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The beast that he swung at hopped to the side of his hammer, his armor and the ground making that sure hit into a miss. The beasts move forward and one latches his jaws onto the front of the dwarf's helm, shaking his head back and forth to attempt to dislodge it to bite at the dwarf's softer face. The other was using its two heads to pull the dwarf away from the site. The jaws snapped at his face, inches away from tearing into him, but stopped by the thin layer of magic he had cast. However, the saliva dripped through, stinging his cheek and chin.
*incoherent yelling and sounds of struggle*
"Where the hell did that thing come down?!"
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The distant sound of children playing fetch with their dog slowly makes its way through the darkness. Their mother was calling to them, Don't go too far! Don't go too far!" A man's voice, the voice of Charles, answered, "Don't worry too much. They're no use to us anyway." There was a fleeting feeling, that if Akurna didn't move after the sounds, they would leave her.
There was a quiet sound coming from the tree, of an even breath. Horec's light left the tree indistinguishable, but when he looked about, his mind became cold when his eyes lingered on the tree's trunk. The other beartraps glistened in the light, teeth at the ready, except the two that Akurna ran into.
"Come on", motioned Phaust. "we'll either find the dwarf or what took him."
"I hear something. Children playing with a dog. And Charles... the one that those in the village thought was a murderer."
Akurna looks at Phaust.
"I feel as if me must follow the sound or lose them. But it was a similar feeling that got Haltak snatched by that bird-thing."
"Still, it is the only lead we have. I will follow it, unless you have a better idea."
The Pharasman agent gives Akurna a sideways glance. "You do realize how crazy that sounds?" Looking to the human male next to him for support. "Are you sure, cleric?"
"You do realize how crazy that sounds?"
"I suppose I do. But what else do we have to go on? I have had these strange 'feelings' since the darkness began, and they got me this far."
"After you then", shrugged Phaust. "Be mindful of the beartraps."
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The dwarve's heavy body was jerkingly pulled out of the soft pile of rotting flesh and onto ground, then onto grass. The vague outline of the rock was shifting as he was being dragged, the beasts looking to hide him behind it to try to devour him there. The magic barrier that separated their rotting jaws from biting into his flesh could only last so long...One of the beast's head was getting his bites interrupted by the other half. This could only lead to in-fighting. The head grew even more frustrated when the dwarf's hammer walloped him in the side.
Staying close to the light, we head towards the sounds we can hear.
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The others blundered through the darkness, the sunrod spitting out its daylight in spite of the heavy darkness around them. Akurna led the others through the darkness with the sounds of laughter and dog barks, Phaust watches the ground for the metalic looks of hungry bear traps. It would take some time until they neared the rock and the smell of death impales their nostrils. Stepping in where the grass wasn't waist high, Horec's light illuminates a semi-neat pile of corpses and most, if not all of their blood, splattered against the large rock beneath them. The dwarf was nowhere in sight, but could be buried underneath some of these bodies, hiding from what dropped him there.
"Oi, you'll find I'm a tough nut to crack! Lemme help break yer teeth some more!
"Haltak!" Horec shouted out for the dwarf as loud as he could.
"Yell out so we can find you!"
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Akurna notices that there are tattered bits of cloth that once belonged to the vestments of the clergy that she had served with. But none of the bodies resemble the missing priests, or, what is left of the bodies anyway. There are several chunks missing from the rotting bodies and claw marks.
The group hears a dog's yelp from behind the rock and two dogs run into the darkness.
The canines that snapped their jaws at the dwarf met his hammer, colliding into the middle of the beasts' heads. There was a sicking, splitting sound as the two heads became two half-hounds. The other beast released its grip on his legs and also left the area. After the canines left him, he heard others searching for him on the other side of the rock.
Over here! Some kinda two headed dog beasties tried ta eat me, and that was after I got dropped on some rocks! This is why we dwarves stay underground! None o' this bein' lifted aboot nonsense...
Drawing his gandasa, Phaust climbs over the rock, ready to attack.
"These bodies... they are not the missing priests. But these bits of cloth come from clerical vestments, like the ones used by the priests around here."
She looks around, and calls after Phaust.
"Any sign of Haltak?"
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A man scrambles over the rock that Haltak was behind, the shhhing of metal released from its scabbard all to familiar to the smith. He looked ready to attack and the dwarf was alone on the rock-side. He didn't seem to respond to words. The floating light above his head passed by his face and showed it as twisted, deformed, and angry.
Startled by the scene before him, Phaust answers back, "Yep. I found him. Time to draw weapons!"
Phaust tries to figure out what the angry ball of light is.
Horec moved hurriedly over the pile of rocks, constantly looking to the sky for the large bird.
Akurna follows Phaust over the rocks.
"Oh, Haltak, I'm so sorry!"
Haltak has no visible wounds, but is clearly dirty and looks like he was rolled around in the offal, so maybe it's hard to tell under all the armor and rot.
"If that's true lassie, we'll be havin' a right long talk about why ya asked me ta step into it's talons 'stead o warnin' me ta duck. And now what, a man driven mad by tha moon?"
Haltak sets his feet again and readies to strike the man if he comes up.
"I didn't know that would happen!" Akurna blurts out. "I felt a premonition that something good would happen if you moved that way, but something bad would happen if you didn't. Obviously the premonition meant good for me but not for others."
Akurna shakes her head.
"I've had premonitions before, and I always thought it was the voice of Anubis speaking to me. Those premonitions led me here, and I assumed it was because I was needed here."
"Could Torag and Anubuis be on bad terms? I don't know why they would be. If not... perhaps these premonitions are coming from somewhere else. Or... something else."
"hmmf. Well for all I know twas me place to protect ya. Maybe if 'twere you ya woulda died.
"Well... perhaps." Akurna smiles.
"But with everything going on, we need to consider the possibility that something is playing tricks with our minds."
Akurna looks around. "I'm not sure what to do next. We seem to have lost our tracker."
Phaust drops down of the rock to last next to the dwarf.
"Come on, Haltak", urges Phaust, "you tell me your dwarven eyes can't see through the gloom?"
Akurna goes back to examine the bodies more closely, looking for clues.
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While Akurna looked about the bodies, she noticed the multiple puncture wounds and claws from smaller critters. Most of the bodies were from the nearby villages and some looked to have broken bows and snapped arrows, smelling of rotting beast flesh and covered in tattered furs.
As the adventures spoke, there was a cacophony of harsh cawing and a heavy crash could be heard just behind Horec and his light. The beast had oil-like feathers and its shoulders sprouted three large bird-like heads, their beaks dripping with fresh blood. The beast stood far too tall, its wingspan longer than a fishing boat. All three heads regarded the glaring flare with absolute hatred, beady red eyes focused on Horec's arm.
"What in Duat is that thing?" Akurna eyes the strange creature, trying to figure out what it is.
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Phaust
Haltak
Horec
Horec is alerted first (Who would have guessed?) to the landing of the creature behind him. Next was Haltak, who was facing in that direction, able to peek around Phaust. Phaust was able to pick up on Haltak's peeking, turning around as well. The last was Akurna, who happened to pick out a few items that might be worth something in the pile of dead bodies but didn't have the time to dig them out right now.
Horec spun as he heard the creature land behind him. Noticing its fixation on the sunrod, he dropped it to the ground hoping to distract it some. Horec quickly flowed into a fighting stance. Then he stepped sideways and attacked!
Defense- 21
hp- 33/33
status- Crane Style, fighting defensively
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Horec's blade swung true, striking the beast's side. There was a sudden thwack and it looked like the blade cut deep into the beast, but the three heads only stared at Horec's arm in fixation. It hardly cried out to the deep wound, and Horec saw its glistening talon covered in fresh blood, curl as if it were waiting.
Akurna calls out to the beast.
"Whatever you are, you must FALL!"
nvm, I found them.
Ach, great, another beasty. At this rate I'll die from exhaustion. Well, I'll assume yer not as bad as that thing at least, whatever it is. Gives me the heeby jeebies
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The beasts clacked to each other and one head snapped toward the dwarf as he approached. Lifting his head up and stabbing forward, it tried to punch a hole with its bloody beak into the dwarf as he neared the beast. The dwarf drew close and underneath the bird, but its beak stabbed through his armor and into his chest, pulling bits of his hair and flesh out of the small hole it made.
Then when he began to chant and call out his words of magic, the other side-head lunged at him and made another small hole in the dwarf's breast. Well, on the bright side, there was only one head ready and not nibbling on dwarf flesh, but it seemed to be waiting...
Phaust advances on the closest monster, silvered gandasa in hand, and attacks.
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Phaust nears the feathered beast, and the last head snaps to him and lunges its beak into the man's chest. It hits solidly and punctures Phaust's rib, scraping it and leaving a sizable wound through the padding of his armor.
The sizable chunk they ripped out of Phaust was shared between the beasts' head. They ripped and devoured it down one head, cawing between each other. They didn't seem to hardly notice the gandasa's cut, but it drew blood. The lower body was quite thick and resisted greatly.
Phaust curses at the large wound in his chest.
The ustalavian man's visage starts to waver. Phaust's skin darkens to a deep gray, while his hair lightens to a bright white under the glare of his ioun stone.
"Do any of you know what the hell that thing is?" Akurna shouts.
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With the people around the beast, its three heads turned to each of them in turn. Its cawing screech pained the ears and caused a ringing in the others' ears. One claw grabbed the sunrod, curling its black and bloody talons around it, while the heads lunged in turn. Collecting pounds of flesh from the adventurers, the beast scarfed and fought with itself for the food. After the second head hit, the beast took a step back. On the third's turn, it flew up into the darkness, light clutched in its talon.
It was high above them too and if it weren't for the light that it collected, they would have lost sight of it immediately.
Horec
Haltak
Phaust