COMBAT ROUND 4 CONTINUED
Cassandra decides to hold her ground, and she prepares to unleash her power on any who threaten her. (Readied action, cast Color Spray against any clear targets).
From the alleyway emerge two more thugs of the Black Horse bounty hunter band, obivously marked by their familiar armbands. These men have apparently dispensed with niceties, as they have drawn short swords, ready to unleash violence on the nearest escapees...Cassandra and Torrent! One of the thugs yells, "Sauce! You killed 'im!" at the sight of the dead dog.
Unfortunately for these thugs, Taren and Cassandra are ready for them! Taren takes dead aim at the first thug to appear, and fires his heavy crossbow at the man. Unfortunately, his foot slips in the slushy street as he turns to aim, and the bolt flies errantly into the night. (Attack roll 1...Wah wah!)(E13, I assumed Taren had that attack action readied, since he had only moved so far for this turn. Too bad the roll was so poor.)
Cassandra, unsurprised by the emergence of these thugs, responses nearly as swiftly as Taren...she tosses a pinch of colored powder into the air, then incants some words of arcane power. A vivid cone of bright colors springs forth from her hand, striking both of the thugs! Neither of the pair is able to resist the magic's effect, and they both collapse into unconsciousness as the colors fade. (Cass casts Color Spray, Save DC 14. Thug #3 rolls 3-1=2, Failed, falls unconscious for 4 rounds. Thug #4 rolls 7-1=6, Failed, falls unconscious for 6 rounds.)
Peeking around the corner at the knight, Aridha decides to give her companions some room, as well as clear a path for a charge of her own, should the knight come down the alley. She backs up about ten feet from the opening to the alley and hunkers down, ready to burst into action the moment the enemy shows his face. (Move 10', ready attack action)(OOC: Shayuri, a charge is a full round action, so I'll have to consider Aridha as having a standard attack readied, with the possibility of a readied charge the next round, if appropriate. Note also, that the mounted guy is not actually down the alley, but right out front of the pub. The guys who were down the alley just got taken out by Cassandra's color spray).
Inside the pub, Xander grimaces as his blade is deflected off the bounty hunter's armor, and again slashes at the scout. The warrior knew that all it would take is one solid hit to put down his foe, but it would have to come soon before the entire pub went up in flames. This time, the warrior's attack is right on the money, as the strong blade cuts through the scout's leather armor, dropping the foe with one swing.(Attack roll 12+3=15, HIT! Damage roll 2d6+4=12. Scout #1 -12 hp, falls dying.)
'Fire...clearly my lord has placed this anathema to his boreal chill before me to test my mettle. I shall not abandon Xander while he yet stays.' Markus delivers a hard jab with his shortspear to the last standing bounty hunter. The head of his spear punches right through his opponent's armor, eliciting a sharp cry of pain.
(Attack roll 20! Critical confirmation roll 1, no crit. Damage roll 1d6+3=6. Scout #2 -6 hp.)
The second scout clutches the wound in his belly and grimaces. Looking around at his fallen brothers in arms, he seems to lose the will to fight. Dropping his morningstar, he grunts, "Enough, enough. Get on wi'ya, afore this place burns up. Leave me be to help my friends." Turning from Markus, the scout walks in front of Xander and begins trying to drag his fallen companion off the stairs to safety. (Note that Xander and Markus both have the chance to makes Attacks of Opportunity against this bounty hunter, if they so wish. Let me know whether they will do so, please.)
The horseman outside the front of the Poison Apple, only looks on with disgust as his men fall before Cassandra's colorful spell. Shaking his head, he turns his horse in the opposite direction, preparing to depart. He calls out to the party, "The battle is yours tonight, but pray we do not cross paths again. My duty makes us enemies, and I will give no quarter." With that, he spurs his horse into motion, and begins to ride away.
As bombs continue to fall on the Gate Pass, explosions rock the night. Alarm bells ring urgent warnings up and down the street, which is beginning to fill with panicking people, rushing to and fro. What will you do next?
(Note, technically the battle is not over, because you could still try to stop the horseman's departure though it will be hard to do so since he has a mount, and the streets are beginning to get chaotic with people. Also, I'm not sure whether those PCs still in the Poison Apple will allow the last enemy to surrender. Still, I'm taking you out of Combat Time, so if anyone wishes to make any more attacks, just say so.)
