“At range.” Pumpkin considers her foe. “Good plan.”
She pulls the trigger and slaps the hammer to get a second shot in rapid succession.
Elsa lays into the beetle with a volley of shocking rays and lightning shurikens, doing some to injure to beast but doing more to annoy it. It seems to be readying itself for a devastating charge into the party until P.S. Finch steps up, looks it right in the eyes, and fires.
When the beetle falls seconds later, it's entirely missing it's head. The caravan is safe, for now at least.
Elsa stares in amazement
Pumpkin, that was awesome. I have never seen as good a shot she gushes
P.S. smiles sweetly. “Aw, thanks, Elsa. I guess I did alright.” She slaps the cylinder of her battered revolver, removes the spent casings, and reloads. “This gun was my dad’s, rest his soul. They called him One Shot Finch.” She holsters her piece. “He taught me to shoot. Not sure I appreciated it enough at the time.
“How about you, Elsa? Is magic something you learn at a special school, or from family? The lightning from your fingertips is a neat trick.”
Bit of a curse sometimes. I static shock people a lot, sometimes. But no, it doesn't run in my family, I think. And it just came naturally. A wizard/alchemist I worked for once said it was a sign of the times. Talked a lot, that guy.
She thinks a bit
Of course, I don't know much about my family. We are originally from Varissia, and we lost touch. Realy only know my immediate family. Grandma use to tell stories when she was still around. Sounded like a nice place. Sandpoint or something like that.
She sighs
Might have to look them up one day
“Maybe a job’ll take us out to Sandpoint, and you can look ‘em up.”
The thought just slips and P.S. is sorta glad she said it. Beats picking through a giant headless carcass.
“I think if there’s a need to loot the corpse, as they say, the men can handle it, don’t ya think? I mean, ain’t like there’s pockets on its exoskeleton for stowing a coin purse.”
Lanatir looks at Pumpkin Spice Finch quizzically.
He sheathes his sword, turns away from the bug corpse, and walks back to Khalid.
"The giant insect is dead. Some sort of heavily mutated stag beetle."
Zyrel returns from having circled round to flank the beast, shaking his head as he rejoins the others. "Truly Pumpkin, your comment when we met is proved. Your skill is indeed self-evident.” he smiles briefly.
P.S. recalls her promise not to brag, and sees Zyrel remembers those words as well.
She blushes not just at yet-another-compliment, but at the realization her words were that memorable to an elf who had just met her when she spoke them.
“Oh, y’know my first bullet missed and the second was me making up for the sloppy shooting. Just doing my part. Like you said, ranged combat’s my job.”
She smiles… then remembers her manners. “Thanks, just the same.”
Khadesh smiles broadly when the party returns with the news, his surprise growing even more when the caravan passes by the corpse of the beetle. He shoots an incredulous glance at Pumpkin, "You did all of that with a single bullet? I am ever glad that you're on our side!"
The caravan makes it's way along the road, settling down for the night. One caravanner produces a guitar, another a fiddle, and a third sings some old Alkenstari ballad about being lost in the desert and longing for cool, clear water.
It's a fine night out.
The calm of the evening is interrupted, however, when some strange hooting and hollering can be heard far in the distance. The caravanners immediately stop their music. Khadesh pulls the party aside and says quietly, "There may be mutants on the prowl. I hate to ask again, but I need your help. Will you ride out and scout the area?"
Lanatir will activate his Comprehend Languages ability (50 mins, from elf "Envoy" alternate trait) and listen for a bit.
Is the hooting and hollering a specific language?
"Yes, I will ride out. Can these mutants be reasoned with? I may or may not be able to speak to them, but if they have demands, I can listen."
The noises don't sound like they're a specific language.
Khadesh shrugs, a worried expression on his face, "It is hard to say, at times. Sometimes they will have demands or requests, other times they simply wish to kill and plunder."
Pumpkin again blushes at the compliment. She joins in the music making with both harmonica and serenity ring.
Pumpkin takes out her piece and loads the empty chamber. (For safety, she keeps only five chambers loaded. The one aligned with the firing pin is empty when traveling, so her gun won’t go off from a bump in the saddle.)
“At this point, y’all know you needn’t worry my mercy pistols soften the blow. If I shoot straight, the bullet does what bullets do.”
Well sooner done, sooner finished. Maybe we can shoo them off
P.S. says, “Shoo ‘em, shoot ‘em… guess it depends how badly they want the fight.”
She rides out once all are ready to.
Elsa casts mage armour on herself, then mounts up
The party sets off into the night, heading in the direction of the noises. It’s not far to a clearing in the scrub brushes atop a ridge where it seems like they were coming from except…there’s nothing there.
Faintly visible in the dark and the foliage are a few sets of misshapen tracks.
“Hey, I found something.” Pumpkin dismounts for a closer look at her discovery: a few sets of misshapen tracks.
yes. Whatever made them is gone...or hidden
"I see them too. Let us follow them."
Unfortunately, Lanatir cannot figure out which way the tracks go.
The party's just realizing that they have no idea where the tracks are going when they hear some more strange hooting coming from further along the ridge.
More specifically, two ridges abruptly rise in the distance, a canyon between them seeming to be the source of the noises.
“We can follow the sound. We won’t exactly be stealthy, but as we draw near the canyon we might find a path where the rock formations provide cover.”
She’s not so sure about that, but worth speculating now, as opposed to after the party’s in shootin’ range.
Elsa looked at the distant canyon and sighed
Let's get going. I would like to get some sleep this night
"Elven eyes see best in the dim. I suggest we tie the horses here, and Lanatir and I lead. Keep light sources hooded or dimmed, but ready to reveal - we might as well try to stay covert. I'll cast a spell so we can communicate in whispers - unless you want to Elsa? If anyone is separated, make your way back to the caravan." Zyrel considers "Or you three can ride ahead and I'll try to provide sniper cover should it go to the Abyss."
You do that, I don't have that spell
Lanatir nods at Zyrel's plan.
He does not have that Silent Hunter ability, however, so whispers "Slow down, Zyrel,".
He moves forward with Zyrel.
Not as quietly, unfortunately.
Zyrel creeps forward, seeing a few sets of tracks in the dirt towards the ravine. Lanatir sees some faint shapes moving in the dim light but Zyrel, with his keen eyes, spies them more clearly, five misshapen figures crouched on the ridge above the entrance to the ravine. There's no indication that they've spotted the scouts.
Pumpkin trails behind, checking with Elsa to make sure she’s close enough to the elves for the magic to work.
Zyrel messages the others one by one, acting as a switchboard to relay comments.
"Five figures. I think mutants. Above the ridge at the entrance to the ravine. I suspect they are waiting in ambush, hoping to lure a target into the ravine. Suggestions?"
Well, let us not disappoint them. We can do a counter-ambush, but they have to think theirs is working.
Elsa looks at the ravine top. Is there any way to approach it from a different direction so as to surprise the ambushers
"I agree in theory - but I for one am not standing underneath them! Are you suggesting someone look like they are thinking of doing so - maybe wandering around with a torch - and while they keep the mutant's interest we ambush them?" Zyrel messages back. "I do have a spell that creates moving lights, but the range is only about a hundred feet."
My thought’s to get into shooting positions, attacking each side.
She looks to gauge how high up the enemy is. (And how close she needs to get the shoot well, as a Pistolero shoots best from 30’.)
If there’s a place to get within 30’ of one group of enemies, she’ll quietly move in that direction, using rock formations where possible to keep herself from being noticed.
"Am I to be the distraction?"
Lanatir sounds not thrilled at the possibility, but neither is he defiant. Just sort of resigned to the plan.
"If they have arrows or firearms, I can possibly deflect their attacks, if luck is with me... I would need both hands on my sword to do so, so a Light spell on the sword would be welcome."
well, a hundred feet would be good enough. Sneak in closer. cast the spell and have it move slowly closer. just keep it at a distance from you and from them. Give them something to look at.
Pumpkin keeps moving stealthily , hoping Lanatir keeps the snipers attention. Shooting in the back ain’t beneath me… especially when it comes to cowardly snipers.
Zyrel thinks.
"Lanatir; I have a Dusk Lantern. Set it up and you should then be able to see their attacks. If they come for the lantern - they may be mutant elves - defend it. I suspect they will not. I will set up nearby - close, but not so close I need fear a grenade. Should they charge you, I will be able to engage them from behind. Acceptable?"
"I will snipe from here. Use the distraction to go around. Message me when you want me to start shooting."
Elsa spots a narrow path up to the top of the ridge that they could use to climb up. Pumpkin and Elsa creep up along the path as Lanatir sets up the dusk lantern. The mutants seem not to have noticed the sorcerer and the pistolero as they begin to hoot and holler and scramble down from the cliffs towards Lanatir. Several remain at the top of the cliffs, however, waiting for any more stragglers to pass through the ravine.
Elsa whispers have you got the shot?
Lanatir stands ready, sword drawn.
How many are approaching him?
"Yes."
Here we go she whispers
Elsa will cast vanish, then move up to the mutants still on the ridge, then blast them. As many as she can
electrical damage, DC15 relex for half
The party easily gets the jump on the mutants. Three mutants charge towards Zyrel and Lanatir while two remain on the rocky ledge. One dodges the worst of Elsa's lightning while the other takes the brunt of it, screeching in pain.
The other three run across the desert ground, one of them taking well placed arrow to the shoulder as the charge the two elves.