IC - The Pack

[Comissar]

Welcome to the Career Pack IC thread! This is where you'll all receive updates and, when out of combat rounds, can RP as a group. Currently this group consists of (from the PC's) Jibril, James and Alex. You can still make use of your private IC's of course, but I'll be updating this thread with the actions of Athena, Goelev and Hayl (so long as you're all/mostly present to observe it). It will otherwise follow the normal rules of the main IC.

[Comissar]

Athena looks disappointed that there's nobody left around the cornucopia for her to vent her frustrations on. Irritably, she turns her attention to the prone form of Antogg near her feet. With a quick thrust, she cuts his throat. Deed done, she stands again, looking at the now dead Half-Orc dispassionately. James starts stomping off toward the south, anger radiating off of him. "I'm going to make sure the gnome dies then. Leave me the armor. And a hammer, if you find one."

Goelev shrugs helplessly as the boy from two heads southward, turning to the two from five. He grins at them. "What can you do, eh? There's always one."

Hayl grins nervously back at the Dwarf, "So, uh, shall we start sorting bags?"

Shrugging again, Goelev comments, "Sure, just watch for anyone trying to sneak back and steal stuff."

Across the clearing, Jibril moves at a quick jog around one of the boulders. Abruptly, the twang of a bow echoes briefly followed by a strangled yell.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2014-12-24at191713.png

Still waiting on Alex's actions

[Comissar]

With Antogg now dead, Athena begins to rifle through the other bags that are strewn about the cornucopia. The task looks likely to take her some time, and she keeps glancing up at the others who have remained. Possibly to keep track of them. Goelev walks back as well, beginning to sort through the outermost bags. Hayl glances over to Alex before following the Dwarf, beginning her own search to see what goods the group had managed to secure.

James, meanwhile, continues to head south in search of Kijin, a determined expression on his face. Across the clearing, Jibril disappears from the view of the group.

You may all post freely from here on in, which can be in this thread. We're moving out of combat rounds now, I'll explain in more detail what this means in the general OoC thread.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2015-01-01at174706.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2015-01-01at174717.png

[Metroid33]

Jibril walks out from behind the rock and moves back over to the Cornucopia, stashing 2 arrows in her quiver. "Odath is dead" She announces as she moves closer. Looking over what the others are doing.

[Comissar]

Jibril returns to the Cornucopia to find Athena, Goelev, Hayl and Alex are moving all of the bags into piles in preparation for sorting through them. When she announces her return, Athena mutters something to herself.

"Took you long enough..."

Goelev, in contrast, glances up with a welcoming grin. "Grab a couple of bags, let's get through this quickly."

James, meanwhile, is heading over to the bodies of those that have died during the opening skirmish.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2015-01-09at234933.png

[Jacior]

James continues at his task, essentially ignoring the rest of the group, but listening to what they're talking about.

Perception: [roll0]

[Comissar]

Hayl grins uncertainly at Jibril, grabbing the bag that was lying at the ground by her feet before returning to the pile that she and Alex were working on. Alex keeps an eye on her movements while she's away from him, a look of concern evident on his face. Athena, on the other hand, doesn't appear to pay any of the other tributes any attention as she methodically piles the bags one on top of another.

Goelev stands up from his work, looking between the two tributes from District 2 with a confused look on his face. "So... Are you really just going to not help here? Because that's not a great start to a working relationship, I can tell you that."

Willow has a simple loop of leather cord, a trinket which she wears around her neck. The cord looks unrefined, not even tanned. At first glance, Weaver doesn't appear to have anything with him. Rifling through his pockets, though, James finds a single tarnished coin. The raised surfaces have been worn smooth, possibly through repeated rubbing.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2015-01-13at230504.png

[Metroid33]

"I'll help, I'll help." She stoops down and starts rifling through bags trying to collect some knives from the m and throwing the rest of the bags in the pile in what ever means they wish to be sorted.

[Erik Vale]

[roll0]

Alex shifts his gaze from cornacopia to the outside every now and again. However as the bags start to pile up, he will occasionally stop to mutter something before looking in their direction.



Casting a spell each time, there are two spells he's using.

Detect Magic and Poison
Taking 10 on Slieght of Hand to set DC for Perception

"Will we be hunting them straight away?" Alex suddenly asks.

[Jacior]

"I'll help when I'm done what I'm doing. If you have a problem with that, you can bite me, shortstack." It was probably better to be polite but then the dwarf was already grating on James' nerves.

[Comissar]

Goelev raised an eyebrow at James' response, standing from his work to look over at the boy from two. Before he gets the chance to say anything, Athena calls out "Ignore him, it's not worth it."

Shrugging, the Dwarf turned his attention to Alex instead, "In answer to your question, no. We're not as equipped as we can be yet, and they're scattered and running scared. Chances are there's some confused fighting going on already. We want that, makes it simpler for us to go after them when they're tired. We take our time, gear up then set out when it's dark. It's not an original tactic, but it works."

Just gonna go ahead and give you the full equipment list now (excluding any gear held by members of the pack already, such as Jibril's bow);

23 Backpacks
13 Knife
6 Winter Blanket
7 10ft. Silk Rope
12 Water Bottle (empty)
7 Winter Clothing
12 Flint and Steel
58 Days Trail Rations
10 Water Bottle (full)

The Armour rack holds a complete suit of Studded Leather Armour. This can be disassembled into individual components and spread around, the Gauntlets, Boots and Helmet will each give +1 AC when worn individually (+2 for any combination of them). The Chest on its own gives +2 AC.

None of the equipment is Magical or Poisonous

Searching Kevin's body, James finds a heart-shaped locket around his neck. Surprisingly, it seems to be quite high quality. When opened, it reveals a photograph of him and a girl of a similar age, happily hugging one another in a large field.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screenshot2015-01-18at134223.png

[Metroid33]

"Well I say to split up the gear everyone should change into a set of winter clothing and take a knife just to have. Never know when you need a little weapon or something. I also think we should start up a fire here and melt some snow into the empty water bottles. Anyone disagree with this?"

[Erik Vale]

Alex shakes his head.
"With all the snow making a fire pit's going to be a pain, unless you want to set it in the Cornacopia and leave everything else outside. However we can melt snow in the bottles against our skin, or I could make a large puddle magically if needed."
Turning to the trees he frowns.
"But, if need be I can collect some wood... It'd let me take a closer look at the trees at least."

[Jacior]

James pockets the locket and heads over to the body of Antogg. "It also helps that we managed to keep basically all the bags. With the cold, a couple will probably die during the night if we're lucky."

[Comissar]

Goelev nods, looking over to Jibril, "Sounds like a good plan," He picks up one of the coats, starting to pull it on.

Hayl, meanwhile, nods in agreement with Alex. "Checking on the trees sounds like a good plan, I think having to rely on magic too much probably isn't the way we want to do things." She looks up to see Athena's walked over, "Umm... Yes?"

"Alright then, let's go gather some wood."

Hayl looks surprised, "Wait, right now?"

"That's right, you shouldn't go there on your own and we need the supplies," There's a frustrated edge to her voice, "Now are you coming or not?"

Hayl looks hesitant, glancing to Alex. Goelev, meanwhile, has stopped what he was doing, leaning against the cornucopia wall as he listens to the two talk.



James finds that Antogg had a simple hand carved token of a wolf's head. The carving is rough, as though drawn from an idea of what the animal should look like, it's only barely recognisable as a wolf.

Jibril has taken two of the knives for herself

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-01-21%20at%2023.57.35.png

[Erik Vale]

Alex shrugs.
"Look at it this way Hayl, if we wait longer, anyone staying around will be able to set up a better ambush, and they're going to have to trust us if they want a good nights sleep while they're still in this cage. But first..."
Alex walks over to the knife stash, grabbing one out.
"I'll get changed later. You fine to keep watch Athena?"
Assuming Athena says yes, Alex starts walking towards the tree line, taking a close look at the trees, cutting into the bark of one with his knife.


Perception: [roll0]
Knowledge Nature: [roll1]
Survival: [roll2]
Knowledge Arcarna/Spellcraft [As Relevent]: [roll3]

How flamable does the forest look? Considering both using Flaming Hands and Spark [but not trying just yet]

[Comissar]

Athena nods, "Good, glad we're in agreement. Now," She turns to Hayl, "Give me your sword." When Hayl doesn't immediately pass it over, Athena just rolls her eyes, "For gods sake, be practical. You're not as good at fighting as I am, we both know that. If you think I'm going to stab you or your boyfriend in the back, then you clearly don't know the grief that I'd get from everyone else for doing that."

Hayl hands over the sword, though her expression makes it clear she's doing so grudgingly. Ignoring the look she's getting from Hayl, Athena walks over to the treeline with Alex. As the two start to walk off, Hayl picks up a pair of knives. With a glance to the other three, she comments "I'm going to go too, can't hurt to have another pair of eyes out."

The tree's bark is fairly dry, though there is a thick resin that oozes from any cut surface after a few seconds. The resin looks harmless enough.

Unless James wants to go and find Odath's body, he's out of people to search.

Just a small update today.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-01-25%20at%2011.33.41_1.png

[Erik Vale]

Alex touches his finger to the sap, and after a muttered word [assuming no adverse effects as yet], touches it to his lips. Assuming no adverse effects after a few seconds, he then licks his lips.
"There's a chance I could set the forest ablaze to try and smoke the others out..." Alex speaks almost absent mindedly, focusing his senses on the sap now, before moving to collect low lying thin branches using his knife or any fallen wood for the fire.


Determining the toxicity of the sap/other properties. Spitting it out if it's foul tasting etc, not tasting it if it causes numbness.
I'm using Presdigitation to clean it. Which in this case will likely be mostly getting any of the dirt on the tree off of it.
Dice rolls if relevant [you can see my mod, so grab as relent]:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]



The muttering is a spell.

It's called Prestidigitation.

[Jacior]

James decides not to pursue Odath's body and finishes the task of collecting the trinkets. "Have fun." He calls to the three that were leaving. "So what now?" He asks, coming back towards the Cornucopia.

[Comissar]

Goelev shrugs, "Now we kick back, take five. No sense in racing off after people who're trying to get away from us, after all. Let them tire themselves out first. On top of that, it's good to take a short rest after a fight. Don't want muscles to seize up," He nods towards the pile of bags, "Grab whatever you want from the stuff we got, there's plenty to go around."

The Dwarf looks disinterested as he sits himself down on the frozen ground, gazing out northward.

________

Athena seems to consider Alex's suggestion for a moment before shaking her head, "No, that's probably not a great idea. The wood's what's going to keep us warm. Without it it'd be too easy to freeze."

Hayl simply stays quiet, watching for movement around them. Her attention seems to be primarily focused on the south, looking for anyone that might be sneaking up from behind Athena and Alex.

The sap is slightly bitter to the taste, though whether this is a normal property of sap or not he can't recall. Beyond its bitterness, and natural stickiness, there doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary to it. He does notice that it has already hardened over the cut he'd made in the branches.

In addition, though Hayl is acting as though she's watching for anyone sneaking up, her body language suggests that she's instead keeping a very close eye on Athena. There's a tenseness to her posture that suggests that she'd be ready to react if the girl from District 1 made any wrong move. For her part, Athena seems oblivious, or possibly uncaring, toward Hayl.

No new map since no significant movement has taken place. James is now amongst the bags, but other than that there has been no real change.

[Erik Vale]

Alex takes note of the sap, and details as to the tree so he kind find those of it's type easier if necessary.
"That's what huddling together is for. Though I suppose it would suck for me.... The sap's probably not good for sugar unless you're desperate."
Alex goes back to collecting wood.


If at any moment Alex notes Hayl looking to him pointedly about her guard, Alex will nod and smile.

[Jacior]

James puts on a set of the winter clothing and then layers the armor on top of it. He sets up a pack full of survival equipment in general and grabs a pair of the knives as well. "Damn. No hammer. This whole thing is such a pain." Grabbing the pack he walks into the Cornucopia. "Shout at me when they get back."

1 Backpack
1 Winter Blanket
1 10 foot silk rope
2 Empty Water Bottles
2 Full Water Bottles
2 Flint and Steel
9 Days of Trail Rations

[Comissar]

Athena looks unimpressed at Alex's suggestion, "Please. 'Huddling together' is for people who are scared of us. Who cares if other people know where we are?"

Hayl shrugs, "I guess it could make a good decoy, though. Set up one fire, lay out some of the blankets there. We all bed down somewhere else, keep watch on it. Catch out anyone trying to ambush us at night."

Athena scowls, "Or we could just keep watch around the fire instead. I'm not going to freeze just because you're paranoid."

_________________

Goelev watches James with interest. Though he makes no move to stop him from putting together his pack, he does look as though he's keeping track of what's being taken. Before long, he comments "Ok, I give. Why cart it all around with you when we could just keep guard over it here?"

No new map since no new movement.

[Erik Vale]

Alex shakes his head, but doesn't look up from a branch he's picking up.
"I've seen years where Career packs have all been asleep at one time, so I do care. Except for the fact that I likely wont sleep throughout the games."
Standing up, Alex begins towards the cornucopia, arms full of wood.

[Metroid33]

"Well if you don't want to sleep it's your funeral. If you don't sleep you'll suffer from fatigue, then you won't be useful to us or yourself. You'll drag us all down and increase the odds of you slipping up in a fight.It's a terribly idea to not sleep." Jibril said, walking over to the rest of them.

[Jacior]

James just rolls his eyes. "If I get seperated or the rest of you turn on me, It's kind of, an escape plan." He shrugs. "Or if I want to hunt by myself."

[Erik Vale]

Alex laughs, shaking his head as he keeps walking with the wood, dumping it just outside the cornucopia before returning to gather more.

[Comissar]

Goelev frowns at James, but shrugs his shoulders, "Suit yourself. Seems a bit early to be worrying about that, but that's your call and not mine."

Athena, meanwhile, walks after Alex, "She's right, you know. I don't want you slowing us down just because you're scared to sleep."

Hayl follows after her, an irritated look on her face, "You should trust us a bit more, we're meant to be your team mates."

Athena smirks mirthlessly, "No, you're part of the pack. And how you act is up to you, but if you mess up badly enough to threaten us, then cutting you loose is the only logical outcome."

Again, no map as no significant movement other than Alex, Hayl and Athena drifting back toward the centre.

[Erik Vale]

Alex laughs at this point, enjoying Hayl not revealing that he doesn't need to sleep all the time. He considers dragging it out a little more before shaking his head.
"I don't need to sleep, as in physically don't. Most of the time anyway. I can extend it to others to, depending on how magically active I've been."

[Jacior]

James shrugs. "You never know what's going to happen in these games. It could be sooner than you think." He goes into the Cornucopia and sits up against the wall.

[Comissar]

Athena looks non-plussed at Alex's revelation. "Presumably that'll cover all of us?" She glances over at Hayl, "Or was the plan just to keep you two Five's awake and active?"

Athena walks over to the mouth of the Cornucopia, turning to face Alex as she leaned against the mouth, "No." A smirk forms, "Though it does give us a new plan for what to do at night. One each of us," She gestures in turn at herself and Goelev, then Jibril and James, and finally Hayl and Alex, "Spend the night watching. The rest can rest easy. The next night we switch. Everyone gets a chance to watch and everyone can rest easy knowing they're protected by a couple of competent fighters."

Goelev smiles, "Sounds good to me, I'm game."

Hayl, on the other hand, has a much more neutral demeanour. "That doesn't exactly seem fair to me. Both you and Goelev scored higher than any of the rest of us."

Athena scowls, "Which is exactly why one of the two of us should be on guard at night. There's nobody who'll be able to equal us if they try an attack."

Again, no map.

[Erik Vale]

Alex is silent a moment, considering how to answer.
"I can keep multiple people awake. Depending on how much energy I've used, I could keep us all awake, but at the moment I can keep people up in twos. However, I will always be with the watching group. Call it paranoia, call it me also setting up and maintaining additional protections."
Then he shrugs.
"Besides, after three nights in we could be at the... Expendable stage."

Alex waits, expecting a rebuttal and preparing his next one.

[Comissar]

Athena's scowl deepens. "If the potential is there to keep all of us alert all the time, what's stopping you from keeping three up?" She starts to walk slowly toward Alex, "I don't like the idea of two districts having free reign while the third sleeps. Call it paranoia."

The last word is almost spat, making no effort to hide her opinion of Alex's concern's. As she draws closer, Hayl takes a step forward, a look of defiance on her face. Athena stops and gives a short laugh, "What? Being in the pack isn't enough for you? You have to have everything your way as well? What makes you think that your stubbornness is worth more than my years of training? What?!"

Athena's last exclamation was directed at Goelev. The Dwarf had walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she ranted at Hayl.

"Athena," His tone is measured, calm, "Go and cool down. You're not doing yourself any favours."

The two stand opposite one another for a tense moment, Athena glaring down at the impassive Goelev. Eventually, she turns and heads back toward the forest. Remaining silent as she stalked past the two tributes from District 5. Watching her go, Goelev shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry. You've probably guessed, but she wasn't exactly in favour of having you guys with us." He glances down, sighing heavily, "We're not going to turn on you at the drop of a hat. It's true only one of us wins, but that doesn't mean we don't want to work with you. But you do need to work with us, too. Having one each of us on watch means that we don't need to worry about betrayal during the night, and it's also going to make it easier to fight off anyone trying to catch us off guard. You two are just as important to the group as everyone else, we wouldn't have you here otherwise."

[Erik Vale]

Alex nods, still looking towards Athena.
"I understand. However like anyone caught in a prisoners dilemma, I'm looking for some measure of safety to know it's not worth folding. For me, that's being awake where possible."
He then shakes his head, looking towards Goelev.
"I understand your stance though... I'll try to be conservative with my magic without risking each other. With luck, I'll be able to keep us all alert... I'll start clearing a pit in the snow. We''l need one to start a fire anyway unless we want it in the cornucopia."

Alex begins heading over to the equipment stockpile, eventually cursing at the lack of a spade, shovel, or other such item, before beginning to pull on gloves and a jacket

[Jacior]

James stays quiet throughout all the shouting and griping, even watching Alex pick through the bags for a shovel. With a sigh he gets up, grabbing his bag. "I'm gonna go make sure she's safe. Just what we need this early on is to lose her..." Shrugging on the bag, he walks towards Athena, waving a hand back at the others. When he catches up to the girl from 1, he stays quiet for a moment. "So... you wanna talk about it?"

[Metroid33]

Standing next to Goelev, Jibril listens to what he says and waits for Alex to move away saying "Well of the entire group I'm surprised Athena even agreed to myself and James. We didn't score the best in the world like most careers do, and the way she's acting I'm not sure if she likes any of us."

[Comissar]

Goelev nods, an appreciative smile on his face, as Alex explains his stance. "That's all I'm asking."

He glances over to Jibril, acknowledging her with a nod. "If you think she's tough to handle in small doses, imagine what she was like to live with for the past few days. She can get pretty intense," He looks over at Athena as he says this, "Though, to be fair, if you're going to get serious over anything..." He leaves the statement hanging.

___________________________

For a moment, it looks as though Athena's going to ignore James. She eventually lets out a frustrated sigh, "They haven't trained for this like we have, Two. Their best chance to survive for as long as possible is to work with us." She runs a hand through her hair, her irritation evident, "And they have to know that. They wouldn't have joined us otherwise. And yet they're already ignoring our plans and trying to just do things their way!"

[Jacior]

"I haven't even trained like you have. Not that that seemed to affect my score much." James said mildly, keeping an eye out while Athena ranted. "Arguing isn't going to do much." He shrugs, not really knowing what to say.

[Comissar]

Athena clenches her jaw following James' comment. When she speaks, her tone is cold "You know what I mean. Even if you didn't train to the same degree, you were clearly preparing yourself for this. Those two just got picked and nobody had the guts to step up instead."

[Jacior]

"It's not they're totally useless either. I didn't impose them on us as some kind of handicap." James says, not matching her tone at all. "Worse comes to worse, we push them in front of us and run. They'll learn or die. Earlier anyway."

[Erik Vale]

Having pulled on winter gear, Alex begins moving snow away from the entrance of the Cornacopia for a fire pit.

[Comissar]

Athena sighs heavily, pinching her brow. Eventually she replies "Fine, fine... You made these points first time around, Two."

She looks back to the group around the Cornucopia, "Go on back if you want, I'm not going to get caught off guard here."

Meanwhile, Hayl walks over to Alex and helps him clear a pit. Goelev watches with a bored expression. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes. "God this is boring... Feels like we've been waiting days..."

Glancing up at him, Hayl comments "Why not take a small group out, see if you can find a few people?"

Goelev hums to himself, "The sensible thing is to stay put, let everyone else tire themselves out..."

Shrugging to herself, Hayl replies "I just think we might be shooting ourselves in the foot. If I were running, I'd want to set a trap for pursuer's. Might be easier to take them out while they're still running."

[Metroid33]

"Well in theory we could wait here for days and just let the others freeze to death out there. if they start a fire to keep warm we can find them. but of course if they all die of the cold that's not a fun hunger games now is it?" Jibril says following behind Hayl. But I'm itching to get moving and at the same time I don't want to waist my arrows chasing them through the trees.

[Jacior]

"Eh, I'm bored. Might as well hang out with you." James says, shrugging. "Figures there wouldn't be a hammer here."

[Comissar]

Hayl nods encouragingly, "Yeah, I think Jibril's right. If we wait too long then the people in the capital are going to try and make things 'interesting'. We don't all have to go, after all. Just leave two or three of us here and we won't risk losing anything."

[Metroid33]

"How about for now we just work on setting up our base camp and then we start the hunt?"

[Comissar]

With a fire pit clear, Hayl and Alex begin to put together a basic fire. As they're doing so, Athena wanders back over to the group. "Two's right," She nods at Jibril, "Let's just make sure we're set up before we start rushing out. Anything we're not going to keep on ourselves, let's move it into the cornucopia. It'll be easier to guard it with only one way in and out. The fire's a good idea, anyone out there not near one will be suffering by the time we go for them. Anyone with a fire, well..." She smiles a small smile, "I'm sure I don't need to tell you all what that means."

Gonna assume you're all going to be doing more or less what Athena's suggested. The fire Alex and Hayl are making will mean you won't need to make the fortitude saves against cold.

[Comissar]

The group waits around the Cornucopia mouth. As the sun slowly sinks toward the horizon, the silence is broken by Canon fire. One, two, three... The fire almost seems to mark the passing seconds. A total of ten shots are fired. An echoing silence follows. It is then that the Panem anthem blares across the clearing.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 3:

http://img2.timeinc.net/instyle/images/2010/gallery/110910-Hermione-1-400.jpg

Tempra

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/StlwB1FW3Pw/hqdefault.jpg

Chester Grinne


District 6:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/DDI_Portraits/RacesHalfOrcMale.jpg

Antogg


District 7:

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/159/0/4/half_elf_by_azzedar_san-d3iewu5.png

Odath Fergusson


District 8:

http://www.visiongallery.com/images/Neil%20Folberg/France/Young%20girl.JPG

Willow

http://thumb9.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/97483/97483,1285499810,2/stock-photo-little-serious-boy-portrait-isolated-on-white-61721908.jpg

Weaver


District 10:

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs47/i/2009/197/6/d/Yinta_the_Gnome_Cleric_by_Shaelynn.jpg

Kijin

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/teenage-boy-2462887.jpg

Kevin Beck


District 11:

http://37.media.tumblr.com/f4f72a0bdc7891eaac325940f8380f13/tumblr_mzxgaeWQg61sazby5o2_r1_500.jpg

Trefoil Oleastro

http://www.gwrpc.org/images/professions-ranger.jpg

Talas Belend

Athena, Goelev and Hayl all look up at the sky as the display continues. Athena looks irritated, but both of the other two are far more impassive.

"Looks like we still have some work ahead of us..." She tightens her clothing, ensuring there's nothing loose that might cause her issue, "Who's staying to guard? We don't want to lose are foothold here."

I'm going to need a fortitude save from each of you. This is not due to the cold.

Your eyelids are heavy, and it is difficult to focus on what is going on around you. You are treated as being under the effects of a Lullaby (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/l/lullaby) spell until you leave the vicinity of the fire, and for the next ten minutes following.

The warmth of the fire and the calming smoke have sent you to sleep until you are woken by another or the smoke clears.

[Metroid33]

Fort save:[roll0]SHHHHHHHIIIIIITTTT

[Comissar]

The heavy smoke of the campfire lulls Jibril to sleep. In conversation with the other tributes, Goelev, Athena and Hayl do not immediately notice this development.

No proper update today. Jacior and Erik have until Saturday to respond before I move on without them.

[Comissar]

Jibril is roused from her unplanned slumber by an unceremonious jabbing in her ribs. "Have to do everything here myself... Hey! Two! Wake! Up!"

As the tribute from District 2 awakes, she is greeted by the sight of Athena standing over her, an irate expression on her face. In the background, Goelev is carefully ignoring Athena's actions whilst Hayl watches with a conflicted look.

Perception please, penalties as though under the effects of Lullaby apply to Jibril. I've rolled Fort's for both Alex and James, they both passed.

[Metroid33]

[roll0]
This can either go very well or blow up in my face.
Edit:Or it can go right in the middle, I don't think of that.

[Comissar]

Athena grows increasingly irritable as Jibril simply continues to lie on the ground. "If you don't get up in the next six seconds, I swear to god I'm just going to abandon you first chance I get!"

Jibril spots nothing untoward. Until further notice, I'm going to be converting both Alex and James to NPC's. If either of you are still reading, just post and you can jump back in.

[Metroid33]

"Alright Alright I'm up. What's wrong?" Jibril says climbing to her feet, still just a bit sleepy.

[Comissar]

Athena scowls, "You mean aside from you just falling asleep here?"

Goelev sighs and covers his face with his hand. Before Athena has a chance to say anything else, he calls out "There's someone moving about near the edge of the woods. We're going to go get them. Hayl, Alex and James are standing guard. We could use your aim, though."

Ok, so, Erik Vale hasn't posted in over a month anywhere on the forum. I'm going to assume he's gone permanently now, so Alex is officially an NPC. Jacior has been active, but not in this thread. That may be due to general inactivity in this thread, and I'm going to send a prompt. Pending the response, James will be NPC'd as well. Jacior, you can of course retake control whenever. Indeed, if you respond before the next update, you can retroactively switch out with Goelev. I'd rather give PC's something to do over NPC's.

No movement yet, so no map.

[Jacior]

James takes his head in his hands and jerks it quickly to each side, causing a horrid cracking sound as his loosens the tendons within. "I'll go, you stay here." The armor wearing boy stalks forward, searching for the person moving near the edge of the woods.

Perception: [roll0] (-1 if it's farther away then 100 feet)

[Comissar]

Athena shrugs, "As long as you're competent, I don't care if you're coming with me or not." Keeping a loose grip on her shortsword, she starts to head off toward the forest border.

I'm working on the assumption that you're going to be following Athena here. If not, I'll edit the map according to your preferred actions. Also, perceptions from each of you please, along with stealths if you want to stealth.
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-06%20at%2021.16.16.png

[Metroid33]

"Alright then let's go see what's making noise" Jibril said, just above a whisper.

[Comissar]

Athena leads the trio past the fallen bodies of Kevin, Weaver and Willow. The light snowfall has given them a soft covering, helping to mask the severe injuries that lead to each of their deaths. Athena doesn't even glance at their fallen forms, her gaze intently searching the snow on the forest floor for clues. She smiles to herself when she spots something she likes, "Look there, three sets of footprints. All leading east."

Sure enough, the trails are easy enough to spot in the otherwise pristine snow. Two sets skirt the northern edge of the forest, leading away from the Cornucopia. The compacted snow in the footprints of these have already been infilled by the snowfall. The third trail, however, leads in from the north and cuts into the forest itself. A collection of these footprints cluster around one of the trees.

"These are the ones we want, see how the edges are still crisp? That's our mark."

The footprints aren't on the map due to difficulties in getting them on there. The first two trail along the northern border of the forest, heading eastward. The third comes into the forest just a few feet east of where Athena is standing, coming in almost directly from the north and then entering the woods.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-10%20at%2000.18.46.png

[Jacior]

James looked at Athena with a blank stare. "Ok? Lead on then, fearless leader." It wasn't his place to tell her if she was right or not. He takes a look at the tracks himself though, to see if he understood what was going on.

Perception: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1]

[Comissar]

Athena ignores James' jibe, instead keeping her attention firmly on the trail she pointed out. The tracks pause at fairly regular intervals around some of the trees, a grouping of the prints suggesting that whoever left them stood there for a specific reason.

While Athena's assessment of the tracks seems accurate enough, she did miss a fourth set trailing to the north of the forest. The trail looks similarly old, the edges softened by the snowfall.

Sorry, just a short update. Head is still wooly. Perceptions (and stealths if you wish) please.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-14%20at%2009.32.08.png

[Comissar]

A sudden ringing a short distance away breaks Athena's concentration. She looks up toward the source with an intent expression. "Come on, quickly."

It takes mere moments to see the source. The boy from District 12 has just been cut down by the girl from seven. A loud ringing fills the area, reminiscent of bells pealing. Sheila's expression is one of unbridled fury, her longsword dripping with Lox's blood as the Half-Elf slowly stains the snow red. A short distance behind the Half-Orc stands the girl from District 12. She remains unarmed, carefully watching the career pack, though her eyes occasionally flicker over to Sheila as well.

Athena grins mirthlessly. "Well! This one ought to be fun!"

She drops herself into a combat stance, lazily twirling her shortsword in her hand. Rather than rush forward, she watches the two girls carefully.


I'm making an assumption that you're both going to continue to follow Athena here. The ringing noise does not appear to have a source. Knowledge: Arcana or Perception will help you understand what's going on with that. I'm going to need initiative rolls from you both as well, please. Assuming you have a fast enough result, you can act in this round.

Athena has an initiative roll of 15, and so is acting ahead of Sel, Lox and Sheila. Sheila's attack has knocked Lox into negative health but has not killed him, hence his continued inclusion in the turn order. If your result places you slower than another key combatant, then please phrase your actions in the form of 'If X happens, then I do Y. If A happens instead, then I'll do B'.

Current Order;

Athena (15)
Sel (12)
Lox (5)
Sheila (3)

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-21%20at%2000.10.15.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-21%20at%2000.10.32.png

[Jacior]

Perception: [roll0]
Initiative: [roll1]

James follows behind Athena, almost looking irritated they actually found something, but keeps what he learned to himself. He adopts his own combat stance, mostly just holding his arms up to protect his face.

[Comissar]

Is that a readied action for anything? Or preparing to fight defensively? You've got an entire surprise round to play with, so you've got options here :smalltongue:

James' perception check reveals that the ringing sound is indeed sourceless, but it is centered a short distance behind Sheila. It's quite possibly some kind of magical alarm.

Once Athena announces her presence, Sheila and Sel both switch their attention from the fallen Lox and over to the trio. Sel advances carefully, arms raised in a fighting stance. Her attention seems to be primarily fixed on Athena herself, but she does glance at James now and again as well. Sheila, on the other hand, is almost entirely focused on Athena. Her fury is plain to see, and she all but shouts "I have killed many people this day with out suffering a single scratch. I'm using a weapon that Sel took from you after beating you in hand to hand combat...quite handily I might add. She by herself defeated a spell caster that caught us by surprise. Do you truly think you stand a chance? Even with the others trying to sneak up on us we will kill you all."

In response to this, Athena shrugs lightly "You know what they say, 'fool me once' and all that. You've had your once now."

Her voice suddenly drops to little more than a mutter, "Keep the bow on them, don't shoot 'til they move. They might know where others are. If they run, peg them."

At the same time, Sel seems to be muttering something to Sheila, though at distance the words are lost completely. Through all of this, Athena never drops her combat stance.

Turn Order with James and Jibril included is;

Jibril (20)
Athena (15)
Sel (12)
James (9)
Lox (5)
Sheila (3)

Metroid, I've rolled Jibril for you because at this point I do need to know where she is sitting in the turn order. She has priority in the turn order, and while she's lost the chance to act in the surprise round now, she is still first to act in this new round. If there's no post by Weds., I'll be botting her for the fight.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-23%20at%2022.59.28.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-23%20at%2022.59.43.png

[Metroid33]

Jibril hangs back and readies her bow in-case they try to move in any direction.

So readied action to shoot if they try running or charging at us. using deadly aim
Attack[roll0]
Damage[roll1]

[Comissar]

Following Athena's threat, Sheila slashes at the boy lying in the snow with her sword.

She only cut through the boys clothes, apparently deliberately ruining them.

Straight after doing so, She begins to move closer to the group. Without hesitation, Jibril looses her arrow at the girl. The shot is hastily aimed, but strikes true in Sheila's hip. Murmuring "Fine... So much for the talk...", Athena raises her blade and charges forward. Without a word, she closes the gap and plunges her sword into the girl from seven's side. Seeing too late the danger that Sheila is in, Sel runs forward to try to help. Seeing this, Athena yanks the shortsword out from Sheila and prepares herself.

Despite her awareness of the threat, Athena is still unable to land a blow on the Half-Elf girl. Instead, Sel neatly side-steps Athena's pre-emptive swing and sends the girl from District 1 tumbling into the snow for the second time in the day. Ignoring the muffled curses from the prone girl, Sel quickly pressures Athena's wrist, forcing her to surrender her now bloodied shortsword.

So! Jibril's readied attack hit, Athena then charged Sheila. She then attempted an Attack of Opportunity against Sel's Disarm attempt. This gave Sel the chance to pre-emptively trip Athena, which she successfully did, leaving Sel with the Shortsword and Athena prone.

It is now James' action. The turn order has changed to the below due to Jibril's readied action (note that she will get to act this round, her shot occurred last round.)

Athena (15)
Sel (12)
James (9)
Lox (5)
Jibril (3+)
Sheila (3)

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-28%20at%2000.48.36.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-05-28%20at%2000.48.47.png

[Comissar]

The tension of the stand-off is broken by the sound of Canon fire. Only a single shot is fired before the air is filled with the blaring of the Panem Anthem.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 12:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQrH95H3hEXjU8NrwarKgo87nZ-df24welUAcJnAaH3YlRENvO48Q

Lox Nyctores

As I said in my last post, we're at James' turn in the turn order. I need both of you to declare actions to advance the combat. If you don't manage to do so by this time next Weds., I'm going to be forced to decide James/Jibril's actions myself so that Sheila's player can advance the combat.

As a reminder, I give each outstanding thread an update on both Wednesday and Saturday between 10:30 pm and 11:30 pm GMT

[Metroid33]

Jibril will fire again at sel if she's still stands if nothing than at sheila.

Using deadly aim
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Comissar]

Seeing their comrade so easily floored by Sel, James fixes his attention firmly on the Half-Elf. James is the first to react, rushing at the younger girl with bare fists. He takes a powerful swing at her, but Sel is able to handily evade such a telegraphed attack. Unfortunately for the girl from 12, she is unable to take full advantage of James' now precarious position, pre-occupied as she is with keeping an eye on Athena.

Seeing James' failed assault, Jibril pulls back her bowstring. She aims briefly before loosing an arrow at the girl from twelve. Her shot strikes true, the arrow embedding itself just above Sel's collarbone. Letting out a yell of pain, Sel's free hand shoots to cup the wound.

Even as the arrow is loosed, Sheila starts to yell at the two, "You will have to kill her eventually! If you retreat now we will kill her and save you some trouble. Right now I just really want to kill her!"

Jacior, I've been forced to bot James for this round of combat in order to keep things moving. I will continue to do so for as long as I need to. Note that this could lead James to take actions that you think could be inappropriate for him, or leave him in situations you'd consider too dangerous. Due to the lack of information to go on, Sheila's player hasn't been able to get a proper action yet. Instead, it is currently Sheila's turn in the turn order. If I could ask you both to post your actions in the form of 'If X happens, Jibril/James will do Y. If A happens instead, Jibril/James will do B'. For example, you could have 'If Sel tries to run, Jibril takes a shot at Sheila. If Sel stays and fights, Jibril will take her shot at Sel instead.'


http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-03%20at%2022.48.44.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-03%20at%2022.50.08.png

[Comissar]

Sheila is able to surge forward past Athena without issue. She very nearly catches Jibril by surprise as well, but at the last second she catches the intent in her eyes. Jibril is able to dodge Sheila's attempted sabotage, though just barely. Behind her, Athena yells "Give me back my bloody sword!" and charges at Sel.

Another thud into the snow followed by a stream of expletives demonstrates just how well that went for her. Sel ignores the girl from district 1, instead focusing her efforts on trying to strike James down. Sel and James each try their best to hit each other, but the two are evenly matched. Sel's fluid movements evading James' heavier blows, but unable to penetrate through the blocks and his armour.

Meanwhile, Jibril ducks away from the raging Sheila and hurriedly draws back her bow again. The rushed aim is obvious enough as the arrow sails past her and thuds into a tree several feet away.

Sheila's sunder attempt was not quite enough to hit. As was the case with everyone's attacks this round. Back round to Sheila again.

Also, I've botted you both in this fight now. You can both post to take actions under your own steam, and I will continue to post updates in this thread for the duration of the fight so that it's as simple as possible for you to jump back in and take control of your characters again.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-07%20at%2011.18.40.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-07%20at%2011.18.50.png

[Metroid33]

Whatever happens jibril will move away from shiela as best she can, if sheila moves closer than it's a 5-foot step, if no than jibril will probably run straight back 30 feet and shoot again

Attack [roll0]

Damage [roll1]

[Comissar]

Fury in her eyes, Sheila slashes out again. Her blade goes not for Jibril herself, but for her bow. Fueled by her anger, it easily shatters the weapon in Jibril's hands.

A short distance away, Athena rises to her feet again out of the snow, cursing to herself as she does so. Raising her fists in a fairly orthodox fighting stance, she sidesteps to the opposite side of Sel, keeping the young girl between herself and James. Seeing the boy from District 2 as being the bigger threat, Sel jabs twice at him. Both punches hit home, the blows carrying more force than might be expected for such a waif-like girl. Nevertheless, James barely lets this slow him and responds in kind. Sel manages to evade his first strike, but the second hits her in the chest like a hammer blow. The punch connects with a sickening crack, eliciting a cry of pain from the younger girl.

Jibril's bow has been destroyed by Sheila.

Given the maneuver Sheila just pulled, and the fact that you've just returned, I'm going to move it to Jibril's point in the turn order to give you a chance to respond to the sundering.

Athena is just keeping her distance this time. James and Sel have traded a few blows. (James has taken 7 points of damage, dealt 6 and applied bleed to Sel).

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-10%20at%2022.55.03.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-10%20at%2022.55.14.png

[Metroid33]

SHIEZE!!!!!!!!

Jibril stands in shock for a second at how here greatest weapon had just shattered with one quick blow. That shock quickly turns to anger at Sheila. Jibril quickly pulls one of the various knives that she had collected earlier and went to swipe at the girl, letting out an angry cry of rage at her.

Well ****, I guess Jibril will quick draw a knife (hoping it counts as a dagger) and swipe at the girl.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Jacior]

I AM SO SORRY LIFE IS NUTS!

James grunts as he's struck and frowns. This girl was no slouch. Which was a pain. She couldn't just roll over like the others. He sighs and lunges again, forming his hands into points to hurt her more.

Brawler's Flurry:
Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Bleed damage taken at start of her turn of course. You wanna roll that or?

[Comissar]

I'm happy for you to roll the bleed damage. You need to make a second post anyway to confirm the crit.

[Jacior]

Oh yeah! I totally didn't notice that!

Crit Confirm: [roll0]

Bleed: [roll1]

[Comissar]

Jibril recovers quickly from Sheila's unexpected assault. Quickly drawing a knife, she plunges back into the fray. Her training pays off as she plunges the blade into the other girl's arm. Angry as she is, Sheila barely seems to notice. Instead, she wrenches her arm away from the blade, trailing droplets of blood in the air as she does so. Grabbing her sword two handed, she plunges it through Jibril's sternum. The blade bites deep, fueled by Sheila's manic anger. The blade slides back out jerkily, grating against bone as it does so, leaving Jibril to collapse to the forest floor in a broken heap.

Meanwhile, Athena watches Sel warily, biding her time to strike until the girl is more vulnerable. While she watches and waits, Sel maintains her attention on James. She jabs at him twice more, but this time he's ready for her. The first blow connects with some force, but her second is deflected to one side. Her condition is visibly worsening, blood beginning to seep through her clothing from the injury James has inflicted on her. In retaliation to her attack, James lands a powerful blow right in her gut. The punch compounds her earlier bone fracturing, toppling the girl. Wasting no time, Athena snatches back her sword from the falling girl, stabbing it down into her throat in one fluid motion. Pulling her sword back out, she comes up into a standing position, her eyes locking onto Shiela. Her expression is one of cold fury.

No movement has occurred, so no new map. Athena delayed her turn until after James, making the new turn order as follows;

James (9)
Athena (9-)
Jibril (3+)
Sheila (3)

James took 3 Damage from Sel's attacks. Between James' crit. and Athena's coup de grace, Sel has been killed. Her canon will fire next round.

Sheila's attack was a crit., and dealt 33 damage. From your sheet, that looks like enough to take Jibril down to -9. She has one stabilisation attempt before dying, which is why I've kept her on the turn order.

[Metroid33]

I'll just do it now. Gotta get a 15 or higher come on RDGs.
Con. Check[roll0]

[Jacior]

James' eyes flare into his own rage as he sees Jibril fall lifeless into the snow. "JIBRIL!" The young boy lunges across the snowy ground towards the raging orc. He's clearly not thinking straight after having witnessed the mortal blow. He keeps his stance low, being smaller than the violently out of control girl it was the only way he'd have a chance.

I don't know if I can get close enough because of the snow, but I can sharge close enough without it. Should I make an attack or?

Also, if I can't get close enough to hit, I am going to use Total Defense after moving as close as I can with one move action

[Comissar]

You'll be able to charge, yes

[Jacior]

Cool.

Charge Attack: [roll0]
Charge Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

On the slight and abysmal chance that hit: [roll0] Bleed Damage

[Comissar]

"YOU KILLED SEL!"

Sheila's bellow echoes against the trees. She charges at Athena, her longsword scything through the air.

Athena's blade is moving even as Sheila charges. The two swords clash with a shrill grating sound. Athena grits her teeth, muscles straining to maintain control of the lock. She's forced to twist her blade, sending Sheila's sword grinding down her shortsword and sheer's through the weapon near the hilt. Sheila's sword continues through, powering into the empty air. A canon marks this, the noise blasting through the forest.

The sky lights up as the Panem anthem sounds out once again.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 12:

http://www.colourbox.com/preview/3682359-949739-calm-teenage-girl.jpg

Sel Ellene

The announcement goes unheeded by Athena. James rushes in, yelling "JIBRIL!" as he does so. He rushes in behind Sheila, anger fueling his swing. The blow connects with Sheila's side with alarming force. Athena gives Sheila no chance to catch her breath, moving into a flanking position with James, pulling out a knife as she does so. She thrusts her blade through Sheila's side, Sheila's clothing keeping the knife from digging too deep.

Sheila sundered Athena's shortsword, forcing Athena to draw a dagger.

It is now Jibril's turn again, so another attempt at stabilising for her.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-18%20at%2021.45.21.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-18%20at%2021.45.34.png

[Metroid33]

Daum, this is a heated battle
[roll0]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jacior]

James reels back and launches a pair of twin blows at Sheila. He feels like he could rip her apart with his bare hands at this point and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to make an attempt of it.

Brawler's Flanking Flurry

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Bleed at start of next Turn: [roll4]

[Comissar]

Sheila's makes a couple of desperate swings, one each at Athena and James. Unfortunately for her, they fall wide of their mark. Her attempt to move out from between the two is rewarded by a heavy strike from James. The blow sounds like it breaks a couple of bones, the sickening crunch heralding significant internal damage. Athena follows after James, jabbing her dagger into Sheila. The blade slides into Sheila's abused body with minimal resistance.

Congratulations on Stabilising! Unfortunately, you're still unconscious, but hey! Beats dying! :smalltongue:

Just a fairly short update.

It is now Sheila's turn to act. I assumed James would want to move to maintain the Flank.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-21%20at%2000.25.06.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-06-21%20at%2000.25.15.png

[Jacior]

Assuming Sheila doesn't move again, James goes to break the in her back as she faces Athena. Aiming the pair of strikes along the already weaker sections of the ribcage, he lets loose a loud battlecry.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Attack 2: [roll2]
Damage 2: [roll3]

Bleed: [roll4]

OH GOD THAT'S A CRUSH RIGHT THERE!

[Comissar]

Between Athena and James' efforts, Sheila finally collapses to the ground. The impact is marked by a canon firing. Athena glances up, looking as though she wants to confirm that the girl from district seven is truly dead and gone.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 12:

http://img.4plebs.org/boards/tg/image/1365/54/1365547900030.jpg

Sheila

She nods to herself before turning her attention over to Jibril's prone form. "I guess she's still hanging on. Do you want to finish her?" She glances at James, her expression deadly serious, "Or shall I?"

[Jacior]

James holds his arms out still ready to lunge for more blows as his chest heaves with heavy breaths of the cold wintery air. He looks up at Athena with a rage that could have matched Sheila's moments ago. He stalks over the green body and grabs Athena by the collar, pulling her close to his face. "I will say this exactly once. Touch my cousin and I will break you and leave you to bleed in the snow." He shoves her away from him and starts rifling through Sheila's pockets for anything work taking and for her keepsake trinket. After finding it he looks for Nox's and Sel's trinkets before stalking back over to where Jibril was laying on the ground.

"Oh, and by the way, there were four sets of tracks, not three."

[Comissar]

Athena's expression freezes in place when James grabs her, her body stiffening in response to James' action. She doesn't move when he lets go of her, though her eyes track him as he gathers the tokens of the fallen tributes. As he moves from Sheila to Sel, he hears Athena's footsteps moving through the blood-stained snow.

James finds that Sheila was carrying a backpack on her, along with her longsword. If you'd like to investigate the contents, it'll be a full round action. Sheila's token doesn't seem to be directly on her person.

Sel's token is a ring on her finger, made of white wood. The cut is roughly made, though the edges have been smoothed by time.

Is James taking any of the gear other than the tokens? Athena's actions will depend on the answer.

[Jacior]

He's gonna grab anything that's not like clothes and the such. Backpack, sword, etc.

He IS gonna look at Athena though, to see what she's doing

[Comissar]

Glancing back, James sees Athena standing directly between Jibril's prone form and James. Her entire body looks tense, ready to act. Her knife, still carrying Sheila's blood, is clenched in her hand.

"I will say this exactly once, Two." Her voice is belligerent as she speaks, "We all came into this knowing that we'd have to kill others to win. If you want to play about with your little vanity project," She gestures at the tokens James has collected, "Acting like you give a damn about them, then that's on you. I am here to bring glory to District One." She takes a step forward, "To win. That's what you should be trying for, too. That's why you're in the Career Pack. If you couldn't take the idea of your oh so precious Cousin dying, then you shouldn't have volunteered right after her. Now. Either buck up, and let her die, or run off with your tail between your legs. There's only one winner, Two. If you want it to be you, then stop acting like a bloody coward!"

[Jacior]

James sighs and tilts his head slowly to the side before it makes a popping sound. He shakes out his arms, loosening the tendons and generally looking like an idiot as he stands in place. It almost looks like he's going to start stretching before he suddenly lunges at Athena, aiming a rigid fist at her torso.

(Will edit after I find out what my roll is)

Attack Roll: [roll]1d20+8/roll]
Damage: [roll0] Non-Lethal

I feel dumb. gonna roll in my OoC

His fist connects solidly with Athena's stomach. "We need to have a talk, you and I. Because you just don't seem to get it." He says, almost casually. "You. Are. Not. Going. To Win. You are not bringing glory to any district, let alone your own." He keeps up his combat stance as he talks, not giving up an inch for her to try and attack him back. "You're soooo conceited that you can't even see when you're outmatched."

[Comissar]

Athena grunts as the wind is forced out of her by James' attack. She looks at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement. "I was wondering if you'd have the balls to stand up to me."

Dagger in hand, she lunges forward at James. The blade stabs home, biting into James' side before being pulled back. A beaded string of blood trails after it.

"Time to do or die, Two." She grins mirthlessly, "This is going to make one hell of a story either way."

Will be editing the results of Athena's attack in once I know what they are. Regarding maps, did you want to bother? For a one on one conflict they're not exactly critical, but I can put them up for you if you want.

[roll0] - To Hit (Power Attacking)
[roll1] - Damage

[roll2] - Crit. Confirm (if appropriate)
[roll3] - Crit. Bonus Damage (if appropriate)

[Jacior]

... HOW? Even taking penalties she's got higher to hit than me?! I can understand Sheila having strength bonuses, but this is just ridiculous!

James is more than a little shocked by the turn, he hadn't even really hurt her when he struck... That was a huge mistake. He should have known she'd turn in an instant. He takes a deep breath and lets it out, focusing not on the pain but on the fight. This would be worse than the orc. "I should have let her rip your guts open." He says, his face twisting into a manic grin. This was the same person who volunteered and bared his teeth at the world in defiance.

Leaning forward, he plunges his hand forward in a point, clearly aiming to return what she just gave him.

Use Martial Flexibility to grab the Weapon Focus (Unarmed) Feat

Also using power attack

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Crit Confirm: [roll2]
Crit Damage: [roll3]

Bleed: [roll4]

[Comissar]

Athena grimaces in pain as James' blow connects, but does not drop her guard. Through gritted teeth, she hisses "Seems your mistakes are adding up fast, then."

She stabs forward with her dagger a second time. Though her aim seems true at first, James' armour manages to deflect the blade away from his core, leaving it to simply make a superficial cut in the leather.

Update based on rolls to follow, apologies for the late post.

Attack roll (Power Attacking) - [roll0]
Damage Roll - [roll1]

Crit. Confirm (if appropriate) - [roll2]
Crit. Bonus Damage (if appropriate) - [roll3]

[Jacior]

James doesn't respond to the jibe, merely launching a pair of blows to strike at the girl who thought herself so above everyone. He'd be certain to put her in her place, he thought to himself. Hope the folks at home are enjoying the show. This year promises to be a doozy.

Brawler's Flurry

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Crit Confirm 1: [roll2]
Crit Damage 1: [roll3]

Attack 2: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]

Crit Confirm 2: [roll6]
Crit Damage 2: [roll7]

Bleed: [roll8]

[Comissar]

Athena weaves out of the way of James' first blow, and knocks the second to one side in preparation for her return attack. Though her composure is being maintained, a small red stain is beginning to spread into her clothing from the point where James struck her. The swing of her dagger is punctuated by a sudden canon firing. The sky lights up, briefly casting harsh shadows on the forest below. Athena's dagger finds its place in James' side again, digging deeper this time. The cast of the light on her face serves only to highlight her dispassionate expression as she wrenches the blade free.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 6:

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTj0_v3MZJHyHPO0blS1uIGM54YlVCrs K0sBl3VwSnUINJPlxBz

Liss O'Malley

Athena's attacks;

Attack Roll (Power Attacking) - [roll0]
Damage Roll - [roll1]

Crit. Confirm (if needed) - [roll2]
Crit. Bonus Damage (if needed) - [roll3]

[Jacior]

James was thinking very rapidly now. If she hit him again with that knife, he'd be dead. He was half surprised he wasn't bleeding out right now. The only thing he could think to do was play the running game now. But that wouldn't work... she was in better shape than he was and if he bolted, she'd go right for Jibril... He'd have to try and knock her out at least.

The boy from two lands a pair of utterly crippling attacks on Athena's already bruised body. He just had to hope it was enough.

If this doesn't work, it's pretty much game

Brawler's Flurry

Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]

Crit Confirm 1: [roll2]
Crit Damage 1: [roll3]

Attack 2: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]

Crit Confirm 2: [roll6]
Crit Damage 2: [roll7]

Bleed: [roll8]

Ok, that's a total of 37 damage: 32 lethal and 5 nonlethal. If that doesn't do her in, I had no chance to begin with... Technically, she doesn't take three of that till the start of her turn.

[Comissar]

James' first blow crashes into Athena's chest, forcing her to double over. She looks up at James with an expression of cold anger as he uppercuts her. Several bones break under the force of the impact, sending Athena sprawling backward into the bloodied snow.

She's unconscious, but not dead. The bleed damage will prevent her from stabilising without help.

[Jacior]

James stands there for a moment, huffing the cold air before he runs over and rips off part of the half orc girls shirt. He might have wanted Athena to die, but he was going to prove a point if he could. Running back over to the irritating girl from 1, he starts trying to bandage her up, not really believing his skills were up to the task.

Heal Check: [roll0]

[Comissar]

Despite James' efforts, Athena's wounds continue bleeding. The blood starts to saturate the cloths he's attempting to use, Athena's breathing sounding more and more laboured. The only sounds are James' movements in the snow covered forest, the noises of his efforts sounding oddly muted.

[Jacior]

James looks up from his bloody work and looks around. "What..." He claps his red hands together a couple times to make sure it wasn't just his imagination.

Perception: [roll0]

[Comissar]

Deadened by the falling snow, James' claps sound almost muffled. Indeed, the snowfall seems to be getting heavier now, the only thing keeping the worst of it away from James, Jibril and Athena being the tree branches above them.

[Jacior]

James makes one more attempt to bandage up the girl from one. If it doesn't work than he just sighs and gives up, gathers up the all the equipment and grabs Jibril to start carrying her back to the Cornucopia.

When I say all the euipment I mean like everything taht can be reasonably carried. Like the sword and packs and stuff.

Heal: [roll0]

[Comissar]

James' ministrations finally bear fruit as Athena's bleeding slows, then all but stops. While she's still deathly pale from bloodloss, the lack of canon fire tells him that she yet lives.

James has managed to stabilise Athena! Leaving him with both Jibril and Athena unconscious, but alive.

[Jacior]

Is James strong enough to carry both of them?

[Comissar]

His off-ground capacity is 460, I'd say he probably is :smalltongue: It'd certainly be enough to slow him down, though

[Jacior]

James rearranges the packs and equipment he'd managed to gather and then hoists the girls onto his shoulders. "You two are lucky I don't want to leave you here to die... Hope they got the fire going." Slowly, heavily, he makes his way back towards the cornucopia, hoping he was going to be ambushed along the way.

[Comissar]

James' trudging through the snow is slow going, the weight on his shoulders making the distance seem that much further.

Sorry, no map, lacking the time to get one made up.

In the distance, the sound of Goelev shouting can faintly be heard. The noise is too indistinct to make out the words.

[Jacior]

Perception: [roll0]

James keeps trudging through the snow, heedless of anything but making sure he doesn't slip and fall. That was the last the thing the girls needed him to do right now.

[Comissar]

The trees are beginning to thin out again now, James can almost see the clearing from here.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-08-13%20at%2017.04.35.png

The faint sounds of Goelev shouting can be heard, the words are indistinct.

[Jacior]

Perception: [roll0]

[Comissar]

The clearing finally becomes visible, the trek almost over. Through the gaps in the trees James spots movement. Hayl and Alex are heading in his direction. Neither appear to have noticed him and the two girls yet, and Alex in particular seems to be quite distracted by something happening to the north of the clearing. Looking past the two tributes of District 5, Goelev can be seen standing in a combat stance, shortsword drawn and ready. His attention is also firmly fixed northwards.

Following his gaze, James can just about make out the figures of Thestor and Ianthe. The two tributes of District 4 silently approaching the cornucopia mouth.

Thestor is just behind Ianthe on the northmost part of the large map.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-08-20%20at%2000.16.34.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-08-20%20at%2000.17.11.png

[Jacior]

James takes the girls and heads for behind the large boulder on the edge of the treeline. There was no way he could be much use right now and the two he was carrying were worse off than that.

[Comissar]

Moving northward as quickly as he can, James strives to evade Hayl and Alex. The pair don't seem to be paying much attention to the forest, instead maintaining their focus on Goelev and the pair from District 4. Ianthe and Thestor have begun to separate from one another, moving to flanking positions either side of the dwarf. Their movements are exact mirrors of one another. Goelev's attention flickers between the two, but he doesn't move from where he's standing, his determination to defend the Cornucopia etched into his expression.

Today's update is brought to you by exhaustion, forgetfulness and guilt!

Sorry for how long it took to update you, been an unusually rough week.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-08-30%20at%2022.28.51.png

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-08-30%20at%2022.29.11.png

[Comissar]

While James is quietly waiting on the sidelines, the canon booms again.

http://static.tumblr.com/s6xhrac/XpOm5d81c/tumblr_m4afc9bnnk1rp0bum.png

District 1:

http://dietsinreview.s3.amazonaws.com/diet_column/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/runner.jpg

Athena Carrow

A quick check confirms it, Athena is no longer breathing.

Goelev glances away from his opponents briefly to check who the latest victim is. He looks again in shock. His features are starkly lit against the snow as he gives a wordless cry of anger. Turning back to face the two tributes from District 4, he's shocked to see them melting away into thin air. Falling to his knees, Goelev screams again.

To the south, Alex and Hayl glance briefly at the announcement, then both turn and run deeper into the woods.

Punching the snow in frustration, Goelev stands, turning toward the forest edge. He spots James standing there, his attention clearly drawn to the two bodies that he is carrying. At the same moment, James becomes aware of a stirring on his shoulder. It seems that Jibril has managed to regain some measure of consciousness.

Both Jibril and James get the same map. Hayl/Alex have run out of sight at this point.

http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv64/Comissar/Screen%20shot%202015-10-05%20at%2021.15.06.png

[Metroid33]

Eyes just a little blurry Jibril looks out at the field. So much death, but she can barely move so she instead whispers."Goelev isn't going to agree with you caring for me......" She looks over and realizes that she isn't the only one being carried at this moment.

[Jacior]

"Probably not. Of course Athena has to spite me one last time." James says, looking at the girl from 1. "She shouldn't have tried to kill me." Maybe the dwarf would react rationally to all this... Maybe James was a 40 year woman from District 12. "Should we run or try him?" He didn't exactly want to be close by if the dwarf decided he was better off dead. Or if Jibril was.

[Metroid33]

"What weapons do we have, I remember losing the bow but...... if we have a pair of swords or something I think we...... we should run. The pack is gone early this year........ That's all there is." Jibril says looking at goelev to see what weapons he had decided to bring back.

[Comissar]

Goelev fixes his attention on James, raising his sword and pointing it accusingly at the boy from District 2. He calls out "Did you kill her, James? Is it your fault she's dead?"

His voice sounds pained as he makes his accusation, though there don't appear to be any traces of anger.

No map because no movement. From where he is, Goelev is unaware that Jibril is conscious, though he will know that she's at least alive due to the lack of a canon.

[Jacior]

"Yeah, I drag her all the way here because I wanted her dead Goelev. That's exactly what I did." James calls back.

[Comissar]

Goelev lowers his sword, his head bowing as he does. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he gives a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, I just... Sorry..."

He throws his sword blade-first into the snow, half turning away from James and Jibril as he does. His breath frosts in front of him, the irregularity of it betraying his uneven mood.

[Jacior]

James decides to risk it and brings Jibirl and the body closer. "I get it."

[Comissar]

Goelev sighs, glancing back at the makeshift camp around the cornucopia. "I'll try and get the fire going again." The tribute from 1's voice is flat, deliberately devoid of emotion, "Alex and Hayl took off instead of looking after it, guess they thought we'd turn on them soon." He picks up his sword, trudging back to the camp, "You better bring Jibril over too. Better than leaving her to freeze."

Kneeling down at the smouldering embers in the fire pit, he starts to add more branches. Working to get the wood to take the flames again.

[Jacior]

(I somehow missed that there was a post... despite checking everyday.)

James shrugs slightly and warily walks back towards the pit. "Seems like things are going wrong this year." It was a careful comment... he didn't want to set the dwarf off, especially after what he'd done previously. Or what he'd said. James lays Jibril down carefully near the fire pit but seems unwilling just to throw the body of athena to the side. "What do you want to do?"

[Comissar]

Goelev doesn't bother looking round at James, his voice still sounding resigned as he replies "I want to just get it all over with, but I doubt you two are in any condition to do that tonight."

He sighs, bowing his head. The embers cast an odd shadow in the night. "I don't want to fight you, and you don't want to leave Jibril. You wouldn't have brought her all the way back here if you were willing to do anything to win." He gives James a sidelong look, "Not the best way to keep yourself alive, by the way. No offense." He starts putting more wood on the fire, "There's definitely fewer tributes out there. Just nine of us left, including us, by my count. But that's a few too many for me to handle on my own. So I say we rest up, try and get you two back in some kind of fighting shape, and then we stick together like glue. At least for a while longer."

He gets up, letting the fire grow. "So we take two watches, let Jibril rest. Sound good?"

In order to try and speed up the pacing, and to try and get another player who's been left doing literally nothing for months back into the game, I'm going to just respond whenever I see an IC post from here on in.