As Creon continues his surveillance of the area, he manages to pinpoint the the few clusters of trees that hold guard posts. Three of the posts are set outside of the camp, at varying distances from the central area of the camp, while two are clearly within sight of the camp itself. In addition, two bandits stand guard with swords sheathed at their hips near the bonfire.
Creon carefully heads back along his original track. He finds the others still waiting in a small clearing.
"Summary: I found the camp. It is not fortified, but it is guarded and they appear to be well organised.
He sits and use a twig to draw a map of the camp in the soil.
"Detail: At the centre, here, is a bonfire. There are two bandits with swords standing guard there. There are two guard posts in trees, in sight of the camp, here and here. Each guard post seems to contain two bandits, each armed with crossbows. The outer perimeter consists of three further such groups, again installed in the trees - here, here and here."
"Supplementary: As for numbers, it was difficult to precisely discern. A further group was off duty, eating by the fire. I did not see the bandit leader, I think."
Holgar looks over the map that Creon has sketched in the ground and notes the locations of the guard posts. "I don't know about you muscle heads, but if we clear out some of those guard posts archer-boy here and I could set up in one that has a good line of sight on the camp. id make it a hell of a lot easier to cover your asses as you go in.
Gallidren nods at Holgar, "I may be able to help. I have spells that could silently incapacitate those guard posts if I can make it there undetected. Are you willing to risk it?"
"If it can be done silently, then I believe we must take our chances," Annika adds. "Attempting to fight through the lot of them when they have both range and elevation could be disastrous, even before their comrades in the camp joined the fight."
As the discussion of taking out those on the platforms continues, the party can clearly hear movement from the enemy camp. After a moment of concern, it appears the bandits are switching watch shifts, with several of those in the camp moving towards the tree line. As they switch shifts, only Holgar notices as the bandits hand off what looks like a bundle of small stones. A few minutes later, the bandits leaving their posts start to gather around the fire.
as Holgar notices the stones he recognizes them as Thunderstones. " Oi, we might have a slight dilemma. those bastards have Thunderstones. this just got more complicated."
Gallidren frowns, "That is a concern Holgar. Perhaps we should directly attack the camp and try to kill their leader before they can organize their defense."
Creon removes his mask.
"Observations: firstly, they already seem to have organised their defence, hence the attention to the guards. Conversely, they can not throw these weapons as far as we can fire ours, and from a height will have difficulty throwing any distance with accuracy. Perhaps we should pick off the guards from a distance. A headlong attack would leave the guards in place to help defend the camp, and - as a reminder - they are also armed with crossbows."
"Supplementary suggestion: I have a quiver of incendiary arrows in my pack - rather than depend on accurately taking down individual guards, perhaps we can fire - from a safe distance - the trees they inhabit? It would probably be easier, though we would lose any element of surprise."
"Speculation: perhaps they trust too much in the strength of the peripheral defences, and have become complacent. I suppose we are about to find out."
Holgar seems to contemplate Creons suggestion for a moment before responding. "The fire idea has merit, ha smoke out the bastards like a bunch a rabbits. but as for the damn thunderstones ahm less worried about them being used as weapons and more worried about them alerting everyone in the damn place.
Having stood by while the more tactically-minded planned, Prophet now snorts. "Bah͞.҉ ͞This͡ s̸te̷al̵th͞ i͟s ҉m̕ore tr̀o҉ubl͜e͢ tha̵ń ̸it's ̴w̨ort̡h. Ou͟r͜ su͞rpri̶se҉ ́wa͝s͏ ͠r̷uined͝ ͞w̶he͜ń we ̵l͡et an͡y ̴of͢ ͘t́h̶ís̵ ͏ilk liv͞e ̡before.͘ ̛W͏e̢ ̨sho̡ul͜d ro͟u̡t͞ t͠he͢m ̷f͏aşt̶." He runs a hand along his sword's blade and grins. "Oúr͜ ̷a͜ŕc̴h͡er͢s ̛f̢ire t̕h͠e̡ ̸gu̡a͘ŕd͠s͝ ̛a̵nd ͢t́h͟e ͡re̸s̷t ̧of u̴s҉ ͘r͞u͠sh̕ ͡i͞ņ.̸"
"Unless we are exceptionally quiet, we're not likely to be able to take out all of the guards without someone alerting the camp. There are simply too many of them. However, if the close range combatants such as myself and Prophet take positions near the entrance, we can attack the front as soon as the ranged attackers and stealthier warriors can no longer keep their cover. This would allow us to control the flow of the battle before it even begins and take as many of the bandits down as possible."
"Summary, then: friend Holgar and I look to take out the peripheral guard posts, at least initially. This will also create a distraction. The closer combatants move to a state of readiness nearer the centre, and take friend Gallidren to use his skills to remove the guards in the interior trees, under your protection, once the distraction has been created. We will continue to work on the peripheral posts and then move forward in support as it makes sense. Agreed?."
"I believe that is an accurate description of the situation. Unless someone else believes that they have a better solution to our problem."
Gallidren nods, "Sounds good. I am ready."
Prophet offers a nod and moves into position with Annika and Gallidren. Once there, he readies his sword and gives the elves a grin. "M̕i̕r̡daut̡as ́v̷r̶a̛s̕."
Creon moves with Holgar to a position near the closest of the outer guard posts. He removes two fire arrows from their quiver and lights them, taking care to hide them from the view of the guards. He takes slow aim at one of the guards, trusting that, if he hits, the recoil will hide the direction of the arrow from his partner. When ready, he nods briefly to Holgar.
And fires.
Gallidren will cast enlarge person on Prophet, if he is willing. "This will extend your reach my friend. Now you will be the Prophet of Doom for these bandits."
Prophet narrows his eyes at the elf, but accepts his spell. Why would he call me that? Surely he doesn't know me.
A͞͏ĺ̨l̴͏ ͝l̵͝u̷l̡g̕i͏j͝aḱ̡s͜ ̷͘arę̵̀ ͡͡t̡͡h̨e̕͢ ҉s̷ą̷m̵̢e҉͏. ͢I̵̛t̷̢ ̶͘͟is o̧̢nl͏̷y̢ ̛͜f̷̨l̶̴̨ò̵w̵er̶͘̕y̷͡ ̶̧̛s҉́p̧̀e̸҉e̕͘ch͜, ̨́͟ş̀ì̀́l̷͠v͘͘͝e̛͡r ̵ţ̨o͏̷͏ng͟͝u͢e̶̶ t͞o̴͜͢ ̴m̴ak͢e ̴͝u̡p͏͞҉ ̀̀f̴͞o͘r̵ la̴͘ç̀͝k̴͢ ̕of́҉ ̨s̸̡̢te͢el ̕͜a̷͠r̶̢m̢͜s̡̛.̨͟
Prophet shakes his head and focuses forward, ready to spring into action when the time comes.
Annika draws her blade and gets into position with everyone else. "Ready when everyone else is."
Holgar checks to make sure that his crossbow is fully loaded than nods ready to Creon. "lets make some pincushions."
Theodore falls in line behind the other melee combatants and draws his sword.
As Creon releases his arrow, it flies through the sky and catches a bandit in the chest and he starts to collapse, his chest impacting hard on the edge of the watch tower. The flames have begun to lick at the edge, but haven't yet begun to catch. As the arrow flies, Holgar can line up a shot to take out the other guard, but a missed shot means he'll raise the alarm when his partner goes down.
Holgar fires just after Creon releases his first arrow.
While the arrow collides with the man's chest, he only stumbles back a few feet before he draws one of the stones from the pouch, hurling it towards the ground. Seconds later, a vicious boom erupts sending your ears ringing as the thunderstone cracks on the ground. "We got company!" the man yells, before beginning to ready his crossbow. You can see the men in camp scrambling to pick up weapons and armor, and the men in the watch towers have readied their crossbows, about to fire.
ACTUAL INITIATIVE ORDER
Gallidren moves to the tree line and steps into the clearing, "By the order of Lord Noleski Surtova, the current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, I order you all to lay down your arms and repent for your crimes."
He then blasts the front line of bandits with a color spray spell (DC16).
As Gallidren raises his arms towards the bandits, bright flashes of color shoot outwards from his palms and engulf three of the bandits. They all clutch at their heads and eyes, and then stumble and fall to the ground. Once the air ceases to shimmer, the two men still standing move forward with swords in hand, both swinging for Gallidren. One's sword clatters off of the bubble of force Gallidren has conjured, but the other's blade comes in and cuts deep into his rib cage, now bleeding freely. The other two off-duty bandits move up closer, but are too far away to attack without trampling their unconscious comrades. "We're under attack!" one of them yells, although you don't see any bandits not already primed for battle.
"Damnation. This is why the wizard should never run in first." Annika dashes forward throwing back her cloak and aiming her blade directly at the nearest bandit's throat. "You had the option to surrender. Now instead you've chosen the Boneyard. Don't say we didn't warn you."
Holgar grumbles something about needing better bolts as his first shot fails to kill his target, but cheers up a bit in the face of Gallidrens antics, chuckling as he launches his next bolt at the closest enemy archer.
Theo charges forward with Annika, his longsword catching the light of the fire as he brings it down in a vicious overhead chop at one of the two bandits on Gallidren. The blade catches him in the shoulder, leaving a deep cut into his collarbone that bleeds profusely as the paladin pulls back his blade. The bandit clutches at his shoulder, clearly severly wounded.
-----
Annika's blade barely fails to catch the bandit in the chest, but it does manage to catch him across the arm, tearing his clothes and leaving a wound. Holgar's bolt catches his target along the ribs, but fails to penetrate his armor, only leaving a small wound. The guard post fired at by Creon has finally begun to light, with the arrow finally setting the dry wood aflame. The other bandit panics, and his frantic attempt to climb the ladder snaps one of the rungs, sending him plummeting to the ground with a sickening crunch. Moments later, the ladder itself catches, as bits of burning wood and sparks start to fall into the underbrush.
"F*ck!" one of the bandits yells, watching the flames begin to climb. "There's two of 'em! Where's the other one!" The man Holgar fired at looks around frantically, finally spotting Creon in the darkness. "There 'e is! Take 'im out!" The remaining men in the guard posts outside the camp unleash a volley of arrows, but Holgar and Creon are beyond the light of their torches and the darkness takes its toll on their accuracy. One arrow barely catches Holgar's leg, but the wound is largely superficial; the rest clatter into the underbrush.
The two guard posts within the camp both take aim at the group within the light of the bonfire, but the chaos of the melee ruins their aim, and their shots go wide. The guard post at the far end of the camp fires as well, but the range and the tree cover foil their shots, and the arrows thud into the ground at least twenty feet from the party. "Damn! We gotta get down there!" shouts one of the bandits nearest to the party, and both he and his comrade begin to climb down from the post. Through the trees, it looks as though the two in the far post may be dropping down as well.
As Creon watches the guard post burst into flames, a memory emerges, unbidden:
“Fire the ‘lock, then purge it”. He’s speaking, but it’s not his voice. Cadmus looks at him, sidelong.
“You realise Seryn 3 is in there?”
“Yes, but so is the godsthing. Fire the lock.”
Cadmus nods and steps to the control, while he, Creon, or whoever occupies his body at this time, moves to the lockdoor. Through the portal’s window, he can see Seryn, standing stock still in the middle of the chamber, still clad in her voidsuit but absent her helmet. Only her eyes are moving, tracking the intruder as it circles her. The predator itself - padding softly on all fours, shimmering, almost transparent, only half manifest and most visible only when it crosses in front of her - has its attention only on Seryn.
Seryn looks up, stares at him directly, gives him the trace of a smile, and nods once, firmly. He returns the gesture, and Cadmus hits the release. The lock fills with flame. Seryn - friend-lover, void engineer first class, Seryn of the green eyes, of the long dark hair and the musical voice - is consumed by the fire, quickly but utterly. There is a brief silence. Then the outer lockdoor opens, and the chamber empties itself into the void.
He steps back, and shakes his head.
And he is back in the present. He takes the second fire arrow, picks a target next to Holgar’s, on the next closest platform, and fires.
Prophet waits for a moment as the battle begins, trying to focus himself and retain control. Already the Kordator is surging within him, seeking to spread wanton destruction. Yo͏u̢ ̛fe͠e̶l̡ ͝it,́ ͠t͢oo̕.̛ ͏It͡ i̶s̀ y͘ǫur ̸l͞èg͡acy̵. K҉il̨l̶ the̷m̢ ̨al̵l̡.̡
Growling, Prophet moves forward. Perhaps. But for now, I leave it to you. Have fun. Feeling the spirit's power grow within him, he rushes forward, bringing his greatsword around at the same target Annika had hit.
While Creon's arrow fails to meet its target, the arrow tears past his arm and through is cape, burning him along the arm. The arrow instead thuds into the tree behind him, the flames again slowly beginning to catch. Prophet's charge catches the bandit in the gut, still reeling from avoiding Annika. The man looks down, a greatsword buried into his abdomen, and collapses when Prophet removes the blade.
Gallidren moves to the nearest stunned bandit and delivers a coup de grace with his bow.
As Gallidren readies his bow and puts an arrow through the head of one of the unconscious bandits, another of his fellows moves forward, trying to bring his sword around to cut down the wizard mid-draw. His foot catches on the leg of another of his unconscious fellows, however, and his sword instead slams into the dirt at Gallidren's feet. Another instead takes a swing towards Prophet, moving forward cautiously as he eyes the half orc's greatsword, still wet with blood. His blade deflects off of Prophet's own as he reacts to the attack, but the shock of the blow sends a jarring pain up Prophet's shoulder.
Seeing as Prophet and Theo seem to have their bandits well in hand, Annika slips forward, stepping around the paladin to reach the other bandits confronting Gallidren. "Still doing alright?" she asks the elf as she slashes at the bandit directly in front of her.
Holgar looks down at his leg where the arrow caught him then back up at the bandit who shot him, and starts laughing. "So that's how it is eh!? Well two can play at that game!" Holgar fires at the bandit who hit him last round.
"Haha! Chew on that you rotten arshole!"
Theo brings his sword around again, catching the bandit along the gut and spilling blood and entrails along the ground. The bandit hobbles towards the paladin for a moment, before collapsing into the dirt at his feet.
-----
Annika's sword rakes across the bandit's chest, spilling blood at his feet, holding him back from Gallidren. She fails to put him down instantaneously, but his shield arm reaches up to try and staunch the flow of blood as he squares off with the trainee Swordlord. The bandit Holgar fires at catches the bolt square in the chest, toppling over the railing and onto the ground below. His companion takes aim at Holgar, putting a shot downrange towards the dwarf, as the last two archers put two shots towards Creon. All three shots disappear into the darkness, although one arrow passes just past Creon's head as he ducks behind a tree.
The two archers, now having hit the ground, draw their swords and advance on Annika and Prophet. The bandit attacking Annika swings far too wide, and she easily leans to the side, avoiding the attack entirely. Theo whirls around as another bandit advances on him, but doesn't bring his shield up in time to deflect the man's sword. The sword digs into Prophet's ribcage, but the edge of his shield catches the sword blade, keeping the edge from digging too deep. The other two begin their trekking through the Thorn towards the party, but can't make it through the last copse of trees in time to attack the party.
Prophet feels the ring of steel on steel, and his shoulder twists slightly. He only roars out a laugh, though, and brings his blade up and around again, to come crashing down on the enemy before him.
As that bandit is split from shoulder to thigh , the half-orc roars again and steps up to the next, sweeping his blade before him.
Creon picks a regular arrow and takes aim at the bandit who has just fired at Holgar. There are, he notes, effectively two battles, with the forward posts being picked off by himself and Holgar, and the main melee involving the others. This latter has become a distraction from the intended distraction, he reflects.
"A choice, friend Holgar: let me know when you want to move forward and I will follow."
The other bandit next to Prophet stumbles back after the half-orcs blade rips through his chest, falling and bleeding profusely against the tree stump. As Creon fires another arrow towards the guard posts, he hears the tell-tale thud as another bandit slams hard into the back railing, and the resulting crash as his weight breaks through the wood and pulls him down to the earth. The first guard post is now alight, the alchemical reagents at the tip of the arrow having quickly caught against the dry wood of the guard post. The second, now extinguished, has still caught the bark of the tree, but has yet to send the post up in flames.
As the combat rages, both Theo and Gallidren manage to spot what looks like a woman moving through the trees at the end of the camp, but the distance and chaos of battle makes it hard to be sure. "Another of them! In the trees!" Theo hollers, squaring off against the bandit next to him.
Gallidren will take a 5' step and will then blast the two bandits in front of Annika with a color spray, "My friends, beware the woman moving through the trees! She may be trying to flank us!"
As Gallidren releases another flash of color from his palms, two more bandits collapse to the ground, dropping their swords and shield into the dirt. As Gallidren shouts, a woman erupts from the trees, lunging towards the elf with a hatchet. Bleeding though he is, Gallidren manages to side-step the blow, leaving the woman out in the open. Dressed in scale mail and carrying a wickedly sharp handaxe, she snarls at the wizard, still stooped over low from her attack. "Men! To me!" she shouts before standing to her full height, almost six feet tall. "More bodies for the Stag Lord!"