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[Axelhortsemchi]

((Tiberious will withdraw if it looks like everyone else is safely escaping, and probably be happy about the whole thing as a heroic stand and a dramatic episode of near death. Alternatively, Nico or someone else could just blindside him with escape magic, which sounds like a possibility))

"Charades, Nico? This is where heroes are made! If we won't stand and fight, I'm making sure the rest of you escape! THAT'S WHAT A MAN WOULD DO!"

 

[KittenMaster]

<Then I'm gonna assume that Tiberius makes an expedetrius (however it's spelled) retreat after a round of combat.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Yeah, that was what I originally planned on doing))

 

[Jackben]

Niko blinks as he realizes the last few seconds he has spent in a daze.

((His proceeding actions would be as follows))

The sorcerer then places his hands in front of his face and performs a series of movements to access his his multiple form distraction technique.

Four identical versions of the sorcerer suddenly materialize in a puff of smoke, appearing to float right next to him and spread out in formation to fly towards the elemental and the stalwart gladiator. They halt 30 feet away from the elemental and begin to cast a spell, in hopes to knock the giant off guard to give the real Niko enough time to carry Tiberius to safety.

Still floating above the ground by himself, he imagines taking the above heroic actions to help the gladiator. Yeah, that's what he would like to do. But the creature nearly destroyed the entire team so easily, and even now threatens to take everyone else with him. His vision begins to swim and he clenches his fists in anger. "Damn you Tiberius!"

Taking one last look at the duo, he turns his back and helps the others escape as best he can, casting haste and other spells to aid their retreat. After all, what choice did he have? Something small inside him tells him that even should the gladiator survive, the enemy won a different kind of victory today upon his inner will. If the spark of fear & uncertainty was planted by the dark cleric, it was stoked into a full blaze by this latest ambush.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Finally recovering from the elementals entrance, Draco hops up to his feet. "Damn it. Tiberoius, that thing is slow we should be able to out run it easily, we'll just have to keep moving, no need for stupid heroic sacrifices. Besides, this things just a lacky, getting killed by him won't make for a very impressive story." And then a little help from Niko's haste, Draco bolts out of there for his life.

 

[KittenMaster]

The Earth Elemental looks down upon the lone challenger that chooses to stay behind and fight alone, "So be it. Whatever human of you left will be meat for the maggots below me." It slams its arm down on Tiberius, tossing up dust and debris' once more in its force.

<Not going to bother rolling damage since Tiberius said he'll escape.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Beaten and battered by the giant creature, Tiberious spits blood, preparing to say his last words to the adversary before him. "You may strike me down here, but I have served my purpose as a man! Your duel with me has given my allies the chance they need to escape. REMEMBER ME AS YOU BLAZE A PATH THROUGH HISTORY-"

Turning around, Tiberious sees that the rest of the party has already fled. He thinks to himself "Well shit, if I don't have an audience, no point in going through with the noble sacrifice. I guess this is a daring escape from near death now." "It appears I have interpreted the great manons of how one should act incorrectly! A real man knows when he is outmatched, and escapes death by the narrowest of margins!"

At this point, Tiberious will do an expeditious retreat and catch up with the rest of the party.

 

[KittenMaster]

<BTW I just figured out why that full attack attack on Stricia seemed so wrong, I misinterpreted its natural attack incorrectly. If you ever fight this thing again, it will not be able to do anywhere near as much damage (and by then you'll probably be a high level.)

I'm gonna have to apologize, I knew something was up (this is a CR7 encounter) but I didn't figure out what exactly until after we nearly lost a character and everyone had fled the battle. This was supposed to be a winnable battle.>

<You have the option of, after getting back to the wagon, of either going to Rosewood or back to the inn, but as a plot freebee, I highly recommend going to Rosewood because it'll be the only way to learn what happened at the camp.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Rosewood sounds fine to me))

Stumbling back to the others, Tiberious sits down on the wagon. He looks as if he's been clubbed by a tree repeatedly. "Well, I was hoping we would kill that thing, but covering a retreat and making a near-death escape isn't the worst outcome. I think that's enough gladiatoring for right now though. Pretty sure I ruptured my spleen or something back there. Oh, and do any of you know what that thing was? I'm going to have to make a note of killing one some time in the future. Good night."

Tiberious then falls back into the wagon and passes out.

 

[Azih]

Thinking herself prepared Stricia downs a potion of enlargement, successfully imitating Jake's motion to drink it quickly and feels herself grow to pose a better challenge to the monstrosity facing them.
Seeking to immobilize it Stricia uses her lengthened limbs to lock it up but as she vainly tries to grapple she realizes her mistake. As large as she is the brute they face is huger still and easily shrugs her off. Unused to her newly bulky dimensions even her Ki enhanced senses are not even close to staving off the earth creature's response.

A swinging right fist as big as a boulder smashes into her in a vicious downward blow that feels like it breaks every bone in her face just as an equally thunderous two fisted hammer like swing upwards breaks every rib.


Doubled over in pain and coughing up blood she can barely see through barely open eyes the rest of the group scatter as Tiberious distracts the unstoppable monster. Drawing on the last reserves of her will Stricia does the only thing she can.... She runs

 

[Mike M]

The tree behind which Dreadstone has sought shelter explodes into splinters at his back, sending the unsuspecting tiefling flying to bounce off neighboring trees.

Dazed, he crawls to his knees, vaguely aware that Gnaw is frantically tugging on his cloak and whining plaintively. Turning, he sees the elemental towering over the party. They don't have a chance.

"Fall back!" he croaks as he staggers to his feet. "Fall back!"

---

After the party has regrouped and boarded the wagon for Rosewood, he observes, "That coulda gone better."

 

[ThLunarian]

Defeat.

He sees it in the eyes of his packmates as, one by one, they flee the scene of battle.

Alf has only known that feeling once before. Ironically, it was at the hands of the woman who was very nearly crushed into paste before his eyes by this hulking menace.

Cowards, he thinks at first, but then he takes a closer look and he is emboldened. For there is not fear and resignation in their eyes, only a will to survive and regroup.

All this runs through his mind in the five seconds it takes him to recover from the fall and get back on his feet. He sees Tiberious finally falling back, and begrudgingly follows along behind him, with Lady darting past the both of them.

One more order of business, though. Before abandoning the scene entirely, he makes certain to lock eyes with the subterranean terror.

It's a brief moment. Alf uses it to make damned sure that there is no misunderstanding between the two of them.

He WILL be back.

He turns around and catches up to the others.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I think Tiberius deserves a trait for what happened just now.

Fight like a man to the end, but not THAT end
One can only be so masculine before it gets you killed, but luckily even you know when it is time to run.

Effect: +1 Wisdom​

Returning to Rosewood, defeated, the group makes their way towards the gate. This time, the most dedicated of the protesters that refuse to go with the evacuation are locked outside of the gate now. However, as usual with your growing influence among the brass, a pack of guards help you into the city while keeping some of the aggressive people attempting to enter through out out.

The once booming city has become more desolate since the last time you were here. What were protests before are now tents where soldiers are camped. The infirmary is clearly marked, but by now you should not need healing if you chose to cast spells.

 

[Jackben]

Niko waits while the others get checked up, himself relatively unharmed save for the initial ambush. Having used what spells he could to heal them after their escape, he hopes there is no lasting damage. Clearly the force behind the Orphans power was far more dangerous than they anticipated. When he gets the chance he walks up to Dreadstone with a gloomy look.

"Forrester is probably dead, isn't she?"

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone looks Niko in the eyes, unflinching. "We. Don't. Know. That," he says, accentuating each syllable. "These Orphan folk aren't playin' by the same rulebook as most insurrections. They got themselves some sort of honor code or somethin', even if they are engaging in unconventional tactics. They may look a lot like us surface folk, but they sure don't seem to think like us."

He stands up and winces, his torso a riot of sore muscles and bruises, but thankfully no internal damage. Clasping Niko on the shoulder in what appears to be an uncharacteristic show of camaraderie, he actually leans on the younger man for support. The ranger is getting to old to be fighting living mountains that punch him through trees.

"Let's find the field commander and see if we can't find out what's goin' on 'round here."

 

[ThLunarian]

On the way out of the forest and back toward Rosewood, Alf uses his abilities to heal Stricia's wounds. When he touches her shoulder, warm, green tendrils of divine energy branch from his fingers and throughout her body, mending fractured bones and repairing cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

"You feeling okay?" he asks. "Took those hits like a champion. I ain't never seen anything hit so hard and still walk away. Seems I chose right to learn defense tactics from you, Son."

 

[KittenMaster]

Asking around takes Dreadstone to the infirmary, where injured men are rendered prone onto blankets. Dreadstone himself would not notice, but the others would feel that even inside the tent it is chilly with irritable air. You are taken to a man in his twenties sitting up with bandages wrapped around a stiffened leg. As you draw closer it becomes more apparent that he's being flirty with the lady cleric at his side. Once he realizes that he has visitors, and glaring towards Dreadstone, he says to the girl, "I'll talk to you later, baby. I have some bullshit to deal with."

Dreadstone knows this man. He is Godfrey, who was a fresh off the lawn rookie sick with green skin back when he was trying the military, and it was kids like this that eventually outranked him despite their inferior abilities both in combat and in leading ability. He is older now, but wouldn't be enough for Dreadstone. He says, "You chose the wrong time to rear your nasty mug. Why don't you leave before you're shot on sight for being mistaken for the enemy, or you think you are a real soldier because you defile the uniform with that dye?"

 

[Azih]

Stricia is very quiet as they make their way slowly and painfully back to Rosewood. The mental scars are worse than the physical ones. Alf's concern cheers her though and she smiles "It would be better if I had not been hit. I have much to learn myself."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Don't feel too bad. That creature isn't even of our world... although it must have been here for a while if they've taught it to speak our language."

 

[Azih]

"We will do better Draco, we must" Stricia says, turns to Tiberious and bows low. "You have been with us for a very short time and you have already saved our lives. You are a worthy warrior and I am honored to be your companion."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Best trait name? Best trait name.))

Having not been conscious for too long himself, Tiberious is caught off guard by Stricia's expression of gratitude. Not the part about being a worthy warrior, as he was already sure of himself in that department. Up until now, the party had treated him someone harshly. The heroic stand must have gone even better than he imagined! They're going to be friends after all.

"Oh! Umm, thanks, it's been nice to travel with you too. And you can call me Leo when I'm not presenting myself to new people, if you want. Like, that's my actual name. I'm fine with you all sticking with Tiberious, but that's my gladiator identity."

Leo trails off for a minute, then pipes up to address Stricia again.

"Oh yeah! It got rough back there, but I was real impressed by the way you were able to grab that elemental without it being able to do anything about until after you were wrapped around it. I can do all kinds of stuff to people once I get a grip on them, but I always get stabbed at while going in for the lock. You'll have to tell me how you do that sometime!"

Beyond having gained respect from at least some of the party, Leo hasn't learned anything from this ordeal.

 

[ThLunarian]

((Still on the trail into town during the wound-licking phase))

Alf punches his palm with his fist. "From this world or the next is no matter. When the time is right, we WILL hunt down dirt-man and destroy it. Not only is it dangerous to all life; it humiliate us. We must take revenge." He looks away for a good ten seconds and exhales in frustration. Begrudgingly, he says, "But for now... must pursue other trails."

 

[Mike M]

((CHARACTERS WITH ALIASES IS MY BIT! Heh heh.))

Dreadstone doesn't ride to Godfrey's bait, knowing from decades of experience that allowing himself to be provoked by such jabs never leads to anything good.

"I've got me a field commission over a unit of irregulars," he informs Godfrey in the crisp, no-nonsense tone of the military. "We were makin' for the rebel camp but got our hides tanned by some sorta earth elemental."

Looking Godfrey up and down, he adds, "We got ourselves a... Personal stake in the matter. But now the trail's probably gone cold."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Whoa shit, accidental idea thievery! I don't think you have to worry about Leo becoming subtle enough to do spy stuff, though. Oh, and to remove ambiguity about when he's acting versus just being dumb, I'll refer to him as Leo when he's not in character and Tiberious when he is))

Upon hearing Alf's intent to destroy the "dirt-man," Leo voices his approval. "Damn straight we are, Alf. There's always got to be a rematch when defeat comes from something like that."

 

[Mike M]

((I'm just messing with you : ). Last game, my character went for months before revealing himself, causing a bit of confusion as to what the other players were supposed to call him for a while.))

 

[KittenMaster]

Dreadstone's hardened tolerance seems to have worked. Godfrey just shakes his head, "A commission... Listen, how you get yourself killed is none of my business, as much as it may seem like I would want to watch, but if you're here to laugh at me then let me assure you that MY men could've dealt with that elemental on fair terms. Damned thing was made stronger by a magic spell, but at least we shot down the wizard that did it but it was too late by then."

<@Dreadstone: The whole "fake identity" thing is literally a part of the Gladiator class at its core (and is more of a WWE character name than a random cool nickname).>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Hah, yeah, that'll do it. What KM said on the name, pretty much. I was starting to get in the habit of typing To Tiberious though. I had to go back and correct it a few times typing up those last couple of posts. Though yeah, this seemed like as good of a time as any to get his actual name out there))

 

[Jackben]

((Yea, watch out, Mike is super protective the common trope of dual identities. If he tells you to hold on to a potion of anti-magic field just say no.))

Dreadstone looks Niko in the eyes, unflinching. "We. Don't. Know. That," he says, accentuating each syllable. "These Orphan folk aren't playin' by the same rulebook as most insurrections. They got themselves some sort of honor code or somethin', even if they are engaging in unconventional tactics. They may look a lot like us surface folk, but they sure don't seem to think like us."

He stands up and winces, his torso a riot of sore muscles and bruises, but thankfully no internal damage. Clasping Niko on the shoulder in what appears to be an uncharacteristic show of camaraderie, he actually leans on the younger man for support. The ranger is getting to old to be fighting living mountains that punch him through trees.

"I just..." before Niko can finish his thought, Dreadstone puts a hand on his shoulder. Niko swallows the lump in his throat and nods, the tension in his brow beginning to ease. He helps the commander to the infirmary tent in silence, but steps away before they reach their destination to allow the tiefling to walk in first.

As Dreadstone parlays with the local authority, Niko turns to the discussion between the others regarding the gladiator's actions. "Yea. Tiberius, your brave..." Niko pauses as he strains to come up with a more grateful mood appropriate choice of words. "distraction probably ended up saving some lives." The sorcerer's brow furrows again and he casts his eyes to the ground. "You have mine and Ozzy's hanks." The little brown weasel pokes his head out of Niko's collar and stares at the burly man with beady black eyes.

 

[KittenMaster]

<And while we're at it I have a monopoly of finding out she's a vampire.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Well, I'll be sure to stay on the lookout for any suspicious-looking potions. As long as I can claim a monopoly on bad man puns and breaking out into impromptu musical numbers, the Great Monopoly War of 2014 can probably be averted))

Leo lets out a hearty laugh when discussion of his great distraction comes back up. Even he knows better than to say that the main reason he escaped instead of sacrificing himself by fighting to the last breath was that there was no audience there, so he instead focuses on keeping the mood positive and joking about the outcome.

"Not a problem! I'm glad I was able to buy enough time for a smooth escape. That's not the first time I've looked death in the face, though I'll admit I thought it might be the last time for a little bit there, though. I'm sure we've got many more exciting adventures together!"

 

[Jackben]

Niko shakes his head at the gladiator. "So this is all just a game to you is it? Just playing at adventure without a care in the world." There is a glimmer in his eye as he continues. "I mean, I guess you're used to charging headlong into battle, heedless of consequences, all for the sake of the performance. I may not know much about performance, but I will tell you this..."

He points a finger at the warrior as he addresses him now in a deeper tone. "Dying is no way to win over an audience. And while your little improvisation probably ended up saving our lives, we had no way of knowing what you were gonna do." The sorcerer thinks back upon his plan of rescue before Tiberius returned of his own volition.

Taking on a voice of authority he continues. "Everyone knows the best acting troupes rely on a director. You may be used to working solo but you need to adapt your craft to the group, understand? Our director is Dreadstone. We all bring something unique to the stage but we work best when we draft and stick to a script."

"So next time try and give us some heads up, all right Leo?" He raises an eyebrow as his voice takes on mocking tones. "And try not to hog all the glory. I was way more entertaining before you came along, asshole." Swirling his emerald cloak over his shoulder, Niko dips into the tent to join rejoin Dreadstone.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo listens to Niko's impassioned speech with a look of curiosity. His thoughts go from "Huh, he shifted gears really quick there," to "Whoa! This guy knows a lot more about performing than he lets on!" Leo listens closely, eager to see if any major revelations on how to be a better performer are revealed. Unfortunately for him, it's just stuff about not dying.

Leo wanders for a minute what prompted this lecture. Hmm... that's it! Niko must be jealous of the the way he hogged the stage as Tiberious during that last fight. In retrospect, he guesses that taking the cover of the escape for himself was kind of selfish. He makes a note to include Niko next time he does something really dramatic. In the mean time, he'll just try and divvy up the glorious stands with the rest of the party. Maybe some of them are jealous too, but are just less outspoken. Better to be safe than a jerk, he thinks.

Because of his trying to figure out why Niko was talking about performances, Leo misses a chunk of it, pretty much just catching the don't die stuff and something about Deadstone being the leader. Listening to Deadstone seems fine, so he'll do that in between that and trying to spread stage time, he caught what Niko was talking about.

As Niko walks back into the tent, Leo says back "Alright then! Listen to what Deadstone says it is!"

Turning to the others for a second opinion, he says "Huh, any idea what he was upset about?"

 

[KittenMaster]

<Good news everyone, I slacked off on art necessary for an upcoming quest today.>

 

[Jackben]

((Yeah that was pretty bipolar but I decided he wanted to stop being a whiny baby suddenly. Now I'm just thinking of a possible situation where Niko and Tiberius become actors in a play and try to out do each other in each performance))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Yeah, I could see that happening. I also could see it spiraling wildly out of hand and ending with the venue getting destroyed or something.

Bipolar's no big deal. I'm pretty sure I've had Leo contradict himself several times now for the effort of trying to keep him stupid. Probably a few times in the same post too))

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"...I take it that in your time in the arena you took many a blow to the head? Don't worry about him though, he's just upset his new friend almost got them self killed."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is glad to be vindicated by Draco. So it was jealousy and needing to share the stage after all, then! Now he just has to figure out what getting hit in the head has to do with that.

"Well, yeah, a couple hundred times. Not sure what that has to do with anything though."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone scribbles notes about Godfrey's encounter with the earth elemental and the subsequent elimination of the magic user providing it augmentation.

"What about the camp itself? Any sign of prisoners?"

 

[KittenMaster]

"We ambushed them in the forest as they were moving out and then pushed them back to the camp, which we raided like it was last week's ballroom dance. I don't know what you're expecting but the place they had was quick and easy; they didn't even have a fence. We're guessing they didn't plan on staying there long. I'm pretty sure we didn't see any prisoners, even if we did we wouldn't hand them over to you they would be at the Kingdom now giving us answers."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone draws Storm's Candle and shows it to Godfrey. "How 'bout their gear? Last bunch we tangled with left this behind, apparently they're bein' supplied by someone in Iron Hill, though we don't know the extent yet."

 

[KittenMaster]

"Hell if I know. If Iron Hill was giving them gear, they weren't generous at all. That elemental was a trump card for them."

EDIT: <I expect a cage match on this matter.>

 

[ThLunarian]

Alf is amused by the petulant little man trying to talk down to Dreadstone, and he doesn't hide it. Though it doesn't go as far as full-blown laughter, there's more than enough snickering, eye-rolling, and juvenile behind-the-back mockery for it to be obvious that he doesn't respect this man at all.

The information about the camp is helpful, though. "Then we are settled - Forrester is not at camp in the forest. What next? Hunt down dirt-man? Find monsters in Southport?"

He is aware of the weapons-smuggling problem in Iron Hill, but that sounds very boring to him, so he's not going to bring it up himself.

 

[Azih]

"I do not believe we should allow the rebels to continue having access to the monsters. They have shown they will sink to any depth. We must stop them there." Stricia says.

 

[Jackben]

"Southport is a coastal town isn't it? Spring break and monster slaying, sounds like a good idea to me!"

 

[KittenMaster]

<Sounds like everybody is ready to move on, and don't really care about Iron Hill. I am still deciding what exactly I want to do because I have a lot of art and stat blocks I still need to make.>

 

[Mike M]

((*I* would vote Iron Hill just because I'm pretty sure it's closer and running to the southern coast only to come back later seems like a lot of wasted effort. Not that it matters much from a gameplay perspective, but Dreadsyone would probably cite efficiency or something.))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Leo wasn't there when the Iron Hill stuff come up, so he won't know about it until Dreadstone or someone else brings it up. That said, after the parts of Niko's scolding he caught, he'll go with what Dreadstone votes for.))

 

[Jackben]

((Let's do iron hill))

"Didn't that captive drow mention something about Iron Hill as well? It's possible that may be where the Orphans are being supplied from. Southport sounds a lot more interesting to me, though I guess if we're being true company men we ought to check it out sooner rather than later." Niko looks a bit disappointed as his visions of casting spells in swimming trunks is replaced by hours of hiking through mountainous terrain.

 

[KittenMaster]

<Then I'm gonna need quite a bit of time.>

 

[Jackben]

((Oh, I was trying to make it easier))