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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 488737" data-attributes="member: 11">Session #34The six adventurers marched through the night.  Ratchis’ pace did not flag, and Kazrack moved to the back of the straggling line to keep Jana and Martin going.  The moon slipped behind a cloud, and soon they were stumbling in the dark, drunk with fatigue, forcing themselves through tall snow banks. “I will bring us near the stream,” Ratchis said.  “The snow will not be as deep there, and we may be able to find a sheltered place.He was not far from wrong.  As the breached another bit of thick woods and the first lights became visible ahead of them, they found a dried branch of the stream filled with snow, with a low shelf of land that provided cover from the wind, and sight from the main hunter’s trail they intersected.“We will camp down here,” Ratchis said.“I will take first watch,” Martin said, after casting a mending spell or two to repair the ripped tent.“Jeremy, will you watch with Martin?” Ratchis asked.Jeremy sighed tiredly, “Sure, I’ll stay up.”The tents went up and the rest of the party fell to sleep straight away, almost too tired to shiver against the cold.----------The weather grew warmer as Ra’s Glory crawled up the eastern sky like a burning flag, and the drip-drip of melting snow was all around them and in a few hours there was a trickle of a stream in the snow filled stream bed.“I can’t keep my eyes open any longer,” Jeremy moaned, and stood.  “I am pretty tired myself,” Martin said.  “Who has the next watch?”“Beorth, I suppose,” Jeremy replied. “And, uh, Kazrack… I’ll wake the dwarf.”Jeremy crawled into the larger tent and shook the dwarf.“Time for your watch,” the Neergaardian said.“Uh? Wake someone else.  Not Ratchis…” the dwarf grumbled.“Oh, you mean someone else who is not a spell-caster?” Jeremy replied, crankily.  “Well, someone else is going to have to suck it up.”Kazrack rolled over.  “Ratchis it is then,” Jeremy said, turning away.“Okay, I’ll do it,” Kazrack said, sitting up.---------Beorth and Kazrack watched for several more hours.  The sun reached its peak and then began it western descent.   Martin was awake in about two hours, feeling as if he no longer needed sleep, but still feeling the soreness of the nearly ceaseless marching in his bones.  He searched in his pack for his whittling gear, and went back to the project that kept him occupied most of his sleepless nights.Eventually, Ratchis and Jana stirred.  Ratchis immediately walked off from everyone else, and knelt by the uppermost portion of the little sheltered beach where they had camped.  There he prayed, looking out over the track that ran parallel to the stream and beside the woods the party had passed through.Jana helped Beorth gather what tinder the party had left and began a fire.Jeremy continued to snore quietly in the smaller tent.Suddenly, Ratchis spotted a quadrupedal creature emerge from the wood, charging in their direction, a blast of smoky breath rising from it as it panted in the cold air.It was some strange combination of cat and dog, but four feet at the shoulder, with brownish-red fur, pointed ears and spots on its coat.  It had a slavering maw, and seemed to let out a chuckling snort as it approached with a strange gait, its powerful and over-developed fore-shoulders seeming to yank the rest of it along.“Gnolls!” Ratchis cried, though he saw none of the humanoids, he recognized the creature as the type gnolls often use.  “Martin, bring me my hammer.  Nephthys, heal my wounds so I may better deal with this new danger!”The half-orc laid a hand upon himself and his wounds closed, so he was back to perfect health.Jana dropped the wood she was carrying and popped her head over the ledge of earth, and spoke her arcane word of blindness, but the creature seemed to ignore the spell, and just kept on coming.Martin dropped his whittling knife and wood and ran over to Ratchis’ pack, where the large warhammer leaned.Ratchis pulled the dagger from his boot and tossed it with all his might at the approaching creature.    The blade cut into its shoulder, and it yelped, but still did not slow.Kazrack grabbed his halberd, and moved to stand beside Ratchis.   Jana cried out her arcane word again, but again it failed to affect the thing.The commotion made Jeremy stir, and he stuck his head out of the tent.“Ratchis? Martin?” he mumbled.“Wake up!” Martin cried, hefting the hammer.  “We’re under attack, again!”“Gotta get up,” Jeremy mumbled to himself, looking around for his weapons.  “Remember why you’re doing this.  Remember why you’re doing this.”The strange animal leapt down on Ratchis, grabbing his forearm in its powerful jaws.  The half-orc yanked it out painfully before the limb was snapped off, but blood and bits of flesh went flying.  Ratchis cried out in pain, as Kazrack swung his halberd to distract the thing.  Martin stepped behind the half-orc and held out the hammer.  Ratchis made grabbed, and in one swirft motion brought down to smash the great animal’s head, but missed.Kazrack thrust the blade of his halberd at the creature, smacking it in the muzzle, and drawing blood.“By the gods! What is this creature?” the dwarf exclaimed.“Jana, you are injured.  Let me help you,” Beorth said, and he lay his hands on the young witch, and some of her wounds closed.  Even as he did this, she tried again to blind the thing, failing.By this time Jeremy had crawled out of the tent and was loading his crossbow.At the edge of the wood appeared several gnolls with longbows.  They let out a group roar and moved forward, drawing arrows from their quivers.  Only Ratchis was in a position to see them.  ‘Gnolls! Coming down on us, straight for me from the northwest!” the half-orc cried, trying to give his companions as precise a description as possible.  The low ledge that created this small beach where they had camped created a shelf that was over six feet high at the sound end of the beach, but only three feet high where Ratchis and Kazrack fought beast.  Jana spoke another arcane word and made a gesture, but again the gnollish creature seemed to simply shake off her spell.  She cursed under her breath.Kazrack felt Jana’s failure with great pain, for the creature was able to get within the long reach of the polearm and grab hold of the dwarf’s arm.  There was a sickening tearing of flesh and tendon, and Kazrack cried out in agony.  The dwarf’s arm fell to his side, a useless and pain-filled lump of flesh, that poured blood in a torrent to the snowy ground (150).  He knocked himself off his feet in his effort to pull his arm free.“Kazrack!” Martin cried, having readied his own crossbow and firing at the animal.  The bolt flew way over the melee.Jeremy climbed up the shelf and looked at the gnolls approaching.  He prepared his shot, even as the three closest gnolls (still over 80 feet away) stopped to fire arrows from their long bows.He felt the bite of one across his temple.  He dropped prone and lost his shot.“Can we flee across the stream?” the Neergaardian suggested loudly to his companions.Ratchis made what would have been bone-crushing contact to any normal creature with his hammer, but this animal’s hide was a thick mat of cushioning wire-like hair, and dense muscle.  The blow only served to anger it more, and draw its attention away from the dwarf long enough for him to stand.  Kazrack left his halberd on the ground, now unable to use the two-handed weapon.Beorth, meanwhile, was struggling to climb the six feet to the top of the shelf, his heavy armor dragging him down.Jana jogged over to where the ledge was not as high and simply stepped up, and moved her hands in a clawing motion at the closest gnoll while chanting under her breath.It cried out in fear and dropping its bow, turned to run in the opposite direction of its companions. Again, the gnoll’s animal sunk his devastating teeth into the dwarf’s flesh, and this time he was yanked from his feet, tossed aside like a rag doll. And his arm still bled uselessly.Martin dropped his crossbow and frantically pulled sand from a pouch at his belt. He tossed it and said, ”Sumnus”, while pointing at the beast that was tearing Kazrack apart, but the creature would not sleep.Ratchis slammed the side of his hammer in the animal’s flank.  It yelped.Jeremy let a bolt go, and it barely grazed a gnoll’s leg.  It cursed in its barking tongue, and aimed an arrow at the Neergaardian.  The gnoll arced it too much and it struck Jeremy’s foot and not his back.  The arrow punctured Jeremy’s boot, but absorbed most of the damage.  The gnoll that fled in fear, cried out in pain as one of his companion still emerging from the wood, took aim at him instead.Again Kazrack dragged himself to his feet, drawing his light flail, and smacked the beast’s snout, making teeth go flying free.The fight with the beast had moved sufficiently into the beach area, to allow Beorth to take up a place in the melee.  He abandoned his attempt to climb and moved to slam the butt of his staff into the creature’s face, but the beast reared back and the paladin missed.Again, Jana attempted her spell that caused fear, but this time she failed.  Perhaps she was distracted by the horrific cries of agony coming from Kazrack, as the dwarf was again pulled off his feet and ravaged by the beast.  And still his arm bled.Martin moved over to where the ledge was lower, risking coming close to the beast again, but turned his attention to the advancing gnolls.  “Sumnus!” he cried again, tossing sand, and this time a gnoll fell face first in the snow, snoring softly.“Thank you, Isis!” the alumnus cheered.It seemed that the third time was the charm, because Ratchis brought his hammer down on the beast one last time and there was a loud crunch as brain matter scattered everywhere.  The creature fell in lifeless heap.“I will heal Kazrack,’ Ratchis announced to the others.A gnoll came charging up to take advantage of Ratchis’ distraction.  It ignored the bite of a crossbow bolt from Jeremy (who ignored those that continued to pepper him with arrows to try and help his friend), and swung his battle axe with his full momentum.  Ratchis, ducked however, as Beorth stepped in to block for him.“I’ll take care of this gnoll,” the paladin said.  “Take care of the dwarf.”The paladin’s staff met the gnoll’s chin, and it flew backward, conscious.Jana dropped back down to the beach, ready to using her healing skills should Ratchis fail, while Martin plucked a bit of wool from his cloak and said, “imago creare.   A black shadow creature, humanoid in shape, and much like the one the party had fought outside of the Sun’s Summit Inn (151) but with vaguely bugbearish features, appeared on the field of battle, menacing the gnolls.“Nephthys, grant me your healing strength so that I may bring friend back from the edge of Anubis’ Realm,” Ratchis prayed over the dwarf.  The arm, while still useless as its very muscles were torn, stopped pouring the dwarf’s life into the snow. (152)  The dwarf’s eyes fluttered, but he did not regain consciousness.“I can use some help up here!” Jeremy cried, shooting one of the gnoll’s taking aim at him.  This time the bolt buried itself in the opponent’s thigh.  Jeremy rolled, avoiding a return arrow.  The other archer-gnolls fired at the illusory shadow, but the arrow flew right through it.  Martin had his creation feel at where the arrow flew through, and then toss back its shadowy head and howl.Beorth moved to obey Jeremy’s summons, when he saw the shadow-creature for the first time.“By Anubis, what is that!” the ghost-hunter exclaimed.  “Guardian of the Dead, I call upon your power to send this creature back from whence it came!”   Beorth channeled divine energy toward the shadowy thing, but there was no effect.Jana stepped along side Beorth and spoke her arcane word again, in order to blind the gnolls firing at Jeremy, but again her spell failed.  It felt the bite of another of Jeremy’s bolts, but did not flee or fall.“I am running out of bolts!” Jeremy cried out.Ratchis came running up now, snorting loudly in orcish at the gnoll foes.Martin had his creation fly towards the gnoll firing at it, reaching as if to claw out the humanoid’s heart.  The gnoll cried out and fear, dropping his bow and running.Beorth cursed and dropping his quarterstaff drew his sword.  “Anubis, my faith was insufficient to turn this foul creature.  Give me the strength to wreak vengeance upon it!” And with that the paladin charged at the creature and brought his shining blade down over his head and right through the creature. (153)  Nothing happened.“Beorth, it’s an illusion,” Jana said, futilely as the paladin had run off.The shadow creature turned and addressed Beorth, “Yes, it is an illusion.  I’m sorry, apparently I should have mentioned this earlier.”“Yes, Martin can create illusions,” Ratchis echoed as he ran past both the paladin and the illusion to charge at the remaining gnoll (for the rest were now fleeing back into the woods) and smash its skull.Jeremy stood.  “Thank the gods!”  He walked over to check on Kazrack, while Jana slit the throat of the sleeping gnoll.Martin had dispelled his illusion and was already at the dwarf’s side when Jeremy arrived.“How’s Kazrack doing?”“He’s breathing,” Martin replied.  “I guess he’ll be alright.”Jana began to collect the arrows and bows from the fallen gnolls, while Beorth collected their bodies and took what valuables they had (154).Ratchis used the healing graces of his goddess to heal Kazrack once again.  “Nephthys, we will not get far from our enemies with our friend unconscious.  Give him strength to get back to his feet.”Kazrack coughed and sputtered and his eyes fluttered open to see Ratchis leaning over him.“Ratchis!” Kazrack seemed surprised to be alive.  “Your son… that was your payment… for the scroll that healed my arm?” (155)“Yes,” Ratchis replied.  “Relax, my friend.  You have been gravely injured, and need to rest a bit.”The dwarf looked away, feeling ashamed.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Notes(150) Kazrack suffered the following critical result: Primary Weapon Arm Struck – Severe Muscle Damage, double die damage, Arm Useless Until Repaired, +1d4 hps damage / round(151) This occurred in <a href="http://[url" target="_blank">http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1340#post1340</a>]Session #14[/url](152) To see the rules from the Aquerra Player’s Handbook concerning critical hit results and healing <a href="http://[url" target="_blank">http://www.matantisi.com/aquerra/rules/spells.htm</a>]spells[/url] and <a href="http://www.matantisi.com/aquerra/rules/skills.htm#heal" target="_blank">skill</a> check the <a href="http://www.Aquerra.com" target="_blank">Aquerra website</a>. (153) Paladins of Anubis do not gain the ability to Cure Disease[/url], instead they gain the ability of Divine Vengeance, using a turning attempt to deal +2d6 damage to undead creatures.(154) Jana and Beorth collected a few longbows, battle axes and daggers and nearly three score arrows, along with more Black Island copper coins and some silver obleks.(155) See session #32</blockquote>

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