Taylar intends to drop one bludgeon and grab the closest living Nishurin. He intends to position the Nishurin between him and any archers to shield from arrows. He intends to manipulate waylines to drain the life from his opponent to restore his own.
Though his appearance is mystically altered to match the forest, Plumeir does not like the idea of remaining still and trusting to this, alone. He weaves back and forth through the trees, drawing closer to the enemy. He intends to throw a knife at the new arrival, while hoping to cause all three internal damage through ionization.
Even injured, Taylar is far faster than the Nishurins. With only two steps, he grabs the female partner of the downed speaker before she can take a single step, causing her to lose her bow and her breath, just from the pressure of his mighty left arm. As he squeezes, more life issues from within the woman than a bearhug could ever cause. In just over two seconds, Taylar drains all of the impetus for physical function from the woman, restoring himself to his full wellness.
While he is weaving through the trees, the second knife from Plumeir finds his new target and manages to draw a small trickle of blood. As the knife is still flying through the air, the two Nishurins already coughing, double over in pain, still conscious but unable to function. The third begins coughing violently, though he still manages to loose his arrow, which punches through the thin tunic of the party’s Bender, opening a gaping wound, as it continues in its flight.
More than a full second before the third Nishurin could fire her arrow at Taylar, the unmoving Astarte mystically heats her body, along with everything about her person. Concentrating for another full second, the Nishurin suffers considerable internal damage, her bowstring dissipates in flame, and her clothing begins to smolder.
Having lost her means of combat, she runs, as best she can, catching her arms around her partner, who is the only other Nishurin standing, about the waist, as the two half stumble half run toward the river in hopes of escaping. This taste of defeat is a new and unfavorable thing for those assassins. Neither the woman that Taylar is holding from falling nor the two laying on the ground coughing are in any condition to continue fighting. Plumeir is hurt and Astarte is still unable to move, but this fight has been won.
Taylar: full wellness
tunic: - 3 - 3 Astarte: Body 10 - 10 = 0, incapacitated.
vest - 1 Plumeir: Body: 10 - 5 = 5, hurt.
OOC:
Each character receives 5 DP. State nominal actions and intentions. Provide a random roll.
Taylar glares after the fleeing Nishruins but he thinks of his companions first. He will drag whichever Nishurins are still alive close enough to Astarte so that she can make physical contact and regenerate herself with their lifeforce. He explains, "I do not like this process of taking from the lives of others to heal, but it is necessary. Those children still need us."
After dragging the Nishurins, he will reclaim his dropped bludgeon and keep watch while the Investigators heal. When they are well enough to care for themselves, he will search the Nishurins and their camp to find anything of interest.
"I see no problem with that. This scum wouldn't" she says about the brigand. She noticed how Taylar got better after absorbing some life-force from the first lady of the bandits and still well remembers how 5 cycles back after doing the same thing Adisakti suddenly recovered from the wounds he should succumb to. He then said that Astarte could do this too, and from this time she was wondering if there gonna be an occasion to check out if he was right. Now feeling so full of energy like never before (this subjective perception is even more strengthened by the stark contrast of how weak she felt a mere moment ago), she hastily grabs her bow and run after the two escapists, intending to burn the man's bow, then to shoot them both starting from him. "Don't let 'em get away, and warn the others!" She doesn't give a crap if they survive or not, since there're sufficient number of broken opponents to question afterward. She hopes that Plumeir's injuries will allow him to throw his knives at the runners and subdue them quickly, so he may start tending to his wounds soon. roll:28
Plumeir is merely hurt, not injured, but he considers to two injured enemies that are running to be of little consequence. It never crosses his mind about preventing their retreat, especially since they are running toward the river, not North. He does not register the words from the fallen Astarte, being more concerned with her well being.
He has little talent to siphon life from another but he can accelerate his natural recovery process with considerable efficiency. He will quickly retrieve his thrown knives and end the life of the female Nishurin near him. He will slowly speak to the male, hoping that their limited knowledge of Markidian will allow him to be understood. "You are dying, slowly. I will leave you for the animals to eat if you do not tell us of the children."
Since this group of archers seems to be overly well equipped, he will also gather anything that seems useful and easy to carry, knowing that his new friends wish to be underway as soon as possible."
Calculations were performed but not recorded, as these are routine and only alter the time necessary.
A strange feeling of misfortune suddenly overcomes everyone, separately, but it quickly fades from each memory. Astarte has an even greater mystical talent than that of Taylar; and in only seconds, not only can she stand but also function fully. Plumeir will need a couple of hours to get back to his full potential, but this will not hinder the party’s continued movement as long as he eats as he travels. Astarte momentarily forgot about the fleeing archers, running to the river as she suddenly remembers. The two are exiting the opposite side, out of range of any Bending and not worth the loss of an arrow.
Though the exchange of information is limited, the party learns that the kidnappers are a group of Evipau who carry the children between pairs of them, lashed to poles. This would allow those men to still travel quite quickly. The Evipaun always come from the same direction and raid to the South. They also supply the Nishurins with better equipment than they can make for themselves, especially metal. Knowing that the Evipaun are not a civilized tribe and will not have such advanced skills in metallurgy or smithing, this statement seems very strange until a foreboding statement is made. The original agreement was orchestrated by a Faethrin who could speak the language of the Evipaun and that of the Nishurins.
The Faethrin is described in a manner similar to either a Rheini or Pelimonra, both of which are known to be peaceable, but the dying man is in no condition to fabricate a lie, and individual personality is not guaranteed by happenstance of birth. When pressed, the male tries to point and declares that the Evipaun always come from “that” rock. The Nishurins had agreed to never look for them.
All recovered arrows from the Nishurins and any of the recurve bows are better than those carried by Astarte. A total of 15 arrows are collected, all tipped with heads of Mithrin, a very rare alloy of aluminum and molybdenum. Taylar can recognize the alloy, having been raised by a smith. The Nishurins’ tunics are also better quality than those worn by Astarte or Plumeir, but they are not more protective. In addition to the usual gear of pouches, satchels, and foodstuff, a bright, red, opaque stone with flecks of semi-translucent yellow running through it is recovered from one of the bodies. After some study, it is recognized as that called, Firestone. If bodily carried by Plumeir or Astarte, it will augment total Health and total Confluence by +3. If carried by Taylar, the augmentation will be +2.
Another is found to be adorned with a necklace composed of four, sharp teeth from some larger feline. If bodily carried by Astarte, the talisman will augment total Motility & total Cohesion by +3. If carried by Taylar, the augmentation will be +2. A third is carrying a dark blue, opaque stone with streaks of semi-translucent orange running through it. After some study, it is recognized as that called, Twilightstone. If bodily carried by Plumeir, a stone will augment total Motility and total Cohesion by +3. If carried by Astarte or Taylar, the augmentation will be +2.
Taylar: full wellness
tunic: - 3 - 3 Astarte: Body 10 - 10 = 0, incapacitated.
vest - 1 Plumeir: Body: 10 - 5 = 5, hurt.
OOC:
Each character receives 5 DP. State nominal actions and intentions. Provide a random roll.
Taylar makes certain he knows what the Nishurin means by 'that rock'. After they dispose of the Nishurin Taylar says, "I am glad we found this group. Not only did we end their part in this evil enterprise, but we now know how to approach these Evipauns. I recommend we use stealth to approach as close as possible and strike without warning. If we find a way to release any children we find first, we will do that, but I do not intend to leave these villains capable of continuing their nefarious plan."
"But before that, let's inquire two of them about this Faethrin."
Astarte will change her bow for the best of the recurved bows the team salvaged and add her previous to the crew's collections. She'll keep all the arrows intending to use the new ones against an adversaries with better armors and the old for those with worse. She can't decide which of the three amulets she wants, so she'll take the one which ever is left.
