There is a moment of tense silence as the threat of the bandit leader hangs in the air. Then a single voice echoes across the clearing:
"Tis the season for winnowing the chaff from the wheat. I carry both blessings and curse upon my shoulders. He who seeks to rob me, robs God and his blood shall be upon his own head ... or the ground". Issachar charges towards the horsemen and all hell breaks loose behind him, like a single thread unravelling and spilling forth the contents within.
Arrows begin raining in on the group from the treeline - more than you would have thought.
"Grow! I'll watch Pony." says Winnie, shoving a potion into Olaf's hand. She grabs the mule's lead rope just as a well-aimed arrow strikes her straight through the skull, felling her to the ground.
(Crit: max damage, -6) Olaf takes the potion and shrugs, quaffing it amidst the chaos, at least one arrow deflecting off his armor as he begins to grow in size. More arrows hit Earc
(-5) and Halfpint
(Crit: max damage -6) as they also huddle near the mule - Halfpint's return shaft seems feeble by comparison hitting nothing. Earc's spell strikes the leader, his helm suddenly awash with bright light! He cries out and grips his eyes, his warhorse stepping randomly in the confusion.
Issachar takes an arrow to the shoulder
(-4) as he charges towards the horsemen, but continues forward, bringing around his flail in a mighty swing that crushes a horse utterly
(-16), spilling its rider to the ground. Funil and Drunil utter a battle cry and charge with him, knowing battle is inevitable. An arrow riccochets off Funil, but Drunil is struck as he charges forward as well
(-4). The dwarves and Issachar then find themselves facing the remaining five mounted horsemen alone - they fight valiantly against them, using their lower stature to their advantage and letting their armor and shield deflect blows. Drunil's luck does not hold, however, and he takes a severe sword blow to his torso
(-7), felling him to the ground.
"Nooooo!" bellows Funil, who drops to his side to tend him, leaving Issachar as their defense.
The sound of thundering hooves causes the hearts of the party to sink further - they see six more riders charging in from the flank where they were hidden behind a blind. They charge the central hub of spellcasters clustered around the mule, the force of their charge making their swings all the more brutal. One swordsman strikes Halfpint
(-8), knocking her backwards, while another aims at Earc, a vicious cleaving stroke that splits him from clavicle to navel
(-16).
"STOP!" Bianca the Elf Witch calls out with outstretched arms.
"I AM A WITCH OF THE SACREDE ORDER! HESR ME AS I CALL DOWN A CURSE OF THESE TREASURES! HE WHO WOULD TOUCH THESE ITEMS SHALL SUFFER THE SEVEN HEXES OF SNO-WITE!!!" She readies her magic missel so that her hands and staff glow and crackle for effect.
Their leader is blinded. An elf witch is cursing them. A dwarf is now nine feet tall and looking rather angry. The riders don't wheel about from their charge -- instead, the bandits attempt to ride out of the clearing, seeking easier pray after all.
(If you pursue they are doing a fighting retreat. If you let them go, they'll escape in one round, mounted.)
Date: 11:31am, 20 July 2021
Light: Daylight, Earc's glowstick
Effects: None
Distance travelled: ~ 3-4 miles today
Injuries: Earc (dying, unconscious, bleeding), Winnie (dying, unconscious, bleeding), Drunil (Dying, unconscious), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Issachar (moderately wounded), Olaf (superficial injury)
Also, impact will be situational,
