GM Helio's Ballad of the Stolen Lands

Game Master Helio

Swift Action - Animal Focus: Bat(Kareta)(Darkvision 60')/Bull(Eshie)(+2 strength)
Closing her eyes and concentrating for a moment, Kareta opens them to find her surroundings easier to see through. Eshie's musculature seems to grow thicker as he tenses. He readies himself to attack the first enemy that gets too close to his partner (Readied action: Charge the first enemy to get within 15' of Kareta) as Kareta draws her axe and casts a spell, touching the rock ferret's back.
Guidance on Eshie

Will wait until i am a little closer to my initiative

Dmitri unsheathes his sword and assumes a defensive stance.
total defense, ac->20/15/19

"Assume defensive positions!"

Whatever the creatures are, they're smart enough to approach from downwind. Tyanos' super sniffer can't detect a thing from this distance...

Fortunately, his uncanny outsider eyes can pierce the darkness with relative ease--as can Kareta's, with a big of animal instinct on her side. The creatures approaching lay low to the ground, using the grasses to hide their forms. A lanky tail twists behind their forms as they stalk forward. One in particular seems larger than the others, if only slightly.

Tyanos has only a moment to process this sight as he recalls a beast that used similar tactics not all so long ago... when the familiar looking cat-wolf things come charging, leaping!, from the brush at every angle to strike. Two of them go for the frailest looking defenders--Thomas, Tyanos, respectively, while the largest and another go straight through the middle between Hadin and Dmitri at the horses!

The sudden attack catches Tyanos mostly unprepared, while the horses go completely frantic as one of their own goes down between a combination of the day's marching and the new bite tearing through its flank. Stomping wildly, they don't seem ready to calm down any time soon as they flail against the creatures attacking them--and are only making it more difficult to help them!

Tyanos takes 5 damage, one of the horses is now at 11/15 (5 NL) damage and is unconscious.
Until the horses are calmed down, standing next to them (or the creatures they're attacking) imposes a -2 on attack rolls because you're trying pretty hard not to hit the poor things.

"I can't get a good swing if these horses are in the way!" said Dmitri as he removed from hand from his blade and tried to grab the reign of his horse. "Calm down, girl! No need to be bucking!"

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

I'll spend my time calming my horse down

Oh, forgot to mention: Tyanos, Hadin, and Thomas recognize these critters as thylacines, from that fight waaaaaay back when.

As the creature strikes Tyanos it senses something very wrong about him.

The attacking Thylacine must make a Will save DC 15 or suffer acid vulnerability.

Growling less at the pain and more at the endless annoyance of such creatures. He takes a step back and angles himself best to avoid his comrades and get as many of the beast as he can.

"I'm going to skin you and make you into rugs."

He didn't care if they understood, he unleashed a spell to get his point across regardless. A torrent of color and lights spread out from his outstretched hand.

Cast Color Spray, Will DC 15 negates

Attack: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 4 - 2 = 17
Dmg: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Hadin strikes a thylacine with his flail, trying not to hit his own horse and to calm it

Ride: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Or dismounting quickly if he can't calm the horse

The thylacine that took a bite out of Tyanos creeps back, spitting a mouthful of blood into the moonlit dirt. Whatever it tasted, it didn't like it.

But Tyanos wasn't satisfied with just that. Taking a step back of his own, he lines up a cone of color that illuminates the darkness of night with a cacophony of lights and images. The thylacine chomping at Thomas's heels doubles over sideways as the magic takes hold, but the one in front of Tyanos and the larger one, standing over the wounded horse, seem entirely unfazed. The big one turns its attention to Tyanos, obviously offended that its meal was interrupted...

Worse, the sudden burst of magic catches both Thomas and his horse within its effect...
Thomas and his horse will need to save against Tyanos' color spray!

Meanwhile, Dmitri and Hadin work at keeping the standing horses from stomping friend and foe alike. They calm down their own mounts, though the others are still quite upset--though apparently less so after Hadin cracks his flail against the skull of the thylacine in their midst. The cat-like thing squeals as it rights itself and turns to face the attacker.
One very, very hurt thylacine!

Round 2 start:

Brycen heaves his longhammer up, scowling at his misbehaving horse. Human trained, most likely, and as unruly as most of the folks he'd met across Brevoy and these 'River Kingdoms.' Nothing a good hammer couldn't cure, though. He turns and brings his hammer down across the biggest thylacine's back... except that right as he heaves it to full swing, his horse knocks him off balance and the blow does little more than flatten a patch of grass.

Longhammer: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 - 2 = 7

Ini Order: Brycen, Kareta, Eshie and *something*, the horses, Dmitri, Thomas and Hadin, Tyanos
I believe Thomas still has his round 1 action as well? Fortunately, the color spray resolves after your action even if you fail.

Dmitri was satisfied that his efforts were not in vain because his horse was no longer thrashing about like a frenzied beast. Now that his mount was secure, he moved onto his nearest ally's horse and tried to calm it as well.

"Hold steady, ole boy!"
Handle Animal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Spending my turn to do the same.

Round 1
Thomas spends the time to dismount from his wildly thrashing horse, in time to catch a face full of colour

will: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

round 2

Shaking off the spots, and scowling slightly. By the inheritor

He moves slightly to get clear of the puppies.
free action shift, standard cast bless

"Go get him, Eshie!" Kareta points her partner at the Thaycline attacking Tyanos while she tried to calm her mount.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Bite(Eshie): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
grab: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"'ey!" Brycen yells at the sky, for some strange twist of fate that overcame him. "WHILE I'S BE DAY DREAMIN, SWINGIN' DIS HAMMAH AS ME FIRST MOVE IS NAWT DA WAY I DO TINGS ROUND HERE, YA HEAR?! I BE PLAYING TEH LOOT FIRST"

He ceases his yelling and looked puzzled, as if he regained control of himself. ..."Wait, why's was me yellin' about again?

Since the DM already botted Brycen for this round, I doubt I can do anything other than to yell at him, also sorry for showing up late, again.

It's round two. Your turn again. :)

The GM covered my round as shown above. However, if he is nice enough, he'd let me make my own choices now that I'm back.

"Time ta unleash da tune of arsekickin! Brycen says as he strums a chord on his lute.

Playing Inspire Courage

Kareta struggles to get her horse under control while Eshie charges at the thylacine harassing Tyanos. The ferret tears through the creature's flank, pulling it further away from Tyanos and into a grapple. The thylacine hisses and spits, as clearly unhappy with this turn of events as it is injured.

The one Hadin walloped lunges at him, getting its teeth around the paladin's ankles before circling around to get beside the man (and out of the center, where half the horses continue to go wild).

Hadin takes 5 damage!

The largest of the thylacines perches atop the fallen horse, snarling down at the others as though trying to urge them to put up a better fight. It charges down towards Hadin, moving to trap the man between one thylacine and one much larger thylacine... At the last second, Hadin ducks to the side and avoids the blow, though he still has a rather large catlike predator stalking towards him...

As Thomas shakes off the burst of color still flashing before his eyes, he calls on the blessings of the Inheritor to aid the group.

Dmitri manages to get another one of the horses under control, leaving only two still acting up (and one having a bit of a bleeding problem, after having been pounced by the thylacines).

Hadin and Tyanos still have round 2 actions. @Brycen, I did indeed bot your round 2 action. You can start up bardic performance first thing on round 3, if you'd like.

Round 2 action

Hadin tries to finish the wounded beast
Flail, Bless: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 1 = 15 Dmg: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

round 3 action
Before striking a second time, doing his best not to be surrounded
Either on the wounded thylacine, or the bigger one if it's down
Flail, Bless, Inspire: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 7 Dmg, inspire: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7

Tyanos puts more distance between himself and the beast, taking out his crossbow as he does. He fires, letting the bolt fly.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 141d8 ⇒ 3

Will aim for the most wounded.

Satisfied with his assessment, Dmitri moved onto another horse and attempted to calm it down. Only did he notice the severity of the creature's wound as a shiny substance poured from bit marks.

"Be still. I will take care of you."

Move onto the bleeding horse and taking care of it.

handle animal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
heal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Okay, just to recap: One Thaycline is down, one is unconscious via color spray, and one has only one hit point left (also, the big one, which was until now relatively untouched). Which one is Eshie clamped down on?

Eshie's taking a chomp out of the disabled one, who is clinging to life by a thread. The unconscious one lays at Thomas's feet. The severely wounded one is flanking Hadin with the big one. Sorry for not being clearer! At work now, proper update later.

Tyanos takes a few steps back, lowers his crossbow, and plants a bolt perfectly between Eshie's jaws and the thrashing thylacine. It falls motionless below the great ferret.

Hadin, meanwhile, brings his flail around on the thylacine trying to flank him. The heavy weapon cracks once more against its skull, sending a spray of blood across the field. It collapses to the side, gives a final, desperate kick, and then lays still.

Two down!

Round 3 start:
Ini Order: Brycen, Kareta, Eshie and *something*, the horses, Dmitri, Thomas and Hadin, Tyanos
Hadin and Dmitri have already posted their R3 actions, and I think Brycen wants to start up bardic perfomance (confirm/deny?). I'll wait a bit for more posts, then resolve everything.

Blood Drain: 1d1 ⇒ 1 CON damage
handle animal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

As Kareta continues trying to calm her horse, Eshie drops his former prey and goes after the smaller of the Thayclines flanking Hadin.

Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21(possibly +1)
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
grab: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

confirm starting the bardic performance this round

Eshie pounces on what is left of the thylacine beside Hadin, tearing the disabled creature to pieces. Meanwhile, Brycen starts chanting a great bardic song of inspiration as all eyes converge on the only thylacine still standing--the big one.

It growls, as though aware of its predicament, before stalking around behind Hadin to strike at his flank. Ready, Hadin blocks critter's attack with a swing from his flail. It deals no damage to the beast, but deters its strike enough for the paladin to get some breathing room.

Dmitri directs his attention to the wounded horse, keeping the rest calm while he looks over the wounds. Though it's still alive, it seems to have lapsed into unconsciousness and has grown quite bloodied. Fixing it up is going to take more than a few bandages.

The only small thylacine left is the one that's been color sprayed out of the fight for the next minute or so. The big one still hasn't been touched.

Flail, Bless, Inspire: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 12
Dmg, Inspire: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7

Hadin tries to keep the bigger thylacine at a distance, using his flail

Tyanos sends a magical dart at the creature while backing away to get more room between him and the creature.

Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Thomas draws his sword and starts to move to get to a flanking position

Thomas, finally clearing his head of the colorful afterimage of Tyanos' magic, wades into the fray and helps surround the big thylacine. It turns as it stalks around its prey, eyes equally wary of all the foes around it and burning with a hungry fury.

Tyanos follows the cleric's approach with a blast of arcane energy of his own, though the big cat shrugs it off with hardly a glance.

Round 4 start:
Ini Order: Brycen, Kareta, Eshie and *something*, the horses, Dmitri, Thomas and Hadin, Tyanos

"This horse needs healing!" roared Dmitri as he saw his companion's steed struggle within the darkness. The horses were their lives out in the wild. To lose such a beast would be detrimental to their group's survival.

He roars, draws his sword and attempts to attack the large creature.
"Die, foul beast!"

Bastard Sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 241d10 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

"Time to end this!" Kareta cried, hurling her axe at the last beast as Eshie rushed forwards.

Throwing Axe: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Bite: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
grab: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Round 4
I will get to the horse, as soon as it is safe.

Thomas finishes moving to flank the big thylacine.
attack: 1d20 + 0 + 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 0 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 17
BAB,STR,Flank,Inspire/Bless
damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 = 10
2h Str,Inspire

Bless active 18/20 rounds

Kareta turns on the biggest of the beasts, hurling her axe across the battlefield with masterful skill. The axe falls short, just missing the thylacine's foreleg--but Eshie leaps on behind it, tearing into the thylacine with tooth and claw. The ferret tries to pull the cat into a grapple, but the agile beast is having none of that.

It slips out of the ferret's grasp, then snakes through a gap in the surrounding foes with incredible agility and near boneless movements. Staying beside Hadin (who it apparently finds rather tasty?), it tries once more to take the paladin down with its powerful jaws. Still, the constant barrage of axes, blades, flails, teeth, and worse keeps the cat from landing a blow. It growls its anger, too enraged to flee an obviously losing battle. Or, perhaps, simply too hungry.

Thomas makes his way to the creature, surrounding it nearly fully--though the large cat is big enough that surrounding it is a feat of its own. He brings his sword down with the fury of the Inheritor, striking true.

Dmitri follows just behind him, his massive bastard sword scoring another blow on the thylacine. Bloodied and weary, the cat wavers--but refuses to fall.

Ini Order: Brycen, Kareta, Eshie and *something*, the horses, Dmitri, Thomas and Hadin, Tyanos
Still need Brycen, Hadin, and Tyanos for this round.

Tyanos keeps putting distance between himself and the last beast but still with in the impressive range of his sniping spell. Which he unleashes yet again, the glowing dart dancing through the air and striking true.

Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Flail, Bless, inspire: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 14
Dmg, Inspire: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 1 = 11

Hadin tries to hits the beast, but puts maybe too much force in his blow and loses some of his balance

Not sure if that hits or not..^^

Might be redundant, anyway

"Finish this, Eshie!" Kareta cries as she moves to the injured horse. A soft green glow covers her palms and she presses it against the bleeding wound.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Meanwhile, Eshie leaps at his prey again.

Bite: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

@Kareta-Indeed it is.

With a magic missile from Tyanos and a final swing of Hadin's flail, the great thylacine goes down in a heap. The pack lay dead (well, except for one that's taking a long nap courtesy of color spray), and the horses have mostly calmed down as Kareta leaps to attend the wounded one.

As quickly as it all started, you are once more surrounded by nothing but the placid quiet of the Stolen Lands.

Wiping his blade on a rag, Thomas looks around.
Anyone other than the horses hurt? as he starts to make his way to the horse.

I think Tyanos and me are the only wounded, but in the heat of the fight I didn't saw everything.

I'm pretty sure both Tyanos and I were hit for 5 dmg each, and I think that's all

"Yes I am half dead. Anyone mind killing the sleeping one, we don't need it waking."

Leaving the wounded horse to Thomas, Kareta draws her bow and motions to Eshie, who promptly bites to sever the Thaycline's spine between his fangs.
Coup de Grace: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 6) + 4 = 14
Kareta then scans the plains, using the last of her nightvision to look out for further threats that may be attracted by the sounds or smells of battle.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Can one you drag the bodies out there, while I quickly prepare

Thomas takes a minute to ensure that he will not get any of the thylacines in his burst, but the horses as well as the hurt people.

Channel: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Channel: 1d6 ⇒ 2
Channel: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Will this hold you until the morning? He asks

I'm fine now. Thank you Thomas, for everything you do to help us.

Simple but heartfelt words, and an honest smile.
That's Hadin.

Dmitri bowed his head slightly. Stowing his blade, Dmitri motioned towards the horses and gave cursory checks to make sure that the horses condition had improved.

"By the inheritor's light we are renewed in health and vigor. Thank you, Thomas. Our steeds shall survive yet!"

With the thylacines dispatched, Kareta keeps her eyes peeled to the wilderness, wary of attracting more predators (or worse).

Fortunately, the night seems as quiet as it started. Thomas' healing graces, courtesy of the Inheritor herself, ensure both rider and mount are in top shape for the next day's hard ride.

Onward to Oleg's, then U-turn back to Happston?

Depends, do you handwave Tyanos schemes all work fine. :D

In the morning, Thomas re-prepares his spells for the days journey.

He then checks over his horse, and then prepares himself for the journey.

I put my progress towards the armoured kilt on my profile.

With the battle finished, Dmitri turned towards Tyanos.

"Are we ready for this...moment with Falgrim Sneeg?"

"Once we have a few more hands with weapons to hold, the gold, and Happ's lady alive and well. Sneeg will no longer be a concern, should Desna truly smile on us we will even bring him back for that annoying guardsman. Another bounty claimed with less bandits running around."

He pauses for a moment.

"Happston will also no longer be a concern I think."

He says no more on that, many things would have to go his way for the best result. Still success would be had so long as they survived and Sneeg roamed no more. He was not too greedy and was perfectly willing to settle.