Phil lurks to the corner and laces an undersized bolt delicately between the intervening wall and Braddon's right elbow which buries itself in the Varisian's gut.
Oblivious to the larger battle, the Varisian in the hut with Gristav is cheered by the arrival of his comrade. "Z-z-z-zion kontuz, Cappi," he warns through chattering teeth. "Bere langileak izotza bezalakoa da." He steps into the corner to divide Gristav's attention between them and takes another swing with his sap, but his arm is shaky and weak and his aim inaccurate.
"Not very sporting...", Gristav says in Varisi as the flank is found, feinting at the first and frozen foe, striking at the second...
Spinning in conservation of twist as his staff stops on the second, Gristav steps Southwest, and casts, recalling the curse and recovering the cudgel at once, as if long practiced...
Frost fleeing from his ashwood arm, echoes of far Tien sound, shaping to spellbound symbol, a sinstain Brand...*
* Tienish Glyph for 'backshooter'
Inside the cloud of mist, the Varisian strikes again. This time, the dagger misses, and it is his rapier that tastes Braddon's blood. "Your traitorous friend," he sneers, "is he worth dying for?"
"I'll let you decide," Braddon responds plunging both weapons forward.
"Ah, there you are," Braddon grins as the mist vanishes.
"SNAKE! I'm bleeding here!"
Gristav's staff strikes again, delivering an icy chill, but Cappi's flesh resists his arcane calligraphy.
Phillip's diminutive bolt is joined in the Varisian's gut by four feet of steel. With a cross between a gasp and a grunt, the man slides off Braddon's blade and crumples to the greasy ground.
Braddon steps back towards Snake and winces.
"Nice shot," he says to Phil pleasantly. "You may have saved my life."
Offering a wink to Braddon, Phil turns his head and calls in Varisi "Your man is bleeding his guts into the dirt - either lay down your blades or bleed with him... You know who walks with us... do not question our resolve"
"EUTSI ZION", Gristav commands, lowering his voice but not his guard to address the nearer Varisi, "Hemen nintzen, hitz egin behar ez den hilketa, He explains. "Erakutsi dut mesura uste dut.", he adds, comparing his staff to the blade and bow. "Ezin duzu exekutatu, neguko batera. Ezin duzu irabazteko. Izango hiltzen duzu, edo amore?"
Hold him.
I came here to talk, not to murder. I've shown restraint, I think. You can't run, with the winter on you. You can't win. Will you die, or surrender?
Tendal looks around for any other threat. Seeing nothing immediate, he relaxes slightly.
"Well, with that assailant removed, and the mist dissipated, I suppose we should gather back together and see what is so interesting about this locale." Then, he glances around again, doing a quick headcount.
"Where is Gristav?", he asks.
The halfling jerks his chin back toward the easternmost building in reply to Tendal's query.
Tendal moves swiftly around the corner, his eyes scanning the buildings as he moves past the corner and finally sees the back of the thug and Gristav holding the man at bay.
"Telorum Vi" he intones, and flicks his wrist toward the man, sending a shower of red sparks from his cuff that snap together into a single streak that shoots across the intervening space with a firework shriek. The bolt thuds into the man's left shoulder with enough force for him to half-step forward for balance.
"You are outmatched, outclassed and outnumbered. Your only hope of survival at this point is to surrender to our good graces and thus limit further bloodshed." he pronounces loudly toward the small building.
Skirting the slippery patch of ground, Tendal moves past the southern corner of the building, where he can see Gristav's attacker and looses a bullet of arcane force at his back.
The man stung by the magic missile grits his teeth against the pain and fatigue and stabs once again at Gristav, missing badly. "Amaitu zion!" he urges his fellow, as he steps behind the wall to avoid further missile fire.
Snake moves over between Braddon and the downed thug. "I'm gonna stabilize this one and worry about if he's still breathing later. If he is, then we're gonna learn what he knows. If not, let's try and keep any others alive if we can but I'm not gonna lose any sleep if it just so happens we can't," he tells the others plainly as he lays a healing hand upon the ranger.
Letting his crossbow fall Phil turns and moves to support Gristav, drawing a blade as he goes.
The man stung by the magic missile grits his teeth against the pain and fatigue and stabs once again at Gristav, missing badly. "Amaitu zion!" he urges his fellow, as he steps behind the wall to avoid further missile fire.
Emiliu gives his comrade a nervous look but obeys the instruction, stepping forward and swinging his cosh once again. This time, the small but weighty sandbag catches Gristav just behind the ear, leaving his head ringing.
The man stung by the magic missile grits his teeth against the pain and fatigue and stabs once again at Gristav, missing badly. "Amaitu zion!" he urges his fellow, as he steps behind the wall to avoid further missile fire.
Gristav grins as the man dances dexter, commiserating convivially, "I know... right?"
Emiliu gives his comrade a nervous look but obeys the instruction, stepping forward and swinging his cosh once again. This time, the small but weighty sandbag catches Gristav just behind the ear, leaving his head ringing.
Staggering Southeast, blinking back the burst of beanbagged blueness, Gristav looks from one to the other of the Varisi. "Nire pazientzia eta otzantasuna, igaro duzu horiek."
Color Spray
"Thanks," Braddon tosses to Snake as he rushes off towards the sound of combat, like a child racing outside to play.
He skirts the grease and runs past Tendal towards the building with Gristav inside.
[dice=Staff+1, +2 STR, Spell Combat-2 vs Cappi]d20+2
[dice=d6+3]d6+3[dice=Concentration+5 vs 15]d20+5
His head still ringing, Gristav fails to form the image of the Tienish Glyph.
5' step to I8
Gristav delivers another rap to the Varisian giving orders and steps back into the corner.
Braddon hurries around the corner, hoping to get back into the fray.
Hearing, (and knowing the Varisi would hear) Braddon's hurried approach, Gristav advises, "Orain dator gure ehiza katu. Erakutsi zion ez kirola ezta buztana." He waits a beat, and the man in blue shares his view, of Braddon's, brandished, bloodied blades. Behind the small shield of his sap, Gristav imagines the Varisi to blanch.
"Sabelak.", Gristav commands, answering the riddle, and pointing to the floor.
"Bellies."
Having no immediate target for his spells, Tendal wonders if he should conserve them and let the others take care of the stragglers.
"Hartu nuen aginduak ez gadjo," the man sneers to Gristav's advice. Raising his blade, he looks ready to strike at the first person who tries to enter the building.
"Hartu nuen aginduak ez gadjo," the man sneers to Gristav's advice. Raising his blade, he looks ready to strike at the first person who tries to enter the building.
"...eta ekarri ohorea ez zure klan. Pozoi-saltzaileen eta bihotz-korapiloak babestuz. Ez dago zure amaren dolua ohore gehiago zintzoa zure etengabeko krimena baino. Zure end sombría gloria bat egin duzu. Zure skinsaw jainko juega zure arima withered batera gehiegizkoak izatea espero dut."
Looking to the younger Varisi, Gristav asks, "Duzu. Zein infernua du joan nahi duzu?"
Seeing no immediate threats, "LUCK!" he hollers as he bends down and lays a hand on the thug, stabilizing him with magic, not caring whether or not his alive or dead at this point. As he does, Lucky makes his way back to the tall man and back within his pack for protection, with only his head visible.
Snake then makes his way around the corner of the building in hopes to help finish off the rest of the thugs.
Seeing his comrades rush forward to support Gristav, Tendal feels a sense of relief that they are jumping to his support.
I can't see anything here...and can do even less.
Unable to see anything from his vantage he looks around and scans the nearby buildings for any signs of movement, then moves forward to see if there is something he can help with.
Tendal watches for more enemies skulking around the rest of the clearing as he moves forward, but the only movement he sees is Snake catching up to the moving melee from around the corner of the building.
Poised at the edge of the crumbling wall, Phil moves out in the open, simultaneously drawing his second dagger, and tosses one of the knives at the Varisian with the rapier. There is little enough strength behind the toss that, despite its accuracy, it does little more than graze the skin. With a mock bow, the halfling gives Braddon an "after you" gesture into the waiting attack.
His nerve breaking, the second Varisian steps backward to the door of the structure and opens it, clearly ready to make a break for it.
There were only instants, to do the sums. And in the end, Gristav knew, it was a waste of power, if viewed coldly, and a risk, to be without the power if needed soon.
But there was about to be more blood. And a lot of it. Braddon's bloodied brand, after Cappi's readied rapier. Phillip's proven accuracy, and efficiency... the end was foretold, but still to be forestalled.
And the other would run, and they would chase, and he would die, or lead them onto a nest of neighbors. Or relatives.
So Gristav spent the power, and ended the battle. Pointing his stave at neither of the Varisi, he spun it about its axis, and a faint prismatic aura grew, and shed, and shot forth...
Color Spray
Expecting unconsciousness, Gristav exited the ruin to the East. "Gentlemen", he gratefully greeted his gathering fellows. "Thank you. Would you secure them? I... wish to speak with Mister Kane."
Braddon gleefully charges in among the stunned Varisi, though his face falls at their condition.
"Nobody move or it's the last thing you do," he announces grimly to the ensorcelled enemies.
Gristav casts his spell, and the back of the hut is briefly a cacophonous headache of color and light. Cappi's ready rapier drops from unfeeling fingers as he is stunned by the display, but Emiliu at the door seems unaffected.
"Can we please end this now, and talk?", Gris will ask in Varisi.
Ah. Gristav must mean to take these alive still.
"I don't see an easy opportunity to use any of my remaining spells, and I don't want to be without option or advantage if any remaining enemies set upon us." Tendal says, "I will endeavor to stop the remaining thug if he attempts to flee, however."
Snake moves up to the corner of the building and looks within. "Still got one standing, huh?" He then attempts to hex the lone thug.
Phillip shrugs and steps forward to retrieve his dagger from the feet of the stunned man, resheathing the weapon.
Despite Braddon's threat, the sole functioning Varisian decides to take his chances. As he breaks for the door, Braddon's bastard sword slashes, cutting him deeply, but he still manages to stagger outside and out of the sight of everyone in the building and those south.
Rushing into an oblique pursuit, Gristav calls in Elvish, "Predo iras Okcidento. Mi Nordokcidento. Frato, kaŝus lin por niaj sagoj."
Gristav drops his staff and draws his bow, setting an arrow to the string, as he rushes to the edge of the clearing. Catching a glimpse of the man's blue tunic through the leaves, he aims and fires, and the crouching man collapses to the ground.
Seeing Gristav dash out the door on the far side of the tumbled down building, he advances forward, to get a better view of the proceedings.
Turning around and looking back over the group a quizzical look comes over his face.
"I imagine that after we secure the incapacitated assailants, we should continue our exploration. I wonder if we are in an appropriate state to continue, however." He posits, impressed by the wounds and scratches
Tendal moves to the edge of the building and peers into the foliage after Gristav's arrow.
Watching the one escape out the door, he looks over at the fallen thug. "Someone might wanna tie that one up before he decides to... move I would guess. I'm gonna check out the big mouth who's a lot quieter these days... see if he still lives." Snake moves back over to the thug that nearly killed him and checks to see if he is still alive.
"Serpe has a point," Phillip points out, picking up the rapier the stunned Varisian dropped and taking it a safe distance from its wielder.
Braddon looks out after the fleeing Varisian, then back to the stunned foe in front of him.
"Fine," he mutters pulling out rope and roughly trussing up the figure before him. Once the man is incapacitated, he starts emptying his hostage's pockets.
As Braddon begins to tie up the ensorcelled man, he is still stunned, but by the time he is turning out the Varisian's pockets, the man is struggling and spitting curses. Cappi was armed with two daggers and a sap, in addition to the rapier Phillip confiscated and the crossbow he dropped in the clearing. He also carries a case of 8 bolts. He is wearing common studded leather armor, and apart from a pouch containing a silver coin and 8 copper pieces, he has nothing else of value.
"Let's see if you still live, bub." Snake checks to see if the thug is dead. Regardless of his condition, he confiscates all his possessions.
The man lying in the pool of magical grease is unconscious but stable. The dagger and rapier with which he was fighting are lying where they fell from his hands; they appear exceptionally well-made, as does the chainmail he is wearing. He is wearing a cloak and carries a small vial in his belt, along with a pouch containing 35 gold coins.
Snake looks to the items a moment, checking for any signs of magic upon them.
Once done, then he takes all said items.
Tendal, cane in hand walks over to the building behind him and cautiously opens the door, ready to shout for help or retreat if necessary.
Tendal tries the door which opens easily, swinging loosely on its hinges. Inside is an open area with a musty smell. Light filters into the interior through holes in the crumbling roof and illuminate patches of pale, stringy weeds growing between rotting floorboards. In the darker areas that don't benefit from direct sunlight, ghostly-pale mushrooms cluster, and the spaces between the rafters are filmy with generations of spiderwebs. There is no sign of recent habitation or foot-traffic.
As Braddon begins to tie up the ensorcelled man, he is still stunned, but by the time he is turning out the Varisian's pockets, the man is struggling and spitting curses. Cappi was armed with two daggers and a sap, in addition to the rapier Phillip confiscated and the crossbow he dropped in the clearing. He also carries a case of 8 bolts. He is wearing common studded leather armor, and apart from a pouch containing a silver coin and 8 copper pieces, he has nothing else of value.
Braddon pockets the change and the daggers and adds the bolts to his own. He looks at the sap, looks to his captive and grins.
He drags the man from the ground and marches him outside to Phillip and the others."This one likes to talk. Tell us about yourself and your friends, stranger who currently has ten fingers."