Slavers!

        The combat begins!

Aardvarkin, armed with his muddy short sword, glides up to where he 
thinks an unsuspecting slaver stands and thrusts forward with all his 
might - into thin air. Unfortunately, it seems this darkness has a 
profound effect on his ability to hit a target. Cursing under his 
breath and accidentally dropping his handful of mud, he does his best to 
regain his balance and ready himself for his next attack - or retreat.

The mage Ruinad opts to attack with his quarterstaff rather than risking 
a spell in the darkness, and manages to hit a longsword-wielding slaver 
squarely in the chest, which seems to have a harsher effect on the man 
than one might expect. The slaver keels over, struggling to regain his 
breath, but manages to right himself, and is just about to strike the 
small mage down when he and two of his comrades suddenly scream in 
terror and flee from the battle scene. The second fleeing attacker 
accidentally drops his whip, where it lays in the mud, pelted with rain.

Carideth gets the next attack. He had originally planned to attack one 
of the longsword-wielding slavers, but is unable to since he had just 
fled. Instead, he takes a step or two forward and manages to slice open 
one of the other attackers, which causes him to scream in pain. He 
staggers back to buy some time, while Carideth meanwhile strikes another 
slaver, who immediately falls to the ground, motionless.

A man holding a whip in one hand and a longsword in the other hears 
Aardvarkin shuffling around in the mud and immediately thrusts his sword 
in his direction. Unfortunately, he misses completely due to the 
darkness, and so, cursing, he unleashes his whip, which manages to slap 
Aardvarkin across the back, doing minimal damage.

Another slaver strikes his whip at Ivan, but also misses, very blind in 
the night. Ivan, hearing the crack of the enemy's weapon, lunges 
forward, attempting to strike with his drussus and shield, but also does 
not manage to get a blow in.

And so, at the moment there are two slavers in your immediate vicinity. 
Three of the men have run back, and one of them has been either slain or 
incapacitated by a blow from Carideth's longsword. The only injury 
sustained appears to be by Aardvarkin, who was whipped in the back. 
Unfortunately, a second wave of attackers now threatens your temporary 
victory. From the north, you hear screams of "You fools! Get back and 
fight like men! We'll take him dead if need be!". Those with infravision 
see the men who had run away reluctantly turn around and advance again, 
along with six more men.

By the time you have readied yourself for the next round of combat, 
eleven slavers face you, all carrying whips and/or longswords, save for 
the apparant leader, who wields a deadly scimitar. He seems to be 
keeping to the rear of the attack party, and is both unable to hit or to 
be hit at the moment. 

Your party is at a clear advantage. Most of you will probably be able to 
strike first, since the slavers had just run up to face you, and you 
were already ready to fight. What are each of you doing now? (I would 
still remind you of all your special attacks you can perform, as per 
that message I posted...)

Malcolm again remains to the rear, and begins to mumble some incantation.
Ruinad again attempts to attack the nearest slaver, and Ivan decides to rush
into the midst of the attackers, wildly hacking and slashing while warding off
blows with his shield.

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|/ungeon |  |aster

Sage's Desk AD&D