The Necromancer's Pact VIII: The Rising Tide

[Matticus]

Grynde

He looks up from his latest snowy faceplant area.
What's all the ruckus?
Suddenly realising that half a dozen large bears with beaks are heading towards them, he jumps to his feet, draws his shortswords from his back, and without even slight hesitation begins towards the beasts, ready to fight them all.

OOC: No worries, kuja.girl, the character you don't like'll help Tiriel.

[roll0]

[Dr._Bob]

In an eyeblink, several of you break cover and begin peppering the owlbears with arrows. The creatures open their beaks, hissing, and begin loping towards your position.

Faluil slaps his horse, sending it galloping back the way you came.

None of the other Rashemi are visible. The Rashemi captain ignores Tanner's question, his eyes narrowed with anger.

Rising, he turns, sending snow flying, and makes a hand gesture towards the rear, in the direction of the fleeing horse.

Nothing happens for a few seconds as the horse flees, then suddenly two Rashemi explode from beneath the surface of the snow. Their battleaxes flash in the sunlight as one takes the horse's legs out and the other administers a coup de grace, severing the horse's head from its body. Hot blood pours out into the snow, steaming.

The Rashemi captain is already in motion, grabbing Tryntha by the elbow, he runs towards the slain horse. He shouts in Rashemi, then translates his own words into Common, "Fall back!"

Obediently, six other Rashemi burst from their hiding places, flanking your position by 100 feet. They too begin to run at full speed away from the owlbears.

[Koji]

Khazrael

These guys are idiots, how can they hope to outrun wild animals?

Khazrael seems to juggle the idea of fighting or staying for a moment. He weaves his hands in a complex pattern, then holds his arms out in front of him and fires a bolt of lightning at the creatures. The electricity gives off a lurid purple light, rather than its old blue-white color.

He seems to change his mind immediately, and moves with the barbarians at inhuman speed. Rather than running, he springs like a grasshopper, clearing abnormal distances with each hop.

((OOC: Lightning bolt:
6d6=20 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1164150), DC 16 for half, then moving 60 feet with the barbarians. If the owlbears are lined up so that more than one can be hit by the 120 foot line, Khazrael will aim for them rather than a single target.))

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil, enraged wood elf

At first, Faluil slaps his forehead with his palm as several of the other warriors start shooting at the owlbears. Then as the Rashemi warriors cut down his horse he feels nothing but anger.

While, as an elf, he would be around several several hundred years old when he died, he still loved his horse. The horse had been with him since he left Myth Drannor for Silverymoon, a good twenty years. Then it had been a colt, but it grew and he loved it as a companion, not just a tool.

At first he aims his bow at the Rashemi warriors responsible...but he takes an instant to think.

No...no...they just want to slow the creatures down...our lives are more important...our lives are more important...but there are so many of us! We could have killed them! Dammit!

He spins back around and launches three quick arrows at the first owlbear that Khazrael launched a lightning bolt at, screaming as he does it.



[roll0]
Reroll because the forums suck sometimes (1d20+9=29) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1164262)
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

Holy crap! Two natural 20s in a row!? Awesome. Like...vindication.

Critical confirmations and damage, if applicable (1d20+9=28, 3d8+3=18, 1d20+9=23, 3d8+3=16) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1164270)

Mmm...high damage and two confirmed criticals. Something is going to die, I'm sure.

[Matticus]

Grynde, bewildered Half-Elf

Where're y'all going? Don't we have beasts to fight??
He looks around, shocked at the Rashemi warriors. WARRIORS? They're little pansy boys!!
Ahh, run!! I'm sure the rest of us aren't scared!! Right?
Dumbfounded, he shrugs his shoulders, looking apprehensively towards the large animals. Shrugging again, he readies his swords, obviously ready to fight, but keeping an eye on the others in case they decide to run.

OOC: Why're they running exactly? Are we the ones getting to fight? Is anyone else going to be doing this 'running'?

[barawn]

Damian

When the sudden action bursts around him, Damian breaks cover and fires towards the nearest beast with his crossbow.

(no range modifier applied because I don't know the range)
[roll=Damage]1d8+2d6 (assuming sneak attack damage applies because he was hidden)

Bursting upwards, he glances around - bizarre confusion shines in his eyes when the Rashemi slaughter Faluil's horse. What the... Yet the Rashemi commander ordering a retreat still causes him to begin falling back. Their actions may be bizarre, but he had no intention of fighting these creatures alone.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin is confused at the actions of the Rashemi warriors. She slings Tiriel's pack on her back and retreats while drawing her loaded crossbow with her right hand and her shortsword with her left. She watches the Rashemi warriors, the owlbears, and everything else around for a clue about what in the Nine Hells is going on.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

Still amidst the summoning spell she was casting, Tryntha immediately obeys the captain's orders as he grabs her elbow. She hurries to try and match his stride as he flees towards the felled horse.

"If these warriors say to flee, I would head their words. These beasts are no natural occurances and the captain will know our chances against them best."

[edit] I doubt the sneak attack would apply as the beasts are something like 100-200 feet away. Ranged sneak only applies with 30'

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Standing up, Tiriel prepares for the coming fight. She sees the elf ranger send his horse away and then watches in shock as the Rashemi slaughter it. What in the hell... oh. Still, I don't like it. It'll only slow them down. One horse isn't enough to satisfy that many monsters. Tiriel hesitates before joining Katrine in a retreat. She takes her pack back from her friend and checks to see if there are any stranglers that need help, making sure that Faluil joins them despite his anger.

[Kawaii Catboy]

Desmona

"Owlbears. Why did it have to be owl bears? And...why are we running away?"

Desmona feels frustrated. Sure, killing the horse was a good way to draw the owlbears' attention, but surely with a Rashemi party and the addition of this group they could have fought with no casualties.

Still, it was probably Faluil's fault for not controlling his horse. Sending it out like that just made it the better decision for the group of owlbears to attack, and it was probably merciful to kill it instantly like the Rashemi did rather than let it be torn apart by the hodge-podged creatures.

Desmona leaps up and falls back with the rest of the group. "Stop shooting and start running!" She barks, turning tail. There was no way she would be fighting without the support of all the group. Right now there was nothing she could do about the matter except try to keep everyone together and alive.

[barawn]

Damian

Right after he starts to turn and run, a brief thought crosses his mind, and he quickly stows his crossbow, turns, and grabs his daggers on the ground.

The beasts closing quickly, he then turns and bolts after the others.

OOC: yeah, that's probably next round, but he wouldn't leave the daggers there. Others might have movement penalties, though, so he might not be that far behind (woo mithral armor).

[Darius]

Tiriel

The mention of a wall of fire does pique her interest though. She hisses at Tanner, "No! No wall of fire or whatever it is. At least not near us. We're surrounded by snow and ice, the last thing we need is a river to wade through.
"If you can cast it near the monsters, go ahead. It will slow them down, otherwise it's just a danger to us."


Tanner Gondsman

Tanner begins to understand Grynde's distaste for members of the group when berated by Tiriel. He nearly answers her with a retort when the darkness envelopes him. She lectures me about wise uses of spells when now none of us can see anything - let alone know where those things are, Tanner thinks to himself.

The Gondsman casts his eagle's splendor then transforms himself in a holy manner and takes flight over the scene - surveying the area.


ooc: Two rounds of action - eagle's splendor then persist the lesser holy transformation and fly straight up out of melee range to get out of the darkness effect.

[roll0]

[Dr._Bob]

The owlbears charge, alternately galloping on four limbs, or rearing up to run for a distance on two.

The arrows seem to have little effect on the creatures, though the lightning bolt can not be ignored. A puff of feathers accompanies a shriek of pain as one of the owlbears is struck.

Most of the party, including Lissa, Achkby, and the others, retreat, albeit relucantly. The shadowy illumination moves with you (or at least with Khazrael), partially concealing your movements from the owlbears. The Rashemi run swiftly, but without panic, staying in a loose skirmish line, stretching north and south. They keep running even as the line passes the steaming corpse of Faluil's horse.

From up above, Tanner can see what is not so obvious from ground level - the Rashemi are heading for a copse of pines surrounding a small rocky knoll - a defensible position. The owlbears, however, are running faster than almost all of the party members. If not distracted, the owlbears would easily run down his fleeing companions.

Only Faluil and Grynde remain where they were standing, facing the owlbear charge. Perhaps both have encountered owlbears before, for neither appears to show much fear of the beasts.

The ground begins to rumble as the six owlbears converge on the elf and half-elf. Both can't help noticing that the creatures are much larger than they expected at first. The smallest one is at least 9 feet tall. The larger ones may be 12 feet or more tall when stretched upright. Perhaps the arctic versions of the owlbear are larger than their cousins from the more temperate climates that Faluil and Grynde are familiar with?

The giant owlbears close the gap with frightening rapidity, their beaks snapping ...

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil, deciding that death isn't worth it

When the creatures get closer, and Faluil sees just how large they are, he realizes that his little stand perhaps isn't quite worth it.

He puts his feelings behind him as he calls up the spell to drastically increase his run speed and bolts, becoming a blur as he retreats.



I cast expeditious reatreat and took off. So this turn I got 60 feet away, next turn I'll be another 240.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael slows his pace just a bit, and unleashes another lightning bolt as he does. Peals of laughter accompany the crack of thunder from his spell. Despite the danger, he seems to be enjoying himself.

((OOC:6d6=25 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1168034) Reflex 16 for half. Khazrael will move as fast as he needs to to keep pace with everyone else, and no faster.))

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

From his lofty height, Tanner gains insight in the Rashemi plan. He looks down at Faluil and Grynde in time to see Faluil take off with accelerated movement akin to some spell. That leaves Grynde. Tanner knows Grynde is going to be a tasty snack for those creatures.

Tanner looks at the owlbears rapidly approaching and gauges their distance. I must give them ALL time! Tanner summons the fires of Gond's forge and swoops down yelling, "Follow the Rashemi - there is a defensible position there!" He extends his hand to Grynde to take as he flies towards the one of the party he least wishes to save.


Tanner creates a wall of fire 140' long and at an angle funneling the owlbears away from the defensible position (and Grynde).

[Naleh]

Retay, retreating "barbarian"?

Retreating only because the others were, Retay moves with the slowest of the group, prepared to fight at any moment. He stares at Grynde's back and wonders why he merely stands there, when the Wolf Lodge members - obviously, he thinks, experts on the creatures here - were falling back.

"Half-elf!" he barks. "We're going! Gods, you can't stand up to them alone."

Realises the closing creatrures are even bigger than he'd thought, Retay flinches, and grips his bow tightly. Oh no, oh no, oh no...

[Matticus]

Grynde

He stares upwards, face blank, not surprised this time to see the man flying. He does not move for a moment, and then he yells out 'FINE!!!', practically throws a sword back into it's sheath, and grasps Tanner's hand.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin glances back at the advancing owlbears before deciding to follow Tanner's advice and keep running. Arrows did not seem to do much against the owlbears in any case, and arrows were all she could use against them.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel watches in dumb amazement as the ranger and the half-elf stand their ground. She decides to keep going however, she barely knows these people and the half-elf at least has proved himself nothing but a pain-in-the-ass.

Then the priest starts flying (again), and the ranger starts running, fast. And it looks like the 2 straglers have been taken care of.

[Dr._Bob]

Khazrael cackles sadistically as he blasts another owlbear.

A wall of flame erupts from the snow, halting the owlbears in their tracks. Tanner swoops down to aid Grynde.

The others continue to retreat and are directed back toward a forested knoll by the Rashemi. Plunging into the trees, you turn and catch your breath as the others join you.

The Rashemi take up positions behind the pines, hidden from view, watching the owlbears closely. Before Khazrael can fire another lightning bolt, one Rashemi grabs his wrist and shakes his head, no.

The bears circle around the wall of flame cautiously. They pad forward until they reach the horse. Sitting on their haunches, they flay the horse's flesh with their claws, their beaks snapping bones like twigs.

The wind continues to favor you, blowing in your direction, preventing the owlbears from scenting your presence.

[Koji]

Khazrael

He feigns a petulant frown at the barbarian, but can't contain his amusement and slowly cracks a grin. As the excitement slacks off a bit, he turns to counting his allies and seeing if any were lost.

[namo]

Adalmar

He has been retreating but at a slower pace than most of the group, because he would turn around and loose arrows every few strides. Most of them missed unfortunately.

Finally reaching the trees, he starts to look for one that he could easily climb.

Once more, I have to retcon : this time, Adalmar - who rarely leaves people behind - tried to help the two fighters... but failed (that way i don't have to roll).

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Maintaining his hold on Grynde and his hold on the spell, Tanner strains with the effort. Once he gets close to the trees, he slows up and flies lower to the ground until he comes to a stop and rests Grynde on the ground. Tanner then locates the unnatural shadows and gauges their source afterwhich he moves near the Rashemi captain where he can be hidden among the trees.

"Shall I end concentration on the wall of fire, or shall we use it to mask our travels along the road?"

[barawn]

Damian

Heading towards the tiny forest, Damian brushes by Tryntha as he slips between the trees. "I'm sorry to say, I'm beginning to seriously dislike your homeland,"
he mentions offhand, chuckling slightly before ducking away.

He then sheathes his two daggers and once again draws his crossbow. Ducking behind a tree, he glances over at the Rashemi and wonders. Do they actually have a plan? Or are they merely winging it? Do they even know what these things are? Loading a second bolt, he glances for a better hiding spot and conceals himself in shadow, waiting for the beasts to come closer.

[roll0]

[Naleh]

Retay, barbarian

Retay ducks behind a tree, peering out at the huge owlbears uncertainly.

He takes the chance to get out his greataxe and lean it against the tree for quick retrieval.

[roll0]

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin's first impulse (which she quickly supresses, remembering being warned against it as a child) is to climb a tree to evade the owlbears' reaching claws. Instead, she takes her chances on the ground, where she hopes increased maneuverability could save her from being torn to pieces by the owlbears. She casts her eyes about for a hiding place...

(OOC: ...and stumbles into plain sight with the sun glinting off every piece of metal on her body... stupid InvisibleCastle natural 1's. :smallyuk:
Hide Check (1d20+22=23) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1170099))

[barawn]

Damian

His eyes flicking out from his hiding spot frequently, Damian catches a glimpse of Katrin slipping into the shadows. His eyes widen as she stumbles awkwardly, clearly catching her foot on a random piece of underbrush... and yet she still neatly vanishes from sight. Perhaps not as cleanly as he did, but clearly, without the unlucky trip, he never even would've seen her disappear.

His voice hushed, he whispers quietly, "Neat trick. Looks like I could learn a few things from you - just not 'how to avoid tripping,' although to be fair, that one gets me, too."

(OOC: psst, natural 1s aren't automatic failures for skill checks, and a 23 certainly isn't "plain sight.")

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Once under the realative safety of the trees Tiriel seeks out the Rashemi captian. In hushed tones she asks, "Do you plan to wait them out, or should we prepare for a battle?"

ooc: well, the question had to be asked.

[Dr._Bob]

The captain speaks softly but with a clipped tone, as though making an effort not to explode in anger.

"We will wait here until the creatures leave. Please ask your companions to refrain from provoking them any further."

He eyes Khazrael with particular venom as he says this.

Meanwhile, the owlbears continue to consume Faluil's horse, hide, flesh, entrails, bone and all. Even at a distance, the sight and sounds that carry across to the copse are mildly nauseating ...

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

Fully understanding the restraint the Captain is exhibiting, and likely only due to her vouching for the others, she pleads with the group in a desperate whisper,

"Please, do as they wish. This is not a fight for us. We must reach Immilmar safely. The greater good is at stake here, and should take precedence over your bloodlust and bravado!"

[Koji]

Khazrael

Though he doesn't understand the captain's language, he understands his meaning, and his grin widens, displaying a mouth full of perfectly white, wickedly sharp teeth.

Tryntha's words prevent him from cracking a joke, and he attempts to hold still--an incredible feat given the magic currently affecting him. Throughout his body, muscles constantly twitch and flex in anticipation, though to observers he appears to be shivering and fidgeting.

I wonder where my shirt went. Every brush with death takes me one step closer to nudity...

edit: Khazrael tries his best to stay put and lay low.

((OOC: Hide1d20+3=16 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1172323)))

[barawn]

Damian

Damian's frustration rises with Tryntha's words, though from his hiding spot his expression is hidden to the others. Bloodlust? Bravado? Gee, here I thought I was just trying to survive...

His grip tightens on the crossbow, peering out from his place of concealment. I hope it is out of our safety they're keeping us from these creatures. If it's for some silly Rashemi tradition, I'm going to be very angry.

[Matticus]

Grynde.

He squats down, hiding as best he can from the owlbears.
Hide Check (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1172241)
'Bloodlust and bravado'? Oh, jeez, I'm sorry, I must've thought that being attacked by six gigantic murderous bears merited some fighting...
He watches the creatures devour the horse with an expression of disgust on his face, but even so, he can't tear his eyes away.
I suppose it's better that horse than us, though...

OOC: Jeez, the very best I could do on the hide check and it's still worse than Damian.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman


[roll0]


Doing his best to stay in the shadows, Tanner nods at the captain. After seeing Khazrael's behaviors, Tanner wonders if his revival is a good thing.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil



[roll0]
I really should have put ranks in this...guess I forgot.



Faluil settles into the shadows of the tree and closes his eyes. The sounds of his horse being chewed and flayed seem not to have any effect on him.

Breathe...breathe...breathe...They were trying to save everyone's lives. Those things are huge, they could have torn us to pieces in an instant. Just look at what they're doing to Norwyn.

For an instant, he seems to lose his composure, and he glares at the Rashemi captain with pure hatred.

No...he made the right decision, you know that.

He breathes deeply again and settles down more securely.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel nods slowly, "I understand your... frustration. I'll do what I can to keep my friends calm. We've been through a lot lately and we've gotten a bit too used to jumping into dangerous situations."
Tiriel then makes her way over to where Khaz is standing and watches as the owlbears make quick workk of the ranger's horse.
"[COLOR="Blue"]We'll wait for now. There's still a chance that they'll leave after they finish their meal. I know you'd rather fight them, but we might need your fire power later agaist more dangerous things."

[roll0]
:ooc: I don't really feel the need to roll a hide check, but since all the cool kids are doing it, I'll join in too. I mean we are in a corpse of trees some ways away after all...

[Dr._Bob]

It doesn't take long for the owlbears to completely consume the horse. A few of them start to lope in your general direction, causing several of you to start to raise your weapons.

"Hold!" hisses the Rashemi captain.

Just when it looks like fighting the owlbears is going to be inevitable, the bears rise up on their hind legs as one and crane their necks to the north. They either hear or smell something, though none of you can detect what it is.

Eagerly, they abandon what little is left of the horse carcass and begin trotting northward, away from the road.

After waiting a judicious length of time, the captain signals to continue heading west toward Immilmar. He does not apologize for ordering the death of Faluil's horse.

The Rashemi appear to have shifted their attitudes toward your party from relative indifference to near hostility, particularly towards Khazrael; yet, they have promised you safe passage to Immilmar, and so, Tryntha knows, they will die before breaking their word.

As you trudge across the icy plain, there is plenty of time to talk. Katrin and Tiriel are fairly reserved, but Lissa and Achkby are more willing to share their experiences.


OOC: Those who "listen" to Achkby and Lissa have access to the events that have occurred in the Sea of Starry Night, parts I and II, onward ...

[Koji]

Khazrael

That horseman's pretty composed. I'd have killed them all by now.

He nods to Tirel, and remains quiet until they move away. "Oh, there they go..."

He fiddles with his hair, probably a bit embarassed by his own zeal, and manages to stammer out a response.

"I know they're just animals, but it's hard to run, you know? Like back at the inn, where those vampires attacked...it really galls me to see someone try something like that and get away with it. But you're right I guess--if we push our luck too far, we might just get wiped out before we can do anyone any good."

He flashes her a trademark grin and maintains eye contact--something he hasn't ever done with Tiriel before. As the group sets out again, the tiefling chuckles and says, "Thanks for not just popping me one over the head like I know that berserker wants to."

Khazrael relaxes as the spells run their course and his body returns to normal. He pays close attention to the halfling and gnome's stories, and is a bit overcome by what he hears.

They've lost so much, so many friends...

[barawn]

Damian

Lissa and Achkby's story passes by Damian with what looks like quiet indifference - while he doesn't interrupt the story, he fails to show any emotion to the tragedies and difficulties that the group had faced. Walking up near the front of the group, his eyes frequently glance towards the Rashemi captain.

He resettles his crossbow on his back, and shifts the locations of his daggers slightly, attempting to offset his nerves and frustration. During a lull in the story, he glances over towards Tryntha. "This trip would be much more pleasant if I didn't feel we were closer to prisoners than escorted guests."

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

Retay looks devastated when he, rather belatedly, realises the Wolf Lodge members were not intending to fight the beasts. As the group moves on, he retreats inwards, becoming even less talkative than his norm.

As the party moves onwards, he hovers around the outside of the group, listening to the quiet chatter. Within a few minutes, he is gazing at the short ones, Lissa and Achkby, with what seems to be respect...

"I never thought," he says eventually, "that you had been through anything like that. Even the Heroes haven't been through that much."

[Matticus]

Grynde

Inside, Lissa and Achkby's tale does shock and impress him a little; but the only emotion he shows is anger towards the Rashemi warriors. His resentment towards them is growing - Not fighting, ordering them about, and now it seems they're angry towards the group.
Why wouldn't they let us fight? Where's the problem with a bit of killing now and then?
He glances around the group, eyes resting on the ones that he has taken a dislike to. Which is most of them.

[elliott20]

Grynde

Inside, Lissa and Achkby's tale does shock and impress him a little; but the only emotion he shows is anger towards the Rashemi warriors. His resentment towards them is growing - Not fighting, ordering them about, and now it seems they're angry towards the group.
Why wouldn't they let us fight? Where's the problem with a bit of killing now and then?
He glances around the group, eyes resting on the ones that he has taken a dislike to. Which is most of them.


Olfacht

Is that your knee jerk reaction to everything? Just go with it, man. Staying alive is a good thing!

Olfacht tries to calm the warrior with his words, but to be quite honest, his own thoughts betray him as well. Where is this all going?

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin listens in to Lissa and Achkby's tale. She had heard it before (Lissa always being more than willing to chatter) but she enjoyed hearing the tale again, as it distracted her from thinking about her hated 'condition', something she had been doing more and more recently.

When the tale was over, she began thinking again. Maybe I should change myself again... it's been a while... She sketches quick mental pictures of possible new disguises.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the italicised words were his thoughts, not something he said out loud.

The Rashemi priestess releases the breath she had been holding as a long sigh of relief. Nodding her thanks to the Captain, both for his expertise and his patience she readies herself to continue their journey.

She listens intently as the others discuss their pasts, interested to learn more of these outlanders.

[Dr._Bob]

The Rashemi apparently feel no compulsion to explain themselves. Even Tryntha can only guess at their thoughts. Though she too is Rashemi, she has not spent much time with members of this lodge, nor with elite fighters in general.

It occurs to her that the Rashemi were not afraid of the owlbears, but were rather loath to slay them. The owlbears were not the intruders here. We were, she thinks to herself. Being Rashemen-born herself, she understands that wild animals, even magic ones, native to this area are generally neither good nor evil.

Had the party clashed directly with the owlbears, certainly either one side or the other would have been annihilated, with almost certain casualties even on the "winning" side.

Instead, a horse was sacrificed so that further bloodshed could be avoided. She can understand why the Rashemi seem look upon Khazrael's actions with distaste. His gleeful attacks on the owlbears likely bordered on sadism in their eyes.

Tryntha realizes that the more time she spends with the foreigners, the more she is able to see things from their point of view.

...

You spend one more night outdoors under the crystal clear night sky. You will arrive in Immilmar tomorrow, the captain advises. He looks Faluil, Grynde, and Khazrael in the eyes individually, as if challenging them to say something or to do something ...

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael doesn't back down from the hulking berserker. His pale blue eyes matching the much darker man's until the other moves his gaze away.

Try it, buddy. I'll light you up so bright they'll see you down in Bezentil. Err--if it's still there.

He remembers Tiriel's words, however, and avoids further contact with the captain.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

The Rashemi woman floats in an out of the storytelling as her own thoughts intrude on her mind,

I must not lose sight of what it is to be Rashemi while trying to connect with these outsiders.

Once the march is halted, the healer will make sure no one is having any adverse effects from the cold. If anyone is having particular trouble, she will give them magical protection from the elements.

She has 2 Endure Elements memorized, if anyone asks, they will go to the first two people to request it.

Once everyone is settled, she will again call upon the land to provide nourishment for all of them. There is more than enough porridge, bread, and water, and while it is filling it is not terrible appetizing or tasty.

[barawn]

Damian

Holding mostly to himself for the evening, when the Rashemi captain stares down the trio, Damian's eyes narrow in disgust. Nothing any of the three did previously struck him as wrong - more like self-preservation. It wasn't as if the captain's amazingly communicative style had clearly told them that they would be able to avoid the conflict by hiding in the copse.

When the captain's gaze drifts away from Khazrael, Damian wanders over and quietly mutters to him. "I don't think he likes you, Khazrael."

[Koji]

Khazrael

He grins at Damian's comment. "I'm crushed, I thought he and I would be friends."

He avoids the food Tryntha conjures, but makes no real show of it.

[blackfox]

Katrin

Katrin sits off to the side of the group, in the shadows cast by the fire. She opens her pack and takes a wooden case from the top of it. I love this Handy Haversack... I used to have to shuffle around for hours whenever I wanted something out of my pack...

She opens the case, which is full of small jars, pouches, and other containers. She selects a few, closes the case, and puts them on top. Then she pushes back her hood and unties the band holding back her hair. Perhaps it is just a trick of the light, but when let down, Katrin's hair seems lighter than it had been...

Katrin spends about 30 minutes completing her disguise. When it is done, she calmly packs her supplies and comes to sit by Tiriel.

She looks almost completely different from her prior appearance. The scar across her cheek is gone. Her hair is several inches below her shoulders, blonde, and curly. She has the thin face and high cheekbones of a woman from the North part of the Sword Coast. Her eyes are still a striking green.

"Call me Anika."

(OOC: Disguise Check (1d20+21=29) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1176268)
Time taken to apply disguise (1d3=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1176272)

@Diarmuid: Character thoughts are in italics, character actions are in black, character speech is in pretty colors. :smallsmile: )

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel shrugs when Khazrael suggests that they might have been pushing their luck. In her opinion they'd left the land of "luck" long ago and had entered a far less forgiving place. "All I know is that it's usually best to listen to the natives when visiting a new place. For all we know that's their sacred animal or something.
From now on, please try to show more... restraint before attacking whatever pops out of the snow."[hr] Tiriel listens to Lissa and Achkby share their story with their new companions. Only occasionally does she contribute to the tale. The more recent events, the loss of many of their companions to the fish monstrosities (aboleths, she remembers Trinark calling them), and their separation from Callos, Aeroz, Elthan, and Trinark put her in a foul mood.

She is well aware that outsiders might have seen her choice to press on as either selfish, cold, or cowardly. But there had been little choice. When it came to matters of the mind and of magic Tiriel was no expert - and those who knew about such things and had recognized the monsters in the underdark, had urged everyone to flee. Someone had to warn the East damn it all, and though she feels remorse for leaving her friends, she knows that had their places been reversed, they'd (hopefully) done the same.[hr]
Tiriel sighs with relief when Kahzrael does not rise to the captain's baited words. She wasn't above knocking someone out to avoid trouble, but she sincerely hopes that it doesn't come to that.
Tiriel is visibly startled when an unknown blond woman comes and sits beside her. It takes her a moment to place the voice, after all tt'd been a long time since Ginerva/Katrine/Anika had done this. So she smiles at her friend. It was nice to know that somethings, no matter how odd, never changed.

[barawn]

Damian

Damian chuckles at Khazrael's response. "I wonder, if they had been with us when that frost beast attacked, would the members of the caravan who were ripped in two had to have asked permission before they attacked? Or would our good captain have considered them acceptable sacrifices for it as well?" A bitter grin crosses his face.

"I certainly hope the rest of the trip is less eventful. For one thing, we're out of horses. Which means that the next thing they'll sacrifice could be one of us."

He chuckles heartily and looks over to Khazrael again. "Maybe I shouldn't be standing so close to you, then!"

[Matticus]

Grynde Er, what? elliott20? Did he read Grynde's mind or something?

The tough Rashemi warrior glares at him, he's tempted to hit the guy.
C'mon, you bastard, try me. Just try me...
I think I made a friend he mutters.
He wanders over to the food and sates his appetite. He then sits down away from the others and goes back to one of his favourite passtimes: Inspecting his blades.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

The wood elf managed to compose himself fully during the rest of the day, and when the group made camp he had shifted from barely-contained anger to an acceptant calm. He had had some good times with Norwyn, but the horse was destined to die long, long before him. Given his penchant for rough adventuring, likely sooner.

And they did not make it slow or painful…

He realized.

They are woodsmen, like me. They know the land, and they know the creatures that stalk it. If anything, it was my more eager comrades’ faults for Norwyn’s death, though the blame is irrelevant now.

Later, when the captain glares at him, Faluil is taken aback.

Wha-? Have I offended them somehow? If anything, I should be glaring at the…no…I get it. What Tiriel was saying. These men are woodsmen, tuned to nature and all its glory. I should be apologizing for my erratic and irrational behavior.

The wood elf stands when the captain glares, and walks to him…and then performs a sweeping bow.

”Sir…forgive my earlier actions. I acted without thinking about this land, and though only of my own grief. I understand that my horse’s death was necessary to prevent not only our own bloodshed, but also the bloodshed of the creatures of this land. Only now do I realize that I would have done the same if we were guiding you in my homeland of Cormanthor."

He stands back upright and looks squarely at the captain, neither smiling nor frowning.

[Dr._Bob]

At first the Rashemi warrior purses his lips at Faluil's sweeping bow as if he finds the elf's extravagant gesture somehow distasteful, but Faluil's words strike the right conciliatory tone, and the captain grunts and nods. And with that, any irritation seems to dissipate (at least towards Faluil).

...

After an uneventful night, you prepare for the final push to Immilmar. After traveling so long, it seems almost hard to believe that your destination lies only about 12 miles away.

The Rashemi, surprisingly, seem to be in good spirits in the morning, perhaps eager to return home after a long tour in the wilderness. By mid-day, however, something seems to be bothering them. They seem more tense and are even more taciturn than usual.

The captain confides in Tryntha, Something is wrong. We should have encountered one of the outer pickets by now. She relays the captain's concern to the rest of the party. Weapons are drawn, and the party proceeds forward more carefully.

A whistle from one of the forward scouts causes the rest of the Rashemi to rush forward. You follow them and soon arrive at a small wooden fort - a Rashemi guard outpost.

The gates have been battered down. All is quiet from within.

[Koji]

Khazrael

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me..."

A few practiced gestures grant Khazrael a sudden (and familiar) shift in form. He sinks to a stooped and bowlegged posture, and moves about with greatly enhanced speed. Not wanting to be the first one through the smashed gates, he moves about somewhat like a cockroach, impatiently waiting for someone to move through.

"Valentine couldn't have gotten here ahead of us, right?"

((OOC: Burning two level 2 slots to cast spider climb and an extended Expeditious Retreat. 6 minutes on the Spider Climb and 12 on the Expeditious Retreat))

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

Retay casts a suspicious look towards Khazrael, then looks to the rest of the party for a cue to enter.

He stands at the front of the group, axe in hand, watching and listening for even the slightest movement.

"This doesn't feel right," he murmurs, unnecessarily.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

Unnerved, the elf moves cautiously through the snow, trying to stay hidden while moving with the group.


Hide Check [roll0]


His bow is nocked, and he listens intently for any sign of danger.


Listen [roll1]

[barawn]

Damian

I knew it. Of course it couldn't be easy. Seeing the sudden danger, Damian moves closer to the front, glancing at the captain and the others, keeping his voice quiet. "Maybe it would be best for some of us who are able to stay hidden to scout inside. I'm pretty sure I could get in undetected, and if my guess is right, and she's willing," Damian's brow furrows slightly, trying to remember the new name, "... Anika is easily my equal or better."

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Although he doesn't like not being able to do much except watch and wait, Tanner does this grudgingly. When the threat passes, Tanner understands and agrees with the Rashemi captain, but does not voice it, for he knows that doing so may cause a rift with the group and could come across as mockery to the Rashemi. Keeping a tight lip, he walks and listens as best he can to the story of the two others.

He rests with the others and partakes in the meal out of habit. When Anika 'joins' the group, Tanner has become less surprised by such things and merely shrugs.

However, at the devastated outpost, the hackles on Tanner's neck stand on end. He asks, "Aren't there able bodied trackers among us that could tell us what happened by gazing at the tracks?"

[namo]

Adalmar

He spent the trip wrapped in his own thoughts, trying to make something out of the tale that Lissa wove. This explained a lot... and raised even more questions.

He now finds himself surprisingly ready for action. He steps forward : "I can help scouting too."

[roll0]

[Naleh]

Retay looks at Tanner, and cautiously offers, "I'm... good at tracking... but not as good at, erm, sneaking." He seems uncomfortable to suggest himself as good at anything.

Where's that Katrin woman gone, anyway?

If needed, [roll0] to find/study tracks.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika looks at Retay and smirks. "I'm no good at tracking, but very good at sneaking..." She draws her sword and disappears into the shadows.

(OOC: Hide Check (1d20+22=31) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1181642))

[Dr._Bob]

The snow outside the small fort has been churned up in all directions, though most of the footprints appear to center on the front gate. The gate appears to have been smashed from outside. A log lies tossed to one side and appears to have been used as a battering ram.

There are no bodies outside, nor any blood. The few intact prints are worrisome in that they appear to be bare feet ...

...

The Rashemi adjust their grips on their axes, ready to assault the fort directly, but the captain recognizes that it would be prudent to scout out the situation before barging in. "You have five minutes," he says to you in Common.

Katrin Anika slips into the compound, hidden in the long shadows. Although it is midday, the winter sun lies low on the horizon at this latitude, giving Anika plenty of shade to work with.

Inside the fort is a mess. The wooden stockade has a single walkway about 5 feet above the ground. Small wooden huts cluster in the center of the outpost around a central firepit, which is cold and snow-covered.

A half a dozen Rashemi lie scattered about in the open, their bodies frozen. Their axes lie where they had fallen. Most of the huts have collapsed and are little more than piles of splintered wood.

All is silent and still within. Anika slips back outside to report her findings to the rest of the party.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel waits in a state of worried irratation for Anika to return. Her eyes are drawn to the foot prints, Khazrael's earlier comment echoing in her head as an unpleasent thought forms.
Walking over to Khazrael she asks him in a wispher, "How much do you know about undead? From what I've seen they've never been organized enough to use a battering ram... But what else walks barefoot in the snow?"

She bitterly reflects that Callos would probaly know the answer; maybe even Elthan. How very good of them to have gotten lost... or dead.

[Koji]

Khazrael

"I know a bit, and I have never heard of zombies using a ram. I guess they could if someone really tried, but it seems like wasted effort. Why not just fireball the gates?"

His mind drifts over the various creatures he is familiar with.

"I can't imagine that the army I saw back in the Great Dale was involved here. Drow are too weedy to work barefoot in the cold, demons have weird-shaped feet, and a wizard with a mob of undead could just blast through. And if it was tieflings...well, they'd still wear shoes, right?"

He looks down at his own boots as if to highlight his point.

He mumbles something and flicks on his third eye, scanning for any signs of lingering magic.

((OOC: Detect Magic, looking for any lingering spells or traces of energy))

[barawn]

Damian

When Anika slips away without a sound, a mild expression of shock appears on Damian's face, followed by slight anger. He considers ducking inside with her, but with the damage already done, he merely waits until she reappears a few minutes later. After her report, Damian quietly speaks to the girl of many faces.

"I could've helped, you know. You're better than I am, but I'm pretty good myself. So far, everything we've run into out here has been more than a match for one person alone. If something had gotten you in there, we wouldn't've known. Caution is probably the safest option in our current situation."

A quiet sigh escapes him as he surveys the destruction. "Could you tell what had killed them? That might give a clue as to what these things are."

[namo]

Adalmar

He approaches Damian and finds him telling Anika much of what he himself had in mind. "He's right, you know. You're very good" and he grins at that "but in the face of danger, two people is the minimum scouting unit."

"Next time, either of us'll help." He nods at Damian.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

At the sight of the gates swung wide open, Tryntha's heart began to flutter. She worried for her kin. Like the warriors, she looked anxious as she wished to rush right in and see if anyone needed her assistance. Pulling her pack around, she fished out her healing kit and checked her supplies, making sure she was ready to help anyone who needed it.

Once satisfied with her kit, she mumbled the words to a spell and traced arcane lines in front of her face.


Casting Deathwatch.


Grimly she thought to herself, I hope the magic shows me more than just more death. There has been far too much of late, and if these people are right, there is plenty more to come......

[Matticus]

Grynde

Oh for the love of the gods, this is bloody excellent, isn't it he says sarcasticly as their eyes fall on the outpost.
Dead, huh? Bugger. Although I'm a bit more worried about what killed them, as you might imagine.
He begins looking for tracks

Survival/Track Check (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1183347) = 27

[blackfox]

Anika

After delivering her report to the captain, Anika is approached by Damian and Aldamar. "Thank you... I've had a lot of practice. Next time, just come along..." she says. "I'd have to go back again to tell what killed them, I wasn't paying attention to that... I was looking for any signs of life within the walls... and there were none. It had been a while since the men had died, though... their bodies had frozen over. Although out here, I imagine that would only take a single night."

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

"I know a little about the undead, but I also have heard that there are those that can create more than abominations. Crafters of golems seek many a follower of Gond to assist them. Could these tracks be made of such a construct?"

[Dr._Bob]

The Rashemi have waited long enough. They move forward into the outpost, literally gnashing their teeth in anger.

Tryntha enters with them, hoping against hope for some signs of life. Sadly, as Anika had reported, all six of the Rashemi warriors manning the outpost are dead.

The rest of you stand outside looking at the tracks. They seem to have converged on this location from at least three different directions. It is hard to know whether the footprints were made by living people, the undead, or constructs as suggested by Tanner.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael responds to Tanner's observation with the same conclusion the idea of undead brought him to. "But aren't golems and stuff made of stone or metal? They wouldn't need a ram, and anyone capable of making this many could just knock the gate down with magic."

He scrabbles up to the highest point he can and looks to the horizon in all directions.

[barawn]

Damian

Damian watches as the Rashemi angrily enter the compound, throwing caution to the wind. Unbelievable. It'd be poetic justice if some giant beast just came out of nowhere and stepped on them.

Turning to the others - hopefully after the Rashemi (and Tryntha) enter, but before they do, he rolls his eyes in exasperation. "I don't suppose I could convince any of you that we should just leave them and head to Immilmar ourselves. Their headstrong nature and brash attitudes are going to get us killed."

He turns to the compound, glancing along the shattered walls. "They're dead. We're not. Whatever killed them doesn't appear to be here now, which means we should leave before it comes back. It's not our job to investigate their deaths."

Yet despite his outward lack of concern, his hands still rest on the outside of his jacket on the hilts of his daggers.

[Darius]

Khazrael

Khazrael responds to Tanner's observation with the same conclusion the idea of undead brought him to. "But aren't golems and stuff made of stone or metal? They wouldn't need a ram, and anyone capable of making this many could just knock the gate down with magic."


Tanner responds, "Some are crafted of flesh from the dead. A construct could have barefeet regardless of its material be it clay, flesh, stone, or iron. Also, each are given inhuman strength - capable of destroying a door such as this. Since I see no blood, and I would think the men guarding the post would fight their agressors, it would leave me to this conclusion. Undead leave bits and pieces of their flesh and other icor, constructs do not. But, I am no expert on matters OUTSIDE this realm as others may be, but I know that those from other planes are immune to the cold and may walk barefoot as well." Tanner says this last sentence staring directly at Khazrael with the hint of sarcasm dripping from it.

Tanner then turns to the Rashemi captain and says, "I am not sure what you would need to do in this situation, sir. Perhaps you need to stay here and tend to the fallen, repair the keep, and man it. When we get to Immilmar, we will tell of your plight as well as warn the Rashemi of the oncoming hoarde."

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika watches the angry Rashemi troops storming into the compound with raised eyebrows. Ooh. I wouldn't want to meet one of them in a dark alley... Even though I'd have an advantage in a dark alley... whatever.

To Damian, she says, "I don't like their manner any more than anyone else does. I would be in favor of leaving them if we knew our way to Immilar (which I don't think anyone does--except maybe Aldamar), if Tryntha weren't with them, and if they weren't just going to come charging angrily after us and ruin our chances of getting an audience with the Iron Lord."

[barawn]

Damian

"You know what'll really hurt our chances of getting an audience with the Iron Lord? Death," replies Damian, clearly frustrated. Still, ... Anika...'s words did make sense. He hated being forced into this situation.

"No, you're right. Which means we have to convince them that we need to go. Now." Damian glances around, his hands still on the hilts of his daggers, clearly jumpy. "This is crazy. Very crazy." He glances around at the others, and looks to Anika, Adalmar and Khazrael. "I think most of us should stay out here for now. More warning if something comes back. I'm going to go in and try to convince them that we should go."

Damian slips inside the compound, sticking to the shadows and stepping with light feet.

(ooc: I'm assuming nothing amazingly bad happens on his way in, so I'll pass on the Move Silently/Hide check, although if something does, he is hiding and moving silently :smallbiggrin:)

Once he reaches Tryntha and the others, he quickly slips out of the shadows and approaches Tryntha. "Tryntha," he projects quietly, trying to get her attention but not stir whatever might be remaining here. "We should move. Now. All that staying here does is put us - and all the Rashemi - in more danger."

[Matticus]

Grynde

This isn't good...
He straightens up, and looks around at the others, and casts a hopeful glance in the direction of the Rashemi captain.
Dead, y'think? I suppose that's too much to hope for... I don't reckon we're in too much danger just now, y'know, and hell, we're probably safer at a defensible location like this place than out in the open. The dead aren't gunna be doing much...

[Koji]

Khazrael

From his perch, he nods to Damian. "One thing though. Do a quick check on the bodies, see how they died. Find out if any of their stuff is missing, or if they had like a shrine or something in there that's been torn up. Try and figure out the how and why, you know? That might tell us the who."

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

The Rashemi healer's shoulders visibly slump as her magical searching shows her not even the slightest spark of life among the bodies in the fort. As she watches the warriors search the keep (assuming they do that), she moves to the body pile and begins to sort the bodies and lay them out, checking their wounds to see how they died and preparing to send their spirits on to their next resting place.

[roll0]

She does not look up from her work as Damian approaches her and pleads his case. When he is finished, she responds flatly while still investigating the bodies and laying them out properly.

"I understand the greater need, but I will not leave these men in this state. I will make sure their spirits are speeding toward their next resting place and then will continue with you to Immilmar. I am not sure what the Captain will have his men do, but they have agreed to escort us to Immilmar so I would imagine they will carry out this deed. But, they also have a responsiblity to our lands and they must ascertain what type of threat occurred here to properly report on it and make sure others are aware. I dont expect you to understand, and if you cannot wait for a short time, so be it."


Nothing too fancy going on, just unheaping them, covering them with anything possible, saying some prayers over them. Probably a 10-15 minute ordeal. Also, the heal check is to see how they were killed, if possible.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika looks over at Grynde. "This outpost is no longer a defensible position. Whatever got inside the walls before can get inside them again. Damian is right, we need to move."

[Dr._Bob]

Everyone agrees that the less time spent in the ruined fort, the better.

There is no time for a funeral pyre or to dig graves. The captain judges that it would be best to press on to Immilmar and send back a larger group to retrieve the bodies. Most of you nod in agreement.

The Rashemi collect their kinsmen's bodies and place them in the center of the fort. The frozen bodies resist any attempts to straighten out their limbs, and so the six corpses lie in awkward contorted positions despite efforts to arrange them with some dignity.

Tryntha examines the bodies closely as she murmurs prayers over them. Most appear to have had their throats ripped out or have succumbed to gaping wounds of their chests and abdomens. There are some expected defensive wounds, but not as many as one would have assumed. It is almost as if the warriors were either caught unprepared or were somehow subdued before being killed. She also notices that many of the dead have fingers or toes missing, as if they had been gnawed off at some point.

...

During Tryntha's prayers, Olfacht wanders about the huts, poking his head into one or two cautiously. He holds a cloth over his sensitive nose. Despite the freezing temperatures, the entire fort stinks of death to him, even if the others don't seem to notice it.

Most of the huts have collapsed or been knocked down. As he pokes around the debris, he spots some movement. He peers closer ...

...

Faluil is silent, but he keeps his eyes and ears alert for any signs of danger. His bow is held in a low ready position.

His ears are the first to hear Olfacht's surprised exhalation - whuff! Then the thin man's screams are heard by all before they are cut short with a wet gurgle.

"Behind that hut!" Faluil is already circling around, his raised bow pointing to where Olfacht was last seen ...

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel had been mulling around the entrance to the fort at a loss. On one hand she was frusterated by the delay and wanted to get moving as quickly as possible, with or without their "escort." On the other hand, she knew that they stood a better chance of success if they waited for the the Rashemi.

At the sound of Olfacht's scream she draws her sword and runs toward the back of the hut that Faluil had pointed out.

[roll0]

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

While trying to piece together the cause of death and come to grips with their inability to properly honor the dead, her training demands she react to the shouts and alarm.

[roll0]

[barawn]

Damian

I hate it when I'm right. As the scream pierces the air, Damian immediately glares over to Tryntha. "Too late!" His eyes glance at the fort structure around, noting Faluil near one of the huts. Olfacht's screams broke cover already, so his voice raises noticeably. "Burn the fort down! Get outside! It's got the advantage in here!" he calls out.

Tossing caution aside, Damian quickly heads back out the entrance, drawing his daggers along the way, noting Tiriel heading past him. "Don't fight it in here! Too crowded! Draw it outside!"

Once outside, (ooc: assuming he gets outside...) Damian looks over to Khazrael. "Can you start this place burning once the others are outside?"

[Koji]

Khazrael

Mystery solved I guess.

The magic has long since run out of him, and he makes no effort to renew it. Instead he slips his knife out of his belt and breaks into a run, trying to stay at least a short way behind anyone wearing armor.

Damian's suggestion intrigues him, but he moves toward Olfacht's last location anyway.

"I don't know if there's enough wood to sustain a good burn. We gotta get everyone out first anyway."

Initiative:
1d20+1=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1186856)

[blackfox]

Anika

Dammit.

Anika takes her crossbow, still loaded from the encounter with the owlbears, and retreats into the shadows, hoping that those inside the fort will take Damian's advice so she can take it by surprise. "Come on, everyone... let's try to ambush it... take whatever it is by surprise."

(OOC: Initiative (1d20+3=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1187257))

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

While assisting the Rashemi in dealing with the fallen, Tanner wonders if there ever will be an end to all this death. As if on cue, the blood curdling scream of the magic user snaps the cleric of Gond back to reality. Instinctively, he takes wing a flies high into the air as he looks at the place pointed out by the one-time horse master.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

Unsure of their customs, Retay makes no move to help put the men to rest, although he does watch with a strange expression on his face...

When he hears the scream, Retay does not pause like the others to consider. Hefting his greataxe, he sprints towards Faluil and the Hut of Certain Death.

[roll0]

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

As the wood elf dashes around the corner and pulls his bow tight, he quickly scans the area with his eyes and ears,


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]


ready to fire as soon as he sees what is (or might have been) attacking Olfacht.

[Matticus]

Grynde

Oh, more death! What a day! he yells as he runs around the corner after the others, drawing a sword as he does so.


Initiative: 19 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1188136)

[namo]

Adalmar

"Burning doesn't happen that fast..." he replies, as he falls into a brief jog. He remains at a distance from the group - even if he doesn't expect something as huge as the worm, it is best if they can't all be caught at the same time.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Move and ready attack action if a hostile creature appears.

[Dr._Bob]

Damian tactically advances in the opposite direction from Olfacht's screams, only to roll his eyes when everyone else runs the other way, directly towards the danger, like moths to a flame. Damian stands outside the shattered gates with daggers in each hand and sighs heavily.

Tanner launches himself into the air gained a bird's eye view of the octagonal fortress. From up above he can see dozens of creatures clambering up out from underneath the debris and packed snow. The creatures have his companions surrounded on all sides.

Faluil, Grynde, and Retay are the first to turn the corner. Three ghouls tear at Olfacht, one rips at his throat with its teeth, the other gnaw at his exposed limbs. The thin man stares at his three companions, his eyes open wide, pleading for help. Strangely, Olfacht makes no movement, no effort at all to fight off the undead.

The Rashemi call out to each other, warning of the ambush, but it is too late, the ghouls are everywhere, outnumbering you three to one.

[barawn]

Damian

Damian sheathes his daggers and draws his crossbow, certain he knows what's going on inside. Unsure whether Anika is still outside, as she disappeared into the shadows, he quietly speaks. "Well, I'm certainly not going in. If they end in trouble, I don't think we can help them by getting ourselves caught in a bad situation as well."

He glances up towards Tanner, above them, and raises his voice. "Tanner! Tell them to get out of there! We can fight whatever it is better out here!"

His eyes stay focused on the entranceway, and movement catches his eyes. His voice lowered, half to someone who may or may not be there, half to himself, he thinks aloud. "It... no, I think it's they. Oh, no. It was a trap. They waited for us to go inside."

[namo]

Adalmar

He hears Damian shouting to Tanner, and shouts back a warning : "We're surrounded ! Come help us... if you can !"

In a lower voice, he asks of his companions : "What manner of creatures are those ? They're an unnaturally distorted, but..." He doesn't finish that sentence, instead loosing a pair of arrows at the closest ghoul.

Activating the prepared action (manyshot) :
[roll0] (including Bless bonus)
[roll1] [roll2] (elec.)
[roll3] [roll4] (elec.)

Note to DR : I had made mistakes with my online sheet (it was one of my first :smallredface: ) which are now corrected : I had paid 2000gp too much for the bow, but it was Shocking without being +1 - so I made it +1 and paid 4000gp more (i.e. the correct price) ; for that I had to drop the Handy Haversack and the Ring of Sustenance. Plus some heavy items I could only carry with the Haversack. Tell me if that raises a problem and you'd prefer a different arrangement !
I now "only" 80 normal arrows left (down to more than a 100 before) - this way I can also account for the ones used recently.

Also, as indicated in my sig, its location has changed.

[Matticus]

Grynde

Without hesitation he draws his other sword, lunges forward and takes a swipe at the nearest ghoul. They're friggin' abominations is what they are!!! he yells. C'mon, bastards, I got a lotta rage I wanna take out on something!!!

Gah, I can never remember if I take the penalty for wielding both weapons...I think so...
Attack: 1d20+9=29
Damage: 1d6+4=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1189957) x2 = 12
Threat check: Another natural 20. (Luck is a weird thing.) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1189961)

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika continues to swear silently to herself, cursing their bad luck, her friends' rashness, and the creatures inside. "I'm going in... I can't let my friends get killed. I'll try not to let myself get surrounded. This is one of those times I really wish I was a mage..."

Anika keeps her left hand on her shortsword while slowly and carefully entering the fort, making sure to stay hidden. She watches for any kind of movement, ready to shoot.

(OOC: Spot Check (1d20+12=16) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1190266))

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

Tryntha recognises the unnatural beasts almost instantly as those whose spirits have been kept from their voyage and corrupted to evil. Her anger doubles at the loss of those who fell protecting the fort seeing these antithesis of everything she strives to protect assault her companions.

Channeling the energy of the land around here, she holds forth the amulet given unto her by her mentors and brings her will to bear on these terrible creatures.


[roll0]
Turning will effect undead up to 10 HD
[roll1]
Efforts will turn up to 16 HD of undead
Undead with 3 or less HD are destroyed rather than turned

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"Gods... I hate undead." Those nearby hear Tiriel mutter before she lanches into an attack on the nearest creature.


[roll1], [roll=+ fire damage]1d6

[barawn]

Damian

As Anika slips in, Damian glances over - suddenly slightly nervous, but nodding. "Stay to this side. We can carve a path for them to come back this way. I can watch your back. Get them to come out through us. Hopefully maybe now they'll listen."

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

He calls to those outside, "Those inside are surrounded by the undead - ghouls or ghasts by the looks of it.

[roll0]

Their negative energy can paralyze you!"

He then keeps his lofty position and tries to direct the others out by creating a path as best he can. "Those inside - attack towards the gate and try to get outside!"

Tanner then seeks help from Gond. He wishes that he still had the wall of fire, but that provided the avenue for escape against the owlbears. He would need to throw embers from Gond's forge down upon these abominations.

occ: Cast produce flame. Throw one down at a ghoul clawing at Olfacht and fly toward that area but still out of reach.


Ranged Touch [roll1]
Fire [roll2]

6 minutes remain

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael's blood runs cold at the sight of the ghouls.

"Group together!"

With his back toward's the nearest ally, he weaves a spell, and a volley of little ochre lights that vaguely resemble flying insects spin out of the air around him. They crash into one of the ghouls gnawing at Olfacht and explode against its rotting flesh.

He winces at Tryntha's brandishing of a holy symbol, but tries his best to ignore it and continues his assault.

Magic Missile: 3d4+3=10 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1191073). Some days I wish I had fireball.

[Naleh]

Retay, human madman with an axe

The barbarian takes one look at the creatures devouring Olfacht, and roars with anger.

You!

Either not hearing or ignoring the warnings, he leaps forwards, and begins slashing at the ghouls randomly.

Charge the nearest ghoul.
[roll0] (including Tanner's Prayer and charging)
[roll1] (including Tanner's Prayer)
AC reduced to 14 until next round (due to charging)
remember Damage Red. 1/-
I'll leave Rage for next round... if he's not paralyzed by then.

[Dr._Bob]

Anika slips inside the gates, keeping her back to the wooden palisade. Damian calls to the others, "This way!!!"

...

Grynde skewers one of the ghouls, forcing it away from Olfacht. Retay's axe takes the ghoul's head off of its shoulders with a sickening splakkk!

Khazrael blasts a second ghoul with magic missiles. Tanner sends a burst of flame down from above that leaves the ghoul charred and inert.

The last of the three ghouls continues to rip Olfacht's throat out. Seeing Grynde and Retay closing in, it simply bares its bloody fangs, grinning devilishly.

Six more ghouls push their way up out from beneath the wooden debris ...

...

In another corner of the fort, Desmona whirls her spiked chain in elaborate arcs over the heads of Lissa and Achkby. The two "little ones" fire their crossbows at the ghouls kept at bay by Desmona's weapon.

A half dozen ghouls circle the trio warily ...

...

Faluil and Adalmar find themselves back to back, surrounded by ghouls. Adalmar fires a pair of arrows at the nearest, but the ghoul twists and ducks with surprising agility.

The two rangers face six ghouls, who have them encircled ...

One ghoul falls, split in half. The rangers see Tiriel loom up from behind the ghouls, her sword engulfed in flame.

...

Tryntha stands with the Rashemi, who quickly form a protective circle around her. The warriors fight with calm efficiency, knocking the legs out from under the ghouls, then beheading them with a follow up blow. One of the berserkers breaks formation, whirling through a mass of ghouls, lost in his bloodlust. He is quickly surrounded by ten ghouls.

Tryntha raises her amulet. A cone of light bursts forth, blindingly bright. The light turns the ghouls to ashes on contact. Eight are disintegrated instantly. The Rashemi move forward and quickly hack the remaining two to pieces.

More ghouls rise up from under the frozen ground. A nauseating stench rises with them ...



OOC: Tryntha needs to make a DC 15 Fort save or be sickened.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael grips his utility knife in one hand and fires out another volley of magic missiles with the other. Adrenaline blends the humanoid forms together, and he begins to lose track of missing companions.

((OOC: Magic missile:
3d4+3=11 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1194702). Firing it at any wounded target, otherwise at any ghouls threatening allies))

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

Knowing his usually trusty bow will be worthless, Faluil draws his greatsword from its sheath instead.

He speaks to his companion over his shoulder.

"Want to devise some sort of strategy, friend?"

Right before he swings his blade at the nearest of the ghouls.


[roll0]

[roll1]

This is a critical confirm and damage if successful. (1d20+9=27, 4d6+6=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1194954)

[barawn]

Damian

Cautiously following into the fort behind Anika, Damian's eyes peer ahead. Where are they? Are they insane? He continually looks behind him, ensuring that nothing is encroaching on his escape route, and if he can manage to see a ghoul without going too far into the fort, he will take an open shot. He continues calling out, hoping that some will finally start to head back to the entrance so they can escape this damned spot.

"Come towards my voice! Head outside! There's no choice!

Panic sets in slightly. Going in farther merely puts him at the same risk as the others. He glances up to Tanner. "Tanner! What's going on in there? They've got to get outside!"

Attack, if there's a ghoul in range. He'll stay close to the entrance enough that nothing can sneak behind him.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Naleh]

Retay, madman with a big axe

The barbarian hacks at the remaining ghoul. When it falls, he stands over Olfacht (or what's left of him) and snarls at the new ghouls rising from the ground.

Full attack the ghoul that's still attacking Olfacht.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Matticus]

Grynde

More, eh? C'mon! I'm more than enough for you lot!!
He lunges fowards, singling out a ghoul and attacking it ruthlessly, slashing at it with both swords.

I'm assuming they're within 10ft, and he can take a full-round action.
Attack 1: 19
Attack 2: 18
Attack 3: 17 (roll incorrect)
Attacl 4: 16 (roll incorrect)
Damage 1: 6
Damage 2: 4
Damage 3: 6
Damage 4: 9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1195028)
Total Damage: 25.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika continues to keep to the shadows. She heads toward her friends' voices, hoping to be able to provide some firepower from outside the rings of ghouls while not being surrounded herself.

(OOC: Possible Attack Roll (1d20+8=15) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1195101)
Possible Damage (1d8=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1195105)))

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

The stench of the foul creatures swelled up inside her nostrils, but there were kinsmen and new companions in danger. Her Deathwatch spell acted as a constant reminder of what they fought, as the auras showed death wherever the creatures went. She used the magic to keep track of everyone on the battlefield, making ready to assist anyone who became injured. Trusting her kinsmen, she stayed within their protective circle and once again called on her powers to destroy these wretched abominations.


[roll0]

if necessary
[roll1] Turning anything 7HD or less
[roll2] Turning 17HD of creatures, destroying anything 3HD or less

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel contiunes to hack and slash at the remaining 5 ghouls surrounding the two rangers. "Where's everyone else?"

[roll0]
[roll1], [roll2]
if the 1st attack hits and drops a ghoul,
[roll3]
[roll4], [roll5]

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

After hearing Damian's plea, Tanner calls out, "Ghouls and now ghasts are bursting forth from the ground everywhere. Olfacht is paralyzed, and I am going to try to pull him free and head to the gates. Retreat and form up together if we can!"

Steeling himself for the inevitable, Tanner thinks to himself, I cannot simply leave Olfacht to become one of these creatures. Gond, be with me. He then flies down and grabs ahold of Olfacht's shredded and unmoving body and tries to wrestle it free.


AC 19
Fort save = +9
Opposed STR check from Grapple = +7 (if not part of grapple, +2)

[Dr._Bob]

Chaos reigns within the wooden fort with ghouls dashing this way and that, gibbering and hissing gleefully. The ghouls keep each group of you isolated from the others.

...

Tiriel cuts down another ghoul with her flaming sword. Faluil is grabbed by a ghoul, but in one motion, he unsheathes his greatsword and severs the ghoul's arm off on the draw. He calls to Adalmar, but hearing no response, he turns around and sees that the ranger has been paralyzed and is already being dragged away by a trio of ghouls.

...

Retay half-chops, half-bludgeons the last remaining ghoul into pieces, freeing Olfacht at last. Tanner swoops down from above and catches Olfacht before he falls to the ground.

Grynde and Khazrael keep the other ghouls at bay, slashing or blasting them mercilessly. One ghoul takes Khazrael's magic missiles without falling. It steps toward him menacingly. Suddenly, a crossbow bolt pierces it through the skull and it drops. Tracing the bolt's trajectory backward, Khazrael catches a glimpse of a dark figure melting into the shadows. Anika! he thinks gratefully.

...

The Rashemi reform their cordon around Tryntha. She sweeps her amulet in an arc, disintegrating another half dozen ghouls and ghasts in an instant. Two of the remaining ghouls pull down one of the berserkers. He is paralyzed, but the ghouls are immediately dispatched by two more Rashemi, and the wounded berserker is pulled back into the circle.

...

Damian continues calling for his companions to move to the doorway. In the chaos, his friends either can not hear him, or are too distracted to comply. In frustration, Damian calls out to Tanner, only to see him dive down into the melee out of sight.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he scans the walls, looking for any other tactical option. To his surprise, he spots a small figure creeping along the inner walkway, above eye level. He/she is no ghoul, but is too small to be human (unless a child). The person raises a small crossbow, pointing it toward Lissa, Achkby, and Desmona.



OOC: Faluil takes 3 damage, but is immune to paralysis. Adalmar takes 2 damage and is paralyzed.

[namo]

Adalmar

He had just had time to put his bow away and draw his sword, when a ghoul surprised him and managed to bite him. He felt his blood freeze for a moment before his body rejected the intrusion.

Counterattacking the undead creature, he whispers to Faluil at the same time. "Let's try to slowly go towards the others or the exit." [OOC: I don't know which would be closer] He takes a step in that direction, all the while trying to guard against the ghouls' bites.

I really hate how now, the subscriptions don't help to see if a thread has been updated.

edit: made a mistake on the attack rolls (didn't close the tag) - I'll do them later on invisiblecastle which I can't access from here.
[roll0]
[roll1]

Fighting defensively, so +2 to AC, and taking a 5' step.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

The elven ranger grits his teeth as the ghoul tears away at his flesh, his ancestral immunities saving him from the risk of paralysis.

He grins at Adalmar's suggestion, and replies "Of course. The exit seems to be the best idea!" as he hefts his greatsword again to cut down the abominations surrounding them.

As Tiriel joins the fray, Faluil grins wider, feeling somewhat vindicated.

Now this seems to be an effective way to vent. He thinks.



[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel finds herself grinning as the 2nd ghoul goes down beneath her sword. She contiunes to move closer to Adlamar and the Elven ranger, attacking the first ghoul stupid enough to get in her way.

[roll0], [roll1], [roll2]
if possible,
[roll3], [roll4], [roll5]

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael falters only momentarily before launching another volley of lights with a shout.


((OOC: 3d4+3=12 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1198779)))

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Tanner turns to his companions that helped save Olfacht and says, "I am going to take him to the door. Fight your way to the others and marshal there if you can. May Gond be with you!" Flying with the innert form of Olfacht, Tanner heads for the door. He throws a ball of flame at a ghoul or ghast as he goes.


Ranged Touch [roll0]
Fire [roll1]


When he lands, he says to Damian, "Steal one of my healing spells and use it on him if he lives."

[barawn]

Damian

Damian's eyes widen as the figure along the wall takes aim at Lissa, Achkby, and Desmona. Oh, damn, this is going from bad to worse, very fast. He spins and takes aim, firing his crossbow, and calling out at the same time. Acrobatics and hiding - that, he could handle. But his talents never included climbing - not without aid, and his climbing kit was buried under several tons of snow.

"Tanner! Anika! We've got other problems! Someone's on the ridge, and they don't like us either!"

His eyes watch as the crossbow bolt flies, hoping it strikes well. Luck would be useful right now. It certainly seems to have left them in recent times.

[roll0] ([roll1] - if the creature isn't undead - ha! - and can't see me, sneak attack damage might apply. If so, Damian's going to sacrifice 1d6 damage to try to take any spell-like ability (random, max 2nd level), and 1d6 to try to take any spells (random, max 3rd level).

When Tanner lands beside him with Olfacht, he's slightly surprised. His opinion of Olfacht's likely survival is low, however, and Tanner's suggestion surprises him. Still - he's a cleric. He has to hope for his survival. "Fine - just wait a moment until I gather myself. In the meantime," he points to the walkway, "we've got other company. You aim for him. I'll watch over Olfacht while he's still breathing."

"This is a trap, Tanner. A serious trap, and I don't think the others realize it. This isn't the time to be heroic. It's the time to flee."

[Matticus]

Grynde

Without pausing to think, he hacks and stabs again at another ghoul, doing his level best to slay it. Again.


[roll0] (Threat Check: 1d20+9=22) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1199528)
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

[Naleh]

Retay, madman with a big axe

As Olfacht is rescued by the incredible flying cleric, Retay exercises all the tactical intelligence his sane mind posesses, and begins to move back towards the others. He continues to slash at any ghouls that approach him.

His face is disfigured by a ferocious snarl, but the fact that he is slowly retreating is evidence that he is keeping his rage under control... mostly.

Another full attack, while tactically retreating.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Dr._Bob]

The small intruder grunts as Damian's crossbow bolt strikes him in the shoulder. He murmurs something inaudible before yelling out in common, "QUIT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS YOU LOUSY PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A GNOME-OID! I'M EVIL BECAUSE I'M OBVIOUSLY SHOOTING AT ACHKBY. THERE DEFINITELY AREN'T ANY GHOULS NEAR HIM OR ANYTHING!" Even over the shouted distance, the sarcasm is very noticeable.

The small man ducks behind a post, trying to take cover from Damian. At the same time, he fires his own crossbow towards Lissa, Achkby, and Desmona, striking a ghoul in the back. Lissa's face lights up in recognition, "FIZAHN!!!" she shouts back.

...

Grynde, Retay and Khazrael begin fighting their way towards the main gates. Working together, they manage to destroy another three ghouls before the undead can get their claws on them. They keep their backs to each other, forming an efficient triangle.

...

Tiriel, Faluil, and Adalmar also form an effective team. Tiriel's sword cleaves another ghoul in half before burying itself in its neighbor. That ghoul barely has time to open its mouth to hiss before Faluil splits its head in two down the middle. Adalmar protects their backs, fending off the ghouls as best he can without letting them get their claws on him.

...

Damian keeps his eyes on the intruder even as Tanner swoops down, carrying the still frozen body of Olfacht. The fight appears to be going well in that the ghouls seem unable to break through his companions' defenses, but the ghouls still have the advantage of numbers, swarming up out of the ground like ants.

[namo]

Adalmar

He continues to sidle slowly towards the exit with his group, careful to leave them some room for their wider swings. "Good job ! Go on !" he offers as a poor but well-meant attempt to hearten them.

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

Still on the defensive.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Still grumbling about the attacker, Fizahn reloads his crossbow and fires again. "Maybe I jumped to conclusions. Maybe he's really the enemy. He could have made a set up. Led everyone here, so the ghouls could ambush him. Now he's trying to off me before I help anyone. I don't think that's very nice. Damn the not subtle intrigues of the larger gnome-oids."

[roll0]
[roll1]
And I don't think I ever gave you initiative.
[roll2]

[barawn]

Damian

Oh, my luck's just getting better and better, now isn't it? Damian's voice raises in pitch, clearly losing control for a moment. The gnome's rancor is exactly what he didn't need. "How was I supposed to know that? Clear a path for them back to the entrance!"

Still grumbling, his eyes flash over Tanner, seemingly looking for something that Tanner can't see. He reaches a hand out, and bizarrely touches Tanner on his right elbow. A surge of energy flows through him, and his grey eyes flare with a milky white, with slight golden sparkles. "I've got him. Go. Apparently the short one is supposed to be a friend of ours."

A grim frown crosses Damian's face as he looks down at Olfacht. He glances over the ravaged body, looking for any signs of life as he pulls back the lever on his crossbow and loads a new bolt.

(ooc: taking lesser vigor from Tanner.)

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

"Thank you, Damian," Tanner says as he looks down at Olfacht. "If he doesn't live, strip him of his gear and destroy his corpse, for it will return as one of them."

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael weaves a familiar pattern and fires another purple flash of lightning from his outstretched hands.

((OOC:
6d6=26 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1201201), reflex DC 16 for half. Trying to hit as many ghouls as possible.))

[Dr._Bob]

Damian draws healing energy from Tanner, but even as he does so, he senses that it is far too late for Olfacht.

...

Khazrael clears a path towards the gate with a lightning bolt, incinerating a half dozen ghouls at once. Retay and Grynde cut their way forward until all three have reached the gate.

...

Faluil, Tiriel, and Adalmar also force their way towards the exit. The ghouls are no match for their skill and/or armor.

...

The Rashemi too fight their way to the gates, dragging their paralyzed brother with them.

...

Only Desmona, Lissa, and Achkby are left inside, their backs to one of the fort's corners. Fizahn provides supporting fire from the walkway, but there are too many ghouls converging on the same area for the bolt to make much difference.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael pants heavily and stops to catch his breath.

"Hey, we can get 'em surrounded now. Let's get back in there!"

Almost as an afterthought, he sends another trio of magic missiles streaking toward the ghouls.

((OOC: 3d4+3=14 (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1202686)))

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn curses some more in Gnomish as he sees his friends cornered by the ghouls. Desperately looking around, he shouts an order to Tanner. "Flying man! Rescue Lissa. Where's Tiriel? We need her to rescue Achkby!" I hope that other one can stand alone for a while. He releases another bolt towards the ghouls. For that matter, where are Thokk, Ssathiya, Callos, Lumpy, Aeroz, Elthan, (well no, not really Elthan, traitor) and Katrin? Someone needs to do some explaining, and if flying man doesn't move his butt the only two that actually know me are going to die. "Lissa, don't worry! I'm trying to get that flying person to save you and Achkby! I'm hoping he's smart enough to understand common! I'm not really sure though."

[roll0]
[roll1]

[barawn]

Damian

With Tanner heading off (presumedly), Damian sighs and looks down at Olfacht. He briefly checks him over for signs of life, and then rapidly searches him over, taking anything of value from the body. His eyes flare blue briefly as he uses his arcane sense, stripping Olfacht of anything which emits a magical aura.

The movement of people to the outside catches his eyes, and he hurries his efforts. He was out of time. Very out of time.

(ooc: note, if he actually sees any ghouls approaching him, he'll grab what he can and bolt.)

[namo]

Adalmar

Undecided as to whether he should jump back into the fray, he looks to others for guidance.

Away for the WE - taking a plane.

[Matticus]

Grynde

Well, that was fun he says, with the air of someone who has just played a nice game of cards. Anybody want seconds, or are we ready for dessert?
He seems undecided as to whether he should backtrack and re-kill some more ghouls, or run away again.
'Ere, are we all buggering off? That'd make the second good scrap we'd've missed, y'know, and that's just a couple too many...
You got the right idea, demonboy, let's get back out there!
And with that he moves towards the nearest ghoul and takes several stabs at it.

We've still got ghouls around us, right? And they're within a five-foot-step and five-foot-reach? 'Cos that's neato...
Attack 1: 22 for 6 damage
Attack 2: 15 for 6 damage
Attack 3: 27 for 5 damage
Attack 4: 14 for 5 damage (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1203494)

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

While making her way to the gate Tiriel catches a glimpse of a hoard of ghouls converging on what looks like Desmona, Lissa, and Ackby. She glances back and forth between the relative safety of the gate and the three in need of a rescue. With a mental, "Ah screw it!" she changes directions and heads toward the ghouls, catching bits and pieces of a familiar voice shouting something about "flying man" and her name. The rest is gibberish to her.

When she gets within thirty feet of the nearest ghoul Tiriel's glamor breaks as she takes flight. A large pair of white wings propel her into the air above the reach of the ghouls and towards Desmona et. all. If she can safely land near them she'll do so, pick up Lissa and Achkby and ferry them to safety leaving Desmona to Tanner. If not, then she'll try to work out a way to pick them up one at a time and place them on the walkway near Fizahn.

ooc: :smallbiggrin:

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

Once the ranger makes it out of the ghouls' grasps, he turns aghast at his comrades' desire to stay.

"Fools! We sprung the trap and survived! There may be too many to fight now! We need to run!"

He brings his greatsword up, however, ready to come to the assistance of any of his fellow warriors.



Full Defensive, basically

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Pleased that most of the group will make it to safety, Tanner smile fades as he realizes that three of the group still remain inside. Without a moment's hesitation, he takes wing again and heads to the trio trapped inside. Throwing down a fiery bolt at a ghoul nearest his quarry, he is suprised at the white winged form of Tiriel flash below that picks up two of the three he was hoping to help. "Thank Gond," Tanner says as he is relieved to know that he does not need to make the difficult decision of which of the three to save over the others.

He says, "Your hand Des! Give me your hand!" as he reaches down to fly her to safety.


Ranged Touch [roll0]
Fire [roll1]

Vitals:
AC 19
Fort Save: +9
42 HP

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika quickly realizes that the situation with the ghouls is much worse than she had expected, since the ghouls had surrounded the party.
When Damian shouts at her to watch the ridge her heart sinks. She is sure there must be some sort of cleric forcing the ghouls to attack them. As if they need any coercion... When she hears Fizahn's voice, however, she is greatly relieved.

Anika trys to help clear a pathway for her friends to exit the fort.

(OOC: Attack Roll (1d20+8=14) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1205376)
Damage (1d8=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1205378) :smallyuk:
Reload crossbow.)

[Dr._Bob]

Tiriel's transformation is startling to those who have not witnessed it before. Majestic white wings appear to sprout from her back. Her blond hair and comely visage shine as brightly as her armor. The ghouls pull back slightly as she swoops down and scoops up Achkby and Lissa under her arms, like small children.

Tanner lowers himself to the ground, his fur cape billowing about him with a life of its own. Desmona allows her chain to wrap itself about her shoulders and torso. Tossing her jet black hair out of her face, she grabs a hold of Tanner, clinging tightly as he rises back into the air, out of harms way.

The ghouls gnash their teeth in frustration, clawing at the air as their quarry escapes.

...

Seeing Achkby and Lissa rescured, Fizahn trots lightly along the upper walkway, before shimmying down the outside of the wall joining the others outside the main gate.

...

Having pushed your way out of the fort, you now have the ghouls bottled up inside the wooden walls. The Rashemi form a shoulder-to-shoulder barrier of grim faces and axes. They are frustrated to have left their fallen brethren behind, but the captain holds them at the gate.

Grynde recklessly steps forward, whirling about, slashing wildly with both swords. He cuts down another ghoul and pierces another through its open mouth. The tip of his blade exits through the back of its skull.

Having left the safety of the Rashemi phalanx, however, Grynde is easily surrounded. Five ghouls press forward from his front and both flanks. He fends them off as best he can, but two of the ghouls manage to grab a hold of his wrists. One clamps its jaws down on his forearm. The other sinks its fangs into his neck ...



OOC: Grynde takes a total of 8 damage and needs to make two DC 12 Fort saves.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

His first instinct was to rush into the fray and save Grynde...but that would have been stupid. While ineffective compared to his sword, his bow would have the advantage in this situation.

He replaced his sword in its sheath and drew his bow, nocking an arrow as he went.

Damn undead abominations *grumble grumble*

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn jumps at Tiriel's transformation. There she is. Can't believe I didn't see her. I'm never going to get used to that. He grins as he joins the main group at the gate. As Fizahn gets closer, you are able to notice how battered his appearance is. He is wearing a jacket that appears to have, at one point, been very fine. It's original color was green with gold trimming, but it now has brown mud stains covering it. There is a gaping hole in the right side of it revealing equally battered and mud stained chain armor. A crossbow bolt protrudes from his side. His black trousers and boots are also rough and tattered. There are a good deal of scars on his face, some just barely avoiding his piercing brown eyes. His red hair was cut short at one point, but has grown wildly and it is obvious he hasn't shaved in a while. Out of place compared to the rest of his equipment is an ornate wave blade dagger that appears to have seen little use. "They're rescued everyone. We should get out-" His grin fades as he sees Grynde get himself surrounded. "Or, we could rescue him. Do we really need to rescue him? Stupid arrogant, ignorant, foolish, pathetic excuse for a gnome-oid!" Sighing, he fires his crossbow at one of the ghouls.

[roll0]
[roll1]

I would just like to pretend for a moment that undead aren't immune to critical hits to make me feel better about Fizahn, and while I'm pretending that, I might as well pretend he's within 30 ft. and they're not immune to sneak attack either.
Doubles the damage yay! (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1206510)

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

Sorry, didnt have time to post at all while at the conference in Vegas, back now.

Tryntha had been caught up in the tactical retreat of her kinsman, never quite having enough time to enact another spell or bring her will to bear against them. Now, as a swarm came out of the fort and surrounded Grynde, she stepped up behind the rashemi wall of axes and anger and unleashed another wave of holy energy towards the ghouls.


[roll0]
Turning will effect undead up to 7HD
[roll1]
Turning will effect up to 18 HD of creatures. Creatures of 3HD or less are destroyed rather than turned.

[Matticus]

Grynde

Screaming and yelling, he takes a few steps back and struggles to get away from the things, swearing quite loudly in Elvish as he does so.


[roll0]
[roll1]
Mmkay, he's going to try get away from the ghouls with several probably hindered move actions.

[Koji]

Khazrael

"Stay together! Let's send 'em all crying home to Orcus!"

With confident gestures and bold intonations, Khazrael fires another volley of magic missiles, focusing on the ghouls around Grynde.

3d4+3[4,4,1,3] = (12) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1207008)

[namo]

Adalmar

His trusty bow back in his hands, he aims a few shots at the nearest ghoul.

[roll0]
[roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll4]

[barawn]

Damian

(note: I'm assuming Damian slipped outside after grabbing what he could off of Olfacht. If not, uh, he tries to slip outside after grabbing what he could off of Olfacht. :smallbiggrin:)

When Grynde dives towards the ghouls again, Damian rolls his eyes - no need for him to shout, everyone else already was! He spares a glance over to Tanner and shakes his head grimly, conveying what Tanner probably already knew. I can't tell him I didn't get a chance to destroy the corpse - not now. If we do stem this tide, we can do it then. If not, we wouldn't've been able to afford him trying a fool's errand rescue mission anyway.

He looses a bolt towards the ghouls near Grynde, glancing at Fizahn as he expresses his frustration at the ranger's foolhardy nature. "Hey, I'm supposed to be the brash voice of reason here. No fair usurping my role." A grin spreads across his face - a rare show of emotion from the normally stoic rogue.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel lands well outside the walls of the village (50'-100') and carefully lowers Lissa and Achkby into the snow. From what she can see, the group has managed to bottleneck the ghouls at the gate, preventing them from exiting. "Can either one of you set fire to the buildings or the fence?" she asks, "It might buy us some time."

ooc: yeah I know they've both been demoted to NPC status but they're also both spell casters :smallannoyed: argh.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Flying back to the party's side of the gate, the Gondsman lowers Desmona and then lands. He takes count of the party and realizes that Grynde is back inside.

He sees the gear in Damian's hands and assumes the worst. After hearing Tiriel, he says, "I can do my best to light things if they cannot."

[Dr._Bob]

Arrows, crossbow bolts, and magic missiles strike the ghouls closing in on Grynde. The ghouls jerk and dance as the projectiles knock them backward, clearing space from around the foolhardy half-elf. More ghouls press forward, practically trampling over each other to get to Grynde.

Tryntha pushes her way between the Rashemi warriors and cries out to her god. More than a half dozen ghouls are vaporized by the intensity of her holy power. Grynde scrambles back to the safety of the Rashemi phalanx.

...

Damian rises from beside Olfacht's corpse. Disappointed, he places his empty hands into his pockets. Olfacht had surprisingly little in the way of possessions. Just several small bags full of herbs and chemicals.

...

Tanner lands softly beside Damian, setting Desmona gently on her feet. She brushes her chestnut hair out of her face, appearing to blush slightly as she disentangles herself from his embrace. Coughing, she loosens the chain wrapped around her torso.

Tanner looks around, counting the survivors. Including Olfacht and the paralyzed Rashemi, everyone is accounted for, or are they ...?

"Norgold!" he calls out. Tanner realizes that the gnome newcomer had thrown off his count. The party is one short ...

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn's jaw drops in surprise as the Tryntha destroys the ghouls. If I could do that... A relieved sigh escapes his mouth as Grynde rejoins the group. Good. Now that we've got everyone, we can get out of here. I haven't been in a real city for- His train of thought is cut off as Tanner shouts for Norgold. "You poor foolish humans, why do so many of you get lost. Leave him! Whoever he is, he's already been swarmed by now. We need to get out of here. There are too may for us to fight, even with that woman's amazing skill! I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a quest! And it's seeming extremely important because, in case you didn't notice, Sethra's- army? Not an army. Maybe scouts. A taskforce? Well, I don't know what those ghouls were doing, but Sethra sent them and there will be more!" Fizahn halfheartedly turns to go, but he keeps looking over his shoulder, not really believing that they'll follow him. I'm sure that was real convincing, not knowing what to call the ghouls. Great. They're gonna try to save him aren't they? Don't they know it's too dangerous? Besides, how smart could he be if his name is Norgold. Probably really greedy too. I might seem really cold and unemotional to them right now. Making jokes about their swarmed comrade is not going to endear me to them. He also doesn't get far before he realizes he doesn't know the way to the city.

[barawn]

Damian

As Fizahn calmly advocates abandoning the missing gnome, Damian looks over to him, a bit surprised, and nods. "He's right. We'd never find him in there, anyway." Lowering his voice, he takes on a bemused tone. "I told you, stop speaking reason so much. That's my job."

Speaking to the rest again, he glances back towards the fort, still swarming. "Plus, I hate to be realistic, but he's almost certainly done for on his own. Unless someone's got a way to make themselves invisible to those creatures, I don't see how we can rescue him."

"Best I could suggest is for Tanner and Tiriel to take to the skies and look for him while we try to keep them at bay here for now. And for those of you who believe yourself invincible to these creatures," and he nods to Olfacht's corpse near the entrance, for effect, keep in mind. You don't know how many of them there are. They could still be coming up from below. There could be hundreds. Or thousands. And for most of us, one bite's enough to doom us."

He looks grimly to the entrance, and loads another bolt into his crossbow. "We're out of time. Very out of time."

[Koji]

Khazrael

Lightning? No, that's too focused, I need fire.

His hands move in a circular pattern before he thrusts both palms forward, as if pushing at some invisible object. Nothing seems to happen.

"Damn, I can't call the right magic!"

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Tiriel nods at Damian, "Just what I was thinking. Everyone else should start moving. I'll catch up later."

Tiriel takes to the skies again, this time flying low over the town (but out of reach of the ghouls) looking for the missing "Norglod." What did he look like? I don't remember, too many new faces...

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Deep down in his heart, Tanner knows the others are right. However, he will do his best to find - if not save - the lost one. How am I to find him among all the others? Tanner wonders. Then it hits him. "Tiriel - if you have the means to detect magic, it may help us find Norgold." Tanner's eyes glow blue for a moment after he incants the divination. His eyes pass sadly over Olfacht's body as the cleric hopes that Norgold does not share the same fate.

Unless he something catches his eye, the Gondsman takes flight and begins to scan for the missing member.


cast detect magic - look at Olfacht first to make sure we do not leave any useful magical items - then will take flight and begin scanning the area for Norgold via magical detection.

[Dr._Bob]

Tanner and Tiriel take to the skies once again, circling over the Rashemi outpost.

Within its walls, at least two score ghouls mill about, trapped and unable to exit due to the Rashemi phalanx keeping them bottled up.

Tiriel sees many bodies lying on the ground, mostly ghouls and the original (slain) Rashemi warriors who had manned the outpost.

Tanner circles low to the ground, just staying out of reach of the ghouls' grasp, scanning for any magical auras. (Olfacht had not appeared to be carrying anything magical.) Tanner tries to remember if Norgold had carried any magical items. Norgold had carrried a spiked chain, not dissimilar to Desmona's, and had been the one who grew to giant size during the battle with the frost worm.

Tanner spins in midair when something catches the corner of his eye. In one of the far corners, a man lies face down, a half dozen ghouls lie before him, dismembered and inert. Three "live" ghouls crouch over his body.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn smirks at Damian's complaint. "I wouldn't complain. It's everyone's job to speak reason, and besides, some day I'm going to speak reason that you won't understand and we can get into an argument then. Also, don't think you're forgiven. I don't particularly like being shot at." I am going to mess with him some for that. It will be fun. Fizahn looks once more at the battlefield. We need to be done here. Right now would be better. He clears his voice to shout at the fliers. "Have you found him yet? If you haven't I suggest we leave. We can honor his sacrifice later!" If we remember him...

[barawn]

Damian

Damian glances down at Fizahn. "I didn't particularly enjoy shooting you, either. You're tiny, and hard to hit. It took effort. How about this: you give me my bolt back, I'll heal up that wound with the magic I borrowed from our resident flying cleric, and we'll pretend it never happened. I won't even ask you to clean off the bolt. I'm nice that way."

The verbal joust doesn't seem to phase Damian at all. His face softens slightly, and his tone becomes more casual. "Your name's Fizahn, right? I'm Damian. Your friends got buried under an avalanche with us a ways back."

Damian glances over at the Rashemi, who have been their normal, wonderfully communicative selves, and calls out to the captain. "Are you going to object if we burn this desecrated area to the ground?"

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael grows a bit antsy, now that his talents are no longer required. He shouts a bit of abyssal at no one in particular.

"Yahh-zeggyi! What, are we letting the ghouls go in peace like the bird-bears? Are they natural spirits too?"

He briefly considers charming one of the berserkers and kindly asking him to charge back into the fray, but the thought of being cut down by the hirsute horde should he fail is enough of a deterrent to curb any bad behavior.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Calling out to Tiriel, Tanner signals, "Tiriel - here!" He then tosses a flaming ball down at one of the ghouls (hopefully one that looks like it was hurt).


Ranged Touch [roll0]
Fire [roll1]


Tanner then flies lower, but out of reach, to get a closer look.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

"Oh really? They actually talked about me? I wouln't have thought that. I'm just the problem child, according to Achkby. Anyway, Dame. Can I call you Dame? Excellent, thank you." Fizahn pulls the bolt out of his side and holds it out to Damian. A grin once more on his face. "This is your bolt isn't it. You can have it back, but don't bother with the healing. I've had much worse before. I mean, one time, I stubbed my toe and it hurt like hell." Fizahn's mischievous grin fades and he feigns concern. "You're not a very good shot, are you?" He's a good shot. He pulls the bolt back as Damian reaches for it, and the grin reappears. "You know, I will clean it off for you. I'm just that nice of a gnome. I'm not going to clean it now of course. Perhaps when we rest, but it will be absolutely perfect when I get it back to you." Fizahn tucks the bolt into his quiver, which it doesn't exactly fit in, and turns away from Damian. After a second, he turns back to Damian, a badly hidden look of concern on his face. "You mentioned an avalanche? You wouldn't know what happened to Callos, Elthan, Katrin, Lumpy, Aeroz, Thokk, and Ssath- the druid are, would you?" Stupid natural disasters. I hope they're all fine.

[barawn]

Damian

The rapid-fire burst of words from the gnome doesn't seem to stir Damian at all, as he calmly waited for the torrent to calm. "Actually, they didn't talk about you at all, Fizzy. I just heard Lissa shout your name when you showed up." His frow burrows slightly, as if in thought over something unrelated. This one definitely talks too much. That could be a problem.

When Fizahn mentions the missing others, he quickly responds. "Katrin's here. She's just good at hiding. As for the others," and he shakes his head slightly, "I don't know. I know Lissa mentioned one of those names before - Callos, I think - so I don't think he was lost in the avalanche. But the others, I don't know. They could've been. We didn't have much time before we were nearly eaten by a giant beast. Well," and he lets loose a slight sigh of frustration, "some of us were. But I don't recognize any of the names you mentioned as being with us after the avalanche."

[namo]

Adalmar

Another arrow nocked in case a ghoul gets too close to escaping, Asalmar replies to Fizahn without looking at him.
"We... We lost many in the Underdark. The dwarf, the lizardman... Lumpy, too, we thought, but he found us again, only to..." His voice is thick with grief, though his focused expression doesn't waver.
"We got separated from Callos, Elthan, Trinark and the elf due to a strange magical tower sending us different ways."

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika calls over to Fizahn. "Your friend 'Katrin' is still with you, Fizahn. My name is Anika now." Her eyes follow Tiriel through the sky, watching her flight. "Tiriel, what do you see up there?"

(OOC@Fizahn: Anika is now 5'4" (although it wouldn't make much of a difference to a gnome, everyone looks tall to Small characters) with blond hair, pale skin, and thin, pointed features. Her eyes are still green.)

[Matticus]

Grynde

Apparently calmed considerably after his recent excursion, he watches the flying people with vague interest.
Wish I had wings.... he mutters, before turning to watch the exchange between Damian and Fizahn.
He grins at the gnome, but does not, for once, speak his mind.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

While keeping an arrow readied on his bow string, Faluil watches the flying figures engage the land-based ghouls. He was all for assaulting them, but he knew, logically, that that would be suicide, or at the very least very inconvenient.

The gnome that showed up seemed a friendly sort. Good to finally have a nice surprise for once during this trip., he thought.

Staring wistfully at Tanner and Tiriel wreaking havoc he comments,

"Kind of wish we could be down there. Ghouls...." *shudder* "abominations. Perversions of the natural order. If it wasn't suicide, I'd be down there, too."

[Dr._Bob]

You watch with detached nonchalance as Tiriel and Tanner hover over the battlefield. Fizahn and Damian banter casually and lightheartedly, ignoring Olfacht's corpse that lies on the ground nearby.

Meanwhile the ghouls scuttle about chaotically, trapped within the confines of the fort by the Rashemi.

Tiriel shouts over that they've found Norgold. Tanner throws down a gob of flame, to little effect. As Tanner concentrates, the magical aura comes into clearer focus. The magic is radiating from Norgold's two gauntlets.

Tiriel and Tanner face a dilemma. If they land and attempt to grab Norgold, they will almost certainly be overwhelmed by the ghouls clustered on the ground beneath them. The ghouls eye both Tiriel and Tanner greedily, beckoning for them to come down with their claws or leaping futilely into the air, hoping to grab one of their feet.

Meanwhile, the Rashemi captain has made his decision. Four of his soldiers circle the fort, pouring flasks of oil strategically at the base of the wooden pilings that form the outer walls. It is clear that the captain intends to burn the fort down with the ghouls still inside ...

[Koji]

Khazrael

This isn't like with the aboleths...we really don't have a way to pull him out of there.

Khazrael turns from the fortress and examines his nails, checking for any dirt or imperfections.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn's face drops as he hears about his companions' fates. He stands still for a moment, obviously shocked before he forces a slight grin onto his face. His voice is still sad and it's obvious that despite his attempt at a joke, he's just as sad as Adalmar for the losses of his companions. "So, the dwarf got himself killed again. I just hope he's stubborn enough to come back this time too. Glad to know Callos and Aeroz are still alive. Can't say I'm too happy about Elthan though..." Fizahn looks extremely confused as Anika talks to him. A look of complete bafflement remains on his face as he questions her. "What? Why? Did you get on the wrong side of the law somehow? Amazing. It truly takes skill to cross the law when, as far as I can tell, you haven't been in a city in weeks. Can't you just have one name? That's all I ever needed. Just one name. Other gnomes want sixteen or seventeen, but I'm content with one. Fizahn's fine. I can't believe you wouldn't talk about me either. You should share all my heroic deeds with people. I mean, I stopped at one point to recount the amazing skills of my friend Katrin, or at least, I would have if there was any intelligent life in the Underdark. Now, Anika, are you likely to change your name again anytime soon?" And there's my talking quota for life. Thank god I'm out of the Underdark, actually have a good night's sleep behind me, am traveling with real live people, and will probably get to a city sometime soon. I never realized how much there is to say except when there was no one to say it to.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel
Argh, he's gotten himself surrounded! Tiriel thinks to herself as she flies in circles above Norgold and his ghoul groupies.

"We found him, but there's no way to get to him. I'm going to try throwing him a rope." Tiriel shouts back to Anika. "If that doesn't work..." she leaves the end of her sentence unfinished. She doesn't want to leave him, but she's also not willing to dive into what is a hopeless situation. Tiriel rummages in her pack and pulls out her length of rope. She makes a quick knot on each end before lowering one half to Norgold, trying to avoid the grasping hands of the ghouls.

[Dr._Bob]

Norgold is paralyzed or dead. He lies motionless, face down, as Tiriel dangles the rope above him.

Two ghouls grab a hold of the rope, trying to pull Tiriel down to the ground. A third ghoul begins to climb the rope.

[barawn]

Damian

Seeing the Rashemi line up to burn the fort down, Damian nods to himself. Should've started that a while ago. Good to know they have some sense.

Sensing Tiriel's frustration, he glances over to Tryntha. "Gods, we're idiots! Tryntha, do you have any more uses of 'turn the undead to dust' left? If they've found Norgold, and he's surrounded, you could clear a path. We've got two people who can fly. Tiriel can carry you, Tanner can rescue Norgold."

"If not, there's nothing we can do for him. But that's our last hope."

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Positioning himself so he is between Tiriel and the ghoul, Tanner takes a bead on the ghoul climbing the rope. He flings the small ball of fire directly down at the creature that is unable to dodge his flaming missile.


Ranged Touch [roll0]
Fire [roll1]

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

Retay has his back turned to the scene, panting heavily. There is a tic under his left eye, and he seems to be struggling with something. His hands are white from gripping his axe so hard.

I won't let it happen again... I won't let it happen again...

[Matticus]

Grynde

His eyes move from Tiriel and Tanner back to the rest of the group.
Who's next? C'mon, we got good odds on Tiriel now. Any takers? Because she'd be about the thirteenth damn person to die now if those things get her he says sarcasticly, a note of bitterness in his voice. Despite his bravado, he isn't too keen on seeing any others die.
On the other hand, he is literally salivating at the thought of getting to do some more fighting.
He glances across at the rest, and his eyes flick to Retay.
He's gunna break that axe if he don't stop squeezing it...Or maybe his fingers...

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel drops the rope with a cry of frustration, spilling the three attached ghouls. Turning to Tanner she shouts, "Unless we can clear those things from him on the ground that's it. We don't even know if he's still alive anyway."
She turns away from the prone Norgold and heads back to the gate.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

"I am sorry, but I have only one spell that could do much good. It will fan a small area with flames in the shape of a cone. I had used my wall of fire already, and I have little else that can help."

Tanner tracks the ghoul he had hit if it still lives.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika blinks at Fizahn a couple of times. "...No, not anytime soon. I just changed names last night or the night before. It'll be a while..."

She looks dismayed upon hearing Tiriel's news. If only we had a mage that could fireball the undead into oblivion... Tiriel could carry him above the fort or something...

[Dr._Bob]

One ghoul is incinerated, while the other two fall backward when Tiriel drops her rope. Frustrated, Tiriel and Tanner are forced to abandon Norgold's body. Landing outside the fort, they watch as flames begin to lick the sides of the wooden fort from all directions.

The Rashemi captain keeps his men in formation, blocking any escape for the ghouls inside. They ignore the ashes and sparks that singe their faces.

As the fort begins to burn, thick black smoke rises. "The huhrong will send men to investigate. Soon you will be in Immilmar ..." the captain says to Tryntha.

Lissa is exuberant, as usual, hugging Fizahn enthusiastically and demanding to know where he has been and how he managed to escape from the aboleths. Achkby is more reserved.

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael watches the flames as though entranced. After several moments, he extends his left hand, and with his right, he grips the handle of his knife. He lays the blade flat against his left palm and listens to the howls of the burning ghouls.

He speaks aloud in Draconic.

"How many times," he muses, "Will it end like this? How far can we run, and how many will we give over to the cloying dark? A curse on this Sethra, and his Lady Valentine."

He slips the blade of the knife along his palm, and in a single sweeping motion with his left hand, sends a small amount of blood out over the snow. He throws his knife down, embedding the blade in the hard-packed powder. He crouches, places his bloodied palm on the snow, then scoops up his weapon and returns it to his belt.

His bizarre folk curse completed, Khazrael folds his wounded hand into a fist and spits in the snow before turning away.

"So...can we get the hells out of here now? I don't wanna be here when the next horrible thing happens to this place."

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

"One moment," he says as he approaches Olfacht's corpse. He bends down, takes off his spell component pouch and any magical items he may have, before lifting him up into the air. He say a short prayer to Gond, "I return ye to the forge." Tanner then drops Olfacht into the fire.

Tanner watches from above - making sure none escape. Tanner will look to see if Norgold's body was left to burn by the ghouls.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn watches the failure in the air without surprise. Maybe if they went a little away from the body, the ghouls would follow them and then they could make a swooping dive to save him. Nah. Probably way too many ghouls for that. He smiles at Anika. "Glad to hear it because if you do change it again, I will have to just give you one name of my choosing. Kind of like how we called Ssa- the lizardman- the druid." I've got to stop doing that. There was a cultural reason he didn't want people to know his name. Maybe I shouldn't be so free with my name either. I'll probably end up on a wanted poster sometime. Fizahn frowns at Grynde's statement. "She's much more likely to survive than you, human scum. I saw the amazing job you were doing keeping out of trouble over there. Oh help me blasty lady! I'm surrounded, eek!"

Fizahn walks over to Tiriel as she lands. He looks up at her and shrugs. "You did what you could. More than I could do. Not his fault he doesn't know there's safety in numbers." Fizahn returns Lissa's hug and grins broadly at everyone he knew. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you guys. I mean, for a while I thought I was the only intelligent life anywhere. Oh, wait... Yeah. Darn." Fizahn shrugs and grins at his friends while taking a little jump out of their reach. "So, you want to know what happened to me? It was horrible. There was an entire fishy city. They all lived there in their little fishy paradise and they brought me there too. I cleverly used my hat as a bargaining chip to get me out of there. They'd never seen a hat before and I was able to help a fishy corner the hat market. They weren't going to let me go, so I snuck out at night. Or day. I'm not sure, it was the Underdark. That's when I ran into the tap-dancing mind flayers-" Fizahn pauses at a complaint from someone. He feigns a look of shock and starts talking defensively. "You don't believe me? Seriously? I thought it was completely plausible. I'm not sure what you're talking about. Fine, fine. I understand. You don't really want to know. You were just being polite."

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel starts to reply to Fizahn but he'd already moved onto his, highly improbable, story of survival. She blinks in confusion (at such an assault of mind numbingly impossible things!) and then laughs, her frustration and anger defused. She nods to the captain. "Good. The sooner we get there the better."

[barawn]

Damian

With the giddy reunion of Fizahn with his former compatriots, Damian moves away from the rest, quietly. His eyes occasionally glance back toward the burning fort as he casually loads another bolt into his crossbow before setting the safety and slinging it over his shoulder. He casually draws one of the daggers hanging by his belt, twirling it idly.

Noble fools. We lost two men in there, for absolutely no reason. We should've burned the place to the ground the instant Anika told us that everyone was killed.

He glances back to the Rashemi guard as they make preparations to leave the fort. "Anytime you're ready. The stench will make us sick if we don't leave soon."

[Matticus]

Grynde

I don't understand what you called me just there, but I get the gist. Let me impart some wisdom to you, you pathetic migdet.
He covers the distance between himself and Fizahn, and lifts Fizahn off his feet, face contorted with rage, holding one shortsword to his throat.
DON'T PISS ME OFF!

OOC: He's only half human. Also, do I need to make a grapple check here?

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

When he saw Grynde pick up and threaten the gnome, Faluil almost readied his bow again, this time at the half-human. But he understood the emotional trouble his companions were going through, having just lost two good friends. He decided to calm the wild man down the hard way.

Worst thing that happens, he thought, the half-human comes after me instead.

"Let the short one alone, cousin. Everybody knows gnomes are just jealous of the taller folk. They like to pick at our occasional shortcomings to compensate for their short statures."

He kept his hands on his bow, though, and kept it pointed towards the burning outpost.



Well, it is essentially a diplomacy check.

[roll0]

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Rage crosses Fizahn's eyes as Grynde picks him up. "Anger issues?" Note to self: This one is violent. Fizahn pushes Grynde's sword away from his throat enough so he can slip out of his jacket. He gracefully lands on the ground and springs away from the maddened half-elf. He looks at Faluil as he starts talking to Grynde. When Faluil stops talking, an expression of shock and hurt is on his face. "Jealous of humans? No thank you. I rather like being smart. If you're really curious, I'm sure Lissa would be willing to translate." Fizahn turns back to his friends, while keeping a wary eye on Grynde.

[barawn]

Damian

The shout from behind him drew his attention immediately, as he turned to see Grynde grab at Fizahn. Even as Faluil berated him, Damian strode quickly over to the half-elf, pulling a dagger smoothly from its strap along his belt.

"Don't even think about doing that again. This is not a pleasure trip for you to attack whomever you want. You attack one of our companions here, and I'll take you down personally. He may not have been here long, but he has earned the trust of several people who you owe your life to, might I remind you."

His eyes narrow cruelly, the white frost and gold sparkles dancing. "Or did you forget we just saved you from your own foolhardiness?"

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika glares at Grynde. "Faluil, don't harass Fizahn any further. Fizahn, don't harass Grynde any further. Grynde... Put Fizahn down, or things will get ugly... uglier than they are already."

She tucks her hands behind her back, to give her better access to the dagger at the back of her belt.

(OOC: Untrained Intimidate Check (1d20+1=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1220390))

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

Faluil's eyes gleam a bit when the gnome converses with him in his native tongue and ignores the Ahhh...Gnomes. I have not had to deal with them since I left Silverymoon...oh, a long time ago.

"My apologies...Fizahn, is it? Just trying to get my over-eager cousin's temper under control with a bit of sarcasm. Your kind might occasionally slip under my notice, but so far as I have known gnomes, I have liked them."

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn sidles up to Katrin and whispers to her. "I never would have harassed him in the first place if I had known he was so bloodthirsty. Credit me with some intelligence, please. He did insult Tiriel though." Fizahn laughs at Faluil's comment. "I'm not sure that sarcasm is the way to ease his temper. I'm not sure if you noticed, but sarcasm is what got me into the mess. Albeit truthful sarcasm, but sarcasm nonetheless. That, and an ignorance of languages. Everyone knows the gnome language has nothing but nice words, right Lissa?" Fizahn practically breaks down laughing after he utters his final sentence. He takes a moment to calm himself. "Reunion, bickering, and mourning aside, I believe it's time to be on our way. Also, Grynde, I'd prefer if you gave me that jacket back at some point."

[namo]

Adalmar

Adalmar, who is not a gifted mediator, stands aside for a time. When the commotion is over, he makes his way to Fizahn and gives him a friendly slap on the back - perhaps a bit too strong a slap, which may cause Fizzy to briefly lose his balance.
"Good to have you back."

He leaves unsaid the obvious part : after we lost so many. He does say a silent prayer to Mielikki, recommending the souls of the fallen to the Huntress.

[Matticus]

Grynde

He stares into the space he had held Fizahn moments before, struggling to control his anger. Faluil's comments have an effect. Finally, seeming to have mastered himself, he backtracks several steps, and picks up his second sword where he dropped it.
You watch yourself, gnome. I know a neat trick that'll make you shorter.
It involves your legs, and a lot of blood he mutters under his breath.
Turning to Damian, he says snidely At least I had the guts to do any fighting. Or did forget that you ran in the opposite direction when Olfacht screamed?

[barawn]

Damian

Grynde's challenge doesn't phase him in the least - in fact, it seems to embolden him, stepping forward until he is merely a step away from him. "Forgotten? Forgotten? If you had done as I said - no, not just me - Anika, Khazrael, Adalmar - any of us, Norgold and Olfacht would still be alive. When Olfacht screamed, he was dead. Period. I knew that the instant I heard him. Was I wrong? Is he alive? You all certainly tried to save him. All your grandiose, brave, and stupid fighting did was put yourself in more danger. And gave the ghouls more time to finish off Norgold."

His voice raises in pitch, anger clearly rising. "You think I didn't plan on fighting? You think I didn't fight at all? See the blood coming from Fizahn's shoulder? That's from my bolt, because I thought he was behind the ghouls, attacking. You want to know why I rushed out? Because I'm not a moron. In there, we couldn't move, we couldn't regroup, and we had no idea of the strength of our enemy. That fort was a death trap, and two of us know that for a fact. Their deaths are on your conscience, not mine. I did everything I could to save them. And you."

"This isn't the first time you've drawn a blade on one of us. It will be the last. Save your swords for something that wants to kill you, or we will take them away."

[Dr._Bob]

While you argue, the fort continues to burn. The Rashemi cut down any ghouls that try to escape through the main gates. The ghouls race about as they catch fire, crazed silhouettes that dance maniacally until one by one they collapse and turn to ash.

The captain watches the argument between Grynde and Fizahn and the others out of the corner of his eye. Tryntha notices a slight disapproving twitch of the corner of his mouth, but he says nothing.

Once Fizahn has wriggled free and retrieved his battered jacket, Lissa quietly lowers her crossbow, carefully removing the oily, dark bolt she had loaded. The poisoned bolt goes back into its special case. She is uncharacteristically silent through the entire confrontation, but her narrowed eyes focus on Grynde with a special intensity. Soon, she promises herself.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

After he is satisfied that there is no longer any threat, Tanner lands. He frowns with obvious disgust at the arguing that is going on. Even though he did not see Grynde threaten the newcomer, he is able to put it together when he sees the tell-tale gnomish coat in the ranger's hands and hearing Damian's words seals it.

Tanner looks around and says, "Are there any here who needs healing?"

He will administer to those that do (he will start by healing the Rashemi.)...but will pass over Grynde and refuse to heal him.

When he has a moment to talk to Tiriel, he will. "A word with you, Tiriel, if I may?"

Taking her aside (above is more like it...as he will fly up high into the air) so self-consciousness may be avoided and the others (especially Grynde) do not over hear. When he is above, he de-activates his hat of disguise so his wings may be seen by Tiriel. "I couldn't help but notice that you and I have similar...qualities. Mine are a gift from Gond, but without my devotion to the great maker, I would not have the strength nor the gift of flight. You, on the other hand, appear to have the blood of the heavens flowing through your veins. Because of this, I feel that I can speak freely to you. I know little of those that were with me when the caravan was overtaken by the snow, but I fear that Grynde is going to be a problem. I trust you have more experience in this matter with your companion, Khazrael. Reason has gotten us nowhere with Grynde. I fear that the only thing this one understands is force. If it comes to this, I will deal with him personally - but I wanted to let you know so you may pass this information along to your friends so that it will not shock them."

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn loses his balance as Adalmar slaps his back. Hoping to save face, he converts his stumble into a roll to get further away from Grynde. Crouching in a ready to spring sort of fashion, he looks up at Adalmar and smiles. "Good to be back." He frowns at Grynde again and fingers his dagger. That's right. Make your threats. Just don't forget what's at slicing level for little old me. Assuming I could find it of course. You should also listen to Dame. He makes a lot of sense. What was that language he was speaking? Elven? Fizahn takes a closer look at Grynde, but from a distance. Nah. The ears aren't pointy enough for elves. Hmmm... Look kinda like Elthan's. Was Elthan a half-elf? Haven't met many half-elves, but they're already making a bad impression.

[Diarmuid]

Tryntha

The Rashemi priestess leaned heavily on one of her kinsman and merely nodded at the captain's words. Channeling the energy to destroy those undead took much out of her, and her emotions got the better of her as she thought about all of the loss involved in her life recently.

Everyone at the avalanche
The survivors who did not survive the wurm
Her countrymen at the fort
Olfacht
Norgold
The poor souls whose fate it was to become those wretched creatures that had killed her companions

She barely registered the actions of the warriors as they burned the fort. Her tear-laden eyes still saw all of the lifeless corpses in the area due to her Deathwatch spell.

Nodding at the captain as he lead her away from the inferno, Tryntha was too distressed to notice the changes to her companions, or to process that they were having an argument and threatening each other.

In a weak voice, she said the captain, but more to assure herself,

"Immilmar. Yes....the Iron Lord will know what to do. He will make things right in our lands again."

[barawn]

Damian

When Tanner asks the others regarding healing, Damian quickly turns away from Grynde, before he can respond - even the beginnings of a response go unanswered. He quickly walks over to Tanner, and speaks up. "Tanner, let me do the first of the healing. I can't hold onto what I've taken from you for very long, and it's pointless to let it go to waste."

"It was noble of you to attempt to save Olfacht, incidentally. More than I would have done."

[blackfox]

Anika

"Well now that you know what he's like, don't do it again, obviously..." Anika scowls and starts observing the group in general and eavesdropping on everyone's conversations.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel catches the tail end of the confrontation between Fizahn and Grynde after talking to the captain. She's starts to move towards the commotion when Tanner pulls her aside. Reluctantly joining him in the sky she listens to what he has to say with some surprise and a bit of anger.
"The half-elf is a problem. A rude, arrogant, and dangerous, problem. I don't think any of my friends will care what you do to him. But let me say this: I'm not going to wait for you to deal with him. If he threatens one of us again I'd say whoever's closer gets to deal with him first."

Tiriel leaves Tanner and rejoins her "friends." She looks over at Grynde before asking Fizahn, "So... why did the elf-ling have your coat Fizahn?"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn grins at Anika. "Now that I know what he's like, I need to think of ways to insult him without his knowledge. I'm just joking. I wouldn't risk my life anymore. I'm kind of attached to my head." Fizahn's grin changes from mischievous to sheepish as Tiriel questions him. "Well... He had my coat because coats make an ideal way to pick someone up. I mean, you grab a guy by the throat of his coat and hoist him into the air. it inconveniences him. It's not like someone would go around intentionally wearing a coat he could easily slip out of in case that sort of thing happen."

[Darius]

Tiriel

"The half-elf is a problem. A rude, arrogant, and dangerous, problem. I don't think any of my friends will care what you do to him. But let me say this: I'm not going to wait for you to deal with him. If he threatens one of us again I'd say whoever's closer gets to deal with him first."


Tanner Gondsman

"I agree and understand on all accounts. Thank you for listening," he calls out to Tiriel as she flies back down. "What have you gotten yourself into now, Tanner?" he asks himself before returning to the others.

When Damian indicates that he must use the healing spell he pilfered from his own spells, Tanner nods and says to him, "Perhaps you should heal the new-comer? It may ease the tension between you two. As far as the noble thing to do...I would rather think it was the right thing to do. I only wish I could have done better for him and Norgold. Of course the one that I had saved from the owlbears proves to be a bitter reminder of my poor judgement. I wish we had listened to you, Damian. That I regret the most. But let us not dwell on things we cannot change, but remember them when we must make similar choices in the future."

[Dr._Bob]

Your shadows are lengthening by the time the flames die down, leaving only a charred pile of charcoal and ash.

The Rashemi create a sledge for their paralyzed comrade, then begin to move out in small groups. The captain nods to you. "Time to go."

...

The road is unpaved, but smooth and straight. You head directly west to Immilmar. By the time you arrive, night has fallen. The captain wastes no time and escorts you directly to the forbidding stone keep that looms over the center of the city, the seat of the Iron Lord.

You have little time to take in your surroundings as you are swept forward through the heavy iron gates into an inner courtyard. Torches cast flickering orange light over the icy cobblestones as your group waits to be admitted. Rashemi warriors line the walls of the courtyard. They seem unsurprised by your arrival, as though you were expected.

After several minutes delay, three figures emerge from a dark archway. They step forward, lowering their hoods. Several of you recognize them immediately - Callos, Elthan and Aeroz.

Callos smiles crookedly, "What took you so long?"

[Koji]

Khazrael

A look of relief washes over his face when he sees the errant trio. Though he'd clashed with Callos and knew Elthan as little more than a dangerous cultist, he was at least glad to see that they hadn't been killed.

"Let me guess, your teleport point took you directly here?"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn looks shocked at Callos's and Aeroz's appearances. "I don't know. What took you so short? I heard you were lost in some mystical towers or some such nonsense." He shrugs and smiles. "So, I suppose you've already done the job we were supposed to do. Just one further addendum. Sethra's forces seem to be using the Underdark as a passageway and undead don't need to sleep. I know you already knew that, but I'm just mentioning it because I found that little fact to be very annoying and stressful. I suppose we can all settle down now. You, Callos, could raise the first good skeletal horde. Achkby and Lissa buy a house somewhere, raise the first half-gnome-quarter-lings. What exactly is a ling anyway? Half-halfling just didn't sound right. Anika, Aeroz, and I could probably start a "firm" somewhere. Elthan can continue murdering unsuspecting paladins in crisis situations. The usual." Fizahn tries to make eye contact with Callos. Having done that, he motions toward Grynde and slams his fist into his hand. I hope he gets the picture that the half-elf is extremely violent. I'm not too good at nonverbal communication.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"I wish. I've been to more places then I've ever really wanted to be at, including underwater somewhere which is a distinctly unpleasant place to simply pop into being at. As far as I know there isn't even a tower here to teleport too, we hitched a ride from someone." Callos responded with a snort to Khaz, rolling his eyes some as he mentally went back through the experience of...well almost drowning which hadn't been fun. Then his eyes swiveled down to Fizahn and an eyebrow arched.

"Aren't you supposed to be some horrible mixture of flesh and hideousness? That's what Trinark said anyway...and no, not quite. We still need to see the Iron Lord. Who are these new people? And more importantly why do they travel with you?" The necromancer asked, suspicion clear in his voice as he gestured at them with his cloak wrapped arm. Too many bad experiences with new people but then again he also knew that his companions had this habit of picking up strays that was rather alarming.

[Matticus]

Grynde

I think the Gnome's a horrible mixture of flesh and hideousness he interjects, but otherwise remains quiet.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika smirks at Fizahn's suggestion that the thieves in the group hire themselves out as partners in crime. She ignores Grynde and instead answers Callos. "We got caught in a... what do you call it... an avalanche. They got swept along with us, and we all pulled each other out of the snow. Nothing terribly exciting," she finishes sarcastically. "Why is your cloak wrapped around your arm?"

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"I have my own very good reasons for having my arm wrapped. I...hurt it during one of the little hops around the world, left quite a mess too until Trinark patched me up." He replied a bit off-hand to Katrin as his eyes shifted from the gnome, to the thief, and then finally to the newcomer who had spoken.

Hmm...looks elven...and human...Actually if I didn't know better I'd say he has some 'Elthan' in him. Which would make him...

"One born from two different races either by love or violence shouldn't be so...liberal with their tongue considering how often ill feelings are directed towards their mixed heritage, half-elf. And if you've traveled any distance you'd know the 'gnome's' name is Fizahn. It may have been awhile but I'm fairly certain that's how he wants to be addressed." Callos said pointedly, a bit surprised by how...rude the man was being. Did one interrupt a re-meeting of friends to insult one of them where he came from? What sort of ill-mannered elven place did this guy come from, cause it certainly wasn't a human place. His attention was abruptly diverted however when he looked over the group once more and noticed people missing.

"...We've lost more, haven't we?...It'd probably be best to leave Sheyra in the dark about these disappearances. Poor girl has been through enough already.." He muttered softly, primarily to himself with a sad worn-out expression on his face.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn shrugs at Callos's comment about him. "Well, Dame calls me Fizzy. We're such great friends already. I'm not so sure about being a horrible mixture of flesh and hideousness, but I am a sneaky mixture of flesh and handsomeness. Why? Are flesh and hideousness supposed to happen in the Underdark? I don't know so much about that, but I do know that some stalactites, or stalagmites, whichever, grab you and have really big mouths with sharp teeth. I was all ready to go for a nice cool swim when it grabbed me too. I tell you, you would not believe how refreshing that water looked. So, after I got away from the killer stalactites, I started looking for you guys and got lost in hell. And you should have been there for the welcome I got when I did meet back up! Dame shot me," Fizahn says cheerfully indicating Damian. "and that one wanted to cut off my head." He finishes equally cheerfully and pointing at Grynde. Need to steal something of his some day. When he least expects it. Someone like him is probably too paranoid to least expect it though. Callos hasn't "met" Anika yet, has he? "Oh, and this is Anika. Really nice girl, too. Feels like you've met her before, doesn't it? What's the point of changing your name if you're still going to talk like you were you? I should probably phrase that differently; it's confusing. Later, once I figure out how I should phrase it. Um, is she unpossessed by Sethra yet? Is that what you mean by been through enough?" A distinct touch of nervousness and fear entered Fizahn's voice once he heard about Sherya.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"Ah, so you escaped then. I'm glad for you, I hear aboleths are rather persistent monsters. Though I'll admit you got a worse reception then when Elthan found me and we found the others, got shot and threatened. Impressive even for you Fizahn. And a pleasure Anika...perhaps you can tell me what happened to the others?" Callos replied with a chuckle. That was Fizahn alright, he'd have to make sure to take the gnome aside and to slip him a ring to make sure that Fizahn stayed Fizahn though. The same with the others once he made sure that they were themselves.

When Fizahn asked about Sheyra though he sighed and gave a shake of his head. "No...Sethra still possesses her from my knowledge but now its only a matter of time until we erase him from her body. And what I meant is...do you think Sheyra would want to hear that her friends died while trying to expel her mortal enemy from her? No, it'd break her heart and thats something we want to avoid, remember?"

[Matticus]

Grynde

He glares darkly at Callos. Leave my heritage alone, human he mutters not threateningly. If by 'ill feelings' you're talking about how your kind treat people like me, then yeah, I know what you're talking about. Just because you're purely a human, you don't get to tell me what to do. he spits this sentence out quickly and quietly, his face getting flushed with anger as he goes. When he finishes speaking, he moves towards the back of the cluster of people without waiting for a reply.

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

Letting the nausea from the teleportation pass, Aeroz surveys the remaining group members and some of the new ones. "I hate doing that..." he mutters.

Upon seeing Fizhan he freezes though. "What the hell happened to you? You got left behind in that gods-damned lightless cavern"

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn mocks shock at Aeroz's statement. "Well so did you! Guess we both made it out, huh?" Fizahn looks at Grynde as he gripes at Callos. "You're making a real great first impression, you smooth talker. I can just tell that the whole of Immilmar is going to love you." Fizahn frowns at Callos. His voice is completely serious. "It's hard for aboleths to catch you when you're being passed from killer stalactite to killer stalactite in some sort of 'gnome snack relay race.'... Not that I know what an Aboleth is. If we're going to take care of Sethra, we'd better do a damn better job than we did when he had Linda. Keep in mind that none of you are obligated to help us. This is something I have to do and anyone who wants to come can." The serious expression lasts a little longer before Fizahn suppresses a giggle and grins at Callos. "Do you think- hehe- that Sethra might- haha- get some sort of pleasure out of possessing a girl? Hahaha. That just strikes me as kind of funny."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"You think of humans as something to be detested and are touchy on the subject of your heritage where there is no insult. Truly a fool's wisdom but he looks young. Maybe he'll learn." Callos hissed out in draconic with an exasperated sigh. What was with people who just met him being rude? It had happened ever since he had changed back from a drider, though at least those lot had good reason to be suspicious of strangers. The necromancer's arm throbbed and his good hand instinctfully went to it as his eyes followed the half-elf to the back of the group before lowering to Fizahn.

"This isn't voluntary for me anymore. The moment he took Sheyra's body I was given to ending him in every sense of the word, and believe me...we'll do better this time." He replied with a confident look in his eyes until he heard the joke and giggle that Fizahn had made. It didn't take a great people person to tell what a mistake it had been as his eyes narrowed and went hard, much like his expression when he had casually lightening bolted the wolf/were-wolf a good ways back. Fingers tightened around the shadowstuff wrapping and whatever was beneath the cloak creaked from the pressure of his grip. When he spoke his voice didn't hold any mirth in them and was simply...cold and angry. "Fizahn...I consider you a fine traveling companion and a friend...but if you ever joke about what Sethra did to Sheyra again, I will hurt you. I expected you to be more sensitive on this matter, I really did."

n.n; Sheyra is a bit of touchy subjext with Callos. Sorry for the aggressive attitude Errikin, you've been getting it a lot lately and I don't want to add to it.

[barawn]

Damian

Damian initially hangs back while the newcomers talk with their former companions, his arms folded, studying the newcomers with a cold eye. Callos. Mage, if memory serves, from what Lissa had said.

Grynde's harsh response towards Callos doesn't surprise him, but he keeps his eyes trained on him during the exchange. Like it or not, Grynde reflected on him right now, and the testy half-elf was already likely not making a good impression.

When Callos sharply criticizes Fizahn, however, Damian speaks up for the first time, clearing his throat loudly after Callos finishes speaking. "Before there are any more hurt feelings and this turns into a brawl, perhaps we should do what we came here to do. We aren't making a good impression on our hosts," and with this, he glances pointedly at Grynde, "and from what I understand, you do need them to believe that you are being truthful."

(OOC: Erikkin, you can probably assume that Damian healed Fizahn out of insistence, not that that 1 hp of damage is really going to be a big deal. :smallbiggrin: It's a waste if he doesn't.)

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn immediately stops laughing. His voice is once more completely serious and a bit sheepish. "You're completely right Callos. I didn't think before I said that. It is completely in bad taste. When we do rescue her from Sethra, I believe she will not remember being possessed by him. Although, I think she deserves to know everyone who sacrificed themselves for her, and that we make sure they not be forgotten." Fizahn's frown deepens and a tear can be seen in his eye before he brushes it away. "Thokk twice. Ssathiya. Graevic. Taern. Djital. Lumpy. Yix. Linda. Sedryn. Darius. Hajih. Elthan..." Wait. Was that the clone or the original? Hell, I don't know. Fizahn retreats from the horrors in his head to the real world. He nods at Damian's words. "True. We do need to tell someone important, and quickly. They will believe us. Either that or perish. If it were my choice, I know which I'd choose."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"You needn't worry stranger, Fizahn and all my former companions know that I wouldn't seriously harm him...though a couple would agree Fizahn needs a good smack know and then." Callos said offhand as he kept on looking at the gnome and gave a small smile when he admitted the bad taste of his joke and reached down to give him a pat on the shoulder. "We're all given to impulsiveness every now and then, don't worry about it too much...and perhaps your right about telling what happened to our other companions as well. In any case they must listen to us, if we don't convince the Iron Lord then Trinark might be in trouble but I'll explain that later in private."

Looking over the other assembled people though his eyes sought out the ones he knew and paused on each one for a moment and longer on others.

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel doesn't quite follow Fizahn's explanation. She'd forgotten how much gnomes like to talk, and since he seemed fine with whatever had happened then she wasn't going to worry about it. [hr]
When the three cloaked figures turn out to be Callos, Aeroz, and Elthan, Tiriel feels that an unrealized weight had been lifted. Good, they were okay after all. But something was still wrong. There should have been one more. And Callos had finally mentioned something that had her worried again.
"Wait. Where's Trinark? What do you mean he'll be in trouble?!?"

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"Trinark was...detained by an old...acquaintance of mine. Needless to say we should double our efforts to reach the Iron Lord if we want to see him again." Aeroz mimics a slight cough.

"Like Callos said, its a long story..."

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Elthan remains silent for the first stage of conversation, doing little more than waving his hand in greeting to them, just a bit concerned they might drop everything and accuse him of murder again (and rightfully so) in front of their host. He relaxes as the conversation avoids him, but does begin to blink curiously at Grynde as he slides to the back, looking aside to Callos and confirming, "He is more than a bit touchy on the matter. I hope that it doesn't mean anything for me."

Truthfully, he did share just a bit of Grynde's feelings, but knew that such feelings were highly misplaced and often unwarranted. All of the humans he had traveled with, a large portion of the group, had not been unkind to him without due cause. Of course, perhaps it had something to do with his soft disposition? Grynde's display of communication skills so far did not make him seem the type who would draw many friends easily.

"It is indeed a long story Tiriel, one which would be best told once we do convince to Iron Lord to assist us."

[namo]

Adalmar

His face lights up with a smile when he sees the group reunited... but it tightens when he spots Elthan. He has an unvoluntary glance towards Lissa.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Faluil

Faluil stays silent as the group walks into and through the city. He observes the three newcomers as they talk to his new comrades.

More old friends. Wonder if everyone who they think is dead is actually dead.

The presence of another half-human disturbed him slightly, though. If the one that they had with them was so volatile, what would the new one be like?

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

At first, Retay hangs back, trying to look insignificant (which is difficult when you're 6'5" tall, rather broad, and carrying a huge axe on your back). But eventually, he seems to come to a decision.

The barbarian walked up to the newcomers and said, "Well met... Callos, Elthan, and Aeroz, was it? I've heard a fair bit about you three from the short ones." He indicates Lissa and Achkby. Then without much warning, he says, "I understand... that you three know something about that necromancer that's allied with the Army of Darkness."

He glanced around, making sure none of the locals were listening - this news deserved to reach the right ears first - and whispers, "I'd be surprised if one of the others hasn't mentioned this yet, but we came upon a Rashemi guard outpost. Empty. Found the guards' bodies inside, gnawed upon. Then a few hundred undead abominations came upon us. We lost two good men there. That's why I ask.

"Oh - and I'd swear the planes are in on us. That one," he points to Khazrael, "is, I understand, part-fiend. And I've seen at least two of the others sprout white wings."

[Koji]

Khazrael

Khazrael picks up Retay's comment and abruptly storms over to him.

"Hey! Keep it down! These barbarians already can't stand me. If they hear you talking like that, they might just decide I'm a liability, eh? I don't know how you feel about it, but most people don't like the idea of having someone like me around."

[blackfox]

Anika

"Don't get me wrong, Khazrael, but they'll like you even less if you keep calling them barbarians. We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves in any case--didn't we come here for an audience with the Iron Lord?"

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

"Enough! Anika's right, we," she indicates herself, anika, callos, elthan, aeroz, fizahn, khazreal, adalmar, lissa, achkby and lissa, "need to speak with the Iron Lord. As far as I'm concerned you're welcome to come along but please don't try to explain things that you may not completely understand or did not witness. Hopefully it'll lead to less confusion that way."
Tiriel takes a deep breath hoping that what she said simplifies things a little.

ooc: I don't think I forgot anyone... if I did please point it out so I can fix it!

[barawn]

Damian

At Tiriel's comment, Damian, who had been standing by after his interjection before, speaks up again. "Tiriel - if I may make a suggestion - I think one of you should speak to the Iron Lord. One of the problems that we're having is that everyone's too headstrong - everyone wants to contribute, and everyone has been. Sometimes that's a good thing. In this case, it's not. If you want to convince a ruler that what you're saying is true, you need to present a unified front - One person explains. If any questions are asked that that one person doesn't know, then the companions can fill in details."

He sweeps his arm around, indicating all of Immilmar. "Look around you - think about what we've seen. This is an ordered society. If you present them with order, they'll understand."

"Tryntha can probably facilitate the introduction and any proprieties, but I think all of you should decide which one of you should present the information. I don't think this is going to be nearly as obvious as any of you think. I've dealt with leaders before. They don't like change, and they'll look for any evidence to believe exactly the opposite of what you say."

"And once that one person is decided, the rest should really just, to be frank, shut up."

[King_of_GRiffins]

Elthan

Though at first ready to interject, Elthan listens with patience as Damian explains his request. With a short look around to the others, he gives a nod of agreement to Damian. "He... Does have a point. Additional speakers would only detract from the main point. That being said though, it should either be Callos, Aeroz, or I who speaks to the Iron Lord. If we want to see Trinark again, we need to convince them to ally with Hondoleth, and unfortunately we know a bit more about that at the moment than rest of the group."

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn seems to quiet down some as the meeting wears on. He seems sort of unhappy that warning the Iron Lord hasn't already been taken care of. He nods however as one spokesperson is suggested. "A good plan. We only need one spokesperson, and I suppose that it should be one of you three, given your new situation... and Trinark's imminent danger? I suggest Aeroz. No offense Callos, but you might piss them off as much as I would." Offense meant to you of course, Elthan. Fizahn makes sure all his weapons are sheathed and starts walking in whatever direction he assumes the Iron Lord's castle to be.

[Frojoe21]

Aeroz

"Well, thats not putting any pressure on me" Aeroz state sarcastically at Fizhan's remark. "However, If it'll help get Trinark back, I'll do it. Callos, you may also want to explain the 'gift' that my old friend Prozen gave us"

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel nods in agreement with Damian. "This is true, but I still think that providing other... whitenesses will strengthen our cause. I guess we'll all be called on to give 'our versions' if there's any doubt."
She crosses her arms and looks at Elthan with a scowl. "But there's no way you're going to represent us after what you did. Callos and Aeroz are both competent, I'll happy with whomever the group decides.
"What about Prozen and a gift now?"

ooc: I didn't mention it before but Tiriel would have reactivated her "glamor" to hide her wings after the battle.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn quickly realizes that he has no idea where he's going. He stops and turns back to the group. "Any of you know where we're supposed to be going? Yeah, no pressure Aeroz. I kinda pictured it with Aeroz as the main spokesperson and all of us there nodding agreement and helping Aeroz with difficult questions. And, Callos is competent. Very competent. Extremely competent; however, he has a tendency to be blunt, condescending, and un-flowery. What we need is flowery noble speech. I trust Aeroz knows how to do it better than the other two." Fizahn silently walks over to the closest Imilmar peasant. His hand quickly dips into the man's purse before he taps him on the side. "Excuse me. Yeah, down here. Thank you. Would you perhaps be able to tell us how we'd be able to get an audience with the Iron Lord. It's a matter of utmost urgency."

[roll0]
Edit: Yeah, I probably just pissed some people off. Stupid two.:smallannoyed:

[Callos_DeTerran]

Callos

"No offense taken. I'm not a people person and I'm at least aware of that fact. In any case we really don't have time to stand here and talk to each other, we should do what we came here for in the first place so wee can speak of equally important matters in private." Callos said loftily, and pointedly avoiding the topic of this gift with a suspicious look to all those who were around them, and not just the guards and couriers either.

[Dr._Bob]

Fizahn looks around for a commoner, but finds no one that would fit that description. Every Rashemi nearby is a heavily armed warrior. Some have badges signifying one berserker lodge or another. The Rashemi have been watching your group's reunion with interest from a discreet distance. Although it is night, the entire castle appears to be on alert.

Aeroz, Callos and Elthan find that the scroll they were carrying is missing. Their weapons and other items, however, have been left untouched. In fact, no one has been disarmed or otherwise restricted in any way. The three men have no way of knowing how long they were left lying on the cobblestones after their teleportation courtesy of the circle mages of Hlondeth. It would appear that they were searched, but nothing other than the scroll has been taken.

As some of you begin to wonder aloud about the Iron Lord, the Rashemi captain appears and beckons your group towards a large archway.

An enormous keep towers above the archway. This keep is the highest structure within the entire citadel, which itself is the highest part of the city of Immilmar. No doubt the Iron Lord resides inside. Perhaps he has decided to grant you an audience in the middle of the night. An unusual violation of the usual Rashemi protocol, Tryntha notes.

Your stomachs growl, reminding you that you have not had dinner yet ...

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

A sense of joy is felt deep within Tanner's heart when he sees Immilmar. It takes his resolve to not take flight and make as swift of an entrance as possible. However, he did vow to himself that he would do all he could to see this through, so he remains with the group.

Upon meeting the trio of companions of the other group, Tanner stands an awaits an introduction. None other than the names of the three is given. It seems like the rest of us are not needed here from how this group of adventurers is carrying on. I will accompany them inside and give my account when asked by the Iron Lord, but I may be needed here to repel the menace approaching, Tanner thinks to himself. And I thought Grynde was rude. Here we had helped them, lost several of our number, while those of their group remain in tact. Not even a thank you. One thing is for sure, I seek to enlist the help of Damian - although uncharactistic, he is a true leader. His skills will be needed in the days to come.

Tanner will remain quiet until addressed, but follows along with the others.

[blackfox]

Anika

Anika, as well, follows along quietly. She looks around in feigned interest, taking in everything as she walks through the halls, noting not only the way back, but side passages and 'landmarks' such as tapestries and furniture, or anything else that might pose an obstacle or cover a secret door.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Hmmm... No. No. No. No... Hell. All these people look like they can chop my head off. I am not risking that for a couple gold. Fizahn remains quiet as the party is led off, to his embarrassment, in the exact opposite direction he had originally chosen. Wow. I see it now. How could I not see it before? Maybe, I'm subconsciously trying to avoid the pleading of our case. His mind quickly changes from these thoughts however, and he voices his doubts to his comrades. "I think this is a bad idea. I'm really hungry. We need food, and this guy is probably sleeping in a heavily guarded room. Perhaps we could adjourn to the nearest pub and actually make introductions?" Fizahn bows before the party. "I'm Fizahn. I believe I told most of you my name before. These are my friends Callos and Aeroz. This is Elthan." He indicates each of them as he says this and there is a considerable pause between Aeroz's name and Elthan's introduction. "Callos, Aeroz... Elthan, these are Dame," He points at Damien. "Half-elf, half- violent," Grynde is indicated. "Blasty ghoul killer," He motions toward Tryntha. "Brother Flies-a-lot," He gives a gesture to Tanner. The guy with big ears and an equally giant sword." He points at Faluil. "And Mrs. Almost-get-eaten-with-Achkby-and-Lissa." A brief gesticulation towards Desmona. "I believe I mentioned the beautiful and talented Anika already. You'll find her to be very familiar. Almost as if you've known her for a while."

[kuja.girl]

Tiriel

Tiriel rolls her eyes at Fizahn's "introduction." Some of his nicknames were good though. but it makes me wonder what he calls the rest of us when we're not around...

"I think we'd better just along with things for now Fizahn. I'd rather get an audience now than some unknown later time."

[barawn]

Damian

When the group is ushered off, Tryntha's comment causes Damian's nerves to prickle. Something felt wrong - and even if it was simply news of unrest reaching this town and putting it into a tense state, prudence seemed the best plan. Never talk to a man who can throw you in prison without an escape route, that's what I always say.

"Tiriel. I need to get something out of my backpack, if that's all right."

Walking over as she hands over the pack, he quickly searches for his own personal escape route before returning the pack with thanks.

(grabbing a scroll of invisibility from the pack)

[namo]

Adalmar

His feelings are a mix of awe and discomfort (forester forever...), but he cannot helped being cheered by little Fizzy and his capering. He nods his agreement with the "one speaker" plan, but wouldn't volunteer for all the gold in the world. He never expected he would have to deliver his plea for help to the Iron Lord himself...

Getting closer to Tryntha, he asks quietly in Rashemen : "Lady Tryntha, do you have happen to have a connection to the Iron Lord ? Things are going, well, fast..."

[Koji]

Khazrael

I hope this Iron Lord doesn't get mad at me for showing up in his court without a shirt on...

[Naleh]

Retay, human barbarian

Retay follows the others in silence, looking even more troubled than usual.

[Darius]

Tanner Gondsman

Tanner winces at Fizahn's introduction. He replies, "Fizahn, like you I have a name. I am called Tanner Gondsman by the Rashemi people because of my profession and faith in the Great Maker. I would appreciate being called such - preferably Tanner or Gondsman instead of one of the multitude of creative nicknames I am sure you may come up with." Tanner then addresses those introduced, "Callos, Aeroz, and Elthan - a pleasure to meet you." He cannot help but note that Fizahn called Callos and Aeroz his friend and left Elthan out of the mix. Perhaps this group is not as close knit as I once believed, Tanner considers silently.

The cleric of Gond then adds, "I agree with Damian that the newcomers should address the Ironlord to tell of the dire situation that plagues the land. I live in Immilmar, and I speak Rashemi. As a merchant, I have found that diplomacy is important. Although I shall defer my expertise to a native like Tryntha, I offer up my assistance where needed."

[Matticus]

Grynde

As the others talk, he stays silent, painfully conscious of the dislike eminating towards him from everybody else. His eyes rest on Elthan. He, too, notices that Fizahn does not seem to like him either.
I'm noticing a trend here... Bloody midgets.
Yes, I've noticed you talk a lot he mutters to himself in response to Tanner's comment, and a sneer crosses his face.

[Erikkin]

Fizahn:

Fizahn nods at Tanner. "Naturally Brother Gondsman. I will gladly refer to you by your name. I just didn't recall it at the time. Had I remembered people's names, I most surely would have used them. Except I did recall Grynde's name." Fizahn looks around for a second, and his eyes focus on Retay. He smacks himself in the forehead and looks back at Callos, Aeroz, and Elthan. "Over there is Silent but Deadly, the worm slayer I believe." He then looks over at the Rashemi captain. "Although I must tell you, I'm unsure as to who this fine buoyant conversationalist is. What's your name sir?"

[barawn]

Damian

Relaxing slightly, slipping the scroll in a belt loop, he looks to the newcomers. "Incidentally, I'm Damian, though 'Fizzy' apparently enjoys diminutives - ironic, that." His eyes roll slightly with mention of Fizahn, and looks back to him. "Incidenally, Fizahn, if things do calm down slightly, I might want to enlist your aid in learning gnome. It's one of the languages that's been on my to-do list for a while, although, to be honest, I haven't had a need for it. Never had a gnome employer."

He chuckles slightly, his eyes going distant. "Listening to you, there might be a reason for that."

[Naleh]

Retay, "silent but deadly"

Realising he is being spoken about, Retay looks intently at the gnome for a moment, then suddenly grins. It's probably the happiest he's looked since the avalanche.

"Worm slayer," he says to noone in particular. "I like the sound of that..."

((Woot! 1000th post in this thread!! :smallbiggrin: ))