Shaester's Falcons IC 1.5

[NotScaryBats]

The halfling Matthew and the elf Lucien have been paired together since joining Shaester's Falcons. With only one real mission under their belt, the pair have only moderate renown within the large organization of mercenaries. Of course, the training and prestige that comes with even a low-level position in Shaester's Falcons is not insignificant.

Deployed about a day and a half's travel east of Ironwall, Fairport is a medium sized port town that has been in decline in recent years. The area is a bit less cosmopolitan than the great city of Ironwall, and is primarily inhabited by humans and halflings.

Fairport's mayor, Ezek Morninglord, is a wealthy merchant who bought his way into the position about a decade ago and hasn't had a serious rival for the position. You have been working with him destroying monstrous vermin like dire rats in the sewers in an effort to clean up the labyrinth of tunnels and smuggler-holes that lace the rock beneath Fairport. It isn't very noble work.

You have just finished for the day, having destroyed a nest of three dire rats. The remains of at least two humanoids were all over the nest, but you didn't find any valuables among the midden. This has been the rule and not the exception -- these rats are almost always lairing among bones and clothing scraps, but you have yet to find a single copper piece.

As you exit the tunnels that wind beneath the city like a great lattice, the sun is sinking and dusk has settled across the town. Shadows are long and deep, and the smell of supper roasts and soups intermingle with the salt of the sea in the air. You are staying at an inn called the Rouged Crab.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Once again gleefully leaving the sewers, Lucien can't help but once again lament their role in this most unbecoming job. "Matthew how did we come to this? Stuck in this salty city and forced to slink about the sewers like glorified exterminators hunting pests. It wouldn't be so bad if this job payed well, or was prestigious in some way. Hell, I would not complain a bit if at least I could hone my skill, but rats aren't even a challenge. They just run blindly into my blades like livestock to the slaughter." Lucien stomps, both to emphasize his frustration and in an attempt to knock the muck off his boots.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

Matthew takes a deep, appreciative breath of the salty air as soon as he's clear of the sewer; this port is a car cry from his homeland but ocean air is ocean air and any breeze that has swept over the open sea is certainly a far cry from a literal cesspool.

"At least you get to keep your weapons after you finish a job. I'm always down a few drops after a one of these little 'character building' sessions and I'd rather run dry than take anything with me once I've been down there. Not to mention how easy you have it; wading might not be pleasant, but at least you never have to dog-paddle through the stuff. when you slip." Matthew drops his rapier and it disperses into little rivulets of maroon ichor, the rich color of his blood dirtied by something that was hopefully left back in the sewers. His gaze trails up away from the vanishing blood and stops at his own filthy shoes and he is momentarily saddened by how quickly he adjusted to all of this.

"Remember back when I would race down to the surf and go for a dive every day, even when we didn't spend fhalf the day's light down there wrestling rats? I miss that me. That me was great." He sighs. "I'm clean enough to get by with a quick rinse I think. Lets head back and try to forget about all the fun we'll be having tomorrow; I think I have enough coin to cover a few extra drinks and that should go a long way towards getting good sleep tonight."

[NotScaryBats]

The two stroll through the darkening streets with clean water to wash with and ale to drink on their minds. The Rouged Crab is about seven blocks from the small opening you crawled out from, and you are about halfway there when a sense of unease and wrongness comes over you. Looking around, you see no one in the streets even with your superior vision.

A tang of decay intermingles with the pleasant smells of the surface, as a scream pierces the night. It sounds like it is coming from the house to your left. The door bursts open, and a young man stumbles out onto the streets. Clutching a shoulder that is bleeding badly, he moves like his limbs are made of ice. He has sandy brown hair cut short and features that humans find attractive. There is no light coming from the house he just left, it looks dead and quiet in there.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Smelling the decay with his keen elven senses, Lucien first thinks that the wind has shifted and he is smelling both himself and his companion and was about to suggest they hurry along to clean themselves when the man bursts onto the street. Lucien looks from the man to the house and back again before turning to Matthew with an eyebrow raised clearly asking, "Should we step in or just keep walking?"

[Doxkid]

Matthew

"He needs help. I'm sure a rat just got the jump on him, but we can't leave him to deal with this alone; there are already too many piles of bones down in these sewers for my taste."

Matthew flicks his wrist and blood flies from his arm, its shape quickly warping and twisting and expanding until it has formed a rapier. He sweeps out his unoccupied hand and blood splatters at the civilian's doorstep; one of his favorite tricks for keeping track of entrances and exits that might be compromised.

"At least this time we don't have to walk through anything unpleasant. Shall we?" Matthew leads the way stepping through the smear of blood that seems to be growing in depth and into the darkness, his rapier raised and at the ready.

-----
Matthew expends two hit points to create a Bloodborne Rapier. He follows this up by tossing down a Blood Trap at the house's entrance at the cost of another two hit points; any creature of tiny size or larger that disturbs the puddle alerts him and he may, as a free action, harden the blood to trap that creature.

He'll then lead the way into the house.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Sighing at the prospect of more rat slaying, Lucien throws up his hands in defeat which causes one of the greatswords on his back and the longsword on his hip to spring from their sheathes. He follows behind the halfling, patting the disheveled man on his uninjured shoulder as he passes saying, "There there, no need to soil yourself. I have already seen far to much of that for one day."

Lucien Telekinetically Wields a greatsword and a longsword. He has the Greatsword floating 5' ahead as he walks and the long sword 5' behind with him in the middle.

[NotScaryBats]

The inside of the house is dark and quiet. The two look around and see a table with two chairs -- one of which is overturned. A small kitchen area occupies one corner. A door leads deeper into the house, ajar. As the Falcons navigate the darkened room, from the door bursts a woman dressed in a torn white blouse and blue skirt. She carries the tangy scent of decay, and her glittering black eyes reflect what little light spills in from the street. With remarkable alacrity, she covers the distance from the door to Matthew, slashing at him with clawed hands and then using the momentum of her charge to bite into his neck. The halfling avoids one claw, but the other lacerates his arm. The surprise bite to the neck nearly hits Matthew's throat, causing serious damage, but he turns in time to negate some of the blow.

The woman won initiative.
She charges, and uses the Pounce (Ex) to perform a full attack claw/claw/bite routine.
You get hit by one claw for 2 damage, please make a DC 12 Fortitude save.
She threatens a critical hit with her bite, but fails to confirm it. You take 4 damage, and please make another DC 12 Fort save.

It is now your turn. (Her stench is not extraordinary, so there is no save for it)

[bcool999]

Lucien

Catching a whiff of the women as she charges at his friend, Lucien moves to aid the halfling. "Seems like we have stumbled on more than a mere domestic dispute doesn't it?" Lucien says as he sends his blades spinning into the decayed attacker.

Move: Move to be within 10ft. of the woman. Simultaneously maneuver both blades to threaten her.
Standard: Attack with both weapons (as per Telekinetic Wield).
Greatsword: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Longsword: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]

[NotScaryBats]

The woman dodges the longsword, but that puts her directly in the path of the greatsword. She is badly cut, and stinking black blood sprays across the room.

You hit and bloody her.

[Doxkid]

Fortitude save #1: [roll0]
Fortitude save #2: [roll1]

Free response to attack: Matthew uses the blood from his own injury as a sacrifice to create a Blood Trap under his own feet.

[Doxkid]

"Says the bachelor. I'm certain this is business as usual; the gentleman outside probably failed to comment on her new hairstyle. Which, by the way, is absolutely stunning, ma'am. It really brings out the color in your lips." Matthew points a finger at the wound left by Lucien's sword and flicks it towards himself. "Wait, nevermind. That's just my blood. I'll be having that back thank you very much."

Matthew gives the woman a quick poke with his rapier and then takes a step back, positioning himself so that the Bloody Trap lies between himself and the foul woman. "Well? Come get another taste, milady; I'm ready for round two."

-----
Free action->Matthew hits the woman with Collect Blood targeting the wounds left by Lucien. This deals 2d6 nonlethal damage to valid targets and the woman must make a fortitude save DC 16 or take 1 point of constitution damage.

Attack Action->Matthew attacks with his Bloodborne rapier. As a BloodBorne weapon it treats him as if he possesses Weapon Finesse.
Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]

Move action-> Matthew takes a 5 foot step that positions the Blood Trap he just created between himself and the woman. Should she cross over it he will trigger the trap and she will need to make a reflex save DC 17 to become immobilized for one round.

[NotScaryBats]

Matthew may be surprised to find that the cold black blood oozing from the woman's wound is unresponsive to his techniques -- he immediately realizes that she is undead. His rapier strikes with precision, if not strength, and nicks a minor wound in her arm.

The halfling's taunts are successful, and the woman moves forward and flurries with her claws and fangs again. Though her claws miss him, her bite once again strikes with incredible force and precision. This time, Matthew takes the full brunt of the woman's vicelike jaws.

Of course, this puts her right where Matthew wanted her, and he hardens the sticky blood trap beneath her feet, rooting her in place.


She 5 foot steps to keep up with Matthew and Full Attacks.
Hooooly crap, she crit again with her bite, but this time confirmed, for 9 total damage (unless you're immune...? I don't think you are).

Make another DC 12 F save

I don't know what is meant by immobilized, since that isn't a condition on the srd, but I imagine it means 'can't move' like it would in 4e D&D. If I were to offer advice to the class-maker, I'd say the Trap should *probably* entangle instead.

Let me know if you agree/disagree with that ruling. (she failed the save hardcore, btw)

It is now your turns.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Seeing the woman trapped in Matthew's trap, Lucien circles around behind her focusing his attacks on keeping her off balance. "You may wish to stop taunting her my friend. She seems ever so keen to give you those love bites, and even you run out of blood eventually." Lucien says concerned at the damage he sees those bites leaving on his friend.

Move: Move into flanking with Matthew (I don't need to be adjacent to her I just need to physically be on the other side of her from him)
Standard: Attack with greatsword and longsword.
Greatsword: [roll0] (+2 for flanking added) Damage: [roll1]
Longsword: [roll2] (+2 for flanking added) Damage: [roll3]

[Doxkid]

Fortitude save: [roll0]
Free action: Another Bloody Trap, this one positioned under Lucien. This will not be triggered unless Lucien needs to move away from the fight and the woman attempts to pursue him.

[Doxkid]

Matthew
Matthew stumbles out of the woman's reach clutching the fresh wound. "Well one of us has to get bitten and I certainly have more blood to lose than you do. Give me a while longer to perfect my healing techniques and then you can get eaten by all manner of horrible creatures while I tear them to shreds." Blood-loss always seems to make him a bit snappy.

As he says this beads of blood race through the air to the bite and his injury starts to heal. The rapier in Matthew's right hand writhes and twists, reforming into a long red whip which he uses to strike at the undead woman.

-----
Non-action-> The Bloody Traps (and the fact that Matthew has dropped down to less than half health) trigger Crimson Revelry, so Matthew heals one point of damage. This increases his health from 5/24 to 6/24.

Free action-> 5 foot step away from the entangled Undead woman.
Free action-> Knowledge religion check to try to remember more about the type of undead woman might be. [roll0]

Move action-> Transform Matthew's Bloodborne Weapon into a Whip. As a Bloodborne weapon it only deals Lethal damage (which should hopefuly bypass the awkwardness of whips only doing nonlethal damage AND failing to injure opponents based on that target's AC)

Attack Action-> Matthew attacks the undead woman yet again.
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[NotScaryBats]

Lucien's precise longsword cuts another weeping black slash on the woman's torso. The stinking blood is everywhere, and she balefully glares at the elf. Matthew whips at her, but the bloody weapon flicks harmlessly off her body. It is now that he puts the pieces together and feels confident that the two Falcons are facing off with a ghoul, a flesheating undead creature born of ghoul fever or dark magic, whose claws and bites can paralyze the living. This particular specimen is tougher than the average ghoul, but cannot be classified as a ghast because her stench is not overpowering.

Clearly on her last legs, the woman breaks free of the scabbed over blood trap beneath her, and advances on the elf with the swords. She cautiously approaches him, uses her claws to knock him off balance, and bites deeply into his body.

The blood trap ends because it lasts 1 round, right?
Lucien hits and very nearly kills her with the sword.
Matthew misses with the whip. We can probably assume it is a whip dagger, which has no compunctions about AC or nonlethal damage. I like whip daggers.
The woman 5 foot steps towards Lucien, then Full Attacks, missing with her claws but hitting with the bite for 8 damage.
Mysteriously, Lucien is immune to the ghoul's paralysis.

It is now your turn. She is adj to Lucien and 10 feet are between her and Matthew.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Lucien grunts as the woman escapes from the trap and attacks him. Thoroughly disgusted that this... creature would dare mar his flesh, Lucien decides to bring an end to this fight, immediately if possible.

Free action: Drop my pack so as to lower encumbrance.
Move: If there is room for it I will attempt to tumble back 10ft. from the lady. Tumble: [roll0]
Standard: Attack.
Greatsword: [roll1] (+2 for flanking added) Damage: [roll2]
Longsword: [roll3] (+2 for flanking added) Damage: [roll4]

[Doxkid]

Matthew

Matthew allows more blood to flow into his wounds and then he step back into the fight, a quip on his tongue and a bloody scythe in his hands. Whips are so last season anyway.

"What ghastly manners! Going after my friend like I'm not even here...what, am I not juicy enough for you?" He stands ready to finish the fight one way or the other once Lucien and the ghoul make their moves.

-----Actions-----
Nonactions: Crimson Revelry restores another 1 HP, bringing Matthew up to 7/24 from 6/24.

Move action: Matthew moves to flank the ghoul.

Standard: Matthew transforms his Bloodborne weapon into a Scythe. He now Threatens squares around him properly so the lank should be valid once again.

[NotScaryBats]

Matthew distracts the ghoul enough with his impressive bloody scythe that Lucien is able to maneuver his flying swords into a coup de grace. The ghoul is dispatched with a final sword swing, and falls to the ground with a hiss.

The room has blood spatters all over it from the three combatants. The sun has sunk beneath the horizon, and it is very dark.

[bcool999]

Lucien

"Well that's that." Lucien says, wiping some of the gore from his blades onto the woman before he sheathes them. "Should we go out and check on the man? Maybe take him to a healer?" Lucien touches the tender skin around where the woman's claws and teeth dug into him, "Maybe we should see one as well..."

[Doxkid]

Matthew

"A day full of killing living vermin and a night of destroying undead ones. Lovely." Blood still flocks flocks steadily to Matthew's wounds; his the first bite has been erased for the most part and the second bite now displays naught but torn flesh. With his scythe ready he tries his best to examine the ghoul to determine whether she is definitely dead again, as it would be both annoying and embarrassing for her to sneak off later.

When he is satisfied sh wont be getting up again he huffs and times some time to grumble to himself. "We will need to inform them about this...there's a compromised patient outside...one active ghoul means there are dozens around that hide better..." the little man kneads his brow, thinking over the many possibilities and actions they need to take and problems that might arise.

"There are certainly ten or twenty more ghouls lurking somewhere around here...but you're right Lucien. We should get that civilian to a healer immediately. Then we can inform Morninglord -we might get a bonus for bringing down a real threat for once- and then, depending on what he thinks we should do we can either follow his orders and inform the guards or we can ignore his orders and inform the guards. Just...give me a few seconds. I'd like as much of my blood back in my veins as possible."

-----
Free-> Matthew heals another 1 point thanks to Crimson Revelry, bringing to 7/24. If we wait a about half a minute he'll heal up to half and be ready to roll.

Once that'd done he'll head outside to check on the injured civilian.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Nodding at his friend's advice, Lucien heads toward the front door and stands watch, curious as to how the man was holding up to his injuries.

[NotScaryBats]

After taking a moment to rest, the two Falcons leave the darkened house and check on the injured man. His shoulder is bleeding badly, but he has not quite fallen into unconsciousness yet. When you come out drenched in blood, he looks up groggily and asks, "Have you brought her to her senses...?"

[bcool999]

Lucien

Wondering if the man knew what the woman had become, Lucien ponders a response. "I suppose you could say that... either way, we need to get you to a healer. I suppose now would be the time for introductions. I am Lucien and this is Matthew of Shaester's Falcons, at your service." Lucien finishes with a courtly bow which clashes with his injured and blood covered appearance.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

Matthew struggles to find the correct words to neither contradict his partner nor deprive the injured civilian of the truth.

"Sir...your wife was suffering from a horrible affliction: An infection of dark magic and foul energies reserved for creatures not meant to roam this land. We have done all we can to help her but, in her madness, it is possible she spread the same sickness to you. You need proper treatment from a healer immediately; this illness is far beyond my skills and you could harm others if left untreated."

[NotScaryBats]

It seems to slowly dawn on the man what has happened as he blearily looks at the blood on your clothes. "B-but Jenni would never... When... How could this have happened?" he begins to sob. You know that the healer is about two blocks past the Crab, and the man allows you to help him to his feet and shepherd him across the town.

Behind the wooden door of the back of the church, the priestess who runs the place lives. You cannot remember her name, but have seen her from time to time. The man is still crying softly as you approach the place, about twenty minutes past dusk.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Knowing he would be no use uplifting the man's spirits, Lucien takes on the roll of babysitting the man as Matthew leads the way. When they arrive at the church, Lucien enters with the man and deposits him in an unoccupied church pew and motions for Matthew to fetch the priestess and explain the situation while he watches over the man. I am still not entirely sure how long this... disease takes to run it's course. Best have someone around to put the man down at the first sign of rot.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

Matthew grimaces, but nod in agreement all the same.

"It should take much longer than a single day, but the precaution is a logical one; we do not now if he has also been touched by dark magic, or if they were both infected some time ago and only sh has fallen, or..." Matthew shakes his head and marches off to retrieve the priestess, his scythe propped against his right shoulder and the blade pointing behind his back.

When he reaches He pounds the door with the full heft of his scythe. "Quickly! We need a healer! The longer you take the more people you put at risk!"

[NotScaryBats]

The door opens to reveal a plump halfling woman about thirty years old or so, dressed in a red blouse and black skirt. She eyes you blearily and sways slightly. Her arms hang loosely by her sides and one hand clutches an amber colored bottle with a very small amount of liquid sloshing about in it. "Arright, arright, where'sh the..." she trails off, eying Matthew appreciatively. She takes little note of his scythe.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

"Thank you ma'am! I have heard of your skills and knew this would be the best place to bring the patient." Matthew grabs the woman's unoccupied hand and insistently, but gently, backtracks to the patient. He stops speaking only to draw breath as he leads her to their shared patient and, although he is constantly gesticulating with his scythe to emphasize points, he minds the blade at all times.

"The subject was attacked by a ghoul at dusk this evening; I believe we engaged the ghoul immediately after his attack but it is possible that we only heard the last of his creams as he fended it off so it is difficult to say how long he has been exposed to its influence. While the ghoul itself has been neutralized her progenitor, be it another ghoul or a ghast or a dark mage, is still at large. We cannot currently confirm that the man himself had no hand in the events of this evening.

At any rate the subject has definitely been exposed to the ghouls bite and it is possible he has been infected. Because I have never personally seen a case of such an infection I am not confident that I would be able to confirm the status of his health one way or the other and I could not possibly leaving an infected person at large. As such we have sought out your aid with all possible haste. My companion, Lucien, is currently supervising the subject and we will both stand by while you do your work to ensure your safety. Rest assured that we would never allow any harm to come to a lady such as yourself, doubly so because of your generosity in aiding in infirm and triply so because of your excellent looks.

While your appearance and abilities are very much welcome after the day I have had I must offer a single suggestion: While stronger drinks do have a certain charm," here he eyes the bottle longing, "little can compare to a glass of wine and pleasant company. Perhaps..."

His train of though is derailed as soon as Lucien and the bite-victim come int sight. "Here we are. Right this way ma'am."

[NotScaryBats]

The woman seems to follow along as Matthew speaks despite his quick cadence. She doesn't say anything, but does follow along with slow uncertain steps. When the two halflings draw up upon Lucien and Thomas, the priestess recognizes the man at once and a bit more of her drunken haze washes away. "Jenni did thish to you?" she asks quietly, fumbling around her neck for something.

"Sister Carla," the man wheezes, clearly in excruciating pain, "y-you're a sight for... sore..."

"Ssshhhsh," Carla tries to shush the man but it comes out sloppily. Having not found what she needed around her neck the halfling cleric whispers something about Yondalla and snaps her fingers twice, then pulls a wooden holy symbol from her pocket. She rubs it with her thumb as she looks at Thomas's bite wound.

Gently removing the human's hand from the wound, it is revealed to be black and purple, with the appearance of rot. The blood around it has turned dark and nearly black, and the human's veins are visible through the skin as Carla peels back some of his shirt. "Itsh already shtarted..." she intones softly, "Thish... can't be happening."

Before your eyes, Thomas breaks into a fever in fast motion. Sweat beads on his head and neck and trickles down his face in glistening rivulets. He groans -- are human's teeth normally so sharp? "It'sh too fast!" Carla cries, "It should take days to get to thish point!"

It has now been two minutes since Carla began treating Thomas, and the human's eyes roll back into his head as he falls unconscious, a trickle of bloody foam on the corners of his mouth. The halfling looks up wide-eyed at the two of you, her hands trembling. "We need to get out of here," she says soberly.

[bcool999]

Lucien

As the treatment draws on and the halfling looks more and more distressed, Lucien takes an educated guess at the prognosis. Sending a knowing glance and a nod Matthew's way, Lucien pulls his blades from their sheaths and sends them hovering over the unconscious form on the church pew, while simultaneously pulling Sister Carla back and behind him. "You may want to move back to avoid the blood..." Lucien says as both blades plunge down at the dieing man.

I don't even want to give this guy a chance at combat while at half health. If he is prone he is at -4 to AC if he is Helpless (unconscious) then that is another -4 to AC.
Move action: Draw a Greatsword and my longsword while drawing the sister away.
Standard action: Attempt to end combat before it begins.
Greatsword: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Longsword: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]

[NotScaryBats]

Perhaps to the Falcons' surprise, the halfling cleric nods in agreement as the telekinetic elf executes the dying man. His eyes snap open glittering and black as the killing blow is dealt, staying open and glaring hatefully at the elf even in death.

Carla says, "We needs to go right now, don't trusht anyone in thish town -- it'sh rotten to th' core. When they find out Jenni's blown their cover, they'll come for you, and when they find out you've come to me, they'll come for me." Her speech is still a bit slurred, but has grown high-pitched and desperate. It looks like she's about ready to rub a hole in her wooden holy symbol.

[Doxkid]

Matthew
“Whether there are hundreds or even thousands of these foul creatures here we still need to help who we can. We can…” Matthew looks around the room as if the solution will spring out from behind a pew. “We need to inform…” Every individual he can think of would be useless here. Except…

“You. We need to get you out of here. You and as many noncombatants as we can find. If we can gather other pest exterminators – or even warriors , though I do not have high hopes- all the better, but that is secondary to getting the noncombatants out. Civilians need help. Now. Every one of them we fail to get out of here is another ghoul that will be on our heals in a few days, and I do not know how long or how far we can flee.

Lucien, do you know where anyone like us is staying? Anyone that knows how to handle a sword, or with useful skills, or any abilities we can use here? Hopefully more skilled than the handful of people at the Rouged Crab, though you know the saying about devils and flies…

And Miss Carla, do you know of other people we could trust to help rally the populace quickly and quietly? Even the devout would be acceptable here, but they should be a last resort.” It takes Matthew a second to realize that he is still talking to a priestess. “… no offence meant. Grab what you can from your room, quickly please. We need to be out of here ten minutes ago.”

[bcool999]

Lucien

Cleaning and sheathing his blades, Lucien shakes his head at his companions goals. "We don't have time for a widespread evacuation. If there really are so many ghouls about in Freeport we will surely be noticed and attacked, losing many. Those who escape the town will be cut down on the road since large groups move slowly." Laying a hand on his friends shoulder, he continues, "We are two injured Falcons and night is falling. We need to focus on leaving quickly and quietly, and make all haste to Ironwall to report this. We will take the Sister with us since one more will not hamper us greatly, and her voice will be needed when we report this to Shaester."

Shifting his attention back to the dead man on the pew he says, "The other townsfolk will need to endure until aid can be sent. If we are lucky, there will be no reprisals on them as we are hunted, but if we tried to save them all an attack on them would be certain..."

[NotScaryBats]

Which one of you is in possession of your group's Sending Stone? I recall I did not tell you you had one in your possession, but it is linked with one at the base of the Falcons, and now would be a prime time to utilize it and request backup.

[Doxkid]

Lets say Lucien has it. Also, can it be assumed that we are carrying all of our possessions?

[NotScaryBats]

You can be carrying them if you want to be.

The Sending Stone can, once per day, use sending as the spell to communicate with the possessor of the other stone. The Falcons have a rotating watchperson operate the stones to relay information that you can contact if you wish to.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

"So we are to just cut our losses and run for our lives? Flee with our tails between our legs, holding hope for those who were not lucky enough to be swept into our path and ferried to safety? The 'Challenge to our abilities' we both wished to experience is merely us seeing if we can outrun the elderly and the ailing, so that they can sate the hunger of these creatures in our stead?!"

Matthew collapses into a seat with his eyes closed and his face twisted into a grimace. "...you are right. Your military tactics are as sounds as ever. If I held just a little more power then perhaps I could bear asking you to risk your life as I would risk mine. Another few weeks of practice, another month alongside priests and healers, and maybe I would be good enough. I'm not. And I would not allow my mistake to cost us your life. Mine, perhaps, but not yours brother Lucien. If there is anything you think we can do for them I will follow your will; my judgement is too clouded for me to guide us this time."

He directs the staff of the scythe at Carla. "It seems we are leaving. We will escort you to your room, ma'am. Once you're ready we must depart immediately." Matthew twirls the scythe as he stands, transforming it into a Whip once again. He then remembers the injures both he and Lucien suffered. "Wait. Clara, we were injured as well; could you please examine us? Our bodies are strong - too strong for the ghoul's sickness to corrupt us, I think- but if I am to fall to this I would like to take as many ghouls with me as possible."

-----
Swaps from Scythe to Whip-Dagger.

[NotScaryBats]

"Y-yes, of course!" Carla says quietly. She continues to rub her holy symbol with her thumb as she channels some positive energy into your wounds.

She casts Cure Light Wounds on each of you once, healing Matthew for 9 and Lucien for 8.

The halfling woman stumbles shakily back to her room and in about three minutes' time she returns to the door wearing studded leather armor and holding a backpack. "Okay, let's run for our lives."

[bcool999]

Lucien

He smiles at his friend after hearing his words, "Thank you my friend, I would have been sorely tempted to choose a glorious last stand rather than live to fight and win another day had you refused to come along." As the Sister's healing magic washes over him, Lucien feels much more confident in his ability to face the trials ahead, and he pulls out the duo's lifeline to the Falcons, the Sending Stone.

Lucien composes his thoughts, trying to get out the most information in as little words as possible, and then addresses the stone, Emergency Report: Fast acting Ghoul Fever discovered in Freeport. Unknown number infected, two confirmed deaths, Lucien and Matthew retreating to Ironwall. Requesting assistance and orders.

That done, he awaits the reply, and prepares for a very harrowing night.

25 words exactly.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

Matthew returns a slightly sadder smile to his friend and longtime companion, but offers no words of comfort. The wait for Clara's is a silent one and her return is marked with little more than an approving nod. Finally he speaks. "No response yet? That's fine. We will reconcile the difference between our actions and our orders once those orders have arrived." Matthew allows no time for anyone to ask about his unusually brief speech; he leads the group to the door and draws it open with his Bloodborne weapon taking the form of a scythe yet again.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Stowing away the stone and seeing the halfling Sister return with her pack, Lucien nods toward Matthew, "Lead the way, I will take up rearguard." Turning to the Sister he continues, "Stay between me and Matthew. If we are attacked, do your best to not get hurt, but do not run off, we may be unable to chase after you. If we get separated, the meeting point will be the campgrounds about half-way between Freepoint and Ironwall... since that is likely where our legs will give out anyway."

Gleaned a bit of knowledge from the other IC thread that my character should know (how else did he get to Freeport from Ironwall?). Which is why I mentioned the campgrounds.

[NotScaryBats]

The message comes back through the stone, but the speaker is not as composed and professional as usual.

"Negative. Ironwall under coordinated wight invasion. All major settlements similar. Rendezvous with local Falcons at campsite on main road ASAP. Regroup and eliminate Fairport ringleader."

The enormity of the situation weighs heavily upon you all as a scroll appears through the unique discipline of the Sending Stone operator. Looking at the smooth vellum, you discover a magic scroll with Consecrate, Mass Lesser Vigor, and Remove Disease.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Grimly, Lucien stores the scrolls given in his pack, or divides them out if the others wish. "Well Matthew, looks like we will be returning to fight quicker than expected, but the plan is the same. Make it to the campsite, regroup with reinforcements and then take it from there." He looks to Sister Carla and Matthew, gauging their resolve, before ushering them out of the church and toward the campsite. "Whatever happens, know that I have your backs..."

Sense Motive: [roll0]
To see if Matthew and Carla (Mostly Sister Carla) are okay after hearing the news.

[Doxkid]

Matthew

The message hits the halfling gentleman so hard he stumbles. If not for all the sewer diving he certainly would have tripped or run into something in his moment of weakness; all that 'character building' seems to already be paying off.

"By the warmth within...I thought there might be a powerful necromancer about, but Wights?" The news shakes him, but he is already trying to a possible answer to this problem.

"Unlike ghouls a wight can command those who they have slain: One begets two and commands those two to beget four, those four beget eight and command those eight to beget sixteen, and the first is in control of all of those below him. A single necromancer of little talent could command a thousand wights for as long as it can keep that first wight safe and under control.

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link though and there are many, many weak links in such a chain. Destroy the first wight and all those below it lose their allegiance to the necromancer. Vanquish the second generation and the third generation becomes free. It wont stop their rampage but it will divide the loyalties of their ranks, perhaps even trapping a living necromancers within an army of hungry undead." Now that there are signs of him being useful to others again Matthew sounds better.

"We need to know more. Much, much more. Trust that I will protect the both of you as we journey into this darkness."

Matthew is taking the fastest route out of the city. Once outside he'll change course to head up to camp.
-----
Quick question: Matthew can make a Bloodborne Longbow. Can he also make arrows? If he gains proficiency with a thrown weapon can he make those? If he makes projectiles, be they arrows or crossbow bolts, what numbers would he make them in?

The text for the ability states that a bloodborne weapon that leaves his had will become an inert splash of blood.

[NotScaryBats]

Lucien feels confident in Sister Carla's morale.

Matthew leads the trio through the night-darkened streets. It is quiet and cold, and there isn't a soul to be seen. The eerie night opens up before you as you slip past the outer houses of the city.

Carla seems to have something to say, but isn't comfortable speaking until you put miles between the city and yourselves.

Well, I don't really care about tracking ammunition, so it is fine with me for you to fire blood arrows or throw blood tomahawks. Naturally, you can't make a weapon and pass it off to someone else, or other such potential abuses. It kinda makes verisimilitude weird, like, if you had to jam a door open with your blood dagger, you couldn't walk away from it, but you can throw a blood dagger but that doesn't bother me as long as you're cool with it.

[Doxkid]

Matthew has been stealing a lot of Lucien's military specialization so I'll hold my post until tonight; bcool and I are probably thinking along the same lines anyway.
------
Alright, cool. I see it being a matter of 'how much can you get done while the weapon dissolves' where projectiles are 'good enough to hurt' but something left to support weight would quickly get squished as its already limited integrity is tested and found insufficient.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Now that they have left the outlying houses behind, Lucien is, if possible, more alert for attack. "Ironwall will need to watch out for itself Matthew, though I will admit that I would've enjoyed seeing Shaester out from behind her desk, we have our own problems to deal with. Keep your guards up... if they wanted to keep our deaths quiet they would wait until we were out of town..." He keeps walking, scanning about for ambush.

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

I think I will wait up on questioning Carla until we get to the campsite, but I do plan on questioning her.

[NotScaryBats]

Lucien has darkvision 60', right?
Carla and Matthew have normal vision.
The moon is waning crescent, and natural light is practically nonexistent.
Are you holding torches, lanterns, or the like?

[bcool999]

Nope, Lucien has normal elven Low-Light vision I was hoping it would be enough since low-light vision specifies starlight alongside moonlight and torchlight as sources of shadowing illumination.

[NotScaryBats]

oh so the snow elf is just a con for cha kinda thing. For some reason i thought it gave you Darkvision.
Yes, the moon is small, but it is enough for your lowlight vision to negate the spot penalties. It was hard to find rules for nightime vision that isn't dungeon-related lol

[Doxkid]

Matthew

"True, and they have no need for rest. Lucien, do you think they could directly outpace us without you detecting them? If we cannot put some distance between us and any pursuers we shouldn't stop until we reach the meeting point." It takes him about half a mile to remember that Clara might not have the same endurance he has and she certainly doesn't share the advantage of long legs with Lucien.

"If need be we could establish a small camp, but it would cost much of my power to establish a safe zone; even if I do not run dry doing so every drop counts..."

Matthew slows to a slightly once the city is out of sight, but does not stop pushing the rest of the group to maintain their pace for quite some time. That coupled with the unfortunate shortness of his halfling legs means determined ghouls could be dead on the group's heels long before dawn.

-----
Matthew leads the group in fullround Hustling* for as long as he thinks they can manage. ?Heal check? to see how long he thinks the others can maintain the hustle without being at risk of passing out from nonlethal damage compared to how long he could do it (about 4 hours straight without consequence, 5 hours if he is allowed to pass out): [roll0]

Lucien doesnt actually have to hustle consistently since his double-move speed is 60/round and his normal speed is 30/round, while the Halfling hustle is 40/round; Lucien basically needs to hustle every third round while the halflings instead maintain a hustle every round. I'm not sure what that means by RAW, but I would guess that he can maintain this pace a significant amount longer than normally possible (~1.67 the normal amount, if not more because he is basically resting 2 rounds and that might negate jogging 1).

*Technically speaking 'Hustle' in D&D can mean the normal movement possible in a round as a move action as well as Double Move. I'm using it to mean Double Move and will consistently do so, but I wanted to make sure what I meant was understood.

[NotScaryBats]

It is about 15 miles to the campground, and the halflings go as fast as their little legs will take them. Carla is clearly not used to this level of physical exertion, but she does her best to persevere. After two hours, the halflings are both fatigued, but the adrenaline in their veins sustains them. After two more hours, everyone is tired and covered in a cold sweat, but the campsite comes into view.

Built just off the side of the road, the site has been used by many travelers before you. A simple lean-to of natural rock and shaped earth forms a twenty foot deep 'room' open to the air on the side facing away from the road. It certainly isn't the most defensible location in the world. Some game trails and small paths branch out from the campsite, leading to clearings in the lightly wooded area and a small spring with clear, fresh water about five minute's travel from the lean-to.

You have all three been traveling for four hours. Carla and Matthew take 1 + 2 + 4 = 7 nonlethal damage from the constant hustle and are fatigued. Lucien, we'll say, has no nonlethal and isn't fatigued (1 hour of hustling). Carla is 'bloodied' you can tell (she has <14 total hp, but >7).

It appears that you have beat your comrades here, for the campsite is silent and still.

[bcool999]

Lucien

Seeing the campsite, Lucien is relieved. The other two were winded, and it was only Matthew's inhuman constitution that kept him from the sorry state the Sister found herself in. Pulling his waterskin out, Lucien offers what's left to the sister before looking about the campsite. "It's too open for my tastes... but when the others make it here hopefully we will have the numbers to defend it for the night at least. We definitely aren't going to mount a counter-attack in the dark where they have the advantage." Lucien ponders for a moment then asks Matthew, "Do undead see well in the dark? If they are like orcs then we might as well light a campfire since they will see us anyway if they come look. Also I hope it's true what you said about ghouls not being beholden to a master. If that is the case, we may have gotten lucky and they hadn't solidified a command and are spreading randomly, which could mean that they have not noticed our absence... yet."

Patrolling the perimeter of the campsite, more out of habit than thought, Lucien continues, "Best not to count on luck to keep you alive though. I will take watch until the reinforcements show up. I only need to meditate for a few hours while you need a good nights rest for tomorrow."

Lucien is claiming first watch until the others show up.

[NotScaryBats]

Sister Carla puffs out a thanks and accepts the waterskin gratefully. "I don't know if these are normal ghouls, because I've never heard of the Fever working this fast," she offers. "you two both had bite marks -- are ya feelin' ... alright?" the halfling cleric seems to have just now come to this realization and she bites her lip pensively.

Would you both please make Fortitude saves?

[Doxkid]

[roll0]. Lets see if I can squeeze a proper post in during my lunch break.

[bcool999]

[roll0] my weakest save... we meet again.

[NotScaryBats]

Matthew suffers 2 Con and 3 Dex damage and begins to feel hot to the touch.

An hour passes and Sister Carla gratefully takes the time to rest. The moon is still high in the sky, when you see a group of four medium sized humanoid travelers approaching your campsite. They appear to notice you at about the same time as you notice them.

We're going to move over to this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?366562-Shaester-s-Falcons-IC&p=18222066#post18222066)