Jetta shakes her head determinedly. "No. We need to push on. The moment that the other bugbears notice that these ones aren't coming back, they'll slink away. We don't have time to chase them around the woods."
”Divine retribution is already overdue to these monsters. The sooner we extinguish them, the sooner we handle the wizard.”
”Any retribution would do,” Anthuria says solemnly as she places a hand on Miiryum’s shoulder. ”They can’t get away with this. Let’s go, straight on.”
Though Balthus and Amund advocate for rest, the others overrule them, grimly eager to see justice done. As the lizardfolk slip into the water to bear the funereal boat to Fort Thorn, the weary warriors re-mount, coaxing the horses down the Coldrun River shore. As you ride, dawn begins to creep over the horizon, taking night unaware; soon, the sky is afire with a riot of reds, though some in the party find they feel..significantly less vibrant.
But a couple of hours after dawn, the object of the night's efforts comes into sight - a curl of smoke rises from the shore of the riverbend ahead, originating within a thick hedge of red roses grown into a formidable barrier over ten feet wide. Balthus encourages everyone to dismount some distance away, tying the horses to a tree out of hearing distance; he leads the way to close the distance on foot, his bow at the ready.
With his keen eyes and his knowledge of goblinoid habits, Balthus soon sorts out the bugbears' defensive strategies. The hedge has only two openings - one narrow gap at the north end (blocked by a clumsy, but heavy, gate) and a wider gap facing the river that serves as a kind of moorage for a pair of rafts and a wide, shallow canoe. Up closer, the roses are even more frightening, their thorns two inches long and razor-sharp; just a glance is enough for Anthuria to tell that their growth has been magically altered, and no one likes the prospect of trying to push through them.
Three bugbears walk around the hedge's edge, acting as sentries; from the way they ram their fists into their eyes, it looks as if it's nearing the end of their turn of duty. As you take in the camp, you hear a sudden noise from the north - a trio of the brutes walks down the path from the forest, one hauling the remains of a sleek doe over his shoulder. From the lack of sound inside, it seems the rest of the camp slumbers still.
[spoiler=GM screen]
Not unused to long night watches, Jetta endures the lack of sleep admirably. Once the group has the enemy camp in their sights, she turns expectantly to Balthus. Though she had some experience rooting out bugbears and their smaller kin, the old ranger was clearly the master when it came to hunting goblinoids.
"How do you want to do this?" whispers the Hellknight.
Weary but not down, the ranger takes a look at the situation. He whispered back to the group, "To take them out in small number is the best bet. We strike quickly and as silently as possible."
He ducked behind a bush, "Let's get ready, I think we can take out these sentries in one fell swoop."
------------
Rubbing his eyes more than once as the length of the day starts to take its toll on him. Crouching down with the others and nodding along, "Which group?"
Anthuria feels remarkably refreshed. She attributes it to adrenaline and anticipation for the coming confrontation.
"Balthus has it. The closest group would be easiest to dispatch and draw the least risk of detection. Give the word..."
Percival drew out a vellum scroll, adding, "It may be only once, but I can silence them as well."
With Percival's scroll, the fight turns from a tense and fearful chance at discovery to...almost simple. The magics he calls upon deadens the scouts' footfalls and crude jokes, as well as the soft clanks of armor and weapons as Amund and Jetta move in and the whisper of arrow fletchings as Balthus shoots past them with his bow. By the time the guards have any inkling of what's happened, justice is already among them...
Gamely the bugbears try to lash out against their attackers, but surprise and fear slow their swings; Amund is able to bat aside their morningstars with ease, even tired from the night's exertions, and another spiked mace bounces off Jetta's heavy armor without even a dent. Anthuria's bursts of magic are silent Tien fireworks, hailing the advent of the cruel goblinoids' doom; Balthus' arrows find their mark, guided by years of experience hunting creatures like these down; Jetta's halberd and Amund's fiery sword crash through the foes without even a whisper. Soon, three bugbears lie dead at Amund and Jetta's feet - and the group approaching along the road pulls aside the clunky gate at the north end of the enclosure, seeming none the wiser of their cohorts' fate.
Balthus nodded appreciatively to his companions. He signaled with his hands for them to repeat the same thing with the next group, the other three bugbears at the entrance.
Jetta nods at Balthus. Flicking the excess blood off her halberd, she advances to the front of the camp at a hustle.
Anthuria withdraws a handkerchief to mop her brow. The exertion of the preliminary scuffle, or maybe the excitement for the impending battle, has her heart racing. She follows silently behind the others, staying close to Lord Arizian.
With a strange aura of quiet still surrounding Jetta, she and Amund sally forth once more, with Anthuria, Balthus, and Percival following close behind. The spellweavers conceal themselves in the shrubbery facing the clearing at the hedge's entrance, while Amund and Jetta count on Percival's spell to conceal their approach. And while the spell certainly does help, negating the warning the sound of their clanking armor would have given...it's not quite enough. As the soldiers make their approach, one of the bugbears tries to shout; while the silence spell muffles his voice, his gestures are enough to ensure that his cohorts are ready for the attack.
But not too ready - Jetta and Amund still prove much quicker on their feet, and are among the goblinoids in a heartbeat. Balthus' arrows once again whiz over their shoulders, striking true. Anthuria calls upon their very own rose bushes to hold them in place and slow any others emerging from the compound, and Percival calls upon Abadar's favor to bless his allies. The bugbears fight gamely, but between Jetta's armor, Amund's quickness, and the vines pulling at their arms and hands, none manages to make contact. In the space of a few moments, the fight is over - the bugbears lie riddled with arrow wounds and the marks of blades, the opening to the compound writhes with vines right in front of where Amund and Jetta had made their stand...and a cry raises from inside. Tangi! Soko kadadosan njaba!
Shaking his head to refocus before glancing over at Jetta, "Do you want to make a stand here? Cause that is fine by me."
Unable to hear Amund through the magically induced silence, Jetta shakes her head and points at her ear. Incapable of coordinating effectively with her companions, she takes the initiative and marches into the camp, raising her shield and glancing around to locate the enemy.
I can't really post right now, but can I dismiss it?
Anthuria smiles a silent thanks to her old friends, the roses, then wills them away with a wave of her hand. Then she creeps through the foliage, trying to place herself nearer Amund and Balthus to gain a better view of Jetta.
Scowl firmly in place Stupid silence. This will hurt. Amund moves up next to Jetta.
Bugbears begin to stumble out of crude huts and tents, crude maces and pilfered swords at the ready. One from the nearest hut, apparently feeling rather bold, stirs the others up with a few (quite rude) words and charges with his homemade morningstar - and very, very quickly learns why this was a bad idea, as Jetta's halberd rips him nearly in two with a mighty stroke. The others hang back further, disheartened by their comrade's quick demise...but then, from the hut nearest the water, another figure emerges.
Easily the tallest by a head with thick, well-muscled arms, he begins to bark out orders at the others, goading them forward; he clearly sees the rest of the camp's inhabitants as his inferiors. Antarane piring waja! Iku ora sawetara jenis nbangun, cubluk, mung waja! At his shouts, the bugbears' hits seem to grow more powerful - though the Hellknight plate still proves difficult to crack, and Amund easily dodges their blows.
Growling to himself and lighting his blade aflame before swinging.
"Ah, s!#&."
Balthus drops his bow and takes out his battleaxe even as he moves towards the closest bug bear.
Slasher growled in anticipation and moved past the old ranger.
"C'mon boy, Give 'em hell!"
-------------
|
He uses Smite Chaos--how is not up to me.
RESOLUTE CROCODILE CR 2
N Large animal
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dex, +4 natural, –1 size)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2
SR 7
Resist Fire, cold, and acid 5
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft.; sprint
Melee bite +5 (1d8+4 plus grab ) and tail slap +0 (1d12+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks death roll (1d8+6 plus trip )
Smite Chaos 1/day (+0 to Attack, +3 to damage vs chaotic)
STATISTICS
Str 19, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Base Atk +2; CMB +7 (+11 grapple); CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus ( Perception , Stealth )
Skills Perception +8, Stealth +5 (+13 in water), Swim +12; Racial Modifiers +8 on Stealth in water
SQ hold breath
ECOLOGY
Environment warm rivers and marshes
Organization solitary, pair, colony (3–12), or court (20-40, plus random animal judge and jury)
Treasure golden tooth and nice tux
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Death Roll (Ex) When grappling a foe of its size or smaller, a crocodile can perform a death roll upon making a successful grapple check. As it clings to its foe, it tucks in its legs and rolls rapidly, twisting and wrenching its victim. The crocodile inflicts its bite damage and knocks the creature prone. If successful, the crocodile maintains its grapple.
Hold Breath (Ex) A crocodile can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 times its Constitution score before it risks drowning.
Sprint (Ex) Once per minute a crocodile may sprint, increasing its land speed to 40 feet for 1 round.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Anthuria frowns when the larger bugbear emerges. Even by bugbear standards, this one was a brute. She has every confidence in Jetta, Amund, and Balthus to overcome these beasts. Still, she knows a little magic couldn't hurt, meager as her gifts might be. Beyond the bugbears, near the water's edge, a pair of canoes wait. Between here and there, a wide expanse of well-worn paths traverse the ground through the trampled grasses. Anthuria's lips move silently as she implores them to reach skyward and snag the massive feet that stand upon them.
Percival starts into a summoning spell, calling one of his god's allies to lend aid to the fight. Anthuria calls up another spell of entanglement, which several of the hapless goblinoids fall prey to, though a few manage to jump out of the way in time and the larger bugbear shakes it off almost contemptuously. And Amund, Jetta, Balthus, and Slasher attack in unison, Slasher bounding through the bushes with a yelp to get behind the bugbears.
Balthus, with his years of experience, finds it almost laughably easy to slash one of the monsters within an inch of its life, and Jetta's two swings match Balthus's single swipe. But Amund, distracted by the press of goblinoids descending on him, and Slasher, distracted by the pain of the rose thorns, miss their targets.
The closest bugbears attempt to trade blows - but all their swings miss by a mile, leaving them open again to attack. The leader shouts again in a guttural grumble...but this time, it's unintelligible even to those familiar with the Goblin tongue. Its intent quickly becomes clear, though, as tendrils from the rose hedge begin to snake out, wrapping around legs and arms - he's matched Anthuria's entangling spell with one of his own!
#1-#4: hunting party
#1: 4/27
#4: 4/27
rest: full
Jetta tears and tramples the growing vines, which seem to hamper her little. Having abandoned her halberd in favour of her silvered mace, she continues to wail on the mass of unwashed savagery around her.
Anthuria hops quickly onto one foot as an errant dandelion tries to pinch her toe.
"The devil!" she mutters under her breath when the bugbear uses her own trick against her. "Best to deal with that one quickly, I think." She musters the living energy around her into a tiny, swirling vortex that floats in front of her, her skin glowing green within its light. Then, she releases it, slinging it outward in four distinct masses of energy that fly straight for the bugbear shaman.
Balthus easily sidestepped the clinging vines and sent Slasher ahead of him.
The ranger worked his way towards the bugbear leader, first attacking those goblinoids around him.
Slasher went around the hut and latched on to the shaman.
------------
As Percival finishes his chant of summoning, a massive crocodile, scales limned with a holy radiance, materializes into being next to the bugbear leader; it lashes out, but its jaws close on empty air with a loud snap. Slasher bounds through the writhing vines and grasses as the holy reptile appears, facing Quan'Crunch with the bugbear leader in between and echoing the crocodile's bite with one of his own. The hound's attack proves more successful - his teeth rip into goblinoid flesh, though he fails to pull the bugbear down. The bugbear leader's growl of pain only intensifies as Anthuria's burst of energy splashes against his chest.
Meanwhile, Balthus, Jetta, and Amund attempt to cut their way through the mass of bugbears in front of them. But it seems some ill fortune guides the blades of the hunter and the Hellknight; Balthus' first swing goes wide (though his second manages to send his closest foe to the ground), and both of Jetta's mace swings whoosh through empty air. Amund's final slash sails through empty air as well - but only because the foe he'd intended to hit is no longer standing, felled by his mighty first blow.
The hapless bugbears assaulting you continue their onslaught, despite the vines entangling them; as the plants continue to grab and pull, two more are engulfed in the chaos. They find their efforts futile, however - not one manages to land a hit on their opponent. Two break off from the main group to help the leader; one, fighting the plants grabbing at his feet, only just reaches Quan'Crunch's back, while the other swings and misses at Balthus's cantankerous mutt.
Tired from his sleepless night, Amund finds himself drawn into one of the rosebushes' embrace - everyone else, however, manage to dodge the bugbear leader's vines. Quan'Crunch and Slasher fall victim to friendly fire, though; Anthuria's lashing grasses entangle both of them as they face off against the bugbear leader.
Grunting and cursing, the bugbear leader finds himself too distracted by the foes surrounding him to continue to shout advice to his allies; leaving them to their own devices, he turns on the hound snapping at his heels, striking almost too quickly to see with a curved knife and a mace that swirls with dark energy. As his mace strikes, Slasher lets out a startled yelp, and the bugbear lets out a sudden grunt of pain in the exact same instant. The mace's next attack does not manage to strike, but both swings with the knife in his opposite hand draw blood.
#1: 4/27, -22: sooper ded
#4: 4/27
#6: 16/16, -20: -4/16
Grovask: 67/67, -28, -4: 35/67
rest: full
Growling when he feels his feet tangle up in the mess of vines Not my day! His tired features twist into a feral grin and he swings wildly at the creature in front of him.
+
+
Slasher's yelp did not go unnoticed for the ranger.
Balthus desperately looks to move past the bugbears and help out his mutt.
"Anthuria girl, get rid of the vines. They're pinning down Slasher and he's hurt!"
------------
Slasher's yelp also draws Anthuria's attention. "Shhhh!" The girl places a finger to her lips, quieting and settling the vines she has awoken.
Jetta shoves out with her shield to keep the bugbears at bay, viciously swinging her mace at any who dare approach. The Hellknight's imposing form and battle prowess cut a fearsome figure for the brutish goblinoids, most of who are more used to skullduggery and tormenting those weaker than themselves, than actually fighting fairly against a capable warrior.
Balthus sighted down his arrows and let loose at the shaman hurting Slasher.
He yelled at the dog to get away but the mutt was as stubborn as he was and kept tearing into the shaman.
------------
Amund's anger and frustration lend strength to his arm - he takes down the two bugbears before him one after the other with a pair of powerful blows. Jetta's luck improves as well - her first mighty swing cleaves the bugbear before her nearly in twain, though getting the weapon clear for her next swing proves difficult. Taking advantage of the opening cleared by Amund and Jetta's efforts, Percival makes his way in, clutching Mairen's long spear and jabbing at what remains of the wall of goblinoids, drawing blood.
Meanwhile, with the closest threats taken care of, Balthus' attention is drawn immediately to Slasher's distress as the hound faces off against the bugbear leader in the rear. As Anthuria's plants calm, his first arrow whizzes through the clearing to thud straight into the larger bugbear's chest; while his second arrow goes wide, Slasher's vicious bite doesn't. Percival's summoned crocodile aids in the effort - its bite locks onto the hapless creature just arriving from the west, and while its strong tail misses the bugbear leader, the momentary distraction is all Slasher needs to yank the larger beast to the ground.
With a string of curses, the leader pushes himself to his feet, trying to avoid Slasher's snapping jaws and Quan'Crunch's lashing tail - but his efforts prove futile, and hound and reptile both take advantage of the bugbear's distraction, with Slasher's jaws tearing into the brute and yanking to keep him on the ground. With all the damage tooth and claw have inflicted, it seems nearly impossible that the bugbear leader could still be standing - and yet he soldiers on, swinging at the hound from the ground with his dark mace. Fortunately, with his attack hampered by the awkward position, Slasher comes through with no further injury, though Quan'Crunch is struck by a morningstar in retribution for his own mighty bite.
All but #2, #3, #8, Grovask: down
Grovask: 35/67, -12, -19, -11: -7/67 (Diehard)
Rest: full
Balthus harumphs as Slasher is still fighting and bleeding. "Shoo, shoo, get away you stupid mutt!"
Nocking two more arrows, he targets the shaman until down and then the other surviving bugbears. The 'stupid mutt' continues to tear into the goblinoids.
------------
Turning to the only remaining bugbear within swinging range of her mace, Jetta embraces the calming influence of Abadar in an attempt bring down the savage.
Anthuria ducks and weaves, trying to get a clear view in all the chaos. Her plants had proven a hindrance, yet she feels they are yet again on the winning side of this battle. Focusing on the thrum of energy crackling over her skin, she conjures another burst that flies out into the fight.
Balthus' bow thrums, an arrow appears in the larger bugbear's throat - and finally the huge brute drops to the ground, his chest still and the puddle of blood around him impossibly large. It's clear at a glance the brute is dead; only an amazing feat of fortitude could have kept him standing so long as he did. With one foe down, Slasher turns to the next, tearing away a great chunk of flesh and pulling the goblinoid to the ground where it writhes in frustration; Balthus' next arrow thunks into the other bugbear remaining behind Percival's summoned crocodile, and it snarls a very rude reply in Goblin. Jetta, aided by Percival's touch of level-headedness, lands two solid blows against her foe.
For all the fighters' efforts, three bugbears remain standing...but then Anthuria sends small motes of lightning crackling through the air and straight for the beasts' black hearts, and the three would-be survivors stand no longer, crashing to the forest floor. Dead and dying surround the entryway of the compound; though the plants called forth by the bugbear leader continue to thrash and writhe, even as Amund extricates himself, the rest of the melee descends into silence and calm. No noise issues from the three large huts in the enclosure, and the bugbears' crude longboats sit on the shore, tethered against a sudden rise in the river.
The weaker bugbears' bodies reveal little of value - leather armor, crude wooden shields, and "morningstars" that are little more than large nails and shards of twisted metal driven through the end of a stick. The larger bugbear, however, carries two items of note - a slender, intricately carved wooden dowel, surprisingly delicate compared to the rest of the group's equipment, and the dark-swirling mace he had used against Balthus's faithful hound. The mace is fashioned in the shape of a snarling fiend's head; the style of ornamentation suggests an imperial Chelish origin, though it seems untouched by the ravages of time.
Grovask: -7/67, -16: dead
#2: 27/27, -14, -11, -5: -3/27
#3: 27/27, -20, -5, -4: -2/27
#8: 16/16, -15, -4: -3/16
Anthuria twirls the wand between her thumbs and index fingers. At least, she thinks it's a wand. It looks like one, anyway. And it registers as magical to her. Her lips pout ever so slightly when she's unable to identify it, however. She had taken some secret pride in the growth of her magical abilities, yet there still seem to be mountains of mysteries that allude her.
She should read more books.
"Well done, well done!" she calls, gingerly side-stepping the body of the bugbear druid. She avoids directly looking at the body for, even after all they've been through, violence still doesn't sit well with her. "Lord Arizian, take a look at this wand, would you? This weapon, too. It appears to be magical. I can't place them."
"Not much sense in trying to remain quiet after all that," she says to herself before calling out. "Hello! Are there any survivors? We will show mercy, just don't try to hurt us, please."