"WHO EVER HAS HEALING, GET IT TO CELESTE"
She calls
Round 6
Looking around, now that the burning has been stopped, Areth fingers move silently as he casts a spell on himself as he looks at the trenches and begins to aim there, waiting for a moment to shoot
The Friar tunnels underground after having his head stepped on to lick his wounds...
As he sits there mending he hears the earth rumble from something above.
One soldier is smashed by a big ol' rock. Two more are electrocuted into submission. There is a flash of light, and in no time the party is facing off against a blind thumper and two very angry Battle Mages.
The Thumper starts firing in to the area of it's largest target (as far as it can remember)
And not only does the thing hit, it hits Janray square in the face!
The blow hurls the giant backward into trench wall.
The mages follow the shot in and are suddenly chopping at Akumu! One ax is wreathed in flame, the other in ice!
The fire misses, but the ice hits and bites deep!
Meanwhile the Craving is heavily engaged from behind!
One hit is scored!
Craven turns to see the men who pursued him into the mist. His true form wears many features of a baboon, including the head and a body covered in fur. His hands, however, curl into palms that face outward from his body. The instant they are folded into fists, they lash out at the soldiers in time with his toothy ape-maw, even as prepares a defensive retaliation.
Ynja calls out.
"Move this Orb onto the bloody mages"
Then points and dark ray shoots from her hand at the loses axe mage.
Dark energy shifts over the Mage, bathing it.
Akumu moves the orb onto the mages. "Your wish is my command, milady"and gives her a sardonic salute.He then steps back into the mist and reaches out to Celeste.
"Good, Now lets finished them off and get back to the line"
Celeste adjust her vision to the fog with the help of a minor blessing and see's an ally in trouble and out numbered as she rushes to even the odds.
Feeling a little revitalized the Friar heads to the surface once again, and enlongating until he could look above ground without being seen.
Stealth check? Perception?
Alternatively its a DC 25 perception check to notice a burrowing creature.
It glides through the ground. It has vicious teeth. It looks up, looks around, it sees you. LANDSHARK!!
Round 6
Looking through his scope for possible adversary, Areth spots one far away, aims as the fire again begins to shimmer around him as it this time regains burning sensation
HP: 38/41
The mage effortlessly evades the orb. he then dives into the fog after his target!
Akumu just barely avoids taking a hit to the neck and instead gets a deadly dose of cold directly to his shoulder.
The thumper continues to fire blindly in the general direction of the fallen giant but the shot is way high. The shot impacts the wall of the trench and showers mud and grime over everyone.
Then, after an additional round of loading, the last remaining catapult goes off. The barrel flies a short distance and lands in the cloud.
Celeste and Craving demolish two of the three men facing them.
Party UP!
Just a moment to late Ynja spotted the fire bomb coming in, the barrel bust in impact and then everything was fire. The heat was intense but the one saving grace was the mud she had just been covered with then the thumpper missed its target. They stopped the flame catching as she jumped back out the way of the heat and fire. There was pain, and lot of pain but the good news was there had only been one barrel.
She project her mind to her commander.
::Mama, They are down to only one catapult and its shooting at us, the front line is now longer under fire attack. Seeking to remove the last one now.::
Ynja still the embodiment of cool control moved out the flames, That had hurt a lot but the could not slow the attack. The hit had given her one thing, She had a good idea now where that last catapult was. One good hit above it should do what was done to the others. She aimed send another blast of fire now its way.
You send fire at me you %£^^'s, I'll send fire back!
The fireball that explodes is truly spectacular, rising some 20' up a shimmering wall of heat and magic flame. It blasts out and engulfs all around the catapult.
She tried not to think Janry and Orvay, brave lads who took so much hurt that should have come her way. It was clear the giant brothers where not going to be doing much more ever gain. Then she got angry,
Where the Hell are my other troops, a single cleric would have given them a change
She was angry now, she had been order to the front and on her 1st attack has lost one to desertion and another in combat. Where the hell was that fat halfling if he had any kind of healing then the brothers could be saved but he had run off at the 1st sign of attack. She put this out of her mind as her fire ball bloomed.
Now she did not hide who she was or why she had been placed in the Freak Quad, as the other troops called the Irregulars. Fangs, long Vampire like ones showing her for what she truly was Vampire kind, she bore them now as she called out.
She had just blasted half the enemy to death and now only two stood in thire way.
"Kill this %£^£&ing mage, and lets deal with that Thumper!"
Seeing Akumu fall she calls out,
"Forget that, kill the mage, save Akumu"
IfAreth is not here to take out the Mage, Possible Suggested actions for Cannan so we can try and save Akumu,
Cannan uses -1 grit
Gunslinger’s Dodge (Ex): At 1st level, the gunslinger gains an uncanny knack for getting out of the way of ranged attacks. When a ranged attack is made against the gunslinger, she can spend 1 grit point to move 5 feet as an immediate action; doing so grants the gunslinger a +2 bonus to AC against the triggering attack. This movement is not a 5-foot step, and provokes attacks of opportunity. Alternatively, the gunslinger can drop prone to gain a +4 bonus to AC against the triggering attack. The gunslinger can only perform this deed while wearing medium or light armor, and while carrying no more than a light load.
This places him out side direct hit and in the roll for 1/2 DMG area.
Extra shot with Rapid Shot.
Shot 3: DMG Possible crit
DMG if so X3 31 DMG [Seeking/Magic]
Celeste moves with surgical precision and strikes at the mage harassing the dying Akumu, the force of her blow invigorating his flesh.
"GET UP YOU GLORIOUS BASTARD AND GIVE THEM HEAL!!!" Celeste screams at Akumu.
Round 7
Seeing that the Mage had raised his head and out of cover, Areth immediately changed his aim to his direction, gave himself a small chuckled as he released the bullet from its chamber and let it sing its death song
As Celeste helps Craven take down the soldiers, he gives her a slight nod in graditude. He runs next to her as she jumps to Akumu's aid, and calls out to everyone as he passes, "If you're up to join me, I'm about to do something very foolish." He turns another corner around the trench and then bounces off of a cushion of air deliver a punch straight to the thumper's face.
Calls after Craven as he makes his run at the thumper.
"Craven! Thumper's explode when you kill them!"
The Battlemage is handly dispatched with a concentrated attack routine. He is no more.
Ynja's bolt obliterates the last catapult, causing another huge explosion... On the friar's head.
The blast finishes off the last battle mage, and the blind Thumper is dispatched quickly after that.
You limp back to your command bunker with the count. One dead and severe injuries all around, but success. Your troops have secured this section of the front line again and have begun the work of setting up new fortifications in the muck.
The last catapult taken out she send a thught message to the Commander. while Ynaks blast’s the Thumper as other's shoot and hit it from distance. She calls Craven out the way as it too blasts itself apart. She then heads down the Trench to the front line attack and orders the group to blast what was left there. Sending that thumper and the troops with it to, the hells as well.
The fight ended, She heads back and checks on the Giant twins.
She waves at Areth, to show him the All Clear Then send Canaana back as a runner to get the Reguler troop comander to give the all clear to come up.
Then looking over the body of the dead twins.
"We can't take the body sorry team, best we can do is strip it of useful stuff for the quartermaster and Ill burn it so the enemy can't reincarnate it. While we wait here till the regular troops come to secure this section of the front line again. Loot anything of use form the enemy dead, mages the lot. Then when they get here everyone head back to the command bunker for healing and rest. My hope is the rest of out Troop will be there by now."
She heals herself as she looks over the seen.
"Anyone seen if that fat Halfling is still here and alive?"
Commader Incendiam gets Ynja report and relaxed, That was a close run thing. Now they would have a little time until the counter attack.
She looked over the command post. Her toop was understaffed but HQ was starting to send more bodys to the fight.
She waited to see who they would send next as she made her report to HQ
Akumu picks himself off the ground. "Thanka for saving my life. I have found that I am not worthy of the title." He departs towards the horizon, never to be seen again.
A person, presumably a male humanoid, walks over from the HQ Battle Cabin.
In one hand, a large mithral shield. The other arm is shrouded in large, angular crystals. Under the cloak you can see armor made of leather with mithral coins sewn on. The man's face is covered in a mask, "Faceless meat for the grinder" you might think.
"Reporting in." the man simply says, in a voice that sounds more like a scholar than a warrior.
Looks up from her notes and reports, seeing the form in Armor.
She waits for a solute if she gets one she gives it back.
Then looks around then pulls a note from under a pile.
"Mageknigh, right, I'm Commander Incendia, I'm the one in-charge of the Irregulars or as some like to call us the Freak Squad . You will be with Lieutenant Ynja, She and her team will be back soon"
Points at a bunk area.
"Wait over there with the others until she dos."
The commander then gos back to her notes, she did no even ask your name.
Craven makes his way back to the front lines, brushing off some debris and burnt refuse as he goes. He reassumes the form of the blind man he had before walking into the command post. "What a mess, eh boys?" he asks as he pulls a wand from a pocket. "No, I don't know t'at I've seen t'e halfling since he fell on our foes in t'e cloud o gas, m'am." He shakes the wand in irritation, as if to see if something's loose, before discharging it.
The man nods, then moves to stand off to the side. He will pull any unattended reports, one at a time, over to his area with a gesture before looking down at them. He appears to be reading them, apprising himself of the situation thus far.
Commander Incendia looks up as Craven comes in.
"Glad you made it Craven"
She says, now there is some respect in her voice.
"I hear it was bad. Hot Coffee and food over there, and new recruits, go say hi and let em know how much fun it is here"
She says with a chuckle then goes back to her reports and maps.
After a while post someone taking notes off her desk, and looks over at the recruits
Then room go's dark and fear groups everyone's soul, just for a fraction of a moment, then it passes. could that be her temper?.
Then
Her voice in your head Adept.
::"Spy's come to a very bad end here Trooper, kindly re-frame from acting like one. You will be given information relevant to you task's in due time."::
It is said in a sweet voice, then a flash of your deepest darkest fears run around your mind before they are gone.
With her back to you she holds up her hand and the report you took comes back to hers. She places in on the table and says no more.
Hope that is OK GM.
Without looking up, the voice, slightly muffled from behind the mask, states, "Well, Commander, if you need bodies so badly, it's probably best not to chase them off to better-appointed units."
She stops and for a moment rubs her head.
"You are right Master Mageknight, I... sometimes forget that everyone here is a volunteer."
She turns and addresses all there.
"But this fight means a lot to me and I know many of you. I don't need to make clear what is at stake here. Our Enemy wishes a have a pure world, where beings like ua are hunted down and eradicated. They have purged thire city of what they call the unclean. Death camps and ethnic cleansing is thire aim. We of the free city, we hold that all have the same right to be, that all are welcome so long as they live well with others. We fight most of us for a home and place to be alowed to live as we see fit. Whereach we fight with flesh and blood they fight with mindless hybrid machines and abominations. It is my hope that this dream of a place for us all drives you as it dose me. You honor me with you willingness to fight with me, and I respect that and I'm humbled by it."
She smaps a salut to you all, then nods and gos back to her work.
Ynja waited until the lost of her band was heading back the she placed a hand on the trench wall and wretched her guts up. Thought out through fight she had done things on instant now there was a lull the full horror of the blood shead around her hit home. She lent there throwing uptill nothing was left. Then she strated up and wiped her mouth.
Turning she headed back to the Command tent.
Not looking at any one just strait ahead. Her 1st battle was over, her 1st kill, was she walked she cast a cantrip to clean herself.
Stowing the wand, Craven nabs a burnt sliver of wood from his pouch and starts to pick at his teeth. "T'anks Commander. You know how it is - somes gotta live, somes gotta die." He shrugs and finds a place to sit near the adept.
"Welcome to t'e dinner table, name's Craven." Though his milky white-eyes stare straight forward and his body language remains neutral, the adept of Agamotto knows that Craven isn't addressing someone else. "Where'd ya find your appetite for trench fighting?"
"I grew bored of studying in quiet cloisters and decided to test my skills in battle. I imagine it will be worse than I could have imagined, but I feel my skills have plateaued and no further progress can be made without practical application. Hopefully I live to apply lessons learned."
Ynja stopped and went back, troops where rushing past her, she made her way to the dead mages. She was an intelligence officer. Her job was not just to fight but find things out and she wanted to know who these three where. Taking her time she went over their bodies, looking for anything magical or useful. Most of all paper work, or items they could identify the unit they were from. She was in no doubt that they had been overseeing the attack. She then went over the catapults or what was left of them. Finding a whole under one as if something had come up from below.
Odd?
She order two troops to have a dig around to see what was down there.
Then picking up what the giant brothers had and the items form the mages in sake, she headed back to report her finding.
She walked into the command post just as the Commander was saluting, and went back to her work.
Ynja stood in the door way, shaken but still trying her best. She went over and dropped the sake next to her commander and saluted. She then gave a brief account of the attack and battle.
"We lost a few, but I think we did well, we now know we can take out their Fire catapults with fire, it was this weakness that lead to many of their own troops being killed. Both myself and Craven where able to blow up catapults. The bad news is they now know that as well now, so I would not expect them to attack again in this way. I found this”
She hands over what she finds on the Axe Mages.
”Three of them seem to be leading the unit that attacked. Formation of 30 plus light troops, four Catapults and 2 thumpers, and the mages hard magic. We accounted for all of them with the loss of 12 regulars and the brothers, Akumu, and Halfling who was dropped off from the cells, He’s MIA or dead. Not found him yet. Canaana is staying with the regulars as a replacement for their sniper who was killed.”
She stopped as a trooped came up and offered her a coffee, she took it in shaky hands.
”Commander I would like to request that Celeste be given a field promotion to unit Sargent. She showed true courage and helped rally the troops. I need a second should I get killed.”
She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the unit.
Commander Incendia takes the information gathered and stores it in a box under the table. Good work Lieutenant. Take a break. I'll take your recommendation under advisement. Right now I need you to take some sensitive info up to the regimental command at Et-Teleb. Made sure you're not seen.
She hands you a small envelope sealed with Intelligence's insignia.
Takes the letter places it in her pouch and Stands, saluting. She moves off to one side and brings out some items which she places on her wrists, her clothing changes to that of a normal trooper. She then pops a help she found under her arm. She looks at the troop.
"Good luck and I hope you make it."
She then flicks her hood up and heads out the door.
Ponderously making his way through the trenches, a great, oversized axe slung over his shoulder, Bustik pondered how he got there. Volunteering for a government project, the pain from the experiments... Shaking his head to bring himself back to the present, Bustik moved through the open doorway and presented himself to the commander. "Ma'am, I am Bustik, presenting myself for duty," he said with a crisp salute.
The commander returns the salute and immediately returns to a set of maps and documents. The others are over there. You may want to get acquainted
Nodding to the woman, Bustik moved to his fellow soldiers and said, "I am Bustik, I am to be fighting along side you until death."
"I surrendered my name before coming here. I'm one of the adepts tithed to the battlefield. If you need to refer to me, Adept is sufficient. In what manner do you fight? You look like you can swing a weapon pretty hard. "
Giving a nod to the nameless man, Bustik replied, "Indeed, I primarily fight with weapons, but I do have a limited ability to cast some few spells. My primary ability, though, is the conjuring of armor. What, if I may ask, are you an adept of?"
"I can fling spells, rather than the big flashy fire or lightning that some of my brothers prefer, I use shards of crystal. Sink them into the enemy's flesh, try to hold them in place, then cut them with some more crystals."