Variel begins to chant and wave his arms before he even stands up, sprinkling powdered iron into the air.
Johns lets loose a blast of negative energy. One of the bandits takes the full blast head on and drop to one knee but still has the fight in his eyes. The other roll out of the way but still get brushed by the blast.
Hedrak moves forward, and readies an attack in case any of the bandits decide to come at him - "Ha! Fools..."
Garrik gets up, grabs his gun and loads it with a shot. Aims at the one in the back and looses a shot.
And the shot goes wide.
Garrik shot goes whistling passed the bandit in the back. He yells out "We got a gunner!!".
The leader yells back as he steps towards Marcus and swings" Take em out!".
A bandit takes a 5ft step towards you and swings."Die you orc lover"
His swing misses wildly.
The rapier comes down right on top of your head with critical force.
Both shots hit.
Marcus dances back, and holds up his holy symbol. Another wave of dark energy erupts from it, washing over the two highwaymen near him.
John drops his hatchet and picks up his ax and shield. As he does he feels a surge of energy flow through him. He lets out a bellow and begins to grow. Rising above the bush John shouts at the bandits attempting to take him and his companions by surprise.
"Come at me me swine, No one bests John Logger!"
Knowing that the increase in size will make him a much easier target John raises his shield to cover his newly exposed torso and goes total defensive.
The bandits brace them self's as the blast of negative energy hit.
The leader shrugs off the blast like a unwanted fly but the toile of the 2 blast has him weak. "let finish this up boy"
Krumsh mighty swing connects with the bandits side and within seconds, he drops dead in a pool of blood.
Variel walks south and west, his voice becoming shrill fast, and a small pat of butter falling from his hand, expanding and disappearing as it does.
Garrik loads his gun up with another shot at the white target and fires.
Hedrak presses forward toward the target at the back, and swings his morningstar.
Within seconds, the area around one of the bandits becomes coated with grease.
"Damn mage!". the bandit starts to slip but catches him self. His eyes now fixates on Variel.
As Garriks shot miss the bandit it was meant for he smiles.
Hedraks mighty attack come crashing across the bandits face as if he was trying to lob it off. With this one swing, the bandit go limb and falls down.
"JOHN, MIKE! NOO!!. DIE, just die, ALL OF YOU!" The bandit lets another arrow fly. This time at Variel.
With two dead already the leader take off running.
Marcus runs after the leader as fast as he can.
"Stay the fight, cur!"
His mace lies abandoned near his sleeping furs, and so he instead attempts to drag his hand across the bandit's skin - open sores erupt where he touches, weeping blood.
"You try to attack us in our sleep and now you flee, Cowards, the lot of you and you will die a cowards death!"John yells at the bandit leader.
John bounds after the bandit leader closing on him with every step until he finally overtakes him and swings his mighty ax.
The bandit manages to dodge both attacks in his attempted to live.
Variel curses when the arrow hits him, but it's a shallow wound and he stays standing, his voice taking on an entirely different quality. As he chants, earth appears to fall away around brown's feet, as though a pit is materializing out of nowhere. A spire remains where the bandit stands, ten feet of earth jutting straight up from the bare earthen bottom. Surrender now and you may live, otherwise spikes materialize at the bottom of the pit, coated in blood you will die.
Rex lunges at the bandit and brings him down. With in a seconds, Rex is on top of him and you see is the thrashing if teeth and claws. A limp bloody body no lays on the ground and a proud Rex standing on top of his trophies.
"I give!!!" The last bandit drops his bow and hold his hands up. "Do not kill me" .
At this time Glee-glee come rolling out his tent. "Keep it down!, Goblins need there sleep!!" The bright dawns sun shins in his eyes and it take him a moment to realize what's going on.
Garrik points his empty gun at the goblin and goes "Bang" then starts to clean it.
"Someone tie him up while we dress, maybe? I'd feel better about doing this if I weren't in my smallclothes."
Marcus does look fairly ridiculous, wearing just his shirt, which ends at midthigh, and the metal-rimmed oaken shield over that.
If someone ties up the highwayman, he starts to put on his clothes, not to mention his armor.
Otherwise, he will pick up his mace, and go to stand guard over the prisoner.
Variel waves his hand, and there appears a small earthen pathway across to the bandit's spire, leading to Hedrak, whose mace still drips with the blood of the man he killed. That seems like a good idea, anyone have rope? In the meantime, Variel addresses the bandit You should give your weapons to my friend there.
"I'll tie the up the low life, least I can be helpful that way," John says walking over to his pack and retrieving his rope.
He walks back to the bandit and ties his hands around his back, making sure to pull the knot just a bit too tight.
"I wish this were hemp rope,this silk won't chaff near as much, now what have you got on you? I hope I find some liquor, I know that damn goblin stole mine," John says grumbling the last remark to himself.
He ties the other end to a tree making sure not to give him any rooms move and retreats back to his pack where he dons his armor and searches for his lost hip flask.
Thank's John, let's just ask him a few questions, make sure we're on the same page. Variel grabs his club and his crossbow, squatting down next to the man and loading his crossbow. Now listen close, I have no qualms about hurting you, killing you, breaking your knees and dragging you off into the woods...but that doesn't help either of us. Now you could help yourself, all you have to is answer a few questions. Question one, do you want to live?
Glee-glee runs around searching the body's of the dead. every few seconds you here sounds of approval coming from the goblin.
" LOOK, LOOK, Glee-glee found stuff!"
-studded leather x4
-buckler x2
-composite longbow (+1 Str)x2
-20 arrows
-rapier x2
-Bag of gold (20 gold each)
this includes the stuff on the alive bandit.
The bandit shakes uncontrollably. " yes"
Well brilliant, looks like we can do alright then. Question two, do you have any other friends who might want to kill us? Variel sets his crossbow down, fiddling with his club.
"Nope, they all are dead. we were just looking to make a quick coin"
Third question, do you have any money or loot saved up anywhere we can take?
At this time you all start to smell something.
"you have all we got, please just let me go."
Now that his gun is cleaned, Garrik will climb a tree and keep watch. "Encase they weren't working alone, I will keep watch from up here."
|
With everything that's happening, Krumsh closes to Variel and whispers. "If these men were killers sent to off us because of our mission, whoever sent 'em understimated us. But I think they are just idiotic thieves, not professional killers. We should leave him at the next town to be judged, either that or leave him a knife and no supplies and let Nature judge his fate."
After he goes to retrieve his lost hand ax in the bushes he walks over to the pile of loot that the goblin found.
"Quite resourceful you are Gree-gree. But I bet you kept something special for yourself didn't you?" He says with a wink. "No matter, this is quite a bit of coin to be had before breakfast as it is."
He lifts one of the bows and tests the Tension thinking to himself. "Funny things, these bows. More of a cowards weapon if you ask me, I prefer my hatchets if range is necessary but there is something to be said for their power. I wonder if I could figure out how to use one. Shouldn't be to hard."
"I'm not an Archer by any means but I bet any of you a drink and the next Tavern we come across that I can out shoot any of you.“
John scratches an X in a tree with his ax and the turn and counts out 30 paces before scratching a crude line in the dirt with his boot and waits for anyone to take him up on the challenge.
Variel covers his nose with his arm for a moment, then takes a few steps back, as much to keep the bandit from eavesdropping as to avoid smelling him. Indeed, one would think that they'd send at least six to kill us, not an outnumbered party with only studded leather and rapiers. Variel pauses, unsure what they should do. If we let him go he might just happen upon some other travelers, though with only a knife he'd have a hard time killing anyone who's prepared. I'd say we should take him with us, but we've only seven horses...maybe he can ride with the goblin. By the way, do you think he was lying earlier? Variel glances back at the man He looks too scared to me, I think he's telling the truth.
Garrik looks at the x scribble into the tree below him. "Not to doubt your marksmen ship... but don't shoot at the tree I'm in. You might miss it and hit me instead."
That being said, Garrik climbs out of the tree and grabs some half of the arrows. He starts to detach the arrow heads from the shaft and tossing them into a bag. "Will be able to melt these down later for some more ammo."
Glee-glee shake his head at Johns"Glee-glee no take anything but Glee-glee will take bet! can we share your axe?" While waiting on John, Glee-glee rummages through his bag and address the issue with the bandit."There's no town between the garrison and Avendoom and its 2 more days ride before we get to king. Glee-glee no thinks we should waste time! I say let Glee-glee take care of him" Glee-glee pulls out a stick from his bag and hold it in the air.
"I was actually talking about using the bows for the challenge, it would hardly be fair if I used my axes."
That being said John steps up to the line and draws an arrow. "Closest to the center wins." He says when anyone taking the bet is ready and looses his arrow.
John let's out a roar of laughter as his arrow veers up into the branches of the tree before plummeting straight down and sticking into the soil.
"Looks like you were wise to climb down from that tree when you did. I guess first round's on me when we get to Avendoom."
Glee-glee tucks the stick into his belt and takes the bow from John.
"Watch me!" Glee-glee pulls back the bow and takes aim. Then he closes his eyes and starts to spine around wildly and lets the arrow fly!
Glee-glees managed to let the arrow go just at the perfect time. it hit the mark dead center. Slowly squinting one eye open like he could be in trouble he jumps up and yells
" YOU SEE!! phew. "
"I could also find a use for that bow" - Hedrak snorts, then moves to test the weapon also, accepting it from the goblin's hands - "That was a great shot though" - he admits.
"Meh" - he shrugs - "Not bad, but the pull is too soft" - the half orc adds, returning the weapon to Glee Glee, and returning to the debate about the bandit.
"I say we let him go with a dagger - a chance for him to think about his life options and whatnot"
"I'd rather see him dead than let him leave. If we're not to bring him back to town for trial and hanging, then be so good as allowing me to kill him, at least."
Marcus grabs the handle of his mace.
Hmm...well, I do think that killing him is better than leaving him with just a knife near a main road, but he was pretty cooperative, and it'd be nice to build up a reputation for being trustworthy by taking him into town, letting them decide what to do with him. I did ask him if he wanted to live, after all, and he said yes. They might even let him, I suspect they'd just make him do a few years hard labor, which seems better than just making another corpse, at any rate. And we certainly can fit him on the horse with the goblin, maybe they'd distract each other, keep them from doing harm to us. Variel crosses his arms, glancing over at the goblin.
" Glee-glee says strip him down and let him go, no Knife! It be better than bring him to town to sit in cell. We got more important things to do" Glee-glee starts to squirm with each passing second. "King is waiting."
"I agree with Gree-gree, cept I'm not stripping him down, not after he's $#!t himself. Let him deal with his own filth."John says untying the bandits hands. He holds him by the back of his shirt "I'm ready to let him go and hit the road we have a long way to go, less one of you really wants to kill 'em."
Hmm... Variel scowls, irritated, at John, his hand even coming up to stop him untying the bandit, but he thinks better of it. Well, allright, whoever wants to give up a knife should do it now. Variel shakes his head slightly before walking back to his gear and putting his weapons away.
After a moment, he returns to the group, Right, I've used a fair bit of magic this fight, and I will not be much good if we get ambushed again. That being said I don't think it's wise to just sit and wait another eight hours here, not with the goblin hopping to get on his horse, so I'm just letting you all know that my combat capabilities will be limited until we rest again.
Garrik looks at the bandit, "Do you have horses nearby?"
Marcus waits to hear the bandit reply. If he answers in the negative, he'll draw his Mace, and ask him;
"By common law, I sentence you to death for banditry. Any last words?"
The bandit replys to Garrik." No horse. we been walking. please don't let him kill me!!
Glee-glee steps in front of Marcus "no killing, we let him go." Glee-glee strips down the bandit naked and kicks him onto the road. " Let the wild decide your fate. But, if I see you again. Glee-glee will make you scream." With no knife or close that bandit starts walking down to road towards the garrison.
" We go now. king waiting and he have much to cover" Glee-glee jump on his horse and starts to ride. The party ride all day and find a nice area to make camp that night. The next morning the party get and early start in hope to make it to Avandoom by evening. The two day of travel go by uneventfully and by evening on the 2nd day the party reaches the city. The very happy Glee-glee points to the city gates and starts to jump up and down on his horse. "We made it!!!"
As you ride up, you notice hope big the city Avandoom really is. The surrounding walls seem you touch the clouds. You can see shacks built up against the outside wall. It seem the city has outgrew its wall. As you pass through the main gate, your greeted by a sea of people doing there everyday task. There are carts and wagon filled with all sorts of thing coming and going. "Welcome to avandoom!"