Lorkan whispers, "Sarenrae be with us. Let me not be too late," as he plods toward the sound of the fallen body. As he does, he casts a glance back, to make sure no others are encroaching upon those working the graves with him. The rhythmic clanging of his scale mail seem to echo against the eerie silence in the forest.
Thallan, mounted... advances.
Shandor quietly observes the orc. Looking for any sign the beast is still alive. (That shouldn't have killed him. He’s most likely faking.)
Probably should proceed with caution. I don’t think he’s dead.
Ivan nods at the wizard. nice shot there.
Ivan draws a throwing axe and moves toward the tree line.
Pash reloads his hand crossbow and looks around, wondering if the orc was alone.
Lorkan advances on foot and Thallan advances mounted towards the orc. As they approach the game trail Ivan notices the orc is bleeding and prone on the ground.
A group of four orcs moves to the front of road with flaming arrows on their shortbows and lauch a volley at the wagons. The four orcs manage to hit each of three wagons once. Two of the arrows fail to catch, but one wagon begins to burn profusely and two teamsters rush to try to beat out the flames.
Emerald seems calm, Malik screams like a girl as one of his wagons burns.
Party is up round 2
The sudden appearance of the orcs and the volley of arrows cause Lorkan to stop dead in his tracks. He looks worriedly at the prone orc and the wagon on fire, and stomps his foot in frustration as he races back toward the flame in a dead run. The cleric shouts as he pulls at the holy symbol. "Someone stop them! I'll help with the fire!"
The elf dismounts, not wanting to make his mount a target for a dishonorable enemy.
Thallan moves to close with the group of archers, drawing his long-blade.
Ivan bellows out a challenge.
bloody orcs! I be havin' somethin' fer ye!
Ivan runs full speed at the orcs with his shield raised to block incoming fire.
I need to lighten my load. I’m to fare away to help the second wagon. Shandor drops his pack then moves forward 30 foot. Concentrating on the environment, he begins weaving the elements of fire and ice into the air around him. With a verbal command, “Vaspar”, he releases a vaporous cloud that expands, covering himself and most of the second wagon.
Thallan has yet to detect evil, except when he concentrates on the orc in the woods. Also the archers are not within Thallan's field of view.
Thallan dismounts and walk over what appears to be pit designed to trigger at the weight of a horse. He stands over the prone, bleeding orc who staggers to his feet.
Recap == Encounter 1 -- Burial in the Pines
The fallen sentry was in the woods. The rider stopped and walked over his pit trap without triggering it. Rising to his feet the badly injured orc confronts the paladin with a.....shortsword.
The wizard gestures and the second wagon is enveloped in fog. Other party members rush to position themselves better. Frustrated, Ivan sprints toward the orcs, trusting in his shield to protect him in his headlong rush.
ORDER OF ACTION
Thallan (only to exercise AoO versus orc standing from prone)
Pash
orcs
Thallan sees the enemy try to stand and slashes.
The orcish fire archers continue to fire their shortbows at the wagons. Two fire arrows hit the rear wagon but they burn out without spreading!! The water thrown on the wagon by the quick thinking teamster seemed to help. Two more groups of four orcs converge on the rear of the wagons. These eight orcs rush from the way you came wielding falchions, greatswords, and greataxes. The ones on the forest side of the road pause to take cover behind the trees. Jasper points out four more on the other side of the road attacking the caravan. The cunning and timing of the ambush become quite apparent as the orcs are operating in three groups with a decoy, now badly wounded and dueling Thallan.
The orc in the woods takes a cut from Thallan as he rises and returns an even more vicious attack in reply.
Malik shouts: "To the caravan!!"
ACTION ROUND 3
Party to go
13 active orcs
Confused by all the chaos, Lorkan runs back north before concluding he cannot be everywhere at once. Malik's call to return to the caravan halts him. Frustrated, he calls on Sarenrae to assist them. Sarenrae answers as a wave of energy emits from the cleric to all his allies nearby, bolstering them with a touch of courage.
in a bellow of rage, or joy, the dwarf charges at the closest orc, bringing his great dwarven axe to bear.
BWHAHA ivan laughs as arrows ping off his shield.
Ivan hears shouts from behind but cannot spare the concentration to look.
Cowardly bastards! Ave' a taste of me axe! An' don't ye worry, there be plenty for the lot O' ya!
Ivan splatters an orc with a nasty swing. The three remaining fire archers seem concerned.
If you can, use the mist for concealment. It will force them to move in and fight toe to toe. Shandor moves back to the last wagon and invokes the power held in his bonded ring. Once again he begins churning the surrounding air and mixing it with a fragment of frost and fire. Upon his verbal command, “Vaspar,” he once again releases a cloud of mist that envelops the last wagon.
Iscarel lowers his shortbow as the orc bands approach, casting a sidelong glance down the road. Pash can almost see him consider cutting and running with his advance payment, before dropping the bow and drawing a scroll. "Ai eleana. Here I thought this journey was going to be boring. Reminds me of a stint I did on a smuggling galley on Lake Encarthan..." the elf says, before cutting himself short. "Perhaps a story for another time. !"
Knowing he faces a physically stronger foe... Thallan calls upon the divine and swings in desperation. Jackal take you, fool!
Should the blow fell the ignoble enemy, Thallan will move to the edge of the treeline and survey the situation proper.
Thallan cuts down the orc in the woods.
The orc falls, and Thallan didn't see another weapon or take the time to search him. Pash moves up to help Thallan and see what is in the woods.
One of the orcs fires an arrow at Ivan and hits him in the neck and he drops to the ground like a rock.
The other two fire at the forward wagon, but it refuses to catch fire as the teamster quickly beats it out. Hit by a magic bolt, the orcs rush through the trees to retaliate. A crossbow bolt fired from the wagons fails to hit one of them and they close.
Iscarel dodges a great axe and takes a nasty cut from a greatsword and falls unconscious as he caught outside the fog cloud. The four orcs on the south side of the road are lost from sight as the enter the fog cloud on the south side and are obscured by the wagon. The other two on the north side that didn't attack Iscarel rush to confront the rear wagon.
With two of the group down and fire, things are looking bleak. Shandor hears a body thud near him and the footsteps of an orc closing towards him in the fog.
Party is up -- update Monday
Lorkan looks left, and sees their fearless leader and future heir Iscarel go down. At nearly the same time, he hears a thud and looks right as the brave dwarf Ivan the Rock similarly falls. The cleric fights of the mounting panic as he pleads to Sarenrae to lift them from this predicament.
Peeking over, he realizes Iscarel remains unmoving, and likely dead. Sighing, the cleric plods eastward toward the fallen dwarf.
Unable to visually see the orc, Shandor decides to recover his pack and move back towards the second wagon. Using the side of the third wagon for guidance he moves with urgency.
Healing energy helps keep the dwarf from bleeding and the paladin's wound heals some.
The mist over the two wagons seems to be adding to the confusion. It appears for now to be in the favor of the defenders.
Shandor moves and finds two teamsters, Emerald, and Malik in the second wagon.
The orcs with the bows reload targeting the wagons. With Amarisa closing on them they hurry their shots at the lead wagon, and only one arrow hits and does not catch fire as the teamster quickly beats it out.
Orcs in the third wagon can be heard ransacking the wagon as the boxes loaded are thrown back to the ground quickly.
Anyone looking to Ivan sees his neck wound get wider, and his head falls off. The dwarf staggers to his feet holding his head in his hands. As blood spurts from his neck in regular intervals he advances toward the orc archers with his axe in his right hand.
The three orc archers look ready to flee.
Group up -- six orcs seem to be ransacking the last wagon in the cloud.
Lorkan picks up the pace and runs toward Ivan with the intent of saving the dwarf, but draws himself up just short as the unexpected and rather gruesome sight greets him. The cleric looks at Ivan, uncertain whether to call for healing energy for or smiting energy against his risen comrade.
Shandor moves into the second wagon, just close enough to the edge of the mist to see the three orcs in the distance. Using the side of the wagon for cover, and the edge of the mist for concealment, he Summons what little magic he has left. Shandor quietly speaks an arcane word, “Mordockin” he whispers. As the word trails off, Shandor raises his hand into the air and sends a glowing blue missile racing towards the closest orc.
Shandor's bolt flies true hitting the orc, but he stays afoot.
The orcs with bows begin to run away. Lorkan thinks something is amiss with the risen dwarf. Ivan holds his head and seems to be chasing the orcs away.
ORDER OF ACTION
Lorkan
Shandor
Thallan
Iscarel - down
Ivan - down
ORCS
The orcs continue to ransack the third wagon while the orc archers flee in terror.
Thallan waits for his opportunity to attack.
Order of Action
Lorkan
Shandor
Thallan
Iscarel - down
Ivan - down
ORCS
Lorkan approaches the apparition of Ivan uncertainly, and reaches out to imbue the dwarf with positive energy.
Ivan will groggily shake his head.
oye... by Toraqs hardened nipples, Dat hurt! oye, cleric, mind ifin ye give me anotha dose O' da good stuffs?
He will retrieve his shield, then check to make sure he still has his axe, then stand if possible.
Shandor removes the light crossbow attached to his pack and loads a bolt.
I wouldn't be standing around to long, a couple of them orcs are sacking the third wagon.
The cleric of Sarenrae nods at Ivan and prepares his mind to channel more positive energy. "Your ghost rose. It was gruesome. Some magic is at play."
Ivan! Are you alright? I can't see through that mist!. He runs toward the mist until he can see something.