Tallina can't seem to get into a good place to attack so she moves to Tobongo and directs him where to land his slam attacks.
"Come on Tobongo, I know you can hit him!"
---Tobongo---
The sapling slams into the earth elemental as hard as he can.
Verim roars out at the orc " Hrmph, your stuck now little lamb. You'll need more than fear to affect Me! "
Verim notes his flurry of attacks had missed due to the lack of accuracy and tried for a well placed shield bash, while the Spiritual Demonic Figure Lashed out with a vicious bite.
Laris steps up into the room, deciding the likelihood of more invisible beings trying to escape is minimal and swings her glaive at the elemental
Verim's spirits tear into Vagog as he retreats towards the corner as Laris deals a serious blow to the elemental.
Verim, Luciana, Laris, Tallina, Mia
-------------------------------------------
Vagog
-------------------------------------------
Maxwell, Tobongo
"Starting to see why people like summoning elementals." Luci commented wryly as she swung at the living lawn ornament again.
Mia throws evil eye hex on the half orc.
-2 penalty to attack rolls. DC14 will.
Mia throws evil eye hex on the half orc.
-2 penalty to attack rolls. DC14 will.
As the elemental crumbles to rubble under Luciana's sword, Vagog feels Mia's hex take hold on him.
With nowhere left to retreat and beset by his opponents, Vagog makes one more attempt at driving off Verim.
Verim feels the sensation of deep inner worries fall over him and a flash of Wendaug, blood oozing from her mouth as she is crushed underfoot from a great winged Demon with a fiery whip. The image shatters and instead the current battle rages on.
Verim is enraged beyond all thought and shouts out, " THAT IS THE LAST TIME YOU FOOL AROUND WITH MY HEAD! " He lashes out with fervor once more as it seemed to work much more effectively than when he used only his shield. The bash going for the orc's solar-plexus to force him to cave in, while the Scythe wildly swings at his neck. The Spirit seems to make a silent attempt at roaring before clawing along the orc caster's arms and legs.
Calming down after a few minutes, Anevia returns to her house. I recognize the bastard, Vagog. Irabeth and I caught the demon worshiper months ago and put him behind bars. Good riddance, not he'll be serving his master in the abyss.
Quickly searching the small house, Anevia checks a hidden aclove, pulling out a note and a pair of potions. Irabeth says she's waiting at the Defender's Heart along with what is left of the Eagle's Watch, along with her mercenary company. They have set up a defensive position and are accepting refugees. The password is "Silverstrong."
I hate to ask this of you, but can you help me to the Defender's Heart. It's not far from here, less than a half-mile. I know the old inn, it's a solid building. [b]Used to be a fort back in the first crusade.
Picking up the potion, Tallina uncorks it, dips her pinky in and licks her finger.
Her eyes go wide as she realizes what Tobongo was about to do. He seemed to be doubled over in pain, his bark cracking in several sections.
"Tobongo, out, get out of the house, go sit in the garden!"
Before everyone's eyes his bark seemed to split in several places and regrow as the sapling treant grew to the height of eight feet tall, his limbs thickening he was now too large to fit comfortably in the house.
"Hmm, I know this taste. And I think we'd be pretty bad escorts if we didn't take you to the Eagle's Watch. Tobongo, let her ride on your shoulders for a bit, I think you should be strong enough now."
Mia tries to use heal hex on Anevia as inconspicuously as possible.
"Phew, that's good to know. Now what could those things be?"
A mischievous smile comes on the halfling's face.
"Aww, neat. A wand of magic missiles. A sure to hit item."
As Verim calmed down the scene before him shocked the man. Covered in gore, Verim was able to recall the scene before him in detail unlike when he fought the demons before. Much according to plan his shield blow indeed caused the orc to buckle. However, what happened after was far above what Verim intended to accomplish, it was as if a surge of ferocity overcame him and his mere swing of the scythe became Death's Embrace. The Blade came down and bit into the orc's shoulder, but did not stop, it carried though and cleaved the man diagonally through to his left thigh, severing him in two. And to make matters more grotesque, The Spirit took the limbs and Rended them apart spreading a shower of blood over the warrior.
He turned to the party and shyly, though clearly effected, rubbed the back of his neck, " I guess ... I don't know my own strength? Heheh.. " wiping the spray from his eyes, almost shaking like an animal to get the splatter off.
He inspected the Ranseur noting the good quality.. so it could at least replace his glaive if need be. Though he had gotten quite a few items already, perhaps it was Laris' turn. Once things had calmed down, Verim's demeanor returned to normal, the act remained in his thoughts.
Stretching to get limber once more verim shouldered the Scythe and listened to Anevia's request. " Ha! So your wife is as strong as I thought she'd be! if she is where that note says, why are we waiting around here for. Lets meet up at this Defender's Heart and have a nice ol' Reunion! Of course your comin' for the ride Anevia. Defender's Heart.. I really like that name for some reason... " His overbearing smile rising to the occasion.
" Let's meet up with Wendaug along the way, I'm sure she would like the idea of another place with possibly more booze and a new experience... hrm, I have to figure out why she would want to stay though.. I already fulfilled my promise to her... " Verim looked to be in deep thought over that particular statement.
Laris takes a look at the Ranseur "Well, it's... magic" she says after a moment.
"Of course we'll escort you to the Defender's Heart, it would be nice to co-ordinate with existing troops, few as they may be."
With the threat dealt with (but leaving a hell of a mess for Anevia and her wife to clean up later), Luci sheathed her sword before using some of her power to heal herself.
"I think I know the place. Haven't been there myself, though."
The trip to the Defender's Heart is quick and relatively uneventful as the party manages to avoid several large groups of cultists and demons. Approaching the sturdy stone inn, you find the building barricaded with a half-dozen crusaders standing guard. Additional crusaders stand guard in the upstairs windows and on the rooftops.
At the sight of the crusaders standing guard, Anevia smiles and hobbles forward on her crutch waving and calling out to the guards. Marcus, Sir James, you survived. Is Irabeth still here?
Spotting Anevia with the group, Sir James hurries out to greet the party while Marcus heads indoors with the news of new arrivals. A minute later a female half-orc in full plate runs out the door and embraces Anevia before turning to face the party.
Still supporting Anevia with one arm, Irabeth approaches the group of adventurers, obviously relieved to have found her wife but still serious in tone. Welcome to the Defender's Heart. We'll have to debrief you, but that can wait until you have the chance to eat and clean up. Head inside, find yourselves an unoccupied corner and settle in. It's going to be a while before the Mendevian army can get here and there is plenty of grim news, but we can talk about that later.
The Defender's Heart is a large, but crowded Inn. Most of the crusaders here wear the insignia of the Eagle's watch, with occasional crusaders from other units and several high ranking members of the city watch. Many merchants have also found refuge here and, while their wares are limited they are willing to conduct business and assist their defenders as best they can.
Maxwell smiles as he's finally in his element of seriousness. Heading to the front of the party, he grins after having finished the last few moments. "Good, good. Straight and to the point, I like that." he says as he passes on by into the structure. Entering he looks for a corner to sit at, and for the most part is pleased to find one while he waits on the others to come in shortly.
Looking down at his hands, he grips his fists. I feel stronger. he thinks to himself...
As the rest of the party enters, he looks to the rest of them. "Anyone made heads or tails of that Ranseur? I've been using the same flail since we started this endeavor."
Tallina was walking backwards in front of Tobongo, ensuring that the treant didn't knock anyone over.
"Easy, easy, easy there big guy. We need to get you used to your new size Tobongo. I can't believe how big you've grown in the past few years. Let's see if they have even a basic garden for you to settle down in."
A nod of thanks to the Eagle's Watch she begins to lead the sapling to a courtyard if there is one. She would cast a spell of create water in an overturned shield or large bowl if she could find one. Her friend needed some water.
Mia made sure not to come to close to people to give herself away to any other than the perceptive Tallina.
But she did feel safer, inside a building occupied by crusaders.
But at the same time she felt a tad anxious, crusaders at Aaramor weren't fond of witches. But Irabeth seemed like an okay sort.
She sits down in the corner where Maxwell is already seated.
"No, we don't know yet what is special about it. Maybe later we will."
Maxwell shrugs. "Maybe, but regardless, a magical ranseur is at least better than this thing." he says as he points his thumb towards his flail. "It'll take some getting used to, but I'd like to use it. Gotta admit though. Wouldn't mind having a weapon with some reach to it. hell, maybe we can just sell the thing here?" he asks, gesturing his head towards one of the merchants.
"They might, they seem to do business with the soldiers and crusaders already."
Verim smiles as he meets Irabeth for the first time. " Y'know you remind me of Urtha, she liked small guys. Nice and direct, though when you're 7 feet tall everything looks small in comparison. HARHAR! Glad to see you two together, I'm sorry your wife isn't in pristine condition but we got her through. Now show me to the Booze and temple, I have equal amounts of Sinning and Repenting to do! ' Moving in to settle among the rest of the crusaders. He introduces Lan and Wendaug as if they are nobles from underground to the company there, to treat them with the most respect.
Once they began to speak of weapons Verim got even more excited, e jeered Maxwell, " Before you be thinkin' of swinging that weapon you might want to fix that armor of yours. Won't mean a thing if you get knocked down all the time. And it didnt exactly help the orc it was attached to... We also have some potions and whatnot to sell or use... But.. I might not have enough for all I need.. which reminds me.. 'ey Wendaug come 'ere I have to check something. ' He lives for a moment to pester the scaled-woman.
Looking down at Verim, Irabeth frowns, a serious expression on her face. Don't drink too much. We are meeting in two hours. I need updates on what is going on in the city.
Looking nervous in the company of so many paladins and priests, Wendaug takes a seat at a table in a dark corner, back towards the wall. She seems intent on drinking as much ale as she can convince the waitress to bring her. Not right now, luv, I'm busy, though you are welcome to join me. Could always use some company and I've never heard of half these drinks before.
Anevia and Lann disappear into a private room with Irabeth, along with several gentlemen in Eagle's Watch uniforms for the next hour before the group is summoned to join them. Sitting around the table is Anevia, Irabeth, Lann, a distinguished looking gentleman of advanced years wearing an Eagle's Watch uniform, and two officers of the town guard.
Looking up from a map of kenabres spread across the table, Irabeth gestures towards the unoccupied chairs. Have a seat, we have a lot to talk about and time is at a premium.
I have already dispatch an envoy to the children of the first crusade letting them know we are ready for them. Their assistance will be vital in the coming days. The attack on Kenebras was not isolated, the demons have attacked along our entire line, but we took the brunt of it. Had the demons hit Nerosyn as hard as they hit Kenebras, things would be much worse.
That said, things don't look good. Our wardstone has been destroyed and Lord Hulron and Terendeliv are dead. With the destruction of our wardstone, the entire wardstone system has been greatly weakened and the demons are amassing for further assaults. Only their lack of coordination and discipline has prevented a complete disaster.
In our favor, Nerosyn is sending reinforcements to help us. We are unsure how long it will take them to arrive, perhaps a week, perhaps longer. In the meantime, it will be up to us to slow the cultists down and prevent them from reinforcing their positions. Any information you may have obtained will be of great help.
"Well, on our way back we've met some crusaders. They were rather paranoid and had fallen superstitious. They were going to kill an innocent girl, in belief her blood would ward off evil.
.....
Then there was a library of the Rift wardens, there was a fight and they are being protected by Conan the Librarian, i think was his name.
.....
Oh, and we had a fight on the market square.
.....
and erm...ah yes, a mongrelmen tribe is aiding cultists.
Am i missing something still?", she looks at the others.
"Horgus has a rather well-preserved mansion big enough to hold the majority of the men here in safety." Maxwell points out. "The grumpy bastard might be cross with us for sending dirty shoes his way, but I figure that place would be invaluable as a bulwark against the cultists.
He grins. "As far as we've been able to tell, the majority of the cultists have been worshiping what I can only imagine is Deskari and Baphomet. We've seen no other holy symbols, if I recall correctly, though I don't think we properly checked the orc back in your house." he explains.
"At the moment, I believe our weakest point in late exploits was the Library. They seemed defenseless, and their wizard is blind."
"What Mia failed to mention is that we've also got reinforcements Among the mongrelmen as well, and namely the largest of their groups. Good people. They helped us get out of the caverns beneath the city. The cultists don't outnumber them, and they're mustering their men as we speak."
Verim waves a disarming hand towards Irabeth when she mentions proper edicate while drinking and the upcoming meeting. "Always ablidged to keep a lady company! " While they disappear, Verim makes sure to take sips of alcohol, chasering them with bread or water as to be fully aware during this meeting. Often he would bump into or tell Wendaug of the origin or certain foods and drinks she didnt know of keeping her company. There was an odd time were he held her bicep, for support. He knew all the paladins made her nervous due to the fact she might not exactly be radiating the best of intentions. He promised she'd be fine.
Once they were all summoned he had a bit of a buzz, but not too much, enough to function properly. "Ah! Don't forget we know the locations of some of the cultist safehouses. Once we had bashed down the tribe to get our way back here we found out some tasty information. Apparently this was all planned out, this attack. Nyserian Manor, Topaz Solutions and Er... Uh.. The Tower of Estrod. They also had some password.. I cant remember it right now, mind is.. kinda.. fuzzy. Wanted to get rid of the evidence there in a note on one of the..cultists. I.. I struck her down a little too hard by mistake. " He still seems sullen about that, " Anyway, they wanted to do something to that sword Luci has right now. And the cultist was named Hosilla for what it's worth. Afterward, sure enough those like Lann and Wendaug here gave us some help and.. Here we are! Now how do you think we can beat down some more demons? "
Mia, feeding her bird that's now on her shoulder, casually recites just that.
"Password? It was a phrase.
I've new material for the archives."
She then merrily whistles a tune, maybe at the bird, maybe to show off, who knows.
Marking the locations indicated by Verim on the map, Irabeth looks concerned. We've already sent a group of crusaders to contact the mongrelmen. We should be hearing back from them soon. In the meantime, news of these stronghold combined is worrisome. The bulk of the cultist force is gathered at the Grey Garrison, here, [b] Irabeth muses while tapping the map.
We cannot afford to allow the cultists to dig in and continue operating. Most of the cities citizens are already either dead or enslaved and the few remaining are paying a steep toll. I will be dispatching men to the Gwerm manor and the Libram of the Broken Black Wing. Right now this inn is the best defended spot in the city.
We also cannot allow the cultists to continue consolidating their forces. There are two possible courses of action at this point. I could ask you to take out these cultist strongholds while we continue to scout the Grey Garrison, or we could strike directly at the enemies heart, a plan that would not have been possible without the mongrelmen's support.
"Since Verim mentioned it, I'm curious to know what's special about this weapon. A note on the cultists said it belonged to someone named Yaniel. I feel like I should know the name but it's just out of reach and I haven't had the chance to better research it. Even if we've ended what they wanted to do with the sword, I'd still like to know the potential risks of it falling into enemy hands."
She slowly drew the sword and laid it on the table for the others to take a look at.
Entering the room after settling Tobongo down for a bit, Tallina did hear the two plans. Both sounded good to her, and both would work in slowing down the cultists.
"Why don't we strike at the small strongholds while we wait for the mongrelmen, we have a few days until that time comes. If we can weaken the cultists perhaps the plan to strike at their heart will have better chances of success."
" Well you know the saying, Aim for the Giant's balls and his knees will buckle. Take out his knees and the face is right there for the taking! ... Wait.. Er.. I think that's right. " Verim seem to be fine with the idea. " Besides, That'll give the company here time to exact a reasonable plan and be better equipped with ourselves as the Vanguard! And now I don't have to worry about certain people getting hurt. Mia you can be safe here at the Defender's Heart while we look for your Mother. "
"Huh? You're just going to leave me here?"
Mia looks at each of them, before looking back at Verim.
"Who's going to keep you guys healthy if not me?"
Since you know of "it" already, you kind of automatically notice the bird looking around when Mia does.
Verim folds his arms, a nervous yet affirmative face worn on the often playful soldier. " I promised on my shield I would get you to safety and find your mother. What sort of Guardian would I be if I lead you into danger when it was not necessary.. B-Besides... I wouldn't want to be a burden to you anymore than I have. You won't have to worry about seeing Ol' Verim getting hurt.. or showing you the.. worse side of him. You'll get to see me after the sorties! And I'm sure you'll find those around your age here to hang with. These are not simply bumps along the road Mia. We are going into this KNOWING someone might not come back. " Verim gave a sad smile at the end there " Any parent would say the same if it meant keeping their young one safe.. "
"I should point out now that I'm not against Mia coming along with us." he claims openly.
Verim doesn't seem surprised but doesn't seem amused either, " Oh? And why is that Maxwell? I'd have to hear a good reason on why that doesnt come off as reckless.. even for me. "