Note: We did not have a session last month due to scheduling difficulties, illness, and last minute conflicts. This month was similar, but we at least had a quorum and had prepared by having everyone's character sheets present, at least. So Sagira, Arf and Rek were all absent, but we split their characters amongst the players present. Also, about half-way through the battle, Colin's player tried an experiment in which Eld's player rolled all his dice. Reader I beseech you, please see if you can figure out where that began.
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As the druids scattered into the trees surrounding the evil looking central tree, a fog rolled in, obscuring everyone's vision. Rek, living up to her name, was already charging towards one of the druids as they disappeared. Blinking fog from her eyes, the half-orc looked around, confused as she realized her target was no longer in sight. A rustling at the top of a nearby tree caused her to look up, in the same motion drawing and throwing one of her hand axes. The axe cut through some of the foliage, but fell to the ground nearby. Undeterred and convinced the rustling was the sound of a druid, Rek hurled a second axe, but again failed to find her mark.
"Throw your axe better, half-orc, next time throw it better," sang Xandril, walking up behind Rek and attempting to inspire better performance next time. "Hey! You in the tree!" the bard continued, spotting a figure crouched on the branch. "Come out of that tree and face us! You are foolish to remain so hidden, exposing only your own weakness!" The figure staggered under the weight of Xandril's insult, but kept their balance on the tree branch. As Rek and Xandril glared at the figure in the tree, they heard Seesil chanting in a strange tongue, and suddenly the fog around them thinned.
"Leave it to me, I'll handle this," Sagira said, walking past Xandril and Rek and gesturing at the figure. A large fire sprang into existence on the branch, forcing the figure to dance further out on the limb. The fire quickly spread towards the trunk, as the embers of burnt leaves fell to the ground. The lack of leaves left the druid in plain view of the whole party. Eld, hanging back, took advantage of the new line of sight by climbing a nearby tree of his own and firing an arrow that pierced the druid's arm. With a cry of pain, the druid stepped backward and fell to the floor with a muffled thump. As Colin prayed for his gods blessing upon the party, Arf ran to the fallen druid and sliced deeply into her back with his great axe. The druid groaned in pain, but pulled herself to her feet, pulling a knife from her belt and stabbing at Arf. Arf however was able to calmly step around the attack. The dwarf did not see the attack from one of the hidden druids however, as an arrow appeared from nowhere, piercing his shoulder. Everyone's attention was drawn by another druid, wearing a garland of dead leaves on his head, who leapt from one tree to another.
Ignoring the new tree based target, Rek and Xandril swung their weapons at the grounded druid. The druid ducked under Rek's axe only for Rek's return swing to catch her in the neck. The druid fell to the ground gushing blood, as Xandril's rapier stabbed the air where she had just been standing.
"Eld," Xandril sang out to his friend, "I sing of my brave friend Eld, who one stood on top of a hill, by lightning was struck, but stood again strong, surviving through sheer force of will!"
Sagira shook her head. Fortunately the bard was magical, he may not make it on stage, she thought. Looking up at the garlanded druid, the tiefling raised her hands and pointed at him. A bolt of pulsating blackness jumped from her hand and flew at the druid, slamming into him hard. Not hard enough to knock him from his perch however. Seesil stepped up beside Sagira, his eyes following the Chaos Bolt to its target. Raising his own arms, the lizard folk chanted another spell, and a silvery beam of moonlight flowed around the druid, burning his skin where it touched. Colin also attempted to shoot the leaping druid with his crossbow, but the bolt went wide and buried itself in the tree trunk.
Eld, watching from his tree, spotted movement in the tree the druid had leapt from. With barely a thought, he had nocked an arrow and sighted another druid, who was in the process of swapping a spear for a bow. His arrow flew true, burying itself in the druid's shoulder. Arf, hearing the thunk of an arrow and the muffled cry of pain above his head, charged to the tree the spear-wielder occupied and began slamming his axe repeatedly into its trunk in an attempt to either knock the druid from his perch or fell the tree itself.
The exposed druids nocked arrows simultaneously, and let fly at Arf. Three arrows, one coming from a hidden shooter in the southeast, all slammed into the dwarf, causing him to stagger under the blows. Xandril ran up behind Arf, glaring at the spear wielding druid above him. "You're a poor hider!" the bard mocked. The druid looked hurt, having had his hiding place exposed so easily, and tears streamed down his face.
Nearby, Rek retrieved her throwing axes, and ran toward the garlanded druid. As she drew near enough, she took both axes and hurled them with all her strength. The axes each found purchase, slicing into the druid's right thigh and left shoulder. With a cry of agnoy, the druid fell out of the tree, axes still stuck in him. He hit the ground hard, but continued to struggle to pull the axes from his flesh. Behind Rek, Seesil and Sagira had the similar reactions to a falling druid. A bolt of fire slammed into the man, setting his clothing ablaze, followed swiftly by a knife made of ice, which pierces the man's arm and then exploded, extinguishing most of the flames.
"We sshould coordinate elementss next time," Seesil muttered.
Colin moved up next to Seesil and fired another crossbow bolt, which flew wide. With a muffled curse of frustration, the cleric waved his arms and a spiritual hammer appeared, thwacking the fallen druid in the head and laying the wounded enemy out dead.
"That was a bit much," Arf muttered, looking at the arrows sticking from his torso. The paladin slumped against the tree he had been chopping and summoned his holy powers. He pulled each arrow out in turn, placing his hand over the wounds which glowed and healed over instantly, only for three more arrows to replace them as another hidden druid joined the fray. "By all that is holy," Arf shouted, "could you leave me be a moment!"
"Behind you!" Rek calls to Arf, spotting a druid in a tree behind the group. The half-orc ran forward and hurled an axe. The axe went wide, landing softly on the ground behind the tree. Undeterred she threw her second axe, only for it to plunge into the ground at her feet when she released it too late in the arc. Rek stood, staring blankly at the axe in front of her, apparently lost to the world. "Are you ok Rek?" Arf called, but the half-orc did not respond. Seesil stepped next to Rek and gestured at the druid, causing some of the fog to freeze onto the woman's small finger, but she did not seem to notice. Colin, deciding to show everyone how it was done, fired his crossbow and managed a solid hit! The druid groaned in pain.
Meanwhile, Xandril moved to Arf's position and shouted at the druid in the tree above him. "Are those leaves or is that your hair?" came the insult. The druid, disconcerted, ran a hand through his hair. Sagira made the insult a bit more flammable, hurling another bolt of fire into the man. His spear strapped to his back caught fire, and the druid lost his balance and fell to the ground. Collin, following up on his success with the druid near Rek, sent his spiritual hammer towards the druid that had fallen out of the tree near Arf, and landed a solid blow to the fallen man's head. An arrow from Eld finished the druid off, allowing Arf to crawl behind the tree and use more healing magic on himself.
Three arrows slamming into the stunned Rek announced the presence of the final hidden druids. Rek looked at the arrows and began laughing. "Ha, arrows!" she cackled, grinning. "The axe is in the ground, and there are arrows in me! Ha ha ha!" The half-orc swayed on her feet, chuckling to herself as blood flowed down her arms and chest.
Xandril followed the flight of one of the arrows to its origin, spotting a druid crouched in a tree with a staff strapped across her back and a bow in her hands. "Why don't you come out of that tree?" the bard suggested in a reasonable voice, putting the weight of his magic behind his words.
"No thank you!" The druid called out, resisting the suggestion.
"Well, it was worth a try," Xandril said with a shrug.
Colin reloaded his crossbow and took aim at the robed druid above Rek. As he fired again he noticed Seesil out of the corner of his eye as the lizard folk transformed into a cat and began climbing the tree. Colin's bolt flew true, striking the druid in the gut and causing her to stagger back and fall from her perch. The cat turned his head to watch the druid fall past him and gave a feline shrug before turning to climb back down the tree. Colin attempted to capitalize on his critical success by dismissing his hammer and re-summoning it next to the fallen druid, but the hammer failed to connect.
Nearby, Eld sighted his bow on the druid with the staff and fired. The arrow slammed into the druid's shoulder, taking her by surprise and causing her to follow her companion's path and fall from the tree. Arf took advantage of the situation and charged the druid, chopping into her back with his axe only to take another arrow to the shoulder as the robed druid stood up again.
Rek, finally overcoming her shock at her terrible throw, turned and took vengeance on the robed druid with her battle axe, slamming the blade into the druid's gut and disemboweling her. Sagira, seeing a the staff wielding druid lying on the ground with the axe wielding paladin standing over her, gestured and summoned a fire under the prone druid, who swiftly caught fire. Colin fired his crossbow again in an attempt to end the fight, the bolt slamming into the fallen druid and then being hammered through her body by his spiritual weapon. The druid's breath came in ragged gasps as she attempted to roll from the fire surrounding her, until an arrow from Eld flew through her skull and silenced her forever.
Seesil, still a cat, sniffed the air and turned to another tree where he smelled druid. His cat senses soon proved accurate, as an arrow flew from the tree as he ran toward it and slammed into Rek's back.
Xandril turned at Rek's grunt of pain and spotted the druid attempting to conceal herself in the foliage. "Why don't you come down and pull that axe out of the big tree?" He suggested. To everyone's surprise the druid began climbing down. Seesil swatted at her legs as she walked past him but the druid did not notice. She did notice Rek's battle axe glancing off of her shoulder however. Shaking herself, the druid reached for a weapon as a firebolt, crossbow bolt, and arrow all slammed into her. The missiles were shortly followed up by a snarling dwarf barreling into her and smashing her with his axe. The druid grabbed a knife and stabbed it into Arf's side.
"All your friends are dead, and you'll die alone!" Xandril shouts at her.
"Ha, I'll die with you!" the druid retorts. The party is momentarily shocked that someone was able to resist Xandril's terrible insults. With a shrug, Rek stepped forward and cleaved the druid's head from her shoulders.
TO BE CONTINUED
Three arrows slamming into the stunned Rek announced the presence of the final hidden druids. Rek looked at the arrows and began laughing. "Ha, arrows!" she cackled, grinning. "The axe is in the ground, and there are arrows in me! Ha ha ha!" The half-orc swayed on her feet, chuckling to herself as blood flowed down her arms and chest.
Xandril followed the flight of one of the arrows to its origin, spotting a druid crouched in a tree with a staff strapped across her back and a bow in her hands. "Why don't you come out of that tree?" the bard suggested in a reasonable voice, putting the weight of his magic behind his words.
"No thank you!" The druid called out, resisting the suggestion.
"Well, it was worth a try," Xandril said with a shrug.
Colin reloaded his crossbow and took aim at the robed druid above Rek. As he fired again he noticed Seesil out of the corner of his eye as the lizard folk transformed into a cat and began climbing the tree. Colin's bolt flew true, striking the druid in the gut and causing her to stagger back and fall from her perch. The cat turned his head to watch the druid fall past him and gave a feline shrug before turning to climb back down the tree. Colin attempted to capitalize on his critical success by dismissing his hammer and re-summoning it next to the fallen druid, but the hammer failed to connect.
Nearby, Eld sighted his bow on the druid with the staff and fired. The arrow slammed into the druid's shoulder, taking her by surprise and causing her to follow her companion's path and fall from the tree. Arf took advantage of the situation and charged the druid, chopping into her back with his axe only to take another arrow to the shoulder as the robed druid stood up again.
Rek, finally overcoming her shock at her terrible throw, turned and took vengeance on the robed druid with her battle axe, slamming the blade into the druid's gut and disemboweling her. Sagira, seeing a the staff wielding druid lying on the ground with the axe wielding paladin standing over her, gestured and summoned a fire under the prone druid, who swiftly caught fire. Colin fired his crossbow again in an attempt to end the fight, the bolt slamming into the fallen druid and then being hammered through her body by his spiritual weapon. The druid's breath came in ragged gasps as she attempted to roll from the fire surrounding her, until an arrow from Eld flew through her skull and silenced her forever.
Seesil, still a cat, sniffed the air and turned to another tree where he smelled druid. His cat senses soon proved accurate, as an arrow flew from the tree as he ran toward it and slammed into Rek's back.
Xandril turned at Rek's grunt of pain and spotted the druid attempting to conceal herself in the foliage. "Why don't you come down and pull that axe out of the big tree?" He suggested. To everyone's surprise the druid began climbing down. Seesil swatted at her legs as she walked past him but the druid did not notice. She did notice Rek's battle axe glancing off of her shoulder however. Shaking herself, the druid reached for a weapon as a firebolt, crossbow bolt, and arrow all slammed into her. The missiles were shortly followed up by a snarling dwarf barreling into her and smashing her with his axe. The druid grabbed a knife and stabbed it into Arf's side.
"All your friends are dead, and you'll die alone!" Xandril shouts at her.
"Ha, I'll die with you!" the druid retorts. The party is momentarily shocked that someone was able to resist Xandril's terrible insults. With a shrug, Rek stepped forward and cleaved the druid's head from her shoulders.
TO BE CONTINUED
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