Okay, thought Haakon, it's a dragon, and quite possibly a dragon with a severe mental illness... so it's like an animal.  He knew animals, he was good with animals and so, moved as carefully as possible, avoiding doing anything to startle the beast as he moved as stealthily as possible to release it from the foul bondage in which it had been placed.

Then he moved back as quickly as possible.

They look for a covered approach.

It's not so easy.  First, the Dragon-thing... (Haakon has scene Dragons before.  This looks puny and stunted, not a true Dragon) isn't alone.  The four Orcs with the ropes are leading it.  It's hard to sneak up and cut four ropes that Orcs are pulling on, especially when it means getting between them and the creature.

And the creature does not look happy.  It snarls and growls and pulls against the Orcs.  Getting up there to cut it loose looks nigh impossible.

But they can follow along.  They move from column to column, using the noise and confusion in the building to their advantage.

The Orcs take the creature down the corridor, all the way from the back of the Basilica, where the annex connected, to the very front.  There is a foyer there, facing front doors.  It is the first room someone would get into, if they broke into the building from the street, battering through the door.

The Orcs shut it into the room.  Obviously, the intention is that anyone breaking in through the  front entrance would find a large an angry dragonish thing, that probably has skipped a meal or two.

The four Orcs look relieved that they managed to do that without getting clawed apart.  Two of them high-five each other.

(How many years have you had characters open a heavy dungeon door and enter a room and discover a monster, and wondered, how the heck did that monster get in the room if it can’t even handle doorknobs?  Who goes around just setting the monsters out into these rooms?  Now you know.)

Only four orcs now?  Haakon moves to try to chop them up while they are still hihg-five ing each other.

Tawna thinks Haakon is nuts.  She starts to whisper:  "Did you see what they put in that room?"

But on the other hand... that might be exactly what Haakon is counting on.

There are four Orcs.  One of them looks particularly big, fierce, and important- he was the one giving the orders to the other three as they handled they creature.

The Orcs have just gotten the creature secured into the room.  It sounds like it's still mad, but it will probably calm down after a while.  You know... so you have to "listen at the door" to find out that it's in there.

Right now, you could listen at the door at the other end of the hall, and you'd still hear it.

Haakon nodded and whispered back "Yes I did.  You get to the parapet and make sure nobody attacks through that door until there's a druid available or another dragon or something.  Better yet, show 'em how we got in. Callidus and I can deal with these orcs."

With that his bow sang as he sent two arrows in quick succession toward the Beastmaster orc, trying to even the score somewhat.

12:40, Today: Haakon Pedlar rolled 15 using 1d20+9. another arrow.
12:39, Today: Haakon Pedlar rolled 20 using 1d20+9. Arrow.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:40, Fri 30 Mar 2012.

Callidus uses Haakon's shooting as a distraction and attempts to slip across the hallway through the blind spot of the orcs, so he can sneak behind them and put knives into their spleens.

Once again, Tawna is forced to respond with a look.  That look, that suggests she is trying to work out whether Haakon is nuts, or whether she’s the nutty one, for going with the things he says.
“The parapet?” she starts.  “That’s where…”

But Haakon is clearly occupied, and this is no time to interrupt him.  She looks around for a way up to the parapet.  Typically, a building like this has its main stairs up front… not good… and service stairs in the corners in the back.  So she ducks back towards the annex anteroom through which they entered.

Meanwhile, Callidus looks for a “blindspot” and finds that in the corridor, with its marble floor and plastered walls, that’s easier said than done.  Two of the Orcs move to intercept him, and he is quickly in a furious fight.
The Orcs shout for others, and Haakon and Callidus both realize:  with so many of them in this building, they risk being grossly outnumbered if reinforcements show up.  Four, the two of them can handle.  Forty might be a problem.

Haakon hits the Beastmaster with a couple of arrows.. but this is a tough old Orc who has been managing Big Nasties for years.  Arrows?  He’s lost more blood training a Manticore.  He grunts something about feeding this upstart to Sweet Priscilla, and moves towards Haakon, backed up by his assistant.
They hear Tawna’s voice in the distance.  “Haakon?  Cal?  You’re going to want to hurry.”

Haakon draws his axe and charges at the Beastmaster's assistant seeking to go through him to the Beastmaster behind.  "If they're sending reinforcements", he shouts, "then try to release the dragon.  You should survive and Cal heals well and me... well I never really thought I'd ever get to be Emperor anyway."

There’s a lot of noise and it’s coming from the roof.  The Basilica is under attack.  There is a loud cracking sound as something heavy and hard crashes against the stone wall.

Shortly after that, a much louder thump.  Plaster dust drifts down from the ceiling.

Tawna is at the far end of the hallway, and hears Haakon… calling her back?

She hesitates, and freezes against a wall, embedding herself in shadow.  The squad of Orcs runs past her, heading up the very stairs she wanted to take.  But not headed for Haakon and Callidus.  They have a reprieve, for the moment.

Tawna peeks out again, and looks down the back hall, out of site of Callidus and Haakon.

Meanwhile, Callidus is up against two Orc, but he’s got two daggers.  He uses one to finish one Orc, and in the process, he is wounded in his arm.  Haakon finishes off the assistant Beastmaster easily enough… and now it is two on two.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:45, Thu 05 Apr 2012.

Haakon rushes on to the Beastmaster, axe a singing as he seeks to end the fight quickly.

As the fight continues, they hear from elsewhere in the Basilica, the Orcs have finally changed their outlook.

In Cambete, as the battle turned hopelessly against them, some Orcs decided that they would bring with them as many poor souls as they could, and savagely attacked anyone in reach... women, children.  They even unleashed the Worgs on a final killing spree.

Here there are no worgs, but the Orcs have reached a similar state, and commands are being shouted- kill them... kill every last one.

Haakon and Callidus know at once it must not be for them.  Obviously, the Huns are already trying very hard to kill them.  It is for every other Human they could reach- almost certainly, the people living trapped in the annexes.

Haakon growled as he swung the axe at the Beastmaster.  "Loose the dragon and let in the invaders.  We need to capture as many orcs alive as we can... there must be warcrimes trials and death not in battle, but at the end of a rope."

"Doing what they've been doing is reason enough to make sure they cant breathe again." Callidus says, stabbing another orc with his daggers.

"We should hurry up here. We may be needed elsewhere."

Loosing the Dragon will have to wait.. until either Callidus or Haakon is clear of the Orcs.  Tawna, at the other end of the hall, is trying not to attract attention.  She doesn’t want to lead a pack of them back towards Callidus and Haakon.  The Huns cooperate, since they seem to have other priorities at the moment.  Tawna stays out of view.
The building is taking a pounding.  There are light sharp cracks when ballista stones hit a wall, and a heavier thud, which everyone feels through their feet, when a catapult stone hits.

The Beastmaster is a tough opponent- years of dealing with vicious monsters has honed his resources.  Haakon is injured again- the cumulative effect of the pain is beginning to wear at him.  Callidus is the luckier one.  He finishes off the other Orc, and now it is two against one.

Callidus plants an arm on the orc and uses a quick hop with some leverage to get behind it in a flanking position, where he proceeds to open up the orc with his blades.

Haakon sees Callidus movement out of the corner of his eye and times the next blow of his axe so that the orc would need eyes in the back of his head to see both his blow and that of Callidus.

Between the two of them, they have the Beastmaster outnumbered and outflanked, and they quickly have the Orc on the floor, but still alive and rolling in agony.

For a moment, Haakon and Callidus can breath.  But then, the Beastmaster's groans finally attract the attention of Orcs down the hall.

"Geddem!"  the Beastmaster growls through his mortal pain, calling out to the other Orcs.  "Choppemhedz!  Smashem livers!"

The other Orcs are at the opposite end of the hall.  Haakon and Callidus have, at least, as long as it takes them to get here.

Callidus figures he at least has a few seconds to get in a ranged attack or two before the orcs get to him, he quickly sheathes his weapons and pulls his bow off of his back in one swift motion, whips a few arrows from his hip-quiver, and fires them one after the other down the hallway.

Haakon looks at the orcs and moves toward the door saying aloud, in Orcish, "You know what's behind the door don't you?"  Axe in hand, he does what he can to free the feral dragon and let it back into the basillica.

Callidus shoots at the Orcs advancing down the hallway, and immediately puts an arrow into the thigh of one Orc, wounding it.
The Orcs realize that charging into battle is too dangerous.  Elves... Arrows... every Orc knows how that goes.  They take cover behind columns.  One blunders into Tawna, and she quickly puts it out of her misery.

Haakon opens the door.  There is a large draconic looking creature in here.  It has wings, but they appear weak and shriveled.  The creature as a whole looks sort of... inferior.. for a Dragon.  But it is still a Dragon, and about 20 feet of angry scaled, clawed, fury.  Granted, half of that is tail, but still, it has the look of a very dangerous beast.  It turns towards the now open door with an angry his.

Tawna shouts from the other end:  "What did you DO?"

Haakon sheathed his axe and said, "Something very stupid probably, but a game changer."  To the dragon he said, "You have been mistreated, I know this, I have seen them do it and you will see that your worst torturer is lying near death on the floor.  Do you WISH to be a tool of your torturers?  Do you understand me?"

Haakon's plan is implicitly dependent on the creatures 1) Intelligence  2) Hunger and 3)Ability to understand his language.

It is not a particularly bright creature, and is in none too good a mood, having endured captivity and abuse for a long time.  Like a dog mistreated too long, it is liable to snap even at someone trying to be good to it.  Does it understand a word of what he's saying?  Hard to say... but it bypasses Haakon, and immediately tears into the Beastmaster on the floor.  But at the same time, it catches Haakon with its heavy tail, which whips around behind it, and injures him.  Haakon is getting wearing- the pain from the multiple injuries is adding up.

Down the hallway, the Orcs stop their advance.  Since their language is in part descended from Infernal, the Orcs have a large store of obscene words. They work through quite a few of them, seeing the Dragon on the loose.

"Frakassas!"
"Gegglefunger!"
"Woli Flurking Snit!!!!"

They turn and run.

"Don't do that," Tawna says quietly.  "That'll probably just draw its attention."

But the Orcs ignore her.

Haakon staggers carefully to his feet and grins at Tawna, "Wonder if that was a war crime" he muses, waiting for the dragon to go after the fleeing orcs.  Then he adds, "Can you get the outer door open?  I think I need a medic and I'm guessing the invading armies will have them."

Callidus pulls his bow back onto his back and places the arrow drawn back into its quiver, drawing closer to the columns stealthily, drawing as little attention as possible from the dragon. Like a shadow he blends into the columns, becoming part of ones shadow.

"I guess that's what dragons get after hundreds of years of inbreeding." he thinks.

Hop on over to the Battle for Tullum thread as the threads collide again!