Elsbeth
Mawj makes a double move west to get a better line of sight to the bandits.
Alandra reaches out to touch Lev with her holy symbol.
"Get her!"
Alandra leaned forwards and channeled the healing power of her goddess into Lev. The big hunter could feel the wounds of his body knitting together as the divine power entered him.
Mawj moved out of the intervening scrub, realising that her shots would be far more accurate without the trees and bushes spoiling the flight path of her arrows.
Elsbeth again tried to force her strength of will and personality over the woman who leads the bandits. Her hellborn powers reach and clasped the mind of Kressle in probing fingers of power, causing the woman to stagger slightly and lose focus in her eyes as the magic shut down her higher thought processes.
The man surrendering to Anya dropped to his knees, blood welling from the chest wound she had delivered to him. He clutched at her with his free hand, begging her to spare his life, but interfering with her movements at the same time
The bandit who had been unsuccessfully sniping from the western tower now changed tack. Realising that most of his companions were dead, and seeing Kressle engaged in combat with nearly three opponents, he cut and ran, heading south across the stream in the hope of escaping while these vicious women were kept busy finishing off his companions.
Arianna's opponent carefully positioned himself so he could make a dash for freedom when he got the chance. His blade now moved in a defensive pattern, trying to keep himself alive long enough to escape into the scrub and hopefully get away from the harridan who had killed his firends. He lunged at her in a clumsy attempt to wounde her, but the blade was easily knocked aside by the young rogue.
Group 2 to post - Lev, Anya and Arianna. Note that Kressle is dazed and cannot act this round.
Lev nodded a thanks to Alandra and turned to face Kressle, bringing his greatsword to bear. "You are found guilty of acts of banditry and are hereby sentenced to death." He growled and swung with exceptional force.
Anya grunted an angry "Let go of me" into the mans face as he began to cling to her, but then he squeezed the leg-wound he had just recently gifted her, turning the arrow-shaft still sticking inside her leg in the wound.
The result was as tragic as it was unintentional. A short, high-pitched yell of pure unfiltered pain, and an instinctual stab with her shorter blade at the agony's source. The deed was done before she could think past the spike of pain, the man dead and dropping at her feet. "Abadars Abattoir." She whispered, followed by loud "I'm alright. Nothing serious, just hurts."
She began to move to the last remnants of battle still ongoing, as fast as she could. The quick strike seemed to have worked admirably.
Arianna will take a 5' step upt o the bandit and swing again.
Attack #1:
Attack #2:
Damage :
Lev's words proved to be prophetic as the massive steel blade sliced cleanly through the womans torso, dropping her in two halves to the ground.
Arianna tried to hit her opponent with her twin weapons, but again she just missed him with her main thrust.
Anya ran the man in front of her cleanly through, ending his life in a shicked gasp and wide eyes. As he slumped lifelessly to the ground at her feet, she clenched her teeth against the pain before heading towards the battle in the southern scrubland.
A groan of dismay came from the one remaining swordsman still trying to disengage from Arianna. The moment he saw Kressle drop he let go his sword and held up his hands in supplication. "I submit" he says desperately, hoping to avoid the sting of cold steel.
Appart from the man running away to the south, it would appear as if the battle for this bandit encampment was over.
"Mawj," Lev asked calmly as he turned away from the bloody remains of the bandit woman and looked at the fleeing villain, "do you think you can get him? I don't like the idea of the man getting away with our horses."
He quickly wiped his blade on the woman's clothing and moved to get his bow, hoping the elven woman's skills would hold up so they wouldn't have to run.
Mawj sighs, "Ei bod yn amser i gysgu, yr un bach."
If that does not drop him, then Mawj will sprint in pursuit.
If you think i'm in range i'll use my last Magic Missile on him:
Mawj's arrow flies unerringly true and strikes the man in the back. He staggers for a moment before continuing in his run. A sizzle of arcane force blasts through the intervening foliage and also strikes him in the back, burning through his cloths and scorching his left arm badly, but still the man runs through the woods. Sobs of terror now wring from him as he moves, wondering when the next blow will come.
Arianna wil drop her swords to the ground and pull out her shortbow. Gently holding her breath she sights down the shaft she releases her arrow.
Attack roll:
Striking the fleeing bandit squarely in the side.
Damage:
She shouts at the man
Bluff check:
Arianna'a arrow flies true, striking the man low in his back and with just enough impact to penetrate the meat there. He staggers on for a few more steps, desperately trying to flee before collapsing face down into the mud next to river. His legs twitch momentarily then he lies still.
The sounds of the terrified sobbing are all that can be heard, and those are coming from the man who surrendered to Arianna. All else is quiet in the woods.
"Well done, one and all," Lev said as he returned his sword to his scabbard and turned to the man who surrendered.
"You. Give us your name. Drop all your weapons and put your arms out." He began digging in his pack for rope.
Mawj nods in satisfaction, "I will begin field stripping the fallen."
Alandra runs out to the bandit who has just fallen and kneels over him. She removes his weapons, then mutters a short prayer.
She waits next to him with her dagger drawn to see if he regains consciousness.
"have to tell all of you one thing...maybe you will object that i could tell earlier, but i was waiting to see if we survived this."
Elsbeth had put her back against a tree, waiting for her heart to lower its beating, regaining breath. She closed her eyes, then continued.
"Before we left Oleg's place Svetlana asked me if we can check some friends of her, she is worried for them "
"Anyway i only promised her i'ld have told you, and that i just did"
Anya snapped off the arrow still sticking out of her leg with a resolute motion, and began to hobble towards her friends, tried hard not to push the head even deeper into her wound.
"We should tend to our wounds first, afterwards we can do this. On a similar note, can we please check if any of the bandits carry rings or other jewellery?" She asked through clenched teeth, but didn't want to demand any attention too loudly - others were off as badly as she was.
Lev approached Anya when he had a free moment. "Are you well? I was not able to see how the fight fared for you from the thickets." His ordinary stolid voice did shift a little in tone with concern as he looked her over.
With the battle over, Mawj again goes about her gruesome task of stripping the dead of their posessions. As one of the few of the group uninjured in the encounter, the elf seemed to not be overly bothered with dealing with the corpses, treating them as so much meat as she would any other kill.
At Lev's command, the man they had captured put his arms out to his side, having already dropped his sword and having left his bow near the campfire when the attack began. "I am Menas of Restov. I have dropped all my weapons, don't kill me" he pleaded in an almost sobbing voice.
Alandra channelled some small measure of healing into the man who had been shot while running away. He groaned and stirred under her hands, trying to roll over but finding the two arrows in his back prevented him from doing so. He slumped again, and resigned himself to turning his head so his face was out of the mud. "^#%#, you shot me you damned #$@#%" he ground out between his clenched teeth.
Slowly, the sounds of the forest began to reassert themselves in the area as the animals and birdlife recovered from the noise of the fight.
"Shut Up!" Alandra hisses to the bandit. "You're lucky I didn't slit your stupid throat!"
"This one's alive!" Alandra calls to the rest. "Someone come and help me with him."
Assuming some comes to help her restrain the injured bandit and bring him back to the camp, Alandra checks the rest of the fallen bandits to see if any are still alive. If so she stabilizes them.
Then she tells her wounded friends to stand close to her. If any of the bandits are still alive but unconscious she asks that they be restrained and brought to her as well.
Mawj
Also, where did the heirloom weapon trait come from again? I can't find it in either the AP or the Free PDF that Paizo had for traits. I remember ok'ing things when this all started but I've only just now gotten time to start checking characters fully (on holidays now, so some free time at last). Did it come from Legacy of Fire maybe?
The trait itself isn't so bad, but I'm concerned about its balance with the idea we were throwing around for having you update your weapon with magic stuff later on. If we couple the trait with that idea then it effectively gives you the weapon focus feat for free and that might be too much. Let me know what you think. I don't want to take the trait away, but i think we need to look at its power level coupled with other house rules I was thinking of using. Maybe the bonus +1 to hit disapears when the magical enhancements kick in as it's new power throws you off balance? Not sure, feel free to throw some ideas at me.
Cheers
Hit by Alandra's energy wave, Elsbeth felt much better. She checks her left side where she had been hit by the throwing knife, and is overjoyed to see no more blood or even the cut inflicted to her.
"Now if only you could do the same for this" pointing at the blood-soaked hole in her shirt "but doesn't really matter, thanks" she said, smiling at the priestess.
"If we can gather the materials here together and work out a way to get them back to Olev's along with the prisoners, I think that should be our first priority. I don't want to linger here too long, unless we're going to establish a more secure set-up. It's altogether possible more roving bandit parties will arrive and I don't want to be caught by surrpise."
He turned to Anya. "Anya, if you're well enough, can you and Arianna see about our horses and Bregan? We ought to get them all brought in before anything can happen to them."
2. I'm fine with the trait bonus disappearing when the weapon is enchanted. It's a good balance.
3. That last attack should have been a +9 modifier. I'm trying to remember how I came up with +10, but it is escaping me right now. Sorry about that. I really have no idea how it happened. I promise I will pay closer attention.
Anya nodded with clenched teeth. She pointed to the arrowhead still burrowing inside her muscle, and motioned him. "Help me with this before Alandra calls for divine aid - I'd rather have this out before the wound closes."
Together with her half-brother, she pulled out the head with a small gush of fresh, dark-red blood. "Better out than in..." As the wave of soothing energy rushed over her, she sighed deep, relieved. The would reduced itself to a mere scabbed-over spot, instead of the deep puncture, and she nodded. "Now I certainly am. Arianna, let's get moving. I think we should be quick, too."
In the clearing (Lev, Mawj, Elsbeth, Alandra)
Within ten minutes a pile of gear is gathered near the empty wagon the bandits seem to have purloined at some stage. It seems sturdy enough, but will prove interesting negotiating through the woods and back to Olegs.
While the others are elsewhere, one of the bandits calls to Alandra quietly, trying to get her over to him "Hey girl! You saved me earlier, what's about you slippin' me a dagger so I can slip these bonds eh? You know what they have panned fer us right. Seems cruel ter e savin' us just ter have us dangle from a rope eh? I can tell ye a secret ifn' ye help us. Some cash as I have stored near here. Are you listening girl?"
His whispering is meant to be quiet, but the keen ears of both Mawj and Lev pick up on it, even from their distant location.
At the horses (Anya and Arianna)
Bergan lies in a deep sleep, his face in a beatific state as he gently sucks his thumb. He appears to be naked and mustache has been drawn on his face using some form of wax pencil or charcoal.
More interesting, Lev's horse seems to have taken on a whole new appearence. It's coat colour is now bright orange with great stripes of green, like those of the jungle cats living in the forests aorund the warm lands to the south. Across its rump, the words "Mr Pooey Pants" have been scrawled in a crude and childish hand, again with some unknown writing implement. The clour appears not to be die but rather the hair itself has changed somehow, most likely though magic.
At the looks on the faces of the two women, a strange twittering laugh is heard in the high branches of the trees and very briefly the leaves are disturbed as something disapears deeper into the woods
Mawj stands up, walks over to the bound bandit, and kicks him hard in the stomach. She leans down and grabs his head with both hands, pressing her thumbs over his eyes. She says softly, "I would hate to have to gouge out your eyes. My companions don't think it's very professional." She leans in close, "But you're giving them very good reasons to let me. So please, go ahead and keep testing their patience. I would love to see how loudly you can scream." The elven woman releases her hold and casually walks back to her companions.
Anya laughed into her hand. The scene was just too... obviously tailored for maximum horror in her brother. He was going to throw a fit. As it looked, the horse was ruined to him, even of the glamor was going to fade with time.
"Let's get Bergan dressed, and both of them cleaned up." She said, looked around for the man's clothes. She had little hope the fair ones had left them in any state to be used, but she hoped the trick was on her (for finding the man like this), rather than on Bergan. At least this might save him a little bit of dignity.
Her heart was growing heavy suddenly. She had objected to the man's treatment, true, but she might have insisted - and at least softened this. She had killed a man who had surrendered... even though she did not mean to, it still happened. Her face darkened, and she started busying herself.
With an effort, Lev forced down another complaint about Mawj's fierceness. He knew better than to try forcing her to be something other than she was.
Instead, he walked over to the bandit. "It's far too late to buy your freedom but it may not be too late to buy yourself mercy. The Greenbelt is a harsh world and my companions are harsh women. Do you know of Pharasma? Her cleric is the one who restored your life. Think about that a little before you waste any more of your breath."
Alandra pulls out her knife. "Slip you a dagger?" She puts it to the bandit's throat. "I know just where to slip it too. You shut up now, I haven't decided whether to kill you now or to take you back to Oleg's. Don't make the choice easier."
"I wouldn't mind some extra loot, but i'm not making pacts with these worms....you are out of luck it seems"
Elsbeth goes very close to Lev before continuing, and speaks almost in a whisper in his ears:
"Can we now please get back to the horses before someone else arrives ? I'm exausted, and my spells with me "
Elsbeth goes very close to Lev before continuing, and speaks almost in a whisper in his ears:
"Can we now please get back to the horses before someone else arrives ? I'm exausted, and my spells with me "
Lev turned away from the bandits and said softly in response, "We must wait for Arianna and Anya to bring us our horses first. We need at least one of them to pull the wagon, unless you have some magick that can carry all this equipment for us."
He too was concerned about other arrivals, however, and after he was sure that things were well in hand he walked over to the nearest platform and climbed up it to keep watch.
At the clearing
The man quietens almost immediately when the group responds threateningly to his offer. His head drops and he glowers at the earth muttering something under his breath as the women and the hunter move away again.
The other man, Menas merely looked around the clearing, his head turning as far as it could everytime he heard a noise in the surrounding forest.
sense motive DC 12
Lev
At the Horses
It takes about ten minutes for teh two women to find Bergan's clothes. They have been carefully hung in a tree some ten feet in the air, arranged to look like someone is wearing them, like some bony scarecrow.
During the search, Bergan doesn't awaken at all, lying in blissful unawareness of his predicament, and occasionally stirring and shifting in his sleep. Whoever had done this to the man had untied his bonds but so far neither Anya nor Arianna had brought themselves to rebind him since he was obvioulsy in an enchanted slumber.
The horse doesn't change colour in the time it takes to gather the clothes. Whatever dweomer was used to change its appearence it was going to last some time.
When they go to dress Bergan, he stirs sleepily and stretches like a cat, a sleepy smile on his face. Realisation comes slowly to the man and when he finally understands he is naked in front of his captors he curles into a ball on teh ground and cries in indignation "What the hells! Is it not enough you have to bind me but now I am drugged and stripped bare! What else have you got planned for me damnit!"
Gathered at the clearing
Finally, Anya and Arianna return to the encampment with the horses. Lev sees them approaching a good three minutes before tehy enter from his vantage point high in the tree. The sight of the strangely coloured horse draws strange looks from the two prisoners on the ground, but then they start at the sight of Bergan. "You traitorous whoreson!" the loudmouthed one screams at him from the ground. "You led them right to us. We didn't stand a chance!". He spits towards his old companion, and struggls against his bonds.
Lev keeps watch from the platform even as the horses are brought in, his mouth twisted into a grimace at the sight of his horse. "Those Gods damned..." he began before regaining control of his anger.
He shouted down to the others. "Can you get that abused horse hitched up to the wagon? I'll drive it back."
Drawing his bow, he nocked an arrow into place and turned to direct another shout at the prisoners. "You lay so much as a finger on that boy and you'll find an arrow shaft through your neck before you've had time to place a second!"
Lev turns back to the forest with bow at the ready, intending to keep watch until the others are ready to go.
Mawj rumbles a growl in her throat and walks back over to the bandit. She shakes her head at him as she leans her bow against a tree and grabs him by his shirt. "Reasons, reasons, little boy." The elven holds him with one hand and socks him hard in the jaw with her fist. She pummels him until he passes out.
The sound of Mawj beating the prisoner pulls Lev away from his watch on the forest and he looks down at her, his jaw clenched tight. What difference is there between her and the bandits? he thought to himself, angrily. The same reckless cruelty lies within them both. Him I'll hang and she I fight beside. What does that make me?
He grits his teeth, realizing that he was clutching the bow in his hands so tightly that his knuckles ached. He wanted to shout down to her to stop. He wanted to shoot her. But he thought back to earlier this same morning and how eagerly he wanted to hunt down the fey.
That's different, he told himself. But is it really?
Sighing, his jaw clenched so tight that it hurt, he turns back to his watch. There were no easy answers and the questions only frightened him. So he turned back to what he could deal with and hoped Anya knew better what to do than he.
Alandra laughs when she sees the horse. "I see the fey pranksters are still around." She then watches the beating in silence. She doesn't move to stop it, but she doesn't help or seem pleased about it either.
This time around, Anya could not stop herself. She had no longer the mood to be diplomatic, to accept lesser evils to stop greater, and the sheer cruelty of her companion all too clearly mirrored the problems she had with her latest mishap.
"Enough. He's helpless." She stepped up to the scene, with eyes furrowed in anger and beginning hate. Her hands had instinctively sunk to her belt, where her shortsword rested, but pulling it was a river she didn't quite dare crossing yet. She half-heartedly tried to convince herself that they would remain there - but could not.
Her eyes were hard. The emptyness inside made her determined to stop more violations of what she considered good and proper. "What do you think you are doing? This is not even forture, this is sick." She hissed, voice devoid of life. The goosebumps from earlier returned, as cold sweat began to form. He was a bandit, and should hang. Yet Mawj's behaviour wasn't any different than what she had seen from them. Worse. They raided for living and avoiding toil - yet what she found here looked like torture for the enjoyment of pain.
Mawj wheels around from the bandit toward Anya. "Helpless? Helpless?!" She points to the bound man, "If you were his prisoner, he and his mates would be discussing who gets to rape you first! They would use you like meat until they grew tired of your pleas and slit your throat! They are bandits, Anya. They deserve no more respect or deference than a pirate at sea. They are to be hunted like the animals they are and put down to protect gentle folk like those you hold dearest to you. Do I make myself clear? It is regrettable that the only opportunities we have had to work together have been around this vermin, but I make no apologies for my actions." Her voice drops to a whisper, "These men are vile, Anya. I treat them like I would any fiend from the Abyss."
The chill tone of voice remained with Anya as she kept her eyes trained on the elven ranger with the calculating, gauging calm of a woman who didn't know if the battle was even nearly done. "They are criminals. Criminals to be punished, according to laws. I have seen evil, Mawj - but you are acting no better. You are acting like I would expect them to act."
Her stance did not relax one yota as she continued. Each word carefully measured, her anger fueling her speech rather than overtaking it. "I will make this very clear. We will protect the common folk. We will end banditry. We will put the unrepenant ones to death. As our country demands. I am not sure what fuels your anger - neither do I care. We will act civilized, or before long the next expedition will be send to deal with us."
Mawj smirks. "Evil? Roughing up a murdering scavenger is evil? There appears to be a difference in how we use the word. This is no more evil than putting down a rabid dog; both are creatures dangerous to those around them that cannot be trusted." The elven woman tilts her head to one side, studying the young human. "It must be very lonely to be so far above everyone." She shrugs her shoulders and begins to walk back to the horses, "And don't bother threatening, little one. I have scars older than you. Or your mother, for that fact." Mawj returns to preparing the mounts and strapping the bandit gear to the saddles.
Alandra listens to the heated exchange between her companions. Then she pulls out a piece of paper form her backpack, the charter they were given in Restov. She unrolls it and reads it again, this time actually paying attention to what it says.
"It says here the punishment for unrepentant banditry is death. But how do we know for sure these men are bandits? We have no proof. The guy we killed at Oleg's deserved it, but we let the other one live. Who are we to decide who lives or dies? That is for Pharasma."