Well, too bad, especially now that we found the camp. Well, you guys have fun, as said before, and don't kill anyone I know. ;)
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:) "nifty" sounds cool, gotta remember that. Have fun!
Well, Rayla hits pretty hard (if she doesn't roll a four and a six, as in the last fight), but she doesn't really do ranged. The only thing she could throw that she has is a masterwork dagger we found earlier. So what? Wait for a patrols where we have an escape router through a river or so and see how fast they react? Or try laying a fire nearby - at best in a fashion that the tower is downwind so it gets clouded in smoke and then attack from the other side?
Well, if no one is interested in scouting making a camp is alright as far as I am concerned, if only due to a lack of a better idea. I think with that kind of forces a frontal assault would be unwise. We just have to figure out what we do then. The most obvious choices would be either to create a distraction and enter or to sneak in. Beyond that there might be a way to lure them elsewhere, so they can't attack us all at once and we have a tactical advantage. The cave seems more interesting than the tower (since, while it evidently has a top for guards to stand on, it was described as ruined), though both may or may not be connected. What puzzles me is that the enemy was described as "bandits"... sounds as though they were human or so, not goblin. That would make it more difficult, I suppose we'll have to have a closer look for that.
"To the south, around 100 yards south of here... maybe a little more." Rayla looks around the group "I would scout ahead and see whether there are accesses other than the obvious, but it's very likely the guards on that tower would notice me..." She grins and adds a sly: "Subtlety isn't exactly my strong side."
Maybe it got a little lost, but I was asking for a more detailed description of what we see:
The urge to strike as soon as she becomes aware of the camp and find Lady Gweniver is hard to resist and her hands cling painfully tight around the hilt of her blade. Yet she goes down on her knees to hide behind the undergrowth and take a closer look at it. She tries to assess how many enemies there may be of what kind - gobloids and bugbears like the ones they've met or others? And how many there are by the amount of fires tents. She also tries to make a reasonable guess who may have build the tower - whether it is goblinoid arcitecture or, for example, the leftovers of some wizard tower and whether its foundation touches the rocks of the cave system, so that there is an indication they might be connected. Are there any guards or patrols? "There is an enemy encampment straight ahead, Helena" Rayla says with lowered voice, because she's not entirely sure whether she noticed it. "Along with a ruined tower and a cave entrance. We need to find a way in there without being seen... I don't think it's a good idea to camp in the heart of enemy territory. They probably know that we're somewhere in this forest by now, if not that we're right at their doorstep."
After Helena got dressed Rayla comes back in. "We rather stay in motion. All we have is what the Hobgoblin said before he died to go on... Let's just go on looking the way we did yesterday. Whatever this is, we must put a stop to this." Rayla casts a somewhat concerned look to Helena. "Ready?"
Rayla sorts through the gear she's carrying and hands over Helena's stuff as far as she has it. "Did your captor say anything what this was about? I am not sure whether he was connected to that queen we're after in the first place." Whatever happened must have bothered Helena seriously and Rayla doesn't want to be too inquisitive about it. But if she learned something important they must know. She sighs. "It feels like we're not one step closer to saving - or at least finding Lady Gweniver and stopping those abductions than when we started." She looks around to make sure there is indeed nothing of a threat around. "I'll give you some privacy to change... Os, you're coming, too? You may steal from the dead later." She says the latter with a wink and a smile. "Then we should get back on track. Unless we find a clue, which does not seem likely." Rayla gives Helena a bit time to answer and leaves the cave to stand guard by the entrance.
"Of course" Rayla returned softly. "Just sit there for a moment, I'll get your robes. You may have my mantle in the mean time - I don't get cold due to my heritage." She slips her armoured cloak off and puts it beside Helena, careful not to touch her, since she doesn't seem to like that and looks around for Helena's equipment. She doesn't show the slightest hint of shame now that she is hardly dressed at all anymore - a little top and something between a skirt and a loincloth, both made of coarse wool and don with armour plates. "Either way... we should go on as soon as we can"
More than just a bit frustrated that she didn't hit anything at all Rayla watches the bugbear breathe its last. She doesn't sheathe her sword but holds it over one shoulder as she follow Wilhelm to Helena, though she does seem a bit absent as her mind is occupied with her failure and her eyes wander around for clues, or maybe ways deeper into that darkness, which is really more a colourlessnes to her. "I am still a bit puzzled how this happened - I mean it's not like we weren't keeping watch. And why. And what this place is..." Even though the questions are meant for Helena, Rayla isn't addressing anyone in particular. She reaches the free left out for the remarkably dignified lady's shoulder in order to be able to support her, but doesn't dare touching her without a sign of consent. Rayla sighs and turns directly to Helena: "It's good we found you relatively fast - I was already afraid we might have to try to track both you and Lady Gweniver. The Lucky Drunk give we find her soon."
I just noticed the bonus for flanking is +2, not +1, so my attack roll should be 14, not 13... if we manage to flank.
A bit annoyed by the fact that she missed, she engages the bugbear again. "I am afraid I have eyes only for your host, but you sound pretty much alright." Despite the hearty tone of voice and the fact that shes not falling into her usual rage her eyes gleam dangerous in the half light of the torches and she moves like a predator, trying to circle her enemy in.
The bugbear has had the first blow. Rayla grinned at the depicable creature, half in the colorness of the dark, half with the colors reflected from the light of the torches. "Hello, Helenah..." She began to speak as her blade went down on the creature. No need to give in to her celestial rage for that pitiful excuse of an opponent. Her blade went down it. "... I hope you're alright?"
"Well, we won't find Helena by standing here.", Rayla says with a bit lowered voice and steps slowly inside, keeping an eye out for traps or other unpleasant surprises. She holds her greatsword in both hands the tip entering the cavern first - those narrow spaces are not good for her fighting style, but there is no helping it. She tries not to think about it too much but still the thought "Who is Maxim?" echoes in her mind. "I hope this is more than just show."
She realizes how dark it is, but only due to the fact that she looses her sense for colors. Another gift from the angels: To be able to see in the darkness. The only way to honour it is to try to be light onesself, and even though Helena sees by very strange means in the darkness as well, Rayla will bring some light to her. "Stay close."
Rayla watches the scene with a bit of surprise. She steps close to Delilah as well and her golden eyes look at her with great concern. "Delilah... go ahead if you think you can do it but... don't get caught alright?" She squeezes her friend's shoulder even though she still hesitates for a moment from touching a someone with demonic blood in their veins.
Rayla hadn't even thought of breaking up the camp but was about to chase after Helena's kidnapper right then and there. In all hurry she breaks down their stuff to chase after her and is completely taken by surprise when Osmær appears. She twitches briefly, but tries to cast her confusion aside; she'll worry about that later. "Well met. I am Rayla. And hurry is exactly what we are in right now." When everything is packed she grabs her sword and enters the forest where she found the trail. "Let's go."
Rayla checks the area behind the tent for tracks, trying to fight down the impulse to run after her and see where she was brought in the first place. "By the drunken god, we will not abandon a comrade. We will find her.", she mumbles staring down into the snow.
"Well, that's odd." Rayla looks at the tent and still can't quite believe that the strange, dignified lady has gone missing. She had had her reservation violating Helena's privacy, but now she feels a little guilty for not checking her tent earlier. "I didn't notice anything at all... did anyone else notice anything strange last night... did anyone doze off during their watch?" There are tracks of all of them all over the place so it's hard to figure who stepped when and where. Rayla checks Helena's tent, see whether there are signs of trouble, checks for Helena's equipment and weapons, to figure out whether she was somehow taken or left for whatever reason. While it may be unwise she can't hold back anymore. "Helena!" she yells. "Where are you?" It frustrates her. She wouldn't go as far as to call Helena a friend, but she deeply respects her. Wise healers like her should be able to rely on the protection of powerful people like Rayla and yet she failed. Whatever happened, she hopes Helena shows up again, safe and sound.
Rayla will take the middle of the night... you don't have to take a watch at all.
Rayla takes a moment to look around. Doesn't seem like anything is still out there. "It probably fast than us and knows the terrain better than we do... still, maybe it leads us to the lair of that queen. We might wanna follow it..." She puts her sword away again and checks whether the tracks lead into the correct average direction.
"One moment, I am still looking..." Rayla seems indeed a bit distracted. Her head pops up and disappears again in between the bushes repeatedly. "There might be... magic involved... but if it were so, why did it attack with a simple spear? Why just one? Does it belong to the enemy or is it a scared creature defending its territory?" she mumbles half loud. It's unclear whether she's talking to herself or to Helena.
It seems like this games lost some of its steam. One of the PCs just took a javelin out of nowhere, and I haven't gotten one IC response, and only one OOC response. I'm wondering what I did wrong, and I'm also worried that you're bored. I'd like to continue this, but I'm not going to put time and effort into a game that no one wants to play. If everyone's busy, that's cool, and I can cool my heels for a bit, but still, when there's almost two full days that go by and I only get one OOC response, I'm wondering what I did to chase everyone off. I am very sorry I got a bit distracted over the past few days (yesterday was my 37th birthday), but I can assure you I still really like this game would very much like to continue.
"Delilah!"[/b} The yell escapes Rayla's throat before she can and she rushes after the creature as Helena gets to Delilah's help. [b]"How can something so big disappear so quickly!" she wonders a bit more calm but under visible stress. With her blade in her hand she twitches around near the location where she saw, swirling it dangerously through the air. After she realizes that it is in fact gone - even though it may very well be watching them - she goes into her knees and examines the ground. "Well, maybe it did leave some kind of trace..."
Rayla looks a little surprised and examines the two giant people closely. "I see... I hope you find whatever you're looking for then... good hunting to you." She lowers the massive, blood stained blade she still holds in her hand and nods her head. Her words seem sincere as can be and yet there is a certain intensity in her strange silver-and-gold eyes with which she looks at them and for a moment she seems more alien than usual in the light falling down between the trees.
For a moment it looks like Rayla was going to chase the bandit through the wilderness, but then she hesitates, takes a deep breath and calms down, panting to regain her senses after her moment of fury. "That's strange... how many people are going to attack in which people supposedly disappear." She sighs. "Well, we better move on."
Rayla is, for a moment a bit confused that she actually missed, but that doesn't stop her from giving her opponent a similarly furious, but hopefully more precise blow. Stats:
Str 20 (+5), DEX 14 (+2) Con 18 (+4), INT 14 (+2), WIS 8 (-1), CHA 14 (+2)
AC 15 (+2 DEX, +4 armor, -2 rage), flat-footed 13, touch 10 HP 16/14 Including two temporary Fort +6 (+2 base, +4 CON), Ref +2 (0 base, +2 DEX), Will +1 (0 base, -1 WIS, +2 rage) Attack (Greatsword, two-handed) 1d20+7 (1 base, 1 weapon focus, +5 STR), Damage 2d6+7 (1.5 x STR) Raging round (2/6)
Rayla feels her angelic wrath pulsing through her as the one petty thief dares to step into her path. She had enough to do and enough to worry about with the group itself and the disciples of that Shadow Queen as it is. She just wasn't in the mood bother pointing the thugs to the fact that they were throwing their lives away. "You just crossed the wrong one; now die!" she yelled in anger at the man in front of her, draws her blade along with her words and strikes right as she finished.
New Stats:
Str 20 (+5), DEX 14 (+2) Con 18 (+4), INT 14 (+2), WIS 8 (-1), CHA 14 (+2)
AC 15 (+2 DEX, +4 armor, -2 rage), flat-footed 13, touch 10 HP 16/14 Including two temporary Fort +6 (+2 base, +4 CON), Ref +2 (0 base, +2 DEX), Will +1 (0 base, -1 WIS, +2 rage) Attack (Greatsword, two-handed) 1d20+7 (1 base, 1 weapon focus, +5 STR), Damage 2d6+7 (1.5 x STR) Raging round (1/6)
Rayla sits in thought for a moment. "I am sorry for loss." She said quietly and her strange, metallic eyes gleam in the darkness straight at him. "When my village was raided by our enemies in my youth and I was taken a slave I found myself in a similar dilema. All that had a meaning to me suddenly stopped and rage was all that defined me. It's difficult to hold on to something if everything you love vanishes in an instant, difficult to remember who we are. If you look at me you see certain aspects of an angel, which is because I descent from an angel. But in the end I am still just human and there is still darkness inside of me and trying to deny it would only make it grow stronger. I would have lost myself in whatever my slavers wanted me to be if it wasn't for the voice of an actual angel to guide me, to give me hope. Sometimes, we're all lost. Sometimes, we all need an angel." Rayla stands up and checks the environment briefly. Then she sits next and puts a hand on his arm. "I believe your family is in a better place than this - death is not the end to it all and in some place they are and look down on you and still love you. But the slaughter must end; not for the sake of your enemies, but for yours. Revenge is not all that you are. I don't condemn you, but unfortunately it's not I who must be ready to leave the past behind, it's you and it's the goblinoids." She sighs. "I am not sure whether there is a peaceful solution on this one. I have a feeling there is more going on than meets the eye... I wouldn't be surprised if this queen somehow took advantage of goblinoids in their terror for her own dark purposes. Or there is something more going on we don't know yet. I hope we can still save Lady Gweniver. Do you think you can do that? Leave the past behind and believe in a brighter future... like the Eternal Rose hopes for her brother?" She still doubts that a simple band of goblins could overwhelm armed and trained so effectively or that they would bother to hang up bodies in such fashion. The effectiveness with which all the people who were lost were made disappear is strikingly unusual and the hobgoblin she talked to didn't know anything about the soldiers in the tree. She remains sitting next to him but her eyes scan the environment and she listens to things out of place in the sounds of the forest.
"Of course I wouldn't mind!" She watches him curiously but doesn't want to become too pushy. "You can tell me if there is anything on your mind, I'll keep it private. Otherwise... I like this this land, with all its mointains and its forests... there is something very real about it. Unforgiving, but beautiful. Sometimes I do miss my home country, though." She talks calmly but her eyes flick restlessly through the darkness which is not quite so dark for her. "Want me to tell you about the Windgras Plains, the horses and the tribes?" Maybe that will distract him a little and give him rest.
Rayla listens as they speak, but she doesn't really want to push Wilhelm any more on the subject; it seems like it pains him. "Those monsterous types are annoying. They just don't see reason, no matter how often they get their head bashed in and are just smart enough to be an annoying pest." She pauses and takes a look around the camp. "I'll take the mid watch, as stated earlier, so I better get into our tent right now. Caydan watch over the bold ones. And over that she-lady in distress we're trying to rescue. Good night everyone!
Rayla watches Wilhelm for a while as she eats. Finally she stands up and sits close to him. "You look as though something was bothering you... Are you worried about about Lady Gwenvier? Or is it something the Gnoll said?" While it is getting darker and darker her eyes seem to sparkle and metallic gleam of her hair gives it something even more unreal than usual.
Rayla turns to the men among her comrades: "Please wait until we're done." She gives Delilah a sign inviting her to join and follows Helena. She addresses Helena with muffled voice as they approach: "Don't worry, Lady Helena. It's just Delilah and me." Before she actually begins deal with the clotting blood all over her she has a look around.
Back at the camp she sits down in the middle of it. "Fire might not be a good idea." She sighs, because she could really use one right now. She gets some of today's ration out. Once she's done with it she checks her greatsword for notches and possible crazes. "I can hold watch in the middle of the night, if you like."
Rayla removes the dagger from her thigh for either Kylar or Delilah to use and hands the sword over to Skäne.
"You have use for anything of this?" She returns to Björn a bit puzzled what he wants of her.
Rayla starts to pack everything in, having visible trouble parting with the mithral shirt, which she folds accurately bevore she puts it in her bag in one corner so she knows which part is the group's and which part is hers. The dagger ends up in her strapped with a leather cord to her thigh, the sword is attached outside her bag. "Don't worry, I'll pay you out from my share should I decide to keep it. Let's go before the next batch of those runs into our swords." She absentmindedly tries to wipe some blood off her thigh as she stands up, but pays little attention when she only makes it worse. The she turns to leave into the direction their prisoner indicated.
"Just a moment..." She almost dives into the hole and puts the stuff she finds behind her. Finally she crawls back out and looks over the stuff she has found. "Well, I suggest we pack that all up and 'divide up the plunder' later. Just... could anyone check whether there is anything magic amongs this? This mithral shirt is amazing, I must admit." She lifts it a bit to avoid the blood of the beheaded hobgoblin reaching it and has a closer look. For a moment she considers putting it on, but that would mean she'd have to remove the armor plates from her beloved mantle...
Being inside a prison with no gear is all is tricky for people who depend on their spell book. If you have a different idea, it would be alright if you kept going with it, though I did like our little adventure so far. I found it a bit difficult to get involved with the two north men, since the converse mostly in their own language, so Rayla ended up mostly ignoring them, but there is little she could have done about it. When you say "not even the clothes you get for free" I hope you mean we do at least have some rags. Part of the idea of Rayla was that she was one hell of a sexy bombshell and is quite easy going (though do think I have proven that this is not all that she is by now), but that doesn't mean she'd run around entirely naked. I am not sure why Helena wouldn't fit into such a setting. The situation may be difficult, but a character who radiates dignity, is centered in herself and calm despite the circumstances would be very helpful to the group.
"Alright, let's have a.... look!" Obviously something else catches Rayla's attention in the middle of the sentence. She approaches the oak and checks the little cave, with her blade held ready.
Rayla wipes the blood off her greatsword, tries a smile to Helena and takes a look around.
Unfortunately Rayla finds herself in a similar dilemma. She doesn't want to kill an unarmed prisoner, but their little band is in no position to take prisoners in the first place. "I'll do it." She whispers, visibly shaken. She lifts her greatsword and swings it at the neck of the hobgoblin.
Hardly audible she whispers "I'm sorry." and hides her face in shame for a moment. To Helena she whispers: "There just didn't seem to be any decent solution."
Rayla steps a bit back and seems rather thoughtful now and watches the Hobgoblin for a few seconds after he finished speaking.
The she dropped the attitude towards the him. To Wilhelm she says: "You'll have to tell us some time how you earned that reputation - at a fireplace with a mug of ale." But her thoughts seem rather occupied with something else. She turns looks into the faces of the others in the group, trying to figure out what they think without giving anything away to the prisoner. To Helena she whispers: "Any more questions?" She leans closer until she almost touches her ear and drops her voice even more: "I think that's all he knows... do you agree? Maybe I am not asking the right questions..." Which would leave them with a prisoner to care about. If they just left him hear he'd free himself rather soon and be trouble again. But the alternative, killing an unarmed prisoner, tastes quite stale as well. It may be necessary, though. She doesn't really come to a decision.
Rayla sighs in relief and relaxes a bit. She glances briefly to Skäne as he speaks. 'That's a strange kind of honour. Then again, honour usually seems to be an excuse for cruelty.' She thinks, but keeps focused on the prisoner. "Alright" she says, lowering her sword again a little. "Where do we find her, over what kind of forces does she command, of what make is her lair, did you kill the men hung up in the tree we saw earlier, what happened to your prisoners and who did you mean with 'The Butcha'." She imitates his crude pronunciation. "Our comrade here", she nods to Wilhelm, "or the knight in the castle." She really would like to know the fate of Lady Gweniver, but she doesn't want to mention her directly, so she won't give her away in case she managed to flee. She casts a glance to Helena in order to see whether she has anything to add.
Rayla leans closer to the hobgoblin and smiles a false smile and speaks in a for her completely unusual flowery tone: "It would be kind if you would oblige the wish of this respectable lady for information here. You wouldn't want to leave such a winning, wise lady in the dark, would you?" From one second to the other her demeanor changes completely and her golden eyes glare with mercy less rage as she grabs him by the head fur, pulls him up that she almost touches him as she yells at him and keeps him fixated with her eyes. "Because otherwise I'll finish what I've start when I tore you down, cut your limbs off, one by one and leave with nothing to feast on but your own severed legs until the wolves get you. And I'll start by making you a woman! Speak without hesitation or I'll start right now!" She pushes him back to the ground, trying to not show that she actually tries to avoid tearing his freshly stitched wounds, and lifts her greatsword, ready for a blow. With the kind voice from before and the same fake smile she adds: "Please."
Rayla was thunderstruck for a moment with the degree of sexism their own comrades confronted her with. Especially considering that she killed three goblins alone and landed the blow that would have killed the hobgoblin, had Helena - with the assistance of Rayla herself - not patched him up afterwards. She lifted her sword and was just about to begin to talk some sense into the creature and give it a more vivid impression of the price at which resistance would come as continued. She lowered her sword again, circling restlessly around him like a tiger in a cage, just waiting to get an opportunity to strike and finish what she started.
Sorry, I've completely forgot to pay attention to this thread a couple of days. I'll see to catch up.
Rayla pants heavily as her body is trying to catch up from unleashing her raw inner energy. She bends over the Hobgoblin. "I am fine. Actually better than before the fight, thanks to your divine work. Let's see that it doesn't bleed to death before we can question it." She brushes the blood from her sword using some forest grass, gives it a brief glance for new notches - it will require more thorough checking later - and puts it into its sheath on her back. She casts a glance over to Delilah who was struck down during the fight in order to see how she's holding out.
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