The baby elephant-sized two-headed wolf stalks predatorily down from the high ground, stymied by the suddenly inhospitable terrain. Its heads growl and snap at one another.
Round 2
INIT:
27|35
27|27
27|27
38|38
36|36
”Here we go, folks!” Jak yells as he lashes the air with his whip, every word pulses in time with the team’s quickening heartbeats, ”Let’s send these mutts home with their tail between their legs!”
"I will do what I can, Jak, but are you sure that my wooden club is going to do more against that beast than my scimitar?"
”Hells, Lyrica! I don’t know. Maybe your goddess can smite them dead for you!”
Round 2
Lyrica charges the wolf at V9 (move to W10) and drives her scimitar into the beast.
"You vile creatures shall perish by my blade!"
Jak grins madly as one wolf breaks off and sprints towards him, "I'll have to deal with you in a second." Then he turns and rushes up the side of the wagon, sliding to a stop and calling on his mother's gifted powers.
The ground beneath the wolf Lyrica charged becomes slick.
Lyrica skewers the beast with a decisive blow. Congealed black blood pours from the wound... but the wolf doesn't drop.
Jak rushes up beside the lead donkey. A sheet of viscous oil coats the grass beneath the wounded wolf. It yelps and scrambles to retain its footing. Its claws dig into the earth, letting it tenuously stand.
Aerik will try to buy his allies (and himself) more time.
Plants attempt to wind around the wolves, catching one.
The wolves close in... Two manage to keep their footing in the grease and snap at the Paladin. One set of fangs bury themselves in Lyrica's thigh. A third wolf, seeing the struggles of its kin, circles around through the exploded earth, emerging in the clear with a straight line to Marcus and the wagon.
The wolves that escaped the entangling vines, leap from the hazards and futilely attempt to wound the Bonesetter and Druid. The final wolf, thoroughly wound in rootlets struggles but cannot free itself. It snarls impotently.
Round 2
INIT:
27|35
27|27
27|27
30|38
36|36
Wolf #1 - Runs @ Lyrica through Grease
Wolf #2 - Move through difficult terrain
Wolf #3 - 5' Move & Attack Aerik AC:18
Wolf #4 - 5' Move & Attack Ezekiel AC:15
Wolf #5 - MOVE to escape Entangle
Seeing the spells take effect, Marcus maneuvers around the solitary wolf, swinging the blunt side of his axe at the creature's snout.
Round 2
Zeke steps away from the wolf, moving next to Aerik, and sends an explosive towards the beast.
The canny wolf dodges Marcus' swing. A binding rootlet catches Zeke's retreating foot, sending the bomb spinning prematurely from his hand. It crashes between the wolf and wagon before exploding in flames. The blast scorches the wolf and rocks the back end of wagon, crisping supplies.
Between the smell of the twisted wolves, the sound of combat, and the explosion rocking the back of the wagon... the donkeys rolls their eyes and begin to panic. Mattin does his best to control the donkeys, and keeps them barely in check.
The massive two-skulled monstrosity stalks with difficulty through the broken terrain, knocking down a small tree on its way into the open... breathing down the neck of the lumberjack.
Round 3
INIT:
27|35
27|27
27|27
30|38
36|36
7
As a swift action Lyrica lays her hands against her wound and let's Sarenrae's healing power surge through her hands.
She then takes her scimitar, flails it wildly at the wolf at W9, but clearly misses.
The Paladin's swing misses, but not through any failure in her sword-arm. Her blow is thrown off by the disquieting revelation that her hand fails to channel holy energy. The bloody wound on her leg throbs with pain and continues to bleed.
Jak continues to stride forward, the tip of his whip whistling through the air as it charges with a bit of his mother’s power. ”Hey, mutt!” He snaps the whip out at the wolf threatening to flank Marcus, ”That shitty-ass fur won’t sell for much, but I’m glad to take it off you for the fun of it!”
Jak's whip cracks near, but not on, the wolf.
Aerik backs up (5-ft step to AE16), and tries to bring another ally into the fight.
The wolves close in. Even the vine-wrapped beast struggles free and moves to attack. Mutated bodies lunge, jaws snap, and furry forms bash into the Drearians. In the end, Lyrica and Marcus are battered while Aerik and Zeke avoid being mauled.
Round 3
INIT:
27|35
27|27
27|27
13|38
19|36
7
Wolf #1 - 5' Move & Attack Lyrica AC:17 - Flank
Wolf #2 - 5' Move & Attack Marcus AC:17
Wolf #3 - 5' Move & Attack Aerik AC:18
Wolf #4 - 5' Move & Attack Ezekiel AC:15
Wolf #5 - Attack Ezekiel AC:15
MOVE to escape Entangle
Marcus again swings his weapon at the smaller wolf, stepping back from the snapping jaws of the two-headed beast.
Marcus smites the wolf mightily across the skull. Bones crack and the monster is sent reeling while the lumberjack takes the brief reprieve to step away.
Round 3
Zeke backs up a step and lets another bomb fly, hoping the wolf on him doesn't manage a bit.
The nearest wolf lunges at the alchemist in mid-throw and only catches a bit of his sleeve in its slavering jaws. Then the vial hurtles along its arc... The furthest wolf is backlit by a blue explosion that burns across its carcass and the near wolf fares little better, catching a piece of the explosion that blows off the mangy hair from its haunches.
The Weird Wolf King raises his dual muzzles to the air and lets forth a dirgeful, double-throated moan, a deafening howl that echoes across the hills and is probably heard in Drear many miles away.
Finally clear of the intervening rubble and broken earth, the Weird Wolf King slowly circles the small and tasty lumberjack. Unsure that one man will feed both his mouths and his ravenous stomach, the huge wolf halts disturbingly close to Marcus and casts hungry eyes on the horses. Even Jak feels the creature's reeking breath on his skin.
Round 4
INIT:
27|35
27|27
27|27
13|38
19|36
7
Mattin's resolve stays firm. Alas, the wolf's proximity is too much for the donkeys.
Round 4
"Help me! I am wounded and the Dawnflower does not flow through me!"
Lyrica fights on, despite her wounds. She attacks W-9 and then takes a five foot step to get out of the way of the flanking wolves.
”FOR THE DREAR!” Jak yells to his teammates as he steps back as his whip cracks the air again. Lyrica’s cries spur him to redouble his efforts, and he reaches behind him with his left hand uttering weird words. Her skin knits at the touch, her bruises diminished.
"Lyrica! We have to help Marcus!"
Despite the strength-sapping feeling in the pit of his stomach, Jak's moves quickly. His whip bites through the throat of the wolf, dropping the fell beast in a gout of thickening blood. Stepping back, the scoundrel heals Lyrica with a deft touch.
22|38
Aerik completes the spell at the beginning of his turn, summoning a dog into flanking at AF13. The dog tries to sink its jaws into AF14.
Then Aerik will 5 ft move to AF15 and shield bash the flanked foe.
A dog blinks into existence on the battlefield and bites the wolf. It fails to get a solid grip. But it does distract the beast enough to enable Aerik to step in and smash the wolf's ribs with his shield.
The wolves move in and pounce. Lyrica feels the weight of the wolf slam into her as it locks its jaws on her neck and shakes, nearly knocking her senseless. Zeke is nipped by a set of crusty fangs. Aerik gets knocked to one side by a leaping beast... and even the valiant dog yelps as another of the abominations bites deeply into his side.
Round 4
INIT:
22|35
24|27
27|27
3|38
19|36
7
Jak
Donkeys
Zeke?
Wolf #1 - 5' Move & Attack Jak AC:17
Wolf #3 - 5' Move & Attack Ezekiel AC:15
Wolf #4 - Attack DOG AC:13
Wolf #5 - Attack Aerik AC:15 - Flank
Marcus steps toward the trees and swings his axe at one of the heads, trying to draw the huge beast away from the wagon.
Marcus sidesteps the brute and deliver a solid thump to one of the wolf heads. Bloody and broken teeth explode from the jaw. The other head snaps menacingly at the lumberjack.
Afraid of collateral damage, Zeke strikes at the weakest wolf with his staff and misses.
The senior Howell wrestles with the reins trying to keep the donkeys from fleeing. He barely manages to maintain control... assisted by the wolves in front of the donkeys encouraging them not to bolt in that direction.
The giant wolf stalks into the middle of the battle, its two heads lashing out in different directions. Marcus dodges the snapping muzzle but Jak, distracted by the wolves hunting Lyrica is less attentive. He feels the wolf's jaw snap shut like a steel trap on his calf, nearly tearing his leg off at the knee. Then Jak is staring at the darkening sky as the beast flips him like a rag doll with a shake of its head.
Round 5
INIT:
22|35
24|27
14|27
3|38
19|36
7
Jak
Donkeys
Round 5
"Sarenrae, let your fire fill my soul as I do your will. Forgive my failings and heal these wounds that I may strike down the evil that plagues this land!"
As a swift action, Lyrica again attempts to lay hands upon herself, as she fights on.
Lyrica strikes at the wolf at X9 and attempts to take it down!
.
.
Lyrica's slash hews one of the wolves in half. Its haunch-end spasms and splashes into the river where the current slowly carries it away... The Paladin's prayer to Sarenrae goes unanswered as she is yet again denied the healing power of her deity.
”They’re beginning to fall… let’s keep the pressure on these mutts!” he shouts a he continues pouring a small rivulet of his mother’s power into his weapon.
That’s when his legs are yanked out from under him, and Jak hits the ground … hard. Self preservation kicks in, and he grunts out a few arcane mutterings before vanishing. Unseen by all , he scrambles to his feet and steps to the back of the fight.