Turn 54 -- Courtyard Battle

After smashing the door off it's hinges, Beleg steps to the side of the entryway to clear the cobwebbs from his head. The other companions come streaming into the courtyard, greeted by six menacing humans brandishing weapons attempting to keep the companions enclosed in the narrow entryway. Kersath and Talimar are the first to clear the entryway as they crash into the bandits front line. Kersath dodges a sword thrust from one of the bandits to his left but he is struck a glancing blow from a fighter to his right. Talimar is quickly engaged by two men at once and while blocking a blow from one to his right, is struck a deep blow to his ribs from the sword of the large fighter to his left. As the battle enters full force, the remaining companions clear the doorway and push the bandits back into the main courtyard. From the rear of the party, Kuiper sights his bow at the sniper in the tower and releases two quick shots. One flies harmlessly into the afternoon air while the other glances off the bandits shoulder as he stood up to take another shot at the group. Talimar returns the blow to the man that struck him but in his weakened state does not do much damage.

With a flash of steel, Kre throws two daggers at one of the men in the back of the group but the man dodges the deadly missiles from the young thief. Druckner avoids a blow from one of the assailants as he moves to the front of the group to better engage the enemy while Randor closes his eyes and begins chanting loudly with his arms raised to the sky. Having shaken the cobwebbs from his head, Beleg rushes to the front, his sword falling in a deadly downward arc that finds its mark deep in the chest of one of the bandits. The man falls to the ground dead at the warriors feet. Gnore and Lyntern move to the front and left flank of the group in order to attack the bandits as one of them disengages from the group and heads across the courtyard to disappear into a doorway. Kersath recovers from his minor wound and returns the attack but his twin blades are unable to find their mark. Talimar dodges another blow from his assailant but he can feel himself weakening with each passing moment from his loss of blood. As Druckner reaches the front of the group his hefty battle-axe twirls in a deadly display as he slices two deep cuts into the man in front of him. The bandit staggers but he is not felled by the blows from the stout dwarf.

At this point, a huge war-dog comes bounding from a doorway to the left of the group and with a vicious snarl, leaps at Ortho. Luckily for the dwarf though, he was able to get his shield up in time to fend off the bites from the beast. Talimar is not as lucky though as the fighter in front of him is able to get a blow in under Tal's feeble defense, opening up a deep gash on the elf's thigh. Loss of blood and exhaustion finally overtake Talimar as he falls to the ground unconscious. Just as the man is about to deal the deathblow to the prone figure of Talimar, Lyntern moves forward and stops the fatal fall of the bandits sword with his own. Turning the force of the blow, Lyntern executes a fine spin move and opens up a cut on the mans shoulder. Dain takes the momentary diversion to drag the unconscious Talimar back to safety. Kre moves to help the young wizard drag their leader out of harms way. Inspired by the heroic act of Lyntern, Ras takes two of his daggers from his belt and throws them at the man that Lyntern just struck. Both daggers find home in the body of the man, the second striking the man in his left eye, the blade penetrating to the brain as the dagger is buried to its hilt in the mans eye socket.

Kuiper attempts to sight in the sniper again and unleashes another volley of arrows but is unable to hit the man as he is now content to take refuge behind the battlements of the tower. Kersath easily deflects a blow from the outmatched attacker before him and with a mocking smile on his face, executes a blinding maneauver that first unarms his foe before both swords open up twin cuts across the mans belly. The man quickly grabs his stomach to stop the flow of lifeblood from his body but it is a futile effort. He quickly falls to the ground, his hands red as his life slowly ebbs away. Kersath is hit a glancing blow from a cowardly attack from behind just as Druckner is being hit by another bandit. Ortho attempts to drive his axe through the skull of the war-dog attacking him but the beast proves to be too agile for the dwarven priest.

After finishing his bless spell, Randor sees the unconscious Talimar and Dain and Kre around him. He then moves over to the elf and bowing his head begins to pray to Tyr. Within minutes his hand is glowing a bright blue and he places it over the wound of Talimar. When he pulls it away, the wound is closed and no longer bleeding.

Screaming a number of curses at the bandits before him, as well as a long line of their ancestors, Gnore swings his bastard sword at one of the men. The man almost falls over his own feet from fright at the sight of the raging dwarf. Luckily for him, his stumble enables him to avoid the deadly blow from Gnore. Seeing an opening again, Beleg continues his attack on the largest of the warriors facing them. His brute strength allows him to land a menacing blow to the left arm of the man. He smiles as he sees the blood flow from the wound and the mans arm now hanging limply at his side, forever useless.

Seeing his companions in need, the sniper in the tower stands and launches a volley of arrows into the back of the group. The first thuds harmlessly to the ground but the second finds refuge in the thigh of Kuiper.

Gnore renews his attack on the now strictly defensive man in front of him but again is unable to land a telling blow. Taking strength from his earlier success, Lyntern moves over to the man Beleg just wounded and using the advantage of the mans weakened left flank, drives his sword into the mans mid-section. His eyes quickly roll back into his head as he falls to the ground dead.

Enraged at the cowardly attack of the sniper in the tower, Kuiper fires another volley of arrows but is unable to hit the man. Ortho finally lands a hard blow to the side of the dog attacking him, opening up a deep gash in the side of the animal but not enough to kill it. Beleg rounds on the thief that cowardly attacked Kersath and with a quick swing, sends the mans head flying from his shoulders. With a nod of thanks to his companion, Kersath decides to return the favor to Druckner. The thief is able to block the first sword thrust from the dark elf, but the second slides in to slice open the mans neck, exposing his jugular to the cold afternoon air. Now free to attack, Druckner rounds on the dog attacking Ortho and his axe lands the killing blow to the vile beast.

As the group looks around they see that all the attackers in the courtyard are dead. At this point, the door directly across the yard from the party opens and three men step out. Two of the men are dressed as and appear to be leaders of some type and the other is the man who ran from the battle earlier. As the men notice all the dead guards around the group, they quickly run back into the door and secure it behind them. An arrow from the watchtower thief thuds into the ground, alerting everyone to his presence and them in the open courtyard.

"Well done, boy!" exclaims Gnore as he looks over at Lyntern. "Your first kill as an adventurer! How does it feel?" Not waiting for an answer, Gnore continues his speech, "I guess me blade wasn't quite as thirsty as I thought, at least I kept the bastard cool for your blade, eh? Well, the worst is yet to come, young adventurer, let's see if you can survive 'till the end. If not, I'll personally make sure only the most vicious of these dogs gnaw on your carcase, eh boy?" Gnore ends with a laugh and a slap to the back of Lyntern, "Stay close, boy, we're not out of the fire yet! Get a feel of the Battle Surge, boy, and no one will touch you...at least you won't feel it 'till you drop dead! ha, ha, ha!" Gnore slaps Lyntern yet again.

Looking over the total carnage for the first time, Lyntern begins to go pale, as he sees that one of the dead bodies is that of a female he walks over to a wall and begins to deposit his lunch on the courtyard lawn.

Not noticing his young charge, Gnore turns his attention to the sniper and yells, "Mother-goblin lovin' dung heap!!! If you have any sense of proper honor, come down here and die by the blades of the Red Feather Company like the rest of your Orc-spawn, rodent friends!!! I'll feast on your dead bones for this cowardly act, you ogre-mating demon bastard!!!" He waves his sword at the sniper as he continues his rucass.

Dain sighs from his seat on the grass alongside Talimar, "Once again the Red Feather Co. prevails. Now what to do about that damn sniper in the tower? Should I pick him off with a sleep spell? It would take him out long enough for a thief to climb up there and despose of him. I'll still have a sleep spell left for the goons behind the door. Suggestions?"

Talimar sits himself up, conscious but still badly wounded despite Randor's healing spells, "Dain, I don't think a sleep spell would be a good idea, there is too great a chance that you coudl be hit by the archer. You should save your spells for inside the keep. Climbing the tower is also too risky, anyone attempting it would end up full of arrows."

He then looks around before continuing, "Gnore, why don't you and Lyntern guard the door outside. The rest of you could start on the doors inside. Did anyone note which door they entered/left? Those with bows/crossbows should stand ready while those with melee weapons stand beside the door ready." The elf then slumps against the wall, "And while you do that I think I shall just lie here for a while."

With a grunt and a nod, Gnore turns to Lyntern, "Come on Lyntern, we've been given a task to do." The dwarf walks over to his post, places the tip of his bastard sword in the dirt and rests his hands on the hilt. He then turns his head to Lyntern and gives a wink, "This is where we prove our worth, boy. It is our job to keep the rest of the company inside safe...or die trying." Gnore laughs wickedly and turns his head back to view the outside through the doorway.

Kersath moves forward to speak, "I agree with Talimar, Dain. It will exhaust you too much to cast the spell on the coward, unless you can manage another one of those sleep spells afterwards, because I have the damndest feeling we're going to need it with whatever is in there," pointing to the door the other three men entered, "and we also do not know how many are there. Can we possibly find a way to get up there? What if we climb from two places at the same time?" He then thinks a bit, "But, if you have enough strength, you can try to put him to sleep. It will sure make things a lot easier."

"I have the strength to cast possibly two more spells before I need to rest from fatigue. So, I can put our theify friend to sleep and still have one to feed to the chumps behind the door," answers Dain.

Druckner yanks his axe out of the dead dog and cleans it, "While you guys figure out how to take out the sniper, I'm gonna check out where all these doors lead to. Maybe some of these building interconnect. Anybody want to lend a hand?" He then moves to the left of the entrance and begins to kick in the door that the bandits first ran out of.

"Perhaps we should save your spells for whatever's behind that door," begins Kuiper as he watches the tower, looking for any opening to fire at the sniper. "If someone can keep the thief distracted I or someone else could scale the tower and climb the walls to get a better shot at him. Whatever we do, we need to decide fast. If they have the mages and clerics behind that door, there's no telling what they're doing right now!"

Randor looks at the group then back to the thief in the tower and begins to grumble something about expending too much energy and why can't there be an easier way. He then turns to the others, "You want him to come down? That can be arranged." Randor then looks up to the tower, takes a deep breath and begins to pray. He then points at the thief in the tower and shouts at him, "Surrender!"

He then turns back to the others and says with a smile, "That should bring him down." He then promptly slumps to the ground and groans. "I don't suppose anyone would mind if I didn't cast spells for a while or got a chance to recover. I've got a splitting headache now."

"I wish you'd just told 'im to jump," answers Ortho. "Much cleaner that way. Well, I guess I'm off. Can't have Druckner explore all these doors alone."

Moving to join his dwarven companion he adds, "Let's go kick in that door on the right, Druckner!"

"Sounds good ta me, Ortho. Why don't you kick while I shoot? And if by ill fate, you hurt your foot, then I'll take up the kickin'! And if we happen upon any more of these louts, then by Moraddin, I'll kick some more!"

Keeping his eyes on the vanishing thief above, Gnore succumbs to a wicked smile, "You rest yourself, Brother Randor, you have done enough for now. When that goblin-filth eater comes down, I'll give him the company's regards." Gnore grips his bastard sword tightly with both hands as he waits.

"Or maybe we can bash the son-of-an-orcish-goard over the head with Talimar, the the elf can boast a kill, eh? hah! hah! hah!”

Randor turns to Gnore, "NO! Don't kill him. He will surrender as he was commanded, he should be able to tell us some interesting information."

"There'll be plenty more to talk with later," answers Gnore. "We can't sop and sit for a chat in the middle of the blasted siege, cleric. How many more might be up able to hail bolts upon us or how many brigands do you think are bdhind closed doors to charge us? No, when we find the leader we talk to him. This foot soldier probably knows nothing more than to kill whoever was deemed an enemy...namely us!" Gnore finishes with a glare.

"I think that the only way to access the tower is through the keep itself," begins Kersath, ignoring the debate over the future prisoner, "and it appears that there is no other way around. Why don't we check each structure here as Druckner and Ortho have started before going into the main keep? Maybe we'll find some secret entrances or something of the sort. Those old keeps are probably infested with secret passages and trap doors." Turning to the recovering Talimar, he adds, "And besides, perhaps there is an ambush waiting for us in there. Actually, it's very likely since they know we're here. I suggest we conduct a thorough search of the outer keep to see if there's any alternate way to enter the keep. If there is, they might actually come right behind us when we least expect it."

Randor turns his head toward Kersath as he spoke, he then stands up and puts his hand to his head. "One second," Randor begins rather weakly. "Merely allow me to take a couple of breaths and regain my strength." After a few seconds and a couple of deep breaths, Randor stands up straighter and speaks with his full vigor, "Very well, I will join you now."

Garth rumbles and adds, "Aye, it makes sense. But once we have determined the possible entrances and exits why don't we just some 'em out like the rats they be?"

Hearing the sounds of preparation behind the door that the bandits ran into, Beleg decides there is no time to waste. Moving his large body a few feet back from the door, he sheaths his sword and sets his shield. With a quick grin at Garth, Beleg lowers the face guards on his helm and charges. He hits the door with all his considerable strength and size in an attempt to force it open.

Gripping the handle of his mace tightly so that he does not drop it, the thong wrapped around his wrist, Garth grins right back at Beleg and joins him in the charge. For it is an old dwarven proverb, "Not even a mountain may stand long before the charge of the dwarves."

The door sustains the first two charges of the stout warriors, although each took a heavy toll on the thick hinges. Finally, the door frame succumbs to the might of the warriors and with a loud crack shatters before them. Their momentum carries the two warriors into the room and both man and dwarf fall over several chairs and tables that had been placed in front of the door to help barricade it. Looking up, the two see three angry men coming toward them with weapons drawn. They also hear the sounds of other men approaching from somewhere else.

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