielded gnoll. A look of fear comes over its face at the sight of the raging cavalier. Far too late to raise its shield, the gnoll is helpless to stop Narku's blade from hacking right into its neck.
With over half its group slaughtered in the space of a few seconds, the last of the gnolls loses its nerve. It turns away from Thurrios recklessly, attempting to get as far away as possible.
As the gnoll attempts to flee, Thurrios thrusts his blade again, this time at its back. It yelps out from the blow, but gives no indication of stopping.
AoO
With his weapon now once more raised over his head, Narkû strikes down with a vengeance on the fleeing gnoll. The thought of a creature with no honor to finish a fight that they started, almost sickens Narkû.
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Current Effects: ;
"Lest anyone wonder, those who follow the Rough Beast, like these gnolls, will receive no quarter."
Round Three (Pt. 3)
Narku delivers a fierce slash to the cowardly gnoll, cutting deeply into its back. The gnoll warrior staggers forward a few feet before falling flat on its face.
Combat Over
With the battle over, silence once again fills the air, only occasionally disturbed by the distant bleats of the escaped goat.
"Can any call upon their deity and grant us any healing?" Narkû asks as he covers the hole in his side with his hand.
"The Dawnflower provides, particularly to those who are the enemy of Her enemies."
Thurrios will heal Narku:
"As I said, She is very giving to those her aid her cause."
Thurrios will start walking to go and "quiet" the goat. "A man must eat after all."
However before he kills the goat, he will check it for any signs of civilized ownership.
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With a quizzical look, Julius raises his hand as Thurrios approaches the goat.
"Far be it from me to say I know more than the next man about infiltration, but I would wager we won't have time to properly skin, dress, and prepare the meat of this goat before another patrol—or several—descend on our heads. Even so, if you really want the goat, we should simply take it back to the caravan alive and return again for another sortie tomorrow then."
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Sarala glances about the place and answers Julius, "Do gnolls keep goats? Why is there a big fat goat out here anyways? If I were a goat, I wouldn't want to belong to these guys. I won't object to taking it back to the caravan, I'm sure they could find use for it, and I'm still a bit banged up from the tentacle beast. Though I think it'd be a shame for this to be such a short trip out."
"We will check to see if it has ownership marks, to be sure. And I did not propose cooking it just yet, we could kill it, and gut it, only to roast it over our fire tonight?"
Hearing Sarala's concerns about her health, Thurrios comes over to heal her...
"That should do it."
"Thanks to The Everlight." Narkû says after the healing is administered.
Thinking of fresh tagine makfoul made from the fat goat, Narkû shakes his mind from his day dream and responds to the others, "Can you not grab the goat and put it in the mill until you leave? Narkû does not want to go back to the caravan with a goat in tow and the story of killing some simple gnolls. Narkû can do more 'infiltrationing'. Narkû also has not heard of gnolls keeping goats before, or even a fat goat living long enough to be fat goat while with gnolls. There are probably others in the area that are not gnolls."
Narkû will get out his whetstone again and begin rehoning his falchion.
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"Look at that thing! It's a big fat goat! Who wants to carry around a fat bloody goat carcass while we're supposed to be trying to sneak around. Gnolls eat meat and have a nose for it. You walk around with goat guts hanging from your backpack and we'll be caught for sure. And don't forget, we still need to find out about that!" Julius points to the building just across the river from the mill where white smoke is puffing out of some opening.
Julius shakes head. "If you're dead set on this, we need to do it somewhere discrete." He gestures to the old mill on their side of the river. "I guess this would be a good place for now...but there's no telling when we'll get another patrol out this way. And they're sure to notice this." The blood and viscera splattered on the sand and dripping into the wood of the bridge presents a gruesome spectacle.
"Narkû's suggestion is probably a good one. Assuming we come back out this way. We are here to be skirmishers and saboteurs after all."
The goat proves to be easy enough to catch, lingering back towards the other end of the bridge as Narku is busy sharpening his blade. It does not appear to have any marks of ownership or other distinguishing features, asides from apparently being overfed.
Cocking his head as he hones his blade, Narkû asks, "Anyone else see that funny little bird? It was over on that building with the smoke. Narkû can understand if you can not see as far as Narkû, but Narkû did see it. Narkû thinks there may be queer magic in the area... funny little birds and fat goats with gnolls, what you think will be next?"
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Current Effects: Whetstone edge on Falchion, +1 damage on next successful hit;