042 - Cliffside swordfight

As the party has split, this encounter was played off sequence to speed up the coming session. Its outcome remained secret to most players in the campaign until its consequence were revealed to the rest of the company. This encounters is a continuation of a previous one: "We're not in Kansas anymore". 

Act 42, Scene 1 - Leaving the Imenstone Shrine

The two "surviving" members of the company left the Shrine and decided to follow their wraith friends along the top of the cliff. Their destination was more than likely Mulkan, and the time to get there was anywhere between one and two hours. At first, the fog was thick and the sky unnaturally dark. Sir Galdor and Halin both waved their warding totems at the bone terrors lurking maybe a dozen yards away. Soon, however, the fog lifted and the light came back. The bone terrors faded and were soon left behind. 

Halin lowered the totem, put it against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around the pole. Soon, Sir Galdor was dragging the pole in the snow.

Halin spotted five figures heading in their direction at the edge of sight [ He was shortsighted, but has spectacles and managed to roll a critical success on his Perception check. ] [+]. This unusual warning allowed Halin and Galdor to descend into the cliff side and seek concealment. 

Act 42, Scene 2 - A very bitter fight

The Lossoth hunters jogged passed their positions, but failed to notice the Southrons in the defile. However, they did notice that there were tracks leaving the highland and descending into the rocky fjord. This lead their eyes directly to Sir Galdor and Halin, now scrambling to acquire higher ground.

They both managed to run for a promontory in the middle of the cliff side where they would get a height advantage against the Lossoths. For some reasons, the Lossoth immediately engaged the Southrons. This behavior was a bit suprising since the last time that their met they had been welcome as guest by their chief.

Five Lossoth hunters are descending into
the cliff to engage Halin and Galdor.

The Lossoth, using a combat style akin to Escrima, learned quickly that Halin's oversized warhammer was not something that they should try to parry. The main-gauche of one of the hunter broke apart while cross parrying with his hooked smallsword. Halin took advantage of the situation to go after the hunter and managed to severe his left hand with a powerful blow of the impaling end of his warhammer. The Lossoth, in shock, fell unconscious

Meanwhile, the noose tightened on Galdor who got disarmed and saw his sword fly down the hill. He jumped after it and ended kneeled with his sword back in hand. After some struggle, a Lossoth jumped on him from behind and slammed him into the ground. Sir Galdor grappled his foe while his hauberk stopped a deadly stab at his torso by another Lossoth opponent. Running out of option, Sir Galdor threw his grappled foe down the hill against the other Lossoth who just tried to stab him, both rolled down for a few yards and ended lying down. This gave Sir Galdor the time to recover both sword and shield and get ready for more.

Galdor is wrestling on the ground while
Halin is getting flanked.

Halin, now surrounded by two Lossoths of his own, drifted away from Sir Galdor to maintain the height advantage. The Lossoths were very difficult to hit as they kept on taking a dodge and retreat option (now weary to attempt to parry a warhammer with their light fencing weapons). Eventually, the Lossoth leader managed to hook Halin's leg and force him on his knee. Halin, attempting a flurry of blows crippled in one turn both the leader's thighs and his elbow. Shortly after, the second Lossoth didn't fare very well and ended up with the impaling end of Halin's warhammer in his knee. Halin discovered the joy of the stop hit with his hammer. By the time Halin had pulled the weapon out of the Lossoth's leg, the hunter was no longer a threat (but still capable to curse and cry at his ordeal).

Galdor, still maintaining a height advantage, got his sword flung no less than three yards away from him, and down the hill [ The Lossoth got a critical both at the disarm and the follow on skill contest! ] [+]. Sir Galdor found himself again without a sword, and this time incapable to get back to it. He used his shield as a weapon and punched the Lossoth that he already has severed an artery in the left arm with his sword. Meanwhile, he blocked another disarming attempt made against his shield by the other Lossoth hunter. He managed a critical success on his block check, which the GM decided would result in the Lossoth's hook smallsword to become unready.

When Halin appeared at the crest of the cliff, visibly clear of opponents, Sir Galdor's foes decided to turn and run. One with an unready weapon, the other with ongoing profuse bleeding from his arm. Halin, taking advantage of the level ground at the top, started to sprint to catch the fleeing hunters. He struck dumb one of them and crippled his elbow while the other with a severed main artery kept on fleeing out of his reach. 

Act 43, Scene 3 - Hit first, then ask questions

Halin begins a pursuit while "Butter finger"
Galdor recovers his sword.

The bleeding Lossoth took to his feet and headed Northward. Halin, slighly less fast in the snow began a pursuit. Halin was banking on his intuition that the bleeding would eventually slow down the Lossoth. Indeed, it took some 4 minutes before the Lossoth hunter's feet started to miss the beat. As the angry dwarf was gaining ground, the Lossoth stopped, breathed heavily, turned around and tossed his sword in the snow. "Im' dying, no more.", he said in his most simple Lossoth so that he could be understood.

Halin overcame his desire to dispatch the hunter. However, it didn't take a lot of levels in psychology to predict the mood of the dwarf. The Lossoth was scared for his life. He asked Halin why they were doing this to them. Halin replied that they had attacked in the first place. The Lossoth further specified that he meant that his Southrons friends had revealed their true form as wraith and attacked the temple.  Halin, a bit perplexed, got out of him that they had recognized the Southron because of Arnadil's signature sword (Astor). The five hunters had been intercepted in a desperate bid to reach the Imenstone and fight back as wraith themselves.

Halin dispensed first-aid and stopped the bleeding for the Lossoth. They returned to Sir Galdor and the four other hunters. The leader was on the brink of death, another was still unconscious by a hand hanging by a thread and two others had crippled legs. This lot was in no shape to make a run for the Imenstone. Halin, the standing Lossoth hunter and Galdor decided to head for Mulkan to find out what was going on while the other were waiting for returning people with litters.