|
Glade enough that the others seem ot also be fine making this a 'yelling' day, Laara also whirls towards a face in frustration, trying to get it riled out of its zen state.
Look, I get you've probably been here a while, seen a few waves of things come and go. But you're saying there are undead here? And now a 'Mother Bloodleaf'? You shouldn't be calm about that. This is your forest I'd imagine, right? Then GET angry: someone's corrupting it. React! Otherwise that blight's just gonna keep creeping along, and eventually it won't feel like stopping right before it gets to you. You just want us to go? Then you're just giving up your chance to actually control the situation. And whether this Bloodleaf takes out us or we do her in, I can't imagine either of us will look too kindly on those who refused to join in the fight.
|
Chak quickly finds that the Angry tree does not respond well to aggressive arguments and dishes back as good as it gets. However, fortunately for Chak, despite fighting an uphill verbal batter, the cunning linguist is able deliver verbal jabs with a short sentence whereas the spirit takes paragraphs to return the barbs. Finally it seems as though the spirit is beginning to see reason. "It's not that we don't wish to see her dead and the blight purged... but casting our lot with weaklings would consign us to our fate early. And in those weeks perhaps a stronger ally would arrive? But if your blade is as sharp as your tongue... perhaps you are in fact the ones we should aid."
The calm spirit rolls its eyes at Yami until Laara butts in. Finally, it appears to finally crack and show some fury of its own. "Bloodleaf... will... pay. And you will be the instruments of her doom."
The joker spirit seems rather stubborn though and laughs. "So quick to cast your lot in with these folk simply because they threaten you so?"
|
”Laughing at one’s circumstances is a fine way to avoid feeling distress, but it will not delay the inevitable. At some point a choice must be made or else the choice will be made for you, and it might not be the choice you’d have made had you taken the opportunity. The blight upon these lands might be even worse than you realize. It is time to choose sides. Just this morning I communed with Nature herself in spirit form. We must act now and we need your help.”
|
|
Despite the spirit's comical attitude and whimsy nature, it seems to appreciate a well articulated argument.
"The effect that the blight has upon this land cannot be ignored... Alas, it should be of no surprise that such grim facts should be pronounced by someone so blue. But you young lady? Who seems so bright..."
The joker spirit looks directly at Holly before continuing. "Would you undertake the grim task to free these lands of one so dark?"
Exi and Starlight's points were very well received, but this spirit seems more reticent than the rest and seems to just need one more little push in the right direction.
|
|
A simple nod is all that is needed to convince the last spirit. "Why did the forest spirits cross the trail?"
It fades into the tree and vanishes... then moments later appears on a tree 50 ft away. "To guide the finders of the path to the other side! Hehehehe!"
Dozens of spirits slowly appear on several trees as you continue down the path beckoning you to follow an ever-darkening path closer and closer to what you hope is the heart of the blight. After a mile or so , the spirits suddenly freeze in place as a burly middle-aged man with the ears and legs of a goat steps out from behind a tree. He grins and waves his hand. "Ho there, adventurers! I got bored waiting, so I think we should have some fun! Don't worry, this won't take long. I wouldn't want you to miss the main event, and I plan to have a front-row seat. Oh, where are my manners? The name's Grimpfkin. So, what do you say? Do you choose to test your speed or might?"
|
|
...what. Laara just stares at the fat goat-man as he walks in front of their path. You were waiting? For us? She looks at the rest of the party to see if they're as thrown and skeptical as she is.
Well mister, Grimpfkin. From what it sounds like from your friends there the main event would be with Mother Bloodleaf. So unless this 'test' is going to get us there any quicker...
|
|
After a mile or so (50 minutes since the end of the last combat), the spirits suddenly freeze in place as a burly middle-aged man with the ears and legs of a goat steps out from behind a tree. He grins and waves his hand.
After the appearance of this clearly fey creature, Yami very pointedly does not respond to it at first. As it begins to suggest...games...to play, a thick, throbbing vein pops on the wayang's forehead.
Yami develops a facial tic, and attempts to force a smile. This, of course, takes several minutes and involves incredible amounts of creaking bones and crepitus; as he never smiles, only smirks. "Pleased to meet you," the wayang attempts to say forcefully. "Let us pass and I will not rip your hea-" his last comment is cut off by his TMJ causing a jaw spasm and cutting him off. Yami spends the rest of the conversation attempting to get his jaw working again.
|
|
"Fun! Of the most fun kind! The kind where I watch you prove your skills and decide if it is time for the show! Or if perhaps you are not the main event? Hehe!! We shall see... so... which do you favor? Might or Speed? Of course you can always trudge on... all by your lonesomes... without my blessing... but you would not be the first corpses to fertilize Mother Bloodleaf's blight."
He looks at Yami and smirks. "You seem as though you are anxious to show your might? I can certainly provide a suitable foe for your skills... a most blighted monstrosity that would be oh so wonderful to have removed from these woods. But if instead you seek to flee with all haste, a course can be arranged to allow you to... show how fleet of foot you in fact are!"
He appears to possibly be a Satyr... and while being oddly jovial for such a serious situation he seems... sincere at least.
|
|
Grimpfkin nods approvingly and hops atop a mossy rock. He unhooks his mug from his belt and flings the contents into the air. The fizzing ale transforms into a bird which takes flight off into the woods, leaving a faintly sparkling trail. "What are you waiting for? Catch it, and the prize is yours! Just, ah... no flying or teleporting. It's a challenge remember?"
The glittering trail leads across a wide ravine that cuts through the forest. The ravine has several old logs set across it, and a slowly flowing creek runs along the bottom.
|
|
As they leave the satyr's presence (or at least, when it appears to longer be nearby), Yami finally uncricks his jaw and begins cursing in his native tongue about fey creatures and their capriciousness. When the group reaches the gorge, Yami will cast a shadow wall of ice from his staff; anchoring the wall on either side to create a bridge across for him to walk over.
|
|
Holly simply leaps across the logs without a sweat and calls out a decent place for Yami to create a bridge. With Chak's survival skills its easy enough to find a good location to allow for an easy crossing. As long as you don't think too hard about what you're walking across.
The trail ends at a tall cliff that splits the forest, and the glittering trail leads up the rock face. Several thick vines descend from above, but each vine bears several long thorns.
|
|
Grimpfkin appears on a rock at the top of the cliff watching Chak ascend. "Good eyes Mister Crow! Good to see you in the spirit of this. And little scarred one... unorthodox but creative I must admit! Nonetheless... this is a challenge is it not?" He snaps, and the vine begins to rot and wither behind Chak as he ascends. Chak has no problems reaching the top, but the rest of you will need to find your own vines.
|
|
Fandral decides that climbing the cliffside is just too trivial a task for a sailor as himself and opts to leap straight into the crows nest so to speak. Rather than slowing down he simply leaps as high as he can and grabs on to the roots up at the top, counting on Cayden's luck to guide his hand... and sure enough it does.... albeit barely. He finds himself dangling from the cliff edge with just a few feet to go, but is able to take his time to swing the rest of the way up.
The satyr opens his mouth to speak. "Hey, I said no fl- oh... haHA! Very nice indeed! I shall endeavor to put low ceilings on the next one."
In the meanwhile Laara and Exi follow Chak's lead, tracing paths of vines that are actually climbable and begin their ascent. Laara begins to fall behind as she gets about 1/4 of the way up before realizing the vine she's grabbing isn't going to be able to hold her weight and she has to backtrack several times.
|
|
Holly sticks the superhero landing and enough of you are able to get a head start that by the time the rest of the party catches up, you've got a good lay of the land.
The trail zigzags through a large thicket that winds about like a primal hedge maze. Some of the plants seem to move on their own, reaching towards warmth.
|
|
Laara and Fandral find themselves out of breath, tearing roots and slashing branches as they force their way through. Holly, Exi, Chak, and Yami find that these brambles are even more corrupt than the bushes they found earlier. Unfortunately, they find this out the hard way... Several minutes later, you all emerge from the hedge maze, barely able to spot the sparkling trail.
A ruined two-story building rises out of the forest, hugged by dense, thorny thickets on both sides. The front wall, ceiling, and floors have long since collapsed. Several support columns rise from the cellar, and the remains of a staircase up to the second floor look far too weak to support weight. The back door leads to clearer terrain, where the trail continues.
|
|
Exi deftly 'leaps' from stone to stone, never touching the ground. When he finally gets to the far side, Grimpfkin is sitting there, palm over half of his face. "Now now mister blue... I appreciate the effort, but am insulted by the lack of showmanship! If you are going to break the rules at least do it with panache! You 'landed' just under my foot's length above the ground! Go back and do it again! This time at least TRY to 'land' no more than my thumb's width over the stones."
|
|
The ruin is an absolute mess. Holly and Fandral are able to leap through without issue, but the rest of you lose a bit more time as nearly every wall, stairway, and beam appears to be incredibly brittle.
Finally, you see a straight shot ahead and the birds slowly dissolving out of existance resting on a tree stump. With one last burst of speed, Fandral is able to snag it before it becomes nothing, and hears a laugh from directly behind him. Turning around, Grimpfkin stands there grinning.
"Not bad... not bad at all. Here... a toast to a great show of skill!"
He waves his hands over the tree trunk and it warps into a set of mugs, which he then taps with his own mug. He passes one to each of you, and they appear to be full of ale. "A celebratory drink! Oh and one moment..."
He puts his head to a tree and listens for a moment before returning.
"Still quite a lot of you on the way! If you would like to test your might as well I'd certainly love to see your skills... and perhaps clear the way for more of your friends?"