Famh peers down at the scene from behind a stone, the milling coos bringing back memories of her days as a herd in Igham.  "Oh, your poor coos, tae be driven sae hard!," she whispers to Rory Mor.  "And hou best tae get thaim back?  There's still mair o' the raiders than ... "  She breaks off as an idea strikes her, and she beckons the rest of the companions to come close.

"Hou does this sound?  We dinnae want tae juist shoot at thaim from this heicht, they coud juist drive the herd oot o' the gully and flee.  But gin we aw went doun, they'd see they have the numbers on their side.  I've...," she glances at Rory and his sons, wondering how much to reveal about her peculiar nature and powers.  Deciding to err on the side of caution, she goes on, " ... Ye see, I lovit tae watch jugglers at the kintra plays whan I wis a lass, and I wheedlit ane intae teachin me hou tae throw ma voice, or change its sound.  I micht be able tae make it sound like we haed a whole company o' slingers and archers up here, instead o' juist ane."  She holds up her sling, then adds, "Gin I wait until they see the rest cuttin' thaim aff... an perhaps push a few rocks doun on their heads... it micht scare thaim enouch they'd give in.  Or at least distract thaim."  She doesn't mention HOW she plans to 'push' the rocks; but privately she doubts the raiders' shields will be any stronger than the stone dogs of Karvala's tower.

( As further actions may kick off a reaction lets have some Initiative rolls just in case.)

Ori init: 2

Quote from OisinmacCameron >>

Famh peers down at the scene from behind a stone, the milling coos bringing back memories of her days as a herd in Igham.  "Oh, your poor coos, tae be driven sae hard!," she whispers to Rory Mor.  "And hou best tae get thaim back?  There's still mair o' the raiders than ... "  She breaks off as an idea strikes her, and she beckons the rest of the companions to come close.

"Hou does this sound?  We dinnae want tae juist shoot at thaim from this heicht, they coud juist drive the herd oot o' the gully and flee.  But gin we aw went doun, they'd see they have the numbers on their side.  I've...," she glances at Rory and his sons, wondering how much to reveal about her peculiar nature and powers.  Deciding to err on the side of caution, she goes on, " ... Ye see, I lovit tae watch jugglers at the kintra plays whan I wis a lass, and I wheedlit ane intae teachin me hou tae throw ma voice, or change its sound.  I micht be able tae make it sound like we haed a whole company o' slingers and archers up here, instead o' juist ane."  She holds up her sling, then adds, "Gin I wait until they see the rest cuttin' thaim aff... an perhaps push a few rocks doun on their heads... it micht scare thaim enouch they'd give in.  Or at least distract thaim."  She doesn't mention HOW she plans to 'push' the rocks; but privately she doubts the raiders' shields will be any stronger than the stone dogs of Karvala's tower.

Cainneach nods thoughtfully, then adds, "That seems a reasonable start of a plan, but let's make sure we actually have some archers and slingers in place to give some heft to the ruse.  Thatch, you, and I can spread out around the ridge here, pelt them from different points so it trully seems they're surrounded.  We'll all need to be ready to let fly, try to thin their numbers quickly to reduce their advantage.  If we can hit the tall one, that may be worth three or four of the others.  The rest of you can use your judgement, drive down to the gully when the right moment arrives."

Initiative 11
Perception 16  (looking for a place to hide above the gully)
Stealth 26  (if agreed, then hiding above the gully)

Famh smiles at Cainneach in relief.  "I didna want tae speak for ye, leannan; but I always feel better wi' ye at ma side.  And Thatch is a fine archer as weel.  Let's spread oot, then.  I'll leuk for a place closer tae the head o' the gully, an then cast ma voice tae the other side whan the time comes sae they think they truly are surroundit. ... Gin our knicht an the rest agree tae the plan, o' course."  She casts a quick glance at Sir Almeric, Ori and Vardi, and then at Rory and his sons, to see if these more experienced warriors have other thoughts about how best to proceed.

=========

Initiative 9; if her plan is approved, then:

Investigation 22 (finding a place farther up but still in sling range)

Stealth 21 (getting there quietly and hiding)

OOC: Vardi Init: 12

Vardi quietly says "Never too cold fer raiding, nay fer some folk..." in response to Rory's rueful observation, not in unkindness, but a rueful understanding of her own.

She draws in close and listens intently as Famh outlines her scheme for regaining Rory's stolen kine. The Lyften lass nods in agreement but offers one cautious thought of her own as she asks softly "If ye'll just point me at where ye need me, I'll get there, but I am nay soft-footed as the rest of ye." as she draws her bow and looks for a place to lie in wait. Skuggavardi slips down next to her softly as a fall of snow, but as intent on the hunt as his human is. 

OOC: Vardi quickly looks for a dip in the landscape big enough to crouch down in or scree to act as cover and close by her current position to move to (Perception: 14, Stealth 18 with disadvantage)

Thatch looks over at Cainneach and Famh and nods at the plan “That will do, I’d wager the tall one is calling the shots as well. We'll take him first.”  He pulls out his shortbow and readies his arrows, moving quietly along the high ground to give himself some space from Cainneach and a good angle on the raiders below.

Initiative: 17.

Stealth: 12.

.

Almeric nods, " Its a good plan. Excellent, lets get to it then."

Initiative- 15

Stealth- 4

Famh looks anxiously back towards the mouth of the gully as a possible flaw in her plan occurs to her.  It will be no use to scare the raiders off with a feigned company of archers and slingers if there is no way for any of the companions to get down to their level and prevent them from simply fleeing again with the coos.  At first she sees no paths from the one level to the other (Perception in log: 6); but on peering more carefully from underneath her hand. she notices a steeply slanted crevice behind some boulders near the spot Thatch first signaled he had spotted the herd (Investigation in log: 21).  She waves to get Sir Almeric's attention; and pointing to the pathway, mouths, "We'll wait till ye start doon, and then begin."

Rory and his lads nod in agreement, Rory goes with Sir Almeric, Vardi, Ori and Famh and his two boys shadow Cainneach and Thatch.

Sir Almeric nods to Famh following her line of sight and starts down, he almost slips and a small shower of pebbles make their way down the slope but Vardi is able to grab his shoulder and halt the slide before it becomes too noticeable, he looks deeply annoyed with himself.

The tallest raider turns at the sound but it seems it is mostly hidden by the milling and lowing cattle and he waves it off...

( Thatch and Cainneach are up. Vardi can guide the beginning of the descent of the other four.)

Assuming Cainneach was able to stealthily use his movement make his way to a reasonable vantage point w/his previous rolls, he'll then do the following:

Bonus Action - Hunter's Mark  (on the apparent leader of the group)

Action - Ready an attack with his Longbow vs. the leader: 12, damage (piercing): 9  (w/advantage due to being hidden, w/Hunter's Mark dmg, triggered when the descent of the four melee folks draws the raiders' attention)

( Yeah,  his Stealth is easily enough.)

From his hiding place, Thatch sees one of the raiders glance toward where the others were moving down and springs into action.  He releases an arrow at the tallest raider, then jumps up shouting “loose your arrows, lads!  Have at ‘em.” before scrambling twenty feet in the opposite direction from where the group was moving down and attempting to hide among the rocks and brush.  He pauses breathing heavily.  Well we were supposed to be a distraction, he thinks to himself.

Action: Attack: 26 Damage: 13 plus 4 sneak attack damage.

Bonus action hide: Stealth: 21.

.

Quote from Damian_May >>

Rory and his lads nod in agreement, Rory goes with Sir Almeric, Vardi, Ori and Famh and his two boys shadow Cainneach and Thatch.

 

..,

( Thatch and Cainneach are up. Vardi can guide the beginning of the descent of the other four.)

 (um, actually Famh wasn't planning to descend with the melee group, she means to stay up topside and scare or distract the raiders by making it sound like there are more archers and slingers with the drop on them than we actually have.  Sorry if wasn't clear.)

Quote from OisinmacCameron >>

the other four.)

 

 (um, actually Famh wasn't planning to descend with the melee group, she means to stay up topside and scare or distract the raiders by making it sound like there are more archers and slingers with the drop on them than we actually have.  Sorry if wasn't clear.)

 ( No probs)

Fingal- Spear- Attack: 7 Damage: 4

Logie- Spear- Attack: 5 Damage: 7

Raiders- Perception- 20

Quote from EtyenAndiros >>

Assuming Cainneach was able to stealthily use his movement make his way to a reasonable vantage point w/his previous rolls, he'll then do the following:

Bonus Action - Hunter's Mark  (on the apparent leader of the group)

Action - Ready an attack with his Longbow vs. the leader: 20, damage (piercing): 15  (w/advantage due to being hidden, w/Hunter's Mark dmg, triggered when the descent of the four melee folks draws the raiders' attention)

Quote from LAXGunner >>

From his hiding place, Thatch sees one of the raiders glance toward where the others were moving down and springs into action.  He releases an arrow at the tallest raider, then jumps up shouting “loose your arrows, lads!  Have at ‘em.” before scrambling twenty feet in the opposite direction from where the group was moving down and attempting to hide among the rocks and brush.  He pauses breathing heavily.  Well we were supposed to be a distraction, he thinks to himself.

Action: Attack: 23 Damage: 6 plus 2 sneak attack damage.

Bonus action hide: Stealth: 16.

Both Cainneach and Thatchs shafts found their mark in the leaders chest and the man looked stricken, but the stubborn highlander refused to fall.  Both of Rorys sons spears missed their mark and the two lads were too slow to duck back down as the raiders marked them and began surging towards the shallow end of the gully to climb out after them bringing them in full surprise face to face with Sir Almeric and Rory at the lead of the descending party. 

Raiders- Action- Dash.

Sir Almeric- Held Action- Attack: 25 Damage: 6

Rory- Held Action- Spear- Attack: 20 Damage: 5

Both Almeric and Rorys foes were badly wounded and fell aside nursing their wounds.  The others milled about trying to escape the kill box and the score of archers that might be above...

( Ori and Famh are up)

Ori lines up beside Rory, knowing the knight woukd be alright if split from Ori but wasn't sure what to expect from the newcomer. Waiting in anticipation of the raiders responding to the arrows and spears, hoping that the volley would be enough to grab their attention but not not so much they run off. Hearing the approching footsteps, Ori leaps out as soon as a raider  comes in view and he swings the club from the ground up pushing the unexpecting victim up off the ground as the club finds purchase.

Ori: to hit 22, damage 7 bludgeoning and 3 piercing pushing the target up 5ft as part of crusher feat.

Taking a slow breath to calm and focus herself, Famh prepares to do her part in the scheme to recover Rory's coos.  She casts her mind quickly back to Marrowglen, remembering how the Sherriff sounded when he spoke to Sir Almeric and to his own retainers.

As soon as her companions begin their attack, she whispers a quick incantation in Madhir and points to an outcropping of stone straight across the gully from where she stands. (Action" minor illusion). A moment later the Sherriff of Marrowglen's voice ... or as reasonable a facsimile thereof as she can manage ... roars out from behind it, "Shoot the feartie nyaffs deid if they dinna throw doon their arms!!!"  Turning to the next closest point of concealment on the far side, she has another Thulish voice reply, "Aye, Ser! They'll be stealin' nae mair coos, any road! The whole company's in place noo!"; and a third add from her own side, "Or we can bounce some stanes aff their heids till we knock some sense intae 'em!"

Unless the voices are challenged and must reply, Famh allows her glamour of illusion to fade at this point and looks about for a loose rock. One large enough to _actually_ bounce aff the raiders' heids, just in case they require some added encouragement to give up the coos.

=========
Deception 11 (to accurately reproduce the Sherriff's voice, and the tone and manner of men-at-arms responding to orders)
Intimidation 16 (perhaps with advantage if she did well on the Deception? ... second roll in that case is 17)