Solarious said:
Methinks he's being generous!
That's what I always say
And as an example of said generosity, here's the last bit of last session:
**************************************************************
Luna pokes Nameless awake and tells him what just happened. The alienist promptly commands the
tiny hut to shed a dim light to improve visibility, and then casts a
detect magic.
Luna, meanwhile, calls on her shifter heritage. Her face immediately becomes more bestial and her sense of smell improves. She begins to sniff around the area, while Six searches in a more mundane manner.
As they are doing so, Nameless points to a spot near his bedroll. “There’s a lingering magical aura here. Someone recently used conjuration magic here. I should be able to tell the power of the magic by how long the aura lingers.”
Luna sniffs the area he indicates and then wrinkles her nose, which currently resembles a deformed muzzle. “There’s a scent here, but I don’t recognize it. It’s musty. Like something old that hasn’t got much air.” She wrinkles her nose again. “And the smell of wet hair.”
“Wet hair?” queries Gurr’khan, whom (along with Korm) Gareth has awakened.
“Yes. Strange.”
Six, kneeling near Luna, points to a spot a short step from her. “There’s a mark here. See where the moss is flattened? I think it was made by a boot, but it’s difficult to say.” he rises and walks around in a circle, checking the ground and spiralling wider and wider till he stands a good fifty feet from the camp. “No tracks coming in or going out that I can find.”
Nameless, who has been focusing on the magical aura while listening to the conversation, interjects, “It just faded away. That took about three minutes, so if it came from a spell, it was anywhere from the 4th to the 6th valence.”
“The smell’s fading too,” says Luna. Then she frowns. “What’s that on your hand, Nameless?”
“What?”
“There.” Luna takes Nameless’s hand and indicates the small dragonshard attached to his ring. Only her incredibly keen eyesight* could have seen it, but now that she points it out Nameless can see a tiny pink glow in the heart of the crystal. He quickly casts another
detect magic and focuses for a few seconds. “Divination magic. Also just a lingering aura. And conjuration, but there’s always a conjuration aura due to the
dimension door power.” A second later, he adds, “It’s gone now.”
“So you don’t know what that was? Where did you get that thing?” asks Gurr’khan.
“We found it on that Desro guy we told you about, the one whose lair you used your
Stone Tell in.”
“Hmm. What do you make of it?”
“Somebody using it to magically spy on us, probably. I didn’t detect any other powers besides the one when I identified its properties, so it shouldn’t have any others.”
“Just because a tree looks healthy doesn’t mean it is. Magic can be fooled. You should be careful with that.”
“I will.”
There is a little more discussion of what just happened, but with no real options to find out more about it and no evident danger at hand, there is little to do but head back to bed or go back on watch.
Luna comments to Six a little worriedly, “I’m really getting tired of all this weird crap happening around us. I’m always wondering what the hell is going to happen next. I probably won’t be able to sleep at all ton....”
Six’s answer is drowned out by the loud snores coming from Korm’s bedroll, outside the
tiny hut.
***
The next morning, Six watches the surrounding landscape as the others sit in a group, focusing their minds on whatever magic they wish to use that day.
Just as they are completing their preparation, Six notices movement in the undergrowth that covers the hill. As he rises to his feet, a man steps out of the bushes some sixty feet away and waves. “Greetings!” he calls loudly, “May I approach?”
“Yes,” replies Six. “We have company, folks,” he says to his companions, who turn to look at the stranger.
The man steps closer, and as he does, he asks loudly, “Who are you that come to the land of the River Snakes?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continues, his voice now taking on a sing-song tone, “Is this not a beautiful land? It is rich in the bounty of the Marches, with many beasts to hunt. We are brave hunters, we that are the River Snakes. Let me tell you of my people.” As he continues to speak, he drops a hand to his belt, where a small lyre hangs, and deftly flicks the strings.
As a chord accompanies his words, which continue unabated, the Angels find themselves mesmerized** by the speech. A small voice in each of their heads tells them that this is strange, that they are being magically entranced by the words of a bard, and that they need to act now. But the voice is drowned out by the speaker’s words.
The man approaches at a careful pace, and then, from the trees and bushes behind him, more people arise. Five are orcs, with two half-orcs and a pair of humans. All are tall and muscular, garbed in studded leather armor, with the hilts of falchions are visible above their shoulders. Except one, who wears what looks like thick and unusually bulky hide armor, and carries a shield. All of them have large tattoos of snakes running down each arm, as does the bard.
The man with the shield steps to the side of the bard, while the others split into two groups and walk around them. The Angels notice their approach, but their magically-induced fascination with the bard does not cease.
Fortunately for them, they have a powerful ally. Gurr’khan finally manages to break free of the enchantment and surges to his feet with a yell. “Snap out of it! We’re under attack!”
As soon as he does so, the intruders shout orcish war-cries and reach for their scimitars. The fascination of the Angels is promptly broken, especially since the bard too ends his mesmerizing speech. Instead, he shouts, “Let the serpent’s coils engulf their prey! Barbarians, attack!”
The shield-bearing man quickly steps before the bard, drawing his battleaxe and raising it to the sky. He screams wordlessly, raises both arms and brings them down. Tiny motes of light dance about his hands and shoot towards the feet of the other eight attackers, changing into streams of greenish light, which wrap around their legs and raise them slightly above the ground. And then, though their legs do not move, they are propelled forward into the Angels. As the light flows behind them, it resembles nothing so much as the undulating coils of giant green snakes.***
“What the…?“ says Luna, staring at the sight, before Gurr’khan shouts, “River Snake magic. Let’s them move into position faster. Stop staring do something!”
“Done,“ says Luna, dropping to all fours as she transforms into a large bear. While she does, Korm and Gurr’khan bring
flame strikes down on the bard and his ally, also striking some of the raging barbarians rushing by them. While all of the targets stagger and are badly burned, none go down, the barbarians due to sheer mindless rage and the two leaders because they evidently have some magical protection that lessens the damage.
“Try walking through this,” mutters Nameless, conjuring a
solid fog to envelop four of the barbarians. Gareth settles for creating a
magic circle to protect himself and nearby allies, while Six, some distance ahead of his allies, swings his chain and prepares for the first foe to come within reach.
And then the barbarians are among them, howling their blood lust and calling to the Dragon Below to grant them strength. Even in their battle rage, they are canny enough to double up against opponents, seemingly well-trained in fighting as pairs, simultaneously swinging falchions in blows that are as powerful as the best that Korm or Six can land.
Luna and Korm face two enemies on one flank, while Six darts in and out on another, keeping the other pair occupied. For a few seconds, they face only the four attackers, but then the bard
dispels the
fog and the others are charging in too.
Realizing that Six will quickly be overrun, Nameless attempts a
summons to help him block the charge. And then swears in frustration as only one pseudonatural wolf appears. While it engages one of the barbarians, another rushes to engage Six, and two more rush at Korm and Luna.
Korm scowls, noting the shifting odds, “Stay by my side, Luna. We can’t let them get by.” Luna growls her agreement and sets herself by the big orc. She slashes out at one attacker, staggering him enough for Korm to swiftly decapitate him. Even as he falls, another takes his place, falchion slashing down to lay open Luna’s shoulder.
Another one manages to get past the two druids, but Gareth, behind them, blocks him from heading for Nameless and Gurr’khan. Kizmet creates sparks off the edge of the barbarian’s falchion, and Gareth catches a quick glimpse of the same markings that they found on the weapon in the chuul lair, before the sword swings back viciously to gash his side. “I could use some healing,” Gareth calls, causing Korm, already bleeding from multiple wounds, to shout back between sword-blows, “I‘m a little … fricking … busy … here!!”
Across the battlefield, Six continues to hold his side of the line, darting back and forth around two of the barbarians, forming an elusive target, but one too dangerous to ignore. Nameless’ wolf and the barbarian facing it slash away at each other, eventually bringing each other down.
With the enemies not yet reaching them, Nameless and Gurr’khan are free to again bring down explosive spells on the two leaders. But as they are casting, the bard speaks a quick word and disappears, though his voice continues to be heard. The spells come down on only the axe-wielder, who has just finished drinking a potion to cure some of his wounds.
He screams in agony and falls to his knees, but somehow remains conscious. Again, he raises his arms and cries an inarticulate invocation. And again the motes and then serpents of light appear, propelling the barbarians forward into significantly more advantageous positions.
“Damn! Now we‘re in trouble,” mutter Korm, as Luna and he suddenly find their enemies all around them, instead of attacking from only one side. With things steadily getting worse, Korm gives himself over to the battle-frenzy too, feeling rage give him extra strength and durability. Even so, he knows it is not likely to be enough. Six staggers back under paired attacks from enemies who suddenly flank him. Even more worryingly, the invisible bard’s voice can be heard in the casting of a
haste spell, further empowering them.
For a moment, it seems the Angels will be instantly overwhelmed, but Gurr’khan buys them a little extra time. He throws a piece of mistletoe in the air and calls forth his most powerful spell. A rain of green droplets stream down from the air, touching only the Angels. Wherever they touch, wounds heal and pain disappears, but they fade away much too soon.
Relieved at the extra healing, Luna rears up and comes down with all her weight, claws and fangs bringing down an enemy in bloody ruin. Beside her, Korm draws upon his rage, launching a mighty blow that smashes through another enemy’s defenses. His sword smashes through the enemy orc’s falchion, armor and chest all in one. But the rage makes Korm reckless too, and there are now enemies all around him to seize the opportunity. Gareth’s foe spins around and slashes down, laying Korm’s back open to the bone. The big orc collapses****, blood pooling around him. As he falls, Gareth calls to the Flame and smites the attacker, killing him instantly.
“Korm!“ shouts Luna, though it emerges only as a growl. She shoulders aside an enemy and rushes forward heedlessly, reaching forth a paw. Luna growls out a spell, and instantly a cocoon of force envelops Korm, simultaneously healing and protecting him.
The act is costly. Focused on healing Korm, she has no defense as two falchions slash down on her, and Luna collapses***** against the cocoon, leaving a thick trail of blood as she slides off. As she falls, Luna feels the beast spirit that lives within her stir, sending a trickle of stored magical power into her ravaged body to prevent her soul from fleeing. There is also a strange tingle from the symbiont that is wrapped around her forepaw, but even as she wonders what it might be, unconsciousness takes her.
Again, Gareth takes the opportunity to avenge an ally and smites down one of the pair that dropped Luna, but the other turns and rush Nameless and Gurr’khan. The alienist is in the middle of casting another spell, this one conjuring up two wolves, one of which rips out the axe-wielding leader's throat, while the other brings down one of Six’s wounded enemies (and leaves him free to dispatch the other).
Unfortunately, Nameless has had to advance ahead of Gurr'khan to bring the targets within range of the spell, and as he completes it, the screaming barbarian rushes into him. The alienist tries to backpedal, but his enemy is too quick, and a couple of slashes drop him in a bloodied heap******. The barbarian howls in triumph and turns to chop at Gurr’khan. The druid growls as he takes a cut across the chest, the sound deepening into a roar as he transforms into a bear, this one even larger and more feral than the form Luna takes.
The barbarian only snarls and raises his falchion, and then turns at the sound of a charging Gareth. Even in the middle of the combat, with allies lying bloody and unconscious across the field, the paladin cannot keep from smiling as he yells, “Don’t worry, Gurr’khan - I’ll save you!” As the barbarian turns, Gareth calls again to the flame and brings Kizmet down in a gleaming arc, splitting his skull down to the chin. Gurr’khan gestures with a paw and he quickly turns to see their last enemy in full flight.
Though all of the barbarians fight to the death, the bard is smarter. Having reappeared only to swig a potion, he flies away as fast as he can, making no attempt to rise and just skimming the swamp in an attempt at increased speed.
Smart though he may be, his timing is a little off. Unlike Gurr’khan and Gareth, too far away to do much, Six is much closer at hand. The big warforged hurriedly grabs his longbow. Reaching into his quiver for one of the magical
frost arrows recovered months ago from the Daask gnolls, Six forces himself to be calm and carefully take aim at the receding target.
“Not so fast,“ he mutters, as much to to the fleeing bard as to himself, and then releases the bowstring. There is a moment of hopeful anticipation, and then the bard screams, cartwheels in mid-air, and splashes into the water below him. As he sinks, Six rushes forward as fast as he can go and, reaching the nearest piece of land, dives after him.
While Gurr’khan, after growling at Gareth for his temerity, takes care of Luna, Gareth revives Nameless. Presumably for the sole pleasure of being able to inform him as he regains consciousness, “Don’t worry - you’re fine now. I saved you.”
As Luna and Korm regain consciousness and a fully healed Korm emerges from the cocoon, they are momentarily startled to see the bard’s head, eyes closed, floating through the water a hundred feet away. Gareth and Gurr’khan stop them before any spells can be hurled, and a few moments later the rest of the bard emerges, carried by Six as he wades ashore.
Staggering to his feet (and ignoring Gareth), Nameless says grimly, “I don’t know who these River Snakes are, but does anyone here mind exterminating them?”
Korm shrugs. “No problem with that whatsoever.” Expecting Luna to express a similar opinion and hearing nothing, Korm looks at her to see the still-bloodied druidess, now back in shifter form, staring at the symbiont on her arm.
“I feel strange,” she mutters, and then her eyes go wide as she realizes what feels different.
* +20 on Spot checks now.
** DC 35 Fascination
*** Marshal’s Grant Move Action ability, with a little added flavor
**** First one past -10
***** Second one past -10
***** Third one past -10
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
