Casimir's many images fought defensively in Aldori sword forms. It made for an impressive display with the many images performing the forms in harmony, but was unable to score a decisive blow
Kalev's hand axe hacked past the Spriggan's halberd, forced it aside and cut the Fey deeply; but still it stood and fought, although beginning to turn white from fear and rapid blood loss.
Close by, Malthir was busy brutally cutting down Spriggans, slaying the one Casimir had grievously wounded and near disemboweling a second; although one of his sword blows caught on the Spriggan's armour, saving it a second wound.
Outside, the pit finally began to lift the Spriggan Kip had caught into it back into the courtyard .
The fight in the corridor continued. Ricter found himself flanked by two Spriggans, with a third seeking an opportunity to join in. In an inspired moment, one of them managed an exquisite maneuver with his halberd; turning aside both Ricter's shield and flail and making a clear swing for Ricter's helm. Faced with the visage of the grim Hellknight warrior, however, the Spriggan's ferocity wavered and the swing lacked conviction; glancing off Ricter's helmet after only leaving a deep gouge in it.
No longer flanked due to the endlessly laughing Spriggan, the wound dealt to Kalev by one of the Halberd's swung his way was a minor one, with little strength behind it.
Indeed, the only warrior of any skill to be found among the Spriggan warriors desperately defending the stockade was their leader, clad in a mithril breastplate not dissimilar to Casimir's own; and wielding a spiked greatclub which seemed to be glowing; often evidence of a magical enchantment. Despite Casimir's defensive efforts, another of his images was shattered by the powerful club, which was proving difficult to parry or turn aside in the narrow corridor.
In the chaos of the corridor fighting Ricter's normally wide swings become sharp jerks, flail heads slamming forward into his shaken opponent only to be yanked backward past the Hellknight and into the fey seeking to flank him.
The quickening magic upon the guardians ends, making everything seem a little slower and the sounds of battle lower in pitch.
Down below the main battle, realizing his pit magic is also ending, Kip takes a few steps back and waits to see what rises from within.
Ricter wounded the two Spriggans he faced with a blow to each of them, but neither fell from the crushing blows.
Round 10
Ordered Initiative-
Casimir- 22
Kalev- 14
Malthir- 8
Spriggans- 7a
Ricter- 7b
Delaying- Fenna
Readied- Kip
Active Effects-
Inspire Courage on Guardians(+2/+2) Still ongoing until you tell me otherwise Casimir; you tracking the duration?.
Lead Blades (Kalev to track duration).
Haste (expires this round, init 6).
Agai shaken until end of round 9.
Spriggans shaken until end of round 10.
Shield Other on Ricter.
Map-
Notes-
Hideous Laughter'd Spriggan denoted in yellow.
Action-
Casimir studies the fighting skill of the spriggan he is facing with a critical eye. Without missing a step in his intricate defensive moves, he calls out to Malthir.
"Malthir, I think we found their leader. Come and say hello. Here, let me make room for the two of you to get better acquainted."
With that, both remaining versions of Casimir take a step back, then vault sideways, enchanted boots aiding them as they run horizontally along the wall, up and over the spriggan leader.
Nimble as a panther, Casimir lands on the opposite side of Agai, and spins in place, sweeping Brigthclaw up in a cut that ends in another defensive stance after slashing at the spriggan.
Handaxe in hand, Kalev cut down the most wounded of his attackers, his guard changing to focus on the only standing Spriggan still fighting him. The man near-growled in frustration as his next opponent's guard and armour foiled his attacks.
Down below, the pit rose to reveal the magically enlarged Spriggan with halberd in hand. He spotted Kip, only to fall victim to another of the Halfling's enchantments, the unfortunate Fey collapsing into laughter.
Heeding Casimir's words, Malthir moved over to flank Agai, ignoring the halberd blow that clattered harmlessly across the main plate of his armour from one of the Spriggan's left fighting. In position, Malthir added his blade to the fight, but only succeeded in scratching the mithril armour the Spriggan wore.
In the corridor, the Spriggans fighting Ricter were heartened when one of them managed to ram the spike of his halberd into Ricter's hip as he continually divided his attention between both opponents. Kalev's lone assailant had no such similar luck, his halberd kept at bay by the ranger's axe.
The Spriggan behind the one facing Ricter spotted a new opportunity made possible by Casimir's maneuver; and snuck in behind him to strike; his halberd hitting neither Casimir or his final remaining image.
In a difficult situation, he himself flanked, the Spriggan warrior known as Agai weighed up his options. On the one hand, the armoured warrior seemed to be the greater threat, with the duelist he had fared well against in a defensive position. However, the opportunity to take advantage of his allies positioning and eliminate wounded a foe at his back before facing Malthir proved too good for the canny warrior to pass up. Agai put all of his strength into a single powerful swing and unfortunately for Casimir; his guess proved correct; he struck the man himself and not his remaining image. The greatclub smashed through Casimir's blade, the defence enough to prevent a killing blow but not to stop the club smashing into Casimir's shoulder and glancing on his head to boot. Casimir crumpled to the floor, his fate unknown.
The battle had suddenly taken on a deadly air, even if only for Malthir, who was the only one who witnessed Casimir's fall; surely the Spriggan wielding his halberd, isolated from the rest of the battle, would think nothing of finishing the duelist off? Agai would be quite capable of slaying the fallen foe in a single blow as well, if given the chance
Realizing at the last minute that the angle of Malthir's blow is slightly off, Casimir draws upon the arcane reserve held within Brightclaw to lend a touch of magical inspiration to the blow.
Strike true, Malthir!
The battle had suddenly taken on a deadly air, even if only for Malthir, who was the only one who witnessed Casimir's fall; surely the Spriggan wielding his halberd, isolated from the rest of the battle, would think nothing of finishing the duelist off? Agai would be quite capable of slaying the fallen foe in a single blow as well, if given the chance
"Tell Kressle I love her...."
Malthir's sword was forced through the armour by Casimir's penultimate words and magic, before he was bashed to the ground by Agai's greatclub.
A halo of Iomedae's pure light surrounds Malthir as he moves into the flank with the leader of the evil hoard.
I am Malthir, Duke of Kardas. I don't know what you did to the people of Varnhold but you will be defeated and we will find out what you did to them!
His blade arcs down towards the Spriggan who barely manages to evade the blow...Casimir's magical words suddenly spring to life changing the blade vector at the last moment and it slices into the leaders side.
Ricter fights on with grim efficiency. Unaware of the deadly enemy leader threatening Casimir, he still thinks the fight to be nothing but pest control.
Ricter focuses his attention on the spriggan that injured him, smashing at it with the last of the hastening magic:
Haste (expires this round, init 6).
Each of the two Spriggan's flanking Ricter were crushed by powerful flail-blows, leaving Ricter with no foes in sight for a moment, although the laughter closeby from the afflicted Spriggan made finding one very easy. The Hellknight could follow the sounds of battle either to the north or to the south.
Taking the horrified laughter to be a sign the fight in that direction is well in hand, Ricter sets off north as his foes hit the ground.
Seeing Ricter quickly dispatch the foes surrounding him, Fenna trusts in Kalev's ability to do the same with the single Spriggan in the doorway.
Stepping from the stairs she takes a brief, appraising look towards the disabled enemy to the south before moving past Ricter into the small interior room. Only then do her keen eyes notice the fallen form of Casimir laying in the hallway beside the murderous fey-kin.
Tilting her head with a vaguely disapproving expression, she steps forwards with a hand on the winged eye hanging from her neck. "Blessed artist," she offers in Azlanti prayer, "please confound this creature's senses with your artful works.".
With that, a wave of starry illumination pours out from the holy symbol, washing over the spriggan and Casimir, both.
Fenna's quick spell affected the minds of both the unconscious Spymaster as well as the Spriggan raising his halberd to finish him off.
Round 11
Ordered Initiative-
Casimir- 22
Kalev- 14
Malthir- 8
Kip- 7a
Spriggans- 7b
Ricter- 7c
Fenna- 6
Active Effects-
Lead Blades (Kalev to track duration).
Shield Other on Ricter.
Map-
Notes-
Hideous Laughter'd Spriggans denoted in yellow.
Color Spray'd individuals denoted in purple.
Action-
Malthir looks beyond the Spriggan in horror as his friend falls. In his youth his anger would have driven him but he has seen too many men die, too many of his people fall to enemies such as these.
Instead, with a resigned sigh he simply tells the leader, Im' afraid it's time to die Spriggan.
Kip continues to deal with the Spriggans left behind... conjuring a pit beneath the two still laid low by Fenna's magic.
Kip continues to deal with the Spriggans left behind... conjuring a pit beneath the two still laid low by Fenna's magic before moving inside to seek out the others and lend a hand to their efforts.
Kalev turns to face the remaining standing Spriggan, a scowl on his face.
There's only one way this is going to end...
He then swings at his opponent, aiming for the neck.
Kalev dealt a first wound to the last Spriggan facing him and still standing, while Malthir slashed their leader's shoulder, the quick Spriggan preventing a follow up attack from being effective.
The two Spriggans Kip conjured a pit beneath fell, still stunned, while the enlarged warror succumbed fully to Kip's hideous enchantment.
Only two Spriggans were still actively in the fight; apparently with their avenue of retreat cut off, neither were particularly inclined to try their luck running. Agai, their leader, showed no sign of understanding what Malthir had said.
Kalev's attacker fought carefully, simply trying to buy time against the formidable foe. Agai brought his club around in another powerful swing, the weapon slamming unerringly through Malthir's various defences and putting a serious dent into his armour in the process.
Noting that the Spriggan behind him had fallen, Agai disengaged from the fight and moved up the corridor in order to avoid being flanked by the new threat; although not before Malthir slashed his sword across Agai's hip as he turned.
Fenna, Cas is down and needs your help! Malthir cries out, hoping he is still alive...
Hearing Malthir's call Ricter marches in that direction, making sure the way is clear for the oracle to do her work. Seeing the injured Spriggen leader he steps over it's incapacitated henchman and closes in.
"I reclaim this fortress for the rule of civilization!"
Ricter stikes at the warrior of chaos with all wrath of all the gods of civilization. Atop that might, he also feels the effect of Fenna's subtle aid.
With the weight of his patheon's expectations on his shoulders, Ricter forbids himself to miss:
...but it seems some things are just not meant to be
Fenna steps forward in the Hellknight's wake, reaching down to lay a hand on Casimir's battered form. "Merciful Shepherd, I ask that you extend your protection to this fallen warrior, that his work to advance the cause of civilization may continue."
Ricter's flail crashed into the firm mithril breastplate, which did not yield sufficiently to break bone and crush flesh.
Round 12
Ordered Initiative-
Casimir- 22
Kalev- 14
Malthir- 8
Kip- 7a
Spriggans- 7b
Ricter- 7c
Fenna- 6
Active Effects-
Lead Blades (Kalev to track duration).
Shield Other on Ricter.
Map-
Notes-
Hideous Laughter'd Spriggans denoted in yellow.
Color Spray'd individuals denoted in purple.
Action-
Kip continues to seek out the battle above... ...and by following the open doors he finds the stairs leading up.
Is he alive Fenna? Ricter, call me if you need me. when she nods her head Malthir takes off to find another foe to fight.
Potential Crit due to Keen on sword:
Kalev takes another careful, yet powerful swing at the Spriggan, hoping to fell him this time.
Between Malthir and Kalev, both Spriggans; the standing one and the laughing one, were slain by slashing blows from their edged weapons, while Kip hustled up the stairs.
The only active combatant left was the leader, Agai. He brought his greatclub to bear twice against Ricter, but struck only the shield and armour of the Hellknight, failing to bring the large weapon to bear effectively while backing slowly up the corridor.
Silently Ricter presses home his assault against the enemy leader:
Ricter managed to strike a blow against the agile Fey leader. The Spriggan was blooded now, bleeding from the wounds dealt to him by Malthir and now sporting broken ribs from Ricter's flail.
"He is breathing," Fenna replies, rising and backing away from the melee until she can see Malthir and Kalev, "though he may not wake for some time."
"Fall to your knees, wretched creature," She then says commandingly to the spriggan leader in gnomish, "and face the judgement of Humanity."
With a visible effort of will, Agai kept his feet and remained focused. Terribly wounded, the Spriggan dropped his greatclub and knelt down before Ricter in a gesture of surrender, speaking in Gnomish as he did so.
We... cannot best you. Spare the lives of the remainder of my tribe and I will face your judgement. You surely have questions about what happened to the town. I can tell you what I know. Slay no more of my kin; I will command them to flee far from these lands.
"He offers his surrender," Fenna translates, looking to Malthir for his decision, "but asks that we allow his followers to leave Varnhold unharmed."
That depends on his truthfulness and his answers. For now let him know we accept his surrender and will not harm his people further, as long as they lay down their weapons and surrender. They will face our judgement though.
Malthir rushes over to Cas and then channels to catch the entire group and the Spriggans.
He helps herd them out into the courtyard and makes sure they are all weaponless.
Cas, can you share his language with us or his with ours? It will be easier if we can all converse with him.
Assuming yes:
Lie to me and you forfiet your life and the life of all of your people. Do you understand me?
Why did you come here?
Did you have anything to do with the people in the town missing?
What do you know about them going missing?
Do you have anything you took from the town?
What happened to your person in the house who seems frozen?
Seems a good start, feel free to add your questions.
What should we do with them if they tell us what they know? I guess it partially depends on the answers.
"Urgh...my head....we won, I take it? Ow. I think my ribs are broken. Just a moment. Curative Touch"
Once he is up and out, Casimir produces a scroll from his scroll case. He reads off the magical writing, then lays a hand on Agai's head.
"There. He can now understand us and speak to us for 24 hours."
Kip is not amused by what he is hearing. He offered the terms of his surrender... you either accept and abide by them or you you deny them. You don't get to accept his surrender, but not his terms. The terms of his surrender clearly stated that his kin are to go free, unharmed, not face "judgement".
Furthermore, since when do we accept the surrender of an enemy and then threaten to kill not only them, but others, because one of them lies? Is that the law of Kardas?! If so, I guess you should lop my head off... I have told the cook many a fib about missing food.
Hear I thought all along you were the lawful types around here.
We are not going to have another incident like the Nixie!
Agai and the remaining Spriggans do not resist, the leader ordering them to stand down each time one is encountered or awoken.
Agai met Malthir's questions with a hard stare. Defeated but still proud, the Fey answered-
If you hold my kin hostage, I will answer none of your questions. You came here and attacked us in our new home. Until you allow me to send my people far from this place, you are merely a conquering tyrant. You were lucky enough to not have lost any of your band. I have watched cousins and brothers die to your hands. Let there be no more bloodshed; let I alone face your "judgement". I will co-operate, if my one request is granted.
Malthir stares through the man to determine if his heart is evil.
Kip is not amused by what he is hearing. He offered the terms of his surrender... you either accept and abide by them or you you deny them. You don't get to accept his surrender, but not his terms. The terms of his surrender clearly stated that his kin are to go free, unharmed, not face "judgement".
Furthermore, since when do we accept the surrender of an enemy and then threaten to kill not only them, but others, because one of them lies? Is that the law of Kardas?! If so, I guess you should lop my head off... I have told the cook many a fib about missing food.
Hear I thought all along you were the lawful types around here.
We are not going to have another incident like the Nixie!
Kip, we can discuss your concerns when we are not standing in front of an enemy we just defeated, now isn't the best time.
Turning back on the apparent leader of the Spriggans, You are in no position to haggle with me. Your new "home" belongs to my long time ally and friend, Lord Varn.
Until I know your people aren't involved with what has happened here there will be no deal regarding their fate. If they are guilty of mass murder, they will be judged as well.