Ruins of Azlant: The Lost Outpost [IC]

[digiman619]

Kaen chides himself for not putting his armor in its heavier form, He shifts his veils slightly in order to get his weapon back in sword mode, swiping at the higher of the two foes before retreating out of harm's way for the moment.

Spoiler: OOC

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SwA:I make what I am calling a "null shift" of my essence; spending the swift to move essence, but leaving 1E in Stalker's Tabi, Slashing Volley, and Bangle of Barriers (i.e., where they already were). This lets me reset my Slashing Volley to be in its curveblade form.

Spoiler: Relevant ruling

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https://libraryofmetzofitz.fandom.com/wiki/Akashic_Rules#Using_Essence

"When investing your essence, you can divide your total pool of essence however you like amongst all of your essence receptacles, up to your essence capacity. You cannot invest more essence in a receptacle than your essence capacity. If you have a feature that allows you to change a selected effect each time it is invested with essence, you can do so every time you spend a swift action to invest your essence, even if you leave the same amount of essence in that receptacle." (emphasis mine)

SA: Attack the hanging foe (I think blue? It's hard to figure) (1d20+8)[26] (1d10+1)[11]
MA: I *assume* the 'withdraw' and 'charge' abilities of Slashing Volley are move actions, but it's actually kinda vague. Assuming the sane reading is correct, I will then take a move action to get out of the house (I want to get 1 square southeast of Thickness' current location) and swap weapon form back to crossbow. I will Acrobatics in order to avoid AoO's. If the 'withdraw' is instead part of the attack, I will spend the move action summoning my astral armor (which I was reasonably certain I had already done).

Call this a hedge if you must, but on the odd chance that I've misread something and the "not moving essence" trick doesn't work, I logically should know that it failed, in which case I will Withdraw to the 1 square southeast of Thickness

[lostsole31]

R1T11: Kaen chides himself for not putting his armor in its heavier form. Considering this is the first day he's ever been in mortal combat, he has to take a quick second to verify that he does have his veil in sword mode, and swipes at the higher of the two foes. When the dim lighting throws off his aim, he retreats out of harm's way for the moment, but not before both bogeys stab at him, one of them skimming off his back while Arsenne protects him from yet another thrust.

R1T9: Thickness, what do you do?

[5ColouredWalker]

Dropping his torch Thickness readies his spear and shield, stepping back from the building.

"Bring the fight outside!"

Spoiler: ooc

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Swift: Change to Silver Crane Waltz stance
Free: Drop Torch.
Move: Equip shield.
Move: Equip Lance.
Free: 5ft step east/to the right side of the map.

[lostsole31]

R1T9: Dropping his torch Thickness readies his spear and shield, stepping back from the building and calls out, "Bring the fight outside!"

R1T8: Roran, what do you do?

[rypt]

Drawing his greatsword, Roran hurries to the west, nearer to the creature that Ambyr struck down. "What is it?! What are we fighting now?!" He eyes the fallen creature before turning his attention to the doorway, readying himself should another emerge.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action: Move between Ambyr and Zeferin, drawing greatsword as part of the movement.

Free action: Assess Red's body.

Standard action: Ready a greatsword attack should an enemy move into a square he threatens.

Attack: (d20+7)[26]
Damage: (2d6+6)[14]

[lostsole31]

R1T8: Drawing his greatsword, Roran hurries to the west, nearer to the creature that Ambyr struck down. "What is it?! What are we fighting now?!" He eyes the fallen creature before turning his attention to the doorway, readying himself should another emerge.

R1T7: Mr. Arvodair equips his shield on the move to the west of the body, readying his trident should something similar to what's on the ground come out the window. He does so with an imposing air and the look of one who has been given formal combat instruction, not just a pick-up-as-one-goes like some sailors that just fall into combat and live. To see his big frame standing there, readied, instills the rest of you with confidence, as if nothing could take the lot of you down.

R1T5: Zeferin, shield and warhammer are readied. What do you do?

Arsenne on deck, Ambyr delaying, Eirina in the hole ...

[Diavolo]

Arsenne shouts in response: "Goblin Monkeys. Good Climbers. Risk Escape. Trap'em here!"

Then, holding his thumb apart from his index and middle finger of his right hand in claw-like position, he launches a flurry of stunning blows at two creatures.
As he strikes, he shouts: "Soldier Ant, PINCH!".

After his attack, he shifts further into house to make room for others to enter.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Free Action: let go of Glaive with right hand only.
Full Attack: Flurry of blows strike #1 at one target, stunning fist DC 14, (d20+7)[20], damage (d6+4)[5];
Flurry of blows strike #2 at the other target, stunning fist DC 14, (d20+7)[10], damage (d6+4)[5];
Move 5': Option 1 - Diagonally South West if there is room for him. If space is too limited, then Option 2 - straight West to where Kaen was previously.
Free Action: Place right hand back on shaft of Glaive.

[lostsole31]

R1T5: Zeferin moves west to be part of a welcoming committee for any other of these creatures. Arcane energy flickers around the head of his hammer, which he in turn drops on the little monster to put it out of its misery.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T22:Arsenne shouts in response: "Goblin Monkeys. Good Climbers. Risk Escape. Trap'em here!"

Then, holding his thumb apart from his index and middle finger of his right hand in claw-like position, he launches a flurry of of blows with his hands in this position, crying as he attacks: "Soldier Ant, PINCH!". His first attack hits the hanging one in the chest for 5 + stunned and it falls to the east of the other, and dropping its spear. He then strikes the other in the left shoulder for 5 as well. After his attack, he shifts further into house to make room for others to enter.

R2T17: Eirina, what do you do? What do you order Ambyr to do?

Enemies on deck and in the hole ...

[Espeon55]

Eirina whistles Ambyr to her side before casting Speak with Animals on herself so she can better communicate with her partner, she points to inside the house. "Move in Ambyr! Attack those monkeys! Closest one you can find and don't hurt the doc. Herd them outside if you can, I want a piece of the action too you know."

Eirina then moves south and waits near the door for the enemy if they come out.

Spoiler: Crunch

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MA: Moves 5 feet south
StA: Casts Speak with Animals.
Concentration check: (1d20+6)[8]

[lostsole31]

R2T17: Eirina moves south and whistles Ambyr to her side before casting speak with animals on herself so she can better communicate with her partner. But she is so nervous with this third mortal combat in under an hour that she is worried about enemies around every corner and casts defensively ... and fails. Recovering quickly she points inside the house, to the dead monkey goblin, and back to the house, cutting out all the fat. "Ambyr, attack!"

R2T16.5: Ambyr instantly zig-zags into the house and nips Green in the head for 2.

R2T16-15: Having just gotten nipped, Green turns its attention to the cat and stabs and just catches Ambyr along the lower side for 5. Meanwhile, Blue writhes in pain on the ground.

R2T11: Kaen, what do you do?

Thickness on deck, Roran in the hole ...

[digiman619]

Kaen takes aim before firing an arrow at Green. His weapon changes mode once more as he rushes in.

Spoiler: OOC

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StA: Attack Green. Note that I'm getting the extra 2d6 precision damage because of last turn's movement via slashing volley. Attack: (1d20+8)[23] Damage: (1d6+1)[7] + (2d6)[5]
MA: I will attempt to move in (it's hard tell if there's room). If there is, I will attempt to move into flanking, switching into sword mode. If there's not, spend a swift to move into sword mode and get as close as I can.

[lostsole31]

R2T11: Kaen takes aim before firing an arrow at Green, striking the monkey goblin in its left lower arm for 12 and dropping it. His weapon changes mode once more as he rushes in.

R2T9: Thickness, what do you do?

Roran on deck, Mr. Arvodair in the hole ...

[5ColouredWalker]

As space around the door is filled again, Thickness' jaw rattles with a growl and ge begins stalking north, circling the building looking for another entry... Or exit.

"If we're trapping them we should be surrounding them."


Thickness' voice is calm and level despite his earlier growl.

Spoiler: Actions

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Swift: Running Hunters Stance
Move: Circle the building heading North, and then east, staying within 10ft of the walls (AOO range for spear). If Thickness spots a new enemy, he'll stop and shout: "More of them!" , if I spot nothing, I think I end up 4 squares north, 2 right.
Move: Thickness will assess the building, looking for more entrences/enemies. He will check the roof since they creatures seem to be climbers. Thickness currently has scent 30'.

[lostsole31]

R2T9: Thickness' voice is calm and level despite his earlier shout, "If we're trapping them we should be surrounding them." As space around the door is filled again, Thickness' jaw rattles with a growl and he begins stalking north, circling the building looking for another entry... or exit.

R2T8: Roran, what do you do?

Mr. Arvodair on deck, Zef in the hole ...

[rypt]

Roran circles around the building to the west, attempting to cut off other avenue of escape.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action: Move west and then north to the west side of the building, stopping if there is a window or doorway there (positioning himself 5 feet out from the building if possible). Continuing toward the north side if not.

Standard action: If there is no window or doorway on the west side, move the north side of the building, stopping if there is a window or doorway there (positioning himself 5 feet out from the building if possible). If he stopped at the west side of the building, instead ready a greatsword attack against any enemy that enters a square he threatens.

[lostsole31]

R2T8: Roran circles around the building to the west, attempting to cut off other avenue of escape. He makes it west and north and begins to tear eastwards when he stops suddenly, face-to-face with a hideous creature out of some primal nightmare. It is a scaled monstrosity, with beady eyes looking right at you, and a long snout full of teeth... oh, wait, it's just Thickness.

R2T7: Mr. Arvodair just resets his readiness.

R2T5: Zef falls back on his bum, looking in shock at his bloody hammer and the caved in skull of the monkey goblin he killed.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T22: Arsenne, what do you do? The monkey goblin you stunned shakes its head - no longer stunned - but prone and with its spear laying next to it.

Eirina on deck, Ambyr in the hole ...

[Diavolo]

Arsenne announces: "I'm going to incapacitate it."

He then draws his right knee high up to his chest, and launches a flurry of short, shallow, non-lethal but powerful sidekicks downward at the prone Goblin-Monkey. As he strikes he shouts: "Dung Beetle SMASH"!

In order to make his kicks non-lethal, he strikes with the whole flat of the foot rather than focusing all his force into the heel.

If the Goblin Monkey is still conscious after that, Arsenne stands by with his right leg and knee chambered high in a pre-kicking position, ready to capitalize on any opening that the creature leaves him.

Spoiler: Attack detail

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Flurry, non-lethal damage, risky strike #1 (d20+6)[8] , non-lethal damage (d6+6)[10]
Flurry, non-lethal damage, risky strike #2 (d20+6)[12] , non-lethal damage (d6+6)[8]

[lostsole31]

R3T22: Arsenne announces: "I'm going to incapacitate it."

He then draws his right knee high up to his chest, and launches a flurry of short, shallow, non-lethal but powerful sidekicks downward at the prone goblin-monkey. In order to make his kicks non-lethal, he strikes with the whole flat of the foot rather than focusing all his force into the heel. As he strikes he shouts: "Dung Beetle SMASH"!

Because he completely telegraphed his attack, the monkey goblin rolls out of the way of the first, but was surprised that this human could kick so fast as the second as the follow-up catches it in the head for 8 NL. Arsenne stands by with his right leg and knee chambered high in a pre-kicking position, ready to capitalize on any opening that the creature leaves him.

R3T17: Eirina, what do you do?

Ambyr on deck, Blue in the hole ...

[Espeon55]

"You can do it Ambyr! Show that Monkey where it stands on the food chain! Attack!"Eirina encourages her partner to try and bolster his confidence hoping his strength would also increase because of this.

Spoiler: Crunch

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StA: Eirina will be using Aid Another on Ambyr to help his attack roll (1d20)[13]

[lostsole31]

R3T17: "You can do it, Ambyr! Show that monkey where it stands on the food chain! Attack!"Eirina encourages her partner to try and bolster his confidence hoping his strength would also increase because of this.

R3T16.5: Eirina's exhortations to Ambyr key a greater viciousness in Ambyr, who attacks the beleaguered monkey goblin with more savage attacks. Ambyr crits with a bite on Blue for 9, which allows him to then bite Green as well for 9. Ambyr then mauls Blue with his claws. The entire gruesome display is enough to kill both monkey goblins.

Combat Ends!

[digiman619]

Kaen takes a breath to calm himself now that he was no longer in immediate danger, his armor and weapon dissipating as he relaxed and ended each effect. "Doubt we'd've gotten much from them anyway." he said to himself before turning to Arsenne. "Mr. Arsenne, I have been wounded twice now, and I'd rather avoid having them compound any further. You spoke about being a healer, so if you could aid me, it would be much appreciated."

[Diavolo]

Arsenne responds to Kaen: "Yes of course!"

He looks down at the inert Monkey Goblin bodies by his feet: "I don't think there is much I can do for these at this point. Poor Ambyr. Such a good Kitty. I guess you don't know the meaning of 'incapacitate' yet, do you?"

He squats down to take closer look at the Goblin Monkeys, but then stands up and sways unsteadily, leaning on his upright Glaive for balance:
"Oh sorry! It seems that with the excitement draining out from me, I am left slightly wobbly kneed. Let me just catch my breath."
He continues to sway and he swallows a few times.

"This is the first time that I'm in a real fight. Well ..... aside from back on the boat where I proved my worth as a pin-cushion and as ballast. Actively fighting is far more intense."
He forces himself to take deep breaths, swallowing more frequently and still swaying slightly as he looks at the Goblin Monkeys. Eventually his eyes land on the first one to go down, the one that he himself had carved up with his Glaive. Suddenly his stomach heaves, and he brings his left hand up rapidly to clamp over his mouth, letting the Glaive clatter to the ground. He barrels past Ambyr, out the door, and past his friends, stopping ten feet way to drop to his hands and retching his last meal up and onto the ground.

[5ColouredWalker]

Thickness rumbles as he finishes his circling of the building, eventually reclaiming his torch and intending to speak with Kean before redirecting to where Arsene is vommiting.

"First time? I've hunted beasts but the first shook me. Let it out and take your time to steady your breathing... though I am surprised given your profession."

With muttered words and a wave the vomit disapears, Thickness cleaning the ground to reduce the smell before he calls out to Kean, turning his head.

"All's well ends well. But perhaps the nose than can pick out people should have gone in first instead. Could have prevented a ambush. I can offer healing too should it be needed."

Spoiler: Cleaning

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Cleaning Accomplished by Presdigitation.

[Espeon55]

Eirina crouches and hugs Ambyr, giving him very affectionate ear scratches and pets. "Good boy Ambyr!! Such a good boy!! You showed them who's boss, yes you did!!"
Eirina then lets Ambyr and Kaen come out of the house as the group gathers together and watches Arsenne vomit and grimaces. "Not use to seeing blood and guts yet are you doc? Heh sorry about that, Ambyr can be a rather messy hunter."

[Diavolo]

Arsenne stands up, nods to Thikha'Ness ands says: "Thanks".
He then says a quick prayer and conjures up some water into his cupped hands and he splashes it onto his face.
He conjures some more, but his times sips the water from his cupped hands, gargles and spits it out, in a direction away from the group.

He then looks again at Thikha'Ness says: "Oh, I have fought plenty of times. Thousands if not tens of thousands of sparring matches, and I must have competed in at least half-a-hundred Irorian tournaments as a child. But, I have never squared off against something in a kill-or-be-killed match before. And I have certainly never killed anything before. Well, nothing bigger than a mosquito anyway."

He looks at the rest of the group and adds:
"As for blood & guts, I have learned to deal with that as a part of being a doctor. I am just more used to being the cure rather than the cause. It was all just a lot to take in at once, and very suddenly. When I saw Kaen being attacked, I immediately wanted to protect him at all costs, even without hesitation being ready to kill his attackers. I'm rather shocked at how automatically my body ..... Sorry. I'm blabbing. I'll be fine. Now let's take a look at your wounds, Kaen."

He takes a quick look.
"Hmmm. Indeed. I could certainly treat this through traditional means, and accelerate the healing overnight. But with more buildings to explore, it might be more prudent so call forth some of Shelyn's magic to cure what we can more quickly."
He nods to Thikha'Ness, and says "If your will allow me...."

And he casts a spell, gently touching Kaen on an uninjured part of his body, to let the magic flow through to where it is needed.

Spoiler: Healing magic

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Spontaneous casting cure light wounds in lieu of divine favour (d8+2)[3]

[5ColouredWalker]

With everyone having taken their moments of rest and healing, Thickness speaks up.

"So, next house? I have a feeling we'll be just finding more... mindlessly aggressive folks. Best to clear them before searching buildings I think."

If no one objects, Thickness will lead the group to the next house.

Spoiler: OOC

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Thickness intends to circle from the outside of the settlement in, continueing north until no more, then going clockwise and spiraling in.

Thickness will use Running Hunter's Stance to pick up scents, particularly before entering any building. Given frequent ambushes, he'll however switch to the Silver Crane stance for AC, putting his spear down and wearing his shield properly, relying on his bite to have a weapon.

[Espeon55]

"Well I am certainly up for it! Bring on the next enemy, Ambyr and I can handle anything now." Eirina states now full of confidence, keeping her bow in hand she follows Thickness to the next house.

[Diavolo]

Arsenne looks a bit confused as he stares at Kaen's remaining wounds. "Hmmm. That spell usually has a bigger effect. Might you have some sort of magic resistance that diminished the healing? Anyway, I can cast this two more times today, hopefully with greater impact. If everyone gets injured, Shelyn grants me the privilege of channeling some of her positive vibes for the entire group. I can do that twice per day."

He looks at Kaen: "We'll need to communicate honestly so that we can best manage our resources. You know better than anyone how injured you are. But please keep in mind how much more of this colony we must explore today. If you feel like you need me to cast this again, you let me know, O.K.?"

He goes back inside to get his Glaive, and he then peeks his head out and says: "Shouldn't we look around a bit inside for clues as to what might have happened before we move on?

[rypt]

Roran sighs as he rests his greatsword on his shoulder. "These monsters... do you think they meant to ambush us? Or were they simply enjoying the absence of the other colonists?"

To Arsenne's question, he replies, "Yes, I'd like to take a look inside, if that's all right."

Spoiler: OOC

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Roran will look around the inside of the smithy, trying to get a sense of whether it was abandoned suddenly or if tools and/or supplies might have been packed up and removed.

[lostsole31]

The party begins an extensive search of the smithy, dragging the bloody corpses of the monkey-goblins outside.

This building serves as the smithy for Talmandor’s Bounty and is a critical location for the newly arrived colonists. The actual anvil and forge are outside the smithy under the shade of a roof extension. The outdoor worktable is covered with a few blacksmithing tools and pieces of metalwork, such as weapons, tools, or farming implements abandoned halfway through being forged or repaired. If necessary, these metal objects can serve as improvised weapons for Medium and Small creatures. The water in the tub is filthy with soot, ash, and charcoal residue.

With Eirina's help, when Kaen checks the forge he is able to determine that the forge was last lit about a week ago. This is noteworthy because the rest of the colony appears to have been abandoned for a month from what the two of them can determine.

The southern window has no shutters and is large enough for a Small creature to move through easily without having to squeeze. Inside the smithy building, the space is divided between personal living quarters and an indoor tool storage and work area. A pungent animal smell lingers in the air and a tussled pile of blankets on the wooden cot is soiled. The room is in a state of disarray, with tools such as tin snips, pliers, and files carelessly strewn all over. A few Medium weapons and pieces of armor are strewn among the debris.

A few pieces of equipment of exceptional craftsmanship can be found among the mess the monkey goblins have created. Among them are two masterwork machetes, a masterwork chain shirt, and a darkwood buckler, which appears to have had a new arm strap affixed recently.

The PCs can also salvage 40 metal arrowheads from the debris. While these are not useful in their current state, a fletcher could make complete arrows from these at no additional material cost (as the other materials are easy to obtain on Ancorato).

From the monkey-goblins, the equipment they had on them, each, were: buckler, 3 daggers, a shortspear ... all of poor, unsalvageable condition and all Small-sized.