Inside the Grove
Lantamori:
Lantamori crept closer to the tree before trying to attract the girl's attention. "Jemma," she whispered. "Jemma Darali. We're here to help. Ethrain and the Stone Tree sent us."
The elven woman wanted to make sure the girl wasn't injured and knew they were there. She also acknowledged that young humans tended to abandon prudence in the face of danger. They needed to forestall any plan Jemma might have of rescuing Bralton on her own.
There was a small flicker of movement further up the tree from where Vish was sitting, and Lantamori could see a dark-haired girl wearing brown homespun crouched in the crook of a tree, just pushing aside a few trailing willow branches so she could be seen. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the two elves, and she looked indecisive for a second before beckoning to them.
Averdante:
While Lantamori approaches the girl, Averdante keeps part of his attention on their immediate area, looking for the alligators Dellas said his pet had seen. He'd like to see what the girl has been watching, too -- though for the moment he remains where he is when he looks in that direction.
Once he's certain the child isn't going to be spooked by their presence, if he hasn't seen what Jemma's been watching from where he is, then he'll move to a better vantage.
Averdante can't quite see what Jemma was looking at from his spot on the ground, but the lights are a little more distinct here. He takes a few steps up the trunk, and can begin to see what seems to be a bonfire in the next grove over, some colored lights floating well above it, and some small figures seemingly dancing about it. But just as that moment...
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Outside the grove...
quote:
Narthian looks over to Volsh, making sure that he also sees the 'gators, and points out which one he plans to deal with. He judges the range to the nearest alligator, and if in range, points a finger while quietly saying "[Language unknown: He nc est it ndeha heave]!"
Casting Flare, range 30', Fortitude DC13 or be dazzled for 1 minute. If not in range, I'll move to get in range if possible.
Narthian doesn't waste a moment of time; not wanting to let his friends be exposed to the hunting reptiles, he gives them something else to think about. Brilliant light explodes over the head of the closest one, some twenty feet away, and the alligator winces away, disoriented. In the flare of light, you count a good seven of the beasts, including one far more massive than the others!
The king alligator is right next to the grove, the others scattered between the grove and the one Narthian dazzled. And none of them appear to be happy. Two submerge into the murky water, while the king heaves himself into the grove with shocking speed. Three more charge through the shallow water of the swamp towards the others, tails swinging, jaws gaping!
Bruenor Sedricson:
Bruenor is frustrated as he gazes into the darkness of the fen... He sees and senses the tension in his companions, they clearly aware of something he isn't, but can't see a damn thing further than he could heft a suit of armor. 'Blast these eyes of mine,' he thinks...hating not knowing what's going on.
He remains alert, and watches the others for any signs of action, ready to move when it's time.
With the wave of approaching alligators quite evident now, Bruenor has his sword ready to chop some scaly hide if they try to take a bite out of him or or his companions. He holds his breath and waits until one of the beasts lunges from the waters. Deftly avoiding their jaws, he slashes down across one, parting its tough skin until cool, ophidian blood spurts from the wound.
Volsh son of Vor:
Volsh's grip on his spear tightened, as he saw the danger than tracked their allies. He looked to Narthian, wanting to creep forward, or do something to alert Lantamori and Averdante, but if he did, that would alert their foe. It seemed that Narthian had a plan, so he waited to see what the elven druid had in mind. Perhaps whatever he planned would offer Volsh the distraction he needed to move, so Volsh moved his weight to the balls of his feet and made ready.
Volsh thrusts down with his spear as an alligator comes up nearly at his feet. The beast misjudges Volsh's location, and he avoids getting his foot bitten, but the unexpected lunge puts Volsh's accuracy at bay, and he misses the beast cleanly.
A third alligator takes advantage of Volsh's wild stab and savages his leg with sharp and numerous teeth, staining the waters red. It's only Volsh's strength which keeps him from being drug beneath the water to drown as he wrenches his leg from out of its jaws.
Dellas Nump:
Dellas nods for a moment before he notices the alligators. Looking around, he notices that his companions are focused on them and decides to watch the lights in case of movement.
The appearance of the alligators is quite startling, but Dellas is far enough back from the frontal assault that he can keep his eyes on what could be their prize. The dancing blue and red lights begin to move faster and faster, and faint shouts can be heard within the lit grove. You think you recognize the language, but between the alligators, fighting, and the distance, it's hard to make it out.
Haazheel Thorn:
Haazheel strains his eyes to see the alligators as well. He thinks for a moment and decides that Mystique may be able to help in this situation and sends her out to be his eyes for a moment.
Mystique takes wing, happy to be up and away from the alligators as they lunge at the warriors of the party. Up above, Haazheel gets an impression of "large-small people cold-prey," in the grove. Knowing what he does about Mystique, "cold-prey" is anything cold-blooded, "people" is anything approximately humanoid, and "large-small" means bigger than Mystique but smaller than Haazheel. You gather an impression of a disturbed and agitated nest, a quantity of these creatures brought to alert.
Farian Raymellie:
Farian had been very quiet and withdrawn for sometime. His trip to the golden temple/tomb still disturbed him. For a faithful follower to be trapped for so long, could he even keep his faith that strong. So as a result when his companions started to be wary, he missed the clues entirely.
Farian had missed the signs entirely, but was not numb to danger when it jumped in his face. With an alligator leaping at Bruenor, Farian brings his mace into place, swinging down at the alligator's tough skull. It grazes the beast, but it twists, and Farian's force dissipates without harming it.
Sir Aberlayne represses a yell as the alligators lunge up from the swamp, not wanting to alert their enemies further. Unwilling to leave their back exposed, she dropped her axe, grabbed her bow, and fired an arrow into the alligator Volsh had tried to hit. Her little longbow thudded squarely into the beast's shoulder, but an animal of this size was going to take quite a bit of subduing!
OOC: Drop axe, draw longbow, attack.
09:04, Today: Sir Aberlayne Nump rolled 16 using 1d20+6. Attack with longbow.
09:05, Today: Sir Aberlayne Nump rolled 4 using 1d6+1. Damage with longbow.
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Inside the Grove
The burst of light and thrashing in the water alerted Averdante, Lantamori, and Jemma to danger at the same time it came upon them. An enormous alligator burst out of the swamp and nearly lands on Lantamori, its jaws open wide enough to seemingly swallow all three of them whole at once. It hisses at them loudly, and makes a loud growling sound, interspersed with ear-splitting bursts of air. Behind them, in the grove with the lights, they can all hear yells in a language none of them recognize...