Larenti turned and grimaced back at the others. "Dogs!" he hissed over the noise of the storm.
Not sure if the others heard him, he tried to shout over the hail, just as a stone hit him in the eye.
"DOGS!" It was too loud. He winced. Embarrassed, he hustled over to the door to see if there was any problem there, or if any foes had heard his shout. Rubbing his eye, he looked and listened at the door.
Gods damn this storm! he cursed to himself.
For right now, Jinx switches to her crossbow, shuffles her quiver of bolts around to ensure that it's easily accessible and prepares to summon some celestials.
"See anything, Larenti?", she calls.
Ganner keeps alert, but he keeps flashing glances toward Aula, not sure how to behave around the woman. Hearing the overly loud Larenti, he moves quickly up behind him, looking around to keep an eye out.
Aula frowns when Larenti yells about dogs, but moves underneath her cloak and dashes for the building from the open door's blind side. She takes cover under the eaves, hoping the building will do an even better job blocking the weather than Bardigan.
Bardigan can't help but chuckle softly to himself as Larenti's long-time fear of dogs shows itself in his tone.
The general area around the building is plain and simply unremarkable. There is a single door in the back of the building, inside what looks like a small corral and cold forge where shoeing would have happened. The door at the back is also chained, but not loose and rattling like the big doors out front. Getting a closer look, Larenti hears dogs within. With an ill-timed word of warning to his allies, too loud to compensate for the thunder that ended right before his shout, they soon hear the dogs as well. The hounds heard within set to barking loudly. Peering through the gap between the doors, Larenti can see at least three feral looking hounds within, one of them a large mastiff. They don't move just yet, continuing to bark loudly and threateningly.
The door itself isn't a danger, as the chain and door together look weathered to the point that each of you could squeeze between the two doors without even having to upset the position of the chain. Broken desks, scuffed tables, and torn chairs crowd the thirteen horse stalls, all of which are covered with a healthy layer of dust.
Larenti shuffled over to the others, hunched in the rain.
"Does anyone know how to shut these dogs up?"
"Maybe throw a steak in to distract them? Does any of y'all have some meat? Or something with a strong smell to distract them?"
Bardigan moves up to the gate beside Larenti and shakes his head at Aula's suggestion, though he holds his tongue when she asks about a strong smell as her none-too-subtle perfume greets his nose. He intones a quick spell and offers, "I'll cover everyone's entry. Just stay behind me and slip to the right to make room for the others."
With that, he slips his rapier free in case the dogs have free reign of the yard and he squeezes through the gap. As he's half-way through, he looks back and offer Larenti a grin. "And don't fret overmuch, Larenti. It's not like what happened to you that night at the docks could happen here, after all." With a chuckle and a wink, he then squeaks through the rest of the way, though his broad shoulders make it an especially tight fit.
HP: 8/10
AC: 20 (12 T / 18 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +4/+2/+3
Hellfire strikes used: 0/3
Eldritch Pool used: 0/5
Lvl 1 Spell Slots used: 1/2
Ongoing Effects
shield (1/10 rounds): +4 AC
Larenti rolled his eyes at Bardigan with mock exasperation. "I've asked you never to mention that. Even you father doesn't want to talk about it."
As usual, Larenti felt better for the banter, and followed Bardigan's lead.
Jinx squeezes in alongside her nephew, crossbow and spells at the ready to...put down dogs? She guesses? "Not exactly the glamorous hideout we were expecting - where did these dogs come from? Does somebody own them?"
As soon as Bardigan decides to press himself through the space between the doors is when the dogs take true offense. Being around their territory is one thing, but entering it is just egregious. As such, once he starts moving in, they decide to rush.
Jinx squeezes herself in through the door, placing herself mostly in front of Bardigan. She raises her crossbow at the aggressive dogs, grimaces and lets loose a quarrel now, before her allies engage the dogs.
Ganner squeezes in and readies a punch when the dogs get close enough, dealing nonlethal damage! for damage!
Aula squeezes herself between the doors, moving into the stables, but stops just inside and puts her back to the doors, making a quiet momentary snarl at the dogs. "Hrr."
Jinx steps into the building soon after her impetuous nephew, protectively, and shoots the likely alpha among the dogs. The hound lets out a yelp of pain and surprise, but seems undeterred from aggressing the intruders.
Ganner follows on her heels, and stands firm with his fists at the ready, prepared to wallop any of the hounds that come close enough to receive one.
Bardigan takes a quick step forward, making room for the others to squeeze in through the gate behind him. He keeps his defenses up in case the dogs rush in to attack.
HP: 8/10
AC: 24 (16 T / 18 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +4/+2/+3
Hellfire strikes used: 0/3
Eldritch Pool used: 0/5
Lvl 1 Spell Slots used: 1/2
Ongoing Effects
shield (2/10 rounds): +4 AC
Larenti hustled in past the others, running over to one of the stalls.
Keep a wall on one side. The dogs can't bite through a wooden wall.
Gripping his rapier and readying to jump out should the dogs attack, he imagined a dog that could bite through a wooden wall.
Despite Jinx's 'protective of him' posture, Bardigan steps forward and stands out as the foremost of the intruders. Meanwhile, Larenti slips in and off to the side, using the edge of the stall to try and provide cover for himself.
Rexus enters to stand behind and off to the right of Ganner. As he does, he prepares to conjure and fire a ball of acid at the first dog to get within decent striking distance. Aula moves in soon after him, and adopts a purely defensive posture, the dogs giving a little rise to her hackles.
The mastiff, with one last growl of a bark, rushes the first and closest offender into his domain. He rushes forward, but a slight limp given to him by Jinx's bolt causes the hound to almost go tumbling over as it attempts to bite Bardigan. The mutt nearest the alpha follows the lead and also rushes Bardigan. Although not as clumsy as its predecessor, it only comes mildly closer to finding purchase on the man with its bite.
The last mutt also focuses where the alpha does, but before it gets there, Rexus has a chance to fire his conjured acid at one of the rushing hounds.
Ganner takes a roundabout way to avoid getting bit and flanks the alpha with Bardigan, lashing out at the mutt! for damage!
Not accustomed to fending off wild dogs, Bardigan stabs ineffectually at one of the wounded hounds. "Ha! Go... lay down!"
HP: 8/10
AC: 20 (12 T / 18 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +4/+2/+3
Hellfire strikes used: 0/3
Eldritch Pool used: 0/5
Lvl 1 Spell Slots used: 1/2
Ongoing Effects
shield (3/10 rounds): +4 AC
Aula, cautiously but gracefully, passes behind Bardigan, stopping to stab at one of the smaller dogs with her dagger. "Just git, ya cur!" she curses at the small canine.
;
As battle was joined, Larenti moved from his hiding place to attack the nearest dog. As he neared the snarling, jumping mass of teeth, he slowed, his knees weakening.
Frustrated that they have to spend their time and resources fending off dogs rather than doing something actually worth her precious nephew's time, Jinx calls upon the powers of the planes to try and subdue these dogs. She summons a larger animal this time, a small horse, who rears up on hind legs to try and kick the dogs.
Jinx calls forth some animal assistance of her own, as a golden-maned pony appears to lash out at one of the mutts with its hooves. Only one of which connected on a startled hound. Ganner moves around to supply a flank for Bardigan at a different locale, earning him an ineffective nip from one of the dogs he stepped a bit too close to while passing.
Bardigan, Larenti, and Aula all move up to the hounds and lash wildly at the mongrels. Whether it was done intentionally, to try and scare them off, or through just poor aim is irrelevant as neither action does the trick for any of them.
The mastiff turns to snap at the man that just hit it in the hind quarters. The huge jaws clamp into Ganner's thigh, and the dog jerks it head up and to the side to try and bring the man down. Ganner is steadier on his feet than he looks at first glance, and remains standing despite the leg wound.
The mutt startled by the pony turns on it, snapping at the shaggy hooves, and thick neck of the animal. Despite the pony's flailing hooves, the mutt opens a few scratches on the animal's hide.
Rexus is startled by the injury Ganner receives, and rushes up between Bardigan and Aula to help. He draws a long thin blade from within the confines of his walking stick and tries to stab the dog savaging Ganner. His waving blade finds as much purchase in the animal as the blades before it did, which sadly is none.
The last dog, knowing no new threats, continues its attempted assault on Bardigan as it did before. Thanks to the man's protective spell, the dog's teeth do not find their target.
Still aching, Ganner flurries on the mastiff! for damage and for damage!
"I said..." Bardigan thrusts with his rapier at the hound between himself and Ganner, "go lay down!"
HP: 8/10
AC: 20 (12 T / 18 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +4/+2/+3
Hellfire strikes used: 0/3
Eldritch Pool used: 0/5
Lvl 1 Spell Slots used: 1/2
Ongoing Effects
shield (4/10 rounds): +4 AC
Jinx is stymied so much by the idea that they are wasting so much of their efforts on just dogs, that she waits to see what would be the best avenue to get this over quicker.
Ganner whiffs a fist past the big dog, before landing a solid blow on it's shoulder, avoiding the big thick skull of the mastiff. The dog whimpers with the punch, but isn't done yet. That's when Bardigan steps in and skewers the animal from the left flank, behind the rib cage, and the hound crumples with a deep 'yip' of anguish.
Larenti began an increasingly frenzied series of slashes with his rapier, caught between the desire to wound the dog and his fear of touching it.
Only his fear was rewarded.
Jinx switches between her weapons, sheathing her unloaded crossbow and drawing the longsword. She delays stepping forward, though.
Meanwhile, her pony prances over a little bit to flank with the sword-cane wielding Rexus before lashing out with a pair of hoof attacks.
Aula begins gyrating and kicking, not particularly at any of the dogs, but her legs rise and fall rhythmically to some tune only she seems to hear. Ganner, who has the best view, may feel a little extra warmth, but the dance seems to make everyone feel good.
Ganner sighs as the dog begins dying, but attacks the southern pooch he's flanking with Larenti.
for damage!
for damage!
Larenti winced away from the animals, slapping his sword at the nearest beast, desperate to keep it away.
Larenti's fears are really too much at this point, at least as far as allowing to help in the battle against them. He continues to flail his weapon shakily in a mutt's direction.
As Jinx switches out for a weapon better suited in the scrum of melee around the dogs, her summoned ally thrashes hooves at the dogs again. The bite that the animal took caused it to favor it's other leg, which in turn put the pony too far from its intended mark.
Seemingly unhelpful and possibly inappropriate at the moment, Aula moves her body in a hypnotic, rather sensual dance routine. The power of it, beyond drawing glances if not full on looks, sees the injuries of the group almost all washed away.
The wound administered by Bardigan is bad enough that it continues to spill blood as the dog lay on the floor of the stable. Meanwhile, the northernmost mutt continues to try and get a bite on the pony and its flailing hooves. It once again nips the animal, but doesn't do too much beyond drawing blood.
Rexus continues to try and offer his assistance in what little way he can with the sword he pulled from his cane, stabbing at the dog biting the pony. He manages to cut a slash along the hounds hindquarters, eliciting a yelp.
The last dog, maintains its focus on the original target, having no other threat yet present itself. With a snap of the jaws, it does little but bare its teeth and growl, coming nowhere near its intended target.
Ganner takes this moment to pummel the hound hard, once in the hip and another in the ribs. With a whoosh of air the dog collapses from the blows, laying unconscious on the ground.
Larenti let out a gasp of relief as Ganner incapacitated the nearest mutt. Looking at the remaining dog, surrounded as it was by four humanoids and a magic pony, Larenti convinced himself that he had nothing to add to that fight.
"I'll go see if there's anyone else here!" he whispered enthusiastically to Ganner.
With that, he sprinted back down to the stalls and tried to gain cover and a vantage point near one of the walls.
Bardigan tries to aid his aunt's conjured pony, but the press of bodies and the frantic movement of the two animals makes it difficult for the charismatic noble to land a thrust. "Blasted dogs!"
HP: 10/10
AC: 20 (12 T / 18 FF)
CMD: 15
F/R/W: +4/+2/+3
Hellfire strikes used: 0/3
Eldritch Pool used: 0/5
Lvl 1 Spell Slots used: 1/2
Ongoing Effects
shield (5/10 rounds): +4 AC
Bardigan flails at the remaining dog, almost as uselessly as Larenti had. At least Larenti had his fears causing him trouble; maybe Bardigan is making light out of his own fears. Larenti, however, decides that his help is better suited to other uses, as he skulks off from stall to stall looking for any other threats aroused by the fight or the barking of the dogs.
"Why Miss Jinx! That's quite the impressive weapon you have there. Ah'll step aside and let you get to work on this dawg if you'll give me a moment!" Aula takes one last stab at the dog between herself and Ganner, then steps away from the scrum of dangerous flailing to make room for Jinx to move in.
;
Regardless of whether Jinx wants into the space or not, she can't do anything with it until Aula leaves it. Even still, the wait doesn't diminish the potential of Aula's lithe form darting in to stab the hound. The dog yips, a panicked expression dominating its face.
The pony lashes out once more at the hound before it, stamping hard with its hoof. The hoof catches the dog just on the edge of the muzzle, but it's enough for the already injured hound to fall prey to its other injuries.
Larenti visibly relaxed as the last barking stopped. He turned his attention back to the infiltration, despite knowing all stealth had been ruined.
Stupid dogs, he thought.
Moving quietly along the south row of stalls, he tried to find out if there was anyone else in the building.
As the last of the dogs stops moving, Aula sighs. "These curs got what was comin' to 'em, but I really do hope we find something worth bein' here." She busies herself searching about the various stalls nearest her, but seems reluctant to actually "search" given what various animals have left in the stalls. Instead, she hums a little to herself and sways, looking around listlessly.
Bardigan sighs in relief as the last of the yipping and barking finally stops. Sheathing his rapier after cleaning it on one of the dogs' hides, he waves over to Larenti with a chuckle and gives him the 'everything-is-under-control-here' sign. He laughs softly with a shake of his head as he sees the half-orc roll his eyes before slipping off toward the building proper.
"Well. That was a nuisance." His tone is bright a cheery despite the rain. "Let's get out of this weather, shall we?"
Beyond the incessant noise of the dogs, once they are put down, there is very little of interest to the stable itself. Most of the stalls only hold remnants of day to day accoutrements one would expect to find in a business such as this. One of the stalls, just past the middle on the southern side, actually turns out to be a hallway blocked by an iron gate.
At the back of the building is the single exterior door that was seen when the group first took a look around the outside. It is chained like the front. Also, there are two larger rooms near the back on the northern side.
As the group starts to take a look around, Aula tries to subtly cast a few minor spells while no one is looking.
Bardigan grins and chuckles, offering a whispered warning to Aula, "Don't let Larenti catch you at that." Parting with a playful wink and a shake of his head, he makes for the chained up entry into the building proper. He holds up the chains in one hand, testing them with a tug as he frowns in consideration.