Tera and Varis will lead the group from the air (unless Varis wants to walk). We approach the dead adventurers with caution, and Tera keeps a close eye out for Spriggans.
Tera's sword is sheathed, and he holds throwing daggers in both hands, one tucked away behind his shield.
Tera speaks softly down to the group below. These adventurers had some sort of charm against the jungle overgrowth. Perhaps something made of cold iron. We should take it with us. I'll keep watch.
Vanadin follows along behind the aerial guides, eyes watching the trees for any sign of the ambushes Tera warned about.
Good eyes, Tera. Let's grab them, they could be a lifesaver later.
Tera
up top, you see half a dozen spriggans, ready to descend upon the group. Four are a little back from the adventurers, another two are almost on top of them. , probably plan to jump the party, and cut off their retreat.
The ground party
the growth along the trail has clearly been out of control for years. it is often up to your waists, though Flicker, the Sword of the Aquillion kings (or, you know, machetes and hatches, like normal people use) will carve a nice enough path for you.
you can see the open patch ahead, maybe 50 meters ahead., you haven't spotted any Elvers, or spriggans yet. What do you do?
Tera makes a series of hand signals to Varis, indicating the locations of the Spriggans, and asking Varis to join him in attacking the group of two. His fingers count down 3, 2, 1 ...
A throwing dagger whips out at one of the two, coinciding with a possible attack by Varis.
Ambush! A half dozen above you!
Varis follows suit, calming speaking the whispering wilt to the spriggans to freeze their movements while the party can rally against the ambush.
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The hard-beaten STEEL of the Sword of the Aquilonian Kings wages a mighty war against the ever-encroaching and grasping vines of the forest. Like an unstopping wheat thresher, the blade swings to and fro in front of the mighty warrior, hacking and clearing a noble path that all will find easy to tromp through. Even should someone ask to take the van for a spell, Gorn simply grins and shakes his head. Chuckling deeply he would reply, "Nay. I like to hear the plants scream."
"AH?" calls Gorn as Tera's warning echos through the vernal wood. He raises shield aloft and brandishes his blade before him, looking high for the hidden foe.
Alas, his eyes are used to searching out the tell-tale gleam of sunlight on an enemy's helm, or for the glint of reflection on a well-honed blade, and the natural camouflage of the spriggans, even as he is warned, defy immediate discernment.
The moment Tera's voice reaches them, Flicker abandons its vegetation-cleaving blade and reforms into a bow. If you were bored, you could've just said so! Vanadin thinks at the little light, while his eyes track upward. He follows Tera's aim, and tries to draw a bead on a target.
Varis
You aren't sure if the spell, or the fall killed the spriggan, but from the state of the carcass, it is definitely not getting back up. what do you do?
Tera
you get the other vanguard, embedding a knife deep into its back. a second Spriggan grabs at you, getting your leg for a moment. Long enough to send you into a semi-controlled descent. You're on the ground, in the same time the other spriggans are. what do you do?
Gorn
You were, in fact, looking in the wrong place. too far forward to have a hope of spotting the spriggans. one of them, on their descent, breaks their fall with you, raking their claws down your back. three more join it, what do you do?
Vanadin
a bolt of light strikes down the Spriggan that Tera wounded, a perfect shot four more spriggans land, trying to surround your group, what do you do?
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The sudden rush of air alerts Gorn to the falling corpse and he SPINS, bringing his shield up just in time for it to CRASH against the body!
Thankfully Gorn's heavy armor and thick shield take the brunt of the attack, and the half-ogre's vitality is not harmed by the impact.
"Hail!" the warrior cries, brandishing his sword and turning a quick circle. "Hail and Kill!" he yells as a battlecry. Hefting his high his STEEL he wades into the charging foes. "Power and dominion are taken by the will, By divine right, hail and kill!"
Vanadin shifts his grip slightly, and Flicker shifts from the brilliant white bow to a grey-bright blade. He moves to intercept whichever of the spriggans is furthest from Gorn, and leaves the battle cries to the ogre.
Tera draws his sword and begins to feel a weird pull towards Gorn. What's this? He points the blade at Gorn, and gasps in sudden understanding. Oh. I see.
Silvia lurks back from the fray, looking for an opening.
- What should I be on the lookout for?
- What is about to happen?
- Who’s really in control here?
The body of the creature falls, and things become chaotic giving Varis an opportunity to experiment. Pulling the threads of creation natives to the forest possesses, Varis attempts to call forth a form of plant and magic.
Fall to the floor and aid them!
Gorn
One of the Spriggans makes the fatal mistake of leaping at you, claws raised... and is impaled on your blade. Two ore are mauling Vanadin, while another uses plant-magic to stop Tera's magic, what do you do?
Vanadin
Your blade goes wide, the Spriggan ducking under and driving its claws under your ribs, while a second grabs at your shoulder blades . In shock, Flicker resumed his orb-form, unsure what to do. what do you do?
also, the head of a sprigggan, that's a decoy, totally unnecessary. there is somewhere that serves the same purpose, but where escapes you just now.
Tera
you go to draw upon the bridge Flicker represents, and open your mouth to speak the words, when group of creepers wrap around your neck, cutting off your air supply. more plants reach for your arms (wings), and others begin to encircle your wrists, what do you do?
Silvia
You should be on the lookout for their backup. they have allies en-route.
Vanadin and Tera are in serious danger of being taken out of action, unless you guys rally to their defense.
well, they already have two of your teammates on the ropes, and will soon outnumber you guys... I'm gonna go with them.
what do you do?
Varis
your magic moves, quickly inhabiting and repairing a fallen spriggan's body, patching it with stones and bark, and dying it a nice dark purple.
usually, elves can work their magic in such a way as to avoid offending local spirits. You did not have the time to do so. An arrow whizzes past your ear, dryad, definitely a dryad. what do you do?
The raised spriggan charges towards Tera and Vanadin making an odd screeching sound along the forest floor.
Varis on his own is forced to handle this Dryad problem.
It attacked us first, maiden. I don't wish to anger the forest, let us speak instead of using such force!
Vanadin cries out, and staggers under the blows and the weight of the spriggans. He tries to regain his balance, and stumbles as best he can towards a nearby tree...
It mostly works...but Spriggans can move through plants as if they weren't there. Vanadin's body hits the tree hard enough to throw them off, but also hard enough to leave him dazed. The two spriggans ready themselves for another attack.
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As Gorn sees Vanadin badly harried, the half-ogre begins tromping toward the LightBard, his thick legs eating up the ground in massive steps.
"Fight with blood. Fight with STEEL."
In a single smooth motion, he twirls the Sword of the Aquilonian Kings, it's razor-sharp blade whistling in the wind.
"Die with honor! Never yield."
Vanadin struggles valiantly against the pair of forest demons. In his throes the creatures are loosed from their grip, but for a moment only!
"Fearless hearts, filled with pride!"
As Gorn nears the melee from one angle, Varis' plant-champion approaches from another. The two fighters nod briefly at each other in the warrior's greeting, both acknowledging what is about to happen.
"In to GLORY WE SHALL RIDE!"
The two fighters rush at the spriggans, Gorn's epic blade slashing in time with Varis' creature's slashing plant-claws!
(!)
(!!)
The half-orge battles the creatures back, placing his own bulky form between them and the stunned Vanadin.
Tera drops to the ground and begins flailing at the vines with his razor sharp foot talons, hoping to gain some breathing room ... literally.
Vanadin
things go woozy for a second or two, and when you come to, Gorn and a purple spriggan have made mincemeat of your attackers. the vines that helt tera, though, are creeping toward you and Gorn with surprising speed. what do you do?
Tera
You're free, and in the air, but the spriggan just moves it's vines at Gorn and Vanadin insteadthat will be a problem if you want to heal him. what do you do?
Gorn
your first stroke sends both the spriggans up into the air. the follow-up slices on of them into salad, and Varis' beast savages the other. the final spriggan launches a desperate assault, trying to entangle you with vines and shrubbery. How do you respond, brave hero?
Varis
You worked dark magic... tainted one of our vessels with unworldly influences. Why should we give you mercy? they ask, bows lowered slightly. what do you do?
It was a vessel laid low after attacking us, we simply are defending ourselves. You cannot ask us to choose not to survive if you have any sense of appropriate justice! I can promise to remove any residual taint and return the body after this skirmish has ended, I do not wish for unnecessary violence.
Vanadin steadies himself, and gives Flicker a look. He draws his staff, and attempts to fend off the oncoming vines as Flicker assumes a solid, glowing form around Vanadin's torso .
The light surrounding Vanadin flashes brighter for a moment.
Tera swoops down to strike the spriggan nearest Vanadin.
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A veritable deluge of ensnaring greenery shoots for our two plucky warriors! The strong vine spears forward at Gorn by the huge warrior swipes his STEEL on a guillotine swing and the severed vine is no more! A pair of creepers seek to follow up, and one, two! One two! And through and through his STEEL goes snicker-snack!
A last plant creeps toward the halfogre and strikes forward! Gorn sees the danger from the corner of its eyes, and rises his shield, prepared to take the blunt of the strike, but the summoned creature-fighter LEAPS onto the path of the oncoming blow!
Varis
Are we to take you on your word? one says, more in your head than out loud Accept the Oath of one who has already breached etiquette?
Vanadin
the vines grab at you, and try to encircle your limbs. Flicker tries to keep them at bay, but the numbers are too many. Tera's spell bolsters you somewhat, though what do you do?
Tera
You heal Vanadin, though Flicker's prescence disrupts you somewhat.
and you disrupt the casting Spriggan, , forcing him to stop creating more vines (though the ones he had still assail Vanadin.
Gorn
As the vines grab at him, Vanadin attempts to tear his arms and legs free, looking for an escape route.
He frees himself, but the vines his staff from his hands and the pack off his back. Seeing an opening, he runs, away from the spriggan and towards the clearing, hoping that he can beat the vines there, and that whatever blocks the growth will also block the spriggans' magic.
Tera presses the assault on the foul spriggan! He moves in first with his shield, bashing vines out of the way as he sweeps the blade towards the creature's neck.
Gorn
Varis's monster breaks under the assault, but you go free, having pruned the eldritch vines. now that your ally has succeeded in falling back, and another engages the single remaining spriggan. do you join in glorious combat?
Vanadin
You fall back to the clearing, and the vines do not pursue, perhaps because of the charms, still clutched in the skeleton's hand, or perhaps because it is not engaged with Tera. what do you do?
Tera
Your blade drives into the spriggan, drawing a torrent of hot, amber sap, but the creatures vinesgrab onto you, trying to drag you down, and squeeze the life out of you simultaneously what do you do?
With a little breathing room, Vanadin turns and focuses on the melee behind him. He mimes a bow, and Flicker fills his hands, as bolts of light fly at the remaining spriggan.
Tera calms himself, and the spriggan flashes bright white for a moment.
Tera then begins voraciously tearing into the spriggan's flesh with his hooked beak. Delicious!
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Gron swings his sword vigorously, clearing off the green ichor and residue from cutting so much greenery. As he gazes at the ongoing melee, his face splits into a massive grin as he lumbers over. He's seen many battles, and he knows how this one will go.
The spriggan, a creature of nature, if not cunning, had selected some poor, uneven ground. When Vanadin starts firing at it, the ground is bad for maneuvering, and a last-second stumble actually finds the creature moving into the path of fire instead of out of it.
Gorn stomps closer, nodding in satisfaction as Tera wades in to his own GLORIOUS COMBAT! In the way of things, Vanadin's projectile catches the spriggan and knocks it off-balance, causing it to miss a good chance for a counter-strike.
Gron rises his STEEL high into the wind! He chuckles deeply. "Return to Paradise, little one," he says as he brings his blade down!
Gorn
Tera and Vanadin
The beam of Flicker's light sears off the Spriggan's leg, while Tera's tearing rends it open. it falls to the ground, quite dead. now, there is only the looting, and the push forward. what do you do?
Vanadin looks around at this clearing, checking for anything valuable. Before disturbing the charms in the skeleton's grasp, he studies them...
When Vanadin locates the charm, Tera reaches down and picks them up. It is just cold iron, my friend.
he places a hand on Vanadin's shoulder. Well done.
As Tera draws on Flicker's bridge, the little light flits over to the birdman, nudging his wing as he casts a spell.
Tera & Vaadin
While Vanadin examines the Charm, he feels Tera's claws upon his shoulder, before he notices his wounds knitting themselves back together.
the charm, though, is distressing. it was personally made for a member of the Wraiths, a brutal Halfling gang with prescence throughout this area (that is to say, the area between major cities, about 6 weeks by caravan either way, an from the coast as far inland as has been tamed.). ALso relevant, none of these skeletons are halflings, SO the charm was either stolen from, or looted off the corpse of, a wraith. You do not want to start flashing those in any nearby settlements, could cause trouble.
Gorn
As The bard takes note of the heraldry upon the adventurer's gear, you indulge yourself in the spoils of war, reclaiming the Fae's Il-gotten gains.
between the group, about 37 gold, (in various denominations and even minted in different principalities), and a virtually untarnished necklace of Gold and Sapphire, like to fetch a sum nearing half a hundred gold, after some haggling.
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Tera & Vaadin
"Primo Victoria! Victory, and a fine victory it is!" Gorn declares as he holds out the loot claimed by rite of conquest to be added the group's horde.
"What now? Are we to head back for wine and supper? Or have we other beasts to slay? I am just now warmed up and would not mind half a host of warorcs to test my blade against."
Cool! Tera exclaims as Vanadin explains the history behind the cold iron charms. He slips them into a concealed pocket.
Now, Gorn, we are off to slay a manticore.
Tera takes flight and surveys the path to the Manticore. He leads the group to a position relatively close and lands.
I should take another look before we attack. I think the number one goal will be to ground the manticore. Any thoughts on accomplishing that? Remember that the manticore had snake things in the area too.