The Bloodoar War Ep.3 has started at Outside Arx - Lyceum near Nilanza - Small Islands off the East Coast of the Lyceum.

A day or so after the retreat from the Mouth and you are all on the Caravel Beatrice. Lord Stefanos, the fleet commander, can be seen up on the aftcastle in deep conversation with a trio of Captain's, and the weather is just what you would expect for the Lycene summer. A bird flutters over to Stefanos, twittering away in apparant happiness, and the Fleet Commander takes a moment to retrieve and study the message. His expression immediately hardens. He gestures sharply at the first Officer - and the First Officer starts barking commands that turn the deck of the Caravel into the controlled chaos of preparing to sail. Whilst this is going on Stefanos gestures for you all to approach him. "The bird told me that Bloodoar has decided to stab us in the back by raiding Nilanza. It wont be the city of course." he frowns after he says this. "But I need you all in top form nontheless."

Ian sits off to the side on the deck, meticulously going over and cleaning his armor after the previous fight. It's the stuff between him and stabby death, so he's taking it pretty seriously. He looks up and blinks. "Doesn't someone have to be an ally to stab you in the back?" He asks. It is absolutely not the right question to be asking right now, but he asks it anyway, and apparently in all seriousness.

Caspian looks to the commander and blinks , "Well .. considering we were just attacking them i cant say i blame them for striking back. That being said i'm more than happy to beat the bastards down." he motions to ian and grins, "but i got to agree.. hardly seems a back stabbing.. more a.. totally-justified-but-none-the-less-annoying counteroffensive" he is pulling his newly dried clothes off the rigging where it had been hung to dry off from his repeated dunkings.

Raven mmms, "Soooo....we gonna pretend to be surprised and try to lure them into a position better where we can snuff 'em all?" She pauses and then amends, "I mean, encourage them to surrender. That's what I meant."

Terese is here with the others listening and preparing herself for what is to come. She keeps quiet as she nods in alnowledgement to what the commander says

"It's disappointing. Wasting all those people. I doubt many, if any will surrender. The Bloodoars were never going to let us fold them in, and now they've given us reason not to." Sunaia speaks of the Bloodoar's turn to attempt harm as they stand on their last leg. She looks at Ian and then the others. "Anyone missing anything? Or need a dry replacement?"

"I wake up in top form," Ariella informs Stephanos helpfully, having chosen a seat near enough to Ian to try to annoy him at will, but far enough to be out of swatting range. She preens, hat resting in her lap and hands smoothing its feathers, then raking through her wild hair, in that order of priority. Now and then she makes a visual check of Raven, who just fell off a tower onto a pile of young men.

"Absolutely not Lord Kennex." Stefanos's reply to Ian's quip is accompanied by a fierce grin. "Someone merely has to be /behind/ you." He stops for long enough to yell at one of the sailors up in the rigging before looking right at Raven. "Wasn't planning too. Probably could. Whats the idea?"

Ian is in the process of cleaning and oiling an alaricite gauntlet that, thanks to the physics-defying properties of alaricite, probably fits more like a heavy glove. It does this through some pretty complicated articulation, though, which means there's some effort that has to be put into maintaining it, between fights. He actually looks over his shoulder for a moment, just in case there's a Bloodoar there RIGHT NOW preparing to stab! Or more likely, it's just the power of suggestion, and he doesn't even notice himself doing it. "What do you need done?" He asks Stefanos.

Raven reassures Sundaia and Ariella, "M'fine. I can take a beating and fight just fine, just ask Champ or Lord Ian." Raven's perhaps not in Top form but she might still pass as serviceable. Her gaze flits to Stefanos, "I defer to the Lady-" She indicates Sunaia, "And you since you're most familiar with the area but if they come in thinking they've got the upper hand it's going to be easier for us to diminish their numbers quickly right off. From where I'm sitting we ain't posed for a longer affair so it seems like it's probably the best shot." She glances between the smarter or at least more seasoned commanders in the midst.

Caspian looks between the folks and grins, "cant say im much for grand battlefield tactics.. im more the skirmish type myself. Its an old trick, getting the enemy to overcommit their forces. Maybe we could sail a bunch of ships, mostly empty,, skeleton crew only. Sail them past and let them be seen.. maybe the blood oar will think the bulk is leaving or doing evacuations? commit more to the attack?" he looked between the others, "honestly im new to naval warfar.. most of my experience was below decks rowing"

"It seems we'll be following up behind them, if they aren't attacking a city. But, honestly, I'm not the strategy-head of the marriage. I can draw out a quick map of where I think we'll be headed, and one of you might know best how to approach it." Sunaia looks confident in that she can give guidance about the coastline and the general outskirts where they may land. However, she knows when being a general is not exactly the trousers and boots she fills normally.

"I will do my best to just adjust to whatever suggestions are made. I know little of this area nor what type of forces we may face to offer much help other then be prepared for whatever," Terese replies, awaiting specific orders

Details come in as the Caravel ploughs through the water on the way back to Nilanza by that bird and each time Stefanos takes time away from his discussion with Raven to adjust the course and fill them in on details. It soon becomes obvious that the Bloodoar's have attacked one of the smaller village-towns that make their living gathering the dye-making seaweeds that grow near the island. The defense force was hit in several places at once and whilst most were fended off without trouble this one apparantly slipped through. As the ship approaches the town you can make out four Bloodoar longships. One of them has gone into the small port whilst the other three have beached nearby. You can hear (and see) evidence that the towns defenders are still fighting but its clear that they are losing - A quarter of the town is on fire. "And I'm just a Captain." Stefanos says after Sunaia has said her piece. "Soon as you're off the deck you're in Command of yourselves." He barks some instructions and the boarding boats start being lowered. "We'll keep them from escaping. You do what you think will work best Messere Raven."

Ariella is quiet on this one, looking from Ian to Stephanos and Sunaia as plans are made. Everyone already knows her suggestion will be to go in hot and chaotic, so she lets cooler heads prevail while she cleans and sharpens Revival. When they draw in close to the village her expression shifts into a deep frown, and she moves toward the bow of the ship watching what can be seen from a distance. Her jaw flexes.

Over the course of the sail, Ian finishes with his gauntlet and straps on the pieces of armor he'd removed, followed last by slipping his left hand and forearm in the alaricite glove and locking it in place. "We'll see about cleaning things up," he remarks, as he flexes his hand.

Caspian gives a scowl as the burning village comes into sight. he tightens the buckle on his armor before pulling his daggers and twirling them in his hands. "Get us as close as you can.. the faster we can be in and among them before they are aware the more damage we will cause." he looks to the captain, "And you sure you can keep them from escaping?"

Stefanos gives a devil may care shrug when Caspian asks if he can keep them from escaping. "Unless Mangata loves them more than me." he makes a shooing gesture towards the boats and then goes to reclaim the wheel off his first officer. Once you've all piled into the landing boat and grabbed an oar its no time at all until you are coming up to a landing near to the three beached vessels. Their crews start firing a mixture of javelins and arrows at you as you approach!

Ariella checks stamina and sailing at normal. Critical Success! Ariella is spectacularly successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ian is successful.

Ian checks command and leadership at normal. Critical Success! Ian is spectacularly successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Sunaia checks stamina and sailing at normal. Sunaia marginally fails.

Terese checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Terese is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Critical Success! Sunaia is spectacularly successful.

Raven checks perception and war at normal. Raven fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and athletics at normal. Caspian is successful.

Caspian checks charm and leadership at normal. Caspian marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Raven is successful.

Raven tries to lead the marines up the beach and along the shoreline but the dunes and smoke make it impossible to see, "Fuck. should have gone upwind..." She mutters under her breath, making as good use of the cover as can be made as she leads them along.

Ian hunkers into his armor a bit as the projectiles start to come in. "Those soldiers are going to get overrun if not reinforced." His voice is severe, but has a ring of ominous inevitability to it as his expression slackens into a profound calm. "We're the last hope the townspeople have." It's not a rousing speech, exactly, but it lays out the stakes in a way that's impossible to deny.

Sunaia doesn't quite get the rhythm for rowing at first. But, a bit of correction and instruction from Ariella's point of view, got her into the correct sequence of breathing and moving. It wasn't so strenuous when every oar moved together through the water.

Row, row, row the boat! Ariella puts everything she has into rowing ashore, her golden eyes ablaze and fixed on the chaos at the shoreline. She is a woman on a mission, and Ian's words only spur her on to row that much harder. "Put yer backs into it," she growls at the people around her through grit teeth. Something about seeing an innocent village burn seems to have riled up the Igniseri Lady.

Terese guides the marines closest to her calmly, dodging the incoming arrows. She seems to think Ian's speach is effective enough so she mainly focuses on keeping the Marines together and avoiding incoming arrows

Caspian is on the bench with the crew, rowing feverishly to close the gap to the beach. "Row! Row! Row!" oh the memories... then he spied some of the longships and their sparse crew. taking the chance to help seal their escape he motioned for the marines, standing up in the boat. "Come on! heave to and lets keep the bastards locked on land!" the soldiers of course listened, rowing mightily. Caspian was not prepared for that and with what was becoming a bad habbit, he tipped toward the side. THANKFULLY... ian had warned the men to watch out of the champions aquatic inclinations, and one fo the marines grabbed him before he fell in. still. they made rgeat speed onward

Your boat comes in hard and fast before beaching a short distance from the three longships on the shore. The soldiers who came with you, quickly jump out and start spreading out. Several of them immediately head towards the longships and the barrage of missiles quickly stops as your troops start to deal with the remaining crews. Other groups start off into the town in the directions given by Raven before you landed, their positions soon lost in the smoke.

You can hear fighting in the village. Cries of rage, pain and bravado mixed with clashing metal. Time to reinforce the defenders?

As the boat lands and everyone begins to clamor out, Ian finishes up his masterclass on accidental leadership with: "Well. Let's go be a bunch of goddamned heroes." He's on his way to the town. Not at a run, but that's the direction he's going.

Sunaia gets Sliver, a diamondplate bow with an forestal green leather grip from exquisite leather quiver.

Sunaia wields Sliver, a diamondplate bow with an forestal green leather grip.

Ariella wields Revival, a rubicund saber.

Caspian wields Charm and Grace, alaricite chain knives.

Raven checks command and war at normal. Botch! Raven fails completely.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Raven is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ian marginally fails.

Raven tries to lead her marines to lead around the flank but is blinded by smoke which both obscures her vision and mutes sound and exposes her marines to arrow fire and meanders more than ideal when time is of the essence. She calls out a warning as she dodges the arrow fire.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Terese is successful.

You clear a patch of smoke and get a brief view of the conflict just before joining it. Approximately twenty bloodoar's, led by a helmless officer or noblewoman with a decoratively scarred face, are fighting a group of five soldiers who have contracted into a small circle around their injured. You have about ten soldiers with you. Should be easy..

Alas. No. The moment you pass through the smoke a barrage of crossbow bolts arc through the air and slam into the soldiers around you. In that one single moment you go from a group fifteen strong to a group ten strong. Suddenly you're outnumbered.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Caspian is successful.

Raven wields Blackheart Halfmoon Blade.

Pasquale has called for a check of luck at normal.
Ariella is successful.
Terese is successful.
Raven is successful.
TIE: Ian is successful. Sunaia is successful.
Caspian fails.

Ian has to keep at least some of his attention at all times on not tripping over the uneven ground while he's on the move. Usually, what looks like almost a precognitive sixth sense is enough for him, even with so much attention focused on just getting where he needs to go, to still dodge the incoming arrows and bolts, but that situational awareness fails him sometimes. An arrow knocks back his hood and grazes his temple. He draws it up again.

Ariella is out of the boat almost before they hit the beach, running through the knee-deep water and up onto the sand. As another hail of bolts rains down, she dramatically tucks and rolls, hitting her feet again easily and continuing to run with Revival drawn. Her steps pound toward that group of Bloodoars, blind to anything going on in her periphery.

Terese is still keeping the Marines together as she comes upon the combat, choosing her target and preparing for the fight, already having drawn her sword, she awaits her openong

Raven draws her sword and sighs, "Do NOT scatter! Faces out, backs in!" she calls to her marines, realizing her blunder all too late and prepares to weather what's to be a bad situation.

Sunaia checks perception and athletics at hard. Sunaia is marginally successful.

Caspian checks strength and legerdemain at hard. Caspian is successful.

Sunaia wields Moonflower, an alaricite shotel with wolf and lily motif.

Caspian scrambles onto the longship, grabbing the nearest keg he can spy. with a sharp kick, the lid caves and the rum begins to spill out. laughing a bit manically and of slight concern to the others, caspian douses as much as he can find in the rum before lighting a torch and tossing it into the puddle. it lit!... and it lit FAST! far faster then eh expected. as the flames roared to life Cas saw the error of his plan as the flames raced along to the deck to blokc his easy escape from the ship. with nothing for it.. he vaulted from the side of the ship into the water. sloshing back toward land, he shook himself and charged forward only to find himself face to face with an exceptionally gaudy looking pirate with a wicked looking scar and an exceptionally big feather in his cap. "oooh! well dont you look just the most spiffing of folks! im sure watching me open you from gut to nose will do wonders for the morale of the others!" his blades whirled in the air as he closed the distance to engage,

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Critical Success! Raven is spectacularly successful.

Finding a highpoint that was not on fire is a first priority. Sunaia would take with her the marines needed to clear a path and cover here when she does find a structure, or a blessed tree, capable of becoming a snipers perch. She used hand movements and some hushed commands to keep them close to her as she ascends a building onto the rooftop. Upon finding another archer there, she quickly engages and calls to her men to, "Clear the space, we need this spot!" That was all while leveling a swing of her long sword at the archer she was rushing.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Botch! Caspian fails completely.

Sunaia checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Botch! Sunaia fails completely.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian marginally fails.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese fails.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ariella marginally fails.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Sunaia checks 'permanent wound save' at hard. Sunaia is successful.

Despite the terrible damage, Sunaia does not take a permanent wound.

Sunaia checks 'unconsciousness save' at easy. Sunaia is successful.

Sunaia remains capable of fighting.

There's no offers of surrender from Ian this time, no opportunities to peaceable lay down weapons and walk away. None of that. He closes with the first soldier he sees, shifts his grip on his cane, and draws the blade from within it as he swings, so that he cuts on the draw, a well placed slice that bites deep. The first soldier doesn't see him coming, but the second does, promptly stammers out a surprised 'SHIT FUCK SWORD' and flails his own weapon in Ian's direction, and Ian doesn't get the cane part of his cane sword, which he's now using as a sort of parrying stick, around quite in time to parry. The weapon slides own the length of it, skitters over the alaricite protecting his hand, and hits his upper arm.

Terese is able to land a blow on one of the two attacker she faces but it leaves her open and unprepared for their counter attack. She does her best to adjust to facing two opponents at once.

Raven tries to keep her marines together and makes to cut through some of the opposition though she has to step forward to do this. She impatiently cuts down one and turns to the next even as a booted foot kicks the weapon away from the hand of the one she's felled since she doesn't have time to verify he's actually dead.

Ariella's sword is out and at the ready, and she swings hard at the first Bloodoar soldier she reaches. Gone is the mischief and performance, gone is the shit-talking and gloating. For now. She is all teeth and sword, one bared and the other one slashing, connecting with her opponent before they can even draw.

Sunaia was not quick enough and too close to dodge the arrow, and it lodged solidly in her shoulder and not her chest. Or at least that's how she saw it, as time blurred with a burning sensation and warm blood flowing between her skin and armour. A groan, frustrated and angry, turned into a growl and she regained her balance to slash at the Bloodoar again.

Caspian jumps forward, all laughter and battle bliss as the dance commences! the pirate sought to end the fight quickly, leaping forward and swinging a blow that would bisect Caspian. Caspian ducked past it, spinning and raised both daggers top slice a vicious X onto the man's back... there was a whistling and caspian stood stunned as BOTH daggers went flying out of his hands as he whipped his arms back to strike. that was when he felt his fingers.. covered in oil from the torch. but it wasn't enough that they had flown out.. they now were embedded into the door of the house behind him, the chain connecting them tethering Caspian to the wall like a leash. He flashed a grin to the Pirate. "don't suppose you'd want to be sporting about this and let me get those back hmm?" the pirates vicious laugh and quick strikes answered caspian's cheery question. The fight became a very odd game of Caspian darting back and forth, unable to get very far away from where his own daggers held him.. but also hands to oily to pull the blades out. he was frantically scooping sand and rubbing his hands clean while dodging sword stabs "Oh that was a good one! i think i felt a little nick! see you are getting better!" at least his humor wasn't chained..

The engagement turns into a swirling chaos of small fights in the context of a larger one. Seeing reinforcements the Malespero soldiers trapped in the middle of the mob start to fight more aggressively. One of them briefly tearing a hole in the line of Bloodoar Raiders. Some of the soldiers you brought with you start attacking the archers who welcomed you so brutally, mitigating that threat for the moment. Its just you and your opponents. The Bloodoar Officer, grins fiercely as she slashes at Caspian's hands "How very cute" she drawls as she moves. "Rynne will just /love/ you. When I truss you up for her do you want pink ribbons or green?"

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Sunaia marginally fails.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Critical Success! Sunaia is spectacularly successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese marginally fails.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Sadly that first blow sorta knocked Terese a bit off balance and so she is not able to effectively deliver her counter strike nor avoid any further attacks as she is at least trying her hardest to keep the soldiers around her motivated

While still pretty effectively holding off the second soldier with his parrying stick, holding back a tirade of increasingly frantic attacks each accompanied by muddle curse words, and occasionally just random words said as though the soldier were cursing, Ian uses his sword to roughly knock the first soldier's guard open with a blow designed to capitalize on the nasty shoulder wound that the first slash delivered, and runs him through, then turns towards the second soldier who now has ALL of his attention. All of his eerily calm attention and the focus of eyes that almost seem to glow from within. He brings his sword to bear. "If you run, I won't be able to chase you." The guy's not running, and Ian's not really giving him a chance to think about it.

Caspian twists out of the way of another strike. "oh pink of Course! it brings out my natural complexion dont you think! Id look stunning in some fuschia. hmm should i wrap you in a periwinkle shroud when i send your head back to Rynne? or would you prefer sage instead." he twisted and grabbed a another handful of sands, but this time he hurled it in the face of the pirate. taking the chance, his hands now mostly free from the oil, he spun and grabbed the daggers and with a heave, ripped them free of the door. armed once more he turned as she cleared her vision. "mm, you should have killed me when you had the chance"

Ariella's ferocity knocks her opponent onto the sand as he's getting his weapon out, and she gives his hand a swift kick to send it flying before stomping down to pin and crunch his fingers beneath her boot. "Pick the right side next time," she mutters before slashing at his throat and then jumping with her full weight onto his chest just to make sure he stays down. And then she turns, ready for more blood.

Raven tries to keep her marines together and makes to cut through some of the opposition though she has to step forward to do this. She impatiently cuts down one and turns to the next even as a booted foot kicks the weapon away from the hand of the one she's felled since she doesn't have time to verify he's actually dead. She calls, "Anyone spare to assist Lady Sunaia?" She flicks a glance upwards, clearly frustrated as she's forced to deal with a second foe and recently proven quite bad at clinging with one arm. She makes no attempt to look calm, her irritation laid bare.

Sunaia fails to make an injury stick to the archer she faces. However, she was able to tumble and roll out of the way completely, adjusting weapons and reflexively firing off a shot towards her target. It misses, falling away from the man on the rooftop and landing very close to hitting a raider that was gunning for Terese. The raider flinches, stunned for a moment and allowing Terese to go unharmed this time.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ian marginally fails.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Terese is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ian marginally fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Terese is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Raven is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Raven is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ian finds himself up against a man possessed of a pretty impressive 'oh shit, don't kill me!' energy, and a peripheral awareness of what's going on, on the roof, has made him impatient, allowing his opponent to not only just barely keep him at bay, but sneak in a light hit of his own that lands just below the knee. There's some blood, but Ian doesn't seem to have even felt it.

The Bloodoar noblewoman laughs merrily as Caspian answers. "Oh I do /love/ sage." his blade slips through her guard and a moments rage flickers across her expression before draining away just as suddenly. "We just got started /sweetie/" Such sweet words as prelude to such a vicious attack.

Seeing Terese set upon by two baddies, Ariella is back to running, this time to set upon the one who hasn't been hit yet. The clank of rubicund and steel ring out as they block one another's strikes, until the Igniseri Captain lands a solid blow on her foe and leaps out of dodge.

Thanks to Sunaia, drawing the attention of one of the raiders attacking her Terese, regains her stance, delivering a sucessful blow once more, killing one of the raiders and this time also avoiding any of the attacks made upon her. "Thanks Lady Sunaia," she calls up to her. "I would love to aide her but I got these two jerks to deal with first," she tells Raven. Ariella comes to help attack the other raider attacking her and Terese says, "Thanks, how'd you guess I needed a hand?"

Caspian is as good as his word. his weapons now in hand, Caspian's blades are like streaks of lightning. the blades whistle as they carve arcs through the air, being wielded as both blade and cruel whip. as he sneaks his blade past her guard to land a strike, he gives a grin. "oh? so kind of you to think of me. but dont you worry.. i have the stamina to last for hours. and io always make sure my partner is finished."

A bloodoar archer flails screaming as he plummets from a nearby rooftop, pushed by a lithe woman in Malespero black and silver. She offers a quick salute and a grin to anyone who's watching and then pulls a bow out of her quiver to start taking potshots at the thinning ranks of bloodoar raiders. The sergeant amongst the beleagered defenders calls out for them to advance moments before he takes a sword to the chest and crumples. You're winning, you think, but its still a close thing.

Raven's thin lips twist in an ill tempered sneer, as she belatedly notes Terese's circumstances, "ENOUGH of this shit!" pressing forward and trying to press her foe as she manages to wound them but not end their ability or willingness to fight, "Damnit Champ! Stop flirting and get ON with it already!"

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ian is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian marginally fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian fails.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Raven is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Raven is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese fails.

Sunaia checks dexterity and archery at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Terese is successful.

Sunaia checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Sunaia is successful.

Ian's gaze flickers up towards the roof again; the situation there is no longer a situation, and he can see Sunaia taking aim at his bargain basement Bruce Lee. Expertly, through a subtle reposition and a strike designed to force the other man to dodge so that his back is to her, he maneuvers his opponent around to allow her to finish the job. He gives her a brief salute before turning towards the officer.

"She has a point" Coos the Bloodoar Officer as she eyes Terese' approach. "I suppose it was too much to expect this to be fun." She pouts and then begins a brutal set of attacks against Caspian.

Pasquale has called for a check of luck at hard.
Caspian is successful.
Terese is marginally successful.
Ian marginally fails.
Sunaia fails.
TIE: Ariella fails. Raven fails.

Sunaia finds herself finally pressing that damned archer to his limit, and with a ruthless slice of her curved sword, it is done. The archer screams out in pain and slumps forward so that she can put her foot into him and kick. The body falls to the ground in an unforgiving heap. Sunaia looks out over the village, and pulls her bow up. Arrows fly in quick whistles that are drowned out by the rest of the village's noise. She watches the raider fall before Ian, breathing and waiting for him not to rise again. It was the officer next she had to judge the distance on. There might be too many of her people to get a shot in from here.

Caspian looks over to Raven, "oh come on.. how else am i supposed to meet nice people.. oh SHIT!@!"

"Take care of this one, I gotta help Caspian since he thinks flirting is a valid battle strategy," Terese tells Ariella, it takes her time to get to where the officer and Caspian are and she can't find an opening with her first attack but she dodges any counter attack the officer comes at her with

Raven runs her blade under her opponent's arm pit, slicing open sinew and slicing open arteries and gives her opponent a hard shove, convinced he's no longer a threat without being able to hold a weapon in his dominant hand and geysering blood. She pivots and sprints over to try to come to Caspian's aid, "By being ALIVE, dumbnuts!"

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian marginally fails.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese fails.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Botch! Raven fails completely.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ariella is successful.

Raven checks 'permanent wound save' at hard. Raven is successful.

Despite the terrible damage, Raven does not take a permanent wound.

Raven checks 'unconsciousness save' at easy. Raven is successful.

Raven remains capable of fighting.

Sunaia wields Sliver, a diamondplate bow with an forestal green leather grip.

Sunaia checks dexterity and archery at hard. Sunaia fails.

Ian's leg is bleeding where the swearing soldier got that frantic hit on him in the middle of the slap fight part of their duel, and it's not an insignificant amount of blood. Nevertheless, he doesn't favor that leg at all, really doesn't seem to know that he's hurt as he closes in on the officer with a calculated step. "Lay down your arms, and this might end with you still alive." No cute banter from him. He's not here to look cool. He's not here to say clever things. He's here to kill this woman, plain and simple, and he backs up his implicit threat to her by stepping in as she lunges for Raven, finding a gap in her armor, and very neatly sliding his sword into it. Something, something, Isles men, sinking swords deep.

Caspian manages to get his feat back under him and spits blood to the side, "Right so.. im cancelling our honeymoon then am i?" he wmanaged to dance back from her blows, lashing out at her with some of his own but none that landed well. "Come on.. i think this relationship has the potential to really go the distance! i'll bury you in my family plot!"

The noblewoman laughs wildly as her blade cuts into Raven. "Do you really think you can win?" She doesn't seem to have noticed her men dying. She might not care. "The sea takes us all in the end."

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ariella is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at normal. Ariella is successful.

Ariella checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Ariella is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian is successful.

Caspian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Caspian is successful.

Sunaia misses her shot at the mouthy officer. This was no longer the best vantage point. "Alright to them! Clear the way!" She commands her men as they rush back down the building and out to where the rest of the group is fighting.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese marginally fails.

Sunaia checks stamina and athletics at normal. Sunaia marginally fails.

Sunaia checks 'unconsciousness save' at easy. Sunaia is successful.

Sunaia remains capable of fighting.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven marginally fails.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Critical Success! Raven is spectacularly successful.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese is successful.

There's nothing flashy about the way Ian fights. It's efficient, precise, beautiful in the way that unadorned things can be beautiful. He's taken a flanking position as she turns on Ariella, the other person who hit her last round, and selects, seemingly in slow motion, another gap in her impressive armor through which to strike.

"Shut up, asshole," says Ariella as she comes in hot, landing a strike almost immediately on the sassy officer who is busy talking at Caspian and Raven. "God, I hate it when they start monologuing. Cas, we don't flirt with fuckers who attack innocents, yes?" Whack!

Raven gives a sharp, gutteral cry as the woman is faster than Raven reckoned and Raven pays dearly for her recklessness, staggering and immediately sending a considerably amount of blood shooting from a wicked and deep wound in her upper thigh, "All I know is the ravens and crows will feast on your eyes first." She snarls, swinging at the woman to try to force her to defend herself before managing to leap back, clutching her sword but pressing her fist against the wound and shuffling away-realizing that THIS kind of bleeding might take her out of the fight.

Terese Terese is able to land her next strike on the officee amd with everyone focused on taking her down, for now Terese is not dodging nor parrying any attack

Caspian clicks his tongue as he strikes again and again, dodging out of the way of the pirates frantic blows. "I consider a final curtesy to listen to their monologue. I mean.. its the last thing they will get to say.. at least give them that" he smirked to Ari and then laughed as he struck again

Caspian checks dexterity and small wpn at hard. Caspian fails.

Sunaia was wearing a white silk shirt under her armor, but it was increasingly hues of red. The arrow's shaft was broken to reduce the aching movement but lodged into her skin and held at bay for now. Something, blood or grime or acute weakness, made her stumble on the way down. She slid hard, but it didn't break anything but her blind confidence for a moment. She was going to be so damn sore. Recovering to her feet, and a chuckle, she jogged towards them, her blade back in her hands.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Ian checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Botch! Ian fails completely.

Sunaia wields Moonflower, an alaricite shotel with wolf and lily motif.

Ariella checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ariella marginally fails.

Terese checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Terese fails.

Sunaia checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Sunaia fails.

Raven checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Raven is successful.

Raven checks dexterity and dodge at hard. Raven marginally fails.

Ian checks 'permanent wound save' at hard. Ian is successful.

Despite the terrible damage, Ian does not take a permanent wound.

Ian checks 'unconsciousness save' at easy. Ian is successful.

Ian remains capable of fighting.

The noblewoman's laughing takes on a strange staccato quality as the injuries start to add up. Theres blood pouring from some of her armor joints now and movements come in somewhat wild bursts. "The sea." she manages to cackle inbetween her laughs and sidesteps into a beautifully suicidal attack against Ian. Her blade strikes home, she laughs again, and then She Dies, caught on Ian's blade and finished by Raven. And when the noblewoman dies the handful of remaining bloodoar raiders turn and attempt to run or drop to their knees in surrender. One particularly loyal case cuts his own throat. Now the sounds of clashing weapons have ended all you can hear is the crackle of burning buildings and the gasps and sobs of the men and women who are still alive.

Terese is not able to follow up with an effective strike against the officer, she is to busy adjusting her tactics to avoid hitting anyone else other then the officer it seems that she can't seem to land a solid strike at the current moment

"Do we /have/ to accept surrenders this time?" Ariella hisses aside at the very wounded Ian through gritted teeth once the officer falls and her men begin to lay down arms, shifting her grip on Revival and glaring at the scene in general. "Look what they did to this innocent village. And we haven't even made it inside to see the extent of it."

Terese is not able to follow up with an effective strike against the officer, she is to busy adjusting her tactics to avoid hitting anyone else other then the officer it seems that she can't seem to land a solid strike at the current moment

A lot of suicide going around these days, because Ian, like the laughing officer, probably had a chance to get out of the way of her attack when she whips around to strike him, if he'd borne in mind how hurt he was already, if he'd recognized that his leg wasn't in the best shape for a swift sidestep, if he'd given up his chance to finish her and the threat she posed. But he doesn't know that, and so he takes the opening that her all-out attack gives him, probably expecting to be able to sidestep in such a way as to turn away the force of it. And then his knee buckles, and he winds up falling INTO her blade in a way that, yes, sinks his own strike even deeper, but probably not in a way that he would have wanted. He folds with a soft curse.

Ian also isn't really in any kind of condition to protest if Ariella wants to go murder some people.

Raven growls.

Raven growls. "Help the locals put out fires, Murder if anyone's left after. The marines can round up prisoners-those that ain't rounding up."

Caspian looks around as the officer falls, "is there anyone even left to surrender? think the martines are taking it to them just as badly as we did"

Ariella siiiiighs. "Let's organize those in good condition to get a bucket chain going," she says to no one in particular, stalking off perhaps to do just that.

On his knees on the ground, Ian checks the wound in his side, and decides that yup, that's a lot of blood. He jerks his sword free of the dead officer and takes a moment to use some unbloodied part of the dead officer's clothing to clean the worst of the blood off of the blade before sheathing it into his cane. Then he just takes a moment to catch his breath after that effort.

Ariella checks command and leadership at normal. Ariella marginally fails.

Raven checks command and leadership at normal. Raven is successful.

Terese checks command and leadership at normal. Terese marginally fails.

Sunaia did not speak out against Ariella's desire to reap justice directly on those found still ravaging the village. If the villagers did not try to intervene and no Malespero-bound soldier felt the need to stop them, far be it from the lady of these people to contradict.

Terese is a bit out of breath to provide good leadership also trying to make sure everyone is realitively able to return home that she does little to help put out the fires for now

Not really /feeling like/ dealing with the fires, Ariella just kind of stomps around on the beach, swearing at people who don't look too injured or smoke-smudged and gesturing wildly with her saber. It does very little to motivate anyone into forming a bucket chain, and eventually she stalks back to try to help Ian find somewhere else to bleed. Probably the boat.

Raven scoots somewhere out of the way and lays down, lifting her leg and trying to staunch the bleeding and bellowing, "MArine Team Seawind! Find the nearest well or stream! Marine team Nightstar! Recruit extra capable hands! Marine team Waveriders! Find spare blankets and buckets! Marine team Windsong! Form a line and oversee Water and blanket distribution. Marine team Medics! Begin to Triage and tend to wounded, Operational staff then civilians! Go, On! Hurry! Move it!"

Caspian looks to raven and grins, "aye what she said!" he smiles broadly to Raven.. he was helping!

Slowly as the soldiers start to pick themselves up and the frightened villagers are coaxed out of their hiding places by the sound of proper organisation (and the lack of fighting) the fires are brought back under control. A good number of townspeople are injured, several Malespero soldiers have died, and a number of homes have burnt down, but the town is saved. Someone is Malespero Castle is probably about to be very busy dealing with the aftermath of this but for you all the next step will be the Port-Fortress of Onstan, where Queen Rynne Bloodoar herself is said to wait. Caspian's words about the marines taking it badly are quite accurate and several potential surrenderees did indeed accidentally fall on swords. Mostly though the surrenders were honored and the captives gathered up for justice.

Raven turns her head and calls, "Lord Ian! You dead?"

Ian is in the middle of being helped back to a ship with hopefully access to bandages by Ariella, and isn't really in any condition to be doing a lot of shouting. But if he's dead, he swears a lot, for a dead guy.