Traveller's Tales (IC)

[Destro_Yersul]

((OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148705)))

Greyhame is, for all intents and purposes, rather unremarkable. A small town near the mountains, it does a brisk trade with the Dwarves. Grains and vegetables the Dwarves cannot grow in their underground halls prosper out here, while tools the human occupants of the town cannot make themselves are easy to get from the Dwarves. The town has mostly gone overlooked by the savage races in the past, and the few times it was noticed were by small groups who were easily repelled. Still, these are dangerous times, and the six watchtowers around the cluster of buildings show signs of recent repair.

The three largest buildings are the town hall, stable, and inn. The hall is a tall structure built of chiseled stone with a single floor and a belltower, in which is housed a large iron bell. The door is heavily re-inforced oak, and the building has enough room inside to house nearly every occupant of the village. The inn is a double level wood-frame building of heavy oak planks, with narrow windows and thick shutters. A faded sign with peeling paint hanging above the door proclaims it to be the Hand's Rest. The stable is long and squat, with a large gate and fenced yard for wagons at one end, and wide doors at the other. Presently the building stands full, the whickering of horses heard amidst the clamouring of the iron bell.

For whatever reason, your travels have brought you here at the right time. Orcs have been spotted coming across the northern fields. While the men of Greyhame are brave enough in most cases, this time it's more than the groups of two or three they're used to facing. Most of them are farmers, and while they may be wealthier and better equipped than some, they're still farmers, and they found themselves in need of a little extra help. That's where you come in.

((OOC: Feel free to write up a short description of your character, pick a text colour, and get to posting. You should all end up standing outside the town hall, though whether you were there to start or are just making your arrival is entirely up to you))

[AmberVael]

Alecto

The town was tense.

She could sense it in their voices and guess it from their movements, but mostly, she saw it in their veins and in their life. Muscles and heartbeats just slightly off normal, too tense or too fast. The lines of energy that flowed through them all were rigid and fast moving, too mechanical to work as they should. They were frightened and uncertain, steeling themselves against the fight to come.

Orcs, apparently. Alecto's intention had been to just pass through, but it would be remiss of a healer to leave when there might be wounded to take care of. As such, she had taken up a place at the local inn, waiting for her services to be needed. Right now, she had been through the town, looking for any medical supplies which might be useful after the fight, though she hadn't picked any of it up just yet. She could deal with it later, presumably. Maybe sometime when things were less busy.

Alecto pauses outside the town hall, opening a small book she has- trying to recall some notes she had made about some common plants that had efficacy against poison. She could probably deal with most normal wounds, but it's possible that poison would be used, and she wasn't skilled in dealing with that yet. Her dark red eyes scan the book, and she murmurs to herself as she looks for anything that might be useful.

"...for pain alleviation... no."
She mouths, half-reading out loud as she gets lost in her thoughts. With her serious expression, perfectly neat, tied back black hair and immaculately kept clothing, she looks rather like a librarian or scholar, especially as she has the book in her hand. Someone might easily mistake her for a mage, especially with the flair and style of her red coat.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Laal had been in the town for all of one hour before he started to hear the rumors--from a distance, as he's not the type to walk up and socialize with strangers, but the dwarf still has ears. It takes him a bit of work to pick through the human language; while he's proficient, he doesn't use it often. Even his dwarvish has started to rust a little. For almost the past twenty-odd years he's only used draconic except for during brief shopping runs, so when he mumbles a curse to himself, it's the language he unconsciously slips into.

"Damn sun..."

He keeps his head bent down thanks to the ball of fire. Even with his goggles, it's a painful sight. With his focus on the ground, it's hard for him to distinguish between the buildings that already look the same to him, but he forces his squinted, covered eyes up for a moment. Maybe he'll linger for a bit in this little town, to fight some orcs. It's honestly not something he's had much practice with, so the idea excites him. Laal touches his gloved fingers to the masterfully crafted crossbow at his side; kill a few of the intruders to entertain himself and show off his weapons, maybe get some contracts to make more, earn a little money and spread his name...

If he's going to shoot, he'd prefer to do it from somewhere up high. The smith thinks he sees a belltower; presumably they have a way to get up to it, if only to make repairs, so that could be a good choice. He puts one hand to his forehead to further shield his eyes while he peers at the town hall. With a soft, decisive hmph, he starts in that direction. As he plods along, Laal lights his pipe--carved in a dragon theme similar to his weaponry, with the mouthpiece resembling a scaly tail that flows into the open maw of a bowl--and blows a smoke ring. Anything that takes his mind off the sun is welcome, so tobacco will have to suffice until he can distract himself with a little war.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

There was only one word that he could think of to describe his finally being away from the doddering old know-it-alls in the College of Magic: free. Oh, of course they knew their stuff, all right, and without their tutoring he'd not be nearly the magician that he currently is, but those wizened blowhards were so insufferably smug that it had driven him half-mad with annoyance. And besides, it wasn't like any of those so-called 'professors' knew pumpkins from pineapples about the real world, so safe and secure were they in their offices and classrooms and private drinking halls, living in their magical little world of spellbooks and dried dung. He was so much better off without them. And really, wasn't experience the best teacher of all?

Which is why he'd come to Greyhame in the first place. Word of their troubles had reached his ears only a few weeks before, in the Golden Goose. It's like he always said, 'You can learn so much more in taverns than you could in any classroom.' Besides, who needs to study when you're as good a magician as he is? Those silly homework assignments where for people who couldn't think outside the box; what's a C- mean in the grand scheme of things, anyway? Nothing, that's what! So he'd made a hasty withdrawal (that had nothing to do with that 'thing' with the headmaster's niece, thank you very much!) and made his way here, where his mastery of the magical arts would make him a hero among the besieged peoples of Greyhame.

And it was great here, too! The fresh air, the small population that prevented any of the sort of hustle and bustle he had so despised about the College, the large and grateful population of widows and widows' daughters - okay, granted, that was a little morbid, but it wasn't like he'd killed their husbands and fathers, was it? And who was he, noble, good-hearted man that he was, to deny them a shoulder to cry on? And it was hardly his fault that he had the impression on them that he did, with his tall, strong build, friendly features, gold hair and silver eyes. It probably helped that he was very good at keeping himself clean, which would appear to be somewhat out of vogue in this part of the world. In fact, leaving the College could be the best decision of his life, short of attending in the first place. They say that when the gods close a door they open a window, and that would appear to be true. He was going to like it here. What's a couple of smelly orcs?

He was pleased to note, too, since his arrival the greater part of two days ago, that he wasn't the only new outsider to show up in Greyhame. There was that woman in red, who, although she hadn't given him a second glance, was sure to come around eventually. And even if she didn't, well, he'd had his fill of bookish women at the College, and there were plenty of other options available to him here in the village. And then there was that dwarf who'd shown up only a short while ago, a smith of some sort (of course!) given his clothes and the tools he carried around with him. Nathan spoke a bit of dwarvish; maybe he'd have a chat with the man, establish some sort of deal with his clan for trade and make a living here in Greyhame? Now that would show those stuffy wizards at the College! Who needs an education when you're already filthy rich?

Speaking of those two, he's a little surprised to see them both outside of the town hall, the woman reading a book (big surprise there!) and the dwarf puffing along at a rather ornate and expensive-looking pipe. Now something like that would fetch a pretty copper at an auction! Deciding to introduce himself, Nate (he's only 'Nathanael' to his mother) leaves the shade of the tree he'd been sitting under and heads over towards them, one hand raised up in a friendly greeting. "Hail and well-met!" he calls out, trying as best he can to evoke the pleasant tones of a seasoned traveler. He walks towards them, his green cape flapping in the breeze.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Life on the high seas is a grand thing and all, but you can't really rob the same group of people for too long without getting noticed.
Sadly, ships tend to have a rather tight-knit group of people.

To that end, Ralph Heathergate had set out for the mainland, where there are new sights, new sounds, new faces!
New money purses!

Being of generally typical appearance for his race, without looking too closely, not many were concerned by him.
Just another little small person wandering around, offering things to trade here and there. Most of the trinkets seemed like they may have been from ruins of old sites, so he was probably an explorer of some sort.
Further reason to not be concerned too much, even if he is a little surly now and then, or has shifty eyes. Adventuring life does odd things to people.

Though coins had a tendency of vanishing, in his wake.

Ralph never overstayed his welcome, lest the poor fools he milked for money with things he found on the road (or just by sneaking a tip from their purses) actually catch on to him.
Being the small fellow he is, he's never been in any real situation to fend off an entire mob bent on arresting him or worse.

Greyhame was the next stop on his list.

He acquired a little place for himself at the inn, pawned off a few trinkets he found, stashed away his coin purse, then set out to go explore the town a bit.
Get to know the place, know it's inhabitants. Find the easy marks, if you will.
Of course, then came the news of orcs in the distance.

In a way, this was better.
No one minded robbing attacking monster-folks, as far as he'd experienced, and he could build himself a reputation as a hero! No one would suspect him of foul play, and they might even watch his back. Win and win.

On this day, the little hafling moved off towards the town hall, figuring that either important people would be gathering there, or there would at least be someone to pass him some information about the coming orcs.

Look at that, at least three people that looked important.
Or rich.
Or powerful.
All of those could be useful. If they were adventurous, Ralph figures might be able to tag along with them for extra protection during his ventures. Or maybe if they have ideas where some good treasure might be.

Orcs first. Legal bounty.


So over towards the group wanders the typical looking, brown-haired halfing, apparently kicking a small pebble as he walks over, and eying the group curiosly but with no outward greeting.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto's eyes flick up from her book, meeting Nathanael's for a moment before taking in the rest of his appearance; she barely spares a glance for his grin, golden hair and silver eyes, instead focusing her gaze on his vitality. The workings of his muscles and strength of his energy was fair, better than the average man, but that wasn't saying very much. The styling of it, along with the strange flourishes to his otherwise normal appearance, indicated a trace of otherworldly ancestry.

The real puzzle was that his natural energy looked more like something that should be found in undead. She wasn't quite sure if it was the positioning and utilization or the very nature of the energy that threw things off, but it was definitely odd to say the least. On the whole though, it looked like it was all functioning properly, if not normally, so she wasn't going to make a huge fuss over it.

"Hi."
She replies quietly, not shortly or rudely, but just a bit awkwardly. She closes her book, her mind continuing the process of trying to recover that valuable bit of information on antitoxins.

[Destro_Yersul]

As the small group of people gathers in and around the town hall, one of the larger farmhands notices you and hurries over. "Hi. Dunno if anyone's told you much yet. We're all a bit disorganized right now." He glances over his shoulder at the people filing into the hall. "I'm Tarn."

Like the other men, he seems tense, but you can hardly blame him.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

As he turns towards Tarn, Nate works to hide his annoyance at being interrupted so soon into the beginning of the possible conversation that he had been planning on having with the two other newcomers, maybe. This annoyance quickly fades when he notices the man's tired, haggard-looking face. These people have been going through so much trouble that he regrets having felt so initially hostile. Truthfully, the man hadn't done anything wrong that would warrant such a unpleasant response. He raises his hand, again, in a mimicry of his earlier greeting.

"And hello to you, too, Tarn." He smiles as politely as possible, given the circumstances. "My name is Nathanael Heidrich, although my friends just call me 'Nate'. I have heard of Greyhame's problems with attacking orcs and have traveled here from the College of Magic to see if I might lend your people a hand in solving them." It isn't exactly a lie. He turns, then, towards the other two outsiders. "I'm afraid, though, that I haven't yet had the time to meet with these fellow newcomers. You came in just as I was saying 'hello' to them."

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Right. Introductions.

"Alecto."
She says tersely, giving a small bob of her head. She says nothing else, figuring that if Tarn wanted to say something to them, he would. Presumably he's some kind of representative, or maybe just someone more outgoing. The way he acts implies the former, however.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Introductions would be mildly important to getting into good graces with people, yes.
And this fellow says he's from the College of Magic.
He should be plenty powerful! Sufficient protection, thinks the little halfling.

Oh right, less semi-plotting, more introducing.
Can't let them immediately grow suspicious or anything.

Ralph gives a little cough, just on the off chance that someone didn't notice him.
He's small, so he figures it's unlikely. Doesn't really matter in the end, here, he supposes.
I'm Ralph Heathergate.

He keeps from saying more, mostly because most of it would be either dirty lies to get favor from these people (who might be able to see through them, which would be bad) or he'd say something impolite and acquire anger from someone. Also bad.
Besides, this mage fellow seems to be doing a lovely job at ingratiating everyone to these simple farm-people. Who have money. Potentially robbable money.

Orcs first. Robbing later. Or never. Whichever is more profitable. We'll see.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The smith notes all the others as they give their names, paying particular attention to the bright peacock (as he will probably forever be mentally labeled thanks to the colors that burn Laal's eyes despite only being cloth) of a creature who does most of the talking. Humans (another label, this one applied to everything more than four feet tall that isn't green; they often end up looking the same to him anyway, so further distinctions are rarely necessary) are quite quick to give their names, apparently. A habit Laal decides not to leap into. He does, though, shift so that his backpack and the valuable crafting materials tucked away within it are a little further out of the reach of the shifty-looking little halfling. Trust is not one of his strong points, especially when he runs across someone so naturally suspicious that they might as well be a fox licking feathers from its teeth a few yards beyond an empty hen-house. Maybe that's just how halflings look--Laal has never seen more than a handful of them--but if he was the type to deeply question racial profiling, he wouldn't be getting ready to murder a bunch of orcs.

He inhales for several very long seconds, turning the mostly green contents of his pipe first to red, then to black, then to gray, and finally to white in one solid breath. The dwarf's habit has done nothing to diminish his lung capacity, from the looks of it. Shortly afterward he sends the smoke out through his nose slowly until his bearded head is surrounded by a cloud. By that point he's figured out how he wants to handle the introductions, and does so with a simple nod directed at the group as a whole rather than anyone in particular.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Aye, sorry." Tarn runs a hand through his hair. "Wish it could be better circumstances brought you here. Normally this is a nice enough place to live. We don't have any real formal sort of government, so I'm about the only welcome party you're like to get." A hopeful sort of look crosses the man's face. "You have any sort of plans? We haven't got much of a strategy, and some leadership would be nice. You folks certainly look capable."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The magician blinks, his friendly smile shattering as he bites his lower lip. "A plan?" he asks, a little nervously. His mind whirs for a moment while he contemplates. "Of course I have a plan." He crosses his arms over his chest and beams triumphantly at Tarn. "You say that you're the man in charge, then? I need to know everything that you do about the orcs and their raids. In what numbers do they come? In what sort of formations do they march, if at all?" If the gods smile upon them, the orcs are as mindlessly savage in their warmaking as the stories paint them, lacking in militaristic leadership and relying only on their numbers and brutish, inhuman strength. "I'll also need to know of Greyhame's capabilities. I see you have watchtowers built, which is good. How many men of fighting age does the village have at its disposal? What sorts of weaponry can we arm them with? Are there any extraordinary persons that we could call upon, fellow magicians and the like that we could bring to our aid?" That said, he waits for Tarn to answer. He manages to avoid looking back and gauging the reactions of his fellow newcomers, but only just barely.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Fellow magicians? The phrase sticks out above the rest of the human jabber. As he's still mentally translating much of what's being said, Laal didn't originally catch the man's comment about being from the College. This might be more of a lucky coincidence than he previously imagined. Of course, whatever-his-name-is seems about as capable here as a fish in a cross-country race, but the dwarf's opinion mostly stems from his dislike of the flamboyant personality (something he isn't honest enough to admit to himself, although he's honest enough to admit that. He's a complex onion of a dwarf, the smith). The bright clothes, hair, and even eyes don't help either.

Still, the other magician is asking fair enough questions. Laal can think of a few more, but he'll wait and hear the answers to these. Speech is not something to be wasted, in his opinion.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Strategy? Alecto wished she had a better grasp of the geography here, as that would help such a pursuit immensely. Even so, perhaps a tactical analysis of the orcs and current resources could help... But this other guy looks like he's taking charge. Asking some decent questions. Alecto holds back, only speaking up after he's done.

"I'm here to treat injured."
She says bluntly, sticking in her thoughts awkwardly in a manner similar to offering an object to another person, dropping it before they can take it, and then walking off.
"I should probably help set up for that."

No, really? Just maybe? Alecto feels (and senses, lovely abilities of hers) the heat rushing to her face and fights it down, trying to appear normal and calm. She manages this relatively well, though that might only make things more awkward.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Tactical battle plans.
Hm. This could be a potential problem.
Ralph can't say he's ever actually been in such a situation or in a position to create any such plans. Maybe he should have thought ahead a little more.

...nah. That'd be silly. Clearly this mage fellow knows what he's doing. He seems happy to babble on to this probably-not-too-money-laden farmer about things Ralph assumes are relevant to an incoming battle.
Sure they are. Troop strength, defense, things like that.
He can see their need, now that they've been mentioned. Can't say he'd be able to draw up this sort of stuff off the top of his head, though he could definitely poke around and find the people who could do it for him, he imagines.

Not that he needs to, at the moment, it seems. That's a definite hooray.

Whoop, that dwarf looks like he's getting suspicious or something. Put on a happy face, maybe?
With that in mind, Ralph puts on his best chipper halfling look, rather seamlessly from his prior outlook, doing his best to look at the sky and seem like he saw an amusing cloud or something. He heard other races think his kind are chipper and spunky and similar nonsense, so maybe he can play in on that.

Can't say he's a master actor.
But hey, that cloud looks like a coin, nifty. Genuine smile go!

[Destro_Yersul]

"Heh. Yeah, I guess I am in charge." Tarn scratches his neck rather nervously. You don't need Alecto's talents to notice that, and distracted as he is, he doesn't notice her awkwardness. "Not sure exactly how many of them there are this time. More than we care to fight head on, though. There's a big one with a stick looks to be the leader, or so says Garrick, but that's about it for organization. Orcs don't really go in for that so much."

Tarn takes a moment to direct a comment at Alecto. "Anything you need you should get set up in the hall. That's where most everyone'll be staying till this blows over." It's obvious he's trying to look confident, but it comes across as rather strained. "As for defenses, we've got the towers and a handful of crossbows and bolts up each one. I'll be up there myself. Tools aren't much good in a fight, but some of us are decent enough shots. Garrick's got a bow he swears was elf-made."

[Blarghy]

Laal

The dwarf finally speaks up after taking his pipe stem from his mouth. "How big is big? The orc?" His common is slow, but not halting, although keen observers might note that he picks his few words carefully. Then again, that's also part of his general personality.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His grin falters as he listens to Tarn's report. While the news of uncoordinated orcs was pleasant to hear, the lack of any sort of standing militia, magical aid or even abundant weaponry put a damper on his ability to be happy about it. "I see," he says, and his arms uncross so that his hands hang by his sides. He thinks a moment more. "From what direction do the orcs normally attack, Tarn? And do they tend to cluster around the big one? If so, we might want to bring the crossbows down out of the towers and establish a multi-layered firing line so as to maximize our, ahem, efficiency." He coughs, growing increasingly unsure of himself. "Because, see, if they attack from only one direction, we might be able to cut them down with a continuous hail of crossbow bolts. But that's only if we can count on all of them coming from the same direction, otherwise it'd be better to keep your crossbows in the tower." He licks his upper lip. "What about the men of fighting age? How many of them are there? I don't think you mentioned that in your report." He pauses, thinking. "Who's Garrick?" Please, he thinks, please let him be some sort of legendary warrior. He looks back towards the dwarf and nods. "Good question! Tarn, can you describe the big one?"

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling cues back into the conversation at "elf-made".

He gives a faint blink as he leaves his reverie at the clouds above and quickly looks around to see if everyone's where he left them.
No sneaky business.

Anyway.
Happy face.
Train of thought.

While it's true the elves are nuisances themselves and not worthy of much esteem in his eyes, they do have decent items crafted by their hands.
Maybe this Garrick fellow will die in the fight and he can swipe that bow. Sure, he can't use it, but it'd sure sell nice.

Oh right, battle. Focus on that, less plotting on thievery.
Jeez, be a party player or you won't get your unwitting bodyguards!
Except that dwarf. He suspects something. Possibly. Keep an eye on him.

Let's participate, perhaps, try to get involved more.

So the halfling shifts a little, eying all the rather-tall-compared-to-him-except-maybe-the-only-slightly-taller-dwarf before speaking. Probably already forgot he was there.
Jerks.
Regardless, he will grace them with his opinion.
"Rather than creating a line or two of 'please kill me big ugly things!' shooter fellows, I would recommend staying in the towers and not dying horribly."
And staying away from the loot.
"Also, shoot the big stick wielding fellow first, yes? To my knowledge, killing the head honcho disorganizes everyone and makes the rabble much easier to kill off.
Without all of us dying messily and foolishly and for no legitimate reason."
And with no loot.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"Orcs are not particularly organized, it's true. This is the first large attack, you say, and it also coincides with the appearance of a leader..."
Alecto looks at the others, as if expecting any of them to jump in and interrupt her any moment now.
"My guess is that the leader is the problem- he's why this is happening. Targeting leadership would be a good idea, but maybe we shouldn't wait...?"

She rushes and clips her words, various thoughts warring in her mind as she tries to speak it out, and when she finishes she looks around uncertainly, sure of her idea but not sure of its reception.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The halfling's words prove exceptionally irksome. "Of course we'll shoot the big one first. Why else would I ask if they clustered around him? My plan is to have the crossbowmen barrage the orcs with a continuous hail of crossbow fire, centered on the largest group which would obviously be the one centered around their leader. The crossbowmen would be in little danger - burly or not, orcs are mortal and die as easily as everything else when shot at by many men from many yards away." He manages to stifle a glare at his diminutive critic before looking back to Tarn. "Firing en masse like that would serve to make up for your villagers' lack of military training. Some may miss, but firing into a group like, as a group like that, all but ensures that the orcs will get pincushioned. I would imagine it working better than each and every crossbowman choosing an independent target to fire at." He shrugs. "It should work."

He turns and looks to Alecto as she speaks. He waits for her to finish and nods, approvingly. "You're thinking we should go on the offensive and cut them off at the head," he says. "Take out their leader so that they can't benefit from his leadership. Hey, I like that." He won't say it out loud, but it's exactly the sort of thing a character in one of the fables would do and he doesn't mind being thought of as heroic.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Big one? He's green, bout as ugly as the others, and he's got a big stick with a bunch of feathers hanging off the end. I haven't seen him myself, just heard the stories. He and the others will be coming down from the north... probably tomorrow. Maybe tonight. We've never had to deal with this many before, so I don't know about clustering. Most of our men are around the right age to fight, but none of us are very good at it and we haven't got any weapons besides the crossbows and Garrick's bow. He owns a farm up a little further North, which is why..."Tarn holds up a hand. "Ok, slow down for a second." The big man seems to be having trouble keeping up with Nate's rapid stream of talking. "I could maybe convince some of them to grab crossbows and do a firing line, but they won't like it."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

He would be annoyed by Nate's reply and potential subsequent-stifled glare, if he had felt they bore any weight.
Just an upset, tall-folk that happens to look a bit funny.

And who seems very determined to have the villages settled on the ground to die.
Which would be fine, if the halfling can just happen to be alone with their corpses for ten minutes or so.
But again, might as well seem like he's looking out for the greater good, here. Build a good public image, or some nonsense like that.

Ralph is fully prepared to ignore Tarn for the moment, only noting the "possibly tonight or tomorrow" bit of information as importan-oh hey, the villagers won't like setting up a firing line.
Ralph can use this to strike down Nate's silly idea in favor of a better one.
Or maybe he shouldn't. Is it better to get the support of the party or the robbables?

The halfling is pensive for a moment or two, which could be seen by everyone else to simply be him thinking on Nate's initial response to him.

At some point, his eyes will refocus on the present and he'll shake his head, looking back towards Nate will that continually present not-entirely-real smile.

Try to be nice. Somewhat. Image, remember, good image.
"If the villagers are to be displeased with an idea, they will perform less than adequately, to be sure. In a situation like this, that is a guaranteed messy death. I'm sure their families would love that.
Perhaps a compromise, then, on your idea? What if we moved the villagers to the rooftops with their crossbows, to create their lines there with slightly more safety and the tactical advantage of height, while avoiding the inaccuracy that a tower would provide.
It sounds perfectly reasonable to me and a lot less likely to end in a blood-bath on our end."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He listens intently as Tarn speaks and is about to say something along the lines of 'I'm sure that your villagers would prefer a firing line to being dead' but manages to hold it back, which proves fortuitous when Ralph says his piece. Nate turns his head to watch the halfling as he talks and is about to get angry - Really, 'a guaranteed messy death'? What kind of way is that to talk? - but such feelings vanish when the diminutive man details a compromise between their two plans and runs the result over in his head before snapping his fingers and pointing towards his fellow outsider. "That," he says, "is an excellent idea. They'd be safer and have greater line of sight and potential range. That's brilliant." Perhaps the little furfoot isn't so bad after all, if he can think as sharply as that. Nate nods, pleased, and turns back to Tarn. "Okay, so, do you think that your villagers would feel safer on the roofs? It would be the same basic plan, although now they'd be firing en masse from the safety of an inaccessible height." He looks back towards Ralph. "You know, I think that you and I are going to get along just fine." He's a little relieved about that, seeing as how he'd been mildly afraid that he'd be alone to deal with the silent dwarf and the timid librarian.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Aye. They'd like that. I do too. The towers are good, but we can't get the same volume of fire from them. Should I go tell the others?"Always in a hurry, it seems. Can't really blame him, though.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto gives a small, nervous smile at the praise from Nathanael, but the conversation then swiftly carries on as if she'd never interjected at all, so she bites her lip, keeping quiet and listening. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything... no, it was probably a good idea to have said it. She just wished it had really been taken into more consideration.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Jeez, he thinks, who died and put me in charge? And then he thinks: Well, whoever it was, thanks. He nods his head. "Yes. I mean, I think so." He looks down at Ralph. "And you do, too, right?" His gaze slides up to the dwarf, whose name he still doesn't know, and then to Alecto. "What about you two? Anything you'd like to add?" Finally, he turns back to address Tarn. "If we have the spare manpower available, we might want to put some sentries in the watchtowers to alert us to any inbound orcs approaching from another direction, so that we can position our crossbowmen accordingly." It's only then that his eyes widen and he turns back to the other other outsiders. "Speaking of manpower, do any of you know how to fight? I mean, I've got my magic and I can heft my morning-star pretty decently, and I'm not too shabby with my bow, but I certainly can't take on an entire orcish raid by myself. As much as I'd like to be a hero, I don't relish the idea of getting slaughtered out there by myself." His gaze focuses on the librarian, Alecto. "You said something about assassinating their leader, which was a good idea. Is that something that you think you could do? I'm about as subtle as a drunken bugbear in a pottery shop, myself."

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"Um... well, I have a few ideas, and I generally know what to do, so... I guess I could. I'm not really trained at stealth, but if I were cautious and used good timing I think I might manage it. The actual- ah- goal wouldn't be too hard, I think. I know a lot about anatomy and getting in a um, fatal hit wouldn't be too hard."
Alecto looks sheepish, one hand worrying over her book as she looks to the side. Her stance shifts awkwardly, and then she blurts out what is on her mind.
"In theory, at least. I've never done something like this before."
Her voice trails off at the end as she admits her lack of experience.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The little halfling does his best to keep back both a pleased clap and an amused look.
Instead he just smiles wider and stares back up at the sky.

Excellent.
Somehow, despite the chances, the odd-looking tall fellow decided that he liked the halfling.
Apparently he's easily bought by displays of intelligence, enough to look over Ralph's...less than pleasant demeanor.
He can live with that. He doesn't have to change at all. Definitely classifiable as a "win".
Just have to keep his not-quite-cheery remarks surrounded by tactical soundness.
He can probably do that.

So in response to Nate's "We're going to get along", the halfling does a little mumble number. More of a gut-reaction, directly going against what he just thought to himself.
"Assuming we don't die, that is."
Which the halfling mostly things of everyone else. He has zero intentions of dying and complete confidence in his ability to avoid getting himself in a stupid position and dying. Less certain of these other three.

Speaking of, looks like that topic of conversation has jumped up.
And sneaking.
He does sneaking very well. It's a good part of how he picks pockets so well.
He knows where to smack someone to make it hurt, too, if necessary and they aren't paying attention.
Right there he could see himself being the most able for an assassination.
Though there is the issue of his small size...as much confidence as he has, he realizes he probably can't down a big orc chief with just one whack of his little mace. Doesn't really work that way.

"I have some fighting capabilities, though I will admit they rely primarily on the enemy not knowing I'm there to do the hitting."

He would go on to state his ability at stealth, but it occurs to him that perhaps that would not be a good idea. Loss of an advantage, perhaps?
And then there's this silly girl who wants to play assassin without any experience. Hmph.

Though.

Ralph adjusts a little and decides to look a little more interested.
"I can move quietly and have a general idea of how to keep out of the way. If the young missy thinks she's up to trying to keep herself quiet, I could always try to pick out doable path."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"I am not one for stealth," he replies in a partial answer to Nate's question. His combat abilities--or lack thereof--are not overly important if they need to be accompanied by sneakiness.

Concerning Tarn's expected timeframe, "If they can begin the attack tonight, I think they will. Easiest way to catch you at a disadvantage." Silly humans and their lack of nightvision. "I suggest fighting them in the light, even if it means marching to meet them before they reach the town, if they can make it here before the morning. You cannot shoot what you cannot see, no matter how well arranged your firing lines are." The dwarf chews on his pipe stem absently as he thinks. "If you do not like that idea and you know the direction they will come from, you could try to pepper the area with bonfires. But it will not be as optimal as fighting them beneath the sun, I think. Unless you surround the entire village with lights, you run the risk of being caught unaware from a different direction, should they try to sneak in during the night. Even orcs are not too stupid to send advance scouts and attack where they see the smallest number of guards."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The young magician listens to Alecto as she goes over her particular set of skills, and then to Ralph as he discusses the option of going with her on the assassination to watch her back. While he doesn't quite appreciate the halfling's condescending tone, he has to agree that sending one person alone would be a poor tactical decision. Which gets him thinking. "What if we all went together? We four, I mean. Tarn and his villagers could protect Greyhame from the rooftops and we four can go and try to nip the entire raid in the bud by dealing with their leader." He looks to the nameless dwarf. "You look like you can handle yourself in a fight, am I right? That's probably the finest looking dagger that I've ever seen; I'm hoping that it's not just for show." Although he doesn't mention it, he's thinking that the dwarf probably left his plate mail and war-axe (along with his frothing keg of dwarven mead) up in his room at the inn and that the dagger and crossbow are for trips around town. And finally, to Tarn: "If we were to succeed in killing this big leader orc there might not be a raid at all. In fact, killing him might prevent any other such raids from happening for years, provided such a leadership is hard to come by in this part of orcish territory. If we left on this mission, do you think that your villagers would be able to defend themselves from the rooftops if we failed?" He doesn't want to hex their efforts, but the possibility of failure must be entertained. So far as he knows, no one of them is invincible.

He stops, then, and pays attention as the dwarf says the most consecutive words that Nate's heard out of him thus far. "Good points, all," he says. "Then, if we plan on going after their leader before nightfall, we need to head out pretty soon. It's already mid-day." He looks to Tarn. "I leave this up to you, Tarn. This is your village, these are your people. What do you want us to do?" He folds his arms over his chest and waits for an answer, hoping that it isn't one that will end up getting them all killed.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Alright. I'll let them know about the plan change, and see about posting some sentries. If you want to try taking out the big guy, I'm all for it, but that'll have to be you alone." He pauses as he's leaving and looks back over his shoulder. "Maybe we can hold them off, maybe we can't. Looks to be a clear night, so we'll have some visibility in the dark if they attack then. And if you take them out before then, so much the better. You can attack them first if you want, but the last thing we need here is dead heroes. Good luck with whatever you decide." Then he jogs off, waving to tall fellow with a beard and shouting about assembling the best shots.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"Well..."
Alecto looks down at her feet as she speaks up again.
"There are only four of us. I can't see our deaths making too much difference, really. We'd have a better chance of helping the outcome of the battle if we managed something like killing the leader."

Rather humbling thoughts, that. "How much will it matter if you die? Not too much." Alecto fiddles with her book, then finally slips it into a pouch at her side.
"If they can, the orcs will attack at night. That's something they normally do... but they may stop to rest after travel. Either way, we should try to get to them while they rest. Even if they notice us, they'll be less ready to fight us off if they're tired and half-asleep."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Oh look, Little Miss Wannabe-Ninja Or Whatever is more depressing than originally.
That makes the halfling feel better about the party, yup. Bunch of weirdos with issues.

Note:
Always keep running away an option, in case they screw everything up.

Anyway, They can all die and be worthless if they like, but he's got a good several hundred gold pieces to his name, so he doesn't plan on going down that path for awhile. He has life to live.
Do this nice and clean then, hm?

"Alright, all I hear as far as a plan goes is to 'leave quick and kill the leader, preferably before dark'. Any chance we're going to try some specifics, here?
I'd really, really rather not get all the way to these orcs, have us realize we have no idea what we're doing, then get an axe through the face.
Do we have a specific direction they're coming from? Other than 'somewhere that way'? We should find the fellow who spotted them, ask him for more information ourselves, maybe. Orcs wielding stones and clubs, or swords and axes? Armored or no? Nice things to know, and so far we know there's a big one with an odd stick and...that's about it."

Possible he missed something when he stared off at the clouds, but he's hoping not.
Never works well when you make a bothersome comment and then sound like an imbecile.

"Oh, and combat wakes you up in a hurry."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"I can pull my own weight, he assures the human mildly before changing the subject. He isn't sure if he wants to detail his specialty just yet; it might be better to wait, or even avoid spells entirely in the upcoming battle if they turn out to be unnecessary.

"Perhaps the scout should come along as well," Laal says a moment later, taking Ralph's idea a step further. "Once we have a look at the orcs ourselves, we can send him back with more specific information and instructions--or have him wait and help us retreat if necessary." On a more morbid note, if they die outright, that would also give the town a faster way of hearing about it than waiting for the raiders to show up.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The blond man watches Tarn leave and scratches the back of his head with one head. He frowns, slightly. "I'm not sure that's exactly what I wanted to hear," he mutters, and turns to face his new 'compatriots'. He nods to Alecto. "I agree. We have the most potential to do good if we try to eliminate the leader before, rather than during, the battle. If we can disrupt them before the raid even starts, all the better. With that, he looks to Ralph. "You raise a good point, too. We need to know more about where we're going and what we can expect when we get there. Tarn mentioned a man named Garrick; do you think that he'd be the person to ask? If not, we need to find someone who knows more than we do and get a good idea of what we're getting into." Finally, to Laal: "I'm glad to hear that," he says. "I'll need to grab my gear from the inn before we go anywhere. I didn't expect that I'd be risking my life today." He looks to his new traveling companions. "If anyone else has anything they need to grab, now's the time to do it. In the meantime, why don't you guys ask around town and try and figure out our travel route? I'll go and get my things and then do the same, and we could meet back here in forty-five minutes. Does that sound like a good way to start things off?"

[Blarghy]

Laal

The dwarf rumbles a bit to himself, a deep thinking sound that makes the outer hairs of his beard shiver a little. That’s an idea he actually finds himself agreeing with. “I will find that farmer again—” Tarn’s name has already escaped him, “—and have him direct me to the scout. He should be an excellent source of information concerning routes.”

Laal also hopes to ask about the weapons and armor the farmers have while he’s at it, but it doesn’t occur to him to mention that. He mostly wants to satisfy his own curiosity, although it would be nice to know more about what his allies can offer if they’re needed. With that in mind, he starts off in the direction Tarn went, intending to make the best of his forty-five minute window.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"I've got everything. I'll wait."
Alecto mumbles, sitting down to wait for the others to take care of whatever business they might have. She travels light and figures talking to others is best left to people actually good at it.

After a moment though- presumably when the others have run off, Alecto gets an idea. She begins doing a short circuit around the outer town, searching over the landscape for strategic points or irregularities where they might be able to take- or lose- advantage should this come to a battle. Choke points, foliage and other cover, difficult terrain, areas to sneak in or out... she searches for all of it, cataloging it in her mind.

[Destro_Yersul]

Tarn is still over talking to the bearded fellow. As Laal approaches, he catches the tail end of their conversation. "-and then we get everyone up to the roofs. Do a firing line, post a few in the towers just in case..." He glances over and blinks at the approaching Dwarf. "Hi again. Something you need?"

The terrain around the town is, for the most part, unimaginatively flat. To the north are hills, the beginnings of foothills leading up to the mountains. It's good quality farming soil here, though, and aside from the fields themselves, plenty of bushes dot the landscape.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

When two of his three companions make their ways off into the town, Nate looks towards the halfling and smiles. "Right, then," he says, "it looks like we're off to a pretty good start. I'm going to go and get my gear and then ask around Greyhame for some information regarding that orc leader, I think. The more we know about him, the more we can expect and prepare for when we eventually engage him." He raises a hand and waves a quick goodbye to Ralph before heading over to the inn and up to his room. He hooks his bow to the small clip linked to the back of his chainmail and shrugs the quiver over his shoulder before looping the strap of his morning-star around his wrist. After grabbing his pack and sliding it on, he heads back downstairs and stops at the desk of the innkeeper. "Hello," he says, and flashes a friendly grin. "Any chance you could direct me to the one person in town that knows the most about this orc leader I've heard about? Some friends and I were planning on helping out a little, and I'd like to be as prepared as I can be for things like this."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"I want to speak with the scout you mentioned," the smith says in his typical to-the-point fashion. Not that this is an appropriate time for small talk anyway.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Garrick? This is him." Tarn nods at the big man, who reaches down to shake Laal's hand. "Well met. What can I do for you, mister Dwarf?"

The Innkeeper, meanwhile, looks up from cleaning a stone mug and blinks at Nate. "Not sure exactly who that'd be. Garrick's the one who saw him first, Tarn's in charge of organizing defense. Miss Julia's our resident 'expert', insofar as that goes."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His face breaks into a smile. "Excellent," he says, "thank you. Do you think that you might be so kind as to direct me to this Julia? There's something very important that I need to discuss with her, pertaining to the continued safety of your village. It is imperative that I speak with her immediately; my mission's success may depend on what I am able to learn from her." He rests the palm of his left hand on the handle of his morning-star and waits, as patiently as he is able to manage, for an answer.

[Blarghy]

Laal

When the smith completes the gesture, Garrick will find that his skin is thick and rough from callouses to the point that it's almost bark-like. "I am interested in the travel routes from here to the path the orcs are advancing from. It would be even better if you guided us down the best road for an ambush and waited to either help or hide and run back with news of success or failure, but if you plan to stay here, directions will suffice." In his usual fashion, Laal doesn't detail his new companions or their intentions; he assumes Tarn has already done that. Either way, he isn't in a habit of saying more than he needs to.

[Destro_Yersul]

Sure, I can do that for ya. The Innkeeper points out the door at the town hall. She ought to be in there. Can't miss her. She'd the only redheaded woman in the place.

There's not so many 'roads' that go North. Lots of it's fields, but there's a nice little place in the midst of a few hills. They're likely to pass by there. If you want I can show you, but I won't be fighting them up close like that myself.

[Blarghy]

Laal

"A guide is all I want," the smith assures him. "And someone to hurry back with news if we fail." Laal sniffs and scratches his nose before addressing both of the humans. "I am also interested in hearing about the sorts of weaponry and armor you have. If there is a need, once this is said and done I might be able to increase your stock."

[Chaotic Bob]

((Apologies. I took that itty bitty break in order to clear up some issues with school.))

And so everyone has spread off, to go about hunting down information in their own little ways.

Except Ralph, who has remained where everyone had gathered, staring back out at the rest of the town.
His primary urge is to go out and liberate a few coins or trinkets.

However, he's not sure he should risk that at this point.
The halfling has complete confidence in his ability to go unnoticed by these lesser townsfolk, but it'd be dreadfully inconvenient if any of those three folks he was just plotting with happened to see him.
It'd ruin any hope he'd have of finally acquiring suitable traveling companions.

Which leaves him with little else to do for the moment.
He supposes he could have a look around, but that would only make the temptation to engage in his favorite hobby even greater.
This leaves him in a rather unfortunate predicament.

Oh well. Only one thing to do, at times like this.

Ralph decides to go wandering outside the town, into a field, there to flop down onto his back and stare at the sky.
Let the others see to organizing defenses and information and all that nonsense.
He'll just relax. What better way to prepare for a potential battle?
Well, beyond what the others are doing.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His blond head nodding, Nate heads for the door. "Thanks much, friend," he says. "Redheaded woman in the town hall." He grins as he heads over. This was getting more and more exciting. He'd show those pipe-smoking old kooks how useless he isn't, become famous around these parts for his boundless heroism and maybe make out with some plundered orcish loot to sell at a sterling profit. Yes, life could certainly be worse. He heads down the street to the town hall and lets himself in. Since he 'can't miss her', it isn't long at all before he finds himself standing a few yards away from Julia. He waits a moment for her to finish with whatever it is she's doing (or, at the very least, to pause long enough for him to make his entrance) before approaching her and flourishing his cape to hang behind his shoulders. He flashes her a dazzling smile and bends at the waist in a bow. "Madame Julia," he says, once he's righted himself. "I hear that you're the one person that I should see to talk about the orcish incursions that you've been having. My crack-team of partners and I've decided that we're going to travel to the orc's encampment and put an end to your troubles, and I've been told that you might know things that would help our operation go smoothly."

[Destro_Yersul]

That, I can do. And we'd greatly appreciate some more weaponry. All we've got is the crossbows, my bow, and a few leather tunics. Not much to speak of in the armour department. Tarn nods affirmation to Garrick's statement.

Miss Julia is directing placement of a few barrels of something or other in one corner, but turns when she notices Nate approaching. Her hair, red as mentioned, is around shoulder length and she's wearing a modest blue blouse with matching pants. She smiles as he finishes saying his piece. You heard right, friend. I've picked up my share of facts about greenskins. How about you tell me your name, and I'll tell you what you want to know?

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His grin never wavers, not even for a moment, as he answers. "My mother named me Nathanael," he says, "and my father named me Heidrich. But my friends, they call me Nate, and I hope that you will, too." With that out of the way, he decides to get down to business. "I am glad to hear that I wasn't misinformed. I need to know anything and everything that you deem important, but most of all I need to know about this big orc that everyone's talking about. The leader, if the rumors about him are true. What manner of foe is he? What is he capable of? What do you know about this 'stick' that he's said to carry? As for the rest of the orcs, how are they armed and armored? What are their numbers? How loyal do you believe them to be to the big orc, and will they disperse if he is felled? Our plan is to travel to their camp and slay this big orc, cutting of their head, as it were, and otherwise sabotage their ability to launch any more raids in the near future." He shrugs. "Other than that, anything else you'd care to mention."

[Destro_Yersul]

Alright, Nate. Once answer at a time, in order of asking. Julia dusts her hands off and points at one of the chairs nearby. She herself drops into another. First of all, the big guy. If he's got a 'stick,' that means staff. And staff means he's a shaman of some sort. Probably nothing too strong, but I'd watch out for him if I was you. Smart orcs are dangerous. Smart orcs with magic, doubly so. The rest of them won't be nearly as individually strong as him. That's how they keep order. Biggest one's the boss. For weapons, I wouldn't expect much. Clubs, axes, swords. Nothing fancy. Armour.. maybe some hides and the like. Orcs aren't much for metalworking. You'll get the occasional one who's modified his suit with bits of Dwarven steel he's cobbled together, but that's about it. Now, the important thing about killing the big guy is that you get out fast once it's done. The rest of them should fall to squabbling over leadership once they got nobody else to fight, and that'll thin their numbers a fair bit.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He sits down on the offered seat and does his best to listen intently. He makes small noises of acknowledgment as she works her way through the list and waits until he's reasonably sure that she's reached the end before speaking. "Okay," he says. "So the big orc is likely some sort of magic user, which would help explain how he was able to bring these other orcs under his command; they're probably afraid of the power he has, or they respect the power that he might bring them if they follow his orders." He taps a finger against his cleft, masculine chin. "And if he's a magic user, and if I know anything about your standard magic user, he's a pompous, overbearing pig-lover that doesn't know half as much as he thinks he does." He stops himself and looks over her for a moment. Her clothing doesn't suggest that she's a user of magic, but then again, neither does his own. He coughs, back-peddling. "Present company excluded, of course." He shakes his head and continues. "Anyway, he'll be overconfident, and the others might not like him very much. He's the big orc surrounded by a bunch of little orcs. Now, if they're following him out of fear, he might not be well-guarded. If they're following him out of loyalty, he might be. Either way, once he's dead, we'll need to get out of there as fast as our legs can carry us before the rest of them start tearing each-other apart for the chance to sit in his chair. Simple weapons and light armor means that they won't be a huge problem one on one, but that won't be the case if they come after us by the dozens. So, we'll have to be as quick as we can manage."

[Destro_Yersul]

Nate's backpedaling earns him a laugh. I'm no wizard, Nate. But the rest of it is about right, yeah. I've no idea how many of them there are total in this group, but it's bigger than most of the ones we get out here. Be careful, above all.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He stands, relieved that he hadn't offended her. He's going to have to get a hold of those self-destructive outbursts if he plans on being any sort of hero. "Thank you, Julia," he says. "I hope to see you again, once my associates and I return from our mission. If you pray, please be so kind as so send one our way. We may need all the help we can get." With that, he flashes her another brilliant smile, bows another bow, and turns to leave. "It was a pleasure speaking with you. Please excuse me, but I must join back up with my companions. We're set to be leaving before very long."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"You will, of course, need to pay, although I will lower my fees appropriately if you supply my materials. We can work out the details once the battle is done. For now, I should return to the others. You can come with me if you would like, or we can find you again when we are prepared to leave."

[Destro_Yersul]

Of course. See you when you get back. Julia stands back up and goes back to her work about the hall, freeing Nate to get on with his own business.

Garrick nods. Might be able to do something. As for leaving, may as well go now. No sense in waiting, is there?

[Blarghy]

Laal

"No," the smith agrees simply. He then turns and starts back towards the meeting point without so much as a "this way." It would be a waste of words, in his opinion, and Laal is nothing if not hateful of wasteful.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He nods and takes his leave, heading out of the town hall and back towards the town square. As luck would have it, he arrives back at roughly the same time that Laal does. When he sees the dwarf approaching with Garrick, he raises a hand in greeting. "'Lo there!" he calls. "Welcome back. I spoke with a woman named Julia. She told me that the big orc that we're after is probably some sort of magician, maybe a shaman, and that once he's dead the other orcs will probably fall on one another, squabbling to take his position of leader." He grins. "So, we kill him and leave the rest of the orcs to kill themselves. They'll be so tied up in their infighting that they'll be too busy to bother Greyhame for quite some time." He turns to Garrick. "Do pardon me, sir, I'm afraid that my tongue ran away with me." He extends a hand. "My name is Nathanael Heidrich. By what name can I call you?" He stops, for a moment. "Might you be the Garrick that I've heard so much about?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Aye, that's me. Garrick shakes Nate's hand. His hand is almost as calloused as Laal's is, just for future reference. Hard work will do that to a man. Good to hear you spoke with Julia. Woman's got her head on straight, I can tell you that. Are you two it, or do you have friends?

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Meanwhile, it is entirely probable that one of those "friends" is lightly dozing in a field outside the town.
Which would be horribly insensitive of the little halfling towards the village's plight.

So rather than doing that, he's yawning and definitely not wiping faint sleep from his eyes while he sits up.
This is not a time for sleeping, after all, so that never happened. It'd probably upset some folks.
Certainly made him feel better, though.

At some point, he figures, he should probably head back towards the hall.
He's not even sure they'll come by this way, on their trek out.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The magician's hands are unlike those of the two men nearest him, in that they are soft and smooth, a result of his having spent the majority of his recent years going through books and various spell components rather than doing any actual work which was, of course, the bailiwick of suckers. Say what he might about other users of magic, he has to respect any group that managed to turn laziness into their (rather high-paying) profession. His grip is firm, however, so at least there's that. He nods when the man mentions Julia. "She does," he agrees. "She's the one that clued me in to the big orc having some sort of magic, among other things." Following that, he shakes his head. "No, it isn't just we two. I'm brave*, but I'm not going to wage war against an entire orcish raiding party with only a single ally to watch my back." He spares a smile for the dwarf. "No offense, friend." He looks back to Garrick. "There are two others that should be joining us shortly. So, you're our guide, then? I hope so, since I'll admit that I have no idea where we're going, short of 'that-a-way'. I hope your directions are more... direct." He laughs, the sound echoing from nearby walls.

((*As well as handsome, charming, possessing a good sense of humor and single.))

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Having satisfied her curiosity and investigated the one thing that came to mind, Alecto makes her way back to the point where they had agreed to meet, drawing out her journal and looking for anything that might help her recall the precise weak points of orc anatomy.

She needed to know where to put that scalpel to kill them, after all.

[Blarghy]

Laal

When the other two arrive, Laal folds his arms and peers through his goggles at the group. "Are we prepared?" he asks; it's more or less his way of saying he's ready to get the show on the road. The smith isn't keen on delaying departure anymore than necessary, especially with his stubby little legs. The trip will likely take long enough as it is, and the sooner they get into position, the sooner they can decide on a specific battle plan.

[Destro_Yersul]

Aye, I'm the guide. And I should hope my directions end up more direct. Garrick waits only as long as it takes the other two to arrive before starting off. Clearly he's as impatient as the smith. Come on, it's up this way.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

When Ralph arrives, he does his best to look like he definitely didn't just wake up from a nap he definitely didn't just take.

And then spots that everyone is moving off already.
Punctual folks, these people.

With a little sigh, the halfling trots after everyone else, not much better in the leg department than the dwarf.
"I trust we acquired some useful information for a decent plan, somewhere along the way?"

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The young rake greets the new arrivals and grins as they set off. He keeps pace with Garrick and looks back at Ralph. "Yes," he says. "I spoke with Julia, a rather comely redhead, who told me that this 'big orc' we're setting off to take care of is probably a magic user of some sort, most likely a type of shaman. She confirmed our thoughts that, once he's dead, the other orcs will fall upon each-other in a brutally destructive civil war that will leave them quite incapable of launching any more raids in the near future." He chuckles. "I just love when a plan comes together." Following that, he'll walk beside them towards wherever it is that Garrick is leading, although he won't walk silently. He seems to have a fondness to humming the tunes to various vulgar drinking songs that he's picked up here and there in his travels between taverns.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The stocky smith rumbles to himself from behind his thick beard. "I assume you expect them to fight among themselves after we are no longer a close, common enemy to unite against. I suggest making a hasty retreat after killing the leader, unless we seem to stand a good chance against the entire group. Any infighting sounds very unlikely while there are hated foes present."

It's an obvious concept to him, but he thinks it's best to point out his thoughts just in case. This talkative human has switched between apparently capable to not, so far, and Laal is not yet sure which of the two the man most commonly falls under.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto seems to have the same attitude as their guide, not pausing for conversation, but rather moving ahead towards their goal, tucking away her tiny journal into one of the pockets of her coat, which flaps about awkwardly. From one of the other pockets she retrieves a small scalpel, which she clutches to like a weapon... which may seem laughable. It definitely does not look at all suited to combat, especially in the hands of his timid, bookish girl, whose movement seems as awkward and clumsy as the rest of her personality.

The determination and intensity of her focus might just make it a bit more hilarious. She seems to be completely unaware of how foolish she looks, and is obviously trying to steel herself for what's coming.

[Destro_Yersul]

The walking continues on for some time with Garrick offering little conversation. He points out a small building in the distance. "That one's mine. Should be just a little past there, if they haven't reached it already."

No wonder he's impatient.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He doesn't bother looking back to the dwarf. He's become quite disappointingly used to people assuming that he's an idiot, just because he's so amazingly good looking. He assumes that they think that, if he weren't a drooling fool, it wouldn't be fair to anyone else. But, no. He's the complete package. And before this little adventure is over he plans on proving it to his companions and make them regret thinking little of him. "Of course," he says. "This is a quick in-and-out assassination mission. If everything goes right the majority of the orcs won't even know that we've been there." Seconds pass before Garrick speaks. "That's your house?" he asks, speeding up.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

To be fair, on the halfing side of things, Ralph's belittling thoughts aren't because of the stereotype Nate seems to attract.
He belittles everyone.

And joy of joys, the big orc is a mage.
Magic is a touchy subject here, as Ralph knows its many uses, but it has a horrible tendency to completely ruin plans. And cleverness. And stealth.
Vile thing, in the hands of an enemy.

"So...did anyone bother to figure out what kind of magic an orc is likely to know? Because I am suddenly dubious that this will be as easy as going over and stabbing him in the kidneys. I half expect rocks to gouge out our eyes in the process, or her eyes, since she's the one who seems to want to get up and close with the ugly."
The halfing hangs back a little, giving the rest of the party the lead position, but only slightly so. Appearing too far back will make it seem more deliberate and suspicious.
He doesn't want to rob them. He just wants meat shields.

[Blarghy]

Laal

"Perhaps our magician can make some suggestions on the matter," Laal says wryly. "But I think there is little point in trying to puzzle through the details until we see the orcs. If we are lucky, the leader may give a display to keep the others in line and give us a better idea of what he can do."

[Destro_Yersul]

"That one's mine." Garrick repeats, matching Nate's speed. "If I'm lucky, they'll still be a little way away."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

And yet another subtle wisecrack from the sarcastic dwarf! Nate is now positive that he vastly preferred the man back when he was silent. He sighs and looks over to Garrick. "I hope so." It would be terrible if they'd set out to late to prevent any damage. Although the town of Greyhame as a whole is overwhelmingly the larger concern, Nate would feel horrible if Garrick's home were to be destroyed. Any failure, no matter how small, would haunt him. And he wants his first foray into adventuring to go off without a hitch. "In regards to the orc's magic, I don't know. Like I said, Julia thought he might be some kind of shaman, so I would think we'd be expecting nature magic of some sort, but we won't know for certain what it is until we see him use it."

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"Um... from what I remember, I think the orcs may have been related to evocation at some point."
Alecto interjects, chewing on her lip as she tries to remember the details.
"They'd probably find a lot of use for that type of magic, considering their habits. Evocation lends itself well to raiding."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

In this moment, it would appear the wannabe-assassin is the one with useful information.
Ralph is almost surprised. Here he thought she was just going to awkwardly follow them the whole time and only be occasionally useful.
Then again, this may just be one of those "occasionally"s.
He'll keep an eye out for further evidence of competence.

"I'm not a mage, so perhaps I am wrong here. Evocation is the variety with all of the explosions and general elemental unpleasantness, yes?"
A fireball to the face sounds infinitely better than a rock to the face.
"Although, if that is what they are likely to focus on, at least we will not have to be concerned of the subtler, trickier varieties of magic."
Because illusions are a pain to deal with.

[Destro_Yersul]

"I never got a look at him doing anything, and I'm no wizard, but blasting things to bits seems like it would be something an orc would like." Garrick reaches the fence around the house and looks around. "Think we're in time. I don't hear anything..."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He tries to keep quiet, in the hopes that if he doesn't give any of the others anything to correct him about, they'll stop doing it, but the thought of an arc wizard, its burly green body clad in ruined robes, with an arc of electricity dancing from hand to hand, causes him to snort. He disguises the sound by clearing his throat immediately after. In any case, it doesn't matter. Nate went to college. He went to the College. No halfwit rural no-talent hedge wizard orc was going to best him in a magical confrontation. And then, not too long after that, they reach the fence of Garrick's estate. "Good," he says, in response to their not being too late to save the house. "Where to from here?"

[Blarghy]

Laal

Having some experience with magic in general as well as the primitive nature of most orcs, Laal's personal guess is that they won't be dealing with a book-mage like he is. An inborn blood-magician seems more likely altogether. Even if an orc came across a wizard and stole a spell tome, the raider wouldn't be able to use it without help. Of course, it's possible that someone educated the caster, which is an unpleasant thought. If this abnormally large raid is the product of a deeper conspiracy to empower the savage races for some unknown purpose, more than this one little village could suffer for it.

The smith keeps his musings to himself as usual, and gives Garrick's house a look-over while he thinks. He's interested in how sturdy--and flammable--the building is, along with the strength of the doors and the size of the windows, if there are any. The number of stories is also worth checking; if they need to make a stand here, firing from the upper windows would be better than brawling in the open.

[Destro_Yersul]

Bit further North. Garrick goes around the house and keeps moving. No time for checking it out, it seems, though the construction is an easy enough thing to look for. Garrick has built his house from roughly cut stone and mortar, in much the same way as the town hall. The wooden roof is no doubt flammable, as are the wooden shutters and wooden door. The door in particular is heavier wood, and the windows are not very large. It's only one level high, though. Perhaps Garrick is paranoid, or perhaps he's just built his house this way in case of dangerous beasts. Either way, it looks quite sturdy.

After a little more walking, you enter the foothills and from there it isn't long before you all begin to hear the stomp of boots and the loud shouting of voices in some crude language.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling held interest in Garrick's house as well, but more in a "noted for later, in case everyone dies" sort of way.
After all, there are more immediately pressing concerns.

At this point, Ralph is hoping that everyone else in the group is halfway decent at being unnoticeable, or that the orcs are just oblivious.
And they're going to have to hunt down that leader, too, before they get seen.

So here's to hoping they can manage that.
Definitely not also sliding slightly further behind the group.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

While the halfling slips back, Alecto sneaks forward, trying to get into a position where she can get a good look at the orcs without giving them the same courtesy. She's dropped low, hoping the grass and the foothills will give her a bit of cover.

Presumably they're far away, so I'll get a good chance at hiding...
Hide: [roll0]
And here's a spot check to see if I notice anything in particular:
Spot: [roll1]

[Blarghy]

Laal

Being by far the weakest link in this area, Laal decides to do the smart thing and stay out of the way while people with more stealth than a box of bells do some scouting. Even for someone as comparatively clumsy as him, the foothills will hopefully still offer plenty of cover if he crouches behind one of the bigger mounds. If possible, he chooses a position where he can keep a vague eye on at least part of the group, but Laal's primary concern is not screwing up their efforts by letting the orcs get a good look at his beard, or the body attached to it.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

At the sound of marching feet and shouting, Nate ducks low behind a hill. He begins to wonder if wandering out on a stealth mission while dressed in polished chain-mail and a bright green cape was a very smart idea. Unfortunately for him, and perhaps for the rest of the group, he has no training whatsoever in remaining unseen. Truth be told, he'd made it a point for most of his adult life to be as noticeable as possible. He sees Alecto move forward, crouched over and hiding, and breathes a sigh of relief that someone's taking some initiative. He'll remember this for next time, that she's the one that should be sent to look around. He'd been hoping to find the raiding party's camp; he can't imagine that they'll be capable of getting to the big orc without their being noticed. This was looking less and less like 'daring heroism' and more and more like 'stupid, wasteful suicide you bunch of incompetent twits whose idea was this anyway'.

[Destro_Yersul]

While everyone else hides in various ways, Alecto creeps up over the hill to look for Orcs. They aren't hard to spot, moving along in a disorganized group a short distance away, singing loudly in their guttural language. The leader is easily visible, standing near the middle. He's easily seven feet tall and carrying a twisted staff, like Garrick said. Looking closer at some of the individuals, Alecto noticed that most were only lightly armoured and armed with clubs or rusted swords, but a pair marching near the leader wore suits of fine chainmail and carried large battleaxes. After a moment spent counting the others she realized their numbers were smaller than feared. There were only fifteen, including the leader and his bodyguards.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto quietly moves back towards the others, keeping low. Ralph will easily note that she's untrained at stealth, but there does seem to be some instinct and talent there...

"Fifteen. Leader has two bodyguards, but the rest look normal.
"They haven't noticed us yet."

[Blarghy]

Laal

The dwarf rumbles softly to himself in thought. "Fifteen's not so bad," he decides. "All the same, we would do well to split the group apart. A distraction, possibly. Does anyone have a suggestion?"

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His eyes bugging out of his skull at the news, Nathanael speaks without whispering: "Fifteen!?" he exclaims, and then catches himself. "Fifteen? Those odds are three to one!" It's only then that he hears Laal's dismissal of the threat posed by the orcs, upon which he instantly changes gears. "Well of course," he says. "I was hoping for a challenge, you see. If I'd known this was to be a simple skirmish, Garrick and I could have come alone and dealt with it ourselves." Phew. That was a close one. He runs a hand through his hair and considers the possibility of a distraction. "An interesting proposal," he muses. "It could very well make things more interesting for all of us." He mentally reviews the list of spells that he managed to learn from the College professors before his withdrawal and chews on his bottom lip in frustration. He had nothing, nothing at his disposal that could function at a long range and not alert to orcs to his location. He sighs. "A good idea, yes, but unfortunately I have no spells in my repertoire that can work as as a distraction without also leading them right to us." Damn Kallista Jennings and her inappropriate* note-passing during Professor Leonald's 'Subtle Spellcasting: the Art of Combat Avoidance' lecture! This was all her fault, though he hadn't cared at the time.

*In more ways than one.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"I don't really know of anything I could do..."
Well, thought Alecto, there was her ability to generate darkness- but it was extremely short range, and it seemed tied to her general strangeness, which turned people away from her. Better not to suggest it until it was their last option.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Y'see why we were a bit worried? Fifteen orcs is nothing to laugh at." Garrick glances over at the hill. "Maybe you can take 'em all. Maybe not. What do you figure the odds are of them taking a rest at night?"

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"I'd say the probability is low enough to be significant. I didn't sense that they were tired, and given that orcs are more capable of seeing in darkness than many other species, they wouldn't need to pause to wait until morning to attack."
Alecto says breathlessly, rushing a bit to get it all out. She appears sheepish about having spoken so much, and quiets down again, lowering her head.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The flamboyant magician wracks his brain for a solution to their problem. They need a distraction of some sort to lead the big orc's minions away, leaving him vulnerable to attack. But he has nothing, not a single spell, that can do such a thing without bringing orcish destruction upon them in retribution. This won't be the first time that he regrets not having paid attention in class. What kind of magician knows only twelve spells? It's a travesty! He sighs, frustrated. His initial foray into adventurous heroism wasn't going well at all. And then he gets an idea, rather like a... well, rather like a bright light going off in his head. He looks towards Alecto, who is quickly proving herself to be their resident expert on orcish habits. "What about a bright light?" he asks her. "Would they follow after it? Kind of like a shooting star falling to earth, or something similar? Would the big orc send his flunkies out to go investigate it?" Because, if so, he has the beginnings of a plan.

[Blarghy]

Laal

"I think that, considering the leader's nature, he would be more likely to take a look himself and bring his people along, hoping that the star contained precious metals for either enchantments or weaponry."

He rumbles yet again to himself. Laal hadn't expected to keep his special talents a secret throughout the entire battle--magic is where he's most effective, after all--but all the same, he can't help but be loathed to mention it. Old habits die hard.

The dwarf makes small gestures with one hand while muttering to himself. Then he plucks a few strands of grass and holds them in his palm. They turn from green to a shade of blue, then stand on end and begin to clumsily hop in a slow circle. A demonstration seemed simpler than explaining verbally.

((Using one of his two Prestidigitation spells.))

"I can fashion an illusion," Laal adds before someone can raise the question of his race. "My suggestion is a small group of mounted knights or a few rival orcs. Sound is difficult, but I can manage an initial shout to challenge them. Given their numbers and their warlike purpose here, I think they are more likely to charge than flee. I could place the illusion so that they would have to travel between the hills, ideally past a good hiding spot, so that some of us can fire upon them from the hilltops and create confusion. If two of us are positioned on opposite hills, the orcs will have to divide to reach us, which would hopefully leave the leader vulnerable enough for our assassins to creep in and do their part. Assuming we act quickly and take advantage of the terrain, we might be able to kill the shaman and flee before the rest collect and make a joined attack."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He watches Laal's display with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Once the dwarf finishes with his demonstration of minor mysticism, Nate shakes his head to regain composure. "You're a wizard?" he asks, confused. And then, happily: "You're a wizard!" He chuckles, pleased by this revelation. "I knew it, I was right about you from the very beginning, I knew you were something special!" He laughs, again. "There's so much we need to talk about, so much that I - that we can learn from one-another!" He runs a hand through his hair and grins. "Yeah, illusions! That should work just fine as a distraction, I'd think. Should we go about setting up the ambush now, then?"

[Destro_Yersul]

"Sounds good to me. I'll head back to my house and wait for you there. Good luck." Garrick waits just long enough to see if anyone is going to try and get him to change his mind before turning and jogging back towards his home.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The single second of unbearable silence stretches first into ten, and then twenty, and then finally into a half a minute of agonizing noiselessness. The blond-haired ne'er-do-well claps his hands together with a determined finality. "Right!" he says, in as close to a shout that one can manage while whispering. "Good, we have a plan, and there's no time to waste so we'd better get to it. Ralph, you go with Laal and protect him while he casts. I'll go with Alecto - " he sneaks her a wink " - and cover her as she engages the big orc. I'm rather good at sowing confusion, so I should be able to keep whatever orcs don't run off after your illusion away from her as she takes care of their leader. When he's dead, we'll disengage and rendezvous back at Garrick's house." Normally Nate would be positioning himself as far away from the melee as he possibly could, perhaps on the far hill with Laal, but he knows that the closer he is to the big orc when it goes down, the greater his chances are of laying claim to its staff which, even if it doesn't possess any magical power in its own right, would make for a very fitting trophy.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto nods in agreement to Nathanael's plan and stands up, readying herself to move. She'd have to get down there as quick as she could, and then... then...

Had she really suggested that she could kill that orc? What did she have? A scalpel? Seriously? Sure she had some ideas, but this was insane. But she said she could do it, and they were counting on her now. Alecto doesn't voice her concerns, but instead just hides her shaking arms in her sleeves, holding her scalpel tightly.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Well, that went off with fewer questions than he'd expected. Maybe the world beyond his cozy little caves is more liberal than the dwarf expected. He looks to the halfling that's supposed to protect him and scratches part of his beard. "I assume his role as a guardian only lasts until he can go attack the leader as well. He is supposed to have the most experience with stealth, after all. I also doubt the wisdom in sending one person to handle a wizard and his bodyguards." Not that two is much better than one, perhaps.

Nonetheless, Laal starts to load his crossbow. "You're the only one of us who knows the terrain, now that our guide has left," he addresses Alecto. "Where should I direct my spell?"

[Destro_Yersul]

The foothills would make it possible for a good illusion to draw orcs in any direction. The best way to send them would be away from the town, of course, but with the way these hills are, any direction would be possible.

The singing is growing louder by the moment, though. They'll need to think fast.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

More precious seconds wastefully pass as Alecto attempts to gather her thoughts together for a reply. Nate is quickly beginning to categorize her as a 'nervous Nelly', if he might be so bold as to engage in the parlance of the educated. The flashy magician lays one hand on Laal's dwarfish shoulder and uses the other to point back in the direction of the town. "Greyhame is back that way. Your illusions should lead the orcs away from the town. Once that happens, Alecto and I will move to engage the big orc and his bodyguards, with Alecto focusing on the big orc himself. I'll be using my magic to prevent the bodyguards from going after her. You'll send Ralph in to help if things get a little too hairy for us to handle. With the orc and his seconds dead, we all meet back up at Garrick's house and then head back to town to celebrate." He grins and gives the dwarf a friendly, playful punch on the upper arm. "Don't worry, it'll work. I've seen this done before*." He then swaps to fluent, although accented Dwarfish: "In all seriousness, however, we should talk later. I have never seen a dwarf arcanist in all my years at the College of Magic. There is much that we two could learn from one another." He looks back towards Alecto and reverts to Common: "Are you ready, my lady in red? Fame and honor await us, if you are. Your blade is the very linchpin of our plan**."

*Adventure novels are applicable to real life, right?
**No pressure.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto swallows hard at Nate's words.
"...r-right.."
Right. She should breathe. Breathing is good. Don't panic, breathe.
Heartbeat is above average. Slow it down. Calm. It's just like theory and practice, except you've never practiced for this before.
Oh god.
No, calm. It'll be easier once everything gets moving.

"Let's get started."
Alecto looks pretty pale.

[Blarghy]

Laal

While he'd be happier with a more confident companion than Alecto and a less chatty one than Nate (dwarves, perhaps, are not that easy to please), the smith will simply have to hope they have luck on their side. If he dies before realizing his goals, Laal's peevish spirit may very well have to haunt the caves of his family and old friends just out of spite.

He merely grunts in vague agreement at the plan, eager to start before they lose their chance. Crouching down a bit to further lessen his height and tightly holding his loaded crossbow, he starts off to the left, greatly hoping that the orcs' singing and the hills themselves will hide his footsteps and eventual casting. Presumably, their halfling friend will come along.

Assuming no trouble, Laal sweeps around to the side of the war party with plenty of convenient geography between him and them, using their ample noise to mark their position rather than risking a visual. He'll do his best to find a hill to hide behind near the path the orcs took, so as to let his spell manifest in the opposite direction of Grayhame. Ideally, he can then have his illusionary people step from his cover and into full view.

Hopefully the dwarf hasn't been noticed by this point, of course.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

As the other two slink away to engage in their part of the ambush, Nate looks over to Alecto and grins, flashing her an excellent view of his perfect teeth. "Don't worry," he whispers, "you're going to do just fine. I would have sent the halfling if I didn't think that you were the one for the job." He nods. "It's going to be easy. They'll be so surprised they won't know which way is down, let alone be able to put up any sort of real resistance. Just focus on killing the big orc and I'll handle the others. You don't have anything to worry about." With that said, he waits for Laal to spring their trap.

[Destro_Yersul]

As everyone scurries into hiding, no shouts are raised by the orc party, andthere is no break in the loud singing. The orcs must be confident indeed in their own strength. They begin to pass Laal's hiding spot just as they begin to sing, for those who speak orc, an especially unpleasant verse about what they'll do to any women they happen to find.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto vaguely hears their songs, and clutches her scalpel tighter, her own thoughts beginning to drown the orcs out. No time for worrying.
She readies herself, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Her eyes measure the gait of the orcs, the distance between them and the hills. Not very long now. She can almost count the seconds, the number of steps.

Her quick eyes take in the hillside, the type of grass and the soil, the dryness of the terrain. She didn't want to slip while going down.

The dwarf seemed reliable, but typically dwarven. 'Make sure the stone is steady,' was the phrase, she believed. It might take him a moment to get it started, but he should do it at a good time.

Her tight grip on the scalpel changes, her fingers slipping to hold it more lightly, more professional. Incisions did not need to be carried with strength- a practiced, insightful touch should do it. She goes over the targets in her mind- typically humanoid weak points, her aim depending on precisely which way her target turns.

Red eyes focused, Alecto waits for the right moment to strike.

[Blarghy]

Laal

He ignores the lyrics in the same way he ignores most chatter he has no interest in; the songs of the dead are in no way appealing. Carefully and quietly, the smith climbs his hill and lays flat, crossbow next to his hand. The mumbles that accompany his small gestures are softer than his footsteps, so he doubts there's much chance of discovery there. When he finishes his first spell, though, nothing seems to happen.

((Using Ghost Sound))

But the next enchantment has quite an effect. It summons a band of twelve poorly armed human villagers, mostly wielding farm implements with a couple of crossbows sprinkled in for good measure. They manifest behind the cover of the hill and quickly rush out into view of the orcs with a single loud warcry.

((Using Silent Image and the one round or so left from Ghost Sound before it expires))

The idea is to make the group weak enough to entice the orcs to attack, but hopefully strong enough to make the leader want to send in his troops first to soften them before joining personally. With any luck, it'll leave Alecto and Nate in a prime position to do their part.

[Destro_Yersul]

The orcs draw to a halt as the villagers rush out. The leader points at the group, raising his voice. <Get 'em!> The twelve orcs charge in with a warcry of their own, some ganging up on the humans, some taking one for themselves.

The leader and his two friends hang back, watching the fight to see what happens.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He watches the proceedings carefully. He's a little jealous of Laal's mystic prowess - he knows that he won't ever be able to cast such a spell without first putting in lots and lots of time and effort* - and hopes that his own showing will be at least somewhat as effective. He grins widely when the orcs take Laal's bait and run off after the illusory peasant militia. He hopes that the dwarf will have the sense to move the illusion away from them, in a direction away from the town, to make his job as easy as possible. All Alecto has to do is stab a few times; casting spells in the middle of a ravenous, murder-happy group of greenskins isn't nearly as simplistic, despite his great skill. He nudges his shapely companion with an elbow so as to get her attention. "Go whenever you're ready," he whispers. "I'll be right behind you." He's been going over his list of available spells for some time now, combing through them and working to decide which would be the most effective. He's almost come to a decision. It shouldn't be a problem. After all, necessity is the mother of invention and he's feeling pretty needful.

*Hard work is for people who don't know how to cheat.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

There are the illusions, just as promised. They achieve the right effect, and so with one more moment she'll be ready-

Nathanael nudges her, and Alecto's eyes flick back towards him, impatient and hot-tempered. Idiot. Her hand grips a little tighter over her scalpel...

No. Inefficient. So was remaining here.

Her dark red coat waves in the wind as she speeds down the hill, focusing on her target, factoring in his bodyguards only as secondary pieces to the larger equation.
It would only buy her a few seconds, but Alecto ensures that she approaches their backs, so as to catch them unawares. A few seconds- that's all she needed. Life flowed through them, but not strong enough. She knew how fragile it was within them, how little strength they had really cultivated.

The veins of energy sparked across the leader, stronger than in the others, but she could see where they spread over his body, where they were most vulnerable.

It only takes her a second to get close enough.

Alecto gives a piercing thrust towards the orc's shoulder, then sweeps it out with a practiced flick in an attempt to slice open one of his major arteries.

Charge attack- she can move 60ft, which I hope is close enough to get to the leader.

Knowledge Local, to determine her Knowledge Devotion bonus against the orcs. She gets a +5 due to her Collector of Stories skill trick.

[roll0]

Her attack roll:
[roll1]+10=29
Damage:
[roll2]+9=15

Critical multiples that by 2, so... 30 damage.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Her glare causes him to lean back, reflexively recoiling away from her. This one is like a snake, he thinks. She's quiet, unassuming, but she's dangerous. He thinks again that he's going to get along best with the dwarf, provided that he doesn't also suffer from some terrible defect. So far he's got a kleptomaniac halfling and a snarling red-eyed something or other to contend with. Oh, well, nobody's perfect. Such is his surprise at her reaction that it takes him a moment to scramble after her down the hill. He's taken aback, again, by the bright flash of dark arterial blood that she releases from the big orc with a single strike of her tiny knife. He resolves to never, ever get on this woman's bad side. As the big orc bleeds, he thrusts one of his hands towards the bodyguard nearest her and crooks his fingers into the proper configuration. The words leap forth from his lips with the practiced ease of many repetitions: "Sharaan Dhaar!" The spell leaps out and envelopes the orc in a living nightmare of its own worst fears, potentially driving it away in a flight of terror.

Cause Fear (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/causeFear.htm), DC 17.
Also, I'm using this (http://www.coveworld.net/eberron/goblin_translator.html) to convert the spell names into nastier sounding words.
It's purely thematic.

[Destro_Yersul]

Alecto's blade bites deep, slicing through something important and making the big orc roar in pain. Both of his bodyguards turn to face Alecto, but it's obvious they don't see the same thing. The one Nate targeted with his spell blinks, mouth opening wide at the horror it thinks is before it. It breaks off and runs, though the other just grips its battleaxe more tightly.

Amazingly, however, the leader remains upright.

Alecto:
With her lifesense, Alecto is able to watch the huge Orc's vitality as it bleeds away. He's putting on a brave show of it, but he's not long for this world if he doesn't get patched up quick.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto doesn't waste time, but instead presses the attack, determined to see her target fully dispatched. He was ready to bleed out, only hanging on with the strength of his tenacity; Tenacity that simply would not be enough.

With dexterous precision, Alecto continues her previous movement with just her scalpel, letting it slip down between two fingers while she slams forward her hand, palm first towards the lead orc's chest. Her eyes gleam demonically as she clenches her fingers, then pulls, attempting to wrench the rest of his blood from his body in a crimson fountain.

Before it spatters on her, she leaps back and raises her scalpel, prepared to deal with his other bodyguard, should he even dare to come at her.

Manipulate life ability on the leader.
Touch attack:
[roll0]
Damage: 7.

5ft step back.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The villagers hold ranks for a second or two, their faces showing an increasing amount of fear as the orcs rush them, before turning and fleeing. Some have the presence of mind to fire a crossbow bolt (all of which, naturally, miss), but no one stands their ground. Curiously, the humans also seem to be just slightly faster than their pursuers.

Laal's only real worries here are the lack of sound, his first spell having faded by now, and the possibility that one of the orcs might try a ranged attack. He hopes to keep their enemies interested by letting them stay barely behind the retreating group, but it's anyone's guess as to how long that'll last, especially with their leader under attack. Maybe if they're lucky, the bulk of the forces won't notice in their eagerness to catch the frightened villagers.

For his part, the dwarf stays down and focuses on maintaining the illusion. Now is not, he thinks, a good time to attack personally.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The rakish magician grins as the orc he'd targeted gapes dumbly at whatever terrors he caused to dance inside its brain before breaking into a panicked run. He turns then to face the other bodyguard, hoping to repeat his performance. He crooks his fingers back into the somatic configuration of the spell and wiggles his eyebrows at the brutish greenskin. "What did the spider say to the maid? Sharaan Dhaar!" A brief impact launches from his outstretched hand and slams into the orc, causing it to see him as that which it fears the most, which could be anything from Death itself come to claim him to a sudsy bubble-bath, with the latter being the far more likely of the two. Provided that this works as well as it did the first time, he can truthfully claim that he did as much to help their efforts as did Laal and Alecto. And if it doesn't, well, then he'll just have to stretch the truth. What the townsfolk don't know won't hurt them.

Cause Fear (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/causeFear.htm), DC 17.

[Destro_Yersul]

Much like the first one, the second bodyguard blinks as Nate's spell takes hold. It begins to back away slowly, first from the terrifying woman in front of it, and than from the approaching wizard, before breaking into a dead run.

The other orcs have mixed reactions. Some turn upon hearing the commotion, only to see their leader dead and his guards fleeing. Those join the fleeing guards, though the ones that remain chasing the villager illusions don't seem to notice.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

I expected more of a fight.
Alecto thinks to herself, lowering her scalpel as her opponents flee. She looks down at the leader to make sure he is well and truly dead, then snatches up his staff, just in case it has any magical or special properties. That taken care of, she'll begin running away from the scene, back towards the village.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He watches the second orc flee in terror and turns, grinning, to look back at Alecto just in time to see her picking up his staff. His grin almost falters but he manages to freeze his face into a mask of cheerfulness just in time to disguise his disappointment. It turns out that it doesn't matter much in the long run, as she's already running off back towards Garrick's house, his staff held tightly in her hands. He narrows his eyes at her back, sticking his tongue out at her for good measure, and drops to one knee so that he can run his hands over the corpse at his feet. In possession of the staff or not, he won't be going back to Greyhame empty handed. No sir, not today, not any day.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Their decoy is quite surprised to glance back over to check the progress of the battle, only to discover that his companions are finished and in retreat. Maybe they're more useful than he thought, despite all the chattering. He can mull over the subject later; now it's apparently time to make a sneaky escape.

Laal continues to lead the illusionary people further and further out as he scrambles backwards down the hill. The spell's range is quite impressive, so he should be able to get a good four hundred or so feet away from it before the enchantment falters. Assuming any of the orcs are still chasing after the villagers by that point, they may feel rather foolish.

For his part, the dwarf hopes to be well on his way to Greyhame before that.

[Destro_Yersul]

Rather unfortunately for Nate, it seems that the staff and armour were all the leader was carrying. However, in his haste to flee, it does seem that one of the bodyguards had dropped his battleaxe nearby.

The orcs continue to pursue the fleeing villagers, allowing Laal and Ralph a chance to slip away.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Muttering curses at the nature of orcish warlords to travel light when on their quests of conquest, Nate notices the discarded weapon laying in the grass some few short feet away and, shrugging, picks it up and carries it with him as he proceeds with all haste after his departing comrades. He might be able to get something for it once he's back in town, or leave it with their village leaders as a showing of goodwill. It would appear that the city of Greyhame is hard up for heroes, seeing as how their great threat ended up being fifteen orcs, the leader of whom appears to have been as poor as a pauper. You would think they could have handled this on their own, but he's not complaining. Not out loud, anyway. So long as they need the help, he'll be employed.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto glances back behind her to make sure the others are following, and decides to slow up a bit so they can catch up, and so she can guard them from behind. Just in case the orcs start coming after them again, that is. Letting them get picked off as they tried to flee would be bad, after all.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Quite bad indeed. It probably doesn't help that this pair is naturally slower than their humanoid companions. Short legs and all.

Once the dwarf of the group starts to catch up, though, he nods wordlessly and continues on, crossbow in hand. Maybe they'll stop at Garrick's house to collect him, if he's there, but otherwise, it seems wiser not to pause until they get to relative safety.

[Destro_Yersul]

it takes a while for the shouts of the orcs to diminish behind them, but by the time they reach Garrick's place, they've left the orcs behind. Garrick is waiting for them there, bow in hand, as they reach the house. "You get him?"

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The golden-haired magician sweeps his green cape behind his shoulders with a practiced flourish and lays his hands on the nearest shoulders of Laal and Alecto. "We did!" he exclaims. "And what a battle it was, Garrick, as though planned by the conquering kings of old. Everything went off so perfectly that I might hesitate to believe it myself - if I hadn't been there, of course." He picks up the battle-axe from where he'd laid it and holds it aloft. "Behold, I claimed for myself a weapon, fallen from the hands of your big orc's defeated bodyguards." He then moves so as to bring Alecto to the forefront. "And our daring Lady in Red here was the one that slew the beast himself, in a martial maneuver that had to be seen to be believed. The blood poured like wine from a bottle!" He motions to bring attention to the staff in Alecto's possession. "She took from the corpse his symbol of office, as proof of our efforts."

[AmberVael]

Alecto

The blood lust and exhilaration of battle having faded from her somewhat, Alecto is now less focused, and more shaky. Had she really done that? The level of life manipulation- and above all, the lethality of it... was not something she had ever done before.

It was a little frightening, in fact, to see how easily her skills at healing transposed into warfare. And how naturally it came to her. Alecto tries to calm herself, wiping off the bloody scalpel in her hands with a rough cloth that she keeps precisely for that purpose (though obviously she'll want to sterilize it later) and stowing it away.

"W-we should get back to town. They might come anyway..."

[Blarghy]

Laal

There's another nod from the smith. "I doubt it, but it is only wise to be prepared all the same."

[Destro_Yersul]

"They'll be plenty angry, so we'll see. I reckon we aren't out of the fire just yet, and it'll be getting dark soon. On the plus side, I've had a chance to get a few things ready." Garrick stows his bow over his back and jogs around the side of his house, where he's got a wagon waiting, hooked up to a pair of horses. Stuffed into the wagon are a few bags, likely full of possessions the farmer wanted to make sure weren't destroyed or captured.

"I'm heading back to town. You're all welcome to come with me, unless you want to make a stand here."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

One one hand, going back to town now would allow them to have the benefit of a small army - or, rather, a small militia - with which to fight off the remaining orcs, should they choose to initiate an attack. On the other hand, if they make their stand here, alone, they are more heroic than ever, especially so if they manage to protect Garrick's house from destruction. Going would result in a greater chance for success. Staying would result in a greater amount of glory. He shakes his head, unsure, and looks to his compatriots. "I can think of good reasons for both, either staying or going," he says. "What do the rest of you think? Personally, I would hate to find out that Garrick lost his house when we could have been able to protect it for him."

[Blarghy]

Laal

Personally, the smith thinks that anyone who builds their home away from safety cannot complain when it suffers from a lack of defense. He glares at the building and analyzes it. It's only one story, so they cannot shoot down on the orcs from the second level. On the bright side, it's composed of stone, so fire is less of a danger (even so, their enemies could burn the roof and collapse it on them). They could stand inside and force the orcs to come through the door one by one, thus making it harder for the larger group to surround them. Laal thinks that if they kill more than a third to one half of the warband, the rest would likely flee anyway, especially after having their leader defeated.

He rubs the carved wood of his crossbow with a calloused thumb. "...I think it is a matter for our knight to help decide." The dwarf juts his bearded chin at Alecto, apparently either misunderstanding the human term he used, or having an unusually high opinion of the woman. Maybe both; after all, she murdered the strongest orc of the group with little more than a letter opener, and did it before he could react. "I am willing to stay, and have another spell or two that could help, but not to the extent that my illusion did. I will mostly be limited to firing from a window."

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto is caught off guard by the dwarf's sudden deference to her, and for a moment, she's paralyzed, suddenly put on the spot and looked to in a way that's really a bit terrifying.
Patients are so much easier to deal with.
She thinks to herself, biting her lip.

Still, her mind flashes through the possibilities.
"Well... um, if they do come attack, we don't even know they'll come this direction... especially since they kind of ran off and need to regroup. I don't want anything to happen to the house either, but the village is... kind of more important."
Her eyes dart over each one of them, then settle on the floor.
"So, um, I think we should go back."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"Fair enough," he grunts gruffly. To Nate, "Unless you have a spell to either draw them here, wizard, or learn which path they will take, as well as enchantments to attack a mass of enemies, I believe we will be returning to the town. If the orcs follow us, we can finish them off there."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The magician looks away from his crimson-clad companion and turns his gaze over (and down) to the dwarf. He shakes his head. "No," he says. "I've nothing like that in my repertoire." He looks over at Garrick. "I'm sorry, my friend, but my associates have a point. The survival of your village supersedes the structural integrity of your home. I promise that if the orcs do attack the village, we will ensure that they suffer for it."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Even if they do attack this place, I had time to collect the things I couldn't replace. Get in the cart." Garrick climbs into the driver's seat, taking up the reins of the two horses hitched to the front.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto quickly scrambles up into the cart at Garrick's command and sits down, folding her arms around herself as she looks over the hills, almost waiting for the orcs to come.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Thanks to his height, the dwarf not only has a touch of trouble getting into the vehicle, but also has to tilt his head to see over the side, which he considers quite important. Like Alecto, he watches for the return of the marauders, but he also keeps his loaded crossbow across his knees. Pointed towards the cart's side, of course, in case a bump causes it to go off.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

After vaulting into the carriage and settling down beside Alecto, Nate spends a few moments looks across at Laal. When he speaks it is in accented, although serviceable, dwarfish: "I have never seen a dwarf wizard before," he says. "I have heard rumors that there are none. You must be much beloved among your people, to possess a power that so few can claim to have." He smiles, trusting his natural charisma to guide him through the conversation. "I wasn't kidding when last we spoke, when I said that we could learn from one another. There is much that we could accomplish."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"...You are not familiar with our customs, I take it," he answers in the same rumbling language. The topic of how his fellows perceive his profession isn't a welcome one, judging by his narrowed eyes. Laal takes his carved pipe from a pocket and packs it with tobacco, lighting it while he keeps watch.

A moment later, continuing with smoke drifting from his nostrils, "But I am not opposed to sharing techniques."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

As Laal's eyes narrow, Nate's widen. "Dwarves are not fond of magic, then, I take it?" He shakes his head. "I am sorry. My dealings with your people have been few and far between. I know your language mostly because I wanted to read your recorded histories." This is the truth. Many dwarven histories are required reading at the College of Magic. Although perhaps the lack of dwarven magicians recorded in those histories could have been helpful in avoiding this faux pas. "I am sorry. I did not mean to cause you any offense, friend." His smile returns. "In what school do you specialize, Laal? Illusions? I know a great many illusionists back at the College*. Perhaps, once this is over, you might like to accompany me there? I am sure that you would be welcomed. Among those at the College it is power, not race, creed or rank, that holds importance." He watches the pipe smoke snake its way up into the cloudless sky.

*...they were the ones who put illusory signs on my back, conjured monsters to eat me, disguised ugly old perverts as beautiful women...
Today's asterisk is thanks to Vael. Bless her twisted little heart.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto listens in on the conversation- she, of course, knew that dwarves were not precisely accepting of magic.
She also knew the language, not that her companions knew that.

However, she was not likely to bring any of this up, given Laal's tone and her guess as to what was meant by it, not to mention the fact that neither of them knew she even understood what they were saying. So she just draws out her book again and pretends to read it, while really just listening in on the conversation.

Not that she wasn't trying to read the book, but they were just... distracting. Also, somewhat more interesting.

[Blarghy]

Laal

He waves away the apology; given his own limited knowledge of human culture--to the point of being unaware that neither of his companions belong to it--the dwarf can't hold much of a grudge there. Chatty nature is another matter entirely, but perhaps he'll grow accustomed to it. If this other wizard can increase his magical expertise, then frequent conversation is a small price to pay.

"I work in transmutation. It suits my nature. As for the college...I was on my way when I stopped in Grayhame."

It's not exactly a lie, although the detour has lasted for a number of years rather than a day. But Laal thinks he'll keep his previous tutor to himself.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He nods, pleased. "Ah, transmutations! I thought, because you'd cast... but never mind. Transmutations! Not something I'm very good at, myself, but something that I've always had an interest in." He grins at the dwarf. "I myself specialize in... conjurations. Yes. I'm a summoner. Of course, like yourself, I dabble some in other schools, the spells of fear that I cast on those orcs being an example. Did you see them turn tail and run? Hah! Almost worth the trouble of coming out here in the first place. I can't tell you how many binds that spell has gotten me out of." His tone lowers into a whisper. "But Alecto here was the real hero of the day. I don't know if you saw it from where you were, but she did... something, to the big orc. I've never seen anything like it. It was like she tore the blood from his throat with her bare hand, called it out of him once she'd made the cut. It was gruesomely fascinating, or fascinatingly gruesome." He casts a sidelong glance at her before looking back at Laal. "I think there might have been magic at play, but I couldn't be sure. It went too fast. It didn't look like she was casting a spell...." He shrugs his shoulders. "In any case, I'm glad that she's on our side." He shakes his head. "Anyway, yes! Once this is over, we'll head back off to the college. You and me, we can take that place by storm."

[Destro_Yersul]

Once everyone has climbed into the cart Garrick flicks the reins and his horses break into a trot, pulling the cart away from the farmhouse. There don't look to be any other animals on Garrick's farm; it is probable that he grows crops and hunts for what meat he needs, so at least the orcs won't be getting those.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The speech, long even by Nate's standards, produces a somewhat bemused exhale of smoke. "I was not able to see that," he rumbles. Alecto's newly displayed talent is a little worrying, in some ways, but as the magician said, she used it against the right people. Maybe, Laal thinks to himself, she's secretly a necromancer. Manipulating life and death, and whatnot.

It's an idea he doesn't dwell on for too long. Those sorts have poor reputations, and while the dwarf hasn't met any himself, he wonders if they deserve it.

"I will watch more closely, if the orcs return and she has a chance to display that talent again," he decides.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto hunches over a little defensively, hiding behind her book now. She can't even see the words on the page- they're too out of focus for her as she tries to think of something else. It wasn't really nice to hear herself described like that. Even if it was accurate, it just felt uncomfortable. Why had she suggested all this in the first place? She should have just kept at being a healer- that's what she knew how to do anyway. Not all this other stuff which was becoming increasingly bad for her.

Her eyes flick over her book to the other two. Maybe she should say something now? No, that would be even more awkward. But then, how much more awkward could she get?

...

Blushing out of shame was all the more embarrassing when you could feel it by more than just subtle heat.

Alecto closes her book and looks off to one side. Best say something before it gets worse.
"Um... I know the dwarven language too."
Her voice gets smaller as she gets closer to finishing her sentence, until finally it nearly dwindles out altogether at the end.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

A jolt runs up his spine as the magician's mind processes her words. He turns his head, slowly, so as to look at her. Her tone of voice clued him in, once he'd had a chance to think about it, but it was her red, blushing face and shy demeanor that convinced him that she was more embarrassed than angry. "I'm sorry," he says, swapping back to Common. "I shouldn't have talked about you; that was rude of me."

[Blarghy]

Laal

Being the practical creature that he is, Laal figures that, since she knows, there's little point in hiding his curiosity. "In that case, if you are willing to part with your secret, I would like to know what you did to the orc, and how."

He sticks to his native language, since the other two apparently understand it. They're free to reply however they want, of course, but Laal prefers dwarven to common. Draconic would be even better, but he'll settle for what he can get.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto doesn't respond to Nathanael, feeling embarrassed enough over the issue; Instead, she gives him a somewhat skittish look, then turns her gaze back down to her feet. At Laal's question, she considers speaking in Dwarven, but she's never really had much practice with it. There weren't many dwarves she's had a chance to speak with, after all, so while she can understand Laal's words, he might not have quite the same ease.

"W-well... it's not a spell. I know the theory of how casting works, but I never managed- I mean, I haven't learned how to cast spells."
Alecto says, stammering out in Common, fumbling over her thoughts. She looks back up at Nathanael and Laal, her eyes drawn to the streams of energy she sees flowing through them both.
"I don't really know what it is."

Realizing that didn't quite tell them what she did know, she hastily picks up speaking again.
"B-but- I can kind of see, um, I guess you could say the vitality of animate things. Like, what keeps it together and sustains it. And then I can... um... manipulate it."

She puts her arms around herself, biting her lip.
"I've never really used it like that before."
The quiet sentence, filled with uncertainty and a tinge of horror, speaks volumes more than everything she's said put together.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Still sounds like necromancy to him, but that's not a branch he's ever studied in great detail. Even so, he thinks back to what he's learned over the last twenty-odd years, just in case any of what the woman said sounds familiar.

Knowledge (arcane): [roll0]

Laal also finds it unusual that Alecto claims to know a bit about magic in general. While he knew that non-dwarven lands were more accustomed to the subject, running into two such scholars in his first day beyond the mountains strikes him as odd. At this rate, he wonders if Garrick will pull out a wand at the next sign of trouble.

"I suppose there is a first time for everything," he notes dryly at her final comment.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He listens intently. Sure, it's easy to pass him off as a dolt, but the truth is that he generally pays pretty close attention to what's going on around him. How else could he turn things to his advantage? Glory comes to those who seek it, after all. He taps a finger against his chiseled chin and nods thoughtfully. "It certainly sounds like magic," he says, reverting back to dwarfish. It seems like the popular thing to be doing, and Nate is nothing if not up to date on the latest linguistic fads. He remembers a time when it was popular to say everything as though it were a accusation. Ah, fashion. It's all fun and games until someone loses a tooth. "But I can't be sure." He raises an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you come with Laal and I, to the College of Magic? I'm sure that they could figure out what it is, magic or not.* I'd love to have you along."

*They're off to see the wizards, the wonderful wizards et al.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"W-well, it's probably magic, but it's not... spells."
Alecto says, finishing the sentence somewhat lamely. She looks even more nervous (if such a thing is possible) at the prospect of being studied.
"Um, I don't know if that's really n-necessary..."

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal didn't hear much about magic in the Dwarf holds, for fairly obvious reasons. He does, however, seem to recall hearing something from one of the many trading groups that passed through his city. One of the fellows had given an account of a rather peculiar healer he met once. According to him, the fellow claimed not to draw his powers from the gods, but from his mastery of life itself.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Well, that makes sense in a few ways. The smith lightly chews on the mouthpiece of his pipe while he puffs away; if the girl is a healer, that would explain her reaction to the murder, and possibly her general hesitance as well. Dwarven priests may take part in battle as well as medicine during war, but that mindset appears rarer outside of the mountains.

"You are more accustomed to putting people back together rather than cutting them to pieces," he guesses. "Did you take an oath to do no harm with your blood-work?"

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"I-I'm pretty skilled at healing people- that's what I offered to do back in the town originally."
Before her sudden, mad assassination scheme.
"I never r-really swore an oath, but, I never actually... I've not done... that before."

Alecto folds her arms around herself tighter, trying not to think of just how easy it was to just kill the orc- how naturally it came, and the rush of adrenaline and triumph that went through her. The mindset that she had taken on was not something she was used to at all, let alone comfortable with.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

For someone who isn't a trained, habitual killer, thinks Nate, she sure is good at it. He sighs and tries to put his general snarky attitude aside. "You did a good thing today," he says. "Even if it didn't feel like it. By killing that orc you shattered his warband. Right now they're ants without a queen; mindlessly going about their instincts. If they attack Greyhame, it's only because they don't know what else to do. By killing their leader, you've made them far less of a threat than they would have been otherwise."

[Blarghy]

Laal

Comforting people isn't really Laal's thing, especially when he thinks the reasons for their unease are rather foolish. Then again, hesitating to kill orcs is possibly considered a mental disorder among the dwarves.

"Saving villagers by preventing an attack is no different from saving them by healing the survivors. If anything, this method is more efficient. It keeps the same orc from returning again and again."

[Destro_Yersul]

The village has already come into sight. Garrick is driving the horses quite quickly, trying to get back to town as fast as possible. "Looks like everyone's getting things set up like you said."

Indeed, there are no villagers in the street anymore, or at least, none visible from this distance.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto doesn't reply to the others, but looks over the village and around it, trying to make sure there were no orcs in sight, or any other signs of something wrong.

[Destro_Yersul]

There don't appear to be any orcs here yet, but they would have needed to run swiftly indeed to beat you back. You had a head start, and horses.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Well, at least it's nice to know that the group they fought wasn't merely a diversion for a larger force. Laal blows a smoke ring thoughtfully and wishes the villagers had invested in some nice, tall walls. Ah well. He cannot come up with any other defenses they can quickly put into place on such short notice, so for the moment he rides along in silence. They can plan further once they speak with the villagers.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He nods at Garrick's observation of the town's preparedness and glances about their environs as they approach, trying to absorb as much detail as he can, with the intent of embellishing it all later once the upcoming battle has been won. Every good story has a basis in reality, no matter how far removed it might be. "I expect that your townspeople keep a steady vigil, Garrick?" he says. "With any luck, the orcs will attack sometime later tonight, before they've had any chance to regroup and decide on a new leader. They longer they wait, the more chance there is that they can become organized again. It would be best for Greyhame if the orcs were finished off now."

[Destro_Yersul]

"I'm inclined to agree with you. Orcs are violent, though, and they'll probably attack us right quick. It's too bad you couldn't have got them all, but that was pretty long odds." Garrick pulls the cart up outside the stable and jumps down to unhook the horses. "Give me a hand carrying my things into the tavern, and then we can go help with the defenses."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Meanwhile, the group's halfling deactivates his Super Ultra Stealth Mode Deluxe Edition* and rejoins the activities.

Their overall mission was a success.
Yay.
No one died, or was even wounded. Especially him.
Double yay.
However! There was no loot to be had! The orcs were too incompetent to have anything beyond that staff and basic equipment, nothing for him to properly steal, use, or sell.
Bah humbug.

But hey, maybe these three fellows are the "greatest treasure of all".
After all, what's better than free body guards who are proven to be competent?
Well, other than better free bodyguards and maybe a ring of three wishes, or something.
Anyway, heading back to town now, and discussing some trivial things.

Oh hey, Ralph can speak Dwarven too, but unlike Alecto, he's going to keep this a better secret. Might prove useful at some point.
So, for now, he busily flips a coin he has procured from his pocket, while humming away some traveler's tune he picked up a few years ago.

*By which we mean he's suddenly talking again, rather than just uselessly sitting near Laal, where he's been almost this entiiiiiiiiiire time. Just mostly unnoticeably.**

**Briefly stealing Soph's asterisks. Apologies, seemed like a good idea at the time.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto personally thinks that with any luck, the orcs just won't show up at all- but hey, lets not say that out loud, as usual. She'll just tag along with the others for now, waiting silently for her turn to do something again, while contemplating what she did.

[Blarghy]

Laal

As requested, the dwarf moves to help lug the various belongings to the bar, once he's finished off his pipe. He flips it over and taps the bottom with his palm, spilling white-gray ash into the breeze. From there he takes what he can carry--not too great an amount, being of only average strength--and follows Garrick without comment.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Joining Laal to help Garrick with his things, the chain-wearing 'conjurer' grins jovially at any townsfolk that pass by. He nods to Garrick. "We accomplished what we set out to do," he says, "the odds had little to do with it, I'd say. Our mission, such as it was, was a success. If we had planned to eliminate the whole of the orcish warband, we would have needed more time, more people and more equipment. What we accomplished today was nothing short of perfection, given the amount of time that we had to prepare for it. But I agree. We should finish them off once and for all." He looks, then, to Laal. "You ought to quit that," he says. "I hear it rots your lungs."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"Not so," he rumbles, continuing to prefer his native language. "It clears them. Burns away the dust. An old miner's remedy, it is."

Perhaps one should be thankful that Alecto is the group's healer, rather than him.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Don't think anyone out here has ever had a problem with it. Just put them here." Garrick opens the door to one of the rooms in the Inn, clearly the one he's to be using. His sack is deposited on the floor. "I'll grab the last couple. Thanks for the help. You should go see to it that the defenses are ready for nightfall."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

This leaves the halfling outside with the rest of the transported goods.
Alone.

He's also very quick to notice this fact.
It's always nice when someone leaves things so very easily accessible.
Then again, with his luck lately, they'd probably walk out the moment he started to rummage around.
But if he doesn't, and they don't, it'll be a lost opportunity!

Choices, choices.
Though, to be fair, Garrick's a farmer. He probably won't have anything valuable enough to make risking the trust of the new "bodyguards" worth it.
Might as well be a good little man, for now.

So, assuming there's something light enough for Ralph to carry without feeling particularly strained, he'll grab that and head off to wherever everyone else did.
Be good, for now...the free stuff is coming. It always is.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"I'm pretty sure tobacco is definitely linked to lung problems..."
And by 'pretty sure' she means that she can basically see its ongoing effects on people. But she wouldn't want to be too certain about anything. Oh no, people might take offense.

[Blarghy]

Laal

"If you say so." Which, especially with the tone he uses, is a semi-polite way of saying that he's set in his opinion and isn't particularly keen on criticism. Shortly after, he places his load of Garrick's belongings beside the rest and starts back out. As suggested, Laal intends to go check on the defenses.

If they can be called that, he thinks. Now if he had a hundred dwarves, two months, and a quarry, then the town would have defenses. As it is, he doubts they'll be able to manage more than fancy crossbowmen arrangements on such short notice. But with a relatively small, leaderless bunch of orcs, that might be enough.

Time to find out.

[Destro_Yersul]

Indeed so. All the townsfolk have been able to hammer together on their own is a handful of wooden pavises, though those aren't likely to be too much use. Ought to protect some of the crossbowmen from return fire, though.

"Hi again. I think we're just about organised." The voice belongs to Tarn, who is waving to the group from near one of the towers.

[Blarghy]

Laal

He peers at their progress through his murky goggles. It's about what the dwarf expected, although he wishes he'd have been pleasantly surprised. Ah well.

When he's closer, Laal brings up a point he hopes Tarn and his fellows have already thought of. "Do you have fires or lanterns in place? If the orcs attack after dark, you will not be able to see your targets."

[Destro_Yersul]

Tarn nods. "We've got a few torches around the perimeter, but that's about it. They'll be lit when it starts to get dark. If it's a good clear night, we may not even need them. Hopefully that'll be the case, though Orcs aren't the greatest at being stealthy."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"With any luck, they may announce themselves with convenient screams," he agrees. "Is there anything productive I could set to while we wait?"

Laal hates to stand around and do nothing. It's not in his smith's nature.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The magician approaches Tarn with his arms outstretched, his palms raised up in a classical messianic posture. The solemn countenance of the gesture is utterly ruined, of course, by Nathanael's white-toothed grin, which splits his face in half. "Tarn," he says, finally reaching the man. His eyes glance over the assembled defenses. "I love what you've done with the place." He bows. "As you may have guessed by our survival, the big orc is now dead. Your foes are leaderless, headless chickens." Leaderless, headless chickens with a thirst for bloody vengeance and the strength to carry it out, but leaderless, headless chickens nonetheless. "I wish that you could have seen it, Tarn. The valiant charge, the bloody battle, the thrill of snatching victory from out of the greedy hands of failure. Ah, it was marvelous." He throws his cape over one shoulder. "I'm glad to hear about the torches. It wouldn't do for your people to miss the final battle - it shall be one that lives on forever in the folklore of your people, of that I'm quite sure." He nods. "Yes, Laal, a very good suggestion. Is there anything that we might do to help your people prepare for the orc's attack? We must be ready to drive them off, should they show their piggish faces near Greyhame again."

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Lurking nearby, as always, the halfling watches Nathaneal with a significant amount of effort invested in not showing his currently perplexed state.

Could this guy possibly reek of more unnecessary theatrics?
At least that patronizing gib at the people was understandable, but the showy display seems rather unproductive.
Somewhat made him want to whack the guy in the knees. Which could be seen as a benefit, he supposes. Should distract enemies perfectly, so he can work his halfling magic behind them
A mace to the back never didn't hurt anyone.

But at the risk of the resident magic users having some peculiar, mind-reading magic, perhaps he should stop thinking such thoughts-that-may-be-implying-blatant-manipulation-of-party-members.

So, off to do something useful! Ish!

To that end, he wanders off to go inspect some pavises. Trying to think of ideas.
"Wonder if we could turn these into makeshift walls with murder-holes..."

[Destro_Yersul]

Upon hearing of the leader's death, Tarn breathes a sigh of relief. "Excellent, that's good to hear. Without the big one, our job ought to be a lot easier. Speaking of which, you wanted us all on the roofs, right? We've got the pavises over there to protect the crossbowmen." The farmer points at the big wooden shields, lowering his hand quickly when he notices that Ralph is already inspecting them. "We haven't had time to make any sort of barricades, though. If you want to try that, or maybe set up a few deterrents of your own, that'd be great. I think there's a few animal traps in the stable."

[Blarghy]

Laal

There probably isn't enough time for him to do any crafting, but he can certainly place traps. The dwarf moves off silently to go check the mentioned stable and see what's available.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Rather than talk with the others, Alecto slinks away towards the buildings where the archers are set up, though she stays on the ground. While everyone speaks, she sits down and watches for the orcs, her keen, red eyes flickering across the horizon. Given how much she's thinking, however, she might miss something if it comes up more stealthily.

[Destro_Yersul]

Inside the stable, Laal finds a small handfull of leg-hold traps hanging on the walls and clustered on a shelf. He also finds several coils of rope that could be tied to work as snares.

Alecto
Alecto's vigil, assuming she does nothing else, stretches on for no more than an hour. Details will be given when everyone else is done preparing.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

After successfully extricating himself from conversing with Tarn ("Yes, excellent! That's all very good. Now, if you'll excuse me..."), Nathanael follows after Laal to take a gander at the available traps. Not that he'll be of any use in setting them up, oh goodness no; he doesn't have any sort of experience with that kind of thing at all. No, he's far more interested in the dwarf himself. A dwarfish magician is about as rare as a flying pig* and, for his part, Nate is dying to learn more about this uncommon example of wizardry. "Where did you learn your magic?" he asks, once they're safely in the stable. "Who taught you? Was it another dwarf?" He wonders for a moment if there might be an entire secret society of dwarfish magicians, living somewhere safe and secure from their more traditionally orthodox and potentially murderous brethren.

*While flying pigs are not unheard of, especially at the College of Magic, they are not, exactly, common. Ergo, in light of this, the saying stands triumphant.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Now that's one question he's certainly not ready to answer in detail. The smith is silent as he collects the traps and rope coils; he wishes yet again that they could be sure of which direction the orcs will come from, but as it is, he'll just have to set the things up according to where the farmers placed their barriers and hope they guessed correctly. Even so, with the nightvision of their enemies, he doubts any of the traps will do more than slow them down as they're forced to be cautious with their running. Town streets aren't like forests, covered with leafs that can obscure obvious leg-biters.

He doesn't reply to Nate until he's on his way out. Laal assumes the other wizard will follow. "It was not, no. I had to find an outside teacher."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He follows after, grabbing onto and carrying what ever traps and accouterments that the dwarf could not. He lets his ally's words work their way through his brain before speaking. "You didn't fit in with the others, did you?" he asks. He immediately regrets saying it, as it's possible that the wound, if existent, still aches in Laal's heart. "Not that I have a problem with that, mind you. Believe it or not, before I found the College, I didn't fit in either." Which isn't to say that he fit in any more once he did, but the dwarf doesn't need to know that. "The people in my village, they didn't like... magic. The things that I could do with it. I think that I scared them." He shakes his head. "But, you know, you don't need them anymore. You have the magic now and an entire world of like-minded practitioners to associate with. A door might have closed behind you but it's only barred you off from a single room of a much larger building."

[Blarghy]

Laal

He'll never admit it, but the dwarf recognizes some similarities there. "I have never regretted my decision. Only the nonsense prejudices my people cling to."

Once out in the streets, Laal moves further down from the main pavises the farmers have in place. He'll start setting up the traps there, spreading them out in a checkerboard pattern so it's still possible for the townspeople to move between them, but more difficult for the orcs to make a direct, wild charge. Assuming some of the buildings are close enough, he sees where he can tie the ropes for snares. Waist-high will do; as he previously mused, he doubts any of these methods will catch anyone off-guard, but they can at least slow the force. With the ropes being slightly difficult to jump over or duck under, the orcs will have to pause, if only momentarily, even though they won't be truly at risk of tripping.

"Perhaps, someday, those superstitions might fade," he continues to Nate. "We will see."

Although he decides to vaguely allude to his hope on the matter, he doesn't go a step further and outright say that he hopes to be a part of increasing magical tolerance among other dwarves.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Helping as best he can with Laal's preparations, Nathanael nods. "We can't help what we are," he says. "They had no right to treat us the way that they did, kicking us out and cursing our names." His silver eyes harden. "But it's not superstition, Laal; it's fear. When they look at us and see the things that we can do, see the powers that we possess, they don't see people like themselves. They see us as something more, something greater than they are. And that makes them afraid." His eyes regain their glimmer and he breaks into a smile before wiping a hand across his brow. "Boy, all this work is making me thirsty. What do you say we finish this up and go have a drink at the bar, huh? We should relax a bit before we have to go and risk our lives again."

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal has no trouble finding anchor points on the buildings to tie rope to, nor any issues with placing the traps. Tarn watches for a bit to get an idea of the layout, but doesn't say much of anything. The townsfolk likely won't want to walk in the trapped area anyways. Not until the orcs are dealt with.

[Blarghy]

Laal

Laal deliberately raises one eyebrow at the rant. He isn't sure how honest the human--disregarding whatever unknown impurities are mixed in there--is being; it almost sounds like he's trying to establish a personal connection by giving them something in common. Still, it's quite convincing, and the dwarf supposes that Nate may have really been cast out. And probably not for talking all the time, which would've been Laal's reason for kicking him out of town.

It's given him some things to think about, at least. So why not take the offer and think about them over a drink? Or five, more likely.

After setting the last of the traps, Laal dusts his gloved hands and straightens. "...Lead the way," he decides.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The grin widens, showing Nate's gleaming teeth. "Excellent," he says, and whipes his hands off on a handkerchief that he pulls from a small pouch on his belt. He leads the dwarf, walking slowly so as to accommodate his companion's shorter steps, to the nearest (perhaps only) tavern in Greyhame. The dwarf wasn't being particularly forthcoming about the origin of his magical training, which was unfortunate. But perhaps this little excursion to the local watering hole would loosen his tongue? Granted, dwarfs were known for being able to hold their liquor, but even they have their limits. He shakes his head, then, realizing that a drunken wizard would be of no use to them during the upcoming battle. Well, fine. They'd sate their thirst now and get rambunctiously drunk (and talkative) later, once everything had calmed down.

[Destro_Yersul]

the Tavern, for now, appears to be mostly shut down. The single man in the place right now is Garrick who, having stored his possessions safely, has decided to help himself to a tankard. "Grab a mug and join me! The owner's a friend of mine, he won't begrudge us a couple drinks."

Alecto
With the others in the bar, and the townsfolk hiding in the town hall or waiting for the attack with crossbows in hand, Alecto is left alone. Darkness comes quickly, it seems, and before she knows it the sun is gone entirely. Not long after that, the orcs show up. They're not being particularly quiet. A whole lot of them comes storming over the fields from the North, shouting their gutteral war-cries and waving their weapons.

[Blarghy]

Laal

One assumes that means the alcohol is free tonight, which suits Laal well enough. Dwarven politeness frowns on turning down a drink offered as a gift, and it's just good tradition to have a little before battle. He does as suggested and takes a beer, hauls himself onto a barstool with minimal leg-kicking, and proceeds to enjoy the calm before the storm.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Well, that's certainly a sight to stir one up. Alecto freezes for a moment, then flees into the town, trying to alert everyone she can that the orcs are coming, and get people to their posts if necessary.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

In the spirit of being useful, and his prior idea, Ralph has been surprisingly hard at work for the past hour or so.

The halfling has essentially stolen (with permission from the supervising villagers) all of those wooden shields that the crossbowmen were going to use, then dragged them all up to the appropriate roof-tops.

From there, he has borrowed some crafting supplies in order to nail the shields to the edges of the roofs, sticking up and on their sides to optimize space usage.
In theory, this should allow enough space for crossbowmen to prone behind it and be protected.
However, he's not a particularly masterful craftshalfling, so petitioning/requesting/demanding-for-the-sake-of-their-lives-in-the-coming-battle nearby villagers with more skill to help him.

From there, holes will be carved in all of the shields-turned-battlements, to serve as murder-holes for the crossbowmen to fire through with minimized risk of being shot back at.
That part shouldn't involve much craftshalflingship. Just carving holes without making cracks.

Not the sturdiest defense around, as just about anything carved to deliberately serve as a battlement would be better, but hey.
It's better than nothing.


After all of this, Ralph will be on the roof when Alecto sounds the alarm.
"Here comes the fun, kiddos."

[Blarghy]

Laal

At the growing alarm, Laal takes the time to finish his beer--savoring it as much as possible while downing the rest of the mug--and turns his back to the others briefly out of habit. His thick fingers move with practiced expertise and he mutters to himself; for a moment, iron-gray light sweeps up from his hands to cover his short form. It's gone as quickly as it came, making it hard to say what, if anything, just happened.

((Casting Mage Armor, with a duration of 2 hours, unless I'm mistaken. This brings Laal's AC to a grand total of 14 :P))

After that, he starts off to meet with the rest of his little group, trusting that Nate will follow. On the way, the dwarf reloads his crossbow.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He drinks his beer slowly, allowing himself the time needed to enjoy it to the full extent. It's not the best he's ever had. Not even close, come to think of it; but there's nothing quite like a mug of cold beer after the thrill of battle. When the alarm comes, he downs the final few swallows, missing Laal's subtle casting. He sets the mug on the counter and stands, adjusting the heavy morning-star that hangs from a peg on his belt. He turns to his companion only to see that the dwarf is already on his way out. Nate smiles and follows after, humming a merry tune to himself as he does.

[Destro_Yersul]

Garrick makes it out the door slightly behind the two wizards. He's readying his bow as he goes, and shouting commands at any townsfolk still milling about. Most everyone has crowded into the town hall, and the lights inside have been doused. Many of the men are climbing to the rooftops to take advantage of Ralph's work, though a couple others have remained posted in the towers. As the small group reaches the edge of town, they can see torches being tossed down out of some of the towers to provide light.

"This is where I leave you, friends." Garrick has paused at the base of the stable, next to a stack of crates. "Good luck."

OOC:
The orcs can see you, and you can see them. By this point they're just about to enter the trapped area of the field in front of town. For those who care to count, there are 15. Against this, you have yourselves, Garrick, Tarn and a few others (5, maybe. Small town.) on the nearest roofs with crossbows and another two in the nearest tower. Roll for initiative.

[Blarghy]

Laal

In the comfortable darkness now, with only the bright, stinging torches scattered about to hamper his vision, the dwarf reaches up with his free hand to push his goggles onto his forehead in an almost ritualistically slow fashion. He stares out at the orcs for a moment before speaking to Alecto without turning his head.

"Let me see your knife before you put it to use, please."

Laal begins moving his fingers before he glances to see if she's ready to offer the weapon. He simply assumes she'll comply with the request; it's a (possibly flawed) habit of the clockwork unity his people are accustomed to in battle. Hopefully there'll be a scalpel ready to receive his spell, once he releases it.

((Casting Magic Weapon, with a duration of 2 minutes))

Initiative: [roll0]

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

As he stares out into the flame-hued blackness of the night, as he looks at the snarling faces of the orcish raiding party, Nathanael feels a leaden coldness settle in his belly. It was one thing to scare two of them away - that had been acceptable magic, excusable, the exact sort of mentalist mumbo-jumbo that people expected from a wizard. But, now that he was confronted with a crowd of enemies, his options would be more limited, his actions less subtle. There wasn't anything to be gained through subtlety. He might have to do something inexcusable. And the people might see it, and judge him for it and it would be like being home again. He's better at a closer range than this, at a distance where he can lay his hands on something and let the magic loose to twist and tear at them. At this range he is even more limited. His bow remains strapped to his back; stupid of him to have not prepared it. Magic it is, then. He raises a hand and points to the nearest orc. His lips draw back in a smile as he unleashes a ray of enfeeblement at his adversary.

OOC
Initiative: 1d20+3=14 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2612914/)
Ranged Touch Attack: 1d20+4=24 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2612925/)
Critical Confirmation: 1d20+4=16 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2612935/)
Strength Penalty (2 minute duration): 1d6=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2612926/)

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto isn't sure what she should be doing- everyone else seems to be preparing bows and crossbows or magic, and all she has is her little scalpel...
Running into arrow fire doesn't sound like a good idea, or running out into a trapped field.
When Laal speaks to her she jumps, then hastily fumbles out her scalpel and carefully hands it to him, making sure not to get either of them cut.

Initiative: [roll0]
Alecto will ready an action in case one manages to get close enough, I guess? How far away are they?

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Ralph remains up on the rooftop with a few of the crossbowmen, staring rather coldly out at the incoming orc party.

They were all going to die.
The town and his party have had time to prepare, settle traps, anticipate their arrival.
The orcs are merely charging ahead with wild abandon.
They were doomed.

And when they were all dead, there will be plenty of opportunity for corpse-looting.
At the very least, he can say he was helping to move them to a suitable disposal site, whilst relieving them of any valuables.

It will be a good night.

For now, he's going to duck down behind his make-shift battlements, near the edge of the roof.
He's going to do his best to be unseen by the orcs, until they're running past.
Once scrunched into position, he moves a hand to the small little mace hidden inside the folds of his shirt, lightly wrapping a hand around its handle before beginning his patient wait.

Initiative: 1d20+4=11 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2612967/)

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal and Alecto pass her scalpel back and forth, the Dwarven wizard adding a simple spell to it to help guide the small blade. Taking it back, Alecto holds it ready for when the orcs get close.

Nate hurls a ray of magic at one of the nearest orcs, but it seems luck is with him and the winds favour his attempt. The spell hits with a bang and a splash of glowing, pale-green energy that wraps its tendrils around the orc and sinks into his skin. He falters and slows, falling behind the others as the weight of his armour and weapon becomes much heavier than he's used to.

Ralph hunkers down behind the palisades as the townsfolk return fire, his small stature going a long way towards keeping him unnoticed. Bolts and arrows rain down on the orcs. One bolt buries itself in an orc's shoulder, though it hardly inconveniences the large humanoid. A second, though, buries itself in an orc's throat, punching him backwards to fall still on the grass. A lucky hit met with a whoop from the direction of the rooftops. The only other hit is a feathered arrow from Garrick's bow that buries itself in a third orc's chest. That one, however, remains standing.

The orcs charge across the field, heedless of the losses from the first salvo. Traps snap shut on their legs as the plow through them. One trap clamps shut on the leg of the orc that already caught a bolt to the shoulder, felling him. Some of the traps are avoided entirely, but four more snap shut, tearing into flesh and causing the orcs to waste time prying them off. As they draw into the light you can see that one is a bodyguard from earlier, wearing chainmail and carrying his huge axe. The other, however, is nowhere to be seen.

A trio of sharpened wooden javelins thud into the palisades near Ralph. Two bury themselves in the wood, such is the strength with which they were thrown, but a third finds its mark by luck or chance, eliciting a scream and a collapse from the villager next to the halfling. His crossbow goes clattering down the roof and stops with a thunk as it hits the wooden shields. Over by the tower, an accompanying scream signals another hit. Four orcs and the large one in chainmail are left to charge the group in the streets. Two split off and go for Nate, while the other three, including the one with the axe, take on Laal and Alecto. Alecto cuts down one of them as soon as they reach her, and the other's response is summarily ineffective, as the woman dodges the battleax and the large club glances off her reinforced coat.

Nate fares less well. While his club-wielding foe has as much luck as Alecto's, the other is armed with a rusty, but obviously still sharp, steel longsword. It splits a few links of Nate's chain shirt, drawing a line of blood across his chest.

OOC:
For the sake of simplicity, I made Alecto's readied attack roll for her. She got 14 to hit and 11 damage, and quite thoroughly owned the orc in question.

As for Nate, he took 5 damage. A map of the battleground will be up in the OOC thread shortly.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

His grin widens to bare teeth when his magic saps the strength from his foe, atrophies his muscles and causes his armor to drag him down. It was a fine hit, better than most. But when the orc stumbles forward, presses on, Nate's lips drag down in a frown. He'd hoped to have taken that orc out of the picture, but it would seem that, as Lady Luck giveth, so too does she mockingly taketh away. And then, of course, the counter attack. The flash of rusted metal that somehow manages to penetrate his armor and draw blood from his chest, the sparks of pain it leaves behind, flaring up his spine and exploding behind his eyes. Thank Heaven for his mystic toughness. It could takes weeks to heal, maybe months. Gods help him if a cleric tries - no, best to not think about it. He can handle it once the battle ends, provided that he's still alive. For now, though, revenge is at hand. And when you're Nathanael Heidrich, revenge is a dish best served... immediately. He stretches out his hand and presses it, palm-first, against the chest of his attacker. There is a silent impact in the air as the magic flows forth, a sickly, squirming purple flame that assaults the very essence of the orc.

With the cold dish served, Nathanael then falls back several yards so as to put some much needed breathing room between himself and the bloodthirsty orcish warriors.

OOC
Using a Charnel Touch.
Melee Touch Attack: 1d20+4 3=22 21 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2614331/)
Damage: 1d8=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2614344/)

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Blood flies from the orc, following the sweeping of her arm. Alecto's red eyes narrow, focusing on the flowing lines of energy within the orcs before her; without hesitation, she slips forward and readies her knife into a better position, slipping to one side of the battleax and batting aside the club before lunging in, slicing towards the club wielder with lethal intent. Her aim was perfect, slipping past the orc's defenses and jabbing right towards his neck. Unless fate stepped in, the thing would have its throat split open from top to bottom.

Roll for Knowledge Devotion: [roll0]
KD bonus to attack and damage: +4
Attack: [roll1]+11 = 30
Damage: [roll2]+10 = 14

28 damage assuming 27 (rolled in OOC) confirms a critical.

Some stuff will get edited in after I see my rolls.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling blinks as the fellow next to him dies and eyes the body.
He could always try to grab the javelin and throw it back out at the orcs.
But, admittedly, he has absolutely no idea how to properly throw a javelin and would be just as likely to hurt himself.
And it's probably covered in icky orc-sweat. Not worth it, if it's not valuable.

Although...

The halfling slides over towards the crossbow, keeping low to prevent himself from suddenly becoming a target to the javelineers, then sets about trying to take the rest of the ammo off of the villager's corpse.
Looting with reason.

If he takes this crossbow (which the man certainly isn't using anymore, so he can always argue he was just keeping it from going to waste), he can stay up here, out of most-harm's way. He can shoot out with relative safety, just having to keep mind of javelins.
Much safer than his initial plan of hopping off the roof and whacking an orc in the groin with his mace while it wasn't looking.

So with those thoughts in mind, he begins the work of loading up a bolt into the crossbow.
Thankfully getting impaled by a javelin doesn't send out torrents of blood, or this loading process could get complicated, with the slipperyness.
Ralph is silently thankful.


So, with that, Ralph uses up a move action to grab the crossbow and ammo, the uses up his standard action to load the thing up.
All in all, two move actions and that'll be his turn.

[Blarghy]

Laal

It is about this time that Laal realizes he, an unarmored (technically) and poorly armed wizard, is on the ground where the warriors should be, rather than on a rooftop. Poor judgment on his part, certainly. While it may be poetic to stand by his new allies, rationality demands that he move to a safer location.

Before doing so, he takes aim at the orc furthest back, still in the trap-field. Such a target runs the lowest risk of Laal's crossbow bolt flying off-course and into the neck of someone on his team. After loosening the projectile, he backs up twenty feet in a straight line, to put some distance between him and the angry, muscular villains.

((Aiming at the lone orc in the topmost row.))

To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal's dwarven crossbow proves its worth, crossing the distance between him and the orc Nate blasted with his strength-sapping magic. The two factors combined are too much for him, and he collapses in the field. That done, the wizard retreats, gaining himself a perfect view of Alecto stepping forward and tearing out the throat of the club wielding orc next to her. The creature goes down in a spray of arterial blood and is dead in seconds.

Nate fares equally well against his own foe, the purple fire claiming the orc's life. It too drops to the ground as the blonde-haired magician retreats, landing with a thump. Its friend, however, lives, and is now mad. That orc begins to give chase, waving its club threateningly, but suddenly pitches forward and lands in the dirt with a bolt in its back. Looking up, Nate is able to catch a glimpse of Tarn and another farmer waving from the nearby rooftop.

That signals the start of a second rain of bolts. Though less effective than the first, it claims a couple victims. One of the orcs near Ralph falls, as does one of the ones trying to scale the tower. It's not enough, though. Without any more javelins to throw, the big humanoids reach their buildings and start climbing, even as the halfling is fumbling with his pilfered crossbow's loading mechanism. The remaining orc by the tower grabs one of the posts and climbs with a speed born of recklessness, reaching the top in a few scant seconds and smashing the villager in the face with its fist, not even bothering to draw a weapon. The force of the blow sends the man over the side of the tower, and he hits the ground fifteen feet below with an unhealthy crunching sound.

The two orcs over by Tarn's building climb at a similar rate, but there's not enough room on the roof for both to fit up there just yet, and the one that does make it up has worse luck than his comrade, as his chosen target ducks under his wild swing. The warrior with the axe can't seem to hit Alecto either, as a second swing from the huge blade swishes by a few scant inches away.

Four orcs remain conscious. The big one with the chainmail, one in the tower, one on the roof next to Ralph, and one clinging to the wall just below and waiting for him to move out of the way.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

Who's your daddy now? There's a perverse sense of accomplishment as the magic does its gristly work, sapping the life from its green-skinned victim. Nathanael doesn't need to guess as to how much it hurts - he knows firsthand the pain that comes from introducing negative energy to living tissue. Only fitting, he thinks, that he should share the pain with those that would seek to injure him in other ways. When the other orc snarls at him and bares its weapon, he prepares himself to dodge the attack and retaliate. His eye widen, then, when the orc crumbles to the ground with an arrow in its back. He waves back at those responsible and casts an eye about the battlefield. He sees Alecto and the guardian orc about to engage one another and decides to intervene. He curses himself for not having any overtly offensive spells that operate at a decent range, but he'll do what he can to lessen the blow, should the creature land one on his companion. He gets within range (30ft) and holds out a hand to release another pale green ray of strength-stealing energy at the raiding party's big kahuna.

OOC
Ranged Touch Attack: 1d20+4=22 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2616746/)
Strength Penalty: 1d6+1=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2616747/)
Saving Throw: None; DC: None
Only half as effective this time than last, but not too bad.
Three spells left for today, but Charnel Touch goes on forever.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Her movements are still awkward and unused to combat, but there is a precision in her hand and grim focus in her eyes now. She is not a warrior yet, but given the proficiency she is already showing, it will not be long before she becomes one.

Yanking her scalpel from the throat of the orc she killed, Alecto side steps the axe blow of the leader, hissing a little at the threat of steel. As soon as the blade passes by, she lunges in, aiming her tiny blade at her attacker's leg, trying to cut it open before the orc can move again.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Blarghy]

Laal

Well, now he has a harder time choosing targets as he reloads. Most of the living orcs are near friendlies, and the one that isn't is sadly out of Laal's line of sight. That leaves the raider in the tower. It's a bad angle to shoot at, with his target partially concealed, but there dwarf doesn't have many options.

Mainly, he's just happy he's not being beaten or hacked at. That thought lets him stay calm and collected as he shoots at the tower-orc.

To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Aha, there we go. Finally got the blasted thing loaded up, ready to look out and snipe some of those ugly litt-
Oh hey, they're here.

Ralph looks up from his new toy and considers waving at the proportionately-hulking creature next to him.
He figures that such a wave would probably serve no purpose but to waste both his and the orc's time, in addition to likely getting said hand removed.

So, instead, he scoots back a couple feet and raises up the crossbow in a surprisingly calm manner to shoot the orc (relatively) point-blank in the chest.

Thankfully, there's a bunch of other folks on this rooftop, so the halfling doesn't have to be concerned that the orc's entire wrath will fall upon him, on the chance it survives.
If it does, Ralph can always retreat behind someone bigger, with a sword or something.
He'd rather not die, today.


With that, Ralph scoots back a la 5 foot step, then fires off his new toy.
1d20+6=14 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2617047/)
(Somehow, I suspect he may have found a clever way to miss.)
If it does hit:
1d8=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2617049/)
...Alecto stole all the luck.

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal raises his crossbow, drawing a bead on the orc in the tower. It moves to leap over the side of the tower, and in doing so, gives the Dwarven wizard a better angle. His bolt catches it full in the chest and it falls backwards. It doesn't get back up.

Alecto flicks her scalpel in at the big orc's leg. He seems to anticipate her move, though, and shifts slightly, letting the little blade scrape harmlessly across the rings of his chainmail. He raises his axe to strike back and gets blasted by Nate's green ray. This one doesn't have quite the effect of the first, but it's enough to give him a moment's pause, and with the axe seeming suddenly heavier than he's used to his blow goes wide yet again.

Up on the roof with Ralph, things are also going poorly for the orcs. The man the first orc up was fighting stumbles back out of reach, frantically trying to get his weapon reloaded. Ralph's shot, its trajectory altered slightly by the unfamiliar feel of the too-large crossbow, misses by a hair, and the orc turns to look at the little halfling, just as another bolt goes hissing by in the opposite direction; the villager had managed to reload, but his fear made him clumsy. Tarn and his friend, however, had better luck. Both their bolts struck the orc, wounding it but failing to cause it to fall. The other orc pulled itself onto the roof, intent on taking some heads, but then its jaw went slack as three separate thunks heralded more projectiles from the other building. It tumbled back to the ground and out of view, landing on the grass below.

[Blarghy]

Laal

It would appear that only two orcs still remain, and neither is in a good position for Laal to fire. He can't complain, though; so far, he's been doing unusually well with the shooting and whatnot. The smith hopes his luck doesn't change.

For the moment, he has little to do that might tempt fate. With only unfavorable targets, Laal reloads yet again and jogs to try to get a better view of the remaining rooftop orc, just in case the closer villagers don't handle it on their own. While he relocates, he also makes sure to keep an eye out for the missing bodyguard; he can't help but suspect that the last marauder will come onto the scene sooner rather than later.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Her blade skitters off the big orc's leg, but she swiftly tries to recover the motion, sweeping it upwards instead to cut his armpit and the underside of his arm, hopefully slicing through a few arteries.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling looks down at the crossbow, then back at the orc.
Then peers at the small distance between them.

That miss made no sense.
Clearly there was some sorcery here, even if the weapon was somewhat heavy and overly-large.
He'd continue to argue over what happened with himself, but doing so would probably give the orc plenty of time to fatally beat him over the head with...probably anything.

With that in mind, seeing that the thing is already wounded and near the edge, Ralph decides to go for the one action that the green brute clearly won't expect: dart forward and smash it in the kneecaps with this clearly jinxed crossbow's stock.


To hit: 1d20 (+4 -4 for improvized use)=17
Damage: 1d6+2=6
(http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2618622/)

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He lets out an exuberant whoop when his strength-stealing curse does its work, although it's sadly more inconvenient for the orc than it is debilitating. Nevertheless, he's pleased to see that his effort has saved Alecto the unsightly blemish of bifurcation. When the axe sweeps down and misses, Nate takes that as his cue to approach the bodyguard. When Alexto's knife approaches the orc's vulnerable armpit, Nate's own hand reaches out and presses itself between the orc's shoulder blades. Baleful magic pulses out, infusing the orc with the intense pain of living death.

OOC
Melee Touch Attack: 1d20+3=22 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2621837/)
Charnal Touch Damage: 1d8=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2621842/)
No Save.

[Destro_Yersul]

Alecto's scalpel is foiled once again by the linked rings of the orc's mail. The big orc's laugh, however, is cut short by Nate's attack from behind. It bellows with rage and spins around axe sweeping in a wide arc. Too wide. The weapon is still too heavy in its hand, and Nate has little trouble ducking to avoid the swing.

Meanwhile, up on the roof, Ralph smashes the crossbow into the orc's knees. With a crunching sound, its left knee buckles, and the orc drops to the roof, rolling until it hits the pavises and comes to a stop, leg bent at a peculiar angle. Looks like Ralph's scored a kill.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

"That's the problem with you savages," he taunts, the blade of the heavy orcish axe whizzing harmlessly over his head. "You're born with this brute strength, which is nice and all - I wish I could heft a cow with one arm - but you take that away and what do you have left?" He reaches out once again and slaps his palm across the scowling face of his opponent, an insulting gesture no matter your culture. The sharp contact releases yet another burst of negative energy. "You've got nothing," he concludes.

Following that, Nate withdraws about ten feet to observe.

OOC
Melee Touch Attack + Flanking Bonus: 1d20+3+2=24 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2623305/)
Charnel Touch Damage: 1d8=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2623313/)

So, I kind of just pimp-slapped an orc. With a magical hand.

Today's going to be a good day.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto hisses angrily and jabs at the orc's back as it turns to deal with Nathanael, hoping she'll slice through shoulder muscles.

Not a Roll of Three Attack: [roll0]
Damage that will actually need to be rolled: [roll1]

[Blarghy]

Laal

And now there's even less for him to do. Alecto and Nate look like they have the final orc under control, so Laal's only remaining worry is the missing second bodyguard. He continues to glance about for the latecomer while trailing his crossbow on the visible raider, just in case he gets an opening.

((Readied action to shoot the bodyguard if he leaves melee, either because he or Alecto step away from one another.))

[Destro_Yersul]

The orc draws back its axe for another blow, growling in frustration, but then Nate slaps it across the face, pumping damaging energy into the beast once again. At the same time, Alecto's blade finally finds a chink in the orc's armour, and stabs into his back. The roar on his lips dies with a gurgling sound, and the orc drops to the dirt.

Neither Laal, nor Ralph, can see any further orcs, and the next few seconds pass in complete silence. Slowly, the townsfolk realize that you've won. Garrick, and those on the roof with him, leap to the ground and run for the tower, while the men on the roof with Ralph rush to help the fallen villager.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto draws back, her scalpel bloody and her hair in disarray from her frantic dodging and fighting. The grimace fades from her face, and more practiced instincts immediately take hold as she sees the battle is over.
"Is anyone hurt?"
She calls out, fumbling out a cloth to wipe the blood from her scalpel. Her red eyes dart around worriedly, looking for anyone who might be injured.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling, after noticing that everyone is moving, finally looks up from his fallen foe.

Mildly shocking. Hasn't actually killed anyone before.
Felt rather...empowering.
They can't take back their belongings if they're dead.

He glances around, real quick, to make sure the battle's actually over, then scoots closer to the orc-body, happily humming away.
Maybe look the body over for some sort of tribal bauble, or whatever it is that orcs bring along on raids.

And yes, he's a selfish bastard that doesn't care about the hurt villager.

[Blarghy]

Laal

With a simple nod of silent satisfaction and a shake of his head to Alecto, the dwarf keeps his crossbow loaded and begins to check the orc corpses. Not for loot, but rather for life. He doesn't so much intend on murdering any unconscious enemies--probably--as he does interrogating them. The missing bodyguard still has Laal vaguely worried. It's very possible that the last orc simply kept running after Nate's spell frightened him off in the foothills, but there's no reason to take chances.

If any of the marauders are just near death rather than past the threshold, they may be able to clear up the matter.

[Destro_Yersul]

Laal's checking reveals that, though many of the orcs are dead, whether they bled out or were killed by the arrows and bolts, there are a couple survivors. One at least seems to have stabilized, though the condition of the others is deteriorating rather quickly.

Tarn waves Alecto over from the roof. "Up here! They got Stenn, but he's still breathing."

Ralph's efforts, meanwhile, produce some fruit. The orc he's chosen is swiftly patted down, and one of his pockets produces a telltale clinking. Checking that reveals a small pouch containing a handful of gold coins. Fifteen, once they're counted.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto pockets her scalpel and swiftly heads up to the roof, cleaning her hands with a cloth as she goes. When she arrives, she kneels next to Stenn and places a hand on him, examining his condition. With any luck, she'd be able to solve it with just a bit of manipulation...

Heal check to stablize him: [roll0]
Also spending a point to see how much HP he's at.

[Destro_Yersul]

Alecto's practiced hands are able to stabilise the man quickly and effectively, and a good thing, too. To her eyes, his lifesigns had dropped dangerously low. Much longer, and he would have been beyond her skill to heal.

That's easily enough to stabilize him. As for HP, he's currently at -5.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"This won't take long."
Alecto says to those surrounding her- and then she focuses her power on the man's wounds. The flow of blood from him ceases, and within moments the worst of the wounds begin knitting themselves back together beneath Alecto's hands. There is no glow of magic, no prayer or arcane gestures to be seen, only the patient and certain eyes and hands of Alecto as she deals with the man's wounds.

Spending two blood points and taking two rounds to heal him for 14 points of damage, as I imagine 2 hit points isn't near his max (or if it is, he probably needs it all back anyway).

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

The halfling thief of the group quietly pockets his new-found profits and leans over to look at the wounded fellow.
Alecto seems to be patching him up just fine. That's nice.

If the fellow had died it would have been another pocket to pick, though he'd have to actually be careful about that one.
Anyway, there's other corpses around.

So, while the healer is busy, Ralph will head back to ground level to look for other orcs with pockets to rummage around in.
Whistling, all the while.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

As the orc crumbles to the ground, Nate pumps his fist in victory. He takes a few moments to press his hand against the wound in his chest and unleashes enough negative energy to close the injury. In seconds the injury seals itself without even the hint of a scar. That accomplished, he follows the others back into town, content to relish the adulation of the grateful populace of the city of Greyhame.

[Destro_Yersul]

While Alecto deals with healing the wounded man, who mercifully remains unconscious through the whole thing, Ralph has decided to go looting.

The halfling will have quite the good run of luck for the next little while. There are a number of corpses or near-corpses nearby, and all of them have pouches similar to the one the first was carrying. It's on the fifth corpse that Ralph turns up his first real prize. A bronze chain hangs around one orc's neck, tucked inside his armour. It's a bit dirty, but when Ralph pulls it out to get a look at it, its value becomes obvious. The pendant hanging from the chain is stone, black and white, with flecks of crystal within it. Inlaid into the stone is an intricate maze design, bronze lines snaking around and around. In the center of the design, taking up full a third of the surface area, is a large yellow gemstone that gleams in the light from the torches. Gods only know where or how the orc came across such a thing.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

He's entranced, for a couple moments, staring at the design and lightly tracing it with one finger.
"Well aren't we pretty..."

And then a thought occurs to him and he quickly looks around.
The others may want in on any treasure he finds. He'll have to be careful.
Things like this...they can't see. They'll ask questions. Request to have, perhaps.

Put it on and hide under his shirt, or in his pocket?
If it's cursed...that'd be bad. He'd suffer.
But if it's not...no harm.
That's assuming it's magical at all. Might just be an ordinary, pretty pendent.

But he can always hope for something magical. One of the few things almost as good as money, that he always wants...a solid magical item.

However, for now, he'll just quickly place it into one of his many pockets, along with the money he's been filching.
Then it's back to work, before the others join in.

Greedy little fellow.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The rest of the dying orcs can continue bleeding, for all Laal cares. He only needs, or wants, one anyway. First, he removes whatever weapons his new prisoner clearly has--he doesn't bother checking for hidden ones yet--and tries to flag down a few villagers to bring rope and help him carry the orc off the battlefield.

Since the second bodyguard still hasn't made an appearance, Laal is increasingly beginning to doubt they'll see him again. Maybe there was a struggle for leadership between the wizard's two top soldiers, and only the one Alecto and Nate fought came out alive; it's quite possible. That does not, however, make a prisoner useless. He might be able to tell them what brought about the change in raiding patterns--the villagers mentioned how unusual this attack was, after all--or where their first leader might've learned magic. Or maybe the orc will be completely useless and Laal will just shoot him.

The smith can't speak for all dwarves, but he, for one, is fine with the death penalty. If the invader proves useful enough then he'll be willing to ask the villagers to put the prisoner to work for the rest of his natural life, taking advantage of his strength, but if not, then it's only fair that he pays for his crimes.

[Destro_Yersul]

Garrick and the others have, by now, reached the top of the tower. The body of the orc who was up there is thrown down, and a moment later the men also begin to climb back, carrying another body over their shoulders. It appears that both of the tower sentries perished in the battle, but fortunately, it seems they're the only non-orc casualties.

Laal, on his chosen orc, finds something a little more interesting than just the weapons. In a sort of satchel that was, at first glance, holding a large club, there is something else. A small scroll case, fashioned from the horn of some large animal or other. The ends are capped with copper, and the case is carved with an image of two elves, going by the ears, locked in magical combat with each other. The rope and assistance arrives shortly after he finds this.

Ralph finds nothing else particularly shiny as he goes from orc to orc, swiping their purses. Just the money. Soon enough he's gathered one from every orc, except the bodyguard and the one Laal is busily having carried off.

[Blarghy]

Laal

The club doesn't really interest Laal that much; he figures that if it were magical or even well-made, the orc would've been using it. Still, he'll give it a look-over just in case. The scroll case, too; for now, he'll hang onto them until he relocates and sees that the prisoner is secured. Loot can wait.

"Do you have a jail here?" he asks his new helpers.

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Jingle jangle.
Clink clack.

Ralph grumbles a little at his overly full pockets, trying to continue moving as silently and naturally as possible back towards the inn.

He'll need to fork some money over to the rest of his group, but he can at least store a greater portion in his room, hopefully before they notice.
A nice fellow would go for a pleasant even, 25% for everyone split.

Screw that. He went around and got the money himself. Just for that bit of work he's earned extra, and the fact that he's considering giving them any of it at all, without their asking first.
20/20/20/40 sounds nicer.

Onwards, to the room!
Before someone notices!

[Destro_Yersul]

The man helping Laal scratches his head. "Fraid not. We've never had much need for one. Could use one of the rooms in the inn, but the locks on those are on the inside. Not much good for containment." As for the weapon, it's nothing particularly special looking. Just a heavy tree branch with the bark roughly stripped off.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Stenn has started coughing. He sits up a few moments later, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and blinking. "What happened? Where are the orcs?"

Nate, meanwhile, has reached the town hall. The building is entirely dark, its windows shuttered and no torches lit. From within, he can almost hear the intake of breath as his footsteps approach.

Ralph has no such troubles. With the inn empty and his comrades elsewhere, sneaking to his room with his loot presents no challenge.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Alecto quietly slips back off the rooftop as the man recovers, allowing his friends to take care of him and fill him in on what happened.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

The magician approaches the door and bangs the knocker three times to get the rapt attention of everyone inside. "I am pleased to announce," he begins, his voice loud and authoritative, "that the Battle of Greyhame has been won by its defenders. Your enemies are dead, although not yet buried. You are safe to come out now, if you would like." He crosses his arms over his chest and waits there patiently for a response.

[Destro_Yersul]

From behind the door comes the sound of a heavy bar being removed, and then the door is opened a crack, and a flash of light as the hood is lifted from an old lantern. When whoever is inside sees that it's Nate, the door is opened wide, allowing him to see inside.

"Hello, Nate. Seems your luck saw you through after all." Miss Julia smiles, and places her lantern back on a small table next to the door. From within, Nate can hear the beginning of excited murmuring. The woman glances over her shoulder, then back to him. "Come in. I'm sure everyone will want to hear how it went."

[Blarghy]

Laal

"Better to tie him to a chair than put him in a room we cannot lock," the dwarf grunts. But the inn as a destination will suffice, he supposes. There is still the matter of patching up their prisoner so he can talk; as such, when Laal spots Alecto's red coat, he waves to get her attention.

[AmberVael]

Alecto

Laal might notice that Alecto seems rather shaky now that everything is said and done, possibly from nerves or excessive adrenaline. When she notices his gesture and walks towards him, her stride is tense and jerky, as if she were about ready to just fall over and call it a day right there.

She doesn't ask what he wants, but her eyes convey her question well enough.

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He quirks an eyebrow and returns Julia's smile. "Not luck, my lady." He enters the building and nods, grinning widely, to those assembled. "No, not luck, but skill! And more than a modicum of cunning, I might add." He flips his cape over one shoulder. "The orcs are defeated; they are dead or dying in the dirt around your town, made that way by the combined efforts of your homegrown defenders and my noble associates." He manages to lean against the door-frame in a jaunty fashion. "The day, as they say, is saved. Your people have nothing left to fear from those particular orcs."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Of course." Nate's flamboyant announcement earns him a small smile from Julia, and the excited murmuring breaks into full on cheering. Lights begin to go on in the darkness as more lanterns are lit, and Nate can see the townspeople rushing forwards. He'll find himself surrounded quite shortly, receiving thanks and congratulations from the entire population.

[Blarghy]

Laal

A simple gesture to the wounded orc conveys the request well enough in Laal's mind, although after a moment of thought he decides that Alecto may misunderstand and think he wants the prisoner killed. She's done more of that today than cure, after all.

"I want to question him when he is healed a bit, and tied to something stable." That should clarify, the dwarf decides. "You can assist, if you speak the language."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

After several rounds of gracious "You're very welcome"s and "It was no problem at all"s and "No, really, it was a team effort"s, Nate manages to pull himself away from the crowd and approaches Julia. "We need to talk," he says. "Somewhere a little bit more private than this? It's nothing that you need to worry about, I don't think, but it is something that you should know." He smiles, attempting to defuse the seriousness.

[Destro_Yersul]

"I know just the place. Follow me." She picks her lantern back up, making her way through the crowd. They've all given Nate their accolades by now, but he's still subject to more than a few hearty slaps on the back as he goes through. A few of the more exuberant townsfolk have left the hall entirely to seek out their friends or husbands amongst the men left to defend the town.

"This hall is the oldest thing in Greyhame. The stones have seen many things. It has always been our place of refuge, and it has yet to fall. You may see many men who have taken castles by force, who sit on their high seats and look down on us common folks. It amuses me to think that our 'castle' has a better track record than theirs." As she is speaking, Julia opens up a side door off the large hall. Inside, she works her way up a thin ladder one handed, the lantern in her other hand swaying wildly. The ladder ends at a small landing, and another ladder leads up into the darkness above.

At the top of the second is the tower bell, its thick chain leading off through the floor. The bell stands quiet now, and from the high tower it's possible to see the whole town and much of the countryside. Julia turns to help Nate up the last couple rungs, "We'll have privacy enough for talking up here, but there's another reason I thought you should climb the tower,"she makes a sweeping gesture to encompass the countryside, and continues, "It puts it into perspective, seeing what you've helped save."

[Sophistemon]

Nathanael

He follows after Julia, making sure to respond pleasantly to those who continue to offer their congratulations. He chuckles at her commentary - like her, he doesn't have a very lofty view of highborn nobility, although likely for very different reasons. He waits for her to ascend the ladder before he starts his own climb, so as to spare either of them the pitfall of lechery. He accepts her help and stares out at the town below. "I didn't do anything exceptional," he admits. "From what I saw, your people had things relatively under control." He looks back at her. "I was just happy to help," he says.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Under control or not, you and your friends did help. For one thing, you provided some direction. These people are farmers, not fighters. They're only too happy to pass off the command to someone more experienced, and in that way at least, you performed admirably." Julia sets her lantern on the ground and turns back to face Nate. "I'm sure you didn't request some privacy just to hear me give you more praise, though. What's on your mind?"

[AmberVael]

Alecto

"Oh, um, it'll be a moment."
Healing the injured man from before had drained her, and though she gained her power back quickly, she didn't get it back that quickly.
For now, Alecto examines the orc's wounds, attuning herself to what will need to be done, and ensuring it wouldn't die immediately. Once she feels her power return, she will swiftly heal the orc back to the point where it won't be in danger of dying.

Alecto used all her blood points, so she'll need to wait a few minutes for them to come back. In the meantime, she'll use a heal check to stabilize the orc if necessary, and check for any negative conditions that might need to be dealt with.

Once she's waited a few minutes, she'll heal the orc for 7, and if that puts him at a really low amount of health, she'll heal him for another 7.

Heal check: [roll0]

[Chaotic Bob]

Ralph

Once safely returned to his room, Ralph scampers over to the bed and begins dumping out his many, many pieces of gold into a rough pile on the sheets.

He pulls his amulet from one pocket, laying it much more carefully onto the bed.

From another, more hidden pocket, he pulls out an object poorly wrapped in bits of a torn bag. It is given
a slightly more reverent placing down next to the amulet.

From there, the halfling stares at his haul for a good few minutes, a small smile stamped firmly on his roud little face.
Excellent haul, excellent day.
Shame he's going to share the coins, but it's a small price to pay, rather literally.

He pulls himself from his reverie and proceeds to skillfully divide the coins into little piles of ten, which produces twenty piles. Each of these piles is then combined with three others, to make five piles of forty. Ralph pulls a number of pouches from his pockets and begins placing a pile per pouch.

After tying off the last pouch, he places it under his pillow, then puts the last four back into their respective pockets. The amulet and other object follow shortly.
From there, the halfling sets out to go find everyone else.

It's pay day!