The Melee
The small group of outriding nobles were met with a flurry of tooth and claw.
Ser Berion and Ser Adham’s squire, Daveth Darry, were torn from their saddles. Ser Adham wheeled about, laying about with longsword and giving his squire time to find his feet, while Ser Berion impaled his own assailant on the end of a hunting spear, before forcing another to keep its distance with a well timed jab.
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
19:07, Today: The Many Faced God rolled 5 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,4. Wolf - Maneuvered. [Misses]
Darvil and
Valen punched through the ambush. Valen stood tall in his saddle, casting about, and saw a familiar tint of Blackfin colours through the camp before kicking his heels into the flank of his mount. Darvil proved the cannier, remembering the layout of the camp, he arrived well before Ser Berion’s squire, drawing the attention of one of wolves that had been entering Gwendolyn’s Pavilion, which lunged at him.
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
19:02, Today: The Many Faced God rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,1,6. Wolves.
[Darvil is hit for One degree of success, but his mail absorbs the damage]
As more wolves converged on Ser Berion’s position, a hunting horn sounded from the direction of the woods, and
Ser Thoren’s company swept over the edge of the camp like a raging tide, trampling wolves under hoof and lance like stray vermin. Ser Thoren’s own axe shattered a skull, leaving the blade with a slight nick, and slick with blood and brain matter. Blackfin and Tullison, Serbera, Kettleblack, and Heddle riding together atop war-trained mounts proved an overwhelming force.
Though the wolves had fought with a savage cunning, they showed none of the true steel of trained men at arms, and dissipated into the night like morning mist, many limping from injuries. The Direwolf threw a hateful look over one shoulder toward a battered Ser Lyonel Darry and followed its shattered forces into the night. The older knight hurled insults at its repeating back, before leaning on his Morningstar to catch his breath.
The Pavilion
The wolves attacking Gwendolyn’s pavilion tarried longer. One was diverted by the speedy arrival of
Darvil Blackfin, but a second was not, and it leapt at
Jenny Goodbrother. The Ironborn maid’s dagger slashed along its hide, but it was a weapon designed for piercing, and the wound was not deep. The wolf’s claws slashed at Jenny, rending her dress, though the fabric blunted the worst of the blow.
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
19:02, Today: The Many Faced God rolled 16 using 3d6 with rolls of 5,6,5. For 2 degrees of success = 5 damage to Jenny, ruining her dress.
The surviving wolf of the first wave savaged the downed Blackfin guardsman, it jaws and claws shredding his leather jerkin, leaving it ragged and bloody, only to dodge another wild slash from Jenny, and a thrown pillow from one of the other handmaidens.
The remaining guardsmen struck at the wolves with axe and spear, driving both back from the tent, where the sight of Darvil Blackfin, sword drawn looming over their companion soon put all three to flight, just as Valen Vance arrived, having navigated the maze of tents in the dark, to add his own sword to the fight.
The Aftermath
As the howls of fleeing wolves receded into the night, the camp hung poised on the edge of chaos. Some among Thoren's hunters seemed poised to pursue their fleeing enemies, while retainers emerged from tents, shocked by both the severity of the violence, and its sudden resolution.
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Moving out of the previous pseudo-combat rounds to allow characters to react, prioritise, and roleplay.