(With a Dex roll of 13 (and Jade's 6), I'm saying it's possible.)

"Halt!" says Julian. "Cease all movement, please...!"

He inspects Jon's sleeve, Jade's dropped parasol, glances at Ariadne for purple marks, spots none. "Mm. Well, this was instructive. Hm..." He looks Jade up and down. "My dear," he says to Jade, "this is not my specialty, but it occurs to me that I may be limiting you a bit... prematurely. If our royal cousin Merlin were here-- or your mother, for that matter, I think-- either of them might very well handle such an exercise rather differently than what I am asking for. Tell me a bit about your magical abilities, please... What might you be able to do in a combat situation? Er, tell, please, don't show-- for now."

Jade looked back and forth between Julian and her cousins. She inhaled and then let out a slow exhale.

"Well, like my mother I seem to have inherited certain gifts with the more magical arts like the cards and sorcery. I even picked up a Pattern trick that was taught to me by aunt Florimel. Yet, I really hoped to improve my fighting skills as I know they are not my strongest point. I even had my parasol loaded with trick fighting gear though I wanted to face this challenge without trickery. As for magic, I can sense it feel it around me, and tell when it is in items or people. I can charm an opponent for a time so as to gain an ally instead of be facing an enemy. I can also speak mentally and receive a response without talking aloud. When Jon spoke of the fey and their magics, I found that it opened up even more magic to me. I have always been able to change my looks, but now it goes beyond this I can walk around unseen, or control light and dark. So if I need to I could blind an opponent. My hopes though are to learn to become as competent as I can be with my parasol."

Julian thinks, then nods. He gestures. One of his men comes. "Jachim," Julian says to him, "this is the Princess Jade. You are going to attempt to grab her by the throat. If all goes well, she is going to magically restrict your vision, and then she's going to throw you over there. You've got that?"

"Yes sir." This is not Jachim's first Doing-Whatever-Julian-Orders rodeo.

"The darkness or brightness, blinding... it will be temporary, yes...?" Julian casually asks Jade.

"I understand and yes, temporary." She gave a curt nod.

She prepared herself and allowed the man to try and grab her while releasing a dazzling burst of light from her eyes towards the man. partially dazzled by her own light she tried to toss the man where Julian had directed her.


12:09, Today: Jade rolled 7 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 2,3.  Magic Glamoury.

12:11, Today: Jade rolled 6 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,5.  Throw (Strength).

Looks at the die bot

Jade dazzles the man before he can get his hands touching her throat, and she picks him up and tosses him but she was kind of blinded too and she didn't get a good grip on him and he goes up in the air about a foot and then falls back down on her and knocks her down with him on top of her oh no


After a couple of seconds Jachim scrambles off of Princess Jade, crawls with difficulty over to the side, stands up, and holds a salute. Not bad for a guy whose vision is still at like 10% right now

"Ok that was less then stellar."

"Sorry, mom."

Gets up and brushes her armor off also saluting to Julian.

"All right then... We need more practice." Julian sighs, and points to the woods, vaguely to the southwest (based on the current location of the sun). "You three, nephew and nieces, go that way. I will be sending my men after you after two minutes, with non-lethal weapons treated with the purple dye marker. Anyone who marks one of my men and then returns here without a new purple mark of their own will be said to have succeeded. Please try not to kill nor permanently harm my men, although I dare say I have trained them well enough that that shouldn't be too much of a problem. It better not be, anyway, if they know what's good for them. Any questions before you set off...?"

Ariadne watched the fight,  honestly a bit dazzled herself at the sparks and lightshow.
Still,  she could see where Jade might have stumbled, metaphorically speaking. It reminded her of women she'd known who'd taken extensive Self Defense classes, mastering, at least in class, the various moves and counter moves, and all the tricks the instructor taught.   But then, one woman she'd dated for a few months was mugged in a supermarket parking lot, and admitted later that she mostly froze up and just flailed around until Ari, who'd been delayed buying a surprise for dinner, showed up to beat the man half to death.
Sadly, the class was very different from the real world, and the woman's embarrassment soon led to their breakup.

Although, to be fair, Jade was hardly as much a timid person that Cheryl had been, and it might have been the immense skill of Julian that made the difference here.

She listened to Julian, basically saying that his armed men were about to start hunting them with a 2 minute headstart, and her eyebrows went up to nearly her hairline.
Still, she realized, this was how they did things in Amber. Organized, but savage.

She shook her bewildered head.
"Um...no, i guess not."
She had many questions, but most of them sounded like she was trying to grt hints or otherwise trying to cheat.

Jade nodded, "I understand."

She set to sprint to the forest.
A plan formed in her mind as she retrieved her parasol.

She waited till they had entered the wood and focused on Ariadne.



16:51, Today: Jade rolled 9 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,4.  Message 120' to Ariadne.



Speaking to Ariadne's mind telepathically.

~Hi cousin, it's Jade. I have an idea. I could turn invisible and mark our pursuers. My weapon is the most leaf like with a bit of give to it. As long as I don't whack them. If you and Jon could distract them I may be able to mark all of them while remaining hidden. You can reply to me~

Ari looked around, obviously distracted,  then realized it was Jade's magical telepathy that she'd heard.
She chuckled at herself,  then nodded
~ "I suppose that makes sense.  It sounds like cheating,  but perhaps Julian will consider this 'strategy' and 'teamwork'."~

~We are a team, and they are a team. I am going to fill in Jon on the plan.~

She focused her mental speech on Jon.

~Jon, it's Jade. If when you and Ariadne hide those men will find us. I will be invisible. I can mark them with my Umbrella. Distract them then when they are marked we can get back here.~

Jon smiles as he watches Jade work.  She needs practice, but she already got the gist.

Jon nods to Julian and heads off with his cousins.

~Understood, we will do our best.  But be warned, they are trained to hunt all matter of beasts.~ he responds to Jade.

he moves closer to Ari "Let's start with a layered formation.  You in front at first, I will use my bow to slow them down.  Once they get close, I'll switch to shield and sword and take point.  This should allow you to alternate attacking the left and right and protect our flank."

Jade nods to Jon and walks in Ariadne's footsteps to disguise herself from tracking.

Once they get a certain distance and a minute has passed she calls on her glamoury to vanish from sight. Her goal was to be in a place where the foliage would not give her away but where she could extend the parasol among branches and leaves so as to mark the rangers. Not to whack them simply to let them through their own motions to back into it. She will work with the others.



08:06, Today: Jade rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 6,2.  Glamoury Invisibility.
YAY

In reply to Jon (msg # 34):

Ari looked askance at Jon, obviously confused
"You're shooting a bow?? Wouldn't that kill.someone??"
She still moved to the formation that Jon suggested, though

Jon gives her a smile "Only if I aim for a kill shot or miss badly. The intent is to give them pause and sow confusion. Now let's hide..."

Jon moves to take a hidden position that gives him a sight line around them.


OOC: 11:29, Today: Jon rolled 8 using 2d6+1 ((2,5)).

Ariadne, with a very "I'm for sure not in Kansas anymore" look on her face, tried to hide as well.  She was remembering the times her father would drag her, sometimes kicking and whining, to the woods in Western Massachusetts, and taught her some basic, and admittedly rudimentary, skills in moving quietly and stealthily.
Once again, she realized how little she'd really appreciated her father and everything he had to teach her, even though he was notoriously vague about why he was doing so


OOC: 17:24, Today: Ariadne rolled 12 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 5,5.  Dex

Ariadne picks her hiding spot so well, she's the first-- and, for several seconds, the only-- one to see Janessa coming...

Ariadne assumed that Janessa was there to join them, and hoped that what she was about to do wasn't a stupid mistake.


She poked her hand out and waved to her.

Janessa makes her way, tracking her cousins as best she can in the unfamiliar surroundings. A wave of relief passes through her as she recognizes Ariadne‘a hand. Stealthily she approaches. “Thanks Ariadne. Was haven’ a heck of a time there for a minute.” Janessa whispers.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:41, Tue 29 Nov 2022.

Ari smiled
"Anytime, cuz.  Welcome to the party"

Two of Julian's men come along. They're very stealthy-- not making a sound. Ariadne sees them first, then Jade, then Janessa.

Jon is the last to spot them-- just as they spot him!

Fast as lightning, one draws back an already-notched arrow...

But there's time for Jade to do something about that-- she, invisible, is closest...

Jade slides the length of her closed parasol over his throat of the one who drew the arrow and whispers very softly in his ear. "Your out of the game." She then spirits herself away from the gathered men.

The man curses to himself and puts his arrow back in his quiver, and then he walks over to a tree (about 20 feet back the way he came) to wait and see if his comrade will fare any better.

The other man, sword already drawn, looks around, this way and that (and up in the branches above once or twice), confused at what might've made his colleague quit 'playing,' keeping a sharp eye on Jon...

Ariadne tried to quietly pick up a rock to throw

OOC:  14:12, Today: Ariadne rolled 7 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,2.  Dex

Jon spotting the two men just as one is "killed" he fires on the second one.

OOC: 20:36, Today: Jon rolled 8 using 2d6+1 ((6,1)).