Sir Jean steps in front of Vladimir and assumes the high hanging guard known as the ox stance.


OOC: Going on defense for the first round Jean will attack anyone who attempts to attack Vlad.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:37, Thu 10 Mar 2011.

The Prince in good hands A'kos grins at Jean and says, "He'll be in good hands then...I go to play."

With a triumphal roar A'kos charges the half crow/half man combination and lashes out two quick strokes with his sword.

16:55, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 2d4+5. dmg att 2.
16:54, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 15 using 1d20+5. att2.
16:54, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 8 using 1d20+5. att1.

The first stroke goes wide, but the second slashes back toward the monster in a clever manuever, using his momentum to abet the strike.

Young Yaro quickly sets string to bow and looses two arrows in the direction of the hag. They are good quick shots but he is unsure whether they will penetrate the hags tough skin. He remains well back, if he is going to be any use here it will be with his bow.

Fully knowing that the prince was the prime target for the brothers and their henchmen, Dyanna flourishes her hands in the air and chants a few melodic words in an incomprehensible language and quickly points to Vladimir who vanishes from sight.

"Dyanna has cast invis on the prince."

Sorry...been waiting for a few posts, moving ahead. For combats such as this with so many opponents on each side, I despise using the die roller so I will use my own dice. Things just move so much quicker for me this way. Do continue to roll for your character though.

As soon as the orders are given, the allies of the two brothers fall forward towards Vladimir, fortunately he is now invisible but still they attack. They are a mercenary lot and know they will not be paid if they fail.

The hag and the crow man are the first to come forward but are met by Jean and A'kos respectively. The hag is armed with a great axe while the crow man carries a large wicked club, the four clash hard, Jean is able to score two deep slashes on the hag while A'kos scores one hit against the crow. But this is not without price as both of the adversaries are skilled and land as well. Jean taking the worst of the exchange.

Loukas is able to sneak behind the vile Yaropolk and slip his sword up under the ribs. The Prince falls forward off the blade but is able to remain on his feet, it is a bad wound but he stands before Loukas sword in hand. He lashes out with his curved sword and cuts the monk deep on the leg.

Yaro manages to hit Oleg with one of his arrows while Jaleh does the same with one of hers. The younger prince falls back to let his retainers fight for him.

Ilya is swarmed by the boyars but manages to kill one of them while backing the others off. Miroslav hits the dragon man twice with his axe doing grievous damage, the dragon man returns a like blow with his great sword, staggering the Rus. Alyosha and the three other boyars loyal tot he crown are engaged with the boyars loyal to the brothers.

The dark woman who is among the retainers draws a scroll out of her robe and begins to read. THe short hairy man looks at the monk of Volos and mutters a few words but seems unhappy with the lack of result.

The cut hurt and only confirmed Loukas's desire to bring Yaropolk down quickly. Accordingly he tossed his blade, Akribis Alitheia into his left hand and began to rain down empty-handed punches upon the Prince as only a Brother of Veles can.

Enraged by the nasty cut A'kos loses all semblence of composure and swings wildly at his avianoid foe.

'Natural 1'

He misses and, uh, other bad stuff...
This message was last edited by the player at 21:11, Mon 14 Mar 2011.

Sir Jean bared his teeth in a fierce snarl and struck high and low at the hags head and hip. Coffin Nail flashed with a cold blue light as it cleaved air and flesh.

Dyanna whirls about with her hands in the air while still under the relative cover of the secret passage way door, near Jaleh and Yaro. Suddenly behind her stand 7 crossbow equipped boyars who quickly take aim and release their bolts into the main body of the brothers force.

Dyanna casts spectral Force.

Dyanna continues to concentrate on her illusion with great effect as the 7 boyars fire once again causing more damage.

A'kos swings hard at the crow-man but encounters the crows heavy club, the blade gets tuck int he wood of the club but only for a second as the creature rips it free, smashing the Falcon hard in the shoulder. A'kos has retained his weapon though.

The hag is staggered by the blows of the Frankish knight but still returns her own, knocking Jean back and bloodied.

Loukas lets his sword drop in close quarters, relying on his unarmed combatives...a flurry of strikes hit Yaropolk and drive him to his knees, he regains his footing and slashes at the monk who has already moved out of the way. Yaropolk wheezes and coughs.

Yaro and Jaleh concentrate on Prince Oleg. Yaro has no luck but Jaleh manages to hit the prince once in the neck...not a mortal wound but a bad one. He rips the arrow form where it is lodged, spraying blood on those nearby.

Miroslav exchanges blows with the dragon man...both reel back bloodied by the others weapon.

Ilya and the boyars are making headway against those loyal to the brothers.

It is clear to Loukas (and not without a little satisfaction) that despite Yaropolk's attempts, if he presses he will finish the Prince off soon. Should he offer him the chance to surrender? After all, he is royalty. Also, if he does so the battle might be brought to a close sooner and without bloodshed.

Nah. I shall kill him and think of the Basilius as I do so -- cursed power-hungry bastards!

As Yaropolk spits blood Loukas smirks, "Veles is calling you, my Prince, and as his messenger, I send you to him as the murderer of your own father and failed slayer of your own brother. Your ignobillity precedes you!"

Feinting with his fist he spins and begins another flurry of unarmed blows this time leading with the leg Yaropolk wounded.

Disentangling his sword A'kos regains his composure; eyes steel and cold he sets himself for a new flurry of attacks, and the results are devastating to the crow-man:

14:22, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 11 using 2d4+5. dmg 2.
14:22, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 11 using 2d4+5. dmg 1.
14:22, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 1d20+5. att2.
14:22, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 21 using 1d20+5. att 1.

"Surely from the depths of the Christian hell do you come, and as surely will I send you back with nary a prayer to the four winds for whatever it is you call a soul," spits A'kos, his voice filled with venomous hate.

OOC: 22 points of damage.

Sir Jean pressed the attack. Maybe too much considering the amount of blood and ichor on his hands.

One blow struck true and deep into the Hag while the other...

Drat!  Double drat!  I checked the game a little over a week ago; nothing.  Super busy week at work, and now I get a chance to check again and all this fantastic action is going on and I've missed like 2 rounds already!  Can Balthazar declare actions for those earlier rounds, or must he lose them?  If he can, his actions are:
1. Cast monster summoning I to bring in help.  So that means help is coming in 1-4 rounds.
2. Did the dark-haired women finish reading her scroll?  If not, magic missile her.  Otherwise he'd like to bring a flaming sphere into the fray and start using it like a bowling ball.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:42, Sat 19 Mar 2011.

Loukas falls once again on Prince Yaropolk and within a matter of seconds the Prince is down. if he is still breathing, it is only just. The monks attack was fierce.

Jean and the Hag are still locked in mortal combat, the knight lands a clean cut with coffin nail but his second cut is intercepted by the haft of the hangs axe on her own attack. The weapon of the great hag cracks and breaks with the result of the force, she howls in fury as she watches her weapon head fall to the floor.

Miroslav manages to knock the dragon man back without getting further wounded. Ilya and the boyars are dropping the others with an increasing rate as the illusionary crossbowmen, Yaro and Jaleh all manage to pepper them with projectiles. Eight elven bowmen seemingly crop  up from nowhere an add to the hail of arrows Good result from Balthazars summon monster I

The woman reading the scrolls finds herself on the receiving end of several magic missiles form teh hands of the Hedonite.

Finally, A'kos lands two solid hits against the half man half crow creature...in reply the creature belows..."I am Solovei!" he lets for a blast of air from his pursed lips...a horrific whistle the bruises and rips against your flesh. The attack is sonic and horrifying at the same time. The hag standing before Jean collapses with blood streaming from her eyes, mouth and nose. The dragon man also feels the effects but remains locked in combat with Miroslav, he only spares a glance back at the one who called himself Solovei.

Most everyone standing before Solovei is effected to some degree.

The small hairy man grabs Prince Oleg by the arm and scurries for the door. Just after they reach the safety of the door a trio of pecheneg archers pop into the room to cover their escape.

When Yaropolk falls Loukas feels a great sense of satisfaction and begins to mumble a prayer of thanksgiving to Veles. As he does so he glances around the melee in search of Oleg at which time he hears, "I am Solovei!", and his body is wracked by the Crow-man's terrible whistle.

He quickly recovers himself, but it is difficult -- it is as if he is a pinion hanging from a staff being pecked by hundreds of vicious birds -- he feels pain as he has never felt it before. It is universal this pain. No part of his body seems untouched by it.

At the same time he sees Oleg fleeing, protected by his Half-Orcs. Now, combined with his body's agony his mind does a 'scream' of its own, Damn it! If Oleg escapes, Vladimir will know no safety.

Taking a breath the training he has received from Zmija through the past year kicks in. Yes, he feels great pain of many sorts. Within and without. Yet fear and panic will not lead to a useful solution. Fear and panic will not help his friends, nor will it help his Knyaz. All will end in the Underworld. Some with great song, but those such as these, will hear a tune of a different sort.

Having recovered himself, at least mentally, Loukas moves to help bring the song of Veles to the "Nightingale". Despite his wounds he moves with the speed of a storm. He dashes through the fight in an effort unleash another of his flurries of strikes against the brigand from a flank.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Sat 16 Apr 2011.

A'kos gives no thought to succor.  Stunned by the sonic blast, still he lifts his sword once again to offer challenge to the crow-beast.  His effort is not his best, however:

20:28, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 2d4+5.
20:28, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 10 using 1d20+5. to hit.
 

"I will see you dead!" he calls as he swings his blade.

Not wanting to be in the area of effect of that sonic blast again, and not wanting the opposing spell-casting lady to get off a spell, Balthazar draws both scimitars and moves up to melee with her.  He puts all 4 points of the defender onto offense, so with his 17 dex it is:

Primary hand: +4 scimitar, no penalty
Off hand: +2 scimitar, -2 penalty, so overall no 'to hit' adjustment

He trusts his summoned elves (8, nice!) to find appropriate targets.  A bummer that it looks like Oleg is getting away, but in a battle this large you can't get 'em all.

Jean holds his place with the intent of protecting the Prince though the task is complicated somewhat by the prince's invisibility.

He asks, "Are you still near your highness?", and strikes at any enemy who comes within range.

A'kos attacks Solovei from the front and Loukas attacks from the flank but the Nightingale Robber (as he is sometimes called) is prepared and wards off the attacks with his arms that a somehow turning into wings...with a great screech he transforms into a large raven and flies from the room, following Oleg and the small hairy man.

The woman scowls, knowing that she has been abandoned but that scowl quickly turns to fear as the Hedonite falls upon her, cutting her deeply, twice through her leather armor. She whirls the short staff she carries at the mage but he easily picks up her attack on his blade.

The dragon man finally falls to Miroslav's axe. The impossibly wide, Rus stands with a foot on the beast and roars in triumph.

From just behind his back, Jean can hear Vladimir whisper  No one dares come near the knight as he stands ready...infact the few remaining boyars drop their weapons and kneel to Ilya and the others.

The three Pechenegs are quickly brought down by the bow shot of the elves but not before allowing Oleg, the hairy man and Solovei to escape.

The woman who was engaged with Balthazar throws down her staff and backs away from the mage.

Dyanna brushes the debris from her and straightens her clothing before she heads to where Vladimir stand invisible. With a flourish and a few choice words, she dispels her own magic cast upon the prince and he stands before you all once again in plain view.

Ignoring the blood soaking his armor, A'kos howls his frustration and swings madly at the fleeing crow-man.

11:26, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 11 using 2d4+5. dmg.
11:25, Today: A'kos, the Falcon rolled 16 using 1d20+5. Final swing.

OOC: just in case he gets a final attack of opp'y.

"By the four winds' mounts I shall hunt you, beast, and take you from this earth!" he cries vehemently.

Loukas is as frustrated as A'Kos to have his blow parried so easily. When the Nightengale attempts to escape he too lunges in a final attempt to return for some of the pain caused by the brigand.

OOC: Figure my speed ought help me here.

Yaro puts arrow to string and gets right up close to the female mage, aiming at her neck. He says, "Now don't you even try to escape!" He does not plan of loosing the arrow unless she does something.

Sir Jean pivots on his heel and salutes Vladimir with his bloody blade.

Thickly accented his voice thunders, "Sviatoslav, Knyaz of the Rus is dead! Long live Vladimir, Knyaz of the Rus!".

The challenge in his words is clear.