Tar'kanas's arrow flies straight towards #9, but falls just a little short of hitting the warrior. Meanwhile Douena moves up and provides Lorenz with a bit of luck.
Sasha moves out to the west side, pulling out her weapons as she moves.
Pezock continues forward, but then stops and yells, "Come and get me!"
The attackers move forward as a unit, each reaching for a new arrow and then firing, most still at Pezock.
-- miss
-- hit
-- miss
-- hit
-- hit
-- miss
-- hit
-- hit
-- hit
The attackers are much more accurate this time, and Pezock's grin quickly turns to a snarl as he's pelted with arrows. Another arrow hits Ishirou, and two slam into Makoa.
Alton takes off from his perch, flying up and forwards.
Next Up: , Ishirou, Makoa, Shokambe, Lorenz, Urza, Jask, Tar'kanas, Untari (subject to delayed action), Douena, Sasha, Pezock (subject to readied action), Mzali Warriors, Alton.
Mahjik charges the Mzali warrior almost directly south and attacks, using his momentum to produce a jarring punch to the ribcage that should knock the air out of the warrior and stun him temporarily.
-- fail
Mahjik's punch causes the warrior to double forward, gasping for air, his bow falling into the grass.
Ishirou picks up his pace, raising his katana high, as he charges at #1 .
-- hit
He swings his katana down and into the shoulder of the Mzali warrior.
Next Up: Shokambe, Lorenz, Urza, Jask, Tar'kanas, Untari (subject to delayed action), Douena, Sasha, Pezock (subject to readied action), Mzali Warriors, Alton, Mahjik, Ishirou.
With a quick turn, Makoa runs past Mahjik and pulls out one of his axes, throwing it one of the Mzali.
"Pull back! We're too spread out." Urza casts Mage Armor and moves to N54.
Makoa's axe slices across the warrior's left arm, leaving a trail of blood.
Shokambe stays where he is for now.
-- miss
-- miss
-- miss
-- hit
Lorenz quickly draws an arrow and sends it whizzing through the air and just over #5's head. He rapidly draws a second and this time manages to get #5 in the shoulder very near the neck.
Urza casts his spell and moves forward.
-- hit
Jask's glowing dagger manages to slice across #9's back just before disappearing. "That didn't last as long as I expected," Jask says, then casts another spell and touches Lorenz on the shoulder.
Next Up: Douena, Sasha, Pezock, Mzali Warriors, Alton, Mahjik, Ishirou, Makoa, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Urza, Jask.
"Untari, ilananilnyn!" With that, Untari bolts off straight toward one she has a clear line of sight too. As her legs churn, they appear as a near blur as she zooms with amazing speed toward her target.
Seeing Untari strike true, Tar'kanas moves up and fires at another one.
"Lorenz, protect Jask!" Douena commands before entreating, "Need some speed, Desna!" Her footspeed divinely enhanced, she takes off to catch up to Pezock.
The cheetah takes off, gathering incredible speed in a matter of moments. She ploughs into #3, ripping away flesh and knocking the warrior off his feet. Tar'kanas then moves up a short distance and fires an arrow right into #2's stomach. The man gasps and contorts in pain.
Douena then activates her own burst of speed and catches up to Pezock.
Sasha, realizing she's still the farthest away starts running, holding her rapier out in front of her, straight for #1.
-- hit
Her momentum is good, but her placement is a little off. Her rapier cuts through part of #1's leg, but misses anything vital.
"Bows are cowards' weapons!" Pezock yells and charges forward.
-- hit
Similarly to Sasha, he has the momentum but not quite the placement, and he only inflicts a minor wound on the warrior.
Warriors #1, 2, 4, and 8 drop their bows and draw handaxes. #3 does the same while screaming in terror at the cheetah looming over him. #2 moves to help #1 . #8 moves up to Mahjik . The remainder continue firing their bows.
-- miss
-- hit
-- miss
-- miss
-- miss
-- miss
-- miss
-- hit, critical threat
-- not confirmed
#2 manages to get a hit in on Ishirou, who's looking badly hurt now. Despite Mahjik's quick agility and hard bark-like skin, #8 manages to get a luck, damaging hit at a weak area by Mahjik's armpit.
Alton dives down towards #2 and attacks.
-- hit
#2 raises his arm to block Alton's beak, but the flappybite is still able to take a bite out of the arm. Although a minor wound, combined with the wounds #2 has already taken (from the arrow to the stomach), the warrior now looks in very bad shape, ready to fall at any moment.
#9 regains his senses.
Next Up: Ishirou, Makoa, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Urza, Jask, Untari, Tar'kanas, Douena, Sasha, Pezock, Mzali Warriors, Alton.
Mahjik ignores the currently unarmed warrior, and instead focuses his attacks on his newest assailant. He leads with a powerful kick that thrusts right upward in front of the Mzali and connect right underneath the jaw - uppercut-like - followed by keeping the momentum going and a secondary kick straight into the gut.
-- fail
Mahjik's initial strike leaves #8 wobbling, his axe dropping into the grass. The second strike then sends the warrior himself into the grass. Mahjik turns on the other warrior, but that one is able to block his attack at the last moment.
-- hit
With another quick swipe of his katana, Ishirou cuts open the front of #1, sending the warrior reeling backwards. He then shifts his position slightly, stepping over the fallen warrior
Next Up: Shokambe, Lorenz, Urza, Jask, Untari, Tar'kanas, Douena, Sasha, Pezock, Mzali Warriors, Alton, Mahjik, Ishirou.
Urza releases another barrage of magical darts.. Two go to #5 and one at #7 .
Makoa runs straight for his next target, predatory gleam in his eyes as he gives himself over to old instincts.
Makoa slams into #7 and rips out a large chunk of the warrior's shoulder and neck. The man's eyes widen in shock and fear. Somehow, he's still standing, but barely.
Seeing that the rest of you seem to have things under pretty decent control, Shokambe relaxes a little, but remains alert.
-- hit
Lorenz sends two more arrows soaring across the field. The first lands square in #6's chest. The second pierces straight through his neck and out the other side. He's quite clearly already dead before he falls.
Urza sends three bolts zipping across the field. The first two take down #5, while the third one darts aside and finishes off #7.
Jask relaxes.
Next Up: Douena, Sasha, Pezock, Mzali Warriors, Alton, Mahjik, Ishirou, Makoa, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Urza, Jask (subject to delayed action).
Untari attacks the Mzali warrior relentlessly.
Tar'kanas moves to get a clearer shot in an attempt to help the bird man.
Still screaming, #3 is able to fend off Untari's vicious jaw, but only leaves himself open to the cheetah's claws. The screaming stops.
Tar'kanas repositions himself for a better shot and fires an arrow into #4's side. The arrow tears open a wide wound, leaving the man staggered but remarkably, still standing.
Next Up: Sasha, Pezock, Mzali Warriors, Alton, Mahjik, Ishirou, Makoa, Shokambe (subject to delayed action), Lorenz, Urza, Jaks (subject to delayed action), Untari, Tar'kanas.
Using her goddess-granted speed, Douena dashes past the cheetah almost before the Mzali warrior fighting Pezock can glance her way and circles around behind him, drawing her starknife, which she sinks deeply into the back of his thigh.
-- hit
Sasha gives a quick stab at #2, which does only minimal damage, but is still enough to take the warrior down. She then begins moving towards the one remaining warrior.
With a triumphant yell as his opponent falls, Pezock turns towards the one remaining and rushes forward.
-- miss
Unfortunately, he stumbles as he runs forward. Nevertheless, he's intimidating enough for the warrior to raise his hands and surrender (it may also be because all his associates are down, but Pezock will probably take the credit).
Tar'kanas turns his bow on the one remaining one, but lowers it when seeing the man surrender. "Untari, nyesa!" he hollers as the cheetah makes her way over to him while he moves nearer the lone warrior.
"Pezock! Did you see me?" Douena shrieks excitedly. "I stabbed him!" She trots up to the tengu and his captive and frowns at the Mzali warrior, scolding him in the Polyglot tongue.
Habits formed on the island die hard. Loot, loot, loot.
Mahjik drops to see if the Mzali he knocked out could be saved.
Tar'kanas stares at the Mzali impassively, awaiting his response to Douena's question.
"Pezock! Did you see me?" Douena shrieks excitedly. "I stabbed him!" She trots up to the tengu and his captive and frowns at the Mzali warrior, scolding him in the Polyglot tongue.
"You did well!" Pezock responds.
The Mzali stares at Douena and responds impassively.
Habits formed on the island die hard. Loot, loot, loot.
All the warriors wear leather armour and carry a handaxe and a masterwork composite short bow (+2 Str). They each started with 22 arrows, so between them, there's more than enough arrows for anyone who wants to restock their supply. A check with detect magic reveals two of the arrows carried by each warrior are magical. None of the magical arrows were used in the battle .
-- fail
"He says we're trespassing on their land, and their god says all trespassers must die," she translates for the others.
"Then we need to be careful while we travel through it."
"Mwangi god that wants trespassers to die. Could be worse, wise man fears those who eat flesh of their kin." Mahjik mumbles as he tries to keep more alive.
After saying a few more words in response to Douena, the man lowers his head in shame.
Douena reaches out to pat his hand comfortingly.
"If we go any nearer their city, there will be more of them to attack us," she tells the others. "Shokambe, can we go around? There's no reason to fight them; they're just protecting themselves from people like the Sargavan government. They're not our enemies."
Shokambe nods. "We already are," he says. "This is the nearest we will get to the city, which is east of here. We're heading north from here."
Douena turns back to the Mzali with a smile.
"Do you think it's safe to camp here? If we take their weapons, we could tie them up or something until morning and then let them go when we leave."
The Mzali warrior keeps his head lowered and does not respond to Douena's latest words.
"I think we will be safe for the night," Shokambe responds. "As you say, we can tie them up and let them go in the morning when we leave."
Assuming everyone is in agreement, Jask provides some additional healing as you settle down.
Jask's channelled energy is weaker than it used to be and it takes five uses to get Pezock and Ishirou back to nearly full health. Jask looks a little disturbed by this.
-- no encounter
-- no encounter
Apart from some rain, the night goes by pleasantly. You pack up camp in the morning and then set free the surviving Mzali warriors (only two had died before you were able to stabilize them). They are all conscious in the morning and none of them look happy, but without their weapons, they make no aggressive moves against you.
You head north, following the banks of the river, which is getting wider as you travel. You're still travelling over mostly open grasslands; however, you can see jungle rising up with the foothills of the mountains far to the north. Shokambe says that in another day or so, you will enter the Screaming Jungle.
Arodus 27, at camp.
"So, Jask, how is your... how are you holding up? We've been through a lot of scrapes, but this was like your first time again."
Arodus 27, at camp.
"So, Jask, how is your... how are you holding up? We've been through a lot of scrapes, but this was like your first time again."
Jask shrugs. "It's hard to say," s/he says. "It hasn't even been a full day since I woke up in this new body. Strangely, I think I am adjusting to it more easily than I am the fact that my magic is weakened. I know this is a normal effect that comes with rising from the dead, but I am having a much harder time adjusting to it than the fact that, physically, I am so changed."
Jask smiles slightly. "Perhaps it is because this new body is, in many ways, better than my previous one. I am younger, stronger, spryer. I have better vision and hearing. I suppose that's easy to get used to. It still feels weird, and I'm sure it'll feel weird for a while yet. And I'm sure there are other things about this body that I haven't experienced yet that will take some getting used to. But overall, I'd call it a good sort of weird."
"I don't think young people use the word 'spryer,'" Douena muses. "But I guess you're probably older now than you were when you were older. Because of elves being older. If you were your age now, you'd be like a child!"
The next morning, when the surviving Mzali are released, Douena channels energy to heal some of their wounds.
"The Screaming Jungle sounds interesting," Douena says chipperly. "Except the Lake of Vanished Armies sounded interesting too, and I didn't see any armies." She reflects a moment. "I guess because they vanished."
"Well, I hope you get the feel real quick. And I'm sure you'll regain your spiritual connection with time. Um, do you think you'll look into your new history and culture or anything?"
"I don't think young people use the word 'spryer,'" Douena muses. "But I guess you're probably older now than you were when you were older. Because of elves being older. If you were your age now, you'd be like a child!"
Jask pauses for a moment, then nods. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Still, I feel younger. Do young people really not use 'spryer'? I suppose they don't."
"Well, I hope you get the feel real quick. And I'm sure you'll regain your spiritual connection with time. Um, do you think you'll look into your new history and culture or anything?"
"Another thing I hadn't thought of," Jask responds. S/he sighs. "I'm really not sure. Physically, I'm an elf, but I never really grew up with them, and I'm not really sure I'd feel part of their culture even if I did study up on it. But I might. Apparently, I have a long life ahead of me now. I'll certainly have lots of time for it."
"The Screaming Jungle sounds interesting," Douena says chipperly. "Except the Lake of Vanished Armies sounded interesting too, and I didn't see any armies." She reflects a moment. "I guess because they vanished."
"It gets its name from the monkeys," Shokambe replies. "There are a lot of them, and they are very noisy. Tonight may be the last night of peace and quiet we have for some time. Enjoy it. Once we're in the jungle, we'll also have to be very diligent with watches. The sound of the monkeys makes it difficult to hear other things moving through the jungle near you. It makes it much easier for beasts to take you by surprise. And there are many very nasty beasts in the Screaming Jungle."
"Any bears?" she asks hopefully.
Shokambe gives Douena a sympathetic smile and shakes his head. "None that I've ever heard of. However, there are all sorts of strange and unusual creatures in the jungle. I suppose a bear might be possible."
"Don't the monkeys sleep at night at least? What are they doing then? ...monkeybusiness no doubt."
"Maybe they monkey in shifts," Douena suggests, "so no hour of the day goes unmonkeyed."
"Hey, quit monkeying about!" Sasha quips with a smile.
The night passes by without incident and you set out again in the morning. As the morning passes by, you start to notice more and more trees ahead of you, and soon, the canopy of the jungle is visible on more than just foothills in the distance. Around 1 p.m., you actually enter the jungle, just in time to seek shelter from a heavy downpour that lasts close to an hour. After the rain, a heavy mist hangs in the air (helped by spray from the river), making vision ahead difficult. The mist persists for close to half an hour before dissipating.
You start hearing the monkeys pretty soon upon entering the jungle, but the volume doesn't seem nearly as bad as Shokambe was indicating. However, the volume steadily increases and after a few hours, you start to appreciate why it's called the Screaming Jungle. The monkey screeches are almost maddening.
On the plus side, it's much cooler under the canopy of trees than it was out on the plains. The humidity still makes it uncomfortable, but it is a little more bearable. Spray from the river helps as well.
Eventually, you set up camp again. As evening settles in, the screeching from the monkeys does subside a little. It seems monkeys do have to sleep once in a while; however, there are still enough of them awake at night to make a racket.
"If monkeys didn't taste so good, i'd hate this many monkeys. I can't imagine how many predators are needed to keep them in check."