Breewyn looked around at Tsakua and Jietin as they spoke as well. She kind of nodded along as Tsakua spoke about her staying up here, as well as when they both mentioned what to do with the barrels. We don't want to muffle the blast too much. Might not work as well possibly. She completely agreed with that, and it kind of surprised her that Jietin was the one to make the suggestion. She knew she wanted to concentrate on the battle to come, and trying to do her best to aid them however she could. She would not let her small size or anxieties prevent her from doing what she can to assist.
"Won't burying the barrels take a long time? Plus it might shelter the blast. Maybe just cover them with some tree branches and dirt or something." He shrugs. "Not that I know much about explosions." He takes out his bow and pulls it back effortlessly. Gotta get me one of those composite bows.
Zorgg nods in affirmation. Giant is right. Blast be on top. Blast in the dirt make small fire. Blast on top make big fire. Zorgg looks extremly excited as he talks about fire.
Iraldia knew her part in the battle. She crouched toward the edge of the plateau to watch for any patrols or the approach of the caravan. She sniffed the air and tuned her senses to the conflict to come. Her ears pivoted on her head, catching what sound she could. Drawing several arrows, she stabbed them into the ground for easy access. Her claw gently plucked the tight bow string, making it twang. The vibration shot through her paws and into her arm. It charged her with a calm but excited energy as she waited.
Luca seemed to be in steady agreement with whatever was brought up to kill the humans that were coming. She wanted revenge for what happened to her clan and she wanted to make sure the humans paid for every life they ever took in their crusade. What ever plan they did come up with she had no issues with, as long as some humans heads were caved in and the slaves freed, then so be it. The dragon clutch can wait until this was taken care of and their more immediate concerns addressed. She followed Tsakua down the slope to the trees, making sure she hid herself well enough where it would take a very keen eye to spot her in the underbrush.
Ishak on the other hand nodded to the plans, "That's what I mean, barrels in slope, bury them!" The blue toned kobold grinned, as he hopped slightly up and down in excitement. He moved to grabbed the keys from Octavian, "Me surprise humans, free slaves!" He gave the blue man a nod of his head before making his way down the plateau before anymore time was spent discussing any further changes were made. He was excited to ambush the caravan, he was extremely excited to kill some humans to extract revenge on the horrid beasts. His small frame was quick and soon enough he scurried across the makeshift road and went into the forest. It wasn't hard for this little kobold to hide and remain hidden after all kobolds tend to be quite stealthy creatures.
Once everyone was in position, it only took about a half hour longer before signs of the caravan could be seen from the plateau. Half an hour longer and they were now inside their ambush point, slowly passing through with the creak of the wheels of the caravan, the clapping of hooves against the dirt road and the clinking of armor. Atop of one horse between the leading cart and the second was a human in full plate with helm, visor up. He held a large knights shield and a lance. You could easily see a Longwood attached to his saddle. This particular human looked incredibly dangerous and incredibly skilled. His face was rough and stern, his eyes scanning his surroundings casually. It also looked as he has his own personal guard of four. These four were wearing half plate, and were equally armed to the teeth. The rest looked closely to the slave guards that the group took on at the outpost. Maybe those were the new transfers that was written down on the manifests?
"Sir, were only about a couple hours out from the outpost now, usually they send a patrol out to great us half way..." One of the guards spoke up, turning to look at the mounted knight. "It's odd sir, should I scout ahead?"
The Kitsune let out an animal call, signaling the others that she spotted the caravan. The tension was building. She glanced around to see if the others were responding before turning her attention back to the caravan. Her eyes focused in on the glinting armor of the knights. She would need some good shots to get through that armor.
Breewyn looks around, thinking she might have heard something. She wasn't sure, so she carefully went to the edge of the plateau and peered over the edge at the shiny collection of soldiers. They definitely look far more intimidating than the guards from the outpost did. She swallowed nervously, creeping slowly back and trying to think what her next action should be. There were sounds around her of the forest, accompanied by the soft murmurs of the guards talking to each other.
Tsakua crouches in the bushes, peering through the shadows at the guards. The sight of Longwood and his personal guard made Tsakua a little nervous. A man on horseback that knew how to use a lance could cause a lot of damage. Hopefully their archers would be able to take Longwood out of play quickly, but if they didn't, Tskaua was prepared to rush the man.
Looking around, Tsakua realized he had lost sight of Ishak. No matter, the scrappy kobold could probably take care of himself. Trying not to be seen, Tsakua waited for the sign to attack.
Jietin has been fidgeting for a good twenty minutes, scratching at an itch on his back he just can't reach. Laying down in the dirt certainly isn't helping his case. Bow in hand, he's ready for their guests.
As the slavers start trotting through, a bead of sweat runs down his face as he nocks an arrow. Come on barrels, go the hell off already. Blow up!
After rolling the 3 length's of rope in the blasting powder Octavian had completed the bombs and deployed two on the path up to them under a cover of fallen trees amidst the boulders. Next he helped the rest of the group with the barricade further up the path, between them and the fallen fort. When all the preparations were complete he motioned for Zorgg to take his place in view of the explosives on the narrow path so the pyromaniac could have the joy of setting off the massive boom boom. The moment the lithe kitsune had indicated the approach of the caravan he had taken both her and Jietin's bows and cast his spells.
White energy arcs around his hands and flows out to settle over both of the weapons making them glow for a moment. The next spell came out in a swirl of green energy that wrapped around the bowstaves before sinking into the wood.
Once the magic was cast he handed both weapon back to their owners and lay down next to them so he could give the signal. He looked over and waited for the signal from Iraldia that the caravan was in place.
Zorgg assists Octavian with the fuses. All the while smiling with the biggest smile you could imagine, showing all his gnarled teeth. Tieing the fuses together and running them off to wear Zorgg would be hiding. This way he could lite them both at once with only spell casting.
After Zorgg crutches down and waits.
I make big boom. This will show those metal men. Zorgg mighty fighter.
Breewyn quietly crept over to a position that was just behind Iraldia, Octavian, and Jietin. There was a tension in the air as they were preparing to attack the unaware caravan. I hope this goes well. She felt extremely anxious and tried very hard to keep her emotions under control. She knew how serious it was right now that they didn't alert the guards before they managed to catch them by surprise. She breathed softly, calming herself as she thought hard about the situation. It struck her then, and she got beside Octavian. She whispered into his ear, "Do you think we need the potions?" To her knowledge all of them were together in a sack and she didn't know if they would need them.
The caravan was stopped by the fallen logs and boulders. Longwood raised his hand as he called a stop to the caravan. Seeing the logs he thought not much of it as the resistance that had been plaguing them had been wiped out only weeks prior. This particular man has seen plenty of war and looked as it. He was not one for clean armor. His current a little dull but dented and scratched, showing the signs of previous battles, it still yet adorned red mantle and gold trim that caught the light of the day. He grunted as he turned his mount to look back on the caravan.
"We got road blockage, get the slaves unhitched and get them to clear a path!" he ordered as he readjusted himself, moving his mount towards the back of the caravan as the soldiers worked. "I want that path cleared within the hour! Anyone who doesn't pull their weight gets thirty lashes!"
The slaves themselves looked beaten and stomped into the dirt. They wore barely anything but dirty linens. The back of their tunics were torn and ripped, evidence from more recent whippings. If one looked close enough it appeared the back of their tunics had a tint of red to them around the rips.
The slaves were pretty quick to scurry to the road blockage to begin moving the debris, two guards followed them, whips in hand and snarled grins on their faces. They were almost looking for an excuse to crack the whip at the slaves.
Longwood just watched the proceedings from atop his horse. None of them knew what lay in wait above and around them. Not a single one.
Ishak kept himself parallel to the slaves, especially when they were being moved to clear the debris. He was small, quick and incredibly stealthy. He was good at using the shadows, leaving no trace of his presence in the woods. It was as if he was meant to hide and scurry in the darkness. No one would see his movements nor hear him move effortlessly through the underbrush. His eyes were locked on the slaves, following them towards the debris that blocked the road. He shifted his attention to the guards and grinned a sick and twisted grin.
He inched closer and closer until he was just about ten feet from the nearest guard and half that from the closest slave. His sharp eyes glanced from the guard to slave then back, watching as he carefully prepared a spell. His hand gripped the swords hilt tighter as he begun to whisper the spell in draconic, imbuing his weapon with magic, though he suppressed the spell just until it was time to strike.
Zorgg anticipating the arrival, began smiling again as he hid. Crawling down in the bushes, he sat in quit. Only moving his ears to listen for anyone coming.
The Kitsune watched the wagon move into place. The men were already dismounting and moving about. It would have to be now or never. Iradlia gave the signal, giving her best wolf's howl toward the wood. She drew back her bow and lifted up just over the edge of the plateau, aiming her shot for the man in gold and red. Her fingers drew back the arrow, tingling with the magic that had been imbued. She breathed deep and then let it out slow to steady her arms. She would release in the confusion of the blast.
Octavian raised himself just enough to spot the heavily armored knight giving orders. He eyed the mans unkempt armor and poor manors and smiled to himself. "Kill him."
"Gladly..." Iraldia's whispered voice dripped with malice. She would not have to be told twice. She took another breath and as she exhaled, she flicked her fingers and let the string go. With a heavy twang, the arrow propelled forward into the air. She watched it arch toward its armored target and prayed that it would find an opening. Ira held her breath as it closed in...
Jietin slowly rises into a crouch, pulling back the bowstring to his lip and feeling the tautness of the sinew. Time you die you piece of- with a twang! the arrow flies through the air!
It was the silent before the storm. Only a snap of a taught bow string and then a yell of pain erupted from below. The arrows found marks to sink their tips into. The mounted knight and a nearby guard both suffered from their attacks.
It was watching ants scurry about as the arrows hit, one biting into the leg of the knight, punching through the knee joint. A yowl of pain erupted from him. One of the guards spun around, looking for the source. Others scurrying for cover.
"Ambush!" One yelled, pointing up towards the plateau. "Attack! Kill them!"
The knight reeled his horse back before spurring it forwards to the center of the caravan. The knight pointed his lance upwards, rallying his troops. "Kill them all men! It's time for our righteous wish to be fulfilled! Purge these lands! Bathe them in the heretics bloods!"
A rallying cheer came from the guards as the majority of the guards moved to charge up the slope to engage the two archers, enthralled with vigor and courage from the knight. The knight remained below, issuing orders and encouragement to his men below. The guards who remained below pulled their crossbows and took aim at Jietin and Iraldia, releasing a volley of bolts.
A crossbow bolt finds both Jietin and Iraldia though they only suffered a graze of the bolts, they were very fortunate they did not end up with the shafts embedded into their bodies. Two others buzzed by, plinking off the rocky cliff behind them.
It was going to be a blood bath, as they had no idea that death awaits in the forest behind them.
Jietin growls at the bolt in his shoulder, ripping it out and snapping it in half. His vision flashes red. Not yet you bastard. You don't even like bows. Your time will come soon enough. He roars and pulls out two arrows, quickly firing them back to back at the knight on the horse giving orders. Then he quickly steps back away from the ledge to avoid the next volley.
Zorgg waits patiently in the brush next to the fuses. His eyes widen as the group of enemys get close to the barrels. As soon as they seem to be in the area of the barrels he will cast his fire spell on the fuses.
Fire! Those metal men troops will burn. Tonight we feast on the flesh of men. Waiting make Zorgg hungry.
After he will cast produce flame.
As soon as the arrows flew Ishak was on the move, wasting no time to get into the fray. He was already coming out of the brush like a spider launching for its pray when the humans were charging up the slopes. Blood of my kin will be avenged!
He went into a flurry, releasing an almost dragon like roar as electricity crackled over his hand as he attempted to electrocute the guard who was taking pot shots at the group on the plateau.
Ishak cackled when he felt his hand land on the human, sending shocks through his body. Taking this opportunity he slams the ground with his hand, sending magical reverberations towards the human to trip him.
From where he sits in the bushes, Tsakua can see Longwood, shouting orders. The crackle of electricity and the roaring sound off to his left let him know that Ishak had begun his attack. Looking once more towards the knight, Tsakua tries to remember if he's heard of or seen the merciless man before.
His mind still fuzzy, Tsakua puts a hand up to stop Luca from charging out. For now the guards were being kept at bay, but the knight could charge off and attack Ishak at any moment. They would only have one chance to take these men by surprise on their end, and it had to count.
The blast was deafening as the barrels exploded with such a powerful force that it shook the very ground. The blast echoed off the cliffs and into the valley causing a large flock of birds to spook and take flight.
The blast was so powerful that the slope was obliterated, causing a minor landslide from the cliff face, dislodging a few large boulders and causing them to fall into the slope. The pathway was effectively blocked and the majority of the guards who were pushing up it were assuredly dead.
One of the trailing guards managed to save themselves, their comrades soaking up the majority of the blasts, though they definitely weren't walking away unharmed. They stumbled back towards the caravan, deafened and dazed.
When the fire kindled in Zorgg's hands Octavian had ducked his head down and sheltered his ears from the blast. Though it left a dull ringing in his ears his hearing quickly returned and he flipped over onto his back to roar "HUMANS! YOU HAVE DESPOILED OUR LANDS AND PEOPLE LONG ENOUGH! DIVINE RETRIBUTION COMES FOR YOU!"
Jietin raises an arm to block the debris from hitting him, smiling as human chunks go flying. Soon.
At the explosion, Tsakua rushes forward to attack the human alone by the wagon. Hoping his footsteps would be ignored in the confusion he raised his fists to strike.
From the recent monsoon that the storm dragon had pulled in had weakened the cliff walls generally, and apparently enough to cause the entire cliff face to become unstable. The resulting blasts of the gunpowder barrels causing the one landslide on the slope was enough to shake everything loose, which resulted in a chain reaction. The plateau ledge rumbled before a resounding snap could be heard. With this the entire cliff face gave way!
The humans were scrambling now, as the two near the mounted knight hunkered down from the blast. Though they all didn't expect the collapse of the plateau which caused them all to scramble and the horses to panic.
During this when Tsakua charge the lone man by the cart he was unfortunately noticed and the guard barely managed to dodge out of the way, dropping his crossbow he quickly pulls his halberd and strikes in retaliation of Tsakua's attacks.
Though his attack was in haste and goes wide.
The knight was able to reign in his mount, even after suffering two more hits from arrows. He was becoming a pin cushion but he spurred his mount at Tsakua now, the closest one to meet his fury. "Die you beast!"
His attack strikes true and solid, feeling the weight of the hit jostle him slightly as he spurred his mount past, as he spurred towards Ishak to deal with him now.
The remaining crossbowmen take aim and fire once again.
Octavian curses as the ground shifts suddenly underneath him and carries him down the slope towards the wagons. He attempts to scavenge something from the fall.
He slips even more and grunts as he slams into the soft mud of the cliffside and dodges a boulder that barely missed his head.
He stumbles to his feet with spear in hand and roars so loudly at the slaves that the veins in his neck stood out. "FIGHT!"
"No!" Luca shouts as she breaks from cover with shortsword and barrel shield in hand. "You'll not take another one! For Shatterstone! For Dovan-Dur!"
The remaining fire barrel topples over as the land underneath it gives.
It tumbles down through the dirt and rocks but suffers no damage as it comes to a stop.
Breewyn watched quietly a bit back from Jietin and Iraldia as they loosed their arrows. For a moment they looked triumphant and she waited with baited breath to hear them cheer. They did not however, and soon the whistles of four arrows came up, followed the sound of two of them making purchase inside of Jietin and Iraldia. She watched as Jietin snapped the arrow and fired two more over the edge of the plateau. She was going to creep up and attempt to try and heal them when all of a sudden...
BOOM! There was a loud blast from the powder kegs being detonated.
She was hit with the sonic boom with caused her to get sent away from the edge, and her ears were ringing fiercely. Although there were noises of shouts and battle to be heard, she could not and would not. It was complete silence as she was dazed. She did feel the ground begin to rumble slightly though. Oh no! She thought as she tried to quickly scramble further from the edge.
With a cat-like grace, she manages to step away from the edge as it completely gives away, sliding downwards and taking Iraldia, Jietin and Octavian with it. She bit her lip and looked around to see if she could spot any other quick ways to get down there to the others. Aw crap, going to have to jump down and help. She shaking her head somewhat dejectedly, before deciding to take action and quickly slide down the collapsed rocky terrain.
As she begins to slide, her foot catches a rock and she tumbles down the side completely.
She hits the bottom with a groan, looking pretty banged up and bruised. She slowly stood up, coughing and looked around where she landed. When her eyes met Octavian, she saw he was in a pretty dire situation. Reaching forward and touching his back, she intones in Sylvan and calls upon her power.
"We need you to stay in the fight Octavius, don't give up."
She smiled up at him, and then looks over the tumult of the battlefield, hearing nothing but silence around her.
Before the blast
Iraldia curses as her first arrow swings wide and nocks another. She pulls back and releases, letting her anger flow with it.
She let out a triumphant cry as the arrow would strike true. That cry would be cut short by the blast...
The kitsune crouched down and covered her ears as the blast wave hit the plateau. The ground beneath her paws began to rumble. Her eyes went wide and she scrambled for safety.
She was falling and she couldn't stop it. Pivoting on her foot, she faced the crumbling plateau and rolled with the tide of rock and dirt, hoping to mitigate the damage.
With the grace of her kind, she managed to dodge most of the rocks. The distance to the ground was still far and she tumbled down to her back on the rock and dirt. She let out a groan as it all came to a rest around her.
The world spun around her and she felt heavy as if a layer of rock pressed on her chest. Looking down, it wasn't rock on her chest...it was bolt stuck firmly in her ribs. She let out a gurgled moan before passing out.
Breewyn continued to try and look for the others that she had seen fall. She was fairly confident that Jietin wasn't laid low yet from everything that had happened and she hoped that Iraldia...
She spotted her unconscious form. Oh no! No no no! She quickly ran over, the silence starting to slowly give way back to the sounds of all of them fighting for their lives. She quickly knelt down and tried to pull the shaft from her chest.
She carefully extracted the missile from Iraldia, careful to try and put pressure to the wound once she had freed the bolt. She tossed it aside and then placing her other hand back on Iraldia, she called upon her gifts. She was not going to let her down.
She frowns some as she notices that the wounds were closing, but she was still quite hurt. She attempts to try again and try to mend more of her injuries.
She smiles as more of Iraldia's wounds close. She watches her face, hoping for her to return to consciousness.
Iraldia feels the blackness peel away to the dusty sky above her. She gave a heavy cough, expelling some of the blood that had congealed in her throat. She wiped it away on her sleeve and lifted her head to see Breewyn hunched over her. She smiled, "Thank you for saving me, hun." The fox gave the gnome a brief hug. Glancing around, she found her bow and a couple of arrows sticking out of the rubble, "Come, we have to finish this before more get hurt."
Tsakua stumbled as the knight rode away from him. Falling to a knee, he felt his breath come in hard, thick gulps. He felt like he was trying to breath underwater. He looked up at the guard that would surely kill him, and gave a devil-may-care grin as he prepared to stand again, and face his death. Before he could rise, Luca was there, striking the guard and shielding him. Looking up, he grimaced. "I thank ye...lass," he gasped, spitting blood, "but ye may...be a bit too late." Looking up at the sky, Tsakua wondered how so much death could occur on such a nice day. Funny, th' things a mind thinks of when dyin', he thought, as he tried to edge himself away from the guard that was now trying to defend himself from Luca.
The blast was deafening as the barrels exploded with such a powerful force that it shook the very ground. The blast echoed off the cliffs and into the valley causing a large flock of birds to spook and take flight.
With a hug smile on his face, Zorgg stands up and admires the crater of blood and mud that he just created. Most anyone else would have been deafened by the blast, but Zorgg is pretty much use to that kind of thing and knows how to shield his ears at the last second.
After the blast goes off, and he realizes that those near the barrels are all dead, he races to the cliff edge, or whats left of it. Quickly looking across the battle field he spots an enemy and casts produce flame, holding the fire in his hand until he can get a good shot off.
Chaos ruled the battlefield as things were happening all at once all around. The sun shining bright with clear blue skies above. The heat of the day beginning to climb slowly into a more comfortable level. Though the day would move on despite the lives being ended on this field.
The yell from Octavian jolted the slaves. They were all dumbfounded by the ambush against the humans, and seeing the fight developing. They could not fathom why the group of vigilante's would ambush the caravan. Was it for them? Was it for the materials? They didn't know but did not question it any longer as that booming voice commanded them to fight.
They only gave side glances before a cheer rose up amongst them as they scrambled to help the group fighting the guards. Luckily they were not bound to each other as they were released from the prison to move the debris. Though still bound with those oh so familiar magic suppressing shackles they were limited in what they could but there was definitely something of use.
The mob of slaves lynched the dazed guard who was just recovering from the blast. As he saw them come he blinked in disbelief as they pounced him like a starving dog to a chunk of meat.
One of the kobolds tackled the guards legs, taking him down in a tangle of bodies. The elf of this group takes advantage of the situation and lets out a scream of anger as she attempts to bash in the guards head using her shackles as improvised clubs. The blow hitting him but glancing off. The second Kobold and Assimar both attack the downed guard. The Kobold couldn't find much of anything to tear into, but the Assimar took a hint from the elf's action and attempted to do the same, deliver a blow straight to the guards heads with her shackles. Giving him a more solid hit then the elf, causing the guard to cry out in pain.
"Get offa me ya dirty slaves!" bellowed the down guard as he attempted to swing his sword against the Kobold who was wrestling his legs.
The guards attack went wide and useless as he struggled with the slaves around him.
The guard smiled an evil grin back to Tsakua as he raised his halberd to deliver the final blow to the green monstrosity, but a dwarf stepped in front of him, causing him to readjust and direct his attention to her. He grunted as he felt the blade of the weapon bite into his side. He hissed in pain as he suddenly felt slightly weak. The blade in Luca's hands began to glow ever so faintly, and it felt as like the blade was singing into the ears of Luca. Crimson blood lined the edge of the blade for only a moment before it appeared the sword drank it, the blood seeping into the blade of the weapon. The guard wasted no time in returning the attack.
"You'll die for that dwarf!" The guard spat out as his Halberd cut into Luca with a vicious strike.
"Attack the healer! Get her!" The remaining two guards who were shooting with their crossbows threw the weapons down and pulled the long spears and moved in to attack Breewyn, running up to the landslide then climbing to get into range. Once they were within range they struck out with jabs from their spears but the attacks were wide and inaccurate.
The second group of slaves rushed the knight and proned guard, attempting to overcome them with numbers. A few of them trying to grab at the knight and dislodge him from his mount while others grabbed rocks and branches to pummel the prone and injured guard.
Surprisingly the prone guard was able to fend off the attacks as he snarled at the slaves, lashing out at the nearest one with his halberd in a sweep. But he misses, growling as he could not get up or he would surely be slaughtered.
The knight yowled in pain as another arrow bit into him, this time into his shoulder. He gritted his teeth and steered his mount to move from the slaves while making attacks against them. Though the slaves were too quick for him to land a solid hit on.