The second hobgoblin guffaws at Kane's and Ascian's bravado, while the first scowls at Grattfaulk's counter-offer. "Tha's naw how thi' gonna work, tusky. Yer boots an' yer coin, or yer life--and you can go firs', har har!"
His partner frowns down at your group thoughtfully, however. "Wha' kinda inf'mation?"
Bac looks curiously back at Grattfaulk, puzzled by his request for information from a bunch of unruly hobgoblins. In a quiet aside, he says "All things considered, I'd like to keep my coin and my sandals."
"Agreed. One on the right, first?" Ascian asks quietly, muttering out of the corner of her mouth.
"We are searching for ingredients," Grattfaulk produces a folded paper with a list of the plants the are looking for, his crude hand writing clearly indicates writing is not part of hos daily activities. He approaches the more receptive of hobgoblins and extends his hand with the note, "we hope these will assist in curing the illness that as struck the area, like I said I will pay for information..."
"Agreed. One on the right, first?" Ascian asks quietly, muttering out of the corner of her mouth.
Facing Ascian, Bac whispers "Your right or my right? Kehehe." Despite his words he eyes the eastern hobgoblin.
"Right, that one," she replies, and can't help but grin. Even as she hopes that Grattfaulk can get through to the hobs, she still mentally prepares herself to throw up a wall of force between her and their arrows.
Both hobgoblins make disgusted sounds. "Pfaw! I though' mebbe ya wan' summit interstin'! Don' give a rat's arse if e'ry human an' tusky in dat town dies pukin' up they's guts! An' since all da boots're still on, ye'r gonna die." His partner doesn't even wait for the sentence to end before loosing his arrow at Grattfaulk, while the hunting hawks scream and spread their wings!
One arrow grazes Grattfaulk's collarbone, while the other sticks cleanly through the meat of his thigh. The hunting hawk has less luck, its talons flailing futilely against its tiefling prey.
ROUND ONE
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin & Eagle
Dheane
Ascian
Bac trots ahead, taking up a position behind a nearby boulder to gain some partial cover against the eastern hobgoblin's bow. "Is that how its going ta be then, huh?" He calls out to the hobgoblins. "Then you won't be needing your hawks, is it?"
He quickly tosses a shuriken at the hawk hounding Ascian.
----
Kane winces at the small, metal projectile the (probably) struck the hawk. He quickly incants the words to a couple basic spells and hurls a glob of some sticky substance at the indentured bird of prey. "Apologies brother," he says briefly to his the hawk, "but your masters are in our way, as are you, by extension."
◆ Guidance
You ask for divine guidance, granting the target a +1 status bonus to one attack roll, Perception check, saving throw, or skill check the target attempts before the duration ends. The target chooses which roll to use the bonus on before rolling. If the target uses the bonus, the spell ends. Either way, the target is then temporarily immune for 1 hour.
A vine covered in sticky sap appears from thin air, flicking from your hand and lashing itself to the target. Attempt a spell attack against the target.
Critical Success: The target gains the immobilized condition and takes a –10-foot circumstance penalty to its Speeds for 1 round. It can attempt to Escape against your spell DC to remove the penalty and the immobilized condition.
Success: The target takes a –10-foot circumstance penalty to its Speeds for 1 round. It can attempt to Escape against your spell DC to remove the penalty.
Failure: The target is unaffected.
Grattfaulk's chainmail rattles as he rushes towards the hobgoblin that had shot him.
Theo hustles forward, trying to get close enough to the cliff that the hobgoblin bandit can'd easily target him and cursing that his spells aren't longer-range.
Bắc Đẩu's shuriken wounds the hunting hawk, and its master bellows in wordless fury. Kane's length of sappy vine binds itself to the hawk, hampering its flight as the bird screams indignantly. The other hobgoblin takes aim at Kane while its hawk also swoops in at the tiefling. One of the arrows punches through Kane's armor into the elf's arm, while Ascian takes a nasty cut on the side of her neck from the hawks raking talons!
-ROUND ONE-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
-ROUND TWO-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin & Eagle
Ascian
Being close enough to the target, Theo stops and concentrates on sending a damaging spell at his foe. He mutters the command phrase then points his finger at his target. Three silvery projectiles fly from his fingertip and strike the Hobgoblin square in the chest.
◆◆◆ Magic Missile:
Grattfaulk continues to close in on one of the hobgoblin hunters.
"You should have just been helpful!" the half-orc snarls as he lands a heavy blow with his maul.
Hissing in pain from the eagle's claws, Ascian reflexively slaps the offending bird with her tail. She follows that up with a sharp jolt of electricity that jumps from one bird to the other.
Slowed by the stick vines entangling it, the first hawk is struck squarely in the torso by Ascian's tail. The tiefling feels bones break as she swats the raptor to the ground, where it lays still. With another enraged scream its master fires two arrows at Ascian but both miss. With Grattfaulk bearing down on him the hobgoblin drops his bow and draws a longsword.
As he turns to face the half-orc three bolts of force strike him in the back, battering him just in time for a mighty swing of Grattfaulk's hammer to cave in his ribcage and knock him off his perch. He lands in a crumpled heap.
-ROUND TWO-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
-ROUND THREE-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
Though he winces visibly at the hawk being smacked down violently, Kane repeats the same spells against the other hawk, hoping to incapacitate it, for the moment.
◆ Guidance
Both birds, wounded by shuriken, tail-slaps, and crackling lightning, collapse to the ground.
Bac harrumphs at the hobgoblins "Where are your boasting words now?" and strides over to the west, ready to finish off the last foe. He takes up cover behind a second rock and sends a shuriken flying.
----
Grattfaulk runs towards the remaining hobgoblin, chainmail jingling with each stride.
Kane kneels down next to the trap, carefully prying
Grimacing in pain as Bac Dau's shuriken sinks into his leg, the hobgoblin nocks another arrow with murder in his eyes. "You killed my bird!" he roars at Bac as he sends the arrow speeding into the older man's shoulder.
"You killed Grung!" Throwing the bow aside, the hobgoblin draws his sword and shield, beating the blade against the iron-rimmed shield as Grattfaulk draws closer. "Plague take you all--if I don't first!"
-ROUND TWO-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu (-6hp)
Kane (-6hp)
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin (-7hp) & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
-ROUND THREE-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo
Blue Hobgoblin (-7hp) & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
"Xiayeng blast you, you hob. Plague's taking no one if ol Bac gets a say!" Bac draws two more shuriken, running them across the scars on his arms. As he tosses them at the final hobgoblin, they blossom with cold blue lightning trailing behind them.
His anger at the creature's callous words throws off his aim, even as it empowers his attacks.
---
Drawing her rapier, Ascian strides forward confidently, infusing the weapon with some of her arcane energy as she moves.
UNCOMMON EVOCATION MAGUS
Cast [one-action] somatic
Range touch; Targets you or one weapon you’re wielding
Duration 1 minute
The target gains the benefit of a +1 weapon potency rune, granting a +1 item bonus to attack rolls with the targeted weapon or your unarmed attacks, if you targeted yourself. If cast on a weapon, this spell ends if you cease holding the weapon.
Kane repositions himself to protect the fox from the hunter's arrows. Trusting his comrades, he continues working on trap.
◆ Stride
◆ Stride
◆ Use staff to cast Telepathic Projectile
Seeing the other hobgoblin still standing, Theo moves towards it and when he gets within range, he levels his staff at the bandit. A bolt of blue energy flies from the staff and sails towards its target.
Attack-Telepathic Projectile:
Damage:
Bac Dau sends a pair of shuriken spinning through the air, both striking the hobgoblin's shield with a thunk of metal on wood. The hobgoblin's smug sneer turns to a grimace of pain as Theo's bolt of energy crashes into his leg, but the bandit seems determined to sell his life dearly. Rushing towards Theo, the hobgoblin's blade flashes in the afternoon light, carving a furrow across the wizard's chest!
-ROUND THREE-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo (-7hp)
Blue Hobgoblin (-10hp) & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
-ROUND FOUR-
Red Hobgoblin & Eagle
Grattfaulk (-5hp)
Bắc Đẩu
Kane (-6hp)
Theo (-7hp)
Blue Hobgoblin (-10hp) & Eagle
Ascian (-4hp)
Theo gasps and stumbles back, away from the hobgoblin that just struck him...then the pain hits!
The burning across his chest is almost too much to bear. The wizard's sight dims momentarily and his head swims. Almost without thought Theo lashes out with his staff.
Attack:
Damage:
Ascian continues her steady advance on the remaining hobgoblin, flinging a jolt of electricity at him with a flick of her wrist.
The hobgoblin grins, raising his blade for another strike at the wizard, when a crackling jolt of lightning strikes him from behind, dropping to the ground in a twitching, smoking heap.
Bac sets the two additional shuriken he drew back up his sleeve. He places the palms of his hands against his chest and takes a deep breath to calm his anger. After a few moments he straightens "Well, that was well enough, eh?" He spits at one of the dead hobgoblins.
"Lets take some steps away and get you all patched up. Don't want to come across any more of this lot right now." While he says that, he quickly checks over the hobgoblins for anything of interest, especially anything that might suggest where they came from.
"Does someone have the means of prying this open?" Kane calls out to the others.
Ascian resheathes her unblooded rapier with a flourish before turning back to Bắc. "Just another day in the Vale," she says. "But I agree. We'll want to be away from here if they have comrades who might come to check on them."
As his foe drops with Ascian's rapier in its gut, so too doe the wizard. He lays on the grassy ground, eyes screwed-up in pain and his breath coming out laboured and shallow.
"I...I think I am done for...take my body back to my school for a proper burial!"
His speech becomes slightly slurred and his skin is pale and clamy.
Ascian looks down at Theo, writhing on the ground, then over to Kane. "Can you take a look at him? I don't think the hit he took was that serious, but who knows."
The fox's ears are straight back as it hunches in a defensive posture, clearing favoring it's front right leg. It growls and bears its teeth at the big folk all around it, clearly hurting and scared and unable to do much more than limp back a pace when Kane extends a careful hand.
The hobgoblins' armor and clothes are tattered and oft-mended but bear a similarity of appearance that suggests they were once part of a uniform. The leather-and-steel pauldrons are blackened by far--as though to obscure a mark or sign that had once adorned them. One of them has 6sp in a belt pouch, while the other wears a thick gold ring wrapped in intricate braids of silver, probably worth about 2gp.
Though there's no well to tell from which tribe they might have hailed, the hobgoblins' gear and location suggest they might well be survivors from the Goblinblood Wars that ravaged Isger years ago. The goblinoid armies nearly brought that region to its knees, but were defeated by the combined forces of Cheliax, Andoran, and mercenaries hired by Druma. The broken tribes scattered into the wilderness to lick their wounds.
Crouching next to a fallen hobgoblin, "Goblinblood war armor... hmmmm. We best be on the look out the tribes scattered in defeat, but there could be more in the area."
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Bac gathers their puny collection of coins and puts the ring into the pouch with the rest.
He takes a few steps over to Theo and eases him up before slapping him on the back rather too strongly. "You're going to be just fine, don't you worry about it boy. Kane will get you patched up in no time at all." He leans down with a wince and picks a stick up off the ground "Here, bite on this stick. It'll help you ignore the pain while Kane amputates your..." He looks over to see where the wound is "Your chest, I suppose."
"Bac, if you scare him into fainting you have to carry him."
Ascian tries her best to suppress a grin at the old man's teasing, eventually turning away entirely to watch the surroundings for any sign of reinforcements.
Theodorus nearly passes out as the old man slaps him on the back. The jolt starts the wound on his chest to start bleeding again, and the sight nearly makes him vomit. Sitting there in pain, biting down on a stick the young man wonders why he ever left the comforts of the campus.
"Hol lonng uphill efor Can ill e?", he says around the stick.
Kane takes a moment to try calming the fox, hoping for a chance to treat the creature's wound. "Easy now, little friend. We'll get you fixed up and good as new," he speaks in a soft, warm tone of voice.
Regardless of the outcome, Kane takes some time to tend to the wounds of everyone that needs it.
(Fox)
(Bac)
(Grat)
(Ascian)
(Self)
(Theo)
Kane applies a natural pain killer to Theo's wound. "That should make it more bearable," he says, giving the wizard a knowing grin.
Ascian spends the time sitting against a tree, consulting a book with a battered leather cover that she pulls from her backpack. Once it's time to go, she slaps it closed and leaps to her feet, eager to get moving again.