Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Chapter 3 - The Imperials)

[Ilium]

Turning to his remaining foe, Chalik says calmly, "You should have left when you had the chance. I'll still let you go if you dismount and throw down your weapons."

OOC: Ready an action to attack if he tries to attack or flee, otherwise the offer is honest. I don't really expect him to take it, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Silas, Dartis, and Danica
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Although it's too late to save the spearman that was mauled by the bear, you are able to stabilize the second one. He's in bad shape, but you are able to rip apart some of his cleaner parts of his tunic in order to create make-shift bandages. Dartis ignores his own pain, however Danica has to help him maintain his balance at one point.

The man you saved gets brave once again and peers inside the cave that the bears erupted from and yells back, "Phew! We should have smelled those beasties before we saw them. Their cave stinks like hell." He comes back and asks, "Poor Jarel. How do we bring him back to camp. And what do we do about Fred," he asks, jerking a finger at the nearby corpse. After all the death that the Dorinthians have seen in the last decades, it's beginning to cause some of your fellow men to become somewhat immune to the sight of dead bodies.
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Chalik, Alexander, and Kel
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Chalik warned his opponent to surrender and held back, allowing for the man to give up if he wished. Instead the Imperial moved his horse a step backward and blew a horn he took from his belt. A long wail echoed off the walls of the mountain, and heads from the far off Imperial camp began to turn and notice the battle at the base of the hill. Chalik moved forward and attacked, his sword missing once at the first attack of opportunity, but then piercing into the enemy at the next strike. The man's armor took most of the blow, although a small trickle of blood appeared on his forearm. "Arrh... damn wicked dwarves...to hell with quarter..."

Kel attacked next, and his own blow was true, slicing deeply into the side of a nearby rider. The Imperial tried to gallop away, but only made it a few strides before it was obvious that he would die on his mount. Alexander also attacked, his scimitar missing, but his now dual-weldt punch dagger puncturing the lung of a soldier about to cleave at the half-orc. The man gave a grunt of surprise, shuddered, and nearly collapsed on Alexander. Another rider cursed loudly and swung at Kel, but missed badly.

OOC: 1 rider and the 1 rider leader left, but the distant army alerted about the trouble.
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[GlassEye]

Silas looks worriedly at Dartis. "Lord Kalnian, are you able to ride? We need Kel here. And now that the bears have been killed I think this place would be preferable to the lake side for our camp."

 

[Kobold Stew]

Having steadied Dartis, Danica goes and tends to Fred. She is not strong enough to move him and still be respectful, she feels, but she is able to lie him out straight, push closed any gaping wounds, and close his eyes, if necessary. She looks around to see if there is soft ground about, and approaches the cave, wondering if that might be a suitable place for burial. "Does anyone know if he has family?" she asks.

As Danica was doing this, her face remained steady. She has pulled her hair back, and tied it so that it is not hanging loose. She is concentrating, and sincere, but knows that ultimately she is not a professional at this, and that her chore is only partial and in itself not sufficient. Nevertheless, she is not in any way squeamish. She evidently has dealt with dead bodies before, and seems not to express any moral or physical discomfort working with the recently living.

Once Fred's body is modestly laid out, she approaches the cave. Is it well lit? If necessary she pulls out her everburning torch, removes its hood, and begins to walk inside. IS this an appropriate place to leave a corpse to rest?

 

[Ilium]

Chalik growls, "That's what I get for trying to be nice." He lunges forward at the horseman, hoping to eliminate him quickly so he and the Dorinthians can flee.

OOC: Dropping the Combat Expertise, so +6 attack, 17 AC (including Dodge)

 

[Fenris]

Silas looks worriedly at Dartis. "Lord Kalnian, are you able to ride? We need Kel here. And now that the bears have been killed I think this place would be preferable to the lake side for our camp."

"So long as I have breath I can ride my friend. However, finding Kel may be difficult since he is on patrol. Let me see if I can find some one in camp to tend him until Kel returns." and Dartis painfully stands and after a moment to steady himself climbs onto his mount and returns to camp to fins any one with some skill at healing.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Dartis, Silas, and Danica
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Danica is answered by the remaining man with, "Fred there didn't have no one waiting for him. He was married back when he was living in Silver Springs a few years back, but then that cholera incident struck and well..." He gives a sad shrug which says the rest. When she checks the cave to see if it's a decent place for a burial, the sorceress can smell the stink of rotten meat and animal musk. The unpleasant smell increases as Danica follows the tunnel and enters a small chamber with a raised, flat rock in the center of the room. Two passages are on either side of her from this location, one going east and the other west, although she decides she doesn't have the time to continue exploring on her own. She does find a velvet bag that sticks out amongst some old bones and debris in one corner of the chamber, however. The sorceress comes back out to find Dartis eager to return to camp, the dead man tied behind him on the saddle, while Silas made a make-shift litter to carry the second gravely injured man.

When the party returns to the camp, there is of course a moment of sorrow for Fred. Jarel is watched over and brought to the edge of the water, where his wounds can be cleaned and rebound. Otherwise, there comes some other disturbing news... your party companions have not yet returned and it is beginning to grow dark.
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Chalik, Alexander, and Kel
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The two cavalrymen move first, the leader galloping away and yelling to his companion to follow him in retreat. Kel attempts to strike one of the opponents, but misses. Chalik strikes the leader in the calf, causing another thin wound to appear. The cavalry leader recovers, however, and is able to continue his flight.

About half a mile away, the shape of a company of fifty men is being formed above you on the mountain. They stare in your direction as they quickly don armor and arms. It looks as if they plan to march towards you soon. Unfortunately, all but one of the horses of the men you have killed have fled.
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[Ilium]

Chalik turns to the others. "Is either of you hurt? Can you run? Because I think that's the best move here."

 

[GlassEye]

Silas finds one of the scouts that brought them the information about the rocky area. "Take some men back to the stony place. We killed two bears and they need to be cleaned and dressed." Dismissing the man, Silas paces a bit until the ache of his ribs encourages his to sit and rest a bit.

He seeks out Dartis and Danica. "Some of our scouts haven't returned yet. Alexander and Kel among them. And I haven't seen Rix around either." He shrugs, not certain of what else to say about the matter though still worried. He looks questioningly at Danica. "You said the bear cave continued back some ways? I'd like to check them out on the morrow. And I would like to consider moving the camp to the rocky place, especially if there is a sizable cave there. This place here," he motions with one hand to the surrounding area, "is pleasant though hardly defensable. With a little work the other location could be made even more defensable. Unless you plan for us to keep moving, Lord Kalnian?"

 

[Fenris]

Dartis looks at Silas from his horse. He hadn't the strength to get down and feared he wouldn't get back up.

"Let us see what our scouts say. I have great confidence in the skill of Alexander, Kel, and even Rix to stay hidden to deal with any problems. But I agree that we do need to fully explore that cave. If extensive enough it will provide a good defensive position. Hopefully we will be attacking though, not hiding in a hole, cornered."