Arkady hits the guard squarely in the chest, and the guard cries out in pain, but remains on his sled. He steers his sled to the side to close on Nadya and Arkady, and swings this time at the Varisian.
The guard misses in his haste.
Meanwhile, the captain has opened the case, although it is difficult to tell what it is. The captain has let the reins go slack as the dogs slow to a halt, as he continues to rifle through his pack.
Nadya swipes back at the guard with her axe.
Her axe misses the guard as well, and Nadya shouts at Arkady, "Maybe you shoot another hit?" She whips the reins to move the sled into a better position for Arkady to shoot.
Arkady nods and reloads for another shot.
Arkady's bolt hits the guard in the chest again, and this one is enough to wind the guard. He doesn't quite kneel on the sled, but she lowers himself slightly to catch himself.
Not bothering to keep advancing, Cervin just keeps his focus on the captain, whispering a continual series of prayers to Old Deadeye as he begs his God for his arrows to fly true.
Cervin's first arrow misses again, but his second one hits the captain cleanly in the head as he was hunched over his pack. The captain stiffens and slumps in his sled, and Cervin sees the man drop the small case and a glass bottle he was about to imbibe from.
The guard struggles, gets up and swings at Arkady again as his sled circles back again.
The guard's feeble swing goes wide, and the exhausted guard's lunge takes him right out of the sled, rolling into the snow, unconscious.
Arkady looks back as the closest to the remaining guards, and the nearest soldier is well back at this point, albeit trying to drive his exhausted dogs faster.
"I see no reason to kill when we don't have to ... I recommend we push on."
Cervin lowers his bow and whispers a prayer. He calls out to the others.
"Let's move! We need no more bloodshed today."
Settling back in, he grabs the reins and coaxes his dogs into moving again.
Nadya nods and whips the reins. As the sled catches up to Yagello and Nevinia, she shouts out, "Ready to go?"
Behind, the remaining guards slow around their fallen comrades, and one of them disembarks from their sled to see the state of the captain.
Arkady watches the guards and says a quiet prayer to Desna, hoping they all recover.
Yagello nods his head affirmatively, "Aye, let's make haste and finally get to this Pale Tower. "
He gives the guards one last look of contempt before shifting his gaze to the road ahead.
After an hour of traveling, Nadya signals to Cervin and Yagello to stop.
"We are far enough gone now. Can anyone make me better?" Nadya rolls up her coat sleeve and shows a nasty gash on her forearm from the guard captain's blade.
As the party takes a rest, Nadya breaches the topic. "They will know we are coming now. We should have plan."
Yagello walks over to Nadya and takes a look at her forearm, "Yes, that's a deep cut you have there. I possess no healing skills, but is there anything else I can do to make you more comfortable? Navinia, Cervin, your healing arts may be needed here."
He also opens his backpack and takes out a bundle of trail rations. He munches thoughtfully on a length of beef jerky, also offering the food to Nadya.
"Yes, planning our assault is a wise course of action. Nadya, what can you tell us about this tower? Compliment of soldiers? Entrances in and out? Outward defenses?" His mind races, but a tight smile tugs at his lips, as he loves the planning phase of any hunt.
Cervin touches his hands to Nadya's wound, praying quietly to Erastil. The wound partially closes.
"Perhaps Nevinia can lend some magic as well. If we're going to be attacked I need to conserve what powers I've been blessed with."
Cervin starts to get the lay of the land, looking over the area carefully.
Arkady joins Cervin in assessing the area.
"Thank you," Nadya leans on her sled as she flexes her healed arm. She scans the flat snowy plains, and points out a small white point rising above the horizon.
"Pale tower is there. Made of hard ice. Only one entrance, is gate. Twenty or thirty guards, but may be less at tower right now. They all looking for you. Probably other strange creatures too, allies of jadwiga."
Nadya sighs. "They have good view of around. Will see us from far away." She straightens up. "We need trick. Make them want us to come in."
Nevinia touches Nadya to heal her arm.
"Hmmm, it looks like the road ahead will be dangerous and fraught with peril." Yagello ponders the situation for a long minute.
"What if we ambush those guards behind us and steal their uniforms? It could give us a way inside the tower."
Arkady nods and smiles. "Stealth and minimal loss of life. I like it."
Nadya nods her head. "If guards are heading back to the Pale Tower, they will come this way. There are some trees ahead we might be able to hide from". Nadya points at a small copse of trees a small distance away.
Cervin grimaces for a moment as he listens to the plan, but after a moment he nods. He blinks rapidly to clear some building ice out of his eyelashes.
"So long as we don't have to keep up a pretence of being guards once we're inside, that's fine. We'll be figured out for foreigners in seconds."
With that, Cervin makes his way to the copse, doing his best to hide his tracks.
The party enters the copse on the sleds. Large and small fir trees make for excellent cover from the right vantage point.
"If seeing dogs, they will know is trap. Maybe I take sleds over hill for now?" Nadya points to the next rise along the trail, and offers to take the sleds while the others prepare.
Arkady asks quietly, "What are we expecting to see, and what is our plan?"
Yagello continues to rub his chin thoughtfully. "I was thinking Cervin and I could get behind the largest trees in this grove and ambush the guards with missile fire as they pass through. And yes, Nadya, it would be helpful if the dogs were out of the way for now."
He gets down on one knee, grabs a twig, and illustrates his plan on the dusty ground of the trail. "If our initial volley doesn't bring them down, we can form a dragnet around the enemy and finish them off hand to hand."
His voice rises audibly as he speaks, the excitement palpable on his lips.
Cervin stomps his feet to keep warm as he listens to Yagello. "Good by me, we don't have to overcomplicate this. Let's get in position."
Arkady nods. "My magic is spent, save for minor spells and one scroll of protection. I'll use it now, and it will be good for about an hour. Beyond that, I'll be using my crossbow and rapier. If we get into mêlée, I will try to make use of the training from my youth in, shall we say "unconventional tactics." If we can distract someone by putting me on the opposite side from one of you, I can find vital spots to target."
He reads the spell off his scroll, then loads his crossbow and finds a safe spot to fire from.
Cervin looks over Arkady for a moment.
"Conceal yourself beside Yagello or myself - maybe Yagello. After we fire they'll head into the bush after us. While I will try to keep my range, Yagello can stand his ground, and give you a good flank."
Cervin crouches in by the bushes, sticking several arrows in the ground in front of him.
"It's good to be prepared for a fight for once. Let me get in place and I'll be as ready as I can be."
"Surround is better, yes?" Nadya heads towards F8. I stuck Nevinia at M18 near Yagello as well.
I've updated the map, let me know if you want to make any changes, and also what your character is waiting for before acting so I can set up the positions for the surprise round.
Arkady nods and takes his position near Yagello. He loads his crossbow and makes sure his rapier is ready.
After about an hour of waiting, the sounds of approaching dogs provides an early warning that the guards are coming through. The same three guards appear to not realize they are moving into a trap, moving in single-file order along the trail. The guard captain appears to be slumped over the sled of the guard in the lead, his distinct pointed helm still on.
That's it... that's it... Erastil guide my arrow.
Abruptly, Cervin stands up, stares the front guard dead in the eye, and fires off an arrow.
Yagello cradles his new bow in his right arm and runs a gloved hand along its shaft.
I was never one for missile weapons, but Cervin has proven their utility to me. May our plan work out with minimal casualties on our part, for we must be at full strength when we infiltrate the Pale Tower...
He then hears the sound of approaching dogsleds and his focus quickly snaps to the battle ahead. He cocks the bow, waits patiently, and fires at the last soldier in the convoy.
As the row the soldiers moves into the path, Arkady silently prays, Desna, please help us subdue these men so we don't have to kill them.
Taking careful aim on the central guard, he waits until the sled gets to its closest approach, then fires.
He curses under his breath as his bolt flies wide, and he sets the crossbow on the ground.
Nadya tries to hit the center guard from the other side of the path, but it glances off his chain shirt. Nadya stumbles trying to charge as she draws her axe.
Nevinia stays hidden for the time being, waiting for an opportunity or need to emerge.
The guards in the front and back are hit cleanly by Yagello and Cervin with a shout, and all three step off their sled, allowing the dogs to move forwards as they draw their blades.
Yagello
Arkady
Cervin
Guards
Nadya
Yagello tosses his longbow aside next to the tree and draws his elven curve blade from behind his back. His eyes, blue icicles, focus on the guard in the rear as he emerges from his hiding place. He yells out a cry a barbarian would be proud of and trudges off towards his quarry!
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Cervin maintains his fire on the lead guard, whispering prayers to Erastil continually.
"Erastil guide my bow, destroy those who would threaten the families and livelihood of Heldren, protect my companions from the cold, I am your humble servant..."
Arkady follows Yagello's gaze, and circles around the back of the guards' line.
Cervin's first arrow glances off the lead guard's armor, but the second arrow is a clean hit in the torso, and the guard goes down. The middle guard looks around and sees Nadya stumbling in the snow, and heads towards her, while the rear guard trudges to meet Yagello.
Arkady moves around to flank the guard with Yagello, then attacks with his rapier, using the other man's position to distract the guard.
Seeing Arkady lurking by the tree, Yagello nods covertly to the wizard before unleashing his attack against the guard.
Seeing his target go down, Cervin moves southwards to stand on the road. He looses an arrow at the guard near Nadya but slips a little as he fires.
Nadya recovers her footing in the deep snow, steps up to the guard and cuts with her axe.
She stumbles again in the snow, though, and the guard steps out of the way of her blade, preparing to return the blow.
Yagello and Arkady overwhelm the rear guard quickly, and he falls down before he even has a chance to react.
The remaining guard brings his sword down hard on Nadya.
Nadya sees the blow coming, but the deep snow makes it difficult for her to react, and the sword slices into her leg.
Nevinia cries out at the sight of Nadya being hit, and moves closer to help.
Nadya flies into a rage, slicing with her axe and pick, but the guard parries the blow, waiting for an opening to strike again.
Now lined up for his shot, Cervin lets fly with two arrows, although neither of which are particularly good shots.
"The other two are down Nadya! We've almost got this one!"