Richard attacks three more times, getting a good slice in on the remaining spriggan.
Richard and Siobhan score powerful hits on the spriggan, badly wounding it. It swells in size in response, towering over the warriors. Resisting Felticia's spell, the creature strikes back at Richard. He parries its first two strikes, but the final swing connects with his skull, knocking him out!
Siobhan keeps on swinging!
“How dare you! Take this!”
“And tha…”
“…aah, not again.”
Luckily, the spriggan was already badly wounded. The fire from Alice is enough to cause it to collapse, shrinking back down to its normal size as it passes out from the pain.
“The creature intended Richard to survive, and so we must. Fey rules, you know.”
Alice hops down from Felitcia’s hand and stabilizes the strange creature.
“I would like to have a chat with this one, when it wakes.”
Felitcia saw Richard drop from the latest strike of the spriggan and felt her own power quickly waning. She was only going to get one more chance before her power ran out. She lashed out with her mind once more, putting her all into it. As soon as the power was unleashed Felitcia's eyes stopped glowing as she felt the mental walls of her psyche close back around it.
Rachel uses another healing spell to get Richard back on his feet.
She looks at the fallen spriggans. ”I tried to take some of the knowledge from their minds, but their willpower was surprisingly strong. We can interrogate them later, but there are still more creatures here to stop! We can spare a few minutes to heal and refocus, though.”
Siobhan raises her axe for another blow, but the pain overcomes her and she falls to her knees, gasping for breath as the red haze sputters out.
"...damn them all..."
Alice gives Siobhan a pat on the …well, the toe of her boot. (Alice doesn’t want to hop on Siobhan’s shoulder. Not the time for sudden moves.)
“You’ve suffered much. Sit for a while, please.”
Alice lets Rachel help Richard while she works on Siobhan’s wounds.
Siobhan wearily sits down and lets Alice work.
Jed continues to fire bullets haphazardly as he crashes through buildings, seemingly unaware that their foes had fallen. Miraculously all the damage seemed entirely centered on maximum property destruction; at least people weren't getting injured?
Felitcia was relieved the fighting was over and they could take some time to recover. She quickly sat on the ground and lay her hand down so Alice could hop off if she wanted to. Felitcia then crossed her legs, feet on top of her knees, and began to refocus by meditating.
While Alice works on Siobhan, Rachel uses her healer’s tools to mend Richard’s wounds.
After a few minutes, the orc is feeling somewhat better.
”Alright, let’s finish saving the town!” Rachel says.
During your short break, the town guard has rallied against the elemental attackers. They have pushed most of them back out of town, but there is still a pocket of intense fighting around the town hall. There, you spot the apparent leader of the attack—a small, stocky fey with a shaggy mane of wild, animated hair. He laughs and swings his club at anybody foolish enough to approach. Fighting by his side is what appears to be a living boulder, studded with gemstones and metal shards that give the semblance of a grinning face.
The hairy faerie turns towards you as you draw near. ”Ah, there ye are! This ends now, lads and lassies! For the mistress!”
The living boulder rolls across the town square and tries to slam into Richard, but it misses!
The hirsute fey bounds forward, stopping about 30 feet away. He then bellows an otherworldly laugh as his hair writhes around him.
Alice says, “You dare make light of attacking us. In that case, have a blast!”
Alice moves within 15 feet of the naked beard guy and blasts him!
Siobhan's limbs feel like they're weighed down with stones, but that doesn't stop her from stepping up to the boulder-creature menacing Richard and swinging at it!
The force of the fey's laugh hits Rachel like a truck, momentarily knocking the wind out of her. She gasps for breath, managing to cast a protective spell over Richard to ward him from further blows.
After resting Felitcia realized she finished just in time since the leader of the attack came into view. The little fey was odd looking enough but the big rock creature was more than a bit disturbing. Felitcia wasn't sure this fight would be going so well for them either, not with that bruiser of a rock thing to deal with. She was going to stay well away from the rock thing and attack it from a distance since Alice was moving under her own power right now.
Staying at the edge of effectinve range she lashed out with her mind at the rock creature and hoped it had a mind to affect.
Jed's chaotic rampage through the buildings had not stopped, and he breaks out of a window, falls twenty feet, bounces up, and while upside down his gun goes off!
Really, it's a miracle he, or anybody within a mile radius, is even alive.
Jed wobblily stands up. "Yeah, there's more where that came from!"
Forced to guess about the elemental's weaknesses, Richard inscribes air sigils on his blade again before slashing at the creature. His attack cuts through only empty air.
Siobhan moves in to flank the living boulder, hacking shards of stone from its body with her axe.
Felitcia finds that the boulder does have a mind, and she disrupts that mind with her psychic attack.
Alice burns the hairy fey with flame, then Jed scores a critical hit on the laughing creature! His laughs turn to curses as he clutches at the wound. "Ye gommy green gowk!" the fey shouts. "I'll bash yer bulbous head in!"
The living boulder rolls around to face Siobhan, snapping at her with its jaws. It lands a hit.
The fey moves closer to Jed, getting within 20 feet, then hurls two heavy stones at the goblin!
Siobhan grunts and swings her axe again, struggling to keep the red haze from overwhelming her!
Felitcia was pleased to feel her spell take hold on the rock thing and lashed out once again while readying her fan in case the litte fey got too close to her.
Jed reaches down to his bandolier, and one of the bullets not even loaded into his gun yet goes unstable and goes off! He yelps at the burning and the loose chunk of metal flings around, pinging off street signs and buildings and the road before coming for the back of the head of the fey!
Jed sheepishly reloads. "Er, yup, meant to do that..."
Alice stabilizes the fey.
Richard finds his groove, cutting the elemental again and again until it finally shatters into rocky shards! Felitcia dazes the fey, then Jed's wild shot ricochets around before hitting the hairy man in the back of the head. His eyes roll up into his skull as he falls, and only Alice's intervention prevents the fey from immediately dying.
With the fey fallen, it seems the attack has come to an end. The few remaining earth creatures burrow into the ground and are quickly gone.
Siobhan forces herself to her full height.
"...right. Now I need a shovel."
Alice is relieved the battle is over. She decides to give everyone a quick burst of her healing light, fey included.
She stands near the fey’s face so his waking eyes shall gaze upon her crossed arms. “You’ve been spared, as have the other fey people who attacked us. But I can’t save you from my human friends every time. You had better thank me, in both word and deed.”
”Aye, aye, thank ye,” the hairy fey says, rubbing at the bloody wound at the back of his head. ”I owe ye know and such and such. Name’s Rowdy Rory. How can I repay the debt?”
Alice likes these fey rules. She thinks on what she’s about to ask… well, she’s very mean. But if she hasn’t ordered anyone’s death, this is worth a try. I hope.
“I should like to know your Mistress’ name. But since she forbids you to give it, and I’ve seen what happens to those who attempt to tell, I shall not ask this of you.
“Instead I will give you my name: Alice Pleasance Liddell. Please tell your Mistress, I wish to have a fairy-to-fairy talk. We would be under a truce, meeting and departing from said meeting with no hostilities to be exchanged from the moment she hears my name to the month that follows our meeting.” And though it’s implicit, Alice states, “Hostilities would include attacks on innocents under her command. We will have to get involved in whatever trouble comes our way.”
Rowdy Rory nods, his hair writhing around him. ”Very well. I’ll pass the message along, then my debt will be fulfilled. Ye have me word, and me word is me bond. So, am I free to go?”
“Yes, you are,” Alice replies, “thank you for asking.”
She curtsies, and with a pleasant smile, she says:
“Stay out of trouble, Rowdy Rory.”
In the meantime, Siobhan goes looking for a shovel.
Alice is curious, and so she asks Siobhan, “What is the shovel for?”
"While you were off living it up last night, I asked the Morrígan for where to go next. She directed me westward, and told me to bring a shovel." Siobhan explains.
"I suspect it has something to do with finding this 'Mistress' harassing the town."
Alice wonders. “It’s possible. Also possible the dealings with the Mistress and your mission from the Morrigan are unrelated.
“In any case, I think these instructions you’ve been given should be our top priority.” Looking back at the departing Rory, Alice adds, “I believe the Mistress will receive my message. I’m less confident she’ll meet me under condition of truce.
“There’s no rule that hearing my name forces her to agree to what I said. I’m hoping the audacity will win her over.”
Alice will gladly help locate a shovel.
Rowdy Rory bounds away, leaping into a large boulder left behind by one of the destroyed elementals. The fey merges with the stone and disappears!
Several of the townsfolk have begun to gather wheelbarrows to haul away the myriad rocks that now litter the streets. It's a simple matter to ask one of them for a shovel to borrow.
In the aftermath of the fighting, Rachel makes her way over to Felitcia. "Your eyes were glowing for a bit back there. I think you've learned how to unleash your psyche and amplify your psychic abilities. It can make it difficult to defend yourself, but the increased power can be worth it."
The oracle cocks her head. "Don't ask me how I knew all that. I just know things, sometimes, when I open myself up."
She gives Felitcia a smile. "Oh, and, uh... When we have a quiet moment, maybe we should talk about last night..."
Felitcia was glad the fighting was over and was a bit surprised that the fey was so agreeable. It worried her that he was willing to take the message but figured it didn't cost him anything and guaranteed his survival for now. It would be more worrisome if the Mistress agreed to the meeting under truce.
Siobhan news that she had a possible lead was a good thing and Felitcia was glad the warrior was finding she could do more than just smash things. That they would need a wheelbarrow and shovel was not encouraging but at least one shovel meant she likely would not be asked to do the work which was perfectly fine with her.
When Rachel spoke to her about having unleashed her Psyche Felitcia was a bit surprised at the knowledge but it made sense and certainly described the process well. "So that's what it's called Rach, good to know. That dragon didn't have much he could tell me about my particular abilities so it's good you've got some knowledge he didn't." She smiled in amusement and added, "And I don't care how you knew, I mean I hear the mental voices of everyone around me whispering all the time so I have no room to complain."
When Rachel mentioned the night before Felitcia smiled and said, "Yeah, that kind of sucked, I wasn't expecting to pass out like that, at least I think I passed out?" She frowned slightly as she tried to remember but ultimately shrugged and said, "It was a nice way to wake up regardless." Felitcia moved closer to Rachel, her body brushing against the oracle's lightly, and added softly, "Next time there needs to be less clothing involved though."
Rachel laughs. "Well, we were both pretty drunk," she says. "But, if that's still something you want to do now that your mind is clear, well... I'd like that. I haven't really, uh, been with anybody since coming here. But I'd like to be with you, if you'll have me."
With shovel in hand, Siobhan leads the group to the west out of town. You walk for a couple hours off the beaten path and through the thistle barrens. Eventually, the barbarian notices a mark on a particular tree in the shape of a crow. This seems to be the place.
She digs at the base of the tree. Eventually, the dirt gives way to reveal the withered remains of a human man's corpse. The man's skin is gray and drawn but somehow still preserved, and you can clearly see the tattoos marking it--tattoos that look very similar to Siobhan's own body art.
It is perhaps more of a surprise, though, when the largest tattoo suddenly detaches from the corpse! It flies towards Siobhan, forming into the shape of a blade made of ink!
"Ahhh! Is that a tattoo? A floating tattoo? What are we doing here?" Jed looks down at the corpse, then a bright idea comes to his mind. "Ha!" He cries out, and focuses his attacks on the corpse!
Felitcia was quite pleased with Rachel's response and gently grasped the front of Rachel's outfit and pulled her close as she leaned in and planted a strong kiss on the oracle's lips right there in front of everyone. When she let go and stepped back she said, "How's that for an answer Rach?"
When they eventually found the spot to dig Felitcia let those better suited to such tasks deal with the work. Thus it was a surprise when the tattoo suddenly came off the human corpse and attacked Siobhan leaving Felitcia shocked and unable to act as the fighting started.
The painted warrior leads the group out into the Barrens with a purposeful stride. If the Morrígan intended for her to find something important, it wouldn't do to keep her waiting.
When she finds the marked tree and digs out its base, the sight of the tattooed corpse buried beneath it causes a knife to form in her heart. I'm not the first one the Morrígan has sent here. How many before me have suffered the same fate?
Siobhan recoils from the incoming tattoo and swings her axe at it on reflex!
Jed shoots the corpse, but nothing seems to happen. Siobhan scores a solid hit on the tattoo, marring some of its form. It stabs at her, but she fends off its blows.
Siobhan keeps swinging at the tattoo blade!
"Huh." Jed scratches the back of his head, definitely pointing the gun there, confused why his brilliant strategy didn't work. "Oh well, the flying tattoo it is!"
Rachel is surprised when Felitcia suddenly pulls her close and kisses her, but the oracle closes her eyes and melts into the embrace. When the actress finally steps away, Rachel's face is flushed. "I'd say that's a good answer," she says with a smile.
***
Rachel racks her brain, but can't recall what kind of creature this might be. "Be careful!" she shouts, raising a forbidding ward around Siobhan.