Eldritch mumbling is heard from the bush where Qahnaarin is hiding, followed by a loud "Come here! Now!"
It was true that no plan survives encounter with the enemy. Inja had hoped that the gnoll, who looked like quite a formidable fighter, would help her take down this human, but she appeared to be busy with her own prey. No matter. Inja whistles again, directing Yama to keep savaging the soldier. The lioness clamps on the man's thigh, shaking her head savagely until blood spurts. As the human stumbles from the attack, Yama rakes her claws across his face and neck, her claws leaving bloody furrows. Inja whips her club in an upward swing aimed at the man's temple, putting such force behind the blow that only the most hard-headed human would survive it.
Ishak still held control over the volatile storm he had created, moving it from the held person who was quickly slain by Jasmine, he pushed it to the next closest enemy that wasn’t surrounded by enemies. His eyes pulsed as he did so, uttering soft words in draconic as he maintained he cantation.
The human party had no chance as soldiers were falling from the savage assaults being ruthlessly handed out. With the leaders dead and their comrades falling quickly to the attacks morale began to shake and crumble. The one human target by Qahnaarin felt compelled to rush towards him, his legs almost lurching towards the speaker, but the human stilled himself, his yell rising like a defiant yowl as he struck back against the attackers, swinging his halberd at Karsak. The other male who was targeted by Ishak quickly dodged out of the way of the stormcloud. Recovering from his roll he immediately charged Ishak with the intent of chopping the kobold to size with his halberd.
Maqli’s target was able to step to the side, avoiding her charge, but suffers the brutal hit from her sudden attack. He retaliated with a guttural yell, swinging his weapon to try and inflict as much pain as possible.
Both Inja and Yama growl in satisfaction as their target crumples under their concerted attacks. "Yah! yah!" shouts the woman as she whirls her club over her head and points it at the human leader. The lioness leaps towards the man, but balks suddenly at something in his appearance, his demeanor, or perhaps his scent. Not wasting time in trying to coax the lioness into action, Inja bats at her new target, rotating her hips and driving with her legs for maximum force. The bat connects with a satisfying crunch.
Emboldened by her companion's success, Yama snaps at the man's leg.
As the melee continued, Arion gestured curtly - and her companion Ylva darted forward in a straight (albeit diagonal) line, raking out at the soldier there in an attempt to quickly bring him down. It wasn't the berserk fury she could do when she had someone in close range for awhile, but it would suffice for now... and perhaps get a surrender? She wasn't here to simply kill others with no regard, after all.
for
Maqli grunts as her chosen enemy retaliates with a swing of his weapon. She tries to dodge, but after her rapid charge forward it's hard to rebalance, and she can't quite escape the attack. She is able to prevent it from doing its worst, though--rather than opening a gash in her side, she catches the blade along one arm. The pain shoots up to her shoulder, but she grits her teeth and fights back, yowling as she jabs at the man with a flurry of limbs.
By her side, Karsak roars as he avoids the attack from his own foe. The warcat takes a moment to crouch down, its haunches high, and then it leaps up, rending and tearing and biting.
Qahnaarin loudly clears his throat. "I apologize if you did not hear me. I said... Come here! Now!"
Entirely relaxed, Jasmine selects another arrows aims, and fires again at the captain. Expecting the man not to survive very long, she also glances around for a future target.
Letting out a mighty howl, Taalik drops his bow, and he and Katras charge forth from their cover towards the heavily armed human that seems to be commanding the death squad. Drawing forth Ikara, he leaps at the man, bringing the holy blade down overhand.
Calling on the blessing of his Ancestors, Taalik strikes again, hoping to cut down their leader in a single strike.
Ishak howled in pain as the halberd sliced across his chest. The kobold grasped his chest with a taloned hand. His eyes blazed with fury, letting go of the incantation and letting the storm cloud fizzle into oblivion. He'd suddenly launch himself forward, moving to slap a talon against the human, "Marfedelom ekess munthrek!"
The humans simply stood no chance against the ambush. Being shredded, filled with arrows and cut to pieces, the last human falls under the electrocution of Ishak. It was a bloody mess that this field turned to, simply a slaughter as the only ones really hurt were the humans. The grass had been turned red in the dark of the night. The leaders body crumpled as the spell faded, as now he was just a corpse riddled with arrows and cleaved in two from Taalik. The humans almost looked like they were attacked by wild beasts then anything, especially the human who was simply torn asunder by the Gnoll's claws and fangs.
Another flash of red appeared, accompanied by blue. The signs all told that they had to get moving now. Ishak looked at everyone with a pained expression. ”Hurry back, that blue, main army. They found us. We need to flee.” He looked at the bodies. Useful gear and possibilities of finding orders, ”Search bodies if time. But hurry.” He turned to Bree with an apologetic smile. It was easy enough to tell he needed a little help closing his wounds.
Bree cried out, upon hearing the pained howling that her companion made as the soldier in front of them lashed out angrily at him. She watched as he leaped at the soldier and strike with his clawed hand before a burst of electricity surged through the foe, virtually cooking him on the spot.
She placed a hand gingerly near the area where he had been struck, sharply inhaling at how severe it looked. She began to weave her spell, speaking in her musical tongue once more.
Her voice chanted softly as her magic washed over him and began knitting the wound closed once more.
Qahnaarin steps out of the bushes and shakes his head. "Tch, tch, tch... what a mess. It would be prudent for us to bury the bodies. Anyone following their tracks and encountering this scene would be able to extrapolate our course and give pursuit." He looks to the rising flares and sighs. "But I suppose there is nothing to be done. May I request everyone's assistance in stripping them? Not just their arms and armor, but their uniforms as well. Down to their breechclouts. I can mend any tears we have caused, and they would be invaluable for disguises."
Taalik kneels down before the shattered body of the human captain who had lead the hunt party at his feet. Time was of the essence, he hunted for details and those items which might be most useful in the brutal desert that laid ahead. "I will get what I can from their leader. Everyone, make sure to take any food you find. Things will be scarce ahead."
Jasmine wrinkles her brown in distaste as she observes from her tree limb. Thoughtfully looking at the carnage, she lightly drops from the tree, the rope she had used to get up there tightly wound around her body.
Stalking towards the wizard she had killed on the first round of combat, she checks to see if any of her arrows were worth saving, but gives a disapointed sigh when she sees that this is not the case. She had shot too well, and now the arrowheads were too damaged to be of any use. She lightly checks the body, before turning and seeing if there was further arrows she could find.
The idea of disguising as human soldiers has Inja scoffing in disbelief. The majority of their group could not pass as human from 100 paces, so what point the disguise? Besides, what they needed to do now was to move away from the humans, not towards them. She does see the value in stripping the enemy of the useful bits though, so she lets Taalik tend to the leader's body as she falls back to her first victim and hurriedly searches it.
Maqli grins as the fight ends, and she quickly calls Karsak to her side; the warcat gives a longing look at the corpse in front of him, but he bounds over and rubs against the woman's side. She squats down and starts going over the body before her, checking for anything useful.
Gear masterwork chainmail, +1 longsword, masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, masterwork swordbreaker dagger, potions of cure light wounds [2], masterwork manacles, signal whistle, 215 gp
potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of fly (2), masterwork falchion, masterwork heavy crossbow with 10 bolts, amulet of natural armor +1, ring of protection +1, 225 gp
masterwork scale mail, halberd, light crossbow with 20 bolts, sap, bullseye lantern, manacles, signal whistle, 20 gp
masterwork scale mail, halberd, light crossbow with 20 bolts, bullseye lantern, signal whistle, 25 gp
"Ylva." Arion said as Ishak reported - and her companion nodded slightly before the two started moving away at a steady pace. No sense hanging around if a bigger force was on the way, after all... they hadn't come all the way here just to stubbornly stand their ground when pulling out was a better tactic.
Qahnaarin searches the closest common soldier, making certain to strip him of everything. Afterward, he collects the commander's uniform and stuffs both in his pack.
Jasmine searches the body, quickly coming up with a small trove of items. The potions and scrolls look foreign to her, so she hands them directly to Ishak to identify them, and to then split them up as seen fit. The Falchion and crossbow (with bolts), she discards into a pile, seeing no use for it personally, and despising the crossbow, seeing it as a significantly inferior weapon to her own favored choice.
"Does anyone have any significant objection of I wear this amulet and ring, especially considering at present I don't favor the scavenged armor options we have at the moment." Jasmine asks quietly. Usually, she wouldn't really care what anyone else thought, being more of a lone wolf. That said, with the recent assistance they had all given each other in the ambush, it seemed churlish to at least check before assuming.
Inja waves her assent to the elf woman; she didn't have any need for jewelry, and it would look quite silly on her when she would shift to her true form, besides.
"Well, the things I found are of no use to me, but I will carry them back to the camp unless any of you want them...? The armour seems sturdy, at least."
Inja spreads out the scale armour on the ground, placing the other objects on it and then rolling it into a bundle that would be easier to carry. The money she puts in her own pouch, not with the intention to keep them, but because that is the safest place for them that she can think of. It would not do to lead the army towards their place of refuge via a trail of dropped coins.
Maqli dumps most of what she found in the pile with the others, wordlessly offering them to anyone who's interested. She does keep the signal whistle, slipping the cord through her belt to keep it in easy reach, but everything else goes in the pile. The woman doesn't care for heavier armor or weapons, and the idea of using the crossbow puts a bad taste in her throat. She shakes her head at Jasmine's question, with no objections against the elf woman donning what she took.
Taalik takes stock of the commander's artefacts then stows them for movement. This armor could be put to good use, but I will deal with that later. For now, we need to be moving. I have not noticed too many others who use such martial blades, but perhaps when we are camped I can learn more of our companions...
As he is about to rise, he looks up at the gray skinned humanoid called Qahn. As the tailor reaches out, Taalik offers him the commander's uniform. "I trust you are looking for this? Now, shall we be on the move?"
Ishak, once healed would quickly motion to everyone to grab what they’ve found and begin his trek back up the path. Pausing he would give Bree a look of thanks before turning. He’d look back to make sure everyone was following him and had the items they wished to bring. Taking the scrolls and potions he'd look to Jasmine with a soft smile, "Good, will be useful hopefully."
He'd give the group another minute before saying, ”Must hurry now, less time. Get to desert.”
He’d hurry up towards the refugees now as another flare went up. He’d paused and look for only a moment. A face already dark turned grim as he shook his head. He knew that last flare meant that the scouts were going to risk their lives to slow down the humans. Taking a deep breath he’d move up to the plateau as quickly as his small legs could.
When the troupe arrived at the plateau, the refugees would already being formed into an orderly display and moving down the path into the desert as quickly as possible. The moon was still high in the sky and the stars still shone like a million little diamonds flickering about.
Most of the campfires were already put out, the wagons contents being carried down the sleds awaiting below. Many of the refugees looked frightened, scared and exhausted. Many of the volunteers who were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the others have armed themselves already, several stood around the refugees, helping them get down while most of them were watching the treeline. As soon as the group arrived everyone tensed up and a few bows were knocked, but were quickly lowered when they realized who appeared.
Ishak quickly moved to speak to a few, carrying the few items Jasmine gave him. A few of the healers of the refugees approached, ensuring if anyone needed healing or salves.
When looking upon the desert, the sands had a blue hue from the moonlight, it almost seemed like a sea that didn’t move. It could be serene and peaceful, if the truth of the situation wasn’t present.
Bree nods acknowledging Ishak's thanks before quickly following. She paused a moment to look back at the mangled bodies of the humans before resuming a brisk pace to keep up with him. She knew that they were needing to get going as quickly as possibly. Scouts meant a larger force weren't too terribly far behind.
She got to the plateau, huffing some as she looked onward to see the refugees quickly trying to gather their meager possessions and be able to leave at a moments notice. She bit her lip and frowned some. This was not the life she wanted to continue to live, but until the mad king was dealt with or dethroned it was slowly becoming the only way of life.
As soon as the kobold gives the signal to move out, Inja heads back towards the camp at a trot, the lioness loping easily beside her. As she reaches the last of the refugees, she barks sharply, like a sheepdog herding the flocks.
"Quick now, hurry, hurry. Humans are right on our heels, move, move! We'll do our best to hold back their vanguard."
Dumping the loot stripped from the dead soldier in the wagon they had used earlier to equip themselves, she whistles Yama at her side as she faces back towards the path and crouches in a defensive posture.
A blue skinned figure mounted on a powerful black warhorse split off from the stream of refugees and approached the returning party. He didn't say anything as his white eyes scanned over the wounds and loot the party had obtained. Acteon lets loose an almost sub sonic rumble as the lioness approaches and paws the ground once in readiness. Octavian strokes the horse's neck to calm the war beast before nodding at the party. "Well done. If you are wounded ride in the medical cart, we don't have time to wait for you to be patched up. Those who can still fight need to move down the path and secure the landing site. What awaits us on the sand is far more deadly than the humans."
Qahnaarin tries his best to maintain pace with the wagon. He is obviously not accustomed to physical exertion, and breathes heavily trying to keep up on foot. He holds one hand on the wagon.
With no disagreements, Jasmine slips on the ring, and then carefully fiddles with her outfit around the neck, allowing the amulet to easily hang around her neck. She pays little interest to the refugees currently hanging back to create a rearguard action, and remains irritated at having to quickly return to the desert. The prospect of fighting off the dangers of the sands did not particularly thrill her, but with the humans so close behind, options were slightly limited.
masterwork scale mail, masterwork halberd, 30 gp
Taalik looked up as Octavian came riding forward across his steed. The one whose people we are meeting with... As Octavian offers the clear directions from atop his mount, Taalik nods. "So it shall be done."
Taalik and Katras easily dart past the gathered refugees toward the front of the column, their shared lupine lineage granting them speed far beyond that of most others. His blade safely secured in its scabbard upon his back once again, Taalik stares out into the azur-dessert night, scanning the horizon. His bow rests in his left hand, three arrows tucked between its fingers, while his right hand rubs Katras' head behind the ears while the wolf lets out a long, low howl. Taalik seems to growl some kind of comment to the wolf, who only lowers his ears and leans agains Taalik's hips.
A curt nod acknowledges the blue-skinned one's command. Soon, Taalik finds Inja and Yama running at his side towards the desert floor, the woman flashing him a grin full of fangs as she tries to tease him into a race. It felt good to be moving again after sitting and waiting for so long. Even if they were on the run, this time it felt like they were running towards something, not just away from the humans. Her mind whispers that their situation is grim and their hope thin, but her wild blood sings with the joy of the kill. In her exhilaration, she snarls at the night, daring any dangerous desert denizens to come out and face her.
Qahnaarin adds masterwork scalemail armor and masterwork halberd to the wagon. He continues his panting pace.
Wait, we're heading into the WORSE danger?
Arion didn't have too long to question that, though, because the group was on the move. For the moment, though, she was staying towards the forefront with Ylva as a scout. This was reminding her of the flight from Ghali - and they weren't pleasant memories - but at least she'd had enough experience at marching away to have a good sense for what should be done. In this case, that meant having a good scout at the front of the group. Between Ylva's keen nose and even keener sight, she was reasonably confident that they'd at least have a chance of detecting trouble before it reached them.
Bree manages to pull herself up onto one of the wagons with just enough space for her. She leans back against the bundled gear, looking around at all of it as the wagon creaks and sways while it moves. She let her gaze drift dreamily out to the darkened night sky. It made her ponder, wonder even, just what awaited them in Octavian's home city. How long has it been since he last even set foot there? Would it still be there? She chewed her lip thoughtfully, trying to push back the negative feelings and breathe a deep heavy sigh.
Hopefully tomorrow and the days to follow held more promise than they appeared to right now. She just had to keep clinging to that hope each day.
Luckily the refugee caravan managed to make it down the hill with minor incidents, just tired and exhausted refugees tripping and stumbling. The humans didn’t make it to the bluff for several hours after the refugees had already fled to the desert.
The vast, featureless desert.
The caravan marched all night, trying to put distance between themselves and the plateau they were once camped at. Hours simply dragged on, the moon slowly crossing the skies as the stars shone brighter then dimmed, yielding to a blue haze creeping up from the east. The morning was coming, and many refugees were having difficulty keeping the pace. Many of the caravan guards were already rationing the water supply and food. There with how they were already lacking on supplies it would not last much longer.
The sand was coarse, giving way every so slightly under your feet as you trudged on, the pace slowly coming to a crawl as many were beginning to question if the caravan should come to a halt. In only several hours the sun will be peaking over the dunes in the horizon, bearing heat that most never even understood.
Even used to walking over long distances as she was, towards the morning Inja's calves ache and burn with the effort of traversing the shifting, unfamiliar terrain. As she walks, she pokes at the sand with the butt of her spear, searching for anything that could provide sustenance or moisture - roots, insects, lizards. Water was the most critical item, as most beings could survive without food for far longer than they could survive without water. She sniffs the air, searching for any indication of a water source.
Taalik kept an easy pace on the lead right flank of the caravan, his nimbles legs and lupine feet managing the shifting sands far better than his new humanoid companions. Looking back at the column, he noticed the look of fatigue and the slowing pace. It's only been a few hours but they are already fading. Damn. Remember, they've been fleeing for days already, not just cast into this, like yourself. These are townsfolk, not accustomed to migrations, and certainly not this desert. We will need to adapt, soon.
Taalik's eyes scanned the company for the blue-skinned Octavian atop his black charger. Finding him quickly, Taalik closed in and approached. "The refugees are already fading. Do we have any prospects ahead for shelter from the midday heat?"
From all your probing, you find barely anything except a few dune beetles and a coiled rattler. Nothing substantial at all unfortunately though with insects and a snake found, you would guess that there must be some form of haven nearby. Though looking around you don't really see anything except large dunes obscuring your view. There was one particular dune to the north-east of your position that seem to be the tallest near by that could potentially offer a better view of the surrounding area.
Kyarla moves faster than most and will keep scouting at the edge of the group. By widening their circle, it keep then better protected and it will help them forage further.
She will creep up to the high dunes to see what lies beyond.
From the top of the dune, a casual look about would only yield endless sea of dunes. No movement, no nothing. Only the intimidating distance of the sea of sand bending away at the horizon.
From atop the dune, you scan the horizon, looking for something that may add in the survival of the group. As you look against the endless horizon of sand dunes in the coming daylight, you spot something off in the distance. It's hard to spot but you think you seen a smallest splash of green against the yellow in the North West direction.
Though you believe you think you saw the only thing of fruit, you notice that there is a odd shape towards the North East direction. Just a simple rectangular shape against the horizon, just barely peaking above the dunes in the distance. Against the haze and the distance it's quite difficult to make out.
Jasmine was in a foul mood. Despite dispatching one more human spellcaster off the face of the planet - a feat that would usually make her day, she was now wading through miles and miles of sand. No green for ages and Jasmine loved green.
Out of pure habit, Jasmine wanders the tallest dunes, the better to get an elevated position to observe something, anything to break the boredom of sand.
Immediately, she cocks her head to one side, thinking that she has spotted something green. She stands still squinting, trying to hone in on it.
Despite standing and squinting at the green speck, that's all you can make out. Just green in a desert. Normally this would signify that it may be a small oasis, though the distance makes it nearly impossible to discern what it actually is without some sort of spyglass.