Corric stops his labors for a moment, and looks at the pile, tilting his head sideways.
Perhaps... he thinks right before he tries something.
With a quick prayer, Rokar lends a hand.
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With Aisha's help, Corric manages to get the gunk off of enough of the logs to defuse the trap. The beacon is ready and flares to life when a torch is touched to it. A short while later, Trunauan guards arrive to take up positions at the beacon. No sooner than they have arrived, a flaming boulder appears from seemingly nowhere, slamming into the ground nearby.
"That came from the direction of the Barterstones! Quickly, get there and put a stop to these projectiles!" The guardsman turns to your group.
Arriving at the Barterstones, you find the shops and stalls smashed and you can hear the voices of orcs from the other side.
INITAITVE
Orc 3
Rokar
Orc 2
Corric
Orc 1
Norasha
Aisha
"Hands up and come out! You're caught and your raid's failed!" Rokar yells to the orcs, even as he draws a chakram into his hand.
Milani, for her part, adds to the effect with a load roar.
Rokar fills with confidence at the sound of his friend, injured as she is, and her willingness to continue. A subtle glow, escaping Rokar's notice, starts coming from his right paw.
"This is not the time for words Rokar!" Corric hisses as he quietly slips away to set up for a sneak attack shot.
"Because we'd much rather be over there with you..." Aisha prepares herself for when their enemies appear.
Norasha gets ahead of everyone, standing at the vanguard of the group, her shield and axe at the ready, prepared to intercept anyone or anything that dares to move in range or her axe or try and get by her to attack her friends.
"Rokar, laddie, try and stay out of the fight as best as ye can. You're still wounded pretty badly. Don't hesitate to take a healing potion if an enemy gets close to ya."
The dwarven paladin was not going to lose anyone on this venture!
"Corric, can you sneak to one side,
and I'll go to the other?" Rokar whispers.
Corric gives Rokar a quick nod, realizes he's already stealthed, so just tosses a small pebble at his back and quietly makes his way over to the other side.
He readies an attack action should an enemy approach him.
Trying something, the dwarven paladin yells, "Hey you filthy brigands! Why are you hiding!? You scared that this attractive dwarven woman is going to spank you for being bad!? Ha! You need a good swift kick in the crotch for all the trouble you've caused! Your ugly mothers probably couldn't spank you if their lives depended on it! Why they probably didn't want to taint their hands spanking the bottoms of such ugly children!"
"This seems to be working," Aisha mutters under her breath. She stays a bit behind the rest of the group, ready to cast if the orcs fall for the taunt.
Corric lines up a shot the best he can, his breathe light, and his hand steady. One finger gently strokes the trigger as he waits for a signal.
Corric only hesitates for moment, before letting his bolt loose.
Total damage: 21
"Guys we have to move! This isn't a game we can stall out with."
Corric hurridly reloads and tries to blend in the shadows.
"I've never met an orc who was too stupid to come pick a fight before," Aisha mutters dryly. "Very well." She follows a little behind everyone else, making sure to stay back so the warriors are in front.
Norasha moved as quickly as possible to help Corric out, yelling, "Why don't you come out here! Some orc raiders y'all are!? Y'all are nothing but a bunch of yellow-bellied cowards!"
Aisha throws a burst of psychic power at the orc, attempting to force it to stop in its tracks before it attacks Corric.
Rokar advances around the right side, moving forward as far as he might, with Milani at his side.
Corric will blend into the shadows once more.
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Searching the bodies of the orcs, you find four flasks of alchemist’s fire, six smokesticks, two tanglefoot bags, three sets of hide armor, three composite shortbows (+3 Str) with 60 arrows, and three falchions. You also find three odd objects; a warped clay sphere with a bullseye painted on it and a red fuse.
Once you have destroyed the orc artillery at the Barterstones, you are hailed by Trunauan guards atop the town walls, who inform you that lower Trunau is under attack by a new foe: a giant! A cleric who is with them offers some much needed healing for the group and, refreshed, you set out to the Hopespring.
The stench of blood and smoke hangs thick in the air. In the darkness, the crackling of fires mingles with the war cries of orc raiders and the screams of townsfolk. The Hopespring beacon burns brightly, illuminating the pool at the bottom of the Hopespring’s waterfall as well as a rough hole gouged into the side of Bloodmarch Hill.
A giant humanoid with immense tusks stands in the pool, roaring angrily as it sees you. Each of its arms is chained to an orc handler.
INITIATIVE
Norasha
Rokar
Giant
Corric
Aisha
Orcs
Rokar takes in the situation at hand, and then decides against entering the water just yet. Instead, keeping Milani at his side, he charges up right to the water's edge, and hurls a chakram at the closest of the orc handlers, hoping to catch it off guard. Knowing he'll likely not see the chakram again, he silently wishes it goodbye as it flies towards its target.
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Norasha moves to the shore of the Hopespring and calls out, "Hei stygg! Din mor var en alf!"
Rokar throws his chakram and, as predicted, it bounces off the armor of the handler and disappears into the spring.
The giant roars in anger and splashes its way towards the shore, dragging the handlers behind it.
Aisha focuses her mind, unleashing a burst of confusing, mental energy at the giant.
Corric, still hidden in the shadows, looses another bolt.
Rokar hurls another chakram at the giant, now closer and hopefully easier to hit, then moves forward, clenching his teeth as he enters the water, but grateful for the cover it provides.
"Rawwwrrrrr!" he screams, reacting to the cold, before sinking into the depths, his head barely above the waterline.
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Norasha enters the shallows, keeping near the shore, and readies an attack should the orcs or the giant come close. Rokar, a bit more daring and bold, enters the water fully, throwing a chakram as he goes. The weapon again deflects off its target, but this time, it leaves a shallow cut in the giant's flesh.
The creature roars in anger and pain, surging forward and dragging the orcs with him as he comes. It is all that they can do to stay afloat. With one mighty (if hampered) arm, it swings a huge fist at Norasha, dragging the hapless orc handler along with it. The orc flies through the air shrieking, slamming into the water between Norasha and Milani. Norasha reacts immediately, nearly severing the orc's arm with her waraxe!
Aisha continues to bombard the giant's mind with her powers, trying to keep it off balance so it doesn't harm her allies.
Corric ducks back into hiding and reloads.
Rokar growls to Milani, giving the signal that she should attack, and attack she does, even as she feels Strength channeling into her from Rokar.
Rokar, meanwhile, advances in the water towards the Giant, albeit slowly, again trying to hide in the depths.
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The remaining orc moves forward to attack Rokar, while the one nearest Norasha swings at her. Both orcs miss their targets.
Norasha neatly decapitates the orc nearest her, then takes advantage of the giant's confusion to close with the monster. Milani, her target downed, returns to the shore, then takes a mighty leap that carries her across the water to land upon the giant, where she digs in with her claws! Rokar sinks into the water until just his nose, eyes, and ears are above the waterline.
"Hurry up," Aisha mutters under her breath. "Even a weak mind can't be restrained forever."