STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Brothers

In the opening blasts, it turns out that you and Einar both roll poorly before you dive for cover and he rounds a corner to carry him out of sight once more, the lasers going wide and burning the hedges.

However, you hear a disturbing sound nearby. An inhuman roar tumbles out of the mountains and rolls past you, deep and guttural. Somewhere to your right, beyond the center of the Maze, smoke is rising into the storming sky.

Can I determine what is the source of this smoke?

And this is one of these beasts,,,

It is. You cannot see from here what is causing it, but you have a good idea. The Creatures of the North breath fire and the Maze is made from very burnable hedges.

So now I need to position myself further from the Beast than Einar...

A good plan! Einar certainly can give it a fight but not alone. It would kill him for sure. But the roaring is growing louder...

Which way do you want to move? Einar has made for the Center Garden of the Great Maze, and the Creature is somewhere beyond that and moving fast.

Moving towards Einar, I should be between the Beast and him, right?

He is between you and the Beast, actually.

Can I go around the beast with my knowldege of the maze?

Do you want to put the beast between the two of you?

Yes!

Alright! Melkor plunges deeper into the Maze, trying to make it around to the Old Gate which will put him behind the Creature of the North and so have the Creature between himself and Einar. He does not encounter Einar at all as he does this, and the Creature sounds as if it is somewhere off to your left.

You eventually find the source of the smoke you saw earlier. The Creature of the North had entered at the Old Gate and used its fiery breath to burn through entire sections of the Maze without problem. Tearing through a burning hedge would be simple for something its size and durability.

You notice something odd about the Old Gate, though. It is a rusting old structure with defensive turrets intended to keep anything from coming down from the mountains- even Sith warriors, if the legends are to be believed. But it has not been forced open.

It was disabled, then? But who could do it and why?

It was more than disabled. It was opened!

Anyone with access to the security system could do so.

Let`s go around the Gate. Einar tried to murder me first, he needs to be defeated.

The Gate is not actually in your way, it is to the right side of the path.

What direction are you going? Toward Einar, away from him, etc.?

Towards Einar.

You start running towards where you think he might be... it helps that you suddenly hear the shrill zap of an Erengardian pistol and the roar of an enraged beast, somewhere near the center of the Maze. You run, pistol out, your body aching from all that you have done in pursuit of the throne...

You run into the center of the Maze and happen upon an epic scene. Einar is standing on one side of the center courtyard, with the monster on the other. He is rapidly firing his pistols into the beast, yelling out taunts to it as he does so.

"I will slay you, foul creature of darkness!" he yells.

Einar with his foolish, arrogant nobility... one does allow him to try to murder his own kin.

Melkor will wait to see if beast get Einar. He will get in position to shoot from behind.

You spend an action waiting, whilst Einar continues shooting. With twinned pistols he is able to put out a much greater rate of firepower, squeezing off shots in bunches. He keeps picking out weak parts of the Creature's armor as it comes across the courtyard, smashing aside benches and statues and shrubbery with its sword-arms. It took 11 damage before you entered the area; it now takes 14 more from your brother's assault and is halfway across the courtyard, two actions from him.

Will you continue to wait to see what happens or will you move into position to shoot?

Let`s get into position, but let Einar take one more round of shots.