vs. Will DC 15
Tandlara raises her hand above her head and finishes the incantation with a hushed whisper. A strange ripplign affects the area near the fight, a grainyness in the air, as suddenly one of the bugbears becomes very drowsy and drops to the ground.
Then she turns to another and curses him, spitting vitriol in unintelligble and anceient languages.
Taisper stands firm in the face of the charging beasts, focused on his chosen enemy, using the charge as an opportunity to study its movements and anatomy. When it gets in range he makes a short swing at the thing's leading leg, shattering its knee and tearing its flesh with the spikes on his magicked weapon. He lets the momentum of his pulling action lead him back into a defensive stance, ready for the creature's attack.
The leader of the bugbears shrugs off Verik's magic to swing his massive flail again, slamming it into the ground with enough force to shatter rock. The paladin simply steps aside calmly, ducking slightly to avoid its return swing. He howls in impotent rage, growing more and more angry at being unable to land a blow.
The bugbear scurries between Taisper and Verik, positioning himself behind the younger of the two cousins. His eyes seem fixed on Tandlara, though, filled with a mixture of awe and fear. He swings rather half-heartedly at Verik, missing completely.
Taking advantage of Taisper's momentary distraction at his brethren's attack on Verik, the bugbear swings straight and catches the young inquisitor in the side of the head with the morningstar. Such a blow would normally be fatal, but by the grace of the gods, the points of the morningstar are at the exact right angle to fail to puncture him. His head still rings from the attack as he turns back to send all of his focus on the bugbear, but at least he is alive.
Jemini sees the one creature slump to the ground in blissful slumber, and decides to take a chance and risk the line of defense. She steps shortly forward, to prepare to take the foul boss in a vice between herself and Berrin - her thrust coming in short and hard. Her voice carries slow menace as she nods to Berrin: "Finish him."
Seeing that the others appear to have the leader well in hand, Zander takes aim at the Bugbear attempting to break through the lines towards Tandlara. Stepping forward, he launches two arrows - landing a solid hit in the monster's thigh with his first arrow before it can bring its shield to bear against the second.
Catching Jemini's nod Berrin steps up to flank the boss. Swinging with all his might he aims for the back of the creatures neck, connecting the sword fails to penetrate his skin but the force Berrins strength nearly sends the bugbear topling.
Round 5, Initiative 9
Tandlara turns her attention to the only remaining servitor bugbear that she hasn't cursed and weaves a spell, reddish runes apperaing in fits around her wrists she points at the bugbear and utters a single harsh word in a bark.
vs. DC 14
The bugbear stares blankly at Tandlara, head askew. He seems perfectly able to defend himself, but otherwise seems wholly focused on the elf witch.
"Unf. Ow!" Taisper rebounds quickly from the bugbear's successful attack. He shakes his head to clear it, but his left eye still isn't quite working right. ...well maybe that'll knock some sense into me. Sheesh.
"Awright, fella, that's about enough. The weapon of the Master being wielded by the likes of you is heresy and I hereby pronounce you judged and damned..." Taisper's voice gains intensity, but not volume. "...and by the right of His Law..." The inquisitor spots an opening and bats the creature's weapon arm aside with his shield, strengthening his position and swing with a bulwark stance he learned from the Lebeda warriors back at the trading post. "...your soul. Will. Burn!" look at the aura his aura STRIKE HIM DOWN the evil suffuses him With a soft grunt of effort Taisper slams his morning star into the bugbear's face, using a fencing move he watched Kesten employ in his own morning workout, but then he twists the weapon, effectively screwing the spike into the creature's tiny brain. With a tearing motion he yanks off a piece of its scalp and watches in satisfaction as it falls to the ground, dying.
Taisper finshes the Ritual of Pronouncement, speaking in celestial:
"Zuon luoh lrahh xcuf cu qelavel
Ic yunselcy zuo lrahh apitel
Bun zuon vnisell act zuon cayonel
Elyelncahhz"
He then quickly spins around to aid Verik, trusting to Jemini and Berrin to finish the badly hurt bugbear leader.
The leader of the bugbears looks staggered, barely holding himself up. He growls, though not as loudly or forcefully this time, and swings the flail at Jemini one last time. The massive bugbear takes the time to make the final attack count, knowing that it has to drop her or die. As Jemini ducks around, the flail connects with her chin and sends her spinning. Blood gushes out of the wound and from her mouth, but she moved her head in just the right direction to prevent her neck from snapping like a twig.
The only other remaining bugbear takes a step away from Taisper and delivers a vicious overhead swing that catches Taisper in the collarbone. He nearly falls to the ground as the bugbear laughs sadistically and raises his arm for another strike.
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Reeling from the bugbear's blow Verik glances anxiously over his shoulder, trying to access the wisest course of action. His ears ring from the attack and he can feel warm blood congealing beneath his breastplate, but Jemini and Berrin are in far worse states...
He looks at his companions wounds and bites his lip anxiously, but decides the best way to prevent injury is to settle things swiftly. Stepping to the side he sends his borrowed morningstar flashing towards the biggest bugbear hoping he can fell it since it seems unsteady already - leaving the heavier hitters to concentrate on the uninjured goblinoid.
Distracted by Jemini and Berrin the creature only notices Verik's cudgel ascending at the last moment and raises a powerful hand almost in time to blunt the force of the blow! But as Verik sees another failure the blessings of Abadar infuse him with a sudden surge of speed and he just manages to avoid the block the magical morningstar ploughing into the bugbear's cheek with a sickening crunch!
The creature gurgles bloody bubbles for a moment before staggering and then crashing to the ground soaked in its own gore!
Verik beams elated and relieved and gives Berrin and Jemini a little bow gesturing towards the last standing foe.
"Finish him off, then I can heal everyone up!"
Jemini, steel reeling from the tremendous impact manages to stagger around Verik and to the last standing bugbear. Her sword strikes with decent accuracy, but she cannot put enough strength behind the blow to make it tell.
Berrin grins at the cleric as he stands over the dead leader, blood covering his face from the resulting spray as the bugbear colapses with a gurgle. "Good work cleric!" he states as he watches Jemini head for the last enemy, ready to follow.
Charlie the falcon was flying through the air one night when he spied a battle raging on the ground below. 'What's going on down there?' he thought as he soared overhead. Flying down for a closer look he spotted a group of people battling against several bugbears on the rocky mountainside. With his ultra keen falcon-vision he zoomed in his view on one of the defenders: a blonde-haired archer who seemed to be picking off bugbear after bugbear.
Charlie's vision grew hazy as a flashback began to occur.
Young Charlie the falcon was sitting in his nest with his nestmates waiting for his mother to return home with his lunch. Spying her flying in on the horizon, his excitement grew - he knew he'd be eating some delicious regurgitated shrew or fieldmouse tonight! But then, just as his mother drew near, an arrow cut across the heavens and pierced his mother's heart, sending her plummeting to the ground. Shrieking out in panic, young Charlie looked over the edge of his nest to see a group of blonde-haired hunters below, cheering and moving to collect his mother's lifeless body. A single tear rolled down Charlie's downy cheek as the world grew hazy again and returned to the present.
Charlie's eyes narrowed. Now was his chance for revenge. Fortunately for Charlie's revenge plans, he had just eaten a fat juicy rabbit earlier today and was perfectly prepared for the task at hand. Flying low over the battlefield like a futuristic flying machine soaring over a warzone, Charlie clenched his muscles and delivered his payload, dropping a white-coated bombshell through the heavens and landing his sticky excretion directly in the archer's eye just as he was aiming his next shot.
'Sweet revenge. Finally my mother's spirit can rest in peace.' thought Charlie as he flew off into the sunset.
Hearing a startled yelp coming Zander's way Baeein glances over his shoulder as he follows after Jemini to see the archer holding his face and some white goo pouring out between his finger. 'Hells! What now?' flashes through his head as he turns and faces the bugbear again.
Coming in shortly after Jemini Berrin swings with allhis might, catching the bugbear in the mouth as it prepares to hollar at Jemini for her incolance. Tho only sound it makes is a disquieting gurgle as the top of it's head disapears into the night, it's body rigedly stumbles for two steps before topling over. Berrin steps up to the twitching body, preparing to strike again, but instead just spits on it as he seen thers no posible way the thing could still be alive.
As the last bugbear falls to the ground, only the sleeping one remains. He wheezes and snores, oblivious to the fact that the rest of his raiding party lays dead around him.
Tandlara walks over to the rest of the party, and looks at the sleeping bugbear.
'Poor dear. Can one of you make sure he rests more easy?' she says flatly as she looks over her companions' wounds.
'You are all quite badly injured,' she says as a worried expression wrinkling her smooth ageless face. 'Verik do you have much healing powers remaining to you? I'm afraid I did not prepare any today.'
Berrin's head snaps back and he focuses on the sleeping bugbear at Tandlara's reminder. "Sure. he mutters as he heads over to the beast with a firm grip on his sword. Standing over the sleeping goblinoid Berrin hefts his sword in a double handed grip and takes aim for the creatures neck, plunging the blade down. His aim true he nearly sever the things head from it's body. "Best sleep he'll ever get. Too bad he'll wake up in hell." he says as the blood flows freely, seeping into the mud.
"Let's search them. We might make some use of them yet." Berrin says, sheathing his sword and setting to looting the corpses.
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Verik moves everyone far enough away from the unconscious bugbears so they will not be caught in his channeling and then holds his wooden key aloft and calls forth the healing powers of Abadar. Waves of golden light pour forth lapping at the parties wounds until flesh knits back together and throbbing pains recede to memories.
"Should we keep one alive to question? It would be good to know if their tribe, or settlement is nearby for the future. I suppose they could just be lone wanderers, but it seems unlikely." As he speaks the cleric moves amidst the bodies looking for signs of life, and attempting to stabalize any of the creatures that still draw breath.
Berrin breaths a sigh of relief as the pain slowly throbs away, looking down at his bellie he examines the holes punched in it by the bugbears morningstar. "Aw, hells! It'll take me the whole evening to fix this up. My chain's taken quite a beating since I met you guys, ya know. I can't wait till Oleg gets my new plate."
"Berrin! Oh no, you've gotta Hesitate, man, don't d-"...but Taisper's shout goes unheeded, and Berrin hammers his sword down into the helpless, sleeping humanoid's throat. The inquisitor flinches, awaiting the inevitable backlash, but it never happens.
"Wh-" Taisper looks on in stunned silence as nobody does anything.
He watches, but Jemini does not throw herself on the body, channeling all her healing energy into it.
He watches, but Verik does not turn to the burly warrior and begin hurling filthy epithets at him.
B...but their auras were identical...they both attacked first...both could just have been defending territory...I don't understand...
He watches, unseen and unheeded, as the rest of the group calmly goes about discussing interrogation and looting the bodies. He feels the familiar wash of healing power issue forth from his cousin, instant relief for his rattled head coming fast with the wave of holy energy. He almost laughs out loud when Verik casually mentions keeping one alive. One was alive right there! If you wanted a prisoner... Taisper's incredulity is rapidly turning to anger. He feels it burning white-hot in his heart.
Then, understanding dawns on the teen. Orlivanch. That wasn't about Goodness. Or Law. Or anything like that. That was about me. You want me on a leash. You fear the Inquisition Branch and what we represent -- a thing you cannot control, cannot bind with mortal words and earthbound laws and useless politics and petty bribes. When you dispute the sanctity of our charter and mission, you betray the fear and doubt in your own hearts, your own unworthiness. The only time any of you are sure about anything is when you're correcting me. Inflicting your...orders...and corrupted morals on me.
Something unravels deep in Taisper's mind. He nods to himself.
Well. Fine then. If that's how it's going to be.
Quietly, Taisper re-latches his morningstar, puts his shield on his back, and aids Berrin with the bodies. "Hey great work you guys. Really great." He says, still in a soft tone. "It was pretty cool to use some of the things I learned from soldiers back at the Trading Post, Jemini, I'm sure glad you thought to suggest that."
He smiles.
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Verik watches Taisper's face and reads his cousin's train of though with what he imagines to be a degree of accuracy. In a placating voice he says,
"Taisper its not the same as with Orlivanch. There is a big difference between entering a defined area of a man's land when he has specifically forbidden you to do so and with killing someone who attacks you at your campfire at night in the mountains.
Its about what you know, or perhaps what you reasonably should know. Bugbears are almost universally known as a savage and violent race, that does not mean we should attack them out of hand, but it probably means we can reasonably denote them as evil brutes if their behavior leads to that conclusion. For example had Orlivanch beena bugbear planting all those traps I think it likely we would not have attempted to extend the benefit of the doubt to him.
Do you see the difference? None of us would have objected to you killing that creature either - or at least I would not have. There is also the fact that it was due to wake up shortly and still be a threat, whereas any of these others that survives will be easily held.
Of course we eventually discovered that Orlivanch was as bad as any savage, but importantly we only discovered that after you killed him. And yes, I would have stopped it had I thought to, but my mind was on healing first and only strayed to thoughts of interrogation once that was taken care of."[/b]
Wiping the bird excrement off of his face, Zander looks on to the rest of the party, "Ah, good job there guys. Verik could you make me some water to wash this off? That was certainly unexpected..."
Once Zander's face is clean, he moves back to the rest of the party, "Bugbears huh? I've heard plenty of tales about these things, but never seen one up close. Good work forming a line back there; we worked better as a team that fight than we have yet!"
1d20+12
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Verik gives Taisper a faintly apologetic smile before turning to Zander and nodding, "Sure thing. Let's see.. ah, this rock should do it."
He moves over to a rock with a small depression in it and chants filluing it with cool clean water. He then casts light upon the head of his borrowed morningstar and after washing his hands heads over to Berrin's pile of loot casts detect magic. He then carefully examines anything that shows signs of magic.
Taisper looks impassively at his cousin. "Do you remember what you said to me when I tried cheering you up after you were almost killed by the Tatzylwyrms, Verik? You said 'Its like we are different sides of the same coin Taisper. You know you are right, and I think that can be a weakness as well as a strength. I fear that I am wrong, or weak, or prideful.' - that's what you said to me. But I'm finding that you suddenly get conveniently sure of yourself when you're telling me what to do or how to think. There's not a trace of doubt, or weakness, in your voice."
He shakes his head. "We're not two sides of the same coin, Verik. We're two different coins. I think that's pretty clear, now."
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Verik shrugs, "Maybe cousin, but the thing is I can afford to be sure of myself, because my position is the more moderate and does not for the most part involve things that cannot be undone. With Orlivanch, once we say his basement I would have been able to change my mind with no negative consequences I can see. Had we found his huddling terrified family down there could you take back your decision?
There is a difference here, several infact, as the creature was likely to awaken soon. And if you don't think I doubt myself even in this then you are very wrong. I am not sure it is right or fair to categorize someone by their race, but still I do not think I can deny that I feel it is right to judge a bugbear by a harsher measure than a human in most instances."
"What I most objected to with Orlivanch was that you acted without hesitating when there was no reasonable need to do so..."[b] Taking a breath the cleric visibly catches himself,
[b]"Look there is no point in rehashing this, I doubt it would achieve anything. Suffice to say I see a difference, and would not have chastised you for doing what Berrin did."
Jemini wakes up from a battle stupor when the healing energies from Verik wash over her body. Her face is afire with pain that burns even after the flesh has knitted itself close. Berrin, wait she mutters, too quiet, too weak for the thoughts too be heard over her lips. She lifts a hand to her cheek and whispers a few words to Sarenrae. Somehow it dulled the burning ever so slightly.
She gets to her feet unsteadily, a grin without feeling in it. "Well, now I'm a blooded warrior," she mumbles to herself as she makes her way to the fallen. She takes a minute to steady herself and take stock of the difference in what is real, and what spirits she sees. Finally, a bit tired, she pushes herself forward, loosening the earth to create a makeshift grave for the creatures.
Seeing what Jemini is dooing he goes over to her and places a hand on her shoulder, "Make it a shallow one if you insist on digging these animals a grave, we'll burn them, quicker and cleaner."
"You'll pardon Taisper if I don't place revenous monsters on the same level as sentient humans or humanoids. Bugbears are monsters, known monsters. Orlivanch could have been anything from a crazy old cot to a posessed. Frankly, after seeing his basement I'm glad you did what you did, saved us the trouble of doing it later, but the not-knowing of it made it a cause for Hesitation." Berrin says the last word with a frown, exagerating the inflation of Taisper's use of a capital h.
"...and frog-men with giant sabre-toothed toads? What of them? Do they get to be on the same level as sentient beings? They only barely could speak our language, but the bugbears certainly could well enough to be understood. That frog-man could have been saying he wanted to eat us for all we know, and yet we all sure gave him and his the benefit of the doubt, even as none of us mistook them for friendly. The argument was even made we were possibly just on their turf. We were the aggressors. What about the bugbears? Maybe we were just on their turf. Maybe they have signs up that are clear as day warning us off, but we can't read them. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, Berrin. And don't! Talk to me! About KNOWN! Monsters. I knew Orlivanch was a monster. None of you believes me. But I did."
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"The boggard warned us off and did not attack us out of hand, the bugbears tried to attack us at night. If you cannot see a difference there Taisper I don't know what to tell you. Had the bugbears warned us off we would have reacted in the same way as to the boggard - well at least I would have. I would rather have them both as allies, but an unprovoked attack is enough to allow for deadly resiprocation to my mind - especially given we have few other practical choices for chastisement." Verik says with a hint of exasperation.
"What exactly are you arguing here Taisper? That you think it was wrong, or that it was inconsistent?"
"'Don't know what to tell me?' Well that's a lie, for starters, you know damn well what to tell me. It's what you all always tell me; 'Taisper what we do is right. What you do is wrong.' When I followed my beliefs, I was wrong and it led to fighting. Now I'm betraying my own heart and doing things your way and here I still am arguing with you people being told I'm wrong. Am I just that blasted stupid?!"
He pauses.
"Don't answer that! Look." Taisper casts a sidelong glance at Jemini. "I'm done, okay? You guys. You guys are all right about stuff, and stuff, okay? Can we just quit this? I wasn't even gonna bring anything up. You all just go back to being pals, and I'll go back over by my horse and...groom it or something. Okay? I really hate this. I know you like verbal sparring, Verik, but I don't. So find someone else to practice on. 'Cos I'm done."
Taisper takes a few rapid steps back, shaking his head. "I am completely done."
"Talking about boggards.." Berrin picks up, looking at Verik. "Why didn't we take them down? As far as ravenous monsters go, their right up there with the worst of them."
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Verik shakes his head and with thin lips turns his back on Taisper responding to Berrin. "Because they did not attack us Berrin, I've never met a Boggard and I doubt you have either, and what little I have heard hardly paints them as ravenous monsters - more like uncivilized savages, an appellation which can be applied to many human communities easily enough. If we attacked a sentient creature without provocation we would be the blood thirsty savages, not them. We go back, speak to them see if we have allies or enemies and deal with them accordingly."
"Anyway lets get rid of these bodies, the fire isn't really big enough for all of them and I doubt we will find enough wood up here. We could make a cairn, or just roll them off the mountainside, grim, but to be honest I do not feel like laboring overlong because these brutes attacked us."
Jemini still looks worse for wear - but her movements are gaining in strength, and she continues preparing graves and burying the remains. She takes a moment to reflect upon the battle, then offers a silent prayer. Sarenrae, I believe if there is any chance of redemption for these creatures, that you will be the one holding it out for them. Lamashtu, the mother of monsters, will want to claim these souls for her swollen belly; I hope that these rites in your name will allow you to burn the wickedness from their souls and redeem what remains - or purge them from this world forever if there is nothing left.
As they sort through the bugbears items, none of them have any magic whatsoever. Most of them are poor quality and not particularly well-maintained. Only the leader's belongings seem to have any quality to them, though they have a thick coat of dirt and grime. The leader also has a bit of coin in a leather bag, along with several human ears. While inspecting the bodies and checking the belongings, Verik is unable to find one that could be resuscitated.
5x Morningstar
5x Leather Armor
5x Light Wooden Shield
1x MW Heavy Flail
1x MW Studded Leather Armor
275g
"Well, you've got that nifty new spell right? The one that'll allow you to talk to it right? Why don't we just head on over there then and finish up that business? Open up trade and all that. Or maybee find out why it was so eager to see us off."
Berrin's brow furrows at Verik's last remark. "What..? I thought.. ..with the Taxfest.. ..the time it'd take n' all.. Well.. Good!" he finishes with nod and turns to buisy himself with the fire. "Comon Taisper, help me out here." he waves at the inquisitor as he sets to making the evening meal, opening cans and breakin bread.
Tandlara watches an old arguement resurface with a sad expression but stays out of the fight, keeping her counsel to herself. Human's fight, but human's forgive. I hope they can all learn to forgive.
She turns hard eyes on the bugbear bodies. Forgivness does not come so easy to my people. The old fueds run deep, I cannot show kindness of understanding to the eartakers. I will not.
Her brow wrinkles, then she turns away, not paying any more attention to what the party do with the rest of them. But should I? Am I as bad as anyone else, I am as bad as one of them?
Worried, Tandlara distances herself from the group, like Taispar she heads to the horses, but she does not share words with the young man, she leaves him to his thoughts as she soothes her mount, lost deep in her own, yet more questions stirred from the quiet placid parts of her mind that had been dormant for over a century. Where do I draw the line? When is it okay to kill without question? Can it ever be? Should I care, or embrace the hard aspects of nature? Why is every day such a challenge. She rests her head on her horses neck, breathing deep of its smell.
Quietly Jemini tells Verik, "What sets us apart is not just whether we kill or don't, but how we treat others. A proper burial or funeral pyre can help prevent these creatures from becoming restless; and there's a chance that their souls can be subsumed by a benign deity rather than Lamashtu or Rovagug or whatever foul demon they uphold."
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"I think what you do determines what happens to your soul, not how you are buried. But I suppose it does make me feel a little better, even if I am going to be exhausted tomorrow. At the end of the day it seems more civilized, and that is a good enough reason for me." Verik replies, panting slightly as he begins piling stones atop a bugbear corpse.