Shen was right. Wistvale was better defended than most villages,... but they were not in Wistvale at the moment and away from its protection. As they were walking back towards their home town, Argent felt as tho they were being watched. If he were to follow his instincts and look around, he would notice a figure at a distance mounted over some type of animal, standing on a cliff.
The man seemed to be a young drow with long white hair. He had little armor but held a pretty sharp looking spear, while his mount seemed more protected with armor. It seemed odd at first but Argent would also be able to notice that his spear was pointed right at them.
GM NOTE:: Redblade is a known felon and escaped criminal. This can and should effect all interactions with certain people that would be aware of his status. Especially the Sentinels.
"I fought the law and then I was broken out... Is that a bad thing?"
(I need clarification on a couple of things. How do we know it's Drow and not Dwyern? What is the animal, etc? More details please. I'll operate under the assumption that it's clear they are Drow.) Shen continued walking, enjoying his pipe and nodding, pointing at something that was most certainly not the presumed scout on the ridge. He was sure to speak in a low tone as well, but gave no deliberate indication of alarm... not that he had any.
"That's unusual. The Drow rarely move beyond Fennen. Were their any truth to their raids, I also can't imagine we wouldn't have hear prior, as Drow war band would be noticed by Wistvale quite quickly. None of this adds up."
The thing was, Shen had a history with the Drow and it was their 'cooperation' that had helped him become a prolific merchant. Many of the items he required for his both his studies and his medicine originated in The Overwood. Perhaps it was just strange that he hadn't heard anything about such activity, given his uneasy association with them.
((They are able to tell its drow by his physical characteristics. Dark skin, pale hair, and slim body. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what Dwyern are, nor could I find anything on them on google.
The type of animal he is mounted on is hard to tell by his armor and helmet it is wearing that covers most of its body, but being that you have biodiversity lvl 3 you can tell that it seems to be some type of large feline.))
The two kept walking as if they had not noticed the figure on the cliff, but it did not take long before Argent could sense that there were more presences nearby. He was just not aware of where or how many.
Now what did seem odd to both was that there was no wind blowing, yet a few leaves were falling from the branches above as if it were autumn, but it wasn't because spring had just started not too long ago. Soon the sound of string's stretching could be heard by both all around them.
GM NOTE:: Redblade is a known felon and escaped criminal. This can and should effect all interactions with certain people that would be aware of his status. Especially the Sentinels.
"I fought the law and then I was broken out... Is that a bad thing?"
((We can assume then that maybe Shen, once alreted to the scout and given his history with Drow, might be able to notice any subtle differences that would mark him as Drow.))
He continued to walk a few paces, his arms shifting a bit as if for comfort in the shield and spear he was carrying, but really to keep them ready and loose for responding to any attack. He noted the odd behavior of the leaves, but knew no way to alert his friend without giving his knowledge away. He instead tried to focus on the sounds about him, trying to locate at least the general area they were coming from.
That was when he heard the sound of something straining as if a bow being drawn. In one smooth motion he would spin to face the direction of the closest sound while raising his spear and shield. If movement would show itself, he would throw his spear at the presumed foe before the arrow he felt was coming could be fired.
Giving up the ruse, he would call out.
"There are more. In the trees!"
I was born, shortsword in my hand.
Behind a shield, I'll make my final stand.
(Differences are aesthetic really, especially at such a distance. His clothing, weapon, other items. Dwyern look quite regular among the races, Drow are noticeable due to their very wicked attire.)
"L'lorugen ph'whol velkresa saph Sonari. Usstan quarth dos shunveil dosst jindurn p'los dos spikka l'velvel a ussta rath."
Shen spoke sternly, as the Drow did not respond to niceties and considered them indicative of a weakling, or inferior race. Whilst his grasp on their language might surprise them, he wasn't counting on it being enough to prevent an attack. He was counting on their customs, hence his words: "The trees are for hiding like Sonari. I command you reveal your face before you twist the knife at my back."
Drow custom meant the victim, if lucky enough to know of an impending attack, could claim the right to be confronted by an assailant. Not that the Drow observed such customs at all times, they were a callous and malicious lot. Shen couldn't imagine what they hoped to gain by killing them outright though.
((Thanks for pointing that out Shen. Let's say the drow had some very noticable wicked attire then.))
There would be no response to Shen's words as Argent spots one of the figures in the trees and throws his spear right at him. The spear hits its mark right on his chest as he releases his arrow from his bow away from them. Having dropped his bow to get a good hold of the spear that was planted in him, the elf falls from the tree and lands hard on the ground below near their feet. They could tell that this particular elf was not drow, but a wood elf instead.
It was then that the other attackers released a flurry of arrows at them. They moved from tree to tree, always in motion before releasing another arrow at them. Both Shen and Argent could get a glimps from time to time of the elves attacking them, which were a mixture of different elven races which just didn't add up. There was about four elves in the trees, not including the mounted one seen on a cliff, which was no longer there.
GM NOTE:: Redblade is a known felon and escaped criminal. This can and should effect all interactions with certain people that would be aware of his status. Especially the Sentinels.
"I fought the law and then I was broken out... Is that a bad thing?"
A satisfied smile hit his face as he saw the spear hit home.
The smile quickly faltered and fell away completely at the realization that the would be archer was NOT drow. He hoped that he did not just slay an ally unknowingly. That worry was quickly dashed as the attacks came from all around and he could see the mixture of elves present.
While the group was oddly built, it gave him some reassurance that he did indeed hit an appropriate target.
"Stay close, if you can. I can't sheild you from all of it, but I can do some."
He raised his shield and ducked his head to protect his vital areas as best he could and raced towards the fallen body. It would be imposible to protect all sides of him, but he would try to shift his shield as best he could to match the worst of the arrows. Should he reach the body, he would try to wrench his spear free and turn to find the next closest foe to engage.
I was born, shortsword in my hand.
Behind a shield, I'll make my final stand.
(Yep, that is very confusing as there's only three elven races outside the Drow that we know of. :/ Running with your mystery...)
Shen had to act quickly and decide what their best response was. Really, there choices were limited and outright aggression with these odds might see them not make it back to town. Nothing added up presently and whilst Shen was very much inclined to simply kill these attackers outright, he also wanted to understand their predicament. He did stay close to Argent.
As the Haisheth reached for his spear, Shen took a decisive action. Shen tore his chain weapon from his waist and whipped it about defensively, before the bladed end of Cron Varna snapped into his hand and he thrust it skyward, calling in native Drow for it's enchantment to trigger....
- Sanctuary - Effect: The mage creates a large, protective sphere that can withstand tremendous damage and protects all within it. Range: The caster. AOE: 15 feet. Cast Time: Immediate. Power: The sphere encompasses all within 15 feet and ignores physical boundaries. The sphere will withstand 3 rounds of massive damage. Without damage, the sphere can last 2 hours. Objects or creatures cannot pass through the sphere.
So long as they were at an impasse, Shen was going to get some damned answers. Failing that, he'd bring every magic enchantment he had in his arsenal into play before he and Argent regained the fight.
Argent does his best to cover himself from the rain of arrows with many hitting his shield, with the sound of them hitting the wood are heard. A few arrows that don't hit their mark are planted on the ground near them. As he soon as he reached for his spear, he feels a sharp pain on his right calf that dropped him to his knee.
Shen on the other hand had nothing to cover himself with at first and gets an arrow cut his left thigh. He noticed that they seemed more interested in killing Argent first for taking the life of their companion. Although when he unsheathed his weapon and raised it up, one elf did try to stop him from doing whatever he was about to do and dug an arrow on the medics left shoulder before the protective sphere formed around them and protected them of any further attacks.
With the protective sphere over them now, arrows bounced off it until they slowly stopped firing. There was no reason for them to hide now, so they are all seen standing on branches of different trees circled around Argent and Shen. With an arrow at the ready, they waited to see how long the shield would last to continue their attack.
It was silent now.
GM NOTE:: Redblade is a known felon and escaped criminal. This can and should effect all interactions with certain people that would be aware of his status. Especially the Sentinels.
"I fought the law and then I was broken out... Is that a bad thing?"
He let out a cry of pain and went down to one knee. He tried to keep his dhield raised to protect himself from the rain of arrows when they suddenly stopped.
He looked up to see the glowing barrier around him and looked to the mage with a sigh of relief.
"How long will ths thing hold?"
With the arrow lodged in his calf, there was little he could do at the moment and he did not know how long he had. He had seen and even received similar injuries in the field and there was typically one course of action when healing was not available and time was of the essence.
He grabbed the shaft of the arrow and bit into the rim of his shield in pain as he tried to snap it as close to the flesh as he could so that it would not impede his movement.
I was born, shortsword in my hand.
Behind a shield, I'll make my final stand.
GM NOTE:: Redblade is a known felon and escaped criminal. This can and should effect all interactions with certain people that would be aware of his status. Especially the Sentinels.
"I fought the law and then I was broken out... Is that a bad thing?"
Shen wasn't about to lecture Argent on proper medical procedure for removing arrows, as he was also in the process of tugging an arrow free from his own arm. He wasn't impressed, their attackers had remained silent and really, very little made sense at this time. That was a problem as well, because as Shen's impatience grew; his desire to hurt something in the extreme was building. After all, the protective sphere did not stop assaulting others with some magic.
"It can last hours, which is much longer than my tolerance will hold out. How is your leg?"