Hadin looks around, overtaken by the emotion of finding this sacred place of his god. His eyes wander on the magnificent scenery, and the majesty of the natural place fill his heart and soul with awe.
Nevertheless, he remembers soon than the priest talked about the massive bear that guards this sanctuary of Erastil, and the young man seizes his flail with strength, and takes a firmer grasp of his shield. His voice is assured, more mature than ever.
Will, Dendarial, place yourself where you get a good line of fire, please. Sir Karse and myself will have to engage this beast, if it's here.It is our sacred duty.
After a short prayer to his god, he slowly, carefully walks inside the place, alert, motioning Sir Karse to come along.
Dendarial is a staunch follower of Desan. But that does not dampen the warm feeling he gets from being able to track the bear to this holy place and the joy he has seeing the elation on the faces of the two paladins of Erastil. He chooses a place with a good vantage and prepared for a fight.
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Seeing Hadin and Karse get ready for combat, Will pipes up. ”So are we to fight this sacred beast in one of your sacred places, or will this be more of a ‘commune with the chosen animal and let his strength infuse you’ kind of thing. I don’t want to upset one of your sacred beasts by shooting it when it isn’t necessary, but I also don’t fancy letting it maul the two of you before we can intervene.” That said, Will dons his shield; leaving his bow on his back and sword in its scabbard.
As the group scans the area, and the paladins move towards the mouth of the cave that marks the entrance to what must have once have been a shrine to Erastil, a thunderous roar can be heard from within the depths of the darkness. The sheer volume of the noise reverberates through the air, shattering the silence that came before. Birds alight from the trees and take to the sky, fleeing the area with haste at the sound.
Appearing at the mouth of the shine, an enormous brown bear shambles forward, its fur a matted tangle of burrs and twigs. It roars once more, bringing itself upright to a full nine feet in height, its massive paws ending in claws the size of daggers. At the end of the display it falls back on all fours and issues a challenging roar at the party, wickedly sharp teeth lining its huge mouth, and saliva flying into the air to accompany the roar.
Fall back and fight it where we have space to flank it. Dendarial calls out sensibly as he readies to loose his first shaft.
Hadin grows suddenly very pale
By the Holy antlers of Erastil... We were said it was a big bear.. but I didn't expected something like this!
Breathing slowly, he rises his flail too, ready to strike
I will not falter in my sacred duty, beast. I order you to leave that old temple of Erastil.
The creature issues forth another thundering roar and barrels towards the group.
Brom's eyes light up and he is awarded with yet another worth (or vorthy) foe.
As the bear begins to move Den looses his readied arrow.
The elven hunter has another arrow on the string and looses it as the bear to close to within 30'. He then moves back some and commands his owl to fly high, preparing for a dive.
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EDIT: Krase will first approach the bear, as it is not as close as I envisioned. If you will permit, when he is in a position to attack, I'll use the roll below.
Karse swings his flail at the animal, hoping to dissuade it without having to resort to killing it. Still, he puts his full force behind the blow.
Karse swings his flail at the animal, hoping to dissuade it without having to resort to killing it. Still, he puts his full force behind the blow.
[dice=Karse vs. Bear (flail)]1d20+4
[dice=Damage]1d8+2
Dendarial fires an arrow off at the massive animal, the shot skipping across the edge of a pillar and flying off into the cave behind it. At the same time Acio takes to the sky, circling above the party upon the ranger's command. Sir Karse strides forward, a determined look on his face, and holds his flail at the ready, preparing to confront the creature.
Hadin gives some space to Sir Karse, so they can both use their flails without any risk of entangling their weapons
We fight not for our pride, bear, but for the glory of Erastil. Leave the place in peace, and bow to the will of our god.
The massive bear hurtles down the broken steps, clambering over the fallen stones and columns and landing in place directly in front of Sir Karse, growling and tearing the ground with its massive claws.
The paladin spins his flail around to meet the foe, his flail suddenly erupting with a bright golden glow of light, landing a hammering hit on the bear and causing it to stumble slightly. Bloodshot eyes and a mouth of yellowed and rotten teeth promise death to the paladin as the beast stares him down.
Brom brandishes Krasa and lets forth a bellowing battle cry, quickly moving up to Sir Karse's side to greet this worthy foe.
Inspired by Will, Den move closer for a clear shot (hopefully able to shoot between people and avoid cover) and takes it.
And Acio swoops down from the sky striking at the bear.
Dendarial sends an arrow flashing towards the creature, the projectile imbedding itself deeply into the beast. The bear hardly registers the shot in its rage and its eyes never once stray from those of Sir Karse.
Acio swoops in and attacks the bear with his talons, raking fur and tearing into its hide with a damaging strike.
Hadin rises his flail and tries to strike the bear too
Flail dmg
Burying the flail into the bear's massive skull.
Proud to share this battle with you, Sir Karse!For Erastil!
Hadin and Sir Karse both act in concert, bring their flails to bear on the massive animal. As each of the two paladins swing, once again their weapons begin to brightly glow with a golden radiance and they almost seem to guide themselves towards the creature, both slamming home and staggering the beast terribly. Its animal eyes show almost a hint of intelligence as they dart back and forth between the two paladins.
The great bear settles its eyes on Hadin, raising up and taking a swipe at the man with its huge paw...
The creature's attack rakes across Hadin's chest, scoring his armor and catching on it as it passes, pulling the paladin into the bear's massive bulk and holding him fast. Its eyes bore into the paladin as it opens its mouth and lets forth a bellowing roar, teeth exposed and ready to sink into Hadin's soft flesh.
Brom loosens Krasa in his hands and takes a mighty swing at the bear, hoping to earn himself yet another pelt...
Brom's swing connects and nearly tears the bear's arm off as it pounds into the creature, ripping away fur and hide as it passes.
Acio takes a full round action to fly up and prepare for another dive.
Den moves up to close to within 30' and fires another arrow.
Hadin tries to free himself from the massives paws and desperatly tries to hit it with his flail
You won't get me, bear!
Flail
Damage
Next Round Den continues his bow attacks on the grappling bear and Acio swoops again.
check to get free from the bear
Karse once again swings his flail at the beast, and once again it flares with a bright golden light, slamming home and wounding it gravely. It shudders a step, barely holding on to life but consumed by rage and fighting on. It tears into Hadin with claws and teeth, abandoning its hold on the paladin and losing itself to pure fury...
...and it manages to rip a vicious wound into the paladin with its claws before chomping down on him with its powerful teeth, shedding flesh and splintering bone.
Denarial lets his arrow loose as Acio swoops in for another attack. The missile flies true and imbeds itself in the creature's skull, sending it crashing to the ground and killing it outright.
As soon as the creature falls, an almost contended sigh escapes the beast's toothy maw and a pure golden light envelops the corpse, shining outward and nearly blinding the party. The entire scene stands in contrast, light and shadow, as the brilliance fades and the area is bathed in a warm glow. As the group stands shocked, the corpse of the bear changes, shrinking down and clumps of hair falling from the beast until what remains is the body of an ancient looking human male. In mere seconds the corpse begins to shrivel and collapse, turning to dust before your eyes before a gentle wind sweeps through the area and blows it away, the remains becoming a part of the earth.
As the dust vanishes, the stone itself seems to heal. Cracks in columns repairing themselves somewhat and the overgrown nature of the vegetation recedes quickly to give the appearance of an area that is well tended. The murky and stagnant pool radiates a pure golden aura and is instantly transformed into pure and sparkling water.
Hadin and Karse both feel a warm touch from deep within themselves, a divine feeling that they have both served their faith in some important and profound way.
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Will rushes to Hadin's side as the paladins life blood flows into the earth of the shrine. "I know this isn't really the place for this, but Sarenrae save him!" A warm glow appeas in Will's hand and he bathe the warrior in it's glow. After many agonizing seconds, Hadin's eyes flutter open as he regains conciousness. Then Will's hums a little tune and a slightly different glow interlaces with the first, further recovering the carpenter.