FR: Quest for the Forgotten Key IC (Oak)

[knewsom]

Suddenly the lithe form bolts from the woods just to the side of Lager as he continued his attempt to track the mysterious observer, closing the short distance between them in no time at all and hacking viciously at him with a tomahawk, doing ten HP of damage, before turning to run into the woods again.

the man appears to be an elf, but has black dredlocks, dark eyes, and skin that is a much darker shade of brown than you are used to seeing. the only clothing he wears is a loincloth, and some studded leather armor.

eberhart sees him quickly, and gets an AOO. Meiphren doesn't see him until after the attack - roll for initiative.

(1d20+4)[23]

[knewsom]

the rest of you who are back at camp, listen checks please.

[Toliudar]

Eberhart

Hearing a noise from the bushes, Eberhart instinctively sights and lets fly with an arrow. He then steps out, still bow in hand, ready to try to circle behind the elf while he's focused on Lager.

Spoiler

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To confirm: the elf moved up and hit Lager this round, so next round he's running back off into the woods?

Initiative (1d20+3=21)
Shortbow attack and damage (1d20+4=17, 1d6=4)

Yup, good thing we're not too hasty to judge what's dangerous, bro.

[1337_master]

Listen (1d20+7)[24] -2 penalty because of lack of intent

[knewsom]

Xaal hears a shout and some scuffling in the woods where his companions went.

[1337_master]

Huh.... I get up, and Look into the forest.

(1d20+9)[12]

[knewsom]

you don't see anything, but then again, it did sound like they were a few hundred feet away.

[knewsom]

Ok, Eberhart lets fly an arrow at the invader with a cry of rage - cutting a gash in his shoulder, as his brother Lager falls to the ground, completely unconscious. The lithe brown man bolts into the forest once more, with incredible speed. It's Meiphren's turn.

[PolkaBear]

Meiphren Dunapuros

Meiphren took half a step in the direction of the fleeing elfling, then stopped. Could be running into a trap. Besides, that lad was fast.

He turned back and helped Lager up from where he had fallen.

[Foobar]

Lager

Lager gasps with shock, instinctively covering the wound with his hand before everything becomes dark and he slumps to the ground.

Spoiler

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Sorry, guys, I'm back. Been working until 3 AM every night. I leave you all a nice character, and you go and get him killed!

[1337_master]

I Re-draw my bow, and I walk into the forest, listening and looking for any trace of the search party

Spoiler

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Spot (1d20+9)[14]
Listen (1d20+9)[13]

[knewsom]

A moment or two later, as Xaal is walking through the woods towards where he heard the commotion, a shadowy form darts from a tree nearby him, swinging his tomohawk with skill and a shreik, but Xaal just manages to duck underneath it. He let fly an arrow from his bow, but the lithe form was too quick, tumbling under the shot as he bolted back into the woods.

Lager opened his eyes as the mysterious attacker's shriek echoed through the night. Meiphren and Eberhart definitely heard it too, as did Jericho.

[Toliudar]

Eberhart

Huh. Maybe this wasn't the best location for a campsite, bro.

His voice takes on real concern, although his eyes continue to scan the trees.

You all right?

Spoiler

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Ready an action to fire at the first sign of someone other than our group.

Attack, damage and sneak attack damage (1d20+3=22, 1d6+1d6=7)

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Jericho

Jericho stands up. Just like people. Something moves and you automatically chase it, now they're obviously in a fight, typical.
"It would be perfectly reasonable to stop this non-sense you know."

Actions:

Spoiler

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(1d20+1)[18] Initiative. Will draw weapons and stand guard by fire, readying action, Daunting Presence for first unfamiliar face to show up.
DC 13 Will Save or be shaken.

[1337_master]

Heres My initiative...

Spoiler

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(1d20+4)[24]

[knewsom]

By the time Xaaltruya nocked another arrow to his bowstring, the man had already pegged it back into the woods. He could chase after if he wanted, but the mysterious fellow was moving VERY quickly.

Spoiler

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311, let me explain what happened in game terms. he snuck up on you, attacked you, you dodged thanks to uncanny dodge feat, and he ran off into the woods as his move action - his tumble check negated your AOO. at this point, you can either shoot at him even though you can't really see him (your attack would be at -4, total concealment), or you can follow suit, or you can do something completely different.

[1337_master]

Hmmmm...Might be a trap... Xaal thinks to himself.

Eh, I attack

Spoiler

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(1d20+2)[18]

[knewsom]

You're not certain whether you hit or miss - your arrow dissapeared into the darkness of the forest ahead of you. The rustling of the underbrush ceases after a moment, and the silence of the forest wells up around all of you. Several minutes pass - you see, and hear, nothing.

[1337_master]

Hmmm... I put away my Bow, And a say, Is anyone Here?

[Toliudar]

Eberhart

Eberhart's voice is low and strained as he tries to rouse the cleric to action.

Hey, Meiphren. You're, like, a priest or something, right? Can you help Lager? I'll keep an eye out.

[knewsom]

The silence of the woods overwhelms you - there is NOTHING out there, no birds, no animals, even the wind is calm. After a few more moments, a nightengale breaks the silence, tree frogs begin to sing, and everything seems as though it's back to normal... despite the fact that you are all spread well out through the forest, and one of you is badly wounded.

[PolkaBear]

Meiphren Dunapuros

Meiphren sucked a breath between his teeth. He kept his voice low, though. "Sorry. I worked for the churchmen; I wasn't one of our clerics. I was the muscle."

Fitting action to his words, he easily picked up Lager and set the dwarf on his feet. The rough handling of an injured man warranted a curse or three.

[Foobar]

Lager

Lager twitches a couple of times. He starts mumbling to himself, only a few words recognizable.

What? ... eyes, red eyes ... darkness...

He starts to shake and then jerks upright. He immediately slumps, rubbing his head and clawing for the wand. He waves it with his eyes closed and immediately looks better. Standing up,

Did anyone see what that thing was? Where are the others? Is everyone ok?

He looks around quickly until he locates his brother and then relaxes slightly.

[Toliudar]

Eberhart

The dwarf lets up only a bit on his short bow.

Hey, easy with him there, man!

A genuine note of concern for his brother penetrates Eberhart's gruff manner.

Little tree-basta's popped in and out on us twice now, faster'n you can belch. I don't relish the thought of camping out next to that. I say we go back for the others, make a better effort to actually find this guy. But only if yer feelin' up to it, Bro.

[Foobar]

Lager

Course I'm up for it. Let's go find everyone before they kill themselves running into trees.

Lager jumps to his feet, sways only for a few steps, and heads off in generally the right direction to get back to the campsite.

[Toliudar]

Eberhart

Nodding, Eberhart again takes rear-guard, glancing nervously over his shoulder reflexively.

Too many bloody trees.

[PolkaBear]

Meiphren Dunapuros

Meiphren took up the rear position, looking out into the colorless world of night for any sign of the attacker's return.

Spot - (1d20+3)[23]
Listen - (1d20+3)[12]

[knewsom]

on the way back you see Xaaltruya, still looking off into the woods where he had fired an arrow.

[Foobar]

Lager

Xaal, did you get him? I hope you left something for me. I'd like to have a short, sharp, discussion with our fast little friend. Where is he?

Lager looks around for signs of his assailant.

[PolkaBear]

Meiphren Dunapuros

Meiphren keeps scanning the woods and following the others back to the campsite, his blade held ready.