Sheyan stands, grabbing the greataxe on his back and growling. "Not a good way to start."
Mule looks alarmed at everyone's reactions and stands and turns to towards the stairs. As he does so his eye get a steely glare of concentration.
At Torrent's actions, Kallant finally understands what Mule was insinuating. He stands up and moves toward his gear on a covered table along the wall. While listening for newcomers, he studies his backpack, over-cloak, and gloves to gather them as quickly as possible.
For his part, Arklon merely walks over and faces the stairs, 10 feet from the landing, but off to one side to allow his allies vision of the landing. He loosens his blade in the scabbard, though he does not draw the blade, and then unties his cloak, tossing it into a corner. Finally, he assumes a pose of utter nonchalance, his arms crossed at his waist, though the careful observer notices his foot placement is wider than normal, as though half way into a wide, martial stance.
Kagan slips over and flattens his back against the stairwell, hoping to take anyone who might come down it by surprise. What in the hell was that noise? Sounded like an explosion maybe... The scarred want-to-be witch wads up his meaty fists, and gets ready to bash anything hostile looking that appears.
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As you move yourselves into position, the front door suddenly shudders and rattles in its frame as something makes contact with it from the other side. Although it still stands, one of the hinges has begun to come out of the wall.
"Damn! I think it's safe to say that those aren't allies!" Torrent maneuvers around the table towards Kallant, muttering some sort of prayer as she does so.
There is no movement from the stairs or second floor.
Battering Ram:
"Half on the door, half on the stairs." Sheyan moves to the door, holding his greataxe ready if somebody comes through.
Mule moves to far side of the front door and gets ready to hit anyone comes through it or the boarded window.
Kallant tries to ignore the battering ram by focusing on his gear. He shoulders his backpack and then over-cloak, so he is ready to go. Only his gloves still lay on the table. He manages to have kept hold of his walking stick.
Arklon maintains his stance, taking only a single glance at the front door. He nods at Kagan and says in low tones, "Ambushers deserve an ambush, eh. I'll pretend to be the bait, then we'll show them we're both jaws."
Gareth glances once towards the stairs before turning his concentration on the door in front of him. He gives a nod to his two new allies, Mule and Sheyan, to assure himself of his confidence. "We have this, right?" His anticipation builds with his eagerness to fight.
This is exactly like the story my grandfather told me. A small group of resistance fighters were holed up in an abandoned tavern fighting off waves of attack dogs while the tavern was on fire. Also, the cellar was being used to hold some kind of explosive substance, and it was about to catch. If they were able to fight their way out of that, we can surely fight our way out of this.
With images of courage and companionship flashing through his mind, Gareth steels himself for the blow he is about to send towards his enemies...
Again the front door is struck, but again it holds fast.
After this second blow, several black clad orcs, all sporting red armbands, rush down from the second floor, armed with saps and ready for a fight.
"Drop your weapons and come quietly. We don't want to bre--"
Before the thug can finish his speech, the entire building shakes as a deafening crash sounds overhead. The ceiling boards above begin to crack and buckle and burning oil sprays down over the room like a fiery rain. Up the stairs you can hear the screams of what you assume were more of the black clad thugs. One orc, completely engulfed in flames, even attempts to put himself out as he tumbles down the stairs screaming. Sidestepping his burning companion, the orc at the bottom of the stairs finds himself moving straight into Kagan's waiting fist. Between the chaos around him and the Kagan's onslaught, he appears very visibly shaken. Further up the stairs, the only other surviving orc drops his sap to draw a crude morningstar, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Torrent Reflex:
Scout 1 Reflex:
Scout 2 Reflex:
Kallant spots the word on one of the attackers armbands and mouths, Murderers? as he easily translates the Ignan. Then, the ceiling collapses scattering flaming oil throughout the room. Kallant pulls his over-cloak close staining it with hot oil.
Focusing on his gear to avoid freaking out, he stuffs his gloves in some pockets. "Who are these guys?" he asks the room. "Their armbands say 'Murderers' in the tongue of fire."
Sheyan makes a quick mental note of the armbands while dodging the burning oil. He gives Kallant a surprised look. "Great."
Sheyan grabs the table they were sitting at, quickly dragging it over to put it in front of the door to reinforce it. "Take care of the ones on the stairs, we have this covered!"
Concluding that the battering ram is not an acceptable way to enter a building, Kallant points his free hand toward the breaking door and waits. If the door busts, he will use his magic against a live person for the first time in his life.
Mule stands where he is ready to hit any enemy that come close.
Kagan manages to dodge the burning oil falling through the ceiling. "F%+& me sideways! That's siege weapon fire if I'm not off my guess," he curses.
"You picked the wrong f@$+er to f+&! with, bub!" he says to the orc in front of him, maintaining his fighter's stance. Kagan lashes out at the "murderer's" knee with a swift, powerful kick. Clearly this isn't the black-clad thug's first rodeo either, and he easily dodges the kick. Did the Ragesians get here early? Who the hell could be bombing the city? He looks nervously to the fire spreading all around him, and the rest of the Poison Apple. This aint good. Aint good at all.
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Miss :(
Seeing Kagan land a solid blow with his 1-2 combination, Arklon steps over to cut off his opponent's retreat and avoiding the burning oil simultaneously. Once in position, he draws his blade and strikes in a single smooth motion, catching the orc at the shoulder and cleaving nearly to his navel. The half orc warrior slides the blade free of the falling corpse and drops into a well practiced stance, leaning forward with hands low, the tip of his blade at face height, and his feet planted wide maintaining perfect balance.
With nowhere left to flee, the remaining orc proceeds down the stairs to take a wild swing at Arklon.
Torrent throws her shield to the side as she rips the pub keys from her belt. "The second floor's going to come down on top of us if we stay here! Everybody out!" She runs to the door to unlock it, but pauses to wait for everyone to regroup before unlocking it.
Kallant sighs in relief at not having to hurt a real person for the first time. He nods to Torrent and readies to go.
"There are more of them right outside the door. Perhaps the window?"
Kagan slips behind Arklon, and the bar skirting its length. He plants one hand on the planks and attempts to vault over the bar. "C'Mon Arklon, let him burn."
__________________________________
Gareth gasps as hot oil drips from the ceiling and onto his back leaving a line of raw flesh where it passes. His attention had been so focused on the door in front of himself, he had not noticed the predicament he is now in. Looking at the licking flames he says, "Yes, definitely like the old man's tales."
He moves past Sheyan patting his shoulder and says, "To the side door, friend. They may not yet be there." Careful to avoid the flaming debris, Gareth moves next to Torrent. Adjusting his grip on his weapon, he retrieves Her shield from its resting place on the floor. "You might need this later," he explains.
"I could defeat him and still get away," Arklon thinks, then shakes his head. "Hubris, Arklon, hubris." The half-orc backs away, warding off the injured orc, then turns and moves along behind the bar, trying to climb over it as Kagan tries to vault it, but he gets his sword tangled up in the shelf under the bar.
Kallant recovers from his personal dilemma of targeting a live person with evocation magic and sees the burning building for the crisis that it is. He surveys the room and analyzes the structural integrity of the situation looking for probable safe areas for the group or any surprises.
Mule dutifully obeys the instructions only pausing to pick up his barrel that he had left by the side door.
As Kagan and Arklon attempt to surmount the bar, the orc follows suit, attempting to recklessly knock Arklon aside with his morningstar.
After unlocking the door, Torrent quickly peaks outside to survey the scene. "It looks like they've got one end of the alley barricaded and are waiting for us at the other. I can't quite tell how many there are, but I can see that they have a dog and a man on a horse. I leave it up to you how we proceed." Having finished her report, Torrent steps aside to allow your exit.
"Fine," Arklon says, sneering at the orc who attempted to smash him, "If you seek death, HAVE IT!" he roars, slashing at the thug's chest with all his strength.
"I don't like those odds..." Kagan says, rushing to the door. "Let's get over the barrier!" He runs out into the alley. The sight of the posse of soldiers there solidifies his choice. He runs down the alley, and tries to climb over the barrier. C'mon Stronghand. You'll never face your destiny if you die in some s&&&ty alley!
_____________________
Mule follows Kagan's lead but slower being heavily encumbered.
"That (southwest) corner will collapse soon. The rest of the building can stand a couple more minutes." Kallant offers the group after Torrent's suggestion to make a plan.
Then, he watches a third of the group charge out the door to the barricade without discussion. The young evoker freezes trying to remember what part of town is beyond that barricade and who could the knight be.
Gareth acknowledges Kallant's notification of the eminent collapse of the section of building. We could stay here for a while longer, but for what purpose? We will be divided and killed. We must stick together.
"We must leave this place quickly!" he says as he hurries through the side door. He looks to the right to determine the number of enemies. The amount surpassed anything he would have imagined. Instead of going left, he takes a short step to the right and drops his sword behind himself. "Somebody, please, hold onto my weapon while I handle this!" he requests and braces himself with Torrents shield, for the coming onslaught. At least it's a bottle neck, he optimistically notes.
Once you exit the burning building, it is clear even from the narrow view within the alleyway that the city is fully under attack. Monsters are flying through the skies overhead. Buildings are crumpling and exploding a few streets over. The thugs seem to be more focused on their prize - you - but the man on horseback calls them off before galloping down the street. "Another day boys, another day!"
Following the fleeing thugs proves to be futile as people clog the streets trying to see what’s happening, and besides that Torrent insists head out to accomplish your mission. You press out into the crowds, heading east, where you see a huge cluster of burning buildings, and as you get close to the gate to the next district, you are swallowed up in a huge throng of panicked townsfolk.
Eventually the party makes it to a less crowded side street, where you pause to gain your bearings. As you rest, a man badly burnt and barely standing moves from behind a flaming building, followed by three shivering children. He carries the equally burned yet unmoving body of what you assume to be his wife. "Help. Me." he croaks before collapsing.
Across the street, a small crowd has gathered at the base of a four story building which has caught fire at the base and is slowly burning upwards. Up on the fourth floor, a woman smashes out a window and begins screaming hysterically as the crowd looks up in terror.
Torrent, anxious to press ahead, doesn't seem to notice either of these incidents.
"Torrent," Arklon says, stopping at the sight of the burnt people. He points at the two and continues, "Torrent, I felt you use the god-magic back in that building, and I've heard your kind can channel the will of the gods into healing energy. Can we take twenty seconds to save those two?"
Kagan nods. "I was going to say the same. It's them we're fighitng for aint it?"
"Yes," agrees Gareth, "we should help the people of Gate Pass." He walks towards Torrent and hands her shield to her. He turns to the rest of the group and tells them, "Before the man on the horse left after giving his order to leave, he winked at me. I mean, he looked strait at me and winked exaggeratedly. He just burned down a building! Your building!" he points at Torrent. "What could be his meaning? Did he enjoy his rampage?'
After his rant, Gareth stands in the street panting; his anger making him completely forget some of the more important things like the burnt people and his "Mother!" gasps Gareth. He begins to frantically surveying the smoke, attempting to determine the location of the fires.
Mule listens to his new friends then glances between the hurt family and building that is on fire. "Fire doesn't like water." He say as he walks over to burning building. He pulls the lid off his barrel and starts to pour the water along the burning wall.
The group has stopped and pauses to decide what to do. Kallant looks to the burnt family near them and concludes that they are stable. The lady in the burning building is the most at risk.
Kallant joins the crowd at the base of the burning building and calls up to her, "Lady, I've mastered the Eastern Winds! They will catch you if you jump!" He points his carved walking stick with the stylized lightning bolt burned into the side at her for dramatic effect.
Sheyan lumbers close to the collapsed man and his wife. He gives the children a look. "Do not worry, your mother will be fine." He then mutters an incantation and places a glowing hand on the woman. Afterwards he checks the pulse of the man to see if he will make it without any healing.
"Of course we must spare even what little time we have for these wounded." Torrent whirls around and, once her attention has been drawn to the injured family, she rushes to their aid, contributing a bit of her own healing magic to the burnt man. Between Sheyan's efforts and her's, the husband and wife manage to stand and offer a tearful thanks to the party before rushing off to take their children to safety.
On the other side of the street, up those many stories, the woman still screams, oblivious to Kallant's magic. Suddenly, a explosion sounds from one of the middle floors as something volatile must have caught flame. As the building rattles, the terrified woman leaps from the window in her hysteria, fully unaware that she is now harmlessly floating to the ground. As the Eastern Winds bear her safely into the crowd, they look around for her mysterious savior until finally a few heads turn toward Kallant.
"There! With the lightning bolt staff!" "One of the mages they haven't taken away yet!" "A hero, a hero!" "To arms men! Let's show these Raggy bastards that they won't be laying a finger on our spellcasters!"
As the crowd rushes off, the woman is quickly carried away with them, but not before mouthing a quick "thank you" to Kallant. Torrent decides it's time to leave as well, and you continue on.
As you get close to the gate to the next district, you are swallowed up in a huge throng of panicked townsfolk. Soldiers from the eastern districts are trying to push through the crowd to reach the battle at the main gate, while normal people try to flee in the opposite direction. The gates, designed to hold back invaders, are too narrow to let you all through. You’re being crushed, pushed back and forth, and though many are trying to yell for order, for people to let the soldiers through first,
mayhem reigns.
And then something overhead roars, and all reason flees your mind. You are prey, helpless, and hundreds of shapes silhouetted against firelight swell close to you. As one, the crowd screams, and you fight to get away from the horror in the clouds, the thundering, dread-inspiring beats of its wings driving you on in swarming terror. It’s all you can do to avoid being crushed in the press of bodies; one soldier patrolling the gate wall jumps in terror and falls amid the crowd, being trampled to unconsciousness.
Sheyan looses his cool and starts fleeing with the crowd.
Muse is moving much more easily thanks to a lighter barrel.
Mule starts to push and throw people out of his way unfortunately some don't go willingly and he copes a couple fists on his way through.
Kallant smiles and nods in reply to the woman. His pride surges when the crowd wants to protect him and his fellow mages.
And then something overhead roars, and all reason flees his mind. He is prey, helpless, and hundreds of shapes silhouetted against firelight swell close to him. He fights to get away from the horror in the clouds, the thundering, dread-inspiring beats of its wings driving you on in swarming terror.
For the first time in over a decade, Arklon cannot contain his fear. He runs like a wild beast, shoving people out of his way, and catching a few knees and elbows in the process.
Abject primal terror like Kagan has never known before pierces his heart. The powerful orc whimpers, ducks and runs along with all the other scared animals.
Luckily his brawling skills allow him to duck and weave expertly through the crowd, avoiding any major collisions.
As Gareth was already looking up, he was one of a few people to see the flying beast first. The horrid splendor of the monster causes his heart to race, and his instinct is to run. All thought of his mother is banished at the sight of the creature. He runs blindly through the crowd.
He barely dodges a few flying elbows, feet, and bodies as he is jostled through the crowd.