Sasha continues her assault, her eyes brimming with tears of frustration and anger. Galor hounds the hag mercilessly.
*Loads crossbow*
"Calibration must be off..."
A crossbow bolt ricochets off Corentin's shoulder guard and goes sailing across the chamber. The cavalier looks back in concern to see what new assailant might have joined the fray but, seeing none, turns his attention back to the monstrous woman before him.
The party continues to fight through their emotions, embracing the anger and frustration that each of them feel towards the evil creature before them, letting those emotions fuel their strikes against the woman. Szacha begins to circle the woman, chanting loudly and inspiring the group to fight on. Johan lets another pair of arrows fly, their shafts hurtling towards the woman. Their course suddenly halts mere feet before the woman and the missiles rush upwards and into the wooden ceiling above, propelled by some unseen force. Corentin steps forward and is immediately assaulted by an invisible wall of air which whips his clothing upward, the cloth flapping about his body by the magical draft. His weapon flashes out and connects with the hag's arm, crunching bone and causing her to scream in pain. Sasha and Galor move forward, and the small woman is buffeted fiercely by the encircling winds, nearly pulled from the saddle as her and Galor work in tandem against the woman. Their strikes are foiled at every turn, and neither is able to land a solid hit against the wounded hag. Gizsmith fires a shot from his crossbow only to have the missile deflected first by the cavalier's armor, and then by the torrent of air encircling the crone.
The hag, under constant pressure by the party, steps backward and waves her arms in the air once more, calling upon unseen powers. Suddenly the ever present vines and vegetation in the area respond to her call, twisting and climbing across the floor and walls and creating a massive tangled mass of clutching and grasping plants. Horrifyingly enough, these plants also seem to be studded with countless thorns along their length, each oozing with a strange yellow substance. The vegetation quickly engulfs the party, and Johan, Galor, Szacha, and Corentin find themselves held tight by the clutching vines.
Entangled Condition Summary
- Move at half speed
- Cannot run or charge
- –2 penalty on all attack rolls
- –4 penalty to Dexterity.
- Must make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell (or lose the spell).
Entangled creatures can use a move action to make a Strength or Escape Artist (DC 16) check to break out of the entanglement. Ending your turn in an entangled area requires a save at the end of your turn to avoid becoming entangled again.
From somewhere far behind the party there is an unheard bamf sound, as a small figure emerges from the strange portal stone, finding himself standing before a pair of opened double doors with strange writing above them...
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Johan, tangled by the thorny and venomous vines manages to resist their sickening effects. He accepts the offered rage and feels the anger seep deeply into his mind as he tries to break free of the vines. He is rewarded by his efforts and moves moves towards the hag, pulling has newly acquired falchion as he moves.
Sasha and Galor move forward, out of the affected area and launch another pair of attacks.
Fighting his way through the vines Corentin moves back to the hag. As he moves he looks to Szasha and points to the opposite side of her.
Jaghal looks around while his eyes adapt to the brightness that he was certainly not expecting from a "chamber" like this was supposed to be. Anyway, the letters catch his attention for a second, but the movement on the other side of the long hall draws his attention.
Although they are far away, he has the impression that they are his companions that he's been looking for. Maybe it was just an illusion, since they appeared to be surrounded by plants or something, but there was only one way to find out.
He started running towards them, slowly at first but with increasing speed, and he saw they were fighting someone - or something - it was hard to tell. Of course, there was not much he could do now except get closer and analyze the battlefield better.
Giz moves back into the room and out of the spell effect
The massive area of vines wraps itself around the group, holding them fast to the ground and making movement extremely difficult. Johan rips himself free of the grasping vegetation and slowly makes his way forward, but finds himself bound once more to the floor by the twisting vines. Sasha urges Galor forward, despite his condition, and the two lunge at the hag, failing to connect. Szacha struggles with the vines, but is unable to free himself and moves closer to the edge of the spell, making his way slowly towards the woman. Corentin, using pure will to move him forward, takes a step through the heavy vegetation and swings at the creature, but the impediments to his attack are too great, and she manages to deflect the blow at the last moment. As he moves, the thorns tear into his skin and a yellow pallor begins to cross his face.
The hag, seeing the forces mounted against her, lets doubt cross her features as she prepares her next move just as the northern door explodes outward, the form of a massive bear bursting through the splintering wood. Seeing her ally finally arrive, and her back to the proverbial wall, she closes her eyes and focuses her concentration inward for a moment, allowing her own internal magic to take hold. The woman's features melt away and her skin seems to soften and contract, the hairs growing long and fine and then blossoming into feathers as her form shrinks away. A split second later the body of the hag has been replaced with that of a sleek looking owl, which quickly launches itself into the air and begins to circle the room.
Giz pulls out a scroll and then casts create pit beneath the bear.
Galor skirts the edge of the entangled area, moving to engage the bear.
Feeling the effects of the vine's foul thorns Corentin attempts to burst free of their hold.
Tearing free of the grasping plants he moves to clear ground and towards the new opponent.
Now certain that they are his allies, but even more confused about what they are fighting since they are on the corner, Jaghal supports them as best as he can for now. "Let the power that run through my veins heal you when you need it the most!"
He addresses his Life Link at Johan, since it's the only really hurt one that he can see at the moment. Then he tries to get closer, but the vines find it easier to grab onto his armor and delay his movement, so he doesn't come very close.
Gizsmith, trying to quickly end the threat of the massive bear that just thundered into the room, conjures an extra-dimensional space beneath the creature. The massive beast hangs in the air for a moment before plummeting into the depths of the newly created pit, a loud crunch heard as it hits the bottom solidly. Sasha and Galor rush towards the pit just as the creature drops into the depths while Corentin and Szacha break free from the tangling vines and escape the twisting area of vegetation. Johan, still deep within the briars, forces his way forward as best he can, making progress against the plants.
The bear in the pit claws furiously at the walls, slowly making progress and starting to haul itself out of the pit. The owl circles around the room before streaking out the door and into the air above the oracle.
Unsure of what exactly was that eagle flying past him, he reasoned it could not be an ally, or it would not be flying away from them. So he saw the hole in the wall, and realized it would definitely escape through that. If it was a message bird they could get in trouble, so he decided it was best to try to prevent that, and why not make that in a nice way!?
He rose his arms to the air, getting rid of the vines that spoiled his movements, and spoke aloud to his companion on top of the dome! "Now!"
Suddenly through the glassy dome a shadow of a large creature was seen, swiftly and silently walking towards the hole in the glass, where it threw a layer of webs swiftly as only a mighty arachnid could do. Then it stood there, waiting for the incoming eagle to fall on its trap!
Happily surprised by the bear's sudden plummet from view Corentin readies an attack for when the beast reaches the top of the pit.
Corentin and Szacha position themselves as Johan trudges back through the thorns, in pursuit of the fleeing owl. Jaghal, seeing the bird, channels his inner Gizsmith and conjures a minor illusion near the opening in the glass, causing the appearance of a shadowy arachnid to begin to form near the escape.
Hearing the chanting below, the owl realizes it has yet another foe to overcome. Understanding the nature of the magic being worked, Jaghal could swear the bird actually turns its head towards him long enough to roll its eyes in his direction. It plunges through the opening high overhead and vanishes into the sky above with a loud screech. Tearing its way out of the hole, the massive bear heaves itself to one side and begins making its way towards the doors, following the owl. The vines and plants quickly wrap around its massive legs and slow its movement, but it makes steady progress.
Giz loads and fires his crossbow at the bear.
but the bolt flies wide.
Sasha takes out her sling-staff and loads a stone. Her attack is on target and the stone plinks off the bear's skull.
"Ohhh!" Suddenly there's a look of comprehension on Jaghal's face. Now he could understand why the image did not work on the not-an-owl. Anyway, it was too late for that, probably. "Of course it's me! Have you seen anyone this mighty?" He jokes, entangled by vines that almost covered his entire form. Still, his companions provided enough information to understand what was going on.
One thing did not make sense, tough. That bear would not be running if it was a summoned creature. It was probably the druid's companion, and thus, whatever happened here, they should not be enemies. So Jaghal struggled to exit the vine area and cast Speak with Animals to communicate with the bear. "We are not your enemies, we were invited to come here! Why are we fighting?"
Sasha and Gizsmith take shots at the massive bear, while Szacha readies a javelin. Jaghal moves a bit and begins calling upon some of his innate magical ability, but the choking vines prove too cumbersome for his fingers to work around, and the magic of the spell slips away from him. He speaks to the creature all the same, but is only rewarded with a hateful stare from the obvious companion.
Suddenly, as soon as they came, the bonds slip away from the party and the vines and thorns quickly recede back into the rather normal vegetation present within the area. As if on queue, the suddenly unhindered animal surges forward towards the bridge, a feral look in its eyes. It barrels past Johan without so much as a snarl as it moves across the bridge, towards the gnome.
Caught by surprise by the bear's quickness and the fading of the entangle spell, Sasha urges Galor towards the beast!
Well, it made its choice! Jaghal thinks to himself, while drawing his weapon and striking it!
Not with much precision, obviously, but he took a step back so the bear would have to face his frightful spear at least once more.
With both of their adversaries in retreat Corentin moves back out towards the bridge.
Giz follows after everyone.
The party moves towards the gnome and bear on the bridge, as Szacha heaves a javelin towards the lumbering animal, catching it in the side and drawing a pained growl from the beast. Johan sends two arrows towards the creature, hitting with one and causing another growling curse. Jaghal puts the tip of his spear between himself and the bear, jabbing forward with the weapon which is deflected by the animal's thick hide.
The bear breaks out into a full run, growling towards the oracle as it passes in something that sounds like the rumbling of stones down the side of a mountain. As it passes the gnome stabs out once more, his spear slicing through the beast's hide and leaving a scarlet line of blood in its wake. The animal continues through the doors and plunges through the glowing portal in front of the stone. The owl, circling above the stone, dips once and threateningly flashes its wings before vanishing through the green mist.
"Tiny thing, tiny meal. Hakor feed on you soon!" the bear threatens as it passes by.
With their foes disappearing through the gate Corentin halts his chase and looks amazed to see their gnome friend. He doesn't let his surprise throw him off for long however.
"Jaghal! Quickly one of our number is in serious need!" he says rushing back to the fallen dwarf.
Sasha regards the fallen Martok with a critical eye, fearful that nothing can be done for him.