Bran's arrows bounce off the beast's hide.
Hamailii's first arrow wounds one of the beasts. It bellows in pain and charges forward.
One section of the barricade explodes into splinters.
Another one rushes up beside it.
It slams into the barricade, but the wagons and crates shift around rather than being smashed to pieces.
A third charges the barricade.
It smashes a path clean through.
One moves up and fires a blast of lightning from its horn at Bran.
Hamailii's spell protects him (no need even for the Reflex save).
The last moves, ready to smash through next round.
The goblin archers on the beasts' backs look terrified. They aim their shortbows and fire.
The one at the barricade is too close to shoot, so he draws his sword in his off-hand and strikes at Tal'ariel.
Gaius is unable to reach his foe. He can't take a 5' step into the barricade, and a good deal of rubble still separates him and the nearest beast.
Tal'ariel is up!
Gaius flies up and strikes at the creature, though his sword glances off its hide.
With her sword in hand, Tal'ariel strikes at the goblin rider, and possibly the beast that it's riding!
;
;
Tal'ariel's blade cuts deeply into the rider. He still tries to move his mount away from the blade's continuing swing, but is unable to.
Trellara cracks her whip at the goblin rider at the north end of the barrier, trying to disarm him.
The bow clatters to the ground, out of reach of the archer.
Four of the Town Guard take shots at the beast that has broken through, before they move back deeper into the alley.
One of the Tiri Kitor has something of a shot, so she takes it (at a rider) and moves back. The goblin reels, badly hurt.
Kharra Teskerwill holds her position, wary of the lightning and waiting for an opportunity to charge.
Round 17 - INSPIRE COURAGE +2, Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, and 2 others - maybe the owls Startail and Sprite? Or an NPC?)
Trellara
Lion of Brindol
Hunters
Guards
Bran -9 (Fatigued 1 round)
Gaius -14
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Magenta -13, Black -15)
Goblin Riders (Magenta -30, Teal disarmed)
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Hamailii -- who were the 2 other recipients for the Communal Resist Energy besides the PCs and Trellara?
Gaius, with a target in front of him and Flame threatening just beneath his own feet, launches a flurry of blows at the creature in front of him. The goblin isn't worth his time.
The champion takes a step after feeling the arrow in his shoulder, the fatigue was running out but he needed it to be out now. Seeing himself trapped in a melee with little recourse he drops the bow for the third time, thankful for the kind souls that made it but figuring it had its time. He made a mental note to tell them of its assistance, he could make a story and make some folks feel good.
For now there was trouble.
"Let's do this."
He tries to grab hold but he just can't. The writhing beast proving to be too much for the moment.
Gaius's swords hit his foe twice, but two more strikes bounce off its tough hide.
Bran fails to secure a hold on the beast in front of him. If he were not tired, if he could summon his fury, he might be able to do it... the warrior tries to catch his breath.
Hamailii is up! And possibly Flame.
Hamailii's arrows bounce off the creature's hide.
One lizard-beast smashes at the barricade.
Another section gives way.
Its rider draws a scimitar and readies to lash out at any foe close enough.
The next one gores at Gaius.
Its rider draws a scimitar and swings.
Another tries to smash the barricade, but makes no progress.
Its rider takes a shot at Gaius, who is nice and visible flying above the barricade. The arrow strikes the warrior in the side. Years of training help him battle through the pain.
The beast that has broken through the barricade keeps on moving.
Its rider hacks at Tal'ariel ineffectually.
The last one charges up and tries to smash the barricade.
Its rider shoots at Bran.
Bran takes an arrow to the arm.
Round 17 - INSPIRE COURAGE +2, Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Lion of Brindol
Hunters
Guards
Bran -19 has AOO, no longer fatigued
Gaius -25
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Magenta -13, Black -38)
Goblin Riders (Magenta -30, Teal disarmed);
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16) Turn plus AOO
With a renewed vigor Bran tries to land an uppercut in its jaw as it passes by.
"Damn, it's breaking through!"
Tal'ariel strikes at the beast that has pushed through!
;
As the beast continues on, she pursues it!
;
Bran strikes the beast as it passes.
Tal'ariel misses with her swing, though hits when she chases after the Bluespawn.
Kharra Teskerwill lowers her lance and charges!
The Lion of Brindol just manages to find a vulnerable spot in the creature's hide, wounding it severely.
Its rider tries to dodge, but is unable to.
The Tiri Kitor try to take down the beast.
2 arrows hit, although one arrow seems to do no injury whatsoever, just sticking in the hide.
The monstrosity is badly hurting, but not yet down.
The Town Guard in the alley ready to shoot as soon as the beast moves.
Trellara moves a bit and tries to Disarm another goblin of his bow.
Round 18 - INSPIRE COURAGE +2 (lingering for this round), Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -19
Gaius -25
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Magenta -71, Black -38)
Goblin Riders (Magenta -30, Teal disarmed, Brown disarmed);
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol
Guards
Hunters
Bran sees that Tal'ariel is handling the beast at the back and decides to wait near the barricade and draws the enchanted rapier once again; entering what would look like a tactic suited for an Aldori bladelord.
Gaius continues his whirlwind of steel impression.
Gaius downs one of the beasts with repeated strikes of his katanas!
Hamailii manages to take down Magenta before it can break through the lines.
The one at the north end of the barricade continues to smash its way past.
Its rider draws his scimitar and uses Total Defense.
One of the Bluespawn tires of trying to clear its own path, and follows the path its comrade left behind. It tries to plow over Bran.
First, Bran takes his readied attack.
The rapier sinks in; Bran's skill at arms shines through even with this unfamiliar weapon.
Then, Trellara's owl strikes at the Stormlizard as it moves, but is unable to damage it.
The beast shoves Bran aside, nearly trampling him. His reflexes let him keep his feet , though he cannot block the creature's progress.
Its rider draws a sword and slashes at Bran.
The last one moves up and gores at Bran, managing to catch him while he is off-balance from the Overrun.
It also summons a bolt of lightning that connects to its comrade, flashing through Bran's space.
Its rider draws a sword and also slashes at Bran.
Magenta's rider tumbles off.
He lands on his feet and makes a run for it! Single move + Total Defense.
The goblin dies gruesomely.
Round 18 - INSPIRE COURAGE +2 (lingering for this round), Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -36
Gaius -25
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Brown -17)
Goblin Riders
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol
Guards
Hunters
With the breakthrough threat neutralized, Tal'ariel turns her attention back to the front line. She sees an opportunity as one of the creatures is distracted by Bran!
;
; .
Tal'ariel does manage to hit the goblin, though her strike against its mount fails.
Kharra Terskerwill makes another lance charge!
The creature is badly wounded, although the lance just misses piercing its heart.
One of the Tiri Kitor has a bead on the wounded rider and tries to finish him off. Another steps up and also unleashes a pair of arrows.
Neither manages to hit.
A third Tiri Kitor hunter moves down the alley and gets a single shot off.
The rider that Tal'ariel had hit is hit again, and falls from his mount.
The Town Guard remain in the alleys, with no good shots.
Trellara has only 4 rounds of bardic performance left and does not know how long this night will last. She does not re-start Inspire Courage at this time, hoping that the tide is turning.
Round 18 - Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -36
Gaius -25
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Brown -42)
Goblin Riders (Brown dead)
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol
Guards
Hunters
Gaius floats a few feet to his left, and then starts swinging again as Flame apporaches, barking loudly.
Seeing the support coming from Tal'ariel he starts to pierce the creature with the rapier; the weapon being familiar enough in his hands that it almost feels like an extension.
Bran's weapon drives home so hard that it leaves an opening for Tal'ariel.
Emboldened by the sudden success he lets out a scream.
"We're turning the tide! For Brindol! For Freedom!"
The goblin rider tries to move his mount to dodge Gaius's first swing.
Three of Gaius's strikes land.
Bran is surrounded, but then Tal'ariel comes to help. He hits one of the beasts hard twice. Its rider tries to dodge the second blow but is not quite fast enough.
Already wounded by the lance charge, the creature falls!
Its rider tries to land on his feet and just barely manages to do so.
Hamailii is up! Two of the Bluespawn remain, one of them wounded.
Hamailii fires two arrows at Gaius's foe.
The beast in front of Gaius takes an arrow, but still up, it gores at the Elven swordsman.
Its rider hacks at Gaius with a sword.
And the beast in front of Bran tries to impale him, but the warrior is too quick.
The goblin atop it swings a scimitar and is lucky enough to find an opening.
Bran's buckler just manages to deflect the blow into a less vital area.
Round 18 - Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -38
Gaius -46
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Teal -50)
Goblin Riders
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol
Guards
Hunters
Tal'ariel realizes that the beasts are a far bigger threat than their goblin riders, and shifts her focus to them!
;
;
;
;
The rider of one of the Bluespawn sees the Elven Curve Blade descending and tries to dodge, unsuccessfully.
The blade hits home, badly wounding the beast and leaving the goblin gravely injured.
Kharra Teskerwill makes another lance charge, but fails to hit.
Two of the Tiri Kitor try difficult shots hoping for a lucky break.
The other archers have no good shots, and are not trained at firing into a melee, so stay in their cover.
Trellara delays.
Round 19 - Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -38
Gaius -46
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizards (Teal -50, White -31)
Goblin Riders (White -34)
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol
Guards
Hunters
Seeing the great elven curve blade come down, Bran follows up with a series of swift strikes.
Gaius hits his foe twice, but it remains on its feet.
Hamailii is up!
Both of Bran's strikes fail to injure his foe.
Hamailii's first arrow drops the one that Gaius is fighting, and her second wounds the one that Bran and Tal'ariel are facing.
The Bluespawn Thunderlizard again lets loose a blast of lightning from its horn.
Kharra Teskerwill tries to dodge. Although she has little training at this, her instincts are good.
Both rider and horse dodge the worst of the lightning bolt.
The Bluespawn's rider takes his scimitar and tries to cut down Bran.
Round 19 - Resist Energy (Electricity) 20 (PCs, Trellara, Startail, Flame)
Trellara
Bran -38
Gaius -46
Hamailii
Bluespawn Thunderlizard (White -49)
Goblin Riders (White -34)
Tal'ariel -17 (Blackthorn -16)
Lion of Brindol -10 (Horse -10)
Guards
Hunters
Tal'ariel is up!
Confident in her advantage, Tal'ariel tries to finish off the thunderlizard and its rider!
;
;
The rider tries to move his mount of the way of the Elven Curve Blade, but is just a bit too slow. However, he himself avoids getting slashed.
Kharra Teskerwill drops her lance and moves around drawing her sword. She slashes at the beast.
Unlike her lance, her sword is magical, and manages to wound the Bluespawn more significantly.
"Finish it!"
The Tiri Kitor hunters come out from cover and fire at the monster.
None of them manage to hit, unfamiliar as they are with firing into a melee.
A town guardsman takes a step, reloads, and shoots.
He likewise has no luck.
The rest come out and reload, but don't have enough time to get a shot off.
Gaius-bot double moves to provide Bran a flank.
Trellara's owl moves up and attacks!
The Bluespawn falls, and the goblin rider falls soon after.
You have some time to begin healing and repairing the barricade. After a few minutes, Hamailii receives another telepathic message.
There is the image of Sellyria Starsinger under attack. Two of her bodyguards fall to the lance of a skilled wyvern-rider. The remainder of her bodyguard, though depleted, brings her to safety. Sellyria looks around. Hamailii senses a feeling of desperate need, and then perceives the sight and sound of katanas whirling.
She needs Gaius.
At that moment, two owls arrive. Riding one is Killiar Arrowswift. And on the other is Mikail of the Planes.
"Tal'ariel. It is good to see you.
Sellyria Starsinger needs Gaius. We cannot leave you shorthanded, so I bring an old ally of yours."
Mikail slides off her avian mount, her skin and armour shining a bright silver. She walks towards the others and smiles.
"It would seem the goddess still needs me here, and so I am here! I am ready to fight, or heal as needed."
Tal'ariel takes a moment to heal herself and Blackthorn.
She's excited to see the new arrival and gives her a hug. Mikail! What a relief to see you! The goblins have been targeting the healers. They were ordered to fall back. But I figured you wouldn't be the falling back sort. We have enough healing for now, I think. Save your magics for battle!"
Tal'ariel's gaze quickly turns to Killiar. And, in a turn from her previous coldness, she gives him a hug, too. "Oh Killiar, do you think we will win? What have your eyes seen from the skies?"
Killiar returns the embrace from Tal'ariel.
"It is hard to say, Tal'ariel. You struck a great blow against them by taking down that dragon. There is fighting throughout the streets, but Lord Jarmaath is leading his troops well."
He mounts up again. "I must bring Gaius back to the Speaker.
I did see some fighting two streets over from here. If the humans need to, they will fall back behind this barricade, so you will need to build it back up where it is broken."
Bran saw the shimmering skin come off the owl, "Mikail?" He moved toward her, wincing a little at the injuries. "How did you make it here? Dumb question."
He offers her a giant's welcome. "It seems to have been forever."
Thinking of the situation, he is relieved when he hears Killiar's report. "A barrier can be rebuilt, a soul can only be lost once." The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him, though he decided it was something best left in the dark right now.
"I'll second Tal's opinion. I think your magic is best used in the fight, we can make due with magic, wands and potions." He collects his items and offers any potions to the injured soldiers before taking anything for himself.
The worg-riders had no healing potions.
From earlier waves, there remained 5 CLW and 6 CMW.
Kharra Teskerwill asks for some of the lesser healing potions.
Remaining from this set of encounters (not including what you might have had before): 1 CLW and 3 CMW
You work on rebuilding the barricade, but no enemy forces arrive.
Hamailii soon receives another message through the Telepathic Bond.
It is the voice of Lord Jarmaath. Some of the clerics have made it to the Cathedral and may be safe. Although he doesn't say it, the emotional connection of the Telepathic Bond conveys some underlying resentment; after all, the party sided against him in every tactical decision about the battle, including the one on the placement of the clerics. Nevertheless, there is no rudeness in what he says to Hamailii.
We have a bit of a breather. The Horde is regrouping at the breach. Our forces elsewhere on the walls are now serving no purpose, so we will regroup here at Cathedral Square to discuss the defense of the city center. Come here and --
The Telepathic Bond goes silent.
The voice of Sellyria Starsinger comes across.
Lord Jarmaath?
Immerstal the Red, the wizard coordinating this, says, The spell is still working, but something has happened to Lord Jarmaath! Find him!
Reinforcements: The characters are allowed to call upon four Lions of Brindol during the battle. Each of these individuals is a 4th-level human fighter, and they’ll help the PCs in any way they can. The PCs must decide how many of these fighters they want to use before an event begins. Any fighters who survived previous events can be carried over to new events.
If the PCs secured an alliance with the Tiri Kitor elves, they can be assigned four giant owls and four Tiri Kitor hunters (Ran2) to use in a similar manner.
Captain Soranna Anitah is also available to the PCs, volunteering to serve as a bodyguard for whichever PC is most vulnerable in combat.
Magic Items: Many of Brindol’s shopkeepers, merchants, and adventurers have donated potions, scrolls, and wands to the cause. The PCs are allowed to draw upon these resources, to a limited extent. Any potions, scrolls, or wands are available, in any quantity or combination, as long as the total value of items they take over the course of the battlefield events does not exceed 5,000 gp. The PCs cannot access these items during an event but can do so in the downtime between events as they wish.
So decide now, before you find out what the next encounter entails, if you wish to have the NPC allies along, and if you wish to find things in shops. You have used 3,542 out of 5,000 of your shop supply. (Was 3,167 before last encounter, and then Tal'ariel got a scroll of Haste.)
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Something seems to have happened to poor Lord Jarmaath! I wonder ... there might be infiltrators in the city already! We should go and look for them before they can do more damage!
Hamailii seems tense, emotionaly shaken from the battle and the flood of emotions and impressions over the telepathic bond.
Bran takes a moment to scoff down the potions.
"Where was he last Hamailii? Can you ask? For something like that to happen so suddenly..."
Mikail is slightly overwhelmed at the warm reception she receives and blushes at the various greetings from the group. As the mood changes from friendly to serious, she unsheathes his sword and looks to the others.
"Where was he located? Show me the way and I will bring Iomedae's light to these beasts!"
As you approach near Cathedral Square, you hear outcries of alarm, screaming, and the sound of dozens of armored soldiers running.
When you reach the square, you find the place in chaos. Soldiers scramble toward the Cathedral of Iomedae, as if fleeing from some invisible army.
You do not see the form of Lord Jarmaath, but you do see the bodies of two of his bodyguards and one of the members of the Witchcross Town Council. They are all together in one area. Seven more bodies lie scattered across the square, including what looks like Lielle, the priestess of Abadar from Terrelton. All have arrows sticking out of them.
A look at the fleeing soldiers reveals they are glancing over their shoulders towards one of the buildings on the western side of the square. Some soldiers in the alley you are coming up motion to you. "Stay down! Sniper! It got Lord Jarmaath - his men took him into the Cathedral. What ones were left, anyway."
Do you go into the Cathedral to check on Lord Jarmaath?
Or into the Square to try to pinpoint the sniper?
Or do something else?
"I'll head over to help Lord Jarmaath. My calls put him here, I will get him out." Bran points to the square, "We need to find that sniper but if its some invisible foe there's not much I can do without your magic. Can we pinpoint them somehow?"
He waits a moment to check on the others and the plan before moving out.