Prince Aiden Grayson-Whitehawk arrives on a familiar mare called Lightfoot. He's looking still under the weather but he's here, with some sheen to his forehead still as if the summer heat wasn't the only reason why he was sweating profusely. He dabs away some of the said sheen with a cloth as he rides toward the gathering point. He's outfitted in some typical scouting gear that he would wear normally, a lighter quality to it today though, likely due to not wanting to overheat. A young but matured shepherd of black and white coloring trails along beside the horse. All in all, the Prince is ready for whatever this scouting trip might uncover - more wolves perhaps?

Sparte is in good spirits. He finally managed to schedule things so he could make a scouting trip to help out, and he is young and reckless enough to enjoy the risks still. His own mare in the less impressively named Betsy, an aging mare who seems desensitized to the world at large. She meanders on under the guardsman with all the excitement of a teenager given vegetables. Sparte lifts a hand in friendly wave to Prince Aiden, giving them a smile.

The party is gathering at dawn as they normally do for these scouting missions. It is really the best time to start a mission rather than in the middle of the day where the half daylight can be lost. They are gathering up now and once again are intending to travel into the forest to check out things. This mission has been put once again under Thesarin's command. They are instruction to travel due north into the forest while sneakily looking for signs of the slaver.

Armand joined the scouting party as a Templar as much as an Oathlander knight. The man, in his heavy plate, seems to be present more in case something goes wrong than to scout, though the man does display some skill in tracking, putting much of his attention on the task at hand, rather than paying much attention to social greetings.

Aiden notes the wave from another individual who arrives at the meeting point, "Hello guardsman," he greets Sparte with a quiet tone, his voice showing signs still of the illnes that had plagued him according to his last journal, "Fairing well?" He inquires as he tucks in his cloak around his frame, looking on ahead toward the landscape before them. His eyes swing toward Armand, not acquainted with the Templar, though that doesn't mean he's not granting the man a touch of his chin in acknowledgement of them working together, and doing a further step of riding his mare up toward the man, "I'm Aiden and that's Sparte." Titles left out of it as he thumbs back toward Sparte.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Aiden before departing.

As has become usual for this kind of thing, Shard arrived early, and she's already at the meeting spot. This morning she's leaning against a tree, arms crossed, the hood of her patched and strangely dyed cloak pulled up. She's had her armor repaired and cleaned as well, so the black leathers don't show any real sign of the damage they took in the last outing. And, as has become usual, she hasn't brought a horse of her own, or any traveling bags. It's just the mercenary, her weaponry, and that small cloth pouch she always has around her neck as far as what she's carrying with her. She regards those arriving with a narrow, studying look, but no verbal greeting.

Aiden pauses briefly when a messenger thunders in on their own mount, to deliver Aiden a missive. Aiden takes it with a touch of a grimace as he flicks open the Whitehawk seal. There's a nod and he indicates his message quietly to the messenger to deliver back, with a feigned smile.

The steel-clad figure turns when Aiden approaches, glancing at him and then at Sparte. "A pleasure. I am Lord Armand Farshaw, Disciple of Gloria." he greets, succinctly, before focusing on the road ahead. "Have either of you been on a similar expedition before?" he inquires. He notices Shard, and gives the woman a nod of recognition.

Thesarin is likewise dressed more for a melee than a scouting mission, head to toe in steel. The Prodigal looks over the assembled crew, his face resting in a scowl as he looks out and over the woods. "Right," he announces, once everyone's made their way to the site. "If you don't know me, I'm Thesarin, Count and War-Chief to Riven. The Princess put me in charge, and we're going with what's worked. Shard's first on the advance; anyone else in the lot good at moving without being seen?"

Sparte nods in response to Aiden. "Better than you, I expect. Everything trying to kill me is on the outside." He smirks. "Glad you're on the mend, I'll do what I can to keep you that way." He glances over Armand, offering a wave that way. "Nice to meet you too, Lord Armand." He glances around. "Was it... Thesarin this time what's in charge? I was told to be on good behavior for 'em." He spots Shard, looking a bit embarassed as he offers them an uncertain wave.

Aiden returns his gaze to Armand and in doing so, notices the man's nod toward Shard. Silver eyes light up with relief, "Shard, what a good thing it is to see you." His attention reverts then to the Lord, "Yes, I have Lord Farshaw, as a Grayson myself, I've been on plenty. I heard there were more corrupted wolves... an unfortunate matter, truly." He glances then to Thesarin, nodding to the man, "I am. Though I am also an archer, a Commander." His brows furrow slightly before he glances to Sparte, "Thank you Sparte. I should think the Lord Commander will appreciate it as well, since he couldn't come along."

Armand gives a nod to Thesarin as the man makes his entrance, but does not speak up. Probably to be expected from a man clad entirely in steel. "Wolves, noted." he tells Aiden before turning his attention to Thesarin for further orders.

Sparte ahs, looking doubly embarassed when Thesarin makes themselves known right as he was asking. He nods to Thesarin - realizes that might be confusing - and promptly corrects himself. "Er, ah, good to meet you sir. I'm more of a loud noises guy, nod wasn't meant to mean I, er... Yeah." He clears his throat, shifting Betsy back a step.

Shard gives Armand a faint nod, though Sparte only gets a cold glance in return for his wave. She leans off of the tree and lets her arms drop to her sides, with her fingers slowly flexing, before giving Thesarin a sharp nod, and Aiden a very brief, baffled look as she turns to take to the front of the group.

Thesarin fixes his gaze on Sparte for a moment as the man trails off, and then looks back to Aiden with a nod. "We might need the arrows, but for now we need the stealth. Move ahead with Shard and check things are clear before the rest of us move up. If you can't loop around, we use bird calls--a nesting owl means we're clear to advance, a hunting falcon means we'd better be wary. If you

Thesarin fixes his gaze on Sparte for a moment as the man trails off, and then looks back to Aiden with a nod. "We might need the arrows, but for now we need the stealth. Move ahead with Shard and check things are clear before the rest of us move up. If you can't loop around, we use bird calls--a nesting owl means we're clear to advance, a hunting falcon means we'd better be wary. If you're in the shit, you can shout. The ones of us make more noise, we'll follow along, give the advance people to return to." He looks over the lot of them, one by one, eyes slightly narrowed. "We're looking for information, not glory. Don't be too proud to run. But be ready for a fight if it happens. Woods are crawling with things that were men, things that were beasts, and thinks that were never either. If you have something that's clever for killing demons, keep it handy." He plucks a spear off the ground, and hefs a round shield, painted blue with a pair of white herons. "Unless anyone's unclear, let's get to it."

Shard grimaces. "I can make a try at bird calls," she says, low, but enough to carry, "but mostly, I only do wolves. I'll let Aiden handle those."

The party starts to scout into the forest with Shard taking point and scouting ahead. They are heading north. As they continue deeper the path gets narrower and the forest gets wilder. Aiden is able to send his birds to scout on ahead. Northing much happens for several hours out. It is a long and rather uninteresting walk so far.

Aiden glances to Thesarin and his eyes light up, the evident mirth is clear in the young man, "Bird calls mmm? That'll certainly be easy enough. They might even help us, the birds. I'll find out when we get there." He nudges his mount forward and prepares to start off ahead, toward where the planned mission is set to take them. He looks over his shoulder at the mention of things used for killing demons, brows lifting, "Unfortunately just rubicund. Though this little pin," he pops a hand over the crimson one, "Might work. Or the charm. Or the birds..." and then he trails off with a look to Shard and a nod that he'd be okay to repeat the bird noises as necessary.

Shard checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 20, rolling 25 higher.

Shard checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 12 higher.

Aiden checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 25 higher.

Aiden checked command + animal ken at difficulty 20, rolling 43 higher.

Shard wields a largely unremarkable rubicund longbow.

Some might think Aiden is a little crazy but he's been chittering with upward glances and whistling a little here and there. They're bird noises and he might even manage to get a bird to flitter on down to him, a song bird perhaps, a small one, that rushes off without so much as a few thrills of acknowledgement. "We'll see what comes of it..." he says to himself, mostly, as he rides on forward, humming to himself now.

Shard is sneaky enough to likely evade notice as she scouts ahead into the forest. She notices the tracks of about a dozen large or oversized men as she moves along. She also notices three ravens in the trees looking down. The birds has yellow eyes and a green glistening oil in their ebon feathers.

Aiden's avian also notices the ravens and the tracks. The bird flies back to report, trying to land on his shoulder and seemingly nervous for some reason.

A wind travels by, rustling through the leaves and a sound, almost like a whisper is heard by all. "Who who..." The wind against the trees seems to coo.

As ordered, Armand stays back with Thesarin, letting those better suited for these scouting activities to do their work unhindered. He doesn't speak, his attention on theirs surroundings. He hears the whispered wind, but does not make any mention of it, instead continuing to keep an eye, and ear, out. As much as one can when wearing a full helm.

Aiden checked charm + performance at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

"Eyes up, to the trees," Thesarin murmurs toward the others, early on the walk. "Our enemy uses birds for scouts." He frowns at the sight of Aiden talking to birds of his own, but doesn't make mention of it. At the sound through the trees, he frowns again, looking around cutiously. Looking to see if anything is amiss.

The little bird that comes to fly at him and leaves off without landing precisely is met with a patient loft of hand, "Fly on to safety. You've a nest to tend too. Thank you my friend." He looks toward Shard as he reins in Lightfoot, glancing back over his shoulder, "Falcon ... screeching is ... terribly hard to replicate. Hm... Too bad Archibald is busy." He clears his throat and taps his fingers against his adam's apple. So does the young man sing his best immitation of a falcon's cry. It's not half bad but it could use work. His eyes squint after and he has to pull out his water canteen for the efforts.

Aiden ^

Armand wields The Western Sun.

Shard puts a tree between herself and the three ravens once she spots them. For a moment her lips purse, as if she might be about to chance one of those bird calls, but instead she stays silent, and slips an arrow from her quiver, fitting it to her bowstring. When she moves next, it's to slide around the tree itself so that she once more has a line of sight on the ravens, but with the intent of keeping as much of her body concealed as possible.

Thesarin holds up a fist to halt the advance, at the sound of the falcon, and peers out into the trees. His lips are curled back and he squints out into the woods. "Something there," he hisses, just above a whisper. "Weapons."

Aiden looks back around toward where he last saw Shard and notes just briefly, a flicker of her shadow. He squints toward the trees ahead and thoughtfully humms again. He doesn't yet reach for his bow, considering the opportunities to sneak beyond them. Three ravens, two bows. Aiden does finally descend from his mount and pat her affectionately. "Wait here Lightfoot," and with obvious knowledge of the forestscape, Aiden ducks into cover and attempts to spot the ravens without being spotted himself, creeping ahead to note where their locations are.

Aiden checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 20, rolling 7 higher.

Immediately, Armand unsheathes his sword, his steel shield at the ready to protect against potential ambush. His face is hidden by the helm, yet the man is clearly at the ready, his stance one of combat. "Gloria guide us." he murmurs.

The wind brushes past the party again, sweeping around Shard and then traveling back to where Thesarin, Sparte and Armand are. It seems to whistle, almost seeming to say. "Where..where..where"

Aiden is able to sneak forward, closer to the ravens and Shard. It seems that he hasn't been spotted.

Sparte sticks with the others not scouting, looking around as they go. When the wind whistles he doesn't seem to notice the change, but Armand unsheathing their blade prompts him to do the same. He carefully steps down off Betsy, taking a moment to guide her over to Lightfoot and leave her with the other horse.

Shard turns her head when Aiden approaches. She gestures with the hand holding the arrow, indicating the tracks she spotted, then making a wide circle, arrowhead down, and pointing past the ravens, before pointing back toward the rest of the party.

Shard checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 3 lower.

Aiden checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 18 higher.

Thesarin checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 0 higher.

Sparte checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 0 higher.

Armand checked perception + survival at difficulty 20, rolling 8 higher.

Off in the distance ahead of the party there are sounds. They are distance and muffled, but it sounds like there is people ahead of them in the woods. Everyone but Shard is able to pick this out. She is so focused on the Ravens at the moment and misses the soft and distance noises.

Sparte wields a massive rubicund claymore with garnet inset guard.

Aiden thankfully doesn't cough to alert any of the ravens to his presence, frowning slightly at the sight of them. He whispers, "Poor things... they cannot be reclaimed as they once were... but the abyss will not have them much longer." He looks to Shard and watches her hand gestures, seeming to understand the indication with a look back toward the rest of the party. He nods to her and ducks back down to proceed to go back to the others who are waiting for them... to relay the news, as scouts often do!

Shard remains where she is for the moment. She didn't hear the noises--she /is/ focused on the ravens, as, while Aiden moves back to alert the party, she fits the arrow back to her bowstring and returns to watching them, staying crouched in the underbrush.

When Aiden does arrive back to find the Count, he pauses to look at the man then the Sparte and Armand, noticing the swords are out. "Good you are ready... there are people. A dozen. The ravens in the trees are likely their scouts and advanced warning system. We have two bows between us, there are three birds, corrupted by the abyss. One will likely not go down before it raises the alarm, with the way they are positioned. Shard believes we can circle in and flank the group of people, avoiding the ravens altogether." He seems to be giving this news to Thesarin so he can make a decision of how to proceed. It's laconic in tone and precise in detail.

Thesarin has his spear at the ready, staring out at shadows. He's not moving, until Aiden makes his way back. He rests the butt of his spear on the ground, and gives a nod toward the Prince as he arrives. He glances at Sparte, and then to Armand. "That's the plan, then. Find a route to circle around, draw no notice if possible. If you and Shard can find the rest of us a way to get close unnoticed, do it." He looks at his command, and then back to Aiden. "If not, we need eyes on them. There's something else out there. I'd stake all on it."

Sparte ahs, looking a bit disappointed. "More misguided shavs, I bet. Ah well, do what needs doing." He glances to Thesarin. "The shavs sometimes stick people up in trees as archer lookouts. The ones with birds have done that every time I crossed them." He leans his sword on his shoulder, glancing over at the horses a moment before looking back to Thesarin and nodding to acknowledge the orders.

Sparte checked dexterity at difficulty 25, rolling 3 lower.

Armand greets the news with a nod of acknowledgment. "Better to spoil their ambush by turning it on them instead, aye." he agrees. "The last expedition I was on saw cultists led by some corrupted fiend. Others have claimed it was a Whendigo. There may be something like this with them. It had the power to paralyze with fear with its mere presence." he warns, but otherwise intends to follow orders, and wait for the scouts to find a way around the ambush.

The young Prince listens with rapt attention despite the sheen and glow of illness likely still making flush his skin, "Eyes on them and a way to get close... Yes sir. I'll respond back with a warble for the left side, a hoot for the right side. Bird and owl, respectively." And then he hops back into it and flows back into the tree line to gather back with Shard, to relay the information to her exactly how Thesarin stated it. Then he looks to Shard and he nods to the left, "I will go left, you take right?"

Aiden checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 20, rolling 10 higher.

Shard checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 20, rolling 20 higher.

Shard gives Aiden a nod, and with one last check on the ravens, she starts to move off toward the right, as Aiden indicated.

Armand checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 1 lower.

Aiden breaks away from Shard with a final murmur for good luck and stalks down low and smoothly throughout the forestscape. His starts moving quicker, the environment around him helping to keep him hidden and swallow up his noise that he makes in passing.

Aiden flanks left and Shard flanks right as they draw closer to the party ahead of them. They both manage to be quite sneaky, evading notice from the ravens and from the party ahead so far. They are able to make out a small clearing that is populated by about a dozen men and women who are all over six feet tall. One of the women is over seven feet tall. They are armed with low quality steel swords and maces made from trees. One of the beings looks almost shadowy. The rest seem like they are orcs as much as humans or maybe trolls. Their hair is stringing and falling out. Their eyes are yellow. Their skin glistens with a green slim. They are adorned with warts, boils and some kind of clothing made out of skin. They sit around a fire and doesn't seem aware of anything being amiss. They have a normal looking man tied up near by. "Well...dinner time.." The large woman says, looking over to the man and smiling. "Kind of scrawny, but will have to do." The man looks to be a compact commoner given his dress.

The way Aiden took was a little more difficult, so he's decided with the amount of dried and dead foliage underfoot that he cups a hand to his mouth and makes some convincing owl sounds back... so the party should follow the path that Shard took, if they hear his call. He hunkers down and looks toward the remains of what could have been humans once. Maybe they were never humans. He shivers a little at the sight of them and from the cold sweats he's getting. He readies his bow, sliding quietly an arrow from the quiver upon his back, to nock it and aim toward the large woman who is seemingly going to eat the small commoner man for dinner... Though he doesn't release yet, hoping that the party will manage to hurry their way over.

Stealth. Everyone is always doing the sneaking thing on these trips, and Sparte at least will give it a try. He doesn't fail on purpose, his lack of ability at sneaking around is more of a natural thing. He manages to avoid the big mistakes - stepping on branches to crack them, big piles of dry leaves. But his armor is noisy all by itself, his bags thumping into his legs and his cloak occasionally slapping the back of his metal breastplate. Very little about Sparte's kit is suited to sneaking into battle.

Thesarin checked dexterity + stealth at difficulty 30, rolling 23 lower.

Shard never really put her own arrow away, and once she's found a decent spot to look in on the camp, she returns it to her bowstring once again, even as she studies the men and women (such as they are now), that make up the encampment itself. As Aiden sends up the call, she quirks her head toward it, then looks back to the beings they're both spying on. It seems they're of a similar mind--she also takes aim at the largest woman, half drawing, but holding her shot.

There's a time when one must be careful. There's another when a more direct approach is called for. Armand is more suited for the latter than the former, even if he does his best to not break any branches or blunder into random trees on his way in, and he does manage it... to a point. He's still wearing heavy plate, and though he shows surprising skill in being quiet while moving thus burdened, there's only so much that can be done when carrying that much steel.

Thesarin hears the noise of Aiden's owl-call, and nods to the others. "Advance." He starts forward along the path Shard took, trying to be quiet, but the truth is he wasn't much for sneaking, even when he was a younger man. He makes something of a clatter of metal on stone as he takes a bad step, wincing just a little as he advances. "Well, that's for sneaking."

Aiden makes his owl call. Thesarin calls for an advance. The count, Lord Armand and Master Sparte are far from sneaky. They make a lot of noise while advancing. The Ravens see them and caw, caw before flying off. It won't be long not before the troll-like creatures realize they are not alone.

Sparte looks over to Thesarin, seeming relieved. "Oh thank the gods it wasn't me this time. Shard've shot me herself." He glances at the retreating ravens, then grins at the other men. "So what tactic will we try next? I'm partial to a good song as we go into battle."

The Prince winces for the sounds... the cries of the ravens. Faced with no other choice, he tries to signal to Shard but he assumes she might act of like mind. He lets fly free the arrow from Eagle Strike, in attempts to clip off one of the enemies while they still have the element of surprise in their grasp!

Shard might have held her shot a little longer, but the sound of another bowstring decides it for her. She pulls to full draw and releases, firing at the tallest female half a second after Aiden fires his shot.

Aiden checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 40, rolling 13 higher.

Shard checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 40, rolling 4 higher.

With the sound made, there's no more point even trying the subtle approach. "We trust in the Gods and charge. If we distract them while the others attack, we can afford them more time." Armand proposes, even as he picks up speed. The time for indecision has come and gone.

Armand has joined the line.

The element of surprise was the key in flanking their enemies, so Aiden's decision was one that comes from instinct and study. The arrow is loosed upon the tallest of the uglies, the troll who seemed to dominate the group by a head. His aim was for that gnarly face and while his intent was good, the shot was difficult. The arrow strays lower and sinks into her sternum... it does damage but not enough to instantly kill. Missed the neck!

Aiden has joined the line.

Shard has joined the line.

"Time for work, then." Thesarin adjusts the grip on his spear, and starts in toward the creatures at their camp, speeding up as he goes.

Thesarin has joined the line.

Sparte has joined the line.

The giant troll woman cries out as Aiden's and Shard's arrows strike against her, causing her quite serious injuries. The tainted woman is still alive though. "Ack..attack...get them..." She says, trying to locate the archers. Luckily for shard and Aiden (or maybe more because of their timing and skill than luck) the main party will arrive before the trolls can attack them.

It is now Armand's turn to speak.

Aiden's arrow hits her sternum--Shard's hits her back, just off center, the black-feathered shaft sinking in below one shoulder blade.

Armand checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 33 higher.

It is now Aiden's turn to speak.

Aiden checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 40, rolling 12 lower.

Aiden checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 5 higher.

Armand's entrance upon the scene is as sudden as it is loud, unaided in that by his warcry."OURS THE VICTORY, YOURS THE GLORY!" He doesn't pause when he sees the gathered trolls, and picks the one that seems clad in darkness as his target. He strikes the abyssal creature with his sword, managing to hit, though it remains standing.

Shard checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 10 lower.

Armand checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 2 lower.

It is now Shard's turn to speak.

Shard checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 40, rolling 3 higher.

It is now Thesarin's turn to speak.

The charge from the party has Aiden turning his gaze toward them, which is when he catches sight of those those human figures who seem to be corrupted as the wolves and birds were. When he tries to fire off another shot at the tall woman giving orders to attack, however in all the movement and under the shake of illness, his arrow zips beyond his target. Recovering, all he can do is take aim for another being...

Sparte checked perception + occult at difficulty 20, rolling 12 lower.

Thesarin has rolled a critical success!
Thesarin checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 72 higher.

It is now Sparte's turn to speak.

Sparte checked dexterity + huge wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 41 higher.

Shard whips a second arrow from her quiver, notching, drawing, and firing in one single smooth movement. Where Aiden's arrow missed, hers does not. It takes the tallest female figure through the back of the neck, and she falls like a particularly grotesque, humanoid tree.

Sparte dashes forward, quick on his feet as he moves to charge right into the thick of it. His eyebrows raise as he gets a look at them. "Well arn't you a tainted lot!" He lifts his rubicund blade, lining it up to cleave into another Shadowed figure. "Petrichor, please forgive us the blood we shed beneath your trees. Death, the taking of these lives. Gild, not getting paid to do it."

Aiden checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 18 higher.

Aiden checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 2 lower.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 16 higher.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 19 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 29 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 18 higher.

Armand checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 14 higher.

Armand checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 16 lower.

Thesarin checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 9 lower.

Thesarin checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 8 lower.

Ouch.

Aiden takes serious damage.

Armand takes moderate damage.

Thesarin goes charging beside Armand with an ear-splitting shriek, an eerie, high-pitched howl of a shav'arvani warrior. He holds the spear in one hand and drives the point through the back of one of the shadowy monsters, spraying himself with whatever passes for blood in such a creature. He lets the spear drop with the monster, and turns with bared teeth towards its companions...

Thesarin takes serious damage.

{The tall woman is on the ground bleeding to death thanks to Shard's and Aiden's arrows. She isn't conscious. The man who was almost her dinner, seems quite relieved by this! There are two shadows standing and eight trolls. They all seem to be fighting still and move in this odd hive mind like fashion. They charge toward the party and attack. Aiden and Thesarin are seriously hurt. Armand is also hurt.

Thesarin wields Talon.

The tall woman is on the ground bleeding to death thanks to Shard's and Aiden's arrows. She isn't conscious. The man who was almost her dinner, seems quite relieved by this! There are two shadows standing and eight trolls. They all seem to be fighting still and move in this odd hive mind like fashion. They charge toward the party and attack. Aiden and Thesarin are seriously hurt. Armand is also hurt.

Armand has joined the line.

Shard has joined the line.

It is now Armand's turn to speak.

Thesarin has joined the line.

Aiden has joined the line.

Shard wields a rubicund short sword with a black leather wrapped grip.

Armand checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 7 higher.

It is now Shard's turn to speak.

With his current opponent dispatched, Armand turns to the rest of the creatures, catching sight of the one currently battling with Sparte. He doesn't give warning, simply steps up and stabs the creature.

It is now Thesarin's turn to speak.

Shard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 26 higher.

Thesarin checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 6 higher.

It is now Aiden's turn to speak.

Shard ducks under the attacks coming her way. No one could accuse her of being any sort of dancer, but her movements are quick, at once sharp and difficult to predict, and even as she's in motion, she's swapping her bow from one hand to the other and freeing her rubicund blade from its sheathe. When she attacks, there's nothing graceful about it, simply a raw, vicious chop toward one of the shadowy figures, a blow that catches it somewhere around the hip and gashes in deep before she yanks the short sword free.

Aiden checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 30, rolling 24 higher.

Aiden had been crouching to hide while he had been shooting with his bow, on his knee to pull back string. So when the party comes charging, for a minute he thought maybe if I stay still, they won't see me. Wrong! One of the uglies swings their gnarly arm down like a club at Aiden and sends the Prince flying and sprawling aside. He tries to shake it off and crawl away... sensing the troll or whatever the abyss is after him, is still pressing forward. A decision to extend the distance between himself and his attacker is only sensible for an archer... It's accomplished at a snails pace though, crawling. There's definitely a whining coming from him, a wheeze too, as if the troll's club swing had dealt some damage. The pursuing beast is interrupted by someone, allowing Aiden to turn over and lean on his back as he draws out another arrow, nocks it as fast as he can to aim toward the troll...

Sparte has joined the line.

His spear embedded in a monster's torso, and falling back under a battery of attacks, Thesarin pushes back with his shield to give himself room to draw his sword. He slides the point over the rim and pushes forward with the strength of an old oak, driving steel into shadow-flesh and pulling the blade out over what passes for skin.

It is now Sparte's turn to speak.

Sparte checked dexterity + huge wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 9 higher.

Sparte doesn't object to Armand stepping in, giving them a wink. "Nice swing, gonna go see to the Prince." He backs up, tossing a parting swing at the shadow before he relocates with quick cross-steps over towards Aiden. "Oh fair Prince!! I hope you don't mind, but I'm jealous you getting to fight the ugliest ones." He slides in to shield Aiden from the assailants, grinning and tossing one of the tainted shavs a wink over the edge of his blade.

Sparte provides the needed moment to gather his legs up underneath him... "Silas wouldn't be too happy if he knew... I came out here ill..." He half smirks, "Try not to be too eager to tell him about these ugly bastards." Aiden winces and favors his side, though his arrow does strike at one of the trolls that had pursued him and that now Sparte forms a defensive wall between.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 18 higher.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 19 higher.

Armand checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 0 higher.

Armand checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 2 higher.

Thesarin checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 4 lower.

Thesarin checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 1 lower.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 34 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 37 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 9 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 49 higher.

Thesarin takes serious damage.

There are eight trolls standing and two shadow. Considering how dangerous the fight is, the party is doing quite well. Sparte takes out one of the already injured shadows, leaving just one remaining. The wind seems to whistle around the party. "Where..where..." It seems to say. The party might be too busy to worry about though. The trolls and shadows attack. Count Thesarin is smashed hard with mace and then stabbed through a kink in his armor with a sword. He is very seriously injured.

Shard has joined the line.

Aiden has joined the line.

Armand has joined the line.

Sparte has joined the line.

Thesarin has joined the line.

It is now Shard's turn to speak.

Shard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 4 lower.

It is now Aiden's turn to speak.

It is now Armand's turn to speak.

Aiden has rolled a critical success!
Aiden checked command + animal ken at difficulty 40, rolling 72 higher.

Armand checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 23 higher.

It is now Sparte's turn to speak.

Another arrow is not loaded into the bow in Aiden's hand. He instead looks up toward the trees, closes his eyes, seems to focus on some thought before he asks it, "I need your help, wings of the Gray Forest! If they remain more of you will turn... this is your fight as well as ours! Fight with me!" Aiden's eyes open and he makes a cry that is very much bird like, that falcon call again...

Sparte checked dexterity + huge wpn at difficulty 50, rolling 25 higher.

Shard again bobs and weaves around the blows aimed her way, but this time it costs her, as her own swing goes just shy of its mark, missing the shadow creature by mere inches. She flashes her teeth as her sword catches mere air, but her movement doesn't stop at that point. She repositions at Thesarin, almost half crouched, slinging her bow over one shoulder.

It is now Thesarin's turn to speak.

This time, Armand manages to avoid retaliation from the creatures, and moves to the next of the more dangerous fiends, one already wounded. And ending its life with a beheading blow. He doesn't pause for any witty remarks, turning instead to the rest of the trolls left.

Thesarin checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 50, rolling 2 higher.

Sparte spins his blade, knocking trolls off balance and deflecting their strikes before they can reach Aiden or himself. He continues to banter as he does so, because apparently he never shuts up during battles. "Well chirp chirp to that." He glances upwards as he cleaves his blade upwards through the midsection of one of the trolls, slicing them from hip to shoulder. "Hope they take out those ravens, not so great at hitting birds with a sword."

Armand checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 10 lower.

It sounds like wind... the thrush of wings beats against the dry summer air. In response there is a cry, followed by another one, and another... It seems the air is suddenly full of feathers. From the trees they come, from the sky the dive. Raptors of all sizes, from hawks, to falcons, to an eagle... They peck, fly and drive at the remaining trolls...!

Armand takes moderate damage.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 34 higher.

Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 33 higher.

No words, no nods, just a grunt of acknowledgement from the battered and bloodied shav'arvani as Shard moves in beside him and Armand decapitates the shadow-thing. He makes a low growl as one of the trolls charges him, thrusting the point into the tainted man's guts, and continuing to push, ropy thews flexing until the tip of the blade pokes out from the thing's neck.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 25 higher.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 42 higher.

The party is kicking butt. There are only six of the original twelve remaining as the party fights with impressive skill. The remaining six attack. They probably should be fleeing, but they seem beyond normal human logic. Lord Armand takes another wound when his chest is smashed with a giant tree branch. He likely has broken ribs. Shard is protecting Thesarin and Sparte is protecting Aiden. A swarm of birds arrive, cawing and flapping around the trolls and making things harder for them. Thesarin and Aiden are both seriously hurt.

Aiden has joined the line.

Armand has joined the line.

Shard has joined the line.

Thesarin has joined the line.

It is now Aiden's turn to speak.

Aiden checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 20, rolling 11 higher.

It is now Armand's turn to speak.

Sparte has joined the line.

Armand checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 7 higher.

It is now Shard's turn to speak.

The Prince watches the skies fill with their feathered allies and he smiles toward them, "Peck and talons! Do not feast upon them my friends!" And of course after watching for a moment, he realizes he too has to get back into fighting and draws his bow. The arrow he sends manages to get between the feathered friends and lodge into a troll's abdomen.

Shard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 11 higher.

It is now Thesarin's turn to speak.

Thesarin has rolled a critical success!
Thesarin checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 79 higher.

Getting hit with a tree branch is usually not too much trouble when one is wearing heavy plate. Except when said tree branch is as thick as a club and is wielded by an angry troll. It doesn't stop Armand from responding in kind, however, and running the troll through with his sword, killing it at once.

It is now Sparte's turn to speak.

Sparte checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 4 lower.

Shard springs from her near-crouch like a hungry predator as the attacks come in again--one misses entirely, the other she batters away with her red blade before plunging the sword into the once-man's throat, tearing it up under his jaw and then out again. Both she and Thesarin are likely liberally sprayed with blood from this, but no attack lands on either of them.

Shard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 23 higher.

Thesarin kicks out to force the body of the dead thing off his blade, just as another one tries for an attack. Thesarin smashes his shield against one of the trolls, knocking it to the ground, as his blace smashes into the midsection of a second, caving the thing's ribcage with the terrible force of the impact.

The birds! Oh, the birds! Sparte laughs, moving to take a swing at the troll but having to cut it short to avoid hitting a bird. He tries another angle, but with the length of the blade and the birds he ends up not quite slipping it in as well. He seems annoyed. "Aiden, your army of peckers is keeping me from impaling this thrall."

Sparte has rolled a critical success!
Sparte checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 87 higher.

Armand has joined the line.

Thesarin has joined the line.

Aiden quickly rushes his hands up, "FLY!" And that seems to open up a hole for Sparte...

Sparte can't quite get a good swing at the troll, until Aiden gives the shout. Beautiful! He steps in and slides his sword into the troll through the chest while sidestepping their own attack, leaving it there. "Thanks!"

Sparte has joined the line.

Shard has joined the line.

Aiden has joined the line.

Aiden nods at Sparte, watching the rest of the battle without taking too much part in it further. Mostly, he's concerned with the feathered friends, squawking here or there when it seems they're getting far too close to the trolls counter-attacks. There's one or two that take a swat and Aiden cries out as if he had been stung, though none of the birds end up terribly injured! At least not while the troll's attentions are on the party of Arxians! With two left, he whistles out to clear most of the birds off so the attackers can take down the remaining, "The corrupted ravens my friends, if you find them, take them from the sky! They do not belong to it anymore!" He grins upward, "Your help has been appreciated!"

Only two trolls are standing still able to attack now and one of the is injured. The party is soon to defeat these defeated these beings at least most likely. They are helped by the warm of avians. Shard and Sparte continue to protect injured members of the party.

The wind in the trees and whispering is heard. "Where..where is the necklace, where is the focus."

It is now Armand's turn to speak.

Armand checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 40, rolling 17 higher.

It is now Thesarin's turn to speak.

Thesarin checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 10 higher.

Aiden checked mana + occult at difficulty 30, rolling 34 higher.

With one uninjured troll left, it should come as no surprise that the Templar heads straight for that one, and just as quickly, dispatches it with a sword thrust through its heart. Armand is quick and efficient, a man fulfilling his duty, rather than seeking glorious combat. With that done, he turns around to see if any are left alive, and the state of his companions.

Shard's dripping sword point lowers only slightly as she jerks her head up toward that whispering sound, eyes narrowing.

Thesarin takes one more slow, somewhat shakey step toward the thing on the ground. As it tries to pull itself up, he brings his sword down where its head meets its neck, as casual and precise as a logger splitting a piece of wood. He doesn't quite decapitate it. "I am alive. I am alive. I am alive." He speaks in his native tongue, taking a deep breath, whispering on the exhale.

Sparte checked perception at difficulty 10, rolling 5 lower.

Sparte slowly pulls his blade back out of the troll after it falls over, wiping the sword off on the ground nearby before taking a stained cloth out to wipe it again. He eyes Aiden as he does so. "You're a better medic than myself as I recall, but it can be hard to treat your own wounds. Want me to take a look for you?" He - somehow - still seems to be missing the whispers.

The rustles past the party one more time and then seems to be gone They there are bunch of avians about. An owl lands on Aiden's right shoulder and a hawk lands on his left shoulder. They start cooing There are twelve dead bodies around them. Thesarin, Aiden and Armand probably need medical attention. They are badly hurt.

Aiden looks around, twisting and pivoting, as if to hear the whisper upon the winds. "Necklace? Who has a necklace?" His own hand touches an elven charm he's wearing but he shakes his head with a lift of his brow, turning to look between the party. "It's searching... it's... using the wind to search. Unless someone has figured out how to bottle the wind... this foe is beyond our fight." He frowns a little, recalling his own injuries with a wince. His sterling silver eyes turn to Sparte, murmuring, "Yes, see what supplies we have and I will see to the Count..."

Sparte gets a small tin pot, labeled 'Wounds', with a waxy ointment from a first aid pouch embroidered with a candle flame.

Sparte gets a small vial with a strong liquor from a first aid pouch embroidered with a candle flame.

"/What's/ using the wind to search?" Shard asks--almost demands, really, from that tone. She does have something around her neck, that cloth pouch, hanging from a leather cord, that she always seems to be wearing. As always, it's drawn tight, clearly containing something.

When the birds land on Aiden, he ruffles their feathers, "Thank you my Lords..." Yes, this was to the hawk and the owl. He nods, "I will try to get help for your nests are endangered as well... We appreciate what you have done here." Then he blinks, "Reyan, is that you? How happy I am to see you again. You've found a mate out here? The mews.. yes, I knew you didn't like them. Just be careful Reyan, these woods are not as they appear..." Okay, maybe Aiden got hit on the head harder?

"Agents." Thesarin says it as he stands, weary and battered and with a clear favor toward the side of his ribcage that took the mace. "Of our enemy." He stares at Prince Aiden, and then just starts to shake his head slowly. The wind is searching for them and Aiden talks to birds. Why not. "What else?"

With the battle over, Armand's stance relaxes, the man's focus fading as the immediate danger does so. He doesn't comment on Aiden's bird-speaking ways, only making sure everyone's alive before starting to build a fire. "We can't leave the bodies here, nor can we return to Arx with them." the man remarks, ignoring his wounds for now.

Shard pulls a face. After a moment, she moves over to the tallest of the dead once-human creatures. She wipes her sword clean, sheathes it, then draws her dagger, and proceeds to begin cutting both her own arrows and Aiden's free of the corpse.

Sparte quirks an eyebrow at what Aiden says about necklace, glancing around before shrugging it off. "That sounds more like a spirit than the enemy. Perhaps you should talk to a shaman about this. Far as I can tell, the enemy needs blood in something to turn it to their cause. Spirits arn't likewise limited." He gets out some supplies from the medical pouch he carries with him, carrying them over towards Aiden. "This will sting just as bad as what gave you the wound, but you won't get infected. I suggest picking something witty to shout before I start or else who knows what'll pop out." And so said, he gets to work. It isn't very good work, but Aiden won't die on the way to a real medic at least.

"Pile the bodies for the fire. Don't toss 'em in too fast, you'll smother it." Do shadow-men leave bodies? Thesarin is still barking out orders, despite being bruised, cut, broken and mangled. Sorry fact is he's had some practice at it. "Someone untie him as well." He jerks his head toward the tied-up prisoner, who may have been watching all of what happened with some alarm.

This is where it becomes obvious that the odd duck is really an odd duck! Aiden head bumps into the owl. He looks toward Shard as if hearing her in some afterthought, "Hmm? The Hunter's agents I would assume..." He then turns back to Reyan, the owl, smiling, "Go on back to your home. You must tell me when they fledge so I can see them fly." And with that he shrugs his shoulders and the owl departs, and in turn, the hawk follows but goes a different path. It may seem bizaare to others but to him he merely blinks back at those who are staring at him cock-eyed, before Sparte is there and helping him out. There is no witty words...alas! At least, when his injury is seen too, he is able to look over the Count, limping over and offering with the bag of supplies carried that way "May I?"

The commoner man is looking all stunned by the whole situation.

"Why would he want a necklace?" Shard might just be speculating out loud, as that question doesn't seem to be directed at anyone in particular. She cuts free first one arrow, then another. "I'd cover up or mix in any of your blood you can find too."

Shard adds, "And your tracks."

Aiden murmurs, "Spirits can possess... things... Or use them to focus their powers more.. uhm... specifically..." Aiden says in answer to the group while he's working on Thesarin.