Three Go In, What They See
Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch
Pensive nods at the halfling's words, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he busies himself with stringing his bow, arranging his quiver, loosening the silken, scarlet cords wrapped around his forearms.
The thistle tatoo on the back of his neck is warm. It pulses slightly with his own anticipation. Battle was coming, no matter how cautious or stealthily he might tread. Somewhere out in the plains, men were marching, fighting, dying. Somewhere, there was a witch killing them.
Flesh be stone. Blood be stone.
OOC: Pensive will do as Garyth asks.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch
Osred makes sure that the men he'll be leading are ready, loads his crossbow, and stands watching the Captain as he speaks queitly with the halfling male.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch
Garyth thinks rapidly, trying to see all the angles. He remembers what happened to Cadfael at the tower. Sending out a lone scout, even two scouts, could end with nothing more than a dead scout, even if he was as good as Rennik or Melani. But if they could get out and back, the information they'd bring would be invaluable in preparing the ambush. It all came back to needing more information. And he was forced to admit, no one had a better chance of getting that information--and getting it back safely--than Rennik and Melani.
"All right," he says finally, gratitude apparent on his face for not having to have done this in front of his men. "But sending just one of you is too risky. Both of you go. Be careful."
From: Mark
Subject: Up the hill
Melani nods at Garyth's decision. She could get to like this human, if only he were a bit shorter. Looking up at him all the time hurts her neck.
Melani takes a few seconds to thank the pony that got her here. She then takes a few seconds to say a brief prayer to the spirit of her brother, holding his bow as she does. She then touches the arm band and prays to the spirits of her family.
She checks her gear, making sure that there is nothing loose and nothing shiny showing. She looks at Rennik and nods. When he responds, she slips away from camp, doing her best to keep to cover. She will also keep an eye out for traps along the way, and trying to get an idea of what would be the best way for the large loud humans to get up the hill.
OOC: Can I assume that we will not be active tomorrow? Ty, are you working on Friday?
Mark
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Up the hill
Yeah, I'm going to be out of town starting today at around 1 PM PST. I'll be returning on Sunday night. I'll do what I can to check my email while I'm gone, but I can't make any promises.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Up the hill
I am going to do a turn today, but I don't expect anyone to reply until next week if they don't want to. I will be out of town the next four days too.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Up the hill
Oh, you're all slackers.
Fie on you. I'm devoting all day tomorrow to this game.
And Friday, too.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Up the hill
I'll be preoccupied with guests, and don't expect to spend much time online between sometime later on this afternoon and Sunday evening (or possibly Monday).
From: Ty
Subject: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch 2
OODM: There are several hide rolls in this turn. I am just writing the results in, instead of showing the numbers, if that's ok.
The squad splits up into three groups. Garyth and Osred keep their men back and hidden as Rennik and Melani move swiftly and silently toward the hill. Pensive says to Garyth, "I will follow a while. I can keep quiet as well, and perhaps I can help if they return in trouble." Garyth nods, and the elf slips quietly away, a few dozen yards behind the scouts.
After they leave, Munch starts a joke to Pickle about the comparative size of Melani and Pickle's member, and the difficulties in copulation this represents. Osred lets it go for a minute, but when it looks like he doesn't plan to stop any time soon, the cleric whaps him on the head with one heavy gauntlet and says, "Quiet now, boy." His voice is low, and steady, but Munch instantly shuts up. Garyth looks at the cleric's battered face, and the fear in Munch's eyes at displeasing him. Garyth wonders if the cleric might not be a dangerous man.
Further ahead, Rennik and Melani have reached the lower slopes of the hill, taking less than ten minutes to do so. Pensive stops there to wait for them to return. Melani begins moving around the hill on the east side, while Rennik decides to try and move up the hill to its peak. He thinks there is enough low cover for him to do so. It takes him only a few moments to climb the hill to its broad and flat summit. There is nothing there. But sitting quietly, Rennik thinks he hears voices from the east side, and moves flat on his belly to that edge of the summit to look down.
Below him, about half way down the hill's east slope, there is a rocky depression several dozen yards wide. Inside that natural bowl are men. A lot of men. Rennik almost whistles to himself.
There is a small wagon, drawn by one pony. A man works at something in the back of the wagon, and when a flap blows back in a breeze, it looks like he is working at some sort of alchemy set. Standing near the back of the wagon, and shouting angrily at the man working in it, is the witch. Rennik has to stop himself from spitting. Whatever she is telling the alchemist, she does not look happy about it. Sitting randomly around the bowl, are... what? Guards? Too small to be a reserve force. But big enough to cause trouble. Rennik starts counting. Ten warriors, all human. Looks like six footmen armed with swords and pikes. Four others with lighter armor and longbows. They are the same ragged type Elise had with her, but they look dangerous all the same. Then someone bigger comes around from behind the wagon, and Rennik does a mental "oh shit."
The brute. The brute from the sewers was there too. He looks even bigger than Rennik remembered him. And he still has that wicked looking orcish double axe. Rennik has seen one of those in the hands of an expert, and he knows that someone the size of that half orc could probably cut a man in half with it. He also knows that the half orcs are known to be berserkers. Even enraged, Rennik knows that brute might very well be his match. He looks at arms as big around as Melani. Maybe even his better.
He catches a brief flash of light from a bush at the bottom of the hill. Melani, bouncing some sun off a dagger to let him know she was there. He wonders how she spotted him, but even knowing where the flash came from, he can't see her. "Show off," he says to himself.
There isn't anything else to see. Rennik moves back down the hill to Pensive, where he meets up with a wide eyed Melani. She says quickly in halfling, "There are a lot of them."
[waiting on Rennik and melani's report to Garyth, and the plan from there.]
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch 2
OOC:
A couple of questions. Did Melani see any spot that she might be able to hide in that was with in 30 feet of the group? If I remeber correctly, we are supposed to let the witch leave to attack the diversion, we attack her base, and then ambush her when she comes back. If she is using alchemical potions on the army, my bet is she will have a good compliment of spells when she gets back.
I don't know how you guys want to run this, but here are my thougths. Melani will be next to useless in a head on fight,especially against the big guy. She might be able to hide and be able to snipe one or two of the guard types by suprise. I would think that Garyth, Rennik and Osred would be the ones to start against the big guy, with Rennik maybe being able to get an attack out of cover from the flank. Pensive and Melani and the other 4 Blood Falcons should be able to take on the 10 guards. This is just an idea so please feel free to comment.
Jake, does Osred have silence 15" radius? That might help the main group get closer for a charge with a bit of surprise.
Mark
From: Matt
Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Hunting the Witch 2
Rennik's report is grim.
"It's bad. Not as bad as the tower in the forest, or the sewer, but bad."
He gets down on the ground to scratch out a rough map for the rest of the men.
"On the east side of the hill, there's a dugout bowl, giving protection from all sides. Inside there are men and an alchemist's wagon. There are ten rough warriors there - six footmen with swords and pikes, and four light fighters with bows and swords. All seem capable, none green. Outside these, there were the witch and the Brute from the sewers."
Rennik watches Garyth's shoulders slump slightly at this news and describes the warrior for the others. "He is a massive human, thick fisted and broad in the chest. He carries an orc double-axe as easily as one of you might heft a staff, and he could likely move it just as quickly. He looks experienced in battle and likely a match for any one of our number, and maybe any two."
He listens to the murmur run through the men, and is pleased that it is not one of fear but one of calculation. Ways to approach a larger opponent, methods of countering a longer reach, ways of blocking or entangling a double axe. It boosts Rennik's confidence a notch.
"Assaulting them in their den would be foolish. They are well defended there, and the pikemen could hold off any frontal assault. The witch is still with them, directing the alchemist, but her agitation made me think she was in a rush to leave."
"This is my thought. The wagon and donkey are their weak links. The witch needs the wagon to continue her assaults, and the men are there as backup for the witch. If we could spook the donkey into running away from the camp, the men would be forced to go after it or face the witch's anger."
"When they emerge, our crossbowmen and archers would await in the bushes in ambush."
"If this proves impossible, we could light the wagon ablaze right in their den - if we did not attack right away, they would be forced to fight the flames, which would cause a great distraction. Then we could attack with ranged weapons - their only cover would be the burning wagon. The only drawback would be the column of smoke that might alert the witch to return - so that battle would need to be decided quickly."
"Priest Osred, is there any help your god may give to remove this Brute from the battle? If he were eliminated for even the first moments of the melee, it might prove the difference between victory and defeat."