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Dru is out of breath, and nearly about to faint. Her voice trembles, and she is slurring her words-even if she had no drinks.
You've done what you could Taddy. I'm here to protect you all, you know... Bodyguard stuff and all...Couldn't protect you last time from ze knives wieldin" man.. had to pay ze price. Just gimme some time to rest.
Nearly beat zem all by miself, no? Bravoldru....
She crumbles on the soggy ground, panting.
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After a bit of a rest and some water that mostly just gets thrown up again, Dale rises unsteadily to his feet "We should keep going.. staying here we may not get better. If we can get to the Elves we've got a chance." He says, hacking up another ball of phlem and blood.
"I bet this debt to be repaid is about to double... heh..." He says as he pulls out his compass to check the direction before hobbling down the path once more with his tree branch, waving the others along.
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Despite everyone's flagging health, you decide to press on to Ekujai territory. After a brief rest, it is hard peeling yourselves off the ground to move on, when all you want to do is continue to lay there... but move on you do.
Despite Dale trying to play guide again, he doesn't last long at the front, eventually lagging to the back along with Dru, both of them breathing heavily before you've gone more then a mile. Brady, Faliana, and Monty take turns in the lead, clearing vines and undergrowth, the rest following along behind.
Progress is slower then you'd have hoped, and so it is that you are still on the trail when the rain starts up again, around four in the afternoon like clockwork. You think you're close to Ekujai territory, but you're not certain... one patch of jungle blending in to the next by now... especially once the rain starts falling.
And so it is, that when you do eventually come across a faint path, it takes a moment to realize it... and a moment longer to realize you're not the only ones in the area, as a warning cry goes up ahead of you.
Through the rain and jungle, you see a small group of people in a clearing ahead. There are two humans, one of whom called the warning, but both of whom are leveling heavy crossbows in your direction. Along with them is a half-elf, with obvious mwangi ancestry, and a distinctive snake-like badge. There are also two elf captives. Both with their hands bound and in obvious poor physical condition.
One of the humans points out the wayfinder hanging off Monty's staff, cursing.
"Pathfinders!" He growls, with obvious contempt and doesn't even wait before firing his crossbow through the intervening trees at Brady in front!
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Luckily, the bolt doesn't make it through, thunking into a branch just in front of Brady's head.
- Round 1 ----------
Drusilla, Tad <-------- We are here!
pink, green, yellow
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Faliana (fatigued), Monty (fatigued)
Coincidentally, the two non-fatigued PC's go first!
As Tad moves forward, hoping to draw their fire from his friends, Dru returns fire of her own. The men are hard to spot through the heavy jungle cover, and the rain plays havoc with the arrows coming off the string, yet still, she manages to thread her shot through all of it, striking her target!
Both the men with crossbows pull out potions and quickly guzzle them down, while the third man withdraws a scroll, and reads it quickly before the rain washes out the inks. You suddenly see multiple images of him form. Where once there was just one, now four identical copies stand.
"These two were bound for the markets." He calls. "A few more will only sweeten that pot!"
- Round 1 ----------
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Faliana (fatigued), Monty (fatigued) <-------- We are here!
- Round 2 ----------
Drusilla, Tad
pink +, green (-7)+, yellow x 4
Party is up!
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Dale lifts his head up, his thick, long brown hair soaked with rain, sweat, and all manner of vegetation "Are you serious? Longest week of my life, even worse than when I tested that new hair growth elixir on myself, at least that mostly wore off..." He says, shaking his sloppy mane. He pulls out a vial of his own and drinks it down. Trudging forward, his feet feeling like he's dragging iron shackles through the spongy earth, up the path ahead of Dru, drawing out his crossbow.
He looks up at Dru with a half hearted smile "Survival of the fittest Dru... lets be a bit more fit than they today..."
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Brady starts hurrying down the path, trying to close on these slavers as soon as he can, but taking some measures to protect himself from any incoming arrows as best as he can.
Martial Flexibility (Ex): A brawler can take a move action to gain the benefit of a combat feat she doesn't possess. This effect lasts for 1 minute. The brawler must meet all the feat's prerequisites. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + 1/2 her brawler level (minimum 4 times per day).
The brawler can use this ability again before the duration expires to replace the previous combat feat with another choice.
If a combat feat has a daily use limitation (such as with Stunning Fist), any uses of that combat feat while using this ability count toward that feat's daily limit.
Benefit: You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to use this feat. Once per round when you would normally be hit with an attack from a ranged weapon, you may deflect it so that you take no damage from it. You must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed. Attempting to deflect a ranged attack doesn't count as an action. Unusually massive ranged weapons (such as boulders or ballista bolts) and ranged attacks generated by natural attacks or spell effects can't be deflected.
Both Tad and Dru throw ammunition into the surrounding foliage to little effect, the later not able to come even close to repeating the accuracy of her previous shot.
The rest of the Pathfinders move up, Dale going with Dru to the west, while the others head down the southern path.
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The two men fire the crossbows once again, the first trying to target Dale through the trees, the other getting a bead on Monty in the bushes, though neither has any luck through the dense foliage. With curses, they both toss their crossbows aside and each draws a hatchet.
The half-elf in the back sneers. "I am no slaver!" He growls. "Merely an opportunist! They attacked us. These two fare better then the rest did. Better then these animals deserve!"
He peers through the trees, watching Faliana approaching, and his next comments seem directed at here. "Were they friends of yours, little half-breed?" He adds, his tone mocking. "I assure you, you are less then nothing to them!"
He starts muttering arcane words, and throws one hand out in her direction. A magical bolt of elemental energy flies out of it... lancing towards the medium, whatever it is made of burning away leaves and branches in its path. It strikes Faliana squarely, and where it does, her clothes and skin start to dissolve and burn as well!
- Round 2 ----------
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Faliana (-7, fatigued), Monty (fatigued) <-------- We are here!
- Round 3 ----------
Drusilla, Tad
pink +, green (-7)+, yellow x 4
Party is up!
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Dale's head snaps up as he hears arcane words being spoken, however he was too late to catch all of the hand motions to figure out just what was cast.
Dale decides to return fire on the man in Green, knowing full well his state of health put him at a disadvantage.
However it goes off just as he starts to bring it to his shoulder and the bolt hardly even heads in the right direction. Well that was embarrassing...
Dale continues hobbling down the path, taking his time climbing over some downed trees as he goes north.
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Faliana just heaves a sigh as she moves up through the forest. When she gets closer and catches a glimpse of the two elves tied up, she seems to perk up a little, intent on helping the men. She catches sight of the other half-elf, but he apparently catches sight of her at the same time. His words seem to cause something to snap in the woman. "Good bloody grief are you one to talk. You don't know an Asmodeus damned thing about me or my life. But I'll give you a biiiggg hint."With this she takes a moment to gesture at her vibrantly colored clothes and shows off the multiple, distinctly Varisian style choices she has embellished them with. "Even a moron could tell I probably have nothing to do with these elves. And as a final note, both of my parents were Half-elves, so I'm not a half breed, which, given your propensity to immediately defend yourself from criticism, is something I don't think we can say about you."
While she starts off on the man, Faliana hefts her spear and starts to advance through the trees getting closer to the ass of a man who just shot an acid blob at her.
_________
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Brady begins to push his way through the underbrush to make his way to the slavers. "It makes no difference why you've taken slaves; once you've done it, you're a slaver! I don't believe that you're so thick that you don't know even that much!"
He lashes out at the man in front of him, trying to land a single blow.
Brady and Monty both push their way through the overgrowth, to close with the nearest Aspis agent... but the rigors of the journey thus far are clearing weighing on them, as neither of them are able to come even close to striking the man. In fact, when Monty tries to upend him, he catches his staff in the crook of his axe, and pulls it right out of the vanaran's hands, sending it spinning off into the trees nearby with a laugh. He promptly reverses his axe, whipping it across backhand, and cuts a long painful gash across Monty's chest. A second axe appears in his other hand, cutting back the other way, adding a second parallel gash to mirror the first. He then steps to his right, to better guard his leader.
Seeing how much trouble they're having, Tad moves up behind Monty and gives him a small blessing from Sarenrae to guide his next attack.
Both Faliana and Dru, manage to catch up to them as well, though not enough to go on the offensive. Faliana expecially, is having some issues, as the acidic missile that hit her earlier, continues to burn away at her flesh! The worst of it seems to have passed though.
Dale, taking the other path with some difficulty, tries to thread a shot through the trees and rain, and quickly realizes just how hard that shot is going to be, as his bolt simply disappears into the jungle with no sign of it coming out the far side.
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As you get closer, you realize that both of the Aspis guards seem to be already wounded, clearly whatever conflict they had with the elves was not without cost.
The other guard steps into the space the first just left, a second axe suddenly appearing in his hand as well. He starts to swing both weapons in long arcs, trying to keep you at length, so as not to get swarmed. His first swing is at Monty, trying to finish what his partner started. Once more, the vanaran is struck by sharp metal, and all the cuts finally prove to be too much, as Monty falls to the jungle floor . With a satisfied nod, he then reverses his next axe, sending it slashing at Drusilla to Monty's left. Only her armor keeps her from getting disemboweled by the powerful swing!
The half-elf man in charge laughs, a mean, contemptuous sound. "The points on your ears speak more truth then the drivel out of your mouth, woman!" He growls, as he takes a few steps away, and starts to cast again. A moment later a sickly green ray shoots from his hand, striking Faliana dead in the chest. The greenish radiance soon spreads across her entire body.
- Round 3 ----------
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Faliana (-7, fatigued), Monty (-27, prone, dying, fatigued) <-------- We are here!
- Round 4 ----------
Drusilla (-6), Tad
pink +, green (-7)+, yellow x 4
Party is up!
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This is it. We've finally taken on too much. Pathfinder Society, you have done me in, but I'll go down swinging nonetheless. At least this latest crew has been among the best I've worked with.
Brady, sorely disheartened by the fatigue of their travel, and the diseases ravaging all of their bodies, is now just wishing for an honorable death. He takes another swing at the man in front of him, hoping that maybe he take one down with him before he himself falls.
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Dale hobbles along the path with great haste, feet sucking in the damp earth and rivulets of rain running down his hair and face "I'm comin!" Oh hey.. is that another spell hrm.. Damn you hair!
He gets into the clearing and while he's starting to breath heavily already, he pulls out another black sphere from his belt. "This should help a bit I hope!" He says out loud as he shakes it violently, causing him to cough a bit violently as well, and tosses it through the rain at the feet of the men with axes. "Oh, excellent aim!"
Brady continues to throw punches at the closer Aspis guard, but his tired blows come no nearer connecting.
As Monty falls bleeding at his feet, Tad is quick to react... with one smooth motion he pulls a wand from his belt, and uses it to send a pulse of healing energy into the fallen vanaran. As the worst of the bleeding stops, Monty slowly comes back to consciousness, though judging by the pains radiating through his body, he is still gravely wounded. He finds himself laying on the wet jungle floor, rain cascading down on his face. It would almost be peaceful, if not for the pain and the battle waging beside him.
On the far side of the clearing, Dale finally finishes coming around the far path. He quickly mixes an explosive and lobs it towards the two guards. Despite the chaotic movement of melee, and the rain making his hands slippery, he manages to drop it right behind them, and it explodes... sending a swath of flame washing over both, and almost getting the recently conscious Monty in the face where he lay.
Neither guard is able to dodge the flames and cry out in pain as they get singed. Knowing he has no better options, Monty immediately tries to take advantage of their distraction. From the ground, he starts to spin and kick out at them, the wet ground suddenly proving advantageous! The heel of his right foot connects solidly with the rightmost guard's stomach... and he lets out a loud expulsion of air, before collapsing to the ground beside the monk. As Monty continues to spin, his left foot smacks into the guard on his left, causing him to grunt in pain, but it was not nearly hard enough to take him out of the fight. That guard's eyes turn towards the monk laying vulnerable on the ground at his feet.
Luckily, whatever payback he has on his mind, never gets too go far beyond the planning stage, as Dru steps in to defend her teammate. Her morning star hits the Aspis guard solidly across the side of the head, and he falls in a heap to join his companion, blood flowing everywhere.
- Round 4 ----------
Drusilla (-6), Tad, Faliana (-7, fatigued) <-------- We are here!
yellow x 4
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Monty (-18, prone, fatigued)
Faliana left to go!
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Faliana narrows her eyes at the other half-elf and slowly stalks
out of the forest at him. She takes the blast of energy full across the chest, but the energy's sapping effect does cause her to falter for a second, but her eye-contact with the man doesn't break for a second. "I should have realized you aren't smart enough to listen to what a person says. But if anything I say does get through to your hypocritical pea-brain of yours let it be this: 'Friends gone, us many and more elves, so run. NOW.'"
As she gets next to the man, Faliana takes a moment to mentally review some of the techniques that Brady taught her about how to kick with finesse instead of brute strength.
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Faliana feels her strength sapped from her body. In her weakened condition, she moves up to confront the Aspis spell-caster, tuning her fighting style to rely more on quickness, then power.
The half-elf man glowers at her... and everyone else, as his guards go down... but not willing to concede the fight, as he can see how poorly you're doing.
"It would seem the jungle has been taking its toll." He sneers. "Most novices underestimate it. But there are far worse things lurking out there in the darkness..."
He steps away from Faliana as more arcane words roll of his tongue.
Suddenly, Drusilla feels a wave of terror washing over her!
- Round 4 ----------
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Monty (-18, prone, fatigued)
- Round 5 ----------
Drusilla (-6), Tad, Faliana (-16, fatigued) <-------- We are here!
yellow x 4
Party is up!
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Dale watches with interest as the man casts another spell, this time he gets a good look at it and hollers it out to the others "Resist the fear, it won't last long!"
Dale then takes another few steps to get a good clear shot at the man and his 3(?) copies "Hrm, looks like you've brought some backup there with all those copies. Lets see all of you dodge this blast!"
He draws, shakes, and tosses yet another explosive at his feet, not wanting to risk not only his friends but the captive Elves with a bad throw.
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"Way to go Monty..." The fatigue saps even his enthusiasm; it takes a beat for Brady to seemingly recognize that Monty just swept both guards out from in front of him, and he absent-mindedly gives his congratulations.
He surveys the scene, and see that it's just the leader that's left. Though, there are two or three of him; is that magic, or just a new disease working inside Brady's body? That's a question for later; Brady moves forward to engage the man.
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Still unsure of his ability to throw, and worried about collateral damage, Dale lobs another bomb towards the Aspis leader, trying to land it right at his feet away from the prisoners.... unfortunately his concerns prove well-founded, as his wet grip on the flask slips at the last moment. Instead of landing at the man's feet, it ends up crashing to his left, right between him and one of the elven prisoners! Bound, the elf is unable to dodge the flames, and with a pained scream, he collapses to the ground, smouldering.
The Aspis agent, just looks at the flames that wash over him, seemingly completely unharmed, and laughs.
"No better fate for them!" He crows.
Tad hurries forward, calling on his special connection to his goddess. She appears to be listening, as he sends a powerful sheet of flame fanning forward, engulfing the man. Though once the fires clear, he appears to have suffered no damage at all!
As Monty gets back to his feet, retrieving his staff, Dru seems to shake off the fear that was trying to overwhelm her, and moves forward to the attack. You can tell she still seems a little trepidatious as she approaches, clearly still feeling some lingering effects... enough that her blow misses entirely, not even striking an image.
Faliana, unable to hit with her spear, her muscles so weak, decides to try a different technique, closing in close, and sending one agile kick at the man's private bits. Her aim is much better with the new technique, but she succeeds only in contacting one of the man's many images, causing it to fade away. There are now only three to choose from.
Brady tries to follow her example, having taught her the technique in the first place... but he is still relying on strength behind his blows, and, severely weakened as he is, he has no better luck then Drusilla.
The Aspis agent again mutters some words of magic, weaving his hands carefully, before launching three bolts of arcane energy at Dru. All of them travel the short distance with unerring accuracy! He then takes a step back, using the remaining elf prisoner as cover from Dale.
- Round 5 ----------
Brady (fatigued), Dale (fatigued), Monty (-18, fatigued) <-------- We are here!
- Round 6 ----------
Drusilla (-19, disabled), Tad, Faliana (-16, fatigued)
yellow x 3
Party is up!