Chapter Seven: Melshaef's Tree and the Crown of Chains

[Purr]

As has been the case in my past few in-game posts, this one is a mammoth of action! Might want to grab a snack and a drink while you read this post on the Ambush on the Road of Kings...


Oh. And let me know if your jaw drops like mine did...

Spoiler

Location: The Road of Kings (5 days north of Summerset)


Travel time to Highwind: On day 5 of 14.


Travel time to Melshaef's Tree: On day 3 of 3.


Saturday, September 20th, 1118. Time: 11:00 a.m.


Weather: Steadily raining, the sky is thick with gray clouds. Chilly air, especially for the morning.

• Wolf & Pecker
• Monk/Mage Ambush on The Road of Kings

• 
  
  
  Cub's eyes flash with purpose as she half-speaks, half-snarls to Wolf. "Grrrrawrr! Listen up! The Wee Jas are monks an' arcanists both! They've got minds like devils an' skills to boot! They hate Ko monks viciously, but they really hate Saint Cuthbert's people." Cub holds out her finger. Tickleberry sails up and lands upon it. "Ren," she bares her teeth, "they've been usin' Soul Anchors on us Mielikkians so ya can't go wherever yer supposed ta go when ya die. In Silvanus's name, don't let them take ya prisoner..."
  
  
  Then an even worse thought strikes the young ranger. "Damn... if that super-warg yer after finds an' gets inta cahoots with them, you, Melshaef, and yers are in for a bad ride..."
  
  
  As the wolves and faeries move, Tickleberry whistles lightly. Several faeries fly out of Wolf's fur and join the pack. Cub reaches for a dagger in its sheath on her lower back. When she draws it, the small blade erupts forth into a fantastic two-handed double-edged sword of pure black steel. With well-practiced horizontal swings, she uses to cut another swath through the bushes large enough for the pack. Then she sheathes it and it becomes a dagger again. Cub opens the way, indicating with her eyes that you should go first.
  
  
  "Tell Melshaef that if I don't catch her on the Road of Kings, then Chompy an' I'll deliver her tree ta Mother Leaf in Earthhome in Highwind! Got it, Ren?"
  
  
  As you part ways with the red-clad ranger and her ever-cautious and huge wolf, Cub suddenly turns and examines Wolf from behind.
  
  
  "Yep!" she claims. "You've gotta be a ranger. In all'a Sharseya, only us rangers have nice butts like that!" She slaps her own leather-covered backside with pride and rides off with Chomper as Tickleberry quietly guides the pack away and into the ever-falling rain.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Luna rushes through the forest battling thickets and shrubs and the oncoming thunderstorm until finally she make it to the Road of Kings with her fellow Wanderers! However, there is someone waiting for her there, someone with keen ears who has heard her noisy travel, has seen her pseudo-dragon, and has come to deadly conclusion.
  
  
  "Pseudo-dragon! Here?" the Dire Wolf of Dalsus growls aloud. "And running to danger instead of from it?" He barks to the Monk/Mages of Wee Jas. "We got an enemy wizard or druid!" just as Luna bursts through the greenery.
  
  
  Fire Wizard and dire wolf both move swiftly to act, but the warg has the initiative.
  
  
  In an instant, the dire wolf goes from a figure of still legs and upraised tail with nose high to a speeding mass of claws and fangs running straight at Luna. He speaks and Luna understands the words of Common coming from that canine maw! "Hrrrr... You are not The Runt," he growls, "but you run with him!" There is a bright, blood-red flash from his eyes. Then he charges - a large-sized snapping and gnashing mass of fur and muscle eager to get Luna off of her feet and onto the ground where he can get at Luna's less-protected throat!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The warg has moved to Luna's position and is initiating a Grapple with her. He does not provoke an attack of opportunity for this. He rolled high (see Shop Talk if you like). Good luck.
  
  
  When the Monk/Mage leader rises to his feet, both Bren and Otiorin see the opportunity to attack and they take it! The martial artist deftly evades Bren's axe-blow, but in doing so, he unknowingly places himself wide open to a sneak attack from Otiorin. Despite his wounds, Otiorin performs his rogue-taught strike with incredible precision and energy. The Moonlit Edge thrusts home, sinking coldly into his surprised foe's back!
  
  
  And yet... a strange thing happens. As a result of Otiorin's attack, the Monk/Mage leader's hands open and a small blue stone-like object falls from his grasp. "No!" he gasps as his eyes turn to see its fall. Otiorin's free hand is closest to it...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  O.K. This is your Dungeon Master playing with the rules because I feel like it. I will explain later. Cap'n, Otiorin may grab this thing right now as a free action (this round only!), if he wants it.
  
  
  Does he take it or leave it?
  
  
  As Otoirin moves to use Bren's life-saving ointment, the Monk/Mage nearest him sees the opening and takes the attack of opportunity Otiorin has provided. His kick is all too swift and misses the half-elf who then applies the ointment.
  
  
  Powerpaw's surprise at the new opponent's entrance is only surpassed at the destruction of his beloved maul, a weapon that has brought many a fell foe low. The shock pulls him a bit out of his all-consuming rage as something in his mind tells him to stick to the training that has kept him alive. Powerpaw hears Bren's order and obeys. He drops his maul and hauls out one of his single-handed warhammers, focusing himself on his true opponent - the weapon-breaker.
  
  
  "You smacks Bria - I SMACKS YOU!! MOOOAAR!" the Felane roars as he furiously rains down a mighty blow with his hammer.
  
  
  The Felane rains down all hell, striking three Monk/Mages one after the other with his Great Cleave technique. It is when he gets to the Monk/Mage leader that he draws upon the reserves of his very soul for what they did to Bria.
  
  
  "IIIIIN DAAAA FAAAACE!!"
  
  
  With all the power he can muster and with a sickening crunch, the furry Wanderer turns the Wee Jas leader's face into a disgusting red and gray mass of goo as his hammer fully enters his foe's skull.
  
  
  Upon the death of the leader, you suddenly hear maniacal laughing from all around you. The voice belongs to the leader whose body suddenly erupts into a blinding column of painful red and white flames, consuming him fully. In an instant, his laughter ends and he is but ashes upon the Road of Kings, one of many to meet such a fate on the road to the glorious and free city of Highwind.
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange who gave Otiorin a Lightning Bolt spell is shaken up and bloody, but still in the fight; it is the newest opponent, the blue-eyed breaker, who takes Powerpaw's blow fully on his chest and reacts as if he did not feel it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Monk/Mage Red grins at Brendoran and whips out a black and gray scroll. "You are a good fighter. Maybe you are fighting on the wrong side, hmmm?" This he begins incanting with practice and discipline while holding something small in his free hand. He stares upon Bren with what might appear to be a friendly expression behind his mask, yet that expression fades quickly as the spell has no effect whatsoever upon Brendoran. "What da fuck? You immune?" Instead of evil magic in his mind, Bren sees for a brief moment, his wife's face smiling lovingly at him.
  
  
  Monk/Mage Blue flanks Brendoran with Monk/Mage Orange and unleashes a punch to his gut followed by a quick step back and a vicious rear-leg roundhouse kick to Bren's head. Bren keeps his arms up and his chin low and both attacks slam hard against his guard without their intended effect.
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange then breaks his flank by taking a 5-foot step up and left. Once unthreatened, he performs a rapid incantation and laughs cruelly. Long daggers formed of bright red magical light flare into existence. He sends these enchanted missiles unerringly into Otiorin's body. They explode painfully but thanks to Bren's ointment, the half-elf still stands.
  
  
  Then Monk/Mage Purple sets upon Powerpaw... He attacks like none of the others. With beautiful blue eyes that practically shine with focus, the masked and hooded warrior takes on the larger, angrier Felane with nothing more than his body, his mind, and his spirit. His approach seems emotionless, yet full of dynamic energy. Unlike those with him, there is no hesitation in his attacks; no doubt whatsoever. His movements are powerful and immensely graceful so at times he seems to float on the very air when his feet leave the ground.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is Australian Bren Foster, 5th degree black belt, been practicing since he was six. The new opponent seems to have a body much like this. He fights with Foster's vigorous energy, focus, and excellent form, except... with more of all three. =)
  
  
  [media]
  
  

• Monk/Mage Ambush on The Road of Kings
• Shop Talk

• [/media]
  [media]
  
  
  
  [/media]
  =)
  
  
  The quiet warrior appears absolutely fearless of Powerpaw, but he does not speak or goad - he only acts... Back when Bren was of incredible experience (O.K. - during all three times Bren was a 14th level character!), he saw incredible adventurers fight like this, but not since.
  
  
  "IIINN DAAAAA FA-UUHHH!!"
  
  
  Powerpaw does his very best. It is not enough. In a destructive flurry of perfect form including three full-power sidekicks, two smashing uppercuts, and a rear-leg jumping front kick that would have smashed solid steel, the man with the crystal-blue eyes gets through Powerpaw's guard and knocks the big cat out in six seconds...
  
  
  
  
  
  ...
  
  
  As Powerpaw's back strikes the earth with a crash, the Monk/Mages of Wee Jas raise their arms in victory. They cheer and taunt, cackle and cajole the Wanderers mercilessly, all save for the hooded man with the mask and crystal blue eyes. He relaxes and looks quietly at the smoking pile of ash that was the leader of the team.
  
  
  Bria weakly turns her head. Seeing what has happened, she lets out a muffled shriek from her gag. She is shaking her head, "No, no, no!" Not that the Wee Jas have noticed. They are too busy shouting insults at you and the unconscious Powerpaw.
  
  
  Then another of their smiling number (Monk/Mage Red) shouts out excitedly, "Your Highness!" He repeatedly stabs a finger at Bren.
  
  
  "Kill Sarabina!"
  
  
  
  
  
  "Kill!" responds the warrior in a strong tone. He strides purposefully at Bren with fists clenched, chin low, and eyes filled with horrible resolve.
  
  
  It is Bren's turn.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  The Dire Wolf of Dalsus
  
  
  [dice]17041[/dice]
  
  
  Powerpaw
  
  
  [dice]17027[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17028[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17029[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17030[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17031[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17032[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17033[/dice]
  
  
  I goofed here: This should say "vs. Monk/Mage Green"
  
  
  [dice]17034[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Red - Attacking (Stance of Pain).
  
  
  Cast spell. Bren is immune thanks to the charms on his wedding ring.
  
  
  Monk/Mage Blue - Attacking (Stance of Pain).
  
  
  [dice]17036[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17037[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Green - (Stance of Pain).
  
  
  Deceased.
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange - (Stance of Smoke).
  
  
  [dice]17039[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Purple - (Stance of Breaking).
  
  
  [dice]17046[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17047[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17048[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17049[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17050[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17051[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17052[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17053[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17054[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17055[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17056[/dice]
  
  
  

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Leonard Wolf - The Ranger

Shape: Wolf


Wolf EXP: ~3 h


Spell 1: Delay Poison


Spell 2: Entangle


Favored Terrain: Yes


Meat or Fish: Meat


Preferred Dice: Black or Red

"Mother Leaf, Earthhome. Highwind." Wolf repeats with an understanding nod. "Good luck to all of us."


The shapeshifted ranger sprints as fast as possible for the Road of Kings, the edge of which he intends to follow south until he comes upon either the Wee Jas ambush or the wagons - whichever comes first. Hoping it's the monks, he will do his best to remain hidden behind the treeline as he travels alongside the road.

 

[Kaerri]

Brendoran, human fighter/ranger

• IC
• OOC

• Current AC: 26
  
  
  Fort save: +11
  
  
  Ref save: +7
  
  
  Will save: +4
  
  
  Current action points: 5
  
  
  Current HP: 45/78
  
  
  Status effects: Expertise
  
  
  
  Some fights are easy; some are challenging. Some are predictable; some are anything but. Bren has seen his share of all of them in his time. However, if Bren has ever had a fight that presented him with this many surprises (both good and bad), he can't recall it. Admittedly, those surprises are taking up practically all of his attention just now...
  
  
  The flash of movement from the warg, for example. He winces as the evil beast pounces on Luna with fiendish precision, and wishes there was something he could do to help. He even starts to plan something, but all plans are dashed like a gust of wind hitting a house of cards when Powerpaw is so unexpectedly and so very quickly brought to the ground. Sorry, Luna, I can't get to you just yet...try to hang on!
  
  
  
  
  
  And then there's his own predicament, faced with not only the three remaining original Monk/Mages but with the newly-arrived, newly-focused-on-him mysterious monk. I hope I can hang on long enough to turn this around - longer than poor Powerpaw!
  
  
  
  
  
  A slight smile flickers across his face when Monk/Mage Red casts his useless spell - thank you, Daughters of Summertime! - but his expression quickly turns somber once more as he tries to come up with some sort of plan, any sort of plan, that will help get things going in his party's favor once more. Damn, I wish Wolf hadn't just run off like that. We could really use him here.
  
  
  With narrowing options, he shifts into a defensive stance, then darts between Monk/Mages Red and Orange, pausing to slam his axe into Orange with the intent of sending him into the mud just as he had the leader. With luck, all the other foes would follow him westward and leave Otiorin free to act as he chose; hopefully that choice will be a good one. And why he didn't step back before using the salve... By St. Cuthbert's Mace, if we survive this I'm going to insist on a group tactics session.
  
  
  
• Bren is invoking Expertise again (+2 AC, -2 attack) and moving between Red and Orange to the space one square left of the one directly between them. With Mobility, he has an AC of 30 against the opportunity attacks his move will provoke.
  
  
  He is using Spring Attack as soon as he enters melee with Orange, and is calling Knockback (down) on that blow. If the knockdown is successful, Orange will be on the ground by the time Bren is provoking attacks of opportunity from him.
  
  
  [dice]17089[/dice]Spending an action point.[dice]17090[/dice][dice]17091[/dice]
  
  
  

 

[Purr]

• Ambush at the Road of Kings
• Shop Talk

• 
  
  
  Bren moves swiftly for a fellow with his size and gear, but it is his skill that causes the Wee Jas the most grief. One throws a devious roundhouse kick at Bren's groin while the other (in a different fighting stance) uses a palm strike to Bren's face. Neither reach their mark.
  
  
  While Bren's powerful axe-stroke wounds his Wee Jas opponent even further, the Monk/Mage keeps his feet by taking the blow in a low stance.
  
  
  When the Dire Wolf of Dalsus trips and leaps upon Luna, Sparkle gasps and flies down upon the dangerous canine. But it is not her tiny claws or teeny teeth that she brings to the fore; in an act of total desperation and with no other recourse coming to her mind, Sparkle the pseudo-dragon strikes with the weapon she is loathe to use most - her poison tail-stinger...
  
  
  Pyri!!
  
  
  
  
  
  Her tail strikes home... but the Dire Wolf's savage system fails to fall prey to Sparkle's poison.
  
  
  It is now Luna's turn.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Monk/Mage Red's attack of opportunity
  
  
  [dice]17092[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange's attack of opportunity
  
  
  [dice]17093[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange's Fortitude save vs. Bren's knockdown.
  
  
  [dice]17094[/dice]
  
  
  Sparkle Stinger vs. Dire Wolf of Dalsus
  
  
  [dice]17095[/dice]
  
  
  Dire Wolf of Dalsus
  
  
  [dice]17096[/dice]
  
  
  

 

[Sherwood]

Luna lets out a startled yelp as the dire wolf grabs her. "Let me go you stupid-head!" Struggling to get free, the mage turns to her only weapon that she can use: Her spells. I pray to Boccob, let this work! "Magic Missile!"

Spoiler

0 - Detect Magic, Read Magic, Mage Hand, Message


1 - Enlarge Person, Shield x2, Mage Armor, Unseen Servant


2 - Mirror Image, Cat's Grace, Scorching Ray


3 - Displacement, Fireball, Lightning Bolt


4 - Extended Haste, Ball Lightning


Force Missile x8


Mage Armor in effect


AC 22


Hit Points: 39


Lets give this a try and hope I roll well to get the spell off.


EDIT: I rolled a natural 18, but are there any bonuses to my roll to see if the spell goes off? I am going to hope that the spell worked, and will add a damage roll to this post. Disregard if it doesn't work.


[dice]17097[/dice]


[dice]17098[/dice]

 

[Purr]

Ambush at the Road of Kings


Only casters with incredible abilities to concentrate might get a spell off while under the thrashing of a 400-pound warg. Luna proves that she is among them. Her Force Missile spell-like ability flares to life and blasts the Dire Wolf of Dalsus unerringly in the chest! "Arrrgh, you little bitch! Good to see you have some fight in you! Now it is my turn to bite!"


As the warg reaches to do just that, a multitude of sounds ring through Shandra's Evergreen coming south from the Road of Kings! So great is the ruckus that it gets everyone's attention in the ambush (no Perception roll required)!


Over the din of battle and the calamity of pouring rain comes a massive thunderclap and with it, the oncoming and rising sound of hooves of many huge horses! The Road of Kings begins to tremble beneath your feet as you hear the clear blare of a single ringing trumpet sounding a Highwindian cavalry charge! There, racing up from the south, the mighty roaring of many voices can be heard, but only the Wanderers recognize them...


At the tops of their lungs, there is Sabrefang's wild and catty yowling and snarling, the crazed howling and barking of a trio of gnashing canine-like creatures, the heartfelt and hysterical battle cries of Bonny and Whittle Meadowsweet, the wild neighing of the charging horse, but topping them all, the magnificent roaring of Bronze the Blacksmith, the loudest and most fearsome of the bunch (yes, @killfire, this is me totally taking a rare moment to get your character in on this - post as you will)! Between them all, they are making such a grand and spirited uproar as to perhaps make the gods above smile (or at the very least, look down for a moment to ask, "Just who in the hell is making all that racket?" =) ).

Spoiler

[media]

[/media]
Brendoran = John Wayne!


Otiorin = Brave fellow firing at the bad guys with John Wayne!


Luna = Frustrated-looking lady in the wagon who probably isn't allowed a gun (Just Kidding!!)... Life ain't fair! =)


Cavalry = Everyone on the Adventurers' Wagon!


Mood music!! Ha ha!


[media]



[/media]
The entire team of the Adventurers' Wagon is on its way to save the day (or get massacred - we'll see - either way, their intentions have been made certain to me and they are nothing but the best)! It is clear to all that they will arrive in but a few short combat rounds (three at the most). Upon hearing this obvious charge of fresh and unknown enemy reinforcements, the remaining Monk/Mages of Wee Jas look at each other in surprise, all save the blue-eyed warrior who in no way acknowledges any of this as he stalks after Bren!


The Dire Wolf of Dalsus snarls, "What did I tell you? If you had ended this quickly instead of gloating..." but the Wee Jas ignore him and share looks that can only described as saying "Oh Shit!". They quickly nod once to each other and ready themselves to make for the cover of the forest. They know they cannot stand against yet another adventuring party upon them (if they only knew what was really coming, right?).


As they do, their new leader points again at Bren. "Your Highness! Kill Sarabina then rendezvous with us!"


The warrior replies, "Kill!" and continues his advance. Behind him, Bria's desperate struggle to move renews.


"What did you do that for?" says one of his fellows.


"Sarabina is too dangerous to live! This might be our best chance!"


"Oh!"


But before they get to take their action in Round 5, Otiorin gets to take his... =)

 

[Captain Hesperus]

HP:7


Initiative: 19


Spells per day/remaining:3/4


Spells available: all


Active affects: Ring of Mind Shielding, Ring of Force Shield

Otiorin was ever a creature of habit. And when an opportunity to snatch a pretty bauble up presented, regardless of the circumstances, it was habit for Otiorin to grasp it. Even if said situation was in the direst circumstances, surrounded by blood-crazed monks of an evil god, a wolf that made the pyrohydra seem tame and the toppled body of perhaps the most intimidating of his companions felled in the blink of an eye. Any rational mind would have said 'Rebuke the pretty bauble', but Otiorin's mind, being that of a creature of habit, said 'Disregard hazard, acquire bauble".


His free hand snapped out, moving with the speed of an aquatic predator seizing upon a hapless fish. He felt the smooth object in his hand and a smile split his lips.


"How worthless you pathetic creatures are. When you outnumbered us two to one, you could not best us. But now that the odds go against you, you show your craven natures and flee like chickens before the fox. Is this the best Wee Jas has to offer?"


He heard Luna's cry of shock and saw that the monstrous wolf had borne her down and was in the process of savaging her. A burst of magical energy lanced from her hand and the wolf took it full-on but was undeterred. The Half-elf swore under his breath, their reinforcements were getting picked off one by one and there was little he could do to stop it. He bared his fangs at the monk who had cast at him and his lips curled around an elven imprecation, even as he advanced on his foe he was about to cast his Daze spell, when he felt he heard a voice calling to him. It seemed like a familiar voice, although he could not imagine ever having heard or known the speaker. But, as he pondered it, he realised he was already casting a spell, one that he'd not cast before, taught to him by the strange Mage the Wanderers had met. The words wound out in ancient Elven, not a spell of death and destruction, but one of calling. As he moved toward the monk looming over Bria, he saw a shimmer of light appear behind the lightning-throwing monk.

Spoiler

Taking five-foot move towards MM Orange, casting Summon Monster I at the MM Orange

 

[Purr]

(This should be added to my above post - I forgot! Cap'n, feel free to alter your action if you decide to).


During the messy, crazy, rainy chaos of the battle, Bria manages to rise to her feet. Her arms hang uselessly by her sides, the gag over her mouth seems to hamper her breathing, but with titanic effort, she barely makes it into her fighting stance (sans guard). Her expression is full of great pain... but her eyes rest longest on the warrior that dropped Powerpaw. As he advances on Bren... Bria begins to stumble toward him with all of the speed she can muster (which ain't much!).

 

[Purr]

• Wolf & Pecker
• Ambush on the Road of Kings
• Shop Talk

• 
  
  
  Despite the fury of the booming thunderstorm that shows no sign of slowing as it drenches the forest all around, Wolf makes it without further encounter to the edge of the forest. The muddy Road of Kings lies before him, beckoning in its wide openness.
  
  
  Behind and far out of sight, there comes a tremendous bellow of pain and surprise from something whose great size is only surpassed by his ugliness. Then follows a torrent of angry cursing and stomping sounds. These sounds are slowly swallowed by the storm as Wolf's wet paws make contact with the highway.
  
  
  Then Wolf is running, a blur of soaked fur and swift legs as he races southward toward where he last saw the Wanderers.
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  A shining light does indeed appear as Otiorin's summoning takes shape in the form of a tiny golden viper with equally-tiny little fangs and bright, eager eyes that seem to say, "Enemies! Oh joy! I haven't bitten anything all day!!" Off she goes, slithering and snapping and very much threatening all that she can. As she calls upon her own Celestial ability to Smite her opponent, her body becomes like a living bolt of lightning as she strikes at the Monk/Mage who baked Otoirin so viciously.
  
  
  Her aim is true! Her fangs sink deeply into his backside, causing him to yelp in surprise and fright. He jumps around. "Snake! Ahh! Get it off! Get it off!!"
  
  
  One of the other Wee Jas curses Otiorin. "You fucking bastard! He hates snakes!"
  
  
  The little viper seems to give Otiorin an expression of ecstatic glee as if to tell him, "YESSSsss!! Thank you ssso much for sssummoning meeeee!"
  
  
  Spoiler

  The viper does not actually have the Monk/Mage in a grapple; I just thought the comedic imagery was too great to pass up. =) Though the Wee Jas made his Fortitude saving throw versus her nasty poison, she still managed to Smite him for an extra hit point of damage. All thanks to Otiorin! Hah! =)
  
  
  As Bria tries to rise to her feet, she fails to notice the snake-trailing Wee Jas right beside her. "You!! Not dead yet? Die already!" He raises his knife to stab her a second time as her movement leaves her open to an attack of opportunity, but this time she is not surrounded by the other Monk/Mages and can move freely enough. Though beaten and trembling with pain, Bria tries to evade his stab with all that she is worth.
  
  
  Much of the Wee Jas's own health and morale has been taken away by the pounding Bren and Powerpaw gave him, and now that he has a Celestial viper attached to his hind end, his murderous lunge is far from true. The badly-wounded Bria hardly has to evade his clumsy attack.
  
  
  "Damn it!" he spits.
  
  
  Speaking of the Ko monk, both Bren and Otiorin get a good-enough look at the near-to-crying Bria that they recognize the sorry state she is in. At no point in a battle does any adventurer want to be at...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Source: d20PFSRD.com
  
  
  Disabled (0 Hit Points)
  
  
  When your current hit point total drops to exactly 0, you are disabled.
  
  
  You gain the staggered condition and can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you are now at –1 hit points and dying.
  
  
  Healing that raises your hit points above 0 makes you fully functional again, just as if you'd never been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.
  
  
  You can also become disabled when recovering from dying. In this case, it's a step toward recovery, and you can have fewer than 0 hit points (see Stable Characters and Recovery).
  
  
  The last time Bren saw this state, he was in it and only through great will and effort was he able to strive through the pain and fear to act at all.
  
  
  The warg and Luna battle furiously. If one throws a chew-toy to a large aggressive canine, a horrible thrashing tends to follow. This analogy unfortunately works well for the Dire Wolf of Dalsus and Luna as he uses his full weight and expertise to advantage. With his teeth so very near her throat, she feels his hot, disgusting breath upon her. Then he gives an evil chuckle, "Here is a little something to remember me by, witch!"
  
  
  Without warning, the Dire Wolf of Dalsus's eyes blaze quite unnaturally into a hellish crimson. He chomps down without mercy but his fangs pause a mere inch from her bare skin. Black and evil magic then surges to life. Then those teeth flare crimson and attempt to close down hard. Luna's throat begins to tremble involuntarily as she feels an otherworldly force upon her coupled with the feeling of burning...
  
  
  There is a special barrier that Sparkle provides Luna in times like these (Spell Resistance 12 for having a pseudo-dragon familiar). Unfortunately, the Dire Wolf of Dalsus's savagery is able to overcome it
  
  
  Still, Luna has the chance to resist the dark magic itself...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Please provide a Fortitude Saving Throw for Luna in the Adventurers' Table. Good luck!
  
  
  The Monk/Mages of Wee Jas have a dark reputation for intelligence and malevolence and they live up to it today. "Let us give our hosts a fond farewell!" yells the new leader. As they scurry northward toward the windy edge of Shandra's Evergreen, they cover each other's escape while loosing death behind them. The only exception is the quiet, powerful hooded warrior who advances on Bren like a speeding arrow.
  
  
  True, the charge of the Adventurers' Wagon team is upon them, but the question arises - Can the Wanderers survive long enough until their would-be rescuers arrive?
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange is heavily wounded and harassed and so is the first to move in their team. He immediately turns and runs north, using careful evasive movements as he withdraws.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange is using a full-round action to withdraw. Doing so costs him his ability to attack that round, but nor does he take attacks of opportunity from Bren and Otiorin's Celestial viper for leaving their threatened space.
  
  
  Monk/Mages Red and Blue share evil grins as their gaze passes Bren (to whom they but smirk at now). Instead their attention turns to Otiorin. "So much for capturing you, freak! I suppose we will have to go with the alternative." Monk/Mage Blue he takes a five-foot step southward. "Fall to Wee Jas!" He comes in with a devious three-hit combination: a rear-leg pushing kick to Otiorin's chest, followed by a left cross to the ribs, and then a sudden, spinning right elbow to the rogue/sorcerer's temple.
  
  
  Otiorin evades the kick and blocks the cross both with elven grace and timing, but he is not ready for that full-bodied whirling elbow. The blow slams hard but not against Otiorin; instead the attack is stopped cold but a finger's width from Otiorin's skull by that wonderful force shield provided by his enchanted ring!
  
  
  "Ha, you suck!" Monk/Mage Red chides his cohort as he takes a 5-foot step of his own away from Brendoran. With a quick incantation, he looses a single magical blood-red bolt which unerringly blasts Otiorin in the chest.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Otiorin suffers 4 more hit points of damage.
  
  
  Still, the rogue/sorcerer remains on his feet...
  
  
  "Damn!" shouts the caster as he begins his retreat with his fellows. "How you still standing?!"
  
  
  But then... the battlefield takes on a new tone as the last and most powerful of their terrible company takes action... The warrior who felled Powerpaw takes two steps and leaps - and what a leap! The strength of his leg muscles carries him easily over Powerpaw's still form and Bria both. The hooded man soars through the air as if by magic and without cockiness or any sign of showing off, he enters hand-to-hand distance swiftly and silently. For the first time, Bren sees those wide blazing blue eyes staring into his own, unblinking, fearless, and yet there is something more...
  
  
  They have a quick exchange of blows (what experienced fighters call "feeling each other" or testing your opponent to see how he or she reacts to a particular attack or motion). Bren learns quickly that this man's form is better than Bren's own little sister, for it is hard to imagine Kikko taking down someone like Powerpaw in a single round. Behind that mask, behind those eyes, Bren does not see a human being, but a person with automaton-like focus and self-control. It is as if his opponent is not altogether human.
  
  
  The warrior then throws a pair of powerful feinting punches, then he calls upon his skill to deliver a devastating rear-leg roundhouse kick at Bren. At first, it seems as if the attack is aimed at Bren's head, but as Bren raises his shield to protect him, he does not see until it is too late that the warrior's target was Bren's heavy steel shield all along...
  
  
  "Kill!" he yells when he strikes...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Again, Bren Foster. Start at 5:48 if you'd like to just see one damned good roundhouse kick. =)
  
  
  [media]
  [/media]
  A single blow from this man bends Bren's hard steel shield, breaking it. The blow is powerful enough to rock Bren's entire body and momentarily numb Bren's shield-arm. Also, something in Bren realizes that if the shield were wooden instead of steel, that blow would have instead destroyed it.
  
  
  Spoiler

  From D20PFSRD.com.
  
  
  Items that have taken damage in excess of half their total hit points gain the broken condition, meaning they are less effective at their designated task. The broken condition has the following effects, depending upon the item.
  
  

  • If the item is a suit of armor or a shield, the bonus it grants to AC is halved, rounding down. Broken armor doubles its armor check penalty on skills.
    

  
  
  The warrior, having performed his opening shot, readies himself for a deadly flurry of movement, but then something else beyond the ordinary occurs...
  
  
  Bria of the Ko screams something muffled and throws herself at the dark-clad warrior. Her movements are not aggressive as her limp arms fall around the warrior as if trying to hug him. Swiftly, the warrior turns, raises an elbow in a destructive fashion towards Bria's head, and looks at his target. "Kill!" he shouts.
  
  
  She looks up into his eyes, shaking her head, "No no no...!" She screams at him again, her face filled with anxiousness and tears, and this time it sounds like... "Glider!"
  
  
  
  
  
  The warrior pauses! Those eyes widen and for a brief moment, he freezes as if turned to stone. Suddenly, he turns back to Bren, but there is a different expression in his eyes now - those eyes focus on Bren's own as if seeking desperately from behind some enormous fog. He stares wide-eyed at Bren's steely-grey eyes and for the first time since the ambush begun, the warrior hesitates.
  
  
  
  
  
  The Wee Jas notice much to their confusion. "Your Highness! Kill Sarabina!" one shouts. "Kill Sarabina!!" they all shout.
  
  
  "Kill!" the warrior hears and shouts again, but this time with the smallest tinge of doubt in his tone... "Kill..." His eyes finally focus fully on Bren's own and that exchange there comes a strange and unbidden sense of recognition from one warrior to the other...
  
  
  Softly, incredulously, the warrior speaks a single word aloud... "Killane?"
  
  
  
  
  
  Then without warning, the warrior is grabbing his head and screaming as if in awful, soul-rending torment, howling like a soul lost in the fiery depths of hell itself. "AHHHH!!"
  
  
  He lets go his cowled head and raises his guard and trembles from head to toe as he stares back into Bren's eyes with the glare of a mind long lost, cracked and shattered like a wine glass fallen upon stone. There is some undeniable, ethereal battle going on inside of him.
  
  
  And yet, in a single, silent moment, Bren sees this warrior open his guard ever so slightly to Bren... he turns his chin in the most vulnerable position, presenting Bren the opportunity to strike there... and then he does one of the worst things a fighter can do - he tenses his whole body.
  
  
  To other adventurers, the hole in his guard is very hard to see (yet Otiorin sees it), but to a warrior like Bren, it is like firing a crossbow into a canyon - impossible to miss. In Bren's fighting background, the warrior has presented to Bren a golden opportunity to knock him out cold, if Bren is but powerful enough, skillful enough, and most of all, willing to do it.
  
  
  With her body limply wrapped around the warrior, Bria looks up to Bren, her eyes pleading. She quickly nods to Bren as if to say, "Do it!!"
  
  
  
  
  
  It is now Bren's turn. What does he do?
• 
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange
  
  
  [dice]17156[/dice]
  
  
  Celestial Viper
  
  
  [dice]17246[/dice]
  
  
  Dire Wolf of Dalsus
  
  
  [dice]17260[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Orange
  
  
  [dice]17247[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Blue
  
  
  [dice]17261[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17262[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17263[/dice]
  
  
  [DISREGARD DAMAGE - This is a miss! I forgot to calculate Otiorin's Ring of Force Shield. =) ]
  
  
  [dice]17264[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Red
  
  
  [dice]17266[/dice]
  
  
  Monk/Mage Purple
  
  
  [dice]17318[/dice]
  
  
  [dice]17319[/dice]
  
  
  

 

[Kaerri]

Brendoran, human fighter/ranger

Standard AC: 23


Fort save: +11


Ref save: +7


Will save: +4


Current action points: 5


Current HP: 45/78


Status effects: broken shield

Bren grins mockingly when Monk/Mage Orange's little snake problem reveals itself. "Wimp." He then turns his full attention to the in-leaping Purple...


Like him, Bren freezes for just a moment when Bria suddenly, literally, throws herself into the fray, but at her words he looks into his foe's eyes intently. What - or who - is it that she sees there? His own blue-gray eyes widen in surprise when the other warrior asks, "Killane?" Bren's expression softens as he realizes this must be one of the true monks, one of the Ko like Bria, somehow turned by the evil magics of Wee Jas.


"No," he replies gently, "Killane's son." He holds the warrior's gaze through that moment of terrible internal struggle, and is almost unsurprised when he sees what the other is offering. He hardly needs Bria's encouragement, though he nods to her without looking away, swiftly switching his axe to his shield hand. Twisting his hips and pushing off with his rear leg to put all his weight behind the blow, he launches his right hand forward at the warrior's deliberately vulnerable chin, in a full-power palm strike. Just as his father had taught him.

Spoiler

Killane Sarabina, Bren's father, studied for some time with the Ko monks before being called back to Summerset to take his place as head of the Sarabina family. (He has made at least one trip to the Ko Monastery since, as well.) It is from him that Bren learned the Improved Unarmed Strike feat.

 

[Purr]

• Wolf & Pecker
• Ambush on the Road of Kings
• Shop Talk

• 
  
  
  The rain pours and the Road of Kings is a brown blur surrounded by forest green. The only sounds are the loud shower coming down on all things, the heavy breathing of Wolf's lungs, and the thrumming of his heartbeat in his ears as he flies on...
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  On the edge of the forest where Luna and the warg grapple, there comes a seething burst of violent magical energy that shakes nearby the trees and grass. The Dire Wolf of Dalsus clamps down and Luna's world becomes agony. All around her throat there is the feeling of roasting fire. The warg releases Luna and laughs cruelly in her face. "Ha ha ha! There! Give The Runt a message when you see him next! Tell him his father was delicious and he is next! I will have him! Haaa haaa haaa!"
  
  
  With that, the Dire Wolf of Dalsus scratches Luna across her pretty face with one forepaw and escapes into the woods laughing with his every dancing bound.
  
  
  Pyri! Sparkle flutters down to Luna, clearly agitated and afraid. I have spoken to Bria in her mind, but she is in a state of near panic! Are we lost and undone? What has befallen us, my youthful flame? Then she pauses and gasps as she sees Luna's neck. There is a gripping feeling around the fire mage's throat as if she is slowly being choked, but there is special pain at the fore of her neck just above where her collar bones nearly meet. That pain sears like nothing Luna has felt before.
  
  
  Spoiler

  Luna takes 13 hit points of damage from the warg's bite.
  
  
  And yet, when her body tries to scream, it cannot. For a long moment, Luna can hardly move. Once she can, her shaky limbs answer to her will, but something now is terribly wrong with Luna's throat...
  
  
  Bren calls upon skills taught to him years back by his father. His practice and warrior expertise become as one as he hauls off and decks the warrior as hard as he can with a crushing palm strike.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  While the Coup de grace technique is typically designed to use a full-round action to automatically kill an opponent, I do not mind it being used to also knock out an equally helpless opponent. This is the case here.
  
  
  The man's head whips back and then slowly, gracefully, the warrior falls! Bria falls with him in such a way that the warrior does not strike his head hard against the earth and together, they land in heap. Bria weeps but looks to Bren with big brown, grateful eyes.
  
  
  The devilish Monk/Mages of Wee Jas, however, witness this and lose all composure.
  
  
  "BULLSHIT!!"
  
  
  "Impossible! That is fucking impossible!"
  
  
  "Your Highness! Get up and kill him! Your Highness!"
  
  
  
  
  
  The remaining three Wee Jas cannot believe their eyes. Brendoran Killaneson Sarabina felled this warrior with a single blow! Slowly, mechanically at first, their legs begin to carry them away from the fight, but more importantly, away from Bren! Gone are their attempts to cause as much damage as they can before they flee. Their morale seems to fall away like rain as they race for their lives into the forest, all the while crying out their outrage and disbelief to what they all just witnessed.
  
  
  
  
  
  With the Wee Jas and the Dire Wolf of Dalsus fleeing, combat has concluded unless you decide to give chase. If this is the case, let me know. Otherwise, the opportunity to chase is gone.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Having spoken to Kaerri, Bren is not going to chase after them nor will he command or request you to do so. Unless either Sherwood or Cap'n tell me that they're trying to chase the bad guys down, I will take us to non-combat time. Still, the choice (as ever) is yours. Let me know either at the Adventurers' Table or in your next post? =)
  
  
  When the remaining Wanderers look about, you see Vardadraug and Powerpaw lying motionless on the Road of Kings, Otiorin standing (perhaps woodenly) on his own two feet, Bren is still in fighting stance above the fallen warrior, Bria is flat on her back, clearly in great pain and breathing with greater difficulty (likely due to the gag in her mouth), and Sparkle is repeatedly shouting in Bren's mind, Bren! Send help! Luna is under some horrible magical affliction and I do do not know what it is! The warg did it!
  
  
  Still, the sound of the trumpet blares along with the roars and cries of your fellows. The stomping of many galloping horses makes the wet earth tremble.
• 
  
  
  Dire Wolf of Dalsus
  
  
  [dice]17336[/dice]
  
  
  

 

[Sherwood]

As the Dire Wolf bounds off, Luna lies down in the mud and sobs. The pain in her throat and in the slash across her face is blinding. After a few moments, the mage realizes that the Wolf is not about to continue to tear into her, and she struggles up onto her arm while her other hand goes to her throat and face to see just how bad the damage is. Blood. Lots of it. I need to stop the bleeding, and check out the rest of the party. Everyone seems to be hurt, I wonder how bad it all is?


Looking up at the worried face of Sparkle as she lands in front of her, Luna tries to reassure her friend, but nothing but a rough croak comes out. Startled, she tries again, and once more, all that comes out is a gurgle. Oh, Gods! My voice! What did that filthy thing do to me? A moment of panic starts to hit. What if it is . . . permanent? What will I do then? Luna sends her thoughts to Sparkle. Dear one, I'm hurt, but I'll live. I'm just unable to speak; hopefully its just temporary. What about the others?





Luna pulls a cloth from her bag of holding and presses it against the cuts on her face to stop the blood flow, and she slowly gets to her feet to look around. Powerpaw is down, Bria is badly hurt, Otiorin is hurt, Bren is hurt, where is Wolf? What happened here?

 

[Purr]

As Luna rises to her feet, she sees the fear on Sparkle's face as the old dragoness hides none of her worries from her familiar. In fact, she shares what she knows all too willingly...


Luna... there is... something on your throat. A... sigil of some kind? There is too much blood on it; I cannot get a good look at it...

 

[Sherwood]

Luna pulls a small mirror out of her bag, and after wiping away as much of the blood as she can, tries to get a look a the mark on her throat.


[dice]17339[/dice]


[dice]17340[/dice]

 

[Purr]

Wiping away the blood ruins the cloth Luna took from her pack, but it serves its purpose - there in Luna's neck is a familiar black sigil bearing the mark of a pentagram as if it had been drawn by something that used claws instead of fingers... A deathly chill accompanies this discovery but from what source neither wizardess nor dragon can say...

 

[Sherwood]

Great Boccob! What has that thing done to me?! Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she stares in horror at the mark on her neck. No! What am I going to do if this is meant to keep me from speaking? How can I still work my magic? The thought of being anything besides a mage has never crossed her mind, but now there is the very real chance that her career choice will be changed against her will. Pyri, let us see to the others. They are all hurt; perhaps I can help them even in my condition.





Doing her best to bind her still bleeding face while still being able to see, Luna makes her way over to the other Wanderers.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin's body felt heavy. His pain, momentarily reduced by Bren's balm, had returned in full force. Everything hurt, including several places he'd not even realised he could feel pain from. He really wanted to drop the heavy blade that dangled from his right hand, but some vestige of martial Elven pride stayed his hand and forced his screaming muscles to lever the weapon back into the scabbard. He trudged across the muddy road, slick with near-liquid mud and spilt blood. He stumbled a couple of times, but never enough to overbalance or fall. Only once he'd reached Bria and the man whom she had distracted long enough for Bren to put down, did he allow himself to slump to the ground. Before him, carved through the fabric of her robes he could see her knife wound, marring the pristine white skin beneath. His pain diminished before the tide of anguish that overcame him and he fought to keep back the tears that sprang to his eyes.


I nearly lost her. It was only by good fate that she survived.


He scooped out more of the balm from the pot in his hand and lathered it across her back, heedless of the amount of the ointment he used, or whoever else might have benefited from it.

 

[Purr]

Perhaps it is the sound of the Moonlit Edge returning home to its sheath, perhaps it is just something in the peaceful Ko monk sensing his approach, but Bria slowly turns her head to Otiorin, sees what is in his hand, and after but a moment of recognition - she recoils from the healing salve as sure as if it were an angry scorpion!





She shakes her head several times tossing her wet hair to and fro, but mostly she tries to speak under the gag. She looks up again and she seems to recognize Otiorin. She breathes a deep sigh of relief. Still, she looks at the salve as if it were venom of the deadliest kind...


With fingers that move like an old woman's, she bends forward and tries to remove her gag, but the pain is just too great, her hands are too weak, and the leather gag is on too well. Breathing heavily, Bria sinks back down. She sighs wearily and points to her gag. Her eyes seem to say, "Would you please remove this thing? I really must tell you something..."


Meanwhile, the sounds of trumpeting, shouting, and galloping of horses' hooves from the south become greater by the moment.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin's pain-addled mind tried hard to fathom what Bria was intending but, as he saw her clawing at the gag, bricks in his mind fell into place and he applied his silver claws to the tough leather binding her mouth.


"Wh-what are you saying?", he murmured through gritted teeth.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler

This Woman's Work by Kate Bush. An incredible and touching piece.


[media]

[/media]
The moment Otiorin's sharp claws slice through the gag, Bria goes limp and smiles gratefully. She speaks like a person whose mind is swimming through a sea of delirium. She appears to be trying hard to keep conscious. Still, as the rain patters down, she brings forth her sunshine smile when she hears his voice and sees his face.


"H... Hi, Rin! You look terrible..." She beams at him while lying as motionless as possible. "The Wee Jas... broke my arms." She winces again and again. "The Art of Pain... Wee Jas break bones with a technique that fools healing magic... so that the bones and nerves heal wrong." Bria gasps. "If I'm given magic to restore me now, I... they won't work... My magic... I won't cast ever again."


"So... I need you..." She gulps at her arms in their long sleeves. "I need you to... put my bones back right. Straighten them. Then apply..." she looks to the healing salve. "It would be nice if... both arms could be... done simul-- Sim-- At the same time?" Her eyes dart around momentarily for another Wanderer.


"Oh! One more thing... I might fall..." Her pretty brown eyes look into the gray sky as if recalling some bright memory. "Remember our chat on the wagon? Well... I've made a decision. Regardless... ow... of what you think you are... I have chosen to... have love for you... so no matter how dark your life gets... no matter how you feel... know that there is always someone in your corner... ever cheering for you, Rin!" Yet another jolt of pain suddenly rides up her body and she bites her lower lip and does not cry out. She manages to look up to Rin in the warmest way.


"You're terrific, Rin!"


Breathing heavily, Bria simply looks up at him. Smiling in the rain.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin's pain washed away with the torrential rain sluicing out of the sky. The fast-approaching sound of horses, wagons, horns and battlecries faded into the background as if Bria and he were the only people in the world, in the universe, heavens and all. The icy-cold rain that pounded on his scalp and worked it's way through his clothes to soak his skin was little more than a light summer drizzle. Her smile consumed his every thought, the darkness that dwelled in the back of his mind over the mediocrity of his most recent performance in combat seared into nothingness by the brilliant light she seemed to give off in his altered eyes.


His skin shifted, pale pink replacing the blue-white tinge, even as his eyes, teeth and nails altered back to their native forms.


"But... but your people, the Ko... don't they have rules? Taboos about associating, getting deeply emotionally involved with non-Ko? I... I don't want you to be cast out from your people, your family, not for me. I love you too much to let you do that.", he said, before darting forward like a snake.


His hands closed around her cheeks, gently caressing the chilled skin, his face inches from hers.


"I love you, you hear me? But I love you so much, I don't want to see you cast out and fallen from grace. I would flee to the darkest depths of the earth, never to be seen again, rather than see you alienated from your own people. I know how that feels and I would wish it on no one else. I only want you happy."


And then he kissed her.

 

[Purr]

Luna and Sparkle make their way back to the other Wanderers. Sparkle is trying to be calm as she sends to Bren, but the old girl cannot keep the worry out of her tone. Bren, that warg did something to Luna, but we do not know what! She appears to be in no immediate danger... but... that abominable creature appears to have stolen Luna's voice! I... I am at a loss!





As Luna silently rejoins the team, she and Sparkle point out a strange sigil on the top of Luna's throat - Bren has seen this vile mark before... on the noisy corpse of the Mielikkian he helped study not ten minutes ago. That hate-scrawled pentagram seems to stare back at Bren.


Meanwhile, Bren's closeness to Bria allows him to hear every spoken word (he is but 10 feet away).


(I will post as Bria later today.) =)

 

[Kaerri]

Brendoran, human fighter/ranger

Standard AC: 23


Fort save: +11


Ref save: +7


Will save: +4


Current action points: 5


Current HP: 45/78


Status effects: none


broken shield

The combat over, Bren simply stands for a moment in the mud-spattered aftermath. He closes his eyes briefly. Several of us down, but none dead. Thank you, St. Cuthbert and Mielikki! Then, of course, with the adrenaline dropping from his system, the pain from his own injuries hits and his eyes fly open once more. He turns to Sparkle and Luna and calls out through the rain, "Get you both here, you're too far from us if they return - or something new appear." He listens to Bria and Otiorin's conversation, and is about to reply to Bria's request that they set her broken arms when that conversation abruptly changes to something more personal. Hiding a smile, he turns to see Luna and her small familiar arrive. He winces and shakes his head at the sight of what was done to her. "I'm sorry, Luna. I wish I could have gotten to you and driven him off before that. We'll see what can be done as soon as Bria's more herself."


He takes a few steps over to Bria's side and kneels down next to her, on the side opposite Otiorin. "I hate to interrupt, but we ought to get her arms set first, don't you think? Then you two can continue this conversation later in more comfort, inside the wagon, say." He nods to the shouting, trumpeting, galloping reinforcements quickly approaching down the road.

 

[Purr]

• Wolf & Pecker
• Ambush on the Road of Kings

• 
  
  
  "Hellraiser - In the thunder and heat
  
  
  Hellraiser - Rock you back in your seat
  
  
  Hellraiser - And I'll make it come true
  
  
  Hellraiser - I'll put a spell on you."
  
  
  [media]
  
  
  
  [/media]
  The booming thunderstorm rocks the forest as Wolf charges down the Road of Kings toward his fellow Wanderers. Then come sounds that no thunderstorm makes - a lone trumpet blasting a charge followed by distant yelling and carrying on. All of this is south of Wolf where he is speeding to.
  
  
  The Adventurers' Wagon and the Wanderers must be near but before he returns to them, his ears suddenly tell him that strange and horrible company is momentarily near.
  
  
  Wolf's canine ears hear the sounds of rapid, careless movement through the thick emerald beauty of Shandra's Evergreen. Its source is hidden from his eyes, but his ears hear the angry shouting of what sounds like male human beings fleeing into the deep of the wood. They flee in a northerly direction, coming from where Wolf last saw the Adventurers' Wagon. With the voices come much hate.
  
  
  "These fucking Ko and their friends! His Highness!"
  
  
  "Felled! With a single blow! Just impossible!"
  
  
  "That cursed Sarabina must die!"
  
  
  Then a new voice just ahead of the others makes itself heard. A diabolical wolf-like laugh is heard across the forest sounding like a burning devil from the bowels of the nether Hells. When that laugh finds Leonard's ears, it is the young Leonard from Dalsus all those years ago that hears it. The discovery of half-chewed limbs, bloody trails, fear-faced corpses and dreadful misery followed that laugh every time Leonard heard it in Dalsus - and now, all these years later, Wolf hears it once again.
  
  
  "AaaaaHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!"
  
  
  "And what do you find so damned funny?!"
  
  
  "That little girl I nailed is as good as dead! Hell YES, I find that funny!"
  
  
  "So glad you are having a good day! Get us out of here!"
  
  
  The Dire Wolf of Dalsus continues to laugh over the thunderstorm and on into the forest as the group begins to move farther into the forest at terrific (perhaps inhuman) speed. While Wolf is welcome to follow, he thinks he is outnumbered about 4 to 1.
  
  
  What does Wolf do?
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  Bria's heart after Otiorin's kiss... =)
  
  
  [media]
  
  
  
  [/media]
  Bria's spirit... (no one does it like The Carpenters!) =)
  
  
  [media]
  
  
  
  [/media]
  In the instant that Otiorin kisses Bria, her weary heart bursts free from the sea of delirium, soars up toward the sky, past the thunderstorms and the moon above. It zooms like a comet to the great burning sun and beyond to distant stars where it dances merrily all throughout the cosmos before coming back down to Sharseya and back into Bria's body, all in the blink of an eye.
  
  
  Now there can be seen a happy glow on her once-pale face, though her pain and deliriousness soon make themselves known again. She looks up to Rin's face. And wow! He seemed so pain-free, so full of love! Someone must have healed him! That was terrific. But who did it?
  
  
  Her world returned to a mass of shambles, but at least now it was a very happy mass of shambles.
  
  
  "Rin? Did... Did you just kiss me?" Miss Delirious begins to ramble as she tries to not faint from the pain. "Oh, you are such a rogue... The nerve to... steal a really good kiss from me when... I'm all helpless to stop you..." She smiles weakly. "Um... do it again?"
  
  
  Then Bren arrives. "Oh, hi-hi Bren! Guess what? Rin just told me... he loves me... Doesn't that just brighten your day? It sure brightens mine... but... he's said it before..." Bria gulps in air as she tries heroically to stay awake. "You know, Rin... if you're lying this time... you'd really better say so... If you don't... I'm telling Bren... and Fuzzy Goof... and Shalin... and Havoc... and Bishop Du Blake... and even Kausheya... and they'll decide... what to do to you for breaking my heart."
  
  
  Then another swift stab of vicious pain lances all through her body. She gasps in agony and goes rigid for a moment. Then she is breathing deeply and rapidly, her eyes wide open. "Do it! I'm fall- Uhhh!"
  
  
  At that moment, out of the great curtain of rain a familiar team of huge horses come pulling the enormous and splendid Adventurers' Wagon. Three familiar and wet Killer Mimics snarl and snap with fangs flashing from the top of the wagon, Mamapaw clad in her new red leather armor has the reins of the horses in one paw and her new spear shining high in the other, and Bonny and Whittle are raising up one heck of a ruckus by yelling and clanging frying pans and daggers together.
  
  
  "For the Wandererrrrrrs!"
  
  
  "For Miss Bria's fluffy pancaaaaakes!"
  
  
  "Oh, Bonny-love, do be serious!"
  
  
  "But I am serious, my precious buttercup!"
  
  
  As Mamapaw pulls the horses to a halt with a startled cry, Stewart upon Bren's horse, Star, comes racing up with a curved short sword in one hand and his trumpet and reins in the other. "Lord Sarabina!" he brings Star alongside Bren and dismounts in a practiced fashion. "Your horse, my lord!"
  
  
  Then all of the newcomers see the battlefield for themselves. Powerpaw and Vardadraug lie motionless in the rain and mud. Otiorin and Bren are on either side of Bria who appears to be unable to rise. Luna and Sparkle are near and the aged dragoness appears terribly worried. Everyone is thoroughly soaked, possibly shivering, and not moving with their typical vigor.
  
  
  "Son! Bast's blessed vengeance, no!! Not my son!" Mamapaw drops the reins and frantically bounds cat-like off of the driver's seat and down the stairs in an effort to reach Powerpaw.
  
  
  The Meadowsweets look on in awe and terror. "Oh, dreariest of days!" cries Bonny. "The worst of woes are upon us!"
  
  
  Cold steel in hand, old Stewart keeps an iron-clad calm. "Leap not to conclusions, brave hobbit!" The steward of many years surveys the scene. "Master Sarabina, we came as soon as we were able! Did your opponents flee to the woods?" To the wagon, he shouts, "Fetch blankets! Light the hearth! These--" As the Meadowsweets dash inside, Stewart's large eyes gaze upon the unknown hooded man. Stewart's interest rises as he sees that black mask, muscular robed body, and closed eyes, but as his curiosity rises, so too his confusion.
  
  
  "Milord, have we... a prisoner?"
  
  
  Then Stewart gasps as he takes note as he starts to realize just why Bren and Rin are on either side of Bria. Stewart places his hand over his heart and quietly prays to the Saint of Good Judgment and Retribution.
  
  
  

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Leonard Wolf - The Ranger

Shape: Wolf


Spell 1: Delay Poison


Spell 2: Entangle


Favored Terrain: Yes


Meat or Fish: Meat


Preferred Dice: Black or Red

Wolf stops frozen at what he hears.


The ambush... No! I'm too late! His first thoughts are of the worst, but then he gathers the facts and rethinks the situation. These must be the vile monks Little Cub mentioned. So the ambush took place, but they don't sound satisfied. In fact they sound angry, and like they lost someone... Someone important. So it can't have gone all that great. So they're retreating... The others must be alright, then. But what harm did take place, exactly? I have to find out. Wolf is just about to call it a day when he hears the maniacal laughter belonging to his quarry.


The direwolf! Wolf's body tenses and he's about to give chase on instinct, but hasn't made up his mind yet. Oh no... he can't mean anyone but Bria or Luna. One of them got seriously hurt. That thought is probably the only thing that eventually keeps Wolf from giving chase. He knows without a doubt that the others need him now. That Luna might need him.


With a heavy heart, Wolf continues with haste to reunite with his fellow Wanderers.