Molly steps next to Mariana and - scratches the Orc closest to her in the face? How odd...
With a flurry of attacks, the defenders put down the last of the orcs that had made it inside the first barricade. Bodies were piled high in the breach, and the burns and cuts from the explosives had everyone feeling beaten down. The remaining two orcs from the latest wave each pulled clay spheres from their packs, preparing to bomb the defenders once more. Quill put an arrow into one, and Sander splashed it with some fire, but the manic gleam in the orc's eyes told them they weren't going to be in time.
Then, a flight of arrows took the two creatures from behind. Looking up, you see a dozen men and women nocking arrows to empty bowstrings, while another handful work on the outer portcullis. Something, or someone, had apparently jammed it in the open position. With a shout of triumph, the portcullis slammed closed, cutting off entry to the Inner Quarter for now. A cheer arose from the men and women on the walls, who turned their backs to you and began firing out into the lower town.
Frum called up to the newcomers, and a burly sergeant named Stern called back down. "Kurst and his men have turned most of the horde, I think. Can't see much down there, without the beacon. We tried hitting it with fire arrows from above, but no one could get a good angle on it. we ended up scaling down from the Upper City by rope to come help you get the gates closed off."
As he spoke, the others continued to rain down arrows onto the orcs milled around the gatehouse. Despite the lament about the beacon being unlit, there was some light beyond the wall cast by the buildings that were on fire.
The exchange was interrupted by a shout of "Giant!" and the archers stopped firing on the hapless orcs and began frantically searching for the much more dangerous foe.
"Where?" "It was just there, behind Clamor!" "I don't see anything" "Are you sure." "Dammit, I know a giant when I see one." "Keep killing the orcs, dammit! We'll deal with the giant if and when it gets here."
Despite the uproar atop the walls, it appears you have a few moments to collect yourselves.
Sander, aching rushes to the orc bombers, hoping to claim any more explosives they may have. He hurts -- so much -- but will be damned if he lets anything get to Louly while he could still stop it.
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"Arrows! Arrows! Has anyone seen any arrows?"
Quill casts about for more arrows, calling to the archers and checking the cart for more. He still has some, but needs *more* if he is to continue his work. He is tired, but alive enough to be alive, he supposes.
If no one has arrows to share and spare, he will cast about for his misses.
high = good
high = good
high = good
high = good
"Stern and Storn. I wonder if there is a Sturm in the city."
Storn raises his glaive overhead, roaring at the top of his lungs and shaking it with both hands as he stands before the mountain of bodies. Convinced he's going to die, he looks at the final incoming orcs greedily before the archers take them out. He blinks as the portcullis slams shut, and joins the rest with a huge cheer.
He takes a moment to clean the glaive and looks at it for a moment.
"Hrm, giant."
He hangs onto it for now.
"Gather up! Who has that wand? I think many of us need healing."
"You mean Brightblade, the knight?" Sander calls back. "I think he died..."
He continues collecting explosives, hoping he can be healed afterward.
Mariana starts with Storn and gives him a quick tap of the wand.
Then to Sander, she gives him a little love with the device.
Then to Yelena.
And seeing more wounds on her than any other.
"I feel as if our resources are severely depleted. We need to plan and be ready to end this giant threat rapidly. I have saved one spell and believe this might be the best of times to use it...if it works."
The first few moments after the walls were retaken were tense, as you healed yourselves and prepared for the assault to continue. It seemed the orcs nearest the walls had been turned to loot the houses of the Lower Town, at least for now.
From the top of the walls someone called, "We still can't get a good shot on the Hopespring beacon. One of the houses down there is burning, and the smoke is blocking our sight. Someone's gotta go and light it, if we're to have any chance at seeing the orc host before they get too close. Never mind holding the outer walls. Those'll be lost by now. Damn, where did Kurst get to with his riders? Sergeant Frum, you got any men to spare?"
Meanwhile, Sander ran out to rifle through the bodies of the orcs that had been throwing about the bombs and fire, hoping to replenish his own stocks for any coming conflicts. He managed to find a handful of tindertwigs, three of the bombs, and four more alchemist's fires.
Quill finds two full sheafs of arrows in the ammo box, and some more quarrels for the heavy crossbows that Frum was using.
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Quill replenishes his main quiver, then slings the other quiver over his shoulder.
"I think I made these arrows!" Quill says with just a little pride. "You can tell it's one of my early batches because the feathers are a bit twerked on one side." Quill holds up the shaft to show where his early apprenticeship fletchery had floundered.
"No matter! I'm ready for whatever is next now!"
Quill looks at Yelena, awaiting her orders.
Storn looks over at the group, nodding assertively as he flips the glaive in hand.
"Let's get to this beacon. There's more work to do."
"Giants. That explains how the Orcs got siege engines in close without anyone noticing; it walked under its own power! Are there anymore quarrels for my crossbow in there before we go?"
Are there anymore quarrels for my crossbow in there before we go?"
Molly loads up on fresh bolts, filling her quiver as well as loading up her crossbow.
"We might want to prep a couple of flammable arrows as we go. With all tjis mess going on, it might be best if we can light up that beacon from a distance. Anyone got any booze on them?"
Molly glances at Frum and she quirks an eyebrow.
Omast Frum turned three shades of red at Molly's comment and look. "I do not, milady. I should not have...well, let's just say that sobriety and I are like old lovers that see each other now and again. Though we wish to keep the relationship going, life intercedes. Still, I am trying, and to do so, I have made sure that I have none on me. Oil would work just as good, I think, if anyone has some. Also, call up to the watch on the walls. They said they had fired some earlier. They might have some already made they can lend to you."
"If you are heading for the Hopespring beacon, then you'll have to climb, I think. With the portcullis blocking the gate, the only way to the Lower town is over the walls. The tower to the south here might be the easiest path, as it appears to have collapsed - taking one of those damned white swords with it, thank the gods. Climbing over that might be easier than scaling the walls, unless you have good climbing gear with you."
Storn groans.
"Part of Gorum's plan to level the world through warfare is to ensure none of his followers ever have to climb anything again. Let's move to the south tower."
"Oh, um, are you sure, Yelena? I have pretty good aim, and you saw how ... dangerous ... they are... And cough please, maybe, watch your words? Quill doesn't need to hear such things, and I don't know that any of the rest of us do either!"
He looks back at his shoulder as he follows Storn and Quill toward the tower, sighing heavily as he realizes he has to put his life at risk again.
Sander scrambles up the rubble, showing surprising nimbleness likely more due to his people's natural climbing ability than any skill of his own.
Sander watches as Quill easily scrambles up the rubble.
That boy just needs a little more confidence. He's like a mountain goat, but thinks he's a mutton chop.
"Perk up, Quill. You did a fine job there!"
Storn folds his arms, waiting until somebody produces some rope. If some is produced, he grunts and strains, trying to get through the rubble.
"I got rope. Don't get your loincloth in a knot."
Molly makes her rope available to whoever needs it - including herself.
Mariana waits for the rope and follows Molly.
It took a little bit of navigating, and one really tense moment when it looked as if Storn was going to slide down on his face, but eventually you made your way to the bottom of the crumbled tower, and into the Lower City. Most of the building showed obvious signs of damage, either from violent looters or fire, or both. The place was eerily vacant, with any Trunauans either dead or fled, and most of the orcs either already into the city or looting the northern reaches. There was also Kurst and his band running about skirmishing with some of the main force.
For whatever combination of events, the area is clear for the moment, and you make your way to the base of the Hopespring Falls. The Hopespring Beacon is on the far side, though it is all but invisible in the darkness. Not even the glow of the various fires in the lower town illuminated the beacon from here.
Sander nods and follows behind Storn and Yelena, a tindertwig and explosive in hand.
Molly nods, silently. The Kellid girl loads her crossbow and falls in behind the others.
You reorganize and begin moving along the banks of the Hope Pond, a sort of shallow pool where the Hopespring empties into. Cracks in the stone below allow the crisp, cool water to seep down into caverns below at a slow rate, and the pond maintains its size pretty much all year long. You know the pond isn't that deep - maybe four to five feet deep at most - but in the dark, it is impossible to see into the water at all.
As you moved along the bank, a sudden explosion and gout of fire erupted from where the Barterstones market usually stood, beyond the outer walls of the town.
The ruins of the houses you passed on your way to the beacon were disheartening, but you recall that anything can be rebuilt. The old adage of "where there's life, there's hope" is a cold one, but one that is more familiar with frontier folk than most.
Approaching the beacon, you can see a dead body near the stacked piles of wood.
Storn grunts over to Yelena, and moves to keep pace with the doughty dwarf.
He opens his mouth to speak, as he likes to do constantly, but jumps back, shielding his eyes as the explosion erupts from the market. He grunts as he spies the dead body.
"They're raiding us. Why do I get the feeling of a trap? We should be the ones laying traps." He looks over his shoulder and barks at Quill. "Quill! More traps in the future."
With that, Storn - cautiously - approaches the body to poke at it before moving on to the beacon.
Storn poked the body with his glaive, and the form groaned as it rolled over. Quill instantly recognized the man as Silverman, the mute druid who has watched over the Hopespring for centuries. A livid bruise covered most of the druid's face, and the way he was curled up suggested broken ribs and perhaps internal injuries, as well.
The nearby beacon looks undisturbed, but there is a loud splashing sound, and what sounds like heavy rocks being stacked or pushed together coming from the darkness near the Hopespring falls.
Molly places a hand on Silverman's face, and her eyes glitter weirdly for a moment.
Storn perks up and shrugs, knowing better than to disagree with Yelena - unless he really wants to. He clanks behind the woodpile and takes cover.
orcs
Mariana
Molly
Quill
Sander
Storn
Yelena
As Molly and Quill moved to help the fallen druid, Yelena ushered the rest behind the stacked wood pile of the Hopespring beacon. Molly's healing hex obviously closed over some of the fallen druid's wounds, but the man did not regain consciousness.
Curious as the the sounds coming from across the pond, Quill cast a light spell on a nearby rock and hurled it into the darkness. The glowing rock illuminated the clear pond, several large rocks, and a hole in the side of the cliffs before it bounced odd a large, hairy back, and plunked into the water. The glow from beneath the cool, clear water showed four orcs, hauling on chains that were attached to each of the limbs of a giant!
The orcs began pulling at the chains and shouting, and the beast turned from the hole it had dug into the cliff face and glared balefully at you.
Yanking on the chains, the orcs got the giant turned around and it splashed straight towards you, the chains on its arms and legs swinging wildly as it moved.
HP 16/18
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 14
Fort +6 (+2 vs. poison), Ref +7, Will +2 (+2 vs. fear)
CMD 13
Stones: 0/10; Bombs: 5/5; Mutagen: 1/1
Consumables: 3 flasks of acid, handful of tindertwigs, three orc bombs, and four alchemist fires
Effects:
"Giant!" Sander yells, making sure everyone sees it.
He pulls a flask of liquid fire from his satchel, though holds off before throwing it to see if the creature listens to Molly's words.
Storn's eyes grow wide as he sees the enormous giant, and he quickly snaps himself out of his delighted trance as he realises Molly is trying to communicate with it.
"Take out the orcs! Let's see if we can make friends!"
Looking panicked, Mariana stares wide-eyed at the giant and then lets a shot fire off at one of the orcs closest to her.