Kelgar frowns at the sight of the trow reaching out to strangle the white-haired gnome, his fingers itching to feel the comfort of his axe. His eyes dart about the camp nervously counting each of the three guards.
As to the immediate intent of the trow... you don't get a sense that she'll squish him immediately - but that intent may be predicated on what next emerges from Bastagar's mouth. Her body language suggests that she intends to drag Bastagar over towards your group.
The other guardsmen have not yet had sufficient time to react to betray any impressions on the matter at hand.
Bastagar does not resist as he's plucked from his feet, steadying his breath and meeting the troll in the eye. He crosses his fingers, entreating the Lantern King for aid. "Bastagar indeed serves another master. Baba Yaga has foretold of the tower's fall, and Bastagar wishes to part these humans from their gold before the Old Crone's servants claim it all. Has it not heard of the boundless treasures that Nazhena has hidden here? I wonder does witch-queen pay it in more than scraps?" he hints, face curling into a grin.
"If this one turns a blind eye it might walk away with more gold than it can carry, provided it lets wily Bastagar run free it shall not have to lift a finger."
Maintain Grapple: and Damage:
The trow growls and tightens her grip on Bastagar's shoulder - talons sinking deep into his flesh and drawing blood. She bellows at the guardsmen "This little lier one of Baga Yaga's!"
Reacting to what is unfolding the guardsmen look towards the rest of you with some fear on their faces, and look to be going for their weapons... but if your reactions are swift you might still catch them unawares...
Action Tracker (Round 1): Trow, Halfhand, Kelgar, Snorin, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Snjorrin stares hard at the closest guard.
Grumbling that Bastagar's likely to get himself snapped in half rather than win over the trow's heart, the dwarf gives up his restraint and swiftly unfastens his axe and draws it as he steps up to the nearest guard.
"Pah! A dwarf doesn't give in without a fight! Yarrrghhh!"
for
"To arms, to arms,
this day we shall win.
One as you have we killed,
now let go of my kin!"
Hilde activates her Smite Evil on the trow and charges.
Between Smite Evil and Fighting Defensively, her AC is 24.
The wizard snorts. "Faeries."
His palm slams into the guard as he turns, throwing him off-balance long enough for him to dash away. The dark words of his invocation fill the courtyard as he runs, black smoke roiling from beneath the troll's feet. Snow and ice hisses as a molten hand bursts free of the ground. A flaming creature pulls itself from the fissure - spherical in shape with numerous coal-black eyes set above a gaping maw. It hisses and cackles as it dances about the troll's legs, nipping at its legs.
Kelgar's eyes reflect the orange of the fiery sphere as it springs into existence on top of the troll.
He turns and gives the Halfhand a wide, toothy grin.
"YES! FIRE!"
As the Halfhand backs away from the guardsman, he calls upon the powers arcane to call fire into being below the trow...
Trow Reflex:
...who desperately tries to lunge aside... but given her entanglement with Bastagar, fails miserably. A powerful scream of terror fills the air as Bordegga the trow burns, skin blackening and peeling away from her bones as the flaming sphere sears.
Kelgar moves into the area vacated by the Halfhand and his axe slams through mail and skin to crunch into the man's pelvis. Clearly gravely wounded, the guard does not fall... but there is little life left in him.
Snjorinn gestures towards one of the guardsmen upon the wall...
Guard Will:
...but his resolve is firm, and he resists the intrusion.
Hilde calls out and charges the trow, thankful that it's focus upon it's burning skin and the hand that still grips Bastagar and it fails to opportunistically strike... but her aim is fouled and does not cut.
The guardsman on the ground staggers back from Kelgar and covers up in an attempt to defend himself; while those atop the wall scrabble at their belt loops for crossbows and make ready to fire.
Action Tracker (Round 1): Trow, Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Struggling futilely against the Trow's grasp, Bastagar makes a sickening crack as the monster tightens his grip, falling limp in it's grasp.
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Bastagar goes limp, but given his erstwhile struggle just ended the attempt at subterfuge is heavy handed and not quite believable. The trow would have easily kenned that he was still living... that is... if the trow was paying little Bastagar any attention at this point.
Bordegga had been burned... her skin blackened, fat bubbling through cracks in her abused and irrepairable skin. The man-thing must pay for what he did. Rage took over the troll's thoughts and self-preservation was banished in favor of vengeance. Bastagar is shed, like a toddler casting aside an unwanted toy in midst of tantrum, and her axe is raised high before she steps north and flings it end over end at the mage...
Axe: for
Confirm:
...the improbable missile arcing though the air and burying itself in Halfhand's shoulder... only inches and a last second jerk preventing it from severing his neck.
Action Tracker (Round 2): Trow, Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Round 2:
With a shrug, Snjorrin attempts to put the troll to sleep.
Round 2
Kelgar grumbles a bit that the man was hardy enough to survive a dwarven waraxe and steps up to him again, realizing that if the guards get their hands on their weapons that they'll have worse problems than the troll.
"Ah'm sorry lad, really ah am."
for
Hilde doesn't see what happens behind her, only knowing that the troll is now unarmed. Making certain to stay in front of the trow, Hilde warily attacks again.
AC is still 24.
The fire sprite revels in the scent of burning flesh, cackling wickedly as it continues to bite and claw at the troll's skin.
The Halfhand's teeth are stained red as blood oozes from the corners of his mouth. A deep crimson stain spreads across his chest as he pulls the giant axe free, eyes rolling back into his head as he shudders from pain. The ground in front of him is dyed red, the splatter from the axe's impact reaching over four feet in front of him
He can feel the dark magic barely holding his form together, shadows stretching across the cleft in his torso like rich molasses. By all accounts it was a blow that should have split him clean in two.
Blood on the snow. His blood. For some reason it makes him feel giddy. Perhaps it was because of the sheer amount of blood he had lost. Perhaps the pain was just too much for his frayed mind to process right now.
It begins as a barely-audible chuckle, rising winds kicking up the snow around him in a swiriling vortex. Spiralling upwards to the sky, the snow engulfs him. In an instant he is gone, white powder drifting to the floor... leaving nothing but the sound of his manic laughter on the wind.
Now wary of the moving spirit of fire...
Reflex:
...the trow manages to avoid further harm from it's licking flames. However she roars in anger at the maimed one disappears from view.
Kelgar steps up after the retreating guardsman, but his reticence robs his blade of power and no further harm is caused.
Snjorinn focuses his will...
Will:
...and somehow the raging titan of trollflesh succumbs to his affections and despite the flame threatening to lick at her flesh and surrounded by enemies wishing her death... falls to the ground under the pressure of fey affectations.
Action Tracker (Round 2): Trow, Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Dropping her shield, Hilde grasps her long sword in both hands, taking the opportunity to finish of the trow. Creatures such as it are evil to their very core and no amount of rehabilitation will change that.
DC 32 fort save or die. She is no longer fighting defensively, but without shield her AC is 21 unless the trow is dead, in which it is 18.
Fort:
Though the trow's constitution is stout and firm, it fails to save it from it's lifeblood being spilt by a fae princess of summer... and it's heart is pierced.
The guardsmen in the courtyard staggers back again, all he can manage to keep his entrails from slipping out. Those upon the battlements level crossbows at Kelgar and Snjorrin...
H Crossbow at Kelgar:
H Crossbow at Snjorrin: for
...the dwarf's armor protecting him, but the masked one finds his shoulder pierced. The bolt carving through skin and sinew before skipping off his clavicle.
Action Tracker (Round 2): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Action Tracker (Round 3): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, [b]Bastagar
Bastagar lies unmoving, but suddenly bounds to his feet like a flimsy marionette, sending shards of ice soaring at the crossbowman.
The Fire Sprite leaps onto the lifeless troll's chest, cackling and howling as it rolls about and drinks deep the scent of seared flesh. Its task accomplished, it begins to shrink away, and in a matter of moments disappears into nothing more than a few floating cinders.
The Halfhand holds his breath as the glamour washes over him. All colour fades, leaving a world of dancing silhouettes. The sky above is black as tar. The chittering of insects fills his ears. He can feel them on his skin. He did not like to linger in this place, even if it did let him walk unseen.
A bright light pierces the gloom - a gleaming figure against dark. It lifts its blade high, bringing it down into the heart of the giant beast before it. The creature shudders, then is still. The troll's demise reminds him of his own, now quickly approaching. He tries to move quickly, but he feels as though he's underwater. Eventually he manages to pull the runestone from his bag, power coursing through the sylvan symbols that adorn it.
Hilde rushes up the ramp to her left and runs along the battlements to L13, ready to attack at the first opportunity. With a double move, she does not have time to rearm her shield and so it remains slung.
Bastagar marks one of the overlooking guardsmen with a thin ray of chilled air as the trow burns beside him. Unseen by all bar himself, Halfhand spirits away with stone in hand seeking to unlock it's power.
Hilde sprints for the chute leading from the lower level to the upper and attempts to ascend at speed...
Action Tracker (Round 3): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Kelgar looks at the steep, icy ramp leading to the upper levels and grumbles a bit at the effort of climbing in the cold in his heavy armor.
"Blessed forefathers, ah' almost forgot!"
With an outstretched finger, Kelgar points at the guard on the ground, hoping to do just enough damage to knock the map out so the team can focus on the guards above.
for
If Hilde fails and the chute seems beyond her, she will draw her bow at the next opportunity.
Kelgar attempts to mark the injured guardsman with acidic spray, but his aim is not true.
The masked one retreats towards the entrance and casts his will upon a crossbowman...
Will:
...who crumples under it's assault.
At first attempt Hilde is defeated by the slope, but refocusing her efforts for a second attempt she gains enough momentum to mount the wall.
The injured man upon the ground level continues to stagger backwards, while the awake one upon the battlements discards his crossbow to bring shield and sword to bear.
Action Tracker (Round 3): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Action Tracker (Round 4): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Ever the opportunist, Bastagar moves to K10 and launches another blast of frost, this time at the injured man.
Kelgar grunts upon seeing the guard before him drop to the ground, chilled but not shaken and brings his attention to the guards on the wall.
Deciding his best bet to protect the others is to make himself the greatest threat to the wall-guards, he stows his axe and begins an attempt to scale the northernmost ramp .
Hilde charges the guard at M11.
The Halfhand groans. He would have to return to visible world soon, or else the magic would take its toll on him.
He crushes the runestone in his fist, uttering a soft sylvan incantation. The faerie magic dances over his skin, sinking into the bloody gash. He grits his teeth as his wounds forcibly begin to re-knit, a feeling akin to a hundred tiny needles digging into his flesh to sew it back together. He would have to endure it.
Bastagar ignores the guard above and reaches out with magik arcane to cast a cold hand around the injured guardsman's heart. It pulls at his essence and the strain is too much... sending the man to the ground to bleed.
Halfhand seeks to gird his form and takes cover as Kelgar's short legs give him swift movement up the icy ramp to the Northern wall.
Hilde sweeps forward to challenge the sole remaining guardsman, but her swing is kept at bay by the man's shield.
Desperate and cornered, and unwilling to seek succor in the arms of the attackers, the last guardsman fights on - lashing out at Hilde with his blade...
Longsword:
...his strike good enough in regulation, but far from effective enough to do aught but mark Hilde's armor with a crease.
Action Tracker (Round 4): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Action Tracker (Round 5): Halfhand, Kelgar, Snjorinn, Hilde, Guards, Bastagar
Round 5
Now atop the wall, Kelgar spots Hilde in combat with the lone remaining guard. Storming ahead, he once again unstraps his axe as he closes the distance to the man and readies a powerful swing.
for
"Today is your day to give,
your life or your parole.
I'll take that sword now
or Pharasma take your soul."
Hilde holds her action, giving the guardsman a chance to surrender.
The guardsman does not relent, instead spitting towards Hilde's feet "Say what you want... I heard Bordegga, you're Baba Yaga's get... and you'll not take me alive."
"This one notes that the minions of Winter's Get would not give this one and this one's allies quarter. Best to end things, quickly..."
The Halfhand backs up against the wall, leaving a long, bloody smear on ice as he sinks to the ground. Ormr worms his way free from the wizard's coat, somewhat sticky but miraculously unscathed. The sounds of battle come from the wall above, but they seem distant.
"Need to rest... Just for a minute..."
Now that the rush of battle had faded you take in the interior of the courtyard once more. Apart from the imposing statue of a dragon, the other structures of note are disused kennels. One in particular to the South and East appears to have been repurposed by the iss trow Bordegga to use as a place to sleep.