Panting, Raina hauled herself onto the ledge next to the half orc. The ledge was unremarkable, save for how small it was. Her reprieve was short lived when the two large creatures in the air began to swoop towards the party. The half orc was already lowering a rope of his own to the two stuck on the side of the cliff. She discarded the rope and turned her face toward the sky.

The wyverns were approaching at an alarming speed. Wicked talons extended out from their bodies, and they looked intently upon their prey. Raina briefly thought about the crossbow on her back, but knee jerk reaction had her pull her rapier instead. She barely had enough time to steady herself before the creature was upon her. The Burglar had a momentary impression of wings, teeth, claws and skin before she was knocked across the body by something. Claws raked against her leather armor, but failed to penetrate the soft skin beneath. Her body spun uncontrolably on the spot. As she attempted to ascertain what was happening, Raina lashed out wildly with her rapier. It made contact, but the lack of reverberation through the blade told her that her blow had been shallow.

As she regained her balance, Quarlin’s head popped over the ledge. The half orc had succeeded in assisting the small Umbral onto the cliff ledge. Quarlin immediately began readying his crossbow. At least, Raina was relatively sure that was what he was doing, her head still spun from being whipped around. The second wyvern’s form disappeared down the face of the cliff, and where moments before the half orc was supporting the next climber from a kneeling position, his form flew towards the edge of the cliff.

Not good.
His face contorted with concentration, he had managed to stay on the ledge and not let go of the rope. Both wyverns prepared for a second pass. Raina again thought of the crossbow at her back, and knew there would be no time to pull it, load it, and fire before the second attack from the wyverns.

"Damn! He's been hit!,” Quarlin exclaimed as he moved behind the half orc, “Keep pulling, Gronz, I'll cover you and him as best I can."

Raina positioned herself between the wyverns and the two already on the ledge. There was no reason for those doing the rescuing to be flung off the face of the cliff. She felt terribly exposed. Her eyes tracked the wyvern that had flown at her; it appeared to be reading the next attack. “Stay away from the edge, Quarlin,” her mouth curled into a sardonic smile, but she didn’t look back at him, “ This bloody thing might knock me back into you, so mind your feet if that happens.” She shifted her weight so she was on the balls of her feet and waited for the beast to come to her.

Come and dance with me.

((OOC: Raina will use all of her acrobatic and climbing talents to stay on the ledge and attack (and, with luck, not get knocked into the other members of the party) This may be a stretch, but since she has fast stealth, I would gather that she knows how to make fluid moments without being detected, so if at all possible, she’ll try to use that to her advantage and feint (or ghost, rather.) right before the wyvern gets to her, enabling her to cut with her rapier and avoid a blow from the wyvern. ))

Heironymus climbed as quickly as he could, both thankful for and cursing his heavy armor at the same time.

As he climbed he felt the rush of wind as one of the wyverns dived on him. Just he thought he might escape the pass without damage he felt a dagger dig into his side. Burn! Buffeted by the wings, burned by some poison, the cleric was buffeted into and then away from the cliff. Desperately he reached out for the dangling rope and grabbed it with all of his strength.

His hand closed around the life-saving rope and the cleric was pulled back into the rock with a gasp at the pain in his side.

But he didn't wait. As soon as he had even a shallow breath he continued his climb, using the rope to aid him move as quickly as the burn in his side and the steep cliffside would allow.

"Stupid mysteries!
Stupid secrets!
Stupid unknown mission!
Stupid Wyverns!"

It ran like a mantra through his mind as Heironymus climbed. He simply kept putting one hand and in front of the other and pulling himself upwards as the mantra ran through his head. He ignored the wyrm in the sky. There was nothing he could do anyway. Climb. Climb. Hand hold. Hand hold. Climb. Climb.

"Stupid mysteries!
Stupid secrets!
Stupid mission!
Stupid Wyverns!"

Despite all his bracing and muscles the half-orc could not hold himself steady as a sudden massive increase in weight was placed on the rope. Pulled to the ground he grimaced as he was drug across the stony ground, struggling to get some sort of steady footing to keep from going over the edge.

The bald one called his name, exclaiming that the cleric had been wounded, and that he needed to pull. Gronz felt this was a fairly obvious fact that did not warrant a reply, instead he just grunted and strained to get himself into a position in which he could effectively pull the armor plated cleric up.

He only hoped that the woman and mage could hold the creatures off; he wasn't sure if he could keep himself from going over the edge if they struck again, and this was not how he wanted his life to end.

The lead wyvern turns a quick circle and comes diving back towards the precipice. It shrieks deafeningly as it soars down, like a lightning strike from above.

Raina readies herself as best she can on the narrow ledge.

Come dance with me...
The creatures jaws lash out at the woman. Despite her reflexes the wyvern's teeth find their mark. The creature clamps its jaws down firmly on her arm, and begin to lift her away from the ledge. (bitten and grabbed for 8 damage) Gritting her teeth against the pain, the rogue is not about to lose an arm or this battle against a flying lizard. She swings up, singing the point of her rapier into the creatures chest to the hilt (critical hit for 12 damage). Immediately the wyvern releases its hold on her. Her sword slips free of the thing's chest and Raina begins to fall. In the timeless moment when the sensation of falling hits her she looks down and realizes that she is no longer above the ledge. To fall would send her tumbling down the long distance to the ground. The moment passes and gravity takes its hold. Reflexively she lashes out with her free hand and grabs a firm hold of the creatures leg. Its flight faulters a bit before it regains control, then it arcs its head down to gaze darkly at its new passenger.

The second wyvern dives once again at the armored cleric. Hieronymus presses himself to the wall, seeking as much shelter from the rocks as possible. Seeing its approach Quarlin loses a crossbow bolt, hoping to distract it from its current course. The bolt hits solidly in the thing's arm (or what passes for an arm, and for 4 damage). With a screech of pain the wound forces it to veer off, its talons missing Hieronymus by only inches.

Seeing his chance the cleric climbs as fast as he is able. Gronz hold firmly, his muscles strained. He holds strong to the rope when no one else could as the fully armored human climbs over the edge of the small plateau.

(OOC: Alright, both wyvern's are now wounded. Raina is dangling from the talon of one with a firm grip on its ankle. The other bears a wound to its wing and is noticably more hesitant to make another pass.)

With the cleric no longer dangling over the cliff-side Gronz pushed himself up off the ground and took a quick moment to pull the rope up onto the plateau before letting it go, he'd have to pick it up later. [assuming that these actions haven't taken up the entire round, if they have then these next actions will have to wait for the next round.

Casually dusting off his armor the half-orc pulled his short bow from its place and readied to take a shot at the hesitant wyvern. If it wouldn't come to them then he's have to bring the fight to it.

He wasn't about to harm the one supporting Raina's weight at the moment.

"I don't think lightning is going to strike twice for me, this time. Better switch up to a sure thing." with that said he puts away the crossbow and readies a Magic missle spell, Intending that both missiles produced to hit the wyvern he damaged before, the one without a 'passenger'.

*he does not move from the spot he stands but he does put away the crossbow. If he can cast this round he will.*

She stood at the edge of the ledge, poised for another strike. The wyvern’s wings flared momentarily as it reached her, and it lashed out in an effort to taste her flesh. Raina attempted to dodge out of the way, but there was no room to maneuver without taking a plunge to her death. The creature found its mark and latched onto her arm. Teeth punctured past the leather armor through to her skin. Pain shot up through to her shoulder as the wyvern began to take flight with her in its jaws. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

Raina bared her teeth and yelled up at the wyvern, “You’re a damned iguana with wings, you know that?” Remembering that she still held her rapier, Raina aimed another vicious swipe towards the soft underside of her foe. The blade hit its mark and slide through the creature until it stopped at the base of the hilt. She felt the blade begin to slide out of the body, and realized that the wyvern had let her go. In that infinitesimal space of time, the burglar became aware that she would be falling to her death. Without thought she shot her hand out and grabbed hold of the creature’s leg. Its flight path was knocked off course momentarily before it had adjusted to the additional weight.

Supremely thankful that she had not lost her sword, Raina gazed down towards the ground and calculated risks. Before making any rash decisions, she looked back to the wyvern who was now looking at her menacingly. Time was short, and her new chauffeur did not look amused.

Heironymus climbed over the edge of the cliff. He was in pain from poison in his blood, at least he assumed that is what it was. As he worked his way over the edge he thanked the half-orc for the assistance. He wouldn't have made it without that help.

As rapidly as he could after reaching level ground he rolled over and climbed to his feet. And that was when he saw the rogue. He saw her grabbed and begin to get carried away. As she lunged for the claw that had recently held her, he had to close his mouth to keep from staring open-mouthed at the deadly scene in front of him. Dangling from a wyvern, no, they certainly hadn't planned for that!

But he didn't sit still to watch what happened next. He saw the other two aiming weapons at the second, unencumbered, wyvern so the cleric quickly made the decision to focus on their dangling friend. There wasn't a lot he could do as killing the beast would be a bad plan at this point. Instead he grabbed the rope the half-orc had discarded and moved to the edge of the cliff. He quickly tied a loop in the end - something that could either make a lasso or an easy handhold.

He didn't have anything in particular in mind, he simply hoped there might be a chance to give his companion something other than the wyrm to hold onto. If the thing came close (It seems it isn't far away, correct?) he could try to lasso it and pull it back over the ledge. At any rate, if the thing tried to move away he would try to loop the rope over its head. Or toss it to his companion in the unlikely event that she dropped her sword.

He watched her carefully to see if she gave any hint of a plan.

The unburdened wyvern hovered in the air for a few moment more before screeching and soaring in, jaws and tail ready to strike.

Calmly the mage began a spell as an arrow shot out off of the ledge, piercing the creature in the chest. It let out a shriek of pain, and its attack faltered, but only for an instant.

But that instant was all the time Quarlin needed to complete his spell. Two streaks of bright blue energy lashed out at the charging creature, flying unerringly through the open air and seeking the wyvern's heart.

The sound of the wyvern's screech pierces the air as it spins out of control, it's once deadly grace disappearing in an instant as the two botls slam into it. Without its wings keeping it aloft it begins to fall, crashing hard into the side fo the cliff face and disappearing into the rising mist below.

Meanwhile Raina clings to both her sword and the remaining wyvern's ankle with more strength than she ever knew she had. Heironymus watches, rope in hand, his whole body screaming in pain... yet he remains focused on his companion as the wyvern begins to respond to its passenger. Its wings struggle to keep it aloft as its head swings down at the dangling rogue. Its stinking breath and hot saliva struck her face as the strong jaws slam shut an inch shy of the mark.

Distracted as she was by the near miss, she was caught off guard by the piercing pain in her back as the wyvern's tale found a weakness in her armor. (hit for 4 damage) Her muscles burned in an instant as poison flowed into her body, yet somehow she managed to keep the presence of mind to keep her grip.

(OOC: 1 wyvern down. Hieronymus made his second successful save against the wyvern poison, but still feel a bit of the effects. Raina holds on... but barely. She has failed her first saving throw and taken some Con damage, but by sheer luck has maintained her grip. The wyvern is moving about half speed as it attacks and tries to rid istelf of its passenger. It is about 30' off of the ledge you all are standing on.)

The battled continued to rage on in the air. Well, a one sided battle at any rate. Wings flapped erratically as the weight of another continued to weigh down the wyvern. Raina’s body swung underneath its body as she maintained her grip on both the wyvern’s ankle and her sword. Her mind struggled with options.

Not enough strength to move from this position. Too much distance between me and the cliff. Stabbing it might mean killing it, which would mean we would plummet straight to the bottom. I am screwed. She decided on retaining her grip for a while longer to see if the wyvern would either try to land, or get close enough to the top of the cliff so she go let go.

Above the noise of her unwilling mount, Raina could just make out the screech of the other wyvern. Her head swiveled towards the cliff edge to see if it meant that the others killed the thing, or if it meant that the wyvern had found one of its marks. As she craned her head around trying to get the ledge into view, the beast she was holding bent its neck and made to take a chunk out of her face. Her reflexes had saved her, barely. Raina jerked her head back and the wyvern snapped its jaws inches from her nose. Its putrid breath washed over her face, and the burglar found herself trying not to retch in midflight as sticky spit stuck to her.

As she wondered how she was going to get this nasty goo off of her face, the wyvern twisted around and hit her full in the back with its tail. Liquid fire spread across the point of impact, and Raina desperately tried to hold on. Her eyes slide in and out of focus, and she started spewing forth a slew of insults towards the beast.

“You back stabbing bag of rotting bird brains! You’re nothing but a filthy lizard that some poor wretch decided to give wings! You can’t even carry your own weight, let alone mine! You belong in some terrarium with nothing but bugs to eat! Better yet, you belong sliced up and cooked in my frying pan!” Her words were helping her to remain focused on her grip. But a cold feeling was coming over her as she realized that her fellow members weren’t moving to help her. Besides, what could they do?

”I will not die at the mercy of this flying iguana,” Raina thought savagely. She raised her rapier and aimed another strike at the wyvern’s underbelly, determined to take down the beast before it managed to take her out first.

Heironymus had approached the cliffs edge unsure what to do,but as he saw the wyvern's barb strike home and the rogue begin to curse, hequickly realized that the time for inaction was over. He needed to do something and do it quickly.

The goal was obvious - get the flying wyrm back over the ledge so that their companion could let go and land in safety. Simple, right? That meant finding some way to either pull or entice it over. He had the rope in his hands - he quickly made sure there was a loop in the end and attempted to lasso the beasts head. If it worked, he could use his entire armor clad weight to pull it in - hopefully without creating too much of a jerk on the beast.

As he prepared to lasso the beast he smiled, remember his childhood at his uncles lizard farm when he had spent endless summer days with his cousins lassoing the flying beasts. Who knew those skills would come in so handy? Surely the gods would remember those days. (Right? Right? I'msure I put that into my character's history. )

One of the winged creatures had fallen. Its screams echo off of the cliff face as it plummets towards the ground. Two of the party members stood, transfixed by its death throes, and wanting to ensure that it was, in fact, dead. When the screams came to an abrupt stop, their question was answered.

Meanwhile, Raina and Heironymus focused their attentions on the last remaining threat.

”I will not die at the mercy of this flying iguana!"
She stabbed hard with her sword as poison coursed through her veins. She felt its sharp tip pierce the hardened scales of the wyvern and slide deep into its body. It's laughing calls became shrill shrieks of pain. Then the creature went silent... and limp. Raina was strangely calm, given that she now fell from the sky from several hundred feet in the air. The wyvern flipped over, its back to the ground as it fell. Time seems to slow as Raina pulled her sword free, now almost standing on the dead beast, the ground hurtling toward her, promising a quick and painless death. She looked back at the ledge, he eyes meeting those of the cleric.

Heironymus saw the danger, and quickly shifted his target, throwing the rope to the rogue with as much strength as he could muster. He leaned pack, preparing for her weight, and praying that his attempts were not in vain.

Raina jumped towards the flying rope, grabbing firmly on with one hand. She swung hard into the cliff face, but managed to get her feet against it quickly. Slowly, in pain because of the posion spreading through her, she began to climb, even as Hieronymus began to pull her up.

Summary: Raina stabbed the wyvern in the heart, killing it.
Heironymus threw the rope he made lasso out of, trying to catch her as she fell.
Raina successfully grabbed the rope (good roll by the way) and slammed into the cliff face for 1 point of damage before getting her feet under her.

Raina has made her first save against the poison. I've already rolled and her next save will succeed as well, though the Con damage and the pain of it will remain.

(OOC: You are safe for the moment. Raina will reach the top without further incident. Upon looking around, you see no further easy (relatively) path to climb. The cliff face is completely vertical for some distance, with minimal handholds. You do notice that this ledge, besides being a bit bigger than the one below, has small offshoots that go along the cliff face for 20' in either direction.)

Well done with the wyverns by the way.

"Wow. Nice jump"

It was about all Heironymus could come up with to say after the Rogue's daring leap. It was clearly inadequate.

"Hmmm . . . no healing spells. Before we do much else, I'd suggest we start by looking around this shelf and the extra edges."

So saying, the cleric followed his own advice, carefully examining the back wall of the ledge on which they were perched. After that, if the others hadn't already done so, he will move down the right hand ledge (facing the rock wall, away from the ledge.)

Trust didn't come easy to Quarilin. Though it didn't take much trust to help another, it did require a hefty amount to take hold of a rope held by someone else.

"Never got a chance to thank you, Gronz. So.....Thanks...for not dropping me."

Raina's safe drop was no small feat, and once she made it to the ground, he rushed over to her side, but looked at both her and Heironymous and asked if they were ok. With Heironymous action was his answer.

"Hmmm . . . no healing spells. Before we do much else, I'd suggest we start by looking around this shelf and the extra edges."

So saying, the cleric followed his own advice, carefully examining the back wall of the ledge on which they were perched. After that, if the others hadn't already done so, he will move down the right hand ledge.

"Don't you think we should rest first? Then....we can scout out the nearest cave for shelter and to determine if the caves are connected by a tunnel network. That would circumvent some of the climbing that apparently needs to be done. Besides we don't need any of our heaviest team members precariously hugging the side of a mountain. Someone light and fleet of foot to do the scouting."

"Don't you think we should rest first? Then....we can scout out the nearest cave for shelter and to determine if the caves are connected by a tunnel network. That would circumvent some of the climbing that apparently needs to be done. Besides we don't need any of our heaviest team members precariously hugging the side of a mountain. Someone light and fleet of foot to do the scouting."


The cleric looked at the other climber. "I'm not comfortable resting until we know the ledge is safe. It doesn't look like a big search. As for who goes out on the ledges, I'd love to leave that for those less encumbered, but after what we just went through I'm not real comfortable volunteering someone else. I'll look at the big ledge were on now first. Then help with the side shelves if needed."