Chapter 9 : A whole new world

[BigRedRod]

"ARM YOURSELVES!"

"Get the women and children inside, NOW!"

"Lizards! The Lizards are coming!"

The few guardsmen visible to the party from their position stood in the narrow alley outside Canace's small home, yell for the townsfolk to prepare for an impending attack as they swiftly move around the perimeter of the wall wielding crossbows. Lynores stands above the rest of the party, having been part of the watch that identified the threat heading toward Broken Gate and still on the narrow platform running around the perimeter of the wall.

A doorway opens opposite Canace's home and a tall, lanky man emerges gripping a short sword. He turns to shut the door and in a voice full of forced strength speaks to the hidden occupants,

"I'll be fine, you just stay in there and don't make a sound. I love you too"

Shutting the door firmly behind him, he nods at Canace and looks quite reassured to be so close to the gaggle of new comers to the island.

[Gnarsh]

Looking through the crowd, Lynores catches site of Varidiir's glow and locates the party. Looking down, he yells to them, "About thirty lizards, with torches! Varidiir, get to the gate and get ready to fight, I'll be down there soon! Canace, Tolven, get your elven hides up here and start blasting at everything red you can see! Collin, get as many men as you can as soon as you can and have them man the walls and the gate!"

He turns to the other guards on the wall. "What in the Hells are you fools doing? Get your bows out and shoot the little bastards!" He shouts at them while pulling out his own longbow and firing into the lizahorde.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"Think they've come for the rocks?" Collin asks Canace as they're informed about the gate crashers. "Unless they have a battering ram or more of those underground beasts at their disposal, I don't see a need to go charging after them. Besides, I doubt very much that the town will follow any orders I give."

Walking back into Canace's home, Collin decides that the best and safest place for the stones is in his extra-dimensional bag. "I'll put these in a safe place in case they manage to break through the walls. And who knows, the bag may prevent the beasties from homing in on it if that's what they're doing."

Stones safely tucked away, Collin decides that the best place for him to be right now is not at the wall or gates, but in a place where he can lend aid to the injured. Lizards like sunning themselves, so they're probably going to use fire. I better get ready to treat arrow and burn victims. As he races to get in a position to help, Collin shouts up to his teammate and currently drafted guardsman, "Sorry Lynores, but I've got the injured to take care of. I don't recall them having any sort of healer or priest available to tend to this duty. You had best be prepared to defend the walls without me for the time being. Besides, in the event that one of those burrowing monsters breaches the outer defenses, someone should be on the ground away from the gate. Between the four of you, dealing with thirty lizards should be a piece of cake since we have the walls and height."

[Gralhruk]

Tolven's silver eyes remain fixed on the would-be-warrior across the street, one slender hand lightly stroking his chin. Would he survive the battle? Be a hero? Return to their love and adoration? It was a truly heart rending scene.

Or it would be, if the drow had a heart underneath his fine mithril armor. He smiles cheerily as the dead man looks towards them. He turns his teeth (and the rest of his face) towards Lynores as the tiefling tries to whip grunts and elites alike into action. He ignores Collin as the priest returns for the stones. Grating as the man was, he was both dangerous and resourceful - and, incidentally, probably the best equipped to protect their magical stoneware.

Of course they've come for the rocks.

He sighs. Vacation, it seemed, was over.

"Enter annoying lizards accompanied by burrowing monstrosities."

Grakus shifts, digging his claws into the drow's forearm.

"Present company excluded, of course."

He lifts the winged chameleon on high, whereupon Grakus spreads his translucent wings and launches himself skyward. He watches the sun sparkle off iradescent scales for a moment before extending an arm to Canace. The wall really would be the best place for them at the moment.

"Shall we?"

<OOC: Mental command to Grakus to keep an eye out for Ape-Beetles>

[Cadrius]

The prospect of battle surges through the azer leaving him feeling giddy and anxious for the impending skirmish. Yet it sours slightly as Lynores begins dispatching orders. The memory of the fiend's behavior during the conflict with the elemental is still fresh in his mind.

"Like you helped against the Mountain," He mutters, his voice lost amidst the flurry of activity sweeping through the town.

Yet this is different. This time they're protecting this quiet, peaceful village against the onslaught of reptiles and their cohorts. Undoubtedly they seek the purloined magical stones, but Varidiir has grown quite found of the people and the island. Maybe they don't welcome a burning dwarf with open arms, but he's found peace here and he means to maintain it.

Varidiir gives the newcomer a nod and recognizes his anxiety. The azer does his best to be reassuring. "Come with me, lad. Time to defend your home."

Cracking his knuckles, the azer trots toward the gate.

[Kahluah]

At the sounds of movement outside, Canace's eyes widen at the sounds of battle preparation. Grabbing up her sword, bow, and arrows, hooking the sheathed blade and quiver at her hips hurriedly, she mutters, "This is worse than expected."

Canace turns her attentions to Collin. "They could well be after the orbs, sent by whomever created the split to retrieve them. We just don't know. All I know is we need to get out and help."

The savant shooes the drow and the cleric out of her hut before exiting close behind them, closing the door. She watches the young man across the laneway say what could well be his final goodbyes to his family, before looping a piece of leather adorned with a single owl's feather around her neck. She closes her eyes and calls forth a sing-song incantation, before lifting right off of the ground, soaring into the air before turning to look at the oncoming lizardfolk.

OOC: Casting fly and moving 30 feet straight up into the air.

[BigRedRod]

The ten guardsmen, take positions on one knee with their crossbows balancing atop the wooden parapet, while Lynores draws his own bow and fires from a standing position in to the growing night dotted with small pockets of light formed from lizardmen with torches. One of the guardsmen shakes his head,
"We'll wait for them to get closer 'n make every shot count, Sir"

Collin quickly dashes back in to Canace's home and seizes the elemental condensates, forcing the two rocks in to his back of holding. Somehow, knowing what the two things are makes him worry more about leaving them in an nondimensional space.

Allowing Grakus to lift off, Tolven turns to offer Canace his arm and finds her instead finishing a spell and rising in to the air without him. From her elevated position, the elf sees little more than the approaching pockets of torchlight with the depleted daylight on offer.

The townsman and his short sword follow behind the Azer to the gate where a group of fifteen or so other citizens of Brokengate have already assembled. One member of the poorly armoured and equipped impromptu militia looks around for a moment before asking the question that seemed to be weighing on everyone's mind,
"Where's Samson?"

"He'll be here."

Before any can pursue the matter further, one of the guardsmen atop the wall shouts,
"NOW!"
The group of invaders still have over two hundred feet to close before reaching the wooden walls of the town when the first cluster of bolts are let fly. The loose formation of the lizardfolk serves them well and Lynores only sees one of the enemy fall under the wave of missile fire. The torch strikes the ground and is quickly put out by the trampling of the lizard horde.

The militia swells as another two townsfolk reach the gate bearing what arms they could find. For now the gate remains closed however, close-combat is the last resort everybody hopes will never happens.

[Kahluah]

From her Vantage point in the sky, Canace looks at the dark-skinned elf and shrugs an apology for disappearing on him so quickly, before turning her attentions to the approaching clump of torches. The flying elf narrows her eyes at the invaders, concentrating on the air above them, before calling in a voice that sounds like roilling thunder coursing through a stormcloud.

She thrashes her arm about, leaving a small trail of sparks to fly from her fingertips as she metaphysically rips a hole through the air above the lizardfolk, momentarily allowing solid bricks of electrified lead to rain in from the connection between the Air and Earthen elemental planes, relentlessly pounding the lizardfolk underneath the elemental cascade.

OOC: Defensively casting Ice Storm on an area of the approaching lizardfolk where it will do the most damage to their ranks.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven watches Canace rise into the sky and begin raining destruction down on the lizard folk. With a sigh and a shrug of his own, the dark elf moves to climb the wall in a more traditional fashion, unslinging his bow as he goes. For him, magic was a pleasant diversion - a device to be used to make life easier and baffle those without such power. Widescale slaughter by blasting enemies with eldritch might didn't really appeal to him, although he had a hard time arguing with the effectiveness of the tactic.

With a quick nod to Lynores, he nocks an arrow and sights on the most important looking lizard-figure he can see and then fires.

[BigRedRod]

As the lizard horde continues to rapidly close, the guardsmen and their two additional archers from the special forces team unleash a few more waves of missile fire. Even to Tolven's dark attuned sight, the lizardmen are still too far away to accurately target and so few drop from the bolts and arrows raining down upon them.

Canace channels the destructive powers of thunder and lightning from her high vantage point to combat the red-skinned creatures. Battling an enemy who chose to attack in a standard tightly packed formation, the spell would have claimed scores of lives with its impressive spread. However, either by lack of discipline or tactical decision the lizardmen are well spaced and so less than ten fall to the elemental battery.

Still, compared with the thirty or so that made up the original strike force, now only around fifteen remain. And yet despite their huge losses, the lizards show no break in morale. Small flickering flames dot the battlefield where torch-bearers have fallen in their charge.

Vardiir's militia swells to fifty members and still there is no sign of Samson, it is obvious that the confidence of the men is dropping rapidly as every second passes that the mayor does not appear dressed for battle and ready to lead.

Above the town and the battle, a few silver stars look down upon events as they suddenly change. Collin hears an odd crackling noise and catches the smell of burning wood and smoke, flames are just visible on the other side of the northern wall not far from where the cleric stands. Thick black smoke begins to pour outwards as fire takes a hold of a section of the northern wall.

"FIRE! FIRE!"

"FORM A CHAIN! A CHAIN! EVERYBODY OR THE WHOLE TOWN'LL BE ABLAZE"

A few of the militia members abandon their post at the gate and charge towards the spreading fire as townsfolk emerge from their homes carrying buckets, braving the potential dangers of the town under assault.

[Cadrius]

Fire. Varidiir scowls. Seeing the thick smoke errupt from the wall and spiral into the sky makes the azer ill at ease. He didn't see the cause, but it's cannot be coincidence. He eyes the men around him, the militia might be brave but they are not well disciplined. Too much time to dwell on death will rattle them.

"You men" --he gestures to half the militia-- "to the fire! Put it out and get back on the double. And watch for any attempts to breach the wall there. Well? What are you waiting for? Step lively!"

He turns to the other half, studying their faces, and marks the man he saw step out of the house. Varidiir turns to the wall and calls to one of the guardsmen. "How far are they?"

"Okay, lads," he says, facing the militia once more. "I'm not a dwarf of many words, but I'll say this. There are a bunch of ugly lizards out there that want in your town. Who cares why. I say we beat them so bad their mewling kids feel it."

Where the hell is Samson? This is his bloody town, not mine.

"Right. I hear the boys up on the wall are eagle-eyed. Bet we won't even need to worry about stabbin' none of those lizards. Still, let's get ready all the same. Maybe we'll be lucky and get our hands bloody."

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

The cries alerting everyone to the fire, the priest begins to recite a prayer, but he stops. With the flames beginning to roar, Collin rethinks his actions to aid in the firefighting. My water orison won't do much but to get the ground wet.

Hearing the shouts for Samson, Collin takes it upon himself to find the lynchpin to the town's defense. If I were the town's leader, where would I be if not battling the forces intent on destroying it. Is he the kind of man to hide beneath his bed? Figuring that Samson's home is a good starting point, Collin begins to work his way there.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven sniffs delicately, the pleasant odor of wood smoke reaching his nostrils an instant before the alarm goes off. Bemused, he spares a moment to watch the flurry of confusion and activity as soldiers abandon posts in the name of public service. The fire was surely a diversion, which indicated the real attack was imminent. Leaving his post seemed a bad idea.

"Catastrophe and calamity. The brave heroes confronted by foes and fire whilst extras make an opportune exit. What twist comes next?"

He unconcernedly nocks another arrow and launches it at the approaching lizards.

[Kahluah]

Watching the scattered lizardfolk coming ever closer, Canace reaches into her pouch and sprinkles the powdered granite and diamond mixture over her bare arms and face. As she almost sings an incantation, her skin becomes stoney and grey, like living rock, and she takes her bow from her shoulders, ready to start firing when the lizards get closer.

OOC: Casting stone skin on the defensive.

[BigRedRod]

High above the town Canace attempts to weave a spell while keeping her attention equally focused on the approaching battle. For a moment, magic energies surge across her skin and it takes on the colour and texture of stone., but all too quickly the wizard loses control of her spell by splitting her attention and the energy dissipates as the spell fizzles uselessly and her skin returns to normal.

Vardiir's attempts to lead the militia seem to pay of, as the men thoughtlessly obey. Quickly they take positions on the wall, on a ladder and toward the well. Buckets are passed to and fro, as they tipped over the side in order to put out the growing fire.

More arrows and bolts fly from atop the wall and one of the guardsmen shouts down an answer,
"They're here!"

The ten or so remaining lizardfolk cease their charge and hurl their flaming torches at the base of the wooden gate, the crude missiles explode into cinders upon contact but fortunately the fire resists the urge to take hold of another of Broken Gate's walls. Along the top of the wall, the crossbowmen are forced to stand in order to see their targets. Bolts continue to rain down, but with minimal effect due to the red-skinned lizards keeping as close to the wall as possible while they spread themselves roughly evenly before the gate and wall.

Only eight still stand when they begin to take deep breaths and exhale small streams of fire. As unwilling as the torches had been to set light to the gate, the flame-breath of the lizards provides the encouragement necessary and the base of the gate and wall is soon blanketed by fire.

Atop the wall, the crossbowmen start shouting for aid,
"FIRE!"

"They're torching the walls!"

"Form a chain!"

"No! Hold your Goddamn Ground or we'll be overrun"

With their pyromaniac lust fulfilled the lizards begin to leap at the wall, digging in to the wood with their clawed hands, ignoring the flames that bite their ankles as they move. A hail of missile fire rains down on them from above, hampering their efforts. By the time that any are half way up the wall only four of the lizardmen remain, the corpses of the rest lie in the spreading flames at ground level.

Collin leaves the raging battle behind for the moment, moving at a swift pace through the narrow alleys in search of Samson's home. The din at the gates is still audible, but the priest feels an uneasy tranquillity in the deserted town. Stopping by the anvil and forge Collin realises that he can hear another sound, a muted clink of metal. Before he can reflect on this, the door to Samson's home bursts open.

Stumbling out of the portal backward at high speed comes Samson himself. The man is half-wearing a suit of platemail, although most of the buckles hang open making it more of a hindrance than an asset. Tripping, he falls backwards on the ground. Hastily the man tries to unbuckle the rest of his armour and get to his feet at the same time, resulting in neither action being successful. Looking up Collin sees from what Samson was attempting to flee.

Armed with a familiar pair of swords, the familiar form of Torin, who seems very much alive, steps out of Samson's home and barely glances at Collin. Blood splatters on the ground as the mage-hunter switches his grip on both swords with a deft flick and advances upon the mayor of Broken Gate.

Initiative
Collin
Lynores
Tolven
Torin
Samson
Varidiir
Canace
Guardsmen
Lizardfolk (4)
Militia (18)

Map - The gate
The red zig zag is the current extent of the fire at the gateDrop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 1s 50 rs 0 0 1c 3p 1c 51 1s 51 1s 3p 1c 3p *s 5 51 8x rs 0
@*s 5 73 8f rs 0 *s 5 5q 88 rs 0 *s 5 6b ay rs 0 *s 5 5o 9l rs 0 *s
@5 4y ac rs 0 *s 5 5o aa rs 0 *s 5 73 9o rs 0 *s 5 6e 8z rs 0 *s
@5 7s ae rs 0 *s -3 7i 7u rs 0 V *s -1 1o 4c rs 0 9zabk 1o 4c 1o
@-4c *s -1 1o 6w rs 0 9zabk 1o 34 1o 6w *s -1 20 6w rs 0 9zabk 20
@6w 20 34 1c 34 *s -1 20 4c rs 0 9zabk 1d 4c 21 4c 21 -4c *s -1
@20 50 rs 0 0 20 50 20 4s *s -1 20 4g rs 0 0 20 48 20 4g *s -1 20
@4s rs 0 0 20 4c 20 4s *s -1 2y p rs 0 0 17 p 2z p 2z -n *s -3 6s
@16 rs 0 Ca *s -3 65 2f rs 0 G *s -3 3i 2i rs 0 T *s -3 3i 1v rs
@0 L *s 0 3q a rs 0 *s 0 3q 2y rs 0 *s 0 3p 4a rs 0 *s 0 3p 5m rs
@0 *s 0 3p 6y rs 0 *s 0 3q 8a rs 0 *s 0 3p ab rs 0 *s 0 3q bn rs
@0 *s 0 3p d0 rs 0 *s 0 3q ay rs 0 *s -1 24 44 rs 0 0 1w 44 24 44
@*s -1 24 48 rs 0 0 1w 48 24 48 *s -1 24 58 rs 0 0 1w 58 24 58 *s
@-1 24 54 rs 0 0 1w 54 24 54 *s -1 50 o rs 0 0 2c -o 2c o 50 o 50
@-o *s -1 50 2c rs 0 0 2c -c 50 -c 50 2c 2c 2c 2c -c *s -1 2y z
@rs 0 0 2y 10 16 10 *s -1 2y 2c rs 0 0 2z -c 2z 2c 17 2c *s -1 2o
@3o rs 0 0 2o 10 2o 3o 20 3o *s -1 2c 3o rs 0 9y6tc 2c 3o 1o 3o *s
@-1 2y 20 rs 0 9y6tc 2z 1c 2z 20 *s -1 3o 1o rs 0 9y6tc 3o 10 3o
@1o *s -1 3o c rs 0 9y6tc 3o c 3o -c *s -1 4c 3c rs 0 0 2s 1c 2s
@3c 4c 3c *s -1 54 3c rs 0 0 20 1c 54 1c 54 3c 48 3c *s -1 4o 3c
@rs 0 9y6tc 40 3c 4o 3c *s -1 30 5o rs 0 0 10 5o 30 5o *s -1 30
@6w rs 0 0 30 4g 30 6w *s -1 50 6w rs 0 0 1o 4g 50 4g 50 6w *s -1
@3c 6w rs 0 0 3c 4g 3c 6w *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 0 3o 3c 3o 60 6c 60 6c
@3c 3o 3c *s -1 6c 6w rs 0 0 3o 5s 6c 5s 6c 6w *s -1 6o 6w rs 0 0
@6o 5s 6o 6w *s -1 7g 6c rs 0 0 5w 6c 7g 6c *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w
@64 7g 64 *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w 64 5w 3o 7g 3o *s -1 6c 2c rs 0 0
@4c -c 4c 2c 6c 2c 6c -c 4c -c *s -1 6o o rs 0 0 40 -o 40 o 6o o
@6o -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 6k -1c 6k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 30 rs 0 0
@5w c 5w 30 7g 30 *s -1 7g 1o rs 0 0 5w 1o 7g 1o *s -1 6c 3g rs 0
@0 4c 1w 4c 3g 6c 3g 6c 1w 4c 1w *s -1 30 6c rs 0 9y6tc 30 5o 30
@6c *s -1 3c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 3c 60 3c 6o *s -1 6c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 6c
@60 6c 6o *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 5c 6c 60 *s -1 6o 5c rs 0
@9y6tc 6o 4o 6o 5c *s -1 6c 38 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2s 6c 38 *s -1 6c 1o
@rs 0 9y6tc 6c 10 6c 1o *s -1 6o o rs 0 9y6tc 60 o 6o o *s 6 2z
@4z rs 0 *s 6 2x 6x rs 0 *s 6 2z ac rs 0 *s 6 2y cb rs 0 *s -1 1s
@6o rs 0 9y6tc 1c -28 1s -1s 1c -1c 1s -w 1c -o 1s -8 1c 8 1s o
@1c 14 1s 1k 1c 1s 1s 28 1c 2g 1s 2w 1c 34 1s 3c 1c 3s 1s 40 1c
@48 1s 4o 1c 4w 1s 54 1c 5c 1s 5s 1c 60 1s 6g 1c 6o
*END -oh56k4

Map - Samson's Home
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 5o 3o rs 0 0 2c 2c 1o 2c 1o -10 5o -10 5o 3o 3o 3o 3o 2c
@30 2c *s -1 40 38 rs 0 9zabk 40 2s 3c 38 *s d 8u 6p rs 0 *s -1
@5o 5c rs 0 0 1o 2o 5o 2o 5o 5c 1o 5c 1o 2o *s -1 7g 40 rs 0 0 4k
@40 7g 40 *s -1 7g 5s rs 0 0 4k 28 4k 5k 7g 5s *s -1 60 3c rs 0 0
@60 3c 60 -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 4k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 3c rs 0 0 4k
@3c 7g 3c *s -1 1o 10 rs 0 0 1o 10 1o c -1o c *s -1 1o 2c rs 0 0
@1o -c 1o 10 10 2c -1o 2c *s -1 3c 2s rs 0 0 0 2s 0 18 o 18 o -4
@3c -4 3c 2k 3c 2s 0 2s *s -1 1g 3o rs 0 0 1g 1o 1g 3o -1g 3o *s
@-1 1g 2o rs 0 0 1g 2o 1g 2g -1g 2g *s -1 1s 5o rs 0 0 -1s 2s 1s
@2s 1s 5o -1s 5o *s -1 3c 5w rs 0 0 14 1w 3c 1w 3c 5w w 5w w 1w
@1c 1w *s -3 87 7t rs 0 S *s -3 6t 78 rs 0 C *s -3 88 6j rs 0 T
*END 9j2mnv

[Gnarsh]

"Deal with the lizards, then fall back from the wall! They can't last too much longer!" Lynores shouts down the wall to the guards as he attempts to shoot the nearest lizard.

[Kahluah]

Sensing her connection with the arcane falter for a moment, Canace's heart falls slightly. She looks around her, watching the militia defending the wall along with her new companions, and decides there is little she can do here. "I'm going to go and find Samson!" She calls to Lynores, Tolven, and Varidiir, before turnign away from the battle and flying in the direction of the Mayor's house.

OOC: Taking a double move and flying towards the house where Collin, Samson, and Torin are at.

[Gnarsh]

"Tell him to get his ass out here before we're all done with the lizards!" Lynores calls in Canace's direction.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Not knowing which man requires his immediate attention, Collin's progress grinds to a halt as he prepares himself for any confrontation. The priest offers up a prayer to Gul'ren to help fortify his armor, "By your grace, favor your servant with your divine protection."

His minor prayer invoked, he addresses the men in front of him. "Torin," he says straight faced, "It's wonderful you're alive. Varidiir could use your help at the gates." Staring down at the bumbling mayor he adds a snide comment, "And you, your presence is also requested."

(OOC - Casts Shield of Faith (+3 deflection AC) defensively on his armor. Concentration check d20+19 against DC16. Bluff that he's actually glad to see Torin, d20+0.)

[Gralhruk]

"Fear, fire, foes."

Tolven doesn't sound very alarmed, nor does he look particularly upset by the blazing town. The thought foremost in his mind is whether the Azer will find this an improvement. Suddenly all the care taken to prevent Varidiir from accidentally torching the place seems like a wasted effort. He stifles a laugh and then, still grinning, chooses one of the lizard men and sends an arrow winging down at him.

[BigRedRod]

Torin calmly ignores Collin's words as the cleric calls upon the protection of his God. Stepping forward the mage-hunter swings his swords around so their blades point downwards in to a V-shape before his chest and plunges them down toward Samson.

The mayor of Broken Gate rolls sideways as the two blades stab downwards. One bounds harmlessly sideways, while Torin's enchanted blade plunges through the sturdy armour and bites deeply in to Samson's hip.

Freeing his blade, Torin swings them both as Samson attempts to return to his feet and staggers backwards a few feet. Both of the strokes miss, but the mayor finds himself backed against the wooden wall of another home with nowhere to run,
"Traitorous bastards. I should have realised you'd be in league with the lizards .... turning up on the island. What a fool I've been!"

Back at the gate, Lynores and Tolven notch fresh arrows and fire them downwards. Standing at the edge of the wall and holding their bows vertically makes the shot rather more of a challenge. Lynores plants an arrow inside the skull of the nearest lizard, dropping it from the wall as it howls with pain for amoment before accepting it's demise. The extreme angle proves too much for Tolven, with his arrow landing uselessly in the ground.

Initiative
Collin
Lynores
Tolven
Torin
Samson
Varidiir
Canace
Guardsmen
Lizardfolk (3)
Militia (18)


Map - The gate
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 1s 50 rs 0 0 1c 3p 1c 51 1s 51 1s 3p 1c 3p *s 5 51 8x rs 0
@*s 5 73 8f rs 0 *s 5 5q 88 rs 0 *s 5 6b ay rs 0 *s 5 5o 9l rs 0 *s
@5 4y ac rs 0 *s 5 5o aa rs 0 *s 5 73 9o rs 0 *s 5 6e 8z rs 0 *s
@5 7s ae rs 0 *s -3 7i 7u rs 0 V *s -1 1o 4c rs 0 9zabk 1o 4c 1o
@-4c *s -1 1o 6w rs 0 9zabk 1o 34 1o 6w *s -1 20 6w rs 0 9zabk 20
@6w 20 34 1c 34 *s -1 20 4c rs 0 9zabk 1d 4c 21 4c 21 -4c *s -1
@20 50 rs 0 0 20 50 20 4s *s -1 20 4g rs 0 0 20 48 20 4g *s -1 20
@4s rs 0 0 20 4c 20 4s *s -1 2y p rs 0 0 17 p 2z p 2z -n *s -3 6s
@16 rs 0 Ca *s -3 65 2f rs 0 G *s -3 3i 2i rs 0 T *s -3 3i 1v rs
@0 L *s 0 3q a rs 0 *s 0 3q 2y rs 0 *s 0 3p 4a rs 0 *s 0 3p 5m rs
@0 *s 0 3p 6y rs 0 *s 0 3q 8a rs 0 *s 0 3p ab rs 0 *s 0 3q bn rs
@0 *s 0 3p d0 rs 0 *s 0 3q ay rs 0 *s -1 24 44 rs 0 0 1w 44 24 44
@*s -1 24 48 rs 0 0 1w 48 24 48 *s -1 24 58 rs 0 0 1w 58 24 58 *s
@-1 24 54 rs 0 0 1w 54 24 54 *s -1 50 o rs 0 0 2c -o 2c o 50 o 50
@-o *s -1 50 2c rs 0 0 2c -c 50 -c 50 2c 2c 2c 2c -c *s -1 2y z
@rs 0 0 2y 10 16 10 *s -1 2y 2c rs 0 0 2z -c 2z 2c 17 2c *s -1 2o
@3o rs 0 0 2o 10 2o 3o 20 3o *s -1 2c 3o rs 0 9y6tc 2c 3o 1o 3o *s
@-1 2y 20 rs 0 9y6tc 2z 1c 2z 20 *s -1 3o 1o rs 0 9y6tc 3o 10 3o
@1o *s -1 3o c rs 0 9y6tc 3o c 3o -c *s -1 4c 3c rs 0 0 2s 1c 2s
@3c 4c 3c *s -1 54 3c rs 0 0 20 1c 54 1c 54 3c 48 3c *s -1 4o 3c
@rs 0 9y6tc 40 3c 4o 3c *s -1 30 5o rs 0 0 10 5o 30 5o *s -1 30
@6w rs 0 0 30 4g 30 6w *s -1 50 6w rs 0 0 1o 4g 50 4g 50 6w *s -1
@3c 6w rs 0 0 3c 4g 3c 6w *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 0 3o 3c 3o 60 6c 60 6c
@3c 3o 3c *s -1 6c 6w rs 0 0 3o 5s 6c 5s 6c 6w *s -1 6o 6w rs 0 0
@6o 5s 6o 6w *s -1 7g 6c rs 0 0 5w 6c 7g 6c *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w
@64 7g 64 *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w 64 5w 3o 7g 3o *s -1 6c 2c rs 0 0
@4c -c 4c 2c 6c 2c 6c -c 4c -c *s -1 6o o rs 0 0 40 -o 40 o 6o o
@6o -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 6k -1c 6k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 30 rs 0 0
@5w c 5w 30 7g 30 *s -1 7g 1o rs 0 0 5w 1o 7g 1o *s -1 6c 3g rs 0
@0 4c 1w 4c 3g 6c 3g 6c 1w 4c 1w *s -1 30 6c rs 0 9y6tc 30 5o 30
@6c *s -1 3c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 3c 60 3c 6o *s -1 6c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 6c
@60 6c 6o *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 5c 6c 60 *s -1 6o 5c rs 0
@9y6tc 6o 4o 6o 5c *s -1 6c 38 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2s 6c 38 *s -1 6c 1o
@rs 0 9y6tc 6c 10 6c 1o *s -1 6o o rs 0 9y6tc 60 o 6o o *s 6 2z
@4z rs 0 *s 6 2x 6x rs 0 *s 6 2z ac rs 0 *s 6 2y cb rs 0 *s -1 1s
@6o rs 0 9y6tc 1c -28 1s -1s 1c -1c 1s -w 1c -o 1s -8 1c 8 1s o
@1c 14 1s 1k 1c 1s 1s 28 1c 2g 1s 2w 1c 34 1s 3c 1c 3s 1s 40 1c
@48 1s 4o 1c 4w 1s 54 1c 5c 1s 5s 1c 60 1s 6g 1c 6o *s -1 1o 2o
@rs 0 9y6tc 10 2o 1o 20 *s -1 1o 2o rs 0 9y6tc 10 20 1o 2o
*END -l67fzw
Map - Samson's Home
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 5o 3o rs 0 0 2c 2c 1o 2c 1o -10 5o -10 5o 3o 3o 3o 3o 2c
@30 2c *s -1 40 38 rs 0 9zabk 40 2s 3c 38 *s d 8u 6p rs 0 *s -1
@5o 5c rs 0 0 1o 2o 5o 2o 5o 5c 1o 5c 1o 2o *s -1 7g 40 rs 0 0 4k
@40 7g 40 *s -1 7g 5s rs 0 0 4k 28 4k 5k 7g 5s *s -1 60 3c rs 0 0
@60 3c 60 -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 4k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 3c rs 0 0 4k
@3c 7g 3c *s -1 1o 10 rs 0 0 1o 10 1o c -1o c *s -1 1o 2c rs 0 0
@1o -c 1o 10 10 2c -1o 2c *s -1 3c 2s rs 0 0 0 2s 0 18 o 18 o -4
@3c -4 3c 2k 3c 2s 0 2s *s -1 1g 3o rs 0 0 1g 1o 1g 3o -1g 3o *s
@-1 1g 2o rs 0 0 1g 2o 1g 2g -1g 2g *s -1 1s 5o rs 0 0 -1s 2s 1s
@2s 1s 5o -1s 5o *s -1 3c 5w rs 0 0 14 1w 3c 1w 3c 5w w 5w w 1w
@1c 1w *s -3 87 7t rs 0 S *s -3 6t 78 rs 0 C *s -3 87 78 rs 0 T
*END 73fwzt

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Once again, Collin summons the power of his God. "I call forth the power of Gul'ren to smite my foe. Shimmering mace of doom spring to life!" The spectral image of his deity's favored weapon forms in his hand. If one looked close enough, they might shake their head in disbelief in order to get the ghastly image of ghost blood dripping from the talons attached to the head of the mace.

Pointing with his newly created weapon, the priest speaks in a commanding voice to Samson, "Beware who you name traitor, fool. I may be your best and last hope in dealing with the true menace." His eyes focus on the party's missing man and official commander. "Come, turn and face me Lieutenant Torin. Let's see your superior anti-magical training put to use, for a dung beetle could eat that pathetic worm in its sleep."

Why in the Nine Hells did you just do that? Collin curses to himself silently. Do you really give a rat's ass what that bumbling fool thinks of you? Does his life mean anything to you? He can't send you home. He can't help with the stone research. He's just a bureaucrat nobody. Next time keep your mouth shut and let the pig meet his own god.

(OOC - Casts defensively, Mace of Odo, a 3rd level spell. Collin is +19 to his concentration check against a DC 18 (15+3), can't fail. In the event that Torin attacks Collin, his current AC is 19.)

[Cadrius]

Varidiir scowls at the burning wall. Back home everything was on fire. So if you built a wall, you made damn sure that a little bit of flame wouldn't ruin things. Then again, back home there were hordes of cruel effreet, armies of salamanders, and vicious elemental lords. Perhaps it was worth the trade to lose them and take on flammable walls. He shrugs.

Yet the fact remains the lizards are dangerously close to entering the town. His stature belies his speed, and the azer proves this by racing up to the wall and peering over the side, looking for foes. He finds one. Hunching down, he waits for the would-be raider to get closer.

((OOC: Move up to the wall. Ready action to kick the lizard in the head if it gets within reach.))

[BigRedRod]

While Canace departs for Samson's house, Varidiir draws closer to the wall and leaps on to one of the ladders scambling upward and finding a position atop the wall. The guardsmen around the Azer reshuffle their formation and force fresh bolts in their weapons as the firey dwarf moves between them.

Taking advantage of the reformation two of the lizards race up the wall and tumble over the wooden ramparts as they draw their swords. Their ancient chainmail reflects red and yellow light from the fires which begin to affirm their grip on the walls. The third surviving lizardmen is a victim of his own arson, as his claws grab hold of a charred piece of wood and tear it free from the wall, sending him to the ground in a heap. However, Varidiir's position prevents him from stirking out at any of the lizards.

The militia form up in to crude ranks as they clearly have been drilled to do in order to repel invasion, the limited space atop the wall and lack of missile weapons limits their capabilities however. For the most part their own equipment doesn't seem much better than that which the lizards use, a random assortment of ancient weapons and armour no doubt handed down from father to son over the ages.

Back at Samson's house, Collin channels his faith in Gul'ren into a spectral mace and attempts to goad Torin in switching his attack from the mayor to himself.

Initiative
Collin
Lynores
Tolven
Torin
Samson
Varidiir
Canace
Guardsmen
Lizardfolk (3)
Militia (18)

Map - The gate
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 1s 50 rs 0 0 1c 3p 1c 51 1s 51 1s 3p 1c 3p *s 5 51 8x rs 0
@*s 5 6e 8z rs 0 *s 5 52 7p rs 0 *s 5 50 8c rs 0 *s 5 50 9m rs 0 *s
@5 4y ac rs 0 *s 5 51 b0 rs 0 *s 5 6d 9o rs 0 *s 5 6c 8a rs 0 *s
@5 6e ab rs 0 *s -3 3m 7s rs 0 V *s -1 1o 4c rs 0 9zabk 1o 4c 1o
@-4c *s -1 1o 6w rs 0 9zabk 1o 34 1o 6w *s -1 20 6w rs 0 9zabk 20
@6w 20 34 1c 34 *s -1 20 4c rs 0 9zabk 1d 4c 21 4c 21 -4c *s -1
@20 50 rs 0 0 20 50 20 4s *s -1 20 4g rs 0 0 20 48 20 4g *s -1 20
@4s rs 0 0 20 4c 20 4s *s -1 2y p rs 0 0 17 p 2z p 2z -n *s -3 6s
@16 rs 0 Ca *s -3 65 2f rs 0 G *s -3 3i 2i rs 0 T *s -3 3i 1v rs
@0 L *s 0 3q z rs 0 *s 0 3q 51 rs 0 *s 0 3q 5n rs 0 *s 0 3q 6w rs
@0 *s 0 3r 4a rs 0 *s 0 3q 8a rs 0 *s 0 3p ab rs 0 *s 0 3q cc rs
@0 *s 0 3p d0 rs 0 *s 0 3q ay rs 0 *s -1 24 44 rs 0 0 1w 44 24 44
@*s -1 24 48 rs 0 0 1w 48 24 48 *s -1 24 58 rs 0 0 1w 58 24 58 *s
@-1 24 54 rs 0 0 1w 54 24 54 *s -1 50 o rs 0 0 2c -o 2c o 50 o 50
@-o *s -1 50 2c rs 0 0 2c -c 50 -c 50 2c 2c 2c 2c -c *s -1 2y z
@rs 0 0 2y 10 16 10 *s -1 2y 2c rs 0 0 2z -c 2z 2c 17 2c *s -1 2o
@3o rs 0 0 2o 10 2o 3o 20 3o *s -1 2c 3o rs 0 9y6tc 2c 3o 1o 3o *s
@-1 2y 20 rs 0 9y6tc 2z 1c 2z 20 *s -1 3o 1o rs 0 9y6tc 3o 10 3o
@1o *s -1 3o c rs 0 9y6tc 3o c 3o -c *s -1 4c 3c rs 0 0 2s 1c 2s
@3c 4c 3c *s -1 54 3c rs 0 0 20 1c 54 1c 54 3c 48 3c *s -1 4o 3c
@rs 0 9y6tc 40 3c 4o 3c *s -1 30 5o rs 0 0 10 5o 30 5o *s -1 30
@6w rs 0 0 30 4g 30 6w *s -1 50 6w rs 0 0 1o 4g 50 4g 50 6w *s -1
@3c 6w rs 0 0 3c 4g 3c 6w *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 0 3o 3c 3o 60 6c 60 6c
@3c 3o 3c *s -1 6c 6w rs 0 0 3o 5s 6c 5s 6c 6w *s -1 6o 6w rs 0 0
@6o 5s 6o 6w *s -1 7g 6c rs 0 0 5w 6c 7g 6c *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w
@64 7g 64 *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w 64 5w 3o 7g 3o *s -1 6c 2c rs 0 0
@4c -c 4c 2c 6c 2c 6c -c 4c -c *s -1 6o o rs 0 0 40 -o 40 o 6o o
@6o -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 6k -1c 6k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 30 rs 0 0
@5w c 5w 30 7g 30 *s -1 7g 1o rs 0 0 5w 1o 7g 1o *s -1 6c 3g rs 0
@0 4c 1w 4c 3g 6c 3g 6c 1w 4c 1w *s -1 30 6c rs 0 9y6tc 30 5o 30
@6c *s -1 3c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 3c 60 3c 6o *s -1 6c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 6c
@60 6c 6o *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 5c 6c 60 *s -1 6o 5c rs 0
@9y6tc 6o 4o 6o 5c *s -1 6c 38 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 2s 6c 38 *s -1 6c 1o
@rs 0 9y6tc 6c 10 6c 1o *s -1 6o o rs 0 9y6tc 60 o 6o o *s 6 2z
@4z rs 0 *s 6 3q 6b rs 0 *s 6 2z ac rs 0 *s 6 3q bm rs 0 *s -1 1s
@6o rs 0 9y6tc 1c -28 1s -1s 1c -1c 1s -w 1c -o 1s -8 1c 8 1s o
@1c 14 1s 1k 1c 1s 1s 28 1c 2g 1s 2w 1c 34 1s 3c 1c 3s 1s 40 1c
@48 1s 4o 1c 4w 1s 54 1c 5c 1s 5s 1c 60 1s 6g 1c 6o *s -1 1o 2o
@rs 0 9y6tc 10 2o 1o 20 *s -1 1o 2o rs 0 9y6tc 10 20 1o 2o
*END -4col7c
Map - Samson's Home
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 5o 3o rs 0 0 2c 2c 1o 2c 1o -10 5o -10 5o 3o 3o 3o 3o 2c
@30 2c *s -1 40 38 rs 0 9zabk 40 2s 3c 38 *s d 8u 6p rs 0 *s -1
@5o 5c rs 0 0 1o 2o 5o 2o 5o 5c 1o 5c 1o 2o *s -1 7g 40 rs 0 0 4k
@40 7g 40 *s -1 7g 5s rs 0 0 4k 28 4k 5k 7g 5s *s -1 60 3c rs 0 0
@60 3c 60 -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 4k 1c 7g 1c *s -1 7g 3c rs 0 0 4k
@3c 7g 3c *s -1 1o 10 rs 0 0 1o 10 1o c -1o c *s -1 1o 2c rs 0 0
@1o -c 1o 10 10 2c -1o 2c *s -1 3c 2s rs 0 0 0 2s 0 18 o 18 o -4
@3c -4 3c 2k 3c 2s 0 2s *s -1 1g 3o rs 0 0 1g 1o 1g 3o -1g 3o *s
@-1 1g 2o rs 0 0 1g 2o 1g 2g -1g 2g *s -1 1s 5o rs 0 0 -1s 2s 1s
@2s 1s 5o -1s 5o *s -1 3c 5w rs 0 0 14 1w 3c 1w 3c 5w w 5w w 1w
@1c 1w *s -3 87 7t rs 0 S *s -3 6t 78 rs 0 C *s -3 87 78 rs 0 T
*END 73fwzt

[Gnarsh]

Lynores drops his bow, draws his rapier, and begins moving down the wall toward the lizards. "Draw your weapons and slice them to ribbons, men! They don't stand a chance!"