As the group spreads out and investigates the tell-tale signs of fey activity in the nearby woods, Jazzai's keen senses pick out something unusual from the standard wildlife. A tiny tangle of brambles seems to separate from the undergrowth. Even though Jazzai recognizes it as a threat, it is too fast for her to track, as it dives into one pile of underbrush and reappears from another, next to Kane, covering 40 feet in the blink of an eye.
"TWIGJACK! By you Kane." With all of her magic spent except for cantrips she held onto the spear she had kept for a walking stick and realizing she could throw it she would try.
Reacting quickly she hefted the spear she kept, the cold iron one and threw it.
Jazzai's spear ends up with its point buried in the dirt near Kane. The twigjack is unimpressed, and jabs its own spear at the warrior.
Its attack is completely ineffective, though, not even making contact. It retreats from its position, and dives back into the undergrowth about 15 feet away from Kane.
Moving forward Jazzai would swipe at the twigjack.
"Twig-what now?" Adrien asks; the name sounded vaguely familliar, but he didn't remember.
Reflexively, he leaps in the air and his wings unfold as he attempts to hover. For lack of practice, he fails to stabilize, and instead flies in narrow circles, remaining out of reach.
"Looks like that one knows where to aim with a spear... We can't have that, can we?"
Peacock giggles and chants a few words, and the grass near the twigjack rustles and begins dripping a greasy sap onto its spear.
"Twigjack, malicious fey that can spray needles a couple of times. It can jump from bush to bush for short distances. Nasty tough little buggers."
Jazzai growls in its direction.
The tiny mass of sticks drops its spear as Peacock's spell affects it. Its unblinking eyes look up with a hateful glare.
"Also they are susceptible to fire. They burn real quick." She said quickly.
"What do you want from us, [b]'stranger'!"[/b] Peacock snaps at the other fey, instinctively employing the word fey use to refer to feys of other courts.
He draws his bow and readies a shot, firing if the Twigjack attacks again.
Diving for the little creature Naki rushes it.
Kane steps forward, drawing his naginata, and tries to bring it down on the fey.
With a satisfying sound of snapping branches, he damages the twigjack. It snarls at everyone surrounding it, and retreats a few paces, which opens itself to attack.
Though only Naki is able to bite it, the fey turns quickly back around and blasts the trio with a spray of splinters and brambles.
Kane took the blast, unable to dodge away. It hurt a lot.
He stepped in to retaliate, healing himself with Pharasma's power.
The blast catches Naki full on as he covers his eyes with his arm.
Irritated by the slivers Naki pursues and tries to bite the little pile of uppity kindling.
Stepping foward she would try to claw and bite at the creature.
But the needles and hurt she took obviously took a lot out of her.
Cursing his lack of understanding of his magic, Peacock takes another shot with his bow.
Kane's mighty swing is effective, even though it easily evades Jazzai's flurry of attacks, and just barely avoids Naki's bite. Peacock's arrow also successfully damages the creature, taking the fight out of it. The twigjack tries to move back into the safety of the brambles, but in doing so it provokes attacks from the foes around it.
Kane's swipe hamstrings the fey, sending it sprawling on the ground. It is grievously wounded, and it looks unable to exert itself any further. It still seems to look longingly at the nearest batch of undergrowth, but the tiny fey is unable to reach it and whatever safety it might provide.
Adrien glares at the Twigjack, with uncharacteristic confidence.
His wings unfurl, making him appear larger, and he speaks in Sylvan, not breaking eye contact.
"Who are you, and why did you attack us? Are you one of the court that has been causing trouble in Trollfork?" Peacock asks.
The twigjack glares back, defiant. Its mouth is an empty space in its face with needle-sharp thorns.
Jazzai moves to the creature picking it up and holding it still while Peacock spoke with the creature. It was disturbing to hear the First World was far away. This would make Peacock finding answers even harder. Worry ate at her that the dryad didn't make it.
Even worse that she carried something that contained the same blackness that did this to her. And if she fought the feeding to much....she would become a mindless killing and eating machine.
Peacock glared at his foe, clutching his bow. "You lie! I have seen the court of Thistlefeather, and it is lush and lively! Queen Swandove will not allow your threats to come to fruition!"
He turned to the others and spoke in Common, though still with Peacock's Sylvan accent. "That one's just a flunkie spewing empty threats. We should get rid of him and be on our way."
The twigjack doesn't seem concerned with Peacock's threats. It sneers -- an impressive feat for one with only sticks to make up its face -- and scoffs at Peacock.
"So, shall I eat him? I don't want what happened to those other two with that metal guy to happen to me."
She squeezed him as she held him. The propect didn't appeal to her but she had sampled all those vile tasting things in Naki's lab. She should be good for a week or two.
"I don't think he'd make a very filling meal," Peacock chuckles. "He's thin as a twig!"
The twigjack looks actually surprised at Jazzai's mention of eating him, but then that surprise turns into insulted anger at Peacock's description. It snarls at him.
Kane nods to Jazzai. "Make it quick."
Jazzai turns away from them not liking the idea of them watching. Swallowing she quickly bit down on the creature with a grimace.
Coup de gras with her bite.
After it was done she moved away from them covering her mouth.
Naki tries to observe the feeding but realizes quickly that she doesn't want that, despite his social ineptitude and turns to Adrien, "So are you a plant then? You seem to be related?"
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Peacock, on the contrary, seems quite curious to see what's about to unfold, though Naki's question catches him off guard, sending him into a fit of giggles.
"He's a fey. I'm a fey. There are many kinds of fey. He might be all twigs, but I've got these." Peacock unfolds his wings to demonstrate.
Jazzai moves some distance away and would start digging a hole to place the body. She is quiet as she listens back to the others.
The fey squirms in Jazzai's arms as she clamps down, ending its cruel existence.
With its essence drained, the twigjack collapses into a pile that looks exactly like a bundle of twigs.
As Jazzai goes about digging a shallow grave, small rings of mushrooms grow in and around the area in which the group is standing.
"Another one?" the boy asks, suddenly devoid of the Syvlan accent.
"Did... did they come from...?" Adrien doesn't finish his sentence, but points to the Twigjack.
Peacock's alarm subsides when he realizes that the faerie rings sprouting up are just a manifestation of the twigjack's presence.
"We should return to town. This problem will probably not stop with this one fey. Plus, I am out of healing, we are hurt decently bad and will need a couple of days of healing."
She said finishing burying the twigjack.
"I will go visit the temple and see what free healing supplies I could get." Standing she would head towards where she had thrown the spear and kneels feeling around for it.
Jazzai is able to find Trollfork's trio of adventurers after a few inquiries at the local temple. After waiting a couple of hours, Ronen, Jarrvik and Llewellyn arrive, all three sporting wounds similar to the ones she received from the twigjack's blast of briars.
Bloody brambles, Jarrvik mutters, as Ronen and Llewellyn explain that they had encountered a number of the vicious fey in the nearby woods. They all show relief that you survived your encounter with one, and that you were able to kill it.
The party is able to find shelter that night, and Ronen arrives early in the morning with a blessing of Desna for everyone. He also provides a partially-charged wand of cure light wounds for you, "in reward for your service in killing one of the fey threatening the village." He also sheepishly adds that they had recently picked up a fresh one, so he felt that he could spare this.
In setting out fresh, this time bright and early in the morning, the group has a few options before them. The next town along the north road is Woodsedge, roughly two-and-a-half days of travel from Trollfork. The Demon Reaches lie to the east, and a more approachable route would be through the forest north of Trollfork rather than going back through the swamp and up the dryad's valley. It's hard to tell how long it would really take, but three or four days of travel would reach the slopes of the first mountain, Xov.
Jazzai would ask if they wanted help with all the fey and would take the wand. "Thank you. I am sorry this happened. If you need help you can find us at the doctor's house as we decide where to go."
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"Sir Kane, Adrien, Nanaki. What shall we do? I am worried with all these fey and know that the dryad is probably still recovering if she is still alive."
Looks at each of them and would sigh. "As a stranger to these lands, and my only lead to my predicament....It should wait until more pressing matters are dealt with."
"I know little of the fae, but it is clear these people need help. I would prefer not to leave them wanting. Aiden, what would you suggest we do?"
Naki putters about what he has left behind looking nervous
The rent is due soon, can't stay here long...
Jarrvik, Llewellyn and Ronen dealt with two twigjacks on the other side of the river, and one on the southeastern side of town. That night, Trollfork had not experienced any further signs of fey pranks (barring anything Peacock does).
Jazzai looks up at Kane. "Sir Kane, they believe all of the fey have been dealt with. If we encounter more as we leave then we can again deal with them. I believe Naki is nervous to stay here because of his condition."
After a long silence she spoke up.
"Remember that old fort? Let us go there. It will make a good home and resting point so we can gather our wits about us and decide which path we wish to take. Having a home to come to will give us a sense of security we currently lack. Also, gives us a place to lick our wounds. Since it is abandoned then no one has a claim on it. Who knows we may still find remnants of books on what happened to it and the area around us to give us clues on to what is going on with the darkness and yourself Sir Kane. Also, keeps us....relatively close to the Dryad's Grove so Adrien can ask her when she gets better about how to reconnect to the fey realm and learn more about yourself. Naki, it will also provide you a place to figure out your transformations and set up a lab to help me figure out what is going on inside of me and if I am truly infested." She stepped ahead of them gathering her things.
"Now come on, no dilly dallying. We are wasting precious daylight and its how I determine direction. Now, Sir Kane if you would be so willing to tell me where to go I can lead us there."
"While I was in town I made some purchases with the loot from the gnolls. They are mostly things I thought would help us. Along with a darling pony to help me carry things."
When everyone saw the "darling" pony, it looked like its best years had long gone and it was living out of sheer force of will. The look in its eyes said Death itself wouldn't stop her from living. But when Jazzai approached with a carrot she turned into mush chomping on the carrot as Jazzai stroked her. Kane could recognize the scars of battle on the little pony.
"The fort does sound like a good idea. Some of the villagers think I was behind these fairy pranks, and some messier things too, and I'm not too fond of torches and pitchforks."
"Also, I'm kind of worried about what the Twigjack said, about everything turning to thorns. This... doesn't sound like a very good fate for this area."
"By Arangin's Hooves! She's adorable! Does she have a name?"
When Jazzai introduces the pony, Adrien approaches gently, gently stroking the mare's mane.
Something about the term 'old fort' resonated with Kane. He nodded, then stopped as he realized he was again being influenced by impulses he did not fully understand or appreciate.
Still, in this case, his new instincts aligned with his ability to reason.
"Alright. To the old fort then."
Kane smiled beneath his cowl. That pony and he were clearly kindred spirits.