The Lands of Sanetch - Alpha

[Job]

Hector

Hector falter for a moment, not wanting to leave Marius and the child unguarded, but also wishing to lessen the oppressive evil this place contains. They killed eh?

Resolving that the threat is too great to ignore, Hector will push into the mist making a beeline for the creature he detected earlier, and that Marius confirmed, calling for his friends to scout the same area.

OOC:

Spoiler

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HP:38/44
AC: 19

Free action: yell
As he enters the mist Hector will try to inform his companions of the location of the hobgoblins.

Move action: move
Hector will attempt to advance to the hobgoblin location (detect evil should give specific location now), Hector is also unaware of the caltrop danger, and will likely step on them in his advance, fortunately his full-plate comes with armored boots.

Standard action: move or attack
Move if more ground needs to be covered

Attack if he encounters a hobgoblin, -1 power attack, activate divine might, smite attempt
Attack:(1d20+14)[26]
Damage: (1d10+16)[22]+(1d6)[6] nonlethal

[iop]

Marius informs Hector that the hobgoblins may just have killed the hostages, then he tries to move along the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of what is going on.
The wall has clearly seen better times, but it's outside is still mostly a smooth surface, with stones hewn such that they perfectly lock into each other without the need of mortar. A few feet to the left, part of the wall has crumbled, leaving something like a stepping stone that Marius uses to get a peek over the wall and past the fog. Branches scratch his side as he climbs up. The pile of stones beneath his feet is not particularly stable, but it holds.
Marius sees the back of the hobgoblin who has cast the fireball earlier. He obscures the bodies - corpses? - of the two elves that lean against the wall. The other hobgoblin is hidden by the mist. Marius can not see much, but one detail seems to burn itself into his eyes. The dagger. The hobgoblin hastily wipes it clean to sheath it, before he starts running. The dagger. On its pommel, the image of a falcon burns in a red so evil that Marius's stares at it as if he was hypnotized. Marius is relieved as the hobgoblin runs away, so that he cannot see the dagger anymore. Though he now sees the elves. A male and a female.
Lócë moves forward. Suddenly, there is a feeling of cold steel between his toes, but before Lócë has time to wonder what that means, the outline of a hobbit becomes visible just beyond the fog. Without hesitation Lócë lashes out with his thinblade, drawing blood and a surprised shout from the hobgoblin. Uttering a vile curse in common, the hobgoblin twists from Lócë's blade and starts to run away.
Meanwhile, Hector makes his way through the fog in the direction in which he had sensed evil. More and more, he feels the evil of a recent murder in front of him, yet, he is distinctly aware of the presence of a myriad of weakly evil auras. Something crunches under Hector's feet, though he doesn't stop until he breaks out of the fog. He arrives right next to a female elf, who sits with her back to the wall. Her throat has been cut.
Raël also moves through the fog, but he is less lucky as he steps trough the caltrops. With a burning sensation they bore into the sole of his foot. Raël's leg becomes limp - poison! - and only thanks to the force of his will he can move forward. There! A figure moves past him! In less than the blink of an eye Raël realizes that this is not one of his companions, and with the wrath of someone who has seen too many evil deeds unpunished, he brings down his courtblade on the enemy. The hobgoblin screams as bone shatters, but he keeps running, and disappears through the mist. Raël hesitates a bit, then decides to go save the elves. As he steps out of the fog, he finds himself in front of two elves. Male and female. Both with their throats cut. Raël's hand that was about to grab a healing potion, stops. These elves are dead. He was, again, too late. But no! There are bubbles! They are small, but there are still some bubbles escaping from the cut in the female elf's throat. Fast as lightning, Raël grabs the healing potion, unstoppers it, and pours its contents over the horrible wound, then down the elf's throat. The wound closes, still leaving a large scar, though, then she coughs. She threatens to fall forward onto her face, but Hector, Lócë, and Raël all grab her shoulders and steady her. She doesn't wake up. Maybe it's better that way.

Spoiler

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Lócë deals 7 damage to the hobgoblin, and has a few caltrops stuck between his toes (they didn't deal damage, though).
Raël takes 2 damage from the caltrops and failed the save against poison. He takes 1 STR damage, and will have to roll another fortitude save at DC 18 in a minute. He does hit the hobgoblin as an attack of opportunity, dealing 16 damage. The potion cures 10hp, the female elf is thus at 1. Maneuvers granted: Mountain Hammer, Leading the Attack.

Should you decide not to pursue the hobgoblins, combat ends.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë

Screaming out a blood oath in elven, Loce charges after the hobgoblins.

Attack Roll: (1d20+13)[17]
Damage Roll: (1d8+2)[7]

If I can't charge, tohit is -2, and AC is +2.

HP:38/44, AC: 24, Flat-Footed: 19, Touch: 18, lesser vigor 6/15rnds, shield 3/10rnds

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 16, flat 16, touch 11.

This time, Marius moves once again to the left of the cloud and seeing the others at the elves as well, he will rush to the elves to stand by their side. He will quickly glance over the elves to see how bad their condition is and his demeanour turns serious when he sees the grievously injured elf.

But time has passed and by the time Marius is casting a spell to aid the elf, another round has passed. As he summons forth his healing powers aided by the powers of nature, his hand gives a light glow which passes onto the elf, healing her, albeit slowly.

Casting Lesser Vigor. Elf is healed for 6 and then 15 rounds of fast healing 1.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Cursing mentally at his inability to save both of the elves, Raël nods to Marius to show his appreciation, and then charges after Loce, hopeful that his new blade-brother won't get himself killed. "At least advance in time with me!" he calls to Loce. He renews humming his war-chant, a ceaseless litany of "High guard, block, parry, riposte, give and take, counter, low guard, run through, middle block..."

Raël moves up to 120 feet after the hobgoblins (run). If he reaches any of them before he has moved 60 feet, he attacks, using the momentum of his charge to run the hobbo through.

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+10)[12]
Damage: (1d10+1)[7]

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer

[Job]

Hector

Hector knows that he has no hope of giving effective pursuit; instead he stands ready to remove anything that should threaten Marius and the child.

"Forgive my weakness."

OOC:

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Will purple be acceptable for celestial?

HP:38/44
AC: 19

Free action: 5ft step to the position most effective to guard Marius while he heals; I assume he could be considered in the same square as the elf he is healing.

Full round action: ready
Hector will ready to perform a full attack on anything threatening that should get near. If such a creature is armed the attack will include a disarm attempt.

[iop]

Lócë starts so fast after the hobgoblins, that he sends the caltrops flying that had been stuck to his shoes. Raël follows close behind, though he is somewhat slowed down by the pain in his injured foot, and disappears in the fog, as well.

Marius rushes toward the two elves, while Hector stands guard, making sure that there will be no surprises. He keeps concentrating on detecting evil. The aura accompanying the hobgoblins' horrible deed is slowly evaporating, and Raël's selfless assistance has burnt a hole into it around the female elf. There is still some evil lingering about her, which Hector attributes to the evilness of what has been done to her. There are innumerable auras of weak evil, as if there was a horde of normally neutral creatures that had been tainted by association with something bad. These auras come close to the way and the walls, but seem to be held back by something. Then, suddenly, there is a flash of evil around the female elf, and a purely evil creature is coming into range from the direction in which the hobgoblins have fled. Suddenly, the creature stops.

Marius is kneeling next to the two elves. The male one is dead. His throat has been cut with such a vengeance that the head was almost cut off. This is no longer work for a healer, this needs someone who can negotiate with the gods. The female elf is in much better shape: The healing potion has come just at the right moment. He is glad that she is asleep, though. Several of her fingernails have been pulled out, and that is not something anyone should have to contemplate. No wonder something doesn't feel quite right about her, then - she has just undergone torture. Marius finds the painted nails on the ground, and starts contemplating how to best reattach them, when, suddenly, Hector tenses. Immediately afterwards, the elf starts to cough blood mixed with black bile. Poison? It couldn't be. No poison Marius knows would cause the wounds to re-open. Marius concentrates hard to cast a healing spell, and it feels as if there is something that resists his spell. With a calming breath, Marius frees his mind of all distractions and focuses on his healing power, pushing against the barrier. Finally, the resistance breaks and he feels life force flowing into the female elf. The wound closes up again, and the uneasy feeling he had about her disappears.

Meanwhile, the two elves are rushing after the hobgoblins. They follow again a narrow path like before, and they know they are on the right track when they enter the thick fog again. Undeterred, Lócë charges ahead, until he steps on a caltrop. This time, it pierces the sole of his foot. Lócë calls out in surprise as he feels all force being drained out of his legs. Because of the fog, no one can hear him scream. But he can be smelled. Lócë feels the ground tremble as yet another wolf rushes at him through the fog. To Lócë's great fortune, the fangs of the beast slide off the shield he has cast before.
Raël narrowly avoids the caltrops, and he catches up with Lócë just in time to see him try and attack the wolf. Lócë narrowly misses, and tries to slip past the beast. However, he can't escape the fangs and is pulled to the ground. Again, the shield helps Lócë to avoid the wolf's attack.
Trying to get the wolf's attention, Raël stabs the beast and feels the steel pierce the evil flesh.

[OOC]

Spoiler

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Two rounds have passed.

You are on a 10 foot wide path. The wolf is taking up the two squares in front of Raël, and Lócë lies on the ground north-west of Rael, adjacent to the wolf. No time for maps this time. You are inside the fog.

Raël can only move at half speed because of the caltrop wound (sorry, noticed that only just now). I considered him charging all the way, and he hits for 7 damage.
He is granted Crusader's Strike and Tactical Strike.

Lócë takes 2 damage from the caltrop, and he takes 5 STR damage due to poison. The wolf fortunately rolls only a 17 on its attack and misses.
On the next attack, the wolf rolls a natural 20 its AOO. It deals 20 damage and wins the trip with a 31. It then misses on a 26.

Note to self: Don't do complicated arithmetics when tired.

Purple is now reserved for Celestial - the first one to use a language gets to choose the color.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Seeing his ally on the ground, Raël grinds his teeth in frustration and shouts to Lócë, "Get out of the way and stand up when I hit the creature!"
He then drives his sword into the wolf, slicing cleanly into its neck, and distracting it from Lócë.

Spoiler

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Tactical Strike
Attack: (1d20+8)[28] I think the 23 confirmed, if not, I'll change it
Damage: (1d10+1)[7]+(2d6)[12]+7 from crit= 26 damage woo!
Lócë may move 5 ft as a free action w/o AoO, and could then stand up as a move action w/o provoking an AoO from the wolf.

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Tactical Strike, Crusader's Strike

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë

Loce waits for Rael to strike, and then rolls back out of the reach of the creature, muttering a spell that sounds more like a desperate prayer than an incantation before he rises shakily to his feet.

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Delaying action until after Rael, taking my free move backward, casting protection from evil, and then standing up. My AC is 1 lower against non-evil attackers, and I am assuming being adjacent to Rael is still a +2 to my AC.

arcane spell failure roll: (1d100)[65]

HP:20/44, AC: 29, Flat-Footed: 24, Touch: 19, lesser vigor 8/15rnds, shield 5/10rnds, protection from evil 1/60rnds

[iop]

For once, Lócë listens to Raël. And what a bad decision it appears to be: The wolf, unimpressed by the scratch it got from Raël, attacks the prone figure next to it. Only thanks to his dexterity is Lócë able to avoid being crushed by the monster's fangs.
Raël puts all his frustration of never being able to properly protect anyone into the blow he deals to the wolf. And that blow hits home. The blade slices through the wolf like a knife through butter. Blood splatters over Raël's hand, and the wolf emits a howl that can freeze bones even when it is attenuated by the fog. Raël hardly notices that he has, right now, the undivided attention of the wolf. It feels as if the strike and the howl have loosened something inside him, opened something, something important - and then, the feeling is gone.
Lócë immediately notices the wolf's shift of attention, and he takes the opportunity to roll away into the bushes. Not surprisingly, given his luck, they are thornbushes, but they do hurt less than the wolf's teeth. Lócë casts his spell and stands up.

[ooc]

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The wolf had a decent chance to hit, but failed.
Raël confirmed the critical hit and fortunately rolled a 26 on the miss chance percentile roll.
Lócë and Raël can't see each other anymore, but they have a fairly good idea where the other should be.
All maneuvers are granted to Raël.
On the mini-map, I have drawn two wolves to indicate it's size.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
((Oh wow. I need to go and find what all my maneuvers are again. ))

Elated that something finally went right and still bouyant on his sudden flash of insight, Raël murmurs Thank you, Lady. Help me finish this!" He stabs forward at the wolf, and prays his blade meets flesh.

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Crusader's Strike
Attack: (1d20+8)[26]
Damage: (1d10+1)[9]
If the attack hits and Lócë is still within ten feet, he is healed for (1d6+2)[3]

Raël will move to flank the wolf with Lócë (if possible) after Lócë acts.

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Battle Leader's Charge, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer, Crusader's Strike Other: Poison: 5/6 rounds

[Skjaldbakka]

HP:24/44, AC: 35, Flat-Footed: 24, Touch: 25, lesser vigor 9/15rnds, shield 5/10rnds, protection from evil 2/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil

Loce will move up and aid Rael's attacks. I believe he acts after Rael, so it will give a bonus next round (if it hits). Loce will move so that Rael can easily flank, if possible w/o an AoO.

Fighting Defensively+C.E (-8 to hit, +6 AC)
(1d20+3)[9] target number is 10 for aid another (I hit if I was able to flank with Rael)

[iop]

With a mighty growl, the wolf attacks Raël with its claws. As the elf dodges, he feels the monster's teeth sink into his tigh. With a smacking sound, a piece of muscle is torn away, leaving Raël seriously wounded.
As he is bleeding and hurting, Raël is more afraid of not being able to protect Lócë than of dying himself. With a cry, he brings around his blade, piercing the wolf's neck. As his blade sinks into the evil creature, there is that strange feeling again. But this time it is much stronger.
In the absence of the fog, Lócë would see Raël freeze for an instant, staring at something visible only to himself.

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“Angeshraël , my friend. Long time no see.”
“Asariell?” Incredulous, Raël stares at the apparition in front of him.
“Sharp as ever. I see you’re still trying to defend those who are too stubborn to run away. And you’re still failing at it.”
“But…”
“Sure, you hurt the wolf just now, but it is still standing, and you are not exactly in great shape. And it’s not going to be a walk in the park on the other side of the fog. It’s going to be running and screaming in the forest.”
“But…”
“Come on, you hardly ever got in a word while I was alive, and now you think you’ll have a chance when I control your vision? But I digress. Your blade comes with a legacy. It is a mighty weapon in the hands of those who are willing (but not necessarily eager) to give their lives to help others. If you’re willing to walk that path, I walk with you to help you out and to cheer you up. You have become a bit too serious. There is always a price, of course, you know, the gods aren’t giving stuff like that away, but I agreed to the deal, too, and aside from dying, I did well, didn’t I? But we don’t have a lot of time here. Quick: are you in, Angeshraël?”
Asariell stretches out his hand invitingly. Raël reaches out his hand and grasps Asariell's. Raël feels as if all his force was being drained from his body. At the same time, a magnificent sword shaped out of the purest of lights forms in Asariell's left hand. He lets go of Raël, and hits the wolf with a two-handed attack. The wolf's eyes widen in shock.
"Thank you, friend", Raël whispers as he sinks to his knees.
"The pleasure is all mine, Angeshraël", the apparition replies and disappears.

The wolf vomits blood and bile, and disappears. All Lócë finds when he steps up to the wolf to distract it is the silhouette of his companion who is on his knees.

Meanwhile, Marius is done reattaching fingernails. The elf's hands look almost as elegant as before she fell into the hands of the vile hobgoblins. Marius takes another opportunity to look at the body and the corpse in front of him. The two wounds were both made from short blades - daggers, of course - though the two elves were clearly attacked by opponents of different skill. Whoever tried to kill the female is not very intimate with the anatomy of the throat, or wasn't paying attention. Thus, the blade has only grazed the major arteries, instead of severing them. The male, however, has been killed by someone who knows how to cut throats.
Hector keeps standing guard, which is not easy, since the fog obscures most of the area from which they could be attacked. Hector is tense, thus he almost jumps as he hears the faint ringing that can only come from one source: an alarm spell. Immediately, Hector realizes that this is how the enemies had known of him and his companions. Hector moves to the section of the enclosure that allows him to overlook the path that leads back to the inn. However, whoever set off the alarm is not visible yet in the dim light from the setting sun that barely illuminates the path.


[ooc]

Spoiler

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The wolf deals 18 damage to Raël. In turn, Raël's critical hit is confirmed. Raël takes another 7 damage when he equips his old friend with a sword that kills the wolf.
Lócë is healed by 3, Raël is down to 2HP by my count.

I am aware that the RAW description of the alarm spell does not allow the ringing sound to happen at a place other than the warded area. I like the spell better this way (the spell works this way for you, too, obviously).

[/ooc]

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Be careful, Hector." Is Marius' reaction when Hector moves about. As Mairus focuses on the elf still living, he gives another glance at the corpses. He lets out a sigh, filled with sadness and remorse. More deaths.. With a sad gloom over his face, he continues to make sure the living elf is seated comfortably and examines the health of the body again for another check up.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

((You're right about the HP, I've miscalculated. Ignore the comment in the PM as well.))

Shaking heavily, Raël clumsily levers himself onto his good leg, using his sword for support. He looks over to see Lócë, still mostly unharmed, Thank the Lady, and beckons him over.
"We should get back to the others, I'll be no good in any further fighting until I see Marius."
He begins to hobble back toward the others, gritting his teeth as the pain shoots up his heavily wounded leg.

Spoiler

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Fortitude save against poison:(1d20+8)[9]

He stumbles once, feeling fatigue radiating through his body, and continues shambling along.

HP:2/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Battle Leader's Charge, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison

[Skjaldbakka]

"Go back and get those wounds tended to. I am going to follow these murdererous bastards. I'll stay out of sight, and with luck, they'll lead me right to their base."

With that, Loce dissappears into the fog, in the direction the hobgoblins went.

Hide: (1d20+12)[31]
Move Silently: (1d20+12)[16]
Spot: (1d20+12)[29]
Listen: (1d20+11)[21]
Search (if necessary): (1d20+10)[29]

HP:25/44, AC: 27, Flat-Footed: 22, Touch: 17, lesser vigor 10/15rnds, shield 6/10rnds, protection from evil 3/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil

[iop]

As Raël hobbles back to Marius, he takes care to avoid the caltrops. However, he probably would have shuffled his feet anyway. The poison is spreading , sucking the force out of his already weakened legs. He is glad to be leaving the treacherous fog.

~~~

Lócë, too, steps out of the fog, but in the other direction of the path. He is more careful than before. Not only is he on his own now, but he also realizes that the enemy has not taken any damage yet, while both he and Raël have come uncomfortably close to dying.
Lócë hesitates to fully step out of the fog. Instead, he just sticks his head out and scans the surroundings. Thanks to his exceptional vision, he can make out a scenery that strongly resembles what he has seen before: The path widens, and leads to a passage in between two walls some 60 feet away. The wall to the left is mostly collapsed, though the one to the right is in better conditions. It becomes clear that it has once been crowned by battlements. There is a weak light source behind one of the walls, but it is so diffuse that Lócë cannot make out which side. Also, he notices no movement whatsoever. Yet, there is someone talking, but not loud enough that he can make out what is being said. The voice pauses at times, as if listening to someone else who Lócë cannot hear.
Lócë is ready to sneak out of the fog to be able to eavesdrop, when he notices a bizarre object 20 feet ahead. Lócë frowns as he recognizes it as a rubber duck - a children's toy the size of a large fist. Surely, no children were normally playing inside this forbidding forest?
As he wonders about the toy, the person talking is raising his voice, so that Lócë is able to understand part of the conversation. It is the hobgoblin he has heard speaking before.
"... yes, three fighters and a low-level mage. - Of course! - ... and don't forget to take care of the idiot who paired me with that idiot human, too. ... - ... Oh, look who's coming back after all! Hey, what the hell are you doing! NOOOO!"
Lócë hears the sound of glass shattering, and the diffuse light is extinguished. There is no more sound.

~~~

Hector and Marius hear someone shout in goblin. It sounds like an urgent message, a warning maybe? Then, they hear the telltale rattling of someone running toward them in a chain shirt. However, the hobgoblin is still too far away to be visible in the near darkness.
Suddenly, they hear a noise from the direction into which Raël and Lócë have disappeared. To their relief it is Raël who steps out of the fog. He does not look well.

[ooc]

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@Job: If Hector has done something else but try and look once the alarm went off, please say so.

@Kai-Palin: Raël takes 3 Str damage from the secondary effect of the poison.

@Skjaldbakka: In case it is not clear: The dash indicates periods when the hobgoblin is silent, the dots indicate when Lócë cannot understand what is being said.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will try and move closer, so he can better hear what is going on.

[iop]

As Lócë carefully steps closer, the eyes of the rubber duck suddenly flash red, and it explodes in a ball of fire that engulfs Lócë.

[ooc]

Spoiler

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Reflex save against DC15 to take half of 22 damage (why do I keep rolling so low?). You get +2 on the save for protection from evil and +1 from having a bad feeling about the rubber duck for a total of +3.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce dives for cover the instant the explosion goes off, and quickly leaps behind the collapsed wall to the left.



HP:15/44, AC: 27, Flat-Footed: 22, Touch: 17, lesser vigor 11/15rnds, shield 7/10rnds, protection from evil 4/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil; Hidden (24)

[iop]

Lócë presses against the wall, such that no one would be able to make him out in the deep shade. He listens hard, but there is nothing he is able to hear. Carefully peaking in the direction of the passage does not reveal anything either. In particular, the light has not come back.

[ooc]

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Please roll a fortitude save against the secondary effect of the poison (at +2, again for the protection from evil). If you don't beat DC18, you take 3 Str damage.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will wait a few minutes, and then proceed forward to investigate. He slips his wand of shield into his hand as feels the protective aura dissipate.

HP:19/44, AC: 23, Flat-Footed: 18, Touch: 17, protection from evil 24/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil; Hidden ((1d20+12)[22])

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

When Raël appears, Marius looks up from his patient. His face quickly fills with horror at the sight of his wounds and leaves his patient to attend to Raël. "Oh dear, this is does not look well. Let me tend to your wounds." And with that, Marius offers Raël support as he lays his hand upon him, which starts to radiate with a soft glow. The glow slowly moves in Raël, upon which his wounds lessen slightly. Raël can feel some of the heavier wounds tingle as they slowly start to close while the healing energy continues to do it's work. "This will take a bit, but you will feel better in due time. Rest while the magic works." Aiding Raël to sit down besides his other patient.

After a bit of time, Marius asks. "How do you feel now? And where is our other companion?"

Spoiler

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Casted Lesser Vigor. Raël is healed for 6 at the moment of casting and he has fast healing 1 for 15 rounds.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Sighing with relief, Raël replies, "Better now, thank you. Lócë decided to scout ahead, but I believe he does not intend to continue hostilities yet."
Lifting his foot wearily, he says, "I was poisoned. Is there anything you could do about that?"

HP:9/29; AC: 18, Flat-Footed: 13, Touch: 15; Maneuvers Granted: None; Other: Lesser Vigor 1/15 rnds, 4 pts Str dmg from poison

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Shaking his head slowly, Marius gives a negative response. "Not today, I am afraid. But let me look at it for now." Marius will examine Raël's health and condition, as well as his foot in particular, after which he will nod slowly, giving a signal that he understands what is wrong. "I will make sure to call forth a blessing by the next dawn to lessen this. That is, unfortunately, all I can do about it, though it should alleviate some while resting."

[Job]

Hector

Seemingly oblivious to the conversation, or even to Raël’s arrival, Hector will turn suddenly as Marius mentions his need to retrieve spells.

“This may not neutralize the poison” Hector will say as he rests his hand on Raël’s shoulder. “It will help however”, a brief prayer follows, and restorative magic will pass to Raël.

“We may have more individuals approaching, if you’ll watch ahead Raël, ill keep an eye behind.” Nodding then, Hector will take careful steps back to the gap through which he entered, and watch for whom approaches.

OOC:

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HP: 38/44
AC:18

General actions:
Lay on hands on Raël healing 14 hp, and casting lesser restoration, restoring (1d4)[2] strength damage.

[iop]

Hector quickly steps through the fog toward the gap. He doesn't bother to avoid the caltrops, since they are not able to penetrate his armor, though one of them leaves a dent. Blocking the gap, but still inside the fog, Hector sticks his head out, attempting to spot the hobgoblin. However, the dim light provided by the setting sun does not allow him to see much farther than 40 feet, which is not enough.
However, he can hear the hobgoblin much more clearly, who, again, shouts something in the goblin tongue. There are two words Hector can make out: "elves", which is similar in many languages, and "guild", which the hobgoblin pronounces in common.

~~~

As Lócë moves toward the gap between the walls, he spots a figure sprawled on the floor. It is the hobgoblin he had seen before. The hobgoblin is dead. Its skin has turned black, its hairs white, and the flesh is desiccated that Lócë fears that it will crumble in his fingers when he touches it. Someone has cut the hobgoblins throat, almost severing the head in the process. Furthermore, there is a hole in his belly, as if there had been a cut that was pulled open as the body dried out.
Looking around, Lócë can see where the path continues beyond the clearing that is, as before, encircled by walls. He cannot see any movement, and the only thing out of the ordinary are the shards of a fist-sized crystal ball. A "talking sphere", which is probably what has given off the light before.

[ooc]

Spoiler

Show

If Raël wants to hurry back to Lócë, he has had enough time to catch up, so you consider him standing right behind his fellow elf.

A talking sphere is a crystal ball that can be used to communicate with someone in a central location. Several talking spheres can be tied to the same central crystal ball, however, there can be only one active connection at a time, and it is not (yet) possible to connect directly from one talking sphere to the other. Of course, this problem can be solved having multiple central crystal balls, and operators that can relate information.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë

Loce will take a careful look around, casting Detect Magic.

spellcraft: (1d20+10)[15]
spot: (1d20+12)[18]
search: (1d20+10)[28]

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"I can't let our other companion face whatever is up that path by himself. I need to join him, and we'll return as soon as possible. Or if you would carry her, Hector," he says, pointing at the elven woman, "All of us could go that way, and I'll take rearguard."

Raël rouses himself and, taking care to avoid the caltrops this time, picks his way up the path toward where he left Lócë.

OR

Raël waits for the other two to advance up the path, then follows them, looking over his shoulder constantly, his blade out and ready.

HP:26/29; AC: 20, Flat-Footed: 15, Touch: 17; Maneuvers Granted: None; Stance: Bolstering Voice; Other: Lesser Vigor 2/15 rnds, 2 pts Str dmg from poison

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius faces towards the fog Hector went. Marius does not know the answer to the question Raël asked. Not as in Hector's answer, but what answer he would give. There are still things going on, Lócë is still not with them and Raël is ready to be on the move again. A patient is here and he did not know if it was wise to leave her or move her.. Furthermore, Marius wonders why Hector used his injury healing powers on Raël. Both his and Hector's healing powers must be limited and Marius' spell had not finished it's work yet - it seemed like a waste of healing powers that they needed quite a lot. However he was glad that some of the poison's effects had lessened.
In a way glad that he did not have to make the decision, Marius' thoughts did wander towards Lócë. What would he his bodily condition? Wishing that he had foreseen more and casted the right spells, Marius had some difficulty pushing that away. What had been done was done.