A whole day riding wasn't something Hylaen was used to. By the time night has fallen, the alchemist was sore in more places than he thought he'd be. Rendyl seemed to know how to track the lost horse, and the whole group trusted him to, so Hylaen went along gladly. He tried to think of topics to chat with his companions, so the day could pass by faster.
As they stopped for the night, Hylaen unsaddled his horse and removed all his packs, relieving his burdens, then gave it water following the example of those who knew more about taking care of animals.
"I have first watch" the elf voluntered, sitting with his back against a tree, munching some dried fruit.
"Good thinking Tegan. Here take this to help pay for our food and stabling."
He hands the woman a pouch with 33gp. He then moves to the front beside Rendyl.
"So Ren...can I call you Ren? So, do you think you can track my horse and that bandit? I know we have a general direction to the camp, but I just want to make sure he has not taken off somewhere else, if that is possible."
Tegan blinks, wide-eyed but she’s too practiced (from her family’s antics) to gape. That’s way too much! Does he not know how much stuff usually costs?! ...He must be from nobility. ”I don’t think it’ll cost nearly that much, but I’ll hold on to your gold if you’d like.” Maybe I’ll start a fund for rations and horse feed. Tegan moves to discreetly hide the gold on her person like she does with her own personal gold – in a pocket sewn deep under her skirt near her hips. She’d learned long ago that the only way to hide coin from her sister and father was to wear it underneath her clothes.
---------
Tegan slowly and awkwardly dismounts from her horse. She balances on her stomach and inches down off of the tall animal. Tegan groans to herself: Why do horses have to be so tall? After an uncomfortable descent, Momo brushes down the fabric of her dress and rummages around in the saddle bag for a treat. She feeds her horse a carrot and pats the black mane, but doesn’t know enough about horses to brush the animal or check its hooves. Like Hylaen, Tegan hurts all over. Her back, legs, and even her arms are sore.
Although Tegan lacks equestrian knowledge, she is capable of gathering kindling and starting a small campfire. Still, she thinks better than to start a campfire so close to bandit territory. Instead, Tegan unpacks her bedroll and blanket in the growing darkness and finds a spot hidden under a bush. She huddles deep under the covers and massages her tender back, the heat from the encompassing blanket doing wonders to relax her muscles.
"I have first watch" the elf volunteered, sitting with his back against a tree, munching some dried fruit.
Tegan rolls so she can see her party members, ”I’ll take last watch again.” Rolling onto her back, Tegan sighs, ”How do people ride on horses all day?” Tegan snuggles deeper under the heat of her blanket and bedroll, falling asleep after a few minutes later.
After Tegan and Hylaen dismount, Vik steps in and removes their horses tack and saddles, leaving only the bridle on. He then inspects their animal's hooves and gives them a quick brush down before setting out their water and food and tethering them for the night. He will care for anyone else's horse who does not look like they know how too as well.
Once this is all taken care of he will join the others at the campfire for dinner.
"You will get better at it Tegan..Hylean. Practice is the only way to get over the initial aches and pains. I will also take the last watch, as it affords me some time to practice as I keep watch...if that is ok?"
A small pool of fresh water lies in a protected hollow. Reeds grow thickly about it in the place where the charters are camping for the night. There was no mama badger and her family to disturb the night rest, but that does not mean the evening was entirely normal either. The faint sounds of wildlife in the surrounding area near the camp inexplicably (and suddenly) cease. A wolf howls far off in the distance. Subsequent howls draw nearer and sometimes grow fainter. After about 20 minutes, the wildlife sounds slowly resume, and no wolf appears to attack your camp. Maybe the decision have a fireless night was a good one, after all.
--
The rising sun in the horizon announces the time to depart. It is colder than the day before, each breath you take create puffs of white mist. Breakfast is cold dried rations, which is severely lacking when compared to the hot and tasty meals prepared by Svetlana, but that is something that you will need to get used to it, traveling into the wilds.
After the lacking meal, the company departs once more with Rendyl picking up the trail from the day before. This time, is considerable easier to follow it, maybe the night into the wilds awoken the old instincts in the ranger, his eyes and senses sharper than before.
The trail leads you further down the south, towards the forest until you meet a river. The bandit did not cross it, but followed along into the forest. It seems that he is indeed heading to the bandit camp commanded by Kressle. You also know there is several hidden observation spots into these woods, and they are supposedly unmanned, but that was before someone else escaped to tell the tale of the attack at the trading post.
The ranger is in noticeably better spirits on that second day out, as the events of the prior day continued to dull as time wore on. It also helped that he seemed to be picking up the tracks better...the lanky man blew a sigh of relief as he started making out things he hadn't the previous day. A shoe-mark in the moss, a close-cropped patch of grass where the stolen horse had been allowed to graze, even the worn patch of land the bandit had likely camped out on.
As the group approached the river and the bandit turned to follow the flowing water, it became clear that the group's supposition had been correct...the runaway was indeed seeking shelter with his leader and protector, this Kressle. It would be a hard choice to make...either go forward quickly and hope the bandits hadn't set up a proper watch system yet, or proceed more cautiously in the hopes of finding these 'observation posts' and making sure their approach was not discovered until they wished it to be.
Rendyl took a sip of his water, washing out the grit of the road before addressing his companions. "The tracks turn to follow the river...which means he's likely going to the Northern camp that this Vicar told us about. We can proceed slowly and hopefully spot anyone looking out for us, though that invites them to organize more effectively against us. Ultimately, we need a PLAN to proceed." At the word 'plan', the ranger's eyes pointedly flick to Tegan before he turns to look ahead once more, as if he could make out the tiny observation constructions in the tree line.
Hearing the ranger emphasize the word plan and look over at Tegan, Damiel's scowl disappears for a moment, however shortly to return.
"When we get close, we need to check out this camp of theirs, before just heading in. Rendyl, are you and I the only stealthy ones? If so, I think we should be the ones to check out the layout."
Djebelle's noticed, of course, that it is Night that the prisoner is scared of, but she sees no point in raising the issue if the others don't.
Tegan watches the cleric and white horse in awe. ”You must have a way with horses, Djebelle!” Then, Tegan creases her brow, as if confused: ”Err, which bandit had this horse?” The prisoner said Night was a demon but he can't be with Djebelle riding him… can he?
Djebelle reddens slightly. "Uh... She didn't belong to the bandits. She's, um, mine. I think. It's... complicated."
She is normally truthful, but she has seen how Tegan reacts to tricky situations and she has little reason to trust that her reaction here would be any less decisive - or unwelcome. Djebelle doesn't entirely trust the horse, either; but she will make her own mind up.
...
"I agree we need a plan, but splitting up doesn't sound sensible. There's worse than bandits out here, I would guess. We know roughly where they are - when it gets dark, they'll light a fire, won't they? That will tell us exactly where to go."
Hylaen listens to Rendyl carefully.
”I am capable of stealth as well if necessary, until the time of act is upon us said the elf from the shadows of his large brimmed hat. ”We should go carefully and see how many man they have, how strong are their defenses. From what we’ve seen before, they're not well trained or prepared to handle a group like ours, but we shouldn't be too confident.”
Rendyl listens to the elves and the priestess give their opinions, his expression thoughtful. He weighs all their words and adds his own two cents. "Djebelle's idea holds merit for the main encampment. However, any of these bandits at these watch stations likely won't be foolish enough to announce their presence with a fire." The ranger wouldn't, anyway. These men had been the alphas in this area for some time, however, and complacency bred fools and sloths.
The ranger rubs the stubble on his chin for a moment before continuing, "If we proceed carefully enough to scout for these posts thoroughly, blending in with the flora around here, it could take us twice, three times as long to catch up with these brigands. I say we keep our eyes sharp for these posts, but proceed down the river. When we figure out where their camp is, a couple of us can scout the short distance ahead to determine their strength and the general layout. That way we shouldn't have to worry about the natural denizens around these parts."
His eyes meet those of all of his companions, but settle on the Sarenite, smiling as they discuss how to go forward.
Taking the horses would only make things worse for the explorers. So they tied them up and moved on foot inside the forest.
They move forward, trying to make less noise as possible. Minutes turn into hour, and then they finally get a sight of the so called camp; a wagon partially destroyed near the river.
The beautiful elementalist rises from her cocoon of warmth to welcome an even colder morning than the day before. She brushes off any leaves or twigs clinging to her bedroll and blanket before neatly wrapping both into the saddlebag. Next, Tegan pulls out a small mirror and brush to fix her hair – although even with mussed hair, she still looks still quite lovely.
She nods to Vik, who also wanted to take last watch. Tegan observes the fighter as he practices his swordsmanship in the early morning light, something he had stated he planned to do in the morning. After a minute of watching, Tegan turns to watch the area around her. She enjoys the cold, crisp air, but is unaccustomed to sleeping out in the wilderness. A slight breeze reminds Tegan that she still hasn’t repaired the tear in the shoulder of her dress from the arrow. She’d have to either make or find another dress so she could take off her current one to repair it.
Tegan’s body aches somewhat from the previous day’s ride but not so much that she can’t move around normally. When the others start to stir, she feeds her horse a bit of feed and opens up the morning portion of her ration.
Tegan mounts her horse with as much awkwardness as the day before. She requests help again, and demonstrates that she is no closer to becoming comfortable with riding a horse. I wish there was another way to get around. Tegan groans inwardly as she has to shift and adjust the skirts of her dress to cover her legs. Why do horses have to be so tall?
Rendyl took a sip of his water, washing out the grit of the road before addressing his companions. "The tracks turn to follow the river...which means he's likely going to the Northern camp that this Vicar told us about. We can proceed slowly and hopefully spot anyone looking out for us, though that invites them to organize more effectively against us. Ultimately, we need a PLAN to proceed." At the word 'plan', the ranger's eyes pointedly flick to Tegan before he turns to look ahead once more, as if he could make out the tiny observation constructions in the tree line.
Tegan returns Rendyl’s pointed gaze with a frown and responds coolly: ”Rendyl, are you trying to pick a fight with me? I’ve already apologized. Stop being petty and let it go.” Tegan turns her head to look anywhere but the ranger. Signalling me out like that… Tegan tightens her grip on the leather strap in her lap and the tiniest bit of frost appears between the inside of her pointer finger and thigh (not visible except from above.) Tegan is proud of herself for not stuttering. Perhaps Rendyl wasn’t trying to remind Tegan of yesterday, but Tegan still feels verbally threatened.
"When we get close, we need to check out this camp of theirs, before just heading in. Rendyl, are you and I the only stealthy ones? If so, I think we should be the ones to check out the layout."
Tegan knows little about battle tactics or how to sneak up on an enemy, so she sits and listens quietly, relieved to not be the focal point of conversation. Damiel is stealthy? Tegan eyes the elf critically, I feel like I’d know that scowl anywhere. Like I’d him scowling even as he was sneaking past.
"I agree we need a plan, but splitting up doesn't sound sensible. There's worse than bandits out here, I would guess. We know roughly where they are - when it gets dark, they'll light a fire, won't they? That will tell us exactly where to go."
”I am capable of stealth as well if necessary, until the time of act is upon us” said the elf from the shadows of his large brimmed hat. ”We should go carefully and see how many man they have, how strong are their defenses. From what we’ve seen before, they're not well trained or prepared to handle a group like ours, but we shouldn't be too confident.”
Rendyl listens to the elves and the priestess give their opinions, his expression thoughtful. He weighs all their words and adds his own two cents. "Djebelle's idea holds merit for the main encampment. However, any of these bandits at these watch stations likely won't be foolish enough to announce their presence with a fire." The ranger wouldn't, anyway. These men had been the alphas in this area for some time, however, and complacency bred fools and sloths.
The ranger rubs the stubble on his chin for a moment before continuing, "If we proceed carefully enough to scout for these posts thoroughly, blending in with the flora around here, it could take us twice, three times as long to catch up with these brigands. I say we keep our eyes sharp for these posts, but proceed down the river. When we figure out where their camp is, a couple of us can scout the short distance ahead to determine their strength and the general layout. That way we shouldn't have to worry about the natural denizens around these parts."
After a general plan of action is discussed, the party decides to leave their horses some distance inside the forest. Tegan slowly, slowly gets off of her horse. She first shimmies her foot from the holster, then carefully, oh so carefully, lifts her free leg towards the rear of the horse. She holds her breath during this part. From there, Tegan leans forward, releasing her other foot, so she can rest her stomach on the horse’s back. Finally, Tegan awkwardly slides off the side of the horse (just like she did the day before.) She sighs in relief and closes her eyes as she feels her feet touch the ground.
Tegan puts her brush and mirror in her apron pocket because they’re the only things of sentimental value from home and leaves the rest of her stuff on her horse. Tegan also takes her longspear and her remaining rations for that day. She follows near the middle or the back of the party because she has little to no scouting abilities or knowledge of battle.
As the party follows the river closer to the bandit encampment, Tegan nearly trips on a tree root. Tegan catches herself before she falls and stabilizes herself, remembering something from when she was an adolescent.
”I- I- I- I’m sorry!” Tegan tries to turn but Peter’s grip is too firm. Her face felt as warm as the sun’s summer rays and her cheeks probably resembled ripened tomatoes.
As quickly as he’d caught her, Peter promptly releases his hold and straightens. His expression showed concern but his eyes were laughing. Unable to share his gaze, Tegan frantically swivels to search the brush for the rabbit.
Seeing her movement, Peter teases ”You need to shoot the prey, not scare it away.”
Tegan looks down at the shortbow she's still holding before turning back to Peter. He looked like he found the entire thing hilarious. Angered, Tegan responds in earnest ”I know that!” Stupid Peter, with his handsome face and freckles. He really isn’t that handsome. He’s too tall. His hair is too long. His eyes are too green. He smells too much like wood smoke.
”Do you want to head back?” Peter inclines his head towards Tegan to get a better look at her expression. Instinctively, Tegan bounces back in response to his closeness.
”Sure,” Tegan finds her voice has grown small.
When the party approaches the partially destroyed wagon near the river, Tegan pauses to look around. She searches for signs of foul play, like blood, scraps of clothing, broken branches. She isn't going to be the first person to approach the damaged vehicle.
The ranger doesn't bother to respond to the lovely woman's cool question, calmly turning around in his seat to gaze at the gently flowing river and the greenery surrounding it before they proceeded. If being reminded to not act impulsively and put everyone at risk had Tegan's hackles raised that high the tall man didn't have high hopes for this next encounter. They'd need to plan around THAT, as well.
In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he decided that the beautiful woman must be a noble scion of some sort. The carefree attitude, the rash decision-making, the inability to see wrong in past actions, even the general lack of empathy she had displayed as they had started on their southern trek. Let's kill some bandits. Perhaps she simply reminded the ranger of what he had recently lost. Either way, he'd have to figure out a way to deal with it...he had given his word to the Lord Mayor, and Rendyl took his word seriously.
As the group tied up the horses, the ranger checked the knots to make sure they were tight, but also to make sure the horses had plenty of room to graze while the party was gone. With all the wildlife around, it was a risk, but it had to be done. Again Rendyl questioned his decision to wear a heavier armor than was useful for scouting, but with the general commotion of the group, he doubted it would have made much of a difference.
Pulling out his newly-acquired bow, the ranger was ready to delve into the wooded area and seek out this outposts and the bandit settlement. The young man's mind was in too much turmoil over recent events, however, and apparently he missed any of the observation posts along the way.
As the group approached the broken wagon, the ranger's brow furrows. "I don't like this...let's head back a ways and decide how to approach."
The crisp morning air gently skimms over Vik's bare chest as he begins his warm-up. A slow number of Katas that build to the signature moves of his family's style of sword play leave him breathing hard and a think layer of perspiration covering his torso.
He watch as he practices and sees Tegan cleaning herself up. Such a pretty little thing, he can only imagine what has driven her out of her home and into these wilds. As the others begin to wake, he drys off and dresses for the day to come.
Vik keeps mostly to himself as the group enters the forest. He feels that it was the right thing to leave the horses behind, but it still reminds him that he allowed his own horse to be stolen. In his mind he can see himself breaking into a clearing and confronting the horse thief. His sword glinting in the sun light as he takes his revenge on the thief.
As they quietly move into position, a ruined wagon comes into sight and Ren signals them to stop
"I don't like this...let's head back a ways and decide how to approach."
He moves back with the others and waits to see what the Ranger has to say about the situation. He realizes that his idea of calling out the leader for one-on-one combat is foolish, so keeps quite to see what the others have to say.
As the group approached the broken wagon, the ranger's brow furrows. "I don't like this...let's head back a ways and decide how to approach."
Djebelle nods, and follows the others back. "If you're worried about an ambush, I have a few prayer mantras that will protect me. I could walk out towards the wagon and see if anyone tries to attack."
Djebelle spends a few moments in prayer.
She then walks out, noisily, towards the wagon, trying to draw as much attention to herself as possible.
"Very worried, actually." Rendyl looks dubiously at the priestess, trying not to imagine her sprouting a few new arrow ornaments. All it would take was one well-placed missile, and this plan would go awry. But chances are the bandits were already well aware of the group's approach, since they had seen no activity in the woods, so moving forward was as good an idea as any. Perhaps better, since it would force them to react.
Cursing quietly as the young woman started to walk out of cover, the ranger proceeded forward several paces behind her, arrow on the string but not nocked. You could wear your arm out holding an arrow back like that, and take away some of the power of the bow when it finally came to loose. If the brave cleric was willing to take the risk, then the woodsman would, as well. To provide cover, at least, assuming the enemy decided to swarm the young woman instead of fire from a distance.
Vik prepares to sprint out and, he hopes, take out any bandits that show themselves as Djebelle moves forward.
"If you're worried about an ambush, I have a few prayer mantras that will protect me. I could walk out towards the wagon and see if anyone tries to attack."
"Very brave" said Hylaen to the cleric, sincerely. The elf let out a sigh of relief when the suggestion was accepted. His appreciation for caution was great, some would say even too big at times - and proportional to his anxiety - but that much hesitation was nerve wrecking. He could feel the sweat on his palms under the gloves, the nervous twich on his eyelids and was pretty sure everyone around could hear his heartbeat.
How he missed his medicine..."I'll cover you as well Djebelle. Go on. We are prepared to deal with situations like this, aren't we all?"
Holding his spear with one hand, Hylaen took out a flask and waited, showing less of his usual patience.
Tegan suggests Djebelle hold the amulet in case there is an opportunity to talk to the bandits.
"I'll cover you as well Djebelle. Go on. We are prepared to deal with situations like this, aren't we all?"
Tegan, lacking stealth skills and armor, hides to watch and wait as Djebelle and Rendyl move forward towards the broken wagon. It looks like a trap… I wonder if the bandits lure unsuspecting travelers to their death by using the wagon. She looks over to the others waiting and whispers: ”Do you think they’re waiting to ambush us?” Tegan tightens her grip on her longspear, her eyes unblinking on the brave cleric. Tegan contemplates climbing a tree to try to get a better view of the area, but decides against it. She wants to be ready in case of an ambush.
The young cleric steel her resolve and decides her plan of action. One would not believe that few days ago, the same cleric that could barely hold her sword in face of the enemy would now be leading the group in what could be potentially a death trap. In her eyes, none of the young and innocent anxiety. She pay respects to her Godness and pray asking for her blessings. He armor, shield and weapon fortified by her miracles, Djbelle walks forward. The group of charters follow her a few feets behind, there does not have actually any point on trying to hide and with weapons, they move towards the abandoned wagon.
The sun casts its bright light on the sky above, rays of light shining thru the threes in the forest. The Narlmarches is a temperate rain forest richly blessed with rainfall and broadleaf trees. The trees here are tall and broad. Every flat surface covered with brilliant green moss and lichens in every hue. Mushrooms of a million sorts proliferate and crowd every fallen log. Small animal life is dense -- squirrels, voles, mice and white-faced ghost monkeys. Birds dwell here in endless variety and dazzling panoramas of plumage are everywhere on display. It is a bountiful place rich and thriving with nature’s splendor. One would say this is a beautiful view had not the tension for a possible ambush from bandits.
And a trap indeed it was.
Once Djbelle is close enough to the wagon, she peeks inside only to discover something is terribly wrong.
Inside the wagon there’s small sealed clay recipients, some of them stained by oil, and just as she’s looking inside, the sound of an arrow cutting the air, leaving a trail of smoke and fire in the air.
The arrow hits the wagon, igniting the oil causing an explosion, if that isn’t enough, fire arrows are also shot towards the young cleric which was brave enough to put herself as center of attention.
Round 1-
Ordered Initiative-
Djbelle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Enemies: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Damiel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Hylaen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Rendyl: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Tegan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Viklop: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Maybe the ambush was enough to jolt the cleric awake to the situation, adrenaline making her thoughts and actions faster than anyone in the area. Of the enemy, they see six of them working together to shoot fire arrows at the charters. There’s two of them almost directly ahead, using a three trunk as cover, while four others, a pair on each side, are on the elevate watchtower firing arrows from above reach. One thing that the charters might consider as well. No one among the enemy seems to be the vicious captain described by Vicar, the woman named Kressle, and if Vicar is to be believed, there are still seven or more bandits under Kressle command.
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PAIN
Djebelle just has time to close her eyes as the fireball engulfs her; when she wakes seconds later, her world is... blue?
The sky. You're looking up at the sky.
It's another long second before the next thought arrives.
That means you're lying down. You need to stand up.
The thought is exhausting; she moans in pain. Or she thinks she does - she can't hear anything beyond the ringing in her head. She puts a hand to her ear; it comes away sticky with bright blood. Her fingers look like they've been barbecued.
Up, get up, now! The voice is insistent, and Djebelle scrambles to her knees, before stumbling upright, swaying, barely conscious.
She wishes she hadn't. A cry of pain bursts from her scorched lungs and throat, and she clutches with a charred hand at her holy symbol.
The Goddess hears her: bright, cool light erupts in a burst of healing energy.
From blistering agony, it now feels simply like she has stood too close to the fire.
She shakes her head, to clear it, and looks to her companions - I'm OK - and then at the bandits who have revealed themselves. Her scimitar flashes in the sun's light as she brandishes it defiantly, a warning.
"You should be glad I survived that: it means that you might, too, if you surrender now."
Nothing about her voice suggests that she's joking.
”Yes! Surrender now and we’ll kill you quickly! We’ll only torture you for a few days.” one of the bandits answers back with a laughing voice. The others seems to be interested in making as much noise as possible as well ”Kill them all!” seems the consensus on the enemy side.
Not that the enemies doesn’t need to set the wagon on fire, the cumbersome fire arrows are discarded in favor of a conventional means of attack, but different from the others from the fort, they seems to be prepared and coordinated.
Completely ignoring Djebelle, their target are the two right behind her. Arrows rain down from the sky, unforgivingly piercing Hylaen and Viklop.
However, that is not all of it. The yells from the enemies seems to have another reason than just provoke the charters, the sound of a battle horn can be heard not too far away from where they charters currently are.
Djebelle prays again, healing energy washing over her, Vik and Hylaen.
With that, she hurries forward to engage any bandits on the ground.
Rendyl's eyes widened as the flaming arrows came streaking from above and around, his expression one of brief relief before the wagon exploded in a plume of fire and smoke, throwing the priestess to the ground. He barely had time to process it before the young woman, horribly burned, began to heal before his eyes as she stood up and shouted for the bandits to surrender.
The resulting barrage of missile fire, digging deep wounds into two of his other companions, indicated their clear intent. Further, the sounds of the nearby horn certainly meant that reinforcements for the bandits were on the way. The group would either have to quickly retreat or press forward and make a quick end of this group before the other arrived.
The priestess' determined stride toward the grounded bandits made up the ranger's mind. They were committed, now. He took a step forward, then fired a duo of arrows in rapid succession at one of the bandits on the overlooks. The additional amount of pull he is able to get on the bow makes his first shot go very wide, but he quickly compensates and is able to get off a much better shot on the second go around.
The forest explodes with fire and sound. Hylaen felt pain that stopped almost as fast as it came and the elf had the urge to jump behind the nearest barrier that isn't on fire, a natural reaction to being hurt. The closest obstacle between him and the enemy was the wagon, though, and the elf wanted to be as far from it as possible. If only he could get near enough to throw some of his own fire at them...
Damn, that was foolish, but we are in it now he thinks to himself.
He moves up next to Rendyl, and also shoots an arrow at the same bandit that Rendyl did, however missing badly.
The arrow hits the wagon, igniting the oil causing an explosion, if that isn’t enough, fire arrows are also shot towards the young cleric which was brave enough to put herself as center of attention.
Tegan raises her arm to cover her face as the broken wagon explodes. She’s a safe distance, but still finds herself cringing as the wood goes up in smoke and flame. She sees the cleric fall to the ground from the force of the explosion and after a moment, stand back up. Thank the gods. Tegan glances over at Damiel and Vik to see their expressions.
Tegan rushes to join Hylaen behind the tree. She grasps her longspear with both hands and looks like she’s charging across the landscape with her weapon. Those bandits are going to burn the whole forest down with those fire arrows. ”Hy- Hylaen,” Tegan gasps to catch her breath. ”Which ones first?” Tegan thinks they should maybe combine their abilities to be more effective.
Vik is shocked as he watches the wagon before them explode, throwing the poor cleric through the air. It might have been that shock that kept him from noticing right away that an arrow has entered his abdomen. Looking down at the shaft he was at a loss as to how it became lodged there, but then suddenly the pain blossomed and the swordsman opened his mouth to voice his pain and anger, but as suddenly as the pain was there, it suddenly disappeared...well not completely, but he watched as the arrow was pushed out of the wound and the torrent of blood from the wound slowed to a mere trickle.
This all happened so fast that the warrior was already moving as the shock hit his body. Moving off to the right of the archers, he dashes into thicker trees, hoping to make his way around the archers and confront those who were sounding the hunting horns. He continues his action and listens to see if he can decide where this group might enter the fray.
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Decision made, and the charters knowing that they are outnumbered and that reinforcements would come, decided to go all out and attack. A bold and potentially deadly decision. Hylaen, Viklop and Tegan all move forward, positioning themselves to strike the enemy, while Rendyl and Damiel provided long-range support.
If things weren't bad enough, now they see the whole lot enemies, gathered around the camp, preparing weapons and readying themselves for battle.
Damiel seems to be having difficulty with his bow, but Rendyl hits the enemies head, and the one he attacked drops dead, with no chance of survival.
Round 2-
Ordered Initiative-
Djbelle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Enemies: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Damiel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Hylaen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Rendyl: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Tegan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Viklop: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Djebelle prays again, healing energy washing over her, Vik and Hylaen.
Channel energy: 1d6 ⇒ 6
With that, she hurries forward to engage any bandits on the ground.
”S$&$! Teddy is dead! They killed Tedd!” one of the bandits yells, mocking another arrow and shooting towards Rendyl. It’s clear that the ranger is the most dangerous one to the archers above, but the ones at the ground are way more concerned at the cleric, moving towards them.
However, fortunately enough, only one of the attacks hits the religious woman while all other attacks misses Rendyl.
Rendyl winced as an arrow found its way into the brave priestess, but he kept his focus on the task at hand. He needed to clear the north side of the area to keep his companions safe from potential withering crossfire as they readied to meet the remainder of the bandit ambush. The ranger proceeded forward another step, dark eyes focused on 'Tedd's' accomplice in the trees. The young man emptied his thoughts, feeling the arrow between his fingers, the strong supple curved bow in his grasp, seeing the target as his field of vision narrowed.
Rendyl breathed deeply, letting out his breath slowly. Focus. In rapid sequence, another duo of arrows streak away from the young man towards the trees on the left, seeking to take a second bandit out of the fight.
After his horrible miss last shot, Damiel considers providing Serendipitous support for the team, but as folks are moving out of range, he reconsiders that idea.
Moving just a little past Rendyl, he shoots an arrow at the same bandit, and when it hits, well, those archery lessons finally paid off.
"The two men over there!" Hylaen points to the couple directly above them and looks at Tegan. "We need to get them down fast". We need all the others down fast as well .
Hylaen looked around for better options but it seemed there were none. Praying it would work, he charged forward to the best cover he could find and threw his flask upward.
Tegan debates with herself as her companions move forward, not sure if she wants to display her magical abilities yet or not. In the end, Tegan chooses to use her spear, with the hope of catching the bandits off guard when she does start to cast.
Tegan waits for Hylaen's bomb to land before moving forward.
Tegan hurries forward, leading with her spear to duck behind a fallen tree. Despite her best efforts, a tiny bit of frost appears from where her hands grip the spear. It wasn’t anything too noticeable, but Tegan feels her emotions rising and adrenaline pumping through her veins. A slight breeze of freezing cold air wraps around Tegan like a blanket - evidence of her growing fear. We have to take them out before the others arrive.
Tegan finds herself in the crook of the tree, wedged between the trunk and the remainder of a thick branch. She presses herself as closely as she can to the natural V-shape. Tegan's glad she'd left her backpack on her horse. With her spear always in front, Tegan lifts it to jab at the bandit on the other side. Tegan makes a feminine grunt as she reaches with her longspear. ”Unn!” She aims for the center of the bandit’s chest because she knows she can’t be choosy with an obstruction between them.
After her attack, Tegan crouches a bit to hide her face from the bandits above in the watchtowers. She keeps the point of the spear faced towards the bandit she'd just attacked.
Djebelle has never liked her armour - it's weighty, it creaks noisily as she walks anywhere, it slows her down... and it chafes (although she's uncomfortable thinking about that) - but it, with Sarenrae's blessing, has saved her life today.
It certainly doesn't seem to be weighing her down right now as - fuelled by pain and adrenaline in equal measure - she sprints forward. Neatly vaulting over the small stream, she relies on her momentum to propel herself up the side of the fallen log, balancing there expertly as if she has been practising for this her whole life.
There is an entire school of swordfighting among worshippers of the Dawnflower that is based on grace and artistry. It's not for Djebelle: by the time she had built up enough muscle to wield a sword for any real length of time, it was very clear that she was never going to be a dancer. But, unlike her first taste of combat, she does remember her lessons this time.
Using her shield as a counterweight to her sword-arm, she slashes her scimitar (with as much grace as she can muster) at the bandit's unprotected throat.
It's a classical fencing move, and one which is taught throughout Restov; but this bandit doesn't appear to have learned any lessons at all. It is unlikely, now, that he ever will (although she's uncomfortable thinking about that).
She recovers, drawing her blade up and ready to strike at the bandit standing next to his companion: "Throw down your weapon, if you want to live."
Sprinting from his location off to the side of the bandits, Vik leaps up onto a fallen log, brandishing his blade as he does so. The sword seems to almost have a mind of it's own as the warrior runs it through one of his most difficult katas. He cuts high, then reverses the blade to bring it down low, and finally, with a twist of his wrist, he twirls the sword on it's vertical axis, as if it were drilling into an invisible foe.
As he was working through the kata, the young man called out in a loud voice.
"Bandits! I am Viklop Kolavar, son of Swordlord Pyter Kolvar, swordmaster for House Lebeda. I give you warning before I enter into combat. Surrender or face me!"
Dazzling Display:
Acrobatics:
Not retreating in the presence of greater foe, but advancing and shouting challenges. The bold strategy seems to be working so far. Rendyl and Damiel maintain their ranged assault, shooting at the last man standing in the watchtower, both hit, but it still not enough to kill their enemy.
Hylen and Tegan move forward, bombs and spear. The bomb could not fully hit the target, but even so, the explosion did not left the enemies without injuries, on top of that, Tegan’s spear pierces the man shoulder. Burnt and stabbed, the bandit looks worse for the wear, but still alive.
Fearing for the cleric, Viklop rushes forward trying to scare of the enemies and attack attention to himself. The ambitious swordlord surely was able to get the enemies attention but unfortunately, he could not scare them off.
Round 3-
Ordered Initiative-
Djbelle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Enemies: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Damiel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Hylaen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Rendyl: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Tegan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Viklop: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Maybe inspired by Viklop dazzling display, the young cleric run forward, all fears cast aside. She easily jumps over the tree trunk blocking her path, using the jump momentum to dispatch one of the bandits , the scimitar leaving a wide and bloody cut on the man’s neck.
The guy attacked by Damiel and Rendyl, seeing death smiling at him, drops down on the plataform, completely out of view. The coward wouldn’t risk his life anymore.
The same happened with the other behind the three trunk. Burnt and stabbed, his college blood all splashed around him flowing freely from the gruesome sword cut at his neck. He too turn tail and run away, as fast as he can. .
Lastly, the other two bandits on the raised platform , keep shooting arrows at Rendyl, but they miss badly.
The last group of enemies finally seems ready and prepared to join the battle. Armed and furious. They yell curses and threats, ready to charge in against the chargers.
Tegan straightens from her crouched position and moves forward with her spear in front. ”Stop running away,” Tegan calls out in frustration, causing more frost to grow and crack around her grip on the longspear. Strands of her hair shimmer in the sunlight from a few snowflakes that have formed there. How are we going to kill 12 bandits if they always run?
Tegan feels her temperature dropping inside her chest. The cold spreads to all of her limbs and surrounds her with an icy aura of frost dotting her hair, clothes, and weapon. Finally, the frigid cold can’t be contained any longer and Tegan releases it from her body. With both of her hands keeping the two-handed longspear steady, a burst of cold erupts from Tegan. The blast of frosty air licks at Tegan’s hair as the full impact of the force is sent towards one of the bandits in the watchtower.
"Coward" he yells at the bandit that dropped down and hid on the platform.
Good hit, lets try this on another bandit he thinks, as he moves up twenty feet and fires an arrow at the closest bandit, but his luck has changed and he misses.
Move and shoot, till in luck range he figures.
Rendyl growls in exasperation as both he and Damiel wound the northern archer, but do not drop him. His dark eyes seethe as the hurt man drops to the deck of the post, clearly not wanting to risk another barrage of missile fire. The ranger grits his teeth, but there is nothing to be done about it. The bandit was out of the fight for now, at least. He'd keep an eye out to make sure the man stayed down.
For now, the young man shifted his focus eastward, to the far more dire situation. He sees that the brave cleric has dropped a foe, and that there is another one running from Tegan. But there is an approaching mass beyond that. His brow furrows as the beautiful woman calls for the bandit to stop running...a running bandit meant one less opponent trying to stab/shoot them. Rendyl would rather hunt them down one at a time. Then his eyes widen as a blast of cold air fires from the young woman at one of the tree-borne bandits to the east. Well...that was also unexpected.
Nevermind that. Focus. Right. The ranger needed to keep these archer bandits' attention, as things for his companions could turn dicey as these reinforcements continued to pour in. They're animals, not people. The ranger repeated the mantra in his head as he continued to draw back his bow string, firing another couple of arrows at the archer Tegan had targeted
Moving forward and taking the battle to the bandits, Vik targets the closest bandit for his attack (#10). He tries to down his foe quickly so that he can move on to the next enemy. When he sees the woman standing in the back, he makes the assumption that this is the leader called Kressel.
"You, woman. If you are the leader of these bandits then face me in personal combat. Save your men and if you win we will depart, but if I win, you surrender and your men disperse. Answer me now, before you have no troops left!"
Attack:
damage:
Another day, another stroke, another kill; and no time to think about it.
Numbly, Djebelle gazes across the battlefield from the vantage point of her log. The fleeing bandit she ignores, for now. She's too far away to come to Vik's aid, so he will have to hold off on his own until the rest of them can reach him.
That leaves the bandits hiding in their tree-fort. Letting her scimitar fall to the ground, she draws and loads her sling, taking aim at the bandit on the right .
Hylaen follows Tegan. Taking another of his vials, he throws it at the enemy, hoping that this time his aim hits true.
The small woman runs forward channeling her power into a frost blast and hurling it at the enemy. She yells behind that he should stop, and that is what happens; he stops, frozen and dead.
Damiel and Rendyl keep their ranged assault, most the arrows misses, but Rendyl is able to hit one of the bandits . Hylaen joins the attack on the ranged guy, throwing an unstable solution at them. The explosion that follows leave one of the bandits dead , and the other burnt.
Lastly, Viklop, takes maybe not the best of the approaches as he advances alone against the bulk of the enemy reinforcement. His sword cuts the air and the bandit’s neck as he demands the leader of the bandits to surrender.
Round 4-
Ordered Initiative-
Djbelle: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Enemies: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Damiel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Hylaen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Rendyl: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Tegan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Viklop: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Active Effects-
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Another day, another stroke, another kill; and no time to think about it.
Numbly, Djebelle gazes across the battlefield from the vantage point of her log. The fleeing bandit she ignores, for now. She's too far away to come to Vik's aid, so he will have to hold off on his own until the rest of them can reach him.
That leaves the bandits hiding in their tree-fort. Letting her scimitar fall to the ground, she draws and loads her sling, taking aim at the bandit on the right. The sling hits the target, ending the last one of the ranged bandits.
”You have big mouth, but you are not very smart.” she sneers as he commands her bandits ”Kill him!” Kressle moves out, hatched in hands. She grins evilly and attacks Viklop, giving him a deep cut on his chest. His vision blacks out and his world turn into pain, as he falls unconscious.
The other bandits move out as well to attack, but unlike Kressle, they are not able to hit the other charters. Their arrows fly aimlessly without hitting anyone. Lastly, the ones further behind, take their bow, aiming at the others charters that are approaching the camp, and Tegan is the target of their arrows. Two of them misses badly the woman, but one of the archers manage to hit, deeply piercing her shoulder, pain and blood seems to be Tegan’s world at the moment.
Seeing Viklop go down, he scurries as fast as he can trying to get within range to provide some luck to those up front, and thinks to himself, I should have just moved. Got to get close to the front so I can give everyone some luck, or command the leader to stop.
Rendyl looks on in concern as the swordlord falls to the axe of the bandit leader and his beautiful, unarmored companion takes an arrow to the shoulder. He vacillates between deciding to continue his fast-paced arrow fire or hurrying forward to support in melee. In the end he decides to trust that his companions can hold them off. Rendyl needed to do what was most comfortable to him, and that was firing his bow. Still, he proceeds forward farther than he has, taking the time to aim after his short burst of speed forward.