Ragnar's mouth opened in fury but no sound came out. The temperature in the cave dropped further until everyone's breath was steaming. Hateful, glittering ghostly eyes alighted from all around.
He hit the ground on his back with an impact that reverberated through the ground, but he scrambled back to his feet with a speed that belied his size and usually careful nature.
Ragnar's spear clattered to the ground and his axe came off his back aiming at Drovitz.
Droviz grunts with pain at the attack. "Any backup or some healing would be welcome!" he shouts as he aims his blades directly at the vile enemy fungus, then backs away..
As the huge man tripped by the Svartalf raises again, mold writhin on the hand, and murder in his eyes, Warden attempts to use it's short spear as a lever to force him to drop his Weapon.
Following Warden's lead, Fang also attempted to get a hold of Ragnar's weapon, snapping at it and pulling it free.
He needs to be distracted until his rage wears off...
Stepping back away from Ragnar, Warden orders Fang to resume flanking, making it rush into the position it just vacated, before converting some of the magical power it wielded into a call for aid.
At beginning of my next turn, Stirges will appear surrounding Ragnar and start attaching themselves.
Let him swat away at flies, until he tires out...
Fang, as ordered, interposes itself between it's ward and Ragnar, flanking with Droviz, and attempts to trip the big man again.
"Here we are, got your torch ready now."
The big man crashed the ground again.
The air in the cave seems to turn even colder as Ragnar rips the mind mold free of Finngarth. The man passes out from the pain. The mold, not yet defeated enslaves Ragnar but before the ancient child can act, the others quickly turn on him in an attempt to subdue him. Weapons fall to the ground and so does the big spirit walker. Torches are lit and stirges are summoned while thorn-like fangs pulls the big man down again. The stirges all converge on the fallen foe, latching on and feeding immediately.
Droviz targets the fungus, trying to cut it free of his hulking friend. His blades flash and slash....
"Here is your flaming implement of burning doom sir, use it in good health."
Still trying to assault the big man, subdue him, not kill him, Fang follows his previous trip up with a light bite, pulling on Ragnars arm in an attempt to dislocate a joint.
Fang steps aside to make place for Warden, who moves up to Ragnar again, attempting to stab it's shortspear at the Fungus. It proved too quick, however.
Ragnar yanked his handaxe from his belt and lashed out with it from where he lay on his back.
Despite not wanting to take his eyes of the woman, Havelock takes the lit torch and hurries towards the others to help.
Ragnar lashed out at those surrounding him, barely missing Warden as she ducked out of the way of his handaxe. The raging fury inhabiting the warrior drained away as Fang's teeth sunk into the large's spirit walker's flesh and drug him into unconsciousness. The stirges continued to feed off of the unconscious Ragnar as Krystae's arrow struck the mind mold still pulsating in his hand. The mind mold retaliated by firing a spore pod at Droviz which struck him right in the chest. Almost immediately Droviz began to doubt the fate of the battle, his journey, and even himself.
Mind Mold HP: 28
Droviz wheezes, staggers -- and then lashes out again.
"Don't .... let up," he snarls. "But .... redirect .... the skeeters!"
As Droviz feels his will weaken, the mold and Ragnar are rejuvenated. Ragnar's eyes flash open and he sits up, his size belying his quickness. Fight still remains in both the spirit walker and the mind mold.
Ragnar's hand axe lashed out at Warden again.
Having lit a torch and made his way over, Havelock does his best to give the evil plant a damn good trashing.
Warden saw Ragnar go limp momentarily, and attempted to line up an attack on the Fungus. But suddenly, the big man snapped back to consciousness and hacked into Warden with it's axe. Warden's attack missed, very much so, but it otherwise seemed unfazed by the assault.
Seeing the big man STILL up, and dealing a grievous wound to it's Ward, Fang assails Ragnar without holding back, snapping and biting at him for real.
After lunging back to conciousness, the big man went down under fang's assault and this time he stayed down.
With it's host unconscious, the mold has little else to do. It fires another spore pod at Droviz, striking him again in the chest and releasing more fungal particles into the air around him. The stirges dissipate into mist and scatter away in the breeze.
Mind Mold HP: 30
Droviz grunts, his eyes rolling in the sockets as he struggled to maintain his focus. His blades lick out and slash, slash, slash!
Fang, directed by Warden, continues his assault, against the fungal part covering Ragnar that Droviz assaults as well.
Warden, meanwhile, spends a moment to dismiss the stirges again, their work being done.
Then it considers how best to remove the fungal infestation from Ragnar.
"You know, this must be a truly ridiculous situation to look at.
Did we lose our dignity along the way, or did we merely forget to pack it?"
"Oh this is absurd, I would be no less effective with an unlit torch!"
Droviz's blades dance in the fire light as Fang rips into the mold left in Ragnar's hands. Tendrils begin to snake out of Fang's mouth but they are quickly spit out with no ill effect. Havelock's torch waving manages to throw off the mold's spore pod as it misses Fang. Krystae's arrow strikes true almost pinning the mold in place.
Hit Points: 5
Irritated by the tendrils, Fang bites down on the fungal growth once more, utilizing all of it's strenght to try and tear apart it's enemy.
Droviz stands forward and slices at the mold as well, his blades gleaming.
"Can I just reiterate, I am not enjoying this one solitary bit."
With the barrage of assault tearing apart the mold, Warden kneels down next to Ragnar, checking on the big mans health.
Fang rips and tears apart the mold, leaving only scant vegetation in its place. A quiet falls over the cave as the melee comes to an abrupt end. It's several minutes before a weak sobbing can be heard as Sylgja comes limping forward.
"Oh my dearest Finngarth. What has become of you?" She hobbles over and kneels down next to the unconscious man's body. She puts her ear to his chest and holds his hand as she feels his shallow breathing.
"He lives" she asks meakly? Then excitement and hope fill her and she shouts out in joy "HE LIVES! Oh thank you, thank you. You truly are heroes. Please, help me get him back to the cabin."
Could there BE a troll in there, a previous host for this plant?
Uh oh...it might be possible that it multiplies, and that means the TROLL might come out as well now!
In more than a little fear, Havelock looks up and observes the cave.
"My heart was broken and my body could not contain the pain, but he is alive. My heart is whole again and my body healed. My love lives! Please, help me carry him back. I'm sure I can tend to his wounds if we can just get him to safety."
"Havelock?", Warden looks at the Torch in the Tengu's hand.
While Wardens facial expression seems as calm as ever, possibly due to the wooden features, the voice suggests that the speaker is...nervous.
Warden was used to fire...it was used for cooking, for smithing, for alchemy, for light...but this one had been used as a weapon, and a bit too close for comfort.
Looking at the two unconscious men, Warden nodded:"And we would best make haste. There was a storm forming outside, so if we want to make it back to your place of residence, we should leave soon. Maybe return to the cave tomorrow, see if there's more to it? We could improvise a Travois to drag them back."
"I'm not feeling so hot," Droviz complains. "Ragnar's a big fella. Do we have time to make a travois before the storm breaks? Can't his ghoulies help shift him?"