Gov casts shield of faith on Sven, offering a further +3 deflection bonus to AC. He sees no particular need to force his way through the biting thorns, and it is best to get the touch spells out of the way now.
Cyla curses in Elven. Muttering something cryptic to her bow, she steps away from the suddenly-hostile fey. She draws back the string on her bow quickly, she looses an arrow at the closest sprite, aiming for its vital organs.
Her finger slips on her string, causing the arrow to clatter woodenly against the ground. Her finger bleeds slightly from a small cut, and she curses again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the thorn wall, Sven's powerful blow sends his fey opponent flying. The creature's sternum is crushed by the force of Sven's blow, and the other guard widens their eyes in surprise.
Gov reaches out to cast another spell on Sven, this time a protective one. The barrier between himself and injury widens ever further.
The sprites leap into action. Seemingly armed only with thorny bracers (as well as their bows), two of them leap into melee against Cyla, fisticuffs flying.
One of them scores a glancing blow from behind, its thorns tearing into Cyla's back. Meanwhile, two more maneuver themselves flawlessly into the wall of rose thorns. They seem to have the ability to navigate it without issue. Capitalizing on Gov's compromised position, they strike!
Both of their strikes meet their mark this time, as Gov's defenses are significantly less than those of any of his companions.
The grimstalker facing Sven steps away from him, and onto the staircase that leads up to their liege's dais. Trusting in the wall of thorns' ability to keep his opponent at bay, he lashes out at Reilarri instead, claws flashing in the torchlight.
The blow to Reilarri strikes her directly in her unprotected face, leaving several marks and drawing blood.
Stayven takes a moment to study the sprite next to him before striking with his axe at the little bugger.
The fey that Stayven strikes cries out in pain as Stayven slashes it with his axe. The cartographer's strike is accurate and deadly, nearly bringing the fey to its knees.
The Rose King locks eyes with Sven. Knowing that the dwarven warrior was still a threat to him, he weaves an enchantment onto the dwarf's mind, hoping to neutralize him. "Why don't you throw down your weapons and get on your knees," suggests the King. "You and your kin are clearly outmatched."
Meanwhile, Reilarri steps closer to the King, longhammer in hand. Rather than strike out against her opponents, she calls out an inspiring command in a clear voice.
On the other side of the wall, Cyla realizes that continuing to fire her bow would only put her in continued danger. Instead, she draws her dagger and slashes at the same opponent that Stayven attacked. Unfortunately, the fey manages to dodge out of the way of Cyla's attack.
Sven raised his hammer to attack, but stopped as the arcane suggestion entered his mind. He froze, hammer raised, and for a moment it looked like he would drop it. But thanks for his dwarven resistance to all things magical, he was able to resist the command. Spitting out a curse he stood strong, hammer firmly in hand.
Gov concentrates on curing his wounds, he would really rather not bring his usual tactics of animals or poison against the fey, but falling down does not sound like a good plan either!
(Healing domain empowered) Cure moderate wounds
Despite Sven's mental fortitude and his insistence, neither of his attacks hit their mark. The fey are simply too quick for his clumsy strikes.
Knowing Sven's strength, and counting on its own mobility, the fey still within range of Sven retreats into the thorn wall. It still threatens Gov, but Sven can no longer reach it. Meanwhile, its companion swings a thorn-clad bracer at Gov as he heals his wounds.
Meanwhile, the rimstalker guard continues to assail Reilarri, stepping into a more advantageous position to flank with their King.
This time, it only manages to deliver the barest glancing slice.
Stayven takes a step back, moving himself into a far better tactical position before striking the wounded fey again, hoping to finish it off with a brutal blow.
Stayven's precise blow sends his sprite opponent barreling to the ground, dead.
The King of Roses steps forward, rapier flashing from its sheath. He turns towards Reilarri, standing in between him and his loyal bodyguard, and he lunges forward at her, sharp point first. Fortunately for the dwarf evangelist, her armor protects her from the King's first strike.
Cyla steps away from her one remaining opponent. She drops her dagger in order to free up her hand, and looses another arrow at the sprite. Her arrow sticks deeply into the fey's midsection, though the creature seems to have a strange anatomy that prevents the wound from being fatal.
Reilarri turns, her longhammer in hand and a dwarven song still on her lips, and tries her best to whallop the King of Roses as hard as she can. Her blow is strong and true, but the King is able to nimbly leap out of the way of Reilarri's attack.
Gov uses his ecclesiathurge ability to grant Sven a further +2 to hit for one round. If possible with his move action, he'd like to help Basil climb through the thorns in order to be on Sven, so that he can deliver touch spells from range in the future.
Feeling a sudden surge of energy, Sven swung his hammer with far more speed than he thought that he was capable of. So much speed that he nearly lost his hammer! Luckily it was also a shield strapped to his arm, or it would certainly have gone flying!
Sven struggles uselessly against the thorns restraining him. He swings his hammer to and fro, but with no enemies within reach, he lands no blows.
Basil hangs out on Gov's arm, nervous about venturing forward into the thorns... Basil isn't the strongest of snakes, after all.
The sprite in the lower half of the chamber retreats away from Stayven. Drawing an arrow back on their bow, they loose a rose thorn at Stayven. Meanwhile, the two in the thicket of thorns swing their bracers at Gov.
One of the sprites manages to land a blow on Gov, rose thorns dragging across the half-orc's skin.
Meanwhile, the King's grimstalker bodyguard goes all out against Reilarri. With another opponent flanking her, the grimstalker's blow this time is significantly more devastating and lethal.
Stayven shifts his focus to the fey in between him and Gov, whirling around and slashing at his foe his his axe.
Stayven's slash takes the fey by surprise, who cries out in pain and anger. Growling, the creature looks back and forth between Gov, Sven, and Stayven, trying to measure what it should do.
Meanwhile, the King of Roses continues to jab at Reilarri. However, his miniature rapier is not doing a great job at puncturing the dwarf's mighty dwarf-forged armor. Undaunted by her position, Reilarri swings her hammer back at the King. Though her blow is more accurate than her last, the King is still able to dodge out of the way. Reilarri continues to bellow out an inspiring war-cry.
On the other side of the thorn wall, Cyla manages to nail the other sprite with a well-placed arrow shot. Like a sack of potatoes, the fey goes down on the ground.
Sven once more struggled to break free, but in vain. It appeared that the fey's magic was too powerful for him to overcome, and all the dwarf could do was curse ineffectively at the cowards for refusing to get within arm's reach.
Gov pulls a dagger from his belt, and spits on it, applying his domains poison. He goes to stab the fey that he flanks with Stayven.
The orc is getting older, and his grip isn't what it used to be. He drops the dagger in the process of the swing. Good thing he's got another dagger in his belt!
Sven and Gov both struggle ineffectually in the thorns -- Sven against the thorns themselves, and Gov against the fey who seem to flow through them.
Answering the call of battle, several more fey appear in the doorway. Their king is under a surprise attack, after all, and they've come to defend him. "Look!" cries one, "Attack the elf and the human!"
Meanwhile, the sprites facing Gov step through the vines and into a flanking position with him. They strike out once more with their thorn-vine bracers. At the same time, the King's grimstalker bodyguard strikes again and again at Reilarri. Gov, flanked and once again without a weapon, takes two strikes in vital locations from his opponents. Reilarri takes the next of several wounds. Panting with exhaustion and pain, it's clear that she's on her last legs.
Seeing the new crowd of fey in the doorway, Stayven gulps. However, he knows that putting up a good fight is key to his survival now, so he hefts his handaxe and moves into melee with one of the sprites! He swings his axe, scoring a grazing blow along the fey's side that draws blood, but doesn't seem to disable or hinder the fey in any way.
The King of Roses is not without tricks. He does a feint which causes Reilarri to overstep her guard. Capitalizing on it, he lunges forward with his rapier and skewers her straight through the midsection. With a gasp, she collapses to the ground, unconscious.
Glowing, the King looks to the rest of the group. "Surrender now, and I will only take your ears and your weapons! Continue to fight, and all your lives will be forfeit!"
Cyla steps away from the new fey interlopers in the hallway. Drawing back an arrow, she fires it at the same enemy that Stayven struck. Her arrow flies straight past the fey, who ducks quickly to avoid the arrow.
”Go fook yerself in the ear!” Sven roared as he tried to rip himself free so as to get to the Fey King.
Gov sighs. Despite his best efforts this fight still wasn't going all that well. It was time to match his god's might against the fey king's barrier.
He succeeded in creating the beam of antimagic, targeting the wall of thorns. Now he had to hope that he was strong enough.
While Sven struggles against the barrier, Gov calls up one of his most powerful spells. With a burst of abjuration magic, he sends the wall of thorns back to the ether from whence it came.
Suddenly denied their greatest advantage, the sprites jump into desperate action to defend their home. The sprites by Gov redouble their assault against the half-orc priest, swinging thorn-encrusted bracers at him. Meanwhile, the sprites that have just entered by the door split up. Two of them heft bows and fire at Cyla, while two more weave magical suggestions targeting Stayven.
"Why don't you just lie down your weapons?" suggests one, "Our king's words are right... you should get on your knees and beg for your life!" suggests another.
One of the fey arrows strikes a glancing bow against Stayven, although Cyla's fortitude protects her against the poison. While the sprites make their strike, the king's grimstalker bodyguard makes theirs as well. Despite Sven's many protections, one of the grimstalker's claws penetrates all the way to skin and rakes several painful rents.
”I’ll dance on yer graves.” The dwarf growled at the Fey, making clear exactly what he thought of their offer.
Stayven's hand open and his axe falls to the ground, but he manages to resist going with it.
He picks up his axe before stepping to the side and slashing at one of the sprites.
Stayven slashes another sprite, who staggers away from the cartographer. As he begins his battle with the fresh pile of sprites, the King of Roses finally makes his move against Sven. The little sprite maneuvers over the corpse of his former bodyguard. Still grinning madly, his rapier swings in towards the dwarf... and is deflected by Gov's prayer of protection.
Meanwhile, Cyla steps further away from her opponents and turns to aid Gov, now that she can see him. She quickly fires two arrows at the sprite. One flies straight past, clattering against the far wall, while the second pierces the fey in the upper thigh, eliciting a cry of pain.
With the fey king committing to the fight, Sven turned on his heal and swung his Toragian-Hammer at the monarch. The runes flashed bright as the weapon was swung through the air. A mixture of hatred and arcane power caused the blows to land especially strong, each one promising destruction should it connect.
Gov hopes that his body can hold out. He's not as young as he used to be, and he has been taking some serious battering. Still, he was an orc, and his heritage would pull him through.
He casts shield other on Stayven. He may need the support more than he does.
Portia Porphyria-Jeggare, newly graduated from The Academae and ready to challenge her ambitions, prepares to leave Kovorsa for Bloodsworn Vale.
Cloistered away as she has been her whole life, first in Cheliax’s capital, and then The Academae, she was not expecting to feel the glare of prejudice against her noble House. But in Korvosa House Porphyria is still reviled, anathema to the citizens – despite the recent decline and fall of House Arabasti who interdicted against them.
At Three Rings Tavern the proprietor, Theandra Darklight, of The Darklight Society Portia Porphyria-Jeggare so keenly wants to join, has rebuffed her out of hand. This was not good. Her young marriage arrangement to the niece of Lord Mercival Jeggare relies somewhat on her ability to provide wealth and fame, while the young Jeggare girl manages the local real estate finances and legal briefs. Portia Porphyria-Jeggare shall have to think of something quickly.
Luckily, Sir Gyrad Tolgrith happens to be looking for experienced adventuring types to help clear out Bloodsworn Vale. Perfect. The reputation one can earn to the greater good of Korvosa’s nobility and merchant-lords, not to mention the gold, titles and land, would dramatically help Portia Porphyria-Jeggare and her newlywed ‘Jeggare-Porphyria’ wife. And if all goes well, when finished The Darklight Sisterhood will approach her for membership into Cheliax’s greater cadre of lore-seekers and explorers!
.
Hustling on a conjured steed of violaceous smoke, Portia Porphyria-Jeggare spares precious little time leisurely viewing Korvosa’s outlying farmsteads, filled with rustic vignettes: fields of Varisian beets and Chelaxian vineyards, flocks of goats and corrals of swine. And in short order she catches up to the dozen Armigers, trio of Signifers, and a single, bonafide Order of the Nail HellKnight. After quickly answering them of her person and her purpose – to bring Law and safety on behalf of Korvosa to the savage and barbarous Bloodsworn Vale, they readily agree to allow her to travel with them as they march the path deeper into The Mindspin Mountains, before they have to turn toward their own destination, and leave her on her own for the last half-day of miles to Fort Thorn.
Yet even with the presence of The HellKnights, the Imp’s whispers still buzz around her head from time to time. Promising. Bargaining. Whispering, always. Her little coral snake, Tiamat, never sees the Imp. And try as she might, even casting the Divination revealing those under the shroud of Invisibility, the Imp still avoids detection from her concentrating perceptions.
Is the Imp a hanger-on from The Academae, one of many who followed her studies of Arcane Wizardry, and has no followed her beyond the august walls of The Hall of Summoning? Is this one of the multitude of free Imps, gamboling in the breezes of Korvosa, endlessly at invisible war with the mischievous and chaotic PseudoDragons, that has somehow picked Portia Porphyria-Jeggare to affiliate? Is it a spy or saboteur from her uncle-in-law, Lord Mercival Jeggare?! And, more to the point, what does the Imp want?
.
The Mindspin Mountains are an awesome sight, nonetheless both intimidating and daunting when trekking alone. The newly razed road, though, courtesy of Sir Gyrad Tolgrith of Korvosa, provides an air of civility, of perceived security. Tiamat doesn’t offer much in the way of cognizance for danger, but the little coral snake’s forked tongue, smelling the air around Portia Porphyria-Jeggare, is at least some additional watchfulness. ….Only a few hours from Fort Thorn.
With two final mighty strikes, Sven smashes the fey king upside his head. A single cry is the only noise the fey king makes as he topples to the ground.
Immediately, the rest of the fey freeze. They must not have been expecting such a coup, and they're shocked by the very sudden death of their king. They all keep tight grips on their weapons, bodies tensed, as if they're not sure what to do next.
Cyla is on that same page, as well. Bow still in hand, an arrow half-drawn, she seems ready to kill the rest of the fey, but hesitates. Her words, said out loud, reflect the thoughts of all: "What do we do?"
”We came only due to the crimes committed by this one here.” Sven said in a booming voice. ”Who then, is the new king? We would parlay and have peace with whomever has the authority and power.”
"Stand over the king. He's going to wake up, but if he acts, kill him." Gov draws his other dagger.
Gov channels positive energy healing everyone in 30ft for
damage, which should stabilize Reilari
Stayven notices the state of the king’s wounds and calls out, ”Aye, he’ll wake up if he’s healed!
He then turns to the fey left standing, ”What he says is true! We had no choice in this matter, but you do. Lay down your arms and we can parlay!”
Even as Gov's healing awakens the King of Roses, the King's remaining bodyguard sneers with naked scorn at Sven and Stayven's words. "Your words are ridiculous," says the bodyguard. "You come here without offerings. You spit threats. You strike down our king in our sanctum, and then you talk of peace."
The bodyguard kneels beside Reilarri. "This is what I think of your words of peace," they say, dragging their claws across Reilarri's throat. Blood squirts from the exposed skin, spreading out across the floor.
The King opens his eyes and looks straight up at Sven. "It is time for you to leave." he says. As if to punctuate the King's words, two more sprites come in from the other room. In a more literal echo, one of the sprites screams,
That is soon taken up as a rallying cry by other sprites, who erupt in a chorus.
The screams echo and reverberate through the stone hallways. The fey shrieks are loud and unceasing.
On the back of a phantom steed, Portia's transit through the Bloodsworn Vale is fast and fairly easy. She rides on a gravel and stones road cut through a dark forest. On either side of the forest, high stone peaks rise, with scattered foliage extending partway up the slopes. Ever since leaving the Hellknights, she had been able to pick up the pace -- they moved at a normal horse's canter, while Portia moved at the speed of a magical horse's gallop.
It was not wise to linger in the woods of the Bloodsworn Vale alone. Aside from the common beasts of the forest -- bears, wolves, and the like -- a variety of other creatures lurked in the Vale. It is said that lizardfolk rule the riverway, and bugbears haunt the deep forest. Fey live in the Vale as well, and giants, harpies, drakes, more.
The road takes Portia up a hill, one which, once crested, allows her to see Fort Thorn. The Fort is akin to a small village, though certainly staffed entirely by soldiers and scouts. A bit more than a half-dozen buildings sit within the Fort's wooden walls, protected by three stone watchtowers. A two-story stone keep dominates the area. It seems that Sir Tolgrith has been in the area for some time now.
Guards standing atop the watchtowers look up the hill when Portia appears, smoky steed and flowing robes. One young soldier waves at her from afar.
Seeing the Fey murder his kinswoman, Sven’s face darkened. The time for words was over. He was going to kill every last one of them, because now it was personal.
Sven had laid out the terms of parlay, but then the king began to rise. With a look of utter hatred Sven swung his hammer, for his grudge was with the king. His terms of parlay were purely for whomever the successor was. He would not negotiate over anything but the king’s body.
"We tried to treat with you as equals. But sometimes in a forest, old growth must be burned away to make space for the new."
Seeing the guard notice her, Portia Porphyria-Jeggare hustles her Phantom Steed down the hill approaching the sentry. "Greetings, hawk-eyed Vale Guardian, I have come from Korvosa to meet with your commander, Sir Tolgrith, upon his call for arcane reinforcement." She looks at the guard's face, the experience or lack thereof in his eyes. Veteran? Or rookie like she?
Dismounting her mount of violaceous smoke and eldritch force she removes her Signet Ring, newly minted with both Porphyria and Jeggare emblems, entwined in marriage, and a golden choker with an amethyst to lace around her neck, from her enchanted pack. With a quick prestidigitation to remove some of the sweat and dust of the road, she freshens herself a bit. She would keep her gown tucked away, of course, her sturdy explorer's apparel suited this place far better. But her signet ring was required, now off the road, and one never looks worse when one wears some jewels.
As you approach and reveal yourself to be an attractive human woman of noble personage, he sighs and smiles with great relief and pleasure. "Good day to you!" he calls down, waving. "It is well that you have come. Our progress has stalled on account of the fey attacks, and our scouts have just gotten word of the appearance of some angry owlbears."
He calls behind him, "Open the gate! It's another mercenary!"
The gate opens up, pulled apart by some winch being cranked probably by another young man inside of one of the watchtowers. An older man, also a soldier, ambles over to the threshold to meet Portia. This man also wears the scales of Abadar, but his armor and weapon hang much more comfortably. Unfortunately, this veteran also appears to be around the age of 50 and is missing a hand. With a guileless smile, he offers up his good hand for a shake. "I'm Gyles. What's your name, Korvosan?"
The Grimstalker, by dint of its power and authority now the leader of the fey, scoffs at Sven as the dwarf mercilessly swings his hammer at the King of Roses. The prone and defeated king's blood is spilled as his skull is cracked wide open, and the fey sprites gasp in surprise and alarm.
"What kind of equals negotiate at the end of a sword?!?" cries the limber-limbed Grimstalker, flexing their claws which are still covered in Reilarri's blood. The Roseblood sprites, meanwhile, look angry and savage, any fading semblance of a noble visage replaced by hungry eyes and sharp, sharp teeth. He points at Sven. "You will bleed for this. And if not you, your weaker friends."
Stayven sighs as he thinks, ”So much for diplomacy.”
He produces a flask from his hip pouch and drinks it, wincing as his pupils dilate even further as the effects of his mutagen grow even stronger.
1. Negative Sprite, Green Sprite, Orange Sprite, Grimstalker, Purple Sprite, Blue Sprite, Pink Sprite
2. Cyla
3. Stayven (mutagen)
4. Yellow Sprite
5. Sven (shield other, shield of faith, bull's strength)
6. Gov
7. Red Sprite
The sprites erupt in a flurry of deadly action, scattering to the far corners of the room, bows in hand, filling the air with the poisoned barbs taken from their mother bush. Stayven and Gov are each struck twice, and find that the arrows of the sprites carry with them some sort of irritating poison. The wound itches fiercely, and the itch is so distracting to pull attention even from combat.
The grimstalker takes the wide path around Sven and Gov, choosing instead to go for one of Sven's less-armored allies. Seeing its approach, Cyla steps away and fires an arrow that goes wide. She curses and mutters some more to her bow.
Unable to find the time to activate his runes, Sven spun on his heel and charged one of the archers that was in a corner. Going at full speed he didn’t even bother swinging, and instead used his momentum and weight to just slam the fey into the wall!
Thus concludes my turn.
While Gov busies himself with scratching his new arrow-wound, Sven charges across the room and bulls into one of the sprites. The little creatures are tougher than they look, especially with the end of Sven's magic. The little thing picks itself back up, steps back into the corner, and weaves a suggestion at Sven -- "Why don't you just lie down and rest for a few moments? You look tired."
Meanwhile, the rest of the sprites busy themselves with continuing to skitter throughout the room, trying to make good distance from their opponents wielding axes and hammers. Then they let loose a flurry of rose-thorn arrows at Stayven and Gov. Meanwhile, the grimstalker and one of the sprites close in on Cyla, swinging claws and thorns at her.
A few of the fey strikes make it home. The fey were going to repay blood with blood, and Gov hits the ground in a heap as not one, but two arrows hit. Cyla is also badly wounded as the grimstalker tears into her savagely with its claws.
Stayven takes a moment to study the grimstalker before stepping in and slashing at the newly made fey king, hoping to take out another monarch before the day was done.
Gov stubbornly remains standing while Stayven leaps into battle against some of the fey. His slash is deadly and quick, but his opponent remains standing. The grimstalker is the toughest of the fey, and they look ready to take several hits before they go down.
Cyla steps away from her own opponent. "Perhaps we should consider retreating?" she suggests. Then, badly wounded as she is, she concentrates on a simple arcane spell. Muttering words of power, she vanishes from sight.
Seeing that its allies' opponent is still standing after the punishment delivered to him, the yellow sprite elects to continue firing at Gov.