Chapter 2: South Wind

[Silanon]

Despite the righteousness of your cause and Iomadae's support, the creature manages to raise its weapon just in time to prevent a hit. Sword and greataxe meet with a clashing sound of steel, but no damage is done by the mighty blow. In response, the undead orc tries to hit Renna, but his strike is way too slow to not avoid it easily.

Io tries to spot the remaining attacker between the trees - she seemingly manages to detect her target, firing an arrows into the darkness. There is no response, however - as it seems, the shot missed its purpose.

Dicer is up with Veskassdak.


23 Io -6
--> 21 Veskassdak -8
20 Hawk
19 Baird
14 Falconer (position unknown)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8
2 Undead Orc

 

[Dicer]

Even knowing that the undead orc will taste terrible, Veskassdak swipes at it with both of his claws, and bites it. If he manages to tear it apart, then he would look around for his next foe.

Spoiler

2 of 11 rounds of rage used.

 

[Silanon]

Despite his slowness, the undead orc manages to avoid the claws with surprising effectiveness. The lizardman's bite, however, is unexpected, and so his teeth dig into rotting flesh, tearing it apart between shoulder and throat. There is a wave of sudden sickness flushing through Veskassdak's body, a feeling of nausea and unnatural weakness. However, rage and natural resilience are enough to shake off the effect and stop the spinning of his head.

Once more, the hawk reappears - this time targeting Baird. However, his talons cannot cut through the protection provided by the magical armor, and so all that remains is its rotting smell as the bird tries to retreat once more.

Clockwork Syringe is up with Baird - if you so choose, you can aim for the hawk as it flies away, try to find and shoot the falconer, or fire right into the melee.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Hawk
--> 19 Baird
14 Falconer (position unknown)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8
2 Undead Orc

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird decides to fire on the hawk as it flies away as just compensation for attempting to hit him.

 

[Silanon]

Although the bird moves at rapid speed, Baird manages to hit his target right before it can vanish once more. The hawk tumbles, and hits the ground, another bolt in its undead body - however, it still moves despite the additional hole in one of its wings, stubbornly trying to soar into the air once more.

In response, another bolt gets fired somewhere in the darkness - hitting Baird in an act of revenge. Not a life-threatening wound by any means - but not just a little scratch, either.

(Baird takes 6 dmg, and the hawk miraculously "survives" the hit)

Sherwood is up with Wren.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (position unknown)
--> 10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8
2 Undead Orc

 

[Sherwood]

From her current position in the woods, Wren will try to keep track of the undead bird as it returns to the falconer that is sending it out to attack, so she can then engage the guy with his bow/crossbow as he is taking shots at her friends. She will move as quietly as possible, hoping to be able to take the target by surprise and engage with her dual swords.

OOC Perception bonus of +12, +14 to locate traps, and her stealth roll is +10

 

[Silanon]

The hawk is rather hard to track - despite its clumsy movements after Baird's hit, the night's darkness still covers its flight path. At last, Wren spots a humanoid shade, half-hidden behind one of the swamp trees. He is far enough away to be out of reach of your swords for now, but seems not to notice your advancing, solely focused on the man who wounded his undead companion.

Psychie is up with Renna.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted)
10 Wren -8
--> 4 Renna -8
2 Undead Orc

 

[Psychie]

Grinding her teeth in frustration at her missed attack, the paladin of Iomeade readies herself for another powerful swing against the orc.

OOC Smite Evil still in effect, giving me a total of a 22 AC against counterattacks from it, and doing 2d6+15 in damage with a +11 to hit.

 

[Silanon]

This time, the unholy creature can't escape your attack - your strike cleanly cuts his upper body in halves, releasing a nauseating smell of death. The gleaming in his eye sockets slowly fades away as the animiating power within his bones leaves its destroyed vessel. All that remains is a decayed body, one that certainly won't rise once more.

Io has apparently lost track of her target, and thus does not fire another arrow. Instead, she simply waits for the foe to show himself, slowly advancing towards his approximate position.

Dicer is the next one to act - as Veskassdak can notice Wren's sneaky movement, he'll be able to see the foe ahead.

23 Io -6
--> 21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Dicer]

Spotting Wren's slow movement with a definite direction, Veskassdak sees a humanoid figure, half-hidden behind one of the swamp trees. Realizing there was no way for him to reach the target, he unslings his shortbow, pulls one of his flight arrows from its quiver, nocks it, takes aim, and shoots it at the target. He hoped he didn't hit the tree the figure was hiding near.

Spoiler

Range increment 70 ft., attack bonus +4, damage 1d4, 3 of 11 rounds of rage used. Note: Veskassdak needs to buy a masterwork strength based composite longbow to take advantage of his rage strength.

 

[Silanon]

Despite the rather bad conditions, the lizardman manages to hit the shady figure right before it can take cover. However, there is not too much of an impact noticeable from your current position.

The hawk once more appears in sight - right next to Wren as she moves up to the falconer. Its wings beat slowly and rather predictable, and thus its talons don't even come close to scratch the rogue's armor - but its undead screech is enough to gain the attention of its owner, taking away the advantage of her sneaky approach. You can see how the shade's attention shifts, towards the imminent threat of her swords.

Clockwork Syringe is up with Baird.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
--> 19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Sherwood]

I don't suppose that there is a chance for an Attack of Opportunity on the hawk when it comes up to Wren?

 

[Silanon]

Given how wounded the hawk actually is, it seems sensible to give her the chance to strike - however, as she leaps forward to hit, the smell of death around it distracts her just slightly - enough to let the bird escape, releasing a second, louder shriek.

(another 1 on the list of missed opportunities...)

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird, seeing Veskassdak fire into the treeline, realizes that someone else is there, and sees the falconer who most likely hit him as revenge for attacking him. As such, Baird fires his crossbow at the falconer in attempt to get revenge for the revenge inflicted upon him.

((hope I'm not overstepping here by making that assumption))

 

[Silanon]

Baird's revenge does not quite go according to plan - his bolt only hits the tree in front of the shade. Thus, the spiral of revenge gets interrupted, at least for now. However, another one is about to get started - seeing Wren striking after his bird, the falconer carefully takes aim, but then still manages to miss the woman quite clearly.

That leaves her in position to take him on in close-combat, or chase down the hawk if that's what she desires. Sherwood is up.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
--> 10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Sherwood]

Wren is going to focus on the falconer, since he is right there. Since he is aware of her, the damage done with her sword strike is only 1d6+1 per blade.

 

[Silanon]

Advancing the last few steps, you can get a clearer image of your opponent. On his holey, blood-soaked cloak, you can discover the symbol of the Forgotten, likely a scout that got caught by the orcs. Once more, his body shows several deep wounds, each of them life-threatening on its own. Although his movements are respectably fast, they share the same clumsiness of orc and bird, and his sunken face shows little sign of true life. Instead, once more the possessing power, guiding his remains to continue to fight. As Wren gets closer, he lets go of his crossbow, drawing the broken remains of a rapier. Surprisingly, the destroyed weapon is enough to keep the rogue at bay - you'd certainly not want to fight him when he was still alive, he somehow seems to anticipate every single strike.

Psychie is up.


23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
10 Wren -8
--> 4 Renna -8

 

[Psychie]

Renna spots the falconer in the treeline, and with a grim purpose in mind, moves forward with her blade raised up and ready to strike. If he is close enough for a charge attack, I'll do so, trying to get a flanking bonus with Wren.

 

[Silanon]

Renna won't quite be able to charge him yet, but manages to move herself into position to influence the fight next turn. With Wren in close combat, Io follows her example, lighting her torch as she slowly moves up.

Dicer is up with Veskassdak.

23 Io -6
--> 21 Veskassdak -8
20 Undead Hawk (grievously wounded - that is, even more grievously than before)
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak grinned a little at his shot, but grimaced as it did not drop the foe, thereby allowing him to get to better cover. Reslinging his bow and swearing to himself that he would get a better ranged weapon as soon as he could, he moved as fast as he could to get closer. If he could get close enough, he knew he would be able to strike with a claw.

Spoiler

Veskassdak will do a double move, if necessary, to get to where he can threaten the falconer. He will not get in the way of Renna's attempt to flank the falconer for Wren. 4 of 11 rounds of rage used.

 

[Silanon]

As the lizardman moves forward quickly to join the fight as soon as possible, the hawk once more strikes against his companions - against Renna, to be precise. However, as slow as the creature moves, there is no harm done by its talons - instead, the paladin manages to almost casually hit it mid-air, her mighty sword smashing the fragile bones. As it hits the ground you can see how the red gleam in its eyes does vanish - for now, it is no threat anymore.

Clockwork Syringe is up with Baird.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
--> 19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird fires on the falconer still dead set on eliminating any harm he might cause to the rest of the party.

 

[Silanon]

Firing right into the melee between the undead man and Wren, the sorcerer has a hard time taking aim. Right as he finds an opportunity to strike, the rogue thrusts once more, thus moving sideways, right between you and the foe. Baird barely changes the direction, his bolt hits one of the trees instead.

The falconer, busy with deflecting the blows, cannot land a counter-attack - either swords or armor are always in the way, keeping the rouge comfortably safe.

Sherwood is up with Wren.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and slightly wounded)
--> 10 Wren -8
4 Renna -8

 

[Sherwood]

Wren keeps the pressure on the falconer, using her twin blades to strike once more into the vital organs of her target.

+7 to hit from the Flanking bonus, doing 3d6+1 per blade.

 

[Silanon]

Your blades cut through skin and flesh, and still manage to draw a bit of blood - while seemingly not alive any longer, the man has only recently died. However, he has already the resilience of someone being too stubborn to die - despite his wounds, he does not fall yet, holding his ground as well as he can with his broken weapon.

Psychie is up with Renna to try and change that.

23 Io -6
21 Veskassdak -8
19 Baird -6
14 Falconer (spotted and wounded)
10 Wren -8
--> 4 Renna -8