Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

[Hafnium]

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Fine.

There were few more certain allies in Donevrion than a common blade.

A common blade could never be bribed. Its interests would never malign with those of its wielder. It would never question its wielder's competence and flee them. It would fight until it shattered and then, if its wielder was clever enough with it, fight some more. Some sentient weapons might not be so resolute, but a common blade's loyalty always laid with the one who wielded it.

Nelanorah's blade was one of the few allies that remained to her, and the only one at her side at the moment. Her defeat at the hands of of the knights had seen her lose most that would support her bid to be acknowledged as a skilled warrior in her own right. It was the nature of Winter. The Winter Court held much in common with the season it shared its name with: it was cold and unforgiving. Humans might see the behavior of abandoning those who had failed as betrayal or feral savagery but little of the Winter Court's cruelty could be described as entirely without point, it simply did not coddle. The strong and able survived and the rest were left to eventually vanish under the snow where they had fallen, and Nelanorah had fallen.

Nelanorah, however, had gotten back up. Her reasons were entirely her own but through them she might yet show her true worth to her court and, at the same time, claim her revenge. It was in pursuit of that revenge that she found herself in a valley at the edge of a small forest.

An entire field of trees stretched out in front of her reaching so high into the sky that they nearly blocked the sun even though not a single leaf could be seen on their branches. Each one was covered in frost so thick that it may very well have been a permanent fixture, frost that was visible from the highest tip and spread down every inch of bark only to disappear under a layer of snow which had grown so high that it completely obscured the roots. More snow fell even then, adding layer of the white powder already so deep that Nelanorah might have found it impossible to navigate were she not a faerie of the Winter Court. It was quiet and still, as if all the wildlife that had once inhabited the forest had been frozen and buried. The cold in the air might have been the end of the faun too if it weren't for her origins. All of these qualities made the forest in front of her a perfect hiding place for a knight of Winter.

Indeed, from what Nelanorah had discovered, one of the knights that she owed revenge was in the forest in front of her. She had learned that he had recently gathered a small warband of fey in order to launch raids on local mortals who were encroaching on the Winter Court's territory and was using the forest as a staging ground and a fallback. The mortals would find the valley difficult to access and inhospitable once they were there, but the fey had no such issues. Moreover, even with the visibility offered by the lack of foliage on the trees there wasn't a sign of life in the forest, though Nelanorah knew well how her kin could hide themselves if they deemed it necessary. If she entered, she would certainly find him, or he might find her.

The knight himself was among the cruelest of the ones who had attempted to break her spirit, he was certainly the most arrogant. Though he was proficient in several weapons, he had favored the longsword when they faced off. She had been exhausted by the time she faced him but he had still gone to great lengths to humiliate her. His defenses had been exaggeratedly lazy and he had taken his off hand off of his weapon more than once to lash out at her rear with it. The only time he acted lively during the fight was when he flourished his weapon in order to make a spectacle of his final blow against her.

A chance for revenge was ahead of her, but how Nelanorah would pursue it was up to her. The knight's warband would surely be prepared for invaders, though she didn't quite qualify as an invader. If she felt brave, or perhaps reckless, enough she could simply march forward until she found the knight and then demand a duel in front of his subordinates. Of course, that brought the obvious risk that her would-be opponent would make full use of his command to see her unfairly beaten again, so if the faun had some alternative plan for approaching the situation it might be wise for her to employ it.

Spoiler

Hopefully enough to work with and not too presumptuous on any count. SWORDFAUN TIME.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

The stretch of winter barren forest and darkened frost visages offered a quiet serenity to Nelanorah as she tread along amongst them. The only sign of her passage the hoofed steps of her kind that were quickly swallowed up by the falling flakes that drifted down as they so commonly did in the lands of winter. To a mortal such a place would be treacherous, but for the faun it was just like many other days in the land of her birth. Though not exactly so on this day. She moved with purpose this day, towards that nearby valley and forest proper, with a salivating taste working within her mouth, and many emotions running through her at once. Quiet fury being chief amongst them.

One of them was here. One of the seven who had so tried to crush her and her dreams, whose actions turned away even longtime allies away from her with her defeat made the forest in front of her their sanctuary this day. And not just any one of them. The most cruel, arrogant, whose acts were by far the most fueled cowardice was in her reach. She had given her all to fight each of those knights the day they challenged her, and though they struck with motive impure they had all had the honor to fight her with their real true strength. All except for him. She hadn't forgotten the misery she felt by such a final disrespect, even now feeling the burn of humiliation spread on her face merely from memory. He would pay most dearly for it, as he would learn soon enough.

There was one big problem however. He was not alone. For some time now, the mortal kind had been seeking to these areas she had learned, plundering the lands of winter without concern or tribute. Taking with no regard for whose lands these were. She didn't know if the mortals doing so were just ambitious or plain stupid, but it mattered little. It was a trespass that would obviously not go unpunished, and so this despicable mention of a knight had been sent here with a band of capable fae to deal with things. Already they made the forest a staging ground for their assaults, more at home with it and at advantage there then the men would be and it left the faun at quite an impasse.

She wanted the knight. She wanted to see him humiliated and shamed as she had been, but by her own skill and honor than his cowardly disrespect. But though she wanted it so bad it threatened to make her foam like a rabid animal he was here as a proxy. The warband was here on business of the court, and she feared that to interfere with it's mission would do more harm than good. It might even be seen as treachery against the court itself, which would definitely do wonders for her current reputation she was sure. The dilemma wracked at her brain even as she made herself continue marching forward into the forest, unsure exactly what to do but at least certain in her ambition to strive on without regret.

"I could challenge him to a secular round, but there's no telling if he would accept. Would he even be so arrogant to overestimate things? Would he even have the honor to accept the challenge?"
There was a very real concern she would just be seen as a nuisance and be dealt with by the whole band. Fighting all of them could end up problematic, and as much training as she had incurred she was still yet to be truly battle tested. It wouldn't be like before with the training snow golems and weapons and the like. It would be a true test of her armor and of her sword, the one thing left that she could say was her most trusted ally right now.

If worst came to worst, she would have to fight them all and deal with the consequences. For now however she held back the desire to march forth and simple jump out of the bushes at the man for a little more discretion. She didn't even know what kind of force the knight had assembled for this task, and that was information the Nelanorah was very interested to learn. For most tracking fae on their own home grounds might have been an arduous task. The faun had not forgotten her humble beginnings however, and so even amongst the very snow that swallowed up her own tracks she searched out for the signs of this band of fae. They would be faint, but perhaps just enough would be left to give her a rough estimate of how many had made their way through these parts recently.

And then? Why that answer was just as simple. Find the mortal interlopers. Where they were, the warband would eventually be. She could learn for herself just what kind of morons thought it was a good idea to take from the lands of winter, how much of a threat they might end up being, and get a good vantage to see just what she had to look forward to amongst the knight's own men.

Spoiler

Try to track the Fae Warband and potential Invader bands using the Ranger skill
Learn more about what she is potentially gonna have to deal with and tail the invaders if possible
Totally be a creeper swordfaun and try to sneak about

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Nelanorah's Perception Roll: 19
Nelanorah's Stealth Roll: 17

Perception rolls: SEEKRIT.

The faun's tracking experience would serve her well. The evidence of the fae warband's movements was well concealed, but not invisible to Nelanorah's skilled eyes. There was a series of nearly indistinguishable dips in the snow where fresh powder had covered a disturbance made by some form of life that had been traveling in the same direction as her. Based on the patterns someone had swept the ground from left to right behind the group as it moved, apparently in single file judging by the area disturbed, so that the snow would retake an even appearance quickly. They had made it impossible to determine how many were in their party, but Nelanorah would be able to determine a few key things simply by the way they had covered up after themselves.

The first and foremost was that magic had been involved. The raking of the snow was too smooth and uniform to have been done by hand in any reasonable amount of time for a traveling group. She was far enough in what the orcs arrogantly referred to as their territory that the mere evidence of magic greatly increased the chances that a faerie mage had been responsible for the effort, given the orcs' beliefs and their hostile nature towards organized magic amongst themselves and the humans. If it had been a faerie mage, then it meant that there was almost certainly a group of her male kin or kobolds along with them, as it was too narrow to cover a troll's tracks and the sidhe and nymphs of the Winter Court were often so fleet of foot and comfortable walking along the snow that they barely left an impression in their wake. If both of those conclusions were correct then she had definitely discovered the warband's trail.

As far as she knew, the only easy way out of the valley was to return south through the mouth of the valley from which she had entered. Going that way would deposit her directly onto a simple path that could be traveled hundreds of miles to the east or the west and through many mortal villages. The only other reasonable path out was located to the north on the opposite side of the forest and was much steeper, prohibiting any supply trains from traveling it without great risk to their cargo. It was difficult to say what this might mean for the warband, between magic and their natural aptitude for traveling across nature they could have very well gone through the forest and ventured out through that other path, or may have simply scaled the walls of the valley itself. She had nothing more to go on in that regard than the small trail she had discovered.

Deducing the movements of their likely prey would be a bit easier. She could find no evidence that a mortal had entered the valley anytime recently, but the path at the mouth of the valley was different news entirely. On her way in she had discovered evidence of multiple different groups numbering in the dozens and bringing wagons along with them. It had been a far cry from her attempts to track the members of her court, the mortals might as well have written their intentions in the snow for her to read. At least two dozen orcs had taken supplies back and forth several times over the past few weeks, and judging by similarities in the tracks it was extremely likely that it was the same group each time. It was obvious that they were either trading or ferrying supplies between nearby settlements.

It wouldn't be difficult for Nelanorah to stalk them if she desired, or judging by the tracks she might be able to lie in wait for them if she preferred that. Alternatively, she could follow the tracks to the warband in question if she liked. It was also entirely possible that by finding one she would eventually find the other. Or she could take any other course of action that the discovered information might lean her toward, the choice was for Nelanorah alone to make.

Spoiler

Sorry if I didn't push it forward enough. Felt like I should give you a chance to look over the information given the stuff the PSEUDOTRACKINGROLL gave you access to and let you decide what Nelanorah does after the revised knowledge.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

So the orcs were here in this valley? While her efforts to seek tracks of her kin had resulted in the faun finding the hint of them, the tell-tale signs of orc intrusion was certainly far more obvious than what her kin had left behind. A dozen, perhaps twice as much, left their mark on the land. For what, she could not tell. Supplies would be a good guess. Taking things back and forth between places where they dwell. But they may as well been their own warband patrolling this valley or scouting it. For those they saw as the real intruders on this land. Nelanorah's face twitched some in at gall of such a thought, and her hooves dug a bit deeper than she would have liked in the moment.

She couldn't tell how many were in her kin's warband, but that she could even find evidence of tracks let her know enough. There were kobolds and saytrs amongst them, and at least one mage given the magical nature of how their tracks were covered over the small area. Thankfully nothing bigger it seemed, for the tracks looked too narrow to obscure something so large. She doubted one would commit to cross-leg stepping the entire way either with how steep the landscape here appeared to become further into the valley. 'There doesn't appear to be any signs of sidhe or nymphs. Which probably means there are either none... or at least one sidhe and several nymphs. Hopefully they were chased off by that knight's arrogant wonderisms...'

The faun was displeased at the lack of further evidence for where the fae warband might be. The orc trail however left her in a better mood. If she could find where they were at there would be a very good chance that either the fae band would stumble upon them, or the orcs the same. The fact that a fae mage was plying her trade here was perhaps a blessing for this. She doubted it was the work of orcs given their suits for the more spiritual of powers. And if there were a tracker among them they would surely wish to sniff out the trail themselves. If they weren't already trying to.

She was curious to know too just what the orcs were up to. How serious their trespass was here could very well put her plans further into disarray. Her honor was important to the faun, but so too was the court, and she remembered it well. Her hooves crept with as much stealth as she continued to muster as she made off towards one of the more promising serious of orc trails at the mouth of the valley, her ears twitching at as the falling snow grew colder. 'If they detect me I might have to deal with the orcs myself. That could certainly... complicate things...' She thought with a quick wicked grin, before steadying herself and her resolve. 'First thing is first though. Find these orcs. If I'm not detected it should be easy to keep an eye on them from a distance while following them, and keep a look out for my kin at the same time.'

Spoiler

Go after whatever Orc band happens to be trudging about at the mouth of the valley
Continue sneaking about and hope they don't happen to spot creeper swordfaun foaming about

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Nelanorah's Perception: 18 + 22 = 40.
Nelanorah's Stealth: 7 + 14 + 10 (Circumstance 'cos tracking roll from earlier, snow, and presumably not exactly trying to get all up in their junk.) = 31.

Enemy rolls: 5, 4, 7, 11, and 15, the last one sees her.

The faun's task would take her to the mouth of the valley and on the path heading east, following the freshest set of tracks. It wasn't a difficult road for her to travel. Between her natural aptitude as a fae and the way the snow had been cleared by frequent disturbance she was able to traverse the road as easily as if it had never been graced by a flake since its construction. This would serve her well as she trekked over a mile before she caught up to tracks that had been made very recently. Fortune was with her, as another crop of frozen trees dotted the landscape on both sides of the road and she was able to pad stealthily through the trees as she moved the last half a mile in order to catch sight of the orcs proper.

As the faun took cover behind one of the trees she spotted the mortals she was after and it seemed they'd suffered a minor setback. They were stopped on the road, a full dozen and a half surrounding three carts. Five were positioned facing the direction that the faun was spying from with another five on the opposite side of the caravan, the rest were busy toiling away at one of the wagons. Perhaps in another stroke of luck for Nelanorah, one of the supply carts had lost both of its wheels on one side and had tipped, dumping a large supply of chopped lumber and other similar building materials. Taking a few more careful peeks, the faun would notice a few other details about the mortal party. The orcs were all armed with rifles, for one, and would be well-suited to combating any of her kin, loaded with shots made of the anathema as they were. The next thing she noticed that one of the carts was filled with foodstuffs and the last was filled elvish and human slaves, mostly men but with a few women.

That last peak would end up costing her in what might have been repayment for her earlier luck, as one of the orcs took sight of her. Nelanorah would have just enough time to duck back behind the tree that she had been using for cover before his rifle was up and trained toward her. "You! Behind the tree!" One of the orcs roared out, serving as an alert for the rest of the party she had intended on stalking. She wouldn't be able to see it without peeking again but the other four orcs closest to her hiding place took aim with their rifles as well, and those who had been busying themselves began to arm themselves and move toward the source of the commotion. "If you are not an enemy then present yourself and explain why you hide!" The orc commanded.

As it was, the faun was about thirty feet away from the closest group of orcs, not so far that she couldn't close the gap in short order with a charge if she desired. Those five orcs were in a rather tight formation, having formed an impromptu firing line as soon as the faun had been spotted. If she were brave enough to venture another look she would see that they were cautiously holding their ground, either for reinforcements or just out of paranoia. They would have the former soon regardless, as the eight who had been busy fixing the broken cart were busily picking up their own rifles and would likely start moving toward the five training their weapons on Nelanorah soon. The remaining five orcs had remained on the opposite end of the caravan, perhaps out of fear that attack might come from that side. Whatever strategy the faun might like to employ in her situation was up to her.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

No sooner had the faun traced the old steps back to the mouth of the valley did she find hints of newer ones. Sure enough, in little time she was following the trail onward. Taking cover within a nearby treeline that appeared after some time following. It made it much easier to stay concealed while tracking, which was a good thing too. The mortals were close. Very close. She could swear in the distance she caught sight of them, but one was wise not to underestimate the weather of the lands of winter. It was easy to go blind or start seeing things in the drifts if one was not careful.

Nelanorah this day was fortunate. The sight, backed by tracks, proved true. The very orc group she stalked appeared before her on the road, stuck in some heap of trouble. And of course they stood themselves guard with those damned ironshots. Her body shivering despite herself. She couldn't tell what kind of rifles they were. Not that it really mattered. Any iron spewing thing was a pain in the ass. If they had gotten the better position they would be well capable of repulsing the fae warband looking for them perhaps. A volley or two of missiles and well aimed shots, and the advantage would easily be theirs.

Of course, as it were they certainly weren't in a very good position for such a thing. Not with one of their wagons tipped about and standing out in the open around them. The supplies looked to be of cut timbers and foodstuffs. The former splayed across the ground and road and the later rested packed on it's own wagon. There was another kind of supply however. Other mortals. Not more orcs though; Elves and humans it looked like. More men than not too. Were they also here making trouble for the court? Or just a few unlucky ones who happened to end up on the wrong end of things. "I can't make out more from here. If only I could get a better..."

She caught eyes with one of the orcs and despite how fast she ducked back he was able to get a bead on her. She had to think fast. 'Damnit... they won't come after me, I think. But this might be my only chance to get them off guard like this.' The other orcs who were tending to the broken wagon were surely readying themselves to help the others now. The swordfaun peeked an eye at the five orcs and their line before giving a huff and and shifting her greatsword from one shoulder to the other. 'And here I thought I wouldn't be reckless...' She briefly thought, before breaking cover from around the tree and locking sight with those five close orcs.

Time seemed to stand still for the faun for just a moment before her muscles burst with energy, catapulting her forward with incredible speed. Her hooves trampled into the snow deep with every step then, leaving a noticeable trail back to the tree she lept from. She closed the distance between that trail and her targets with haste and by the time she could see their eyes more easily, and they hers, her voice called out in roar determined to strike down each and every single orc in front of her for their trespasses here.

Spoiler

Nelanorah does the obviously smart thing to do when a bunch of guns are trained on your position. And CHARGES at them.

To close the distance and kill things while foaming about obviously.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 22/65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Badly Injured, armor at 26/50 TP.

Rolls

Spoiler

Attack: 7 + 66 = 73. Hit.
Damage: First one automatically kills due to min damage.
Cleave Attack: Hit again, don't actually need to roll this.
Damage: 5 + 12 + 44 - 10 - 3 = Ded.
Cleave Attack: Hit again, didn't need to roll this one either.
Damage: 4 + 7 + 44 - 20 - 3 = 32 damage, still alive.

Also, I didn't notice it before but it'd be helpful for me if you'd put together your attack/damage math for Nelanorah's greatsword etc. Pretty sure Greatsword is (66) 2d12 + 44 damage, would hate to have messed it up though.

The three surviving orcs take pot shots along with two of the coming reinforcements, the rest don't have clear aim at Nelanorah yet. The close ones are taking -10 attack and dodge because close range, the long range ones are taking -5 'cos friendly targets in close range with Nelanorah (I feel like there was a rule for this in DG3.5 but it may just be DG4).

Attack: 11 + 30 - 10 (Close range) = 31 against her 31 'cos Charge, reroll for tie: 15 + 30 - 10 = 35. Hits.
Damage: 6 + 8 + 7 + 8 + 8 - 17 = 20.

Attack: 13 + 30 - 10 = 33. Hits.
Damage: 2 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 8 - 17 = 14

Attack: 12 + 30 - 10 = 32. Hits.
Damage: 3 + 2 + 5 + 8 + 8 - 17 = 9

Attack: 2 + 30 - 5 = 27. Miss.
Attack: 4 + 30 - 5 = 29. Miss.

Odd things happen 'cos Nelanorah isn't the only creeper about.

Casting: Success.
An ice wall with 108 HP and 18 AV springs up between Nelanorah and the 8 orcs that were repositioning to fire on her, leaving her in a 1 on 3 against the ones that just shot her.

Nelanorah can't see it but a small hail of arrows falls upon the 5 orcs furthest from her.
Attacks: Can't miss 'cos stealth attack boost.
Damage: Don't really feel like copying & pasting and showing the math on all rolls so will show final damage numbers.
40. Ded.
39 and then 39 again. Ded.
39 and then 37. Ded.
37 and then 41. Ded.
39. Almost ded.

An unseen character charges in to fight the eight orcs near the carts.
Attack: Similarly to Nelanorah, can't miss these mook-tier enemies.
Damage: 1 + 50 + 4 + 4 + 10 - 5 - 10 = 54 damage to the lot. Hits and kills 5 of them.

Eight more characters move in to hit the remaining four enemies. They can't actually miss either, and with their average damage alone they get guaranteed kills.

This leaves Nelanorah to dispatch the remaining 3 orcs.

Nelanorah's gambit seemed to pay off. The faun's reckless charge carried her toward the orcs so quickly that she got a glimpse of the shock in their eyes before realization took over and they began to fumble with their guns. Whether it was at the sight of a faun, surprise at her apparent fearlessness, or simply fear at the roar the fey loosed, the shooters hesitated enough to allow her to get some momentum before opening fire. The orc who had commanded her to show herself took a shot at her but his panic ruined his aim and as a result his gun left its payload in the snow beside her foot. The orc beside him took a last second shot of his own but it hit the tree that she had fled from. They would both pay for their poor aim in short order as she fell upon them.

Their torsos were largely covered not only by boiled leather but by thick furs which would stop her momentum and bind her weapon in short order, but their legs only had the protection of woolen trousers. It would be an easy target for the faun to exploit and with her momentum she was able to swing out with her greatsword with such force that she not only took her target's legs off at the knees but cleaved through one of the legs of the orc beside him and even ended up burying her sword so deeply into a third's leg that it hit the bone before it stopped dead. The first two orcs would end up dropping their rifles and falling backwards into the snow, a waterfall of crimson pouring from from their severed limbs. They would be dead within minutes.

Nelanorah didn't have much time to consider it if she didn't want to join them though. The two orcs who went untouched by her attack had gotten over their shock at her boldness and were aiming their rifles toward her with bloody revenge in mind. She wrested her blade back in order to regain control of it, in the process causing the orc she had struck to drop onto the ground ass-first unable to stand on his wounded leg, but wasn't able to throw herself out of the way before the two took shots at her so close that they couldn't possibly miss. The first shot clipped her off arm, searing throughout the entirety of its contact with her flesh due to the iron in it, while the second blasted her directly in the chest with only her breastplate saving her, though the wind was still knocked out of her and she nearly blown off of her feet. Before she could recover enough to retaliate, the orc she hadn't managed to kill steadied his own rifle enough to take a shot at her from a supine position on the ground, hitting her in the outside of her though. She was nearly left helpless by the pain of the three hits.

Her troubles would get worse as the orcs who had been mobilizing near the cart began to rush for positions where they could fire on the warrior faun. Two were confident enough to try even though she was in close range with their allies, taking up positions beside the cart that gave them a direct line to the faun over the orcs she had just put on the ground. The loud cracks of their gunshots filled the air, but fortunately they were wide and missed Nelanorah completely. In the position she was in it might not matter for long though. The faun was already badly wounded and the two orcs near her who were still upright had tossed away their guns and were drawing their swords to engage her, the one on the ground was fumbling to reload as were the two others further away who had fired at her, and six more still were maneuvering for a better position to target her from. Survival might require a miracle for her.

But this time her day seemed ready to provide her with one as a six foot tall wall of solid ice burst forth from the path formed in a semicircle around her and the three orcs she was engaged with, blocking her from any further shots coming from the enemies who had been near the carts but blocking her view as well due to the thickness of it. "Magic! It was a distraction!" An unseen voice, almost certainly orcish, roared from the same general area as the two orcs who'd taken fire at her from near the cart. The sounds of crunching snow and pitched battle erupted from beyond the wall, peppered with gunshots and cries of agony mostly from the direction of the orcs.

While she no longer had the orcs at large to deal with, the sudden flurry of activity did leave Nelanorah alone with the three orcs she'd already been fighting, two with sword and hand and advancing on her and the last on his back on the ground and trying to reload his weapon. Despite all that had happened her green-skinned enemies showed no sign of retreating and even if they wanted to the only path away from the battlefield left to them was through the faun herself, so they would surely try to carve their way through her regardless of how the fight might be going on the other side.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Oh how satisfying it was to see the fear in the orc soldiers faces. To see them tense up as she approached, weapon held ready in her charge, and to see it affect their motions. Their stillness betraying them as she easily closed the distance between them. They did manage to get a shot or two off before she was completely before them, the cursed projectiles crying out as they sailed past her. It helped them not though, and with all the power put behind her charge the faun pushed out her sword with practiced effort and swung the greatsword wide into the orc's. Guiding it low in instinct, the few seconds her senses allowed her to notice their unprotected leggings snapping those reflexes to act.

She cleaved easily through the poor wool the orcs had chosen to wear, tearing apart the poor mortal's legs in short order. A single leg of another was cleaved just as easily, and a third would have joined it were it not for the rather strong bones he managed to have. As the other fell in agony Nelanorah was already gritting her teeth in a snarl and pulling against the orc who kept her blade trapped to free it. She had but a moment to glance down at him as he stumbled down, too injured by his leg to stand any longer before she found herself staring down the barrels of two guns. She remembered feeling the burning punches of the shots before hearing them. Her arm blistering in agony where it chipped off, and her armor denting inward and knocking her back.

She steadied herself through small stumbles, grinding further into the snow where she stood, and though it kept her on her feet it didn't protect her from the other fallen orc. His own weapon left it's own mark seering into her thigh and seizing the faun's leg up where she stood. 'Shit shit ow ow ow OW OW.' Things were not going well at all. Which was given seeing how she just charged in recklessly. With the other orcs moving to position behind the wagon the little faun felt her heart jump in her chest as they took their own potshots at her. She was left in disbelief when not another crack of pain pummeled into her. They missed? The momentary joy was palpable compared to all the pain and fuzziness clouding her eyes because of it.

The faun could see loud and clear the two orcs closest to her drawing their swords, and she was left with a decision. One which was easy. She was outnumbered. Even if she managed to kill these two orcs, the others were in perfect position to fire upon her. Retreat was a thing that left a bad taste in her mouth, but it sounded the best decision to make. She could clearly see a spot a small way back from where she had come and was already channeling some of her power to fuel a return there when something unexpected happened. Or rather afraid of. A magic wall of ice burst from the ground and towered over her, blocking her and the three orcs closest to her from the others.

"It's them!? Dammit why did they have to be here?" She thought in question and semi panic. She hadn't even noticed them before! Though she was grateful for the help, especially since it was probably of the fae mage's initiative. But if he was here... ughhh the taste that came to her mouth was worse than retreat. Priorities came first; she had to deal with these orcs first. As the one's outside were being quickly dispatched by the sounds of things, she leveled herself against the approaching two, finally moving herself once her muscles stopped being stubborn. She moved more cautiously against them now, watching them through the leftover of haze in her eyes and when she saw the crucial opportunity, she straightened her blade and thrust forth.

Spoiler

Nelanorah attacks to the two orcs approaching her while fighting Defensively
- 8 Points sacrificed to increase Dodge for the round

Assuming things go well this round, and nothing happens to effect it otherwise, she would then attack the orc on the ground to try to finish him with the same stance as above.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 22/65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Badly Injured, armor at 26/50 TP.

Rolls

Spoiler

None necessary for Nelanorah on the first attack. Instantly kills an orc just with her minimums.

Since that's the case, I went ahead and rolled a bunch of d20s to see if the orcs would even manage to hit her over the course of 3 rounds assuming she maintained 8 defensive fighting, and they did not, so no need for more rollan'.

Nelanorah was outnumbered, but she had the advantage of range and positioning. The semi-ring of ice was tight enough around the group that, with a few steps back to reach the narrowest point, the faun was able to prevent the two from flanking her. Moreover, her greatsword was at least a foot longer than the arming swords that the orcs wielded. With a few whirls of her blade, she was able to force them to keep the fight at her range. The orcs had no choice but to act aggressively if they wanted to get past Nelanorah, and time was of the essence for them with their comrades in pitched battle outside of the ice wall so they did just that.

The faun just barely caught a subtle glance from the orc to her right aimed at the one to her left which signaled the latter to rush in. That glance was all that Nelanorah needed. The orc to her left charged with an overhead swing and the faun brought her blade above her head and thrust against him with it. In a single motion she caught his sword's edge with her crossguard and put her point five inches into the orc's eye, more than enough to end him. Her weapon was lodged in the man now though, and as his own weapon fell free of his hand and his body became dead weight his fall threatened to rip the sword from Nelanorah's hands. Her situation was made even more precarious as the second came at her even as she was in the process of killing the first, and if anything he was emboldened by the faun's vulnerable position.

Luck was with her that day. She pulled it free just in time to put it in the path of the second orc's arming sword, which was aimed in a cut against her own legs. Their blades clashed and bound, and the orc attempted to get a grasp on Nelanorah's sword with his off hand. The faun was quicker though, and with a quick shift of her own off hand up onto the blade of her own weapon she was able to use his sword as a fulcrum for her own. From there, Nelanorah easily adjusted the point to threaten her attacker's neck with it, and then simply thrust the weapon upward into his brain. Her two standing opponents were dead.

After a small struggle to pull her weapon out of the man, who had nearly collapsed onto Nelanorah in his death throes, which made harder by a creeping sense of exhaustion, the faun was able to stride toward the orc on the ground and end him even as he fumbled to reload his weapon to put another bullet into her. With her remaining three opponents dead and five kills to her name that day, it was time to face her rescuers whether she was ready to or not.

The ice wall would crack and shatter eventually crumble back onto the ground that it had rose from. With her vision no longer blocked, Nelanorah's suspicions would quickly be proven correct: the faerie warband had found her. No less than sixteen of her kin stalked among the carts, finishing off wounded orcs and taking trophies ranging from cart goods to ears and teeth. A few had even pulled some of the elven or human slaves free to claim them as a personal prize.

Eight among her fellow goatkin were satyrs, armed with short bows, bronze daggers, bronze swords, or some combination of them, and the other eight were gruffs, armed with everything from mauls to axes, warhammers, shields, and swords. Most were armored in furs and leather. The sidhe mage was nowhere to be seen, but Nelanorah couldn't say the same for the man she had hoped wouldn't be present.

The faun heard him before she spotted him. "Grab as many of the mortals as you can, they'll make for fun toys until they freeze! We'll burn everything we can't carry." It was undoubtedly his voice. It had a certain quality about it, kindly and welcoming and often at complete odds with his words. It was almost akin to the final stages of hypothermia, a surprising warmth that would lull anyone unfortunate enough to accept it into an endless sleep. As her eyes fell upon the source of that voice, she might be reminded of just how much the man matched the voice.

He stood near the broken cart amidst orcish corpses and specked with blood. His face was boyishly handsome and he wore the same carefree grin that he'd worn every time the faun had seen him before. He stood just short of six feet tall with a slender physique that was accented by the golden armor he wore. He was the sort of faerie that human maidens swooned over. In appearance, he was the kind in human stories that whisked a young woman off of her feet and took her to live in paradise. The sort that men feared would seduce their lovers while they were away. In action, however, he was the type of faerie that parents warned their children to run away from, or the sort who would come for naughty children and steal them away. No story involving him would have a good ending.

The only thing that betrayed the wanton cruelty underneath his gentle visage, beyond the death around him, was his icy blue eyes which seemed completely foreign to the concept of compassion. When mortals held the misconception that all winter fae were evil creatures come to sadistically torment their kind for no reason other than their own amusement, it was usually by the work of faeries like him. He truly had seduced mortal women only for them to never be seen again, but he certainly never took them to any paradise. He had no lover other than cruelty, and he was a bloodthirsty sort who loved to hunt anything that could put up a fight, mortal, demon, or otherwise.

Of course, Nelanorah had experienced the lash of his favorite hobby when he had joined the knights who had attempted to break her pride. She would experience more of it verbally that day as well, as he turned his attention on her. "If it isn't the faun who thinks she's a gruff!" His call toward her was jovial, even as he knelt low in order to wipe the blood off of his longsword using an orcish corpse. He would sheathe the weapon and begin to pad toward her as he continued. "I hope you weren't looking to join my warband, at least not as a warrior. I've no need for a suicidal sheep. We do have plenty of tents that could do with with a warmer and plenty of frustrated goats who could do with a toy, if you've come to your senses," he remarked, his voice still warm even as it carried the blatant insults to Nelanorah's honor.

The man continued his approach, until eventually his boot came to rest on one of the orcs that the faun had slain as he stood in front of her. "I'll give you credit though, you're not half bad as a distraction either. I had considered waiting until they were passing you around to order the attack, but you managed to keep on your feet after that barrage. Made this nice and easy." The cruel knight grinned at her. The man was blatantly trying to goad her, though to what end might not immediately be apparent. The rest of Nelanorah's kin had begun to grab slaves from the cart, ignoring the exchange, and the knight was talking low enough now that he was in earshot that they wouldn't be able to hear it even if they were paying attention. How the faun chose to react, however, was entirely up to her.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

With the help of the ice ring closing off the field, and the recklessness that the orcs now needed to escape the battle quickly turned in the swordfaun's favor. She was injured, but against only two standing orcs and another stuck on the ground she had barely a worry against another barrage of pain. They only made it easier when one of them charged forth and with a quick motion she skewed him straight through the eye. The dead weight off balanced the faun as the dead man fell with her sword. She wrangled it loose of his skull soon enough, and blocked the other orc's attempt to get in a strike while she was vulnerable. And with a skillful grab used his very own sword to help angle her own upwards and lurch it upward through his neck and skull.

The faun sighed in annoyance and creeping exhaustion as the next man's dead weight made it once more awkward to retrieve her sword in short order. She succeeded of course, and turned her sights to the downed man. Striving towards him with killing intent as he fumbled with his pistol in vain. One quick jab into the orc's chest was all it took before he grunted out one last breath before going still, and she kicked the man's damnedable weapon away. 'Next time 'Norah, use your damn powers before you a burst of lead.' The short reprieve was a welcome one that the swordfaun didn't take for granted in the least. Her lungs taking deep breaths as she relaxed her tense muscles, and waited for the ice wall to shatter.

Sure enough as her suspicions had told her not only were the rest of the orcs dead, but this was indeed the fae warband she was looking for. Almost all saytrs and gruffs from the look of it. With no sign of the mage who had raised the wall. A pity, seeing how she wanted to thank her for the assistance. And also how she would rather to be seeing that kinsman instead the man who just so happened to appear near her singing his orders. The moment she heard it she felt her fur stand up and jitter and that loathing foam she felt in the pit of her stomach began to boil. Making her feel sick to her stomach and just wanting to strangle the life out of it. And it only got worse as the man noticed her and approached.

Just like before he mocked her with that jovial cruelty, insulting her choice of path and the honor she sought with it once more. Staring back at her with those deceptively boyish features and cruel blue eyes as if he were right. It took so much willpower not to start actually foaming on the spot into a blind rage. "I remember where I came from. For my 'court', I would stand a wall against bullets and pain." She slithered out, putting a heavy emphasis on the word court as her eyes narrowed immensely toward the cruel knight. "As would I deal with nuisances like these ones, who have been allowed to wander in and out of this valley for weeks at a time now. Someone with some backbone had to." She nearly snapped, trying her hardest not to tremble in anger.

Oh how she wanted to just whip her powers up and put her sword deep in his skull with a quick jab. It'd be so easy at this distance, though she doubted the others would take kindly to it. Her knuckles grew white as she forced herself against the urge. "We both know I didn't come here to join a warband, let alone yours. Even you're not that dumb. So let's cut to the chase. I'm here for YOU. Your steel versus my steel. One-on-one. Full, rested and at our best. Unless you think you can't handle it. Though surely someone as strong as you isn't afraid of a little sheep?" The faun prodded herself, working on the knight's overblown ego. She wasn't sure she could face him as easily now in her current state, but with a rest they'd both be in perfect form. Just the way she wanted it to be.

The question now was whether he'd take the bait or not. Or whether she'd be in a world of trouble from his dumb disgusting antics.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 22/65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Badly Injured, armor at 26/50 TP.

The knight's face was that of a cat watching a mouse as Nelanorah struck against his ego. If the faun was considering a strike against her tormentor, the sidhe man was surely considering just as much against her. But his sword never came, and instead he countered her with cruel laughter in initial response to her honest demand to duel for her honor. And once his cold laugh faded he lashed out at her honor again. "Of course I do not fear a sheep! I've already bested you once, or did you forget so quickly after the marks of my hand faded!" Whether it was the man's intention or not, his voice had raised as he insulted her and he had drawn the attention of most of the gruffs and satyrs among the carts. Their quarrel was no longer hidden from Nelanorah's kin.

If it had been an accident, the man didn't let it slow him as he began to stalk a circle around the faun, grinning and taunting her all the while. "Why do I owe you a rematch, exactly? I think our last match proved that you are no warrior, faun! You're only good for healing wounds and emptying balls," he proclaimed, revealing his crudeness to all among his own warband. There wasn't a gruff or satyr among the ambushers whose attention was away from her argument with the knight now, but if Nelanorah was able to stave off her rage long enough to look around then she would recognize that the other goatkin showed no signs of agreeing with the cruel sidhe, at the very least not outwardly.

"But I suppose I can take a few minutes out of my busy day to humor a sheep in her quest to be humiliated. But since I won last time I'm imposing a condition for this rematch. When you lose this time, you will give up either your pride or your dignity, I'll let you make the choice." The knight stopped pacing then, staring at Nelanorah with his icy blue eyes. "What say you, sheep? Are you still ready for another lesson about your place?"

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Nelanorah's rage grew once more as the Knight paced around her, his laughs and contemptible voice doing nothing to quell the ever rising feeling to submit and flail about in anger. He just had to bring up his fondles too. The despicable thing. It had really struck a chord with her when he had done it at the time. He was the only one among those knights who had been that crude she remembered. A last insult to her injury of being so beaten by all of them. Perhaps that was a reason why she had jumped at the opportunity to seek him out first. Another bit of personal revenge upon her task, that she was all too willing to fulfill. That or she just really wanted to beat the sidhe senseless for the joy of it herself regardless.

The others from the band had quickly taken notice of their talking. Mostly helped by the knight not being able to keep his voice down. As she glanced between them while he was pacing behind her, she noticed their neutral looks with mild relief. 'Hopefully that means they don't agree with this babyfaced moron.' Her tormentor was quickly back in front of her all too soon from his pacing, speaking of a condition for the match that made her twist her mouth in disgust. Give up her pride or dignity? Was he out of his mind? She knew he didn't have much of a good one but still. He was crazy if he thought she would ever give up either of those. That didn't stop her from humoring him with it however.

"Very well. I'll play your dumb game. My dignity is the choice, if you can take it. And if I win well... you'll see. Now if you will excuse me, I have a match to prepare for. As do you." The swordfaun responded with a low voice, eager to get the knight sidhe's disgusting presence out of her face. She watched him closely as she moved walked herself from around him and toward her kin and the carts, only breaking contact when she was sure he wouldn't do something stupid. Well more stupid really. Revulsion made her shiver in relief after putting some distance from him and making her way to the carts, though she did eye some of her goatkin with suspicion. They seemed neutral but one never knew what someone could actually be thinking so she kept an eye out.

Once she was at the carts she made about fixing her armor up, searching for any spare parts the cart might hold to help her in this task. Nelanorah was also tempted by any spare food spoils that were noticeable about the cart. Especially any jams that happened to be laying about. It was a cliche of her kind she knew but damn if berry preserves weren't one of the best things ever. And after killing five orcs and getting shot, and not yet sitting to eat something any would look like heaven to her. She made sure to eye anything of interest there she could take herself that might be useful, as well as give any of the remaining slaves still not claimed near her if they were another look of suspicion as well.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 22/65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Badly Injured.

The knight regarded the faun for a few moments following her own remarks with no response but a cruel grin, but then rolled his neck once as if to stretch and then waved a dismissive hand toward her. Nelanorah would be left to her own devices as she padded away from the foul sidhe, followed only by the man's evil smile for as long as she chose to keep her eyes on him. Her fellow goatkin paid little attention to the bloodied faun after she had passed them on her way to the carts. To someone from outside of the Winter court they might've seemed as cold toward her as the frost that clung to their fur, but in truth they were probably mainly indifferent. Both parties had agreed to the duel and its price, let the snows claim the weaker one and the court's strength flourish for the rise of the stronger one.

The closest cart, which happened to be the broken one, was the one that carried material supplies. A quick search suggested that its contents had mainly been tools and iron goods. Two-man saws, axes, hammers, equipment for the maintenance of blades, spikes, and nails littered the ground. There was also a large pile of lumber, not full logs but rather wood which had already been cut into shapes likely intended to be assembled at the orc's destination. The majority of the tools had been created with enough iron that it was uncomfortable for the faun to hold them, but she was able to pick a wooden mallet from the pile to hammer out the dents in her breastplate. She also discovered some clean cloth for binding her wounds.

The second cart in her path was the one filled with slaves. Her kin had indiscriminately picked it almost clean of both men and women already, leaving five untouched. It looked like they'd left the least healthy, appealing, and fit behind. There was a middle-aged human woman with brown hair, matching eyes, and freckles who was a little on the pudgy side who looked like she was on the verge of tears and barely even noticed the faun, a middle-aged, skinny, balding human man with light hair and dark eyes who stared at the floor of the cart with resignation, a blonde elf woman, one who was completely missing her left arm and had her left leg below the knee replaced with a wooden peg, who raised a defiant scowl at Nelanorah, and a blonde elf male of average build with no apparent defects beyond an incredible patchwork of scars across his muscled chest who had simply closed his eyes and was waiting. The last slave, a young, malnourished, sickly-looking male elf with silvery hair looked toward the faun half-fearful and half-pleadingly as she surveyed the group.

When she was done at the second cart, assuming she had done nothing to upset the warband in her actions regarding the slaves, Nelanorah would be free to approach the third. The final cart that the orcs had dragged along with them turned out to contain their rations. It was full of smoked fish, jerky, hardtack, and other preserved foods. The faun would be in luck as she found over a dozen large glass jars of various sugary preserves near two bags of salt. The labeling was in orcish, but if the faun's experience with the language was too limited to read the jars then she would at least find herself with several different oranges, reds, blacks, blues, and purples to pick from.

The faun would barely have enough time to collect whatever combination of foods she ended up choosing as her meal before she was approached by a new figure coming from the direction of the knight. The newcomer turned out to be another sidhe, a woman with long, raven hair and icy blue eyes. She wore a modest black dress with a similarly black furred trim at the wrists, hem, and neckline, combined with black boots and black gloves that left nearly everything but her neck and above to the imagination. Her face was very angular, still possessed of the beauty of the fey but lacking the softness of her Summer kin. "I am here to offer you healing for your challenge," she announced her intentions toward the faun dispassionately, not betraying any of her feelings one way or the other about the coming duel.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Iron quality goods of the first cart she encountered left the swordfaun off put, at least until she eyed the wooden mallet amongst them. A perfect little hand tool needed to pound out the dents left from the shots to her armor. Most of everything held in the cart used too much iron for the faun's taste, and for her flesh to really handle. A shame since some of the hammers did look appealing enough as a tool to maintain her gear, if not for what they were made of. She didn't want to accidentally prod herself with any iron bits by trying to carry any of the stuff as well. The last time she had tried something like that she had left a pattern of marks on her back that stung and took forever to fade away and she not about to repeat that experience again. Every spare bit of metal she could use for extra patch working she did pocket however, along with a number of cloths prime for being torn into bandages.

Nelanorah slowed herself as she passed the second cart. Even evident as it was that any of the better prospects wouldn't be amongst them; her goatkin always eager for the stronger and more enduring for their bedside shenanigans. There wasn't much left to look at. Aged human male and woman, one big the other skinny and losing hair. Both seeming resigned to their fate now. And three elves, one sickly male fearful and pleading, another average looking one covered in scars nonchalant, and a female missing two limbs. With the most twisted scowl she could muster through her bindings. The faun spent an extra moment of observing her from it, giving her body a good long gaze and taking in those missing spots. "Still got a little bit a fight left in you? Good. It'll keep the cold out much longer." She commented as she returned the woman's gaze, before moving on to the next cart.

The third cart was the treasure trove of food that her body was waiting for, and even though it was all labeled in orcish it wasn't hard for the faun to sort through. Nor did it take long for her to find the precious preserves hidden near the sugar and spices. Water oozed it's way into her mouth as she scooped up a number of them and, ignoring her task of armor repair for the time being, began to eat with little regard a sampling from a number of the jars. 'I'll give the orcs one thing; they know how to gather their fruit jams. Plundered or no. I guess they aren't going to need it anymore now~' She thought with satisfaction, both in the taste and accomplishment for her court and of that day's kills.

She was stuffing her face with another glob when the sight of someone approaching from the Knight's direction made her do a double take and choke down a cough. It was a sidhe, but not him thank heavens. Raven hair and icy blue eyes covered from head to toe in modest black furred and trimmed clothing approached instead, and it had to be the unseen mage from before who had given her reprieve from the battle. This eased the faun somewhat but the dispassionate way she addressed her left her not knowing what side if any she leaned herself on towards the duel. Just like her very kin. "Hauank yooou..." She uttered, before turning and wiping away at her face with a blush and gulping as much of the thick jam she had currently in her mouth down before addressing her again. "Your services would be most appreciated. And I must thank you with the assistance in the battle. Wish these orcs wouldn't hide behind their guns so often. Such a pain to deal with."

Putting down all the jams, the swordfaun raised herself to a more formal pose and gave the sidhe a submissive bow. "My name is Nelanorah, and I ask forgiveness for this mess. I had hoped to do this all another time, and not cause such an interference. Imagine my surprise when I learn your leader is out in the wilderness on court business with an entire warband. A few weeks earlier and my timing wouldn't have been so unfortunate." She sighed and placed herself down to get to work proper on her gear, removing pieces of her armor to better work on them now and give the mage a clearer path to her injures. Working some of the cloth from before into bandages she could apply after the mage had gone over an area to better protect it.

Spoiler

Yeah not gonna lie I really wanted to do something with them mook slaves here but depending on how things go I can fit it in elsewhere in the immediate future. Assuming things don't go up in flames before that at least.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Fine.

"Matters of pride are as much court business as this is," the faerie would reply in that same dispassionate voice after Nelanorah had settled down to receive her healing. The sidhe woman was clinical in her efforts. One at a time, she repaired each area with a simple burst of her energy to kick start the faun's own healing process. The mage's hands were cold and her energy could even be described as icy as it entered into the faun's system but her work would prove thorough enough that not even a trace of the female goatkin's wounds remained after she was done, though the sidhe wouldn't prevent her from bandaging up anyway. "Whatever he might have said," she continued, speaking as she gave Nelanorah a thorough second check, "I doubt our Queen or any of the Ladies and Lords under her cared whether these orcs were swatted anymore than they care if a particularly annoying anthill is stomped."

After she was content that all of Nelanorah's wounds had been taken care of, she would step back and hold her hand out toward the faun. "I'll take your breastplate, I can mend it," she commanded more than asked. If the faun was willing to temporarily part with her armor then the sidhe would do just that, carefully reshaping the breastplate until there wasn't even a hint of the damage it had sustained left, once again speaking as she worked. "These mortals are born, live their lives, die, and decay back into the land in the blink of an eye for us. They don't even last as long as the trees they harvest for shelter. Why would any self-respecting one among us care what the lowest of them toil toward? Let alone one among us who's trusted with guiding Winter's will. This is little more than an excuse for him to partake in the hunts he loves so much. I'm only here because I owe him a favor for a gift I received in the past."

She handed the breastplate over to Nelanorah. Any inspection would reveal that it was as good as new. "Feel free to finish your meal. The duel will take place when you're ready," she explained as she took a seat near the faun, allowing the greatsword wielder a chance to eat, say whatever she might like in response to the mage's own comments, or do anything else that came to mind.

Spoiler

That's fine. Nelanorah can take her first jump into slavery wheneeever she likes.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

The faun raised a brow at the faerie's comment about the importance of that knight's presence here, and when she explained further after taking her armor to repair, she felt her eye twitch. 'So... he's just out here swatting around mortals for the fun of it. Great. Just great. Why am I not surprised...' She thought to herself, already knowing the answer. A cruel knight taking every chance he got to be cruel, whether it was actually important or not? Shocking. At the faerie's talk about the lowest mortals though, the faun twisted her lips. It was true that mortals didn't live as long as any of her kin, and certainly not as long as the higher fae. But they still could cross with winter's path in their short lives and cause quite a stir if allowed too.

Taking back her repaired breastplate and inspecting it's condition, she couldn't find a single fault in the faerie mage's work. Every hole wreaked into it had been mended, and no trace of the orc's exchange could be found. Satisfied in it's repair, she put aside her jar of jam to slip back into her armor once more. Locking the harnesses into place and making sure it fit her form. With it done she returned her focus onto the jam and continued to indulge, scooping it out in little globs with her fingers sucking it up unceremoniously with some glee. After a moment of realizing the fae had taken a seat next to her for longer than a second or two she toned it back somewhat.

"That may all be true, the things you say about mortals. But the lowest also have everything to gain. And the pressure of such a short time to do it so. Desire makes 'lessers' seek to prove themselves against everything for better or worse. Even if it'd be easier and wiser not to." The parallel with her own course was not lost on the swordfaun, and she quickly followed up. "It doesn't particularly bother me what they do as long as it isn't against the court. That would be very foolish after all. Just like 'he' is. I hope for your sake too that whatever favor you owe him you only owe him the one. I can't imagine any world where he would actually give anyone a 'gift' without something so cruely wrong with it."

Placing the empty jar back behind her in the wagon, Nelanorah stood herself up. A deep breath escaping her lips as she hardened her features and took hold of her greatsword. "Alright let's get this over with. I'm tired of waiting to deal with him..."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 51, Status = Fine.

As Nelanorah offered her own take on mortals and their abilities, her brunch guest would eye her with a look that spoke nothing of the thought processes going on behind her neutral gaze. Even to the faun who was well used to dealing with the high faeries, the cold sidhe woman would prove about as readable as an outsider. But where her face offered nothing, her words might at least allow the goat-legged woman a chance to guess at where she stood on the matter of mortals and their feats, if Nelanorah was so inclined to try.

"Perhaps," she remarked. "I suppose there does come a strong mortal every once in a long millennium. A king of humans here, a king of orcs there, and however many dozens of heroes of the anthills who lead their brief-lived people against time as if it were a touchable enemy, but time is like snow. It might only take a little or it may take much more but everything fades away under it eventually. Even the mighty mountain is buried given enough of it." The faerie looked away from Nelanorah and instead scanned her eyes across the wreckage of the carts, where they would eventually settle on the one bearing the slaves. "And even when you credit some of them with being able to manage to create a mountain, one must recall that for longer than even we who tread upon the snow can remember there has only been one Queen of Winter."

Nelanorah would get no answer regarding the nature of the gift the faerie had received, nor any further comments on the orcs. Instead, once she was through with her snack she would earn a small nod from the fey woman. The sidhe would stand in a single, easy motion and glide across the snow with grace greater than even Nelanorah's own supernatural abilities when it came to traversing the powder. She motioned for the faun to follow after her, leading her to a clear piece of the path on the side of the carts that the greatsword wielder had charged in from earlier and where her opponent was waiting for her.

The cruel knight was already prepared for her. The handle of his longsword was in his left hand and its blade rested casually against his armored shoulder. It wasn't anything nearing a proper stance, even for a superhumanly fast fey warrior, but it likely wasn't meant to be. Far more likely that it was an attempt to remind Nelanorah of her previous loss to him when he had kept his sword in much the same position throughout the fight in order to humiliate the already exhausted faun. As if to follow up on the attempted assault on her ability to keep her calm, his lips widened into a cocky smirk aimed at Nelanorah as soon as she approached. That would be the entirety of his arsenal for the moment though, so long as the greatsword wielder managed to keep her cool and avoid recklessly charging him despite his taunting display, as the sidhe woman began to speak the very moment the two were present and settled.

"I will serve as primary witness to this duel, those among the goatkin who view it shall be considered secondary witnesses." If Nelanorah looked around she would quickly discovered that the majority of the present gruffs and satyrs could number themselves as a secondary witness along with the claimed slaves that they dragged with them. Only a minority of her kin chose to entertain themselves with their spoils over the coming duel. "Due to the nature of the disagreement behind this duel, it will proceed until one side surrenders, is knocked unconscious, or is killed, at which point they will be wholly at the victor's mercy to do with as they see fit. There will be no interference nor outside help until after a winner is decided, and a barrier shall be created around the combatants to prevent any attempts." At that she would take several steps back, leaving herself a good fifteen feet away from either combatant. "The fighting may begin the moment the spell is cast. Are you both ready?"

"Oh yes, I'm going to savor this," he would reply to the faerie woman, his stance unchanging and his cold eyes fixed to Nelanorah. If the greatsword wielder answered in the affirmative as well, the sidhe woman would reply only by offering a brief countdown that ended in her raising a force barrier around the faun and the knight that was about twenty-five feet in total diameter. And with that, Nelanorah would be left to strike the first blow in her effort to reclaim her honor.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

The swordfaun followed in silence behind the faeire, contemplating the wisdom in her sitting guest's words. It was true that the legacy of mortals were often buried with the passage of time. But it wasn't always forgotten, or lost, or undone either. Though not a blanket like the falling of snow, the accomplishments of men no doubt raised mountains with time, and covered fields in drifts of their own design. And though the torrents of winter would inevitable fall upon them as they always did she sometimes wondered, if ever so slightly, what the cold mattered to those who learned to shelter their warmth from it. It left her fearful of a simple thought. An unbecoming one; that winter itself one day might be no more than a nuisance for those upon anthills thrive.

She was jolted from her thoughts by the realization that they had already arrived. They had traveled through the path she had first came from and to a small clearing on the other side of the treeline. A perfect place for a duel; even ground only marred by footprints pathed about. One pair of which belonged to that insufferable knight, standing cockily with that dumb smirk of his. Nelanorah almost could stand it. What others might mistake for confidence she saw straight though to the coldness that it really was, and it disgusted her. She tried all she had to prevent a grimace from crossing her face, but in the presence of that damned one she felt she might leave wrinkles permanently etched on her from the effort to suppress it. It wasn't lost on her that he held himself the same way as that day as well. He'd learn soon enough how bad an idea he was messing around with.

"Let it be done." The faun nearly snapped, affirming to faerie after she set down the outline of the duel, drifting her eyes to all the goatkin witnesses with their slaves and back to those cold blue eyes. Narrowing her own in disdain as she began to channel her spirit, feeling it course through her and match her pulse as the faerie's countdown dipped ever lower. Her heart began to race in anticipation as the time closed in. And when it reached zero and the barrier that would be their arena enclosed around them, Nelanorah breathed deep releasing a drawn out ohmmm as her spirit cracked and took shape around her. Her hair stood on end as the surge of energy manifested itself and she felt the tell tale drain of energy begin to draw from her efforts.

She was sure he was expecting her to charge in recklessly, and with her aura up it might have seemed the most appealing idea at the time. To simply rush that dumb grin and watch it fade as she smashed her pommel into his face. But she wanted it dawn on the knight slower just what he had gotten himself into. So she simply walked forward, sword in a defensive grip as she approached. Assuming he hadn't done something himself after she had enstrengthened herself. And once she had gotten into range with the knight she scouted, searching his defenses for a opening before slaming a blunt of force against him. Not aimed to injure outright, but certainly to wind to some effect.

Spoiler

Nelanorah uses Battle Aura(X = 7) right after the barrier goes up.

And assuming the Knight hasn't preemptively attacked, she strides up to him and attempts to deliver a Crushing Blow as her first strike.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Spoiler

Nelanorah: HP = 65, PP = 48, EP = 39/51, Status = Battle Aura X = 7.

Rolls

Spoiler

Round 1: Nelanorah activates battle aura, the knight takes no mechanical action.

Round 2:
Nelanorah's Attack: 20 + 48 + 12 + 2 = 82. Hit.
Damage: 23 + 41 + 21 - 20 = 65 - 20 = 45 damage.
Resistance: 13 + 31 = 44, Failed.

The knight used defensive stance so he accomplishes nothing this round other than getting whacked.

"Really giving it your all, eh? Good. Maybe you'll actually provide me with some entertainment." He wore a derisive sneer as he taunted her. That's all it was though: a taunt. The knight meant to get under her skin and make her angry and reckless. Meant to draw her into his web between his mannerisms and the casual manner in which he held his sword, nowhere near anything that could be considered at the ready. The truth was that he was as supernaturally fast as any of his sidhe equals. The moment Nelanorah forgot that, he'd be able to easily bring his sword in for a deadly stroke.

The faun's caution would serve her well. She approached him and he circled her, but with the boost from her aura the greatsword wielding goatkin managed to keep the distance solely in her favor. From there it was just a matter of patience, and hers would prove stronger than his. In his apparent desire to make some play, the knight would move to shift the sword from his left hand to his right while maintaining its low position. Capitalizing on that instant of vulnerability, Nelanorah struck high.

In an instant her hands reversed the hold on her weapon. She took grasp of the blade of her sword and swung the crossguard of it at the knight as if it were a hammer intended to break through his plate armor. The knight was fast to respond but nowhere near quick enough. His sword would bite into her blade, just beneath the crossguard of her weapon, and he even managed to divert the course of her weapon away from his head but it didn't matter. The weight of her blow was heavy enough to catch his shoulder and drive a pained grunt from his mouth.

Had he been anything but a sidhe knight, Nelanorah's swing most likely would've pushed him down onto his knees with enough force to stun him. It probably would've been the end to the fight, allowing her to follow up with a decisive strike that would seal the duel's result. He proved himself worthy of his title and station though, as he allowed the weight to simply push him down and smoothly transitioned that force into a roll that distanced himself from her weapon. He rose so quickly that she couldn't capitalize on that sudden escape and his weapon was immediately up and ready to fend off any attempt she might make to do so. It was all becoming of a knight of winter.

Less becoming was that his usually handsome face was being overtaken by a sense of cold rage that began to etch itself into his features. His cockiness began to fade, likely in time with each throb of pain that emanated from the faun's successful strike. His weapon even came up into an appropriate position for a warrior facing their equal, held with handle at waist height and the tip of the blade pointed at her own chest. Whatever else happened, Nelanorah had already forced this man to non-verbally concede that she was a threat in front of all the duel's witnesses. But whether it was to her preference or not, it would seem less and less likely that he'd favor his hand over his sword if she was vulnerable to either again.

 

[Ryu Doppler]

Re: Even Beasts Must Be With Justice Slain (Ryu Doppler) GMed by Hafnium

Nelanorah would never again be drawn into one of the despicable fae's taunts. Though it made her blood boil and threatened her aim and arm, she relaxed it steady under her power, focusing it entirely to do as she aimed. With a great force she tried her aim towards the knight's head when his guard had left him but just a moment. He was quick however and despite her focus, patience, and the strength of her aura he deflected her blow from himself. It did not reach his head as she had hoped but instead struck true upon his shoulder, rending a new appreciation of pain into the cocky knight. Sending him rolling away in defense; sadly not the crushed stun she had hoped for but still satisfying.

When he rose she could see the errant rage plastered on his face from the blow. The deceptively boyish handsomeness gone, replaced by the coldness of who he truly was. Even his cockiness left him and was replaced by it, which was fine by her. He wished to face him on equal terms, and whether to his chagrin or not her blows have silently forced him to concede that point. She let a moment pass for her breath to settle, giving him his own time as her eyes twitched on the lookout for any opening she could take advantage of. Now that he was fighting seriously, she'd have to keep a keen eye on his movement, eager not to let that blade tip slip in somewhere it could do much damage.

She made he mind up that she had to keep the pressure on the knight if she were to win. He had done the same to her with his taunting and dishonored measures before, and while the similarity laid on her tongue as she thought to much of it, she wasn't going to be doing those such things. She'd use her blade and there would be no taunts. Only the lashing of steel. She approached the knight her blade tip edged parallel to his, ever cautious at his chance to strike back at her. And when the opportunity placed itself she thrust it forward. Aiming to push past his defense even as she kept on the lookout for her own, ready at a moment's notice to step or hop back should that blade of his come to close for her comfort.

The faun new her own limits however, and knew that her powers while they gave her an edge would do her no good if she didn't use them while she could. She'd try to strike twice normally against him, but should it fail to bear anything she'd try to surprise him a third time by throwing all her weight into it, growling in a low voiceas she did it and aiming to pry him apart if he could. She'd fall upon him with everything and if she somehow managed to knock him down she'd surely trample the knight where he had once stood if he could.

Spoiler

Nelanorah attacks normally for 2 Rounds while Defensive Fighting for 10 points

On the 3rd Round she Charges the Knight