After a day within Fort Inevitable, you reconvene at the Juliver Arms, spending a pleasant evening with hearty food and good conversation before retiring to bed. The following morning, the world is blanketed in White…a heavy snowfall has occurred during the night…but the sun shines bright in a clear sky…
Luther seems to be little bothered by the cold. It is as if he has a natural resistance to the elements. He picks up snow and packs snowballs for amusement.
"Dezco, you are at home tracking and leading. We are off to the Spire. I trust your eyes to help with ambushes, but I can find them too."
He thinks about the construct.
"Maybe we can find the body and salvage that too?"
" Maybe, Luther, but I doubt it. I had bits of its body stuck to me when it exploded...."
Conner replies seeming to be able to follow Luther's line of thinking...
He seems little discomfited by this weather. Gods know I'm cold as hell....
Symon huddles in his cloak, shielding his eyes from the bright white light reflected off the snow all around them.
"I will look forward to getting back into the darkness of the tower. I still have not become accustomed to this...snow...and the way it amplifies the sunlight! How are you doing Dru?"
Your journey back to the ruins is much slower than previously due to the drifting snow…the Echo Woods are deathly quiet throughout your journey. Instinctively, you lower your voices to try and prevent anyone noticing your presence….but it is difficult, nigh on impossible, to be stealthy in your approach. It takes nearly five hours to arrive at the Spire Glen, the midday sun high in the sky…the snow doesn’t seem as deep in the circular clearing around the ruins, as if something has either prevented it from drifting or, possibly, that it has melted a little faster…the phenomena is not your pressing concern for now though…as, halfway between you and the structure, there are three goblins...
…they haven’t noticed you yet though…and seem far more interested in the pitched snowball fight they are currently engaged in…
Quietly:"Surprise then now rather than fight them alert with friends later! Can you and Simon pick one at a time off with coordinated shots with our mages on magical backup?"
The Spire Glen is a HUGE clearing...the tree cover from the Woods stops some 500yards from the ruins...the goblins, have strayed quite close to the edge of the woods...they're approximately 300ft from your current position.
On the journey, Drusellia seems fascinated by the snow. She is continually picking up handfuls and playfully throwing snowballs. On sighting the goblins, her tone becomes more serious. "I may be able to lure them closer," she offers.
" Well. I do have a sling, but I'm not very good with it. Luring them closer sounds like a good idea..."
Conner says quietly as he draws his cold iron shortsword and grips it tightly.
" And I'd much rather fight them out here where I can see...."
Drusellia casts dancing lights, materializing them at the edge of the spell's range (110 feet). Once the goblins have spotted them, she slowly brings the lights closer.
It takes a while, but eventually the goblins notice the lights flittering around across the snow…”Ooooh!!!! Fairies or something… Tasty…”
Dropping their snowballs and drawing their swords, the goblins start to move towards the lure…”Sneaky, Sneaky…Catching the Snack...”
"Don't let the lights get too close. 50 feet should do it."
Once the creatures are within range (50' or so), Symon will fire at the lead goblin.
Attack-ranged:
Damage:
Sneak Damage:
Realizing that Conner is not good at ranged combat, Luther casts a spell and Conner finds himself moving much faster.
Luther whispers:
"Conner, you can chase them down and make sure none sound the alarm."
As much I would like to save the domain spell, this looks like the time it is most useful, and allowing the alarm to be sounded would be disastrous
Symon’s well aimed shot, whistles through the crisp air and, with a satisfying ‘thump’, pierces the lead goblin’s torso. The goblin looks down at the bolt embedded in it’s chest and then falls face forward into the snow…lying perfectly still.
The other two goblins, after a moment of stunned silence, turn tail and run back towards the ruins.
Charging Hurler (Combat), You know how to use your momentum to enhance your thrown weapon attack
Benefit: You can use the charge rules to make a thrown weapon attack. All the parameters of a charge apply, except that you must only move closer to your opponent, and you must end your movement within 30 feet of that opponent. If you do, you can make a single thrown weapon attack against that opponent, gaining the +2 bonus on the attack roll and taking a –2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.
Symon moves forward and fires his crossbow at the back of the fleeing goblins.
Attack-Ranged:
Damage:
Sneak Damage:
A second bolt from Symon darts through the crisp air...catching one of the running goblins, it tumbles, catches itself and hobbles on...a trail of red blood bright in the monochromatic snowscape....
Conner will grunt his thanks to Luther and sprint after the fleeing goblins.
Having to run to get there he runs past the goblins, turning and stopping to cut off their retreat.
They run 120, plus the 50 puts em at 170, I run 200, putting me 30 feet beyond them. neither can attack the other because of running. even if they just run past me I can charge one next round... their run 120 puts 'em 90 feet from me, my charge at 100...XD
Not the best crossbowman, Luther had unpacked his crossbow and commented: "The trusty crossbow, almost anyone can use the light version with a little training."
He takes part in the initial volley after making Conner faster.
Luther calmly reloads and fires a second shot.
Luther's first shot goes wide, his second shot hits the goblin that Symon had targeted.
The injured goblin, a trail of crimson behind it in the snow, staggers a further twenty feet or so before Luther's bolt slams into it's back...and it lies still...
Seeing Conner ahead of it, the remaining goblin gives up on running and drawing it's short sword, approaches the Magus...teeth bared in an animalistic snarl...
"Conner, let me take a shot first."
Hearing Luther shout, Conner waits til after the bolt goes zinging by, then charges the remaining goblin...
Between the canny little fellow's dodge and the slippery snow, Conner also misses the devilish critter...
" Damn."
Symon moves forward and takes aim at the goblin as it slides and runs across the field.
Attack-Ranged:
Damage:
Luther and Symon let off another salvo of crossbow bolts, one falls well short whilst the other thuds into the goblin's shoulder...it squeals but carries on it's advance towards Conner...who, charging at the green skinned menace, slashes wildly and misses...
Ducking beneath Conner's sword, the goblin lunges forward and stabs at it's opponent...
Luther runs with his empty crossbow.
60' he covers in heavy armor.
Catching up with Conner and the goblin, Dezco swings his axe in a wide arc...catching the goblin and spreading blood in a terrible halo around him...
Symon will creep forward and make sure the goblins have not setup any kind of "surprise" for us.
Perception:
Stealth:
Before entering, Conner will cast light on his CI shortsword, then draw a sunrod from the bundle in his pack and ignite it. A light source in both hands, he will move into the entryway opposite Symon, so as not to give away his fiends position...
" I am really starting to hate goblins...."
Luther searches the fallen.
Luther - your search of the goblins finds little of interest...each was carrying a short sword and small bits of particularly stinky cheese wrapped in cloth.
Sneaking into the entrance hall of the ruins again, the place has a distinctly deserted feel about it...snow has blown in through the cracks in the wall...and it is deathly quiet...
Neither Symon nor Dezco detect any movement....nor do they see evidence of any traps...
Carrying three small swords on his pack, Luther let's Simon and the ranger lead.
Luther leads them in from the second row, Same route as last time. Looking for clanky's remains.
Symon creeps forward into the room where they fought the mechanical creature the other day. He moves to the back of the room where the closed door leads further into the ruin. He checks the door to see if it is barred in anyway, or might contain some sort of trap, knowing how much goblins love trapping things!
Perception:
Drusellia stays near the center of the group, her elven eyes watching for movement in the shadows.
As Symon opens the door beyond the room where you fought Skizzertz and 'Clanky', he sees a curving hall, there are doors hanging ajar to the south and to the west, as well as a closed pair of double doors to the north…presumably leading to the core of the ruins. The southwest corner of the room has collapsed in a mound of green glass rubble, but a tunnel runs through the debris…shored up by rough timbers.
Luther: There is hardly any evidence of 'Clanky' in the room where it exploded...a few bits of bent metal but no more...although Conner did carry some back to Fort Inevitable, he certainly left a lot more here than is currently present in the room...
There is still no sign of life within the ruins, the wind whistles through the cracks in the wall and the open doors...
Luther points through the timbered tunnel.
"This way first."