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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="ellinor" data-source="post: 4980153" data-attributes="member: 14561"><p><strong>7x02</strong></p><p></p><p>Tavi leapt into battle with Lurx, dodging and weaving. Lurx’s powerful derro body was compact and firm, and his vulnerabilities weren’t immediately apparent. But, as Mena was fond of saying, Tavi had trained for this. And if he’d learned anything in this underground labyrinth, it was that he was damn good at what he’d trained for. </p><p></p><p>Lurx swung his huge fist at Tavi’s shoulder. Tavi parried and dodged. <em>But maybe that’s an opening.</em> He hurled his sword at Lurx’s exposed side. The sword glanced off Lurx, ineffectual, but kept spinning and sliced one of the smaller derro behind the behemoth before returning to Tavi’s hand. Lurx sneered and then grinned at Tavi’s failure to connect.</p><p></p><p><em>Not what I wanted to do,</em> Tavi thought, <em>but now we’ve learned something important. As long as I’m going for the big guy, I won’t violate the rules of single combat if I hurt someone else.</em> He unleashed his blade’s <em>flame cyclone</em>—burning Lurx a little, and turning the derro behind him into a screaming, flaming cinder. Phoebe clearly thought that was a good idea. <span style="color: Magenta">Now we’re talking!</span> </p><p></p><p>Phoebe’s encouraging voice joined a chorus of aid from his compatriots. Some of it was good advice, and some of it was just good for distracting Lurx, but Tavi was glad for all of it, because it kept Lurx guessing his next move. “Again!” “Don’t let him bring his arm down!” “Go for the hamstring!” “Kneecaps! Kneecaps!”</p><p> </p><p><em>DM’s Note: So, this bit of gameplay was a little experiment. How long could I sustain single combat between one PC and a Solo monster? Yes. That’s right. Lurx is a Solo monster, who Tavi is fighting by himself.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Sort of.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>See, in order to give the rest of the PCs something to do, I created a series of skill-challenge like actions that they could take. By using their skills to help Tavi, other players were able to give him bonuses to hit, to damage, or other various powers. I’ll post the complete rules in a separate post. But for now, it’s enough to know that those shouts of encouragement were more than just shouts of encouragement: they were combat bonuses.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Which were pretty sorely needed.</em></p><p></p><p>Among the chaos of derro and human voices, there was one new one, a woman’s: “He favors his right side!” Whoever that was, Tavi noticed, she knew what she was talking about. Tavi sent Phoebe flying around Lurx’s right side and spun around Lurx’s back from the left. Green flames burst from his blade and WHAM he hit Lurx smack in the face. </p><p></p><p>“Do that again!” yelled Savina.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Arden crept behind the circle of derro. <em>Why the freepeople want to honor the rules of savages</em>, she thought, <em>I have no idea. But at least no one’s looking at me – which is just the chance I need.</em> </p><p></p><p>The derro jeered and screamed, their backs to her as she slid along the wall. She stole a glimpse past them: Signor Octavian and Lurx were a blur of fists and fire, as a blast of light from Signor Octavian’s hand blinded Lurx, leaving the giant derro open to attack from his flaming sword. Lurx roared in anger and flailed wildly as Tavi ducked and thrust again. </p><p></p><p>Arden turned away from the fight when she reached the chained slaves. The Sovereign woman was in front. Several dwarves were chained behind her, farther along an incomplete passage leading away from the back of the room.</p><p></p><p>Silently, Arden knelt down and, for the first time on this journey, pulled a small but well-crafted set of lockpicks from their hiding place beneath her belt. With the ease and skill of one who speaks to locks as to a long and intimately studied enemy, she released the Sovereign woman from her fetters. <em>What would Alleged say if he knew I had these particular tools . . .</em> </p><p></p><p>The Sovereign woman gave a slight bow of greeting. “I am in your debt,” she said, below the din of the derro crowd. “I am Nyoko. ”</p><p></p><p>“I am Arden.”</p><p></p><p>“It is an honor to meet you, Arden.”</p><p></p><p>Arden smiled. <em>Wonder if she’d feel that way if she knew what I was.</em> Arden savored the feeling of being equals, two comrades on the battlefield. “Nyoko, can you fight?”</p><p></p><p>Nyoko nodded with the look of one who not only could fight, but wanted to. Arden was encouraged. “Can they?” Arden pointed to the dwarves in the passageway.</p><p></p><p>“Four are very frail,” replied Nyoko, “and frailer every day. And one is very young. But he has no shortage of energy.”</p><p></p><p>The cacophony of battle raged in the background. Over it all, Arden could hear Mena’s voice, tinged, Arden thought, with real concern: “Get up off your ass and hit him!”</p><p></p><p>Arden made her way down the narrow passageway toward the dwarves. They cringed away from her, and she winced: <em>I’ve been there.</em> The four older ones were as frail, and the young one as green and eager, as Nyoko had said. If they fled out of this passageway and into the battle area, they would be slaughtered. But they must be freed. </p><p></p><p>Arden approached them, and asked Nyoko to translate. “I can unlock you. You will want to run. You must not run. Will you stay here?”</p><p></p><p>Each dwarf nodded, mutely, in response.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>“Hit him again!” Savina found herself screaming something that seemed very unlike herself. But as she watched a burst of flame erupt from Tavi’s hand, she wanted nothing more than to see him victorious. He looked strong and brave out there, with dirt shading his brow, sweat glistening in his hair, and fierce concentration clouding his face. “Again!” A flurry of swordwork sliced Lurx’s arm and back, but they barely bled. </p><p></p><p>Lurx swung his enormous fists with the force—and, fortunately, the accuracy—of a lumbering giant. Tavi dodged, backing away at just the right moments and feinting with his sword. Lurx bellowed and blustered as he reached down in a failed attempt to grab Tavi in his powerful arms. With every miss, Lurx became more and more angry. One of his blows connected with a discarded bookcase, which splintered to bits. Savina imagined if that bookcase had been Tavi’s ribs, and shuddered, and prayed.</p><p></p><p>### </p><p></p><p>Arden popped open the first three locks as if they had been left undone. It was like it had all been leading to this; she just tuned out the noise and did it. Three dwarven men, one elderly and two middle aged, stood in disbelief, still apprehensive of their new liberty. Next was an elderly dwarf. Behind him, the boy was jumping up and down as best he could, his chains rattling, as he fired questions at her in dwarven. Arden tried to communicate to him with her eyes: <em>be patient. Soon.</em></p><p></p><p>The fourth lock wasn’t so easy. She fumbled a bit as the yelling and screaming leaked into her mind, and memories of harder locks leaked in with memories of even harder times. Eventually this one opened too, and she looked up to see the face of the dwarf she had freed. His face was deeply lined, his beard shaved to shame him. </p><p></p><p>Arden stood up and gave him the same steady look she had given the others, to keep him from running. Like them, he did not move, only shook and looked down in disbelief, and raised his arm slowly as if to prove it was truly disconnected from its chains. Arden pointed to herself. “Arden,” she said. </p><p></p><p>The dwarf blinked. </p><p></p><p>“Arden,” she repeated, pointing again at herself.</p><p></p><p>“Romek,” the dwarf replied, his eyes wide. Then he knelt at her feet. </p><p></p><p>His fear and subservience were too familiar, too hurtful. It shocked her worse than if he'd pulled a blade and gutted her. Inside herself, she was screaming—<em>Don’t do that!</em>—but when she opened her mouth, she was speechless. Even if she had known dwarven, she would be helpless to know what to say. </p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>“You’re wearing him down!” Kormick yelled.</p><p></p><p>Encouragement had never been Kormick’s strong suit, but he figured “You’ve been hammering away at this guy for ages and he’s barely even bruised and his increasingly belligerent compatriots outnumber us three to one” wasn’t really going to do much for morale. “You’re wearing him down” seemed like a better choice.</p><p></p><p>A burst of flame from Tavi’s sword singed Lurx’s hair and Tavi whirled around to avoid another blow from the behemoth, backing into a derro foreman in the process. Tavi had done a good job of avoiding Lurx’s powerful blows, but bruises were beginning to rise where he’d been buffeted by the crowd, and he was flagging. Tavi stumbled, giving Lurx a chance to move on to the high ground provided by a pile of scree. </p><p></p><p>As Tavi swung, Lurx suddenly shifted left, grabbing Tavi’s arm and twisting him around in a bone crushing bear hug. With a great roar, Lurx lifted Tavi up above his head and <em>hurled</em> him across the room, directly toward Kormick. Tavi landed at Kormick’s feet and did not move.</p><p></p><p><em>DM’s Note: Don’t let the Solo Monster hit you with a crit. While using an action point. And a minor action follow up. Don’t do that at all.</em> </p><p></p><p>The derro crowd went crazy, screaming, banging their swords against their armor and cheering. </p><p></p><p><em>Get up, kid,</em> thought Kormick. <em>You know you want to.</em></p><p></p><p>Lurx stood over him with a look that said “You want some more?” </p><p> </p><p><em>He’s gonna get up,</em> thought Kormick.</p><p></p><p>Kormick could hear Savina praying, and could see the color rise in Tavi’s cheeks.</p><p></p><p>“Off your ass, NOW!” yelled Mena. </p><p></p><p>Tavi stumbled to his feet. </p><p></p><p>“Go get ’em,” said Kormick, giving Tavi a friendly push. </p><p></p><p>Tavi took a couple of swings at Lurx, moving more like a drunk trying to impress his friends than the expert Kormick knew him to be. The fall had taken its toll. </p><p></p><p>Tavi tried to head for the high ground, but Lurx’s fists were in the way. Kormick winced as two punishing blows folded Tavi like a rag doll. Then Lurx picked Tavi up again and threw him again, this time into the center of the circle. </p><p></p><p>Tavi was unconscious.</p><p></p><p>The derro cheered wildly, banging their swords against their armor, banging their fists against their chests. Lurx! Lurx! Lurx! Lurx!</p><p></p><p>“TAVI!” Savina’s scream rang out across the room.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ellinor, post: 4980153, member: 14561"] [b]7x02[/b] Tavi leapt into battle with Lurx, dodging and weaving. Lurx’s powerful derro body was compact and firm, and his vulnerabilities weren’t immediately apparent. But, as Mena was fond of saying, Tavi had trained for this. And if he’d learned anything in this underground labyrinth, it was that he was damn good at what he’d trained for. Lurx swung his huge fist at Tavi’s shoulder. Tavi parried and dodged. [i]But maybe that’s an opening.[/i] He hurled his sword at Lurx’s exposed side. The sword glanced off Lurx, ineffectual, but kept spinning and sliced one of the smaller derro behind the behemoth before returning to Tavi’s hand. Lurx sneered and then grinned at Tavi’s failure to connect. [i]Not what I wanted to do,[/i] Tavi thought, [i]but now we’ve learned something important. As long as I’m going for the big guy, I won’t violate the rules of single combat if I hurt someone else.[/i] He unleashed his blade’s [i]flame cyclone[/i]—burning Lurx a little, and turning the derro behind him into a screaming, flaming cinder. Phoebe clearly thought that was a good idea. [COLOR="Magenta"]Now we’re talking![/COLOR] Phoebe’s encouraging voice joined a chorus of aid from his compatriots. Some of it was good advice, and some of it was just good for distracting Lurx, but Tavi was glad for all of it, because it kept Lurx guessing his next move. “Again!” “Don’t let him bring his arm down!” “Go for the hamstring!” “Kneecaps! Kneecaps!” [i]DM’s Note: So, this bit of gameplay was a little experiment. How long could I sustain single combat between one PC and a Solo monster? Yes. That’s right. Lurx is a Solo monster, who Tavi is fighting by himself. Sort of. See, in order to give the rest of the PCs something to do, I created a series of skill-challenge like actions that they could take. By using their skills to help Tavi, other players were able to give him bonuses to hit, to damage, or other various powers. I’ll post the complete rules in a separate post. But for now, it’s enough to know that those shouts of encouragement were more than just shouts of encouragement: they were combat bonuses. Which were pretty sorely needed.[/i] Among the chaos of derro and human voices, there was one new one, a woman’s: “He favors his right side!” Whoever that was, Tavi noticed, she knew what she was talking about. Tavi sent Phoebe flying around Lurx’s right side and spun around Lurx’s back from the left. Green flames burst from his blade and WHAM he hit Lurx smack in the face. “Do that again!” yelled Savina. ### Arden crept behind the circle of derro. [i]Why the freepeople want to honor the rules of savages[/i], she thought, [i]I have no idea. But at least no one’s looking at me – which is just the chance I need.[/i] The derro jeered and screamed, their backs to her as she slid along the wall. She stole a glimpse past them: Signor Octavian and Lurx were a blur of fists and fire, as a blast of light from Signor Octavian’s hand blinded Lurx, leaving the giant derro open to attack from his flaming sword. Lurx roared in anger and flailed wildly as Tavi ducked and thrust again. Arden turned away from the fight when she reached the chained slaves. The Sovereign woman was in front. Several dwarves were chained behind her, farther along an incomplete passage leading away from the back of the room. Silently, Arden knelt down and, for the first time on this journey, pulled a small but well-crafted set of lockpicks from their hiding place beneath her belt. With the ease and skill of one who speaks to locks as to a long and intimately studied enemy, she released the Sovereign woman from her fetters. [i]What would Alleged say if he knew I had these particular tools . . .[/i] The Sovereign woman gave a slight bow of greeting. “I am in your debt,” she said, below the din of the derro crowd. “I am Nyoko. ” “I am Arden.” “It is an honor to meet you, Arden.” Arden smiled. [i]Wonder if she’d feel that way if she knew what I was.[/i] Arden savored the feeling of being equals, two comrades on the battlefield. “Nyoko, can you fight?” Nyoko nodded with the look of one who not only could fight, but wanted to. Arden was encouraged. “Can they?” Arden pointed to the dwarves in the passageway. “Four are very frail,” replied Nyoko, “and frailer every day. And one is very young. But he has no shortage of energy.” The cacophony of battle raged in the background. Over it all, Arden could hear Mena’s voice, tinged, Arden thought, with real concern: “Get up off your ass and hit him!” Arden made her way down the narrow passageway toward the dwarves. They cringed away from her, and she winced: [i]I’ve been there.[/i] The four older ones were as frail, and the young one as green and eager, as Nyoko had said. If they fled out of this passageway and into the battle area, they would be slaughtered. But they must be freed. Arden approached them, and asked Nyoko to translate. “I can unlock you. You will want to run. You must not run. Will you stay here?” Each dwarf nodded, mutely, in response. ### “Hit him again!” Savina found herself screaming something that seemed very unlike herself. But as she watched a burst of flame erupt from Tavi’s hand, she wanted nothing more than to see him victorious. He looked strong and brave out there, with dirt shading his brow, sweat glistening in his hair, and fierce concentration clouding his face. “Again!” A flurry of swordwork sliced Lurx’s arm and back, but they barely bled. Lurx swung his enormous fists with the force—and, fortunately, the accuracy—of a lumbering giant. Tavi dodged, backing away at just the right moments and feinting with his sword. Lurx bellowed and blustered as he reached down in a failed attempt to grab Tavi in his powerful arms. With every miss, Lurx became more and more angry. One of his blows connected with a discarded bookcase, which splintered to bits. Savina imagined if that bookcase had been Tavi’s ribs, and shuddered, and prayed. ### Arden popped open the first three locks as if they had been left undone. It was like it had all been leading to this; she just tuned out the noise and did it. Three dwarven men, one elderly and two middle aged, stood in disbelief, still apprehensive of their new liberty. Next was an elderly dwarf. Behind him, the boy was jumping up and down as best he could, his chains rattling, as he fired questions at her in dwarven. Arden tried to communicate to him with her eyes: [i]be patient. Soon.[/i] The fourth lock wasn’t so easy. She fumbled a bit as the yelling and screaming leaked into her mind, and memories of harder locks leaked in with memories of even harder times. Eventually this one opened too, and she looked up to see the face of the dwarf she had freed. His face was deeply lined, his beard shaved to shame him. Arden stood up and gave him the same steady look she had given the others, to keep him from running. Like them, he did not move, only shook and looked down in disbelief, and raised his arm slowly as if to prove it was truly disconnected from its chains. Arden pointed to herself. “Arden,” she said. The dwarf blinked. “Arden,” she repeated, pointing again at herself. “Romek,” the dwarf replied, his eyes wide. Then he knelt at her feet. His fear and subservience were too familiar, too hurtful. It shocked her worse than if he'd pulled a blade and gutted her. Inside herself, she was screaming—[i]Don’t do that![/i]—but when she opened her mouth, she was speechless. Even if she had known dwarven, she would be helpless to know what to say. ### “You’re wearing him down!” Kormick yelled. Encouragement had never been Kormick’s strong suit, but he figured “You’ve been hammering away at this guy for ages and he’s barely even bruised and his increasingly belligerent compatriots outnumber us three to one” wasn’t really going to do much for morale. “You’re wearing him down” seemed like a better choice. A burst of flame from Tavi’s sword singed Lurx’s hair and Tavi whirled around to avoid another blow from the behemoth, backing into a derro foreman in the process. Tavi had done a good job of avoiding Lurx’s powerful blows, but bruises were beginning to rise where he’d been buffeted by the crowd, and he was flagging. Tavi stumbled, giving Lurx a chance to move on to the high ground provided by a pile of scree. As Tavi swung, Lurx suddenly shifted left, grabbing Tavi’s arm and twisting him around in a bone crushing bear hug. With a great roar, Lurx lifted Tavi up above his head and [i]hurled[/i] him across the room, directly toward Kormick. Tavi landed at Kormick’s feet and did not move. [i]DM’s Note: Don’t let the Solo Monster hit you with a crit. While using an action point. And a minor action follow up. Don’t do that at all.[/i] The derro crowd went crazy, screaming, banging their swords against their armor and cheering. [i]Get up, kid,[/i] thought Kormick. [i]You know you want to.[/i] Lurx stood over him with a look that said “You want some more?” [i]He’s gonna get up,[/i] thought Kormick. Kormick could hear Savina praying, and could see the color rise in Tavi’s cheeks. “Off your ass, NOW!” yelled Mena. Tavi stumbled to his feet. “Go get ’em,” said Kormick, giving Tavi a friendly push. Tavi took a couple of swings at Lurx, moving more like a drunk trying to impress his friends than the expert Kormick knew him to be. The fall had taken its toll. Tavi tried to head for the high ground, but Lurx’s fists were in the way. Kormick winced as two punishing blows folded Tavi like a rag doll. Then Lurx picked Tavi up again and threw him again, this time into the center of the circle. Tavi was unconscious. The derro cheered wildly, banging their swords against their armor, banging their fists against their chests. Lurx! Lurx! Lurx! Lurx! “TAVI!” Savina’s scream rang out across the room. [/QUOTE]
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