"Nope, too soon. Get back on your butt, tubby." Mohs touches the gift his master gave him and calls an expended spell back to mind. Butter multiplies and flies from his fingertips to coat the ground beneath the giant's feet.
And down he goes, the tremor of his fall detectable 10s of feet away. "He's all yours guys! Enjoy the free swings as he gets back up again!"
Arlan complies, stabbing fiercely when the giant tries to stand.
Lys groans as she sees the giant fall down again. "Again? Come on, give me something to shoot at, people. Someone paint a bullseye on Varin's back. It'd be fun." Realising noone has time for her particular sense of humor, she sighs expressively and raises her crossbow at the giant's head, emptying the magazine.
Hearing a terrified howl from the giant as the second bolt sticks from the neck, she takes a step to the side. "All yours, gents." I really need to learn to reload that bloody thing faster...
Wulfrum stepped forwards up to the big ugly's feet and drove his hammer straight down on toes trying to break the git's bones and keep him from getting back up on his feet.
"If these tactics keep up, we should get you a bigger cross bow and I can help you load it." Beltzer says joking to Lys.
"Well I think I am done for the moment. Have at him fella's." With that Nerak slaps Varin on the shoulder, a strange feeling of power washing over him from it. Picking up the hem of his robes in one hand he runs away. Lorn making a rude gesture at the giant while remaining atop his bouncing head as he flees.
Arlan sees the giant and, though it is clearly in the orc's thrall, he has only contempt for the creatures who assaulted the city with stone and fist. He steps up beside his companions and feels the blood rush to his head as his rage takes over. His eyes focus on the lumbering foe and he drives his spear point at the ugly thing's face.
"Nope, too soon. Get back on your butt, tubby." Mohs touches the gift his master gave him and calls an expended spell back to mind. Butter multiplies and flies from his fingertips to coat the ground beneath the giant's feet. And down he goes, the tremor of his fall detectable 10s of feet away. "He's all yours guys! Enjoy the free swings as he gets back up again!"
Lys groans as she sees the giant fall down again. "Again? Come on, give me something to shoot at, people. Someone paint a bullseye on Varin's back. It'd be fun." Realizing no one has time for her particular sense of humor, she sighs expressively and raises her crossbow at the giant's head, emptying the magazine. Hearing a terrified howl from the giant as the second bolt sticks from the neck, she takes a step to the side. "All yours, gents." I really need to learn to reload that bloody thing faster...
Wulfrum stepped forwards up to the big ugly's feet and drove his hammer straight down on toes trying to break the git's bones and keep him from getting back up on his feet.
"If these tactics keep up, we should get you a bigger cross bow and I can help you load it." Beltzer says joking to Lys.
The giant scrapes the fletchings of the bolts buried in him away and looks around crazily. From a sitting position, he flails his arms at the dwarf. A dead orc and empty shackle shoot toward him on the ends of chains. Wulfrum's defensive training against giants keeps him safe from the dead orc who's arm breaks and frees the shackle. The empty shackle whizzes over the dwarf's head. Good thing the giant was not on its feet.
Arlan 38/38 AC 21
Beltzer 27/30 AC 16+4=20
Lys 33/33 AC 16
Mohs 33/33 AC 16
Nerak 24/24 AC 14
Wulfrum 25/27 AC 20
Varin 38/38 AC 20
Slotting bolts into the magazine, Lys turns towards Beltzer and absent-mindedly mentions. "Hm... There was this really nice ballista at Lastwall... Wonder what happened to it."
Mohs considers his options. Who knows how many more orcs, and now giants, might still be assaulting his home. For this fight, now is the time for the melee fighters. He's done all he can to slow the thing down and give the heavy hitters a few extra swings and a chance to get in close.
Mohs calls on his minor powers again, and slings a handful of caustic liquid to strike the mountain of flesh.
Arlan tries to calm himself down, but the Shoanti drug keeps the blood pumping furiously.
He steps up to the beast and starts stomping furiously, screaming like a madman and trying to snuff out the giant's life.
Nerak turns after his flight and cast a simple spell, fling a ball of magically created acid at the giant. He figured such a large target would be easy to hit. That and acid was effective regardless of how much armor like muscle was wrapped around an enemy.
The acid strikes and eats the giants flesh.
Varin steps forward and lashes out as hard as he can, sending his hammer crashing towards the knee of the giant.
Slotting bolts into the magazine, Lys turns towards Beltzer and absent-mindedly mentions. "Hm... There was this really nice ballista at Lastwall... Wonder what happened to it."
Mohs considers his options. Who knows how many more orcs, and now giants, might still be assaulting his home. For this fight, now is the time for the melee fighters. He's done all he can to slow the thing down and give the heavy hitters a few extra swings and a chance to get in close. Mohs calls on his minor powers again, and slings a handful of caustic liquid to strike the mountain of flesh.
Arlan tries to calm himself down, but the Shoanti drug keeps the blood pumping furiously. He steps up to the beast and starts stomping furiously, screaming like a madman and trying to snuff out the giant's life.
Nerak turns after his flight and cast a simple spell, fling a ball of magically created acid at the giant. He figured such a large target would be easy to hit. That and acid was effective regardless of how much armor like muscle was wrapped around an enemy. The acid strikes and eats the giants flesh.
Varin steps forward and lashes out as hard as he can, sending his hammer crashing towards the knee of the giant.
As Varin steps aside, the cave giant is obviously pulped and dead. The sounds of the Battle of Bloodmarch Hill appear to be dwindling. You look around at yourselves believing that the battle might be over. After a slight pause, you remember your last standing orders to light the Hopespring Beacon, which you know is a little further between the outside wall and the Hopespring.
Arlan 38/38 AC 21
Beltzer 27/30 AC 16+4=20
Lys 33/33 AC 16
Mohs 33/33 AC 16
Nerak 24/24 AC 14
Wulfrum 25/27 AC 20
Varin 38/38 AC 20
Varin hangs his head and sighs, before beginning to laugh softly to himself. Was it over? Could they finally relax? He stood up straighter, turning to Arlan and grinning. "Lets light that f~!*ing beacon and see about securing the area hey? Time we were done this nonsense!"
He moved over to the Giant and begins to stare around expectantly. 'He had a weapon right? Or... was it just his fists? Did he drop it in the hole? Ah damn... Just my luck. We beat one of the big uns and there aint even a club for me to salvage!' He shrugged, before pushing past, making his way towards the Signal.
Mohs searches the handlers, they drank a few potions during the melee. Maybe a few more survived the vicious pummeling the bodies took. He'll let someone else light the huge bonfire. . . .shiver . . .
Mohs searches the handlers, they drank a few potions during the melee. Maybe a few more survived the vicious pummeling the bodies took.
Aside from sundry orc stuff, Mohs finds two potions of cure light wounds, four vials of acid, two bags of caltrops, two scabbards of honing, and 72 gp.
Lys stares at the orc, noticing a wet footprint next to him on the dusty road. "Wait. Do you guys see this? Feet are wet.", she gestures over the soaked orcs. "And I think so are the giant's." She sheathes her crossbow and begins pacing around, murmuring to herself. A few seconds later, she turns towards the group. "Now, I'm by no means expert on orc or giant culture, but I reaaally doubt that they went for a bath. That, and the smell of a dirty barracks locker room." She taps on the ground a couple of times, looking for footprints between the battle and the lake. "I'd suggest we see what's happening here."
Walking carefully, she continues. "I got a couple of theories. Maybe they were sneaking in, and using the water to hide their tracks." Pointing to the giant's mutilated corpse, she smiles. "Though with Mr. Meatloaf over there, doubtfully. Second one, maybe they went in to look for something." Scraching her head, she shakes her head. "I guess that's not an option either. If it was something in there, we'd know about it." She suddently stops in her tracks.
"Shit." Turning towards the others, she says in a commanding tone, her eyes open with terror. "You shit-caked maggot-ridden slimy a*$%$$~s... That's the only water source for the town. Check the corpses for any suspicious dusts, bottles, or anything that could hold poison. We need to get someone here, quickly, and prevent anyone from drinking until we get a cleric or something to confirm. The battle's dying down, so we shouldn't have problems lighting up the beacon." Biting a nail, she starts looking over the lake. "And we need to find the old elf. Dead or alive."
Wulfrum looked a bit surprised but they had taken the Giant out before he had done any real damage. He ran a hand through his beard as he stooped over the dead as he thought.
He took what Lys mentioned to heart. He had seen orcs poison stuff before but something like water was sacred even to them, especially if they planned on taking the town as theirs after sacking it. He waved Lys over and pointed at the tracks on the ground. "This way, leads straight to the spring...which makes me worry as to what that could mean. Perhaps a secret is in the Hopespring."
As Lys grows concerned at the possibility that the drinking water might be poisoned, Beltzer says"If we don't have a cleric to confirm I am able to cleanse the water tomorrow. I have not prayed to the water spirits today so I am not prepared to deal with it. However I can contact the spirits over night."
Beltzer nods to Wulfurm "I hope if there is a secret it isn't a bad one. They might have been trying to get something from the Hopespring true, which might be why we have always been attacked. However if that is true then there would've been more than these fellows. Do your eyes find more tracks?" He asks Wulf and Lys.
Nerak thinks about the Hopespring and what the enemy could want with it besides befouling it.
1d20
Varin hangs his head and sighs, before beginning to laugh softly to himself. Was it over? Could they finally relax? He stood up straighter, turning to Arlan and grinning. "Lets light that f%@&ing beacon and see about securing the area hey? Time we were done this nonsense!"
Arlan crouches as he half-smiles at Varin's comment, sniffing the corpses like a bloodhound.
Eeeehhh, definitely smell the Spring on 'em under all that stink. We should move. Now.
He picks up his spear and looks at the others impatiently.
Nerak thinks about the Hopespring and what the enemy could want with it besides befouling it.
Nerak's calling the stones effectively destroyed any tracks within its effect. With Wulfrum's searching and Lys's support, you find the giant's and orc handlers' tracks emerging from the Hopespring Pond .
From growing up here, you know the pond provides drinking water to the town and gets about five feet deep at the deepest. It's too shallow to swim, except for kids and halflings.
Wulfrum scratches his beard a bit as he edges up to the spot where the tracks come from. He grumbled a bit "I think I'm one of the few who would be able to drown in this pond...but I suppose a little dip wouldn't hurt. I'll see if I can't find what it is they took a dip for." he said as he tried to follow the trail into the water.
Mohs stays put and keeps a careful watch as Wulfrum wades into the spring. Lys' concerns are valid and if the old dwarf finds something he will likely need backup.
Wulf, just bottle some of that and get outta there! We gotta light the beacon!
Arlan starts walking to the beacon to light it.
Lys nods. "Arlan has a point. We need to light this thing up." Glancing at Wulfrum with a worried look in her eyes. "Do be careful, and try not to swallow any water." The humorous glint in her eyes return, and she continues, "It's not the poison I'm worried about. It's that you could be shocked by the watery taste in your mouth.", giving the dwarf a nudge. And you're one to talk, Brokenshield... with your drunken disregard for manners. For shame, girl, for shame!
Trotting along the road to catch up with Arlan, she taps the man on the back, and speaks quietly, "How're you holding up, Arlan? You seemed angrier than usual... more uncontrolled."
So, the dwarves and Beltzer stay to poke around the edge of the Hopespring Pond. They're fairly certain they have identified where the giant and orcs entered and exited the pond. The water depth drops off after ten feet from the shore.
Varin, Arlan, Lys and Nerak head toward the Hopespring Beacon; the final beacon at the Hopespring is finally within reach. Trunau’s lower quarter is surprisingly peaceful for now, as most attackers have already passed through, though the sounds of battle still rage throughout the town. The wood pile for the beacon is still intact and ready to be set alight.
Lys walks over to the firepit, before raising her hand in the air. "There's some strange dust on the logs. Arlan? Got any clue?" Staring at the buildings, she looks back at the others. "Think we should look around the houses for survivors?"
I'm...ok, Arlan says, without looking at Lys.
The Shoanti potion "unlocks my strength", whatever that means, but it makes my head fuzzy. And it gives me a bit of a buzz with the leaf I'm chewing. Saw that giant and lost it for a minute, but I can keep it in check.
Welcome for a distraction, the half-elf inspects the powder without getting too close.
No idea, but it's probably not good. Maybe it's best we light it from a distance. Any one of you got a spell that can send this close?
If not, he'll hand the tindertwig to Lys to chuck at the pyre.
"Hmm" Beltzer wonders. "I don't see anything here that suggests that they were after anything in the shallow. Either of you boys know how to swim? I have a suspicion they either were looking for something down there or came up from there."
Beltzer quickly looks around. "Wait, where is Silvermane?" Beltzer attempts to see if Silvermane tried to stop the orcs or if he's around someplace.
"I hope he still lives, mother always liked him despite the rumours."
Looking at the fireplace and the suspicious dust around it, Lys frowns. "I don't really think a tindertwig would work. Can't toss it that far without the light going off. If you give me a piece of cloth, some alcohol or something burnable, we can make a makeshift fire bolt. I'm guessing you got something burnable in your kit." Staring at the dust again, without the dust bothering to stare back, Lys taps her fingers on her belt. "Tell you what, gimme an empty vial, and I'll go and collect a sample of that thing carefully. If it decides to explode, I have the biggest chance of keeping my eyebrows. Sound good?", says Lys, already pulling a bolt out and holding her hand out to Arlan.
Varin pulls an empty vial from his pouch, before holding it out towards Lys. "Sure about this? I can do it. I wont dodge it but I should be able to take whatever it is on the nose and stand up after. Kinda what I do..." He grins, indicating the multitude of dents, tears and rents in his once pristine armor.
"Hold on a moment. Could be something else, if I was going to use a fire as a trap I would not design it to simply take out one person. Poison or toxic smoke would be my choice, with the terrain elevation the stuff could flow down below if it's heavy enough. Let me take a look first."
Nerak looks for the powder that Lys is talking about.
Once he spots the powder he takes in it's details with what he knows of such things.
Wulfrum shook his head a bit a Beltzer's question "Bah, swimming is for surface dwarves. I grew up in the mountain depths. You don't need to swim when you sink like a rock and can walk along the bottom. I can hold my breath a good two and a half minutes, maybe a bit longer. I will just walk a bit in before turning about. " he said before taking a deep breath and trudging forwards thankful for all the extra metal weighing him down.
"Maybe let's not swim just yet, I don't want anyone drowning just for us scouting around" Beltzer says not seeing much of Silvermane, Beltzer begins to move out and tries to figure out what the orcs were looking for. Dusting himself off and using some cloth to clean off any blood, washing himself a little he then wades out a little further into Hopespring and looking around. Down into the depths and around the lake.
"Well it's confirmed if I do say so myself. It will blow the moment it's lit and blast this area to bits by at least 10 ft. from it's origin. Alcohol will get rid of it quick without getting in the way of lighting this thing. Otherwise I can use my magic to clean it up but that will take a while. So if anyone is holding out on a drink, I think it's safe to say it will be replaced later. Any takers?"
"I ain't got no alcohol but..." Varin reached in to his bag and rooted around for a moment, before taking out a leather satchel, stiff and heavily padded. He unclasped the top and reached inside gently, pulling out a thick globe shaped vial, with the elemental symbol for fire etched in to the glass. "We could set it off, if'n you all think that is a good idea. It might stay smoldering long enough to act as a signal!" He grinned, holding the Alchemists fire out before him and looking towards the Signal.
"I'd throw it but I think our Lys here would have the best arm!" He held the orb out towards her. "Though... would this light the wood even if that wood was wet? Coz that might work..."
Lys takes the vial in her hand. "Heh. Explosions." Standing at roughly twenty paces from the Signal, she takes aim and tosses the vial, then takes a step back to see it land.
Her eyes flash as the red of the vial explodes. "Hahahahaha! ...Sorry.", she says, as her rather terrifying laugh echoes in the surroundings.
He moved away before any action was taken on the beacon. Nerak was not a fan of thoughtless action and makes a simple statement regardless of the result.
"I won't be the one answering to Halgra or the others for that."
It was not beyond the realm of possibility that Halgra would be very angry about purposely blowing up the town's beacon and forcing the offender to rebuild it by hand alone. That was assuming they survived her wrath.
Varin takes a step back when the short Crossbow wielding woman takes the grenade. He arched an eyebrow at the look of glee on her face as he casually rested his arms on the hilt of his Earthbreaker. 'This'll be fun, for sure!' He grinned as he waited for the incoming explosion.
After everyone backs up to at least Lys, she throws the vial of alchemical fire on to the Beacon. The resulting explosion of green fire is larger than estimated and engulfs Lys, Varin and Arlan. All of their exposed hair crisp and burn thinning their eyebrows and shortening their hair. Although a wave of heat passes through Nerak, he is far enough away to avoid any cosmetic damage. The Beacon now burns with an unholy green fire. The same green fire that you witnessed at the trees. Patches of teh surrounding area catch on green fire but quickly extinguish without enough fuel.
The brightly burning Hopespring beacon illuminates the Lower Quarter including the Hopespring pond and waterfall. Beltzer and the dwarves are the first to notice a giant-sized, rough hole gouged into the side of Bloodmarch Hill.
Having merely closed his eyes as the heat washed over, he opened them with a blank expression.
"I wonder when you three will learn a little caution and patience goes a long way. In the meantime expect a great deal of ridicule and suffering. Do check to make sure your not on fire before we press on would you."
With that he walks back towards his other comrades. Lorn faces the trio with what you suspect is a very annoying and smug grin on his stony face.
Varin laughs softly as he glances between Arlan and Lys, shaking his head and sighing. "He is right you know...? We just blew something up for the hell of it. Still... won't stop me going over there and drowning the smug bastard and his pet pebble!" He made clutching motions in the air towards Neraks back, miming throttling the life out of the Ulfen.
Varin hefts his hammer on to his shoulder and sighs, following after Nerak, towards the others. "We should regroup and see what is going on before we all drop dead from exhaustion!"
Giggling at the explosion, Lys turns to Varin. "HAhaha... Yeah. Am I missing an eyebrow?" Looking at the man trying to strangle Nerak from a distance, she grins. "Probably not. You get the wizard, I'll get the pebble.", before following him towards Hopespring.
Varin finds a pebble bouncing off his forehead. Clearly Lorn had heard him and sent it's reply.
Arlan shrugs, Meh, all's well that ends well. I wasn't too pretty to begin with.
His smile fades and his eyes go wide as the light illuminates the breach in the wall.
We need to block up that hole--let's fish Wulf out of the spring and see what we can find by the breach.