IC VI Stormy Seas

[CoffeeIncluded]

Teeth chattering, Natalia closes her eyes and rushes the next giant. The others are right behind her...right?

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attacking the one Kurt is attacking. Do I have to charge?
Not bothering to tumble check since I auto pass.

Attack: (d20+18)[36]
Crit: (d20+18)[24]
Damage: (d6+1)[2]

She barely scratches the giant, and shouts, "Kurt, help, distract! Please!"

[Admiral]

Though very badly wounded, Dresden does not retreat. He raises his sword and yells a battle cry to lead the other samurai on. They move forward to surround the giants.

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Once again, copy-pasted into IC from OOC:

I can't believe this but I was rolling a 1d8 for the katana when I should have been rolling a d10. So samurai were a bit underpowered until right now.

G5 AoO against Yellow7:
Attack: (1d20+13)[19] Crit: (1d20+13)[29]
Damage: (2d6+16)[26] Crit: (2d6+16)[27]

Attacking G5 (thanks for the flank, Natalia, and for the Lead the Attack, Kurt):
Attack1: (1d20+12)[17] Crit: (1d20+12)[25] Dmg: (1d10+3)[12] Crit: (1d10+3)[7]
Attack2: (1d20+12)[27] Crit: (1d20+12)[20] Dmg: (1d6+3)[4] Crit: (1d6+3)[9]
Attack1: (1d20+9)[20] Crit: (1d20+9)[27] Dmg: (1d10+3)[5] Crit: (1d10+3)[6]
Attack2: (1d20+9)[28] Crit: (1d20+9)[25] Dmg: (1d6+3)[4] Crit: (1d6+3)[8]
Attack1: (1d20+9)[28] Crit: (1d20+9)[27] Dmg: (1d10+3)[4] Crit: (1d10+3)[13]
Attack2: (1d20+9)[17] Crit: (1d20+9)[12] Dmg: (1d6+3)[7] Crit: (1d6+3)[5]
Attack1: (1d20+9)[20] Crit: (1d20+9)[26] Dmg: (1d10+3)[4] Crit: (1d10+3)[7]
Attack2: (1d20+9)[21] Crit: (1d20+9)[10] Dmg: (1d6+3)[4] Crit: (1d6+3)[8]

Attacking G6:
Attack1: (1d20+10)[23] Crit: (1d20+10)[30] Dmg: (1d10+4)[6] Crit: (1d10+4)[8]
Attack2: (1d20+9)[16] Crit: (1d20+9)[14] Dmg: (1d6+4)[6] Crit: (1d6+4)[10]
Attack3: (1d20+5)[7] Crit: (1d20+5)[12] Dmg: (1d10+4)[6] Crit: (1d10+4)[14]
Attack1: (1d20+8)[10] Crit: (1d20+8)[15] Dmg: (1d10+3)[10] Crit: (1d10+3)[4]
Attack2: (1d20+8)[12] Crit: (1d20+8)[23] Dmg: (1d6+3)[9] Crit: (1d6+3)[7]
Attack3: (1d20+1)[18] Crit: (1d20+1)[12] Dmg: (1d10+3)[12] Crit: (1d10+3)[7]
Attack1: (1d20+6)[14] Crit: (1d20+6)[26] Dmg: (1d10+3)[11] Crit: (1d10+3)[13]
Attack2: (1d20+6)[26] Crit: (1d20+6)[22] Dmg: (1d6+3)[8] Crit: (1d6+3)[7]
Attack1: (1d20+5)[20] Crit: (1d20+5)[23] Dmg: (1d10+3)[13] Crit: (1d10+3)[4]
Attack2: (1d20+5)[8] Crit: (1d20+5)[8] Dmg: (1d6+3)[9] Crit: (1d6+3)[5]
Attack1: (1d20+5)[14] Crit: (1d20+5)[7] Dmg: (1d10+3)[5] Crit: (1d10+3)[9]
Attack2: (1d20+5)[13] Crit: (1d20+5)[22] Dmg: (1d6+3)[7] Crit: (1d6+3)[7]
Attack1: (1d20+3)[15] Crit: (1d20+3)[14] Dmg: (1d10+3)[5] Crit: (1d10+3)[7]
Attack2: (1d20+3)[5] Crit: (1d20+3)[23] Dmg: (1d6+3)[8] Crit: (1d6+3)[6]

46 damage to G5, 34 damage to G6. Both are bloodied.

The flurry of blades chops away at the giants once more.

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Mithril's turn.

[Admiral]

Hilton hops behind the samurai and tosses his net at the giant fighting Kurt.

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-4 because net is unfolded, -4 because into melee.

(1d20)[19]

The giant becomes entangled in the net.

[Admiral]

Karn bends down and presses his hand to his fellow slaver's body. He mutters a spell and light shines from his hand.

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CLW: (1d8+4)[8]

The other ranger shakes himself awake, but Karn gestures for him to stay on the ground before standing back up and notching another arrow.

[Athedia]

Mithril fired another series of magic orbs. They hurtled toward the giant that her friends surrounded, adding to the damage done by them. The cold, warm battle continued between her circlet and rod.

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Attacking G6
MM1: (1d4+1)[2] *1.5=3
MM2: (1d4+1)[5] *1.5=7
MM3: (1d4+1)[5] *1.5=7

[Admiral]

Shiny runs further towards the giants, and casts a pair of spells- the first, faster one aimed at the giant Kurt is fighting.

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Distract Assailant at G5, Suggestion at G6. Both will be Unsettled no matter what.

G5 save (not that it really matters since it's Kurt, then G5, and he has no Dex bonus): (1d20+4)[12]
G6 save: (1d20+4)[5]

Shiny shouts something else in the hoarse language of the giants: "<Giant>There are two giants fighting on the ridge instead of helping you- you should go kill them both!</Giant>"

[Admiral]

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It just hit me that I never rolled against Kurt's intimidating rage. I am not going to change how that round went (though it might have made a difference): but I am going to let that intimidation have an effect this next round if he fails now.

HD save (has to beat a 27 or become shaken): (1d20+12)[27] EDIT: Incidentally, I was wrong: what matters is the higher modifier, which is his 12. Doesn't matter, see below.

Kurt swings twice at the giant in the net.

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Vanguard Strike. AC is 14 thanks to net and Unsettling.

Attack: (1d20+17)[19] Crit: (1d20+17)[27]
Damage: (5d6+13)[24] Crit: (3d6+13)[18]

2nd:
Attack: (1d20+12)[25] Crit: (1d20+12)[15]
Damage: (5d6+13)[25] Crit: (3d6+13)[22]

The first strike utterly destroys the giant Kurt is facing. As he turns to approach the second one, he hears Shiny shout- "WAIT! Let the other one go!"

[Admiral]

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Miriam gets a move, but we don't need to play it right now.

The giant Shiny had yelled at stops suddenly, then turns around and runs away from the battle, back towards the hills where the other two giants are. As he runs, a couple of samurai manage to get in parting blows.

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Full round withdraw. Attacks of Opportunity from after the first 5 feet of movement:

Attack1: (1d20+4)[17] Crit: (1d20+4)[8] Dmg: (1d10+3)[8] Crit: (1d10+3)[13]
Attack2: (1d20+4)[9] Crit: (1d20+4)[10] Dmg: (1d6+3)[4] Crit: (1d6+3)[7]
Attack1: (1d20+4)[13] Crit: (1d20+4)[8] Dmg: (1d10+3)[9] Crit: (1d10+3)[13]
Attack2: (1d20+4)[20] Crit: (1d20+4)[16] Dmg: (1d6+3)[7] Crit: (1d6+3)[5]
Attack1: (1d20+3)[14] Crit: (1d20+3)[9] Dmg: (1d10+3)[6] Crit: (1d10+3)[7]
Attack2: (1d20+3)[22] Crit: (1d20+3)[13] Dmg: (1d6+3)[7] Crit: (1d6+3)[8]

A few of the blades hit their mark, leaving the giant bloodied. He continues running away and starts clambering up the hill.

From on top of the hill the group hears the sound of some yelling and the clash of greatclubs- no boulders come flying down at them. It's too dark too tell what is happening for sure, but it looks like the first giant Shiny had enchanted had made it to the top of the hill.

Shiny yells out, "Wait! Don't go up there; let them fight it out!"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia whips around, panting and bleeding slightly, but not in terrible shape. "What did...you do?" She stares open mouthed at the spectacle played out before her.

Why were they suddenly fighting each other? What would happen when they stopped?

[Cavelcade]

Kurt relaxes, letting the anger wash out of him as he watches the giant run back curiously. Panting softly, he rests on his giant sword. "What's all this about not fighting them?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

The adrenaline starts to fade out of Natalia. She suddenly feels drained and heavy, as if her spell is the only thing keeping her upright. "What now? Wait to thin or flee?"

[achinca]

All colors are drained of Miriam's face. As the fighting stops, she goes next to the lifeless body of Luther. She grabs his dead hand and starts crying. "I do not know how much longer I can go on. Losing them is simply too hard ...."

[Admiral]

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Miriam probably wants to keep her head in the game right now- the fighting might not quite be over and there are some people that desperately need healing.

"An enchantment," says Shiny with a smile. "A very useful one..."

He casts a quick cantrip, and a few orbs of light appear in front of him. As he points, they rise up above the hillside to show the giants. There they can see two giants hammering at each other with greatclubs- until moments later, a third joins the battle.

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Big series of rolls. I'll sort out the chronology myself:

G4:
Attack: (1d20+15)[17] Crit: (1d20+15)[23]
Damage: (2d6+12)[21] Crit: (2d6+12)[19]

Attack: (1d20+15)[34] Crit: (1d20+15)[26]
Damage: (2d6+12)[17] Crit: (2d6+12)[21]

Attack: (1d20+15)[18] Crit: (1d20+15)[33]
Damage: (2d6+12)[15] Crit: (2d6+12)[19]

Attack: (1d20+15)[18] Crit: (1d20+15)[30]
Damage: (2d6+12)[17] Crit: (2d6+12)[22]

Attack: (1d20+15)[28] Crit: (1d20+15)[25]
Damage: (2d6+12)[22] Crit: (2d6+12)[18]

Attack: (1d20+15)[24] Crit: (1d20+15)[32]
Damage: (2d6+12)[21] Crit: (2d6+12)[20]

Attack: (1d20+15)[35] Crit: (1d20+15)[31]
Damage: (2d6+12)[19] Crit: (2d6+12)[16]

Attack: (1d20+15)[34] Crit: (1d20+15)[22]
Damage: (2d6+12)[15] Crit: (2d6+12)[17]

Attack: (1d20+15)[18] Crit: (1d20+15)[28]
Damage: (2d6+12)[21] Crit: (2d6+12)[18]

Attack: (1d20+15)[19] Crit: (1d20+15)[30]
Damage: (2d6+12)[15] Crit: (2d6+12)[15]
G6:
Attack: (1d20+15)[18] Crit: (1d20+15)[29]
Damage: (2d6+12)[22] Crit: (2d6+12)[21]

Attack: (1d20+15)[30] Crit: (1d20+15)[26]
Damage: (2d6+12)[19] Crit: (2d6+12)[22]

Attack: (1d20+15)[32] Crit: (1d20+15)[29]
Damage: (2d6+12)[19] Crit: (2d6+12)[22]

Attack: (1d20+15)[20] Crit: (1d20+15)[35]
Damage: (2d6+12)[15] Crit: (2d6+12)[17]

Attack: (1d20+15)[35] Crit: (1d20+15)[26]
Damage: (2d6+12)[20] Crit: (2d6+12)[18]

Attack: (1d20+15)[21] Crit: (1d20+15)[30]
Damage: (2d6+12)[20] Crit: (2d6+12)[17]

Attack: (1d20+15)[34] Crit: (1d20+15)[35]
Damage: (2d6+12)[21] Crit: (2d6+12)[20]

Attack: (1d20+15)[19] Crit: (1d20+15)[20]
Damage: (2d6+12)[17] Crit: (2d6+12)[16]

Attack: (1d20+15)[30] Crit: (1d20+15)[25]
Damage: (2d6+12)[20] Crit: (2d6+12)[20]

Attack: (1d20+15)[18] Crit: (1d20+15)[29]
Damage: (2d6+12)[14] Crit: (2d6+12)[22]
G7:
Attack: (1d20+15)[22] Crit: (1d20+15)[19]
Damage: (2d6+12)[17] Crit: (2d6+12)[19]

Attack: (1d20+15)[28] Crit: (1d20+15)[21]
Damage: (2d6+12)[20] Crit: (2d6+12)[23]

Attack: (1d20+15)[21] Crit: (1d20+15)[33]
Damage: (2d6+12)[18] Crit: (2d6+12)[16]

Attack: (1d20+15)[32] Crit: (1d20+15)[32]
Damage: (2d6+12)[19] Crit: (2d6+12)[21]

Attack: (1d20+15)[27] Crit: (1d20+15)[32]
Damage: (2d6+12)[18] Crit: (2d6+12)[19]

Attack: (1d20+15)[21] Crit: (1d20+15)[21]
Damage: (2d6+12)[18] Crit: (2d6+12)[21]

Attack: (1d20+15)[19] Crit: (1d20+15)[18]
Damage: (2d6+12)[23] Crit: (2d6+12)[21]

Attack: (1d20+15)[28] Crit: (1d20+15)[35]
Damage: (2d6+12)[22] Crit: (2d6+12)[20]

Attack: (1d20+15)[21] Crit: (1d20+15)[24]
Damage: (2d6+12)[17] Crit: (2d6+12)[16]

Attack: (1d20+15)[30] Crit: (1d20+15)[35]
Damage: (2d6+12)[24] Crit: (2d6+12)[22]

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia gasps as she sees the three giants smash and try to kill each other. She looks back at Shiny and can't help but shudder. Such power, to turn allies against each other. She's devoutly thankful that he's on their side.

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please tell me if it takes more than four rounds so I know whether or not to recast cats grace.

[achinca]

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Miriam probably wants to keep her head in the game right now- the fighting might not quite be over and there are some people that desperately need healing.

May be she is too distraught to keep her head in the game?

Miriam watches the giants attack each other and she holds Luther's lifeless hand even tighter. "Why? Why? Why? Why would such a death be meaningless? Why would their attack be so meaningless? Why St. Cuthbert, why?"

As usual, only silence follows her questions.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia awkwardly looks, then walks over to Miriam. Without saying a word she slips her arms around Miriam and tries to comfort her in a hug.

"...Still work to save," she says quietly, quietly enough that it's hard for Miriam to hear.

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She is a rather tactile person...

[achinca]

Miriam tenses as Natalia hugs her. She forces a smile. "I will heal. I will delay death as much as I can. I wish wish I could make sense of it all."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"So...do I, Miriam Lifesaver,"
Natalia says quietly. She watches the giants tensely, forcing down the urge to run away screaming and crying. They need her. She hasn't left and she won't. Never.

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do the samurai have bows? Should I lend them my crossbows?"

[achinca]

"Miriam SunFollower. The gnome is the one with the multiple names. I only have one, given to me by Valen. I am not a life saver. Just look at Luther."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia shakes her head. "Look at me, Mithril, Kurt and Shiny, all others. Saved lives, so many times." she pauses. "But only failures remembered. I know. It..."

[achinca]

Miriam looks solemnly at Natalia. The cleric cannot remember the last time her healing power saved her friends. They all have grown strong and powerful and resourceful and have now so many source of healing. She remembers the samurais she could not save and she sees Luther.

"You must be right Natalia I guess."

Mentally she says "No point arguing with that. She sees the positives in life. She is lucky."

[Admiral]

The two giants fight on the ridge- moments before the third giant joins the combat, the one Shiny had originally enchanted falls dead. The newest giant, though wounded by the samurai, manages to overpower the rock-throwing giant. Finally he is the only one on the ridge, and as he stands there in the dim light of Shiny's spell his mind seems to clear. He looks down at the samurai below him, screams a battle cry, and jumps off the hill towards them. Rocky, Karn, and a few samurai loose their arrows, and Shiny prepares a spell.

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This guy has very little health, enough for some arrows and the fall from the hill to take out (and if it doesn't, the charging samurai when he hits the ground will). Rather than roll out the battle, I'm just rolling for the save from Shiny's whelm spell: if it fails, he falls of nonlethal damage, if it saves, he's dead as dead.

(1d20+4)[19]

The arrows and blades of the samurai manage to fell the last giant as he charges back towards them.

[achinca]

As the giants kill each other and the last one standing is fell by the warriors around her, Miriam starts her job. He goes toward each wounded samurai and applies first care to the various wounds.

She also heals Natalia, Kurt and herself.

[CoffeeIncluded]

As the last giant falls something seems to snap clean in Natalia's mind. She kneels over, pressing her hands against her knees, and begins panting and dry-heaving as the fear and relief washes through her.

"Didn't run, didn't fall," she whispers to herself, a steady mantra to banish Hulburg. "Didn't flee, didn't fall, there for friends, there for all..."

After some time, she pauses and looks around. What were giants doing here anyway?

EDIT: After some more time, Natalia begins to search the giants' bodies.

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Take 20 on search if possible--I assume combat is done? Just wanted to get the searching out of the way. She'll talk or whatever while searching too.

[Athedia]

Mithril left the group to heal, search and mourn and went back to her bedroll. It was still warm from when she had left it. Curling up tight she slipped back into sleep before the rest had finished the cleanup.

[Cavelcade]

Kurt blinks as he suddenly returns to his normal size, sheathing daybreaker as the last of the giants falls to the slavers and the samurai. The fatigue of the day returns to him, making him regret the sudden ambush - even if it did come at an almost light cost, compared to what it could have been. Still, even one lost soldier is hard for him to bear, as the wouldn't be here if he hadn't asked for them.

"Miriam...thank you for your protection. Without it, I would have fallen."

After the various items are sorted out and they get their portion of the treasure, he looks over it and then shrugs a little, going to each of the slavers.

"You fought well. 100gp bonus for each of you. You proved yourselves well."

He hands it out to each of them without hesitation, before going for his own rest.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Natalia turns around, and surveys the battle. Only three bodies, but three...This wasn't expected.

She pauses, leaning over the bodies, and murmurs a thanks to Miriam as the cleric heals her. Natalia then asks the samurai, "Giants...usually here?"

She looks back, and can't stop her hands from trembling. "Didn't fall...did good...No stones blacking out, no scars...right?"

But that wasn't right. No scars for her, but for Miriam?

[achinca]

Miriam approaches Kurt and heals me. She just nods as the dwarf mentions she saves his life.

She goes after Natalia next, making sure that the swift rogue is 100% healed. Natalia thanks her but she just nods.

Next she goes to see Dresden and asks permission to heal him. She uses her most powerful healing spells to bring the samurai leader to full health.

After that she heals the orange belt and nods as he thanks her.

She approaches the slaver and without asking heal him back. "So I went from being a piece of merchandise for you to your healer. War and fighting makes strange bedfellows."

Finally, she uses what ever magic she has left to heal herself.

When she is does, she returns to Luther's body and stays by his side as his fellow warriors dispose of the body according to their customs.

[Admiral]

Dresden smiles with relief as Miriam heals his grave wounds. "Thought I was done for, lass," he says. "I surely am glad you're comin' with us."

The wounded orange belt, a fair, short human, also smiles when Miriam heals him. "I saw you at the battle," he says quietly. "Saved many of my friends' lives there as well. Never got the chance to say thanks." He sighs and looks over at Luther's body.

The slaver nods his thanks to Miriam, but when she addresses him he just squints in confusion. "Your language, he does not speak it," comes a heavily accented voice from behind her. Karn is walking towards them, having collected his and Rocky's arrows that weren't broken. "I do not know that he would understand your meaning anyway."

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One more post coming in a few minutes

[Admiral]

As soon as the giants are dead, some of the samurai establish a quick perimeter, with a few climbing up the hill to make sure there were no others. In the meantime, other samurai carry the bodies of the three fallen soldiers back to the camp.

After a few minutes, when the soldiers are satisfied that no one else is around, the samurai return to the camp. Dresden orders the guard doubled for the remainder of the night, though he decides it is too risky to continue on in the dark to find a new place to camp. For the rest of the first and for the second watch eight samurai surround the campsite, their eyes trained on the dark horizon, until morning finally comes.

When the party awakes, they find the samurai finishing their arrangements. The samurai are no strangers to wartime funerals, and they cannot afford to bring the corpses along with them to Deldon when they have no idea when they will return to Soshima. But several samurai have been out since dawn collecting what wood, brush and other inflammable materials they could, and have set up three pyres off of the road.

"Samurai used to be buried..." Ash says solemnly to the party as they watch the arrangements. "But during the War of the Unlife, the Necromancer's favorite tactic was to rob the graveyards of heroes. After Shiro had to cut down an army of wights made from the flesh of his own former students..." he shudders. It was the first time he'd mentioned Shiro since they'd found the grandmaster on the Takagawa River, and recalling the stories seems to give him pain. "Anyway... now samurai who die in battle are cremated."

Dresden stands in front of the pyres, and makes his speech- short and practical, that of one who has seen death many times before and knows he will see it many times again. At the end, he unties his belt and drops it to the ground, and every one of the samurai present does the same. "There is no greater honor," he says.

"There is no greater honor," the samurai echo as one, and the pyres are lit.

When their grim work is concluded, the soldiers saddle up and continue their journey to Bellville.

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It's the next morning: everyone prepare spells, chat with each other, etc.