Avaria forces her way another 30 feet to the south and finds the crowd finally thinning . Between the fleeing people she can see what was holding up the first giant: a short and stocky fellow with mousy blond hair that showed a solid dusting of grey, wielding two familiar looking shortswords, and strangely missing his shirt and shoes... as the odd scene registers in her mind a curvy young redhead runs out of a nearby house wearing nothing but Ludo's shirt and helps him to his feet...
Meanwhile, Rimy Jim quickly covers the last 30 feet of dense crowd and with a mighty leap bounds up onto the roof of a nearby building. The footing on the steep tiles is precarious and it seems likely that without the aid of feather step it would be slow going up there. From his new vantage point he can see 3 giants trashing a building two streets south and 3 streets west He also notices that the woman from the crates earlier has a bow drawn and is also trying to make her way south out of the crowd.
Lightning arcs through the sky once more, towards the same three giants. Once again the same two manage to evade the brunt of the blast, while the same unfortunate giant takes one directly to the chest. With a howl, the most injured giant hurls 3 hunks of rubble at his assailant...
; ;
,
Leaving their companion behind, the other two giants begin heading back towards the source of their vexation. The singing giant reemerges onto the street Avaria is looking down, 1 block south of Ludo, and casts a spell to soothe the burns on his arms...
The other comes barreling around the corner and advances right up to the injured swordsman.
Avaria blinks. And blinks again. The her brows furrow and a snarl escapes her lips, unladylike and furious. She moves forward with renewed vigor as rage mixes with adrenaline. Where she had politely stepped before, she now simply elbows her way through.
Once she's out of the thick of the crowd, she has a clearer shot of the giant. And Ludo. And the red-head. Better judgement prevails and she instead aims her bow away with a furious curse and sends an arrow flying towards the singing giant in the back.
Avaria does not recall ever having meet the adulteress, but she can't help but wonder if it might not be the same lovely young redhead that Augustino had mentioned...
ROUND 4/ Initiative 11
Jim lands on the roof, his arrival kicking up a spray of scattered tiles. From his new vantage point he could now clearly see the giants; as he watched, the flying hellknight got their attention with an assault of magic lightning, and they advanced on the airborne assailant while a fourth lumbered into view as it sang. He noticed that several other individuals on the ground seemed to be mounting resistance against the marauders as well.
Dashing down the length of the building, Jim sent a fresh wave of tiles cascading down the roof before reaching the edge and once again launching himself into the air, his overcoat flapping out behind him as he sailed over the heads of what few folks were left in the street below. Landing in front of the nearest giant, he looked up, a toothy grin spreading across his face as he brandished Zenovia with a flourish.
"Ahoy, félagi! Stelpan mín er bara að deyja til að hitta þig!"
Round Four Init 15
Graverattler moves up to an adjacent spot near the shirtless man, saying "Get back, fool." in common. (Attempts a defensive fighting reposition on the shirtless warrior away from the giant's reach.)"This giant is mine."
Reposition attempt:
-4 to attacks +3 to AC due to Fighting Defensively (Acrobatics ranks > 3, added in above.)
The ground before the charging giant erupts with little warning as a large earth elemental emerges. Shouting, it pushes back the shirtless swordsman who offers no resistance to the move.
"What kind of giant is that?!?" the half-naked woman shrieks. The swordsman grabs her arm and starts to flee replying, "I don't know what that thing is but its no giant." As Avaria's arrow whistles by his ear and sinks into the singing giant the man's eyes suddenly refocus on the furious archer... Letting go of the redhead's hand he stammers, "I... I... this isn't... dammit, I'm sorry..." before turning east down the nearest road and running off, the other woman close at his heels.
Several blocks away, Jim lands with a grin at the feet of a lightning burned giant...
The giant before Jim grins, grips his great club in both hard meaty hands, and lets go a flurry of attacks...
;
;
He lands two heavy blows on the green-skinned buccaneer.
Blocks away, the singing giant cast another spell and his form becomes blurry and hard to make out. . The nearby giant looks momentarily surprised by the arrival of the common-speaking elemental but quickly decides that he knows the best way to deal with the threat...
He scowls angrily when all three of his attacks fail to connect.
Graverattler notes the prowess of the warrior before her. This foe will challenge my skills. Time to show him those skills extend beyond defense. Raising both rocky arms, she begins with a stunning hammerblow of two fists, followed through with an elbow, a headbutt, and a couple of kicks all at the same spot on the giant's temple. "Your attack was poorly timed. Why are you here?"
ROUND 5/ Initiative 11
The giant rained blows down upon Jim with three swings of it's greatclub, connecting solidly with two of them. Shifting the flow of his divinely inspired fervor as well as his grip on Zenovia, Jim chuckled at his opponent.
"Ekki slæmt; nú er komið að okkar."
Executing three powerful sweeping attacks of his own, Jim slashes two-handed at his opponent's knees then works Zenovia upwards as he seeks to cut the stony giant down to size.
Immediate: None; Swift: None.
"You better run, you red headed harlot!" Avaria shrieked like a banshee through the clang, crack, and chaos of battle. The pair of wretched adulterers may have gotten away at this moment, but she'd find time to skin them both once the giants were down.
She rushed forward closer to the combat. She needed to shot something and those giants looked like good target practice.
The scenes playing out were bizarre to say the least. Flying Hellknights, massive elementals, and a brave pirates all trying to take down the giants who had managed to launch an assault on the town. Interesting folks around these parts, it would seem.
She attempted to level an arrow at the heart of the singing giant again, but he seemed to slip around her vision leaving her unable to get a lock on him. She spat a curse (not her first of the evening) and quickly switched targets to to the other giant . She let an arrow fly into the fray.
Jim's first slash opens a deep wound across the giant's thigh. He snarls in pain and for a moment glances over his shoulder as if considering fleeing. Whether motivated by rage or by fear of something worse than the half-orc, he decides to stand and fight...
;
Meanwhile Graverattler unloads a flurry of attacks against the giant squaring off against her; her first three attacks find their mark, though the last 2 fail to connect as he stumbles backward... When Avaria's arrow buries itself in his chest he collapses in the street.
Victoria watches the giant teeter and fall as she moves.
The other giant stops singing and starts bellowing, "" As he yells, he moves with supernatural speed towards the city's southern gate and the bridge there to the fields beyond...
Round Five Init 15
Graverattler follows the giant southward, diving through the earth as necessary to follow the straightest path until she gets to the bridge, which she crosses if she has enough movement left in her double move.
As Victoria rises she catches a glimpse of the giant as he moves behind a tall building; adjusting her trajectory slightly she manages to keep part of the giant in view .
ROUND 6/ Initiative 11
Jim grunted as he took another solid blow from the greatclub, and decided that he'd wasted enough time tangling with the wounded giant. He begins to sing a lilting melody as he moves in under his opponent's defenses, slashing away with his cutlass.
"None's as fair as my Zenovia,
Nor is 'alf as sweet;
Yet when 'er suitors come a' callin',
She knocks 'em off their feet!"
Immediate: None; Free: None.
Momentarily distracted by his flirting with his sword, Rimy Jim badly bungles his first attack and the wounded giant attempts to capitalize on the opportunity...
... but in his desperation misses. Zenovia's next arc brings her through the giant's lower abdomen, loosing a mess of entrails as the vanquished foe falls to his knees and then face down into the dirt.
Avaria hesitates a moment. She could chase down that adulterous man she called a husband and the tart he'd picked up at some point, or chase after the giant. Well, she knew where one of them lived at least,and the giants seemed to be preparing for something,though what was anyone's guess. With a pained and exceptionally exasperated roar into the darkness she peeled off after the giant.
Rimy Jim hears the somewhat ominous calls for Krotus seconds before he vanquishes his foe with a flourish and the handful of townsfolk who bear witness send up a cheer. As the cheer dies down the Giantish yelling has become barely audible, seemingly having moved some distance to the southeast.
Back on the main street, a few terrified people look out from their hiding places as one giant collapses and the other runs off. When the large earth elemental disappears too they cautiously begin to emerge. As they do, Avaria sprints by.
Beneath the earth Graverattler rumbles towards the bridge, but without the means to see any significant distance through earth and stone is unsure exactly how much farther she has to go.
Victoria, meanwhile continues her upward arc .
Round 7 Init 15
Graverattler continues her underground path for 40' before emerging and completing her 50' of movement above ground. Once she is sure she has cleared most of Sandpoint's buildings, she shouts "Haere mai, Stone Repaima, kia whainga te whawhai!"
After her shout, she bends over onto all fours as the earth and stone of her body crumble away, replaced by sinew and shell. She takes on a feline form encased in an armadillo-like shell, growing even larger as she does so. Even on all fours, this new beast is easily still ten feet tall, and stretches twenty-five feet from snout to tail. With the transformation, she lets out a yowl that will likely haunt the good folk of Sandpoint for years to come.
ROUND 7/ Inititiative 11
Jim disregards the cheering townsfolk as the rumbles of the fleeing giant reach his ears. Shifting his fervor once again and giving the dead giant a nudge with his boot, he sings and traces Zenovia's tip over his battered frame.
"Cuts 'n gashes, bruises 'n scratches,
Gotten on deck or in port,
From first mate's lashes or dueling matches,
I'll have nothing of the sort!"
Rejuvenated, he dashes off down the street and leaps back to rooftops, a promising howl echoing over as the town as he heads southeast to find more trouble.
With Avaria and Victoria now visible, the giant moves to the city gate and begins singing again.
Avaria lifts her bow, two arrows drawn to her cheek. She takes a slow, deep breath in, then exhales and lets the arrows fly with a sharp twang from the string. Then another. And another.
With blurring speed, Avaria draws and shoots arrow after arrow towards the singing giant in an attempts to bring the beast down.
"Hell hath no fury!"
She ceases her bombardment to assess the damage.
"...Like a woman scorned."
The singing giant stumbles backward as Avaria channels her rage into a flurry of well placed shots- all but her last arrow finding its mark. Before he can react lightning arcs from the sky blasting him off his feet. His song ends as he lands motionless.
From her vantage point on River Street Graverattler sees a seventeen foot tall stone giant with feral features and iron gray skin stride up Market Street wearing a huge chainshirt and wielding a massive greatsword.
Round 8 Init 15
Graverattler bends over onto all fours as the earth and stone of her body crumble away, replaced by sinew and shell. She takes on a feline form encased in an armadillo-like shell, growing even larger as she does so. Even on all fours, this new beast is easily still ten feet tall, and stretches over twenty-five feet from snout to tail.
She moves onto Market Street with a mighty leap, clearing buildings and blocking the giant's path to the archer from twenty feet in front of him. She lets out a low, protective growl.
Ki Jump.
ROUND 8/ Initiative 11
Now that's a giant!
Jim continues on to the southeast at speed, spurred on by the sight of a more formidable opponent.
Avaria frowned as the lumbering giant moved towards her. He was fast. Too fast for something so large in her opinion. Physics should have laws that forbid that sort of thing. Not that magic tended to care about physics much, but still...
Well, she could either run and hide or fight, and the former was not really her style. She was going to have to play a bit defensive, and sometimes the best defense is a good offence.
Avaria steels herself as the giant comes for her. Suddenly, and very unexpectedly, a bizarre beast resembling a huge lioness with an armored carpace comes sailing over the nearby buildings and lands mere feet from her. For a split second she feels her heart drop, but the creature quickly spins and snarls at the giant. Apparently somewhat safe behind her unknown protector the archer unleashes 5 arrows with blinding speed. To her chagrin only the first two arrows find their mark, and even they do less damage than she expected.
Krotus once again invokes a spell with startling speed: this time to summon the strength of the bull...
As Victoria and Rimy Jim close the distance with the impressive new foe they see him raise his massive greatsword overhead. A crackle of crimson energy runs across the long blade as it moves forward ten feet and brings the blade down heavy on the warcat...
,
...opening up a rather nasty looking wound, which he celebrates with a grin and a malicious chuckle.
Warcats have a 15' reach, so Graverattler gets in an attack of opportunity on Krotus as he approaches.
for
Gravrattler is then struck by the immense blow of the giant's sword. Feeling the plates of her skin slashed open along with many the flesh under them, she lets out a growl.
Lifting both forepaws, she focuses her ki and strikes out at the giant repeatedly.
Ki flurry, pummeling style.
Hammerblow for
Stunning Paw DC 21 for
Paw for
Paw for
Paw for
Paw for
SURGE <--- As an immediate action, she uses Surge to enhance the attack roll of the first blow that misses.
Blows counts as magic, cold iron, silver, and lawful.
The warcat stands its ground, brazenly attacking with little apparent concern for it's own well being... lashing out with one of its forepaws, it attacks in a bizarrely punch-like motion rather than swiping with its claws. Its first attack finds its mark.
The blow causes the giant's eyes to glass over for a split second but he shakes it off...
Graverattler's second attack misses the mark... she can feel her inner power swell up in her but its not quite enough to penetrate the giant's thick hide. Her third attack fares better, connecting in nearly the exact spot where the first blow landed. This provokes an angry scowl from the giant, which lightens somewhat as the cat's last 3 attacks all prove ineffective.
All the movement takes a toll on Graverattler's wound, though, and blood rolls out down her left front leg.
Avaria was more then a bit startled by the appearance of the big... cat? thing? Whatever, it seemed to be on her side for the time being and that was what was important. Allies were a big morale booster, regardless of what size or shape they took, so long as they didn't turn on her after, anyways.
Her arrows had been less than effective. She was going to have to change tactics here. She took a deep breath and exhaled, imbuing an arrow with dragon's breath.
Avaria feels power rise up within her as she pulls back her bow string and lets the charged arrow fly. It flies true and sinks into the giant's arm, but seems not do any appreciable damage to him. An instant later it erupts with blast of freezing breath...
Caught unaware, Krotus is bathed in frost, though his thick hide seems to have protected him from some of its damage as well.