Tragershen's magic guides his hand, and the orc hits the floor.
Both of Joden's attacks connect with the prone orc. It's still moving, somehow.
Bandit 14 yells at Bandanna, "I'll kill you myself when this is over!"
He turns to the party. "You first, though." He squares up to the door, and decides to shoot at Joden.
He looses an arrow into the melee:
This time the bandit can't quite arc it past his orcish allies.
Orc 14 steps carefully to stand over his fallen comrade and lets loose on... ...Lolly.
Fortunately for Lolly, the orc misses.
On one hand, she had indicated to Lolly that she would heal him as soon as she could. On the other hand, Brand was looking pretty bad at the moment. Aurora makes her decision and moves towards Brand — if possible, she will select a square that isn't threatened; otherwise, she will cast defensively.
There is plenty of space in the room to reach Brand safely. Aurora skirts the still-shut sarcophagus and places a friendly hand on Brand's back--the halfling's battered body seems to freshen up a bit, like a watered houseplant. Still a little wilty, though.
Barely standing after the monstrous wound from one orc and only narrowly escaping a killing blow from another, for a moment Brand considers the folly of rushing headlong to face the bandits... Perhaps, just perhaps, this wasn't the brightest of ideas. But I'll be damned to the Nine Hells if I am going to go down without a fight. There's still life in me yet... "Come n' get it, greenskin!"
Brandishing his twin blades, the young halfling lashes out at the orc in front of him, who is now caught between Brand and the dwarven warrior Joden.
Slightly refreshed by the curing potion, Lolygert rushes back into the fray, showing no mercy he targets the orc pulled down by Tragershen...
Lolly swings and misses, despite Aurora's blessing, but Lolly's faith-enhanced attack reminds Brand that he, too, is blessed!
The halfling blender sinks two short swords into Orc 14. At this point, both that orc and the prone orc underneath him have lost a lot of blood--they seem to be carrying on through sheer ferocious will.
Orc 7 can't figure out how to get at the little monsters who are murdering his kin. He steps back, pulls a javelin, waits for an opening, and hurls it through the melee:
He regrips his falchion, clearly frustrated.
Bandit 5 yells at Bandanna, "Go and die out there, then! We'll take the loot off your body after the rats pick it clean, fool!"
He fires an arrow into the fight:
...no luck for him, certainly not with the orcs in the way.
Thinking that if a trick works once; why not a second time, the Alchemist tosses a Tanglefoot bomb at the same square.
The orc in the back takes a bomb to the noggin, and is now glued to the floor. The blast finishes the prone orc, but the standing orc takes some damage from the heat while mostly avoiding the goop.
Bandanna calls over his shoulder, "You'll never see me again, you dirtbags!" If any of the party is paying attention, they hear the sound of a door slamming shut.
Tragershen drops his whip and pulls out a flask, using it to augment his next spell. With an arcane word, he flings a glob of acid at the on the bandits.
Acid Splash, targeting Bandit at 14 init.
To hit
Damage
Bandit 14 shouts in pain as the acid splashes him on the shoulder and soaks past his armor. He yells to the other human bandit, "Too many of 'em, and we can't beat so much magic, pal! Jack and his orc friends are toast. Let's get to the others, I'll cover ya!"
He disappears from the party's field of vision, moving to the south.
Orc 14 swings his falchion at
Joden!
In his quickly failing state, he misses.
Aurora calls upon another spark of divine power to infuse herself and her allies, before calling out, "We need to stop getting choked at the doorway and get in there."
Brand chuckles as the goopy bomb finishes off one orc, glues another to the floor, and the burns the one directly in front of him. "Sting a bit, does it?" He then lunges foward again with his dual blades, hoping to finish the bugger off!
Brand's whirling blades don't hit anything too vital, but the nick he puts into the orc's leg causes it to topple over. As it tries to push itself off the floor, its various internal injuries, aggravated by the fall, finally overwhelm it, and it collapses on top of the dead orc in that square. Now there are two.
The last orc is glued to the floor just inside the doorway, and a pair of bandits beyond seem to be making their getaway.
The entangled, glued orc tries to break free:
...he does. His life force is quickly ebbing, and he can't muster the energy to do anything else.
Bandit 5 has a head start and isn't glued to anything. His footsteps recede in the distance.
Bedlam takes his heavy pick off his shoulder, as the burly dwarf steps toward the lone Bandit.
You be feel'n lucky punk!
..O.. (bandit 30 ft-->)
--D--
*Party*
O=Orc
--=wall
..=empty
D=Door
As Bedlam pops through the door, the bandit's readied action triggers:
...a devastating shot. Especially considering, as far as I can tell, being staggered doesn't keep an orc from taking AOOs.
Having thought about what he would say to the lone bandit, Bedlam instead grins at the glued and entangled Orc in his way.
You be in me way orc!
The burly dwarf rubs his hands together.
Me be needed to fix da wall break!
Bedlam winks at GM Parrot!
The dwarf lowers his shoulder at the glued and entangled orc...
As a standard action, taken during your move or as part of a charge, you can attempt to overrun your target, moving through its square. You can only overrun an opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you. If you do not have the Improved Overrun feat, or a similar ability, initiating an overrun provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If your overrun attempt fails, you stop in the space directly in front of the opponent, or the nearest open space in front of the creature if there are other creatures occupying that space.
When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring an attack. If your target does not avoid you, make a combat maneuver check as normal. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target’s space. If your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD by 5 or more, you move through the target’s space and the target is knocked prone. If the target has more than two legs, add +2 to the DC of the combat maneuver attack roll for each additional leg it has.
I shall like to continue in this game, if allowed? I really enjoy this one.
With the orc fully exposed after taking down Bedlam, Tragershen takes advantage of the opening to spray him with acid.
Acid Splash, targeting the visible non-glued orc.
To hit
Damage
Tragershen's acid is agonizing. The orc mutters in Orcish, "Aquest és el pitjor dia."
Bandit 14, seeing that his buddy has gotten clear of the fight, slackens his readied arrow and scampers off through the southern door.
Joden steps forward and tries to end this orc:
...he puts it down with one violent violet slash.
Looking down at the horrific wound in the dwarf's chest and thinking about his own near brush with death, Brand draws a potion for his bandoleer and pours it down the dwarf's mouth. "Ye ain't dyin' yet! I'm not allowin' it!! Now, I hope ye can stay on yer feet this time..."
Aurora puffs out a hard breath. "Those on your feet, start getting in the room. See what the situation is. It seems like they're running away... we should secure the area."
Uttering a prayer to Nethys, once against a glow of white light emits from Aurora's holy symbol and swirls around the group.
Bedlam's wounds close--the fountains of blood that had been pouring from his nearly severed torso sputter and fall silent. But despite Brand and Aurora's attentions, he's not moving yet.
Tall Jack Ratt, on the other hand, benefits more dramatically from Aurora's burst of positive energy. He wiggles where he's buried by dead orcs and unconscious dwarves. He coughs a little blood and groans out a few words... "Help! Save me, men! Charge! Oh gods, the orcs! So much blood! I yield, I yield!"
Jack tries to shove the bodies off of himself:
He dislodges Bedlam from the top of the pile, but can't quite escape. It's pretty nightmarish down there.
"...a little help?"
Seeing Bedlam's barely breathing form dislodged by the bandit, Brand slides over and places his bloody short sword blade under Jack's chin. "A li'l 'elp ye'd like, eh? 'Ow's about I 'elp ye on to yer eternal bedchamber in de nine hells?! Now, if'n I 'ad an ounce o' desire to 'elp ye... Or let ye live, den it might be brought forth wit a touch more gratitude, an' reward, if'n ye get me."
"By Norgober's knuckles, calm down! The loot's in the bucket under the tabletop."
He's not particularly intimidated, but his desire to survive means he's being cooperative. His eyes swivel to the table... which, of course, has been dismantled.
"Ummm... so, if the table's open, so, then, you found the loot? That's all there is. We spent a lot on bows and armor for the lads, and gave some to the orc chief who loaned us the... these guys." He wiggles, making the orc corpses shake a bit.
"There's the tomb next door but we thought the zombies in there would be better as guard dogs. We let 'em be, figuring if anyone came through the secret door they'd make a racket. Good plan, that part worked, only. Well, you know the rest... But tombs and treasure go together, they say! Damn the boys for ditching me here like this, treacherous scum."
As the party moves cautiously into the room, they see a door to the south, where all the bandits fled--and a room to the east. Otherwise, dirty bedrolls and a sooty, scummy firepit are all you see.
But perhaps someone is just beyond the eastern door...
The pit trap had not been the end.
Talathel had fallen, he estimates a day ago, but remained uninjured. The winding route was clearly disused except by vermin, which he could defeat without trouble.
And now, finally, a door!
He has examined it to the best of his ability, and he sees nothing obviously trapped. He reaches for it.
*click*
And the door swings outward.
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Joden has been silent for some time. He steps into the center of the room, toward the newcomer, the glowing purple blade ready, but with a kindly look in his eye. He raises his shield hand in greeting, very polite for a dwarf addressing an elf… but then, suddenly…
A flash of blue-white magelight fills the room. Three dwarves appear in a thunderclap of teleportation magic. Their helms, filigreed with the finest and rarest minerals, cover the upper halves of their faces, leaving their eyes swathed in shadow. Their long, white-braided beards dangle nearly to the floor. Their weapons shimmer with power… and they beckon to Joden. An incredibly deep voice speaking an archaic dialect of dwarven booms into the room.
ចូរមកជាមួយយើង។ យើងត្រូវការរាល់មនុស្សតឿដែលយើងអាចរកបាន។ ការបែកបាក់របស់យើងបានបង្ហាញឱ្យឃើញវត្តមានរបស់អ្នកនៅក្នុងកន្លែងក្លែងក្លាយនេះ។ មេបញ្ជាការទាំងពីរបានបញ្ជូនគណៈប្រតិភូទៅហ្គ្រេរ៉េណេកដែលបំបែកគំលាតបុរាណដែលរក្ស ាផ្ទៃពីក្រោម។ យើងត្រូវតែបំផ្លាញភ្នាក់ងាររបស់ខ្លួនមុនពេលពួកគេឈានដល់កំពែងក្រុងដ៏អស្ចារ្យ។ មក។ យើងនឹងនាំអ្នកត្រឡប់មកវិញនៅពេលក្រោយប្រសិនបើអ្នកចង់។ ទុកឱ្យភាពអផ្សុកនៅពីក្រោយ។ យកនេះ, វាមានភាពសក្ដិសមនៃកម្ពស់របស់អ្នក
Joden doesn’t hesitate. This is destiny. He lays down the ScimiTsar at his feet—his respect for its craftsmanship all that keeps him from dropping it outright. He unhitches the rustic, custom scabbard from his back, and it slides to the ground. He takes the mighty warhammer from the mystic trio of dwarves, a hammer decorated with stylized boars and intricately tangled knots of exotic metals… and there’s a second flash of light! Another thunderclap! And they are gone. Maybe someday you will see them again; maybe you will see Joden again…
Aurora blinks once. Twice. Three times.
"Er..." Her gaze darts between the newly-arrived elf and the... whatever is occuring with Joden, clearly very unsure as to what is going on.
...
Well, there's nothing that can be done about that.
A short prayer to Nethys later and Aurora is casting Cure Light Wounds on Bedlam to hopefully get the dwarf back on his feet; all the while, her eyes are watching the new elf curiously. He doesn't appear to be hostile to the group, and so she says, "Greetings." As an aside to her group, she adds, "... Someone get that bandit on the ground tied up."
Don't be want'n to go ta da light!, exclaims Bedlam loudly, as the dwarf suddenly bursts out of the reeking pile of orcs!
Dirty, filthy, smelling durn orcs!
Muttering outloud, Bedlam gets to his feet. The swearing, cursing dwarf picks up his heavy pick.
Me s'possing could've been worst! Now orcs and elves! Now, dat be 'nough to git a strong dwarven heart a bursting!
Finally noticing the new comer in the chamber, the burly dwarf smiles.
Yous best be friends wit our elf! Me not feel'n too nice at da moment!
Bedlam then looks at Aurora.
Me be owing ya, lassie!
Tragershen blinks hard until the spots from the bright light fade from his vision. "I'll admit, of all of the ways I imagined losing allies in this grim place, that was simply not on the list."
When the new elf arrives, Tragershen calls out a challenge. "What allegiance do you claim?"