"I think that sounds like a good idea Aravashnial, a good compromise between the two. I will miss your guidance but we'll meet again soon enough, I believe." With that Iolana moved to the old man and gave him a gentle hug and kiss on the cheek before she said to the rest, "Alright then, lets go and check the other homes and look for more survivors."
Offering a handshake, Heinrick looks at the others. Agreed, let us get going
"Alright. We'll continue on, and when we have a safe place, we'll send for you. All of you." Jens looks at each of the librarians before nodding to the others. "Let's be off, then. We have a lot of ground to cover."
Heinrick takes up a position near the back of the group, to help protect the non combatants, while he looks around.
The group moves off towards the northwest, away from the chasm behind the library. The devastation continues to almost every building, and the smoke hangs in the air like an almost palpable pall. The group comes to a new gap in the wall, and a new avenue to the north, but also can see that the road to the west seems to be open, if somewhat choked with rubble. The group needs to decide where to go. Heinrick studies his feet while pondering the decision.
Well people, I am not sure where we need to go from here, any suggestions
"I don't like the idea of Anevia trying to get over that rubble," Jens mutters, frowning at the western opening. "Let's stick to the roads."
"That seems like a good idea Jens, though I would point out the easier path is more likely to be a trap."
I might not like the idea of crawling over the rubble, but I agree with Iolana.
"I would prefer not to find too many trapssss, but we do have the injured to think about. Perhapsss we could take a look over the top and sssee what'sss behind thissss rubble?" Tats puts a foot on the rubble and begins trying to work her way over it.
The group continues to the west, trying to make their way to the gate a ways beyond where the library stood. A small clearing marks what used to be an area of worship, where shrines to various gods and goddesses stood.
From around the corner of a mound of fallen debris, the group hears a female voice talking calmly, and the sound of a young woman crying softly. "Your sacrifice will aid the cause of good. Know that your blood will sanctify this weapon, creating a blade that will be anathema to demons. These beasts can not stand the touch of virgin's blood."
As you clear the rubble, you see three knights in battered armor, their heraldry marking them as crusaders. They stand in front of a battered shrine to Sarenrae, surrounding a young woman, sobbing, on her knees. One of the knights, a female human with livid red furrows of fresh scars on her face, holds a blade, point first against the back of the young woman's neck.
Iolana realized what these fools were about to do and yeld out commandingly as she approached them with her whip ready for use, "Stop! How dare you sacrifice this young woman! Do you want to create a blade of evil and malice! Do you WANT to do the demons work for them? If you do this you'll become no better than the cultists who went over to the side of evil and helped bring this devestation down on the city."
Slowly picking his way through the rubble and coming upon that scene.
Strike that woman down, and you will be no better than the cultists.
He still grips his spear and keeps it ready for use, as he puts himself between the three crusaders, and the non combatants that are following the group.
Jens' eyes narrow at the scene before him. His memories as a husband and father fill him, igniting the fierce paternal streak that runs through his heart. Lifting off his helm to show his fury-creased face, he takes heavy, purposeful strides to the group, placing a large hand heavily on the scarred woman's shoulder.
"Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?" he asks, his voice low and leaden. "To end a young life on the word of an old folktale?"
Clearly the woman with the sword has gone mad, and Tats is never more aware of her fiendish heritage than when faced with zealots like this one. She moves herself behind the civilians, doing her best to make herself as unassuming and un-fiendish as possible.
The knights react in surprise to see any other people about, and the woman with scars notices Tatyana, and her eyes narrow. "Do not believe them, they consort with demon spawn!" The knight draws back the blade ready to make the killing strike.
***********Begin Combat************
Mad Knight 2, Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
The first two knights move towards Tatyana, drawing cold iron daggers looking to strike her down. One manages to make a strike against Tatyana's forearm biting deep into the muscle.
Iolana decided to do the only thing she could think of to prove they weren't evil or on the side fo the demons. With a loud cry of, "NO!" She ran and dove, throwing her body over that of the potential young woman to be sacrificed, "If you want to kill her you have to kill me too! We are not evil, we've been fighting the hordes of demons and their allies our whole way back from the depths we fell into beneath the city. If anyone here is evil it's you!"
Tatyana grins as her two assailants approach, drawing her blade and empowering it in a sickly green light that wavers and quivers across the rapier's length, lighting nothing. She drops into a readied stance, tip of her blade hovering and waiting for an enemy to make a move.
Tatyana interposes her blade against that of her attacker, redirecting the attack skillfully and following it up with one of her own.
Heinrick attempts to spear one of the ones attacking Tatyana.
************round 1 continued*********
Mad Knight 2, Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
Tatyana neatly skewers one of the knights on her rapier, piercing deep into his abdomen.
Iolana runs and puts herself between the scarred knight, and the young lady. The knight looks surprised at first, then glowers. "One virgin or another, it makes no difference! and she strikes. Iolana slaps the blade aside with the butt end of her whip.
Heinrick steps forward and rams his spear through the same knight that Tatyana already attacked. Tatyana avoids the blade of the spear as it punches through the man's chest. He slumps to the ground with a wheezing groan.
As the scarred knight rushes to strike Iolana, Jens twists his thick torso and brings his shield crashing into her hip, hoping to draw her attention to himself. He then draws his warhammer, waiting for the next attack.
*********round 1 concluded************
Jens slams his shield into the woman's hip with a loud clang of metal on metal, but the armor appears to have deflected or absorbed the blow.
********status**********
Mad Knight 1 0 damage
Mad Knight 2 dead
Mad Knight 3 0 damage
Heinrick 18/18
Iolana 21/21
Jens 28/32
Tatyana 15/25
***********Round 2**********
Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
The remaining knight facing Tatyana swings his blade at her, but she manages to slip to the side of the strike.
The clang of his shield boss on the woman's armour sends a shockwave up Jens' arm, but he keeps his grip on the old wooden shield and swings with his warhammer instead. It's a clumsy blow, he realizes too late; best correct that, and fast.
With the foolish knight refusing to back down Iolana does the best she can, her mace is quickly drawn and she begins to fight defensively so as to buy time for her companions to deal with the other knights and arrive to help her.
Heinrick moves to try to spear the other knight that attacked Tats.
You should have taken the opportunity and run
***************Round 2 Cont***********
Init: Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
The knight makes an attack on Tatyana, who catches the blow on the forte of the blade and neatly slips the blow aside, thrusting forward with her own attack, but the riposte catches only armor.
Iolana pushes the girl behind her and takes up a defensive stance with her mace in hand
The Scarred Knight snarls at Iolana, "If not her blood, your own will do! It only needs be virgin blood to sanctify the blade." She again swings wildly trying to cleave her way through Iolana, but manages to catch only air.
Jens attacks and the hammer is met with the Knight's own shield.
Heinrich attacks the remaining knight on Tatyana, but the blade of his spear deflects off the man's pauldron.
Tatyana dances forward, poking at the weak spot between breastplate and pauldron in her opponent's armor with her sword. Unlike the previous attack, she leaves little in reserve for a riposte should it be needed.
Iolana looked at the knight like she was a fool and said, "How stupid are you? Don't you know that Iomedae had her clergy do all that they could to stamp out that rumor? If you believe it still then you are no true worshiper of hers, now back off before we are forced to kill you it would be a shame to waste such warriors as you when there is so much evil to fight. Still, if you insist on doing this then we will kill you, better to kill you now than let you succeed and join the ranks of evil as you will surely do by murdering this poor woman. Murder is, after all, a mortal sin and no good can ever come of it."
***********Round 2 Cont**************
Tatyana's blade drives deep into the man's shoulder, and comes back bloody.
The woman glares at Iolana, but her resolve falters just a bit before she continues. "What do you know? We've been fighting against those monsters, nothing works. Look around you. The Gods have abandoned this place, if we are to win this unholy war, sacrifices need to be made. This isn't murder, it's sacrifice for the greater good.... Noth...Nothing else is working."
**********Status**********
Mad Knight 2 dead
Mad knight 3 8 damage
Mad Knight 1 0 damage
Heinrick 18/18
Iolana 21/21
Jens 28/32
Tatyana 15/25
Round 3
Init: Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
The knight facing Tatyana swings again, gripping the blade and making a heavy cut for the lithe Tiefling. Tatyana manages to narrowly avoid the blow, the slash cutting through the fabric of her shirt.
Tats feels a searing pain as the very tip of her enemy's blade cuts through her shirt and scratches the flesh of her bicep, and jerks backwards reflexively. The hop backward turns into a lunge, aimed at the knight's neck and withdrawn in a whirlwind of blood. She recovers, dropping into en garde, before realizing her knightly foe isn't likely to be chopping at her again and moving forward to support Iolana.
As a follower of Iomedae, I take offence that you are attempting to sacrifice an innocent for what will not work.
Heinrick moves around the flank to get a better angle for his spear.
only to slip on the rubble and miss the attack.
"And if you win this way you becoma worse than they are! You claim to be a defender of righteousness? Then prove it! Put down that weapon and join us in trying to do something aboout it. We're escorting refugees to safety, we've fought our way from below where we fell during the attack, we were saved by the Great Silver as her last act before death, we carry her blessing with us. Cease what you're trying to do out of poor information and help us get the people we've found to safety." Iolana continued her defensive stance as she spoke, her voice full of emotion as she tried to get through to the foolish kinghts.
"Iolana, lass, move back!" Jens growls, stepping around and trying to draw the scarred knight's attention. "These people are mad with desperation!"
********Round 3 cont***********
Round 3
Init: Mad Knight 3, Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
Tatyana takes advantage of the distraction Heinrich makes by flanking the knight and thrusts her rapier into the man's neck. Blood flows freely from the wound and the man sinks to his knees clutching the wound, trying to keep the wound from bleeding as badly
Iolana begins to make her impassioned plea just as Jens attempts to move her behind him. He bumps into her, disrupting the effect that Iolana was having and the woman again swings at Iolana. The lithe bard sidesteps the wild strike.
I will not be swayed by your forked tongue. You consort with demonkin! Yours are nothing but LIES!
"I don't think I'm demonkin. I'm not out murdering virginsssss, after all. And I promissssse you, her blood won't help your causssse." Tats lunges at the scarred woman, glaring.
Jens is torn between continuing to attack the mad woman, so that she won't harm his allies, and allowing her to live, as Iolana seems insistent on. With a heavy sigh, he strikes out with the haft of his hammer, trying to subdue her.
Heinrick shifts around the last standing madwoman.
Stay your blade woman, and leave now
Only to slip slightly on the rubble on the ground.
Iolana gave the foolish woman a sad look and said, "Then I can't save you, I'm sorry." With that she grabs hold of the intended sacrifice and retreats quickly from the knight.
********Round 4 ***********
Round 4
Init: Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
Tatyana lunges in a classic form and pierces the mad knight through the leg, eliciting a small hiss of pain from the woman.
Iolana withdraws, the captive woman in tow.
The knight lashes out with her weapon at Tatyana, "You are clearly their kin, look at you! You may have these others fooled but I know better." In her fervor, she is unable to control the blade and it swishes over Tatyana's head, harmlessly.
Jens and Heinrich circle the woman and each tries to take the woman down, but to no avail.
STatus:
Mad Knight 2 dead
Mad knight 3 11 damage
Mad Knight 1 disabled
Heinrick 18/18
Iolana 21/21
Jens 28/32
Tatyana 15/25
***********Begin Round 5************
Init: Tatyana, Iolana, Mad Knight 1 (scarface), Jens, Heinrich.
"I've learned to judge by actions, not looks," Jens growls, swinging again. "I would have hoped someone of honour would do the same. If this is what you resort to, I feel less guilty for doing this!"
Having gotten the captive safely away Iolana said to her, "Please be still, I'm going to work on freeing you while they deal with the fool that tried to sacrifice you. I promise that you're safe now." With that she began to work on removing the woman's bonds.
Tats rolls to avoid the blow, trying but failing to turn her roll into an evasive weave to flank with Jens. When she recovers from her shenanigans, she once again takes a thrust at the scar-faced knight, this time not bothering to say anything. Everything's been said already.
********Round 5***********
Tatyana attempts to make an acrobatic move to get around the Mad Knight, but the knight manages to take a backhand swipe at the Magus. Fortunately for Tats, she was able to dodge out of the way enough to not get hit. Tatyana's return thrust skirls along the knights armor before finding a seam, and the knight sways, and Jens' blow slams into her head, dropping her to the ground, her skull slightly misshapen.
********Victory**********