The Main Gate of Khanidi is a surprising contradiction leading out onto the lush plains of the Droia coastline. The gate itself is a grouping of four fortified towers connected with thick walls. Each tower is finely decorated with sea-like motifs, coming from a forgotten old human seaside kingdom that originally built Khanidi as it's glorious capitol. Between the towers, through the walls are two entry ways protected by two sets of metal grates each. Surprisingly, though, for such a huge fortified position, the grates were wide open, a healthy influx of people and traders constantly walking in and out of the city, the left entryway was used as a way in and the right one as a way out. Just outside of the city, still under the watchful eye of the Khanidi guards were a small string of taverns, stables, customs office and trading posts, some just propped up for the day, which were starting to pack up as the sun fell. There, the group gathered to decide how they'd make their way back to the woods where they had found the exhorian nest before.
Walking just slightly ahead of the others as dusk turned steadily into twilight,
Az'rim moved stealthily on her feet. She no longer bothered with putting up her cowl since the sun had sunk behind the horizon of the city and the sky had, at long last, lost all the garishness that she so loathed. As they moved together as a team she let her eyes furtively skate over each member, as if keeping tabs on them, focusing especially on Jer'etiel and Finneun, whose presence intrigued her. What he was doing away from the trading routes in Skarrad with all of his black leather products was beyond her, but he had ever been a secretive type, one of the few reasons Az'rim had conducted business with him a second time, when his less ignorant prices did not befit her as well. Taking a few paces to the side so that the stalls closing for the night would not catch wind of their private matters, the slim and beautiful dah'kin paused, turning to face the rest of the party. "Chese knows the forest better than any and I can track in the dark," she began, looking her party members in the eye as she spoke. "Between the two of us, I don't think there will be an issue finding the nest or the lynx, if she has indeed survived."
Finneun followed the group, his pace keeping him somewhere near Jer'etiel. He had seen the glances Az'rim kept shooting towards him and the other male, and it interested him to see the relationship between them. He watched the other females as well. They had been the ones to invite him along, after all. Finn made no offer to help with the tracking. He could see in the dark as well, plus his natural agility kept him walking in a straight line. But something about this group made him not want to put everything forward at once.
As the group made its way to the outskirts of town,
Je'retiel made a pointed effort not to interact with any other member of the group, especially the newcomer. Instead, as they convened outside of the gates, he fussed with his newly donned robe, pulling its collar up around his neck and jawline. Unlike his sister, he maintained his protective balaclava even under the cover of the burgeoning darkness. When they paused and Az'rim started to speak, he inclined his head slightly, a half-nod, in agreeance to the tracking in the dark aspect. However, when there was yet another mention of Lilee and her possible rescue, Je'retiel exhaled the tiniest of sighs, though it may have been perceptible to anyone in close enough proximity.
Chese paused to listen to what Az'rim said and nodded, not having anything to add or reply. She saw no reason to stop for a longer time, so she resumed walking.
Az'rim's eyes skirted over to her brother as he fiddled with his new robes, in time to catch his slight nod and the exasperated sigh he gave at the mention of Lilee. In truth, she shared his sentiments. There was no way Lilee could have survived such an attack and a careful memory of the Lynx's behavior rendered the thought of her running away to formulate a plan of attack absurd. But the Dah'kin wasn't going to act as a plague, so Az'rim played along, keeping her innermost thoughts to herself. Finneun's reticence did nothing to pacify her suspicions that perhaps he was trying to exact a more appropriate revenge on her for having cheated him so royally, and it was on him that she cast a lingering look. But, at the very least, having another pair of swords was exactly what the group needed, and neither herself nor the panther seemed too keen on talking about the nature of their familiarity. Ignoring Chese as she blundered ahead blindly without the rest of the group, Az'rim looked at everyone in turn. "Are we in accord then that Chese and I shall lead the way?" she asked coolly.
"I can help whoever cannot navigate,"
Finneun said quietly. He glanced up at Az'rim, as if daring her to challenge his offer. Finn wanted to prove himself helpful, but needed to stay distant in case he needed to leave once more. It was making life a little more complicated. He would also try to not grow fond of them at all. But working with anyone would lead to connections of some type.
Padma had been delayed a bit by her own distracted nature, as she had been staring at the mass of pilgrims, vendors, paupers and noblemen who were making their way into the city for the night, probably for some of the famous Khanidi night life, or just returning home from the fields or small neighbouring towns. Finally, she met up with the group, Chese and Az'rim were offering to lead. "I reckon we'll be fine until we get to the road..." butted in the girl with a smile, getting momentarily distracted by a man walking by with a pair of dooners, "Oh I love those!" she said, the Caerhamian in her obviously bursting out. "uhm.. yeah, anyhow, we'll have to get off the road and through the forest tho." she replied. "I imagine we'll need Az'rim then." she added convincingly. "I reckon we should go to Kussul farms first and go from there? Unless Az'rim knows a faster way?"
Allowing his attention to fleetingly divert from Az'rim to Padma as the bemused woman eventually brought-up the rear of the group,
Je'retiel smirked inwardly as she somewhat contravened what his sister was had just said. 'I do not care how we get there as long as we do not much longer stand here and discuss it,' the dah'kin finally and drawlingly spoke-up.
Having taken just a couple of steps,
Chese turned around as Az'rim continued to dwell in what Chese thought was obvious and not really worth talking about. "Come on!" she said encouragingly and continued in the same tone. "I'm sure you can talk while walking!" She pointed at Padma, then Je'retiel, said "Yup" and continued walking. She also continued talking, though she didn't talk about anything crucial, so she didn't try to make sure that everyone heard her. "Now, talking while hunting, that's bad and shouldn't be done. I learned that a long time ago back home. Of course, it might be useful to have some hand signals, but then again, we can't all see them anyway... hm, a torch would do but it'd also give out our position just like that."
As Padma spoke,
Az'rim sliced her gaze to the Caerhamian girl in her new and rather attractive clothing, listening in the silence that she had always preferred to surround her. She looked to the side and saw the dooners the girl yammered about and rolled her onyx eyes impatiently until she said something worth listening to. The slim Dah'kin merely nodded her head once, curtly, and then turned around just in time to listen to Chese babble about how to hunt, amongst other trivialities. "I imagine with the way you keep talking the rest can simply follow the sound of your dulcet voice," she said, frost on the edge of her tone, though she laughed softly through her smirk and added, "Let's go then."
Virgil walked around with them, deep in thought about the mysteries of life. The groups ramblings didn't even impede his thoughts as they walked along. Ever since Lilee had been brought up, he missed the little Lynx more and more She had put up a good deal with him back in the inn with the arm-wrestling competition between them. She was a fiery little thing, and that's what Virgil missed the most about her. Knowing very well that they were stepping into an Exhorian nest, and there was the distinct chance that they would find Lilee's intestines strewn throughout the caves, he held fast to his determination that he may still see the Lynx alive once more. Grasping firm to his swords pommel, he walked, still zoned out as much as possible, thinking about the catfolk.
Finneun gave Az'rim a nod. "Let us head out," he suggested. If the rest were lost in thought or silent, all the better. Tracking at night could sometimes be very dangerous, something he could attest to. He glanced at the others, unsure of how confident they were. Maybe their friend would be alive. Most likely not.
As they talked, the group crossed the city gates, the environment now bathed by the orange light of the sunset. A cool wind came from the east, bringing with it the smell of the sea a few miles away from the road south. After some 45 minutes of walking, they had left behind the last few dregs of the city, small guard posts, houses and fields still belonging to Khanidi faded away, turning into a lush grassland dotted with distant hills and forests. Finally they got to an ancient, ruined wall, probably a part of a tower at some point, it was now a thick, semicircular wall, twice the height of a man and overgrown by vines and old plants. To the south was the Khanidi river, which lent its name to the whole region. To the West were the Foggy Hills, the uppermost part of the Fangs, where strange occurrences were said to happen and Fellrams lived, and to the South West were Kussul Farms, where they had been that morning. Any bearing other than Kussul, however, would force the group to get off the road.
Chese enjoyed the sunset view while walking. After having talked through some trivial things about the coming hopefully-a-re
scue-but-most-likely-not mission, she was quiet, trying to concentrate on the coming battle but not feeling too good about it, since she had been up the whole day and spent a lot of energy in the battle in the morning as well as the scouting. Walking along the road, Chese kept an eye for familiar landmarks to remember where she and Az'rim had moved previously. (spot)
Satisfied the group finally rolled out, Je'retiel plodded along silently, and chose not to partake in any of the passing conversation, unless he was directly addressed, and then his response was typically a nod or shake of his head that may or may not be seen in the dusk. Somewhere along the way, he'd tugged at least the top portion of his balaclava back and down, to unencumber his ears.
Perhaps to some astonishment, as Az'rim walked she fell into line towards the back, where her brother was, and slipped into an effortless stride beside him. She squinted a bit in the last vestiges of sunlight and did not appreciate how the fishy smell of the sea assaulted her senses. Happening upon the crumbling wall festooned with vines, she paused for a moment to address the different directions, remembering instantly what the Ignean smithy had told her about the Fellrams that lived in the treacherous Fangs, where he also said Mages feared to tread. She looked at her brother for a moment, and then turned towards the south, where Kussul Farms lay and presumably, their mission. While Chese was looking, Az'rim took the time to catch her breath, overburdened as she was, and then turned a much more purposeful look to Jer'etiel as she crossed over to stand by him. "Brother," she began, looking up at him from behind her lashes. "I am overburdened. If you would be so kind," she said as she dug out her rations and waterskin from her pack. "Please," she asked softly, quiet enough that only he (and probably the catfolk) could hear.
Padma had been walking a bit ahead of the path, since they weren't anywhere near the wild yet, the Caerhamian girl felt happy skipping around in front of everyone. When they got to the old, crumbled watchtower, she walked ahead of the group and climbed onto some ancient stones. Taking a deep breath of the salty, refreshing ocean air, she turned to the others and asked. "Uhm.. guys, quick question?" figuring she was the least experienced of the lot when it came to fighting. "What do we do when we get to the Exhorians?" continued the young woman, putting her hands on her hips. "Just run to them and bash them with our weapons? Or.. should we have some sort of battle plan?" she concluded, figuring they'd only ever fought one Exhorian at once, and if they had to take on three or four, they would need something more than luck.
"I've been thinking about that," replied Chese to Padma. "We really need to get them into a disadvantageous position, and of course my first idea would be to get them into a trap of some kind, but I haven't thought of anything that would actually work on them and that we could make... or does anyone know more about traps?" she asked and looked around. "Didn't someone say they don't like fire? But we'd probably needs barrels of oil to actually fill their cave with flames... Do you have any ideas?" she added while turning to Virgil, since he had been most vocal about going to exterminate the exhorians, even if he had planned to do it tomorrow and not today.
Even with Chese's voice in the air, Virgil was still momentarily off in his daze, "Huh? Oh... I do remember having heard something about fire, but I also do not think it would be a good idea for us to try to take out an entire nest of these things at once. Even with the six of us, We should limit their numbers."
Finneun pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to follow their conversation. He had nothing he wanted to offer to them, so he stayed silent and stood behind them as they discussed their options.
Je'retiel slowly dropped his eyes down to Az'rim when she stepped before him, and passively listened as she made her appeal. It was, quite possibly, the most polite sibling interaction she'd endured in some time. At first, it didn't seem like he was going to do anything else but look down and unblinkingly at his sister, but he finally acquiesced, holding his hands out and palms up for her to place the waterskin and rations upon. He peeled his dark gaze from Az'rim to look to Padma, after the black-haired woman drew attention to herself by climbing up on the wall and speaking out. 'Exhorians are susceptible to fire,' the dah'kin spoke-up after Chese and Virgil's comments, but hesitated with a further explanation on that specific train of thought (knowledge). 'Perhaps we could entomb them in their own network of tunnels,' he added, sounding quite unsure if the concept would even work on the hard-shelled, tunneling creatures.
As Jer'etiel held his hands out, Az'rim lightly deposited her heavier items into his palms, looking up purposefully at him and mouthing "thank you" before she touched her hair softly and cleared her throat to prepare her answer. "I'm told that they loath fire so I purchased seven flammable arrows," she replied after the rest of them had spoken up. "If we can gather kindling then we can make the most of the flames and let the crawlers smolder." Then, with a glance to Jer'etiel, she added, "My brother also has some [Red Magic we can use."
"Uhm... maybe Finny knows something that can help?" replied Padma, since she had asked, now everyone was giving her suggestions on how to handle the Exhorians, but she didn't know the first thing of combat. "I can bless and heal people.. so I it might be best if I don't go.. you know.. bash stuff. But my weapon is a melee one... so yeah.. I guess when I run out of juice, I can go help in the front line... how about you guys?" she said, magic was obviously her strong point. "Uhm.. dunno though.. if we make the whole thing collapse or light everything on fire... wouldn't it be too much of a risk for us? Also, we would be destroying whatever treasures the creatures have, we might even kill Lilee if she's in there somewhere!"
Rescuing Lilee was, of course, the least of his concerns, but self-preservation, his safety, and his sister's, was of utmost importance to Je'retiel. He certainly did respond to treasure, too, and his eyes flickered at Padma's mention of the word. Remaining quiet while he stowed Az'rim's items away, he formulated a better thought-out response, having had a moment to ruminate. 'Fire can addle an exhorian's senses but, it can also agitate them, so, yes, we must be prudent with its usage. Most importantly, we must divide and conquer. One at a time is best. They are hive creatures, and will swarm, thereby exponentially increasing their strength in numbers if frenzied in such a manner,' he haltingly spoke, pausing between his sentences. 'As some of us have experienced,' he started again, referencing Chese and Virgil, '...their pinchers are not to be taken lightly. We should do our best to first attack an exhorian from a distance, by spell or by weapon.'
"Exhorians, they are hive creatures," Finneun offered. "Hive means many. However many we can take out from a distance means less that those of us with close range weapons must deal with." Since he had two swords, Finneun thought it obvious what route he would take.
"Treasures?" Az'rim echoed with mild interest, glancing to Padma as she made herself unexpectedly useful. Knowing that there was potential reward for their efforts other than trying to find a Lynx carcass would make the whole mission much easier to abide. She lifted a hand to gently place it on the side of her cheek, allowing her feet to wander slowly as she listened to her brother, casting him a meaningful look as he explained his considerable knowledge about exhorians. "I will cover people from behind," she stated, looking to Virgil with his sword, Chese's fan, Padma's exotic claw, Finneun's twin rapier and her brother's newly acquired steel chain. Hers was the only weapon with any range. (knowledge on strategy).
"I guess I'll back you and Virgil up with some magic." replied Padma to the suggestions as she stepped off the ruins and walked towards Finneun. She really didn't know much about fighting, but the others seemed to have their minds set in strategies they weren't truly sharing. The concensus, however, seemed to be that they should take the exhorians one by one, and they should do it from afar. "Uhm.. which way, Az'rim?" asked the girl, not knowing if they should keep on the path to Kussul farms or if the Dah'kin had a better way in mind.
Virgil nodded slowly as the rest of the group began putting together ideas. He knew that there was little more he could do than stand in the front line and try to hold back the Exhorians. "We need to make way for the hive. The sooner we can get there to rid the exhorians, the better the chance we have to find Lilee." He eyed the panther's twin swords briefly, thinking of how he now had another front liner that he had to be wary of. The whole situation was putting him a little down. Lilee being in perilous danger, if not already dead; the whole group heading into a dangerous nest full of Exhorians, and a new member of the group who was also trying to put together their best strategy. Virgil was, at best, leery.
After a moment to put her mind to work, Az'rim took the information she had on all of them and developed what seemed to her like a fine strategy. "We should focus our energies on luring the exhorians from their nest rather than barging into their lair," she began. "Attack them in the open, where they cannot slip in and out of their tunnels to surprise us from another angle. Then, if need be, I can track the rest underground," she promised, looking forward to once again hunt in the familiar black tunnels that she'd gotten so accustomed to in Skarrad. "We can use their tunnels against them there, and focus only one or t@wo at a time." Here, she turned sharply to Virgil and Finneun, stating "you two are obviously the front line. Attack with force and when one of you becomes injured, Padma will step in to heal you," she finished by turning her gaze to Padma to make sure the air-headed girl was paying attention. "Then Jer'etiel and I can make use of the fire. With his oil and my arrows we can quarantine some of the crawlers behind a wall of flames, or just set them ablaze," she said, gripping her elbows so that her arms folded comfortably across her tiny waist. "Once they're all dead we can search the depths of their nest for any treasures or signs of Lilee. Exhorians drag their prey back to their nests to feed so if there are any clues, or treasure, then it will be there." Looking to Padma as she double checked with her, Az'rim painted on a small but convincing smile and shook her head. "We will stay to the road to Kussul and then go through the woods, as planned. Let's go."]
Chese listened to the others speaking and didn't have much to add since they outlined what she had in mind in another way to form some kind of plan that they could execute. Trap one exhorian in a good spot, kill it and move on. Chese didn't particularly want to be in the front line, but the fan was better than shurikens. She started walking as Az'rim did.
By the time the group went through Kussul farms, night had already fallen, a clear night illuminated by a full moon, still, torches were lit along the makeshift, muddy streets of the farming town and all the serfs had retreated to their homes. Wolves and brigands were known to prowl at night and the guards of Khanidi never went as far as Kussul, with any other guards in the employ of the rich landowners, the poorer inhabitants had to fend for themselves, so they simply shut themselves in at night. Without a single soul in sight other than one or two watchmen, the group continued to the south west. They got off the path and trekked through the wilderness under Az'rim's guide until all they could see of Kussul farms were distant flickers of torchlight. Before them were Kussul woods, where they had found the exhorian nest before, after the first few, large oak tree trunks, anything most of the party could see was just a deep wall of blackness. From now on, every step they took could be taken under the watchful eyes of some unseen predator.
Settling into a comfortable pace along with the rest of the troop, Je'retiel remained quiet during their journey. The entire way, and as they passed the last remnants of civilization and entered into the woods, he maintained his reflective silence, trusting in Az'rim to lead them in the correct direction. In the enveloping darkness of the foliage, the dah'kin especially focused his senses, relying, for the moment, on his hearing to verify whether or not the group was safe or not. (listen)
Padma suddenly stopped in the edge of the forest, the group had been walking pretty leisurely till now, but she figured that closing in on the exhorian nest under the cover of darkness, their main concern would be moving silently to approach undetected. Not quite knowing what to do, she crouched a bit and tried to walk towards Az'rim (Move Silently) as quietly as she could. Once she was next to the Dah'kin woman and Panther warrior that were spearheading the group. "What now?" she whispered nervously, tugging a bit on Az'rim's sleeve.
Padma managed to move forward quietly towards Az'rim, her slippers making little noise on the forest floor. Though at one point she stepped on a twig, which promptly snapped, it wasn't all that loud.
Finneun had stopped, wincing as he heard the popping of the twig. He took a deep breath, trying to locate any unusual scents in the area. (scent) If he could be sure of the direction, even the small dah'kin tracker beside him would prove ineffectual.
The utter blackness of the woods provided Az'rim with a sense of calm that she had not felt a bit of since joining the group. Though the tunnels of Skarrad were a far cry from the open and airy forest with the betraying crunches underfoot, the foreboding sense of danger lurking in the dark was one she appreciated like a true connoisseur. Here in the dark, she was deadly and useful, not some clumsy bumbler in the light of day but a true monster. As Padma crept closer, making hardly a sound, and then tugged on the slim Dah'kin's sleeve, Az'rim turned her head towards the girl, able to see her clearly in the darkness. "Let me have a look," she replied in a voice barely more than a whisper. Standing straight, she peered around to find anything of familiarity. (Spot)
Satisfied that he heard nothing to indicate that the group was in immediate danger, Je'retiel was about to proceed forward, but stopped upon hearing the vague sound of brittle forest floor debris crunching a few steps ahead of his position. Hearing the group's varied murmurings did nothing to allay his frustrations, either, but he simply internalized an exasperated sigh and decided to wait a moment to navigate onward, until the party had a more clear-cut direction of where they were headed.
Virgil watched as most of the rest of the group began slowly moving up towards the nest. He let out a light laugh to himself and shook his head, "Yeah, right," He said to himself, knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to sneak up on the nest very effectively, with all his armor and what not. He attempted to move forth with the group, still trying to be as quiet as possible. (Move Silently)
Quietly, Virgil moved ahead as slowly as he could, accompanying the group to the edge of the forest, and, though he managed to avoid stepping on any twigs or kicking anything, his shield did start to lightly and rhythmically bang against his back. Whether the creatures in the woods heard it or not was anyone's guess.
Chese wasn't too concerned about the dwindling light since the moon shone brightly and allowed her to see quite enough for now. Listening to Virgil and Padma, she smiled a bit. "I can try to help you be a little quieter," she said quietly to the two. "Unless someone with better night vision would rather do it?" she added and took a quick glance at the others. Az'rim would be tracking so she probably wouldn't, Je'retiel's manner didn't really imply sneakiness and Chese wasn't sure of Finneun.
Padma was starting to get nervous, hearing Virgil's shield hitting his back with a few small, dull thud behind her didn't work. Turning to the Ravillan while remaining crouched, she brought her finger to her mouth and went "Shhhh!" as quietly as she could. "So, what do you see?" she whispered to Finneun and Az'rim, since they were both trackers and could see in the dark. "Should we head into the woods?"
"That way," Finneun said quietly, pointing towards a visable clearing. He looked towards Az, waiting for the hunter to take point. Or for the magic user to attack. There was no way Finn was going first. This may be their friend, but he did not know her at all, and he was not about to run into the hive first.
Peering in the darkness, Az'rim made out the clearing a few hundred feet away, standing out brightly in a sheet of moonlight against the darker forest around it. Her concentration was interrupted for a second as the clanking shield rent the air, but her eyebrow un-furrowed quickly enough as Padma shushed the knight and made her inquiry. Remembering the clearing from earlier, she leaned closer to Padma so that she could align her sight towards Az'rim's pointing finger. "That patch of moonlight is the clearing. I am certain we will find the nest there," she replied in a voice that was barely audible. Once through with the Caerhamian, she looked around in a practiced way, as if she were the owner of a particularly scattered pup, until she found Jer'etiel. She said nothing, and seemed to have merely been taking roll to make sure he was still around, though whether it was for his own safety or some other plot was left for him to assume as he pleased. As Finneun pointed, Az'rim nodded and crept closer to the clearing as quietly as she could, while still maintaining some distance so as to not just barge right in. (Move Silently)
Az'rim moved as a Shadow, anyone who saw her would believe her feet did not even touch the ground and leaves and branches seemed undisturbed by her passing. Finally, she got to the edge of the clearing, able to easily see the entrance of the nest from there she was. In the middle of the clearing was an enormous, dead tree with an ashen bark, almost glowing in the moonlight. Between the roots was a cave, probably dug artificially. If Az'rim were to step any closer into the clearing, however, she could be seen by anything standing near the entrance of the cave.
Chese was intending to follow behind Az'rim so that she could see or hear where the dah'kin was going. She assumed that Virgil and Padma accepted her help since they didn't object. "Let's see," she whispered to Padma and Virgil. "I'll go first and you try to follow my steps exactly, that should lessen chance to step on something suspicious. And you could try moving a little softer to hold that shield in place. Or pad it with your hand." She smiled as she shared her suggestion with Virgil. "Okay?" Chese then started sneaking as well. (Move silently)
Just as swift as Az'rim, Chese followed suit behind her, leaving behind a clear path of undisturbed vegetation for Virgil to follow as she got to the edge of the clearing, crouching behind the Dah'kin.
When Az'rim and Chese started to make their way into the woods and toward the defoliated area, Je'retiel finally decided to followed suit, though he did so only after his sister turned away from checking his position (Move silently). In an attempt to lessen any extraneous sounds that his gear might create, in light of Virgil's gaffe, including the newly-acquired chain he carried, the dah'kin pressed his hands down upon what he deemed would be the likeliest noise-producing culprits. He did his best to navigate quietly and delicately in the direction that both Finnuen and his sister had indicated they should travel.
Though a bit less dexterous that the two women before him, Je'retiel's lithe equipment let him walk ahead quietly without drawing my attention to himself, the woods had gone quiet as they approached the nest.
With a light sigh, Virgil pressed forward, being careful to silence his shield and sword, so that hopefully he would make less noise. Also, being one of the taller, ganglier members of the party, he stayed back a good ten to fifteen feet behind the main group of the rest of the more stealthy members of the group.(Move Silently)
Virgil walked forward, as quietly as he could, bit still every step was painfully loud to some of the members of the party with better listening. Though Padma, Chese and Je'retiel couldn't hear him, Finneun and Az'rim could sense hundreds of tiny branch fragments and leaves cracking and crunching whenever he stepped forward. Finally, get got about a dozen feet behind Az'rim, from where he could clearly see the large white husk of a tree.
"Guess it's just you and me now." said Padma in a whisper, turning to Finneun before she began to move forward to catch up with the rest of the group, as carefully as she could (Move Silently). Her hand holding onto her claw just in case something came out of the darkness, once she got to where the others were, she asked. "Now what?" figuring they were going to have to get to the nest somehow. "They're bound to have sentries... maybe we ought to lure them out and kill them in the clearing before we try entering?" she asked.
Unfortunately for everyone, Padma made even more noise than Virgil, at one point, her Katar hitting the overgrown root of a tree, which sent a loud metallic clang echoing through the forest. Whatever element of surprise the group had right now, they wouldn't keep it for long, so they needed to act quickly.
Chese made a quite conspicuous grimace at the ruckus Padma caused. "Ouch," she whispered. "If they heard that, they'll be barging out any minute. What do you say we move off a bit and handle the likely scouting party coming our way over where the rest can't hear?"
Finneun followed as swiftly as he could sfter Padma's noisy entrance, not worried about extra noise now. "Two guards in front of the cave," he hissed at Az, not sure what she could do. He tried to see and smell into the cave to see if they were alerted already. If not, his paws were already on his swords. (scent/spot)
Az'rim nearly swore aloud as she heard the deafening clang and scrape of metal, her head snapping to Padma's direction, her eyes two black holes glaring in the darkness. To Chese, who was much closer than the rest, she nodded. "We'll consider this our lure, then," she hissed in a low, irritated voice. "I'm going to run further into the woods and set up with my bow," she explained curtly. Then she turned around to spot a decent enough tree to hide behind that would keep her close enough to the action, prepared to run for it upon sight. (Spot)
After safely progressing, Je'retiel paused and started to exhale a slow, hushed, centering breath as the quiet closed in around him again, but he was abruptly and unpleasantly interrupted by Padma's clamor. Similarly to Az'rim, he cast a seething scowl in the shaman's direction, but only for a moment as he quickly returned his focus toward the direction of the clearing. He did not feel the need to contribute to unnecessary chatter, however whispered, especially since their cover had probably just been blown, and hoped that it was only the two guards that Finneun mentioned with whom the party would have to deal with initially.
With a huff, Virgil drew his sword and began to set his shield, "Looks like it's time to get ready for a fight," the knight said, looking off in the direction of the nest to see if he could spot anything stirring in the darkness. He stood back a bit from the rest, not wanting to make things worse, but he stood at the ready if the exhorians began to pour from the nest. (Spot)
As the others looked around, Chese went ahead and chose a hiding spot so that she could ambush any exhorian coming from the cave. (Hide)
"They're coming!" cried out Padma, pointing towards the clearing as she quickly grabbed onto her claw and got into a battle stance, keeping his other hand on the neck of a potion in her pouch.
Battle has started!
The turns are positions are as follow;
Battle Conditions - Darkness (Characters without Dark or Nightvision must roll to see beyond INT squares)
Az'rim (W9) (9/10 HP, 12/12 MP) (Hiding!)
Finneun (R13) (18/18 HP, 8/8 MP) (57/5 Str, Blessed! 2 turns left!)
Chese (P13)(5/12 HP, 8/8 MP)(Prone)
Exhorian Soldier 1 (Q13)(*_*)
Exhorian Soldier 2 (R14)(*_*)
Je'retiel (R12)(12/12 HP, 14/20MP)
Padma (P14)(8/8 HP, 11/16 MP)
Virgil (Q14)(23/23 HP, 8/8 MP)
Az'rim's turn! -
The black coldness of the forest night offered a sense of comfort to Az'rim, who was pleased that this battle could take place under the veil of darkness95. As she ran to the tree for cover she noticed a two large chitinous pincers emerging from the hive, precisely as the Panther had said. Hiding behind the tree as she was, Az'rim, with an arrow already nocked, let it loose towards the Exhorian at (M8), shooting out of her range but deciding to take the risk.
Az'rim raised her bow high to compensate for the distance and with eagle eyed precision, she fired an arrow straight at the closest Exhorian. The enormous insect did not see it coming when the projectile struck it in the soft tissue area between its front and back plates, dealing 5 damage. Letting out a hurt screech, the creature swung its scything arms at the emptiness besides it, trying to find the shooter as a clear, viscous blood poured out from the wound, to no avail.
Finneun's turn!
As his feet halted, Finneun found himself temporarily blinded but a puff of floral scent. It caused him to rub at his nose and eyes to clear them. As soon as he could see from his water eyes, he slid his swords from their sheaths, waiting for their distance hitters to hit and looking for the enemy he knew was headed out. (spot)
Finneun did not need to peer into the darkness anymore, the Exhorians had just left their nest, two large chitinous soldiers now stood in the clearing, bathed by the moonlight. As the creatures sniffed out for intruders, one of them suddenly bent over in pain as a swift thud sound was heard, probably an arrow from Az'rim. While the confused beast turned around, looking for its assailant, Finneun realized he still had time to act.
Once the arrow struck, Finneun moved in a line parallel to the creatures, keeping himself out of sight as well as he could. (move silently from V15 to V8)
Chese's turn! -
Chese couldn't quite see the exhorians, but heard the screeching loud and clear. She didn't think she could attack them right away and wasn't particularly keen on going head first into the battle zone, so she sneaked to the edge of the foliage (Move silently to R15) and readied herself to strike from the bushes if any exhorian came within reach (Ready melee attack).
Chese moved as swiftly as possible towards R15, trying not to step on any branches or disturb the bushes on the edge of the forest. However, it was to no avail, one of the Exhorians noticed her, the wounded one let out a screech to alert its partner and ran towards Chese at full speed, getting to R14, losing 1 HP to profuse bleeding. The other one replied with a screech of its own and moved, more erratically and not as quickly to N14, unsure of where the enemy was!
Je'retiel's turn! -
As the soldiers charged forward, one screeching toward Chese, Je'retiel readied his steel whip in his one hand, though mostly for defensive purposes; the other he raised and pointed in the direction of the closer, injured creature. He exhaled a harsh, terse breath that may have just as well been a spiteful word to the Rysallean for having drawn attention to their general area, and cast a heat beam at the bleeding exhorian, hoping that the dark foliage of his current location would provide him some bit of cover from being immediately located.
Je'retiel emerged from the foliage for a second and pointed his hand at the wounded Exhorian, he felt the familiar tingle of magic traveling from his shoulder to the tip of each of his fingers until it finally exploded into a searing red and white beam of energy. With rumbling dull noise the beam raced towards the wounded exhorian and struck it on the arm, traveling down across the side of its chitinous body until it dissipated, dealing 7 damage. Distracted, the exhorians had no time to really notice Je'retiel before he hid again, a diagonal line of scorched chitin left behind on the Exhorian's side!
Padma's turn!
Padma, knowing she was too close to the wounded Exhorian to effectively hide any more, grabbed her katar and emerged from the bushes with a small cry rushing over to S15, trying to draw its attention away from Chese as she swung her Katar at the Exhorian in a slashing motion, trying to make a wide arc with her arm.
Padma's first swing bounced harmless off the Exhorian's hard chitin shell, only leaving a small scrape on the surface, However, with a swift, waterlike motion, the girl managed to twist her hand and slash down over the burn Je'retiel's attack had left, dealing 2 damage!
Virgil's turn! -
Watching as Padma entered the fray, Virgil rushed over to her side, trying to reach near the location she just left (S16). Knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the Exhorian quite yet, he spoke up, hoping to draw the creature's attention from Chese and Padma, "Hey, Ugly, I'm over here," He said loud enough to be heard, but trying to keep down enough that he wouldn't rouse more trouble.
Az'rim's turn! -
Az'rim showed no sign of pleasure as she watched her arrow sink home into the exhorian's side, as if she expected nothing less. As the first charged forward, she was already tracking it with the tip of her next arrow. As the giant pincered soldier rushed Chese she waited, making sure not to let loose a volley while Padma and the Rysallean were so close. The searing light of Jer'etiel's spell caused her to squint but in no time her eyes had adjusted and she sent an arrow at the exhorian soldier(R14).
Az'rim squinted and pulled her bowstring to fire another arrow at the Exhorian, however, halfway thought the drawing of the bow, the butt of the arrow slipped out of her hand. With a sound like whiplash, the string snapped back into place while and the arrow flew up, spinning out of control. The iron tip of the arrow slashed Az'rim's forearm before the shaft broke, the two pieces falling several feet away!
Finneun's turn! -
Finneun winced when he heard the sound of the bowstring. The Exhorians, however, had his full attention. Swords drawn, Finneun moved as quickly as he could next to one of them (R13) and swung at it. He saw how the carapace protected it from previous blows, so Finn hoped to hit where the armor was weak or absent.
Finneun ran next to the Exhorian, his swords glistening in the moonlight and leading the way. When he got next to the large insect, it had already begun to turn towards him. Quickly, he swung his right blade towards it, not having enough time to attack with both of them. The enormous creature lifted one of its scything arms to try and block the slash, but Finneun managed to maneuver the blade under it, slashing the soft joint which connected the arm to the body. Clear, viscous blood fell from the exhorian's underarm as it was slashed, dealing 4 damage!
Chese's turn! -
Not too glad about the exhorian having noticed her, Chese did smile as Finneun came and distracted it. And while the beast was distracted, she made the most of it and tried to give the exhorian a full treatment with her fan.
Chese quickly swung the bladed edges of her fan towards the Exhorian, spinning in place with dance-like motions to slash twice at the enormous insect. The first blow bounced harmlessly off the Exhorian's chitin shell, leaving behind a small chink in its armor. The second slash, aimed at exactly the same spot, managed to rip a gash open on the chitin, the barbed edges of the fan digging deep into the exhorian's sickly yellowish flesh, dealing 6 damage!
The first Exhorian suddenly noticed Finneun rushing out of the foliage to charge its companion. With an angered screech, it rushed the Panther, running to Q13, scything blades up in the air, swinging wildly in an attempt to chop him in half. The other Exhorian, in the meantime, twisted its body towards Chese, but immediately succumbed to the severe bleeding from Az'rim's fell placed arrow, collapsing to the ground, dead or at least dying.
Finneun saw the Exhorian charge him and he turned, bringing his swords up to defend himself. It was swinging pretty wildly, so he crossed his blades in an attempt to maybe block some of the blows. (Parry)
Finneun quickly lifted his swords and crossed them over his head as the Exhorian's scything claw was brought down on him with the insect's full might. When the chitin clashed against steel, Finneun thought his arms were going to be ripped out of their sockets.m The sheer strength of the slash brought the Panther down on one knee, but he managed to hold onto his blades, preventing any damage!
Je'retiel's turn! -
When Finneun was brought to his knees by the brutish creature, Je'retiel, despite moving out from the cover of the trees, proceeded as quietly as possible (Move Silently to S13). With the hope of entangling the exhorian's bladed arms more than anything, the dah'kin aimed over his team member's crouched form and lashed his steel whip at the enemy with all his might, what that may or may not be.
Je'retiel managed to move undetected to S13, but the Exhorian noticed the Dah'kin as soon as he swung his noisy spiked chain towards him. Though the top of the chain safely cleared Finneun's head, it smashed into the Exhorian's armoured shoulder and bounced off harmlessly. It did, however, force the enormous insect to lift its bladed arms off Finneun, giving the panther a moment of respite!
Padma's turn! -
Figuring Finneun had the best chance of the lot of actually bringing down the enormous Exhorian who was now in their midst, Padma closed her eyes and offered a prayer to the wild gods of the desert to make the panther's blades swift and deadly to their enemies.
Finneun has been blessed!
His STR increases to 7 for 3 turns!
Virgil's turn! -
Virgil hustled up to the last standing exhorian (Q14). He raised his sword to the insect, and thrust it towards the hard carapace, hoping to pierce it.
Virgil managed to plant himself in front of the Exhorian and stab upwards rather than slashing, knowing that slashing was not as effective against a heavily plated opponent. Luckily hitting the soft underbelly of the large creature, his sword sunk with a disgusting sloshing noise dealing 9 damage as clear viscous blood pouring out of the wound. The devastating blow made the creature stagger back and let out a pained screech which echoed through the woods!
Az'rim's turn! -
As her attack turned into accidental self-sabotage, Az'rim whispered the smallest of swears and immediately checked her arm to ensure that she hadn't inflicted any serious damage. The blood was fresh but the wound was nothing that deserved her current attention, despite the lurid look of dripping crimson on her pale flesh. The twang of her bowstring was still in her ear and she was sure that Finneun could smell the metallic traces of her blood that was so different from the clear, viscous life force that was leaking from the Exhorian. As the first giant insect-like creature fell to the ground, dead or dying, she turned her attention immediately to the second. She watched intently as Chese, Padma, Je'retiel, and Finneun all attacked rather well, slightly impressed with the catfolk's grand parry and Virgil's single thrust. Even the forest girl had made a nice show with her fans. She winced as the exhorian let out the ear-splitting shriek and immediately stepped forward quietly to the other side of the tree (W9). With an arrow nocked and ready, Az'rim held her arm steady and fired her volley to the last Exhorian (Q13). (Move Silently)
Still unseen, Az'rim went over to the other side of the tree and hid under the bushes, letting her arrow fly straight towards the large creature's back. Since it was facing the dah'kin's allies, she couldn't aim for the soft underbelly. Still, the projectile struck the beast on the back, piercing its shell and dealing 3 damage, though it seemed to barely register for the creature!
Finneun's turn! -
When the pressure disappeared from his blades, Finneun took a quick stock of his position. Vulnerable and sore, his arms were definitely going to hurt in the morning, he needed to act fast and with all his strength. He felt a surge of energy go through him, and he thrust both swords upwards, using his crouched position as leverage for the blows. Finn knew that he was in the direct line of strike, so he needed to do some major damage if he was going to survive this. And aiming for the soft tissue had worked the last time. He just prayed that he actually hit it again.
Finneun thrust both his blades upwards, trying to hit the creature's slightly softer underbelly. One of his blades, however, has deflected by the exhorian's armored arm and pushed to the side. Luckily, the other one pierced the chitin with a slight sloshing sound, dealing 5 damage as the creature cried out and tried to beat it away as well. Before the Exhorian could move again, however, Finneun made use of his superior speed, pulling his blade out, he flipped around in place and slashed three times in rapid succession at the creatures waist, the second of which managed to cut into its flesh and deal 4 more damage!
Chese's turn! -
The exhorian's screech caused some unrest in Chese since it would surely attract more of the beasts. Still, satisfied that the first exhorian had fallen so soon, she took some steps to the side and circled to the creature's back, avoiding the reach of the creature's claws (Q15, P15, O14, P13). Once she was flanking the exhorian with Finneun, she grinned a little and struck at a weak-looking joint, hoping to finish this one as well.
Chese swiftly moved around the exhorian, trying to keep out of reach of its chitinous claws and slashed at its join with her bladed fan, ducking as she did to hit the creature's leg, the only exposed joint from behind. Though the fan hit its mark, the damage was not extensive, making only a small cut and dealing two damage before the exhorian fought back, slashing at the woman with both its claws!
"Darn," muttered Chese and brought her fan to block the claws.
Chese's small bladed fan was dwarfed by the enormous scything claws of the exhorian, each one as large as the woman's thigh. The first slash pushed the fan out of the way as if it was made of paper, the tip of the chitinous blade opening the Rysallean's flesh from her upper right shoulder to right over left breast, cutting through her doublet and dealing 8 damage. A second slash from the Exhorian's other blade struck her squarely on her head, luckily, her leather cap kept the woman from losing the top of her skull. The massive blow to the head, however, made her spin in place, staggering as her back ended up facing the insect, which immediately attacked again with the first blade. This time, it stabbed right next to her shoulderblade, to the point the tip of the exhorian's claw went through her lung and poked out the front of her body, under Chese's collarbone, dealing 7 damage. Blood seeping out of her wounds and mouth, Chese fell to her knees and then collapsed onto the forest floor!
Je'retiel's turn! -
While his focus might be mistaken for callous disregard as his ally was felled, Je'retiel stepped out from behind Finneun to achieve better aim (R12) and cast another searing beam of heat at the already severely wounded creature while its attention was turned away. Being in such close proximity, he tried to hit the spot where Az'rim's arrow had already struck.
Je'retiel quickly stepped to the side, getting Finneun out of his line of sight, firing a searing beam at the Exhorian. Once more, the beam clashed against the Chitin, leaving behind a black scorchmark and dealing 2 damage!
Padma's turn! -
"Shit! Chese!" yelled out Padma as the rysallean woman was skewered by the enormous insect. Rather quickly, the girl stuck a hand into her knapsack and secured a potion, running towards Chese, while she tried to uncork it with her teeth. Mimicking her teammate's movements to avoid the Exhorian's blades, she rushed over to P14, kneeling on the ground next to Chese and fleeing her over, pouring the contents of the potion into her mouth.
Chese's body was slippery from blood, which pulsed out of her body each time her heart beat. The potion worked quickly, with some small convulsing, Chese's wounds began to close and the hemorrhage stopped, healing 8 points of damage, though the woman would still feel weakened from the blood loss.
Virgil's turn! -
"Damn," Virgil huffed as Chese went down, but seeing Padma attending to her quickly, he let a sigh of relief. Turning back to the Exhorian, he pun his blade in his hand and thrust at the overgrown insect twice, trying to finish it off.
Virgil was, unfortunately, too slow to attack twice, but he did put all his strength into a single stab, which pierced into the exhorian's side. The tip of the blade cracked the creature's shell and piercing into its flesh. Taking 4 damage, the exhorian gave out another screech as it finally collapsed onto the floor, dying.
Battle has ended!
Everyone gained 353 XP!
Padma leveled up!
Chese leveled up!
Virgil leveled up!
As the exhorian felled Chese, Az'rim watched intently with an arrow nocked in case she had the chance to help put the beast away again. She looked at the Rysallean woman's body as Padma rushed over, pouring the potion into Chese's mouth and undoubtedly saving her life. Once Virgil finished off the exhorian, the slim Dah'kin returned the arrow to her quiver and dashed firstly to Jer'etiel, placing a delicate hand in the small of his back. It was a simple gesture but, for a woman like Az'rim, it was something akin to a hug. "Fine work," she praised in a softly hissing voice, one that was meant only for her brother's ears. Then, brushing her silvery hair back into place with her fine, tapered fingers, she walked to where Padma was tending to Chese. Kneeling next to the Caerhamian woman, she checked over Chese's body, appearing unfazed by the amount of blood, though there was a single line of worry on her brow. "How is she?" she asked, glancing sidelong to Padma before looking back at Chese. "Chese?" she began in a calm voice, looking down to the blood splattered woman.
Finneun sighed in relief as the Exhorian went down. He wouldn't let on, but he was started to become sore already in both shoulders. Walking over to a nearby tree, he grabbed some leaves and cleaned his blades as best he could before wiping them off on his trousers and sheathing them. Then, leaving the rest to tend to the fallen, he snuck as quietly as he could a bit closer to the hive entrance, trying to sense if anything was coming from it. The racket they had made might have awoken something within. (move silently, scent)
Chese gasped as the healing potion fixed her lung and some of the other wounds. She grabbed for her fan just as Virgil felled the other exhorian and then held on to it while coughing the blood out of her airways. "Ow! Ow! Damn that hurts," she said after she was mostly done coughing. She then smiled warmly at Padma who had obviously given her a healing potion. "Thank you." Looking at Az'rim, she sat up and decided to stay that way for a moment to avoid fainting while her blood found its way back to her head. "I'll be fine," she said in a reassuring tone. "Though I'm not sure about my armour." Once she felt a little less light-headed, she stood up carefully and looked down at the cuts and her blood-soaked armour and clothes. "Great, this will certainly not be good for hiding from predators. Hopefully dead exhorians are more tempting." Like Finneun, she was worried about incoming enemies and looked around herself while feeling her fan to check that it was still functional.
Virgil stepped clear of the dead Exhorian husks that now lay on the ground. He knelt to the ground pulling his hand up in a fist to his mouth as he quickly gave prayer to Nesha as he saw that Chese was pulling through. The attack she had taken was vicious, and he was meant to be here to help protect the members of the party. Straightening back up, he produced a cloth from his pouch, and used it to wipe his sword clear of most of the remnants of Exhorian on the blade. He stood back up and turned to Chese, slight remorse on his face. He waited, keeping an ear keen to any attacks that may come. (Listen)
Though his expression on the upper, exposed portion of his face managed not to change, Je'retiel was nonetheless satisfied to see Virgil finish off the second soldier. When Az'rim approached and gave praise, he gave a single nod, in both agreement and acknowledgement, and his gaze followed her for the few moments it took for her to walk from him to Chese's side. He had noticed the blood on her arm, and did not recall it being there before the skirmish started. Pushing that thought aside, he, along with the other men, stood guard as his sister and Padma flanked and tended to the recovering woman. His dark eyes scanned the perimeter, trying to detect any visible movement that might herald another attack as the group took a moment to reassemble itself. (Spot)
"You can sow the armor up." replied Padma as she used a few bandages to soak up some of the blood and clean it off Chese's body. "It should still offer some protection for now... I'm gonna bandage you up, though, the wounds are still a bit tender." added the shaman. It was amazing how her demeanor immediately transformed when someone was injured, becoming much calmer and more determined. "I'd rather just apply some first aid now and save the potions and spells for later." said the girl as the applied first aid to Chese's still reddened wounds, to make sure they wouldn't open again. "It's gonna be tough in there, though." she said, rather worried looking at Finneun and Az'rim, as if looking for assurance from the two, worst possible people. Soon after, her gaze shifted to Virgil. "You know.. with all your armor, it might be good if you went first instead of hanging in the back?" she said to the man, a bit of reproach in her tone.
Padma used first aid!
Chese now has 10/15 HP
Finneun smiled to himself as he heard Padma's comment. Then he crept back to the group. "Stay quiet," he said in a low tone. "I do not sense anyone coming, but I still would not put it past them. Let us not give them targets if any emerge."
The line of worry disappeared into white flawlessness as Chese answered Az'rim's question by sitting up and demonstrating the power of the potion. At least the forest woman had the good sense not to further strain herself - two blows like that would leave memories of their presence for a long time, regardless of enchanted remedies. Seeing that Padma had the situation well under control, the Dah'kin got to her feet and took a step back, grimacing ever so slightly at the white magic spell. When the Caerhamian's questing gaze fell to Az'rim's sharp, black eyes, she held it easily, appearing quiet and calm as the hulking forms of the exhorians oozed nearby. "Yes, it is," she replied softly to the young woman's speculation about the state of battle in the tunnels, folding her arms to hide her minor scrape as she looked to the mouth of the cave. "The noises will be amplified a hundredfold," she began, looking pointedly to the three humans. "The scuffle of feet or the clanging of metal will betray us. We will also have to work together to use the flammable oils to our finest advantage." Hearing the black-haired woman's gentle reprimand to the knight gave Az'rim a twisted pleasure that she staunched all sign of save from the slight heavenward quirk of her lips. "Yes, I quite agree," she added, giving Padma an approving nod and otherwise turning a cold shoulder to Virgil.
Nodding slowly, Virgil spoke softly, "Yes, I agree, Padma. I need to go first. There's no reason something like this should have happened to her," he said, motioning towards Chese. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled. "I couldn't hear anything else coming this way yet, but lets not waste too much time. Once Chese is feeling well enough to continue on comfortably, we should." The Knight grew very stoic in his manner, a failure like this didn't sit well with him. The one he was here to protect the most went down in combat, and it was because he wasn't there.
"Thanks again," said Chese to Padma. She still didn't feel too good, though she could continue. "I'll just drink one of these," she said and started digging for one of her lesser healing potions. "If I do get attacked again, I'd still rather be a bloody mess than dead." She drank the potion and listened to what Az'rim said while putting the empty bottle back to her bag. "Should we light a torch? Since it's not like we'll be stealthy, as you said. Then you could easily light your arrows with it."
Chese now has 14/15 HP!
Unable to observe any disturbances in the area only put Je'retiel at only a superficial ease, despite the fact that Finneun also sensed nothing presently. He quietly coiled his chain in preparation of moving soon, then gently patted a couple areas on his robe, double- and triple-checking the locations of the healing potions and vial of oil. He kept his ears tuned to the conversation behind him, but had nothing to add that wasn't already said, and kept his eyes trained on the entrance to the nest.
"I think a torch would be good.. yes." said Padma as she put her Katar away, figuring they weren't about to run into more enemies right now. "Does anyone have a torch?" she suddenly asked, feeling a bit silly for not pakcing one herself. It would probably be even darker in the tunnels and she didn't feel safe relying on Finneun's, Az'rim's and Je'retiel's eyes. "I reckon we'll have to decide on a marching order in the tunnels, too, we won't wanna end up with me or Az'rim at the front if we get ambushed in a narrow spot."
"A torch will narrow my visual field in the dark," Finneun said expressionlessly. He shook his head. This was sort of ridiculous. They were ambushing a hive, already almost had one member killed, and now there was talk of torches. Silly humans.
"I have one," said Chese and took out the torch she had been carrying. "I believe I gave my other one to Virgil. Does anyone have flint and steel, or another way to light it?" she asked and looked toward the ground to spot anything she could use to light the fire. (Spot) "Really? Does your night vision work that way?" she asked from Finneun. (Knowlegde on night vision)
"Yes, I have another torch as well," Virgil said, "But are we going to need another one right now? And for marching order, my only suggestion is putting me in front, and Finn behind us. That way we have someone who can take a good beating at either end of the party in case we get attack from the rear. The rest of you will have to sort out the middle."
As the party speculated Az'rim casually walked forward towards Jer'etiel, moving around the back of him to fish into his backpack, her hands moving nimbly. She pulled out a waterskin and uncorked it, gathering carefully just a handful of water, which she then splashed onto her arm to clean the blood. Hastily stopping up the waterskin, she tucked it back into his pack and fastened everything, all while making little noise and contemplating how much she liked the idea of being flanked on both sides by humans. "Might the torches help us to keep them at bay? Fire startles them, but I would not think that the small amount of a torch would rile them into too big a frenzy," she asked, putting her hands gently on her hips and stepping around her brother to stand just barely in front of him as she looked to the other to see if they had any further ideas. (knowledge on strategy)
With a dismissive glance over his shoulder, Je'reteil understood the disturbance in his belongings, and simply turned his attention back to the gnarled stump in the clearing. 'The truth is we will likely need... some light... for those of us not blessed with the ability to see in the dark,' he finally spoke, assuming in a low, husky tone. 'No matter what our advantage would be, I imagine it would be trumped by their... blind stumbling,' he concluded with a touch of thinly-veiled contempt. Whatever opinion he held on marching order, if he had any, he kept to himself.
"uhm.. I think it makes sense to have Virgil on the front and Finneun in the back..." added Padma, getting a bit jumpy out in the forest. The Panther could act as a lookout so they didn't get attacked from the rear and if it was needed, he was fast enough to make his way to the front. "But... guys, whatever we're gonna do, lets do it fast, I feel like we're sitting ducks standing here and talking." added the Caerhamian.
"Hm, no?" replied Chese to Virgil's torch comment and gave a thumbs-up at his suggestion on marching order. "I suppose I should come in second, and Padma as third. And either I or Padma should have the torch. Would you like to carry it?" she asked from Padma. Chese then spotted the good-looking stones and went to the edge of the clearing. Once there, she quickly inspected that the torch was in order and then set it on a patch of non-flammable ground. She then selected two stones and smashed them together until a spark lighted the torch. She the got up with the torch and walked toward the cave. "Are we ready?" She offered the torch to Padma, but was prepared to carry it herself if Padma didn't want to.
"Might I say that this is by far the stupidest thing any person has ever done," Finneun said with a frown. He looked over at Padma. "I will take the back, then, if everyone would like to take the lead." He sniffed once more at the hive, attempting to determine if there was anything other than Exhorians down there. (scent)
With her eyes fixed upon the mouth that the gnarled tree boasted, Az'rim listened to conversation with one ear, while keeping the other trained on the forest around her. With Finneun bringing up the rear she could take a small measure of comfort, trusting in what she perceived as his strong sense of morality. He would not betray them, at least not so clumsily with many Exhorians around. Though the prospect of trekking into the unforgiving silence of the underdark was pleasing to the Dah'kin, these were not the tunnels of Skarrad, nor was she surrounded by swift and silent kinsmen who could conduct their slaughter with efficiency. When Je'retiel shared the same sentiment she gave a small smirk and looked back at him, approval in her eyes as they both disdained their loud, clumsy compatriots. While Chese made the torch Az'rim checked her quiver to arrange the arrows, pulling the flammable ones toward the front, away from the rest. Shrugging it back onto her shoulder, she stood and aligned herself towards the dead tree husk as well. "If there is trouble I intend to break formation and hide," she warned, looking to the humans, who hopefully could tell that her dainty form was not meant to bear the brunt of any blows. "Je'retiel," she said, looking to him plainly. "Stay near to me so that we can use the oils best."
Je'retiel exhaled a tiny but discontented sigh at Finneun's comment. While the dah'kin was far from the exuberantly team-player type, he did understand that the undertaking that loomed before them required at least some semblance of solidarity on behalf of the group for it to be successful. It appeared as if everyone else was on board, however, with Chese lighting the torch and Padma giving her opinion on marching order. He, too, was eager about getting underway, though he didn't really care where he was in the lineup, as long as he was close to his sister and wasn't too close to the torchlight, so his natural abilities in the dark wouldn't be inhibited. He looked out the corners of his eyes to Az'rim and softly nodded his assent to her command, then shifted his expectant attention to Virgil, who had been volunteered for the front.
Virgil looked around at the group once more, blatantly ignoring Finneun's comment, "Alright, well, we need to get going. Are we all ready? I'll head us in," he said. He took a few steps towards the nest then looked back to the group, waiting on them to form up behind him, "Let's get rolling, see if we can't get in there and save Lilee."
Characters
[Ms. Steel] - RoL - Je'retiel Avreh
[Roma] - RoL - Az'rim Avreh
[Sturmi] - RoL - Padma Fatih
[Veltzeh] - RoL - Chese Fenpollen
[Lepellier] - RoL - Virgil Argentus
[Flisky] - RoL - Finneun Bydran
Back to RoL - Test Party
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