Razan and Elreem share a glance and nod in unison, then Razan urges Sandstreak forward roaring,
"I'll clear you a path! Aiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!"
The young summoner makes a slightly angled charge for one of the hyenas in front of the gnoll, using his lance's reach to ensure he does not block Elreem's path to the gnoll.
He strikes the creature clumsily, but the force of his thunderous charge is enough to send even a poorly angled blow tearing into the beast and hurling it back into a bloody pile!
Then he gallops on over the hyena's body flashing past the gnoll and dire hyena to end up some twenty feet behind the line of hyenas.
Then Elreem lets out a booming bestial roar, a roar that echoes across the dunes, a roar that seems to be the challenge of some creature far vaster than the roughly human sized eidolon.
And he moves like lightening blurring past the hyenas through the gap created by Razan and pouncing upon the gnoll in a whirling storm of claws and fangs!
Zahur continues to rush up to the battle, but without the benefits of the spell, continues to trail the rest of the group. Seeing the carnage his allies begin to inflict on the predatory group he can only think Glad we're on the same side in this...
Khol closes the distance and tears into one of the hyenas, but the beast still stands.
The gnoll laughs and casts again, and a cloud of sand raises from the ground to surround his pack. A once wide open field of battle now becomes a sandy, chaotic melee
Ajkanir charges into the swirling maelstrom of sand, but still connects with one of the hyenas, splitting the thing's skull and spraying its blood across the rocks and sand.
Razan, too stays on target, and skewers another of the beasts, the farthest to the left.
One of the hyenas leaps at the horse, teeth gnashing, but does not connect.
Elreem launches himself into the fray, seeking the gnoll's blood. The gnoll pulls up its right hand to shield itself, and the very earth bursts forth to interpose itself. This stymies much of the Eidolon's assault, but he still manages to claw his way to the gnoll.
The dire hyena bellows and lunges at Elreem but cannot connect.
The two smaller hyenas pile on as well, attempting to take down the eidolon as well.
The scorpion scurries into the midst of the battle with claws and stinger clutching and flexing. It smashes into one of the smaller hyenas and the tail swings forward to sting the creature.
The hyena yelps in astonishment at the attack, but persists. [ooc]-3 hp
Natasha pulls a scroll from her belt case.
”I was planning to save this for something more urgent,” the Mage grumbles as she unrolls the high-quality vellum. ”Oh, well. At least I have it… to use
Sphaeram ignis expandens!”
The scroll puffs into dust, and a single spark of flame, which hurtles directly at the spell-casting gnoll. As soon as it reaches the creature, it expands into a sphere of howling, burning doom.
[spoiler=Reflex Saves]
gnoll
hyena 1
hyena 2
dire hyena
Natasha manages to blast the remaining two hyenas to ash, the gnoll and the dire hyena manage to avoid the flames.
The blast disperses the magical sand storm, and the scene is laid clear to all.
Khol sweeps up behind the gnoll as the earth ripples around it and brings a claw in to rake at the beast's back.
"Sagittae magicae, omne errore vacuae," Natasha chants, her voice dispassionate - even disdainful. Three darts of force shoot from her fingertips, impacting with the gnoll simultaneously.
The Mage's stance changes slightly, becoming somehow more alert.
The gnoll flinches again, and the earth rises up to protect it. Khol's claw skitters off the rock.
A panicked, hideous laugh rises from the creature's chest, and Khol notices that one of it's eyes has been put out, while another, apparently plucked from some unfortunate humanoid, has been attached to a piercing in the creature's forehead. It snarls and makes a hasty retreat. Dropping to all fours, it races off across the desert, away from the party.
Natasha's magic missiles collide with the retreating creature, and it yelps in agony, but continues to run!
Seeing that his allies have the gnoll flanked, Ajkanir whirls and bounds towards the large hyena, striking at it with his scimitar.
Ajkanir's blade cuts deep, and more blood sprays across the sand. The hyena howls in agony.
"The gnoll is escaping!" Natasha shouts, her voice cracking like a whip. "There are limits to the range at which I can strike it! Unless any of you favours the idea of facing it again at a later date, do something!"
Razan bellows,
"As the Lady wishes so shall it be! Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Sandstreak surges forward mane streaming and Razan lowers his lance, but his lance is aimed poorly and he cannot land a solid hit on the gnoll. He rides on, but only until he is directly next to the gnoll, looming over it with his lance so he will have a chance to skewer it if it withdraws again - thanks to the weapons long reach.
"Aieee. Elreem turn this mangey dog into the carrion he smells of," he growls bitterly, letting the words travel to Elreem through their link.
Elreem whips into motion again shooting across the sand his paws barely seeming to touch the surface as he lets out another booming roar of challenge.
Of the onslaught of fangs, claws, and horns, only the second bite enabled by Elreem's enhanced speed hits home leaving the eidolon's fangs red with gore.
The gnoll whirls around as Elreem's jaws sink into it's leg. The creature, ragged and wounded, is still somehow standing, however.
It screams and curses in the Gnoll tongue:
I will chew the flesh from your rotten bones and ^#@! them back upon you, hideous freak-thing!
The Dire Hyena, hearing it's master's call, turns to charge at Elreem in assistance, but Ajkanir is too swift. When the monstrous thing turns to withdraw, he cuts deeply along its side, spilling foul viscera. The animal collapses with a hideous yelp.
Elreem chuckles, and shows all of his bloody teeth,
Khol sprints across the sand chasing after Elreem, Razan and the gnoll. Even under the effects of Razan's magic, Khol's speed is prodigious as he sweeps in with another claw.
Seeing most of the foes laid to ruin, Zahur orders Salt to continue to press the attack. Meanwhile, Zahur pauses in the campside and begins to look over what the gnoll has left behind as well as what they were up to.
Salt skitters across the sand after the gnoll with claws and tail clicking with anticipation the entire way. When he catches the gnoll, he lashes out again with his tail.
Whether it is ultimately the scorpion's tail or the ranger's claws that end the hideous gnoll's life could be debated endlessly; but in the end the two manage to reduce the thing to a quivering, bleeding mass of fur.
Up above, the vultures call out in apparent triumph, their once contested meal soon to become a veritable feast for the carrion birds.
The body itself lies face down, head pointing in a north, northwestern direction, splayed out as it fell.
It's not so much a campsite. What exactly the corpse seems to have died from is no longer clear, having been picked over thoroughly by the hyenas.
What can be gleaned however, is that the corpse was dead before the hyena's feast, and definitely died here.
Ajkanir turns to examine the body lying in the sand, after looking about to ensure all the hyenas are accounted for.
The remainder of the man's clothes are clearly low-quality wool, and his feet bear the remains of sandals in thick leather. An odd dust is under the few remaining finger nails.
His few teeth are worn and in terrible shape.
"This poor sod had it as hard in life as he did in death. A poor man's clothes, and rotten teeth. And look at this strange dust under his nails."
Razan casts detect magic and leaps down to investigate the gnoll very thoroughly - he checks for gold teeth and piercings. Elreem helps, though the eidolon appears a deal less enthusiastic.
"A dust you say Ajkanir. Let me have a look at that as well."
Razan detects a faint aura of transmutation, emanating from an amulet of sandstone, carved to resemble crocodile scales. The symbol on the amulet is of a crocodile, sitting upon a squat stone structure.
Otherwise, the gnoll has nothing, just a crude hide armor, and an excess of scarring.
The dust seems to be from a long time spent toiling in the rocks. Rocks similar in nature to the majority of the kind that make up the mountains just south of the party.
Razan grins in recognition and happily shows his companions the amulet, dangling it by the cord.
"It's an amulet of Natural Armor, I know this girl who keeps one just like it do rich men can whip her without it doing damage. Aiiiiieee, I think money must addle the mind, that's why I spend all of mine first chance I get! Who wants it? No good to me, it's weird, aiiiee, evertime I wear magic gewgaws where Elreem does they stop working."
"Boy, what have I told you about sharing too much?" Khol said, wiping his claws with a rag and examined the amulet.
"Zahur, does your beast require further protection?"
"How strong is this amulet?" Natasha asks as she approaches Razan and casts her own cantrip of magic detection.
Razan winks at Khol and cups his hand to his mouth as he stage whispers loudly,
"Psssst Razan, I'm going to pretend to be all tedious and pious, but I really want all the tiniest details! No matter how much I object in public please embellish to the fullest of your ability," grinning he adds, "Not in so many words, but I heard what you were not saying loud and clear."
Elreem rumbles stoically.
Razan laughs and turns to Natasha,
"Aiiieee, the lowest tier I am afraid, but still a useful bauble."
Razan chants briefly and slaps Elreem on the side creating a few slender cracks in reality that seem to leak a strange neon radiance which flows into Elreem and begins to heal his wounds. When one does not prove sufficient Razan repeats the process.
Ajkanir chuckles at Razan and Elreem's foolery, thinking, How well matched they are, master and beast..
He then turns to Khol, "An odd idea, giving this magic to a great scorpion. But he fights as one of us, and I'm sure Zahur values him greatly, so there is sense in it."
Squatting down by where Zahur is examing the unfortunate corpse, he asks "Have you any notions about the dust under his nails? Dust is a constant in the desert, but this is different somehow."
Razan eyes Salt doubtfully,
"Aieeee, but does he have a neck? Aren't his head and body basically just the same?"
"So chain it to the base of his tail," Natasha says, shrugging.
"Regardless, the beast needs better protection if Razan plans on continuing to pick fights with everything the skitters across the sands out here. Perhaps, one of you can do something about that."
Zahur chuckles softly at Khol's chiding of Razan, "I think Khol is right Razan. We need to be more cautious about who we attack. This gnoll was much tougher than I would have anticipated though we did overcome him. But, this took us away from our objective of getting to the town and to the bottom of the mystery." He holds up the hands of the dead man. "This dust. The man has been working rocks...perhaps a miner or laborer or even a prisoner. It appears consistent with the mountains south of here. But it is still a mystery how he came to be here." As he speaks Salt comes up and Zahur considers the other discussion...about protection for the scorpion. "Well, I'm certainly willing to give it a try. He doesn't have much of a neck, but I'll see if I can find an area to attach it. He shell helps against lesser creatures, but those such as the gnoll and its creatures could undoubtedly penetrate it."
Razan shrugs, with a mischievous grin dancing across his lips,
"Ah yes, five minutes for a quick scuffle in which we gained a magical item. Aiieee, my foolishness knows no bounds, I am rightfully chastised!"
"Friend Razan is mad, but he is also right in this instance. Though I must agree, the gnoll put up much more of a fight than I expected, and I don't relish the notion of encountering more such if they manage to organize themselves. But come, let us get back on our journey, and we can ponder the mystery of how the miner came down from the mountains as we travel toward them."
"There is another consideration," Natasha says. "We are headed into an area that may be housing the plague. This unfortunate" - she gestures at the corpse - "may have been from the area. If the gnoll and his pack had finished their repast and gone on their merry way, they might have become carriers for the disease. There is no telling how far it would have spread."
"Aiiiee, yes what she said.," Razan agrees, with all the sincerity of a politician.
"But let's get moving, I don't think this poor fellow has anything to tell us."
"He is telling us something right now, Razan Tresh," Natasha says, her eyes narrowing. "He is telling us that he either wants to be properly buried, or that he be returned to his loved ones so that they may make the necessary arrangements. The same goes for the gnoll. I am not a hyena; I would not leave the bodies of intelligent beings out to be picked over by scavengers."
Razan quirks a brow dubiously,
"Really, aiiieee, he's talkative and demanding for a corpse. Seems like turnabout would be fair play for the gnoll though. Circle of life? Aren't we in a hurry, with no idea who our late friends loved ones are, and a profound lack of shovels? I suppose you could cremate him some more..."
Elreem begins digging a hole.
"The dead remain silent until the living take the time to listen," Natasha says in a cryptic tone of voice.
Sand, the desert fox, trots up to Elreem, yips at the eidolon authoritatively, and starts digging in the same area.
Razan shrugs and trots off on Sandstreak to chase vultures while the others mess about with the corpses.
Elreem continues digging emitting a few huffs at the foxes oversight.
Zahur shakes his head, "Exactly, a mile detour. Time to bury the bodies or to bring them with us and find relatives. A mile back. Salt, help them bury the gnoll." As Razan chases off, Zahur meets with the others. "I do have a scroll that would allow us to learn more about this man, but I have only one and had planned to use it in our investigation of the disease. I think I should wait, but I would hear your counsel in case any of you think we should learn more."
"Zahur, that sounds like a valuable tool to have in our investigation, and I would not wish to use it on what might be an irrelevance. Is it possible for you to use it on him later, if we take a possession of his, or a lock of hair, or whatever it is your spell relies upon? That way we can learn about him if we feel it's important as our inquiries progress."
"Give me that scroll and the inks and other means I need to transcribe it, and I shall do so at our communal leisure," Natasha says. "I would even be able to draw up copies, should those become necessary."
"I only need a small amount of his blood, even a bloodstain and we can use the spell at any time. Natasha, that is an excellent idea. Alas, I do not have any ink right now, but perhaps we can procure some if no one else has any either."
"Apologies, I seem to have left my scribe's kit back in Duwwor," Khol said with a wry smile. He went and collected the mounts, checking saddles and generally preparing to get a move on.