Swift grins "Oh, I was thinking more a back attack on the troll" she giggles. She turns into a fox and follows the others, trying to stay under cover as much as she can.

When they approach Aelasuria stays to the back letting the others give her cover so she isn't seen. "Theo I can fly and scout while invisible if you need me to do so. I won't cast it until I really need it since it's duration is limited. All right Swift I hope you manage to do that if there is need."

She will wait until the time is right preferring not to waste magic. She keeps a eye on things glancing at Spica. "Spica do you have any preference in how you will be involved in this encounter? The water sprites could climb on your back if you prefer to make a hasty escape with them. Alternatively you could be in the thick of things with the rest of us."

Spica elects to stay with the group, as does Liloo.

They all trek to the north side of the enclosing hedge, near the north side arch.

They get their unopposed and realize something- the hedge is a two way barrier.

”We cannot see in,” Theoderic says, “but they can’t see out.  Let’s get ready to rush them.”

They take up positions near the north side arch, while Aelasuria takes to the air overhead.

She sees the female troll in the center Gazebo.  The troll is sitting, but not on the floor.  The troll is sitting floating several feet above the floor, levitating in the air.  The water sprites are gathered nearby.  The troll seems to sense that there is something afoot, and then looks in Aelasuria’s direction.

The She-Troll speaks in a low, raspy, angry voice.  ”Tis an Elf spy, above us.  Unseen.  Tricky Elf, I will show it a trick.  Come out of the water, Geula.”

A large green troll comes out of the water, dragging a delicate, worried looking Nymph.  The Nymph is pushed in front of the floating female troll.

“If we have a spy, let us give it something to watch,” the Troll says.  “Let us see what fun we may have with a Nymph.  Let us see if our visitor has the stomach for the games we can imagine.”

"Ok Theo, everyone be ready to come in fast and strike hard. I have no idea what will happen once I go in there." She disappears flying into the water garden to see what precious information she could glean to make their rescue mission more effective.

Aelasuria had been afraid of that the troll seemed preternaturally aware of everything going on around her. She likely had some form of ability to see invisible or perhaps something else that had given her such detailed information. A simple alarm spell wouldn't have been enough to reveal her nature or the fact she was invisible. There was little time considering the threat the troll had uttered.

She decides hitting hard and fast was the only likely solution. Make the trolls more concerned with surviving or killing her then anything else. Flying closer to get in advantages striking distance She casts monster summoning  while on the way wanting it to appear as close to on top of them as possible so that it could act immediately. She orders the summoned creature. "Protect the nymph and water sprites slay the trolls."

She follows up with casting Silence on the Shamaness troll herself so that it would follow her wherever she went till it's duration ended. IF it worked it would severely limit what sort of magic she could cast. It would also keep her from giving orders to other trolls. Then prepares to use slaying magic on any troll foolish enough to actually lay a hand on a water sprite or nymph.

OOC: If Aelasuria can hear the trolls threat I imagine everyone else can as well. No point in giving away she's not alone.

Swift tries to slip in as a fox unseen and heads towards the female troll going the long way to her side so she can try and sneak up behind her. She tries to avoid getting too close to any of the other trolls.

"Ah well, in for a copper piece, in for a gold one..."

Salen charges through the archway sword in hand, heading along the western path, figuring that will bring him closer to the central gazebo in the quickest manner possible. Of course, there will be other trolls to engage along the way, but no-one said this would be easy.

Karel is shocked by how quickly everything begins playing out. He takes in a breathe and closes his eyes, focusing his thoughts and trying to process everything quickly. He runs inside after Salen and upon seeing a creature pop into existence he stops suddenly.

"Summoning magic..."

He takes up position with his fiddle and everything seems to slow around him as he places his bow upon the strings. Lush sounds fill the garden, washing over his allies in waves. At first it is the simple sounds of a violin, but one by one, additional strings begin to echo within. Before long his simple fiddling is a string quintet, a symphony. He then adds his voice, teasing at memories and pulling adrenaline and courage to the fore, his tones coursing through his allies with sudden strength and vigor.

"I waited patiently for Her Grace: and She inclined unto me, and heard my calling.

She brought me also out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay, and set my feet upon the rock, and ordered my goings.

And She hath put a new song in my mouth: even a thanksgiving unto Her Grace.

Many shall see it and fear: She returns with a renewed strength and her retribution is at hand!

Behold, the power of the Meuse!"

His song complete, the echoes ring forth and continue the flood of power as he holsters his bow and swings his fiddle to his back with its strap. He quickly pulls out a different bow, one meant for hunting prey, rather than hearts, and nocks an arrow while advancing on the trolls.

2. Swift moves as quickly and quietly as a Fox… there aren’t many good places to hide, but with so much going on, and Swift looking for the “long way around” it seems no one is paying attention to one fox.  The best concealed route goes through the cabin on the east side… assuming she can get through the cabin on the east side.  She runs up, and find that the Trolls aren’t too careful to shut and lock doors- she can get in.

A soft radiant light shines from her paw- the work of the “prismatic sprites”.  She can see… this must be the Trolls treasure trove.  There are boxes on tables, and weapons hanging on the walls.  A pair of finely made Elven swords, the hilts too small for the clumsy hands of Trolls to handle.

On the other flank, Salen, followed by Karel, try to cover as much ground as possible, but they find their way blocked by one of the trolls.  This is a Rock Troll- it looks like some half-finished, half carved work, that someone was too lazy to complete, and called it a troll. It has sharp, angular stone claws, and sharp protrusions of stone at random points along its body.

Aelasuria casts a “Summon Monster” sending a Celestial Giant Eagle into the fray to do what it can to harass the trolls and possibly rescue the nymph.

Theoderic and Liloo, followed by Spica the Unicorn, take the center path through the water garden.

”The paths do not connect,” Liloo observes.  “Can you swim?”

”I can jump,” Theoderic replies.

"I will be right behind you," Spica says.

The Troll female shoves the nymph into the claws of the tree-troll, and tells the troll to “make sure she causes no trouble”.  She sees the attackers, but is most concerned about the flying Elf.  As Aelasuria summons her eagle, the She-Troll raises her hairy arms and calls down the Plague Rain, a very small rain cloud.  The rain reaches Aelasuria, and Liloo too, and they both feel the dark magic of the Plague Rain- it brings sickness.

Liloo is mildy sickened, and feels weakened and a little off.  The water sprite coughs a few times.  Aelasuria feels much sicker- weak and nauseous and a little dizzy.  She still manages her Silence Spell, but she has the bad feeling it didn't "take" on the troll.  She still hears them.

Oh, splendid...

"The last time I came up against something with rocky protrusions sticking out of it, I took several great blows and almost lost half my ribs. Still, it's not like it's going to happen again, is it?"

Salen speaks to nobody in particular, but has a habit of speaking inanely and out loud in the midst of battle, though whether it's to distract the enemy or calm his own nerves, who knows? Either way he regards the...troll?...and hefts his blade.

"I'd love to hang around and chat, but speaking to rocks really isn't my thing."

And with that he lunged at the troll, swinging his sword.

Swift will leave the building for now as she tries to get behind the female troll or the one holding the nymph. She wonders what trouble the nymph could cause if she was free. she moves along as quickly and quietly as she can as she looks for any hidden enemies.

Swift cuts through the building and continues taking the long way around.

She now has a choice- she can keep going around, or try to make the jump at S-13 that would take her into the fight.  But, jumping might be a little obvious.  She might be seen.  If she does not wish to jump, she can run through the flower patch and keep going around.

Aelasuria’s silence spell does not seem to be working.

The She-troll’s rain falls… but there is a wind, from outside the garden, arriving suddenly.  It is a warm wind with a feel of spring air, and it blows the rain away from Aelasuria and the Water Sprite.

The She-Troll, obviously angered by this, uses her own magic to push the Plague Rain back, and further, sending it against the source of that annoying wind.

Theoderic can saw the blighted rain, and he has an idea that it had some baneful effect.   But the Water Sprite looks alright.  “Help Aelasuria if she needs it,” Theoderic tells Liloo.  “If she falls in the water, get her to safety.”

He looks at the maze-like arrangement of walkways across the Water Garden.  There.. not the way he was going, but the way the fox is going… that is the way to the troll.  A path long enough to build up speed for a jump.  He cuts to the east, following the path Swift took, telling Spica to go the other way and help the others.

Spica arrives to join Karel and Salen, and together they wound the troll, driving it back.

His song still pounding in his ears, Karel switches to his long sword having seen the nearby troll advancing. It felt strange to wield a blade once more, though invigorating. He tumbles around to the rear, trying carefully to avoid sharp rock appendages aimed his way. Keeping the troll distracted on two fronts, Karel aims for opportunistic areas, though he is not quite sure where the vital organs of a rocky troll might reside.

His initial levity gone, Salen is all athletic grace and swordplay as he takes on the troll, apparently lost in the cold concentration of battle. He continues his attack, knowing that time is likely of the essence - there are sprites and a Garden to rescue, and his sister and her husband (The King!) are all putting their lives on the line.

Still, even now an amusing thought strikes him, as they cut the troll.

"Look! A chip off the old block!"

Wind was likely the action of a sylph or of course any being that had that sort of magic at it's finger tips. grimacing as she feels rather ill and concerned that her silence spell didn't take. After all it had been her best bet to cripple the shamaness which likely was by far their most dangerous opponent.

Briefly she tries to spot Spica as she had a feeling she would need magical healing soon enough. Seeing that the troll could make the plague rain move was a disturbing thought. It meant she might be able to make it follow her. Leading it to anyone else wasn't something she wanted to do. Taking cover under the Gazebo would bring her within reach of at least two trolls not a good idea if they could use those claws effectively. Then again maybe she wouldn't want to have the plague rain come down on herself and her tree troll friend.

Pulling out her wand she flies to P 11 in a effort to escape the rain While attempting a dispel magic to put a end to the plague rain. If possible she will follow up unleashing a blue hued lightning bolt on the Shamaness partly to test her defenses.

Swift continues to sneak though the flower beds, so she can get into a position behind the trolls. She looks at what she would have to jump across and doesn't want to take the chance at being seen before she can plant her sword in one of the trolls.

Swift sneaks through flowerbeds... the long way around.

She is not the only one being sneaky.  The Trolls have a tricky one of their own, and she sees it.  It is a muddy, oozy form, but recognizably humanoid, and it is flowing along the channel near her.  Mostly submerged in the water, it is all but invisible, but with her eyes, ears, and very keen nose so close to the ground in Fox form, Swift sees it.

It appears to be ignoring Swift, who is, after all, a Fox.  It is heading for the Nixies.

Theoderic has the opening he's been waiting for.  The She-Troll is dealing with something magical, he's not sure what it is, but her attention is away.  He runs down the walkway and covers the water gap in a leap... and he is now right in the middle of Trolls, she trolls, Nymph, and Nixies.  And one Celestial Giant Eagle, fighting some kind of odd troll-thing.

Spica, Salen, and Karel press against the Rock Troll.  It is a strong creature, but the nature of the battlefield works against it.  It is not very graceful, and as it whirls around to deal with Karel, maneuvering around it, it stumbles and lands in the water.  It doesn’t look happy and immediately starts working its way out.

Aelasuria gets her second wind, but still feels very ill.  She uses Dispel Magic against the female troll’s spell  and destroys it. 

Aelasuria is about to follow through with a Lightening Bolt, but then... Theoderic is right there.  She sees the face of the female troll.. and it seems Elf and Troll are about to hurl spells at each other.

Liloo the Nixie tears through the water towards his fellow Nixies, shouting at them.  “This is our moment!  Do something!  We must do whatever we can!”

OOC: I didn't think it would be possible to jump the gap in metal armor, otherwise I'd have done it myself! Oh well. Here's hoping Theo survives until we get there. :D

A slash, a swipe, a crushing blow against a stony knee - Salen worked the lumbering troll as best he could, using his smaller size and greater speed as best he could. His sword flicked this way and that, and with Karel and Spica providing similar distractions from different directions they soon had the troll in far more of a tangle than it could have anticipated. Time to press on.

"Quick! Let us join Theo, with all haste. We can deal with this vile creature later, but we must aid the sprites now!"

Salen races around to the central area, as fast as his legs will take him.

"Agreed. The shamaness is the true threat!"

Karel scans the sky briefly for the poison rain. Afterwards he keeps his eyes front, lest he should slip along the path and fall into the water as he sprinted towards the central area.

She hesitates pulling her wand back not wanting to hit Theo with the magic. Keeping a Eye on the battlefield she remains alert for other trolls. So far they had the stone troll, the tree troll and the shamaness. There is at least one other troll out there maybe two they had to worry about.

Instead for now she attacks with Magic missile to press the Shamaness as hard as possible. Flying in closer she will land casting Mirror image if the opportunity presents itself. The idea to cause frustration and confusion in hopes of keeping the trolls busy and distracted.

PM

The Celestial Eagle tears into the "pet" thing defending it's mistress, killing it.  The female troll spell caster is enraged by this, and instead of attacking Aelasuria, destroys the summoned Eagle with bolts of greenish force.

This gives Aelasuria more than enough opportunity to blast the troll witch with magic missiles... but it will take more than that to bring the creature down.  The Troll witch turns back to face Aelasuria after dealing with the eagle, but now, there are multiple Aelasurias as the Mirror Image spell kicks in.

Meanwhile, Liloo inspires the Nixies to attack, to help out Theoderic, who is attacking a troll who looks part plant.  The plant-troll kicks aside the Nymph to lunge into battle.

On the other side, Karel and Salen, along with Spica, leave behind a wounded Rock Troll, which struggles to get up out of the water.  There are times when being made of 800 pounds of rock works against you.

Swift continues on her long, circuitous route.  She sees a forth troll!  This one looks like it is made of mud, and is a little slow to join the battle.  Apparently it was asleep in the southwest gazebo, and now, with great slopping sounds from its footsteps, it stomps out to join the battle.  The other troll she spotted, in the water, moves to attack the Nixies.



This message was last edited by the GM at 16:25, Sat 14 Sept 2013.

Just before swift slips into the water to swim to the other side, she ask the fae to light up the troll in the water so hopefully the Nixies will see it. She then tries to swim over to the other island. It has taken her long to get around then she thought.

Salen continues his path around to the central platform and now he can join Theoderic and co in fighting the head troll (or what he hopes is the head troll, but it looks that way). He comes running silently so that he might gain something resembling a surprise attack.

Karel quickly sheathes his sword and pulls his bow and arrows, hiding himself in the large bushes nearby. Calm yourself, he thinks. Feel this place, as if you have always known it. Breathe in the scent of the flowers and water, make them your strength. Strike true!

He nocks an arrow and looses it at the shamaness. Another. As many as he can, he shoots while pinpointing her vital organs. He hoped it would be prove fruitful with the shamaness distracted to the east with the many copies of Aelasuria.

If she can Aelasuria takes aim on the water troll giving it a taste of lightning. That might persuade it to leave the sprites be or at least let them know it's coming. She would also warn them of the danger. "Water sprites Behind you." This of course will only happen if and when she see's the troll.

If not she Decides to use grease on the rock troll once it's in range. With any luck it would slide into the water and be kept occupied for a while unable to help in the battle. In due time she gives the shamaness another taste of magical missiles determined to keep her busy in the hopes of giving Salen, karel and Spica a free shot at her back. Though they might arrive well before she can do that.