Falling Leaves...

[Lorryn]

This isn’t right. Her mind fought with what she was seeing. She knew damn well she wasn’t in Imperia and her uncle surely thought her dead. Let alone the fact the cats now seemed to take on human proportions. She stabbed again, violently, into the chest of one, knocking it back, though she saw it getting up again. The grip around her waist was now beginning to tug upwards and her eyes widened as more sobriety hit her. Up, like the Priestess…

And she could feel it was vines, not her uncle, and there were thinner, finger like ones snaking up under her skirts, sliding along her legs, when the stopped suddenly and the upward tug of the great vine stopped only to start crushing her. As she heard Jericho whistle for Vakr not far from her, she felt the vine drop and quickly scrambled to the side to see in her hazy vision the sliced ends wriggling away into the canopy. Alakaia was being similarly entangled and Lorryn knew her dagger would be of little help. Stabbing back another plant like being, as she could tell it was through her clouded vision, she looked for the nearest sword she’d seem glistening in the sunlight just minutes before. Spotting one, she slipped her staff on her back and grabbed the dried blood spattered hilt.

Lorryn grimaced as she had to add her other hand. In the back of her head she heard the old admonishment, “those wrists need strengthening” and she cursed under her breath as she brought it up, none to gracefully, and slashed through the first plant monster in her way. Sancraid had been right, it didn’t even phase the cursed thing as she tried to get back to Alakaia, swinging the sword at the viney things along the way with about the grace of a five year old with papa’s sword.

She could hear tearing noises, Alakaia’s screams, and breaking glass as she fought to reach the woman, but had to watch her foggy form being pulled into the canopy before she could reach her. “Alakaia!” she shouted, bringing the heavy sword up for another slice as she felt vines trying to snag her ankle. And that’s when she noticed the incredible heat building behind her, casting her in a long shadow as her clouded vision took on warm hues ahead of her. Fire?

Lorryn spun around and her still clearing eyesight had no trouble telling it was flames she was looking into. Jericho stood not far off looking rather dazed himself. It was bad enough to be seeing things as if on the edge of a dream, but to add a fire to the mix? “I know and the sooner the better!” she shouted in reply to the Ferdanie, letting go of the sword with one hand so that it dragged on the ground beside her as she dashed over to the prone forms of the Priestess and her handmaiden. “Sancraid, Jericho, I’m not much help here!” There was no way she could carry either out of them and she busied herself with attempting to use the blade to keep the plant monsters at bay until they could come get the women they’d been sent to rescue. Once they did join her, she paused to look up into the smoke filled canopy, wishing she could spot Alakaia…

[Deleted]

He was getting nowhere. Even thought he could deal with the pollen, he was still not going any lasting damage to the monsters. Every thrust hit home, every sweep of the spear knocked one of them down, every attack they had made was dodged, but nothing phased them, and they weren't getting tired. Sancraid may have been a powerful warrior, and a winterborn able to keep going for a very long time, but he had no illusions of immortality. If they didn't figure out a way out of this, and soon, he was eventually going to get exhausted and unable to dodge. That would be the end of him.

But then, the primary purpose of this mission was not to "kill the monsters", it was to "save the Priestess". Therefore, retreat was a perfectly sensible option. They could come back here after having prepared for its dangers more, and with knowledge of the effects of the pollen.

"Takala! Here boy! Whoever the rest of you guys are we need to get out of here!"

“I know and the sooner the better! Sancraid, Jericho, I’m not much help here!”

Time to get out of here. Once the Priestess and her handmaiden were safe, they could get back to this place without any distractions.

"Cu Sith! Stop eating that plant and lets get out of here!"

The great hound looked up, before shaking like a dog that had just gotten out of the water and was trying to dry off, before abandoning the podling she had been chewing on and making her way over to Sancraid. With the hound in tow, Sancraid starting knocking aside and dodging through podlings on his way to Lorryn. No more thrusts, he didn't need to attempt to damage them anymore, he just needed to get over there. As soon as he reached them, he lifted the Priestess and placed her prone form on top of Cu Sith's saddle. While fending off podlings and waiting for Jericho to get over here, Sancraid wondered aloud. "Damn it, where's Alakaia?!"

[Deleted]

After being pulled further past the view of the canopy, the tall woman was unaware of what was going on back on the ground. She still thought herself being tinkered with. Though the sudden rage she had experienced had cleared her mind a bit, she was still not yet there. The vine wrapped around her mouth that had silenced her loosened a bit. The branch that Alakaia was rested on was not that but instead a wooden table. Her vision was hazy, but she was unable to speak as she was gently prodded and poked.

[/b] The tired, old shopkeeper asked. He wore a white apron, with a tanned tunic and no adornments on his bare feet. “She is one of my favorite models.” The tall puppet stared out with near sightless eyes and expressionless features. The store he was in had his “favorite” creation hoisted upright near the front door as a means to attract new clients. A tall, quiet man dressed in a long dark cloak that swallowed him and his companion were currently looking through the contents of the shop, trying to find something to tickle their fancy and garner some true interest. The younger of the two wore dark trousers with a white tunic, the laces dangling loosely. The shop owner lifted a finely honed stick, carefully tapping one of her cheeks. She could feel the pain, but couldn’t move the muscles of her jaw to scream. It was almost as if something bound her mouth closed.

“I mean, look at her! Have you seen such a face, even in that of the living?” One of the two men stepped closer at the comment and lightly grasped her shoulders. He studied the puppet’s face for a long moment before speaking.

“I have seen more life and animation in the dead.” He replied, sardonically, no hint of facination or amusement on his face. “The price you ask is exorbitant, toy-maker.” He spat. “For what you are seeking, she must be made of gold! Or have a golden core.”[/i][/ul]

Her body shook and shivered, fully under the effect of her own misspent Frenzy. Bare from the neck down, her armor having been removed by a vine prior to her body straining to erupt from the stuff, her current form was an example of what happened physically as a result. She had grown a solid foot in height, putting on over a hundred extra pounds of muscle. The new growth had almost proven to be too much for her skin, the veins under her flesh obvious. Despite her state, she seemed calm of mind…having received another dose of the pollen to the face. The effects of the change on her body were slowly wearing off and she was shrinking at a gradual rate. Vines wrapped around her arms and legs, pulling the limbs apart. In her state, she wasn’t even aware of the slender form approaching her, its head a massive blooming flower.

Pulling tighter, they parted her muscled legs further apart, allowing the slender form easy access.

[/b] The keep pointed out each area on his massive ‘moving toy’ with the same stick. “The best part is not having her, gentlemen. It is using her.” One of them, the older of the two, rubbed his chin. He seemed to be contemplating a purchase. “She is not immovable as she seems.” The display she was set at melted away to reveal a massive frame. The old gentleman moved to attach hooks to the loops on her wrist, legs and head. The hooks themselves led to the top of the frame.

“Okay…you have our interest old man. Go then…put a show on. Here we are now… Entertain us.” The old man’s teeth looked extraordinarily large in his thin-lipped mouth. He grinned and began climbing a hidden set of stairs on the frame. At the top, he slid his hands into a compartment that hid controls. Adjusting and pulling on the control bars, the tall ‘puppet’ lifting her head and began moving. Suspended on strings, Alakaia took a few steps forwards and then backwards. There were other strings attached to her, making the massive puppet move. One control string loosened her jaw just enough.

“PLEASE!” She cried, finally able to speak. Stopping his impromptu ‘play’, the old shopkeeper hurried down the platform to silence her. “Please… HELP ME!” Shaking their heads, the two men spoke quietly amongst themselves.

“We have no interest in this puppet of yours, toy-maker.” Tipping their hats, both of them began walking through the door they had entered through.

“DON’T LEAVE ME!” The old man walked in front of her. Both hands were planted on his hips and glared openly at her.

“You’ve…you’ve ruined everything!” He stabbed at her face with the stick. “My entire life’s work, destroyed…all because of YOU.” And with that, darkness swallowed her vision.[/i][/ul]

---

4.5 Hours Later

Alakaia lay sprawled on the ground in an unknown location, her tattered armor and clothing scattered around her. Groaning a little, she struggled to rise into a seated position, her muscled belly aching something fierce. Her eyes were still closed, her head lolling back on her shoulders. In the distance, she could smell the faint hints of smoke. Unable to raise fully, her eyes fluttered open to discover why. Straining to suck in gulps of air at what she was seeing, her eyes widened. Not another part of the dream? Muscles she’d forgotten about strained as she shoved herself into a seated position.

Her abdomen was distended and pressing against it did nothing. She looked nearly halfway in a pregnancy. Gritting her teeth and reaching between her legs to try and move, she cringed at feeling something out of the ordinary… because she could not see what might be there at all. Her hands encountered a strange and slippery substance, which she tried to grip between her fingers to study closer. Upper lip curling as she pulled her hand back then, she eyed the pale green gelatinous slime as it slowly dripped from the tips of her fingers and fell on her belly. She noticed that the ground under her was scorched. The trees around that patch of forest or what few were left…were blackened. What happened? Gritting her teeth carefully, Alakaia rolled onto her side and carefully pushed herself into a kneeling position. She felt the pulling sensation in her abdomen as the weight there shifting forwards dramatically, her belly bloating further. Whatever was inside her felt solid and heavy.

She nearly fell forward from the momentum of her gut alone and spent some time trying to gain some semblance of balance. This was followed by a bit of retching, but thankfully nothing came up. I have got to get out of here. Struggling to keep her breathing under control, she glanced to the few items she was left with and began the arduous task of collecting everything to travel. She located her hand axe, armor and the remains of her tunic. Cautiously, her fingers traced over the flesh of her abdomen, and she was able to make out distinct shapes. I’m…I’m pregnant…again. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and she hurried as best she could. There was no way she was going to be able to put any of her armor on.

It was not lost on her that her companions had left. She was alone, swollen with who knew what…No signs of any other supplies around. And her bloated body could not even fit back into her clothing to give her some measure of decency. Not again. Not AGAIN. I DIDN’T WANT THE LAST ONE EITHER. Anger, spurring her on as she truly absorbed the breadth of damage to her body, she let out a blood curling cry…her screech traveling quite a distance. “COME OUT OF HIDING, YOU BASTARD…BEFORE I COME FIND YOU!”

But nothing and no one answered her cries. Nothing at all.

She began the long trek to find landmarks and signs of water, her chin wobbling very irritably.

[Deleted]

**********

Falling Leaves

Part II…

Incursion Combat Simulator-

Roll(1d20)+0:[/color]
7,+0
Total:7
7) NPC Win (Moderate):[/b] NPC’s begin to beat back their attackers. Either…

• 1) 1 PC temporarily removed from combat after getting coated in Sap Spray (has to skip one post)
  
• 2) 1 PC is moderately injured!
  
• 3) 2 PC’s lose weapons / armor assets in combat. (Assets can be recovered at the end of the battle)
  
• 4) 1 PC gets a Basic Epic Item removed from battle. (Assets can be recovered at the end of the battle). Similarly, a magic using character can instead begin losing energy instead of a Basic Epic. Minor Magical Abilities are neutralized for three more posts. Major Magical Abilities now have a cool down time of 3 posts instead of 2.
  
• 5) One PC gets sprayed with Hallucinogenic Pollen. Will start to hallucinate shortly thereafter.
  
• 6) One Podling gets cut in half and becomes TWO Podlings thanks to Limb Reconfiguration

Roll(1d6)+0:
3,+0
Total:3

• 1 = Jericho
  
• 2 = Lorryn
  
• 3 = Sancraid
  
• 4 = Alakaia

Roll(1d4)+0:[/color]
1,+0
Total:1

Roll(1d4)+0:[/color]
2,+0
Total:2

Items Lost (Jericho)-

• Xiphos
  
• Spear
  
• Pick Axe
  
• Retarius Net
  
• Black Eggs

Roll(1d6)+0:[/color]
4,+0
Total:4

Items Lost (Lorryn)-

• Dagger
  
• Staff
  
• Bow and Arrows
  
• Mail Tunic
  
• Leather Armor
  
• Leather Armguard

Roll(1d6)+0:[/color]
1,+0
Total:1
There it is. Lorryn and Jericho both lose weapons in their next posts. Jericho loses his retarius net, and Lorryn loses her dagger. These can be recovered at the end of the thread.[/b][/color]

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

Heat was the only thing Jericho was one hundred percent certain of. There were moments in the battle where he felt as if the skin on his face was melting off, and still there were other moments where he was dancing in flames that seemed to be cool. This latter part had to be the work of some exterior influence. Fico was barking and growling and tearing into something nearby, and Jericho was faintly aware of people around him shouting…something. Something that he couldn’t make any sense of at first. His brain struggled furiously, knowing the gravity of their situation, even as the strange pollen continued to disrupt his senses and thought process. He knew they were under attack. By what, he was unsure of. Something that took damage easily but kept coming back to the fight over and over again. They were also surrounded in flames; he had hurled a molotov cocktail into the jungle after all. If that had done anything for them or not, he couldn’t be sure. Hell, at this point he wasn’t even sure where he was, what he was doing, or who he was doing it with.

Suddenly something was wrapped in his belt loop. Jericho stumbled forward, slashing with no luck into the air, before realizing that what looked like the giant skeleton finger of a long dead hand was looped in his metal belt. The finger slowly morphed from one form to another, taking on the look of a great snake, but with no head or tail. He couldn’t see where the snake originated from, but he cut furiously at the end holding his belt. Finally it slipped free, snagging his retarius net as it did so and jerking it free. That was ok. He could live with that, if he could just get out of this mess of colors and strange shapes and skeleton figures…

One of the monsters popped up in front of him, and his big booted foot came up and knocked it flat on its back.

Lorryn’s voice cut through his senses. She wasn’t much help? He wasn’t sure what she meant, but his vision slowly adjusted to show him that she was standing near Sancraid and a new comer, as well as the Priestess and her Handmaiden. He slapped himself, trying desperately to regain his wits, even as his friends, who he had ridden into this mess with, seemed to melt back and forth from plant creature to human. Running as fast as his drugged legs could carry him, he closed the distance with his counterparts and scooped up the Handmaiden. Vakr was still busy on the other end of the clearing, near Fico, and so he thought perhaps he should carry the Handmaiden…even looking down at her writhing form, clutching her stomach and morphing from one bizarre creature to another.

Lorryn and Sancraid had both said something about getting out of there, and Jericho’s mind threw him forward. He started to run, the only thing he knew to do, until he was back on the trail they had come in on. When someone asked about Alakaia, it didn’t even register with him who she was.

With a whistle to Fico and Vakr, and sure the others were following, Jericho removed himself from the fight…

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

[Deleted]

Renir whistles for Takala, her eyes flickering towards the Priestess and her Handmaiden every few seconds, before looking towards her hound as it tugs on her chainmail shirt. With a grunt, she climbs onto her hound, coughing as she inhales a lungful of the smoke that the wind is blowing straight at her. She clicks her tongue at Takala before breaking into another series of coughs, her face turning red as her ride follows after Jericho. She wipes her brow, flicking the sweat off of her forehead as the heat starts working into her chainmail shirt. Lowering her hands to wipe some sweat out of her eyes, a hissing sound coming from between her clenched teeth as the salt stings her eyes, she looks back to Sancraid and Jericho.

"I'm Renir, by the way."

She shifts in her seat, coughing again before turning her head to the right and spitting. With a frown she pulls a roll of paper out a pinch of herbs, rolling herself a smoke. Bending down as Takala trails after the others at a fast pace, she snags a twig, lighting it with flint and tinder before lighting her smoke and tossing the twig into a patch of grass that is already burning. With a satisfied puff, she closes her eyes.

[Lorryn]

Finally Sancraid had reached them and was hoisting the Priestess up on the saddle beside him. While she stood swinging, rather clumsily, the long sword in her hands, fending off the damned plant things, Lorryn still didn’t have clear enough sight to have realized it was him at first, but the smell of Cu Sith certainly made it clear. No matter what that pollen was doing to them, it didn’t mask the scent of dog. Again she swung the heavy piece of metal and shouted over her shoulder, as it’s momentum swung her on the balls of her feet. “In the canopy! This… THING has her!”

About then Jericho appeared and he looked to be struggling more with his vision than she was. But he didn’t waste time, that was for sure. No sooner than he appeared, he was gone, the Handmaiden in tow, heading out of there like a bat out of hell. With how much brighter the golden glow was becoming and how her mail tunic was beginning to feel like it was going to burn through her dress, she knew it was time to do like wise. With a final swing of the sword, she flung it free from her hands, letting it cut through what it may to give her time as she whistled for Driscoll. She could hear him stamping and kicking away the moment before she did and headed in the direction Jericho had gone when a vine wrapped around her left arm. Fighting against it, as it pulled backward, she reached into her leather corset armor and pulled out her dagger from her cleavage, quickly using it to hack at the offending plant. Freeing her arm as her horse arrived, she went to mount him when two new ones grabbed her right wrist and ankle at the same time. “Fucking bastard!”

The vine squeezed her right wrist and her dagger dropped to the ground. Without a means to cut herself free, she wrapped her left forearm in Driscoll’s reins, grabbed the pommel, and gave a sharp, short whistle to get him moving. His sudden momentum forward tugged her free and she barely grabbed the back of his saddle in time to keep from dragging under him. With a swing of her waist, she swung her right leg over and managed to pull herself onto the saddle, hugging his neck as he followed Vakr to safety. Once outside of the blaze she sat up, winded, coughing from the smoke she’d inhaled and feeling like she would passed out from sheer exhaustion any second as she took stock of the newcomer. “Hi… Renir…” she panted, still catching her breath. “I’m Lorryn.” Driscoll shook his head, as if clearing his mind as he brought her up alongside Jericho’s warhorse out of habit. “Glad you joined us?” By then she had gotten her breath enough to make the joke and chuckle.

[Deleted]

“In the canopy! This… THING has her!”

At that, Sancraid's mind turned to ice and steel. He wasn't scared. Not at all. He was simply angry. But, no matter how angry he was, there was no longer anything he could do. Alakaia was gone, out of their reach. They had to save themselves now. However, no matter what, they'd be coming back at some point, just, better prepared. Even if he would be coming back alone.

"I'm Renir, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Renir. Now let's get the hell out of this forest of the damned. Cu Sith, get going!"

With that, Sancraid used his spear like a quarterstaff in order to simply knock the plant creatures still close to him away, and slamming it into the legs of one to make it fall, before leaping onto the back of the great hound starting to go. They certainly weren't fleeing. Simply strategically retreating.

No matter what anyone said, this wasn't over.

[Deleted]

**********

Jericho woke up in a daze of reality, unsure of what was happening. The first thing his senses reported to him was that the suns were setting. That much was clear. He felt sort of weak and dizzy, moreso than he had in years, as a matter of fact, but he sat up anyway, rubbing the ball of his hand across his eyes. His vision slowly began to clear, but it wasn't his vision that was troubeling him the most. He listened as he waited...and at first he could hear the white noise of unconsciousness as it faded to include the sounds of birds chirping. Crickets chirping. Frogs croaking.

Then there came a horrible series of shrieks, moans, and sobbing. This compelled him to his feet.

"Lorryn!"[/color] He announced, trying to find the location of the girl who had almost always accompanied him, but he digressed when the screams continued. That wasn't Lorryn. He could even pinpoint their direction as he listened, and he followed them into forest, some ten or fifteen meters from where he had worken up.

There, surrounded in a series of low lying vegetation, was the Priestess and her Handmaiden. He was relieved that they had recovered them...but he was unsure of what was wrong with them. Or the Handmaiden at least. The Priestess, or the one he assumed to be the Priestess at least, was sprawled out asleep in the weeds not far from her companion. He pressed through the vegetation that clung tight to the ground until he could see her, grasping her stomach, her skirt hiked a bit in the front...as a strange plant creature seemed to emerge from her womanhood.

Jericho's eyes widened and a sickening filled his heart the likes of which he was unfamiliar with. He screamed something out of sheer horror, something he would never be able to recollect, before finding his wits and drawing his xiphos. Even as he prepared the weapon, however, he saw a multitude of the small creatures clinging to shrugs and trees around him. He slashed at one to no effect before they all scurried into the tree's overhead. His eyes darted around, finding the Handmaiden again as she lay back in the weeds, sobbing until she passed from consciousness again next to the Priestess she had sworn her life to.

"Holy fuck!"[/color] Jericho shouted, barely aware of the rest of his party coming up around him. "Holy fuck! What just happened?!"[/color]

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

OOC: Podlings added to Flowering Death's inventory: (Roll 2 D6. Result, 4, 1. Total, 5) FIVE.

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