Trying to decide between running away from the threat and hiding - oh how he loathe fighting - Bilfro finds himself hesitating too long for either.  So he does what remains, when disregarding all other options, and readies his mighty tiny little crossbow.

This is how the war starts, not with a bang, but with a whimper.  A very local and small war, naturally.  But war, war never changes its trousers (it always wear brown, in case), although it does on occasion change its underwear - it is, after all, not Aarnr, but far, far more civilised and polite.

Thus goes the mind of Bilfro the Magnificent Halfling-Giant as he prepares to not die in agonising pain once more.

Everything seems to move alarmingly quickly...

Ozzy reacts fast though, scrambling up onto the cart, where he retrieves his lute, before clearing his throat, assaying a few notes, and launching into a song...

"The Queen of Light took her bow,
And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom,
And walked the night alone."

Near the cart, Eilieen taunts her foes, and threatens them with the retribution of Heaven before beginning to pray to Zadastha.  Somewhere, not too far away, a dog barks...

Reluctantly readying his small crossbow, Bilfro prepares to sell his life dearly, and with no plan for a clearance sale.  He does, however, note that there do seem to be an awful lot of enemies looking his way.  He may be forced to use Valkyria to teach them a lesson if they get too close.  In all honesty though, they would need to demonstrate an astounding turn of speed to get that close to him...

Arkan draws his heavy sword, muttering under his breath, but his words are drowned out as a noise, something between a roar, a scream, and a howl, suddenly erupts from the forest behind the party and to the left of the road.  Sounds like something very large just woke up on the wrong side of the lair...

His own bellow only a little quieter than the monstrous beast which seems to be lurking among the trees somewhere behind him, Aarnr advances rapidly on the enemy.  Whatever is behind him is ignored, in favour of the foes that he can see.

A number of whom are backing away, as if considering flight as a viable battle plan.

Visibly shaken the woman still manages to draw her sword, and yells at the men, "Stand your ground, you dogs!  He's only one man!"  A handful of them rally, and prepare to fight for the party's wealth.  Or, rather, they prepare to fight for a transfer of the party's wealth...

Colwyn lets his breath out in a long, smooth exhalation, and his arrow flies towards its mark.  The enemy leader also lets out her breath, though hers is in a ragged scream, as the rogue's arrow embeds itself in her shoulder.

"Got yer!" Colwyn yells triumphantly.  But his triumph is short lived, as a dozen or so more men emerge from the forest behind his target.  And these are armed with bows...


OOC: Oh, dear.  That can't be good.  Can it?  On the plus side, Ozzy's singing gives everybody a +1 bonus for attacks and damage.

Combatant         Init
Oswald Osbourne    23
Eilieen            16
Erista             13
Bilfro Gabbins     12
Arkan              10
Leader              7 (AC=16)
Toll collectors     7 (AC=15)
Aarnr Foultongue    6
Colwyn Akbar        5
Archers             5 (AC=14)

Characters' Apparent Health
Aarnr Foultongue: Good
Arkan :           Good
Bilfro Gabbins:   Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Good

The roaring and growling from somewhere to his rear only makes Aarnr crosser.  To think he has to waste his time dealing out death to these beslubbering, spur-galled canker-blossoms when he might be imperiling his life against whatever monstrous beast now assails his friends.

"Here's thy froggin' coin, thou currish foolborn coxcombs !" the priest snarls, hurling his handful of coppers to the ground.  "Payment for the ferryman who will bear ye surly flap-mouthed apple-johns to Hel's cold domain !!"

"Don't let any of the puttocks escape !!" Aarnr instructs his friends as he gives himself over to the spirit of Bowbe that's hammering at the edge of his consciousness, raising his newly acquired sword above his head as he charges forward, intent upon the huddled mass of toll-collectors, screaming incomprehensible threats.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:11, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

"Oh, well done Colwyn!" Eilieen cries, fairly dancing in place.  Finely done, indeed.  There's that horrifying scream, but...she can't see Erista anywhere.  And the danger lies before them.  Hoping against hope that this is a ploy on the part of their trickster mage, she prepares and begins.

"Lady of Love, lend your strength to those who would stand against injustice," Eilieen intones, raising her holy symbol.  A rosy light limes it for an instant, divine power surging.  Her other hand rises, then, to point her spear at her desired target.

"Go, Doggie!"

OOC - Okay, this will be a little complicated.
If the GM graciously allowed the summoning of Doggie 2.0 already (I don't know, have we gone through a round?), Eilieen will summon Doggie I as well.  If Doggie 2.0 has not yet been called up, she'll do that.

Either way, I'll need to prioritize targets.

1.  IF Doggie(s?) can reach the archers without suffering any AoO, I'll have them do so - better to tie up the missile weapon people with a couple creatures.

2.  If Doggies must suffer AoO to reach the archers, I'll have them back up Aarnr, attacking people who get into combat with him and blocking off any way for them to flank him.

Erista, who would be terribly flattered if she knew what Eilieen was thinking, follows her own course.

As Bilfro prepares his astonishing marksmanship skill, a roar that makes Aarnr sound positively cuddly makes the Masterful Magician miss his shot and he glances behind himself, in such a courageous fashion as only he can display.

"By the wiggly bits at the end of a wobbly pole made out of jiggly things, what in the name of all that was that sound?!" he inquires quietly at the top of his voice, both in intensity as well as in pitch.

He checks his pocket to make sure Death Unseen is still there, since it might have been him.  It was definitely not Death Unheard, because, duh.  Could it be Death Unsmelt?  Is the next piece of the puzzle going to bite his bits off and chew on them till next weekend?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Mon 24 Oct 2016.

On the cart, Ozzy seems to be warming up, and as he continues to sing, his words carry across the battlefield to fortify his allies...

"Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light.
The dark Lord rides in force tonight,
And time will tell us all.

Oh, throw down your plough and hoe,
Rest not to lock your homes.
Side by side we await the might
Of the darkest of them all."

Thrusting his sword into the ground Arkan simultaneously withdraws a scroll from the scroll case at his belt with his free hand, hoping the loud snarling from the forest will keep the archers at bay for a moment while he uses it.

Unfurling the smooth, vellum seeming parchment he swiftly incants the runic writing inscribed upon it, writing he himself had scribed with his own hands little over a year ago before even setting out on his journey to foreign lands.

ᛋᚻᛁᛖᛚᛞ

The air shimmers around him with an ethereal glow for a brief moment, and the parchment burns instantly into ashen tatters, leaving a sulphurous smell in the air.

---

Staying back near the cart, Colwyn flinches as a bestial roar rips through the night air.  Still, he realises, Eilieen is nearby and he can hear her dog barking.  Ozzy also seems to be between himself and the giant, slavering monster*.  He should be safe enough for the moment.

Finding his target again (and whispering a brief prayer of thanks to the god of white surcoats), he sends another arrow hurtling towards the enemy leader.


*In Colwyn's experience the purely speculative description, "giant, slavering monster" seems like a pretty safe bet.

Ozzy continues singing at the top of his voice, ignoring the heckling of the monster in the forest behind him...

Eilieen keeps praying to Zadastha as a dog races past her, all flowing golden fur, bright eyes, and flexing muscle.  The beast barks happily as it follows Aarnr into battle.  And from somewhere behind Eilieen comes the barking of a second dog.  Faint at first, but getting closer. 

There is a sudden flare of prismatic brightness which pours from the forest to the right of the road and washes over the archers, who scream and yell in panic, before a few of them drop to the ground, unmoving.    This does nothing to steady the nerves of their comrades, who can see Aarnr rushing towards them, closely followed by a dog which seems to shine as if a ray of sunlight falls upon it alone. 

Bilfro, confused by the roar of what must, surely, be the world's largest dragon, and only inches from his ear, manages to send his crossbow quarrel thudding into the road about half way between himself and the nearest enemy.

Arkan, meanwhile continues his preparations for battle, his sword standing upright in the rutted road as he works an incantation...

"Archers!" screams the leader, attempting to remove the arrow from her shoulder, "Take down the magicians!"

A handful of the warriors move to intercept Aarnr, swords swinging.  In a deafening clash of steel, and a welter of blood, they meet the priest of Bowbe head on as Eilieen's dog snaps at their legs.  In four heartbeats and the shake of an owlbears tail, only the priest and the dog remain standing.  Both of them are covered with blood.  None of which belongs to the dog, and only a little to Aarnr. 

The enemy leader staggers and doubles over, as Colwyn puts an arrow flights-deep in her gut.  She forces herself upright and reaches for a pouch hanging at her belt.

Her archers unleash a volley of arrows, and Eilieen is forced to duck aside as two embed themselves in the ground where she had been standing.  Arkan watches as three more are deflected by the force of his spell.  Others miss their targets...

And for some reason, Ozzy stops singing.  Colwyn glances in his direction, just in time to see the halfling drop his lute and topple from the cart with an arrow through his neck!

OOC: Told you it couldn't be good.  On the plus side, Ozzy's singing gives everybody a +1 bonus for attacks and damage for a little while longer, even though he's been silenced.

Combatant         Init
Oswald Osbourne     -
Eilieen            16
Erista             13
Bilfro Gabbins     12
Arkan              10
Leader              7 (AC=16)
Toll collectors     7 (AC=15)
Aarnr Foultongue    6
Colwyn Akbar        5
Archers             5 (AC=14)

Characters' Apparent Health
Aarnr Foultongue: Good
Arkan :           Good
Bilfro Gabbins:   Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Dead?

"Oswald!" Eilieen shrieks.  Terror rips through her, grappling with a sudden burst of raw fury.  All this blood, all of this death, and Oswald down with an arrow in his throat...for what?  For greed.  For ego.  For a small person who believes they have the right to take, take, and take again to satisfy their own emptiness.

No more.

"Kill them!" she screams at her dogs, turning to bolt toward the wagon.  The wagon, and the fallen Oswald.  "Kill them all!"  The priestess rushes to her fallen companion, words - and tears - spilling from her.

"Zadastha, mistress of mercy, I beseech you to save this voice from stillness!"

OOC - Assuming Ozzy is still alive, Cure Moderate Wounds - if that doesn't at least get him on his feet, nothing will.  If not, well...

Results are 21 - assuming Ozzy wasn't KILLED, that's exactly the damage he took!

The screaming and shouting is to be expected, but unfortunately Eileen's contribution goes unnoticed amid the cries of the ensorcelled¹ archers and the horribly chopped up² guards, leaving Aarnr quite unaware of poor Ozzie's plight.  Though it's not as if his reaction would be any different if he knew his blood brother's fate.

Indeed the priest's own howls as he turns and races towards the obvious target that is the massed ranks of the archers merely add to the cacophony of cries and confusion.

¹ nothing to do with Aarnr
² quite a lot to do with Aarnr

Arkan smirks as the arrows bounce off his ward, then focuses on the morass of archers unaffected by what was undoubtedly Erista's conjured spell of colors. Before he can do much else Eileen's wail of terror causes him to turn around sharply, and he sees Oswald fall with an arrow in his neck.

Swirling around in rage he grasps his battleblade with one hand and whispers an incantation under his breath, while making a sweeping gesturing at the group with his other hand.

The ground they are standing upon begins to bubble and ooze...

---

Colwyn is shaken by Ozzy's fall.  But for only a brief moment.  With an incoherent cry of rage he nocks another arrow and shoots at the enemy leader.  Sadly his emotions get the better of him, and the shaft flies over the woman's head and lands somewhere further along the road.

This does nothing to calm the rogue...

Dead calm¹ Bilfro surveys the battlefield, plotting his next manoeuvre².  He stands there...  Ah, who are we kidding.  He runs about like a headless chicken in a future market place on the day when all prices are reduced, with the exception that he still have his head, for what all good that does.

At one point he kind of shrieks, "Korkmayın, ben bir hayalet, boo duyuyorum!" while skipping about and waving his hands about as if trying to fly away.

_________________________________
¹  On the absolute brink of sheer and utter panic
²  Glancing about in all but a total state of confusion

A small rock flies out from the treeline, moving at some speed towards the enemy leader's head.

Ozzy lays unmoving on the ground as Eilieen tends to his wound.  Gently withdrawing the arrow from his neck, she prays to Zadastha to aid her small companion.  Alas, her efforts seem to be in vain - the brightness of his soul has already faded from the halfling's eyes, and he has ceased to draw breath...

With a cry of pain, the enemy leader suddenly stumbles, and lifts her hand to the side of her scalp.  When she pulls it away, her fingers are stained with blood, black in the gloom.  The same blood which, even now, is starting to pour down her face. 

As another bellowing roar erupts from the forest, this time coming from somewhere behind the archers, the woman shakes her head in disbelief and yells, "Retreat!  Flee!  Scatter!"  Dropping her sword, she starts to stagger back towards the forest.

As she skirts around the archers, she slips and falls heavily, as do several of the bowmen.  Only three of the archers remain standing, and those only briefly as, with golden hounds snapping at their ankles, they fall before Aarnr's new sword (which seems to be more than adequate for the pitiless slaughter of his enemies).

The priest takes a step to one side, to where the fallen bowmen and their leader still struggle to rise on the oddly treacherous ground.  Snarling in his berserk fury, like some wild beast, Aarnr himself almost slips, but steadies himself as he raises his weapon over his head... and drops it to cleave the ribs of one of the archers.

The handful of still standing troops scatter, screaming, into the forest, as Aarnr dispatches the four fallen bowmen in almost as few heartbeats, and then takes the head of the woman who led them.

OOC: Penalty for Aarnr, for unnecessary roughness.  Though that's cancelled out by a bonus for efficiency.  Battle appears to be over, unless anybody feels like chasing a few scattering men through a dark forest in the middle of the night.

Oh, and if anybody's interested in prisoners, there are still some archers laying about  who were stunned by the burst of coloured light in the previous round.

Combatant         Init
Oswald Osbourne     -
Eilieen            16
Erista             13
Bilfro Gabbins     12
Arkan              10
Leader              -
Toll collectors     -
Aarnr Foultongue    6
Colwyn Akbar        5
Archers             -

Characters' Apparent Health
Aarnr Foultongue: Good
Arkan :           Good
Bilfro Gabbins:   Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Dead

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:24, Sun 06 Nov 2016.

Bilfro turns away from the now done battle and glances in the direction from whence his inspiration came, wondering whether more lives will be lost to it, or merely those he helped take.  Life used to be some much different, violence avoided.  Now, Death follows him everywhere.  His gaze drops to a small shape near the wagon and he hangs his head.

He slowly wanders off to one side and slumps down on a fallen tree, absently stroking the head of Death Unseen.

"Oswald," Eilieen whispers.  Zadastha's strength pours into him...and seeps away, like water into a cracked and broken cup.  Gently, she takes his hands, holding them for a long moment...then crosses them upon his chest, arranging him with great care in a comfortable posture.

He is long past worrying about such things, but she cannot simply leave him sprawled.

Slowly, Eilieen stands, surveying the dreadful remains of the battlefield.  Sorrow, she carries within her, but the time to release it will be later.  Now?  Hefting her spear, she strides toward the carnage.

It does not satisfy her; there is no satisfaction in death, only an end to the evil they faced.

"To me," she whispers, recalling her dogs.  Her voice rises.  "Aarnr, it is enough!  Well done, and stay your sword!  We shall take those left as prisoners - I would know more of this banditry!"

OOC - Yes, interested in prisoners!

OOC: Not interested in prisoners !  :>

Still snarling incomprehensibly, Aarnr spots some of the fallen archers¹ who still live and strides over to them, face contorted with anger as he raises his heavy blade above his head, then brings it down, aiming to remove the fat-kidney'd basket-cockle's pate from his weedy shoulders.  Turning to the next ...

... Eilieen's voice belatedly penetrates the red mist and the priest holds his blow, slumping somewhat as Bowbe's presence leaves him.

Aarnr turns his head towards the priestess, the unpleasant expression on his face a stern enquiry to ascertain he's heard her aright, else he'll be about his business.

He's vaguely aware that something is wrong, but is not quite sure what.  Though undoubtedly it'll be something he's done and for which he will get shouted at.

¹ I believe that's a painful medical condition ?

Aarnr stays his hand at Eilieen's behest, and some of the stunned archers live still.  All the better to succumb to torture and mutilation questioning to ascertain their purpose in harassing travellers on the road.

Colwyn lights a torch and brings it across to where the savage priest looms over the assorted corpses almost-corpses, close up, and with better light, it seems that, while they were different armour, all of the fallen men, and their leader, are dressed in identical white surcoats with a red dragon emblem emblazoned across the chest.  And both armour and surcoats are in good condition (with the exception of sundry recent slashes, tears and rips, all of which seem to coincide with still-wet blood stains).

They do not have the usual slovenly and ragged appearance that one would typically expect of bandits, brigands, or ruffians.

"Them's lookin' like soldiers." Colwyn opines sagely.

"Froggin' guardsmen," Aarnr agrees with Colwyn, barely able to stop himself skewering the nearest puny reeling-ripe scut.

Exhaling slowly Arkan glances about at the blood soaked battlefield, all the blood coming from their enemies whom Aarnr and his new sword had decapitated or otherwise cut open...save for the trickle of life that spilled out of Oswald's neck.

Sighing in resignation at the tragedy, Arkan sheathes his battleblade, keeping an eye out for any errant stragglers that may have only pretended to run as a feint. He glances over to where Oswald's body lies and says, "Nothing can be done for him, save a worthy burial. He died, but died valiantly in battle; which is perhaps the best fate we can all hope for."

Then walking forward to stand with Colwyn and Aarnr, Arkan gazes grimly at the uniforms in the torchlight. "They spoke the truth then? In that case we should be away from here as soon as possible before there is a hunt called out for us."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:12, Sun 13 Nov 2016.

Arkan's words merely confirm the priest's feeling that something is wrong.  Ignoring the advice to be gone swiftly, Aarnr narrows his eyes at the young man.

"Who froggin' died ?  These fawnin', pottle-deep pignuts don't deserve any fobbin' respect !  They're reeky, fool-born varlets !" even a burial, distasteful as the priest finds such, is more than he'd grant them.

"This one's not even dead ... yet," he eyes the craven, poised to remedy that matter but aware that Eilieen has something to say on the matter.

Erista comes out from the trees a way up the road, not far from where the leader fell.  As is her habit, she first goes to her and checks her over quickly.  "They've probably got a camp nearby," she points out, as she rises from her crouch over the woman's body.  "Might have spoils they took from other passers' through," she notes.  "It'd be more or less a public service if we were to go gather some of those up, in case we might meet their rightful owners along our own way."

As she turns to complete this thought, smiling, she finally takes in the scene around Ozzy, and hurries over, paling in the torchlight.  She stops a bit back, and looks at Eilieen.

"Ozzy?" she asks.