if so, ALCHEMIST FIRE on the two creatures that i bombed last time.
fire, Splash Damage 5 fire, DC 14 REF halves
Havak chooses the red arm
[dice=ref save]1d20+6 +2 to avoid unexpected falls
quickly grasps the red outstretched hand of the Corvina tree and is almost immediately assaulted with sensation. His pulse rapidly increases, and he can feel the blood throbbing in his veins like a drum. Reflexively, he grits his teeth, biting his lip. Overwhelmed with a sudden need to rend and tear and bite, he comes out of the haze as quickly as it began. Dizzy, he steadies himself before woozily tossing his flaming concoction at the remaining enemy. Wounded as it was before, it takes the burning liquid square in the face, and screaming, goes to the ground.
All of the invaders are now only within ranged combat, so with the exception of the one Amara just took a shot at, the others seem to be focused on other things. Everyone can also see with little difficulty that several of the houses are ablaze.
Amara can see no sign of her family, but she can see the form of her mentor, Samel, lying still facedown in the mud.
Amara continues towards Samel but continues to look for any members of her family. Noticing the flames she strains to see if she can tell if her own home may be ablaze. She fires another arrow at the nearest foe and hoping to rally the townsfolk cries out, "Jerem is dead!"
Having helped Elarya over to the tree after providing some healing, Sansa hears Garrett's question as he draws nearer with his injured father and Wallace.
Jerem was finally dead and the village aflame.
Sansa addresses both Garrett and Elarya. "Here, indicating to the strange tree, stands Corvina. She transformed herself into this tree with a spell. We are meant to grasp one of her hands: the red or the black. It's an individual choice and it must be done. Choose now and perhaps once it is done, she can turn back into her usual form and aid your father, Garrett." But Sansa did not know what to expect once they had made their choice. She was unsure of what Corvina had done here or would do to them as consequence to the choosing.
"I must go find Mother Celeste and Dante." Sansa was almost certain her adopted brother was dead, having witnessed her mother holding and crying over his body. Yet, she had to see with her own eyes. She owed Mother Celeste and Dante that much.
Elarya looks at Corvina, then Sansa. She looks almost dead. Her face is pale, her clothes soaked in blood. She can't feel anything, she's just numb. She reaches out for the red hand and touches it before she realizes what she's doing.
Sansa is still beside Elarya and sees the girl's pallor and general unsteadiness. When Elarya reaches out to grasp Corvina's red hand, whatever magic runs through her worsens her unsteadiness and she sees Elarya falling. Sansa makes an effort to catch her as she falls.
Elarya looks at Corvina, then Sansa. She looks almost dead. Her face is pale, her clothes soaked in blood. She can't feel anything, she's just numb. She reaches out for the red hand and touches it before she realizes what she's doing.
[dice=Reflex (-1 from fatigue)]1d20+2-1
Sansa is still beside Elarya and sees the girl's pallor and general unsteadiness. When Elarya reaches out to grasp Corvina's red hand, whatever magic runs through her worsens her unsteadiness and she sees Elarya falling. Sansa makes an effort to catch her as she falls.
[dice=Strength check to catch Elarya]1d20+2
When the fatigued blonde girl grasps out and touches the red hand of what was Corvina, a jolt goes through her. Her blood feels as if on fire, but not of heat. A burning chill comes across her, and her skin itches as her stomach churns, and she can't escape the feeling that she's being turned inside out. When finally comes back to the world, her whole body is numb, and she feels as if she's been walking, running for weeks straight. Her knees buckle under her as the last of her strength gives.
perceptive nature proves well again, and noticing the other girl begin to fall, steps forward to help. With only a minor amount of struggle, she manages to keep from falling.
Amara continues towards Samel but continues to look for any members of her family. Noticing the flames she strains to see if she can tell if her own home may be ablaze. She fires another arrow at the nearest foe and hoping to rally the townsfolk cries out, "Jerem is dead!"
[dice=attack]1d20+4; 1d6
At this point, only occasionally sees a townsperson, and usually right before they're being struck down by one of the rampaging raggedly robed raiders ()The one she struck with an arrow turns away when she strikes it again, looking for easier prey.
She slowly closes the distance between herself and the still unmoving Samel, and the rain begins to giveway to only a light misting. Above her she can see the clouds thickening, however, and flecks of ash move in the wrong direction up to the sky from the burning houses. There are still screams, but they are less common now, as the majority of the horde and whatever of the citizenry of Solace remains has apparently retreated back into the center of town.
Samel lies face down on the ground, his face in the mud, the minuscule droplets of rain thinning the pool of red around his head. His bow lays next to him, about a foot away, cracked towards the top, string only still attached at the bottom.
Having caught Elarya and propped her up against the trunk of the Corvina tree so she would not collapse again, Sansa watches as Garreet reaches out for the black hand and upon contact appears to falter. So, she reaches out to him, hoping to catch him before he falls.
Amara bends down to check Samel for signs of life and to staunch the flow of blood.
"Please Samel, don't die." She softly begs as her hands go to work on his most serious wounds. She rips pieces from his inner shirt to tie around his head.
Having tended to him as best she can she reluctantly leaves him to head into the fray heedless of what is happening around the tree form of Corvina. Her only thought is,
These creatures must be stopped!
Whenever a target comes within prime range of her bow she grimly continues her task. She attempts to target those actively attacking the villagers.
"What?" Garrett stammers out abashedly. "Please, Corvina, just let me help him." He leans his father at the base of the tree(?) and reaches his bloodied arm to a nearby black branch.
[dice=Reflex DC 12]1d20+1
When hand touches the black branch/hand of Corvina, his eyes roll up into his head. His muscles feel old and tired, and his skin feels tight and cracked with age. He feels as if something is squirming around under his flesh, wrapping tiny tendrils around his bones and pulling. Then a sensation as if he is falling and an instant of panic. As his senses snap back to his companions, there is a deafening sound like twisting rope, and the Tree that was Corvina begins to turn, rapidly growing, new branches erupting with vivid crimson-maroon leaves as her fingers curl inward and the last of her humanity dissapears from view. After a few seconds, there is an even greater sound, like thunder across the mountains, and a wave of force ripples from the spot.
Although was able to catch one of her companions again, this time within 100 feet of the strange new tree is knocked off their feet.For a moment, everything goes black.
You all wake with a start, find a chilly breeze come over you. You can hear the wind through the trees, and feel the grass rise high around you as you lay on the cold ground.
As your senses come into focus, you sit up and see that you are in a field, and although it is familiar, there is a definite oddness. You taste bitter and salt, and spit free some blood, but find yourselves unwounded.
You sit up and look around noting the large black tree above you, and remembering how it came to be. It's leaves are striking maroon, and the grass around you, where once there was bushes and rocks, is healthy and long. You look towards he see, and see the spot where Covina's hut (should have been) but only the old Black tree stands, and it looks as though it has been dead for some time.
As your senses continue to become clearer, you look back towards the town, and hear no sounds, smell no smoke or cinders.
Beside sits a young fox, staring at her with vivid amber-yellow eyes. Its fur is reddish-chestnut and it paws at her sowftly with black feet.
Wory (past). Relief. Welcome.
Sansa slowly looks about her; the wind ruffling her long, unruly hair.
What had happened? She remembered standing by the Corvina tree and attempting to stop Garrett from falling when something like thunder sounded and a force pushed her over and everything went black.
There was a young fox looking at her with deeply curious amber-yellow eyes. When it touches her with its paws and she hears his emotional response, Sansa is taken aback alittle but is unafraid. Something was different inside her too - Sansa felt altered significantly and she looked back to the little fox and there it was again, that definite, natural connection. She unexpectedly smiles.
She lays her hand atop the little fox's paw and turns to her companions. "The fox said the worry was in the past and there is relief now." Sansa's voice was soft and a little husky like it was unused to speaking.
Focusing her mismatched eyes on the fox, Sansa says, "What is your name?" But even before she finishes the question, she hears the answer or feels it deep in her bones. Quinn.
"It is nice to meet you, Quinn." Sansa attempts to stand and look around. Corvina's hut was gone and the old Black tree looked dried and dead. How much time has past? Sansa is perplexed as she has noticed that Garret's face is no longer clean shaven.
Speaking to her companions, she adds, "We need to walk back to town and find out what has happened. Can you all stand and walk?"
She steps out from under the Corvina tree with its maroon leaves and walks a few feet forward, surveying the land around her, looking for signs of other life or threat. The little fox Quinn also stood and trotted beside her, looking across the tall grasses and field.
Hearing the young girl talking cuts short Havak's snoring as he wakes up. He is surprised to feel patchy bristles on his face.
Havak casts his gaze around, looking for remains of the fallen from battle, looking at the town, and thinking of the dagger he left with Johnas as well as his alchemical equipment.
"Havak can walk."
Without looking at Havak, Sansa acknowledges hearing the goblin with a brisk nod of her head. She continues looking around her and the group.
Elarya jolts awake, and is one her feet before Sansa's words register. She relaxes for a moment, then her memories, still fresh in her mind finally sort themselves out.
"Wallace!"
Is all she blurts out before taking off at a dead run for the smithy.
Sansa watched as Elarya ran past her toward town.
The north girl was very rarely swayed by caution and rushed headlong into situations.
I wonder why I continue to heal her when she does not care for her own life...
Sansa turns her focus back to other things, not even attempting to run after Elarya.
She looks down to see Quinn looking back up at her with his amber-light eyes.
"Yes, soon enough we will follow."
Amara stood up from tending Samel and then the earth shook, unable to keep her balance she fell back to the ground beside him and everything went black.
She wasn't sure what woke her any more than she knew what caused the earth to tremble, but upon regaining her senses Amara paused. Things did not seem...correct. She slowly got to her feet, noting a moment of dizziness, and turned to where Corvina had once stood. She saw now a huge tree with no hint that it had once been the mystical woman although the odd colours intimated some kind of unnatural origin.
Like a bolt of lightening the events leading up to her blackout are recalled and after quickly assessing that she is in no immediate danger, she is then hit by the stillness and calm. Where is everyone? she wonders to herself, What happened to everyone? She can see movement near the tree and recognizes some others regaining their senses. Havak is instantly recognizable as is the well built figure of Garrett. She identifies Elarya as she runs past her almost in a blur, blonde hair whipping out behind her and her face a mask of concern. The other figure she is unsure of, until she sees the dark hair floating almost like a halo around the small figure, ahh, Sansa, and what is that near her? A fox! How odd.
She then looks to the sky, The clouds don't seem right and the sun is definitely not in the same position. She estimates the time of day.
When she had been looking downward, Sansa noticed the strands of her dark hair, especially how far down her body the strands had grown. My hair is very long now. Most curious. Amara had awoken and stood up now. She turned to the girl. Quinn followed her movement with his own head.
Sansa immediately noticed a change in Amara's appearance -- she seemed more grown up.
"Amara, do I look any different to you?"
Also on another note. It's not that she has a death wish, it's that she, and the rest of the clan, have a bit of a hero complex. They don't like seeing others hurt and tend to view themselves as indebted to those that show them kindness. If things do go south, I expect that she'll learn caution rather quickly. ;)
Amara is momentarily stunned by the indications she sees in the trees, It's, it's not possible... She hastily makes her way to the huge black tree and the only others she can see.
The assumptions that Amara made when she saw the trees is now confirmed when she sees her companions. They all seem so much older! Sansa must have noticed Amara's evaluating looks and Amara is brought back to, the present??, by her question.
"Yes Sansa, you do indeed look different." she answers, "as do you all, and me too I must imagine. I don't want to scare you but judging from the growth of the trees and other plant life two years have passed since I last remember them." She looks toward the town Elarya had just made a bee-line towards, "Where is everyone? What will Elarya find in town?" A shudder runs down her spine at the thought that there is no one there to run to. "I think we should follow Elarya into the village and see what we find."
She again notices the little fox, seemingly unafraid and unfazed, by Sansa's side and notes the intelligence in its eyes. They reminded her of Rook and she immediately searches the sky and ground nearby looking for signs of the black bird, calling him with both her voice and in her mind.
Sansa nods her head when Amara announces the passing of time. I am now sixteen. Whatever spell Corvina had conjured had put them to sleep for years. She wondered if the rest of the town had been similarly affected or had it been too far from Corvina to have succumbed.
Sansa began to walk toward town, looking up at the cliffs and the high grassland. Quinn smelled the air and promptly followed Sansa. Quietly to her fox, "Who knows what we will find in town, Quinn. I believe Dante is dead for I saw him fall in battle, and Mother Celeste? I cannot believe that if she were alive, she would not have searched for me. Perhaps the remaining horde killed the rest." Sansa's heart caught at the thought of her adopted mother's death. Celeste had been the only one to show her true concern, care and love. She could feel Quinn's emotions as well as he could sense hers. "Least I am not completely alone." Sansa's mismatched eyes met amber-yellow ones.
"Whatever happened, Havak thinks town holds answers." he says, beginning to walk his way over to the town.
"Havak must find Havak's kit and Johnas's belongings, if they are still there," he thinks.
As Amara heads into the town with the others she begins to get more and more disturbed about what they will, or more importantly won't, find.
Where is my family? They wouldn't have left me lying on the grass. Samel is gone and I saw him lying there; he would not have left without me. What if everyone is gone; what if everyone is dead!
Usually always sunny and optimistic Amara is unable to imagine any scenario that will not leave her emotionally devastated. Tears start to stream silently down her face as she walks.
Arriving at town, you find the place to be abandoned. Only foundations remain of most of the houses, and many of them are only blackened husks/frames, most of the walls burned or rotted away by the elements. At the center of town where the mill was once being constructed is nothing but a pile of decaying wood and a heap of stones. The grass has grown here as well, a bit more so close to the river. A good number of the odd flowers that Jerem had "made" grow close to the forest dot the landscape as well, their colors vivid, and full in bloom.
The orchard, untended for so long, has seemingly gone wild, and young trees are sprouting up around the border, and wild grasses and vines grow over Johnas' former home. The barrels outside that once held delicious mash are blackened and falling apart as well, although once seems to still be sturdy.
At the smithy, which seems to have taken the brunt of the fire, the house is almost non-existant, although the working area is still mostly there, as it was built to be able to endure great heat and possible accidents. The tools are tossed about haphazardly, and grass grows wildly in this area as well.
Sansa, with Quinn in tow, makes her way to Celeste's house, the place where she was raised and guided by a kind woman who asked for nothing in return.
Sansa wanted to see what was left of it, if anything (personal or otherwise) she could salvage and take with her.
Sansa, with Quinn in tow, makes her way to Celeste's house, the place where she was raised and guided by a kind woman who asked for nothing in return.
Sansa wanted to see what was left of it, if anything (personal or otherwise) she could salvage and take with her.
[dice=Sansa's Perception]1d20+9
[dice=Quinn's Perception]1d20+8
Celeste's house, like the others, is mostly destroyed. Picking throught the rubble, though, finds (with the help of Quinn) under a pile of timbers a number of books wrapped up in a dampish cloth. Although there were not many books in Solace, Celeste did have a modest collection of storybooks, and a number of them seem to have survived somewhat. Most are childrens' books, and one Sansa remembers from her youth..."The Naughty Kobold". Although worn and faded, the figure of a little Kobold wearing a pot on its head can still be made out on the cover.
On further inspection, also finds Celeste's shortsword, once "recently" made almost new by Wallace, now covered in dirt and ash.
Sansa clutched onto the discovered books and sword. She carefully made her way out of the remnants of her childhood house, Quinn at her heels.
She realised Celeste was dead just like the others. A single tear slipped free of her silver eye and ran down her cheek silently. Sansa hoped Celeste's death was a swift and clean and that she had not burned to death inside the cottage. She sent a prayer to the elemental spirits.
"Come on Quinn, we must go back to the others." Sansa wiped her sleeve over her face, removing any trace of the tear. Only Quinn had sensed her emotion and rubbed his head on her leg before they stoically began walking back to the centre of town; Sansa with her few meagre possessions in hand.
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The sights upon entering the town do nothing to quell the flow of Amara's tears. She runs through the devastation to her home, hoping to find any clue that might tell her what happened to her family. She enters the debris of her family home and steeling herself she looks for anything that might hold a clue or is of any value, sentimental or otherwise.
After she has gleaned all she can she makes her way with a heavy heart to Samel's to go through the process once again. As she passes through the town she tries to take it all in but there is just so much...wrong.
This is wrong! Why is everyone gone, why did Corvina do this to us??
The bridges are still intact, they were close enough to the water that they were only burned slightly, and are still fairly sturdy.
At house, she finds little to asuade her fears. The damage done almost makes it seem as though noone ever lived here, cept for a few remnants of civilization. At her feet she finds the two wooden swords her brothers played with as children, hidden beneath the floor for years before this ever happened. Turning over a table that lies broken and blackened she finds a coat that her mother had been working on for her, almost complete save the fur lining she had intended to add before the winter came.
Walking throught town, oddly enough, she does see some tracks. They are old, but they seem to be the bare feet of humanoids displacing the grass and toemarks in the dirt. Had it not been for her tutelage under Samel, she probably never would have noticed. There are a number of them, and they seem random at first, but steadily they gather and lead towards the cliffs. Towards the sea.
At Samel's home, the sight is just as grimm. A skeleton of a house, mostly burned down. Under the rubble though, again finds a keepsake, in an old copper box, the doll that Samels daughter once owned. He never showed it to , but sometimes when he had had too much mash with Johnas, he would take it out and stare at it, barely fighting back the tears.
Elarya slows to a stop just a couple of dozen feet from the only home she'd known in Solace. She stands there, not knowing whether to cry or just curl up some place.
Nothing... There's nothing.
Then she remembers the sword. Her uncle's sword that she had left in the room she had been staying at. She rushed to where she remembered the room was and began to digging frantically, hoping that at least that last little connection was still there.
Havak looks specifically for the knife and stuff that Johnas had secreted (that Havak found and put back while Johnas was drunk). Once he gets his kit of course.
Amara picks up the coat, amazed that it was not destroyed, and fingers the familiar stitching. She puts it on hoping to feel the warmth of her mother around her once again.
She carries the small copper box with her from Samel's noting with chagrin that the only thing she has to remember him is the only thing he had to remember his daughter. She makes her way shakily back to the centre of town to the Town Hall where all of this seemed to have started. Once there she falls to the ground and sobs huge, body shuddering tears.
After about 10 minutes her eyes are raw, her throat sore and her tears are gone. She lays in the dirt for a few more minutes, What am I going to do? She hears a noise and remembers that she is not alone. There are at least four others who have lost as much as she. She stumbles to her feet and goes in search of them. She notices again the strange tracks seemingly leading to the cliffs and bends down to examine them more closely. She makes a note to bring them to the attention of the others in case there might be danger and is extra alert for foreign sounds or sights.
Elarya slows to a stop just a couple of dozen feet from the only home she'd known in Solace. She stands there, not knowing whether to cry or just curl up some place.
Nothing... There's nothing.
Then she remembers the sword. Her uncle's sword that she had left in the room she had been staying at. She rushed to where she remembered the room was and began to digging frantically, hoping that at least that last little connection was still there.
frantic search does eventually come to a kind of fruition.
In the rubble of her room, quite at the bottom of a pile is her uncle's sword. Still in it's scabbard, although caked with dirt and ash.Searching through the rest of the smithy, she will also find that a number of the tools are missing, as she had become intimately familiar with each and every one of them. On closer inspection, It also seems that although not recently, the anvil and forge have actually been used in the past as there is far less debris and overgrowth around it.
Havak looks specifically for the knife and stuff that Johnas had secreted (that Havak found and put back while Johnas was drunk). Once he gets his kit of course.
The floor of Johna's place is mostly intact although warped from time and moisture and the elements. easily pries loose the boards to the secret compartment he had found and retrieves the items his roommate had stashed away.
Walking toward the Town Hall with Quinn beside her, Sansa spies Amara on the ground crying and she quietly watches the young woman give in to her sorrow. Some of the others seemed to be drawing to the meeting hall as well.
When Amara is done and stands, Sansa moves nearer (as does Quinn), and in a steady but commanding voice she says to all present, "We have lost much. The other houses and buildings should be searched thoroughly and we must gather as many useful things as we can so we may survive." Sansa's statement is not born of indifference or a lack of proprietary. She is concerned for the group's welfare and their ability to survive now that the town and most of its occupants have been destroyed.
She notices again the strange tracks seemingly leading to the cliffs and bends down to examine them more closely. She makes a note to bring them to the attention of the others in case there might be danger and is extra alert for foreign sounds or sights.
[dice=knowledge nature to identify what made the tracks] 1d20+8
[dice=perception to detect any other signs of humanoid creatures] 1d20+7
Inspecting the tracks more closely, she can tell that they are of varying sizes, although mostly adult from the weight of their impression. Some are partially shoed, and a few are bare.
There doesn't seem to be any other signs of humanoid presense, although, towards the north of town just off the road, does see signs of what appear to be goblin tracks.
Walking toward the Town Hall with Quinn beside her, Sansa spies Amara on the ground crying and she quietly watches the young woman give in to her sorrow. Some of the others seemed to be drawing to the meeting hall as well.
When Amara is done and stands, Sansa moves nearer (as does Quinn), and in a steady but commanding voice she says to all present, "We have lost much. The other houses and buildings should be searched thoroughly and we must gather as many useful things as we can so we may survive." Sansa's statement is not born of indifference or a lack of proprietary. She is concerned for the group's welfare and their ability to survive now that the town and most of its occupants have been destroyed.
Elarya tries her best to clean up the soot and ash, but the numbness returns and she makes her way to the anvil. The missing tools and the clear area around the anvil are lost on her. She had failed again. That is the one thought in her head, that she had fought, she had tried her best, and she had been found wanting.
Sansa's call might have been a hundred leagues away for all Elarya did to acknowledge it. she sits and leans against the anvil, clutching the sword with all she had. Despair settled over her and joined the all too familiar guilt in dousing the young warrior's spirit, for the second time in her life, she felt as if she was alone in a deep, dark pit, and the demons were gathering around.
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With Quinn's help, does find a few additional useful items.
additional intact arrows from various places in town; potions of cure moderate wounds from the ruins of Abram's.
More specifics for the armor at the Snow residence: it is masterwork chain mail. There is also a shield, a spear, a masterwork morning star, and a heavy crossbow. Everett Snow's sword is not among the items.
Also, fishing through the town hall, finds stuffed under the benches a scroll tube with a number of sheets of paper stuffed into it. She may, but definitely would recognize it as Erec's.