By the time their watch is over, Jones is eager to climb into his tent and try to warm up. It takes a few hours, but eventually he will stop shivering, and even get some rest. Come morning, he will be perfectly fine!
Terril is well used to late night watches in this god-forsaken country and he makes sure Phoebee has her gear properly secured for what is coming.
Both of them manage to do just fine! The bard seems almost like a native given how well she handles the cold watch hours.
You can check on the goblins during the night, the smell that accompanies opening the tent flaps is a bit rank, but all 6 of them (3 to a tent) seem to be out like lights, snoring away, even the three that were suffering a bit during camp set up seem to have recovered and are fine.
Masym will see the flower too, once Nella points it out. Entirely out of place in the snow.
The remainder of the watch goes uneventfully. Nella seems to have gotten the hang of staying warm... that being to stay active. But there's only so much one person can do in a small camp during a snowstorm.... much less two. Masym lets her do as much as she can, and by the time the early morning light starts to lighten the sky, she's actually doing pretty well. Masym however without as much to do, hasn't fared quite so well, though he does his best to stoically hide it from the priestess as long as he can.
Come first light, he is shivering from the cold, his eyes drawn with fatigue. Though unlike the curse from the Beacon, the morning at least holds a small promise of relief.
The snow doesn't let up until Masym and Nella are on the final watch, and when the sky finally lightens, warning of a sun about to rise, they are greeted by a world turned white. It is painfully beautiful.
That serene sight however does not last long, as the morning quiet is suddenly filled with the noise of goblins fighting. Masym and Nella will recognize the sound of the Twins getting into it about something in their tent and see small avalanches of snow sliding off of it as they apparently work out their issue in the usual physical fashion.
Unfortunately, you are not the only ones drawn to the sounds and while Nella is distracted by the sea of white around her, and the goblins arguing nearby, Masym, who has far more experience standing watch in the winter, notices something not quite so white, skulking through the snow near the goblins' tent.
At the same time, both of them hear a low growl behind them, and turn in time to see two lean wolves bounding through the snow to attack!!
The wolves rush in to surround Masym, but their movements are hampered by the deep snow and they do little more then get close.
-- Round 1--
Masym (-6, fatigued), Phoebee (asleep?) <--- We are here!
BlueWolf
Frostfurs, Terril (asleep?), Jones (asleep?)
RedWolf, YellowWolf
Malusha (asleep?), Nella
Bold can go!
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He then reaches down to pluck the flower from the snow and hands it to the priestess. "Do you wish to....hold onto this?"
Masym feels a wave of fatigue chased away at seeing the incoming threat. Yelling at the top of his lungs. "UP! UP NOW! WOLVES!" He then steps outside the wolf's flank, holding position here so as to give the others time to respond.
He then fixes the wolf with his gaze while stabbing at its partner...
Masym thrusts his spear at one of the wolves, while carefully studying his other target. His weapon scores a fierce cut on the creatures side, causing it to yelp in pain, but hunger seems to be its main driving force, and it continues to harry the man. Masym then tries to step aside some, but the drifts of snow make it too difficult for such delicate maneuvering.
The initial wolf that Masym spotted, turns away from the tent it was sniffing, to bound towards the prey its two packmates have surrounded. It lunges at Masym, trying to get a hold of him and drag him to the ground. Though its teeth manage to catch, and draw blood, the creature is far too small to get the leverage to drag the larger man down.
Inside the goblin tent, the Twins suddenly stop fighting with each other and suddenly are hurrying to get outside, as they fight the tent flaps instead, they get only as far as getting the flap open, however. They seem quite excited as they spot the wolves. All the other goblins are quiet at the moment.
-- Round 1--
Masym (-2, 6 non-lethal, fatigued)
BlueWolf, Fritz & Deiter, Other Frostfurs (asleep?)
Phoebee (asleep?), Terril (asleep?), Jones (asleep?)
RedWolf (-5), YellowWolf
Malusha (asleep), Nella
Bold can go (but only a single action if they failed the first DC 10 perception check)
Those not already awake, because of the goblins, start to do so as they hear Masym shouting and the sounds of combat. They reach for weapons and start trying to get out of the tents, but it is not a quick process.
, plus trip
, plus trip
,
Outside, all three wolves continue to harry their chosen prey, surrounding him and trying to drag him down to the ground. One of them manages to get a bite in.
-- Round 1--
Malusha (waking), Nella <--- We are here!
-- Round 2--
Masym (-5, 6 non-lethal, fatigued)
BlueWolf, Fritz & Deiter, Other Frostfurs
Phoebee, Terril, Jones
RedWolf (-5), YellowWolf
Bold can go
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All the commotion outside finally pierced into Malusha's sleep induced unconsciousness and he slowly woke up. Terril nearly stepped on him while trying to get out of the tent, hastening his waking up. "What's going on?" he asks and then realizes that someone is attacking the group. He rolls out of his bedroll, grabs his weapons, and scurries out of the tent on all fours.
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Nella gasps with delight as the plucked flower turns into a beautiful crystalline flower. "I...yes, yes I would," she smiles at the warrior, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy. "Thank you."
She carefully tucks the flower into her robes and offers a small prayer of thanks to Shelyn for what she saw as a good omen.
"Masym! Hold on!" the priestess cries as the others finally begin emerging from their tents. She draws out one of her wands and swirls it in an arc, encompassing the camp.
Malusha finally gets woken up, as Terril struggles to get up and out of the tent nearly stepping on him. The Garundi man barely has time to grab his weapon however as his head is still a little sleep addled trying to process what's going on.
Nella, seeing Masym beset, pulls out a wand, and invokes a blessing for everyone.
Masym, for his part, is having troubles in the deep snow. He stabs out at the injured wolf, but his blow comes nowhere near, as he simultaneously throws himself back and away, doing a partial roll in the snow to come back to his feet, covered in snow but momentarily out of the reach of two of the wolves.
The wolves continue to harry him, however, one of them coming around the back of its mate waiting for its chance to strike, the three of them all acting in concert now to bring down their prey!
Meanwhile, Fritz and Deiter manage to free themselves from the confines of their tent with exhilarated squeals and they rush across snow that's almost over their heads, towards the nearest wolf like it was some long lost friend. Neither of them has a weapon in hand.
One of them tries to leap up onto the back of the wolf, which snaps at them angrily in startled surprise. Before he can get a good hold, his brother pushes him aside and manages to climb onto the wolf's back instead.
Unfortunately, these wolves are younger specimens, and not fully developed due to lack of food. They are barely bigger then the goblins and the Twin's weight on its back starts to sink them both into the snow. Fritz (or is it Deiter) doesn't seem dissuaded by this fact, and makes motions as if to spur the wolf on and away... despite the fact the wolf looks not the least bit interested in complying.
Deiter (or perhaps Fritz), wails in annoyance at having been beaten by his brother in their quest to get on the nearest wolf. He turns his attention to the next lupine in line, yelling goblin curses at his brother the entire time.
You still detect no sign of activity from the other goblins.
-- Round 2--
Masym (-5, 6 non-lethal, fatigued)
Fritz & Deiter, Other Frostfurs (sleeping?)
Phoebee, Terril, Jones <--- We are here!
RedWolf (-5), BlueWolf (mounted), YellowWolf
Malusha, Nella
Bold can go
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With Terril out of the tent there is a bit more room for Malusha to move around. He roll out of his bedroll, weapons in hand, and crawls out of the tent. His hands push into the fresh snow just outsdie the tent flap, sinking up to his elbows, "Ouch!" he cries, more in shock than pain. He struggles to pull his hands free without planting his face as well. Within a couple seconds he gets the rest of the way out of his tent and stands. Then he sees what all the commotion is about.
Malusha manages to crawl out of the tent, surprised by how much snow has accumulated since his earlier watch.
Nella calls for a blessing from Shelyn to protect Masym, as she moves closer to the fray.
Masym continues to hold his own, trying to drive off the wolves with his spear, but they prove too quick for him to get a solid blow in.
Atop the one wolf, one Twin tries to spur it to action, pointing away from the camp, and yelling at it encouragingly. The wolf does not seem inclined to go anywhere.
The other twin, runs over to another wolf, the one injured by Masym. He yells angrily at Masym before trying to throw himself onto that wolf as well. The wolf snaps at him angrily, teeth bared, having none of it. The goblin finds himself unable to follow his brother's example though, which elicits some commentary from the more successful Twin and more angry goblin curses from the other still on the ground.
You start to hear goblin voices from one of the tents as apparently some of them finally start to wake up to all the noise.
-- Round 3 --
Masym (-6, 6 non-lethal, fatigued, +2 AC)
Frostfurs
Phoebee, Terril, Jones <--- we are here!
RedWolf (-5), BlueWolf (mounted), YellowWolf
Malusha, Nella
Group Buffs: Bless (+1 to hit)
Bold can go
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Now she will inspire confidence singning Fifteen birds in five fir trees,
their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!
what funny little birds, they had no wings!
Oh what shall we do with the funny little things?
Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot;
fry them, boil them and eat them hot?
Burn, burn tree and fern!
Shrivel and scorch! A fizzling torch
To light the night for our delight,
Ya hey!
Phoebee exits the tent and is staring right down the muzzle of two of the wolves, though both currently seem somewhat distracted (and irritated) by goblins. Nonplussed, she starts up a song to inspire her allies.
Finally free of the tents, Jones and Terril circle around through the knee-deep snow, trying to get into a better position to help. Jones stops part way to take a shot with his bow, but the arrow goes wide. Terril continues on, flanking one of the wolves with Masym.
,
,
That wolf, sensing a new foe, snarls a warning, though it continues trying to bring down the wounded Masym to no avail.
The wolf with the goblin on its back keeps attempting to get its jaws on its tormentor, though somehow Deiter (or perhaps Fritz) manages to avoid getting bit as he yells encouragement to his attacker. Next to them, the injured wolf turns on the other twin still trying to clamber on its own back, biting the goblin with a vicious snap of its jaws.
Fritz (or was that one Deiter?) gives a yelp of pain, then starts chiding the wolf in goblinoid.
-- Round 3 --
Malusha, Nella <--- we are here!
-- Round 4 --
Masym (-6, 6 non-lethal, fatigued)
Frostfurs
Phoebee, Terril, Jones
RedWolf (-5), BlueWolf (mounted), YellowWolf
Group Buffs: Bless (+1 to hit), Inspire Courage (+1 to hit, +1 to damage)
Bold can go!
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As the others pour out of the tents Nella continues to struggle forward through the snow, angling slightly more towards the goblin tents in an effort to stay out of the way.
With the Twins now in the midst of the battle as well Nella sighs and repeats her prayer to Shelyn, now asking for protection for Fritz (Deiter?) who doesn't seem to know when to quit.
While Malusha loads his crossbow, trying to find a clear shot, Nella once again calls for a blessing from Shelyn, although this time to protect a goblin.
Masym decides on a better way to protect him though, and finally lands a solid jab with his spear. The wolf already injured from previously, and distracted by the goblin trying to climb on it, gives out a brief yelp of pain, before collapsing unmoving to the ground.
Both Fritz and Deiter emit angry howls of their own as the wolf falls, though their anger seems directed at the human. The one on the wolf shouts something to his brother as he holds out his hand. The other rushes over and hops on top of the wolf along with him.
The wolf tries to bite him as he does so, but is quickly overloaded, as now two goblins clamber on his back, both of them bouncing up and down yelling at it apparently trying to get it to run off carrying them both. All three of them sink into the snow, any attempt at going anywhere impossible.
Back at the tent, you hear the goblins inside for a second, then there is the sound of tearing canvas. A sword is suddenly thrust through the tent from the side. The tearing continues as the blade traces a vaguely arc-like pattern, and a large swath of canvas falls away.
Mogs steps through it talking quickly in goblinoid. Storc follows her out. Behind them, you see Bloodgash, sword still in hand. All of them look suddenly excited to see the wolves as well and Storc suddenly starts 'singing' again, his off-tune shrill voice lancing across the snow.
Wolves come to take Frostfurs away
From Longshanks who make us walk all day.
Away across the snow to roam
And maybe make our way back home!
-- Round 4 --
Masym (-6, 6 non-lethal, fatigued)
Frostfurs
Phoebee, Terril, Jones <--- we are here!
BlueWolf (unhappy!), YellowWolf
Malusha, Nella
Group Buffs: Bless (+1 to hit), Inspire Courage (+1 to hit, +1 to damage)
Bold can go!
Jones fires an arrow that sinks deeply into the flank of one of the wolves. It yelps in pain as it lashes around to bite at the offending arrow. Terril tries to finish it off, but the animal's erratic motions cause him to just miss.
The wolf seems to decide that this food is not worth the pain, and limps off through the snow, tail tucked, leaving a small trail of blood in the white drifts as it goes, barely visible in the predawn light.
The other remaining wolf, nearly buried beneath two enthusiastic goblins and neck deep in snow, decides it too has had enough. But, unlike its packmate, it has less options. He takes a vicious bite at one of the goblins, as it tries to get out from underneath them.
,
It manages to score a minor gash on the uninjured twin's leg as it struggles. Somehow, both goblins fail to hang on, and the wolf breaks free. Finally out from under its tormentors, it decides to flee before they can jump on it again.
One of the twins lands face first in the snow only a pair of legs poking out of the drift, kicking frantically. The other one manages to land right side up and wails as the wolf runs away, holding out his hands pleadingly.
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"N-no..." Nella finally manages, shaking her head. "They all went after Masym...guess he looked like a tastier target," she laughs weakly. "Thank you for asking though," she smiles at Malusha.
With the threat ended, the priestess takes a calming breath or two before looking around at everyone. "Who else got hurt besides Masym and the Brothers Wolfrider?"