Surreal, because I can.

[Sliver]

There you are, standing in the town center of Richard, a little gathering spot for gossiping females, passing merchants and violent drunkards. A very charming and comfortable place this time of year, with the grey gloomy clouds soaring above you, darkening the mood and hiding the rising sun, and the chilling breeze that is too cold for you to show off flesh, but yet too weak for you to cover up properly.

John's place, which you can still spot in the distance from the center, is closed today, as it was yesterday, when Alica disappeared. People hope such a random bunch of strangers such as yourself could find the girl. Alive, they would rather like to see her alive.

A middle aged storyteller is entertaining a group of young ladies and kids with stories of the lands far from Richard, and they giggle and gasp and sometimes even shriek at his words. A large pighorse is pulling a metal box-like thing, with glass windows and black wheels made of rubber, something that was very popular in the old days, called a car. A bunch of kids are running around the car, pushing the pighorse and encouraging it to drive it harder and faster, screaming with joy at the thoughts that maybe they will see this car working. Such wonders aren't common in Richard.
Some of you easily spot a spidercat one of the local children adopted hanging upside down from one of the high branches of a large old oak, hiding playfully from its master.

You have your quick introductions, or perhaps you already had known each other before? With such an odd bunch, who knows? I'll let you run the introductions yourself.

You know you'll have to cross the swamp to the east, and then there might be some mountain climbing and a rough hike to get to your destination. Are you ready for the road up ahead?

BOOM. GAME ON.

OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11225932#post11225932)

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc stood in the middle of the town center, arms folded underneath his poncho, just waiting. He was early, as was usually the case with jobs he was specifically called for. This was actually one of the biggest jobs he'd had since he'd arrived, sure he'd knocked out a few criminals in his time, but most of them were petty thieves or maybe the rare burglar. Still, he was trying to keep his calm, he thought it was important to look confident, it usually helped the people he worked for feel more optimistic.

A few people were staring at him. He was well known, but still something of a rare sight to a decent number of people in Richard. His thick German accent didn't exactly help him fit in much either, giving the passersby a quick "Tag, Fräulein" or "Morgen, mein Herr" and a tip of his hat or a nod of his head didn't so much serve as a friendly greeting to a lot of people as a source of confusion.

So, he stood and waited for the others to arrive. He was on the fence about that particular issue.

[Owrtho]

Adam felt somewhat nervous as he approached the meeting place. This might be expected, given he'd never actually done such an adventure before. Sure travelling was dangerous, and he's done plenty of it, but usually you weren't actively seeking out the problem areas when you did it. However, that wasn't what made him nervous. He was nervous because he was approaching in his natural form. Still, he did it because he felt it best to size up the people he would be working with before Rana showed up, and she wasn't really one to hide behind a wall spying. This way was simply easier.
It looked like a few people were already there. Noticeably a Dromite seemed to have come. Somewhat troubling given their general lack of interest in pretty women, but not terribly off putting. After all, the whole reason for taking this job was to try becoming a hero,and most everyone likes a hero.
Approaching the group, Adam finally spoke, his voice soft, but still loud enough to be hear by those gathered.
"This the group that John hired? Miss Rana sent me to let you know she'll be coming shortly and not to go without her. She's otherwise... occupied at the moment, but will come as soon as she's done."
Adam's brief pause gave the distinct impression he didn't quite find what occupied Rana at the moment to be proper, though given her personality those who knew of her would likely have little trouble imagining just what it was.
His message delivered, Adam moved to leave. After all, Rana would need to arrive soon.

[Grendus]

Golith stands impassively still, almost unnervingly so, watching the children play with the antique car. He didn't remember much of them, except a few brief sections of video from his badly corrupted memory: a few brief images of men in body armor cowering behind squad cars as they were bombarded with high powered weaponry, and then himself standing inside of a van with the other HATRICCs at the front door, though he didn't remember how he got there. Until now Goliath had assumed they were inefficient mobile barricades, not a form of transport.

"Tell her to hurry. Hostage situations are delicate, time is important," he says, tilting his head slightly to note the newcomer. He then returns to watching the car, trying to figure out why anyone would build a vehicle out of such heavy material if they were going to drag it with a pighorse, instead of using something lighter like wood or mithril.

[Admiral Squish]

Sera sat calmly at her seat by the window of the inn across from the square. Seemed most of the others had already arrived. She downed the last of her wine and rose from the table, striding out the door and making her way across the street to the others. Her long, dark hair flowed behind her, and her olive skin shone in the sunlight. Her dress certainly gave the impression of her being nothing special, but those with a sharp eye would not the glint of metal around the neckline where the chain shirt peeked out from under it's concealment. She held a sizable backpack by it's strap in one hand as she walked. As she approached the group she smiled, flashing her brilliantly white teeth.

"Good morning! It seems John has certainly gathered a rather interesting band for this mission, hasn't he?" She asked with a cheery chuckle, looking at the dromite, the construct, and the retreating male figure in turn. Despite the unpleasant weather, she seemed to be in good spirits. She quickly set down the backpack, propping it against her leg as she waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

[Khosan]

Xinc

"Morgen, Fraulein, Herr und, eh, hm." Xinc turned to Goliath and looked him up and down. "Ich denke, ich habe dich gehört. Ja. Du bist der...golem-man, ja? I know not was zu call you." He lifted his hat up a bit and took a slight bow, his introduction tinged by a low-pitched buzz, "I am called Xinc. I am an infesteegator, ja? Bitte, meine Englisch is not so gut." His eyebrows twitched.

"Alvays gut to start wits die introductions, ja?"

[Tacitus]

Killian Bohl

The next to arrive among the assembly is a man of somewhat powerful build that has all the markings of one of the mythical celestial host, complete with golden wings. He stands at almost six feet, head and shoulders, with eyes the color of the most brilliant of emeralds and hair the color of roaring flame harnessed for raw creation. He carries a shield at his side and wears a set of studded leather that seems not to fit him very well at all and it seems he has a number of daggers arrayed about his person. However, upon closer inspection it seems that the man has a forked tongue along with gills on his neck and webbing between his fingers that he can retract to maintain manual dexterity.

He arrives not on foot, but dropping from a nearby building with a flurry of his golden wings, sending auric feathers cascading down around the square. Once he lands he spreads his wings wide in an impressive display before folding them behind him. His eyes glance over the others with a look bordering on disdain until he settles on Xinc, "I'm aware of most of you, after a fashion, but I've my doubts we've ever been formally introduced. My name is Killian Bohl. I believe John has asked me to come along to... ward off any evils we might encounter. No doubt Monev has rattled on about the damned Hydra to everyone in the past fortnight. If you've not heard, please, do not ask."

[Grendus]

"I am called Goliath, but you may call me whatever you wish," Goliath says, remaining completely immobile, the voice originating somewhere behind his face. The only indication that he's even still functioning are his eyes, which glow ever so slightly with a wavering yellow light. A small crystalline contraption, like a quadrupedal spider carved from quartz, crawls out of one of the crevasses in his clothing and climbs up to his shoulder. It seems to survey the group a few times before returning to the fold it came from in another scuttling burst of motion.

Goliath remains like that, completely immobile, until Bohl's arrival, which manages to illicit the greatest response yet - Goliath tilts his head upwards and tracks the falling man until he reaches the ground... at which point Goliath returns his attention to the car and continues to act in every way like a well worn metallic statue.

[Owrtho]

A few minutes having elapsed since Adam's departure, another figure can be seen approaching the group. This time clearly a woman. She seems to have raid hair, and a shapely body, clothed in a red and gold outfit that seems to be made of various shawls, looking almost like the proper trip or gust of wind could grant a glimpse of what it conceals, though as many disappointed boys around the town may note there are actually some more tightly wrapped pieces underneath to prevent that. As she gets closer one can make out her violet eyes and tanned skin.
"I'm ever so sorry for being late. I sent Adam ahead but I'm not sure he properly delivered the message, he's never seemed the best at dealing with others. Anyway, I'd been on my way earlier when I was stopped by-"
Whatever stopped her may remain unknown to the group, as the woman notices Killian.
"Oh, Adam didn't mention you were here. I've seen you around town before but I don't think we've ever been properly introduced. I'm Rana."
Somehow while saying that she managing to move up against the winged man making it look natural enough to not be noticeable until after it had already been done.

[Lix Lorn]

And the woman is followed by a younger one, in her early teens at best, dressed only in a simple green robe. Her eyes dart about, glistening with curiosity, and she is accompanied by a clawed, serpentine creature.

[Khosan]

Xinc

"Ah, sehr gut." Xinc takes off his hat, coughs into it and then holds it to his chest, nodding to Killian then Rana, "Xinc. I know you both. Though no proper introductions bevore now, ja?" He gestures toward Rana, "I vas asked to follow you a vew times. Vas told you vere 'up zu sometsing.'" He replaces his hat and sighs, "I should apologize for that, ja? I didn't zink zey vere trying zu trick me. Zat was improper of zem. My mistake." He rubs the back of his head, and folds his arms underneath his poncho again, turning his attention back to Killian, "And, vell, you. You hold a similar line of vork, ja? In diese miliz, ja?

[Sliver]

With all of you finally gathering and properly introducing yourselves, (most of you, at least) you can finally get started on your big adventure together. With few people ever going into the swamps, and even fewer returning, and the almost non existent amount of people ever to cross them, you have little to no information about what these swamps contain to work on, so you might as well be prepared for everything, or nothing at all. It is up to you, as you still have these shops around you. But who knows what may happen to the poor girl while you are window shopping. Maybe you should hurry. Too bad there aren't any maps of the area...

And as if there was some narrative cue, you are approached by a young boy of 14 years. His gaze quickly passes over the entire group and he approaches Xinc "Hi there, my name is Claus. I just looooooooooooove maps and making 'em! But the damn cartographer won't accept me as his apprentice, saying I'm too young or something. If I could return to him with a map of the swamp, he would faint! And accept me. Please let me join your trip! Please! I have my own food and stuff, and I have savings so I can pay you! Promise! I won't be any trouble at all! I don't need the entire swamp right away, but you'll probably get lost anyway so I'll get a big chunk of it just in the trip there and back."

Did he practice? He seems out of breath.

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc stares at the boy as he rambles on, his antennae leap off his brow and frantically start twitching in the boy's general direction. Once finished, Xinc leaned back and pondered for a moment, "Ich denke...Hmm. I do not think it a vise move, ja? Boy your age in ze svamp. Very dangerous out zere, you know." He lays a stony hand on the boy's shoulder, then reconsiders mumbling to himself, "Aber...ich weiss nur ein bisschen der Sumpf. How gut vere your maps, did you say? I don't want zu put an innocent in danger, ja? Ve're already risking a lot, would not be proper to risk another." He looks around to the others, "Ve might need him. Unless one of you has eine Alternativen?"

[Tacitus]

Killian

Though he retains his composure as Rana brushes up against him, she can no doubt feel the man's skin quite literally crawl under his armor. He does not reveal any of his less ideal features, but about his waist level it feels as if a great beast has let out a single far too moist breath. He takes a step away from her and glares down his nose in a rather imposing sneer, "If you do not mind, m'lady, I do not appreciate others within my personal bubble."

His wings unfurl quickly and then pull around to the front in order to wrap about him as he glances to Xinc, "Aye, I freelance with them when Monev asks it of me. His superiors don't seem to like me much, however."

And then the boy runs up...

Killian rubs at his chin as he ponders the boy, "I do not intend to be the one to inform your parents that you have been crushed and eaten by a large snake, boy. However good your maps might be, I would rather be sure you can keep yourself out of trouble."

[Sliver]

Claus puffs his chest with pride "my maps aren't just good, they are awesome! And don't worry, I am great at hiding. I'll survive." He smiles.

[Grendus]

"We have a hostage situation in an area swarming with hostiles," Goliath says, finally taking his attention away from the car and turning to face the boy. "We have to ask that all civilians stay behind the yellow t-t-t-t-taaaaaa..." He glitches for a second, as one of his interrupt processors registers that there is no yellow tape, and likely hasn't been any yellow tape in over a decade. The spider-like creature crawls out of his shirt once again and scrambles up to his shoulder, rearing up on it's hind legs and whacking him hard on the side of the head. "All civilians must remain within the safe zone," Goliath suddenly continues, the interrupt processor now paraphrasing from an old instruction set intended for peacekeeping androids.

[Sliver]

"Look," the boy shrugs "I'm going to do this anyway. If you insist on me following you from behind instead of where you can keep an eye on me, then sure." He lightly slaps the android before turning back, leaving a dark red mark where his hand was, very much like blood.

[Khosan]

Xinc

"Boy! Boy, come back here." Xinc releases a heavy sigh and covering his face with the palm of his hand, "Boy, vhere are your parents? Do zey know you are here? Vhat you are trying to do? I do not zink zey would appreciate you endangering yourself in such a manner, ja?" He pulls his hand back over his head, bringing the other one up to meet it, resting the two of them on the back of his head.

[Sliver]

The boy stops and half-turns, but doesn't seem to intend to come to you "My parents fully support my purpose." He replies with coldly.

[Tacitus]

Killian

With wings still folded about himself, the angelic man stares at the boy for several long moments as he inhales through the nose. At the height of it he lets it out with a quick sigh, "Here is what we shall do, boy. You can come along if we can speak to at least one of your parents, if only briefly. They may support your purpose, but I would still like to meet them regardless, if only to praise them on having such a brave young boy."

Does the boy have any particular smell under Scent?

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa looks at him, her head tilted oddly.

And does his mind feel strange and/or inhuman?

[Owrtho]

Not seeming at all put off by Killian's response, Rana allows him to maintain his distance for the time being.

As for once the boy arrives,
"Well, I don't see why he shouldn't be able to come along provided his parents can be proven to be fine with the idea. After all, he looks hardly younger than little Salissa here and she was already able to survive on her own when Adam first found her a few years back."
As she says so Rana gives Salissa a little affectionate hug.

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa hugs back, still looking curiously around, but giving a happy hiss.

[Sliver]

Killian
The scents are pretty normal, besides the smell of blood being felt from the kid.

Salissa
Which one? One of Claus' minds is human, the other feels kinda fake, artificial, of a construct.

The boy looks away "Well, that's unlikely to happen. They're dead."

[Lix Lorn]

"His heads feel wrong." says Salissa in Ghulian, turning to look at Rana.

[Grendus]

Goliath wipes at the handprint, first with his hand, and then with a cloth he pulls out of a small pouch at his side. "I stand by my initial statement," Goliath says. "This is not a grand adventure or exciting past time. People will die. The distraction of protecting a child untrained in combat, even if he is great at hiding, is an unacceptable risk."

The crystaline spider chitters on his shoulder, waving it's front legs animatedly, as though speaking in some odd language. "No I don't think it would be a good experience for the boy." *chitter chitter* "Because seeing combat first hand does not contribute to a healthy psyche." *chitter chitter CHITTER chitter* "Because we are not normal, and in the absence of proper parts, it is unlikely we are healthy either." The spider continues to wave it's arms, as though launching into a long tyrade, but Goliath turns back to the boy and consciously ignores the spider. "Recon's opinion notwithstanding, I cannot in good conscience allow you to join us. Should you follow us, of course, we would have no choice but to protect you. But understand that you would be placing your career goals ahead of the safety of another person."

[Owrtho]

Taking note of what Salissa says,
*Is that so?*
"Hmm, is seems Salissa feels something is off about the boy. I expect it would be best to look into it more and decide if we bring him with us or make sure he doesn't follow."

[Tacitus]

Killian

He gestures to the boy, sweeping his hand up and down the full length and not really pointing to anything in particular, "And the blood is another matter. It would seem that you have a fair amount of rather flesh blood arrayed about your person. Are you in need of medical assistance?" His hand stops and he brings the fingertips together, where a few sparks of white light gather. Anyone with knowledge of magic would likely peg it as a form of extremely 'minor' healing spell.

[Sliver]

"I don't know what you are talking about." Claus says and decides to leave.

[Tacitus]

Killian

The angelic man takes a few great strides towards the boy and attempts to plant a hand on his shoulder, and keep it there, "Hold a moment, boy."

Touch Attack if ye like: [roll0]
Improved Grapple: [roll1]

[Sliver]

The boy doesn't resist and you easily take hold of him. He turns his head to face you "What do you want? A promise that I won't follow you? You aren't going to believe it anyway. An explanation on what I did? What I am? That's personal and doesn't affect you at all, so unless you are going to force me, don't bother and just let me go." The boy looks sternly at you. You notice passing people stop and look art what's going on.

[Tacitus]

Killian

A small mote of positive energy discharges into the boy as the man stares down at him before his stern features relax with a sigh that flares out his gills, "Boy, I am merely looking out for your own well being. I smell blood on you, and I just want to be sure that you have not been injured. There are many types of injuries, especially from the flora and fauna of these parts, that would leave an area numb and you might not even know you are bleeding out until your last breath."

ie, he was holding the Cure Minor, and he's touched the boy, so there goes the Cure Minor.

Mostly want to see how the boy reacts to positive energy.

And if you want a bluff check for that last part (cause hell if he knows plants and animals) [roll0]

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc's antennae twitch back into place, resting just above his eyes, "Suspicious, ja? Blood on hands, desperately wishes to leave town. Hm." Xinc rubs one of his antennae, "Ich kann seinen Geruch folgen, aber alles spricht gegen uns. Meine Antennen sind nicht so scharfsinnig." He coughs again, "Bitte. Still used zu Deutsch, ja? Vas just zinking of trying zu follow der boy's scent, but I am not so good at that."

[Sliver]

"I'm not injured." The boy replies coldly and pulls, letting you know he wants to be released. "Thanks for caring" Claus adds quietly in a softer voice after a second.

[Tacitus]

Killian

He releases is grip as the boy pulls away, "As you wish, Claus. We all have our secrets in this day and age, and I will allow you to keep yours. If you follow us without our consent, seek me out during the night while I am on watch, or else wait in town for my return." He turns to the others, "Shall we be on our way, then? Whether the boy accompanies us or not is now subject to his judgment of the dangers beyond the city walls and should not impede our expedition further."

[Grendus]

Goliath nods and with the sound of grinding gears mobilizes himself. He reaches down and hoists what appears to be a small tree trunk off the ground and straps it to his back. "I agree, we have wasted enough time already."

[Sliver]

It's late morning when you reach the edge of Richerd, where you see the swamps begin. The weather is still just as cheerful as before, with a chilling stench reaching your nose as you notice a small dump not far away. Marvelous.

Tall trees are clustered at the entrance to the marsh, with smaller ones decorating the scenery as well. You see a few paths into the swamp, but only one seems to be man made, with cut branches and trampled undergrowth accompanying those who choose to enter that path.

For those who bother checking, Claus isn't to be seen.

I can only assume you make the sensible choice and choose the more cleared up path, right?

[Admiral Squish]

The dark-haired woman crinkles her nose at the chilled scent of garbage the breeze carries to her. As they come to the mouth of the path, she pauses, putting down her bag. Reaching into it, she draws out a short, lightweight blade. Barely a foot long, the blade is short and straight, with a narrow profile. The guard is small and circular, barely larger around than her hand when clasped around it's black, leather-wrapped hilt. With the other hand, she pulls from the bag a small buckler, which she quickly straps to her forearm. The shield is only as long as her forearm, broadening out to eight inches at it's widest point. The shield itself is steel, and all around the rim is a narrow, black flame pattern.

As she draws them out, she smiles, sweetly, turning the blade this way and that, watching the light on the razor-sharp edge. As she stands there, her dress suddenly turns glossy, and begins to shift and warp, like it was suddenly made of liquid. The dress clings to her legs, sealing itself together into a single piece of fabric, a long split forming between her legs. The top portion pulls in toward her chest. At first, it seems to pull tight over some uneven surface, but it simply melts around it and pulls in, forming a new layer below it, and exposing a lightweight chain shirt. The fabric tightens up fully then, forming a skin-tight suit of seamless, softly reflective black material. The collar rides up to her throat, and covers her down to the wrists, forming itself into a pair of sturdy boots at her feet. She raised her shield-arm to her hair, gathering the dark locks into a ponytail. A black tendril of fabric snakes up her neck, coiling around the ponytail and holding it in place.

She smiles. "Much better. I would hate to ruin my dress in that swamp." She says, lightly. A loop of sturdy fabric forms out of the cloth on her hip, and with a flourish, she tucks the blade into it. "Now, let's get going." she says, looking up from the now-secured blade to her companions.

[Khosan]

Xinc

While, normally, it's hard to tell exactly what a dromite has been looking at, Xinc hasn't exactly been subtly staring out of the corner of his compound eyes at Sera. Though he looks more confused than anything else. He shrugs, readjusts his poncho, looks out towards the path. "Hrm. My instinct says ve should stay vary of paths, ja? If someone is expecting us, zen ve vould do vell to stay avay from dieser paths. Slower, messier, but safer, usually."

[Sliver]

Not voicing objections, you all decide to go into the swamp through a natural path, instead of the man made one. Soon, you realize you are altering the path yourselves, as you are forced to cut through the growth that slows your movement. You find your path going through shallow bogs once in a while, slowing your progress even further.

After a hour of traveling, you notice a new stench. It only gets stronger as you continue out of lack of choice and find yourselves in a clearing. Slightly sunken in the mud you find giant bones of some unknown beast, most of the meat scavenged, but some is still left rotting on the bones. It's skull is slightly tilted, resting in the shallow mud near your side of the entrance to the clearing.

You hear the sound of cracking bones from inside the skull, and a bone or two are getting flung out of the eye socket. Heavy breathes and grunts can be heard from the residence of the skull.

[Khosan]

Xinc

As the first bone flies out of the skull, Xinc stops very suddenly in his tracks. His antennae twitch, parts of his eyes seem to dull and, for some reason, his poncho changes color entirely. He whispers, "Stay back. Vill check zis out first. Might be nozing, but little more durable zan ze rest of you, ja?" And, acking anything even remotely resembling subtlety, he makes his way towards the skull.

Xinc manifests Inertial Armor at 1 PP. Also, Spot and I suppose a Scent check.

Spot - [roll0]

[Sliver]

Inside the skull is a large humaniod looking creature nomming the remains of a sharkhog. It's brownish filthy fur emits a foul smell and the large 10 ft body is hunched over the meat. It is completely distracted by it's meal. Considering the different stenches and the poor light in the skull, sneaking around will be easy but with the mud, really slow.

You don't recognize the creature but can't see much of it without getting closer

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa scurries a little closer, looking oddly at the creature.

[Owrtho]

Rana holds back with the rest of the group, waiting to see what happens.

spot check to try identifying the types of bones the creature is eating (as in if they look humanoid or monstrous).
[roll0]

[Admiral Squish]

Sera remains in the rear, but pulls her blade from the loop of her suit, which sank back into her hip, vanishing into the rest of the material. If this team was anything like others she'd worked with, they wouldn't be able to leave it alone, and then she'd have to step in and kill it.

[Grendus]

Goliath slowly draws his Guisarme, but stays back. Subtlety wasn't his strong suit, and besides, if it was one creature the others could probably handle it, but if there were others in the area they wouldn't want to be attacked without someone to hold the flank.

[Tacitus]

Killian

Though a blade flickers from somewhere about his person into his waiting hands, the angelic figure does not seem intent to assault the beast. Instead, he gestures out into the swamp, and motions to go around the skull while he himself starts off in that direction, quietly.

Moving silently at 3/4ths my max speed (40ft), which if its difficult terrain should be 15ft, I think. -5 for speed accounted for.
MS [roll0] less any modifiers for the terrain.

[Owrtho]

Noticing Killian's actions, Rana likewise draws her weapons and begins moving around the skull, making sure to keep an eye on the creature and Salissa.

Move Silently - [roll0]

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc sticks close to the skull, gives everyone else a big thumbs up and vigorously motions for the others to go on ahead.

[Admiral Squish]

Sera begins to move around the skeleton, her light footsteps seeming to float her effortlessly across the surface of the mud, barely leaving footprints. in the wet earth.

In Step of the Wind stance, so I get to ignore the difficult terrain, but I'll be moving at half-speed to avoid penalty to Move Silently.

[roll0]

[Sliver]

The beast seems to have finished it's meal as Killian and Sera are past the skeleton's front legs and the others are passing by it's skull. Few seconds past, fire is lit in the skull, making it seem as if it has a pair of glowing eyes. But a moment later the creature groans in pain as you feel the skeleton begins to emit heat and a bit of smoke, as the muddy water ripple with the rapid movement of the shaking bones.

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa gives a surprised hiss, and backs away from it.

[Admiral Squish]

Sera curses under her breath and swiftly turns, dancing across the surface of the mud toward the patch of trees, taking cover among the trunks and concealing herself. Damn it. The thugs must have done something to poke the proverbial (in this case, possibly literal) sleeping dragon, and she would be damned if she was going to suffer for of course, she was getting paid to kill things, so perhaps she'd come out and help once she had a chance to figure out what was going on.

Yeah, she's getting out of the way.
Hide: [roll0] + possible bonus for dense foliage?

Ouch... I suppose this is as good a time as any to ask how you'll be handling natural 1s.

[Sliver]

Flame on!

In a quick flash, the bones are suddenly covered in fire. The scream of the burning creature that was inside the skull give a background music as the creature rises. The fire quickly vaporises the water around what used to be bones, and the area is quickly filled with smoke and mist.

The giant fire bones stand 15ft tall and turn to Xinc, roaring.

We'll try handling it without a map for now. All of you are within 10ft of the creature, standing in a shallow bog (half speed, no 5ft steps), besides swift Sera who is within 20, on normal ground. Target and you have concealment, with your attacks roll 1d5, 1 is a miss.

All of you are on a single side of the thing, so unless you go through extreme effort, no flanking here.

Initiative:

Adam, Salissa (and pet), and Goliath. Then FB (flame bones), then all of you together.

[roll0]

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa yelps a little, and brings her hands together. Her skin goes a little pale, and her hands glow, moments before a beam of blue-white light blasts itself in the direction of the skeleton. Her pet remains wrapped about her, looking warily at the flames.

Using Spiritbolt, spending 9hp to do so. Ranged touch attack:
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Owrtho]

Rana, seeing that it is pointless to hide, begins a dance taking her directly past the skeleton to the opposite side.

Move action to start heartfelt dance. I gain a bonus to charisma mod (3) to AC as long as I'm dancing, and the dance grants me a like bonus to attack and damage rolls. Allies gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage.

Using a movement action (40 feet, halved to make it 20 total) to get as close to the opposite side of the skeleton from everyone else as possible.

If it makes an attack of opportunity against me, I'll activate the readied Side-Shuffle counter as an immediate action granting me a +1 bonus to AC.
If it misses its attack, I gain an attack of opportunity against it. I'll let you roll that when it happens unless you prefer I do it

[Grendus]

Goliath will switch to Iron Guards Glare stance, putting the creature at a -4 penalty to attack anybody but him. He will hit the giant with Leading the Attack, granting everybody else a +4 bonus to hit the creature if he hits.

Concealment: [roll0]
Attack (Power Attacking for 1 point): [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

As the creature stands up, Goliath's eyes dim slightly as his processors boot up the Crusader program, consuming most of their cycles. "You are in violation of Code 197-A4. Cease and desist your self-immolation or we will be forced to respond with deadly force." The creatures screaming almost immediately flicks a bit somewhere in his chips, and he lunges in, setting his feet to intercept the creatures arms should it try to attack the party or defend itself against their assault.

[Sliver]

Both attacks hitting, the fire skeleton turns it's head to Sallisa, attempting to deliver a powerful swing. Or two.

Everybody get +4 for attacking this turn from Goliath's ability.

Attacking Sallisa:
[roll0] 1 miss
[roll1] includes penalty
[roll2] + [roll3]

[roll4] 1 miss
[roll5] includes penalty
[roll6] + [roll7]

Everybody can now do their turns. Next turn will be in +/- 24 hours.

It seems that the mist the skeleton creates turned against him, as Sallisa manages to dodge the attacks.

[Admiral Squish]

With the others striking solid blows against the beast, Sera keeps her blade ready. In a instant, she locks her eyes onto the creature's flaming skull and her irises flash pure black, her dark powers laying a curse upon it's head. That done, she darts from her hiding place, striding over the mud and charging through the steam. But as her blade rushes toward the flaming monster's joints, suddenly, a coat of blackness forms around the arm and the blade, before separating, forming a second knife following immediately in the wake of the first, composed entirely of frigid, black energy.


FB must make a DC 15 will save or take a -2 to attack rolls, saves, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for the next hour.

Move action to move the 20 feet to FB, ignoring the difficult terrain.
Standard action to initiate Shadow Blade Technique.
[roll0]
[roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Cold Damage (if applicable) [roll3]
Oh, and miss chance: [roll4]

EDIT:Yeah, I'll take the low roll, so yay cold damage!

[Khosan]

Xinc

Caught slightly unawares by a wayward poncho, a blast of steam and a massive something-or-other roaring up his backside, Xinc composes himself and turns towards the flaming skeleton thing. Apparently unphased by the pillar of flame in front of him, Xinc lunges towards the inferno, rolling over the patch of dried mud surrounding the creature, releasing a whirlwind of kicks and punches to whatever may be there.

Flurry of Blows. That's about it.

Miss Chance 1 - [roll0]
Attack Roll 1 - [roll1]
Damage Roll 1 - [roll2]
Miss Chance 2 - [roll3]
Attack Roll 2 - [roll4]
Damage Roll 2 - [roll5]

[Tacitus]

Killian

The angelic figures extends his dagger out before him as if to make some clumsy attempt at attacking the creature, but then suddenly reverses the knife and plunges it into his own belly. With a rip and tear he jerks it to one side and his flesh pulls away with it. Oddly, it seems that the armor he wears has an opening made for this purpose, and a moment later a Killian-husk is cast out from under his armor to quickly wither to nothing in the mud.

The man himself has become a horror. His great angelic wings have been striped of their golden feathers and are now an ashen shade of purple with a rubbery membrane. His arms lengthen to become as long as he is tall, a second elbow forming about two thirds along the span. His pair of emerald eyes become a cluster of six sickly green orbs and his head and crimson locks become a mat of dried blood. He opens his mouth to unleash a terrible roar, but instead of coming from his head it tears out through his belly as his back twists at an unnatural angle and his entire stomach opens up into a maw of hooked teeth.

He takes a brief moment to see if the creature responds to his terrifying transformation before he acts.

Strangely, though it might seem incredibly odd to behold, there seems to be some restraint in the man's transformation. He seems to somehow be directing any horror that is unleashed away from his traveling companions.

The dagger to the chest is purely a cinematic.

Everyone except those who I choose to exclude (ie, I exclude allies and include the flame bones) must make a DC 20 will save or be Shaken by Killian manifesting his true form. I'm guessing this thing is undead, but being scary as a swift action is a good enough way to test that. XD Can't hurt, anyhow, as it doesn't waste any resources and manifesting actually improved my combat statistics.

For reference, by manifesting he gets +2 to grapple, a bite attack that can unfortunately only be used in his square, +6 to Spot/Search, +1 AC, and +1 Reflex. The adjusted values are below.
Spot: +26
Search: +9
AC: 25, FF 22, T 14
Ref: +5

Hmm... I was originally going to put together an if/then statement of some sort based on whether it gets Shaken or not, but its just not ideal to do anything but attempt violence.

If he can get closer to it by means of flight, he'll just hover about, as a Good maneuverability does not require any forward movement and can indeed hover. I think the inability to take 5ft steps only counts if you're entering difficult terrain, but I'm not 100% sure, and if I can 5ft "step" towards the creature and up one square, that might count. I dunno. Doesn't reeeeally matter, I suppose.

Unless, of course, I'm misunderstanding the distance and a 5ft won't do it, in which case he might provoke an AoO anyway, but eh.

And enough of my rambling. Attack with the steel dagger previously drawn.
Attack: [roll0] counting +1 from 'Rana' and +4 from Goliath
Damage: [roll1] slashing

Miss: [roll2]

[Afterthought: wow, this got way longer than I expected...]

[Grendus]

That poor skeleton, even without the concealment he missed. Hits like a tank though.

Since bull rushing a creature larger than yourself is a bad idea in general, and since the party is currently in a good position anyways, Goliath will use Mountain Hammer for the extra damage.

Concealment: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]+[roll3]
Granted maneuver: [roll4]

With the creatures capabilities gauged, Goliath moves in to strike hard, aiming at a weakness on the creatures joints. "Lethal force has been authorized," he says, shifting his grip on the weapon and stepping in to jam the blade into the creatures cartilage. "Cease your self immolation and withdraw or be terminated."

[Sliver]

The flaming bones creature seems to take in the hits, the harm of those doesn't seem to show. Both of Sera's blades hit, with the dark blade dealing more damage than Sera expected from a normal opponent. Xinc launches a few attacks, most are purely glancing blows, but some minor damage has been dealt. Killian's unleashed form doesn't faze the monster, but his dagger slashes through from the air, cutting the flames and glancing against the bones, showing some damage has been dealt, but that too, is far from enough. Maybe ten times that force?

Goliath swings his weapon at the bones with noticeable force, but the monster uses the mist to it's advantage, and turns the harmful blow into a wild miss.

It seems odd that the opponent that dealt no damage so far, gets the skeleton's attention. You can roll wisdom and k. religion if you want.

Next turn:
Those who didn't post their turns, you can post both turns actions together, but further delay will cause that turn to be lost.

Will save: [roll0] DC 15

Attack vs Goliath -2 to attack and damage if will failed:

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3] [roll4]


[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7] [roll8]

I hope Sallisa is happy that she wasn't the target again.

[Khosan]

Xinc

Now in a slightly better position and actually prepared this time, Xinc takes a great amount of care to punish the creature for letting him get as close as he did without acknowledging him, each blow measured and placed to inflict as much damage as he can in the position he's in.

Xinc expends his psionic focus, using his justice mantle to make an AoO against the creature for attacking Goliath, in Flurry of Blows form.

AoO #1 Miss Chance - [roll0]
AoO #1 Attack Roll - [roll1]
AoO #1 Damage Roll - [roll2]

AoO #2 Miss Chance - [roll3]
AoO #2 Attack Roll - [roll4]
AoO #2 Damage Roll - [roll5]

And a standard Flurry to follow that up:

Attack #1 Miss Chance - [roll6]
Attack #1 Attack Roll - [roll7]
Attack #1 Damage Roll - [roll8]

Attack #2 Miss Chance - [roll9]
Attack #2 Attack Roll - [roll10]
Attack #2 Damage Roll - [roll11]

Plus a Wisdom check, whoo.

Wis - [roll12]

[Owrtho]

Seeing the way the monster fights, Rana continues her dance, travelling further around the creature before managing to incorporate a blow into the movements.

moving 20 feet so that Killian will have flanking, then using a standard action to perform Crawling Ivy Strike. If the attack hits, I gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round. If the creature makes an attack of opportunity, I'll activate Side-Shuffle as an immediate action to gain +1 to AC against the attack, and make an attack of opportunity against the creature in turn (I'll leave the rolling for that for if and when it happens). Not sure if I make 2 attacks sings I'm duel wielding and you have your slightly altered TWF rules, if not, ignore the second.

miss chance: [roll0]
main hand attack: [roll1]
main hand damage: [roll2]
miss chance: [roll3]
off hand attack: [roll4]
off hand damage: [roll5]

[Owrtho]

After having done so, Rana proceeds to move further around the opponent before executing another attack against it.

moving 20 feet so that most people will have flanking, then using a standard action to attack. If the creature makes an attack of opportunity, I'll activate Side-Shuffle as an immediate action to gain +1 to AC against the attack, and make an attack of opportunity against the creature in turn. Not sure if I make 2 attacks during AoOs, since I'm duel wielding and you have your slightly altered TWF rules, if not, ignore the second. Also rolling for if I get an AoO last round.

last round AoO:
miss chance: [roll0]
main hand attack: [roll1]
main hand damage: [roll2]
miss chance: [roll3]
off hand attack: [roll4]
off hand damage: [roll5]

Main Attack:
miss chance: [roll6]
main hand attack: [roll7]
main hand damage: [roll8]
miss chance: [roll9]
off hand attack: [roll10]
off hand damage: [roll11]

This round AoO:
miss chance: [roll12]
main hand attack: [roll13]
main hand damage: [roll14]
miss chance: [roll15]
off hand attack: [roll16]
off hand damage: [roll17]

[Tacitus]

Killian

With his dagger not producing the results he would prefer, he instead reaches forward with flickering white light on his fingertips.

concentration DC 15 to avoid AoO. If it fails the SLA does not go off.
Concentration: [roll0]

Touch Attack: [roll1] (no flanking or anything else applied to this roll, so it may be higher)
Miss Chance: [roll2]
Damage: 1 Positive Energy

And yeah, probably a waste, but eh. Something huge that I can't scare that has DR greatly reduces my combat options. >.>

[Lix Lorn]

Salissa

Taking a step backwards, Salissa launches another blast of spirit-power at the beast, while her pet leaps from her shoulders to slash at it!

Sacrifice 6hp.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[Admiral Squish]

Sera darts across the surface of the mud around the creature to get into a better position. As she runs, her blade gathers wisps of darkness out of the air, forming a black coat over the blade. When she reaches her destination, she strikes quickly, aiming for the beast's joints.

That's a move action to go up to 30 feet. Looking for a place to get in a flank with Goliath or someone else. If I get the flank, just add a +2 to the attack roll.
Anyways, I'm using Clinging Shadow Strike. FB needs to make a DC 13 fort save or suffer 20% miss chance on all attacks for the next round.

Miss chance:[roll0]
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Extra damage (Not dependant on the save): [roll3]

[Sliver]

Sera and Rana move quickly around the monster, but right away, the fire gets stronger and launches from the sides of the beast fist shaped.


2 AoOs VS Rana, third against Sera.

[roll0]
[roll1]
4d6+4

[roll2]
[roll3]
4d6+4

Sera: [roll4]
[roll5]
4d6+4


And then the counter attacks come in. Sallisa and Rana seem to do noticeable damage, while the others deal small amounts or purely glancing blows. By now some of you notice that the creature doesn't act like an unintelligent being, as it attacks Goliath again, but it seems the FB suffered great damage and is able to strike once.

[roll6]
[roll7]
4d6+4

[Admiral Squish]

Sera reels from a powerful blow by the beast, but she's not out of the fight just yet. Calling upon her training, she concentrates on the creatures movements. There is no shadow energy this time, just a careful thrust of a narrow blade right where it would do the most damage.


Aright, initiating Sapphire Nightmare Blade. I make a concentration check and an attack roll. If the check result is higher than the creature's AC, it's flat-footed against my attack, and I deal an extra 1d6 damage. If it's lower than it's AC, the attack takes a -2.

Miss Chance: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Extra damage: [roll3]

After that's done, I'm going to take a 5 ft. step away from the creature. No more AoOs for me, thanks. But I need to get out of it's reach so I can use Adaptive style to reset my maneuvers. I doubt Burning Blade would do much good here...

[Owrtho]

Continuing her dance, Rana attacks the creature again, before moving in such a way as to end up back at her starting point.

Attacking as a standard action, then moving 20 feet, 10 to one side along the creature, then 10 back to starting point. Not sure if I make 2 attacks during AoOs, since I'm duel wielding and you have your slightly altered TWF rules, if not, ignore the second. Also, forgot I had flanking last round. Not sure if I'll have it on any attacks of opportunity made while moving, so left it out there.

Main Attack:
miss chance: [roll0]
main hand attack: [roll1]
main hand damage: [roll2]
miss chance: [roll3]
off hand attack: [roll4]
off hand damage: [roll5]

Possible AoO:
miss chance: [roll6]
main hand attack: [roll7]
main hand damage: [roll8]
miss chance: [roll9]
off hand attack: [roll10]
off hand damage: [roll11]

[Tacitus]

Killian

With few options, the angelic man swipes again with his dagger from a defensive stance, likely to no avail.

Back to the dagger I suppose. Fighting Defensively for +2 AC.

Attack: [roll0]
Miss Chance: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

+2 Dodge AC, so AC: 27, FF 22, T 16

[Khosan]

Xinc

A little off-balance after his last burst of attacks, Xinc follows up with a simple one-two punch to the creature.

Flurry of Blows, again. Big shock.

Attack #1 Miss Chance - [roll0]
Attack #1 Attack Roll - [roll1]
Attack #1 Damage Roll - [roll2]

Attack #2 Miss Chance - [roll3]
Attack #2 Attack Roll - [roll4]
Attack #2 Damage Roll - [roll5]

[Grendus]

Sorry, been a hectic week. Work screwed up my schedule something bad, between long hours and exhaustion I haven't had the time/energy to post. This won't be a repeated thing, the manager in charge of scheduling was on vacation and they let the other trained chimp do the schedule for the last two weeks.

Considering one full attack took Goliath to 2 hit points, I think I'll withdraw from combat as a full round action to about 25 feet away. Since I can't see the creature on a map, I don't know if it has a 15 foot reach (Withdraw only ignores the first AoO). If it does, Goliath will instead initiate Crusader Strike, switch to Martial Spirit, and just pray that it misses.

Also, since I missed my last turn, Knowledge (Religion) check to identify the creature; [roll0]

Badly damaged, Goliath staggers back away from the creature. "Goliath down," he says scratchily, fending off the creatures still flaming blows as he moves out of reach. "Request backup. Need medical attention."

[Sliver]

*Combat Over*

The few additional attacks don't seem to do a whole lot of damage, but they are doing something. And it brings really odd results. The flaming bones aren't down, but the thing begins to retreat, as it's almost screaming at Goliath, who is nearly down himself. And at that point, few things happen at the same time.

Goliath notices it fails to retreat, as a disturbance runs through him. Suddenly, out of cracks and joints, blood seems to flow out of the robot, overflowing it's circuits. But instead of pouring down, the blood leaps at the giant flaming skeleton, killing off the flames and sliding down, disappearing into the ground. Some spots over the naked bones seem to reignite, but the flames are much weaker then before... And then, a blade cuts the flames off, and a robotic hand stuffs the fire into a jar, where the flames continue to dance and live.

Another robot quickly shoots out of the path you were aiming for, one of it's limbs is actually a small firearm, shooting and breaking the bones, while the other arm is connected to the jar holding hand with a chain, quickly reattaches it to the robot, who seems to look a lot like Goliath.

The bones are quickly turned to dust, and the remaining flames seem to escape into the swamp, with no traces left of the blood.

Goliath seems to have reduced functionality, feeling like it will take a bit of time to recover as the blood seems to have stolen a lot of his power. (Acts as if Fatigued.)

The firearm arm of the robot turns into a normal hand and it picks up the sword, while stuffing the fire jar into a belt pouch and looks at you. "I was sent here to escort you to my operator, will you please follow?"

Goliath's files contain nothing about an undead being like that, and it's behavior is really not fitting to an unintelligent undead, but it's immunity to Killian's manifestation...

[Khosan]

Xinc

Shielding his face with his arms, the dromite takes a few guarded steps back as the thing is extinguished by animate blood, partially reignited and then systematically disintegrated. His antennae flick forward again and, with a look of disgust on his face, he removes his hat and fans the mixture of steam, bone dust and ash away from his face.

"You know, zings like zis happen rarely zu mich. I don't know about all of us, but zis is...I have all sorts of zings happen zu mich, aber ich habe nicht gigantischen, feurigen Untoten gerochen!" He shoves his hat back on his head and slides his antennae underneath. With a sigh, he looks to the newcomer, "Bitte. Sensitive zu smell, ja? Who is your master? And vhy should ve?"

[Sliver]

"My operator is a researcher living in this swamp" the robot replies "and if you continue without knowing what is ahead, you will be terminated. The operator also believes he knows your goal, and can aid you. The operator offers his aid due to feeling sorry for you being attacked. Your own guardian has been confused with the scout unit, which the creature has tried to terminate before, as well as your attack on it helps the operator further his research."

[Owrtho]

Her dance reaching its conclusion, Rana approaches the construct.
"Well, I can't speak for the rest of us, but I'd certainly be willing to meet this individual if it is likely to expedite our quest."

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc pats down his poncho, smacking away bits of mud and ash and dirt that managed to cake on during the fight. "I am not certain. I vould like zu be quick, ja? Lives in danger und so weiter."

[Sliver]

"Affirmative" confirms the robot and turns to the path, walking on the mud as if it was normal ground, while you still need to struggle to reach the other side. After a few minutes of walking on the path itself, the construct holds his sword hire, and his other arm turns back into a rifle. It turns it's head to you "My operator has set here traps. It's living plants that would attack anything that moves through here without distinction, and will regrow in a few minutes so I can move through and destroy them without worry. Please slow your pace a bit and follow further behind."

A minute later, you understand the warning. Different plants, some with spikes or swords, some with mouths and others even shoot darts at the robot.

It deflects the attacks and slashes the plants with his sword, shooting the further ones that are shooting from between the woods. When a huge sharp vine drops from above, slashing at the sword holding arm at it's shoulder, almost completely disconnecting it from the robot's body, it simply raises it's other arm and guns the plant.

"Halt" it says and stops for a moment, seeming to shut down. Cords flow from it's damaged shoulder, connecting to the severed arm and pulling it back to the torso and connecting it, as before your very eyes you see the cracks and torn metal mend itself, the robot looking as if it was never wounded.

After about half an hour, you reach a clearing. In it's center, sits a man in front of a few cube like objects, which you might have heard of as being called screens. They show different pictures, some of the swamp, one of the water, another one of a lone tree, one black and another one white, with a few show charts and graphs. There is a seperated table with vials and ores, knifes and measuring tools, a small lab in the swamp.

All around the human are small guns on stands, all pointing down. You have a feeling it's a temporary setting.

The robot continues towards the man, who stands to greet you. "I'm Hains."

Hains is of above average hight for a human, but seems to be quite old and frail. His skin is a tad too pale, and the bags under his eyes show he hasn't slept for a while. His breathing is a little too deep, which might indicate some sort of illness. He isn't wearing any protective gear, trusting the constructions around him.

The construct hands over the pouch, which Hains slightly opens, nodding to himself and mumbling, then he sets it on the lab and turns to you.

"Didn't have company for a long time. Now, I could go and on with my ramblings, but perhaps you have some questions, so I can focus my ramblings to a specific subJECT?"

[Owrtho]

Stepping forward slightly, Rana takes him up on his offer to ask questions.
"We came here seeking someone who was kidnapped from a nearby town. If you could give us any information that would might be related to that, or the hazards we face searching for them it would be, appreciated."
The slight pause and her tone for the last word making one able to imagine just how she might show her appreciation.

If Hains turns to look at his screens, Rana will move up behind him to look at them over his shoulder, and happen to (intentionally) press up against him while doing so.

[Sliver]

"Is the one you are looking for, a young girl perhaps?" Hains asks. "A few days ago there was a group dragging a girl through the swamp. They got attacked and the girl is kept alive here as bait." Hains turns the screen showing a lone tree towards you, and you see your target tied to it.

[Owrtho]

"That does indeed seem to be her. Do you know what it is that keeps her there?"

[Sliver]

"Well, the tree. While the bandits were attacked by the lake, the tree moved in and attacked from behind. Don't try the attack more than the tree. It and the bones were the weakest arms."

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc scratches his head, "Is ze girl going zu be safe zere for ze time being? And vould you happen zu know where ze group vas heading before zey vere attacked? Vould just like zu handle ze insteegators before ve put an innocent in harm's vay, ja?"

[Sliver]

Hains looks at the tree through the screen for a moment "The girl doesn't have enough life force to sustain the dweller. The tree uses her as a bait, so I guess the dweller actually knows somebody will be looking for the girl. As for the bandits, no idea. There isn't anything left of them."

Hains draws the jar full of fire and sets it inside a small bath with silvery liquid, and opens it within. Strangely enough, the fire doesn't die when the liquid pours inside, but instead the entire liquid seems to become more like fire itself, but liquid.

[Khosan]

Xinc

"Don't suppose ve could get your golem-man to bring the girl back, could ve? Zat's really all ve need from you and I do not vish to pry inzu your territory very long, ja?"

[Sliver]

Without even looking at you, Hains gives you a simple answer "No."

[Owrtho]

"What about directions to get there, and advice on how to combat this 'dweller' as you call it?"

[Sliver]

"FOOL!" Hains shouts "The tree is not the dweller! The dweller is behind everything. You do not fight the damned dweller!"

He looks away "The tree contains an earth elemental, so avoid fire if you don't wish to fight twice. My scout will show you the way from here so you can at least survive the traps, and then you are on your own."

He pulls out the jar from the liquid, and it seems the fire has turned solid.

[Khosan]

Xinc

Xinc lifts his hat and gives his scalp a thorough rubbing and mumbling, "Zees is...perhaps one of ze strangest zings zat has ever happened to me. By a large margin, ja?" He sighs, "You know vat? I am going zu go straight zu ze point. Who are you, vhy are you here and vhat in ze name creation are ve doing surrounded by constructs in ze middle of a swamp?"

[Sliver]

Hains smiles "I'm a scientist, and I'm here because someone has to... Under this swamp, deep within, resides a horror, a great abomination, or perhaps a very cunning puppy. It could be anything, but I call it the Dweller. It lives off the life force of the creatures it preys upon in this swamp, using different monsters as his eyes and arms, his extensions in the swamp. The Dweller binds elementals into different spots in the swamp, and uses them to hunt. You have encountered the fire elemental which was bound to the bones of an ancient creature long extinct, I think. It won't take long for the dweller to rebind another fire elemental, but for me, your efforts to defeat the elemental were very helpful." The man checks a different monitor, which shows some sort of changing chart, and turns back to you.

"Anyway, an earth elemental is bound to the tree. It can call other, small earth elementals to scout for it. When a group of bandits were near the lake, where a great water elemental is bound, the earth elemental surprised them from behind, and took the girl as bait for when you look for her. The tree you should be able to handle, the water, or any of the other elementals, will not even leave remains of you..."