Splitting Up Again, The Wra(i)th of Elise
Subject: Re: Black Magic
OOC:
Rennick states that this is a probably a small force of archers. Remember that they're not firing at individual people; they're just loosing arrows into the crowd. Because it's dark, they can probably only see folks who are gathered around campfires-- but if they shoot in the general vicinity of a fire, they're going to hit someone.
The high arc of the arrows means that the haflings are some distance away. Can anyone in our force pull a Sa'id and calculate the arc to get a estimated distance? Probably not, but it don't hurt to ask. . .
There are two ways to beat a force of archers-- hunker down behind cover until they run out of arrows, or charge, and hope that your attacking force can cover the ground between you and the archers before too many of your buddies get shafted.
Neither is a particularly nice option for our scenario. On the plus side, we DO have ~50 guardsmen, plus the Blood Falcon force. Ty, how many of Overlook's guards have horses? All of the Blood Falcons could work as cavalry, at least.
A plausible solution is to have a force of soldiers rally the townspeople to make an escape. Everyone gathers in a knot, and makes for the general direction of the forest. Before they flee, a larger force is dispatched to distract and hunt down the archers. The folks leading the townspeople will hopefully be able to smash through any enemy lines, and the hunters will harry the archers so they can't pursue.
This plan would work much better if it wasn't dark. And if there wasn't a witch around. . .
Does anyone else have any ideas?
IC:
Another flight of arrows whistles through the crowd-- smallish things, to create such chaos. Pensive steps aside as an arrow digs into the earth at his feet. It really is a smallish thing-- an arrow for a halfling bow.
"They're not aiming," he says to Garyth. "They could be trying to drive us to escape into a force of infantry--" Pensive shudders, remembering the shambling undead he'd seen before arriving in Overlook. "Or they could be trying to pin us in, to make us wait for the infantry to attack. They won't have enough arrows to destroy the whole town-- they're just attacking to confuse and weaken us.
"Either way, we need to harry the archers! We know the general direction the arrows are coming from-- send men on horseback to attack, while the rest of your soldiers gather the townsfolk to rally."
Another volley of arrows. None of them fall anywhere near Pensive. "I can see well in low light; let me go out to the edge of the camp, where there's no firelight, to see if I can spot the witch, and maybe bring her down."
OOC, pt 2: Ty, if Pensive thinks that his low-light vision would still be useless because of the fog, then disregard the last bit. . .
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Black Magic
Garyth dodges a fleeing townsman, desperately trying to think of what to do. Tentacles to the rear, archers to the front. They're caught. How much time has passed? A heartbeat, maybe two, but it feels like an eternity, and he can feel Osred's gaze on him. These men are looking to him, and he's frozen, useless. Damn! There's no time for this, no time for shame and self-pity right now!
Pensive's voice brings him back to himself. Of course. "Runner!" he shouts, ducking under another arrow. A few moments pass before a young private approaches. "Get to Captain Bragga," says Garyth. "Get the camp moving toward the forest and keep them under control. My men and I will deal with the archers and rendevous down the road. Go!"
The private hesitates barely a moment, then runs off to find Bragga. Garyth turns to Rennik. "We'll need to be on horseback to catch the archers--I don't know if you'll be able to keep up--and the camp needs a guide. Will you lead the way?"
OOC: Garyth will have the Falcons mount up and go after the archers. I don't know if Pensive has a horse or not, but he's welcome to go either way.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Black Magic
Pensive looks to the darkness and then back to the camp.
"I'll come with you, Garyth."
OOC: Quick question: What kind of penalties is Pensive facing if he fights from horseback? I'd prefer to fight on foot if there are any penalties or skill checks at all; but if there aren't, heck let's me an Mr. Ed get on down there and attack!
Whatever the case, Pensive will attack with his bow until he gets within range to use the stonesash.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Black Magic
Rennik hesitates only a moment, then grabs Garyth's arm tightly. "You've come a long way in a short time, warrior. Remember the stripling who charged a group of Murrkat and almost died. Remember the lessons learned since then.
"The Murrkat will be firing and displacing. Always moving around the perimeter. Not stopping. If you charge them, they will scatter. And try to fire on you from cover. It's what I would do."
He starts to turn, then turns back, "And they will have a surprise to draw you into. Maybe a group in reserve. Maybe an area set with pits and traps. They'll have something set up to deal with a counter attack. Bet on it."
Then Rennik runs off to follow the runner back to Bragga.
Robert and Kenneth run off to get the horses. Garyth watches the occasional barrages of arrows, trying to get a mental fix for how fast the Halflings are moving between shots, how far away they are, if there is a pattern to their movement he can exploit.
But in the running and screaming and chaos, it is difficult to remember his own name, much less figure anything out. He wishes the wizards were here.
Just as the two Falcons are fighting their way through the crowd with the horses, a bright light begins shining from a hill several hundred feet away. A bright fire, probably lamp oil, is burning. Next to it stands Captain Bragga. He shouts out, "To me, Overlook, to me!" and begins waving a lit torch back and forth. Arrows rain down around him, but he is miraculously unhit. Then he turns and begins trotting to the east, continuing to yell, "To me Overlook!"
Garyth nods. Ok, the town would either follow Bragga toward the woods, or they'd die, but at least they'd have a chance now. He leaps up onto his horse when Kenneth hands him the rains. "Let's go get those Murrkat, boys."
The Falcons raise a shout, then fall in behind their leader as he gallops off into the dark.
Once outside the perimeter of the camp, it becomes easier to see what's going on. The camp is beginning to move and follow Bragga northeast toward the forest. A barrage of arrows hits them from the southeast, and Garyth turns his horse that direction.
[mike, guys, you have a general idea of the direction of the murrkat. How will you approach? Full speed charge? What's the plan?]
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Black Magic
More arrows, from the southeast. How long would the Murrkat stay there? Where was the witch? Pensive squrims in the saddle-- two days riding this horse had done nothing to make it more comfortable. It would be difficult for him fighting from the saddle, but getting off could be disastrous. The falcons would not have time to wait for him. . .
Pensive squeezes the horse with his knees as he rides, and tests galloping with no hands. It would be easier if the stirrups were wider. . . he looks down at his feet doubtfully. Nothing to be done for that now.
He raises his bow for the battle.
OOC: Okay, not sure where to go from here. Pensive could run up close to where the arrows are being fired from, and back very quickly. . . or we could just ignore Rennick and close quickly, blindly. . . I dunno.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Black Magic
OOC: Here's my idea. We ride hard to the northeast briefly, then cut east, then carefully south. Hopefully, this will take some attention off of us as an attacking force--the bad guys will think we're leaving with the rest--and allow us to cut off or flank the archers. Garyth will ride point with the Falcons in formation behind and to the left and right (what the Army calls "echelon formation"). At the first sign of contact, Garyth, Pensive, and Robert will try to pin down or distract the archers with bow fire, while the rest of the Falcons swing around to the sides and try to flank the archers.
Sound good?
From: Ty
Subject: Two wizards out of town; the wra(i)th of Elise
Kasen leads the two wizards away from the empty farmhouse. It would probably make a more comfortable place to sleep, and it was so late that he could barely keep his eyes open, but on the off chance that someone knew of their rendezvous, he'd put it a few miles behind them first.
Behind, he can hear the two wizards chattering quietly about something. He thought about asking to be included in their conversation, but then realized that even if he was, he probably wouldn't understand a word they said. Better to ride a little ahead and make sure the road will still clear-
Stormcloud stops so suddenly, Kasen is thrown forward in his armor. "Now now, girl, what is it?" He does not try to force her head. Storm would charge recklessly at a wall of spears, or spin and kick like a demon if he was knocked from the saddle, putting her flank between him and an enemy's blade. If something was making her stop here, he would find out what it was before proceeding.
The two wizards catch up, and the darker one says, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure yet?" but Kasen is glancing up, something having caught his eye. Something billows down from above, like a bedsheet dropped from a height. Slow, and rippling in the breeze. Kasen backs Storm away from it, and it lands twenty or thirty feet ahead on the road, far enough away to be hard to see if it didn't glow with its own faint luminescence. It appears mostly shapeless when lands, but gradually it forms into a face, five feet high, still rippling in the breeze.
"Elise?"
"Kasen. I've gone to some trouble to find you. You left town so suddenly, and no one knew where you'd gone. Who would have thought you capable of guile? Such a sweet and open face you have. The truth is, I probably wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't taken Truth with you. I'd been meaning to collect it, but when I went to Conal's room, here his armor and weapon were gone. The smith said he refitted the armor for you, at your request. Who gave you that armor, squire? I don't remember your knighting ceremony, but then I've been out of town. And certainly no one gave you that sword. You've let us all down, Kasen. Now a thief, consorting with criminals."
Her ghostly face gives a playful smile, "But you can make it all up to us. Just bring the two wizards back, and the sword too. It can all be forgiven."
Kasen's face turns hard as stone, "I know what you are, demon. You'll get nothing from me but a bloody end, if you come within reach of this blade."
"Fine. Then die, and I'll send someone to collect the corpses."
Her face disappears as the material billows out to a new shape, that of a horrible ghostly knight with a horrific skeletal face. Sa'id gasps, "A wraith. It is a wraith... Don't let it touch you! It will drain your life!"
The wraith billows up to a height of seven feet tall, then slides toward them claws extended...
From: Mark
Subject: Re: Two wizards out of town; the wra(i)th of Elise
Ty you bastard. Friday night at 7:30 ET you put this out? ;)
Mark
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Black Magic
OOC: Wow. Checked my mail to find 118 messages. Work's been busy, and I've been sick the past couple of days. Next week doesn't look a whole lot better, but I'll try to keep up. The following week I'll be away for three days, definitely.
Ty, feel free to have Rennik serve as an NPC whenever you need to, if I'm not responding, and don't forget about Tichenor.
IC: Rennik watched as the camp fell to chaos. There had been no way to prepare for this assault, and no way to avoid it. It had only been a matter of when their enemy would strike.
The archers were likely a small force, a couple dozen at most. While they had a good tactician leading them, it was the witch that worried Rennik. She was unpredictable, and could strike from above. He could find himself dodging tentacles at any moment, or worse. Still, Garyth had charged him with finding some way of moving these people deeper into the forest, and he had to act quickly.
Running as fast as he could, with Tichenor at his heels, he darts to the front of the pack and past it into the woods. Giving himself some distance, he pauses crouching to get a feel for the land - its slope and terrain. A fleeing mob would naturally run down any incline, simply because they would not be thinking and it is the path of least resistance. If there was a trap, it would be in that direction, as the crowd moved unconsciously downhill in their panic.
Trying to remember the lay of the land from his scouting the previous evening, he makes a mental note of the most and least likely ambush spots, and goes back to find Bragga and urge him and the throng towards what he hopes is safety.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Two wizards out of town; the wra(i)th of Elise
OOC: Oh, and when we finally reunite with the wizards, I'm going to be the best roleplayer in the world, because Rennik will have NO IDEA what's happened to them since they last met. I just haven't had time to read any of that stuff. I had been saving it at one point, but now there's just so much that there's no time to ever go back and recap for myself. Alas, Rennik will have no outside information to cloud his thinking with metagaming decisions. :)
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Black Magic
Sounds good to me, Mike.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Black Magic
OOC: Sounds like a good plan to me. Much better than just throwing caution to the wind and thundering directly toward them.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Two wizards out of town; the wra(i)th of Elise
Elise's face hangs before them, disembodied and glowing eerily, but all Sa'id can think is: She killed Cadfael. I will destroy her.
Sa'id's fingers drift down to his component pouches. If there was any substance to this image, maybe a part of it was linked to... he gasps. "A wraith. It is a wraith... Don't let it touch you! It will drain your life! And STAY BACK!" His voice grows louder and by the end it has blended into a scream of raw anger.
His right arm shoots outward almost involuntarily, pinched fingers pointed at the... thing. There is a puff of sulphur, and a glowing ember darts from the necromancer's fingertips. Everything is still for a moment...
[Fireball, targeted 10' above the wraith's head in case anyone is foolish enough to charge forward. My move action will be to move backward, obviously, in case the wraith gets to go first and advances. If I can't do that and toss a fireball, though, because of poor horsemanship or whatever, I'm tossing the fireball. Sa'id needs to vent, and this is how he vents.]