The Necromancer's Pact VIII: The Rising Tide

[Matticus]

Grynde

He looks up from his latest snowy faceplant area.
What's all the ruckus?
Suddenly realising that half a dozen large bears with beaks are heading towards them, he jumps to his feet, draws his shortswords from his back, and without even slight hesitation begins towards the beasts, ready to fight them all.

OOC: No worries, kuja.girl, the character you don't like'll help Tiriel.

Spoiler

Show

Initiative - (1d20+2)[1](3)

[Dr._Bob]

In an eyeblink, several of you break cover and begin peppering the owlbears with arrows. The creatures open their beaks, hissing, and begin loping towards your position.

Faluil slaps his horse, sending it galloping back the way you came.

None of the other Rashemi are visible. The Rashemi captain ignores Tanner's question, his eyes narrowed with anger.

Rising, he turns, sending snow flying, and makes a hand gesture towards the rear, in the direction of the fleeing horse.

Nothing happens for a few seconds as the horse flees, then suddenly two Rashemi explode from beneath the surface of the snow. Their battleaxes flash in the sunlight as one takes the horse's legs out and the other administers a coup de grace, severing the horse's head from its body. Hot blood pours out into the snow, steaming.

The Rashemi captain is already in motion, grabbing Tryntha by the elbow, he runs towards the slain horse. He shouts in Rashemi, then translates his own words into Common, "Fall back!"

Obediently, six other Rashemi burst from their hiding places, flanking your position by 100 feet. They too begin to run at full speed away from the owlbears.

[Koji]

Khazrael

These guys are idiots, how can they hope to outrun wild animals?

Khazrael seems to juggle the idea of fighting or staying for a moment. He weaves his hands in a complex pattern, then holds his arms out in front of him and fires a bolt of lightning at the creatures. The electricity gives off a lurid purple light, rather than its old blue-white color.

He seems to change his mind immediately, and moves with the barbarians at inhuman speed. Rather than running, he springs like a grasshopper, clearing abnormal distances with each hop.

((OOC: Lightning bolt:
6d6=20, DC 16 for half, then moving 60 feet with the barbarians. If the owlbears are lined up so that more than one can be hit by the 120 foot line, Khazrael will aim for them rather than a single target.))

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil, enraged wood elf

At first, Faluil slaps his forehead with his palm as several of the other warriors start shooting at the owlbears. Then as the Rashemi warriors cut down his horse he feels nothing but anger.

While, as an elf, he would be around several several hundred years old when he died, he still loved his horse. The horse had been with him since he left Myth Drannor for Silverymoon, a good twenty years. Then it had been a colt, but it grew and he loved it as a companion, not just a tool.

At first he aims his bow at the Rashemi warriors responsible...but he takes an instant to think.

No...no...they just want to slow the creatures down...our lives are more important...our lives are more important...but there are so many of us! We could have killed them! Dammit!

He spins back around and launches three quick arrows at the first owlbear that Khazrael launched a lightning bolt at, screaming as he does it.

Spoiler

Show

Attack 1 - (1d20+9)[29]
Reroll because the forums suck sometimes (1d20+9=29)
Attack 3 - (1d20+4)[17]

Damage - (1d8+1)[7]
Damage - (1d8+1)[7]
Damage - (1d8+1)[6]

Holy crap! Two natural 20s in a row!? Awesome. Like...vindication.

Critical confirmations and damage, if applicable (1d20+9=28, 3d8+3=18, 1d20+9=23, 3d8+3=16)

Mmm...high damage and two confirmed criticals. Something is going to die, I'm sure.

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Matticus]

Grynde, bewildered Half-Elf

Where're y'all going? Don't we have beasts to fight??
He looks around, shocked at the Rashemi warriors. WARRIORS? They're little pansy boys!!
Ahh, run!! I'm sure the rest of us aren't scared!! Right?
Dumbfounded, he shrugs his shoulders, looking apprehensively towards the large animals. Shrugging again, he readies his swords, obviously ready to fight, but keeping an eye on the others in case they decide to run.

OOC: Why're they running exactly? Are we the ones getting to fight? Is anyone else going to be doing this 'running'?

[barawn]

Damian

When the sudden action bursts around him, Damian breaks cover and fires towards the nearest beast with his crossbow.

Spoiler

Show

Attack - (1d20+9)[23] (no range modifier applied because I don't know the range)
[roll=Damage]1d8+2d6[/roll] (assuming sneak attack damage applies because he was hidden)

Bursting upwards, he glances around - bizarre confusion shines in his eyes when the Rashemi slaughter Faluil's horse. What the... Yet the Rashemi commander ordering a retreat still causes him to begin falling back. Their actions may be bizarre, but he had no intention of fighting these creatures alone.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin is confused at the actions of the Rashemi warriors. She slings Tiriel's pack on her back and retreats while drawing her loaded crossbow with her right hand and her shortsword with her left. She watches the Rashemi warriors, the owlbears, and everything else around for a clue about what in the Nine Hells is going on.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

Still amidst the summoning spell she was casting, Tryntha immediately obeys the captain's orders as he grabs her elbow. She hurries to try and match his stride as he flees towards the felled horse.

"If these warriors say to flee, I would head their words. These beasts are no natural occurances and the captain will know our chances against them best."

[edit] I doubt the sneak attack would apply as the beasts are something like 100-200 feet away. Ranged sneak only applies with 30'

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Standing up, Tiriel prepares for the coming fight. She sees the elf ranger send his horse away and then watches in shock as the Rashemi slaughter it. What in the hell... oh. Still, I don't like it. It'll only slow them down. One horse isn't enough to satisfy that many monsters. Tiriel hesitates before joining Katrine in a retreat. She takes her pack back from her friend and checks to see if there are any stranglers that need help, making sure that Faluil joins them despite his anger.

[Kawaii Catboy]

Desmona

"Owlbears. Why did it have to be owl bears? And...why are we running away?"

Desmona feels frustrated. Sure, killing the horse was a good way to draw the owlbears' attention, but surely with a Rashemi party and the addition of this group they could have fought with no casualties.

Still, it was probably Faluil's fault for not controlling his horse. Sending it out like that just made it the better decision for the group of owlbears to attack, and it was probably merciful to kill it instantly like the Rashemi did rather than let it be torn apart by the hodge-podged creatures.

Desmona leaps up and falls back with the rest of the group. "Stop shooting and start running!" She barks, turning tail. There was no way she would be fighting without the support of all the group. Right now there was nothing she could do about the matter except try to keep everyone together and alive.

[barawn]

Damian

Right after he starts to turn and run, a brief thought crosses his mind, and he quickly stows his crossbow, turns, and grabs his daggers on the ground.

The beasts closing quickly, he then turns and bolts after the others.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: yeah, that's probably next round, but he wouldn't leave the daggers there. Others might have movement penalties, though, so he might not be that far behind (woo mithral armor).

[Darius]

Tiriel

The mention of a wall of fire does pique her interest though. She hisses at Tanner, "No! No wall of fire or whatever it is. At least not near us. We're surrounded by snow and ice, the last thing we need is a river to wade through.
"If you can cast it near the monsters, go ahead. It will slow them down, otherwise it's just a danger to us."

Tanner Gondsman

Tanner begins to understand Grynde's distaste for members of the group when berated by Tiriel. He nearly answers her with a retort when the darkness envelopes him. She lectures me about wise uses of spells when now none of us can see anything - let alone know where those things are, Tanner thinks to himself.

The Gondsman casts his eagle's splendor then transforms himself in a holy manner and takes flight over the scene - surveying the area.

Spoiler

Show

ooc: Two rounds of action - eagle's splendor then persist the lesser holy transformation and fly straight up out of melee range to get out of the darkness effect.

Init - (1d20+3)[12]

[Dr._Bob]

The owlbears charge, alternately galloping on four limbs, or rearing up to run for a distance on two.

The arrows seem to have little effect on the creatures, though the lightning bolt can not be ignored. A puff of feathers accompanies a shriek of pain as one of the owlbears is struck.

Most of the party, including Lissa, Achkby, and the others, retreat, albeit relucantly. The shadowy illumination moves with you (or at least with Khazrael), partially concealing your movements from the owlbears. The Rashemi run swiftly, but without panic, staying in a loose skirmish line, stretching north and south. They keep running even as the line passes the steaming corpse of Faluil's horse.

From up above, Tanner can see what is not so obvious from ground level - the Rashemi are heading for a copse of pines surrounding a small rocky knoll - a defensible position. The owlbears, however, are running faster than almost all of the party members. If not distracted, the owlbears would easily run down his fleeing companions.

Only Faluil and Grynde remain where they were standing, facing the owlbear charge. Perhaps both have encountered owlbears before, for neither appears to show much fear of the beasts.

The ground begins to rumble as the six owlbears converge on the elf and half-elf. Both can't help noticing that the creatures are much larger than they expected at first. The smallest one is at least 9 feet tall. The larger ones may be 12 feet or more tall when stretched upright. Perhaps the arctic versions of the owlbear are larger than their cousins from the more temperate climates that Faluil and Grynde are familiar with?

The giant owlbears close the gap with frightening rapidity, their beaks snapping ...

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil, deciding that death isn't worth it

When the creatures get closer, and Faluil sees just how large they are, he realizes that his little stand perhaps isn't quite worth it.

He puts his feelings behind him as he calls up the spell to drastically increase his run speed and bolts, becoming a blur as he retreats.

Spoiler

Show

I cast expeditious reatreat and took off. So this turn I got 60 feet away, next turn I'll be another 240.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael slows his pace just a bit, and unleashes another lightning bolt as he does. Peals of laughter accompany the crack of thunder from his spell. Despite the danger, he seems to be enjoying himself.

((OOC:6d6=25 Reflex 16 for half. Khazrael will move as fast as he needs to to keep pace with everyone else, and no faster.))

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

From his lofty height, Tanner gains insight in the Rashemi plan. He looks down at Faluil and Grynde in time to see Faluil take off with accelerated movement akin to some spell. That leaves Grynde. Tanner knows Grynde is going to be a tasty snack for those creatures.

Tanner looks at the owlbears rapidly approaching and gauges their distance. I must give them ALL time! Tanner summons the fires of Gond's forge and swoops down yelling, "Follow the Rashemi - there is a defensible position there!" He extends his hand to Grynde to take as he flies towards the one of the party he least wishes to save.

Spoiler

Show

Tanner creates a wall of fire 140' long and at an angle funneling the owlbears away from the defensible position (and Grynde).

[Naleh]

Retay, retreating "barbarian"?

Retreating only because the others were, Retay moves with the slowest of the group, prepared to fight at any moment. He stares at Grynde's back and wonders why he merely stands there, when the Wolf Lodge members - obviously, he thinks, experts on the creatures here - were falling back.

"Half-elf!" he barks. "We're going! Gods, you can't stand up to them alone."

Realises the closing creatrures are even bigger than he'd thought, Retay flinches, and grips his bow tightly. Oh no, oh no, oh no...

[Matticus]

Grynde

He stares upwards, face blank, not surprised this time to see the man flying. He does not move for a moment, and then he yells out 'FINE!!!', practically throws a sword back into it's sheath, and grasps Tanner's hand.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin glances back at the advancing owlbears before deciding to follow Tanner's advice and keep running. Arrows did not seem to do much against the owlbears in any case, and arrows were all she could use against them.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel watches in dumb amazement as the ranger and the half-elf stand their ground. She decides to keep going however, she barely knows these people and the half-elf at least has proved himself nothing but a pain-in-the-ass.

Then the priest starts flying (again), and the ranger starts running, fast. And it looks like the 2 straglers have been taken care of.

[Dr._Bob]

Khazrael cackles sadistically as he blasts another owlbear.

A wall of flame erupts from the snow, halting the owlbears in their tracks. Tanner swoops down to aid Grynde.

The others continue to retreat and are directed back toward a forested knoll by the Rashemi. Plunging into the trees, you turn and catch your breath as the others join you.

The Rashemi take up positions behind the pines, hidden from view, watching the owlbears closely. Before Khazrael can fire another lightning bolt, one Rashemi grabs his wrist and shakes his head, no.

The bears circle around the wall of flame cautiously. They pad forward until they reach the horse. Sitting on their haunches, they flay the horse's flesh with their claws, their beaks snapping bones like twigs.

The wind continues to favor you, blowing in your direction, preventing the owlbears from scenting your presence.

[Koji]

Khazrael

He feigns a petulant frown at the barbarian, but can't contain his amusement and slowly cracks a grin. As the excitement slacks off a bit, he turns to counting his allies and seeing if any were lost.

[namo]

Adalmar

He has been retreating but at a slower pace than most of the group, because he would turn around and loose arrows every few strides. Most of them missed unfortunately.

Finally reaching the trees, he starts to look for one that he could easily climb.

Spoiler

Show

Once more, I have to retcon : this time, Adalmar - who rarely leaves people behind - tried to help the two fighters... but failed (that way i don't have to roll).

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Maintaining his hold on Grynde and his hold on the spell, Tanner strains with the effort. Once he gets close to the trees, he slows up and flies lower to the ground until he comes to a stop and rests Grynde on the ground. Tanner then locates the unnatural shadows and gauges their source afterwhich he moves near the Rashemi captain where he can be hidden among the trees.

"Shall I end concentration on the wall of fire, or shall we use it to mask our travels along the road?"

[barawn]

Damian

Heading towards the tiny forest, Damian brushes by Tryntha as he slips between the trees. "I'm sorry to say, I'm beginning to seriously dislike your homeland,"
he mentions offhand, chuckling slightly before ducking away.

He then sheathes his two daggers and once again draws his crossbow. Ducking behind a tree, he glances over at the Rashemi and wonders. Do they actually have a plan? Or are they merely winging it? Do they even know what these things are? Loading a second bolt, he glances for a better hiding spot and conceals himself in shadow, waiting for the beasts to come closer.

Spoiler

Show

Hide - (1d20+14)[31]

[Naleh]

Retay, barbarian

Retay ducks behind a tree, peering out at the huge owlbears uncertainly.

He takes the chance to get out his greataxe and lean it against the tree for quick retrieval.

Spoiler

Show

Hide - (1d20+2)[7]

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin's first impulse (which she quickly supresses, remembering being warned against it as a child) is to climb a tree to evade the owlbears' reaching claws. Instead, she takes her chances on the ground, where she hopes increased maneuverability could save her from being torn to pieces by the owlbears. She casts her eyes about for a hiding place...

(OOC: ...and stumbles into plain sight with the sun glinting off every piece of metal on her body... stupid InvisibleCastle natural 1's.
Hide Check (1d20+22=23))

[barawn]

Damian

His eyes flicking out from his hiding spot frequently, Damian catches a glimpse of Katrin slipping into the shadows. His eyes widen as she stumbles awkwardly, clearly catching her foot on a random piece of underbrush... and yet she still neatly vanishes from sight. Perhaps not as cleanly as he did, but clearly, without the unlucky trip, he never even would've seen her disappear.

His voice hushed, he whispers quietly, "Neat trick. Looks like I could learn a few things from you - just not 'how to avoid tripping,' although to be fair, that one gets me, too."

(OOC: psst, natural 1s aren't automatic failures for skill checks, and a 23 certainly isn't "plain sight.")

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Once under the realative safety of the trees Tiriel seeks out the Rashemi captian. In hushed tones she asks, "Do you plan to wait them out, or should we prepare for a battle?"

ooc: well, the question had to be asked.

[Dr._Bob]

The captain speaks softly but with a clipped tone, as though making an effort not to explode in anger.

"We will wait here until the creatures leave. Please ask your companions to refrain from provoking them any further."

He eyes Khazrael with particular venom as he says this.

Meanwhile, the owlbears continue to consume Faluil's horse, hide, flesh, entrails, bone and all. Even at a distance, the sight and sounds that carry across to the copse are mildly nauseating ...