Arc 1 - Beast of a Thousand Knives (Completed)

[PupSage]

Kuori had already figured they were more than humane, though the image of what she expected was more lycanthropic and less centaur-esque, she had already been expecting a change. That didn't make it easy to quell the desire to turn her into a pincusion when she became a monster.  

[Kowsauni]

Ying and Corsica

Corsica looks around at everyone as they all fall silent from her story. "Heh, guess you weren't expecting all that. It is a lot to take in. But I figured you all ought to know if you're going to risk your lives to fight with us. Naturally, if they find out we told you, they'll--" Cosrica suddenly stops talking as her eyes widen a bit. Kuori can tell why, for from all directions she can hear the sound of people moving through the forest. They are quiet, but not quiet enough to avoid detection by the Goliath.

Corsica lets go of her sister and grabs her spear tightly in two hands. She begins to rapidly look around in all directions, a grimace forming on her face. "They're here and they have us surrounded. Prepare yourselves!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than soldiers begin to emerge out of the forest into the clearing. They approach from all sides, cutting off any avenue of escape. Their weapons are drawn and their faces look determined. They move with incredible speed as if this had been a well rehearsed event. Yet, the soldiers do not attack just yet.

Once the party is completely surrounded, Nathaniel would emerge at the head of the group. With a large confident smile he would motion to his men. "Hold your fire everyone--we might yet resolve this peacefully. Olozuza, Lelena, what a pleasure to finally meet again. And I see your friends are here as well... huh, except for the paladin... Oh well, we will deal with him later. Anyways, you've caused us an awful lot of trouble, so I will only give you one chance at this. Surrender now or we will kill your friends and, Olozuza, you will be forced to watch as your sister takes the punishment for both of you. We know you are far too resistant to pain by now, but let's see how your sister fares."

Both the girls would noticeably react to Nathaniel's appearance. Ying would tremble at Nathaniel's words. Corsica herself seems to shrink a bit in confidence as well. Apparently there was some history between them. Corsica looks around at the surrounding soldiers and begins to sweat. She then glances at her nervous sister and then at the rest of the group, and a dark shadow seems to fall across her face. Her spear is gripped so tightly in her hands that her knuckles are turning white. She begins to tremble, not giving Nathaniel an answer.

Nathanial picks up on this hesitation and goads her on. "I'm running out of patience here. Lelena, perhaps you can talk some sense into your sister. I know you don't want to see these people hurt."

Corsica would then suddenly shout. "Don't you talk to her! Don't you even look at her! I will never let you near her again!" The shadow covering her face is gone now as she looks back up at the solider's captain. It becomes obvious why she is trembling. Corsica looks furious, tears of rage streaming down her face. Her eyes are filled with a look of complete hate. She begins to stutter, "I... I..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By following large trail left by the soldiers, Revenge quickly gets the rest of the way to the clearing. However once he nears the edge the clearing footprints split up and head in several different directions. What's more, the paladin can hear voices from within the clearing. One distinctly of the Captain of the soldiers, followed by shouts from Corsica. It was clear the soldiers had already arrived and were now threatening those in the clearing.  

[Ryssa Blackblood]

At the sound and sight of the soldiers emerging from the forest, Hakka immediately drew her short sword and her shuriken. She hadn't expected to get surrounded so easily, and it seemed as though running wasn't an option. So, when the soldier in charge mentioned hurting Ying, Hakka moved in front of her protectively. She would do anything she could to keep her friend safe.  

[Rain Yupa]

Revenge would approach, the sign he was nearing everyone's location an audible one more than a visual one.

He would try to make it closer without just blindly charging in, opting a careful, QUIET approach. That way, he-
CRUNCH CRUNCH

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE

KRA-SNAP!

... maybe... maybe no one heard?

Quote:

Stealth of 9

 

[PupSage]

Kuori would nock two arrows as soon as she heard the soldiers. She didnt give Corsica or Ying a chance to answer, she fired an arrow at Nathaniel's crotch while shifting closer to him. Arrow 2 went for the lizardman's face.
"We gave you a chance for diplomacy earlier. You burnt that bridge."
22 vs AC on Nathaniel
11 vs AC on Lizardman  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Intimidate= 22
Attack = 17 vs closest minion soldier

Gloom stood up. "Last chance to run for all of you. Nobody will know that you deserted, they will just think the monsters killed you. So run now, you all all free to go. All except, you." He lashed out at a soldier with his rod, summoning his weapon and swinging it.

(Note, using the reach of the weapon to add distance, if it hits it will shove the soldier and damage him.)  

[Kowsauni]

(The dark green areas are difficult terrain, the tree trunks are blocking terrain.)

The soldiers seemed have been expecting some sort of violent action and quickly react to the attacks from Gloom and Kuori. However, there was one who did not react quick enough. As Nathaniel moves to try and deflect the incoming arrow it strikes him his arm. He lets out a yell of pain and through tightly clenched teeth he growls. "It seems your friends have made your decision for you. Soldiers, incapacitate our escapees, kill all the others, including the one coming in through the woods. We don't need witnesses."

I Drink Blue Moon

Once I get your initiative in the dice rolling thread the battle will start.

 

[Kowsauni]

The Sisters' Gambit


(The dark green areas are difficult terrain and provide partial cover. The brown tree trunks are blocking terrain. The brown area to the north west is Razorclaw's steeply sloping mound. The entire area is brightly lit.)

Initiative order
Nathaniel:
Ying & Corsica:
Hakka: HP 42/42
Kuori: HP 30/38, Prone, Blinded
Gloom: HP 41/41
Soldiers: S9 Stunned, Grappled
Revenge: HP 47/47
Lieutenants:

Nathaniel grins as a shadowy aura coalesces around him. Black smoke rises from his back as he suddenly disappears from sight--then, from out of nowhere, a shadowy bolt of energy flies from beside the tree at V18, striking Kuori for 8 damage and causing her to slide to R17 and fall prone. When the goliath tries to open her eyes, she finds that she is blinded! (until the end of Nathaniel's next turn). Nathaniel reappears at W12, still smiling and still surrounded by shadowy energy. (Nathaniel is currently totally hidden from Kuori.)

Corsica, for a moment, seems to be caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, but she suddenly laughs. Her form begins to change. Out from underneath her skirt two monstrous pincers extend, followed by a poisonous barbed tail, then eight insectoid legs as her original human legs disappear. Within a few seconds Corsica's lower half shifts to that of a monstrous scorpion. Ying begins to change shape as well, but her lower half forms the shape of a centipede. Corsica, her face still filled with rage, completes her sentence from before. I... I will kill all of you! Not one of you Arians will survive this! I will make you pay for everything that has been done to us!

With a furious scream Corsica rushes forward at the nearest soldier and snaps at him with her enormous claws, but soldier manages to dodge her attacks.

Ying silently scuttles to a nearby solder as well, then nimbly brings her mouth down onto his neck. The solider tries to react--but then suddenly falls limp, obviously paralyzed. Ying catches him in her embrace, then wraps her long centipede body around him. Ying's face is emotionless as she begins to squeeze the man with her immensely powerful body, though she does grimace as she hears his bones begin to crunch under the pressure.

Ryssa Blackblood

You're up!

 

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Hakka was honestly a little surprised by Corsica's transformation, as she had been expecting the girl to be part centipede like her sister. The scorpion bits were not unwelcome though, they actually seemed more fitting for the girl. Slipping a vial of purple liquid out of her pouch, Hakka doused her shuriken with it (minor, used Carrion Crawler Brain Juice daily). Then she hurled a shuriken at soldiers 11 (31 vs AC CRIT!, 14 damage and slowed), 12 (29 vs AC, 12 damage and slowed), and 13 (31 vs AC CRIT!, 12 damage and slowed). After her flurry, the fox girl fell back to back with her friend to fight off their foes (Q22).

(As always, enemies reduced to 10hp or below are killed)  

[PupSage]

Blinded, Kuori stands and holds her bow in both hands, taking a defensive posture (Total Defense) until she can regain her vision.

+4 to AC  

[I Drink Blue Moon]

Gloom rushes in front of one of a group of soldiers (space T15), glowing brightly as his body ignites and blast outward, catching many of the soldiers in the blast.

(16 Vs Reflex on S1,
13 Vs Reflex on S2
13 Vs Reflex on Nathaniel)

17 dmg if hit, half dmg if missed  

[Kowsauni]

The Sisters' Gambit


(The dark green areas are difficult terrain and provide partial cover. The brown tree trunks are blocking terrain. The brown area to the north west is Razorclaw's steeply sloping mound. The entire area is brightly lit. Ying and Corsica count as allies to the party.)

Initiative order
Nathaniel:
Corsica: Marked by S3
Ying: Marked by S14
Hakka: HP 31/42
Kuori: HP 30/38, Blinded
Gloom: HP 31/41 Marked by S1
Soldiers: S9 Stunned, Grappled S11-13, Slowed
Revenge: HP 47/47
Lieutenants:

Hakka's shuriken flies from her hand with the speed of a ninja, striking all three of her targets in their chests. Their movement grows lethargic as the poison sets in.

Gloom's blast of hellfire badly burns the two guards in front of him as they yell in pain. Nathaniel manages to dodge some of the fire but his shoulder still gets badly singed.

The soldiers finally spring into action. In anger, S1 swings at Gloom with his longsword and lands a solid blow (10 damage, Marked). S2 then moves up and attacks the shade as well but misses. S11 through 13 sheath their longswords and pull out their crossbows. They level them at Ying and Hakka. A bolt strikes Ying in her back and another squarely strikes Hakka in her side (crit, 11 damage). Taking advantage of her blindness, both S14 and S15 rush past Kuori to charge at Ying. Hakka blocks the way of one soldier, so he swings at her but misses. However, the other soldier does manage to find a gap in Ying's chitinous body and stabs her. The rest of the soldiers rush the two sisters. Ying and Corsica manage to deflect or dodge a lot of their attacks, but a few solid blows are landed. At the moment it seems the soldiers are more focused on taking down the two sisters than the adventurers.

Rain Yupa

You're up!

 

[Rain Yupa]

47/47 HP

MOVE ACTION

Revenge would exit through the thick underbrush as the massive melee started. As soon as he was clear, he...

..... oh.

MINOR ACTION

... huh. That's... uh... not quite... what he was expecting. Revenge had been wholly unprepared for this very specific sight. But he had to get it together, pronto.

STANDARD ACTION+FREE ACTION

Revenge was a paladin. Not necessarily one that stood for what was just, but he stood for what was right. And currently, this was not it. This disjointed anarchy, how could he ever stand for this? Half-monster women, obedient soldiers, violent adventurers... there was no right in any of this, in any of them. This was pure chaos. This was what he had to stand against.

"I DEMAND YOU STOP THIS AT ONCE!" he would bellow out. "BY THE GODS THEMSELVES, YOU WILL STOP THIS!" He would growl, gritting his pointed teeth, his brow lowered in fury. He held his left hand forward, palm open, towards the combat.

"ANY BEING WHO RAISES ARMS AGAINST ANOTHER FROM THIS POINT FORWARD WILL BE MY ENEMY, AND I WILL CUT YOU DOWN. I CARE NOT IF YOU ARE A REFUGEE, AN ARIAN SOLDIER, A GOLIATH, A FOX, OR THE GLOOMIEST ******** IN ALL THE LAND! ENGAGE ANOTHER, AND I WILL SEE THIS GLADE BECOME YOUR GRAVE!"

Quote:

Revenge ends his move in Y23 and issues his challenge. Natural 20 intimidate for a 31. The paladin will not be having any of this s**t on his watch. For the purpose of mechanics, I do not consider anyone else as an 'ally' at the present moment. Yes, I am serious.

 

[Kowsauni]

The Sisters' Gambit


(The dark green areas are difficult terrain and provide partial cover. The brown tree trunks are blocking terrain. The brown area to the north west is Razorclaw's steeply sloping mound. The entire area is brightly lit. Ying and Corsica count as allies to the party.)

Initiative order
Nathaniel:
Corsica: Immobilized
Ying: Marked by S14
Hakka: HP 31/42
Kuori: HP 16/38, Bloodied,
Gloom: HP 31/41 Marked by S1
Soldiers: S9 Stunned, Grappled. Bloodied S11-13, Slowed
Revenge: HP 28/47 Weakened, Blinded, Prone
Lieutenants:

The entire battlefield pauses for a few short seconds at Revenge's intimidating proclamation, but then one of the soldier lieutenants shouts, "He's just one angry paladin, blasting hot air. Continue with our mission; you know the penalty for failure." Some of the soldiers eye Revenge with fear in their eyes, but they do not stop fighting. If anything, they seem to consider him more of a threat now than before and they seem hesitant to engage him.

The lieutenants spring into action. L1, a tall, slender-looking mage, thrusts his staff high into the air, causing the earth to rise around Corsica's eight legs and latch on to her, holding her in place.

L2, the lizardman, would notice the shadow in Kuori's eyes and would move up to the goliath, slashing at her with his two claws. Even blind, Kuori manages to dodge one attack, but the other catches her square in the gut (crit, 14 damage).

L3, a shorter, rounder mage, looks timidly over the battlefield. After deciding on what must be the biggest threats on the field, He launches twin bolts of necrotic lightning at Revenge and Corsica. Corsica manages to dodge the attack, but the paladin is not so lucky. (Revenge takes 13 lightning and necrotic damage and is weakened until the end of L3's next turn).

L4, a roguish-looking man with a rapier and crossbow, stabs once at Ying then shifts back to fire his crossbow, finding his mark with his second attack.

Nathaniel groans at the appearance of Revenge. "I'm getting really tired of you trying to boss around my soldiers. You should have stayed back in town!" Nathaniel calls the shadowy energy back around him and disappears from sight. A blast of shadowy energy then flies at Revenge, striking him for 7 damage, blinding him and knocking him prone.
Unlike last time however, Nathaniel does not re-appear. The shadow fades from Kuori's eyes as she can once again see.

Cosica, surrounded by soldiers, is lost in her rage at her opponents. However, Revenge's jarring words brings her back to a moment of clarity. She would sadly look at the paladin. "I'm sorry, but this is a matter of survival. I cannot stop fighting. Please, don't become my enemy." Sharp rocks would then suddenly rise from the ground and painfully bind Corsica's feet. Flying back into her rage, Corsica twists around and lashes out at S3 with her massive pincers. She catches the hapless soldier in both claws and lifts him high into the air. A malevolent glint flashes into Corsica's eyes (action point). Before the man even has a chance to scream, her claws pull in opposite directions and rip the soldier in half. She tosses the pieces of his body to the side and turns to the other Arian soldiers around her. Covered in blood, she smiles menacingly. "Who's next? It's time for you to face the monster you created!"

Ying looks away as her sister kills the soldier. Almost reluctantly, she continues to tighten her centipede half around her paralyzed soldier. It looks like he won't be able to take much more of her crushing grasp.

Ryssa Blackblood

Its your turn!

 

[Ryssa Blackblood]

Though she is reluctant to let the soldiers surround her friend any more than they are already, Hakka knows she needs some room to maneuver to throw her shuriken properly, so she shifts back slightly (R23). She lets loose with another three shuriken at soldiers 15 (22 vs AC, 9 Damage and slowed), 14 (25 vs AC, 11 Damage and slowed), and 9 (30 vs AC, 8 Damage and slowed). In all honesty, she couldn't pay the tin can man's threat any mind, because she had sworn herself to protect Ying and her sister. Whatever the fallout from that may be, so be it.

As always, if any any is reduced to 10 hp or less, they die.
The soldiers attacked last turn are no longer slowed.