Yash's fury erupted in a guttural roar that reverberated off of the tunnel walls. His axe rose and fell, slicing through the air towards the wolf.
And Mama's spear pokes at it to try to force it into the blow!
Sable’s blade glances off the bugbear’s thick hide. Yash, with Cookie’s timely aid, drives his axe into the wolf’s shoulder. The massive beast is heavily wounded but not out of the fight.
Round 4
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 32/32
Sable: 25/36
Senna: 31/31
Xing: 25/30
Yash: 10/36 (non-rage 4/30)
The sound of clashing weapons rings off the stone walls as the battle intensifies.
Sable deflects an attack. Xing dodges one attack, only to step into another blow that smacks her in the spine. Even with Cookie’s spear slapping the wolf’s muzzle – the beast bites into Yash’s shoulder. Blood sprays and the half-orc quickly slides to the floor, unconscious. The kukri-wielding bugbear slides around the edge of the team, bringing his blade to bear on both Senna and Sable… but the blood-slicked blade slides from his hand. He quickly picks it up, momentarily dropping his defenses. The winged demon rolls its sickly yellow eyes.
Round 4
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 32/32
Sable: 25/36
Senna: 31/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -2/36 (non-rage -8/30)
Senna delivers a very non-lady-like kick to the warleader’s ribs when he reaches for his kukri.
Seeing Yash fall, Senna groans then focuses her fire on the wolf. ”We need to kill the wolf to get Yash on his feet!” Her arrows bite the wolf… but not deeply enough.
Arrows: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Blunts: xxxxx xxxxx xxx
Perfect Strike (3): xxx
Ki Pool (4): xxxx
1st Spells (6): xxx
Blood Intensity (1):
Dancing Lights (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 3 hours
Round 4
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 32/32
Sable: 25/36
Senna: 31/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -2/36 (non-rage -8/30)
Xing continues to claw at her nearest opponents... She kills the first and confronts the second.
Round 5
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 32/32
Sable: 25/36
Senna: 31/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -2/36 (non-rage -8/30)
Lady Sable fights on, locked in the duel with her opponent.
Cookie growls and steps back, then strikes forward, trying to keep the wolf at bay!
Desperation driving them, both Sable and Cookie strike true! Sable stabs her enemy and Cookie slaps the wolf's spine with her spear.
Both opponents are looking weak... but alas, not out.
The bugbears continue their relentless assault on the invaders – to great effect. Sable’s opponent slips past her guard and smashes through her parry to drive his morningstar into her shoulder. Xing’s opponent slams his weapon into a wall, dropping it… giving the battle cat a chance to retaliate as he retrieves it. With Yash down, the wolf lunges at Cookie, intent on making her a meal. It’s jaw snap shut on her abdomen and then it shakes her like a rag-doll before casting her down to the floor. She sprawls prone, next to the unconscious half-orc. The warleader adds insult to injury… slashing across Sable’s back before burying his kukri in Senna’s belly, roaring ”My blade drinks your flesh!”
Round 5
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32 - Prone
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 15/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -2/36 (non-rage -8/30) - Dying
Yash slips closer to death…
With Yash dying and Cookie on the ground, the noose tightens. If Senna can bring the oversized canine down, Cookie with have room to get up and save Yash. Ignoring the warleader, she sends arrows into the wolf. Both arrows hit and the wolf succumbs to its many wounds. Senna then sidesteps away, trying to make it harder for the warlearder to attack two of them at once.
Arrows: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Blunts: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Perfect Strike (3): xxx
Ki Pool (4): xxxx
1st Spells (6): xxx
Blood Intensity (1):
Dancing Lights (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 3 hours
Round 5
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32 - Prone
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 15/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Dying
Xing lashes out at the enemy before her, drawing blood.
Round 6
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32 - Prone
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 15/31
Xing: 19/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Dying
Lady Sable is starting to get concerned about how things are going. Uncertainty is not a feeling she's used to, and it makes her angry. She shifts to her left slightly to avoid the kukri wielding bugbear and presses hard to finish the one she's been dueling for so long.
Mama looks before her and sees a nasty brute, then behind and sees the same. She splits the difference and prepares to stab the first one that comes in reach as she stumbles to her feet!
- success
Uncertainty improves Sable’s swordsmanship as she finishes her opponent by hilting her rapier in his throat.
Yash’s orcish constitution stays his descent at the brink of death.
Cookie struggles to her feet ready to lash out at anyone encroaching on her space. Her choice is prophetic as several of the enemy advance in her direction…
Xing’s opponent offers a pathetic swing that misses the battle cat by a foot.
The warleader slides toward Sable and Cookie, looking to end them both with a single treacherous swing. Between Cookie’s waving spear and Sable’s innate cat-like reflexes, the kukri is batted aside damaging neither woman.
Onto the body of the dead dire wolf, climbs a strongly built female bugbear wielding a fine and heavy bow. Cookie’s spear slashes towards her but she kicks the bladed head aside. She perches on the wolf’s bloody head and looks for a ripe target. Seeing Senna, she knocks an arrow and sends it speeding toward the other archer. The arrow whips past her head and shatters against a wall.
The demon, feeling secure in the disposition of troops and more than a little irritated with the useless bugbear battling Xing, enters the fray. It flies past the combatants to flank Xing and slash her with a claw from behind. The blow does little damage. The demon stares at its claw as if something is wrong with it.
Round 6
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 15/31
Xing: 18/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
Senna focuses her arrow fire on the warleader. One arrow sticks in his armor, the other penetrates.
Arrows: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Blunts: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Perfect Strike (3): xxx
Ki Pool (4): xxxx
1st Spells (6): xxx
Blood Intensity (1):
Dancing Lights (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 3 hours
Xing strikes with a flurry of slashes and bites. Unfortunately, her attacks fail to penetrate the bugbear's hide.
Round 7
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 15/31
Xing: 18/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
After finally putting down her longtime opponent, Lady Sable turns her focus to the kukri wielding chief bugbear. She feints, bobs, and weaves before finding an opening and making her play to end him.
Sable buries her rapier in the warleader's gut. He snarls as he pulls himself free of the blade.
Cookie stabs at the nearest bugbear, then tries her best to defend her friends!
Cookie shifts position and brings her spear down on the head of the bugbear archer.
The bugbear and demon again move to flank Xing and attack. Claws and a Morningstar batter the battlecat.
The warleader slashes at Sable… coming perilously close to gutting the swordswoman but Cookie’s distracting spear stab saves Sable’s skin.
The bugbear archer fires two arrows, sinking one into Senna’s ribs, nearly taking her out of the fight.
HPs
Cookie: 21/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 1/31
Xing: 9/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
Senna casts a spell, sending two bolts of force into the back of the bugbear leader before she retreats into the doorway of the secret passage to avoid more arrows from the damned archer.
Desperation fuels Xing’s attacks. She claws her goblinoid opponent to death and then turns to confront the tiny demon.
Round 8
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 21/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 1/31
Xing: 9/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
Arrows: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Blunts: xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
Perfect Strike (3): xxx
Ki Pool (4): xxxx
1st Spells (6): xxxx
Blood Intensity (1):
Dancing Lights (3):
Inspired (1):
Effects:
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 3 hours
Lady Sable continues her dual with the chief bugbear.
Sable fences rapier to kukri but can't find a hole in the warleader's defense.
Cookie holds her ground and her flank with the Lady. She then drops her spear and draws out a truly deadly weapon, an old, pock-marked frying pan! She threatens the bugbear boss with it, sewing doubt in his mind!
Cookie tries to 'whammie' the warleader but his will holds...
Xing’s fur is matted with more blood as the demon sinks fangs and claws into her again. It is a death by a thousand cuts.
It looks to Cookie like her misfortune may have worked because the warleader’s blow twists as he attempts to decapitate Sable. The side of the blade slaps her throat doing no damage but knocking the blade from his hand. The warleader dives to catch the blade before it hits the floor. His reaction leaves him open to a counter-attack from Sable’s rapier and Cookie’s Dread Skillet!
In the fracas, the bugbear archer fires at the old halfling. The first arrow punches into her gut, knocking the wind from the old lady. Thankfully the second arrow misses.
All of our heroes are bloody and bruised, hanging on by a thread...
Round 8
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 6/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 1/31
Xing: 7/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
Lady Sable can't afford to let the opportunity slip by. As soon as the chief turns his attention to catching his fumbled weapon, she hones in on the opening and strikes.
Mama brings the skillet around with lethal precision, but not so great accuracy.
While dodging Cookie's attack the warleader can't avoid Sable's rapier. Her blade hacks into the artery in his neck. He drops to the floor, bleeding out.
Senna and Xing focus on the demon, hitting it a few times… but a good portion of the wounds heal almost instantly. They both slide press towards the team.
Round 9
ORDER: Sable, Yash, Cookie, Baddies, Xing, Senna
HPs
Cookie: 6/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 1/31
Xing: 7/30
Yash: -3/36 (non-rage -9/30) - Stable
For a moment Lady Sable debates with herself over taking a moment to heal a little versus pushing onward in the fight. She decides momentum will decide the outcome. She digs deep and shifts over to engage with the annoyingly dangerous archer, aiming a thrust at a vital spot.
Lady Sable scores a hit, a very palpable hit! The archer looks around, debating the advisability of continuing this fight as the numbers turn against him.
Mama steps up on Yash to get a better angle and swings her skillet for the throat!
Using the height advantage on top of Mount Yash, Cookie *spangs* the frying pan off the archer's skull. It's a compelling argument.
The demon spits out a curse in irritation at the cooling body of the chief bugbear. He looks at the heroes, committing their faces to memory. ”Another time.” He flies a short way from Xing then conjures and vanishes through an extraplanar gate. It closes with the stench of brimstone.
Seeing his warleader bleed out and the demon escape… is more than enough for the archer. He flees, hauling ass down the southern corridor until he vanishes around the corner.
Xing rushes over to the Yash and attempts to heal him.
HPs
Cookie: 6/32
Sable: 9/36
Senna: 1/31
Xing: 7/30
Yash: 8/30 Rage: 14/36
Mama is directly behind Xing, her wand at the ready! Seeing Xing rush for Yash, she beelines for Senna who looks like she's about to go into shock. Just take a seat here, dearie. Mama's here. You'll be ok.
She coos and clucks and fusses over everyone in turn, expending a lot of magic from the wand.
Only once she's sure of everyone else's health does she turn the wand on herself.
After several minutes of mending both flesh and clothes (should they be compromised in ways that may lead to indecency, she insists on securing them), Cookie finally takes a step back and breathes. That was far too close, my dears.
The CLW wand is practically smoking after being used so intensely… but all our heroes are figuratively (if not literally) back on their feet and at full strength.
Senna is content to lean against the wall of the hidden passage for a couple of minutes.
HPs
Cookie: 32/32
Sable: 36/36
Senna: 31/31
Xing: 30/30
Yash: 30/30 Rage: 36/36
Yash rolled over on to his back and stared up at the ceiling. The sounds of combat that last echoed in his ears were now replaced by the voices of women. His head craned up and looked around as his hand crept across the floor, searching for his axe. Seeing Senna, Xing, Mama and Sabelina all still with their heads attached brought a smile to his face. They were weary, but no worse for it. He sat up and peered around for his axe. Finding it next to him, he grabbed it and stood. As he caught each woman's eye, he nodded.
"Thank you." The words were strained. Ones never spoken by the orks, and rarely spoken by Yash. Words he had learned only recently, and still felt foreign to him.
After she's all patched up, Sabelina takes an extra minute to catch her breath and think. Then she makes some suggestions.
"Health isn't everything, we're all drained right now. It's been a long traveling fight ever since we arrived. We should be careful about how we proceed now."
"At this point we can be sure the crew is dead. We have plenty of extra stuff to carry away. Whether they are all dead to a man or not, I think it's a good bet the bugbears here are broken as a fighting unit."
"I think we can exit and collect our wagon, then go back to the city with our chins up."
Senna gives Yash a significant nod. As a speaker of Ork she knows what ISN'T in their dictionary. "You're quite welcome, my friend."
She nods at Sable's conclusions. "I'm strung out and I've got only a couple spells left in me." She rattles her now over half-empty quivers. "Even my arrow supply is a little concerning. I agree we need to show care."
She pushes herself up the wall until she is standing, "That said, we have another case and barrel in that corner that might be part of the cargo we need to collect. And there is light coming from down this tunnel and its reflecting off something down there. Do we search or get the hell out?"
"I've no quarrel with looking around more, but we should be careful about accepting any fights we can avoid. There's nothing that compels our continued presence here except own own interests."
Yash looked at Senna. "będę szukać. Wciąż mam swoją moc, topór, a moje rany się zagoiły."
"I will scout. I still have my power, my axe, and my wounds are healed."
"I go." Yash said to the others, and pointed to the northern tunnel. "You stay."
Yash whispered once again to his grandfather's spirit for aid. "Grandfather, protect me."
Yash catfoots down the corridor, axe ready, with his grandfather's spirit guarding him...
At the edge of his vision, he sees a narrow walkway crossing what he expects is the long central corridor they first saw coming down the main stairs.