[Game Thread] I. The Sultan's Claw

[LupusRegalis]

Khandir stands there in the baking sun, and looks at the approaching peoples. His startling pale blueish-grey eyes seem to absorb the sunlight and reflect back at them. He stands nearly motionless except for his head as it tracks his potential buyers progress. He notes the various groups of people of this camp they are stopped at with some interest. There are the usual workers and hired mercenaries he'd expect to find in any caravan traveling the wastes, to do the work and guard the goods.

His eyes next track the man checking over the slave line, and note the way he both carries himself and expects obedience. Likely the Caravan Master or some other such man of supposed importance, here in the wastes. He dismisses him for the moment, still checking over the camp. He wonders who would camp in such an ominous site, with the tree clawing its way at the sky? And why that tree looked so recently fired? He could still smell the smoke in the air, and signs around the camp pointed to recent troubles. He noted a half-burnt wagon to the side. Perhaps bandits had attacked? The caravan might be looking to replace losses then, he decides.

He notes the man checking over the slaves has half reached him, but continues his observations. Catching his eye in the distance, half-way between himself and a desert dwellers tent of some value, another group separate from the rest of the camp stands observing him, and the other slaves. He cannot fail to recognize the familiar sight of Guards in the Pactmasters employment. His chin lifts and he eyes the men, wondering just what he'd been carried into? The four men were obviously guarding the woman at their center, and with good reason. She was beautiful, as startling in this setting as a hidden oasis within the great sands. And sharp, he could tell even from here, he could see the way her men watched her and anyone who approached that she affected everyone around her. Were he free, and still roaming the wastes with the bandits, he would have risked much to carry that one away. Even with her guards arrayed against him. But he was not free, and such whimsy had no place here, only survival.

He watched the woman's small group, and noted an Elf approach and insinuate himself not far away from the woman. He lifted his lips in a silent snarl, knowing from the way the Elf walked and held himself that he was a fop and a nuisance. The Elf points in what Khandir sees is his direction, and speaks words at the Woman. He doubts the words are flattering. But he has no time to reflect or respond, because suddenly a Human stands before him, and Khandir's attention immediately switches to him. This was the human he assumed was the Caravan's Master, and as humans went looked like a hard man, and intelligent.

"What's your name" he demands Khandir, shushing the Slave Master of any explanations "and what combat history do you have?"

"Free me, I'll give you first-hand knowledge, Human." Khandir responds in Orc-speech, not expecting the humans to understand him. He adds in the common tongue his name "Khandir I'm called, Ra'is." knowing the slave master would expect him to comply. In answer to the humans second question, the half-Orc slowly, so as not to excite his captors, bares his upper body to the suns light. He removes his head-wrap, and shrugs out of his desert robes so they hang at his waist. His skin is the color of a polished dark marble, with lighter veins outlined as his muscles move. He flexes and stretches, showing the definition and size of his muscles, as well as the various scars upon his body, from blade and whip. His body, while tall and large with wide shoulders, is built like a desert hound, lean and wiry. Combined with his pale eyes and strong, almost over-large jaw, it's obvious his orc-blood is from that ancient-extinct tribe that once roamed this area. And though he is no beauty by anyone's standards, his features are reminiscent of a short-muzzled hound, and not ill-formed like many of his breed. Even his canines, while pronounced, do not seem to overly interfere in any way.

Finally he meets the Human's eyes and answers his question in his deep baritone that rumbles from his chest. "I've fought in sand and city. I was a Raider, of Caravanserai's not unlike this." He seems to be silently laughing to himself at the thought. "I was caught, and sold to the Guild of Gladiators. There I learned to kill with style and to please the crowd. I was not unskilled, you see I still live. Buy me, Ra'is, and I will kill for you. My Oath."

[DarkTower]

Alphard, Khalid, and Karsh

Karsh begins to lower towards the goat, using his feet to control his speed. The goat, shivering and still crying out, is skittish and tries to get away from the druid as he draws closer.

The little voice was taunting them the whole time until Karsh began to descend to the goat by rope when it fall silent all of the sudden. "What you doing?! What you doing? YOU CHEAT! YOU CHEAT!" then from behind a rock 10' away from the three the ugliest gremlin you ever set eyes on leaps out wielding a little rusty dagger. The head looks that of a mutt, as if the worlds' most revolting lapdog had somehow learned to walk on its back legs.



The gremlin screams and charges Khalid while he's busy lowering Karsh.


Karsh Roll Climb Check (Compare it to the 13 you already made- Take the Lowest Roll) (DC05)
- Success: You reach the goat safely. Failure: You fall into the ravine.


Everyone Roll Initiative (Roll Twice/Take the Lowest Roll) (Beat23)
- Success: If you beat 23 you can act.


Everyone Roll for Identify Monster (Roll Twice/Take the Lowest Roll)
(Alphard-DC20) (Khalid-DC18) (Karsh-DC13)
- See Game Rules Thread for Details

[Of Line and Flow]

Khalid focuses on lowering Karsh safely. "Alphard, Dashki! Karsh, tell me when you're safe, and I will crush the rodent's skull."

Initiative 7; Knowledge (nature) 8

[Bismuth]

Climb 13

Karsh hears a commotion from above and hears Khalid shout.
" I am near enough to the ground to be dropped safely, let the rope go and attend to your problem " Karsh shouts in reply, the rope suddenly goes slack and he drops the remaining distance and lands safely. He quickly removes the rope from around his body and scans his surroundings.

Init 12

Identify (Knowledge Nature) 14

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard sees the little creature pop out from behind his stone hiding place and comes along Khalid's side.

He thinks to himself with a sigh of relief, FINALLY. All of this snooping around was wearing thin on me. Let's show this ugly little creature what he has coming to him.

However, he pauses for a moment and thinks of what the Dawnflower would advise, and before raining death on the little rodent yells out, "Surrender and we won't harm you! We only want the goat and some information!"

Init 19, Knowledge (Nature) 13

[DarkTower]

Khandir and Khavhan

'Life without Honor is meaningless.'
- Katapesh proverb

The man who was speaking to Khandir nods and tells the Caravan Master to release his manacles and to give him a sword. The man introduces his self as Garavel; major-domo of Princess Almah, Follower *of the Ring of Steel, and Agent of the Red Horse. He then speaks in perfect, somewhat clipped, Orc "I am also fluent in Kelish, Osiriani, Polglot, Taldane, Terran, Vudrani, Gnoll, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfing, and Orc. And in defense of my Honor I accept your challenge. Show me what you can do." With a ring like silver Garavel unsheathes his rapier in one motion and stands in the desert wind, his back straight and his hawk nose held up high before the menacing sight of the half-orc. The two caravans begin to crowd around for this unexpected show.

The Caravan Master reluctantly gives Khandir one of his guard's falchions (it looks like a meat cleaver in the gladiator's massive hand) and backs off quickly.

Garavel takes stance and declares nonleathal combat: "Al- la'ibaa[1]!!"

[1] Al- la'ibaa: Duel in Defense of Honor. Al- la'ibaa promotes agility over armor and finesse over force. This ancient form of combat is designed not kill or seriously harm but instead defends a man's honor or is simply a play on fighting used to enhance your skills. It can be taken in either context, but Garavel seems to have invoked the duel for both reasons. Which one he is more serious about is known only by Garavel and Garavel alone.

The Rules of Al- la'ibaa
1) Starts with Declaration then roll Initiative
2) Only Touch AC applies
3) There is no real damage. Damage is rolled to determine how well you hit.
4) Al- la'ibaa lasts only three rounds
5) Who ever scores the most damage within three rounds is the victor


Khandir Roll Initiative (Beat18)
Success: Make your attack

~ - ~

While this is going on Almah tilts to Khavhan next to her, still keeping her eyes trained on the oncoming battle. "Are you going to stick with my mercenaries or are you going to join the team you orignally joined? I'll leave the choice to you."

[DarkTower]

Alphard, Khalid, and Karsh

Karsh scans the bottom of the ravin, removing the rope. The goat scampers to the reach of the rope before heading the other way, crying out for help. The barren spot is full of loose rocks, cacti, and black harmless centipedes called black coils everywhere. He sees nothing else.

The druid looks up in time to see the gremlin lunge on the Duskwalker's foot like he's slaying a dragon and repeatedly stab his foot. The little dagger barely even penetrates the thick leather. Alphard, being the good soul that he is, tries to reason with the creature but the thing doesn't seem to hear him as it keeps screaming at the top of his lungs.

Karsh is still allowed a Standard Action and Khalid now has both hands free and is still allowed a full action.

Stinky is nowhere to be seen. Either he didn't hear or he's ignoring them.
_______________
Please refer to Behind the Veil for Combat Notes

[Of Line and Flow]

Not for a second did Khalid let his guard down. Swiftly, he stamps once with his spiked boots. He stomps again, causing waves of sand to slosh about. By the time the dust settles, he has finished strapping the shield to his arm a few feet away.

The dark enforcer stares down the miscreant under the glaring desert sun.

"Your move, Boy. Put down the knife, or I will bury you."

 

OOC The leather barding is for Khalid's horse. Khalid himself wears chainmail -- spiked chainmail, which means he's armed. Since he has Combat Reflexes, he's also able to make Attacks of Opportunities while flat-footed. Khalid knows that the creature's size category is Tiny from its tracks, so it must enter Khalid's space to attack him. This provokes an attack of opportunity from Khalid. AoO (immediate action): Attack 9 Damage 5 Power Attack (standard action): Attack 9 Damage 6 Khalid takes a five-foot step away (free action) from the slope along the path he cleared, and he readies his shield (move action). Old AC: 17 (FF 16) New AC: 19 (FF 18)

[DarkTower]

Alphard, Khalid, and Karsh

The gremlin repeatedly plucks it's blade into Khalid's boot "Die! Die! Die! You Die! D-" then it's life is ended as the same boot comes down on it's head. Black blood splatters out and the rock suck in it's mositure. He slams down his boot again and there's an audible crunch as it's ribs break. A sick smell comes and goes. All that can be heard now, thankfully, is the goat and the wind.

[Bismuth]

Karsh can just see the creature and realises that he knows what it is, he was about to shout up some advice as to how to deal with it when Khalid sorts the matter himself.

The noises from the creatures body being stamped upon causes Karsh to wince. He then moves to take hold of the rope that the goat is tied with and gradually pulls the goat towards him with the intent of releasing it from its bonds. As he pulls it closer he attempts to make calming noises so as not to frighten it.

[LupusRegalis]

<Khandir> Stats: HP 13/13 ; AC 12 (touch) ||Str 15; Dex 14; Con 14; Int 12; Wis 14; Cha 8||For +4; Ref +2;Will +1||Init +4

The half-orc blinks in surprise that the human had understood him, and had chosen to accept his challenge. It lasts only a second, and he laughs with glee as his last manacles are removed. He accepts the guards sword, offered reluctantly, with a possessive grab and raises it in salute to Garavel.

"Al- la'ibaa"

He wastes no other words, and waits no longer after speaking. He charges forward with an ear-ringing bellow and attacks the human. His feet dig into the sand and small plumes of sand follow him as he speeds ahead. His exposed torso bunches and contracts as he moves, and a sheen of sweat is already apparent from the sun overhead. He comes in strong on Garavel, and disdains any fancy maneuvers as he attempts to overwhelm the smaller man. His sword slips down from its raised position as he prepares to strike, to slightly out and behind him. Khandir leaps at Garavel and swings with all his strength hoping to burst through the mans defense, his sword likely to overpower the humans smaller, lighter blade.

 

OOC Initiave = 23 Move action: Move to attack Garavel Standard action: Melee attack vs. Garavel, 22 vs. AC, 9 dmg

[DarkTower]

Alphard, Khalid, and Karsh

The goat begins to calm under the half-orc's hand soothingly gliding across it's brown and tan fur. It's hourglass eyes begin to finally blink away from wide-eyed fright and soothes under the druid's words. With some help of the rope, Alphard, and Khalid he finally makes it to the top of the ravine with the goat intact. He finds it much easier.

That's when they pretty much notice how easy it is to do things with the gremlin dead. No longer do they have doubt and trouble focusing. No longer is luck against them.

What do they do next?

- You can end the double-roll with the gremlin dead.

Khandir and Khavhan

"Al- la'ibaa"

At the Sultan's Claw, the swordsmaster did not expect the other half-orc to come upon him so quickly! For someone so big he moves like the East wind and his second-hand falchion comes at his hip. Garavel angles his rapier down and to the right in the last minute to deflect the blow but the larger blade cuts through the defense with ease. The flat of the blade taps his hip and Khandir comes to a halt so as not to do damage. The cling of metal on metal rings in the dry air and you can hear the mercenaries of Almah exasperate collectively. They are clearly for the underdog here and care not for protocall.

Garavel wastes not time and swirls to his left. Using the momentum he taps the half-orc in the back with rapier for his own good blow, his robes still twirling even though he stops and the sand flies from his sandals, but it's not as good as the one he dealt.

The duel is on.

Round 1 of 3
Garavel- 8 points
Khandir- 9 points

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard looks at the broken body of the Gremlin that has been so effortlessly crushed into the sandy earth.

"Well, no redemption for this one I see. Not in this life at least." He kneels down and collects anything of worth from the small body. Suddenly, after some quiet murmuring, flames appear in the gnome's hands, he somehow places the flames on the Gremlin's corpse incinerating it. A short prayer is made in the hopes that Sarenrae can help the poor creature do better beyond this plane.

Alphard thinks to himself, now looking at the ranger with new found respect, I hope I never find myself in a similar situation with that man's boots.

He then turns his attention to the goat, recognizing it as the one that escaped earlier during the fire. "Well what do we do now? Do we continue searching? Or should we bring the goat back to the camp? And where is Dashki?" Alphard turns right and left, trying to see where the smelly man has gone.

 

Casts Produce Flame to incinerate the corpse (do I need to roll for this?), Perception 11 to look for Dashki

[LupusRegalis]

<Khandir> Stats: HP 13/13 ; AC 12 (touch) ||Str 15; Dex 14; Con 14; Int 12; Wis 14; Cha 8||For +4; Ref +2;Will +1||Init +4

As expected, Garavel's lighter blade couldn't stop the strength of his blow, and Khandir's excitement grew as adrenaline coursed through him. Garavel hardly had felt the blow when he in turn spun around, and Khandir felt the 'thwap' of the majordomo's rapier against his back. Agile little pink-skin he thought in frustration. Khandir spun himself, his blade gripped in both hands, and sought to cleave into the manling's body. His blow was strong with both speed and power behind it, but the man was at his back, and the spin did not give him much time to aim the blow.

Khandir then takes a step back, eyes still focused upon Garavel, and resets himself into an attack posture. He nods to the human to acknowledge the mans skill, but his face is set and ready as he awaits the human's next attack.

 

OOC Standard action: Melee attack vs. Garavel, 11 vs. Ac, 10dmg Move action: 5ft step backwards

[DarkTower]

Fire

Alphard, Khalid, and Karsh

The flickering flames dance harmlessly on the sorcerer's hand until it touches the corpse in which it instantly transfers to the fey and feeds on it. In second the creature consumed and sizzles, releasing the smell of dirty, burned hair. The goat neahs weakly in Karsh's arms but gives little resistance to being held, worn out and scared. It wrinkles it's nose at the smell.

Speaking of stinky, Alphard sees Dashki limping towards them through the path Khalid carved out of the cacti. "Good. We found goat. Let us go back. I'm hungry." he stops to regard the charred creature on the ground and almost appears to be salivating "What you cooking?"

Khandir and Khavhan

<Garavel> Stats hp 26/26 ; AC 12 (touch) || Str 16; Dex 14; Con 14; Int 16; Wis 10; Cha 9 || For +6; Ref +2; Wil +6 || Init +2

Garavel returns the nod of respect, a small smile under his beard, betraying his true attentions and how this was all truly just a test. Then the smile vanishes and his eyes become like knives and he darts at the slave, blade first. He feints left and then strikes to the right, claiming a tap on the half-orc's knee and then slides to a stop next to him.

The major-domo has the lead. If Garavel is to win he's going have to really next few seconds really count.


Round 2/3
Garavel- 17 points
Khandir- 9 points

Move action: 5ft step forward
Standard action: Melee attack vs Khandir, 13 vs. AC, 9 dmg

I'm going to totally copy your stat display. Works well and cleanOOC