Acutely aware of his small group's lack of food, Giles agrees to settling down for a moment to allow for Edenburg to set his traps while Rodrickson goes over some of the books.  The horses graze leisurely while the rest of the group gets down to the business of waiting and investigating the clues that might be laid out in the books that they retrieved from the harpy cave.  Giles himself even breaks out some of the books that are written in English and marks the pages with notes written in Arabic for Rodrickson to translate later.  It is perhaps a few hours later when Edenburg rejoins the group, a small grin of satisfaction on his face.

"Well."  The other starts off.  "I think I've got a pretty good tree snare set up on one of those scrub bushes, but it will probably take a while and I don't think they are going to be too encouraged to pass through this trail again while we are still hanging around close by.  What do you say that we take off a mile or so to the north to offset ourselves a little from the game trail and then come back tonight to see if we've got anything?"  Edenburg looks at Giles with expectation.

OOC:  Ok, I need some guidance from you as to what your team is going to be doing.  Edenburg has set up a trap but obviously it won't work instantly and you need to at least give it until this evening for it to have a shot.  Edenburg recommends displacing for a mile or so to keep the human scent away from the game trail.  Please let me know what action you want to take as a group and then what watches you want to stand if any.  Also let me know how long you want to wait in your current location if at all.

Giles nodded, and then put the book back into his saddle before mounting up and getting ready to head out. "Alright, we'll move out a mile or so and give the traps some space. Once we set up camp, Roderickson, you translate as much as you can...

Edenburg while you're dealing with the trap, I'll take your shift for keeping an eye on what's around us. he said.





OKay, team will follow the suggestion:

 - We will move off ot the north
 - Edenburg will handle the trap
 - Roderickson can keep translating, keeping himself occupied with trying to identify anything.
 - Giles will mostly just help whomever needs it most.

 - Watches will be Giles taking 2 shifts and the other two taking 1 each. (that should cover the night)
 - Giles, Roderickson, Giles, Edenburg


 - If we catch anything, we will prepare it as best we can, cook and eat as heartily as possible and then prepare as much as we can afford to carry.

  - Once all the food cooking is done, we'll head up along the path already suggested: I assume that this is basically arcing back to the fort via a north-easterly direction (heading through the hilly lands that the original scouting party went through.

And so, without traveling for more than a few hours, the three men from the Fort on Three Corners set up camp again for the day, traveling a mile or so north of the snare Edenburg set up and finding a patch of shade under which to set up their tent.  Edenburg makes to set up the campsite as Rodrick works to translate and Giles sets up a post as the watch.

Every few minutes Rodrickson breaks the silence with a "hmm" under his breath before returning to look at the book.  On the fourth or fifth time, Giles finally gets annoyed enough to ask him what he's looking at.

"I think I just got to the part that the captain was talking about, it looks like attack notes...  It's talking about doing a summer campaign and about how Raphael is so dependent on the river.  It talks about disabling the bridge between Raphael and Craine as the first step...  I don't see anything in here that would point where they are coming from though."

Giles nods and it is perhaps another hour before Rodrickson speaks up again.  "This is something though!  They are talking about the foothills near home!  I think we were somewhere in the right area even if we didn't find the right village."

But Giles is hardly paying attention, over the foothills he sees a flicker of movement which catches his attention.  Honing in his vision, Giles makes out a single form about a hundred yards away slowly crossing over a small hill.

"What is it boss?"  Rodrickson asks, recognizing that Giles has his sights somewhere else.

OOC:  It is about 1200 on the 10th of December.  Your campsite is in the shade of a few scrub bushes, but there isn't really a whole lot of shelter or cover.  For the most part, this area is dry grass up to about your shins/knees.  What you see looks like a single person, but it's hard to make out a whole lot more.  It does not seem like he sees you yet.

His eyes squinted as he glanced out at the form on the hill and then spoke instinctively in a hushed tone "Look over there, on the hill

I wonder who that is he thought, trying to see past the darkened features of a silhouette. Who would be travelling alone, perhaps there are others beyond the apex of the hill he thought a moment later.

"Get the horses ready Roderickson... be quiet about it and then bring them out when they're done.

In truth, he was a little fed up of sitting in the brush reading and welcomed the idea of contact with some other people. While he liked his men fine, he wanted there to be some tale of the goings on of this trip and not just repetitive notions of sitting down, riding and eating every now and then.  The thorn in his mind too about the mission had grown to be more than a mild anxiety and was actively prickling him of late. The idea of heading back to the fort with no more information was galling.

All that didn't matter now, his curiosity was piqued and he rose from the grass to head in the direction of the other man. He wanted to get a better look at the figure. He'd considered sneaking, but if the other man saw a stalking figure in the grass he would definitely be panicked - not to mention the movement of horses could alert him either. Best to seem as little threat.




I'm assuming it's not just Edenburg?

Giles will move closer and walk towards the guy.
He'll also try to make some judgements based on his appearance. Wazifi/megalan/dress/armament?



This message was last edited by the GM at 02:48, Thu 28 Sept 2017.

Rodrickson looks out upon Giles's prompting but doesn't seem to see the man who has already disappeared from view behind the yellow tufting from a hilltop.  However, he nods at the command from Giles and starts quietly making the horses prepared for riding, beckoning Edenburg to help him with the task.

As for Giles, he quietly makes his way southward towards the man, not intentionally masking his steps, nor intentionally causing a ruckus that might alert the man.  With his senses on high alert, he picks his way through the plains grasses towards where he last saw the silhouette peaking over the hillside.  It is perhaps a minute that has passed when Giles's stops again in his tracks, his gaze fixed back on the hillside where he saw the last shadow pass by.  Now there is a second figure cresting the hill and this one looks up as he passes, locking gaze with Giles in a moment of silence before it is burst.  "[Language unknown: oulourtho!ei  Ouseto ei for ncdiom entfi pe oul!]"  The man nearly screams, pointing directly at Giles and staring with wide eyes.

OOC:  You are perhaps 50 yards away from the new arrival who by first glance seems to have the coloring of Al Wazif (though his speech/accent make it a moot point, he is by no means Megalan).  He has a hatchet of some sort dangling from his belt and there is a hilt that is protruding over his right shoulder.  He also has a pack that is slung over his back, though you can only see the leather straps that come over his shoulders and tie around his waist.  You are also about 50 yards from where you left Rodrickson and Edenburg and you haven't really double checked on their progress with the horses.  Roll vs. Perception, if you succeed, PM me prior to posting.

Giles spotted the man, rather close to his current position off to the left and it surprised him enough to cause him to jolt and turn on his heel.

His hand clutched to the swordhilt at his belt, ready to draw, after all you should never startle an armed man but before he did draw he raised his hand in a placating gesture to give some opportunity for the interaction to take place without becoming violent.

During this time, however Giles took a full moment or two to appraise the man infront of him, while attempting to keep an eye on the man - a less immediate threat - fifty yards up on the hill.



All out defence(double)

If any action is taken that is threatening  Giles will draw the blade and call out to Roderickson, in some tone that would indicate the severity of the situation

Giles attention is on the second man just cresting the hill, but a flicker off to his left makes him turn his head and it is just in time.  Another man, likely the first man he saw, is shockingly close to him and is charging at him with gaping steps!  It is all Giles can do to take in the scene.  The dark skinned male has empty arms swinging wildly as he closes the distance, his only weapon seeming to be a bow slung over his back and a quiver full of arrows.  The man has loose leather clothes which seem to flow easily along with his stride.  By the time he has taken all this in, Giles realizes the man has leaped straight towards him with both arms crossed as he grunts with effort!

"A little help!"  Giles screams out, twisting his body away from the projectile-man though his heavy armor hampers the quick movement and he takes a heavy thunk! straight in the chest.  Staggering backwards a step, Giles somehow manages to keep his feet as his attacker drops down prone beside him.  Pulling his sword free from the scabbard in a frantic motion, Giles watches the man below him already moving back to his feet and reaching out both arms to grab Giles!  Giles steps back, trying to cut his sword down in a blocking motion but his defense is too slow and he feels one arm grab about his back, the other about his upper leg as the man's face presses close to the mail links on his chest!

Some fifty yards away the other man is sprinting towards him as Rodrickson screams from behind, "Sarge!"

OOC:  A lot happened in two short seconds.  For your first turn I gave you an all out defense of two dodges to avoid the flying tackle since your sword wasn't ready yet.  Second turn you drew your sword with a step away as the man got to his knees.  Since your opponent is faster he acts first on the third turn and grappled you as he stood up with both arms, I gave you a retreating parry which was unsuccessful.  You are currently grappled with two hands and are at -4 to DX as well as in close combat.  You have your sword ready in your right hand and your left is empty.  At the moment it doesn't seem like you are in imminent danger of injure due to your opponent's lack of a weapon (and your armor), but he has heavily reduced your ability to attack as well.  Give me two seconds worth of action.

Giles was frustrated, with little way to effectively bring his weapon to bear. The man seemed to at least be capable enough to realise that pressing tightly against the Megalan soldier was the best way to avoid the cutting edge of the blade.  Giles grunted with the effort of trying to retreat away from the grip of his opponent, while simultaneously slapping a hammer-fist down across the man's face, pressed at his own waist.

If he could hit, he might be able to loosen the grip and give himself some space, but if not the chances are that he would be on the ground too in a moment bastard! he growled deeply as his fist aimed at the man's face.




23:37, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 10 using 3d6.  Telegraphic, AoA(determined) face -5 (skill total= 14). // hit!

23:38, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 1 using 1d6-1.  gloved hand, hammer fist. // damn - but I think if they take a hit to the face they can still be stunned, right?

Then, break grip and try to retreat to range 1

Knowing that only a few moments can make the difference in such a brawl, Giles begins attacking fiercely and with a reckless abandon.  He swings his left fist down as hard as he can towards the man's face though his hit only glances off due to the close and awkward fighting having none of the devastating effect that Giles had intended.

The man thrusts a shoulder into Giles as he tries to ram the soldier off his feet, but perhaps he did not account for the extra weight of the chain armor, and Giles manages to just barely keep his upright posture.  Giles responds with a half turn of his body and a ferocious elbow cutting down towards the man's arm, a blow which is much more effective than his previous one.  This time Giles manages to make just enough space to leverage his body away, breaking the man's grip as he steps back, his sword still readied.

His Wazifi foe has a face all anger and surprise and he charges back forward to close the gap!

OOC:  You didn't manage any damage on your punch to the face, but your attempt to break free was a critical success.  You broke the grapple, increased the range to 1 and earned yourself a hero point in the process which can be used as a one time use of a 15 point or less normal advantage such as luck or serendipity.  You are back in the normal combat sequence, realize that your foe acts first.  Please give me two seconds of combat.

Giles felt an inward tension break in release as the man's grip pulled away from his own body and the space between them became a reality. As he danced away he spun with the momentum  and let the arc of his blade curve in an arc towards his enemy.

It's always interesting to know what goes through a man's mind when he is walking the razor's edge between life and death and the ex-academy mage, now soldier, imagined that the movement of his body and blade probably made for a rather elegant and spectacular move...  but he hoped it would connect.

After the move Giles simply moved to press his armed advantage, with long swipe of the blade, aiming at causing the enemy to retreat.




Okay, firstly, if the enmy goes first: Giles will attempt a retreating parry (simply because the +1 will help, and it stands a chance of cutting the enemy)

On his first turn he will swipe defensively at the enemy to ensure he doesn't keep pressing forward (or at least second guess his idea to charge onto a moving blade)

the second round of combat will be a full swipe of the blade.

All of his attacks will be 'opportunistic': mechanically meaning that they'll be 'random' targeting.



Do I have any say about the serendipity? BEcause i'd like to spend the hero point of uncovering some vital information about the medusa group or a possible incursion/infiltration of megalos by the supposed enemy.

Onward the Wazifi man presses, reaching out with his arm to grab at Giles, trying to keep the fight so tight as to ruin the advantage of Giles's superior weaponry.  With all his strength, Giles meets the man's arm with the blade of his sword, cutting viciously through the light armor and the man's skin!  A ribbon of blood shoots from the wound, splattering Giles across his armor and face but even as the man staggers back from the blow Giles is pressing back his counter attack, swinging his sword in a wild arc!  Though Giles knows the blow would strike true, his foe moves far too quickly, skittering backward a step as the blow cuts only air.

His left arm grasped in his right, the blood dripping through his fingers in rivulets, the Wazifi man glares at Giles in hatred before pivoting off his foot, and sprinting in the other direction!

"[Language unknown: Rashid rutsa!  Reson llhat outrating ard wilithest e ticintare!]"  The man shouts out as his feet churn at the earth with a blazing speed.

OOC:  You managed to score a moderate blow to the arm in your parry but your foe had a successful dodge of his own on your actual attack.  Immediately after suffering the injury your foe has turned and fled and is now at a range of 5.  You are now out of combat mode, though if you wish to give chase, move and attack, or execute some sort of ranged attack on your foe you may.  Otherwise, general intentions are fine.

As for Serendipity, you have no say in what I use it on.  I will however make sure that it helps you along to your goal of finishing the adventure.

Panting with th exersion of combat, Giles turned and allowed the man to run. Chasing him would only allow the man to gain an advantage, and Giles guessed that the other would be faster than him anyway.

He turned, and shouted out "Roderickson, get over here! Bring the horses" before wiping the Wazifi blood from his face and spitting  to the ground the spray that had entered his mouth. "Bastard" he said in between deep breaths and then growled in frustration and spoke to himself with venom on his voice Where the rutting hell is Edenburg as if th enotion taht the man may have been off finding them food was an alien concept.

It was then that Giles was acutely aware that the man carried a bow on his back and given any reasonable distance could start firing off shots at Giles. He cursed aloud and then took off to follow the man and press him into thinking twice before trying to pull out his bow - though, with that in mind, Giles knew that the man had been wounded on the arm and figured that pulling a bow would be all that more difficult.


I guess i'd take a moment to call roderickson and catch a couple of breaths before starting after the other man.


He'll not run flat out, so much as jog to keep 'pressure' on the man so that he can't just get far enough away to start taking potshots at Giles.

The hope is that roderickson will catch up with the horses and then allow them to charge down the enemy.

Giles pauses for a moment, then recognizes his foe has a ranged weapon, and he starts to give chase at a measured jog.  The links of his mail jangle with the movement, swinging slightly with his body as his arms move back and forth.  His sword is especially burdensome, and Giles is forced to stop to sheath it after only a few moments of the run.  "I'm coming boss!"  Giles hears Edenburg shouting from behind him.

The effort, however seems to be in vain, for the man in front of him is both much faster than Giles, widening the gap between them to easily a hundred yards or more in less than a half a minute.  Even with this lead, the man does not turn, but joins with his companion and disappears over the far hill where Giles had seen them pop up in the first place.  Rushing on in chase, Giles notes that even if he did lose them entirely, he doubts that they could hide long as the man is leaving a trail of spittled blood that stains the grasses below.

From behind him, Giles hears the beat of footprints as Edenburg catches up with him breathing heavily.  "We going after them boss?"  It is mere moments later that Rodrickson is cantering up behind, mounted on his own steed and leading Giles horse by the reigns and Edenburg's by a lead rope.

"Where the hell did they come from?"  Rodrickson shouts as he approaches, pulling alongside the other two and dropping the reigns for Giles.  "Sorry Allan,"  He adds as he notices Edenburg's disgruntled response.  "I figured with all the shouting it was more important to get over here than to saddle up the last horse.  You can ride bareback, right?"

OOC:  By the time your team has caught up to you, everyone has crested the hill and you have the two men back in your sights over two hundred yards away, climbing up towards the next hill.  Both your and Rodrickson's horses are saddled, while Edenburg's is not, likely making his ride slower or more dangerous.  Let me know who is giving chase and how fast.  Remember also that the majority of the man's quiver was spilled when he tried to tackle you, though you saw a handful left in his quiver as he was running away.

it's necessary. We need to know who they are. Roderickson take point. Edenburg, follow as fast as you can, you're wide and can put a few arrows into them as you see fit. Do what you need to stay safe and Roderickson and I will take the grounded man.

After him!" he said quickly with excitement in his voice as he mounted up the horse.

Giles didn't take an extra moment to sit and talk, he kicked heels to his horse and took off after the man that had charged him.



They got a loing way!

Roderickson and I will follow, Edenburg too, but he can go at a more leisurely pace to ensure he doesn't fall off th ehorse.

I expect that once he gets to a medium range, he'll dismount and start shooting, or shoot while riding, whichever he feels most comfortable with.

Giles does not delay but barks out a few commands and saddles his philly, Cutlass, spurring the horse forward at a run to catch up with the pair of brigands.  Rodrickson quickly follows suit, taking up his right flank and though Edenburg does not have normal tack, he manages to thrust himself on top of his steed like a gymnast mounting a pommel and keep up pace so that he is only a half a dozen yards back on Giles left side.  Though the two men had gained to a significant lead, the addition of horses to the equation quickly brings things back into the soldier's favor.  Cutlass's beating hooves eat up the distance between them in great chunks as he flings dirt and grass high in the air behind him.  One of the men looks back and screams his surprise just as the two crest the top of the hill and begin running down the backside.

Encouraged by the progress, Giles spurs his horse yet faster, eager to gain sight of the fugitives again.  To his right, Rodrickson falls back slightly, but Giles presses onward, cresting the hill as he scans the horizon.  He finds the two again with ease, but what he says is not entirely what he expected.  The men are stopped a few dozen yards away, the man with the bow knocking an arrow and pointing it directly at Giles.

OOC:  Ok, so you have started catching up rapidly with the two men and are about 36 yards away from them at the end of this post.  His arrow is not quite ready yet, but he will be able to shoot as early as the next turn.  Make a roll against IQ to avoid a mental stun (it won't affect your ability to ride, just defense).  If you fail, keep rolling until you succeed.  If you succeed you will be able to defend normally.  Let me know what modifiers you want to add to your dodge (you can't parry arrows without a special skill and you don't have your shield ready) you can add +2 by spending one fatigue, and another +2 if you make it an all out defense.  I'm assuming you still have your sword ready.  If you want to attack, first roll against riding (at -1 for only having one hand on the reigns) and if you fail, you cannot attack that turn, if you critically fail you fall from your horse.  Rodrickson is about a horse length behind you with your spear in his right hand, and Edenburg is about three or four horselengths behind that, you can't tell what he is doing at the moment.

Yep, they did get pretty far away from you.  Remember, you have a heavy encumbrance with only a moderate move score, which puts you at a 2 for normal move.  At a jog, you are doing about 1.5 yards per second.  The man who tried to jump you had no encumbrance and was sprinting away, doing 7 yards per second.  It made for a pretty quick get away until you got on your horse.

Heart racing to the beat of hooves, Giles could taste iron in his mouth and seemed to be lost in the moment, the single-minded determination to put his target to the mud. It was an odd form of focus that if he had a thought spare might have been a novelty.

His face then went white.

The man preparing to shoot onto the charging horse, probably directly at him, was surprising to say the least but at this stage there was nothing he could do to get out of range of the bow before a shot and so it seemed that the best option was to threaten as much as possible. Giles dropped his head down and hugged the back of the horse as closely as possible without overly risking falling off or losing sight of the man. He took the time, however, to aim precisely at the man

"Ride true! Cutlass he shouted from the saddle, hoping to soon feel a crunch as the warhorse collided full-tilt with the Wazafi man that had so threatened him.




Ah no...

I wonder, does he also make a check against some form of stun due to being charged down by a big warhorse at full clip, while trying to aim a bow?

I'm only curious, I hear things from people that bowhunt or go into the forest with bears, that in cases of charging animals people might freeze or just flounder in one of the steps for drawing or releasing and make a horrible shot.

Though - i can't say I've ever experienced that.


Anyway, actions:

All out defence (to avoid the arrow)
Will attempt to ride the horse (slam) directly into the enemy - I guess this is a feasible option without automatically breaking the horses legs etc, as it happened a lot in old-time war.

Rolls:
11:53, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 11 using 3d6.  mental stun, 13+ 6 (combat reflexes?). // PASS
11:53, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 10 using 3d6.  riding
11:54, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 10 using 3d6.  defence!

Giles forgoes his sword and holds the reins tightly in his hands, directing Cutlass towards the rogue who had attempted to sneak up on him moments ago.  He hunches his shoulders low beind Cutlass's neck and presses the horse forward, knowing that there is no doubt the arrow will come, but at this point there is little he can do about it.

Twang, clink!  Giles sucks in on his teeth as he feels an arrowhead penetrate through the links of his armor and into his upper thigh, and he thanks his stars that he had chosen such heavy armor, as likely anything much lighter would have resulted in a much more serious wound.

The arrow spent, Giles charges his horse onwards, pressing ahead of Rodrickson and straight to the offending rogue, attempting to trample him underneath the horses shoes!  His foe recognizes the danger only at the last moment, and dives wildly to the side, narrowly avoiding Cutlass's hooves as the horse stirs up the dirt from underneath.

As he charges past, Giles hears a scream of surprise just behind, and the tearing sound of heavy garment, though he does not recognize the shout as either Rodrickson or Edenburg.

OOC:  You have charged past the fight and are about 6 yards past the foe who you tried to trample facing directly away.  You sustained a light injury to your right leg, though the shock penalty shouldn't be a factor unless you try some crazy stunt on your first turn.  Rodrickson somehow miraculously dodged the attacker targeting him and managed to score a light hit on the other Wazifi.  Edenburg is now far enough behind that you don't really have any awareness as to what he is doing.  The Wazifi you attacked dived to the side, which puts him in a prone position, the other is still standing.  Give me three more turns of action, and remember, if you want to execute a melee attack while mounted, you must roll against riding-1 first.

Giles cursed and spat as he felt the ribbon of fire cross his leg, reminiscing to the heroes of old that he'd always been told about. Their glory, standing firm in front of impossible odds and saving the day with merely a tale of their victory as the take away. But here Giles rode, wounded in his second encounter since joining the fort. He cursed again.

It was different on top of a horse, fighting a man on foot, the world didn't slow nearly as much when you were trying to crash into someone from the back of a horse, and he wasn't sure exactly what had happened until he stopped his mount and pulled to one side to get it to turn.  A wash of relief that tyhe man was now prone, followed a moment later with the knowledge that he had not been harmed in any significant way.

Gile kicked the flank of (OOC: I keep forgetting the horse's name!) and aimed at the back flank of the man that was still standing.


Welcome back! I hope things are better now.

OKay,

Giles will stop, turn around and then kick Cutlass!(remembered!) to charge at the back of the standing wazifi to make a strafing swipe at him with the sword.

10:48, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 13 using 3d6.  riding.
- I guess that means he doesn't get to attack.

Giles pulls his reins hard to one side as he swat's Cutlass's opposite flank with a heel, turning the horse in place then he urges the horse forward again with a quick jab on both sides.  The horse sprints forward, and Giles takes in the scene in front of him in just a quick moment.

Passing off to his right, Rodrickson is dismounting, spear in hand as he is eyed warily by the foe wearing heavy leathers.  The man carries a mace in his right hand and his left is empty, and Giles takes a wide pass, thinking to take a swing at the man as he cruises past.  However, Giles is not as gifted a cavalryman has he imagines and he nearly loses his balance in the maneuver, and pulls himself back hard towards the saddle to avoid falling off.  Once again, he rushes by the two men with no real damage done.

His men however, seem to be getting into the fray on a closer level.  Edenburg is dismounting his steed as well, axe in hand to rush into the arrow-slinger who is now gaining his feet and pulling out another arrow.  Giles turns his steed again, sword in hand, surveying the battle in front of him.

The bow and arrow wielder stands several paces in front of Edenburg, a readied arrow knocked and pulled back which twang!s out of its place flying high and far of its mark harmlessly.  A few steps away, the mace wielder swings savagely at Rodrickson, a blow which is swatted hard and low by the haft of Rodrickson's spear.  So savage is the connection that the man's momentum is redirected forward, pulling him off balance as he falls onto the ground below him at Rodrickson's feet!

OOC:  That was four rounds of action.  Yup, you were unable to attack the last time and rode past without swinging your sword.  Our bow and arrow man managed to gain his feet, pull and arrow and shoot (wildly) toward Edenburg, though he missed rather badly.  Both Edenburg and Rodrickson dismounted, and Rodrickson is now in combat with the mace wielder.  Rodrickson's critical success on his parry pulled his opponent off balance and he fell over.  Edenburg is about 4 yards away from his foe.  You are about 6 yards from the closest foe, which is the bow and arrow man.  He is facing you.  If you want to stay mounted, keep giving me general intentions, otherwise, if you want to dismount, give me 4 rounds of action (it takes 2 to dismount)

Giles knew when he was defeated by the horse, he patted Cutlass quickly on the flank, he'd grown to like the horse despite his inability to ride with any high level of skill, and then threw his leg over the side and dropped to the ground.

The skirmish seemed to drop to a snails pace and was a mile away from the chaos he'd experienced as a child watching shield walls, or even the previous encounter with the harpies. In those situations he had felt the thrill build in him and take over his world, but here there was a slow and deliberate movement that made him feel more like a predator moving in for a kill - it was another kind of thrill.

As he fell to the floor, Giles was acutely aware of his surroundings and felt the texture of the leather on his sword as he gripped tightly and circled the tip to feel its weight more viscerally. Horses he could not ride well, heavy rocks he could not move nor was he even close to mastering anything resembling mystic arcane power, but he had discovered early into his military career that a blade felt natural in his hand and that only the best of warriors could match his strokes. Perhaps this was his true calling, he reflected as he began to take steps towards the man that had grazed his leg.

"Now we finish this" he said automatically, locking eyes with the enemy and feeling the world come to stillness.

The moment he came to range, Giles stepped to the side first one way and then the other, shuffling as he closed the distance to the outside of his blade, and then swung.




Giles will:

- dismount
- move towards the man (which will, i suppose, keep attention on him)
- any reactionary all out defence(prior to engaging)
- then, feint, one way and attack (random location - opportunistic location) with a swipe of the blade.

Giles makes ready to dismount his horse as his two soldiers are right in the heat of the battle.

Several paces off, Rodrickson seeks to take advantage of his opponent's fall, thrusting his spear forward and down even as the man has made it back to his knee.  Rodrickson's blow strikes true, knocking the man back down to his back.  He follows the strike with yet another blow, this time plunging the spear deep into the man's collar.  A ribbon of hot gore streams from the wound as the man screams uncontrollably, clutching his wound with one hand as his weapon falls into the grass beside.

Closer to Giles, Edenburg finds himself paired off with the bow wielder who even now was grabbing for another arrow.  Edenburg charges the man, leading with his left shoulder, trying to knock his foe off his feet.  The Wazifi spins elusively from the blow, knocking his arrow and jumping back nimbly to dodge the following swing of Edenburg's axe.

Giles just makes his feet to the ground and starts running towards the fray when his breath catches in the back of his throat, for once again the bowstring draws back and the twang! of the string sings out at close range!  By some miracle, Edenburg swivels his body just enough that the arrow rips across the surface of his armor and bounces harmlessly aside.  What's more, the spin plays straight into his own attack, the axe in his hand arcing viciously towards the enemy.  The man doesn't even have a moment to react.  The axe slices deep and under his vision and defenses.  His light armor does not even slow the weapon as it sinks deep within the skin, cracking ribs and tearing at muscle.  The wazifi does not even scream, but his face goes from a look of horror to completely limp as he crumples to the ground, his lifeblood spilling from his wound in sheets.

And in just moments, the fight is over.  The bow wielding Wazifi lays unconscious in a growing pool of his own blood.  The other man lays on his side, still screaming through gritted teeth though somehow, miraculously, he has not succumbed to his wounds.  None of Giles's men is even wounded with the exception of the single arrow head lodged just inside of the links of his armor.

OOC:  Combat is effectively over, with one of your foes unconscious, and the other suffering from a staggering injury and on the brink of unconsciousness.  Rodrickson has kicked away the axe of the conscious foe, though it doesn't look like he'd be able to wield it anyway right now in his condition.  Somehow you guys managed to end that without taking a single significant injury and with a still conscious opponent, congratulations!

Giles had stomped forward with dark intent in his eyes, but ulimately had been savedby Edenburg's dervish-like spinning axe move. As the Wazifi man collapsed to the floor, with only the sound of a sucking axe wound coming free and a gently thud on the ground, Giles felt the tip of his sword dip to the ground limply, uneeded.

"That's the second time you've shown what kind of warrior you're going to become Edenburg" he lauded gently

"Check his things, anything of value that isn't essential to our mission, is yours he said while turning quickly and then jogging to the flailing WAzifi man.

Good work Roderickson he said while sheathing his blade and kneeling beside the wounded man. Giles pressed his hands to the wound of the other and then used the time to inspect the severity of the wound.



First aid on the enemy that's still alive.
15:21, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 11 using 3d6.  First Aid.

Though Giles quickly realizes that his skills at swordplay have become moot, the fact does not make him begrudge the success of his corporal and private.  Rather, he makes a point of complementing his men before he goes to continue his work.

"Thanks Sarge."  Edenburg responds with an easy smile as he wipes his axe off in the grasses below.  "You too, I saw you take that arrow and still go in for the kill.  Probably changed the fate of the battle that our archer had to dive to the side to keep from getting run through."

Giles nods and smiles at the complement, but focuses his attention on their conscious and breathing foe, appraising the man and his wounds with a trained eye.  There is no doubt the man is bleeding at an unhealthy rate, his wounds now ebbing in trickles through the two inch wide slits in his heavy leather armor.

Setting down on one knee to work, Giles winces in pain as his own wound, with an arrow still protruding from his quadricep.  Realizing that his own need is much less than his foe, Giles snaps the shaft off at the tip and winces in pain again as the arrowhead digs into his skin savagely.  He breathes a sigh of relief however, for now at least he is not concerned about a foot long projectile protruding from his leg and snagging his armor at every opportunity.

With his own affairs in order, Giles gets to work to the axe wielder, who is now paled with shallow breathing.  Lacking any real medical supplies, Giles tears a thick strip of fabric from under the man's armor at the base of his shirt.  Tearing the strip again into two similar sizes, Giles wads the material and plants them at the wound at his collarbone and the other at his side, letting the natural pressure of the sturdy leather armor do most of the work.  When he is finished, Giles leans back, wiping his bloodied hands on the grass beside him, and he is generally pleased with his work.  His impromptu bandages on the worst of the wounds seem to be holding and his patient is still breathing and open-eyed, though his expressions flit between entirely vacant, furious anger, and exquisite pain.

Giles notes that a small pool has collected at his own knee as the blood runs down about the links of his armor.  Though he yearns to get as much information as he can as quickly as he can, he knows that letting the wound fester could have equally grave consequences.

OOC:  Note that because you do not have a first aid kit, you are at -2 to skill for using improvised equipment.  Still, you managed to succeed in your roll (2 minutes spent to simply staunch the blood).  You are still bleeding however and though the wound is mostly an inconvenience, if you let the arrow sit in your leg it could make things worse.  Keep posting in about one minute increments.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:02, Mon 27 Nov 2017.

He'd done what he can with the enemy. And his reasons were mostly for the information that might bring, but it was a trait earned from his father, who had picked up all the fallen of the skirmishes that took place in the north, whether savage or Megalan.

"Could one of  you help me with this?" He said, leaning back against the ground and lying down for some rest, now that the intensity of battle was over and his focus was collected by nothing, a wash of sharp and burning pain pushed into his mind and the severity of his own exhaustion was felt.

As the man propped himself up on elbows to look at the arrow, he laughed aloud. "Didn't even realise I had this until after the fight, thought it'd been a glancing hit. Wonder if that book about battlefield medicine will say I can bite down on some arrow root and be miraculously healed" he spoke with light humour even through the grimacing clenched teeth.


"Anyway, we need to get this arrow out and seal the wound. I'd suggest building a fire, but we don't want to be sitting around near a corpse.

Any of you good at fixing people up?

He paused a moment and then thoughtfully added, despite the weary swimming feeling he was getting.
We'll also need to check the local are, make sure there are none others and prepare to move away and set up camp for some rest.

OOC:

I misunderstood the wound in Giles' leg, thinking it was a glancing cut rather than arrow fully in it.

I imagine in a while, a 100pts on, Giles will be the worst scarred veteran of the Megalan army! The guy really knows how to take a kicking.


Actions:

If nobody else is any good with first aid, then Giles will administer it himself with help from the two men.

If there are any supplies at all, he'll use what he can. Alcohol, fire, etc.

After that, packing up and going onward to set up another camp. (fire, rest, etc.)

Realizing that his own wounds need to be tended as well, Giles asks for a volunteer to help and Rodrickson is quick to take up the charge.  While the two are about their business, Edenburg moves about the area, searching for anything that might be of use.

Giles lays back with a bit of strain and undoes the draw string about his mail leggings, pulling the armor gently out from the snapped arrow before pulling them down to around his knees.  He grunts and lays back nauseated as he realizes that his underclothes are stained red from mid-leg to his knee, the snapped off shaft embedded to just under the skin, tweaking him painfully even as he sees it.  "No worries boss, I've got this."  Rodrickson states, pulling down the cloth pants so he can take a look at the actual injury.  It takes little more than a few moments, a second of exquisite discomfort as the arrowhead is removed but the wound settles out with the bleeding stopped in only a few minutes.  Pieces of the now blood-drenched pants were cut off to make the bandage, but Giles supposed he couldn't be too picky to salvage clothes that were likely never going to look the same anyway.

"Well."  Edenburg states as Giles pulls back up his armor and tests his wounded limb to his satisfaction.  "There's good news and bad news I guess."  He rubs the stubble on his face with his palm as he holds up a small satchel that one of the men had been carrying.  "They had some food, enough for a little bit anyway.  So we won't starve for the near term.  Found a bit of that money we found in the caves too.  However, that one over there isn't dead, he's still breathing but bleeding in buckets, I'm not sure he'll last if someone doesn't help him out, get him to shelter and feed him and whatnot.  This one,"  He motions towards the man still rolling around in agony.  "Ain't fit to be moved nowhere...  I imagine the moment we try and pull him out of here he's going to either pass out or worse.  I'd say if we want anything from them, we better get it soon unless we are prepared to litter them back to the fort."

OOC:  Sorry, I could have included some of that in the last post, but I missed it, so I'm cleaning it up here.  Your wound wasn't bad, but it was just bad enough to cause bleeding, which caused you an additional damage and a decent bit of pain, but you are patched up now.

I'm not entirely sure how to interpret your actions based on the intel from Edenburg.  You mentioned that you wanted to move on, you do have a 'camp' set up less than a mile away, but if you want to go there, please be specific on how you want to transport your captives (or if you want to just leave them here).  Edenburg also still has his trap set a mile or two to the south attempting to find food which you can leave or hang around and check in a few hours if you want to see if it was fruitful.

On the Wazifi men, Edenburg found the following items
Satchel (holds 15 lbs.)
Waterskin (half full)
2 x Knife good quality
Regular Bow
2 Normal Arrows
7 rations
$11 in copper coin
A balanced throwing axe
Leather Armor (punctured in the chest area)
Light leather armor (jacket unserviceable due to horrific slash)