Seluku dismisses his Spirit Companion and then conjures it adjacent to both Trace and Tread in order give Trace the Benefit of Spirit of Vigor. Seluku then voices a battle cry through his Elemental Spirit Companion, which hammers into your enemy and spurs Trace to shift into a flanking position with Tread around Salt Zombie 2. Seluku then has his Spirit Companion flow into Tread so that Tread can attack Salt Zombie 2, but Tread's swing misses.

_{[OOC:
Minor Action: Dismiss Spirit Companion.
Move Action: Minor Action: Call Spirit Companion, Trace gets 3 Temp HP from Spirit of Vigor.
Standard Action: Voice of Battle, Trace shifts to AC21 and now flanks SZ2 with Tread. Hits and does 9 damage to SZ2, SZ2 now has 6hp left and is bloodied.
Action Point: Standard Action: Spirit Infusion, Tread's Melee Basic Attack vs SZ2 misses.]}
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Sun 05 Dec 2010.

  Despite his recent comments on his own tactics, Fletch attempts the general standard of Zombie slaying regardless.  Shoot em in the head.  One arrow later, this proves effective when one of the two zombies that still have heads attached falls to the ground with an arrow buried through its.

  "Tread, finish this."  Not exactly the most inspiring words of encouragement ever spoken, but they get the job done.  Said Job involved *insert carnage here*.

  Though so far as this narrator is concerned, I'm partial to the idea of Tread smashing the dry shambling corpse's chest so hard it explodes backwards leaving a scattering of limbs and it's head to comically spin through the air for a moment before falling as well.

---

Standard: Race The Arrow to SZ3, hits, don't even need to roll damage it's deader.
Effects: Tread get's a free Melee basic with +3 DMG roll on a hit.  Which hits.

Fun fact: Fletch and Tread can finish off either Zombie without bothering to roll for damage.

http://rollr.appspot.com/view/...IIRGljZVJvbGwY7ak9DA

http://rollr.appspot.com/view/...IIRGljZVJvbGwY3dg9DA

SZ3: 4-Who Cares= Dead Dead
SZ2: same deal=Dead Dead

As the last Salt Zombies are destroyed, the only sounds are the wind and those noises that can be heard from the Camp the caravan has set up not to far to the east of where the group fought the Zombies and Elementals.

A search of the Zombie and Elemental corpses turns up a total of 36 GP worth of Ceramic Pieces on the Zombies and 450 GP worth of Residuum from the Elementals. After a few minutes of searching, Fletch is able to retrieve/salvage 2 of the 4 arrows he used during the fight.

_{[OOC: Individual shares are 6gp and 75 Residuum. This fight was worth 100xp, which is being tracked in the Dark Sun Narrator's cheat sheet.
I'm letting people have 1 round of after fight/returning to the caravan/whatever/etc... posting before starting the next skill challenge.]}
This message was last edited by the player at 08:05, Sun 05 Dec 2010.

Aaand that would explain why they weren't as concerned about the zombies.

"True words," Surya answers Trace, "Good that we get along so well.  Good work everyone."

She takes a moment to catch her breath so to speak then scans the area for any more threats.  Especially in the direction of the camp.  Not very useful as a guardian if you allow enemies to sneak in and attack your charge while you're lounging about resting from a fight.

Tread, having gotten a free smash in and yes, we are going with Fletch's suggestion of exploding chest, pulls back and holds her shield hand to her mouth while shrugging her shoulders in an oh-my. She makes a mental note to be careful how hard she hits LIVING beings when that comes about. Because, you know, it WILL come about. Being Dark Sun and all. She doesn't even HAVE to ask if everyone's fine. They swept the sand with these guys. "Gosh... let's see if the camp's OK..." she says before heading back to camp in a girly jog to make sure there isn't any action going on back there. Once there, she slows down to a stop.

On the off chance there IS more trouble, Shardon remains hidden, but faces camp. If he sees it's OK to come down, he would proceed to do so and follow the group to the encampment. "Heh... all I did was throw a rock. The rest of you really put those monsters in their place."

  Fletch put away his bow and retrieves the intact arrows, as well as the heads of the less than intact ones.  "Those monsters would be attacking that much longer if you had not thrown that rock.  Even so we were fortunate for such a head start, I suspect we will be in more frequent need of your close in skills than would be preferable."

  He is more mindful of his current and future supply needs than the incidental earnings, outside of their use to gain the former.

Once the battle has ended, Trace retracts the rod back into his arm so it is concealed once more, The warlock glances at his Wrist Razor and then off into the distance as he realizes he never even bothered to draw his mace during the entire fight.  “It was very fortunate that we saw them coming from such a distance, the fight could have gone rather differently if they had surprised the caravan up close. We can't lower our guard or next time we will not finish the fight unscathed.”

Seluku looks around as the group returns to the camp, as the Shaman has already started to keep a vigilant eye for the next threat to the caravan. “I hope there will be no more trouble tonight, but I do agree that we must remain vigilant.” The shardmind also hopes that the rest of the caravan doesn't try to make a big deal out of the group defeating the zombies and elementals without getting attacked even once, even if the elementals were shot down before they got into melee range, the 3 zombies were killed with melee combatants next to them. However, Seluku figures this event should calm questions as to the qualifications of the guards for the Caravan.

When the group returns to the Caravan as it is obvious that those in the Caravan were too far away from the fight to realize what sort of attacks the group used, only that the group managed to defeat the approaching threat without getting so much as a scratch on their clothing. While a few members of the Caravan were able to watch the fight at a distance, they couldn't make out all the details of each attack, just the obvious results of such attacks. While this means they are aware of things such as Trace's decapitating attack against one of the zombies, and Treads manhandling of the other two, fortunately it also indicates that no one in the caravan is aware of the arcane powers that were utilized since no defiling occurred. And soon whispers throughout the Caravan start up about how the Caravan's guards utterly destroyed

The group passes by the Caravan Master and Corrin, and it is clear both are pleased with how the fight turned out. Corrin can be overheard saying, "I trust that any concerns about the skills of the guards we hired are put at ease."

To which the Caravan Master replies, "That they are. They handed those Salt Zombies and Lesser Silt Elementals quite easily, and used good tactics, if nothing else your guards will have an impressive carreer ahead of them either as caravan guards, or if they seek fame, wealth, and glory, I suspect they would make impressive paid gladiators in an arena somewhere."

Corrin laughs, as what little he knows of the group's mission from the Crystal Cloister indicates that this group isn't out for fame, wealth, and glory, "While that is true, I suspect that our guards are a bit more adventurous than that."

The rest of the evening passes by without further incident. The air turns frigid while the sun has set as it does every night. In the morning, as the air starts to heat up with the sun once again warming the land and sky, Corrin plays his flute as he has every morning, to sooth and motivate the mounts, as well as keeping the morale of the rest of the caravan high. And thus the group continues to head southeast at its impressive pace.

In the wasteland when the wind picks up, blowing yellow sand ends up almost everywhere, while when the wind stills, it is apparent that heat seems to shimmer in the bare, beige landscape. Fortunately, the group is easily able to endure this climate, especially with the protective gear being used to conceal the identity of their species. For the rest these hardships are endured, although the groups contribution to assisting the Caravan endure the weather is appreciated by everyone in the Caravan.

Once again Seluku's ever observant eyes play a useful role in spotting large drifts in the path up ahead allowing the Caravan to circumvent them without being delayed.

<sub>[OOC: Skill Challenge, Complexity 1: Requires 4 Successes before 3 Failures. The 2 results of 'auto successes on a 1+' for a skill have already been noted above.
Primary Skills: Athletics, Perception, Endurance, Intimidate, Nature.
Secondary skills: Heal, Insight (special), remember Corrin's streetwise based +1 bonus is still in effect for Endurance, Nature, and Perception checks.

Athletics (moderate DC by level, 12): The character assists in keeping supplies from falling off a wagon due to a strong gust of wind pushing a crate out from under the ropes holding it to the wagon, without the character falling off the wagon in the process. This skill can be used to gain a maximum of 2 successes in this challenge.

Perception (moderate DC by level, 12): The character spies signs of danger, such as spots of treacherous terrain. This skill can be used to gain a maximum of 2 successes in this challenge. - Seluku can't fail this check even on a roll of 1 due to his Perception score of 11 so these are considered 2 auto-successes and are noted above.

Endurance (hard DC by level, 19): The character takes on additional work, easing the burden of exhausted workers. This skill can be used to gain a maximum of 2 successes in this challenge, but no character can contribute more than 1 Endurance check success.

Intimidate (moderate DC by level, 12): The character pushes the caravan's pack animals forward mercilessly, making sure travel is efficient and no one lags behind or pulls ahead. This skill can be used to gain a maximum of 2 success in this challenge.

Nature (moderate DC by level, 12): The character manages to assist the mounts in coping with the harsh weather making it easier for them to continue moving in formation. This skill usage can be used to gain a maximum of 2 successes in this challenge.

Nature (hard DC by level, 19): Even with the harshness of the wasteland, it is still possible to forage extra supplies for the Caravan after it has stopped for the day. This skill usage can be used to gain a maximum of 1 success in this challenge.

Heal (hard DC by level, 19): When a character fails an Endurance check, another adventurer can make a Heal check to neutralize that failure. Heal can be used in this manner once during the challenge.

Insight (DC 12+): The character notices something amiss in the caravan. While this skill does not provide success or failure for the Skill Challenge, it will have an affect... the higher the Insight check result, the more that is to be found. Each character can only attempt this check once. However instead of doing their own check, they can work together via aid another. I won't list here what the affect is as it would spoil an upcoming surprise.

Streetwise As with last time, Corrin's good crew is still present so everyone has a +1 bonus to Endurance, Nature, and Perception checks until the end of the challenge.

With the Auto successes noted, only 2 more successes is needed before 3 failures occur to pass this challenge. Success for this encounter rewards each character with 20 XP. It's a complexity 1 encounter so it isn't worth much. The Insight check is something that is going on during the encounter, but not completely related to it. If you want to know more about it, you have to pass the Insight DC.]</sub>
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Tue 07 Dec 2010.

Achedemics not being especially needed in getting supplies from point A to point B, Surya just aids Tread with whatever extra work she takes on as she did last time.  Though she is a bit more on guard now that the caravan has been attacked, and their abilities used in public.  She's watching the members of the caravan for signs of any of them having noticed that magic was used, and watching for any other problems that might be cropping up such as fear of another attack hindering progress.

(( Rolled 17 Endurance for a total of 21 to aid-other to Tread.  Also, rolled 14 insight for a total of 23 before any aid-other bonuses from allies. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Tue 07 Dec 2010.

_{[OOC: Remember no Taking Ten during Skill Challenges, which also apply to passive insight/perception check stuff, hence why I only consider a check an auto succeed if you can still pass it on a 1. Not if your take ten is sufficient. Hell most of these challenges would be trivial if Take ten was allowed.]}

  As the notes in the Skill Challenge details suggest, large package of supplies does indeed fall loose from the strong winds.  However while the big dice in the sky turned out a ridiculously impressive scale of success for Fletch in preventing their loss... Well...

  Points for results, but negative a good amount for initially stopping the falling supplies with his face.  "...ow... I'm just going to put these back now..."  And so he did.

23:52, Today: Fletch rolled 24 using 1d20+8. Athletics check.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:44, Tue 07 Dec 2010.

Once again, Tread goes to aid the others with work. It could be because she sensed a disturbance among the people of the caravan, so she wanted to help ease them by helping as much as she could. She keeps her heart's "ears" open to what could be going on and tries to play over scenarios in her normally naive mind to figure what could be wrong...

(Heh. Tread only has 1 insight. But rolled a 17. 18 total. XD. Endurance roll of 10. +9 from skill = 19.)

Shardon juuuust notices something isn't right. It takes a bit, but he finally notices how Tread and Surya are reacting to those around them and he puts two and two together. He's distracted enough with trying to put a finger on what's up that when he goes to try to drive the animals, he doesn't put much effort into it and the animals just give him a "so what?" kind of look.

(Insight just BARELY made it. roll of 4 + skill of 8 = 12! Intimidate failed by 1. Total of 11. But the team got enough successes that it doesn't matter too much.)

The merchant thanks Fletch for saving his box of cargo, unaware that Fletch initially saved it with a 'facial block'. Likewise, Tread, with Surya's assistance, manages to assist with the chores around the caravan to keep the workers from being overworked.

Additionally, while several in the group notice that one of the merchants starts acting rather strange by occasionally tossing what appear to be 'rune-painted pebbles' off the wagon he has been riding in, and although when asked the merchant claimed he was doing it out of boredom, Surya notices that the merchant's appearance is being cloaked by a psionic illusion and that it would be possible for someone to track the movements of the caravan via the pebbles that were being left behind. When Corrin finds out about this, the halfling has the individual restrained and questioned. Corrin then reveals to the group that the individual is a spy that was leading a group of raiders to attack the caravan once it drew near to Altaruk but outside the range at which the city guards would come to assist a caravan. Corrin also reveals that despite knowing that a group of raiders plan to ambush the caravan, it is too late to change the route the caravan is taking without loosing a day of travel time, and that both the Caravan Master and Corrin expect that the guards that have been hired, i.e. the party, will be able to handle the would be ambushers now that they know the attack is coming.

<sub>[OOC: Since a skill challenge ends when enough successes are met, the one failure that occurred doesn't get counted. :) Everyone get's another 20xp from a successful skill challenge.  If your wondering yes the trail of 'rune-painted pebbles' are an athas version of a trail of bread crumbs using a special ritual the spy had performed on the pebbles.

Also since the party knows that a group of raiders will be attacking, I'm giving everyone a round (or more) of posts to describe/discuss what plans they have to counter what would otherwise be an ambush, since the party knows the attack is coming, but does not know the exact time or place of the attack, merely that it will occur sometime before drawing close enough to the city for the town guards to assist, and that the caravan doesn't have many options for the route it takes from now on if the caravan is going to arrive on time, given that the raiders know what route the caravan has been taking up to this point. If nothing else, this extra success negates the surprise round that the raiders were going to get. Plus it reveals the spy who won't be able to assist in the ambush now that he has been restrained. If someone inquires about it, the Caravan Master will admit that the spy will be handed over to the city guard upon arrival to Alturak so the town guard can get information about these raiders.]</sub>
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Sat 25 Dec 2010.

"I suggest we continue to leave these pebbles on our path," Surya says, "I don't want the ambushers to suspect that we're on to them.  That said, terrain will probably determine places they'll ambush from.  Corrin I'm sure you and the Master know the rout well enough to anticipate where's a good place to launch a surprise attack.  When we approach such a place, I think we... me and my allies... should separate from the caravan and circle around.  Perhaps we'll be able to spot them and ambush the ambushers."

Shardon's concept of things has been twisted from being killed and all. He considers for a brief moment the idea of wearing the guy's face for intimidation purposes. But he decides against it as he simply doesn't have the time to do that. But he plans to drink the blood of this guy's allies in front of him once they are all dead. "I can't think of anything better." he says with a shrug and a smile. "Ambushing the ambushers is a very sound plan."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Mon 27 Dec 2010.

Tread hrms and says, "If we can, I agree. I hope we are successful enough to do just that... but I am admittedly worried about leaving the caravan for any reason. Maybe... I can stay with the caravan while you ambush?"

  Fletch nods in approval when Surya suggests the double sensible of 'don't make it obvious we are on to them' and 'look for the obvious Ambush-Triggers-Here scenery'.  Seriously, all travel that does not involve a safe clear path is either a skill challenge or an ambush.

  "While it would be safer for us to have her with us, it is our task to ensure the safety of this Caravan.  We are not dealing with mindless zombies and elements in this case and the extra caution may be needed.  However, we should not make a habit of leaving you behind."

Trace nods as the group contemplates what they should do and adds, “I think that not only is continuing to drop the pebbles a good idea, it also tells us which direction they intend to attack the caravan from, as they only can track us using the pebbles. Hence we know they will try to ambush us from behind.”

Seluku glances around while adding, “Which would mean that all we would have to do to ambush them before they can ambush the caravan is to keep an eye behind us. And shortly before the caravan stops for the night, we drop off the caravan at a position where we can hide behind some sand dunes safely. We then wait for the ambushers to pass us, and then we ambush them before they even reach the caravan.”

Corrin grins as he clearly likes the train of thought that the Caravan's guards have taken to deal with the upcoming attack. "I know just the spot, and we'll be passing it shortly before we'd be stopping for the night so it wouldn't be a long hike back to the caravan after you deal with the would-be ambushers. And since tonight's campsite will be at a location that is only approachable from a few directions due to the terrain, they won't be able to circle around you to attack the caravan from another direction."

While the Caravan Master isn't happy that there was a spy amidst the merchants, he appreciates the solution the guards have come up with to deal with the would-be ambushers. Some of the Caravan Workers even grin and chuckle that they will be far enough from the fight to be safe, and close enough to watch the ambushers get ambushed themselves after hearing about the site that Corrin has picked out for the night's campsite.

"Very good," Surya says, "Let's keep as close as possible to the caravan.  As Tread pointed out, it's dangerous for us to separate to far from it.  I would suggest no more than 100 feet.  That said, it seems all that's left is to put the plan into action."

The caravan continues the ruse with the rune-covered rocks to not alert the ambushers that their spy had been intercepted. Shortly before stopping for the night, the caravan lets the guards off at the foot of a large rock formation with a single sloping face so they can walk up the top and look down upon the trail the caravan came from on-top of a 30ft cliff.

About an hour after getting into position, the group spots the would be ambushers from the cover of the cliff. They notice the ambush party is comprised of thirteen individuals, eleven of which look human, or at least humanoid, while two are clearly elementals. One is recognized as a Dust Devil Sprite, which is a small relative of the Silt elementals that the group has already faced, while Surya recognizes the human sized elemental as a Lesser Magma elemental, which are commonly found near volcanoes and other places of seismic and volcanic activity. Surya knows that Magma elementals begin their lives as two separate creatures, an earth elemental and a fire elemental, that are then fused together due to proximity and the unstable nature of the Athasian wasteland. Surya also knows that some Magma elementals have transcended the boundaries separating Athas from the planes and carved out a home for themselves in the Elemental Chaos. Finally, Surya knows that there are cults of elemental priests that worship Magma elementals, who believe them to be manifestations of Athas' unique, elemental nature and that some stronger Magma elementals will make use of these priests as tools to be used and discarded.

Fletch and Trace both recognize that there are Broken Builders among the humans present. They both know that Broken Builders are a group of troublemakers and malcontents who work towards the destruction of the world and have no qualms about using defiling magic to be used in their presence. Broken Builders believe that once the world is destroyed, the elemental forces will reshape it into a paradise that they will be allowed to inhabit. The Broken Builders is a cult that possess the raw belief of zealots along with the cunning of the Veiled Alliance. It is also a cult that has remained largely hidden from the templars of the various city-states after its creation and exile from Raam ages ago.


<sub>[OOC: (Each player will earn 125xp from this encounter.)
Enemies are: 4 Archer Cultists (+3), 3 Human Thugs (+0), 2 Evil Ritualists (+5), 1 Dust Devil Sprite (+5), 1 Lesser Magma Elemental (+3), 1 Broken Builder Defiler (+1), 1 Broken Builder Cultist (+5)
The PCs get a surprise round over the enemies.

Initiative Order (After Surprise Round) is:
Broken Builder Cultist, Evil Ritualists, Lesser Magma Elemental, Broken Builder Defiler, Archer Cultists 2, 3, and 4;
Trace and Surya;
Human Thugs 2 and 3, Dust Devil Sprite;
Tread and Shardon;
Archer Cultist 1;
Fletch and Seluku;
Human Thug 1

Human Thug
Initiative +0        Senses Perception +0
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 13; Fortitude 12, Reflex 10, Will 10, Speed 6
Mob Rule: A human thug gains a +2 power bonus to all defenses while at least two other human thugs are within 5 squares of it.
Alignment Evil Languages Common
Equipment Club, Hide Armor

Archer Cultist (Human)
Initiative +3        Senses Perception +0
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 12; Fortitude 12, Reflex 13, Will 12, Speed 6
Archer's Dodge: The archer cultist has +4 to AC vs. opportunity attacks.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Equipment Obsidian Shortsword, Bone Shortbow, Leather Armor

Evil Ritualist (Human)
Initiative +5        Senses Perception +0
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 14; Fortitude 12, Reflex 13, Will 12, Speed 6
Unholy Vigor (free): When an evil ritualist, or an ally within 5 squares, scores a critical hit, this creature makes an immediate melee basic attack against an adjacent enemy.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Common
Equipment: Bone Dagger, Leather Armor

Dust Devil Sprite
Small elemental magical beast (air, earth)
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion. Initiative +5
AC 14, Fortitude 10, Reflex 12, Will 10, Perception-2, Speed 8
Alignment Unaligned        Languages Primordial

Broken Builder Defiler (Human)
HP 31; Bloodied 15 Initiative +1
AC 15, Fortitude 11, Reflex 13, Will 14 Perception +4, Speed 6, Resist 5 necrotic
Traits
Whipping Winds * Aura 1
The defiler slides any enemy that ends its turn in the defiler’s aura 2 squares as a free action.
Triggered Actions
Arcane Defiling * At-Will (1/Round)
Trigger: The defiler misses with an attack roll.
Effect: Each of the defiler’s allies within 20 squares takes 3 necrotic damage and the defiler rerolls the triggering attack roll, taking either result.
Scatter * At-Will
Trigger: The cultist is hit by a close or area attack that also includes one of its allies as a target.
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The cultist shifts up to its speed. If the cultist ends this shift in a space outside of the area of the triggering attack, the attack does not hit the cultist.
Skills Arcana +8
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Primordial
Equipment: Bone Dagger

Lesser Magma Elemental
Medium elemental magical beast (earth, fire)
HP 46; Bloodied 23 Initiative +3
AC 13, Fortitude 14, Reflex 13, Will 11 Perception +0
Speed 6
Vulnerable 5 cold (see obsidian crust)
Traits
Obsidian Crust
When a magma elemental takes cold damage, it is also slowed until the end of its next turn.
Triggered Actions
Magma Burst (fire) * Encounter
Trigger: The magma elemental drops to 0 hit points.
Attack (No Action): Close burst 1 (creatures in burst); +2 vs.
Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + 3 fire damage and the target is petrified and takes ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends both). This ongoing fire damage ignores the resistance provided by the petrified condition. The magma elemental is destroyed.
Alignment unaligned, Languages Primordial

Broken Builder Cultist
HP 37; Bloodied 18 Initiative +5
AC 17, Fortitude 15, Reflex 13, Will 12 Perception +0 Speed 6
Traits
Fanatical Aura * Aura 1
Any enemy that starts its turn adjacent to the cultist provokes opportunity attacks if it moves or shifts out of this aura.
Triggered Actions
Scatter * At-Will
Trigger: The cultist is hit by a close or area attack that also includes one of its allies as a target.
Effect (Immediate Interrupt): The cultist shifts up to its speed. If the cultist ends this shift in a space outside of the area of the triggering attack, the attack does not hit the cultist.
Alignment unaligned Languages Common
Equipment: Obsidian Short Sword, Bone Scale Armor

Link to map on google doc for 'Caravan Encounter 2', you will not be able to access map without using this link:
https://spreadsheets.google.co...&authkey=CJPG_38
If there is another place close to the marked starting area that you wish to be starting at for the ambush, let me know, it just has to be in a spot where the enemies won't see the group till the ambush (and being able to charge the enemies in the surprise round would be bad as all 13 would focus fire on you plus you'd be too far from the rest of the party to get any healing. So stick to the high ground for the ambush.)
]</sub>
This message was last edited by the player at 05:07, Mon 10 Jan 2011.