Dragon's Egg - Act III

[Legendary Sidekick]

I hate these gnolls. Hate 'em! But I won't make a bad move that gets more innocents killed.

"Almost up. We can use this rope so everyone can enter the cave. Gisla's leading men in from one side—we'll surround 'em!"

 

[Ireth]

Liadan

I cling to Batos as Baldhart hauls us upward, wondering whether I should try another healing spell. It may bring him back to consciousness, but on second thought, I don't want him to wake up and panic while we're still being lifted. Best to wait until we're back on solid ground.

 

[Steerpike]

Ghendra nods at the Cadell as his warriors bristle at his flanks. He takes in the group, watching as Baldhart continues to pull at the rope. Then his gaze slides to Ankari and he nods again.

To Keitsumah he says, curtly, "We came when the horn was sounded."

Turning to Cadell, he says "Where is the child? Is she safe? Is she here in the village?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I don't wait for Cadell to answer. But I won't start trouble we don't need.

"She's long gone. Maybe your boss noticed when I took the necklace from her." I keep pulling—just a few feet left. "There are other children in grave danger. I hoped Nissa—you know her as Sinda—could have held them off a little longer. As soon as I'm done saving the wolf, I'm going in the cave. I'll tear those fish demons apart with my bare hands."

Just about there…

"Care to join me?"

 

[Ireth]

Cadell

Baldhart speaks before I get the chance, touching on what I had been about to say, and robbing me of the need to say it. I nod in affirmation of her words, thinking of the necklace now sitting at the bottom of the river. I gather no one has found it yet, and I hope it stays that way.

 

[Ankari]

The last of the fish demons falls to the ground curled around the bolt sapping it's life. I shoulder my bow, move to the cliff's edge and kick the dying demon over. His companions gather at the cave mouth eager with slaughter.

"Look upon me, fish demons! Come meet your death as he has!"

The sounds of approach pulls at my ears. I turn to see Ghendra flanked by six of his companions. "It is good you have arrived. Fish demons gather at the mouth. We must face them."

Without waiting for an answer, I turn to the militiamen. "You two. Where does that cave lead? We go to meet them."

((If they answer as I hope, I'll continue speaking with them.))

"Fall in line. We go to hunt."

 

[SeverinR]

Bressel swings chopping at the neck of the fish demon. Grabbing the head he hurls it down the hall towards the approaching enemy.
[1d6+8] = 2+8 = 10 rock, str and height ((Used the rock macro, but its the fish head.
This popped in my head when I posted this: The Fish Head Song - YouTube Fish head, fish head, rolly polly fish head. Maybe Nissa could sing this?))
((He wasn't trying to hit anyone, just have it roll towards them as they appraoch.))

"Come! Your head will roll too!" Bressel shouts.

{{Aliron readys his bow moving to the stairs where the children went up. If no one else remains in the room, he will tell Bressel and they will make a slow retreat up the stairs. If some remain, Aliron will not be friendly.}}
"RUN! They mean to kill and eat you! I won't stay here to save your sorry soul for long!"
(Sometimes you need to motivate people with less then pleasant words...and Aliron is good at those. ))

 

[Steerpike]

Nissa flies through the corridor, over the heads of the fleeing children and some straggling villagers. There are gasps of surprise as people see her flying over, and some older villagers draw back as she nears. The corridors twist and turn, and in some places the path branches in more than one direction, but Nissa is able to follow the path of people. At one point, she takes a left-hand turn to another set of stairs, which is crowded with people and appears to open into a room above. The people here are pushing, crying out. Children wind their way through the legs of adults. Suddenly, there is light up ahead, filling the room at the top of the stairs. Nissa crests the stairs just in time to see a door opened at the front of the group of people, and in the doorway stands Gisla, sword in hand. Behind her is the open air.

"Out of the caves! Get to the forest. Gather up the children!" Gisla is waving the townspeople on with her sword clasped in her one hand.

In the room below, Aliron yells at the old woman to run. She had lingered after the children fled, gawking at the corpses of villagers and fish demons alike. When Aliron yells, she gathers up her skirt and flees up the stairs.

Bressel, in the mean time, rolls his grisly fish demon head down the corridor. The sound of hissing drifts toward him through the corridors. The creatures are not yet upon him, but they are heading his way.

Atop the cliffs, Baldhart finally hauls Liadan and the dripping, unconscious Batos to the top, and it takes only a few hands to take the wolf from Liadan, and then help her to solid ground as well.

Ghendra watches the proceedings intently, though if he is surprised that the party has a wolf of Batos' size, he does not show it. As Baldhart talks, he grunts. "Sahuagin, they are called. And an evil race."

When Ankari addresses him, Ghendra nods, clawed and furred hands tightening around the hilt of his sword. "The sun and open air is not for such as they." He shows a muzzle full of teeth. "Let's drive them back into the cold depths. Whichever of you leads here, my band will follow your direction. It would do well for the villagers to see my warriors following your lead."

The militia men, already feeling out of their depth at the onslaught of fish demons, have stepped away from the gnolls nervously, and as Ghendra speaks in the common tongue, their mouths turn down into frowns. Ankari snaps them out of it by questioning them about the cave. One militia man opens his mouth to speak, but before her can utter a word the cries of many voices rise onto the air from beyond the temple of Tyr. Mixed in among those voices you can make out the distant cry of Gisla, shouting orders.

The militia man looks to Ankari, and points in the direction of the temple of Tyr. "The cave leads behind there. A small building behind the temple, down where we got the prisoner cells."

The fish demons heading for the tunnels have meanwhile disappeared inside.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart
Evil race, he says, as if he is exempt from the label 'evil.' No time for that. To call him out will get good people killed.

I undo the straps and let my armor clatter to the ground.

I bolt to the cliff carrying only the rope, saying to Ghendra, "See if you can keep up!"

Clad only in rags, I move quickly like Hanako did. I will fight like her now. My days sparring with her taught me enough. No more relying on steel, Brynhild. That is my sacrifice. It is the biggest sacrifice I have made yet, so I'm sure Nissa will agree it's a good one. Perhaps the armor can be refit for Masama as a thank you for watching over Burnbright… assuming the gnolls don't follow me to her. I will be civil when we talk.

I leave the rope for those who need it.

I don't.

I pray for strength.

((Holy sh…!))

Ask and you shall receive.

 

[Ireth]

Liadan

Once Batos and I are on solid ground, I kneel over him and lay my hands on him, casting another healing spell.

((Liadan is down to 9 MP out of 13.))

Weak! The cold must be getting to me, wet as I am, and without my cloak.

Cadell

I move to Liadan's side as she kneels by Batos to cast a healing spell. Seeing her shivering, I take off my cloak and drape it over her shoulders.

She looks up in surprise, then smiles. "Diolch."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Nissa
I see Gisla. I tell her, "I killed three, drop kicked another, and the men killed another. But more followed us in. I'm afraid two men have fallen, but they saved the children. My Sisters see to them now.

"If any of your men have oil, I need a bottle right away. I can kill more with fire than with kicks."

 

[Nihal]

My fingers poke and probe my belly while I return to the tree where I've hidden my belongings. I feel the skin under the soaked tunic, as perfect as it could be, and nothing more—just that dull, fading pain. Biting my lips doesn't help to hold that nervous giggle back, so I giggle and even shiver a little. Better laugh while I'm alone than in the middle of them and of a very inappropriate situation.

I look at my backpack. A change of clothes is tempting, but do I have the time? I pick it up. Nay. Better simply stay out of sight and away from problematic questions. I hurry towards the town, trying to untangle the cloth I've used as an eyepatch. Before the jump I have worn it like a scarf around my neck, after the jump... well... I untangle it from my drenched hair and squeeze the saltwater before covering my left eye.

Just in case.

 

[SeverinR]

((Aliron and Bressel tactically retreat up the stairs watching for any fishies that might charge in. Aliron will watch behind(below) with bow ready, Bressel will keep a hand on Aliron to guide him up the stairs, so they won't walk into an ambush above.))

 

[Keitsumah]

My eyes narrow, but i keep my tongue in check. My anger got the better of me in that one, and I am not about to make a fool of myself again.

When Ghendra glances over at Batos, i unconsciously step to one side and between the two of them. He doesn't seem as if he's about to attack, but I will take no chances.

We need to make a decision about him. I muse, then turn and head to Liadan and Cadell.

"Thank you, Liadan. And thank you Cadell. I should not have asked you both to risk your lives to save him, but..." my words cut off and i stroke the unconscious wolf's head. The rune on his forehead flickers dimly, but is still alight. I pray that he may live to fight another day. In his current state, anything can happen.

"Cadell, Baldart has already left and despite your earlier... arguments, i consider you one of the leaders in this group. I have just enough mana left for one more spell, and I will save it. But should I save it for... that..." i mumble, glancing over at Ghendra, "....or should i keep it in case someone else needs to be healed? I split my berries with Liadan, so with our combined ammount we should be able to cover the healing of everyone else so long as they haven't eaten any in the last day. Batos has hit his limit, though, and we may not know just how much damage these water demons can do. And though the gnolls will fight alongside us and deserve to be healed in case any of them are wounded, i would like to know what your opinion on this matter is."

(just so you guys know Keit gave Liadan 14 berries. Keit currently has 8 left i think)

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Keit mentions that I 'left.' They're not going to stand and talk and assign an official leader, are they? I hope the damned gnolls at least figure out I'm leading them to the fight--assuming the party doesn't pull them another way and leave me to fend for myself unarmed.

"Hurry this way! Lives are at stake!"

I hope they see I left the rope at the cliff's edge for those who need it. I hope whoever uses the rope first ties it down before climbing so I don't get knocked off the cliff by a falling idiot.

 

[Keitsumah]

I look up sharply and then blush as i realize Baldart was only a foot away. What is going on with me today? I must be goign loopy from lack of sleep. All this fighting is also beginning to take it's toll.

Maybe I should just be assigned to simple tasks for now...

"Apologies, Baldart. I did not mean to offend you in any way -you did hear me say that I considered Cadell 'one of the leaders' right?" I say, then glance out into the darkness. I won't be of any use in an actual fight, and it is very dark out there...

"Here, take this." I tell Baldart, slipping off my necklace and holding it out to her. The gem glows feebly, but it will at least give her a few feet in visibility while she wears it.

 

[Ankari]

"Less talking, Baldhart. Move!"

I push her forward. She wants to take the lead, I'm for it. I have three arrows left. No matter how fast her legs pump, my arrows will bite the enemy first. It's time to hunt.

 

[Steerpike]

((Quick Map. Aliron is just heading up the stairs with Bressel behind him, hand on his shoulder. They don't see anything yet, but hear fish demon voices in the hall. They have time to retreat up the stairs as planned or change their minds. I'm not showing everyone up on the cliff tops because it confuses the map based on how I'd have to position the characters. The description should make things clear )).

 

[Steerpike]

In the caves beneath Arendal, Aliron makes to head up the stairs, Bressel near him. As he begins to retreat, he hears the unmistakable hissing of fish demons in the tunnel that leads toward the sea. The sound is getting closer and there is more than one of them. The wet sound of webbed feet slapping the floor echoes off the walls.

Further down the tunnel, toward the exit into the village, Nissa comes across Gisla and the villagers. The townsfolk duck down and shy away from Nissa, a few crying out as the small valkyrie moves past. Children are crying among the huddled masses. When Nissa asks for oil, Gisla roots through a pack on the stairs and fishes out a bottle. She hands it to Nissa, then turns toward the villagers. "The tunnels are no longer safe! Everyone out. Make for the trees and hide yourselves!"

There is more panic at this, but the townsfolk begin to surge past Gisla toward the exit into Arendal, emerging into the beginnings of dawn, then sprinting for the trees. They're a loud group, still crying out as they run, some dragging panicked children behind them.

Atop the cliffs, members of the party can hear the cries of villagers sounding from beyond the temple of Tyr. Baldhart reaches the edge of the cliffs and climbs swiftly down toward the tunnel entrance. Fish demons pour out of the sea below - first two, then two more, then a fifth - also heading for the tunnels,and Baldhart gets a good look at them all. Ankari spots them as well, as he reaches the edge of the cliff, and just behind him are Ghendra and his warriors.

The militia men head toward the sound of the villagers at a run. Ghendra barks a set of commands and two of his warriors peel off from the group, also heading in that direction. Ghendra grabs onto the rocky edge of the cliff and beings to descend, weapon in hand, and his remaining warriors follow.

Despite Liadan's healing, Batos remains unconscious. Cadell, Liadan, and Keitsumah huddle around the wolf. Aldar and Hall remain nearby as well, casting their eyes about the chaos of the village.

Some distance away, in the trees, Mauve hears the commotion in Arendal. There are cries mingled with the faint hissing of fish demons. Mauve gathers her belongings. There are no creatures of any kind in her immediate vicinity.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart

Too many. I die alone, or an army of child-killers saves my ass. I'll reflect and pray on this later if I live. Or even if I don't.


I grab the first to reach the ledge, then slam him down into the next, hoping to drop both into the drink.

((grab - I hope!))

((4 damage - forgot to add STR))

((Will post Nissa later…))