Charles was moving faster than he ever had. It was exhilarating but he could take little pleasure from the freedom as the incoming dust storm was caught up and finally overtook him.
The Winds were harsh but he managed to withstand the worst of the whipping winds. He hoped they'd had enough time.
As he feared, the shelter didn't hold as well as he wanted but the oppressive sand, heat and wind wasn't something he was unfamiliar with. The "heads up!" from Tesswyn snapped his attention to the lumbering figure towering in the distance. He quickly dug through his pouches and produced a vile of thick viscous fluid, red and pulsating, turning it over to the knight.
"Sir Gärwin, this is a potion of bestial wrath. I propose we wait for this behemoth to get closer and counter it's first strike. Drink only moments before we engage, it's a tough one to get down but if anyone can do it smoothly it's you."
The orc smiled a mad smile, the rage of the Berserker waiting right behind his eyes. He waits for the dwarf to accept the boon, and readies for their attack if he does.
Round 1:
The creature is about 20 yards away. It is heavily obscured in the storm.
The sands are blowing hard. Behind your shelter, you are protected. Your shelter is about 7-8 yards long set up between a several of stone trees and designed to keep everyone including the horses protected. The shelter keeps the sands out for about 5 yards into the forest, giving you a total area of about 20 x 15 feet to stay within if you don't want to step into the sandstorm.
Tesswyn helps the blinded Kahtia take cover. "You stay here. I'm going out to fight that thing. Can you increase my vigor like you did with Charles earlier?"
She waits to see if the wizard will comply, then she takes a deep breath as the giant draws near. She twists one of the rings on her fingers, one she has been wearing since defeating the swamp witch several months ago. The rogue disappears from sight, turning invisible and creeping out from behind the shelter to await the giant's arrival.
Kahtia coughs and blindly follows Tess to cover, her hand on the other woman's back as she's led to safety. She can't see the approaching danger, but nods when her friend asks about the spell. It's one that the mage knows by heart, so she's able to cast it without even opening her stinging eyes. Tesswyn feels both of the woman's hands on her, then she feels a surge of energy, of life, flow through her.
"Be careful!" Kahtia says, sitting back to try and get the sand out of her tearing eyes.
Gärwin looks at the offered vial, looking for all intents and purposes like a shot of congealed blood and hesitates. The dwarf takes the foul-looking liquid and resigns himself to whatever madness was to follow. "Aye, I guess we're nearin' the end of our rope. We'll face this threat together then." Gärwin waits for the taller one's signal before leaping out to attack.
The potion tasted far worse than Gärwin had anticipated, but the dwarf had a stomach of steel. It tasted like metal and mouldering berries mixed with tar. Shortly after ingesting the liquid, Gärwin started to sweat profusely as suddenly the world around him started to turn red. Heat flowed into his body and mind, consuming everything but the thought to kill whatever stood in his way. He no longer recognized who he was or where he was, and he didn't care. Some small part of him seemed to wither and die as he swung his blade at the orc's back.
None.
The creature moves in, sniffing about and looking curious at what could possibly be out in this storm, in its stone forest. As it gets closer, it's revealed to be a huge Troll!
Kahtia casts her spell on Tesswyn while Tesswyn turns invisible and moves into position.
Gärwin quaffs the potion and immediately starts screaming. His muscles buldge up, his veins pop out, and his mouth is wide open as he screams.
Once the creature is within range, Drot and Gärwin charge in! Gärwin, under the influence of ground up orc gallstones, takes a swipe as Drot as the orc charges. Fortunately he misses, but he follows through with a charge of his own towards the troll. Unfortunately, neither the orc nor the dwarf were able to harm the troll.
Damage Tracker
Troll: 0
What was originally a roar of fury slowly peters into inarticulate mumbling. Froth starts to form from the dwarf's mouth as potion begins to truly affect him. Tinged with red, it looks as if his very blood was boiling out of his body. Eyes focused upon the lumbering form of a troll, Gärwin's mouth slowly turns into a snarling grin. One of his sworn enemies was before him, and he couldn't wait to see its guts spill onto the thirsting sand.
Swinging his weapon with reckless abandon, the raging dwarf strikes the troll in the gut. Instead of the practiced swings of a veteran warrior, Gärwin simply tries to overwhelm his opponent with numerous clumsy strikes. He cuts into the beast one two no, four times!
Tess curses as Drot and Garwin run into the storm. "Fall back! Bring it in the open!" she shouts, though she doubts either one of them will listen to reason at this point. She switches to her bow and struggles to read the signs through the raging storm. Only a surge of luck lets her open her mind.
She nocks an arrow, becoming visible as she attacks--and she curses even louder when the arrow breaks against its stony skin.
As shouts and ringing steel and twanging bowstrings all sound beneath the howling wind, Kahtia blindly fumbles with her pack, retrieving her waterskin. Emptying it onto her face, the desperate woman does her best to wash out her eyes.
When they are finally clear enough to see, she takes stock of the scene, trying to determine where her magics are most needed.
The winds roar as the fight truly starts. Everyone has to yell to be heard!
Kahtia and Tesswyn are within the area protected from the storm; Drot and Gärwin are out in the storm screaming at a troll.
Kahtia washes the sands out of her eyes, allowing her to finally see the troll!
Tesswyn fires her arrow, the fletching sticks out of the troll. As she fires, the invisibility fades away.
Gärwin, still screaming, hacks into the troll.
Drot continues to hack into the troll, but the troll akin is too thick.
The troll, roaring right back at Gärwin, hammers his fist into the dwarf. And then the orc. It grabs the orc and bites down hard! Then it tosses the orc down to the ground.
None.
None.
Damage Tracker
Troll: 26
Tesswyn winces as her friends get clobbered. She takes a deep breath to steady herself as she switches back to her staff. Feeling the pattern of the howling winds, she dashes through the stinging stand and swings the staff into the back of the troll's kneecap!
Flying through the whipping winds of the sandstorm was difficult but Charles managed to avoid the tree tops as he flew above until his vision caught something in the petrified woods.
Down below was the hasty shelter the others had assembled partially blocking the storms effects, then he saw more. His friends were fighting a monstrous figure out in the storm. He recognized it as a troll.
He flew towards the troll, stopping well above it. Raising a hand he called out to his god, voice shouting above the storm.
"May the light of the New God shine as bright as a dawning sun upon this foul creature and drive it back to darkness!"
A light like the son appeared directly in the troll's face.
The Berserker, thrown to the ground and blinded by the sand, gives way to Drot's assistance and mutters a spell.
"Velox!"
The Berserker shouts past Drot's spell in an effort to attack the troll where he last saw it!
"MITTLERER SCHLAG!"
The raging orc misses the troll and buries his hammer into the sand instead. Losing focus from his blind condition, Drot is able to roll the orc away from the troll at a speed, enhanced from his magic!
The troll swung its gargantuan fist at the much smaller dwarf, but a heavy strike from the dwarf's shield diverted the blow just enough that Gärwin escaped real injury. The slight graze he received simply made him angrier.
The enraged dwarf snorts at the downed form of Drot'ook, the green thing had better get out of the way before he got trampled. He cursed though, as the larger foe simply shrugged off his strikes.
Gärwin attempted to kick the hindering green thing, but it suddenly sprung away with unnatural speed.
Standing, Kahtia narrows her now clear eyes at the beast attacking her companions. A troll! This would be a fearsome battle, even were the weather clear!
Arcane energies build in the woman's lithe frame, swirling around her as she weaves a destruction spell, bolstering it with a second chant that will intensify its effects. She screams the words of power as she draws her own blood, and as she holds her magestone aloft!
"Tasza! Shaaza! Toch!"
Quick post while I got the chance:
Kahtia and Gärwin hit the troll hard, whole Drot rolls away.
The troll roars and and attacks Gärwin! He punches the dwarf twice and takes a huge bite out of him!
Tesswyn jumps into the fray, swatting the huge Troll!
Then Charles appears! Up high in the sky flying out of the storm, he casts Sunlight and the trolls skin starts to harden and turn grey!
Damage Tracker
Troll: 69
Speed: 6
Defense: 17
Tesswyn's heart falls when Garwin goes down, but then it soars with hope as sunlight bathes the troll. "Charles!" she cries, her voice lost in the howling storm. New determination fills her heart as she cautiously strikes the troll once more!
Charles endured the storms continual bombardment of wind and sands as he flew above the fighting in the air. The brilliance of the spell was blinding and he was glad to see the Troll begin to slow and turn to stone. As Drot'ook made a hasty retreat, Tesswyn called to him turned his head as he regarded her.
But something wasn't right, the spell wasn't petrifying the monstrosity fast enough and from another corner of his vision he saw as it both Garwin and the troll continued to face off and savagely beat each other down, but the troll was winning. Managing to rip and tear the usually controlled dwarven warrior to shreds.
As Garwin was tossed to the ground in a twitching heap, Charles was momentarily stunned. But when Tesswyn moved in to attack the Troll herself, his blood froze. A torrent of emotions rode beneath his mask but only one thing came out.
"Bow to me!" he said with a demanding voice.
Charles came streaking down out of the sky, shield first, burning with holy energy as he was determined to crush the opposition before him and make it kneel like the many statues before the throne they had seen within the mural room.
Pulling up her hood, shielding her eyes as best she can, Kahtia plunges into the storm, towards the melee that has suddenly taken a significant turn for the worse, despite Charles' arrival.
The winds howl and the sand stings her skin as the mage runs to where Gärwin lies senseless and battered. Huddling over him, she protects him from the sands and administers a healing potion -- her last. Behind and above her, the archer looses and arrow and the flying paladin delivers a blow for the ages.
Kahtia turns as the dwarf starts to come to, concern etched on her beautiful face. It is not worry over the troll, but over the words Charles has spoken...
The howling winds and the troll's ugly face were the last thing Gärwin''s rage addled mind saw before he slipped into unconsciousness. He awoke moments later to see the foul beast on the ground and a wavy haired woman him. It made him angry! He couldn't move his body, and it made him angry! But there was nothing he could do so he waited, waited till he could escape and crush the foul thing.
Gärwin burst from Khatia's grasp, rage once more flushing through his face and body. As the froth begins to once again pour from his beard maw, he leaps upon the troll's body. Sand assailed him, but in his rage, he ignored the pain and continued to cut into where he thought the body was. Eventually, the worn weapon he'd used for the past year finally called it quits under this punishment, snapping on a particularly poor swing. It was some time before he calmed down, eventually puking out the remains of the potion along with the his lunch.
Tesswyn stares with wide eyes as Charles smashes the troll like the fist of an angry god. And of course, with her heightened senses, his earlier shout did not go unnoticed. She unconsciously takes a step away from the paladin before noticing Drot and Garwin altering.
"They need healing! Get them to the shelter!" she snaps at Charles before taking Kahtia by the arm and dragging her back to safety--from either the storm or from the masked priest.
The Berserker rages back into the fray but the pressure from the eroding winds is too much for the half bitten orc and he falls to the ground, clawing his way toward his foe until he succumbs to the storm.
Charles grimaced in pain as he allowed himself to float above the now still form of the troll. He'd heard several loud cracks as he collided with the beast but had somehow managed to take the beast down. The storm blew along, the troll remains were continuing to harden and crack, becoming stone in the captured daylight he'd called, a ruined monument to his show of power within the petrified forest.
He nodded to Tesswyn as she told him what to do. He noticed Garwin's still enraged form moving again and was relieved to see that while he was bloody and beaten, the dwarf was still standing but he flew over to the unmoving body of Drot'ook first. Reaching down he took hold of his friend's... no, his brother's arm and spoke.
"Drot, wake up. This forest is no place for either of us to die here. The power of the New God will make sure we won't succumb to this storm.
As he spoke he and Drot'ook were suffused with light. Charles voice gained strength as he recovered.
As Drot'ook recovered he nodded, pulling him to his feet. "Get to the shelter, I'll help Garwin."
Charles was still being buffeted by the sand storms but he took partial cover by a nearby petrified tree as he waited for Garwin to calm.
"Garwin! Calm down, we need to get to shelter, this storm is bad. I'm going to heal you."
Blinded, sick and more than a little tired, Gärwin was relieved for Charles' help. "Thanks Charlie, iz... iz been an experience." The dwarf barely makes it to safety before collapsing into unconsciousness once again. Dumpy walks over to the fallen dwarf and nuzzles against the back of his head, not wanting to leave the injured dwarf's side.
By sheer luck and a little bit of skill, everyone manages to survive the troll. You all huddle in close to ride out the remainder of the storm. You watch as the sands slow shred apart the troll until nothing is left but bones and small dunes.
You are all exhausted. Between no sleep for 24+ hours and a vicious battle with a troll, sitting there makes your eyes heavy. One by one, you fall asleep, not knowing that no one else keeps the watch.
When you awake, it's well into the afternoon. The storm has stopped. Your shelter held. A small dune has been made on the other side, which likely had a lot to do with why the whole thing kept. You can see it's frayed at the top.
Looking around, you don't see the troll corpse anymore - just a vaguely troll-shaped set of small sand hills. Likewise, the sand has built up around all the of stone trees.
When all is said and done, only one life was lost. Gärwin's horse did not survive the storm. The other horses all look frail and it is questionable whether they will survive the journey back.
After waking, Kahtia talks with her companions some, making sure everyone's okay, then she meditates in the building heat, armors herself with her spells, and casts her usual rune-magic.
A breeze tumbles the woman's dark hair and her flowing robes and she stands and eyes the stone forest -- and the mysterious structure. Looking at Tess, she merely raises an eyebrow.
Tesswyn is sullen and silent upon waking, avoiding making eye contact with anybody. She lets out a little sigh of relief when Charles takes the edge off her lurking madness, giving him a nod but little more.
Outside, she glances at Kahtia when the wizard quirks an eyebrow. The rogue pulls her hood up and quietly sneaks over to the building to scout it out.
As Tesswyn sneaks off, Kahtia raises her hands, speaking softly as she tries to Sense Magic.
Gärwin sleeps as if he were dead, not dreaming beyond the blackness of his fatigue. When he awakes, he finds that Dumpy had not left his side the entire night, even after it had died. With a sad pat of the dead horse's nose, Gärwin blubbers a goodbye and promises himself that he'll do right by his faithful steed.
He spends the rest of the morning slowly digging a makeshift grave for Dumpy, gently parting the sands for his dead horse. The dwarf lays Dumpy to rest with his saddle and all of his remaining cigars before beginning the tedious process of burying him. Once It was all done, Gärwin takes the largest troll bone he could find and leaves it as a grave marker.
Charles wakes with a troubled start as it occurred to him that they hadn't tried to set a watch before he'd blacked out. He was rested, but when he saw that Garwin was starting to bury his horse he became worried and saw the rest of the mounts were not likely to survive the days ride. They had pushed them too far already and the storm had weakened them into a feeble state.
When Tesswyn asks him for assistance he readily gives it to her, he looked as though he wanted to say something to her but seeing that she wasn't in the mood he held off. That was when they noticed the structure in the distance, Charles frowned.
"I can't believe we missed that, it could have let us rest much easier. But the Desolation also seems to swallow and reveal buildings at its leisure, we should be careful looking into this."
With that, Charles went to the remaining horses.
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The orc slept restlessly, his body felt like it did during the years he slaved under the row ship. Gärwin's vocalized sadness woke him and he reached for the dwarf like he used to reach for Lemagrag to protect him from the slavers. Once he gathered his barings the guilt of almost getting himself and his friend killed hit him like the troll had.
Drot helped Sir Gärwin with his silently, never knowing what to say. He places a small steal ball bearing into Gärwin's hands afterwards and speaks softly to him as it begins to float and spin of its own volition.
"Think of pleasant things... Uhh, home, drinking... Gold, the ever vibrant Dumpy... For me it tends to be of our family, the things we've been through and the bond we've built. You are, truly, the most formidable warrior I have ever fought alongside."
Drot plops down beside his brother and reaches into one of his pouches to reveal a cigar. It was fatter then Sir Gar's typical brand, one Drot picked up of his own volition.
"Thought you might like something different, can't think of a better time to light it then now, to celebrate Dumpy's life. He was a loyal stead."
Drot lights the cigar and hands it to Gärwin. He sits beside him and just stares at the metal ball for a while. Eventually he breaks everything down and builds the packs for the remaining horses, higher now that the load is split one way less, and waits for news from Tesswyn.
At the table, there are three chairs. In two of the chairs, there's some stacked rocks with grass on the top most rock and two sticks, one stickout out each side of the stack about half way up. In front of each of the three chairs is a small cup with a tiny handle. Each cup is on a small plate. In the middle of the table is a decanter. There's no doors, but a curtain hangs over a doorway sized opening in the back.
Tesswyn slips inside and checks the cups and decanter to see if anything is inside them. She searches for traps around the curtain before carefully pulling it aside.
Beyond the yard is a stone path leading up a hill.
Tesswyn stealthily peeks inside the coop and then down the well. If she doesn't see anything interesting, she returns to the rest of the group.
"Looks like the troll was living there. It made a fake family out of rocks and has a chicken coop and a well out back. Weird mutant chickens and a foul smell are all I found. There's a hill but I didn't see where it went."
Nothing looks unusual about the well, but it does smell a little funny.
"Aye, you've been good 't me Drot. Things like this just 'ave a way of happenin' without anyone's control."
Gärwin takes the offered cigar and takes a long drag, coughing a little from the unfamiliar taste. Once he's had his fill, he hands the cigar back to Drot and exhales a little ring of smoke. Leaning back and watching the metal ball flit about, the dwarf thinks to himself for a time before speaking again.
"Been thinkin'. I think this library we've been plannin' t' build is a lot more important than I gave it credit for. We need to start buildin' things, makin' lives better. That way they see us as more than just fighters that live jet' t' kill. Especially you Drot, real life changers made by Orcs would turn sum 'eads. I'll do what I can t' 'elp out, make the world a better place."
He falls quiet for a time, then stands up again, making his way to the priest. "'Ey Charles, you got any words to say for Dumpy? I've never been one th' religious types, but I think it's only proper to get a blessin'. It'd really make me feel better for burying 'im out in some forsaken desert."
Keeping an eye on Tesswyn as best she can, watching to see if the woman signals for help, Kahtia also notes Gärwin's anguish, his hard work, and the touching ceremony that he and Drot'ook hold.
When there is a spare moment, the woman draws close to the orc as the desert wind picks up, tinkling the earrings, bracelets, and other jewelry she's wearing.
"That was kind of you, Drot," the black-haired mage says gently, watching Gär call for Charles to say a prayer.
Charles had been on alert, waiting for some sort of shout of alarm or trouble from Tesswyn.
When she came back to tell them what she'd found he nodded at her. "Odd, was it living here?" he tries not think about it too much as he shakes his head. "A foul smell and mutated chickens? Maybe we'll leave the coop open just to give them a better chance to live but I don't want to stay around here longer than we have to."
... ...
He looked at Garwin as the Dwarf came and asked him to speak for his fallen mount. A moment of an inquisitiveness came over him but then Charles stopped to think about it, he realized that Dumpy was more than just a mount to Garwin. The horse have been a trusted companion to the dwarf and one that had been with him until the mounts end. An end, he realized, that he might have been able to prevent had he been more diligent.
He removed the mask, and nodded to his friend. "It's a little unusual, but I can certainly say a prayer for Dumpy. Give me a few minutes."
Charles went to the grave that Garwin had made for Dumpy and thought of the horse and what he had seen of the mount and Garwin with it. After a short time longer he nodded and motioned for Garwin to come over, inviting the others to attend should they wish.
"I have some things to I'd like to say. Despite our differences, Dumpy was a living creature who proved he had a soul and more than that, he was a steadfast mount, a companion, and even a friend to Garwin until the very end. Despite his own weakness, he never abandoned his friend and now he will pass on from this life.
As you weep for the loss of a friend, as you kneel by them as their body becomes just that, a body, a shell, you still want them back. You will always want them back.
But you quietly sit with them and grieve. And then there comes a point when you know they really have left this world. They are no longer in pain. They are free. And in that moment that tears you apart, you find a little peace.
For the mortal soul is eternal. Death is a door to the next life. May the New God show Dumpy the way and guide his soul as he begins his migration from this life to his next."
Charles finishes his quiet eulogy for Dumpy and looks at Garwin.
"If you'd like to say anything, now would be the time."
At first, Tesswyn rolls her eyes at the thought of eulogizing a horse. But she listens to Charles's words soberly, and by the end, she wipes a few tears from her eyes. "Bah. That's why you never give a horse a name," she mutters to Kahtia. "You get attached."
Once the funeral is complete, she fidgets anxiously. "Can we get moving now?"
The eulogy ended. Charles nodded to those who had gathered and he patted Garwin on the shoulder, letting the dwarf say goodbye in his own way.
Charles took a last look around the large house, now that Tesswyn had readily determined it was safe.
After checking the house he wandered to the coop to examine the strange mutated chickens and the well. Deciding that these strange chickens would likely die if left in the coop, Charles opens it for them.
He examined the water by filling up a bucket to determine if it was safe to drink or not. He tries a little if it doesn't appear too foul looking.
Then he noted the stone path. Determining it shouldn't take more than a minute, he ascends high into the air to see where it leads.
Everyone packs up and gets ready to head out into Oasis. Despite the storm, the say is still hot. You're on your last bits of food and water, but you're sure you have enough to get back.
While everyone is getting the horses ready and packing up, Charles (and anyone else who wants to join) runs off to check out the cottage.
On two of the chairs are stacks of rocks; the top most rock has some sort of grassy-looking material on top of it, and there are two sticks poking out the sides about halfway up the stack. In front of each stack on the table, and in front of the empty chair is a smallish cup with a handle, sitting on top of a small plate. In the center is a decanter filled with water.
Going out back, you easily spot the well. It has a funny scent to it, but it's difficult to identify the smell. When you taste it, it has the same oddness to it.
Then to the checken coop. As Tesswyn said, inside is a bunch of clicking chickens - all of them have normal chicken heads, but their bodies are like fat featherless reptiles with thick legs and arms. They stand on their hind legs. They peck at the ground as they move about. Inside are small stacks of eggs in most of what looks like where they sleep.
You open the stall and they rush out, eager to be fed as they "swarm" you, clucking and bok-ing. They peck at the ground, at your feet, at anything around them.
You walk along the stone pathway, clucking chickens following, until you come to a "clearing" in the stone forest. Here, there are exquisite statues of people, all with mouths agape and eyes weeping. They're all placed in a circle looking inwards at the clearing, which forms a center circle that is completely cleared of all statues. When you stand in the center, It feels like all the statues are watching you. They seem to move and sway in the heat.
The mutated chickens seem to have followed you, and spread out amongst the statues clucking and pecking away. The clucks attract some mutated chicken roosters, who come running into the strange audience of statues, featherless "wings" flapping as they do so.
The roosters look mean and they glare at you as soon as they see you. Then they charge at you, screeching their chicken bok all the way.
Once you make those, declare fast or slow init.
Charles followed the strange events coming through the oddly large house. He had nothing for the strange looking roosters and vaguely wondered where food may have been kept for them. Wandering the path he came to the strange circle of statues. Though he wasn't sure why, he wandered into the clearing, the heat playing tricks on his mind, or so he hoped.
The looks of the mutated chickens gives him a strange feeling.
Gärwin was done with the desert, it was well past time to go for a drink or seven. He helped pack up and said one final goodbye to his faithful horse. It was time to leave the desert behind.
Kahtia watches and listens to Charles deliver his eulogy, then finishes making ready to leave. After Gärwin says his final goodbye to Dumpy, the raven-haired sorceress embraces him wordlessly, then briefly places a warm hand on his shoulder as she signals for Tess to join her on her horse, allowing the considerably heavier dwarf his own mount.
"Let us leave this place," she says to both of them simply, "and remember what we have left here."
Tesswyn climbs up on the horse behind Kahtia as the group rides out. She can smell the sweat clinging to the wizard's dark skin, feel the heat radiating off of her. The rogue swallows heavily, her hands trembling a bit.
With an effort of will, she manages to keep her hands to herself.
The day turns to dusk and then to night by the time you get back to Oasis.
Charles manages to catch up just before sunset, flying in from above.
Few people are out when you arrive, but the taverns are still active with torches shedding light.