private 2 member party

[Ralasha]

The alchemist steps through the 'door' in the tree, and immediately spots Ryhan crouching behind some bushes nearby. Looking in the direction of activity, which is heard by both. Ryhan hears movement behind him, accompanied by the light sound of hooves on cushioned forest floor.

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

He turns to face his companion, "Glad you could make it. We have several targets around the fort trying to make entrance, they have one sentry covering each side of the fort."

[Voice of Reason]

Alana

Alana draws up next to Ryhan

Really? We really got here that quickly? That shortcut is most certainly impressive...what kind of strength are we looking at here from the aggressors? I agreed to run a message for our hosts, not liberate them from a siege. Ideally, we would take this information back to them and let them deal with it. How long do you think we have before the place is overrun?

[Ralasha]

As she asks a spear stabs out through a window into neck of one of the... 'creatures'. Despite a bit of blood however, it doesn't seem very worried, though it does back away from the building hurriedly.

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

"The attackers are not well armed but they have numbers." When Alana reminds him of the purpose he nods, "I don't see how we can just sneak in and give them the message. So far the only way in is through the front. Got any ideas?"

[Voice of Reason]

Alana

Ideally, we would wait for the others to join us before doing anything rash if we can help it, but I am not sure we have such a luxury. If you plan to insist on being suicidal, we have, perhaps, two options. The first is to have one of us provoke the attacks into chase, making it easier for the other to slip inside.

Alternatively, you said there was only one sentry on each side of the fort? If we had some way to prove that we were friends worthy of opening the gate for, we might be able to make a break for it. How's your aim? Some Tanglefoots could slow their pursuit.

Is Alana able to see these "creatures" from this vantage point? What sort of things are we up against?

[Ralasha]

You can see oddly proportioned and skinned people. The building is very similar though not the same as the one you slept in last night, mainly because this one is built in multiple levels, while the other one was flat.

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

"It could be hours before they get here. All we need to do is get them a message. Once they look at us they'll know that we are them... Hopefully that would be enough for them to believe us.

So you want me to give a diversion so that you can get to the front door?"

[Voice of Reason]

Alana

Hmmm, after thinking on it, I'm not too keen on the idea of me running in through the front door. That would leave us even further fractured as any kind of cohesive group, and leave me alone in the company of unknown men with seemingly no way out. If all we need to do is get them a message, surely that can be arranged. We could affix a short note to one of your arrows, perhaps, and fire it across the wall. I could provide you with a calming concoction that would increase your concentration, and with your skill to boot, I have little doubt we could make it work.

Of course, this leaves them ill-prepared to reply, but getting myself stuck inside doesn't really help that situation much anyways. I think that we must make a choice. Either we must drop them a message to say that we have gone for help, and then we beat a hasty retreat back to the others to report, or we stay here and try to do as much damage as we can and maybe even the odds a bit.

Alana can prepare an Infusion of True Strike, which would be more than sufficient to make up for difficulties in firing a slightly-weighted arrow. She has ink and paper to write a note, so assuming they can read, we can get them a message from a fairly safe distance. The problem though, as outlined above, is that really a message to them doesn't help us much. If we think that they're going to fall to the aggressors before we can get help, then the only thing we can do to stop it is to either join them inside and hope we make a difference, or cause a sufficient distraction outside.

[Ralasha]

DM note: Or, kill as many of them as you can, and hope those inside notice assistance has arrived and come out swinging... or just lay into them.

I would now like to point out the following:
You have no actual idea of the strength of the enemy you face, they could actually be extremely weak in comparison to the average level 1 commoner. The only way to find out, would be to attack.

If you do fire an arrow, they will immediately know your relative position since they have people everywhere. And since you've also no idea how fast they are, running may not help much either.

The fact that the enemy keep their distance would suggest that they are not overly powerful. And since they do not attempt to blitz the building, you can also estimate the soldiers to outnumber them. Since they have been testing the soldiers inside even as you sit and watch.

[Voice of Reason]

The fact that the enemy keep their distance would suggest that they are not overly powerful. And since they do not attempt to blitz the building, you can also estimate the soldiers to outnumber them. Since they have been testing the soldiers inside even as you sit and watch.

To be fair, it is also possible that they are simply waiting on a battering ram, reinforcements, on were planning on a longer-term siege that would result in significantly fewer casualties. I suppose that, given that last bit, it seems logical to assume that they're outnumbered or just plain stupid.

Personally, I wouldn't necessarily mind going in "guns blazing" at this point if Shugyosha wishes to; anything to get the game moving smoothly again :smalltongue:

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

Looking at the woman he asks coldy, "In a fight what can you do?"

[Voice of Reason]

Alana

Probably not nearly as much as you can. It's a lot easier for people of my craft to succeed using other methods. That being said, I do have limited training in unarmed fighting, and in total, between me and the big guy here

She gestures at the horse

we're carrying a couple dozen pounds of, shall we say, "potentially hazardous" material. Thing that burn, freeze, scream, and in general just aren't fun to have throw in one's face. Additionally, If we can afford to spare, say, ten or twelve minutes I can concoct a balm for you that would strengthen your body and enhance your focus noticeably.

The OOC version: Alchemist's Fire/Frost, Tanglefoot Bags, Balm (+2 natural armor, +4 dex, -2 wisdom), and Noxious Bombs (1d6+5 nonlethal and blinded, deafened, fatigued, or shaken),

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

"That sounds good... how long will it last?" Ryhan asks.

"I'm thinking of rousing some of them up and letting them chase me pass here where you can ambush them with those hazardous toys."

[Ralasha]

((Assuming they are in glass bottles... you can bury them, using them as a kind of mines. or try to craft a dropping mechanism if either of you has use rope (and survival if lacking rope), You could also clear some foliage away from behind the bushes, and create a puddle of one substance or another so that the enemy will jump into it when crossing the bushes. Well, there are lots of thing you could do, so... what will you do? Do you have craft trap? It doesn't require hours to make a simple trap, nor even a simple mechanical one.))

[shugyosha]

Ryhan

Hearing no objections from her, the archer sneaks off to the fort. He takes his time as to give Alana the time she needs for the ambush.