"Step clear after striking. Give me a shot," Lyra says to Lisbet and Philgor. She then nocks an arrow and waits for an opening.
,
Shackleton gives the nearest orc a hard clout in the ribs, manuevering into a flank if able.
Lisbet reels from the orc's strike, with a grunt she steps into the orc and hacks down on him with her own sword. She then steps to the side, letting Lyra shoot the orc.
for
Philgor: 7
Lyra: 21
Shackleton: 20
Argus: 18
Lisbet: 10
Vegazi, Antagonist: 9
Lisbet and Shackleton descend on the orc, weapons slamming into it, but he stays on his feet .
him spits out a mouthful of blood and grins, showing crimson-stained teeth as Lisbet steps back just in time for Lyra's arrow to hit him and Vegazi's to fly overhead.
Undeterred, he moves forward for a moment and then pivots toward Shackleton, but the wily gnome ducks under his blade, avoiding a painful wound by the breadth of a hair.
O1: 25
Huffing and puffing, spectacles askew, Shackleton waits for the moment to strike.
Argus drops the crossbow to the ground. "Nuts to this." Better to stick to what he knows. He hastily concocts another bomb, carefully judging the angle of impact to avoid harming his allies.
"Fire in the hole!"
Using the disheveled gnome's distraction, Lisbet brings her blade down on the foolish, or cocky, orc's head.
for
Lyra trades patience for caution and fires into the orc again.
,
Lisbet and Shackleton manage to combine to put the remaining orc down before Argus can throw another bomb or Lyra fire another arrow, as Philgor keeps an eye out for any other orcs ... which thankfully don't seem to be in attendance.
The farmhouse grows quiet except for the startled cries of the steaders as the sudden violence ends.
Smiling and breathless, Lisbet shouts to the Heavens, "Bring more next time!!!" She then turns to the party, "Anyone else need healing, or am I the only one they chose to honor?"
"I'm alright." Shackleton straightens his spectacles, cups two hands to his mouth and hollers at the steaders. "EVERYBODY OKAY BACK THERE?"
Lyra moves to the steaders and tries to calm them somewhat. "It may be that you will be left alone now, the half-elf says. "Considering the devils we have faced already I think an orc attack is not likely to be the last attack. Arwyll stead has been offered as a haven, at least for the short time. Will you take them up on it?"
"Yes, yes, we'll go. Are you ... going to escort us? I don't think we can handle devils if we see them..."
"Vegazi, we need to stop that last one before he can report back. Can you catch him? He may also have information on what is going on around here."
With that said he starts heading off towards the injured orc.
Vegazi nods, but Philgor finds as he reaches the top of the the hill that the orc's badly wounded and catching him is no difficulty at all.
Philgor subdues the orc, "Vegazi, talk to him and see what he is willing to tell us to spare his life."
Escort them? Do they think they are the only ones out here?
The giant woman explains, "Nah, we have all the farmsteads to round up. If we walk back with you we will surely be late picking up the outliers." Lisbet shrugs, not really wanting to leave them to their own devices, but also wanting to get the task done.
"Perhaps you should come with us though," Lyra offers. "When we have reached more of the steads we can send groups back. I don't blame you for not wanting to travel these woods," Or maybe Philgor will be able to find numbers and locations of other orcs in the area and we can determine how dangerous it is.
Argus agrees with Lyra. "If you need safety in numbers, you're welcome to accompany us to the other homesteads. We don't have time to escort you back to the Stead individually or we're putting others at risk."
Vegazi speaks to the orc for a moment, but his reply is obvious, as he spits at her.
She staps back and glances at Philgor. "He has nothing to say," she notes.
The family exchanges glances and looks unhappy, but eventually decides it'll be safer making directly for Arwyll Stead instead of joining you.
"You speak common?"
"What would happen to me if the tables had been turned and I was your prisoner?" Lisbet nods, knowing the answer before he croaks it out. "Then it's too bad for you. Then again, I have no need to just kill you; in fact your survival ensures my survival. We are alike, you and I. We need each other to exist; you raid, I raid. You raid because it's in your blood, I raid for fortune and glory. If you help us, you can go free and keep me in a job. If you spit on me, I'll see how your guts spill onto the grass." She is just about done, "Now, how many of your warband are still out there, and who sent you here?"
Philgor picks the orc up and calmly says to the others, "Someone please get me a rope. We can hang this one from that tree for his crimes against the people of Atwyll Stead. We will need to bury the orc bodies so that other will not learn their fate. This may buy us some time to get to the other homesteads before they start hunt us."
The orc's eyes bulge as the enlarged Lisbet looms over him, cold voice more menacing than any threats.
"The Hell's Fury tribe is mighty," he replies, in Orcish, with Vegazi translating.
"Urnok" -- he points to the final orc you slew -- "led us here after our leader, Kelseph, left our lands to follow her 'visions' in the Hungry Mountains and bring back greater power for the tribe. But Urnok didn’t believe Kelseph’s claims, and said the chieftain went into human lands to consort with the filthy 'thin-skins' again."
He explains that Kelseph -- who Vegazi admits is her mother -- has shamed the tribe with her “infernal daughters” but that the men of the tribe wish to reclaim their power.
"If Kelseph and her daughters were no longer in our midst, then we no longer have to prove to the other tribes that we are mighty, despite their obscenities."
"Kelseph went to the Hungry Mountains? How long ago? Has she returned? Are there others like Urnok, dissatisfied with the current leadership?"" The half-elf waits patiently between questions. After a moment to gather her thoughts, Lyra asks, "Do the devils vex the Hell's Fury tribe?"
To herself, and later to her companions, "It sounds we will be heading into the Hungry Mountains. And deal with this Kelseph at some point as well."
Shackleton paces too and fro, clearly ready to be off. "A spot of mountaineering once we see to the task at hand, eh?" he bellows, hardly able to contain his enthusiasm. "Jolly good!"
"She said that was where she was going," Vegazi translates, "but Urnok did not believe her. We came here to catch her rutting with your filth again.
"All true orcs of the Hell's Fury tribe wish we had greater leadership again. Kelseph used the devils to overthrow her father and claim our tribe."
"HA! No devil would dare cross us!" he boasts, once Lyra explains what vex means to Vegazi.
"So if we were to help exile this Kelseph, your Tribe would keep to itself and leave Arwyll Stead in peace? As much as Orcs can handle peace?"
"The Hungry Mountains are a vast territory. How were the 6 of them going to find her?
Lyra nods in agreement with Philgor about the size of the territory.
"We care little for your thin-skin dwelling place. It is Kelseph who comes here to rut. Urnok wished to catch her in the act, to prove she is not strong."
"Let him limp home. He knows the faces of his betters. Besides, we need to move north as fast as we can to be sure the reinforcements we called know how to get here."
Philgor stops tying the noose in the rope. Clearly disappointed.
"Fine. Go back and tell your tribe that Kelseph is not rutting with the human here. If we find her we are going to kill here. We seem to be allies in that task. If you have any information that will help us tell it to us now. If you get information later you can bring it to Atwyll Stead. Come alone and we will ensure your safety. My name is Philgor. What is your name?"
"I am called Thkrull," the orc responds, limping away as he realizes you're not going to kill him.
The combat fully over now, the small family gets ready to leave, freeing you to continue your journey to the other homesteads.
Argus will take a peek at those potion bottles.
He'll also take a few of those javelins, but without his wagon he'll probably restrict himself to one orc's quiver - so 5 javelins.
Philgor checks the balance on the spear. "We should give the weapons and armor we don't want to these homesteaders to use or take back to Atwyll Stead. If no one needs this spear I think I will carry it for now."
"Good thinking, Philgor." Shackleton says, hailing down the homesteaders and offering them the surplus steel.
"Only wield these if you can use them. They are likely to be used against you if you don't know how to use them," Lyra cautions the family.
Delivering the arms to the retreating family, Shackleton receives their thanks as the party prepares to leave. Argus checks the potions but can't quite tell what they are -- he thinks the orcs may have added a few ingredients to throw off their taste that's making it hard to determine.
You set off through the woods, leaving the ranch behind as you cut through a valley between two small peaks. The going is slow thorugh the rough undergrowth but you're making good progress until about mid-afternoon you hear a coughing roar.
Moments later, a huge tawny great cat leaps to attack.
"Leave us be cat, our quarrel is not with you and we have too much to do to feed you."
Lyra: 13
Lisbet: 9
Shackleton: 6
Philgor: 4
Argus: 21
Vegazi/Antagonist: 18
"Blast," Argus says, stepping back, as he holds on to his magics for the moment.
The lion charges toward Lisbet, surprising the haunted woman, though her armor saves her from likely disemboweling. Still, its jaws close around one arm, massive teeth piercing deeply as it latches on, ready to bring its claws to bear.
"Magnificent!" Shackleton weaves past the beast, delivering a blow to its flank to slow it down for the kill. "Alas, me without my hunting gear... Look at that pelt!"
Growling back at the cat, Lisbet draws her sword and punches the cougar in it's snarling face with the hilt.
for
Argus curses his hesitation in the face of the big cat. But, blood has been drawn - 'force of nature' or not, time to face the consequences. He brews a bomb, deflecting the blast off the cat's back to protect he allies.
Lyra adds a dog to the mix, hoping to chase off the cat. She gestures as if pulling the bow and the arcane dart that shoots out turns into a wolf upon impact. The wolf then takes a bite at the lion.
, plus
Your combined fores are quickly able to put an end to the lion, which clearly can't stand against you.
As the brief battle concludes, Vegazi looks sad.
"Shouldn't kill animals like that," she says. "Just doing what it knows to do."
Despite the half-orc huntress' words, you don't think she's right. A single lion shouldn't have attacked you, and you think it likely was under some sort of compulsion.
Lyra dismisses the wolf with a sigh. "I agree Valais, we are in it's home."