An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 65, Status = Pregnant
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 45, Status = Fine

Jenn groaned and sobbed harder against the organic floor upon Ashley's attempt to rouse her, but after another moment of particularly strenuous wracking sobs, the mage rolled to her hands and knees and forced herself to her feet. "I can do that.... Lets just get out of here." Nina, meanwhile, continued to cry weakly as Chloe helped her to her feet. She would need to be led along, but she could at least move her legs.

The three people from the other patrol looked shocked at Ashley's command, but each of them moved to join another group after a moment, leaving their patrol intact. The room had begun to empty, and the six of them huddled together as the other captured patrols began moving out of the crashed alien vessel and into the darkness beyond. It was cold, that was certainly the first thing that any of them noticed, but Charles didn't pause for even a second as the cold washed over them. The crowd began to disperse as they started into the woods, and flashes of lesser magics abounded as people brought up conjurations to ward off the cold and used magic to find a route back to the Academy. "It's a long walk through the dark. Everybody stick together, with this many people around us we should be fine." Charles said confidently, and began to trail after one group of five who had already started off.

They hiked for maybe half an hour when the fog rolled in. It was light at first, wisps of white in the air barely noticeable, but gradually thickened the longer they went. It resisted all attempts to blow it away with magic, which was the first thing that Charles tried after they lost sight of the group ahead. "Dammit..... What the hell is this? Did somebody conjure it?"

"Maybe we should wait a while, or turn back?" Tesnya said, speaking for the first time in a long while. Her voice was hoarse, and she'd been limping along near the back of the group since they'd started. Her stomach had begun to bloat slightly as well, and Nina, Chloe and Jenn sported similar bulges at this point as well. Ashley's stomach was still flat. "No. I don't want to risk some of those damned invisible lizard things stumbling across us again." Charles replied, and then cast a spell that might help them locate the Academy again. He adopted a puzzled expression, and then case it again. "What the..... It's not working!" He exclaimed, just before a scream of terror cut through the mist somewhere ahead of them. An explosion sounded a second later, and then silence.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Tesyna stay close to Nina keep her safe." Not knowing if the Eastern girl even heard her Chloe scanned the darkness and mist while casting her own buff spell to enhance her senses. She hoped to spot the creature that was going to attack them before it spotted them.

Spoiler

Casting Greatest strength level 5 for perception augmented by Focus and Healer talents with a base mind of 42

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Fire magic had never really been Ashley's thing, she tended to be a little bit... overenthusiastic when it came to fire. Great for burning things, not so much for keeping warm. And besides, she wouldn't want to waste magic in case they were attacked again. She also couldn't really raise her Mistcloak. That would also waste magic, but more importantly several of the others might have been pushed over the edge into despair if she managed to hide her body but they couldn't. If everyone was naked, it wasn't so bad. It was still bad, especially with the effect that the cold had on her nipples, but not as bad as when she had been the only one naked.

So she was almost grateful when the fog started coming up. It would hide her from prying eyes, at least a little, and perhaps she could bend it a little bit extra around herself without anyone really noticing. And the stillness of the air would limit the feeling of cold. Then she realized that it would hide things other then herself. She let others try to blow the fog away, but it was quickly obvious that wouldn't work. That probably meant the fog was magical, which in turn probably meant that Charles was right to be wary of an attack, even ignoring the sounds of magical combat that followed.

But what could she do against fog? The sun was traditionally supposed to burn it off, magical or not, but there was nothing to be done about that. A rainstorm might help, but to have a quick effect and fight magic, it would have to be so strong as to limit vision itself. But if they were to limit their attempts to clear the fog to be local, then perhaps something could be done. The illusion-clearing lantern she had learned early in her time at the Academy might not actually help visibility much if the fog was physical, but even in heavy fog it should help stop things sneaking up on the group. With a whisper and a gesture, she conjured one.

Spoiler

Eldritch Lantern (Arcane level 3)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 57/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48)
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 41/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting (Chloe) : Success.
Buff: 7 + 1 = 8 * 6 = +48 Perception.

Casting (Ashley) : Success.

Both Ashley's and Chloe's spells were successful, the wan light of Ashley's lantern allowing them to see a bit further through the cold, clinging mist and Chloe's vision and hearing suddenly intensifying greatly. Neither saw anything moving out in the woods, however, and neither did any of their companions. "C'mon. We've got to go and see what happened," Charles finally said following a few tense moments of scouring their surroundings for threats, and they proceeded forward a short ways through the woods.

They would have stumbled upon the scene of carnage if Chloe hadn't smelled the blood. As it was, she stopped Charles just before he would have tripped over a corpse, having just seen it herself through the thick mists. The body belonged to a young woman, a look of terror on her face and a single massive gash torn into her chest centered right between her breasts. A look of horror crossed the faces of everyone around them, and they all became intensely aware of just how quiet it had become around them. There wasn't a sound of life to be had, not even insects. "OhgodspleasehelpmeOhgodspleasehelpme....." Jenn began to ramble to herself, the shivering that she'd been doing since they left the alien's ship increasing as she seemed ready to collapse and start sobbing again. Charles got over his horror quickly enough, however, and knelt down to examine the corpse. "Those lizards didn't do this..... The cut is too clean, and too deep, and there's only one. It.... It looks like this was made with an axe. And look! The grass around here is burned! That must have been the explosion that we heard."

Chloe spotted two other bodies nearby, both badly charred. One had been beheaded, and the other had a hole in through its chest. There were no signs of any of the weapons that had done this, or any signs of the perpetrator at all for that matter. "I don't like this... This is very wrong." Tesnya muttered, and Nina, pale and shaking as badly as Jenn, whimpered; "Can we... Can we just get out of here? Who would do something like this... What if they're still here, watching us!?"

Neither Chloe nor Ashley saw anyone or anything out in the mist save for trees and underbrush, not even any mysterious dark figures. Jenn was on the verge of collapse, and Nina didn't seem to be much better while Charles and Tesnya were standing as if they were both preparing for a fight.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley looked at the bodies and felt goosebumps rising on her skin, this time not from the cold. The magical explosion might have been invaders or people, but the axe wound... she hadn't seen any invaders wielding weapons, and none had been mentioned on the "tour" before they had left. Almost certainly other humans, then. There seemed to be three possibilities. It could have been simple fear and confusion in the fog. It could have been bandits or similar taking advantage of the chaos of the invasion. Or it could have been people working with the invaders.

After all, they had given Ashley herself a choice even after fighting against them, killing who knew how many in the storm. But others who hadn't fought, or even gone willingly to what they might have seen as the stronger side? Would they have been given the chance to 'serve'? It seemed all but certain that this would be the case, and Ashley could easily imagine people making that choice. For that matter, she could see herself agreeing to serve back on the ship if Matthias hadn't told her help would come. He had failed to mention that it would come after she was raped, but that was an issue for another time.

Ashley moved to comfort her friend again. "Hey, we've come this far, we can make it the rest of the way. And hell, a goddess did help us, yes? She got us out of the ship, now we just have to walk home."

To the rest of the group, she said "They might just have bumped into another group in the fog, and started fighting before they realized it was other humans. It would have been hard to stop. Or it might have been bandits. Or it might have been people working with the invaders. In any of those cases we should keep our eyes peeled and continue back to the Academy as fast as we can. We're in no condition to investigate, much what fight if we don't have to."

Ashley cast another spell, this one the simplest she could think of that would help them navigate out of this fog, one that would point North. It wouldn't do to start wandering in circles, especially after changing directions in an attempt to find the site of this fight.

Spoiler

Point Me (Level 1 Arcane). Use to keep moving in a straight line in the approximate direction of the Academy, keep the Eldritch Lantern up to prevent ambush.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chole gagged as the smell of blood hit her being especially potent do to her enhanced sense but recovered quickly after all this was by far the lest offensive thing that had happen to her this entire night. The freshly slain corpses giving her very uneasy feeling."I agree we should keep moving. Can enhances the senses of two other people if they want." As she waited to see if anyone took her up on her offer Chloe stayed close to Nina whispering soothing words and calm reassurances but couldn't tell if they where for Nina or herself.

Spoiler

Maintaining current buff on self and offer level 3 buffs to perception augmented with Healer and favored school bonuses

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 50/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48)
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 41/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Rolls

Spoiler

Don't need to roll casting, just putting that Charles now has a +32 Perception buff active. Chloe's now paying 4 EP per turn though.

"The more eyes we have open the better. Go ahead Chloe." Charles quietly mutters, but Jenn and Nina shake their heads and Tesnya shrugs and says; "No, thank you, but you should save some of your strength in case we're attacked."

Jenn was still busy muttering to herself and shaking violently, looking very much like she was about to be violently ill, but Nina muttered; "I hope not... That's the last thing that we need, a bunch of terrified mages slaughtering each other in the fog... The whole forest could get burned down, and who knows how many might die."

"Bandits... Would they really be out in this?" Tesnya said, and Charles replied; "It's possible. All are possible, I guess.... But if someone is working with those things already, then.... I don't know. It doesn't bode well, at least. But you're right, we're in no shape to deal with it now. We'd better keep going."

The group, now even more wary than before, started off again, Charles now half carrying Jenn (and making sure to keep close to Ashley, who still held the lantern and was now casting spells to point them in the right direction) while Nina leaned against Chloe. The mists were silent, but not immobile as they passed through the woods. Swirl of air moved around them, and Ashley, familair with magic that moved the wind above all else, could sense now that such was definitely not natural.

The terrain around them remained functionally the same, trees half visible through the mist and underbrush that they only saw moments before walking into it, and nothing to differentiate anything. Whatever was foiling the more direct spell didn't seem to have the same effect on the simpler version at least, so they could still find their way in what they thought was the general direction of the Academy. Suddenly, out of nowhere, they heard a crow caw loudly from somewhere nearby, and the bird took wing a moment later, just barely visible through the mist. Their vision traveled downward, and all of them (or the NPCs at least) gasped as they spotted a lone dark humanoid figure among the twirling vapors. A murder of crows howled suddenly, and the figure dissolved into a flock of the black carrion birds as they took off, leaving a skeletal figure standing behind. Chloe saw what it was through her enhanced vision, but Charles was the first to speak; "It... It was a scarecrow.... What in the hell..."

"Ohgodsohgodsohgodsohgodsohgods....." Jenn as muttering, her eyes now shut tightly. "Lets keep moving... Can we just keep moving?" Nina muttered, her eyes darting about desperately, as if she were looking for a place to hide. "Yeah.... Yeah lets just get the hell out of here." Charles said, and there was fairly unanimous agreement, unless Ashley or Chloe objected.

The group moved a little bit more frantically then, but Chloe and Charles made sure to keep alert. The group all saw the massive looming shape up ahead at once, however, and the mists parted slightly to reveal the church in the decrepit abandoned town, the skeletons of the other buildings half visible through the fog. The doors were hanging wide open in a manner that might have been welcoming in a different environment, under completely different circumstances and if the inside wasn't pitch black. Jenn, who had been leaning on Charles for a while now, took that opportunity to collapse and vomit onto the ground. The contents of her stomach largely being monster cum at the time anyway, so not much of value was lost. "IwannagohomeIwanngohomeIwannagohome....." She muttered, sobbing again, and Charles and Tesnya suddenly took her by the arms and lifted her. "C'mon. This place gives me the creeps.... We ought to just leave. We shouldn't have even passed this place on the way back, especially not from the direction that we were coming from." Charles said, and Tesnya and Nina both nodded their agreement. "This... Is a very bad place."

"I'm starting to agree with Jennifer, more and more...."

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley felt like emptying her own stomach at the sight of the village, which had been creepy enough the first time around. The reminder that her stomach was full entirely of the floating thing's cum didn't help, and for a moment she could almost taste something salty in the back of her throat. The doors were open. Skeletons, crows, and doors that had been stuck shut suddenly open. In an obviously magical fog. And something had screwed with her spell to point her here instead of towards the Academy.

She spoke up. "We were trying to go home, and somehow I doubt it's chance that we found our way here instead of to the Academy. We've got to do something to improve our chances of finding the right way..." She avoided mentioning the door, or the idea that another attempt to go home might just bring them back here, as any more fear would paralyze Jenn entirely, and others might start going the same way.

With that, Ashley turned her concentration to the fog itself, and brought as much of her will to bear as she could with the intent of ripping all magical influence from it. If the fog was entirely an entirely magical construct, it would go away, and if not then it could be dispersed like normal once magic stopped holding it in place. Assuming this worked.

Spoiler

Maximized greater dispel (arcane 3). 7 MP. Includes 'potent spells', and should have the resistance check maximized for Ashley.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe tried to remember her bestiary and magic combat classes desperately trying to recall what sort of creature or opponent could hijack or misguide their spells and after a few moments of thinking spoke up. "Well at lest we know the overgrown road leads out of the forest and unless we are all hallucinating it should be simple to get close to the academy following it and father out of this thrice damned forest." Chloe moved close to Nina hoping her presence would reassure the other mage. She didn't want to think about what might have opened those doors her imagination would simple betray her with some unspeakable horror so while they moved she thought about soft warm and cuddly puppies while keeping an eye on the surrounding trees and ruins.

Spoiler

Maintaining current spells no new ones cast

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 46/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48,) Level 3 Perception Buff (+32) on Charles
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Rolls

Spoiler

Casting: Success!
Resistance: Ashley wins! The fog has been momentarily dispelled.

Perception: Charles, Tesnya and Chloe all see it. Ashley fails by 1. >.>

"You're probably right about that... But who or what could have led us here? If it were servants of the enemy, wouldn't they lead us into a trap somewhere less obvious? Or if it was just random chaos that got those people killed, then we shouldn't have been led here..." Charles murmured, thinking out loud in response to Ashley's words. "Chloe may be right. If we just stick to the road, maybe we'll be able to get out of here, fog or no fog. We followed it here before, didn't we?"

Ashley's spell battered against unseen magical constructs, and only as she started breaking them did she realize just how many of them there were. Someone or something here had gone through the trouble to put up magics to support the layer of fog everywhere, and even though it was sloppy work she could tell just from how difficult the one that she tried to dispel was that their maker was powerful. A section of the fog around them thinned, letting them see more than ten feet in front of their faces at least, and showing them that the windows of the church had been partially boarded up since the last time that they'd seen it. And that the grave they had dug had been dug up, and the skeleton that had been placed within was gone.

"There!" Tesnya suddenly called out and pointed, and Charles swallowed audibly as he followed her instructions. Jenn and Nina didn't even look, the former trembling on the ground while the latter decided to distract herself by moving to comfort the water mage, her own shakes not much better. Ashley didn't see anything, but Chloe, thanks to her enhanced senses, did. A single man shaped figure, partially hunched forward and almost as bulky as one of the alien juggernauts. The mist swirled around it, obscuring any finer details even to Chloe's enhanced sight, but she only had a moment too look at it before it vanished. "What... The hell... Was that?" Charles muttered under his breath, tension evident in the man's voice.

"Not good." Tesnya replied gravely, and the eastern girl's hands had fallen out to their sides. Her tummy had developed a bump already, no doubt as a result of their brief captivity, but she didn't seem to be letting that bother her at all as she prepared for an attack. Charles followed suit a moment later, his gaze casting about for signs of the strange being.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley strained her eyes against the fog, not seeing... whatever it was that the others had seen but not recognized. She had, however, seen the slight bump in Tesnya's belly. The girl was pregnant. That was surprising, given how long she had been raped, and the fact that others had been impregnanted during the first attack, but it did hit home. Each of the other women was probably pregnant. Remembering the feeling of being filled with the floating thing's spunk, Ashley had to admit that this also included herself. She wasn't showing, but it had been less time since the opportunity for her, and the others were just barely distinguishable. She didn't feel pregnant, but it might be hours before she knew for sure. Just one more thing to deal with.

But the other worries were such that she was happy to ignore them for a moment. The fog was a patchwork spell, and she didn't have the energy to dispel every piece even if the originator didn't just start bringing it back up. And the person behind it was powerful. Between that and the apparent necromancy, they might be a serious problem. The idea that it was Badaria's Lich king popped up, but there was no motive. Most likely he would be defending his capital if this was worldwide. And even if he had fled to the Academy as a place with enough concentrated magic to hold, he wouldn't be attacking. It could have been another of the floating invaders, but she had matched wills with them once and come out ahead, and several had died since then. A more chilling thought was Cornelius, the old wizard she had met in Artmirst. He had been powerful, capable of the sort of sustained large-scale magic that animated the fog, and the things he had done to souls probably meant he wouldn't be squeamish about animating the dead. And his daughter could have contacted him so that he would know about the invasion here, and he would probably want to come and study... and not care if a few students got in his way. But he hadn't attacked Ashley when she stumbled into his lab.

That was still the best guess she had, but what of it? If he was responsible for bringing them here he'd hardly just let them go for asking. Guessing who was responsible wouldn't help if it didn't suggest a plan. Announcing their position as loudly as possible would be... well, not an amazing plan, but given that the bad guys had sent her here, it would probably only tell other students new information, which was good. But not really much better then throwing fireballs into the fog. Or just running in the direction she thought the academy was. Or the opposite direction. Crap.

"We could... Dead Gods, I have no idea. Yell really loudly and hope whoever made this fog already knows where we are? Please tell me someone has a better idea then that..."

Spoiler

Gah, this is a tricky one. At least we can't get stealth attacked?

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Chloe tried her best not to whimper her fright slowly starting to overpower her courage. "Charles if there is going to be a fight I need to conserve my energy. Can you enhance your own senses?" If he couldn't Chloe would drop her own enhancements. She didn't like the idea of being blind in this fog but she wasn't so sure if she wanted to see the thing stalking them either.

She did her best to think of something better than shouting for help but was coming up short on ideas. This thing what ever it maybe was doing its best to make sure that it couldn't be seen and the magic fog was keeping everyone on on edge insuring that every little noise caused made them jump. It didn't help that the half glimpsed shadows and an open grave where the only thing they've been able to see for the last few minutes. In a place that they had all found creepy to begin with. Maybe that was the key.

What if the creature needed to feed on their emotional state any other creature even a demon would have attacked by now and the aliens wouldn't have been so intent on this cat and mouse game. "Any of you know of a creature or demon that feeds of fear?" it wasn't much but Chloe was out of ideas. If it was such a creature than denying it need would entice it to either attack or find other prey. Of course she could be wrong and it could very well just be some sick psycho taking this opportunity to indulge its self. Either way a bold statement would hopefully clear the tensions and bring this situation to a head and if she was good at anything it was making bold statements even if they didn't really turn out to be true.

Moving next to Ashly she yelled "GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY I'M TIRED OF WAITING KILL US OR LET US GO HOME!" With that Chloe began to ready one of her offensive spells.

Spoiler

Dropping buff on Charlies if he doesn't object if he dose dropping Chloe's perception buff on herself instead. I'm not sure if I can ready an action but if I can it will be Flash Grenade against creepy thing trying to kill us

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 43/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48)
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

"You want to shout at the thing trying to kill us!?" Jenn spat suddenly from the ground, "Are you fucking crazy Ashley!?" Charles shook his head; "I don't think that's a -" He was promptly interrupted by Chloe yelling out into the wall of fog, and when she had finished he quietly finished; "- very good idea." The man sighed, having nodded when Chloe has asked if she could drop the buff on him and then cast one of his own.

There was no movement or sound for several long moments, their entire group waiting to see what would happen following Chloe's shout. Finally, a short thud sounded from somewhere far off and out in the mist, followed by a series of inhuman growls and cries punctuated from time to time by another thud. It sounded almost like a fight, if a very brief one as the sounds stopped after less than a minute, the last few seconds being nothing more than a series of the strange wet thuds.

"I have heard of no demons who feed on fear," Tesnya began, "But some spirits I have heard of do so, or attempt to frighten their prey in order to weaken them." She had whispered, but with the silence surrounding them and the thick wetness in the air the volume of the foreign girl's voice was magnified. Nina, as she helped Jenn to her feet, spoke up; "I've never heard of anything like that... What do you know Te-"

"Look out!" Charles suddenly cried just before a dull green something came hurtling out of the fog directly at them. He grabbed Ashley and Chloe and pulled both of them backwards - groping both of them on the chest to do so - and out of the path of the object. It landed a few feet in front of them with a loud thump and rolled toward them, coming to a stop directly at their feet. A quick inspection of the fallen creature allowed all of them to recognize it as one of the stealthy reptilian aliens, and it didn't take much of an inspection to realize that the creature was dead. The monsters skull had been cloven in half, and pink-grey brain matter and blood spilling out onto the ground at their feet. "What... What in the hell?" Charles muttered, and then another green alien corpse came flying through the air, this one landing slightly past them right next to Jenn, causing her and Nina to jump back and away. This one had a half dozen deadly looking gashes in its torso, ribs and organs exposed from the vicious wounds. Another corpse came flying at them a moment later, and this last monster was followed by its own severed head.

This time, they all say the dark figure standing out in the fog, an axe hanging from its hand. They could see the blood dripping off of it from where they stood nearly a hundred feet away. It was still barely visible besides that however, and it almost seemed like the thing's bloodied weapon caused the mist to recoil away from it. The black figure took a single step forward, the dull thump of its foot hitting the ground audible even from this distance.

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

During the long moments of silence Chloe could feel her checks turning red from her embarrassment. She had been wrong nothing was coming out of the fog to get them and everyone else probably wouldn't speak to her again. She was starting to turn away from the fog to apologize when Charlies grabbed her boobs. She released an umphed at the sudden and strong contact which came out more like ummm which further made her skin flush crimson. But thankfully her embarrassment didn't last long as the severed head landed and came to rest at their feet. No words came to her mouth she just stood their in shock as the creature made its slow advance through the fog. She was right for once in this entire trip she had been right though now she was starting to wish she wasn't.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley pulled herself away from Charles, pulling a damp leaf off her ass angrily. Maybe he had just been trying to help, but it had been in poor taste even so, considering what they had just been through. Then she saw what had come flying at her, a dead invader. Her first thought was relief, if the thing in the fog was attacking invaders, then they weren't facing the magical talents of the invaders trying to recapture the escaped prisoners, and the thing might even be on their side... then she remembered the first bodies they had found. With very similar wounds, and certainly not invaders. So the thing probably wasn't friendly.

The most obvious action was to attack, now that it was in sight they could start throwing magic at it. Except that if it wasn't hostile already, it certainly would be then. Perhaps it only killed the other mages because they attacked it when they came upon it suddenly in the fog. And, of course, every sign said that the dead group they had found had tried to attack it with magic, and failed. Which made sense, if this thing was responsible for the fog, or was a minion of whatever was making the fog.

Ignoring it also didn't seem like a great idea. Something had screwed up Ashley's direction spell to draw them here, and nothing had changed the conclusion that simply trying to leave wouldn't likely work. The idea of a bluff was more appealing, but creating the illusion of a large number of people was beyond Ashley's skill, and after Chole's shout just hiding wouldn't be likely to work. And besides, that would entail dismissing the Eldritch Lantern, which was probably a bad idea if there were more then just the three Hunters nearby.

Which left only one final option, and one Ashley didn't much like. She took a very small step forward, and spoke up. "What do you want with us?" She also raised a hand in a placating gesture, and silently readied herself for the thing to charge. If it did charge, her best bet would be to immobilize the thing as quickly as possible, leaving herself and all her allies free to beat on it until it gave up. If this was the same entity that was responsible for the fog, then she had already matched her will against it once, and would at least stand a chance of paralyzing it with a simple ray, if she fully focused on the task. Just so long as this was the only one.

Spoiler

Try to talk to it. If it decides to attack instead of talking back, then we're going for the Maximized Ray of Paralysis (Arcane 2).

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 43/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48)
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

Another thump, and the creature was another step closer to them. It didn't respond at all to Ashley's question, but it didn't charge. Another heavy step, and Charles brought up his hands much like Ashley and Tesnya already had. The axe started coming up, black blood dripping from its edge as it reached up to the creature's shoulder.

The being paused at the edge of the fog, still somehow shrouded completely from their view even though it was much closer now. All of them felt the magic at work just before the construct that Ashley had dispelled was suddenly replaced, and the area around them was filled with a thick layer of fog, such that they could barely see one another, and the mysterious being vanished from sight completely. They heard another thumping footstep a moment later, but this time it seemed to echo from all around them, making its direction impossible to determine. Charles, however, didn't hesitate for another moment before hurling a ball of green light at the spot where the figure had been standing when the fog had rolled in, and the light cast by it allowed them to follow its progress. It streaked away, passing the spot where the being had been when they'd last seen it and revealing that it simply wasn't there any more.

Another echoing footstep, and Charles was visibly sweating now as he muttered; "Shit... This isn't good....."

"Can anyone sense it?" Tesnya said quietly, and indeed Chloe felt a draw toward their right.... Until another thumping footstep had it coming from their left. Jenn and Nina closed with the rest of the group, until they formed a circle with an empty center. Ashley's magical lantern cast its pale light out into the fog, allowing them to see farther and more clearly than they could without its presence, but the being still wasn't within sight of them. Another thump and it was in front of them again, but only Chloe knew that since it hadn't yet entered into the range of Ashley's light. "We can't stay out here and wait for it... That thing is going to kill us just like it did those others!" Tesnya whispered, and Jenn cringed and panic edged into her voice when she replied; "Which way to you suggest we go then!? We can't even fucking see it!"

 

[ranger]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

"Okay whoa everyone stay as calm as we can its to our front. The thing is using the fog somehow to telport all around us if we freak out and run it would just pick us off one by one. We need to stick close to the light I don't think it likes it..... Maybe if we create a few more lanterns the thing will stay away from us and we could follow the road out?" Chloe had to admit it was a weak plan at best but she did truly feel that the light was offering them some sort of protection and cursed herself for not studying harder there was no way she could create a similar lantern and she couldn't think of any similar spell that she could cast. The creature confronting them was an enigma she had never encountered such a thing before which didn't really say much considering the most adventuring she had ever done was a fairly safe trip to the academy itself. But it was faintly reminiscent of a scary story she had once read about a mad alchemist creating a potion that turned himself into horrible monster but this wasn't a book and a peaceful night of sleep wasn't the only thing she might lose because of this creature.

Spoiler

not sure what I can do to help the situation right at the moment guess Ill help Jen or Nina move along if we decided to

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley let out a frustrated sigh. "We could go into the church. It would be easier to defend ourselves with a few walls around us, even if there's something nasty inside... well, we know there's something nasty out here."

In the mean time, Ashley drew a mental circle around the group, striving to put it a few feet beyond the light from her lantern. When it was complete, she touched it lightly with power, feeling tension like the surface of a bubble. If anything living passed through it, the magic would leak out through the hole at the point of entry. Not enough to do damage, but a little light and sound would identify the location of the penetration. She added the image of herself and her companions, setting it such that they could pass through without triggering the alarm.

Spoiler

Alarm (Arcane 1). I don't see any size or distance limits on it, or restrictions on triggers or non-damaging results.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Spoiler

Chloe: HP = 65, PP = 56, EP = 40/65, Status = Pregnant, Level 5 Perception Buff (+48)
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 34/45, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern

The presence continued to stand still just outside of the light cast by Ashley's magical lantern, and Charles and Tesnya quickly nodded at Ashley's suggestion and began to back toward the church. "I can seal the entrance if we can get there. I don't know if it will hold against that thing out there, but it should buy us some time at least." Tesnya muttered quietly, and Charles, who was still in front, said; "Anything's better than standing around out here, waiting for it. Chloe make sure that Jenn and Nina stay with us."

They slowly backed out of Ashley's field, and only then did the being step into the magical circle she'd created, a bright flash and accompanying sounds briefly illuminating the dark figure but doing little more than confirming its humanoid shape. Chloe could sense it suddenly shoot forward, but all of them heard its heavy footsteps thudding against the ground as it began to charge. "Move!" Nina and Jenn scrambled to their feet with some help from Chloe, and the six of them booked it for where they thought that the entrance to the church was. The thunderous footsteps of the creature stalking them following right behind audible over the sounds of the alarm that Ashley had left behind, the silhouette of the chapel quickly came into view ahead of them as they ran.

They just barely reached it in time, Charles pausing at the entrance to yank the door closed. It shook with the force of a powerful impact a heartbeat later, forcing Charles back a step but not opening the door, but Tesnya quickly put up a wall of white light in front of the door. The portal shook with another impact but then went silent, leaving their heavy breathing as the only sound in the abandoned church. "Too close.... How long can you keep that wall up?" Charles said quietly as he turned to Tesnya, keeping his eyes pointedly centered in her face. "For a while, but not forever." She replied, and then turned to survey the room.

Jenn and Nina had been the first in, followed immediately by Ashley and Chloe while Charles and Tesnya had taken up the rear. They were in the main chamber of the church, a long and wide chamber with a high ceiling. There were no light sources inside, and as it was still the dead of night they couldn't see much inside, but at least there was no mist to speak of inside. The floor and walls were filthy with dirt and dust, and the vague outlines of the pews were still visible thanks to the light cast by Ashley's magical lantern. Far off, on the opposite side of the room, they could see the shadow of the altar sitting on a slightly raised area. There were closed doors, rust evident on the hinges even in the darkness, on either side of them, but there was no way to tell what might lay beyond. The forest outside was quiet save for the occasional caw of a crow and the chorus of the insects and other night creatures, and the church was even more so.

"Do you think it's gone?" Jenn whispered, still obviously afraid but slightly less so now that they were inside, but Tesnya immediately replied; "No. It's still out there, somewhere. Probably looking for another way into this place. We should try to make this place safer, and wait until daylight. Many dark creatures are made dormant by the light of the sun, and even if this one isn't it will be safer to travel during the day." She paused, and then patted her engorged belly, "And perhaps we'll be free of a few burdens by then." Jenn and Nina looked about to be sick, looking down at their own pregnant bellies with very troubled faces. "Yeah... We'll have to check this chamber and find out what's behind those doors. Who knows, maybe we'll find some clothes.... Or something to cover us up with at least." Charles interjected, sounding perhaps a little bit more hopeful than a lone man should be when alone with five attractive nude young women.

"Maybe we should split up?" He continued, and Tesnya slowly turned toward him and looked at Charles like he was an idiot. The man didn't notice, however, as he was looking at Ashley and Chloe for their opinion on the matter. Perhaps surprisingly, Jenn was the first to speak; "The sooner this place is sealed up, the better.... Maybe it's not such a bad idea to split into smaller groups?" Nina remained silent, her expression still troubled.

 

[thetwo]

Re: An Unforseen Storm (ranger and thetwo)

Ashley didn't much like the idea of splitting up, but it wasn't like the church was big enough that they'd be out of hearing range. "Well, there are six of us and this church didn't look that big. Two people could check each door while the other two made sure we didn't miss anything in here. Nobody would be alone, and we'd all hear if anyone screamed. And holding *this* door doesn't help much if it turns out there's a wide-open back door, so we should do this quickly, I think."

"But first I think we need a more permanent solution to this door. Let me see..."

Ashley reached into the earth below them, and found water easily enough. And the air was cold enough to be a hindrance, so melting probably wouldn't be a problem. "Yes, we should be able to freeze it shut, as long as that thing doesn't try to bash the door down while we're working."

She turned to look down the aisle towards the two doors. "Jenn's the expert when it comes to water, so me and her can work on reinforcing the door. Once it's stuck shut, the four of you can explore behind those doors while Jenn and I put a little more ice on the door, then explore the main chamber. If you see other doors out or any kind of basement or catacomb, stop exploring and come back for the rest of us."

Spoiler

The plan is:
1.) Everyone sticks together until Tesnya's barrier is replaced with at least a basic ice barrier.
2.) Charles, Chole, Nina, and Tesnya between them explore behind the two doors.
3.) Ashley and Jenn reinforce the door a bit more, then explore the main chamber.

Three cheers for free level 1 spells?