"Oooo... pretty..." Sunny says quietly.
Hooded figures rise from the stage behind Huesto... among the lights between the scrim and back curtain. They raise their arms and gesture. Ghostly images appear projected onto the scrim - a landscape of rolling hills An image of people merrily working farmlands with graceful flowing movements in the foreground, a large village in the background... four slim towers of white stone on the far horizon. The hooded figures work their arms and hands like puppeteers as the projections move about. The green, blue, and yellow lights drift to lend a softly flickering glow to the land, sky, and sun.
The music continually changes... rapid transitions through melodies - an overture turning increasingly dark. You can faintly hear Huesto's deep baritone humming as the wind instruments fade in - providing a more sinister lilt.
Huesto strolls towards the left, then swings around - aiming his outstretched hands across the stage.
He sings with an impassioned, slightly operatic tone...
"The unseelies sprang.. from dark wood they came
And so it began the culling...
An idyllic age.. unraveled by rage
The first days of the culling..."
A small crowded copse of twisted trees spring from stage right. Black wispy tendrils appear on the scrim above and behind the trees - like the copse is steaming darkness.
As you near your seats - Huesto comes within your radius of arcane sight. His true appearance looks like something between aasimar and faun or satyr. Though his glamer makes him appear to be humming, in reality you see his lips moving.
Nope.
Anumil is fascinated by the performance. He wonders idly if the effects are mechanical or magical.
Sunny watches the performance with rapt attention, though she's not as enchanted with the performance perhaps as much as those putting on the show might like.
Corum watches, concerned for his companions. The ioun stone making him suspicious.
Arcthyl, Corum, and Sunny notice everyone in the crowd is in a wide-eyed vaguely smiling trance.. including Anumil.
The lyrics Huesto sings tell about how the unseelies surrounded their ancestors' homes with a shifting wood - filled with menace. The evil fey laid siege to their village, and cursed their fields to sprout toxic crops.
The villagers fought back, but grew weak with hunger. The "local witch of the mire" was first to suggest it, (and the villagers soon agreed they had no other choice), they began to cook and consume the meat of their fallen foes.
Now fed, and emboldened by their witch's blessings, They become more aggressive against the evil creatures in the shifting woods.
The images projected on the scrim mostly depict small groups and individual struggles (obviously meant as a representation of the whole).
The enemy appear as hateful and sinister faced versions of normally benevolent fey.
Sunny becomes more enraptured by the display, her mouth working silently as she being spoken quickly over the moving images.
Arcthyl elbows Sunny gently and points out the plum suited man casting a spell or two before the images appear...
Softly he says to her, "Well now we know who's casting the illusions. Hey, Anumil.. you got that? Anumil?"
Seeing his companion seems too entranced by the performance, Arcthyl reaches out and grabs his elbow, not as gently as he could, but not enough to actually cause damage, and gives his a good solid shake.. says quietly just for Anumil's benefit,"Snap out of it, man"
Sunny shakes her blond mop at Arcthyl's prodding,
"But.. is all so, so in'erestin'" Suny whispers back, hesitant to take her eyes from the display. Though, at her friend's urging she does now try to look about and ascertain what is going on around them...
Only to be drawn back to the pretty, moving pictures. :P
Nope.
Anumil looked blankly at Arcthyl, then back to the production.
Huesto goes on to sing about how the villagers began to change the more they ate, they grew horns and became imbue with increased vitality.
After scoring several victories, they broke through a line of the siege, cut through a mammoth mass of living tangled wood, and discovered the rest of the world was gone - just fog and the abyss.
Someone clears their throat behind you... it is Dorlynae. "This is one way they guide the dream. These townspeople's brains have been reduced to scrambled eggs and chickenfeed from mindwarping like this." As you turn (all of you but Anumil), you see wolves with studded collars weave through the rows of entranced audience. "Matronguard has arrived, the Crone and her bearers will be here soon. Time to act."
Madame Shkoata - seated next to her - suddenly stands and screams "Time to wake!" She charges a few feet from the stage, and hurls a glass object - it looks like a huge oil and vinegar cruet, but it explodes with a fiery blaze as it shatters against the platform.
The plum suit man springs from the panel on the side of the platform - moving his hands as if about to cast a spell.
Huesto howls in rage - gesturing toward Madame Shkoata. The "living woods" on the stage begins to move toward her.
Nope.
Arcthyl casts SNA for a crocodile and places it as close to a the caster as possible (Plum suit man).
Arcthyl's rapid conjuring catches the plum suit man off-guard. He screams in pain and surprise as the crocodile chomps into his lower torso, but he manages to keep on his feet.
"Okeys... them doggies dun't be lookin' freindly, none..."
Corum casts, and he and mirror images move 20 feet (up on map).
The copse of tangled trees passes Corum as it crawls off the front of the stage. It envelopes two enraptured villagers in the front row. The enthrallment fades... people begin to scream, stand in shock.. disbelief. Then the screams and cries increase as they see the wolves around them.
Vines shoot out from the crawling woods, and wrap around Madam Shkoata. You hear bones crack as dark tangled treeswarm pulls her within itself.
The man in the plum suit shakes loose, and dives through the hidden panel in the side of the platform.
Huesto takes a couple steps away, and yells out "Otholear!", then gestures oddly across himself while humming the crescendo of some rousing march.
One of the wolves speaks "The village is a loss. No one gets away.", and they all move to encircle the staggered locals.. to keep them from fleeing.
Dorlynae wheels off the bench, and scrambles around the crowd with balled-up fists - moving toward the westernmost wolf.
Anumil blinked his eyes. Wait, wasn't this a play of some kind? It was so real. Now there are wolves. In the audience. Talking.
Shaking his head he turned, stepped up on a chair, leveled his crossbow and fired at the Wolf at (U,12) over the intervening audience.
for a possible piercing damage.
Then he dropped his crossbow and drew his sword.
The crocodile snags the plum suit man's leg before he can get away.
Anumil's bolt grazes the center wolf - the one who'd spoken.
Croc tries a death roll on plum suit.
Arcthyl summons a venomous snake to attack big guy on the stage.
The snake tries to bite it's foe,
but sadly, doesn't come close to hitting.
Seeing the red headed lass dealing with one large, shaggy doggy... Sunny moves towards a second critter, trying to keep it from the rest of the crowd.
Corum hits the plum suit man with three bolts of force.
Corum's arcane bolts flatten the man in the plum suit. Arcthyl's conjured crocodile tugs and chomps on his unmoving body.
The wolves look to their leader - who nods, and morphs - growing and stretching.. bulking up into a wolfman hybrid form. The others do the same. The villagers around the benches fleeing in a panic collide into those pausing to look for the safest route. Most of those corralled in by the wolves, are cautiously inching away if not staying put altogether.
Huesto disregards the snake, and gestures at Corum as he sings... "Deee-yet dum.. dum...dum"
The tangled treeswarm leaves a trail of blood and bone as it moves toward the nearby jumbled mass of villagers - enveloping another victim.
Another vine springs from the trees, bludgeons the nearest villager, but fails to grab hold as the poor fellow drops to the ground... out cold or dead.
Dorlynae and her foe trade blows.. she spins - whacking the werewolf with her fat foxtail, then a hard elbow.
The werewolf claws at her, but fails to snag her with his bite.
A hand emerges from the treeswarm, then head and shoulders.. Madame Shkoata extricates herself.. though she is bloodied and limping. She scrambles away through the open aisle toward Dorlynae.
The werewolf nearest Sunny steps up to her - looming over her, and snarling hot breath in her face.
Round 3_____
Anumil broad jumps over the benches, then runs towards the middle wolf.
Double Move to (Q,13).
Sunny looks up at the Wolf-man looming before herself,
"Oooo.. sooo not a doggy..." She exclaims wide eyed before shrugging.
"Well.. ye can either be joinin' us an' workin' at gettin' out'a here... Or ye can not. Your choice." She offers brightly. (^_^)
Forum targets the tree swarm with a ball of fire. Leaving all others out of the blast.
The werewolf responds to Sunny with a grunt, and growls... "I am Matronguard... I kill for the Matron."
The tree swarm makes shrill and pained sounds.. like discordant violin strikes in the highest register as the fiery blast engulfs it fully.
Limbs char, and leaves - turned to embers, rise on the hot flames.
X 1.5
Although slowed, the wizard's talent with fireballs makes the ball of flame extra crispy.
Within seconds the tangled treeswarm is reduced to smoking pile of black and ash.
Huesto's eyes go wide, and his voice cracks as he repeats his cry for aid "Otholear!!"
Sunny nods in reply at Matt-gad's words,
"Okeys then. Ye jus' settle down when ye wan'a quit, right?" She suggests.
"So... " She looks at Matt-gad expectantly, "Whut we gon'a do from here, then?" The tanned Elf still working at pinning one of the bad guys while people get to some form of safety....
Huesto backs away from the snake, and produces a rapier. He then hums while inhaling deeply - his chest puffs up slightly larger than what should be possible.
The alpha matronguard draws a longsword, and steps up to Anumil with a wild heavy swing. All the other werewolves attack with claws and fangs.
Two villagers fall to vicious wounds, but twenty or so feel able to slip past where the werewolves are engaged with those worth their salt in a fight. Dorlynae knocks one unconscious with another elbow and tail strike. Madam Shkoata moves closer to her, and drinks down a flask.
Corum gestures and screwing fire heads to Huesto.
Sunny frowns at the nasty critters antics.
"Bad doggy!"
Before 'Quick drawing' a small pellet from a pocket some wheres and dropping it as a free action, which instantly produces a small (5'X5') cloud of obscuring smoke around herself and the offending were-wolf.
Round 4___________
"An excellent effort. My turn." He commented to the creature.
Anumil lashed out at his opponent with his rapier.
for a possible piercing, magic and precision damage.
for a possible extra piercing and magic damage.
Then he acrobatically rolled back fifteen feet to (S,11).
He shook out his cape into his left hand and impishly motioned for the creature to come at him.
Arcthyl's croc attacks the foe in its face...
After the crocodile snaps and lashes its tail, the werewolf turns his attention away from the villagers. One villager points "The lizard is fighting them."... another avenue of escape opens for the bewildered and panicked innocents.
The alpha swings at the air where Anumil had been standing, and growls at the taunt. He wipes the blood from his brow with the back of his off-hand, and snorts at the insignificance of the wound.
Huesto reflexively and futilely swats at the spiraling blast of flame. He licks to moisten his singed lips - chest still puffed with air, and his eyes flit between snake and the illusory pack of Corums.
Sunny cuts into her foe - his confident wolfish smirk quickly turns to alarm. The werewolf roars in frustrated rage as Sunny disappears in a cloud of smoke.
As Corum's flame licks the enemy, it gets extra fiery (+2 hp damage for evocation ability). He points to Huesto: "We need to get him before he does something bad." Corum grips his metamagic wand after he cast as a lingering aura of antimagic clings to Huesto.
Arcthyl takes a few steps forward and summons another snake on the other side of the fellow on the stage.
Snakes attack the man on the stage:
Huesto shakes an angry fist at the snakes. His glamered appearance fades... he himself begins to look like one of the malevolent satyr-like creatures. He attempts to hop and twirl away from the snakes without being struck - awkwardly while holding air in his lungs. Once he comes within a dozen feet of Corum, he exhales a bone-rattling bellow.
The werewolf fighting Arcthyl's crocodile gets assistance from his nearest ally.
Most of the villagers have found routes of escape - the matronguard have their hands full. Only a few are just now scrambling free from the area.
Sunny's foe swipes futilely at the cloud of smoke.
The alpha werewolf swings his longsword above his head, and lunges at Anumil. His strike is wild, and misses.
Corum targets the satyr-like creature with a fiery explosion, leaving himself and the crocodiles out of the blast area.
As the spell manifests, Corum changes it to fiery acid ball, completely altering the elements used to make up the spell.
"♫ Giiive up! ♪ Giiive up! ♪ Giiive up! ♫"
Sunny sings as she spins out of the smoke and delivers a whirlwind of punches, kicks, jabs and strikes into the were-wolf's hide.
Before again quickly producing another pellet, dropping it and again disappearing into a new puff of smoke.