"And just where is the Old Wolf?" Isamu shoots back, still circling around. "If he's not right here... well, I think removing you from this world would probably be doing some good, given how you're helping to feed this demon. Maybe I could do that before he shows up?"
There was something off about this whole situation. Where was the Old Wolf? Was he actually already here... perhaps possessing Cappy in some way? Cappy himself seemed odder than usual, with that gleam in his eyes.
And where was Lottie? Isamu had fallen in and nearly died, but last he'd known the cat was still in a barrel, heading for wherever he'd been planning to go.
"What good is tomorrow if we can't save today?" Lily interjects, shouting to grab Cappy's attention "Besides, why not wait to feed the wolf until tomorrow? Whatever he eats it'll taste better for the wait."
Whispering: "Trin, start moving over the bridge; don't worry, I won't let him harm you."
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"And just where is the Old Wolf?" Isamu shoots back, still circling around. "If he's not right here... well, I think removing you from this world would probably be doing some good, given how you're helping to feed this demon. Maybe I could do that before he shows up?"
Cappy giggles. "Oh, he's close. He doesn't show himself save when it's time to feed."
"Besides, why not wait to feed the wolf until tomorrow? Whatever he eats it'll taste better for the wait."
"Tempting." Cappy taps his head, grinning widely. "But nothing tastes better than aasimar." His voice becomes deep and guttural on the last line as Trin reluctantly spurs Samson forward.
Cappy's eyes shine with excitement as he gazes at... Samson. "Poor, simple beast," the not-goblin whispers. "Taken through such peril. Why not rest a while?"
Samson visibly stiffens.
Yeldrid looks towards Samson, turns back, and says, 'Honestly, if you tempt him with feed Samson would probably leap off a cliff. That's not particularly impressive, demon thing.'
"Samson? Samson, come on!" Trin kicks Samson's side, but the mule does not move. In desperation, the young aasimar tries to climb off and run. Samson lunges, grabbing for Trin's collar, but Trin ducks underneath and runs behind Yeldrid.
Cappy sighs. "Oh, then go on and run, then, child. Fine. Run back off into the woods, lead us a merry chase. I'll just kill your friends here, then hunt you down any—but if you must make everything tricky..."
Isamu draws Yeldrid's dagger and takes up a defensive stance, making sure not to step foot on the bridge as he does so.
"I'll delay him," Isamu states. "Get Trin out of here."
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Lily watches intently, waiting for Cappy's next move as she prepares to spring into action. If he attacks Isamu, she'll move over to flank, otherwise she'll get between him and Trin and try to interrupt whatever he's doing.
"Hey---leave her alone you crazy old gnome! I'm not letting you hunt anyone today!"
"Gnome? Gnome?" Cappy seems genuinely affronted. "You nasty little insect!"
Yeldrid grabs Trin's hand, and smiles. "Don't worry, little fella. Isamu's handling it. Luck is on our side."
Yeldrid then points a finger gun towards Cappy, motions firing it with a 'clicking' noise, winking as he does so. The metal in the parties possession begins crackling and buzzing. An odd smell and taste fills the air, hair and fur stands on end, and a feeling of something about to happen envelopes the group.
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Yeldrid and Trin rush across the bridge. As Yeldrid sets foot on the solid ground, he feels a snap beneath his feet.
He lunges for Twin, yanking the aasimar out of the way and diving to the side as a hail of spears rains down where the pair once stood.
Back on the eastern side, Cappy stares at Isamu and Lily balefully. He glances at Trin and Yeldrid behind the webs, as if gauging his chances, then back at his three adversaries. His eyes glint with reckless anger.
"Alrighty, then." He gives a wide, sharp-toothed smile. "Then let there be blood. You've pissed off Old Wolf, little ones." The not-goblin's form begins to crack and bend. Bones start to snap. His hair grows longer. His eyes, already glowing, start to shine so bright it hurts to look at them, like miniature suns. His voice turns deeper, huskier, and somehow... fuller. As if he's been speaking with only half his normal breath until now. It is a voice like fire, like a roaring, hateful inferno, uneven and trembling with its own resonance and power. "And he's hungry."
The enormous black wolf looms over Yeldrid, giving a feral grin. Only his eyes and teeth are unchanged—his teeth remain like needles.
In the distance, the group hears a gangle give a wolf howl.
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Isamu looks Old Wolf over, feeling strangely calm. He'd basically died once in the river, maybe that experience was why. Or maybe his subconscious just hadn't caught up yet to the fact that he was facing down a giant demon wolf.
"Oh, is that what you really look like?" he says, sounding bored. He sheathes the dagger and turns. "Here I was thinking you'd be twenty feet tall or something."
He starts casually walking across the bridge, desperately hoping the others would catch on and follow before Old Wolf grabbed one of them.
Lily sees the rest of the party retreating across the bridge, and moves to take up the rear guard.
"Come on Rex, lets go help Trin."
"Get back here, you wretched vermin!" the great black wolf shrieks, its voice more like that of a barn owl than any goblin, human or hound. "You would like to see me bigger? I will swallow the moon before I'm done in this world!"
"I can't do much until you're all over here, so uh....I'll just wait until you get here."
Yeldrid unfurls from their pack a small waxed bag tied off with a string. It seems to glow within.
The black wolf snarls, racing after the pair. His eyes dart between Lily and Isamu for a moment, measuring his odds—but Isamu's taunting has enraged him. He charges Isamu. Just as his teeth are about to close on the kitsune's leg, though, a strange sensation passes through the ears of those on the bridge: almost like their ears popping.
And suddenly, Old Wolf is falling.
"Oof!" he growls, as he hits the roof of the bridge. He manages to twist as he lands, and howls in frustration, realizing his error. "Oh, I see it. Very clever, fox. You think you're very clever, don't you?"
"Quick! Lets get out of here before he figures out how to get back down." Lily retreats to the end of the bridge to join up with the others, remaining between the wolf and Trin.
Isamu swiftly runs to the end of the bridge, then draws the dagger again and turns. "The rest of you keep going," he says, gaze focused on the Wolf.
Trin hesitates alongside Yeldrid. "Isn't that what you said last time?"
Rex stops as he draws level with Isamu, turning and raising his falchion. The corgyn gives Isamu an unsure, questioning look.
"Yeah, you're not making two noble sacrifies in a row. We're in this one together, mate."
Yeldrid undoes a small knot on the bag and opens it wide. From within, sparks sprout repeatedly, like a sparkler. He then tips the bags contents over Isamu's knife, a gold dust that clings to the knife, continuing to release the harmless sparks.
Rex stands beside Lily and points at Old Wolf. He trembles with conviction.
The fiendish wolf lets out another inhuman shriek as he bounds forward. With his howl comes a foul-smelling wind, and all save Yeldrid instinctively shudder. Behind the party, Trin's eyes start to glow a pale golden light, and they clutch at themselves, shivering.
You take a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for the next 6 rounds.
Old Wolf drops back down to the floor of the bridge, cackling as he twists like a wildcat to once more land upon his feet. "Well, now. Now I almost feel for the idiot tortoise guarding this delightful little bridge." Now, the reason for Cappy's strangely uneven way of speaking becomes more and more clear as Old Wolf's natural roaring voice comes back to him. His head tilts to an unnatural angle. He is beginning to look less and less like a wolf, his shining eyes seeming to grow wider and wider as his fur becomes almost pitch black, almost lightless. "How about it, then, ? I wasn't going to eat you, but it seems I've built an ."
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Isamu felt a strange feeling wash over him and then depart. He shakes himself slightly and resumes his defensive stance.
"You might want to see someone about... well, your voice, the fact that your neck looks broken... well, just about all of you, for that matter. Do they have doctors in the Abyss?"
Lily shakes her head, trying to dislodge the discordant voices growing inside. "No! No, get OUT!"
She shudders uncontrollably for a moment, looking like she might bolt, but sees Trin standing there shivering and steels her resolve.
"You won't be eating anyone today."
Yeldrid starts drawing more bags full of the strange substance, and pours it onto one of Lily's blades. This one doesn't appear to spark, but rather, glow faintly with a cold light.
"There. No demon will wanna mess with you, that's for sure."
"You might want to see someone about... well, your voice, the fact that your neck looks broken... well, just about all of you, for that matter. Do they have doctors in the Abyss?"
Old Wolf charges Rex, shrieking again. had better hope
Shivering from the effects of the howl, Rex nonetheless slashes at the fiend as it draws near, letting out a challenging bark of his own at the significantly larger dog. He slashes into Old Wolf, taking a brutal gash from the monster's teeth in turn—and both are promptly launched into the roof.
Once again, Old Wolf twists and lands on all four paws. Rex is not so lucky, however, thudding into the roof and catching himself... well, also on all fours, but not deliberately. Old Wolf lets out a barking laugh. "Say, this is fun! if the reversal lasts if I you off the bridge,
"Hang on Rex!" Lily sprints towards the fallen corgyn, throwing her dagger at the wolf once she reaches the bridge.
Where she nimbly lands on the ceiling.
Lily throws the dagger, but Old Wolf twists out of the way. He gives a booming laugh. "Your steel means to me!"
"Well thank you for telling us we need to bother with the special metal," Isamu says with a manic grin.
He steps forward and then jumps, slashing with his dagger to trigger the gravity effect as he does, then aiming it at Old Wolf.
(+2 more if I can get flanking)
He twist around, trying to land on the roof behind Old Wolf if possible.
Yeldrid pulls out the junk pistol and levels it at the Old Wolf.
The shot goes wild, smashing into the roof.
Old Wolf narrowly avoids Isamu's dagger, his eyes widening slightly as it crackles with electricity right by his ear, making his fur stand on end.
Rex growls and slashes at Old Wolf, who now finds himself surrounded by angry adventurers on the roof of the bridge. But Rex is trembling with the aftereffects of Old Wolf's Roar, and misses badly.
Old Wolf is getting annoyed, it is clear. he roars, and unleashes a frenzy of snapping and clawing—that sends him tumbling back to ground level.
The frenzy of attacks causes Old Wolf to lose his balance when he begins to fall back down, and this time, he lands on his side. The wolf snarls in rage. "I consume. I feast!" He is staring straight at Yeldrid now, the sole active obstacle before him. the soul be torn
Isamu snarls back at the demon and leaps back towards the briefly-vulnerable (he hopes) creature.
This time his leap is straight and true, his dagger aimed directly at his mark. He strikes and then recovers swiftly, flipping in the air to land on his feet behind Old Wolf, falling into a guarded stance as he lands.
Lily reels back under the force of Old Wolf's savage clawing, screaming in pain as he narrowly misses ending her altogether. She drags herself over to where her dagger fell earlier, picking it up and throwing it down at the wolf...
...before the world uprights itself, and she weakly tries to land on her feet...
...where she scowls and chitters her fangs at the beast.
"Nobody panic, I've got bullets to spare."
Yeldrid loads their gun once more and takes aim.
Isamu snarls back at the demon and leaps back towards the briefly-vulnerable (he hopes) creature.
This time his leap is straight and true, his dagger aimed directly at his mark. He strikes and then recovers swiftly, flipping in the air to land on his feet behind Old Wolf, falling into a guarded stance as he lands.
The fox lands a graceful leap as he slashes into Old Wolf's exposed stomach. The fiend's eyes bulge, and he lets out a horrible wail. Black smoke and sulfuric fumes billow in equal measure from the cut.
However, the cut is... small. Smaller than it should be. A moment later, the cut mostly closes, and Old Wolf gives a hideous laugh. "Cold iron? Do you me for a ? Only the workings of and can—HSSSS!"
He snarls as Lily's dagger skids off his leg, almost cutting him. A moment later, the horrible roar of Yeldrid's gun drowns out his booming voice, and a bullet slices a thin gash across the wolf's cheek. More smoke trickles out.
For a short moment, everyone is back on the ground level. Old Wolf's eyes dart warily between Lily and Isamu.
With a barked corgyn curse, Rex slashes from the ground at the hateful glutton's belly, his falchion cutting in deep—and this wound does not heal.
"Paladins!" the monster wails, gnashing his teeth. the last paladin I ever down, miserable wretch!"
He rises to his feet and lunges for the prone corgyn.
"You're only just now noticing, old smoke-belly?"
'Old Smoke-Belly' hisses as Isamu delivers a small shock to his leg. He leaps at Rex, going for the corgyn's throat. But as the wolf-fiend springs to his feet, Rex swings his falchion. And his blade strikes true, carving through the creature's flesh like butter. He cuts straight through the slice Isamu made, cutting an 'x' in the fiend's flesh.
Old Wolf screams.
Smoke pours from his split belly, making the stomachs of those nearby heave. Beyond words in his pain, he lunges for Rex, eyes blazing in pure, unending hatred. He grabs the corgyn between his jaws and shakes viciously, as though seeking to snap the corgyn's spine in two. Rex weakly manages to escape the grip, tumbling onto the ground.
Rex is bleeding heavily, and his breaths are shallow as he struggles to rise.
Lily sighs, and looks up at the wolf before again grabbing her dagger and throwing it. "Not again."
Isamu doesn't taunt the demon this time. He tries to stab Old Wolf again, but is too distracted by his concern for Rex to land a solid hit.