Falling Leaves...

[Lorryn]

Lorryn looked up into the canopy still as she slowly began stepping closer to Jericho and Sancraid. If what Sancraid had said was true, she’d feel a little better not being across the clearing from them. Being a possible target of choice was never a great prospect. Eyes scanning the foliage above, her steps soft on the ground, she quietly swapped her mahogany staff for her bow and had an arrow knocked as she drew closer to the men. Driscoll was stamping the ground back where they had left the horses at the edge of the clearing, snorting and rearing his head. Whatever was there with them, he wasn’t happy about it.

As the others talked, she kept peering upwards, but listened all the same, especially to Jericho. He often picked up on trouble before she did. Maybe not always by much, however. The scent was still strong to her, or at least very demanding of her attention. Through the flowers, she could see vines moving and twisting, quietly, almost unnoticeable if one wasn’t looking for it. Then the puzzle of it began to fall into place and she felt the adrenaline start kicking in.

“It’s a trap alright…” she said, not about to take her eyes off the movement over head, “hence it waiting. It’s preparing to strike, but I don’t think it’s sentient if it didn’t do so when we were distracted, I think it’s a part of the foliage… only knowing how to surround its prey before making a move.” It wasn’t a pleasant thought in the least, but it made more sense. Still, what the in the name of Nargel could it be? “But then why capture the priestess and her handmaiden and not kill them like the men if it’s a damn plant?! I doubt it has a prayer it wants heard."

The cry for help drew her attention to her left before Jericho’s comment caught it. “Climb closer to those wonderfully inviting vines?” Lorryn chuckled, shook her head, and then nodded toward the canopy where there hung a thick bundle of vines to her left covered in a good deal more flowers. “Why not try cutting her loose and have her come to us? I can tell which are the load bearing vines, I cut them and one of you go catch,” she suggested, arrow at the ready.

[Deleted]

"Yeah, definitely a trap... Going up there is definitely not a good idea." Sancraid agreed, although he didn't like leaving the poor woman up there... if it even was a woman. There was always a possibility that the trap was that whatever was up there wasn't actually the Priestess. However, despite that, they couldn't just leave them up there.

“Climb closer to those wonderfully inviting vines? Why not try cutting her loose and have her come to us? I can tell which are the load bearing vines, I cut them and one of you go catch,”

That was most likely the best idea but... there was still something off about this whole situation. A little nagging feeling in the back of Sancraid's head, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. Well, whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad. If a monster leaped from the trees and assaulted him, he was completed assured in his ability to dodge it. Besides, he could get Cu Sith to help him fight it off. With that in mind, Sancraid walked over to where the lady would most likely fall when Lorryn shot her loose.

"Whenever you're ready."

And with that simple sentence, Lorryn released the arrow, cutting straight through the causing two people to immediately topple down.

Wait, two?!

Wait, of course... the priestess and her handmaiden.

The larger one was toppling towards him, but Sancraid could see that the other one was headed straight towards Jericho. He would have said "incoming", but he couldn't waste breath, not with some helpless women falling a hundred feet out of the air. He'd simply have to trust that Jericho would catch the other one without his interference, and focus on the one falling towards him.

...The fat one falling towards him. She both looked shorter and heavier than him. This was going to be fun. Sancraid considered himself a strong person. Lifting twice his body weight while standing straight up was easy. Catching something even equal to his body weight while it was falling from over a hundred feet up was another matter. Physics was cruel to sudden stops, so there was only one thing he could do. Dropping his spear to the ground, Sancraid rapidly backed up. Without this method, the priestess would surely die when he caught her.

The priestesss had fallen 50 feet so far, another 50 to go.

At this point Sancraid had crouched on all fours like a beast. With his limbs on the ground, he had raised his waist into the air. In another world, this pose would be the same as a sprinter waiting for a signal gun. Unless he could deflect the force of her fall away from the ground, even if he was strong enough to catch her that way without hurting himself, the priestesses chances of survival were nil.

25 feet left. She had been falling for a second and a half now. In the next half a second, she would hit the ground if she wasn't caught.

Sancraid dashed forward.

**********

Roll(1d20)+0:
12,+0
Total:12

**********

Just before colliding with the falling priestess, Sancraid wrapped his arms around her(admittedly wide) body and immediately jumped into a roll. When both he and the Priestess hit the ground again, it was only Sancraid who got the brunt of fall, from one of the Priestess elbows banging into his chest and knocking the wind out of him. Slowly, the large women rolled off of him, releasing a similar low moan as to what she had unleashed before. On his part, Sancraid slowly got to his feet.

"Gah. Remind me not to try that again."

Bending down and helping the Priestess to his feet, Sancraid asked "Are you all right, miss?"

[Deleted]

Cringing, the tall woman began putting space between herself and the remains of the chariots. Being the size she was, Alakaia was not used to the idea of be being prey, she did not enjoy it in the least. It did not, however, mean that she doubted that it was possible. More concerning, was the fact that one of her traveling companions showed symptoms that she was more than a little familiar with. It would only be a matter of time until Lorryn found herself growing ill in the morning. Was it a good idea to mention that at this time? The knowledge alone was setting her nerves on edge. She had to keep an eye on herself and the other woman. Alakaia’s protective instincts were going into high alert. Their present situation was very troubling as well.

An enemy that hid in the trees was strange, something that she had never encountered before. The tall woman was not sure she should be worried or excited…perhaps both. Voicing eagerness to encounter new enemies was not a good idea and she doubted that the other members of her party would share her sentiments. And much like her companion, Alakaia was glancing upwards…but as she walked. Being mindful of where she was while also trying to keep an eye on the canopy above proved itself to be a bit of a strain on her senses. Eventually, she made her way over to the others. Alakaia hovered a little bit too closely the Lorryn, but at least she was keeping quiet.

Being a skilled hunter and tracker, the tall woman did not need to know anything more than she already did about traps. It was very obvious that whatever they were dealing with was a lot smarter than any of them cared to admit. At this point the tall woman knew that it was an "it". She also thought of the idea of getting anywhere near it was utterly ludicrous, though that of course also was something she did not need to admit. She was quiet then, as Lorryn loosed an arrow at the shifting mass of greenery, piercing the tough skin of the vines and cutting the priestess free. As the body of the priestess grew closer, she was more than happy that someone else was catching the woman.

Another question began presenting itself. How exactly was it that this something or someone was even able to lift the woman into the air? They would have to first tie her up, and then somehow manage to pull her heavy body up into the air. That was certainly nothing that the tall woman would do herself, which made her question the strength of their enemy even more

The plants themselves were also troubling… These were no ordinary bits of fauna, instead what they seem to be dealing with had a highly advanced intelligence. Dangerously so. "The last thing that I ever planned on encountering on this trip was a giant flesh eating, woman stealing, man-plant creature thing." the statement was completely unlike her, the tall woman having proven herself to be more than eloquent during the trip. But of course this would be her first encounter with a woman stealing, man plant. Hopefully, this would end up being her last meeting.

[Deleted]

**********

Result[/color]
13 (Avg: 13.0)

(Total avg: 13.0)

13) Hallucinogenic Pollen:[/color] Bad news! Either

• 1) One PC takes a direct hit from Hallucinogenic Pollen or…
  
• 2) Entire party gets showered by Hallucinogenic Pollen

Result
2 (Avg: 2.0)

(Total avg: 2.0)

And there you have it folks. You can start applying the effects of the pollen toward the end of your post…

Remember; you can only inflict superficial wounds on the baddies unless rolls determine otherwise. Limb Reconfiguration means that almost any sort of injury is superficial.

**********[/color]

Just as Jericho had prepared himself to go up the tree to see what was going on, strange stalkers and winding vines included, Lorryn and Sancraid hatched a plan to cut the Priestess and her Handmaiden down with arrows. Jericho’s eyebrows raised as a dozen different scenarios entered his mind. First and foremost was the fact that he couldn’t see either of the “targets”, and had no idea where they were. With that said, there was also the possibility of shooting the Priestess…or even the Priestess simply falling to her death (if she wasn’t already near death, that is). His mouth opened to voice protest at almost the exact same time he heard the twang of Lorryn’s arrows. Then the Priestess came toppling through the canopy at mach speed, and Sancraid’s little ass stacked below, ready to try to grab her. Jericho watched in mild shock and horror, and then caught glimpse of the Handmaiden coming down as well.

The big man cursed something out loud and ran across the clearing, mentally preparing himself to catch this falling woman that, only a few seconds ago, he had been preparing to climb into the trees and find. His eyes were as big as saucers as his hands came up, and for a moment he felt like a child trying to catch a ball. He rushed across the clearing and grabbed the girl in almost one fell swoop, dipping some as to accommodate the force of her fall without breaking her in half or in some other irreparable fashion. With the Handmaiden caught safely, Jericho took time to set her down on the ground gently.

Of course, it wasn’t until that point that Jericho noticed that both of the women were in a terrible state, sobbing and babbling in an incomprehensible manner. They were scratched, and both seemed to sport blood on their legs. That in and of itself was troubling, especially when he noticed they both appeared to be pregnant. Not near term yet, just actually beginning to show, but pregnant none-the-less.

That’s when all Nergael seemed to break loose around them.

The canopy overhead shook violently, and Jericho remembered seeing such a thing before as a troop of monkeys had moved through the trees. Leaves began to fall, slowly at first, but then almost like they were in a cloud. Vines began to descend down from the canopy, and Jericho had to tear his attention away from the recovered Priestess and Handmaiden long enough to take a look at their situation. Whatever was above them had them surrounded in all directions. He pulled his helm down over his head and pulled his shield and spear free, waiting for the inevitable attack, and took notice of the orange-gold pollen that was starting to settle all over his person. It was on his arms, his armor, his weapons; it was on the ground around him, in the air, falling down around the leaves…

He sneezed. The trees around him seemed to sway, and for a moment he didn’t notice the strange plant creatures that were dropping on the ground around him. Jericho shook his head and regained focus, and then thrust his spear through the nearest plant creature, its entire length passing through the monster with too much ease for comfort. Vines sprayed forward, and Jericho cursed; if there was anything he hated, it was creatures with vines and tentacles and bullshit like that. They seemed to be a recurring trend in his life. He jerked the spear free and then tore loose from the vines, replacing the spear with his xiphos. It arced around and cut off vegetable limbs as easily as ever, but the plant creatures kept coming. Suddenly he felt a vine around his waist, and took notice of a vine at least as thick of his arm descending from the canopy and wrapping around him. He had to cut this free as well.

The hallucinations began to get more intense. The forest was alive with writhing vines, most of which came from the canopy. Jericho’s most coherent thought at the moment was to get to Vakr, get his liquor, and set the forest on fire, much like he did with his encounter with Syll in the wilderness of Sunderbran…

**********[/color]

[Deleted]

Renir shifts in her seat on her wolf hound; his paws clicking on the cobblestone as he pads along the path. With a sigh she scratches behind Takala's left ear while looking around, muttering to herself. "I know that this was the direction I was pointed in . . . I hope. They said to follow this path, right Takala? Can you catch the Priestess's scent or the scent of blood?" Takala pauses to sniff the cobblestone before continuing on with a huff. Renir looks around again, muttering to herself. "It reminds me of the jungles in Xeoxen. Hot, humid, and pleasant only when in the barest of clothing."

On that note, she digs in her pack for her old clothes, unaware of the vine slithering along the cobblestone path. With a shriek she's yanked off of her blanket saddle tied to Takala, the wolfhound immediately darting forward to grab hold of Renir while she's squirming and tugging at the vine. Renir pauses a mere moment collecting herself and ordering Takala to tear at the vine trapping her, clicking her tongue and pointing at the vine. After doing so she pulls one of the jagged rocks out of her leather pouch, trying to saw through the vine. She grunts in discomfort as the vine tightens around her as she bumps along the hard cobblestones.

She freezes a moment as she finally catches sight of the falling pollen before sneezing and inhaling it as she enters the cloud of hallucinogens. She sways for a moment, blinking slowly. She stares at the hallucination of her son, his eyes unseeing and his neck turned halfway around his body as he lays in a pool of blood, in front of her with wide eyes, shock plain on her face, before shrieking and pulling at the vine holding her in an attempt to get free, the jagged rock tumbling from her grasp.

Her wolfhound growls as he continues to tear at the vine, a note of panic in the growls as he snaps at something every now and then that only he can see.

She shrieks again as a plant monster reaches for her before she reaches out with a growl, turning it's "head" backwards with a twist of her arms before ripping its limbs off with a yank. She narrows her eyes as Jericho, who looks to be about the size of a giant in her hallucinogenic state, stomps by cutting away at the plant monsters. She raises her voice in a cry for help. "Hey, you! Can you cut this vine off?"

[Lorryn]

At first, Lorryn thought she’d been looking into it too much, but now she was wondering if indeed she had been. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear Alakaia was purposely closing the distance between them so the taller woman could hover close to her again. Most of the trip she had been a virtual shadow, and while she didn’t mind, it did peek her curiosity as to why. With Jericho she’d grown use to having people a good head over her and honestly felt a little safer being the second to shortest one there, the Ferdanie taking that particular honor. Reminding herself she was probably imagining there being more to it than there was, she ignored it and went back to puzzling out the moaning mass above.

Sancraid didn’t hesitate once she’d voiced her idea, him even going so far as to position himself at the ready. Jericho on the other hand didn’t move as she aimed, the bundle of vines a mass of writhing greens but to her eye the taunt strain on the load bearing ones a dead give-away as she pulled the string back let the arrow fly as Sancraid made it clear he was ready. It sliced clean through the closest vine and the majority of the way through the secondary, enough for the weight pulling on it to cause it to instantly snap and release its cargo. A moment later her next arrow was cutting down the second victim.

Ever the eloquent curser, Jericho spit out a few choice words she’d heard more than once before, and she lowered her bow as he ran out to catch the handmaiden. Both women looked terribly mistreated but that isn’t what caught Lorryn’s attention.

“Pregnant? Them both?” They looked equally far along, and to her knowledge, nothing had been said of either being with child. It didn’t feel right and neither did the sound of the canopy overhead. Looking up she saw it shaking, leaves raining down and vines dropping towards them. In that very instant her gut told her to go but she was too use to sticking by Jericho’s side to do so. Quickly she pulled out her staff, tucking her bow away as the golden powder started to coat them all.

Hating pollen on a good day, she threw her cloak up over her head and tried not to get much of it in her face, though she still sneezed, the damn stuff sticking to the fabric of her clothes. Moving her staff to hold it at the ready in front of her, she sneezed again, then coughed when she took a deeper breath. Her head suddenly swam and she had to plant the end of her staff sharply into the ground to steady herself as the forest floor dipped to her right.

“Oh Gods…”, she covered her mouth and hugged her staff tightly as she fought against the movement of the surroundings. The worst sea storm she’d ever endured aboard ship crossing the Great Sea didn’t make her stomach flip as easily as this. The queasiness of earlier was back twofold. Around her she could hear voices, but as if through a tunnel. The brush in the distance suddenly seemed to stand and walk towards her, splitting into small copies of itself as it advanced. Quickly she swung her staff, sweeping two off its feet before stabbing the other direction, knocking another back. No matter how she used the length of wood nearly her height, the damned things keep advancing, only she could have swore they began to twist into mocking faces with red eyes and snakes for tongues, hissing loudly and trying to jump out and bite her. She felt something wrapping around her waist and she began tugging at it, fingers digging in as she tried to move away from it, her feet trying to carry her away though whatever had her didn’t allow that to happen.

And the little plant things were now the damned cats her aunt kept, mewing around her, their fur making her sneeze and suffocating her lungs as she felt her uncle's arms about her waist, attempting to pull her back towards him. “NO, I will NOT go back!” she shouted before swinging the staff sharply to and fro on either side of her, in hopes of freeing herself. She’d break the old fool’s arms if she had to…

[Deleted]

Difficulty: 20
Roll(1d20)+10:
11,+10
Total:21
Effect: Combat Fortitude Stats dropped by 2 instead of 5

**********

Having finally gotten up, Sancraid noticed that whoever this lady was, she wasn't just fat, she was pregnant. No wonder she had been so heavy. Wait a second, weren't Priestesses supposed to be celibate? Also, shouldn't something as important as the fact that the priestess was pregnant have been mentioned in the contract.

“Pregnant? Them both?”

Okay, now that was disturbing. The handmaiden was also pregnant?! And there had been no mention of either of them being pregnant during the mission briefing! They were also seemingly exactly as far along as each other, meaning they had both gotten pregnant at exactly the same time, and with that thought in mind, a cold feeling settled into Sancraid's stomach. He had suggested earlier that it was a possibility that whatever monster was here targeted women, and-

IT'S COMING

Immediately, Sancraid dodged back to where he had dropped his spear, cursing under his breath as he did so for getting so distracted over the Priestess. He had known that something was here with them, why hadn't he been paying more attention to that. Digging his foot into the ground and kicking his spear upwards into his hands, Sancraid immediately got ready for a fight.

At that point, pollen blasted the entirety of the group. Sancraid's eyes watered, before he promptly sneezed, clearing up his nose. Pollen? What kind of opening attack was pollen? It seemed silly, even if whatever was attacking them was some kind of plant monster. It stopped being funny however, when all the pollen and water had been cleared out of his eyes, but his vision was still hazy. Whatever it was, it had some effect on his vision, but he still could think clearly. Of course, that was what the monsters in the forest were waiting for, as blurry green plants began to run out of the bushes.

"Should be a good handicap! Let's do this!" Sancraid shouted, before leaping towards his opponents, his body starting to go on the semi-instinctual, almost zen like state a fight always was when chock full of adrenaline. He dodged the first swipe from one of the plant monsters, before impaling it in what would be the stomach on a normal creature with his spear. Which it ignored, sprouting vines and attempting to start constricting him.

"Tch! They don't die when they should..." That was annoying. It meant that they'd either have to simply chop off enough mass that they were no longer threats, or burn them to ashes. Both of which were difficult tasks. He had torches but-

The Imperian Lass was screaming. Immediately, Sancraid lifted his leg and planted his foot against the podling he had just impaled, before kicking the whole thing off his spear, using the momentum to turn towards Lorryn... He couldn't even tell which one was Lorryn. At this point, unless he was very close to one of them, the whole area was a jumbled mass of greens and browns. His eyes weren't working properly. He was starting to feel slightly nauseous. There was a slight buzzing in his ears. But he could still fight through this well enough. Was Lorryn even in that direction? Perhaps she had moved since the pollen had come down. These plant things, whatever they were, were not terribly strong or skilled. Nor did they appear coordinated. But there were a lot of them, and they didn't die easily.

Damn it, all he could do was keep fighting for his own life. At least the monsters were spread around a group of people, rather than focusing on a single person. But where was Cu Sith?

The great hound was holding its ground next to the priestess, who had fallen back down and was moaning piteously. She couldn't have fought back normally, and she had already been through this before, so her figure was just too miserable to describe. She no longer had the strength to scream. The dog on the other hand, was hallucinating, but a hallucinating huge dog with huge teeth was still a huge dog with huge teeth, and hallucinating simply meant it reacted like a cornered animal. In addition ,the podlings didn't seem terribly interested in Cu Sith or the Priestess. There was one podling over there, but it was pinned and being gnawed on.

It was not, however, dying.

[Deleted]

The tall woman's brows were already creeping up her forehand, even with Lorryn’s pronouncement. Though the priestess and her handmaiden had both been saved, it seemed that they had not escape their ordeal unscathed. Alakaia was puzzled… Because nowhere in the report had it been mentioned the current state either woman was found in. Had she read that they had both been virgins? If so… The current state made absolutely no sense. Grip tightening on the weapons in both hands, Alakaia kissed her muscles. Sandy hued eyes scanned the canopy overhead, and both the sound of rustling leaves and the sudden appearance of pollen. She sneezed, trying for fruitlessly to wipe the stuff away from her eyes with her forearms.

The stuff was causing her to see things, things she had wished or better left forgotten. She saw herself working for her old employer, the gauntlet still around her wrists… The old collar she used to wear was still around her neck. She was not seeing the same things that her companions were, the plant monster is actually appeared to be people that she had been required to service. Anger spurred her forward, and she slashed at her would-be attackers. Her actions made contact, but no blood to be seen… Hearing Lorryn scream behind her, the tall woman turned. Using both axes she slashed at the vine holding the other woman, managing to sever it.

It would probably be her last act, as one of the vines wrapped around the tall woman the waist and began to pull. Afraid and uncertain as to what was happening, now seeing herself dangling on a string of a puppeteer… She was nothing now but a marionette. Alakaia began to pointlessly slash at the open air around herself, roaring in anger before being pulled into the air suddenly. “Let me go string master! I am not a toy for you to toss about as is your whim.”

The only response was to be yanked higher. Screaming her outrage, Alakaia hurled her right handaxe, the thing whizzing through the air back towards the ground. The weapon whizzed through the air at a high speed, hurling towards the Ferdanie. The bladed weapon continued to spin, cutting straight through the vine wrapped around the small woman, freeing her. The muscles under Alakaia’s skin had already begun to ripple and bunch as she raged further as a means to save herself. Her frenzy ability was fully activated, but the vine holding her seemed to compensate very quickly. Veins became visible in her eyes and across her skin, her clothing beginning to strain against the pressure of holding her form within.

Faint rips and tears began in the fabric…the cloth material being the quickest to let go. Holding her other axe in a death grip almost, the woman’s entire body was coming alive, swinging in the open air without purpose. She was still under the hallucinogenic effects of the pollen. By the time she had severed the vine holding her waist, she was still held up by the legs. “Let me go! I will not be sold.” Her voice had deepened an octave, far louder than it had been before. “I WILL NOT BE SOLD!”

And then she was pulled into the trees and grew quiet abruptly.

[Deleted]

**********

Roll(1d20)+0:[/color]
1,+0
Total: 1

1)[/color] PC Win (Minor): The lowest man on the NPC totem pole is removed / killed. A dice will be rolled to determine who removes said NPC from play.

Roll(1d20)+0:[/b][/color]
5,+0
Total: 5

Based on post order, Jericho gets the kill. Happy hunting!

**********[/color]

The forest seemed to blend into intense shades of green and brown before a myriad of brighter colors, such as yellow and red, began to overpower them. Jericho was coherent for a little bit, through the first part of the fight. When his spear had no effect on whatever he was fighting, he switched to his xiphos. Part of his conscious made him wonder if he was actually fighting anything at first, but the way his xiphos felt when he hit his mark assured him that he was, and that whatever it was was definitely taking damage…if it was dying, however, or if he was simply hopelessly outnumbered…that was a different story.

Pursing his lips together the Winterborn warrior whistled clumsily for Vakr, and the horse, true to his training, stumbled up. As Jericho’s resolve and conscious decision making began to break, he made one last tactical decision. When dealing with the various beasts that inhabited the wilds of Solabren, you could generally be sure of one common weakness. Fire. He had even used it to his advantage in the wilds of Sunderbran against Syll and Rotem, and now he would use it on a new enemy. He produced a number of bottles from Vakr’s saddlebags, struggling to maintain control of himself and his horse while the great stallion stomped and snorted and whinnied in frustration. He stuffed a rag down the first bottle of clear liquid and lit it with a flint spark. Then, he turned on his heels, hurling the bottle at the nearest moving target. The strange creature never made a sound as the bottle shattered and it was engulfed in a fireball, further distorting the bright colors that were swirling together ahead of him. The creature didn’t pause; it simply turned and moved another direction, disappearing into what Jericho perceived as jungle, its moving form getting lost in a great waltz of dancing foliage.

Systematically he began to light the other bottles off of a single spark and each other and then hurled them into the woods nearby, but he couldn’t tell if the flames he was seeing were real or figments of his imagination. He had, in fact, started a great forest fire around them, perhaps entrapping them all in a raging inferno. He was barely aware of himself when Alakaia screamed out something incomprehensible and disappeared into the canopy overhead, and for a moment remembered Lorryn. The thought escaped him quickly as he turned back around, xiphos in one hand, and Vakr’s reigns quickly in the other. The horse jerked to the side, pulling Jericho to the ground in a great heap. When he looked up all he could see was Rotem standing over him, the strange metal hand extended down to help him up.

[glow=red,2,300]”Let me give you a hand, Jericho!”[/color][/glow]the younger man exclaimed. Jericho cursed, or, actually, more garbled something in retort, smacking away the metallic hand and watching it topple into the swaying purple grass around him. He blinked, and Rotem was gone, even as he woozily tried to get back to his feet. Some sort of vegetable was in front of him then, moving about, and he cut clean through it with his xiphos. Then he felt the heat of the fires around him on his face, and returned to some state of sobriety…as limited as it was.

They had to get out of there.

**********[/color]

Podling numbers reduced from 18 to 17.

[Deleted]

Renir pauses a second as the tension in the vine slackens before quickly untangling the rope and wrapping it around her fist. She looks up as Alakaia gets pulled into the canopy of the forest, screaming until she disappears among the leaves, before running towards the hallucination of her dead son while straightening her chainmail out, tears running down her cheeks as she cups a palm against his face. Standing up and wiping the water from her eyes after a moment of shocked silence she looks towards the pregnant women, curiosity on her face, all thoughts of the hallucination wiped from her mind. She looks around while twirling a jagged stone in her leather sling which she spins out into one of the green blobs watching the gray blur hit the podling and bounce off with no real effect, a frown marring her face as the stone rolls on the ground, she stumbles over to the pregnant woman next to Sancraid, her hands fumbling on a bola as she falls to her knees, closing her eyes as the world spins around her unpleasantly.


When the world settles around her again she slowly opens her eyes before jumping up and looking around in panic, yelling out: “Takala! Where are you?” She settles down as a familiar bark followed by a growling is heard in the distance, at least what seems to be the distance in her hallucinogenic state, before she spins around and sends a bola towards a podling, tangling up its legs.

Another Podling shuffles over to her, it's arms reaching out to grab the small woman though she slips the wrapped vine free from her left fist and twists it around the Podling's legs in a crude tangle. After looking around, leaving the vine behind, she sidles her way to Sancraid, usiing him as a shield while she lights a molotov cocktail and launches it at a moving green blob, real or imagined it may be.

She sniffs the air, catching the scent of smoke with alarm dawning on her face, a measure of sense returning to her. She yells out for her wolfhound while looking around in panic. "Takala! Here boy! Whoever the rest of you guys are we need to get out of here!"