Play by Post D&D: The New Begining

[Glitch Girl]

And back around again...

With a mighty "Owww!"  Og turns towards the archer who is fast considering another line of work.  He drops his bow and draws his sword after taking a step few steps back, keeping the half ogre in sight.  He isn't able to get enough distance from self-procalimed malnourished Og, and the maul connects hard.  Even though the armor, you can tell there's a dent in his rib cage in a place there shouldn't be a dent.  #9 sputters a bit of blood before he stops moving.

Unforunately, Og doesn't notice that #5 has gotten up and is would have flanked him if her partner hadn't been tenderized a moment ago.  (since she got up she doesn't get to act this round)

Whisper, you get rid of the sword and speed off, ducking from tree to tree.  You manage to get one shot off at #8, who is trying to make a fighting retreat while being assaulted by a floating glowing sword.   

Dakkon,  #4 is looking pale but he still manages to get up enough strength to make anohte rmighty swing at you.  Since you were expecting this, you easily twist out of the way, as as he goes past, bring your blade down on him, dropping him like a sack of garbage.  You look up to see #7, battered and bloody as he is, has managed to get up and starts towards you, only to lurch suddenly, and fall forward with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his back. 

Annia, you practically radiate sadism  as you lick a bit of the blood from your left arm.  The guy is visibly shaken by your display.  He looks around rapidly for the best way to run.

Starbuck, it's only been less than a minute and it looks like your new friends have things well in hand.  :)
[spoiler=New Map][/spoiler]

[BentonGrey]

His rage only momentarily abated, the Sea Prince looked around for another foe to vent his fury upon.  Spying one blackguard trying to fend off the attacks of the spiritual weapon, Dakkon rushed towards him.

OOC:  If he can reach him before he becomes a pin-cushion, Dakkon is going to try and get a piece of him.  He'll circle to his (Dakkon's) right, and try to take him down.

[BlueBard]

Being a practical sort of fellow, Whisper goes with what works.

Target practice with #8, using Point Blank and Rapid Shot feats.  Unless Dakkon gets in the way, in which case I'll hold my fire and simply keep an eye out for trouble.

[Glitch Girl]

[waiting to see if anyone else wants to do anything)

[Lord Elcorion]

annia will take advantage of her opponents revulsion and try for a smashing blow to his head with her mace, still charged with fel power.

[Viking]

Starbuck keeps scanning the battlefield, making sure no additional surprises are heading our way.  He's also looking for potential survivors to question - he's got a song picked out and everything.

[Glitch Girl]

Annia swings her mace and connects, sending a wave of eldritch enenrgy coursing out of the weapon and into her victim.  He crumples to the ground bleeding heavily from the forehead. 

Dakkon charges towards hapless #8 as the phantom blade carves another gash into him and he's peppered by arrows.  (Somedays your timing is juuuuuust a little off). He collapses just before the blue elf reaches sword range.

The woman behind Og raises her sword and brings it down hard on Og's exposed back... and manages to slice into the bag that contained Og's cuilinary creation which pops like an overripe zit spraying her with brown gunk. *

Og, someone seems to be trying to get your attention behind you.

[*- Guess which NPC rolled a 1 ;) ]

Starbuck, checking over the battlefield, it looks like there are a few incapacitated survivors.   #1 looks like she's still breathing; however 2, 3, 4, 9, and 7 look like they may be dead or dead soon without medical attention.   You can't tell about the rest from here. 

[BlueBard]

Whisper will double back to #6 and take him prisoner.

"Down on your belly if you would claim mercy!" Whisper will command, pointing an arrow at him.

I will wait to try to question him; I want to be sure the battle is truly over first.

[BentonGrey]

OOC:  Now Dakkon is REALLY angry.....haha, he'll try and reach number 5 before Og crushes her.

[Viking]

From his survey of the battle scene, it becomes clear to Starbuck that the only remaining uncertainties seem to be:

A) Whether Enemy #6 will be taken prisoner or "commit suicide" by throwing himself in the path of a hail of arrows, and
B) Whether Og or Dak'kon will be the first one to usher #5 to the afterlife.

So, Starbuck Rogers starts working on a composition, which he will sing once actual prisoners are obtained and rendered conscious.

[Uncle Yuan]

Well, then.  Looks like there's not muck left to do for me either.  With the fight winding down I will begin triaging the nearer attackers - take their weapons and other easily removable possestions, decide whether they are dead, dying, seriously injured and take steps to stabilize those who have some chance of pulling through.  Just medical aid at this point - I'm not going to waste any prayers on those who would ambush us, but I'm not to to allow them to suffer needlessly either.

Are they all human?

[Lord Elcorion]

annia will make her way to one of the priests to have her arm attended to.

[Glitch Girl]

Og seems to be particularly unobservant at the moment (must be the low blood sugar) as he completely fails to notice the excitement going on behind him.  The woman behind Og sees the blue elf speeding towards her and moves into a defensive stance.  She attempts to parry Dakkon's swing but he's moving too fast and his blade stabs deep into her torso.  She sags against the blade as she starts to bleed out.

Whisper, the man on the ground grunts something in pain and points at the arrow still in his abdomen that would keep him from lying on his stomach (unless of course, Whisper happens to be a sadist), then he holds both of his hands up in surrender. still wincing.

Orloid, Nathan asks if there's anything else he can do.  As for your attackers: All of them appear to be human.   #1 appears to be suffering from an arrow graze wound on her lower right arm and a nasty blow or two to the head.  She's not in any danger.  Even at a distance you can tell #7 is beyond help, and #9...well, chests aren't supposed to have that shape.  #5 is currently draped over the pointy end of Dakkon's sword and #8 looks pretty hacked to bits by your own spiritual weapon and a few arrows.    #2 appears to be bleeding out from the arrow wounds in his chest, might even have a puncture lung (judging from the position of the arrow), you don't know if there's enough left to save without closer examination.  Much the same is true for #4, who's lying on his side where Dakkon left him after slashing him pretty good.  #3 appears to have a bloody mace wound to his head, you'll have to get closer as well to see if he's alive or not.  You can see Whisper covering #6 with his bow.  The guy's not getting up, but still is very much alive.   (let me know who you help, then we'll go through what you find)

[Panther_Gunn]

Og will (finally) turn on #5: "You spill last of Og food!  Og take yours."  He then begins to yank at her pack (if she has one) and belt pouches.  [spoiler]Og also mutters under his breath, during the rummaging, "Maybe Og eat you.  Maybe not.  Depend how hungry Og get."  I suppose whether Dakkon hears or not is dependant on how good his ears are.....Og isn't trying to keep him from hearing, just kind of talking to himself.[/spoiler]  Anything that's not obviously (or even remotely, judging by "breakfast") food, or a shiny (coins, shiny rocks, other sparklies) kind of just gets dumped on the ground during the rummaging.  He'll also give the same treatment to #9.

[BlueBard]

"Very well," Whisper tells the man, "I will show you more mercy than you intended for us.  But I warn you -- deal treacherously with us and I shall turn you over to yon ogrekin for his entertainment."

Whisper continues to cover him with an arrow as he lets that statement sink in.

"Lie down as best as you can.  I will ask our healer to minister to you.  Then I will be asking you some questions, and if I do not like the answers I will turn the questioning over to my large friend."

[BentonGrey]

A smile crept across the sea elf's azure face, driving away the twisted grimace of rage that had gripped his visage since the battle began.  However, after hearing Og's muttered statement, the smile was replaced by another twist, into disgust. 

"Ogres..."  Dakkon muttered to himself, shaking his head as he cleaned his blade on the cloak of his former enemy.

OOC:  Dakkon will search the downed enemies for anything that looks useful or valuable, and then when the group is gathered in one place, he'll drop whatever he found out for them to inspect.  After the searching though:

The prince walked slowly over to the woman that he had knocked unconscious, jerking her up with one hand, and smacking her hard with the flat of his free hand.  When she regained consciousness (assuming she does) he locked his cobalt eyes onto hers and spoke slowly, evenly, saying, "Why did you attack us?  Answer, or you shall join your companions in death."

[Viking]

Starbuck sighs at his companions' blunt tactics in interrogation.

It's like using Og's maul to perform chirurgy... he thinks to himself.

Once first aid has been administered and survivors brought to consciousess, Starbuck Rogers will approach them, singing a little ditty:

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?

It's a neighborly day in this beauty wood,
A neighborly day for a beauty.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?

I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So, let's make the most of this beautiful day.
Since we're together we might as well say:
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
Won't you please,
Won't you please?
Please won't you be... my neighbor?

Hi, Neighbor!

OOC: This rendition of "Starbuck Rogers' Neighborhood" embodies the use of bardic song to Fascinate the still-living enemies that are now out of the fight, and then put a Suggestion on them to be forthcoming with respect to our questions.

[Uncle Yuan]

If Annia's wound looks fairly minor I'll use straight-forward Healing on it for now.  I can always heal it later.  I'll set Nathan to moving and laying out the frankly dead, encouraging him to supply any death rites he feels is apropriate.

As for the wounded, #7 and #9 I'll leave as the dead and "walking dead."  Of the others, #2 and #8 look the worst-off-but-still-savable and I'll start with whomever is closest.  As I move around I'll also do my best to give Og a glance.  I know he took a couple of shots, but they don't seem to be bothering him too much.  He'll get priority over the prisoners as soon as he shifts out of fight mode, though.

[Glitch Girl]

Og, you kind of "de-skewer" the body and begin to rummage.  She's got a few shinys (about 5 gp woth of silver and copper, and a pair of brass hoop earrings in the pack) and about a human's day worth of rations among other personal effects.  The other body doesn't offer much more (about 4 gp in coinage, equal rations, and a shiny pocket knife).

Whisper, the man gives a quick worried glace over at the looting Og at mention of the half-ogre, and nods that he understands. He leans his head back and relaxes a little. 

Annia, Nathan bandages your wounds.  They don't  appear to be too serious, but they will hurt for a while.

Orloid, it doesn't take much to tell that #8 is pretty much gone now. Too much damage.   By the time you reach #4, he's dead too.  #2 however gurgles a little bit as he breathes so he's stilll lives.  Getting the arrow out is probably the worst of it, luckily you have Nathan to assist.  Luckily Og looks like while he may get a few additions to his scar collection, he isn't in any danger.

While the priests work, Dakkon starts to search the bodies.  He notices that Daniel is doing much the same, claiming #1's crossbow and the bolts and her shortsword.  (I'll list what you find in a bit)

Finally, the blue elf makes his way over to #1 who seems to be starting to wake up.  He hauls her up by the front of her tunic and smacks her hard.

Why did you attack us?  Answer, or you shall join your companions in death."

She glares back and spits at the blue elf and tries to break free of his grip, which doesn't work.

(Starbuck, gonna wait on your action just a little bit)

[BlueBard]

Whisper is going to quietly survey the scene.  Tempted as he is to be actively doing something, he recognizes that his part is done for now.  He does not want to leave his prisoner unattended to gather spoils.  So he maintains a watchful eye, ready for any further trouble if need be.

His eyes narrow at Dakkon's treatment of the woman, but he says nothing.  What manner of elf is this? he wonders.

"What is your name, man?" Whisper asks his prisoner quietly.  As he examines the man, are there any distinguishing features, marks, badges, etc. that might give him a clue as to who these people are and why they attacked?

[BlueBard]

Oh, and I recall Swift to my side, assuming the falcon flew into a nearby tree to await me.  Swift will assume his customary perch on Whisper's shoulder.  (Thankfully the leather armor prevents his talons from digging into Whisper's flesh.)

[Glitch Girl]

"Johnas," the man replies in almost a whisper.  "Why?" he asks without any sarcasm.

There's nothing really notable about Johnas now that you really study him.  He's got about two-day's growth of a beard and hair that's dirty blond in color.  His scale mail armor is serviceab;e, but far from Masterwork andhis clothes are simple and brown, except for the blue-grey piece of cloth he has tied around his head.  He's not wearing an insignia of any kind, nor is he missing any limbs, digits, ears, etc. 

EDIT: added description

[BlueBard]

"Names are important," Whisper replies vaguely.  "I am called by some Hoi'ta'ainast; He That Stings.  But it is actions which reveal who a being truly is."

Whisper pauses to let that sink in.

"Why did you attack us?"

[Uncle Yuan]

So, I'll do what I can to stabilize #2 - a bit of field medicine.   Again, strictly non-magical healing, but I'll expend a fair amount of effort and supplies if it will give him a decent chance to pull through.  If Nathan isn't doing anything I'm sure I'll need his assistance.  And I wasn't interested in looting the attackers so much as disarming them.

At some point I'm sure Daniel will wind up fairly near to me.  I'll give him a smile and say, "That was a clever ruse you used to get Og into the fight.  And effective."

[Glitch Girl]

[Benton, is Dakkon going to continue his line of questioning?]

Orloid, Nathan may  not be as knowlegable as you at the healing arts, but he is good at taking orders.  you see him wince once while you work, but for the most part he deals with it quite well.

As a matter of fact, after checking the other bodies, Daniel wanders over out of curiosity. 

"That was a clever ruse you used to get Og into the fight.  And effective."

"Well, guildmaster always said to improvise," he replies.  "He was right."

BB, want to wait to see how something plays out before I continue your conversation.

[BentonGrey]

OOC:  Dakkon doesn't have the patience for this kind of questioning.  He'll shove her down hard, search her for any weapons she might have hidden, and then gesture Starbuck or one of the others over, with a disgusted look.  As the next person is taking over, he will say:

"Either you answer them, or I will see that you never speak again."

[Glitch Girl]

Whisper, Johnas is momentarily distracted by the scene of Dakkon's interogation.  He hasn't answered your question yet.

Dakkon sends #1 sprawling on the ground and searches her.  She is anything but helpful but Dakkon does manage to find a small knife hidden in her sleeve before she elbows him hard in the ribs.

He pushes away, leaving her on the ground and stalks off, leaving his threat hanging in the air.

And then, in contrast to what just happen, the gentle strains of music begin to play.

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood...

Starbuck, the woman listens for a moment, and seems to relax a bit, but she's still regarding all of you warrily. 

[BlueBard]

After Dakkon's treatment of the woman, Whisper decides that trying to question Johnas in a conversational manner is probably pointless.  It's going to be nearly impossible to get Johnas to trust him now.

"Wait here," Whisper tells Johnas.  "Do not attempt to rise.  Our healers will attend you as soon as they are able."

Whisper puts up his bow and arrow and goes to retrieve Johnas' sword from wherever he threw it.  Then he'll move about trying to collect/salvage arrows while keeping an eye on Johnas.

[Uncle Yuan]

"That was a clever ruse you used to get Og into the fight.  And effective."

"Well, guildmaster always said to improvise," he replies.  "He was right."

In much cooler tone I continue, "It was also a cheap and manipulative way to trick a simple-minded ally into risking his life for your benefit by preying on his insecurities.  An ally who just hours ago had specifically expressed his willingness to protect you.  Perhaps in the guild such behavior is considered acceptable, but I don't consider it any way acceptable.   If you are not capable of acting in a respectful and trustworthy manner, we may need to reevaluate this fellowship."

Nathan and I will work to stabilize this one, before moving on to the next - probably the one Dakkon just got done "interviewing." 

[Glitch Girl]

Daniel's smile evaporates in an instant.  He gives a quick, nervous nod that he understands and backs away.

Orloid, the man you were working on is out of danger, but he won't be playing the piano again any time soon, if you know what I mean.  The woman doesn't appear to be hurt more than a few bruises, but the man on the ground near Whisper has an arrow in his leg and his abdomen.