Haleen lives! Khayal did you hear them!
Hajar raises Tempest high and charges the Gnollish lines like a whirling dervish of legend!
unfortunately he isn't as successful as he would have liked to be.
Bartan pulls out a harrow card quickly, hoping to get advice from Lady Irez on what path to follow.
=> 26: The Sickness (Neutral Evil, Constitution)
"Now may be our chance to move on. We should go find this djinn and cure the malady he is suffering from, instead of fighting every peon in the land."
Khayal hears Hajar and can barely believe his ears. As Hajar charges in Khayal can not let his friend fight alone. He jumps in the fight as well, charging the Bugbear on the bottom.
Dhavyn is about to answer to Bartans comments when he spots the bugbears. He rushes to them after Khayal whispering "ברענען הענט". As he gets close to them he pushes out his hands and unleashes a fan of roaring flames.
Burning Hands: V, S / 15 cone burst / Reflex DC15 for half damage. Flammable materials burn if the flame touches them. A character can extinguish burning items as a full-round action.
Sighing at his companions' bloodlust, Bartan moves up, pulling another harrow card from his belt and casting a spell on it.
=> The Uprising (Chaotic Neutral, Strength)
He then throws the card at the bugbear, and in midair it begins to gather frost around it until it coalesces into a waving banner of freedom...
plus , DC 13 Fort save for half damage, failure means staggered 1 round.
As Hajar charged Khayal was quicker, his kukri slicing past the middle bugbear's morningstar to hit him in his chest.
Growling, the bugbears switched from defense and attacked the humans in front of them.
Yazi stayed where she was among the gnoll corpses. Bartan moved closer and flung a playing card, which missed its' target. Dhavyn followed-up with burning hands the wave of flame catching Khayal in the wave.
The bugbears hoot and holler as they catch fire.
Avenka double moves in front of Dhavyn to protect her comrades. Her turn is done.
ROUND 6
Under the hot sun, the battle of Kelmarane continued, for good or for ill, it was too soon to tell.
Init:
Not seeing the approaching threat Khayal continues his assault on the bugbear that he had hit.
Yazi, you say when we withdraw and I will rearguard with Khayal.
Hajar says as he takes a mighty swing at a bugbear. but fails to strike the goblinoid.
Avenka cleaves at the monsters, again with rage : (Again -4 AC)
Khayal killed the middle bugbear, who was already on fire and hit pretty hard by everyone. Hajar swung but missed as he kept up a shouting conversation with Yazi behind him.
One bugbear decided to try and put out the flames, rather than swing his morningstar. The other took a swing at Khayal.
But it clanked on Khayal's armor.
The gnolls behind them, barking and growling, let loose with their light crossbows. Not caring about their allies, they fired into the melee of humans and non-humans.
The gnolls reloaded their crossbows after they fired. Behind them, other gnolls from the battle market came up, brandishing their weapons, but content to watch the battle before them.
Avenka, her flail spinning with a heavy, deadly sound, made mincemeat of the already burned and fallen bugbear in the middle, and continued on to the third bugbear, nearly taking off its' shoulder and head. It fell, dead as well.
Bartan pulls out his last scroll of burning hands (CL2) and takes a five-foot step forward. He casts the scroll at the last bugbear.
"We should retreat from this fight and confront the djinn, friends. We must defeat their leader, or they will likely never stop coming at us."
There must be an end to them.... Hajar gasps, his arm growing tired from the fight.
Bartan's flame hits the goblinoid and catches fire. The creature curses in its' own language.
ROUND 7
Init:
Someone - or something - is coming up from the trail to the battle market. The gnolls in the back are being pushed aside.
Kardswann! Face me in combat Brother! We can destroy Xulthos together!
As soon as the genie comes into view Hajar will use smite evil on him.
Avenka attacks the gnolls.
Yazi's greatsword killed off the last bugbear, who was distracted by his fur being on fire. In multiple places.
Avenka ran forward , her barbarian's burst of energy taking her to the encircling gnolls.
Her flail bashed in one gnoll before he could drop his light crossbow and lift his battleaxe, and the other gnoll beside him tried to swing at the woman, but Avenka's flail whipped around and killed him as well.
The gnolls are pushed aside by a 7-foot-tall armored bald human man armed with an enormous greataxe. Tanned by the hot Katapesh sun, he is dressed in a masterwork breastplate, his shoulders festooned with bronze spikes. Waves of the midday heat come off of the man's arms, and his eyes sparkle with a strange light. His greataxe is a wicked thing, nearly as large as the wielder, two-handed and curved in every direction, the thick, jagged blade glowing with an unholy light. Metallic harmony comes off of several rings embedded in one of its' arches. The man speaks to you with a booming voice that seemingly echoes throughout the entire area.
"I am Kardswann, Mouth of the Carrion King, Chieftain of the Kulldis Tribe and master of this village. I tire of your disruption. You come in here and kill my honored guests? If you wanted a battle, you have it!." The chieftain raises both arms into the air. "Now, you sons of dogs," he roars, "I offer you 500 pieces of gold for each of the strangers’ corpses, but only if you beat me to them!"
You feel Vardishal looking through your eyes, his influence growing in your mind, infusing you with a sense of bitter disappointment at Kardswann's fall from Templar glory. Your plea was not meaningful enough before, paladin. the spirit whispers in your mind. Call yourself me, Varidshal, and wield Tempest as I would. Admonish Kardswann from wandering off the path of the Templars of the Five Winds. Your friends can help, if they are sincere. Turn this fallen one back.
Hajar's eyes shimmer with an eerie light of their own and a strange voice sounds from his mouth Kardswann, Templar of the South Wind, forsake this wicked path and fight the evil that binds you to the Daemon. It is I, Vardishal the North Wind who speaks. Hajar raises Tempest to show the weapon. Hoping to get a glimmer of recognition from the Genie. The Five Winds must unite to face the enemy of all. This Carrion King serves the Rough Beast and must be brought low for his crimes.
Hajar raises his left hand and motions his friends and allies to stand down and let him face Kardswann alone, if only for a few moments.
Bartan will cast his recalled shocking grasp and pull out a card, readying to throw it, but giving Hajar time to fight Kardswann on his own for a round or two.
=> The Betrayal (Neutral Evil, Charisma)
"You have betrayed your kind, Kardswann. Your brother can save your soul, if you'll allow it. Do not stray farther toward the darkness and chaos of Rovagug's treachery!"
Somewhat confused and not sure of what to do Khayal will ready an attack on the next enemy he threatens that takes an offensive action.
Dhavyn pulls out a book on genies and tries to remember what he had read about janni.
ROUND 8
Avenka will continue with gnoll-bashing, assuming she still can cleave :
Hajar waits for his former brother to respond to his plea
Hajar, I had you do the plea again because 1.) Kardswann was still 60 feet away behind the gnolls, and 2.) the book wanted you to make the Diplomacy check, not just talk to him. :)
A strange look of confusion clouds Kardswann’s expression. The large man puts his axe head-down on the ground, going to one knee. His entire body begins shaking, as if he were struggling to control his actions. He furrows his brow and speaks through clenched teeth: "You… must… destroy… Xulthos. Below the… below the ruined church. Cannot hold on. Bind me or cut me… within an inch of death… His will is so much stronger than mine… Do it! Do it now!”
Avenka has no problem bashing on the two gnolls in front of her, downing one and injuring the other. The gnolls around Kardswann look confused, snarling and barking at each other and the bald man.
Init:
Still unsure of what precisly is going on Khayal charges the closet gnoll to the north.
Khayal charged, hitting one gnoll and wounding him.
The gnolls erupt in a frenzy of barking and shouting.
The unwounded gnolls break and run away in various directions, all of them fleeing the humans. Only two are left, and these attack the humans that attacked them.
None of their axes made any hits.
Kardswann gritted his teeth, looking like he was fighting a battle within his mind while he waited, or for his mind.
"Hajar, quickly, bind him. I will aid you as well I can."
Bartan will then move forward toward Kardswann, keeping at least 5 feet of distance between them until Hajar can get near. He'll then cast acid splash and deliver it with a card to the gnoll fighting with Khayal.
plus
On his next turn, Bartan will aid Hajar's attempts to tie Kardswann up.
Hajar steps up to the kneeling Genie and says The Light bless you brother, I will free you!
He swings Tempest down in a mighty blow but turns the blade at the last instant to strike with the flat edge.
Avenka attacks the gnoll in front of her :
Bartan's playing card hit the gnoll fighting Khayal, and with a hiss the hyena-man went down. Yazi threw her net, and it fell around her target.
Dhavyn called out "Kardswann is a janni, with efreet, the fire genies, blood. He can cast spells! And we know he is, or was, a Templar of the Five Winds."
Hajar's attack is true but merciful, and Kardswann takes the punishment with only a grunt. The blow does not fall him, however, and the giant man looks like he can take a lot more.
Avenka makes short work of the gnoll who did not leave with the others.
ROUND 10
Init:
Khayal moves into flanking with Hajar and swings with the flat of his blade.