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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3411596" data-attributes="member: 35788">Charis looked into the forest.  “I wonder how long we’ll have until the next one?”Ischarus breathed in deep and listened to the wind.  “Well, if the first call that the creature gave out was any indication, I don’t think it will be long.  The call before the one that brought up the magical barrier was definitely one for alarm.”Semeion turned and looked at the fallen beast.  He knew it would live.  Hopefully they would be long gone before it recovered.  “I’ve read that many primates actually will use a call as an alarm when intruders enter their area.  This one certainly was trained enough to not call immediately, but only when it felt it was necessary to fight.”Semeion was barely able to complete his thought when a blur made up of light brown and blue flashed by his face.  His shoulder immediately throbbed in pain as two fangs jabbed through the skin and drew blood.  His head turned and saw that he was being attacked by a very large baboon.  The baboon easily weighed over one hundred and forty pounds and when it stood it was almost five feet in height.  The creature bounced of Semeion and hopped to its feet.From above the party in a set of trees, another baboon leapt into the air.  This baboon crashed to the earth on top of Rhema.  It was almost as if the baboons were intelligent enough to know which party members to assault.  Semeion and Rhema were clearly the weakest of the party and would go down first.  Yet, Rhema was able to evade the blow from above as she rolled out of the way.As she rolled back onto her feet, Rhema drew out her crystal sword.  The blade hummed with its own psychic energy within.  Rhema sliced through the air with the edge of the blade, but her sword bounced off of an invisible barrier in front of the baboon.  In her mind, Rhema heard the mutterings of the scarlet crystal that she had come to know intimately since it had called out to her from within Braagh’s case at the Translucent Corymb.  “This one already has its defenses up.  We’ve been ambushed!”Rhema took no time in relaying the message.  “The baboons are advanced and prepared!  They were waiting for the right time to attack!”Ischarus stepped up beside his wife and swung hard with his sword.  His blade had not yet been sheathed since the end of the assault by the ape.  However, the hurry to come to her aid made his aim less than stellar.  The baboon hardly needed to move to evade the blow.Charis’ blow against the same baboon didn’t miss its mark.  She desired to rush to Semeion’s aid, but she knew that if she helped Ischarus by fighting from the opposite side of the baboon that they would finish the battle more quickly.  While her pick sunk into the flesh of the baboon and left a slice along the creature’s leg, Charis yelled out instructions to her husband.  “Just don’t get hit, we’ll be there in a second!”The baboon that had originally attacked Rhema now found itself surrounded.  Ischarus and Charis fought from opposite sides while Rhema attacked from Ischarus’ flank.  The beast had no outlet but to try and fight madly and bring down the weakest of the trio.  It lunged forward in an attempt to bite Rhema, but she was able to duck and dodge again to avoid being hit.In spite of her defensive posturing, Rhema was able to manage to land a clean strike against the creature.  Her crystalline friend shouted victoriously at the strike, praising her in her mind for managing to slip past the baboon’s invisible barrier.  Had she not been quite so defensive, Rhema had a chance to strike at one of the creature’s vital organs.  Instead, she merely left a bloody streak across the baboon’s belly.  She had only grazed the skin.Ischarus had enough of the baboon’s attacks.  “Thin Zecka Egro.”  He called out the magical words as he lined up a massive strike against the baboon.  His sword flashed through the air and landed with considerable aim.  The blow itself would not have been enough to drop the baboon.  As the sword cut into the creature’s shoulder, light green electricity jumped out of his fingers and danced for an instant upon the hilt of the sword.  Once they found their direction towards the baboon the green electric sparks leapt down the blade in a zigzag pattern – often passing through the sharp steel in route from one side to the other.The baboon jerked and convulsed for several seconds before Ischarus could remove his sword.  The blade separated from the baboon and the creature’s eyes rolled back into its head.  Its body had been pushed to the brink of death.Ischarus couldn’t stand the thought that his blow might have been too powerful.  “Charis, try to save the monkey.  Rhema and I will get the one off of Semeion.”Charis nodded and knelt beside the helpless baboon.  There was life still inside of it.  Much like the ape only moments before, Charis was able to help the baboon stabilize and rest naturally before it could die.  “Done!”Semeion and the baboon made no concrete efforts toward damaging each other during the contest.  They had each swung several times, but neither of them could land any blows.  Semeion wasn’t exactly trying to hit, however.  Semeion’s goal was to keep the baboon at bay while using his sword to parry any incoming assault.  He knew that if he could stay on his feet long enough that Charis and Ischarus would eventually come to help.Ophee had approached the baboon from the side, but the creature managed to dodge each of Ophee’s attacks as well.  When she realized that she lacked the necessary skill with the blade to do any significant damage, she brought a familiar set of arcane words to mind.  “Daancrah”  On the exact opposite side of the baboon as she stood, a panther appeared.  Ophee hoped that the panther would be close enough to a natural predator that it might scare the baboon.The baboon had an advantage over Ophee, however.  The baboon’s nose told the creature that although its eyes were seeing a panther immediately beside it, the panther simply wasn’t there.  The baboon blinked and focused on the panther for a second and watched it vanish from sight.  Ophee knew that her simple illusion hadn’t quite done the job.  The baboon turned to Ophee and laughed as if it understood exactly what had happened.Semeion didn’t expect that it was Rhema who would come to his aid first – much less through the use of her sword.  As Rhema approached, the baboon landed a glancing blow with its fangs.  Rhema took advantage of the distraction from the primate and moved behind the creature.  While it occupied itself with Semeion, she drove the dark crystalline sword into the baboon’s back.  The primate howled from the unexpected attack.Ischarus moved in to help Semeion as he had promised to Charis.  The baboon saw him coming, however.  The creature realized that it was alone once Rhema had managed to attack it.  With the warning from Rhema’s attack, the baboon dodged out of the way of Ischarus’ sword.Charis rose up from her knees once she knew that the baboon that had already been gravely injured would not immediately die.  Her fingers reached out for the end of her pick, which she had laid upon the ground.  Her fingers fumbled at the grip and she rose without managing to grab hold of the weapon.  She thought about stopping to pick it up, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to help Ischarus flank the creature if she stopped.  She quickly unfastened the clasp which held the end of her hammer to her belt and approached the baboon for a strike.  The timing of her attack was just off, and the head of the hammer sailed wide.The baboon was no fool.  It was now completely surrounded.  The only escape that it could possibly hope for was to leap into the air and hope to latch onto a branch that was strong enough to hold its weight.  As the primate left the ground, each of the party took a free swing at the retreating creature’s body.  The baboon used its powerful legs to spring into the air and its dexterous hands found a branch to which it could cling for a second.Ischarus, Rhema, and Semeion were each able to land a successful strike as the primate leapt out of the center of the battle.  Although the blows were more than glancing strikes, the cumulative effect was not enough to bring the creature to the ground.  The baboon hung off of the branch for a second while it regained its momentum and shot upwards into the tree.In an instant Ischarus, Charis, and Ophee each had their bows drawn.  Semeion swore they had knocked an arrow before their dropped blades struck the ground around their feet.  Ischarus’ arrow sailed through the air with tremendous accuracy and nearly plucked the primate to the ground single-handedly.  Charis’ arrow had a nearly devastating effect as it snapped in half when she released the string.  Ophee’s arrow sailed through the air and stuck the primate in the back.The baboon gripped the tree tightly as it fought for life.  After several seconds the baboon fell out of the tree to the ground.  Although it struck the ground with a decent amount of force, the baboon was lucky enough to land on a side that didn’t have arrows sticking out of it.Charis ran over to the creature’s side and checked for signs of life.  “It’s only stunned!  It should live.”  In spite of the fact that the creatures had been trying to kill them, she wore a smile upon her face.  She turned to Ophee and nodded affirmatively.  “Nice shot.”Ophee smiled back.  “Well, after watching you make sure the other baboon didn’t die after Ischarus’ great strike, I knew I couldn’t kill that one.  I was just trying to keep it from escaping.  I had to hope the fall wouldn’t kill it.”Rhema patted Ophee on the shoulder in congratulations.  “You learn quickly.  We don’t kill anything with intelligence, ever.  These things are animals, of course.  But they are animals with intelligence nonetheless.”Ischarus also congratulated Ophee.  “Good shot, Ophee.”Indeed, it was a good shot.  Perhaps more importantly, she hadn’t frozen this time.  She hadn’t quite been effective in the beginning, but she had come through gloriously in the end.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Charis looked into the forest. “I wonder how long we’ll have until the next one?”Ischarus breathed in deep and listened to the wind. “Well, if the first call that the creature gave out was any indication, I don’t think it will be long. The call before the one that brought up the magical barrier was definitely one for alarm.”Semeion turned and looked at the fallen beast. He knew it would live. Hopefully they would be long gone before it recovered. “I’ve read that many primates actually will use a call as an alarm when intruders enter their area. This one certainly was trained enough to not call immediately, but only when it felt it was necessary to fight.”Semeion was barely able to complete his thought when a blur made up of light brown and blue flashed by his face. His shoulder immediately throbbed in pain as two fangs jabbed through the skin and drew blood. His head turned and saw that he was being attacked by a very large baboon. The baboon easily weighed over one hundred and forty pounds and when it stood it was almost five feet in height. The creature bounced of Semeion and hopped to its feet.From above the party in a set of trees, another baboon leapt into the air. This baboon crashed to the earth on top of Rhema. It was almost as if the baboons were intelligent enough to know which party members to assault. Semeion and Rhema were clearly the weakest of the party and would go down first. Yet, Rhema was able to evade the blow from above as she rolled out of the way.As she rolled back onto her feet, Rhema drew out her crystal sword. The blade hummed with its own psychic energy within. Rhema sliced through the air with the edge of the blade, but her sword bounced off of an invisible barrier in front of the baboon. In her mind, Rhema heard the mutterings of the scarlet crystal that she had come to know intimately since it had called out to her from within Braagh’s case at the Translucent Corymb. “This one already has its defenses up. We’ve been ambushed!”Rhema took no time in relaying the message. “The baboons are advanced and prepared! They were waiting for the right time to attack!”Ischarus stepped up beside his wife and swung hard with his sword. His blade had not yet been sheathed since the end of the assault by the ape. However, the hurry to come to her aid made his aim less than stellar. The baboon hardly needed to move to evade the blow.Charis’ blow against the same baboon didn’t miss its mark. She desired to rush to Semeion’s aid, but she knew that if she helped Ischarus by fighting from the opposite side of the baboon that they would finish the battle more quickly. While her pick sunk into the flesh of the baboon and left a slice along the creature’s leg, Charis yelled out instructions to her husband. “Just don’t get hit, we’ll be there in a second!”The baboon that had originally attacked Rhema now found itself surrounded. Ischarus and Charis fought from opposite sides while Rhema attacked from Ischarus’ flank. The beast had no outlet but to try and fight madly and bring down the weakest of the trio. It lunged forward in an attempt to bite Rhema, but she was able to duck and dodge again to avoid being hit.In spite of her defensive posturing, Rhema was able to manage to land a clean strike against the creature. Her crystalline friend shouted victoriously at the strike, praising her in her mind for managing to slip past the baboon’s invisible barrier. Had she not been quite so defensive, Rhema had a chance to strike at one of the creature’s vital organs. Instead, she merely left a bloody streak across the baboon’s belly. She had only grazed the skin.Ischarus had enough of the baboon’s attacks. “Thin Zecka Egro.” He called out the magical words as he lined up a massive strike against the baboon. His sword flashed through the air and landed with considerable aim. The blow itself would not have been enough to drop the baboon. As the sword cut into the creature’s shoulder, light green electricity jumped out of his fingers and danced for an instant upon the hilt of the sword. Once they found their direction towards the baboon the green electric sparks leapt down the blade in a zigzag pattern – often passing through the sharp steel in route from one side to the other.The baboon jerked and convulsed for several seconds before Ischarus could remove his sword. The blade separated from the baboon and the creature’s eyes rolled back into its head. Its body had been pushed to the brink of death.Ischarus couldn’t stand the thought that his blow might have been too powerful. “Charis, try to save the monkey. Rhema and I will get the one off of Semeion.”Charis nodded and knelt beside the helpless baboon. There was life still inside of it. Much like the ape only moments before, Charis was able to help the baboon stabilize and rest naturally before it could die. “Done!”Semeion and the baboon made no concrete efforts toward damaging each other during the contest. They had each swung several times, but neither of them could land any blows. Semeion wasn’t exactly trying to hit, however. Semeion’s goal was to keep the baboon at bay while using his sword to parry any incoming assault. He knew that if he could stay on his feet long enough that Charis and Ischarus would eventually come to help.Ophee had approached the baboon from the side, but the creature managed to dodge each of Ophee’s attacks as well. When she realized that she lacked the necessary skill with the blade to do any significant damage, she brought a familiar set of arcane words to mind. “Daancrah” On the exact opposite side of the baboon as she stood, a panther appeared. Ophee hoped that the panther would be close enough to a natural predator that it might scare the baboon.The baboon had an advantage over Ophee, however. The baboon’s nose told the creature that although its eyes were seeing a panther immediately beside it, the panther simply wasn’t there. The baboon blinked and focused on the panther for a second and watched it vanish from sight. Ophee knew that her simple illusion hadn’t quite done the job. The baboon turned to Ophee and laughed as if it understood exactly what had happened.Semeion didn’t expect that it was Rhema who would come to his aid first – much less through the use of her sword. As Rhema approached, the baboon landed a glancing blow with its fangs. Rhema took advantage of the distraction from the primate and moved behind the creature. While it occupied itself with Semeion, she drove the dark crystalline sword into the baboon’s back. The primate howled from the unexpected attack.Ischarus moved in to help Semeion as he had promised to Charis. The baboon saw him coming, however. The creature realized that it was alone once Rhema had managed to attack it. With the warning from Rhema’s attack, the baboon dodged out of the way of Ischarus’ sword.Charis rose up from her knees once she knew that the baboon that had already been gravely injured would not immediately die. Her fingers reached out for the end of her pick, which she had laid upon the ground. Her fingers fumbled at the grip and she rose without managing to grab hold of the weapon. She thought about stopping to pick it up, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to help Ischarus flank the creature if she stopped. She quickly unfastened the clasp which held the end of her hammer to her belt and approached the baboon for a strike. The timing of her attack was just off, and the head of the hammer sailed wide.The baboon was no fool. It was now completely surrounded. The only escape that it could possibly hope for was to leap into the air and hope to latch onto a branch that was strong enough to hold its weight. As the primate left the ground, each of the party took a free swing at the retreating creature’s body. The baboon used its powerful legs to spring into the air and its dexterous hands found a branch to which it could cling for a second.Ischarus, Rhema, and Semeion were each able to land a successful strike as the primate leapt out of the center of the battle. Although the blows were more than glancing strikes, the cumulative effect was not enough to bring the creature to the ground. The baboon hung off of the branch for a second while it regained its momentum and shot upwards into the tree.In an instant Ischarus, Charis, and Ophee each had their bows drawn. Semeion swore they had knocked an arrow before their dropped blades struck the ground around their feet. Ischarus’ arrow sailed through the air with tremendous accuracy and nearly plucked the primate to the ground single-handedly. Charis’ arrow had a nearly devastating effect as it snapped in half when she released the string. Ophee’s arrow sailed through the air and stuck the primate in the back.The baboon gripped the tree tightly as it fought for life. After several seconds the baboon fell out of the tree to the ground. Although it struck the ground with a decent amount of force, the baboon was lucky enough to land on a side that didn’t have arrows sticking out of it.Charis ran over to the creature’s side and checked for signs of life. “It’s only stunned! It should live.” In spite of the fact that the creatures had been trying to kill them, she wore a smile upon her face. She turned to Ophee and nodded affirmatively. “Nice shot.”Ophee smiled back. “Well, after watching you make sure the other baboon didn’t die after Ischarus’ great strike, I knew I couldn’t kill that one. I was just trying to keep it from escaping. I had to hope the fall wouldn’t kill it.”Rhema patted Ophee on the shoulder in congratulations. “You learn quickly. We don’t kill anything with intelligence, ever. These things are animals, of course. But they are animals with intelligence nonetheless.”Ischarus also congratulated Ophee. “Good shot, Ophee.”Indeed, it was a good shot. Perhaps more importantly, she hadn’t frozen this time. She hadn’t quite been effective in the beginning, but she had come through gloriously in the end. [/Sblock]</blockquote>

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