Eli once again takes half a step back, before nodding and acknowledging his cousin's decision.
"May the High One protect you as well." he adds in a voice devoid of emotion.
Another quick hug, and then returning to work, head hung lower than before.
As the blazing sun rises higher in the sky, nine of you set out on the long trade road from Vigilant toward Resplendent.
Eli and Sister Azmaria sleep in the back of the cart in the morning. Shyness and Cernan sleep in the back of the cart in the afternoon. Aeryth, Marius, Poterol, Chap, Arabeth, and the mounts sleep at a makeshift roadside camp at night, while the four who slept during the day keep watch ... and the pattern repeats itself...
Perception(day 1):
Initiative(day 1):
Perception(any other day):
Initiative(any other day):
Celestial Summons Game Post
Nine of you continue on the long trade road from Vigilant toward Resplendent, getting used to the routine of travel. A sense of urgency still nags at the back of your minds, but there's nothing else you can do for now.
Eli and Sister Azmaria sleep in the back of the cart each morning. Shyness and Cernan sleep in the back of the cart each afternoon. Aeryth, Marius, Poterol, Chap, Arabeth, and the mounts sleep at a makeshift roadside camp each night, while the four who slept during the day keep watch. And, the pattern repeats.
On your ninth day of travel, in the middle of nowhere, as you ride the road under the blazing sun of a particularly hot afternoon, things suddenly get a lot hotter. A low roar sounds as fire engulfs the entire lot of you, flames instantly covering people, mules, and cart in a blazing inferno.
From somewhere well off the side of the road to your right, a nasty chittering chuckle can now be heard, along with a single word:
However, nothing unusual can be seen in that direction.
Sister Azmaria, Eli, Poterol, and Aeryth find themselves badly burned, the cart on fire, the mules panicking, and their allies suddenly unconscious and possibly dying.
Before they can act, a singed-yet-growling Rex shoots off the road to the right and surges toward a point about 50 feet away, his jaws snapping viciously through the air. You hear something like a frightened squawk coming from seemingly nowhere, and yet somewhere near Rex.
Growling - a curiously flat noise, coming from behind Eli's mask - the young man points to his downed comrades as he takes off moving rapidly. "Those with the ability, please ensure our cousins live. For the rest of us," his mask slipping off in his charge, "let us destroy the pest!" he finishes, with a curious emotion on his now-revealed face - a strange combination of fury, almost a kind of excitement... and joy.
Poterol will immediately go to the nearest downed cousin and begin with his healing hex.
"Go! I'll keep them alive!"
Chap's horse grinds in teeth in agony as it slumps to the ground in burning agony, Chap passes out from fear before the flames consume her body, slumping over in the saddle atop the dying horse.
Azmaria rolls out of the way of the blast but not quite far enough to avoid it all together. a quick check indicates that her ammo is safe.
a survey of the situation indicates that there are some in need, her pistol drawn, and the barrel in postion for a normal shot (as opposed to a silver shot), Azmaria decides that there isn't a clear shot yet; she turns her attention to the fallen.
she holsters her gun, and begins a prayer in celestial.
Lord of Heaven,
I rest underneath your mighty wings of love.
I dwell within your gentle heart.
I know there is healing in your touch.
Through the sufferings of Christ I can ask for restoration
And trust in your goodness.
You are my Lord, my Saviour,
My healer and my friend.
I dwell within your gentle embrace.
Amen.
Azmaria's body glows with a divine light that washes over the entire group.
Sister Azmaria's divine glow washes over the group, bringing a small measure of much-needed healing to all.
Eli charges to attack the air in front of Rex. As he swings down Mayor Daniel's greataxe, a horrible howl can be heard, seemingly from nowhere.
Poterol moves quickly to heal Chap.
An imp becomes visible between Eli and Rex as it stings Eli with its tail.
"Your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of elderberries!"
"Your insults reveal only your lack of intellect."
The imp, still visible after stinging Eli, quickly flies straight up in an escape attempt. As it does so, Eli manages to slice through part of its thick skin again with the greataxe, but Rex only manages to chomp the air.
"Everyone: you need to hit it with everything you have now." Eli says, dropping his axe for his bow and a silver arrow.
Azmaria, seeing everyone is safe for now, she get a visual on what they are facing.
She turns toward the imp's direction and advances a few paces drawing her pistol she rotates the barrel, The holy scriptures are useless, this calls for the Gospel.
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Marius' eyes shoot open to a wave of flame washing over the group. Wracked with pain, he can only turn his head enough to see the flaming remains of all of their supplies a dozen feet to the right. Beneath him the world shook in panic. Somewhere, Eli is shouting for help. Elsewhere, Rex is barking like it's the end of days. It sure felt like it.
Gritting his teeth, the hunter digs deep and tries to pull out some of the hardy constitution he'd always had. Of course, he'd never been burnt quite this badly before. He could feel his skin - what was left of it - crawling all over his body. Steeling his nerves, he pulled what was left of himself together. His friends - his family - was burning alive around him.
Lifting his head, he can see a bat-winged creature flying high in the sky above. The mule he was riding on was still alive, somehow. It was terrified and bucking, but Marius was so out of it he could hardly feel it. He spotted Eli, pointing a bow skyward. It was all Marius needed to know. He reached for his bow, acting on instinct, and found it where he'd left it, somehow still in one piece. He brought it up while his hands sought the silver arrow he'd been given. Putting shaft to string, he took aim and fired skyward.
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Azamria's divine energy washes over, and with Poterol's assistance, Chap's eyes flutter open and recognize the carnage and devastation wrought by the fluttering creature in the air. Unable to help her comrades she decides to go after the creature ascending up after it.
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"Son of a -"
Aeryth pulls out his shield and a javelin
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Poterol sees the imp, but knows that nothing he can do will hurt it. He instead turns to the cart and casts Create Water to try to dampen the fires enough to pull his companions out of it.
Eli calls upon his allies to attack the fiend.
Aeryth quickly draws a javelin and expertly hurls it at the flying imp, drawing a sharp squeal of pain as it pierces the tough hide, but doesn't do enough damage to bring the tiny fiend down.
Shyness successfully manages to drag herself and Cernan out of the burning cart, but then collapses unconscious from the effort.
Marius pulls upon inner reserves of strength to grab a silver arrow and shoot it toward the fiend, but the wildly bucking mule he rides upon causes the shot to go incredibly wide.
Rex can only growl up at the imp 50 ft. above his head.
Sister Azmaria shoots a silver bullet, but the tiny fiend just barely manages to flutter out of the way.
Eli shoots a silver arrow straight up, but also narrowly misses the dexterous little imp.
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Poterol will first go to heal Shyness, as she is dying again.
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Poterol, about to cast water upon the wagon, suddenly sees Shyness burst out through the flames, dragging an unconscious Cernan. She collapses, momentarily unconscious and dying again, at Poterol's feet, until he quickly bends down to let his healing magic revive her once more.
Chap, surprisingly, takes flight, moving up toward the imp while aiming her bow and firing a single Cernan-crafted silver arrow straight through the tiny flying fiend's tough hide. The imp squeals in extremely intense pain. You suspect it can't take much more, but it doesn't quite fall.
Instead, the imp disappears.
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Azmaria, pistol drawn, takes aim at the imp in the air. her hands tremble.
she glances back at the destruction with the cart. some lie there grievous wounds.
she tries to aim her gun then glances back again. dang it. she mutters and she holsters her gun and returns as quickly as possible to those that have fallen.
unsure which is in need the most she goes to Arabeth first and with a gentle touch her divine energy flows through her, healing Arabeth's burns.
Eli pulls out two arrows - one silver, one plane, and notches the plain one this time, aiming directly at the space the imp disappears, glancing at his various cousins out of the corner of his eye to see if he adjusts his target space.
Aeryth moves away from the group, just far enough to not be caught in another blast.
Chap flys up another 20ft toward where she saw the imp, and readies to fire on the fiend should it appear again.
When the imp disappears, Aeryth hurries 50ft away from the wagon to avoid potentially being caught in another blast of fire.
Sister Azmaria hurries over to the very unconscious Arabeth slumped on her horse, her touch spreading a holy healing glow .
Chap flies up closer to where the imp disappeared, and readies herself to shoot if she has the chance.
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Eli, at first aiming straight above his head where the imp disappeared, shifts his target to an area somewhat closer to the wagon but off to the side a bit, and looses an arrow, which doesn't seem to hit anything in its flight.