|
Post by Arvind Pillai on Jan 7, 2007 11:00:28 GMT -5
The caravan sets off without further adue. It rounds past the fringes of the Ras Kar forest. Strange noises emenate from within the dark trees. You see small humanoid figures darting in the trees. Monkeys? Or something worse?
The man who they had met earlier begins speaking:
"Ah, look sharp. See those things in the trees? They're pygmies. Tree Pygmies to be precise. They can leap out at us at any moment. Be ready to defend yourself."
"They're human", mumbled another, "Better than those wretched goblins."
|
|
dgurushesh
Level 75
Martial Artist
Feel the furiously frustrating fury!
Posts: 695
|
Post by dgurushesh on Jan 9, 2007 8:54:26 GMT -5
Ishtar nods at the man. Readying his spear, he keeps a careful watch on his surroundings.
|
|
|
Post by nightviperone on Jan 9, 2007 9:20:08 GMT -5
Dannin, too, gave a sharp nod, then climbed onto the back of one of the wagons so he could make a steady shot instead of trying to shoot while walking. While he could do it without a problem, it was always better not to if one didn't need to. "Ready and waiting," he replied, nocking an arrow to his bowstring.
|
|
|
Post by Arvind Pillai on Jan 10, 2007 4:25:52 GMT -5
As the caravan trudges through the mud, the arboreal movements of the Pygmies become less frantic. In an hour's time, the cease altogether.
However, they were anything but gone.
Suddenly, An ominous feeling overcame the members of the party. They come to an abrupt halt. Clearly, something was very wrong.
"Oh no.." muttered a trader fearfully. "That silence.. Oh no."
Indeed, the sweet singing voices of the birds and the wild screaming of the apes had stopped. Only a deadening silence remained. They could barely hear their own footsteps..
"The Pygmies.. are noiseless hunters." "What happened to the birds?" "Something scared them off." said another, pointing at the flock of birds flying away from them.
Then it happened.
An attack quicker than light. Eight Pygmy sharpshooters erupted from behind the bushes. They wielded not bows, but hollow stone shooting sticks (peashooters). Immediately, they began pelting the party with sharp rocks. Not fatal, but blindingly painful. The traders ran and took cover behind their wagons.
"Arrgh! Take cover!" yelled one, "You two, beat them back!"
He had barely finished this sentence when another tribal came down on him from the undergrowth. He wore a massive mask with red paint (blood?) smeared all over it. He, like the other pygmies, was terribly small and fierce.
|
|
dgurushesh
Level 75
Martial Artist
Feel the furiously frustrating fury!
Posts: 695
|
Post by dgurushesh on Jan 10, 2007 9:07:51 GMT -5
Caught off guard, Ishtar stumbles for a fraction of a minute, trying to avoid the stones flying past him. Immediately triggering his speed of Anubis, he runs forth towards the pygmies, rotating his spear in front, to ward off any stones.As he nears the sharp-shooters, he point the jagged metal blade of the spear towards the small creatures, hoping if not to spear them, then to put a stop to this miniature nuisance.
|
|
|
Post by Arvind Pillai on Jan 11, 2007 7:00:37 GMT -5
Dazzled by the quick footedness of their human opponent, the pygmies, are unable to fight off Ishtar. One of them is fatally wounded by the spear. The others scatter away. A few stones strike Ishtar in the leg. The mask pygmy approaches Dannin slowly, as if ready to unleash some horrible power on him.
An arrow sings out from between two trees. Fierce warcries are heard as taller, more muscular tribesmen suddenly storm the small clearing. They are of the same tribe Dannin encountered earlier. He was able to spot some familiar faces.
Wether or not the the tallmen are helping you, is unclear. It seems more likely that you have been caught in the midst of some tribal war. Perhaps you should save yourself by helping either one of the sides. Conversely, you could defend your caravan from both foes, considering that there is no garuntee that you will be released by the victors, when the fight is over.
The Pygmies: Masked Tribal Warlock, 7 Sharpshooters, hidden re-inforcements The Tallmen: 5 bowmen
|
|
dgurushesh
Level 75
Martial Artist
Feel the furiously frustrating fury!
Posts: 695
|
Post by dgurushesh on Jan 11, 2007 7:40:28 GMT -5
Ishtar immediately runs for the protective cover of the caravan. Shouting to everyone and anyone, "Start retreating the caravans, women and children get inside, men start the retreat, dannin, you and me ward off any attack on the caravan, to give the people sufficient time to withdraw."
|
|
|
Post by nightviperone on Jan 12, 2007 16:44:05 GMT -5
Dannin, caught completely unawares, does what his instincts first dictate. Falling straight down, he lands in the bed of the cart he is riding in, using it's sides for cover. Once the stones stop, Dannin comes back up... and freezes as he sees the creature coming at him, it's mask half the size of it's overall body. As it approaches, he can't help but let out a giggle at the site, and instead of wasting the arrow, lashes out with a foot, kicking the small creature as if he were an inflated pig-skin.
Turning away from that threat, he turns toward the direction from whence came the arrow. Spotting the familiar faces and markings, though, his eyes widen. "Not good," he half mutters, half exclaims, as he leaps over the other side of the wagon. Turning, he listens to Ishtar's order and nods. "Aye!", he agreed, and moved toward the front of the wagon-train to cover the retreat.
>tag<
|
|
|
Post by Arvind Pillai on Jan 13, 2007 3:58:34 GMT -5
Slowly, the wagons begin turning around. The merchants frantically search for any weapon they could use to defend themselves. The masked pygmy, whom Dannin had kicked down earlier, began trailing behind the archer as he moved to the front of the caravan. When he is directly behind his target, flames spurt out from the mouth of his mask, scorching Dannin's back. A firebreather!Caught offguard, he is thrown forward momentarily. x = Bowmen D = Dannin I = Ishtar () = Wagon . = Pygmy peashooters o = Tribal Warlock x . . . x D o () () () (I) . --> Heading in this direction x x . . . The Pygmies: Masked Tribal Warlock, 6 Sharpshooters, hidden re-inforcements The Tallmen: 4 bowmen (1 killed by sharpshooters)
|
|
dgurushesh
Level 75
Martial Artist
Feel the furiously frustrating fury!
Posts: 695
|
Post by dgurushesh on Jan 13, 2007 4:15:33 GMT -5
Ishtar immediately strike out at the pea shooters around him, angered by the constant welting his bruised fingers kept receiving. He hits the nearest one on his right with the blunt end of his spear, then unclipping his staff, he wields it in his right hand, switching the spear to his left. Triggering of the staff of air ability, he swings it aroun freely creating a small buzzing in the air as the metal head of the spear cuts through the air, striking down at the pea shooters.
|
|
|
Post by nightviperone on Jan 16, 2007 1:35:40 GMT -5
Dannin cried out in a mix of shock and pain as he dove and rolled forward. Coming up, facing the way he had just come from, his arrow still nocked, he brings his bow to bear. Then, spotting the little bastard, he brought the bow back down, aiming at it directly from less than five feet away. "Alright, y'nasty lil' bugger," he muttered, "won't make that mistake again!"
He let fly the arrow at the diminuative creature and stood, taking a step back, and knocking another arrow just in case.
>tag<
|
|
|
Post by Arvind Pillai on Jan 17, 2007 4:02:20 GMT -5
The arrow runs straight through the pygmy's mask. The sheer force of the arrow throws him backwards. With a yelp of pain, he crashes into the dusty track, dead. Dannin Kell finds himself surrounded by four tall and dark warriors. Each wields a bow. They don't seem particularly friendly. Ishtar kill two pygmies with his staff of air. More re-inforcements pour out from the sides. The caravan is quickly moving away from Dannin. Supplies fall out from the back of the wagons and are then crushed by thundering hooves or cartwheels. Objectives: - Reach to safety with atleast 50% of the supplies. - Do not let more than 5 traders die. - Stay alive x = Bowmen D = Dannin I = Ishtar () = Wagon . = Pygmy peashooters . . x . . x D . () () () (I) . --> Heading in this direction x x . . . . . Supplies:- 70% Dead Traders:- 0 ((Sorry for the bad map guys. Can't think of any better way of showing it.))
|
|
dgurushesh
Level 75
Martial Artist
Feel the furiously frustrating fury!
Posts: 695
|
Post by dgurushesh on Jan 17, 2007 10:46:52 GMT -5
Unaware of the stranded, surrounded Dannin, Ishtar quickly chucks the spear at the pygmy on his left , hoping not to kill it or even hit it, as he did not posses the skills of accuracy Dannin did. Instead serving as a temporary distraction, Ishtar heads straight for the pygmy with the full extent of his speed speed, then a yard or so away from the small creature, he stops, skidding, letting the dust blow forth, then brings down his staff in a fatally powered blow. Now turning around, he heads for the other pygmy, still relying on his agility, he heads for the spear, striking at the pygmy with his staff, not waiting to know if the other pygmy was dead, his job here was complete. He was just creating an image of foreboding for the small creature, an image of higher power present along the caravan, sufficient enough to scare these two of at any rate.
Ishtar now at the side of the wagon had spotted other pygmies, 3 as he could see no further. Hastily he re-focuses on the pygmy he was fighting at hand, eager to clear off the pygmies attacking the caravans' side, which surprisingly Dannin had not yet taken care of.
"That's strange, surely he could not have fallen.", he mumbles below his breath.
|
|