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Last Stand of the Dorinthians
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<blockquote data-quote="Deuce Traveler" data-source="post: 3870325" data-attributes="member: 34958"><p>What Danica, Silas, Dartis experienced:</p><p></p><p>Danica took a step to the right as she raised her crossbow to allow a path between her and Dartis to fire without hitting the running man. Pfft. She released the bolt into the bear, wounding it slightly while Silas quickly cast his extended <em>Mage Armor</em>. Dartis wheeled his horse to the front of the group so the man could hide and fired a pair of arrows at close range at the bear. <span style="color: Green">"Stand firm men," </span> called Dartis to the other two spearmen, <span style="color: Green">"We'll eat well tonight."</span> Dartis' two arrows sped towards the creature, one grazing it slightly while the other round penetrated deep into the beast's arm. In a rage, it took a swipe at the man running away from it, but missed. The other two men weren't as lucky. One of the spearmen had a gash opened in his shoulder by the bear's claw, and he fell in shock. The other one screamed in panic, and missed his jab at the now bloodied bear in front of him.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: orange">"Aiiiaiiiaiii!"</span> Yelling and wildly waving his quarterstaff in large arcs over his head, Silas dashed forward to interpose himself in between the fleeing soldier and the nearest bear. </p><p></p><p>Danica smiled in satisfaction as she realized that her first bolt connected, and though she had not yet begun to breathe again, she was proud of herself for holding her ground. This time, however, Danica missed her shot, though Silas' staff cracked the bear against the side of its head. The beast looked to be in bad shape, and made a pitiful swipe at Silas that bounced off his magical armor. Danica cursed herself for missing a point blank shot, but exhaled, inhaled, and fired a third bolt at the wounded creature. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the second bear cut down the second spearman, both claws slamming down on top of the poor man, and its jaws crunching down upon the man's neck with a sickly spray of blood. The bear yelled in anger, however, as Dartis rode by the creature and plucked two arrows deep into its side as the nobleman tried to attract its attention away from his fallen men.</p><p></p><p>Silas twirled his staff once more, and connected solidly against the first bear's ribs, causing it to roar feebly. The bear returned the attack, missing with the first swipe, but nearly lifting Silas off his feet with the next and causing blood to flow from the abjurer's chest. As the huge beast opened its large maw to snap at the stunned abjurer, a crossbow bolt flew past Silas' head and buried itself deep through the roof of the bear's mouth. It tumbled next to the wizard, flopped once with a mighty twitch, and lied still, dead. Danica smiled at the shocked Silas, pleased with her critically successful shot.</p><p></p><p>Dartis fires twice more at the other bear, his first shot hitting hit once more, while the second shot went wide. The bear charged the rider while his horse pranced nearly out of the way. Nearly, except for the strong swipe that rocked Dartis from off his horse, causing him to fall painfully to the ground and his horse to dance away once more. Although fairly wounded, the brown bear moves closer to finish Dartis off... it was five feet from Dartis and 30 feet from Danica and Silas.</p><p></p><p>Silas stared at the sky, coughed, rolled over, and spit blood from having bitten his tongue. Groaning, he warily looked at the bear lying next to him. <em>Thank the gods I was magically protected or I'd be dead...</em> <span style="color: orange">"Thanks, Danica."</span> He flinched at the pain of his battered ribs. <span style="color: orange">"I think I owe you...</span> He trailed off as he heard the roar of the second bear engaging Dartis. He turned to see the other bear towering over the nobleman and instinctively reached for his staff only to discover it lying some distance away. He cursed, then quickly began chanting words power and pointing at the bear as a ray of blinding light began to form on his fingertips.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: YellowGreen">"Hee hee!"</span> Danica smiled at Silas, her voice rising to a squeak on the second note of her giggle. She shrugged a shoulder as she moved to look where he gazed, <span style="color: YellowGreen">"Just a sec."</span> She turned, looked at the other bear, aimed and fired. Pfft. </p><p></p><p>Dartis may have landed with a painful thud, but rose quickly shrugging off the pain in his bleeding shoulder for the moment, taking in the new reality of his situation, Dartis drew his sword and struck at the bear. It was Danica's bolt that flew first, her shot burying into the large bear before it could maul Dartis. It let out a roar and stood up on its hind legs, as Dartis took the opportunity to get up and attack the creature. Both Dartis and the bear hacked at one another simultaneously, a fountain of blood billowing forth from both individuals, causing the nobleman to fall to his knees and grasp his sliced open shoulder. Silas cast his own spell, a beam of hot light coming forth and burning a hole into the bear just as it raised a paw to slap Dartis back down. The beast didn't even have a chance to cry out, despite its jaw being contorted in agony. Its guts were blown out as a hole was made through the bear, and it too flopped to its side and died.</p><p></p><p>The three party members were victorious, the only sound now heard being that of their own breath, the frightened grunts of a fellow swordman and horse, and the dying moans of the surviving spearman who lay on the ground and bled his life away.</p><p></p><p>Danica felt like collapsing to the ground herself, her knees buckling from the excitement. But she stayed on her feet, and looked at her companions. <span style="color: YellowGreen">"Who's hurt? Is there anything I can do?"</span> She lowered her crossbow and started moving to see if Dartis was alright. <span style="color: YellowGreen">"Can I help you, my Lord?"</span></p><p></p><p>Silas hurried to the dying spearman murmuring, <span style="color: orange">"Hold on, hold on,"</span> all the way. He did his best to bandage the man's wounds and make him comfortable and to give him company. Although it was too late to save the spearman that was mauled by the bear, Silas was able to stabilize the second one. He was in bad shape, but Silas was able to rip apart some of his cleaner pieces of his tunic in order to create make-shift bandages. Dartis ignored his own pain, however Danica had to help him maintain his balance at one point.</p><p></p><p>The man the party saved regained his brave once again and peered inside the cave that the bears erupted from and yelled back, <span style="color: white"><strong>"Phew! We should have smelled those beasties before we saw them. Their cave stinks like hell."</strong></span> He came back and asked, <span style="color: white"><strong>"Poor Jarel. How do we bring him back to camp? And what do we do about Fred,"</strong></span> was the man's next question as he jerked a finger at the nearby corpse. After all the death that the Dorinthians had seen in the last decades, it was beginning to cause some of the party's fellow men to become somewhat immune to the sight of dead bodies.</p><p></p><p>Silas looked worriedly at Dartis. <span style="color: orange">"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."</span></p><p></p><p>Danica took the time to ask the man about his friend, Fred, and about getting his body back to his family. The man answered with, <span style="color: White"><strong>"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..."</strong></span> He gave a sad shrug which said the rest. Then Danica checked the cave to see if it was a decent place for a burial, but the sorceress could smell the stink of rotten meat and animal musk. The unpleasant smell increased as Danica followed the tunnel and entered a small chamber with a raised, flat rock in the center of the room. Two passages were on either side of her from this location, one going east and the other west, although she decided she didn't have the time to continue exploring on her own. She did find a velvet bag that stuck out amongst some old bones and debris in one corner of the chamber, however, though she prodded it and made sure it wasn't something's home before picking it up. The sorceress came 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. She wondered momentarily if she could meaningfully contribute. Still, she told the others about the cave, and its forking paths, and that it could provide an easily defensible base if something could be done about the stench.</p><p></p><p>When the three party members returned to the camp there was of course a moment of sorrow for Fred. Jarel was watched over and brought to the edge of the water, where his wounds could be cleaned and rebound. Otherwise, there came some other disturbing news... the other party members had not yet returned and it was beginning to grow dark.</p><p></p><p>Silas found one of the scouts that brought them the information about the rocky area. <span style="color: Orange">"Take some men back to the stony place. We killed two bears and they need to be cleaned and dressed."</span> Dismissing the man, Silas paced a bit until the ache of his ribs encouraged him to sit and rest a bit. After catching his breath and stretching for a bit he sought out Dartis and Danica, who he found inspecting the camp, the nobleman from his horse, Swift, while Danica walked beside him. <span style="color: orange">"Some of our scouts haven't returned yet. Alexander and Kel among them. And I haven't seen Rix around either."</span> He shrugged, not certain of what else to say about the matter though he was still worried. He looked questioningly at Danica. <span style="color: orange">"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,"</span> he motioned with one hand to the surrounding area, <span style="color: orange">"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?"</span></p><p></p><p>Dartis looked at Silas from his horse. He hadn't the strength to get down and feared he wouldn't get back up. <span style="color: Green">"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."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: teal">DM's note: The chamber with the flat rock was actually an ancient pre-Dorin burial chamber (the flat rock actually being an old, now moss-covered lid), and the rest of the cave complex held other rooms. However, with the dire straits that the second part of the group had found themselves in, these were never returned to by the party.</span></p><p></p><p>Danica looked at Dartis, and was starting to feel a little self-conscious. She reached to pull her hair down over her face, but then remembered that she had cut her hair, to effect a disguise that everyone seemed to have been pretending was still valid, but she knew now she had not really fooled much of anyone. I wonder if they suspect about my magical powers, too... she asked herself. As far as Danica knew, she has not used magic in front of anyone yet, and no one had accused her of sorcery. Not "accused", she reminded herself for the third time that day. But if anyone suspected, they hadn't yet spoken to her about it. She was tempted with the bears, of course. She was tempted all the time. Magic made everything so easy. But she knew that eventually she was going to do something that would show to everyone what she was. And that made her anxious.</p><p></p><p>But here were her comrades, and no one was expecting her to say anything, and so she smiled at the realization and skipped a bit while Silas and Dartis walked in front of her deep in conversation of strategy and tactics, knowing that she would be eating bear tonight and not at all worried about her other companions, especially the wily Rix. </p><p></p><p>That quickly changed when she saw a dwarf covered in blood walking towards the party from whence Alexander, Kel, and Rix went. He seemed exhausted, yet excited. Danica gave a shout to her companions, surprised that such a weakened dwarf could get past their sentries. Dartis moved off of his horse and stood erect in order to welcome the dwarf over and see if he had any news of his companions, although it took him a great effort to do so because of his wounds.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: teal">DM's Note: The dwarf was Chalik, and he had dire news of Alexander, Kel and Rix as described below.</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>What Kel, Chalik, and Alexander experienced:</p><p></p><p>Kel crouched warily in the long grasses, every nerve singing with tension, as his hand rested lightly on the hilt of his long sword. Seeing the elf go for his blade, Chalik cursed under his breath. <em>These Dorinthians are insane</em>, he thought. <em>I kind of like them.</em> He moved as quietly as possible, trying to reach the two skulking forms in the grass. <em>Now if I can just make sure that's who I'm seeing, and keep them from killing me, maybe we can free the kobold and get out of here.</em></p><p></p><p>Chalik left his hidden position in an attempt to scramble down towards another boulder near the high grass of the plains, but then heard a yell from the cavalry, and knew instantly that he had been spotted in the brightness of the day. The horsemen were still distant, but began to close the gap fast. They quickly just passed the two Dorinthians, and approached within sixty feet of the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>Cursing himself for an amateur, Chalik dashed off to the side, trying to find some cover to prevent the riders from simply trampling over him while not leading them toward the Dorinthians. <span style="color: seagreen">"Well Alex, we can't let Chalik take them all by himself. Let's go,"</span> Kel said as he made his way as cautiously as he could and as quickly as he could towards the dwarf and the soldiers.</p><p></p><p>The horsemen stopped in front of Chalik with weapons ready, but then one of them gives a shout as he saw Kel and Alexander crouching low and heading towards their rear from the tall blades of grass. Kel and Alexander were now 30 feet from the horsemen, which were in a semicircle and only a few feet from Chalik.</p><p></p><p>Despite their numbers, the captain of the cavalry licked his lips nervously at the audacity displayed by elf, half-orc, and dwarf, and so lifted his weapon high above his head and yelled with as much dignity as he could muster, <span style="color: White"><strong>"You three! Surrender and drop your weapons in the name of the Emperor, or else meet steel!"</strong></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: seagreen">"And I suggest you ride back to your flea ridden misbegotten bastard of a master before you meet your death,"</span> Kel said cooly as he stood from his crouch and tested the balance of his longsword with his right hand. <span style="color: seagreen">"The Huntress knows this is a lonely place to die,"</span> the elf growled with a sweep of his hand, his eyes locked on the leader of the soldiers and his left hand grasping the holy symbol of his Goddess.</p><p></p><p>Chalik stopped and surveyed the situation for a moment before adding slyly, <span style="color: SandyBrown">"You never know what might come out of the grass next..."</span></p><p></p><p>The leader of the cavalry stiffened slightly at the words of Kel and Chalik before letting out the his own, <span style="color: White"><strong>"Take them down, but take them alive if you can."</strong></span> His men moved to attack, four kicking the flanks of their mounts to charge Kel and Alexander from horseback, while the cavalry leader and another rider wheeled around and raised the flat of their blades over Chalik's head.</p><p></p><p>Grinding his teeth, Chalik drew his blade and slid to his right, trying to ward off the horsemen. Chalik moved first, swinging his rapier at the rider closest to him. His opponent moved too arrogantly close to the talented dwarf, who stabbed into the human's raised armpit and buried his blade deep enough to pierce the man's heart. With a shudder, the Imperial cavalryman collapsed coughing blood. The second man (the leader) rode at the dwarf, but barely missed with his own strike, his blade bouncing off Chalik's masterwork leather.</p><p></p><p>Kel and Alexander also moved before their opponents, with Kel missing both the nearest horse and rider with his deadly longsword. Alexander had more luck with his scimitar, slicing off the arm of the rider nearest to him. The wounded man screamed as his wound bled profusely, before he too collapsed in a pool of blood. The remaining riders conducted their reprisals, however. Although Alexander remained unscathed from the remaining rider that moved against him, Kel was beset by two other cavalrymen who flanked the elf. The first missed, but the second was able to move behind Kel and bury his sword deep into the elf's shoulder, elliciting him to cry out in Silvan.</p><p></p><p>Turning to his remaining foe, Chalik said calmly, <span style="color: SandyBrown">"You should have left when you had the chance. I'll still let you go if you dismount and throw down your weapons."</span> 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. <span style="color: white"><strong>"Arrh... damn wicked dwarves...to hell with quarter..."</strong></span></p><p></p><p>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 punctured 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.</p><p></p><p>Chalik growled after seeing the far off Imperials take notice of the battle, <span style="color: SandyBrown">"That's what I get for trying to be nice."</span> He lunged forward at the horseman, hoping to eliminate him quickly so he and the Dorinthians could flee.</p><p></p><p>The two cavalrymen moved first, with the leader galloping away and yelling to his companion to follow him in retreat. Kel attempted to strike one of the opponents, but missed. Chalik struck the leader in the calf, causing another thin wound to appear. The cavalry leader recovered, however, and was able to continue his flight. </p><p></p><p>About half a mile away, the shape of a company of fifty men was being formed above the heroes, on the mountain. They stared in the direction of the three demi-humans as they quickly donned armor and arms. It looked as if they planned to march towards the trio soon. Unfortunately, all but one of the horses of the men the party had killed had fled.</p><p></p><p>Chalik turned to the others. <span style="color: SandyBrown">"Is either of you hurt? Can you run? Because I think that's the best move here."</span> The other two quickly agreed. Chalik, Alexander, and Kel were able to hide in the tall grass as the company donned its various armor and arms and moved to intercept them. Because they were trying to hide, the trio ended up moving much slower than the force that was pursuing. The company had too many people to fight against, and were almost as difficult to hide against. Alexander and Kel were caught, but Chalik ended up sneaking past the patrol. He came up to the forest near the mountain kingdom of the dwarves and immediately noticed the trails of the Dorinthian protective patrols. He assumed the tracks were from Dorinthians, and he found it easy to avoid their untrained sentries and enter the encampment of human militia nearby a lake inside the forest. A familiar group of humans was visible, consisting of Dartis, Silas, and Danica. The dwarf approached, reasoning that they would probably want to know about the fate of their companions as well as the company of Imperials that were now beginning to move in order to investigate the woodlands.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Teal">DM's update: Kel and Alexander went into the NPC void at this time, so I had them and the now-NPC Rix be the ones captured by Imperial forces while allowing Chalik to escape. Still, Kel and Alexander could have avoided this fate if either them (when PCs) or Chalik had made some different decisions. If Chalik had not tried to run across a barren hill-side towards Kel and Alexander during the middle of the day he could have avoided being seen. Also, the party was not able to cut down all the Imperial scouts and allowed them to alert the larger forces. The Imperials were aroused to a possible threat outside of the besieged dwarven mountain kingdom and went to investigate. The party began to realize that their meager force of 100 untrained men were too inexperienced to face off against a thousand Imperial soldiers, as Chalik was easily able to slip past their guard. Things go downhill from here...</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deuce Traveler, post: 3870325, member: 34958"] What Danica, Silas, Dartis experienced: Danica took a step to the right as she raised her crossbow to allow a path between her and Dartis to fire without hitting the running man. Pfft. She released the bolt into the bear, wounding it slightly while Silas quickly cast his extended [i]Mage Armor[/i]. Dartis wheeled his horse to the front of the group so the man could hide and fired a pair of arrows at close range at the bear. [COLOR=Green]"Stand firm men," [/COLOR] called Dartis to the other two spearmen, [COLOR=Green]"We'll eat well tonight."[/COLOR] Dartis' two arrows sped towards the creature, one grazing it slightly while the other round penetrated deep into the beast's arm. In a rage, it took a swipe at the man running away from it, but missed. The other two men weren't as lucky. One of the spearmen had a gash opened in his shoulder by the bear's claw, and he fell in shock. The other one screamed in panic, and missed his jab at the now bloodied bear in front of him. [color=orange]"Aiiiaiiiaiii!"[/color] Yelling and wildly waving his quarterstaff in large arcs over his head, Silas dashed forward to interpose himself in between the fleeing soldier and the nearest bear. Danica smiled in satisfaction as she realized that her first bolt connected, and though she had not yet begun to breathe again, she was proud of herself for holding her ground. This time, however, Danica missed her shot, though Silas' staff cracked the bear against the side of its head. The beast looked to be in bad shape, and made a pitiful swipe at Silas that bounced off his magical armor. Danica cursed herself for missing a point blank shot, but exhaled, inhaled, and fired a third bolt at the wounded creature. Meanwhile, the second bear cut down the second spearman, both claws slamming down on top of the poor man, and its jaws crunching down upon the man's neck with a sickly spray of blood. The bear yelled in anger, however, as Dartis rode by the creature and plucked two arrows deep into its side as the nobleman tried to attract its attention away from his fallen men. Silas twirled his staff once more, and connected solidly against the first bear's ribs, causing it to roar feebly. The bear returned the attack, missing with the first swipe, but nearly lifting Silas off his feet with the next and causing blood to flow from the abjurer's chest. As the huge beast opened its large maw to snap at the stunned abjurer, a crossbow bolt flew past Silas' head and buried itself deep through the roof of the bear's mouth. It tumbled next to the wizard, flopped once with a mighty twitch, and lied still, dead. Danica smiled at the shocked Silas, pleased with her critically successful shot. Dartis fires twice more at the other bear, his first shot hitting hit once more, while the second shot went wide. The bear charged the rider while his horse pranced nearly out of the way. Nearly, except for the strong swipe that rocked Dartis from off his horse, causing him to fall painfully to the ground and his horse to dance away once more. Although fairly wounded, the brown bear moves closer to finish Dartis off... it was five feet from Dartis and 30 feet from Danica and Silas. Silas stared at the sky, coughed, rolled over, and spit blood from having bitten his tongue. Groaning, he warily looked at the bear lying next to him. [i]Thank the gods I was magically protected or I'd be dead...[/i] [color=orange]"Thanks, Danica."[/color] He flinched at the pain of his battered ribs. [color=orange]"I think I owe you...[/color] He trailed off as he heard the roar of the second bear engaging Dartis. He turned to see the other bear towering over the nobleman and instinctively reached for his staff only to discover it lying some distance away. He cursed, then quickly began chanting words power and pointing at the bear as a ray of blinding light began to form on his fingertips. [COLOR=YellowGreen]"Hee hee!"[/COLOR] Danica smiled at Silas, her voice rising to a squeak on the second note of her giggle. She shrugged a shoulder as she moved to look where he gazed, [COLOR=YellowGreen]"Just a sec."[/COLOR] She turned, looked at the other bear, aimed and fired. Pfft. Dartis may have landed with a painful thud, but rose quickly shrugging off the pain in his bleeding shoulder for the moment, taking in the new reality of his situation, Dartis drew his sword and struck at the bear. It was Danica's bolt that flew first, her shot burying into the large bear before it could maul Dartis. It let out a roar and stood up on its hind legs, as Dartis took the opportunity to get up and attack the creature. Both Dartis and the bear hacked at one another simultaneously, a fountain of blood billowing forth from both individuals, causing the nobleman to fall to his knees and grasp his sliced open shoulder. Silas cast his own spell, a beam of hot light coming forth and burning a hole into the bear just as it raised a paw to slap Dartis back down. The beast didn't even have a chance to cry out, despite its jaw being contorted in agony. Its guts were blown out as a hole was made through the bear, and it too flopped to its side and died. The three party members were victorious, the only sound now heard being that of their own breath, the frightened grunts of a fellow swordman and horse, and the dying moans of the surviving spearman who lay on the ground and bled his life away. Danica felt like collapsing to the ground herself, her knees buckling from the excitement. But she stayed on her feet, and looked at her companions. [COLOR=YellowGreen]"Who's hurt? Is there anything I can do?"[/COLOR] She lowered her crossbow and started moving to see if Dartis was alright. [COLOR=YellowGreen]"Can I help you, my Lord?"[/COLOR] Silas hurried to the dying spearman murmuring, [color=orange]"Hold on, hold on,"[/color] all the way. He did his best to bandage the man's wounds and make him comfortable and to give him company. Although it was too late to save the spearman that was mauled by the bear, Silas was able to stabilize the second one. He was in bad shape, but Silas was able to rip apart some of his cleaner pieces of his tunic in order to create make-shift bandages. Dartis ignored his own pain, however Danica had to help him maintain his balance at one point. The man the party saved regained his brave once again and peered inside the cave that the bears erupted from and yelled back, [color=white][b]"Phew! We should have smelled those beasties before we saw them. Their cave stinks like hell."[/b][/color][b][/b] He came back and asked, [color=white][b]"Poor Jarel. How do we bring him back to camp? And what do we do about Fred,"[/b][/color][b][/b] was the man's next question as he jerked a finger at the nearby corpse. After all the death that the Dorinthians had seen in the last decades, it was beginning to cause some of the party's fellow men to become somewhat immune to the sight of dead bodies. Silas looked worriedly at Dartis. [color=orange]"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."[/color] Danica took the time to ask the man about his friend, Fred, and about getting his body back to his family. The man answered with, [Color=White][b]"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..."[/b][/Color][b][/b] He gave a sad shrug which said the rest. Then Danica checked the cave to see if it was a decent place for a burial, but the sorceress could smell the stink of rotten meat and animal musk. The unpleasant smell increased as Danica followed the tunnel and entered a small chamber with a raised, flat rock in the center of the room. Two passages were on either side of her from this location, one going east and the other west, although she decided she didn't have the time to continue exploring on her own. She did find a velvet bag that stuck out amongst some old bones and debris in one corner of the chamber, however, though she prodded it and made sure it wasn't something's home before picking it up. The sorceress came 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. She wondered momentarily if she could meaningfully contribute. Still, she told the others about the cave, and its forking paths, and that it could provide an easily defensible base if something could be done about the stench. When the three party members returned to the camp there was of course a moment of sorrow for Fred. Jarel was watched over and brought to the edge of the water, where his wounds could be cleaned and rebound. Otherwise, there came some other disturbing news... the other party members had not yet returned and it was beginning to grow dark. Silas found one of the scouts that brought them the information about the rocky area. [color=Orange]"Take some men back to the stony place. We killed two bears and they need to be cleaned and dressed."[/color] Dismissing the man, Silas paced a bit until the ache of his ribs encouraged him to sit and rest a bit. After catching his breath and stretching for a bit he sought out Dartis and Danica, who he found inspecting the camp, the nobleman from his horse, Swift, while Danica walked beside him. [color=orange]"Some of our scouts haven't returned yet. Alexander and Kel among them. And I haven't seen Rix around either."[/color] He shrugged, not certain of what else to say about the matter though he was still worried. He looked questioningly at Danica. [color=orange]"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,"[/color] he motioned with one hand to the surrounding area, [color=orange]"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?"[/color] Dartis looked at Silas from his horse. He hadn't the strength to get down and feared he wouldn't get back up. [COLOR=Green]"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."[/COLOR] [color=teal]DM's note: The chamber with the flat rock was actually an ancient pre-Dorin burial chamber (the flat rock actually being an old, now moss-covered lid), and the rest of the cave complex held other rooms. However, with the dire straits that the second part of the group had found themselves in, these were never returned to by the party.[/color] Danica looked at Dartis, and was starting to feel a little self-conscious. She reached to pull her hair down over her face, but then remembered that she had cut her hair, to effect a disguise that everyone seemed to have been pretending was still valid, but she knew now she had not really fooled much of anyone. I wonder if they suspect about my magical powers, too... she asked herself. As far as Danica knew, she has not used magic in front of anyone yet, and no one had accused her of sorcery. Not "accused", she reminded herself for the third time that day. But if anyone suspected, they hadn't yet spoken to her about it. She was tempted with the bears, of course. She was tempted all the time. Magic made everything so easy. But she knew that eventually she was going to do something that would show to everyone what she was. And that made her anxious. But here were her comrades, and no one was expecting her to say anything, and so she smiled at the realization and skipped a bit while Silas and Dartis walked in front of her deep in conversation of strategy and tactics, knowing that she would be eating bear tonight and not at all worried about her other companions, especially the wily Rix. That quickly changed when she saw a dwarf covered in blood walking towards the party from whence Alexander, Kel, and Rix went. He seemed exhausted, yet excited. Danica gave a shout to her companions, surprised that such a weakened dwarf could get past their sentries. Dartis moved off of his horse and stood erect in order to welcome the dwarf over and see if he had any news of his companions, although it took him a great effort to do so because of his wounds. [color=teal]DM's Note: The dwarf was Chalik, and he had dire news of Alexander, Kel and Rix as described below.[/color] What Kel, Chalik, and Alexander experienced: Kel crouched warily in the long grasses, every nerve singing with tension, as his hand rested lightly on the hilt of his long sword. Seeing the elf go for his blade, Chalik cursed under his breath. [I]These Dorinthians are insane[/I], he thought. [I]I kind of like them.[/I] He moved as quietly as possible, trying to reach the two skulking forms in the grass. [I]Now if I can just make sure that's who I'm seeing, and keep them from killing me, maybe we can free the kobold and get out of here.[/I] Chalik left his hidden position in an attempt to scramble down towards another boulder near the high grass of the plains, but then heard a yell from the cavalry, and knew instantly that he had been spotted in the brightness of the day. The horsemen were still distant, but began to close the gap fast. They quickly just passed the two Dorinthians, and approached within sixty feet of the dwarf. Cursing himself for an amateur, Chalik dashed off to the side, trying to find some cover to prevent the riders from simply trampling over him while not leading them toward the Dorinthians. [color=seagreen]"Well Alex, we can't let Chalik take them all by himself. Let's go,"[/color] Kel said as he made his way as cautiously as he could and as quickly as he could towards the dwarf and the soldiers. The horsemen stopped in front of Chalik with weapons ready, but then one of them gives a shout as he saw Kel and Alexander crouching low and heading towards their rear from the tall blades of grass. Kel and Alexander were now 30 feet from the horsemen, which were in a semicircle and only a few feet from Chalik. Despite their numbers, the captain of the cavalry licked his lips nervously at the audacity displayed by elf, half-orc, and dwarf, and so lifted his weapon high above his head and yelled with as much dignity as he could muster, [Color=White][b]"You three! Surrender and drop your weapons in the name of the Emperor, or else meet steel!"[/b][/Color][b][/b] [color=seagreen]"And I suggest you ride back to your flea ridden misbegotten bastard of a master before you meet your death,"[/color] Kel said cooly as he stood from his crouch and tested the balance of his longsword with his right hand. [color=seagreen]"The Huntress knows this is a lonely place to die,"[/color] the elf growled with a sweep of his hand, his eyes locked on the leader of the soldiers and his left hand grasping the holy symbol of his Goddess. Chalik stopped and surveyed the situation for a moment before adding slyly, [Color=SandyBrown]"You never know what might come out of the grass next..."[/Color] The leader of the cavalry stiffened slightly at the words of Kel and Chalik before letting out the his own, [Color=White][b]"Take them down, but take them alive if you can."[/b][/Color][b][/b] His men moved to attack, four kicking the flanks of their mounts to charge Kel and Alexander from horseback, while the cavalry leader and another rider wheeled around and raised the flat of their blades over Chalik's head. Grinding his teeth, Chalik drew his blade and slid to his right, trying to ward off the horsemen. Chalik moved first, swinging his rapier at the rider closest to him. His opponent moved too arrogantly close to the talented dwarf, who stabbed into the human's raised armpit and buried his blade deep enough to pierce the man's heart. With a shudder, the Imperial cavalryman collapsed coughing blood. The second man (the leader) rode at the dwarf, but barely missed with his own strike, his blade bouncing off Chalik's masterwork leather. Kel and Alexander also moved before their opponents, with Kel missing both the nearest horse and rider with his deadly longsword. Alexander had more luck with his scimitar, slicing off the arm of the rider nearest to him. The wounded man screamed as his wound bled profusely, before he too collapsed in a pool of blood. The remaining riders conducted their reprisals, however. Although Alexander remained unscathed from the remaining rider that moved against him, Kel was beset by two other cavalrymen who flanked the elf. The first missed, but the second was able to move behind Kel and bury his sword deep into the elf's shoulder, elliciting him to cry out in Silvan. Turning to his remaining foe, Chalik said calmly, [Color=SandyBrown]"You should have left when you had the chance. I'll still let you go if you dismount and throw down your weapons."[/Color] 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. [color=white][b]"Arrh... damn wicked dwarves...to hell with quarter..."[/b][/color][b][/b] 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 punctured 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. Chalik growled after seeing the far off Imperials take notice of the battle, [Color=SandyBrown]"That's what I get for trying to be nice."[/Color] He lunged forward at the horseman, hoping to eliminate him quickly so he and the Dorinthians could flee. The two cavalrymen moved first, with the leader galloping away and yelling to his companion to follow him in retreat. Kel attempted to strike one of the opponents, but missed. Chalik struck the leader in the calf, causing another thin wound to appear. The cavalry leader recovered, however, and was able to continue his flight. About half a mile away, the shape of a company of fifty men was being formed above the heroes, on the mountain. They stared in the direction of the three demi-humans as they quickly donned armor and arms. It looked as if they planned to march towards the trio soon. Unfortunately, all but one of the horses of the men the party had killed had fled. Chalik turned to the others. [Color=SandyBrown]"Is either of you hurt? Can you run? Because I think that's the best move here."[/Color] The other two quickly agreed. Chalik, Alexander, and Kel were able to hide in the tall grass as the company donned its various armor and arms and moved to intercept them. Because they were trying to hide, the trio ended up moving much slower than the force that was pursuing. The company had too many people to fight against, and were almost as difficult to hide against. Alexander and Kel were caught, but Chalik ended up sneaking past the patrol. He came up to the forest near the mountain kingdom of the dwarves and immediately noticed the trails of the Dorinthian protective patrols. He assumed the tracks were from Dorinthians, and he found it easy to avoid their untrained sentries and enter the encampment of human militia nearby a lake inside the forest. A familiar group of humans was visible, consisting of Dartis, Silas, and Danica. The dwarf approached, reasoning that they would probably want to know about the fate of their companions as well as the company of Imperials that were now beginning to move in order to investigate the woodlands. [color=Teal]DM's update: Kel and Alexander went into the NPC void at this time, so I had them and the now-NPC Rix be the ones captured by Imperial forces while allowing Chalik to escape. Still, Kel and Alexander could have avoided this fate if either them (when PCs) or Chalik had made some different decisions. If Chalik had not tried to run across a barren hill-side towards Kel and Alexander during the middle of the day he could have avoided being seen. Also, the party was not able to cut down all the Imperial scouts and allowed them to alert the larger forces. The Imperials were aroused to a possible threat outside of the besieged dwarven mountain kingdom and went to investigate. The party began to realize that their meager force of 100 untrained men were too inexperienced to face off against a thousand Imperial soldiers, as Chalik was easily able to slip past their guard. Things go downhill from here...[/color] [/QUOTE]
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