Mara-Kai immediately speaks up, "I'll go first and then the others can give their account individually."

Arowyn looks like he was going to speak, but stops himself when Mara speaks. He shrugs and nods.

Mara-Kai says, "I was wandering through the woods, on my way to your kingdom in fact, when I heard a scream. There were some hobgoblins... three of them. And each had their own pet wolf. The wolves were tearing a young human girl to pieces while the hobgoblins cheered. I thought I was alone, so I hesitated, thinking I would be hopelessly outnumbered. But this young lady..." she presents Bethany, "Bethany bravely came from nowhere and demanded the hobgoblins not harm the girl. Just a second later, this man" she presents Arowyn, "Arowyn came out and also demanded they stop. Then I saw him cause winds to obey his commands. The hobgoblins were scared and attacked, apparently able to see all of us at that point. They hurt Bethany and Arowyn very badly. Then this one" she displays Lucky, "Lucky came out, summoned a ghost, and healed the two. The ghost seemed to be the one giving orders. I took the wolves while the others handled the hobgoblins. Bethany nearly destroyed the hobgoblin leader with some giant beam of light. Back and forth it went, my allies frequently knocking at death's door, but we finished the wolves the the hobgoblins got too scared. So they fled. Arowyn assured us he could track them, so we rested and some... plant-like kids, with green skin, grass for hair and leaves for ears, came to help the now-dead human girl. From there, we tracked the hobgoblins, who didn't look too good. We finished them, but were careful not to kill them so we could question them. Once they were restrained, we asked them why they were here, torturing a girl. Even while they tried to defy us, they accidentally admitted they were working for the leader of the Savage Hand, scouting the area for him. He then told us what the Savage Hand is; a vast army of goblinoids. He didn't know exactly what it was his boss sent him out to scout for. Just observe and report, I guess. He then told us where the boss is; Up the stream and to the west, hidden in the tall grass. So we returned to the plant kids and reported. They said they'd warn the people of the forest and gave us deer to ride here to send word to you."

The watersoul genasi pauses, her hair flowing like a waterfall and her natural TRON lines glowing as she looks her allies over then back to the king. "That's my synopsis."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:36, Fri 27 Jan 2012.

Arowyn says, "That is accurate. I have nothing to add."

Bethany asks, "What about the part where you turned into a bear and threw up locusts at them?" then sadly adds, "Or much more important, the part where they said the girl had nothing to do with their task, they were just feeding their wolves?"

Her clothes continue to shift in color, the full spectrum of the rainbow.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Fri 27 Jan 2012.

Arowyn looks at the king. "Mara-Kai told you the important details. The girl, I have been assured, will be OK. But we may have forgotten to mention something vital, so please ask what you may."

The elf is the only one in the group who can be considered normal.

The king listens intently, hanging on every word said, watching every unspoken detail with a piercing gaze that shows deep concern.  "Thank you so much for delivering this most urgent message.  Those forrest children are friends of mine and I plan to visit them in person as soon as possible in light of what you have told me.  Do you know anything about the strength of the Savage Hand?  How many of them are there?  Do they have any siege weapons?"

Lucky headshakes.  "I'm sorry, all we were told is where they're hiding."

"Likely they were relying on having the element of surprise.  You've disarmed them of that critical advantage.  Thank you."

The king is apparently treating the strange looking messengers the same way he would any human messenger with the same message, but the lords and courtiers present are much more obviously surprised by their appearance.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Thu 09 Feb 2012.

Mara-Kai says, "As our story attests to, we are capable in combat. What would your highness wish we do at this point in time?"

"Well since you offered, I would be honored if you would join me in visiting Bud and Lumin..." the King begins before he's interrupted by a member of the royal court raising his hand.

The king nods to him and the nobleman advises, "It would be more efficient to send someone in your stead considering the many urgent preparations that need done here."

"True," the king sighs, "Very well.  Assign an ambassador to the job."

He turns back to the heroes.  "Thanks again.  Anything you need will be provided.  A proper reward will have to wait.  Until then, you have my ear when you need to tell me something.  Godspeed."

Lucky smiles and bows.  "My pleasure, your highness."

The group is met by a well dressed attendant who escorts them through a door to the left that leads to a banquet hall with a royal meal already prepared on the table.  Servants step forward and pull back chairs for the guests.

"This meal is for you if you are hungry," the attendant explains, "The ambassador will join you presently."

Lucky smiles and sits.

The trio sit with Lucky at the table and thank the attendant before digging in. All of them are quite hungry after all the stuff they went through. Mara is glad she is so watery she can be her own shower, but she will still need to wash her clothing later. Arowyn is similarly glad his clothing grows on him by the magic of nature. He can simply shed his clothes, bath, and grow a new set of clothes, saving him the effort of washing clothes.

Bethany is new to the whole "getting dirty" thing and will likely bath with her clothes on, not knowing any different. But for now, she at least eats just fine, even knowing table etiquette.

Regular bathing is considered a luxury by most people in this day and age, but Lucky is thinking about getting cleaned up too.  The meal is quite savory but somewhat simple by royal standards.  Bread, but no cake.  Fruits, but no fruit pie.  Seasoned meat, but no fancy glaze or garnish.  It's almost homely.

"Wow, this is great!" Lucky chimes, "I'm really loving it here!  It's rare I get treated so well.  Most places are paranoid of my appearance only just tolerating me...  even if I just saved someone's life."

Despite the fact she seems to know table etiquette, eating is relatively new to Bethany, so she is smiling brightly and seems to love what she's eating.

Arowyn nods, "It is a relief our efforts were met favorably. Tell me of your past exploits, Lucky?"

Mara-Kai says, "Indeed... now's as good a time as any to catch up on each other."

"I guess you could say I'm a child of the wild," Lucky answers, "I started out raised by a bear.  She taught me how to survive in the wild.  But she died of old age.  So I started exploring civilization.  Erm... by that I mean a Razorclaw tribe.  They found I had a rare connection to the spirit world and taught me the ways of the shaman.  From there I did my best to put my talents to use helping folks.  It's taken me some time to get used to these advanced civilizations, but it seems their folk need helping at least as much as any other."

Arowyn nods. "All people need help. No matter who, how powerful, how advanced, how peaceful, or how prepared. It is the law of this existence. But being one who helps others, while wishfully unnecessary, is one of the higher honors this world bestows. I too am a child of the wild as you put it. I was born in a particularly tribal elven society who believed in protecting the nearby enchanted woods you met me in. They, along with the trees themselves, their dryads, the animals of the forest, and many ancient spirits, have all raised me and guided me in the ways of nature and its wishes."

He then looks at Bethany. She grins. "As mentioned before; I was once a place. Now I'm a person. This happened today."

Arowyn sweatdrops. "...oh. Right." he looks at Mara.

Mara nods. "Grew up in the land of my people and learned the traditions of my people. One of the traditions I picked up was sword magery. Not all genasi pick it up, but most do. I'm nothing spectacular where I come from, but venturing into this area has shown me how exotic I appear to these people..."

"It sure is nice to have the company of a kindred spirit," Lucky answers Arwyn with a friendly smile, "Ironically, the spirit companion I've been bonded to is more interested in adventure than peace or even nature."

He then smiles brightly at Mara, "You're more than exotic in my eyes, Mara.  You're more lovely than an enchanted forest waterfall cascading into a life-giving pool girded with blooming lilies basking in the radiant summer sun.  If not for your courage and skill, the rest of us might not still be breathing much less admiring your exotic beauty.

"And thank you too, Arwyn, Bethany, for your part."

To Beth he gives a warm smile, "As you are or as you were, you're a place I like to be.  Your welcoming eyes make me feel a home.  Your charming smile is warmer than any hearth and more enchanting than any hidden glade.  I'm so glad you're here with us."

Arowyn raises an eyebrow as Lucky goes on a praising streak.

Mara blushes a bit, her tron lines glowing a little brighter.

Bethany smiles brightly, like a child who just got the same kind of compliment. She hugs Lucky. "I'm glad to be warmer than a hearth... what's a hearth?"

Mara says, "I... think you're over-stating my appearance, but thank you."

Lucky returns Beth's hug with a daddy hug and smile, picking up on her innocence.  He points at the fireplace, a common sight in almost every room of the palace.

"In winter time, people use hearths to warm their homes.  They're usually built in the middle of the home, so they've been called the heart of the home."

While he casts an admiring smile at Mara, the expected ambassador enters the room.  He looks like a generic Human noble.

"Greetings, honored guests.  My name is Ambassador George.  The King has sent me in his place to accompany you on your journey back to Heart Forest.  I am ready to depart when you are."

"You're welcome," Lucky answers Mara.

Arowyn says, "The less time wasted, the better. Let's go."

The others nodnod, Beth still hugging Lucky in return. The group takes off with the ambassador to Heart Forest.

Mara is fidgeting with her hair, as if re-examining what Lucky spoke of.

Bethany is dragging her finger around on her clothes, which causes a path of opposing colors that fades back to normal. Well.. normal for HER clothes, anyway, which is continually changing color.

"Very good, sir," the ambassador answers, "Right this way."

Lucky is just as huggly as Beth wants him to be as he follows the lead of the ambassador.  He idly wonders if this makes him a tree hugger.  Or if he were to nibble on her sleeve if he would taste the rainbow.

"The stable master noticed that your mounts were exhausted from your big journey.  The king has provided fresh horses.  Both saddled or otherwise as you prefer."

"Definitely saddled, thank you," Lucky answers, "Much more forgiving on rider and mount both."

"Agreed."

If Mara should cast a glance at Lucky, he's smiling brightly at her wonderfully feminine hair-check.

Arowyn takes to his horse quickly, the horse seeming to respond to him more favorably than it normally would to a stranger. Granted, all that means is the horse looks at him, whinnies, seems to "talk" to him, etc as opposed to the usual act like they don't notice someone mounting them.

Bethany's horse acts normal, though Beth doesn't as she pets the horse and is all excited to be on one.

Mara's horse seems lightly nervous, but Arowyn says something to calm the horse down. Soon, the trio are on their way with Lucky and the ambassador!

Lucky hops on his with the aid of a step-stool, not wanting to cause his horse any discomfort from a failed stirrup mount.

"If you haven't heard the news," he says to the horses, "There is an army of enemies on it's way to your home.  We must go to Heart Forrest quickly to help ready the defense."

The horses seem to understand the urgency and literally chomp at the bit.

The group quickly learns why horses are preferred over deer as mounts.  Zoom!  The trip back is much quicker and much more comfortable.  When the group arrives, they find Bud and Lumin frolicking with the now alive and well human girl.  The girls clothes were shredded and bloodied by the attack, so the children have clothed her in vines, leaves, and flowers.

"Welcome back!" they chime in unison.  The girl blushes and kneels when she sees the ambassador.

He dismounts and says, "Rise please.

To Bud and Lumin he bows and says, "The king regrets he could not visit in person, but he sent me in his place and I have a sending stone if you wish to speak with him directly.."

"We have much to do to get ready," Lumin says, followed by Bud, "and so does the King."  "So first thing's first."  "We need the heroes to fight off the other scouts snooping around."

They look to the heroes and say together, "Will you do this for us?"

Bethany was already off her horse to run to hug the now-living girl when she hears Bud and Lumin asking for her to help fight off scouts. "Of course we'll help. None of us have any reason not to. Right?"

Arowyn says, "Yes. We've little choice."

Mara says, "Just point the way."

The girl is taken by surprise when glomped by Beth.  She blushes and returns the hug with a shy smile.

"Thank you for saving me," she says softly.

Lucky gives a bow.

"You're most welcome, miss."

Bud and Lumin point to a raven.  "Follow Blueberry.  He'll lead you to the badguys."

The raven caws then flaps to a branch a little bit further away.

Beth kisses the girl's cheek before quickly going back to her mount. The trio follow the bird. Arowyn says "Blueberry, when we are getting close, chirp at us and we'll dismount so we can approach cautiously."

The raven caws in reply then flies to a further branch.  The bird eventually leads the group to a small clearing where they find several goblin sized footprints.  The raven caws.

"Thank you, Blueberry," Lucky says, "We'll take it from here.  They're nasty enough they might shoot you just for sport."

He begins following the tracks.

DC 15 to see the ambush.

Arowyn dismounts with the others. While Beth seems to be looking around curiously, she just misses the signs of Akbar. Mara is thoroughly oblivious, as if daydreaming. Arowyn, however, stops the party. "Ambush..." he says to the others quietly.

OOC: Rolled all three... Beth got 13. Mara got 7. But Arowyn critted for a total of 32 perc. XD

For initiatives:
Arowyn: 13+4=17
Bethany: 1+3=4
Mara: 20+0=20
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Tue 10 Apr 2012.

Two goblins wearing leather armor charge at Mara-Kai with their short swords, but both of them fail the get through her defenses!

A goblin wielding a spear in one hand uses the other to hurl a javelin at Mara, dealing a painful wound!

---

Mobile Ranged Attack (standard; at-will)
The goblin warrior can move up to half its speed; at any point
during that movement, it makes one ranged attack without
provoking an opportunity attack.

Great Position
If, on its turn, the goblin warrior ends its move at least 4 squares
away from its starting point, it deals an extra 1d6 damage on its
ranged attacks until the start of its next turn.

w1 v mara
1d20 +6 >= 19
13 + 6 = 19 ... success

damage
2d6 +2
1 + 4 + 2 = 7

Mara HP: 27-7=20

Important interrupt intentions!!
Goblin Tactics (immediate reaction, when missed by a melee
attack; at-will)
The goblin shifts 1 square.

B1 and B2 will try to shift into flanking Mara if missed by any melee attack!
Next in initiative: Mara-Kai!