Crystal nods. "Done. Here goes nothing..."
She aims her bow at the dire weasel, exhales, focuses...
Sutandir matches Crystals timing, whirling his sling and launching a stone along with her arrow.
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Concerned by his colleagues' lack of success in even touching the dire weasel, Juid quietly moves Pisîm off to a safer spot, a fire bolt readied if the creature comes within 30 feet.
Crystal and Sutandir open up with a volley of missiles. Sutandir's sling stone goes entirely wide while Crystal's weak shot just bounces off of the hide of the weasel. Its head jerks up and it twists in place, spotting the party and hissing loudly!
Czein bursts from the bushes, laughing at the pitiful surprise shots.
He grips the axe by the very bottom of the haft to make his reach count, placing his thumb around the fastenings of the second blade. At the last step, he leaps as high as his big frame allows and brings the blade crashing down on the poor critter. "GWAHAHAHA!"
Roaring out a mighty, yet incoherent battle cry, Czein rushes in at the gigantic weasel, and his axe slams solidly into it. The weasel lets out an ear-piercing squeal which causes Marit to clap her hands over her ears, and Juid's poor donkey to haw in distress.
Ragnar moves up a bit and fixes the creature with his stare.
Since it's the surprise round, can we really move and use a standard action? Sorry, but it's been a while since my last full-grown Pathfinder game.
The weasel, quick as a hiccough, twists, shrieking in its rage as Czein withdraws his axe. It then leaps on the half-orc, trying to bury him under its weight! It manages to clamp its mouth onto Czein's side, biting down and he can feel a strong suction as the weasel begins to drain his blood!
Weasel (16 dmg) (grappling)
---
Czein (4 dmg) (hey, you've got a weasel on your face)
Flexx
Crystal
Ragnar
Juid
Sutandir
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Czein swings his axe hard once, but forgets to change his grip and can't get a proper swipe with the second blade. He then forces a step so that the critter is open to attacks from the others.
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Crystal narrows her eyes and moves to get a better shot at the weasel biting Czein, lining up a shot and trying to focus.
She winces and takes the shot...
Juid fires off another bolt, trying to avoid hitting nosering.
Aiming too low, he fires it off into the ground.
Sutandir moves around the area to try to help Czein, if only by being a distraction.
The group begins to move around the weasel but its shrieks come to an abrupt end with another swipe of Czein's axe; it hits the gigantic creature directly in the neck and it collapses dead.
End of Combat
Ragnar shakes his head, a bit amused about their effectiveness, his own included.
"We should search the houses, maybe someone was able to hide," Ragnar says, his eyes fixed on the gruesome sight. It would be a miracle if anyone survived this butchering.
Ragnar begins moving through the homes, beginning with the one closest by. He opens the front door after saying: "I'm coming in now. Don't be afraid, we are friends, it is safe again out here."
He tries to sound as calm and comforting as possible.
Once he is inside, he thoroughly searches the home, opening wardrobes (if there are any) and looking under beds. But since he doesn't like ruining his cloths, he won't walk through pools of blood or crawl under something dirty.
Crystal lowers her bow and assists Ragnar with searching around.
Worried about infection, Juid fetches water from the village's source - well or stream - and moves forward to wash and examine Czein's wounds. He flushes out the bite wound, watching for any signs of "water-fright". After doing so, he invokes the aid of Sarenrae and channels positive energy to undo the rodent's damage, first making sure to put enough distance to between them and the creature.
Czein's wound is thankfully clean, although the bite of a creature feasting on the dead would have certainly festered without Juid's treatment. Crystal and Ragnar search the hamlet in detail, but are dismayed to find no survivors. The hobgoblins were thorough. However, Crystal discovers a hidden trap door in the ground, having noticed an irregularity beneath some piled firewood. In the ground she finds a simple root cellar with some supplies of vegetables, and a wooden box beneath some onions.
Within the box is a wand and two potions.
With a grim expression on her face, Crystal emerges from the hidden cellar with the wand and potions.
"No survivors. But the hobgoblins missed these." She says, sitting down on the ground and setting the wand and potions before her. She intones a prayer to Pharasma and examines the items in earnest, her eyes glowing blue.
"Baldy, any man who can keep me fighting as well as you do is alright in my book!" and he claps Juid on the back, probably a bit to hard.
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Juid exhales at the hearty slap and nods in acceptance of the gratitude, as he rubs feeling back into his shoulder.
Sutandir joins Crystal looking at the items from the box.
Crystal identifies the wand as a wand of cure light wounds, with 13 charges remaining. Sutandir identifies the potions as a potion of barkskin +2 and jump.
While the others are busy, Ragnar inspects the boats.
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There are four little fishing boats moored here, replete with two paddles and fishing gear. They could comfortably hold two people, three in a pinch.
Marit steps out of a hut, shaking her head.
"This is so sad. The people from this village were strange but... bah, those hobgoblins kill everyone!" She then eyes the boat, and looks back to Pisim, and back to the boat. "Uh... Mr. Juid, sir? I'm not sure we can get your donkey in a boat."
"You are probably correct, Marit, though I have never tried. Perhaps there is a raft?" he ponders, looking around hopefully. "Normally I wouldn't think twice about leaving him here to graze for a day or two, but with weasels here the size of rocs, I'm loathe to do so this time. Just how deep are these waters? Is there perhaps a place to ford them?"
"This wand is enchanted to heal a man's wounds." Crystal holds up the wand she found. "I think that Juid would make the best use of this--however, there's only 13 charges left in it. I hope you're not superstitious about that."
Juid glances at the dhampir in surprise and then realizes she's joking with him and smiles. Then he wonders if she IS joking with him and his smile tightens just a tad at the edges.
"While I believe in omens, I think counting is merely a handy convention. I can certainly wield the wand, and it will allow me to use my spells to better, or rather, other purpose. However, if there is another who can use it, it would be handy to double up our healing in a pinch."
His eyes continue to wander down the shoreline looking for a raft. When he doesn't find one, he considers how best to ensure that Pisîm isn't devoured by a hungry animal.
"Marit, if something should happen to me in the town, I hope you'll make good use of this fine beast." he says, scratching the donkey between the ears.
Crystal nods. "I think I can make good use of it as well."
She slides the wand into her belt.
Sutandir sniffs at the vials and tests their contents. "This one will toughen your skin for about half an hour. The other makes your legs very springy, like a frog's. It should last about a minute. Any of us could make good use of them."
"I can't think of anything to help with the donkey, sadly. Maybe if anyone is good at tracking, they could check the area to see if there's evidence of more of the weasels. If not, it might be safe here for a short time."
Marit smiles and strokes Pisîm.
"I am no good in a fight, but I think I have helped where I can so I can stay back here. The hobgoblin patrol has been killed, it should be safe for us. I can take Pisîm to my brother's cabin and wait. He's a good donkey, isn't he? You do what you must, you know where to find me. Thank you so much strangers, I am always in your debt. If you have any last questions about Douleurs, please, let me know."
Before Marit makes off, I unload my journal and scroll case from his saddle bags and show her a few basic commands that Pisîm knows, including work and stay.
The group carefully piles into the boats, splitting themselves amongst three different boats. These are basic wooden rowboats with two paddles on each side. Marit waves from the shore, shouting her blessings, before she tries to lead Pisîm off, which she eventually succeeds at.
You paddle southwards down this enormous, beautiful lake. Ringed by mountains, its waters are crystal clear, fresh, and cold, not to mention teeming with fish. The horror of the fishing village seems a distant memory as you paddle southwards, the only thing marring this pleasant journey the knowledge of the gruesome battle ahead, and the fact that it is still raining.
Finally, Douleurs comes into sight. The face of the town towards the lake shows a variety of ramshackle huts with boats of all sorts crammed up against the shore line and tied to various posts. The spires of the cathedral of Pharasma are clearly visible on the west side of town.
"I say we stay quiet and sneak into town. The most bulky of us wear the disguises, the rest plays prisoners. If someone spots us, it might fool them long enough to give us an advantage. But where do we go first? "
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Crystal shrugs and adjusts her hat as the rain bounces off of it. "I don't know if I can play the part of a prisoner well, but I think I can pull it off well enough..."
"Up close they'll notice us anyway, it's just so we don't immediately set off their alarms. I'm best suited as a prisoner I guess. "
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The group manage to awkwardly suit up in the two boats, and can begin approaching the town. The town sprawls from the west to the east. Higher buildings are on the eastern side while the western side has more lower buildings, huts, and houses. A large road splits the town in two.
Two hobgoblins can be seen on the west and east gates on guard.
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Keeping her eyes down, Crystal notes the presence of the two hobgoblins at the west & east gates.
"Two of them at the gates; east and west." She whispers.
As the group peer over the town they can make out specific points of interest. Near the west gate is the impressive cathedral of Pharasma, a location Marit had mentioned was used as a place to hold a large number of imprisoned citizens. Across the street from that is the wide, low building that is likely the textile factory, another major gathering place.
On the other side of town, the group can vaguely make out behind a series of brick shops a large courtyard that is likely the location of the town's barracks and jail, a location where the 'most difficult' townsfolk were kept. Down the centre street of the town is Douleurs' large inn, a multi-storey building, although its use during the occupation is unknown.
Sutandir just makes out the guards as Crystal mentions them.
"Do we want to try a surprise attack?"
Sutandir looks for a safe place to land from which to sneak up on the guards.
"Let's see how far the disguises get us first. Pick up the pace paddling a bit, but let the boats drift off course, as if there's a current or strong breeze. That way we can get a bit closer before they can really look at us.