"You want wrath? Face me!" Lasciel shouts sending a freezing ball of snow and ice slamming into one of the armored women.
Jen was still looking at the recently downed mongrelfolk when the women entered and made their command. The mental command finding no purchase as Jen's face twists into rage while she turns to face the pair. The haft of her glaive groaning as her knuckles went white.
"You." the paladin spat, as though it were the vilest curse she knew. Teeth bared as animal wrath surged. eyes locked on the symbol of their god.
Fire. Death. The horned sigil on weapons and lips as life drained. rage
Then, like a candle in the breeze the surging wrath evaporated. Replaced by a calm expression and a sigh"No. That won't bring them back." The half orc mutters as her hands relax their grasp.
"Much as it would feel good to rip your arms out of their sockets and choke you to death on your own bloodsoaked hands" The paladin threatens quietly as she stares the pair of warriors down. Striding forward to the pair as she spoke.
"You are not worth that to me. So I am going to tell you now that if you throw down your weapons I will advocate mercy when you are judged. It is your folly if you mistake this offer for weakness though." The womans glaive whistling through the air as she reached the extent of her weapons reach.
*
" Violence is simple after all.
*
Jaeger's eyes glaze over momentarily as Abyssion drops from his fingers, his eyes refocus and he looks in confusion at his now empty hand and Abyssion on the floor. Without hesitating he draws his shortsword and rushes the same cleric Jen and Lasciel already attacked. When reaching them he drops into a roll popping up just to the left of the cleric. "Ju go an put a gris-gris on Jaeger? Now dat ain't no way to make friends." He says as he punches out with the hilt of the shortsword.
Lasciel's snowball is not warmly received by the cleric who barely resists the effects of it just as Jen and Jaeger descend on her. Though Lasciel notes a light flash of shadow where her snowball punched through something unseen...
Jaegers acrobatics get him inside the reach of the clerics twin weapons and his feint catches the already wounded of them off guard , though Jens strike finishes the job. With one might blow she sends the cleric tumbling to the floor unconscious, though her strikes shatters some sort of barrier. An odd heaviness slowed her blade momentarily before she gave the cleric a good strike.
Jen's words fell on deaf ears as the last Cleric steps back into the doorway, brandishing their Glaive and now out of reach as they crow with laughter mockingly at Jen. "Advocating mercy, that's rich! It's that weakness that led to you fools being butchered! We are his blades! All who stand against us..." They heft their glaive and bring it down on their fallen companion without a hint of remorse. Severing their head from their shoulders in a single horrific blow. "... shall DIE!" There head doesn't even roll, merely sliding forward some with a wide trail of blood and torn flesh.
The blood pools as the heart of the dead cleric continues to pump franticly, draining their body as it shivers on the floor in its last throes of life. The remaining cleric smiles madly from behind their horned helm and raises their glaive in preparation to meet the coming assault. "I will be reborn!"
PARTY IS UP! MAP UPDATED!
Lasciel utters a phrase in Draconic, an additional shimmering layer of force, momentarily reminiscent of scales appearing before her as she stalks forward angrily.
"Mercy is the gift of the strong, have you never heard that adage? Instead of trusting your ally would not break under our 'weakness' you killed her. Perhaps because you feel in the same position you might break yourself? I pity you for your ignorance on how a demon lord rewards failure. I'd not worry if my words are straining your mind though, your body will soon match."
the cold eyed paladin responds, as she twirls her weapon while advancing. Lips curled into a grimace of disgust.
The cleric takes thestrike and remains standing looking oddly unphased by the well aimed blow from Jen's Glaive. "She died to be reborn! To serve in His army and return!" They laugh madly as they hold the corner with their glaive at the ready, appearing prepared to fight until the last breath.
"Ja ok, ju touched in de ead or sometin?" Jaeger says as he slides in closer first slamming his shortsword against her glaive he then slides the point into her side.
[ooc] It doesn't prevent me from my stated actions so a 15ft move is just fine. I usually let players make a heal check to know what quarter of a creatures health is at.[ooc]
Between Jen and Jaeger's attacks the armored cleric goes down, slumping against the wall and sliding to the floor. Dropping their stylistic glaive as their horned helm twists with the rough fall.
No more enemies appear to be present, though two mongrelfolk have escaped the fight, going in two different directions...
Jen mutters something dark at the unconscious cleric before leaning her glaive upagainst a nearby wall and immediately setting to work on the nearest unconscious and bleeding mongrel folk.
" As I am unable to speak with them so I can't be sure but with the way the last battle we had went I am willing to believe that these warrior were mislead by those vipers. It seems to be a theme for them of making forces that could have very well been allies fight each other. Misleading and manipluating to leave even greater harms in the ones who had to do the killing than in even the ones who were killed." The half orc removing some layers of cloth and ripping a bandage out of a shirt sleeve
It seems rather obvious that the holy warrior was far out of her depth on how to treat injuries as severe as the ones that had been inflicted on those mongrelfolk still alive.
"What makes you think they're misled if you can't even understand what they're saying? We appreciate the help and all but you seem to be more concerned about not actually hurting anybody than taking them down." Lasciel says to the newcomer.
Jen looks up from her work and gives Lasciel a brittle, sad expression. " Lady Lasciel, between the Deathguard nearly tearing themselves apart and their captain being the puppet of some demon? What makes you believe they are not misled? We don't know their reasons and have no way of communicating. Leaving them to bleed to death with doubt about their reasons is not something i'm willing to be party to." The woman replies as she sighs at the useless mess her impromtu attempt at first aid was becoming.
" Fixing someone is so much harder than hurting them after all."
"Ju attack me an mine ju goin ta end up bleedin out. It's dat simple it da law of da street." Jaegers says as he wipes the blood from his shortsword on the tabard of the cleric before sheathing it and walking over to Abyssion and sheathing that blade as well.
Jen continues in her efforts to staunch the warriors wound looking up at Jaeger for a moment " Blood for blood, eye for an eye. I don't doubt you know how that adage goes."
The half orc again sighing as her attempts to staunch the wound fails. Jen laying a hand on the warriors chest and channeling power.
" I am not asking you to feel the way I do about those that we battle. Just understand that I can't in good conscience leave these people to bleed. If you wish to continue without me I'll catch up once I'm finished here."
"Just don't expect me to spare someone who tried to kill us, or get in my way. These people could have cost me my brother. You get between me and them you'll need to worry about healing yourself." Lasciel says stalking forward as she steps over the bodies.
"Mi Bebelle ju ok?" Jaeger asks as he wraps his arms around her waist kissing her neck.
Ethyra couldn't help but turn a shade or two of scarlet while her beloved openly showers her with affection. "I am alright my love, how are you?" She embraces him drawing him in as close as she could. She looks up at him and says what most would find foolish. "My beloved, I feel moved to heal these mongrelmen. After all, good people sometimes are driven to do questionable acts when in a bind. Who am I to judge? If they are truly guilty of a wicked heart, the gods will search them and punish them accordingly." She couldn't help but search Jaeger's eyes for approval.
"Ja but dey an we an da attack...ok" Jaeger says with a sigh and a slight smile. " Ju do what ju need to I'll be here mi bébelle." He says as he places his forehead against her's. While she heals the mongrelmen Jaeger checks the two clerics for any items of value they could use down here.
Cautiously she approaches the unconscious mongrelmen and tenderly places a hand on the chest of each body. Ethyra gently bows her head forward as she invisions the throne of Desna before her. At that moment goddess and servant are connected and a smokey vision of a moth begins to manifest out of thin air. "My dear Desna, I do not know what paths these men have tread or what lead them to this place in their lives. I ask for justice for their crimes and mercy for any circumstance that may have rendered a good person powerless, causing them to make wrong decisions." Her whispers fluttered from her heart to Desna's ears.
"Mother of dreams from which imaginary light and illusions are born, lend a healing hand, mend what is broken, bind what is torn."
She lifts her head and looks at Jen with the acknowledgement of a kindred spirit. "Perhaps with two working together, the healing will be quicker. It's always harder when doing something alone especially when others don't understand your decisions"
Jen seems to hold back words as Lasciel walks away but she returns to her task Much as I wish my world could be so black and white I will not dishonor my oaths by breaking them over such as these.
Jen gives Ethyra a small smile as she helps the half orc and nods. " Duty shared is duty halved. I don't ask you to understand my reasons but thank you for helping me regardless."
By the time you finish patching up the last of the injured a thick mist starts to fill the northern room. Emanating out from where the retreating mongrlfolk had last been. This thick mist formed quickly into a solid fog bank that reeked like rotting food and the unconscious clerk starts to vomit uncontrollably as the fog wafts over them as well...
"Wonderful, I hope you're happy that you gave them more time to prepare. Let's hope that bleeding heart of yours doesn't get us killed." Lasciel mutters glaring at the archer while fuming.
Jaeger rolls his eyes with an exaggerated movement of his head. "Come on dat ain't evan fair." He exclaims as he rushes into the fog and grabs the unconscious cleric by the shoulder and jerks her back out of the fog. He looks around for a second after dragging her back. "What? I couldn't leave her in dat stuff afta me bebelle gone an fixed er up." He says with a shrug.
"So anyone want to smell like Waller Brown Stew for a bit and rush through dat stuff an find out where it come from?" Jaeger says as he rolls his shoulders straightening his jacket as he does so.
Jen nods to Lasciel and after wiping her bloodied hands on her pants grabs her glaive as Jaeger drags the cleric away from the fog. The half-orc giving the man a pleased quirk of her lip as she walked.
" You are correct, this is my fault. I shall see if I cannot blunt their teeth. Keep an eye on the other two doors I would not be surprised if other warriors arrived from such paths." Sucking in a breath the woman moves quickly as she can through the fog walking in the direction the retreating mongrelfolk had ran.
Two potion's of cure light wounds, two scroll's of cause
fear, two scroll's of comprehend languages, unholy water; Two materwork chain shirts, two masterwork glaive's (cultist of Baphomet), two dagger, two spell component pouch, two unholy symbol of Baphomet, 20 gp
Rushing through the stinking fog leads Jen to what appears to be a crude rope leading upwards, which also appears to be shrouded in the same stinking fog...
The room you had fought in before has a small area where a fire was reduced to cold cinders which were surrounding by crude bedding and bits of bones and refuse tossed around the edges of the large room. It was obviously well lived in but appeared to not have been cleaned in ages. Jen and Ehtyra's ministrations helped to keep their former foes from dying completely before the fog had rolled in and interrupted their goodly workings.
Jen prods the ceiling with her glaive to determine the dimensions of the entrace to the area above, waving a hand to see if she couldn't determine if the hole with a rope was where the smoke was originating from.
The warrior listened closely to see if she couldn't hear more foes approaching under cover of the smoke as well.
Standing at the bottom of the hole leading upwards Jen can clearly hear the heavy breathing and shifting of those above her. Though she could not make anything out in this fog, it was clear that several foes waited above...
Jen considers the hold before shrugging Even if I were to go up there it would be a lopsided fight, were they to see they were losing they could just cut the rope I was using. A shame I don't have powers of flight or levitation.
The warrior makes a loop of the room seeking any other exits to the room before returning to the group.
Jen returns to the group and waves away some of the clinging smoke before speaking. " There is a rope leading to an upper level guarded by at least four warriors. Trying to fight that many dangling from a rope is going to be next to impossible at best. I have no means of levitation or flight so our best options would likely be trying one of the other paths. There also looks to be another door through the fog if you all feel able to hold your breath." the green one informs as she gestures to the two doorways in the room and then to the fog.
" I'd say the door past the fog would likely lead somewhere as that is where the demon worshipers came from."
"I can get up there and somewhat screen the rest of you as you climb." Lasciel says thoughtfully as she reaches into a pouch on her belt, to withdraw what looks like a silver dragonscale. "One of Terendelev's scales, the last thing she left us before she...fell." she sorceress continues with emotion in her voice. "It will allow me to levitate on a pillar of mist that will obscure anything within it...including you all climbing up under me."
Jen frowns as she looks into the fog " Even with you providing a distraction all they would need to do is sever the rope to cut you off from the rest of us. Do you still have more magic like you used to stun the deathguard warriors earlier? Were we to begin climbing they'd likely all be looking down for a target. That is if we avoid the fogs sickening effects. I doubt anyone will be in the right condition to do much if you can't shrug it off. Does anyone know if it is magic? It might help to know how long the effect might last if so?"
" With the number of barriers in the way it might be best to try another path, much as it is obvious of this being a direct route to a place they do not want us to enter." The half orc suggests as she glances to the doors not blocked by the fog.
"That spell was from a scroll, not part of my innate magic. I can sometimes stagger a single opponent for a few seconds with the cold and ice I hit them with but it would be one at a time." she replies.
Jen frowns and nods " Well there goes that idea. A shame your magic is unable to levitate a rock or something else hefty we could anchor rope to. Then we'd have something that could defend us from attacks from above and something to hang onto were they to sever the rope. though I imagine there are a dozen reasons that wouldn't work, i'll be the first to admit the mechanics of magic are hazy at best for me."
Ethyra watches as Jaeger retrieves the cleric with amusement. Upon mention of the stew she could feel a dry heave catch in her throat as just the very thought of it still made her nauseous. "Mi amor" she catches a gag once more "could we not mention the stew? Anything but the wretched abomination you tricked me once into eating when we were children. You remember that lovely evening don't you love?" Flashes of being slumped over a bucket while vomiting profusely into her own hair and clothes come dancing into her mind. She remembered the taste and foul smell laced with colorful choice words and bitter tears. It was official for Ethyra, Jaeger had a stomach made of steel, no sense of smell and had accustomed to eating some pretty gnarly fare.
The stinking mist continues to persist, though it was gradually getting smaller at a very slow rate. Retreating up through the guarded well.
Aside from the stinking mist nothing else moved or other distractions could be scene or heard, though a thorough investigation hadn't been performed yet in all the wareas either.
Jen shrugs and tries the middle of the three doors she had seen.
Perhaps this path will let us get around the fog."
Jen moves and opens the door nearest the group as the gas continues to linger to the north of them. Upon opneing the door she see a rack of hooks hangs from the ceiling, cured slabs of meat dangling from them and filling the room with a smoky aroma. A group of barrels appears to hold other preserved foodstuffs.
Jen also noticed the slowly rising form of what appeared to be a rather large lizard, which immediately hissed upon smelling her and lunged towards the now open door!
Jen was most certainly not expecting a lizard to come leaping out of a room filled with smoked meat.
Very much to the lizards fortune.
The lizard lunches, angered at being distracted from its half devoured snack as it looks at Jen hungrily standing inthe doorway...
The large lizards Jaws snap at Jen's legs but finding nothing as Jen nimbly dodges the lizards sharp teeth...
Jen follows her nimble dodge with a short step backwards as she brings her glaive to bear.