Archepex arrives seconds after Grigor bowls the intruder over. Fool of a Human. Stop your screeching and back away! he chides.
An elf! Milo is in real trouble now. Humans are forbidden in this Elven land. Did this elf make the trees attack him? Maybe!
Dhice sees Archepex trying to step aside from the grasping trees, but notices something the usually eagle-eyed ranger did not: an incoming root. He gestures frantically at the Ranger, trying to help him avoid further trouble.
When Archepex dodges the root and directs a look of concern back at Dhice (who is similarly threatened by the trees) the Channeler just flashes a quirky smile and shrugs casually. The air around him shimmers a bit, and suddenly the lanky redhead dissolves into thin air and immediately reappears a short distance away, safely out of harms way. On reappearing, Dhice appears somewhat pained. He groans as the power he Channeled crystalizes around him, hardening him in a temporary magical armour, but burning his flesh as it does so.
When Dhice shouts a warning to the ranger, the elf reacts instantly, dodging a questing root that was seeking out his ankle just in time. A deep howl comes from within the depths of the brandlewynn's darkness, a characteristic cry that Archepex heard echoing through the nights of his home, many years ago. The vines and roots curl around him for another assault!
Then, the channeler forms himself into armor covered in rock...and sees that the roots and tree branches nearby seem to be reacting to him differently now. Because he resembles a golem of stone while under the effects of this spell, the brandlewynn isn't recognizing him as an intruder, but rather as a rock to be climbed over in pursuit of prey. The plants are still trying to cover you, but they aren't attacking or squeezing you at all, channeler.
Milo isn't so lucky. With a shout of surprise, the human thief is hoisted off the ground by a tree root wrapped around his right ankle, lifted 10 feet off the ground into the air by the vengeful forest spirit. Another vine wraps around the human's opposite limb, his left wrist, and the tree begins trying to pull him apart! Take 1d8 damage, Milo. What do you do?
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Archepex slashes at the vines attacking the stupid human.
Archepex slashes the vines holding him up and interposes himself between Grigor and the Idiot and the Brandlrwynn. (Redirect attack to myself, halved)
The vines shoot toward him, it's focused completely redirected. Everyone get back and try to look natural!
(The first person to attack the distracted thing gets a +1)
We aren't actually going to fight this thing, are we? Archepex and I could begin singing and lead it away.
Do not engage! Lyntel, if you can draw it away do so from the high boughs!
Milo is hoisted up above the ground by the branch. He can't cut what he can't reach. He starts swinging back and forth to loosen the vine's grip
It takes Dhice a moment to realize that he is effectively camouflaged from the Brandlewynn. He uses his ability to move about without being attacked to position himself nearer to Grigor, who may need his help...
Its been a long time since I've tried this...
The elf attempts to scamper up into a nearby tree and begin hopping from bough to bough.
She begins running due North, singing at the top of her lungs.
Hope Archepex can track me up here!
[Dice=While Im at it, Spout Lore]2d6
Or worse than you expected!
Emma strides into the clearing, takes one look at the vines snagging Archepex, and opens up on the plant-thing with an overhand swing from her longsword.
Milo is almost yanked completely off the ground, but as he struggles, the ill-tempered elven ranger yanks him right back down to earth. While the thief falls in a heap at the elf's feet, Archepex stands over him and battles the oncoming branches.
When Milo looks up from his prone position on the ground, he sees the elf moving with amazing dexterity and speed to completely no-sell the attacking Brandlewynn branches. In an incredible display, the ranger somersaults over a low sweep by some tentacle-like tree roots. Emma boldly runs up alongside him to fight back-to-back. Vines wrap around the antipaladin's armored breastplate, and she snarls as the demonic energy she's bathed in scorches the very plant life off of her. She whirls her longsword in a swift arc that cuts some of the vines attacking her in half, but the vines persist, slowly engulfing her lower body and giving her a -1 to her next physical roll. Milo, when you try to get up and help her, you realize that when you fell to the ground, the very moss turns against you. Your wrist is entangled by a fist made of moss that has wrapped around you and holds you fast by your left arm.
Suddenly, from deep within the blackness of the brandlewynn, a tall humanoid figure emerges. No longer hunched over or fleeing, the creature stands at an impressive 9 feet tall. It's covered in hair and its eyes are distant, removed, unseeing, like two black pits in its face. It's the sasquatch from before, and the brandlewynn has claimed its spirit for its own. Legends say that this will happen to any innocent soul that wanders too close to the brandlewynn's core, Archepex - another warning used to scare Elven children, that happens to be true.
The Sasquatch is wreathed in black magic that continunously falls off its body like a black fog. As Lyntel the bard runs to the tree branch level and begins to sing, it - and the magic controlling it - turns to face her. The vacant expression on the face of the possessed yeti turns to rage, and it begins to chase after her, moving with unnatural swiftness. Lyntel, you leap to another tree to try and escape, but the sasquatch is faster, already at the base of your tree. With a mighty heave of its two arms, empowered by the black magic of the brandlewynn, the yeti shoves the living tree down! Your branch is now rushing toward the ground as you fall out of the tree, what do you do?
The singing of the bard has enraged the brandlewynn with its sweetness and beauty, far beyond the anger that the innocent human's tune inspired. The plants that you all are battling redouble in ferocity, sprouting thorns that should not be, poisonous barbs that that species of plant never possessed, and doubling and redoubling in strength and persistence, trying to entomb you within the darkness of the brandlewynn's core. The sunlight filtering down through the canopy above grows dimmer as the brandlewynn comes closer to overtaking you entirely, Milo, Emma, Dhice and Archepex. What do you do?
Only one arm is held? And his non-dominant hand at that? Now we're talking!
Milo swings his rapier at the ground where the moss has taken root (not near his hand. Non-dominant or no, there's no sense in severing it...)
As an elf, the Brandlewynn was within his responsibility of care. This was an Elven problem. His sense of xenophobic protection for all thing distinctly elven battles with his need for help for a moment. He decides that this was beyond the scope of his abilities right now. He needs help.
The song had a more terrible effect than he imagined. He reaches toward the sky and calls down a blessing on his demonic ally.
-I attract attention to myself.
The blessings of the clear and open sky descend on the warrior and empower her abilities.
He hears a tree crack and fall. The sasquatch! Grigor! He shouts and points to Lyntel. I have the Idiot!
His blade weaves a wall of steel around him as he and Emma face down the closest thing to Elven hell on earth.
Who is the idiot? Is the Sasquatch the idiot? Why do these people keep attacking the monsters they are using to attack me? Are we on the same side?
Dhice, a bit complacent after becoming coated by stone and finding himself ignored by the Brandlewynn, suddenly realizes the urgency of the situation. His friends are being overwhelmed.
The first thing that comes to mind is that if elemental stone is ignored by the Brandlewynn, then perhaps Muppy would be the perfect ally. He opens his conduit and summons forth his friend, but in his rush to be helpful, he reaches a new and far less friendly Earth Elemental, calling forth an enraged foreign consciousness!
.
The elemental rears up, a massive collection of dirt and rock in the shape of an amorphous man, two club like appendages for arms. I command it to confront the Sasquatch, interposing itself between Lyntel and her attacker. Throw it back into the black depths! he shouts, and the Elemental rears back to attack:
The Elemental smashes the Sasquatch for and hurling it bodily towards the heart of the Brandlewynn.
DREAM: I sprint headlong down the stairs, terrified of the creature pursuing me. I make it to the bottom of the stairwell moments ahead of the demon. What awaits me at the bottom?
AWAKE:
This seems awfully familiar...
Lyntel stops singing as she falls. As she hits the ground she attempts to roll to minimize the damage, but instead ...
Picking himself up, Grigor draws his weapons and immediately lays into the brandlewynn.
Risking himself to try keep it busy while his friends come up with a magical solution for the spirit.
damage.
As Emma struggles with the errant foliage, divine guidance courtesy of Archepex slides through her eyes.
What should she be on the lookout for?
DREAM: I sprint headlong down the stairs, terrified of the creature pursuing me. I make it to the bottom of the stairwell moments ahead of the demon. What awaits me at the bottom?
Razor wire. Tangled. Sharp. Unavoidable
Milo swings his weapon down at the mossy grip, but the malevolent forest spirit anticipates his move and drags his wrist in the way at the last second! You free yourself but you also take 4 damage of your own, thief. You look up and see Archepex climbing into the trees, calling down a divine blessing from above. Holy light from the ranger's pleading hands streams down to the forest floor, penetrating the rising gloom that spreads all around you. In the center of this beam of light stands Emma, the possessed. She had been just about to succumb to the darkness of the brandlewynn, a darkness that feels achingly...familiar somehow. The ranger's spell clears her mind for the moment, and she looks through the divine eyes to see what lies beneath the furry hide of the nearby sasquatch. The innocent creature that had been fleeing the party is subsumed by the heart of darkness. You know instinctively that the brandlewynn's power - ineffable and irresistable in the diffuse form of darkness - has been concentrated within the flesh and blood of the yeti. If it's empowered body is slain, the brandlewynn will be dispelled.
As she watches, she sees Dhice, the channeler, gesturing hand-over-hand at the earth beneath his feet; but even the soil has been corrupted by the presence of the brandlewynn, and that has influenced the vengeful spirit he has summoned. The frightful earth golem is nearly as deadly-seeming as the possessed yeti. With a booming roar, its lumbering hulk pounds across the foliage of the forest floor, bringing its two club-fists together and slamming them into the sasquatch's face. The big furry creature is fast, rotating end-over-end even as it flies through the air, and landing deeper into the shadows with a crash of several knocked-over trees and a series of grunting. It's hard to see it now.
That doesn't stop the battle-hardened Grigor. The reckless fighter charges into the darkness screaming, swinging his longsword about himself madly. His weapon connects, inflicting a grievous blow on the sasquatch's right shoulder, but the sasquatch and the brandlewynn possessing it can see perfectly well in the darkness. Unexpectedly, the fighter is grabbed, picked up off the ground, and screamed at - point blank. With hideous strength the sasquatch grabs hold of Grigor's chestplate and yanks hard, ripping it clean off of the fighter and tossing it spinning off to the side.
With that, the fighter's armor completely ruined, the sasquatch punches him - take 1d12 damage - sending him flying.
The fighter's body collides with Lyntel in mid-air as she was trying to fall gracefully out of the tree, causing them both to take 1d8 damage and fall into a painful patch of thorny bushes.
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"That creature is going to die. By my hand. This I vow."
Emma grimaces, and her scar pulses once, justifying her actions.
She marches into the thicket, heedless of the lashing vines. Her mind is aflame with justified anger.
Milo takes advantage of the beast's distraction to creep behind and place his rapier into a squishy part of the Yeti. It's pretty clear that these people and the monster are on different sides and if he can prove himself useful he maybe won't go to jail for trespassing on Elven lands? Maybe?
Milo dodges in low and bounces back before the yeti can get his hands on him . His sword digs deep and hits something vital. Milo wasn't paying attention in anatomy class, but whatever it is bleeds deep black
Lyntel takes a moment to take in her surroundings. Deep in a thorn bush, she realizes every movement will be excruciating in her leather armor. She looks to where the much better protected fighter lies. There is one thing I can do.
She begins singing a war song of Grigor's dragoon that they shared over a recent campfire, willing her voice to reach the fighter.
damage. Ouch! +14 from healing. No, wait, I'm fine
Attack!
for damage, plus a complication and Milo's adds 1d4 to his next attack's damage, due to my inspiring awesomeness.
1d12 + 1d8 - 4 damage. Ouch! +14 from healing. No, wait, I'm fine .
"Lyntel! Hold on! Dhice shouts as the slender elf is enveloped in nasty looking brambles.
He conjures forth a slab of rock from beneath the earth, trying to part the brambles and give Lyntel an exit option: . He expertly places the slab and then uses his hold on it to lock it into position, even after his attention is diverted back to the battle at hand.
As Emma the anti-paladin marches into the darkness to confront the yeti, purplish blue flames erupt into the air from her stained arm. The flames' light, no matter how fel its origins, beats back the darkness enough for the woman to step confidently forth into shadow.
The darkness withdraws into the yeti's body and erupts constantly from its eyes, stabbing forth shadow from its helplessly ensnared orbs. Grigor races around its side, and Milo flanks it from the opposite direction, their paths similarly illuminated by the anti-paladin's evil glow.
As one, Emma and Grigor strike, their weapons sundering the flesh of the yeti and sending bits of its flesh spinning into the surrounding woods. But even as they inflict horrific damage on the yeti, its wounds issue forth with more darkness, draining energy from the two fighters. As Milo watches in horror, the energy flows from the wounds of the fighters back toward the yeti, closing the worst of its wounds before their eyes. The Sasquatch howls in pain, tossing its head towards the heavens as the brandlewynn's foul magic sustains it.
Nearby, Lyntel sings on, undeterred by the clutching of the thorny branches of the bush she was in. She knew she would have a hell of a time escaping; fortunately, no plant could contain the magic of her voice. So it was a relief when Dhice summoned his earth magics, pounding down a huge section of the bush just before her eyes to the ground with a slab of stone, and giving her the opportunity to simply walk out.
Inside, Dhice's elemental was continuing its rampage, kicking the Sasquatch as its wounds closed up rapidly. The beast is knocked several yards, and Milo sees his chance. The thief holds his weapon high overhead as the yeti passes over, inflicting a dire stab and avoiding providing any return health to it from the shadow tendrils that reach for him.
The sasquatch shakes the ground as it lands some yards beyond Milo, bleeding heavily but lumbering slowly to its feet. The darkness gathers about it once again. Its arms are shredded, and have been largely replaced by tentacles of darkness incarnate.
Grigor is actually healed for .
Now that the beast is separated from his allies, Archepex opens up and Mule dives, not permitting a moment's respite for the darkness.
Lyntel stands and follows Dhice's path out of the brambles. Fearful of getting close to the creature, she pulls her slingshot and takes a pebble from the ground.
Following the lead of the others and seeing what happened when they let this awful beast too close to them, Milo deprives the Yeti of a target to leach vitality from and lets fly a volley of arrows from his ragged bow.
With so many projectiles flying and with so much less yeti than terrible shadow monster, it's hard to get a good shot in and his arrow is much less well placed than his sword was
Archepex sees the sloppy form, the hurried aim, the lack of focus, and sighs. First Dhice, now this one. What did they teach human children now a days?
Seeing that his companions are trying to stay out of melee with the energy-sapping Yeti, Dhice commands his chained Elemental to stay engaged with the creature:
"Lyntel, it's fighting me... can you lend your strength? Remember the focus excercises I taught you?"
The Elemental staggers towards the yeti, acting against its will according to Dhice's commands. It starts swinging its massive club-like arms and connects with the Yeti again:
Lyntel's war song abrubtly changes to a soothing ballad as she turns her focus towards Dhice's elemental.
The strain on the young channeler is visibly reduced as Lyntel contributes her calming magical effects to his effort.
Dhice makes time to flash Lyntel a grateful smile.
Grigor continues to try and take it apart.
, taking a complication and doing damage. Woof.
Three arrows and a pebble-bullet strike the thick hide of the possessed Sasquatch. The poorly aimed shots strike the beast in the areas where it is already wounded, Archepex's first shot and Milo's shot sinking into the shadow-flesh and dissolving harmlessly in the brandlewynn's powerful magic aura. However, Archepex's second shot and Lyntel's pebble-bullet strike true! The arrow buries itself in the meat of the yeti's neck, and the slung pebble slams into the creature's wild eye, causing it to close shut.
The earth elemental lumbers up, its reluctance to strike leaving it open to counterattack. The yeti's left arm - a ragged mass of cut flesh that has mostly become a tendril of shadow now - wraps around the elemental, threatening to crush it. However, at the last second, Lyntel's glorious song issues forth, bolstering the bravery of everyone present. The elemental is similarly effected, despite not having any formed ears, and breaks free of the tentacle's grasp to smash its fist into the fist of its opponent. The force of the impact of the two powerful creatures' fists releases a shockwave that knocks down all the trees in a 20 foot radius of the battle, creating an impromptu clearing and scattering some of the ambient darkness that isn't localized in the yeti. The trees falling over creates a huge ruckus as plants are scattered everywhere. The force causes the sasquatch to stagger back a little but inflicts only minor damage to the shadow-force sustaining it. The blast radius from the elemental's heavy punch creates a wider space for the heroes to move freely.
Screaming wildly, Grigor dedicates everything he has to a reckless assault on the sasquatch. He succeeds in inflicting a grievous cut on the Sasquatch's face, causing it to roar in rage and pain. A tentacle of shadow, bursting forth from an injury on the creature's flanks, shoots out toward Grigor and wraps around his neck. Lifeforce is drained from the fighter, closing some of the yeti's wounds as the creature throttles him in darkness. The sasquatch drags the fighter closer until he is face to face with the possessed creature's enraged visage, bellowing as he drains lifeforce from the fighter. Take 4 damage that ignores armor, Grigor, and your longsword slips from your fingers to clatter to the ground. Your fists and fingers alone will do little to damage the creature's thick hide. What do you do?
Far off in the distance, you hear sterling horns blowing wildly. The sound is unmistakable, conjuring up instant memories of home from long ago, in the minds of Archepex and Lyntel. The horns are of elf-make.
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...smash its fist into the fist of its opponent. The force of the impact of the two powerful creatures' fists releases a shockwave that knocks down all the trees in a 20 foot radius of the battle, creating an impromptu clearing and scattering some of the ambient darkness...
The Elemental is knocked backwards and small chips of stone fall away from it en masse, causing a weird rain-like sound. Dhice's face contorts in agony as the blow is felt him through the link: not physically, but mentally. It takes a moment for the Channeler to recover from the impact. When he does, he calls out to his friends, "The Elemental is slipping away from me... when he breaks loose, watch out. He could turn on us!"
Milo can do MUCH better than that. He knows they have that thing on the ropes That being said elf or human he knows the sound of an alarm. They need to wrap this up quickly and make haste or he'll be in much deeper trouble. He takes a deep breath, closes one eye and lets his arrow fly fast and true
The arrow strikes flesh, not shadow. Milo breathes a sigh of relief. He's not entirely useless.
Emma spares not a glance for Grigor.
This thing must die.
The sword makes a sickly, sucking sound as it enters possessed, shadow-infected flesh.
Grigor spends his action retrieving his weapon.
Archepex pauses for a moment when a sound, clear and strong, floats over them. A sound from out of time. He laughs and digs in his pack. Out comes a horn of his own. It's a simple thing of leather and animal horn, but the sound of it is unmistakable. It echoes into the distance, calling in the cavalry. Mule disengages and flies high above the trees to lead the other elves toward the infestation
That done Archepex shouts an elven war cry and lets fly.
Milo is pleased that his arrow met its mark and for now these elves and humans are on his side...but the elf in the tree is calling in the alarm. He may need to make haste and escape back in to the woods...