Gustav, the brash swordsman who had brazenly charged the barrier, launched himself overtop, then successfully evaded to flank his foes now finds himself in a disastrous position.  His blood weeps freely from his side, his legs unable to hold him after the gruesome attack his sword clatters to the ground just moments before his body and though his eyes now only see an endless tunnel of grey, he somehow manages to cling desperately to consciousness.

Odelia too seems to have her hands full.  Standing alone against her foe she circles widely, gripping her knife in her left hand as she meditates her next blow but her attacker does not grant her a similar respite.  His sword strikes out in a frenzied arc and though Odelia twists her body away from the blow her efforts fall short and the sword cuts deep into her left leg through her padded armor.  Silently, she falls to the ground her hands clutching out behind her to soften her fall.

Even to the north, where two of our heroes stand against one, the men seem to be having their problems.  Ronald steps forward, thrusting his blade towards the man still training his bow and cutting a light blow that just digs under the man’s leather armor as he swats his shield to the side, catching the edge of the dart that had been pointing directly at him.

Twang!

The bow fires off at point blank range but due to Ronald’s excellent maneuver the thing fires off harmlessly towards the north.  Seeing his weapon now useless, the bowman grabs a knife from his belt and drops the bow stepping back a half-step nimbly as he sizes his competition up.  Rondald attempts to take advantage of the pause, but his second blow catches a stud of the man’s coat, turning the blade as Ronald’s wrist breaks from its straight thrust and bangs stingingly against the man’s armor.  The knife drops from his hand, clattering harmlessly against the path below.

Finally Magnus steps in trail of Ronald, his mace ready and his nostrils flared as he seeks the blood of these men who have downed now two of his comrades.

”Give up and you may yet live!”  One of the bandit’s shouts, brandishing his bloody sword from atop Gustav’s sprawled form.

OOC:  Rough round that time for you guys.  Let’s do another two rounds of action.

Gustav is lying prone and stunned from the previous blow, though mercifully, his foe has turned his back on him, thinking him downed for good.  Roll vs. HT to recover from your stun (+1 for fit).  If you do so, you may consider your sword back in your hand (having grabbed it last turn).  If you miss, continue rolling up to two more times and take either two actions (if you make it on the second roll) or one actions (if you make it on the third roll).  In that case you will be unarmed and will need to grab your sword.

Odelia missed her retreating dodge and took a critical injury to the left leg.  You are also lying prone, though if you make your roll against HT you can keep your weapons in your hands.  You cannot stand for the remainder of the fight and will need to roll later to determine the length of the injury.  As per above, if you fail your stun roll, attempt the roll up to two more times and you can post either one or two more actions.

Ronald scored a light injury on the bowman, though lost his knife on the second attack due to his critical miss and now only has his shield in his left hand.  He is standing at range 2 to the northern bandit (after his retreating defense).  Magnus is also at range 2 to the bandit at Rondald’s left side.

I’m realizing now that I should have prepped for the no map scenario a little better.  I’ll do my best to describe things but I know that can fall a little short of ensuring everyone understands what is going on.  Please let me know if you guys have any questions.

The northern man (bowman) is standing one hex south of his original position.  He has a ready knife in his right hand.  Ronald is two hexes to the north with Magnus in the hex immediately to the southeast, with both of them facing south.  Middle man (broadsword) is standing one hex northeast of his original position and is facing north.  Gustav is prone with his feet laying in the hex immediately to the middle man’s northeast and his torso pointed towards the northeast.  The southern man (broadsword) is standing one hex northeast of his original position and facing north.  Odelia is lying prone with her feet in the hex immediately to the south man’s southeast with her torso pointed towards the southeast.

In reply to Raddek (msg # 61):

"Surrender to bandits? Better to die, Scum! You are no better than animals, and I will see justice for their blood!"

Rondald will give a quick yank on the lanyard that is attacked to his knife, bringing it sharply back to his hand as he steps forward, shield ready, before swinging again at the torso of his attacker.

If Magnus had heard the swordsmans offer, he did not show it, nor did he slow his pace or divert his course. Indeed he seemed almost to pick up speed as he closed the last few feet.

The beast man obviously lacked the skill of the more formally trained Gustav, he had no "stance" as it were, he was not especially light on his feet and his sense of reach was not at all refined, but in his own way he compensated with sheer physicality.

He brought the heavy steel shod truncheon about with surprising speed and power, the weapon making an audible woosh as it arced through the air in a blur. He started with a somewhat reckless backhand, stepping fully into the blow as he brought the weapon towards his much smaller enemies opposite shoulder and then used the momentum to come about in a full overhand arc above his head, the tip of the mace descending from on high with another whoosh straight towards the young brigands face.

The Minotaur punctuated the attack with another guttural bark, spittle flying from his inhuman lips.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:15, Wed 24 Jan 2018.

Gustav fights off the grey mist and comes around … he is hurt, but not dead, any aid requires these dirtbags die. He struggles to his feet, saber in hand and executes a draw cut to the middle mans unarmored neck/face. [ he is trying to cut just above any armor and slit his jugular.]

   She didn't feel the cut at first, it felt like he'd drawn a line over her leg as she'd tried to dart away, but the strike had thrown off her balance and fallen on her back to the ground. She landed with a hard sound on the ground, but not even a whimper was heard while she turned away a moment and tried to shake her head to push away the wooziness she felt.

   A grey wave washed over her for a moment and she felt her vision change as though she'd suddenly was looking down a tunnel. She blinked, hard, and a rush of thunder reached her ears as the pain lanced along where she'd been hit. She looked at the wound - it didn't look good. It hurt to move it even slightly ... but she did manage to recover her knife and was holding it in front of her against the bandit's approach, ready to defend herself despite the pain ...

---

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
23:19, Today: Odelia La Faelis rolled 15 using 3d6.  1st. recover from stun roll.
23:19, Today: Odelia La Faelis rolled 11 using 3d6.  2nd recover from stun roll.

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With Odelia immobile and Gustav a hair's breath from unconsciousness, Ronald and Magnus now find themselves outnumbered and at close range to their assailants.  Gustav, making a desperate swing to even the odds, rolls into position to strike the mail clad bandit, though by the time his body is positioned the man has moved out of range.

Ready first to make his attack, Magnus steps forward to meet the archer, swinging his mace in a feverish arc that could easily shatter a man’s bones.  However he proves too nimble and darts forward, underneath Magnus’s defenses.  His knife strikes true, though the links of Magnus’ mail shirt prove to be much too sturdy for the frail weapon to penetrate.

Meanwhile, the two sword wielding attackers begin their approach.  The man farthest south makes a beeline towards Ronald, who crouches on one knee in the process of retrieving his knife.  The man swings his sword overhand with a shout, but Ronald manages to step up and away just in time, banging the side of the blade away with the rim of his shield.  Ronald makes a counter attack with his knife but the man shifts his weight back with a step, foiling Ronald’s aim.

Meanwhile the second swordsman sidesteps neatly towards Magnus’s left flank, attempting to take advantage of the two on one.  His attack is precise and swift giving Magnus little time to respond.  The sword bites clean through the steel links on Magnus’s left sleeve, drawing a trickle of blood, though it does little else than anger the minotaur.

Magnus swings his mace again at the archer and this time the man does not react fast enough.  The steel ball bashes into the man’s cheekbone, instantly shattering what little resistance it gives.  Spittle and broken teeth fly from the man’s mouth as the light fades from his eyes and he falls back to the road in a heap, his jaw hanging akimbo.

Twang!

For a moment our heroes fear that there may yet be more villains about but Ronald draws in his breath in surprise as the crossbow bolt materializes just under his adversary's eye, buried nearly all the way to the fletching.  Without so much as a cry, the man’s sword clatters to the ground before he hits as well, entirely unconscious.  Glancing to the other side of the barricade, Ronald sees Rudyard take his crossbow down from his shoulder to recock.

OOC:  Nice turn of events that time!  Magnus and Rudyard both scored significant hits to the face, resulting in both the Archer (north man) and swordsman (south man) being knocked unconscious.  The last swordsman is the mail wearer and he is standing one hex to the southeast of Magnus, putting the minotaur between himself and Ronald.  Ronald stands one hex to the northwest of Magnus, (two from the adversary with Magnus in the middle) facing south.  The only other change in position is that Gustav’s torso is now one hex to the northeast of where it previously was, he still lays on the ground prone.  Let’s do three rounds of action this time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:27, Wed 07 Feb 2018.

The sound of the steel shod truncheon colliding with the archers fragile facial bones, the feel of the skull caving in beneath his blow all seem to evoke the worst sorts of primordial impulses in young Magnus. His whole body trembled, his teeth bared, his eyes darkened...and yet he seemed to still keep himself in check, at least enough to recognize the danger of the naked blade in the grip of the armored man before him.

He still recalled that this was the man who, unprovoked, had tried to plant a bolt in his skull.

The mail on his left arm sagged, some of the rent and mangled rings losing their tenuous grip on each other with every passing moment. The fur beneath was matted slightly with blood, which mingled with the oiled steel and ruined linen shirt.

Seeming to recognize the challenge of getting through the mans chain hauberk, or possibly a padded aketon beneath, the beast man advanced with his left arm high, perhaps hoping to ward off blows with his already injured limb, while the cudgel in his right swung low and to the side, swinging again and again for the brigands more vulnerable legs as he advanced.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:03, Sun 28 Jan 2018.

Crap, he thinks as the man moves out of his reach, He watches the other men gather to Attack; I need to help distract them as best I can. Gustav struggles to his feet using his left hand to put some pressure on his wound, and moves toward mail wearing man, paying attention to his armor, looking for unprotected places to target. When close enough, he'll swing.

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 68):

Rondald steps around the last bandit towards Gustav. His knife may be little more than a distraction, but his shield is what can make the difference and he uses it to block the last mans attacks, swinging at the mans throat with his knife. It is just as well, for his shield is like a wall, but his first two attacks are poor, but the third...

   She gathered up the whip she'd dropped and held it in her opposite hand, eyes narrowed in pain while the scarf covering her mouth moved back and forth as she breathed shallowly. A quick glance towards the wagon showed that there was little chance that she'd make it in any sort of fashion.

   She tried to move by putting her knuckles on the ground and trying to pull herself back when a searing lance of pain shot through her leg and the grey wave came back with a roar. She blinked quickly and tried to push the roaring out of her head as a tear slipped down from her eye and wetted the green muslin fabric ...

Standing alone now against his foes the bandit cedes ground step after step, twisting away from Magnus to put the massive minotaur always between himself and Ronald.  The bandit is first to score a hit, a dazzling slash across Magnus's thigh that cuts a bright ribbon of red across his skin and starts weeping blood instantly.  Magnus feels his leg buckle underneath him but only for a moment as he retorts with a swing of his mace that is strong enough to shatter bone.

"Shit!"  The man screams as the steel ball rebounds off the steel of his armor, somehow managing to retain his footing as he continues to retreat.  Magnus and Ronald each attack again, though this time the man manages to glance the mace off his sword as Ronald's knife misses badly.

Off to the side, Gustav pushes himself to his feet, gripping his sword in an effort to throw himself back into the combat.

Now it is Ronald who darts in, slashing his knife in a swift motion at the bandit's neck!  So focused is he on Magnus's mace that he only manages a brief spasm in an attempt to evade but so weighted down is he by his armor that the maneuver never had a prayer of success.  The blade bites in deep to the man's skin, slashing vocal chords and blood vessels that scream a violent stream of red that spatters both Ronald and Magnus.

But even before the cut is finished, Magnus is attacking as well.  His mace arcs overhead in a violent blast, crushing the man's left forearm with a jarring of steel and bone.  Before even a gasp escapes the bandit's lips, he falls to the path, completely defeated and unconscious.

OOC:  Congratulations on the fight guys.  Magnus sustained a near crippling blow to the left leg, though Ronald and Magnus together managed to put their opponent down.  He is losing a torrential amount of blood from the injury to his neck, and is likely dead or dying.  We are out of combat.  Though no one in your party is a magical healer, Terri is very gifted at first aid and may be your best bet for the worse injuries.  Odelia, please roll against HT for the duration of your crippling injury.

Gustav sits back down, holding his side ... then lays back ...the pain is severe ... he concentrates to remain conscious.
Hope someone can heal me ... he says softly.

In reply to Raddek (msg # 71):

"Easy, big boy. My wife is skilled at this, and I suspect the Merchant is too. Believe me, you want one of them helping you. Rest now, we got these bastards, and the guy that cut you just got his throat cut."

Breathing heavily, Rondald will remove the weapons from each of the foes and call for Terri to see to their own injured. Dropping his shield on the confiscated weapons well away (at least 3 yards) from the bandits before tearing a piece of cloth from one of the bandits, he will try to stop the blood loss from Magnus while those more skilled see to the worse injuries.

   She felt another wave of grey pass over her vision while the fight continued. She kept her eyes on anyone that might come too close and kept the knife she'd had in hand against any other attackers. When the last of the bandits dropped, the woman fell back and collapsed onto the ground and gritted her teeth against the knives of pain that lanced through her leg ...

---

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
19:54, Today: Odelia La Faelis rolled 9 using 3d6.  HT save - crippling injury

---

Magnus practically followed the bandit down, dropping to his knees with a gush of blood from the gaping wound in his leg and bracing his fall with a hand the unconscious mans chest. He paused there for half a moment, his breath coming loud through his nose, his body trembling, before he raised the mace again and brought it down to shatter the skull with a sickening pop.

Maybe it was the emotion of the moment, or maybe it was the terrible wound but he rolled over on his back in the dirt, breathing heavily, the fur at the corners of his eyes dampened with tears.

After a few moments to catch his breath he raised his broad horned head and looked to Rondald. "How bad is it?"

The small group takes stock of their situation, and finds things more than a little displeasing.  Three of their number are badly injured, at least one of which, Odelia seems to be unable to walk.  Gustav is in bad condition, though still mobile it's doubtful he'll be able to go on without some substantial medical care and even Magnus, the seeming tank of a being is rolling to his back to take pressure off his wound.

While Rondald and Rudyard go to picking up after the bandits, Terri immediately goes for those worst injured, making a beeline towards Gustav as she ushers him back down to the ground, her face sheet white as she pulls away the heavy cloth of his tunic and his underclothes.  "I think you'll be ok, so long as you don't aggravate it."  Terry goes about her work swiftly, cleaning away the fresh blood before applying a bandage and pressuring it down with a wrap.

She goes on to Odelia, putting herself up as a block to the men's vision as she pulls up the cloth around her ankles to tend to the wound on her leg.  Likewise she applies a wrap, and though her voice is not entirely confident, she nods to the other woman.  "It doesn't look like there is any damage to the bone, just the muscle, you should be up and around in no time."  Terri smiles, trying to imbue as much confidence as she can.

Meanwhile, Rondald has tended to Magnus, likewise staunching the bleeding enough for Magnus to get gingerly back to his feet.

As Terri helps Odelia back to the cart the ambulatory members of the group start assessing their small plunder.  Apart from the armor and the weapons, the men find a handful of copper and silver coins on the three men as well as an iron piton and a steel file.

OOC:  First aid is done with and everyone has gotten back 1 HP that was injured.  Odelia's leg is a temporary crippling injury, meaning she'll get use of it as soon as the HP is healed (most likely several days).  Gustav can still move (although at 1/2 move and dodge) and would likely be better off in the cart as well.  Magnus is well enough that he can walk alongside the cart at a normalish pace.

Let me know what you guys want to do from here.  You can easily move the barricade off the road with only two people lending a hand.

As for loot, you guys have the following below.

Leather armor x 2 (torso, legs, arms, hands, feet)
Mail suit (torso, arms, legs) with additional boots and leather gloves
Iron Piton
Steel file
$90 in coin
2 x Cheap broadsword
1 x large knife
2 x crossbow
1 x medium bow
16 Arrows with quiver
35 Crossbow bolts with quiver

Despite his earlier ferocity, Magnus was gentle enough with the bodies. Perhaps his mood had passed, or perhaps the reality of his first real fight, his first kill was sinking in and he moved with a solemn and pensive expression, or at least it appeared to be one on his inhuman features.

When he had piled the last of the armor onto the pile, he stood back and looked it over, still favoring his uninjured leg. "That's the last of it I think..." he said as he looked back at the stripped corpse laying just off the side of the road.

"I...uh" he paused and swallowed hard. "Not what I expected...when I woke up this morning" he admitted "Just glad nobody on our side got hurt worse than they did." he added in his baritone as he picked up his pack once more.

My Thanks Terri Gustav says as he grits his teeth at the pain of her cleaning… When she is done, he will struggle to his feet and gather his saber and sheath it.

Walking is a struggle.  He stops by Magnus and Rondald first.  How be you Magnus? I think I best learn to use a heavier sword …and the crossbow too.; My saber was all but useless.You did good work on them, both of you.

He’ll pause for a moment then struggle on heading for the cart and his gear. Good shooting Rudyard and timely. He’ll sit on the cart and rest after his exertion, but will clear a spot for Odelia as soon as he has rested briefly.

So much for all my training with the saber, a useless thing in the face of such armor. and obviously a ranged weapon is needed too. I have seriously misjudged my choices given the ancient armor and edged clubs used here. he thinks to himself

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 78):

"Yes indeed. I should use a bigger blade perhaps, but a knife is good in water, better than larger weapons. Still, I will take a broadsword, and I can teach 2 of you to use the crossbow. I suggest the third person learn the bow, unless someone already knows it."

For now, Rondald puts all of the items onto the cart and begins to move the two badly injured members there also.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Thu 08 Feb 2018.

How far to this Fort, Rudyard? We are going to need the safety to heal, God knows what else is out here.

   When the other woman had approached and made sure to place herself between the Men and her prone form, the girl let out a sob and fell into a quiet bout of tears while the wound was tended to. She'd never been hurt like this before, and the pain was almost unbearable. She breathed heavily while the wound was treated, and moved slowly while she made her way back to the wagon. With some help, she made it into the bed of the wagon and found the blanket she'd brought with her, quickly pulling it over her body and tried to warm up.

   She eyed one of the crossbows - she'd seen what they were capable of against armoured foes in the City when she was younger, but they took a lot longer to pull and draw than a regular bow. Her green eyes looked away - she'd never had the size to be able to use such weapons and had preferred to use something more suited to her stature; knives and other cutting weapons.

   She glanced at each of the others, in turn, to see what was next. It looked like the man of the Sea Peoples was assuming a leadership role - perhaps he had been one at some point and was used to the idea - was gathering things up and putting them in the wagon. Once everything was loaded, she began to take time to make sure that quivers were filled and weapons were secured before they moved on. She winced periodically as she moved, but made no sound as she moved about the wagon.

   She spent most of the next while either asleep or working with her knives. Things like quickly switching from hand-to-hand or rolling the smaller knife over her scarred knuckles, making it look as effortless as she could. It was something to do to pass the time as well as keep her mind occupied.

"Thanks" the Minotaur replied with a nod, still favoring his "good" leg. "...and I can walk, at least for a bit" he affirmed, although the bleeding seemed to have stopped the bandages on his leg were soaked through with deep red, the fur beneath sticky and matted.

"I've never even held a sword" he admitted when Gustav mentioned his saber. "Against the kings law...but so is wearing armor" he added with a look down. "But maybe if I had not listened to that one...we all would have been in a better spot. It's probably something we should talk about tonight, as a group"

He looked to their driver and then both ways down the road. "Are we ready?" he asked, his mood still sober, eager to be away from the smell of blood and the sight of the corpses laying by the roadside.

In reply to Magnus (msg # 82):

"I think it might help for you to wear the guards armour that the lead brigand wore. At least it will still be in the service to the emperor...and on that note, Gustav, what armour are you wearing?

As such, I would suggest the following:

Leather Armour :Suggest Odelia and Gustav if they do not have better. Else Merchant.
Mail suit (torso, arms, legs) with additional boots and leather gloves :Magnus
Iron Piton : Whoever...
Steel file :Rondald
$90 in coin :Shared 6 ways, Rondald, Terri, Gustav, Odelia, Magnus and Merchant, $15 each
2 x Cheap broadsword : Magnus, Rondald
1 x large knife: Terri
2 x crossbow 18/17 bolts in quarrels: Magnus, Gustav
1 x medium bow and 16 arrows in quiver: Terri or Odelia?
"

Rondald will help anyone learn the crossbow that wants to, and will himself learn how to use broadswords, but will also practice with both Knife (and Crossbow, as he teaches others.)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Fri 09 Feb 2018.

In reply to Rondald Bertrand (msg # 83):

My armor, if you can address it as such, was a cloth tunic. I may be as good with a broadsword as either of you, I have studied it some. I do prefer a somewhat more handy weapon, but can use a broadsword decently.

I haven't had much chance to speak with Odelia, but we both seem to be dextrous enough to benefit from the bow, which is a bit hard to use well. Perhaps we can shoot it and see who seems more inclined.

   She watched as the Sea Farmer counted out the coins and took her share, putting them along with the rest of the coins she carried in a small pouch on her belt. She looked at the collection of leather armour piled on the wagon as her eyes narrowed. Considering the bandits who'd just wore them, she quickly shook her head no when asked about wearing it.

   A glance at the longbow was followed by a hand reaching out and taking the weapon and holding it for a moment. She pulled on the bowstring but was barely able to pull it slightly apart before replacing the weapon where she'd picked it up. She gave the crossbow a sidelong glance but paid them no further attention.

   When the blonde, Du Meseries, mentioned about the bows she shook her head slowly. A cloth covered hand flattened as she indicated the longbow, then pointed towards him, almost offering the weapon up for him to use.