The ape bites and claws at Odd'n, the nearest affront to his well-being; the bite and one claw connect before Odd'n can defend himself from the second claw.
Odd'n is rocked by the beasts claws, the first tearing into his flesh between his tied together leathers and ripping away a bit of the roping that was holding things in place. Recoiling from the hit, Odd'n brings his arm up to hold where his armor was penetrated-- this unfortunately giving the ape the perfect opportunity to bite down on his forearm!
"BLOODY HELLS! Milani take this beast!!!" he shouts, wrenching his arm free from the beasts maw. His blood boiling as his wounds burn and begin to itch, Odd'n unleashes all hell upon the ape as he slashes at the beasts abdomen before lunging for its throat with his own teeth.
If both melee attacks hit
At the end of his assault his vision dims and all Odd'n can hear is his heart pounding in his ears. This lasts a mere moment, but before his senses return Odd'n sees a flash of Milani's messenger in his mind. Aye, this beast is an innocent of nature.. but it stood between us and the innocents taken by that.. that thing! This must be done..
Having dismounted their horse as they fired forth their spells, Norme shook off the tugging influence coursing through his hand, and focused on the situation.
"Ugh, Jezebeth. It seems we were successful at doing some damage. I'll charge up my next spell, so see if you can get in their and help our friend!"
"Got it. I suppose I can do that."
Norme's glove glowed green as a very greasy substance began encompassing it. Jezebeth would run up beside Odd'n and let her claws do work.
Norme would follow up on Jezebeth's attack with a Grease spell after moving into range. The puddle of slippery green liquid would spawn in a way so as to affect the creature, while avoiding Jezebeth and Odd'n.
He could only hope that the spell would make the creature fall, buying them some time to wail on it more. He knew Jezebeth would appreciate it, but likely make some statement. Whatever resulted, his hand continued to act up as magic continued to irritate it.
Minoj: drinks potion
Odd'n: Misses DA
Norme/Jezebeth: Acid/Snow the ape for 14 dmg
DA (16/30): hits Odd'n for 14 dmg
Garret: Dismounts, readies bow
Minoj: pipes of the sewers, rats eta: Round 4
Odd'n: hits ape for 25 damage, putting it on the ground as it bleeds (-9/30)
Norme/Jezebeth: claws ape for 4 damage (-13/30)
DA (-14/30):
[/spoiler]
Minoj pulls out an ornate pan-flute and plays a short tune, after which he shouts, "That should attract some reinforcements!" He remains safely atop his mount however, clearly more of a politician than a warrior.
Odd'n shows him how it's done as he beats the big ape into submission, leaving it bleeding on the ground: an easy target for the succubus eidolon.
It tries to move, but fails and simply continues bleeding on the ground.
Odd'n steadies himself as the battle dies down around him, his companions moving about the edges of his vision as he remains focused on the beast. I.. I wonder if it is alone.. he ponders, his attention shifting to the ground around them-- searching for tracks to get an idea of where the beast came from and if it had any friends around.
Odd'n can tell that there are no other tracks around, at least not nearby. He can tell, however, that it is strangely warm for this time of day.
Odd'n grumbles out loud as he surveys the ground. "Well, it would seem this beasty here was here alone.."
Standing tall to stretch his back, Odd'n extends his arms and rolls his wrists to let the battle tension fade from his body. "Aye, and this heat doesn't help the matter.. distracting and draining. What say you fire-man," Odd'n asks of Minoj, "..is this heat I'm feeling from you or is it the way of this land? Has the weather been irregular as of late?"
Walking to the dying beast, Odd'n kicks at its limp arm. "And.. this.. common around these parts?"
"There are many exotic beasts and plants in this jungle, the Gigantopithacus being only one of them. As for the weather, it feels very very cold to me, so perhaps I'm a poor judge. Let us move forward..."
He trails off at the end as he is still unsure as to which path will take them to their destination.
"Yes.. surely.. the beasts of this land may be many but is it not funny for one to place itself so.. in way of civilization? But yes.. onwards. Garret.. Norme.. is this corpse of any good or use to your lot? I've heard stories in the pits that certain parts of wild beasts offer aggression and strength.. amongst other things!"
Odd'n winks to Garret at the comment about 'other things'.
"Do not deceive yourself, warrior, we are far from civilization on this road."
Norme gritted his teeth when Odd'n mentioned taking pieces of the dead thing with them. "Eww... You're absolutely mad!"
Jezebeth giggled at seeing Norme fidget, and playfully pulled his hat astray. "It's not that bad, Norme. Perhaps those parts could help you out with being aggressive and strong when we're together in the evenings."
Norme suddenly got angry. "Hey! That's uncalled for! Don't even go there! We don't need anyone getting wrong ideas!" Fixing his hat, he continued. "Anyways, yes, we are pretty far away from people. I expect more creatures to assail us as we go. We'd best keep on our guard then."
"Well, we'll be fine together if that happens."
As Jezebeth finished her statement, Norme sighed. "I suppose you're right. Well, Mayor Minoj, what other sorts of creatures roam around here? They could make for good study material."
"I'll be happy to regale you with the copious variation of life on the island when we return, but in case you've forgotten, MY SON HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED, so can we please return to the task at hand? Tanwen is it?" Tanwen stops tugging on her tiger's tongue and looks up from her awkward position bent over the cat's head, "Which way is it to the temple?" He gestures at the fork in the road.
She looks back and forth between the two roads and scratches her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not accustomed to using roads. The one to the left seems to be going uphill and the temple is in the mountain. But the one to the right seems to be bending northward, and the temple is on the north side of the mountain...are there tracks? Maybe if we go on the more travelled road we can find someone who can point us in the right direction?"
Odd'n trudges a ways down each path; first the left before circling back to his companions, then the right; stopping to inspect the ground every few feet to try to discern which road seems most travelled.
The road to the right has far more different types of tracks including horses and other mounts, while the road to the left seems to be altogether trackless, but still fairly cleared of weeds and plant-life. This likely means that it is regularly subjected to foot traffic.
Odd'n informs the others of what he believes the markings (or lack thereof) are telling him about their respective choices. Shrugging to himself, Odd'n addresses Tanwen further. "Well, is this temple a popular destination for travellers, merchants and the common man.. or an out-of-the-way den for those seeking.. whatever would make a man walk out of his way..? The answer to that should give us direction enough-- what with the right road being well travelled and the left.. fairly maintained..."
Odd'n looks to Garret, then Norme, then past Jezebeth to avoid her surreal beauty... his eyes falling on the forests beyond her. While this lot decides maybe I can find me another one of them cacti.. that last one bought quite a few rations. Silently (and rather awkwardly), Odd'n trudges from his group and begins crawling amongst the bushes and brush built up along the road and a small distance into the forest; eyes peeled for any cacti, mushroom, or natural irregularity that might hint at something useful.
While Odd'n struggles to differentiate pine-cone from rock, Tanwen replies, "We rarely got any visitors, but when we did they came on mule-back or on foot, as the temple is up the mountain a bit. Like I said, the faithful don't normally use roads."
"I apologize for their indecisiveness, they don't do well without their betters telling them what to do." I say to the mayor after Odd'n Walks away, not caring if Norm overhears. "We will take the left path, being a temple up hill that is visited mostly by people on foot it seems the smartest way." With that I mount up and start down that road.
The road they take leads them to a temple. But not the one they were hoping to find.
The symbol they find is not the burning volcano of Pyralis, but the colorful sashes of Arshea. The glass and wood of the temple leaves nothing to the imagination. Much like the attire of the acolytes and clerics moving about the small woodland community.
You are quickly noticed, and after a few stifled giggles and whispers, a middle-aged, but still quite beautiful Halfling approaches the adventurers. "Well well, it's not often we get visitors who aren't members of the church," with a quick side look at Jezebeth she adds, "Or at least I assume you're not members..."
"My name is Nela, welcome to the Temple of Arshea. What can we do for you?"
Hearing the name of a god he is not yet familiar with; which-- to be fair-- is most any god aside from Milani; brings Odd'n out of the stupor he found himself in upon seeing the temple. "Arshea.. what.. or who.. is he.. or uhm.. she? And why.. why would you build THIS way up here?" Odd'n turns, arms spread, to take in the majesty of the temple before him.
I move to the head of the group on my mount and say. "While familiar with your teachings I am not a member, we were actually looking for the temple of Pyralis in hopes of discovering the source of some sort of bee women. They have made off with... A number of persons and we have urgent need of discovering their hive. We were led to believe that they originated in this jungle, if you could help it would be greatly appreciated."
Lena curtsies to Odd'n and explains, "Arshea is the angelic empyreal lady of freedom, beauty, and sexuality." She emphasizes this last part with a hand on her hip, and a smooth movement toward the large man, "Needless to say, the higher-ups in Krisol weren't all very big fans. What with their husbands becoming quite...devout." She giggles and answers Garrett, "Oh, you mean the Thriae? Yes we've seen them around. Fairly benign creatures as long as you don't piss them off, like say, try to find their hive, for instance. As for the Pyralis temple, that's a long way from here, you'd have to go back down the road to the fork, and use the other path. That'll take you to Auro, and from there you can take the southwest path into the mountains. I suppose you could get there from here, but that's a great deal of hiking, and you'd end up going around Auro anyway."
"Lady of freedom you say? I think we can see eye-to-eye on that! I don't dare say Milani worries much about beauty and sexuality however-- after all, look at me!" Odd'n finishes with an awkward curtsey and a twirl.. clearly not informed on proper formal male protocol.
"It does sound like a ways back and around, so I must ask-- is there some trail perhaps between here and there? I'm not entirely lost in the wilderness. If there is some path you know of that I may be able to lead my companions through we could take it... and if there is no path, perhaps I may beat one through this bush! I know north, I feel it in my bones.. engraved upon me by my parents. With a few waypoints I'm sure I could take us there.."
"Well well, it's not often we get visitors who aren't members of the church... Or at least I assume you're not members..."
Immediately, Jezebeth smirked. The smirk looked dangerous, fiery, but seemed to hide a great passion. Since she was standing beside Norme, she nudged him slightly.
He in turn sighed. While Jezebeth wasn't wearing the usual armor that apparently was hers (handed to him when he purchased her), the female cut on the Scholar's Robes did leave quite the window, and he knew her shape was good by his father's standards at least.
Perhaps his father wasn't the best source of that kind of advice. He gave a quick reply however. "It's best if I let the others explain."
Seeing as Garret and Odd'n took control of the questions, he took a brief moment to admire the design of the temple. While the attire of the clerics here unnerved him to the faintest of blushes, the temple was quite beautiful to him. He silently hoped Jezebeth wouldn't ask what he was expecting.
"Arshea is the angelic empyreal lady of freedom, beauty, and sexuality."
As the Halfling emphasized the last part with a hand on her hip, and a smooth movement towards Odd'n, Norme's blushing faintly intensified as he averted his gaze, not comfortable at all.
Jezebeth seemed far more interested however, her gaze narrowing. To her, Halflings were fun to torment, for reasons she carries to a logical end with Norme, but this one was a very big exception.
"Norme, I may need you to fetch me one of those fetching little outfits. Fitting my size of course."
"Geez, you really are hopeless, huh Jez?"
His response to her request earned him an elbow to the side that he managed to sustain without reacting too much.
"Needless to say, the higher-ups in Krisol weren't all very big fans. What with their husbands becoming quite...devout."
Jezebeth giggled at this.
"Oh, you mean the Thriae? Yes we've seen them around. Fairly benign creatures as long as you don't piss them off, like say, try to find their hive, for instance. As for the Pyralis temple, that's a long way from here, you'd have to go back down the road to the fork, and use the other path. That'll take you to Auro, and from there you can take the southwest path into the mountains. I suppose you could get there from here, but that's a great deal of hiking, and you'd end up going around Auro anyway."
"Lady of freedom you say? I think we can see eye-to-eye on that! I don't dare say Milani worries much about beauty and sexuality however-- after all, look at me!"
As Odd'n finished with his awkward curtsy and twirl, Norme was about to ask if there was a shorter path to the Pyralis temple. However, Odd'n speaking again stopped him.
"It does sound like a ways back and around, so I must ask-- is there some trail perhaps between here and there? I'm not entirely lost in the wilderness. If there is some path you know of that I may be able to lead my companions through we could take it... and if there is no path, perhaps I may beat one through this bush! I know north, I feel it in my bones.. engraved upon me by my parents. With a few waypoints I'm sure I could take us there.."
"He probably could, honest. So if there is any way to shorten the trip, that'd be appreciated."
Norme still seemed uncomfortable.
"Oh, as an aside... My companion, Jezebeth, really likes the...err...vestments you guys wear. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I potentially convince you to part with one likewise for her?"
Jezebeth would wink at Norme thereafter, intensifying his blushing further. "Gawds... This could not get any more embarrassing!", he'd say to himself.
My mount shifts beneath me as the silence stretches while the halfling woman thinks. I keep one hand on my reigns and study my fingernails on my other hand. I call out to Odd'n and Norme without looking at them. "Dependent on our temporary hostess's answer we may have to travel the path and make it to the other temple before nightfall, time is of the essence, how do you two feel about a forced march? Or if there is a path through the woods we could have you perform recon from the air, perhaps find the bee people that way Odd'n."
To Odd'n Luisa replies, "I'm afraid I've never made that journey. Despite our locale, we aren't much for trekking through the jungle." She saunters up closer to him, "Then again I'm sure you could get through no problem. But like I said, you'd probably hit Auro anyway. If I were so inclined, I'd go East by Northeast, and cut across to the road, but like I said, I'm not a jungle-Halfling."
Luisa head pokes around Odd'n's elbow at Norme as he asks about getting a vestment for Jezebeth. The Halfling dons a mischievous smile as she says, "We don't have any extras young man," returning her gaze to Odd'n, she says, "But she can have mine." With very little effort, she shrugs the robe off her shoulders, and steps out of the top stark naked. Her body, though small, is quite appealing to the men. She walks over to Norme, never breaking eye-contact with Odd'n, and hands him the vestment. "Don't worry dear," she says to Jezebeth, again not breaking eye-contact, "I've just washed it." She returns to her position in front of Odd'n where she can't be seen by any of the other travelers. Some of the other acolytes have a disappointed look on their faces, as if someone's gotten the last sweet roll from the baker.
Odd'n awkwardly tries to avert his eyes, but they kept finding ways back to the little Halfling before him. Almost certainly uncomfortable with the present situation in private (a nude woman before him and no idea how to handle it), Odd'n is mortified by it in public. Feeling the eyes of the others around him, Oddn's skin begins to prickle.. then crawl.. then itch.. then burn. His ears now deaf to the voices of his party behind him, Odd'n finds he can't handle the situation anymore and decides his best option at this point is to run as fast as he can into the jungle in the direction suggested by Luisa.
Yes. East by Northeast.. surely they will follow.. yes..
Odd'n makes quick time clearing a path through the trees and brush until he comes to a steep rocky ledge, the sheerest face is about 15' down.
Luisa looks astonished and quite disappointed in Odd'n's behavior, but doesn't move to cover herself up, "You know where to find me, big guy!" She calls longingly--and slightly comically--after him. She turns to the rest of them, "Well, I think I know what decision he votes for. How about the rest of you? Are you hungry? We're about to make a meal..."
The mayor scoffs at this chaotic show of skin, and guides his monitor to follow Odd'n through the jungle. Tanwen sticks around, intrigued by their openness.
Odd'n runs right up to the ledge before he has sense enough to stop. Looking around wildly, Odd'n searches for either a rocky & easily-scaled section of cliff to scramble down or-- in the absence of such a route-- something to break his fall!
Yes.. East north east..
Norme sighed as he accepted the quite small garment.
"Thank you."
He turned to look at Odd'n's escape, then looked at the mayor following. Just how did they ignore what they were seeing? Perhaps Norme's father was not the norm. He was beginning to consider this, only snapped out of his thoughts by Jezebeth.
"Norme, let's sit down together later tonight and tailor the outfit a bit. I think we can make it more fitting. I'll even be the live model. That should make it far easier."
"Right, right. Just don't make it take too long. We'll need to sleep good so we can be ready to go on a long trip tomorrow. We won't clear the rest of the travel today, I'm sure." Norme replied.
Turning to Luisa, Norme then nods. "Thanks for the offer, but that guy won't last too long by himself, and we do need to find the missing individuals; I need to go with him."
Jezebeth added to this. "Thanks for the outfit though. Who knew a Halfling could be less stuffy than the average Human?"
Norme seemed to take offense to Jezebeth's comment, but was wise enough to note the tone she was taking, excluding him from her generalizations. As he turned to follow Odd'n and the Mayor, waving goodbye to Luisa, Jezebeth would wrap her arms around his left one in what could possibly be construed as a display of affection. To this, Norme replied.
"Geez, come on Jez! My arm is already hurting enough as it is; doing that is making it twitch more."
"Oh, come on Norme! It's something you should be proud of! Very few Humans can control the powers you are juggling all at once you know. Especially when part of those powers involves keeping someone like me at your side."
"That is what scares me, Jez."
"Looks like we'll need to work on that more. Perhaps that is something we can do after we tailor the outfit. Now I'm looking forwards to camping out."
Norme sighed again. "Man. You don't tire of our evening practices, do you?"
Traveling at a slightly slower pace, Norme returned to his mount, helping Jezebeth up first before climbing on himself. He commanded the mount to take him in the direction he saw Odd'n flee towards, which was also the way the Mayor went.
I watch Odd'n flee and sigh, "Just like a child. Well it looks like our path is chosen, lets be off." I snap the reigns and my mount charges after Odd'n. "SLOW DOWN YOU FOOL!" I shout. Once I catch Odd, You should mount up and provide aerial surveillance. Keep an eye out for the hive, the other temple and dangers."
Eyes looking around wildly, Odd'n hears a voice he recognizes and half turns to address Garret. He is startled when he sees both the mayor and Garret heading straight for him, but regains enough sense to avoid tumbling down the cliff beside him. Odd'n begins babbling at their approach.
"Yes. East north east! What in the blazes does a hive look like? I don't imagine that bee thing could fit in a bee-hive! Plus.. I am not one to even know what this temple SHOULD look like. And dangers.. what dangers? Hey.. are they following you too? Please say no.."
"Since you seem to know what a bee hive looks like, just look for a really large one or something similar. As for the temple, keep an eye out for large buildings in the direction we are headed. The dangers you should keep an eye out for is anything looking to sneak up on us or ambush us, animal or man, and no, no one from this temple is following us as far as I know. Lead the way."
Odd'n nervously peeks around Garret to make sure the naked lil' Halfling isn't following after him as well.
"Al-alright.. fine. I'll go up and try to find this hive.. or temple. I'm going east by northeast, as the vulture flies, and so might lose sight of you all in the brush below. Aside from the trail I beat through the brush back there it looks like it will be hard going. Are.. are you sure you can navigate the brush? I've been raised in wilderness like this and am perhaps more suited for navigation through the jungle.."
Norme sighed. "I thought you were the wilderness expert! Lead us through. We'll be fine."
Jezebeth giggled and agreed. "It would be quicker, and if you did get into trouble, we could save your hide, mmm hmm hmm."
Norme checked to make sure he had everything before they got too far away from civiliation.