The Untamed Wilds: Caravan Campaign

[MacConnell]

Combat Sequence: 3

Tor somehow finds the wherewithal to remain standing. As the Seeker is distracted by Merin's attempt to paralyze him, Tor will attempt to hamstring him with his sword.

Merin changes his tactic. Remembering his earlier experimentation with fire, he attempts to ignite the clothing and hair of the Seeker.

If Sannit can rise to at least his knees he will throw one of his axes at their attacker hoping to at least stall another charge, keeping the other one ready for defense.

Bolo draws her knives and takes up a defensive position next to Sannit, putting her leg against his side to have a physical touch with him. She will attempt to heal them both.

OOC: Combat Sequencing: Hunter = 1st action empty handed Merin = 1st action not using way Sheldon = 1st action not using way Lookout = 1st action using knife Aust = 1st action empty handed Sheldon = 1st action using way by touch Merin = 1st action using way at distance Hunter = 1st action using knife Seeker = 1st action using knife Aust = 1st action using axe or spear Lookout = 2nd action using knife Sheldon = 2nd action using way by touch Merin = 2nd action using way at distance Hunter = 2nd action using knife Seeker = 2nd action using knife Lookout = 3rd action using knife Aust = 2nd action using axe or spear Bolo = 1st action using way by touch Indigo = 1st action using way by touch Bolo = 1st action using knife Indigo = 1st action using sword Sheldon = 3rd action using way by touch Sannit = 1st action empty handed Revan = 1st action using bow Hunter = 3rd action using knife Seeker = 3rd action using knife Lookout = 4th action using knife Sannit = 1st action using axe Aust = 3rd action using axe or spear Tor = 1st action using way by touch Lookout = 5th action using knife Tor = 1st action using sword

The Hunter dodges to his right intending to run around San-Bolo and onward to the source of the arrow in his gut.

Merin takes a step toward the retreating Seeker, thinking about setting him ablaze.

Sheldon takes a step toward the retreating Lookout, taking a small block of lighter pine from a pocket as he does.

The Lookout turns away to his left and begins to run from the fray.

Aust seeing his spear sticking from the gut of his felled foe near at hand takes a step toward it.

GM: One second has passed

The Lookout, fleeing from Sheldon-Indigo, takes another stride away, now at a distance of 2 paces, flings one of his knives backward without looking. It is a pathetic attempt.

Sheldon vibrates the way lines of the small wooden block causing it to ignite as he throws it toward the fleeing Shimadow. The lighter pine explodes with vigor as it strike incinerating not only the rough hide covering but also flesh.

OOC: Lookout: Body(10) - 17 = -7 incapacitated, Mind(10) - 7 = 3 severely hindered

At that instant, Merin, having no need to touch, wills the fleeing Seeker, who as not made enough departing distance, to ignite.

OOC: Seeker: Body(10) - 8 = 2 severely hurt

The Hunter continues around San-Bolo heading toward Aust-Revan, now at a distance of 2 paces from where he started simultaneously doing something completely unexpected as he removes the remainder of the arrow, dropping it.

OOC: Hunter: Body(7) + 1 = 8 still hurt

The Seeker rolls on the ground trying to put out the flame, his mind still working as his skin burns.

GM: Two seconds have passed.

Aust, at near full speed, catches his spear in stride and launches it at the coming Hunter. It's an incredibly lucky shot for the distance, the force of the throwing halting all forward motion of the man.

OOC: Hunter: Body(8) - 15 = -7 incapacitated, Mind(10) - 7 = 3 severely impaired

Bolo who is in bodily contact with Sannit attempts to aide him, making a remarkable effort despite her own injury.

OOC: Sannit: Body(1) + 3 = 4 very hurt

Indigo, using some of the collected comfrey, attempts to aide herself, also doing some good.

OOC: Indigo Body(2) + 3 = 5 very hurt

Revan, who had just drawn her bow, eases it back to rest as the Hunter falls.

Sheldon kneels to help Indigo, but fails in his effort.

GM: Three seconds have passed

The Hunter, when he hits the ground, it not dead, but he knows he is done. With perfect clarity in the Ansylin tongue he holds up his left hand and says, "Wait!"

Aust readies his axe and continues his approach cautiously.

The Seeker slows in his rolling as the damage sinks in.

Sannit, who had risen to a kneeling position preparing to throw his carving axe, holds at the sound of the familiar word and stands with the assistance of Bolo.

Tor realizing his injury has slowed him to the point he had no chance to bring his sword to bear, instead attempts to aide himself as Merin reignites the burning Seeker to finish what he started. Tor is unable to help himself.

As the battle is now finished, Sannit with the help of Bolo approaches the prone Hunter and arrives over him as Aust and Revan arrive as well.

The man speaks in Ansylin with no foreign accent. "I am done. As one warrior to another, I ask that you finish me quickly. I was paid. I undertook my task. You have beaten me."

As the man begins to lose consciousness he holds his left palm as if displaying the brand there. The brand is an uneven triangle inside a circle.

GM: Everyone, what do you do?

 

[Kwargrow]

San-Bolo glare down at their fallen foe feeling no sympathy. Sannit needed help to stand, but now holds up Bolo as much as himself, their blood still dripping into the dirt from their wounds.

"Paid?" Sannit blurts out the word like a curse. "Who paid you?"

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin, who is un-wounded, steps forward and says,

"It is common among mercenaries to have a code of honor, typically one of silence, with regard to one's employers. I can understand that, even if the premise is somewhat misguided.

However, such codes are meant to ensure future employability for the mercenary; no one want to hire a mercenary who is loose-lipped about who paid him. So, surely you can see that this situation is different.

You are going to DIE for what you did to those hunters. The choice of HOW you die, is up to you.

If you answer our questions, I can assure you that your death will be swift and merciful. You will regain some remnant of respectability and reputation.

If you refuse, you will die horribly, like your crispy friend over there. And you will be labeled a coward, a paid dog, who has now been put down.

The judgment of history can be harsh. So YOU must choose your legacy. No one else can do that for you.

It is obvious that someone does not wish Southroad Fair to develop into a thriving waypoint. And it is obviously a competitor of Giodavi's. We simply want to know who it is.

We'd also like to know who your master is, and the location of your clan home. And not for the reasons you might think. We have no quarrel with your master, although we might have some business to conduct. It would be fitting justice if your compatriots were hired to eliminate the very person that hired you for this task to begin with, don't you think?

Listen carefully to what I say, and consider carefully how you'd like to end your life. You're going to pass out soon; if you tell us what we need to know before that happens, you'll simply go to sleep and never wake up. If not, you'll literally wake to find yourself in a hot situation."

With that, Merin turns to help Tor, leaving Aust, Revan, and the others to question the man further.

Merin's Thoughts: ~We cannot ruthlessly kill someone who has surrendered to us. It is not to my taste, nor would Tor ever allow it, either. But if he proves to be tight-lipped, he'll find himself in the custody of Giodavi's guards and huntsmen; what THEY decide to do with him will be on THEIR conscience. Giodavi's men have suffered greatly at the hands of these cretins, and I will not judge them if they choose to seek revenge.~

OOC: Merin attempts to join with Tor's mind, i.e., cooperative healing using The Way.

 

[MacConnell]

Q & A

The man looks at the people standing over him, coughs, and reaches up to wipe his mouth, noting the blood there.

"You are not mercenaries. Huh?"

He coughs again.

OOC: Bolo suddenly has the presence of mind to try to scan his thoughts as he speaks, despite her significantly weakened condition. She uses Sannit as a catalyst for the attempt. The sensation, for him, is strange, similar to coordinated healing.

GM: Possibly to Bolo's and Sannit's, as they are currently linked, surprise, there seems to be no duplicity in the man's thoughts.

"These Shimadow are my former clan. I recruited them to make our attacks look tribal. I knew I should have changed the location of our attacks, but more hunters just kept coming, and game is plentiful here."

"You all speak Ansylin despite your differences in appearance. I thought for sure you were a mercenary unit. You used tactics. You thought ahead. With the fractures in the Houses, it never surprises me to go up against my own. Sometimes I think the same House hires more than one unit just to see us fight each other."

He coughs, less forcefully this time, and wipes his mouth again.

"Were you mercenaries, you would not bother asking who hired me. Only the guild masters know that information. I was simply tasked."

He attempts to cough, but it sounds more like a gurgle.

"'Code of Silence'? I like to talk. Preventing the soldier from knowing any details prevents any need for a code and keeps the manipulators and their selfish desires free from recourse."

When the man passes out, everyone realizes he has stopped breathing. San-Bolo know him to be dead, but caught no thought from him that he may have caused it, but there are now blackened marks on his lips and thumb.

Sheldon offers, "Perhaps Giodavi can shed some light on this matter when we present him with our limited information?"

OOC: Party members still injured: Bolo: Body = 2 severely hurt Indigo: Body = 5 very hurt Sannit: Body = 4 very hurt Tor: Body = 1 severely hurt

GM: What are your intentions? XP will be calculated and distributed after healing.

 

[Kwargrow]

Sannit looks to Merin and says, "We got compensation for coming out here. We are mercenaries, but that does not mean we don't fight with honor." He turns a disgusted gaze on the mutilated bodies of the hunters. "And we're not butchers," he adds.

To Aust and Revan Sannit nods and says, "Thanks for being there. That quick bastard had our number." Bolo manages a weak smile.

San-Bolo turn away from the dead man, their wounds reminding them they have more urgent matters. Form a healing circle and use the witch hazel to aid in the attempt.

After healing is done collect weapons and gear, do a thorough search of the area including where the Shimadow came from, and pile the bodies up to burn them.

Before igniting the funeral pyre, Sannit takes out a knife and cuts off the piece of skin holding the triangle/ circle symbol. "This is not a trophy," he clarifies for the group, "but we should preserve this piece in case we see that symbol again. I also think we should keep what information we gathered to ourselves. That part about the same person hiring two groups to fight has me bothered, and I don't like this talk of 'grandmasters'. Makes me think we're at the edge of a very big pile of scat. You can tell Giodavi whatever you want, but I'll only say that we fought the ambushers and won. We can discreetly ask questions to try and find out more."

Bolo says nothing, meets no ones gaze and does not stray from Sannit's side. It is obvious that these events have upset her deeply.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin's Finality

Merin eyes the fallen Seeker, and spits in disgust. Then he turns his eyes to the Hunter, who is now done talking, forever. "I can't say that I don't hold a certain amount of animosity, and perhaps even hatred for this vile person; of course, burning an opponent in the heat of battle is different from torturing a helpless foe. I shouldn't have been so forceful with this one. All I wanted was information. I didn't expect him to call my bluff; it is my estimation that he poisoned himself, rather than to face the consequences that I laid before him. But it's a small matter."

 

[MacConnell]

Seeing as there is no need for everyone to be around to question the fallen leader, Sheldon walks back into the small campsite, cuts down the hanging bodies and examines them, then calls back.

"There is one point of note. These four were dead before they were strung up like game, almost as if hanging them was an afterthought rather than premeditated. If there truly is a game being played here with peoples' lives, the rest of these indigenous tribesmen are merely pawns."

He then joins Indigo so assist in her healing.

 

[MacConnell]

Before igniting the funeral pyre, Sannit takes out a knife and cuts off the piece of skin holding the triangle/ circle symbol. "This is not a trophy," he clarifies for the group.

Indigo, who has not yet healed herself further, has made her way to the place of inquiry. Seeing Sannit about to remove the Hunter's hand, she notices the blacking on the thumb and his lips. Though like Bolo it is uncharacteristic to address the group or speak loudly, she raises her voice and yells.

"Stop!"

"That hand is poisoned. Do not touch it. I do not know the substance, but I know the pattern."

 

[Kwargrow]

Sannit says, "I thought it would be useful to have a real copy of it so we can show it to people without having to describe it, and I also wanted the example in case we ever needed to artificially recreate it for infiltration purposes."

Once everyone's wounds are sufficiently tending, Sheldon looks at the hand and says, "Surely the poison can't remain toxic forever. What if we hold it with a stick as we remove it then drop it in one of our bags where no one has to actually touch it? We can cleanse the blade with fire afterward."

Indigo nods that she thinks that will work. Sannit and Sheldon work together so that neither touches the hand with skin.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin says, "Wait, I have an idea." he pulls out a quill and some parchment from the pack animal, as well as a small vial of ink. He had intended to use it for map-making and journaling, but now he has the inspiration for a different use; Merin concentrates, trying to use Way to guide his hand, as he sketches a copy of the symbol.

OOC: After drawing a copy of the symbol, Merin will once again turn his attention to helping the wounded, starting with Tor.