Death's End IC

[Sen isSaqqara]

Lirian lets loose a cry of pain, and jumps backwards into a dash away into the trees. She's always prided herself on her ability to run away from danger faster than it can follow, but for now she just runs far enough to lose herself in the trees. As she passes where she was before, she snatches up the backpack with Frost in it. Taking cover behind the trunk of one, she peeps back around the edge to see if she's being followed. To her surprise, a few large blocks of darkness have taken shape where she just was.

[Ajadea]

Calia presses her lips together as the goblins in front of her and Arran fall. She steps forward, steps over his corpse, still singing. Now they were winning, mourning no longer seemed appropriate. Now she begins a new stanza, and sings of triumph and power, of victory in Elven and of death in Orc. Not all goblins spoke the tongue, but there was a decent chance of it, and the juxtaposition might be enough to anger some of the more touchy among them. As soon as she is in range, she attacks the big furry one, doing her best to cut deep.

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Still using the Dragonfire Inspiration, so have fun with that.

Attack - (1d20+6)[11]Damage - (1d8+4)[9]Fire - (1d6)[2]

[3SecondCultist]

Ben: You successfully move back into cover and away from the goblin swordsman, who instead moves to attack Marius. Astonishingly, the creature cuts through the cleric's armor, scoring a deep gash and drawing a significant amount of blood. He is also sporting yet another arrow in the back, and from where you crouch you can see the pain in his eyes alongside the resolve. Your attempts to shoot the goblin are also in vain, your crossbow bolt flying off into the twilight.

Lirian: From where you hide in the shadows of the tree, you can see that a strange looking wall has suddenly appeared between you and the goblin archers. For now, it would seem as though you are safe to recuperate and lick your wounds.

Arran, Calia, Seychelles, Soryn: While the other front might not be holding its own, the same could not be said for the four of you. Arran manages to cut down yet another goblin, adding to the blood bathed all over his blade. The last visible archer on the other side of the bridge starts whimpering and muttering in its guttural tongue, eventually turning and fleeing towards the treeline. It doesn't make it very far though, Arran's greatsword piercing its heart from behind. It falls face first in the Valerian grass. Seychelles and Soryn also seem to have their situation under control and try to help out the others by offering some cover in the form of shadows and arrows. Unfortunately for Soryn, he misses both shots. Seychelles, on the other hand, successfully creates several illusory barriers that stop the goblin archers from attacking Lirian. While all of this is happening, Calia tries to strike at the bugbear to no avail - her blade barely scratches the goblinoid's armor. Snarling, it strikes back with its great morningstar. Fortunately for the bard, the monster's swing is too slow and she manages to avoid it.

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Attack: (1d20+5)[14]
Damage: (1d8+2)[8]

[esorscher]

While the bugbear is distracted by Calia, Arran 5' steps into position to strike it with his greatsword.

(1d20+9)[29] (flanking), (2d6+4)[13]+(1d6)[3] fire

[Lucretia]

Seychelles concentrates on maintaining the illusion and doesn't act. Covered in the darkness she knows isn't real, the human contemplated life. It was one thing to read about it, but to hear the horses dying, to watch Arran's greatsword so easily pass through the bodies of goblins...

The leaves had just turned orange. The villagers had come to pay their respects, but mostly to satiate their curiosity of the old man who held his family in check, who lived as a hermit. What birds remained had sung tunelessly. Underfoot, each stick broke and each leaf crunched with a cruel carelessness. Nothing respected the sanctity of that day. Her best friend had died.

Before her, a... thing. Ugly. Horrid to the senses. It raised a piece of metal in all ways larger than her arm overhead. She had seen the butcher do the same before cutting racks of ribs from carcasses.

And arrow had flown from behind her. It had lodged itself into the skull of the thing. She began to cry.

A familiar nightmare. Seychelles concentrated on keeping the spell going.

[gallagher]

Marius!

Seeing the man fighting alongside him taking a deep cut, he tumbles into flanking position and attacks with his lightmace.

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Finally flanking! Tumble check!: (1d20+8)[11]

ATTACK! (1d20+9)[21] for (1d4)[4] plus (1d6)[3] fire damage and (1d6)[4] sneak attack, plus a negative level conditioned upon a dc 13 fort save

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Watching Arran cleave through yet another goblin, Soryn couldn't help but be impressed by his combat prowess. As Arran turned to slash at the bugbear, Soryn turns to help the others. Jumping off the wagon, he dashes toward Marius. Once he reaches the last wagon, he sights down the goblin archer closest to Ben, and fires a shot at him. If he could take some of the heat off of these others, he might be able to buy them a little time to recuperate.

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Move Action: 30' to the last wagon

Standard Action: Attack Goblin

Attack: (1d20+9)[24]

Damage: (1d8+2)[8]

Dragonfire: (1d6)[4]

[Ajadea]

Even before the beast finishes reacting to the sudden addition of a smoldering slash in his back, Calia rushes forward to deal with the archer in front of her, throwing the momentum of her movement behind her blow. She does not stop singing - every moment she kept it up was another moment the magic would last.

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CHARGE!
AC 16 until Calia's next turn, not that I anticipate this being a problem.

Attack - (1d20+8)[24] Damage - (1d8+4)[9] Fire! - (1d6)[3]

[Sen isSaqqara]

Sitting behind the tree, Lirian clenches her teeth, then snaps the arrow. It hurts, but she's already hurting pretty badly. She pulls the remaining half of the arrow out of her arm, focusing on not making any noise the goblins could use to locate her. She then takes a deep breath, tucks her scythe into her belt, and puts her pack on. She stands up, and looks around, waiting for an opportunity to get somewhere safe.

[3SecondCultist]

The six of you have made short work of your foes, having felled the bugbear assailant and four of the goblins in a matter of seconds. Arran and Calia stand together at the opposite end of the bridge, overlooking their grisly handiwork. Seychelles remains sitting for now, comfortably maintaining her illusory walls. She watches Soryn, who in turn is facing the Marius and Ben. None of you know where Lirian is, the sorceress having disappeared into one of the trees at the periphery of your battlefield. The cleric staggers as he examines the body of the goblin in front of him - it has become clear that he has taken many wounds in this little fight. You hear him call out to Sirramar and press his hands to his flesh, knitting it whole. His color is robust, his breath hale. The first thing Marius does is look around, saying a quick prayer for the dead. Immediately following his display of devotion, the cleric turns and strides towards the hiding place of the last goblin archer. Upon Marius' approach, the goblin squeals something in its own language and drops its bow. He stops directly in front of it, but turns to address Ben and Soryn.
"He's now our hostage. We aren't going to hurt him, we need to take him to the guild headquarters in Fiorne. Aveline and Caius will want to question him, no doubt."

[esorscher]

Arran wide smile looks almost gleeful at their victory. He wipes his blade clean with a rag kept in his belt, and sheathes it as he walks over to where Marius has the goblin. "Good. I want to know who attacked us, and why. Where's Lirian?" He was untouched in the attack, and says, "I don't need any healing, but what about the rest of us?"

[gallagher]

The six of you have made short work of your foes, having felled the bugbear assailant and four of the goblins in a matter of seconds. Arran and Calia stand together at the opposite end of the bridge, overlooking their grisly handiwork. Seychelles remains sitting for now, comfortably maintaining her illusory walls. She watches Soryn, who in turn is facing the Marius and Ben. None of you know where Lirian is, the sorceress having disappeared into one of the trees at the periphery of your battlefield. The cleric staggers as he examines the body of the goblin in front of him - it has become clear that he has taken many wounds in this little fight. You hear him call out to Sirramar and press his hands to his flesh, knitting it whole. His color is robust, his breath hale. The first thing Marius does is look around, saying a quick prayer for the dead. Immediately following his display of devotion, the cleric turns and strides towards the hiding place of the last goblin archer. Upon Marius' approach, the goblin squeals something in its own language and drops its bow. He stops directly in front of it, but turns to address Ben and Soryn.
"He's now our hostage. We aren't going to hurt him, we need to take him to the guild headquarters in Fiorne. Aveline and Caius will want to question him, no doubt."

We arent going to hurt him, yet. Goblins have a way of being devilish little liars, and many take a good deal of convincing before they will tell you anything. Of course, when you are done with him, if you need any help disposing of the creature, I would be glad to help carry him over to the other side. As a cleric of Necrovian, it is part of my duty.

In the meantime, Ben is set to searching the dead for what he might salvage.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn approaches Marius as well, slinging his bow over his shoulder. Touching his hand to one of the moonstones, he sighs in relief as the healing effects wash over him, closing the wound on his leg until only a small scratch is left. The light in the stone goes dim, leaving two more glowing in the fading afternoon light.

"I say we strip what's useful from these bandits, and get going before more show up. As for our prisoner, we confiscate his things, and bind him." Soryn moves to the last goblin archer he shot down, and pulls the arrow from its chest. He then begins to rummage through its belongings, taking anything useful.

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Rolling a Search check just in case I need to:

Search: (1d20+6)[15]

[esorscher]

Arran also joins in the search (roll OOC).

[gallagher]

If you happen across anything strange, be it possession, potion, or plants, bring them here, I try my hand at poison-making and can always use extra supplies

[Ajadea]

Calia never stops in the middle of a verse, and takes a few seconds to end the song. She is tired, but unharmed. She walks back towards the other end of the caravan, letting her healing aura wash over them and bring them back into some form of health. "Hold on a second, let me heal the rest of you before we start moving again." She cleans the blood off her sword and sheathes it, then begins moving through the wagons, checking on the injured and dead.

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Heal everyone to half health, since we're out of combat.

I think it should be pretty easy to tell who's alive and who's not.

[3SecondCultist]

The vale around the bridge quiets down as Marius leads the goblin prisoner to the wagon. Producing a length of rope, he ties the creature up and shoves it in. He then goes to check on the drivers and the surveyors.

Arran, Ben, Soryn: The three of you spend some time rummaging around the corpses of the goblin attackers, as well as the bugbear. Up close, they seem quite well equipped for simple bandits, wearing leather instead of hide and wielding what look to be imperial swords and bows. On the bugbear, you also find a small pouch with a couple of things in it: the first is a scrap of parchment, complete with a crude drawing of the chasm, bridge and surrounding area. There are also what look to be crushed up flowers or herbs of some sort - whatever it is, it smells somewhat like cloves.

[Lucretia]

Standing up, dismissing the great blocks of darkness from the field, Seychelles and Basil glanced around. It would be so easy... but no.

"If you find anything you aren't sure of, bring it to me. I can detect whether it is magical, and tomorrow I can prepare the sigils of identification so we might know what it is we've obtained. What do we do with the horses? I have no qualms with the enemy corpses being feasted upon, but it feels wrong to do so to these brave animals."

[gallagher]

Look at these. Well-made weapons, decently-crafted armor, a map. This planned raid looks too well organized for your regular, run of the mill goblins. Something tells me that we will be facing a similar threat sometime very soon. I am going to search a bit and look for tracks for where they came from, and could use the help of someone skilled in tracking.

[esorscher]

Arran thinks of his own horse, Windfarben, safe in the stables at the headquarters in Fiorne, and is thankful. But he remembers his principles as a Ranger, and what he has learned about life in the wild. "Who are we to deny the scavengers of this wood a meal? It is the way of life. I do think we should bring the bodies into the woods and off the road."

He looks from one member of the group to the other. "We should strip them of their equipment. It's evidence." He shows everyone the cloves. "My guess is that Valeria's neutrality might come under threat soon enough. An invading army would have motivation to attack a group on a surveillance mission." He hopes that they are Neo-Imperials, and judges as much from their weapons, but he isn't certain and doesn't voice the idea.

[Lucretia]

"Who are we? For one, I am Seychelles di Serafi. That is Soryn, and you are Arran Tuuth. Unless you meant by what authority we have, and that's an even easier question to answer -- you bury your dead, my people cremate ours. Do we not respect and honor our ancestors? Would we not look with revulsion upon those who simply laid their dead out on stones, for birds to consume? And now you suggest that, what, horses deserve far worse treatment in death, despite doing more work than most humanoids will ever do?"

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I'm basing this on the assumption that Seychelles knows people's names in the group. If that's not the case, I can remove that line.

[esorscher]

"Don't presume to know my beliefs," Arran said, not unkindly. "I do not believe in burying nor cremating. If the birds do not eat the horses, or for that matter these goblins, then what happens to the creatures who eat the birds? What if this is the meal that Fate has laid out for them on this day? Do you know otherwise? I do not."

"When I die, if you are there, I hope that you leave me out for my flesh to be picked apart, my entrails to be consumed, so that I might rejoin the universe rather than stay dead in some secreted hole."

"I understand if you do not share my beliefs. If you wish to bury them, then do so. I will be looking for tracks."

[Lucretia]

Seychelles smiled sweetly at the man. "I've made a mental note of that request. Good luck with the tracking."

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn shakes his head, amused. Semantics... Sey always did love quibbling over semantics. Turning, he walks back across the bridge, toward the woods where the bugbear had appeared. "Arran," he calls out, "we can make quicker work of it if we split up - I will track their trails on this side while you search on the other."

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Made tracking roll in OOC

[esorscher]

"Sounds good to me," Arran says. (Rolls OOC)

[3SecondCultist]

Upon careful examination of the evidence in front of you, all three of you take note that there are some tracks on both sides of the bridge. Those on the north seem to hug the edge of the chasm, while the other sets go directly south, towards the Pillars of the Moon. However, just as Arran and Soryn separate in order to track the whereabouts of the goblin party, Marius returns. His weapon is sheathed but his expression is stern.
"Where do you think you're going? You can't just run off after we've been attacked. What if there are more? Our mandate is to protect the surveyors from harm. Now, I've already got a dead guild member on our hands, I don't need any more." Marius pauses, softening slightly. He seems thoughtful, as though turning something around in his mind.
"Look, you've got the right idea hunting down these creatures, but this isn't the way to go about it. We need to get the others to Fiorne and safety as soon as possible. We're not that far away from the town anyhow - maybe the guild leaders will let you come back out and track them down."

[esorscher]

"Alright," Arran says. "Let's get going, then."

[Lucretia]

"If we wait, the goblins will realize this attack was fruitless and they'll leave -- and whatever information they have will go with this. The Sordanus Bridge has no history of being attacked, but look at it -- this ravine goes on for miles. The river acts as a tributary for the River of Val, and this bridge is an incredible choke point. Why hasn't anyone tried to take it? And the goblins, who would outfit a bunch of cretin with gear of this magnitude? Losing this opportunity could do more harm for Valeria and its people than not. Please! We only have one horse now -- take the surveyors and return to the guild, while we make sure this can't happen again. Is that not a worthwhile effort?"

[gallagher]

We can put off the search only so long, but if the safety of the caravan requires our attendance, then we should at least see them to the gate, and return here with a proper hunting group, maybe with some dogs to help find what scent would remain.

[Lucretia]

"Basil is capable of tracking through scent, if that is a concern. He'd be happy to help."