Allence's Last Hope

Game Master sarpadian

When Chantif sees the thing go down he turns and make his way back to Drexel as quickly as he can. He mutters under his breath, "You better not have died on me you flashy slab of Gnoll-bait. What part of 'shoot and run' did you not understand?" as he kneels over him, checking his vital signs.

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Right-o, sorry about that. I was in a hurry when I last posted, and the 20 ft. part completely slipped my mind.

When the spellcaster falls to the ground, Det gives it a good hard kick as he rips his hammer out of its chest. "Hope it hurt, ye little _____." Det mutters. Then he walks over to Umash, "How ye hangin' in there chief?"

Heal Check (Untrained): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Rhona tears her way free of the shrubbery only to find that Det has successfully squashed the pugwampi. "Oh, thank the Inheritor that's over," she grumbles. Seeing that Chantif is taking care of Drexel (poor guy) Rhona stalks toward the fallen gremlin and gives it a hard kick in the side for all the trouble it caused.

Whew.

Checkin' him for any items of use, and not being particularly delicate about it.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 :p

Anybody going to check on the civilians?

I was planning to after I made sure that Umash was okay.

Det walks over to Umash and is able to tell that she's pretty badly injured but in no danger of dying. Rhona doesn't notice anything right away, but she eventually finds some things that might be of use. There are two vials, two rolled up pieces of parchment, and a bunch of gear that's way too small for any of you to use (his arrows, for example, might make good toothpicks, but that's about it).

Rhona gathers up the items (including the useless gear- perhaps they could be sold?) and reminds herself to have Umash or Drexel look at them when they're in better condition. Satisfied, Rhona gets up and assesses the situation: nearly everyone is injured, some quite badly, and Drexel still seems to be unconscious.

With the battle having reached its end, Rhona moves to the gnolls and makes sure they're dead (checking them for items briefly; anything not of unusual quality I won't bother with) and then heading toward the house to see whether or not the civilians are still in one piece. "Anybody want to come with?" she calls over her shoulder as she starts to go.

Gremlin loot:
2x vials
2x rolled up parchments
Quarterstaff, Tiny
Shortbow, Tiny
20xArrows, Tiny
Cotton Belt, w/large buckle showing arcane runes,
Dagger, Tiny
Druid’s Kit, sized for Tiny creature
Gnoll Loot:
24xArrows, Medium
2xBattleaxe, Medium
2xHeavy Wooden Shield, Medium
2xLeather armor, Medium
2xLongbow
None of the stuff on the gnolls is particularly well-made, but I went ahead and listed it in case somebody else wants to collect it.

having been knocked out early on, do I still get the full 300?

Yeah, for simplicity's sake.

Yeah, I'm gonna grab one of those longbows. More damage than my shortbow can currently deliver.

The pugwampi's belt could be important. I'll have one of the more magically-inclined folks take a look when we get a chance.

Was my hint too heavy-handed? ;)

Dibs on the tiny bow and arrows!

Was my hint too heavy-handed? ;)

Please deliver hint with this oversized hammer, sir.

Can I wear it like a wristwatch if it turns out to be magical?

Sure, why not? Magic gear usually resizes to fit, but we could work something out, if you want.

Rhona and Det walk over to the farmstead and see that the farmer and his family are fine, though obviously scared out of their wits. The hyena is still sitting up on its haunches, guarding the gate.

Does the hyena seem threatening or aggressive? Wimpmode time: I don't really want to hurt it unless it attacks us.

"You folks still in one piece?" Rhona asks as she approaches the farmers as unthreateningly as possible. "Care to tell us what happened here?"

Diplomacy : 1d20 ⇒ 10

"Should be safe for you folks now. Sorry about that." He smile at the family, hoping that a half-orc with a bloody hammer and scorch marks on his armor wouldn't scare them any more than they already were. Then he looks over at the hyena, crouches down and says "Here boy!"

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The hyena doesn't respond to Det's summons. It just sits there on its haunches and growls a little bit. The farmer speaks up, though: "We're OK, physically anyway. This place, he guestures around at the farm, is pretty much a wreck, but things can always be replaced. Thanks. If yer wantin' t'tame that thing, ya'd prob'ly have better luck if ya toss it Bessie's leg. Mize well, fool thing and its bosses already ate most of the rest of her. As for what happened, 'bout fifteen of those dogfaces came through here yesterday. Most of 'em kept on going, but they left those two as guards. Not sure what they wanted us for, but I can't figure it was anything good. Then, last night, that little whatever-it-was that was tossin' fire ev'rywhere, he came traipsin' in and decided to set fire to our house for some reason. That's about all I know. You folks OK? Can't offer ya too much help myself, but if'n ya've got some kinda horse 'r something what we could hook up to my wagon, I'm sure you could get some help in town."

Chantif picks up Drexel and starts carrying him towards the others by the house.

"Well, we don't have a horse, but we do have a couple mules," Rhona says. She nods in appreciation of the farmer's offer. "A few members of our group took a serious beating, so the sooner we can get to town for some medical attention, the better."

I'm all for taking these folks up on the offer to take the wagon into town. I'd say we've earned it.

Ever been to North Carolina? Because I know people that talk just like that.

Det nods, "Anything is helpful at this point, 'that little what-ever-it-was' dished out a beating on all of us." The he looks at Bessie's leg and grumbles to himself, "Maybe we'll just kill it...

I was born 'n raised in Georjuh, suh. Same diff'rence. :)

Hey, I live in Atlanta, so go team! (Of NOLA via B'ham, originally, though)

Hearing Det grumble, Rhona's face twists in something between disgust and shock. "Kill it? C'mon, Det! It's just an animal. I'm not sayin' we need to keep it for a pet or anything, but still..." She hopes her glare will keep Detskiye from deciding to slaughter the poor, ugly, stinky, mangy beast.

Turning back to the farmers, she continues: "You said there were about fifteen of 'em- did you happen to catch which direction they left in? They weren't heading for Alenk Town, were they?"

"I reckon they were; they we're headin' down the road, anyhow."

"Greeeat. That's fantastic. Well, maybe they'll be smart enough not to barge into Alenk Town... and retire and get themselves to a nunnery or something..."

Let's go ahead and heal up our wounded, since it seems like there won't be much of a safe haven waiting for us in town.

Agreed, we need to prepare for the worst

"Sadly, I don't think gnolls are known for their wise decisions." Det sighs. 'Hope fer tha best, prepare fer tha worst.' As a wise man once told me.

The farmer replies: "Yeah, I haven't had to deal with too many of 'em, but I haven't noticed as they're all ate up with common sense. I wouldn't worry too much, though. It'd take more of 'em than I seen to cause too much trouble for Alenk Town. There's some of them fancy regular soldiers there, don't you know?"

Meanwhile, back at the battle site, Drexel wakes up.

Thank god

"Wha? What happened? Did we save the farmers?"

Chantif picks up Drexel and starts carrying him towards the others by the house.

Chantif continues pacing towards the house, apparently with no intention of setting Drexel down. Aye, that we did. What was in your head that you didn't run, eh? You had me right worried.

Seeing that Drexel is awake, Rhona strolls over to him and glares at him like a mother who has just caught her kid stealing sweets. "Drexel!" she says with a scowl, "You squishy little... You almost died! Don't worry us like that. You should've seen Chantif lugging you around like a sack of potatoes... Would've been hilarious if we weren't convinced you were dead." She raps him lightly on the head before turning to Chantif. "How are you feeling, anyway? You took a beating yourself. I'm impressed at how you hung in there after all that. You're a brave man."

"Well, if we're all in one piece, once we're patched up and ready, do you think we should get a move on to Alenk Town before those gnolls give the whole town fleas?"

Meanwhile a scorched half-orc lies on her face unconscious a couple hundred feet down the road.

Oh, her? She's fiiiine. :D Anyway, she's only disabled at 0, right? So she should still be able to walk over and yell at us for worrying about Drexel instead of her.

Nope, she doesn't have Ferocity so she's down. And even if she did, it would only last for one round

You're disabled--not dying--at 0. That means you can take a single move action or standard action per turn, but taking a standard action will put you under if it doesn't increase your HP. Orc Ferocity would let you act for one round as if you were at 0 when you were in the negatives; everybody is conscious at 0.

Oh okay, I missed that, my bad.

No problem.

I know what I could have been doing in the meantime:

While the others rush to check on the farmers, Umash staggers over to the corpse of the gremlin and inspects its equipment.

"You guys go ahead, I will see if any of these have any value.

Parchment scrolls
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Vials
Alchemy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Alchemy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

I slump down onto Chantif's back and just let him carry me, trying not to focus too much on my pain as each step jars me. I don't even bother answering his question since my plan failed so miserably.

As Umash is examining the items, the rest of the party reunites at the ruined farmhouse. Seeing the battered state of the party, the farmer whistles. "Y'all weren't kiddin' about takin' a beatin'; I reckon y'all look a fair sight better 'n the other guy, though! Why don't you two mosey on to get those mules ya mentioned, and me and my wife will take care of yer friends 'til ya get back. That's the least we can do for y'all," he says, pointing at Rhona and Det. Then his face lights up: "Hey, wait a second! Wasn't there another one of ya? The one I seen take the head clear off one of 'em? Is she alright?"

Det grins as he looks at his bloody hammer, "Hehe, I guess they would've liked to be in our shoes right now." He turns around to leave, gritting his teeth as his blistered chest rubs against his armor. "Lets get those mules then." He says to Rhona, already trying to undo his armor while walking.

"Of course we get stuck getting the mules," Rhona grumbles. She offers up a weak imitation of Chantif's voice as she trudges along: "'Oy, ah'm Chan-teef, the walkin' pincushion! Ah'm too busy lingerin' on the verge of death to go get the mules! Better send them strappin' young lads Det and Rhona to get 'em! Yes, ah'm callin' Rhona a lad, an' no, I'm not her subconscious mind speakin' up! Oy, quit yer squealin', Yoo-mash an' Pretzel the Boy Wizard! Ye're only a little more dead than I am, so hush up an' stop bleedin' all over these nice folks' carpet!' Drink yer healin' potions already, why don't ya?" Rhona bites her lip and stops her bad imitation. "I actually don't know if they had a carpet in there, so just roll with me on that one. Are my eyebrows still on? I feel like that little prick gremlin might've burned 'em off."

Grumbly, Complainy Rhona is the One True Rhona.

"Just our luck that those walking shag carpets are headed toward Alenk Town. I was really looking forward to hitting up a tavern and getting drunk as hell. And a bath. That'd be nice. We're gonna have to be a lot more cautious next time we bump into those creepers. Preferably, next time we don't get the lot of us halfway murdered by the end of it."

As Rhona and Det pass by Umash's location on the way to get the mules, they see her examining the objects taken from the gremlin.

As Rhona and Detskiye pass Umash raises one of the vials: "Looks- looks like we have another healing potion. How is Drexel doing, one of us might make some use of it. Also he shold have a look at this scroll, I can't make heads or tails of it."
She stands up carefully, "I'll catch up with the others while you guys get the animals."
With that she starts slowly toward the farmhouse.

Assuming y'all don't have anything else you want to do in the meantime...

Nothing goes awry in the process of retrieving the animals. When Det and Rhona arrive back at the farmstead with the animals in tow, they see Drexel, Chantif, and Umash seated on the ground next to the farmer's wagon. The farmer is standing near the front of the wagon, setting a bunch of tack over the front edge of the wagon. As soon as they're within shouting distance the farmer yells, Bring 'em on over here, and I'll get 'em hitched up. We'll have you ready to head on into town in a jiffy."

Still laughing at Rhona's outburst, Det confirms the existence of her eyebrows as he led the mules to the farmers. (The left eyebrow was pretty much gone, but Det figured she'd had enough for one day.)

Rhona appreciates Detskiye's consideration for her ego. :)

While she and Det lead the mules over to the farmer to get them all hitched up and ready to head out, she glances over at her battered party members and wonders if they're in any shape to travel.

"Oy, you guys ready to hit the road, or what? Let's not intrude on these nice farmers any longer. Patch yourselves up and let's get to it! I have a date with a sauna in Alenk Town. Assuming it's not filled up with hard-partying gnolls by now, that is. Clogging the drains with their mangy fur... ech. Stuff of nightmares..." She claps her gauntleted hands together and attempts to rally the troops as best she can. Then again, leadership has never been Rhona's strong suit...

Fully ready to move on whenever everybody else is.

"Aye. Let's be moving."

Chantif is at 0 HP. Should he get some of the healing juices?

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