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 Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:59 pm
Kal'ara dipped her head slightly to acknowledge Vhael'iss, and shouldered her pack as Audustes did with his own, and after a swift glance behind her to check that she had indeed picked up all of her possessions before following Audustes and the others out.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:26 pm
Vhael'iss returned the offered nods in kind before turning to glance out the door that sent Adustes smiling so. Ah, so the last of the delays had been settled and they were free to begin their journey. Perfect timing in her opinion, for she had no desire to linger any longer in the town that she had already, in her mind, abandoned. For a while she had called it home (or as close to a home as she ever got) but now it was nothing more than a noisy stop on her way to somewhere else. It was always such with her, for when she moved on, as she always did, it was done whole-heartedly and without a backwards glance.
The girl stepped to the side to allow Adustes to walk unhindered toward the door and she followed, readjusting her pack on her shoulder. A quiet lot they were all proving to be, though that suited her just fine. It would give her plenty of time to work on her music.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:40 pm
Satisfied that they were at last leaving, Matasoga lifted his back from the wall, pushing of slightly with his tail, and taking up his spear that he had leaned upon the wall, head pointing upward and Set his heels on the ground. He was glad to have a new task to wrap his mind around and to have a new task with which to busy himself. Hopefully the stimuli would be enough to overcome his irritation.
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:57 pm
Adustes passed through the tavern's door, pausing only long enough to hold the door until whoever followed behind could catch it before it swung close, and stepped out into the twilit street. He stopped a few paces from Vellek and briefly looked the horse up and down. "You're certain the animal will fare well in the forest?"
"'Course he will. N'less we run into a cliff, you'll all be the ones slowing him down," Vellek replied. Adustes only nodded in response, and began walking down the street.
The mercenary moved to follow, leading his mount by the reins, and fell in line beside Eliae. "Never had any complaints before," he said with a grin.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:28 pm
Eliae stepped through shortly after Adustes, a slight smirk on her face as she looked at Vellek. He was confident in himself; that should fair her well, she thought, and it bothered her none when he walked beside her.
"And I doubt you'll get any from me," she replied, briefly looking him over before nodding towards his horse. "You'll have to teach me to ride him sometime."
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:18 am
Kal'ara eyed both Eliae and Vellek cautiously, attempting to size them up. Though, now that there was a horse in the picture she felt a little more confident the she would fare well should danger befall the group. She silently fell in beside Matasoga, planning to use him to keep pace with the group.
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:06 am
Adustes led the group through the town's gates and along the north road, passing less than a dozen long rows of tents -the remnants of the town's militia- and the hundred yards of scorched and trampled earth that had once served as the outpost's tilling fields. On the kingdom's frontier as they were, it was not long before all traces of civilization had fallen far behind, and were lost in the dark of the night.
The shadar-kai led the group throughout the night, reasoning that in these yet untamed wilds it would be most wise not to sit idly by while the many nocturnal dangers were on the move. He pushed his companions to break camp when the sun neared the horizon, allowing them to stop shortly after dawn. Wary of the light given off by an enchanted torch that Vellek carried, he set those who could see in darkness at the edge of the light on all sides. Adustes took the point himself, set Kal'ara and Vhael'iss to either side, Matasoga in the rear, and allowed Eliae to walk beside Vellek and his mount, where she could make use of the light.
They followed the road for the first two nights, then veered off to the northeast several miles outside of Naram. At dawn the next night, the group could see where the sparse woods thickened, almost forebodingly, into a deep, dark evergreen forest; marking the border of the Cold Wood. For the sake of time and ease of movement, Adustes led the party further east, then due north along the outskirts of the forest for the proceeding four nights before leading them beneath the eldritch boughs.
Upon entering the Cold Wood, Adustes halved the distance separating each member as they moved, instructing Vellek to be prepared to cover his torch at a moment's notice.
The journey had been uneventful up to this point, the only signs of life coming to the group's attention being the abundant bird calls and occasional fleeting sightings of land-bound animals native to the region; the trend continuing their first night and day in the forest. The second night, however, distinguished itself several hours after the group broke camp.
(Everyone make two rolls on a 20-sided die with your next post. Your first result will be a Spot check, and the second will be your Initiative roll to determine the order of following posts [highest result to lowest].
And remember to take 7 days worth of food, and anything else your character would have used up, off your profiles.)
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mourn_of_blades rolled 2 20-sided dice:
11, 17
Total: 28 (2-40)
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:12 am
Adustes, at his usual place at the head of the group, noticed it first. He quickly ducked close to a nearby tree and motioned back to Vellek to extinguish the light.
The mercenary, having no way to disable his everburning torch, quickly wrapped a thick empty sack around it, thrust it to the ground, and crouched down over it in an attempt to use his body to shield the scant light that managed to seep through the burlap. Effectively blinded, as the little light that did escape wasn't enough for him to see, he groped about for his horse's reins, finally clasping them and holding tight so the animal wouldn't move on without him. He then looked to where he had last seen Adustes in a vain attempt to pierce the darkness and pick out the fey.
The torch dealt with, Adustes turned his attention back to the source of his distress. He'd spotted a point of light through the trees. It took him a few seconds to find it again, and it periodically flickered out and reappeared a sleight distance from its previous position as it passed behind other trees. He couldn't tell how far away it was exactly. Maybe four or five-hundred feet to the right of the party. As he watched, he noticed it moved in a zig-zagging manner, at first moving in one direction and the next moment shifting suddenly to another angle.
One thing remained constant in its course, however. It was coming toward the group.
Slowly, as quietly as possible, Adustes began unwinding his chain and called to mind what spells he had prepared earlier that evening, discerning which would be most useful if whatever approached was hostile to the party, and watched as the light drew closer.
Adustes' Spot: 8 + 11 = 19
Adustes' Initiative (for the sake of simplicity, Vellek will always immediately follow Adustes): 2 + 17 = 19
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CurioHeart rolled 3 20-sided dice:
9, 7, 14
Total: 30 (3-60)
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:43 am
Though she would have liked to tell Adustes that she could see fine with or without the light, Eliae bit her tongue and remained silent as he assigned the others their positions. She couldn't help but to hope that she wouldn't become the target of something's ranged shot simply because she was in the light and, therefor, easy to see. Not wanting to show any signs of weakness, the woman did what she could to avoid showing it.
Nevertheless, she took it upon herself to get to know Vellek a bit more as he would allow, their conversations normally short and scattered over the course of the night. Most were done hushedly when they occurred to keep the noise minimal and to allow their ears to still listen out for anything unusual.
Once in the woods, her small, intermittent conversations with Vellek would become almost nonexistent. Judging from the shorter distance between the rest of the group and Adustes' making sure Vellek would know to cover the torch upon signal, the woods were more dangerous than the rest of the land they had covered.
Her sharp eyes were already looking around as soon as she noticed Adustes' motions for the human to cover the flames. Even before the flame was covered, she had picked out the source of light from around the horse, peering at it intently. It didn't take long for her to figure out that the light source was too big to be a torch, thinking it was too long; perhaps a blade of sorts would be more appropriate. Slowly, she, too, reached for her weapon, slipping it from her waist as quietly as she could.
(Rolls are, in order; Spot (9+15=24), Initiative (7+4=11), Bluff to hide her thoughts from the party (14+16=30)
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Matasoga rolled 2 20-sided dice:
8, 9
Total: 17 (2-40)
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:01 am
((This post is written under the assumption that they are presently in low-light circumstances as enough of the star and moonlight would be visible that it is low-light, rather than complete and utter darkness.))
Matasoga was glad that the light had been extinguished but wasn't sure if the others would do as well as he in low-light. He cursed himself for not questioning everyone's race and was ignorant of this important factor when strategizing. He supposed he'd have to do his best on his own for now and hope for cover from the others. After all, he was no stranger to one-on-one mortal combat in the dark.
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Adonis DeCreatu rolled 2 20-sided dice:
16, 8
Total: 24 (2-40)
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:52 pm
Vhael'iss had passed these days mostly in silence, having thus far felt no desire to become further acquainted with the mismatched team that were her traveling companions. She had taken up the post that Adustes had given her, using her keen eyes to pierce effortlessly through the darkness that surrounded them, though fortune seemed to be with them. She had not yet needed to alert them to any suspicious sights and it seemed the same for the rest all around her.
Still, the less attention they drew to themselves the better, which was another reason for her silence. The girl even prudently opted to keep her bow from her viola and the only practice she gained over these passing nights were the way her fingers traced the air at her side as she walked, running methodically through the complicated exercises as though her hand was not really so empty.
Her only complaint went unvoiced and that was the human man's ever burning torch. She realized its necessity, of course, since he and the woman who stood close to it required the light it shed, but it was an annoyance to her that bordered on hindrance. Should she happen a glance to her side toward the center of their 'circle', her sensitive eyes would be given only an immediate sting for her trouble and it would take her several moments to recover her spoiled night vision.
It was in this manner that she walked, for all intents and purposes alone with her gaze aimed only to the wilds and senses alert for dangers.
The young woman was once again going though a complex pattern of notes in her head when Adustes suddenly moved and Vhael'iss instinctively mimicked his action, finding her own tree to seek cover beside. However, that was as much as she could do for the moment, as everyone was looking to the right of the group and, as she had been stationed on the left, that damned torch made it impossible for her to see what had caught their attention. Though it was extinguished quickly, the damage had already been done and she gritted her teeth as she blinked rapidly and waited for her vision to clear so she could see what her fellow fey was pointing at.
(Spot: 16+6= 22; Initiative: 8+5=13)
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Kristabelle015 rolled 2 20-sided dice:
18, 5
Total: 23 (2-40)
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Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:21 am
Content to have some distance between herself and the group, Kal'ara was happy to stick to her assigned place. The silence suited her, she found it easier to imagine she was wandering by herself. When Adustes signalled for Vellek's light to be covered, she briefly wondered if it wouldn't be prudent for her to leave the group, before realising that if the source of the new light was hostile, it almost certainly wouldn't be alone. Instead of slipping away, she crouched down next to a fallen tree, and watched the light draw closer.
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mourn_of_blades rolled 1 20-sided dice:
17
Total: 17 (1-20)
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Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:34 pm
(Everyone was successful in their Spot checks in their previous posts, so everyone (who doesn't have any other reason not to see) sees the light source's approach.)
(Anyone who has darkvision can see clearly with the current lighting conditions, and anyone with low-light vision will be able to clearly see in the area around the light source, once it closes the distance.)
The source of light continues its erratic approach, accompanied with the sound of a creature running over dead leaves. It passes into the group's perimeter between Adustes and Kal'ara, then suddenly stops.
Little more than fifteen feet from Vellek and Eliae stands a very short, haunched over, old man, perhaps three or four feet tall. High over his head, he holds a flaming sword sized for a large human. No shirt covers his body, leaving his oddly fit torso exposed. His wrinkled skin has a tough, leathery appearance. Pants of a filthy, dark colored cloth cover his legs, and iron-shot boots adorn his feet. Tufts of white hair poke out from beneath a shapeless crimson-stained leather cap, and scruffy, tattered white mutton chops frame his face. Perched above a bulbous nose, his large, glassy, tiny pupiled eyes reflect the firelight as he leers at the pair of humans beside the horse.
A malicious grin further exposes a row of long, sharp canines that had been protruding from his mouth even before his shriveled lips peeled back. He straightens slightly and twists back to look behind him. He briefly scans the ground he had covered, then turns back to the two before him.
The little man gives a whoop of wicked glee and springs forward, drawing back his oversized sword and swinging it down over the crouching mercenary.
(The new posting order has been posted in the other thread. Do not deviate from it until combat has come to a close. I suggest reviewing the rules for combat. PM me if anyone has any questions.)
(Note that during combat, you only have three days to post. If it is your turn, and three days have passed since the last person posted, you will be skipped.)
(Redcap's attack: 17 + 12 +2 = 31)
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mourn_of_blades rolled 6 20-sided dice:
14, 5, 1, 20, 16, 9
Total: 65 (6-120)
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Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:48 pm
With his torch covered, Vellek now managed to spot the approaching light. He looked curiously at the creature as it stopped and looked back, rising and snapping his maces out of their frogs when the thing grinned at him.
Then it suddenly charged forward and chopped at him. He wasn't prepared the speed and power the small creature possessed. He crossed his maces in front of him, caught the blade between them, but couldn't stop its descent. The blade, barely slowed by the intercession, drove the maces down and bit deeply into Vellek's shoulder, the flames flaring up when the enchanted steel tasted fresh blood.
The mercenary grunted in pain from of the strike. The momentum of the slash gone, he shoved the blade aside without difficulty, and jabbed out with his lighter mace, keeping his opponent occupied as he set his footing, then retaliated with a heavy swing with each weapon, lining the heads up to hit the diminutive creature on both flanks.
Adustes considered simply waiting in the darkness for the situation to resolve itself. After all, the redcap didn't seem to have seen him, and this sort of situation was the reason for the warrior's presence....
No. He was responsible for this expedition. At the very least, he had to show his companions that he wouldn't abandon them at the first sign of danger.
As the creature leered at the humans, Adustes took the opportunity to hurriedly whisper a short blessing, asking for his deity's favor. He immediately felt a surge of confidence, and knew his prayer had been answered. He slowly crept forward and let one end of his chain lower nearly to the ground, the other end still coiled in one hand, and nearly half the length suspended between the coil and his other hand. From the deep shadows beside another tree, he began swinging the free end of the chain in a slow circle, picking up speed with each rotation until it reached the necessary velocity.
He throws the free end of the chain in an attempt to wrap it around and hold the aged man's weapon, keeping a tight grip on the coil and moving his now-free hand to brace his hold.
Vellek's attacks:
1 - Light mace
2 - Heavy mace - -1 for the wound
Adustes:
3 - Hide - 1 + 14 = 15
4 - Disarm - 20 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 27
Redcap:
5 - Spot - 16 + 18 = 34
6 - Opposing roll - 9 + 12 = 21
EDIT:
The short old man batted aside Vellek's distracting jab and dodged to one side when the maces swung his way. He managed to avoid the larger one but stepped into the other, which merely bounced off his thick hide. He sneered up at the scarred mercenary, and Vellek muttered a curse as he realized how little the blow affected its recipient.
The battle was off to a rough start, but it seemed to be taking a different turn when Adustes' chain whipped out from the shadows like a snake, wrapped around the creature's blade, and yanked the weapon out of its hand.
Thrown to the ground and without a wielder, the flames of the enchanted weapon dissipated, snuffing out what light it had shed.
(Just as a point of reference, while lit, the sword had shed light as a torch. With it extinguished, we're back to extremely low-light conditions (which doesn't affect all of you with darkvision))
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