Since there is a common language, Taylar tries communication first and adopts a defensive stance with his bludgeons. He replies in Markidian loud enough for his comrades to hear, "I am here looking for some children. Tell me where they are and I will leave here in peace."
Astarte shapes her head in disappointment at Taylar's recklessness. While she agrees that his brave action will in deed give the three of them advantage, it is still not worthy to risk so much. At the first sign of him being attacked, she's gonna shoot the apparent leader of the adversary group, leaving his woman to be handled by the Maldrog. Aware that she'll be the next target of the rest of the bandits, Astarte will immediately hide behind the tree (still keeping her camo) and draw the 2nd arrow to shoot another toughest guy/wench just when the Nishurins are busy with drawing their next arrows or for some other reasons are more off-guard.
Upon hearing the words spoken in Markidian, Plumeir is a bit taken aback. He does not know what to make of the knowledge, but will not reveal his position. He will continue to creep toward the encampment, ready for trouble.
The man waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “No children. You go, now.”
To emphasize his point he and his partner drew their arrows and took aim at Taylar. Despite the use of Markidian, the man was evidently not proficient. As Markidian is the dominant language of the region, perhaps these people had acquired a limited knowledge in their former travels. Not only was the group uncommonly equipped, they appeared rather experienced, being somewhat the same age as the party members.
Taylar]: full wellness Astarte: full wellness Plumeir: full wellness
OOC:
Each character receives 5 DP. State nominal actions and intentions. Previous random rolls provided for Taylar and Plumeir have not yet been used.
Taylar utilizes what in modern times would be a 'silent close'. He maintains his defensive posture and waits in silence. He manipulates waylines to increase his hearing and observes the Nishurins, waiting for them to give something away or attack. If either of the Nishurins fires their arrows, he intends to dodge and charge the lead attacker.
Two full seconds pass in a staring match until the speaker and his partner both fire arrows. Being in her line of sight and ready, as soon as the two arrows of the enemy fly, Astarte releases her own. Plumeir is out of position and does not realize that conflict has ensued, but in about two more seconds it will be unmistakable.
Taylar is far faster than his size would indicate, especially with his augmented motility, but the NIshurins would not recognize such. He does not completely avoid being struck with the arrows; but at such close distance, his death should have been assured not just injury. The right thigh and left side of the abdomen of Taylar were both cut with arrows that both passed through
The movement of Astarte is noticed just before she releases her arrow, but it still finds her target. The arrow drags along the left side of the rib cage, drawing a line of blood. Plumeir hears the sounds and sees the two Nishurins in front of him react and turn their attention to Taylar.
Taylar, for his part, is almost at full speed and poised to strike a blow at the lead Nishurin.
Taylar]: full wellness Astarte: full wellness Plumeir: full wellness
OOC:
Each character receives 5 DP. State combat actions and intentions. Provide 2 random rolls.
As soon as he realizes that combat has ensued, Plumeir has no qualms about ambushing the two near him. He will throw one of his knives at the male while attempting to ionize the internal fluids of both Nishurins.
Astarte curses loudly. Now that she's spotted, there's no point in hiding, so she takes off her camo and angrily marches closer toward her pair of opponents, while drawing the second arrow and readying her bow as fast as she can. When she's ready to shoot, she'll stop and fire at the one of them that poses the greater threat, this time not necceccary to kill, but even incapacitate will be enought. She'll concentrate as best she can, as she cannot afford to miss this time. Right after shooting to her adversary, she'll hide behind a tree and fire again when she think she can do it without being hit.
roll:23
Even slowing himself to coordinate his mystical assault with his physical one only requires fractions of a second. Before anything else can happen, Taylar hits the speaker twice with his bludgeons. Each resounding like thunder when they strike, masking the sound of the skull cracking and the sternum breaking. Even though he was struck with blunt instruments, the man dies before his body even hits the ground. As the enemy’s body falls back away from Taylar, an arrow from his partner punches through the bearskin tunic, causing almost as much damage as the first two. Taylar is injured.
Still having the advantage of surprise, the throwing knife from Plumeir flies true, but the blade is halted by the tunic of the male Nishurin, but the projectile assault is not the main course of action for the former clerk. As the knife falls to the ground, having done no damage, the pair of Nishurins begin to cough and stagger, their lungs burning to draw breath. Having thrown his knife, Plumeir gives away his position but his camouflaged skin still makes him rather difficult to target.
Just before Astarte can release her own arrow, one from an enemy pierces her vest and buries to the fletching in her gut. As she releases her already aimed arrow, she falls back to the ground, no longer able to physically move. Her own arrow sticks into the tunic of the female accompanying the leader, but falls free without having cut flesh. The innate talent to generate heat does not require physical movement, only consciousness, and Astarte is able to slightly burn the woman who shot her.
One of the six Nishurins is dead and two more are significantly injured, but the very dangerous archers are still a significant threat to the Investigators. The two affected by Plumeir motion for the two who were unengaged to join them, one of which moves to do so. The female who was shot by Astarte turns her attention away from Taylar, but the remaining archer takes aim at the big Maldrog. Astarte may not be able to move, but she can still mystically assault an enemy.
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.
