Charles runs forward, intent on chasing down the thing that shattered the shield in the Fae realm, but Drot stops him before his friend can disappear forever into the Fae Wilds.
Charles looks around for the other escaped creatures and does not see them.
Meanwhile, Gärwin maneuvers the blinded dire wolf back into the Far world. Within moments the opening starts to close. After a few minutes, the world is quiet again.
The boy who had been taken comes running back to the town, followed shortly by Tesswyn. Her staff is caked with blood. "Got the f&*%er. What'd I miss here?"
Seeing Tesswyn return, Charles gave up his immediate pursuit of the creatures and decided to regroup.
"We drove off the Dire Wolf but several other things managed to cross over from the Fae realm. I lost track of them during the fighting. I was going to chase after whatever had broken the barrier between the worlds but Drot'ook warned me against it. Saying that I might have been lost forever."
Gärwin rides back into the small clearing, slowing to a stop when he sees the rest of the combatants talking amongst themselves. Well, guess it's best we regroup, make a plan. Not sure what we're dealin' wit myself.
"Oi Charlie! whatever you did back there, it really work'd. Never been in fighting form like that. So er... Thanks."
The dwarf dismounts and ties his horse to a nearby fencepost. He then turns to Tesswyn. " So Miss... Tezzrin? Wha're we dealin' with? Never got a good look those things 'fore. " Gärwin appears thoughtful for a moment, stroking his beard, when all of a sudden he stops.
"Wait a min'! Where are my manners? I'm Gärwin Gildenbeard, local knight of the Daedlus family. Er... freshly knighted, can' say I know how the forsoothin or whatnot is suppose' to work. Good to finally meet yew all"
"Charlie? Heh." The priest said with nearly a laugh. "I guess that can work too... Garwin was it? I guess we really didn't have time to meet before but you are a friend of Drot's."
"The blessing of the New God helps those who help others. You helped protect this town as much as the rest of us, Garwin. I'd say you deserve that knighthood. Nice to have you around."
Tesswyn arches an eyebrow at the dwarf. "I'm not a Miss, or a Ma'am, or anything like that. Just Tesswyn. So you're the new dwarf of the week? They all seem to retire shortly after meeting us. Stick around long enough and maybe I'll bother to remember your name."
She shrugs. "Some sort of faerie bastard. If there's more of them about, let's hunt them down before they hurt anybody."
Gärwin's efforts were well assisted by, the now confident and aggressive, A. William Scott. Drot's dog was sure that he had scared the beast back to the place he came from, well away from Drot.
"Ah yes, I met Gärwin at the fort. Good fellow and a good fighter. We'd be more then happy to have your help with this new development... Don't mind Tesswyn, she hates everyone and everything, rightfully so if you ask me..." Turning to Tess. "Is the boy alright?"
As he said this, his dog came running back to the group and jumped up on Drot who causally picked up him up like a child and gave him pets for all the help.
"He's fine. Probably will have nightmares for a while though."
Gärwin laughs a little at Tesswyn's comment. "I'm not plannin' to retire any time soon, I've barely been knight'd for more than a week! But let's head back, Drot promise'd me a good home cooked meal and we can talk in comfort."
"Right, well that's... wait, no, no. We just saw several of these things escape from the Fae realm into our world. I'm no tracker and I didn't see where they went but we need to try and find them now, not later."
"Sorry Gärwin, that's going to have to wait. I agree with Charles; we need to see if we can at least find a few of the slower, animalistic Fae and put them down. The intelligent Fae might be near impossible to find without a real tracker, or magic."
Drot puts the dog down and makes sure he has everything he needs.
"I think, Charles, we shouldn't spend more then the rest of the daylight we have looking. They went in all directions and most of them seemed to move quickly. I know I saw at least one of them move in this direction, let's get going."
If the party is ready Drot will begin moving in the direction he remembers at least one Fae shadows slither off to.
Tesswyn makes sure to cast oak skin and shillelagh as she follows Drot.
Good Fae Hunting
As the evening sun starts to slowly make it's way to the horizon, our troubled heroes decide to take on an evening Fae Hunt.
"That'd be me thinking with my stomach again, I didn't see much after gettin' a faceful of wolf teeth. Let's get the rest of those buggers then, shall we? Nothin' works up an appetite better than a fight!"
Gärwin's stomach lets out a low growl, but he tries to ignore it as they set off.
With a flash of insight, Tesswyn leads the way!
Lighting:
Shadowed - things are partially obscured (+1 Bane to sight base checks and ranged attacks)
Dark - things are totally obscured. You cannot see.
Obscurement (could be from lighting or foliage):
Partially Obscured: +1 bane to sight based checks and ranged attacks
Heavily Obscured: +2 Bane to sight based checks and ranged attacks
Totally Obscured: You cannot see the object at all.
Cover (hiding behind trees, large rocks, etc)
Half cover: +1 Bane for ranged attacks
3/4 cover: +2 Bane for ranged attacks
Total Cover: cannot bot targeted
Drot let's Tess walk in front of him as he is busy trying to remember everything he knows about different Fae.
Iron is bad, lots of magic, lots of curses... Wait a minute, if there was a Fae that could withstand fire, they could be potentially unaffected by their iron vulnerability!
"Have any of you witnessed a devil-like Fae or one that was purposefully on fire?.... I may have a worrisome hypothesis..."
The Orc, fails to do any searching as he's too focused on his own thoughts to see anything.
You follow an odd set of tracks. The melted snow makes it a bit difficult to follow them, especially where the snow stops and the hard forest floor appears - preventing any tracks.
But you eventually find the first group of escaped fae. These are horrific monsters, unlike any fae you have ever seen or heard of. They have one leg, one arm coming out the center of their chest, one eye on their head, and a jaw full of razor sharp teeth.
There are a total of six of them; three in a group about 20 yards in front of you. Two in a group about 5 yards left of the first group. And one lone one "straggling" behind the rest of the group, about 10 yards in front of you.
They hop on one leg surprisingly well, and are much faster than a one-legged creature should be.
Tesswyn's eyes go unfocused for a moment before locking onto the fae. "Holy shit! Half-men!" Despite her fear and her depression, she rushes the straggler and swings her staff at it!
Not trusting his skittish horse, Gärwin jumps off his steed. As he watches her leap action, Gärwin is impressed with Tesswyn's resolve and takes heart himself.
I'm not lettin' this wisp of a girl go in alone! What kind of knight would I be if I set 'ere quiverin' in my boots?
"Let's get 'em!"
The dwarf charges into the straggler, hoping to hide his fear in bravado. Unfortunately, he reflexively closes his eyes before he gets too close.
As the group entered into the forest, Charles called forth a globe of pure white light to help illuminate their way.
"Haven't seen many Fae at all before, Drot'ook. I only know a little bit about the Fae and most of that I've only heard from stories."
Charles breath caught as he saw the things, the half-men for the first time clearly. The stories of such things had scared him as a young child he'd remembered, but seeing the things in person was so much worse than he'd imagined.
"What? Half-men... they're worse than I'd imagined." As he stared at the one he could clearly see his breathing started to get faster.
"There's no telling what will happen with these things. Gather around again.
Any that circumvent the natural progression of souls are an abomination, guide us to their demise."
Frightened: You have a bane on all attacks and challenge rolls. You can only act on a Slow Initiative.
"Woah!.. I thought I was ugly... Half-men? Never heard of 'em, do they do anything particular?"
Before anyone can really answer, he takes a few large steps forward and left.
Drot, with a well practiced motion, flings a dart of magic at the Fae farthest to the left.
Current Light Conditions:
Lit (10 yards around Charles).
Shadowed (Beyond the light). +1 Bane on a visual checks and ranged attacks.
None.
None.
Charles gathers everyone together for a moment of prayer.
Drot moves forward and plinks one of them with a spell.
Tesswyn and Gärwin both charge forward and attack the straggler; Tessywn hits and Gärwin misses.
An eerie screech fills the air as the Half-Men realize you're there. The straggler turns and attacks Tesswyn, using teeth and claws to rip her flesh off.
The two groups further ahead turn back and start "running." Their single leg hopping in a pace one wouldn't expect. When they cover about half the distance, their leg compresses like a spring and they jump, sailing through the air and landing like lawn darts all around, claw reaching out to rake as they rain upon you.
Tesswyn shouts in pain as the creatures tear through her armor. Charles's blessing helps her cast her fear and despair aside and focus on the battle at hand. She smashes the wounded half-man with her staff!
The rogue whirls and swings on the other fae that wounded her.
Drot noticed that his spell did much less to this creature then it should have, that worried him. When they started toward them at speed, that worried him. When they bounded through the air and surrounded him and his friends, he became aggravated. When they began clawing and biting every one, that enraged him.
Drot's eyes filled with rage of battle, suddenly faced with two monsters he turns to the weaker of the two and swings his new hammer at it.
"GAAHHH!"
Unfamiliar with fighting while in this condition, Drot swings widely and misses the beast in front oh him.
Thoroughly unimpressed by the creature's strength, Gärwin shakes off his fears and goes to pick off the injured one.
The flailing limbs and quick movements of the four surrounding Half-men throw off Gärwin's balance and he stumbles, missing his attack.
"Arg, these blighters are fast! We're already surrounded!"
Charles was hesitant as his allies rushed in different directions.
"Wait, don't split up." he said to Drot'ook in a quickened breath as he angled towards the Orc but his words were drowned out by the orc's sudden furious howl and he found himself veering the middle of the group.
On either side of him the madly hopping Half-Men moved in frighteningly fast, unnatural movements and quickly surrounded his friends as their hops turned into nightmarish leaps attacking everyone. The blessing of the New God was with him and helped to clarify his mind. Suddenly he was reminded of the image he had seen that day he'd been given his divine mission.
The hopping Half-Men were suddenly replaced by bounding hounds. The screeching replaced by baying. He fell back on the training his teacher had given him
"No, no you can't fall here. I won't allow it!
By the blessings of the Martyr, the blood of Astrid cures you."
He glanced back and forth. Drot'ook was enraged and the number of opponents was many more where Tesswyn and Garwin were. "Tesswyn, don't hold anything back! I'll keep you moving!"
Tesswyn kills ones of the Half-Men, it's brains spilling out of it's cracked skull. She jabs the ender of her staff into another, nearly knocking the wind out of it.
Drot and Gärwin struggle to land an injurious blow.
The Half-Men all bite and scratch!
Charles casts his spell.
None.
Gärwin grunts heavily as he gets takes the brunt of the remaining half-men's fury. Almost as soon as it arrive though, the pain leaves as Charles' prayer kicks in. I need to thank 'im for that one later.
Taking a quick breath, Gärwin swings his blade at the uninjured half-man, hoping to take it by surprise.
Tesswyn finishes off her foe with a heavy blow to the head!
Then she gives the one Garwin struck a solid whack!
Drawing his halberd, the priest moved in to attack the northern one of the Half-men attacking Drot'ook.
"Wide swings, Tesswyn, and keep back. These Half Men are dangerous up close!"
Even though Drot's in a frenzy, his conscious mind is still turning and listening somewhere in the back. He hears Charles' advise and reaches over the Berserker, letting off a sudden spell and pushing him back toward his friend. The Berserker inside, refusing to let up, over extends the Orc and swings at the Half-man.
Move you beast! They're too quick for your wild flailing! Here, Ictos! NO... YOU... MOVE!!!
"GAAaaaAAHHH!"
Gärwin and Tesswyn drop two more! Drot attacks and withdraws for better strategic maneuvering.
There's only one of the Half-Men remaining near Gärwin and Tesswyn, and true to form it continues to drive its hate-filled maw into flesh.
The two Half-Men by Drot and Charles hop forward, raking with their claws.
Charles attacks, but the one leg, one armed, hoping hating people eater dodges out of the way.
None.
Tesswyn shoots Charles an angry glare. "F@*& off! I know what I'm doing!" She slams her staff into the half-man's eye!
Then she spins and brings the other end up into its jaw, shattering bones!
As it falls, the rogue rushes over to assist Drot.
The Berserker presses the assault while Drot tries to reason with his inner demon. Their conflict causes both parties to falter in this time of need, neither being able to concentrate on surviving.
GET.OUT.OF.MY.WAY!You fool! You're going to get me killed! We need to retreat, they only have one leg and you can't even hit them! Get back! I.WILL.END.YOU.WORM!
"GRAH, AH, no! SHAAA!"
The voice you hear sounds like Drot but there seems to be a distinct tone used when he howls and grunts. If you watch his face you can see his expression change irregularly, as if he is rotating through a range of emotions in a single instant.
Charles glanced back at Tesswyn as she ignored his advice and was forced to duck out of the way as the Half-man clawed back at him. He tried to bring up his halberd again but the thing had gotten inside his effective range and knocked his swing aside.
Despite his training with the new weapon he wasn't used to enemies this fast and with only half the normal mass to strike at.
"These things are hard to hit! Drot'ook, send this thing back to the void!"
Gärwin pauses for a moment to catch his breath, watching as Tesswyn annihilates the last Half-man. Impressed, he goes to say something before hearing the strange noise Drot'ook made. The dwarf turns around and rushes to their aid.
1 bane, 2 boons
Gärwin rushes in, cutting into the wounded Half-man.
Tesswyn kills the last of the Half-Men near her and then moves to Charles and Drot to assist. Drot continues to press the attack and keeps the void-altered creature occupied.
Charles slashes with his glaive.
The injured Half-Man attacks Charles, while the other focuses on Drot.
Gärwin rushes over to attack and smacks the ugly Creature.
None.
"Let's put these things to rest!" Gärwin swings at the wounded half-man, ready to go home to nice meal.
Gärwin slices the twisted creature's head clean off and steps into its place, surrounding the last Fae. He kicks the body aside as he moves.
Tesswyn batters the final fae to death!
The last one falls, and the only sound is the insects chirping in the forest. It's past sunset now, and the light is quickly fading away.
You head back to town without incident.
Over the next week, you go on more hunts. Some prove fruitful, some not. During that time, a pox has started to spread amongst the children of the village. Neither Charles nor Barlog are able to cure it with their divinely inspired magic.
A couple of the older children have told stories of a hag in the forest, and one of the teens says he saw her cast a curse on the town. Some of the other teens claim he's a creep and not to be trusted, there probably isn't even a hag, and if there was it was probably his fault the hag cast the curse anyways.
Sheriff Daphiel invites the four of you to her house for dinner. Afterwards, she broaches the subject. I know you're hunting the Fae that have escaped from the breach. I need you to hunt down and kill the hag. My sources pinpoint the cause of the curse to her, and Barlog says that to life this curse we need to kill the source of it. What do you say? I've collected some extra taxes from everyone to help fund this. Bring back her head, and there's a total of two gold crowns for each of you. Mostly in silver and copper, I'm afraid. But that's what we have.
Tesswyn sits with arms crossed as she listens to the sheriff's job offer. She grunts in acceptance. "Sure, we'll kill the b&#@%. For the children. And the money. Any leads on where her lair might be?"
Gärwin lights a small cigar and gives it a few puffs. When Tess speaks he nods his head in agreement. "Yes for th' children then, I'd be happy to join in the hunt. Where is tha' boy? He may know a bit more about the hag."
The sheriff sends for the boy, and after some time he is brought.
"Tell us about the hag. They say you saw her cast a curse?"
|
Umm.. Hi, he says, with a half smile. Umm. Yeah. I did. I was out in the old swamp, uhh.. he looks down and away, just uh, hanging out, he looks back up, and that's when I saw her. Ugly old woman covered in vines and dripping mud. She was carving into a chicken and holding up its guts into the air, saying some weird language. Gotta be a curse, right? Happened just before everyone started getting sick.