Fantasy For Astoria! - Main (Reboot)

[Rumble Fish]

It had taken a bit of time for the long suffering giantess to teach Apples enough about currency in order to be left alone to her own devices, though now with the added possession of a couple of gold coins. The deity stood, turning the coin around in her fingers, admiring it. Apples was still a bit lost on how to use it so took to just looking at the metal intensely. Her thoughts were interrupted by the rumble of hooves approaching them. The hermit blinked in confusion, which only increased as she spotted the mob of men riding atop horses. Apples had seen horses before. Wild herds of them came through her forest many times, and sometimes she would let them eat some of her leaves when the grass was lacking. It was such an odd thing to see horses donned in metal with metal men atop. Wait- were they men? Humans weren’t made of metal were they?

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the exchange. Everything was so silent now. Names were said that Apples had never heard before, talking about concepts she had never considered. And then, without warning, they had began to burn everything down! Now everyone began to run and panic- though they hadn’t been before! Why was now so different?!

Already feeling the heat burn against her saplings, Apples turned desperately toward the main gates, hoping to escape to the safety of the wild, but her way had quickly been blocked by a wall of flames! Apples gasped anxiously and looked around desperately. She was now surrounded by towering walls of orange and red. The brightness, scorching heat and suffocating smoke burrowed into her head, sending her mind into a painful swirl. The screams, and the panic, it all felt so... familiar. She could not figure out where or when, but still- this had happened before.

Apples had no time to dwell as she felt herself being forced towards the town hall, as the seemingly man-in-charge ordered them too. Apples tried to push back but she was overwhelmed by the tsunami of frightened people. Desperate, Apples looked around, searching for the giantess. She hadn't intended to look for her again, but she was the only being in this place she had spoken to, so instinctively wanted to be close. Even if it was just for protection.

"Oh!" A voice suddenly called somewhere near Apples' hip. She turned anxiously, only to be met by... a kowtowing man, flanked by three other men. They were all dressed in shabby, myrtle green tunics. He shuffled forward slightly, looking up at her as if he had never seen a female before, "Oh!" He gasped again, "Fair goddess!"

Apples blinked once.

"Fair goddess!" The man proclaimed again, suddenly rising up, opening his hands upward as if hoping gold would rain from the sky, his beard was blonde and untamed as a mountain wind, "Oh True Maiden of the Wilds, we are blessed to be in thy presence!" He proclaimed, as if completely unaware of the current bedlam around them. Apples took a careful step backward. Her hawkish eyes darted, still unnerved by the fire engulfing the village. Suddenly, the man reached forward, as if to grab her ankle. His fingers just brushed against her saplings as she pulled her foot away.

"I do beg your-?!" Apples spluttered in indignation, who was this maniac?!

"The scriptures say!" The man spoke, meeting her gaze for the first time. When was the last time he slept? "That if one were to caress the saplings on thy feet, they'd be blessed with protection from the cruel licks of flame!" Apples, trying to hold onto as much of her dignity as possible, scuttled out of his reach. What was she supposed to do about this?! Taking her chances, she took her staff and took off at a run, hoping to lose the quartet of loonies within the chaos. Why did she leave the forest!?

FireMaiden TheMightyRedLemon

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

Alixaviah of Roalon​

Alixaviah stood in shock as the flames spread quickly across the town. People began to scream and run in panic, some heading in random directions away from various fires, and most to the great hall. Viah was snapped out of her shock by the sound of someone behind her. Turning, she was faced with the three guards she had brought with her from Roalon, looking at her with horrified expressions.


"Captain.. what do we do?" The middle man asked, uncertainty clouding his voice. "The kings men-"


"Save as many as you can from the blaze." She ordered, cutting him off before he could finish. "Get them to the stone building at the center of town." She turned back around to look at the flaming booths, which once held all manner of goods and treats. "Link up with the local guard and help as many as you can. Let's show them that the Roalon Guard never backs down in the face of danger!."


The three guards gave a salute and rushed off to carry out their orders, determination in their eyes. Quickly they began to gather groups of the panicking crowd and heard them towards safety. With a sigh, the Giantess began forward to look for anyone who might be left in the blaze. Unfortunately it was starting to look like she would never get that tankard of Halamead's famous honey mead.

Interactions Open

 

[FireMaiden]

• Aurelia
• Roman
• Encounter

• 
  
  Aurelia Barrows
  Location: Halamead, Town Square
  Interaction: Open
  Mentioned: Seraph Darkfire (Aloi)
  It happened so quickly. The soldiers marching in, the General's order, the blaze. Caught in the middle of the dancing crowd, Aurelia had little time to process what was happening. She couldn't hear anything over the screams, the shouting, the clashing of metal on metal. Someone, in their panic, had rushed last her, their shoulder hitting full force against her torso. The impact caused the woman to topple, falling back hard against the stone below her. Thankfully, she managed to avoid hitting her head, but the people of Halamead kept running past, making it hard for Aurelia go regain her footing. After a minute or so of Aurelia doing her best to avoid getting trampled, there was a small break in the crowd. She took the opportunity, scrambling away from the spot she had fallen to one nearby where she quickly found her feet. But a sudden explosion of flames and glass caused her to stumble back, arms raised, the heat licking at her arms as it tried to consume her.
  
  "Shit!" The woman yelped, quickly moving back from the flames, frantically looking around. There were soldiers everywhere, a hungry look in their eyes as the carnage spread. Already, blood stained the streets. "shitshitshitshit!" Aurelia felt a familiar panic rising in her throat, her hands instinctually going behind her head to search for her bow but...it wasn't there. She had left it with Roman and Magni! Looking up, she began to scan for the Fairy's Fall Inn, but the smoke was getting too thick, she could hardly see the store signs and soon, without a doubt, it would only be getting worse.
  
  "Oi!" A booming voice suddenly barked, Aurelia turning to see a pair of soldiers bearing down on her. "Malachi Fields! Where is he?!"
  
  "I-I don't, I don't know wh-" Aurelia tried to speak, backing up as they marched toward her. The empire's armor they both wore was already splatter in blood, she knew what the anger twisting their faces would mean for her. As soon as those words had left her mouth, her fate was sealed. One of them charged, thrusting his sword forward, Aurelia managed to jump back, barely dodging. The second would follow his friend, attacking with the blunt, backside of an axe. Aurelia wouldn't manage dodge this time, the flames at her back keeping her in place. The axe collided with her stomach, the woman letting out a yelp of pain. But her hand would dip to her belt, and the man with the axe would suddenly cry out, blood pouring from the back of his hand.
  
  He'd pull back, his friend taking a few moments to see what happened. In those few seconds, Aurelia would run past them, raising a free hand to her lips. The soldiers would both turn to give chase as a high pitched, two tones whistle rang out. Most people wouldn't have heard it over the chaos, but she wasn't trying to call a person. The town hall would have been the most obvious destination, most of the soldiers were still in the fires, searching for this Malachi Fields guy. Who the hell even was he? Aurelia would have no time to ponder, something crashing into her ankles which once again caused her to fall. She would scramble back again, regaining her feet faster this time as the soldiers once again began to close in on her. Faintly, behind them, she could hear a familiar heavy padding. She only needed a few seconds. The sword soldier charged again, brining his blade forward with a downward slash, Aurelia jumping to the left to avoid it. But that blow was quickly flooded by another swing of the axe. She would dodge again, scrambling across the ground, the axe managing to catch a few strands of her hair.
  
  "Little bitch, stay still!" One of the soldiers roared in anger, charging forward again without thinking. A loud growl quickly followed by the clattering of something would fill the air as a giant creature launched from the smoke, teeth barred. A spray of blood, the intense sent of copper and a sickening snap caused the other soldier to freeze, watching as his friend's limp body was shaken like a doll, hanging limp from the maw of a giant wolf. He let out a howl, panic causing him to clutch his axe and charge, the wolf turning violently toward him. As he did, the soldier's body was thrown from it's jaws, the sound of armor clattering against chainmail like nails on a chalkboard. Aurelia quickly straightened up, slipping the dagger back on her belt as the wolf turned to face her. She stared him down, smiling.
  
  "Good boy Magni!" The woman praised, the wolf wagging it's tail as she moved to his side. From the ground, she picked up her bow and quiver, glancing around. How far away was Roman? She knew he would be fine but...a suddenly pop of glass caught her attention. "Come on, everyone's headed to the town hall, we can help there!" She wasn't good in close quarters, but at least she could try keeping the soldiers away until as many as people as possible got inside.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Roman Durant
  Location: Halamead, The Fairy's Fall Inn
  Interaction: Togy (Arcturus) Goonfire (Enver)
  Mentioned: @Orikanyo (Lash)
  That stupid bastard. That insane, stupid bastard. His fist had only just collided with that elf's face when the thunderous sounds of horses riding in over the hills filled the air. Roman would shift, sitting back down so he could watch as the soldiers rode into town. "This can't be good." The man mumbled to himself. His jaw clenched when he saw the man in charge, his shoulder tensing. The General was a ruthless bastard, Roman's own time in the military had given him plenty of examples of this. He could only hope that for once, whatever his goals were could be completely with no issue. Roman's hopes were quickly dashed as soon as those first torches were lit. He moved, pushing the drunks further back into the bar, the wolf at his feet moving to follow. If they were confused as to why, they should soon see the flames erupting from the ground below the small porch they were sitting on. "Goddamn it," Roman mumbled, running a hand through his hair.
  
  Already he could hear the panic outside, the soldiers moving in to satiate their bloodlust and want for violence. "I'm the one who hit the elf, but it was for good reason," Roman spoke to the flustered man who looked...rather familiar. He couldn't exactly place it, not at the moment. But he knew from being there in that inn for the past few hours, the man was a healer. "You. Your magic will be invaluable over the next few hours, there will be injured civilians," He spoke, stepping closer to him, brows furrowed slightly. Roman was still trying to place him...the man would step back after a few moments, turning to look at the wolf. He may not have liked Magni that much, but the wolf was a valuable asset. Roman would be disappointed though, to see the wolf grabbing Aurelia's bow and quiver in his mouth before leaving out of the inn through the flames. He let out an annoyed grunt, before turning to those still inside. "Anyone who can fight, Halamead will be depending on you," He spoke loudly. "These men fly Liomuran colors, but they will have no mercy! Give them none in return!" There would be a few loud cheers from the drunks, some of them shuffling off to find a weapon.
  
  Quicky, he focused on the healer again. "Come, we must find where the civilians are gathering." No doubt, they would be running from the flames ands blades, hoping to save their own lives. "You there," He finally spoke, looking to the odd elf. "If you can fight, come with us." The safety of the common folk was more important than his feelings...but Roman would be keeping an eye on him.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Clockwork Syringe​
  She couldn't believe her eyes. Empire soldiers attacking their own people. Flames and chaos aside, for a few moments...the knight was still. Mouth agape, civilians rushing past the small sweet stand as the flames spread, she didn't know what to do. Her father wouldn't approve of this. These soldiers shouldn't even approve of this! A surge of anger suddenly filled her, the knight glancing to Alaric, the man she had been talking to as she drew her sword. "Please, help as many as you can," She spoke, her voice hiding her anger. Before he could reply, she would run past him and out into the street, putting her hand up infront of her toward a few soldiers. "Stop!" Linnea pleaded, "Stop this madness! These are your, our, people! How can you do this?"
  
  Her sword hand shook, a cocktail anger and panic flooding her veins. At first, she was ignored, s ignored, soldiers pissing past her. They knew by her armor and her plea that she was a Liomuran knight, and no doubt, a bleeding heart. They wanted to give her a chance to reconsider. To leave. But Linnea wouldn't. She refused. Rushing forward, pushing past until she was once again facing them, trying once more to stop them. "Please! They've done nothing! There are better ways to find-" Her sentence was cut short as something hit her stomach. Looking down...all the woman could see was red. The large blade of a glaive had pierced her armor, and sank into her gut faster than she could have noticed. A single cough fell from her lips, blood pouring past them to make a mess of her chin.
  
  The man responsible stepped forward, his hand sliding up the shaft of his weapon, an armored hand resting gently against her head. Teary eyes managed to focus on his face, a hint of sorrow lighting his eyes. "May you find peace in Enone's warm embrace," He spoke, his voice quiet. With a single violent jerk, he pulled his weapon to the side, the blade slicing through her body as he stepped back. The soldiers moved past, Linnea standing there in shock. Her hand moved, entrails spilling forth from the gaping wound, the woman would fall to her knees, mouth moving as she tried to speak before collapsing onto her side.
  
  The light was gone from her eyes the moment her head hit the ground.
  

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

[Location: Halamead, Town Square]
{Interactions: Aurelia [ FireMaiden }
{Mentions: }

Aloi frowned as he listened to the soldier's speak, pausing in his needle work. They were looking for someone, possibly someone dangerous but the name didn't ring any bells. Malachi Fields? He didn't remember reading anything in the academy books about such a figure. He then froze at the mention of burning the town down? What?! They couldn't just burn down an entire town for one person. Not to mention unethical but it was economically unsound. Halamead was known for its alcohol production and the nearby towns would surely take notice to the sudden cessation of product.

Before he could think on the subject, thinks kicked off and the woman who's hood he was residing in was knocked to the ground. The only reason she didn't hit her head was because Aloi was there to cushion her head, though it did knock the wind out of him and daze him. As he struggled to pull himself together she was involved in a fight for her life. He could feel the heat from the fire through the hood and suddenly there was growling and a snap of something.

Aloi pulled himself up the hood and onto the shoulder of the woman. Without the illusion spell disguising his presence, she was bound to notice him soon, especially once the adrenaline of the fight began to calm down "Well done" he said softly into her ear "Sorry I wasn't able to help, I was a bit dazed" he was breaking all sorts of rules back home. Talking to the big folk was usually a taboo thing but this was an emergency situation "Head straight forwards, the Faye will help guide you" he made a high pitched whistle, high enough that the woman wouldn't be able to hear it but Magni would. He was calling to the other Faye of the village. While he wasn't a local, he'd had time to get to know them. The Faye were treated well in this village, their boundaries respected.

This act of burning was not just an affront to the people, but to the balance they'd struck with those unseen. A lot of the small folk were unlike Aloi, not really fighters, but they had magic that could help those who could. Illusions that would hide children and the weak, wind that would twist the smoke into the attackers eyes, or simple protection that would help a woman and her wolf rush through fire and flames to help others.​

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Alaric Hayden

Alaric watched as the civilians started running past him panicking, why was this happening? Wasn't this supposed to be a celebration? Then he saw them, Empire soldiers setting fires to buildings and attacking their own people. ~what the hell was going on?~ She then asked for Alaric to help as many as he could before she ran over to the soldiers to get them to stop. Shockingly this was the last thing she did as the empire soldiers simply killed her on the spot. Rage began to bubble in his throat and his hand twitched for his sword before he remembered one of his father's lessons, *Don't start a fight you have no chance of wining.* Alaric wanted to avenge the woman's death, but it looked like he was outnumbered and he wasn't about to do something stupid.

Quelling his anger Alaric ran to help the civilians, "Get to the Town Hall! It will be safer there!" He began to lead a group of civilians when he began to think back to that group of soldiers. ~Why would empire soldiers attack their own people? What orders did they receive? And why dammit would they set fire to buildings in the first place? it makes no sense!" Over the next few minutes, more and more civilians began to follow the swordsman who they saw leading them to the Town Hall, and hopefully safety.

 

[Togy]

Arcturus​

For a few, short, blissful seconds, for Roman at least, Arcturus was out cold. Unfortunately, the blow hadn't killed him. Groaning, Arcturus gently clutched his quickly swelling eye as he began to pick himself off the floor. His chair was broken, which, credit where credit was due, was extremely impressive for what was only one punch.

Enver was there as well, apparently. When did he get there? He'd have offered him his drink, but it was upended on the floor somewhere to the right of him so the offer might not be as courteous as he wanted.

Ozzy was pushing himself out of his chair, strutting towards Roman with a glint in his eyes Arcturus didn't really like. He'd said something along the lines of "Arcturus called him a eunuch, he got the expected response" to Enver as he headed towards them.

"No, no, don't mind him," Arcturus said, dazed as he climbed to his feet. "He's a eunuch, you see. No doubt he expresses his sexual frustration as unbridled rage. I don't even hold it against him" He soothed, completely misinterpreting Ozzy approaching to apologize to the man on his behalf as righteous fury. It was much more flattering to think his best friend would floor the man who decked him rather than give them a well-thought-out apology.

Grabbing a cloth, he hummed to himself as he gently dabbed at the mouse-like symbol on his coat-tail (Where had that come from?) coated in a light stain of spilled ale. Looking back up, he stared, unblinkingly, directly into Ozzy's withering look.

"What?" Arcturus asked, genuinely confused, "Was it something I said?"

"It's...just...It's a losing battle, Arc. Just stop talking" Ozzy groaned, long-sufferingly.

Rolling his eyes, Arcturus busied himself by nursing his black eye with a bottle of ale. He thought he'd been rather friendly today, why wasn't he getting any recognition for that?

He didn't even notice the panicked man streaking past the open-air bar on horseback, yelling something about the town hall as a crowd of festival-goers ran after them.

Ozzy did notice, though.

"Arc," He began, craning his neck to peer past Arcturus, watching as the stream of panicked villagers grew in number and intensity, "Arc, something's very wrong here".

Looking up from his work, confused, Arcturus gave a tentative sniff of the air. "Am...Am I the only one who smells smoke?"

Turning around, Arcturus watched as a streak of flame, a torch or fireball he didn't know, flew through the air before landing on the dry thatch roof of a tailor's shop. Immediately, it set ablaze.

Arcturus and fire had a love-hate relationship.

He thought fire was beautiful, ever-consuming and bright as it devoured everything in its a path in a display of dancing red.

It also scared the ever-loving shit out of him.

He thought fire was a novel concept. As long as it was a good fifty feet away from him and the flames showed no signs of blowing towards him. If it got any closer, his natural reaction was to run.

A fire had just lit up the porch of the bar he was standing on. Ergo, it was time to run.

Ozzy barely stopped him from running, placing a hand on his shoulder and holding him in place. The eunuch who'd punched him earlier was trying to gather the people to fight, which was admittedly commendable. The humans were razing their own villages now? What, did they run out of Elven ones? Dammit, he hated the Empire.

And now the eunuch was calling him to arms. Any other time, Arcturus would be up for a hopeless fight without a complaint. His self-preservation was borderline non-existent at this point, whether he lived or died wasn't an issue.

What was an issue was if Ozzy lived or died. If Arcturus volunteered, he'd follow, and likely get himself killed. The only thing the man had going for him in a fight was ferocity, and that did nothing to prolong his best friend's life in a battle.

Arcturus was halfway through forming the words "We're good" when Ozzy spoke over him.

"I'll fight" The dumbass said, the hypocritical bastard who always told him to stay out of trouble.

"Ah, actually, Oz, I think you should reconsider" Arcturus whispered to the taller man quickly.

"You're talking me out of this?" Ozzy hissed back, blatantly amazed.

"Well someone has to, apparently! You'd get yourself killed, and, seeing as I'd be compelled to follow you, me as well!" Arcturus hissed, keeping his voice low so the others couldn't hear him over the chaos outside.

"Look, Arc, the people here are going to need all the help they can get. Me and you, you especially, we can help them".

"No we can't! We are the least helpful men alive!" Arcturus huffed, glowering at his friend. "Look, if I said, out of the blue, 'There's an invading army, let's go beat them black and blue!' heedless of my or your safety, what would you do? If we head to the stables, we can knick a horse-".

"I'd follow you" Ozzy answered, complete sincerity in his voice.

Sputtering, Arcturus formed a few incoherent words before stopping for a few short seconds. "Are you...are you emotionally manipulating me?"

"...Is it working?"

"Apparently!" Arcturus said with a huff before turning back to the eunuch. "Alright, fine, let's beat those chavs back to Terberis!"

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

A Clockwork Lemon Studio Production

Through the Flame
by: The Mighty Red Lemon and Clockwork Syringe​

Flames danced wildly across the wooden frames of the buildings as a small group of terrified locals made their way through the inferno, being hurried along by a giant figure. Alixaviah had found them trapped inside of a collapsing building, where they had hoped to seek refuge from the Liomouran soldiers. Escape from the town wasn't an option with the amount of bloodthirsty warriors that had them surrounded, and the blaze would consume almost every building… except the town hall.


Viah was on high alert, looking out for any threat that might befall the scared group of survivors. "Worry not, we are nearly to the town hall. You shall be safe there." She affirmed in an attempt to calm them. This was bad, but the less these people panicked, the better. No sooner than the giantess was finishing this thought, a group of soldiers came up on them from behind a few blazing buildings ahead, blocking their way forward. Screams emitted from the cowering citizens as Viah pulled her sword and stepped in front of the group to defend them.



As Alaric shepherded his group through the streets he soon realized that this was not an isolated incident, kingdom soldiers were indiscriminately attacking any civilian they saw. In fact, two soldiers came after him as the leader of this column attempting to wrest control of these civilians away from him. ~Breathe deeply Alaric,~ his father would say before beginning any combat training. ~A panicked mind is a dead mind. Focus and let your sword guide your movements. The first soldier rushed at him causing Alaric to anticipate his movements. Dodging the soldier’s sloppy footwork Alaric slashed his back as he passed causing him to collapse on the ground. He wasn’t dead, but it was one less enemy to deal with. The other soldier was menacing his unofficial charges by screaming at them where the mage was. Not about that, Alaric took his left hand and snapped his fingers into pointing his hand and caused a jet of flame to strike the soldier in the face. The soldier dropped his sword and clutched his face screaming from the pain as his knees buckled. “LET'S MOVE!” Alaric shouted, taking his charges with him closer to the town hall.



Getting closer to the town hall, he became aware of more screams echoing throughout the city. However, there was a set of screams that was closer than the rest. Turning the corner he then realized its source, a small group of civilians cowering in fear as a lone swordswoman was facing off against a group of what looked to be six or seven soldiers bearing down on her.


Two kingdom soldiers lay dead as Alixaviah broke an arrow off from her side with a grunt of pain as she stumbled back, narrowly dodging the thrust of a spear. Grabbing the shaft of the polearm, the large woman yanked, pulling the shorter armor clad soldier towards her as she raised her foot, planting it firmly in the man's chest, sending him falling backwards without his weapon. Viah turned the spear around and threw it, impairing the crossbowman that had been shooting at her from down the street, a sweet vengeance for all the arrows now lodged in her back. Without hesitation the man who had fallen scrambled to his feet and pulled the sword at his hip, charging the giant, while two more men came at her from the sides with spears in their hands.


Alixaviah tightened grip on the hilt of her sword and widened her stance, despite the pain it caused. As the soldier with his sword drawn swung down on her, she grabbed his wrist with her free hand and ran him through the throat with her own blade. Pain shot through her left leg as the tip of a spear buried itself deep into her calf. With a roar of pain she fell to her knee, barely throwing up her sword in time to deflect the second spear from her right.



Alaric watched as the woman fought off the soldiers bravely, but it became clear that she was heavily outnumbered. There was a high chance of her losing the more she fought and the more he stood there gawking instead of helping. Resolving himself, he yelled “GET AWAY FROM HER!” as he took his left hand flat against the air and positioned it to his right before violently swiping it to the left. This caused the ground underneath the soldiers to rumble briefly for a moment before it lifted and threw them backwards. This had two effects, it first threw the soldiers on their backs and allowed the woman some breathing room. “Get to that other group and help them if you can! I’m going to help that swordswoman!” He commanded. The civilians, still rattled from their own encounters, shakily nodded. Alaric then ran to the woman’s side standing next to her and yelling, “Are you all right? I’m here to help!”

 

[Goonfire]

Enver stood frozen in disbelief. A general searching for one man made a move befitting a bandit chief. The paladin’s head spun; who even was this man they sought? Whose crimes were so heinous, the king would ruin thousands of lives to reach him?

That was when the anger welled up in Enver. He could feel it in his chest as the answer became clear: No offense was grievous enough to warrant punishing innocents. “If this is how the empire wishes to treat their people, then I wish to not hold any title,” he asserted to his three new companions. “I will renounce my noble status and oppose this tyranny wholeheartedly, fighting and healing where I can!” He then drew his shillelagh, letting out a spirited war cry before wading through the rallying people towards the exit. “We shall carve our way to the town hall, if we must! ONWARD!!!” With that, he barreled into the streets of the burning town, furious mob in tow.

FireMaiden Togy

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

NEW ROOTS, OLD TACTICS
Penned by Clockwork_Syringe, TheMightyRedLemon , and Rumble Fish ​

The cataclysm of flame and panic sent the deity’s senses into a frenzy. The fighting that had broken through the chaotic atmosphere only made it worse. Too many dangerous weapons, too much heat and smoke billowed from burning wreckages all around. Apples only knew one thing and that was that this “town hall” they seemed to speak of was some kind of refuge. People seemed to be invading this typically peaceful settlement and killing those protecting it. She had no time to question this however, for a shout caught her attention. Turning, she noticed the giantess from before, injured and in a crumple on the ground.

“Alixaviah!” Apples called and ran to the woman’s side, watching as some seemed to be looking to help. Apples knelt next to her and frowned at her wound before turning to the knight, her glare growing deeper as her hawkish eyes shifted between him and the fallen warrior, “Did you do this?” she demanded, standing at her full height and gripping her staff firmly in her free hand as if ready to run him through with it if he confessed to doing this.

Alaric was taken aback by the sudden appearance of what looked to be some sort of druid coming up to help this woman, Alixaviah apparently. “No!” Alaric defended himself “She was being surrounded on all sides by attackers and I jumped to help. I am leading my own group of survivors who are helping hers.” Alaric suddenly heard movement from behind him as one of the soldiers started to get up to attack them. “These are the men who you should be angry at!” Alaric yelled before he placed his left hand on the flat end of his sword. Chanting quickly, he then wreathed his sword in flames before yelling at the man, “I think it best if you just walk away.”

Viah coughed as she used her sword to pull herself up a bit. "We need to leave, now. We can figure out who is what when we are safe, right now we have scared people who depend on us to survive. Focus, no bickering." She said turning to the civilians. "Worry not, we Shall see you to safety." Even wounded and kneeling, all she could focus on was her job, her purpose.. to protect.

Apples turned to see the men advancing on them. She looked back to Viah in worry. Despite her words she seemed unable to get up, and it would be exceedingly difficult for others to get to her feet. The deity did not pay mind to the knight shouting. “Can you get up?” She asked the warrior, bending down again.


"My leg has been pierced… so I cannot move well enough to see these people to safety.. not without help." The giantess confirmed

Apples blinked at this information. Pierced? She did not know what that meant but from what she gathered, it meant that she could get up. She would be a sitting duck for attack! Unless… she darted her eyes around. Everyone was too busy panicking to notice.

“Forgive me.” She spoke before putting her arms under the warrior. Shutting her eyes, she began to mouth a wordless chant and her body went very stiff. After a couple of seconds, the woman seemed to grow, stretching out of her own skin which was being replaced with rough bark. As she grew, her height lifted her up onto her feet. Her knees creaked as she stood up, now standing at roughly eight feet. The only indication to her humanity was the pair of eyes that sat in two black slits. Without a word she turned in the direction of the townhall, not even registering the stares she was getting. At this height her head was up in the smoke, making her nauseous.

Of all the crazy things that had transpired today, Alixaviah was somehow shocked by this woman literally turning into a tree. " Yeah okay… " she said with a nervous laugh "tree lady. Why not?" Then Viah looked down to the scared merchants and townspeople. "Getting them to safety is top priority my friend."

As the druid tended to the warrior, Alaric fended off some of the remaining attacks from the soldiers. Of the four soldiers that he had sent off their feet with his earth magic, two still got up. One charged at him brazenly attempting to shock Alaric with his sudden attack, but Alaric had seen it coming. Sidestepping the sloppy form, Alaric swiped the soldier’s back with his sword, slicing the leather armor he wore and causing it to catch fire from Alaric’s fire magic. The last soldier remaining was not as foolhardy as his compatriot. The two of them were locked in a stare before Alaric moved first and clashed his own sword against the soldier’s. He needed to end this fast to give some needed help so he began to chant his more dangerous lightning magic. Sadly as he finished the chant, and moved his left hand to cast it, it simply cast a black smoke cloud from said hand. There was no lightning magic to speak of, but it did cause the soldier to briefly gaze at Alaric’s hand giving Alaric the opening he needed. Knocking the soldier’s sword out of his hand, Alaric then stabbed his throat and watched as the soldier spurted in protest before collapsing onto the ground.

Suddenly, Alaric became aware of a larger presence behind him and turned around to see a roughly eight foot tall tree with eye slits. ~This must have been the druid he saw, what powerful magic~ Alaric thought to himself. “Let’s get to the town hall!” Alaric yelled before beginning to follow the transformed druid.

The great tree rolled her shoulders as she began her trek towards the townhall on the knight’s command. Apples, typically, did not answer to anyone- it was out of her nature to act upon someone else’s orders, let alone mortals. But the proud deity knew better than to ignore the situation. With one arm, she supported Viah and with the other she held it out to clear a path, though that was not entirely needed as people parted like the red sea in her wake. Despite moving at a relative speed, the ent seemed to be walking in slow motion.

Thunk!!!

The tree creaked out a low, rumbled grunt as an arrow buried itself into the nape of her neck. Her head dipped and turned about in confusion rather than pain. The sounds of her movements sounded akin to snapping branches. Regardless, she kept going, occasionally shaking her head in annoyance at the bothersome arrow.