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Graded [Overgrown Marshes] The Hag of the Overgrown Marshes

What do we have here? A skeleton, eh? Clarice could conduct a full postmortem, but what does she stand to gain from such an extravagance? Nothing to justify the time expenditure, surely; it’s much more sensible to run through the basics and call it a day. Let’s start by determining whether the victim was male or female and proceed from there.

[Action 1 - Investigate] Clarice quickly scan’s the skeleton’s pelvis. Then, she transitions to the skeleton’s teeth and the shape of its skull to narrow down the victim’s species. While a more thorough postmortem might establish the victim’s species and identity, Clarice seeks to answer a single question: is this the corpse of a human, a fae, or a beastfolk?

Clarice doesn’t need to disturb the remains to gather data on any other topic of interest. She is keenly aware of the rapidity of decay from the fetid gases such processes produce. She would guess that the victim perished less than a month ago given the extent of skeletonization and rust/scale buildup. While her knowledge of Plague Boggarts is minimal to nonexistent (why study the ecology of pathetic swamp gremlins when you can study the ecology of devils, demons, negative energy beings, and dragons), she properly links the scratch marks covering the bones and armor fragments to the little pests, but she does not conclude that this is the cause of death. Working backward from the assumption that this area is a Plague Boggart nesting ground, the victim wouldn’t have just carelessly wandered in. Even if the victim was bumbling about, the Plague Boggarts could not have ambushed the victim at this location as there are no sizable bodies of murky water in close proximity. The orientation of the corpse might furnish more insights - unless it was dragged here. The more enticing possibility is that the victim was fleeing - possibly already weakened and wounded - from another entity when it bumped into these pests. This would explain why Clarice discovered no hard-wearing, ruggedized supplies nearby. The victim could have shed the extra weight in its haste. And speaking of lost tools, where is its sword?

Fascinating. Morbid, to be sure, but a mystery if ever there was one.

Here’s the rub: this investigation proves Cayde’s assumption is flawed at best and racist at worst. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together (which necessarily excludes some of her party members, she thinks) would realize that an order of errant paladins is commissioning members to embark on perilous quests in this swamp. It’s exactly the sort of buffoonery Clarice would expect from such a lunkheaded organization. At the very least, anyone who insists the bunny paladin has the favor of the swamp and has lived in the swamp for a few hundred years needs their head checked by a medical professional. Clarice can’t exactly rule out that this is all a ruse, but if it isn’t, this is hands-down the lamest were-critter that ever existed. Clarice has found more impressive were-critters in the stuffed animals section at the toy store. Scylla’s penchant for brewing explosive potions - including healing potions (may Mr. Primpaws, test hamster extraordinaire, Rest In Peace) - is more alarming than that exhausted bunny.



Why do I even bother with that girl?

Clarice asks no one in particular. Scylla is trouble with a capital “T.” She doesn’t treat anything seriously, and people pay a premium for her carelessness. Take the “perfected” invisibility potion she brought up for the umpteenth time. Not only did it stain everyone’s clothes, it ruined Clarice’s notes - the notes she needed to study for the midterm at the end of that week. She “earned” a B - a B - on that exam because she didn’t have time to transcribe a new set of notes, write three midterm papers, shop for new clothes, keep up in her other classes, and work her side-job to afford luxuries like food that wasn’t cooked by the disgusting cafeteria goblin that spit in everything “to enhance the flavor” and purchase supplies that the academy didn’t have a hand in creating so she didn’t have to worry about her notebook animating, eloping with her ink pot, and finally being stabbed to death by her quill in a crime of passion! The cake was a sweet gesture, but it isn’t a substitute for attentiveness! Ugh! If she had partnered with Rugalione von Kluge III, she’d be at the beach living the good life right now, not wading through ankle-high muck in a sodding swamp in service of a hag Scylla traded them to in exchange for an ingredient for a mixed drink. Yes, that’s right, an ingredient for a friggin’ mixed drink.

No grade or mixed drink is worth suffering the company of these weirdos and wastrels. Posthumously receiving high marks just ain’t the honor it’s cracked up to be, and the longer this lot is together, the worse their chances of survival become. She might fare better on her own - where the mistakes and dysfunctions of others can’t hinder her. If that corpse had a serviceable sword, she would take it and leave in a heartbeat. Maybe then Scylla would realize that her actions have consequences. It’s not like she could really influence the outcome of the battle anyway.

Clarice prepares to venture into the unknown. She steels her will, checks the fuel in her lamp, and is about to step off when Scylla’s yelp pulls her back.

[Action 2 - Movement] With urgency, Clarice pivots and dashes toward the battlefield.

Whatever startled Scylla must have fallen, for Clarice spots no adjacent hostiles as she approaches.

You’re infuriating, you know that? Stop pretending this is a game; if the paladin dies, all this was wasted effort!

[Action 3 - Movement] Clarice charges toward the paladin, ignoring Baharius cutting down swaths of enemies with the ease of a thresher reaping crops. So too does she pay no heed to Cayde and Nissan’s competition, Chandra’s sharpshooting, or Kesh’s roguish talents.

Cerulean light shears through the shadows swirling in Clarice’s eyes as she levels the Aspect of the Sapphire Dragon at two of the Plague Boggarts encircling the paladin. Imperiously, and with a dazzling flourish, she prepares to bind them to her will.

Noting the paladin’s wounds, Clarice calls to Scylla over her shoulder.


Scylla, I’ll have need of your skills momentarily, for I suspect that this is just another hapless soul questing for honor and glory in these godless fens. I found the corpse of one of its comrades-in-arms half-buried in the mud in the underbrush, so this isn’t an isolated incident - their order, much like our academy, is sending them to die out here for some reason. Don’t heal it until we assess the threat it poses or it takes a sudden turn for the worse. Until then -

Clarice slams a gauntlet-clad fist into her bullseye lantern and deposits ordinary sewing needles, small buttons, and other assorted materials into the hot oil beyond the shattering glass.

I need to blow off some steam.

((Updated to account for “magic users can’t move on turns in which they cast spells” rule. Please note, however, that Telekinesis is a Mental Skill, not a Magic Skill. Thus, different rules may apply.))
 
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Mentions:
| RavenSong RavenSong (Scylla) | saxon saxon (Nissa) | The Last Curse The Last Curse (Clayde) | TheSimianMind TheSimianMind (Clarice)


Baharius made quick work of the first boggeart he lunged at, slicing through him like a hot knife through butter. Twirling around, he didn't have enough movement to go through with his original attack and instead turned to simply strike the next creature with a normal swipe, severely wounding it. While he wasn't able to properly kill the creature, Scylla's fire bolts managed to not only finish the wounded thing off but also take care of two other boggearts that had flanked the saurian. Baharius cocked his head back and gave an affirming nod. "Nice shot." he praised the young witch.

But there was still one more boggeart still standing amiss the carnage of its fallen brethren. With a gurgling shriek, it runs towards Baharius with its ravenous fury, ready to sink his claws into his scaly flesh. The saurian was well-aware of its present and proceeded to finish the miserable creature off, raising his great sword over his head and with a snarling exhale plunged it straight down its middle. With the immediate threat now out of the way, he took a short moment to gather his breath.

Now it was back to helping the paladin, now more of a crucial task than ever before. Six boggearts were now beginning to surround and wittle down the poor bunny's stamina, nearing the cusp of victory. He saw Clarice attempting to break through enemy lines and rescue the paladin, however even he doubted how well she would fair against the whole group. With a guttural growl, Baharius charged at the 3 lowest creatures at full speed*, attempting to push them away from the bunny's position by using both his sword and sheer bulk as a make shift shield and ram. Once separating them, the saurian issued a powerful sideways slash towards at least two of the creatures; maybe nicking the third if he was lucky.



*6 east; 5 north
 
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Kesh

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As Kesh had swiped the strange creature of its eyes, she stared at her hand as it dripped with eye slime. She almost vomited as she flicked her hand of it, she could smell it. It smelled like hot slime stuck in a mushroom cap. But then seeing the boggart's reaction to being blinded scared Kesh a little, seeing the consequences of her actions, she tore a living creature's eyes from its head and now it was fighting for its life, this was what nature was? Killing and surviving? No wonder why the Ratkin stayed underground, they were safer below. But now she had blinded this creature, she would put it down, finish the job. Kesh gulped deeply and waited for an opening, she remembered that this was for this group, she was aiming to protect them, especially Cayde. Kesh saw her opening with it flailing around wildly, Kesh stabbed her claw forward into the eyes again before pulling out quickly. She was going to vomit and needed to move on. Whether it killed it or didn't really didn't matter to the Ratkin as she moved on, the rabbit was in trouble.

Kesh ran on next through the swamps, seeing there was a whole bunch of these weirdos surrounding the bunny, Kesh hopped up, doing a side flip as she landed on the head of the boggart and remembered why she was doing. " FOR CLYDE! " She cried out and ran her claws over the creature's eyes, trying to blind it as she hopped off trying to get away from its frenzy, just like last time! Kesh was rather disgusted with the slime or blood on her claws, it smelled terrible.
 

Cayde didn't need to wait for Nissa's answer to know she needed some help. The two boggarts encroaching on her were a good enough indicator, as were the nasty-looking wounds left after their attack. A grimace forming on his face, Cayde knew he and Kesh would have to treat those later. He did not look forward to the scene that'd cause. Regardless, he had already turned to sprint in her direction, but before he did, he spotted one more boggart in the distance, approaching from behind the two Kate had slain. That only made his grimace grow even more pained. Kate was winning - now he really had to start thinking about that prize. "I'll let you have that one for free," Cayde called out to her, "Lyse needs help, and I intend on getting there before the insults start."

After waiting for Baharius' charge to reach the monsters north of him, Cayde would make his move behind Nissa, loading another bolt along the way (two squares up, two left). "I've got you, Lyse!" He'd announce as he brought up his crossbow, shooting at the boggart diagonally of him. He took care not to shoot her on accident, lest he had to treat another injury—namely, his ruptured eardrums from the verbal lashing that'd surely follow.

In the downtime, Cayde would load another bolt into his crossbow. However, before he could draw for another shot, he heard someone call his name - or at least one of his names. The same one he'd gotten (though he still hadn't a clue why) from a certain crazy rat-lady—the rat-lady, who he now saw clawing at a Boggart's eyes. Cayde gasped so hard he swore his lungs almost collapsed, "Kesh! There you are!" For once in these swamps, he felt genuinely relieved. "Give me a warning next time, please? Almost gave me a dang heart attack!" He anxiously gripped his crossbow tighter, "Hold on, I'm on my way!"
 
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Glancing back at Cayde whislt channeling her spell she remarked, “MHM! you heard me, you little air head!”. Turning back to face the boggearts the witch took careful concentrated aim before releasing the elemental fire arrows. Scylla then turned around quckly noticing Cayde flailing about for an explanation. “Fine. Lets deal with this first.” she said then rolling her eyes at his suggestions to move forward.

When Scylla turned ot face where her fire darts had landed her eyes lit up.

“HA! IT WORKED!” She exclaimed before quickly collecting herself, “Ahem, i mean.. i knew it would work.” When Baharius turned to give her a compliment she shyly nodded and kicked the ground a bit. “Heh, thanks! You as well sir-roaring-dragon-knight.” However, very shortly after that the witch spotted Clarice darting towards her.

Scylla waved at her happily, “Welcome back Clarice! Such great timing! You see that guy over there? He totally did the most unspeakable-” But before the witch could continue with her accusation, she noticed Clarice was very displeased. For just a moment her words appeared to have effect, as the witch seemed to become overwhelmed with shame and sadness. But not before Clarice mentioned the word ‘game’. Which then she returned to her usual happy self.

“Wait. You’re telling me this ISN’T a game?” she asked with a high pitched voice. “Oh, dont worry, we will most definately save that adorable little bunny! i mean, look how cute she is!” She pointed at the exhilarated paladin bunny, “Aw, she’s in trouble. But she wont die, thats just so dark-.” Shaking her head with disbelief. And once again before she could continue, Clarice darted towards the bunny paladin.

Upon seeing Nissa get hurt, her tone changed drastically, the witch then darted behind Clarice, (1. Move, 1 square Right, 2 squares up) Keeping her distance Scylla gasped, “Sweet wise dragon, Niv-Mizzet!” However it seemed the wounds were fairly superficial, and it would take some time for any poisons to course through her body, that is if her anatomy worked just like that of a LIVING human. The bunny seemed to be getting the worst of it, as she did her best to fend off the fiends currently laying siege to her soft furry body.

“Gee, i really dont like using this kind of magic, anymore.” She muttered with a frown, but decided it was the best spell. And she also hoped it wouldn’t freak anyone out.

Closing her eyes, and focusing her magical affinity she could feel the restless undead spirits on tap within this haunted swamp. “Come forth.” She muttered, before a mage’s circle illuminated on the ground beneath her feet. Specters began to rise from the circle as more rose to vortex around the witch, groaning with restless vengeance. Her staff began to levitate once again before her, as the crescent moon on her staff glowed an eerie black hue. When she opened her eyes, she raised her staff up high, the five specters swiftly searching for the Boggearts nearest to the Bunny Paladin.

She listened to Clarices suggestions, and although she didn't agree she felt she had been breaking her rules and irritating her quite a bit by now. Besides, no one knew what they were dealing with, exactly. Although, her heart did ache in face of the bunny paladins pain. "Uhm, okay Clarice. But if she gets worse I will do something about it. Poor thing."


  • Shadows - Magic Affinity E - Witchcraft Affinity F - Magic Range E (30ft) - Multiple Targets E (5 Targets) - Energized E- Amalgamates necrotic energy into the form of five shades, with a quick incantation sends them flying towards the targets, inflicting acid like damage. - Grade E - 0 post cool down [Energized E]

(1. Move, 1 square right, 2 squares up. 2. Spell - Shadows 3. none)
 
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Nissa
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Nissa dispite the fact that Nissa's clothing looked rather like it was very much heavy armor and the fact that the creatures had cut through it bothered her as she gritted her teeth and felt the stinging and itchiness that came alongside it. She clicked her tongue, "Okay you stupid plagued tree you dare attempt to spread your vile disease to me?" Nissa spoke as she when counter-attacked with a normal slash as she attempted to cut the legs of the creature. That was when the giant lizard man charged through a group of creatures.

"Hey dino man! Are you trying to become a plague-ridden lizard that has no scales or are you just trying to put yourself in the middle of all of them?" Nissa called out before returning her attention once again to the foes that were in front of her. Great now I will have to sew myself up or find someone to close this wound or something. Stupid creatures these people are idiots we should have just left the bunny to die and then that would have solved our problem. She thought to herself.

She then heard Cayde to which she didn't even look back.
"Excuse me!? What did you just say about me? You know what, you are making this whole job so much harder. We should have gone with my idea. Actually, you know what, the dino man over there had more brains than you do!" Nissa argued as she ground her teeth together, rather annoyed before she continued. "Also, did it look like I needed help! I'm perfectly fine!"

She then used a draining strike on the creature she had swung at earlier in the hopes of bringing the creature down. "Oh did I mention your mother was a hampster and your father was a roach?" She inquired before rolling her eyes. Once that bunny lets its guard down, I am going to run my sword through her, if the hag wants them gone then so be it. She thought to herself.



  • Draining Strike - Fighting Style Nightblade F, Drain F - Nissa delivers a strike that saps the target's strength by 1 grade for a single post. - Grade F - 0 Post Cooldown

mentions:
Elvario Elvario RavenSong RavenSong The Last Curse The Last Curse Skyhunter Skyhunter TheSimianMind TheSimianMind Develius Develius
 
The Overgrown Marshes
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Mentions: Baharius Develius Develius | Scylla RavenSong RavenSong | Cayde The Last Curse The Last Curse | Kesh Skyhunter Skyhunter | Clarice TheSimianMind TheSimianMind | Nissa saxon saxon

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(Black-and white icons are defeated. Red ones are severely injured.)

Doing a full post-mortem was a bit outside of Clarice's abilities even if she thought she'd be able to do it, but she was smart enough to keep it to the basics. Scanning the pelvis was impossible, as it was buried deep into the swamp's mud and water. Only the upper torso and part of the arms were visible. She'd have to start pulling and digging it out first. The shape of its skull was a lot more telling, as it was difficult not to notice the horns attached to it. Some beast species, perhaps Minotaur or something very similar to it. The size of the horns suggested it might have been male, if they were like regular cattle, but she didn't know enough about their species to be certain. The missing sword could be a mystery, or it could've just fallen and sunken into the mud somewhere. Both were equally likely. Spending both her next actions fully on moving, she was able make it back to the battle-ground, but she'd need a moment to catch her breath from running through the swampy mushy ground before being able to cast her magic.

Baharius was indeed capable of finishing of the final Boggeart with a single well-times hit this time around, after which he moved to try attacking some of the Boggearts that were trying to surround the Paladin Bunny. His slash managed to kill the first one, but only wounded the second, as it's companion's corpse was shielding it from some of the blow. It didn't connect with the third one, as it jumped backwards upon seeing what happened to its companions. Underneath all the layers of fury and rage was at least a hint of self-preservation, it seemed.

Kesh managed to finish off the Boggeart she challenged. As her claws were stabbed at the eyes during one of the few moments it wasn't actively trying to swing its own claws, she could hear some cracking as her claws made it through the now empty eye sockets and into something further back, feeling some mushy gross stuff around her fist. The creature instantly stopped moving and kind-off hang lifelessly from her arm, with her hand and claw buried into its skull. She then shook it off to show off her acrobatics on her way to the next Boggeart. It was considerably more difficult to strike at its eyes from behind it, but whether it was luck or wisdom, her claw managed to make its way into another eye socket. Whilst it didn't bring down the Boggeart, it turned around in pain and tried to locate Kesh in its confusion, although she was still Undetected, meaning its remaining eyes were scanning the air without figuring out what was going on.

Whilst Cayde's bluffing of giving out freebies didn't seem to impress Kalina, his skill with the crossbow did. He was smart enough to wait until the big Baharius stopped moving, which meant he was able to get behind Nissa without incident as he loaded his bolts. The hit struck true, managing to take out one of the two Boggearts trying to gang up on Nissa.

After moving to behind Clarice, Scylla decided to cast another type of spell upon the Boggearts. However, the necrotic energy / acid damage was far less effective than the fire had been. Considering the spectres were looking for the Boggearts nearest to the bunny from the location from which Scylla had summoned them, three of them together would finish off the Boggeart Kesh had previously wounded whilst another two managed to bring down the one wounded by Baharius.

The Boggearts had stared at Nissa with the same level of fury and rage as they'd shown from the beginning, not really comprehending her speech. She managed to slash its legs badly enough for it to fall down, but that didn't kill it. Although her arguing with Cayde nearly gave the fallen Boggeart enough time to scratch at her legs, she managed to jam a draining strike through its head before it reached her and finished it off.

Kalina, seeing the Boggearts fall in rapid pace, was almost worrying she'd not be able to put up a good score at this rate. It'd be a bit too out of character though, so she tried to play it off a little more cool. The lone Boggeart that was still rushing at them from the marshes was an easy target, taken down with a single bolt . Unlike Cayde, she wasn't great at moving and shooting at once, yet her allies blocked her sight... She looked at the muddy, gross, dirty swamp water. That wasn't an option either. She sighed, putting away her crossbow and drawing her rapier instead. She was able to navigate past and between allies somehow, until she ended up next to Kesh and jumped over the recently slain Boggeart from where she managed to ram her rapier through the skull of one of the remaining Boggearts attacking the bunny, taking it out in a clean hit.

With her flanks now taken care off, the Paladin Bunny gathered the remained of her strength to attack again, taking one of the two Boggearts down with a mighty hammer swing and the second with a bright flair of light magic. She immediately fell to her knees afterwards, breathing heavily and looking in great pain. With effort, however, she focused on casting some sort of magic that seemed to slow down the spread of poison, although it didn't seem to heal her. Upon realising that, she gritted her teeth and glanced up at her saviours, some curiosity, fear and worry shown underneath the clear signs of her being in great pain.
 

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Mentions:
Elvario Elvario
(Paladin Bunny & Chandra) | RavenSong RavenSong (Scylla) | saxon saxon (Nissa) | The Last Curse The Last Curse (Clayde) | TheSimianMind TheSimianMind (Clarice) | Skyhunter Skyhunter (Kesh)


As Baharius' offensive venture concluded, the party's antics were able to successfully kill off the rest of the vile boggearts for good. If any were to have survived, they were wise to retreat from the scene, plunging back into the depths of the dead marsh. The saurian took a moment to release a roaring hiss to any beyond the thick trees to the north-east, exhaling any further pent up adrenaline and affirming he and his party's victory. Hopefully they've driven them off for good and that they weren't smart or foolish enough to return with more friends.

He looked back to the rest of the group, taking a quick mental note of everyone here. "Status Report." he called to everyone, taking a deep breath before turning his attention to the rabbit paladin; who seemed like she was now suffering from shock. "Heed Paladin," the imposing reptilian calmly said to her, making sure to sheathe his teeth within his lips to avoid looking too threatening, "You are safe now. What is your name?"

Indeed, she wasn't looking too good; the boggearts had already done a good amount of damage to her. Her knees were weak and her breaths were heavily labored. The saurian could see vague discolored veins circulating a toxic substance through her body. While he assumed that the boggearts were venomous and/or poisonous just by their looks and toxic aura, this had no doubt confirmed it. Had they not helped the bunny, she surely would've been killed. Her magic seemed to be holding off the spread for now, but it was clear she needed immediate medical attention.

"Can anyone stop the poison from spreading?" Baharius urgently asked the rest of the party, his attention focusing specifically at Clayde and Scylla.
 

Nissa's verbal fire came as expected. Cayde waved it off, her insults were becoming par for the course now, but that sudden little comment on hampsters and roaches managed to get a light chuckle out of him. He thought being half-hampster didn't sound so bad; he'd be off eating cabbage, digging holes, or whatever hampsters did. That sounded like paradise compared to his current situation. "I take it that's your weird way of saying thank you, huh?" Cayde smirked, looking her over. "If so: You're welcome, Lyse." His eyes eventually found the shallow cuts on her legs, and they softened with sympathy. Nissa didn't seem bothered by them, but any wound in these conditions would only invite disaster. "Perfectly fine, right?" Cayde pointed at her legs with a free hand, "Don't worry about it. I've got something that'll cover em' up real quick." He said, before motioning to Kesh, "Kesh can help too. Maybe if you apologize and ask her nicely, she'll lend you a hand." He prompted, hoping she'd kill her ego just this once, "All you've gotta do is ask, Lyse."

While awaiting her decision, Cayde crossed over to check up on Kesh, inspecting her for injuries. Much to his relief, she was unharmed, though that didn't stop him from asking, "You okay? They didn't scratch you or anything?" He spotted the grime on her claws and pulled a cloth to clean them. "Y'know, that was a crazy thing you did back there - real crazy," Cayde said softly, a smile forming in his voice. Despite all of his worries, he couldn't stay mad at her. She was okay; that's all that mattered now. Cayde chuckled, "Zane's gonna kill me if he finds out about this, but that doesn't matter right now." He placed a hand on her shoulder and offered her the warmest smile he could muster, "You pulled through, all by yourself, Kesh. I'm proud of you." His eyes darted to Scylla, "And when you're free..." He added, leaning in to whisper, "Could ya give Scylla a little apology? She thinks I-" He contemplated telling her Scylla's accusation. He quickly decided not to, "Uh, never mind. Just do me this favor, alright?"

Baharius' request to assist the rabbit brought his attention back to the present. The rabbit had completely slipped Cayde's mind for a moment, and he felt a twinge of shame stab at him. He felt even worse when he finally saw her up close, utterly unable to stand and clearly in great pain. Here he was, chit-chatting and cleaning claws while she was wasting away - he had to do something. In fact, he could do something.

Cayde gave an affirmative nod to Baharius and rushed to the beast-woman's side, already removing his pack and extracting all the tools he needed. He drew several powdered plant and mushroom vials from his ingredient pouch and grabbed his bag of salt and a small bottle. Then, he went to work, carefully measuring in portions of light green, white, and red powders, some water, and a pinch of salt for principle. He glanced at the rabbit occasionally, offering her small reassuring smiles, "We've got you, miss," He'd tell her, "Just hang on a little longer..."

With a good shake, his [Natural Cure] was finally finished. The result was nothing pretty, the drab green sloshing lazily about in its bottle as he held it, but hopefully, it'd at least pause whatever poison was coursing through her veins. Cayde gently held it up to her, "It's a bit bitter, but it'll do you a world of good, I promise." He looked back and gestured for Kesh to come over. Perhaps her healing magic would make the process go a lot smoother.

  • Natural Cure - Alchemy D, Medicine D, Nature D- By creating a concoction consisting of herbs, water, and several beneficial mushrooms, Cayde can create a potion that quells moderate poisons and moderate illnesses. - Grade D- 2 Post Cooldown
 
Kesh

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Kesh was staring at the grime and gore on her claws, she felt a bit sick seeing it. She tried to flick it off but it wouldn't come off and she had to turn her head away as she kept flicking this slime off her hands that just wouldn't get off her. But her ears perked hearing Cayde and she immediately swung her head towards his voice with a smile on her face seeing him. " CLYDE! you're okay! " Kesh cried moving closer to the plague doctor before she began to pout and almost cry, " Clyde! I got stuff in my hands and they won't come off! They smell gross and feel sticky! " She complained leaning against the plague doctor with her hands still in the air while she slowly dragged down Cayde while fake crying.

His rag quickly caught her attention as she stood straight up smiling while he wiped her hands, watching his hands work. " Yeah! Kesh is crazy-mad! I didn't want to hurt-kill the thingys, but I knew I had to because I didn't want you to get hurt. I also feel useless-vain and wanted to help. Get my hands dirty-gross. " Kesh explained to the plague doctor. Although the plague doctor saying that he was proud of her kinda got her in a soft spot, her face looked a bit saddened as her hands were finally clean, the Ratkin hugged Cayde as tight as she could, which wasn't that tight. Showing her appreciation for his words. " Kesh can be useless-vain sometimes but I want to help-assist. " Kesh explained as she pulled away having a happy smile.

Then his next line of questioning had the Ratkin's full attention, when he motioned to the witch Scylla, Kesh had a confused face for a moment then her face lit up with understanding. She looked at Cayde with this look of excitement and her whole body shook. It was a weird sight but a omen, a omen of the Ratkin muddling things up once again before she ran off quickly to find the witch, Scylla. Seeing the witch's appearance, Kesh overcame her fear of the witch with her excitement. Quickly stopping in front of the witch, Kesh stared at the witch with this smile on her face, although she didn't say anything for a few moment which was already weird, like she was thinking about what to say. But her eyes lit up. " Master Clyde says you got a nice booty-fanny and wants to take you to a dinner-meal in Ryken! " Kesh smiled then looked back at Cayde if he could see, giving a thumbs up, turning to Scylla the Ratkin waved at her then ran off once again to her teacher, Cayde. " Okay, bye-bye. " The Ratkin ran off quickly.

Arriving to her masters side, Kesh stared at Cayde, " I apologized. " She said calmly and weirdly, which indicated that she was lying. Although, there were other problems right now, " She wants dinner. " Kesh then saw the rabbit and smiled, further ignoring anything that Cayde would ask about Scylla. " Aww it's so cute-sweet. " Kesh whispered, although seeing the rabbit in pain, Kesh knelt down into the mud and placed her hands above the rabbit with her ring starting to go, " Heal-Mend! " Kesh stated as her rings emitted a strange glow to attempt to the rabbit in front of them.

  • Magic Heal Cut-Ache! Yes! - Magic Affinity E, Healing F: Kesh is able to use her magic to help heal minor cuts, aches and bruises. Has to be in touching range. (1 Post Cooldown)
 
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After Scyllas spell, dissipated, she took off her hat and used it like a fan to cool herself off. Examining the debris, and bark scattered about the swamp grounds, “hmm, that didn’t exaclty go as i thought..” she said with a hint of remorse, as she pulled a small empty paged tome from her robes. She began to twirl her index finger in thought as a small ink vial and feather floated before her. The animated writing utencils would write her thoughts and notes. “Don't.. use.. acid.. on.. swamp creatures.. check!” With a self assuring nod she put everything away and approached the others standing around the bunny warrior.

There were alot of comments being exchaged but Nissa’s stood out the most. Scratching the side of her head under her hat she frowned, “Hey, thats not.. very nice.” She turned to look at Kesh getting her claws cleaned, and found it quite heartwarming to see Cayde so concerned and attentive to his partner. Still, not quite forgetting about earlier, she quickly turned away.

Holding herself to honor what she agreed to with Clarice to not heal the bunny, she stood around and observed how the others evaluated or decided to heal the bunny. Mesmerized by the bunnys adorable little frame, Scylla appeared to have a hard time resisting to reach out to it. Emitting a high pitched squeak as her eyes betrayed her immense desire to cuddle the little creature. “C-clarice.. i.. just.. can't..I'm so so sorry!” She said as she pursed her lips with restraint.

After Cayde would administer his potion, she immidately gave into her instinct and embraced the bunny. “Eeeeeek! Youre so adorable! I’m so sorry to invade your space miss bunny!” Although she was seemingly distracted she used [Appraisal E] to perhaps get some insight on the bunny.

After a few moments, the witch finally collected herself and put the bunny down very gently. A bit embarrassed, she took a few steps back next to Clarice.

It was then that she smelled something funny before noticing the Ratkin, Kesh behind her. A bit startled she gasped, nudging into Clarice. When Kesh wouldn't speak, Scylla collected her composure a bit. "Hm? Yes? What is it miss Kesh?" the Ratkin strangely appeared to be in contemplation, or pondering, before she came to life as her eyes beamed with excitement. Then Kesh finally spoke, and Scylla recoiled with a deep blush. "W-what did you say?" She said weakly, the words not really processing at first through her analytical mind. It didn't really set in until the rat took her leave and returned to Caydes side. Scylla gazed completely frozen in disbelief as Kesh appeared to make some comments to Cayde. And just when she was beginning to get over the incident earlier. Her embarrassed blush then quickly became a scowl as she raised a spiteful fist, and turned back around, leaning into Clarice's ear. "See? He's such a pig! Kesh probably didn't even want to say it! Did you see how she hesitated?!"


- [Appraisal E] on Bunny Paladin
 
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Nissa
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Nissa pulled her blade out of the skull of the creature she had just killed. Examining the blade for a moment, she saw more of the green substance on the blade. Well, this seemed like blood; it did work though it did seem a bit lacking in its normal power. Could that be from the disease or because it's only similar to blood? She pondered the theory for a moment as Cayde chimed in, which broke her concentration on the creatures at hand. She planted her sword in the ground as she turned to look at the man placing her hands on her hips. "Say what? If I were going to thank you, you would know it. More importantly, I didn't ask for your help, you quack!" She argued as he continued to go on.

Nissa then looked down at the cuts on her legs and then looked back at the quack.
"Shut up! Shut up, Shut up! I am perfectly fine it is only a flesh wound. Secondly, the rat is more akin to giving me some kind of drug than I would trust her." Nissa concluded by grabbing the sword, moving closer to the bunny, and poking one of the dead creatures. Why are they helping a potential threat? That bunny could turn on us in an instant, and then what? We would have helped it and made this whole trip much harder. She thought to herself before letting out a sigh.

I guess she started to think as she heard a high-pitched squeak, to which she turned to see Scylla hugging the bunny. You have got to be kidding me, seriously? Are these people stupid!? She thought to herself before she aligned herself at an angle that would avoid hitting the witch; as she then used draining strike, attempting to drive her blade through the side of the rabbit's rib cage.

  • Draining Strike - Fighting Style Nightblade F, Drain F - Nissa delivers a strike that saps the target's strength by 1 grade for a single post. - Grade F - 0 Post Cooldown



mentions:
Elvario Elvario RavenSong RavenSong The Last Curse The Last Curse Skyhunter Skyhunter TheSimianMind TheSimianMind Develius Develius
 
The Overgrown Marshes
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Mentions: Baharius Develius Develius | Scylla RavenSong RavenSong | Cayde The Last Curse The Last Curse | Kesh Skyhunter Skyhunter | Clarice TheSimianMind TheSimianMind | Nissa saxon saxon

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(Black-and white icons are defeated. Red ones are severely injured.)

Abha Roshan
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The bunny flinched a bit when the much larger Baharius called out, but once he lowered his weapon and sheeted his teeth, she replied. “Abha... Abha Roshan.” The words didn't come out easily, considering the pain she was in right now.

Naturally, she eyed Cayde with a whole lot of suspicion whilst he was preparing his potion. That only increased when she saw how gross and toxic the stuff he prepared her looked. One of her ears flopped down at the smell of it, but she did take it. “Can't get any more sick and poisoned than this...” She muttered, convincing herself to gulp it down. Knowing it'd be bitter, she made sure to down it all in one go and to try to taste as little of it as possible. The latter meant she had to suppress an initial urge to barf it back up, but in the end she managed to hold it in. She even started to look a slight bit better from it. Although Kesh's healing wasn't anything to write home about, with the poison already taken care off, it was enough to close up the scratches and cuts and stop the bleeding as well. Their teamwork had significantly aided the bunny to become a lot more stabilized, although she was still quite weak.

Scylla's hug was clearly surprising her a whole lot, as she instinctively tried to draw back but was too weak to do so. Upon realising she wasn't harmed by it, she was quick to accept her faith. If that was the cost of being saved and healed back, it was a small prize to pay. “I guess you've earned the right, after saving me.” She said, trying to flash a weak smile. Scylla's appraisal wouldn't get anything from the bunny herself, but her belt would show up. It was an F Grade item called [Belt of Vegard's Order]. None of her other items showed up.

As they were all distracted by Cayde's perverted behaviour, Nissa managed to squeeze between them and jabbed her blade into the side out the rabbit's rib cage. Coming out of nowhere and attacking an already weakened foe, it clearly hurt the bunny a lot to have what little of her strength remained drained. Her eyes went wide in shock, as she fell down onto the swamp ground, bleeding quite badly from the wound that was left by Nissa's attack. She wasn't quite dead yet, but she'd be so in less than a minute if she wasn't treated immediately and even then, it'd be questionable if she'd make it. Oddly enough, even through all the panic and shock, the bunny seemed more focussed on trying to calm herself down as if trying to suppress something.

Chandra Jarmil

Kalina, savouring that sweet victory of her Boggeaert kill-count against Cayde, was trying to wipe the most disgusting looking blood she'd seen in ages from her rapier when she spotted Nissa's attack against the rabbit. She was surprised that her fellow vampire would act so rash, risking the fact she'd make an enemy out of all the others that were present here. She even wondered if this was the moment where she had to throw her fellow monster under the bus and accuse it for acting like her title, or perhaps simply straight up attack her. In the, however, she decided to do neither of those things. She didn't want to stand out too much, so she'd await to see how the others would react first. Well, there was one thing she did, which was take a few steps back and ready her crossbow. Just in case.
 
Kesh

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Kesh was smiling happily at the rabbit being nice to them, the Ratkin very much appreciated the cooperation this Abha emitted, not like she was in the position to deny them. Although to Kesh it looked like her healing wasn't working, which the Ratkin was disappointed with. Kesh was seeing that her abilities weren't that strong to help this poor rabbit, which Kesh was compelled to do. The Ratkin we're always cooperative with each other, although while most Ratkin weren't afraid of other races, mainly because they loved underground, Kesh didn't mind, besides undead. They were scary.

Kesh's hands were on her hips as Scylla hugged the poor adorable rabbit. " Don't worry, we will help-assist you. " Kesh said disappointed in herself for not being stronger or well versed in magic. She was beginning to feel useless again. But she did have a question for the recovering Abha. " Kesh has a question for you, cute rabbit. " The Ratkin started but she would see Nissa run up on them and heard a thunk as a blade stabbed into the rabbit. Kesh's eyes widen as she held her hands up, the Ratkin was shocked by what had just happened. Not sure what to do at the moment.

Kesh stared at the rabbit before moving closer to her, her hands were shaking. Fear was running through Kesh, shock as well. She hadn't seen another humanoid die like this before. Sure she just killed some boggarts but they could be argued as wildlife, which is what Kesh used to convince herself to go through with it. But this, Kesh wasnt able to do that. The Ratkin held the rabbit in her arms staring at her. " Wh-. " Kesh's eyes watered up. " Why? " Kesh looked up at Nissa, " Why would you do that? " Kesh's tears rolled down her cheeks and faded into her fur.

Kesh gulped trying to figure out a way to help the rabbit but Kesh was too weak and too inexperienced to help, her magic wasn't good enough to heal the rabbit in the first place otherwise she probably would have helped the rabbit fully. Kesh quietly sobbed to herself, this was the first time something like this has happened to the Ratkin and she wasn't sure how to deal with it.
 

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Mentions:
Elvario Elvario
(Paladin Bunny & Chandra) | RavenSong RavenSong (Scylla) | saxon saxon (Nissa) | The Last Curse The Last Curse (Clayde) | TheSimianMind TheSimianMind (Clarice) | Skyhunter Skyhunter (Kesh)


As Baharius' request was lain bare for all to hear, Clayde and Kesh would both utilize their magics to help soothe with the paladin's injuries. The saurian couldn't help but give a satisfied smile at their efforts. He admittedly was rather skeptical at how they would turn out during the battle, especially the spastic reactions of the ratkin, but so far they've been working great with the team. The paladin, referring herself as Abha Roshan, would also find herself getting glomped by Scylla the witch, giving another warm ping into Baharius' heart. While sporting no physical means in helping to cure her, the best thing Baharius could do now was to stand guard as the others tended to her wounds.

This being said, Baharius already had a hunch regarding who this paladin really was. While he couldn't confirm it for sure, he had a strong hunch that this Lagomorph paladin must be the were-rabbit the Hag referred too. If he was so inclined, he might've considered killing her while she was in her "weakened form", taking the threat out before she would become more difficult. While tempting, especially for an ex-general with years of battle experience, Baharius remembered that they didn't need to simply eliminate the threats. So long as they were out of the Hag's territory, they would count as being "purged" from the marsh. Roshan seemed like a reasonable soul who could listen to reason, provided they phrase their question carefully. So long as nobody made any sudden movements, they could persuade the paladin to leave the marsh and not have to~

*STAB*

There was sharp twang of pierced flesh, accompanied by a gurgled gasp. Immediately, Baharius' head snapped back towards the group with a disgruntled growl. There she saw the culprit; the silver-haired brat stabbing her blade right into Roshan's ribcage. For a moment, the saurian stood almost completely still in shock. He almost felt a sense of betrayal at this action, despite already noting and experiencing Nissa's stand-off attitude towards he and the rest of the party. How could he have not seen this coming? Why did he fail in keeping an eye on the "black sheep" of the group? Kesh's response didn't help but to affirm Nissa's utter hostility.

The saurian's mortified expression quickly morphed into one of sheer rage; his avian pupils now turning into cold, reptilian-esque, slits. "FOOL!" Baharius boomed in a scolding tone.

Immediately afterwards, Baharius attempted to make a sudden lunge to grab her with his massive clawed hand, having been already standing relatively behind her. If to connect, his thumb and index were big and meaty enough to wrap around the brat's neck, with the other digits gripping at her upper torso. He was careful not to stab her with his ebony-colored claws, but it was very much tempting to do so... something he wouldn't hesitate to do if she decided to go completely awol. With a primal guttural growl, the beast lifted her into the air, as his head slowly emerged from her left flank; seeing his needled teeth now brightly exposed and chattering in place.

"WHY DID YOU STRIKE FORTH?" the high-spine beast roared with bitter resentment, "WE WERE GOING TO ASK FOR HER TO LEAVE PEACEFULLY... AND NOW YOU DARE PROVOKE HER WHILE SHE POSED NO THREAT? YOU LACK HONOR, BRAT, AND NOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS~"

Indeed, looking at the paladin now... it would seem that a fight was now more likely than ever. Thought if this is indeed that were-rabbit, and he was sure of it, she seemed to be holding back her bestial form. It was as if she was actively refusing to transform - trying to at least. But with a fatal wound now piercing through her chest, survival seemed very unlikely. Only a miracle could perhaps save her from certain doom... whether for the betterment or detriment of all involved.
 
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Nissa
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Nissa glanced over at 'Kate' after she stabbed the rabbit, and it was at that moment she saw no fear on the woman's face as there had been before. Hmmm, she was so scared before now she seems fine, like it didn't bother her. Something to take note of, I suppose. She thought to herself as she heard the rat speak. "Simply put, I'm not about to stand around and risk being attacked by a wererabbit. In this swamp, all things if you haven't figured it out, have evolved to kill weaker people. At this point, we are the prey, not the hunters, so I evened our odds," Nissa concluded as she heard the lizard voice and attempted to use her natural speed to get out of the way of the grab, however even if she was grapped her response would be the same.

"As I said before, its them or us, there is no room for chance in this swamp or did you forget about that already lizard man. We were told these creatures would lead people into the swamp and kill them. Would you have done the same if you saw the corpse of lizard here? One death is worth the price of thousands of travelers lives not ending to this rabbit," She responded coolly as she didn't feel the need to waste breath on explaining it any other way. Though she was surprised that the giant lizard even cared, she took him for the bronze over brain type and didn't count on him being anything more than a meat shield if things got dicey.

"You all seem to forget one thing, the hag said these laws that bound her from killing the other creatures were ancient, meaning these creatures have lived for years if not centuries. You really think something that has lived here its whole life would easily pack up and leave? Do you think you could reason with something beyond any of our life spans? If you think you an then you are wrong." She paused for a moment before continuing. I believe you stated you were a general or a leader of some kind of I remember correctly, you know how war is, all things are fair in war. You kill the other person before they kill you. Honor has only a place in political and ideological warfare. Honor is useless to me and to everyone else here, living to see the next day is far more important," She pointed out before letting out another sigh this one more irritated than the last. "Or is that too much for you to comprehend? I accept my actions, if she didn't kill people or one of us eventually, then sure I messed up. But if she did kill someone or tried to attack one of us, then it would be on your hands," She concluded not backing down from her position.

mentions:
Elvario Elvario RavenSong RavenSong The Last Curse The Last Curse Skyhunter Skyhunter TheSimianMind TheSimianMind Develius Develius
 
I hate all of you.

If Kesh, Cayde, Nissa, and Baharius conspired to efface any and all traces of Clarice's faith in the party, their mission was a resounding success! Gods almighty, Clarice could not dream up a more dysfunctional "team" even with the aid of pristine Silver Age Comics, mind-altering substances, and day-old pizza! Among their numbers, Clarice counts a kleptomaniacal burnout, a particularly handsy pervert, a homicidal vampire, a reptilian military nut, an introvert with all the personality of a bowl of oatmeal, an unreliable ditz, and, of course, a tyrannical Karen. Calling this group a team is a bad joke! What's more, their dynamic is growing stale.

It's high time for a change of pace.



Three targets in range.
[Action 1: Cast Mind Control - F on Baharius]
[Action 2: Cast Kingmaker - E on Nissa and Cayde]

Silent Command: Magnify Fear

Gaze into their lifeless eyes and witness the dire consequences of your failure. Feel your body, broken and unresponsive, sagging under its self-weight. Taste your own blood as it burbles out of your throat and into your mouth. Let your fear rule you.

What follows might shape Clarice's targets' fears, but her command only magnifies existing fears for the duration (which Clarice deliberately limits to 6 seconds/1 post for all targets). Ergo, the manifestations will almost invariably differ from what Clarice anticipates.

-----
To Baharius, the fallen General:

Everyone you knew is dead, and it's all your fault. You fancied yourself a tactician without peer. You played right into their hands. Your party trusted you; you led them to a mass grave. You watched helplessly as they were torn limb from limb. You're all alone now, and what's more, you're broken. Society has no use for you; they've cast you aside. Though you survived, the world has forgotten you. Every time you close your eyes, you see the faces of the people you've killed. Their screams wake you up at night. Before you know it, you can't endure this waking nightmare any longer. [Edited out for propriety.] Your body goes slack and your eyes roll back in your head.

There is enough suffering in this world. Do not engender more of it in your hubris.

-----
To Nissa, the heartless vampire:

You lie motionless on a cold stone slab. You are conscious, but your body does not respond to your will. You realize that you're paralyzed. You can't sleep or eat or drink. All you can do is stare, unblinking, into the darkness enveloping you. With a thin layer of cheesecloth covering you, you are virtually indistinguishable from the corpses that surround you. You will wish for death, but the body you have been cursed with will forever deny it. Over several eons, your sanity will slowly erode. You try to scream, but you have no voice. Years pass. A party of adventurers enters your tomb. Your body rises to meet them, and you finally realize that you relinquished control of yourself a long time ago.

Cling to your humanity or you will fall prey to the Beast. Even now, it stalks you, waiting to swallow you whole.

-----
To Cayde, the perverted alchemist:

You shake Kesh vigorously, but she does not stir. She stopped breathing minutes ago, but you can't give up on her! You heard and felt the visceral crack of her ribs as you desperately attempted to restart her heart with chest compressions. You pour another tonic down her throat. There is no response. You realize that Kesh has bled out. You cry out for help; again, there is no response. Still in shock, you glance up and witness the carnage the monster you spared has wrought. You are scarcely aware of the blood mingling with the tears streaming down your face as you cradle Kesh's lifeless body and close your eyes for the last time.

Do not rely on the mercy of monsters; others will suffer for your lapse in judgement.

-----
Whatever the outcome, the light and darkness clashing behind Clarice's eyes fade away. She blinks before discarding her busted lantern, guttering flames and all, in the muck at her feet. Now, she examines the paladin and retrieves the rope from her pack.

Scylla, your new chum is turning. If you want to help it, you can try, but please stay at a distance and be ready to take it down if it transforms.

[Action 3: Transfer Rope] Next, Clarice lobs a 50 ft length of loosely wound rope at Kesh.

Kesh and Kate, if you want to help this creature, you can use your dextrous digits to bind it before it transforms. If we can immobilize it, we may be able to wait out the transformation. I'd attempt it myself, but I am otherwise engaged at the moment.

Clarice crosses her arms, blows a wayward strand of hair out of her face, and scowls [Scowler].

[Scowler] The blistering intensity of Clarice's scowl discourages all who might dare to interact with her.

And since my romantic interest blurted out my birth name, I should probably re-introduce myself as Clarice Gailingen, First-Year in the Psionics Department at the Ryken Academy.

A beat. In annoyance, Clarice loudly exhales.

Come to think of it, I should also warn you that the next person to inappropriately touch my romantic interest will earn a complimentary knife in the back. Considering how I nearly ditched you less than a minute ago to salvage some shred of my sanity, I implore you not to do anything stupid like try to call my bluff. Just work with me until we're out of this situation. Then, we never have to work together again.

Clarice refocuses on the paladin. It's in bad shape. Perhaps that is for the best. If this is, in fact, a werehare on the verge of turning, it is best that it remain in poor health.

Conversely, the paladin might turn only when it loses consciousness. If so, this incident could very well resemble The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Clarice recalls that Dr. Jekyll slew himself instead of allowing Mr. Hyde to take over his body and mind. Was this paladin possessed of sufficient courage to make the same choice and perish on its own terms?

Same goes for you. I need you to stay in this form. If you can't, I have a backup plan, but let's try to avoid that for now.

Cooldowns:
  1. Mind Control F - 0 Post(s)
  2. Kingmaker E - 1 Post(s)
 
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Cayde thought everything was going so well. He and Kesh had patched up Abha quite nicely, Kesh and Scylla adorably celebrating her health, all while Baharius quietly watched over them. Cayde could see the solemn, satisfied smile forming on the saurial's face, and in return, he gave a wide one of his own. He reckoned Kate and Alice were around here too, celebrating in their own way. "This is it!" Cayde thought - this was when the team finally got together, getting rid of their vices to salute a job almost done! The hardest part, speaking to the were-rabbit, would come soon, but he rose, eager to meet the challenge. If he failed, well, there were always the others to rely on.

Then he saw Nissa's blade strike the rabbit, and that's when he realized he would never get that opportunity. No words could amend what she had just done. No mixture of herbs and mushrooms would stop the repercussions of her actions. Cayde said nothing, merely clutching his head and facing away from the scene, praying that something in the trees would swoop down and snatch the sheer rage that bubbled behind his eyes. But, instead, he heard Baharius scold the woman behind him, and her excuse found its way into his head. Except, it wasn't an excuse. She had a point. What could he have said to persuade Abha to move? What would he do if she was as ruthless and cunning as the hag made her out to be? Talk? While he and his allies were ripped apart? She was right - he'd rather die than admit it, but she was right.

His judgment would only do so much to curb his emotions, however. Cayde knew he had to say something, or else he'd explode in front of everyone. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned around, but Nissa wasn't there. Instead, abhorrent scenes flashed past his eyes. They began and ended in just a blink of an eye, but he felt every second of it: Kesh lying dead in his arms, denial wracking his mind, shame for his naivety, and finally, as he was brought back to reality, nothing.

Cayde stared wide-eyed, still trying to comprehend what he had just experienced. Someone had done that to him. He didn't know if it was one of his allies, the 'fourth monster,' the hag, or even the paladin he'd just saved, but someone out there had reached into his mind and filled it with his deepest fears, all to prove something he still couldn't understand. The skepticism rushed in like a wave.

He exploded.

"Y'know what? I'm sorry," Cayde said softly, his hand massaging his temples, "I'll admit to my mistakes: I shouldn't have rushed in blindly. I should have waited for you guys, discussed things, formed a proper plan, and come to a compromise. Then, maybe, we wouldn't be here squabbling over our - my lack of communication." His despondent gaze fell to the ground, "Blame me. Blame my naivety."

"But please understand, I am human."
He added, "A human whose actions can be swayed by speech, opinions, facts, and logic." He tried to get the words out without getting choked up. He failed miserably. "NOT BY HAVING THOUGHTS OF THEIR DYING APPRENTICE BEAMED INTO THEIR FUCKING BRAIN!" The rage in his voice devolved into a snuffle, "For the sake of the team, I won't accuse any of you. It must've been the hag, the fourth monster, or I might just be going insane."

"But, in the odd case that I'm wrong, and I find out you tried that trick on me one more time. On Whitinger's name, I will kill you." He didn't need graphic descriptions or showy threats; a boundary was crossed, and a promise was made. A promise, Cayde knew, that had just burned all the bridges he tried making with these people. This was something he would regret; he hadn't a doubt in his mind. Now he was the unreasonable one.

He looked to Abha, his eyes welling with remorse. Nothing he could say now would ease her for what was to come. "Do what you will," Cayde muttered to the party and the paladin, "I'll be ready."

With all said and done, Cayde guided Kesh away and brought her into a tight embrace. He said nothing.
 
Kesh

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Kesh stared at the dying rabbit, trying to think of anything that could help, her magic was weak and her knowledge in alchemy was too little. Not that a potion could help in this case. Kesh's eyes closed for a moment as she released the rabbit and let her lay down. " Kesh is sorry she couldn't help-assist. I wanted to be friends-buddies. " Kesh mumbled placing a hand on the rabbits shoulder with a saddened expression. The Ratkin was too naive and inexperienced to really understand the situation fully.

Kesh's eyes looked up at the rest of the group devolving into standoffs. Kesh didn't like this group of people, the mistrust and lying everyone did. It wasn't like this usually, especially with her family and her true home, The Colony, where everyone was nice and helped each other. Sometimes there was arguments and such but they never were this bad. She wondered if she should have stayed home with her parents and four siblings or returned to The Colony. She looked up to see that Cayde had exploded, talking of his apprentice dying. Was that me? Kesh is Clyde's apprentice. Kesh thought to herself as the alchemist calmed down.

Kesh's eyes looked back to the rabbit as Kesh gently stroked her head as her breathes were slowing. But she then felt Cayde's hand on her shoulder guide her away from the rabbit, Kesh looked a bit confused and was going to protest to being moved away from the rabbit as she wanted to be with her in her final moments but instead felt arms wrap around her. Looking up at Cayde, Kesh's arms weakly hugged Cayde. " It'll be okay, Master Clyde. We can help-assist the rabbit! " Kesh smiled a little weakly, rather unsure of her own sentence, she was just trying to be positive in a traumatic event that she has just witnessed. Although Kesh was unaware of what was really happening. What would possibly transpire.
 
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Since the bunny didn’t seem to mind, Scylla held the bunny closer burying her face in her soft little neck. “Eeek! She has such a cute little voice too!” The witch exclaimed happily. “Can we keep her?!” Already picturing the bunny in various outfits, having tea parties, eating lots of cake and maybe even bringing her to the academy to show off her new little friend to her classmates. Little did the witch know that right behind her shadow, the bunny’s fate was being decided.

As the witch was putting the bunny down, a horrible sound emitted from within the bunny paladin. The sound of steel against flesh and bone, followed by a gurgling gasp due to a pierced lung. A sudden look of horrific surprise enveloped the witches expression as she looked into the bunny’s pained eyes. The witch looked down to where the sword had entered, and with equal merciless intent caught the glimpses of the cold steel pulled out, as the bunny’s vitality was drained from her.

Flashing a quick expression of astonished disbelief she looked at Nissa. “W-why would you-?!"

Tears began to well in the witches eyes as she noticed the rabbit slowly go limp, letting her weight drop in Scyllas arms. As tear drops now fell upon the bunnies fur she eased the bunny warrior into Kesh’s arms. The witch in sudden shock still trying to come to grips with the reality before her, as Kesh pleaded, and tried to make sense of the events herself. “N-no.. no.. please.. no..” she repeated as the bunny shook with blood loss and vitality, but she visibly appeared to be resisting something, however it was impossible to know what exactly.

Her mind would frantically sift through so much academic information before recalling a healing spell out of a tome given to her by a priest to help around in the infirmary before embarking into the Underbelly. She hoped it would alleviate this wound in some meaningful way, as she remembered the spell was incomplete, therefore a lesser one.

Wiping away her tears quickly and sloppily with her wrists, as she damned the gods for not researching further into healing magics. She then gazed at Clarice who was channeling some kind of mind spell, unable to really find the reason to her actions. Then the bit about being a ‘romantic interest’ made her flinch with astonishment and surprise. “C-clarice?” she asked, unable to really blush or elaborate in anyway due to the circumstances. This wasn’t really the right time after all. When her colleague would mention that the rabbit was turning, Scylla shook her head, sniffling and visibly heartbroken but mostly in denial. “No.. no she wont turn, you’ll see!”

Suddenly, she began to channel the healing magic, taking a deep breath as she focused her thoughts, muttering the incantation, and closing her eyes the witch would place both her hands on the Rabbit warriors wound. Effectively casting [Mending Stream] on the bunny paladin. “Please, whatever it is you’re going through, hold on.” Holding the bunnies hand in hers.

---

Once the spell was finished however, she would stand and face Nissa, listening to her words as the shadow of her hat obscured her face, only tears could be seen dripping onto the swampy ground. Once the vampire was finished however, she began. Once again wiping her tears, “Although what you say may be true, it doesn’t change that you acted without first identifying a real danger, regardless of what the crone might have said..” She began to make a fist, as a fiery magic welled within her and around her. “..in my eyes your actions have revealed you to be a monster, prepare yourself fiend!” With that, the witchs hands would swiftly lift her staff and with a shout cast [Fire Arrows] aiming for the the Vampire Nissa.

  • Mending Stream - Healing E - Magic Range F - Spell Duration F - Energized E- A pulse of divine energy emits from casters focus, taking the form of a white, stream like cloud at the casters hands before it's directed towards the target. -Grade E- 0 Post Cooldown [Energized E]
  • Fire Arrows - Magic Affinity E - Fire Affinity F - Magic Range E (30ft) - Magic Targets E (5 targets) [Energized E] - Scylla emulates the motion of firing a bow with her staff, charging her magical power before repeating name of ability, sending fiery arrows at great speed towards targets. - Grade E - 0 Cooldowns [Energized E]
 
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The Overgrown Marshes
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Mentions: Baharius Develius Develius | Scylla RavenSong RavenSong | Cayde The Last Curse The Last Curse | Kesh Skyhunter Skyhunter | Clarice TheSimianMind TheSimianMind | Nissa saxon saxon

Baharius' attempt to grab Nissa would succeed, as the latter ended up paralysed by fear under the effect of Clarice's Kingmaker. He'd be able to grab her in the manner he intended to with little effort. That wasn't before she got a few more words in, however, as Nissa managed to finish off her argument before her mind got taken over. Nissa's mind was the only one to get taken over for the entire turn, forcing her to suffer the fear after she'd made her counter-arguments and to be grabbed by Baharius, as the latter went out of his way to grab her without harming her and therefore didn't trigger her enough to break out of the Mind Control. (OOC: F Grade Character, E Grade Skill, command was to magnify fear, the rest of the description is flavour, ignore it or go along with it at your own discretion/desire.)

Meanwhile, Baharius himself, not knowing of Clarice's power, had gotten touched by her. However, it only took him one action to break out of it and grab a hold of Nissa. He would've felt something trying to intrude into his mind, but he was free to block it out. (OOC; E Grade Character, F Grade Skill, no physical effect of having his body going slack or having his fear magnified. How much you wish to go along with him experiencing the rest of the flavour text is up to your own discretion/desire.)

The same happened to Cayde. He felt the intrusion into his mind and got to experience the vision intended to magnify his fear, before breaking out of it and feeling his rage boil up instead. (OOC: D Grade Character, E Grade Skill, no effect, but decided to go along with some the command/flavour.) Oddly enough, Cayde decided not to use his knowledge of medicine to attempt to stop the bleeding, instead ignoring the rapid blood-loss like everyone else was doing. Everyone else, except one person.

Scylla was the only one to actually attempt to save the rabbit, being of sound enough mind to actually place her hands on the wound and apply pressure to it. Although her healing magic was only slightly stronger than Kesh's, it did manage to close up the wound and stop the bleeding. That said, it was unclear if any internal damage had still been too much or not... The rabbit's breathing slowed down even further, as she grew a bit colder. It was clear that, thanks to the blood-loss, her temperature dropped to dangerous levels. It wasn't long before she was unconscious, but her heart was still beating ever so faintly. She was tethering on the edges of life and death, which was already more than expected thanks to Scylla's last minute efforts. That said, she'd need to be treated carefully if she was to be kept alive.

In her zeal and rage, Scylla attempt to attack Nissa with a magic more powerful than she could muster. She yelled and waved her staff, but all that came of it was some smoke. (OOC: Energised would allow for two F grade abilities in a turn, but not for two E grade ones.)

Chandra Jarmil

Kalina, having been silent, was surprised by how angry Baharius had gotten, or how sad the rat had seemed to be and how much effort Scylla was putting into saving this bunny. However, she was most surprised by the one who's eyes suddenly went pitch black. It was easy to connect one and two when Nissa fell silent and Cayde started raging. She wondered if she should speak up or not... On the one hand, she was genuinely upset at the idea of someone toying with other's minds like that. On the other, it seemed like the alchemist tried to pretend being unaware of who'd done it to keep the peace. She gritted her teeth, eventually caving in to emotion. “I'm not inclined to obey the command of one that would mess with the minds of those they're supposed to be allying with, miss Callingen.” Her voice practically dripped with venom, as she wasn't even trying to blend in deception or bother to make it fit with the current character. “Out of all the people here, the alchemist seems the least deserving of such a treatment.” She genuinely felt upset that the only person in this mess that she kind-off liked had gotten treated in such manner, which she surprised herself by.

That said, she decided to leave it at that, as she didn't want to start up a fight amongst their group. At least not one that was worse than what was going on right now. However, there was one thing that was bugging her. She turned to Nissa. “I doubt a creature that's lived here for so long would run into Boggearts like that. She was in true pain and seems to be close to death, which I doubt is a trick. I'm not saying it's impossible for something to go that far to trick us, but I am saying it's more logical to assume the hag herself tricked us instead. Either way, I wouldn't consider the hag's words to be the golden rule. Also, don't forget, for all I know, I could count you among those creatures of the swamp. We're just as much strangers to each-other as I am to that rabbit and there's very little reason for me not to slay you in an equal manner right now.”

On the topic of the rabbit, Kalina did have a bit of a soft-spot for cute. “Make sure to keep her warm.” She told Scylla. All things considered, she didn't know how to keep someone alive, but she did know one thing, which was that being low on blood made your body temperature drop quickly. If she wasn't an undead, she'd have died from it a few times by now, every time she'd gotten particularly thirsty. Instead, she just ended up feeling suspiciously cold to the touch, which would probably be the case right now as well, with how long she'd been going around these marshes.

However, as they'd been fighting, talking and going through the motions of drama, the sun had been setting. It wasn't easy to spot, as the many trees in these Overgrown Marshes made it shady and dark by default. However, right now, it was getting particularly dark. Enough so to start bringing the torches out. The sun was setting. Kesh would be the first to hear it in the far distance. Wailing. The wails of screaming and insanity, of hatred and fear, of panic and grief. Nissa was the next one to hear it. It was still quite a way's off, but it was getting louder and louder with the last of the light fading. It might even be getting closer.
 
Kesh

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Kesh listened to the others discuss what they wanted to, despite still being Cayde's arms, she could listen in on what they were saying. The Ratkin released her teacher then moved to listen to what everyone was saying, she was glad her teacher still saw Kesh as an equal, despite her uselessness. The weird lady, Chandra, started talking, saying that Cayde did not deserve anything that he went through, which was a cruel act. He did say he saw that Kesh was dying and he couldn't help. Chandra stated that it was Clarice, in which Kesh's ears perked up hearing it, the Ratkin felt anger in the pit of her stomach, her face contorted in expressions of anger staring at Clarice. " Why would you do that? " Kesh asked with a hint of anger in her voice. She felt her anger rising as her hands clenched into fists, her claws digging into her skin, causing some blood to surface. The Ratkin wanted to attack her, she never really felt this emotion before, it was a deep feel of resentment, so bad that Kesh could only think bad things. Her close friend, Cayde, was basically attacked and put through a traumatic episode of watching Kesh die.

The Ratkin was trying to calm herself down, but she couldn't help it, this emotion was too strong for Kesh to try and let go. Hatred. That was what this emotion was, something Ratkin don't usually feel. Kesh dashed forward in a sprint towards Clarice, her eyes full of hatred for her. Kesh leapt forward, her feet attempting to land on her chest before backflipping and kicking Clarice in her chin [Acrobatics E] before landing on the ground before her, whether it knocked Clairce on her bottom or not did not matter, what did matter was that Kesh's point was made clear. " Don't ever do that to, Master Cayde again! " Kesh pointed her finger at the woman, her eyes were teary eyed, she was full of emotions she hadn't felt before. But on another note, Kesh actually pronounced his name right for the first time. But then something caught Kesh's attention, her head turned quickly as she could hear wailing in the distance. The night was coming, but Kesh couldn't make out what was making it. " There's something screaming. " Kesh stated, " It sounds... Terrible. It's coming. " Kesh could tell it was approaching where the group was at.
 

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Mentions:
Elvario Elvario
(Paladin Bunny & Chandra) | RavenSong RavenSong (Scylla) | saxon saxon (Nissa) | The Last Curse The Last Curse (Clayde) | TheSimianMind TheSimianMind (Clarice) | Skyhunter Skyhunter (Kesh)


"As I said before, it's them or us, there is no room for chance in this swamp or did you forget about that already lizard man. We were told these creatures would lead people into the swamp and kill them. Would you have done the same if you saw the corpse of lizard here? One death is worth the price of thousands of travelers lives not ending to this rabbit," She responded coolly as she didn't feel the need to waste breath on explaining it any other way. Though she was surprised that the giant lizard even cared, she took him for the bronze over brain type and didn't count on him being anything more than a meat shield if things got dicey.

Baharius scowled at Nissa's response with disdain, his jaws chattering as they eagerly awaited to sink into her uncaring flesh. "You didn't even give her a CHANCE to pled her case." he growled coldly, struggling to keep his fury from digging into her pale skin and piercing her open like a melon. It didn't help however that he could feel certain thoughts attempt to intrude into his head; scenes of a brutal familiarity. He didn't even feel or notice Clarice's finger poke his adrenaline-filled hide... It took him a moment to realize what they exactly were. They were visions his past life, faint but unmistakable.

The nightmares were back.

His doubts and fears were trying to sprout from his sub-conscious, during a time in which they were dormant. Each time he blinked, a new hazy scene would pop for merely a second at a time, coinciding with intrusive thoughts and voices blaming him for the actions taking place. Why were these visions popping up now? Why at this very moment? It didn't make sense.

As he attempted to push them back to the depths of his mind, he finished his statement towards Nissa, "It was the very least we could've given before deciding whether or not to put her down! You forget that the hag didn't say we HAD to kill~"

The vampire then proceeded to talk more, all in the same "cool and collected" smugness that oozed from her lips.

"You all seem to forget one thing, the hag said these laws that bound her from killing the other creatures were ancient, meaning these creatures have lived for years if not centuries. You really think something that has lived here its whole life would easily pack up and leave? Do you think you could reason with something beyond any of our life spans? If you think so then you are wrong."

In a way, she was correct. Most creatures wouldn't take kindly to any intruders demanding that they leave their homes. Especially if they lived here throughout the majority, if not entirety, of their lives. But he wouldn't consider this an impossible feat. As the Hag hinted before, there seemed to be other ways in having the neighboring creatures leave; whether it be through sheer intimidation, or bribing them through promises or compensation. To Baharius, the paladin seemed reasonable enough in her current stable form to be persuaded to leave the premises without utilizing violence. Only if she reacted with violence would he slay the uncompromising monster; but not before.

As he was about to relay these thoughts, once again the insufferable vampire interrupted his train of thought.

"I believe you stated you were a general or a leader of some kind of I remember correctly, you know how war is, all things are fair in war. You kill the other person before they kill you. Honor has only a place in political and ideological warfare. Honor is useless to me and to everyone else here, living to see the next day is far more important," She pointed out before letting out another sigh this one more irritated than the last. "Or is that too much for you to comprehend? I accept my actions, if she didn't kill people or one of us eventually, then sure I messed up. But if she did kill someone or tried to attack one of us, then it would be on your hands,"

Assuming he was finished, Baharius opened his toothy maw to finally speak his mind. Just as he did, he could see Nissa's expression rapidly morph from the pompous and haughty individual into what he could only describe as sheer terror and fright right before his very eyes. It was as if her soul had been suddenly possessed by something... or someone. Was this the work of one of the creatures of the swamp? The beast hesitated for a moment, still holding her in the air, finding himself perplexed by her sudden reaction.

Scylla attempted to scorch the vampire, still clasped within the spined-beast's mighty grip, with her fiery arrows. With such a sudden reaction, Baharius had only a moment to act before he too would find himself pelted with flaming projectiles, only to see the entire event backfire as a harmless puff of smoke.

That's when he finally heard Clayde meltdown in front of them, barely holding himself together as an avalanche of raw feelings spat from his mouth. He too had seemed to have envisioned something... something that shook the very essence in his core. His wrath was enough to grab Baharius' attention and intimidating enough to extinguish his own anger bubbling within. As he took a mere moment to process this information, with another glance towards Nissa's paralyzed form being enough to draw several lines together. Someone... or something... had telepathically beamed these thoughts and fears into their heads. Was it the hag who did this from beyond the fog? Maybe the mysterious fourth creature hiding in the dark depths of the swamp? Or perhaps... it was someone from within this very group.

With a grunt, Baharius proceeded to drop Nissa back to the floor like a sack of rocks, shaking his head to regain his composure. That's when Chandra finally entered the conversation, hinting that Clarice was the individual responsible for their visions. Baharius gave a cold stare to the latter at this revelation, but said nothing more. He simply must be wary when near her for now on, to ensure this doesn't happen again. Then Chandra responded to Nissa's speech.

“I doubt a creature that's lived here for so long would run into Boggearts like that. She was in true pain and seems to be close to death, which I doubt is a trick. I'm not saying it's impossible for something to go that far to trick us, but I am saying it's more logical to assume the hag herself tricked us instead. Either way, I wouldn't consider the hag's words to be the golden rule. Also, don't forget, for all I know, I could count you among those creatures of the swamp. We're just as much strangers to each-other as I am to that rabbit and there's very little reason for me not to slay you in an equal manner right now.”

Baharius nodded, considering her words to best represent his feelings. Nonetheless, he decided to finally take the opportunity to speak his part while he had the chance.

"If this would've turned out to indeed a trick, then consider me fooled." he told her frankly, lowering his voice back to a more calm and elaborated manner. He then turned to face the others, "I would take blame for trusting her. I simply wanted to listen to what the rabbit said before trying to have her to leave this place alive. But make no mistake. Had she turned feral and responded violently, I would strike her down for the safety of us all."

"But here we were given the rare opportunity not to resort in violence. She seemed willing to listen to reason, in the state that she was anyways. We did save her after all; it would be proper courtesy to hear her story. Remember, the hag didn't state that we HAD to kill each inhabitant... just to have them leave the premises through any means necessary. Perhaps a few gold pieces would be enough to send the paladin on her way. If it didn't, so be it. I can't say that would work to the other three creatures still out there, but here I assumed it was worth a shot. Not every problem needs to be solved with a blade carving into someone's ribcage... That is all."


Once finishing, Baharius glanced down at the fallen paladin with a solemn expression. She wasn't dead, not yet, but she was in critical condition. She was teetering between life and death, kept alive only by Scylla's efforts. Bless that witch. But so long as the paladin didn't morph into the were-rabbit, they should keep her at bay. He thought about having someone transport her out of the swamp, but neither of the party would be able to do so until the hag's quest was complete. In the meantime they simply had to keep her in stable condition until they can figure out what to do with her.

By now, the day has finally turned into the early evening hour and it had been getting dark. Baharius didn't visually recognize the change at first, but his skin could certainly feel the gradual drop in temperature. As he considered getting firewood and making a fire, he could hear Kesh make an ominous statement. She mentioned something terrible coming... something that was screaming. The saurian rose his head, trying to listen for the noise, but couldn't properly hear it yet. Though he remembered about what Nissa told her about the Banshee's, regarding their nasty wailing. Once he finally heard it, he winced at the terrible noise echoing through the marsh. If this was indeed that thing coming towards them, it was best that they start getting prepared. He gripped onto his blade's handle and watched silently into the dark woodland depths with a cautious eye.
 
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In all her rage, Scylla attempted a spell that was quite beyond her level of expertise, perhaps it was due to the sheer amount of emotion coursing through her body and her lack of focus that the spell failed. A plume of smoke emitting from her staff, and a descending ‘ZIIING!’ sound could be heard. “UGH!!” Scylla scowled as she kicked the ground, with frustration. At this time Nissa wasn’t important, vengeance would never make anything right, no matter how much the witch could try to pulverize the vampire into a pile of ash. It also seemed that the others found it in their hearts to consider reason. Not that both reason and heart mixed well very often.

Taking the rabbit palidin in her arms, she continued her broken hearted grief, “I.. im so sorry, i.. i dont even know your name.” She recalled as she ran a hand atop the rabbit’s head. Her eyes, were now shut, and her breathing labored, but she was still alive. As far as Scylla could tell.

Just then Chandra calls out to her to keep her warm, Scylla would look up at her and nod before embracing the rabbit closer to her body. At this point, Scylla was only trying to save the rabbit, she’d have nothing to say to the others of their actions.

As everyone continued the infighting however, no one had noticed the atmosphere begin to darken, closing her eyes Scylla used [Control Environment] to keep her own temperature warmer than the atmosphere around her, still embracing the rabbit in her arms fondly.

After some time, chilling shrieks would emit from deep within the swamps, repeating their eerie chorus as the sound seemed to get louder, and louder. "W-what was that?" She asked as she looked back down at the rabbit, considering what she should do. If she stayed with the Rabbit this way, she'd be at the mercy of whatever danger it could be.
 
((Note: Having invested only 63 Points in Stat Upgrades, Cayde is an E-Grade Character per the IH Rules. D-Grade Characters must have invested 70-104 Points in Stat Upgrades. Ergo, Kingmaker E would affect Cayde as much as it would affect Nissa unless the Narrator specifically objects to the effect: magnifying fear. Except in the case of Baharius, Character Grade is largely irrelevant given the command.))

[Initiate Skill Contest: Clarice’s Investigation (Grade F) Versus Chandra’s Disguise (Grade F)]

Assuming Investigation F and Disguise F negate each other…

Oh, so I take it that sexual assault is perfectly acceptable in your book, Kate? I can’t say I’m all that surprised considering you aren’t human. The fangs are a dead giveaway, though you do a half-decent job of disguising them.

Clarice ripostes, totally nonplussed by Chandra’s rapidly degrading opinion of her. “Clarice, tinkering with people’s minds is morally reprehensible!” “Clarice, you should stand slack-jawed and mute as people assault each other in various ways!” Bah! If Chandra is hellbent on staking a claim to the moral high-ground, she is more than welcome to die on that hill. Empirical evidence suggests Clarice would’ve run afoul of at least 50% of the group by simply proclaiming that she commands the power to control minds. The majority of the first-years at the Ryken Academy feared, despised, or ridiculed her when she disclosed her repertoire. It almost goes without saying that this kind of treatment is old hat to Clarice, but given that Chandra is actively attempting to misrepresent her nature, Clarice reckons that outing “Kate” will render her about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. From her perspective, she traded a whole lot of nothing for a hammer blow against whatever Chandra hoped to accomplish via her facade. Serves her right for running her mouth instead of, y’know, actually trying to “keep [the paladin] warm” or doing anything genuinely productive. Chandra can criticize Clarice until the heat death of the universe, but if she’s unwilling to address the problems sprouting, like weeds, around her - chiefly ongoing infighting - she’s as useful as lingerie on a lobster.

And for the record, I did not beam thoughts into people’s heads. I magnified your fears for the shortest time my abilities allow to stop you lot from fighting ‘n harassing each other by reminding you of what you stand to lose. I did not force you to relive real trauma - up to and including your deaths: which is a standard segment of the Admissions Exam at the Imperial Academy of Logia. In fact, I just warded a couple of your minds against mental tampering.

So what I believe you were trying to say is, “Thank you.”


[Harness Thought Process Acceleration F to Preternaturally Enhance Reaction Times]

At this point, Clarice spots Kesh flying toward her in a blind rage. As Kesh starts her mad dash more than 20 feet from Clarice, Clarice has no difficulty tracking the ratkin and formulating a plan to deal with her. While Clarice could strike her with a charge of mana, that probably wouldn’t be as fun as poking her in the eye like Professor Darven did shortly before forcing her to experience not just one but several of her harrowing demises - which reduced her to a semi-conscious, temporarily insane sack for a good hour and a half. Then again, why not use Cayde against her. To a layman that may sound impossible at this juncture, but if ya step back and look at the big picture, the solution is waiting just beyond the edge of the clearing for people whose feet aren’t being attacked by leeches to exploit.

An aside: if Poppy’s condition resembled Kesh’s, the leeches and bacteria-ridden water had to be taking their toll by now. Plague-bearing swamp critters plus open wounds plus bacteria-ridden water equals infection!

Ultimately, Kesh’s ability to give chase does not matter as long as she cannot catch up to Clarice.

[Movement]

You’re welcome!

Clarice bellows as she pivots and begins to sprint in the direction of the unearthly wailing. While she feels a pang of regret about leaving Scylla in a lurch, she isn’t about to stick around to duke it out with Kesh and Cayde. It also didn’t help that Scylla just tried to blast a few extraneous holes into Nissa. All Clarice can do to assist with the paladin situation is drop her backpack and cross her fingers. With any luck, Scylla would have the presence of mind to remember that Clarice was carrying items like a tent, a bedroll, bottles of oil (some of this is on her person), spare clothes, and insect repellant. There’s also the corpse of the other paladin that she wanted to cremate, otherwise lay to rest, or prep for transportation and resurrection.

Well, the silver lining is that shedding the weight should help her stay ahead of Kesh as she baits Kesh toward what can only be Casper the Friendly Ghost. The optimal outcome is ditching Kesh in the darkness and reaching a safe point from which she can observe the banshee for a little while before the rest of the party contaminate the scene and/or attempts to punch her lights out.

Tally-ho!
 
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