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You see Black Moon quake slightly at Anga's show of prowess.
Helena follows Jathus without hesitation and assumes a defensive stance.
The two remaining guards do not question Anga's order and move immediately to guard the wizard.
You see Black Moon smile happily when Jathus moves within striking distance. His grin widens when he sees that his shield is not ready...
Wraith tracks where the wizened wizard was pointing too and and fires off three arrows.
He squints at the gestures, searching for a clue.
Is it… possibly unfamiliar somatics? “Wizard”? No one else can see him but me…
It suddenly comes to him, and he scans the lit area.
“The Black Moon has moved far from the fight, and there are others here we cannot see. He stands directly diagonal to the edge of the center fire and twenty feet from that outer fire. Where these others are, and their purpose, is unclear, although I suspect an attempt on my life.”
The wizard passes by Wraith, a guard, and stops beside Tholan. He unrolls the scroll kept in his hand; he raises his voice to Black Moon, a deep baritone calling over the crackling fires. The wizard points to the outlaw’s new location.
“Can you feel the fear, Black Moon? The chill unaffected by the fires? You flinched at flashing steel, and now you scuttle back from a fight. Fear cuts deeper than swords, boy.”
Triggered by mutterings, the ink on the scroll pulses a golden glow and vanishes. To naked eye, very little seems accomplished. That is, until a faint, indiscernible shape appears in the direction of Thaegrin’s pointed finger.
“Behold, the incarnation of your fears,” Thaegrin booms.
Realizing that Thaegrin was the only one currently able to fight this particular foe, Tholan's priorities shift quickly. It takes him only a brief moment to settle upon Shield of Faith, and he quickly recalls the incantation. Laying his hand on Thaegrin's shoulder, he speaks the incantation and feels the shimmering pulse travel through his arm.
Having completed his incantation, Tholan returns his focus to the edge of the camp, keeping his eyes open for any possible threats he might be able to see.
Wraith kneels near the fire and sights where he thinks he saw the assassin run off to and lets loose arrows.
Perception
Perfect Strike
Perfect Strike
Facions eyes follow the specter as it moves across his field of vision. Seeing it stop he scans the adjacent are to see if he can determine Black Moons location.
His hands moving quickly and precisely Anga produces a small vial of liquid from one of the many folds of his clothes. Unstopping it he carefully pours a sickly sweet smelling fluid onto his exposed rapier blade. The blue bile shines in the firelight as it spreads to cover the entire blade.
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You hear a pop inside Black Moon's skull and his eyes are filled with a red, cloudy substance. He crumples. Dead.
Wraith's arrows again whistle into the darkness.
You hear what sounds like a body dropping to the ground near where you believe Black Moon to be.
Anga is distracted as his blade is coated with the toxic fluid: so much so that he accidentally knicks his own leg!
The spy master is barely able to fight the poisons effects.
All is again quiet.
Facion inhales sharply and presses a rag to the small cut. He deliberately slows his breathing and waits for the pain to subside as his body metabolises the poison.
Jathus yells,"Do not let him get to you!" Jathus begins his onslaught and swings wildly into the darkness. Jathus again cries out, "Shields up Helena, Shields up!"
Full Round Attack
Helena follows suit but hesitates to act!
Tholan pauses and looks over to Thaegrin. "Where is he now?" He watches Jathus swinging around wildly, shaking his head a little. "No where near Jathus, I take it. A drunken sleep-deprived sloth could evade wild swings like that."
The wizard regards the body of Black Moon. “Hm.”
He is suddenly distracted by the wild fury of Jathus, and turns to answer Tholan nonchalantly.
“Oh, no, he is no longer a threat. I daresay the legend of the Black Moon eclipsed the man. He died of terror.”
He pauses to let the information sink in, taking the time to retrieve another scroll.
“Let that be a lesson to what the mind is capable of,” he states to those around the fires, catching the eye of Sir Jathus. He raises his voice further.
“And those with the Black Moon: it is over. Did he give you what you sought? Did he promise gold? Justice? There he lays, evidence that his arrogance won over any promise he made to buy your sword. If you are there, and do not wish to die tonight, I have an offer for you. But first, I require an assurance that we can speak in peace.”
"Dead then? Regrettable." Facion wipes down and oils his blade before returning it to his sheath. With no hint of duplicity on his face he suggests; "Perhaps Black Moon's former men would be more amicable to our proposition now that we've proven to be less weak then they had thought." He says this to the open night air, for any to heed or dismiss as they so choose. Walking over to where Thaegrin gestured, he looks for Black Moon's body to see what he might have been carrying, making doubly sure to check for secret pockets or suspicious seams.
Satisfied that he found whatever he could, Facion retires for the evening nodding politely, if a bit cooly, to the group.
"Black Moon lies slain. Do you have an opinion on the matter?" Locking eyes with the man the teller of lies continues, not waiting for a response. "I ask because I believe the offer to join us may still be open, good pay. Though more importantly, I can offer a guarantee." Looking up at the night sky he pauses before speaking again. "I have agents in every brothel of Erenon." He waits to let his words sink in.
"I can find her for you, I can return her to where she belongs. All I ask in return is that you accept any offer of employ My Lord Stormend may grant you. Accept his pay and I'll give you one hundred gold pieces on top of it. His safety is very important to me, and I want only the best available to protect him." The holder of secrets again locks eyes with the man before him. "I may have other tasks for you as the time comes, but for now, if you wish my help in reuniting you with your wife, serve My Lord Stormend." With one last question, Facion stops to allow the man to speak.
"Do we have an understanding between us?"
"Does he have anything useful to the lot of us?" Wraith muttered to Thaegrin as he kept an arrow drawn watching the ground for signs of movement for any other invisible attackers.
“Hm. Very well, then.”
Thaegrin replies to the bodyguard. “I do not know, archer. Let us look.”
The aging arcanist steps toward the body of Black Moon. The Halfblood is already hovers over the corpse, searching. Thaegrin kneels beside him and looks over the former brigand.
"Well done court mage! Well done!" Jathus states warmly.
"I am in no need of cowards Anga, with my word the prisoners will be released once we reach our destination. I offered them the opportunity to join when I needed them now they are free to due as they please. I have no will to keep a man as company just because he is as loyal as my dog. If they wish to join the house as warriors though should seek out my brother. But, the mere notion of piracy would place their heads into a noose."
Disinterested in the loot or bounty but more willing to take his trophy, the head of Black Moon.
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One +1 Returning Dart (Thrown Weapon, 1d4+STR piercing damage, 30 ft range)
One +1 Keen, Vicious Scimitar (One-Handed Martial Weapon, 1d6+Str+2d6+1d6-last d6 to wielder-Slashing Damage)
One +2 Noqual Chain Shirt (Pale Green links, 6AC, Max Dex=+6, ACP=0, Arcane Spell Fail= 40%)
One +1 Amulet of Natural Armor
One +2 Belt of Incredible Dexterity
One +2 Ring of Protection
One dose of Wyvern Poison
4 doses of Rainbow Jellyfish Toxin
Wraith leans down and picks up the amulet.
“Sir Jathus, in the future I would expect more caution from you in combat. Surely, bravery is a quality all noblemen strive for, but no one sings songs of a foolish and needless death. Were it not for my studies, the Black Moon may have answered your stupid charge with an unseen blade and poison. This would not affect me if one of your guards chose to do this, but it was clear that you were his target. Your primordial distrust of magic is beyond me, but at the very least, know that your superstitions will not protect you from it. Take note that it was not strength of arms that vanquished this foe,” the wizard taps his temple, “but a superior mind overcoming a weaker.”
Thaegrin quietly stares at Sir Jathus a few moments longer before turning to retrieve the ring from Black Moon’s body. He slips the protective ring onto his finger and waits for the others.
"Hold your tongue, I did not ask for a lecture on tactics. I moved in ready for a fight and you act as if you saved an infant from a lake. You are not my keeper, nor am I yours. But, If we wish to continue you must understand that I was raised to not fear death. The fourth heir is breed for one purpose, to die with honor... or to wait until my brothers die with theirs. I was ready today, ready to fulfill my place. "
"As for your magics, you impressed me. I still do not trust your kind or want you around, but I need you. My father knew it, I know it, and you are free to gloat about it. You proved your worth to me today. You deserve the glory of the kill, and your work will be well known."
Jathus drops his shield, and holding his sword with both hands swings his sword in a giant arc attempting to decapitate war criminal bandit.
"Take your loot, Thaegrin killed him alone. He should split it how he pleases."
"Of you casters can anyone freeze the head? I wish to send it to my father!"
“As you say, Sir Jathus. I will not forget your words.”
Thaegrin regards the body of Black Moon dismissively, “I took what I meant to use. Anga, Wraith, and Tholan, take as you see fit. As for the head, I did not prepare for preserving any flesh on our journey.”
Tholan listens to Jathus' words, makes note of them, and decides to allow Jathus his glorious death in battle should it come to that. He looks through the loot, pondering the dart and sword and sliding them into his pack. Nothing else having caught his interest, he begins to look around the rest of the camp to see if anything else has been disturbed or damaged, or may have been dropped.
"I am finished with this night, tomorrow we continue." Jathus spends the next while dissembling his armor and he would quickly fall asleep.
After strapping on the belt and slipping the amulet on, Wraith gathers the arrows that whistled off and then settles down next to the bonfire with his bow out and arrow notched and starts to mentally read through a few lines of his favorite tome, a habit he had formed in order to keep him company through the long nights.
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The morning finds Sir Jathus the Reckless, Thaegrin Fearmonger, Thollan the Drolleye, Anga Spymaster, Wraith the Unsleeping riding the road once more with Helena and the three remaining guards.
Before midday, as you crest the rise of a steep hill, You suddenly find yourselves staring at no less than 30 men: all bearing the waxing crescent of Black Moon. The road is blockaded with fallen logs and the trees to the side of the road are obviously trapped in some way.
A line of five grim men stands before the throng of bandits. The principal among them speaks.
"Surrender the Lord Jathus and you may go. We will ransom him along with his brother Drostan to buy our pardons. Please do not be foolish or heroic. We care not a fig for your lives, but we wish not to add to our crimes. Surrender the lordling and go."
More than a dozen bowstrings sing their straining song as the big man cross his arms over his chest. He awaits your response.
“Fowls of the Forest: no doubt you know of Black Moon’s fate. As a leader of an insurrection, his death was necessary by our laws. However, I see varying degrees of guilt in the company before me, according to rank. Surrender to us the five highest ranking officers of your number, unarmed, and the rest of you shall receive full pardon. If you kill us, you will seal your fate. Consider your decision wisely; the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Facion watches the interaction take place from under his hood. Slowly passing his reins from one hand to the other he considers their position.
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The 5 big men smile as one. The one at the center speaks.
"In training, 6 of them fight one of us as a unit in order to learn to take down bigger, better foes. You do not keep our rank if this unit defeats you. All of these men know that we are worth 6 of them at least. This knowledge is all the shield we need against your honeyed words. They will never betray us."
"Now, I wont ask a third time: surrender Jathus or..."
He sweeps his hand over the band of brigands and shrugs.
"
"I do not expect you to know me, I am Sir Jathus the recklessly fearless. I charged Black Moon, and if he can not kill me YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE! HA" Jathus lowers his helm, draws his sword, and kicks his horse presenting his steed.
"Your choice is easy, listen to the man. I will not pardon you if you make the wrong choice. Everyone of you will die, and even worse when I defeat you I will hunt down your families. There bodies will be strung from walls because of your insolence!" Three days in a row of dealing with bandit assassins has left Jathus a little angry.
"You have two options, surrender your leaders and depart or I will kill you and your families."
intimidate
? [link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run[/link]
Thaegrin blinks, but otherwise maintains a bored expression while listening to the tirade of Sir Jathus. At length, he speaks calmly to the Fowls of the Forest.
“Perhaps we could organize a duel to decide this? It might minimize bloodshed, as Sir Jathus seems bent on the idea.”
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The entire host bristles when Sir Jathus speaks of hunting their families. there are shouts of "Kill that Nancy!" and "Over my rotting corpse".
The big man in the center speaks up. "The Lord Jathus is a knight. By law, were he to duel one of us, he could use his mount and thus engage in unfair contest. We have the superior numbers." His eyes lock on Sir Jathus. "We will not be intimidated. Your ransom is not worth the lives of our children. Today, you die milord."
If a signal was given, no one spots it. In a blink, 15 bowstrings twang as one!
Many of the arrows clang off one another, but many find their mark. 7 shafts sprout from the Lord Jathus, wounding him badly.
A shout of triumph erupts from the the throng and the remaining men raise axes in both hands and brace for the expected charge.
"NOW THE FOWLS DO THE ROASTING!" They jeer.
"PIN AND CUSHINS WILL HURT ME BUT WHEN YOUR LOVERS AND CHILDRENS HEADS ARE ON MY SPIKE, WHO WILL BE LAUGHING THEN!"
"Hellena fall in." Jathus charges the furthest left, while Helena follows suit.
Jathus will charge the furthest left. Helena move's with him and as a standard action aids his defense. (+2) If her attack hits.
Helena: Aid Another Defense
+2 AC for Jathus and Hes got Helena's Meat shield. +2 shaving Sheild
Jathus:Attacks the man
Fighting defensively+2 AC