Arien in the lead, the party follows behind, stealth abandoned in the haste to save Alloryn. Char and Maximus follow with weapons at ready, Valentine and Jal exchange glances and a few words at the absurdity of the situation but join the fray. Even the cautious Kilgim and the overwhelmed Dapple follows suit behind the brave Knight. For this was a day of deeds, and if the bards were to sing of this charge, they would lift their heads high to praise the courage and bravery of the moment, if not the complete lack of wisdom in the action.

Through the broken doorway and north towards the main Keep, Arien does not bother to so much open the doors but to bash them open with foot and shield. The ease of which he does this speaks poorly of the Keep’s construction. Continuing at a rapid pace, you pass two doors, one on either side near the centre of the hallway. Arien ignores them, but the more cautious Char and Dapple peer inside the doors to make sure nothing will take them from behind. On the left is a kitchen, the hearth still hot enough to feel from the doorway and on the right the dining hall, a messy shambles. Both rooms are empty of guards or people and appear to have been abandoned in haste.

The door at the end of the hallway dies an ignoble death at the hands of Arien’s boot. Inside is the former recreation room of the tower, and the stairways upwards. The room is Spartan, with a few chairs and a long wooden table near the stairwell. The walls are bare and have patterns of mold and decay upon them.

Five imperial soldiers are also in this room, another stands on the stairs above the men, apparently giving instructions until you came barging into the room. They move fast, almost inhumanly so. Four draw their small hand held crossbows as the fifth flips the table over to provide cover. The fifth one on the stairs shouts upstairs for aid while reaching to something around his neck.

OOC: It’s everyone’s favourite time – Combat. Neither side is surprised, so it comes down to initiative – do you feel lucky? For the record there are 6 greens, one is a commander. Three are moving for the cover of the table, one is moving to flank you on left, another on the right, the commander is on the stairs.

Please give me enough action to run more than one round of combat.

Adrian glanced at Jal and back up to the tower before rushing in after the group. Although not the wisest thing he has ever done, he was thankful for the chance to fight without discipline among friends - with a decent chance of survival.

Dapple and Char kept their flanks clean, something for which he was thankful. This group defiantely had some chemistry, especially those two. They danced the dance of stealth as if they were linked via magic. Something he could do of course, but he doubted either of them had that power. Must be purely intuition then...

At last, our knight finds us trouble. He felt Killer rustle around in his rucksack, obviously uneasy and sensing the coming bloodshed. He looks to Jal with a bit of a smirk.

"It seems we have a chokepoint. Lucky us." he utters just enough for those around him to hear as he rummages through his components pouch. I'll be glad to get rid of this... he thought as his hands pinched off a bit of butter.

He made the needed movements and awaited for his spell to take affect...

(OOC: Grease on the lower stairs and that part of floor round 1)

After that, it was time to get busy. He kissed his glassteel sword and moved in behind the meatier party members, looking for the easiest target.

(Edit: clarificaton - he's looking for good flanking opportunities and chances to pick off weak and distracted imperials)

Empty rooms soon gave way to an occupied chamber and Char immediately felt his heart leap. It wasn't that he enjoyed battle and the killing that resulted. No, he was more about the art of swordplay, the form, the challenge it presented oneself, but in this case, Greens meant that he wasn't about to face down some crazy powerful wizard, and for that, he was gratefully excited.

Stepping to the side of the armored men, Char let fly two arrows for the commander; quick, precise, and hopefully more than a little deadly. Then, as quickly as he could, the ranger sets himself behind Arien and sheathes his bow in the quiver before drawing his two Kukri blades. His smile is faint beneath his mud-colored facial hair, his long, unruly locks flowing before him in a fashion that should be disconcerting, but that he is so used to it bothers him not at all. Greens for the picking; Arien and Maximus as the brute force, Char glides in with grace and skill, spinning his weapons and hunting prey.

"Side t' side, Lads!" he calls just loud enough for his companions to hear, and hopefully not loud enough to give the Greens time to react to a shift in position. Normally that would have been Arien barking a quick field command, but the knight's disposition seemed more intent on wading through this to get up the stairs. The ranger didn't know if the big man would have made the order or not, and despite the rush of battle, he felt a little embarrassed at having given orders when Arien was back in action.

Intent on the Greens, Char will stay at the side of the knight, working to eliminate the threats as quickly and efficiently as possible while not giving up their flank...and hoping to use a bit of Arien's shield to keep those nasty little stingers at bay.

His mind made up, Arien strode through the shattered hallway with little thought to precaution or concern. Methodically, he made his way ahead without pausing for such trifles as doors or similar physical obstacles.

They burst into a room at the foot of the tower to find a nest of the cursed imperials involved in whatever mischief they were doing. With so much adrenaline already in his system, the knight hardly felt the rush that combat usually brought; instead, he found himself viewing the Greens as another mundane obstacle akin to the rotting doors of this place - something to be quickly swatted aside in favor of the real goal ahead.

Carelessness like this could easily cause his death, or the deaths of one of his friends, and even as Char uncharacteristically barked out an order, Arien realzied it, and felt his cheeks burn with shame. Fair enough, the party would risk their lives on this madman's quest, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks and end up dying before the real danger was even faced.

With a quick smile of gratitude to the ranger, Arien fell into formation with the other warriors of the group and raised his blade to attack.

Arien is looking to simply kill, kill, and kill some more. If close enough, he will target the commander first, as is his typical operating proceedure, but if not, he will attempt to work his way to the man, one opponent at a time. He will fight agressively until all enemies are routed/killed unless an ally goes down first, in which case, he will move to a defensive position above said ally until healing can be given to them.

Dapple stood within her own pooled misery as Arien declared his intention to rescue Alloryn and one by one, the others, even those who had known him a scant number of days, pledged to follow. What did one have to be to inspire such loyalty? All Dapple ever inspired was hate, contempt or at best, indifference. She swallowed bitter acid and hunched within her cloak.

You’re a half breed monster, no one will ever want to be around you, let alone die for you, mocked the dead voice within her soulless void. and it is just as well. Watch the foolish lambs, following the judas goat into slaughter. Now we can head back out, and find more profitable business. There’ll be other sheep to fleece, and more Greens to slay, little one.
Dapple watched the party disappear up the hallway, and she cast one long glance at the way behind her, leading back to safety and the life of slinking at the edge of society, powerful in her own meager ways. She heaved a sigh and padded off behind the others, quickly catching up and reaching Char’s side, ignoring the punishing pain that clutched at throat and chest. She avoids meeting anyone’s eyes, and her face is grim, projecting as much anger and disgust as she’s ever let show.

Once they reach the room with the Greens, Dapple pushes against the wall to her left and let’s her cloak loose around her, presenting as confusing an outline as possible, but knowing the Greens will aim for the center of any body. “Let’s just hope these bolts have the same defective poison on them,” she told herself before launching two daggers at the commander. She immediately drew two more, these ones designed for hand fighting, and surveyed the room, deciding her best path to encircle the table and attack from behind.

(OOC: If not clear from above post, Dapple will attack with missile weapons in this round, then look for a back stab opportunity once the others have engaged the Greens behind the table. She’ll hide in shadows to maneuver if possible, otherwise, will use her tumble attack to vault over the table and greens and attack from behind with feet and daggers.)

For a second, Jal’s pursuit of Arien and the rest was delayed as Valentine called out to him and, an instant later, had covered the distance between them and stood at his side. “I’ll go if you go,” the battle mage whispered, drawing his blade and gesturing to the pinnacle of the tower…

Will you? Really? The prospect of flying up amidst the gods-awful magic that whorled around the tower took on a new promise as the former Red’s offer pecked at Jal’s mind and, had Adrien lingered another second longer, the urchin mage was certain that the fly spell would have been cast and he would have found himself shooting skyward… When Valentine shrugged, offered a faint grin, and dashed off after the rest, though, Jal sighed – almost in disappointment – and followed. Damn fool, he chastised himself in the absence of Wynter’s voice, the idea was suicidal folly and the Red knows it. He was having fun with you…
Having reached the tower, Jal skulked along behind the rest, a litany of spell formulae cycling through his mind as he tried to prepare himself for whatever may lie in wait ahead. Initially, the way seemed clear… no Imperials lying in wait, nothing hiding in the pair of rooms that flanked the corridor they had found themselves in… but, of course, that was not to be the way of things throughout. The corridor opened into another room at it’s end and inside, not surprisingly at all, were a contingent of Greens.

“Looks like we’ve got a chokepoint,” Valentine muttered, glancing at Jal with a bit of a smirk, “Lucky us.”

“Mmm,” Jal nodded as his pale eyes surveyed the room, “Lucky indeed… perhaps I’ll stay awake to remember it this time.”

The greens had flipped over a table to provide themselves with some sort of cover from which to launch their poison bolts, the urchin mage noted as Valentine set about casting his Grease spell… That won’t do, will it, my love? he found himself talking to the absent ghost girl as the tattooed symbols of a levitate spell flared across the back of his left hand. Not with that one on the stairs and more surely to show from the upper levels… hardly fair, at all…
((OOC: Let’s levitate that table out of the way, shall we, and get those greens out in the open for round 1… Following that, Jal will cast Tasha’s Uncontrolable Hideous Laughter (focusing on any green that may still be deferring to his crossbow) and, if the opportunity presents itself and a green wanders under the levitated table, he’ll cancel the spell in hopes of dropping the table on someone’s head…. Magic missile for range and a dagger for those who get too close afterwards…. ))

Maximus followed the Paladin headlong up the stairs and into the room at its end.
Seeing the greens before him and Arien, Maximus decided he would cover the Paladin’s back as best as he could and hope that the 2 of them and the rest of the party could finish off these greens quickly and move forward once more to find Ariens sister.

Crossbow bolts fly across the room, many of them clinking harmlessly off Arien’s shield and armour. Maximus is also protected by his armour while Char’s speed and maneuvering cause his intended attackers to fire at Arien, hence the multiple attacks on the knight. Dapple is hit by one bolt but it barely scratches the surface of her clothing. Valentine and Jal manage to somehow avoid attack as the Green’s focus on the warriors. Kilgim takes two bolts, one below the calf and one to the left arm. The dwarf seems to feel no effect from the poison, as he continues onward as if bothered by nothing but bug bites.

The table rises up in the air, exposing the three greens to the attacks of the Dapple’s dagger. One of her daggers finds its mark and hits deep into a green’s shoulder.

The commander on the stairs casts a small bead directly at the centre of the party, clearly expecting to seriously disrupt the charge of these warriors. He throws with prefect speed and accuracy.

But he wasn’t expecting a table to spring up in his way…

The bead hits the table and explodes with a blue burst of energy. Debris and wood splinters are scattered throughout the room. The three greens below the table are thrown off balance and disoriented.

The Commander suddenly finds he is unable to stand anymore, like the stairs were greased. With a rather unheroic “what…aaah!” he falls down the stairs and slides across part of the floor before recovering wit enough to roll into a ball and recover his footing.

Char meets the green soldier with swords drawn. They exchange blocks and slashes, but the ranger does manage to draw a blood with a backhand blow to the head.

Maximus and Arien fall upon the three disoriented Greens. Maximus’ ever sharp blade takes off the head of one and Arien kills another with a deep slash flowed by a thrust through the heart.

Kilgim moves to the green on the flank, battle axes flashing. The Green defends himself well, taking only a minor wound to the side.

Three more Greens appear at the top of the stairs, heading down fast to join the fray. The first one slips and goes down on the greased stairs but the other two stop themselves from falling by leaping over the greased area.

OOC: Minor wounds to Kilgim only. As much as I want to continue forward, I will let you react to the other Greens

Dapple watched the battle unfold with cold attention; her only concern was avoiding direct confrontation while waiting for the best opportunity. These Greens were going after the obvious threats, leaving the mages and her own self mostly alone. She didn’t fool herself into believing herself well hid; the shadows here were meager and one bolt had already found her, even if it lost it’s bite within the folds of her loose clothing.

Look bigger than you are, and some will decide to leave you alone. Those that do attack may miss something vital, like them bulldogs with all the extra skin ‘round their necks… Nightshadow had counseled her, those many years ago, and it had proven to be good advice.

The Green closest to her quickly recovered his wits and began to attack Kilgim in earnest, foregoing the seemingly ineffective crossbows for sword. Dapple edged as far awy as she could and began to circle him, waiting for the fatal distraction to show itself.

OOC: Dapple will attempt to backstab, but if the soldier is too aware of her, she’ll time a kick at the back of his knees to coincide with Kilgim’s next attack. Really hard to fight two opponents when your legs are swept out from under you!

Maximus saw the arrival of yet 3 more greens and without a thought attacked the first of them as he leaped over the greased area of the steps.

The ex-gladiator hoped to get in at least one or two attacks upon the enemy soldier before he could land and gain better defense and return the large man’s attacks. Though a slim possibility due the speed of the greens Maximus could not help thinking ‘nothing ventured nothing gained’

Whatever was going on in the ruined fort, Kilgim had no clue about. Immensely powerful magic was thrown about in a terrifying battle beyond the comprehension of the not-quite-so-simple dwarven cleric. He had naturally witnessed the power of great sorcerers before in combat and outside it. But never had he witnessed such an exchange of power in which whole walls where tossed back and forth like the small wooden balls in a juggler's act.

But the bald dwarf and his companions would have to continue nevertheless. They were on a mission from Dwan, but more importantly it appeared Arien's sister and a dear friend to most of them - Alloryn, might be held captive in some part of the tower. Therefore, when Arien gave his little speech again, the Kilgim merely waved it away with grunt. "Ah, laddie we've all set our 'eart on savin' yer sister. So let's get a move on already."

So up they went, all caution set aside, running up the stairs and straight through the door into a room filled with greens. And the imperials weren't at all surprised of course. Why would they be? There was a fight raging around them and they were prepared for an assault. Crossbow bolts were whistling through the air and a table flying over before Kilgim had a chance to say "Damned", which he said anyway when two of the bolts draw his blood. Gladly the hits were not bad, more like scratches, and either these ones weren't poisoned or his stout and strong body shook away the effects once again.

In a heartbeat the Greens were upon them and after a rather uncharacteristic command from Char, the warriors formed a line and stood fast to take the attack of the imps. With fury and anger common to his fighting style, the orange-bearded dwarf assaulted "his" Green with both of his axes, but his opponent was well trained and managed to parry or dodge most of the blows. Still Blackaxe managed to slip through the man's guard and take a minor cut into his side.

With a determined grin, the warrior-priest changed his stance a bit in order to find holes in the Greens defense. "Say goodbye t' yer friends, Imp. 'n get ready t' greet yer ancestors!"

At last, Jal smirked inwardly as his choice of spells finally proved to be of some use in combat, I had begun to think that the fates were against me. While the levitating table had served the precise purpose he had intended – there was no dropping the thing on a Green or two, now – it had proved an effective ploy. Had the explosive bead tossed by the commanding Green not struck the table, who knew what sort of trouble they would be in, now. The Spellbinder’s marginal enjoyment of his success, though, was soon to be brushed aside. No time to revel in minor successes, he reminded himself as Dapple, Valentine, and the fighters continued pressing the attack.

As the reinforcements from the tower’s upper levels made their way down the steps, Jal’s fingers danced in the air and another incantation passed his lips. Even as the first of the new Greens slipped on the greased portion of the stairs and Maximus stepped in to level an attack at one of the two who had leaped over Valentine’s trap, the urchin mage thrust his hands forward and released another spell of levitation, this time hoping to catch the Green that Maximus had targeted… with luck, it would keep the Imperial from gaining his footing for a time (at least long enough for the big pit-fighter to open the Green’s belly or relieve his shoulders of the weight of his head).

((OOC: Come on, BAD saving throws for the greenies! Proceeding as above, of course, following up, if necessary with Summon Swarm cast into the stairwell… maybe slow down progress of any other reinforcements from upstairs whilst the fighter types mop-up the Greens we’ve got?))

Adrian Valentine was pleased with his performance. Maybe there is something to being a full blown caster in battle. But there wasn't time for that, he had a job to do. With his sword in hand, he followed through with his plan to fight up front.

His plan is to stay outside of the battle, looking for quick hits and safe attacks. If possible, he'll avoid going blow for blow with the Greens, and if need be let out a color spray to get the edge.

(a short one, just to keep with the earlier plan)

Arien takes no joy in killing the Green; it occurs to the knight that the man is more than likely simply a man doing what he is told. Even so, the thought does not particularly influence Arien's actions one way or another - the code of knighthood holds that warfare is the flowering of chivalry, and thus, honorable combat is a desirable event, not one to be shirked.

Of course, this is far from textbook honorable combat; the Greens use their insidous poison crossbows, and in turn, Arien's comrades use sorcery. Steel on steel is preferable to such distractions, and Arien is glad to indulge himself in the pursuit of it.

As the Green dies beneath his flaming blade, three more enter - only two of them successful. There is no need to call out direction; each member of the party is doing what they do best. The knight moves to his next foe, intent on clearing this room of opposition so that the party can make their way up the tower, and to Alloryen's aid.

Arien is keeping his same strategy; if the commander is close enough, the knight will attack him, otherwise, he will methodically work his way through the Greens. He will not take advantage of a Green falling in the grease, however - he will only strike down those defeated fairly in battle (unless they give up said right by using other treacherous means, and it becomes necessary to kill indiscriminately to ensure the survival of his comrades).

Char had little choice, but to make short work of the fellow in front of him; who seemed to be a bit more resilient and resourceful than the ranger had hoped. Curling his lip into a snarl, the woodsman pressed, spinning his blades in a portentous display of swordsmanship, he cut, slashed, and danced the deadly weapons in and around the Green's defenses.

(OOC: continue with the fight. If he kills this one, he'll move to support anyone who looks like they could use help. Barring that, Char'll take Arien's sword side to help protect against an attack not covered by the shield. Barring that, he'll make sure Da' Moon isn't in trouble and move to help Da' Dwarf.)