PRP: Cattle Raid!

Log Info

• Title: Cattle Raid!
• Emitter: Fazhad
• Characters: Velothin 4, Sasha 4, Miles 2, Hildr 2
• Place: Alexandros -- northern farming regions
• Time: August 6, 2016
• Summary: Visiting the northern regions of Alexandros to investigate reports of gnoll attacks on a large farm, the adventurers find unusual people and eerily well-equipped gnolls, as well as a gory discovery.
• APL: 4
• Encounter 1: 3 Gnolls, CR 2, Gnoll leader, CR 3

Sometimes, the jobs just come to you.

Pinned to posts around the lower districts, seets of vellum have the same message scrawled in a messy hand: GNOLL PROBLEMS, NEED HELP, SARNAVREN FARM. PAY IN COIN UPON COMPLETION. And so here you are, some twenty miles north of the city, in a tiny hamlet not far from your destination, gathered at the local watering hole - a place, it must be said, with the charming name of the Butchered Calf. After all, there are a lot of farms out this way, and there's no point in going door to door across five hundred square miles of rough country. One assumes you've met on the road, have connections, or just got seated at the same table when you came in asking the burly man behind the bar for information. Sit tight, shut up, have a mug of ale, old Sarnavran is coming to talk with you.

And so you wait.

Velothin finds his coin purse much too light, lately. Boats, it turns out, are considerably more expensive when one doesn't have alternative means of funding the things. And, of course, running one solo complicates matters further. So it is that the Dark Elf finds him out in the backwoods this day, in a charming locale named the Butchered Calf, with a new title to add to his resume: would-be gnoll exterminator. Or at least, he assumes it will be an extermination job; he's never known gnolls to be particularly friendly and open to bargaining. He relaxes at his table, therefore, and sips at some ale quietly while waiting for further details.

It's reasonably rare to find a dwarven adventurer, voluntarily armored in little but tough boiled hides, and rarer still that the dwarf keep the company of a wild woodland creature, but Hilder and her bear, Flint, seem a reasonably good match. The bear is left outside the tavern, however, with a feedbag of wild berries, and the red-haired dwarf stumps on in, quite happily washing the dust from the road with her current compatriots.

Standing off to the side is Sasha Hawkwood. She takes a deep breath as she looks about for the rest of the crew, especially on the road. She doesn't mind the walk at all though. She nods to Velothin as she spots him as well as Hildr.

Miles needed to leave the city for a bit. As it turns out, not everyone can appreciate the genius of a stepladder with a spring-loaded top step so shorter members of the Engineer's enclave can get things off high shelves without having to call Miles to do it. He probably should have told his gnomish superior about the trigger mechanism first. In any case, going out to the country to hunt gnolls seemed like a good idea to let the heat go down for that accident, and thus, he's at the Slaughtered Calf, while waiting for their employer. "Ow, wow, actual sawdust on the floor. Haven't seen that in a while."

Velothin swings his mug about in lieu of waving a hand to those who wander in, whether they're people there for the gnoll posting or not. Friendliness is next to godliness. Or perhaps it was cleanliness. It was an 'iness' of some sort, that much he is certain. "Hello, hello. Good day to you," he remarks cheerfully before sipping from his drink.

Sasha has reconnected.

At length, the door to the tavern opens, and a very broad man arrives. He very makes up much everything you'd ever expect of the quintessential country farmer, from field togs to heavy boots, short dark beard and flesh tanned to the exact color and consistency of leather - only he arrives carrying a military pick on his belt, and with an eye made of glittering crystal.

"By all the whores and sinners, Bardel," the man roars as he pushes through the door, "What's that -bear- doing here?"

Bardel, who is apparently the tavernkeep, nods in your direction without so much as a word. He doesn't look terribly happy that you're here in the first place, and this fellow's arrival only seems to damage his calm further.

"The bear's mine," Hildr notes over her mug, "and he knows perfectly well how to compose himself in public, sir. I'm guessing you'd be the one to talk to about your gnoll problem, eh?"

Sasha simply watches and listens. Gnolls, huh? They'll definitely be needing her here. She's mostly a non-fighter, but she can keep them standing.

"Honestly I just find it refreshing to see an actual bear. The last time I ran into one, some lunatic had grafted an giant owl's head on the poor thing." Miles pauses. "Or possibly grafted a bear's ass on a giant owl, it wasn't entirely clear. Regular bears are a vast improvement. But yes, we're here to talk about some other sort of horrible hybrid thing!"

Sasha says, "Owlbears it sounds like. And, honestly, I like bears too." She says before looking at the bear. "bears don't always like me though.""

The big farmer looks at the lot of you, seemingly unimpressed - but then again, maybe he's just not impressed by anything in general. "Aye, that's me," he says, squinting one eye so the crystal orb in his eye socket seems to give you all a good stare. "You don't look like much. But, then, that's all a working man can expect these days, I suppose. I am Sarnavren. Gnolls are out raiding my farm, taking cattle and goading me into coming after 'em. Now I was a hard man in my past, a soldier, but I'm not a stupid man. I want their skins, plain and simple." He goes to sit at the head of your table, settling in with a heavy sigh. "I'll pay you a hundred in gold a head, and all the food and board you need until you catch 'em. But when you do fight 'em, if you don't kill 'em all, you're out. I need professionals on this, not weekend help. You hear?"

Sasha says, "Gnolls tend to be rather nasty creatures anyways. If we didn't kill them all, they'd be a neuisance to you later." She then looks to the farmer. "Some think Althea as pacifistic......but she is a protective deity.""

Ah-ha, so it is extermination. "Hides or heads? Maybe paws, perhaps. I'm not particularly good at skinning and field-dressing creatures, personally, but it's easy enough to chop parts off and haul those in." The Dark Elf peers at the farmer with a subdued but curious expression, his mug slowly coming into view as he takes a drink from it. "Pity gnolls are always such right bastards. Ah well."

"How about we sort out the details when the dust settles," Hildr says, raising her free hand. "You'll not be disappointed, sir, believe us." Tipping back her mug, she finishes off her ale, and slides off her chair. "Best be about it, then. Wouldn't happen to have an idea which direction they're coming from, Master Herdsman?"

"I don't want to talk, save to hear whether or not you're going to do the work." This from Sarnavren, speaking of right bastards. The big man looks among you all. "They're working the north range, which is the only place I have livestock. There's a shack up there that you can stay in, and I'll see to it my lads bring up food and all. They're not fighters, but they're brave enough - they'll be staying at the house to keep it safe in case you fail." He squints at you all once more, and his gaze falls on the dark elf. "You're more right than you think, boy. Just kill 'em and bring me to the bodies. I'll deal with the rest."

That said, he gets to his feet. "If you're coming, come. It's a bit of a ride back to my farm and the light is already fading."

Velothin rubs his chin and momentarily sits there amused over the fact he was called a boy by someone likely a century or two younger than himself. "Light's no issue, but I do like free rides." He pushes his chair back from the table with a squawk of wood on wood, hauling his mug up with him to finish it off before setting it back down with a clunk as well as the coins to pay for it. "If we fail, I'd recommend getting better armoured adventurers. If they eat us, I imagine they'll eat your farmhands. Onward!"

Sasha nods quietly. "Right." She says simply, takes her staff and starts to walk out of the building.

"Lead the way, then. Though we should probably be ready for an ambush on the way; if they're trying to lure you out, they might have expected you to hire someone." Miles rises to follow the rest.

Hildr wordlessly trails the rest of the party to the door, peeling off once outside to unwrap the furs from her scythe, and give the bear a few murmured words and a fond slap on the shoulder. "Let's be off, then."

Sarnavren pushes open the door, going out into the night. He's got a wagon out front of the tavern, drawn by a massive draft horse; he mounts the seat with surprising quickness despite his bulk, and he leaves the back for you lot to pile in on.

Velothin piles on.

Sasha hops into the wagon too.

Miles clambers in with the rest, though, true to his words earlier, unlimbers his deathray, just in case.

Hildr grunts something in Khazadi to the bear, and hauls herself into the back of the wagon, knocking one side and loosing a whistle that catches the bear's attention. Still relatively young, it doesn't compress the springs *too* much when an eighty-pound ursine scrabbles into the wagonbed, and soon arranges himself with a deep-bass grunt against the back corner, as far from the horses as he can get.

And off we go.

The wagon makes the trip along the rough roads leading through the country at a good clip; the horse is massive, and it commands the road as if it were the true lord of the land. Sarnavren says nothing as you ride on, to the point that one might wonder if he were ever aware of you climbing on board at all. Over time, the wagon arrives at a sprawling estate, great fields filled with empty turns after the harvest, and others left to run fallow for a season or two while the earth regenerates her power. Through the gate, and on through past a large house and barns, past rows of chicken coops, further on along acres and acres till the open fields give way to sprawling meadows. It is here that the horse begins to slow as a squat shack comes into view - a structure around which several large shapes lie like boulders, barely recognizeable in the light.

They are the corpses of cattle.

Velothin peers out of the back of the wagon on the journey, enjoying not needing to hike the distance. "Horses are wonderfully convenient aren't they," he notes to no one in particular, though he does glance over at the bear as he finishes speaking. "Suppose you might not much care for them. Bear and all. They tend to kick."

Hildr's face grows thunderous as she makes out the slaughtered livestock, and gets to her feet as the wagon begins to slow. "Right now, lad, my greatest concern is for the cows. Blasted gnolls really *are* spoiling for a fight, and you can be sure as we'll give 'em one. Right... Master Sarnavren, how much of your herd would you say this slaughter makes up?"

Velothin decides to keep his fondness for steak a secret.

Sasha says, "Horses only kick when they're startled." She says softly and looks about the scene. "Well then. I'd ask 'where's the beef?'....buuuuut....the joke's already there.""

"Whores and sinners," Sarnavren hisses as he brings the wagon to a halt. He stops the wagon, roaring curses as he eases his body onto the ground. He pulls the pick from his belt, and a beam of light suddenly leaps from his 'eye'; he sweeps it across the corpses, each of them a steer who has had its head cloven from its otherwise intact body. The ground is black and sticky with blood that has not quite come to dry.

"They must have come here as I left," Sarnavren roars. "Curse their bones, the whoresons! Do you see what I have to deal with? Do you see how they try and goad me into apoplexia?! They want to kill me with my own fury before they have to take a single shot!"

Miles frowns as he surveys the fields. "Odd that they'd take just the heads and leave the rest to rot, though."

"We see it, Master Sarnavren," the dwarf says, stumping to the nearest body and giving it a thorough once-over; how it died is simple enough to deduce, but blood tends to cling, and there may be tracks to follow. "Well if it's not the food they're after, what could it be d'you reckon?"

Sasha takes a bit of a breath. "They are definitely trying to goad you." She says as she pokes at the now dead steer with her staff. "before yout hink it's a total loss.....you do have meat for the month." She then looks to Hildr. "Can you lead the way and find them?"

Velothin hops down lightly from the wagon, following after Hildr's short-legged trot and wondering idly how much beef may very well be going to waste. "Gnolls are pricks, typically," the Mul notes helpfully, peering down at one of the corpses and then shrugging faintly. "They're not known for being particularly good neighbours. Destroy the herds, wreck the fields, attack the farmhands. Foist yon farmer," a thumb is directed in the incensed man's direction, "off the land to claim it for themselves, maybe. Either way they'll need a good stabbing."

Sarnavren, for his part, is blood-dark in the twilight; the lance of light that shines from his eye only makes the surrounding tissue look like a wound. "Find them," he hisses, and shoving the pick back in his belt strides back to the wagon and clambers aboard. No further word does he say as he pulls the horse back into action.

Velothin leans casually in the bear's direction and whispers, "I think he's mad."

Since the farmer and his eye-beam are stalking away, Miles takes a heavily wrapped...stick out of his bag and starts unswaddling it. "Honestly I thought this would be convenient when I bought it, but dousing the damned thing is more trouble than it's worth." Still. Here we are. And the stick turns out to be a torch that's already lit, burning without smoke or heat. "Actually, given they left the meat behind, I wonder if they did something to the bodies. Maybe poison?"

You paged Miles with 'You got the torch? Gimme a perception check, rolled privately.'

GAME: Hildr rolls 1d20+5: (17)+5: 22

GAME: Miles rolls perception: (2)+6: 8 to Fazahd

You paged Miles with 'Alas!'

You paged Miles with 'Bunch of seriously chainsawed-up cows.'

It takes some time, with the dwarf and the bear prowling among the bodies, looking for some sign of a trail. Hildr's mutterings grow more and more frustrated, but the bear is *intent,* and soon enough he lookes a low, rumbling sound, and starts to lumber away after the scent-trail. "That's the way, Flint!" Hildr calls, stumping after the ursine, scythe flashing in the moonlight. "This way, you lot! We'll have those gnolls teeth by dawn!"

Miles was examining the cows, but shakes his head. "Need better light or more time to tell anything other than "Yep. That's a cow with a missing head." Right then. Let's follow the bear."

Velothin glances over at the bear when it appears to find the scent. "Handy, that bear," he notes, moving to follow after the bear and dwarf. The plot thickens.

Sasha follows the bear as well.....as best she can. She's in Breastplate, so she's not exactly fast.

Comrade Bear is on the hunt, whuffling and charging across the bloody earth, a charging shadow in the fading light. The lot of you follow, clanking and crashing along behind him, toward the thin woods that frame the pasture's northern end.

Velothin does not clank, for he has not much in the way of equipment that clanks. Light rattling, perhaps.

GAME: Velothin rolls perception+2: (16)+9+2: 27

With the hunt on, Hildr has decided to leave talking behind. Her braids jump and bounce in time with her strides, and a hunter's gleam can be seen in her eyes. Being a traveling vet is fine, but the hunt has its own draw.

GAME: Hildr rolls perception: (4)+7: 11

Sasha does...sorta...clank. She's in breastplate, after all. So she's a little more careful.

GAME: Miles rolls perception: (18)+6: 24

GAME: Sasha rolls perception: (2)+3: 5

The Dark Elf steals along as quietly as he can, drawing his rapier from its hanger in the process when he notices that it seems they'll be going into the woods. The blade is removed quietly and long before they hit the woodline, held carefully in his hand while the other is stuck out beside him to balance him as he moves quickly across the field with eyes and ears peeled for so much as an owl farting in the distance.

Miles tries to stay towards the middle of the pack, the better to give light as needed. While not as clanky as Sasha, well, he is in Titan armor. So there's that. The gnolls are probably well alerted to the coming of the group even they -weren't- following a bear.

Up ahead, Flint comes to a halt at the edge of the wood, rearing up on his haunches. The scent, it is caught - but the /sight/, that is reserved for Velothin and Miles, who manage to see what lies ahead in the darkness.

The heads of the steers have been hung up with rope by their horns, gory lanterns yet unlit - and there, below them, the body of a man whose head and hands have been removed and staked out around him. He wears the (extremely bloody) clothing of a laborer; his eyes stare out in terror, his tongue gone, his skin like marble in the rays of the dawning moon.

Somebody has been decorating.

Velothin draws to a halt when they come upon that particularly grisly scene, his footfalls slowing from a quick trot to a slow walk and then finally ceasing altogether. "Well," the Dark Elf begins with the mildest of sour expressions on his face as he glances around them, wondering if they're being watched. "He's dead."

"Does..." A pause. "Does the trail go on farther than this? We'll need to take the body back to the client to be identified, but unless one of you has one of those bags that's much bigger on the inside I doubt we can carry him with us into the fight." Miles looks to Sasha, as he holds out the torch so the body can be revealed to the rest. "I don't suppose this matches the rituals of any known evil cult, does it?"

"You *think?*" Hildr grumbles at Velothin as the body is revealed, pressing her forearm against her nose. Stamping to the bear, she gives it a rough, vigorous scratching along the side of its neck, and produces a dried fish as a treat. "Wouldn't know about cults or the like, but it could just be a territory marker. Give us a bit, we'll see if we can't pick up a trail from here."

Velothin shakes his head most grimly. "No no, I don't think. I'm positive. He's got no head."

Sasha makes a bit of a face at the body. "Well......he's not going anywhere. think your bear can get us to the main camp?"

GAME: Hildr rolls survival: (9)+10: 19

GAME: Hildr rolls 1d20+5: (12)+5: 17

GAME: Velothin rolls perception+2: (5)+9+2: 16

GAME: Sasha rolls perception: (11)+3: 14

GAME: Miles rolls perception: (16)+6: 22

At once, the bear - and his mistress - catch the scent of blood and iron and carrion, something not belonging to the horrific display before you. Growls from the dark, the soft, hideous laughter of monstrous hyaenas somewhere not so far away. The woods are full of death.

Miles catches a glint of gleaming red in the dark, eyes shining, and the dullest suggestion of teeth.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ATTENTION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Fazahd has dropped a TIMESTOP!

Please +init, then cease all roleplay and actions immediately and wait for Fazahd to instruct you further.

For in-combat commands, type: +thelp.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

GAME: You roll initiative for Boss: Roll: 19 + Bonus: 1 = Total: 20

GAME: You roll initiative for Gnoll1: Roll: 14 + Bonus: 1 = Total: 15

GAME: You roll initiative for Gnoll2: Roll: 4 + Bonus: 1 = Total: 5

GAME: You roll initiative for Gnoll3: Roll: 8 + Bonus: 1 = Total: 9

GAME: Miles rolls initiative: 7 + 1 = 8

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+5: (19)+5: 24

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d6: (3): 3

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 20.

It is now Boss' turn! Gnoll1 is next!

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 15.

It is now Gnoll1's turn! Gnoll3 is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (18)+4: 22

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d6: (1): 1

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 9.

It is now Gnoll3's turn! Miles is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (17)+4: 21

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d6: (4): 4

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 8.

It is now Miles' turn! Gnoll2 is next!

GAME: Note Flat-footed on Miles ended.

You paged Hildr with 'What's his HP?'

GAME: Miles activates his Titan Armor, gaining: +4 Str

You paged Hildr with 'Okay. Bear is pretty tuned up.'

GAME: Miles casts Enlarge Person. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14

"Reos' clockwork balls, over there!" Miles drops his torch and quickly touches a rune on his armor as arrows? fly out to hit the bear. Grabbing a syringe from a pouch at his waist, he jams it into his neck, and suddenly starts to swell, growing to, well. Let's put it this way. He's a bigger target than the bear. "HI." He booms. "It'd be nice if you'd surrender, but you probably won't."

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round One - Init 5.

It is now Gnoll2's turn! Boss is next!

+roll 1d20+4

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (4)+4: 8

Out of the woods, a hail of arrows pepper Flint's upright form; the bear bellows in pain and rage as a trio of shafts project from his torso, and the animal cackling amid the trees begins to build. Then, Miles becomes a sizeable metal giant, and target priority changes; another arrow whistles out of the dark and plinks against the elf's armored form, marking an interesting turn to the action.

Action time, boys and girls.

GAME: Hildr rolls initiative: 19 + 1 = 20

GAME: Velothin rolls initiative: 19 + 4 + +2 = 25

GAME: Sasha rolls initiative: 1 + 6 = 7

GAME: NEW ROUND!

Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 25.

It is now Velothin's turn! Boss is next!

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d20+13: (20)+13: 33

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d20+13: (4)+13: 17

GAME: Velothin rolls 2d6+10+4: (8)+10+4: 22

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 20.

It is now Boss' turn! Hildr is next!

GAME: Sasha refreshes spells.

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+9: (1)+9: 10 (EPIC FAIL)

When the arrows come whistling in, Velothin is not waiting overly long to find out who they've decided to shoot at. He can tell where they're coming from and that's good enough. Rapier already in hand, the Dark Elf makes a mad dash for the woodline, barreling over stone and bush to get to where he needs to be. As he draws in on the woods he can make out one of the gnolls, which provides him with his target. With a rush he crashes through some final hedge and greets the gnoll with a series of whirling blows delivered from the rapier's tip and foremost edge, carving deeply into the thing and leaving it a bloodied mess. But, not dead.

Through the trees, a massive body comes charging - jangling steel and creaking leather, death and carrion. The gnoll's steel is a polished arc that whistles through the dark toward Velothin as he carves into his target, swung with terrifying strength and skill; and yet, it is all for naught, for the whistling strike meets nothing but air. Velothin, however, is now in danger.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 20.

It is now Hildr's turn! Gnoll1 is next!

GAME: Hildr casts Entangle. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 15.

It is now Gnoll1's turn! Gnoll3 is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+1: (1)+1: 2 (EPIC FAIL)

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+2: (6)+2: 8

"Easy now, Flint," Hildr says, resting a hand on the bear's neck. "You hang back for the moment, I'll see to these giggling bastards." Turning, she starts to make her way toward the treeline, waving her free hand at the vegetation. With a single, barked command word, she coaxes the greenery to erupt into ferocious tangle of thrashing, grasping vines to hinder the gnoll combatants.

Immediately the woods revolt, and one of the other gnolls finds his drawing arm wrapped with weeds even as he draws to fire on Hildr. He gets his shot off, but it lands way wide.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 9.

It is now Gnoll3's turn! Miles is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+1: (16)+1: 17

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (18)+4: 22

You paged Hildr with 'AC?'

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d6: (1): 1

GAME: You damaged Hildr for 1 points. 17 remaining.

The other gnoll is unaffected by the unruly trees, however, and drops a shaft right into Hildr's thigh as she approaches. It is only a glance, however, and bounces off after gouging a bit out of her leg. It then begins to retreat farther into the wood.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 8.

It is now Miles' turn! Sasha is next!

GAME: Miles rolls reflex: (10)+4: 14

GAME: Miles rolls 1d20+7+2: (9)+7+2: 18

GAME: Miles rolls 2d6+7: (5)+7: 12

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 7.

It is now Sasha's turn! Gnoll2 is next!

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Two - Init 5.

It is now Gnoll2's turn! Velothin is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+1: (7)+1: 8

Miles has apparently decided that Velothin's got the right idea here- once he starts lumbering, he's not even slowed by the grabby plants, and basically slams into the nearest gnoll, massive magitech fist first. It rocks back still on its feet, still standing, but possibly regretting some life choices.

GAME: Sasha casts Bless. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (13)+4: 17

Though the woods claw at his arms, yet another of the gnoll's party tears free from the tangle; he moves backward at pace, trying to get out of the way of the writhing undergrowth.

GAME: NEW ROUND!

Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 25.

It is now Velothin's turn! Boss is next!

Being the slowest one on the team sometimes has it's advantages. In this case, where everyone has engaged the enemy and is drawing fire, so she can simply do her 'thing'. She takes a deep breath, murmurs something to Althea and everyone should feel a little more fearless and their hands guided towards their opponents slightly.

GAME: Velothin rolls Reflex: (18)+8: 26

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d20+12: (9)+12: 21

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d6+10: (2)+10: 12

GAME: Velothin refreshes special ability pools.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 20.

It is now Boss' turn! Hildr is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+1: (20)+1: 21

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+7: (13)+7: 20

Snarling from the largest gnoll as it swings its glittering longsword; and yet, though unobstructed by the wood, the strike misses.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 20.

It is now Hildr's turn! Gnoll1 is next!

There is a great deal of swearing in a variety of languages as the very forest around the Dark Elf seems to revolt around him. He ducks his head down to grab at a root as it grabs him, completely and inadvertently avoiding the swing that comes in his direction. His feet move quickly after that though, keeping him from being tied down. With a final swear, he rudely sticks the point of his rapier through the nose of the gnoll he'd carved earlier to silence its growling and roaring near his ear. As he twists the long blade in its face he notices the weapon coming in at him this time, yellow eyes growing a bit as he makes a 'whup' sound and jerks his head below the blow again.

GAME: Hildr rolls reflex: (4)+1: 5

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 15.

It is now Gnoll1's turn! Gnoll3 is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (4)+4: 8

A casual pace turns into a stamping, loping jog, ending in an all-out run. Her scythe flashes high in the moonlight, and-- the druid thuds to earth as her own vines reach up and wrap round her legs, drawing forth a stream of Khazadi curses.

With Miles on top of him, one of the gnolls draws its falchion and swings at the metal monstrosity - but the angry trees still tangle its arms, and it missies its mark.

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 9.

It is now Gnoll3's turn! Miles is next!

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 8.

It is now Miles' turn! Sasha is next!

GAME: Miles rolls 1d20+8: (8)+8: 16

GAME: Miles rolls 1d20+8: (11)+8: 19

GAME: Miles rolls 2d6+7: (8)+7: 15

GAME: Miles rolls 2d6+7: (10)+7: 17

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 7.

It is now Sasha's turn! Gnoll2 is next!

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Three - Init 5.

It is now Gnoll2's turn! Velothin is next!

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+4: (12)+4: 16

GAME: Sasha casts Cure Light Wounds. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14

GAME: Sasha rolls 1d8+4: (2)+4: 6

"Some of the bastards are getting away! OUR PAY IS ESCAPING." Miles, distracted by this, almost negligently smashes his opponent into the ground with a one-two pound of enormous metal fists. That may be hard to bring back as proof to their employer, really.

With a surge of furred muscles, another of the gnoll pack breaks loose from its woody bonds, and makes the very smart choice to get the hell off the field. And so it takes off through the wood.

GAME: NEW ROUND!

Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Four - Init 25.

It is now Velothin's turn! Boss is next!

Seeing almost no one getting hit, Sasha walks her way forward and puts her hand upon the bear's flank. "Mistress, heal this noble bear's wounds."

GAME: Velothin rolls reflex: (15)+8: 23

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d20+12: (14)+12: 26

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d6+10: (3)+10: 13

GAME: Velothin rolls Intimidate: (15)+10: 25

GAME: Fazahd advances the initiative order.

Round Four - Init 20.

It is now Boss' turn! Hildr is next!

You paged Velothin with 'Yep, got it here.'

GAME: Fazahd rolls 1d20+2: (14)+2: 16

Velothin would certainly do something about escaping gnolls if he was very busily working to avoid being bisected by the biggest of the lot. The Dark Elf is alarmingly quick on his feet however, and the difficult terrain cannot even inconvenience him as he darts left and right to put his opponent off balance. His rapier comes zipping in, striking left and right as he punches holes into the great creature's hide, bypassing its armour with every deft thrust. The flash of steel is too quick to keep an eye on, and Velothin works it in dangerous circles and odd patterns each time he steps in to deliver another stabbing thrust on the brute.

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d20+12: (13)+12: 25

GAME: Velothin rolls 1d6+10: (1)+10: 11

Gnolls are no heroes, not even the big ones; in the face of a group of superior opponents, it's time to get out of dodge. With a jibbering howl of panic, the gnoll throws its sword at its feet and runs, breaking through the undergrowth and running at full tilt even as Velothin slashes a wound across the shadow's back. For something as large as it is, however, it is /very/ fast.

GAME: Miles rolls 1d20+2+1: (20)+2+1: 23

GAME: Miles rolls 1d20+2+1: (13)+2+1: 16

GAME: Miles rolls 2d6+3: (5)+3: 8

As the leader of the gnolls takes off, Miles swears again, and draws his weapon; half crossbow, half rifle, half jacob's ladder doing something horrible to both of the above. There's a moment's hum as lightning arcs up the ladder and then...lighting flashes across towards the fleeing gnoll chieftain, with a shower of sparks. "Well. We're probably going to be staying in that shack for a few days, then."

Sasha says, "That's what it looks like." She says with a chuckle. "Good shot though.""

The big gnoll lets out a howl as electricity plays across its body - in good steel mail, apparently, so the arc makes hard contact. And yet, it does not die. Instead, it flees...and now you are left with two corpses and a fallen sword. And the world's worst topiary decor.

GAME: Miles deactivates his Titan Armor.

GAME: Fazahd removes the timestop.

Timestop by Fazahd has left.

GAME: You remove the timestop.

The vines thrash a bit as Hildr seek to free herself... and then, with a sharp command, the vegetation retreats, and the dwarf totters to her feet. "Likely," she grumbles, brushing off her hides and picking up her scythe. "Well, they're not going to be disposed of for certain until we've rooted them all out... So, yes. It's the cabin for us."

Velothin feels a touch of woe over the fact that the gnolls managed to get away. Or at least some of them did. The Dark Elf consoles himself by taking his dagger to the neck of the gnoll he dropped, making quick work of the sinew and bone holding it on to remove it. They need proof of the deed, after all. When he turns around, he is hold the gnoll's head in front of his own. "Well, it looks like there'll be 'gnoll' more killing tonight," he says from behind the head, one finger working the thing's snout so it appears to be talking to the assembled group. Puns and black humour.

"We ought to take the leader's sword. He'll...she'll? Do gnolls work like hyenas and are led by the women?" This is asked seemingly out of nowhere, but Miles carries on. "See how they like being baited into an ambush."

Sasha is just looking about. "Well...they now know we're serious."

Velothin shrugs his shoulders as he lowers the head, glancing in Miles' direction. "Didn't stop to check it for teats, myself. I was trying to kill it. But bringing the sword is probably wise. They may want it back."

Sasha looks up at the strung up corpse. "Velothin? Can you get this body down? I'd like to take it back for the farmer.....and see how it died."

You make it back to the farmhouse with your gory cargo, in time for Sarnavren to come out with lamp and military pick in hand. At the sight of the corpses, however, he lets out victorious bellow. "You bastards," he roars, half in laughter and half in rage, "Take that! Take that! I hate you! I hate you all!" The light that emits from his crystal eyeball sweeps over the fallen gnolls, illuminating disturbing scars seared into their skulls. Ritual scars, very forbidding-looking. He looks up at the corpse, then, and frowns. "What have you got there?"

"We found him strung up with the heads," Hildr says, scowling. "We thought he may have worked at your farm, and brought him back to be seen to."

Velothin remains silent, for the first time, and simply nods along when Hildr speaks. That really about sums it up at that point.

Sasha says, "And...I'm guessing they just tortured him before killing him. Know who it was?"

The blood has drained from his face, and Sarnavren stares at the corpse as if afraid death were coming to take him. "I know who he is," he says in a soft and distant voice. "He is my son. Was...my son. He died only a few...months ago." And yet the corpse, such as it is, seems dead only recently.

The farmer looks up at you all. "Devilry. I cannot explain it but by that. And...I will bury him again. Did you find anything else?"

Miles reports, "Three of them ran off, including their leader, who left their sword behind. We figured we'd use it to bait them into a trap as payback."

"Let me see it." Sarnavren's voice is hard once more, hard and brimming with frost. "I buried my son with his sword."

Hildr's eyes narrow at these revelations, lips pressing into a thin, sharp line as she produces the blade in question. "Would this be it then, Master Sarnavren?"

Velothin finds the situation quite mysterious and a touch grim. What were gnolls doing digging up corpses for? And mutilating them, to boot. The Dark Elf remains quiet during this exchange, mostly lost in his own thoughts as he considers the situation as it develops. He'd signed on for gnoll extermination, not the strange, cult-like mystery it was slowly becoming.

The farmer takes the sword in hand. He studies it closely, scrying out the blade with his bizarre eye as if he were inspecting each molecule one by one. Plain though its construction is, there is a brand on the base of the blade by the pommel - and it is this that the beam of light emitted by his crystal eye falls upon.

Suddenly, Sarnavren lets out a strangled cry, one of mingled rage, grief, and...something utterly different. Something utterly murderous. "I knew it," he cries out, clawing at his own face with one hand even as he holds the sword in the other. "I knew it! That bastard, I will murder him and burn all his fields for this!"

Sasha says, "Who?"

Hildr tilts her weapon, bringing the curved blade of her scythe between the farmer's eyes and the sword. "Easy now, Mastar Sarnavren," she cautions. "You've hired us to handle the gnoll problem, and handle it we shall... but we'll not bring the magistrate down on these farms for you, and you should consider the same."

looks up with wild eyes. "Do not concern yourself," he says, frosting over immediately so that his voice is deathly calm that belies his . "I...must see to my son. I...will speak to the proper authorities for this. And I will make sure that you are fully paid, but do not return to my farm again. I thank you, but you are not welcome here anymore."

Fazahd looks up with wild eyes. "Do not concern yourself," he says, frosting over immediately so that his voice is deathly calm that belies his . "I...must see to my son. I...will speak to the proper authorities for this. And I will make sure that you are fully paid, but do not return to my farm again. I thank you, but you are not welcome here anymore."

Velothin tilts his hat back slightly, scratching at his hairline as he regards the farmer's alarming shift from rage to grief to griefrage and then over into a deathly calmness. Most curious. As a Mul, however, he's fairly used to be told to piss off and never return. "Well, alright. Ah.. Best of luck, and my condolences," Velothin notes as he adjusts his hat back into place and offers a general shrug to the nearest member of the party. It is the bear.

Hildr's eyebrow rises sharply. "...Very well," she says, turning toward the road, gesturing toward her bear. "C'mon, Flint," she grunts. "We'll see how these other farmers are treating their livestock." And with that, the Khazadi returns the shrug, and starts walking off down the road.

Sasha makes a bit of a face. "Hmph. Strange way to say thank you." She says as she walks her way down the road, along with Hildr.

<END>