Our story begins in far off Dagh Boramm where Jorn is tasked with seeing a caravan of weapons and other supplies safely to Bastion. They start off with two wagons and pick up four more along the way plus a number of guards. Some more interesting than others. But they need to make a show of force against whatever bandits have been rumored to be near Bastion. The last wagon is acquired in the capital of Trinity City as well as an odd assortment of individuals hoping to head south as well. Liath Gwenilian is one of the guards for the last wagon and is tasked by her order to also investigate these bandits. Two wizard looking folk also join. One addresses himself as Tiasar and the other, herself as Barbara Schmidt. They are both looking to head south but have been convinced and warned to not go alone. Thankfully they met Liath before she left.
The last of the odd band causes quite a stir on the way. They were only two days from Bastion and on guard for likely ambushes. Night watches were mandatory now and nerves were getting frayed. So when a strange young man wearing a wooden mask wanders in, things get tense. He shouts at the guards about goblins and rouses the whole camp. Then from the forest, the little buggers attack. If not for his warning they would have fared a lot worse against the mob of goblins. He had no place to go and they were more than thankful for his help. So now the druid travels south as well.
Unfortunately the promised supplies are a few days late and the mayor of Bastion gets nervous. So many traders had been attacked recently and the city was running short a lot of necessary goods. The guard is currently undermanned, though they had been for years now, and so he reaches out to the civilians. And Juskar seems the perfect match for the job. The ranger is sent to investigate and see what is taking so long.
But as luck would have it, he meets the convey at just the right time.
Barbie is still quite shy in the presence of strangers, but she's also clearly fascinated by the people that joined the caravan. Liath Gwenilian looks so strong and confident, and Tiasar makes her feel like a pupil who's neglected her homework. She tends to silently gravitate around them, keeping a respectful distance, unless they speak to her. The druid with the wooden mask... intimidates her a bit.
Barbie also likes to feel useful so she gladly offers her help when it's time to cook.
|
"Fascinating." The word echoes for the hundredth time. It seems everything fascinates the sesquipedalian wizard. At current he is examining the tyranosauras that accompanies Jorn, be it at a safe distance with a few nervous twitches when it looks at him. He makes notes while examining the creature in a journal that seems to be well worn.
Tiasar joining a rugged batch of people was like a very extreme city boy joining a bunch of soldiers, except Tiasar doesn't even know cities. While he is incredibly well educated (having in depth conversations about magic, nature, gods, and even the planes with everybody, mostly Ms.Schmidt) he seems as world-wise as a three year old. Nobody has forgotten that he took the warning shout about goblins to be an excited shout to come and talk to the strange little creatures. He nearly got himself killed just walking in before Mr.Ragnos pulled him out, and he still blushes about it.
However, most interesting is his lack of empathy. If somebody seems frustrated or happy or openly exhibiting any emotion, he has the annoying habit of asking them why they are feeling that way. All the while writing things down like they're specimens to be examined. After a few days he learned why this is seen as rude, but still goes back and takes notes after finishing conversations.
Currently Tiasar is in one of his many deep trance-like states, just sitting on a wagon with his legs crossed, back strait and hands on his knees. He hasn't moved in almost an hour.
Stalkid softly whistles a sweet, somber tune as he plods along with the caravan. He has taken a position towards the rear, preferring to move along the side of the road where he can walk barefoot and feel the softer soil beneath his feet. He seems content to be slightly detached from the rest of the caravan, just out of reach, with Tael the Roc strutting proudly beside him as they walk; she seems to be disinterested in flying as long as the caravan continues to move at it's current pace.
Although uneased without the cover of the woods, Stalkid has found some sense of comfort with his mask secured tight, a rather crudely drawn face staring out instead of his own. A few guards have asked him to remove it, but he has adamantly refused, going almost as far as abandoning the caravan.
As he scans his surroundings, Stalkid notices that not many people are looking at him anymore, or at least not as much as they did just a short while back. To the few that he does happen to catch he gives a short wave.
|
"Calm down, Tiasar," Liath says reflexively as she passes his meditating form on her patrol. As the excitable mage proved more and more...excitable, she took it upon herself to make sure he didn't jump out of his own skin, or on to someone else's sword. Thank Bahamut she was nearby and could weave a wall of steel between him and the attacking goblins until the good Ragnos could see to his security.
Alas this has made her own taciturn personality even more so, her expressionless face griding itself into an even more stone-like appearance.
As she marched past the shy Barbie she made a point of stopping and sharing some words. At the moment they could just make out the odd druid skulking about the woods.
"It's not so bad, really," she says to Barbie about the druid's mask. "In the order it was common for the high-guard to wear helms intricately carved into screaming silver dragons. Late at night, in the waning illumination of the watchlights, they never failed to make my blood turn cold." She pauses and looks at the young mage deliberately. "Lucky we are that we're on the same side as them!" She favors the mage with a slight smile and continuesd on her patrol.
Positioned near the front of the caravan, a red-headed dwarven man in simple clothing and armor crafted from wood and leather stands watch. He leans on an old, well-worn quarterstaff and at his hip hangs a heavy warhammer. Next to the rather strangely-dressed dwarf, a young dinosaur is padding along, its over-sized head looking rather comical compared to its tiny arms. The creature makes a low warbling noise in its throat, poking its face into the satchel hanging from the dwarf.
"What's th' matter, Tyr? Ya hungry?" the dwarf asks the infant tyrannosaur, receiving a simple grunt as an answer.
Jorn Oathforge, druid of the Father of Creation, reaches into his satchel and pulls out some jerky, dropping it into his animal companion's waiting mouth. He then turns back to keeping watch, his bright green eyes peering for any threats while running a hand through his neatly-braided beard. "We're a few days late, lads! Let's pick up th' pace!" he calls to the rest of the caravan, satisfied that things seem safe enough for the time being. At his side, Tyr growls contentedly.
Barbie looks at the "little" tyrannosaur with an expression of pure amazement. The first chance she gets, she carefully tries to approach it, but thinks better before getting too close.
"What does it eat, sir? I'd like to try and feed it, if I may."
Jorn notices Tyr waving his tail more than usual, the appendage swishing around in response to being the subject of attention. It doesn't surprise Jorn when Barbara asks about the young reptile, and he turns to give her a once-over. "Meat, mostly. Seems t' chew on leaves every now an' then, but th' lion's share is small animals. He likes th' jerky I carry 'round, too, but it's more o' a snack than anythin' else," the druid informs the woman. He reaches into the satchel once more and pulls out another strip of the jerky, handing it to her. "Open palm. Let him come t' you. He's still small, but his bite ain't nothin' t' mess with."
Jusker strolls casually beside Tiasar. "No kidding." he says to the dwarf. "'S why I'm here, mate." Jusker wears mostly black, including his reinforced coat. Though it's a rather awkward combination of being more cumbersome than most light armors and not as protective as most heavier plate jobs, Jusker had always liked this coat. On the road, he can don it or discard it in a flash-- not something others can say about theirs. One hand rests, as it usually does, on the pommel of his rhoka sword, by far his most distinguishing feature due to its rarity. He had no idea where the necromancer he stole it from got it, but he knows he has yet to see another. He had needed a special scabbard made for it-- wider and deadlier than any longsword, but shorter and lighter than a greatsword, it too occupied an awkward middle-ground. In battle, it's often a great asset for your opponent not to know what to think of the weapon you wield, and this had certainly been true of the goblins; when Jusker drew his fork-shaped sword, their hesitation had been all the time he needed to turn the odds around and help the others secure the safety of the caravan. The zombies he knew plagued this area, though, couldn't care less.
He looks over at Tiasar. The odd elf sort of complements Jusker; not the least bit able to wield a sword, and even less eager to try, he seems to spends most of his time writing in or reading one book or another. It isn't as though Jusker has no respect for books; he's read a fair amount on how to kill zombies. But you'd think, Jusker thinks to himself, that with all that reading he does, he'd have found out more about the real world. He seems quite clueless about many of the goings-on around him. The elf knows magic, though, that much is clear-- he hardly goes three moments without using some. And that's something Jusker has never been capable of.
With so many new people, the travel was slow going, even with Jorn calling for a faster pace. As such they were going to be a few days late, something Thorum was very annoyed about. The caravan was under his supervision but even he couldn't plan for everything. Certainly not the new additions. The young, masked kid unnerved some of the men but after the help he provided they could look the other way. Tiasar was amusing to most of the men because of his penchant to get into weird situations. Intelligent he was, wise he was not. Juskar had his work cut out for him. Bets abounded at when he would quit. Barbara seemed to have a little more since but that may have been because she was shy. The men gave her a hard time but nothing too forward. Liath, however was damn near unapproachable. She had a severe kind of beauty you admired from a distance. And Jorn was Jorn. A little more approachable than most dwarves but that's not saying much. He and his kept to the front with their wagons for the most part but he and Thorum felt the whole train was their responsibility.
Finally the town was a half day's hard ride away. It wasn't in view but the caravan picked up its pace, eager to be done. What was ahead was a great example of dwarven stubbornness. Years ago when Bastion was first conceived it was thought it would need roads to handle the traffic that would move through the mountains to their southern neighbor. The best architects were hired to build it and that meant dwarves. But instead of going around or over the hill up ahead...they cleaved right through. The road remains flat while walls, reinforced with stone, line it. The walls are 10ft tall at the middle and go on for several hundred feet before opening at the other end. While the dwarves at the front admire the feat, the others merely shake their head.
|
|
Tiasar looks at the tunnel at first with interest, then apprehension. "Certainly an amazing feat of architecture, but is it safe to travel through it?" Tiasar's ear twitches. "That's interesting, according to my studies there's no bird in the area with that type of call." How one could identify the sound of a bird from reading about it in a book is a quirk Tiasar doesn't deign to explain.
|
|
Passing by the funny mage and his hired-man, Liath's gaze sweeps the cargo train, and notices that the last wagon, the last one picked up in the capital, seems to be far more guarded than the rest.
"What did you say?" snaps Liath as Tiasar mumbles his analysis of bird calls.
She knows not of bird calls, but she knows of ambushes. Her eyes scan the path, and, finding nothing, climb the walls upward.
"We've got movement up top!" she screams, perhaps a bit presumptuously. It could be anything from tourists to picnickers...but being wrong about the benign is not nearly so harmful as being wrong about the deadly.
"Juskar, you've got eagle vision. What make you of those forms on the top of the hill?" she asks.
One hand touches a breast and glows briefly. "Anleitung!" she says, uttering the word of power in orcish. A moment later she touches Juskar and utters the word again.
"Tiasar's the elf, love, not me," he answers Liath without looking at her, his gaze fixed on the shapes at the top of the hill. He had seen movement too, and doesn't like it any better than she. "Ask him." He moves his hand from the pommel of his rhoka to grip the hilt.
"Dammit," says one of the guards near Liath. "I didn't see nothin. Quit yellin."
Thorum, however, has and though he doesn't stop the caravan, behind as they are, he does lean over and ask Jorn, "You see that lad?"
Movement on the top of the hill grabs Jorn's attention, not getting past his razor sharp attention. 'We're practically in spittin' distance. I ain't lettin' no giants ruin this caravan, that's for sure,' he thinks to himself, the hand gripping his quarterstaff clenching tight around the faded wood. "Jus' stay sharp, an' let's keep movin'. If ya got weapons, keep 'em at th' ready. We're close t' Bastion, but not that close," the druid calls, Tyr looking around curiously at his side. The tyrannosaurus pup growls softly as the mood of the caravan changes, but continues to pad along next to his master.
Barbie doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but Liath's spellcasting puts her on alert. Troubles ahead?
Stalkid is noticeably agitated by the grand tunnel. It's hard to tell whether he is more frightened by it or fascinated as he moves a careful semi circle around the opening, carefully drawing in all that he can see and giggling.
Stalkid suddenly stands stock still, catching the bit of movement to the top of the hill. He stares at it as his head cocks to one side, listening. Suddenly a shiver runs through his body and he makes a small nervous clicking sound. He calls out to the guards around him, "The hill! Movement!" and pointing out the spot he saw, before turning to Tael and giving a sharp whistle.
The large bird turns it's gaze to the sky and with a powerful beat of it's wings it leaps to the air above the caravan.
The warning travels down the line and a hiss can be heard as weapons are drawn from scabbards and readied. Some men only follow because they were told to and still seem bored. Other look around tensely. The wagons pull into the small valley and trudge forward unmolested. When the last of the line is well between the walls, you hear a shout of "Now!" Like a well planned attack, two large logs fall in place some 40ft ahead of you in the road. Right on their heels are five men on leather armor and crossbows out. All a top the hill more men and women in similar dress pop up, also with crossbows. In all there seems to be about 14, all focused at the front of the train. They surround the first three wagons. You have them outnumbered but they have the advantage.
Of the five that drop in front, four kneel behind the logs while one stands. "Lay down your arms and walk away or die. Your choice. You have 10 seconds to decide. If you advance," he smiles, "consider yourself putting one foot in the grave." He trains his crossbow on Thorum in the driver's seat of the first wagon and begins to count.
"And call off the beasts," the apparent leaser says, pointing at the roc and the dinosaur.
Tael makes six sharp clicking sounds, and Stalkid turns around to see where the bird is circling. Beneath the mask his eyes widen. He moves deftly to Jorn, careful to not spook the bandits. He tugs on his arm and whispers Druidic in his ear. "There are six to the rear. They do not plan to let us go."
Stalkid readies his Scythe, not seeing much plant life around to make use of his spells.
Tael gives Stalkid the druid its warning but as he moves closer to Jorn a shout causes him to jump. "Stand still and drop the weapon or I put a bolt through that eye hole,"one of the bandits says aiming at Stalkid.
The leader at the front also roars a command, "Bring it down or we bring it down for you. We know its someone's."
Jusker keeps his rhoka in its sheath but maintains his grip on the hilt as he walks toward the front. "I'm here for exactly one reason, mate" he says to the bandit who appears to be the leader. He gestures toward the caravan with his other hand. "Keeping these boys on schedule to Bastion. We're already late, and now you're wasting my time. D'you want what's ever in here, is that it?"
A small red and black raven flies from the back wago, landing on Jusker. It pecks at his stubble once to get his attention. "Master Auvreathem is a little frightened and confused, he asks for your guidance in this conflict."
A cold shiver runs down Barbie's spine. Her parents died exactly like this. Her jaw tightens; she may be young and inexperienced, but she's got her magic, she won't go down without a fight.
The bandit pauses in his count down and gives Juskar an annoyed look. "What was your first clue? When I told ya to drop your s+~* and leave or when my men showed up? 5...4..."
Jorn frowns heavily as Stalkid informs him of the additional bandits to their rear. "Tlachdmhor," the dwarf replies in the most sarcastic tone he can manage, as he tries to weigh his options.
"If he has any magic that can take them out of commission," he says softly to the raven on his shoulder, "now's the time to use it. If not, tell him to stay hidden."
Morde turns and caws at the bandits, then flies back.
Even in the back of the wagon, one of the bandits catches Tiasar's casting. "Caster!" he shouts.
Round 1
Initiative:
Barbara
Stalkid
Bandits
Jorn
Tiasar
Liath
Ruskar
Guards
Barbie moves to the front, her hands in plain sight as to surrender, screaming at the top of her lungs:
"Please good sirs, please, don't hurt us, we surrender!"
She's looking for a good spot, at least five feet from the closest enemy, where her cone can get the highest number of them.
Once in position, keeping the same tone, she focuses her magic and utters the brief but potent words that call the beautiful colors into being.
- rounds, then
rounds, then stunned for 1 round
- rounds, then stunned for 1 round
- 5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Then, if she's close enough to the logs, she drops prone behind them hoping to get some protection, especially from the archers above.
Stalkid points his scythe at the leader of the bandits and his eyes narrow behind his mask. He mutters something in Druidic and the scrawlings on his mask seem to glow for a second. The wood in front of the Bandits suddenly comes to life as tangled branches and vines spring forth and start to entrap them.
Tael comes to land on the cart next to Stalkid, keeping herself aboveground with a direct line on the bandits should Stalkid find himself in trouble.
Barbara's multi-colored spray cause one man to flail violently before falling to the ground , but thankfully not off the ledge. The other covers his face before getting hit and retaliates in kind.
The log in front of the four bandits seems to explode with grasping vines but somehow most of the bandits nearby manage to yank free before becoming entangled.
One gets free and moves forward while one remains stuck. The others move forward to get out of the grasping vines.
G16 vs Tiasar
G12 vs Juskar
N12 vs Liath
N16 vs Stalkid
G20 vs Barbara
N20 vs Guard
G24 vs Guard
N24 vs Guard
N16 vs Stalkid CONFIRM
The bandits unload there crossbows for minor damage and reload them again.
Round 1
Initiative:
Barbara-color spray
Stalkid-entangle
Bandits-fire
Jorn
Tiasar
Liath
Ruskar
Guards
Jorn drops his makeshift walking stick into the cart, before pulling his sling from where it hangs at his waist. He pulls a bullet from a pouch on his belt and loads it into the cup of the sling, before beginning to spin the weapon. "Defend th' caravan!" the dwarf calls, and with that, Tyr rusheses the nearest bandit while roaring as loud as his not-fully-developed lungs would allow.
| HP: 11/11 | AC: 14 T: 11 FF: 13 | CMD: 14 | F: +4 R: +1 W: +5 (+3 vs. poison, spells & spell-likes) | Init: +3 Per: +7 | 1st: 2/2 |
Effects: None
Spells Prepared:
. . 1st (2/day) longstrider (1/1), shillelagh (1/1)
. . 0 (at will) detect magic, guidance, read magic
===
Tyr:
| HP: 9/9 | AC: 17 T: 13 FF: 14 | CMD: 16 | F: +3 R: +6 W: +2 | Init: +3 Per: +6 |
Effects: None
|
|
Liath frowns as the hail of bolts glance from her breatplate. She envisioned herself slaying hords of undead and powerful warriors in single combat. Well, Bahamut's will has guided her here, and she must do her best to see it through.
She marches purposefully to the nearest bandit. By slaying him she will at least create a bubble of stability, and secure one flank for the group around her.
It was smart for the bandits to choose a spot where most weapons would have trouble hitting them. Most weapons that weren't ranseurs.
He feels the impact of a crossbow bolt that hits him in the side, but thanks to his reinforced coat it glances off harmlessly. Wheeling around to face the attacker, he unslings his bow, pulls an arrow from the quiver at his back, and fires. As he does so, he feels Liath's magic guiding his arm to strike true.
Two of the bandits fall asleep where they stand, including the apparent leader. "Fire. Kill..." Both Liath's and Tyr's targets feel the sting of their respective attacks.
G8 vs B12
G7 vs B12
G9 vs B13
G5 vs B10
G6 vs B11
G1 vs B8
G3 vs B11
G2 vs B9
The guards move forward and let loose with their own crossbows but only one manages to hit.
Round 2
Initiative:
Barbara-
Stalkid-
Bandits-
Jorn
Tiasar
Liath
Juskar
Guards
G6 vs B11 Confirm
Barbie turns pale as the crossbow bolt passes just a few inches from her ear; she takes courage seeing the other bandit fall down unconscious though, and turns a cold look at the man who's just tried to kill her. He won't be so lucky this time around.
rounds, then
rounds, then stunned for 1 round
rounds, then stunned for 1 round
- 5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Then she retrieves the acid flask from a pocket.
Stalkid feels the bolt slice his arm and gives a gasp of pain. His eyes widen a moment and he can feel his breath quicken. He takes a deep breath and moves to the Bandit who shot him . He whistles as he does and readies himself to defend as he awaits his help.
Hearing her master's call Tael leaps from the cart and flies behind the Bandit, trying to swipe at him.
She barley misses mauling the offender's arm.