Florin Jadenth AC:27/HP:145/156 (Bless/insppiresed/displacement(lesser)) Friday October 9th, 2009 7:23:48 PM
Florin frowns at all the has happened and feels tears strike his eyes as he for the first time feels like he has failed in a given mission. His oath to Domi was to protect and to help and that had just been slapped to the side.
Florin himself since doesn't attack a enemy which may allow him to reach the vines before even Syr since the monk attacked something. Florin quickly moves towards the vines and will enter then, running if he has to and only takeing a moment to undo his sword belt so his sword will drop to the ground, wanting atleast a momento of himself to beable to reach Ivy and Jella. He calls to Syr just incase and in a firm tone, "Back off Syr! Help protect the others."
Florin speaks quickly to Prionel, "I may not be from your village or a elf to begin with but if it works then do what you must. I am willing to do what I must to protect the innocent that I can. I gave myself to Domi to do as much and I will not and can not allow the idea of Prillana dying like this and it being because I was too weak to protect her fully."
Assault on the Entwining / Holding ... DMAl Friday October 9th, 2009 8:55:34 PM
OoC:
Waiting on confirmation of some questions.
Brahmah, Captain of the Chosen of Domi (AC 27+3, Hps112/147) d20+16=29 ; d20+17=22 ; d20+11=24 ; d20+12=20 ; d20+6=12 ; d20+7=23 ; 2d4+7=13 ; 2d4+7=13 ; 2d4+7=10 ; d6+5=11 ; d6+5=8 ; d6+5=8 ; Friday October 9th, 2009 9:22:37 PM
OOC: Sorry all, been packing to move, going to school and occupied with sleep in between! Also just found out the place I'm moving MAY fall through. Stressed.
Brahmah attacks the Plant. (AC 29, 22, 24, 20, miss(12) and 23, for 13, 11, 13, 8, miss and 8 damage)
Assault on the Entwining / End of Round 10 - Sacrifice DMAl Saturday October 10th, 2009 7:53:02 PM
Even as the Darkwood Druid disappears in a spray of red droplets, the last Huge Earth Elemental rises up out of the surface of the Pyramid.
"Invaders. Interlopers. Darkwood will crush you and cast you aside." The elemental's voice grinds like the movements of the earth.
Syr blasts the Plant Mount, missing only twice. Brahmah only hits once. The Plant Mount lets out a plaintive moan. Blind and without the direction of its master it tries to wander off.
Several of the Crimson Shields notice the questing gossamer threads and guess at a last ditch attempt to save the Entwining. They prepare to give up their lives.
"Darkwood will TAKE ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE!" The Huge Earth Elemental's voice rises to a roar as it charges the Altar. But, among all those willing to give their lives, Florin is the first to act. The paladin drops his sword and then dives into the rising gossamer threads that writhe upon the altar. Beneath his hands, the paladin feels the slick bloody mess that was once Prillana. One hand closes upon something hard, thin, round. With a flash of realization, Florin recognizes the bracelet that he brought as a gift for the elves, the silver bracelet that he made with his own two hands. That is the last conscious thought Florin has before becoming something entirely apart from himself.
The Crimson Shields watch while gossamer threads of light wrap themselves around the paladin until he is completely cocooned. The glow of the threads rises in brilliance, rising until eyes must turn away lest they risk blindness. The glow expands, engulfing the top of the Pyramid, and then expanding beyond. The Crimson Shields are bathed in liquid light, and through all of it, they feel the presence of Florin.
The thing that was once Florin feels itself fly free. It sees all things within the woods as though at once. It soars through the upper canopy of trees. It swims, facile, through the rivers. And yet, here with him, is the thing. It snarls and views him with hateful eyes. It is gray, and it is dark, ever somber, moody and steeped in bleak melancholy. It is evil, and the thing that was once Florin Jadenth knows that he will have to fight it every moment for the remainder of his days.
The painful white light fades, and with it go the screams and sounds of battle. The clearing is silent for the briefest of moments, and then the silence is broken by the lost moo of the lost and meandering Plant Mount. Voices come from the east. They come from the elves at the edge of the forest. The voices are calls for organized aid mixed with the soft moans of the wounded. On the Altar, next to the broken body of Prillana, lies a form of an aged elfish woman. She appears every bit as old as Prionell. Syr and Belkior recognize her from the one time that they had seen her. It is Sabara. She is still and does not move. Of Florin, there is no sign. Absolutely none. Not a trace of Florin is left save the sword that he dropped before diving onto the Altar.
"YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY!" The voice of the Huge Earth Elemental roars with rage. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INTERFERENCE, ADVENTURERS! BEWARE THE VENGENCE OF DARKWOOD!" Then the Huge Earth Elemental becomes a Huge Air Elemental, and, with the startling speed if its kind, it flies out of the clearing and vanishes in the trees.
The Crimson Shields are left in the quiet clearing with the battered and wounded elves. They are one member less. Florin Jadenth has given the ultimate sacrifice.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OoC: End of Combat Rounds. Last visible remaining enemy.
Mac: AC:21 grappling (26 vs plant-of-burden), HP:104/137 Sunday October 11th, 2009 1:30:19 AM
Mac's silent respects for Florin end with the return of sound from the surrounding elves - there is simply going to be too much to do. He slips his axe away and pitches in on getting the injured where they can get attention, and when they are done, the dead. This starts (if for no better reason than he is closest) with getting Wynn to Belkior, and then down the pyramid to help those he can. The mourning is trumped by necessity.
Jass AC 22 HP 42/47 (-2CON)(Tongues, Mage Armor, Alter Self, Mirror Image, Fly) Sunday October 11th, 2009 9:34:25 PM
Jass is thinking of too many things before the paladin jumps into the threads, and then the sorcerer remembers... Florin is an elf too...
"wow."
There is just too much to think about, and Jass spends some time floating in mid-air without a target or direction.
Post for Wynn The bard also doesn't do much. :-)
...Actions... Move: stationary
...Effects... Tongues (Permenant) Mage Armor; 10 hours +4 AC Unseen Servant, 10 hours, invisible body servant Alter Self: 130 minutes; Lizardman: Medium, 30feet, +5 natarmor, 2 claws and bite (all d4); Hold Breath, +4 racial Jump, Swim, Balance Mirror Image: 121 rounds; 7 images + Jass = 1in8 chance to hit Jass Fly; 124 rounds; 60 foot speed
Belkior - AC 23(25 vs. Evil); HP 125/125 - Status(x2), Magic Circle vs. Evil, Inspire Courage, Bead of Karma, Invisibility Purge d4=1 ; d4=4 ; d4=1 ; d4=4 ; Sunday October 11th, 2009 9:59:30 PM
The halfling cleric sends his elementals overhead to watch over the group. Then he removes a wand from his pack and moves to begin healing his companions. Belkior first goes to Wynn and uses the wand to repair the damage to the bard's Constitution. Then he does the same for Jass and anyone else who was affected by the magical cloud.
Mac: AC:21 grappling (26 vs plant-of-burden), HP:104/137 Monday October 12th, 2009 4:15:28 AM
"Where Prillana was going. Where Sabara..." Mac guesses this is Sabara, "...has returned from, Brahmah. I... guess he's all around us, in the woods."
Jass AC 22 HP 42/47 (-2CON)(Tongues, Mage Armor, Alter Self, Mirror Image, Fly) Monday October 12th, 2009 2:32:09 PM
Jass decends to Prionell who still looks to be in a bit of a shock. "Hey buddy, are you all right? Can you sense Florin? What do you know about this Darkwood treadle?"
Wynn Actions - as Wynn is healed by Belkior, he'll sit up and orient himself before flying off with his wand of Cure Light Wounds to help as many of the wounded and hurt elves as possible.
...Actions... Move: stationary
...Effects... Tongues (Permenant) Mage Armor; 10 hours +4 AC Unseen Servant, 10 hours, invisible body servant Alter Self: 130 minutes; Lizardman: Medium, 30feet, +5 natarmor, 2 claws and bite (all d4); Hold Breath, +4 racial Jump, Swim, Balance Mirror Image: 121 rounds; 7 images + Jass = 1in8 chance to hit Jass Fly; 124 rounds; 60 foot speed
Syr Ac 31/30 HP 137/165 4d8+16=31 ; 6d8+16=45 ; Monday October 12th, 2009 5:37:13 PM
Syr reaches out as Florin flashes past him, "NO, not you... you have too much to live for!". He watches helplessly as Florin is enveloped by the threads and then disappears. He spares one brief glance for the body left lying there before shifting his eyes to Prionel and then skyward.
He picks up the dropped sword and stares at it vacantly, moving his eyes from the spot where Florin dropped it and the altar where he disappeared. He whispers to the air, "I'll deliver it for you big guy. I owe you that at least."
Later, he woodenly moves to Wynn and uses his healing powers on the bard. He looks into the half-elf's eyes and tentatively asks, "Why?" The sadness behind his eyes threatens to spill over into tears, he coughs roughly once and turns his head away from the bard. (use all cure's for healing 81 pts)
Florin Is With the Crying Woods - DMAl Monday October 12th, 2009 9:28:34 PM
At Jass' urging Prionell rises to his feet. "I am not well, My Friend," he replies to the sorcerer. "This day, we were dealt a terrible blow. Were the Crimson Shields not here, would we not yet be either."
Standing by the altar, the elder elf reaches out a hand and caresses the cheek of the old female elf. "Sabara, why is it that you did not warn us?" he says in elfish.
"You're friend Florin is with the Crying Woods now," he continues. "You will sense him soon. I do not know the meaning of Treadle. Nor do I know of Darkwood. But I pledge that we will discover them. Never did we suspect such danger, such hatred was so near to us. We will find them."
Evandale approaches, the body of Challa cradled in his arms. His gait is stiff and mechanical. The elf appears in shock. Prionell lifts the body of the aged female elf off of the altar. The remains of Prillana are so smashed and burnt that little but fragments of her body are recognizable. Both Prionell and Evandale leave her, descending the Pyramid to join their people at the edge of the clearing. There would be time to return for her later.
The elven villagers, appear to have fared better. None have gotten away without at least minor injuries. But there are relatively few deaths. Belkior and Wynn move among the injured, healing wounds. Their magic, though, is limited and soon runs out. There are six bodies in addition to Challa and Prillana. There are still several elves with crippling injuries.
The giant beetles had fled at the onset of the melee. Still, despite their absence, the feeling of malice that so plagued the Crying Woods is no longer as strong. It is replaced, instead, by the watchful feel of a guardian eye. Florin is with the Crying Woods.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OoC: Anybody interested in picking through the red dust that is the remains of the hooded Darkwood Druid?
Mac: AC:25, HP:104/137 Tuesday October 13th, 2009 7:55:23 AM
"That's probably what he's saying."
Mac turns to Belkior. "I have a potion. It would probably heal me or Brahmah (by the looks of him), but if you can tell that someone else here has a greater need, then just let me know. I'm not planning to use it, and it is just sitting here." he pats his backpack.
Jass AC 22 HP 42/47 (-2CON)(Tongues, Mage Armor, Alter Self, Mirror Image, Fly) Tuesday October 13th, 2009 10:54:45 AM
Jass allows Prionell and Evandale thier sorrow and respectful silence, but Furball can't help but run out onto little Challa and pat her cheek before returning to the folds of Jass' robes.
Soon enough, Jass' battle spells fade or are dismissed, and the straw-haired sorcerer stands beside Brahmah at the top of the pyramid. He watches the minotaur sift through the reddish dust of the former druid and gives a grunt. "Well, THAT spell worked pretty well, but a little too late."
He gives directions to his Unseen Servant to scoop up the remains of Prillana and clean up what it can of her to give her some dignity in death.
After that, it is only to move on down to where the elves and Crimson Shields are gathering. Thought it takes a little while, Jass feels comforted to feel the protective presense of the paladin and the Crying Woods about him.
...............
Wynn Actions After his healing abilities are exhausted, Wynn retreats into introspective silence. He didn't perform well in the battle, and he worries about what Jalla is going to as the bard, and he wishes, wishes that Xenia were here for mutual comfort.
...Actions... Move: stationary
...Effects... Tongues (Permenant) Mage Armor; 10 hours +4 AC Unseen Servant, 10 hours, invisible body servant
Syr Ac 31/30 HP 137/165 Tuesday October 13th, 2009 5:02:03 PM
Syr waits respectfully off to the side until there is a time where he feels he can approach Prionel. He cradles the sword in his hands and speaks softly to the aged elf, "I know how difficult this time can be. We, too, feel your loss. Florin was close to me. Just keep in mind that their sacrifices weren't without a purpose." He inhales deeply to prevent the tears from forming. "Florin was a good man. If you will remember, he wasn't an elf the first time you met, but then he was changed. Others of us were also changed but only he seemed to truly embrace the change as being for the better. In my mind, this is just the man embracing one last change for the better."
Pausing for a few more deep breaths he hurries through the question, "With your permission, I would like to bring Florin's wife and daughter here later? I know that he would like them to see what he believed in so strongly. Maybe after a few months when some of the sorrow has faded but the memories are still strong?"
He moves to help the elves with the casualties before turning back once more, "Other than justice for all the deaths today, can we do anything else for the village?"
(OOC: I THINK I recall the events correctly.)
The Long Return - DMAl Tuesday October 13th, 2009 9:19:51 PM
Sifting through the red dust that once was the hooded Darkwood druid, Brahmah finds a suit of plate mail made completely from wood, wooden tower shield an a staff. He finds a pair of gloves, an amulet, a vestment to go over the plate mail upon which is stitched a symbolic representation of a black root sundering a boulder. There are two rings, two potions and a wand. In addition he finds two pouches of beaten bark. One contains 3000 gold pieces and the other contains 6000 gold pieces.
Jass has an Unseen Servant collect Prillana's remains while the other Shields tend to the healing of the elves. In the end, four elves are still too injured to move under their own power. The beetles are gone, and the elves will have to walk home. Several cut branches to construct make-shift travois to carry the wounded and the dead.
"We would have great pleasure in having Florin's wife and child here as guests," Prionell replies. "Florin gave his life for us. At least we can do is to share our lives with his family."
The elder elf, kneels, placing the body of his wife between the poles of one of the travois. "Justice ... Where lies justice, Syrdeth Redbow?" he asks. "Does justice live in the same tree as vengeance? We are peaceful people. But we will not be attacked again. We will find this Darkwood. Then we will call to you."
"But for now, please, remain with us while we bury our dead. The Crimson Shields have come to our defense again. Our homes find honor in your presence."
The elves form up for the journey home, the able bodies fighters on the outside, the aged, the very young, and the wounded in the center. The time is no more than an hour after noon. Judging by the time it took to arrive here, it will be well dark before the group sees Elvenguard.
Belkior - AC 23(25 vs. Evil); HP 125/125 - Status(x2), Magic Circle vs. Evil, Inspire Courage, Bead of Karma, Invisibility Purge Tuesday October 13th, 2009 9:26:15 PM
The halfling cleric walks with the wounded, trailing behind his companions and the leaders of the elven community. Belkior feels that his place is here with those who need his healing skills and magic. Particularly since he failed to keep Prillana alive to complete the ritual. To make matters worse, Florin sacrificed himself to complete the ritual. In addition to the guilt that Belkior feels for failing his primary duty, there is now the additional burden of speaking with Florin's family.
Co-DM Cayzle Wednesday October 14th, 2009 8:00:21 AM
Note that the enemy's wooden plate armor, his wooden tower shield, his staff, and the two potion vials are all made of living wood. The wood is green, as if shaped from a living tree and a few twigs with living leaves grow from them.
Know Arcane or Know Nature DC20: Please Highlight to display spoiler: {Such items are known to be caried by Greenmages, and never by anyone else.}
Know Arcane or Know Nature DC25: Please Highlight to display spoiler: {Such items die a short time after they are taken from their creators.}
(Error to spoiler fixed by Jay.... I could see the spoiler!) -- Cayzle says, "Thanks Jay!"
Brahmah, Captain of the Chosen of Domi (AC 27+3, Hps112/147) d20+8=21 Wednesday October 14th, 2009 8:02:31 AM
(Knowledge Nature 21. If Brahmah can keep it alive, he will until they can find someone for it... suggestions??)
Looting after a friend's death seems strangely familiar and obscene. "I'll put this stuff away. Its hardly the time to care about this. But these wood items will likely die soon I think because Greenmages are linked to their items if I remember rightly."
He is noticeably sad on the journey away.
He looks back and sees his former friend Heyoo sitting in the place Florin passed. His former bear friend will watch over the site, the ranger knows it.
Jass AC 22 HP 42/47 (-2CON)(Tongues, Mage Armor, Alter Self, Mirror Image, Fly) Wednesday October 14th, 2009 10:01:32 AM
Jass didn't know Florin very well. That and seeing lots of death and destruction down in the Southern Continent makes him less emotional than the others. It startles the sorcerer to be reminded that Florin was married. He recalls the afternoon with Furball playing tag with Jalla and wonders how the young woman is going to take the death of her foster-father.
For the items that Brahmah found, Jass will go over them carefully with a Detect Magic once the group is back at Elvenguard.
The sorcerer can do little to assist the move in the dark. Aside from picking up six pebbles and imbuing each with a Light spell and passing the pebbles out for lighting the trail, he merely walks with the others, listening to the difference in the sound of the Crying Woods.
...............
Wynn Actions Keeping silent all the way to Elvenguard, Wynn keeps his thoughts to himself. Perhaps he will stay here until he gets his thoughts in order? So far, he doesn't say...
ooc: Battle is over, and so I'm going to stop posting for Wynn. I'll assume he'll be an NPC until BoB returns?
.................
...Actions... Move: with elves to Elvenguard Cast: 6ea Light spells Cast: Detect Magic using 1st level slot
...Effects... Tongues (Permenant) Mage Armor; 10 hours +4 AC Unseen Servant, 10 hours, invisible body servant
Syr Ac 31/30 HP 137/165 Wednesday October 14th, 2009 6:50:35 PM
The elf looks on as Brahmah collect's the druids things and kicks once in frustration at the dust. "I don't know about you big guy but let's not make a habit of this.
Syr wordlessly nods to Prionel and moves to take one of the makeshift stretchers to Elvenguard. He seems relieved to leave this place behind. Once they arrive, he settles in offering his meager healing skills over the next few days to the villagers and the Shields.
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