Hold the Pass [IC]

[Clarkson]

The rest of the army has fled down a ten foot wide ravine. You know that the flanks of the column was being harrassed by scouts but the army hasn't been attacked in a while. You've got 8 conscripts with shortspears and 4 with light crossbows.

You figure you've got about five minutes before you have to deal with the first wave and you should make the most of that time.

List a coordenate that you want to begin and you'll take 20 on any rolls you need to make.

Just remember if you take damage on top of a rock or tree you need to make a DC12 balance check or you will fall taking 1d6 damage.

The Map (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkfN4djhc3KGdDl4SG5KbkJCOW1qSzY2Y0czV2dlO FE#gid=0)

[Wordplay]

Curse the day I signed up. How naive I was - wanted to see the world, have an adventure, do something that mattered. Now every day I walk in the shadow of death.

Now this, the army in retreat - me, and these few others left behind to hold out. Is this the end? So many wasted youths. And for what?

I can't let it end this way! We must hold out - the pass is narrow, and the other NCOs seem hardened - we can do something.

Khal groggily remembers a conversation with four others late last night around the fire, over the last of the hoarded spirits.

Khal mounts his horse Lancer, and rides up to Pon Wobman.

'Alright. We'll do this your way old man. I'll see what we're up against. If we're lucky, perhaps we may live to see another dawn. Do your part - I'll do mine'.

As Khal flashes a brief salute to the ranking officer 'Commander'.

Khal rides to K13, and then to K1. Then he rides out of the pass, heading north. Just as he heads out Khal calls back '...and take good care of my donkey!'

[4th number]

As the conscripts receive their orders, Pon looks around at his fellow veterans. "Let's go kill some of 'em."

The orange-haired old fighting man strings his bow deftly and looks around at the motley assortment of alleged soldiers that are supposed to fight an army. A handful might survive the fight if they had the sense to run at the end, but most of these boys just looked like corpses to him. For a moment, he considers giving an inspirational speech, but he thinks better of it.

He jogs to J1, then north, scattering caltrops as looks for a place to hide and ambush from.

Once I know the lay of the land I'll establish where exactly Pon is scattering these caltrops.

[Starbuck_II]

I hope my husband's doing okay back home. Is today a good day to die? Is it noble to hold out just one day or run like a coward? That Khal... he reminds me of my son, I hope he is one of us that survives.

I'll go scatter a few of these caltrops, best we can to hold them off.

Misa said as she walked off to scatter them.


We didn't discuss which areas to toss these things did we?

[Johel]

Not much time left, by what the Commander had brief them over.
The scouts, bloody useless cowards, had given pretty little information about the opposition but they had been clear on that point.
And that was two hours ago, as the injured and ragged remains of the ost tried its best to fit through that bloody narrow corridor.

Now, it was up to 16 men to hold the pass.
And somehow, Kaishan still wondered how did HE ended up among them.
Details weren't really clear yet in his mind.
He certainly didn't volunteered.

Bow hanging on his shoulder and battleaxe dangling by his belt, the massive half-orc was busy sorting out material from his pack mule.
He finished getting the caltrops out, as ordered by the commander, and passing along tools to the conscripts.
And barely noticed as Khal, the other half-orc of the lot, discussing with Pon "General Store" Wobman before ridding out to the ennemy.
He raised his head when the latter spoke and noticed where the old hag, Misa, spread her own caltrops.
He looked at his own bags, then back at Misa, then back at the bags, then at the commander.

"- Oh !! Sir !! Where d'ya wanna me putting those nasties ?! Anywhere's fine ?!!
Or ya has some fancy smarty plan for us not blooding our feet on them when the running and bashing be starting ?!!
Just askin', Sir !!"

Same here :

Giving shovels, mining pikes and axes to conscripts affected to work.
Giving longspears to each conscripts for them to have something better than their shortspear and crossbow.
Spreading the caltrops wherever 4thNumber suggest them to be spread.
Then heading out of the pass, north, along with the rest of the elites.
With 30 rounds, that's more than enough to do this.


Kaishan just brings north with him :

The backpack with torches, food, waterskin, rope and his own shovel
The battleaxe
The composite bow
3 sets of 20 arrows each.

The donkey and most of the stuff stay behind or is divided among the conscripts to ease their work.

[Wordplay]

Khal rides ahead, dead North, spurring on Lancer.

Khal keeps his eyes peeled, looking for any sign of the approaching army.

Spot [roll0]

[Ildu]

The Elf felt her heart rise in her throat. The cool rush of adrenaline before a battle. Only she wasn't sure how many there were this time, and she wasn't all too keen on finding out what her limit was. Grabbing hold of her bag of caltrops and feeling like a farmer, she ran across the pass, sowing patches of sharp iron across the field, taking care to remember where the safe patches of land were.

"I'm dropping caltrops here!" she called out to the soldiers. Hopefully the humans wouldn't injure themselves before the enemy came, but she had to be sure.

By the Commander's mark, they had five minutes to prepare themselves. Time was of the essence. Once The Elf was done here, she'd find herself a perch for the battle. That tree looked nice, and so did that cliff. Decisions, decisions.

Dropping caltrops on the eastern end of the map, at points M2, L3, L4, M4, L5, N3, M4, N4, N7, and N8.

Starting position for battle: using grappling hook and rope to climb the ravine at M20 and prepare to fire at the first enemy to come within 110 feet.

[Clarkson]

You don't see any approaching soldiers. Fortunatly none see you.

[Johel]

While Khal was doing so mounted scouting, the rest of the squad was busy.
For Kaishan, that meant spreading caltrops right on the obvious way the approaching army would be taking.
And setting himself in a position from where he would be able to take some safe snipping shots at the ennemy before retreating.

There, once in position, the half-orc waited for Khal to return.

Spot [roll0]
Listen [roll1]
Hide [roll2]
Climb [roll3]

Position :
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9023/hold0001.png
Red squares : caltrops
Red circle : Kaishan's position, if possible behind enough rocks to have cover and kneeling/sitting to get additionnal protection but still with a line of sight to the North, so as to be able to shoot.

[Wordplay]

Khal pulls up, and stops Lancer in his tracks. Heart pounding, Khal wipes the sweat from his bleary eyes and looks ahead.

Khal takes 10 on spot.

[Clarkson]

Again nothing. But you do hear the sound of 8 pairs of feet hitting the ground at a rapid pace.

[Wordplay]

So, here they come. Not many of them...advance party by the sound of it. Maybe...scouts?

Khal tries to conceal himself, and keep a lookout for the approaching soldiers.

Hide Khal [roll0]
Spot [roll1]
Listen [roll2]

[Clarkson]

You don't see or hear anything.

You manage to scatter all of the claptrops and set up all of the wood. Everyone is back in base.

Then 8 footmen armed with greatswords come sauntering out of the bracken.

[Wordplay]

Khal looks about.

There's no-one here - yet I definitely heard the sound of marching men. Could they have been trying to outflank us? Is there a way over those canyon walls? I'd better report that back to camp.

Khal emerges, and rides Lancer back towards the camp.

OoC: Let's say Khal gets back asap.

[Clarkson]

Khal will get back one round after the battle starts.