Alex's mood quickly changes upon coming across the bodies. For beforehand he conjured up the ability to smirk and give an odd look to vretiel when the elf spoke as if Alex was upset that vretiel was quicker on the draw. While he disliked someone racing him to his own job, Alex was only pleased to have more than just himself as a means of healing should he be unable to make it in time. However, the bodies before them caused any and all comments or looks that Alex had prepared as teasing counters, to drop immediately and a different attitude to take its place. He moved quickly to the bodies, trusting everyone else had their eyes on the surroundings.
"these might or might not be hunclay's other aids. Relatively young. The attack, which appears to be by possibly a predatory creature given the claw and bite marks on their neck and legs. Not entirely sure what creature it could have been"
Vretiel approaches the bodies and darts a quick glance at them before turning his head with a shudder. "Well, I will trust our healer on those matters. Perhaps someone should–" the elf shakes his fingers in another vague gesture – "check their pockets? Or perhaps look at their faces? Calistria forbids, but it could always be someone you knew."
|
Kale is able to shoo off the buzzards to get a full look at the corpses. What remains of the faces do not look familiar to anybody.
As the party further investigates the bodies, Calli and Vretiel perk up and look around the edges of the tree lines as they hear something coming.
Through the underbrush, two grey wolves pad into the clearing. Then between them emerges a much larger, feral looking dire wolf. Its fur is heavily matted with crusted blood along its jawline. The three sets of yellow eyes hone in on the party before them.
|
|
Calli goes into a defensive stance upon noticing the wolves appear from the foliage.
At once, the two grey wolves flank the party, move in with their veined teeth bared. The purple tinged wolf tries to bite Haruf while the ice blue moves in to stalk Alex.
The dire wolf soon follows. The ground shakes as it charges the party, specifically baring down on Iskra. It's growl is almost of chuckle of delight.
With the hunt now on, party is able to react to the wolves!
"Oh. Lovely. The great outside, ever so charming," says the elf, staring at the wolves. He gives a resigned sigh and yells at the animals, shaking his arms, "Shoo, shoo! Stop asking, we don't want your fur! Go become someone else's new coat! Especially that big, gross one."
|
Haruf, being too focused on the gory corpses, doesn't notice the wolves coming and leaves his bottom open for biting. Howling, more from being mad at his lack of attention, than from pain, he repositions himself with a cartwheel expecting Kale to step and help him flank the wolf. He waits for the opportune moment, quick draws a dagger and strikes.
Alex watches the stalking wolf, just waiting for a lunge. when none came, he moved slowly further from the beast. Keeping his eyes on the wolf while trying to avoid drawing the ire of another and draws his bow. Taking only a second to line up the shot, Alex was just about to let the arrow fly towards the hulking grey mass when he saw the larger dire wolf thunder towards the magic users. He pivoted his shot quickly towards the massive matted dog and let it fly.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Vretiel performs his hex on the dire wolf. The final word of his curse is "Squirrel!"
The dire wolf's ears perk up for a moment, as its eyes shift back and forth seeking the elusive, imaginary squirrel.
Huraf tumbles around wolf before him, deftly avoiding its snapping jaws. The wolf tries to wheel around, not wanting to leaving its backside open. The rogue seizes the opportunity and jabs his dagger into the soft spot where spine and skull meet. The wolf tries to let out a yelp but falls down paralyzed with only a few breaths left.
Alex nearly trips over his own feet along the river side. His arrow goes errant but the dire wolf does not seem to care.
Iskra spreads her hands wide, the tips of her thumbs touching, and then cries out a short, savage spell, the very words seeming to sear the air.
Immediately a fan of coruscating flame washes out from her fingertips, the crimsons and oranges scalding the air as the fire washes over the dire wolf.
Kale took a step to the side swinging her weapon as she did so. "It's not werewolves, just a dire wolf and his pets." She stated as she brought her weapon down.
|
|
Kale wacks the broadside of the dire wolf, breaking a few ribs in the process. Calli begins to inspire her comrades while defending Vretiel from any retribution.
The horse-sized wolf regains its senses after being burned and wounded. It gives the universal wolf-glance to its brother to flank with the armored one. With a flatening of the ears, he moves to flank Kale with the dire wolf.
Taking the moment of distraction, the dire wolf teams up with its brother to bring down Kale.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Vretiel swoons at Calli's gesture of protection. "I honestly feel so loved at this moment! My own personal gentlewoman in shining armour! Bless your heart, my dear," he says. Seeing the failures of the wolves in damaging Kale, he bellows a sinister laughter.
The elf then takes a step over the dead animal carcass and puts his hand over his nose "Oh, gods, the stench…I'm going to be ill!" To everyone's surprise, it appears he is not exaggerating, as his complexion goes from pale pink to pale green. With a sonorous "Ugh!" he bends down, vomiting what first seems to be black bile. As the dark mass hits the ground scuttling, it fragments in a swarm of spiders that flow towards the wolf close to Alex. "Oh, dear! Forgive my manners! I have a very sensitive sense of smell," he apologises whilst the writhing swarm of spiders engulfs the wolf.
________________________
|
|
Haruf looks at the witch with a weird look, seeing him sick, spewing spiders. He repositions himself to flank the dire wolf with Kale, glad to put the beast in a position so he doesn't have to see the vomit. Once the great furry mass is the only thing in front of him, he strikes with his dagger in hand.
Iskra then steps to the north, and placing her thumbs together, unleashes another gout of virulent flame.
"Calli is correct, wolves are nothing to be worried about!" Kale said with a laugh as she brought her weapon back around.
|
|
Kale is a bit too jovial as she misses the dire wolf on her riposte.
Alex is a bit overwhelmed by the vomit swarm. He covers up his face and defends himself from the wolves and the spiders.
The grey wolf hops out of the swarm and dashes between Alex & Vretiel to get to Calli. The wolf snaps at the monk to try help his wolf-brother.
The dire wolf tries to turn the tides on Calli. It rolls around on the ground in hopes of bringing Calli down and under paw and jaw.
Still giggling, Vretiel takes out a small handkerchief and cleans his mouth from a bit of webbing and spit that was still glued to his face.
"Alex, sweetheart, take a step back to allow passage to these little creatures, will you? They won't bite if you are not standing on them." The elf takes a step to the side and seems to be followed by the swarm, which is now again scuttling around the wolf's paws.
________________
The snapping of jaws, the savage clicking of teeth, the howls and snarls and the blood when combined with the sight of Vretiel's vomiting spiders all seem to get to Iskra.
With a cry of something akin to rage, she plunges forward, her movements awkward, and with desperate courage she shoves her hand deep into the heavy hide of the dire wolf and unleashes an arcane spell.
Electricity tears its way free of her hand and arcs in jagged bolts around the monster, crackling and lifting the scent of singed hair as it causes the beast's muscles to spasm. Iskra maintains contact just long enough for the eye-searing bolts to leap around the wolf for a good five seconds, then falls back, staggering.
|
|
Haruf unsheathes his second dagger, the fading sun glimmers light over their edges. He stretches his arms out to form a cross. Haruf leaps onto the dire wolf's back, plunging a dagger into each of the dire wolf's kidneys. The wolf tries to evade, but Calli holds tight dragging its head to the ground. Haruf alternates stabs, left, right, left, right. Each one brings the dire wolf down upon a knee until all four reach the floor. The dire wolf's tongue flops out of its mouth as it is choked out with a pool of blood trickling toward the beach.
With the alpha male defeated, the final wolf turns tail and flees into the trees never to be seen again.
There is not much left on the corpses that hasn't be torn up by the wolves. Any food they had was eaten or spoiled. Their spare clothes are shredded.
Across the river, there cave that has a small pond in front of it. The water is shallow from this side of the bank to the other to make for easy crossing.
Seeing the alpha wolf dead and the other running away, Vretiel turns to the swarm and starts shooing it away with both hands. The spiders disperse shortly afterward and he turns to the group with a forced, impatient smile "Is everyone ok? You all did splendidly. Anyone need some healing? Shall we continue in getting things done and then getting the hell out of this gods forsaken place muddy place crawling with low quality, ambulant fur bags?"
Iskra smiles apologetically. "I'm all out of spells at this point. If we proceed, I won't be able to contribute much, I'm afraid."
|
|
Haruf steps down from the great carcass, still feeling the combat rush as he slowly lets go of his daggers handles. After regaining his composure, he quickly grabs them back, cleans them on the wolf's fur and adjusts his hood. Was this a werewolf?, he asks wondering.
When the party turns its attention back to the caves, he looks at them tiredly, remembering the job was not yet done. He sits on a log while waiting for everyone to get ready, looking into the caves from afar wondering what might be expecting them inside.
After Iskra's comment, he's not sure what they're supposed to do.
|
|
The pond in front of the cave entrance never gets deeper than four feet at the center. The creek that covers the cave floor is one foot deep, leaving six feet of headroom above. The spring that feeds the creek trickles out of the rock face in the alcove to the west. An increasingly shallow tunnel leads around the corner to the northwest.
Anastasia begins to writhe and wiggle rapidly throughout Vretiel's vestments as they close in on the cave. She finally wraps herself around her master's shoulder so that she can look him face to face. Anastasia gives Vretiel a look she hasn't given in a long time. A look of fear.
Alex tries his best to hide his own embarrassment of his performance, especially after the incident with vretiel's vomit spiders, during that skirmish by rushing about, making sure any healing that was required was dispersed by way of channeling irastil's healing energy
Iskra follows along at the back of the group.
Vretiel gives a quick shoulder massage to Alex "Relax, pumpkin, relax. Who doesn't throw up a spider or two every now and then?"
He wrestles with a few mosquitoes until he feels Anastasia moving inside his clothes. He is about to admonish her when he sees her eyes and starts screaming "Baby! My sweet, sweet baby! Do not worry, you will be safe! There are brave, strong women like Calli and Kale to protect us, my dear!"
"Oh, but what…is it that I hear? Hissing? Are there snakes inside, Anastasia? Is it an old lover, you sneaky little vixen? We have barely been here for two days!" The viper glares and hisses at Vretiel "Ok, ok, no discussion of private matters in public! Anyway, I don't like these sounds at all. Can barely contain my joy to discover what else your wizard friend has summoned…"
"We sure about moving foreword?" Kale asked as she looked to the group. "Iskra stated she has no more spells and if we go in there unprepared... well I don't want to think about what could happen." She stated.
|
|
Haruf, completely oblivious of the ways of arcanists, even having lived a few years in the company of a witch, moves on with the group into the caves.
I hear something. Sounds like a snake, he says, creeping into some nearby hiding spot.
Iskra's shrugs. "I'm down to three spells... I may not be of much use if things get tough in there or go beyond one fight."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Alex gave a deadpan look to Vretiel as the elf spoke, but truth be told, Alex would never admit aloud that it was enjoyable to finally receive a decent massage, no matter how brief.
once he had heard the hissing and skittering, however, his tension rose once more with bow at the ready. If your low, coming back might be better. no telling what Hunclay has in stored in here.
"Well, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve…especially if we need to escape," says Vretiel, laughing. "But I would never object to moving away from danger, going back to the city and having a nice cup of tea." Anastasia seems to vigorously nod in agreement.
Vretiel sighs when they arrive at the ranch, having had enough of nature for the day. Looking away for a moment he inhales deeply and, when he turns to the farmer, puts on a beaming smile splattered over his face. "Well, good evening, sir! I am Vretiel Vaneldra. It is so nice to make your acquaintance," the elf says with an elaborate bow, "you probably know my dear associates, friends of poor old Hunclay! Well, we just wanted to drop by to let you know that we have taken care of your little problem with the wolves. Rest assured, the pests shan't give you and your picturesque ranch any further problems!" His accent comes off strongly, lending a soothing and mellow tone to his usually shrill voice.