Breltarith - A Casual Game [IC]

[C12H22O11]

The day dawns warm and clear, only a few puffy white clouds breaking up the endless expanse of blue sky. It's a perfect day for traveling, which is good, because you'll have to pull a hard march to make it to Tarlath before nightfall. Vargen doesn't like to be kept waiting, and with the sizeable sum he's promised for retrieving his stolen goods, you don't feel much like waiting either.
The letter was short and to the point, letting you know just how serious Vargen was about getting his things back. A few of you have worked for Vargen before, and know him to be fair and just in his contracts, although his merchant's tendency to haggle over details shows in his hiring practices as much as any other business transaction. No contract has been signed yet, as the letter merely requests your presence in person to work out the details of the job, but you know to expect at least a little gold for traveling to Tarlath even if the job offer doesn't pan out.
There's a hint of smugness in the air as you prepare to leave, as well... after all, Vargen might not have lost his wares in the first place if he hadn't hired that discount mercenary band out of Elgeai after his contract with Isa and Grae expired.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Grae waits patiently for his turn to read the missive. When he does, he reads it three times through before handing it back. Any opinion regarding the letter does not show on the half-orc's face. He simply returns to his work of checking the straps and placement of his gear. Unlike many of the group, he neither rides a mount nor the cart - he opts to stay afoot. Normally, this would pose a problem, but not for Grae; the scout is able to keep pace with a heavy horse.

Buckling his quiver of javelins and hefting his wicked looking glaive indicates that Grae is ready. He checks his map and awaits the command to move out.

[BooNL]

Raelin

Raelin sees the invitation as a welcome distraction. The last two months were staler and less lucrative than he had hoped for. He'd never worked with Vargen, but he had heard stories. Some good, some bad, but in the long run, not that impressive. This was for the best, it was not Raelin's intention to draw to much attention or become a hero.

He checks his donkies one final time, tightening the strap on Sugarlumps. Raelin climbs into the riders seat of his carriage and looks back at their camp, the small plume from the only sign they had stayed there the past week. "Alright, we're heading out. Make sure the campfire's out and all our equipment is in the carriage."

[Snacs]

Isa Gaur

"T'Cha!, that penny-pinching old Haggler! Teach him to undercut his security." Isa said smugly, smacking the letter with her hand.

"I told you Grae, i told you that fat-pursed, stingy Vargen would come crawling back to us." She said over her shoulder to the massive half-orc.

The human woman sighed and stretched, one arm straight up, before letting it drop with a second sigh. She placed a palm on the pommel of her Falchion and hopped up on the back of the cart, her long legs folded up to avoid dragging in the dirt.

"Well, Gold is Gold, as my Grandfather used to say. Let's see what the TightPurse wants eh?"She said to the whole group, setting her axe deferentially down on the floor of the cart, the falchion gently bouncing against the side of the cart as it pulled out of hte rut it had sunk into the night before.

"Yes yes Mother Hen, Myself and Grae packed the equipment hours ago."She said flippantly at Raelin, lounging back and peering up at the sky. Business had been a bit slow, but a few lucrative, easy jobs had them living well, if not like Kings.

[Cheesegear]

Ranna, one of the last to leave camp, glared daggers at Raelin. True, he 'owned' Ranna, but, that never meant that Ranna had to like him. She did, however, get along with Raelin's friends. Grae, in particular. As ugly and uncouth as he was, he did his job. Mostly without complaining. Mostly. Unlike Isa, the Oaf. She couldn't count past the number of fingers on her hands.

Ranna hummed as she brushed down Strider, her horse. It was true that she couldn't sing, that was never her job in the travelling faire. But, she could hum, and Raelin couldn't stop her. She tapped her feet as she hummed, to a beat that only she could hear. A beat dimly recalled from only a few years ago as she danced with the elves. They called themselves 'Battledancers', they weaved swords and dancing together, believing that swordplay was just a different kind of dance.
But, Ranna was human, not Elvish. She could learn the battledance, but, she couldn't perfect it. Not yet. And now that she was taken from the caravan, she couldn't learn with the elves, she'd have to teach herself.

Still, a deal was a deal. And, even though Raelin had said 'Adventure', apparently, what he actually meant, was 'A year or two of hard slog, sleeping in the mud and rain, picking up the odd job or three.' But, Ranna didn't know that at the time, and she had readily agreed to be bought.

Mercenaries...! thought Ranna as she kicked dirt over the fire. She bent over and picked up her swordbelt, not caring what the men More like boys... looked at. She'd been with them for almost a year now. Modestly didn't hold much of a place with mercenaries.

She belted on her twin scimitars, and climbed into Strider's saddle. Patting his mane, she readied herself for another day.

[Estovus]

Taron Krauser

Knowing about Vargen's previous dealings with Isa and Grae, Taron welcomed this diversion from the past two months' drudgery. Though Isa didn't seem to think much of the merchant, Taron gathered from the descriptions of him he'd heard that Vargen was a dedicated, resolute merchant, and neither of those traits seems very dislikable to him. He looked forward to meeting the man.

It was about a year since he had joined the band through Raelin. Over that year, he had grown to consider each of his fellows as friends, and trusted that each of the four felt the same. He did, however, secretly wish that they would find something more purposeful to do than simple mercenary work, and this letter doesn't seem to promise any such thing.

Though he had heard Raelin's command, he hadn't reacted, as he was in the midst of praying for good weather throughout the day as he sat on the edge of the carriage. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Ranna picking up her weapons. Despite his shame, he kept looking until she stood up, at which point he looked away, cursing himself. Aren't you getting too old for that? he thought to himself before looking back up at Ranna. Like him, she apparently wished for meaning, though she was a bit more vocal about this than himself.

He absently checked his belt to see if his axe and his dagger were still there before looking over his shoulder at Raelin. "Hey, could you please hand me that letter again?" he asked the halfling through his Drenmeaic accent, extending his hand to receive it.

[Snacs]

Isa Gaur

Isa smirked and shoved the small note under Taron's nose, waggling it a bit.

"Here you go my friend, enjoy the reading of it. This is promise of quite a large number of Gold Pieces. That Ol' tightpurse is famous for being stingy, but he's slighted us. He's honor-bound to pay well!" She said and hopped off the back of the cart, stretching again.

She gave a sly, knowing look at Ranna. Barbarian and savage she might be, she wasn't stupid.
"Now now Ranna, think of it like this. With the money we'll wrangle from Vargen we'll be able to sleep in an inn for months, not to mention he'll have to put us up for a few days"She said with a slow grin.

"I hear he even put in one of those fancy new bath-systems for his wife" She knew if anything would get the other woman optimistic it would be the thought of warm beds and a hot bath.

She loped alongside the Cart as they started off, her tattooed arms exposed, proclaiming loudly her rather bloody family legacy.

[Cheesegear]

Ranna had to agree with Isa. A loud lout she might be, but, she was right. A night or two in a real bed would be nice, the bath, well, that's just a bonus. Ranna was well accustomed to bathing in a river, wherever the caravans would stop.

"You could do with a bath yourself..." she said, half-jokingly in response to Isa. And set Strider off at a trot beside the carriage.

An inn though, that could well be a chance for her to 'show off' her skills, as it were. Since she never felt like dancing for Raelin. And, the others, they were mercenaries...If she danced for one of them, she'd have to dance for all of them. The only time her 'friends' saw her dance, was at inns and small towns, in minor performances when the group was down on money. The only other time she danced these days, was with swords in her hands and surrounded by enemies.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

The half-orc merely listens to the musings of his comrades, but does not answer. He nods at the command given by Raelin. Before trotting off, he looks to see if all are ready to go, for he knows that it would be foolish to set off without back-up soon behind. True, the carriage moves ponderously slow, but many a time the skill of the riders has shown as the others of the company have ridden down a foe.

He looks back and sees Ranna mount up on Strider. Then, like a wolf, Grae sets off in a jog - one that he can maintain for days if need be - and puts enough distance between him and the others (but well within whistle range). His eyes scan the horizon and look about the environment around him; he is looking for trouble spots that would lend to prime ambush places. If he sees one, he cautiously moves around it, checking to make sure it is safe. When satisfied, he continues on that way.

[C12H22O11]

The road to Tarlath is well-traveled, and even a hardened bandit would think twie about attacking an armed wagon in the middle of the day. Still, everyone keeps a watchful eye, for a mercenary unit that lets itself be ambushed is a mercenary unit that ends up dead. Apart from Grae startling a few farmers, nothing untoward happens on the journey.
You all arrive in Tarlath just before sundown, right on schedule. The Drunken Dragon, the inn Vargen asked you to meet him at, is in the center of town, and easy to find with its flame-bleching stone chimney lighting up the evening sky. Vargen is seated in a booth along the back wall, a mug of cold tea and a half-finished bowl of stew on the table in front of him. He looks up impatiently as you enter, and even after you are seated, his foot continues tapping the floor, setting his fleshy cheeks to quivering like a pair of tiny gelatinous cubes.
"What took you so long? Ahh, nevermind, at least you made it here today, and not next week. I trust you're all curious about why I've offered you a new contract, despite the... lackluster performance... of some of your members for me in the past. Well, I'll get right to it." This statement gives Isa and Grae pause, as Vargen has never been one to cut to the chase. A merchant in thought as well as deed, he enjoys the verbal cut-and-thrust common in his trade, especially when sizing up people he has never met before. "...and it's imperative that they be retrieved with all possible haste. The buyer has been informed of the mishap, but expects delivery within twenty-four hours of the agreed-upon date regardless. This date is only four days away, and the merchandise still has to be carted halfway to the Silver Peaks! You can obviously understand why I'm in a hurry to get this taken care of." Vargen has almost risen from his seat at this point, eyes ablaze with goldlust, and perhaps a trace a fear for his own reputation. "Now, as far as the merchandise is concerned... there are ten crates of goods that I am mainly concerned with. Each was marked with a blue sunburst pattern, like this," he says, sliding a piece of parchment across the table, "and they are of utmost importance. You MUST recover all of these crates, and ensure that none have been opened or tampered with. They were all magically locked at some expense to me, so they should be secure, but one never knows. For retrieving these crates, you will be paid fifteen thousand gold pieces. There are a number of other crates of lesser importance; you will receive a bonus of four hundred gold pieces for each one that you return safely to me.
Vargen leans back in his cushioned seat, eyeing Raelin thoughtfully. "You have a cart and some draftbeasts suitable for transporting these goods, yes? I'd hate for your loutish outrider here to have to carry them all back on his shoulders," he sneers, glancing at Grae. "Well, those are the terms. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask, but if not, I suggest you get moving. I'm certainly not paying for you to laze around at an inn tonight when this contract is on such a short schedule.

[BooNL]

Raelin

Raelin eyes the man suspiciously, a true merchant if there ever was one. One who only cares about himself and will go to any lenght to get back what's his.

"This is a lot of information to take in sir Vargen and we haven't agreed to anything just yet. If you will allow us a moment to think this through." He takes out his pouch, retrieves a gold piece and slides it across the table. "In the meantime good sir, have a drink on us. We would like to discuss this in private."

When he is gone, Raelin turns to his companions. Well, he's everthing you described Isa. Can we trust him to pay up?

Actually, we also need to know if he has any leads regarding the whereabouts of the merchandise."

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

The half-orc listens intently to both the merchant and Raelin. He makes not a twitch when the slight is made by Vargen on his behalf. Even though he would never ask, Grae wonders what is in those crates.

He says in a low rumbling tone like that of thunder in the distance, "Know you what house uses this?" Grae holds up the pattern.

He then tosses the parchment down and continues, "Would be good to know what happened to the other crew before us. More to the story is not being told."

[Snacs]

Isa Gaur

"Ya ya litlte Dancer, I never smell, did you not know?"She chuckled as she whistled to Grae as he headed out, nodding.

Despite her lazy, relaxed pose she'd be one of the first to the half-Orc's aid. The Gaur family may be renown for their violent ways, but a comrade-in-arms like Grae was a bond that was not to be taken lightly, and the Gaur family did not ask anymore of a comrade-in-arms than they did themselves.

She lounged back against the side of the cart, and started singing in a boisterous, surprisingly elegant voice, timing her cadence to a whetsone sharpening her Axe....

------

Later, sitting in the Inn, she scowled a bit,giving the merchant a glare before retreating to convene with the rest of the group.

"I don't like this. Oh we can trust him to pay,and pay handsomely. But something's not right. He's either scared or thinks we're stupid. I'll put a gold piece that these boxes are either illegal or worth ten times what he's paying us" She harrumphed, lounging back against a nearby table.

"I'll still do it, of course. I'm not some scared merchant like him....but, I'd ask for more"She said with a predatorial grin.

"He knows He ain't getting anyone good enough to get his things back besides us, and no time to find someone else either. Charge him twenty-five thousand, and haggle down to twenty." The affairs of diplomats and Nobles might not be the kind of circles her family had moved in, but The Gaur family could read fat gold purses like sharks drawn to blood.

"Don't worry, he'll pay. And if ya have a guilty conscience for pushing for more, consider it penance for talking down to us"She patted the big Half Orc in support.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

It is difficult to tell from the stoic countenance how Grae feels regarding the attention given him by Isa. However, he does not shy from it. It is obvious that he understands the want and need for gold, but the group knows that he has turned down many offers from others in order to remain with this group. It seems the company Grae keeps is valued more than money.

[Cheesegear]

Ranna listens to the proposal without much interest. Since, whether the group accepted the contract or not, Ranna would have to follow Raelin wherever he went.

"Grae is right, we don't know what happened to the crew who was supposed to have the boxes. Isa is right also." she said, giving a half-smile to Isa. "Haggle for danger pay. And, more importantly, I'd like an idea of who the boxes are to be deilvered to. The Silver Peaks is a large area. Also, what happens if, when we arrive to pick up the boxes, some of them are damaged? Are we penalised because another group couldn't guard their cargo?

And if they are damaged - or open - what do we do? What can we expect? Merchant Vergen said that he magically sealed them, to keep unfriendly hands from getting in? Or to stop something getting out?

It was at this point, that Ranna was reminded of the gypsy tale of Limdarin's Box, the curious gnome tinker who was given a box by the Gods and told never to open it. But, Limdarin was a fool, and tinkered with it anyway, unwittingly unlocking the seals. And, since it was unlocked, natural gnomish curiosity made him open the box, unleashing chaos on the world.

Of course, Ranna was no taleweaver, and couldn't tell the story properly. But, she did notice a risen dais in the tavern, where a group of musicians played their instruments. Ranna gave a sigh, Merchant Vargen had said they had to leave tonight. No time for the dance.

[BooNL]

Raelin

Raelin carefully listens to his companions, nodding to their observations. "You are right, there are too many unknown factors. We could, however, use the money. Times are hard right now and Vargen knows that too.

I'm no diplomat, I don't know how to handle these situations. So who will talk to him?"

[Cheesegear]

Ranna sighed. Raelin was almost useless as a leader, having nearly no social graces whatsoever...Neither did the rest of them, really. Except Grae, who, probably managed to never get on anyone's bad side, simply because he never said anything. It was Ranna's obligated duty to do what Raelin couldn't. She coughed and left the group's table, and went to sit with Vargen.

She nodded her head towards him, and clasped her hands in front of her and put them on the table."Right, Merchant Vargen, you and I both know that fifteen thousand isn't enough for a job like this. There's five of us, so that doesn't go around a whole lot. I will assume that the fifteen thousand offer was the same one you gave to your first deliverers. Well, they failed. So I propose twenty thousand gold pieces, in addition to whatever that bonus was you mentioned. Secondly, we need information before we can fully undertake this task." She paused, waiting for Vargen to assimilate the request.
"I wont ask you what's in the box. I was raised in a caravan, I understand that some packages are best kept secret. But, I will ask where - or who - exactly we are to deliver the packages to. In line with this, do you or your client have any specific enemies we should know about? Somebody who was after these crates? If so, what can we expect?"

Ranna took her hands off the table, folding her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Last, if we do recover the crates, and they have been tampered with, or, Gods forbid, they've been damaged. What do we do? Are we to be penalised because you hired discount mercenaries in the first place? Think on it. Make your mind up soon. As you said, we've got a busy few days ahead of us, and no time to waste."

Ranna called over a waitress and gave her a smile, woman-to-woman. "This man wants another drink." Ranna said, giving the waitress a gold piece.

Ranna then returned to her table, and said calmly "I've done what I can. I'm sure Isa could make a deal by breaking a few of his fingers...".

If I Take 10 on my Diplomacy roll, that gives me an 18, enough to improve his attitude. Or Take 20, for a 28, which is plenty.

Or, come on come on come on...I roll for it, since it is negotiations;
Diplomacy: [roll0]

EDIT: Come on, 23 is heaps.

[C12H22O11]

Vargen walks back over after Ranna sits down, and slides himself into the booth where he sat before. "Twenty thousand gold is acceptable, along with the previously mentioned bonus. You are correct in assuming that I do not want the contents of the crates known, even to you, but I assure you it is nothing that will escape or cause you any direct danger should one of the crates be open when you find it." He pauses to take a long sip from his glass of spiced mead, and continues. "You will be delivering the crates to me, here, at this inn. You may be offered an extension on the contract, to travel with me to the delivery point, should I be unable to find anyone more suitable for the job, but don't count on it. I suppose it is possible that those hooligans may have found a way to open some or all of the crates. If you find any of the ten marked crates open or compromised, you must strip every corpse and empty every container you find there, and bring the entire contents back to me. I'd rather sort through a few boxes of useless junk than have to explain why some of the merchandise is missing. And as far as enemies are concerned, 'Every poor man is a merchant's enemy,' so don't ask stupid questions and I won't have to give you obvious answers."
Vargen sits back, thick fingers folded under his chin as he waits for your answer.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

With the raised offer, Grae looks over at Ranna and nods an ascention of a job well done. When the merchant puts out his offer, Grae takes a deep breath and waits to see if anyone will speak his mind. When no one does, Grae's rumbling voice asks, "What fate fell on the ones who lost the crates - what brought them to their death and disgrace? Where were they when this happened or do you not know?"

[C12H22O11]

"The crates were lost when bandits ambushed the last group of incompetent sellswords I hired as guards. They should have been somewhere near the Redbough Forest, but as they never reported in after dying, I can't really confirm that. All that was found were their bodies and a few smashed crates floating downstream in the Silverwine, a few miles from here. You might wish to follow the river west, or just take the trade roads straight to the forest - I don't care, as long as those goods are retrieved. Any other questions?"

[Snacs]

Isa

Isa sighed. Ranna had no sense of haggling, and she was a tad disappointed that the old pence-pincher had given up twenty thousand so easily. Since he had, he might have even gone to thirty!

She said nothing though, merely leaned back against her chair, glancing around the tavern, listening to the other's speak.

Grae seemed content with the job's payment, so she would be as well. And with no further questions, she tipped back her own drink, finishing it off in one long draw, settling the thick mug with a thunk to the wooden table.

[BooNL]

Raelin

The halfling looks around the table, eyeing his compagnions. As it seems like they all agree, Raelin relaxes slightly.
"It looks like you have a deal good sir. We will be back with your goods shortly, you can count on us.

The rest of you, one more round and then we're off, this one is on me."

He throws down a couple of coins on the table and summons the serving girl"



Reminder to remove 3gp from my sheet

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

The large half-orc declines the drink order but takes the halfling up on a second portion of food instead. It is not that Grae doesn't drink, but he would rather be sure his belly is full of warm and kitchen cooked food instead of watered down ale. Plus, he has a weakness for oven fresh bread.

Grae will take the leftover loaf of bread with him and begins scouting the path to the Redbough Forest area once everyone is ready to go.

[C12H22O11]

Vargen leaves, looking pleased with himself, and the serving girl returns a short while later bearing more ale, more stew, and a head-sized loaf of steaming pumpernickel for Grae. Too soon, it is time to leave again, starting up the trade road to the forest with fingers and toes still tingling from the surprisingly strong ale.
Traveling at night is far different from traveling during the day – it's a little bit cooler, for one, and cloaks are pulled from the depths of Raelin's wagon to be distributed amongst the party. There is no one else on the road, and only the clop-clop-clop of the pony's hooves and intermittent squeeeeak of the wagon's axle break the silence of the night as you travel past inns already closed for the night and cottages with dark windows. The only sign of life is a lumbermill a good half-mile off the road, its chimney trailing a thin ribbon of smoke. The saws and waterwheel are still, though, and the building quickly disappears from sight as you move past the next hill.
Grae is a mostly-silent shadow moving a few hundred yards ahead, his superior night vision making him the perfect choice to scout over the tops of rises and into vales. Thus it is that Grae is the first among you to spot, hidden in some scrub and briars at the top of a hill, a poorly-dressed mob of bandits holding loaded crossbows. Grae counts five visible at the hilltop, but is unable to scout around the back of the hill without giving himself away in the open and starlit terrain.

PM sent to Darius with more specific, but not game-critical, information.
Also, EAT THAT, WORK. :smallamused:

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Like a wolf, Grae pads back silently to the group. He holds up his fist indicating the group needs to stop and signals for them to be silent. Grae waits until all are assembled so he may whisper, "Five humanoids - All have crossbows; two poles that could be quarterstaffs or spear hafts. Their armor is painted black, but poorly, no trappings to tell if they are a unit. It looks like they are scavengers - their gear is piecemail. They are in the bushes on the crest of that hill - so they have higher ground. I don't think these are the ones that have our quarry, but I think we should keep one alive just to be safe."

He looks to the others for advice.

"A couple of us quieter ones could move into position behind them while the rest of you continue down the path. They will most likely focus their attention on the cart, giving us a chance to move around unseen."

[Cheesegear]

Ranna curses herself for being human. Once again, he usefullness was marred by the fact that she couldn't see in the dark. She does, however, draw one of her scimitars, as quietly as she can.

She then awaits the signal from Grae to movie forward.

[BooNL]

Raelin

Raelin listens to Grae's observations as well as his plan. He sighs, common bandits while they're on an important mission?

"Excellent plan Grea.

Isa, Taron, get on the back of the carriage and hide your weapons. We might be able to suprise these bandits."

Raelin waits for Grae and Ranna to sneak off, before spurring his donkeys to move forward at their usual pace.

[Snacs]

Isa Gaur

Isa nods in acknowledgment and is soon hopped up crouched on the back of the cart, gripping the edge carefully. She calmly unbelts her Falchion, setting it down nearby, and unslings the massive axe on her back. She settles it blade down on the cart floor, her left hand wrapped around the haft, hidden from view. All trace of her normal easy demeanor can be seen except in her posture, a carefully poised position that held a lazy looseness that belied her tight eagerness.

Finally!It had been ages since bandits had dared bothering them.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Grae nods and says, "Same signals as before." He then locks eyes with Ranna, "I will show you where they are. Follow me."

Glaive in hand, Grae quickly exits the scene. He moves slowly enough for Ranna to keep up and then will slow up to 25' move so as to be as quietly as possible. Using the foliage for cover, Grae will skirt the road where he figures the bandits are watching and begins circling around the back of the hill. He keeps his eyes and ears open for any signs of danger.

ooc:
[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

Funny - I guess Grae forgot to clean his ears out.

[C12H22O11]

Raelin keeps the cart moving forward at a steady speed on the road while Grae and Ranna sneak around the hillside to try to ambush the ambushers.
Grae is as silent as a cat stalking its prey, but Ranna, while graceful and smooth on a dancefloor, is decidedly less so when crawling across the ground. The harsh jangle of her chain shirt scraping against a patch of bare stone is all that is needed to alert the bandits to her presence.
Grae, intent on picking out a path through the grass, does not hear the twanging of five crossbows, or the deadly hiss as the quarrels snake through the air. It is only when the projectiles hit, two punching through Ranna's armor and the remaining three thudding into the hard ground, that Grae realizes what is happening. By then, the bandits are already reloading, and two of them have started skirting the hillside towards him, crossbows abandoned in favor of spear and shield.
Raelin and the rest, still out of sight behind the hill, hear nothing. All they know to do is stick with the plan, rolling forward at the same leisurely pace towards the bandit-manned hill.

Surprise round:
Bandits fire crossbows. Ranna is hit twice, for 8 damage and 3 damage.

Combat Initiative Order:
Bandits: 3 reload heavy crossbows (full round), 2 draw spears and shields and move 20' towards Ranna and Grae.
Ranna
Grae

The rest of the party will not arrive for another two rounds. The two groups of bandits are currently 50' and 80' from Ranna and Grae, respectively.

[Cheesegear]

Ranna lets out a curse, as she is shot. Brushing off the quarrels that pierce her armour, Ranna says under her breath, but loud enough for Grae to hear; "Time to dance."

Ranna charges the closest spearwielder, and swings at him with her scimitar.

Charge move 50ft. -2 AC for charging. +2 AC for Expeditious Dodge. Cancels out.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Since they have spears; Tumble checks I need to make for whatever reason;
[roll2]
[roll3]
Mobility = +4AC to AoOs. (For AC-22)

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Whistling the signal for help, Grae replies to Ranna, "Those two are yours, I'll take the others." He quickly covers ground and stops amid the three crossbowmen loading and swipes at one with his glaive. He keeps all three in reach so that he could take an attack of opportunity if one presents itself (including if they try to approach him to close in melee).

ooc:

AC: 20 (due to 50'+ move & Expeditious Dodge and Skirmish AC)
HP: 33

Fort: +4
Ref: +6
Will: +1

Spring Attack and maneuver to position.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Hit AC 26, 13 damage

[C12H22O11]

Ranna closes with the spear-wielding bandits and swings, but her charge up the hill leaves her off-balance, and the bandit blocks her clumsy attack with his shield. Leering at her, the bandit thrusts with his spear, but Ranna uses the last bit of momentum from her charge to shift to the side, dodging the attack easily. Too late, Ranna realizes the other bandit has sidestepped down the hill to attack from her already-injured side, and the cold shock of steel across the side of her calf brings her back to painful clarity.

Grae's charge is a little more impressive, as he rushes up the hill on sprinter's legs, disemboweling the bandit in the middle with a brutal upward slash. The bandit, crossbow already reloaded, fires his final bolt before toppling over backwards down the hill. Grae, overextended from his wild glaive swing, is unable to move out of the way in time, and the bolt lodges in his femur with a thunk felt throughout his body. The other two bandits, aiming from either side, grossly underestimate Grae's speed, and the bolts sail harmlessly down the hill, lost somewhere in the grass and darkness. The bandits drop their crossbows and backpedal down the hill, drawing a dagger apiece to ward of Grae's fury.

Ranna: Misses attack. Bandit's return attack misses. Second bandit moves 30' in a half-circle, provoking no AoOs, and attacks from Ranna's side, hitting. Ranna takes 3 damage.
Grae: Charges (only way to make it 80' up the hill and still attack). Attack hits, bandit reduced to 0 hp. Bandit takes 1 damage from firing crossbow, and is at -1. Bandit crits, dealing 10 damage to Grae. Both other bandits miss, drop weapons, and move 20' backwards while drawing daggers.
Everyone else: 1 round until you can do stuff!

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Favoring his leg, Grae grimaces a bit as he maneuvers closer to the two remaining crossbowmen in a zig-zag pattern 'feinting' left and going right. Using his superior reach of his weapon, Grae swipes at the bandit closest to his wounded leg. He keeps both in reach so that he could take an attack of opportunity if one presents itself (including if they try to approach him to close in melee).

ooc:

AC: 20 (due to 50' move & Expeditious Dodge and Skirmish AC)
HP: 23/33

Fort: +4
Ref: +6
Will: +1

Spring Attack and maneuver back to position (moving a total of 50') for AoO.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

If needed:
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

result: Attack hits AC16 and does 10 damage
AoO: hits AC29 and does 18 damage

Also - I am a bit confused, for shouldn't Grae have gotten some sort of AoO from the bandits when he was amid them? Or was that cool description and their actions of shooting and retreating preceding Grae's actions due to initiative order?

What kind of armor are these bandits wearing? And what kinds of shields do they have?

[Cheesegear]

Swearing at her attackers - again. Ranna maneuvers herself so that one of her opponents in in between her and the other opponent. She lashes out again with her scimitar.

Tumble to avoid AoOs - if any; [roll0], [roll1]

Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]
Edit: Really bad. Max damage on an almost crit-miss

[C12H22O11]

Grae zigzags down the hill in pursuit of the bandits, catching them with ease. His glaive thrust splits through his unfortunate target's boiled leather armor, leaving a wicked gash in his side that immediately begins leaking blood. The bandit stays on his feet long enough to wave his dagger at Grae threateningly, but he is skewered neatly through the chest as soon as he tries to circle around to Grae's back. The other bandit steps in as well, but Grae's quick reflexes allow him to dodge the attack easily.
Ranna fares somewhat better, as both her attackers make their thrusts just as she drops to the ground. The spearpoints pass harmlessly overhead, but her attack cuts only air as well, leaving everyone involved a little embarassed.
The rest of the party rounds the hill, expecting a hail of crossbow bolts aimed at the wagon. Instead, they find Ranna locked in combat with two spear-wielding bandits, and hear a guttural roar from the other side of the hill that is clearly Grae dispatching some unlucky foe.


Grae: 10 damage dealt to bandit. AoO on same bandit deals 18 damage. Bandit dead. Second bandit misses attack.
Ranna: Everyone involved misses. Also, quit rolling so low on your attacks. :smallsmile:

Darius, you did get an AoO on the bandit, but it missed and then I forgot to include the description of you missing. Whoops! :smallredface:
The bandits you are fighting have leather armor and no shields.
The bandits Ranna is fighting have chainmail and studded leather (respectively), and both have large wooden shields.

Updated Initiative:
Raelin
Bandits
Isa
Ranna
Grae
Taron

The bandits engaging Ranna are 75' from the wagon. The one bandit Grae hasn't slaughtered yet is on the other side of the hill, out of sight and 120' distant.

[Snacs]

Isa Gaur

"Gods!Grae!Ranna!" Isa curses as she sees the female slave tangled with two bandits. The roar coming from slightly out of her range of vision must be Grae's, so he hadn't been taken out form the fight.

The female warrior gave a guttural battlecry and lifted her axe, her feet kicking up trails of dirt as she sped towards Ranna and her opponents, completely disregarding the thought that more bandits may wait in hiding further back with crossbows, the tattoos on her arms reflecting a dull red against the shining, well-polished surface of her weapon.


Charge - 80', Attack first Bandit, power attacking -2
Ac = 15(17-2)
[roll]1d20+9/roll]
If it hits:
Damage:
[roll0]
If it drops the bandit - Cleave
[roll1]
Damage if it hits: [roll2]

[Snacs]

Stupid Typo.

First attack redone:
[roll0]

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Grae continues to move about, appearing to leave the area as he looks over the hill to see how Ranna is fairing before springing back to finish his foe.


AC: 20 (due to 50' move & Expeditious Dodge and Skirmish AC); 24 if need to use Mobility vs. AoO
HP: 23/33

Fort: +4
Ref: +6
Will: +1

Spring Attack and maneuver back to position (moving a total of 50') for AoO.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

If needed:
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[Cheesegear]

Ranna felt her spirits rising, as Isa charged through the brush. Dim-witted Isa may have been, but she was always a welcome sight in a fight. Ranna was getting tired. She had taken a few hits from her opponenets, and her own swings seemed to meet with armour - or air. Truly, she was not as good at the Battledance as she thought she was.

Of course, she blamed Raelin. All the mud and rain had made her joints stiff. If only Ranna had practised more. Maybe she could next time she saw Raelin, and beat him senseless. A master should look after his slave, after all.

Ranna swung again with her sword. Her other scimitar still in her shoulder-scabbard.

Now that Isa is around (or someone else, my Initiative is apparently low), which one of us gets Flank bonus? I'm sure C12 can factor that in to somebody's rolls.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

EDIT: SONUVA...Ah well, at least I'm not rolling 1s.

HPs: 32/46

[C12H22O11]

Raelin, surprised by the unexpected battle, can do nothing but slow the wagon down and tie off the reins to keep the ponies from running off with the cart.
Grae moves to circle the lone remaining bandit, but as he steps to the bandit's side, the leather-clad figure slips a dagger through Grae's defenses, leaving a nasty gash in the half-orc's arm. Grae retaliates with another powerful slash from his polearm, and the bandit crumples to the ground, unconscious but still alive (barely).
The bandits facing Ranna thrust again, but both miss Ranna as she in turn misses. Her attack distracts the bandits enough that they dail to notice Isa's charge up the hillside, however, and Isa's axe swings true, cleaving through studded leather and muscle with ease. The unlucky bandit grunts in pain, droppping his wooden shield as he turns around to face Isa instead.
Taron drops off the wagon with a rattle and charges towards the battle, but his heavy armor slows him, and he only makes it halfway up the hill.

Grae provokes an AoO from the bandit when he begins his 'running in circles' maneuver. Because this attack comes at the beginning of Grae's move, Grae does not get either the skirmish AC bonus or the Expeditious Dodge AC bonus. The attack hits, dealing 4 damage to Grae.
Grae's attack drops the bandit, who is dying (but not dead).
Both bandits engaged with Ranna miss their attacks again, as does Ranna. Isa deals 10 damage to the bandit, who is injured, but still very much in the fight.
Grae, Taron, and Raelin are currently unengaged. Ranna, Isa, and the two remaining bandits are in a conga line of flanking goodness as follows (highest on hillside to lowest): Chainmail bandit, Ranna, Studded Leather bandit, Isa.

[Darius]

Post moved to ooc thread...sorry

[Cheesegear]

Desperation clearly showing in her strokes now. Ranna slashes again at her attacker.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

HPs: 32/46

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

Checking the last foe to fall, Grae does what he can to slow the bleeding of the bandit. He then will move to assist the others.


AC: 20 (due to 50' move & Expeditious Dodge and Skirmish AC); 24 if need to use Mobility vs. AoO
HP: 19/33

Fort: +4
Ref: +6
Will: +1


[roll0] <-- this should only be a 6

[Snacs]

Isa

Isa cries out again and tears the Axe from the bandit in front of her, using the momentum of wrenching the axe back to spin, her second swing coming in low, closer to the stomach, now no longer protected by a wooden shield...


Power attacking again
Ac = 17
[roll0]
If it hits:
Damage:
[roll1]
Not sure if I'm close enough, but if I drop the bandit - Cleave on the other
[roll2]
Damage if it hits: [roll3]

[C12H22O11]

Ranna finally hits home, slicing into the bandit as he glances over his shoulder to see where the rest of his bandit friends have gone. The cut leaves a nasty gash across the bandit's spear arm and draws his attention back to Ranna, but doesn't seem to concern the bandit overmuch.
Isa swings again, and the leather-clad bandit raises his shield arm to block the blow, remembering too late that the shield is actually protecting a small patch of grass on the hillside below. The axe cleaves a glittering arc through the night, barely pausing as it lops off the bandit's hand and then neatly chops him in half at the waist. A look of shock registers briefly on his face as he topples with a spurt of blood, two halves rolling down the slope on either side of Isa. Too far away from the other bandit to use the momentum of the swing for another attack, however, Isa merely pivots in place to bring the axe to the ready.
Taron finally arrives, and the sole remaining bandit makes a panicked spear thrust at him as the massive blacksmith simply crashes into the foe, knocking him down into the rocky hillside and trampling him into the dirt as his inertia carries him a few feet past the fight. The bandit struggles to rise, blood streaming from the wound Ranna gave him moments ago, but instead gives up and tosses his spear away when he notices just how outnumbered he is with Grae also running to join the fight. "Yelt! Yelt, Oi yelt!"
It takes you a second to realize that he is speaking with a very thick accent, trying to communicate his surrender.
Raelin, meanwhile, has finally finished bringing the wagon to a halt, and ties off the reins just as the fight draws to a close.

[Darius]

Grae Myrmidon

The large half-orc tries to place where such an accent as this comes from as he administers to his wounded companion.

ooc:

using a charge from belt of healing - [roll0] on most wounded party member.
+6 HP to most wounded

[Cheesegear]

With all the bandits finally down, or - in one case - surrendering. Ranna begins searching the bodies for any signs, sigils or symbols that might lead or give clues as to who the bandits were working for, or where they came from.