Several shattered trees later, Risbeth has created a very effective series of obstacles for the mob to cross or avoid.
"I think before crumbling this mans home around him uninvited, we might want to let him know there is a mob approaching. He may have defenses prepared for an event such as this. We should have a bit more time after the obstacle you created for them. Might buy more time if we had a few kegs of ale to leave in their path, probably buy more time then the trees.", Sonny laughs as he adds the last bit.
"She can always start crumbling some members of the mob. Would save us the trouble of riding ahead of them..." Xerice says with a shrug.
With a knowing smile Caesare remarks."Crude but effective!"
Risbeth looks at the ruins. "Ah, I had not realized anyone actually lived here. I'd assumed your friend was merely hiding out here. Perhaps some demolition would allow for a rebuild, which it could use." She eyes Xerice. "Trees are much easier to splinter than people. They are rigid and inflexible, therefore they shatter much more easily. Most people are soft and squishy, and unless you hit them just right, the meat on their bones absorbs and spreads the blow. Their armor, weapons, and other equipment, however, is often easier to break." She looks thoughtful. "Skeletons are relatively easy to shatter, however, as all the soft fleshy bi..." She trails off...
Risbeth brushes her knuckles, looking at Caesare idly. "Montoya-san, are you saying I'm crude?" She asks, her voice painfully polite.
"Only parts of the Schloss seems to be a total loss. It's his father's place not his."
"What an effective young lady we have here. Very interesting!" says the prof fascinated by the dhampir.
Zanu and Caesare stare down at the gatehouse and give a start when what they took for two large boulders move! The creatures yawn and stretch, showing huge tusk-like teeth.
Augustus continues walking but when he notices Zanu and Caesare stop and stare at something down, he does the same.
"Oh! Very very interesting! I may have read about these creatures, just give me a minute to go through my notes..."
"Indeed! Trollhounds! Disease, regeneration... Quite interesting creatures. It would be a lovely time to experiment on them a little... Once we get rid of the troll that accompany them, of course." says the professor on a very calm tone.
"Could they be the guardians of the door here? Might we want to try talking to them before we attack them?"
"Do we have enough elemental damage? I think I have an flask of acid or two with me!"
"I don't know about that, Sonny. I never met one alive. But if they happened to die, I could take a sample of their skin for... academic purposes, of course!" says the prof, grinning with crooked teeth.
The trollhounds, now spotted by the rest after the Professor and Caesare point them out, do seem to be guarding the gatehouse. After a few moments the gatehouse door opens and a thick green skinned troll can be seen in the doorway, kicking a cowering goblin outside. The goblin lugs a shank of meat about as large as he is and drags it to the trollhounds, who spring upon it hungrily, nearing biting the squealing goblin's hands off in the process. The goblin flees inside while the troll laughs and you can hear the laughter of another troll from inside the gatehouse before the door is slammed shut again.
Risbeth eyes Montoya as he ignores her question, then sighs and looks toward the trolls and trollhounds. "So, they require elemental damage. Do we have any elemental ability? If so, we can beat them, and continue to beat them after they fall. Drag all of them into a pile, and apply the elemental energy to them. If not, I can move some wood into a pile and we can set them on fire, while continuing to pummel them to keep them down." She looks thoughtful. "Would dismemberment slow down their healing ability?"
"I did memorize a spell that could be useful, but still, that's only one spell."
As you stand and discuss tactics for dealing with regeneration, there is a sudden shout of alarm in a guttural male voice and a heavy crossbow twangs! A bolt larger than normal strikes the brawler, dealing damage! Inside the tower, the alarm is raised!
Initiatives!
Round 1:
24 Augustus
22 Risbeth
21 Zanu
9 Trolls
7 Xerice and Cesare
3 Sonny
Risbeth charges the nearest trollhound, studying it as she charges. She closes to the wall, making it harder to shoot her from the building.
Risbeth charges the trollhound, cracking it hard as it starts to struggle to its feel, snarling and drooling obscenely.
Augustus comes closer, holding his spellbook in his left hand and chanting arcane words.
"βρυλεζ, παυωρεσ φουσ!"
An arc of fires leaps from the prof right hand's fingers and burns the trollhound, then leaps to the second trollhound.
Augustus casts his fire spell, as an arc of flames shoots out to strike the two trollhounds! and The trollhound by Risbeth erupts into flames and is ashes before her eyes! The second one yelps and manages to avoid the worst of the fire! Zanu's arcane missiles strike the second hound, again causing it to yelp in pain!
The trollhound charges at Risbeth! for damage plus a trip attempt and a Fort save from Risbeth against the foul diseased bite! From the tower, the door opens and two trolls lumber out, followed by three goblins. The trolls howl and move toward Risbeth, while the goblins cower behind, clearly afraid of the trolls.
Xerice advances forward, a smile upon her face.
"Finally some living creatures for us to punish Calistria. Give them a taste of your might!" Xerice shouts out and dark energies exudes from her core, waving over the trollhound, trolls and one unlucky goblin.
One of the trolls resists the worst of the negative energy, but the troll, trollhound and one unlucky goblin take the brunt! The trollhound collapses, dying, while the goblin falls over, struck dead. The trolls snarl their anger and raise their claws.
"Oh great Dawnflower, strike this troll down!"
Sonny moves toward the trolls and calls upon his patroness to manifest a weapon against the nearest troll.
Sonny's spiritual weapon manifests and slashes at the first troll, cutting deep in its flesh. It mumbles something foul in Giantish, but doesn't go down.
Caesare grabs an extract of enlarge person and gulps it down, feeling his body to grow and muscle to form.
Caesare suddenly begins to grow larger!
Round 2:
24 Augustus
22 Risbeth
21 Zanu
9 Trolls
7 Xerice and Cesare
3 Sonny
Augustus pulls a pearl from his coat and the burning arc spell reignites!
and The burning arc hits both trolls, burning the first one terribly and merely singeing the second.
Risbeth begins singing in a strange lilting language with heavy harmonics in the words, a look of serene calm on her face as she turns to the troll and punches it. On her third flurry, she sunders whatever weapon the Troll is carrying.
"The evil, by nature, cannot defeat justice, and justice must defeat evil. Where there is a strong will, there is always a way... Even as Li Guang's arrow pierced stone. There is naught to fear!"
Risbeth's first hit gets through the thick skin of the troll, but the other two hits merely glance off. The troll, seeing Zanu move up, swings at him reflexively. It hits him, dealing damage, but the exertion knocks it unconscious! Zanu is able to cut deeply into it, stopping its regeneration.
The remaining troll steps five feet forward and bites at Risbeth! and claws at Zanu! and . It misses Risbeth as she darts back, but hits Zanu twice, dealing damage as it rends his flesh!
The two remaining goblins, seeing one troll dead and one menaced, begin to hoot and hurl rocks at the remaining troll, distracting it!
"Dawnflower! Finish the last of these loathsome enemies off."
Sonny then concentrates and the weapon moves to the remaining troll and attacks it.
He then moves behind Zanu.
"Well normally I agree with you Sonny, but perhaps the goblins can be of some worth. They are assisting us right now."
Xerice grins and slashes the remaining troll a little with her scorpion whip.
Risbeth ducks under the bite, and grins at the troll. "Evil must needs die, when Justice turns not the blinded eye..." She tells the troll with a lilt in her voice.
Sonny's glowing scimitar cuts deep into the troll, hitting a major muscle, but the troll is simply too dense or stupid to stop pressing its attack. Xerice's whip cracks! leaving a red line of blood on the troll's face. The goblins cringe at the noise, but keep throwing their stones at the troll!
Round 3:
24 Augustus
22 Risbeth
21 Zanu
9 Trolls
7 Xerice and Cesare
3 Sonny
Moving forward Caesare uses his superior reach and after a moment to discern the trolls movement stabs at it.
Moving forward Caesare uses his superior reach and after a moment to discern the trolls movement stabs at it.
Ceasare moves up and stabs at the troll, wounding it. Zanu collapses, his wounds bleeding freely!
The prof spits at the troll's face.
"Foul beast! You were never meant to be! You MUST return to ashes, for you are a plague to this world!"
At the end of his bold speech, Augustus goes back behind Caesare's back, with haste.
Risbeth 5ft adjusts closer to the troll, stepping through the ashes of the trollhound.
Risbeth then continues to sing, this time the melody from before, which has a martial tone to it, but without words. Her body moves in a flow of motion and she kicks the troll, punches it, and then kicks it again.
Augustus' words seem to strike the troll physically, at least until Risbeth steps up and finishes it with three brutal moves. The troll hits the ground, unconscious, but its wounds begin to knit closed as you watch.
The goblins begin to jump and cheer as the troll falls, going so far as to step forward and kick the dying brute while singing a nonsense song in their own language.
Risbeth's foot slams into the troll's jaw, sending it to the ground. Then she stops singing, and gives a bow to the rest of the group, one fist in her left palm.
Then she turns to the dancing goblins. "If one of you could get a torch, and some oil, we might keep it from waking up ever again." Then she kicks it again, hard.
Grabbing at his bandoleer Caesare takes a vial of acid, throwing it at the troll.
Risbeth's stomp sends the troll's jaw into its brain, while Caesare's acid ensures that it won't be coming back from this assault.
The goblins cheer until they realize you're looking at them. Then they stop and cringe.