The journey begins

You feel safe … secure. In fact, you can’t move too much. You feel the wind blowing against your face, although your eyes feel strangely devoid of that feeling. Gradually waking up, the feeling of being safe disappears in a flash as you remember … being in the city of Joran, walking through the streets when suddenly, blackness.

Squirming against the bonds that made you feel secure not moments before, you realize you are bound fully and completely. Fear rising, you start to thrash … as much as possible. Strength eventually leaves you as you thrash repeatedly. Finally exhausted, you stop. You start to think, fear abiding as you realize that you aren’t dead.

If they wanted me dead, I would be.

You begin to take in your surroundings, as much as you can. You are surrounded by blackness and you feel cloth across your eyes, so you figure you’re blindfolded. You can taste cloth instead your mouth and no matter how hard you try, you cannot eject it. The wind blowing against your face is steady, more steady then any wind should be. More realization comes. You are lying horizontally, but being held aloft by something. Something that is flying. The binds that hold you surround not only your feet and arms, but your body as well. The ones holding your hands and feet feel like rope, while the ones across your body are significantly harder.

At one point you think you can smell rain in the air, and you hear the raindrops, but you don’t feel the water. The ride continues…

Later, a smell assails your nose. It is not pleasant. The ride continues…

You fall asleep. You don’t know how long you are out. You wake, uncomfortable and aching ((-2 to all die rolls)). You can feel the heat of the sun on your face. The ride continues…

As you doze for you don’t know how long the feeling starts to change. The steady up and down of the flying creature becomes more graceful and less bumpy. The wind feels like it’s coming more from below then from straight ahead now. You wonder if this is it, your destination.

As the graceful descent continues your mind begins to whirl with possibilities. You begin the hear movement and talking. A short while later you feel the bindings around your body begin to loosen, slightly at first … and then all at once! You find yourself falling. With a muffled grunt your body hits the ground ((6 HP taken)). Before you have a chance to move, rough hands grab you and hall you around. The sun beats down on your face with fervor, you can feel the heat of the land and it is like living in a fire. Finally you come to a stop, but nothing happens. Then, a few steps forward, followed by another wait. Again, a few steps forward, then another wait.

Very shortly, you find yourself in a much cooler environment. You are dropped again to the ground, this time landing on your knees ((1 HP non-lethal damage taken)). Again, before you have a chance to think or move you are held in place, still on your knees. You feel cold steel along your throat. A deathly cold voice, thick with accent, states, “Hold or die.”

The binds around your hands and feet are then cut. Quickly and expertly, anything in your possession is stripped away from you, leaving only the blindfold and the cloth in your mouth ((all possessions are gone)). Even your clothes are removed. Your hands and feet are then bound again before you are lifted up and hauled back into the heat. Your hands are in front this time and just when you think you have finally sensed a mistake on the part of your captors, you feel a rope thrown around your neck. Without any hesitation, you feel a yank on the rope around your neck as hands pass down your back and then between your legs and up to your hands. After some fiddling with the rope around your hands, your captors stop.

You are pushed from behind and take an automatic step forward. The binds around your legs allow for a step, but come up short. You pitch forward. To catch your fall, you bring your hands up from their spot around your waste. You feel the burn as the rope around your neck is pulled backwards and you realize what has happened. The rope around your neck has been tied down your back and through your legs and attached to the rope at your hands. Any attempt to lift your hands pulls back against your neck. The reflex is too strong though, and you catch your fall on the ground upon your hands, barely, but your neck burns from the snap provided by the movement ((1 HP non-lethal damage taken)). You are roughly grabbed from the ground and lifted to your feet. Again a push from behind but this time you are ready and take a small step forward. The rope around your feet becomes taut, but you do not fall. Grudgingly you walk forward at a slow speed.

You find yourself back out in the heat. 20 steps forward you are turned to your right, marched 10 more steps, turned right again, and kicked in the back of your knees, making you fall to your knees ((1 HP non-lethal damage taken)). You hear as some others are shuffled around you. You hear grunts as they are kicked to the ground like you. Then nothing. Minutes go by and there is no change.

From the darkness, a raspy voice hisses, “Remove the hoods.”

The blindfolds are ripped from your heads. Bright sunlight blinds you momentarily. Heat beats down on your face. While you are still recovering from the shock, the previous voice continues.

[color=orange]“Hello. My name is Ockli. My soothsayer told me that each of you would be important, so I had my bounty hunters catch you and bring you down.”

Bringing your head to bear on the raspy voice, the light eventually begins to fade and you start to see again. The figure which speaks is of medium height, wearing all black armor. Dark plate metal covers almost every inch. His face is covered by a chain mask that hangs from a horned helm. The only thing you can see are his eyes, dark red eyes that seem to glow from an inner light.

“As you can see, you are a long way from home now. Everything around you for days belongs to the Army of the Red Scorpion. There is no need to try to escape.”

As if the man’s words were leading your eyes, you look around. A barren landscape unfolds in each direction you glance. Sun blasted sand, a few shrubs, and some large rock formations show in each direction. Beyond that, though, you can see a treeline. The treeline would be in reach if you weren’t tied up. The trees look thick and tightly packed. Escape could be possible…

“Now, for those of you who think you can escape, remember this. While you may reach the surrounding jungle, the entire area still belongs to me. My three bounty hunters here,” he motions to three figures behind him you didn’t see until now,” are the ones who caught you to begin with, so have no doubt they can do it again.”

Glancing further at the three figures, you are presented with the image of what you can only explain as a bipedal dragon. Red scales from head to toe, where you can see atleast, and sporting a pair of red wings each, each figure is a contrast to the other. The one in the middle stands easily over seven feet, sporting a chain hauberk and a pair of axes at his belt. To his left, a smaller figure, closer to normal human height, sports a bright orange robe and carries a wooden staff. Back to the right, the third figure seems to be inbetween the two. Standing closer to six feet in height, the figure wears spiked leathers armor with a bow strapped over his shoulder. A quiver stands at his belt, full of arrows. Two of the figures are clearly male, while the robed figure is ambiguously covered.

“That is, of course, assuming you make it past the small force I have gathered here.”

Following the expansive hand gesture the red-eyed figure makes, you notice that you are, indeed, surrounded. Orcs in red uniform leather armor are stationed in a complete circle. To your left , just outside the circle of orcs, are two winged beasts each larger then a house. Bearing 8 legs apiece, these feathered beasts resemble gryphons; eagle heads, yellowish feathers. Realization dawning, you figure these are the beasts that carried you down.

So much for escape.

KORWIN

Korwin forces his mind into one of the many focusing techniques he learned from Master Ligand, attempting to calm himself and become dispassionate in his observations.

Now is not the time for anything rash. Listen, observe, assess, learn. Listen, observe, assess, learn.

The mantra repeats over and over again in his mind as his eyes take in his surroundings while he opens his ears to catch any sounds that may seem.... out of the ordinary. Whatever that is. EVERYTHING is out of the ordinary right now.

Listen and Spot checks (1d20+10=20, 1d20+16=19)

(( Oops. Forgot to subtract -2 from the rolls, so the rolls are actually 18 and 17 for a result. ))

Korwin glances at his fellow captives, trying to take their measure as well. While his wounds are mostly superficial, the opportunity for getting healed may be a good ways down an unknown path.

Used to being bullied and beaten, Korwin isn't nearly so worried about his present situation as his captives may seem to think he should be.

Orcs are stupid and easily dispatched. The bounty hunters and the winged beasts... They could prove to be a problem. And Chain Face here... I need to know more of what he's about and why I'm a captive. I'm sure if I keep silent long enough, someone will start talking.

Korwin remains immobile and silent as he gathers as much information about his plight as he can, outwardly betraying no signs of distress or concern.

KAI

Kai takes a slow deep breath, in the same manner that he would before completing a job, steadying his nerves, using his peripheral vision to see what is around him as he slowly moves his head around, as though trying to get his bearings. His ears strain to hear what is going on outside of his vision.

Listen and Spot Checks (1d20+6-2=22, 1d20+7-2=17)

I’ve been in worse situations before. Just keep calm, wait for the right moment.

Thinking to himself, Kai dredges through his memories, trying to think of anything that he may have heard about the Army of the Red Scorpion.

Knowledge Check (1d20+3-1=8 )

As Kai’s eyes settle on the robed figure behind his captor, there is a slight tightening around the corners of his eyes as his gaze takes on a harder cast for a moment. His hands twitch slightly, yearning for Razor and Mageslayer. Again, Kai takes a deep breath to steady himself. As he looks at the forces of his captor, he takes note of the weapons wielded by the orcs, searching for weapons more akin to what he prefers to wield, tracing routes between the orcs, his captor, and the bounty hunters, planning his movements should the opportunity arise to act.
His eyes widen slightly at the sight of the winged beasts, clearly impressed by their appearance.

After taking note of the weapons and positions, Kai shakes his long, black hair back from his face and glances to the other captives around him, starting with the one to his left and the one in front, taking note of how they are reacting to the current situation.

Finally, Kai’s gaze settles on this Ockli, wondering what is behind the mask, wondering about the situation, collecting his thoughts before speaking.

Gods but I wonder what I’ve fallen into this time. Hopefully not another surprise like Malakai’s last one…

LILAS

As Lilas had slipped in and out of conciousness, Lilas could only think of one thought process the entire ride.

Oh no. I'm in deep trouble.

At first, Lilas thought that perhaps, a dragon was carrying her, of which Lilas got excited about, being a spell-scale and being slightly, very slightly, blood-lined with them, she figured maybe she could talk herself out of being a snack for the daddy dragon.

But as she heard the pattern of the wings, and feeling as if, perhaps, the claws were not big enough, she knew that these could not be the beasts she had studied about so often.

As she was shoved and stripped, rudely, might she add, of which the very gorgeous elven-looking lady was not at all, pleased about, for various reasons, she even could've swore she felt some hands feeling her as they put the ropes in such a vulgar position, she remained silent non the less...

Remove the hoods.

As soon as the hood was yanked from her, her purple-draconic looking eyes closed, why? Because if one saw such unique eyes, they usually flipped and tried to kill her on the spot, and right now, her hands were tied as her tongue was tasting cloth, no way could she even pronounce a spell from her tip of her tongue.

She kept her eyes closed, and stood quite proudly, despite the fact she could feel her amythest hair swishing back and forth across her lower back, no doubt blinding those who dare to open their eyes.

Hello, my name is Ockli. My soothsayer told me that each of you would be important, so I had my bounty hunters catch you and bring you down.

Oh crap! I'm getting sold to sex slavery! Hell no, I'm busting out of this joint as fast as possible!

First initial thought.

Than she opened her draconic-shaped eyes, glancing at the others with slight tears streaming down her face. Relief was only momentary over her features. As she gazed 'pon the features and gazed around her surroundings, not looking at all surprised at the bi-pedal dragons, but nodded to them with a wink, she'd turn to gaze back at attention at "Ockli."

As you can see, you are a long way from home now. Everything around you for days belongs to the Army of the Red Scorpion. There is no need to try to escape.[/i

[i]No really? I thought you had captured me to visit my mom, gee, aren't I so happy?

Than her eyes narrowed at the second piece of information.

What!? My! My hard-earned equipment! You little, wait till you release this mouth piece, you'll be begging for a trip home to YOUR momma! And what's this about a army? Hm? I don't remember signing up, in fact, momma didn't raise no fool! I don't join armies, they give you crap pay, and crap equipment. Ugh, they are getting so desperate that they have to freken capture people? That's just...sad.

At the third, Lilas snickered and rolled her eyes.

Obviously we can't escape, hello, tied position kinda makes it hard to even move. Thanks Captain Obvious.

Now, for those of you who think you can escape, remember this. While you may reach the surrounding jungle, the entire area still belongs to me. My three bounty hunters here; are the ones who caught you to begin with, so have no doubt they can do it again.

Lilas almost bursted out laughing, but controlled herself, only hint was a second of her eyes widening in humor, and a slight sparkle, before her face became blank once more. Poker face baby.

Wow, can we like, have the real boss to talk to? Because so far, Captain Obvious is getting really kinda boring with all the obvious things he's pointing out. Gee, I really thought I could get away, yep.

Oh, she saw the tree-line, but she also knew the bi-pedal dragon race, she was to become one sooner or later herself, there was no way they'd make it. If only she knew that one spell that put you into another city with a snap of a finger, that would help her alot, but sadly, this was not the case, so she was stuck with whatever mess this was.

That is, of course, assuming you make it past the small force I have gathered here.

If the boss hired him to be Captain Obvious, well he's doing a dang good job of being quite, obvious.

So much for escape indeed, so, what was next? Because, life sounded much more splendid than death or torture.

KROD

Only half-listening to the red-eyed speaker, Krod tests his bonds again to make sure he detects no weak points anywhere that he might attempt to break later when the time is right. Finding none he relaxes slightly as he sees Korwin nearby. If anyone can get Krod free, my buddee can. Looking around Krod takes in the other captives as well as their captors.

"Now," the red-eyed figure continues," you are probably wondering why you are here. This is simple. You are here to die. My soothsayer tells me you all are dangerous to my plans. Now I have a feeling that bringing you here may have made possible the prediction my soothsayer stated, but best not to take chances."

"Also, I do not wish to harm you. I would rather have you join me in my pursuits and bypass a messy death. The choice is yours though. What say you?"

With that you feel the gag in your mouth disappear. Jaws aching, you are free to decide your fate.

Immediately, a large man more of fat then muscle yells out, "To the abyss with you monster, I will never ..."

Before he can finish his sentence, the man's head explodes in a bloody mess. Droplets of blood and brain fall on your skin. Ockli had never moved.

"Yes or no will suffice."

The woman in the front center of the group of six states breathlessly, "I will join."

Immediately two orcs (O3 and O4) step between the remaining kneeling people and grab the woman by her arms, lift her into the air and carry her towards Ockli. Stepping around Ockli and the bounty hunters, the orcs bring the girl into one of tents located just behind the trio. Just noticing the tents for the first time, you see there are four. The orcs brought the woman into the closest tent to the group.

"Two down, four to go. Make your choices."

KROD

Shaking bits of brain off his face, Krod looks over at Korwin waiting for his answer so he can echo what Korwin says. Krod don't like ropes, but Krod don't like death more

LILAS

Now, you are probably wondering why you are here. This is simple. You are here to die. My soothsayer tells me you all are dangerous to my plans. Now I have a feeling that bringing you here may have made possible the prediction my soothsayer stated, but best not to take chances.

Well your sooth-sayer is wrong bucko, I have no clue who the hell you are or who the hell this ARMY is. And aren't you kinda, I don't know, contradicting yourself in that statement of yours? Taking chance either way, if we survive and grow more knowledgeable doing stuff for you, higher chance of living, best off just to kill us, what kind of evil are you? Don't have the stomach to kill strangers, hell I do, just release that mouth piece and see what happens.

But than a man spoke up, yelling, and than his head exploded. Never, had the man even blinked! Holy, crap. That's why, when her mouth piece was removed, all that the naked, sarcastic, tan-skinned looking elf woman spoke up was.

"I'll join."

Voice emotion? There was none, no hint of what she was thinking, or saying, or doing. But she had a feeling that she wasn't even safe in her thoughts. If his head just exploded and sprayed blood all over her, without him even blinking! He was definitely "boss" man to her. Evil? Yes, had she been hunting down evil? Yes. Why? Personal reasons, and right now, personal stake was at hand. Evil or not, hell she'll join if it gives her the option of life, thanks.

She waits for the blundering orcs to carry her, not to happy about it, but emotions and thoughts, remained clear from here on out, why? Because it was very likely he could read thoughts if he could make heads explode without blinking, just kinda, obvious there. Did she care about the other strangers? Nope.

No complaints, Boss Ockli, none.

KORWIN

Korwin doesn't even flinch as bits of blood and bone splatter him, instead maintaining a neutral aspect over his features as he listens to Chain Face. Realizing the dire predicament he's in... no opportunity for negotiation, no bargaining, no questioning, Korwin briefly flicks his eyes to Krod and gives a barely perceptible nod before saying, "I'm in."

I hope Krod was the only one to pick up on my signal. Now is not the time for rash action. Later, maybe. But the less they know about us, the better.

Korwin's eyes glaze over slightly as he recalls Master Ligand's words... When faced with an unknown circumstance, listen and observe first, act later, after careful deliberation.

KROD

"Krod join too."

KAI

Watching the others as they give their answers, Kai carefully rolls back from his knees onto his feet. As he carefully stands, taking care not to put the rope tight, he replies to Ockli's question.

"I will join you as well."

Kai stands straight, waiting to see if movement will be met with punishment, trying to take what little measure he can of the.... person before them.

Wonderful, out from under the Guild's thumb and under someone else's.

Kai waits to see whether or not he will be allowed to walk of his own accord or if he too will be carried by the orcs.

With a look that can only be described as “rolling his eyes”, Ockli sarcastically states, “What a surprise.”

With a wave of his hand the orcs gather around the party and shuffle them towards the tent. Steps away from the tent, a loud scream of terror from inside emanates, shortly cut off. The orcs seem non-pulsed and continue to force the group towards the tent while Ockli laughs, a very hollow sound.

“Nobody worry, that was the geis. You didn’t think I would trust you to behave without something to cover me? After you are dressed you all shall receive one.” With a wave of his hand, Ockli disappears.

Immediately a tension seems to disappear from the orcs, who start to banter amongst themselves. The bounty hunters retreat into the northern most tent as you are, one by one, shuffled into the closest tent.

At the center of the tent a table stands with five bags upon it. A sixth bag, empty, rests upon the floor. Behind the table an older orc stands, staff in hand. “Grab your stuff and return to the marhsalling yard for your geis.” Moved forward by the orcs at your side, you look over the bags on the table, seeing “Korwin”, “Lilas”, “Kai”, “Krod” and “Bark” stitched on each in bold black letters. Looking down at the bag on the ground, you notice the name is stitched on the bag.

“Dru”

Choosing your own bag, the orcs remove your rope restraints. You quickly and quietly equip yourself, and then are shuffled back outside to the marshalling yard.

Shortly after, still standing in the marshalling yard, the older orc comes out of the tent and stands before the group.

“Now, for the geis.”

With no more then that, the orc starts to chant. Then he starts to gurgle. Then he falls to the ground, a purple fletched arrow protruding from his neck.

The camp instantly turns to insanity. The orcs turn towards the north, the direction the arrow came from. Two more orcs fall, again with purple fletched arrows protruding from their skin. The gryphons scream in pain. One takes to the air, riddled with arrows. The other finds cover behind a rock.

The bounty hunters burst from the tent, prepared for battle. The largest of the three carries both axes in hand. Seeing no immediate threat, he screams in rage before a pair of large reptilian wings unfold from his back. Taking to the air, he flies swiftly north. The robed hunter simply disappears from sight. The bow-wielding hunter whistles sharply while running north. A large growl comes from the south. You see trees shuffle before the largest wolf you have ever seen bounds out of the southern woods. Within three leaps the magnificent animal is beside the hunter, who jumps upon his back with ease. Two more leaps and they disappear into the forest to the north.

One last arrow appears in the center of the party, fletched in red with a white shaft. Then the rain of arrows abruptly stops. The group notices there are five orcs still standing and the one gryphon behind the rock. More shouts can be heard from the southwest.

LILAS

Lilas did as she was told, equipping herself and feeling slightly relieved, though a bit of new tension came with the mention of the geis. It sounded painful, by the sound of it. As the orc started to chant, Lilas naturally tensed, but kept her eyes focused on his motions, his words she zoomed in on mentally, blocking out the rest of the noise, until...

He turned purple, he wasn't supposed to do that surely, and than her eyes widened at the sight of a arrow.

Lilas laughs, her amythest hair swishing in the air.

"Didn't your soothsayer tell you about this Ockli?"

Oh so cocky, was Lilas, and obviously unwisely so.

Lilas would watch the lackies, or bounty hunters as Ockli called them, what exactly were they getting paid to battle for him too? That, she was sure, wasn't in the job description.

As the third one started to chant and slowly dissapear for Lilas' eyes, she'd concentrate on what he was doing.

((Spell Craft Check. 1d20= (20) -2= 18 +8=26))

As the arrows adruptly stop, Lilas stands there, remaining grinning as her eyes dart in front of her, her ears just waiting to hear a snap of a twig in the distance. All the while though, Lilas starts remebering the motions and the words for the spell she has prepared, glancing in the orc's directions every once in awhile. Bounty hunters, were they still alive? And how about those bi-pedal dragons, still alive? Did his soothsayer predict this? Obviously not, thus, he was a failure, at being a sooth-sayer. Hah! Sucker.

KROD

Not sure what a 'gee-us' is, and not really carrying, Krod quickly equips himself, feeling more confident as he wraps his spiked chain expertly about his torso with all spikes pointing away from his body. Stepping out of the tent to receive the 'gee-us' Krod is amused as the arrow skewers the orc's neck and he falls to the sand, his flailing hands useless to stop the flow of blood soaking into the sand. As chaos breaks out around him, Krod snakes his spiked chain off with practiced ease and grins widely.

Finally, a fight, Krod likes to fight, this sumthin Krod good at

As he waits for enemies to approach Krod moves so he is next to Korwin and anxiously waits for a target, his muscles flexing with anticipation.

KAI

Kai steps out of the tent, senses pushed to their utmost, waiting for the orc to begin casting the geas. When the arrow blossoms in the orc’s throat, Kai realizes that if he is going to act, now is the time. Hearing the amethyst-haired elf’s comment, Kai smirks slightly. As the rain of arrows pours down, Kai prepares to dive into a roll, seeking to take advantage of the distraction to strike unexpectedly. He attempts to line up his roll to bring him into range of two of the vile beasts, if possible, drawing his blades as he bursts into motion. As he moves, Kai allows his senses to stay tuned to the air around him, staying alert for the return of the robed bounty hunter, or any others who may begin hurling spells into the fray.

If I can take two of them in the gut, our odds of taking out the “bird” should quickly improve. The large one with the chain looks formidable and the small one seems…. dangerous. And the elf…

Kai looks at the beautiful woman and a slight frown touches at the corners of his mouth as he sees her the look of concentration on her face, a look he has seen many times before.

I hope that she's on our side…

KORWIN

Korwin arrives in the tent, and quickly inspects and rearranges his gear accordingly.

A place for everything, and everything in its place... Maybe now we have a fighting chance.

He coils his spiked chain into a loop and hangs it on a hook on his belt, making sure he can get to it quickly if need be. Assured that all of his gear is as it should be, he keeps his eyes and ears open as he steps out of the tent and faces the old orc.

As the mayhem breaks out, he notices several things that may be important later.

Hmm... The moment Chain Face disappeared, the orcs relaxed a bit. He probably used some magical means to depart and is gone. Minus one threat.

Two of the bounty hunters took off for the woods to the north, but one simply disappeared. Did it just slip into hiding? Invisibility? Minus 2 out of 3 bounty hunter threats, but that third one bothers me and could be trouble.

The gryphons probably won't attack us if we don't attack THEM. Nobody seems to be controlling them at the moment, best to leave them alone for now. Minus 2 more threats.

The arrows were well aimed. If whoever shot them thought of us as the enemy, we'd probably be dead by now. The arrows were also colored... I'll have to ponder the significance of that, and perhaps stow those arrows away for later study.

That must mean we have some unknown allies to the north, or at least someone that doesn't view us as adversaries. We need to make contact with them ASAP, because I'm fairly certain Chain Face is worthy of dying a horrible death if I can manage to make that happen.

What was it Master Ligand said? The enemy of my enemy is my friend... that's it. I know I can count on Krod, but these others? Since we all seem to be prisoners of Chain Face and his gang, I hope Krod and I can count on them to assist us if need be.

I have no idea where we are, but I think if we can dispatch these orcs, and maybe deal with a single invisible bounty hunter, there might be some clues hidden inside the tents... maybe maps, or other information.

That leaves 5 orcs, 1 possibly invisible bounty hunter, and those are odds I think we can live with. We can't waste any time, who knows how long the others will be gone. The time to act is now.

All of these thoughts flash through Korwin's mind as he listens, observes, assesses, and then acts. Catching Krod's eye, he speaks softly enough that only Krod can hear, "Now's the time, keep an eye out for that bounty hunter that disappeared, let's take out the orcs as quick as we can. NOW."

With that, Korwin takes a quick look around, unhooks his chain, and moves to attack the nearest orc ((I'll need to review the latest map before identifying which orc, how far I need to move, etc.))

Initiative (1d20+10-2=15)

LILAS

As soon as the other captives took a step forward, Lilas's awaited spell came soaring through, as she starts to chant, her eyes starts to slightly glow, the purple in her eyes turning a slight ruby color, and slowly a red dot started to built as she circles with grace over and over again, the little red dot, transforming it into a dart-shap, and with a last chant, Lilas's right hand palm jerks towards the far-off orcs, aiming the spell in the center of them to blast them away, just awaiting eagerly to see the confusion and fear as the loud explosion like a firework display, 'minus the charred body parts of orcs. That should help the arrow people, after all, they weren't shooting at them, no need to get on their bad side right now. With that, Lilas' revenge is satiated, and she turns to the battle to study her position, others positions, allies for now positions, and starts to think.

Told you I felt something coming towards us with a aggressive air, you know how long it took me to get here? Geez Lilas, you should LISTEN to me, I do have blind-sense unlike you for now! The angry voice in her head said, Lilas only laughs and nods in response, momentarily turning her head to the sky.

Suddenly a little red dragon appeared into the clouds, seemingly glaring aggressively at Lilas, and with a shrieking scream, acts as if it's going to pounce on her, but instead lands gently on her shoulder, nipping playfully at her ear instead.

Alright, so I got, what looks to be, two fighters, and one little fella, and a female whom i don't know, maybe a healer with the way she's acting so pitiful. Alright, so that's pretty good odds I'm gonna live, if I make it to her.

((Intiative roll: 1d20= ( 8 )-2=6+8= 14))

((Fireball Damage: 6d6= 26 damage full, 13 half. Ref DC=19)) ((N4 aimed square))

KAI

Kai, realizing that it would be foolish to roll past one orc to face two others beyond, instead readies to move towards the closest orc.

Here's hoping the elf can hold her own...

Initiative (1d20+8-2=20)

KORWIN

Seeing that Krod heard and understood, Korwin takes a 5' step (( G7 )) and snakes out with his spiked chain at the orc in F7.

No need to use my ki powers just yet. If one of those bounty hunters returns, or things get a bit dicey, I'll save those for later. For now, let's see if I can bring this goon to the ground...

Trip (1d20+11-2=19)

KROD

With a practiced hand, Krod grabs the end of the spiked chain and snakes it off his torso as he moves slightly west of his current position ((5' step to F4)) and takes a swing at the Orc in front of him.

Attack 1d20+14 → [17,14] = (31)-2 = 29
Damage 2d6+12 → [1,4,12] = (17) -2 = 15

Initiative 1d20+3 → [6,3] = (9) -2 = 7

KAI

As Kai steps 5' ((into J6))towards the closest orc ((K5)) and feints towards the beast’s face with his right hand, trying to draw it’s guard up high.

Bluff (feint – PHB 155)(1d20+9-2=19)

As he attempts to draw the beast’s weapon up high, Kai drives Razor towards the beast’s gut, trying to disembowel the foul creature.

Attack (1d20+8-2=16)

(If successful with feint, will sneak attack) Damage (1d6+2+3d6=19)

(damage without sneak attack - see first part of dice roll) Damage (1d6+2=7)

If successful, Kai plunges the blade deep into the orc’s gut, brutally ripping the blade down and to the side, a stream of blood and gore trailing the blade as Kai steps right and pivots his left foot out, lining up his other sword with the side of the orc’s throat as he draws the gore-soaked blade in tighter to defend if necessary.

Attack (1d20+8-2=18)

(If successful, Damage without sneak attack is) Damage (1d6+1=4)

(If sneak attack applies (if orc loses dex bonus)) Damage (1d6+1+2d6=12)

If the strike connects, Kai attempts to plunge the blade through the side of the orc’s throat and then jerks the blade towards the front of the orc’s body, attempting to tear the orc’s windpipe and vocal cords at the same time. Kai spins around with the momentum of the strike, placing himself in line with the group of orcs near the tents, confident that the beast will not survive the attack.

Using the confusion to their advantage, the impromptu party members begin a vicious attack against their orc keepers.

Kai moves with quickness towards the closest orc to him, feinting right before plunging his weapon easily into the beasts’ stomach, ripping his blade to the side in a vicious maneuver that garners the reward of another orc falling to the ground, but not before Kai’s other blade rips through the orcs throat, just for good measure.

Korwin takes a step and whips his chain out around the legs of the orc nearest him, easily entangling it and, pulling sharply, topples the orc over.

Lilas points her finger out and mumbles a few words. A small ball of fire erupts from her finger and speeds towards a space in between two of the orcs. The small ball of fire then erupts into a huge ball of fire, incinerating the nearest orc and spreading outwards to light the surrounding brush and tents on fire((marked by a red ‘halo’ on the map)). Unfortunately Kai, who had just moved into a spot within the blast radious, is on the outskirts of the flame. ((Kai need a reflex check. Since you weren’t in the middle of the blaze but just on the outskirts, a failure is half damage instead of full and a success is one quarter damage instead of half, unless otherwise changed by feats.))

Krod, knowing full well a battle was coming, whips his chain out from around his waist and uses it to devastating effect on the closest orc to him. The orc, unprepared for the viciousness of the large man, attempts to duck the blow at the last second. Krod, used to being the tallest in combat, throws his blade low at the creature, wrapping the chain around its face, the spikes poking holes throughout the creatures head. The orc falls silently to the ground.

The gryphon, no longer under attack by the stinging arrows, moves towards Krod in a threatening manner ((Krod gets an AOO)). Snapping viciously with its beak, the gryphon takes a bite of Krod’s shoulder before letting go ((Krod 11 dmg)). Krod, focused on this newest threat after the fall of the orc, notices that the gryphon is riddled with arrows which causes its left wing to droop to the ground, unusable.

The remaining orc ((O1)) hears the clash of weapons behind him and turns. Seeing the party wipe out most of the other orcs, it yells before running away from the party.

As if on cue, the figures of orcs can be seen running through the blazing tents, engaging the party with swords drawn. Black leather armor embossed with a red scorpion is visible, in fact eye catching, on each orc. The lead orc looks more grizzled then the rest. He rushes towards the closest threat, Kai, and engages him.

KORWIN

Smirking a little as he trips the orc and puts him on the ground, Korwin plans to finish him off when he sees the gryphon attack Krod. Recognizing the greater threat is the larger creature, Korwin focuses his mind as Master Ligan taught him to do, and disappears from view. Taking a 5' step to G7, Korwin unleashes a sudden strike with his chain that snakes out to thwap the gryphon across the beak.

That thing is as big as a house! The bigger they are, the harder they fall... or so they say

Atk, Dmg, Sudden Strike Dmg (1d20+14=15, 1d6=1, 3d6=10)

KROD

Seeing the wounded Griffin move in on his flank Krod flicks his wrist and the spiked chain releases the dead Orc and with a continued motion Krod spins around, the chain following, gaining momentum as it snakes towards the incoming Griffin.

AOO Griffin: 1d20+14=25 -2 = 23
AOO Griffin Damage: 2d6+12=20