Expedition - Lug/Rescue II - 28 April, 1 VC

[Zhym]

"I ain't staying nothing until Varas stops trying to kill Numen!" shouts Lug. "You wanna talk? We'll do it when someone isn't trying to slit my friend's throat!"

[Zorroroaster]

Marge shakes her head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A right pickle, this. Any ideas, Dog?" Dog looks up at her, head cocked to one side. He barks once and then sits down at her feet.

[Scott308]

Dorvar

Prove Numen didn't cast a spell on you. Go back to Vaul with us, and we can continue the search for your friends. Until you have proof they are dead, there is still hope. Don't give up on them! Come with us now, leaving Wendall and Numen behind, and that will prove to us you are not the victim of enchantment and save Numen's life. If Numen has cast a spell on you, he dies. If not, then we have no reason or desire to harm him. We only wish to protect you.

[Zhym]

"Back away from Numen. Then we talk," repeats Lug as he tries to keep himself between Numen and anyone who would hurt him. "Until I'm sure no one's trying to kill him, anyone who tries to come near Numen gets Reasoned with."

[Mister-Kent]

"Returning to town will talk them down
And no harm comes to the elf
If once in town you still wish to join him...
I'll return with you myself..."

Ruwyn sighs, and turns to the others.

[Keehnelf]

Varas makes a move to finish off the slumbering elf, but a powerful swipe of Lug's greatsword keeps him from executing the deed--though it also fails to connect with the agile thief, who ducks back out of the range of the heavy blade.

As Lug stands guard over his unconscious friend, the brief, bloodless battle becomes a parlay of sorts...


Still in the midst of the trial and work--we should be deliberating and coming to a verdict tomorrow so regular updates soon!

[Zhym]

I'm assuming Dorvar also got his hit in? If so:

Conked on the noggin by Dorvar—an impressive feat, given the height difference—Lug spins and swings the flat of his blade against the dwarf, trying to knock him back more than anything. "Stay away!" he yells.

He looks around the group to see if anyone else needs to be Reasoned with. "Okay. You wanna talk? Let's talk."

Reason (Claymore) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17 Dmg: [1d10+2] = 4+2 = 6

[AleBelly]

If possible....

As Lug attacks Dorvar, Varas sees an opening and tries again to slay the sleeping Numen.

To hit if necessary (not sure if it would be automatic kill, max hit or I need a roll, so...

Long sword attack (THAC0 19) [1d20] = 15, damage [1d8] = 8

Good luck with the trial!

[Keehnelf]

With Lug right overhead, it's just a normal attack with a +4 to hit, but that's a lot of damage!

Dorvar and Lug exchange blows with the flats of their weapons, neither knocking the other unconscious but both making strikes that are sure to leave enormous and painful bruises. While Lug is occupied with this, Varas slips in from behind and plants the blade of his longsword through the chest of the sleeping elf. The elf cries out in shock, waking for a brief moment from his slumber as Varas feels the blade drive through and break apart some armor hidden beneath the elf's tunic, leaving a profusely bleeding wound in the middle of his sternum as his body arches and then slumps back to its resting state, eyes rolling in its head.

[Zhym]

"MURDERER!" cries Lug as he spins to face Varas. "ASSASSIN!" He swings Reason at Varas in a wild arc that has more rage behind it than accuracy.

Initiative: [1d6] = 2
Reason (Claymore) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 4+2 = 6 Dmg: [1d10+2] = 7+2 = 9

Welcome back, Keehnelf!

[AleBelly]

Varas dodges the swing of Lug's axe. "You dumb shit!" he screams. "You started this, attacking Wendall and setting all this in motion!"

"That's your free swing. Don't do it again..." warns the tall thief. "I don't want to have to kill you too."

I assume Varas is faster than Lug...if so, he will run from Lug until he can draw his bow and fire at him if Lug's still aggressive.

In the midst of all this, Varas looks at Niles incredulously, but says nothing yet.

I wonder what the gnomes think of all this.

[Zhym]

"Yeah, I punched Wendall," says Lug, tears welling in his eyes, as he chases Varas. "He deserved it, too. But I didn't kill him, in cold blood, while he was asleep! That's evil! And now...now Numen is dead, cause you killed him. IN HIS SLEEP! He hadn't done anything to you! Now you're gonna kill me, too? Why, cause I'd attack someone who just killed my friend?"

Lug chases Varas wherever he runs. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE JUST STANDING AROUND WATCHING THIS MURDERER?"

[Keehnelf]

As Lug chases Varas around the bailey of the tower, the gnomes and mercenaries alike begin packing up their things and looking nervously around the area, first toward the smoke on the horizon to the south and then toward the inferno covering the horizon to the north. Zirina and the speaker for the gnomes begin conversing in low tones.

[Zhym]

Seeing the reaction of the gnomes, Lug pauses, then sighs and lowers Reason. "Fine. I get it. Enough killing for now. But would someone please catch Varas and tie him up? He just murdered a sleeping man in cold blood—a good man who had not raised a finger against him. You all saw him do it. We should make him pay for his crime here and now. But I won't. Instead, let's take him to the Archduke when the goblin attack is over. If the Archduke says Varas had good reason to kill a helpless man in his sleep, then so be it. If not—if the Archduke says he should die—all I want is the privilege of acting as executioner."

"If that would take too long—well, trial by combat is a fine tradition."

Lug bares his teeth at Varas in a cruel smile.

If this is coming too soon before anyone else has had a chance to try to knock Lug out, please apply it when and if there's a chance.

[Marullus]

"Varas acted with reason," Niles says as Lug begins to calm down, stepping into the doorway, still near the sleeping Wendall. "Our town is burning. The fate of your friends, who we all risked our lives to find, remains unknown. We have one task before us..." He pauses for effect, pointing to the smoke to the south. "Save our home. Elsewise, there is nothing we can do and nowhere we can go. We all followed you, Lug. Show us it was for good cause. Lead us to help where it matters." He still stands, pointing south, giving a knowing look to the now-nervous mercenaries and gnomes. "There's no time to waste."

[Zorroroaster]

Marge keeps Dog well clear of the conflict, her eyes saddened by what has just taken place. She mutters to herself.

"Not entirely wrong, not entirely right neither. What a feckin' mess this is."

She looks up, new resolve in her face. "Hey, arseholes! Dead is dead. Nought we can do for 'im now. I thought we were out here to do good and help some folks. Can we get to some of that now, the doing good shite? Either that or I walk these little gnome folks to Vaul alone while you lot stand around arguing good versus evil."

She makes to get her belongings in order, busying herself with her pack.

[Zhym]

Lug, barely able to control his tears, looks at the others incredulously. "'He acted with reason?' 'Dead is dead?' Someone kills an innocent man in cold blood, and your reaction is, 'Oh well, it happens, let's move on?' Vaul's under attack, so murder is okay now? What the hell is wrong with you people?"

He looks down at The Wendall, who is a stupid little twerp but doesn't deserve to die. Probably. Lug slaps the little mage awake. "Hey, Wendall. Better get up before someone decides to kill you too just for the hell of it."

[Keehnelf]

Wendall starts awake and, catching the last of Lug's comments, misinterprets the situations and wrenches himself out from under the big man's touch, scrambling to his feet. He points one bony finger at Lug and screams, spittle flying from his mouth, "Unhand me, you oafish mule! Twice in one visit you think you can assault me, here in my own tower! For the sake of my friend Numen I was willing to forgive the first, but not a second! You'll the the ill choice that brought you here! I'm sorry, Numen, but I cannot--" The young wizard looks about him, to reassure himself of the elf's permission to meet violence with violence, and catches sight of the prone and bloody form lying on the stoop of his tower. "Numen!" He cries, throwing his hands up and, forgetting his quarrel with Lug, rushing forward to throw himself over the elf's body, erupting instantly into tears of grief. He raises a puny fist melodramatically toward the sky and calls out, "Ye cruel gods! I sleep for but a moment and my world crumbles about me!" Stil hunched over the the elf, he looks around, steely-eyed through a sheen of tears. "Okay, which one of you did it--"

He spies the bloody blade in Varas's hand, still poised to defend him from Lig's assaults but a few moments before, and shrieks, his mouth hanging open as he raises one long finger slowly to point at the thief. The shriek continues for a long, long moment, until finally Wendall runs out of breath and his voice cracks. He inhales slowly, a long breath, before he whispers, "Of course. The ultimate treachery. And your last." He rises slowly, murder in his eyes.

[AleBelly]

Can I assume that if Lug had time to wake Wendall Varas had time to grab his bow? He's not going to stand around while another potentially ensorceled foe is roused.

As Wendall rises, Varas draws his bow. "Both of you fools were enchanted by the elf. Lug, think about it. Would you really so readily abandon the quest to find your friends to slink off to the forest somewhere? If so, I call you a coward. Wendall, do not make a move. I will plug you with arrows. Do not speak to me of treachery. Dorvar and I helped you win this tower, and now you claim it for yourself. You are nothing but a brigand surrounded by walls. But I don't wish to harm you. Hands in your pockets."

He keeps his bow drawn, worried more about Wendall's sleep spell than Lug's axe. If any enchantment starts, Varas fires at the boy mage.

[Zhym]

FWIW: Reason is a big damn sword, not an axe.