(Casual D&D IV) A Knight for a Pawn

[Festy_Dog]

Nurthk helps Oliver to his feet after Fendric patches him up.

"We need to find shelter from this storm!" he yells, as the heavy rain soaks through his clothes.

The burly half-orc picks his way down to Gale and checks one of the saddlebags. He hangs his head for a moment and pulls his hat a little firmer on his head to save it from the clawing winds. The moment of mourning passes, and he unbuckles the various riding gear from the deceased horse. He empties the contents of the saddlebags next to Gale, now virtually a soup of soggy rations and other unidentifiable items concealed in the accidental stew.

Heaving the equipment over his shoulders he tries to make his way back up. Nurthk almost looses his footing time and again in the mud-slick surface slope. The wind, relentless in its efforts, finally claims his hat while his hands juggle the late Gale's saddle. Nurthk's curse is smothered by the rain that pelted his face now. When he's back at the top of the slope he moves towards the yellow scarves, hoping wherever they were hiding until recently has shelter enough for all.

 

[Fenris]

As the party sits to catch their breath after the fierce battle and tend to the wounded, the observant notice something approaching. Out of the gloaming of the storm, a small, dark object is upon the waves, drawing nearer. As the party watches it is clear that the object is a small rowboat, with a single person manning the oars. As you watch, at several points the rower stops and turns. As the rower has gotten closer it appears that he is observing you himself, just as you watch him. Finally, you can see him make his way towards the shore. His oars dip deeply into the water and the small craft makes strong headway in the waves, both telling of strong shoulders and long experience with oars.

As the boat approaches the shallow waters at the base of the cliff, the details of the boat and rower become more visible. The boat is in poor shape, the back half is singed and burned, embers still send up trails of smoke where water splashes on it. The rower takes one last look at the shore and the party and sends the boat up onto the beach with a last, strenuous pull. As the boat grounds a young man springs out of the boat with a lithe grace. He stands somewhat tall with his sandy blond hair, long and pulled back in the manner of sailors of Andon. His green eyes flicker across the group, from face to face, as if reading the intent that lay there. His skin is tanned and weathered, and he appears very handsome. His left hand rests lightly on the pommel of the curved sword hanging loosely at his belt. His clothes are soaked from the rain, much as yours are, but his sport fresh rips and burns, with not a few stains of blood.

As he looks around, he sees the corpses of the arrowhawks and at the last smiles. Shoating over the din of the rain he speaks:

“Hello my friends. I am glad to have landed where I did. For I see you have enacted my revenge for me. My ship was far out to sea when either these birds or others of their kind attacked my ship. I have lost my crew, and my ship and am far from home. My name is Ulsys Dantrim. I hope you can tell me where I have landed and perhaps the way to the closest port?”

Now that the boat is ashore you can see at least one other body in the boat, badly charred and unmoving.

 

[dpdx]

“Hello my friends. I am glad to have landed where I did. For I see you have enacted my revenge for me. My ship was far out to sea when either these birds or others of their kind attacked my ship. I have lost my crew, and my ship and am far from home. My name is Ulsys Dantrim. I hope you can tell me where I have landed and perhaps the way to the closest port?”

Now that the boat is ashore you can see at least one other body in the boat, badly charred and unmoving.

A shorter half-elf with bowl-cut, fawn-colored hair, and slightly narrow green eyes looks over from the side of the fragile Cylantro, who is by now standing [and benefitting from the effects of a spontaneous Cure Critical (from Sending) for 25 hp]. The elf stands to reveal grimy tan cloth scorched through in places over metal armor, which is adorned with a silver medallion depicting the Sun.

His companion, a blond-haired, strapping young human with manner, armor and horse all depicting a junior Knight of the Radiant Light, looks on. [Hiritus has detect evil at will, so noone radiate any taint, OK? ]

The half-elf speaks:

"Greetings, Ulsys. I am Fendric, this is Hiritus, and I am afraid you have us at a disadvanta-"

Looking past him at the corpse in the burnt boat, Fendric shudders.

"Bright Blessings of the Sun, is that also the work of these horrible flying creatures??"

Hiritus steps toward the man while Fendric dusts off Cylantro.

"These are rough circumstances for anyone to make a first meeting. Give us a few minutes to recover, here, and we'll seek out some shelter to do this right."

Hiritus also looks past Ulsys to the remains in his boat. "Are they dead?"

 

[Fenris]

The half-elf speaks:

"Greetings, Ulsys. I am Fendric, this is Hiritus, and I am afraid you have us at a disadvanta-"

Looking past him at the corpse in the burnt boat, Fendric shudders.

"Bright Blessings of the Sun, is that also the work of these horrible flying creatures??"

Hiritus steps toward the man while Fendric dusts off Cylantro.

"These are rough circumstances for anyone to make a first meeting. Give us a few minutes to recover, here, and we'll seek out some shelter to do this right."

Hiritus also looks past Ulsys to the remains in his boat. "Are they dead?"

"Greetings Fendric." turning to the boat "Yes, my first mate. The lightning birds got him as we rowed away from the buring hulk of my ship. I was able to drive it away, but not before Ruprin here was burned too badly."
"I am sorry. I hadn't seen that your battle was so telling, though perhaps not as much as mine, seeing as I lost my companions as well."

 

[dpdx]

As Hiritus makes himself useful to others, Fendric ventures further down the hill to find Vespers.

As Fendric retrieves his things from Vespers, he lifts his head in the direction from which the arrowhawks came.

"As the Radiant Power of Pelor bears my witness, I shall hunt you down, foul druid. And when I find you, I shall not only end you, but I will visit upon you in so doing, every last fraction of pain that you dealt to me, to my brothers and sisters, to this poor horse who never hurt anyone, this captain's first mate, his crew, and more.

This oath I undertake, before the Glorious Brightness of the Day, my brothers and sisters of the Fellowship, and others here assembled."

Fendric returns to Hiritus, who stashes the tackle in the saddlebags, and loads Justice with the additional weight.

 

[Fenris]

"Pardon me Fendric, but what shore are we upon now? I would know whether I ought to row back out or continue on foot" says Ulyss pointing back out to sea.

Something catches his eye in the boat as he does so. He walks back to the small craft and sticks his head down inside and swears quietly. He then retrieves a bow from the bottom and straps it to his back. He then moves Ruprin to the bottom of the boat, folding his hand over his chest.

After a moment of silence he gives the boat a strong push, propelling it back out to sea. He the turns.

"Boat was leaking" he repleis to the unspoken queston on Fendric's face.

"Well it matter less where I am, though I would like to know. But can I give you all a hand back up the cliff?"

 

[dpdx]

Fendric turns his head back toward Ulsys:

"I know not which shore this is, good sir, only that it is just south of the Tournean border."

 

[doghead]

Xiao Yu, male human monk.

Xiao leaps into the air and hoots with glee as his rock strikes the bird thing. He is happy again.

Calming down, he turns and surveys the scene. While the wounded are being seen to, Xiao keeps busy removing the saddles and gear from the dead horses and carry it up the cliff to the where the others have gathered. In the strong wind it is difficult to keep his hat on, so he tucks it safely into a bag in the shelter of a saddle before returning to work.

"Xiao has map," Xiao announces suddenly. Xiao was at the top of the cliff when the young man appeared in the boat. Slowly he worked his way back down to join Fendric at the shoreline. "But too windy to read now."

Xiao is stocky male, about 5'6" in bare feet. He wears a tunic of heavy cotton, belted around the waist by a broad strip of cloth, and loose pants of the same heavy material. His face is round and his features flat, and he seems to have no eyelids, until he blinks. He carrys no visible weapons or armour, but tied around his torso is a length of cloth. It bulges slightly at the bottom, suggesting it carries something.

"Xiao is me," he adds with a big grin. "Did you ride big wave in little boat?"

 

[DrZombie]

Raven unstrings his bow and rubs it dry with a soft cloth. He checks it carefully for damage, then puts it away. he glares at the yellowscarves, and at the newcomer. When he's sufficiently convinced that neither of them poses a significant threat he checks his mule and his packs.

"Stay still Jake" he whispers, while rubbing the animal's neck and checking it's legs to see if it sustained any injuries. He whistles and holds out his arm for his raven to land on, and lets the tired, bedragled animal rest on it's shoulder.

He spends some time wandering around the slope, trying to find some arrows, reclaiming the arrow, or the arrowhead, if possible. With a sigh, he takes out his spare quiver and puts the old, nearly empty one, on his mule (35 arrows left)

he then looks at the animals that are still alive, checking them for injury, and finally walks down to the dead horses, helping to unload them and stuffs the extra load on his mule.

When he passes oliver, he smiles his familiar sarcastic smile.

" So, old man, looks like they didn't want you in the afterlife after all." He slaps him on his back. "Look here", he says, pointing at the quiver on his back.
"Bow and arrow " he pronounces it slowly, as if explaining to a small child.
"Saves you from jumping and breaking your old bones, although, if you'd actually hit that damn birdie we'd all have been mightily impressed."
He smiles again
"That must have been one of the bravest, desperate and foolhardy moves I've ever seen, Oliver." He grasps the old lutists forearm, the warrior's way. "Glad to still have you with us".

He moves down the slope to Fendric and Hiritus.

"Thank you, Fendric. If it hadn't been for those magnificent beasts, we'd all be dead." He flashes another smile. "Well, you'd all be dead, anyway"

He casts a weary eye at the newcomer, looking him up and down. "Guess we weren't the only ones who pissed off those birds."

 

[Guilt Puppy]

(Bit of a backtrack -- tried to post this a couple of days ago, but ENWorld wasn't working, and after that I've had a rough weekend. Anyway, yes, this does end the combat, although the wind is still strong, and the rain is still getting stronger.)

Xiao tosses another rock up, and this one manages to strike the bird at the cleft of its beak. It squawks in dismay, but does not seem seriously wounded.

As the hippogriffs move to flank the remaining arrowhawk (it's within a doulbe-move to flank, so I think this is accurate to your intentions?), Raven lets one more arrow fly into the sea.

For the rest of the party, attention turns toward healing the wounded. Nurthk brings Oliver to meet Fendric halfway up the slope, where the Pelorite's magic restores the old lutist to consciousness.

The arrowhawk bites at the hippogriff to its left (Hippogriff #1: Attack 22, Damage 6) before being subjected to the coming barrage of beak and claw. The first connects with one talon, the second with both; in the end, it is enough send the bird on a short spiral down to the water below, where it floats in its own reddening pool.

(XP:

Oliver: 3225
Fendric: 3125
Raven: 2950
Xiao: 2950
Cylantro: 2925
Nurthk: 2875)