Planescape: Chrysalis

Two Down

The merc apparently hears Zee's chanting, "You'll not be gettin the jump on Khavain!" and the lanky and Zee sees now, scaly lout breaks into a run . Zee finishes his spell, the last syllables slither from his mouth. "What the?!" the merc shouts. His blade, at one point ready, slices through the air with a flash as his feet splay and he begins to stumble. Silver gleams again as Khavain tries to recover again, Zee feels fire blossom along his arm, but adrenalin quenches the flame. A grim smile spreads across the githzerai's lips and he steps into the merc's stumble, blade at the ready. Khavain sees fate waiting on the edge of Zee's blade, but he can't stop his tumble. Zee's blade grows heavy, and blood flows free.

The archers are busy dealing with the ash bats that have descended upon the camp. Plumes of flame erupt around mercs in combat, but they appear to be causing more surprise than real harm. Luckily, the bats don't seem interested in any of the warriors from Lornhall. Rexx mentally reminds himself to by the lad a stiff drink the next chance they have.

With all the commotion he easily sneaks up on one of the archers. The greasy, pimple faced lout realizes death is coming on the tip of a dagger too late. He half turns, but Rexx is quicker, the tiefling's blade drinks deep and the archer crumples. He doesn't have the good sense to die quietly though, and a bulky merc wheels on Rexx. The merc notes his fallen companion and advances, a smile fitting a rabid dog is plastered on his face. Rexx eyes the merc's massive mace apprehensively.

Noi'nu flies at the closest merc, a short stout man with gray-black skin and a thick black beard. He catches Noi'nu's charge out of the corner of his eye and turns axe ready. Steel sings, Noi'nu's muscles respond reflexively. The stout merc stumbles back, a large diagonal of blood wells across his chest, but he doesn't give up and advances. Noi'nu prepares and deflects most of the blow's force, but feels the axe glance off the armor on his thigh.

Nearby, Barnabus winks into existence, much like Kort. He falls on the last archer with a sharp cry. His claws don't dig deep, but they draw blood, and that's enough. The merc flails about trying to club the small quasit, but his swings are wild and clumsy.

Noi'nu notes Cedric's course out of the corner of his eye. The merc leader takes a few swings at the bats, but he seems more determined to reach the nearly panicked horses.

OOC: 2 down, combat begins again. Rex first, then Noi'nu, Kort, Zee, Barnabus, and Panaver.

Let death rain down 'pon him!

Zee dispatches the slaver quickly and then moves into support Rexx, sword flashing like flickering death...

…

Rexx twirls his daggers in his hand and sizes up his opponent, asking, "What ya want to lose first, berk? A nose? A finger? What's about an ear or an eye? I always let the thirteenth man I kill in a day chose which bit I carve off of 'im first..." The tiefling smiles wickedly, showing just a bit more of his pointed teeth than usual...

…

The masked man calls out to his archers, "Do not let the leader escape - let death rain down 'pon him!"

Noi'nu growls and draws his blade back, hammering down upon the merc's axe, hoping to sunder it beneath his powerful blow and take the slaver out as well...

To horse! Ride!

Rexx twirls his daggers in his hand and sizes up his opponent, asking, "What ya want to lose first, berk? A nose? A finger? What's about an ear or an eye? I always let the thirteenth man I kill in a day chose which bit I carve off of 'im first..." The tiefling smiles wickedly, showing just a bit more of his pointed teeth than usual...

"Big talk, what can you do when a cutter's back isn't towards ya?" He snarls and his mace cuvees in an arc towards Rexx's chest.

(I take this as Rexx taunting the merc. He's being defensive, holding his attack, and waiting for a better opening.)

Zee watches as death descends from the sky and an arrow blossoms from the back of a spindly merc (she actually looks githyanki). Too engaged with the ash bat, she didn't have time to defend against the Lornhall archers. More prepared, Cedric rolls out of the way as another arrow plants itself near his feet. Now close to the fire, the merc captain tosses something into the flames and runs like a baatezu army was on his heels.

(Three)

Noi'nu growls and draws his blade back, hammering down upon the merc's axe, hoping to sunder it beneath his powerful blow and take the slaver out as well...

Noi'nu's blade comes down, the merc's axe haft parts with the blow, and Noi'nu's blade continues on. His opponent's eyes go wide and a gurgle escapes his throat, a diagonal gash runs from the merc's right shoulder to just blow his left ribcage. Noi'nu frees Mutan as the merc topples to the side, and as he takes in the melee, Noi'nu feels the fire spread into his shoulders and arms from the force put into the blow.

(Four)

Kort takes aim with his crossbow again; the archer he'd pegged prior had recovered from his shock, drawn his blade, and was advancing towards him. Blade ready in his opposite hand, Kort lets the merc get close enough to swing before he fires the bolt. The merc's blow was a feint, he easily doges the bolt, and Kort is now left with a very angry broadsword wielding merc breathing down his neck. The young man drops his crossbow, but has to deal with the merc using his off hand.

Zee dispatches the slaver quickly and then moves into support Rexx, sword flashing like flickering death...

Zee charges through the camp towards the bulky merc menacing Rexx, he watches as the tiefling dances away from the blow aimed at his chest. Zee's blade flashes out, but the merc catches Zee out of the corner of his eye. He stumbles back but takes the brunt of the blow on his mace.

Barnabus continues to dance out of the way of the archer's wild swings, all the while taunting the merc. Something about his mother being a nupperibo and his father a rutterkin. The quasit tucks in and caresses the merc with his claws once again. Shouting vulgarities the mercenary lunges at the retreating quasit, but his own feet catch on each other and the merc ploughs into the earth face first.

(Effectively five)

One of the bats lets out a piercing scream and explodes in a small cloud of ash and flame. The two mercs involved wheel and look for new opponents. As they do, smoke explodes from the fire, a billowing cloud rolls from the flames and engulfs the melee.

"To horse! Ride! We'll pay these bleedin lemures back for their peel!" Cedric's cry is accompanied by the sound of horses stomping and whinnying.

Whew!

And that's it! The campaign is up to date.

Expect more to come...

Enjoy the eve!

OOC: Nathan, any chance I could get a map? Combat's getting a little confusin' mentally... Thanks!

Map

Can do and done:

Battle Map

It is the map as of the last post.

Notes:
The hexes are each 2 meters, side to side, roughly 10'
The letters are individual characters, 1st letter of the character's name.
N - Noi'nu, so on...

M - These are the Mercs
A- These are the Archers
C - This is Cedric

Any A or M on its side means that combatant is unconcious

The horses are the long sideways cluster of H up north, they are not unconcious, but very noisy at the moment.

The blue dashed circle represents the boundries of the smoke cloud.
Any inside it can barely see in front of them.

The other Merc is unconcious off to the south west, the rest of the Lornhall contingent is to the south.

Hope that helps.

N

OOC: It does - thanks!

Noi'nu sees Cedric heading for the horses and bellows to the quasit, "Barnabus - do not let him get away!". The masked man points in Cedric's direction and then charges the mercs directly north of him. As he runs, Noi'nu taps into the Lunatic, a crazed soul that he keeps cored away deep within his psyche - he does not like the Lunatic, as the man was driven mad by the winds of Pandemonium long before his death, and he became accustomed to his madness - in fact, the Lunatic delights in it.

Noi'nu lets the Lunatic out and he begins babbling incoherently as he runs, the voice is grating and high-pitched, like a verbal fingernail scraping on chalk, "AAAaaaaHHHaahahahhahah! Freeesssss! FFFFrrreeesss as a flying frog in fog are I!!! I-I-IiEye! Aaaaaahhehhehehe! Eyes would be good - Fried eyes, yesyesyesYESYES NO NO YESSSSS!!!!"

Just before he reaches the mercs, Noi'nu submerges the Lunatic, shoving him back down beneath the surface of his psyche and hammers away with his blade like a madman. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the archer and prays silently that Kort dispatches him quickly.

Rexx laughs like a madman at the man's words and attack, tumbles beneath it and drives his daggers up towards the man's belly. The tiefer hopes that the merc does not let the mace flow down, as he knows that his skull is very likely in line with it. 'Ah, well, there's no glory in not gettin' gory, as Ashy used to say', he thinks to himself.

Zee, his face a grim and hardend battlemask, twirls his blade in an impressive display of flashing death before moving in for the kill. He has fought this battle man times over, both in practice and in the field. He *knows* his skill is far beyond that of his opponent, the true battle comes from within. One must follow the prescribed path to victory, or lose it utterly and find himself on the path to destruction.

Tanar’ri blood cat

Over the din of combat, the Lornhall defenders can hear Barnabus shout, "I can’t stop him if I can't see my tail in the baator spawned fog! Bleedin sod!"

The mercs appear out of the smoke as Noi’nu races towards their last position. They’re both stumbling away toward the north, but one manages to whirl with his blade ready at the sound of Noi’nu’s lunatic approach. Noi’nu’s strikes rain down on the merc who tries his best to parry, steel protests as swords clash, once, twice, three times, and then red blood blossoms across the man’s chest and Noi’nu’ sword cuts deep into his thigh. As the merc collapses the other continues his running stumble north, his form disappears in the smoke.

Noi’nu hears Barnabus again, but it’s a cry worthy of a tanar’ri blood cat before it pounces on its prey. Horses scream, and a man that sounds like Cedric, joins the unintelligible chorus.

The smoke aids Kort, the wounded archer’s swing goes wild and Kort is able to tumble out of the way. “Best head your headman, before we make ya regret your line a work,” Kort jibes at the merc as he slips on his ring of invisibility and disappears into the rolling smoke.

Rexx’s knives sink deep into the stout mercenaries gut, but Rexx stings quickly and dances back, no need to endanger himself anymore now that Zee is here to “mop up.” The merc staggers back in time to see Zee blade shine brightly in its deadly arc.

Everyone feels a strong wind rapidly pick up from the south. It tugs at clothes and sighs through the tall grass, but most importantly, the wind cuts through the bank of smoke. The gray cloud rolls and seethes as it disperses, but the wind can’t muffle the sound of galloping hooves.

“Modron fornicating, archon spittle slurping, lemur faced dung collector!” Barnabus shouts at the top of his lungs.

Noi'nu knows not where the wind came from, but he thanks whatever powers are smiling upon them at that moment and continues to cut the mercs before him down without mercy... As he wails away, he calls to the quasit, "Catch him - you can fly, can't you?!?!?"

Rexx and Zee twirl and wind up back to back, both ready to take down their respective merc...

Ashy said:

and continues to cut the mercs before him down without mercy...

Click to expand...

Noi'nu took care of one merc, the other has his back to the ranger and is running away. Does Noi'nu run him down?

IC:
The smoke clears quickly, Rexx and Zee can see the battle is won. No more bats harry the mercs, there are only two left "sanding." One scrabbles franticaly for the now smaller cluster of horses, and the other is on his knees on the otherside of camp, his right hand clutches his side where Kort's crossbow bolt has buried itself deep.

The Old Man strides over the body of the merc that fell before him and stares intently at the back of the frantically runing mercinary. Barnabus sits on the saddle on one of the remaining horses, his head is downcast, while his wings droop at his side.