The Lands of Sanetch - Alpha

[iop]

Before we begin our journey through the Lands of Sanetch, I'd like to address posting conventions. The color of common will be black, as we diversify into other languages, we'll go from there.

Languages:
Common
Draconic
Dwarven
Elven
Celestial

Text codes:
"Speech, whispered speech, emphasized speech, SHOUTED SPEECH"
Thoughts and dreams
Actions

If you need to change the time of the actions your character is doing, I.E. if I do a wrap-up post and you need to reply to multiple parts of it, use ~~ (or any other divider) between the different times in your post.

Example:

I ride forth to slay the dragon!
~~
I feast in the king's hall.


Start your posts with YourCharacter’sName

Please mark the OOC part of your post in $oocComment brackets, or, even better, put it into spoiler text.

Use this thread for rolls (with OOC brackets, of course). I will make awareness rolls (spot, listen, scent etc.) myself when appropriate, but if you feel your character is actively sensing for something specific, name it and make the appropriate roll (“I look for anything” is not specific).



Descriptions

Marius Thanador
Marius Thanador lets it be known without a doubt that he is a Healer, and that if anybody has any injuries, they can come by him and he will be ready to stand by for aid. Hailing from Remad, Marius Thanador however does not like to tell much of his history. He tells that "Sometimes, you have to feel pain before you can heal.", and this makes it obvious that he has had pain in the past, though most likely mental pain, agony. He rather focuses on the future, the new dawn, which brings chance, light and healing with it. At times, he can be found to pray to Pelor, though he does tell that, in specific, the power to heal comes from the world around them, and a god such as Pelor is only there to underline this fact. His prayers to Pelor is more that he is a worshipper of the deity, not a cleric.
Furthermore, he wishes to go to Malagar to visit a relative, and has offered his healing abilities to a group, because healing is most often not declined, and alone he most likely can not manage the dangers of travel.

Krusk
Krusk likes to change the topic off himself by asking others about themselves, getting others to talk. The little that he does reveal of his own intentions and background are pretty simple: Malager was the closest office of the Justicars and was rumored to hold high bounties for wanted criminals - a task that Krusk enjoys doing a lot (he seems focused on the absolutes of the law). So he left his home to try and find their office to join their ranks, taking this boat ride to make the trip. If anyone presses more about his background, he seems to awkwardly avoid the question with a joke or replies solemnly "It's not that interestin'."

Levvenol
Levvenol introduces himself as an acolyte of an obscure old gnome god. Speaking with accented speech, he says he has spent much time in the service of his god, rarely leaving the village of his birth. He is careful to be friendly and polite, portraying himself as a somewhat distant scholar.

Raël
Rael prefers to listen to the others, not offering much except, "The elves won't have me." when pressed about his background. He seems wary. He does tell the others that he is a battle leader, a marshal, and that he would appreciate the aid of any who would help him get over to Malager.

Hector
Knowledge:

In the time crossing Hector has spent much of his time reading from an assortment of books he keeps on hand, one of them being an overtly religious test dealing with the death deity Wee Jas. When approached about the topic he freely offers that he is a servant of “the lady” and has likely discussed her dogma and any misconceptions the others my have about her. When his background is the topic of conversation, he has recounted his early childhood grooming to become an engineer, his recruitment into the service of his deity, and his early exploits raiding a green dragons lair and battling a Vrock demon in his homeland. All seem likely as he carries a large Flail and a pack presumably filled with a suit of full plate. When with company he is generally friendly and insightful, but viewed from a distance he seems somewhat cold and brooding. At least once a day he is seen meditating in a circle he creates with salt and holds a small vile with a piece of parchment inside during the ritual.

Appearance:

Hector has the physique of a fit 30-year-old human male with darkly tanned skin and is six foot in stature. His hair is prematurely thinning and grey, and his skin is lined beyond his years. His eyes however are still bright and betray a clever intellect; in fact some claim a ruby light emanates from them, but one can never be sure if it’s just their imagination. During the crossing his dress has been plain sturdy adventuring clothing, with the exception of a fine silk semi-skirt he wears around his waist and falls to just short of his ankles, it has the effect of making his look regal for no particular reason.

Map of the Lands of Sanetch
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/4553/gmffv9.png

[iop]

It is a late summer afternoon, when the ship “Griffon” calls at the small port of Naregal. Only 15 passengers disembark, as most of the people on the ship continue their journey to the city of Mugdal. Nevertheless, the landing is crowded with families waiting for the arrival of their loved ones and others waiting for their guests. Among the passengers is a group of five strangers: A gnome, an elf, a half-ogre, and two humans who, despite their race, could only be headed for the “Inn of the Open Hand”, the only place in town offering shelter for those who do not belong here. As the five strangers step on the landing, the crowd lets them pass. They don’t seem to take much interest, even though some parents try to position themselves between their children and the strangers. They don’t seem to mind the lumbering shape of the half-ogre so much, and it appears they have seen elves and gnomes before. Still, there are a fair number of stares, many of which are unfriendly, rather than curious.
Within instants the strangers spot Dravia, keeper of the “Inn of the Open Hand”. She is a delicate-looking woman, only 5’2’’ tall, with long black hair and a dark complexion. He knows that she must have come from the same corner of the Empire as he. She is wearing a bright orange cloth that is elegantly draped around her small frame. She wears no gold nor jewelry but a jade pendant, yet she looks almost regal in her demeanor. Also, she seems in no way fazed anyone in the group. She simply says:
“Welcome to Naregal in the Kingdom of Mugdal. Follow me, please.”

~~

The “Inn of the Open Hand” is a two-story house three blocks away from the harbor. From the seaside windows, the guests have a splendid view onto Lake Mugdal, as it is known in this kingdom. Dravia silently leads the strangers to the front door, where she turns around.
“I invite you to come into my humble inn. Although you all seem to be experienced travelers, let me repeat the rules you agree to obey once you enter here. You will leave your weapons at the door. I will keep them safe. You will not cast any spells that could affect others directly or indirectly. I will protect you and your possessions against everything that is not a just consequence of your actions. Dinner will be served at sunset, breakfast at sunrise. You may go for a stroll in the town if you please, although you will find that the locals are not very welcoming. By all means be back before sunset, because foreigners are not allowed outside during the night. The cost of your stay is 7 silver pieces and includes dinner and breakfast. As you are my only guests for the night, you may freely choose your rooms. I suggest the odd rooms number one through nine, because they have a nice view on the lake and today’s sunset should be splendid. Please play me as you take your keys. Any questions?”

I assume there aren’t any, but if you have some, don’t hesitate to ask.

~~

Sunset is indeed splendid, and the meal, roasted fish over a bed of spices and potato, accompanied by some local “mud ale” (named after its dark color), turns out to be surprisingly good. A bit more doubtful is the entertainment that is provided by a elf, who is sitting at the bar, merrily talking about all his many magnificent adventures: How he once wanted to play a practical joke on a traveler to Malager, and as he was hiding in the bushes of the forest of Orbain, suddenly someone else came to hide in the bush right in front of him. So when travelers approached and the other readied himself, our hero had shouted out to the guy, who got so scared that he stabbed himself and died. Or about the stupid locals here who claim that a medusa haunts the swamp, even though the worst monsters around here were lizards – large as a calf! – and the Guards of the King, who were after him, because he did not want to be a spy for them. After all, he was going to become a protector. Even the serenely smiling Dravia seems to be slightly bored, so when she comes to collect the plates, she tries to change the conversation.
“I assume you plan to travel to the kingdom of Malger?”

[Job]

Hector Animos

"Your intuition serves you well.” says hector, as he lifts the plate allowing Dravia an easier grip. “That is indeed our plan, and if I may ask, what gave it away?” a warm smile spread across Hector’s face, as if he already knows the answer.

[oldredeyes]

Levvenol Pseftis Blackstone Tallywhack Brun

Lev eats quietly and quickly. At the landlady's question, he stares at her for a second, then laughs and says "Yes, yes, Malager. May I ask, dear lady, will we find accomodation such as this along the road?".

[iop]

"It wasn't difficult", says Dravia to Hector. "You are travellers on a boat that will continue to Mugdal. You are obviously not here to stay. Naregal is a nice town, but not worth a long journey."
The elf at the bar nods emphatically.
"The only reason why someone like you would disembark in Naregal is to travel to Malager by land."
Turning to Levvenol, Dravia continues
"There are inns along the way. A day's worth of travelling will lead you to the Inn of the West Tower, after which you will spend a day traversing the forest of Orbain to reach the Inn of the East Tower. From there, it is a half day's journey to Darsh, border town of the Kingdom of Malager. I suggest you stay there rather than in Bolagh, which you could reach by nightfall. From Darsh, it will take you another day to reach Malager."
"Not to say anything bad about your fine place here, Dravia, but the inns next to the forest are both run by elves. They serve exquisite food, especially the Inn of the East Tower!" interjects the elf.

Job, please observe the color conventions laid out in my first post in the thread: Use black for common.

[SandDemon]

Krusk

After the stares on the way into the Inn, he really hasn't seemed to shake off the effect and keeps mostly to himself. He tries and smiles at their host Dravia a bit, but knowing she holds his sacred mace has him worried. Tempted to sleep outside....the city. Wouldn't break law after hours. Not really having accommodation for one of his size, he's forced to sit oddly against a post which draws even more stares as he eats his food. Lifting his plate as Dravia passes, he politely asks, "There any more? Still hungry."

[iop]

Dravia nods to Krusk's request.
"I can even bring you a larger bowl, if you'd like."
Suddenly she pauses, as she sees him leaning awkwardly against a post.
"You did take the key to room number two, I hope? The bed there might be a bit on the short side, but it is definitely wide enough."

[SandDemon]

Krusk

Half-heartedly smiling, Krusk nods saying "Yeah, like large bowl - and got key." Sleep on floor now sound good.

[Job]

Hector

After a brief glance to assess Krusk’s demeanor Hector turns to his hostess giving a polite bow in thanks for bussing the table. Turing his attention to the elf now in pause he says: “You seem the well traveled sort sir. If I might impose, do you have any local news that might be of interest to travelers such as us?” he then adds “And if I might know your name as well?”

Hector will look to see if the elf has a place to give coin, like a hat or case

[iop]

While Dravia returns to the kitchen to bring back a serving bowl with food for Krusk, Ruudi turns to Hector and announces:
"Among humans and other strangers, I go by the name of Ruudi. Unfortunately, in this corner of the kingdom of Mugdal, nothing much ever happens, aside from the occasional strangers who arrive. I guess the only real entertainment you five could get is to get harassed by the royal guard. And don't worry about the road. It is dangerous - there are lizards large as a calf, and the locals even claim there is a medusa haunting the swamps - but I will be with you to safely guide you along the road."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Strolling in, the human Marius Thanador puts down his weapons near the front door, a spear and a dagger. As he walks further, he picks up some silver coins from his pouch, counts them, and keeps seven in his hand. Moving closer to Dravia, he says: "Good day. I will accept that offer." And with that, he hands seven silver pieces over to her. Nodding politely as he makes sure he obtains a key, he then makes his way to one of the places to be seated and almost slumps down. Giving a subtle sigh, his gaze seems to reach deeper in thought. This lasts a bit, and after that, he looks around to the others present.

[SandDemon]

Krusk

"What bounty on medusa or lizards?" Krusk chimes in with a bit happier demeanor at the prospect.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
Wondering who "Kalidas" is, Raël sits down at the table, having handed over all his weapons to the landlady. He attempts to ignore Ruudi, wincing slightly as the elf prattles on, and turns to Levvenol, "Which name do you propose to go by, friend? You seem to have many." ((I'm assuming Levvenol told everyone his full name, if not, disregard the question)) He finishes his dinner, finding the fish excellent, but only sips a little at his mud ale, and requests a cup of water if possible.
~~~
He requests room number seven, a door for each silver piece he paid, and after supper, makes his way there, where he goes through a complex dance of mock parries, thrusts, slashes, and blocks.

[iop]

"Alas, there is no bounty on the lizards. Mugdal is not interested enough in keeping the ways safe for foreign travelers. However, if you manage to find and kill a medusa, I am sure you'd get some recognition, even though you're not human. But as I mentioned, I don't believe there is a medusa in the swamps at all - otherwise I'm sure I would have encountered it."

For a moment, the only noise in the common room of the inn is the creaking of the ceiling beams beneath room seven, where Raël seems to busy himself in his room. Then, Krusk continues to eat his second helping.

Before either Marius, Hector, or Levvenol can ask another question, the door to the inn is slammed open, and a human stumbles inside. Sweat makes his dark hair stick to his pale face. He clutches his belly, staggers forward, and falls to his knees after only a few steps.
"Please, grant this wish to a dying man, please! Bring it back!" he exclaims with a failing voice.
He falls right on his face without making another sound. Only now can the six people in the inn (the four strangers, the Ruudi and Dravia) see the crossbow bolts sticking out of his back. Slowly, a puddle of blood is forming beneath the corpse.

Then, two things happen very quickly: Ruudi jumps up from his chair, exclaims something about guard bolts, and flees through the kitchen, while Dravia moves nest to the corpse with almost unnatural speed. She turns the man onto his side (with his back to everyone but her), and studies him for a moment.
"He's dead", she says.


Kai-Palin
Raël unfortunately cannot hear anything that happens downstairs - yet. There will be more noise, soon, so please roll a listen check.

Zweanslord, oldredeyes
Marius and Levvenol both notice that Dravia hides a bundle the size of about a cat beneath her robes as she turns over the corpse.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius rises up quickly, and hustled as quick as his human figure donned in a robe could manage towards the corpse. A grieving and solemn expression takes possession of his face. To be a healer and to be mocked so by one he could not save. Had he been granted but a few seconds more and that man would have had a much higher survival rate. But now.. sighing with grief he looked down upon the corpse, while he knew he had no further time to grief. Those crossbow bolts did not come from anywhere, and neither did this man die of nothing. Somebody must have shot him while he was in the entrance, having made it impossible to save this man. From his position, he quickly glances towards the entrance, and already paces towards the weapons he left behind, so as to pick them up if Dravia allows. "I think we will be needing this to defend ourselves.." He says as he walks towards the weapons.

[iop]

"Don't", commands Dravia sharply. "These are bolts of the Royal Guard. You don't want them to find you with a weapon in your hand!"

The weapons are stored in a room next to the kitchen. Only Dravia can get to them without excessive use of force.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

With that said, Marius stops immediately. Turning back as he was about to make his way towards the room, he looks at Dravia. "The Royal Guard? Well, in that case I assume they have a good reason to shoot this person down instead of capturing him." As he says that, he already walks back towards the chair he previously occupied. His face seems to show somewhat remorse for his quick reaction to grab a weapon, but it does seem more at ease. After all, the Royal Guard are here to protect the citizens, or so Marius thinks. And so, Marius is already near his chair as he looks backwards, expecting the Royal Guard to enter soon enough.

[Job]

Hector having already removed himself from his chair in the commotion, walks slowly to Marius’ side, and looks at the mess before them. Lowering his voice with the hopes that only Marius can hear him he says “Ruudi, our elf friend, took flight with such haste at the sight of a guard bolt. I don’t think this will bode well for us. Best not to act too disinterested.”

Hector turns briefly to look at Levvenol and Krusk, giving a worried expression.

[SandDemon]

Krusk

Standing up in the commotion, Krusk grumbles "What, man criminal? Why guard shoot and elf run?" He feels naked without his mace - wonder if get mace now... Looking towards the kitchen, he calmly considers it but doesn't move. Reaching above his head, Krusk slams the ceiling with his fist hard twice and yells "Raël, get down now"

[oldredeyes]

Levvenol tears his gaze from the room and turns to face Rael. He says, "In my homeland, the names I have given to you would be considered a shortened form. But I have in the past allowed humans to refer to me as Levvenol for reference. Would that suffice?"

-----

Levvenol glances at the other patrons and then, keeping his eyes on Dravia, he moves towards the kitchen door, changing his focus for a couple of moments to glance through.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
Appearing in the doorway before Krusk finishes shouting, Raël looks around and, espying the body, walks quickly over to it. "What happened? Who is this man? Do you know who killed him?" Turning to Dravia he says, "I hope this is not a common occurrence, mistress."
~~~ (When/if he is told about the Royal Guard's hand in the killing)
He walks over to the two humans, and standing in a resting stance, he looks around the inn, waiting for something to move or speak

[iop]

Instants after Raël's arrival, the clinkety-clank of running armored guards approaches. Levvenol sees traces of the dinner preparation in the kitchen, but no sign of Ruudi, who must have escaped through the back door that is slightly ajar. Dravia gets up, lets the corpse roll back on his belly again, and swiftly moves behind the bar, right as a tall, red-haired guard enters the inn.
He is followed by three more guards, and a short stocky man with a thick beard that well compensates for his balding head, who is obviously some sort of captain. He wears a full plate armor made of mithral that is so elaborately decorated that even his crimson cape and medal-laden sash seem rather redundant.
It takes the captain a moment before he catches his breath, but then he calls out with a strong and steady voice:
"Nobody moves! Everyone here is under provisional arrest for association with criminal elements and for conspiracy against the kingdom of Malager!"
He carefully scans everyone in the room.
"Sirs, lady Dravia, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and I hope you make it easy for all of us. Who is the contact this man", he points at the corpse, "was so desperate to reach?".

[SandDemon]

Krusk

"Krusk not break law, Krusk eat an' sleep here! Not under arrest." Knew this not good place to be...should sleep outside. Krusk fumbles with his words a bit, definitely angry about the assumption he broke the law.

(ooc: Since I've got some knowledge(law) skill, do I know anything specific about the laws that I might be able to discuss showing I'm a lawful citizen to fight this? Diplomacy check maybe?)

[oldredeyes]

Levvenol stays back, and takes a drink of Mud Ale. He says nothing.


Blast and damnation, no spells prepared. I am an idiot.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius remains unmoving, as he was told, though he shakes his head while raising his shoulders towards the entering captain, obviously meaning that he does not know the answer to the question.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"Officer, there is no way we could know, we are newly arrived and looking to move on tomorrow." Raël says succinctly as the man's eyes sweep across him. He does not relax his ready stance, however. "I'd like to hear the answers to your questions as well." he says, throwing a brief glance at Dravia.

[Job]

Hector take two calm, steady steps placing himself in-between the captain and Krusk, while simultaneously making a small gesture of undeterminable purpose to the half-ogre.

Now looking at the captain Hector explains “Captain, our apologies, but my companions and I have no idea what has just transpired, after dinner was served this man” Hector points to the floor “burst through the door and exclaimed simply ‘Please, grant this wish to a dying man, Bring it back!’ and then collapsed on the floor, little else has transpired before your arrival.”

Hector stands ready for the coming battery of questions and demands, and takes the most non-threatening posture he can muster, hands at his sides with a wide solid stance.


Diplomacy roll [roll0]
Sense motive for good measure on the captain [roll1]

[iop]

"Whether or not you broke a law is for me to decide, Ogre!" says the captain. Interestingly, he says "ogre" with what almost could count as respect. Krusk is in no way comforted. While a provisional arrest in no way means that the person arrested will be sentenced, he knows that a lot of time can pass before a judge looks at a case, especially if the arrest has been made by a high-ranking member of the guard, who is unlikely to falsely accuse people who are important enough to have to be judged quickly.

Turning to Raël, he continues: "You're trying to make it difficult, huh? There is no need to wait here for a long time if you have an appointment with this scum."

He seems to mellow a bit when Hector speaks.
"Finally, someone who decides to cooperate. So he was looking for someone in here, after all, to get rid of the compromising goods he carried." He turns to the tall read-haired guard. "Klav, check the body!"

The tall guard unceremoniously kicks the corpse as far on its back as it can go because of the arrows, and he starts to part the folds of the man's robe with his foot. There is a loud clank and the sound of shattering glass. Klav bends over the corpse and triumphantly retrieves a dagger.

"Well, if that isn't interesting", says the captain. "He wanted this dagger to be brought back". Krusk's interest is piqued, too: The dagger bears the sign of the Thieves' Guild of Malager.

At the same time, Klav looks at his hands that seem to be covered in a thick transparent liquid. He sniffs them, and then exclaims that the liquid smells like syrup. He first tastes the tip of a finger, then starts to lick all his finger with a smiling face. He seems to consider licking the dagger, too, when he suddenly becomes absolutely rigid, and falls over like a felled tree.

[SandDemon]

Krusk

"Syrup probabl....." suddenly goes quiet as Klav starts licking and dies. "Nevermind....dat dagger bad, Malagar dagger - law breakers!" He seems to throw emphasis on that, perhaps for dramatics or just to cover himself. "Dat elf run when you show too...guilty always run, I know. I catch them - my job." Pointing out the kitchen, Krusk seems proud of himself. No matter what connection was made during the meal with their hosts, it seems Krusk doesn't care at all when it comes to those that break law.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

As the red-haired guard falls over like a felled tree, Marius already takes steps towards the guard in a fast and confident pace. He does not care what the guards would say about that, for he is a Healer, and this is typically a case where such is needed. "I mean no harm, I am a Healer, let me look at what is wrong with your fellows guardsman." He exclaims in a hurry towards the other guards as he moves towards the guardsman. Reaching the man quickly, he already tries to examine the nature of the cause as he kneels down before him. Was the effect merely paralysis, a poison or otherwise?

Heal: [roll0]

[iop]

The captain nods as Krusk's accusations. However much he'd normally jump on this information, he still appears frozen in place at the sudden misfortune that befell his man, and so are the other guards. Thus, no one interferes with Marius as he examines Klav, his hands moving with the expert efficiency of an experienced healer.


Zweanslord
As Marius tastes a minute amount of the syrupy substance, he immediately remembers an extremely heated discussion at a famous healing university he once visited. There, he sat through a seminar in which different anesthetics were discussed (there were samples of all of them). One of the questions sparking the debate was whether this poison that mimicked a particular stasis spell was a viable anesthetic or not. As a non-magical effect it would work on creatures resistant to magic, it could be administered by non-casters, and the strength of the effect could be very well controlled - the patients could be put to sleep for a few minutes, or they could be in deep coma for a few hours with reduced physiological functions so that there would be less blood loss during the operation. However, too high a dose would mean that the patients would go into stasis forever. They would not die for at least 10 years, but they would never regain consciousness. The big problem was that if the dose was not so completely over the top that the body would go all rigid, it was impossible to know whether an overdose had been administered, and without treatment within the first minutes, the patient would be lost. Thus, it was seemingly easy to use by non-experts (i.e. non-casters), but it was also very risky, which would require administration by experts. It didn't help, or course, that one of the presenters had been in the team that had developed the anesthetic.
Marius of course also remembers what should be done: He needs to remove the paralysis, administer a strong stimulant (that he should be able to find in his medicine chest), and remove Klav's armor, because the chain shirt is going to be too heavy for the weakened lung muscles to lift.

[SandDemon]

Krusk

Looking over Marius' shoulder as no one seems to move from what he said, he mentions "Dagger from Malagar, if help." He turns to look behind himself and shuffles back so he can lean against the post, waiting silently.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

As Krusk speaks up and is already shuffling back, Marius speaks up to him. "I could use some help here removing the chain shirt of the guard to make it easier for him to breath." Before doing so, however, Marius grabs a medicine chest from his backpack, puts it on the ground and grabs something. After that, with his free hand, Marius waves his hand inches over the guard's body. The hand radiates some soft yellow light towards the body, making the paralysis go away instantly. Then, Marius administers the thing he obtained from the small medicine chest to the guard, and motions to the most nearby person to aid him in getting the chain shift off the guard. Meanwhile, the dagger is lying on the ground already, not too far away.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël moves toward the guard as he begins to lick his fingers, saying, "Stop, don't do that!" but is obviously too late. He gets to the man just behind Marius. When he hears Marius' instructions he begins to deftly unlace the guard's armor, pulling it off of him as soon as he can. He turns to Marius when they have a free moment, and says, "Do you know what that was? Some kind of poison?"

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Giving a smile towards Raël as he offers help, the two of them work to improve the situation of the guard. When the chain shirt is off the guard, Marius sets himself more comfortably on the ground, sitting on his knees. He inspects the state of the guard carefully, than pushes his chest a few times to aid in the breathing, and after that, he seems to nod softly. "He will be fine now." Then, he turns towards Raël and speaks up loud enough for the others to hear as well. "It was a strong paralysis poison, with a variable length depending on the dose. This makes it risky if you do not know the ratio, or, if you just freely take something like he did.."

[iop]

Realizing that his man is going to make it seems to bring the life back to the captain. He quickly steps next to Klav and peels the dagger out of the soldier's hand, wrapping it in a towel after carefully looking it over.
"What is your name, healer?", he asks Marius in a very serious tone. Then, almost as an afterthought, he turns to Krusk and asks: "How come you recognize the dagger?"

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Standing straight up, Marius turns towards the captain. He makes a bow with his head, and then responds. "The name is Marius Thanador. I am glad to be of assistance."

[Job]

Hector

While his companions are being questioned Hector will move his attention to Dravia, and then to the other patrons, attempting to glean any hidden guild among them.

[iop]

The captain stands up even straighter than before, and takes a deep breath, making sure that everyone's attention is focused on him.

“Marius Thanador”, exclaims the captain. “By the power vested in me by King Miswa of Mugdal called The Visionary, I, Olof of Hungund, captain of the Royal Guard of Mugdal, pike-bearer first class, and recipient of many other honors, proclaim you, Marius Thanador, friend of the kingdom of Mugdal for your exemplary services to the crown!”
Olof takes one of the smaller medals off his sash and fastens it to Deron's shirt with trembling fingers.
“You saved the life of one of my men today”, he says with a tear in his eye. “Should you ever be in need of assistance, contact the closest guard station, or embassy of the kingdom of Mugdal, and we will try to repay you.”

Olof takes another deep breath and composes himself. He looks to Krusk, who has not answered yet. Olof frowns, then his face suddenly relaxes. "You said that you are hunting criminals, didn't you? No wonder you would know about the thieves' guild. Frankly, you will not find much work in this kingdom, because we keep our streets clear of vermin." Olof touches the dead man with his foot. "However, should you head to Malager, you will certainly find work, for it is a filthy place festering with crime."

Looking at you, as if you were an attentive audience, Olov continues: "I know now why this man tried to reach this inn. He is a thief from Malager, trying to conduct some illegal business in our nice kingdom - no wonder he carried poison with him. When he was found out, he tried to fool someone into bringing the dagger that would identify him as a master thief back to Malager, and he hoped that some stranger - and where else would he find them but here - would be gullible enough to do so. But I see that you all, especially Marius Thanador, friend of the kingdom of Mugdal, are good men who would not have done such a thing."

Olof orders two of his men to carry the corpse outside. He is about to leave when something comes to his mind.
“Oh, I almost forgot. For identification purposes, I have to demand a lock of hair from everyone present. Except Dravia, of course.”


Job
There are no other patrons that your group. None of its members is openly recognizable as member of a particular guild.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

His eyes a vivid green, he looks up at the guard captain. He says, calmly, "Perhaps such business would be better conducted outside, as Mistress Dravia is rather strict about her weapons policy, and I have no wish to tear out my own hair." He steps toward the door, removing his headband as he does so.

((I guess they could make a sense motive check or something to tell that he's really ticked off, and he'd get a bluff or diplomacy check or something, but you can do that however you'd like.))

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"I am honoured to be called a friend of the kingdom, good captain." With that. he makes a half bow again, before looking back. "But it is my job. And that comes with something else as well." He gives a single nod towards the captain, before heading to the corpse. He kneels besides the dead man and seems to speak up a prayer in another language, celestial, as he closes his eyes. The prayer is not spoken too loud, except the last part. "May your soul move on and not linger in this existence." With that, he seems to make a simple gesture, before opening his eyes, sighing shortly, and rising up again.

"While he may not have lived the best of lives, we must respect the dead." Nodding to the guards that will carry the corpse outside, he then steps away to let them do their work. He folds his hands in each other before him and seems in thought for a moment. When he hears about the required lock, he nods towards Raël, or rather, with him as he agrees.

[oldredeyes]

Levvenol is hesitant at this request; stepping out of the shadows, he turns to the guard captain. "Why is this necessarry? Has the criminal not been brought to justice? My god, Baravar Cloakshadow, teaches that we must protect our homes from the knowledge of outsiders, and this contravenes that teaching." Not really expecting this to work, but (Diplomacy [roll0])

If the captain is not swayed Lev will reluctantly follow his demand.

[iop]

"Commendably, Dravia does not allow weapons to be worn in here, but I doubt that she made you eat with a spoon. If you did hand in your sharp knife, I will gladly lend you my dagger for the occasion", replies Olof calmly to Raël.
Turning to Levvenol, he continues, still surprisingly friendly:
"It is a pity that your religion does not want to allow surrendering some hair. However, I am sure that if your deity didn't disallow you to travel, there must be a clause for accommodating other cultures' demands. If not, pretend that some of your hair fell out and was collected by me by accident."

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Taking the dagger from the captain,
he bursts into a whirl of action, and, with a single throw, slashes the throats of all the guards, and spears Olof through the eye with a fork. No, not really, but this crosses his mind. I do so dislike these rascistshe cuts a small hank of hair from the top of his head and hands it to Olaf, along with the dagger. As he does so, he asks, "Why this custom? I know it's for identification, but this seems an odd way to go about it."

[SandDemon]

Krusk

"Aa..." returning back from his short lapse, he rips out some hair growing on his forearm without much a thought and hands it to the captain. "Ya, thief guild...you knows." Nodding for effect, he smiles and waits what unfolds.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Hmm.. I guess you have your magics at your disposal then." Marius says to the captain, in regards of the identifying of people. But, beyond that comment, Marius just obeys the order to offer a lock of hair as he opts to borrows the dagger as well. Making sure to take the lock out of his long blond hair in a place where it will not be visible that anything is taken out, Marius makes further sure it is only a small lock. Nothing large will be necessary anyway. thinks Marius as he offers his small lock of hair and returns the dagger.

[Job]

Hector

Hector will remove a short blunt-ended knife from his belt and cut a small clump of his prematurely graying hair, offering it unceremoniously to the captain.

[iop]

"Thank you very much", Olof says politely as he carefully stores the hair in little boxes that he labels with each person's name.
I assume your characters all told Olof their name

"I wish all of you good luck on your way to Malager. Be wary of the elves in the forest of Orbain; they're up to no good. And watch your back in case you go after the thieves, they're evil, but resourceful. Though with such a skilled healer on your team, you should be well protected. May the spirit of Tourak guide you!"

With these words, Olof and the remaining guards leave the inn.


It is quiet for a moment, then Dravia speaks up: "I apologize for the inconvenience. Although the guard comes to harass my guests once every now and then, they have never killed anyone who came to seek shelter here. May I offer you anything on the house?"

[SandDemon]

Krusk

"Want mace back, nah safe without." He furrows his brow with his serious intent. Krusk seems not thrilled about the events that unfolded and wants his weapon back. If it means he has to leave, he might just - he's that serious.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Stiffening even more (if that is possible) at the comment about the elves, he relents a little as they leave, and murmurs, "The Lady guide your shield."

Turning to Dravia, he asks, "Then what was so special about this man, to make him an exception to thier routine? And to where did that bard go? I do not see him."

_________________________________________

After any discussion unfolds, he discusses the currently available wines with Dravia, and has a small glass of red.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Some water will do." Says Marius slowly, before he makes his way to a seat. He carefully sits down and then leans on the table before his seat. he sighs softly as he closes his eyes. For a few moments, he remains like that, before he opens them softly, and glances about, almost expecting more to happen. Then, he speaks up. "This is not the usual chain of events that happens when entering such an establishment. I wonder if this is any sign of the events in this area, or events on the rise, due to this being the first time."

[iop]

“Do you think that your mace would have been any help against a dying man? Or would you have taken a stand against the royal guards of Mugdal?” Dravia puts a glass on the counter, takes an orange from behind the bar, and rolls it a few times between her hands. Then, she throws it in the air. With an amazingly swift motion, she pokes the orange from below, then slaps her hands together, right as the orange falls in between them, filling the glass with juice. The flattened orange falls onto the counter next to the glass. “Or do you fear that I cannot keep my guests safe, Krusk? I will hand you back your mace when you leave this inn. Should you decide to leave now, I will pay you back your room charge. Just be careful not to be seen by the guards, or will have to use your mace in order to avoid arrest.”
Dravia pauses, then turns to Raël and Marius. "I have no idea who this person was, but I presume that he was discovered by the guard, and that he tried to run away from them. It is not the first time they have shot someone. It is the first time, however, that such a person tried to come to my inn afterwards. It is very puzzling that a thief from Malager would be sent here, or travel here, without learning of the local laws; it is not at all like them", Dravia hesitates, as if unsure whether she should keep talking, then something seems to come to her mind. "If you're talking about Ruudi, Raël, he is no bard. Rather, he is one of the elves protecting travelers from the dangers of the forest of Orbain. He has had a run-in with the guard at one time, and they consider him overall suspect and would be happy to capture him. He comes here from time to time just to tease the guards. He is mostly harmless."

[SandDemon]

Krusk

Grumbling about the situation and not honoring it with a response, he waves off her question and decides to stay to avoid breaking the law. Krusk listens intently about the conversation with the thieves, trying to sense something from her words....something doesn't seem right about what she says. If bard wanted by guards, then why he with her.

Sense motive "hunch" check:[roll0]

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raising one eyebrow slightly at Dravia's impressive feat of dexterity ((He likes the tiny, subtle facial expressions, ya noticed?)) he nods to show that he has heard. He has little trouble believing Dravia's explanation of Ruudi, what he witnessed matches her description.

((Also, as a small metagaming thingy, wouldn't this be a lovely time for our little constantly suspicious cleric to mention the package he saw?))

[oldredeyes]

Levvenol

The gnomes eyes on the landlady, he fingers his periapt. He seems deep in thought for a while, before finally saying "Lady Dravia, in light of such disturbing events, may I ask what will be done with the poor soul's remains?"

[Job]

Hector

“Yes, that is of some interest” Hector chimes in at Levvenol comment. He again takes a seat at the table.

[iop]

"I am not sure about the fate of the dead man", Dravia admits. "I guess that they will try to identify him, both by worldly means, and with the use of magic. Then they will probably keep his remains in one of their abandoned mines that they changed into giant storerooms. This kingdom is after information like a dragon is after its hoard: They want to get as much as they can - whether they can handle it or not - and they are afraid to throw any of it away. Why are you curious about it?"



((Also, as a small metagaming thingy, wouldn't this be a lovely time for our little constantly suspicious cleric to mention the package he saw?))
Generally, I don't like metagaming (I guess no DM would). However, I very much approve of these kinds of comments.

SandDemon
Krusk does not feel that Dravia is hiding anything. In fact, she appears to freely share what she knows.

[Job]

Hector

“I don’t know Levvenol’s concern, but my guess is it’s not far from mine. I was hoping the man would receive the small courtesy of a proper burial. However that does make me think of something else; the stewards Mugdal’s law certainly seems to have an affinity for ones…bodily components. I assume they’ve devised some simple system of identification that any of their members can use?”

[iop]

"I'm afraid that courtesy is a privilege mostly reserved for citizens", Dravia replies. Then she stops to think.
"I do not know for sure, but my best guess is that the members of the guard do not have a way to identify people based on the lock of hair. The samples are sent by some way or other to the capital, where they are cataloged and stored. It is there that they have a way to tell if that person has been in the kingdom before. Therefore, if you had really been considered suspects, you would have had to wait in prison until they had been able to check their records." Dravia pauses. "By the way, I would be very surprised if the samples wouldn't be used for purposes of spying, and I'm not alone: I've heard that many of the wealthy houses of Malager have set up anti-scrying devices to block the diviners of Mugdal. I don't want you to worry too much about your every move being watched, though. They have samples of so many people that they would never have enough mages to check on all of them. And no offense to you, but even a friend of the kingdom is unlikely to be important enough to capture their attention much."

[iop]

I assume the absence of posts means that you are waiting for me to finally move on with the story. It is always a little hard in PbPs to figure out how much the players want to drive the story by themselves, and how much they expect the DM to nudge or push.

When no one wants to ask more questions, Dravia brings a glass of water to Marius. Raël asks for some red wine, and after some discussion, he finally decides to try some '95 Hobgoblin from the hills north of Malager, as a preview, so to speak. It is a warm, round wine with just the right hint of fruit "to remind the connoisseur of what the wine is made of". When Dravia brings Raël the glass, he notices that either her fingernails are made from metal, or that Dravia also applies her amazing dexterity to the painting of her fingernails.
Krusk feels himself under a strong inquisitive regard from Dravia, as she passes by his table - or maybe it's just his imagination. Although if he were to speak about it, he would find that Levvenol and Hector, too, get the impression of being scrutinized.
Finally, she returns to the bar, where she clears her throat in a way that makes all of you turn your heads.

"I strongly suspect that the dying man was not worried so much about bringing back the dagger. Before I share my thoughts with you, I would like to ask those who do not care about honoring a dying man's wish to retire to their rooms. I don't want you to burden with the consequences of a request from a thief."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Taking the last sip out of his glass of water, Marius listened closely to what Dravia had to say. His mind, up until then, had been elsewhere, pondering. The thoughts were not completely aligned with the events of the day, but showing some affiliation to it. When Dravia raised her voice and spoke up about a man's dying wish, Marius felt like Dravia was playing with words. Surely, he normally would want to heed to a man's dying wish, but considering he had been a thief, he might not want to heed to said man's dying wish.

"It truly depends on what the dying man's wish is, madam. I respect the dying and the dead, but I can not respect a wish that goes against the principles of good." As Marius had said that, he had gotten up from his chair. "With that in mind, would I do best to excuse myself or listen?" Is the question he rose towards Dravia.

[iop]

Dravia seems to ponder Marius' question for a moment, then she looks down onto something behind the bar. From the movements of her arms you guess that she is unpacking something. First, she looks very curious, then puzzled, then very surprised. Finally, she looks up again.
"It is, of course, impossible to predict all consequences of an action. But I cannot imagine how it could be evil to bring back a...", she cuts herself off, and takes a deep breath. "I believe you should rather stay."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius nods towards Dravia and moves towards a position closer to her and whatever she will soon show. "Alright." Then, he looks towards the others, to see what they are going to do. Marius would have to see what this would turn out to be.

[Kai-Palin]

(Yeah, that was the time to go on, sorry, I'll mention that in OOC thread next time.)

Raël
"This is an excellent vintage, ma'am, I thank you." Raël raises his glass to Dravia, choosing not to comment on her personal adornments, but noting it in the back of his mind.
_________________________________________________
"It was a shame enough he had to die," says Raël, still holding his glass. He stands up and steps lightly toward the counter. "I honor all death wishes, as the Lady bids."

[Job]

Hector

“I would like to hear this.” Hector takes a tentative sip from his glass of water. “Then I think it would be prudent to sleep on the issue.”

[iop]

Dravia lifts up a package and carefully sets it down on the bar. "When the man came in, he was clutching this to his chest. I took the package from him when he was dead", Dravia explains.
The package is wrapped in a rough cloth. It is about 2.5 feet long, and a foot in diameter. Beneath the cloth Dravia silently reveals another layer of wrapping, this time a foulard made of expensive silk with a royal blue border and some kind of drawing on it. As she unfolds the foulard on one side of the package, you discover the head of a human baby. The baby is motionless, though if one listened very carefully it would be possible to hear it breathing.
"I have no idea who this baby could be, and I have not heard any news of the abduction of a child. However, the colors of the foulard point are common in Malager, and since he carried a thieves' dagger from Malager, it is possible that he abducted the child and felt remorse when he knew that he was about to die."

[Job]

Hector

At seeing the child, Hector bolts from his chair knocking it over in the process. He stands in stun silence until just long enough to allow Dravia to finish her explanation. Then screening his words through clenched teeth, making no attempt to mask his contempt, he responds: “By the grace of the lady, what have you done, if at the moment you touched this child you realized its predicament and did not inform the guard.” Hector pauses for a moment, realizing the baby in unmoving and leans in to check its pulse and breathing.
~
When satisfied with the child’s condition, Hector slams his fist on the table and turns his back on Dravia, walking slowly a few feet away, fingers locked behind his head. He listens to what he hopes will be cooler conversation from his companions.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius has raised a hand to his head, where his head is now leaning upon. Gently nudged, his eyes gaze towards the young child. A sigh escapes from his lips and stirs the air. Why do these things happen? Marius wonders in thought. Looking with a sad gaze, Marius takes back his hand and rests both hands before him against his body. The head shakes momentarily, after which Marius looks towards Dravia. The sight has been unfortunate and while Marius feels a great urge to make sure the child's position is improved, there is a question that needs answering first. "I must ask the same. Why did you not inform the guard and instead relied on strangers to tell this to?"

[iop]

The baby is breathing slowly, as if in a very deep slumber, and it's pulse can be felt, even though it is weak. When Hector looks up again, Dravia looks straight into his eyes and answers in a level voice devoid of emotions: "I did not know what the package contained until moments ago when I checked following the request from Marius." She takes a deep breath and continues, more relaxed. "Had the man been a local, I would not have interfered. However, when I noticed it was a stranger who was dying under Olof's arrows, I did not hesitate to honor his wish. I'm sworn to serve a justice that is not going to be twisted by the hate of Malager Olof of Hungund harbors, and the schemes of Mugdal. Now that I know that the stranger was a thief who had kidnapped a child, I know that I did the just thing. If a kidnapper gives his life to be able to entrust the child to strangers rather than dumping it somewhere, or handing it over to Mugdal, it means that he was convinced that Mugdal must not have it; at any cost." She looks at Marius. "You may be strangers, but you rushed to the help of a potential enemy without hesitation, while Olof tries to abuse his position to get over the fact that his wife left him, and to get more power. Who would you rather trust to set things right?"

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
"Peace, friends, let us hear her out!"
______________________________
Silent throughout the rest of the exchange, Raël nods at her comments about the justice she serves, feeling them resonate with his own ideals. Then he stands and asks, "What would you have us do? I am not particularly well-versed in human childcare, but if we could help escort the infant home, I would guard him(her?)."

[iop]

Dravia nods gratefully when Raël has finished speaking. "What you do is your decision. If you decide to escort the baby, you will have to take care of it yourself. I could show you how to take care of the baby, but I cannot accompany you, and I doubt that any local would want to travel with you. The way to Malager is not without danger, and being distracted by a baby is going to make the journey more difficult. If you could, at least, carry a message to the elves running the Inn of the West Tower [DM's note: that's the place where you will be spending the following night, in case nothing major happens], and one to Malager, it would be possible to arrange for someone to bring the child back to Malager and to look for", Dravia peeks under the diapers, "his parents."
Dravia looks at the guests, especially at Krusk and Levvenol, who have been silent so far.
"I suggest that you get some sleep before you make the decision. I will take care of the little boy, though I would appreciate if you could have a look at him, mister Thanador. I fear that the thief may have used the poison on him to keep him silent."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

In a steady pace, Marius makes his way over to the child. Standing besides Dravia, he bows over the child and examines him thoroughly, not just checking for the poison, but also to make sure the child is otherwise healthy. As he does, he responds to Dravia. "I will indeed get some sleep. Such a situation is not what I usually come across and I will need to devote some thought to it. May the good gods guide us in our decision."

Heal, take 10. Result: 26.

[iop]

Marius detects the smell of the poison on the silken foulard that has been used to wrap the baby. He cures the little boy of the poison, but finds that the dose must have been chosen by an expert: The baby is in excellent health. Except that he starts crying the moment he wakes. He is quite probably hungry. Dravia takes the baby in her arms, and heads for the kitchen, wishing you a good night, after which everyone retires.

Please check the ooc thread

[Job]

Hector

With Dravia gone and tending to the baby, Hector turns back to face his companions, no longer wearing a contemptible look. “A fine situation we have ourselves, eh?” pausing for a moment to right the chair the knocked over he continues “I think I will take advantage of the bed provide, and we’ll confer in the morning with our decisions.” Hector nods, and then climbs the stairs.

[iop]

After a restful night, Dravia wakes you a bit before sunrise. She has rings under her eyes, as the baby didn't sleep very well. When everyone assembles in the common room, you notice the absence of Krusk, the half-ogre. Dravia simply mentions that he is not going to travel with you.
There is only a short discussion about the baby, while you eat the hearty warm breakfast. It is clear very soon that everyone agrees that the baby should be brought back (except maybe Levvenol, who keeps silent on the issue, but doesn't voice any disagreement). The question is rather who is going to take care of the little boy, who happily coos in Dravia's arms, grabbing her hair and her jade pendant from time to time. Dravia once more explains that she cannot leave the inn, so all eyes fasten themselves on Marius, who eventually agrees to the task.
Dravia seems very relieved that you are going to escort the baby home. She hands the baby to Marius, and also gives him a letter for someone named Sujo, keeper of the Inn of the Balance in Malager. She tells you that he may be able to help you find the baby's parents. She also hands the foulard to Marius, and mentions that it bears a coat of arms - maybe of the child's family. Unfortunately, she doesn't know about the families, or houses, of Malager. Finally, she hands a bag with food for the baby and diapers to Marius, and gives a boxed lunch to everyone for free.
As you leave, Dravia brings back the weapons from storage and wishes you a safe journey, not without warning you to be careful, especially when you cross the swamps. She also suggests not lose too much time on the way, because the Inn of the West Tower is really a day's march away.

~~~

The way out of Naregal leads across the marketplace. The market is buzzing activity there now that the fishermen have come in with the fresh catch. A few kids stare at you, but most people are too busy buying food to waste time watching a small group of strangers making their way through the crowds.

“Ah dear travelers!” a middle-aged man calls out to you, as he falls into step with you. He wears a well-worn coat that seems rather excessive for the time of the year, even though it is a slightly chilly summer morning. “Did you know that the swamps around here are haunted by a Medusa? It is a creature that will come to you in the form of a pretty human, but one look into the monster's eyes and you will turn to stone forever, stone that sinks easily in the swamps, so no one will ever even find your body. But don't you fear. I have exactly what you need!” He pulls a three-inch wide amulet out of his coat that is adorned with a two-inch mirror and all kinds of colored gems, and dangles it in front of your eyes. “For only fifteen gold pieces, I sell you this amulet that will ward you from the gaze of the Medusa, so you will be having a safe journey!”

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Satisfied with the solutions, Raël thanks Dravia for her hospitality and service, and walks close to Marius, with a stance that warns of danger to interferers, despite his relatively small stature.
Maneuvers Readied:
Leading the Attack
Battle Leader's Charge
Tactical Strike
Mountain Hammer
Crusaders Strike
And, iop, you know how the crusader gets his maneuvers, right? I'll explain it if necessary, but I think you've got the book.
Raël thinks carefully about the Forest of Orbain, trying to recall its inhabitants and their possible alliances.
Knowledge: Local- Forest of Orbain/area b/w here and the next inn: [roll0]
Still walking near Marius and the child, he wheels toward the peddler, positioning himself between the man and the child. His hand straying near his dagger hilt, he looks at the man and asks, "Well, do these things really work?"
Sense Motive: [roll1]
Regardless of the outcome, he asks, "And what other hmm... useful items might you have for sale?"

[Kai-Palin]

(Sorry for the double post, the board is acting funky again)

Knowledge: [roll0]
Sense Motive: [roll1]

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Holding the cloth with the child in it in his arms, Marius tries to keep the child satisfied, hopefully not too disrupted by the many such and loud activity around them. When the man approaches and makes his offer, Marius seems to be occupied by the child. As he lets his attention slip from the child to the man, Marius seems to shrug. Honestly, a medusa? I think this man simply seems to make some money of the local rumour. For now, Marius lets Raël do the talking.

[iop]

"Ah, a skeptical customer. Well, I have not had any complaints about the amulet so far, but I haven't used it myself, yet. I do not travel to Malager." The peddler pauses, and looks around. He continues, whispering: "I have something that could interest you even more. I guess you must have met Olof at Dravia's yesterday and given him some of your hair, so that the Eye of Mugdal can scry on you, right? In this case, I have exactly what you need." The peddler pulls a smaller amulet with a yellow-brown shimmering gem out of his coat. "It works only once a day, but that's enough - the Eye of Mugdal has way too much to do to waste time on trying again. Too many people substitute their hair for an animal's. I normally sell these for a thousand gold pieces each, but I'm going to give you a discount. The amulet is yours for 800 gold pieces." The peddler pauses. "I may get knock 50 gold pieces off the price, if you tell me what happened at Dravia's. Rumors abound that Olof surprised a thief at her place, who almost killed Klav, Olof's nephew. Only because a healer was there...wait...would you happen to be Marius Thanador?" the peddler exclaims, turning to Marius, who carries the baby in a sash. The little boy is fast asleep. He doesn't seem to mind the noise at all.


Kai-Palin

Yes, I know the drill for Crusaders. You roll a d5, cross the maneuver from the list, roll a d4 and cross the next one from the list, and the next round, you roll a d3 to get another one granted by divine might (I can do the rolling, if you want).

Raël remembers that there are elves living in the forest of Orbain, who call themselves protectors. He knows there are contradictory legends about their history, though they claim to spend their life guarding the travelers. He knows that r'baïn is old elven for the kind of dangerous spiders that haunt some of those ancient forests on the continent that have grown evil over the course of the centuries.

The peddler seems not much different from others Raël has met before: Willing to please if it helps business, but not particularly trustworthy. Raël is not sure whether he senses some tension or nervousness in the peddler, or whether it's just his imagination.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Smiling at the baby, Marius looks up when his name is mentioned. "Yes, I am Marius Thanador, but how would you know my name?" Marius looks a bit confused. News does not travel that fast, does it? He wonders, a bit naively. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

[iop]

"Marius Thanador!" the peddler exclaims. "What a pleasure to finally meet you. Your sister has passed through this town recently. She was looking for others traveling through the forest, because it's dangerous, and she was accompanying a very sick man. We chatted quite a bit while she was here - she is a fine lady, if I may say so - and she told me that you might come by here. She didn't tell me that you were bringing your child with you, though." The peddler hesitates, as if weighing an uncomfortable decision in his head. "Your sister..., she turned out to be quite a shrewed card player. But generous as she is, she told me to give this to you and all of those who accompany you, instead of having to pay her immediately. Please tell her that I kept my part of the bargain when you see her!" This last sentence he said in an almost pleading voice. Apparently, Marius' sister has left quite an impression.
The peddler pulls three more anti-scrying amulets out from beneath his coat, and hands one to everyone of you.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Uhm.." The man had, rather obviously, surprised Marius. This was because Marius had not need been prepared to such a method of getting a message through from his sister. He did not mind this surprise though, and quickly regained his composure. "It is a pleasure to hear about my sister. Thank you, good man. We will take your repayment, though admittingly, it strikes me as a somewhat unusual method. But no matter, I am pleased to hear of her and we will tell her. As for the child, well, it is not my child. I am just taking care of it for now. But, may I know your name, good man?" Marius asks, as he takes one of the anti-scrying amulets from the man. his face is in a smile, and he made a half-bow towards the man in gratitude during his talking.

[iop]

"I'm Kobas, glad to be at your service."
The peddler bows to Marius in return.
"So, why don't you come and sit down to have a drink? Yesterday evening must have been quite exciting, with the thief being caught. And did they make you a Hero of the Kingdom of Mugdal?"

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

More than slightly confused at the rapid interchange, Raël nevertheless remains fairly expressionless. To Marius "It wouldn't hurt to be careful with these types, especially with the child". To Kobas, "I'm afraid that we must be on our way my good man, and I thank you this favor. To your credit, I would like to purchase one of your charms against petrification. I'll give you twenty gold, fair?"
After he recieves it, he slips it over the baby's head, and grins as the infant gnaws slightly on his knuckle.

((Yep, that's right about the maneuvers, except there are 2 chosen at the first turn, then one every subsequent turn))

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"He's right, we should be on our way, but I thank you for the offer. Also, as for the answer to your question, they made me Friend of the Kingdom, but honestly, I think that honour was too much to be bestowed upon me. I merely did my duty of helping out a person in need, and cured a poison." Marius shrugs momentarily, then smiles at Raël as he puts the charm on the baby. "Have a good day, Mister Kobas." Marius nods towards him and will then follow Raël.

[Job]

Hector

Having been silent until this point, Hector decides to continue the trend and simply nods in thanks to Kobas as he receives the amulet. As the group walks on Hector takes several backwards steps allowing him a parting glance. Whispering to his companions “Raël, would you help me done my armor? I’m become more uneasy about this situation.”


Sense motive roll on Kobas as we walk away [roll0]

[iop]

The peddler's gaze suddenly becomes distant as Raël offers 20 gold for the charm. He quickly agrees to the deal. Though he thanks Raël profusely, his heart isn't in it, and he doesn't even try to find out more about the previous night when Marius claims you have to leave. Instead, he abruptly bids you farewell, turns around and disappears into the crowds. Hector is fairly sure he saw an evil gleam in the peddler's eye. Turning around yourself, you see the guards slowly patrolling across the market in your direction. Not particularly caring for a possible chat with them, you head toward the road leaving town.

The road out of Naregal leads you through fields and pastures that are separated by tall laurel hedges. You stop soon so that Raël can assist Hector with his armor, and to feed the child with some of the puree Dravia prepared for him. Although there are hills ahead the road falls gently but steadily. Soon, there are no hedges anymore, though the grass seems to have recently been cut to both sides of the road, except in several small dips, that look like green islands in a yellowing sea. Those islands become more frequent and larger as the road keeps falling, and among the grass of one close to the road you see the reflection of water. Finally, you reach the swamp. The road is raised by a foot above the water that forms uncountable pools at the feet of the reeds and the swamp grass. From time to time, there is a handful of twisted trees growing tightly together, indicating that the ground is slightly higher there.
Right after the road passes through one of these mini-forests, you come upon a grueling sight: A horse is lying on the ground, still attached to the cart with the splintered wheel, and still alive, even though several dog-sized lizards are tearing into its belly. The horse ever so slightly raises its head and looks at you with pleading eyes. One of the lizards pauses, turns his head, and makes a few steps into your direction. It eyes you suspiciously, blood still dripping from its mouth, and produces three bursts of rapid clicks.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
((Actually, Raël offered and paid him 20 gp, he was trying to be a little generous.))

"Of course." Raël helps Hector do up the straps and buckles of his armor, and, suitably armed and armored, moves along with the group. He carries his bow, but leaves the arrows in his quiver (he's just being cautious).
__________________________________________________ __________

"Guard the child, Marius, we'll see what we can do to help the poor animal. Look sharp how you move, these creatures can take a chunk out of you, armor or not!"
(Activate: Major Aura: Motivate Care (+1 AC)
Minor Aura: Master of Opportunity (+3 AC bonus against AoO)
Stance: Bolstering Voice (+4 against fear, +2 to Will save) 2 free & 1 move action)
Raël stands in front of Marius, and nocks an arrow to his bow (1 free action).
He readies an action to shoot at the clicking lizard if it moves toward him or his allies. (1 standard action)

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
AC 20, HP 47/47, Initiative (if it becomes necessary): [roll0]

Marius nods and takes a step back, while making sure his defences are up to par (Total Defense). He grabs his spear while doing so, leaving the baby in the sash and moving carefully not to disturb him.

[Job]

Hector

Upon hearing Raël accept his request, Hector removes his armor from the satchel that he carries. The armor is a suit of full plate, having a lustrous black surface; it is of high quality but is noticeably unembellished with the exception of the helm. The faceplate is painted and shaped to resemble a bleached skull. Once suited hector ties a small vile containing a bit of parchment to the back of the helm, so that is dangles near the back of his neck.

~~

Hector moves to Raël’s side and makes ready to attack any creature that approaches, His heavy flail swaying patiently in his hands.

Initiative:[roll0]

Move action:
Move next to Raël

Standard action:
Hector will ready an action to strike any lizards that he threatens, and do so taking full advantage of combat expertise (-5 to attack +5 AC)

AC: 18 => 23
HP: 44/44

Note on ready action: I believe that the “cost” of a ready action is the same as the action readied i.e. a readied action to move is a move action, and a readied action to attack is a standard action.

[iop]

The lizard wiggles its head and emits another burst of clicks. It keeps looking at you, but it doesn't advance any further. The other lizards, some of which had briefly stopped eating, continue devouring the horse's innards.




Here's a sketch of the situation. You are standing around the blue x, the lizard looking at you is L1. L5 is partly hidden behind the carcass of the horse, but it is clear that it is larger than the others. The grey rectangle represents the wagon that has fallen over.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/442/lizards2wp6.png


Kai-Palin: Apologies for second-guessing you. I am too used to players forgetting details, that I didn't even give you the benefit of doubt. I changed my previous post.

Edit: If you ready an action, you indeed use up whatever doing this action would cost you in terms of move/standard/full-round action. On top of that, if you actually get to execute that action, you change your place in the initiative queue to the place where you execute the action.

Also: Kai-Palin, I will already grant you your first two maneuvers, in case there is going to be combat after all.
rolling 1d5=3: Tactical Strike
rolling 1d4=4: Crusader's Strike

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
((What do you all want to do? I'm fine trying to go by or to fight. On a side note Job, what class(es) has Hector taken levels in?))

"They don't seem to be intent on attacking us. Marius, would you be able to save the horse? I wouldn't mind trying."
((Side note, Raël has on his armor and a buckler on his right upper arm.
AC: 19 HP: 29))
If Marius thinks he can save it:
Raël says "Lady guide my strike!" and releases his arrow at the foremost lizard (L1)
Initiative: [roll0]
Attack Roll: [roll1]
Damage Roll: [roll2] (1 standard action)
He then drops his bow to the ground and draws his blade. (1 move action)

If Marius says he cannot:
Raël moves off the path to the right and attempts to walk past the lizards, keeping his bow out and an arrow nocked, all the while keeping himself between Marius and the lizards.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius looks at the lizards, trying to study them momentarily, before responding to the question asked. "I could, but I doubt the lizards would like that. The best thing to do would be to chase the lizards away, but I doubt they will just go away without a fight like that. And to take their lives for that of a horse.." Marius sounds hesitant, but then seems to come up with a thought. "I could try to calm them though, but then we must not do anything aggressive, and it will only give us a small time frame as I have to concentrate on the spell."

Knowledge (nature) to recognise the lizards and abilities: [roll0]
Does the horse seem like it will die in the coming rounds?

[iop]

That the lizards are starting to tear into the inner organs means that they're done feasting on the muscles. It's a matter of minutes till the lizards will rupture a major artery, and from then on, it'll be seconds before the horse finally bleeds to death. Marius is theoretically able to save the horse's life, although it is going to take a lot of work to do so, and only the gods know whether the horse is going to overcome the trauma of being eaten alive.


Marius' knowledge check. I don't know why they come out to be so long all the time. I hope they're at least entertaining :)
One of the first things that Gunthar told Marius about becoming a traveling medic (and not just a "fat city doctor", as Gunthar used to say) was: "If you forget everything I told you but one thing, remember this: The first goal of a healer is to stay alive, because you're not going to be any help when your limbs are strewn all over the place. Therefore, learn everything you can about the dangers of the world around you."
Thus, Marius has kept an open ear whenever he heard stories about dangerous creatures, places, and, of course, diseases. One day, as he was traveling with a caravan, they stumbled upon a dog-sized lizard not unlike the ones Marius is facing now. Marius, who had been walking at the head of the caravan, was hesitant to advance. A weathered guard who was missing two fingers on his left hand (he didn't let Marius heal him, because the missing fingers reminded him to be careful, he claimed) put his arm on Marius shoulder and told him: "You're a good lad for a healer, you know. You're not rushing to every creature thinking it looks so pretty. That's good, you know. But you don't need to be afraid of this lizard. All scaled creatures are cowards. They won't do anything to you when they're alone. But they can be dangerous when they're in groups, remember that. This kind will try to claw out your guts. The kind with the blue stripes gives off electric shocks. One will just stun you, but a group of about three will easily kill a horse and all the people who are too close to them. Some say you have to be 50 feet away from them, but I have seen people take them out from just 25 feet away without being harmed. When you face a group, you have to kill most of them at once, otherwise just don't annoy them and look scary enough so they leave you alone. Looking at you, I'd say you should just run away from them. There is also the kind with the red blotches all over. When they attack, it will look like they're peeing oil all over. But when they cough fire on it, this oil is going to burn like alchemist's fire. You have to light the oil while they're still peeing, or you have to shoot fire arrows into their bladder, so that they explode, otherwise you're toast. Literally!" The guard had still been laughing when suddenly, a swarm of lizards attacked the middle of the caravan. Marius had a lot of deep gashes to heal that night, earning the gratitude of many of the guards.

The lizard in front of you and the others all have blue stripes.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"On second thought, I think I remember something about these creatures.. they are dangerous. In a group of at least three, they can kill a horse and the people around it with an electric shock.. If we were to face them, we would have to keep our distance and take most of them out at once.. But I suggest we avoid them. Then do not annoy them and look scary enough for them to leave us alone." Speaks Marius, not very hushed and instead audible enough for the other two to hear.

[Job]

Hector

“Good thing it is indeed to have you with us Marius, bet to avoid such a risk when escorting a child.” Hector relaxes his poster and takes several steps back. “Shall we wait for them to be done a return later to survey the wreckage? Or simply find a way around?”

Hector seems in contemplation for a good bit after he speaks. Maybe I should have a look

~~

Before his companions can respond to his inquiry, the expression on Hector’s face changes from contemplation to resolve, “Wait” He states plainly. Lowering his weapon Hector adopts a narrow stance and begins breathing slowly and heavily, rather similar to when he meditates.

[iop]

You have only been walking for about three hours. However, the last village you saw was Naregal, which would mean retracing all of your way if you wanted to spend a night to wait for the lizards to finish eating before trying again. It does look like it may be possible to go around the lizards by walking through the swamp, though it will be risky.

As Hector calls out to Raël and Marius, the lizard takes a step backwards. It doesn't click, but it keeps eying you. The other lizards don't seem to bother.

When Hector starts his meditative stance, Raël notices motion around his companion, although he seems to remain completely still. Marius, meanwhile, recognizes that Hector is not meditating, but that he is instead making a serious effort - but there are not clear signs for a spell. Except that there is something different about Hector. It is as if he is cast in much brighter light than the surroundings.
Then it strikes both Raël and Marius: Hector's shadow is gone! He doesn't even cast a shadow on himself anymore. Instead, there is a flicker of darkness rushing toward the horse and melting into the shadow it casts.


My dice like you, Kai-Palin and Zweanslord!

Job
Hector enters into the twilight world of the shadow.
The bright rays of the sun stab uncomfortably. Fortunately, there is the shadow of the horse nearby. The horse is almost dead. It has given up on life. It waits for safe passage. Beyond the horse is a smaller object. It is a corpse. Human. Mostly eaten by the large lizard. There is a whiff of unhappiness around the corpse. It didn't die peacefully. There is also a cart. Wood. The tree died long ago.

Kai-Palin: Hector has levels in Paladin.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
((If this isn't necessary, sorry, just wanted to show continued interest))

Raël carefully watches the shadow as it flies along the ground. He moves a step or two forward so that he is level with Hector, and lowers his weight slightly, as though prepared for action.

[Job]

Hector

Satisfied with what he has seen, Hector relinquishes is concentration letting his shadow return to him. A sharp inhale signals the return of Hectors consciousness.

“Not all the members of the caravan escaped, one was killed by the lizards and his body lay half eaten. I will want to bury what the lizards have left and ensure his passage.”

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

The stir of surprise does not remain long as Marius noticed what happened to Hector. After all, in a world of magic, what is not possible?

"Then we will have to wait until they leave." Says Marius, sighing afterwards. He would have liked to safe the horse, but this was the way nature worked. Predators and prey. Ofcourse, saving the horse while keeping the predators unharmed would be ideal, but that was no possibility. So now, Marius looks around and moves away from the lizards. He can not bear to see the horse like that.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"If we are to wait for the creatures to leave, let us at least ensure that we are not their next meal." Provided nothing interesting happens, Raël urges the rest of the party around the wagon until it is between them and the road to Mugdal, so that they are about forty feet away from the ruin of the wagon, and the horse is out of sight (and possibly earshot).

((I'm still trying to figure out what you (iop) consider metagaming, but I thought that healers are able to cast sanctuary. You know, the one that makes one target immune to attack as long as he/she doesn't try to attack. The one that could let a character, say, walk into a group of hostile shocker lizards and bury a corpse, and then walk back out.))

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Nodding, Marius Thanador follows Raël.

[iop]

Carefully, you move on, keeping to the very right edge of the way, as far from the lizards as possible. The lizard keeps watching you, shooting you a burst of clicks as you start moving, but then remaining silent. It seems to realize that you aren't intending to steal their food.
The corpse is a human male. Most of his legs are gone, and a lizard that's larger than the others feeds on his organs. The man's clothing hangs largely in shreds, though you notice a wound in his throat. It appears that it is from a knife rather than from claws.
The wagon is strikingly empty. Whoever was here when the car broke its wheel must have been able to carry off anything that the wagon had been carrying.

~~~

It is not long before the watchful lizard joins the others with the horse. Little later, the large lizard is done feasting on the human. Leaving the man's arms and legs alone, he joins the others with the horse.
Raël carefully approaches the corpse. The lizards only raise their heads as he reaches the human. They make their clicking sound again, but don't seem to mind as he touches the corpse. Pulling the dead man by the arms, Raël moves away from the lizards, slowly, step by step, while the lizards occupy themselves with the horse, which doesn't move anymore.

[Job]

Hector

When Raël approaches, and it is clear the lizards will not be disturbed, Hector will move out to assist with moving the corpse to a safer location. Once a comfortable distance from the wreck Hector stoops over the body inspecting the wounds, and searching for any obvious identification. He will then remove a small lock of hair from the man and bind it with some twine.

OOC:
Search check:[roll0]

[iop]

While Raël keeps an eye out for the lizards, Hector and Marcus kneel down next to the body.
The legs of the man are gone below the knees, and most of the femurs have been cleaned of flesh. Furthermore, there is a bloody hole where the intestines and the other organs have been. The ribcage is intact, however, and hardly carries a scratch, while arms, and face do not seem to have been touched by the lizard. However, there is a deep cut across the throat, and there is a trauma to the skull.
As Hector and Marius carefully inspect the wounds of the man [taking 20 on their heal checks], they come to the conclusion that he died from the throat wound that must have occurred before the wagon had its accident, during which the man was violently thrown to the ground. They estimate that the man must have died 15-20 hours ago, in the afternoon or evening of the previous day.
They are not as successful at identifying the body. All they find is a purse with 160 gold pieces, 25 silver pieces and 12 copper pieces, and a dagger that looks vaguely familiar.
Finally, they remember: The dagger bears the same sigil that had been on the dagger carried by the man who died at the inn the day before. The sigil of the thieves' guild of Malager.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Such an unfortunate fate this man had. Killed and partly eaten. A sad fate indeed. Let us give back the body to the earth and pray that he may find rest." And with that, Marius suggests that they bring the corpse a distance from the road and cover him with earth and/or branches or the like, to then say a prayer together for this man's soul. "The dagger may hint that this man was affiliated with the thieves' guild, but that is no reason we should not respect the rest for his soul." Marius states in addition.

[Job]

Hector

Hector nods in agreement and assist Marius with moving the body off the side of the road. Once there, Hector will remove a large spade from his pack and dig a shallow grave. Placing the body in the grave, Hector join Marius in a prayer, and take a moment to sprinkle what he describes as “holy salt” on the body before covering the crave and marking it with a stone.

~~

Gathered together again, Hector addresses his companions: “Lets get underway; that mans killers may still be about given that they are laden with the soils from the cart. I’ll hold onto the dagger in case it’s poisoned like the last one, can’t have any harm come to the child.”

OOC:
As I foresee this happening often, when Hector performs the burial ritual above, I will simply say “Hector tends to the dead”

[iop]

The fact that you are in the middle of a swamp makes burying the man a bit more difficult - or easier. As you try to move the body off the road, Marius steps on what looks like a strong patch of grass. However, he immediately sinks into the treacherous ground. He quickly pulls back, though his shoe remains stuck.
Fortunately, Hector knows well how to dig, and so the shoe is soon back on Marius' foot. You end up laying the body onto the patch of grass, and Hector performs the ritual as the body sinks beneath the surface. Since it is hard to mark the grave with a stone, you take a plank from the wagon and stick it into the base of the road next to the unknown man's grave.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël bows his head as the corpse is placed in the ground, and murmurs, "Lady guard you 'ere you find your rest. You are in her hand, though her mortal servants can help you no longer."

Exchanging saddened looks with Marius, Why can we never find someone to save? They all die before we can help! Raël again moves in front of the healer and proceeds down the road, with his sword again stowed but his bow out, wary of any further waylay.

((When we get wherever we are going to stop for the evening, Raël will have a conversation with Hector))

[iop]

The atmosphere remains somber as you continue through the swamp, even though the weather is splendid. The fog banks become rarer as they are burnt away by the sun. Soon, you begin to miss them, as the sun now seems to concentrate all its energy on you. It is getting more and more humid, and the faint smell of decay emanating from the swamp keeps reminding you of the dead you left behind. Not even the baby can cheer you up when it coos in Marius' arms, curiously looking at the scenery surrounding you.

Slowly, the islands of trees and bushes in the even sea of swamp grass become more frequent as the road starts to slope upwards, and before you realize it, you are climbing the gentle hills that mark the official border of the kingdom of Mugdal. Nothing reminds you of that, however. There is no garrison guarding the pass over the hills to control the entrance to the swamp, but maybe the Eye of Mugdal is watching.

You push back lunch to reach the top of the hills, as you feel that seeing the other side will help you leave behind the memories of disemboweled bodies. It turns out that you are right. Arriving at the pass, an enormous forest unfolds in front of you, and with some imagination, you may even be able to make out the sea in the distance. There is a river coming from the north (your left) that makes a sharp turn and flows ahead almost exactly east (ahead of you). It is the river Orbain which you will be following the day after. To the left of the river, there is a dark coniferous forest that extends to the mountains, while to the right, mixed deciduous forests cover the rolling hills. There are several small columns of smoke rising from the forest to the south, some near, some very far, that indicate gatherings of intelligent creatures. However, the road that is just barely visible among the trees follows the north bank of the river, next to the dark and forbidding forest of Orbain, from which no smoke rises. Except from a small house that you can just make out at the river's knee, where the road crosses the waters. This is the Inn of the West Tower, where you plan on spending the night.

You have lunch, taking in the splendid view, and your spirits raise. The boy seems to like the food Dravia has prepared for him, and he starts crawling on the soft grass as Marius sets him down for a bit.

It is already early afternoon, and you know that the way is going to be long, so you pack up again, and make your way down from the hills toward the river.

There is a weak breeze on this side of the hills, which fortunately takes the edge off the heat, and you make good progress. Yet it is only shortly before sunset when you finally cross the bridge, an impressive construction that does not fit at all the narrow road you traveled, indicating that there must have been more contact between Mugdal and Malager decades, or maybe centuries ago.

The inn is built into ruins of what may have been a fortified outpost once. It is not big, but it can certainly house a decent group of travelers, and as you have not met anyone along the way, you are sure that they will have space for you.

As you walk up to the door, you find it to be slightly ajar, so you enter the room when no one answers your knocks. You find yourself in a comfortable common room with three long tables that must have been polished by the hands and plates of uncountable travelers. There is a stairway that leads upstairs, a door to the kitchen that is closed, and there is a large pot of soup on the table in front of you and a stack of plates. Leaning against the pot is a note that reads:
"Welcome, traveler! My wife and I have to absent ourselves for a short moment. Please make yourselves at home, have some soup and get some well-deserved rest until we return.
Mordran, the Innkeeper"

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

After having read the note, Marius' brow perks up. "Well, that is unusual." Nodding still though, Marius once more looks around. His brow moves back to its usual position and his shoulders slightly rise and decline. He moves to a seat and puts himself down in it, albeit slowly. He looks at the note and the soup again. "Well, I am not one for being suspicious, but it seems odd that this happened. Anyway, if we want something else than soup, I can conjure it up for us. Allow me some time." And with that, Marius starts to meditate for ten minutes. After those ten minutes, one of the tables is filled with simple fare, though very nourishing if rather bland. The food seems to be more than plenty for the three of them and is in fact enough to feed a lot more. Marius makes sure that they pack some of it for the next day, though warns that it will become inedible after a full day. Then, Marius starts eating of the food he just conjured up.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Reading the note, Raël looks about, as though hoping the innkeeper and his wife would suddenly walk in a door. "Surely at least one of them would stay here." He moves into the room and looks around through it, to check for any obvious danger. He sits at a table.
"I'll repast with you, unless you go through that soup first I mistrust its healthfulness," he says to Marius. If/When Hector joins him, he makes small talk until they are finished eating. After supper, he suggests that they go outside and practice a bout. Raël brings his sword, and, at Hector's signal, advances into a straight lunge.
Initiative: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1] -4 modifier for nonlethal damage already added
Damage: [roll2] He pulls the attack in case of a critical, to do only normal damage.

[Job]

Hector

Hector entering last removes his helm; the muggy conditions have matted his hair and given him a damp, unpleasant look. Having seen his companions inspect the note he walks past without scrutiny of his own.

He gladly chats with Raël as they wait for Marius to craft the meal, and thanks Marius when the task is done noting “I certainly hope our hosts won’t take offense to us not indulging in their soup” Hector looks over his shoulder to eye the pot suspiciously.

~~

“Ah’ bout you say” Hector responds as his mood lightens visibly. “It would be my pleasure.”

~~

Standing then, not more then a few yards from Raël Hector makes ready for the duel with a few stretches; one appears to cause an old injury to flair forcing him to stop for a moment. Commenting with a smile “sorry about that, our lot does not age as well as yours” then readjusting his posture and tightening his grip on his flail he shouts “Ready!”

Why, why do I always underestimate the speed of my opponents? He thinks as Raël lunge carries the courtblade into contact with exposed mail. Gritting his teeth Hector centers his thoughts to the battle once more, seeing what his hopes is a slight overextension in the trust he moves to exploit it.

Using the momentum from his back-peddle in response to the blow Hector carries the head of the flail in a high arc and then across entangling the chain and the blade. With luck the tension should loose the sword form Raël’s grip; regardless Hector continues the swing, bringing the flail head around again over Raël’s shoulder.

OOC:
HP(nonlethal) 36/44
AC:18

Full-Round Action: Full Attack
1st attack: disarm attempt [roll0] (no AOO)
(+10 base +4 2-handed wep +4 feat +2 wep. quality)
2nd attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]+[roll3]*
*all damage nonlethal

[iop]

Marius stays inside while his companions go for the bout. He feeds the child with some of the mashed potatoes he has conjured up. The boy seems happy, which should remove the last of Marius' worry - somehow, he got the ever-growing impression that the food smelled slightly burnt. This is a mishap that often happens to inexperienced casters, which would make it rather embarrassing to veterans like Marius. Still, both Hector and Raël appeared to enjoy the food.
Marius has almost decided that his mind must be playing tricks on him, when he thinks he sees a little bit of smoke passing under the door to the kitchen. Either his mind is really starting to crack, or something is going on in there.


Kai-Palin: At the beginning of the second round of the bout, Raël has the following maneuvers granted to him
Battle Leader's Charge
Tactical Strike
Mountain Hammer

Good luck resisting that disarm!

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

His eyes narrowed at the glint of light off the chain and spikes of the flail, Raël shows no pain as it hits him on the shoulder and pulls his sword sharply up and toward him, attempting to free it from the flail.
Resist Disarm: (+8 attack, +4 size, +1 Furious Counterstrike)
If he keeps hold of the sword, he continues the motion, attempting to rip the flail from Hector's grasp. [roll1]
Halting for a moment, Raël begins chanting, "Block, parry, riposte, guard, deflect, shield, counterparry."
((Using Bolstering Voice stance, and the Motivate Care and Master of Tactics Auras))

Regardless whether or not he has his sword, he strikes out with a straight punching strike (a thrust if he has his sword, an open-handed straight blow if not). Mountain Hammer strike
AC: 19
Attack Roll: [roll2] (actually the same for unarmed or armed when penalty for nonlethal is added to armed)
Damage Roll: [roll]1d10+2d6+2 (sword) or 1d3+2d6+2

[Job]

Hector

Hector gives a small nod of satisfaction as the courtblade sticks with a dull thud into the ground. Expecting at this point for Raël to yield he is surprised to see the elf lunging at him a moment later empty handed. Fortunately Hector is able to lean into the blow before it can gain any speed, and responds with his own volley of swings.

HP 36/44
AC: 18

Power attack set to -1

Full round action: full attack
1st attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]+[roll2]
1st attack:[roll3]
Damage:[roll4]+[roll5]

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Literally spinning from the force of the blow, Raël halts his motion, once again facing Hector. He gives him a bow, and says, "Very well, I concede the bout. Please get Marius so that I may walk under my own power." He then keels backwards and lands, unconscious, with a thump, a small grin still on his face.

[Job]

Hector

Hector grins at his success and walks forward, stopping to retrieve the courtblade and admiring its craftsmanship. “Good fight, I was surprised by your tenacity.” he says, as he flips the blade to an underhand position. Kneeling down Hector presses the sword hilt gently to Raël chest encouraging him to take it. However the exchange will carry more with it then just the weapon.

“Marius…may have something for you” Hector bellows to his companion, who should still be in easy earshot.

OOC:
lay on hands: 10 hp recovery to Raël

[iop]

Since the damage to Raël is non-lethal, Hector heals 20 damage (I think it's weird that you should be able to heal X lethal plus X nonlethal, but only X nonlethal when there is no lethal damage to heal).
Also, Marius can easily hear Hector.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Hmm, what?" Says Marius as he steps outside of the door post to see what is going on out there. His expression betrays that he did not exactly hear what Hector was saying because he was in thought. In fact, he had been thinking that it would be time to take a nap, because his mind might be spooking him.

Quickly enough, Marius spotted the effects of what happened. They had said they would train and now they needed their bruises healed. Marius quickly darts over the figures of both to see where the bruises may be and how serious it is, after which he will make a decision about what to do about it.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

As the healing seeps through his body, removing the beginnings of what will be nasty bruising, Raël's eyes flash open and he leaps to his feat, his sword out and his stance extremely wary. Seeing only Hector standing nearby, he quickly relaxes and sheathes the sword.

Seeing Marius come out, he bows a little and says, "I would appreciate a small healing. Hector has, fortunately, made me able to walk, but I would prefer to avoid too extensive bruising. Stiffness slows the reactions, after all."

[Job]

Hector

“and yes, I can’t really thank you enough” Hector adds to Marius “I may have overdone it a bit, when we get in town I’ll be sure to pay for any reagents you need”

~~

Assuming Marius will part with the child, Hector will hold him while Marius tends to the wounds.

[iop]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë, usually called Locë, is tired. He hasn't slept well on the boat he took to Naregal, and the day of rest at the Inn of the Open Hand turned into an early morning of questioning, and a very long walk across the swamps, where he encountered some unfriendly lizards, who mistook him for a snack. He is still sore from the violent cramping the lizards' electrical shocks induced in his muscles.
He has not spent any time admiring the view from the pass, but kept pressing on, eating while he walked. Finally, the old, massive stone bridge has come into view. It is just beyond the shadow cast by the hills that are more and more hiding the setting sun. Just as the derelict wall of a former fortification obscures the Inn, Locë hears a loud bang, and a splendid display of magical fireworks floats through the sky, fading slowly. Locë [and Raël - the two can't yet see each other] recognize the shapes as ancient elven runes. They know that this kind of fireworks was used a long time ago to send messages across the battlefield, having been replaced by magical messaging in the meantime. The meaning of the runes can, of course, only be deciphered by those who know the code, but one rune is unmistakably the sign for "HELP!".
Locë forces his weary legs to run, and as he surrounds the corner, he sees three, no, four, persons - an elf and two humans, one of whom is holding a baby. The other human seems to be giving medical assistance to the elf.

~~~

Marius has just started to examine Raël when they hear a loud bang and see fireworks shoot into the sky from somewhere inside the dark and forbidding forest. While Raël starts trying to make out the elven runes, Hector and Marius notice that they hear no birds fleeing from the loud noise. They do hear the baby, though, who jolted at the noise, and is now crying.
Moments later, an elf comes running toward them. He is very tall for an elf, at nearly 6 feet. He has long silver hair that are pulled back in a pony tail. He has amber eyes. He wears a dark green cloak over a white tunic and green pants. He is carrying an elegant elven thinblade, a longbow, and a white-and-gold satchel. Those with good ears can make out the ringing of a mithral chain shirt underneath his tunic.


Skjaldbakka: If Locë draws his sword before coming around the corner, please indicate it. Also, please correct me if I got something wrong about your character.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Actually, I would most likely let you sleep off the bruises now. The reason being that you should be more careful. But, I thought there was something at the kitchen." Handing over the care of the baby to Hector for now, Marius makes Raël show some of the obvious bruises to get a good indication of the damage. Marius shakes shortly, but than starts to weave a spell with one hand. Using that hand, which started to glow a soft yellow, he presses a finger on one of the bruises. The yellow glow seems to shift from his hand into the skin of Raël where the flesh starts to tingle as the bruises start to vanish.

[roll0] x2 nonlethal healed.

When the loud bang was heard afterwards and the baby started to cry, Marius went to Raël and offered to take over the baby. Considering that a new person was arriving, Marius thought this would be wiser to do.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Seeing the magical call for help, Loce dashes off toward the distress. Turning the corner, he pulls his mithral blade from its scabbard, prepared for any eventuality. He slows for a moment as he approaches the other group.
"Are you the ones who sent up that call for help?"

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"No, it wasn't us, but we should see what is going on." says Raël, moving subtly to block the newcomer's line of sight to the child and Marius, his hand on his sword's hilt. "I assume since you're asking, it wasn't you either. Who are you?"
______(Pause for conversation)_____

"We should go investigate. If someone's hurt, we can probably help."
If Locë's reply isn't too suspicious, Raël pulls out his bow and runs around the inn in the direction of the runes and noise.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

"You may call me Lócë, we can save the formal introductions for later. Right now, there is someone in need of help. I mean to come to their aid. Are you with me?" He then runs off in the direction of the signal, without waiting for a response.

Is it the same day as the lizard fight?

[iop]

Lócë heads toward the forest, followed by the others. He carefully crosses the vegetable garden behind the inn that is encircled by remnants of an old structure. Reaching the edge of the forest, you come to a stop. Thick bushes weave between the dead branches of the pine trees, creating a near impenetrable wall. As you stand there, wondering how someone would manage to get inside the forest, an elven girl bursts through one of the bushes, sees the two elves, and runs toward them.
"I am so glad you came!" she exclaims and throws her arms around Raël's waist.
"TheyCameToUsAndSaidTheyHad... ToTalkToAtarAndAtaraAndSaidItWasUrgent", she sobs, forgetting to pause between words as elven children tend to do when they are very upset.
"IDontLikeHallagolsSoIHidAndThey... They... TheyTookAtarAndAtaraCriedAndTheyTookHerToo... And... And... IRanToLaunchTheSignalButItWouldn'tWorkAndFinallyIt DidAndYouAlreadyCame!
She takes a breath, looks up at Raël an exclaims in surprise, dismay and fear: But who are you?!

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"Peace, child, I mean you no harm, I am here to help. I am Raël, and if there are elves in danger, I will help regardless of the circumstances. How many hobgoblins?"
Holding the girl's hand, he leads her back the way she came, listening to her answer. He keeps his bow in the other, and beckons the others to follow, in case any of them do not understand Elven.

[iop]

Apologies. I took the liberty of not translating everything from elven. These are words non-elven-speaking characters would understand, too (forgot to mention that in my post).
Atar - Father
Atara - Mother
Hallagol - Hobgoblin
Also, elven is simple green.

[iop]

"Thank you so much, honorable kinsman", says the girl, using a thoroughly old-fashioned honorific. She takes several steps toward the bushes, then she stops.
"They were two. They just came in, and said they wanted to talk to my parents. Then, they did something horrible to them. I saw them carry them. They took the secret ways. I don't know how deep they went. But after the turn off toward the signal, there is no fork for... You will keep the secret way a secret, won't you? No one is supposed to know about them. But it's all right If I tell you, right? You will save my parents and not tell anyone? Right? You promise?
The girl's fingers dig painfully into Raël's arm, and she looks as if she is about to cry again.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce

"You may trust us child. We only wish to help you save your parents. Please, show us the way."

[iop]

The girl simply points at a bush. Even to keen elven eyes it looks impenetrable, and weren't it for the fact that the girl just passed through there, you wouldn't believe that it should be the head of a path.

[Job]

Hector

Hector follows his companions, being sure to return his helm to his head. No need to hear this conversation, should have read the elven books.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce

Once we get out of earshot of the child, Loce will whisper to Rael, "We had best hurry. I understand that hobgoblins have a taste for elf-flesh."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Following along as well, Marius seems to shrug when the elvish words start to be thrown through the air. Keeping position besides Hector, Marius feels somewhat at ease knowing that he is not surrounded by only elves. Seeing as how the attention is amongst the elves, Marius instead decides to focus his attention on the baby as they move along. Better be sure the child is doing well before things get worse.

[iop]

"May Lady Vandria guide you!" says the girl. "I... I will wait here for the others. But I don't know when they will come. So please hurry, and bring back my parents. Please!" The girl tries hard not to start crying again, as you step through the bushes, one by one.


Inside the forest, you find yourself on a narrow path made of heavily compacted earth and the occasional flat stone. However, no tree-root, nor plant, not even a singe blade of grass grows on the path, while to both sides, the forest rises like a wall. The branches of the pine trees form a barrier of spikes through which ivy-like twines are woven.
You can hardly see anything through the branches; the sun is already very low, and the pine trees seem to drink all the light as soon as it enters the forest. Aside from Hector, all of you can't shake off the eerie feeling of being watched.

Very soon, you reach the fork mentioned by the elven girl, and you continue straight on, deeper into the dark forest of Orbain. The path starts to slowly veer to the left, then the bend becomes stronger, so that you can see less distance ahead. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rips through the twilight. The sound is coming from ahead, and not from very far. It tells you of a woman in great pain.


Please give me a marching order. The path is just wide enough for one person to walk comfortably, though two can just squeeze past each other without touching the vegetation.

Kai-Palin
As the scream pierces Raël's ears, he thinks he noticed some movement among the trees in the forest to his right.
zweanslord
In the silence after the scream, Marius seems to hear something scurrying among the trees in the forest to his left, though, again, it may be a trick his mind is playing on him.
Skjaldbakka
Lócë tries to peer through the dark forest in the direction of the scream. There is nothing he can see on the way, but in the forest to both sides, he believes to see several shadows move among the trees, right, left, up, down, but at a distance from the path. Focusing on the shapes, he notices that the forest seems to teem with life for as far as he can see among the trees, and that this life is scurrying all over the ground and the trees - except within arm's length of the path. Lócë is unable to make out what exactly these creatures are, since they are blending with their surroundings very well.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce is taking point. Please keep in mind that he has improved low-light vision from elf Paragon. He has +12 spot, +11 listen, and +12 hide.

[iop]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce is taking point. Please keep in mind that he has improved low-light vision from elf Paragon. He has +12 spot, +11 listen, and +12 hide.

I did use the correct modifiers, but forgot about the improved LLV. Correcting my post now.
Edit: done.
Edit2: Something Lócë would know (from a knowledge check of Raël, so he knows, too):
He knows that r'baïn is old elven for the kind of dangerous spiders that haunt some of those ancient forests on the continent that have grown evil over the course of the centuries.

[iop]

The scream makes you hurry on along the path. It slowly widens while curving more and more, until you're nearly facing west. You are just too late, though, to catch the last rays of sunlight above the treetops. The entire path is cast into shadows, except about 150 feet straight ahead of you, where there seems something like a door opening into an illuminated space. The light is periodically blocked by a figure that pacing forth and back in front of it.
You haven't been watching long before there is another piercing scream. It is coming from the direction of the light.

Skjaldbakka
Thanks to his eyes that are excellent even by elven standards, Lócë notices that to both sides of the "door" there are remnants of an ancient wall. Although the door will only allow one person to pass at a time, the path widens sufficiently so that two people could stand in front of the opening.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Following the others as they hurry along the path, Marius remains careful of the baby that he still carries with him. He looked at the path so far and wondered why it was like this. However, as his thoughts pondered of it, he continued to follow the actions of the group. A minor sound he heard earlier seems to have slipped from his mind already, thinking of it nothing more than a natural occurrence. The screaming, however, did attract his attention..

Pondering about possible natural occurrences of such a path using his Knowledge: Nature. [roll0] His current hypothesis's are that it might be a natural path carved by many wildlife walking over it or that it is made by the natural way of elves.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce

Loce will move up to within 30', and then cast glitterdust, if he can manage line of effect on the figure. If they turn out not to be hobgoblins, I can apologize later.


Spell Failure: [roll0]

Success!

[iop]

Zweanslord
One thing is for certain. This path was not made by wildlife. No wildlife would care whether there are weeds growing on the floor, or about the smoothness of the path. In fact, it looks like the path has been literally cut through the forest - even though the area seems to be very fertile, as demonstrated by the dense growth of plants, there is nothing growing on the path. In fact, cut may be the wrong word. There are no marks of cutting on the trees, it is almost as if they had decided to just not grow any branches in the direction of the path, as if two invisible walls separate the path from the forest. Marius concludes that this path must be the work of a skilled magician.

[iop]

Carefully, you move on, trying to not make any noise, or draw any attention to you. You have only taken a few steps, however, when the figure appears to freeze, blocking the light. It looks like the figure throws something in your direction, something like a ball that grows so fast that it has the size of a small horse as it touches the ground.
A ferocious growl tells you that the ball indeed has transformed into an animal. A predator with thick, black fur, so that it's hard to make out any features aside from the yellow eyes and the rows of sharp teeth. A wolf, but the big bad type. And it is charging toward you.


Apologies for the double post. I wanted to make sure that my second reply is going to show up in the notification.

The situation is as follows: Where you stand, the way is about 1.5 squares wide. Thus, you can move easily past each other, and standing on the same square will give you only -2 to Atk/AC. All of you get a single move or standard action before the wolf is in melee range.
EDIT: Currently, you're about 120 feet away from the mysterious figure, and 20 feet from the charging wolf.

Please roll initiative.

Skjaldbakka: You can use your spell failure roll either on the Glitterdust you planned to cast on the figure, or on whatever spell you want to cast on the wolf.
Kai-Palin: In case you want to go with your old character sheet, the maneuvers granted to Raël are
Leading the Attack / Mountain Hammer
Otherwise, send me the link to the new character and assume that you have talked about tactics during the walk through the forest.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce:

I'll keep my Glitterdust spell, at the figure I am assuming is a hobgoblin.

Initiative: [roll0] EDIT- Init 14 (rolled in OOC thread)

[Job]

Hector

Expecting a potential attack form the sides as well, Hector will stand ready to defend himself and the child, maintaining his positions for the time being.

OOC:
Initiative:[roll0]

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP 47/47, AC 16 18 flat 16 18 touch 11 13, Initiative: N/A (delaying)

Since he has a baby to take care of, Marius makes sure that he stays at ease. He does not want to disturb the baby, despite the dire situation. Remaining calm, Marius tries not to alert the baby. Meanwhile, however, Marius will look at the wolf, trying to see how normal (or not) it is.

Delaying actions until somebody gets injured. Trying to see how normal or not the wolf is with knowledge(nature): [roll0]

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
(I'm not quite done with the new character sheet yet, so I'll just go with what I've got.)

Initiative: [roll0]
Raël hastily draws an arrow and fires it directly into the face of the oncoming wolf.
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

"Now, hold together, and if them does anything tricky, requite them for their pains. We've got a solid defensive position here, and we can hold off whatever they throw at us!"
Activate: Motivate Care: +1 AC for everbody
Master of Opportunity: +3 on everything related to AoOs
Bolstering Voice: +4 on saves against fear and mind-affecting abilities (not sure about the mind-affecting thing)
White Raven Defense (Feat): Raël, Marius, and Loce each have an additional +1 to their AC

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 20, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 15

[iop]

Raël is glad to have drawn his weapon earlier. Better too prepared than caught unaware, as his old instructor used to put it. He skillfully fires an arrow at the approaching wolf and hits it right in the nose. Strangely, though, the arrow falls to the ground without any apparent effect. This surprises Marius. No ordinary wolf would just be able to shrug off such a hit. Sure, this one is larger, heavier, and probably more dangerous than a normal wolf, but even so it's nose should be vulnerable. This leaves only one conclusion: The wolf that has been summoned by the strange gesture of the figure is somehow magically enhanced. Whether enhanced or not, Marius knows that these wolves hunt by pulling their prey to the ground, where they kill the helpless victim before going on to the next target, and that they usually start with the weakest enemy first.
Lócë seems the least concerned with the wolf. He calmly incants a spell, until a fine streak of light that glitters like fairy dust shoots from his outstretched finger. In the blink of an eye, the streak is past the wolf and hits the figure, exploding in a firework of little lights that is almost blinding, even though you're standing more than 100 feet away. The dust settles, and outlines the muscled figure of a hobgoblin who is holding his hands to his eyes. You hear loud cursing - two male voices, in nearly accent-free common. Then the female elf screams again.
Hector is meanwhile carefully scanning his surroundings. However, nothing indicates that there is any danger from behind you, or from the forest to your sides.


Thanks for writing HP, AC and other relevant information. Please post your action for combat round 1.
Kai Palin: Maneuver granted: Tactical Strike.

Edit: Though Marius mainly studies the wolf, his attention is diverted to Lócë as he casts his spell. With Marius' trained eye as a healer, he notices the slightly uneven stance of the elf. This is usually the result of back pain from muscles that are severely tensed up due to bad posture, although this seems unlikely for someone like Lócë. Alternatively, such tense muscles could have been caused by electrical shocks, which is not unthinkable given that the elf must have passed the lizards, too.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will cast Shocking Grasp, then move up to strike the wolf with it, bolts of white and gold energy crackling between his fingertips.

Spell Failure: [roll0]
To-hit: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
SR if necessary: [roll3]

and, I missed. I'm still holding the charge though.


HP:28/44, AC (modified): 24, Flat-Footed: 18, Touch: 18

[Job]

Hector

Cursing himself for walking into an ambush in such inconvenient surroundings, Hector calls out “If the need comes, call for me to take your place” to the front of the group.

OOC:
HP: 44/44
AC: 19

Move action:
Hector readies to move forward in the line should his companions request assistance.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

((Oh, wow, reply I thought was posted never seems to have made it up here))
"Let us confuse it, blade brother. I will take your place, and we shall rotate through our fighters. If we do so, we can get to your incapacitated friend up there." Then, speaking louder, he calls to Hector, "After my strike, move forward and hit the wolf."
Raël drops his bow and pulls out his courtblade, its bone-white surface managing to catch what little light is in the air and gleaming (move action).
Activate: White Raven Defense grants adjacent allies an additional +1 AC because Raël is wielding a White Raven favored weapon
Raël takes a 5-foot step towards the wolf, he is now in Loce's square. He brings his sword into low guard and then sweeps it out in a blow of brute power, not finesse (slashing damage).
Moutain Strike
Attack: [roll0] BAB 5+3 dex+1 Mwk-1 Buckler-2 sharing a space
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] This damage overcomes damage reduction

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike

[iop]

The path reverberates from the clawed paws of the massive wolf as the monster rushes at Lócë. The elf has just enough time to pull up his arm for protection when the wolf jumps, baring its mighty fangs. The cracking noise as the wolf bites down on Lócë's arm sends a shiver down your spine.
Back down on its feet, the wolf tries to pull Lócë to the ground, but the elf wrestles himself out of the fangs in a near unbelievable display of agility that leaves even the wolf stunned for an instant.
That instant is all Lócë needs to cast a spell that makes its hands erupt in crackling energy. Maybe he is somewhat stunned by his own agility, or maybe the wound to his arm is taking its toll; whatever the cause, Lócë's swings not only past the wolf, but nearly hits Raël instead, who steps up to him.
Disregarding the near miss for now, Raël brings his sword into low guard and then sweeps it out in a blow of brute power, trying to slice the wolf. This time, his attack has more effect: Blood wells from the line the blade traces across the animal.
Following Raël's call, Hector steps ahead, right behind the barrier of steel and magic erected by the two elves.
Meanwhile, the visible hobgoblin casts a spell (that Lócë instantly recognizes as Dispel Magic). This is followed by much cursing from both the visible and the invisible hobgoblin, which indicates that the spell might not have worked properly.

[ooc]
I took the liberty of adapting the initiative order to your tactics.
The wolf deals 19 damage to Lócë, who in turn crits on the opposed trip.
Marius has the opportunity to heal Lócë on his turn this round (readied).

New maneuver granted: Crusader's strike.

In case there is confusion about the positioning
On a 3x3 grid, where x marks thick forest, and the middle squares are a bit wider than normal, you stand as follows:
x W x
xR Lx
xHMx

If Loce (and/or Rael) falls back after a full attack, Hector can move up to take the place. Alternatively, Hector could squeeze in, though then all three would each take -4 to atk and AC, because of the tight space.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will wait long enough for Marius to heal him, and then reach out with his hand in an attempt to discharge the lightning into the beast. He will then try to move past the beast, if possible. If there is no way to move past it, he will step back to allow Hector into the fray.

To-hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
SR if necessary: [roll2]



Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)
HP:11/44, AC (modified): 25, Flat-Footed: 19, Touch: 19

OOC: Invisible hobgoblin? Was he not in the glitterdust radius?

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

((If the wolf is alive))
"On my strike, make your move. Blade brother, get to that doorway, Hector and I will finish this beast."

Tactical Strike
Attack: [roll0]+1=24 (added non-existent penalty for using buckler, didn't factor in Mwk)
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]=18
If this hits, all allies adjacent to the target (the wolf), that is, Loce, can take a 5-foot step w/o provoking an AoO (which everyone has a +3 AC bonus for, by the way, from Raël's minor aura)

His attack striking a ringing slap to the side of the wolf's head, Raël motions Loce forward, "We will be there momentarily. Vandria guard you."

((If this attack kills the wolf))
Raël moves his full movement speed up the path (30 feet closer).

__________________________________________________ _____________
((If the wolf dies before Raël's turn))

Raël runs down the path (run, x4 movement speed) (120 feet closer). If this brings him to the entranceway, he focuses on the hobgoblins, standing in a defensive stance, blade in middle guard.

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Crusader's Strike

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 17, flat 17, touch 12,

Marius leaned forward and as he spoke the divine words of healing and made a gesture with his hand, that same hand touched Lócë on the back. Calling forth the powers of healing, Marius also called forth the power of nature to add to this healing.

Magic of the Land. Knowledge(nature): [roll0] If a 2 is rolled, the (3nd level) spell fails, else:

The glow that was encompassing Marius' hand started to shift towards Lócë. The glow from Marius' hand was bright and as Lócë felt a mild sting, this was soon followed by a soft and warm feeling, dousing out feelings of pain from the wound. The feelings from the wounds became fainter as the wounds themselves became less and less..

Cure Serious Wounds: [roll1]

[Job]

Hector

((if the wolf lives))

Hector moves into the fray, but lacking the room to perform any complicated maneuvers he will simply swing the flail in a high arc sacrificing fineness for killing power.

OOC:
HP:44/44
AC: 19

Free action: 5 foot step
Full round action: full attack (power attack at -1)
1st attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]+[roll2]
2nd attack: [roll3]
Damage:[roll4]+[roll5]

((if the wolf has been slain))

Hector follows Raël forward.

[iop]

Marius steps ahead and stretches out his hand to Lócë, who feels a warm tingling spread through his body. His muscles relax, and the pain from his arm fades into sweet nothing. Even the lightning flickering over his hand seems brighter again.
Maybe the healing makes Lócë lose his focus for an instant, maybe the wolf just gets lucky. Whatever the reason, the wolf lunges forward and sinks his teeth deep into Lócë's hip. He throws the elf to the ground, leaving deep gashes in Lócë's leg.
Lócë painfully falls on his left hand. While he manages to avoid discharging the lightning blast falling, he is also unable to touch the wolf.
As his companion goes down Raël does not hesitate to try to divert the wolf's attention. He skillfully pierces the foreleg of the wolf, cutting tendons. This sufficently reduces the mobility of the beast that Lócë can crawl out of the way safely, while Hector steps forward.
The mighty swing of Hector's flail impacts the skull of the wolf with a thud and a crack, which almost brings the wolf to its knees, and with a second swing he sends the wolf back to whatever evil place it had been summoned from.

At the same time, the hobgoblin successfully dispels the effect of glitterdust, and encouraging, urging sounds from the other hobgoblin indicate that the other one hopes he, too, soon gets rid of the effects.



The wolf crits (not confirmed) on Lócë, deals 18 damage. Lócë has no chance to resist the trip at 28 (he doesn't manage to crit).
You are 120 feet from the breach in the wall, where the light still outlines the shape of the no-longer glitterdusted hobgoblin.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will leap up to his feet and rush at the nearest hobgoblin, paying no heed to caution or his injured state.

Charging if possible, if not, subtract 2 from the attack roll, and add 2 to his AC

to-hit: [roll0]
damage: [roll1]
Edit: :smallfurious:

confirmation roll if necessary: [roll2]
crit damage if necessary:[roll3]



Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)
HP:26/44, AC (modified): 23, Flat-Footed: 17, Touch: 17

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

(I think that the maximum one can move with a charge is 60 ft. (or 2x move speed), so maybe get in position to charge and cast a spell this turn?)

Raël runs forward about sixty feet (so that he is ~60 feet away from the doorway, using the run action to move up to 120 feet as a full-round action), and says, "Advance, but keep your guard up! We don't know what's in those buildings. Blade brother, if you have any spell that works at a distance, use it now. We should strike in unison once Marius has healed you."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 17, flat 17, touch 12. +1 dodge ac vs visible hobgoblin.

Before Silquë'mahtar'urulócë moves forward, Marius will cast a spell and designate him as the target of the spell with a brief touch. This time, the healing is not as intense but instead, it seems to take some time and will continue for a while. Hence, the light passed on from one to the other will only be slight as well, but seem to linger and glow in the wounds before seeping in as the healing process really starts up.

Casting Lesser Vigor. For 15 rounds, Silquë'mahtar'urulócë has fast healing 1 and he is currently healed for 6 on top of that.

After that, Marius moves 30 feet as he follows Raël.

[Job]

Hector

Hector moves up the path, with as much speed as his heavy set of armor will allow.

OOC:
HP: 44/44
AC: 19

Move action: Move
Advance 20ft

Standard action: Move
Advance 20ft

[iop]

Lócë's daredevil charge does not pay off. The hobgoblin who is about to cast a spell changes his mind as he hears an armored enemy running up the way, and throws once more something in your direction. Again, the fuzzy ball seems to grow in the air, turning into a large, evil wolf before it hits the ground.

The wolf rushes toward Lócë and attacks. However, instead of soft elven flesh, its mouth finds a hand crackling with lightning. Lócë almost involuntarily discharges his spell at the wolf. Since he had set his mind on killing the hobgoblin, the spell doesn't do as much damage as intended, but it does stop the wolf from advancing and from biting - at least for right now.

Though the wolf attracts most of your attention, you can't help to overhear the hidden hobgoblin complaining to his companion (again in common), to which the other replies: "Shut up, you idiot. Then you'll hear the elves, too!"




Lócë hits and damages the wolf, overcoming its SR. The wolf, in turn, misses.
Marius is about 30 feet behind Lócë.

Here's the map. The greyish area indicates visibility. It is possible to pass the wolf on either side, though moving past the brushwork doubles the cost of movement.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/458/clearing2vi8.png


Kai-Palin
Maneuvers granted
Leading the Attack
Crusaders Strike

[Job]

Hector

Seeing the hobgoblins now is striking range, Hector calls to his companions “Let me take the wolf, you two get to the real assailants.” and with that dashes around behind the beast before Raël and Lócë can engage it in earnest.

OOC: all please read.
HP: 44/44
AC: 19

Move action: Move
20ft

Standard action: Move
10ft

Strategy synopsis: asking his companions to delay until he is in position, Hector moves around the wolf provoking OOA(s) which the wolf will hopefully take (i.e. “use up”) allowing the two elves to move past unmolested. Else hector will at least be flanking if not getting mauled to death after being tripped during an OOA.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël charges into the new wolf, moving to flank it with Hector.
"I am sorry, but with you in that position, this beast would have access to Marius and the child."

He whips his sword in a thoroughly confusing counterparry, grinning as the bewildered wolf follows its point, before lunging straight forward, his blade aimed for the beast's throat. "Vandria guide my blade! Crusader's Strike
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Healing done to Loce: [roll2]
If the blow hits, a flash of golden light appears in front of Loce, forming a shield that sinks into the area around his torso. The bite marks on his arms begin to close up.

"Blade brother, this beast is covered, we need you to get to those goblins before they do anything to the elves."

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)


Too impatient to wait for Hector's plan, Loce lashes out at the wolf, more to distract it than to bring it harm, and then moves past it towards the hobgoblin foe.

HP:41/44, AC (modified): 30, Flat-Footed: 18, Touch: 24, lesser vigor 1/?rnds

((OOC))

Attack against the wolf (fighting defensively, expertising for 4)[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]
Confirmation Roll [roll2] Crit damage [roll3]

I'm including the crusader's strike in those HP, so if it misses, I'm down 8 more.

Combat Expertise: The poor man's tumble. :smallcool:

[iop]

As Hector calls out to his companions to wait for him, the wolf attacks Lócë, biting the hand that had hurt it. It rips off the little finger as it tries to pull Lócë down to the ground. Thanks to Marius’ protective spell, the wound immediately stops bleeding. The missing finger does nothing to bring Lócë to listen to reason, however. The elf stabs the wolf in revenge, and attempts to move past the beast in order to be able to eliminate the hobgoblin mage. The wolf clearly doesn’t enjoy the bite of Lócë’s blade, and makes this not only known by a gruesome howl, but it sinks its teeth into the tender flesh of Lócë’s thigh. Missing the bone by a fair margin, it is unable to hold onto something that would allow it to try and trip the elf. Thus, Lócë is able to move forward along the path.
Shaking his head at this foolishness, Hector steps past Raël, who has decided to wait. The wolf is not able to adjust to yet another enemy in such a short time. Since there is no need to completely step around the wolf, Hector decides to swing his flail at the beast instead, hitting its back with a mighty crack. Looking expectantly at Raël, Hector finds the elf staring with wide open eyes in the direction of Lócë. Hector whirls around, just in time to see a ball of fire bloom where Lócë stands. The fire rushes toward Hector, and past him, engulfing the paladin and scorching the wolf’s fur in the process. Fortunately for Raël, the ball of fire stops expanding right in front of him, and collapses. Without hesitation, Raël lunges forward, cutting the wolf’s throat. The strike leaves a trail of golden light where it cut the beast. The light moves toward Lócë, then turns and sinks into Hector’s chest instead, who is grateful for the healing.
As the wolf disappears, it leaves behind a puddle of blood and Lócë's finger. Marius carefully steps forward, making sure he is still covered by Raël.
The blast has not only hurt Lócë, Hector and the wolf it has also incinerated several of the bushes lining the way. The wall of green that used to block your sight has disappeared, so that you can now clearly see motion. As your eyes pierce the darkness, you realize that this motion comes from a myriad of spiders – from small to horse-sized – that seem to press against an invisible wall to both sides of the path.




Lócë takes 13 and 14 damage, respectively, from the two attacks of the wolf, despite his high AC. Fortunately, Lócë rolled high on the opposed trip.
Hector deals 10 lethal damage to the wolf.
The hobgoblin fireballs for 24 damage. Lócë and Hector need to roll a reflex save. Save DC is 15. Should Lócë’s HP drop to -10 or lower, set it to -9 instead.
The healing from the crusader strike cannot reach Lócë, unfortunately, because he has moved too far away, so Hector is healed by 6 instead.
Maneuver granted: Tactical Strike.


Updated map:
I moved Marius a bit forward. I hope you don’t mind, Zweanslord.
The reddish area designates the extent of the fireball.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5409/clearing2px1.png

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

((Forgot about the spiders. Ugh, I hate spiders!
Also, anyone who is no longer adjacent to Raël loses the +2 AC.))

Scenting the odor of singed paladin with not a bit of revulsion, Raël raises his blade and says, "Come with me blade brother, try not to get yourself killed. Marius, run to the gap ahead, Hector, run and guard the gap.
Raël makes a charge attack and moves straight forward (60 ft.), ending up in front of the visible hobgoblin. He runs swiftly, sword held at his side, tip out, and when he gets close to the hobbo he stops and let his upper body take all the force from his lower body, making a piercing strike that slams through the creature (hopefully).
Attack: 1d20+8
Damage: 1d10+2

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce drops to the ground, scorched by the flames, his valor insufficient to sustain him against the wrath of the hobgoblin's magic. His wounds slowly begin to mend as he lies still on the ground.

As Loce feels his strength begin to fail, a golden light envelops him and heals his wounds. His strength renewed, he turns to see the one that healed him, carrying a young child in his arms. His thirst for the goblin's blood abates long enough to realize the danger to the child, and he places his hand upon him. There is a pale white glow that surrounds the child, and a short burst of cool mountain air, as the spell takes effect. He then moves up to the hobgoblin.

Cast Resist Energy: Fire on the child, granting Fire Resistance 10. Spell Failure roll made in OOC thread.

HP:34/44, AC: 22, Flat-Footed: 17, Touch: 16, lesser vigor 2/15rnds

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 16, flat 16, touch 11. +1 dodge ac vs visible hobgoblin.

Before Silquë'mahtar'urulócë drops to the ground, Marius speaks some words of power in a swift manner. This allows Silquë'mahtar'urulócë to regain his balance as his worst wounds glow golden and are soon partially healed.

Immediate action to cast Close Wounds. [roll0] damage healed. This damage is effectively prevented and thus also prevents Silquë'mahtar'urulócë from dropping to the ground.

Following that, Marius moves towards Silquë'mahtar'urulócë where he almost fell down. Speaking more words of power, he stretches out his hand and touches Silquë'mahtar'urulócë with his bright glowing hand. The glow washes over Silquë'mahtar'urulócë at the place Marius touches him and swiftly seeps inwards to begin healing the wounds. With only a marginal chance at failing this spell, Marius has tried to put in the powers of nature as well.

Cure Serious Wounds. Knowledge Nature: [roll1] if 1-2 rolled, then spell fails. Else: [roll2]

[Job]

Hector

“@#$%”

The fireball envelopes Hector, leaving only time for him to raise his hand to shield his eyes. The effort is not entirely effective as the searing heat bleeds through the screen of his faceplate and leaves painful burns across his mouth.

However the pain in not long lived as almost immediately he feels a wash of magic close the majority of the wounds.

Hearing Raël’s command to advance Hector does not hesitate, moving into the gap in the wall, passing Marius and the thankfully healthy lócë.

OOC:HP: 38/44
AC: 19

Move action: Move
Advance 20ft

Standard action: Move
Advance 20ft

[iop]

Invigorated by Marius's skilled healing, Lócë moves forward toward the hobgoblin. Right before he steps through the gap in the wall, a glass bottle shatters next to the hobgoblin's feet, and thick smoke quickly fills the air. Lócë manages to see two bound elves propped against the wall to the left, and a second hobgoblin who seems to be about to pull something out of a bag. Then, visibility decreases to almost nothing.
Hector hurriedly moves toward the gap, and is overtaken by Raël who attempts to run through the hobgoblin mage before he can get away. Yet, when he lashes out in the thick fog, his blade misses the figure that he thought was standing right in front of him.
All of you who are in the cloud notice something rather unusual: The fog seems to muffle all sound, you can barely hear the person standing next to you.


The grey area indicates the extent of the fog. I did not show the position of the two elves, because you can't see them any longer. They were at D15/16, though.
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2605/clearing3bz5.png


Edit: Maneuver granted: Mountain Hammer

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce will take a 5' step forward (NW 1). If he bumps into the hobgoblin, he will attack him. If he does not, he will pull his wand of shield from his HHH, and use it. I'm assuming the latter, so roll for me if he bumps into the hobgoblin.

HP:35/44, AC: 26, Flat-Footed: 21, Touch: 20, lesser vigor 3/15rnds, shield 1/10rnds

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 16, flat 16, touch 11. +1 dodge ac vs visible hobgoblin.

Seeing the smoke envelop before him, Marius thinks it is wise not to enter the cloud. Still, he moves behind Hector and readies an action to heal Hector if he becomes grievously injured in the mean time.

[Job]

Hector

Hector is grateful to have Marius close by, and thankful that no harm has come to the child. But this fog, the trick with the sound is clever.

Hector remains in the gap, and concentrates in the arc before him. Let’s see if they can hide from my sight.

OOC:HP 38/44
AC: 19

Move action: none
Set power attack of AOOs to -1

Standard action: concentration
Hector should be alerted to any evil creature in the 60ft arc before him via his constant vigilance class feature, continuing concentration on the spell should give his the actual locations of said evil creatures (as per detect evil) at the end of his next action (or this one if you allow a “full-round” concentration) once aware he may move in to attack, and at the very least he will scream the locations to his companions.

Please let them be evil *crosses fingers*

[Skjaldbakka]

I will be AFK until sometime on Monday, so here is my action for the next round:

Loce will try to move in the direction where he saw the captured elves, and will attack anyone he bumps into on the way there, striking for non-lethal in case it is a party member (unless it is incredibly obvious that it is a hobgoblin I bump into, such as if it curses in goblin or some such).

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Cursing quietly in elven, Raël moves toward the two bound elves, readying an action to strike anything that doesn't respond in Elven to his "Ally?" query. If he makes to where the elves were before without encountering hobgoblins, he fights defensively, his blade held up in high parry stance.

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer

[iop]

Marius steps forward. Straining his ears, he is just able to make out the conversation between the two hobgoblins.
"It's time to quit", states the first one, and his words are followed by a scream and then a whimper of a male elf.
"Are you crazy? What are you doing?" shouts the other, disbelieving.
"What you should do."
"But we have them contained and..."
"Shut up. If you wanted to get to make heroic last stands, you should have chosen another job. There are two teams for a reason. Now kill him."
The whimpering stops abruptly.

Lócë does not hear anything. He steps forward, to Raël's side. Finding nothing but silence and thick mist, he casts a shield spell.

Hector just barely hears a muffled scream, though it is not able to break his concentration. Carefully, he is turning on the spot so that he may discern the direction of any evil around him. It is not easy. There is a fluctuating background of evil, as if there were many evil creatures moving around. This background is quite a bit higher in his back, which must be roughly where the fireball burnt the bushes. In the end, it is not difficult, though, to pinpoint the direction of the hobgoblins. They are at about 40° to his left. The sense of evil is much clearer, crisper, as if some evil deed was going on right in front of him. How evil it is, Hector cannot tell yet.

Raël, meanwhile, carefully moves left. Even though he tries to be prepared for everything, he almost steps onto caltrops that seem to be so densely strewn that he can't step forward without risking injuring his feet.


Raël moves at half speed. The three squares to his NW, W, SW all contain caltrops.
Hector can try and shout the direction of the enemy at the end of this round/beginning of next round. Marius will have no problem hearing him, for the others, it's more difficult: Hearing in an adjacent square in the fog is DC15, plus 10 for every additional square. To make out what is being said, you need to beat the difficulty by 10.
Shouting gives -5 to the difficulty, so Lócë needs to beat DC 30, and Raël needs to beat 45 to know what Hector shouts, if he decides to do so.
BTW: I play with critical success/critical failure for skill rolls, so a natural 20 on a listen check is likely to work.
Maneuver granted: Battle Leader's Charge.
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/7927/clearing4oh4.png

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

His eyes become watery as he hears that. What might just happened seemed unreal to him.. horrid. Marius' breath becomes a bit more erratic as the thought races through his mind how the male elf can be dead now. Yet, another thought strikes as well. He could hear it.. how close were they to the fog? If he is able to move around the fog, Marius will speak up to Hector and say: "They did something horrible. They might be to the side of the fog, let me check." And with that, Marius will move to the left, trying to see if he can see any hobgoblins to the left of the fog or just in it. He will at most move thirty feet after which he moves back and tell to Hector what he saw if it was not as important, or shout the location if he saw the hobgoblins. If he saw the male elf still alive, he will also cast Close Wounds on him. If, however, Marius can not move to the left of the cloud to check to the side, Marius will hold his position and merely say to Hector: "They killed.."

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël moves carefully foreward ten feet ahead and five steps to the left, readying an action to strike, hard, at anything that doesn't respond in Elven to his "Ally?" query. (Readied action to use mountain hammer, +2d6 dmg and ignore DR) If he gets to the two elves without seeing a hobgoblin, he checks them over to assure himself that they are alright. If they aren't he will unstopper a flask of Cure Moderate Wounds and give it to the more wounded one.

HP:29/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer, Leading the Charge

[Job]

Hector

Hector falter for a moment, not wanting to leave Marius and the child unguarded, but also wishing to lessen the oppressive evil this place contains. They killed eh?

Resolving that the threat is too great to ignore, Hector will push into the mist making a beeline for the creature he detected earlier, and that Marius confirmed, calling for his friends to scout the same area.

OOC:HP:38/44
AC: 19

Free action: yell
As he enters the mist Hector will try to inform his companions of the location of the hobgoblins.

Move action: move
Hector will attempt to advance to the hobgoblin location (detect evil should give specific location now), Hector is also unaware of the caltrop danger, and will likely step on them in his advance, fortunately his full-plate comes with armored boots.

Standard action: move or attack
Move if more ground needs to be covered

Attack if he encounters a hobgoblin, -1 power attack, activate divine might, smite attempt
Attack:[roll0]
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2] nonlethal

[iop]

Marius informs Hector that the hobgoblins may just have killed the hostages, then he tries to move along the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of what is going on.
The wall has clearly seen better times, but it's outside is still mostly a smooth surface, with stones hewn such that they perfectly lock into each other without the need of mortar. A few feet to the left, part of the wall has crumbled, leaving something like a stepping stone that Marius uses to get a peek over the wall and past the fog. Branches scratch his side as he climbs up. The pile of stones beneath his feet is not particularly stable, but it holds.
Marius sees the back of the hobgoblin who has cast the fireball earlier. He obscures the bodies - corpses? - of the two elves that lean against the wall. The other hobgoblin is hidden by the mist. Marius can not see much, but one detail seems to burn itself into his eyes. The dagger. The hobgoblin hastily wipes it clean to sheath it, before he starts running. The dagger. On its pommel, the image of a falcon burns in a red so evil that Marius's stares at it as if he was hypnotized. Marius is relieved as the hobgoblin runs away, so that he cannot see the dagger anymore. Though he now sees the elves. A male and a female.
Lócë moves forward. Suddenly, there is a feeling of cold steel between his toes, but before Lócë has time to wonder what that means, the outline of a hobbit becomes visible just beyond the fog. Without hesitation Lócë lashes out with his thinblade, drawing blood and a surprised shout from the hobgoblin. Uttering a vile curse in common, the hobgoblin twists from Lócë's blade and starts to run away.
Meanwhile, Hector makes his way through the fog in the direction in which he had sensed evil. More and more, he feels the evil of a recent murder in front of him, yet, he is distinctly aware of the presence of a myriad of weakly evil auras. Something crunches under Hector's feet, though he doesn't stop until he breaks out of the fog. He arrives right next to a female elf, who sits with her back to the wall. Her throat has been cut.
Raël also moves through the fog, but he is less lucky as he steps trough the caltrops. With a burning sensation they bore into the sole of his foot. Raël's leg becomes limp - poison! - and only thanks to the force of his will he can move forward. There! A figure moves past him! In less than the blink of an eye Raël realizes that this is not one of his companions, and with the wrath of someone who has seen too many evil deeds unpunished, he brings down his courtblade on the enemy. The hobgoblin screams as bone shatters, but he keeps running, and disappears through the mist. Raël hesitates a bit, then decides to go save the elves. As he steps out of the fog, he finds himself in front of two elves. Male and female. Both with their throats cut. Raël's hand that was about to grab a healing potion, stops. These elves are dead. He was, again, too late. But no! There are bubbles! They are small, but there are still some bubbles escaping from the cut in the female elf's throat. Fast as lightning, Raël grabs the healing potion, unstoppers it, and pours its contents over the horrible wound, then down the elf's throat. The wound closes, still leaving a large scar, though, then she coughs. She threatens to fall forward onto her face, but Hector, Lócë, and Raël all grab her shoulders and steady her. She doesn't wake up. Maybe it's better that way.


http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8903/clearing5hq6.png

Lócë deals 7 damage to the hobgoblin, and has a few caltrops stuck between his toes (they didn't deal damage, though).
Raël takes 2 damage from the caltrops and failed the save against poison. He takes 1 STR damage, and will have to roll another fortitude save at DC 18 in a minute. He does hit the hobgoblin as an attack of opportunity, dealing 16 damage. The potion cures 10hp, the female elf is thus at 1. Maneuvers granted: Mountain Hammer, Leading the Attack.

Should you decide not to pursue the hobgoblins, combat ends.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Screaming out a blood oath in elven, Loce charges after the hobgoblins.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]

If I can't charge, tohit is -2, and AC is +2.

HP:38/44, AC: 24, Flat-Footed: 19, Touch: 18, lesser vigor 6/15rnds, shield 3/10rnds

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador
HP:47/47, AC: 16, flat 16, touch 11.

This time, Marius moves once again to the left of the cloud and seeing the others at the elves as well, he will rush to the elves to stand by their side. He will quickly glance over the elves to see how bad their condition is and his demeanour turns serious when he sees the grievously injured elf.

But time has passed and by the time Marius is casting a spell to aid the elf, another round has passed. As he summons forth his healing powers aided by the powers of nature, his hand gives a light glow which passes onto the elf, healing her, albeit slowly.

Casting Lesser Vigor. Elf is healed for 6 and then 15 rounds of fast healing 1.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Cursing mentally at his inability to save both of the elves, Raël nods to Marius to show his appreciation, and then charges after Loce, hopeful that his new blade-brother won't get himself killed. "At least advance in time with me!" he calls to Loce. He renews humming his war-chant, a ceaseless litany of "High guard, block, parry, riposte, give and take, counter, low guard, run through, middle block..."

Raël moves up to 120 feet after the hobgoblins (run). If he reaches any of them before he has moved 60 feet, he attacks, using the momentum of his charge to run the hobbo through.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer

[Job]

Hector

Hector knows that he has no hope of giving effective pursuit; instead he stands ready to remove anything that should threaten Marius and the child.

"Forgive my weakness."

OOC:
Will purple be acceptable for celestial?

HP:38/44
AC: 19

Free action: 5ft step to the position most effective to guard Marius while he heals; I assume he could be considered in the same square as the elf he is healing.

Full round action: ready
Hector will ready to perform a full attack on anything threatening that should get near. If such a creature is armed the attack will include a disarm attempt.

[iop]

Lócë starts so fast after the hobgoblins, that he sends the caltrops flying that had been stuck to his shoes. Raël follows close behind, though he is somewhat slowed down by the pain in his injured foot, and disappears in the fog, as well.

Marius rushes toward the two elves, while Hector stands guard, making sure that there will be no surprises. He keeps concentrating on detecting evil. The aura accompanying the hobgoblins' horrible deed is slowly evaporating, and Raël's selfless assistance has burnt a hole into it around the female elf. There is still some evil lingering about her, which Hector attributes to the evilness of what has been done to her. There are innumerable auras of weak evil, as if there was a horde of normally neutral creatures that had been tainted by association with something bad. These auras come close to the way and the walls, but seem to be held back by something. Then, suddenly, there is a flash of evil around the female elf, and a purely evil creature is coming into range from the direction in which the hobgoblins have fled. Suddenly, the creature stops.

Marius is kneeling next to the two elves. The male one is dead. His throat has been cut with such a vengeance that the head was almost cut off. This is no longer work for a healer, this needs someone who can negotiate with the gods. The female elf is in much better shape: The healing potion has come just at the right moment. He is glad that she is asleep, though. Several of her fingernails have been pulled out, and that is not something anyone should have to contemplate. No wonder something doesn't feel quite right about her, then - she has just undergone torture. Marius finds the painted nails on the ground, and starts contemplating how to best reattach them, when, suddenly, Hector tenses. Immediately afterwards, the elf starts to cough blood mixed with black bile. Poison? It couldn't be. No poison Marius knows would cause the wounds to re-open. Marius concentrates hard to cast a healing spell, and it feels as if there is something that resists his spell. With a calming breath, Marius frees his mind of all distractions and focuses on his healing power, pushing against the barrier. Finally, the resistance breaks and he feels life force flowing into the female elf. The wound closes up again, and the uneasy feeling he had about her disappears.

Meanwhile, the two elves are rushing after the hobgoblins. They follow again a narrow path like before, and they know they are on the right track when they enter the thick fog again. Undeterred, Lócë charges ahead, until he steps on a caltrop. This time, it pierces the sole of his foot. Lócë calls out in surprise as he feels all force being drained out of his legs. Because of the fog, no one can hear him scream. But he can be smelled. Lócë feels the ground tremble as yet another wolf rushes at him through the fog. To Lócë's great fortune, the fangs of the beast slide off the shield he has cast before.
Raël narrowly avoids the caltrops, and he catches up with Lócë just in time to see him try and attack the wolf. Lócë narrowly misses, and tries to slip past the beast. However, he can't escape the fangs and is pulled to the ground. Again, the shield helps Lócë to avoid the wolf's attack.
Trying to get the wolf's attention, Raël stabs the beast and feels the steel pierce the evil flesh.

[OOC]
Two rounds have passed.

You are on a 10 foot wide path. The wolf is taking up the two squares in front of Raël, and Lócë lies on the ground north-west of Rael, adjacent to the wolf. No time for maps this time. You are inside the fog.

Raël can only move at half speed because of the caltrop wound (sorry, noticed that only just now). I considered him charging all the way, and he hits for 7 damage.
He is granted Crusader's Strike and Tactical Strike.

Lócë takes 2 damage from the caltrop, and he takes 5 STR damage due to poison. The wolf fortunately rolls only a 17 on its attack and misses.
On the next attack, the wolf rolls a natural 20 its AOO. It deals 20 damage and wins the trip with a 31. It then misses on a 26.

Note to self: Don't do complicated arithmetics when tired.

Purple is now reserved for Celestial - the first one to use a language gets to choose the color.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Seeing his ally on the ground, Raël grinds his teeth in frustration and shouts to Lócë, "Get out of the way and stand up when I hit the creature!"
He then drives his sword into the wolf, slicing cleanly into its neck, and distracting it from Lócë.

Tactical Strike
Attack: [roll0] I think the 23 confirmed, if not, I'll change it
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+7 from crit= 26 damage woo!
Lócë may move 5 ft as a free action w/o AoO, and could then stand up as a move action w/o provoking an AoO from the wolf.

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Tactical Strike, Crusader's Strike

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce waits for Rael to strike, and then rolls back out of the reach of the creature, muttering a spell that sounds more like a desperate prayer than an incantation before he rises shakily to his feet.

Delaying action until after Rael, taking my free move backward, casting protection from evil, and then standing up. My AC is 1 lower against non-evil attackers, and I am assuming being adjacent to Rael is still a +2 to my AC.

arcane spell failure roll: [roll0]

HP:20/44, AC: 29, Flat-Footed: 24, Touch: 19, lesser vigor 8/15rnds, shield 5/10rnds, protection from evil 1/60rnds

[iop]

For once, Lócë listens to Raël. And what a bad decision it appears to be: The wolf, unimpressed by the scratch it got from Raël, attacks the prone figure next to it. Only thanks to his dexterity is Lócë able to avoid being crushed by the monster's fangs.
Raël puts all his frustration of never being able to properly protect anyone into the blow he deals to the wolf. And that blow hits home. The blade slices through the wolf like a knife through butter. Blood splatters over Raël's hand, and the wolf emits a howl that can freeze bones even when it is attenuated by the fog. Raël hardly notices that he has, right now, the undivided attention of the wolf. It feels as if the strike and the howl have loosened something inside him, opened something, something important - and then, the feeling is gone.
Lócë immediately notices the wolf's shift of attention, and he takes the opportunity to roll away into the bushes. Not surprisingly, given his luck, they are thornbushes, but they do hurt less than the wolf's teeth. Lócë casts his spell and stands up.

[ooc]

The wolf had a decent chance to hit, but failed.
Raël confirmed the critical hit and fortunately rolled a 26 on the miss chance percentile roll.
Lócë and Raël can't see each other anymore, but they have a fairly good idea where the other should be.
All maneuvers are granted to Raël.
On the mini-map, I have drawn two wolves to indicate it's size.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1706/clearing6zc5.png

[Kai-Palin]

Raël
((Oh wow. I need to go and find what all my maneuvers are again. :smallbiggrin: ))

Elated that something finally went right and still bouyant on his sudden flash of insight, Raël murmurs Thank you, Lady. Help me finish this!" He stabs forward at the wolf, and prays his blade meets flesh.

Crusader's Strike
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If the attack hits and Lócë is still within ten feet, he is healed for [roll2]

Raël will move to flank the wolf with Lócë (if possible) after Lócë acts.

HP:27/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Battle Leader's Charge, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer, Crusader's Strike Other: Poison: 5/6 rounds

[Skjaldbakka]

HP:24/44, AC: 35, Flat-Footed: 24, Touch: 25, lesser vigor 9/15rnds, shield 5/10rnds, protection from evil 2/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil

Loce will move up and aid Rael's attacks. I believe he acts after Rael, so it will give a bonus next round (if it hits). Loce will move so that Rael can easily flank, if possible w/o an AoO.

Fighting Defensively+C.E (-8 to hit, +6 AC)
[roll0] target number is 10 for aid another (I hit if I was able to flank with Rael)

[iop]

With a mighty growl, the wolf attacks Raël with its claws. As the elf dodges, he feels the monster's teeth sink into his tigh. With a smacking sound, a piece of muscle is torn away, leaving Raël seriously wounded.
As he is bleeding and hurting, Raël is more afraid of not being able to protect Lócë than of dying himself. With a cry, he brings around his blade, piercing the wolf's neck. As his blade sinks into the evil creature, there is that strange feeling again. But this time it is much stronger.
In the absence of the fog, Lócë would see Raël freeze for an instant, staring at something visible only to himself.
“Angeshraël , my friend. Long time no see.”
“Asariell?” Incredulous, Raël stares at the apparition in front of him.
“Sharp as ever. I see you’re still trying to defend those who are too stubborn to run away. And you’re still failing at it.”
“But…”
“Sure, you hurt the wolf just now, but it is still standing, and you are not exactly in great shape. And it’s not going to be a walk in the park on the other side of the fog. It’s going to be running and screaming in the forest.”
“But…”
“Come on, you hardly ever got in a word while I was alive, and now you think you’ll have a chance when I control your vision? But I digress. Your blade comes with a legacy. It is a mighty weapon in the hands of those who are willing (but not necessarily eager) to give their lives to help others. If you’re willing to walk that path, I walk with you to help you out and to cheer you up. You have become a bit too serious. There is always a price, of course, you know, the gods aren’t giving stuff like that away, but I agreed to the deal, too, and aside from dying, I did well, didn’t I? But we don’t have a lot of time here. Quick: are you in, Angeshraël?”
Asariell stretches out his hand invitingly. Raël reaches out his hand and grasps Asariell's. Raël feels as if all his force was being drained from his body. At the same time, a magnificent sword shaped out of the purest of lights forms in Asariell's left hand. He lets go of Raël, and hits the wolf with a two-handed attack. The wolf's eyes widen in shock.
"Thank you, friend", Raël whispers as he sinks to his knees.
"The pleasure is all mine, Angeshraël", the apparition replies and disappears.

The wolf vomits blood and bile, and disappears. All Lócë finds when he steps up to the wolf to distract it is the silhouette of his companion who is on his knees.

Meanwhile, Marius is done reattaching fingernails. The elf's hands look almost as elegant as before she fell into the hands of the vile hobgoblins. Marius takes another opportunity to look at the body and the corpse in front of him. The two wounds were both made from short blades - daggers, of course - though the two elves were clearly attacked by opponents of different skill. Whoever tried to kill the female is not very intimate with the anatomy of the throat, or wasn't paying attention. Thus, the blade has only grazed the major arteries, instead of severing them. The male, however, has been killed by someone who knows how to cut throats.
Hector keeps standing guard, which is not easy, since the fog obscures most of the area from which they could be attacked. Hector is tense, thus he almost jumps as he hears the faint ringing that can only come from one source: an alarm spell. Immediately, Hector realizes that this is how the enemies had known of him and his companions. Hector moves to the section of the enclosure that allows him to overlook the path that leads back to the inn. However, whoever set off the alarm is not visible yet in the dim light from the setting sun that barely illuminates the path.



The wolf deals 18 damage to Raël. In turn, Raël's critical hit is confirmed. Raël takes another 7 damage when he equips his old friend with a sword that kills the wolf.
Lócë is healed by 3, Raël is down to 2HP by my count.

I am aware that the RAW description of the alarm spell does not allow the ringing sound to happen at a place other than the warded area. I like the spell better this way (the spell works this way for you, too, obviously).

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Be careful, Hector." Is Marius' reaction when Hector moves about. As Mairus focuses on the elf still living, he gives another glance at the corpses. He lets out a sigh, filled with sadness and remorse. More deaths.. With a sad gloom over his face, he continues to make sure the living elf is seated comfortably and examines the health of the body again for another check up.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

((You're right about the HP, I've miscalculated. Ignore the comment in the PM as well.))

Shaking heavily, Raël clumsily levers himself onto his good leg, using his sword for support. He looks over to see Lócë, still mostly unharmed, Thank the Lady, and beckons him over.
"We should get back to the others, I'll be no good in any further fighting until I see Marius."
He begins to hobble back toward the others, gritting his teeth as the pain shoots up his heavily wounded leg.
Fortitude save against poison:[roll0]
He stumbles once, feeling fatigue radiating through his body, and continues shambling along.

HP:2/29, AC (modified): 21, Flat-Footed: 16, Touch: 16, Maneuvers Granted: Leading the Attack, Battle Leader's Charge, Tactical Strike, Mountain Hammer; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison

[Skjaldbakka]

"Go back and get those wounds tended to. I am going to follow these murdererous bastards. I'll stay out of sight, and with luck, they'll lead me right to their base."

With that, Loce dissappears into the fog, in the direction the hobgoblins went.

Hide: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1]
Spot: [roll2]
Listen: [roll3]
Search (if necessary): [roll4]

HP:25/44, AC: 27, Flat-Footed: 22, Touch: 17, lesser vigor 10/15rnds, shield 6/10rnds, protection from evil 3/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil

[iop]

As Raël hobbles back to Marius, he takes care to avoid the caltrops. However, he probably would have shuffled his feet anyway. The poison is spreading , sucking the force out of his already weakened legs. He is glad to be leaving the treacherous fog.

~~~

Lócë, too, steps out of the fog, but in the other direction of the path. He is more careful than before. Not only is he on his own now, but he also realizes that the enemy has not taken any damage yet, while both he and Raël have come uncomfortably close to dying.
Lócë hesitates to fully step out of the fog. Instead, he just sticks his head out and scans the surroundings. Thanks to his exceptional vision, he can make out a scenery that strongly resembles what he has seen before: The path widens, and leads to a passage in between two walls some 60 feet away. The wall to the left is mostly collapsed, though the one to the right is in better conditions. It becomes clear that it has once been crowned by battlements. There is a weak light source behind one of the walls, but it is so diffuse that Lócë cannot make out which side. Also, he notices no movement whatsoever. Yet, there is someone talking, but not loud enough that he can make out what is being said. The voice pauses at times, as if listening to someone else who Lócë cannot hear.
Lócë is ready to sneak out of the fog to be able to eavesdrop, when he notices a bizarre object 20 feet ahead. Lócë frowns as he recognizes it as a rubber duck - a children's toy the size of a large fist. Surely, no children were normally playing inside this forbidding forest?
As he wonders about the toy, the person talking is raising his voice, so that Lócë is able to understand part of the conversation. It is the hobgoblin he has heard speaking before.
"... yes, three fighters and a low-level mage. - Of course! - ... and don't forget to take care of the idiot who paired me with that idiot human, too. ... - ... Oh, look who's coming back after all! Hey, what the hell are you doing! NOOOO!"
Lócë hears the sound of glass shattering, and the diffuse light is extinguished. There is no more sound.

~~~

Hector and Marius hear someone shout in goblin. It sounds like an urgent message, a warning maybe? Then, they hear the telltale rattling of someone running toward them in a chain shirt. However, the hobgoblin is still too far away to be visible in the near darkness.
Suddenly, they hear a noise from the direction into which Raël and Lócë have disappeared. To their relief it is Raël who steps out of the fog. He does not look well.

[ooc]
@Job: If Hector has done something else but try and look once the alarm went off, please say so.

@Kai-Palin: Raël takes 3 Str damage from the secondary effect of the poison.

@Skjaldbakka: In case it is not clear: The dash indicates periods when the hobgoblin is silent, the dots indicate when Lócë cannot understand what is being said.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will try and move closer, so he can better hear what is going on.

[iop]

As Lócë carefully steps closer, the eyes of the rubber duck suddenly flash red, and it explodes in a ball of fire that engulfs Lócë.

[ooc]

Reflex save against DC15 to take half of 22 damage (why do I keep rolling so low?). You get +2 on the save for protection from evil and +1 from having a bad feeling about the rubber duck for a total of +3.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce dives for cover the instant the explosion goes off, and quickly leaps behind the collapsed wall to the left.



HP:15/44, AC: 27, Flat-Footed: 22, Touch: 17, lesser vigor 11/15rnds, shield 7/10rnds, protection from evil 4/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil; Hidden (24)

[iop]

Lócë presses against the wall, such that no one would be able to make him out in the deep shade. He listens hard, but there is nothing he is able to hear. Carefully peaking in the direction of the passage does not reveal anything either. In particular, the light has not come back.

[ooc]
Please roll a fortitude save against the secondary effect of the poison (at +2, again for the protection from evil). If you don't beat DC18, you take 3 Str damage.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce will wait a few minutes, and then proceed forward to investigate. He slips his wand of shield into his hand as feels the protective aura dissipate.

HP:19/44, AC: 23, Flat-Footed: 18, Touch: 17, protection from evil 24/60rnds, AC -1 vs. non-evil; Hidden ([roll0])

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

When Raël appears, Marius looks up from his patient. His face quickly fills with horror at the sight of his wounds and leaves his patient to attend to Raël. "Oh dear, this is does not look well. Let me tend to your wounds." And with that, Marius offers Raël support as he lays his hand upon him, which starts to radiate with a soft glow. The glow slowly moves in Raël, upon which his wounds lessen slightly. Raël can feel some of the heavier wounds tingle as they slowly start to close while the healing energy continues to do it's work. "This will take a bit, but you will feel better in due time. Rest while the magic works." Aiding Raël to sit down besides his other patient.

After a bit of time, Marius asks. "How do you feel now? And where is our other companion?"

Casted Lesser Vigor. Raël is healed for 6 at the moment of casting and he has fast healing 1 for 15 rounds.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Sighing with relief, Raël replies, "Better now, thank you. Lócë decided to scout ahead, but I believe he does not intend to continue hostilities yet."
Lifting his foot wearily, he says, "I was poisoned. Is there anything you could do about that?"

HP:9/29; AC: 18, Flat-Footed: 13, Touch: 15; Maneuvers Granted: None; Other: Lesser Vigor 1/15 rnds, 4 pts Str dmg from poison

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Shaking his head slowly, Marius gives a negative response. "Not today, I am afraid. But let me look at it for now." Marius will examine Raël's health and condition, as well as his foot in particular, after which he will nod slowly, giving a signal that he understands what is wrong. "I will make sure to call forth a blessing by the next dawn to lessen this. That is, unfortunately, all I can do about it, though it should alleviate some while resting."

[Job]

Hector

Seemingly oblivious to the conversation, or even to Raël’s arrival, Hector will turn suddenly as Marius mentions his need to retrieve spells.

“This may not neutralize the poison” Hector will say as he rests his hand on Raël’s shoulder. “It will help however”, a brief prayer follows, and restorative magic will pass to Raël.

“We may have more individuals approaching, if you’ll watch ahead Raël, ill keep an eye behind.” Nodding then, Hector will take careful steps back to the gap through which he entered, and watch for whom approaches.

OOC:HP: 38/44
AC:18

General actions:
Lay on hands on Raël healing 14 hp, and casting lesser restoration, restoring [roll0] strength damage.

[iop]

Hector quickly steps through the fog toward the gap. He doesn't bother to avoid the caltrops, since they are not able to penetrate his armor, though one of them leaves a dent. Blocking the gap, but still inside the fog, Hector sticks his head out, attempting to spot the hobgoblin. However, the dim light provided by the setting sun does not allow him to see much farther than 40 feet, which is not enough.
However, he can hear the hobgoblin much more clearly, who, again, shouts something in the goblin tongue. There are two words Hector can make out: "elves", which is similar in many languages, and "guild", which the hobgoblin pronounces in common.

~~~

As Lócë moves toward the gap between the walls, he spots a figure sprawled on the floor. It is the hobgoblin he had seen before. The hobgoblin is dead. Its skin has turned black, its hairs white, and the flesh is desiccated that Lócë fears that it will crumble in his fingers when he touches it. Someone has cut the hobgoblins throat, almost severing the head in the process. Furthermore, there is a hole in his belly, as if there had been a cut that was pulled open as the body dried out.
Looking around, Lócë can see where the path continues beyond the clearing that is, as before, encircled by walls. He cannot see any movement, and the only thing out of the ordinary are the shards of a fist-sized crystal ball. A "talking sphere", which is probably what has given off the light before.

[ooc]

If Raël wants to hurry back to Lócë, he has had enough time to catch up, so you consider him standing right behind his fellow elf.

A talking sphere is a crystal ball that can be used to communicate with someone in a central location. Several talking spheres can be tied to the same central crystal ball, however, there can be only one active connection at a time, and it is not (yet) possible to connect directly from one talking sphere to the other. Of course, this problem can be solved having multiple central crystal balls, and operators that can relate information.

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

Loce will take a careful look around, casting Detect Magic.

spellcraft: [roll0]
spot: [roll1]
search: [roll2]

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"I can't let our other companion face whatever is up that path by himself. I need to join him, and we'll return as soon as possible. Or if you would carry her, Hector," he says, pointing at the elven woman, "All of us could go that way, and I'll take rearguard."

Raël rouses himself and, taking care to avoid the caltrops this time, picks his way up the path toward where he left Lócë.

OR

Raël waits for the other two to advance up the path, then follows them, looking over his shoulder constantly, his blade out and ready.

HP:26/29; AC: 20, Flat-Footed: 15, Touch: 17; Maneuvers Granted: None; Stance: Bolstering Voice; Other: Lesser Vigor 2/15 rnds, 2 pts Str dmg from poison

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Marius faces towards the fog Hector went. Marius does not know the answer to the question Raël asked. Not as in Hector's answer, but what answer he would give. There are still things going on, Lócë is still not with them and Raël is ready to be on the move again. A patient is here and he did not know if it was wise to leave her or move her.. Furthermore, Marius wonders why Hector used his injury healing powers on Raël. Both his and Hector's healing powers must be limited and Marius' spell had not finished it's work yet - it seemed like a waste of healing powers that they needed quite a lot. However he was glad that some of the poison's effects had lessened.
In a way glad that he did not have to make the decision, Marius' thoughts did wander towards Lócë. What would he his bodily condition? Wishing that he had foreseen more and casted the right spells, Marius had some difficulty pushing that away. What had been done was done.

[iop]

Lócë tenses as he hears a noise from behind, but he relaxes as he realizes that it is Raël. He motions Raël to approach, but not to go further. With Raël next to him, Lócë closes his eyes. He moves his hands and speaks the magical words that allow him to see what normal eyes cannot. He concentrates for a quarter of a minute, frowns, and then he opens his eyes, which give off a faint glow. He immediately closes his eyes again. He carefully opens them again, avoiding looking at the wall, or the sides of the path. Like a wall of magic, an incredibly strong aura marks the boundary between the path and the forest. The strength of the aura is blinding, only straight ahead, where the stone wall enclosing the clearing has completely collapsed, the aura is a little weaker. The darker patch is shaped like the shadow of a humanoid. The spell is far beyond Lócë’s powers, and he does not even know the school it could belong to based on the aura. From its shape, it is likely to be some kind of protective spell. Lócë is unable to sense anything beyond the wall.
Investigating the corpse, Lócë is more in his element. He notices a lingering aura of a transmutation spell all over the corpse, and a moderate aura of evocation coming from the wound in the belly. He cannot think of a spell that would cause this, but he realizes that this spells TRAP in capital letters. The hobgoblins wore several magic items. Boots, that give off a faint transmutation aura (probably boots of springing and striding), the dagger, whose aura Lócë can’t place, a scroll case that is obviously protected against all kinds of things, a ring with a faint illusion aura and one with a faint deflection aura (probably a ring of protection). Also, there is the bag from which the hobgoblin pulled the animals. It gives off the expected aura of conjuration, which would make it a bag of tricks, but somehow, there also seems to be an aura of evocation over it, and maybe a third aura.
Finally, the leather armor the hobgoblin wore gives off an aura of abjuration. It is looks like the hobgoblin has worn a backpack, but all the other auras make it impossible to detect what lies under the blackened corpse. There is also a lingering aura of divination around the shards of the talking sphere, but it is disappearing fast.

Raël uses the time Lócë spends concentrating on his spell looking at the walls and the body. Both seem somehow familiar. Digging in his memory, he finally recalls that it used to be fashionable among certain groups of wood elves to have dwarves build sturdy stone houses in the forest, instead of the more traditional dwellings. One argument had been that trees should not be killed if not absolutely necessary. The "tree-huggers", as they had been called, did not find many followers, and their association with the dwarves made them suspect to some of their own kin. Raël nods. These structures could not be anything but such houses, he was sure of it. His thoughts wander back to building 101. He is actually lucky to remember the fact about the houses, he muses. Fortunately, the teacher told some good stories - such as the one about the tree-huggers - so that not all of the lessons were spent daydreaming about that girl. Oh, and how he had been annoyed when that other elven guy, whatever his name, had tried to impress her with how much he knew about the bad and the forbidden. For example, when he bragged about holding the "sweet kiss of death" in his hand, and contemplating where he would want to be found to kill whoever was rushing to his body.
Wait! The suicide pill! Yes, that may fit. Raël carefully approaches the dead hobgoblin, and bends over it, making sure not to touch it. There is definitely a sweetish smell hovering over the corpse. Raël smiles. He would never have thought that building 101 would once be so useful. He knew now what these ruins meant, and how the hobgoblin may have died, and that the corpse was a trap. But then, one rarely knows ahead of time what parts of a class are going to be useful later on.
~~~

Marius' thoughts abruptly snap back into focus, as the body of the female elf convulses. Caught by surprise, he whirls around, only to stare into wide open eyes. The elf grabs him by his shoulders, and her nails dig painfully into his neck where the leafweave does not protect him. Then she starts screaming in terror.

As Hector hesitates for an instant whether to abandon his post, he hears the hobgoblin again.
"Epar, is that you? Abort right now! You need to get out of here. The fight has been lost and the elves will be here any moment!"
At these words he comes into sight. The hobgoblin is bleeding from several wounds, but his movements do not seem to be impaired. Also, there is still blood flaking from his axe.

[ooc]
Raël can see what Lócë sees.
Hector's hobgoblin is 30 feet away, still running toward him.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Clenching his teeth as he feels the nails of the elven female dig into the flesh of his neck after having turned towards her in surprise, Marius tries to focus nevertheless. His eyes look into her wide open eyes and he tries to force his own facial expression towards a kind and comforting stance. "Do not be afraid, you are in good hands. We mean no harm, truly. Please, stop screaming and with.. the nails.." He utters the last as his hands rise up towards her own arms, trying to push them a bit away from him to get rid of the painful nails.

[Job]

Hector

Hector’s temper flairs at the sight of the hobgoblin, and readies to charge, but his anger is soon replaced by desperation and confusion when a wave of divine insight strikes him. Telling him to stand his ground and stopping him in his tracks.

Unable to advance, Hector tries to spot Marius through the fog and assess his condition, but will not move should the hobgoblin approach the gap.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël glances over at Loce, and says quietly, "Don't touch him. I think you already know, but there's a trap on this poor corpse. Do you have any spells that might disrupt it, or let you know what it is? If we can't fleece this hobgoblin, do we really have to? Well, if worst comes to worst, I'll discharge it, and we'll deal with the consequences."

He looks over at Loce. "You are all right, correct? Do you see anything worth mentioning around us? Once we're done here, we should probably get back to the others, there was an enemy approaching when I left to get you."

HP: 56/56 (9 extra from Aura); AC: 21, Touch: 17, Flat-footed: 19; Auras: Master of Tactics (+3 on rolls while flanking), Motivate Endurance (+3 con based checks, +9 HP), Motivate Care (+2 AC);Maneuvers Readied: Battle Leader's Charge, Vanguard Strike, Revitalizing Strike; Stance: Tactics of the Wolf; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison, 8/15 Rounds Fast Healing 1

[iop]

Only with great force, and not without leaving some skin under the elf's fingernails is Marius able to get her hands off his neck. He keeps on talking to her while he frees himself, sweet, soothing words, calmly spoken despite the sweat that starts to form pearls on his brow. As she looks at her hands, she seems puzzled, then looks at Marius, as if she was finally able to see his face. Hear breathing is still too fast, but Marius knows that he is starting to get the upper hand over her fears.
Then, someone calls out from the other side of the wall, the same place from which Marius has seen the execution of the elves earlier. Marius and the elf turn their heads, and stare at the startled face of a hobgoblin. The elf starts screaming again and tries to run away, but her legs fold like paper beneath her, and she falls over Marius, making the baby cry.

~~~

As he shifts back into the fog for cover, Hector sees the hobgoblin slow down. "Epar? What is going on here? Where did this fog come from?" says the hobgoblin in bewilderment. He walks a bit closer, and then, like Marius before him, heads for the place where the debris of the wall form almost steps. "Maglubyet's testes. What happened here? Was everything in vain?" he exclaims, his voice almost failing him, as he peeks over the wall toward Marius and the elf. Then he straightens his back, and brings up his bow.
At this instant, Hector feels a wave of relief, as if he has been released from invisible bonds.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Letting out an "Oof" as the elf falls over him, Marius makes an attempt to keep his balance, yet he was never accustomed to letting his muscles flex. With the baby still in his hands and, in fact, surprised by the whole motion of the elf, Marius sees his surroundings take quite the different angle when his balance is lost and he falls to the ground. Gritting his teeth as he falls down, Marius has ample time to make a sound plan, so he is busy enough with trying to get the elf off of him and lay her down on the ground next to him. As he does that, he tries to make sure the baby is not laying in a bad manner either. He hears the baby cry and tries to swiftly pick it up as the elf is off of him. Trying to rise as well, Marius is so entangled by all what he did, that in his actions, he has left himself open. Fear and doubt race through Marius' mind as he knows not what to do with the hobgoblin before him as he rises. Without a plan, without a smart thought racing through his mind, his fearful eyes look at the hobgoblin.

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce

"Agreed. We should head back to the others. While I have every confidence in Hector's ability to deal with one hobgoblin, there is no certainty that there is only one. And harm may come to the child. This body won't be going anywhere."

With that, Loce makes haste back to the group.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël nods, "I agree. Let's go."

He hurries back toward the humans, following Loce. He is also careful of any more spikes/caltrops/suspicious thorns in his path.

HP: 56/56 (9 extra from Aura); AC: 21, Touch: 17, Flat-footed: 19; Auras: Master of Tactics (+3 on rolls while flanking), Motivate Endurance (+3 con based checks, +9 HP), Motivate Care (+2 AC);Maneuvers Readied: None; Stance: Tactics of the Wolf; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison, 9/15 Rounds Fast Healing 1

[Job]

Hector

Seizing the opportunity Hector charges the hobgoblin, drawing the flail head in a wide horizontal arc through the advance.

OOC: HP: 38/44
AC: 16

Full round action: charge, power attack at -2, activate divine might
Attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]+[roll2] all sub.

[iop]

Had the hobgoblin been paying attention to the fog, he would have seen it wobble, then boil, to finally release a charging mass of heavy armor and deadly steel. He would have seen the attacker swing his flail in a mighty blow... and stumble over debris from the wall that was hidden in the shadows, thus missing the hobgoblin by inches.

As the flail crashes into the wall, the hobgoblin jumps and nearly looses his footing on the pile of rocks he stands on. He brings his bow around and fires directly at Hector, aiming for his face. The arrow misses Hector's eye and cuts his cheek instead. Dropping the bow, the hobgoblin grabs his bloodied axe.

~~~

Marius hears something crashing into the wall, and sees the hobgoblin turn away. His relief is only short-lived, however. While the baby seems safe (though it is still crying), the elf has gotten a glimpse of the hobgoblin and tries to scramble away.

OOC
@Job: The hobgoblin hits with a 25 and deals 8 damage with his arrow. The two of you are in adjacent squares.
@Zweanslord: I need you to make a melee touch attack against the elf if you want to try and hold her back (AC 12)
@others: You are still in transit.

[Job]

Hector

Hector gives a shout of surprise, he was not expecting to miss, or have an arrow pierce his faceplate. The situation is not a complete loss however; using the rebound from the wall Hector propels the flail in the opposite direction. He does not intend on letting the hobgoblin use the axe on anyone ever again.

OOC:HP:30/44
AC:18

Full round action: Full attack, no power attack, divine might active
1st attack: disarm [roll0]
2nd attack: [roll1]
damage: [roll2]+[roll3] all sub.

[iop]

The chain of the flail wraps around the handle of the hobgoblin's axe, and its momentum is sufficient to rip the weapon out of the hobgoblin's hands. The hobgoblin calls out in surprise, but is quick to dodge when the flail swings back at him, so that it crashes into the wall once more.
Weaponless, the hobgoblin hesitates for an instant whether to make off into the forest, then he throws himself at Hector, hoping to wrestle him to the ground. With trained precision, Hector swings the flail back, cutting through the path of the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin grunts in pain when the flail impacts his side and is deflected off his path, so that his strong hands miss Hector's neck.

OOC

The hobgoblin rolls only 25 on his disarm check, but Hector's second attack misses. When the hobgoblin tries and fails to grapple, the AOO deals 19 damage (nonlethal, I presume).

[Job]

Hector

With a few will timed steps Hector maneuver behind his now off balance opponent. If the hobgoblin is not able to regain his footing swiftly Hector may have a clear shot at his back. The familiar sound of tension being put on a chain precedes his attack.

OOC:HP:30/44
AC:18

Full round action: full attack, divine might
1st attack:[roll0]
Damage:[roll1]+[roll2] all sub.
2nd attack:[roll3]
Damage:[roll4]+[roll5] all sub.

[iop]

The hobgoblin swings around just in time to see the ball of the flail rush at his belly. With a loud "oof", he staggers back. He tries to catch his breath while fumbling for something in his belt pouch, but too late. Hector brings his flail around and after a furious crash of steel on steel, the hobgoblin's knee give way and he falls flat on his back. He is knocked out.
Right as the hobgoblin falls, an arrow shoots past Hector and breaks as it impacts the wall. Had the hobgoblin remained standing, it would not have missed him. Or had it been poorly aimed at Hector?
Although he strains his eyes, Hector is not able to make out any enemy in the shadows - it is getting too dark.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Seeing as how Hector has taken up the fight with the hobgoblin, Marius tries to prevent the female elf from moving away. He did not want to lose her to any further dangers that might be out there. He whispered as his hand reached out. "Wait, Miss, my companion is here now. You will be safe." Or so Marius hoped..

Melee Touch: [roll0]
(Since iop mentioned grappling in the ooc thread, I guess it would be save for me to roll that too in the case the touch succeeds, so as to not cause further delay.)
Grapple: [roll1]

[iop]

Marius grabs the elf, but she twists out of his arms and dashes away, right into the fog, in the direction into which Raël and Lócë have disappeared. The baby is still crying loudly, and Marius feels a sticky liquid on his finger, when he tries to caress it to calm it down - blood.
At least there is the sound of a weapon falling to the ground, followed by Hector's flail smashing into the wall and then into armor. So the good guy is winning.

~~~

Raël and Lócë have almost reached the clearing with the fog, as the female elf rushes toward them, screaming.

[ooc]

@Zweanslord:Thanks for thinking ahead with the grapple check. I had forgotten to ask for it. Sorry she got away.
@Skjaldbakka, Kai_Palin: Please make an unarmed melee touch attack and a grapple check against the elf.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Seeing the screaming elf woman rushing at him from the fog, Raël tenses, then drops his sword and lunges, grabbing her around the waist and using her momentum to swing in a full circle, landing her on the ground in front of him again. "Hush... Its all right..." he says in a soothing, low voice.

Melee Touch attack: [roll0]
Grapple check: [roll1] Add 3 to each of these if Raël is flanking her with Lócë.

HP: 56/56 (9 extra from Aura); AC: 21, Touch: 17, Flat-footed: 19; Auras: Master of Tactics (+3 on rolls while flanking), Motivate Endurance (+3 con based checks, +9 HP), Motivate Care (+2 AC);Maneuvers Readied: None; Stance: Tactics of the Wolf; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison, 11/15 Rounds Fast Healing 1

[iop]

Raël, acting a little bit faster than Lôcë, grabs the elf by the waist and is able to stop her. As she hears him speak her language, she stops screaming and abandons the thought of biting. She is still very frightened, though, and she tenses up immediately as Raël tries to move her toward the fog and thus toward the hobgoblin from which she just escaped.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"Hush, you'll be fine. We won't let anyone hurt you. In fact, I believe we'll personally see to that right now."

Diplomacy, if that might help: [roll0]

He moves forward to where Marius is, hopefully bringing the (slightly) calmer elven woman with him. Seeing the hobgoblin and Hector, he moves between the healer and the entrance. "What happened, Hector? Marius, is the child alright?"

[Skjaldbakka]

Loce

Loce will circle the area, keeping an eye out for any more attackers, bow at the ready.

[Job]

Hector

Hector takes hold of the incapacitated hobgoblin and drags him back to the gap. With any luck he will not need to suffer another arrow from an unseen opponent.

~~

Laying the hobgoblin down Hector moves to block the elf’s sight.

The hobgoblin’s arrow still protrudes, in an almost comical fashion, from Hector’s faceplate as he addresses Raël.

“Got attacked, captured this one alive, but there may be one more. Could not see him.”

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Trying to check that." Says Marius as response while he tends to the child, trying to found out if the baby is wounded or the blood is from something else. He carefully examines the baby as he tries to calm it and relax it, as it is still crying. Marius sighs a bit, but then shows the baby a smile, trying to ease it.
If the child is wounded, Marius will cast a spell to heal the wound.

[iop]

As Hector drags away the hobgoblin, he hears a shout from where the arrow had come from. He recognizes it as a call that warriors within a group would use to identify each other, but of course, he has no idea how to answer.
Fortunately, he disappears into the fog quickly enough to not be the target of anymore arrows.

Hector comes back to Marius at about the same time Raël brings back the elf, with Lócë covering their rear. The elf has been breathing more and more normally as Raël has kept talking to her in her language. However, she has not uttered any word so far.

Hector places the hobgoblin such that only the upper half of his body protrudes from the fog. This allows him to stand between the elf and the hobgoblin, though the light is so dim now that even an elf would have a hard time making out exactly what kind of creature is lying on the ground.

Marius tries in vain to feel a wound on the baby, until he realizes that the blood is his own. He is not hurt in any serious way, but the elf must have cut him worse than he expected with her fingernails. The baby is showing signs of calming down, but Marius knows that he has to feed the boy soon or else the calm is not going to last long.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Quickly using some cloth to brush the blood of the baby and make sure no further blood is dropped on the baby, Marius then tends further to the needs of the baby. He sits down and puts the baby on his lap as he searches for some rations from his backpack. Finding them, he smiles and starts to feed the baby slowly with the rations, trying to put up a friendly and happy face to make the baby happy. This despite the fact that the situation hardly warrants such a happy expression, but Marius does not want the baby to suffer from that.

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Raël continues to talk softly to the woman, trying to get her to speak in reply, "What is your name, madam? What happened here? Why did the hobgoblins attack you? We have your daughter safe back at the inn."

He takes occasional glances around the area, hoping that no one else comes along. His vision of Asariell runs through his mind repeatedly as he attempts, mostly on autopilot, to get something like a situation report from the woman.

HP: 56/56 (9 extra from Aura); AC: 21, Touch: 17, Flat-footed: 19; Auras: Master of Tactics (+3 on rolls while flanking), Motivate Endurance (+3 con based checks, +9 HP), Motivate Care (+2 AC);Maneuvers Readied: None; Stance: Tactics of the Wolf; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison, 13/15 Rounds Fast Healing 1

[iop]

The baby eats greedily. Marius has to hurry crumbling the rations into small pieces, since the boy starts crying if his mouth isn't filled the second he opens it again. This leaves Marius occupied enough that he has no opportunity of assisting Raël with the elf, who just won't speak. Instead, she just stares at him with wide open eyes, shivering as if she was very cold.

While Hector and Lócë stand together to quickly decide how best to protect everyone from the mysterious archer and other hobgoblins, a gust of wind leaves seemingly out of nowhere, blowing the fog away. It is immediately followed by a flaming arrow that arches into the middle of the clearing, sticking out of the ground like a torch.

The elf in Raël's arms starts screaming and tries to get away, and he needs all his strength to hold her back without hurting her. The baby jumps when the screaming starts, but Marius is able to calm the boy quickly. Lócë and Hector ready themselves for a fight, though they were unable to spot where the arrow was coming from, when they hear a voice, loud and clear.

"Release the prisoners right now, or you will die."

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

"Prisoners?!" Raël's voice cuts the air, thick with scorn. "There are no prisoners here! She is as free as I am, and we intend to stay that way. Or will you insist on trying that, like the hobgoblins did? Do not threaten those you do not know!"

He gently pulls the woman over to Marius, and then pushes her gently to the ground, and kneels over her, whispering, "Stay down and do not run. We will protect you, nothing will hurt you. Do not worry. You are safe."

If she calms, he stands over her, sword drawn and in a ready guard. He glances around, and, if able to sense danger from any specific area, positions himself between it and the woman, the healer, and the child.

HP: 56/56 (9 extra from Aura); AC: 21, Touch: 17, Flat-footed: 19; Auras: Master of Tactics (+3 on rolls while flanking), Motivate Endurance (+3 con based checks, +9 HP), Motivate Care (+2 AC);Maneuvers Readied: None; Stance: Tactics of the Wolf; Other: 2 pts Str dmg from poison, 14/15 Rounds Fast Healing 1

[Skjaldbakka]

Silquë'mahtar'urulócë (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=1248)

OOC: um, Loce shouldn't be with the others. His last declared action was scouting duty:


Loce will circle the area, keeping an eye out for any more attackers, bow at the ready.

since that would likey put him in the fog, here are some skill checks:

Hide: [roll0]
Move Silently: [roll1]
Spot:[roll2]
Listen: [roll3]

HP:19/44, AC: 22, Flat-Footed: 17, Touch: 16, Protection from Evil (not included) 36/60rnds, Hidden, Elfsight

I am assuming that a minute has passed since we last kept track of rounds.

[iop]

Raël tries and fails to get the elf to calm down so that he can stand. Still, he moves such that he is between her and an eventual attacker. Lócë blends into the shadows of the path leading north from the clearing, while Hector moves close to the wall, ready to strike whoever comes through the breach.

In response to Raël's call, you hear first nothing, then a whispered "What?" that is amplified by the still active loudness spell. After another pause, you hear:
"It seems there was a misunderstanding. Please put your weapons away. You have nothing to fear from us."
An instant later, an elf steps through the breach in the wall. He is visibly surprised at seeing you.
"What an unusual spot to meet you tou...", says Ruudi, then his face goes pale. "Mordran!" he shouts and rushes to the corpse of the male elf that is still leaning against the wall, throat cut.

Another elf steps through the breach and comes toward Raël. He sees the female elf lying on the ground next to Raël, who has gone rigid at Ruudis outburst, and asks hastily: "Tamina, is she..."
The elf kneels down next to Raël, and, noticing that she is still alive he calls out to thank Lady Vandria.

Four more elves step through the breach. You notice that they, like in fact the other two elves, too, show signs of a recent battle: Torn clothing, deep wounds that are barely done healing, scratches and bruises that weren't grave enough to warrant a healer's attention.
I am Hardraïn, leader of this crew of protectors. The Lady be thanks that we were able to wake up Talindra in time so that she could tell us about you. Enough valiant blood has flown today. Please come back to the inn with us, and tell me on the way what has happened to Mordran and Tamina."

Hardraïn holds out his hand to Raël to help him get up, as one of the other elves approaches him, whispering: "Sir, shouldn't there be four of them?"

[Job]

Hector

Hector does not lower his weapon until he is sure the elves hold no obvious hostilities. Freed from the burden of vigilance, Hector’s mind has a few moments to wander. What in Acheron is going on?

Sighing deeply, Hector carefully removes his faceplate, being mindful of the arrow still stuck in it. With his face now visible, the others can see that his cheeks and lips are blistered, and that blood still drips from the arrow wound.

“Rael,” Hector says, as he points to the hobgoblin “ this one is still alive, just incapacitated.” Directing his attention then to the elves. “He was looking for someone named Epar, if that name means anything to you."

[Skjaldbakka]

"There is another hobgoblin body over there. We think it might be trapped, so be careful not to touch it."

[iop]

"Epar? No, the name doesn't ring a bell." Hadraïn shakes his head, then he realizes that he had just been speaking common. He apologizes for assuming Hector and Marius would be speaking elven, and he introduces himself once more.

As Lócë steps out of the shadows, announcing that there is another hobgoblin further up the way, Hadraïn nods.
"It looks like they are all dead, then, except for this one here. Let's head back to the inn, so that we can take care of Tamina and your wounds. We'll check on that trapped corpse tomorrow."

[Job]

Hector

Hector nods enthusiastically at the prospect of returning to camp, and moves forward to collect the unconscious hobgoblin.

Maybe I should check to see what he was reaching for, and get his axe…oh gods, the axe!

Hector’s step falters, the memory of fresh blood dripping from the axe nauseating him.

Hector then speaks quietly, so the elven woman cannot hear.
“Hadraïn, the girl, is she still alive?”

[iop]

Hadraïn frowns for an instant, as if he doesn't know who Hector is talking about. Then he smiles, and nods.
"She is well. She didn't even witness our battle against the hobgoblins who seemed to want to raid the inn. She was unconscious all the time because she had eaten from the soup someone had poisoned. Do you know anything about that?"

[Skjaldbakka]

"There were hobgoblins attacking the tavern? Since you are here, I suppose that situation has been resolved? We should return to the inn. It is somewhat more likely that they would try attacking the inn again than attack this area again. Hopefully, we drove them off."

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

Glad to see the elves speaking common, Marius gives a nod to the others. For the moment, he seems preoccupied with making sure the baby is satisfied, comfortable and at ease. "To return sounds like a wise plan." He will follow the others, but before doing so, he will glance over the newcomers to see if they are wounded or not. If so, he will cast a spell to heal multiple, otherwise he will heal only Löcé with a touch of healing light.

Casting Mass Less Vigor if multiple are wounded, else Cure Moderate Wounds (Knowledge Nature: [roll0]. If lower than 17, the spell fails, else heal for [roll1]).

[Kai-Palin]

Raël

Seeing the elves, Raël seems to relax and stiffen almost simultaneously, relaxing because they aren't hobgoblins and becoming just as on edge again because they're elven soldiers. His thoughts shoot back to his homeland, and a pang of sorrow grips him. His eyes narrow as he recognizes Ruudi.

He sighs and visibly gathers his thoughts. "Yes, returning to the inn would be a good idea." He helps the woman, Tamina?, to her feet, and supports her as they return to the inn, stopping along the path back to pick up his longbow. He is noticeably laconic the entire time.

[iop]

"Yes, hobgoblins have attacked the inn, but we have eliminated them. Not a single one..." Hadraïn stops as he hears Marius' incantation.
The elves are alarmed as Marius starts to cast a spell, but a gesture of Hector tells them that they have nothing to fear. When they feel the relaxing touch of the healing spell, they are glad that they haven't interfered.

The elves and you head back along the narrow path through the forest. Hadraïn is first, followed by Marius and Lócë. Next is an elf with Tamina, whose legs seem to barely carry her, then come Hector and another elf carrying the hobgoblin, and Ruudi and another elf with the corpse of the male elf. Raël is at the tail of the group with the rest of the elves. They are silent, which seems to suit him just fine.

It is fortunate that the ground is smooth, because the stars barely illuminate the way. Yet, thanks to Marius's spell, everyone seems to be walking more and more comfortably as the painful wounds bruises disappear. Before long, you step through the bush and you are back to the inn.

All around the inn there are torches set up that illuminate what used to be a pleasant backyard with a vegetable garden. The plants have been savagely trampled, and several elves are busy lugging hobgoblin corpses toward a pyre. One is walking around collecting intact arrows and arrowheads, another tries to salvage what he can of the vegetables in the garden.

The elves pay little attention to you as you pass among them; they seem to be concentrating on getting everything cleaned up as quickly as possible. Inside the inn, which seems empty but for elves preparing food, Hadraïn orders the hobgoblin to be set down and tells two elves to guard him. He leads you upstairs where a long corridor separates two rows of guest rooms. Out of several rooms, you hear the quiet moans of the wounded, and the voice of a healer calling on her gods power to cast yet another spell. Two of the last rooms are free, each with two beds.
"Take these rooms and make yourself at home. We should be able to eat in about half an hour." Hadraïn turns to go to join the other elves, but stops. "Welcome to the Inn of the West Tower, by the way. I hope the rest of your stay will be less tumultuous."
With these words, he leaves.

[ooc]
You are now in one of the two rooms that will be yours for the night. If you want to do something in that half hour, such as talking about what just happened, you are welcome to do so; otherwise, tell me and I move on.

[Zweanslord]

Marius Thanador

"Thank you." Marius gives a polite half-bow towards the elf, keeping the child in his arms in mind. He will look over his companions first and use any remaining healing spells in his repertoire to heal further wounds of his companions and if any is left over, he will offer the little healing powers that he has still left to any of the injured elves. In doing so, he visits the healer and wishes her good luck, before turning in to bed as well unless somebody else requires him.

[Job]

Hector

Now seated with his companions, Hector begins to unload his pack and weapons to the foot of one of the beds.

“Might I ask for your assistance again Raël? I could use some help getting this armor off”

~~

As Marius moves to heal Loce, Hector will interrupt him, and use the pause to retrieve a small cloth package from his belt pouch “I believe I have something that may be helpful.” Then unfolding the cloth Hector reveals a single slender finger, and holds it out for Loce or Marius to take.

“I’m very grateful you came along when you did Loce, your presence was a tremendous asset. Since we had so little time to speak before the attack I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling us about yourself, it seems we have some time before dinner”