"LET HIM GO!" Shakur shouts as he manifests the beasts greatest fear in himself.
"Kolgradd, it may be easier to fight it by going limp" Shakur says from experience, throwing a bit of magic behind his words.
Boodiddly blinks a few times as if uncertain of the accuracy of his memory, then shrugs. “Nelly, I have to ask: why all this horsing around?”
He then pauses in concentration for a moment before uttering a foul-sounding curse and pointing dramatically at the creature. “Now your reckoning is upon you, tikbalang! Your magic is nothing but illusions, as weak and powerless as your own mind!”
"I've got you right where I, ugh, want you!"
Kolgradd struggles against the tikbalang, trying to get the big maul into a useful position. He whispers a word to give himself some magical protection, then grins at the thing.
"While they're hammering you with magic, you've got to deal with me!"
◆ Cast Shield (verbal)
◆ Cast True Strike (verbal)
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
◆ Escape
◆ Cast Shield (verbal)
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Jevar launches a line of negative energy at the creature.
Kolgradd manages to break free from the creature’s grasp and swing wildly at it, but fails to hit it once.
Boodiddly distracts the creature—a tikbalang—who actually seems to understand him. Boodiddly then uses the power of the Dreamlands to unleash an illusory headache at the tikbalang!
The tikbalang clutches at its head as it seems that that headache was more effective than it seemed .
Shakur uses his magic to manifest the tikbalang’s greatest fear right in front of it!
Failure --> Success (incapacitation)
The tikbalang looks around frantically as the sight of its own greatest fear suddenly vanishes. Its eyes fall on Shakur, as it raises a shaking finger to point at the Pharasmin. ”Y-y-y-you s-s-s-s-summoned i-i-i-it?!”
Something clicks in the tikbalang’s mind as the horse-faced beast turns and runs, not wanting to toy with someone who could summon something like that! The tikbalang leaps off of the branch onto the next one below and continues doing so as it rushes away from the amnesiacs.
As it becomes more and more clear that the tikbalang is not coming back, several zoogs crawl out from their hiding places and turn to look nervously at the amnesiacs. One zoog finally approaches the amnesiacs cautiously and says ”T-t’nk ymg'. Cahf uh'enyth mgep mgepah c' ahl'n'gha llll nilgh'rinah yar
"I can understand them! They're grateful that we got rid of the Tikbalang"
Kolgradd looks astonished and quite perturbed as he twists his tongue around words he didn't know he knew.
"You're welcome, it was bothering us quite a lot too. Now then, we're looking for a pard. Perhaps you could help us in return?"
Ah, I think I know what I did; I did a weird coding thing that the forums didn’t like. I forgot to un-bold at the end of the Aklo phrase and instead un-bolded at the end of the translation in the spoiler, which causes the spoiler to be unable to be opened. Kolgradd got the gist of it, though—the zoogs are glad that y’all got rid of the tikbalang.
"Ask them if they know where the tail is? Maybe there's a pard that's died recently? Or...maybe we have to skin it ourselves?"
Realizing that there is something of a language barrier, the zoogs discuss amongst themselves and eventually find one among them that speaks Common.
”A pard? Um…there were some along the forest floor, but we killed and ate them several weeks ago. We might have a tail among the scraps. But, uh...while we appreciate you scaring off that monster, you’re still strangers…perhaps we could have a bit of a trade? We’ve been dying for some more…exotic meat.”
Jevar scratches his head and shuffles through his pack.
Meat... too bad that tikbalang got away. Basidirond spores! It's not quite meat, but you know there are a lot of dishes where large chunks of portobello replace the meat. Well, maybe you don't... Perhaps a bit of this would be to your liking?
He holds out a small sampling of it for them to inspect.
Boodiddly hides how badly he wants to shudder when the zoog mentions “exotic meat” beneath a friendly smile. “Perhaps you’d fancy some pork chops? I’ve got a great recipe - grill ‘em on both sides lightly, then let them simmer in a creamy mushroom sauce for about thirty minutes so they get nice and soft, then serve it over pilaf. I’d be happy to whip some up for you to try.”
Jevar scratches his head and shuffles through his pack.
Meat... too bad that tikbalang got away. Basidirond spores! It's not quite meat, but you know there are a lot of dishes where large chunks of portobello replace the meat. Well, maybe you don't... Perhaps a bit of this would be to your liking?
He holds out a small sampling of it for them to inspect.
The zoog takes one sniff of Jevar’s offering and recoils in disgust. ”No, not that. Cat meat.”
With that in mind, Boodiddly uses the power of the Dreamlands to conjure up some well-cooked cat meat, and the zoogs devour it quickly, but the zoogs are soon left unsatisfied as the temporary nature of the Impossibility makes it disappear directly from their stomachs.
”Okay, we know of something. In a higher-up section of the forest there’s a group of tigers. If you bring us one of them then we’ll give you the tail.”
Kolgradd shrugs as hunting tigers for meat will be one of the more mundane things they've done in the dreamlands.
"I think we can manage that. How do we get up there, are there steps in all these trees? Oh and the tigers, just to check, they've got four legs, stripes, about this big?"
He starts checking on his equipment and looking for the best way up.
Kolgradd shrugs as hunting tigers for meat will be one of the more mundane things they've done in the dreamlands.
"I think we can manage that. How do we get up there, are there steps in all these trees? Oh and the tigers, just to check, they've got four legs, stripes, about this big?"
He starts checking on his equipment and looking for the best way up.
”Yup, that’s about right. Their den is a few miles that way…”
Tree tigers...
Jevar hesitates, a little concerned.
Once we get there will they ambush us? What else are they good at?
"Uh...I dunno. They're tigers."
Huh. I just assumed they couldn't be "just tigers." Everything else in the dreamlands has been something strange and made up. Oh well. Onward!
The amnesiacs travel along the path toward the tigers’ den, like the zoogs described, traveling from branch to branch along the way. The leaves and branches in this section of the forest canopy are open to the deep blue sky above and are bathed in bright sunlight.
This section wouldn’t be noteworthy, save for a single leaf. The leaf is covered in bits of dried blood and is perforated with massive thorns trailing bits of rope. One particular thorn is noteworthy, as a gagged human man has been bound to the thorn! When the amnesiacs come in view, the bound man looks at them in desperation and screams as much as the gag in his mouth will allow.
”Hmmp!!!”
As the amnesiacs look around, they notice a distinct humming around them, like the sound of tiny wings beating rapidly, and are able to pinpoint where they’re coming from as it becomes clear that something invisible is here!
Round 1
==============
Shakur
Boodiddly
Kolgradd
Jevar
Red {invisible}
Orange {invisible}
Yellow {invisible}
Green {invisible}
Blue {invisible}
Purple {invisible}
==============
Jevar turns his head quickly, scanning what seems like an encircling gauntlet of danger. He looks both worried and anxious.
The wizard reaches for the bright red beads on the hemp necklace around his neck. For a brief moment it appears as a golden chain with golden spheres attached by fine threads. He tears one of them off and throws it to the left of the circle...
Just after it leaves his hand he throws up his arcane shield, turning from side and side watching for singed tigers to pounce.
“I think those things had different ideas about what qualifies as a tiger,” Boodiddly muses as he conjures a burst of liminal flames rather than explosive ones.
Kolgradd looks at Jevar for encouragement and tries a new spell, moving his maul around in flowing movements and speaking the words of power.
◆◆ Cast See Invisibility
immediately regretting his decision to look upon his enemy, he nevertheless tries to draw their attention, charging forward toward one of the ones nearest the bound human.
◆ Stride
Jevar takes off a bead from his necklace and hurls it, the bead exploding a massive flame!
Boodiddly sings then outlines two of the creatures in faerie fire.
Kolgradd casts a spell to allow him to see the creatures then moves to the closest one. As he gets closer, though, the blurriness of the creatures he expected from his spell don’t seem to fully dissipate.
Shakur casts shield followed by telekinetic projectile at Green.
Hit
Magic manifests around Blue and Green as they Cast a Spell.
Failure --> Success (incapacitation)
Critical Success
Suddenly, Kolgradd’s vision completely disappears as he is left utterly blind! It is at this point that the amnesiacs (sans Kolgradd) get a good look at what they are fighting: Small, horned creatures whose detailed features seem to be obscured by the light, making them seem constantly out-of-focus . Just as quickly as they are seen, though, the creatures Fly around, suddenly vanishing as their forms seem to dissipate! Green, however, is still outlined with the faerie fire, and is still moderately seen.
Purple uses Kolgradd’s blindness as an opportunity to claw out at the dwarf!
The creature then Flies away from Kolgradd, vanishing just like the others.
Yellow Flies toward Jevar and a single mote of light manifests and flies straight at Jevar!
Success
Yellow then Flies away and vanishes.
Red and Orange both land onto the branch they are hovering above as they both Cast a Spell. Suddenly, a pair of Tiny creatures spontaneously appear in front of the amnesiacs. The creatures can only be described as twigs bundled together into a vaguely humanoid shape. The two creatures hold out their hands as they launch a spray of splinters and brambles in front of them!
Success
Critical Success
Failure
Success
Success
Failure
Just as Kolgradd was getting worried about his sight, it suddenly returns!
Round 2
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9) {Lingering Defense: Round 1 of 4}
Kolgradd
Jevar (-21)
Red {invisible}
Dashed Red
Orange {invisible; faerie fired}
Dashed Orange
Yellow (-10) {invisible}
Green (-19) {invisible; faerie fired}
Blue (-20) {invisible}
Purple {invisible}
==============
Even more in one place!
Jevar reaches for another golden bead and throws it to the cluster of creatures at the left again.
He then draws one of his blight bombs, still turning his head from side to side to watch for the approach of any of the creatures.
“Yep, not tigers!” Boodiddly yelps as sticks and flashes of light fill the air. He adds another burst of his own liminal fire to the mix, wracking his brain to remember something useful about these creature that lurk in the light rather than in the dark.
"I can't see!"
↻ AoO
Kolgradd lashes out in panic, then winces as he hears a fireball explode. He rushes in after it to try to smash anything that's still moving.
◆◆ Sudden Charge
◆ Strike
"Dammit my eyes are all messed up!" he grumpily shouts as he swings wildly around.
Shakur quickly throws up another shield and sends a spiritual dagger over to the now revealed blue (or green if faerie fire doesn't work)
Kolgradd swings blindly at the fleeing Purple and hits hard, knocking the creature mid-flight and causing it to fall, bouncing off several branches before ultimately splattering against one of them!
Jevar throws another bead at Red which blows up.
The blast utterly disintegrates Yellow and Blue!
Boodiddly outlines the remaining creatures.
Kolgradd charges at one of the creatures and swings, but misses.
Shakur protects himself and casts spiritual weapon.
Green notices the damage Jevar is doing and Flies over next to the wizard and Casts a Spell.
A mote of light appears in front of Green and shoots forth the short distance to hit Jevar, leaving Green completely visible.
But Jevar dodges away.
Red and Orange both Sustain a Spell, and the Tiny twig-men leap forward , both entering Jevar’s space and clawing at the wizard!
Red then Steps away from Kolgradd and Flies closer to the non-fighter amnesiacs.
Orange then Casts a Spell, sending a ray of pure flame at Boodiddly!
Round 3
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9) {Lingering Defense: Round 2 of 4}
Kolgradd
Jevar (-30)
Red (-39) {invisible; faerie fired}
Dashed Red
Orange {faerie fired}
Dashed Orange
Green (-19) {faerie fired}
==============
Jevar erupts in irritation at the creatures flying in his personal space.
Bah! Get back. Away from me!
He steps back and unleashes a light bolt that travels through his pests and the flyer who survived his last fireball.
Boodiddly flinches as Jevar’s lightning roars past him, then flinches again when he sees how close the electricity came to the bound man. “I’m going to go help him!” he yells, wrapping a soothing song around himself before striding bravely into the fray. Thoughts race through his head: This doesn’t add up - they wanted cat meat, but these are most certainly not cats, I think they’d know the difference, so are we not to the tigers’ hunting grounds, or are these things working with the tigers, or…
He does his best to ignore them for the moment.
"Let me know if he needs a quick heal." Shakur adds as he sends his spectral dagger over to Red.
Shakur then shouts "STOP! WHERE ARE THE TIGERS!", magically enforcing his words.
Kolgradd growls in frustration, follows the blasted creature trying to flee, and uses a little magic to guide his maul through the haze.
◆ Stride
◆ Cast True Strike
◆ Strike
Jevar moves back, unleashing a lightning bolt that terrifies the bound man as it narrowly misses him!
Boodiddly protects himself and moves toward the bound man , but when the man notices the gnome approaching, he looks Boodiddly dead in the eye and violently shakes his head.
Shakur sends his spiritual weapon at Red, narrowly missing due to the poor visibility he has on the semi-invisible creature. He then manifests a wave of terror!
Kolgradd rushes forward and swings at Red, knocking the creature down and causing Dashed Red to vanish in the blink of an eye.
Seeing Dashed Orange absolutely terrified by Shakur’s magic, Orange doesn’t bother to maintain its summoning spell and just lets Dashed Orange vanish. Instead, Orange Flies over to flank Jevar and slices at the wizard!
Green likewise claws twice at Jevar!
Green then Flies away, Blending with Light as it moves.
Round 4
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9) {Lingering Defense: Round 3 of 4}
Kolgradd
Jevar (-70)
Orange {faerie fired}
Dashed Orange
Green (-19) {invisible; faerie fired; frightened 1}
==============
Boodiddly skids to a stop. “You sure? Well, hang in there…” The gnome whistles while he peers at the branch between him and the bound man suspiciously.
As Boodiddly looks, he notices the stem of the leaf that the man is bound to has been heavily damaged, as if it’s been partially sawed off. Boodiddly thinks that another person standing on the leaf would cause the stem to snap off.
Round 4
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9)
Kolgradd
Jevar (-56) {prone; unconscious; dying 2}
Orange {faerie fired}
Green (-19) {invisible; faerie fired; frightened 1}
==============
Kolgradd starts to laugh as he hits red, but seeing Jevar go down he rushes to stand over him.
◆ Stride
"Get away from him!" he shouts, backing up his words with a swing
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Kolgradd rushes forward and swings his maul at Orange, missing once then hitting!
Seeing Jevar fall unconscious, Shakur casts a 2-action heal.
Shakur then Sustains his spiritual weapon.
Hit
Round 4
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9)
Kolgradd
Jevar (-2) {prone; wounded 1}
Orange (-40) {faerie fired}
Green (-19) {invisible; faerie fired; frightened 1}
==============
Cough cough Thanks... Shakur.
The mage groggily crawls out from under Kolgradd, stands up, and forms his force shield. He turns from side to side, taking stock of where their foes are.
Jevar crawls away.
Green Flies forward and swipes at Kolgradd.
Green then Flies away, Blending with Light as it does so.
Orange then attacks Kolgradd twice.
Orange then Flies away, Blending with Light as it does so.
Round 5
==============
Shakur (-24)
Boodiddly (-9)
Kolgradd (-30)
Jevar (-2) {wounded 1}
Orange (-40) {invisible; faerie fired}
Green (-19) {invisible; faerie fired}
==============
Boodiddly claps his hands and sing-songs, “Hey Jevar, could you walk this way, could you mend a broken leaf, could you laugh until you cry, Jevar…”
Watching Jevar crawl out from beneath him, Kolgradd looks embarrassed.
"Oh sorry Jevar, that must have been a surprise eh?"
↻ AoO
◆ Stride
◆ Strke
◆ Strke
He chases after the fleeing creature, but flails about wildly getting more flustered and red-faced with each swing.
"STAY STILL YOU FORGE-BURNED BASTARD!"
Uh, no problem Kolgradd. Just glad to be back...
Then hearing Boodiddly he finds another reason to be confused in the continuing fog of war. Mend a broken leaf... laugh until...? Gnome start making sense! Jevar barks from behind his arcane shield. He figures it's code for something and heads over to the gnome to get a better idea of where he's pointing.
The wizard barks the order drop prone! in the direction Boodiddly is pointing out.
He's not sure he's looking at the right spot...
"Watch your tongue!" Shakur scolds.
He then turns his attention to orange. "Where do you think you're going?" Shakur cackles a bit to himself as the air around the fleeing creature gets thicker.
DC 24 Fortitude Save against Slow from Orange.
Kolgradd’s AoO hits Green as it flies away.
Boodiddly continues singing and points out the leaf trap to Jevar.
Jevar sends a command at Orange.
Kolgradd rushes at Green and swings.
Shakur sends his spiritual dagger at Green and stabs straight through the creature! He then casts a spell at Orange.
Orange is mentally compelled by Jevar’s magic, and thus kicks off with its wings to fall on its back . The keyword there being “fall,” as the creature falls straight down!
Jevar quickly makes his way over to the leaf to assess the situation and try to use strips of bark to support the leaf.
With the leaf sufficiently supported, Boodiddly (as the lightest amnesiac) moves onto the leaf to cut the man free of his bindings. As soon as he is able to, the man rushes off of the massive leaf and onto the branch, falling to the ground and grabbing onto the tree bark as he quite literally clings to solid ground. It is only then that the man removes his gag. ”Desna’s grace! Thank you! T-those fey just attacked me! Kept saying something about sacrifices and a gateway; I don’t really know a lot of Sylvan…”
The wizard quickly gets to work repairing the structure supporting the leaf.
After he finally removes his gag and speaks, Jevar asks
Where were you trying to go when they accosted you? What directly did they come from?