After climbing up a near by tree, he prepares for the boars arrival. Rolling his eyes at Valkus, thinking the boy better hope the boar does not run him down. One does not provoke a beast in it's own lair, it only makes them more vicious.
Natalya watches the antics of the Taldan bard with a smile on her face, before approaching him with a serious expression
I lament that Tuskgutter is unlikely to wish to meet you in single combat Valkus. In fact I suspect that he will simply be very grumpy from the heat and will ignore any attempt at lighthearted banter on your behalf. Very ungentlemanly. As such might I suggest you repair a short way away where you can observe and possibly contribute with a ranged weapon? I am of course presuming your razor sharp wit can be projected to such a distance, but if not I can always lend you a bow...
Her eyes twinkle despite her deadpan tone, but the upturned corners of her mouth give the game away.
She finds a place near the trail so that when the trap is sprung she is within 30 feet of the 'killing zone', and settles herself down to wait.
Valkus looks taken aback. "Single combat? Gods, no! Ferocious king of the forest the swine may be, to engage on such foolish terms would surely be the death of me, though I am flattered that you find me worth preserving." He flashes Natalya a smile and replaces his sword in its scabbard. "I shall accept your suggestion of a bow and follow Lorald's lead, taking up position amid the foliage." Waving his hand about, he gestures at the tree canopy as he dismounts. "And once we depose the dreaded Tuskgutter, we shall coronate him as the new king of the forest! His noble chin shall grace our wooden nickels and the whispers of the wind will spread his edicts to every squirrel, bird and stray wolverine in the land! What say you to that, Orlovsky? The great Lorald, master of beasts, men, and beast-men alike."
Collecting his own bow and taking up position in a tree, Valkus quiets himself in preparation of the hunt.
Marlani motions toward a nearby clearing, and pulls out her wine skin; "I'll be over yonder, praying for a successful hunt."
Even after few days spent in the company of Valkus, Aran was still not used to his oratory escapades. When the bard finishes talking, Aran stands there confused, not sure if Valkus is expecting an answer of a kind from him, or anyone else for that matter. Finally Natalya intercedes, and Aran nods gratefully in her direction before heading of to prepare his ambush position.
As a seasoned hunter, he does his best to make sure that his friends are not in each other's line of fire, but it is rather clear that Natalya's experience have already taken care of that, while she was setting up the "kill zone". Therefore, Aran does his best to find any appropriate spot (if there are any good ones left) and lies in for a wait, his heavy crossbow at the ready.
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Here you go, long overdue, many apologies
Place yourselves as you see fit, under the log is a dug out area that serves as the beasts' lair. The brown areas, are not so much roads as muddy paths worn down by frequent use by porcine feet.
Lorald remains hidden as he waits, his crossbow at the ready for the beast.
Gareth takes up a position behind some vegetation near the intersection of two pathways. Hopefully, this will give him a clear shot if the boar returns from either direction. He watches Lorald travel into the brush in order to mark his position so as not to endanger him with an errant shot. Once he has settled in, Gareth will watch the others in order to know where they conceal themselves as well.
Edit:
Stealth roll, if needed
Aran will position itself right next to the entrance to the lair, reminding his compatriots that we do not know for sure that the beast will come from that direction (let's call lower left corner south-west) and that it (or they) may actually come from the opposite side, indicating different muddy paths.
How in the world did such a creature come to exist? Gareth decides not to think too much on it and prepares his defenses against the unnatural beast by intoning a spell and subtly moving his hands. In response, the air in front of him shimmers for a moment.
Valkus stares in disbelief at the creature, watching it from his perch in the trees. I've heard stories about creatures like this...
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As Gareth casts his spell the beast freezes and turns it's head in his direction.
When Gareth sees the creature turn its attention to him he lets go of his crossbow just enough to draw his rapier and lay it next to him on the branches of a nearby bush. Then he takes up his crossbow again. If this thing charges him he does not want to have to spend any time drawing his sword after firing his bolt.
Marlani will remain still and hidden, but will also independently use knowledge nature or arcana:
Wary of such a creature, especially its interest in Valkus' actions, Natalya prepares to ventilate the creature if its curiosity gets the better of its caution.
Lorald watched the beast as it came into range from his hiding and sniping spot. He had expected a boar, one that was a danger to the region for a great deal of time. He did not think an even greater beast would come. Still it was dangerous and would be a threat. His musings were interrupted by it's sudden awareness of one of his comrades. The choice was made for him, he had no doubt it could tear apart any one of their number on the ground. He fires reloading and firing once more.
Seeing that Lorald has sprung into action, Aran forgoes any notions of trying to remain stealthy. He goes over a log that hid the creature's den, hoping to find clear line of sight to his prey. Spotting the strange creature he fires off a bolt towards it, before trying to recall if he has heard something about it earlier.
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Lorald snaps two quick bolts at his prey, without warning his comrades. The first bolt misses, even flat-footed. the second hits. The creature roars a furious ROAR-HOOT swiping it's massive claws in the air and turning towards the direction of it's attacker.
Initiative
Natalya I will consider your action held from prior to initiative. Aran you were just as surprised as the bear-owl when Lorald attacked it so you are unfortunately not able to move in the surprise round.
Gareth you are up. It's safe to say the bear-owl will be charging towards the lot of you.
Gareth realizes that his chosen spot is no optimal, as it puts Valkus, Natalya and Marlani between him and the creature. He does not want to risk hitting any of them with his bolt so he slings his crossbow and grabs his rapier then charges closer to get a better position.
Seeing her comrades let fly with their ranged weapons, and judging the as yet distance too far for her to assault the beast and keep it away from the group, Natalya lets fly with her own arrows before the combatants inevitably enter melee.
Sadly the intervening foliage between her and the beast spoils the shots, diverting her aim and sending the arrows in to the ground and a nearby tree respectively. Natalya's brow furrows and her eyes narrow, evidently the surrounding flora was somehow under control of the beast, or at least sympathetic to its plight...
Valkus, still perched in his tree, slowly draws back an arrow to avoid giving away his position. He trains the arrow on the beast, holding his fire until it comes closer.
Lorald reloads and unleashes another volley at the beast as his concerns are confirmed of it's lethal abilities.
Marlani will rise and cast CLW on Natalya:
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Lorald's bolt is accurate but does not pierce the beast's hide very deeply.
Marlani reaches out her hand and incants the spell of healing. Her voice rings in the air with the gravitas of words well spoken, although it would be hard to remember what exactly was said. Those nearby feel imperceptibly heartened by them. Her touch causes a silver nimbus to grow over Natalya, only screams as the spell's effects go off 5 damage. She hangs limp in the Bear-owl's embrace only barely clinging to her weapon or consciousness. Her eyes are bloodshot and she's pale as moonlight. Black blood spills from her mouth are readily as it does her wounds.
Round 2
Gareth you are up. Time to do a hero's work.
Gareth bursts forward with a loud yet incoherent speech yell as he thrusts his rapier at the beast.
Spellcombat attack rapier and Shocking Grasp spell
Attack 1
Weapon damage if it hits
Spell damage if it hits
Second rapier attack
Weapon damage if it hits
Critical hit roll for second attack
12. Pinned Arm - Double damage and one arm cannot move (DC 20 Str or Heal to be freed)
Oops, forgot Critical fumble for attack 1
1. Butterfingers - Drop your weapon
> Her touch causes a silver nimbus to grow over Natalya, only screams as the spell's effects go off 5 damage
Marlani is confused... why did that hurt Natalya?
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We'll let the fumble slide. I'm not going to confuse things but retconning the previous round at this point.
The creature drops Natalya and tries to free it's arm, but is unable to shake free the rapier.
With only one claw free it tries to rake Gareth, but considering it's necessarily the claw on the opposite side the attack is awkward and misses. Blinded by pain the creature is also unable to bite Gareth with it's beaky maw.
Lorald spots the beast weakening roar as well as Natalya's sudden turn for the worst. He sends a pair of shots in an attempt to finish it off before things get worse.
I hate anything that is too stupid to know when to die! Gareth thinks as he leans on the hilt of his rapier to ensure that it stays lodged into the thing's arm/wing.
Marlani will activate Inspire Courage. +1 on attack and damage rolls.
Valkus's shot goes astray, sticking into a trunk on the other side of the creature. He watches, aghast, as the creature mauls Natalya. The howling of the beast shakes the young man to his core, and he trembles as he nocks another arrow.
The arrow slips from his sweaty fingers, falling uselessly to the ground. Cursing, he casts aside the bow and wipes his palms on his shirt, taking a breath to steady himself as Gareth engages the creature.
Natalya looks like death, paler than you have ever seen her, and with a fury in her eyes like a beast unleashed. She spits black blood on the ground, reaching up to draw her greatsword and hacking down at the owlbear with it, focusing her anger on one perfect strike.
She stands there after the move, blood dripping down her blade and face, and watches her enemy, face frozen in absolute focus.
After Gareth gets over the shock of what he witnessed he asks Natalya "Are you strong enough to continue? Your wounds look great."
"And yet, again, you showed ferocious prowess against that creature."
Finally, Gareth realizes that he is covered in blood and feathers. Lovely he thinks.
"I'm sorry Natalya; I have never had that happen before. Unfortunately I don't have anything to help you."
"Was anyone else harmed?"
Natalya begins cleaning up, her blade first, then everything else. Always look to your weapons first she remembered the mantra.
Fear not Marlani, the fault is mine for not having shared that fact about my ancestry. As I said to Aran the other night, I was planning on talking about my history once we'd all had more of a chance to get to know each other. Well at least now you know
Blade clean, she reaches in to her pack and pulls out a bottle of what looks like bladeberry cordial, only it is cloudy and dark, not smelling all that appealing to you. She uncorks it and takes two healthy swigs. The claw wounds begin to close in front of your eyes. She turns to Gareth.
That was gallant of you, charging the beast. he is treated to a sincerely thankful look.
Not to mention brave, charging it with that toothpick she gestures at his rapier with her bottle, smile dancing on her lips. For a moment her gaze lingers on him, but then he realizes she's staring at the blood he's covered in.
Forgive me she explains, running tongue over sharp canines and tearing her gaze away.
I'm not used to the effect this stuff has she apologises.
So do we think our ambush is blown!? she grins mirthfully, indicating the carnage filled area.
Lorald stays at his perch as he scans things.
"If your wounded retreat to where the horses are. The boar will likely come in rampaging with the owl beast scent everywhere now. Best not make yourself a target if your not up for another hunt."
There was always the chance the pig would run at the slain beast smell. If so it could be lost to them. Still no need to risk any comrades.
"I am certain any one of us would do the same for another."
In response to Natalya's jab he replies with his best dead-pan "There is a well-known saying regarding scale versus utility, but there is no need to repeat it now."
Gareth then wipes his rapier on the hide of the bear-owl then he scowls as it becomes covered in feathers made sticky by the blood. "Why couldn't this damned thing have proper fur?" he asks, more as a complaint than as a question.
The beast slain, Valkus exhales. Still crouched in his perch up in the tree, he tries to calm his shaking hands. Fool! Were you going to jump on the beast? What sort of plan is that?! Sighing once again, he sheathes the dagger and takes up the bow again, furiously quarreling with himself as he awaits the boar.
They never should have sent you. You're too inexperienced for this sort of work.
But it was never supposed to be like this! I was supposed to be lazing about at court, dancing and drinking and gossiping, not gallivanting about in the woods getting into fights with the wildlife!
And whose fault is that? You were the one who volunteered, and quite readily at that, as I recall.
My instructions are to work on behalf of Lebeda interests, whatever form that may take, and clearly they lie out here. In the wilderness. Not at court. The future of Brevoy is here. The future of Taldor is here!
And none of that matters if your future is to be buried in an unmarked grave in uncharted territory, killed by nameless beasts in a cruel twist of fate. And if you keep on like this, that is exactly what is going to happen. If I need remind you, the next creature on the list of things that will probably kill you is a preposterously large boar that you're supposed to be hunting. Focus!
Drawing another arrow from the quiver, he sets it on the bow and readies himself for the boar's arrival.
Natalya smiles at Gareth's joke, thinking to herself that levity is good stress relief.
I agree with Lorald she nods in his direction
let's move back somewhat to where we were before in our pre-ambush ambush positions she declares, rather awkwardly.
The boar is likely to investigate the owlbear's body, so we should ensure our placement covers it as well as the original pathways if possible
She moves back in to position.
If Gareth can find a tree to climb he will do his best to conceal himself in the branches. He replaces the bolt in his crossbow and again marks the positions of his allies against the possibility of an errant shot.
Stealth if needed