Battle on the High Pass

Lithiugelir(#27282)]

What a miserable trip this has been... and they haven\'t even seen a single orc yet! But rain, boy has the party seen a lot of rain, sleat, wind, and lightning. Lots of lightning. So the going has been abismal and slow.

The group has yet again been forced to stop in a most uncomfortable place upon the trail to take what shelter can be found or made while a storm blows over once more. Thunder booms and lighting, finally mostly on the eastern side of the range now, continues to flash. The front is almost past, finally. Almost no one in the camp has managed to sleep at all. The pack ponies are skittish and the men on watch are soaking wet and tired.

Among the latter, Lithiugelir stands with his long bow just inside the lee of a stone that gives little protection from the rain and wind here. Pale grey eyes squint against the rain, trying to keep a wary watch on the night. His cowled head turns from time to time, but it is very difficult to see anything in the heavy rain, even when lightning flashes.

\"That thing work in this weather?\" Mobeorn says, coming up next to the Dunadan now. \"And more important, is that harp case of yours watertight?\" he grins, then grows sober, surveying the rainy landscape. \"Don\'t like this. Not at all. Rain keeps the goblins away...maybe..maybe not. If we wind up fighting it\'ll be twice as hard in this soggy ground. And arrows...\" He shakes his head. \"I should go out. Check around us.\"

[Squee(#32191)] When there is blood to be spilt, no orc is left behind...except those that don\'t show up. Together, a patrol of several orcs is being led by Dulugobghaash. Steady heavy raindrops pound away on the battle rested orcs who are eager for the blood of something other then their kin.

Behind the group, mounted on a dark black warg is the Chieftain of the Morghash, Squee. His merciless eyes flood with rage as each bolt that lights the sky sends fear for those who meet this orcs gaze.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

The harper smiles, \"Flax string, not gut, so yes my bow\'s fine. I keep the bow waxed and the harprcase oiled. And the gash is sealed with wax over my mending so it should hold.\" A flicker of those pale eyes and a grin for Mobeorn\'s questions. Of course Lith looks to keep such valued items well kept.

To the other, the Dunadan frowns and shrugs, \"Not much soil up here to be muddy... rocks are slick though. Very slippery footing. Becareful.\" His voice is pitched low, though in this downpour it wouldn\'t carry anyway. Lightning flashes again and thunder almost at once booms, shaking the mountainside. Bad, bad to be caught this close to the peak with lightning, but the storm is almost past.

Dulugobghaash looks through the sheen of cruel weather at the travelers below. A malicious grin crosses his face. \"New meat,\" he mutters, and a murmur spreads through the small group of orcs at his flanks.

[Squee(#32191)] With each crack of lighting and thunder, the uruk known as Squee hops around using the darkness as his own cover. Quickly he drifts from rock to rock atop the growling warg who\'s snarls are missed in the deep fat raindrops.

The lightning flashes, briefly illuminating the landscape, and Mobeorn takes a step out from under the shelter, ignoring the rain pouring down on him. He frowns, standing dead still as he waits again for the storm to light up the landscape.

\"Something out there,\" Mobeorn says, turning back quickly to the harper and the rest of the gathered Beornings--a party of a dozen. Then he turns back and steps into the night and the storm, and the next time the lightning flashes the man is gone and a huge brown bear roams the landscape.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Turning as Mobeorn rumbles a further comment, Lithiugelir asks, \"Something?\" It\'s vague, but it\'s enough to make the man perk up and look around more carefully - both up slope and down, as lightning flashes allow. Then the harper picks up his bow and starts to move among the others in the group, speaking low and letting folk know that something may be afoot, to be wary.

Dulugobghaash squints in the downpour, shaking his head in disbelief. \"Wha...\" he grunts to no one in particular. \"Is there a...is that man or...?\" Although the guard stands firm, several of those near him misinterpret his muttered queries. In the harsh conditions, Dulugobghaash\'s words could be heard as nearly anything, and some interpret them as a call to battle. A few orcs tear town steep ledges toward the travelers, and others take up the charge to follow suit. Before long, ten or fifteen orcs are bearing down on the party, though Dulugobghaash remains stock-still as we works to make sense of what he is seeing below.

[Squee(#32191)] As the uruk scouting party advances, Squee\'s hopping forces him to miss the shape-changer\'s magic in process. The large brown bear, appears black in the night and is large enough to blend in amongst the small boulders of the mountains. Now almost a hundred feet or so behind the scouting party, Squee continues to advance in the rain.

The Beornings get to their feet hastily. If a beijabar says something is out there, they take it seriously, blades drawn and bows being strung. Those with swords drawn follow Mobeorn out of the cave, and the archers take up positions along the rocks.

\"There!\" the brown bear roars, only it\'s not a word but something harsh and gutteral. The bear tears uphill suddenly, looking to meet head-on the orcs bearing down on the party. Beorning arrows are loosed, fired over the head of the on-rushing mass of fur.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Seeing the first of the orcs start to run down the slope like a cascade of falling stones, illuminated only when there are flashes of lighting, and nearly invisible otherwise... Lithiugelir nocks an arrow and takes careful aim. Two arrows he gets off into the trail coming down but the orcs are coming too fast and between the wind, rain and darkness it is difficult to tell if he hit anything at all!

Snagging his long bow back into the loop on his quiver case, the man shouts to the others, \"Stoke up the fire! We\'ll need light to see by!\" and so saying, the harper draws his long blade forth from the scabbard and grabs a newly lit, oil annointed brand as they are being handed out. Hopefully the rain won\'t dampen down the light too much.

\"Here they come! Blades! Too close for bows now!\" And Lithiugelir himself moves forward from the camp towards the upslope to meet the first comers.

Dulugobghaash orcs drop in heaps, rolling down the steep face dead as stones and bristling with arrows. Dulugobghaash scowls as the ambush quickly devolves into a massacre...of orcs. All the same, some orcs continue their makeshift charge. A few rush toward the giant bear, bellowing with a mix of rage and fear, while others try to beat a path that will take them around the bear to the party at the cave mouth.

[Squee(#32191)] Squee gallops onwards as the brown-bear is finally seen in the darkness. Moving faster then the rain itself, the warg\'s vicious claws dig into the earth and prod on without problem. As the bear mauls on, Squee urges his warg through the darkness to meet it head on.

The oncoming orcs are not a problem for the bear--they\'re tossed like paperdolls through the air, one after another as they rush him. More than a few get by--those the bear misses and those smart enough to swing wide of the bear--and soon the Beornings have rushed forward to engage in bloody hand to hand combat.

The bear, though, is focused on another target--the bear\'s keen eyes having spotted an oncoming warg. The pair might meet head on--bear rushing toward warg, warg and rider rushign toward bear.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

With the others, the Dunadan meets those few that got past the bear and the arrows. There aren\'t many. Lith\'s long blade catches and throws back the light from his brand as he engages one orc that right off nealy splits him, catching a little leather jerkin with a thrust! The harper\'s sword comes around to parry the thrust aside at the last instant, saving himself a nasty wound.

Others around him cleave with axes, thrust with spears, or swing swords as well. The Northmen High Pass Guides are stout men, used to such grim work.

[Dulugobghaash(#28992)] More orcs are strewn about after the bear creature\'s attack, further blunting the star-crossed ambush. The guard looks left and right, considering a retreat, but eventually chooses duty over wisdom...possiby after also considering what might await him under the mountains sould he flee in battle. The guard produces his blade and attempts to join what remains of his patrol, sliding awkwardly on loose stones as he hastily descends.

[Combat(#13388)] Dulugobghaash wields Scimitar.

[Squee(#32191)] As the orcs remain, and the bear charges, Squee\'s warg meets the bear with a head-on-charge. His eyes gleam with such intensity as he meats the bear. \"Come creature, let me taste your blood!\" The uruk growls as he and the bear collide.

An answering growl meets the warg rider\'s challenge, though the men of Beorning who know the language of the bear would understand the answer. \"The only blood you\'ll taste tonight is your own!\" With that bear and warg collide--the beasts crashing into each other, loose rock sliding down the mountainside underneath them.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

With a hefty axe coming to bear down upon the orc that faces the harper, the creature is distracted by one of the Beornings long enough for Lithiugelir to get his blade into the thing. The creature screams, having wounded the man who had distracted it. Still, in moments more the few that had come in the first wave are dispatched.

Alas, the Dunadan looks up slope to see yet more orcs coming! \"Ware! Another wave!\"

Dulugobghaash is dispassionate as he hurries to catch the disjointed rabble of orcs that engages the group. A fatalistic look on his face, he grunts a few commands in a belated attempt to reorganize is scattered force. \"Regroup at their camp. In numbers only will be survive.\"

[Squee(#32191)] Squee ignores the command having the abyssal bear in his midst, he looses his etheral blade upon his foe. The blade seems to move of it\'s own accord. Catching his breath from the first collision, Squee strikes at the bear with little effort to test it\'s hide.

Squee attacks you with his Scimitar!...

...and he misses!

A stab of light from the horizon, and the sun rises cold and distant.

The rocks slide loose as bear and warg and rider collide, and the huge brown bear slides sideways a few feet, tumbling down the mountain on wet rocks and equally wet fur. The orc\'s blade goes wide, meeting only dirt and stone.

But this is no ordinary bear--it\'s nimble and swift, and it springs to its feet even as it slides--and then comes back -up- the mountain, back toward its foe, a full force charge meant to crush warg and rider.

You attack Squee with your Beijabar Fists...

[Combat(#13388)->Brown_Bear]

Your attack against Squee badly wounds him!

Lithiugelir(#27282)]

The storm has finally let up and the clouds for the most part have eased over the summit and onto the eastern side of the range. Lighting grows more distance but also... is that the first paling of dawn light through the cloud cover?

Lithiugelir keeps the flaming brand, such as it is, for even though he can now see better, it is still dark enough to fool the eye. As the new group of orcs descend upon them, the wounded among the Beorning camp have been, or are, being hastily drawn back. The harper covers one such downed man as Cecilia and another tend to him. One particularly foul looking beast looms up suddenly in Lith\'s path and the man lunges forward to meet Dulugobghaash with his blade - aimed with a thrust for the creature\'s belly!

Lithiugelir attacks Dulugobghaash with his Longsword and moderately wounds him!

[Squee(#32191)] A howl sends the warg and it\'s rider reeling backwards as Squee lifts his shield to try and block it, but the large bear rips the leather from the uruk\'s arm. Slowly he raises his arm, finally shaking off the initial assault to thrust again into the brown_bear.

Squee attacks you with his Scimitar!...

...and he misses!

[Dulugobghaash(#28992)] As the mounted orc chieftain is dealt a crushing blow by the bear-beast, the cruel sun heaps further indignity upon the broken orc ambush by cresting the Eastern horizon. Scowling and squinting as the rays of light shine upon his face, Dulugobghaah whinces. The unwelcome light distracts the completely, and his flesh is pierced by the ranger\'s blade. Still half-blind, he howls in pain and hacks awkwardly with his sword in the general direction of his assailant.

Dulugobghaash attacks Lithiugelir with his Scimitar, but he misses by a mile.

The bear twists and turns, a huge thing of wet brown fur roaring in rage over Squee. There -is- the light of the sun breaking over the horizon now, the first glints hitting the mountain, but the enraged massive form of a bear might block that from the orc\'s sight. Writhing to the right, the bear ducks out of the way of the orc\'s scimitar, then smashes a paw down toward the orc\'s gut, like a wild animal trying to disembowel its prey.

You attack Squee with your Beijabar Fists...

[Combat(#13388)->Brown_Bear]

Your attack against Squee terribly wounds him!

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Yes! Blessed Valar, but the clouds are thinning and that is dawn light beginning to break in from the distant east! The peak itself was obscuring it, in addition to the storm. Shouts go up among the Beorning camp, shouts of relief! It is the very first thing to go -right- on this ill fated trip, and just when it was needed most!

As the light grows stronger, the tall harper is finally able to get rid of the sputtering brand. He evades the wicked looking scimitar slash and thrusts the brand at the orc\'s already blinded face both to get his hand free of it, and to hit the orc in the head with it if he might.

But Lithiugelir\'s real purpose is to make another thrust with the long steal blade, aimed for the creature\'s chest, \"Foul spawn of a banished darkness!\"

Lithiugelir attacks Dulugobghaash with his Longsword and severely wounds him!

[Squee(#32191)] The attack does indeed pierce the uruk and his warg\'s throat letting out a yelp as the warg falls the the ground. The sharp claws of the warg pierce Squee\'s torso and he begins to bleed profusely onto the ground. \"I will never give up!\" he growls and swings his sword but falls short of his prey having been trapped by the orc\'s own mount leaving Squee helpless to the onslaught that is the forbodeing orc\'s death.

ARB: Squee has \"passed\" on his turn to attack.

Dulugobghaash is a hopeless combatant in the sunlight, as are the orcs around him. Some try to retreat, some fight one. Most die in either case. The guard\'s fate is a similar one. Struck again as he flails blindly, he slumps, swatting the air with his free hand as he falls to his knees. Dulugobghaash snarls and coughs blood as he struggles to regain his feet in the cruel day.

The bear doesn\'t glory in its victory over the orc--but nor does it leave the job unfinished. A vicious swipe of the bear\'s claws, trying to break the orc\'s neck, as a wild animal would try to kill its prey. The bear\'s roar does echo across the mountain, though, a warning to the orcs still lingering here in the sunlight and on the pass.

You attack Squee with your Beijabar Fists...

You have defeated Squee!

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

Wow. It is a slaughter and a route! The few orcs left are on the run, or too badly wounded to flee! A very unexpected victory looks to be falling into their laps when only a very short time ago, it looked very grim indeed for the Beornings! Cheers rise up with delight - but they have wounded among them as well.

The harper despises orcs. Where there would be pity and mercy for anything else but an orc, Lithiugelir presses to destroy this creature of the departed Morgoth. He raises his blade and then brings it down, intent to slay the creature so that it might not come back another night to feast on some other unlucky soul. The stroke is aimed for throat but may just as easily catch one of the guard\'s raised arms....

Lithiugelir attacks Dulugobghaash with his Longsword and severely wounds him!

[Squee(#32191)] Squee\'s final yowls of pain are never uttered, his eyes burn with passion as the etheral blade looses it\'s ghastly glow as if the essence of the flame dissappates from it. Their is only a grunt as the legacy that is Squee ends with a bear claw piercing his head. The uruk\'s eyes are forced into his skull by the claws. Blood and brains oozes from the eye sockets as the bear pulls it\'s claw away and Squee falls dead from his prone position.

Dulugobghaash, too wounded and dazed by the light to discern much around him, grunts and stares at nothing as he hears the smashing sound of Squee\'s life ending. A moment later, it is the guard\'s turn as his undefended throat is speared by the ranger\'s fine blade. His blinded eyes go dim, his death occupying but a moment in time.

[Lithiugelir(#27282)]

It is done... the last few orcs are being dispatched, or are already too far up the slope to easily pursue without breaking up their own group and scattering.

Lithiugelir looks down upon the bloodied carcus that had been a living thing and frowns. There is no elation in killing such a pitiful thing. The harper turns back towards the camp to see what aid he might give to the wounded, keeping wary eye out for injured orcs playing dead.

The bear, though, does disappear further into the now misty morning, searching after any lone orcs or wargs foolish enough to be out.