"I can't do that," came the curt response - pre-battle tension was evident in Hornet's voice. "But I can lure it back along the path for you to attack its flanks and rear," the Magnakai Primate was speaking quickly, "so what do you say: you retreat to the track's side, let it pass as it comes after me, and then attack from behind? Not the most clever plan, but better than nothing. Raven, could you cast some spell that would stop the attacker once it gets to me - some magical barrier or bonds to confuse it just as it is about to strike? For I don't think I will be able to outrun it; definitely not in its natural habitat."

OOC: Last minute battle plans are just a bit better than no plans at all, right?
.
.
.
Guys...?

*where has everybody suddenly disappeared?*

This message was last edited by the player at 13:22, Mon 09 Mar 2015.

Sun Fox grinned at Sabre Fox and said, a girn on her face:

"Oh, you're on! I'm not letting you show me off!"

Then, she turned toward Water Hornet, clearly about to comment on his plan, but before she could, a sudden sound of cracked branches caused her to turn back toward the forest, and then Helkona's fiercest predator was upon them.

The beast moved incredibly fast, and they all got barely a glimpse of the massive creature as it launched itself from tree to tree, the stone trunks cracking, spintering and even breaking from the sheer strenght of the impact, its momentum carrying it across the clearing faster than any could see; Swift Fox let loose her arrow, but none could see if it had hit or not.

As the beast moved, all that the group could see where a handful of details, only barely recognizable body parts in motion - a dark, plated carapax shattering stone like nothing, long, powerful claws a meter long shearing through the branches, flexible and multisegmented limbs grabbing at flimsy support with unbelievable dexterity and strength, multiple strands of web being dragged behind the creature's tapered abdmen - and then the monster was gone again, moving back into hiding among the tree tops' shadows, already preparing for a new attack.

But the group had no time to spare for that, as the purpose of the creature's mad dashing above them became clear when a number of branches, having being snapped by its passage, rained to the ground, the thin but sharp ends of dozen of trees now turned into deadly javelins of stones that where now raining over the group in a sharp rain of piercing spikes.

The three branches, for reference, are often taller than most of you all are, and can vary in thicknes from a human finger all the way up to a human's arm. And, given that they're made of stone, their mere weight makes these things pack more punch than a ballista's dart, to speak nothing of the increasing velocity.

To dodge the stone javeling through agility alone will take a DC 6 Hunting roll, but of course, if you can think of others way to avoid being skewered, you're free to suggest them to me via PM and I'll tell you if they can be used.

Also, while you're busy dodging, be aware that your hunter is not going to just wait - it is a master of ambushes, and it will not relent and give you room to breath unless you force it to.

Lastly, a warning - if you do decide to dodge, and also try something else to attack the beast at the same time - like, say, a Pyshich attack or anything of the like - you'll get a -2 penalty to the dodging roll due to distraction. Don't squander your focus, think quickly, and act fast, for the gloves are going to be off for this last leg of the adventure, and that starts now.

Good luck! ^_^

Nice description! Less nice predicament we've found ourselves in :p

Swift looked up at the rain of shards and glanced towards Silver Raven for a moment, her hand reaching back to retrieve the mirrored shield again.
Then she changed her movement to instead grab another arrow.
Moving closer to Raven's position, she fitted the arrow to her bowstring and drew it back, apparently ignoring the deadly shards and waiting for her target to show itself again.

Her gaze flicked quickly over her surroundings, to the webs stretched between the trees, and to an empty part of the ground, as if looking for something in particular.

"This thing fights like I would" she said quietly.  "Striking from the shadows, giving its enemy only a glimpse of what they're facing and little chance to retaliate."
A hint of her wry grin was visible as she turned her attention back to the direction the creature had disappeared in.
"How would you all defeat me if you had to?" she added.


OOC: I'm sure everyone else has figured out some sort of tactic for taking down Swift in case she snapped and started trying to stealth-murder everyone, hehe :)

Sun Snake, despite his name, never seemed to show any snake-like qualities. His responses tended to be measured and talked out, his fighting style usually deliberate and defensive. Even his sword was more used as a tool than weapon.

It might therefore be surprising that the moment the shrapnel dropped from the sky, Sun Snake was moving forwards to meet them, striking upwards like the serpent of his namesake. His blade flashed in his hand as if it had always been there - which perhaps it had been. It seemed an oddly suicidal movement except that Sun Snake did catch the tip of the first shard perfectly on the tip of his own weapon, and with the tiniest of flourishes altered its direction enough that it moved passed him. By that time he has stepped in to a dead spot in the deluge with no hesitation, and his blade pushed the next shard sideways to block a third, his hand without looking caught and twisted away the trunk of another. It seemed he knew exactly where to lightly touch the shrapnel to turn the momentum of each thing enough it would spin happily at just enough of a changed angle for him to advance deeper one more step.

Those who had followed him in across the quicksand might recognise the sure movements of those hours sped up in seconds as he submerged himself in to the maelstrom.

If he had any comment for Swift Fox, he did not say. Or perhaps his actions were the answer. When the dust was settled, Sun Snake was gone - as if he had never existed.

Hide!

Silver Raven's eyes were extremely narrowed as Swift Fox moved to his side, his free hand closed into a fist; just as she stopped, completely uncaring of the danger literally above her head as she prepared her next shot, Raven raised his closed first toward a group of falling branches was about to strike the two of them.

The very moment that Swift Fox last step stopped moving, the platinum haired Magnakai opened the hand with a sudden motion, a rush of wind rising upward from just around the two, not even ruffling their clothes as it sent the deadly projectiles to scatter across the clearing, keeping both himself and Swift Fox completely unharmed and safe.

The entire thing had been so perfectly coordinated, it was hard not to think the two had reharshed how to fight side by side in the past.

At the instance of seeing the sharpnel coming forward to disembowl him, Fox both not wanting to be skewered by the shrapnel nor out done by Raven, gave the oncing death storm a sneer as he willed it in his mind to simply pass him without incident

Using Nexus push then
This message was last edited by the player at 20:44, Tue 10 Mar 2015.

Water Hornet had seemed fascinated by the beast's attack, for he had stood still for another second after the attacker had disappeared, his gaze locked onto the place where the creature had been last visible.

The next moment, though, his Kai instincts took control over his actions and the young Magnakai leapt in the direction of the closest tree trunk lying about on the cleared path in a desperate attempt to save himself from the falling rain of stony death.

Just like the muffled scream that left Hornet's lips, every Kai around could feel a sense of terror emanate from Hornet's mind.

OOC: Dodge roll: 3 4.
Drats, even with a re-roll I fail.
OK, unless this is insta-death, I won't re-roll again. Or is it, Shadow

When the spikes fell from the sky, the whole group moved, everybody choosing their own way to dodge the petrified tree branches.

Dawn Sword, who lacked the agility of the rest, tried her best, but she got distracted by Sun Snake's sudden disappearance, and that was enough to make her stumble and fall to the ground. She was about to get impaled, but her good luck had her having fallen just next to Renora; the Wytch had not even considered dodging, and instead made a waving motion with her spear, surrounding the both of them with a dome of blue fire that melted every stone spike to touch it.

Sun Fox, meanwhile, had decided to trust in her ability to dodge the spears, in which she succeeded; however, despite her agility saving her from harm, she'd forgotten about how much more easily ensared her cloak could be, and several of the branches pierced it, nailing the cloth to the ground and as such stopping her from moving further.

Water Hornet was less lucky, in that the one spear he failed to avoid ended up piercing his foot; it was not a dangerous wound, and a proper healer would likely easily be able to help the Magnakai avoid lasting injury if they could act promptly, but for right now, it meant that the young man was not able to move from his position any longer.

The situation seemed to spurn the hunter into action, but not in a way any of the group expeced: instead of repeating the flyover attack, they all felt the heavy sound of the monster falling from the tree tops to the ground, and then a brutal cracking sound as the monster slammed its armoured bulk against one of the most massive trees surrounding the path, sending it toppling to the gound just at the border of the tunnel they were fighting in.

This gave the group a chance of seeing the monster again, to get a further glimpse of their deadly opponent - multiple slitted, golden eyes with glowing red puils, powerful fangs hidden within a mouth that sported huge, insect like pincers, a massive rack of horns that would have put a stag to shame - but then the most moved again and pushed, sending the massive trunks rolling, gaining speed as it barreled with full force toward the immobilized Magnakai, even as the monster had disappeared back into the shadows.

Sun Fox's eyes widened at the sight - she was the one closest to the trunk - and her hand seemed to move to the clasp of her cloak so she could dodge, but then she looked behind her, at Hornet's immobilized form, at Dawn Sword still on the ground in shock - and seemed to think better of it, her fist closing as she called a golden halo of magic to envelop her for a moment, before settling herself into the clear stance of a fighter who's waiting an opponent's charge, obviously preparing to stop the fastly approaching column of stone with only her muscle strength, even if enhanced by magic.

So, for those of you who aren't immobilized, jumping out of the way of the trunk is a Hunting roll with DC 3, although of course, if Sun Fox does manage to stop the effect (and if you're willing to bet on her doing so) then jumping out of the way is pointless. If the trunks its you, that's 20 END damage and you're stunned (so won't be able to take any actions at all) for the next two rounds of this fight.

Hornet, you have more pressing concerns. You lose 4 END, and you can't move until you remove the spike from your foot. You're not forced to actually do so - you can do other things instead, if you feel like it - but, whenever you decide to remove the spike, that's the only thing you can do during that turn, since the pain of doing it would disrupt your focus on anything else.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:07, Wed 11 Mar 2015.

Names of all twenty Darklords - and their varying body parts - flashed through Water Hornet's mind and only the pain that slammed against his consciousness stopped the Magnakai from cursing out loud.

As any human flesh - and more so with the human being a Kai Master - Hornet's body immediately started working on containing and repairing the received damage. This in turn spurred the Hornet to restore his psychological balance rather quickly.

With gritted teeth, Hornet assessed the situation. Fortunately, it seemed his wound was the most serious across the group. The Magnakai's eyes widened when he realized what Sun Fox was trying to achieve and his first impulse was to shout to her to save herself. But something stirred in Hornet's mind; a thought, a conviction that if the Kai Lady made the decision, the best he could do in this situation was to maximize the advantage provided by Sun Fox's actions.

Water Hornet forced himself to focus on the petrified piece that nailed his foot to the ground. Grabbing it with his both hands, the Magnakai concentrated his powers.  With one swift motion - but without unnecessary haste - the Magnakai Primate pulled out the petrified piece of wood, freeing his foot. The blood immediately gushed out of the wound, but Hornet was free to move, again.

OOC: I took the liberty that Hornet indeed can free himself without further hindrance (if it's not so, please, tell or edit the post right away).

Youch Water Hornet, those were...those were consequences all right :(

Swift cursed quietly as her target disappeared again.
Her eyes widened though as she realised what Sun Fox was trying to do.
Quickly returning the bow to her back and the arrow to her quiver, she began to run towards the path of the rolling tree.

As she skidded to a halt behind Sun Fox, a shimmering trail of sparks seemed to flow along the red scarf she was wearing.
Cupping both hands together, as if holding something spherical between them, she quickly drew them back and held them there.
The air between them rippled oddly, and her hair and cloak flapped around as if caught in a gale-force wind that only seemed to be affecting her.  As the trunk drew closer to Sun Fox, she suddenly thrust both hands forward, releasing whatever effect she had been building up...


OOC: Imagining Swift going a bit "Hadoken-style" there :)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:45, Wed 11 Mar 2015.

You're wearing the red scarf around your forehead, right? :)

As the rolling mass of death began to head towards him, Fox's knees instinctively began to tense as he prepared to dodge. He knew that it would be an easy task not even worthy of his skills.

However that was when he saw what Sun Fox intended to do.........

A mask of horror quickly enveloped his face as he realised what the outcome of her actions would be......

To be replaced almost immediately by anger.

"You selfish harlot!" he couldnt help but bellow out.

His coiled legs immediately sprang forward, heading towards her as time seemed to slow down, despite all the speed of a Magnakai Huntmasery expert like him had amssed. Once he reached her to where she was standing, time almost seemed to stop as he turned his head to face her while still moving.

His eyes caught her, and he conveyed the feelings he had with the fire blazing in his eyes.

Time seemed to then quickly began to move as Fox was enveloped in a silver light as in a swift motion he had sheathed his Vakeros blade as the power of Vigilance began to flow through him. With one fell stab her struck into the stone pillar of death as if it was a stick of butter and gripping his blade with both hands, immediately charged down the other end of its length, cutting through the stone as if it were nothing.

As he reached the other end, the now sliced stone had lost most of its momentum as the two pieces carried forward towards Sun Fox.

But he no longer worried...... for he knew she was safe.

No more Kai would die on his mission.......

Extending his blade and his free arm now holding his other blade he had unsheathed, parellel to his shoulders, Fox looked like he was preparing to throw himself to the void as his silver aura began to dissapate. He then pointed into the trees despite not knowing where the predator was.

"Come face the wrath of the vigilant!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:36, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

Even as Sabre Fox shouted his challenge, the aftermath of his actions was quickly completed - Swift Fox's blast pushed one of the (now much ligther) two halves of the trunk backward, making it simply land in the dirt, while Sun Fox's managed to stop the other half, thanks to its lowered weight and much diminishd speed and momentum. Even so, it was clear to everybody that the impact had left the girl very winded, for she was breathing heavily, her legs tremblng and her hands only supporting her as she leaned over the broken column of stone.

That was when Swift Fox turned, her head wipping backward with some suddennes, as she shouted:

"Raven, behind you!"

The Magnkai didnt even check to verify the warnings truth, instead just dashing forward, turning as he did; and that was a good thing, for a moment later, the massive form of the group's opponent emerged from the shadows, clearly having jumped down from the tree tops in an effort to slam into raven.

When the creature saw that its target had moved, though, it did not dally, its leg suddenly coiling and then pushing in an explosion of dirt that send the beast skidding sideways, in the process having it dodge the lance of blue fire cackling with electricity that Silver Raven had tried to hit it with.

However, the move was nto siply an attempt to dodge; the creature had aimed its movement toward the figure of Dawn Sword, who'd only just gotten back to her feet and was totally blindsided by the attack. She just barely managed to raise her sword in a parry, but the blade rebounded with a metallic sound on the beast's armoured body, and did nothing to weaken the sheer power of its impact as it slammed in the young woman.

The Kai Lady was sent flying, her body hitting Renora with enough strength to slam both women into one of the nearby petrified trees, which left them falling to the grund and unconscious.

The beast then turned, looking at what portion of its opponents were still standing, and that finally gave the group the chance to look at the massive figure of the enemy they'd choosen to face.

It resembled a spider in the way its body was shaped; it was not exactly a perfect match, but it was close enough that it was easier to identify the creature from the differences it had from a normal one than to try and convey its every detail.

Of course, the first difference was size. The beast was one of the sturdiest animal any of them had even seen, only a little bit smaller than the Zlanbeast that Swift Fox's team had stolen from Argazad, and what it lacked in dimension it more than made up in fierceness. The black carapax glinted where the moonlight hit it, metal having been welded to the exoskeleton in plaques that slid under and over each other with each movement the creature made, only a few bits on its sided and near the tail and eyes remaining uncovered by the strudy defence.

The tail itself was noticeable in that, instead of the only one spinner that normal siders sported at the end of their abdomen, this one had five, disposed in a diamond-like pattern, each one leaving a trail of webbing behind. And that was not the only thing the animal had in overabundance in respect to a normal spider: it halso spoted a grant total of sixteen leg, each one with six segments instead of three for both greater agility and a better grasping strength.

Past all that, the most noticeable thing about the monster, the most marked differences, where all around the head. First of all was a rack of horns like those of a stag - four, disposed to the four corner's of the beast's head, each one with sharp tapered points and ramifications... exceft they flexed at the beast breathed, and it was clear that the monster could control the angle and direction the horns where aimed at. Inside the mouth, which sported the normal pincer-like mandibles of mot insects, was a multitude of needle like teeth, the yellow foam dripping from them a menacing sight.

And finally, the two front leg where somewhat raised from the ground, for they didn't ended like normal for an arachnid; instead, they sported mole-like paws, except ones that were sized to match the creature's build. The result were claws thicker than a man's leg, with a solid triangular structure and sharpened points; easily cabable of smashing stone - as they all had seen - and obviously just as capable to match a sword in combat, except they were sized more like very heavy broadswords.

Even as the beast eight red eyes surveyed the clearing, the group could tell that it did not liked the bunch of opponents still standing, and that it was about to bolt again, it's legs repositioning to move. Still, they had at least a few moments left where they could strike...

So, here's your opponent! I hope you're happy of finally meeting it head-on.

Skryza: CS 32, END 37/40

This being an animal, you can take advantage of any Animl Kinship / Animal Control bonuses to fight against animals that you happen to have, so keep it in mind.

You have one turn to attack the creature, then it will leave to resume its guerrilla warfare again, unless you find a way to keep it fro doing so. Good luck!

Water Hornet watched the beast in front of them with a mix of disgust, interest and even awe. But mostly disgust. 'What twisted mind would create something like this?' thought the Magnakai to himself, as if he felt empathy for the creature that was standing only several yards away and ready to tear him and his companions apart.

Hornet's look slid over their opponent's form. Steel-reinforced bulk was undoubtedly Nadziranim work. 'You had to double the number of limbs to support all that mass,' noticed the Magnakai, studying the legs with many joints, 'and you didn't sacrifice anything of its agility; although introducing some weaker points. '

He looked over the armoured body again, naturally focusing on unprotected spots. Hornet guessed that hitting the tail with multiple spinners would perhaps be highly painful for the creature.

Moving with his look to the other side - looking at the head - Hornet frowned. The horns or antlers (it was hard to tell in the darkness) seemed mostly out of place. The Magnakai Primate wondered whether it had any function beyond offensive potential. Like the first pair of legs (better described like paws) - while obviously being used to clear the path for the creature, it was also a part of the body that Hornet didn't want to come close to.

The foam that dripped from the creature's maw also caught's Hornet's attention - if the resemblance to a spider was any hint, the liquid was most likely corrosive.

OOC: Attempting an Animal Estimate roll. Will spend 1 WP for a +2 bonus.
Rolled: 6 (roll) + 3 (Animal Control bonus) + 2 (-1WP) = 11.


EDIT:

For Hornet it felt like waking up from a dream as the knowledge on the beast flooded his mind, but in reality hardly a second had passed. His look hardened and the Magnakai's voice resembled barking as he strived to relay the information as concisely as possible: "Swift, use expendable arrows against the tail spinners! Sabre, it can't directly reach anyone up on its back! Raven, immobilizing legs and antlers will disrupt its defence capabilities! Sun Fox, join when ready! And, everybody, learn from my manner of attacks!"

'Whatever you're up to, Snake, I hope you could hear me,' thought Hornet to himself as he raised his weapon, looking the predator into the eyes (all eight of them).
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Sun 15 Mar 2015.

As the creature seemed to hesitate, Swift quickly pulled the bow back into her hands, reaching back for an arrow as her eyes searched the monster for a possible target.
None really suggested itself however.

At Water Hornet's shout, she glanced towards him with a rather puzzled look then looked back at the monster, adjusting her aim towards the targets he suggested.
Trying to hit such a small target on a fast-moving creature like this was never going to be easy, and as she released her shot she was sure it was going to miss.
Rather than waste any more arrows, she slung the bow over her back and began to move towards Silver Raven's position, her hand reaching for the Jade Spike as she did...


OOC: Yep, the chances of me making the DC to hit that was somewhere between slim and none I'm afraid.  Need a better ranged fighter than me to take those spinners out.  :(
This message was last edited by the player at 00:52, Mon 16 Mar 2015.

Looking at the great lumbering beast before him, Fox was tempted to simply charge the massive thing head on, but with all the various stingers and legs this thing had, a one on one fight would be substantially difficult. Looking at the ring on his finger, he extended a hand forward towards the beasts head and concentrated

Gonna use the explosion ring to deal 20END to it. Now chances are that might not succeed entirely, however its head seems to be the most fleshy part aside from the exoskelton around it. so its probably best to aim there

If Sun Snake heard, nothing was immediately apparent. Indeed, Sun Snake still was gone, like a ghost in Swift Fox's tales.

Those paying close attention, however, may have noticed that Dawn Sword and Renora, knocked cruelly unconscious, were now gone from where they had fallen.

Of course, the attention was elsewhere right now, and perhaps that was the point...

As soon as Sabre Fox aimed his fist at the spider-like creature, the antler surrounding its head flexed with a snap, encasing the creature's head in a grid-like helmet; barely a moment later, a globe of blue fire exploded near the best, but it had clearly been sopped by the cage and exploded over its border, failing to harm the beast in any way other than some small singed cracks in the horns.

Meanwhile, even while it failed to hit one of the spinners as Hornet had asked of her, Swift Fo's arrow nevertheless embedded itself in the monster's abdomen; this caused the creature to lt out a furious shriek and turn toward the girl, ad which point Silver Raven made a swiping gesture with his hand. Almost immediately, a smattering of water droplets formed to the side of the monster, turning the ground under its left feet into a yelding mud trap... but the hunter immediately grasped on the web mesh underneath with its multiple legs, and then, flexing them into a single, powerful movement, it sent itself upwads, immediately grabbing on the branches above and disappearing in the petrified foliage... from which, a moment later, a new rain of petrified spears fell upon the Magnakai.

Swift Fox, your arrow inflicts 4 END of damage to the monster; Sabre Fox, your explosion attack was twarted and only inflicts 3 END damage.

And now, another round to dodge! Due to the previouys rain of spears, there's less places for you to dodge the hail of petrified branches, so the Hunting DC to dodge this time is 7 rather than 6.

Hornet, due to your limp, you get a -1 penalty on Hunting rolls to dodge and other such athletic efforts.

Skryza: CS 32, END 30/40
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:43, Tue 17 Mar 2015.

'Fool!' thought Water Hornet, addressing none other than himself, 'I should've known that the antlers would protect the beast from extrinsic magic effects.' When the creature leapt into the air and disappeared again, Hornet wanted to try out an idea he had, but he was given no time for that.

With a rumble another wave of deadly rain of petrified wood came. Without hesitation, Hornet jumped towards Sun Fox - because of an injured foot, the movement was clumsy, but it served its purpose. The next moment, Hornet sent upwards a gust of wind.

OOC: Using Nexus Push to protect Hornet and Sun Fox.

As the monster disappeared again, Swift cursed to herself and slung the bow over her back.
Once again she seemed to completely ignore the rain of shards, moving back to Silver Raven's position and drawing the Jade Spike.  She also slipped the mirrored shield onto her arm.

Stopping near Raven, she closed her eyes apparently concentrating intently on something...

As his efforts only seemed to go to minimal gain, Fox immediately withdrew his outstretched arm and re-readied his swords in hand. As he saw the next barrage approach, he felt a cunning idea form in his mind. As the shards approached he concentrated in his mind to fool the beast

Using Nexus for an interesting attempt. Since Hornet was shot in the foot, Fox will use his skills to make a shard land next to his foot and fake injury to lure the beast out Into the open to attack head om

Swift frowned slightly, her eyes still closed.
"It's over there" she called out, raising the hand holding the Jade Spike and pointing off into the trees with the blade.
"It seems to be clearing away part of the ground webbing, can't tell why.  Most likely preparing a trap, or perhaps trying to burrow into the ground and come up from under our feet..."


OOC: This thing seems to have a lot of tricks up all sixteen of its sleeves!

Aww, thanks for the game and WP Shadow! Obviously in that order :)

Swift Fox's ability to detect the creature seemed to be the only hint that Sun Snake might even be around and actively helping. There was otherwise no sign of the Kai aiding in the pitched battle.