Not sure whether to kill the thing that just carved such a mess through Corum and into Jagar, or to come back out of the cave as Del suggests Nasrin hesitates for a split second. Then as Jagar reacts to the threat, Nasrin does the same - she steps in and attacks the mold's slave. Better him than me or Jagar!
for
Del's face falls in dismay as everyone ignores his warning. "You don't understand! The mold takes hosts! You'll killing a helpless victim and are likely to become one yourselves! GET OUT OF THE BLASTED CAVE!"
Elleross brows furrow slightly as he watches their host carefully from behind his pipe .
has she lost children of her own? Not been blessed with them...or something else he wonders as he lights his pipe and draws deeply on the sweet smoke.
Looking over at Nadya he can see she is a little bit on edge , outwardly he tries to put on a relaxed front but inside a gnawing worry grows and he feels on edge, his hands not straying far from his spell components pouch.
Should this stranger prove to be false he will hit her with everything he has and hopes it is enough to put her down or at least buy Nadya and the children time to escape.
an interesting ability for sure, I have never heard of anything like it.
we encountered some fey a few days back and they made their usual mischief. Unfortunately our friend Nasrin bore the brunt of their spite.
As for the rest of us...we met a man on the road who promised a blessing.
As the many fables tell us, things aren't often what they seem he says and as he does so he catches Nadyas eye indicating that this may be the case here.
your husband was taken last night you think? Do you not have any neighbours that could have helped you? Is yours the only cabin hereabouts? he asks steering the conversation away from their curses and their origins.
Fail
Corum raises his axe in readiness and as the creature lumbers toward him with seemingly no regard for it's own safety, he skewers it through the belly with his long axe. Far from halting it's progress, it grunts in pain but continues relentlessly.
Greyston's bomb erupts at it's feet and it is engulfed in flame, searing it's flesh and filling the cave with a stench of burning meat and mold.
Nasrin and Jagar work as a team and though Sapphire's spell appears to have no effect, the pair hack into the man once more.
Bleeding from huge wounds, more than should fell any man, he still manages to swing his axe that at once buries itself in Jagar's neck before hacking deeply int Nasrin's chest, crunching the bones beneath her armor like a hammer blow.
The moss that crawls over the man's back shifts away from the licking flames and releases a burst of spores that settle over Nasrin and confound her senses.
Hit
Hit
Fail
Sylgja takes a sip from her cup and taking it to be safe to do so herself, Nadya does the same.
No... it's just us. Finngarth built this cabin for us. We....umm... we like the solitude. It's better for us to be alone.
She moves to set down her cup but her trembling hands set it precariously on the edge of the counter and she is not quick enough to right it before it falls and shatters on the floor.
Oh...!
As Sylgja bends down to pick up the pieces of the broken cup you notice that her coat opens slightly and that you notice that beneath, she has a long tail like that of a fox that she quickly rights again beneath the folds of her coat
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The vicious axe strikes Jagar a second time and seems to finish it's work; the black wolf drops like a stone in water to the ground.
Nasrin screams aloud and renews her efforts to thrash the thing that just crippled her packmate - Her spear flashes in fast and finds a soft spot in the moss-man's hide, puncturing something that should be important to it.
for
Jagar drops with a yelp, his blood spattering Nasrin's face and it is Thorn all over again. The smell of coppery blood fills her nostrils, the sound of his heavy, limp body thudding against the stone of the cave and then the red, as Corum has experienced so many times before, fills her vision.
Her spear thrust has no technique. It is ragged and hard and the broad blade of the spear buries itself in the man's chest. With a wrench she drags his body to the ground where the last of Greyston's flames sputter out.
The thick, green moss crawls with a weird, alien motion away from the body of it's host, nothing left but pure instinct to get itself way from the intense heat.
As soon as it leaves the man's body his eyes clear, a film passing back like melting ice. His eyes are green and wide, pupils dashing this way and that as the sudden agony floods through his body. Finngarth finds himself lying on the cold stone in this dark place, his life's blood pumping out from a multitude of wounds and so his mind, even through the fog of confusion, think of the only thing that can give him comfort at the end;
S...S-sylg..ja......
Huldras are fey creatures that legend claims were originally created by troll witches to lure humans into their clutches. Every huldra is aware of this tale, finds it insulting, and denies it at length—yet the legend persists. There's no greater way to inflame a huldra to anger than to speak about this myth (especially while expressing distrust or contempt for the huldra), and the huldras' hatred of all things trollish is well known among scholars of the fey and those who regularly encounter the less common fey creatures. From the front, a huldra appears to be a beautiful human woman, yet two distinctive features mark the huldra as something supernatural: her long, foxlike tail, and the fact that she doesn't have a solid back—merely a hole that reveals her body to be a hollow, bark-lined shell. Most huldras wear their hair long to mask the hole in their backs, and they prefer long gowns to hide their tails when interacting with humanoids. Though huldras are not ashamed of their status as fey, they react rather negatively when someone points out their tails. So long as humanoids are respectful, however, huldras are curious about other races, and often aid those who pass through their territories by telling them the best places for hunting or fishing.
"You fools! You oafish, bloodthirsty, stubborn fools! Why will none of you listen?!" Del dashes forward, roughly pushing past any allies that might be between him and Finngarth. He lets Ruby clatter to the stone floor as he fishes a potion from his belt as quickly as he can, hoping and praying to Desna he's fast enough.
Though his body may be getting old and tired there was little wrong with his eyesight and as their worried host stoops to pick up the shattered cup Elleross catches a glimpse beneath her façade.
Huldra. I wonder if her husband is also a fey? I can see why they would want to be alone. Most folk would be wary of these unusual creatures. he thinks to himself as he catches a glimpse of her tail such strange creatures, they are fascinating and rare and I think maybe she is telling is the truth, her concern for her partner is genuine, he is all she has I suspect and to lose him would be..... he doesn't finish the thought, he knows all to well what it would be to lose your partner, to lose your soul mate. It was like a part of you had died as well....leaving a void that maybe could never be filled.
Not completely.
he has done a grand job, your home is lovely Sylgja.
When my companions return with your husband, how will you remove the taint upon Nasrin? The fey curses are troublesome to remove. Are you a healer of some kind? he asks as he smokes slowly his mind running through all the options open to him should something go wrong here.
Greyston readies another bomb to finish the creature off before he hears Del shouting again about the creature taking over its host. But before he can shout to back Del up Nasrin moves in to finish him.
"Nasrin?! what was that? Didnt you hear Del's words?"
He spots the moss crawling away, Greyston grits his teeth and lobs another bomb at the creature.
Nasrin drops her spear and then drops to her knees near Jagar's bleeding head. She spits out a prayer to bring life back to her friend, tears streaking her eyes. Once the light moves from her hands into the black wolf's seeping wounds she looks up, still angry, and though she wouldn't admit it, a bit more than afraid. "Protecting my pack-as I should! The thing attacked us, not the other way'round! What would have stopped the thing from attacking us outside the cave?" She turns back to her friend and holds his still form in her lap. "Oh my brave friend...don't go...I need you here...
As soon as the man drops so does Corum's rage. He hears Del rushing forward, berating them as he comes. Corum realises then. The poor man had been under some terrible influence. Del's earlier words cone to him. "The moss...We have to burm this place out."
He waits for Del to administer a.heali g potion to the man then he drags his body away from the cave.
When he has dragged the man away and fired the cave Corum turns to Nas as she tends to Jagar. He hands her a potion. "I hope it helps Nas. He is brave and true. Make him well."
Aghast at her spell being shrugged off by the mold and its victim so easily, Sapphire barely has time to adopt a fighting stance when the carnage occurs, leaving the man bleeding on the floor.
Whilst she notes Del's concerns, Sapphire also sees the vicious wounds inflicted by the axe on Corum, Nasrin and Jagar, and whilst the man might have been as much a victim as the warriors who stopped him, her heart lies firmly with her friends. She had tried the only option she could think of to knock out the thing and it had failed, with no other choice defending themselves, the group had done what it had to.
Moving up quickly to cover Del as he cradles the man and feeds him a potion, Sapphire extends her hand and a sheet of crimson flame erupts from it, catching the mold as it tries to slither away.
Del dashes forward and does his best to save the dying man at his feet. He only hopes his actions are quick enough to undo what has been done.
Sapphire and Greyston continue to assault the moss with blazing fire.
Success for half
As it crawls away the moss continues to release it's spores, firing the tiny pods at Sapphire, spraying them directly into her eyes!
Confirmed
Corum takes a flask of alchemist fire at the mold. It hist the stone and explodea into flame.
Dam
Nasrin asks for more healing for Jagar and channels it into his breathing but still form. As he comes around, she hefts him into her arms and steps away from the spore spewing mold-man.
Blinking hurriedly in confusion, barely able to think, Sapphire simply does what she thinks is easiest, and charges the mold with her sword, magic forgotten as she tries to end the blob of green quickly
"Sweet Desna, lead him back from the Boneyard. We didn't come this far just to widow the woman we're trying to help!" Del leans forward, trying to see if Finngarth's breath has returned or not. "Come on, man! Sylgja's waiting for you here!"
Sapphire first sets the thing on fire with her spell and then unceremoniously hacks the thing to ragged strips of green ribbon.
Finngarth remains in critical condition. His wounds still seep blood and though the healing potion was enough to ensure he is still breathing, he gasps at air with a whistling rattle that suggests he has major internal injuries.
With Jagar back from the brink of death, his girl turns to the injured man. "Maybe we can fix some of what we did..." She begins tending the man, hoping to find what has him breathing so terribly.
Greyston winces as his bomb goes astray, but seeing the mold burn up and sapphire hack it to piaces he rushes over to Finngarh.
Moving to check over the man he sighs relieved the mans alive. "Good save Del, that was a close one. He's really hurt but he should be ok." He then Takes out one of his extracts and pours it down the mans throat.
As Nasrin approaches with shaky hands, Del snaps, his voice hot with anger, "Rovagug's black balls, girl, you and Corum already eviscerated the man; haven't you done enough?!" He gestures back up to the cave mouth, "Why don't you and your attack dog take Jagar back up to safety? If the moss takes me while I'm trying to put Finngarth's insides back inside him, I'd rather you and your bloodthirsty kin weren't nearby."
With that, the man turns back to Finngarth and Greyston's treatment of his injuries. "Is he safe to move now, do you think? We need to get away from here as quick as we might, my friend." Del's tone is entirely different with the alchemist, his anger toward Corum and Nasrin wholly replaced by a quiet and concerned earnestness. He glances nervously at the carpet of moss overhead then back to the fallen man before him.
Nasrin growls at Del, a vicious snarl and bared teeth.
It takes a few frenzied moments of continued chopping before Sapphire realises the thing is dead, sparks kick up from the stone floor as her overenthusiastic blows aren't controlled with her usual precision. She smiles as she stands triumphant over it, sighing contentedly and spending a minute looking around for something to wipe her sword on, before shrugging her shoulders and using some moss on the wall.
Turning around she still has the same smile on her face as before, but it suddenly falls as she sees her friends tending to the poor man who fell over when the green thing jumped off him. She sees Nasrin cradle her pet wolf, who has grievous wounds. She approaches, then holds back, uncertain what she can do to help. Watching as her friends start shouting at each other, she starts to cry.
Jagar stands on shaky legs, the Girl next to him. She is angry, and frightened, he can smell that on her. He hears her growl, and while he knows they are safe for now, she doesn't. He turns his blood crusted head to her and licks her white knuckled hand where she is gripping her spear. He lets out a low whine, Please...we ok now!
Nasrin hears the whine and looks down, Jagar's dark eyes look back up. Her anger dissipates in a moment as she realizes what she is afraid of. "We were lied to. There is no moss troll. Sylgja knew that - she had to! Now Old Wolf, Nadya and her boys are in danger!"
"He will be ok to move, we should get him back to his wife." He reassure Del and agrees with him.
Hearing Sapphire cry and Nasrin shout out for more blood. "Wait!" Greyston shouts out standing up and moving over to Sapphire. "WE all need to take a moment here! Just relax, we all saw that thing you can see why she thought it was a cave troll. We heard him try and speak her name." Putting has arm around Sapphire he attempts to comfort her. "Now before anything else happens. Nasrin, Corum help us bring him back to his wife. We will get to the bottom of all this back there, he's alive. We're all alive."
Corum feels his anger surge as Del shouts at Nasrin. He grabs the man by the collar and pulls him close. Nose to nose he speaks in a low voice. "I like you. I value your skills and your friendship so I'm trying hard not to lose my temper. Don't have a go at us for defending ourselves. When someone comes at me with an axe I put them down. No questions. If that woman had told us the truth we may have acted differently." He releases his grip. "Now see to him. Use this."
He hands Del a healing potion and turns away to investigate the cave.
Aside from Finngarth's battleaxe, leather armour and longbow, there is nothing of value in the cave.
Sapphire clutches at Greyston's tunic like a child would, sobbing great snatched breaths of upset. She barely settles down when things return to normal, looking from face to face for reassurance that everything is now ok with her friends.
Shall..shall we go back to the nice woman and her cabin? she asks meekly
"Let's go, Sapphire." Nasrin hands her shield and spear to Corum. Thank Gozreh Grey is here...he is smart and we need brains for this. She turns to the unconscious man on the ground and takes a guess at his weight. Nodding that she can do it alone, she hefts up in front of her, then slips her head under his armpit, turning and lifting his weight up onto her shoulders. A grunt pushes out but she doesn't complain. Without a word the feral girl carries the unconscious man back towards the Witch's cabin. We live, that's the truth, this man lives. Now to get some answers!
Corum and Nasrin get the man up but whether through pride, stubbornness or a sense of duty, it is the she-wolf that shoulders the burden and begins trudging back out of the cave.
Jagar limps along side her, holding one of his legs up as the other three help him to hop along through the snow.
The going back is hard with the extra weigh and the injuries you suffer but eventually the cabin comes into view, the grey smoke still drifting up into the frozen air.
As you near the door is ripped open and Sylga comes flying out, her coat and hair streaming behind her like fire. She crosses the distance in what appears to be the blink of an eye and then she has her hands on Finngarth.
Finngarth... my love, please! Please be alive! she cries.
She sees his chest rising with ragged breaths and almost collapses there on the spot in sheer relief.
Let's get him inside, quickly!
She help Nasrin half carry, half drag her husband back inside and then lay him on the table, scattering everything off it to crash on the floor.
Orm gasps;
Is he dead, mama?
Hush. Nadya replies. No if they can save him they will. Won't you Greyston, can you save him?
It was the moss troll wasn't it? Sylgja says, thumping her hand down onto the table.
Sapphire smiles gratefully at Greyston, who has helped guide her back to the nice warm cabin. The red-headed woman seemed happy they had brought the man back.
Blinking uncomprehendingly as everything moved so fast around her, Sapphire follows the group in to the cabin and, trying to stay out of the way, meekly stands in one corner with wide eyes taking everything in.
"There was no moss troll and I think you knew that before we left." Nasrin leaves no subtlety in her voice; it is an accusation.
Wha-? But I saw it. Saw it stomping off that way and then heard it's bellows.
"You didn't think that if Finngarth was being taken you would have seen him or heard him fighting back?"
Elleross stands as their host rushes from the cabin and moving to the doorway he ses all of their company has returned, along with the husband.
But he does not look well.
Nasrin seems upset....angry for some reason. Something has happened, but they all return safely.
He thinks and as they lay him out on the table he looks around at his friends, they look like they have been in a hard fight, Corum and Nasrin are splattered in blood and Sapphire seems withdrawn.
What happened out there? If there was no troll what took him? he asks as he seeks to learn what happened to them. He does not suspect Sylgja of any foul play but it is obvious that Nasrin does. Her husband looks close to death, he bears terrible wounds and will need healing.
Del makes no attempt to break Corum's hold, staring the larger man down with a surprising calmness. He voice though is sharp and accusatory as he responds, "I'll remember that Corum. The next time you or Nasrin fall under a witch's spell and are compelled to turn against us, I won't bother with the flat of a blade." As Corum releases his grip, Del nods and sheathes the magical dagger he'd discreetly drawn and had level at Corum's stomach. "Now, if you're quite done acting like an obstinate fool, the man you nearly murdered is still in need of our help."
Del rolls his eyes at Nasrin's accusation and makes no attempt to disguise the tensions now running hot amidst the group. "What happened? Ah, to put it succinctly, dear woman, Finngarth was nearly murdered." For Sylgja's sake, Del withholds the truth of whose hands nearly did the deed, letting the woman draw what conclusions she might.
Greyston smiles at Sapphire as he walks with her back to the cabin happy she is ok now, but he doesn't expect it to be over as he watches Corum and Nasrin.
"He will be ok now, he just needs to rest and recover." He attempts to reassure everyone. But is interrupted as Nasrin begins her attack on Sylgja the one he saw coming.
"Nasrin stop this!" He moves over to stand between her and Sylgja. "There was some moss that took over Finngarth it was controlling him. Jagar was badly injured, but everyone is alive. I can see how Sylgja might have thought it was a troll from the way he looked with the moss crawling all over him, but it doesn't matter what it was it's dead." He moves to Nasrin slowly and places both hands on her shoulders. "Please relax, cooler minds prevail."