Kiren puts up a hand for silence and turns and points to the brush further down the path to the left. He reaches for his belt flasks and grabs two of them.
Seeing Kiren react to something he senses, and subsequent hand motions, and also noticing the hush in the woods around them, Shorga readies the cold-iron mace and tightens his free hand on the reins, readying Ursa to charge.
perception
Seeing Kiren's motions but not hearing what alerted him I pick up the crossbow Kiren lent me and say "Otis, maybe you should take the reigns back eh?"
feeling that contact is imminent I goad the little bastards a bit. "An bhfuil eagla ort chugainn fir dearg aois tSáile An bhfuil, cén fáth go leat féachaint ar agus a chanadh ó na scáileanna?"
Coming forward from where Kiren pointed comes a varied verse:
"Talk is cheap from thieving men,
I saw your work in yonder glen.
Give me back the thing you took...
Or I will gut you while your friends can look."
perception
Switching to common so the party can understand as well since the red cap seem to have no difficulty speaking it.
"I took nothing and am not a thief, at least not currently I think. I did not even enter the glen, therefore your verse is flawed. I propose a challenge between you and I. I will give you the wager and you come up with the challenge. If any one of us succeeds at your challenge then you assist us in our purpose, escort us back to the edge of the forest and then leave us alone. If you win however I personally will assist you with your purpose."
Diplomacy
Knowledge (nature) are redcaps trustworthy enough to believe if he agrees.
Shorga whispers to the others as Icarus communicates in another tongue, "Anyone know what ish being shaid?" Once the voice begins speaking to them, Shorga decides to try and assist, "Twash myshelf in yonder glen, and freed the fey I did find in. Ish that what you deshire of ush, to recapture the creature... without a fussh?"
He gives an embarrassed glance around at his point effort at composing prose on the fly.
guess we're taunting him now
"Bah - he's a coward, can't you see,
"the redcap is afraid of me!
"Away from me he ran and hid
and I am just a halfling kid!"
"Don't bet with redcaps in the wood
"their word and honour is no good!
"With a big red cap he's like a clown -
Except his trousers have gone brown!"
Hearing voices in the vicinity, Otis grabs the reins back and puts his loaded crossbow at arm's reach.
While throwing incredulous glances from one of the impromptu poets to another, Otis spots something eerily odd. Grabbing his crossbow as fast as he can, he shouts: "They are right here on the carriage! Invisible!" and shoots a bolt directly into the odd leaf, hoping it'll get stuck in the creature.
Otis' crossbow bolt scythes through the air just to the side of where the leaf sits oddly and you hear an audible whelp as the figure moves away on tiny wings from the spot. Kalum and Shorga place the whelp as remarkably similar to the sounds being made by the fae that was nailed to the ground previously.
At the same time, rounding the bend in the track ahead of you comes a squat and ugly creature with a long beard and bearing a wickedly sharp scythe. Metal boots and a vicious demeanor mark it as a redcap... but surprisingly it's head is currently bereft of accoutrements. Nevertheless he stalks slowly forward towards you along the path, with blood in it's eyes and on it's mind.
Casting aside rhyme he brays with an insane tinge "He sees, he sees. Even now it cowers in your midst... tricksy and false but it stole it... and I wants it back!"
Perception
Kiren hears Icarus' proposition and is waiting to see if the redcap reveals himself when he notices a leaf in front of the carriage held at an odd position, as if by an unseen person. When Otis fires, he acts quickly. Fearing throwing a bomb so near the carriage at a hidden target, he throws one flask of components without activating the bomb.
Init
Splash Attack plus penalties for invisible?
Shorga's eyes widen as some understanding comes to him, "Hold! You're shooting at..." and raises a hand to Otis and the others attacking the now erratically moving leaf. The half-orcs eyes turn to take in the approaching squat redcap, minus the hat, and looks from the leaf to the redcap, his suspicions getting confirmed. He turns his attention to the redcap with the scythe, addressing it in a respectful, but stern tone, "Doesh the little one have your hat...shir?" He then looks back to the fluttering leaf and its invisible porter, "Come shmall-one, let ush shettle thish. Become vishible sho we might all shee you. No one shall harm you, not even that one." His eyes indicate the seething redhat. He places a closed fist above his heart, "On my honor ash one of the Order of the Blue Roshe."
Throughout, his hand has hovered near his lance, and an eye on the redcap.
Miss
Leave the invisible fey alone and kill the red cap! I shout. Standing tall I shoot the one Cold iron bolt that Kiren supplied me with at the Red cap.
attack (+1 if within 30 ft)
Cursing the Red cap in Sylvan I drop the crossbow and drop off the wagon, closing in on him and pulling out my hidden cold iron dagger.
(Close to within a distance that I can charge the Red cap next turn)
Kalum shrugs and lets loose with Kiren's bolt as Icars fires.
Kalum starts reloading
Otis's eyes widen as he realizes he made a grave mistake. After seeing the real enemy appearing, he looks up and says: "Hey I'm sorry! I thought you might be him!"
He loads the crossbow again and points it at the redcap, but does not fire yet.
Shorga:
Kiren:
Kalum:
Icarus:
Otis:
Sense Motive: - fail
Just as Kiren's flask breaks and spreads liquid fleetingly across an invisible form as it flits away - Icarus looses an errant crossbow bolt at the Redcap... that misses badly, but attracts it's ire nonetheless.
Action Tracker (Round 1): Redcap, Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Shorga
The redcap stalks forward towards the carriage and the horses begin to nervously paw the ground. Despite the missile, it does not rush to attack - instead standing ready with it's scythe protectively raised "Not too late manlings... give me the fairy"
Action Tracker (Round 1): Redcap, Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Shorga
When my turn rolls around, I charge towards the despicable creature. "You dare hurt one of the fair folk?!?" I shout at it, and then attack.
Attack cold iron dagger
Assuming Kalum is not engaged in melee with the redcap I will jog up to C5 and throw a bomb at him (the redcap, not Kalum) from 20' away.
Attack
Damage
Kalum's crossbow jerks as the quarrel is loosed towards the redcap and comes close to striking, though the small fae ducks at the last moment and remains unmarked.
Kiren advances and hurls a bomb that the fae similarly dodges, causing the mixture to detonate on the ground...
Reflex:
...though the force of the blast does scorch it's skin.
Action Tracker (Round 1): Redcap, Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Shorga
Growling as his attempt at diplomacy fails he watches the situation deteriorate into combat. He see's Icarus rush to attack and sighs, resigned now to the course. Ready to urge Ursa into motion he tries once again, but not expecting success at this point, turning his head toward the flitting leaf, or the last place he saw it, "Little fey, throw down the cap!"
Seeing as the conflict has escalated to violence anyway, Otis launches the crossbow bolt at the redcap.
Otis sends a quarrel towards the redcap, though it easily misses the fae. Icarus' dagger swipe is similarly ill-aimed perhaps put off by the wayward bolts flying through the air.
However as Icarus draws near the redcap launches into a wicked rising scythe strike...
Readied Scythe Attack: for
...opening up his belly as the small fae giggles uncontrollably "Red blood, red blood."
Shorga has a little more luck as his mace lands a solid strike on the fae, the cold iron leaving behind a surface of scalded skin as the redcap howls... though it is uncowed, instead driven to deeper rage.
Action Tracker: Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Redcap, Shorga
He grits his teeth in frustration as the redcap injures Icarus, "Shtay next to me Icarush!" and now that they are fully engaged he decides it's time to issue a formal challenge to the squat creature. Maybe they could all get out of this alive. He pauses in his attack, calming the boiling of his orcish blood, remembering his edicts, "I shall grant you quarter, Redcap, but you musht yield now!" He looks quickly at the others, hoping they'll honor his words if the Redcap does surrender, but uncertain how they'll react. He uses his knees to direct Ursa 5' closer to the bleeding Icarus (if he's not beside him already).
I gasp in pain and stumble back holding the gaping hole where my abs used to be to keep my innards from falling out. I manage "He's stronger then he looks, watch out." and carefully move away from the Redcap. moving 20 ft to the 'east' (according to map orientation).
"Icarus! Hold on!" shouts Kalum, dodging off the side of the carriage and channeling healing energy through the area.
KIren screams out as his companion is hit. Drawing the cold iron dagger, he lunges at the redcap from behind.
Attack: (including +2 for flanking)
Damage:
Kalum hops down from the wagon and sends intangible energy flooding forth. Icarus is suffused with a oily sense of otherworldliness as his pain fades and he withdraws from the melee.
Kiren rushes forward and lashes out, though his strike is ill-aimed.
Action Tracker: Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Redcap, Shorga
Otis focuses on keeping the horses under control given the sudden spray of scarlet and tang of blood in the air.
The redcap turns to Shorga, ignoring the towering cavalier to focus on his horse... licking his lips as the scythe arcs at a foreleg...
Scythe: for
Action Tracker: Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Redcap, Shorga
Shorga delivers his ultimatum to the small and wicked fae even as it is showered with the blood that spurts forth from Ursa's wound. Hair matted with red and clothes soaked the redcap affixes Shorga with a wild eyed stare and simply laughs "I will give you quarter half bastard... which quarter of your horse shall you keep?" clearly rejecting Shorga's terms.
Action Tracker: Kalum, Kiren, Otis, Icarus, Redcap, Shorga
Calling upon his understanding of space, Kalum runs to the side, desperately trying to estimate the healing power of the Universe would extend.
Shorga nods in gratitude as Kalums power washes over him and Ursa both, strengthening them. "Can shomeone do shomething about that weapon?" Shorga shouts even as he urges Ursa forward back to get flanking with Kiren and leans forward to deliver a vicious blow with the mace. If you watch carefully, you notice the cavalier is aiming to disable rather than kill.
Challenge: Whenever an order of the blue rose cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls made against the target of his challenge, if the target is an intelligent creature to whom the cavalier offered the chance to surrender (by taking a standard action to offer terms). -2 (16/18) AC vs any other enemy attack besides the challenged enemy.
Flat of the Blade: At 2nd level, the cavalier of the order of the blue rose gains the ability to moderate his attacks in order to take an enemy alive. He no longer takes a –4 penalty when attacking with a lethal weapon to deal nonlethal damage. When dealing nonlethal damage, the cavalier receives a +2 bonus on damage rolls. When the cavalier makes use of this ability, he must attempt to subdue his target without killing it; dealing lethal damage after using this ability, or allowing his allies to kill the target, is considered a violation of his edicts.