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"Metal attacking trees?! Curse druids and their meddling--present company excluded."
Wispil groggily channels the elements, firing off a jagged chunk of wood, for all his gripes about druids, grows a tree next to Alessandria.
for
HP 122/122 (if lose dying condition, use snarling badger talisman)
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 3
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 20 mins)!
"I'm going to, like, stone this thing!" Kilitsi says, moving forward to attack! Her ax bounces off its guard as she racks her brain thinking about what this might be, but the second blow finds its way home .
Kilitsi misses with her opening assessment, but she manages to score a hit on the construct with her follow-up. It deflects Wispil's blast as the goose raises a protector tree, then it evades the rain of lava from Alessandria's leap!
The construct assaults Kilitsi with its myriad force staffs, keeping one raised to deflect oncoming blows. The protector tree's branches intercepts its one good strike.
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 3
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 20 mins)!
Kilitsi grins. "Like, hit the tree, why don't you?" she asks as she makes a feinting blow with her blade then spins her axe to drive it home.
Wispil tries to identify the creature as well.
Alessandria shapes her flames into a long-hafted battleaxe and begins hewing away from the other side of the creature.
"Blah, an unnatural creature, for all it is made of wood," Wispil gripes. He blasts it with a solid splash of water and flutters up behind Kilitsi.
for
The construct takes some damage from Gentle Storm's lightning this time. Wispil's blast goes wide, but Alessandra burns it with her flaming axe, and Kilitsi manages to land a critical hit on the backswing!
The sturdy swordkeeper continues to fight on unimpeded, even as Alessandria's aura burns it. It swings its force staffs at the minotaur while using one to ward off incoming blows. It lands a single critical hit in return, shattering the protector tree to splinters and battering the fighter.
HP 93/122 (if lose dying condition, use snarling badger talisman)
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 3
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 19 mins)!
The magic takes away some of the impact and Kilitsi just smiles. "Cutting down trees? Gentle Storm isn't going to like that! Neither is Rude-zaya!" she scolds it, chopping twice before stepping back to force it to move to follow her.
With Kilitsi no longer distracting the monolithic construct from the other side, Alessandria ignites the whole of her kinetic aura into a wave of fire, rekindling it with a weary gasp.
"There's more where that came from!" Wispil remarks, waiting for Alessandria's flames to clear before raising another protector tree.
He splashes a healing wave onto Kilitsi, though his aura starts to steam in Alessandria's fury.
and resist fire 4
Alessandria scorches the construct with a wave of fire, but it parries Kilitsi's attacks as it continues to attack. It quickly pummels the protector tree to splinters and bashes the minotaur!
HP 51/122 (if lose dying condition, use snarling badger talisman)
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 18 mins)!
Kilitsi lets out a "whoulf" as the blows slam through the tree and her magical protection. She responds with her ax, but swings wildly as she blinks back tears of pain.
[ooc]Whelp, not much I can do with those rolls.
It wasn't stopping her yet, so Alessandria keeps up the waves of heat!
Wispil showers Kilitsi with a healing dash of herbs, the fires a blast at the creature.
for
Alessandria burns the construct again and Wispil blasts it, but it still shows no signs of slowing down, bashing Kilitsi with force staves again and again.
Wispil squawks in alarm at the construct's toughness.
or for
HP 12/122 (if lose dying condition, use snarling badger talisman)
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 16 mins)!
Staggering, Kilitsi lashes out with her ax, hoping to destroy this construct before it can kill her before falling back to slightly safer terrain.
"Will you let yourself be so easily distracted?" Alessandria sneers and once more ignites the air around her into a wave of pure fire.
The construct whirls and evades Alessandria's fire wave. It dodges Wispil's blast and parries Kilitsi's axe strikes. As the minotaur falls back, Gentle Storm moves in, delivering a critical blow with his tail!
Reorienting on the new threat even as Alessandria's aura scorches it, the construct attacks the druid-turned-dinosaur with bone-crunching force!!
HP 12/122 (if lose dying condition, use snarling badger talisman)
AC 25
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +12; Ancestral Geometry roll: xx (Reflex/Will/Fort)
Hero points: 2
Effects: Mountain resilience (resistance 5 to physical damage, 16 mins)!
"Gentle Storm!" Kilitsi cries, and charges back in.
Wispil washes healing water over Gentle Storm.
Frustrated, Alessandria does her best to land at least some kind of blow, hurling her flame like an axe into the damned construct then carving into it with a vicious backhand as she catches it!
This time, Alessandria's flying flames burn the construct fully. She follows up with a fiery axe strike that further scorches the badly damaged construct. Though both Kiltsi and Gentle Storm fail to hit, as the construct prepares to attack again, Alessandria's flame aura finally pushes it past the threshold of what it can take. The thing's force staves flicker out as it slumps and becomes inert, smoke rising from its melted joints and burned chassis.
With its destruction, you are able to unlock its central case and retrieve the prize within: the Cythbikian staff.
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Gentlesaur nearly collapses along with the creation and his form shifts back to normal.
"Did.. not... enjoy that.." Looking to Kilitsi he smiles.
"Glad the spell held up."
He stands wearily and holds limps towards the group, seeming to favor the leg that wasn't hammered by the guardian.
"Let's find a place to sit and rest won't we."
+16 Nature: E
+2 Natural medicine
+1 Healing plaster
Gentlestorm uses the wide variety of plant matter within the dilapidated lodge fortress to aid in the recovery of the group. He worries about the staff they pried from the construct however and seems very weary of it's presence let alone touching it.
"Ew, it's like rotting," Kilitsi whines. "We should totally bury this thing and get rid of it, like fast!"
"More fire," Alessandria pants. "More fire first, then we bury it."
Wispil tilts his head and is careful not to touch the thing, "Disgusting, but I can see how Ghorus started using it. There's a lot of Taldans that would be better off as mushrooms."
The final door in this complex opens into another laboratory. Though it was trashed at some point in the past, all the debris is mounded in the corner, and the tables and countertops are neat. Two of the tables each hold an effigy crafted from plants and flowers. One is roughly shaped like a human while the other resembles a large cat. A variety of gathered flowers and plants covers the counter, along with a very clumsy drawing of a woman, a man, and a cat, all crafted from plants and smiling.
A woman whose body is made of decaying plants is at work here, adding more plants to the effigies. Similar in shape and appearance to a rotting ghoran, the flowers, leaves, bark, and rinds that compose her body weep toxic black fluids. These disgusting secretions emit a foul-smelling miasma. She is wearing the necklace described to you by Felivaine. This, then, is Eilwith, or what's left of her!
She turns towards you with a feral snarl. "Who are you? What are you doing in my sanctum!" she demands.
Should we just burn this thing and spare Felivaine the sorrow?
"Felivaine? He... he sent you?" the woman says, hesitating. "Eilwith... Yes, that is my name..."
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"Felivaine gave us the knowledge necessary to find this place."
Gentlestorm keeps his hands raised and seeing how overtaken by plant-like matter Eilwith is he speaks soft assurances in Wildsong, before returning to the common tongue.
"Please, we are seeking a way to bring peace to the woods, those who inhabit it, and those without. If you can assist us in any way, we'd be delighted to provide what aid we can."
"Assist... Help? You have come to help? Felivaine... My friend... You can take me to him?" Eilwith asks plaintively.
"Like, yeah, that's what he's been saying! I thought vegetables were supposed to have ears," Kilitsi says.
"Take me to him," Eilwith says again. She stands down, no longer a threat.
You look around the room a bit but don't find anything more of value here. You make your way out of Ghorus's Garden, Eilwith quietly following along behind you. But when you reach the exit, you see the dweomercat Felivaine laying on the ground, pierced by numerous quills and heavily wounded. Though weak, the cat manages to groan and mutter, "He didn't find it funny..."
A moment later, a trio of fey step out of the surrounding undergrowth. You immediately recognizes the capricious pukwudgie Khasprickle, who threw in his lot with Ruzadoya when she took control of the Wildwood Lodge. Accompanying him are a pixie and an elananx, a fey feline whose form ripples and billows with heat.
"Is this your cat?!" exclaims Khasprickle as he capers near the fallen Felivaine. "It’s got quite a lot to learn about respect," he quips before giving Felivaine a painful kick. "I gave you so many opportunities to join the winning side—my side! My wild hunt! My place in the Wildwood Lodge! And you thought yourselves smart for being some rebels, right?" He sneers and adds, "Too bad! I’m going to be the hero when I bring Ruzadoya your traitorous heads!"
Eilwith snarls at the sight of Felivaine injured and surges towards Khasprickle to attack him!
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Gentlestorm looks angrily at Khasprickle's treatment of Felivaine, another of their fellow dwellers of the great forest.
"You had your chances Khasprickle. Too many if some were to say. This one goes too far indeed."
Gentlestorm brushes the pouch at his side and flicks a spray of coldiron shards at the pixie before the tricksy fey can do anything to the group.
"Here's what the wood thinks of you bozos!" Wispil channels all of his connection to the forest, and a thicket of roots grows around the enemies, damaging them and healing Eilwith.
Gentle Storm can't recall the abilities of an Elananx. He strikes the pixie with cold iron darts, eliciting a squeal of pain. Wispil pierces the enemies with roots, hurting the elananx the most, though Khasprickle resists and the pixie ignores the roots.
Khasprickle unleashes a barrage of quills at Wispil, pincushioning the goose!
The elananx yowls and pounces on Gentle Storm, biting him with its burning jaws!
The pixie casts a shield spell, then sprinkles some pixie dust on his arrow and fires at Wispil.
Wispil sustains his roots, then flutters up into the canopy and heals himself with his gloves.
Alessandria ignites the air around herself and flings herself into her enemies in a hardening wave of magma!