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Combat Reflexes also already allows you to make AoO's before you've acted:
Arsena grins. Stowing her bow and making her way over to the others, she places her fists on her hips as she addresses Janira. "Y'know, ma'am, I must admit I wasn't so sure about this whole 'Pathfinder' business. But I gotta say, this was pretty inspirin'." Turning to the other neophyte Pathfinders, she grins even wider. "I've been livin' alone so long, it's been awful nice explorin' and fightin' alongside y'all. Once we get back to the city, maybe I'll see some of y'all again when I head out on the next thing."
Arsena moves closer, pushing through the untamed brush as best she can. It’s a struggle to move closer, but it’s close enough. She looses another arrow at the minotaur. Despite the dire situation, Arsena can’t help but grin and jokes, ”Do you really need our help, ma’am? Looks like you got this handled alright all by yourself.” ---
”Janira!” Arsena shouts as she emerges into the moonlight and sees the scene below. Her heart swells with hope as she sees Janira rip the massive axe from the minotaur’s hands, but it wouldn’t be enough just yet. She drops her glaive and draws her bow as she rushes down the hill. She skids to a stop where the dirt yields to grass, nocks one of the magical arrows and sends it flying toward the horned beast. ---
Arsena relaxes once the last skeleton clatters to the ground. She nods at Xurga’s request and retrieves the wand they found in Janira’s bag. ”Thanks for the offer, Durvak, but I think I got this one. Besides, it's not as often that I get to do magic. It's good to practice.” Touching the wand to Xurga’s wound, she concentrates and lets the magic knit the flesh back together. ”You know,” she says to Xurga once she's satisfied with the healing, ”Janira was right that you're more than just a sword arm. That said, I am glad that you're good with that sword.” She grins. ”Just try not to get hit so much from now on. Did you take that potion we found for you, yet?" Her tone is lightly scolding, approaching motherly. "Janira’s instructions on the label said it lasts a half hour. That should be plenty of extra toughness for ya, right?” Arsena helps gather things up as the others search. She flips through the necromancer’s journal and shakes her head sadly before tossing it in her pack. She then slings the quiver of magical arrows over her shoulder when Xurga moves the bookcase and Janira’s voice comes floating in from a distance. She nods at Kaya. ”Reckon you're right about that. Let's get a move on through those tunnels ‘fore it's too late.” ---
Arsena winces at the cut one of the skeleton gave her. ”Who’s overwhelmed?” she shoots back at Theodic, a grin playing on her face. She nimbly hops back, leaning into the landing before translating that energy forward into an elegant and powerful slash at the skeleton in her range. ---
Reach weapon and Combat Reflexes::
Arsena immediately rushes forward, glaive at the ready with the utmost confidence. Uh, skeletons, hm… don't remember quite what they're about. Not a problem, I'll smack ‘em down just the same. Bathed in dramatic shadows from the bright magical light shining in this confined space, Arsena’s grin takes on an eerie quality. She bounces on the balls of her feet, gripping her glaive loosely as if it's a plaything rather than a weapon. She seems coiled and ready, but not tense; against these foes she looks more like she's ready to box or even dance with the skeletons despite the size and weight of her pole arm. ---
Arsena nods and smiles at Uori, trying to hide her being unsettled by his sharp teeth. ”Much obliged for the information, friend - and for the warning. If it’s alright with you, I think we’d like to take some notes, maybe sketch out what’s in here a little bit just for record keepin’.” Once Xurga is done taking notes, Arsena borrows his pen to take some of her own. She hunches over her parchment, as if she doesn’t want anyone to see it. Indeed, anyone trying to look over her shoulder sees notes on the cave, but the notes seem to be musings on how to turn a profit on offering wilderness tours to the cave to various pilgrims and tourists. ---
Arsena nods to the gillman and flashes a nervous smile. ”Howdy, Uori. Name's Arsena. Pleased to meetcha. If this cloak belongs to one of yours, I'm sure Kaya would be happy to return it - just keeping it warm for him, ain't that right?” she asks the halfling. She gestures for Kaya to go forward, hoping the young mage’s gregariousness can ease the tension of the Pathfinders’ intrusion. ---
”Huh. Sure does. And I guess now I know why they call ‘em gill-men,” Arsena whispers back to Kaya, eyeing the bathing figure’s neck. She moves forward cautiously behind Xurga. ”’Scuse us,” she calls to the gillman, ”but I don't s'pose we could take up just a bit of your time? We've been looking for you.” ---
Arsena scrutinizes the wall carvings, parchment at the ready to record her findings. She ends up mostly squinting a lot and scratching her head, feeling as though she almost has a breakthrough moment of understanding. Unfortunately it never comes, like the feeling of a sneeze that doesn't arrive. ”Well I can't make heads or tails of none of this,” she admits to herself out loud. Drawn by Xurga’s questioning their sorcerer friend, she walks over and tries to get a peek at what notes the man is taking over his shoulder. ---
As the fledgling Pathfinders progress down the cave, Arsena eyes the pictographs with interest. ”Well, it looks like we’re on the right track for finding these fish-men. Hey Xurga, mind if I borrow yer pen real quick?” Arsena jots down some quick imitation of the pictographs on her new parchment, trying to to get it wet in the soggy hallway before continuing. She’s impressed by the others’ quick thinking and agility (and Durvak’s tenacity as he eventually climbs out), brushing herself off on the other side. She grins at Xurga’s comments. ”Maybe putting these spikes to keep out troublemakers like us is what keeps ‘em so peaceful. Not that we’re comin’ in to wreck up the place, but it looks like they don’t want to just roll out a red carpet for anyone.” Arsena then nods to Kaya. ”I say go ahead and use the scroll. Best to get some use out of it now - I don’t reckon these caves will be overly stuffed with treasure anyway. But we can always hope, right?” She grins before waiting for the young wizard to identify the cloak before continuing down the cave path.
Xugra will happily take the barkskin, also want to point out that Arsena is already carrying Xugras wand of CLW (since he can't use it himself). I can hold on to both your wand and Janira's, and use up Janira's first. For the other potions, why don't I take the vanish for scouting/positioning, and Durvak takes the feather step since his slower speed is affected more by difficult terrain?
Alright, everyone, time to divvy up loot! We should figure out who should take what, and what people can actually use. Here are my suggestions: Potion of Barkskin - Xurga can take this, as he has the lowest AC of our melee fighters and no reach.
Arsena quickly draws her glaive and levels it toward the huge bestial creature, although standing back defensively as Janira tells everyone to duck into the cave. Once it’s clear that the minotaur plans to go after Janira instead of the rest of the group, Arsena pushes past the vegetation hanging over the entrance and blinks as her eyes adjust first to the dim light of the glowing fungus and then to Theodic’s flaring up of magical illumination. Her racing heartbeat eventually returns to normal and she sighs with relief. ”I hope that woman knows what she’s doin’. I reckon I’ve never faced nothin’ with horns that big, that’s for sure.” Examining the tracks that Kaya points out, she nods at Durvak. ”Frog people, maybe. But it looks like we’re right on the trail of those gill-men. Must be the right place.” Arsena observes as the others go through Janira’s bag, evaluating what’s most useful to her. ”Lots of good stuff in here. I don’t reckon I can use much of this fancy magic stuff, but I’d be willin’ to bet some of the rest of y’all can.” Once the bag is divided up, Arsena nods to the rest of the fledgling Pathfinders. "Well, shall we? I can take point in following these tracks, unless Xurga or Durvak wants to lead us?" she asks.
Arsena wipes her brow and sighs with relief. ”Glad that's taken care of. Nice work, y'all.” She replaces her own flask and adjusts the straps on her backpack to keep moving. At Janira’s confession, she tilts her head as if confused. ”Oh, you mean we didn't leave the trail on purpose? I thought you knew a shortcut or somethin’. We're not that far off the path we were on before. I'm sure I can find it, no problem.” ---
”You got it, ma'am. Hope y'all like mushrooms,” Arsena replies to Janira before disappearing into the nearby woods. She comes back a short time afterward with a bundle of mushrooms, fragrant roots and tubers, and a rabbit. She gets to work with her dagger and settles in to enjoy a quiet night. --- The next day starts quietly. After a bit of walking, Arsena begins to think, Maybe this ain't such a bad gig. Plenty of walking in the open air, a bit of company (even if they are a bit of a mixed bag). Could be that this whole Pathfinder thing is easier than I thought - and no sooner does she finish her thought that the tree crashes and the spiders surge forth. She reaches into a pocket and pulls out a flask of acid. Stepping forward, she prepares to chuck it at the spiders when they close in. ”Heads up, y'all!” ---
Arsena grins. "Like I said, I've been living off the land by myself for a while and that tends to make time a little tricky. Reckon I'm about forty, give or take. Old enough to be most of y'all's momma, 'cept Durvak. Anyway, I think we're in a bit of a hurry to go huntin', but I'll try to bag something on the way back when we can be more leisure-like."
Arsena relaxes visibly once away from the city. Slowly chewing on a bit of jerky and pulling up a bit of grass to check the wind, she patiently listens to the others before taking her turn. ”Well, I've been living out in the woods for a while, so I can forage and track alright. Lots of dangerous critters out there, too - boars, even ghouls and such - so even an old lady like me does best to learn how to use a weapon,” she says jerking a thumb at her glaive nearby. ”If we're expecting a fight, best to let ‘em come to you and keep ‘em at bay. At least, that's what's worked for me.”
Arsena follows the others around, picking up odds and ends for the short journey ahead. She counts out her coin at the stationery seller, not having much more on hand, leaving empty handed. She pipes up at Xurga's request. "Reckon I can hold on to that for ya, in case of emergencies and such. Think I could borrow your pen for note-takin' while I'm doing ya that favor?" she asks, grinning.
"Sounds straightforward enough," Arsena says, standing from her seat and adjusting sone straps on her backpack. "Since we need all the daylight we can get, I reckon we oughta get moving. I'll go with Kaya here to get supplies - some rations'll be good if there ain't time to hunt. Anything else you think we'll need, Janira?"
"Uhh, field commission I s'pose," Arsena answers Janira, looking anxiously at the other whispering halfling. Her leg starts bouncing nervously. Arsena looks relieved when Xurga starts to get down to the task at hand. Happy to divert more attention away from herself, she adds, "Yeah, it would be awful good to know what you already found out 'bout this cave and these gill-men. Oh, and, uh, what's a gill-man?"
A middle aged Varisian woman, dressed in worn but practical clothing accented with a red-and-gold scarf covering her head, stays seated at the table as Shane leaves. She looks nervous, practically reluctant to be present, but she nods cordially to the assembled. "They call me Arsena," she says, her voice deep and accented with a backwoods drawl. "Used to live up in Varisia. I, uh... I guess you could say things got a little quiet just living in the woods. So I decided to get into something a little more involved." DC 15 Sense Motive:
She sighs, having stumbled through her awkward introduction. "Pleased to meetcha." |
