Last Stand of the Dorinthians (Chapter 3 - The Imperials)

[Deuce Traveler]

Dartis cries after Barok and leads Swift into a gallop. He doesn't make it more than 30 feet when the song takes ahold of the nobleman, causing him to stop in amazement at the most beautiful music he's ever heard. And even though he cannot see her face, Dartis knows that the woman by the pond is all the beauty he can imagine wrapped up in one face. Swift begins to panic, as blades of grass wrap up and around his hooves and immobilize the horse.

Barok continues his own run, and he continues to shake off the dryad's song. He's now 40 feet away, and can see her now. Despite her panic-filled face that gazes upon his defiant countenance, he notices that she truly is a beautiful creature. A man stands up next to her, wearing the clothes of a Dorinthian noble attached to the cavalry. Barok's examination doesn't slow down his nimbleness and once more he dodges the grasping blades of grass.

Danica dodges the grasping plants around her, but stumbles after making it only 15 feet. The music is like a beautiful lullaby, and the sorceress feels as if she should rest.

Silas moves quickly and surprisingly even more nimbly than Barok. He makes it 30 feet with seeming ease, his mind concentrated upon his wife, a vision that the dryad's song has difficulty piercing.

Ventus is also able to dodge the plants, like Danica was, but only makes it 15 feet before succumbing to the song... It is so beautiful, he realizes.

Map- not to scale, but each space is about 10 feet
[sblock]
S= Silas
D= Dartis
Da= Danica
V= Ventus
B= Barok
W= Dryad
N= Dorinthian Noble
T= Tree
..............................
.........V....Da............
............D......S.........
..............................
...............................
............B.................
...............................
...............................
........WN..................
..............T...............
[/sblock]

(Continuing because Barok is still advancing with heart)
The song continues, and for a moment Barok freezes from the beauty of the dryad's voice. Everything is in that promise. Possession, desire, lust. Everything that a rogue could possibly want, although strangely there is no promise of love. The former scout muses that he normally makes similar proposals whenever he gets the opportunity. His dark humor helps him break the bonds of the enchantment, and once again he is on the move. He avoids the grasping plants and lands calf-deep in the pond by the great oak tree. As he moves onto the tiny isle, the Dorinthian cavalryman intercepts him and draws his sword in warning. Barok can see by looking into the man's eyes that his will is not his own. The rogue can just make out a large hole in the tree behind him.

Dartis is still held by her song and Swift stops struggling, more because of its inability to move than from true desire. The plants wrap steadily upwards and now touch the nobleman's legs and the horses midsection...

Silas continues to dodge the plants and ignores the song by thinking of his family, making it another 30 feet and close enough to see that Barok is about to be engaged by a man wearing the cloak and armor of a Dorinthian cavalryman. The sight before him is almost enough to give him pause. The nobleman is Cal Dorin, the baron's lost son! And these mounds must be his men, swallowed up by the twisted dryad's grove. They are not just Dorinthians. They are people of Fair Creek.

The sight of Dartis' horse ceasing its struggle pulls at the pity freely given by Danica's heart. She overcomes the dryad's song and bolts next to Dartis in an attempt to free the nobleman. Before she can act, however, blades of grass rise up and snare her around her right thigh.

Ventus feels the pull of the dryad's song and takes a few more steps forward so that he may better gaze upon the woman's beauty. Strangely, he is able to stumble past the ensnaring grass without getting himself caught.

Map- not to scale, but each space is about 10 feet
[sblock]
S= Silas
D= Dartis
Da= Danica
V= Ventus
B= Barok
W= Dryad
N= Dorinthian Noble
T= Tree
..............................
..............................
..........V.DDa............
..............................
...............................
.................S............
...............................
............B..................
........W..N.................
..............T...............
[/sblock]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

OOC: I had to post my observation of the way this situation turned out in the OOC thread.

 

[Kobold Stew]

As Danica struggles with the growing tendrils and vines wrapping around her leg, she spies the sword-wielding Dorinthian about to attack Barok.

She reacts quickly, forgetting herself for a moment:

"Your strength spills into the earth" she proclaims in a loud voice, as a shimmering beam leaps forth from her outstretched hand.

She reaches for her crossbow.

 

[Nephtys]

Barok shouts out to the two lovers by the tree while continuing to move forwards, "Morduk is dead. I killed the ugly bastard, twise, and I've got his head right here to prove it," he holds up the head by the hair. "The Heart is yours once again if you will but let me pass. Get that noble fop out of the way and let me show you what a real man can do." he winks at her.

ooc: remember that I said I'd keep the Head as a trophy for the Dryad?

(If his charm is not enough: )
He continues to advance and strikes out with lightning speed, throwing Morduk's gory head right at the knights face while hooking his foot behind the man's knee and pushing him out of the way. (improved Trip) "Did you really think he could stand in my way? I'll save you wether you want it or not."

Next round, if he still can:
Barok dodges, or soaks up the knights attack, trips him again and places the heart in the hollow of the tree with a grin and a flourish.

 

[GlassEye]

Though events have again spiralled out of his control Silas follows as Barok runs headlong into the grove. Seeing Cal Dorin face Barok and knowing the surrounding mounds are likely his men as described by Ventus, Silas continues to plow forward to aid the man and free the others, somehow. His mind, however, is full of the image of his wife as he last saw her: holding their child, standing next to his aged father, as the town came to see them all off. As they marched faint strains of Dorinthia's battle-hymn floated after...

Suddenly Silas bursts out in song. "Dor-IN-thi-AH! Dor-IN-thi-AH!..." Loud and out of tune it is still recognizable as Dorinthia's anthem and he puts all his emotion into it hoping to rouse the sleepers.

 

[Fenris]

Dartis takes no notice of the malicious monocots creeping up his leg. He is far too entranced by the most wonderful song.........

 

[hafrogman]

Ventus merely brushes the grass away from his leg as he easily pulls free to continue towards the source of his enchantment. He stumbles forward, his mind in a daze.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Dartis ... is far too entranced by the most wonderful song.........

OOC: "Dor-IN-thi-AH! Dor-IN-thi-AH!" !?!?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

For a moment of surprise, the dryad and Cal Dorin watch as Barok shows the heart in his hand. Then the wood creature stops singing for a brief second, and stares in anger, speaking the command, "Kill him."

Cal moves to comply, but before Barok can attempt to trip him a bolt of magic flies over his shoulder and hits the nobleman. Danica's spell of weakness seems to affect him, but then he visibly shakes off the spell. A shout is heard behind Barok: "Dor-IN-thi-AH! Dor-IN-thi-AH!...". From the mounds around you, the cry is taken up once more by hoarse and weak voices, "Dor-IN-thi-AH! Dor-IN-thi-AH!..."

Perhaps its the chanting that does it, or the recognition of heroic friends. Perhaps it is the brave and bloodied Barok's stubborn stand, or the distraction of Danica's spell. Whatever the cause, Cal lowers his blade and the rogue skirts by and drives the heart deep into the oak's hole behind him. The singing stops, freeing Ventus and Dartis from its enchantment.

The hole seals itself and the dryad halts as a change comes over her. Her enraged face grows soft and pleasant for a moment, before she collapses in tears and wailing. "Gods! He killed them. He killed my cat, and so many of my friends," she says as she collapses with her face in her hands. Cal takes a few steps towards her, as if intending to hold and comfort her. He stares down at the pitiful creature, and changes his mind while clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Thank you," he says to Barok with a cold expression. But come, we must now free our friends." He takes his blade in hand once more and moves towards the nearest mound, but it is not needed. Like a coccoon, the grass opens to reveal dozens of Fair Creek cavalrymen. All but two are still alive, although greatly weakened. Even Alexander's sister, the half-orc paladin Alexis is found and gives Silas and Danica a small smile of thanks and recognition.

The dryads send help in the form of berries that burst from bushes that spontaneously erupt up from the ground and you find that the nearby pond has fresh water to help the starved men. Somehow the grass preserved them at the same time it sapped their bodies of nutrients. You spend the day burying the two soldiers that have died while the men and surviving horses recover. Cal takes their deaths the hardest. "My fault. We had to ride and try to warn my father, but the Imperials intercepted us and we rode into the hills to lose them when I heard her voice. I wasn't strong enough to resist that... thing. And now my soldiers died for my weakness. In my mind I saw her as a Dorinthian noblewoman. Someone to continue a kingdom's noble lineage with. Gods..." he hisses in disgust. Perhaps the dryad hears him from her distant tree, for she looks at him in a hurt expression before disappearing into her oak once more. Some rigid pride has broken in Cal, and it's not sure whether it is for the better. Although his men still look at him with respect as he passes, he will never forget the tragedy that he was partly responsible for.

The party spends the night guarding the sleeping troops. Cal sleeps furthest from the oak tree, and the dryads do not reappear though the food continues to grow when needed. In the morning, on the crest of the hill, a small band of men can be seen observing your camp.

Ventus
[sblock]
They wear the clothing of Craeceans, a diverse and educated people in love with science and philosophy that were eventually taken over by the Tallione Empire.
[/sblock]

Nikolos and Caramip
[sblock]
You've travelled far to find the camp of Commander Sassarius, but it looks like his army has left. Which is unfortunate, since you needed to restock on supplies for your research into Dorinthian culture. They have the most interesting, but primitive architecture although you were hoping to move on and examine the plains that supported the nomadic lifestyle they practiced before founding a kingdom. You followed a horse trail, thinking maybe it would lead to Sassarius' cavalry, but you ran into this surprise. Instead of finding a Tallione camp, here lies what looks to be some tattered remnants of Dorinthian cavalry. How marvelous! And you thought Dorinthia was completely defeated. Hmmm... on second thought, maybe you should go before they notice you as they might not appreciate your discovery of them. Uh oh... too late...
[/sblock]

 

[Nephtys]

The hole seals itself and the dryad halts as a change comes over her. Her enraged face grows soft and pleasant for a moment, before she collapses in tears and wailing. "Gods! He killed them. He killed my cat, and so many of my friends," she says as she collapses with her face in her hands.

Barok turns and smiles expectantly at the dryad, his smile growing stale when noticing her reaction. Gods! I should have known, no "Oh my brave Hero! Look at those noble wounds, please let me kiss them and make it better..." No, instead I get a weeper.
"There, there, don't worry about that," he tries halfheartedly to console her. "Everything ends. It's the way of, uh, nature or something. At least you got your vengeance. It's all right, you'll get new friends, you've got a new one right here," he says, touching her shoulder gently.

"Thank you," he says to Barok with a cold expression.

He smiles distractedly at the knight, "That's all right sir. Thanks for getting out of the way."

Cal takes their deaths the hardest. "My fault. We had to ride and try to warn my father, but the Imperials intercepted us and we rode into the hills to lose them when I heard her voice. I wasn't strong enough to resist that... thing. And now my soldiers died for my weakness. In my mind I saw her as a Dorinthian noblewoman. Someone to continue a kingdom's noble lineage with. Gods..." he hisses in disgust. Perhaps the dryad hears him from her distant tree, for she looks at him in a hurt expression before disappearing into her oak once more. Some rigid pride has broken in Cal, and it's not sure whether it is for the better. Although his men still look at him with respect as he passes, he will never forget the tragedy that he was partly responsible for.

"...That really doesn't sound like such a bad idea, now when she's not an insane monster anymore."

The party spends the night guarding the sleeping troops. Cal sleeps furthest from the oak tree, and the dryads do not reappear though the food continues to grow when needed. In the morning, on the crest of the hill, a small band of men can be seen observing your camp.

Barok watches quietly.