Isabella snatches her blade off the ground and rushes out into the brush after whatever it was. "HEY!" she shouts loudly. she screams loud enough to wake everyone else up.
Chrysa pulls her blades and waits, moving over to guard one of the sleeping ones as they pull themselves up. "BELLA! It is TOO FAST!"
Orri shoots up when he hears Bella shout out, and jumps to his feet as he looks around and sees nothing "By the gods Bella, what is going on? Who are you shouting at?"
"The fey is back. Anna has been cut, and your sister is running after the thing even though it is faster than an all-out horse!" Chrysa mutters worriedly, looking over her shoulder at Orri, she asks "Do you want to go after her or check on the others?"
Orri just rolls his eyes and grabs his stuff. "I'll go try and stop her, you stay with the others." He sprints after Bella as he calls out "Bella! Stop and come back, don't go running off by yourself!"
With Isabella and Orri a short distance away, the blur streaks back through the camp, thrusting it’s blade are Sophiel wildly as it says ”YouguysshouodjustgivemewhatIwantandwecancalliteven!” before it is gone again!
Sophie comes over after a moment, fully dressed and awake. Bjorn is wearing his clothes and wielding his weapons, but is unarmored, holding his breastplate, looking groggy. Sophie starts helping him get his armor on, and says "what's all the fuss? The quickling is back? Let's get moving then." She's confused until she sees Annalla's hurt, and she moves over to her, using her last healing spell.
The quickling reappears and attacks her, and she rolls her eyes at it.
"so - no new spells. Any one have any ideas about what to do?" and she tries to get Bjorn dressed.
She yells into the trees, visibly annoyed.
”I’lltakethisforstarters!” his voice calls out just as he lunges at Annalla, his blade clinking off the blue gem in her brow!
”Damnit!” he curses before running off in a blur once more!
Sophie stops helping Bjorn, who arms himself, and stands near Annalla, guarding her, watching for the enemies. Sophie does the same.
All three are bunched together, watching for enemies.
Isabella comes running back with Orri, frustrated that it had gotten behind her. She stands between everyone, blade in hand and ready to bury it in the quickling's chest the moment it shows itself again. She taunts it "C'MON! Bring it on, quickling! You think you are so tough, why don't you try cutting me again! You and me, the others will stay out of it."
Annalla was attempting to get to her feet when the quickling struck at the stone on her forehead. "You DARE!?" she shrieks at the creature. She finishes fumbling to her feet and draws a small knife to hold in front of her. "You attempt to defile that which is pure?! Come to me little devil! Saoraidh mi fearg fearg nàdur ort!"
Chrysa can't remember seeing Anna mad before and is happily impressed. Seeing Orri and Bella back, and what Bella is trying to do, she will move next to Sophie and wait, ready to strike if it comes out again.
Orri is bent over taking in deep breaths after running back to the camp. He was not ready for this mess after being so rudely woken up. When he finally manages to catch his breath he pulls out his whip ready to help his sister, if needed.
There is some high pitches, fast paced snickering and some rapid rustling of the undergrowth, but moments, then minutes pass with no further attack.
Sophie gets Bjorn dressed after a few minutes, then meditates for her spells. ”Back to the tower, eh?” she adds, cheerfully. ”Formation please - Annalla and either Orri or Chrysa, stay near Bjorn. He can guard us.”
She walks just next to him as well, and they both have their weapons drawn.
Annalla's eyes continue to search the undergrowth, waiting for the thing to dash out again. There's a glimmer of light flickering in the stone on her forehead that is matched by the rage in her crystal blue eyes.
"Freagraidh tu airson do bhlas!" she shouts out. As more moments pass and it seems that the quickling isn't attacking right away, the hand holding the knife droops and she begins to shake. Wrapping her arms around herself, she steps over to the remains of the fire and drops to the ground.
She puts her arms around her knees and hides her head as she tries to bring her emotions under control.
Isabella lets her fury die down once it's clear that the creature has no intent on returning. She moves back over to Annalla to ask if she's okay, but finds her shaking instead.
Seeing the woman in pain seems to override her defense mechanisms as she is suddenly filled with the terrible thought that Annalla was only attacked because Isabella left her undefended.
What if the quickling meant to attack me again but I fled and left Annalla vulnerable?
Stupid! What were you thinking running away?!
She drops to her knees behind the sorceress, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her in tight for a hug. She holds the android's head against her chest and says "Shhhhh. It's okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you, it's my fault. I won't let that happen again. I'm sorry. It's okay, I'm here now."
Annalla stiffens when Isabella first puts her arms around her. But when she realizes who it is she melts into her arms. "He touched ... he attacked ... attacked my anam," in a hiccuping voice.
A moment later and her situation finally seems to sink in and she slowly pulls herself away. "I'm ... I'm sorry," she says wiping at her face as she tries to get her breathing under control. "I shouldn't have ... You don't like that. I won't inconvenience you any more. Thank you." Her eyes close and one hand moves up defensively to her forehead.
"It wasn't your fault," she says in a calmer voice. "I should be better able to defend myself. I was lax. I won't do that again."
Isabella closes her eyes thinking about how it could have been worse. When Annalla tries to pull away, Isabella just reads that as further injury to the woman and she slowly shakes her head and holds her tight against her instead. "No, stop that. Just relax a moment, alright? It's my duty to defend all of you. I failed because I got scared. I was being selfish. You asked for my help and I ran away and left you defenseless. I am sorry."
She looks up at everyone looking back at the two and says "Go ahead, we're just a moment behind you." hoping for a little more privacy.
Chrysa sighs looking at the two "That would be... unwise, Bella. It keeps attacking us as long as we are separated." she frowns but relents silently with just a shake of her head. Grabbing the reins of her mule and a couple of the oversized horses. To Sophie "We're not leaving them out here to be butchered by the fey thing."
Sophie raises an eyebrow at Chrysa, tilting her head, then nods and waits for the... interlude to end.
She watches the woods quietly with Bjorn.
"The horses I mean. Of course, no one was suggesting leaving those two to be butchered by the fey thing" Chrysa answers the eyebrow with a sigh.
Annalla doesn't resist when Isabella holds her tight. She curls up against her body and after a moment Isabella can feel the woman ... nuzzling her neck? "You smell so wonderful," Annalla whispers. "I could just stay here in your arms forever. You make me feel safe. Like I'm ... I'm home."
She leans back and looks up at the warrior. "We have things that need to be done, though," she says brushing at her face and smiling. Her smile hardens. "A quickling to punish."
The android extracts herself from Isabella's arms and holds out a hand to help the woman to her feet.
"Thank you," she says as the woman rises and their faces come almost close enough to touch.
Isabella holds Annalla in her arms, losing herself in the moment before Chrysa's words sink in. "You're right, Chrysa, you're right. We need to stay together. It's been attacking us when we separate."
She let's Annalla pull her to her feet and smiles at her thanks, "You're welcome."
She claps her hands loudly and pushes back to the front of the group. "NOW! Who's ready to go catch a quickling?"
The group returns to the keep unassailed, and are able to easily disarm the trap at the gate and enter the courtyard. They then begin searching the towers one by one...
The northeast tower is open to the sky, its roof and interior levels having fallen away long ago. The remains of rats and their droppings are strewn about within this foul smelling den.
A wooden door made from roughly-cut timber planks, obviously of newer construction than the rest of the keep, blocks the entrance to this tower. It is clear something of size similar to a half lung has resided here recently, but nothing of value remains.
A pile of rubble creates an uncomfortable but manageable mound of stone that can be used to enter and exit the courtyard.
The upper reaches of this tower have completely collapsed, filling the interior with debris and rubble. Buried beneath the rubble, Chrysa spots a glimmer of silver, but it will take a significant amount of time to unearth it. At least thirty minutes.
Sophie whispers, ”let’s keep looking - we don’t want another rat surprise.”
Before entering the ruins, Annalla takes a moment to envoke a defensive spell upon herself and heal the remaining damage at the same time.
This tower stretches high into the sky, its upper reaches hidden in the forest’s canopy. The vines choking the tower’s exterior, which are festooned with bleached humanoid skulls, nearly obscure the dark arrow slits. At ground level, a closed wooden door hides behind a cloak of hanging vines.
All but Sophiel spot some of the plant life move in an unnatural way within the vines...
Chrysa will grasp Sophie's shoulder, and points out the vine's movements.
"Wait!" Annalla calls out, holding up a hand. "That's assassin vine! If it grabs you it will strangle you!" Her brows lower in concentration. "Fire and cold do little to it and lightning has no effect."
Looking closer, you all now see various skulls of different humanoids placed among the plants along the wall.
"Then how do we kill it?" looking at Orri, she remembers his whip "How far can your whip reach?"
Orri grins "My whip can reach pretty far, about fifteen feet. Does anyone have any viles of acid? Otherwise I can just lash at it with my whip from a distance. It might take awhile though and not sure if it can move out to attack."
Annalla shrugs. "I could scream at it, but only a couple of times and that probably wouldn't be enough to kill it," she says.
Chrysa's eyes gleam quickly. Rummaging through her pack she pulls out five vials of acid. "A woman has to be prepared, doesn't she?" she'll hand one to every person that wants one, and then waits for Orri's signal.
”Thank you. Good eyes. Maybe shoot it with arrows?”
She searches for the vine deliberately.
”Don’t think it moves fast. But I have no magic for it; not today.” She sniffs, and draws her bow, ready to fire if necessary.
"Well standing and watching it is getting us nowhere. Let's see how it reacts to this."
As Chyrsa tosses her acid, Orri, 15 feet away, lashes at it with his whip.
He then steps back expecting the plant to try and come at him.
The group is able to put down the vine with little issue, though it did slowly attempt to crawl their direction. Moments later, you hear a frustrated snarl from above before you see what looks like a pale green skinned elf leap from the wall of the northwest tower to the central spire, then climb along the wall and into a window on the top floor! It looked naked save for a black and red loincloth.
Chrysa looks up to a sight she won't be able to unsee for most of the day "if one is going to crawl the walls above some people, why even bother wearing a loincloth, really?"
She shakes her copper head to try and dislodge the pale greenness of his nethers from her mind, but to no avail. "I don't think he likes us for killing his pet. But we could try and talk before we pillage what is likely his home. Though I don't expect much..." she emphasizes her opinion by tapping one of the bleached humanoid skulls with her feykiller.
"Not bothering to murder us anymore? I'm not for just stealing from someone, especially not their home, but this fellow is cruel and dangerous - as we've seen."
She looks at the others, "maybe we could give it another shot if nobody objects? I'd be angry if a bunch of people, or anyone, came into my space and tried to take something of mine." She sighs, "of course, talking probably won't work."
"I care nothing for his worldly possessions. But this blaigeard's vicious ways need to end," Annalla says coldly.
Bella frowns "Fine. We'll give it one more chance to talk, but that's it. I'm all for giving everyone a chance, but you can only do it so many times before we look like fools."
"I'm good with putting him down. The little s&!+ deserves it, just thought... nevermind." Chrysa says then looks into the room.
Orri looks at the thing jumping across the roofs as the others argue "Uh guys, that is definitely not the thing that was attacking us earlier. I think we should try and talk to it, but let's maybe check this tower now that the plant thing is dead, yeah?"
The northwest tower is the only one in the keep to have withstood the test of time—its walls are still intact, as is most of its roof, though the wooden floors inside collapsed long ago. The door is of original construction and is beautifully carved (though obscured by moss) and barred from the inside, but it is so ancient that a team effort spearheaded by Bjorn bursts through after about a minute of effort.
Inside is a gruff looking living area, with a locked chest tucked against one wall.