Messages

Branwen's brow furrowed. She didn't quite mind Kin being close to death, but it was far too early in the battle. Ideally, Tzane and Kin would die at the same time...Kin dying first just made it more troublesome for the rest of them.

"Perhaps I should retract my previous compliment." Branwen stated coldly, her quiet voice carrying over the giant's roaring swings. "I thought you better than this, Kin Sheel. Is a greenskin too much for you?"

Her acid singed and burned its skin, but it still didn't falter no matter how many times it was cut. She had to give the brute credit for its standing power. For a brief moment, she considered attempting to tame it and use it as Kin's replacement...

But that would be too much trouble. She resolved to simply kill the thing instead.

[spoiler]Another flanking bane judgement slashing acid precision combat expertise kukri attack

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+12 : 9 + 12, total 21[/blockquote] vs AC

Slashing:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+3 : 2 + 3, total 5[/blockquote]
Bane:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 6, 4, total 10[/blockquote]
Precision:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote]
Acid:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

Afterwards, Branwen takes a 5 foot step south.[/spoiler]

Branwen holds up an arm, silently stopping Kin before he entered the room with the staff. The girl in black stepped back a bit, putting herself in view of the others once more. "The staff on the wall is trapped. Moreover, it doesn't even appear to be magical. If you happen to be a collector with a fondness for wooden sticks, feel free to take it at your own risk." She recounted, her eyes sporting a soft gloom. It faded once her spell ended, concentration no longer necessary. "I believe the artifact that we are in search of lies beyond this room, to the south. I can sense its aura from here - we are quite close, now..."

Branwen allowed the lumbering brute to pass by her, unimpeded. She wouldn't waste her opportunity for an opening strike here. The troll's reach was far greater than hers - she would need to remain hidden in order to make her approach safely. And once she was in such short range, making an escape would entail its own danger.

She had placed herself in a strategic offensive position - she was able to attack from behind. But by allowing the troll to occupy her only escape route, she was willingly trapping herself within his domain.

It was, in essence, an all-or-nothing gamble. She was relying on her ability to take down her enemy without needing to run. This was a tactic that could only be enacted by one who didn't care for her own life.

After all, her body was nothing more than an empty shell.

She appeared suddenly on the other side of the troll, seemingly out of nowhere - and with a flash of her dagger, she went for the giant's thigh from below. The upper leg was host to a high concentration of veins and arteries, and the blade of her kukri was fashioned specifically to cause heavy bleeding. It tore apart the flesh along the gash, instead of causing a deep wound. By ripping apart the right arteries, she could cause a lethal blow at the limbs, even if the troll was too tall for her to accurately strike its vital organs.

A quick death was much preferred to a slow one, especially with trolls involved. But she could rely on her compatriots to finish the job - all she had to do was seal his fate.

[spoiler]Bran moves Up, Up-Right, uses Bane (Trolls) [1/5] as a swift action, and attacks with bonuses from bane, invisibility, and flanking

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 9 + 14, total 23[/blockquote] vs Flatfooted AC
[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+3 : 2 + 3, total 5[/blockquote] Slashing damage
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 6, 1, total 7[/blockquote] Bane damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote] Precision damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote] Acid damage

She then uses a missed turn. Her Bane persists [2/5] and she pronounces Judgement (Protection), granting her a +2 Profane bonus to AC in addition to her Combat Expertise (Total 22). She is no longer invisible.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+12 : 17 + 12, total 29[/blockquote] vs AC
[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+3 : 4 + 3, total 7[/blockquote] Slashing damage
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 3, 1, total 4[/blockquote] Bane damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote] Precision damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote] Acid damage[/spoiler]

Branwen frowned at the sight of the staff. She didn't particularly care for treasure. At best, it was some item that she didn't care about in the slightest, like some axe or staff - neither of which she had fondness for or proficiency in. And at worst, it was just a trap.

But it seemed that she would have to move through the room either way - looking back over her shoulder to make sure her teammates were still preoccupied, she decided she had enough time for a full measure of prudence, scanning the room carefully before entering.

[spoiler]Branwen casts Detect Magic

She also searches the room for traps: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 20 + 7, total 27[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Bran doesn't care, but she'll take whatever is left behind after everyone else is done

"Still holding onto that soul of yours, I see?" Branwen turned her head back to Jornathel, without a hint of concern in her voice. "Quite the tenacious grip on you, I must say. My master would enjoy the presence of those such as yourself. A spider's life is quite lonely without flies." The girl in black sheathed her dagger, slowly walking to the south. She turned her back without even giving a sidelong glance at the dwarven riches, or the chest behind them, as though she cared not in the slightest.

It was natural, of course - even a king can carry his riches for but a lifetime.

Traveling forward, she carefully peeked around the next corner. As impatient as the halfling was, Branwen thought it best to do her scouting while he was busy obsessing over coins and treasure.

[spoiler]Branwen moves down-right, down-right, down, down, and peeks around.

Hide: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 6 + 13, total 19[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Seeing her chance to slip by, Branwen muttered another spell to herself before quietly making her way through the dark cave. She glided on the shadows, unseen even to the dark eyes of a troll. Her best position was behind her enemy - she didn't want to miss that chance.

[spoiler]Branwen casts Expeditious Retreat on herself, then stealthily moves 60 feet along the wall, past Tzane, while remaining invisible.

Move silently: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+10 : 19 + 10, total 29[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Branwen wordlessly kept up her assault. Her previous strike had only been a warding swipe to prevent the dwarf's assault - now, she aimed to kill, without the slightest hint of hesitation or remorse.

[spoiler]Attack with flanking

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+9 : 7 + 9, total 16[/blockquote] vs AC

[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 3 + 1, total 4[/blockquote] Slashing damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 1, total 1[/blockquote] Acid damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote] Precision damage[/spoiler]

Branwen followed silently behind, keeping a certain distance between her and Kin as a buffer, in case something jumped out. One might have looked about the cave, left and right, on the lookout for any manner of trouble - only noticing a few moments later that the girl in black had disappeared completely.

Even within the light of the torch, there was nothing, only the four of them. But then, her voice whispered on the darkness, seemingly from nowhere. "Keep going. I will engage as I see fit."

[spoiler]Branwen moves down, down, down, down, down, down-right, and casts Invisibility on herself.[/spoiler]

Branwen spared no sympathy for her fallen comrade. She wasn't a healer, regardless. However, she recognized that it was in her best interest to protect the one who was a healer, lest she find herself in Jorn's position at some future point.

Moving up, she begrudgingly took up a melee position, attempting to slip her kukri through a gap in the dwarf's armor.

[spoiler]Moves up-right, right, melees dorf

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 12 + 7, total 19[/blockquote] vs AC

[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 4 + 1, total 5[/blockquote] Slashing
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 6, total 6[/blockquote] Acid[/spoiler]

The girl in black moved unseen amongst the shadows. She waited patiently for her allies to move in, for the opportunity she needed. The moment Ryine charged in, she saw her window.

The girl dashed forward, unseen in the shades. It was time to end the rampant gobbling.

When she emerged from the shadows, her Kukri glowed with rage beyond the girl's own, finding its way into the giant Turkey's back twice in succession. And then, as soon as the judgement came, the girl in black faded into the shadows again.

It was as though the darkness itself sought the turkey's heart. The assailant was solid, yet formless - invisible, yet holding overwhelming presence. Strike after strike with impunity, until her target's heart was carved out.

[spoiler]Branwen moves right-right-right-right-right-right, flanking with Ryine. She is invisible and does not provoke AoOs during this time.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 18 + 15, total 33[/blockquote] Move Silently

As a swift action, she uses Bane on her Kukri to give it the 'Bane (Turkeys)' property. Then she attacks Dave with bonuses from concealment, flanking, and bane.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 10 + 14, total 24[/blockquote] vs Flatfooted AC

[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 4 + 1, total 5
Rolled 2d6 : 6, 5, total 11[/blockquote] Slashing damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote] Precision damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote] Acid damage

Then, using one of her missed turns, she pronounces the Escape Judgement as a swift action and attacks again with the same bonuses.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+14 : 5 + 14, total 19[/blockquote] vs AC (not flatfooted, as she is no longer invisible)

[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 3 + 1, total 4
Rolled 2d6 : 3, 3, total 6[/blockquote] Slashing damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote] Precision damage
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote] Acid damage

She then activates her judgement as a move action to hide in the shadows.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 2 + 11, total 13[/blockquote] Bluff (diversion)
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 6 + 15, total 21[/blockquote] Hide

[spoiler]Level 4-5 HD Player Roll

[blockquote]Rolled 1d8+1 : 4 + 1, total 5[/blockquote]

[blockquote]Rolled 1d8+1 : 3 + 1, total 4[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Branwen merely stared silently as her compatriots charged in. She couldn't help but feel as though she'd killed this particular turkey once before.

Well, it didn't matter. She had killed it once, and she could kill it again.

Striding forward, emerging from her location for the first time, she walked unfettered by the smaller turkeys, not into the giant turkey's reach, but instead into the nearby shadows. There, she faded, dissolving into the dim light.

[spoiler]Branwen moves Up, Up, Up-Right, Up-Right, Up-Right, Right, Right, Right, and uses Night Hunter

This provokes 2 AoOs but Branwen doesn't care.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Crit confirm: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+7 : 17 + 7, total 24[/blockquote]

Extra damage: [blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 2 + 1, total 3[/blockquote] slashing
[/spoiler]