"There...that should help!"
"Thank ye," Matheus murmured as his eyes took in the dark interior. No visible signs of violence, except the busted outer door and obviously doused lights. The druid wondered about that. Thus far, Hjort's forces had been uniformly human, and thus not any better equipped at fighting in darkness than Matheus was. On the other hand, an approaching light source in the darkness would certainly warn them of approaching intruders. But they had to expect someone was coming after them in any case, and it was better to see than to stumble in darkness.
"No idea about the layout, but if I wanted a stash of weapons kept safe, I'd put it in a cellar, not on the second floor," he mused quietly. Following Oksana's example, the druid took out a silver coin and murmured an incantation of light, ready to cast it ahead of them once they reached the limits of Oksana's spell's illumination.
Petronia's eyes quickly adjusted to Matheus's light, but it didn't reveal much. A small common area, and a door leading into a kitchen.
As Ner slid into the darkness of the room on the right, he caught the form of a long, low creature, laying in the shadows. A moment later and a dim point of light rolled into the room as Oksana threw his coin in. The shadowy creature reacted immediately, exploding out of the dark and at the witch.
A grey dog, perhaps more wolf than dog, leapt at the druid, jaws snapping and slavering, and its fangs sank deep into the woman's leg. It attempted to drag her to the ground, but she kept her footing. Releasing her, the wolf prepared to lunge again.
Hit
Fail
”Spirits below!” Matheus swore as the ball of lupine rage hurled itself at Oksana from the room they’d just been about to enter. There was no time to wonder if the beast was a pet of one of the guards stationed to the armory, or something Hjort’s men had brought with them and left near the entrance to buy more time. It was here now, and it was angry – too angry for Matheus to want to calm with the little time they might have at hand. Thus, violence had to be the answer to its aggression.
”Sorry, little one, but we don’t have time to play,” the druid murmured and called upon his domain. In a blink of an eye, the beast was surrounded by a tiny but violent storm cloud, burst of winds buffeted it from every direction at once while a sleet and rain blinded its eyes.
Initiative:
HAHA! You can have the tie.
Surprised by the dog, Oksana shouts out the words to her sleep charm in desperation.
Petronia rushes towards the sound of snarling to see a large canine extremely agitated, having attacked Oksana. Not really wanting to harm a creature she felt some sort of kinship with on some level, she tried to calm it.
Already looking slightly beastial from her shift, she slowly moves towards the animal making a noise in her throat that her mother often had done for her as a child to soothe her.
The wolf whined and howled as the druid's micro-storm confused, distressed and hurt it. As the winds died down, it heard a calming and familiar sounding noise. Further confused, it turned towards the sound, only to have a wave of sleepiness wash over it. Unwilling to fight it, the wolf lay down at Petronia's feet and fell asleep.
They wait a moment, but there is no further sound or attack. From under the table, Ner spots more shapes in the corner of the room, and soon discovers the bodies of six guards, wearing the same livery as the ones out front. They appear to have been killed by both magical and mundane means.
A moment later, and they hear the scuff of a footfall coming from upstairs.
Fail
Ner poked his head around the wall so that he could see the tops of the stairs. He readied his bow so that he could snipe a hostile foe.
"I'm goina get my head in," and with that he snuck around the corner to the staircase and crept up.
Gathering up her light-coin, Oksana follows the halfling up the stairs, keeping the light close so as not to damage the scout's dark vision.
Petronia bends down and strokes the wolf's fur comfortingly for a moment until her ears pick up sounds of someone upstairs. Glad that they didn't actually have to fight the wolf, she voices her thanks to Oksana for causing it to go to sleep.
Moving towards the stairs, she allows Ner to quietly go ahead of her for a bit before following. Their time spent together taught her how much space to give him without either letting him get too far away should he run into trouble or her impinging on his ability to be quieter than herself.
The light improves as Ner and the others climb the stairs...clearly there are some windows up on the second floor, though none had been visible from the street.
As they reach the top floor, they see another hallway, with a few rooms on either side. The doors are all open, and it's clear that this is the main part of the armoury. A quick peek inside shows rooms filled with weapons, armour, shields, equipment, food, supplies and so on - enough for a small army, or to withstand a siege. If these were stolen or damaged, it could cripple Trollheim's ability to withstand a serious assault from Irrisen.
The window to the nearest room is open, with a grappling hook gripping the ledge.
”Oh, I don’t like the look of this,” Matheus muttered as he considered the slain guards below and the conspicuously NOT looted armory behind them. ”I wonder about those two guards outside… could they have been Hjort’s men all along, and the plan was to get us inside with the damning evidence?”
’If that’s the case, we are mixed in a war of information, and that means…’
Ner rushes to the grappling hook and takes a peek for The Law.
Ner looks down upon a frozen training yard. A high stone wall, with a barred door in the north wall, enclose the yard. Target dummies, both for melee and archery training, are scattered around the yard.
Four people are standing in the middle of the yard, preparing for combat. A red-haired man with a scar, a pale woman, a human male in dark robes, and an empty-handed elf, with bindings around his hands and forearms. The halfling ducks down again before they see him.
"Um, Petronia??? Are we looking for a red-man with a scar, a ghost woman, a man in dark drapes, and an elf with broken hands? ... cuz I might have seen something."
Petronia's brow furrowed at Ner's question. "Two of those sound like Hjort and Runa but the other two are an unknown. Are they waiting like they expect us to come fight them in the yard? Or were they making a run for it?"
She grins ferally, "I'm all for fighting but I'm not climbing down a rope while they take pot shots at me to do it. I say we go back down and charge into the yard."
"I'm liking that plan," Matheus said, heading back down the stairs after Petronia, taking deep breaths as he went, in preparation. And once they got close to the door…
"Mörda! Överfall! I gränden! Se upp för den rödhåriga mördaren! Kvinnan som brände ner torget! Vakter! Vakter! Få dem!"
They ran back down the stairs and through the dark common area. To the left was a double door, which they burst through.
Hjort laughed as they entered the training yard. In accented Common, he shouted, "Do you think anybody is coming to help you? You're Pathfinders! They'll leave you to die, as well they should. Finally, you'll pay for what you did to my village! Finally, you'll die, as you deserve!"
Standing to his right and slightly behind him was a very pale, dark-haired Chelish woman. She was dressed in white furs and was drinking something out of a crystal bottle. She appeared unarmed, but it was difficult to see under all her layers. She had a small, cruel smile on her lips as Hjort threatened them.
To Hjort's left stood an elf, wearing not nearly enough clothes for the weather. The bindings around his arms and hands looked ritualistic rather than medical, and he held himself with the easy stance of a seasoned fighter. He glanced at Hjort, but made no move other than that.
Standing behind the elf was a dark-cloaked man holding a quarterstaff. A crossbow was visible over his shoulder. He waved his free hand and muttered a few words, but no effects were visible from whatever spell he cast.
The ground of the training yard is frozen and slippery. Hjort and his cronies were shifting their weight carefully, so as to keep their feet.
Initiative:
Ner was as uncertain as he could be. He didn't like the icy ground, the foes didn't look slow nor did they look like they would let up or run off. He didn't like the lack of cover and he didn't like the stiffening cold. There was no choice for it though and he drew his short sword and moved hesitantly forward.
Petronia regards the group, itching to get to the fighting. But at the same time, there was always time for words. When Hjort gives his speech she rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms, "Let it go already! You really need a hobby or someone to give you a hug. And just to be clear, I'm not offering. Unless you'll accept a hug from my fist. And if I die today, I'm taking at least two of you with me."
Ignoring the red-haired man, Matheus focused his attention on the woman instead. "My, might this be the much-rumored Runa? If so, we did indeed get your message got a little chat. How 'bout you sitting this one out and once all the unpleasantries are over we can talk all you want," the druid said in his most charming voice, giving the woman a courtly bow... just in case a dose of suspicion would poison the group's cooperation. And let's face it, if this woman was Runa then she was most certainly working cross-purpose to Hjort, with her own secret orders to Hjort's henchmen.
At Petronia's words, Hjort's face turned as red as his hair. "Get over it? GET OVER IT?! Your people butcher an entire village, take it's children into slavery, and you want me to GET OVER IT?!?!" Apoplectic with rage, he screamed something incomprehensible in Skald, and charged Petronia, swinging his axe. However, the shifter saw the attack coming and slid sideways to avoid it.
The elf at Hjort's side moved forward as Hjort did, but with calmness rather than rage. His wrapped hands ball into fists, so Petronia is caught off guard when he leaps at her and drives a knee into her abdomen.
Staying back, Runa locks eyes with Oksana, then glares at Matheus. Clearly she doesn't appreciate his attempt at subterfuge, despite its lack of success. Spitting out a few words in a harsh and biting language, she makes a chopping gesture near her ear, and silence descends on their corner of the training yard. No sound of breath, of battle, of whining wind...nothing but eerie silence.
The tall, robed man at the back raised his hands to the sky, his mouthed moved in seeming silence, then he flung one hand at Ner. A ray of fire flew across towards the halfling, but Ner ducked low and the fire exploded in silence against the wall behind them.
Miss
Hit.
Miss
You're all up.
Petronia grins as she gets the reaction from Hjort that she was looking for. Her grin turns into a snarl as the elf knees her in the stomach. Even though no one can hear them, she spits out the words, "Thanks for coming to me. That's something I'll make you regret."
Unperturbed by the silence now surrounding her, Oksana looks at the woman who cast the spell and, in her mind, commands the woman sleep while walking towards her.
Will DC Save: 17
Where do you see that about Hexes not being affected by silence? I can't find that.
i looked up hexes and silence spells and came across it on the pazio website
Matheus frowned in indignation as his glib retort died on his lips, snuffed out by magical silence. ’Now, wasn’t that rude,’ the druid thought, backing away the way they had come from to get out of range of the spell – the fact that the robed fellow managed to conjure his firebolt told the druid the effect was localized enough.
Muttering curses no-one could hear, Matheus moved back 10 feet, then another 10, until he could suddenly hear his own voice again. ”Right, now that that’s sorted…” he grunted, made the motion to roll up the sleeves he didn’t have and began his own invocation, calling out to the powers of nature, causing clouds to gather in the sky over the alley, building up a charge of electricity that begged to be released…
A great flame shoots over his head and Ner sidesteps the fight putting Gyuri between himself and Hjort and slashes at the lower leg of the pugilist.
One of Petronia's fists catches the elf in the ribs, and his breath whooshes silently out. He easily moves away from the second attempted blow.
Hjort wields a handaxe in his right hand, and a bone-hilted dagger in his left. His rage makes him fearless and formidable, and he chops at Petronia's shoulder with the axe, while simultaneously slashing lower across her stomach. The dagger slices through her cloak only, but the axe impacts her with a thump that notches her collarbone. Blood immediately starts to stain the collar of her coat.
Gyuri continues to silently attack the brawler as well, his fists a flurry of blows nearly too fast to see. However, the slippery footing make his attacks unsure, and he's unable to connect this time.
Runa shakes off the effects of Oksana's spell, and keeps her feet. Taking a step back from the witch, she retaliates by channelling a blast of negative energy from her deity, which rolls out from her body in all directions, catching not only Oksana, but Ner and Petronia as well.
The robed man, seeing the bodily threat to Runa, turns his attention to the witch. Speaking arcane words, he flings his hand at her the way he'd attacked Ner seconds before; this time, the scorching ray hits the witch square in the ribs, burning through clothes and skin, and nearly exposing burned bone.
Overhead, the clouds are whipped into a frenzy, and the sky darkens. Thunder rumbles, felt in through their feet for those who couldn't hear it.
Pass
Hit
Miss
Miss
Miss
Hit
Doubt claws at the outer edges of Petronia's mind as a wave of negative energy washes over the brawler adding insult to injury as she faces two combatants hand to hand and still has to worry about those fighting from a distance.
But instead of running away, as if she would ever retreat, like a wounded animal she continues to lash out at those within arms length. She directs two solid punches at Hjort's head since he had made her bleed her own blood.
As Ner feels a creeping ache over his entire body as the life force gets sucked from him, he pushes himself to take a step forward to trouble Gyuri from behind.
Matheus was getting worried. The others were getting hurt a lot, and the enchanted silence prevented him from even attempting to heal them... not that he really thought his wand could outpace the damage the fearsome four could inflict. So the only thing he could do was try to give them other targets to busy themselves with. Taking out his Harrow deck, the druid fell into a lengthy incantation.
Current HP: 20/27
Will Save:
Taking a glancing blow from the woman Runa, Oksana grimaces and reacts by casting a spell of her own.
Snowball
to hit:
Damage:
Rime Spell: The frost of your cold spell clings to the target, impeding it for a short time. A rime spell causes creatures that take cold damage from the spell to become entangled for a number of rounds equal to the original level of the spell.
After a few seconds of being pummelled by the Northerners, the Pathfinders and their new witch friend find their feet and begin hitting back. Oksana's snowball spell catches Lazar straight in the chest, knocking him back a step and covering him in a crackling layer of frost that hampers his movements.
Petronia deals two vicious blows to Hjort's head, making him hear bells despite the silence spell, and blood begins to flow from his nose and left ear.
Behind Ner, the air crackles and hums with nature's energy, and the shadowy shapes of wolves begin to appear.
Most devastatingly, however, is Ner's quiet attack on the monk. The halfling's blade slips uncontested through skin, muscle and artery, deep into the man's thigh. So quick and sharp is the attack that Gyuri barely feels it; when his leg buckles under him he falls with a look of surprise on his face. The spurting blood from the severed femoral artery sprays Ner, Petronia, Hjort and the icy ground in all directions. A moment later, and the elven monk breathes his last.
Hjort barely spares a glance for his fallen companion. He lashes out again at the brawler, chopping high and stabbing low. Petronia expertly shifts her body weight, causing the axe to swish harmlessly past her shoulder, but is unable to prevent the dagger from scoring another hit to her belly.
The black-robed man covered in frost attempts to cast a spell at the troublesome witch, but is too hampered by the hoarfrost covering him, and is unable to finish the spell.
Her eyes widening in respect, Runa realizes that the witch is a truly serious threat. Calling upon her deity, she attempts to hold Oksana in place, to prevent her from casting more spells.
Miss
Hit
Fail
Go ahead and be retroactively healed. But from now on you're responsible for knowing your character's health status.