Adrian's fists fly and he lands a solid blow with his initial strike but fails to really connect as the wily vulpine shakes off the worst of the effect and dodges.
Xathiel steps in and applies his own brand of neck surgery, leaving a nasty gash in the kitsune's throat. Though the flowing blood makes his target slippery and the follow-through snags in fur.
Almost immediately after, the kitsune rocks with the impact of force projectiles, he clutches his chest and makes a gurgling howl.
Saturday then steps forward and finishes the work started by others.
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Looking around, Adrian is satisfied that the group resolved the situation so swiftly. He's about to attempt in-battle healing to Granitt, when he sees the dwarf sitting up. "Ahh, feeling a little better, my friend?"
Adrian searches the kitsune's body and the surrounding area, specifically looking for clues about where the misguided beast called home. He silently reaches out to his kami spirit in an attempt to gather any further information.
Seeing that Granitt is not in mortal danger, Adrian pulls out his healer's tools to tend to his own wounds.
Adrian searches the kitsune but apart from the hide armour, holly and mistletoe, they have nothing of interest.
As the kitsune falls the two visiting spirits depart and another appears. A surge of energy form the Omamori Amulet occurs as the last spiritual barrier keeping the kami caged inside the relic dissipates.
With a warm green light, the relic smoothly ejects a small humanoid figure with moss-like skin and a conical hat. Slide
The Kodama bows to the Pathfinders and thanks them for both returning it to its home and dispatching the usurper that had profaned its drove while it was imprisoned. It gifts the no non-magical relic to the group and affirms that they will forever be welcome in its stretch of the Forest of Spirits.
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Adrian returns a formal bow to the plant-like Kodama. "It was indeed our pleasure to restore order to this sacred place that you, and so many others, call home."
As the group is packing up, Adrian feels everyone could use some refreshments for the return trip. He brews another pot of tea, and offers it around, providing mugs for those who don't have their own.
As he's enjoying his tea, he realizes his robe has been torn and blood-stained from battle. He sees Twyl frolicking about and has no trouble finding Jayma nearby, "Jayma, when you get a chance, could I trouble you for a little cleansing magic? I always like to look neat and orderly when visiting venture captains. Dress for success and all that." He gives her a warm smile.
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Granitt feels his neck as the wound closes, his fingers feeling the sticky warm blood that is congealing around the lines of fresh wounds. Coughing blood and struggling for breath, he looks up at the companions and sees a creature lying beside him, their fur matted with blood and unmoving. The dwarf raises himself on his elbows, looking down his body for more wounds, but sees his own clothes covered in his own red blood, and splattered with that of the dead kitsune beside him.
"What happened?" he asks his head spinning in confusion as he remembers as his mind replays in slow motion the claws move with devastating speed to rip at his neck and then the blackness of nothingness. He blinks, a weak smile crosses his face, "Thank you ... for saving me!", then he grips his war axe and calls "Torag the heat of your forge warms in the cold day." His hands glow with a fiery light and his wounds continue to close.
....
As the strange figure appears in front of them, Granitt pulls on his sticky red beard, Another of these strange forest folk, I like this one. He croaks, "Whatever I did, it is still a great honour to be welcome he as your friend."
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Jayma finally wends her way across the clearing to join the others around the corpse of the kitsune. Looking down on its body, Jayma feels nothing of her earlier sorrow. "A well merited end for this fiend of the forest," she says with no small degree of satisfaction at her part in its demise.
She then feels a strange movement from inside her backpack, and Twyl comes shooting out of it and into her arms. The vibration continues, and not long after, the Kodama pokes its head out and clambers down to the ground. "Where did this fellow come from?", she wonders before realizing that it must be the kami, now freed from the pendant. She's just happy to see that it didn't turn out to be a bear or some other large creature. What a mess that would have made.
She calms her familiar. "There, there, my little friend, it's only the kami that was trapped in the pendant. It doesn't want to hurt us," "... I think," she adds mentally.
Jayma takes a mug of tea from Adrian and sips at it. "Well, I've had worse. Next time, I really should remember to bring some coffee with me." When Adrian asks for a spruce-up, Jayma jumps up and claps her hands lightly. "Of course, my pleasure," and proceeds to clean him up with a swish of her hand and a "kaekeudan." She looks at her handiwork and notices a small tear in his robe. Touching the spot with her fingers, she says, "Sorry Adrian, but I'm a dry-cleaner, not a seamstress.
Turning to Granitt, she sees that the dwarf is covered in blood from the fiend's viscious slashing open of his throat. Even though the wound was closed by Saturday, he still looks a sight. "Granitt dear, I can't do much about your wounds, but I can clean all the blood from your armor. If you're anything like me, that alone will make you feel a lot better." She goes ahead, unless Granitt turns down the offer.
In similar fashion, she then proceeds to clean up the blood from her own clothes and the skin around her now clotted wound. She pokes at the tear in her sleeve in irritation. "Next time, I'll also have to bring along a small sewing kit," and adds it to her mental shopping list.
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Twyl is happy to hear the fightning come to a stop, and as his mistress starts walking across the clearing, he pokes his head out of the backpack for a look. Not long after reaching the others, Twyl feels a strange poking sensation as if something else is in the backpack with him. Startled, he flies out of the backpack and huddles in his mistress's arms for protection.
He is very surprised to see a small person follow him out of the backpack. How had he not noticed this creature earlier? He relaxes a little when he realizes that his mistress is not alarmed by its appearance. Just another strange happening that is part and parcel of accompanying his mistress across the world he guessed.
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As the anger fades from Xathiel his form resolves back to his normal elven state. He looks down at the fallen Kitsune and grimaces. He then turns and slowly makes his way to each of the fallen foxes. Dropping to one knee he very gingerly gathers the small corpses into his arms. With a look of profound sadness he carries them into the nearby woods.
After a short absence he returns to the corpse of the Kitsune and turns to his companions. Would you assist me please in disposing of this please? This one abused the balance of nature, so it should be a simple matter. I feel we shouldn't just leave it here in this Kami's grove.
With those tasks done he then follows the group back to the caravan.
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When Jayma cleans off his robes, Adrian smiles, "Your work is unparalleled, m'lady. My thanks."
When Xathiel asks for help ... taking out the trash, Adrian looks up from his tea. "Consider it done, my friend." When the group is ready to leave, Adrian strides back to the corpse. With seemingly little effort, he flings the body over his shoulder and carries it out of the forest as the group departs.
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After ensuring the Kodama's home is left in a suitable state, and having had all the stolen goods returned, the team quickly catches up with the caravan and after some refreshments and maintenance, are able to lead the caravan safely along the remainder of the Spirit Road into Minkai.
There they reunite with Amara Li and present her with the relic. She is relieved to see everyone returning safely, including Lin Po and Ti Lan. She listens keenly to the tale of their exploits in the Forest of the Spirits, fascinated that the relic housed a trapped kami all this time and that neither she nor her benefactor had any idea. She does stop the narrative when the team describes the cat sith they encountered and gently informs them they may want to apply themselves to the books when they can find the time. It sounds to her that they actually encountered a poracha. She adds they should consider themselves privileged to have had such an interaction as they are not common.
Finally, she suggests that all of the agents take a well-earned rest before embarking on new adventures.