Portia whispers, "Unfortunately, Slow is a spell that works on altering physical forms, transmuting them with eldritch waves of arcane energy. I studied almost no Transmutation magic whatsoever, and rarely can cast spells like that."
Having listened to Tanu's rousing speech and pep talk -- far more enthusiastic and encouraging than the words of vitriol from Masters at The Academae and her tutors back in Cheliax, Portia Porphyria-Jeggare stands a little taller than her experience would suggest and confidently conjures an extradimensional hole whereupon a central Owlbear stands, gleefully hoping for its fall!
Falling Damage if necessary
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The owlbear that Portia targets is surprisingly agile and ready, and as Portia opens a mystic pit underneath it it's able to roll out of the way onto solid ground. It gives a growl and comes up to its feet. The other owlbears get to their feet and walk over to the nearest cliff face. The owlbears look curiously into the hole that appeared so suddenly among them, confused as to its appearance. The owlbear that nearly fell in roars at the hole, as if to warn it, 'No funny business!'
Pavo draws, sights, and looses in a swift, efficient motion. Before the first shaft hits the second one is already in the air.
to hit, banner for damage
to hit, banner for damage
"For the Law! These monsters will be laid low and the path of humanity will prevail!"
1. Green Owlbear (11 damage), Blue Owlbear (fled), Red Owlbear (fled)
2. Portia
3. Pink Owlbear
4. Yellow Owlbear
5. Tanu, Wulfgar, Talia
With a rallying cry, Pavo releases an arrow towards the owlbear. The barb sticks into the creature's shoulder and elicits a growl of pain. Confused, the creatures start to flee into the mountain caves that they call home.
"We can't let them get away."
Portia Porphyria-Jeggare whines out a sorrowful howl of pain, screeching loudly like a wounded animal or person -- loud for the Owlbears to hear. 'Maybe this will get them to come to us; they like injured, easy to eat victims, right.
Then she conjures another Pit -- looking at the rocky hill it looks as though a second extradimensional pit could both prevent those two Owlbears from joining the first two that fled, and also prevent the first two from returning.
.
Portia opens up a second pit. With their easy escape route closed off, the owlbears turn and roar down the mountain at the group of humans harassing them. Two of them begin to climb down the mountain, both of them reaching the forest floor near the humans. One of them rears up on its hind legs and lets loose a terrible war-screech as it prepares to charge and do battle.
Pavo looses more arrows at the closest beast, trying to judge their speed as they make their way down the hillside.
for damage
for damage
"Theyre closing! Prepare for melee with the beasts!"
Pavo looses arrows at the owlbears, managing to pierce one of them in the chest. Now enraged and denied their easy escape route, two of them climb down the mountain face to attack the trespassers, screeching and roaring.
Tanu's voice rings out in the forest, as he raises his flag high. "Today we strike for the safety of the people of the vale! Keep together, execute as planned, and we'll be victorious!"
Tanu's sharp eyes focus on the two nearby owlbears, his muscles twitching, waiting patiently for the beasts to come to them.
Talia draws her bowstring back and lets loose an arrow at the closest owlbear before dropping her bow and plucking her bardiche from the ground beside her.
Two of the owlbears have retreated into their caves... but from within, a titanic roar echoes through the caves and across the mountains. Meanwhile, a third owlbear is frustrated enough by the pits in their way that they begin to clamber down the mountain towards the group.
As Wulfgar and Tanu prepare themselves to meet the owlbears in battle, Talia launches an arrow at one of them.
Pavo unleashes another pair of arrows at the closest owlbear.
to hit, for damage
to hit, for damage
Confirmation: to hit, for damage
Pavo's two arrows sink deep into the owlbear, eliciting a roar of desperate pain and rage. The creature stumbles, but after a moment's hesitation it continues its charge.
Portia Porphyria-Jeggare is very quickly learning what the Evocation Dean at The Academae, Master Salgar, always meant when he ruthlessly demeaned her and the other students for thinking they had mastered battlefield tactics, telling them of how fluid and chaotic real combat is. How foolish she feels for thinking her tactics even ten seconds ago were so brilliant and now seeing how wasteful some of her most powerful spells have become.
Indeed, she feels the pit she conjured to keep the other three from fleeing was sound. But it does feel that even that one, and certainly the first one she cast, look utterly useless. .... Moreover, she had thought one of the first principles of combat she learned should have been an absolute 'First Law of Combat' rather than a general, guiding 'principle' -- "Always concentrate on one enemy first before engaging the others; one fewer opponent every five or six seconds in combat is better." But here, in this combat, the first Owlbear that we attacked is now the furthest away, has no ranged attack, and is far less a threat than the ones closer to our front line. How foolish she feels for really believing that she had mastered combat tactics in the Hall of Induction under Salgar Irevotnin.
Portia turns to the injured Owlbear closing in on the halberd-wielding future HellKnight, Pavo. It's been injured the most and is also the closest.
Casting an Evocation at the Owlbear, three blazing-fast, eldritch coral snakes, with infernal horns and the perfume of brimstone, lash out from the 19-year-old's painted fingernails, their forked tongues flickering in hunger and wrath, and unerringly strike at the Owlbear.
.
Portia's three magical darting vipers whizz quickly across the battlefield, smashing into the barreling owlbear's face. It quickly collapses to the ground with a big huff and a groan, its bulk hitting the ground causing a stir in the undergrowth.
The other owlbear, meanwhile, runs as quickly as it is able to do towards Tanu, its largest and loudest opponent. When it gets close, Tanu jabs his spear into its side shallowly. It roars and lashes out with a powerful claw in response.
It gets its claws in underneath Tanu's armor and pulls him from his horse, but at that moment, Wulfgar steps up with a deep stab far into the owlbear's vitals. The creature screeches and looks with rage down at the human who wounded it.
The beasts were on them before Talia finished puller her polearm from the ground - and Tanu from his horse. The skald skirted around Tanu's horse, and spied another owlbear on its way. Cursing under her breath, Talia rested her bardiche across her shoulder and raised her hand, ready to cast a wizards' flashbang once the second owlbear comes closer.
Nisha's eyes flare in anger and she lets out an annoyed snort as Tanu is yanked so suddenly from his perch. She immediately starts trying to free her charge from the beast's grip.
Figuring the others have this one monster handled, Pavo launches another pair of arrows at the further owlbear.
to hit, for damage
to hit, for damage
"Well struck! Keep the attack on and I'll bring this far one down!"
Wulfgar and Tanu's horse Nisha team up to finish off the second owlbear, who collapses to the ground, dead in mere moments. Wulfgar is splattered with blood from such close and brutal melee with the creature.
Tanu's eyes widen in shock as the owlbear hooks him and pulls him clean off his horse. The thing pulls him close and holds him tight, as Wulfgar makes some crack about a hug. Oh the smell of this thing! Eck! Before he has a chance to try much of anything, his new companion and his longtime companion team up to fell the thing. Its claws go slack and fall to the forest floor, leaving Tanu on his feet if somewhat unsteady. His lance was still in his hand, years of training kicking in to make sure he didn't drop it through the whole ordeal, and his flag still snapped around up top. "Well, what a fine first showing I had, eh?" he says with a slight chuckle, as he quickly hops back up onto Nisha. He gives a quick nod of thanks to his new rugged friend as he settles in. "Quick work on that, Wulfgar. My thanks." Nisha lets out a snort and rolls her head quickly. "You too of course, Nisha" he says with a smile.
Lance held high, he keeps his eyes fixed on the last owlbear. "Looks like one more to go for now. Let's do it again!" His intense gaze doesn't waver as he eagerly awaits the arrival of their third foe, urging Nisha forward ever so slightly.
Tanu's defensive posture allows the last living owlbear in sight to turn tail and flee. The owlbear flees at top speed into the mountains, continuing to run even after Pavo manages to strike it with one arrow -- even such creatures know enough not to keep attacking after watching two of their kind murdered.
Combat over!
"An excellent fight. Two of the beasts slain and two more fled into a contained space. If we have magic, we should patch your wounds and press on, Sir Tanu."
Pavo stows his bow and grabs up his halberd, ready to proceed with owlbear hunting.
A second, absolutely massive cry of rage echoes through the mountains from further up the ridge.
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”Does that sound like it’s coming from a natural creature or something, you know, unnatural?” Portia turns to her allies who found the Owlbear tracks and are better at wilderness lore than she.
"Three fled by my count" Tanu responds to Pavo, "but two beasts down with barely a scratch. A fine opening!" While he hadn't worried too much about the owlbear scratch (I've taken far worse before...), he does breathe a bit easier after Wulfgar applies his magic. "Thanks, comRade" he says, in a light approximation of the burly man's accent on the unfamiliar word.
Tanu's head snaps to attention when the cry springs forth from the caves. "I'm afraid I don't know. Do owlbears get attached to their pack? Could that be them angry over the slain beasts here?"
When they are all ready to head out, Tanu will have Nisha move forward up the rocky slope to pursue the fled owlbears.
"Tanu, what about the horses?" Portia looks back from the group on the other side of the creek to where she and the four nervous mounts are. She doesn't know if the horses can get up this rocky, elevated hill and, if they can, would taking them be more dangerous for all when combat breaks out? "Is it better to leave them here? What shall we do?" The look on her face shows her inexperience; she's looking for the more adventurous members for direction.
'Whatever is screaming can wait! If we get there, we get there, but our safety and these horses must be managed. Running blindly, head-first into a den of three Owlbears and a 'Whatever' is not wise.
"Oh, right, the horses..." Tanu mutters with an embarrassed look. "Nisha goes almost anywhere, I forget she's not exactly normal." he says with a fond pat on her neck. "What does everyone else think? Can we just tie them up out here and head in to investigate? Should we just set up camp and hope the owlbears come out of hiding at some point? I'm open to other suggestions as well..."
Talia frowns and stares up the hillside. Back in the Stolen Lands, their ranger had been ambushed on a similar hillside, his horse struggling to climb it an easy target. Felled by a group of bandits' arrows, the horse collapsed, trapping the ranger, and he'd been killed shortly after. It was a long few days back to Oleg's, with only Talia's nascent wilderness knowledge to guide them home.
"I'll be leaving Noleski tied in the woods. I don't think we should wait. Korvosa needs the valley tamed in less than two months, correct? We should push on, slay the beasts, and try to return to the fort by nightfall if possible."
Never one to relish the idea of camping, Talia also preferred the chance at sleeping in a real bed, though she'd not be sharing that with the others.
"If Sir Tanu can leave his mount with the others,I imagine it can defend them well enough for now. I, for one, do not plan on fighting from horseback anytime soon. And we should move on, rather than camp. Time is ever pressing on, right?"
The way forward is a difficult, steep hike. Some sections are totally vertical rock faces, while others are muddy inclines. There are handholds -- small outcroppings of rock and the occasional slender tree -- but it isn't an easy climb by any stretch of the imagination. It looks like it's about a hundred feet up and two or three hundred feet horizontal, but the longest individual fall might be twenty feet.
"So we shall move forward, eyes open, and leave our horses here -- perhaps with Nisha, perhaps without (up to Tanu). Can I ask, you know horses better than I, shouldn't we leave the horses here untied? That way if danger comes to them they can run away. If they survive they will wander back to Fort Thorn on their own. It would be disadvantageous for us to leave them here but, if we do and some predator large enough to attack four (or five) horses does come, at least they can try to flee and hopefully make it back to Fort Thorn. ....Or am I sounding like some donkey-head from Andoran?"
.
"And as for climbing, I am embarrassed to ask for help but, I could really use some assistance getting up the steeper inclines. Perhaps if someone has some rope or pitons?"
Foolhardy as always, Pavo sets out to climb, not even removing his gauntlets or armored sabatons.
Apparently luck and strength are on his side,as he manages to make it across without falling.
"I have rope, here. I will aid your climb."
Tanu gets a panicked look in his eyes as his new companions suggest leaving Nisha behind. No way! Not a chance. I'm not leaving her alone out here. I've been with Nisha for years, I've been with this group for not even a day... He takes a deep breath, as he tries to think through the problem rationally. She is strong and smart, and able to protect the other animals, maybe it would be alright? That roar, though... What if another owlbear, or something worse, comes along?
Finally, after a minute of thought, Tanu responds "no, Nisha goes where I go. If something were to happen to the horses you recently purchased, it would be sad, but recoverable. Nisha is family to me. If something happens to her, it would be awful for me. She is capable, but wouldn't stand a chance against even a single owlbear one on one." At this, Nisha snorts and shakes her head, as if to say Want to bet? Smelly weird bear thing, no match for me!, but Tanu persists. "She will go in with us. As for the others, I don't know if tying them up or not would be better, up to you."
Talia lays her hand on Portia's shoulder, and thinks of the lore she's read, the tales of magic used to circumvent barriers, the symbology, both verbal and physical, that bend reality. It should be an easy enough thing to replicate. A gesture and word later, and Portia just knows she can climb the hillside.
Turning to the hillside, Talia picks her spots and moves slowly, surely up the hillside, pausing when needed to study the terrain. She makes her way methodically, eventually getting to the top.
Tanu blinks and tilts his head in slight confusion as Talia applies her magic to Portia. "What did that do? Is she good to go now?" As Talia continues to walk away without a word, he shrugs and looks at Portia and says "I guess so. If not, I can still throw you a rope."
He then turns and starts guiding Nisha up the slope. There are a few spots where it doesn't look like a horse could possibly get up, but Nisha's confidently placed hooves seem to find absurdly solid spots as she makes her way up the side of the cliff easier than most humans would. Once at the top, he waits for the others to gather while keeping an eye toward the caves in case anything comes out while they are gathering.