Their business with the Chief Constable concluded, Neide led her friends out of the constables' headquarters.

"All right, then", she said, "It seems we're all set. Do you think we have time for a quick meal, before we go looking for Arno's men?"

Ondreya looks at the sky. "N...no," she says. "Better do it now."

Aden agrees. "If you're hungry enough to be annoyed about it, that's better. We're fighting magic that dulls the mind and the senses. Better to be a little on edge, really..."

Neide raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Really?", she said, "All right then... Let's go. Let's get this thugs and be over with it..."

She turned to Aden.

"Where do we begin?", she asked, "This part is yours, my friend..."

Aden looks around, then starts walking.

The rest of the party follows.

He stops near a large tree that has an iron bench built around it for strollers to stop and rest... He lingers there... Mimes talking to Ondreya for a minute-- but there's no sound-- he's obviously just trying to look like he's talking... Then he walks into the nearby treeline of trunks and bushes.

Ondreya follows.

Then Kerran.

Then Neide.

The others haven't gone far-- they're crouched down in the bushes, watching the parts of the village that can be seen from the new vantage-point, which honestly is most of the village.

"Just wanted to make sure no one was watching," Aden explains. "So listen-- I'm about to start quietly chanting-- though not so quietly that you can't hear me, just quiet enough that no one else should. But my question is-- let's say we see the fellow who got away from us-- Arno. Should we rush him immediately? Or should we try to actually catch him in the act of obviously causing trouble?"

"We need to catch him in the act", Neide shook her head, "There can't be any doubt that this was the man who was behind all these crimes. If he catch him as soon as we see him, he'll just say it's mistake..."

She pouted her lips slightly in irritation.

"We need to catch him while he's actually doing something. With some onlookers around, hopefully. I know it might be tricky to pull off, but that's the only way we can pull this off..."

Aden nods. "All right. So we need to not only spot, but then also be patient and wait to catch in the act." He takes a deep breath. "Well. Are we ready to begin our watch...?"

(If so, roll WIS, Neide)

Neide gave Aden a nod of acknowledgement...

02:11, Today: Neide rolled 5 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,1.

Ah, crap! Arno slips away :\

Everyone watches for trouble...

When it comes, Neide misses it. "Fire!" someone shouts. "Fire!"

The thatched roof of a house is burning...

"There!" says Ondreya, pointing. (Aden, like her, has also jumped up and is pointing, he just didn't say "There!" because he's still chanting his chant.)

Two men are running away-- one is Arno.

In seconds, the two men will reach the treeline on the opposite side of the village... Better start running... (DEX roll, please...

Neide gets 1 new xp but oh no they're getting away now she has to actually run and try to catch them...)

"Damn it!", Neide cursed loudly, as she spotted the fire and the mercenaries running away. "We missed them!"

She launched into a sprint, hoping to catch up with Arno and the other man. They couldn't be allowed to get away!

01:57, Today: Neide rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,2.

Running fast, Neide caught up with the men just before they might have disappeared into the trees and natural cover.

On the other hand, Arno had apparently set up an ambush first just in case it was needed. A sword comes swinging out of nowhere (all right, from behind a large tree).

(Roll DEX to dodge or parry it!)

OOC: Dodging!

01:32, Today: Neide rolled 4 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,3.

... and failing :P

(GM rolls dice: Neide takes 1 new point of damage (her armor stopped the other two).)

There are four of them, or if you prefer, Arno and three others.

Arno comes back-- it appears that he's going to attempt to finish Neide off before her compatriots get here (which should be mere seconds-- they were right behind her)...

(Your move! Attack Arno, attack the nearest guy who did the actual damage, or do something else... but if you back off//retreat, they'll probably start running again...)
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:01, Tue 07 Sept 2021.

Neide winced painfully, as the sword of one of Arno's thugs cut into her. She didn't let herself be deterred by it, though.

"Arno!", she shouted, "Give up! We know what you're doing here!"

She jumped at the mercenary leader and hacked with her sword at him...

01:41, Today: Neide rolled 7 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 2,4.

(There may very likely be a counterattack afterward, but 7 to 9 is a hit-- roll 1d6 for damage done to Arno...)

23:44, Today: Neide rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.

Arno takes the hit and grimaces briefly, but he counterattacks fast.

(GM rolls dice... Arno hits hard for 4 damage... Neide's armor absorbs 2. Neide takes 2 new damage.)

Neide hears fighting behind her-- the rest of her group must have caught up and be dealing with Arno's men... She probably doesn't have time to risk glancing back (or does she...?)

Not taking the risk of looking back, Neide pressed on and hacked at Arno again:

01:24, Today: Neide rolled 7 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 1,5.

Hit?

(7-9 on an attack is a hit, but you should also expect a counter-attack attempt (or something else to go slightly wrong (unless you finish defeating them))

...So, roll for damage done to Arno...)

Question: do I roll 1d10 or 1d6 for damage? I usually roll 1d10, but the last time you asked me to roll 1d6. So, what is correct in this situation?

(PFFFFFFF. 1d10. My mistake. Tell you what, I'll roll you 1d14 this time to make up for it:

09:40, Today: The GM, on behalf of Neide, rolled 2 using 1d14 ((2)).

Oops!)

Neide hits, but Arno's leather armor protects him somewhat.

He attempts to retaliate...

(09:41, Today: The GM rolled 6 using 2d6+1 ((1,4)).)

And fails.

A bit disconcerted that the counter-attack failed, he tries a new attack:

(09:42, Today: The GM rolled 6 using 2d6 ((3,3)).)

Which also-- barely-- fails to harm Neide.

He's getting frustrated by how good Neide is-- she hopes that part of the frustration is also that her friends, behind her, are also doing well...

"Not so strong as you thought you were, Arno?", Neide mocked the mercenary with a wry smile.

She wanted to press on with attacking - but first, she risk a short glance behind to see what was happening to her friends...

(Hmmm... INT check, please...)

00:05, Today: Neide rolled 10 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,5.

Hmmmmm...

From her quick glance, it looked like her allies were winning. Certainly one man was on the ground prone, and her three allies were all still standing...

Having checked that her friends seemed to be all right, Neide pressed her attack on Arno...

01:54, Today: Neide rolled 8 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 3,4.

In case a damage roll is needed:

01:55, Today: Neide rolled 1 using 1d10 with rolls of 1.

Oh, come on!