Nissa isn’t exactly skipping towards the mansion singing ♫we’re off to see the Mistress! The wonderful—♫, but the way she’s moving toward the mansion is like she’s thrown caution to the wind, then flipped caution off and said, “F*!$ you, caution.”
Charles rush to get ahead of Nissa. "Slow down!" they growl. "The only reason she'd want us to come quickly is if she has a trap prepared for us."
Henri wants nothing more than to be out of the hedge maze, but he’s keeping it together enough to stay with his allies.
The wide row that Nissa races down without caution has many smaller hedge rows perpendicular to it.
Down one of these rows, on the left, you see a naked man running. He is laughing. Down another you see a man in torn clothes rushing towards you. He seems frightened. The hedge closes in front of him, stopping him from reaching you.
Nissa flies on.
Yup. ‘Prey’ was a term of endearment. I thought as much.
Not interested in watching the naked Laughing Boy, Nissa flies on, not seeming to register the terrified expression on the semi-clothed man.
Charles see the frightened man running towards them and the hedge closing. With a snarl they take to the air, dark wings spreading as they take a literally flying leap to try to get over the hedge.
Henri looks between the two allies going different directions. ”Nissa! What are you doing? That man needs help - didn’t you see the terror on his face? I think the other has lost his mind.”
Nissa turns. “Help with what? Finding his pants?”
She seems indecisive. She’s drawn to meeting the mistress, but the party splitting and arriving at staggered times would be an embarrassing faux pas.
She begrudgingly floats toward Henri.
”Not him, he’s mad. The other guy, the one that looks like he’s been attacked. Sorry to say it, but you are acting a bit weird, flying into an unknown danger without a plan.”
Leaping over the hedge will give Charles a view of the frightened man. He has his back pressed against the hedge, looking like he's trapped in a dead end. "She's here! She's here!" he says to himself. He looks up and sees Charles and screams and then starts to run.
☀️
“Weird… yes. That snake magicked me.”
She becomes humanish and bolts to into the hedge.
She stands in her own fire, immune to it. But she expects the hedge can feel this.
“Get the f~@@ out of my way. If that man dies, I promise you, I WILL burn this entire f**@ing maze and leave nothing but ash.”
Somewhere in the hedge maze, a minotaur roars.
The burning hedge parts and distances itself from the party, forming a 40 ft x 40 ft square around them with only one exit, a path back the way you came. By the pounding of hooves, a minotaur is charging down that one path.
☀️☀️
Nissa blasts the hedge with fire as the minotaur charges.
“I wasn’t bluffing. You will die.”
She aims at where the hedge is already burning, hoping to destroy the section completely!
Theo charges to meet his mythic foe, as giddy as a school boy!
Nissa's second blast manages to create an opening in the hedge. It now has an opening the minotaur is running down and one you could try to escape through.
"I realize we *look* scary, but we're actually opposed to the demons here," Charles tries to explain to the fleeing man. "Running will make it harder to protect you."
Theo's Angel Sword starts to hum. It hadn't hummed in the presence of the Minotaur before.
Her action is to run around Theo—
—and back behind him to shoot!
"I realize we *look* scary, but we're actually opposed to the demons here," Charles tries to explain to the fleeing man. "Running will make it harder to protect you."
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20-1
[dice=Init]1d20+5
The man who tried to flee gets trapped inside of the fighting ring that the hedge has created when it formed a 40 ft. by 40 ft. square.
He turns to Charles, frightened still, but less than before. He isn't sure whether to trust anyone.
"She's here!"
Following Nissa into the fighting ring. ”This is more like it.”
”Hey, I know my friends look unusual, but we’re the good guys, I promise. How did you get here?”
A woman with auburn hair sticks her head through the hole Nissa burnt in the Hedge. "This way," she calls out. "I know how to get out!"
Henri is oblivious to the potential danger of this offer, but has been trying to stay with the others, so he will follow Nissa’s lead (as well as initiative).
Nissa puts up a wall of fire preventing the minotaur from reaching her unscathed and takes a shot at the minotaur over the wall of fire.
She misses.
Henri, Charles, and Theo all beat the minotaur in initiative. He's charging into the empty square made by the hedge this round, so you can ready actions to occur when he enters it.
[dice=Initiative]1d20 + 8
Following Nissa into the fighting ring. ”This is more like it.”
”Hey, I know my friends look unusual, but we’re the good guys, I promise. How did you get here?”
"I don't really know. I was making some rubbings of some markings on an ancient stone gate, when everything began to glow," says the man. "I don't know where I am."
Nissa replies to the woman, “I know the way out too. Burn a path through this hedge maze.”
She demonstrates by stepping close to the hedge wall and erupting into flames!
As for the Minotaur, Nissa may be 40ft from where he’ll charge into the area, but he’ll be a little singed as the bushes erupt into flames!
Round 1
Theo lets out a battle cry as he charges the rampaging minotaur.
Charles ignores the civilians for now. They leap into the air, flying just above the minotaur's reach, waiting for him to clash with Theo. Once he does, they dive down behind them, ready to attack from behind.
"I don't really know. I was making some rubbings of some markings on an ancient stone gate, when everything began to glow," says the man. "I don't know where I am."
Henri is sure his friends can do more to deal with the minotaur than he ever could. He feels like they may need speed, and if the guy is injured, he might slow us down. So he tries to do a quick evaluation of the guy's condition. Assuming he's basically fine, the speedy medic will draw his static arc pistol.
Round 1
Theo lets out a battle cry as he charges the rampaging minotaur.
[dice=Angel Sword]1d20 + 12 + 2
[dice=Dmg.]1d6 + 1d6 + 6
Theo slices the charging minotaur forcing him to suddenly halt his charge lest he carve off a slice of himself on Theo's sword. The sword continues to thrum.
"I don't really know. I was making some rubbings of some markings on an ancient stone gate, when everything began to glow," says the man. "I don't know where I am."Henri is sure his friends can do more to deal with the minotaur than he ever could. He feels like they may need speed, and if the guy is injured, he might slow us down. So he tries to do a quick evaluation of the guy's condition. Assuming he's basically fine, the speedy medic will draw his static arc pistol.
[dice=Medicine]1d20 + 13
The man appears to be having a panic attack but is otherwise in good health, unless the patch of shiny brass-coloured scales running up the back of his neck are something to be worried about.
He seems frightened by the appearance of the girl.
The minotaur stabs at Theo with his gardening sheers.
Charles can now swoop down and attack from behind gaining a flanking bonus. He might notice the gargoyles in the distance perking up, about to enforce the no-fly zone if Charles keeps taking to the air.
The girl poking her head through the hedge calls again, "Quick. Through here."
Round 2
The Olympian grunts loudly as the minotaur stabs deep into him with the garden sheers. Undeterred, Theo continues the attack.
Charles dives behind the minotaur with a dual-throated roar (the middle head doesn't join in).
Now in position, he rears up on his back four feet and slashes across the minotaur's back with his claws.
The blows come too fast and fierce to be sure whether it was Theo or Charles who killed the minotaur gardener, but it doesn't get another chance to try to kill Theo with his sheers. That would have been a stupid way for a godling to die. The bull-headed man falls landing on a sack of his own excrement with a thud and a squish.
The girl with the auburn hair disappears shouting, "Follow me!"
The man with the scaled neck warns, "That could be her. She can be anyone. By Akhekh, I swear she is a demon."
"One Motherf#cking Second, Little Girl!" Theo smiled with almost devishly glee.
The godling raised the Angel Sword high, and chopped off the minotaur's horns and pulled them into his belt; fine trophies, worthy of a Son of Zeus!!
☀️
“That’s right! There can only be ONE Sheer Awesomeness, Wielder of… the… gar..den……ing..”
Nissa winces at Theo’s post-battle action.
“Umm… he doesn’t feel… no. Because he’s dead. Still, I mean, couldn’t you just do a victory dance or take a picture or other not-bloody option?” Wanting to be more supportive, she says, “Well fought, boys.”
She then flits toward the auburn-haired girl, burning her way through shrubbery but not leaving sight from the party.
“I’ve been magicked once already, so no offense lady, but we gotta stay in a tight group.”
To the scaled man, as he starts to follow the flying fireball, ”What do you know about her? And, before we go, are you aware that you have scales on your neck? I don’t want to assume it’s normal and find out it’s not…”
"One Motherf#cking Second, Little Girl!" Theo smiled with almost devishly glee.
The godling raised the Angel Sword high, and chopped off the minotaur's horns and pulled them into his belt; fine trophies, worthy of a Son of Zeus!!
The Minotaur stops breathing.
The Angel Sword continues to thrum.
"Hoho! The Angel Sword is still angry! Must be more evil afoot!" Theo smiles, obvious to Nissa's uncomfortableness.
To the scaled man, as he starts to follow the flying fireball, ”What do you know about her? ”
"There are others here. I don't know how many. The hedge tries to keep us separated. I've been here days. I can't find my brother. Sometimes I meet other people but then they change. Their head becomes like that of a jackal ..."
”And, before we go, are you aware that you have scales on your neck? I don’t want to assume it’s normal and find out it’s not…”
"Of course," says the man with a shy smile, "My brother and I have some of the dragon in us. Have you not met a highblood before? What caste are you?"
☀️
“That’s right! There can only be ONE Sheer Awesomeness, Wielder of… the… gar..den……ing..”
Nissa winces at Theo’s post-battle action.
“Umm… he doesn’t feel… no. Because he’s dead. Still, I mean, couldn’t you just do a victory dance or take a picture or other not-bloody option?” Wanting to be more supportive, she says, “Well fought, boys.”
She then flits toward the auburn-haired girl, burning her way through shrubbery but not leaving sight from the party.
“I’ve been magicked once already, so no offense lady, but we gotta stay in a tight group.”
The girl continues to flee while Theo hacks off the horns. Lose her or leave the party behind.
The girl continues to flee while Theo hacks off the horns. Lose her or leave the party behind.
The girl continues to flee while Theo hacks off the horns. Lose her or leave the party behind.
[dice=Angel Sword]1d20 + 12
[dice=Dmg.]1d6 + 1d6 + 6
Nope. Theo's going to need more than a single swing. Nissa has a choice to make.
Charles scowls at the dead minotaur. He raises a claw and sniffs at the blood, suddenly supicious that some sort of illusion or something was operating that had made the creature seem more dangerous than it was.
"I don't trust that woman," they state, "Especially since Theo's sword is still reacting."
"And given what little we've learned of this maze..." they add. "Now, the question is, how do we preserve those we rescue while also pursuing our ultimate goal here?"
Nissa tells Henry, “I’m charging into the obvious trap of my own free will. Follow the burn marks and dead bushes.”
Nissa follows the girl, leaving a wake of fire. She does not move fast enough to catch up to her. She just needs to see her.
“Not… *huff* …so fast… *puff* …short legs!” she bluffily calls to the ‘girl.’