[ It's the morning after the big, awful battle with all those troops coming in on top of you. As you're awakened by the clangor of the juice-drum, Napper fairly traipses out of his tent with a big psychotic smile plastered across his face, which means that you can probably expect more of the same. He's kind of like a bad knee that predicts the weather, that way. ] [ As you come out of your tents, you're handed a minimal breakfast, a whetstone, and a pike, just like everyone else. Yeah, this morning'll definitely be interesting. ] [ SESSION START. ] ... ow, my head. x_x * Ada readies herself very, very crankily. "Whoever woke me up is going to die." * Ethan sits near the campfire, rubbing his temples. He looks like he slept really, really poorly. [ Alas, nobody knows who plays the juice-drum. Probably for his safety. ] * Nebrinel has a frown on her face three seconds after she scarfs the breakfast as she starts sharpening. (Curses.) [ The sky today is full of miserable-looking clouds. It's hardly a minute before the Captain's voice rings out, telling you all to man the lines and bring your pikes, and to HURRY. ] * Ethan eats his own breakfast, but notably slower than usual. "Aww crap... the ONE time..." * Ada ignores Ethan. She hurries instead. (SPLEEN!) * Ethan ignores the pike, and uses his glaive to pull himself to his feet, jogging gingerly over to the line next to Ada. [ Your messmates go ahead and make a dash for the line, bringing whatever's left of their breakfast with them. ] * Nebrinel will hurry too, doing sharpening on the way as best she can. * Ethan sets himself up, then leans over to Ada, whispering. "I really turned into a miniature version of myself, didn't I?" [ And soon you see what the pikes are for; there's a company or two of cavalry headed your way. Behind you, near the river, the company engineers are slapping together some instant bridges. ] Yes. You did. * Ada sighs and readies her pike as best as she can. Why can't they attack in the afternoon? ... crap. Did I at least hold up my weight in the fight? Well enough, you could say. (That's an understatement.) * Nebrinel sharpens. The frown is still there. [ Everyone roll initiative! ] d6+8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (d6+8) and gets 13. d6+9 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (d6+9) and gets 12. d6+7 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (d6+7) and gets 11. * Ethan glares at the approaching cavalry, then steadies himself. "We'll talk later. For now... hold the glaive out straight, and brace yourself with your back leg. Object is to knock the rider off his horse and, more importantly, to hold your ground... dammit, if they're gonna attack, they could at least have the common courtasy to be a little quieter..." *winces* * Ada does that. She doesn't seem very good at it, but hey. Girl's gotta try. * Nebrinel does, but not with any rigor. [ The riders come galloping towards you at incredible speed, which promptly answers any questions about why you have no javelins this time - no time for 'em. Oddly enough, you can tell that they're humans, which means that they're probably mercenaries from the East. ] [ The humans start doing something unexpected, then. The rear up, squatting on their saddles and still holding the reins. And then you hear a sound that chills your soul to it's core. It is the dreaded, roaring laugh of Sadira Wallstormer. ] ... ah fuck. * Nebrinel barks a laugh. * Ada rolls her eyes. * Ethan bounces a muffin off of Nebrinel's head. "This ain't funny." (Oh, it is. ^^) [ And then the cavalry's upon you, and nearly to a one the horses promptly die, impaling themselves on your pikes (or glaives). You need Body rolls to see if you remain standing after this. ] 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 9. 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6) and gets 5. (Aiyah. Okay, yeah, let's assume I just run around healing. ^_^;) ... crap. Watch your backs! They're gonna jump off their horses and go for our rears! 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-4) and gets 2. * Ethan steadies himself... * Ethan growls. For once, he looks genuinely ANGRY. "I can't believe my goddamn bastard of a dad sold his worthless ass out to Faydra!" * Nebrinel shrugs, and says simply, "I can." ... unless they're mercs. Correction. I can't believe that stupid bitch Sadira sold her worthless flabby ass out to Faydra! * Nebrinel dryly comments, "I'm sure she'd be glad to hear that." [ Ada's knocked over and barely manages to not get flattened by a dead horse, but Nebby and Ethan hold their arms steady, and then the mercs are behind you chopping at your backs, or, in Ada's case, at your front since you're on the ground anyway. Everyone needs Melee Defense at +1! ] (I'm kinda prone. Does that give me a worse defense?) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 2. 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-1) and gets 6. ( Ada> Yup. You're at +3 instead of +1. Enjoy! ) (Thanks!) 2d6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6) and gets 7. ( Fortunately, you're next to Ethan, so you might survive anyway. ) 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6-1) and gets 3. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 2. [ Ethan does, indeed, save Ada's bacon. He's good at this bacon-saving thing. Sei manages not to get carved! ] [ The line's in chaos now, tho, and Sadira's laughing as she goes toe- to-toe with Captain Daavya isn't helping anyone. ] [ Ethan's turn! Go, Ethan! ] * Ada rolls into a sitting position, her eyes wide as Ethan barely manages to stop the soldier from skewering her. Hold the goddamn line, people! It's just a trick! * Ethan spares a glance down at Ada, then wades into the thick of the enemy, attacking in silence for once. All hit of humor is gone as he hacks viciously at one merc, spins, then jabs high at another. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. [ Two mercs die, one bisected neatly, the other impaled despite having positioned his shield correctly. Go, Nebby! ] * Nebrinel cross-draws her sword with her left hand while she slashes at the attacking soldier with her pike. "Dammned things..." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-2) and gets 8. (Hooray for poking with pikes. >.>) [ Nebby fails to kill anything with her pike, as the soldier she was aiming at levers it aside once it embeds itself in his shield. He then steps forward and takes a swing at her! Nebby needs to defend! ] 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-1) and gets 4. [ Nebrinel throws her end of the pike up into the sword arc in time to deflect it thusly. Ada, go! ] * Ada keeps looking up at the soldier, but now she's more angry than anything. She moves her left hand forward and makes an arcane gesture, the air crackling with electricity. "Lightning Strike." 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 2. [ The soldier is *fried*. ] * Ada gets to her feet. [Sei tends to the wounded while trying not to get killed! And he does an okay job of it, too. But everyone needs a fresh batch of melee defense rolls!] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-3) and gets 4. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 2. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-3) and gets 3. [ None of you die this time! The rest of your team is doing alright, although your flag bearer's down and your captain and a few others are barely holding their own against Sadira, who's apparently really handy in a fight. ] [ Go, Ethan! ] * Ethan GLARES in Sadira's direction, and makes to clear a path towards her, but then glances back at the others... expression not changing, he changes his footing, diving further into the group attacking his friends, spinning his glaive above his head to slash high at two more mercs. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 4. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 0. [ Two more bite the dust. Go, Nebby! ] * Nebrinel sighs annoyedly, and starts cleaving her way through the people with Plaguebringer. "Dumb of them, to fight for Faydra." 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-4) and gets 3. [ A human dies screaming, and some of those around him start shouting something about a "Sword of Faerie" or somesuch. Go, Ada! ] * Ada looks over at them and smiles humorlessly. Sword of the Faerie, huh. She makes a sweeping gesture towards one of the soldiers nearby. "Chill Needles." 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 3. * Nebrinel chuckles faintly. "I'd almost forgotten that name." ( What, nobody's whispering in fear about the goateed guy going through them like Tyson went through Spinks? ;_; ) [ Another Human goes down! Meanwhile, Sei does his healing thing some more, managing to avoid what could've been a career-ending slash to the head with his wind shield. ] ( They can't feel his glaive yet. Duh. ;P ) [ Melee defense for everyone but Ada! ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-3) and gets 6. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Sei (2d6-2) and gets 6. (My guy is frozen and dead!) [ Actually, the guy who was gonna attack Ada tripped and fell on someone's pike. ] [ Sei's shield takes another blow, taking it down, but he's alright. Ethan and Nebby make it through unscathed. ] [ Go, Ethan! ] * Ethan grins nastily. Once again, nothing like his usual demeanor. "Sword a'the Faerie, huh? I'd worry more about the guy who butchered the Purple Knives than a sword..." *slashes at one merc's ribs as he bursts past him, then turns and tries to jam his glaive into the back of another* 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. [ Ethan keeps on with his killing spree! The man's on fire! And now it's Nebby's turn! ] (Put him out!) * Nebrinel swings to dispatch another person, carving in the general direction of Sadira. 2d6-5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-4) and gets 6. [ Another human dies screaming! And your team seems to be doing pretty well, just now... well, except for those near Sadira, who's now managing to hold off at least a dozen elven soldiers all on her own. ] [ And now, it's Ada's turn! ] (Is whoever's attacking Sei taken out?) ( Yup. Aelbur got 'im. ) * Ada glances to make sure Sei's taken care of, then starts making her way towards the mess Sadira's causing. She tries to skewer a soldier as she goes. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-3) and gets 6. [ Ada actually does skewer someone. They must've been watching the wrong person. ] [ Go, Sei! If you're here. ] [ Sei takes a moment to put his shield back up! ] [ You guys go on towards Sadira, and for seconds on end, nobody tries to kill you! And then it's Ethan's turn. ] ( Who's between us and her? ) ( A couple of your guys and that's it. And they may not last much longer. ) ( It'll take you just over a turn to get there. ) * Ethan scowls as he realizes that he can't quite reach Sadira yet, and advances, trying to stay out of Sadira's line of sight as much as possible. *End Turn* [ Go, Nebby! ] * Nebrinel spins around in a dance-like move and continues cleaving forward, actually starting to sing something lilting and fae-like. 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-4) and gets 6. [ Nebby cuts apart some guy who was bust fighting Virt, who shrugs philosophically in response. ] [ Ada, go! ] * Ada glances around, frowns, and keeps heading towards Sadira. [ Go, uh, Sei! ] * Sei heads toward Sadira, on the assumption that healing will be needed in the immediate vicinity. [ Clever boy, Sei. As it happens, Sadira bursts through the mob of elves about then, almost bisecting one horizontally, and then simply clubbing another aside with the flat of her great big axe. The poor guy goes sailing at least thirty feet before hitting the ground. ] [ She immediatly catches sight of Ethan, and calls to him, not even needing to yell. "Ethan! Come to me, darling, and let us DANCE!" And then she reaches to a scabbard at her waist and pulls from it a big, ugly-looking shortsword that is at the least Morganti. ] [ And right now, it happens to be Ethan's turn. ^_^ ] * Ethan ignores the taunts, and just charges straight at Sadira, aiming slashes at both of her wrists. (Both called shots) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 0, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "I hate these guys. Give 'em one for me." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 3. [ Ethan cuts Sadira's right hand off, causing her to drop her axe, more or less. The hand with the sword, however, defends itself ably, and the shortsword glows a faint red before the flesh on Sadira's new stump begins to warp and distend. Sadira grits her teeth, barely stifling a scream. ] [ Nebby's turn! ] * Ethan looks down at Sadira's hand/axe, looks back up at her, and grins nastily. Very nastily. Scarily "Who is that and what did he do with Ethan?" nastily. =P (You know, the =P at the end took *all* the punch out of that statement.) ( Work with me here, people. ) (And then some.) (It so did.) * Nebrinel closes with Sadira, and does another spinning slash, still singing. 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nebrinel (2d6-4) and gets 4. [ Sadira takes the shot high on her shoulder, wincing. Her sword glows again, this time a deeper, more noticeable red, and Plaguebringer emits a sickly greenish-black in response. ] * Nebrinel curses. "Of all the moon-blasted luck..." [ Sadira grins. "Yes. Fancy that, hm?" ] [ Ada's turn! ] * Ada scowls at the sight of the sword, but stays where she is and starts a series of gestures, the air once again building a static charge. "Lightning Strike!" 2d6-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-4) and gets 3. [ Sadira's hit full-on by the bolt from the sky, but doesn't seem nearly as bothered by it as she should be. ] [ Meanwhile, the stump of her right wrist grows a new hand, which reaches down and picks up the axe, stopping only to swat the old hand off the handle. Sadira then attacks Ethan, laughing raucously all the while! ] [ Ethan needs... one melee defense. The other's hitting. ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 7. [ The axe digs deep into Ethan's side, the sword following closely and biting into his shoulder. ] [ Ethan's turn! ] * Ethan bites back a moan as the axe crunches some ribs. "... tryin' to drain my soul, Sadira? Fucking low, even for a scum sucking whore like you." *spits blood in her face, then attacks, slashing across her face, pivoting, and then trying to blast her in the chin with an uppercut swing using the blunt end of his glaive* 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 2. [ Ethan's shot across the face is carelessly parried, but Sadira's caught by surprise when he brings the bunt of the weapon around to her chin, hitting it *awfully* hard. The bunt of the weapon flashes plaid on impact, and Sadira is launched skyward, quickly disappearing from sight. ] [ End Combat! ] * Ethan clutches his ribs. "... someone please tell me how the hell her hand grew back?" * Ada stares. "Plaid?" She shakes her head. "A Great Weapon. It had to be." * Nebrinel growls. "Magic. And it was. Plaguebringer knows it." Did it tell you which one? It couldn't tell. Great. She can instantly heal any wound, and I can summon snacks. *shakes his fist at the sky* REAL GODDAMN FUN- ow shit! *falls to one knee; clutching ribs* * Ada puts a hand on Ethan's shoulder before turning and yelling, "Sei! Ethan's wounded!" * Ethan winces. "... not the sliced shoulder please, Ada?" * Ada says dryly, "And here I thought I got the other one." She removes her hand anyway. You did. But putting pressure on a shoulder when the ribs on that side are broken... *pained grin* * Nebrinel shrugs and sheathes her sword. Then she glances around, and snaps her fingers, muttering, "Fool..." * Sei runs over to Ethan, and starts a quick healing spell. That...was worrying. And that wasn't her old axe, either. Apparently Faydra gave her all sorts of goodies. She has the resources. * Ada looks around. [ I'll say. That woman scares the sh... er, nevermind. ] * Nebrinel shrugs. "Looked like the same axe to me." * Sei prods Ethan. "Does it still hurt?" Definately different. ... bit better. Ribs're still busted, I think, but the bleeding's stopped. *stands gingerly* * Nebrinel shakes her head. "Whatever you say, Ethan." You all okay? Nobody hurt? Without a scratch. You're the injured one. * Sei stands by Ethan and continues a slower healing spell. "Whew. I hope no one else comes along soon." * Nebrinel eyes off into the distance. "Well, if Sadira was a warming up, indeed, I do see the main course." * Ethan sits silently and lets himself be healed, nodding at the affirmation of everyone else's health. * Sei goes about making sure that Ethan's bones are going to heal back at the correct angle. * Ethan heals. Sei might notice that some of the healing work seems to be happening without his expending any effort. * Nebrinel sighs noisily. * Ada folds her arms crossly and glances around again, seeing how the rest of the folks are handling things. * Nebrinel says simply, "Faydra is around." And murmers something to herself. Oh, no... * Ada turns her attention to Nebrinel. "What?" * Nebrinel says a bit snidely. "Nothing that would concern you, I'm sure." She smiles faintly. "If we live, it might end up mattering." * Ada glares at Nebrinel for a moment, then walks off. [ Sure enough, about a mile on the other side of the river, Faydra and her honor gard are standing on top of a hill. About a mile to the east of her, however, Xivilai is leading her side in a clash between two veritable seas of troops that move in and out amongst each other generating carnage. ] * Nebrinel blinks. "Well, at least she leads from the front. I can respect that." * Ethan waits until his healing has finished, then stands and wanders off somewhere into the camp without a word. * Nebrinel stands on the battlefield, and looks to where Sadira was. * Sei lies back and closes his eyes, meditating. [ The captain comes along after tending to some of the other wounded troups. "Alright, people. Form up!" ] * Sei stands back up. * Ethan barely gets into a good brood before he has to go trudging back to the line. * Ada glances over, puts her instruments back where they were, and walks back. * Nebrinel ... uh, forms up. [ Everyone else does, too. The Captain continues, "Over here to the bridges. Cross the river, then line up again. Right now, I'll give you a moment to pray before we go take on Faydra." ] [ Session end. ] ^_^