John's twin blades flew free from their upside-down scabards on her back. The twirled once and came to ready position in less than a second. Damnit. Always remember never to have drama before a fight, the GM will always throw a wrench in the works. the ranger though to herself.

She grined like a wolf. "Unlike those zombies. These guys bleed." she said quietly, but loud enough for the others. What she ment was, they could critical the monks, something her character build relied on.

For a moment, Sarah looks startled and scared, before just looking startled.

Shit, he DID accept that...

She then looks towards the robed figures, then sighs.

"Figures, a fight."

She quickly draws her daggers.

Cassander, Alyissia's bow nocked and at the ready, wanted to slap both Aliana and Kenjinn.  Slap them both really hard.  This was not the time for any drama, sneaking around the lair of evil cultists, but there was nothing that she could do about that now.  The element of surprise was gone.  At least the two had made up.

She looked around the room, her elven senses taking in all the details that she could.  The room made her feel uneasy.  They could feel the murmuring of the monks, so there was magic involved.  Of course being called a Conversion Room was also a big hint.  The question was convert what into what and what could they do about it.

Tizona stepped closer to Kenjinn, speaking softly.  "Do you want to do some talking and see what information we can get out of these guys before we dispatch them?" she asked him.

The robed figures growl softly, the first proper noise they have made. A piercing whistle echoes through the room, which causes the figures to begin to shake.

They begin to grow larger, their robes tearing to reveal thick dark fur. Bestial muzzles burst forth from beneath the hoods, filled with sharp teeth. Their hands twist into claws, as do their feet.

Soon, the room is filled with monstrous and deformed beastmen. Their eyes lack the spark of human life, filled only with a primitive hunger. Around each neck is a collar, with runes burned into it.

Well.........poop.
Greg was too stunned to scream out the profanities that came to mind.
Honestly, she was actually too scared to be....well, scared.

She drew back her arm, fulling pulling back the bowstring on the large elven longbow until her dainty but callused hand was resting on her cheek, as her arms instructor had taught her.

"i have a 'dispel magic' spell ready to cast" she thought.  "plus, 'magic weapon', if need be.  still, let's see if something pointy will work first"

She awaits only Tizona's order to begin firing.  Or, of course, for the creatures to charge.

Dan was pretty much crapping himself right now. Fighting zombies and monks were one thing, they were humanoid and easy enough to believe they could win. These things were like giant attack bears on steroids. Dan looked at his two blades and wished he had a shotgun instead. He hoped watching Legolas on the lord of the rings movies and his high agility would somehow give him a way of avoiding death in this fight.

Dan awaits for any sign of an attack before he goes in for one. Never attack first, he'd read in books about weapon combat in ages past, always let your opponent attack first so you can react and counter his moves.

"... Shit."

Sarah crouches down, ready to spring at any openings she sees. She has both daggers firmly in hand, ready to throw one if needed.

John blinks in surprise. "Oh hell..." she says looking around at the changing monks. "This could be bad."

Tizona cursed softly in Elvish.  The curse contrasted with the smile that was slowly spreading across her delicate features.  The original plan had been to sneak around but if the Big Bad knew that they were here now, there was no need to be quiet any longer.

Tizona had been standing towards the back of the party and she now creapt forward to speak softly with her companions.  "Aliana.  Do you have a dispel magic or protection from evil spell handy?  Kenjinn, Alyissia, what do you have spell-wise ready?  Sorry, I should have asked earlier."

Her Elven companions would recognize the destructive gleam in Tizonas eyes.  It wasn't often that she had a chance to cut loose with some of the more powerful spells at her disposal, and she'd had to restrain herself in the barfight earlier.  Here however, all bets were off.  "I'm thinking fireball myself, as a starter but I think that we can stack it with a couple of other spells and really do some damage.  A Dispel Magic to cancel out those collars they're wearing, and hopefully their transformation, and maybe a Grease spell to impeed their movement and catch on fire from my fireball.  We can take them out at range."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:08, Wed 29 Apr 2009.

Having had the spell in mind, Greg delved into Sister Aliana's memories for how to cast the divine "miracle".  Holding her bow aside, she grips her precious holy symbol and raises her voice gently to the heavens.
Great Fharlanghn, Lord of the Horizons, please aid yoiur humble servant.  Help her remove the foul magics that impede her life's journey!

Once again, Greg could feel the presense of the Divine.....Something.  The pseudo-agnostic was trying REALLY hard not to dwell on that, especially now.  Still, there was an undeniable presense that made itself felt, seeming to spread from the wooden disk around her neck, pulsing through her tense body to radiate outward.  She directed the holy energy towards their foes, hoping that this magic was something she had the power to undo.

Kenjinn suddenly remembers a spell he put on his sheet that would be VERY useful right here. "Cass! I just remembered I have a Sleep spell! Couldn't I use that to put down our fuzzy foes?" He told Cassander with a smile on his face, temporarily forgetting immenent death. Also, he used illiteration! Which is either a very good sign or a very bad sign.

Cassander, or it might have been Tizona, had her heart set on tossing a fireball into the furballs.  In the end it didn't matter how the fuzzies were put down.  Tizona shrugged, and looked disappointed, making a cute pouting face.  It was all in jest of course.

Maybe.

"Oh pooh.  All yours Kenjinn.  I suppose that I'll just have to save my fireballs."

The creatures growl loudly, bearing their teeth.

"Go on then you dogs. Tear them up. The weak ones will become just like you, while any that survive with make good pack leaders"

The indistinct laughter echoes through the room again.

Greg's 'Dispel Magic' is cast successfully, but it does nothing more than cause the creature's to twitch for a moment before lunging towards the party.

'plan "B" didn't work, so we're back to plan "A", by which I mean kill stuff'
The thought went through Greg's head, almost of its own accord.
Greg had the fine elven longsword that she was quite proficient with, but stuck with the bow for now, waiting until the nasty, slathering things got too close for bows.

Memories flooded into Greg's head, memories of someone else.  Aliana's arms instructor, Jenatti, had tried to coax the novice cleric away from the traditional sword and bow, so beloved by the elven people, to the quarterstaff that was said to have been favored by the God, Fharlanghn, himself.  Although consenting to training in the simple but elegant weapon, made from the wood that elves loved so much, young Sister Aliana never gave up her love of the sword.  It was a choice more common among elves than, say, human clerics of the Wandering God, but one that never seemed to stop annoying her sharp tongued weapons instructor.
Good times.

The memories were actually sort of comforting, as distracting and disconcertingly alien as they were, because they at least boosted Greg's confidence that she was good with her weapons.

Taking aim at the nearest beast, she fired at its chest, ready to change to her sword if need be.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:07, Sat 02 May 2009.

The arrow flies true and strikes the nearest creature. It howls in rage as thick, black blood drips from the wound.

The creature scampers back with its head low and another takes it's place, moving and snarling towards the party.

OOC: I'm assuming that others go before me, but just in case you need to move forward before I can log on again:

Greg follows the simple formula learned in both his mediocre archery instruction, and her extensive weapons training:
Draw arrow.
Nock arrow.
Draw bowstring.
Aim arrow.
Release bowstring.
Repeat as needed.

Greg is ready to modify this plan if the situation changes, and is working not to think about the fact that her arrows are sinking into the flesh of a fellow living being, albeit one that looks like it's trying to eat her.

Dan tries to summon up his magic spells, both through praying and trying his psychic abilities. He focuses on the words speel and the image of the cultist attack bears (quite possibly the most awesome thing on Rpol) as sleeping on the floor, drooling like idiots. He mutters to whatever gods of D&D he remembers to help him in this task, trying not to focus on the amazing strangeness of such a thing.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised."

Sarah begins to maneuver around as the creatures approach, throwing her daggers with pinpoint accuracy, catching them when they return, wash, rinse, repeat. As soon as she can get into position to sneak attack one or more of the creatures, she does so with gusto.

"Damn abominations." John snarled. Having given up her bow she was left only with her elvish short swords. She charged in, staying low to attack up and at her foe's throat. She didn't know how but she just 'knew' where she should place her attacks to take out her enemies quickest. Somewhere in the back of John's mind(because at the front was surviving) she knew that her knowledge on the subject was most likly because she had taken improved critical at one of her feats. Right now though it didn't matter, she had no intention on finding out what happened if they died in this 'dream'.

Cassander was waiting to follow up Dan's sleep spell with a fireball.  A small marble of flames danced on the tip of her finger, waiting for the command to be released upon their enemies.  Then John had leapt forward, charging into their opponents.

Cassander frowned.  She couldn't unleash her fireball for it would hit John.  If she had reacted just a little quicker she could have let it off before the Ranger ran into the fray.  It was too late now.

She thought quickly, her mind racing over her options.  Cassander wanted to help John but how?  Then it came to her.  The mystical energies that she had gathered together for the fireball she changed, molding them into a 5 foot sphere of fire.

"Someone watch my back please." she said as she gestured the rolling ball of flame forward with a graceful motion of her hand.  Starting at another end of the room, she guided the ball into her opponents, she could cover the flanks of John and anyone else that went forward.  The only problem was that she couldn't move while directing her fire ball.

The monstrous creatures howl as they are struck by Greg's arrows.

Dan's Sleep spell seems to work as several of the bears suddenly collapse on the spot. More leap over their fallen and injured comrades, however, meeting John and Sarah in a flash of claw, tooth and blade.

Cassander's fire ball erupts on contact with the creatures, burning fur and flesh.

Despite this, the creatures continue to close in and the melee fighters are cut off from the archer and mages. One of the creature's sinks its teeth into John's arm, causing it to go numb and his thoughts to become scrambled.

JOHN!!!!  NO!!!!
Greg's mind froze for a split second in panic.
No!  You have to concentrate, your friends need you.

Greg went through Sister Aliana's repertoire of spells, magic items, and even skills.  Nothing seemed up to the task.
She was about to drop her bow and wade in with her sword (which might just be like throwing a bucket of water at a forest fire) when she remembered Dan's trick with the chairs.

"i wonder" she urgently mused, "if I could do that too."

Thinking back, Greg wasn't even completely sure that Dan HAD summoned the chairs, but they were in a desparate situation, and desparate actions were called for.

She'd always been very good at visualizing things, at imagining things.  So that's what she did.

Greg remembered a cartoon that an older friend had said that she'd "had to watch" and that had been "so bad, that it was great".   It was the old "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon put out years ago by a japanese animation company that had made the rounds on one of the Disney cable channels last year.   Greg's friend was right, it HAD been horrible.  Obviously made by someone who had no interest in the actual game.  Not surprising, given the difficulty of marketing such a thing to the mass market.

The show was about six kids that magically get transported to a D&D type world (not as far-fetched NOW, Greg had to admit, although the kids on the show got to stay as themselves, the lucky little bastards).   Once there, they were taken under the wing of a stereotypically enigmatic wizard with the cringeworthy name of "Dungeon Master".  To help them fight evil, he gave them each a magic item, which were each the equivalent of an artifact, in normal D&D terms.
While the show was seriously bad, there was one cool thing:  the magical longbow used by the "ranger".
It was a bow that shot mystical energy instead of arrows (can't have little kids see an orc get an arrow to the throat, after all!).   The energy arrows, however, were incredibly powerful, being able to do everything from bend into rope to tie up an opponent, to exploding on impact to knock a foe into next week.

Greg wanted that bow.

The cleric quickly pulled another arrow from her quiver, but committed her mind to fully visualizing the arrow becoming the glowing yellow energy arrows from the show.  Fully seeing them, in her mind's eye, smashing into each beast guy with the force of a speeding bus.

Gritting her perfect white teeth, she sent her arrows flying.

Dan saw the creature sink it's teeth into John and gasped of his own. His spell had taken down some of the creatures, but these ones had prevailed and were now attacking them! This time they were actually a threat.

Something took over Dan, whether it be Kenjinn, his own sense of rage or just adrenaline, something took over his common sense and made him move in to fight this monster himself. He drew his twin blades and leapt at the advancing monsters, climbing onto the back of one and sinking his blades into it's flesh. It looked just like a scene from a Lord of the Rings movie with Legolas kicking ass, except it was Dan and he wasn't an elf.

He was just a wierd guy who'de been turned into a fantasy bard. But right now he'd become an adrenaline-powered warrior, only slightly being directed by his common sense now. Leaping at giant bears was certainly evidence of that.

John snarled as the creature as it bit her. Almost immediantly her fighting style changed completely, she was no longer making well placed, graceful strikes, she begain fighting more on instinct. Her attacks begin to get closer throwing elbows, and knees. Though she wasn't thinking it, hopefully getting in close would keep the beasts from being able to use there claws well. Her swords were no longer slashing at the beasts but stabbing, it looked like she'd be better fighting with daggers than shortswords. It was clear she wasn't thinking clearly, hopefully she could keep this up and keep from getting herself killed.

"John!"  Cassander joined her companions in expressing her concern over the elf.  She did what she could to guide her rolling ball of flame towards the other elf, but it's movement was impeeded by other beastmen and when it finally got near to John, the ball fizzled out.

"We've got to get her." She said, watching the other beastmen close around John.  Cassander started to run through the spells that she knew.  Most of them were area effect spells or ones that couldn't get enough of the beastmen off of John.  She could also feel her arcane energies beginning to wane, obviously the Sorceress was running out of available spells that she could cast.

Cassander still had a number of lower level spells but nothing that she could think of that could be useful here.  She wanted to keep enough energy for a high level shield spell, that she was saving to protect the party if they started to be overwhelmed, except that the party was split up.

The Sorceress clutched the bow, reaching into the quiver for an arrow and loosed it at the beastmen surrounding John.