Drawing his heavy mace, Cyrus scrambled through the underbrush and took a swing at the disgusting creature.
to attack, damage.
Rally tucked her tail and slunk into the bushes, trembling.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Cyrus stumbles slightly as he scrambles through some bushes, swinging his mace wildly at the creature's head but missing entirely.
Hirda shoulders her way between Perrin and Titania and swings her club at the creature.
Her club smashes into the creature's flank. It snarls in pain.
With a small trickle of blood flowing from the wound inflicted by the earth elemental, the enraged the creature leaps to its feat, leaving an opening to attack it.
Cyrus
Hirda
Pebbles
Titania
Vors
Taking a storm of blows from all sides, the creature's flash is in tatters. Yet still it fights on with blind, bestial ferocity. It lunges at Cyrus.
Cyrus is knocked prone as the creature tears a gash in his leg.
You feel a fire in your blood as the creature's saliva mixes into your leg
but the pain soon dulls down to that of just the wound itself.
Despite the distractions of fighting for your life with weapons and teeth flashing all around you, you notice that the creature's wounds seem to be slowly but visibly knitting themselves back together, though not as quickly as you have been inflicting them.
"Look! The creature's wounds are healing on their own! That's fascina- I mean, that's horrifying!"
As Cyrus falls to the ground, Perrin scrambles back several yards, then stops abruptly. His arms fling to the side, his head tilts back, and his eyes flash the darkest black. He gives a guttural shriek, like the cry of a demon.
The stone figure stabs forward once more, its movements almost mechanical but with a purposeful force behind them.
The creature drops dead. But, as pointed out by Perrin, you see its wounds continue healing.
Grunting, Cyrus got to his feet.
He looked doubtfully at the beast. "Well, if you say so. Guess we better keep hitting it."
Putting action to words, Cyrus lined up a swing at the beast's cranium.
Panting a bit with exertion, Cyrus said "Uh ... does anyone know if there's any way to make it stay down? Or do we gotta make a great big stake out of one these trees and just pin it to the ground? Or hang it by that chain?"
The creature's skull cracks open somewhat from Cyrus' blow, exposing its gray matter. Now that the creature is lying still on the ground and Perrin has pointed it out, you can all see that the creature's wounds are slowly knitting themselves back together, even the broken skull.
Titania keeps hacking it up.
"Keep hacking it up, it can't keep healing forever."
"I sure hope you're right, Titania! But ... it might take a while, and we have other things to do also."
"Best to kill it now, as I bet you don't want it stalking and hunt you, especially when are hands are full with something else."
"We could maybe try... um... burning it?"
Titania's blow removes the head and some of the shoulders of the creature.
"Ent things supposed to be dead before you cremate them?" Cyrus asked.
“If hittin’ it don’t work, then aye, let’s see if we can get it chained up again!”
Vors grabs the chain attached to the creature and sees about securing it around a nearby tree. “Never seen the like before - what of all of you? What in blazes is this thing?”
"Fire can made the dead deader, so we'll need to burn it."
As Vors secures one end of the chain to a tree, Perrin raises his eyebrows. "Um, about that." He points to the other end of the chain, the collar wrapped around the beast's neck - which Titania had just neatly severed from its body.
“Never seen the like before - what of all of you? What in blazes is this thing?”
"No idea, but it's got to be magical, right? I mean, animals just can't do that." Perrin pauses, looking curious. "Could it have been what left those tracks back in the field?"
"Fire can made the dead deader, so we'll need to burn it."
"I can try to burn it if you'd like, but you all should probably stand back a bit."
Once the others have stepped back from the creature's body, Perrin approaches, looking eager but uncertain. He raises his hands and gives another demonic screech.
With that, a cone of searing flame bursts from his fingertips, scorching the remnants of the bizarre creature in front of him.
Vors hops back from the flames, at least, as much as an old fighter can hop.
”Well, i was waiting for the head to grow back a bit before finishing the tie off,but that might do it, Perrin.”
If that keeps the creature down, Vors turns to Cyrus and asks, ”Think he could follow any kind of trail left by that beastie? Gods help us if there be more than the one, but we have to go see where it leads us.”
"Great heavens!" Cyrus blurted out as flames burst out of nowhere and washed over the corpse.
"I reckon Rally can follow the trail easily enough. Makes me worried, though. This beastie was a dumb brute -- but that chain and collar means it had a master. Sommat smart enough to keep its hound chained. Like as not, if we find the master, we'll find any other beasties it has." Cyrus and Rally set about tracking once again.
Perrin and Pebbles try to help with the tracking as best they can.
As they travel, Cyrus speaks quietly to Perrin. "Hey, uh, Doctor Alders ... back there in the fight, you shouted in some kind of weird gabble a couple times. What was that all about?"
"Oh, that?" Perrin responds cheerfully. "That was the language of my god. I've been learning more of this whole "magic" stuff, but it's a lot easier when I call upon his divine power. Kind of disturbing, I know, but it gets the job done."
"Oh, and sorry about springing this little guy on you like that," Perrin continues, gesturing to the elemental half-crawling, half-rolling along the ground next to them. "I got worried when people started disappearing, so I summoned him to help keep us safe!" he declares proudly. "His name's Pebbles."
"Oh," Cyrus says. "Well, maybe we're alike that way. I been doing a lot of praying these last couple years, and found I can do some things, I guess magic is what you'd call it. And I often find myself sayin' words I don't understand. Don't sound much like yours, though."
The pieces of the creature made no effort to dodge the fire spell. You examine the smoldering hunks of flesh on the ground and they do not appear to be regenerating any longer.
Searching for tracks, you find the following.
"Hmm. Looks like the beastie we just fought came in from east-north-east. But there're several other sets of tracks -- a lone person heading almost due west, and a pack of people with more of those creatures headed east."
Cyrus scratched his head.
Hirda gathers her wits and finally breaks out of her stunned silence.
My lands, I've heerd tales o' all sorts o' strange beasts, but I ain't never seed nothin' like t' this! An' you also, my li'l Perrin, who'da thunk ya'd have such wizardry in ya? Ye're skeerin' me, y'are, tho' fer certain I'm glad yer makin' good use o' it.
Now, afore we go chargin' off inta more danger, let's take a look at that leg, young Cyrus. That scratch orter be dressed. An' you my dearie, how ya be fairin'? D'ya need anythin' on yer leg there? (Speaking to Titania).
"Thanks, Hirda," Cyrus said. "Titania also needs some attention, I believe. Beastie had a nasty bite!"
Rally smelled Goodman Higgins at his farm but not anywhere along this trail, though his mule's tracks and scent have been here all along. The mule's tracks lead off with the group of humanoids and creature tracks.
None of the humanoid tracks are strikingly larger than others. They range from about 11 to 14 inches in length.
Perrin peers down at Cyrus' and Titania's wounded legs with concern. "Oh, let me take a look at that! I am a doctor, after all, and I think we could all use a bit of a rest."
"There we go. I could do more with my supplies back in town, but this'll have to do for now. That alright?" He pauses, considering. "I've also got a wand that can heal more quickly," he adds, patting his pocket almost reverently, "but we should probably save that for emergencies."
"Thank you kindly, Doc Alders," Cyrus said.
"Well, Rally don't think Goodman Higgins came this way, but his mule followed the big group, that-a-way. Shall we follow the mule?"
“I say yes, after the mule.” Vors frowns, looking down at the tracks. “How many of them do you figure? Them’s big feet...”
Hirda rummages through her mule's saddle bags to pull out a small loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese, which she divides and passes around. Best have a snack, keep yer strength up. My apologies, Titania dear, I hope ya've bought along some food fer yerself. I weren't able t' pack enough t' fill yer belly fer long, I'm afraid. As fer what t' do next, I'm wit' Mr. Vors, if we've any hope o' findin' our folk alive, it'll be in that direction, I reckon.
Aye, n' be ready t' find more o' th' like o' this perversion o' nature, or worse.
Hirda wields her club as she makes her way through the forest, following the tracks. On her back she carries a pack, as well as a glaive, which on closer inspection appears to be nothing more than a sickle lashed to a stout pole. The blade juts up far above her head, and as she ambles along in a slow, rocking gait, it seems to catch in the branches of every tree and bush that she passes by.
Aye, n' be ready t' find more o' th' like o' this perversion o' nature, or worse.
"Oh, it wasn't that horrible," Perrin responds conversationally as they start off. "Probably just hungry, after being chained up all day."
Cyrus grunted, gingerly laying a hand on the dressed wound on his leg. "Well, Doc, next one we come to, you can be the meal. How's that sound?"
Perrin's face takes on a horrified expression. "No, wait, I didn't mean - um... I'll just stop talking now."
No use pretending we're on some merry adventure. Whatever's taken me 'usband, an' ol' 'iggins, it weren't t' improve their comfort, ya can be sure o 'that. I ain't given up 'ope yet o' findin' 'em alive, but like as not they's dead, and we's next. But I ain't aboot t' turn back whiles me friens n' family are in danger.
“Aye, let’s all stop talkin’ while we are after these brigands. More for them to hear when we approach - I’m not that stealthy to begin with these days. Less noise for the road - maybe less heartache, too.”
With that, Vors moves to follow Cyrus and his tracking hound.
Hirda plods on, her footsteps softened by the plentiful vegetation. A grinding noise gradually becomes audible, as she begins gritting her teeth, unconsciously and with surprising force.
Come to my town, take my husband, probably kill him, everyone scared, nasty creatures, REVENGE!!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Cyrus kept his attention to the trail, following Rally's lead. The pain in his leg had dwindled to a steady ache, but every new step sent little shivers up from it. He ignored it, keeping a stoic face.
Sure hope we find the Goodman alive,
Thud. Pain.
But I don't reckon we will.
Thud. Pain.
Poor Goodwife Higgins.
Thud. Pain.
They loved each other so much.
Thud. Pain.
Hate to see somethin' beautiful like that all tore up.
Thud. Pain.
Sure is a pretty day out here.
Thud. Pain.
Things can't be so bad when there's still beauty like this.
Thud. Pain.
Just gotta keep it that way.
Thud. Pain.
Sure is quiet around here. Normally I'd be enjoying the peace and tranquility, but I guess that's been robbed from us until we can banish these evildoers, or kill them.
Tess whispers
"Anyone else think it is too quiet?"
"Quiet is nice! Quiet means that nothing is currently trying to eat us."
Perrin pauses.
"...probably."
Indeed these woods do seem uncannily quiet as you move along, doing your best to keep your noise down. Occasionally, a bird chirps or the breeze rustles leaves overhead but your nerves have settled into a quiet tension after your encounter with that strange creature.
You walk east for about 2 miles without incident, following the tracks of the creature, the mule, and these humanoids.
The tracks approach a low line of hills and pass through a gap in the line of hills.
Feel free to declare an out of combat movement into a specific square.