Björn responds to his shield mate's question. "Saga hennar að segja. Það eru úlfur shamen sem myndi furða á feldinum ég vera."
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The northman stops at the sound of rustling and turns to the snarl from the other side.
At their appearance from the brush, he recalls the tales of such beasts. Horribly cruel creatures which stalk all manner of prey, but humanoids a favorite. Fiercely grinning, the brutish giantkin quips, "Tveir fleiri pelts fyrir mig að vera í."
"You will find, I am too spicy a dinner for you to swallow" Rayla's tone is relatively cheerful and the tip of her blade twitches as she has difficulties deciding whether or not to attack at once - they are likely not expecting their "prey" to take initiative, which would give Rayla the advantage. The problem is - unless you you're a necromancer - it's generally easier to talk to the living than with the dead. A peaceful solution seems unlikely and working towards it may be risky, but it also may prove worthwhile. She becomes more cool and focused and takes a step towards one of the wolves in order to be able to protect her companions.
She continues while she watches the closest werewolf warily and shifts her stance and the angle of her blade to the slightest motion of the beast. Her motions have something fluent like liquid steel and thus is the elegant, yet cool tone in which she dresses her words.
"We found four dead bodies, human men, and while some parts of them were missing it didn't like anything tried to eat them. A rune was carved in their foreheads and they were hung up in a tree. Was that your doing? What happened to the goblins that passed by here? Did you eat some of them or just let them pass by? Did they have a prisoner?"
While the others do the talking, Kylar searches his memory for what he knows about these creatures.
I have a stick, perhaps they like to play fetch? he thinks as he ponders how much protection the staff is likely to afford him - and the knowledge that as a lean, unarmored individual the worgs may very well see him as an inviting target.
The wolves laugh at Rayla's questions.
"So what if we did?"
"So what if it was our doing?"
"It does not change that we are hungry."
"Yes! Hungry forrr yourrrr FLESH!"
Both worgs leap at Rayla, going for her arms. The first's jaws snap short. The second bites into her forearm, trying to drag her down. Rayla keeps her feet though.
(AC 12)
Worg 1: 26hp
Worg 2: 26hp
Unable to risk his more powerful offensive spell without hitting Rayla Kylar lashes out at the mind of one of the wolves.
Helena knows nothing of worgs. The sight of a talking wolf alarms and confuses her, but she grips her spear in a battle-stance anyway. Steeling herself, she raises one hand high, crying "Bíodh misneach agus a bhaint amach fíor!"
Delilah aimed and fired at the worg that missed Rayla.
After firing, she got as much distance as possible from the beast's.
Face split wide by his smile, Björn charges one of the worgs, his scythe flashing in the dappled sunlight coming through the leaves.
As Björn charges one of the brute wolves, Skäne lets fly with a taunt and his spear at the other;
"You and your kin will be fine pelt on our backs Worgr!"
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(AC 12)
Worg 1: 12 hp
Worg 2: 14 hp
Rayla is almost relieved as it gets to action. It's not really a matter of engaging in a fight it's more a matter of unleashing the energy that she can hardly hold back anyway.
Wilhelm:
Worg 1: 12 hp
Worg 2: 14 hp
(AC 14)
Worg 1: 12hp
Worg 2: 14hp
"Sweet! So Sweet!" The worg that had bitten Rayla said before being attacked. It didn't matter to him that he was bleeding, for now, his onely focus was on gobbling up as much of Rayla as he could. His jaws snap close on her leg this time, and twist of his neck sends the woman to the ground.
The other snarls at Skane as the northman opens a gash along his back. The worg leaps at him and only manages to make the northman step back as his jaws try, and fail, to bite into his legs.
Wilhelm doesn't fair much better. After moving his bow to his off hand and drawing his sword, he only just barely manages to avoid gutting Rayla as she goes down.
"Damn, I can hear their blusterin' jabs a'ready." He curses under his breath.
At the ease with which the worg shrugged off his mental attack, Kylar switches tactics. He points a single imperious finger at the worg which had attacked Skane, energy crackling along the surface of his skin.
An arc of electricity leaps out, for a brief moment connecting wizard and foe.
Delilah loads her crossbow again and fires on the Worg Kylar just shocked.
Rayla screams in anger and frustration as the lousy little beast actually manages to take her down and thrusts her sword against it.
Helena flares with fury, moving in and thrusting her spear at the worg. The sleeves of her robes fly out as she does so, cloaking her temporarily in grey; as they flutter down, her normally serene face is twisted in anger and hate.
The druid scythes through the neck of the worg he had already wounded.
Skäne grins as he avoids the brute's snapping jaws and draws his ax and brings it viciously to bear on his foe;
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Bjorn slices through the neck of the worg mauling Rayla. The other one, realizing he's out matched runs for it.
Delilah put her crossbow on her shoulder and smirked, "Well, that was a bit underwhelming."
Rayla did hardly realize that she was close to the edge, but when the worgs run and the heat of the moment passes she realizes how exhausting that has been. She breaks in sweat and breathes heavily.
"Ouch" she mentions. "Well, we did learn that I am best served raw, but not if those guys had anything to do or knew anything about the disappearances" she says over her breath. She sighs as picks herself off the ground. When she comes to clean her blade after the fight she realizes that it still is mostly clean and grimaces in dismay.
She gets a bottle of water out of her backpack and tries to carefully clean her wounds. "Ouch! So... hmmmm... what now? Chase it or continue chasing the goblins?"
Ignoring the dismissive comments of others, Helena crouches beside Royla, looking over her leg. "You got lucky," she mutters, half to the barbarian, half to herself. "You were nearly done for." Shaking her head, she places both hands on the bare flesh of Rayla's leg, eyes momentarily glowing green as she whispers in the musical language: "Cé an wilds iarracht a shárú dúinn, mairfidh againn."
Seeing the ragged bite close up - mostly, anyway - she nods, helping the woman clean off the wound. She then stands, still leaning on her spear. "I'd suggest we follow the lead we already have. It seems the safest way. If he comes back, we'll be ready for him."
"They were looking for food. That of fair maidens just happens to be their favorite." Wilhelm says in reply to Delilah.
After Rayla is healed and bandaged, the group goes out on the trail again. Pausing only long enough to eat something for the noon meal. Hours drag on and the trail becomes harder to follow. The trees grow darker and more menacing the deeper everyone goes.
Until suddenly you come upon a clearing covered by a huge, dead oak. The branches and limbs acting like the roof of some hut.
Rayla looks down in embarrassment as Helena comes to treat her wounds, suffering more from the fact that she is severly wounded without having dealt any wounds to the enemy, than from the pain itself. She looks down and bites her lower lip.
Her face brightened seriously as Helena cast her spell and the warmth of being cured floods through Rayla’s body and when she notices the green glow in Helena’s usually milky eyes a smile plays around the the corners of Rayla’s mouth. She continues she complements the wise woman’s sentence.
”Thank you… that feels a lot better.” She adds in the common tongue after Helena is done and test her freshly healed limbs.
With the rest of the group she makes after the goblins again...
Kylar is relieved when the surviving worg disappears back into the foliage. It was not natural for predators to stick around when so obviously outclassed. Though possessed of speech, it was obvious that intelligence was something which still escaped those beasts.
An impressive, if ominious, specimen, thinks the wizard. He whispers to his fellows: "May be other goblins about. Careful."
Helena clutches her spear progressively tighter as the woods deepan and darken. "This is nothing like the forests of home," she mutters, to no-one in particular.
Björn grins broadly at his handiwork. Kneeling down to the carcass, he pulls out a short broad leaf blade and begins to ply the pelt from the flesh. Taking his time, he peels back the skin, scraping the remaining gore from it's inside before rolling it up and strapping it to his pack.
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Stalking forward, the woodsman tries to remain aware and quiet as he progresses.
Skäne collects his spear with a nod at his oar-brothers work;
" A fínn sigurtákn bróðir. Gods tilbúnir það verða fleiri ..."
A fine trophy brother. Gods willing there will be more...
As the group approach the auld oak, the big Northman eyes the timber sentinel and its locale with keen interest;
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The air grows colder as the sun sets. The forest grows darker as the day begins to rapidly fade. Everything is quiet and still, as if the very woods had died along with the ancient oak that dominated the clearing.
The wizard takes a couple more steps towards the great oak, looking for the 'tribe symbol' the goblin captives claimed had been carved on it, as well as any other signs of use or alteration nearby.
Delilah, with a loaded crossbow, moved off to one side so the warrior types could get a straight line to charge if anything nasty popped out of the tree.
Björn stalks towards the tree peering about for any holes at it's base wherein the goblins might hide.
Rayla pulls her blade and holds it defensively while she looks around. The poor figure she cut earlier on makes her somewhat more careful, but she doesn't see any sign of an immediate threat, as remarkably the scenery is.
"We better make sure nothing's hiding beneath the overhanging branches." she says and steps forward to do so.
Not being of much use in scouting, Helena stays back with Wilhelm. Her cloudy eyes flick around the clearing; her heart seems to slow as the dead oak fills her vision. As always, she keeps a hand on her spear; the other hangs limp at her side.
As the party splits up to investigate, Seven goblins jump form the underbrush and attack. Another, taller goblin sneers as he moves from the trees and draws his bow.
"Well, well, looks as if the first batch of rats didn't do the job, hmm?"
Goblin 1 vs Rayla
Goblins 2-3 vs Bjorn:
Goblins 4-5 vs Helena:
Goblins 6-7 vs Delilah:
The goblins fling themselves into the fray with gusto. One manages to open a gash on Helena's thigh. The two on Delilah manage to get her in the arm and her belly, staining her clothes with her blood.
The scythe wielding northman swings low, but manages to miss the little blighter.
Helena cries out as the dogslicer bites deep into her thigh, opening a ragged cut. Fear in her milky eyes, she steps up next to Kylar, awkwardly jabbing her longspear at the goblin that attacked her.
Clutching the nasty wound on her belly, Delilah staggered back towards Kylar and Skäne.
Helena cries out as the dogslicer bites deep into her thigh, opening a ragged cut. Fear in her milky eyes, she steps up next to Kylar, awkwardly jabbing her longspear at the goblin that attacked her.
[dice=Attack on goblin #4]1d20+2
As Delilah stumbles backward, Skäne moves forward to provide possible defence with his shield
The Northman simultaneously stabs forth with his spear at the nearest goblin ;
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For a heartbeat Rayla is completely flabbergasted how the nasty little critters managed to actually fool them even though she manages to deflect the goblins attack to effortlessly, but the thought comes to an immediate halt when she hears Delilah's cry of pain right next to her. The world immediately reduces to vague impulses, positions of enemies, motions, attack angles, coloured in red and black. The rest falls prey to her furious anger. Seeing Skäne already deal with the goblins that threatened Delilah she strikes the one in front of her.
Cursing himself for failing to notice the goblins hidden amongst the foliage, Kylar shies away from the goblins nearest him and lets loose with a spell as soon as Delilah staggers out of the way of the best victims.