Okay, at this point you all have raced out and retrieved a weapon or some manner of gear that you can draw as a move action.
Combat part two has begun.
The Anubites have not noticed you yet, they likely won't even bother with you at all until their attackers are defeated.
The attackers will likely win the battle but just barely.
You can either join the fray or sit and wait for it to end. The choice is yours.
Round One
The closest Anubite is 25 feet away from all of you.
You can start this combat armed with a weapon from your gear.
Those of you who have mounts may mount them this round.
If you do not wish to participate, Simply post your characters idle actions.
Ghersh finding Al-Hadiye, attempts to quickly mount up. Fumbling with his lance as he does, it takes more time to get seated safely before the camel rises up to it's full height.
Advancing cautiously, 'Abal approaches the nearest anubite, a shimmering heat distortion warping the air around her body, she strikes at the creature.
Wyldyrn follows the other out towards their gear... once they arrive his quickly picks up his longbow and puts an arrow to the string. He blocks out the distraction of the heat against his naked flesh and the sounds of nearby combat. He lets out a deep breath as he draws his bow, feeling the soft touch of the fletching against his cheek. He takes aim and lets loose with a sharp snap!
As the others implement the choice to join the fight, Meriui nods, and moves deliberately into the closest edge of the fight, trying to help deal with the Anubite infestation.
He will try to flank an engaged Anubite and trip it, so as to make things easier for the human already trying to kill it. The absence of a clean flank is not going to prevent Meriui's attempt to assist.
Faruq followed 'Abal, scimitar drawn. He had no doubt the others could handle their own fights, but he was not convinced about the druid. He approached the same Anubite was facing and sliced at it.
Round One Results:
Excellent round.
You five rush the field to aid the human warriors.
Two Anubites are wounded by your group and one is knocked prone.
The human warriors see you and rush to provide you aid in the form of flanking buddies.
Faruq and Abal's Anubite turns to face them attacking Faruq. He misses.
The warriors slay three Anubites.
there are 12 Anubites left and 18 Human warriors.
Round 2 Begin
Your turns.
Seeing the Anubite stay down, Meriui decides to reinforce that decision. He drops to his right knee, putting it down across the Anubite's ribs, following up with a Mantis Punch to the sternum, allowing some of the force to push himself back to fully upright.
---
As Faruq engages the same monster, 'Abal attacks again, the tingling in her arms, from being tied up affecting her sword work more than she would have expected. As her strike falls far wide of the creature she maintains the swirling shimmer of heat, hoping to at least cause a distraction.
Ghersh gives a quiet word of command to Al-Hadiye and charges the nearest anubite, guiding the camel with his knees.
Wyldyrn draws another arrow, takes aim, and lets loose once again!
Faruq continued to fight the Anubite in front of him, trying to move to flank the beast with 'Abal.
Round Two Results
Meriui, Wyldyrn, and Ghersh connect with their attacks.
After a good round of attacks, 7 Anubites remain.
The Anubite in front of Abal and Faruq still lives. It attacks faruq with a club and deals 4 pointsof nonlethal.
The rest of you are not in melee with anything at the moment. It is a simple move for any of you to move into a flank and attack.
Round 3 Begin
Your turns.
Meriui moves to another Anubite, one already engaged with one of the other humans, and tries a simple leg sweep . . .. As the Anubite starts to fall, Meriui gestures towards the prone trarget with his right arm, inviting the unknown human to deal with the target as he had already intended.
---
Ghersh shakes off what remains of the anubite from his lance as he glances around the battlefield looking for another target. His eyes landing upon a likely looking chap, he motions the camel forward into another charge.
Fighting in tandem with Faruq, 'Abal once again swings at the jackal headed enemy, the air around her continuing to ripple and shift.
Shrugging off the pain from the Anubite's strike, Faruq continues to try to position himself to flank the creature with Anubite.
Wyldyrn thanks Daiga for the accuracy of hits shots, draws another arrow, takes aim, and once again lets the projectile fly towards his target!
Round 3 Results
In spite of most of your clumsy efforts, the human warriors are actually able to finish the job.
Combat over
After the last Anubite is cut down, one of the men riding a camel rides up to your group and pulls down his face mask. He looks at you all. "Prisoners of Anubites I bet. You have gear or you need some of ours?"
"As we were escaping our bonds we found our gear, but we had no time to collect more of it. You were dealing with our captors too well for us to delay if we wanted to repay their kindness."
Meriui stands before them, unashamed of his nakedness.
The man nods. "Well feel free to gear up while we gather our enemies arms for our own faction. Once you are ready we can bring you to our town."
Ghersh nods to the speaker for the humans. He rides back to his gear, hopping off of the camel to don his clothing, armour and weapons before gathering up his other gear and re-equipping his camel.
"Who are you and where exactly is this town?"asked Faruq as he hastily donned his armor.
'Abal joins the men at the collection of their gear, swiftly donning her clothing and armor as she listens to the responses to her companions' questions.
Wyldyrn watches the men carefully as he dons his own equipment. Being that Faruq already asked the same question Wyldyrn wondered, he remained quiet as he went about stowing everything about his person... save for his boomerang, which he kept at hand, just in case.
Meriui follows the others back to the gear, covers himself properly, and gathers his remaining tools, before offering to help those with more cumbersome armor get buckled in properly.
The man looks back at you. "I am Hadule, leader of our towns militia. The town is not far from here near twenty minutes hike. It is the last town remaining in the western front. Still, it has held this long. Come."
He will begin to lead you.
The area you are in at the moment has rock formations and elevations on the one side and vast desert on the other side. From where you are you cannot see anything impressive. The only way forward is either towards the desert, or up the formations via a trail these warriors are using.
You all follow them up a trail that actually reveals the rest of the land. It is a vast oasis, the largest you have ever seen. It is still riddled with desert but just in small several hour long patches. There are a lot patches of plains and desert jungle. It is beautiful sight, unlike any other land around the desert you have ever seen.
You are brought to a Town where all the houses are made of stone. Palm trees are present and a good number of various desert vegetation. There is a lake just outside the village and many irrigation streams leading to the farms. The town is nice and there is a river leading from the lake towards this massive cylindrical mountain off in the distance.
As you wander into town you see people are very lightly dressed. You yourselves feel warm in your heavy desert clothes. The town looks like it is excellent condition.
"I am Meriui bin Mercea of the Varn'ea. I am pleased to meet the enemy of my enemy, and hope that we can continue to work together."
Following Hadule into the town, Meriui notes the abundance of water and apparent commonality of leisure time for the children.
"Your people seem well blessed."
The sight of this oasis deep in the heart of the worst part of the desert confirms all she had previously believed. Not dressed as heavily against the elements as the others, 'Abal revels in the comfort and beauty around her. Never in her life had she seen so much green.
She stows her cloak, enjoying the gentle breezes in silence, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of what lay before her.
"Blessed does not even begin to describe the bounty you have before you," she follows Meriui's statement. "I am 'Abal al Naheed, and I will remember this day for the rest of my life."
Ghersh, astride Al Hadiye, looks out upon the oasis in amazed delight. "The gods be praised for such a wonder as this oasis. Truly, you are blessed in this place you call your home."
Hadule smiles back at your group with pride. "Daiga made it so. He constructed this Oasis centuries ago and by his power it has thrived. Now since his being dethroned, our blessing is in jeopardy. The Genies have not the magic nor the will to carry this land themselves. They and their foolish pursuits have doomed us all. Unless Daiga returns to his seat as lord of this world, all in these lands will surely perish."
You arrive at a nice looking Inn. Hadule turns to his men. "Head on over to the barracks and get some food."
He then turns to the rest of you. "This is Yaline's inn The Seductive Sands. She is the best innkeeper in town. Maybe all of Aradina. Good food, and if you have the need, good company." He winks, "Yaline is also the most knowledgeable person in town so if you need information, she can help you."
He moves to lead you into the place. He then turns back. "I will ask her to give you dinner and a night for free. You'll need to pay for your own company though."
You enter a very nice looking tavern, nicer than most you've been to even outside of the desert. Pretty lights, great decor, great music, beautiful dancers, both men and women, and the smell of food is impressive too.
Hadule sets you up with seats. Any RP before I move on?
Wyldyrn smiles as he hears the others speak, truly this must be the land of which Daiga had prophesied for his people. He could feel the wonderful breeze upon his skin and smell the wonders of vegetation. It was times like this that he truly missed his sight; such wonders to beheld and he could not witness its beauty. He turned towards Abal. "My dear Abal, could you please describe the land for me? It seems such a wondrous place."
"Daiga made it so. He constructed this Oasis centuries ago and by his power it has thrived. Now since his being dethroned, our blessing is in jeopardy. The Genies have not the magic nor the will to carry this land themselves. They and their foolish pursuits have doomed us all. Unless Daiga returns to his seat as lord of this world, all in these lands will surely perish."
"You must be those who are fighting against the genies, then? To save a land such at this, I would fight to the end of my breath."
He follows the rest of the party to the inn; the oracle is awed by the lavishness of it. The smells coming from the kitchen set his stomach to growling; Wyldyrn had forgotten just how hungry he was. He looks around as the group is seated at a table and is quiet for a moment.
"I understand now..." He whispers aloud. "This land must indeed be the place set aside for my people." he adds with a smile.
Faruq followed his companions and their protectors silently. He was awestruck by the beauty of this place. Despite growing up in Qadira, he had never seen a desert so blessed by the gods. But according to Yalandare, this Daiga was no god, just a mortal with the power of legends.
As they sat down at the inn, Faruq asked Hadule a question. "We did not come to this land alone. We were guarding a caravan led by an elf with a ruby for an eye when we were ambushed and captured. Have you found anyone else from our expedition?
Hadule looks at Wyldyrn with dismay. "Not so. We cannot fight genies. We would love to aid Daiga in retaking his throne but ever since the genies cast him down, the Anubites attacked in numbers we did not know they had. We are the only town remaining on this side of the Abyss. All others have been destroyed and we are barely holding out. If it were not for Azamad we too would have been taken by those monsters. If things grow any worse than we may have to flee ourselves."
Hadule looks at Faruq. "Caravan's do not come out this way. Our town is self sufficient enough that goods and such are not needed. Occasionally members of our town will set out for other lands but never in number enough to form a caravan. We have seen no sign of a caravan and no other prisoners of Anubites were found. I have never seen an elf before either. I don't even know what they look like. Sorry."
"This one has a large red gem instead of an eye, so he can be recognized easily enough whether you know him to be an elf or not. Your home, here, was a signpost on his road home. We were hired to escort him on his journey. The Anubite attack seems to have made this far more difficult."
Wyldyrn smiles as he hears the others speak, truly this must be the land of which Daiga had prophesied for his people. He could feel the wonderful breeze upon his skin and smell the wonders of vegetation. It was times like this that he truly missed his sight; such wonders to beheld and he could not witness its beauty. He turned towards Abal. "My dear Abal, could you please describe the land for me? It seems such a wondrous place."
Smiling, ‘Abal walks alongside the tall elf, ready to take his elbow should he need guidance. ”It is breathtaking. As far as the eyes can see this oasis extends, there are patches of true desert, that span many days walk, but these are mere specks amidst the plains and collections of trees and plants that can only be the jungles I have heard of. Green everywhere. The buildings in this town are made of stone, surrounded by trees of all kinds, and just outside the settlement there is a….lake, a large expansive body of still water, with a river flowing from it.”
Hadule nods to Meriui. "The Anubite attack has made a lot of things more difficult. I have not see your friend. Sorry."
A beatuful woman dressed in exotic revealing dancer silks approaches the table. As she walks her jewelry chimes a lovely tune that is pleasing to the ears. She greets Hadule. "Greetings Hadule. Back from the mission. It was a success it seems. And you have brought newcomers too."
Hadule laughs and gestures. "Yaline my good woman, we mopped the sands with those overgrown houndmen. My friends here are travelers from distant lands whom were lucky enough to survive the encounter. I brought them hear for a bed and a bite."
Yaline looks over at the lot of you. "Greetings to you fortunate weary travelers. Hadule is good by his word and has done well by our town. I will honor his request and give you food and lodging for the day. Now who might you folks be?"
The cataphract steps forward to meet Yaline. Bowing low, he rises saying, "My name is Ghersh ibn Nader. My compatriots and I are travelers from a land outside of your realm. Your friends are truly valiant warriors and we are in their debt for attacking the anubites who had captured us. Your warm welcome and gracious invitation due you credit. Thank you for your hospitality, Mistress Yaline. I place myself in your service."
Faruq bows alongside Ghersh. "And I am Faruq al-Rashid, warrior of the Dawnflower. Ghersh has the right of it. We are far from home, and without the timely intervention of Hadule and his companions or your hospitality, we would be truly lost. Although we should not tary in the search for our other caravan members, we would be remiss to not return the favor. If you or Hadule have need of us, simply ask and it shall be done."
'Abal turned to greet the stunning woman, touching the fingertips of her right hand to her forehead while bowing her head slightly in respect. "I am 'Abal al Naheed, a walker of the dessert. Never have I been this far into the Sarengave, surely your people are blessed, and your hospitality a life affirming boon after our treatment at the hands of the Anubites. As my companions have spoken, so do I, you need only request and it will be done."
Nodding to the woman before speaking. "Yaline, I am Meriui bin Mercia, of the Varn'ea and the Sarangave. I owe a water debt to your warriors that they can claim when they choose. I see this hospitality as an extension of their earlier actions which already put me in their debt." He nods to Hadule before returning his gaze to the woman. "This does not reduce the generosity of such amazing hospitality in the slightest."
Hadule chuckles. "we could always use hands in the militia. With the Anubite threat ever of folks minds, we need every manner of defense we can afford. Azamad is overseeing construction of a wall. He is dead set on holding this town from the Anubites as long as he can."
Yaline does a elegant bow before you. "Many whom have been wronged by the Anubites come here for rest, food, and safety. We can promise pleasant rest and food but we are still working on the safety part. I appreciate your praise and gratitude. The greatest gift you could return is aid against the Anubite threat in some way. Though I understand if that is asking too much."
Bowing to Hadule, Ghersh replies, "You wish is my command. My lance is at your service."
Meriui looks uncomfortable, and glances from some of his companions, to their hosts, and again around the circle before he manages to speak again. "Your stories of Daiga confuse me. You speak of him as a source. To the Varn'ea he is a pit. He forces us to be cautious, careful, strong and hard, or to die. Anything we do not protect, he takes from us. I see the things around us, but your explanation does not fit into my ears."
Hadule nods to Ghersh. "My friend that would be much appreciated. If you want to help then you can meet me at the barracks tomorrow morning."
To Meriui both Hadule and Yaline look quizzically at him. The two look to each other and then Yaline speaks. "I suppose that wouldn't be surprising. I am honestly not sure how much truth about Daiga has carried from here to where you all hail from. I do know I have heard of him as a heretics god. All untrue I assure you. Centuries ago an evil Pharaoh ruled over old Aridia. He was defeated by Daiga and his disciples. All the land was to be destroyed along with the Pharaoh. Daiga wielded great power and not only saved the land from destruction but made it even better than it ever had been. Since then Daiga has ruled over and has provided for us."
"Indeed Meriui, Daiga is a source. He is the one who gifted me with the ability to draw water from the ground, a gift which helped to keep you alive while we traveled here." 'Abal says with a smile.
"Daiga requires some degree of effort from those for whom he provides, but yet he provides. Open your eyes and it will become clear my friend."
"If these people are right, and Daiga is not truly a god, then he can not create. If he can not create, where does he get the things that he gifts to you and your people? He must take them from somewhere. Do not assume my perception of his behavior is wrong just because you are the beneficiary of what I have experienced through my life."
At Hadule's admission of never seeing an elf before, Wyldyrn smiled at the man. "I am an elf, my friend." He indicated his pointed ears and other attributes.
Yaline looks over at the lot of you. "Greetings to you fortunate weary travelers. Hadule is good by his word and has done well by our town. I will honor his request and give you food and lodging for the day. Now who might you folks be?"
Wyldyrn will stand and offer a dramatic bow to Yaline after the others had completed their introductions. "I am Wyldyrn Cor'amnis, dear lady." If allowed he will take her hand and lightly kiss the back of it. "Firedancer of the Aryth'anis. My tribe is one of the last of the Sarengave elves to survive the purge of Daiga follows." He looked proud and saddened at the sametime.
He stays quiet while Meriui and Abal discuss their varying views of Daiga. Wyldyrn had come to terms with his faith in Daiga... god or not, Daiga had blessed him. He had been marked at a young age; Wyldyrn had a destiny to fullfil. "Yaline, you have a wonderous establishment here." He adds, looking around.
Yaline is amused by the bantering of Muriui and Abal.
She then draws her attention to the pointy eared Wyldyrn. "Genies and Geniekin also have pointy ears. I had assumed you were one of those. Does this mean an elf is some form of Geneie?"
Hadule stands. "Well friends, I need to report to the barracks and check on my men. Feel free wander about and take advantage of the inn for today. I will see you all at some other time." He leaves.
[coo]This little Tavern visit will last until someone decides to leave. I will post in response as often as I can.[/ooc]
Faruq looks to Yaline. "Where could a dirty man find a bath?