The Winding Road II (The Narrow Path)

[Shinovar]

Elastial feels some satisfaction as his allies manage to score a hit on Greta. There is little more frustrating than your enemy dancing away from all you can throw at them. His satisfaction does not last long however, as the stench hits his nostrils. He twists his body in his saddle to scan the room for the cause. After seeing their new arrivals, he looks back to Greta in time to see her reply to Anna.

[roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

"Well," Greta says as she pushes herself to her feet, favoring her left arm as she does so, "I guess we better deal with these." She sheathes her sword and uses her now-free right hand to hold her left hand to her mouth where she whispers into it. She waits a moment before hastily whispering into it again. She drops her hand, wincing as it pulls her wounded shoulder down, and pulls the wand off her belt, "Correction: We need to deal with these."Fle's turn.

[Bladehunter217]

"Ha! Mother strange! Wait, where and when? Fle looks at the closest thing, for he couldn't think of any possibilities for what they were and holds his rapier at the ready.

Few steps closer and ready action to attack.

[Diful Takveh]

The squid to Charlize's left turns to face her and, without heed for its safety, moves directly toward her to be met with a large mace to the beak, cracking it, and causing blue liquid to shoot out of small lacerations that appeared in its skin as the bone-like flesh sliced through it. The splatter mainly lands in the swamp that continues to unfold under the party's feet, but the squid is knocked down and back, skipping off a root before hitting the wall where it slides down, painting a line of blue in its path to rest, motionless and dull grey in the murky water.

After a moment of stagnation, the creature explosively disintegrates, leaving no trace of it in the water in which it had lain. The two remaining squids turn toward the spot where their companion had been moments before. The patterns flashing across their bodies changes as if in response to their companion's death.Anna already used this turn to heal herself. She would also note that the perforation of the squid's outer layer did not add to the stench of decaying flesh which would point to another source for the smell, whether it is inherent of the swamp or something else. (And Anna takes [roll0] for whacking the squid.)

Charlize's turn.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Charlize watches in horror as the squid melts, thoughts of her last encounter suddenly invading her thoughts. Clutching her head, she runs from the room, eyes wide as she desperately tries to flee the room, convinced the squids had somehow found a way out of her mind. Have to leave, have to leave, she keeps thinking to herself, all semblance of composure lost in her mad dash to prevent the situation from worsening.

[Diful Takveh]

As the room had no door, escape seemed a less-than-viable option, but Charlize's drive to escape is met by a crumbling sound as the walls enclosing the group fall apart to reveal, instead, a tangled mess of roots and vines, thick enough to hamper movement but not enough to prevent it. It is short enough that Anna and Elastial can see the floor beyond. Outside of what had formerly been the circular room, the floor has entirely transformed into a mesh of roots above a marsh. Through gaps in the wall of vegetation and the open ceiling, you can all see what appear to be tall trees of stone growing out of not only the floor, but the walls and ceiling as well. There are no leaves on the trees, but vines grow around the trunks and hang down from the branches each toward the floor from which its host tree grows.

One of the trees that had grown out of the wall had broken through the obsidian pillar in the middle of the room, and the pieces now floated near where they had broken off.

Hovering in the air like falling leaves frozen in time are hundreds of the creatures that Anna had just killed, all turned to face the group, and all flashing between red and white in a sort of pattern that seems connected among all of them. Anna can tell, though, that the creatures are ever-so-slowly coming toward them as the walls, ceiling, and floor slowly expand and drift apart from one another.

The creature farthest away from any of the group darts in at Charlize, but misses her and smashes into the wall beside her, briefly flashing green and yellow before dropping to the floor in a daze.Squid 2 from B7 to A5. Elastial's turn.

[Shinovar]

Elastial readies his Lance to charge at the creature near Greta when the walls start to collapse. His surprise quickly turns to horror as he sees the mass of enemies he and his comrades now face. Thinking quickly, his eyes darting back and forth from his new foes to those that he is determined to protect, he quickly makes up his mind. He drops his lance and tumbles off of his created Tai'Shar. He would need surer mobility in a defensive fight than he would when he was fighting offensively against a single foe. Besides, the terrain outside of the small circle would hamper Tai'Shar and Elastial was loathe to risk even a created version of his companion.

Swiftly landing on his feet, Elastial draws his new sword, his now useless lance discarded. As he draws his blade, he hastens over this his elven companion. He does not know what is wrong with Charlize, but she seems to need even more protection than wizards normally do in such close combat.

As he arrives, he swings his sword directly at his foe from the direction opposite of Charlize, and strikes downward, so his follow through will be towards the ground, not towards his ally. Elastial knows that he cannot predict the splash, but he can minimize it if neither his entry nor his exit point are directed at his frail companion.

Attack: [roll0]
Base Damage: [roll1]
If evil: [roll2]
If evil outsider: [roll3]

[Diful Takveh]

The squid's squishy body is easily bisected by Elastial's sword, and just like the one before, quickly disappears as though every particle of the creature sublimated instantaneously. The third and final one in the room notes its companion's departure from the world before moving in to the most heavily injured of the group. As it reaches for Greta with its long arms, she ducks out of reach.Technically Hansi's turn, but as there is only one enemy, everyone can act. I am about to do real life things, so I won't be around for a bit.

Map is updated.

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks over at the remaining squid, then rolls around Greta and stabs at it, more concerned with injuring it than with dealing a lethal blow.

Moving to H5.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2]+[roll3]=13

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi slices the foul beast from eye to eye, cutting deeply into the boneless flesh as miniature lightning bolts cauterize the wound. The creature turns black and falls to the ground, where it remains still save for occasional minor spasms.

Seeing that there will be a short break, Greta pulls a wand off her belt and goes to anyone who she had hit during their fight, and casts as many times as necessary to make them right as rain. Having finished that, she does the same to herself. As she does so, her face is practically expressionless with a slightly grim disposition.Alright, time for you guys to plan and stuff while I do real life.

[Bladehunter217]

"What, what? Those fish? The what?" Fle stutters out half a sentence, holding his rapier in a deathly grip, waiting for more of those things to arrive.

[Diful Takveh]

The wall is soon followed by the floor which is subsumed by the roots growing out from between the cracks. In four distinct locations in one half of the room, some of the roots start to wrap together and grow upward, taking on a form of stone even as they grow roughly half a foot every second. As Charlize and Hansi now stand in less than stable positions, it might be wise for them to move.

[Saskia]

Anna takes a deep breath. Strange things appear, and the woman who was fully composed in the blitz on Hillingshire suddenly loses it. Obviously then, Charlize knows something the Anna doesn't. She sheathes her mace and seizes Charlize by the shoulders and pulls her to more stable ground; not violently, not aggressively, but knowing that panic is most easily suppressed by control, or the illusion of control that comes with conviction and a forceful personality.

She speaks forcefully, but again not aggressively or condescendingly, but concern-tinged disappointment, as if her eldest daughter was seen fleeing in terror from an overly-affectionate kitten. "Charlize, you stared down deranged blood cult bandits, and now you're running from hors d'oeuvres? What the hell has gotten into you?"

[Shinovar]

Elastial looks around him as the situation falls apart. He moves into a defensive position around the arguing Charlize and Anna, hoping to protect them in case of an attack. As he steadies his shield, he takes a moment to pray to his god, asking for his blessing and his judgement on those that seek to attack his aims and his servants, and in service of those ends, guidance and strength to himself, his chosen arm in this effort.

Elastial detects evil, swirling around to survey his whole surroundings.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

As Anna pulls Charlize to safety, the jolt brings her out of her momentary madness. Still, it does little to settle the hairs that now stand on her neck. "Deranged blood cult bandits do not number in the multitudes these 'hors d'oeuvres' do," she says, eyes still wide. "Unless we are able to escape or somehow destroy the magicks that bind this room, I fear we all face certain demise." She attempts to shake free of Anna's hold, obviously embarrassed by her loss of composure. "I apologize for my behavior, Miss Whitefield," she says, "there was a part of my history I had hoped to keep secret, but the unforeseen powers that pervade this room seem to have obliterated that idea quite readily and completely." She raises her voice so that everyone in the room can hear. "I understand that I owe you all an explanation for what is happening here, and I shall tell you what I know in due time. But that time will not come for any of us if we do not find a way out. Right. Now."

[Saskia]

Anna releases Charlize when she tries to shake her hold. Even if it were necessary, her tremendous size and even greater strength than normal could crush such a willowy wizard's bones if she weren't careful.

"Good to have you back," she says calmly, and turns her attention around to look over the group with a loud clap of her (now significantly larger and more thunderous) hands; something she picked up from Ruby when she needed to pull attention to herself. "You heard the lady. We get out now, and talk later. Greta, you're on point since you know the way. I want everyone else watching everyone else's ass, and don't clump up too tightly. I'm not about to lose somebody to carelessness against an unfamiliar enemy of unknown power."

[Diful Takveh]

With a nod and a "Yes'm," Greta takes her place as point, "Mirabelle, if you would please scout ahead..." With those words, part of her shadow seems to come straight up out of the ground before speeding off toward one of the stone trees. After a moment, Greta says, "It would be wise to stay away from the trees as it appears these creatures make their homes there. Apart from that, our exit point will be the same as our entrance point, the pillar over there. Despite the physical destruction of the shell, I suspect that the magic is still functioning."

While nobody else in the group realizes that they are even moving, Anna can tell that the creatures above them have started moving down faster and the bulk of them would reach the group in half a minute if they keep a constant velocity.Alright, everyone's up initiative-wise. Proceed with your turns. The red circles are x4 movement costs (x2 for swamp, x2 for growing trees).--EDIT--
Oh, yeah. No evil, no evil whatsoever.

[sparky9042]

Hansi makes a beeline for the exit, moving as far as he can towards it.

[Shinovar]

"Greta, with your shadow scouting, and you leading the way, I'll take the rear and help make sure that Hansi gets out. Anna, you make sure that Charlize gets out. Fle, stick with them as far as you can. Anna is right that we don't want to clump too tightly, but we don't want to get separated and cut off either." With that, Elastial readies his blade and shield to defend the others. He does not immediately head out, waiting first for both the others to get clear and for Hansi to catch up with the group. As soon as Hansi catches up, Elastial begins a swift but careful journey to follow the others, staying in the rear if the situation permits.

[Diful Takveh]

As you walk toward the obsidian pillar, more of the creatures start to exit from the roots of the trees. Unlike the three before, these do not appear to be aggressive; however, they watch on in absolute silence, and the slowly shifting pattern that each displays is not related to that of its neighbors. One of the creatures floats over to the conjured Tai'shar and begins to slowly float around him, and as it does so, the horse slowly starts to fade from its existence in this world.

Greta steps inside the pillar and looks up. With a smile on her face, she waves over to the rest of you, "It's okay, the coast is clear." She jumps, floating off the ground before catching herself on the top of the archway and pushing herself back down to the ground, "And it seems the magic's still working."Map is updated, and I just went ahead and moved you guys where I said I would.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Charlize moves to follow Greta. "The warning may be unnecessary at this point," she says, approaching the pillar, "but avoid gazing at the creatures - they are prone to attempt charms, and the loss of any member of this party could jeopardize this entire escape."

[Diful Takveh]

You continue toward the pillar, entering it as soon as you reach it. Though one of the trees has broken through the center of the tower, Anna is able to make it past with only mild discomfort. Following her are Charlize and Greta with Fle, Hansi, and Elastial not far behind. As soon as Elastial passes the tree, the mollusks start slowly filtering into the tower to create a porous wall of bodies. As before, it does not appear as though they are approaching, but Anna can clearly see their advance.

Upon reaching the other end of the pillar, Greta says, "Alright. It doesn't seem that the creatures are on this side of the room, so we should be able to get out rather easily." With that, she starts out, but before she is too far from the pillar, she stops and clutches her hand to her chest. After a moment, she turns around to face the group, a grim expression on her face, "New plan: you wait here until I tell you, then bolt to the entrance."

As the only one out of the pillar so far (and tall enough to see over the weapon racks), Anna can see what happened. Something that looks like a man completely encased in skin such that it entirely covers any and all features stands by a fading shadow. In its right hand is a loosely held black sword that nearly scrapes the ground. It turns its head, and as the skin of its neck stretches, holes of varying sizes open to reveal raw flesh underneath.

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks panicked. "Great. The sooner we get out of here, the better." He holds his rapier out and looks around, tense.

[Shinovar]

"Take heart my friend. We wait till she calls us or till this location remain indefensible. She has led us well so far and she is the only one that knows the area." He looks to the others. "Anna, Charlize, do you know anything about what is happening here?"

[Saskia]

Anna kneels and speaks softly. "There's a man covered in a caul carrying a black blade. It looks almost like he's been dead a while, but preserved; he's got holes in his skin that look like the stress sores you sometimes see in people with unusually thick skin, or in older, preserved zombies."

Knowledge (religion)? [roll0]

[Diful Takveh]

Greta stands ready at the edge of the weapon rack, turns her head to look at Anna and nods before dashing out. It is only a few moments before Greta can be heard shouting, "Go!" Instantaneously, the entire host of squids above flashes to a blood red, and a loud but otherwise emotionless voice resounds throughout the minds of the entire party, <We will not let you escape.> The creatures dash downward now with the speed of diving falcons, slamming into the ground in front of the exit of the room, but as they impact, they don't disappear similar to the ones before. Instead, a tiny demon crawls out of each of the fallen creatures before the mollusk-shaped portion fades out of existence. The demons themselves look like tiny humans that, judging by their almost spherical bodies and many folds in their necks, have spent their entire lives utilizing their sharp teeth. In place of each hand is a sharp silver hook about as long as the toothy grin stretched across their miniature faces. A pair of small leathery wings extends from each of their backs, but they appear incapable of utilizing them to their full extent as they reach a peak altitude of six feet before falling back to the ground.

The creatures in the pillar mimic the ones outside, and start slamming into the ground around the party still in the pillar.Swarm1:[roll0]
Swarm2:[roll1]
Creature:[roll2]

[Shinovar]

Elastial almost falters for a moment at the new revelation, but then he raises his sword at the new threat. Part of him not believing what he detected earlier, and and fearing new conditions, Elastial detects evil.

[Diful Takveh]

Not wanting to be caught in an enclosed area with a swarm of demonlings, Charlize darts out next to Anna. Looking back at the creatures, Charlize hesitates before turning back, "If I'm not mistaken, these masses of demonlings are referred to as broodswarms and are created by night hags to suppress individuals without killing them in the case that they need living subjects. They are created by..." Charlize trails off, realizing that what she was going to say was less than important to the current situation, "Like many demons, the constituents are embodiments of chaos, and without the guidance of the one that created them, they will turn on one another. Now, these hardly seem to be ordinary circumstances, but given their current behavior, we can assume that this premise will hold true."

[sparky9042]

Hansi calms down, then backs out of the swarm. "Could well be the case that their behavior is deliberately erratic to lure us into a false sense of security. I mean, it's a common enough trope, presumably because it works. If something's out there giving them orders... More importantly, what's that thing," he says, pointing at the strange creature with his right index finger, "and how're we going to get it out of our way?"

Swarms don't provoke AoOs so I'm moving to H6 and suppressing the Merciful quality on my rapier.

[Diful Takveh]

--THIS GOES IN THE MIDDLE OF 526--

As the voice rings out in Anna's head, she turns her head to look at Greta and the humanoid figure. The skin-creature had fallen to the ground, but before its arms had settled on the ground, it is lifted up by an unseen force. The same force holds the sword out in front of it as it rises. Multicolored light makes its way down the length of the blade, emitting clouds of black particles that disperse and become all but invisible to the naked eye. The effect ends, and the sword drops toward the ground.

Immediately, the creature rips a chunk of its skin off of its back, and, hunching over, holds the piece of flesh up to its face. Metallic claws extend from the tips of its fingers, and it looks at Greta with a single eye which bulges from the center of its forehead. Another eye at the creature's temple scans Anna with the disinterested gaze of an apathetic adolescent forced to attend a performance. The room is silent for a moment, as though the air itself had forgotten to move, then the sound of metal hitting stone is heard as the sword hits the ground.

[Shinovar]

Knowing that he can't do too much against swarms, Elastial moves to F3 with sword and shield drawn.

[Saskia]

Anna grunts in controlled exertion, bringing her mace to bear against the man with the skin caul.

Standard attack [roll0], or another +2 if it counts as human.
Damage [roll1] plus [roll2] vicious, plus [roll3] if it counts as human.

[roll4] vicious to Anna if it hits.

[Diful Takveh]

Not paying much attention to what the others are doing, Fle kicks one of the swarmlings into the wall of the pillar. Once he realizes he is alone within the swarm, he runs out behind Elastial, ready to strike.

As the swarm near the entrance starts to take form, it stretches itself out, making a sort of wall around the larger creature. As they start to climb all over Greta and Elastial, darkness starts to coalesce around their hands, forming a coarse black thread that dangles from the ends of the hooks they have in place of fingers. While the creatures climb all over them, their primary targets are their joints, which they loosely stitch with the thread of darkness. The other swarm goes after Hansi, Charlize, and Anna, and though its constituents tear into the wizard and bard with more enthusiasm than the cleric, they still methodically go after the joints of all three.

Through the swarm of demons, Greta swings at the humanoid figure twice, but each time, one of the demonlings pulls one of the threads in her arm, causing the blade to come up short of the target. The skin creature returns the favor by attempting to attack her, but instead just knocks one of the lesser demons off of her.

Even in the midst of battle, each member of the party feels slightly less attentive, struggling to remain awake, and while this feeling doesn't dull the sharp pain of hooks being buried in flesh, neither does that sensation return them to a more attentive state. While most of the party is able to fight it, Elastial and Fle seem to be having a more difficult time with it.Health is in first OOC post. Fle and Elastial are dazed for one turn (no actions, but keep Dex to AC). Everyone injured by the swarms has a -2 penalty to Dex (like 2 points of ability damage, but it isn't ability damage or drain, so -1 to the modifier) as the threads of darkness bind their joints.

I apologize for the tardiness. There was a dinner party thingy at my house last night, and I spent the latter half of the week preparing for it. If all goes according to plan, next post will come in next Tuesday. Now, everyone (but Elastial and Fle) go before next Tuesday.

[sparky9042]

Hansi moves as far towards the door as he can, then begins singing a song to inspire his allies to fight off the swarms.

Moving...I'm not sure how movement rules work w/r/t a bunch of people in my way but I want to get out of here, since I straight-up need my DEX to do things. As close to the door as possible, not afraid of an AoO.

Singing Inspire Courage.

[Diful Takveh]

Hansi makes it to the entryway, turning back around to make sure the rest of his team doesn't need his help.

Charlize jumps backward out of the swarm, knocking as many of the hateful creatures off of her as she can while simultaneously sending two missiles of force at the figure between Elastial and Greta. The missiles strike unerringly, tearing through the skin, releasing the foul stench of decay. It turns to face her, a cry like that of a wounded animal resounding in the minds of those gathered. At the same moment, the demons still crawling over Anna leap off of her toward Charlize. At the same moment, those surrounding it start to follow, but return to harassing Greta and Elastial almost instantaneously.

In the brief pause in the assault, Greta slashes at the humanoid creature's head twice, cutting an x over the eye on the right side of its head. The creature lashes out with its right claw, hitting Greta's shoulder, but the claws seem to fold upon contact. It draws back from Greta and readies itself for another attack.On OOC table first page. Summary: Elastial/Fle dazed. Charlize at 7 hp.

[Diful Takveh]

All of a sudden, the swarms of demonlings stop harassing their respective victims, slowly falling off to join once more into turbulent masses of bodies. The two masses dart toward the skin-covered creature, claws screeching against the cold stone floor. The first to arrive climb over the creature, sinking claws into its flesh, cutting slits in the skin and crawling into them. The rest follow them in with the last sewing the slits closed from the inside.

While this occurred, the creature falls onto all fours, gaining mass until its form was more hairless ursine than humanoid. It roars audibly and charges toward Hansi, fangs bared. Greta slices into its side as she dodges out of its path, and Anna's mace connects with its left shoulder. Hansi attempts to stab it but his blade is batted aside, and the mass of flesh knocks him into the wall, winding him.Most in the main page.
Anna takes [roll0] that I forgot before.
Fle and Elastial are no longer dazed. Hansi was knocked back 5ft into the wall, so he didn't get knocked back into the wall (I thought there was damage for bull-rushing into a wall, but I guess there isn't.)
The skin-thingy is now large.
Also, Crit-chance for Greta [roll1] [roll2]
We have 3 votes for, and 1 vote yet uncast for a new player. I shall inform said player of this (potentially unanimous) decision, and he shall post in the OOC at his leisure to do abilities and health and all that good fun stuff.

[sparky9042]

Hansi looks back at the wall, then at the beast. The first reaction on his face is one of fear, then he looks around at the position of his allies. He backs up quickly, then attempts to make the monster fall over so everyone else can take a better swipe at it.

Five-foot step back to B1
Casting Grease, under the creature.

Reflex DC 15.

[Diful Takveh]

A puddle of grease forms beneath the creature's claws turned paws, and as it lifts its right paw to try to block Hansi's exit, its wounded left shoulder gives ever so slightly, just enough that it slides out from under it. Its maw crashes into the ground, followed by its large and rather heavy body.And now I'm home from class. My phone likes to hide the keyboard seemingly at random, so I wasn't able to type more.

A giant teddy bear pops out from behind Hansi and says, "You hit it's weak spot! Nice move, Sensei!" And now everyone piles on and hits it for ridiculously high damage.

But seriously, have at it. Anna, Elastial, and Fle are still left to go.

[Saskia]

Anna takes a heavy step around, bringing her mace smashing into the bizarre creature!

Attack [roll0], 11 plus 1 Hansi's song, plus 2 flanking, so 14, or 16 if its subtype is human.
Damage [roll1] mace, plus 1 Hansi's song, plus [roll2] vicious, plus [roll3] if its subtype is human. 18 total, or 26 damage if it counts as human.

Vicious [roll4] to Anna on a successful hit.

That dice roll, though?

[Bladehunter217]

Fle looks at the man bear thing and practically growls, how dare it hurt Mule-man. It hasn't even been a day since Fle rescued mule-man, why did this want to hurt him? "Ugly bear leave Hansi alone." He doesn't wait to see if he got the beast's attention, or worry about whether mother-strange succeeded in killing it, it had to pay. Fle bolted forward, ducking down and rolling to the side at the last second, ending close to the jaw. He brought up the rapier, not certain if it was rage or something else helping him focus on the soft fleshy part between the cheek and neck but he was going to use what he saw.


I think that's how I'm going to play off keen, kinda like a aim assist system in video games. They point you in the right direction.
[roll0] tumble and yes, 12, I love the hell out of rogues, I need a 15 total.
[roll1] 8 normal plus magic and bard song.
[roll2]
[roll3] don't usually bother with crit confirmation rolls but the whole keen rapier makes the likelyhood good enough for it.

[Shinovar]

Elastial shake his head, getting rid of the last of his mental fog. He quickly glances up at the battle in time to see the creatures merge together and his friends attack the creature. Not one to be left out of such dangerous tasks, Elastial raises his new sword and maneuvers his way to the forefront of the battle.


I'm not sure where Fle is. Elastial would like to move to D3, but if Fle is there then he will make his way to B4, assuming everyone moves for him.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If evil: [roll2]
If outsider: [roll3]
Crit confirmation: [roll4]

[Diful Takveh]

Still slightly dizzy from the swarms' mental influences, Elastial's sword impacts the ground next to the creature, cutting slightly into the stone floor. The nude ursine lunges toward Anna, trying to straighten up and strike her in the same motion. It fails miserably at this task, neither staying on its feet long enough to matter nor reaching Anna with its large paw, let alone striking her with enough force to injure her. Unfortunately for it, it left itself wide open on all fronts, and all those around it take advantage of that, each of them either cutting deeply into it or, in Anna's case, smashing its head to the side with a powerful swing.

With the near frictionless floor and the law of conservation of momentum, the creature slides into the wall before collapsing onto the ground where it remains motionless. Greta remains in a combat stance for a few moments, but when it becomes clear that it is not going to rise, she sheathes her sword and turns to face as many of the party as she can at once, "Is everyone alright?"

[Bladehunter217]

Everyone alive most part, where are everyone even at? Fle puts away his borrowed rapier, liking it thus far. Why bear in magic door?

[Saskia]

"All standing, let's roll. We'll figure that out when we're out of this ****hole, Fle. I don't intend to die here."

Anna offers cursory glances over the group to ensure nobody's hurt too badly, and directs the group onward.

[Diful Takveh]

Greta looks around at the room, now void of life, save for the group of humanoids surrounding the bear-like creature and the elf near the far corner, "I couldn't agree more."

Almost as if waiting for her to say that, the stone trees that had been growing out of the walls start to crack, causing chunks of mineral to fall, some toward the ceiling, crashing into the swamp that had formed there before the party's egress. The party, Charlize included, easily makes it through the archway and into the entrance hall of the extra-dimensional space before the largest pieces impact, crushing the multitude of weapon racks about the room.

There is a brief lull in the falling of stones before it picks up again, this time, with the addition of a deluge of foul water as the magic separating the upper from the lower room fails, and even as the rocks eventually stop falling, the cascade of water continues to flow. It isn't long before the rocks and weapons covering the floor are completely submerged.

As you make your way out the front door, assisted by a shin-deep stream of water, the enlargement spell cast on Anna wears off, and she returns to her normal size. With everyone out, Greta tries to shut the door, but the flow of water is too great for her to do it alone.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle looks down at his feet before looking up at the others. "Fle get right on, Fle is best help with big arms.

[Saskia]

Anna drops her mace in its holster and throws herself against the door. Words and questions can wait until the immediate danger's passed.

[Shinovar]

Elastial also joins in, quickly sheathing his sword and moving to help the others close the door.

[Diful Takveh]

You all strain to close the door, but every fraction of an inch closer and every second spent seems to increase the weight behind it by an extraordinary amount, likely due to the high ceilings and rather narrow passages. The puddle of mud beneath your feet exasperates the situation further, as, at any moment, any of those pushing could succumb to slipping. With an extraordinary amount of effort, you all manage to shut the door, stopping the flow of water and preventing a potential ecological disaster.

As soon as the door is closed, Greta passes her hand over it, and a clicking sound can be heard as the door locks. She leans against the door, closing her eyes and relaxing after the strenuous activity. She smiles slightly but otherwise remains exactly as she had been as she says, "Thank you... all of you." She opens her eyes and pushes herself off the door, reaching to the corners to once more fold the door, "It's been a while since I've been in a fight like that with, for all intents and purposes, complete strangers as my only allies, and almost as long since I've had any allies at all. I'm glad I was able to trust you."Everyone but Fle failed the arbitrary DC 15 fortitude save against fatigued, so everyone but Fle is fatigued, even the bard who didn't explicitly say he was going to push the door closed but did it anyway. Or else he overexerted while singing a close the door song.Oh yeah, XP... Everyone gets 1600. Already added on main page.

[sparky9042]

Hansi collapses against the door, too tired to move. After panting for a while, he looks up at the group. "There's...no way we're going back in there to salvage any of that, is there? Also, let's go get Piers and go rest some...where..." He slowly makes his way out of the mud puddle, looking around for anything to lean on. "After that...what's next?"

[Diful Takveh]

Greta turns to Hansi who had found a lovely tree on which to lean as she places the door back into the bag from which it came, "No. At least you won't. Upon my return to Kalnucita, I will open the door to see if the janitor does its job, and then only with a wizard or two to help close the door if the flooding persists." She turns back to the wall and scuffs her right foot forward, kicking up a little mud. She stands there, head slightly bowed and weight on her left leg as her right shuffles back and forth through the mud. "Anyway..." she turns around with a sly smile on her face, "It's late, and it's high time we got some rest. You all have a big day tomorrow, as have I."

She passes through the group in the direction of the fire they left not long ago.The three of you notice that Greta is putting on an act and that something that has recently come to pass is troubling her emotionally. It likely has nothing to do with the party and its mission as she isn't the kind of person to withhold pertinent information.

OOC: All of you rolled 15+ IRL (except Fle for whom rolled a 5) on top of those Sense Motive ranks (or high Wisdom scores) which led to everyone (but Fle) noticing something troubling my NPC.

Also, it is pre-pre-pre finals week, and that means that all the teachers are rushing the last parts of their classes to try to cover all the material before the finals. This means more homework on top of the backlog I have because I'm lazy and put stuff like that off forever and a day. I really need to learn better time management. At least Thanksgiving break is coming up, so I'll be able to get all the things done as well as assist Cease in the creation of his character. As of right now, I'm going to tentatively say that his character will be introduced no sooner than a month from now, but that might change, depending on plenty of other factors.

[Saskia]

Despite the exertion, Anna pounds her chest and howls in triumph in a rare display of primitive bravado once the door is closed. "Night Witches lead the way!" Nobody died, nobody got lost, nobody was irreparably hurt, and somebody just wasted a lot of effort. That's a victory in itself in the last few days. She'd never admit to lowering her standards due to a string of ill fortune, but sometimes you have to take your victories where you can.

Naturally, she immediately shifts inwardly from celebration to concern, wondering what the purpose of the attack was, or if indeed there was any purpose at all. At its most likely this was a prodding attack to test the group's strength, or maybe an attempt to destroy what few resources they had. Maybe it was one of Greta's enemies. A diversionary tactic seemed unlikely; if somebody was going to attack camp at the same time they'd have been better off just leaving them alone entirely, so that's unlikely, and an attempt to kill them would probably have seen a heavier force.

So either somebody was expecting only Greta, or they were only trying to destroy assets. In the latter case, they may actually have succeeded.

For the moment, wringing out her cloak is probably the most good she can do. "Sounds like a plan. We camp tonight, and head out in the morning." She makes a note, but no mention, of Greta's rather obvious discomfort; at least, not for the moment.

[Diful Takveh]

You all walk back toward the entrance of the cave, clothing soaked from the knee down and not much drier above that. Thankfully, the forest around you manages to block the worst of the wind, but it is still an autumn night, and that generally means either warm and wet or cold and dry. Sadly, it was not the former.

Arthur sits at the fire, staring despondently into the flames that had dwindled nearly to embers. He pokes one of the embers with a stick, causing a small cloud of sparks to escape. He watches as they float upward, and his face quickly changes to one of concern. "Anna!" He rushes toward her, transitioning from sitting to standing as he moves toward her; though, he is careful not to step on Caitie, who had fallen asleep by the fire.

As he wraps his arms around you, he asks, "Are you alright? What happened?" He shakes his head, holding her at arm's length, "Never mind that. First, we need to get you warm and dry." Charlize chimes in from the back of the group, "I believe a simple prestidigitation should suffice. Unfortunately, my arcane reserves for the day are spent, and I doubt this is an issue that can wait for the eight hours necessary for me to recuperate."

[Saskia]

Anna returns Arthur's embrace with a kiss. "It was a magical anomaly. Poltergeist, maybe, or a dead wizard's rival Maybe maladjusted shadow coagulators. We're not sure yet what exactly happened." Maybe, she thinks inwardly, it was Sharp. He's got an axe to grind, obviously, and won't be interested in any royal agents sending word of his plot to her boss.

She does her best to collect the remaining water wrung from her hair and clothing into her waterskin. "Sometimes unusual or powerful spells leave an imprint on the channeling medium, or even the aether itself, long after the magic is gone. No guarantee, but I might be able to glean something of use from either the fouled water or its particulates, once we've got access to a proper lab. If we gain access to a proper lab." She's not talking to anyone in particular, but thinking aloud. "Greta, how should we contact you in the future if we have news?"

[Diful Takveh]

Greta shakes her head, frowning slightly, "You won't, not for news at the very least." She opens a cylindrical leather container at her waist, pulling out two rolled pieces of parchment, untouched by the water. "These are scrolls of sending, and should there be an emergency, you are to contact me immediately. I will notify those who are in a position to best assist you. Other than that, I will contact you every night at sundown in a similar fashion, and you can inform me of any progress then."

"And don't worry, once you reach the capital, you will have more than a proper lab." With that, she sits and grabs a log and tosses it on the fire. She whispers something, and the flames suddenly spread over the entirety of the log. She holds her hands in front of the flames, warming herself and drying off.

[Bladehunter217]

Fle watches the scrolls curiously. "Poltergeists rude. What they send? Can apples be magiced to Fle?" He walks close to the fire and stands close enough to start drying. "Back to capital. Fle not done in time long."

[Diful Takveh]

Greta shakes her head, "No, Fle," she says, "The scrolls are used for sending messages instantly over very long distances." She kicks off her boots and stretches her feet in the warmth of the flame, "There are, however, spells that are able to send objects and people similarly long distances, and I'm certain there are some to send objects to a specific person. Who knows, maybe some day you'll find someone who will demonstrate."

[sparky9042]

Hansi slumps slightly further down the tree trunk. "Before we get to some day, we should at least get to tomorrow. How should we set up watch?"

[Diful Takveh]

Exhausted from a long day of walking, fighting, and all other manner of activities requiring physical exertion, it is finally time for the group to settle down for the evening. Of course, before they settle in for the night, it would be beneficial to remove the threads that hinder many of the group's movements. They are cut easily enough with whatever sharp objects the members of the group deems suitable to the task, and they are loose enough that they can be cut without fear of bodily injury. With that taken care of, it is time for a well-deserved rest.You quickly settle into your watch position, taking a seat on a stump by the dwindling flame. As you look out into the darkness, your thoughts eventually turn to the sword now at your side. Your hand subconsciously brushes the pommel, and you are instantly filled with a feeling similar to the camaraderie between soldiers, the knowledge that there was another pair of eyes watching the darkness with you, ever vigilant. You draw the sword and rest it on your hands which in turn are supported by your knees. After looking at it a few moments, you notice something slightly off about the sword. Rather than the light of the fire and dark of the night reflecting off the blade, it seems to reflect something else. Looking closer, you think you can make out the form of clouds against a distant blue sky, but it isn't clear as the image is warped as though it was actually reflected off the blade and disappears just as soon as it had appeared.

You finish your watch with little to report: no bumps in the night, no malicious entities, just the way you hope a watch should go.After having Anna cut the threads from your joints, you have trouble keeping yourself awake, barely making it back to the cave before literally falling into a deep sleep.

When Elastial wakes you for your turn at the watch, you feel rather cold, and for some reason, still wet. You thought clothes dried faster than this, but you could be wrong. Maybe it was because it was so cold out. Whatever the case, you go out to the dying embers to keep watch. The coals have a sort of hypnotic effect on you, and you can't help but feel you are forgetting something. You try to push it from your mind, but as with many thoughts, the more you try to push it out, the more it infiltrates every aspect of your focus, and soon it is the only thing you can think about, which in itself might not be a bad thing, but as you can't remember what it was that you'd forgotten, it only serves to further frustrate you.

You look back into the coals, focusing on them to try to clear your mind. After a while, it works, and you spend the rest of the watch walking around and humming to keep the darkness at bay.It is still fairly dark when Fle wakes you up for your turn at watch. The fire has completely died out, allowing both the chill and the dark of the night to fill the camp. It is quiet; the voices of the birds and insects of the morning have yet to awaken while the creatures of the night have started returning to their homes. A light breeze starts to blow, chilling your face and any other uncovered skin. You do your best to cover up, but, though light, the wind seems to be controlled by some malevolent force that won't stop until you are frozen through and through. You eventually find a position that, while cold, is relatively well-protected from the breeze. Oh, who were you kidding, it was still cold, and you had another hour-and-a-half of watch duty.

Just when all hope for a watch that was in any way comfortable was lost, someone flops down next to you and throws a blanket around the two of you. Before you have a chance to get a glance at your benefactor, you feel a head on your shoulder and an arm next to yours. Looking over, you realize you can't see in the darkness, but turning your head must have alerted the blanket sharer to your curiosity. "Long day tomorrow. Can't have ya half-asleep and chilled to the bone." The voice is undoubtedly Greta's and is punctuated with a yawn.You wake up a little early for your turn at watch, stretching away the previous day's strife before preparing for yet another day. The sun had yet to rise above the horizon, but the world has started to brighten ever so slightly. Your time on watch is spent in routine, an attempt to preserve a sense of normalcy in these hectic days. In what seems like a short time after following your routine, the sun has risen, and another day begins. After a quick morning prayer, it is time to wake everyone.Alright, everyone, time for wakey wakey, level 5 for spells and health and stuff. Feel free to respond to what happened during watch, but if at all possible, I'd like to keep it short. Don't want to spend the next month detailing what happened over the course of the night when there is plot ahead.

[Shinovar]

Elastial wakes up from his slumber feeling rested, yet strangely tired at the same time. He mumbles under his breath, longing for the days when his body didn't remember the struggles of the previous day.

To the others, "I take it the night was calm?"