Rounds 6 and 7, Sling Discussion

From: Scott

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook;-- Pensive's Addendum

After attacking, if allowed, Pensive will tumble back fifteen feet and extend the stonesash to its full length.

If it's not allowed, he'll stay where he is.

From: Scott

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook;-- Pensive's Addendum

Oh, yeah-- dodge point on the swordsman Pensive is attacking.

From: Ty

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

[Initiative bowman1, Pensive, Melani, Tichenor, Pikeman2, Garyth, swordsman3, Vincy, Osred, Rennik, Robert]

The last remaining bowman keeps his longbow between him and Tichenor as much as possible, trying to keep the wolves teeth away from his throat. But when Rennik comes charging out of the wagon with a growl not too unlike the wolves, the bowman drops his weapon and throws his hands in the air. "I give up! Please don't kill me!"

Pensive drops a long scarlet cord out of his sleeve, and begins to twirl it. The swordsman he is facing can't help but give a surprised laugh at the thin and fragile seeming strand. [attack 25, hit; damage 9] He does not laugh long. The cord whips out in a lightning fast strike, and hits the man's temple like a sledgehammer. The swordsman flies several feet sideways before dropping and lying still. If anyone had been watching, they would have seen the tattoos that peek from Pensive's shirt flash with power when the cord struck.

Melani continues to move around the tree to get in position [Hide roll 21 vs spot 22, failed]. The swordsman sees her, and shifts his position to keep her in front of him. She shrugs and hurls her dagger at his throat anyway [attack 21 vs AC19, hit; damage 2]. The knife cuts a long welt across the man's cheek, and his eyes blaze in anger at the painful wound.

Tichenor, seeing the bowman lose his stick, does not hesitate to leap. [Attack 21 vs AC18, hit; damage 6] The bowman has only time to call out, "Please, stop him-" then goes down under Tichenor's powerful jaws. The big wolf clamps his teeth on the man's face, and begins to shake him from side to side.

The lone remaining pikeman is surrounded, and after watching Pickle stab his stunned half orc companion in the back, feels there is little chance of a surrender being accepted. He lunges quickly at Pickle [Attack 20 vs AC18, hit; Damage 10] and slashes the head of his pike through the already wounded guardsman's throat, dropping him instantly. The pikeman follows through with the power of his swing, and slams the pike into Garyth [Cleave attack 17 vs AC23, miss]. Garyth is able to get his sword up in time to stop the blow.

The sight of Pickle going down while spraying blood from his neck enrages Garyth. He yells at the pikeman and launches a flurry of attacks [Fighting Defensively -4; full attack; Attacks 7, 5, 9, all miss]. Unfortunately, his rage, wounds, and desire to keep his guard up, all conspire to rob him of his skill. The pikeman easily deflects all the attacks.

The third swordsman, angry about the sudden appearance of the knife throwing halfling, launches into Vincy with fury. [attack natural 19, critical threat 8, not critical; damage 8] He slams his sword into Vincy's head, and hurls the guardsman to the ground, spouting blood. He then advances on the halfling.

While Garyth distracts the remaining pikeman, Osred ducks and dodges behind the man to get to Munch. He's not doing well. His pulse flutters in his neck, as the last of his lifeblood leaks out the horrid gash on his thigh. Osred quickly grabs the leg, and while trying to hold it together, begins praying to Hieronious for aid. The pikeman, hearing Osred behind him, spins and stabs at the crouching priest [AOO for spellcasting in threatened area; Attack 13 vs AC19, miss]. Osred, never once breaking concentration, blocks the blow with his shield. With a brief prayer of thanks to the battle god, Osred sacrifices one of the spells he had prayed for this morning, and feels the warmth grow in his hands as the god accepts it, giving him the power to heal in return. [Sacrifice Bull's Strength (2nd level) for Cure Moderate Wounds (2nd level), which he then casts on Munch. "You'll be fine, boy", he says and then stands, taking in the final moments of the battle. [Heals 12]

Rennik runs over to the fallen bowman, and sees that if he wished to, he could pull Tichenor off and save the man's life.

Robert yells from the ridge above. "Rennik, only two left! Then using hand signals points out the locations of the two remaining opponents.

From: Mark

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

Melani curses at herself for being sloppy, although she knows it is her wounds that make her clumsy. She sees the guardsman move at the last second and what should have been a dagger to the throat instead just cuts the mans cheek. The man seems to become angry about this and takes it out on Vincy. She curses again when she sees the Falcon drop. She draws the dagger up her left sleeve(quick draw) and advances to engage the swordsman. As she moves, she winces in pain at the damage she has already taken and remembers to be careful.

OOC: She will fight defensively, using her dagger. I think this gives her an AC of 23 but -4 to hit.

Mark

From: Scott

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

It has been a long time since he has killed another being.

Pensive watches the stonesash flick out, watches it connect with the swordman's temple, sees the bones of the other man's skull crack and shift under the blow. Not passionless-- he sucks in a shuddering breath, and realizes he is sucking in the air that his attacker just expelled from his lungs. The final pulse of his life, lingering in Pensive's mouth.

It tastes like iron and sweat, and hot tears roll down Pensive's cheeks.

The path was not straight, nor was it soft.

Weeping Thistle, the low elves would have murmured, to see him now. And somehow, that is more his name than the name he chose for himself on the Mossground. Weeping Thistle, not Pensive.

He snaps to. He is Pensive-- no other man named him but himself. Weep, he might, and a Thistle he might be-- but he is Pensive, too, and Blood and Stone were with him as strongly as elfhood.

He turns his eyes to the battle below, and recoils, but only for a moment. Weep, yes. He can weep. He is still innocent. But there is no weakness in him as he drops down into the bowl where dead men gaze at the sky. Pensive grips the stonesash with both hands and sprints to join the battle.

OOC: After slow falling down the slope, Pensive will run flat out to attack the swordsman threatening Melani. If he can, he will spring attack with the stonesash. He will tumble to try to avoid any AOOs.

From: Jake

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

Trusting Garyth to occupy the pikeman, Osred ignores the enemy completely, moving swiftly to kneel by Pickle. If the guardsman still lives, Osred sacrifices another spell to Hironeous, channeling the god's healing radience into the man's prone form. [Sacrifice 2nd level consecrate for 2nd level Cure Moderate Wounds, cast on Pickle].

From: Mike

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

How could he have ever thought himself a commander? One of his men was just barely snatched from the brink of death, and now two more lay dying. Because of him.

A good commander would have seen all of this coming. A good commander would have been able to plan an ambush that didn't involve losing his own men. Garyth is not a good commander. His shame overwhelming him, he roars and launches himself at the pikeman.

OOC: Same as last round.

From: Mark

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

OOC: You know Garyth is really just too hard on himself. :) At least he missed the three attacks against the guy that can barely touch him and not the brute.

Mark

From: Matt

Subject: Re: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 6

Rennik's anger finally boils over.

Mercy? This human asks for mercy? Where was the mercy for the hundreds of halflings whose souls were wrenched from their bodies? Where was the mercy as these men set upon the tribes and dragged Rennik's kinsmen to the bowels of the great mountain? Where was the mercy for Fayten, whose body was so defiled that he fought to the death against his own kin, not recognizing him?

And this human had the nerve to ask for mercy?

Standing over the body, Rennik's growl grows louder in his throat, enough so that Tichenor senses his anger and pain and backs away from the now twitching and gasping body to look up at his halfling companion.

The life quickly spilling out of the man's eyes, Rennik spits on the ruin of his face as he hefts the shortened halberd over his own head.

"Stop him? Ask mercy of your dark god, for you will receive none from me."

Bringing the halberd down with all his strength and anger and fury, Rennik buries its head in the man's chest, feeling the ribs and spine crunch beneath the weapon's weight as the head buries itself in the hard packed dirt beneath the bowman's body. [Coup de Grace]

Not wiping the spattered blood from his face, he turns to look at the other melee, and takes a step over the remains of the human's body to go join it.

From: Ty

Subject: The Battle for Overlook; Battle for hill 19 round 7

[Initiative Pensive, Melani, Tichenor, Pikeman2, Garyth, swordsman3, Osred, Rennik, Robert]

Pensive runs to the edge of the bowl, and almost without slowing slides down the steep slope. He slows a bit as he nears Rennik, who is standing over a wounded man, and holding his halberd above his head.

Melani quickly draws a dagger from her sleeve, and dives at the feet of the swordsman, rolling past him and slashing at the back of his knee as she passes [Fight defensively -4; Attack 18 vs AC18, hit; damage 3]. Her knife's edge cuts a deep gash on the back of his thigh, just above the knee, and then she is rolling back to her feet nearly a yard away from him.

Tichenor backs away from his prey at Rennik's low growl. The wolf looks around him, and seeing no opponent nearby, just stares up at Rennik quizzically, waiting for the blow to fall. If the alpha wishes to tear this throat, Tichenor has no objection.

The last remaining pikeman continues to battle for his life [attack 15 vs AC23, miss], but Garyth is too skilled a swordsman for the man. His desperate attacks are easily countered.

Garyth, shame and rage fueling him, lets out a yell as he counters the pikeman's blows with strokes of his own [Fight defensively -4; full attack; attacks 19, 12, 22, hit, miss, hit; Damage 10, 7]. He steps inside the arc of one of the pikeman's blows, and thrusts his blade into the man's exposed belly. The pikeman cries out and drops his weapon, falling to his knees with his bowels exposed. Garyth steps back on pace, and swings his blade backhand, decapitating the mortally wounded man. He looks around, panting heavily. Everywhere there are bodies and blood. It is almost difficult to tell who is who. Munch is moving and breathing under Osred's hands, so he must have been saved. Garyth can barely gasp out, "Pickle... save Pickle..." But Osred looks to already be moving that direction.

When the last swordsman turns to face Melani, he finally sees the rest of the battlefield. All around, his companions lay dead and hacked to pieces. Over in the bowl, Rennik stands over one with his weapon raised. Garyth is just stepping back as the head tumbles off the shoulders of another. He is the only one left. He runs.

With the straightforward practicality of her fierce people, Melani doesn't hesitate. She flips the dagger over in her hands and hurls it at his retreating back. [AOO Attack 24, hit; damage 3] The man stumbles and almost goes down when the blade hits his back, but manages to get his feet back under him and keep running. [Run move 4x]

Osred moves quickly from Munch to Pickle. He does not even see the pikeman die behind him, but does here Garyth gasping out in ragged breaths, "Save Pickle..." The young man has only seconds left. His throat has been ripped open, and his blood pumps out only feebly now. Osred prays again, trading away the divine grace granted him in his morning prayers in exchange for the power to heal. [Heal 12] The power of Hieronious is great, and a warmth flows through Osred's hands as the terrible wound in his friend's neck stitches shut. Immediately the pulse strengthens, and the breath returns. Osred breathes a sigh of relief that he was able to save both these brave men.

Rennik stands over the feebly struggling body of the bowman. Rennik spits on the ruin of his face as he hefts the shortened halberd over his own head. "Stop him? Ask mercy of your dark god, for you will receive none from me." Bringing the halberd down with all his strength and anger and fury, Rennik buries its head in the man's chest, feeling the ribs and spine crunch beneath the weapon's weight as the head buries itself in the hard packed dirt beneath the bowman's body. [Coup de Grace; Damage 22; death] Not wiping the spattered blood from his face, he turns to look at the other melee, and takes a step over the remains of the human's body to go join it. Not far away, Pensive watches.

On the ridge above, Robert watches the last swordsman begin to run away from Melani. Shrugging his shoulders, he fires off one last shot. Perhaps luck will be with him. [Range increment -6; Attack 9, miss] The range proves too great, and the bolt hits the ground several feet away from the fleeing man.

From: Mike