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Heritage of Dragonsreach (UPDATED September 4, 2007)
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3578299" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>At the Heart of the Matter</strong></p><p></p><p>As I stood pinioned by the vines, Latan called out to me that were I willing she could help. I agreed immediately, realizing that she probably meant to use a spell I now knew - though I had neglected to prepare it that morning. A moment later I felt the familiar tingling sensation, and between closing my eyes to blink and opening them again I'd moved out of reach of the vine-women to another, less threatening part of the battlefield.</p><p></p><p> Looking back to where I'd stood a breath earlier, I saw the vine-maidens surrounding Latan. I turned my attention then to Hedrin, who had taken cover nearby due to his many wounds. I moved to his side and called on the Lady's healing power for his benefit. </p><p></p><p>I said that my new position was less dangerous than among the vine-maidens, but that isn't quite true. It was only that fewer foes threatened Hedrin and I. We faced the gnarled tree-creature that seemed to lead our enemies. This creature hurled a splinter of its own substance at us that transformed into a javelin as it flew, but thankfully failed to find a target. </p><p></p><p>In return I summoned up one of the spells I had thought to prepare that morning, firing a small bolt of lightning at the tree-thing, but my spell found no more success than our attacker's javelin had. </p><p></p><p>I glanced toward Latan again and saw that the vine-women had ensnared her and were apparently attempting to drag her away. Roland's draconic steed caught hold of her and resisted them. When Latan was free of their grasp, the drakkensteed crushed one of them beneath its claws and took flight.</p><p></p><p>A twig-creature approached my location and I hewed it to tinder with my thinblade. Then the gnarled tree sent one of its roots tunneling through the ground to emerge and strike me a blow that left my head spinning. </p><p></p><p>In the meantime two of the other variety of maiden-like creatures shot some of their thorns into Hedrin. I could see that the thorns must be poisoned and sapping his strength. for he sagged after the thorns struck his flesh. Despite this, Hedrin sent a blast of his eldritch fire at the gnarled tree. Unfortunately it appeared to be under the effect of the same spell I was employing to protect myself, for it was surrounded by a nimbus of whirling loose leaves that made it difficult to see clearly.</p><p></p><p>I murmured my draconic word to relieve Hedrin of his weariness and turned to slay one of the thorn-maids who'd come within reach. Hedrin fired another blast and this time was able to penetrate the gnarled one's defenses. </p><p></p><p>In response, the tree waved its limbs about purposefully and a mass of spiky growths shot out of the earth all around us. We couldn't take a step without impaling ourselves. I drew a scroll from my case and read it out, feeling satisfaction as the dagger-shaped chunk of ice struck the tree and shattered into sharp shards. </p><p></p><p>The tree waved his limbs again and I recognized that he was casting a healing charm. I exclaimed this to Hedrin, feeling my heart sink a little. How could we hope to defeat this enemy if it could heal its own wounds and summon its fallen comrades back to life?</p><p></p><p>Hedrin bent his knees and then with a mighty bound shot out of the area of spiky growth to land nearer the evil tree. He didn't quite escape the area of spikes when he landed, but he kept his feet and summoned another blast against the tree. He missed his aim - but his energy struck a wood golem that had come up behind the command tree.</p><p></p><p>Withdrawing another scroll from its case, I tried again to affect the leader with a spell, with no more success than my previous attempt. I was beginning to despair, I must confess. I couldn't hope to leap out of the spikes the way Hedrin had. I'm not nearly as nimble as he is. My Blessed quickness was of no use in that circumstance.</p><p></p><p>Beyond the gnarled tree I spotted three more plant-creatures appearing, of a different variety than those we'd been struggling with. The newcomers had an air of decay about them that was disturbing.</p><p></p><p>As these new foes appeared, the gnarled one lashed Hedrin with one of his roots as he'd done me, and then another thorn-maid managed to strike me with her thorns. I felt my knees weaken as the poison coursed through my veins. Off to my left I caught a glimpse of Roland's drakkensteed suddenly collapsing to the earth. </p><p></p><p>I knew the drakkensteed wasn't slain, only returned to the Lady's realm, but I still felt a pang of fear when it fell, depriving us of a valuable ally. And now the three new arrivals were advancing menacingly on Latan, who had taken the form of a brown bear to continue her fight. One of them, the most foul-looking of the trio, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. As it did so she transformed back to her natural appearance in its grasp.</p><p></p><p>Behind the foul creatures a fire mephit suddenly appeared, summoned by Latan before she was caught. It flew up and began trying to burn the evil things, though with little success. It was at that moment that Hedrin managed to strike the gnarled tree-lord a telling blast and it fell in splinters. </p><p></p><p>Looking around anxiously to track my friends, I saw Roland, his form overshadowed by the shape of a silver dragon, rushing the hideous plant-creatures. As he did so a second silvery dragon appeared behind his target - a shape I somehow recognized as a ghostly Percy in his true form! Roland cried out in the Draconic tongue, and suddenly Latan was free.</p><p></p><p>I was so absorbed in this amazing sight that I didn't notice the thorn-maiden attacking me until it was too late - though there was little I could have done to avoid her attack. When her thorns struck me I felt so weary I could hardly keep my feet. </p><p></p><p>I had drawn my bow earlier to try to offer some aid to my friends, but now I was too weak to pull it! And my Blessing of quickness had faded a few moments before, leaving me weary enough then that I had already employed the Draconic word to relieve my fatigue. I knew I wouldn't be able to use the word again to aid myself that day.</p><p></p><p>While I stood there trembling and helpless, Latan called out in Silver Cant that she meant to go with the hideous plant-things! She begged the rest of us to let her go. Roland exclaimed, "No!" in a fierce tone. I summoned up a restorative from the Lady's healing Blessing and recovered some of my strength, though I was still trapped amid the spikes and weakened by the poison.</p><p></p><p>Latan cried, "Let me go! I have to go to the heart. It's my prophecy." I wasn't certain quite what she meant, but in any case there was nothing I could do to aid her or stop the plant-creature from carrying her off. They began to move toward a dark opening amid the dead vegetation filling the area.</p><p></p><p>I couldn't see or hear what happened next, but Latan told me later. The plant-monster, some blighted evil thing that despised the very natural forces of which it was made, growled to her that she would replace this - and opened its torso to reveal its blackened, rotted heart.</p><p></p><p>Latan, realizing that perhaps going to the heart might not mean quite what she had previously thought, thrust her hand into the creature's inner cavity and attempted to wrest out its heart! She still held a flame in her hand from a spell she had been using against the other plant-creatures. When her burning hand contacted the evil thing's heart the flames turned to silver and flared out through its plant-flesh. Its woody skin snapped shut on her hand. </p><p></p><p>Latan told me that she could feel the Lady's energy filling the creature as she continued to grip his heart. As the silver flame expanded, his body turned to dust. Latan was left standing by the dark hole through which the creature had come, holding in her hands a purified crystal that resembled a mandrake root.</p><p></p><p>The creature's two companions slumped to the ground in heaps of decomposing leaves when their leader fell. The rest of the plant-creatures had all fallen but for one of the thorn-maidens, who fled into the jungle. </p><p></p><p>Once we had assured ourselves of Pimani's safety, we assembled around Latan to see what she held. She told us that the creature had come from another plane, a place of absolute evil, but the portal had closed once the creature died. </p><p></p><p>Latan then knelt and dug a hole in the ground where she stood, burying the strange crystal. As soon as she had covered it with soil, the dead vegetation around us began to turn green once more. We felt the oppressive sense of decay in the area vanish as leaves unfurled and blossoms opened. </p><p></p><p>Moments later a sapling emerged from the soil over the buried crystal and began to enlarge rapidly until I saw that it was no ordinary tree but a treant! Within its woody flesh I caught a glimpse of the crystal, set just where a heart would be in other creatures. The treant grew to full size in little time, but Latan determined that it was not quite fully conscious yet.</p><p></p><p>As we were all weary and badly wounded, we decided that we would be safe resting in this newly cleansed clearing. Once we had administered what healing we could to ourselves, I settled down amid the new treant's roots and began to tell him a story. It's an old story that has long been told among the Tel'Quessir of the origins of the treants. I thought he might enjoy it.</p><p></p><p>The next morning the treant had fully awakened. Latan gave it the name Ladyheart in honor of its divinely-inspired birth. Ladyheart thanked us for destroying the monsters and cleansing the jungle. In gratitude he gave us an acorn that can be used to summon one of his kindred to our aid in time of need. </p><p></p><p>I feel a sense of peace and optimism in the wake of this amazing event. We still must find the village and warn the other Blessed, but what happened here makes me more confident of our success. The Lady is truly with us. </p><p>_____________________</p><p></p><p><strong>Quips & Quotes:</strong></p><p></p><p>Zora: "The creatures are made of tinder, twigs, dry wood... If you apply <em>produce flame</em> often enough they'll catch fire."</p><p>sniffles: "They're made of tindertwigs? They should catch fire really easily!"</p><p></p><p>Jubilee: "I look through my familiar's eyes."</p><p>Devo: "You see a paw, a tree, the sky, a paw, a tree, the sky..."</p><p></p><p>Jubilee: "I grab his heart and yank it out. Is that a disarm?"</p><p>Zora: "It's a dishearten."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3578299, member: 30035"] [b]At the Heart of the Matter[/b] As I stood pinioned by the vines, Latan called out to me that were I willing she could help. I agreed immediately, realizing that she probably meant to use a spell I now knew - though I had neglected to prepare it that morning. A moment later I felt the familiar tingling sensation, and between closing my eyes to blink and opening them again I'd moved out of reach of the vine-women to another, less threatening part of the battlefield. Looking back to where I'd stood a breath earlier, I saw the vine-maidens surrounding Latan. I turned my attention then to Hedrin, who had taken cover nearby due to his many wounds. I moved to his side and called on the Lady's healing power for his benefit. I said that my new position was less dangerous than among the vine-maidens, but that isn't quite true. It was only that fewer foes threatened Hedrin and I. We faced the gnarled tree-creature that seemed to lead our enemies. This creature hurled a splinter of its own substance at us that transformed into a javelin as it flew, but thankfully failed to find a target. In return I summoned up one of the spells I had thought to prepare that morning, firing a small bolt of lightning at the tree-thing, but my spell found no more success than our attacker's javelin had. I glanced toward Latan again and saw that the vine-women had ensnared her and were apparently attempting to drag her away. Roland's draconic steed caught hold of her and resisted them. When Latan was free of their grasp, the drakkensteed crushed one of them beneath its claws and took flight. A twig-creature approached my location and I hewed it to tinder with my thinblade. Then the gnarled tree sent one of its roots tunneling through the ground to emerge and strike me a blow that left my head spinning. In the meantime two of the other variety of maiden-like creatures shot some of their thorns into Hedrin. I could see that the thorns must be poisoned and sapping his strength. for he sagged after the thorns struck his flesh. Despite this, Hedrin sent a blast of his eldritch fire at the gnarled tree. Unfortunately it appeared to be under the effect of the same spell I was employing to protect myself, for it was surrounded by a nimbus of whirling loose leaves that made it difficult to see clearly. I murmured my draconic word to relieve Hedrin of his weariness and turned to slay one of the thorn-maids who'd come within reach. Hedrin fired another blast and this time was able to penetrate the gnarled one's defenses. In response, the tree waved its limbs about purposefully and a mass of spiky growths shot out of the earth all around us. We couldn't take a step without impaling ourselves. I drew a scroll from my case and read it out, feeling satisfaction as the dagger-shaped chunk of ice struck the tree and shattered into sharp shards. The tree waved his limbs again and I recognized that he was casting a healing charm. I exclaimed this to Hedrin, feeling my heart sink a little. How could we hope to defeat this enemy if it could heal its own wounds and summon its fallen comrades back to life? Hedrin bent his knees and then with a mighty bound shot out of the area of spiky growth to land nearer the evil tree. He didn't quite escape the area of spikes when he landed, but he kept his feet and summoned another blast against the tree. He missed his aim - but his energy struck a wood golem that had come up behind the command tree. Withdrawing another scroll from its case, I tried again to affect the leader with a spell, with no more success than my previous attempt. I was beginning to despair, I must confess. I couldn't hope to leap out of the spikes the way Hedrin had. I'm not nearly as nimble as he is. My Blessed quickness was of no use in that circumstance. Beyond the gnarled tree I spotted three more plant-creatures appearing, of a different variety than those we'd been struggling with. The newcomers had an air of decay about them that was disturbing. As these new foes appeared, the gnarled one lashed Hedrin with one of his roots as he'd done me, and then another thorn-maid managed to strike me with her thorns. I felt my knees weaken as the poison coursed through my veins. Off to my left I caught a glimpse of Roland's drakkensteed suddenly collapsing to the earth. I knew the drakkensteed wasn't slain, only returned to the Lady's realm, but I still felt a pang of fear when it fell, depriving us of a valuable ally. And now the three new arrivals were advancing menacingly on Latan, who had taken the form of a brown bear to continue her fight. One of them, the most foul-looking of the trio, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. As it did so she transformed back to her natural appearance in its grasp. Behind the foul creatures a fire mephit suddenly appeared, summoned by Latan before she was caught. It flew up and began trying to burn the evil things, though with little success. It was at that moment that Hedrin managed to strike the gnarled tree-lord a telling blast and it fell in splinters. Looking around anxiously to track my friends, I saw Roland, his form overshadowed by the shape of a silver dragon, rushing the hideous plant-creatures. As he did so a second silvery dragon appeared behind his target - a shape I somehow recognized as a ghostly Percy in his true form! Roland cried out in the Draconic tongue, and suddenly Latan was free. I was so absorbed in this amazing sight that I didn't notice the thorn-maiden attacking me until it was too late - though there was little I could have done to avoid her attack. When her thorns struck me I felt so weary I could hardly keep my feet. I had drawn my bow earlier to try to offer some aid to my friends, but now I was too weak to pull it! And my Blessing of quickness had faded a few moments before, leaving me weary enough then that I had already employed the Draconic word to relieve my fatigue. I knew I wouldn't be able to use the word again to aid myself that day. While I stood there trembling and helpless, Latan called out in Silver Cant that she meant to go with the hideous plant-things! She begged the rest of us to let her go. Roland exclaimed, "No!" in a fierce tone. I summoned up a restorative from the Lady's healing Blessing and recovered some of my strength, though I was still trapped amid the spikes and weakened by the poison. Latan cried, "Let me go! I have to go to the heart. It's my prophecy." I wasn't certain quite what she meant, but in any case there was nothing I could do to aid her or stop the plant-creature from carrying her off. They began to move toward a dark opening amid the dead vegetation filling the area. I couldn't see or hear what happened next, but Latan told me later. The plant-monster, some blighted evil thing that despised the very natural forces of which it was made, growled to her that she would replace this - and opened its torso to reveal its blackened, rotted heart. Latan, realizing that perhaps going to the heart might not mean quite what she had previously thought, thrust her hand into the creature's inner cavity and attempted to wrest out its heart! She still held a flame in her hand from a spell she had been using against the other plant-creatures. When her burning hand contacted the evil thing's heart the flames turned to silver and flared out through its plant-flesh. Its woody skin snapped shut on her hand. Latan told me that she could feel the Lady's energy filling the creature as she continued to grip his heart. As the silver flame expanded, his body turned to dust. Latan was left standing by the dark hole through which the creature had come, holding in her hands a purified crystal that resembled a mandrake root. The creature's two companions slumped to the ground in heaps of decomposing leaves when their leader fell. The rest of the plant-creatures had all fallen but for one of the thorn-maidens, who fled into the jungle. Once we had assured ourselves of Pimani's safety, we assembled around Latan to see what she held. She told us that the creature had come from another plane, a place of absolute evil, but the portal had closed once the creature died. Latan then knelt and dug a hole in the ground where she stood, burying the strange crystal. As soon as she had covered it with soil, the dead vegetation around us began to turn green once more. We felt the oppressive sense of decay in the area vanish as leaves unfurled and blossoms opened. Moments later a sapling emerged from the soil over the buried crystal and began to enlarge rapidly until I saw that it was no ordinary tree but a treant! Within its woody flesh I caught a glimpse of the crystal, set just where a heart would be in other creatures. The treant grew to full size in little time, but Latan determined that it was not quite fully conscious yet. As we were all weary and badly wounded, we decided that we would be safe resting in this newly cleansed clearing. Once we had administered what healing we could to ourselves, I settled down amid the new treant's roots and began to tell him a story. It's an old story that has long been told among the Tel'Quessir of the origins of the treants. I thought he might enjoy it. The next morning the treant had fully awakened. Latan gave it the name Ladyheart in honor of its divinely-inspired birth. Ladyheart thanked us for destroying the monsters and cleansing the jungle. In gratitude he gave us an acorn that can be used to summon one of his kindred to our aid in time of need. I feel a sense of peace and optimism in the wake of this amazing event. We still must find the village and warn the other Blessed, but what happened here makes me more confident of our success. The Lady is truly with us. _____________________ [B]Quips & Quotes:[/B] Zora: "The creatures are made of tinder, twigs, dry wood... If you apply [I]produce flame[/I] often enough they'll catch fire." sniffles: "They're made of tindertwigs? They should catch fire really easily!" Jubilee: "I look through my familiar's eyes." Devo: "You see a paw, a tree, the sky, a paw, a tree, the sky..." Jubilee: "I grab his heart and yank it out. Is that a disarm?" Zora: "It's a dishearten." [/QUOTE]
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