Lali goes and grabs her pair of bear traps. ”If’n yer gonna play bait might as well drop these” She’ll set them up on the way into camp and then go look for a good vantage point.
Rikkas fear caused Luthor to stagger momentarily, it had been so long since he had felt something like that from her. "Somethings wrong." He said, looking into the forest with wild eyes. "Something dangerous, Rikka, shes, shes afraid!" He took a few hasty steps forward, then stopped himself. "No, NO! Better to wait, she will come right back here, to me, to us."
As Boo returned to camp alone, Luthor became distraught, moving to meet the tiny contraption. "Where is she!?" He shouted, looking between Boo and the forest several times. Then suddenly he seemed to relax, the tension slowly leaving his body. "Wait, I...I think she is alright." He said, peering into the forest again, eyes squinting as he tried to interpret the feelings. "Yes, shes not afraid anymore." He said, almost chuckling the last word.
A few deep breaths later, he turned around with a serious expression. "Right, lets make ready for our guests, shall we?" He said, nodding his approval to Laliytsas suggestion.
To the south of the camp, a pair of small hills squeeze a relatively narrow valley between them, and from that direction, the party can see a faint cloud of dust rising as the four riders charge across the flats. A few trees scattered across the valley provide some meager shade for the grasses below. Around one of those trees is where the bandits stop, three of them eying the party warily while the other unslings a bow and nocks an arrow.
Several of the bandits move their horses forward, forming a loose screen between the bandit with the bow and the party. For his part, the archer spurs his horse into a trot, moving around the trees to get a clearer shot, then draws and looses an arrow, which slams into Lali's thigh, punching through her leather armor to let loose a spurt of blood, which quickly soaks the armor below the wound before the spurt dies down a bit.
Seeing Laliysta bleeding from the accurate arrow shot, he swiftly moves to her side and lays a hand upon her arm. "May the Light of the Sword guide your way here." He intones as the wound partially closes around the shaft.
Laliytsa gasps in pain but otherwise doesn't react to the arrow. She nods at Graelem when he heals her. "Thanks" She aims and fires at the bandit that just shot her.
"But the Gods!" Luthor exlaimed in a rare moment of piety, taken aback by the brutality of Laliytsas arrow wound. Joining Graelem at her side, he quickly admininstered a glowing hand to her as well. "Lets try not doing that again?" He said in jest, in part trying to distract Laliytsa, but also himself, from the severity of the wound.
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As the opening volleys of arrows and bombs are exchanged, Kazimir swings his lance into place under his arm before kicking into Surefoot's sides. The old horse rears up on his back legs before hitting the ground at a run, clods flying as he charges through the hidden bear traps and bears his rider down on the frontmost bandit.
Kazimir's lance strikes the rider cleanly, lifting him out of his seat and depositing him on the ground, where he stays, unmoving. Laliytsa's arrow zips over the paladin's head, finding the archer bandit and sticking into his calf muscle, which garners a cry of pain but doesn't seem to slow him down too much. Nah repositions, delivering a bomb to a different rider since Kazimir's lance has clearly dealt with her original target. It explodes, sending both horse and rider crashing to the ground.
The injured horse whinnies piteously, struggling to get its feet nder it and then galloping off, tack dragging behind it. The man doesn't get up, but the last remaining riders turn, the one who'd just seconds ago been charging switching to a bow. The archer returns fire at Laliytsa again, sending another arrow slamming home, then turns and flees with his comrade!
Laliytsa, running off pure determination, gets off one last shot.
Her energy leaves her in a rush and she falls to her knees. "Shit" she mumbles, staring at the second arrow sticking out of her.
Graelem regrets not studying the arts of horseback, seeing the riders fleeing. "If those bandits escape back to the Stag Lord..." His voice tinged with dread for his companion.
Looking over the wounds Laliysta is suffering from he smiles weakly "Perhaps your armor is cursed to attract arrows to it. I have not seen such marksmanship since the previous season's tourney, the one I attended anyway." He then grips his symbol of Iomedae up and summons her power to help ease her wounds.
Lali's arrow, does, in fact, hit the closest bandit in the shoulder, though from the distance, it's too hard to see what damage it does. The rider manages to stay on horseback, though, and the two begin thundering off toward the Stag Lord's fortress.
Kesten rides up on his charger, pausing to salute Kazimir with his war lance and raising his visor to speak. "We could probably ride them down, you know. If they make it to the keep, we'll have to move fast to take it before Graelem's friend meets a terrible fate, but if not, we may have a bit more time. Not long, either way, but some."
Rikka climbs down from her perch in one of the scrawny trees, making her way back to Luthor and climbing up him.
Graelem moves over to one of the horses and prepares to climb into the saddle. "I say we ride them down. We cannot allow them to return to the Stag Lord! This way we buy Sir Walhem some time."
"The end result of either choice is likely to be unforeseen in any event." Luthor said, hugging the newly returned Rikka by lightly tilting his head and squeezing her with his chin. "The only one who seems to be in immediate danger is Sir Walhem, so I think I agree with Graelem."
"Lets hurry."
Laliysta steels herself, breathing heavily, and then yanks both arrows out at once. She groans and slowly pushes herself to her feet. "Bleh. Gotta get goin' if'n we wanna catch 'em"
She'll go get Wild and mount up. While they're following the bandits she'll be looking for any kind shortcut or path that will let them catch up faster
Surefoot starts in alarm as Nah begins tugging at his saddle-straps and pulling herself up, but quickly calms as Kazimir places one hand on the horse's neck and sets the other to helping the kobold into the saddle. "Better hold onto something," he mutters before spurring Surefoot forward, keeping him neck-and-neck with Wild.
One of the two bandits seems to be slowed by Lali's arrow, and he quickly falls behind, coming back into range of her bow again. Though he struggles gamely to maintain speed, his horse continues to slow down more and more. Meanwhile, his companion pulls...well, not further ahead of Laliytsa, but he certainly doesn't lose ground to her, or to the other riders following him.
As the chase nears the fortress, the lagging bandit brings his horse around, bearing down on the party in a full charge, horse kicking up dust and clods as it weaves toward Kazimir.
The bandit in the lead manages to spur one last burst of speed from his mount, pulling through the open gates of the Stag Lord's fortress and disappearing from sight. In the distance behind the party, it's possible to make out Kesten Garess with his remaining guard and the kobolds, moving the camp and their equipment toward the fortress.
"A prisoner with some fresh information could probably be useful, right?" Luthor asked. Stopping his horse, he waved a hand in the direction of the charging bandit, a barely visible pulse emanating from it and causing the faintest ripple in the air.
"Dismount!" He intoned.
Graelem mutters a curse under his breath on seeing the last bandit flee out of sight. "That seals it. We must mount an assault upon the Keep , else Sir Walhem life be forfeit! This one must be buying time for his companion to warn his liege!" He readies his holy symbol, nodding in approval to Luthor's tactics, as he guides his mount closer to the front line.
"Why would I boot you off?" Kaz asks in genuine surprise, before tugging sharply on the reins as one of the bandits wheels his horse around and towards him. From behind him, he hears Luthor and Graelem readying their spells, and he digs his heels into Surefoot's sides with a whispered apology, attempting to spur the horse to greater speed, but the old mount cries stubbornly and refuses to make haste.
As the bandit draws closer, Kazimir notes the wild fear in the eyes of both man and mount and makes a snap decision. He wants to close his eyes, but he can't; swallowing hard, he readies his lance and, as the pair draw nearer, slams the shaft into the horse's shoulder to bring the terrified beast under some control.
The bandit slides off the far side of his horse a moment after Kazimir's lance rocks into it mid-gallop, unbalancing it and dropping it to the group on top of the man. Fortunately for the horse, its head hits the group hard, knocking it unconscious. Also fortunately for the man, his armor takes the brunt of the horse's weight, though between his slide off and the horse's weight, it's tough to tell just how effective the two spells cast at him are.
Laliytsa dismounts and walks over to the downed horse. She looks back to Kaz and shakes her head. "Horse'll probly be lame. Gonna be a challenge gettin' it back to camp"
She turns her attention to the bandit. "Now, yeh might wanna think 'bout bein' nice an' cooprative. Or meebe i'll use yeh fer target practice. Yer choice."
Graelem dismounts and slowly walks over to where the bandit lays down on the ground. Drawing his sword he places the tip of the blade against the man's chest. "I will make this simple for you. My friend is being held hostage by your Lord. If he dies, then you die. Anything you can do or say to keep him alive also keeps you from Pharasma's judgement. Your choice." His voice is devoid of emotion, but the grip on the hilt of his sword is firm.
From under the horse, the bandit coughs, gasps in pain, and then falls silent for almost a minute. When he finally speaks, his voice is filled with pain, and with a twisted sort of mirth. ”He’s already as good as dead. They’re finishing up the gallows, and when it’s done, they’ll hang him from the wall.” He coughs, spitting up a bit of blood, then gasps again, sucking in air to try to continue. ”He’ll take a little drop and then...he’ll stop, and that’ll be that. I think they’ll have it done by dusk. If not, Staggy’ll probably hang some of them with your friend.” He coughs again, spewing red into the air, and then falls silent, breathing laboriously.
Graelem stares at the bandit for a long moment, dearly wishing he could end the man's life right there. Still he knew the man may be of use. "Then you had better make your peace as well." He motions for one of Kesten's guards over, "Bind him up. He will soon join Sir Walhem on his journey should we fail to rescue him."
"Whatever we do, we should do it quickly." Kazimir looks guiltily at the unconscious horse before shifting in his saddle. "It sounds as though we don't have much time."
Luthor sighed loudly, then shrugged, widening his eyes. "Well the only thing thats settled is that we are going." He shrugged again. "At this point im inclined to accept Nahs..." He looked down at her, delayed surprise suddenly setting in. "Executive decision. Go hard and fast down their throat." He nodded, then his eyes widened with realization. "Though probably not all at once, no telling how they have prepared the place."
"Hard and fast," Kazimir agrees, stretching out his shoulders and glancing at Luthor approvingly. Reaching down, he extends a hand to Nah. "We'll get you a pony or something later; for now, you might be safest with me - if you don't mind being in the thick of it." Regardless of the kobold's response, he looks towards the fort, steeling his resolve in preparation. "I'll go first, then?"
Graelem nods decisively as he re mounts the destrier loaned to him. "I am no mounted warrior, but I should be able to keep pace with you Master Kazimir." Turning to face the others he adds, "He and I will lead the charge and draw their attention, which will give you all the opportunity to meet any surprises they have in store for us!" He draws his sword and holds it aloft. Together we shall make the Stag Lord pay for his dishonor!"
As the party assembles, Kesten and his last remaining guard mount up, taking a moment or two to keep their mounts steady as kobolds clamber aboard. "I'll take this lot and see about distracting some of the guards along the east walls. If I don't see you again, it's been a pleasure out here." He grins a grin of genuine joy, mixed with some sort of underpinned anger, and then spurs his horse off to the east and south, followed by the last guard.
The party's ride to the south is quick, and before long, they find themselves looping around the hill on which the fortress is perched. Wooden stockades not much stronger looking than those of Oleg's Trading Post stand against them, over which are a few guard towers and a large, broken and battered building. However, the road up to the fortress isn't exactly uncontested. Two bandits with axes and shields stand, blocking the way, while a pair of archers pull arrows from their quivers as the party draws near.
"The moment any of you get injured you come right back here to me!" Luthor called after Kesten, a clear tinge of desperation in his voice. He turned his head to look at the others. "I grow weary of all this death, lets get this over with." He said, then spurred his mount forward.
As they drew near the gate, Luthor moved himself into a central position near the front of the group, readying himself to assist as soon as combat happened.
Nah's second bomb of the day takes care of one of the archers, and sends fiery shrapnel across the other, eliciting screams of pain. Through the smoke left behind (already dispersing from the light breeze of the afternoon), an arrow zips back, whizzing past the kobold's head and sticking into the dirt somewhere behind the charging horse. The two with shields raise them, covering most of their torsos against Kazimir and his lance and readying their axes for swinging.
Laliytsa aims at the remaining archer.
Surefoot's charge is steady and swift, but as Kazimir attempts to charge down one of the bandits, the explosion of Nah's bomb causes him to flinch, his lance instead ending up past his target's ribs and in the gate behind him.
GRaelem has a little trouble keeping his mount moving behind the swift moving destrier Kazimir is riding. Still he is ready to assist the paladin. Once he sees Kazimir miss with his lance he grasps his holy symbol and calls upon his ancestral spirit tied thereupon to daze his foe, thus preventing a return attack.
Kazimir can't get his lance closer to its intended victim, though the *whooooosh* it makes as it passes the bandit's head makes his face turn white. A moment later, Lali's arrow pounds into the surviving archer, who drops his bow on his way down, writhes in pain for a moment, and then lies still.
As Kazimir thunders by, the bandits hack away at his legs and torso with their axes. However, their blades only find purchase in the paladin's armor, rather than his flesh.
EDIT:
The bandit blinks, then glares at Graelum, readying his axe as he lets loose a battle cry.
Nah's bomb explodes on impact, knocking one of the two axemen prone in a cloud of dust and shrapnel. The other manages to stay standing, even swinging his axe at Graelum in a wide arc that catches on his armor, which turns the blow.
Then, the horsemen are past the last remaining bandit, with only the open maw of the gate between them and the inside of the fortress. From inside, the party can hear the sounds of combat off to the flank.