Kevin's Watch

Turning about, Laurel takes aim at the shifted barbarian and lets her second sonically enhanced arrow fly. Then moving to the northwest, she wraps her arms around Led and bodily supports him, nodding towards the immobile Warforged. "You asked that we try to incapacitate these two, instead of harming them. This one will remain like this for five minutes or so; I suggest we take advantage and make ourselves known to him."

Dropping her head, her voice takes on a note of regret. "I am sorry I had no means at my disposal for doing similar to the other of your own kind without causing him harm.

"While we talk, rest against me. You were hit with a ray that zapped your energy from you, but it will pass in a short time. Definitely within 20 minutes, at the most."

Seeing the wizard is no longer a threat and the nearby construct is now immobile, the escaped prisoner turns back to the wagon. In Frusvolk, "Quickly now! Everyone out while they are distracted. Move it, old man. We don't have time for you to nap."

Dodge declared on the Shifter, just in case.
Ready action should anything approach the gap in the cage.

Vynarkus grits his teeth at the pain, and in frustration at the fact that he may be forced to kill someone he had hoped to ally with.

He draws his enchanted double-bladed sword as he takes a five-foot step back. He shouts, "cool down, idiot!" as he blasts the enraged Shifter with his own power and that of the sword.

[ooc]If I am allowed to use the move-action version of Withdraw, I do that instead of a five-foot step.

Obviously, if the Shifter stops fighting when the Wizard dies, Vynarkus won't attack. However, he won't relax his guard either. He again steps back (or uses Withdraw), and prepares to follow the exact same manuever as above if the Shifter calming down is a ruse.[/ooc]

Led leans against Laurel, trying to calm his frustration at his own weakness. "Thank you."

Glancing at the raging shifter, Led quickly decides that Marrik, Sigrid, and Vynarkus can probably handle him, and that he himself wouldn't be much use at this distance anyway.

To Laurel, you should go and brief the prisoners. We'll need to be leaving shortly, before the main force returns. I'll try to reason with this one." nodding at the immobilized Warforged.

[I have some non-combat role-playing babble to do here, but will hold off since there's still combat going on elsewhere, and I don't want to get too far ahead.

Led Pighp wrote:"You should go and brief the prisoners. We'll need to be leaving shortly, before the main force returns. I'll try to reason with this one."

The bard's lips quirk upward as she shakes her head "no." "You must be kidding. I'm not leaving your side until you return to normal. And I do not speak the native tongue. Let Sigrid, Skyseeker, Marrik or Vynarkus brief them when they can."

Led glares at the immoble Warforged. "Fine. I speak the native tongue. Let's both go talk to these prisoners."

Staying shifted, hoping it will grant him some credibility, Led allows Laurel to help him over to the escaped prisoners. Laurel does her best not to make it obvious how much Led is relying on her for support, as they move towards the escaped prisoners gathering around the one with the Glaive.

"We were coming to rescue you, but I see you managed that all on your own."

I move southwest, so that I have a clear shot at the shifter without also hitting Vynarkus or Marrik. If the shifter continues to attack, I use the wand again.

Led Pighp wrote:"We were coming to rescue you, but I see you managed that all on your own."

"Getting out of the cage was simple." Her stance and tone show she is not immediately threatening to the one before her, though she still appears wary. "Getting away was another matter entirely."

"These fellows were worry enough. How could one outrun or outwit those giant apes which never sleep, never tire, and can will themselves in front of the path no matter which way one turns?"

"One brings really strong friends, who distract the giant apes, while you sneak away."

Led pulls out three potions from his pouch. He tosses one to the girl with the polearm, hands one to Laurel, and holds one himself. Smiling ruefully, he puts this third potion back into his pouch.

"That potion will protect you from evil beings for a time. I'm told they can't attack you, or effect your mind, or... some other stuff. I'm no mage, I don't know what all that stuff does. But these things certainly count as evil, so I think this applies. I only have three vials, though."

"But come, we must hurry. I hope we can bring this fellow here," he nods at the immobilized Warforged, "and my toothy cousin over there with us. But we don't have much time to ask them. And I'm not sure we could trust them not to give away our position later. But with them or without them, we must take these prisoners and depart quickly, before those ape-demons return."

He stops. "I am Led Pighp, Scribe of Serloth, shifter from the Heshic plains. This is Laurel, bard from Ventarii. The others, I will introduce when they are available to greet you."

Laurel's arrow strikes true! (8 points)

The shifter tears savagely at Vynarkus, still unmindful of the energies lashing him in retribution. His ravening maw tears massively at the warlocks neck and shoulder! (CRITICAL HIT! 20 points and one point of Constitution damage...armor strike 15 points to the shifter) Vynarkus slumps to the ground, a tide of scarlet pouring from the gory ruin of his shoulder. Ferocity undiminished, the battered and smoking savage rounds upon the paladin, his bloodlust still rampant. (7 points and 9 points)

Sigrid's wand blast screams across the tundra, striking only the blood-spattered shifter....but he manages to twist away from the brunt of the sonic assault. (5 points)

Skyseeker runs south by southwest before hurling her last flaming javelin...but the contortions which dodged the wand-bolt also sidestep the incoming javelin!

The WarForged's eyes are following Skyseeker, in utter confusion.....

--edit---Marrik's axe fails to land on the frenetically bobbing and weaving foe!

"Kalindriel. And you seem down a friend." She nods at the fight still being waged by the snow drift.

She makes a few gestures and intones a short phrase while focusing upon the battling Shifter, but otherwise holds her watch over the prisoners.

As vynarkus falls unconscious, his last thought is not one of anger, but of sadness.

Why is he so angry? We have freed him, after all...

Kalindriel Ec'urb wrote:"Kalindriel. And you seem down a friend." She nods at the fight still being waged by the snow drift.

Turning to look back towards the snow drift at Kalindriel's words, the bard breaks into an inspiring song, as her body glows briefly with power.

[ooc]Break into Inspire Courage and then cast Inspirational Boost, with thanks to the GM's generosity[/ooc]

Seven Words wrote:The WarForged's eyes are following Skyseeker, in utter confusion.....

As Laurel rushes to help Vynarkus, Led turns and gimps his way over to the frozen Warforged. Squatting down next to the construct's head, not obscuring its view of the battle continuing, he says, "You've noticed that we have an elf on our side as well? There are a lot of things your rulers haven't been telling you. Believe it or not, we're here to help both your kind, and my own shifter kind. And, in fact, the majority of the elves here, who believe the same lies as you."

"If you can convince that berserker there to calm down, we won't be forced to kill him. I don't know if you can talk like this, but it might save his life."

I cast Calm Emotions. Then I move to Vynarkus' side and prepare to heal him.

Edit: I center the effect 15' behind the shifter (three squares west). The 20' radius should include the shifter not Marrik.

The rampaging shifter creates a veritable fountain of gore, snapping a chunk of flesh away before viciously ripping with both claws! (12 points plus one Constitution damage, 10 points, and 7 points

Sigrid casts her spell...and the savagery ends.

Marrik restrains himself, but stands ready to deliver an attack instantly.

Skyseeker moves to create a crossfire between her next throw and Marrik's melee engagement.

Allowing Inspire Courage to linger, the bard modulates her Song in to the Healing Hymn, moving 30' to the south towards the injured as she does so.

[ooc]Should Sigrid choose to not cast a Cure spell which requires a roll, Laurel will do so as soon as she is within range of whomever may still need healing by the time she gets there.

1st round Inspire Courage lingers
Cast Healing Hymn
move 30' south[/ooc]

I perform Cure Moderate Wounds on Vynarkus. As I do, I say to the becalmed shifter, "We mean you no harm, just your master the elf."

[Can I make a spellcraft roll? To tell that the elf was a wizard instead of a sorceror?]

Led sees the shifter calm, and chuckles, muttering to himself. "Ask, and ye shall receive." He then falls backwards onto his butt in the snow, since staying squatted like that was proving too much effort in his exhausted state. "So, can you speak like that?"

"While we have a few minutes, let me tell you a few things. I'm probably endangering your life, but I think you... all of your people... deserve to know. The last person who found this out was executed by your Lord Protector to protect this knowledge. It was too dangerous to his position."

[With the fight halted, people will have the first chance to examine the escaped prisoner: Her features mix those of an elf and a human. Her height must favor the latter parentage as she stands over half of five and six feet. Her hair is near black, in a bob cut, although the extra light reflected from the snow shows it has a strong violet sheen. It is held out of her eyes by a silver tiara, with guards framing her face, and two decorative horns along her forehead. Her complexion is dark, however the hue is wrong -- gray and not the tan one would expect of the local elves. It is completely unblemished. Excepting for a few stray marks of dirt, which somehow enhance rather than detract, it is in fact flawless.

Her outfit is a thin leather not meant for protection in battle. It has a high neckline which nearly reaches the jaw, long sleeves, and the breeches go down to her ankles, with a chevron covering part of the foot. Horizontal arcing slashes are randomly placed about its length, which gives it both an alluring and menacing quality. She wears no shoes, and a single fingerless glove on her left hand, which favors holding her glaive when relaxed, and several rings on her right hand. The glaive is a high quality weapon, made from a strange metal which is reddish-purple at the blade and inlays, and a darker nearly black antiqued look for the flat. The grains of the wooden haft are chaotic swirls with no set pattern.]

While Led takes a rest and begins his story, Kalindriel circles the Warforged and taps it a few times with the back of her blade, listening to the ting of metal. Careful observation will show her nervously twirling one of the rings on her right hand. She thinks, You're in a pretty poor position now, rust bucket. What are we going to do with you? Throw you in the cart like you did me, leading you to some unknown fate? Leave you here as a pretty statue? Rip you apart and nonchalantly scatter it around while you watch? Which one is befitting, hmmm?