The Shield of the North [IC]

[TriciaOso]

Staring out to the battlefield hasgraek scans for a sign of his wife while touching the rings on the string around his neck. (If he doesn't spot her) he turns to beatrice Yer defenses be mighty fer sure but ifn yer fer knowing what them bastards be bringing it seems to me better surprises be waiting fer them. Been hearing them bells but what else? Them bigguns out there... got anything fer them?

"Volunteering?" Beatrice asks. "My genuine advice, Mr. Icegrip... don't try and prosecute the war from the Aguille Gate. Fight your own battle and trust the Duke. There are other pieces than you moving on this chessboard."

Shad stares out at the battle arrayed out in the harbor and the plains around Coldwater, shivering not just from the cold. The reality of the world she apparently lived in just kept punching her in the mouth. As her heartbeat began to betray her, the world shifting and turning as if before her very eyes, she swallows, the dryness of her mouth and the effort she'd been exuding leaving a coppery taste behind.

She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, and takes a breath, begging herself not to cry. You're a fighter, dammit. You can't make 'em hit you somewhere else, you just put your hands up, and rock with the blows.

"I'm gonna see if someone can wrap this a little better," she says gesturing to her bandaged arm, her face pale with the fear she was keeping shoved down to avoid panicking while the battle still raged. "Then maybe get some water or something..."

There are relief stations for the militia along the battlements, tucked into small alcoves and manned by non-combatants brave enough to stand this close to the fight and smart enough to hide under a table when things get thick. An ice genasi girl, looking far too young to be here, offers you dipperful of water from a barrel. She taps a finger on the tin dipper, and the water is so cold and fresh that it tastes like wine, right now. She will also help with first aid, if you want, but--fair warning--her hands are remarkably cold.

Spoiler: Persuasion 10+

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She looks astonishingly calm in the face of what's happened so far, but of course she's local; this isn't her first seige, or even her first night on the battlements, perhaps. Her elemental heritage is less obvious than some of the ice genasi you've seen in this city, but there are tells. Her breath doesn't make puffs of cloud like yours does, and while you've met women with ice-white hair, you've never been able to see dimly through it. Her name is Verglas.

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Once you've reset the traps and ranged yourself around the courtyard in your preferred locations, the strange paradox of combat sets in. The bells chime off the hours, and for a while nothing happens. Not nothing -- there are skirmishes along the battlements, work for the archers, and you can see the siege engines hammering at the Keep from here, and the wizards and weapons of the keep striking back. You know that forces have encircled the city and are hammering from all directions, seeking a weak point. But as Beatrice told you, this gate is small enough and close enough to the Keep to be a lower priority, and for some time the militia are able to hold enough anything from getting to the four of you.

But, as Beatrice did warn, sometimes catapults and trebuchets go astray, and you are in prime location for that. The first time it happens is about two hours later. A huge spiked ball smashes into a battlement of the Keep and richochets, crashing into the courtyard. By sheer luck, it drops squarely into the little sheltered circle of carts Aupti has been using for cover all night. The druid is able to dive out of the way, but shrapnel and smashed wood go flying. Both he and Connor have some minor scrapes as a result.

Spoiler: OOC

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Rolled a 2 on a d4, which means the misfire is a spiked ball. Rolled a 10 and 1 on 2d10 for the upper right section of the map, where Aupti has been. Aupti made his DEX saving throw, taking none of the bludgeoning damage from the cannonball and halving the shrapnel damage (5). Everyone else rolls a DEX saving throw for half the shrapnel damage; Shad saves (15), Hasgraek saves (21), Connor fails (13).

Connor and Aupti both take 2 damage.

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More time passes. More bells, chiming out the hour. And then -- another misfire, and another grim package headed your way.

This time it crashes just inside the gate, not close enough to any of you to put you in direct danger. It lands with an ugly splatting noise, and for good reason... the Onager seem to have fired a corpse or corpses over the wall, and it clearly did not survive the impact. It lies there, an ugly pile of viscera and scattered limbs.