Tonight our tale is brought to you, once again, by fellow resistance member- Shadowdancer- and fellow gameplayer- Ridh. The party find themselves back at the Temple. Will the party escape the city? What of the Arcanis?
Dara- Elf- Druid
Aramil- Eladrin - Warlord
Sonea- Human - Wizard
Shadowdancer- Eladrin - Avenger
Mikal- Human- Rogue
Adahan (Boomer) - Human- Swordmage
Bomilcar-Human- Undisclosed Defender Class
Dara- Elf- Druid
Aramil- Eladrin - Warlord
Sonea- Human - Wizard
Shadowdancer- Eladrin - Avenger
Mikal- Human- Rogue
Adahan (Boomer) - Human- Swordmage
Bomilcar-Human- Undisclosed Defender Class
Since, in all the rush Dara appears not to have noticed the absence of her journal I shall continue to keep the diary of the exploits of myself and my group.
At last it seems the others begin to see the need to get out of this dreary city, which, need I mention seems likely to be overrun by troops any day. Dara goes off to check that the mules are ready enough to travel in a blizzard, since the discussion of what we intend is somewhat moot if they are not. She finds that they could do with another couple of days rest but she should be able to coax them through if the group takes it easy on them. She returns and advises us of this and we agree that our need is greater than the mules, an obvious decision if you ask me.
Mikal suggests that in order to make our deadline of a nightfall departure we should begin loading the mules as soon as possible. I suggest that we also allow Bomilcar to advise since he has done this sort of thing before, a task I admit I have left to subordinates in the past.
Dara asks whether we have a backup plan and I reveal that I have an idea of one that shall be revealed when necessary.....though I am not sure how those resistance members that we have allowed to tag along with us shall take the suggestion that we exit dramatically with blade and magic, but sometimes drastic measures are necessary for the greater good.
After having pulled Mikal aside I am able to convince him to loan me the longsword in return for a favour in the future. Since humans seem to drop like flies at the slightest provocation this situation may never even come to pass.
Once the mules are loaded with supplies from the quartermaster, Dara transforms into a similar beast and she and Mikal depart to our rendezvous point.
As we are readying ourselves for the breakout, Torrent arrives and enquires how we are proceeding on the mission that Buron had assigned to us- that of taking out the Arcanis cell operating in the city. I later found out that Aramil showed her the kindness of being polite as he sets her straight on the relative importance of this task when compared to that of unlocking the box. I passed her as she stormed out to trot out yet another dreary complaint to Buron about us. It never fails to amuse me that humans can be arrogant enough to assume they can give orders to one of the feywild born.
We graciously decide that since we have a few hours to spare we shall at least attempt to point these fools in the right direction before we go. Perhaps they shall stumble their way to success by sheer dumb luck. So with that in mind we head to a tavern, perhaps to overhear an interesting piece of gossip that may provide us a lead.
After a pointless discussion with the drudge of a tavern keeper we realise that the working human’s tavern we have approached is not the kind of place where we can pick up any useful information, so we retire to a quiet table in the corner and have a discussion about how to proceed.
Aramil recalls that the Arcanis’ usual modus operandi is to be sent into an area in advance of an army and they typically use summoned creatures, sent in accordance with targets perceived by divinations. Sonea advises us that the summoning would likely be through a circle and would likely be enhanced by the infernal pacts that the Arcanis often have taken upon themselves to enhance their ability.
Boomer heads out and investigates the site of the last attack and we are persuaded to head out with him. Boomer seems a little downcast after discovering that so many people have cast divination and other magic at the site that any trace of the attacker’s casting is overlaid and so intermingled in other weaves as to be unravel able.
After a few minutes thought on the subject, and a few questions put to the (occasionally useful) other members of our group, I reach a few very insightful conclusions, particularly concerning the infernal pacts of such practitioners quite often granting the use of an imp....a creature immune to normal weapons and quite capable of shapeshifting between rat and crow forms.
As we turn to leave the scene of the attack a roguish gentleman steps out of the shadows in an alleyway, apparently a semi-well known individual known as Rantle, he claims to have been searching all over the city for us and has a request for Boomer. He wishes him to pass on a coded message to his somewhat fiery sister Cassandra, who apparently headed off to the Lyceum some months ago to study....and also a somewhat sarcastic request for her to return soon since a fire mage would be quite handy with the city under siege.
Shadowdancer pulls Rantle aside and fills him on the conclusions about the Arcanis that he has reached, after ascertaining that Rantle can ensure these conclusions reach people within the Resistance that are more competent than Buron and his cell.
We then turn and head off towards the townhouse that Mikal had picked out as having the best chance of a covert exit to the city. On the way I have a quiet word with Bomilcar about leaving my insights with another competent member of the resistance, he assures me that Rantle is more than up to the task.
When we arrive at the townhouse, which apparently is a smuggling house and overhangs the wall intentionally, Sonea blasts the lock off discreetly and, after barring the door after us so that following us is difficult, we climb over the wall and down.
Dara, now in owl form, finds us and settles on my arm, leading us to where Mikal waits with mules and we gather up our supplies ready to head out. As we gather the supplies Sonea spots a crow perched a few dozen feet away, the crow is joined by a second one, and the two stare uneasily at each other, as if both recognising the fact that neither is natural. She points this out to the rest of us and Dara also adds in a few insights about how unnatural their behaviour is.
We all head out, travelling as far as we can before the growing light and the chance of being intercepted and we make camp, as concealed as we can. As we rest we take turns with the watches. Being an Eladrin and a far superior being to these mortal humans I allow myself to be persuaded to take a second watch....it is sometimes good to remind mortals that we Eladrin are so much more than they.
During our rest break several of us are able to take the opportunity to study the rituals in the book that Sonea obtained.
As we travel on by night, several of us spot the two crows at various points of our journey; however they do not approach close enough for us to take action against them. As dawn nears we stop to camp again, dividing into the same watches as before. During the second watch, when Boomer and Sonea are on watch we are surprised. Alas, those of us asleep who possess only metal armour are consequently ill prepared for combat.
Two crossbowmen rise up from behind bushes and shoot at the two on watch, both missing. Two spearmen rush me when I am still in my bed roll, one of them manages to nick me as I roll aside in my blankets. The other nearby spearman foolishly rushes Bomilcar and misses his attack.
Across the camp, two other spearman rush our group one manages to nick Aramil, the other misses Dara. Boomer is charged by a gentleman in Imperial armour, with a cloven helm and a crow on his shoulder, a gentleman I last saw dumped on his backside as I caused his horse to bolt. Boomer realises that his attacker is at least as good with a blade as he is. An armoured figure bearing a gold hilted runic sword and with a longbow strapped to his back charges Sonea striking her hard, at first glance it is apparent that most of our attackers are wearing armbands of the Black Horse mercenaries and the one attacking Sonea has the Black Horse symbol embossed on his breastplate.
Boomer steps towards Aramil’s attacker, marking his target and shouting “To arms! To arms! Bomilcar hold the west flank, I will hold the east!” and unleashes a booming blade attack against his unfortunate target, bloodying the thug.
The two crossbowmen hurriedly reload their crossbow.
The bloodied thug attempts to attack Boomer back but is made to look the fool as Boomer dances aside.
The thug attacking Dara misses, seeming to not know what end of the spear is which.
The two attacking myself only manage to land a single hesitant hit.
The figure in imperial armour rushes Boomer, a purple glow infusing his entire body and lands a hefty hit, bloodying him.
Aramil grabs the sword that he planted in the ground when he began meditating and rolls out of his blankets to his feet swinging the blade at the bloodied thug, striking him down.
Sonea unleashes a phantom bolt against her attacker but he seems to have the will to resist the effect. He then steps forward as she steps back and strikes her again.
I grab my sword and use Otherworld stride to escape the trap, blasting the three fools near me, also immobilising them and allowing me to appear next to the crossbowmen and curse him, though the passage through the flames is both painful and aggravating. When I find who has dared tamper with the abilities of the Fey I shall truly make them suffer.
Dara shifts whilst in her blankets, shaping into a savage mastiff, pouncing at her assailant but her back legs get tangled in the blankets as she lunges and her jaws snap closed a few inches from the thug’s manhood. The thugs face drains of colour.
Bomilcar rolls out of his blankets, grabbing his shield as he rises. He then swings the rim of the shield up under the nearest thug’s chin, sending him stumbling back and toppling to the ground as the thug’s face slides off his head, severed instantly by the brutal hit. He then strains himself a little by grabbing for his spear in the brief instant that his sudden surge grants him.
Boomer sidesteps and swings another booming blade at his imperial armoured assailant, but the man deftly parries. He then catches his breath in that quiet moment and feels a little better after that surge.
The two crossbowmen fire at Aramil, one hits, this draws an open attack from myself which bites hard.
A thug attacks the mastiff that Dara has become but misses.
Korthan (in imperial armour) steps forward and takes on both Boomer and Aramil at once, he swings his sword at Aramil and hits.
As Aramil stumbles back from the hit, he catches sight of Sonea and her opponent, he calls out “Dear God, blow his fucking balls off!” heartened by Aramil’s word she seems a little less fragile and more up to the battle. Aramil turns back to his and Boomer’s opponent and creates and opening that Boomer can exploit.
Sonea tries another phantom bolt at her opponent but shoots wildly. She steps backwards with a surge of effort and then fires Gabal’s magic missile at him, hitting him with all three blasts.
Sonea’s opponent, who we later learn to call Reynard, steps forwards, and swings his blade at her as she stumbles back but misses her as she ducks.
I swing my sword at the crossbowmen beside me, bloodying him most satisfactorily; the thugs are now free to move.
Before they can do so however, Bomilcar stabs his spear through the nearest of the thugs, and with a shift of his feet and a flick of his spear he tosses the dying man aside and steps into his place instead.
Dara bares her teeth in a terrifying display and the thug flinches back, opening his defences unintentionally. She lunges forwards in a bite and takes a chunk out of the screaming man before backing up a step with a her hackles raised.
Boomer quickly takes a moment to assess his opponent, looking for weaknesses in his opponent, discovering that Korthan seems to favour the phalanx fighting style, he uses the opening to slash a Booming blade at him, hitting him and causing him to stumble forwards, Boomer then darts round and interposes himself between Aramil and Korthan, freeing Aramil to come to Sonea’s aid.
The crossbowman I faced drops his crossbow and yanks a morning star from his belt, catching me as he desperately swings it to fend me off, bloodying me a little and not improving my mood, the other shoots at Dara and hits. The thug that Dara is fighting decides to abandon the battle, and runs away, throwing his spear to one side and yelling “fetch!” in the desperate hope that she will follow it.
The thug now left facing Bomilcar manages to slip a speartip past his shield and opens up a nasty gash in his neck.
Aramil yells out to me “come on you Pussy, rub some dirt in it!”....when we return to Faerie I may have him assassinated...but at least the anger he causes manages to let me shrug off some of the pain I am in. He then swings at Reynard and misses....serves him right, though he does have the presence of mind to call out Sonea to attack as Reynard ducks his blow and opens himself to attack...though regrettably she also misses...I sometimes wonder at the abilities of these resistance fools that luck has saddled us with.
Sonea then leaps back a step so she can cast without fear of leaving herself open and unleashes another Gabal’s magic missile on him, followed by Empowering Lightning, though the latter misses.
Reynard swings at Aramil and hits him, forcing him back and using the opening to step after Sonea.
I slash twice at the man I face, missing but driving the man away from me long enough for me to sidestep behind him.
Bomilcar uncharacteristically misses, I wonder how bad that wound to his neck must have been.
Dara leaps at Reynard biting into his sword arm as she uses the feral harrier manoeuvre, she then springs back and shifts back to her human form to weild her staff.
Boomer unleashes Dimensional Thunder, swiping at Korthan and folding dimension around himself and appearing next to Reynard in the usual gout of flame that accompanies teleportation these days, leaving both of them covered in dancing motes of electricity.
My opponent swings and misses, whipping round wildly and catching only air, and across the clearing his accomplice shoots at Dara and also misses.
The thug fighting Bomilcar, is emboldened by his previous strike and stabs him again, sneaking past his defence again, bloodying him.
Korthan chases Boomer, straining himself a little as he dances past Aramil two steps and attacks Boomer, though he misses, probably distracted by the dancing motes of electricity which fade, their job done.
Aramil calls out “Its only a flesh wound!” to Bomilcar, who seems to draw strength from the somewhat sarcastic words, perhaps drawing on his anger to stand tall again. Aramil then unleashes a flurry of ringing blows, like a steel monsoon, drawing attention and opening up an opportunity for Sonea to step back and Bomilcar to step closer as Aramil yells out “Cover the wizard!” his hasty flurry of blows miss Korthan.
Sonea fires a Gabal’s magic missile at Reynard, aiming all three blasts at the man, the missiles crackle and disperse off his armour. She follows up with a phantom bolt of psychic fire, staggering him backwards a yard or so as it hits, she then turns and withdraws behind the cover of the nearest tree.
Reinhard swings at Aramil, who he assumes to be the leader...fool...he strikes and causes a nasty hit, then, on the backswing, the hawk moulded on his pommel screeches and seems to empower the blow, making it enough to drop Aramil unconscious to the ground. The electricity around him disperses as if spent, though it seems to have done the job it was intended for.
I swing half heartedly at my opponent, keeping my actions defensive as I once more step behind the man, keeping him swinging at shadows.
Bomilcar shouts angrily and swings his shield at the thug beside him in a hefty blow like a steel wall rushing towards him, but the man backsteps just far enough to avoid the hit, and Bomilcar steps after him.
Dara flings a flame seed at the crossbowman, enveloping the bushes where he skulks in fire as she ducks behind a tree, putting its solid trunk between her and him.
Boomer lures Reynard into stepping the wrong way, allowing Boomer to sidestep, setting up a deceptive strike with his khopesh that takes Reynard’s head off as he raises a parry in the wrong direction. He then kicks Aramil and shouts “get up” attempting to rouse him enough that Aramil can gather himself for one final surge.
The crossbowman in the burning bushes yells out to his companions to escape and turns to flee, still blazing as he runs away.
The thug facing Bomilcar again manages to beat past his guard...he seems a lot less like a towering fortress of fighting ability without his armour.
Korthan whistles loudly and a horse (still bearing the wound from my bolt a few days ago) bursts out from the brush, Korthan swings himself up into the saddle and whips the horse straight into a canter, Boomer taking several futile swings at him, loosing his khopesh as it catches in the saddle.
As he canters away, Sonea looses another Phantom bolt, seeming to drop him unconscious over the saddle horn, she then runs forwards and blasts a Gabal’s magic missile at him, which dissipates harmlessly on his armour.
Ducking a blow from the foe beside me, I sprint after the running foe and blast apart his saddle, just as Dara shapeshifts back into a mastiff and pounces through the air, dragging him from the horses back. The horse tries to defend its fallen master but is put down as unconscious as its master in short order as we pummel it with a ranged offensive. The crow takes flight with a raucous caw, and none of us are quick enough to stop it.
Bomilcar finally drops his opponent, and furious, covered in blood, charges the wounded crossbowman I had been toying with, pummelling him unconscious as he turns to flee.
We begin sorting through the various items of loot we find and tending to our wounds. It hasn't missed my attention that this Dara is not the human she wishes to appear to be. Rapid shapeshifting can ruin a well intended disguise I see.
Mikal finally returns from his scouting expedition, though, truth be told, I had hardly noted his absence during the fight. At least the fool managed to locate our foes camp. What a pity he could not do so in time for us to ambush them, rather than the other way around.
~Shadowdancer~
At last it seems the others begin to see the need to get out of this dreary city, which, need I mention seems likely to be overrun by troops any day. Dara goes off to check that the mules are ready enough to travel in a blizzard, since the discussion of what we intend is somewhat moot if they are not. She finds that they could do with another couple of days rest but she should be able to coax them through if the group takes it easy on them. She returns and advises us of this and we agree that our need is greater than the mules, an obvious decision if you ask me.
Mikal suggests that in order to make our deadline of a nightfall departure we should begin loading the mules as soon as possible. I suggest that we also allow Bomilcar to advise since he has done this sort of thing before, a task I admit I have left to subordinates in the past.
Dara asks whether we have a backup plan and I reveal that I have an idea of one that shall be revealed when necessary.....though I am not sure how those resistance members that we have allowed to tag along with us shall take the suggestion that we exit dramatically with blade and magic, but sometimes drastic measures are necessary for the greater good.
After having pulled Mikal aside I am able to convince him to loan me the longsword in return for a favour in the future. Since humans seem to drop like flies at the slightest provocation this situation may never even come to pass.
Once the mules are loaded with supplies from the quartermaster, Dara transforms into a similar beast and she and Mikal depart to our rendezvous point.
As we are readying ourselves for the breakout, Torrent arrives and enquires how we are proceeding on the mission that Buron had assigned to us- that of taking out the Arcanis cell operating in the city. I later found out that Aramil showed her the kindness of being polite as he sets her straight on the relative importance of this task when compared to that of unlocking the box. I passed her as she stormed out to trot out yet another dreary complaint to Buron about us. It never fails to amuse me that humans can be arrogant enough to assume they can give orders to one of the feywild born.
We graciously decide that since we have a few hours to spare we shall at least attempt to point these fools in the right direction before we go. Perhaps they shall stumble their way to success by sheer dumb luck. So with that in mind we head to a tavern, perhaps to overhear an interesting piece of gossip that may provide us a lead.
After a pointless discussion with the drudge of a tavern keeper we realise that the working human’s tavern we have approached is not the kind of place where we can pick up any useful information, so we retire to a quiet table in the corner and have a discussion about how to proceed.
Aramil recalls that the Arcanis’ usual modus operandi is to be sent into an area in advance of an army and they typically use summoned creatures, sent in accordance with targets perceived by divinations. Sonea advises us that the summoning would likely be through a circle and would likely be enhanced by the infernal pacts that the Arcanis often have taken upon themselves to enhance their ability.
Boomer heads out and investigates the site of the last attack and we are persuaded to head out with him. Boomer seems a little downcast after discovering that so many people have cast divination and other magic at the site that any trace of the attacker’s casting is overlaid and so intermingled in other weaves as to be unravel able.
After a few minutes thought on the subject, and a few questions put to the (occasionally useful) other members of our group, I reach a few very insightful conclusions, particularly concerning the infernal pacts of such practitioners quite often granting the use of an imp....a creature immune to normal weapons and quite capable of shapeshifting between rat and crow forms.
As we turn to leave the scene of the attack a roguish gentleman steps out of the shadows in an alleyway, apparently a semi-well known individual known as Rantle, he claims to have been searching all over the city for us and has a request for Boomer. He wishes him to pass on a coded message to his somewhat fiery sister Cassandra, who apparently headed off to the Lyceum some months ago to study....and also a somewhat sarcastic request for her to return soon since a fire mage would be quite handy with the city under siege.
Shadowdancer pulls Rantle aside and fills him on the conclusions about the Arcanis that he has reached, after ascertaining that Rantle can ensure these conclusions reach people within the Resistance that are more competent than Buron and his cell.
We then turn and head off towards the townhouse that Mikal had picked out as having the best chance of a covert exit to the city. On the way I have a quiet word with Bomilcar about leaving my insights with another competent member of the resistance, he assures me that Rantle is more than up to the task.
When we arrive at the townhouse, which apparently is a smuggling house and overhangs the wall intentionally, Sonea blasts the lock off discreetly and, after barring the door after us so that following us is difficult, we climb over the wall and down.
Dara, now in owl form, finds us and settles on my arm, leading us to where Mikal waits with mules and we gather up our supplies ready to head out. As we gather the supplies Sonea spots a crow perched a few dozen feet away, the crow is joined by a second one, and the two stare uneasily at each other, as if both recognising the fact that neither is natural. She points this out to the rest of us and Dara also adds in a few insights about how unnatural their behaviour is.
We all head out, travelling as far as we can before the growing light and the chance of being intercepted and we make camp, as concealed as we can. As we rest we take turns with the watches. Being an Eladrin and a far superior being to these mortal humans I allow myself to be persuaded to take a second watch....it is sometimes good to remind mortals that we Eladrin are so much more than they.
During our rest break several of us are able to take the opportunity to study the rituals in the book that Sonea obtained.
As we travel on by night, several of us spot the two crows at various points of our journey; however they do not approach close enough for us to take action against them. As dawn nears we stop to camp again, dividing into the same watches as before. During the second watch, when Boomer and Sonea are on watch we are surprised. Alas, those of us asleep who possess only metal armour are consequently ill prepared for combat.
Two crossbowmen rise up from behind bushes and shoot at the two on watch, both missing. Two spearmen rush me when I am still in my bed roll, one of them manages to nick me as I roll aside in my blankets. The other nearby spearman foolishly rushes Bomilcar and misses his attack.
Across the camp, two other spearman rush our group one manages to nick Aramil, the other misses Dara. Boomer is charged by a gentleman in Imperial armour, with a cloven helm and a crow on his shoulder, a gentleman I last saw dumped on his backside as I caused his horse to bolt. Boomer realises that his attacker is at least as good with a blade as he is. An armoured figure bearing a gold hilted runic sword and with a longbow strapped to his back charges Sonea striking her hard, at first glance it is apparent that most of our attackers are wearing armbands of the Black Horse mercenaries and the one attacking Sonea has the Black Horse symbol embossed on his breastplate.
Boomer steps towards Aramil’s attacker, marking his target and shouting “To arms! To arms! Bomilcar hold the west flank, I will hold the east!” and unleashes a booming blade attack against his unfortunate target, bloodying the thug.
The two crossbowmen hurriedly reload their crossbow.
The bloodied thug attempts to attack Boomer back but is made to look the fool as Boomer dances aside.
The thug attacking Dara misses, seeming to not know what end of the spear is which.
The two attacking myself only manage to land a single hesitant hit.
The figure in imperial armour rushes Boomer, a purple glow infusing his entire body and lands a hefty hit, bloodying him.
Aramil grabs the sword that he planted in the ground when he began meditating and rolls out of his blankets to his feet swinging the blade at the bloodied thug, striking him down.
Sonea unleashes a phantom bolt against her attacker but he seems to have the will to resist the effect. He then steps forward as she steps back and strikes her again.
I grab my sword and use Otherworld stride to escape the trap, blasting the three fools near me, also immobilising them and allowing me to appear next to the crossbowmen and curse him, though the passage through the flames is both painful and aggravating. When I find who has dared tamper with the abilities of the Fey I shall truly make them suffer.
Dara shifts whilst in her blankets, shaping into a savage mastiff, pouncing at her assailant but her back legs get tangled in the blankets as she lunges and her jaws snap closed a few inches from the thug’s manhood. The thugs face drains of colour.
Bomilcar rolls out of his blankets, grabbing his shield as he rises. He then swings the rim of the shield up under the nearest thug’s chin, sending him stumbling back and toppling to the ground as the thug’s face slides off his head, severed instantly by the brutal hit. He then strains himself a little by grabbing for his spear in the brief instant that his sudden surge grants him.
Boomer sidesteps and swings another booming blade at his imperial armoured assailant, but the man deftly parries. He then catches his breath in that quiet moment and feels a little better after that surge.
The two crossbowmen fire at Aramil, one hits, this draws an open attack from myself which bites hard.
A thug attacks the mastiff that Dara has become but misses.
Korthan (in imperial armour) steps forward and takes on both Boomer and Aramil at once, he swings his sword at Aramil and hits.
As Aramil stumbles back from the hit, he catches sight of Sonea and her opponent, he calls out “Dear God, blow his fucking balls off!” heartened by Aramil’s word she seems a little less fragile and more up to the battle. Aramil turns back to his and Boomer’s opponent and creates and opening that Boomer can exploit.
Sonea tries another phantom bolt at her opponent but shoots wildly. She steps backwards with a surge of effort and then fires Gabal’s magic missile at him, hitting him with all three blasts.
Sonea’s opponent, who we later learn to call Reynard, steps forwards, and swings his blade at her as she stumbles back but misses her as she ducks.
I swing my sword at the crossbowmen beside me, bloodying him most satisfactorily; the thugs are now free to move.
Before they can do so however, Bomilcar stabs his spear through the nearest of the thugs, and with a shift of his feet and a flick of his spear he tosses the dying man aside and steps into his place instead.
Dara bares her teeth in a terrifying display and the thug flinches back, opening his defences unintentionally. She lunges forwards in a bite and takes a chunk out of the screaming man before backing up a step with a her hackles raised.
Boomer quickly takes a moment to assess his opponent, looking for weaknesses in his opponent, discovering that Korthan seems to favour the phalanx fighting style, he uses the opening to slash a Booming blade at him, hitting him and causing him to stumble forwards, Boomer then darts round and interposes himself between Aramil and Korthan, freeing Aramil to come to Sonea’s aid.
The crossbowman I faced drops his crossbow and yanks a morning star from his belt, catching me as he desperately swings it to fend me off, bloodying me a little and not improving my mood, the other shoots at Dara and hits. The thug that Dara is fighting decides to abandon the battle, and runs away, throwing his spear to one side and yelling “fetch!” in the desperate hope that she will follow it.
The thug now left facing Bomilcar manages to slip a speartip past his shield and opens up a nasty gash in his neck.
Aramil yells out to me “come on you Pussy, rub some dirt in it!”....when we return to Faerie I may have him assassinated...but at least the anger he causes manages to let me shrug off some of the pain I am in. He then swings at Reynard and misses....serves him right, though he does have the presence of mind to call out Sonea to attack as Reynard ducks his blow and opens himself to attack...though regrettably she also misses...I sometimes wonder at the abilities of these resistance fools that luck has saddled us with.
Sonea then leaps back a step so she can cast without fear of leaving herself open and unleashes another Gabal’s magic missile on him, followed by Empowering Lightning, though the latter misses.
Reynard swings at Aramil and hits him, forcing him back and using the opening to step after Sonea.
I slash twice at the man I face, missing but driving the man away from me long enough for me to sidestep behind him.
Bomilcar uncharacteristically misses, I wonder how bad that wound to his neck must have been.
Dara leaps at Reynard biting into his sword arm as she uses the feral harrier manoeuvre, she then springs back and shifts back to her human form to weild her staff.
Boomer unleashes Dimensional Thunder, swiping at Korthan and folding dimension around himself and appearing next to Reynard in the usual gout of flame that accompanies teleportation these days, leaving both of them covered in dancing motes of electricity.
My opponent swings and misses, whipping round wildly and catching only air, and across the clearing his accomplice shoots at Dara and also misses.
The thug fighting Bomilcar, is emboldened by his previous strike and stabs him again, sneaking past his defence again, bloodying him.
Korthan chases Boomer, straining himself a little as he dances past Aramil two steps and attacks Boomer, though he misses, probably distracted by the dancing motes of electricity which fade, their job done.
Aramil calls out “Its only a flesh wound!” to Bomilcar, who seems to draw strength from the somewhat sarcastic words, perhaps drawing on his anger to stand tall again. Aramil then unleashes a flurry of ringing blows, like a steel monsoon, drawing attention and opening up an opportunity for Sonea to step back and Bomilcar to step closer as Aramil yells out “Cover the wizard!” his hasty flurry of blows miss Korthan.
Sonea fires a Gabal’s magic missile at Reynard, aiming all three blasts at the man, the missiles crackle and disperse off his armour. She follows up with a phantom bolt of psychic fire, staggering him backwards a yard or so as it hits, she then turns and withdraws behind the cover of the nearest tree.
Reinhard swings at Aramil, who he assumes to be the leader...fool...he strikes and causes a nasty hit, then, on the backswing, the hawk moulded on his pommel screeches and seems to empower the blow, making it enough to drop Aramil unconscious to the ground. The electricity around him disperses as if spent, though it seems to have done the job it was intended for.
I swing half heartedly at my opponent, keeping my actions defensive as I once more step behind the man, keeping him swinging at shadows.
Bomilcar shouts angrily and swings his shield at the thug beside him in a hefty blow like a steel wall rushing towards him, but the man backsteps just far enough to avoid the hit, and Bomilcar steps after him.
Dara flings a flame seed at the crossbowman, enveloping the bushes where he skulks in fire as she ducks behind a tree, putting its solid trunk between her and him.
Boomer lures Reynard into stepping the wrong way, allowing Boomer to sidestep, setting up a deceptive strike with his khopesh that takes Reynard’s head off as he raises a parry in the wrong direction. He then kicks Aramil and shouts “get up” attempting to rouse him enough that Aramil can gather himself for one final surge.
The crossbowman in the burning bushes yells out to his companions to escape and turns to flee, still blazing as he runs away.
The thug facing Bomilcar again manages to beat past his guard...he seems a lot less like a towering fortress of fighting ability without his armour.
Korthan whistles loudly and a horse (still bearing the wound from my bolt a few days ago) bursts out from the brush, Korthan swings himself up into the saddle and whips the horse straight into a canter, Boomer taking several futile swings at him, loosing his khopesh as it catches in the saddle.
As he canters away, Sonea looses another Phantom bolt, seeming to drop him unconscious over the saddle horn, she then runs forwards and blasts a Gabal’s magic missile at him, which dissipates harmlessly on his armour.
Ducking a blow from the foe beside me, I sprint after the running foe and blast apart his saddle, just as Dara shapeshifts back into a mastiff and pounces through the air, dragging him from the horses back. The horse tries to defend its fallen master but is put down as unconscious as its master in short order as we pummel it with a ranged offensive. The crow takes flight with a raucous caw, and none of us are quick enough to stop it.
Bomilcar finally drops his opponent, and furious, covered in blood, charges the wounded crossbowman I had been toying with, pummelling him unconscious as he turns to flee.
We begin sorting through the various items of loot we find and tending to our wounds. It hasn't missed my attention that this Dara is not the human she wishes to appear to be. Rapid shapeshifting can ruin a well intended disguise I see.
Mikal finally returns from his scouting expedition, though, truth be told, I had hardly noted his absence during the fight. At least the fool managed to locate our foes camp. What a pity he could not do so in time for us to ambush them, rather than the other way around.
