One again, the big wolf attempted to break the strangler's hold, before turning and snapping at the heavily injured warrior. Ivory was getting increasingly frustrated with not being able to use any of his powers but with the damned bugbear hanging off his neck he was unable to break away to safe range. :(

Wolf tries athletics to break hold, then attacks warrior B

B MUST DIE.

ONCE I'M NOT DYING.

shifty to K12
move to L12
Second Wind
Action Point: Throw and Stab at B if he's still standing; A if not
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Charge on B if he's still standing; A if not

Blood drips liberally as the heavily-injured ranger digs into his last reserves of energy. The kobold's savage ferocity tears the bugbear in half. He didn't even have a chance to scream.

Warrior B takes [ (4 + 4) + (5 + 3) + (2 + 9) + 2 = ] 21 HP damage and dies.

Frustrated at the wolf's superior strength always breaking his strangles, Ivory's tormentor circles the wolf to get into an advantageous position against the kobold. Alas, the manuever failed to gain any material advantage.

Strangler takes [ 7 + 4 = ] 11 HP damage from opportunity attack.
Both attacks against Ebony miss.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior (16), Bugbear Strangler (19)

With a bit of clear space around him and with nobody trying to strangle him for the time being, Ivory took the opportunity to hurl abuse at the blighter who'd been hanging off his neck, before nudging his wolf away from immediate danger. As the beast danced back, the old man said some rather kinder words to his companion to bolster his spirit.

Destined duel on Bugbear Strangler, Healing Word on Ebony, move north as far as possible

13 damage to Strangler, Ebony gets +2 to hit and +4 to damage Strangler. Ebony cans spend a healing surge and regain an extra 5hp.

If I didn't know better, I would've swore that old man Ivory just told me to straighten up and fly right. I don't even know what I'm doing wrong here, man...

You bet I'm burning that extra healing surge!
Shifty to I12
Marauder's Rush on Strangler

Destined Duel does 15 damage, actually.

Retreating far beyond the strangler's reach, Ivory lets loose a scathing remark that shocks the bugbear to his very core. The revelation was so shocking that the sniggering Ebony temporarily lost his focus and misses his attack by ever so little.

11 (to hit) + 6 (roll) + 2 (destined duel) + 1 (bonus from charging) = 20 < AC 21. Miss, sorry.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.pngNo! T-that's a bald-faced lie! And you, reptile! Stop that! I-I'll show you!

The retaliation was devastating, to say the least. The kobold finds himself unable to move, as the slightly coppery taste of his own blood wells up in his mouth.

Ebony takes [ (10 + 6) + (8 + 4) = ] 28 damage, and is bloodied again. Immobilized.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior (16), Bugbear Strangler (19)

The little Kobold was suffering badly at the hands of the Bugbears and tempting though it was to leave the little guy to his fate and sod off home to a happy retirement, Ivory didn't want to end his glittering career by leaving his partner to die, no matter how annoying his constant chattering was.

Giving another shout of encouragement to the little guy, Ivory steered the massive wolf back into the fray at full speed, smashing into the strangler in a flurry of teeth and claws.

Healing words on Ebony again, move to J11, bullrushing Strangler to knock it back and break hold

I'm stuck in a bad spot :(

Scootch over to I14
Let's Hunter's Quarry on A
Marauder's Rush on A

Ebony dances around the hapless warrior, designating it as his quarry. He needn't have bothered - the neophyte crumpled at the kobold's merest touch. What a shame.

Bugbear Warrior minion dies.

The strangler is now all alone, and without any allies to distract his opponents, will be unable to strangle anyone. He lets loose a parting shot at the pesky gigantic wolf that foiled all his strangleholds, hobbles away, and disappears out of sight after rounding the corner. The jingle of what appears to be a purse full of gold coins ring with every step that he takes, as he frantically tries to escape.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png-- me enough for all this grief. Not when retirement's so close!

Critical hit! RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH takes 16 damage.
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH's opportunity attacks inflict 6 damage.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19)

Not wishing to leave such a bastard running around loose, Ivory nudged his mount into a trot round the corner after the bugbear.

Spotting his quarry, he gave it an evil look!

Follow Bugbear but not directly round the corner so I don't end up in melee range. Do that shouty move I can't be arsed to look up the name of right now if I spot the Strangler

Rounding the corner, Ivory spots the fleeing Bugbear. The indignant shifter looses a withering glare that causes his quarry to wince.

12 damage to Strangler. Ebony gets +1 to attack rolls against it until end of Ivory's next turn.

:savepoint: Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19), Ivory (18)

Your speed is 7 squares. So yes, you can!

Speedy little bastitch

I watch A crumple immediately, even though B took like ages to die. What gives? Who cares, that bastard is getting away! That giant wolf ain't no thang, he can't even kill that guy. I don't know why Ivory wants him around.

Move to N14
Mark Strangler
Throw and Stab Strangler
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush on Strangler
bring on the pain

Lurks, please post all questions in the discussion thread next time. Thanks.

Ebony launches his trademark combination at the fleeing strangler, briefly pondering why one warrior was squishier than the other. Concluding that he and Ivory ought to examine their opponents more carefully beforehand, the kobold resolves to inflicts major damage on his quarry.

Marauder's Rush: 11 + 6 (roll) + 1 (charging bonus) + 1 (gaze of defiance) + 1 (impending victory) + 1 (running attack) = 21. Blasted situational modifiers.
Bugbear takes ( [ 2 + 2 ] + [ 2 + 8 ] + 3 (Quarry) + 2 (Manticore's Fury) = ) 19 HP damage. Bloodied by Throw & Stab.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png You! (wheeze) I-it wasn't personal! There was a bounty! G-get off my face!

Grabbing hold of the ranger, the strangler flings him like a rag doll towards the mounted shifter. As the kobold bullet impacts both Ivory and RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, the strangler limps away, dripping blood all over the old shifter's front lawn.

Throw a ranger. Projectile (Ebony) takes 12 damage and bloodied and prone.
Ivory takes 6 damage and is bloodied, but makes the saving throw to remain mounted.
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH takes 6 damage.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png An old cleric and his pet. Easy pickings my arse. Hah!

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19)

The old man saw little point in wasting much more effort on the bleeding beast and simply glared at him again, which made him feel better.

Gaze of Defiance again, second wind

Now, it could be because I just got chucked by the bugbear and I ain't thinkin' straight, but it sounded like he said somethin' about a bounty... wonder what old man Ivory thinks of that?

Also, I ain't gonna tell it to his face or nothin' but he reeks of Bengay. Ain't they got some spice or something what for old people? Damn, son.

Move to N20
Let's switch it up; Hurling Charge!
Free charge converted to Marauder's Rush
Shifty back to N23

Shaken but not stirred, the kobold presses the attack on its fleeing quarry. The strangler's eyes went limp as Ebony's shortsword pushes its way past his armor, and perforates several vital organs. The bugbear collapses to the ground with a loud thud ... and a jingle?

Bugbear takes ( [ 4 + 6 ] + [ 2 + 8 ] + 2 + 3 = ) 25 HP damage. And dies.
He had 25 HP left, heh.

VICTORY! Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
Against all odds, Ebony and Ivory have survived three consecutive fights, and are still on their feet. Though it does seem the kobold is dangerously close to his last legs.

Why the sudden interest from both warforged and bugbear antagonists? And why is there a bounty on the pair? The cleric ponders these questions as his heart rate gradually returns to normal.

Five minutes rest. Reposition wherever you want, explore the rest of the map if you want to. The next battle will be the last battle for level 5, and in Ivory's hideout.

I ain't feelin' too great. Usually, them niggas ain't no thang, but today, man...

Surge back to full
Ebony ain't thinking too well. Whatever Ivory's strategy is, follow that.

The old man checked out the corpse in the hopes of finding out who was trying to kill him, mainly so he could go and kill them. Sure he was only a couple of days from retirement but it didn't pay to have people putting bouties on your head.

Move over to where Ebony is, search the bodies, heal up, get back on the wolf

Although being outside gave him more room to maneuver, the old man figured maybe being indoors would stop them getting ambushed again.

Go in the hut (If the wolf fits) back from the door and away from the walls, have Ebony inside at the doorway looking for trouble, ready to move back a bit for charging room at the first sign of danger, the plan being we funnel them in the doorway and Ebony can charge in and out with his combo whilst Ivory sits back and unleashes his dailies...

An examination of the bugbear warriors' corpses proved unprofitable. Other than the tattered hide rags they wore as armor, and a couple of morningstars that Ivory was very acquainted with, there was nothing else of interest.

The strangler was a different story. In addition to his bloodsoaked leather armor, a morningstar, and a harmless-looking rope garrote, he had a leather pouch bulging with jewels and gold. Around 2,400 GP worth, by his reckoning.

Ivory also found a piece of parchment - a bounty notice apparently. Large portions were obscured with blood and bugbear viscera. An imprint of a shiny mace on the upper-right side of document, but little else can be seen.

Wary of being ambushed, Ivory ushers both the kobold and wolf inside the hut. There isn't much in the way of furnishing - Ivory rarely stayed here for extended stretches of time. Ivory's well-made bed lies at the very end of the hut, while a recent trophy spear lies across Ebony's considerably messier bed.

Four windows, two on the north and two on the south, provide much-needed ventilation to the otherwise suffocating structure. A locked wooden chest containing various memorabilia and Ivory's life savings is the only other furniture in the room.

Ivory's new pet begins to whimper, apparently uncomfortable at such cramped quarters. But soon the whining stops, and the wolf's ears perk up. Silly wolf. Did it think the barely-audible rustling sound coming from the northeast was anything other than the wind blowing through trees? Evidently, RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH is claustrophobic and needs his space.

Special considerations: The wolf takes an additional -2 penalty for all attacks and checks while inside the room.
Window lovers take note: line of sight is pretty much in effect.

Not wishing to abandon their secure-ish spot, the pair sat and waited for something to move into view.

Ready Shielding Strike or whatever the daily shield power thingy I have is.

The old man also retrieved his spear which he had somehow completely forgotten was in his hut all this time.

The hard-pressed pair decide to play it safe and quiet, which is just as well. In short order, the rustling intensified, and is accompanied by the sound of more than a half-dozen thuds. Someone or something -- and a lot of them -- have trespassed on the old man's property.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.png Keep in tight formation, all of you! Those two can be -- well well well! What do we have here? Well boys, looks like ol' Gus had a go prior. Never send a bugbear to do a hobgoblin's job, I always say! 'Least they softened 'em up for us, and we don't have to share!

From his vantage point, Ebony catches a glimpse of the speaker. Apparently the hobgoblin commander. Behind him marches what appears to be an entire line of soldiers, although the kobold can only see one of them.

The hobgoblin troupe does not appear to have looked inside the hut, so intent are they on ogling the ill-fated bugbear corpses.

The group marches past Ivory's hut, while our heroes and their pet wolf cowered in fear. Ivory was very visible - no one with a functioning set of eyes would miss him - perched on a gigantic wolf as it is. Fortunately, none of the hobgoblins paid attention to the house contents... for now.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngWe're dealing with a very dangerous striker here. Has to either be a ranger or a rogue.
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hobgoblin-archer.pngCouldn't it be the werewolf, sir?
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngLook closely. See the pattern of the cuts here? It's clean, and short. Only possible with striking weapons like daggers and short swords. Not like the blunt force trauma or massive slashing a defender's sword would inflict.

The commander continues to lecture his troops about proper tactics and the perils of being caught in the open if you're a ranged combatant. All the while, the pair waited patiently with baited breath, using the opportunity to study their foes. There are eight hobgoblins in total: the commander, five warriors, and two archers.

On and on droned the commander - so long was the lecture that each of the five hobgoblin warriors seem to have nodded off awhile - one after the other - and drop their longswords with a thud. Evidently a schoolteacher in a previous life, the commander paid no heed to the slacking miscreants. Finally, the he winds down, reminding the two archers to always surround themselves with "meat shields".

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hobgoblin-warrior.pngLooks like they ain't home, commander!
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngOh, they're here all right. We've seen to that with the boar and the wolves we herded here. Between the royal stable guard and Gus' fuck-up, I'd say they're exhausted and ready to drop. Besides...
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngThis bugbear was killed no more than half an hour ago. We'll do a methodical search for them as a group. Let's start with the front yard. Stay sharp if you want to live!

And with that, the hobgoblins prepare to move on.

Realising they were unlikely to remain undiscovered for very long once the gobbos started a thorough search, the old man readied himself for a surprise attack, thinking to destroy the big fella's sword before he could start hitting people with it.

Ready Iron to Glass to use on Commander when he walks past the window so as to incur no penalties to hit and still count as a surprise attack