The caravan gathers in the cold hour before dawn and sets out northwest just as the first bit of pink touches the eastern horizon. You are given the ignominious rearmost position in the camel train, eating the trail dust of the others, since you were the last to sign up. Directly in front of you are the camels of Hokama tended by him, his slave Atmar, and a pair of drovers.
The first day passes uneventfully. Any nonlethal damage from the heat is recovered during rests in your tents are while sleeping.
An hour after the midday break on the second day out of Lopul a sudden wind blows in off the erg, carrying a wall of dust and grit. You realize a sandstorm is coming.
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As Ery comes around and casts Endure Elements, Tereze says:
Zank you Eryule. And I appoligise for yelling yesterday. My reaction was uncalled for.
Then she silently accepts whatever snide comment he makes back.
Later as the group realizes a storm is coming:
Tereze pulls out her rope and ties the middle of the rope to her camels pack. She then rides close to Fiona and Gwen handing them each one one of the rope. Over the rising wind she yells:
Tie the end to each of your camel so zat we can not get separated. Might not be a bad idea to tie on the boys camels as well if anyone has another rope.
With that she wraps her headscarf over her face leaving as little exposed as possible as the storm nears.
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Urbar pulls his hood down against the heat and tries to peer in front of him to follow the caravan.
"Better."
He says to Ery as he keeps following the camels.
"Those animals leave tracks you can see for miles around! Never had such an easy journey. We could do the ropes but I don't think it's necessary."
He says as he casually, and a bit arrogantly, walks along. If she insist he will offer his rope also.
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With a simple, soft smile, Ery simply places a hand on Tereze's arm briefly in reply to her words...
He gave a nod to Urbar and simple poked both Locke and Gwen in the breast region in hopes to garner some truth...although there was a difference, Ery wasn't satisfied in the tactile deduction... He frowned as he moved on.
Once Fiona was poked, he patted her on the head. Prestidigitation being used to help cleanse her of sweat and grime. "You welcome." He said. He looked like he was going to speak further but was caught off by Tereze's shouting. with a smile, Ery gave Fiona a nod then joined the shouting woman's side.
"I've been told I can be a storm in the sheets, do you suspect this is going to be different?" He asked with a coy smile, making set of suggestive body languages to coincide with the rope use.
"I knew you were secretly a deviant." He added with a wink, "Just be gentle, I'd hate to have rope burns.
Due to Urbar's excellent tracking skills you're easily able to follow the rest of the caravan. During a slight lull in the storm a cry from the merchant's young slave rings out as he points into the blowing sand where several humanoid creatures approach, most smaller than humans and all muffled in heavy robes. Each stranger's head has a great helm wrapped in keffiyehs, and each face plate has only a small eye slit to keep out the fury of the storm. Each holds a curved sword, and it is clear they are converging on your position. Hokama, his drovers, and Atmar take defensive positions behind their camels.
You take a look around and notice movement from the northwest, northeast and southeast.
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Tereze shakes her head in frustration.
Of course ze Gods will not make zis easy...
She guides the camel holding the VC's body to the middle of the group then slides off her camel and steps out to the west of it. As she tries to find firm footing in the sand, she starts her sling spinning and readies her buckler.
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Gwen narrows her eyes as Ery pokes her breast with his wand. "Next time you poke me there with that wand without me asking for it, I'm going to jam it somewhere you won't like." She flashes a smile at Ery and shaking her head with a chuckle. 'Crazy elf...'
When the ambush makes itself apparent, Gwen immediately guides his camel into the circle and jumps down. She draws her own sling, and slips a bullet into the thong. "I'll cover the northwest! The rest of you take care of the east side!" She shouts through her kapenia and the roaring wind.
The storm intensifies and your assailants disappear from view. The storm then suddenly calms down a bit and they're all in clear view. Urbar's even got five right in front of him.
There are ten small creatures with oversized heads and three medium sized creatures that look somewhat similar. One of the small ones in front of Urbar looks up and declares, "We eats you! We makes yummy yummy snacks with your fleshes!"
The taller creatures hold shortbows and one of them fires an arrow at Eryzule. The arrow lands in front of Eryzule's feet.
The small creatures all wield scimitars. Of the small creatures near Urbar two move to flank him, after which they attack together with one other small creature. Urbar receives a cuts from one of the small scimitars.
Two of the small creatures move up to Gwendallyn. They swing their scimitars at her and one manages to cut her. The other cries out, "Stand stills! We wants to eat you!"
Three more small creatures approach from the northeast. One of them joins the melee versus Urbar, but misses the ranger.
The other two that approach from the northeast move up to one of the drovers and cut into him with their scimitars.
Atmar draws a broken knife and goes total defense. Panic's spread of over his face as he looks at the creatures that are attacking you.
Hokama draws a dagger and goes total defense. he casts a concerned look at his stash of water.
The green drover draws a club and moves up to his buddy. "George! I vow to help you fend off these vile buggers!"
Round 1:
Dark Blue Gob
Pink Gob
Atmar
Purple Gob
Hokama
White Gob
Dark Blue Hobgob
Black Gob
Light Blue Gob
Orange Gob
Green Drover
Red Gob
Tereze
Purple Drover -6HP
Yellow Gob
Eryzule
Locke
Fiona
Green Gob
Gwendallyn 18/21HP
Urbar 17/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob
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If the gods want to test me, then they should test me. Not threaten others I will not stand for it!
She stands straight and loudly addresses the rest of the group:
Lady of Dreams and Mistress of travelers.
Let zy grace fall upon your servants.
Let not ze storm, nor bandits small.
Harm ze travelers who stand up tall.
Goblin hatred runs deep, and few things inspire their wrath more than gnomes (who have long fought against goblins), horses (who frighten goblins tremendously), and regular dogs (whom goblins regard as pale imitations of goblin dogs).
Goblins are also quite superstitious, and treat magic with a fawning mixture of awe and fear. They have the habit of ascribing magic to the mundane as well, with fire and writing both taking on mystical power in goblin society. Fire is much loved by goblins for its capacity to wreak great destruction and because it doesn't require size or strength to wield, but written words are hated. Goblins believe that writing steals words out of your head, and as a result of this belief, goblins are universally illiterate.
Goblins are voracious and can eat their body weight in food daily without growing fat. Goblin lairs always have numerous storerooms and larders. While they prefer human and gnome flesh, a goblin won't turn down any food—except, perhaps, vegetables.
Of all the goblinoid races, the hobgoblin is by far the most civilized. They see the larger and more solitary bugbears as tools to be hired and used where appropriate, usually for specific missions involving assassination and stealth, and look upon their smaller goblin kin with a mix of shame and frustration. Hobgoblins admire goblin tenacity, yet their miniscule kindred's unpredictable nature and fondness for fire make them unwelcome additions to hobgoblin tribes or settlements. Nonetheless, most hobgoblin tribes include a small group of goblins, typically squatting in the most undesirable corners of the settlement.
Many hobgoblin tribes combine their love of warfare with keen intellects. The science of siege engines, alchemy, and complex feats of engineering fascinate most hobgoblins, and those who are particularly skilled are treated as heroes and invariably secure high-ranking positions in the tribe. Slaves with analytical minds are quite valued, and as such raids on dwarven cities are commonplace.
It is well known that hobgoblins mistrust and even despise magic, particularly arcane magic. Their shamans are treated with a mix of fear and respect, and are usually forced to live alone on the fringes of the tribe's lair. It is all but unheard of to find a hobgoblin practicing arcane magic, or as hobgoblins call it, “elf magic.” This is the root of their hatred of magic—the hobgoblins' hatred of elves.
Tereze says a prayer and casts bless on the party and rest of the group.
The purple drover takes his club and swings it at one of the goblins next to him, but the little bugger dodges the attack.
One more goblin moves up to Urbar. It cuts the ranger in his leg with a swing from its small scimitar.
Round 1 - Bless active:
Dark Blue Gob
Pink Gob
Atmar
Purple Gob
Hokama
White Gob
Dark Blue Hobgob
Black Gob
Light Blue Gob
Orange Gob
Green Drover
Red Gob
Tereze
Purple Drover -6HP
Yellow Gob
Eryzule
Locke
Fiona
Green Gob
Gwendallyn 18/21HP
Urbar 14/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob
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Gwen immediately drops her sling, adopts a defensive fighting style, and utilizes her flexible training to remember some pertinent information about fighting goblins. She lashes out with a quick, snap kick to the goblin's face who decided to slice open her leg. "The only thing you're going to eat is your teeth, goblin!"
A black pulse beacons off of Eryzule, causing most of the goblins to feel slightly less competent.
Locke throws a bomb that blasts the face off of the light blue goblin. Two of the adjacent goblins end up disabled, and two more end up with severe burn wounds.
Round 1 (Bless; 20 rounds):
Dark Blue Gob -6HP (Disabled & Bane; 10 rounds)
Pink Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Atmar
Purple Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Hokama
White Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Dark Blue Hobgob
Black Gob
Orange Gob -3HP (Bane; 10 rounds)
Green Drover
Red Gob -3HP (Bane; 10 rounds)
Tereze
Purple Drover -6HP
Yellow Gob
Eryzule
Locke
Fiona
Green Gob -6 (Disabled & Bane; 10 rounds)
Gwendallyn 18/21HP (Actions posted)
Urbar 14/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob
Fiona turns to the west and starts casting sleep.
The green goblin swings its scimitar at Urbar, but the strain causes it to collapse mid-swing.
Gwen drops her sling and remembers information about fighting goblins. She kicks the black goblin's face and immediately drops it.
Round 1 (Bless; 20 rounds):
Dark Blue Gob -6HP (Disabled & Bane; 10 rounds)
Pink Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Atmar
Purple Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Hokama
White Gob (Bane; 10 rounds)
Dark Blue Hobgob
Orange Gob -3HP (Bane; 10 rounds)
Green Drover
Red Gob -3HP (Bane; 10 rounds)
Tereze
Purple Drover -6HP
Yellow Gob
Eryzule
Locke
Fiona (Casting Sleep)
Gwendallyn 18/21HP (Actions posted)
Urbar 14/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob
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Urbar being surrounded had no problemen choosing his targets. He focusses on the filthy orage creature first, if he drops it he moves on to the nasty red.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Urbar cuts down the orange goblin, then turns toward the red goblin and also cuts it down.
The hobgoblin up north moves and shoots an arrow at Tereze. The arrow lands in the sand, three yards in front of her.
One of the other hobgoblins moves closer to your position and shoots an arrow over the dromedary Eryzule's standing behind, into the elf's arm.
The dark blue goblin next to Urbar cuts the ranger with its small scimitar, then drops to the ground from the strain of the attack on its disabled body.
The pink goblin cuts into the purple drover, disabling the man.
Atmar grabs his sling and loads it with a stone.
The purple goblin cuts into the purple drover leg and drops the man.
Hokama quickly flees to the other side of the dromedary he's next to, and keeps his total defense.
The white goblins growls at Gwendallyn, then cuts her with its scimitar.
The other hobgoblin south of your position moves toward his buddy and also shoots an arrow at Eryzule. The arrow hits Eryzule in his abdomen and disables him.
The green drover swings his club at the pink goblin, but the attack's dodged with ease. "I'll get you, you little monster!"
Round 1 (Bless; 19 rounds):
Pink Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Atmar
Purple Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Hokama
White Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Dark Blue Hobgob
Green Drover
Tereze
Purple Drover -14HP (Prone, Unconscious & Bleeding)
Yellow Gob
Eryzule 0/10HP (Disabled)
Locke
Fiona (Casting Sleep)
Gwendallyn 17/21HP
Urbar 12/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob
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Tereze looks back and sees the Drover fall. Dropping her sling, which flitters away from her, she heads into the middle of the group to help him.
As she passes Ery, a second arrow manages to hit him.
She pauses on her way to the drover and offers a quick chant:
You need not fear the terrors of the storm
nor the arrows that fly by day.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
For the Gods are with you.
As she finishes she reaches out her glowing hand and rests it on Ery's back, before turning and trying to get past the camels and closer to the bleeding Drover.
Tereze starts heading toward the fallen drover when Eryzule's hit by a second arrow and stops to quickly heal him.
The purple drover slowly bleeds out on the ground.
The yellow goblin swings its scimitar at Urbar, but the weapon nearly escapes its grasp as it messes up horribly.
Round 1 (Bless; 19 rounds):
Pink Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Atmar
Purple Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Hokama
White Gob (Bane; 9 rounds)
Dark Blue Hobgob
Green Drover
Tereze
Purple Drover -15HP (Prone, Unconscious & Bleeding)
Yellow Gob
Eryzule 3/10HP
Locke
Fiona (Sleep triggers at start of turn)
Gwendallyn 17/21HP
Urbar 12/20HP
Green Hobgob
Red Hobgob