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Aided by his small stature as much as by the shield, Arvindur manages to slip away from his immediate opponent and although his new target has mostly regained his wits the druid finds him an easier mark. The halfling's club slams into his hip with a satisfying thud and the man is forced to leave the door be so he can defend himself. This is very unfortunate for the other guard that had cried for his help: this one gets in a final slash with his sword, adding another cut to Charlie's already impressive collection of battlefield scars, and is then killed under Old One Eye's hooves.

Free to pursue other foes Asa attacks the guard by the door, cracking ribs with a had swing of her mace. The guard looks like he's realized his prospects are poor, but he doesn't give up and nicks Arvindur's torso just below his right arm. The sudden, sharp pain is not enough to unbalance Arvindur though. Asa shoots Charlie a look as well, but the gnome shakes his head: no healing necessary so far.

Hjeld and Django keep harrying the other guard in the mean time, but despite their well-coordinated attacks they are unable to land any more telling blows. He is focused completely on the defensive, making it hard to hit him yet also preventing him from attacking in turn.


OoC
round 3 - Init:
Django
Hjeld
Arvindur: - 4 hp 
guard one: flanked by Hjeld and Django, doing nothing but defend himself 
guard two: dead
Charlie: bleeding from a cut above his eye and a more serious gash across his shoulder
Asa
guard three (failed his save vs the thunderstone): pinned against the door by Arvindur and Asa and beginning to look seriously bruised and battered
servant (who doesn't look like he wants to get involved)

The heavy door only allows shouting and pounding from the other side to come through muffled and muted, but it's clear reinforcements are on the way for the guards. For now the wedge Asa kicked under it is keeping it firmly shut though.

Django and Hjeld increase their efforst even more, pressed on by this threat, and their opponent is is cut deeply and repeatedly. His sword arm is trembling and his stance is now sloppy, no longer the as effortlessly graceful as before, though he manages still to lift it in the proper defensive form.

Arvindur and Asa, helped by Charlie and One Eye who bully their foe up against the door, make short work of the second guard: the man looks like he wants to surrender at the last, but he is too late and falls under a heavy blow of Asa's mace.

 
OoC
round 4 - Init: 
Django 
Hjeld
Arvindur: 25/29 hp 
guard one: flanked by Hjeld and Django, doing nothing but defend himself - near defeat
guard two: dead
Charlie: bleeding from a cut above his eye and a more serious gash across his shoulder
Asa
guard three (failed his save vs the thunderstone): dead
servant (who doesn't look like he wants to get involved) 

The last guard puts up a brave defense but it would have taken a champion swordsman to fend off the united might of the five Silver Swords. Django's axe cuts deeply into his leg, forcing him to go down on one knee, and from there he was doomed.

Looking around, the band sees the frightened servant has crawled into a corner: when he sees the blood-spattered quintet turn towards him, he begins to pitifully beg for mercy. At the same time though, the sound of the pounding on the door changes. Someone must be taking an axe to it and although the solid wood is beyond sturdy the door will not hold much longer.

"What do we do now?"

Asa, as always the most level-headed, speaks up.

"We have a name. Even if it's not much it's enough to let us go after them later. I would prefer a bigger payoff but is it worth the risk?"



Sorry about the delay, all sorts of trouble at work and I'm on standby this week. Haven't had much sleep yet since the weekend...

The scents inside the mansion proper are all tangled up and difficult to sort through. There are at least six or seven people on the other side of the door, but Arvindur thinks only four or five are fighters: the odours of weapon oil and leather for armour are distinct.

Hjeld looks inclined to side with Asa on this, although neither will walk away from their brothers in arms. Charlie and Django are all fired up and ready to go: no question they want to push on. The door starts to splinter, so everyone takes up positions according to Arvindur's suggestion. Charlie and Old One Eye take the left, Hjeld and Arvindur the right side of the door, while Django and Asa in their heavy armour stand in front of it, leaving about a yard and a half of space inside the room. They'll hold their foes in place so the others can cut them down.

Once the axe starts biting through the wood, Arvindur barely has time to finish his spell before it comes crashing down altogether. One swordsman with a large shield immediately steps forward, into the gap of the door, but he hesitates when he realizes offensive magic is about to be unleashed.

Right behind him four more swordsmen can be seen: three with just a longsword, one more also carrying a shield. All are armoured in well-fashioned chain mail and they are wearing a coat of arms embroidered on uniform tunics thrown over their armour. Further in the back of what turns out to be an opulent hallway two servants are cowering, holding on to improvised cudgels and small daggers that look like they won't be of any use in a real fight. Next to them however a grim-looking man in rich clothing stands, wearing heavy gold and silver jewellery and holding a long staff of dark wood.



[OoC: any particular type of swarm? And where would you prefer it?]