Chapter 1: A Wizard's Amulet

As they examine the treeline, Faionn and Datura suddenly hear a menacing voice. They look over and sees a strange wizard- Vortigern- and two large men with bows drawn, just inside the cover of the surrounding woods some 60 feet away. Vortigern has his familiar—the devil-eyed raven—perched on his shoulder and he is reading a scroll. As Vortigern finishes reading the scroll, the raven transforms into a small, devilish, winged creature and with a hideous shriek flies off Vortigern’s shoulder. Instantly, the ground comes alive. Corian screams in terror as skeletal hands claw through the ground and begin to encircle the party.




First round of combat.
Combat Order
Enemies
Party

The skeletons erupt from the ground, crawling and scrabbling from the soil with rusted blades in hand. They surround the group of five adventurers (Zin is outside of the circle), and prepare to begin slashing at the living. Meanwhile, Talon flies forward towards Corian in an attempt to steal away the necklace! The imp manages to grasp at it, but the wizard fights back the evil beast and prevents it from capturing the treasure.

The two large men from the woods- half-orcs, by the looks of them- begin loosing arrows at Monaghan and Olaf. Arrows thud as they strike the ground around the two, missing both the men and the skeletons.

Ryenne batters her mace against her shield, readying herself for battle.

"You shouldn’t have come!" she challenges the wizard. "Thyr smite you for this injustice!"

She holds the mace aloft, channeling the power of her deity.

"Turn back these creatures, Thyr!"

Datura doesn't much care for wizards who sic skeletons on her and she lets the man know by sending two arrows sailing towards him...

Nebbleshuven was prepared to strike at the skeletons rising from the ground, but Ryenne's success at driving them off changes things. With the wizard and half-orcs too far away, taking a swing at the imp seems to be his most prudent action in this moment.

Having been watching over Datura and Faionn of the Valley to make sure nothing ambushed them, Olaf is on-guard as the wizard and his bowmen appear, as the imp flies and as skeletons erupt from the ground! Like Nebbleshuven, whom he stands near, he's about to attack a rattling, bony foe when Ryenne's power surges and sends those horrific foes scrambling.

So, with the others defending Corian, the big warrior looses a war cry and runs straight for the sorcerer! The man's throwing knife presents in his hand, and he hurls the weapon as he runs, switching back to axe and shield as he closes the distance.

With the appearance of Vortigern the wizard, all hell breaks loose. Faionn stands frozen, stumbling away from the swooping imp but quickly regaining her footing. When the impish Talon crashes into battle with Corian, Monaghan, and Nebbleshuven, Faionn joins them and stabs up into the creature.

Datura fires arrows beautifully, as they fly through the air and one smashes into Vortigern's leg. Olaf and Galdar rush forward with weapons in hand as the skeletons surrounding the party disperse in different directions. The power emanating from Ryenne is palpable, as her faith in her god has such strength. The priest wields his sword and shield, while Olaf throws a dagger that strikes true in the shoulder of the evil mage. Corian, meanwhile, continues fighting off the evil creature that is going for the necklace he wears. Those of you striking at the imp find that your blades are unable to penetrate its unholy flesh; if only there were such a weapon that could cut through.

Round Two of Combat

With the two warriors rushing towards their master, the half-orcs begin firing their arrows at Olaf and Galdar specifically, hoping to put them down before they have to resort to blades. One arrow slams into Olaf's belly with intense force, putting a quick end to the man's life; the other glances off of Galdar's shield. At the same time, Vortigern sees that a melee might be inevitable and invokes a magical shield to float in front of his weak body. Talon continues trying to steal the necklace, but the struggles of the wizard and the fight from his allies keeps the imp from succeeding at its task.

Ryenne sees Olaf go down, and then she’s racing for the wizard herself, hoping to club him down with the others; which might cause the orcs to turn tail and flee!

She slams the mace into the man with all the force she can muster!

The gnome gasps in horror as Olaf goes down! She returns fire at the half-orc miscreant responsible for the act...

Olaf is running one moment, pulling his axe from his belt, but the next he's sprouted an arrow and he stumbles forward, falling without even a groan. There is a lot of blood; the man won't be rising again.

As Monaghan's attacks are repelled by the otherworldly nature of the imp's flesh, an idea strikes him unbidden. He quickly stows his own bastard sword, whips the short sword from the farmhouse from its battered scabbard, and strikes again at Talon.

Nebbleshuven catches sight of Olaf falling to the ground and begins to feel that all is lost before it's begun. With his sword ineffective against the imp, he abandons attacking it and charges towards the bastards that fell Olaf, sheathing his sword and drawing his javelin.