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Zarabeta retrieves the horse she's been assigned from the copse of trees and spends a long moment getting up on the animals back. Gently urging it forward, she walks it back towards the coach, scanning the surroundings for their allies, to see if they've gotten clear, or have accompanied their leader to the carriage.
She misses any whispered talk of making a bargain with the man and then breaking that bargain, which is probably for the best.
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Marius climbs from the coach and makes his way to the group arriving just as Akorian makes his statement..
"Screw his honour..you have the right idea..let him come forth and we will crush him..indeed let us act like the Hellknights themselves..."
he snorts.
"I say use his honour to trap him..pick three he says very well..an old woman and two girls might be sufficient to make him hesitate especially as he thinks one a goddess..."
"Then some spellcraft and a grapple to the ground should complete his shame...with luck he will kill himself rather than admit defeat to his overlord"
"Certainly," the priest offers. He ensures they all draw away from the wagon far enough that he won't inadvertantly return one of their attackers to consciousness. Then, he prays once more for Milani's assistance.
"Yeah, that feels much better, sport! I don't need that magic medicine after all, thank ye!"
"Just because we took his weapons in the sewers doesn't mean he hasn't rearmed himself. Though I suppose we'll find that out as soon as he emerges for the duel."
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"Akorian, you are cute, but you are a bit dense too. He's on the inside of that thing because he's a prisoner. Didn't you hear what he said? He's on his way to be punished. You don't arm prisoners."
Waifrin shakes her head.
"We can be in there before he does anything - especially if you do your healing trick."
"He was calling out orders to the men outside," Akorian responds, "That doesn't sound like a prisoner to me. Though, as you say, I'm certain he's lost quite a bit of favor with his Paralictor."
Mother rolls her eyes in impatience. "Oh, for gosh sakes, he's willing to face us in a fight, three-on-one. Are we a bunch of yellow-bellies or what? Let's take him at his word and do it already!"
"I swear, it's you lot that's acting like a bunch of mother hens, not me!"
"We should listen to our Mother," Akorian chuckles, "Let's call him out and take it from there. At the very least, it means we don't have to waste time breaking into the wagon...and we don't risk Arael's death in the event this Hellknight actually is armed. There's no dishonor in lying to him about the duel if it justifies our cause in freeing Arael from an unjust incarceration in Citadel Rivad."
Breaking free from the pack, the priest approaches the wagon again. He takes the time to drag over one of the Hellknight's men, before calling out.
"Here's your armiger. Alive and still breathing. Just unconscious," he explains, "We agree to the duel. But no further delays. Get out now so we can see Arael."
"I have your word of honor, then? "
Janiven looks at each of you.
After an unequivocal affirmative reply --
"Please stand back where I can see you all."
After you are all in view and well back from the door --
Behind him you can see a hooded bound man. His hands are in mage's shackles, rigid bronze gloves welded together that prevent the movements prerequisite to spellcasting.
"There is Arael. Where are the rest of my men?"
"So, three on one was your offer, right Mister Knight? Okay, give the man his sword and let's tussle!!" Mother cracks her knuckles and works the kinks out of her neck.
Marius gives Javinen a long look..."Well then..are you going to fight or are you going to let us do your dirty work for you...again?"
Akorian shakes his head at Marius' comment. "I'll fight him before I'll allow her to do so," he interjects, "She should be getting the others out of here." He looks at the woman and adds, "Why are you even here? You should already be gone. This is our task."
Perception DC 18 (Zara at +2):
"Two at the front of the wagon, two yonder," Waifrin points to those that fell to the side. "Though they live no thanks to that one - who I take it is not one of your men," she points to the fallen commander that had rode on the roof of the wagon.
"Thank you, ma'am. I will check on them presently." But the Hellknight doesn't move. He waits by the carriage door looking fixedly at first one, then another of you.
***
"Well then..are you going to fight or are you going to let us do your dirty work for you...again?"
"I'll fight him before I'll allow her to do so," he interjects, "She should be getting the others out of here." He looks at the woman and adds, "Why are you even here? You should already be gone. This is our task."
Janiven bristles. You can almost see the hair on the back of her neck stiffen. She takes three quick steps and gets up in Marius' face. She's talking right over Akorian. "What are you saying? That's my friend in there and all our necks are on the line here. There's two armigers down at the bridge by my hand. Though with Iomedae's grace they'll live."
Then she rounds on Akorian. "I'll fight damnit. I'm the best swordsman in the group and no tin-plated pit-rat is going to call me out."
"Give the bastard his sword and let's finish this. With any luck we'll be through before they get that wagon up here."
***
Indeed the other rebels have just cleared the caltrops and gotten the wagon turned. Gorvio snaps the reins once and the horses begin walking toward you. Vitti has rounded up the horses of the two fallen Hellknights. Ermolos and Yakupolio and some of the others are tending the two fallen Hellknights.
"So, three on one was your offer, right Mister Knight? Okay, give the man his sword and let's tussle!!" Mother cracks her knuckles and works the kinks out of her neck.
He moves to the side with Mother and begins a stare down off the Hellknight.
Giobanni remains where he is by the door to the coach. "Three on one ? No madam. One against three sequentially. I have seen you fight. I could not possibly take three of you on at once. "
While everyone else carries on with the Hellknight, Akorian goes to retrieve the masterwork crossbow he dropped when he chose to fight with his morningstar during the battle. He calmly reloads it while keeping an eye on the armigers among the trees.
"Get out of the coach so we can examine Arael and determine he yet lives," Akorian calls over his shoulder to the Hellknight, "Otherwise, we risk fighting for nothing while you continue to delay for reinforcements which won't arrive in time. Besides, shouldn't you be checking on the condition of your own men? Or do they mean less to you than the selfish chance to redeem yourself in personal combat?"
With that, Akorian draws the Hellknight's blade and thrusts it into the ground several paces from the coach and across from Janiven. If the swordswoman wants to fight the Hellknight, he certainly won't stand in her way. Then, he gives Raven a nod, jerking his head towards the coach in a silent request for him to examine Arael and his bonds in the event they need to make a quick getaway.
Akorian backs away from the sword and gestures with a sweep of his arm, inviting the Hellknight to spar with Janiven. "Let's go. And keep to our word."
... Akorian goes to retrieve the masterwork crossbow ... He calmly reloads it while keeping an eye on the armigers among the trees.
"Get out of the coach so we can examine Arael and determine he yet lives," Akorian calls over his shoulder to the Hellknight, "Otherwise, we risk fighting for nothing while you continue to delay for reinforcements which won't arrive in time. Besides, shouldn't you be checking on the condition of your own men? Or do they mean less to you than the selfish chance to redeem yourself in personal combat?"
Giobanni silently watches the party. He does not reply.
With that, Akorian draws the Hellknight's blade and thrusts it into the ground several paces from the coach and across from Janiven. If the swordswoman wants to fight the Hellknight, he certainly won't stand in her way. Then, he gives Raven a nod, jerking his head towards the coach in a silent request for him to examine Arael and his bonds in the event they need to make a quick getaway.
Akorian backs away from the sword and gestures with a sweep of his arm, inviting the Hellknight to spar with Janiven. "Let's go. And keep to our word."
At the sight of the sword the Hellknight steps forward. "Ahh, thank you. Despite your honor in keeping our previous bargain, I confess I had an unworthy inkling that you might have planned treachery here." He grasps the hilt and pulls the sword free of the earth. "This is a pledge of good faith. If I may have a moment I will check my men. You may freely examine Arael."
Giobanni walks briskly toward the front of the coach. With the sword in his hand, there is no hesitancy at all in his manner. He quickly checks the down men. At the charred broken corpse of the leader he nods. "Shanwen, no more gracious in death than in life." At the side of the saluqi's first victim, Giobanni kneels and rewraps the man's bandages more tightly. "This one is still bleeding out. Can you do nothing for him?"
Janiven watches the Hellknight throughout. She scoops a handful of dust from the roadway and rubs it between her palms. Then she begins stretching, swinging and lunging slowly with her blade.
At last satisfied, Giobanni gets to his feet. "Thank you again. Despite your lawless rebellion against the consecrated majesty of Thrune, you have honor." He marches toward Janiven, Marius, and Mother. "You are the champions then? Who is first?"
Then, he gives Raven a nod, jerking his head towards the coach in a silent request for him to examine Arael and his bonds in the event they need to make a quick getaway.
Raven smiles at Akorian and nods in acknowledgment as he makes his way towards the coach and the captive Arael within it. Sheathing his short sword, he proceeds to examine both the man himself as well as the restraints without making any attempt to unlock them or otherwise tamper with them, at least for the moment. "How are you? Still in one piece I see," he asks Arael, the question spoken softly and in an almost off-hand manner.
Once satisfied, he steps back out of the coach, but does not get very far from it, just far enough for the Hellknight to be satisfied. Taking a silver coin out of a pouch, he engages in simple sleight-of-hand; it almost seems like he is waiting for a show to begin.
"You have to agree that this is one of the more civilized rebellions, yes Sir Knight?" The comment is directed at Giobanni, the smile still on the elven rogue's face.
"You have to agree that this is one of the more civilized rebellions, yes Sir Knight?"
"Yes, it is. I will recommend clemency at your trial."
Mother grins beneath her concealing mask. "I'll go first -- I've lived a long and full life. Ready whenever you are, sport!"
Zara:
Raven:
Waiffrin:
Akorian:
Mother and Marius: Janiven steps past you both, whispering, "I'll go first. When he's busy. Hit him hard." She stops about 15' short of the Hellknight and stands in a relaxed pose with her sword pointing at the ground. "Ready?" she asks. "Let's start." But you both notice she's moving and her sword is coming up before she begins to say "start".
It's not much of an edge, but it looks like it may be enough. Her sword darts in and finds a chink in Giobanni's armour just below the breastplate while the Hellknight is still twirling his sword like a baton. He grunts as a thin line line of red starts to run down his mail.
Then he counterattacks with heavy blows. He doesn't look that strong but he gets a lot of weight into his swings. Janiven parries his first, weakly ripostes and leaves herself open to a crushing overhead chop. The blow rings off her helmet and sends her staggering to the left.
Trial by combat:
Janiven 21
Marius 13
Mother ?
Giobanni 5
Working from left to right on the map: Mother and Marius, Janiven, Giobanni, Raven THE COACH Waifrin and Akorian are at the front of the coach roughly even with Janiven and GIobanni. Zara is near the horses noses.
Akorian grits his teeth at the sight of the charging armigers. He passes Zarabeta as he starts to climb onto the wagon with his loaded crossbow in hand. "Think you can break their charge with a bit of magic?" he encourages her. Then he fires a bolt at the lead rider.
Akorian steps higher onto the wagon's rooftop next to the ballista, while calmly reloading his crossbow and firing on the same rider again.
init
Mother rushes forward and tries to grab Giobanni.
Round 1.
At Akorians comment Marius throws a look over his shoulder and sees the cavalry charge then snarls..."So much for your honour bastard"
Round 2
He closes to attack.....
Critical confirmation
...and grins fiercely as his sword finds a weak spot
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Initiative:
Round 1: Waifrin scrambles atop the wagon and loads the BIG crossbow.
Acrobatics:
"So much for Hellknight honour - bargain in good faith then stab you in the back!" she gestures to Zarabeta. "You might want to be up here!"
Round 2: Waifrin tries to nail the foremost of the riders.
Attack:
Confirm Critical:
Don't know what the damage is from the siege bow.
Round 3: Abandoning the big bow Waifrin loads and shoots her crossbow:
Attack:
Damage:
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Zarabeta will join the others atop the big wagon, using her first round to attempt to daze one of the arriving Hellknights.
If any come close enough at any point during the second or third round, she will attempt a color spray, angling it to catch both the horse and rider (if not multiple foes, if that wonderful opportunity presents itself) but otherwise stick to using daze cantrips.
General Combat
Waifrin 22
Janiven 21
Akorian 20
Raven 15
Zarabeta 15
Marius 13
Mother 12
5 Armigers 10
Giobanni 5
Re-initializing Round count at 1.
Four riders are armed with crossbows. One has only a sword which he brandishes and points ahead as he leads the charge.
Warning shouts go up from the other rebels as the 5 armigers break cover and charge toward the coach. Your allies loose a volley of bolts but they are all wide of the mark.
Mother and Marius join Janiven's fight just as the Armigers break cover. Even as Mother grabs him and Marius stabs him, Giobanni protests, "How could I know they would attack?"
Akorian tries to climb the coach, but his foot slips and he drops back to the ground. Fortunately he retains his footing. He judges it better to stay on the ground and fire before trying the climb again. The bolt flies wide.
Waifrin gets to the roof, places a bolt in the slide and tries to cock the siege-bow. She has to put her full effort into swinging the cocking lever and it takes longer than she'd thought.
Stepping from runningboard to wheel Zara goes up the side of the coach
like a monkey. Seeing Waifrin struggle with the crossbow she grabs the lever too and hauls back. The trigger clicks into place and Waifrin can fire. The bolt sails out and hits the lead rider in the chest. He lurches and his horse turns to your right for a few steps, but recovers and continues coming on.
The riders hold their fire on this round.
Mother tries to hold Giobanni motionless. "See, fella? I told you I didn't need any help from these other guys!"
pin attempt :
"So much for the duel I suppose," the elf mutters to himself as he quickly makes his way to the charred body of the leader. Reasoning that he would be the one most likely to have the keys to Arael's bonds, he searches as best he can.
End of Round 1: Raven dashes around the coach to the leader's body where he finds not one, but two rings with a few keys each.
Round 2:
Waifrin 22
Janiven 21
Akorian 20
Raven 15
Zarabeta 15
Marius 13
Mother 12
5 Armigers 10
Giobanni 5
Waifrin loads and fires the roof-mounted crossbow.
A wounded Janiven stumbles away from the grappled pair. The snap of the crossbows makes her look around to see the charging armigers. "You two have him!" She shouts to Marius and Mother. She stumbles over to her crossbow, kneels while she picks it up, loads and fires. Her bolt sails wide. She wipes the blood from her forehead and begins to reload.
Giobanni continues to struggle in Mother's grasp.
"Call them off or by the true gods I'll geld you before I kill you"
Giobanni snarls, "Never! Even were I so craven, they wouldn't halt in their duty for my sake. "
The other rebels waste another round of ammunition.
Mother tries to hog-tie Giobanni. "By Aroden, M--mister! What do you think you're doing, hitting men when they're down?"
tie up:
Her hands slip, however, and Giobanni squirms free!
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Forgetting herself in the excitement of being able to show off her flashiest spell, Zarabeta hops down and maneuvers into position for a color spray.
She sounds supremely confident as she stands before the charging men, although her voice is somewhat muffled by the mask. "Corruscatio Chromatis Scintilla!"
Wairfrin's shot with the big crossbow misses.
Raven returns to the coach and frees Arael. The half-elf flexes his fingers when the mage's cuffs come off. "They're aren't tight, but holding your hands in one position that long they get numb."
Zara rushes out in front of the combatants and waits for them to get into range.
Blood and a tooth spill from Giobanni's mouth as Marius clouts him, and he sags heavily into Mother's arms, quite unconcscious. Mother starts binding the Hellknight.
Yelling encouragement to his comrades, the sword-weilding armiger breaks off his attack run and turns for the woods. Akorian hits the left hand outrider. (your view) He immediately pulls up , levels his crossbow and returns fire from about 80'. The other three close to about 40' and are just slowing their horses and aiming their crossbows when Zara unleashes her colorspray. The rainbow rays wash over two of them and their mounts. One horse stumbles limply to the ground over the course of three strides. His rider twists from the saddle before the horse rolls on him,but strikes the ground hard on his hip and flank. The other rider slumps in his high-backed military saddle, but is still held upright. The last attacker fires at Zara and misses. The two mounted armigers turn their horses back toward the woods.
That leaves you with a standing foe 40' away, two mounted foes preparing retreat, one already in full retreat, and one mounted dreamer.
Begin Round 3.