"Nothing disturbs this place that I can sense. Whatever was here is gone."
Gaius's former laughing demeanor is gone from his voice as he looks at the killing ground.
Gaius turns to Thunderfoot and Stilgar. "So why have you brought us to this place."
"In time, friend," Stilgar would say to Magnus upon his request to see the scroll, "Let us look upon the hill first."
Stilgar solemnly follows the others to the top of the hill, bending down to look over the scorched, bare ground. He nodded silently as Tarrana remarked on the practice, running a finger lightly along the ashen ground. He would note that one of the posts was far more damaged than the other. Then it is as the documents said... he would think, standing up, Those poor souls...
"Boris and Lillian Eventide... they were the ones that the Inquisition executed here five years ago," he would finally say, his voice carrying a sad tone, "It was because Lillian had the blood of a devil in her - she was purged here for that reason alone. And I suspect Baal's wrath would have burnt far more brightly for her kind..." He glanced towards the more heavily damaged of the two posts again, before shaking his head.
"But strange that they would use these two as scapegoats," he would continue, stroking his beard, "Their execution took place the day before Grundar was murdered."
"Boris and Lillian Eventide... they were the ones that the Inquisition executed here five years ago," he would finally say, his voice carrying a sad tone, "It was because Lillian had the blood of a devil in her - she was purged here for that reason alone. And I suspect Baal's wrath would have burnt far more brightly for her kind..." He glanced towards the more heavily damaged of the two posts again, before shaking his head.
"But strange that they would use these two as scapegoats," he would continue, stroking his beard, "Their execution took place the day before Grundar was murdered."
Jinjer's eyes widen with surprise at Stilgar's last statement and she shakes her head in disbelief. "Perhaps the Eventide's were burned for another reason...to cover the true murderer of the Thane's son..."
" Indeed. This information doesn't match up with what I know of the Thane's personality. He must have some other reason for his deep-seated distaste for humanity. I shall have to inquire as to the proper explanation tomorrow's evening. I have been invited to join them in their feast"
Brodgar spents the rest of the day wandering the festival, partaking of the harvest where he may. Unlike Stilgar, he is conscious of the few dignities left to him as a dwarf and wary enough of the situation to fix his battleaxe to his belt before departing.
He arrives at the hill last, mumbling his greetings to the new faces and solemnly nodding to his friends. He looks with Stilgar, glancing at the hill and more carefully looking at the surrounding landscape, worried that their meeting might look as clandestine as it was to prying eyes.
After a moment his gaze falls on Stilgar, waiting for the other dwarf to reveal what all this was about. As he recalls the story, Brodgar sighs inwardly. "They'll make anything up to justify somethin', won't they?" He crosses his arms and thinks for a bit. "I'm guessin' there's more to this'n that, though." His gaze falls again on Stilgar, not wanting to take a guess at what the meeting was about for fear of being right.
Jinjer's eyes widen with surprise at Stilgar's last statement and she shakes her head in disbelief. "Perhaps the Eventide's were burned for another reason...to cover the true murderer of the Thane's son...""Boris and Lillian Eventide... they were the ones that the Inquisition executed here five years ago," he would finally say, his voice carrying a sad tone, "It was because Lillian had the blood of a devil in her - she was purged here for that reason alone. And I suspect Baal's wrath would have burnt far more brightly for her kind..." He glanced towards the more heavily damaged of the two posts again, before shaking his head.
"But strange that they would use these two as scapegoats," he would continue, stroking his beard, "Their execution took place the day before Grundar was murdered."
"Or just as likely out of convenience." Tarrana said sadly as she reached down and picked up a handful of ash as it tried to skitter and bounce away. "They called down their god's wrath on these people. He is just as guilty in this as they. Tarrana sounded bitter as the ash sifted through her fingers.
Gaius speaks directly to Stilgar. The questions coming rapid fire and his tome flat and cold.
"So these people were killed the day before the crime they were killed for was commited?" "What was the explanation given on that day? On the next day when they were tied to the murder? In my experience Dwarves are logical, orderly thinkers who are unafraid to ask questions. Who was asked and what was their answer?"
"As for the victims here you say that Ms. Eventide was corrupted by devils. Do you know this from personal investigation or does this information come from the same people who turned her into smoke?"
"More importantly, who is asking you to investigate this now? The secrets here have been covered for five long years. Who wants to clear this fog and why? If the corruption hinted at by these events is true then the same people who did this before will suffer no qualms over sending a bit more smoke into the sky."
"On whose befalf and to what end do we risk joining the Eventides?"
Gaius shakes his head, light comeing back into his eyes and the smile returning to his voice. "Sorry, tend to over focus sometimes. Good questions though." He turns to address the larger group. "Any ideas on how to find the answers?"
"Or just as likely out of convenience." Tarrana said sadly as she reached down and picked up a handful of ash as it tried to skitter and bounce away. "They called down their god's wrath on these people. He is just as guilty in this as they. Tarrana sounded bitter as the ash sifted through her fingers.
As the charred earth falls from Tarrana’s fingers, the wind begins to pick up, summoning up small dust devils from the barren hilltop. Then the scene begins to change. The hilltop around you brightens, returning to the rosy light of dusk. Before you, the hill is grass-covered and you see two people tied to wooden posts. The first is a badly beaten human male of middle years; his head slumped upon his chest. The other is a tall, statuesque woman, her jet black hair tossed by the breeze. Stumps of flesh and bloody bone rise from her shoulders where wings once sat. A pair of black horns curl up from her forehead and a fiery look of haughty defiance upon features that are both beautiful and frightening, her ruddy flesh ridged in scales and bone spurs.
A voice from behind you causes you to whirl, as you see a quintet of short, broad shouldered forms wearing crimson robes trimmed in gold, their heads covered by red hoods. Emblazoned on their robes is the hammer of Baal. Behind them stand armored dwarven fighters, grimly witnessing the proceedings, axes planted before them. The central hooded figure takes a step forward, and then speaks with a deep and powerful voice:
“In the name of the Forge-father, these two are found guilty of violating the laws of the land. This man has brought evil into our midst and willfully hid it from those who seek out and destroy its like. This woman is evil incarnate, worthy only of the purifying flames of Baal. True to our sacred vows, we carry out this sentence. We commit your bodies to the flame, and your souls to the judgment of Baal.”
With this, one of the other Inquisitors raises his hands skyward, taking up a chant that resonates with power, every syllable felt like a physical force. The man raises his head. One eye is swollen shut and the other strains toward the woman. He opens his split and swollen lips to speak. Then a column of roaring flame plummets out of the open sky to envelop the man. His screams are drowned out by the crackle of flames.
The woman glares at the assembled clerics, spitting in defiance and laughing at her fate. Another of the executioners chants his spell and a column of fire lances down from the heavens, enveloping the woman. Even the harsh sounds of the fire cannot stifle her shriek of agony. As the flames vanish, you are horrified to see that she still lives. Her blackened flesh is cracked and bleeding. She strains to stand tall despite her pain, her bonds having burned away in the inferno. She raises a taloned hand, pointing at the dwarven assembly. She rasps out syllables in some unknown tongue, but is cut off as two other dwarves release their spells, again calling down fire from the heavens, and again. You watch in horror as the consecrated flame melts flesh from bone and her blackened corpse falls.
Then there is nothing but the crackle of flames, the sizzle of flesh, oily smoke rising to be carried off by the wind, and a smell—like that of cooked pork—and the sounds of screams, which you realize are coming from your own throats.
"Well that was....enlightening."
Will Save:
Magnus: additional 2 vs. fear/despair and illusions
Tuboo:
Shaken and horrified, Jinjer staggers and leans the post that is not shattered. She swallows hard a few times and roughly rubs the streaks of tears from her face with the back of her arm. Opening her eyes and trying to get the smells of the execution out of her nose and mind, she looks around at the others.
"By Kurnan's bow! Who or what conjured up that vision?"
The vision has faded. Your shocked group stands amid the desolation of the hilltop, alone and unharmed. As you are recovering, Tuboo the weasel's head pops up from the collar of Magnus' cloak, nose quivering.
Perception
Spellcraft to Identify the spell effect?
I shall prepare myself for combat by backing up towards the centre of the group. Tuboo shall be five feet away from me, covering my back.
You spot large shapes soaring in the darkness overhead. They pass swiftly, headed south towards the town. Great winged forms that appear to be enormous bats. You're fairly certain they bear riders.
Realizing the potential danger of the situation, I shall fire a bolt from my crossbow into the air in the direction of the forms I see, aiming at the one most visible to me, in the lead. I shall also have Tuboo come to me again as this fight is obviously not one he can fight from the ground.
Crossbow attack, shaken
"Wh..what was that?" Giaus steps back and looks up.
"By Baal's hammer, what in the world...?" Stilgar murmered, as he shook off the strange feeling that had encroached upon him. The startling vision had left his body trembling, though his mind quite clear. Having come to grip reality, Stilgar looks about, wondering what had Gaius' familiar so startled.
Perception:
Tarrana was cursing colorfully and in a language that only fire knows. "Blasted demons get away from me!"
She flailed at soemthing invisible before calm came over her again and she frowned reaching for her sling as the mention of combat was made.
Like most of her companions, Jinjer sees the bats and feels her stomach turn over. "Damnation! First visions of horror and now living horrors come to life!"
Almost without thinking, Jinjer nocks an arrow to her bow, draws, aims, and fires!
If it appears that any of the flying beasts are descending upon us, I shall again have Tuboo come out and prepare to fight, casting shield on him (if possible, myself otherwise) If the creatures continue towards town, I shall attempt to cast message up to Gaius to keep him in communcation with the rest of the group, and cast my buff spell once on the outskirts of town.
In either case, I offer my club to Stilgar as a weapon.
" Not quite as fancy as yours, but should do the trick"
First action sprint down the hill shouting the bit about the Flail as well as "Nocturnes...Eat people...Festival" that should get the point across. Run speed is 120'
Second round. Realize I am a FREAKING SORCERER.
-Standard action Cast Dancing lights targeting a point 50'up and 50'closer to the village (max range is 110 feet so this should work. Please feel free to target another point if that will illuminate the bat boys better. Noter the lights can move 100'/round, last a full minute and do not require concentration or action to direct. I am using the 4 balls of light version of the spell. The lights appear as pinpoint ball lightning and will form the corners of a 10' by 10' square and keep pace with the bats.
-Move action. Move towards the village 40'.
Will Save
Perception
Will Save
1d20+6
Perception
1d20+7
With the Perception check, Brodgar is able to see the great bats and their riders go soaring past overhead. Whether they are connected to what you've just seen, or their appearance is simply coincidence, you don't know.
Initiative Rolls
Brodgar:
Gaius:
Jinjer:
Magnus:
Stilgar:
Terrana:
Nocturne Raiders:
Initiative Order:
Jinjer
Magnus
Stilgar
Nocturne
Terrana
Brodgar
Gaius
Pre-Combat:
The majority of the party is shaken, shocked by the horror of reliving the execution by fire of the two victims. Brodgar, overwhelmed by the vision, flees downhill back towards the village. As the party is attempting to recover, six horse-sized bats wing their way overhead.
Combat, Round 1:
Jinjer is quick to nock an arrow and let fly at one of the receding bats. Her arrow flies true and strikes deep into the beast's underbelly, causing it to shriek and lurch in pain. The strike scrambles its organs and causes some deep hurting: 5hp damage, 2 Con damage, and the bat is fatigued.
Magnus quickly follows suit, raising his crossbow and firing at the same bat. The shot hits, the bolt burying deep into the bat's flank. 7hp damage to the bat.
Stilgar grabs Magnus' club from the gnome's belt and moves 20 feet down the hillside.
The front rider of the wounded bat slow their speed and bank left, beginning a turn back toward the party. A cry from the Nocturne sitting behind him gets the attention of a second bat, which also turns back, banking right. The other four are no longer in sight, presumably headed for the village.
Terrana grabs up her sling and whirls a bullet up toward the wounded bat on the left. The projectile thuds off the snout of the bat, which prompts another pained shriek from the thing. Another 3hp to the bat.
Brodgar continues his headlong flight down the hillside and reaches its base this round. As he does, he finally shakes off the sudden panic that overtook him.
Gaius says "Trouble, six giant bats with riders, fourth feet up. Heading for the festival. Meet at the Flail," before tearing down the hillside. On his way down he yells back "Nocturne...eat people...festival!" His run takes him to the base this round and adjacent to Brodgar.
Initiative Rolls
Gaius:1d20+5
DM I could use a post stating where everyone is unless we will be getting a map.
General description so people know where things are oriented for the next round:
The top of the hill is gently rounded and about 60 feet across. Jinjer, Magnus, and Terrana are a five foot step apart from on another at the south edge of one of the scorched circles. Gaius and Brodgar are adjacent to one another at the base of the hill, about 120 feet away. Four of the bats are currently headed toward town, practically out of sight. Two other bats have banked around to the left and the right. The one to the left is about 150 feet from Brodgar. The one on the right, 150 feet from Gaius. They are each about 120 feet from the rest of the group on the hilltop.
Stilgar offers Magnus an appreciative nod as he borrows the gnome's club, glad that he was no longer completely weaponless. He would have preferred his faithful hammer, but it was currently well beyond his reach - he had more pressing matters to attend to. Desperate to stop the creatures from reaching the village, he would break out into a full run, following Gaius and Brodgar as closely as he can.
Initiative Order:
Jinjer
Magnus
Stilgar
Nocturne
Terrana
Brodgar
Gaius
Seeing the bats turning toward them, Jinjer nocks another arrow and takes aim, allowing the giant creatures to close within range. Once they do, she fires, targeting the same wounded bat.
"Kurnan, guide my bow," she whispers as she lets fly.
General description so people know where things are oriented for the next round:
The top of the hill is gently rounded and about 60 feet across. Jinjer, Magnus, and Terrana are a five foot step apart from on another at the south edge of one of the scorched circles. Gaius and Brodgar are adjacent to one another at the base of the hill, about 120 feet away. Four of the bats are currently headed toward town, practically out of sight. Two other bats have banked around to the left and the right. The one to the left is about 150 feet from Brodgar. The one on the right, 150 feet from Gaius. They are each about 120 feet from the rest of the group on the hilltop.
Whoops. I left out Stilgar. He's right at the start of the south slope, a 20 foot move from Magnus.
DM So how far away is town?
Just a half mile away. So about 5 minutes travel for a 30ft movement rate. Half that at a run.
Tarrana looks on in irritation as the bats are out of range of both spell and sling. She takes off like a raging wildfire cascading down the slope.
round 2 init 7 sprint 120' towards the posts.
Tarrana looks on in irritation as the bats are out of range of both spell and sling. She takes off like a raging wildfire cascading down the slope.
[/QUOTE
Magnus follows suit with Jinjer by taking a stand on the hill. Knocking another bolt, he waits until the weakened bat comes within good range. He whispers to Jinjer: "Wrangle them together close to me. I have a plan. "
Arrow:
Fine aim this time.
If the bat is dropped by Jinjer's arrow, I run the necessary distance to the beast and face its rider, Tuboo perched on my shoulder, ready still for action.
My bolt, though well aimed, does not sink very far into the flesh of the creature.
Round 2:
Jinjer and Magnus reload and hold their shots.
Stilgar trundles two thirds of the way down the hill.
The two bats finish their turn and swoop towards the ones on the hilltop. As the one on the left closes the distance by half, Jinjer looses her arrow, catching the thing deep in the shoulder. It wobbles in its flight, but keeps coming.
Magnus raises his crossbow and fires. The arrow catches the bat in the flesh under its jaw. The beast wobbles again, then plummets, crashing through the standing post behind the two gnomes before hitting the ground.
The two riders of the downed bat wait until the last possible second, and then leap from its back, attempting to get free of the beast before the impact. Both manage to clear the bat before it hits the ground with crushing force. It's certain they didn't get away without damage, but both are on their feet again in moments, weapons in their hands. They are about 30 feet from Jinjer and Magnus.
The other bat soars towards the gnomes, closing the distance to 70 feet this round. Its riders ready darts, couching them in strange, cup-ended sticks.
Terrana, now down the hill and away, continues to run towards town. The bats, flying swiftly, have moved out of her line of sight, except for the hint of objects in the sky, occasionally blotting out stars briefly as they move.
Brodgar, recovered from his sudden fright, seems torn between following her or returning to the hilltop. He delays.
Gaius turns and begins running up the hill. However, due to the steep incline he finds it slower going than the descent was. He makes 60 feet of progress this round due to the difficult terrain, getting halfway up the hillside this round.
Jinjer quickly nocks an arrow and points it at one of the riders. "You saw what happened to your mount! Lay down your steel or you'll get the same!"
Cursing her own lack of affinity with the air Taranna turns to see others in danger and proceeds to go back up the hill. Though at a much slower pace than before.
Knock an arrow,5 foot step to put myself between Jinjer and the grounded Nocturnes. I'll cast shield on Tuboo.
Once I've got set actions by everyone, I'm posting the results of the round. At that point, it's back to the top of the initiative order.
Speaking of, adjustments from the previous round due to readying should be taken into account.
Revised initiative order:
Stilgar
Jinjer
Magnus
Nocturne
Terrana
Brodgar
Gaius
Stopping dead in his tracks, Stilgar would realize that catching up to the other four bats would be impossible, especially given his slow speed. Cursing under his breath, he would turn around and make his way back up the hill as quickly as possible.
Round 3 Init 7.
Move action: move uphill. Stop well short of any combatants.
"This will have to do". "You can outrun me, but outrun this!"
With those words Gaius casts his arms into the air. Strange words fly from his mouth and seem to echo back from the empty air.
Far above the hilltop the stars seem to waver as strange sheets of light form soft and faint and then tightening into silent lightning.
Three hundred feet in the direction of the village and a hundred feet above where Giaus stands. The sky is rent with silent fire, the lightning bound into bright lines by his will.
Above the village in letters a dozen fee high hangs the warning for all to see.
"I said lay down your godsdamn steel!" Jinjer growls, first in Common and then in Goblinoid. She steps out from behind Magnus If they so much as twitch in her direction, she fires!
Brodgar, flustered at his sudden mindless flight, starts back up the hill at a jog, uncertain how he could aid the group but not wanting to rush back to town as a lone target.
If the Grounded Nocturnes surrender (which I doubt) I will attempt an Intimidate check to get them to call of their airborne friends.
Intimidate
If they do not surrender, I shall move up to within 15 or 20 feet, and send Tuboo in to attack. then fire a crossbow bolt myself.
Tuboo bite attack , auto attach if successful (grapple)
Tuboo-acrobatics to avoid attack of opportunity
Magnus arrow
Round 3:
Stilgar takes a double move and reaches the crest of the hill again.
Jinjer, seeing the Nocturne bare mouthfuls of pointed teeth and snarl threateningly, decides they aren't surrendering and fires at the closest opponent. The arrow buries itself deep in the feral gnomeling's shoulder.
Magnus casts shield on Tuboo.
The great bat passes overhead, about fifteen feet above the hilltop, to Magnus and Jinjer's left. As it does, the two mounted Nocturne loose darts from their strange launchers. Magnus is struck for 4hp damage, as the missile buries itself in the meaty part of his thigh. Jinjer is struck for 5hp of damage as the dart buries in her side.
The two Nocturne on the ground move in on the wounded gnomes. Their wild, matted hair trails behind them as they come, thrusting with spears toward their adversaries. Jinjer ducks, feeling the spearhead part her hair. Magnus twists aside, avoiding a skewering at the hands of his opponent.
Terrana, legs pumping, double-times it back up the hillside, covering a third of its height this round.
Brodgar follows suit, his shorter, stockier frame managing to cover half the distance Terrana does.
Gaius casts his spell and emblazons the sky with his warning. He gets the satisfaction that his message has been received; the strains of music being heard from town falter and then die away.