"So you be from the north I assume"
Of sorts, although i have been living in taldan most of my life she replied
With a full stomach, Connor starts to bed down as he glances over at Feinmeir and Merisiel, "Wake me in a few hours." Soon Connor is snoring loudly next to the fire, his thick blanket wrapping round his large form. The occasional growl escapes his throat in the throngs of whatever dream he having.
"By of sorts I'm guessing your family hails from the north." Feinmeir putting the bow down next to him.
of sorts she says smiling how about you?
"I come from Blackcrag Cove on the coast of Katapesh, though my family traces itself all the way to Linnorm. Heh, I just realized I'll be the last on to be able to trace back my family to Linnorm." Feinmeir pulls out a green scale and rubs it as he finishes talking.
so you do have northern ancestry. Have you ever been to the lands of the linnorm kings?
"No me grandfather was the last to have seen it, though I don't think our blood has ever adjusted I still don't like the heat and the cold never bothered me anyways."
Ikkis is fast asleep by this point, his self-created icy armor having, by this point, melted and fragmented away to join the snow around him. He snuggles himself in a bedroll that was hastily packed in his backpack, and passes out almost as soon as he lies down.
well that land is brutal, but maybe one day you will get to see it.she says heading off to bed
Demona strings up her hammock close enough to the fire to get some warmth, and smirks as Arthrax takes up a position almost underneath her. She reaches down to ruffle his hair affectionately before rolling over and letting sleep take her.
With a new day and some new loot, you continue on your trek. After some walking, the trail begins to climb a ridgeline to the south beneath snow-ladden trees. The prints of boots and horses mar the freshly fallen snow on the trail.
|
Arthrax can not help but smile wearily as he sees the prints. That likely meant they were almost to their destination, or at the very least meant they were going in the right direction. He will continue to follow, trusting in the more experienced trackers, Feinmeir and Connor, to stop them when required.
Before the new day Merisiel will have casted her last on anyone that needed healing
----
Any idea how many bandits are we talking about ?
Ikkis awakes groggily in time for the last watch of the night, and slowly regains his full consciousness as he watches the sun rise on the horizon.
Upon finding the fresh tracks, he tries to be the first to answer Merisiel, but...
"By my calculations, it seems to be... seems to be..."
His sentence trails off as Ikkis realizes he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.
"...well it's definitely enough bandits to warrant doing this."
Once more, ice gathers and thickens on the outside of his armor. The newly risen sun shines through the icicles like a prism, creating multicolored refractions upon the white, snowy ground.
He dons his shield as well.
Feinmeir inspects the tracks trying to give a definitive answer, either way as he has done he draws his sword and dons his shield.
You can defiantly find three separate pairs of prints, but you strongly believe there are others that have become distorted from the others as well as the elements.
Demona has swapped out snapdragon fireworks for Mage armour this morning. She waits until Arthrax tells her that danger is imminent (likely within the next hour or so) then casts her spell. Wisps of ethereal flame surround her feet, then whoosh up to the top of her head, leaving her sheathed in what looks like a heat shimmer.
of course or otherwise i wouldn't be here she replied to ikkis
so lets keep moving then if these track are leading us to where the bandits currently are
Connor finishes his waking rituals before collecting up his things and following Feinmeir back onto the trail. He looks around at everyone as they walk, "Once we run into these bandits, I'm going to advise we secure the lady and kill as many as we can so they won't prey on anyone else in the area. Does anyone object to this or want to try talking them into surrendering themselves?" Connor says the last bit with a little humor to his voice.
Connor finishes his waking rituals before collecting up his things and following Feinmeir back onto the trail. He looks around at everyone as they walk, "Once we run into these bandits, I'm going to advise we secure the lady and kill as many as we can so they won't prey on anyone else in the area. Does anyone object to this or want to try talking them into surrendering themselves?" Connor says the last bit with a little humor to his voice.
"Honestly? In my opinion thieves, kidnappers, and those who traffic with such lethal spirits as we've encountered should probably be dealt with on a 'burn first, ask questions later,' basis. If we can capture them, that's great: we can bring them to justice for their crimes, and try to get some information out of them as to their objectives and the like. If not? You're probably right in that the area will be better in their absence."
"And Connor?" he adds, wincing and without much confidence in his voice, "Please try not to eat any of them? We're pretty tolerant people, as far as I can tell, but I'm pretty sure taking a bite of human flesh would be taking it way too far..."
Connor scrunches his nose up at the thought of eating people, "I like the taste of meat, Ikky, but I'm not a cannibal. I do have some standards, you know?"
Now that all of this has been settled how about moving forward?
"Please before I lose dinner. Feinmeir says moving forward.
she just smile at the comment
Connor scrunches his nose up at the thought of eating people, "I like the taste of meat, Ikky, but I'm not a cannibal. I do have some standards, you know?"
Thank the gods.
"Of course! I wasn't saying you were... I was just... you know, making sure we were establishing some boundaries. We're coming up against a lot of things that are definitively not-human. Like that forest-lord thing. That you ate. I mean, it was probably just a regular deer, but even I had some doubts at the time."
Ikkis follows Arthrax, hoping to not encounter any more surprise attacks. He was growing to hate those.
"That's a shame, really, Connor. My mother says humans are quite tasty, when properly roasted."
Demona tries to keep her face as straight as possible, but a couple smirks do slip out when she looks at Arthrax.
|
|
Arthrax glares at Demona after she makes her comment. He opens his mouth to mention something to the effect of 'nothing could stand the taste of an orc', but thinks better of it after a moment. It was just the woman's personality, and she likely meant no harm. And she might burn him. Alot. There was always that to consider. He trudges along, taking his place at the back of the party to cover against any surprises from their backtrail.
The girl's comment brought up another point. They had been gone for quite some time, and Demona's absence had surely been noted at this point. It might be time to start working on a proper alibi.
You all continue marching along the path, following the boot prints in the snow talking among yourselves. Before you have a chance to react, five men in armor jump out from among the trees, bows drawn and firing.
Demona
Meriseil
Arthrax
Feinmeir
Cconnor
Baddies
Ikkis
[
Connor stops suddenly as he hears a crunch of snow underfoot all around them. He holds up one hand as the other clutches his weapon. Just as he is about to warn the others, a flurry of movement surrounding them erupts into five men firing arrows at them, "AMBUSH!" With a roar, Connor flings down his polearm as he reaches for his axe and goes running at the nearest ambusher.
You axe sinks deep into the mans neck and he is dead before the bow is properly drawn.
Round 1
Merisiel will Cast a Daze on one of the Enemy (Will DC 15)
Arthrax! With me!" Demona calls out as she dashes forward. She hopes that she survives long enough for Arthrax to take her to task for taking such a risk.
She holds out her hand and unleashes a jet of fire which catches both green and blue.
Reflex DC 14 for half damage or catch fire
|
|
As Connor yells out his warning, Arthrax feels the impact as an arrow thuds into his shield, then glances off his mail. A third arrow traces a line of fire across his cheek as he winces.
He curses as the wizardess runs off towards danger, moving to plant himself in front of her. Thankfully, there is a bandit right there, and Arthrax is more than willing to take a swing at him with his axe.
Seeing Connor dash north, Demona steps south, right between Arthrax and the orange bandit, and blasts him with the afore-mentioned jet of flame.
The bandit's already warm clothing become even more warm as they are soon ablaze, however he does not burn long as Arthrax's blade makes short work of him.
Feinmeir takes advantage of Meri's spell and charges the bandit.
Feinmeir charges forward and swings his axe but the bandit is able to dodge his blow.
The bandit feinmeir charged drops his bow and draw's his short sword, opting for melee combat now that his foe had come to him.
Another bandit off to the side drops his bow as well and charges towards Merisiel, drawing his short sword in the process.
The last bandit near Connor turns away from the others and runs away from combat farther down the road.
Well this is entirely too close for comfort!
Ikkis steps back and once more raises his grisly hand. Its crags glow with a firey warmth as he incants: "Attacking the unarmed? Shameful. Tillåt mig att utjämna spelfältet!"
Feeling a heat in his sword, the bandit drops his weapon before any harm comes to him.
Feinmeir focuses and swings again.
With the other bandit seemingly well in hand by Arthrax, Connor roars again and goes loping across the field toward the dwarf and his opponent. He sweeps out with his bloodied ax as he nears.
As the last two bandits fall beneath your blades, you're left with an uneasy feeling at what lies ahead due to the escaped bandit.