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Post by jon on Sept 24, 2013 19:12:12 GMT
Hans whispers to the group, "Perhaps we can intercept this wagon without them even realising someone is here? Depending how valuable the cargo is it may be even more successful than the previous plan... That or we could wait for them to pass and have an easier assault on the hill... actually that sounds better..." Hans fidgets.
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Post by teodoro on Sept 25, 2013 0:29:56 GMT
Teo is briefly hypnotized by the blue torches and wonders what sort of spell allows them to function. He is eager to inspect them after they take over the camp.
"Hans is right," Teo says quietly, "We should stay hidden and let them pass so there are less of them to bother us on our mission." Teo stifles an excited giggle as he notices how serious he sounds.
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Post by henwen88 on Sept 25, 2013 14:37:00 GMT
Stroking its neck to keep it calm, Leath leads the pony into the forest cover, trying to get the whole wagon in among the trees and out of sight of the road. He holds his breath, hoping the bandits coming down the hill don't hear anything.
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Post by sternold on Sept 25, 2013 21:43:25 GMT
Waiting, waiting, why all the waiting? You no think bandits deserve death for attacking? besides, is no like they strong. Us is strong. Why no attack?" Orgoth frowns as he looks at Teo and Hans. He didn't expect them to be heroes, but he thought retaliation for what happened would be an big enough incentive to attack these bandits. He doesn't rush ahead yet though, because even Orgoth realizes he can't do this alone.
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Post by Admin on Sept 26, 2013 0:32:40 GMT
Teo's mind runs blank regarding which spells would allow such torches to function, but he can think of a handful of relevant alchemical reagents.
[Teo's Spellcraft check: 9=6+3]
---
The bandit caravan advances towards the party position, still unaware of their enemies. The group counts a total of a dozen skeletons. They move and march as a single being, unified by some dark magic. One of the bandits handles the reigns while the other holds a crossbow. The crossbowman scans for potential threats, but gets distracted by the driver talking to him.
[Stealth roll=19, vs. bandits' one of 12.]
"Lia's been wanting more skeletons for her patrols," one says in a slight Bulgarian accent. "She says some wizards almost annihilated her last one."
"Wizards, eh?" the crossbowman chuckles. "The one the boss hired gives me the creeps, but at least he's always down in the crypt. These boneheads do make our job easier."
"Yeah, I wish we had reinforcements like that back when we fought the Greeks," the driver replies. "We had enough dead to outnumber their living."
"The boss says we've got enough dead to take on the Greeks, Bulgars, and Venetians," the crossbowman says. "But he can't even take that one village. I woulda just stormed it, had my way with their women, and put the place to the torch."
"Lia said the plan was to starve 'em out and let thirst kill 'em," the driver added. "We just need to step over their bodies to loot them, and that wizard'll raise a host of new skeletons and zombies for us."
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Post by jon on Sept 26, 2013 19:30:12 GMT
Hans squints at the containers on the wagon, attempting to get an idea of what lies inside.
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Post by teodoro on Sept 26, 2013 19:56:15 GMT
[This happens after Orgoth speaks, not as the enemies are walking by] Teo keeps his voice down while answering Orgoth "Friend, you'll have plenty of skulls to crack, with skin and without, once we invade the camp!"
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Post by elgeon on Sept 26, 2013 20:50:39 GMT
The ranger stands hidden with his bow in hand, ready for anything. He throws an angry look at Teo and Orgoth, he can hear them so clearly that he wonders how are the bandits still unaware of their presence.
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Post by aldeus on Sept 27, 2013 1:31:37 GMT
Aldeus moves his hand from his side to the handle of his dagger. He extracts the dagger halfway from it's sheath with his right hand and runs his left forefinger slowly up the blade.
Now confident in the blade's fitness, Aldeus takes the drop of blood onto his lips and tastes the familiar iron-rich flavor.
He glances over at his companions, now fully aware they are all brothers in life and death. A warm wave of confidence and battle trust flushes through Aldeus' mind.
Aldeus whispers to the group "There is no room for pride among brothers and sisters in combat. Less men to fight means less chance we perish."
He draws slow, deep breaths to remain a ghost to the passing bandits and prepare for the battle at the camp ahead.
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Post by sternold on Sept 27, 2013 14:21:28 GMT
"Lucky we no family." Orgoth sneers at Aldeus. He stands up and walks a bit north. He looks back at them. "Cowards." If the rest of the party doesn't want to fight, that's fine with him. But Orgoth feels that when he gets paid to destroy these people, he better do it good. When he feels that he is at a reasonable distance from the group, he focuses on the bandits. He looks at them, realizing that the roles might have easily been switched. But he pushes that thought out. Now it was killing time.
He rushes towards them, hoping the trees would conceal him long enough. He looks at the skeletons. The needless pain and suffering they caused, for no reason at all. His blood begins to boil at the thought [Rage]. He understands the reasons of the bandits, however flawed. But the skeletons are nothing but killing machines. And worse, magic killing machines. When he jumps out of the bushes, he swings at the first enemy he sees.
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Post by henwen88 on Sept 27, 2013 20:51:42 GMT
Oh, God, Leath thought, watching Orgoth rush headlong at the wagon the party had agreed to let pass. As much as Leath had started to like him, the orc was becoming a liability again. They had a mission--to get the water flowing and eliminate the source of necromancy--and this was not going to help accomplish that mission. What happened to the plan, dammit? He wasn't going to help Orgoth this time. He was going to stay put and proceed with the plan, if there was any chance the wagon was not going to be noticed, and they were still going to be able to set up an ambush. He was only going to intervene if the bandits spotted the party with the wagon in the woods and the plan fell apart anyway. He cursed the barbarian under his breath.
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Post by Admin on Sept 27, 2013 23:37:30 GMT
Hans notices yellow-tinted dirt and ash spilling from the rear of the cart as it passes, as well as a few pieces of charred lumber. Likely, whatever was in the storehouse is in this cart. There is also a foul smell coming from some buckets within the rear of the cart.
---
[Combat initiative order:
Surprise round: Orgoth: 14
(Any others who wish to intervene may do so now).
After surprise round: Orgoth: 14 Crossbowman: 11 Driver: 10 Skeleton Troop: 8]
Orgoth rages and charges into the fray, emerging from the foliage like a bat out of Hell. The raging barbarian crashes into the nearest skeleton, his massive axe ready to smash bones. He takes a wild swing at the nearest skeleton, smashing its ribcage to clattering bones on the ground that do not cease twitching until they hit the ground.
[Orgoth's attack roll=16+5=21, dealing 8 damage to the skeleton troop.]
The two bandits turn towards the source of the commotion as the skeletons halt. He makes another attack, but the swing goes wild.
[Orgoth's attack roll: 9]
"Boneheads, finish him! You, get us out of here!" the crossbowman trains his weapon on the half orc and fires a bolt that strikes Orgoth in the center of mass near his stomach, punching through his scale mail. "Heh, got 'em! Outta tell the boss about that."
[Crossbowman's attack roll is 20, crit unconfirmed. Deals 9 points of damage to Orgoth.]
"Run, you damn animals!" the driver whips the horses and the cart rumbles onwards, some of its cargo flying out of the back. The wagon speeds away from the party, leaving its undead escorts to finish off the threat. Any thoughts of investigating closer, however, are quickly dispelled as the skeletons react. Unlike the mindless ones from the ambush, these move as a single unit, forming a phalanx like formation of interlocking shields about two ranks deep. They are not in range of Orgoth yet, but they beat their rusting weapons against their shields as they march towards the wounded half-orc.
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Post by jon on Sept 28, 2013 4:33:15 GMT
'Why did that Aldeus fellow need to speak?' Hans thinks to himself... Hans begins to track one of the horses with his crossbow, releasing the bolt as Orgoth breaks cover.
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Post by elgeon on Sept 28, 2013 10:40:02 GMT
[Don't know if it's too late for that.] Elgeon curses as he sees Orgoth blow their cover. "This moron is gonna get us killed" he thinks. Nevertheless, staying in cover, he pulls the string of his bow and aims at the driver.
[If this is not possible because he took off, then aim at the crossbowman.]
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Post by teodoro on Sept 28, 2013 17:27:14 GMT
Teo has understood that it is unofficially his duty to keep Orgoth relatively restrained. His failure in that regard bothers him much more than his earlier failed prank.
As he realizes Orgoth is going to abandon the plan, he is briefly rooted in place. He wants to prove to his group that even if he is not capable of creating a plan, at the very least, he could have the capacity to follow one. Then again he also wants to keep his brute of a friend alive. When others make the move towards Orgoth's defense, Teo's actions come easier. He follows the path that Orgoth took along the treeline attempting to remain hidden.
[This happens regardless of whether the wagon gets away or not.] He attempts to the cloud the mind of skeleton closest to Orgoth, trying to take it out of the fight temporarily. They may be more organized than the last group of skeletons, but Teo can fix that.
[cast Daze]
[I'm not sure if Daze would work on undead. I don't think Teo would know either. But, if for some reason it's obvious to Teo that Daze wouldn't work on a skeleton, he'll cast Magic Missile.]
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