Thought retreats as the attacks come in, and he has no choice but to flee… bleeding and wounded.
Again.
Ushari notices the pirates moving off, and wastes no time climbing down from her perch. Landing softly on the othr side of the tree so as not to be spotted, she prepares to tail the pirates.
Ushari clambers carefully and quietly down the tree. She reaches the bottom and debates what course to set. From the jeers echoing through the woods to the southwest, she suspects Jayse is having a hard time of it. From the dismay and angry shouts coming from the northeast, Ushari is inclined to think Fin is doing a bit better. And then there are the two pirates near at hand, who are clearly searching for her around the perimeter of the woods to her east...
She takes a moment to think, weighing her responsibilities. Is she a thief or a healer?
:drip drip:
Something shuffles and snuffles in the darkness of the cave, attracted to the smell of blood and cooked flesh...
Jayse makes good his escape, passing a large wood and ending up hidden deeply in a smaller wood to south of it. His hidey-hole, in a thorny bramble, is entirely shielded from the north.
ORDER:
Ushari ponders her situation, and realizes while she has escaped the attention of the pirates momentarily, her situation is still not good. She grips her rapier tightly and realizes that everyone else in the group is wounded, and they are counting on her to be healed.
Her responsibility clear, she scans the surrounding area, trying to find one of her companions to give them some much needed healing.
The pirates close on Fin cautiously, concerned about her demonic bladework. One pirates scoots around her, looking to force her back to his compatriots while probing for an opening to sink his scimitar into her flesh. His hesitant blow gives her more than enough time to dodge.
Jayse sees no pirates; they are cautious in their pursuit after his 'jack-in-the-box' tendencies. But he hears the irritated voice of the Wizard shout orders at them. "He's nearly finished, you cowards. Find him and KILL him! I'll go get that girl with the blade." Jayse hears the Wizard sprint off northward. The light clink of the pirates' gear gives Jayse an approximate guess as to their location...
Red eyes regard the dangling gnome. Out of the darkness, a scraggly and scarred rat the size of a rottweiler cautiously approaches the meat. It watches warily looking for traps before racing in to take a quick bite and then jump away... Lucky for the unconscious gnome, his mystical armor deflects the creature's bite. It continues to sniff around him warily.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
22|36
3|32
10|24
-2|28
On hearing the mage's exclamation, Ushari wishes she could be in two places at once, but she reflects on the fact not even gods were able to acomplish that feat. She hurriedly glances behind her as she sprints off towards where Jayse is fighting for his life.
Ushari runs like the wind, crossing open ground at breath-taking speed. She knows she is going to pass in sight range of at least one pirate, but there is nothing to be done about that... but her stealth allows her to slip past the pirate leader as little more than a churning of the mists.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
22|36
3|32
10|24
-2|28
Findelgwing gives the elven traitor a sardonic grin and says, "Choice wrong."
She then swings seeking to remove his head before diving away and running further east and disappearing from sight ().
Fin doesn't take the elf's head but the crunch of his ribs says he'll never rise again. Fin deftly avoids the other pirate's sword and flees eastward behind another stand of trees.
Jayse, still reeling from the combined assault, needs to get to Ushari before he bleeds out. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he realizes that will require a move to the east.
He takes the first few steps that way, and when he sees her, he bolts towards her… knowing his life is measured in seconds if he can't reach her.
As he slides to a stop, he pants, "Two down over there, about three on my tail. Help me out here."
The pirates pause in their pursuit seeing Fin flee and vanish after killing yet another of their number.
"That hellion and her witchblade! Gods curse her!"
"I'm not liking the idea of chasing her through these woods any more. She's an elf and we don't have those nighteyes!"
Their debate is cut short by three shrill blasts from a horn back somewhere near the village. "That's it, boys. Let's go, on the double!" From her hiding spot, Fin hears several pairs of feet move off at a run.
Seeing Jayse sprint from cover, the remaining pirates hoot and give chase, until the same horn rings through the trees. The pirates stop well short of Jayse and Ushari, eyeing them.
"He's almost dead and the girl is no threat. Let's take them! We'll get an extra share."
"You heard the horn. Coming back late AND empty-handed is a fool's game. Still... I'd like a taste of that girl and her friend's been run to ground. He's got no more fight left..." He licks his lips. They've made their choice.
The feral creature regards the swinging gnome. It's slavering jaws yet again fail to bite the meat, and it cannot puzzle out how this could be. Still, its cunning speaks, no traps were sprung from the contact. It grows bolder, sneaking in very close, before trying a more determined bite.
Again, the meat eludes it, but it grows more bolder and hungry by the second...
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
22|36
3|32
10|24
-2|28
Hearing the horn and the men turning tail, Findelgwing slips from her cover, swapping Whoosh for Twang as she quietly pursues them. She then draws a bead on the closest one and lets fly a parting gift!
Ushari wonders at the portent of the horn, and eyes the pirates with a burning look in her eyes. Still Jayse needed her. She raises her hand and a soft light emanates from her birthmark, soothing both Jayse' and her own wounds.
The deities step in to assist Ushari a bit...
Damn... I must be more hurt than I thought, Jayse thinks as the small amount of healing trickles through his body. Still...
"Thanks, Ushari. I might need a bit more, though.. if you could spare it. Just stay behind me and don't let them flank us." As he says it, he takes a moment to send some of his energy through his hands and into his blade, which he holds ready for the first pirate to come into range.
Fin sneaks out from behind her tree, stalking the pirates. In the distance, she can see two of them. Twang 'twangs' and puts a shaft into the back of one pirate.
ORDER:
22|36
10|32
17|24
-2|28
Jayse crouches low as the pirates charge. The first comes screaming in holding his blade high. In a flash of blue, Jayse draws the full length of his mindblade across the charging pirate's side. The blade only stops when it bites deeply into his vertebrae. With a single stroke, he dies. The other pirate pulls up short, rethinking whether this was a poor choice.
Even as Jayse kills the first pirate, the sergeant that was searching for Ushari manages to catch sight of the battle as he obeys the horn's call. He immediately closes on Ushari and Jayse from the other direction.
Straehan chokes as the dire rat bites into his throat. It shakes the gnome, trying to pull its meal free.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
22|36
10|32
17|24
-5|28 Dying & Diseased
Ushari sees the sergeant, and the look she gives the pirate is so full of venomous hatred that even though Jayse is a trained assassin, it still sends a chill up his spine.
Her birthmark glows an eerie shade of white as she points at him, utterin a prayer filled with an undercurrent of threat....
Eyes peeled for any sign of the robed man, Findelgwing knows that it's only a matter of time between the rabble she's following rendezvous with him. A situation that could be... difficult to say the least.
Hoping to press the advantage while she has it, the tall elf girl draws Whoosh once more and charges in hoping to land another telling blow.
Ushari's spell causes the sergeant to pause momentarily and then freeze in place with fear visible in his eyes.
Will Save DC:15
Despite the vicious animal attack, Straehan's body refuses to give up, not allowing him to slip into an even deeper coma.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
22|36
10|32
17|24
-5|28 Diseased & Dying
Despite the attack and Straehan's body rallying, he remains unconscious.
Need 01-40
Not wanting to rush headlong into a wizard's ambush, Findelgwing pauses in the shadows listening to see if she can discern where Jayse and Ushari are.
Once she has a good idea of their heading, she sets out taking advantage of enhanced speed to close the distance before any wizards show themselves.
Jayse turns to assess the threat from the north, and - when he spies the man hung in an unnaturally still pose - gives Ushari a smile. "Nice one. Let me know if he breaks loose."
Then he rushes at the remaining western pirate, dipping at the last second and swinging his leg out in an arc to sweep the man's legs from under him.
After all that, you didn't think you could just run away, did you? He thinks, his face an emotionless mask.
Fin hears the tell-tale signs of battle to the southwest and sprints to find her comrades. Unfortunately, she runs right past a pirate lurking in a stand of trees. As she runs past, he lashes at her back with his scimitar. His blade bites deeply, nearly severing her spine. Weakened, Fin stumbles forward but keeps on running.
ORDER:
Map: Mining Village
2|36
10|32
17|24
-5|28 Diseased & Dying
Confirm? YES
DAM
After watching his completely unscratched comrade fall to a single blow of the blue blade, the remaining pirate backpedals... seriously reconsidering his career choice. Jayse doesn't give him a chance to run, sweeping his legs and sending the pirate tumbling - but not before the squealing man lashes out with a panicked blow to fend off the monk. As with most panicked attacks, it falls short.
2|36
10|32
17|24
-5|28 Diseased & Dying
The pirate on the ground before Jayse attempts to scuttle away at full speed, full of mindless fear.
Time slows to a crawl as the pirate tries to scuttle away. A thought races through the Calm that piss-ants like this cretin deserve everything coming to them. Jayse's form is perfect as the blade races towards the man's neck.
Like an overzealous surgeon, Jayse strikes the head from the pirate's and watches it roll down the gentle slope.