Rolf rushes to aid the beleaguered Gustav and attack his nearest opponent, a swarthy looking lad of about twenty.  Bringing his falchion in on a wide arc, he sends it careening across the man's body as he frantically tries to wrest himself out the way!

A gout of blood bursts in every direction as the mage's blade sinks deep into flesh and bone.  A sharp hiss escapes his lips as he falls heavily...making no attempt to cushion his fall.  The man is clearly down for the count.

Bloodlust upon him, Rolf looks for another brigand, but finds none.  At least none other than the horseman, who by the sound of the beating hooves, is clearly riding away to make good his escape.

Sheathing his blade he says to Terri and anyone in earshot, "Tend to the wounded!  Bandages in my gear!"

Sparing no further delay he immediately tries to cast a spell...

OOC:  Rolf will sheath his sword and attempt to cast Hawk Flight M146.  FP cost 8.  Time to cast 3 seconds.  Move speed is 40.  I intend to try to fly after and incapacitate the horseman with swooping attacks.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:14, Mon 10 May 2021.

Rolf offers only the briefest comment to those capable of bandaging the wounded before he thrusts his sword into his scabbard and begins his casting once again.  The horseman likely thought that at night, on horseback, there was no chance for the ambushed men to give chase... of course they had not counted on Rolf.

Though the spell requires much more concentration than he is used to, within a few moments, Rolf can feel the mana surging through his body.  He kicks off the ground hard, and lifts himself into the air with the speed of an eagle.

Though the night gives little light with which to pick his quarry back up, and the precious seconds he required to harness his magics let his quarry escape his sight, Rolf finds that with a little bit of altitude, finding the horseman proves more than easy.  The horse kicks and churns at the path, which cues Rolf's ears, and the rough-beaten path funnels his eyes until he can find the horse little more than a few dozen yards away.

Rolf dives, drawing his sword as the wind rushes by his ears, deadening the sound of the churning hooves.  He draws closer, he swings his sword!  Rolf hears a scream as he flies past, but the blackness of the ground draws far closer far faster than he had anticipated!

Rolf concentrates his hardest on the spell, willing himself back upwards into the night as he kicks desperately to avoid hitting the ground!

OOC:  You've caused a major wound on the rider who seemed unaware to your attack, though your speed, proximity to the ground, the terrible visibility, and diving tactics have put you hurtling towards the ground at a blazing speed.  Roll vs. DX to avoid hitting the ground.  You may spend a hero point if you fail.

Rolf wastes no time after barking his brief orders.  He doesn't want the escaping rider to get too far away, though if his spell is successful a bit more distance won't matter.

The mage sheaths his sword and begins to make the intricate motions he needs to weave the mana around him to coalesce into the effect he desires.  Several seconds pass and he continues to work.  Accipiter Fuga! he utters triumphantly as his powerful spell worked!

He wasn't too sure if it would as this is a spell he hasn't cast too often and it's a tough one.  His jubilation is short lived as he immediately feels drained.  Not so much to be thoroughly exhausted, but still it's noticeable hit.

Tarrying no longer he draws his blade and bursts from the camp at breakneck speed!

Taking flight the mage finds the fleeing horseman with little trouble as the horse's pounding hooves reverberate far through the night.  The mage grips his sword firmly.  He anticipates at high speed when he hits to expect a jarring force to travel up the sword and through his arm.

He struggles to see clearly due to his speed and lack of light.  But he's able to track his prey and mostly judge where the ground and any vegetation is.  Before he knows it, in mere seconds, he is upon him!

Doing his best to keep aerily above the man so as not to crash into him, he swings his sword outward below his horizontally traveling body and it meets flesh in a sickening thunk.  Rolf notes a human scream as he careens past, but his attention is elsewhere as he realizes his arc carried him too low!

Preoccupied with his attack, he almost realizes too late that his track is earthbound...but with a jerk he pulls up and wills himself to slow.  He feels the tickle of long grasses graze his chin as he just avoids the ground!

Taking a bank turn, he shrugs off the near miss.  Slowing down to roughly half speed he backtracks to find the horse and it's rider.

OOC: Rolf made his DX check with plenty to spare.  He will slow and seek out the horse.  He will keep at least a speed of 10 to as much as 20 as he tries to find the horse.  Basically will go as fast as he can, but still be safe.

Rolf peels himself out of the dive just in time, his heart thrumming in his chest at the near miss.

He turns himself, slowing as the horse approaches at a gallop...  without its rider.  It takes some moments, Rolf's flying form coming alongside the startled beast, coaxing it to slow, getting it to stop.  Though Rolf knows the beast won't calm immediately, he does his best to make the horse relax, petting the thing gently across the sweat-lathered shoulder.

Though he is in somewhat of a hurry, Rolf decides it is best to return at a quick walk lest the beast get spooked again.

On the way back, Rolf notes the body of the thief, splayed out upon the path face down in the opposite direction he was traveling.  His back is cut from spine to shoulder in a gash that bleeds freely all across the grass.  It matters little for the man however, as his head lies tucked to the side at an impossible angle, his neck broken from the fall.  The man is clearly dead.

As Rolf walks the horse into camp, he notes that Tatsori and Kiro are still on the ground.  The former is being tended to by Terri, who is wrapping the man feverishly in bandages.  Fzoul is looking over Kiro, though he seems much less active in his efforts.  Gustav, who had also taken a heavy wound to the side, is still standing, the black sword still gripped in his hand as he peels away his bloodied shirt to look at the injury...

Though Gustav is shocked to find when he pulls the cloth away that there is no cut at all.  His flesh is in tact and warm to the touch, reddened by the sticky blood which still clings to his skin.

OOC:  Rolf successfully caught the horse and pulled it back to the camp, though with the amount of time required for all this, and the fact that the horse has had an eventful evening, it just made sense for Rolf to walk back rather than fly back to avoid injury to either himself or the steed (he wouldn't have made it the whole way back anyway).  The rider is splayed out on the road and undoubtedly dead.  Both Tatsori and Kiro have taken serious wounds.  Terri is tending to Tatsori (it looks like competently).  All of the thieves are either dead or unconsciou.  You guys are out of combat.

Gustav is covered in sweat and shaking slightly and hacking up the bodies in front of him with the black sword, in some sort of frenzy, stiking over and over again.

Rolf slows his flight and turns in a bank, bringing himself under control.  He has little trouble finding the horse as it moves through the forest.  Slickened with sweat from it's exertions, he approaches and tuts soothingly as he gently reaches for it's reins.

Little versed in the handling of animals, he is glad the horse seems accepting of the mage.  Leading the horse back the way to camp, he moves along at a quickened walk.  To make it easier on himself and the horse, he keeps to a safer pace.

Fortunately he finds the brigand soon enough.  Splayed on the ground, a gaping wound bleeds profusely across the expanse of his back.  "Sorry mate." he says regrettably.  "But you should of done something different with your life." he mumbles further as he feels conflicted about the whole affair.

His flying spell allowed Rolf to move at such a high rate of speed the man never stood a chance.  Still, he got what was coming to him.  Attacking merchants is bad enough, but to do so at night to take advantage of the sleeping is cowardly and low.

Still, Rolf avoids killing if at all possible.  Taking a life is not something to be done lightly, and preferably not at all.  In this case though he knows he likely has saved many lives by removing this bandit and his cohorts from active duty.

In a rush, he leaves the man and continues back to camp.

Knowing there are wounded in their party he quickly ties off the horse to a tree and looks to help.  He notes Terri is tending to Tatsori, and he seems stable, so Rolf focuses on Kiro.

As he prepares to cast a healing spell, he notices Gustav flaying the bandits with abandon.  "Gustav, that's enough!" he says sharply in hopes of snapping the man to his senses.  "I killed the archer and he lay not far from here.  Are you hurt?  Could you retrieve him?" he adds Gustav's way as he looks Kiro over and knows he needs all the power he can lend him.

"The bandits should be searched.  Just in case any clue can be found as to who they are and if there are any more of them." he says generally to the group over all.

OOC:  I will give Kiro a 4FP major healing.  Then I'll need to rest for 20 minutes before I can do the same for Tatsori.  After that I'd like to go back to sleep for the night.  But not before making sure the horse is settled.

Gustav slows and stops, gathering his wits and wondering what had come over him. He wipes the blade on any clean cloth he can see on them and sheathes the sword.  Checking these two was going to be messy at best. He heads out to the road and goes looking for that guy...

Rolf returns to camp some minutes later to find Gustav slashing his black sword deep into the flesh of one of the bandits.  Gustav cannot explain the lapse... though he has been known to lose his temper in the past it seems to have grown less of an issue of late, and it hadn't generally shown itself in the lust for blood.

Gustav shakes off the feeling, wiping his blade clean and sheathing it before he steps out into the night, his whole body rejuvenated and pulsating with energy.  A walk in the cool night air would be enough to burn away his post combat-jitters.

Rolf walks the horse in line with the others, taking a long line of rope to make a halter of sorts before securing it.

From there, Rolf makes his way to the injured.  He heals Kiro, spending a great deal of his remaining energy, and tough the man's wound appears greatly diminished, Kiro does not stir.  Spent as he is, Rolf worries there may be damage to the man's internal organs that is not visible from the outside.

Time passes.  Gustav walks back into camp with the archer slung over his shoulder and lies him along with the other bodies at the base of the slope a good ways away from the camp site.  The bodies are searched, though little of value is found apart from their weapons and the horse that Rolf had already taken.  There is some discussion of burial, though no one has any desire to spend hours to digging a grave for five men that had just sought to kill them.

"There's nothing to be done tonight."  Ayun shakes his head, perhaps telling himself as much as anyone else.  "May as well get whatever sleep we can for the rest of the night.  Help me put Kiro back in the tent, rest will probably do him the most good."

The watches are shuffled slightly at account for Kiro, though the rest of the night passes uneventfully.

Though the intent was to leave early in the morning, Kiro does not come to until nearly the afternoon, and even then he seems only fit to lay in one of the wagons.  Rolf continues to administer care and spells as he can, though it seems the condition is one that is beyond simple damage to the body.

---

Kiro seems to recover at a slow pace, though he is walking some by the afternoon and seems almost in normal form by the next day.

Time drips away at a lethargic pace, the wagons and the heavy loads slowing the caravan to what seems slower even than a walk.  By the sun has crested in the sky on the third day of the trip everyone has settled into the routine of long days, sore muscles, and frequent breaks to feed or water the animals.

It is on one such break that Fzoul points out the dark clouds building in the western skies.  "Looks like it's going to storm again."

OOC:  Kiro suffered a coma from his injuries, though managed to pull out of it after 10 hours and an HT roll.  He's nearly back in form now, though he still seems less fit and energetic than he was at the start of the mission (consider him fully healed through magical means by Rolf).  Tatsori is also fully healed.

If you guys wanted to bury the bandits, feel free to post it.  It will take several hours to dig a grave large enough to hold all of them though.

On their persons you found 4 Knives of normal quality and $50 total in copper and silver small change.  You also found a medium bow and a quiver of 8 arrows on the archer (in addition to the horse)

If you have the skill, roll vs. Survival: Plains

Gustav looks at the clouds rolling in,but can't seem to think of a good action, he dithers about where to move the wagon to and whether to leave the animals harnessed or not.

Rolf tends to the injured, especially Kiro.  Successfully casting his most powerful healing on the wounded man, it still isn't enough to bring him out of his torpor.

Exhausted to the bone, Rolf heads off to sleep and recover, though sleep takes it's time to come.  His fatigue offset by a healthy dose of adrenaline, he tosses and turns trying to settle down.  It takes some time but finally he drifts off.

In the morning Rolf wakes stiffly, but rested mostly.  Leaving his tent, he is disheartened to see Kiro still comatose.

He knows he's healed him, but he also knows the shock to his system has been great and will simply take time to recover.

He then turns to what to do with the dead.  Despite their wickedness, Rolf doesn't want to leave them to the elements and wild animals.  It wouldn't be the right thing to do.  Yet, he doesn't relish the idea of having to dig for hours on end.

Being a resourceful mage he plucks forth a useful spell for moving large portions of earth.  But not before moving the dead men in close proximity to the hole he plans to create.  It's grisly work, but must be done.

Figura Terrae he says with conviction as he weaves a tapestry with his hands.  Immediately a deep trench is formed as a large volume of earth moves up and to the side.  Without delay he drops the men into the hole and moves the freshly moved earth back.

The spell weakens him and he sits to recover.  Rolf sits still for a time before standing.  "I'd say some kind words, but I have none for the lot of you." he mutters and goes to check back on Kiro.

Satisfied he's done all he can for his patient, he packs up his gear in preparation to move on.  He takes the reigns of the bandit's horse, but decides not to put his pack on the animal just yet.  It's not bonded to him and is concerned it could ride off if he loses control of it.

He gives the brockle faced mare a gentle caress.  "I should name you.  It's probably a bad idea not to." he says as he considers what to call the creature.  "Lilly.  I shall call you Lilly.  Seems a nice name." he says with a smile.

As they near the finish their march, he doesn't like the look of the sky.  "We should find a good spot, could get ugly." he says to Ayun before sidling next to Gustav.  "You feeling okay?  I know I saw you wounded, but when I got back after felling the archer, you were hacking the bandits and somehow your wound was healed.  Do you know what happened?"

OOC:  Rolf will use Shape Earth to make a grave.  He will dig a large enough space as needed, and with the help of anyone who wants to, drop the bodies in and move the earth back.

He will take the horse as his cut of the treasure and let the rest of the group split the weapons and money as they see fit.

He will try to find a good spot to protect the group from the coming wind and rain.  And do his best to protect the horse from elements.  If it's going to get cold he will put his blanket on the horse and sleep in his tent in the robes and his light cloak.

Gustav looks at Rolf and shakes his head  I don't understand it myself, but I am sure it has to do wih the sword somehow.

"Agreed.  You might want to put it away and not use it.  Maybe even consider selling or trading it away." Rolf says in regards to the black sword.

"It's powerful, but I'd be concerned it would put you in such a blood frenzy you might hurt someone you care about."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Sat 12 June 2021.

Gustav nods  Might be good to have it analyzed. It does seem to have healed me as well as bringing on the frenzy.
he points out the fresh red arks on his body.

"I would try to analyze it myself, but it's beyond my capability.  And where we're going we're unlikely to find anyone who can."  Rolf says as he keeps a wary eye on the dark clouds moving in.

"Best to keep it close to the vest for now."

Aye, I shall do that...  those clouds bode ill.

The conversation looms as dark as the clouds on the horizon.  Rolf fears for Gustav, for he suspects that the sword has some magics that far older and darker than he is familiar with.  Rolf did not know of the catacombs under Perdition where Gustav had won the sword.  He could not have known of the Bone Sovereign, that undead which feasted upon the remains of men and beast, embodying them, becoming stronger with each soul fuzed with its own disfigured form.  He could not have known of the black history of the temple, of its fall from the elvish prison of horrors unknown to the vice-riddled garden of evil.  It was not necessary to know all of this.
 He had seen Gustav lose himself in the slaying of men, thieves and murderers though they may have been.  Despite the possibility that it was the power of the sword that healed Gustav's body, was it worth the lust for blood that had seemed to come over him?  It was hard to know.

What was much clearer was the fact that the caravan must seek cover, and soon.

It is little more than a moment of focus before Rolf realizes that the billowing dark clouds portend not just rain, but most definitely scorching wind and quite possibly hail.  It would be bad for the wagons, and worse for the horses if they were caught out in it.

OOC:  Ok, let me know what actions you guys want to take to prepare for the storm.  If you want to look for natural cover, roll vs. Plains Survival again at -2 (it's a fairly open landscape).  Otherwise, you can set up the tents or do anything else for cover that you can think of.

Gustav points to a shallow dip not to far off ... In there will protect  from the wind, water will be an issue, but hopefully not too serious. and if there is hail, we need to protect everyone and the horses.

Rolf notes the dreadful looking clouds rolling in and he knows trouble is afoot.  It won't be long before drenching rain hits them and likely worse.  High winds, and perhaps even hail if they are particularly unlucky, are coming their way.

The mage scans for cover but to his eye there is nothing but flat land and grasses.

Seeing nothing better he nods to Gustav's suggestion.  "We need to lash the wagons and horses.  I can create a light to keep the camp well lit.  Just in case things go south, it'll be helpful to be able to see."

OOC:  Rolf missed his Survival Plains roll, so we'll go with Gustav's suggestion.  He has 30 yards of rope in the bag of holding which he'll use to help lash the wagons and his horse together with.  He'll keep his gear on his person and use his shield to block the wind and rain.  He won't bother to setup his tent which he thinks won't hold up to the wind.  He will cast a continual light on an iron spike and tie it where it will provide the most light.

Gustav ensure the top of his wagon is covered with a tarp and the ends closed; he will ensure that he has some sort of cover for the Horses, in case of Hail, likely Horse blankets and then another tarp braced over them on the wagon tongue and afixed to the outer traces. He will need to control them during the first part of the storm, which is normally the most violent.

Rolf follows Gustav's lead and puts Lilly in with the other horses under whatever tarp or blankets he can find.  He's unused to caring for animals and has much to learn.  Still, he's happy to have Lilly as he sees it a good step forward for him.  He's becoming a man of influence and certainly men of a higher caliber own a horse, if not more than one.

Gustav notes a small gulley some ways off, and though it didn't have any natural cover from the skies, at least it would shield the caravan from the wind.  Though it seemed a small consolation, it would be just as important for the horses to keep them from taking fright and stampeding off.

The group works in a flurry of action as the massive grey and black clouds loom closer.  Wagons are covered and secured, horses are lashed and blankets are thrown on top of them to provide some semblance of cover.  Terri seems to be working in a fervor, throwing up the big tent almost all by herself, staking the ropes in securely, though leaving some give in the canvas.

The others are busy too, Fzoul shrouding his own wagon and Ayun running back and forth between his horses and his cart, without really seeming to get anything done.  Tatsori and Kiro too prepare as best they can.

When at last the blackened clouds start rolling overhead, everything seems done, though the process was harried and rushed.  Most of the men dart to the tent for their own cover, though Gustav insists on heading out to be with the horses, taking some impromptu cover of his own.  The black sky churns and the first raindrops begin to fall...

OOC:  Sorry for the repetition here, but one more plains survival roll from each of you.
 Feel free to describe any particular action you want to take through the storm.

And of course the die roller goes high.

Rolf only notes the small gulley when Gustav points it out.  Hurriedly he joins the others as they race to setup camp and fortify their defenses.

Rolf is no newbie when it comes to surviving in the outdoors.  Despite his bookish nature, he has spent time living and learning to survive within a variety of environments, the plains included.

Still, he's no expert and knows when his skills are not up to the task.  He follows Gustav's lead and helps with the horses, before helping Terri with the tent.

Satisfied he's done all he can he returns to the tent and waits for the elements to hit the fan.  Even as he looks out he sees the blackened sky roll over them.

OOC:  I still would like to cast a continual light spell, somewhere in the middle of our camp on whatever object makes the most sense.  I wouldn't want it on anything that might easily fly away.

I missed my survival plains roll by 1.

As Rolf stands in the tent a thought occurs to him. The cloud of darkness rolling towards them is surely going to being wind and rain, but also very likely lightning and thunder.  And from what the mage knows of lightning, it wants to get to ground as quickly as it can. Meaning you don't want to be either the highest point yourself, or anywhere in near proximity to it. Like a tree or buried tent pole.

Taking charge Rolf says to everyone in the tent, "Everyone outside! Lightning is coming and we need to stay as low as possible and away from the highest like these tent poles!"

OOC: Rolf will stay somewhere in the middle of camp and do his best to keep low.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Sun 27 June 2021.

Aye, a reason why we went down in the gully ... the hill above is higher and the ground will be wet, Lightening seems to like wet as well as high things. The tent pole should be on dry ground, as well as lower.   Gustav explains.