Kitao looks at her with utter disbelief [b]"You are allowed to traverse the heavenly realms? When you say the dark Ones are they the spawns of Oni and the realm of Miedo? Please explain?"[b] Kitao is completely baffled of such claim of portals .
Anwyn's face betrays her confusion. "I...I do not know what you speak of. From what I heard, these portals should not exist, yet here I am. I wish to find one of these portals so I may return to my homeland. What of yourself? Do you wish to return to your homeland, or is there a mission you are undertaking for your Lord?"
"I am on a mission to study the gaijin as a whole amongst other things, but I am afraid it will take my life time to achieve perfection as there are so many different human species out of Wa. Like that dualf or whatever and the ellvs." as he shrugs his shoulders "I probably even said it wrong and it seems to be that even amongst them there are subspecies"
Anwyn frowns. "It sounds to me as if your Lord sent you on a fool's errand, as perfection is not attainable by us." She waves a hand around her. "Whoever built this home, this tree, is far closer to perfection than such as we."
She gives the warrior a smile. "Still it would be an honor to walk with you on your journey."
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"Wait stop Raven! That's a follower of Bane... Ah the crazy fool!", bellows Marcus. Faster than thought his bow is nooked, arrow drawn to the ear. Ruefully he muses, 'Being outmatched I had thought to run, but now that would be dishonorable.'
Taking careful aim at the Baneite shaman, Marcus mutters a prayer, "Lord Torm, Help me make Raven's sacrifice mean something! Lend me your judgement!"
[dice=Standard Attack, Smite]1d20+3+1 [dice=Damage]1d8+1
The arrow strikes the goblin squarely in the shoulder, penetrating his armor and making him cry in pain and alarm.
At almost the same time, two more arrows strike the goblin shaman, bringing him down to his knees. He raises his hand to his mouth and gulps something and you can see his wound closing before your eyes and the arrows dislodging themselves from the wounds, as if pushed out. The shaman looks straight at the paladin, ignoring Raven who is still charging at him, and speaks with a terrible, grinding voice, somehow sounding far larger than his body could possibly contain.
"I will have your soul, boy..."
"Raven! Flank with me." shouts Marcus as he stows the bow with one fluid motion, and draws the greatsword cleanly on the reverse, while sprinting at the shaman!
"Lord Torm guide my blade", he whispers as he swings the blade out towards the shaman in a powerful two handed grip.
Vs the shaman Marcus has ac18 this round, and ac15 vs the others.
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"You are wrong" says Kitao as he sips his cup "The person or creature that build this was powerful, but does not mean it was close to perfect. Power is valuable, but to a painter that creates a master-piece he achieved perfection, yet has no real power. For me as a warrior my swordplay is my art and if I achieve peace and tranquility through a perfect tea ceremony" as he takes another sip {b]"I would be closer to perfection than whoever build this place"[/b] as he smiles and offers to pour more tea before poring himself some more "Yet I am a man that threads the path of Shurido and Conquest, do you still wish to walk with me in my journey?"
"Marcus, Raven you fools!" Aerflae shouts
Aerflae will hold until he sees where the other goblins in the party go.
Anwyn considers his words carefully and nods in reply, "Your words made a lot of sense. It is unfortunate where I am from we do not have the luxury of pursuing perfection in whatever field one chooses. Back in my land, we must devote all of our energy to fighting against the Dark One and his minions." She sighs softly, "Perhaps that is why I am concerned with power above all else." He face brightens as she adds, "I would like that, but I cannot guarantee our paths will stay the same forever. Still a fine warrior like yourself would have a place among my people."
"Damned idiot!" Faerin swears to herself, firing another arrow at the first goblin to try to assist, but not moving from her spot.
"Yet we agree to disagree, I follow Shurido the path to power and while we can pursuit simple things like this, it is only while we are not fighting the evil Kami and his minions of darkness and shadows" he shrugs his shoulders "Then we have our smaller wars and duels amongst other things to worry about when not fighting the eternal enemy." as he sips his cup "So I do believe you could enjoy little things and pursuit their perfection, like that soldier playing a flute flawlessly before a battle to calm himself or even this tea ceremony, which is far from flawless" as he bows slightly "Of course, that is my fault for the perceived slight you forgave me for." then he smiles "My clan values strength above all else, be it from will, resilience or any form. We train in two specific weapons which is the sword or the trident. Those that do not do war, craft the most resilient armor and sharpest of weapons for us as well as our defenses and engines of war." as he puts his cup down and looks at Anwyn straight in her eyes "Power has many forms, just like courage or perfection, it is all a matter of perception." as he then grabs his cup "Shourido teaches that to advance you must have great personal strength, that if you are able to exercise your power over others, it is your right to do so, and it is, in fact, expected." then he grins "Notice there is a catch If you are able, but yet a true bushi has only one judge of his honor, and that
is himself. Decisions you make and how those decisions are carried out are a reflection of who you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself."
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As Marcus charges, one goblin jumps in front of his blade, taking the hit intended for the shaman. Paladin's great blade almost kills him in one stroke, but little savage monster with filed teeth somehow manages to keep his grip on life and attacks with wild abandon, while other goblins rush at the knight, ignoring Raven and his black sword. With one strike Raven decapitates one of the goblins, but others simply keep on coming, incited to great rage by the paladin's presence, gnashing their filed teeth and trying to take a bite out of paladin's hide.
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Four of the goblins manage to penetrate the paladin's armor, savagely biting his legs and arms, while the other two miss him completely.
Seeing his comrade in arms bitten to death by savage goblins, Raven shouts "Marcus! No! Fool, I told you to run!" and reaches with his left hand towards him, as if trying to keep him from falling - and something strange happens. One of the goblin biting Marcus slips and his teeth dislodge from the tear in the armor without breaking the paladin's skin.
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"Damned idiot!" Faerin swears to herself, firing another arrow at the first goblin to try to assist, but not moving from her spot.
1d20+6
1d8
About the same moment when the goblin who interposed himself between Marcus and the shaman misses the paladin, Faerin's arrow penetrates his head, passing through one side and exiting through the other, killing him instantly.
Ihar'ryathlas lets out a very audible curse in elven, and speaks to Faerin and Aerflae, "Guess we have no choice now.". She lifts her scimitar up as she moves quickly to towards the black cloud, not entering it looking for the shaman to take down.
"Dying here won't save the town, and the others need to be warned!" Faerin yells. "He ran in without thinking,he made his choice, us dying won't help him."
"Faerin, it's up to us, we need to warn the village... quickly. He shouts to her.
"Ihar'ryathlas, get away from there!" He yells as his heart sinks, watching the others facing a terrible fate.
Aerflae will fire at a non-engaged goblin and then move away 30'. Fighting retreat is the plan for 2 rounds (trying to stay as far away from charge range as I can).
Ihar'ryathlas lets out a very audible curse in elven, and speaks to Faerin and Aerflae, "Guess we have no choice now." As the battle are beyond her attack range she turns to run towards the village, "I coming too."
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With Aerflae's grazing shot, you retreat from the goblins and head out to the cottage, burdened by the grief for your friends whom you've abandoned. At one point you saw that strange blackness dissipating and Raven and goblin shaman emerging from it, both bearing heavy wounds.
Some hours later, you reach the cottage.
Aerflae heads into the cottage, head hung low from what he saw as the Goblin Ambush of the party... what's worse, the village and all of the passes are likely in danger from the shaman....
Aerflae looks at the others and his forlorn face falls further. He opens his mouth, but finds himself unable to speak.
Ihar'ryathlas walks in besides Aerflae, and when he attempts to speak but fails, she quickly places her arm around his back onto his shoulder, speaking softly, "Large goblin squad ambushed us...". After a long pause, she speaks again, "The goblins are advancing onto the village nearby. Raven and Marcus charged in to slow them down, to give us a chance to get a head start to warn the village of the coming attack."
She looks at the two that remained, speaking sternly, "We have no time to mourn our loss. We must go to the village now, else more shall die by the goblins."
She immediately goes to pick up her scythe that she had left by the door earlier, preparing to head out of the cottage, "Last one out, please lock the door. Really don't want those nasty goblins in here too."
Anwyn watches the approach of the return party with a look of apprehension. "Kitao, something is wrong. Something happened to them." She moves to pick up her weapons even before they have entered the cottage.
After she hears the story of the goblin ambush, she nods in agreement. "We must warn the village immediately! We cannot afford to have the goblins gain a foothold close to where we are living." She replies in Sylvan as she gathers her cloak and other supplies preparing to depart.
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Ihar'ryathlas walks in besides Aerflae, and when he attempts to speak but fails, she quickly places her arm around his back onto his shoulder, speaking softly, "Large goblin squad ambushed us...". After a long pause, she speaks again, "The goblins are advancing onto the village nearby. Raven and Marcus charged in to slow them down, to give us a chance to get a head start to warn the village of the coming attack."
She looks at the two that remained, speaking sternly, "We have no time to mourn our loss. We must go to the village now, else more shall die by the goblins."
She immediately goes to pick up her scythe that she had left by the door earlier, preparing to head out of the cottage, "Last one out, please lock the door. Really don't want those nasty goblins in here too."
Suddenly, a bearded face materializes in the wood and the voice says: "If you leave without my Master, you will not be able to enter later without him. I am bound to warn you of this."
Kitao raises calmly putting everything away nodding to Anwyn for her assessment of the party Picking your weapons now won't bring them closer faster or our leave sooner" as he finishes putting everything away and listens to the bearded man.
"Who has the key?" asks Kitao to Anwyn.
"I believe Raven is the one who has the key, so if we are to return here then we must also find him as well." Anwyn replies to the warrior.
"Then that is settled then, this place might yet be a refuge if needed, but we must go to town" as he sheaths his swords and strings his bow ready for anything he might encounter.
"Then we should go sooner than later. Leave them no chance to overtake us on the approach to the town." Faerin says, first in Sylvan, then repeated for the others.
Aerflae keeps his bow out and arrows at the ready.
Perception
Survival
Aerflae indicates he sees the additional tracks.
"Perhaps we follow the ambushers to the location they intend to ambush us from? We need to make sure that they are broken as well, and they seem to know where we are coming from anyways."
Anwyn nods, "Yes, a good plan. I would like to determine the number of their forces. What you say of the shaman concerns me greatly as well."
"Ahead of us already? I guessing there is more than one squad making their way to the village.", a huge grin appears, "I say we ambush the ambushers, and see how many there are?", flicking her scythe from one hand to the other.