A cover blown...

1622, End of the Earth Season

The party has been spending their hard earned cash on training and all kinds of expensive entertaining, and they have become a bit complacent as of late. With their renewed reputation as river voices, their obvious good fortune, and some generous buying of drinks for the locals, our heroes have become the mainstay for some of the local taverns, and most popular among the average Pavis barbarian. With the harvest at its end, and a good one thanks to our heroes aid in freeing Heler, the city is basking in the Earth season summer sun, with that particular atmosphere of goodwill, massive ale consumption and occasional tavern brawl so typical of this time of year.

The Sun Domers save the day!

At one time during the dinner someone notices a small group of Lunar guards on the market, but this worries noone, and at the end of the dinner banquet, the party, in high spirits, heads for the inn. The long stay in civilized Pavis having blunted our champion's excellent perception skills, they fail to notice a dark figure on the roof of one of the houses bordering the market square. A poisoned crossbow dart hits Herculon, and luckily he resists the poison, still suffering considerable damage. The assassin is reloading his crossbow, but this plan is foiled by Giomanach casting holdfast on the crossbow. As a consequence, the party, rather than running for cover into the dark alley where the rest of the assassin troupe is waiting for them, charges forward.

The party leaves Pavis behind and takes to the desert.

From said dark alley 5 figures appear out of the shadows, forced to advance and initiate combat. A red mask assassin holding a net tries to catch Giomanach, but only succeeds partially. A brutal fight ensues. Soon the party notices these opponents do not die as readily as most opponents do. Jaya almost loses an arm, before being able to even attack her opponent. Raiko summons his ancestor and attacks, and Giomanach has to palsy another assassin heading for him with a flask of nasty acid.  If not for Daerius' impressive resilience against the fierce assassin attacks and his first rate armor, the party might well have been wiped out by the steady damage output and high skill of this adversary. When another assassin starts casting Sever Spirit, in an attempt to banish the ancestor and kill Raiko in the process, Raiko needs all his cunning and luck to stay alive. By now the party realize they are facing a very powerful opponent: all damage done by Herculon is divided amongst the opponents, making even his blows mere scratches, and they realize their luck is about to run out. As they prepare for a retreat attempt, a Lunar guard unit enters the square, boding more trouble, and just when things start to look desperate, their two newtling allies appear on the scene, with Sun Lord support. The stalemate allows our friends a very narrow escape, and they decide to quickly leave town, head for Sartar, and leave Pavis behind them for a while until things have cooled down.

They head for the Moonbroth Oasis, and luckily find a caravan heading to Boldhome that is still looking for guards. It looks like their luck has turned for the better again: a safe trip and getting paid in the process!

Posted with Blogsy - (c) Rudy Boeynaems 2012