At first Lan's thoughts went to trees and bushes around him while he keeps whatching. He misses the forest around his home. The scents of the forest mainly. He chuckles to himself as he realizes he misses the scents of his father's carpentey and his many hours working there making all kind of furniture and Doors and even a wagon once... good days he passed working there on his youth... before he discovered his afinity to Magic. He grinned then and had to use all his training on mastering himself to focus again in his whatching mission...
Sudenly his adrenaline spiked at an ominous sloshing sound on the other side of the camp - Gesturing to Ralina pointing to the direction of the camp, he redied his club and moved in the direction of the noise. It could be just an animal prowling, who knows what beasts inhabit this swamp, but it could be also the dam @#*#@ bandits. He knew he would be seen from enemies and be turned into a target but hopped his companions would see him to and know something was wrong.
As Al'Lan pushes through the damp undergrowth, the sloshing sounds grow louder. His sharp eyes pierce the darkness with infravision, and his heart quickens as he spots movement ahead. The faint outlines of figures emerge - humanoids with reptilian heads and sinuous tails, their shapes flickering eerily against the cold backdrop of the swamp.
He halts, muscles tensed, his grip tightening on his weapon. At the same instant, the creatures notice him. A chorus of hissing erupts, sharp and venomous, as they react with startling speed. Al'Lan barely has time to raise a warning cry when several javelins arc through the air toward him.
Two of the javelins hit!
The first missile strikes his shoulder, tearing through his tunic and biting into flesh. The second glances off his side, cutting into his ribs. He stumbles back, pain blooming in hot, sharp bursts, but he keeps his footing.
Actions?
Drusilla sees al'Lan and she nods. She raises her crossbow and looks down the trench to the sight. She will gesture for Al'Lan to try and signal the others. As she does she begins to look for the best line of sight shots with partial cover.
Al'Lan’s heart pounds like a drum in his chest as he realizes the grave mistake he’s made. Charging into the darkness alone and unprepared, he now understands the swamp hides more than mere bandits. The piercing pain from the javelins fuels his dread - there are other dangers out here, far more sinister.
His mind races, cursing himself for not having his sling at the ready. He knows he has no time to waste. Gritting his teeth, he turns and bolts back toward the camp, shouting a warning as he goes.
"Creatures attacking from the darkness!"
His voice rings out, frantic and sharp, cutting through the swamp’s oppressive silence. The uneven ground conspires against him, tripping him over gnarled roots and sharp branches. He stumbles, scraping his knees and palms, but adrenaline drives him forward.
Finally, he reaches Drusilla, panting and bloodied. His eyes lock onto hers, wide with urgency.
"There are several of them" - he gasps - "They're coming from our side, and they see in the darkness - just like you and me. Definitely not bandits"
Group actions?
Creatures! The word rings in Ralina's ears after Al'lan's warning shout. Not bandits. And certainly not the confident shout of an ambush. No. The elf's voice was filled with surprise, fear, and maybe even pain. It also came from further afield than she had expected.
"Petra's Grace." She mutters worriedly to herself and her goddess. "Something's gone wrong." She quickly snatches the little coal safely stored in her tin and drops it onto the gathered wood. As the fire flickers to life she readies her hammer and stands in the cover of a scraggly tree looking for any sign of the intruders.
Hearing the call for help, Dobin rushes to the premade camp fires and attempts to get them started, hoping the light might chase away whatever was attempting to creep up upon them.
Drusilla will back up and keep her crossbow up. As she does she looks to Al'Lan " get up get a sling stone ready."
I got no sling, Drusilla. Just fire at them and I'll engage if they come to close, just be warned that I'm seriously wounded. don't know if I'll survive the first strikes
Lan just stays in cover watching what happens, ready to attack if they come for Drusilla
Creatures in the dark, just f#%*ing great... the old rogue thinks to himself as he moves to get himself on the opposite side of the fire from known approaching creatures.
-- Round 2 --
As Drusilla pulls back, Al'Lan grits his teeth and holds his position despite his grievous injuries, seemingly forgetting the sling that Ralina had entrusted to him. His breath comes in ragged gasps, but he steels himself for another assault.
Through the dim light, his sharp elven eyes can make out the shapes of the approaching creatures again. This time, they fan out, using the shadows to their advantage. Once more, their javelins arc through the air with deadly precision.
Two of the barbed weapons strike true, one driving through Al'Lan’s lung, its force pinning him to the swampy ground. His form stiffens, blood bubbling from his lips as he collapses, standing grotesquely for a moment like some grim scarecrow before crumpling to the earth.
Al'Lan is dead.
Drusilla's infravision does not have enough reach for her to see their opponents, so she is left with the horrific sight of the deceased Al'Lan.
Ralina: Lit the fire and took a defensive position under a tree.
Dobin: Rushed to stoke the campfire, working to cast more light into the ominous swamp.
Drusilla: Backed up and kept her crossbow at the ready, urging Al'Lan to ready his sling, only to witness his demise.
Kallum: Maneuvered to put himself on the opposite side of the fire from the incoming threat, using the light as a barrier.
------------------------------
-- Round 3 --
Group Actions?
Ralina sees Kellum's fire burst to life and Dobin's as well. They weren't far away. They'd been sure to set up within a few easy paces of each other in order to provide quick support should any of them get in trouble. Of course no one expected javelins flying out of the darkness. It seemed these bandits could see in the dark quite well.
She wipes the sweat from her palms, stays still and quiet trying to control her breath as she waits for whoever it was out there to either flee the flames or come closer to finish what they'd started.
Now with the light shining, Dobin moves into the shadows and attempts to see anyone moving in the shadows. Keeping out of the light, the warrior waits to see if anything will approach the two dummies.
"Al'Lan is down" She says backing up and then bolts across to ready a shot while in the ring of light.
-- Round 3 --
The tension in the air is palpable as the faint light of the campfires flickers against the encroaching darkness. Drusilla takes her position within the safety of the light’s edge, her sharp elven eyes scanning the void for any sign of the attackers.
But as the moments drag on, she realizes her critical error - by stepping into the light, she has made herself an easy target. Before the thought can fully register, the whistle of javelins cuts through the night.
Four barbed projectiles hurtle toward her from the shadows, the assailants still hidden beyond her infravision's reach. Instinctively, she ducks and twists, and by some stroke of luck or grace, each javelin misses its mark, embedding harmlessly into the muck around her feet.
Meanwhile, Dobin attempts to use the surrounding darkness to his advantage, but the uneven terrain betrays him. As he shifts position, his boot catches on a gnarled root, and he stumbles awkwardly, narrowly avoiding a fall. The shadows offer no answers; he sees nothing but murk and mystery.
Ralina and Kallum hold their ground, tense and waiting, unsure if the creatures will strike again or retreat into the void. For now, they are unable to see their foes, relying on the faint light and Drusilla’s alertness to gauge the threat.
The attackers remain unseen to the group, their movements masked by the swamp’s oppressive silence. The only hint of their presence is the faint splash of their footfalls retreating deeper into the dark.
Drusilla retreated into the circle of light
Dobin moved outside the circles of light from the different fires.
Ralina and Kallum held their ground
------------------------------
-- Round 4 --
Group Actions?
Drusilla cuts back and around.
"We need more light" She says as she trains her crossbow onto the sound.
More light was going to be hard to come by, Ralina thinks frantically. Looking around, all she could see was wet wood, mud, and swamp grasses. They hadn't expected the bandits to be able to see in the dark. Suddenly a thought cropped into her mind.
The dwarves in the mines had some form of heat vision they used to see in the dark confines of the tunnels. Once a thief had tried to break into the cavern storing a month's worth of silver by coating his entire body in a thick layer of mud. Unfortunately for him he'd caught a sniffle while testing his theory a few days before. He suffered a sneezing fit coming out of the treasury that alerted the guards. His mud covered, naked body was hanging outside the mine entrance the next day.
Thinking quickly, she scoops a glob of mud and starts to cover her face, hands, and any other exposed flesh in a thick layer of cold damp earth.
Kallum loads up a sling stone, ready to hurl it at any creature that comes close enough to the light.
Dobin crouches down and keeps quiet in the hopes he can either surprise their attacker or hide from them.
-- Round 4 --
The stillness of the swamp is broken by faint, rhythmic splashes - soft but deliberate, like paddles stirring the water. From where Al'Lan had fallen, the noises begin to spread outward, creeping closer toward the party’s flank.
Drusilla's sharp ears catch the low murmur of guttural hisses, almost like a conversation, interspersed with the occasional wet scrape of something dragging through the muck.
The attackers remain unseen, yet the spreading sounds hint at a calculated maneuver, the feeling of encirclement tightening like a noose.
Drusilla shifted position, still within the light of the fire.
Ralina rubbed cold mud on her exposed flesh.
Kallum at the ready with a sling, in the dark.
Dobin in the dark. Waiting.
------------------------------
-- Round 5 --
Group Actions?
Dobin stays crouched down and hidden partly behind his shield with his club ready to strike if he should hear anything nearby.
Ralina finishes coating herself with mud. Even going so far as covering her armor to keep it from reflecting in any moonlight along with her trousers and shirt. By the time she's finished she's like a skinny haired pig in a wallow, covered from head to toe in cold, damp earth.
Hearing the scuttling noises, she carefully and cautiously slips through the swamp scrub pausing just beyond the light of the fire. There she waits, watches and listens for any sign of their foe.
Kallum remains ready with his sling, silently cursing the darkness of the night.
-- Round 5 --
Out of the darkness, a hulking figure surges toward Kallum! Its bloated, mold-covered club swings with lethal force, striking the thief’s skull with a sickening crack. Kallum collapses instantly, his lifeless form crumpling to the swampy ground.
Nearby, Dobin barely catches movement in the shadows as another creature lunges forward, its jagged spear slicing the air just inches from his chest. The fighter recoils, straining his eyes to make out the faint outline of his assailant. Though obscured by the darkness, he still has a fighting chance, albeit with the odds against him
Ralina’s mud-coated form remains hidden, her quick thinking shielding her from immediate danger. Meanwhile, Drusilla’s infravision catches two more creatures charging into view, their sinewy forms illuminated in shades of heat. Though they’re still a few paces away, their relentless advance makes it clear - they will be upon her by the next breath.
Drusilla stood her ground.
Ralina stands covered in mud at the edge of the fire.
Kallum was mauled and killed!
Dobin was attacked, but his opponent missed.
------------------------------
-- Round 6 --
Group Actions?
Drusilla fires her crossbow at one of them.
"Retreat"
She then will retreat back to the fire.
Dimly seeing the outline of his attacker, Dobin swings his club with all his might in the hopes he can kill the creature and escape.
Attack:
Damage:
Seeing one of the creatures engage Dobin near the fire and not so very far away, Ralina rises up and quickly moves in to strike at the beast with her warhammer.
Drusilla fires a crossbow shot which hits one of the lizard like humanoid creatures - the shot does not kill it however.
Dobin's attack in the dark is all but ineffective against his opponent.
Ralina's heart pounds in her chest. She see's nothing in the flicking shadows of the firelight. Can only hear the occasional sounds of rough deadly fighting followed quickly by eerie bouts of silence.
Drusilla's desperate call to fall back echoes through the night. Turning she catches a glimpse of the elf firing at something in the shadows.
"Petra guide me." She whispers to herself then squats low. Covered in mud, she stays down and slinks in Drusilla's general direction. The devote woman takes a line that keeps her near the edge of the firelight, sliding from tree to shrub to rock keeping to cover as much as possible. With her hands wrapped tightly on the grip of her hammer, the acolyte of Petra stays alert, her eyes and ears peeled in the hopes she might intercept whatever Drusilla was attempting to shoot.
-- Round 6 (continued) --
Ralina stays securely hidden, while the two creatures Drusilla glimpsed earlier surge forward. Shrouded in shadow beyond the firelight’s reach, they appear as faint, heat-hued silhouettes in her infravision, unmistakably advancing toward her. The lumbering brutes close the distance swiftly but fall just short of reaching the elf, for now.
The lizardman battling Dobin presses its assault, now joined by its companion fresh from felling Kallum. With cunning coordination, the pair exploit an opening, driving the warrior off balance before one lands a savage blow to his side, tearing through his defenses.
------------------------------
-- Round 7 --
Group Actions?
Dobin slowly give way, moving back towards the light, hoping someone can see him and come to his aid. He strikes back at one of the creatures attacking him as he moves.
attack:
damage:
Drusilla will draw her mace in one hand as her other homds the crossbow.
She'll Look as she does and see where to strike, or see if she is being persued.
Seeing Drusilla suddenly beset by two of the monsters, Ralina offers a quick prayer to Petra that Dobin can hold on. Her mud covered form then emerges from the scrub as she hurries toward the enemy closing in on the elf. Passing the fire she started, she grabs a burning brand and waves it wildly in the air.
"To arms! To arms! Rise up in Petra's name!" She shouts at the top of her lungs as if another dozen warriors were hidden in the mud ready to leap up and attack. She tosses the burning brand toward the two advancing beasts hoping to add to the confusion and chaos. "The monsters have fallen into our trap, I told you the mud would work against their infernal night sight! To arms! To arms!"
Ralina’s voice rings out, bold and commanding, as she charges forward waving the flaming brand, her cries of reinforcements echoing through the night. The lizardmen pause, their hulking forms hesitating as their reptilian eyes flick toward the fire and the shadows beyond. The imagined threat, amplified by her clever ruse, seems to ripple through the air, unnerving them. Their claws twitch on their weapons, and their previously relentless advance falters. For a brief moment, it’s as if they believe the mud-slicked earth itself could rise up to strike them.
Drusilla, now bolstered by Ralina’s presence, steadies herself, her weapon ready. Dobin steps back, bloodied but resolute, joining the line with a grim determination. The three stand back to back, united in defiance, as the flickering firelight and Ralina's theatrics hold the enemy at bay - if only for a heartbeat longer.
Then suddenly one of the lizardmen takes a tentative step back, then another, its jagged weapon lowering as it snarls nervously. Then the other follows suit, its tail flicking in agitation as its predatory gaze darts from the fire to the mud and back again. With a guttural hiss, the pair retreat, their heavy footsteps splashing through the wet earth as they vanish into the darkness from which they came. From outside the radius of the fire, another pair of steps is heard receding into the swamp, moving away from the direction Dobin came from.
The echoes of their withdrawal leave a tense silence in their wake, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the labored breathing of the defenders.
Combat over!
Ralina continues to shout and rattle her gear for several more seconds after the creatures flee. Finally letting herself think they have truly retreated, her shoulders sag as she goes over to put several more pieces of wood onto the fires. The branches hiss and pop in the flames, but eventually the old wood relents and burns. With the light of the fires burning hot and bright, she turns to Drusilla and Dobin.
"Are both of you alright?" She asks, her brow furrowing as the warrior holds a hand over a wound at his side.
Not knowing what happened to the others, the acolyte of Petra turns to the grim task of finding Al'lan and Kallum. Her worst fears are realized as she finds first the human and then the elf. Each cold and surrounded by a pool of their own blood.
"Over here." She calls to the others before kneeling down to offer a quiet, brief prayer for her fallen comrades. Once complete, she recovers her sling and the little sack of stones she'd given to Al'lan and then returns to the fires. Her eyes are dark and tired. Her expression is resolute, but devoid of the excitement and desire for glory that filled them only a few short hours ago before the sun sank into the western sky.
Dobin dropped to his knees once the threat had moved away. The lizardmen almost had him, but he survived. He got up and moved with Ralina, finding the other two bodies. He dragged them over to the fire so nothing else could get at them. He finally sat and looked towards the two women.
"My thanks. That was quick thinking scaring them away like that! Took a stab to the flank, but it should be OK if we can clear this swamp."
" We should gather thier stuff and divide up the gear Then putting them to rest. Does anyone know what or who these men followed?" She says as she then looks at Dob8n.
" You are one tough human" She says taking the dagger and Javelins as well as assessing the armor and slings.