Fighter's Guild
IS OFFLINE
24
Renown
King’s Valley
1,124 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shaa Rhunn on Aug 9, 2022 20:35:01 GMT -5
Shaa looked over at Miles. Maybe you should listen Miles. That storm is coming in fast and we can’t risk a swim into shore from here. I think we are out of time. Miles looked out over the water at the storm which seemed to be moving closer.
Blast it all to the depths! Miles spat. He ran over to the wheel, spinning it hard away from the encroaching beasts. As the boat changed course, a couple of fins changed with them. They kept their distance but paced the boat as they sailed farther east.
Apparently the beasties don’t trust us not to turn back. Not that there’s a choice now…
For the next hour, it was the same. Beasts, sailing and a storm that was fast approaching. Then they saw their chance.
LAND! Yelled Shaa over to Miles who was keeping a close eye on the fins that were still following them.
They had found a rough clearing that opened out into a forest that worked as a makeshift port. After landing, Miles gathered the group.
Ok this is as far as we go. Miles tied the boat up to some nearby rocks. We are pretty banged up and I won’t risk the storm in this condition. I am afraid you are on your own.
Shaa thanked Miles and got his baring. Hmm we are off course, but we can still get there in that direction. No telling how bad that storm is going to be so we need to get a move on.
It didn’t take long for Shaa to pack his gear. He looked over at the group who looked nearly ready as well. Shaa got a tingling feeling as he approached the entrance to the forest. Like millions of eyes we’re watching them.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
9
Renown
Female
Marsh Flats
392 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Tatalia on Aug 9, 2022 21:13:26 GMT -5
Perhaps everyone else was upset at what the storm had caused, but Tatalia, for her part, was feeling a little better as soon as the ship landed. In fact, she was so enthused that she actually stumbled off the boat immediately, fell onto her hands and knees, and started kissing the sandy shores until she managed to swallow some sand. Then she hacked and coughed until she fixed that problem.
Slowly, Tatalia stood up, her skin returning to its normal green shade (as compared to its abnormal seasick green shade). She then took a deep breath, swallowed the fresh air, and twirled in place.
"Alive!" she declared, as if she had doubted she would survive.
The melodramatic motion finished, Tatalia started gathering her supplies. She made sure her backpack was fully stocked, then stared out into the forest past Shaa.
"You know," she began slowly, "I already had one charming misadventure that involved an entire army of spiders chasing me through the woods. Are you averse to taking the long way around this particular set of trees? Because I have a distinct sense of concern when I look into that forest, and I think that if we stick to the shoreline as we go around, we should be able to avoid the worst of it. The deeper into such woods you go, the older and more frightening everything inside gets. Speaking from experience, of course."
Tatalia shivered. Just staring into the forest with its all-too-many eyes was making her shoulders sore again. She remembered all too clearly the feeling of the bite from the gigantic spider that had sung to her the whole time. Yes, that was one charming adventure too many.
"If we DO have to go through it... I'd recommend staying near any good, solid rock cliff walls we can find. I have a few tricks I can perform so long as there's hard rock to manipulate."
Tatalia stretched out her gloved hands and balled them into fists. The magic gloves she'd stolen from the spiders on her last adventure could come in handy...
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Human
Tapping into elemental forces
233 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Zak on Aug 10, 2022 18:09:43 GMT -5
“Tatalia, there is no way around the forest, only rocky cliffs. Entering the forest is our only path,” Zak said grumpily. He normally excelled when chaos was thrust upon him, but that was when the mayhem had been created by his own choices. Not situations thrust upon him because he hadn’t been in charge of his own destiny at the time. At the moment, he didn’t feel in control of the situation in the least. The minotaur was leading the way, and the goblin… who knows what her agenda might be. Ginma knows how far they would have to trudge through this forest before they were able to get back on course. Zak sighed deeply. This isn’t like you, he admonished himself. He usually approached life with good humor, but for some reason, his normal ability to pull himself out of a funk had escaped him. They were about to enter a forest that reeked of power and menace. All in a day’s work, he supposed with a smirk.
Gathering his gear, he kept his thoughts to himself. Whatever waited in the forest would be dealt with in due time. “Shaa, take the lead. Perhaps once we enter, attempting to stay along the cliffs as Tatalia suggests might be prudent for a lot of reasons. ...I’m sure the four of us can handle whatever comes our way,” he said, not quite believing his own words.
|
|
Fighter's Guild
IS OFFLINE
24
Renown
King’s Valley
1,124 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shaa Rhunn on Aug 10, 2022 18:59:25 GMT -5
Shaa, Tatalia, Zak and Rory entered the forest together. Miles had elected to stay with the boat until he felt the danger had passed. Rory, not saying much as usual, casually cleaned his fingernails as he walked along. He acted unbothered by the pervasive sense of menace that seemed to penetrate the forest. For a place so full of life, it seemed eerily quiet.
Shaa took the lead as they made their way through the brush. Occasionally Shaa noted large clumps of Spider Webs but with no spiders attached to any of them. The scene looked more like an old house that had long since been abandoned, a place full of time and decay but empty of any real residents. Had something happened here to scare the spiders out of their nest?
Out of nowhere, Rory grabbed Shaa’s arm. Putting his finger to his lips to signal quiet, Rory pointed up to the tree canopy above them. Shaa’s eyes went wide. Hanging above them in the treetops was the body of a large rune bear. The beast did not look like it was moving. The shocking part was how high it was, some 50 feet in the air. How in the world did it get up there.
Shaa motions to the group to move faster.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
9
Renown
Female
Marsh Flats
392 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Tatalia on Aug 11, 2022 0:52:07 GMT -5
Tatalia was much more nimble on land than she had been at sea. When Shaa started moving more quickly, the little goblin somehow kept pace, rushing along and hopping from rock to rock, watching the area around them warily. The dead rune bear trapped in the trees above was highly concerning.
There were no spiders in the woods, however. At least, there were none that Tatalia could see. She kept her dagger in her hand, warily moving between the trees, knowing danger could be just around the corner. The woods were far, far too silent...
The only time Tatalia had ever been in a forest so silent was when there was a terrible predator around.
Swallowing, the poor goblin moved even faster, overtaking the minotaur in her haste. And that was why she was the first of the trio to be targeted.
As the group made its way up a steep hill near a rocky cliff, their movement slowed to a near crawl, something massive swept down from overhead. Tatalia didn't have time to make out exactly what it was; her only warning was a massive shadow growing over her, something blotting out the sun between the trees, and a need to act quickly!
Tatalia reached her hands into the rock cliff as if it were mere clay, her enchanted gloves glowing brightly as she did so. She gripped a whole big clump of the rock, then dragged it out overhead of her in a big, broad overhang jutting out of the wall. As she released the rock, it solidified, and the creature above her slammed into the stone and tumbled away.
"What was that?!" Tatalia cried, her dagger slipping out of her sleeve and into the palm of her hand. She peered out from behind her crumbling rock shield and stared toward the beast in the distance.
It was hard to make out its exact nature. It had wings, that much was certain; and it could fly, that much was clear. Its shape reminded her more of a dragon or some other quadrupedal beast, but she doubted it was an actual dragon. But whatever it was, it had already moved out from the light and into the shadows between the trees, disappearing just as quickly as it had arrived.
Tatalia's heart beat quickly. She had been that close to being snatched away and eaten.
"It's going to come back! What do we do?" Tatalia flicked a worried glance back at her companions. "What was that thing?!"
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Human
Tapping into elemental forces
233 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Zak on Aug 11, 2022 22:05:43 GMT -5
Silence surrounded them as they strode through the woods. It was too quiet. Woods usually bustled with noise, insects buzzing, birds chattering, and critters scampering in the underbrush. A large predator was close by, Zak was certain, his senses on alert. They were halfway up a steep incline when it happened. Shaa leading the way, then Rory, Tatalia next, keeping up rather well with her taller companions, and Zak at the rear a few meters behind the goblin, alert to possible danger. Suddenly, a creature swooped down at them from above. Before Zak could summon his mana, Tatalia repelled the beast by… What exactly had she done? Zak had wondered in the moment, admiring her quickness. Amazingly, she had wrenched out a piece of the cliff face and created a solid rock that had stopped the creature. “ Yep, it’ll be back. We need to get moving. Have no idea what that thing is.” Zak said, answering her questions. “ Let’s get up this hill before whatever it is strikes again.” The group trudged the rest of the way up the incline, tensely watching for another attack. Finally, the path leveled out, allowing them to move at a brisker pace. Zak faced the rear as they moved, keeping vigilant. “It’ll be back,” Zak muttered. His words became fact not very much later when a blur shot out of the trees, heading directly toward them. Immediately, Zak’s hand shot out, a beam of white lightning bursting from his fingers. As the bolt struck the creature’s side, it swerved, changing direction and bumping Zak’s shoulder hard as it flew by. Zak stumbled back, but stayed on his feet. The flying beast circled round and made another run at them. “Spread out. Hit it from all sides. Make it hard for it to choose a target,” Zak yelled as he moved into the treeline, fingers sparkling with power ready to strike.
[Chromatic Blast]
|
|
Fighter's Guild
IS OFFLINE
24
Renown
King’s Valley
1,124 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shaa Rhunn on Aug 12, 2022 9:53:57 GMT -5
Shaa ran over to a large pile of stones and picked up several of them. If the flying creature was able to pick something up as large as a full grown rune bear, taking off with any of them wouldn’t be much if a challenge. Besides just being big, this thing was smart, whatever it was. The creature seemed to be keeping the sun behind it so it was very difficult getting a bead on its features. One thing for sure though. If they stayed out in the open much longer, it would surely pick them off, one by one.
Shaa was most concerned about the goblin. He wasn’t sure how she had molded the rock like that, but it had bought her some precious time. Shaa decided to give her some extra cover.
Shaa dropped the stones nearby, placed his hands on the ground, drew out some earth magic, and used an ancient spell that he kept in his back pocket. Vitas nas sloumne he chanted.
A 10 ft wall of thorns burst from the ground in front of the goblin. If she stayed low next to the wall, the beast would have a hard time getting at her. The beast would need an easier target. A frustrated shriek from above confirmed his suspicions.
In a change of tactic, the beast landed on the ground near the tree line where the group got its first real look at it.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
9
Renown
Female
Marsh Flats
392 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Tatalia on Aug 12, 2022 11:50:42 GMT -5
There are many stories about chimeras and the myriad shapes they come in, but the one that stood before the four travelers was not the most intimidating at first glance. The creature was large, as most chimera were, though it wasn't one of the giants that could rival dragons. That it could pick up a rune bear and lift it was definitely plausible, though perhaps a bit difficult for its frame. But it wasn't the size that made it less intimidating, but rather... everything else about it.
The first head was that of an oversized raven; it quickly canted itself back and forth to get a better look at the adventurers. The back legs and the body of the beast were very reminiscent of a raven, too, albeit thicker and more powerful. The second head was that of a fat green frog, and its front legs matched it well. But instead of having a third head in the front, the creature's tail was the neck of a red snake with blue eyes that seemed to draw the viewer in... a hypnotizing gaze!
But, really, besides the snake with the hypnotizing gaze, it didn't look that dangerous at first glance.
Tatalia did a double-take at the world's goofiest looking chimera, then shook her head and focused. The group needed to reevaluate the threat before it could engage once again!
"Okay, goofy or not, this thing is dangerous!" Tatalia called out. "Getting behind it isn't safe with that snake head! We need to hit it out of reach of its heads! Zak, can you d-?"
And as Tatalia began to speak, the frog head opened its mouth and shot its sticky tongue out at her, smacking her right in the chest. Before she knew it, Tatalia was zooming towards the loopy-eyed amphibian's mouth!
There wasn't much time to react, but react Tatalia did. She slipped her dagger from her sleeve and into her hand and then chopped at the tongue in one swift motion, lopping the tip off and releasing herself. The sliced off bit of tongue flopped around on the ground like a fish while Tatalia rolled across the dirt and scrambled back up to her feet. When she got up, she was able to catch a glimpse of the Chimera's tongue regenerating.
Tatalia hated the dumb-looking monster already.
As Tatalia started scrambling toward the beast, it darted off toward Zak at full speed, the raven and frog heads ready to strike, the snake head staring with its hypnotizing gaze at Shaa! Tatalia was about to shout a warning to Shaa to avert his gaze when-
"ZAK! BEHIND YOU!"
Tatalia did not yell that out, but it was her voice. And then it clicked: the raven head could mimic voices! The raven head could mimic voices?! And not only could it mimic voices, but it was mimicking her voice to distract Zak?!
Tatalia groaned and tried to catch up to the monster, really wishing she had more than just a dagger and magic gloves.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Human
Tapping into elemental forces
233 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Zak on Aug 13, 2022 21:39:30 GMT -5
Zak stood ready as the ugliest and most ridiculous looking beast he’d ever seen came straight for him, its two heads snarling prepared to attack. Zak’s gaze remained fixed on the beast racing toward him, not caring one whit what might be behind him. The danger was charging right at him, and whatever might be behind him would have to wait its turn. Time to get out of the way. Zak blinked, and vanished, reappearing almost immediately a few meters away to where he had last seen Tatalia. Turning back to the beast, Zak made a circling motion with his arm and flicked it out toward the chimera. A thick rope of vines filled with spiky thorns whipped out of Zak’s hand and tore into the beast’s tail, causing the snake to shriek with rage, a large gash appearing down its neck. He looked around to find his companions. As he made to move into cover behind the wall of thorns that Shaa had created, he yelled the only advice he could think of. “Attack all the heads at once.”
[Blink] [Thorn Whip]
|
|
Fighter's Guild
IS OFFLINE
24
Renown
King’s Valley
1,124 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shaa Rhunn on Aug 14, 2022 12:17:51 GMT -5
All of the sudden, Shaa found himself in a field of beautiful wild flowers. Certainly this was a cut above a creepy spider forest or multiple headed monster but still. Shaa looked around the field and could see nothing but flowers, butterflies and a calm sunny day. The flowers were arrayed in all sorts of colors and varieties. It was like something out of a long forgotten dream.
Despite the idyllic scenery, Shaa’s instincts were screaming at him. Something was off. Something was very very wrong. Why was he here again? What had happened to his companions?
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. The more he forced himself to concentrate on the things around him, the more he could hear things that didn’t make any sense to the scene surrounding him. Was someone yelling? We’re those running feet?
Shaa slapped himself repeatedly in the face, jamming his eyes even tighter. Listen, listen! He felt around blindly on the ground until his hands ran across a largish stone. Focusing, he could hear more. A branch. Feet. A large hiss. THERE
Shaa launched the stone at the hissing noise and hoped for the best.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
9
Renown
Female
Marsh Flats
392 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Tatalia on Aug 14, 2022 12:56:02 GMT -5
The snake head, already infuriated by Zak's magic, got pegged with a solid, heavy stone as well. It swayed to and fro like it was drunk, then shook its bleeding head and hissed with fury!
"Attack all the heads at once!" commanded Zak over the sounds of the chimeric beast's rage.
"WHAT?!" was Tatalia's immediate response. She boggled at the idea. All she had was a dagger and magic gloves, and she was being asked to take on one of the giant, monstrous heads! The goblin did not like that plan, not one bit.
Unfortunately, Tatalia didn't get much of a choice. With Zak having teleported not far from her, the beast focused its attention on him. The frog focused its attention on Zak, leaving Tatalia to deal with the raven head. The snake, meanwhile, lunged for Shaa. There was a hiss, but Tatalia couldn't see what was happening back there, because she had a fowl situation to deal with.
Inwardly, Tatalia hated herself for thinking up that pun.
The goofy chimera leapt at Tatalia and Zak the same way a frog might bound from lily pad to lily pad. Its landing, however, was much more threatening than the cute little hops of froggies. While Zak was forced to contend with the frog head and its seemingly infinitely long tongue, Tatalia had to deal with the raven head. Tatalia raised her dagger and-
And Tatalia barely ducked in time when the first peck came like a rapier thrust!
The raven started pecking at Tatalia rapidly, forcing her to duck and roll and tumble away. Everywhere the beak struck, the earth split and flecks of stone flew. It was impossibly fast, and Tatalia knew she couldn't keep out of the way forever. She needed to do something; she needed a plan!
Then, without thinking, Tatalia just latched onto the beak when next it zipped out and missed her.
it was the opposite of a plan, really. Tatalia hadn't thought of anything. Her body just decided, yes, grabbing onto the very lethal thing trying to poke holes into her chest was probably a good thing to do. So when Tatalia started dangling in the air, her arms and legs hugging the beak of the raven, she started to panic. It was a very bad place to be, and the bird seemed very angry.
The good news was that Tatalia was so firmly stuck to the raven's beak that it couldn't open its mouth. It tried to squawk and say something angry, but the sound was muffled, and Tatalia held on to the beast's beak for dear life, refusing to let go. It, in turn, started shaking her and shaking her, making every effort to throw her off, to cast her away, to do something to be rid of the goblin! But, dammit, Tatalia wouldn't let go! She was too afraid to let go!
It wasn't exactly an attack on the chimera, but it certainly seemed to be a good distraction while the other two adventurers continued their fight.
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Human
Tapping into elemental forces
233 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Zak on Aug 17, 2022 22:07:05 GMT -5
Before he could move into the trees for cover, Zak found his two companions. Shaa was on the ground smacking himself on the forehead as the snake head danced in front of him, and Tatalia was engaged in an intense fight with the raven head. Rory had taken cover. Things weren’t looking good. When Shaa tossed a rock at the snake head causing it to move its gaze away, Zak moved to attack from the front. By the time Zak got there, Tatalia was no longer being attacked. Instead she was hanging from the bird’s beak, her arms wrapped around the beak, binding it closed. The bird was swinging back and forth working hard to dislodge the goblin.
Good idea, Zak thought. It can’t peck ya anymore, but now what, eh? Knowing that Tatalia wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer, Zak took a deep breath to prepare himself and summoned another thorn whip, aiming it to wrap over the bird’s beak above the goblin’s hands. His first try bounced off the rapidly moving head, slicing into its head. Injured, the raven slowed its movement for a moment, and Zak moved in and wrapped the thick thorny vines around the beak, binding it closed. The bird’s head was still waving back and forth but now Tatalia was free to let go.
Zak’s resources were waning. He could tell he didn’t have much mana left, but he knew they had to disable this beast so they could get away. The snake head first, he thought. Flanking the beast, he moved toward the tail when it whipped out and smacked Zak sending him flying. Zak quickly picked himself up.
“Enough,” he yelled, his mana gathering. Zak’s hand shot out, a beam of white lightning bursting from his fingers. Unlike the last time, Zak’s aim was true. The lightning bolt struck true, streaking across the snake's neck, severing its head from the tail. Zak took a deep breath, drained of mana. Die, please die, Zak pleaded silently.
|
|
Fighter's Guild
IS OFFLINE
24
Renown
King’s Valley
1,124 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shaa Rhunn on Aug 18, 2022 10:39:46 GMT -5
Shaking his head again, his mind finally cleared up to the point where he could see what was going on. He looked over to see the snakes head writhing on the ground, now separated from the beast. The beast still seemed to have some fight in him but was definitely moving slower than before, perhaps due to the severed head. Where in the world was Rory?
Finally seeing a clear opening, Shaa rushed the beast who was still distracted. When he got close enough, Shaa jumped above the frog’s head and punched down through the top of its skull with a sickening crunch. The frogs eyes bulged out due to the pressure inside it’s skull. With a twitch, it’s tongue slowly oozed out of its half open mouth.
Part of its body now going slack. Shaa wrapped his arms around the ravens neck and braced himself against its body so that it would not slump and crush Tatalia. Quick! Get off this thing! Shaa continued to squeeze the ravens neck. The Raven made a horrible chortling noise from its throat. This beast wasn’t going anywhere.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
9
Renown
Female
Marsh Flats
392 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Tatalia on Aug 18, 2022 16:49:50 GMT -5
Tatalia listened... sort of!
The chimera was close to toppling over, but as damage as Shaa and Zak had done, the creature still seemed to have some fight in it. The crow's head in particular was still thrashing around, trying to send Tatalia flying while also trying to peck at Shaa. Tatalia's stomach churned from all the rapid motions, but she managed to keep herself composed and focused.
Just as the chimera started to fall over, Tatalia hopped off toward the cliff wall, digging into it with her gloved hand. Using those gloves, she scrambled up the wall a few feet, staring down worriedly at the chimera. It was still very dangerous; and moreover, Zak seemed out of magic, and Shaa alone could get seriously hurt if something wasn't done soon. Tatalia had to act!
So, finally having gotten off the goofy chimera, Tatalia's plan involved jumping back onto it.
The goblin dropped from on high, dagger in her hand. She landed on the raven's neck; her felt thumped hard against it. It started to thrash around, but Tatalia's dagger was quicker. Down the blade plunged, and red blood painted the cliff as the dagger found purchase in between the crow's eyes.
The chimera shivered, and then it crumbled all at once. The creature's body flopped over uselessly. Tatalia hopped off the corpse.
"So..." The goblin began speaking only after she'd caught her breath. She peered up at the other adventurers. "Does anyone fancy frog legs?"
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
32
Renown
Human
Tapping into elemental forces
233 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Zak on Aug 20, 2022 21:57:03 GMT -5
Exhausted, Zak shook his head at Tatalia’s deadpan delivery. After a moment, he started to chuckle which quickly turned into laughter that went on for a good amount of time. Releasing the tension of the fight they had just endured seemed to open the floodgates inside him. Zak felt his mana pouring back into him. He raised his head and thought, Thank you Ginma.
“Probably a bit too tough and chewy for me,” he deadpanned back.
Zak scowled at the beast’s corpse. “Never saw anything like that thing before.” Looking over at Shaa, Zak inquired, “You all right?”
|
|