Enemy Encampment (Part 2)
Dolan is about to open his mouth, when Andelena beats him to it. He shoots her a sharp look and a wicked grin that splits from ear to ear as she starts rapid-firing questions at Verna. _Perfect, baby,_ he says to himself. _I'll distract him and we can get out of here before this gets worse._ Using Ous' distraction as a distraction in its own right, he pads up as quietly as he can behind Zinskas, pulling the blindfold that Andie had used on him a scant few minutes ago from his beltpouch and moving to slip it over his head -
And utterly missed, the man just a shade too fast for him. "Holy Knight, see us through to Your light, and to safety," he breathes. Nothing they're doing is having any useful effect at all, so it might be - as it has so often been lately - time to turn to a higher power.
"No." Replies Verna to one of the questions posed to her, and Dace Zinkas turns toward Telamon's voice briefly. "No. Yes. Define 'best'. By definition no. Importance is defined by individuals." Zinkas growls low in his throat and stubbornly heads toward Verna, not even seeming to notice Dolan's effort only... Everyone is visible now and Ous definitely has his attention for a moment. "Oh. If you can take it... Take it." With that he brushes past Ous defiantly and marches up to Verna.
GAME: Ous rolls fortitude: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Ous rolls fortitude: (2)+5: 7 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (6): 6 GAME: Telamon used a Rod of Normal Persistent. GAME: Telamon casts Suffocation. Caster Level: 14 DC: 22 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (2)+18: 20 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (6)+18: 24 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (9)+18: 27 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+18: (5)+18: 23 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (1): 1 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (6): 6 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (17): 17 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (14): 14
Telamon appears, holding a metamagical rod in his hand. Hovering a foot or so off the ground, his hair drifting in the breeze. As Zinskas approaches Verna, he snarls, "You do not... touch... my FAMILY!" Pointing at Zinskas with the rod, he chants the spell, the killing magic, and suddenly the priest comes to a stop, as the air is drawn out of his lungs by the terrible incantation. "No one threatens my family with impunity," he rasps icily.
Zinkas falls to the ground, gasping for air, and then his breath rushing out of him. His eyes roll back in his head and then... Something happens. The air goes cold. The feeling of being _watched_ is pervasive. It's a feeling like a cold wind down your spine, and suddenly Verna stops talking, blinks and comes back to herself. The feeling of being wrapped up in safety leaves Telamon, and Zinkas starts to breathe. Though he's still not conscious.
GAME: Telamon rolls spellcraft: (7)+16: 23
Andelena... looks at this arrangement in sheer and utter astonishment. Dace Zinskas is down. DOWN, on the ground. She grabs Dolan's hand and she grabs Jacob's hands. (Okay everyone. Listen the fuck up. We are getting out of here now and we are getting out of here fast. Take hands and form up in a circle so Telamon can get us home. NOW.)
(Verna! Ous! Come, it's time to leave! Swiftly!) Telamon hovers near the group, beckoning to the others to huddle together. His hands ready to cast.
Dolan doesn't need to be told twice, although nobody else is in reach. (We woke up big bad and ugly, my friends. We need to get out of here. _Now_. Take my hand.)
GAME: Ous rolls fortitude: (18)+1: 19 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (2): 2
Holding tightly to the pouch he had taken from the giant of a man, Ous begins going pale. As Zinkas pushes past him, Ous drops to a knee. Raising his hand slowly to look at the pouch in his hand, the ranger nods and stuffs it in his shirt as he replies to the big man. "That, or Aye die tryin' ye big prick." Granted that would probably have been a lot more epic and brave of a comeback if the recipient weren't currently unconscious (Aye'm coming...Aye'm coming. Jest give me a moment..)
So standing was out of the question. When did his armor get so heavy anyways? (Maybe jes' a quick nap first though. Did ye get yer friend away?) Even as he was chatting in his mind, the ranger began dragging his heavy ass towards the others.
Shit. This is bad. Jacob has magic ready to fire...when Telamon seems to quite literally suck the breath out of Zinskas lungs and he collapses to the ground! (We won't have another chance!) Jacob remarks through the telepathic link, his hand suddenly grabbed by Andelena and he nods at her, gripping her hand tight and taking a defensive posture as he reaches for hands. (Ready, willing, and able.)
GAME: Verna rolls spellcraft+4: (13)+36+4: 53
One moment they were sneaking to a cave. The next moment... peace. The most peaceful near-dream Verna has experienced in... months?
Then the happy feeling is gone and she is ...blasted(?) back to the present. Reality. Chaos? "Ah!" It is a moment of sensory overload as she re-orients to find everyone huddled up. At least she can quickly hypothesize a likely reason as to why... yet something unraveled whatever was before. "Whatever freed me is still here, still eating away at magic! We may not wish to leave from here!"
GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/arcana: (15)+14: 29 GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/arcana: (12)+9: 21 GAME: Telamon casts Greater Teleport. Caster Level: 14 DC: 24
Telamon can -feel- it. Cold and oppressive. Like a damp blanket. "It's not a creature, it's... some kind of abjuration. A dispelling." He focuses, then a thought comes to mind. And then he opens his haversack, and pulls out the totem. The totem of Eluna, of dreams.
"Ni'essa Sky-singer, I come to you as a supplicant. Take us from this place, help us to continue the battle against the Hound." That said, he chants, "Anungal, kaskal, nu siten, ula'ulla!" There's a crackle of light, but nothing happens -- at first.
The totem in Telamon's grasp begins to glow with a white light, and then the faint illumination comes to an end rather abruptly as a golden dragon pops into existence in front of Telamon and the rest of the group. She hovers there for an instant and flashes her teeth. "I help!" She declares with wild enthusiasm. Her golden eyes glow with it. Then she's zipping off... Toward the mountain-wolf? Oh no.
"It's Tanith!" Dolan shouts suddenly, as the little golden dragon appears. "Tanith, can you get us all out of here?!" he shouts, desperately, then glances back at the cave. "Quick, let's try to get out of that thing's sight!" He tugs on hands, trying to pull Ous and Andelena towards the cave they'd so recently left.
Groggily Zinkas starts to waken rolling onto his side and glaring at the group as they start toward his cave. "GIVE IT BACK." He yells.
Tanith meanwhile wheels back around and heads for Dolan. "Can help!" She offers lightly, looking at all of the people and landing finally on Ous. "You first!" She pops out of existence, taking the man with her to... somewhere. Who knows where.
(Everyone IN THE DAMN CAVE,) Andelena barks over the telepathic bond, rushing in as fast as her feet will allow.
Right behind Andelena, Telamon chivvies the others. (Inside! Inside! We can defend better there and once this dispelling fades I can pull us out -- or Tanith can.) He presses a kiss to the totem before putting it back. "Thank you, Ni'essa. This is a wondrous thing."
Dirk slowly creeps back towards the cave, following Telamon's direction. He lifts his thunderbelcher and holds it trained on Dace's form. "Just you remember, boyo, I could've blown yer filthy wee head off yer twiggy wee shoulders any time I wanted to," he snarls, trying to sound brave. But his knuckles are white around the stock of his gun, matching his pale cheeks. "So don't you try anything hinky, or I might just do it anyway!"
When the others break for the cave, so does Dolan, and not until he is fully inside the cave does he fish his own statue from his pack, staring worriedly with a lone brown eye as Tanith takes just one person. (Let's try to use the totems to get us out of here. We can't wait for Tanith to get us all out one by one!)
GAME: Jacob casts Magic Stone. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14 GAME: Jacob rolls ranged: (8)+5: 13 GAME: Jacob rolls ranged: (8)+5: 13 GAME: Jacob rolls ranged: (18)+5: 23
Ous lays on his face somewhere else, quietly singing vaguely lewd songs while he waits for everyone else.
Just when Verna thought she had acclimated to the chaos of the situation, more chaos arrives. Little, golden, adorable chaos. It could be far, far worse. (Moving!) She heads in with the others after watching Ous taken ...elsewhere, helping with pushing as able. Which is to say, not very able. All the more reason she is glad that Tanith carried him, as Verna could not. As she moves, still a bit uncertain of magic, or perhaps herself, at this moment, she pulls her backup by withdrawing a rarely-witnessed dragonspitter.
(On you!) Jacob replies immediately to Telamon and Andelena, picking up three pebble-like stones on his way back as he stares Zinskas in the eyes. "No." and he charges the pebbles with some kind of magic and he throws them. While they should be rocks, they fly forward with the speed of sling bullets....that is, they /should/. Two of them pink off of this beast's armor and the last one hits him square in the forehead hard enough to leave a mark. "Damn." He mentions then. Okay, he needs to think his actions through better.
GAME: Telamon casts Telekinesis. Caster Level: 14 DC: 22
As everyone piles in, Telamon gestures deftly, touching his robe, and the haversack. (I don't think we need any more adoring fans in here,) he comments sardonically. Suddenly, a hexagonal pattern of shimmering lines appears, expanding to block the entryway to the cave before fading into invisibility.
GAME: Andelena rolls Wisdom: (12)+4: 16 GAME: Dirk rolls Wisdom: (6)+3: 9 GAME: Dolan rolls wisdom: (20)+3: 23 GAME: Telamon rolls wisdom: (6)+1: 7 GAME: Verna rolls wisdom: (9)+7: 16
Dolan and Andelena act almost as if in concert, Dolan studiously _not_ looking around him, keeping his eyes on the floor as he reaches with both hands, one for Verna, one for Jacob. (Jacob, sometimes the best thing to do is run,) he thinks over the link, fire lancing through his shoulder as he lifts his arm to find the cleric. (Andie, grab me!)
"Hold right the fuck still, married man," Andelena warns Telamon, even as she takes his hand and grabs for Dolan's right wrist in turn.
Suddenly, just as Andelena's hand lays on his wrist, something hits Dolan. "Tanith, take us all the same place you took Ous!" he shouts.
Tanith's eyes go wide as saucers as she looks at all the people she's suddenly expected to teleport. She beats her wings as she hovers in midair and looks for a moment like she might say that she can't do it, but she suddenly flies to Telamon's shoulder and nods. "I HELP!" She says this in a loud firm voice and then... You're all beside a lake. There's a forest, but the edge of the lake is wide and clear. It looks like a perfect spot to go swimming.
The only thing is... aside from Ous laying on the ground looking like he's been hit by a cart, is that you are not sure where the little dragon has brought you. There's a mountain in the distance you don't recognize. Standing all alone on its own. As someone from another land might say...
You're not in Alexandria anymore.
And Tanith is sound asleep.
As people begin to appear, Ous lifts his head slightly, followed by a hand, barely off the ground as he speaks in a weak, tired voice. "If ye are all me reward for 'avin' lived a chaste an' productive life, Aye wan' a do-over." Squinting at the group a little harder, he adds. "Except ye. Ye are easy on th' eyes Aye dinnae mind sayin'" Who he is referring to, is anyone's guess.
Telamon opens his mouth to say something, but then Tanith is there. Still, he has confidence in her -- she's hauled groups around before. Then there's the familiar sense of traveling without moving, almost second nature to the sorcerer.... and then they are somewhere else.
Tel looks around bemusedly, turning in a slow circle. Careful not to disturb the slumbering dragon on his shoulders. "Well," he says. "At least we're clear, but..." He pauses. Then he tenses. "Oh shit." He reaches up, touching his brow. "I can't sense Lana. That means--" He stares around again. "Oh boy. We're not on Ea."
Dirk grunts as his boots hit the ground once again. The first thing he notices is that the oppressive evil of Caracoroth's herald is no longer bearing down on him. The next thing he notices is the pristine beauty of the surroundings. His expression becomes one of quiet awe as he slowly reaches up to tip back his tricorne. "Beards o' me -fathers-," he breathes quietly. "That's nae forest -I've- ever seen afore!" He looks up and around at his friends. "Where... where -are- we?"
He whirls as he hears Ous stirring, whipping up his thunderbelcher on pure reflex. But seeing that it is, in fact, only Ous, he lowers the weapon with a nervous laugh. "Och, I dinnae think a yuge lug like you could sneak up on me like that!" His laughter grows with mirth at the Aesir's commentary. "Chaste -and- productive? Och, that's about as borin' as it gets, innit?"
Telamon's statement, however, has the burly old snowbeard looking up at his friend with wide eyes. "Wha... not on Ea? Well then where the hell -are- we? Over the bloody rainbow?"
GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/the planes: (17)+11: 28 GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/the planes: (1)+4: 5 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Jacob rolls knowledge/the planes: (20)+5: 25 GAME: Dirk rolls Knowledge/The Planes: (2)+3: 5
Verna braces herself for the re-orientation, though is yet surprised at their new location. Telamon's words do not lessen the surprise, though offer some possible clue. "We may well be in another realm, then." She looks to the dozing dragonette. "It could have exhausted her." Her concern, now, however, is Ous. She moves to him, stowing her weapon to tend to him. His comment is mostly ignored. He is more likely to be referring to Andelena or Dirk.
It takes a moment... But Andelena's senses catch up with the reality of what's happening. The environment, the fact they're safe thanks to Tanith...
"Thanks, but Bry's taken," Andelena replies to Ous with a relieved grin on her face. And then she looks around. And she presses her lips together into a line.
"Hey. Married man." She turns to Telamon. "Bry, too. Where the fuck are we? If this is Quelynos again, I'm going to be so damn mad."
GAME: Verna rolls heal: (2)+20: 22
(Yeah, no kidding.) Jacob remarks to Dolan as he drops the other pebbles. "Come on!" And he reaches to link up with the others and quickly, the group manages to get the FUCK out of there.
Only....they arn't in Ea anymore.
Jacob's eyes widen when he takes a long look around the place. "This...cannot be." He looks around, his eyes alight in wonder. "My friends, we're not on Ea anymore. It's true." As for the question that Dirk asks? "My friends, welcome to Quelynos...the realm of the fairies." He turns to Telamon. "I thought your spell was to take us to Alexandria. But it appears the disruption we experienced caused other effects?"
"Sorry, baby." Dolan sounds absolutely certain, looking around him, then at once over at Tanith and then at Andelena. "That's exactly where we are, and we'd better take a minute, 'cause _he_ looks like shit." Truthfully, his heart's still pounding in his own chest, and he lowers his own arm, right hand reaching for left shoulder to hold it firmly, over the brace, grimacing. "Probably better this way. Us not being on the same plane makes us a damn sight more difficult for Dace Zinskas to find. Not impossible, but we'll make him work a little harder."
Dirk glances around at the others. Blink. Blink blink. Lulu perks her head out of his inner cloak pocket and flutters her ear-feathers. "Hoo?" She hops out and wings up onto his shoulder, and starts blithely preening her wing. "Wait a tick. Quelynos? Faerieland? Och, we're nae goin' tae go to sleep an' wake up back in Alex a hundred years later, are we?" He pauses, then, then turns white as milk. He puts a hand to his bandolier. "-Fuck-," he whispers tightly.
Telamon is twitching a bit, rubbing his temples. Mumbling to himself. "She's still there. She's still there. Just have to get back to Ea--" He snaps out of his muttering at the others' comments. "Quelynos?" He glances at the dragon perched on his shoulder again (still asleep).
He swallows, trying to get a grip on himself. "Alright. It's not great, but it beats facing down Zinskas and his gigantic wolf friend. I do know a couple folks here though." He cocks an eye at Dolan and Andelena. "Er... maybe crashing at Grandfather's place can be a 'plan B', though."
GAME: Andelena rolls Heal: (14)+12: 26
Verna starts to examine Ous, but the moment that Quelynos is mentioned, she becomes ... distracted. One hand reaches into her hood to scratch at a sudden itch behind her ear. Which sparks worse. "Your body was irreparably damaged by the totem and the Red Maw's corruption upon it." She reaches hastily, and a bit clumsily into her robes to retrieve a small plaque and charcoal pencil. “This is a next of kin and disposition of remains form. It should be completed quickly. If needed, I can scribe while you dictate..."
Still laying face down (unless Verna moved him) Ous raises a hand with his eyes half open. "I dinnae think th' big wolf would hae been a problem...Teeth were too big tae bite something as small as we."
Closing one eye as he watches Verna, the ranger smiles a bit. "Dyin' am Aye? Well, Aye've no kin. De ye have a use for a bow maybe? or a couple of axes?"
Andelena looks up into the Quelynos sky and presses her lips together again. She looks over to Telamon and... confusion, and then a sort of exasperation crosses her features. "Telamon, do I _want_ to know why the fuck you're calling someone who lives here in this realm 'Grandfather'? No, you know what, you know people, why am I even surprised."
She looks at Verna. And then she looks at Ous for a long minute. "Ok, for the love of the Knight and his lady, slow your go with the Mourner protocol, yeah? Lemme look at him. Something's weird here." Which goes without saying for Quelynos, but she kneels down beside Ous and inspects him, carefully flipping him over to get a look both at him and at the totem.
Then she looks back up at Verna. "Okay. You're correct. He _should_ be dying. But for some reason, he's fine here. I repeat, _here_. I'm not sure if we wanna go running through the woods if he's fine here in this spot."
Andelena rubs her hand across her face. "I don't fucking know. I'm not used to any of this... fae horseshit."
GAME: Dolan casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 7 DC: 13
Jacob nods at Telamon. "Yeah. Quelynos." He clears his throat, slowly breathing as his mind tries to confront the fact that he's on /another plane/. "I've read so much about this place but...I never thought I would ever actually /be here/. He tilts his head at Telamon though. "...grandfather? You have relatives here?" He looks baffled, but he shakes his head. "I...don't have the mystical knowledge to get us out of here."
So he looks around, and he finds himself next to Ous. "Hey my friend.” He looks up to Verna. "How can I help?"
"I know who he means, baby." Dolan's smile at Andelena is soft, but he continues to look around them, thoughtfully. "What's causing that corruption? Can he attune it and get rid of it? Or is there some other means?" He drops his right hand and reaches for his holy symbol, murmuring a prayer. "Holy Knight, open my eyes. What magics are worked in this place?"
Dirk gulps hard and snatches his hand from his chest, tucking it behind his back. He looks up and over at Telamon. He looks a bit worriedly at Ous as Verna makes that grim pronouncement--but once again, he finds himself boggled, perhaps even baffled, at Andalena's observation. "So... if we can cleanse 'im of the taint, he should be a'right if--" He stops, and gives himself a shake. "When. -When- we get back tae Alex."
Looking between Verna and Andelena, Ous raises an eyebrow. it's then that Dirk's previous words get through to the ranger, so he begins to sit up, realizes that takes more energy than he's willing to expend and lays back again. "It was an interesting life Dirk. An' mmmmaybe not as chaste as aye maye have let on..." Laying there for a moment, the tall aesier looks between the ladies again. "Listen. Aye dinnae weather Aye'm supposed tae kick off or keep breathin' here...If it's all th' same tae ye, Aye'll give the keep breathin; a go for now, unless it would really be disappointin' tae ye mourner. Before I do die though. What is a Red Maw, an' what is in this bag?"
"He's my wife's distant ancestor. He prefers to be called Grandfather." Telamon is clearly working on collecting his scattered thoughts, instead of interfering with Andie and Jacob as they work on Ous. "When," he states firmly to Dirk, grinning.
"In the meantime, though..." he pauses. "You know, I don't know if this will work -here- but it might get his attention." Tel moves away a bit, and begins scribing a complex diagram in the earth by the lakeshore. Then he settles his hands on his knees, and begins to meditate.
Verna stows the plaque and pencil after Andelena's comment and doffs her hood to reveal a frown below brow wrinkled in uncertainty. A gloved hand rubs her face. "It is this place. I- Grandfather..." That is one pleasant aspect of this realm, at least. She pauses for a deep breath, focusing now on Ous' question. Facts. These are good and can be provided. "Caracoroth, The Red Maw, The Nightmare, is a god of chaos and terror such that the other gods imprisoned it. The lycanthropes are Its servants, Its children, seeking to release It. The item in the bag is likely one of the totems binding It. I may be able to purge the corruption from you, and return us to Alexandria."
GAME: Dolan rolls fortitude: (16)+12: 28
"Go ahead and do it," Andelena says, looking more than wary of the place as she looks around a moment more. She stares at a particular part of the trees for a moment and then she tears herself away. "We need to get out of here quickly. I don't care how nice Telamon's wife's ancestor is--I want to go home."
She looks weary. "I want to see my cats. And cuddle up with Bry on the couch." It's a surprisingly tender admission.
"Hold on a minute - augh!" Abruptly, Dolan throws his arm up to cover his eyes, dropping his holy symbol and dropping to his knees, the totem still in his hand. "Gods curse it, I should have known better. Baby, I can't see." No panic in the admission, only annoyance. "Listen. There's a ward here. He's safe for as long as we're in the ward. Don't know what will happen when he leaves it. And Tanith - and that mountain over there - they look damn near identical! Maybe Tanith knows more about the mountain when she wakes back up." He seems to he trying to pull the pack off of his back. "Can you put your statues away? Attune that one?" He's still trying to cover his right eye at least with his arm.
Reaching down to open the pouch, Ous looks at the totem. "So, aside from potentially killing innocent mercenaries...And keeping evil gods in place, what does this thing do?" but more importantly. Cleaning the corruption would be good. Maybe jes' the evil juju corruption though if ye can....I'm a bit fond of my own non-killy corruption."
Closing his eyes, the ranger just lets the chaos of the moment wash over him, the sounds of people going about their own business reminding his of mercenary camps.
Dirk trundles over to Ous and plumps his hefty rump down on the grass next to the big man. He lays his thunderbelcher aside and digs into his haversack. Out comes that statue, the Totem of Instinct, graven in Gilead's image. "Each o' the Gods o' Light an' Dark fashioned one o' these totems," he explains, for both Ous and Jacob's benefits. "They keep Caracoroth's flea-bitten arse locked up where he ought tae be. His lycan whelps have been tryin' tae get 'em all back so they can release 'im intae the world." He shakes his head. "But not while -I'm- pullin' air, by the gods," he grumbles, tucking the totem back into his sack. He looks back up and around. "Still. Could be plenty worse places we might've landed. So long as the wee pixies dinnae get any funny ideas 'bout changin' me beard funny colors or anything." He doffs his tricorne and stretches himself out on his back, lifting his arms to pillow his head. He gazes up at the vibrant, otherworldly stars of Quelynos. "Think we might run intae Lady Nuala again?" he wonders aloud. "Och, that'd be lovely, wouldn't it?" He gives a soft, dreamy sigh, a gentle smile creasing his leathery features. Now that they're out of peril, and ensconced within a realm at least tangentially friendly to his own, the old snowbeard lets himself feel at peace. Not even Dolan's sudden outburst can ruffle the doughty old ranger's calm.
"We're probably not going anywhere until Tanith wakes up." Telamon says suddenly. "So..." He picks up the fishing pole, experimentally, before looking out over the lake. Then, he begins making a cast with it. "Uh... how does this work, again?" He looks at the others, a bit nonplussed.
And that's how you all end up spending three days in Quelynos. As it turns out teleporting, planeshifting... none of it works here in this area that is... otherwise completely safe. You catch a few rabbits, eat some berries. All of the fish you catch vanish the moment they leave the lake, but it's a nice way to pass the time anyways. Ous slowly regains his strength. Then after three days Tanith reawakens. She has you gather all around and takes you back to Alexandria where... she promptly falls back to sleep. On Telamon's shoulder.
There's good news and bad news on the totem font. The moment that you return to Alexandria it starts killing Ous again. Not until you remove the curse on the bag can you safely handle the item and Ous requires Verna's deft hand at restoration. Still, you have secured another totem and as it turns out you only spent three hours in the fae realm. Somehow...
-End