He pain is all he feel's now as the wolves start to circle him, slowly tearing at him. He turns to look back at the others, confused as he see's everyone but Valex.
He then shouts out in the blackest of tongues, like fingernails on a chalkboard it cuts through the sound of fighting. He spits out the only words he can find, a shout of desperation. "શા હજુ પણ અહીં તમે બધા છે! હું તેમને પકડી શકશો. ચલાવો!!" Shouting out delirious from the fatigue from the pain from the hopeless situation they find themselves in.
Seeing the white wolf move in on him he swings out at her, desperate to hit. Desperate to end it all in one swing
But it's all too much, he wasn't strong enough to stop it all and he's not strong enough to help save his friends. I'm sorry. Is all he can muster.
HP - 12/39
Fight back to the bridge, but get clear! We can still win this but if they press I'm going to blow all my bombs, I'll take them all with me! Just get back as far as you can!
His belt of bombs hang's limply in one hand now. He turns to Lillith and Lennet, his piercing gaze looking deep into them.
If I have to do this, don't let it all be for nothing! Promise me that if I do this you'll find my son, Tell him... Just tell him I'm sorry.
He turns back to the battle, ripping another bomb from its loop.
Feeling that sometimes precision is more important than brute strength Azmerai picks the most wounded and attacks.
"Desna, we need your help!"
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Lilith watches the remaining flaming sphere as it burns at a wolf. She says a silent prayer herself to Desna, hoping that the fire will take it down. She also watches as that final sphere fizzles out in the falling rain.
Holding a scrolls, she reads the words and touches Azmerai. As his wounds slowly begging to close she responds, admitting for the first time that she is indeed an agent of Desna. I hear Azmerai. And I do what I can to help you! Her hand reaches for and retrieves another scroll as she completes the words to release the magics contained in that one.
Feeling the fire burn through his blood, but still healing his wounds it suddenly becomes so very clear. Everything worth holding and protecting is worth fighting for, bleeding for, must be earned in pain. That we took the gods for granted, but they do need not our believes, but also our deeds. That we have again to prove that we are worth listened to! Looking at the white wolf he feels the pain eat the fatigue, feeling his dedication slowly return. He is still afraid, but not any longer for himself... but for his friends.
Polonius grabs one of the few proper glass bottles he has left, shaking it as he adds a pinch of reagent to awaken the explosive potential of his concoction. This time the wind fails to take the missle and it bursts on target, coating the wolf with a viscous flaming gel, burning away its entire coat as it writhes and howls, shuddering and frothing at the mouth. The wolves either side avoid the worst of it but also sport blackened scorch marks on their coats.
The white wolf senses the subtle blow of Euron, even blind as she is she pulls her head back as instinct tells her to move.
Azmerai focuses on the nearly black wolf in front of him, his blade chopping down and splitting the creature's skull, he wrenches the sword out of the carcass and blood mingled with rain drips down over the hilt and his hand.
Wary of being burned again, the scorched wolf ducks away as the flames lick out at it again, and Lilith's final flaming sphere winks out of existence.
Closing with the party, the wolves move in as a pack, pushing their prey in to a corner to finish them off...
The wolf harassing Lenneth rips her calf overbalancing her and sending the witch to the floor, prone.
One wolf leaps to the top of the stone block, looming over Lilith and Polonius, yet turning its jaws on Azmerai again. It snaps at the half-orc's bicep, leaving long furrowed lines from its teeth . Its packmate closes in from the side whilst Azmerai is distracted, biting again at his already bleeding legs, and dragging him back down to the ground once more.
The white wolf snaps at Euron but her jaws close on empty air, inches away from his head. Her hunting partner, mad with pain, chews on Eurons foot, ripping through his boot like it was paper and leaving bloodied, ripped flesh in its wake
Waiting for polonius action so that I might attack someone really damaged.
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Lilith calls out as a free action/ Polo, Wait for me to act.
Lilith uses her swift action to dimensionally step so that she is not beside any wolves. She reads her scroll of Mage Armor as her standard, boosting her AC to 20. She then pulls her club as she steps up to the wolf so that she flanks with Azmerai.
As the wolves draw in - snapping jaws and spittle, heckles and blood-lust - Polo looks to his belt of bombs, mind working desperately to find a way out of this...
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Polonius feels Lenneth place her hand on his shoulder and the flood of good fortune that cascades through him. It is a beautiful gesture, a feeling of love and friendship and hope.
He turns to the witch and sees her beautiful, pale face strained with pain and concern and even in the midst of all this fire and blood he takes her hand in his and smiles.
It's going to be all right. he says, looking up at her. You're going to get out of here Lenneth, I'll see to it. Please, find Ben for me. Tell him what happened here, what I've done to reach him. Find him and protect him, help him. he says, with urgency. He's going to be very angry but you have to make him understand that this world can still be wonderful, it can still be worth living for.
His mind floats back to the struggles in Sandpoint, the hazy grey smoke of the fire, the terrifying flight from the church and the terrible loss he felt in failing Kaiya. He remembers every step of the journey across the mountains, how they clawed to feed themselves, to keep warm and how the bonds of friendship were tested to breaking point. And finally Solace, where he learned for the first time that his son had survived and the feeling of relief that washed over him like a wave that cleaned away all those feelings of doubt and hopelessness that had plagued him from the start.
There are tears in his eyes but that smile remains.
As the wolves snap at him he wraps the belt of bombs tightly around his arm.
Thank you Lenneth!
He launches himself forward, knowing that biting death is just inches away and as the wolf tilts it's head, preparing to clamp it's jaws down on his throat and choke the life out of him forever, he dodges nimbly to one side, rushing past and through and suddenly his short legs, that he has cursed all his life, are pumping, his lungs, heaving, his heart - like that of a lion - thundering in his chest.
The wolves cannot ignore a million years of primal instinct. At the sight of the small creature running they wheel and give chase, the pack forming behind him with a glee borne of blood-lust.
As he runs, he tears the tops from the bombs in his belt and rips his component pouch from his pocket, spilling sulphur and potassium nitrate all over himself. It didn't matter, he only needed enough for a single primer and the black powder finds it's way into the now fizzing liquid of the bomb mixture.
It's ok Ben. he says silently. I'm going to be with your mother soon. You won't join us for many years but when you do you'll find us in that little townhouse in Magnimar. We didn't have much in those days when you were just born but the place was always filled with light and laughter and the warmth of our love. That's the gift you can still give to this world, Ben. Joy. Like the joy you gave us when we held you for the first time. It was unequivocal, elemental and pure. You'll find us boy, when you're ready to leave behind this cold, hard world having made it all the brighter for your presence in it.
The bombs rage in his hands now. It's nearly time. He can feel the White Wolf's hot breath on the nape of his neck, hear it's hungry panting in his ears. Well, it's going to get a surprise. Polonius Fynch is a man of his word and he told them he would make them regret ever laying eyes on he and his friends.
His friends...
In the time he has travelled with them they had become more than that. They have become part of his family. When he was hungry they had helped feed him. When he was cold, they kept him warm. When he told them he had to find his son, they helped him. The world had grown worse than anything he had seen in his darkest nightmares and yet now he knew that for them, when death came to claim them all, he would throw himself before it, the sum of all the hate and love he possessed; and then, if his burning chest had been a bomb, he would have blown his heart upon it...
His eyes glitter in the burgeoning moonlight.
Amelia, my darling. I'm coming home.
The flash of light is blinding, a huge column of fire that erupts out of the ground in a spiral, sending sheets of burning heat out in every direction and smouldering chunks of earth and rock streaming through the air.
Within a moment the flash is gone, replaced only by a thin tendril of smoke. A cold rain begins to fall and the realisation dawns that the wolves, and Polonius, are gone.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
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Lilith steps aside for to allow the gnome to operate with less threat. She is surprised when, after waiting for her to move, he does not step into the freed up space. As he tumbles through the pack Lilith eyes widen and her mouth drops open as she begins to suspect. No. He can't. she thinks to herself. iHow many bombs does he have left? Enough likely. But what Polo is about to try is only theory. I has never even heard of anyone trying it, for obvious reasons. [/i] [b]No! Polo, don't. she cries but its too late. Her eyes are forced closed by the bright light and the flash over of heat. Her ears ring and as the smoke clears she sees a scene of carnage. But she also see's most of her group without further injury.
Someone Check for Valex and for Tali. She yells way too loudly as she moves to the side of the gnome her hands running of the charred flesh trying to feel for a pulse.
After the smoke has cleared Azmerai collapses and starts to weep. Tears of shame, of despear flow down briefly his face. Gone... he is gone!
Euron looks on at the wolf's bite after bite the pain is too much expecting it all to end any moment, he is ready to let go. But he see's something darting out from behind him he see's Polo. He must have a plan! He's going to get us all out of this! He thinks to himself, he pleads to himself.
A split second later as the wolves start to chase after him he see's the explosion, he watches as Polo sets off all his bombs and disappears along with all the wolves. "NOO!!" Euron let's out a blood curdling scream. "WHY!" He again screams out. The pain from his wounds all but forgotten, as he starts to drag himself to the others. "What happened?! Why? He..." Stammering over his words not sure what to say or how to comprehend it all.
There is blinding light, an immense wave of force pulses across the clifftop, a massive wrench felt in gut, in mind, in heart. Then finally, there is darkness, and silence.
...
Acrid smoke taints the air, the chill rain seems even colder than before as it hammers down from the heavens. The wind picks up, causing the scorched grass to shimmer like a storm-tossed sea of writhing green.
A scant thirty feet away there is a crater, surrounded by charred flesh and burnt bone. Despite the wind, nothing moves.
Lilith moves quickly to search, bringing her arcane lights with her and scouring the area. The damage wrought by the explosives is immense, cauterised blackened tissue covers the ground and it is difficult to even distinguish the remains as once belonging to the wolves who had so threatened the party. Polonius' form is almost unrecognisable, even without her skill as a healer, it is very obvious that there is nothing that can be done. Though scant comfort, the gnome's features look determined, almost at peace.
A quick check of the area beneath the cliff reveals a raging river some 60 feet below, the normally placid waters now swollen from the rain. Of Valex, Kaiya and Tali, there is no sign.
Wake up you lazy half-orc... he do not sacrifice himself for nothing.
Standing up and feeling the worst cuts and bruises heal the half-orc looks at his remaining friends.
"Time to cry later. Polo is dead! Maybe others are alive. They need help now." Helping the others to stand he checks for the worst bruises, take a piece of burden here and there than gently guides the others to start walking again, following the river down.
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Kneeling over the burnt form of the gnome Lilith announces in an unemotional tone [b]Polo is indeed dead and Azmerai has the right of it. The current emery is also dead, but perhaps our friends that went over the side are not. Lenneth, can you get down there quickly? I can send my lights but have no rope to descend. Time for emotions later. Right now we need to think and act. Lives are at stake. She moves to the edge of the precipice and, sending her lights down begins to search for survivors or bodies.
Euron stands up, still shocked from what has happened but he has to push on he can't just lay down. "We... We have to move. An explosion like that will bring every undead around towards us." Struggling to his feet, he calls on the last bit of divine power to heal his wounds.
Taking a sharp breath as he feels the worse of his wounds seal up, he looks on at the others. "We have to move." He reiterates again. "Valex, Kaiya and Tali went over the edge?" Moving to the cliff edge he looks down at the rushing water. "We have to get across, We have to get back to Solace. Valex is smart, They could have survived that fall we have to hope they made it to safety but now we have to move." He says in a commanding voice.
hp=15/39
You search high and low with Lilith's lights to no avail. Lenneth, in tune with the world around her, is absolutely sure nothing is moving in the area around the clifftop aside from the water itself.
The speed and size of the river combined with the rocky sides make it a very dangerous environment for even a well-rested, skilled and uninjured swimmer. Alive or dead, anyone who fell in would likely have been washed quite a way downriver.
It would take some time to follow the river downstream and search. With the freezing rain and gusting wind, in your current conditions it's quite possible the weather could finish you off. Then again, the same could be said of anyone washed downstream if they lie unconscious without help finding them in time...
Looking around the burly halforc speaks up."Give me all you do not need to carry, and wrap yourself in warmthest clothes. Our friends need us. Family needs us!"
"Stop! Any minute now this place could be swarming with undead. We have to get across now, i have rope i can tie it so there is no chance of us falling we can take it slow and all get across." He frowns as he continues to speak. "I don't want to leave them but WE have to continue on. Already a man down.. "
He turns back to look at where Polo sacrificed himself. "We head for Solace, rest, regroup and head down stream tomorrow to find the others. If they made it i will find their tracks. There is no use throwing our lives away tonight." He then takes the rope from his pack and begins to tie a harness to the bridge.
"No! Some fell down, and need our help now! Maybe Groaners come, maybe not. But those that fell need help, surely! We live together, and are family. Family not retreats if family is in needdanger!"
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Disappointed that there was no sigh of those who went over the edge, and that there is no safe trail along the river below, Lilith moves once again to Polo's body. While Euron and Azmerai argue over the proper course of action and Euron begins to work with his rope Lilith does a quick search of Polo's corpse. She feels somewhat sickened by the act, but knowing that they cannot afford to discard anything useful. Either way we need to cross. Lenneth, get everyone to the other side. I am nearly unwounded and have protective spells up. Plus I can still vanish, so I will go last. After her search of Polo's body she wraps it in her cloak and picks up the corpse gently like she might a sleeping child, and carries it to the cliffside. I am not yet defeated and will not abandon friends whose fate is unknown. She waits for her turn to cross, obviously intending to carry Polo with her. The gnome never weighed much and is considerably lighter after his exposure to the fire.
Lilith's search of Polonius' body is largely unfruitful. The explosion destroyed or ruined almost all of the gear, material scorched and metal bent and brittle. Almost abandoning her distasteful task, suddenly she feels something. Tucked away in the bottom of the only intact pouch Lilith finds the tree feather token Polo was carrying.
With Azmerai vehemently wanting to stay and keep searching, and Euron adamant the group should return to Solace, Lilith considers the weather and the condition of the party. It's possible to stay out here for a little while longer, but the group still has to travel back to Solace in this weather.
"Sorry. Forget not everyone as tough as myself. One tough not enough. And failed. Failed badly!"
Euron busies himself with the rope and before he begins to head over Lenneth stops him. "Ok Lenneth, lets just get across this that seems like the safest way." As they all get across, Euron quick goes about trying to find their way as the rain and mist all mix together in some attempt to get them lost.
Pushing on as the rain batters down on him his resolve is strong. He can't lose anyone else tonight, he will get those left back home and find the rest tomorrow... Polo you're death won't be in vain, i only wish i was stronger so you didn't have to do that. He thinks to himself doubting his action upon the cliff. A the mist begins to clear he finally spots it. "Solace! I can see Solace ahead" He shouts out as he continues to run.
hp-15/39
Thinking of their own survival over the uncertain possibility of finding their companions alive, the remaining five members of the group move over the ravine quietly.
Thought lies heavy that mere hours ago they were nine in number, a stark reminder of how harsh this world has become.
The freezing rain continues throughout the night, the mist erupts from the ground, a solid white so thick it is difficult to see the person in front let alone the path ahead. The minutes become an hour, then another as the cold conditions and tiredness begin to play tricks with your minds. The faces of your lost companions appear in the shifting fog, their features twisting in pain, shouting at you, imploring you, whispering unheard secrets to you... then they fade away as the faint light of dawn burns through the mist and reveals the ruined tower of Solace in the distance.
The sight buoying your spirits, you reach the bottom of the hill and the wagon is already being rolled out of the way as Radek and Brae squeeze past with faces full of concern. Seeing your own expressions, Radek opens his mouth to ask questions to which he already knows the answers, Brae raises a finger to hush him before he utters a single word. She slowly guides you back inside the keep, each step lead-filled as you approach your guest room. The sight of your friend's belongings brings their memories to mind in a sharp and stark reminder.
Collapsing down to your blankets and bedrolls, eventually you drift off in to a fitful and restless sleep.
In your dream you float in the almost black of deepest shadow, you feel the comfort of Indigo's fur despite being unable to see anything. The threefold presence of the forces you channel makes itself known to you.
mOrE tHrEaDs oF fAtE cOmE tO bE wOvEn oR CuT...
...tHe wRoNgNeSs, ThE DiSeAsE, iT bUiLdS iTs sTrEnGtH aNd BiDeS iTs TiMe, nOt LoNg NoW...
...ThE kEeP wIlL DrOwN iN iTs OwN rAdIaNcE aNd wE wIlL bE FoRcEd To wAtCh FrOm ThE ShElTeR oF tHe DarK, fAr AwAy.
You wake suddenly, Indigo's face inches from your own as he sleepily blinks his eyes and stands to stretch before padding softly out of the room.
You dream of stars, winking out one by one before the blanket of night is ripped away to reveal a skeletal sun beating down on you. You wake instantly, but just for a moment it seems like the very walls of the keep are made out of softly glowing golden water, then it evaporates before your eyes revealing the rough stone walls you have become accustomed to.
It seems to only be a couple of hours since you fell asleep, there is a large amount of noise coming from the gate, multiple voices are raised in argument and you hear others from the hall moving quickly.
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Before sleeping Lilith will ask Lenneth for a healing hex, knowing that this ability is replenished daily.
She awakes with her fatigue gone but only partly rested. She considers her spell book, and realizes her mind is too clouded to study. Signing she stands and goes in search of food. Perhaps I can get a little more rest after something to eat.
"Me thinks... me thinks I got a warning. Groaners comming! Hope not today, hope no tomorrow... but soon!"With that the half orc moves up and sighs before walking toward the noise.
Everything is a blur to him as he makes it through Solace, the only thing calling to him is his bed.
Sleep brings him no rest as he wrestles with dreams and nightmares. Taken back to that dark day, a day he wishes away but can never get rid of. Waking covered in sweat, his stomach twisting in knots. "My dreams were dark... Something is coming, get up there's a lot of noise at the gate." Standing from his sleep still groggy, he stretches. "Grab your gear." He begins to armor up.
The bird cast a cruciform shadow on the ground, some hundred feet below. It circled in a wide, graceful arc that only required half a dozen beats of it’s great wings to circumnavigate; it’s intense, amber eyes scanning the ground with incredible intensity.
In comparison to others of her kind, the creature was an infant, or possibly a runt, but here among the lesser avians she ruled the sky.
Atop it’s back sits a man, in a saddle of unique design, hunched over his face close it’s it’s neck whispering in it’s ear: It’s alright girl, we aren’t leaving him. I know he’s a long way down but you’ll be there in a second if he needs us.
The Halfling leans over and looks down on the scene. He remembers the first time he rode at even half this height and how his stomach lurched and he clung to Sky’s neck for dear life. Now, he considered this almost earth-bound.
Below him was the crumbling remains of what was once a mighty castle, though whatever protection it offered before the harvest clearly can’t have worked very well if the great gouges out of the walls and scorch marks were anything to go by. Still, he had done three fly-overs and seen people each time – not Walkers, but actual people! He wondered if the group they had spotted days earlier in the mountains had traveled here. He thought it likely but as the weather closed in it had proven difficult to track them from both the air and along the ground.
Their newfound friend approached the gate on foot and with some nervousness, Flynn watched as three mounted men rode out to meet him. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but he thought they were probably determining whether he was a threat or not. Should things turn sour; he, his companion Skyfall and his lance, Sender, would be there in a heartbeat, like a streak of golden lightning.
For now though, he was content to maintain his altitude and watch. And wait. Still, he lowered his goggles into place... just in case.
They had debated, he and Flynn, about approaching the castle. Or what passed for debate - a few words, followed by long silences. Finally, though, Flynnvas persuaded him.
Lives had had enough of the stupidity of people - that which hastened the fall of the Quahs - and did not want to approach another group. Flynn was clever enough to point out that, thsi long after the harvest, most of the stupid ones MUST be dead by now.
Lives had no counter for that argument, and so found himself walking, slowly and in plain sight, towards the gate of the somewhat tumbled down structure.
Lilith spots some apples in a bowl next to your room, evidently left out for when you woke up.
As you walk out of the keep in to the thin morning sunlight, the ground is still sodden from all the rain but the air is full of the fresh smells of grass and earth.
Radek, Cale and Danel are stood in front of the entrance to Solace, hands on weapons but not yet pointing them at the Shoanti man standing slightly further down the path. Radek seems agitated and the other two men are gripping their spears with nervous hands.
Radek shouts again in a firm voice that likely carries in to the skies above, where you can see a giant bird of some kind with a rider.
I say again, we'll not parlay with you until your friend is standing down here too...
His face looks grim and tense.
Crossing his arms before his chest, the big half-orc looks at the newcomers, curious about their story.
The bird is around 7 feet long, beak to tall, with a wingspan of easily twenty feet fully extended.
Flynn sees Lives looking up and waving. He takes the signal to mean either everything was fine or they didn't want to talk without him landing.
He pulls firmly on one of the reigns that loop over Sky's beak ans encourages a wide, sweeping descent. As she pulls up beside Lives, her great wings flapping and kicking back to slow her approach, dust and grass is kicked up in a small cloud.
Her long talons touch ground and she stands, rider still atop, with her head twitching from side to side, eye focusing on everything around as if she were still hunting.
Flynn's lance, more an overly thick spear, decorated with streaming penons of green and white cloth, points to the air, held casually at a non threatening angle.
We didn't know it was safe to approach. he says. We don't see many people these days and those we do aren't usually welcoming. But honestly, it's good to see anyone again. Name's Flynn.
Watching warily as the bird lands, the men listen to the halfling's words and the old paladin responds, shifting the weight of his scuffed armor from foot to foot.
Greetings Flynn, my name's Radek and we call this place 'Solace'
he gestures at the crumbling stone walls with the hand not holding a spear. As he notices the party approach he nods in acknowledgement before turning back to the newcomers.
I'm a member of the council that keeps things going here, and before we say anything else to each other I'd like to hear your intent in approaching us...
His face is gruff, impassive.
Cale and Danel seem to calm a little as they see Radek unmoved by the giant bird and implacable Shoanti in front of them.
Lives nods to Flynn and Sky as they land, and turns impassively back to those greeting him.
"Two alone, in the wilds, when the dead walk and hunger, it only takes one bad day for two to be no more. Two among many, with strong walls? It is likely that two can help many to live and prosper, with themselves among the many. Maybe many can survive a bad day where two cannot."
He speaks slowly, his voice deep and soft. The impassive face that the Shoanti were known to turn to outsiders is all he shows, but a tapping foot betrays his interest.
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Lilith's mind races with the possibility of having an ally with a flying mount. We can search for Valex much more easily. she thinks among a jumble of other thoughts. Not being a leader of this place, she says nothing initially and adopts an open stance, daring to hope that two more souls have found there way to Solace.