Derien's getting light-headed, and in his soul he can feel Netari's power ebbing.
I'm sorry, friends; I can't protect you anymore.
His companions are meaningless now. He drops them from his attention, and the battlefield grows quieter. He steps off the bridge, away from the cloaked darkness, and the battle grows quieter yet.
Now all that's left is the hag. The lady of nightmares. The ruler of this wretched pond. A torch in the darkness, glowing with hellfire. Derien's vision narrows, until she's the last thing in the world.
"Fey aren't special. I don't know what I expected."
Derien drops his bow, puts both hands to his strange new holy symbol, and pours out Netari's wrath. The hag screams, but this time its one of fear.
Haruka watches her allies fight around her, and then looks back to her hands.
I can't help them. I'm done. My fire's gone out; I have nothing left.
No. That's not true. There's still one source of fuel remaining. I still have one thing left to burn.
Gods, this is going to hurt.
Haruka clenches her eyes shut and pulls her arms to her chest. She stifles a scream as her entire body erupts in familiar black and red flames. Her clothes do not even smolder, but her flesh appears to be constantly burning, regenerating, and then burning again. She staggers out from under the bridge and into clear sight of the Lady. Haruka notices the cloaked figure and opens her mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a strange croaking noise and a puff of black smoke. Shaking her head, Haruka extends a hand towards the Lady. No fire comes from those surrounding Haruka, but the flames on the Lady's clothing flare up, burning her badly. Haruka winces in pain, and the flames on the fey grow even larger. Although Haruka is near collapsing, her burned lips part to form a rictus of a grin. She falls to the ground writhing in pain, the kindly old woman facade melting away as it becomes that of a twisted, gnarly creature with withered skin and a hairy chin.
[sblock=ooc]
I screwed up before so it was actually Derien that killed her but for cinematic effect I'll say Haruka delayed until after him
[/sblock]
“I’m sorry, granny, what was that?” Rhole leans in as the hag collapses in front of him in a smoldering heap.
“Can’t hear you, Sister Scream. If you want to talk you’ll have to speak up!”
After delivering his parting pun, Rhole slides off the crucial core of this conflict – the ring of the fey lord – and admires it for a moment. Interestingly, he’s completely undisturbed by any heat that may linger from the fires that felled the hag.
“I guess its rad enough, but I somehow expected more... Still, it’ll do.”
The bard uses their McGuffin as a pick to play on the Great Ultra-Intense Thundering Audio Ripper. He strums up the beginning of a fairly solemn song, marking the death of the Lady of Nightmares properly.
The fires in Ironheart's eyes seem to flicker low as his toughened bark locks together and settles into a fixed, inflexible trunk. Soon the choker faces only a tree, growing from the swamp, albeit one with a rod and an axe embedded in it.
Ironheart is visibly growing, the rents in his bark knitting together and new shoots and leaves appearing from the tips of his branches. Tendrils from his roots trail out into the swamp, growing in a stronger grip around the choker's legs, showing that even as he sleeps he is not totally insensate.
Ikni permits herself a brief smile as the hag falls.
I am glad she was a worthy foe, she thinks, even as she whirls to face the creeper. Her hand sketches familiar sigils of warding that hover in the air for a moment. Then her sword moves, whipping through a booming arc, however the cloaked figure jumps into the air over the swipe of Ikni.
[sblock=cov]
*I'd say it's not touching the ground (in this case) as it's off the elevation you're on... no big difference though* [/sblock]
With the hag felled the cloaked figure looks around at the assembled adventurer's weighing his options, then shakes his head, gathering the shadows around him and moves away back towards the hut, but Ikni's blade again draws another slash across its calf. It continues around the back of the hut and you loose sight of it.
The choker in front of Ironheart dives under the murky water and you lose sight of it as well.
[sblock=OA]
vs ac; dmg (1d20 4=22, 1d8 3=5) hits for 5 (Just hits it has 22 against OAs)
[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC]
So combat's over (unless you
really, really feel like pursuing), this encounter is a milestone however so that's something.
Creeper uses Dark Step and then runs around the hut (using stealth after it can't be seen) -
1d20 11=28 I don't think anyone has a 28 passive perception. It'll keep running though.
Choker - gains concealment as a minor action and stealth under the water -
stealth (1d20 12=30)
Status:
Monster 1: Bloodied, dead
Monster 2: Bloodied
Woman: Shriek of Pain used, Fey Step used, ongoing 5 fire, marked by Ikni
Haruka: bloodied (Note: You're under the bridge/walkway, not on it)
Ironheart: bloodied
Derien: bloodied
Terrain: Anything not on the bridge or green areas (around Ikni/Derien) is difficult terrain. Bog and such.
Init:
Ikni - 18 - 19/31
Baddies - 10
Haruka - 8 - 5/30, bloodied
Derien - 7 - 2/26, bloodied
Rhole - 7 -
Ironheart - 1 - 21/35,
[/sblock]
