Nomen Infernale XLXVIII: Like a Maniac Who Shoots Flaming Arrows
General Summary
As the thundering of feet settled around Eastern wall of the Ayadin encampment, the party wavered in their plan to mount the roofs from the outside and fell back into the chapel, kicked down the inner door and post up to defend the building. Alex, Riven, Kegho and Asbjørn sprinted up the stairs to the tall tower in the center of the building for a better view, but upon reaching it found that the enemy was north of where they had anticipated and their shot was obscured by another, albiet lower, tower. Elissa took watch by a window at the base of the stairs, spear ready should any Yafwadi attempt to slip through. Theo and Teleptyon stood by the door, Teleptyon ready to bring himself near exhaustion to reinforce it by channeling the Ar. The leader of the first wave of the attack followed Alex to the tower, amused by the child warrior, but unconcerned by his compatriots' attack.
The party heard the lowing of a deeply-inbred half-ogre and worried for a moment that Asbjørn's killing strike had not been as lethal as they hoped, but no the outer wall rumbled as a sandstone club struck it. They had brought more of the foul creatures. At the sound of warriors hefting themselves over the wall became distinct, Alex grew frustrated and lowered himself onto the adjacent building. He reached the edge of that roof as a section of the wall crumbled and a half-ogre lumbered through the new gap toward the Ayadin building. Kegho, Riven, and Asbjørn lined up on the same edge of the roof and began loosing projectiles into the giant. The shots from Riven and Alex struck home, but only seemed to enrage the simple creature. He swung his club at the building cracking eastern wall.
To their collective horrror another abominable shaman stepped through the gap in the giant's wake. Like the first he was cloaked in what appeared to be human-skin robes with bone charms dangling from his robes and his staff was topped with a child's or a Oameni's skull. He begins to drone in the garbled tongue of the Yafwadi wastelanders. The group on the roof turned their attention temporarily from the half-ogre to the shaman intent on taking him out before he could plunge them into darkness or corrupt their flesh as his earlier counterpart had. Riven sank two arrows rapidly into him. Kegho and Alex, in their haste to take out the shaman damaged their weapons, Kegho realizing that he only had one bowstring left muttered about the quality of equipment outside of the Ashkuz Xhanate. Alex realized the staff of his Fustibalus had cracked, fired a few unspeakably filthy Oameni curses into the heavens, thanked Lysdar that it had not happened while he was slinging Eknoi fire, slipped the thong off the staff and cast the fractured staff aside.
Teleptyon realizing that the enemies were attacking the side of the building and not the doorway made his way to the roof and fired a bolt of the Ar into the shaman. The shaman and the second wave warriors moved to surround the building, four of them saw the doorway and moved toward it. Alex yelled for Elissa that they were not circling to the window and she moved to impale the first warrior that breached the doorway. He looked back at the leader and tried to indicate that the battle was entirely unecessary and to do something. The leader looked concerned but did not move to stop his compatriots' attack. Asbjørn and Riven missed their shots at the encroaching crowd. Kegho sees a clear shot and sinks a flaming arrow into the eye of the half-ogre. It let out a last piteous cry as flames burst from it's eyes, nose, ears and mouth as the fire consumed his head from within. The half-ogre unfortunately crumpled forward against the wall creating a ramp for the warriors behind him.
Alex took a vial of Eknoi fire from Riven and lofted it with the sling into the face of the shaman, it dripped down his front before catching ablaze. To Alex's consternation he calmly dropped to the ground and rolled in the sand fairly rapidly quenching the flames. Through the gap in the wall, a Yafwadi warrior dressed much like the one Alex had charmed, entered the courtyard and began following his troops up the half-ogre ramp. Now closer the Yafwadi javelineers attempt to take out Riven and Asbjørn but have a disadvantage from their firing angle and miss Asbjørn entirely and only graze Riven. Riven looses two arrows in quick succession at the shaman, as he stood from putting himself out. he snapped off the arrow shafts sticking out of his shoulders in cold defiance as a third arrow, loosed by Asbjørn bit into the shaman's heart. He met Reshpu before his body hit the ground.
Alex fumbled his slingshot and in a keening voice asked why Lysdar had forsaken him. One of the javelineers strayed too close to Riven and she swiped at him with her hand axe. Kegho sank another flaming arrow into a warrior. He thought at first it was a flesh wound, but the fire caught and turned his viscera to ash while he screamed in pain until his lungs were also cinder.
Teleptyon attempted to throw a vial of Eknoi fire at the assembled warriors, but his noodly wizard arms were not well suited to the task and he caught part of the lower roof aflame as well as two of the warriors who were standing on it. Having seen the La Compagnia kill their shaman and half-ogre, and loose fire in many forms, and bolts of pure Ar at them, the leader called a retreat and those on the roof fled to outside the wall. Teleptyon pointed at the burning roof and said "maybe we should put some sand on it or something," before running back into the building. The crashing of an axe against the front door pulled Kegho, Alex, Asbjørn, and Riven's attention and they repositioned to deal with the stragglers who had not been present for their earlier show of force.
Alex slipped off the roof and padded to behind the corner of the building. The leader watched with increased agitation. Asbjørn made his way to defend the door from within where Theo stood, mace hefted, and Elissa stood braced against the tilework floor of the room.
Kegho and Riven found new positions to attack from the roof.
An axe inexpertly glanced off the outside of the door.
Alex padded behind the nearest warrior unseen and sliced upward with the sickle they had liberated from Brother Urbicus in the Anekhsemeru catacombs. Though the tool felt natural in his hand and sliced beautifully through the air, it was the first time he had struck with the new weapon and he was unable to do much harm even while sneaking from behind. His cover blown, two of the Yafwadi turned and attacked. The first clipped Alex with his axe and the second missed as the deft Oameni ducked and dodged. The leader's concern overwhelmed him and he ran down the stairs and barreled to the still barred door to get out and rescue Alex.
As he saw the now-frantic Yafwadi leader running toward the door, Theo chuckled darkly "well now you're interested" and unbarred the door to let him out.
Kegho made to jump down from the roof to attack the raiders, but landed poorly. Alex was left trying to decide if he was safer to stand and fight or if he should, out of an abundance of caution flee, leading the warriors on a merry, but deadly chase.
