<--nope
The conjured viper snaps at the nearest quarry's feet, but it is disoriented by the means which brought it here.
MISS
Meanwhile, a surprised bandit tries to deal with Augrym and tries to simply shove him off the raised platform: "Git out!" When Augrym is unmoved, the man reaches for his sword.
FAIL
Another arrow snaps toward Toth and also finds a home in the forest floor.
MISS
Bandits are not fond of vipers around their toes, so Zed's distraction pays off. The sword slices a mean cut through the viper but, incredibly, it clings to life on this plane.
HIT
The whistling is very close now.
Round III
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandits
3. Marc, Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, bleeding out, deafened)
4. Kressle
Scared that the whistling could mean even more bandits, Taranis tries to pinpoint the source.
It doesn't negate the lethal danger before him however:
THREAT
for
Toth, eagerly looking for a target sees the closest option right by his master. The cat dashes over, snapping his teeth at the bandit: , but misses.
Bolstered by the return of his companion to his side, Taranis slashes hard with his scimitar and opens a yawning gash in his foe just below the collarbone. The man looks around, clearly looking for an exit, when Kressle shouts from behind him: "Don't you dare run you lily-livered snot! I'll hunt you down after I've finished this lot and have yer eyes for breakfast!"
Round III
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandits (Red @ 7 dmg)
3. Marc, Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, bleeding out, deafened)
4. Kressle
Marc's glaive catches Kressle by surprise and slides just between the joints of her armor. The wound looks very serious. "Don't you know," she screeches, "that it's wrong to hit a woman!!"
She hurls herself at the priest with a furious rage and two dangerous axes. "I will kill you!" Marc manages--barely--to block the first stroke with his haft. The second time he is not so lucky.
MISS
HIT
To make matters worse, Taranis' fears are realized as two more men come ambling up the track from the south, one carrying a heavy pail of water and the other a stack of kindling. The whistling abruptly stops when one of them notices the fighting ahead. The pail crashes to the ground and the firewood tossed aside. "Ho! Jim! We got robbing to do!"
Round IV
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandits (Red @ 7 dmg)
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, bleeding out, deafened)
4. Kressle (9 dmg)
5. Bandits
"Last Gasp of the Sky! As quickly as we can now!"
”Erastil, give me the knowledge to defeat this foe.”
Move action: Study Target
BLEED PROFUSELY & FURIOUSLY!!!
The wizard goes for broke, weaving a spell to addle the mind of the leader.
The summoned viper bites the crotch of the bandit before it. THREAT!
for
Zed then inches to a better spot.
Augrym spits his foe through the belly and lifts him bodily off the platform's planks, then throws him to the underbrush below.
The viper latches on and does not let go! The man totters, goes white as a sheet, then topples! Across the way, an arrow lances toward the half-orc but clips through the foliage instead.
MISS
The tide turns towards the heroes... can they break the wave?
Round IV
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandits
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, bleeding out, deafened)
4. Kressle (9 dmg, dazed)
5. Bandit Reinforcements
Kressle seems taken aback by the wash of magic, and seems disoriented by her surroundings for a brief moment!
Taranis and Toth both close with the leader. The druid takes measured steps, knowing this is still a lethal fight:
for
Despite his lack of training, Taranis' steel still bears an edge. He draws blood.
Round IV
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandits
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, bleeding out, deafened)
4. Kressle (12 dmg, dazed)
5. Bandit Reinforcements
<--success!!
Through sheer stubbornness, the Dreadful Bear recovers enough to stop dying.
"Beard of Besmara!" one of the new arrivals cries. "He killed Kressle!"
Indeed, the woman suffers the pointy end of Marc's long weapon, and protests no further.
"I ain't paid enough for this!" the other agrees. They both bolt.
Round V
1. Zed (4/8 hp, viper 1/3 hp), Augrym
2. Bandit
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (-6/16 hp, unconscious, deafened)
"HALT! You may have designs of escape, but the TIGER behind you is a feature that thrives on winded flesh. And if you run, you will only excite his instinct to chase. And that says nothing of the others by my side..." Zed thunders at the bandits' retreating forms.
"You must know that your only chance of living to see tomorrow's dawn is in stopping, laying down your weapons, and surrendering to the Huntsmen! Now STAND DOWN!"
It will take me far too long to get over there to confront this person face to face, I shall shoot them with my bow.
I drop my sword and shield, study my target and draw my Longbow (swift action due to feat Possessed Hand) and shoot.
The fleeing bandits, threatened by an even more violent disruption of their morning routine, flee even faster. They are already out of sight. The viper, too, vanishes.
Augrym ditches his melee gear for a potshot at the other archer. This distance and foliage make it a challenge, though the flight is near enough to strike terror into the target. He kicks a rope ladder off his platform and proceeds to flee as well!
Marc steps over to Unrak and taps him with the wand. The big man takes a huge, aching breath.
Round V
1. Zed (4/8 hp), Augrym
2. Bandit
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (0/16 hp, staggered, deafened)
Round VI
1. Zed (4/8 hp), Augrym
2. Bandit
3. Marc (, 6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (0/16 hp, staggered, deafened)
Ooc- I was trying to scare him into stopping I guess. Us there a better skill for that?
Taranis and Toth both close as quickly as they can!
Ooc- I was trying to scare him into stopping I guess. Us there a better skill for that?
Toth nips at the mans heels just as he lands on the ground!
Round V
1. Zed (4/8 hp), Augrym
2. Bandit
3. Marc (6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), ]b]Unrak[/b] (0/16 hp, staggered, deafened)
Round VI
1. Zed (4/8 hp), Augrym
2. Bandit
3. Marc (, 6/12 hp), Taranis (Toth @ 12/14 hp, deafened), Unrak (0/16 hp, staggered, deafened)
Augrym gathers his items to return to his group. If we’re still in Initiative, I will do s many move actions I can to get back to our group.
”Friend Taranis, tell Toth to stand down. If he wishes to flee, let him flee. He will be easy to track, if we wish to continue.”
Unrak groggily and painfully stands.
The last remaining foe high-tails it for the woods. The tiger, bereft of its naturally superb hearing, bounds after him and out of sight. Taranis manages to catch up some 200 yards south at the fording point of a broad river, where he finds Toth sitting contentedly atop the bloody corpse of the last bandit.
"Good boy."
Taranis begins the grim task of collecting the dead for a pyre. Gorzeh teaches that their bodies are now sustenance for the decomposers, food for plants, and nothing more.
The druid, for what it's worth, has no qualms about looking the the dead....
"That was the toughest battle of our life by far. As we gather the dead, check for life. I'd like to question these bandits if possible. Meanwhile, we're in rough shape. Marc, might you liberally apply that wand?"
Searching the area
..ugh, yes, please...
Gathering the bodies takes time and hard labor, but an empty wagon nearby makes carting them around easier. On Kressle's body, Marc is disappointed to find only one magical aura (a potion), though still plenty of other loot:
Masterwork handaxes (x2)
Daggers (x5)
Masterwork studded leather armor
Potion of cure light wounds
Silver amulet of a stag's skull (worth 20 gp)
85 gp, stamped variously in Brevoy and a smattering of River Kingdoms
On the bodies of her bandit gang:
Leather armor (x6)
Shortswords (x6)
Longbows (x6)
Arrows (x126)
Trail rations (x10)
Thunderstone
60 gp, stamped variously in Brevoy and a smattering of River Kingdoms
The main camp is situated around a small felled clearing just off the main track and protected by the two raised platforms. A stone fireplace marks the center and is ringed by stumps and logs. The Thorn River and its ford are some 200 yards south. Under the nearer platform, you find some piled supplies hidden beneath a canvas tarp, including several moldy tents, some stacked firewood and kindling, and ample foodstuffs (enough to make 20 days' trail rations).
Beneath that are several bags containing more interesting treasures:
321 sp, minted mostly in Brevoy
90 gp, minted primarily in the River Kingdom of Pitax
Pair of silver earings, worth 150gp
3 crates of furs and hides, worth 150gp (total)
A wooden box that plays light music when opened, worth 90gp
A polished wooden case containing 8 jars of absinthe, worth 20gp each
Taranis alternates between preparing the dead and loading up the wagon. he holds up one jar of absinthe and makes eye contact with each person in the party before loading it.
The Huntsmen take the rest of the day to gather the dead and build the funeral pyre, sharing a stiff drink in the light of the evening flames.
Though the fey give you a respite in the night, the next morning announces their return to their tricks and pranks, as Augrym, Marc, and even Unrak find their boots filled with a thin layer of rivermud, discovered only after inserting the foot into the muck. It makes for a sloshing, unpleasant day of exploring.
The next two days are spent exploring this reach of the Thorn river and the surrounding lowland forests. The Thorn River Camp appears to be extremely strategically situated, as it guards the only ford of waterway. Although the river is not especially wide, it is deep and swift, and lined with thickets of brambles on either side for miles.
With wagon and results, Taranis's mood lifts as the party turns towards Oleg's. "If the jewelry we've recovered hasn't been stolen from the people at Oleg's, I suggest we donate some to the fey in your names. Soggy boots are no one's friend."
Unrak grumbles loudly--but not TOO loudly--at the juvenile prank of the fey. He doesn't want them to know how much they're pissing him off.
<---mmmeeeeh that'll be enough for now
Unrak can hear very faint giggling over the sound of his heavy breathing. It seems to come from several directions.
The wagon does not survive long in the thick forest's thin game trails, and in any case Unrak gets tired of pulling it. After the axle breaks, you decide to abandon it to the fey. More than once, you encounter a sense of profound deja vu, crossing past a particularly shaped rock outcropping or a glade for the second time. Your progress through what should be familiar territory seems slow. Indeed, you barely leaves the trees behind when the sun puts itself to bed.
You arrive back at Oleg's early the following morning.
Once again, Jhod waits for you expectantly at the entrance, and you notice that Kesten Garess and his men have started work on repairing the catapults. "Well?" Jhod asks hopefully. "Have you found it? Have you seen the bear?"
Oleg, watching from over by the tables, perks up at this. "Two axes, you said? That's the she-b*tch that damn near took my hand off! She's dead, is she now?" He grunts in satisfaction. He glances toward the main hall to make sure his wife is not in earshot, and steps over towards you. "You... didjou find Svetlana's ring on the thiefwoman, didjou?"
"Marc speaks the truth of it. We've struck a resounding blow. There is much to be done out in the wilds. Let us fill your coffers, and churn the coin!"
Additionally, we have two stag necklaces that ought to be used as Fey gifts by others.
Along the way back to Oleg's...
On the morning of the 19th, Taranis returns to the party after spending some time afield. His hands are caked with dirt, and he has a wide smile upon his face.
"Glorious Firstbloom to you. I've planted a tree for each of us."
"grrrrrrrrrrr"
"Yes, even one for you Toth."
Well spoken, brother mine!
”Thank you for this blessing to Erastil, friend Taranis. You honour us all.