Rethe's fur bristles and his teeth show as the two creatures approach, rambling, but he settles once more as he makes out that it is a plea for help - even if the rest of their speech is a bit more difficult to follow.
He holds his hands up in a nonthreatening gesture, intending to try to calm them, but stops as Chara attempts to soothe them. Not bad, he thinks to himself, then simply takes a step back, so as not to crowd the beasts or frighten them with his appearance.
He does look back in the direction from which they appeared however, as he watches and listens for anything that might be following them.
With Layali's entreaty of food, and Chara's calming approach, the two blurs finally settle. One of the blurs finally resolves itself as a mottled green and brown Pseudodragon, that carefully accepts the offer of a ration as it settled on her shoulder (the one closest to the food, of course), and the other does the same to Chara. The two dragons settle their wings with some haste, perhaps borne of some combination of fear and nerves. They both appear to be similar, so they are possibly related.
To those present, their ears hear nothing, but the words -- or for the more perceptive, the meaning-- echo in their heads.
'They aren't normal, those skeletons, and they are coming this way!'
The one on Chara's shoulder seemed a bit more composed. 'As if skeletons are ever normal. We can fly, but you cannot. I would be concerned.'
A small snort came from the one on Layali's shoulder, licking its claws clean. 'Thank you for the food.' An image of the skeletons as they were seen from overhead is suddenly in the mind of everyone, and those that have some knowledge of the forest can eventually make out what they may be.
'Theyaredestroyingtheforestastheygoandtheydonottravelfastbuttheyarecoming', said the one perched on Chara's shoulder. It looks in the direction that they came from, as if looking for something, but it lowers its head again.
Chara reaches up to the one on her shoulder and scratches its head a little bit. "Let us see what we can do little ones." Chara looks off in the distance where the pseudodragon looked trying to see if the creatures they were talking about were on route.
Chara focuses on the image that the pseudodragons presented. "Hmm, their anatomy looks like that of an owlbear. I know necromancers could raise anything they chose but why an owlbear? Maybe convenience, maybe they had a specific purpose or message." She sighs "Or maybe the necromancer is just doing it for fun. Whatever the reason it doesn't make the outcome any more pleasant."
Chara looks over her bow and sword then over to Layali. "Let's take some clubs, if they are anything like normal skeletons I doubt our bows or swords will do much against them." Chara looks through the nearby undergrowth to see if she can turn something into a shillelagh.
Knowledge Nature:
Layali's hand goes to her terbutje and she nods at Chara. "We are thinking the same thing sister." Looking at Rethe's morningstar she continues, "That should be effective as well."
Layali offers more of the ration to the pseudodragon on her shoulder. "Your warning is most helpful friends. Can you tell us how they are destroying the forest? Knocking down the trees? Certainly not with fire I hope!"
Djon's eyes go wide at the thought of fire wielding skeletal Owlbears and he quicklyl searches for the biggest blunt object available.
"I'm not exactly sure what an Owlbear is but it sounds terrifying, and is it just me or did everyone have a voice in their head just now?"
Rethe snorts a bit and smiles. "More than usual, yes," he agrees with Djon. At Layali's note about his weapon, he taps the end in the palm of his other hand and nods.
Directed toward the pseudodragons, he says, "Thank you for the warning, and if you wish to avoid these monsters, I think no one here would blame you. Feel free to take to the air. We shall see what we can do about them though." He then moves a short ways to the front of the party, in the direction the dragons came from, and takes up a defensive stance, in case the unnatural creatures might be following close behind.
Chara chuckles as she is looking for a blunt object. "Well Djon, picture a bear that is on it's hind legs, then picture it having the head of an owl. There we go, an owlbear. I am convinced the first person to see one just yelled the two animals it looks most like and the name stuck."
Finding a club or staff is not difficult in this forest. Sturdy branches lie about the floor in the shade of the old trees, and the noise of the forest is slowly falling silent. Those with good ears can make out the direction that it seems to be coming from, and it is not there yet, but it will be soon, perhaps minutes.
" I imagined it with wings at first, well at least it cant fly."
Looking around the area as her companions gather make-shift cudgels, Layali says "We prepare an ambush then. Aradesh, I'm sure your training of Tandi is excellent but there is no telling how the beast will react to these abominations. Perhaps you should ride upwind of us, awaiting an opportunity to put that lance to use?"
Readying her terbutje, Layali hides herself in the underbrush.
Hefting a cudgel Chara replies to Djon "Well some are known to have wings but these are skeletons so I doubt they'd fly, though prepare for the worst I guess." Chara goes to hide in a separate place to Layali so if one of them is spotted it isn't both of them.
"One moment," Rethe says, before his companions go to take their positions. He holds the hand with his weapon to his forehead and closes his eyes, in contemplation. "Ancestors, guide us to victory," he intones, a wave of unseen power rippling through the air around him.
He then watches his companions secret themselves. "Heh, I'm not so great at hiding, so I'll try and drawn their attention past you all," he says. He takes an unhidden position, further away from the direction the beasts are coming, such that should they approach him, it may allow the other catfolk to surround the creatures.
With the Pseudodragons' warnings, they had enough time to get comfortable and wait, so when a pair of deer bounded through their position, clearly fleeing, they were not unprepared. There were also other fleeing animals that could be seen by the more perceptive as things scattered from the oncoming unnatural things. While they could not see anything yet, the sounds of a branch falling and being splintered was faint, and the fleeing of the forest creatures was noticeable.
It was not too long before the glimpse of the first skeleton was seen, two more close behind it. The amount of sound they made was eerie. The only thing that could be heard was the sounds of their weight on the forest floor, and the sounds of branches and grasses as they brushed against the bare bones.
The skeletons were in almost perfect condition, the browned color of aged bone, spatters of red and brown on limbs and beak from previous creatures that had been killed, with some smaller, whiter, marks from other creatures that had fought back before they succumbed. The skulls cast about as they traveled, all of them stopping in unison as they spotted Rethe easily before the others in their hiding places.
Chara from her hidden place in the bushes prepares to cast a grease spell at the two skeletons to the south, as soon as they get close to any of the party she will cast her spell.
Djon will take a hiding spot behind the tree, newly fashioned club at the ready.
Layali readies an action to strike if one of the owlbear skeletons passes through her threatened squares.
As the walking bones come into his sight, Rethe's fur bristles and he lets out a roar out at them, hoping to gain their attention. As that fades out, he yells, "Come and face me, foul creatures! I will return you to the peace of death."
With that, he raises his mace and shield, ready for battle and trusting in his companions to make the most of the spectacle.
Round 1
Orienting on the beings closest to them in almost eerie silence save for the slight 'clack' of bone and the creak of aged sinew, Rethe's challenge seems to be unheard as the skeletons charge towards them with the sounds of dirt being torn up. They all have plenty of time to react.
Chara, having anticipated this, casts her readied spell, and while one skeleton manages to remain on its feet, the other topples over at the sudden lack of traction.
Layali, also ready, brings her Terbutje down on the skeleton that managed to tear through the brush to get to her hiding place, but the angle was slightly off, glancing across the hardened bone of the skeleton.
,
Chara from the bushes reaches over and strikes the skeleton in front of her.
Luck you haven't failed me yet, don't fail me now!
Djon attacks the undead nearest to him.
Layali swings at the beast next to her!
Attack:
There is a loud crashing noise in the brush to the east, and suddenly a wild, desperate-eyed Catfolk bursts from around a tree. He's wearing blood-caked, stiff furs and carries a long spear. Finally having caught up with the skeleton owlbears, he doesn't hesitate, but roars a violent and barbaric battle cry and throws himself into the fray.
R1 ~~
{NPC} With the introduction of the new Catfolk, possibly one of the Shadowlyn, Rethe hastened to aid Djon and Chara, moving in to aid in the attack against the owlbear skeleton that had not fallen due to Chara's grease spell. With Chara on the other side attacking also, the morningstar lands a solid hit on the skeleton, breaking bone, and fracturing others. The damage is enough to disrupt the energies animating the skeleton, and the bones collapse to the ground, inert. Surprised but relieved, Rethe sets himself, knowing this is not over yet.
R2
The Owlbear engaged with Layali turns, at a disadvantage due to being flanked by two individuals, it tries to swipe at the both of them. The attack comes nowhere near Layali, getting tangled in the brush and distracted by the newcomer. The claw attack does land on the spear wielder despite a flicker of a ghostly shield momentarily blocking it, coming and going so quickly it may not have been seen at all. The claw hooked in his armor, dragging him closer in a skeletal version of a hug and closer to that bloodstained beak.
The second Owlbear that had fallen in the grease attempts to get up and reach any of them. Finding its feet, it attempts to move towards Rethe and Chara, and despite almost slipping, it manages to close the distance, paying no attention to the bones of the other owlbear skeleton as it steps on and over them to get within arm's reach.
Rethe:
(10)O1:@L @W {Misfortune},Damage
O3:
Chara seeing she is helped by her friends now takes no heed and just attacks the owlbear in front of her.
Momentarily surprised by these developments, Layali regains her martial composure hoping to aid this newly arrived catfolk. Spinning around, taking a two-handed grip on the trebutje Layali swings with all her might.
Attack:
Damage:
Confirm:
Confirm Damage:
Djon stumbles into a flank with Rethe and attacks with his makeshift club.
HP: 10/15
CMB check to escape grapple
With a vicious growl Warrok digs his claws into the owlbear bone and pushes, trying to force himself from the monstrosity's grip. If successful, he retrieves his longspear and steps back five feet, brandishing the sharp stick in the skeleton's face. Warrok hisses savagely and spittle flies out, sticking to his whiskers and spattering the ground around him, but the wild Catfolk is pure fury and ignores everything but the beast before him.
Rethe's ears pin back as he tries to keep track of the battle - including the owlbear yet fighting Layali, and the surprising arrival of the new catfolk.
R3
The Pseudodragons had departed, taking wing to a nearby tree as the Owlbears showed, though there did seem to be one Pseudodragon on the ground nearby where the new catfolk appeared, scrambling through the grass to the nearest tree that was not near any of the skeletons. The two other pseudodragons took note of this and winged over to the same tree, chirping down at the other one, whose wing seemed to be injured.
Between Rethe, Chara, and Djon, the Owlbear is hit too many times to maintain integrity, and it too collapses, the animating magic dissipated among broken and fractured bones.
The newcomer, managing to free himself from the grip of the Owlbear skeleton, avoids that deadly beak but again, the skeleton swipes at both him and the Huntress, striking both and dragging them closer.
Considering that the skeletons fought in near silence, the sounds of exertion from the living make the fight a somewhat eerie thing, but it made the wounds no less real.
(18)O1@W: -, @L -
Warrok takes five points of damage and is grappled.
Layali takes ten points of damage and is grappled.
Chara hears the sound of the other Owlbear wrestling with her friend and the newcomer. She looks up to see both of them be grappled and quite badly hurt.
"Layali!" She screams, Chara then dashes forward, leaping into the air hefting her club in two hands she brings it down onto the Owlbear's face. "Unhand them you unholy beast."
Luck, guide my hand.
Following the others lead Djon will double move to the last undead.
It seemed teamwork and a bit of luck had kept three of them from harm but this last Owlbear was giving the huntress and this new cat some trouble. For a moment Djon considered trying to goad the creature into attacking thereby freeing the catfolk currently within it's grasp but Djon didn't think the Owlbear, undead or otherwise, would understand intelligent speach.
Growling, Warrok attempts to break free from the owlbear's grasp once more, but struggles futilely against its boney grip.
Having already been mauled by the undead beast, Layali goes limp in the creature's grapple hoping the mindless thing will believe she is already dead.
Round 3
{NPC}As the other skeleton collapses, Rethe turns to see Layali and the new catfolk both clutched in the claws of the last remaining owlbear, and charges to their aid. In order for it to attack him, it would have to drop someone, and that was a good thing, whichever it chose to do. Unfortunately, in his caution to avoid hitting one of the others, the blow lacks enough power to do enough damage.
Round 4
With another new being within reach, the skeleton drops the (not)dead individual to deal with the growling, struggling creature it had caught a hold of. Hardly a second of wresting ensues as the newcomer is forcibly dragged under the skeleton, a dispassionate bite from that wicked beak inflicts severe damage upon the newcomer then it drops him, its head turning to look at Rethe.
Rethe @O1 (Bless, Charge, Flank)
O1 Grapple on Warrok , Bite damage to Warrok
8 damage to Warrok.
(Corrected) Round 3
As the rest of the group closes to help Layali and the newcomer with the last skeleton, Chara's attack lands on the skeleton, and it disperses the magic just as the owlbear was going to bite the newcomer, instead collapsing the skeleton atop him, inert.
[/ooc]Combat concluded. Everyone advance to level 2.[ooc]
Warrok, under the owlbear, writhes about angrily and begins clawing into the skeletal beasts, ripping bones out and tossing them around the forest until he's able to stand, shaking and bloody, but alive.
He looks around at the other Catfolk he's found. A little shy outside of battle, he says, "Greetings. I am Warrok. The Wanderer."
"Hello Warrok, I'm Djon. Thanks for the help."
Chara hunches over Layali "You okay, you had me scared for a minute when you faked dying!"
Completely lost in tending to her friend she ignores Warrok for a bit before saying. "Oh I'm Chara, thanks for helping us back there!"
Layali reaches up for Chara's hand. She stands, turning her head sideways and wincing in pain. "Well, I guess that worked out then didn't it?" She picks up her trebutje stowing it, she turns her attention on the new arrival "My thanks wanderer. Without your assistance I do not believe we would be returning from this hunt. I am Layali Amani, huntress of the Rosebarrow. You have my thanks. We will be making camp shortly I suspect, you are more than welcome to join us."
Warrok retrieves his spear as well. "Thank you, new friends. I have been tracking those Owlbears for many hours now, and it has been a long day." Warrok looks around for the pseudodragon that came withhim, to make sure that it's okay.
Rethe dusts himself off after the battle, shaking free any shards of bone that had became lodged in his fur during the fight, before he turns and bows to Warrok. "Your assistance was most welcome, friend. I am Rethe Carron, and pleased to make your acquaintance."
He looks over Layali and Warrok's injuries. "If you require any healing, I'd be happy to do what I can," he says to both of them.
"Tracking? Do you know where they came from? Or did their destructive path just cross yours?"
While everyone is recovering and taking inventory, the Pseudodragons can be heard chirping at each other on occasion, the two that had been with the party now joined by the one that had arrived with the Warrok. They sat upon an upper branch of the nearby tree, looking down at the forest floor where the skeletons lay. The two that had been with the group were on either side of the new one, and it looked like they were happy to see each other.
"I tracked them for the past day, coming from southeast of the Rosebarrow."
"I was warned of them by a scout, and decided to follow them. Until now, they've destroyed everything in their path... I wanted to catch them, and warn those ahead of them. But I could't have hoped for a better outcome."
"And thank you, friend Rethe. I am actually injured some... that owlbear was still very strong for just being bunches of bones."
Chara takes out her booklet and starts to draw the owlbears as she remembers them fully formed. I wonder what is causing these undead to rampage so readily.
Warrok tell me, have you heard of anything else or just what this scout has told you?"
Rethe nods to Warrok and closes his eyes a moment, focusing inward. Spirits, return life to this one. His valor yet burns brightly.
Placing his hand on Warrok's back, golden light spills forth, knitting his wounds back together.
Afterwards, he dips his head respectfully, then chuckles. "Yes, the strength of the undead can be alarming," he says, before turning to Layali. "How do you fare?" he asks.
Giving a weak smile at Rethe, Layali says "Another hit from one of those things and I wouldn't have been playing dead."
Motioning toward the pseudodragons, "Warrok are these friends of yours then?"
"No, only what the scout told me. Normally I hunt in the forests. Today I am protecting it."
Warrok leans on his spear awkwardly, obviously not the most comfortable with social situations. "The hurt one is with me, yes. I found it in the brush, a little injured dragon. It asked me not to leave it alone, so I brought it with me. It has a brave soul."