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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7468173" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 183For a moment, overwhelmed by the sudden and incongruous appearance of the creature, Glori hesitated.That moment quite nearly cost her, but even as the owlbear reared up to strike Kosk slammed into it from the side.  The end of his staff cracked into the right side of its face just behind its beak, drawing from it a sharp hiss of pain.  Even as it started to turn he spun the staff around and slammed the other end into the brow just above its left eye.The response was immediate and violent.  The creature slashed at him with its claws, trying to envelop him in a bone-shattering hug.  The dwarf escaped that, but at a cost of several long slashes to his robe that revealed the bloody rents underneath.  He tried to leap backwards, but before he could get clear the beak snapped down and tore a long hunk of flesh from his left shoulder.  The force of the blow knocked him aside, but he came up in a roll that put him back on his feet, if rather the worse for wear.The owlbear started after him, but before it could resume its ferocious attack the dwarf’s companions came to his aid.  Glori had recovered and held her lyre, but she realized that any spells she might hurl would be as likely to harm her companions as their opponent.  But the long hours of training that she and Bredan had gone through quickly reasserted themselves, and she let the lyre drop as she drew her sword in one fluid motion.  Due to the dense growth she could not see far past the creature, but she could hear the loud din of battle from further ahead along their path.  It appeared that the creature was not alone, and from what she could hear the Rangers were fully engaged.That did not stop her from rushing forward, but before she could get close enough to bring her weapon to bear her companions pressed their attacks.  She heard rather than saw Majerion’s contribution, as the creature’s bulk blocked all but a glimpse of his hat before he stabbed at it with his rapier.  The monster hooted in pain, telling her that he’d scored, but it was not enough to turn it from its assault upon Kosk.  But before it could engage him again Embrae darted forward.  The elf woman looked pathetically frail in contrast with the huge creature, but when she drove the palm of her hand into its left foreleg Glori could hear the snap of bone.  The owlbear clearly felt that, though the injury did not keep it from a violent sweep of its other claw, one that might have inflicted the same hurt on the monk, had it connected.In a move that caused Glori to blink in amazement, Embrae launched herself into the air.  She tumbled over backwards, her body spinning gracefully in the air.  She cleared the owlbear’s claws by scant inches, so close that the bard wasn’t one hundred percent sure that they had missed, at first.  The owlbear, driven into a frenzy by the damage it had already absorbed, kept coming.  It lunged for the middle of her torso, its beak snapping to seize her out of the air.  The two of them, monster and woman, seemed to merge together in slow motion as Glori watched.  There was nowhere for Embrae to go to avoid that powerful bite, but even as the creature’s beak started to close she reached out and pressed her hand against its forehead, pushing off so that it caught only empty air.Time returned to its normal course as Embrae landed on the uneven ground a few paces away.  She came up in a roll that echoed Kosk’s maneuver earlier, her hands flipping back up into a defense stance as she recovered her footing.Embrae’s escape left Glori facing the owlbear’s fury alone, but this time the bard did not hesitate, thrusting with her sword before it could recover.  She felt the solid impact travel up her arm as the sword pierced its right shoulder.  The creature flinched back.  It lifted its good paw to strike, but she lashed out and struck it another blow that nearly severed several of the bloody claws.  The monster reared, hurt badly now, but its foes kept coming at it from all directions.  She saw Majerion now as he thrust his rapier deep into its flank, moments before Kosk delivered a rib-cracking impact on the other side.  Embrae came forward to stand beside Glori, but her support proved to be unnecessary.  The owlbear was already wavering, and as the companions drew back it tumbled forward.  It landed heavily in the weeds and trampled bushes, huffed out a few labored breaths, and died.</blockquote>

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