A CAVE. They're in a cave. The light has gone out because the torch holder just got stuck by an arrow. Our heroes have a dilemma before them. Do they continue down the now-dark pathway that absolutely DOES have an archer on hand, or do they back up and try to find another way in the darkness? (perception+survival at 15 for another path, dex+dodge at 30 for going straight in.)

Arik checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 13 higher.

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

Richard checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 30, rolling 12 higher.

Sword drawn and at the ready, Amund doesn't waste time trying to find an alternate route; he rushes straight away, with Moonlight in hand, to dispense some justice on the sniper. Not a single war cry or phrase of effect is uttered as he does so; only the desire to take down a criminal kidnapper.

Wounded, and pressed against the wall, Richard grits his teeth as he snaps the shaft of the arrow and pulls out a bandage to start to treat his wound. It's bad when the group healer takes the hit for the team as he frowns. "We need to find a way through them, or they're gonna keep shooting at us - and who knows how many arrows they have."

Arik is in the dark of the cave, squishing sounds from his metal boots as he uses the noise of Amund and Richard to continue forward. There's a step to the right, a duck of his head, sword out ahead of him in a cross guard on the off chance an arrow hits it and spares his breastplate the test. "Come on then!" the Halfshav Sword calls into the darkness, perhaps trying to illicit some more (hopefully non-hitting) arrow shots or a response to guide him.

They are all VERY lucky to neither hit a wall nor be hit by arrows. Maybe it's even a GOOD thing they no longer have a light because it means that aiming at their charging bodies is super difficult for the enemy. After racing down the hallway they turn abruptly into a room that is lit only by a small fire in one corner. It's enough to see that there are five enemies, but no Tesha in sight!

That's five enemies too many. Amund decides to take the right flank, which likely means the two at the edge. He moves fast and, once again, silently, in order to dispatch them fast enough to cause the other shooters to scatter and give time for his companions to take them out.

Arik moves straight in after Amund, not breaking right, but charging the middle guard with his shoulder leading and sword angled straight almost like a lance. He is more or less a metal missile with a pointy bit in their direction, obviously relying on his steel to protect him for the initial impact for as he gets close the blade sweeps out in a thrust and then slices up trying to catch if not their bodies, their blades to give himself an opening.

Arik checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 37 higher.

Amund checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 7 higher.

After seeing where the other two are going, Richard winces, and prepares as he moves to head for the last guard, just to try to finish off the group and get past them as he grips the mace with both of his hands and prepares to strike, as the knight of Solace moves forward.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 20 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 15 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 14 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Richard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 37 higher. Richard rolled a critical!

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(4) + medium wpn(4) at difficulty 15, rolling 39 higher.

It's clear as the trio wade into the quartet that these people have some weapons training. Thankfully, the trio are BETTER. Amund quickly starts to overwhelm his two men, scoring hits that slow them down. They, in return, don't manage to land much. Arik holds steady with his, neither of them seeming to do much damage to the other beyond just trading blows. RICHARD now. That injury of his must be spurring him to new heights because his man is a bit of a bear. Large, scruffy, and seems to be better with his weapon then the other four. He swings hard enough to jar Richard's arms but Richard is //quicker//. He scores a long gouge across the bear-sized-man's chest. Thank goodness they aren't wearing armor.

Amund checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 17 higher.

Richard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 37 higher.

Arik checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 21 higher.

The whole point, after all, is to whittle them down, when you are numerically inferior but tactically superior. Amund continues to slice at his foes, often finding himself in close quarters and so he has to adjust himself to the middle of the range of his sword's blows, scoring a slice here, whirling about for a stab there, trying to parry and dodge whatever comes his way.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 22 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 23 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 9 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(3) + medium wpn(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 26 higher.

Norwood GM Roll checked dex(4) + medium wpn(4) at difficulty 15, rolling 29 higher.

Arik joins the fray against two opponents, blows exchanges, the metallic *shng* of metal as blades slide against one another attempting to open guards or disarm. The Sword of Whitehold has an aggressive style, swinging with one hand while the other arm heavily armored in plate moreso than the other... He leads out with his right arm deflecting blows or threatening to simply sock his oppnent in the face with a metal gauntlet while equally threatening to disembowl them with Frostfang.

Feeling the jarring in his shoulder, Richard grits his teeth. After striking at the large bear of a man, the knight continues to press the attack. The mace is being used to maximize the blunt force trauma as he keeps pressing forward, trying to get past the giant of a man. "You will give us the position of Tesha Telmar, or you will not leave the cave alive!" he proises the man as he presses forward.

This time it's Amund who draws even with his enemies. They're slowing down as he hits them but they're NOT quite ready to go down. There are some wicked swings at him while they try to divide his attention so the other can get lucky. Arik gets the upper hand with the soldier closest to Richard's enemy and scores a wicked blow. The other manages to parry his attack but isn't in a good place to attack again. Richard's not quite as successful this time leaving only smaller injuries as the larger man meets his mace with his own weapon. "WHO ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?" The man roars back.

Arik checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 15 higher.

He's not a talker. He'll leave other people to do the talking, but the roaring response by their foe definitely is perplexing. Amund switches to a reactive, defensive stance, parrying attacks as they come and not retorting to them until and unless he sees an opening. His style is a little versatile, with that, making use of his mobility to deliver strong blows whenever they come through.

Amund checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 21 higher.

Richard checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 15, rolling 58 higher. Richard rolled a critical!

As the knight and brigand strike at each other, Richard pushes forward. He hears his old armor creak, he knows it's breaking and getting battered under the large man's attacks, but he continues to advance. Perhaps it's just that luck coin around his neck. "The woman that you took in the shale field! Surrender yourself and her now, and you will be spared!" he demands.

Arik either doesn't hear or doesn't care about the roaring man with a mace and reaches out with his gauntlet to grab at the blade or weapon haft of one of the two men he fights and literally tries to spear him through the stomach with his blade.

"She is //WHO//?!" That's big bear, his face turning ashen in the pale light. "COMPACT SOLDIERS!" It's like he knows that there's no way this is going to go well. His yell enlivens the others and they try to fight harder... only to be cut down by the trio. One after another the men fall and are left unable to continue fighting. They aren't dead, but they can't keep fighting. When the big man falls he gasps, "Thought you, were," cue a long dramatic silence as he falls unconscious. It's not a pretty sight in here now, and the only way forward is an entrance to the left.

In the ebb of the fighting, Amund keeps an eye on the aforementioned entrance, letting the others deal with the bodies as they will. Definitely there's an unanswered question in who the big man assumed they were, but it's not of his concern, right now.

Arik looks down at the fallen shavs or whatever they are and for a moment Frostfang lingers over the chest of one of them before coming up and looking towards Richard. "Do you have smelling salts, Lord Wyrmguard." he rumbles in a flat tone, "If not I suggest we press ahead before these criminals awaken."

"There's only one direction to go." Richard responds to Arik. "As much as I would like to awaken them to grill them for information.. they know we are here - and there is no telling how much longer they will allow Lady Telmar to live now that they know we are compact soldiers, and will not stop until she is recovered." There's a gesture to the path to the left.

The opening is dark, but when they enter, they'll see two things in the faint flickering firelight from the other room. One is a lump that looks like a body, and the other is a boy that looks like he only JUST got to adulthood, but isn't a warrior like the others outside. He's pressed back against the wall far away from that lump with a little dagger in his hand. "D..dddon't, come closer. I'll, I'll..." He doesn't look too dangerous, just scared witless.

Arik seems to have very little patience for a boy with a shaking blade, moving in quick as he can he reaches out to grab the boy by the scruff of his neck and throw him to the ground before growling at the others, "What is the name of your tribe or house and where is the Lady Telmar your brigands kidnapped three days ago." it sounds less like a question and more like demands.

"Run out of here. Find a Compact-aligned village. Pledge to them. Or I'll find you and kill you." Amund tells the young adult, flicking his gaze to the lump that *looks* like a body. Showing clear disinterest in the boy after that, he'll make his way to the would-be corpse, or unconscious person. Or just a pile of belongings. Who knows what it is.

While Arik is doing that, Richard is moving towards the lump, the body, as he prepares to start to check whoever it is - please, gods above if its Tesha, let her be.. He glances towards Arik as he grabs the child as he kneels down and gets out his medical bag.

Richard checked intellect + medicine at difficulty 15, rolling 43 higher.

"We...we didn't know she was a //LADY// we thought, but...!" The young man continues to stutter even as he's flung to the ground by Arik. He scoots back and away from the man. "She kept yelling so we gagged her... but then she hit her head and fell and... I t..tried to take care but..." He's scooting away. Amund's words hit him and he's not going to be brave. Instead he scrambles to his feet and he is RUNNING. SO OUT OF HERE.

The lump IS Tesha. She's unconscious, but other than a blow to the head that looks like someone has at least tried to clean up. His medicines do wonderfully though, and she's already starting to revive.

"Get your soldiers to capture those men if they're still unconscious by the time we leave with the Lady," Amund remarks to his fellow Sword, nodding approvingly to Richard's medicine skills. "Nice fighting alongside the both of you. Let's hope that's the end of it." The former sellsword is, as always, rather skeptical that it is.

Catching his breath for just a moment, Richard steadies himself, seeing what treatment was already done. But he know that there is more work to be done. "Arik, Amund, prepare a litter. She will need to be carried." comes the knight's rumbling tone. Not quite an order, but he knows what he's doing. "She has suffered a head injury, and I do not want to have her up walking around until I have a chance to give her an examination in better conditions.

Arik looks at the departing boy and then says to Amund, "Well Sword of Telmarch on your lands with your Lady and Voice kidnapped. What happens to the shav criminals in the other part of the cave. Do I take them prisoner for you and return them to face justice or kneel or do I execute them for this crime. I am no knight and they tried to kill us, Gloria I think would not judge me to harshly." he explains in a rather dark view of the Faith, but then again he has a rather violent air about him still... Luckily for the shavs Amund says arrest them and so Arik nods moving to have a litter constructed. "We'll have a litter brought in first, Lord Wyrmguard."