:O
Levn was thrilled. He'd only read about these creatures! Leaving one to a pack of kobolds seemed like such a shame. How could they
study it, and appreciate it? Wholly unaware that he was leaning hard into elf attitude territory, he flicked his sword, and it was abruptly a metal-studded belt again. Clasping it about his wait, he paused to unhook the bundle of rope from his actual belt, dreams of capturing the animal himself dancing in his head.
Kellen strains his ears against the noises coming out of the darkness, and shifts his body position forward some.
Basdemar doesn't really care about the beast although he *DOES* like it's nice color. But the fight will attract his companions and there is at least one caster among this bunch. There may yet be a fight.
He doesn't want to attack, but if the fight starts he will be ready. And the caster's not going to like it.
- to come within 5 feet (or 10 so he can 5-foot step and full attack) of the caster
Ready action to interrupt the spell if the party appears
This one is not full grown and only has half the usual hit dice, though, and is half panther, half owl instead of lion/eagle.
Back at camp, the escorts heard indistinct shouting from the north. The two voices, male and female, didn't sound like Levn or Basdemar.
At the griffon trap, Bas and Levn saw five shaggy humanoids rush toward the still-eating griffon, four of them separating into 2 sets of two and stretching nets between them to try to ensnare the creature. The fifth one shook out a lasso, apparently intending to loop it around the beast's neck.
The first pair of shaggy ambushers got to the griffon and threw their net over the young griffon's back and wings. The creature at first hunched as if to protect its food from them but once they attacked it lashed out with a pair of powerful claws, drawing a scream from the figure on the left.
Nodding to Daymar and Sir Alfric, Kellen will double move toward the sounds of yelling in the darkness. He tightens his grip on the spear as he advances eyes straining against the night sky.
"They found trouble. Let's go!" Said Sir Alfric.
The Green Knight charged towards the sound of battle.
...Actually, maybe THIS is the Millenium Griffon. XD XD XD
I didn't actually mean for Levn to hold, I just thought he'd used up his actions by putting on his belt again and drawing the rope. Since he knows griffons aren't just animals, he'll pick up a rock (unfortunately, his belt can only become a P or S weapon) to KO the attackers, as a way to soothe and impress the griffon teen, hopefully to the point that it'll stick around even after the nets come off. He'll definitely make a point of showing the griffon that he's helping it. But first, does he need to roll Stealth again to sneak up on one of the shaggy dudes? Or possibly Diplomacy for the griffon?
Just in case:
With things sounding as though they were well and truly out of control, Daymar followed Alfric and Kellen into the grass. As he jogged along behind them, the elf pulled out a small grey stone that flickered with magical flame. He held the stone out to one side of his head, letting go of it after a few seconds. Rather than fall to the ground, the stone simply began circling Daymar's head, staying about two feet away from him, and lighting the night as it floated.
"Why are you people not sleeping?!?" His question was loud, and irritated. His eyes, however, swept the field, looking for targets.
Still quiet as a mouse, Levn snuck up behind one of the net-throwing figures, close enough to reach out and stab. Distracted with being mauled by giant raptor talons and struggling to hold on to its end of the net, the shaggy figure didn't seem to notice him.
The other pair of figures ran past the first two and tossed their net over the griffon's hindquarters, straining to hold the creature's panther claws in check.
The fifth one- the only one not paired up, threw its lasso around the griffon's thick neck with remarkable accuracy, leaning back with its full weight to pull the monster to the ground. "Pin it! Pin it down!" The other four threw their weight back too in what looked like a practiced, if difficult, maneuver. The owl-headed griffon thrashed against the ropes and screeched in anger but the half-grown creature couldn't fight the strength of the five humanoids.
In the dark beyond the melee, the woman's voice drifted out of the darkness again, coming to another dramatic crescendo- and again nothing seemed to happen. "Didn't work! I'm out of scrolls! Hold it down!"
Continues to run towards the action.
Levn, in his infinite wisdom, decided to clout the stranger in the head with his rock, then bring his belt-blade to hand once more to threaten the rest of the hunters.
LOL
Levn loomed out of the dark to... hit the shaggy humanoid on the shoulder with his rock. "Hey!" The figure on the other side clutched harder to the net, straining to keep his end taut.
The wounded figure, already struggling to keep a grip on his end of the net, let go, giving the griffon a bit more room to struggle but not freeing it altogether. He whirled on Levn and pulled a pair of tomahawks from his belt.
"Poachers! With that, he swung at Levn.
The axes didn't even come close to hitting the agile (former) smuggler, much less through his wonderful armor.
The griffon, sensing an opportunity, lashed out at the hunter on the other side. Beak snatched and talons tore through the shaggy cover, splashing blood on the thirsty ground.
The lasso-hunter looked over at Levn and Alfric with a grunt that sounded like both frustration and effort at holding down the griffon. "You're not stealing... this... griffon!"
Kellen will continue following Alfric into the area, but stays well short of coming into melee with the combatants, griffon, or anything which looks dangerous.
Daymar continued to follow Alfric, though his elven eyes caught sight of what was going on sooner than the Green Knight's more limited human vision.
The elf didn't leap directly into the fray, however, instead he took a moment to try to make sense of the situation.
"Why are you idiots disturbing our sleep and wasting a perfectly good goat trying to capture a creature that is indubitably smarter than you all are, collectively?"
He sighed, shook his head, and then made the genuflection in the direction of civility.
"Let go of the nets and leave peacefully. This is your only warning."
The Green Knight stopped as his torch lit the area.
"What... what IS all this?" He exclaimed, utterly confused about what was going on.
Basdemar identifies the voice complaining about lack of scrolls and scurries there ready to stop the casting or otherwise surprise the person standing there if it appears she will do harm to his group.
"Again with breeders doing man stuff. At least this one is some kind of shaman." he thinks pushing through the grass
OOC: Ready action to interrupt the casting
The one who seemed to be in charge- the shaggy humanoid figure with the lasso around the griffon's neck- shook its head-area at Daymar. Grunting with the effort of restraining the griffon, he responded to the intruders. "Who the hell are you people!? Get the hell away from our catch! Tolan, leave that guy alone and get back on the net!"
The figure with the paired tomahawks swinging at Levn looked at the man with the lasso and took a step back from the intruding half-elf but kept his guard up.
Basdemar watched as a woman in rugged hunting leathers approached the melee around the griffon, pulling out a wand as she approached. "Keep it still," she hissed at the struggling shaggy-coated ambushers.
She waved her wand in the griffon's direction, waited a moment, and cursed again, stamping her foot in frustration. "This gods-damned thing!"
"Very well then," Daymar's voice took on the crisp tone and precise enunciation that Levn had come to recognize meant his Elven "brother" had Taken A Decision. Usually that translated to, "Was About To Cause Trouble." He had pitched his voice to carry, as well, so that all could hear him, even over the commotion.
"Griffons are intelligent, sentient creatures. The deliberate capture and sale of such is tantamount to kidnapping and enslavement, both legally and morally. This creature is a yearling, which makes you attempted dealers in child slavery. You will cease, immediately, or you shall be made to do so."
He hadn't mentioned that, for "intelligent" creatures, Griffons barely rated the term. "Frightfully stupid" was more accurate, but only in comparison to other intelligent beings. They were intelligent, and sentient, even if only barely morseo than animals, but that level of distinction was likely lost on the current audience, and Daymar saw no need to risk confusing the matter further. His point had been made, and he was reasonably sure that at least half of his company, having heard his explanation, would be properly motivated to assist him. Levn, if not swayed by the moral or logical arguments, would, Daymar knew, support him for other reasons (though there may well be something of a tantrum to be endured in private after the fact).
This whole thing looked like a debacle for someone else, Alfric thought to himself. Best we get back to our guard positions in case this was some elaborate distraction.
"Very well..." Alfric started taking a step back, when Daymar declaimed his very loose legal assertion.
"What now?" He said, stopping.
Levn whipped out a thornblade seemingly from nowhere, and got between the trappers and the griffon (though notably, not close enough to the griffon for it to attack him easily).
"You heard us, folks. That fellow there is an elf. You don't want the elves to have a grudge against you. You know how they get. 'To the thirteenth generation' and all that."
He turned slightly, so the griffon could hear and see him better. "And you don't want to get these other guys angry, either. They're some tough customers. We're here to set this griffon free, and we'll protect it from any harm! You guys don't want to tangle with adventurers, right? It isn't worth dying over. Hell, even getting maimed doesn't sound good, does it?"
Kellen stands still, watching the interplay between his companions and the strangely dressed hunters, saying nothing, but keeping his eyes on the men. He thinks a moment, before saying quietly, Daymar, keep your eyes open we don't know what we're walking into here.
hrm
The apparent leader growls at Daymar. "Yeah? Go call the watch. Tolan, get back on that damn rope!"
Not really understanding why Daymar was jumping into this... whatever this is with both feet, Sir Alfric would back him up.
The Green Knight stepped forward and raised his torch so that it flared.
"HALT!" He thundered out to all involved.
"Know you that the taking of these creatures is FORBIDDEN! Can't you see? Beyond slavery, there is the fact that this creature adorns the coat of arms of the King! I trust you know what happens when you touch the royal coat of arms without permission." The Green Knight declaimed ominously, his great helm gazing with forbidding presence on the torchlit scene.
dammit
The hunt leader glared at Alfric. "This is the first I've heard of that, Sir Nobody. Get the hell out of our way, we're trying to work!"
"Fly, noble friend! Fly!" Levn addressed the griffon directly, hoping it understood Taldane, as the books he'd read suggested. You never knew with some books; authors sometimes got a bit over-excited.
Levn sliced through the lasso, freeing the griffon's neck. It gave a screech of triumph as it jerked its head back. The lead hunter stumbled back and almost fell, suddenly off balance. "If we lose this beast I swear we'll have your heads instead!"
The griffon strained against the nets but couldn't quite throw them off.
Daymar simply followed suit with Levn. He gave no further warning. The elf spoke a word of power, then pointed three fingers. Small bolts of green-white light streaked across the night sky and slammed into three of the hunters. They struck hard, seeking to knock them to the ground and away from their holds on the netting.
"Enslaving this creature is not worth dying for. I suggest you simply leave. Perhaps you can try again, another day, when you think we are not around to stop you."
Kellen will shrug and quietly invoke the power of the spirits, Spirits, lift me up that I may see from above... and the Kellid shaman lifts into the air about twenty feet from where he stands currently. The lights he summoned follow into the air, illuminating the whole area in dim light...
Daymar's magic missiles streaked through the torchlit night and knocked 3 of the hunters on their butts, pulling the nets down with them. Two of them immediately scrambled to their feet but the one who had been working with Tolan, already hurt by the griffon's talons, looked more shaken than his teammates.
The lead hunter- nets and lasso ruined, whatever magical plan they'd had apparently not working- pulled a big axe and a small shield off his back. "Oh you're gonna pay for that! C'mon boys!"
The three other hunters- Tolan and the other two on their feet- took a moment to swig a potion while the leader whistled shrilly and leapt at Levn. From out of nowhere, a hawk swooped in out of the dark sky at Levn's face.
The woman emerged from out of the dark to appeal to Sir Alfric. "Stop this, sir knight! We've done nothing wrong!" Belying her words, she started magic gestures with her hands and murmuring under her breath and Basdemar jumped on her back, claws out to tear down her spell.
She cursed and stumbled, clutching at her wounds and spinning to face Basdemar.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Levn's wounds close as soon as they open, and corresponding injuries appear on Kellen, eliciting a grunt from the barbarian hovering over the battlefield.
"Begone; and hunt somewhere else." The Green Knight intoned.
He stepped forward and thrust his torch at a convenient enemy hem or pants or other flammable article of clothing to light it on fire.
for fire damage.
Alfric lights the hem of the caster's pants on fire and she jumps, screaming and slapping at her legs to put it out.
Levn dodged away from the lead hunter and Tolan, spinning to swipe at the lead hunter's axe. The big man slapped Levn's thornblade away with his buckler and sliced at Levn with his axe but missed.
On the griffon's far side, the still-prone hunter pushed himself up off the ground and slunk away from the griffon and out of Alfric's torchlight.
Tolan carefully followed Levn, trying to avoid the griffon's talons as it raked at the now-loose net over its wings. He attacked Levn, too, but couldn't get around the half-elf's guard.
The griffon turned on the two other hunters as they moved to engage the caravan guards, tearing into the man on the far side of the group.
Kellen winces at the additional damage Levn suffers which immediately transfers to the Shaman, Levn, stop getting hit! He calls across the melee.
Focusing inward for a moment, the shaman incants, Spirits of the tribe, guide Levn's hand in his next action...
"I'm sorry about his, but I cannot let you hurt them. You should have walked away." Basdemar says to the woman before going at her with all his might.
She is pummeled, but somehow, most of his attacks end enmeshed in her robes. But some go through.
Daymar sighed, as the situation devolved into outright fighting.
"This is pointless, and needless," he called to the other group, "but I suppose it's telling about your character that you're not only willing to enslave sentient creatures, but murder anyone who happens to object to it, as well."
Clearly, this needed to be ended quickly, and with a minimum of bloodshed. Logically, the most likely way to make that happen in a way that would be acceptable was for his own side to "win" the encounter. So, Daymar took the next appropriate action.
Uttering words of power and making the appropriate gestures - which included, to Daymar's enjoyment every time he cast this particular spell, popping a shaving of licorice root into his mouth - Daymar began the process of warping time and enhancing the metabolic processes of himself and his companions.
Kellen winces at the additional damage Levn suffers which immediately transfers to the Shaman, Levn, stop getting hit! He calls across the melee.
"Yowch! Trust me, I'm not trying to let these meatheads hit me! Sorry, buddy!" Levn glowered at the one who'd hit him; the blow that should have laid him low had skittered across what appeared to be his normal clothes as though they were armor. "All right, we warned you, and we tried to play nice. You ready to face the thunder?"
The woman went down under Basdemar's claws, the back of her clothes shredded and bloody as she collapsed to the ground. The kobold's talons and fangs were all covered with gore from the ambush on the unsupecting woman. "Stop... please don't... don't kill me," she gasped out. Her fingers dragged ragged furrows in the ground as she tried futilely to pull herself away from the deadly surprise attack.
One of the hunters tried to disengage from the griffon to face the bigger threat- the strangers.
But he went down when the griffon knocked him to the ground and started screaming when the owl-faced monster leapt on his back.
"Soraya, no! You sons of b%!&!es!" Seeing the woman go down under Bas's sneak attack, the leader redoubled his efforts to drop the apparently impossible to hurt Levn while his feathered friend did his best to distract and harass the half-elf.
Looking around the battlefield, one of the other hunters spotted what looked like a soft target and charged at Daymar, drinking his potion as he came.