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Post by john on Apr 20, 2007 17:48:57 GMT -5
Grits, "Of course. I can't let her die with me still owing her anything." He shoulders his crossbow, and begins to take careful aim as they wade into the proceedings, flanking the Bacchae initially from the layout of the town as shown to him by the GM. He squeezes the trigger slowly, not jerking it hard as many less-experienced crossbowmen do, and tries to strike down one in the middle to give himself a gap to wade into and break up the loose band of Bacchae.
[dice=20+7] damage [dice=8] And if counts as sneak attack.... [Dice=6] [Dice=6]
[rand=27357149270483416721043775379311573240968718033174399633396632]
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Post by Stix on Apr 20, 2007 22:28:06 GMT -5
Vatndir, John, Piers, and Robert trudge their way up the hill toward the Bacchae merrily pursuing Nilou.
"Damn them for dancing like idiots instead of marching in ranks," mumbles Piers. "When we get to ten paces, I'm opening fire."
"Alright," Robert consents. "I'll get around behind --"
"No," the older brother demands. "If they turn on you and you're alone, they'll have you in pieces."
"Bar that," retorts Robert. "If we surround them and harry them out, they'll be too addled to counter us."
"If we -- oh, the hells with it," Piers says irritably before beginning to weave a spell.
(Three-round action plans in the Combat thread, if you please.)
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Post by TheGratefulNed on Apr 21, 2007 16:34:25 GMT -5
Upon seeing the iron-clad Taker, the brothers and 'Fishy' approaching from the direction of the docks, Nuuko prepares himself for what he assumes is an impending fight. The thought barely crosses his mind before John's bolt is loosed, accompanied by the tell-tale twang of the crossbow string. The tall prime doesn't hesitate even for a second before his left arm whips out releasing the strange tapered discoid crystal in the direction of the nearest assailant. The throwing weapon is barely out of his hand before a broad tooth-filled smile creases his ebony face and he draws the metal long sword upon which his other hand had been resting.
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Post by edisoncarter on Apr 22, 2007 19:31:55 GMT -5
Hells double hells and all what's left!
Nilou abandons hope of keeping the maddening crowds at bay and tears at top speed for the water, hoping Vat will imagine himself fishing her out of the ocean and out to safety...
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Post by feq on Apr 22, 2007 22:58:03 GMT -5
Vatndir focused his attention on getting Nilou to the docks. He sheilded himself behind John, and used knives and spells to ensure Nilou's passage to the group. he spied Nuuko, and hoped the strong warrior would be able to beat his own path to them.
[see details in combat section - edited up post after combat resolution]
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Post by Stix on Apr 25, 2007 15:59:05 GMT -5
Nuuko keeps a safe distance, throwing his strange weapon with a sidearm twist of his wrist. A discoid piece of gray-black crystal hurtles from his hand, spiraling through the air in a wide arc. It connects with the shoulder of one of the Bacchae just as John's crossbow bolt embeds itself deep in the chest of another. The Dionysian petitioners scramble toward random targets and begin their assault, clawing at armor and exposed flesh alike.
Bolts of fire from Piers' fingertips are just in time to char the Bacchae who slashes him fiercely across the face; Robert's nimble evasion gives him the opportunity to bury his short sword deep in the gut of another. The assailant pegged by John's crossbow bolt and Vatndir's sharpened seashell stops his staggering and succumbs to his wounds a moment later. Within seconds, three of them are on the ground, showing no signs of life.
In an instant, the Bacchae forget their ways as stumbling, angry drunkards to become a howling mob of insanity and gnashing teeth. A pall of shadows crosses their faces as they redouble their efforts, screaming and tearing at everything in their paths as though their god himself were stoking the flames of their madness.
The fight takes a vicious turn for the worse under the rending onslaught. Piers' next attempt at a spell is cut short as the three Bacchae on him tear at his flesh, clothing, and possessions, sending up spatters of his blood in thin spurts. Vatndir's magic meets the same fate as the hammering fists and raking nails of his attackers force him to take a defensive stance to save his life. John fares better thanks to his armor, drawing the attention of one of Vatndir's assailants and helping the genasi to cut him down, then pivoting and putting down another with quick and furious sword-strokes, despite the pummeling he's taking.
Nuuko, fighting alone on the far side of the conflict, manages to successfully connect with another chatkcha before he begins to find himself outmatched in close quarters; in moments, savage strikes to his head and primary swordarm lay him out cold. Robert manages to dole out a fatal chest wound to another, and Piers recovers enough to fire off a few rapid bursts of raw magical energy, knocking out or killing one of the savage drunkards, sparing himself from another blow.
(Unless anyone continues the fighting)
"Wine!" one of them calls, pointing to the split-open wineskin of one of their dead. He throws himself onto the leaking gash and begins to lap at it like an animal.
"Wine!" "Music!" "Food!" shout the others, their blood frenzy ending as abruptly as it started. "It was a good fight -- now come and feast with us, bloods!" Three of the remaining Bacchae begin to offer around food and drink while the other two lounge on the ground to gorge themselves, bloodied faces twisted into maddening grins.
(Round summary in the Combat thread will be posted once I've finished sorting out the details; most likely within the next few hours.)
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Post by john on Apr 25, 2007 20:03:53 GMT -5
John leans his sword over his shoulder, somewhere between satisfaction and writhing in agony. blood drips from severals rents in his arms, legs, and chest. It mixes with the blood from the Bacchae, and for the moment he shakes his head, saying to the Bacchae. "I've feasted my fill of the only thing I indulge in." He looks to Piers, and asks, "Why did they stop?"
For all of a few seconds he lets the pain sink in, and looks over the Bacchae. They've already gone from threat, to useless bubbers again in his mind, and he proceeds over to Nuuko, nudging him in the ribs with a boot.
"Wonder if he's dead?"
He wipes down his sword and sheathes it, squatting beside him, and looks around for a moment, before saying. "Anyone a chirugeon? I can't tell much of anything from the looks of him."
Finally, he looks back to Fishy, Robert, Piers and the rest, "Good kills, good blooding, all of you."
If someone comes to treat Nuuko, john will assist by dragging the lanky Athasian to the boats without complaint, ignoring his own wounds for now and concentrating on getting the hell out of here as soon as possible. He does, however, come back to fetch his discarded crossbow, and eyes the corpses for a moment.
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Post by feq on Apr 25, 2007 20:34:56 GMT -5
"I imagine they had their fill too." Vatndir said, clutching his arm. "I also imagine that I'm going to need someone to look at my arm"
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Post by john on Apr 25, 2007 20:56:15 GMT -5
John kneels by the nearest body, stripping it of gaudy, but expensive-looking jewelry and a filthy money pouch, then continues on, methodically beginning to loot the dead of valuable possessions. He notably leaves them their Bub, and food. He won't touch it. He rasps up to Robert and Piers, "Contractually, this is under the loot we found for you, so you two divide it among us as you see fit."
The vulture-helm, now covered in a bit of bacchae viscera and blood, even makes him look like some man totem of the carrion bird, cast in dull steel and iron, preying on the fallen.
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Post by feq on Apr 25, 2007 21:07:15 GMT -5
Vatndir looks over the bodies, searching with eyes and hands. John, he knew, was very good with money, but Vatndir's mind was creative. If there was anythign worth imagining on these opponents, he would be sure it wasn't left to rot.
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Post by Stix on Apr 25, 2007 21:54:43 GMT -5
Dumb Luck Roll [dice=20][rand=2271027195415130727505024688564317479187359871796312057569769229082]
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Post by edisoncarter on Apr 25, 2007 23:09:33 GMT -5
She's almost at the edge of the pier when she hears that sound, or rather, absence of sound so peculiar to the end of a fight. Crouching low, ready to duck into the water, or kick, or whatever, she hazards a glance behind her.
That's some luck, she thinks, seeing herself entirely unharmed and her friends quite bloodied, before the conscience kicks in. It takes effort, even after so many years; the old, inborn pathways are automatic and hard to defeat.
But there is real pain at seeing Vatndir hurt. He was supposed to be her rescuer in the waters, not gathered up in a close-combat fight. Not with bleeding Bacchae.
Slowly, she rises, but keeps a low profile. No good riling the bastards up again. In a short while, she catches up to the group, barring any interference from Bacchae, in which case she feigns laryngitis.
"Damn," she says, seeing the wound on Vat's arm. the bloodied visages of Piers and Robert. "Damn, damn, damn."
Suddenly, her head whips around to the fallen form of Nuuko. "Hells!" she snarls, and gallops over to the fallen warrior, glowering at John, who's just kicked the poor Athasian in the ribs.
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Post by Stix on Apr 26, 2007 1:38:26 GMT -5
The Bacchae make no further move to involve anyone else in their mobile feast for the moment, being quite content to pluck the foodstuffs and alcohol from their dead brethren and spend idle time filling their gullets.
Robert leaves Piers to his own devices for the moment, darting over to his fallen hired man. The Bacchae slouched on the ground next to the bleeding and unconscious Nuuko has torn the prime's waterskin from him, sampled it, and discarded it to form a slowly-expanding mud puddle in the road. The petitioner now nurses his thirst from a dirty wooden bottle, which he offers to the younger Maundrell brother on his approach.
"I've got one, too!" Robert says with a forced grin, a tinge of fear in his voice as he shakes his half-full canteen. "Drunkard's fight -- go!" Both Robert and the reveler lift their bub to their lips -- but where the Bacchae drinks greedily, the Indep takes only a small swig, then looks to Nuuko. "We should have one for the deader, too!" He takes a thin flask from his belt pouch and pops it open, upending it over the prime's mouth and laughing uneasily toward the petitioner, hoping the potion takes effect sooner rather than later.
And, sure enough, Nuuko's head wound seals shut before the slightly awed gazes of the onlookers. The strange prime coughs his way back to consciousness, the pain of the experience suddenly coming back to him.
"The fruit of the vine is life!" Robert calls to the nearby Bacchae, clearly pandering to him and praying to stave off another attack. He leans down close to Nuuko as the Athasian regains his wits and adds, "Don't mention this to Piers, it'll only pike him off."
(There'll be a post for the findings as soon as I figure out what they've got. : P)
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Post by feq on Apr 26, 2007 7:50:07 GMT -5
Vatndir sees Robert and Nilou head for the fallen comarade, and focuses his thoughts on their safety. He wore a sad look breifly, mumbling in a low voice "I should have thought harder about Nuuko's safety, damn my limited attention." Refusing to dwell on this issue, he resolved to better protect his companions during and after his search.
"Food, wine and music indeed" he half shouts to any bacchae whose attention is drawn to the fallen Nuuko or Robert. Should any of them make a move for his companions, he would toss a small bit of his food to the baccae as a distraction.
Once he saw Nuuko awake, he clutched his wounded arm gently, and backed towards the safety of the water, Vatndir kept himself open to the baccae, ready to draw them into the water should they change their attitude again.
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Post by Stix on Apr 28, 2007 17:12:55 GMT -5
Piers makes the rounds to everyone, staggering both from the pain of his wounds and with the hopes that he'll be able to keep the Bacchae at peace by appearing drunk. "On my signal, we run for the boats," he whispers to everyone in turn.
The noise of Dionysus' followers glutting themselves is soon drowned out by the tramping of boots and clinking of armor. Twenty militiamen approach in uneven ranks, swords and spears at the ready.
"We... have prepared a feast in honor of Dionysus," starts one of the soldiers, his voice full of trepidation. "We --"
"A feast!" the petitioners cry, leaping to their feet, their frenetic energy a palpable force mingling with the morning humidity and the stink of death rising from the fresh bodies in the street. "Feasting! Music!" The militiamen part ranks in the middle, motioning the Bacchae through, corralling them to another part of town. A few of them give guarded nods to the group before following the petitioners.
Robert gives them time to get out of earshot before adding "Let's gather up and give this place the laugh once and for all. I'm sure this isn't anything Thrassos hasn't had to deal with before." He checks to make sure everyone is at the ready before heading back toward the docks.
(I don't think Renna's player is going to stick with this plot arc, though we might see her in freeform. Anybody know for sure if/when Brad's coming back?)
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Post by john on Apr 28, 2007 22:16:58 GMT -5
John responds to the suggestion from Robert with a nod, and then the comment, "By my calculations, if there are 20 of them helping those fools feast, and given the weapons and armor I saw them bearing, they have a fair chance of ending them without threat if they simply let the bubbers drink themselves into a stupor then run them through with spears." John finally gathers up what interesting jink or loot he can find from the Bacchae before handing it off to Piers, collecting any dropped war-gear and settling on the boat, where he sheds his heavy armor, and even his pack and weapons, leaving only his knife in hand, and a loaded crossbow on the deck. Explaining, "The other stuff will cause me to sink, and I never did learn how to swim in the hive. The only water there was for hiding bodies or relieving yourself."
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Post by feq on Apr 29, 2007 8:40:40 GMT -5
Vatndir dives into the water, swiming as best he can with a wounded arm to his boat. He allows the familarness and warmth of the water to comfort him and aid his healing. He surfaces and climbs into the boat, before it returns to the shore for the others. As the boat appraches the shore, he overheard John's comment and smiled.
"We can fix that weakness at some point if you like John. I imagine I could teach even someone like you how to swim."
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Post by edisoncarter on Apr 30, 2007 9:37:58 GMT -5
Nilou looks over her shoulder at the impending massacre as she makes her way to the boats.
No, no compassion. Not for them, she thinks, and wonders just how dark this thought is. It leaves her in a grim mood as he walks along with the rest of her party. Death would be a release. Slaves to mindlessness. Experience--proper experience--requires control, lucidity. They are all lost. Death would save them. Maybe.
OOG: I'm in touch with Brad; I'll try to get him to post, or get him to communicate with you...
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Post by TheGratefulNed on Apr 30, 2007 15:35:25 GMT -5
"I've got one, too!" Robert says with a forced grin, a tinge of fear in his voice as he shakes his half-full canteen. "Drunkard's fight -- go!" Both Robert and the reveler lift their bub to their lips -- but where the Bacchae drinks greedily, the Indep takes only a small swig, then looks to Nuuko. "We should have one for the deader, too!" He takes a thin flask from his belt pouch and pops it open, upending it over the prime's mouth and laughing uneasily toward the petitioner, hoping the potion takes effect sooner rather than later. And, sure enough, Nuuko's head wound seals shut before the slightly awed gazes of the onlookers. The strange prime coughs his way back to consciousness, the pain of the experience suddenly coming back to him. "The fruit of the vine is life!" Robert calls to the nearby Bacchae, clearly pandering to him and praying to stave off another attack. He leans down close to Nuuko as the Athasian regains his wits and adds, "Don't mention this to Piers, it'll only pike him off." As consciousness slowly returns to the ebon-skinned elf, his eyes unfocus for a moment while Robert quietly addresses him. Acknowledging the Maundrell brother's words with only a slight nod, Nuuko glances around and begins to shakily right himself and stand again. Unsure of what exactly happened, as the remaining handful of Bacchae seem to have forgotten about the fight all-together, the lanky prime cautiously retrieves his now mostly-emptied waterskin and curses the drunks in a strange language. Keeping the metal weapon at the ready, he promptly recovers his two throwing weapons and returns them to a pouch at his waist. Piers makes the rounds to everyone, staggering both from the pain of his wounds and with the hopes that he'll be able to keep the Bacchae at peace by appearing drunk. "On my signal, we run for the boats," he whispers to everyone in turn. ... Robert gives them time to get out of earshot before adding "Let's gather up and give this place the laugh once and for all. I'm sure this isn't anything Thrassos hasn't had to deal with before." He checks to make sure everyone is at the ready before heading back toward the docks. The scout grins at Piers' suggestion of running for the transports, even half-dead, I could run circles around anyone here. A relieved sigh does escape his lips as the guards herd the booze-addled miscreants off in a different direction. The tall elf keeps a very relaxed walking pace so as not to unintentionally outdistance his travelling companions in the short walk to the boats.
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Post by Stix on Apr 30, 2007 20:50:07 GMT -5
"There's the finest reason not to worship a Power," Piers mutters to anyone who'll listen on their way down to the boats. "When you die, they turn you into one of those."
Everyone makes their respective way to the docks. The Maundrells stay otherwise quiet, Piers assessing his own injuries, Robert lost in his own thoughts.
"You'd might want to stay out of the water 'til that heals -- or get in your swimming time before we leave shore," Robert comments to Vatndir, pointing at the genasi's arm. "No telling what the smell of blood might draw out on the open sea."
"Would you look at this?" Piers says, getting Robert's attention. "You'd think, with all this jink, they'd pay for a decent bath." He calls to the other boat, "Seems the rich are getting richer today!"
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