Tetras gazed up, drawing his great swords and watching as the gigantic bird swooped down from the sky. It was bigger than any bird he had ever seen in his home land. How did they get that big? Was there magic, some kind of food? Genetic mutation? Either way, that thing seemed menacing. And anything caught in those jaws would be torn apart, bit by bit. Maybe this is what was taking all those carts? It looked big enough to do it. Hell, it might be able to just pick up the thing and carry it away!

The giant bird landed near them, but didn't seem interested in them in the slightest. But, once it landed, it starting eyeing up the cart like a piece of candy. That wasn't going to go over well. It might not be trying to kill them, but their cargo sure would be demolished by that thing. And besides, two of his companions were still in the cart. They would surely get out soon, heating the bird, but they would need a little time. And that's what Tetras had to give them.

Tetras gave a running start, running with force as he made his way behind the bird that had ignored him. Once he got close enough, he would leap towards it, slashing both of his greatswords forward, slashing it's back. Hopefully with it not paying attention to him, he would get a nice clean hit off and hopefully distract it so the others could start trying to kill this thing. It was a mistake ignoring Tetras, and he was going to let this big bird know that. Hopefully the rest of his team would be able to help him take down such a beast. It wasn't going to be easy, but he never backed down from a fight. Right as he leaped, he gave a large battle cry, looking to impale the beast right on its large back, near its neck. Or, at the least, one of its wings.

The pebbles drifted in a most curious direction when tossed, leaving Jagred with more questions than answers. There could be a strong current there, or something else far more dangerous. Maybe it was one of those ocean beasts. His crimson eyes narrowed as he neared the pond, one hand on the hilt of his sword. However, just as when he was about to voice his concern, the hooded man spoke of Piranha Hounds ahead. Speaking of the devils, said hounds appeared mere seconds later, a chorus of growls and snarls filled the cavern. It was a miracle the bats were still asleep.

Without any hesitation, Jagred turned, his black blade leaving its sheath in one fluid motion. Sword in one hand, he advanced, any trace of playful lightness had left his eyes; all was left the cold hard gaze of a swordman. The lizard had been surrounded, but he seemed to be handling himself. Whether he survived this encounter or not was not one of Jagred’s concerns though. For now, he was slowly stepping forward, putting himself between the pack and the mages. He had yet to encounter a beast of this kind before, so Jagred maintained a defensive position. He stood with the stillness of statues, but as his foes neared, his blade was lightning as he lashed out against them.

-Jagred stood between the two mages and hounds in a defensive stance, attacking only nearby enemies-

Though Nazr expected one of the brutes to draw the attention of the hounds, he still sighed in disappointment when the Aahari's boisterous motions roused them to attack. Nazr counted on catching the hounds unaware, as his speed could not match up with theirs; even if he were to successfully sneak up behind one with his cloaked scent, they would run and jump around too swiftly for him to catch up. But Nazr had another idea on how to salvage the soiled situation. He read a passage in the Tome of Eldritch Lore wth a silent tongue, and around his form coiled around shadowy tentacles, surrounding himself in their grasp until he was one with the darkness.

Having turned his visual form to one with the Abyss, Nazr then set out, sneaking past the pack of ravenous beasts as they growled and bit at his comrade. Then having gotten a fair distance ahead of the two battling forces, he fisr looked if there were more mosnters ahead yet to be awakaned to their presence. If there were, Nazr would do the following: he would sneak back to the safety of the backline and dispel his invisibility, followed by a loud, snarly passage of the Tome as he opened his psionic might to take control of the physical world, and hurl two sharp stones at the hounds with the velocity of black powder ammunition. However, if he found he was safe to do so, Nazr would uncloak behind the pack of Piranha Hounds, read a passage from the Tome, and lifted a couple of stalagmites from the floor of the cavern. Then with an eloquent descent of his hand, he sent them falling down on two of the lowly critters, piercing their emaciated frames with spikes of sturdy rock.

G-gardening?" Ophene had to ask quickly. She wasn't all too sure about wha-- "Oh! Gardening. . . I suppose the tracts of land out here would help with Lily Gardens. . ." Of course, this girl must have seen the title of the book. . . Well, Ophene was just glad that the girl didn't understand the subtle meanings of that specific title. She would have continued trying to cover it up. . .

Except there was a massive cacophony of noise of screeches and disgusting gutteral noises. Ophene pocketed her book quickly as she turned her attention to the giant creature that showed itself. It was like those colorfully beaked birds from early but much, much larger. Her baser instincts were telling her to run though she held that back as she watched her teammate run at it and attack! "You fool! What are you doing!?" She cried out in shock. Seriously, that thing was big enough to gulp them up in a single bound! Obviously, the best course of action would have been to retreat into the foliage that didn't make any weird sounds and watch the giant bird to see what it would do. There weren't many supplies and Ophene considered their lives and information more valuable than whatever they had with them.

"What to do, what to do. . ." The Bunny-Girl fretted for a few moments. Something this large could have easily been the culprit, but she wasn't sure how strong it was. If it looks were any indication, it was as tough as it was large and frieghtening. Of course, leaving the Dual-Greatsword use to die was an option. He did attack first after all, though the thought didn't sit right with Ophene. "GAAAHHHH!" She cried out as she grabbed her rapier and a nearby dagger before hopping on one of the horses. These ones seemed domesticated enough to ride so she cut it's bindings and rode it slightly forward. At the very least it would give her a bit mobility to harass this giant bird.

"I plan to run." Ophene said to Isabella and Tsukiko. "But we need to extract Tetras. Most things don't just get attacked and let you get away with it. She gave herself a few seconds of silence before continuing. I hope its feathers burn." She held her index finger out with her thumb sticking up pointing towards the giant toucan's body as a fire started growing at her fingertip. After it grew to a size just short of the thickness of her arm and the length of it the Pheran slammed her thumb down apparently causing the bolt of fire to launch toward the bird.

A loud screech interrupted Tsukiko and Ophene’s conversation, and the two rushed out to see a truly massive fatbird, its beak spiky and its talons sharp. Towering above even the cart, it was an impressive sight to take in, its black wings longer than Tsukiko’s height. Each step of its shook the earth, and its breast was nice and thick. How many people can this thing feed? Fifty? Seventy? If she made a broth out of it, it could probably feed a whole town.

At the same time, however, it didn’t actually appeared to be all that hostile. All it eyed was the cart, and the motions it made suggested that the fatbird wasn’t intent on attacking the adventurers immediately, regardless of the hysteria it was causing the horse. A bird of this size should have no problem keeping itself fed, and the beasts of the wildlands were just beasts. The contents of this cart, then, should be of no interest to the fatbird.

Which meant that it was domesticated. Trained. Working under the bidding of someone who DID care about what was in the cart.

Of course, regardless of whether or not it was particularly peaceful, Tetras had already launched his attack, rushing in with two greatswords drawn, while Ophene, after suggesting they ran away, went on the offensive, tossing a small ball of fire.

Tsukiko turned to Isabel as her companions fought, before sighing. “We could just let it take the cart away and follow it. This isn't even evil.”

Regardless, the ink-haired woman placed herself in front of Ophene, Tsukimi held between her hands like a staff, ready to parry whatever blows came their way.

~Reef Grotto: Canine Clash~

Em nods in response to the presence of a ghost, knowing instinctively that it's one holding onto a bunch of useful information. This was something you got used to, delving into dark caves and looking around for ghosts. They tended to know stuff.

A pack of ferocious dog-creatures attacked, but frankly, that was of little concern to Em. She had a ghost to find. So, she takes the appropriate route for any spellcaster and walks vaguely towards the enemies, headed further into the cave and in the general direction of where Nazr would inevitable appear. At the same time, she focuses her own aura of shadows, causing it to emanate from her body in powerful waves.

With the wealth of easier targets, and the figure walking confidently towards them radiating pure fear, it was only logical that the piranha hounds would choose to attack the now party that was now lessened by two members. It might be, in their minds, a lucky find. It wasn't usual for two of the invading enemies to just walk away, especially the scariest one in the group.

"Oh, hi." She casually greets Nazr as he appears and begins to harness the powers of some dark grimoire. Eager as she is to see his sorcery at work, she has a ghost to find. She says as much to him, with an impressed whistle and a quick excuse of "Sorry, there's a ghost. I'm going to go catch it."

And with that, she walks past the attack entirely and proceeds further on into the cave, radiating fear the entire time. Hopefully, any enemies weaker than herself would buzz off without any issue. Or maybe she would accidentally scare away all of the bats, and rain hell down upon the party. Or get ganged up on.

Only good things could come of this.

@Superman@Pyromania99@ERode



Tetras' sneak attack would have probably been quite effective, if he had not decided to announce his presence quite loudly with a battle cry. With a swift turn, the bird swiveled its head in the direction of the armored Knight. Instead of hitting feathery hide like Tetras intended, his greatswords clanged against the creatures beak...which didn't seem to damage the beast at all. Perhaps that spiny, sharp beak of its wasn't just for show after all, and the bird knew exactly how to use it.

Hopping around, it righted itself as it focused on Tetras. The bird locked Tetras' greatswords with his beak. It wasn't just a dumb animal apparently and perhaps there was some training there, just as Tsukiko suspected. Either way, Tetras surprise attack had been completely ineffective.

The bird jumped backwards, freeing his beak from Tetras' greatswords...and was then assaulted by Ophene's fireball. It didn't catch the bird on fire, but it certainly distracted it long enough for Tetras to realize that perhaps he had maybe just fucked up royally. The giant black feathered bird only cast an annoyed glance towards Ophene as it flapped its large wings, screeching and quickly put some distance between itself and Tetras.

And then it charged.

It gained speed almost impossibly fast, accelerating to a speed that was almost impossible for a human to see. The gust of wind that it made was strong enough to throw the wagon on its side, and likely the women standing by would be similarly affected by it. The bird didn't even seem bothered by the trees in its way at all, in fact, the spines on its beak seemed to be cutting through them like they were paper. If Tetras didn't dodge, he'd likely very well be killed by the sheer force of speed and apparent strength of that beak.

---

Isabella was knocked to the ground, unprepared for the sudden gust of wind coming from the bird. Thankfully it was brief, and the bird didn't seem to want to harm anything, in fact, if Tetras hadn't attacked first it probably would have left them alone. Ophene, the Pheran seemed to have the right idea. She didn't think there was any way they could easily beat this thing, and fighting this thing wasn't part of their job, was it? Though, if it was so interested in the wagon, perhaps it was the thing that had been attacking it? It was certainly a possibility, though if this was a new phenomena then it was odd for it to suddenly just attack like that....

Okay, not the best time to be thinking about that. She rose to her feet, grabbing her shield and holding it at the ready, just in case the bird tried something else like that.

She had to think of something to do here, but that bird was moving to fast, and from the fact that the birds beak could take a hit from a great sword and remain completely unscathed, meant that getting in that things path was likely a death sentence. Thankfully for her, it seemed focused on Tetras for now. Not so good, was that unless they could intervene in some manner he was gonna get seriously injured...she could heal him, but she couldn't bring the dead back life. She cast a concerned look over to Ophene and Tsukiko.

"How can we help him?" She asked. She didn't see any way to turn this into a good situation, honestly. "I can heal him if he gets injured, but..."

@Ariamis@Lauder@RedDusk



Ankts intimidation efforts proved to be almost useful. While the death of one of their own followed by the hissing put them off a little, they still seemed ready to attack. The snarled at him, gnashing their sharp teeth and barking their odd, gurgling bark as they waited for one of their own or Ankt to make their move.

And it seemed like they would be the first. One, in a feat of surprising acrobatics and agility leaped onto the wall, jumping off of it and aiming a lung right at Ankts neck. Another attacked from below, going right for his legs while a few others pursued the other adventurers.

Thankfully for Ankt, one of Nazr's improvised weapons slammed into the hound going for his neck. Another, slammed into one heading for Jagred's location. And thankfully for Nazr, his cloak along with him masking his scent, coupled with the hounds poor sense of vision, meant he was mostly unnoticed as he attacked the hounds from behind. It remained to be seen how long that would last, but for the most part he seemed safe enough.

Jagred would find himself under the assault of three hounds, thanks to one of Nazr's stones killing one before it got to him. The growled at the swordsman, barking in their usual fashion before one leaped to the right, almost looking like it was going to attack him from his left before suddenly leaping changing directions and attacking from his right. The other two circled around him, obviously trying to attack him from behind.

...and then the bats Woke up.

screeching, clawing, and generally pissed off that they had been woken up, countless of the winged creatures made for a swift exit out of the cave. The sheer number of them made it difficult to see, and the adventurers would probably find their tiny talons and mouths digging into their flesh.

@Black Alice

Well, for one, Em seemed to be having the easiest time progressing. The Dark Aura seemed to be doing its job, though if there were even any Hounds this far in, it was difficult to tell. A few barked at her from afar, but most definitely seemed to not bother with her and head further towards the party happening towards the entrance of the cave. For the moment, she seemed completely safe from the dangers of the cave. The bats, though, still caused her a bit of a problem, too frenzied to flee completely from her aura, but for the moment she seemed safe enough.

As she continued down the path, she'd find the passage sloping downwards, deeper into the earth. Water could still be heard trickling quietly along the floors and walls as the din of the ensuing battle hushed. She had traveled quite a bit further form the others at this point.

She was completely alone, and all was not well.

Voices echoed off the wall. They were difficult to understand completely, but it was definitely in a tongue Em would understand.

"Around here," The voice was throaty, raspy, and seemed completely unaffected by Em's Dark Aura. "human died." The second voice growled, the sound of metal beating on stone echoed.

"Well find anything of that fleshy scaleless meat sack!" The second growled. The second voice was a bit higher pitched, but still retained its raspy quality. "We need to hurry."

"Patience. We need to make sure he left nothing-wait." A hum came from the second one, as it sounded like he took a deep breath of the air, sniffing it. "...human." The last bit was said with obvious hatred and scorn. The second one soon followed suit, taking a deep breath of the air. Wordlessly, the sudden sound of feet on stone could be heard moving towards Em's direction.

It was likely whoever those voices belonged too, had less than noble intentions whenever they found the human eavesdropping on them.

Ankt did not like these creatures for they were a major annoyance, he turned his back to the one who leaped for his neck and slashed the head off of the hound that went for his legs. However, the bats proved themselves to be a greater annoyance once they awoke. They encompassed his very being, pinched his skin with failed bites and tiny claws. Since they were awake, he could finally do something to intimidate these damned hounds and possibly get the bats away from him. Ankt let out a mighty roar, lasting for a few seconds and followed by a mad charge towards any hound who dared to try and get past him. He grabbed one with his free hand and slammed it into the ground with all his strength. He stepped on another's head with his entire body weight. These creatures would know pain, they would know death for he brought it to them.

The bats, however, slowed him by slamming into his body while he attacked the hounds. They were not doing damage to him in any real sense due to his tough skin, but they proved themselves to be extremely irritating and so he snapped his jaws to let the bats know that he would eat them if he had to. Though, he never knew how smart an animal could be since they all had different levels of intelligence, though it was worth a shot.

Tetras was caught off-guard as suddenly the large bird whipped around, a speed seeming too great for a bird of that size and being from the wild as it clasped onto his greatswords. What the hell was this thing? His swords barely even left a scratch. He had never faced such a creature that could take both swords head on and barely flinch. It was almost like a fod with a stick in its mouth. Completely surprised, Tetras tried to pull his swords away with all his might but it was useless. It was very strong, very fast, and smarter than the average creature. What has he gotten himself into? If this was the thing that kept attacking the carts, he knew why they never came back. This was a freak of nature and magic, and it had stumbled onto their cart.

He was throw back onto the ground, landing barely on his feet in awe of the creature as he picked himself back up. The beast jumped back, and Tetras had just enough time to prepare himself as he watched the bird jump back and a fireball hit him in the back. A fireball? Wherever it came from it didn't seem to do much, but by the looks of it, it came from one of his party members. Sadly, it didn't do much of any damage, and the bird seemed to have cast a annoyed glance a best.

The giant bird flapped its wings, a huge gust of wind blowing over the cart as it zoomed straight at him, cutting through trees like twigs on its way. It could rip apart a forest with no problem? Tetras watched the bird, seeing how fast it went, the patterns in its approach. It was like a bull, charging. Very fast, very powerful, and could kill. But, it probably couldn't change directions easily, or on a dime, going that quickly. Tetras took all this in, studying his opponent. He knew he had to face this with an open mind, and treat this seriously now.

Tetras leaped out of the way, throwing himself to the side as the large bird zoomed past him. If it wasn't for his superhuman reflexes and his massive leap, he wasn't sure if he would have made it, catching him off guard like that. But in the little time he got to watch, and watching it pass by him, he had a plan.

Scanning his surroundings, he found a large rock not far away from the clearing they were in. Maybe if he got to that... It might be smart, but he would have to outsmart it if he wanted to do some real damage. He booked it to the rock, which was about two to three times the size of him. A boulder really, but it would do.

If the bird didn't chase him to it, he would put himself in front of the Rock and taunt the bird. Then, he would wait until the precise moment to jump as high as he could in the air, dodging out of the way and trying to stab his swords into the beast, preferably the head. If he didn't have time to stab it, he would jump slightly backwards so he could stab the beast in the underbelly. If in fact he was running and it turned to follow him, he would try to at least backflip over the beast and stab it as it flew past. And if all else fails and it turned and got to him quickly, dodge out of the way and not get skewered.

He was determined not to die to a wild creature, and even more determined to slay it if he could. There was shame in running, but if he had to, living to see another day was important.

Unlike the other adventurers, who were probably completely distracted by the swarm of bats, Nazr instead reveled in the abundance of tiny brains that came up to him like in a buffet. Tentacles burst forth from the impenetrable darkness of his hood, and snatched up bats to his mouth with a terrifying precision and quickness. The others couldn't see a thing, so he didn't mind letting his true nature shine as he ate countless living brains full of the delicious taste of primal instinct for him to savor. As Nazr was still undetected by the hounds that continued their assault on the rest of the party, he continued his opportunistic ways and slammed two more talagmites into the spines of the disgusting sharp-toothed quadrupeds.

-Nazr eats a truckload of bat brains and smashes two hounds with telekinesis.-

~Reef Grotto: Evil Skeleton~

"They're coming."

A simple word in Em's ear, whispered from the place beside her head where the darkness of the cave seemed somehow darker, and the young Necromancer's entire body stiffens. There is no formal preparation, no hesitation in her action in the slightest. She just did what she does best.

Her staff rises from her pack, hovering in front of her and letting out a terrible, black glow that began to illuminate the cave. Dark energies swirled around her, caressing her body like thick, viscous smog. The distinctive sound of bones rattling against each other fills the cave, echoing through it queerly, sending chills down the spine of anything living. From her secondary pack, a perfectly intact set of bones rises and assembles behind her, bones swirling in a violent and terrible dance of undeath.

There was no communication between her and the spirit nestled on her shoulder. They acted as one. They both knew the spell off their black little hearts, and were wishing with the full might of their being for this miracle against nature to come true.

There, in the blackness that was their element, the two Necromancers cry- "Rise, Servant of Unlight, rise from the depths of unrest. Bring terror to the living in our Dark names. Come forth... <Evil Skeleton>!" Just like that, the bones that were once separated become whole, forming among the most unwholesome and terrible servants of the damnable Dark Arts. It was more than an ordinary skeleton. Formed where it was strongest, and empowered by the darkness in its bones, this was a being a level above a Skeleton.

It was, truly, an Evil Skeleton.

Like a furious animal trapped in a cage, unable to do anything, the Skeleton glares horrible at the master who had brought it to life. It knew, instinctively, that this thing was its Master. That didn't mean it had to like it. It stands, motionless, awaiting the stimulus that would set it free. Biding its time.

"There is no time for formalities, oh darkest servant of mine. Protect your mistress. Promptly direct your fury towards her enemies, and you may still be put to rest. This is our contract."

The skeleton says nothing. It's a skeleton.

Beasts were just beasts, it seemed. These hounds behaved like wolves, once faced with a larger enemy, they would attempt to surround said enemy and attack from all sides, leaving no room for the target to manoeuvre or escape. He had been using the same technique for years, after all, so countering it proved to be of little difficulty. The first hound tried to bait him, feigning a strike from the left before leaping in from the right. Jagred intercepted the beast’s attempt at fineness, and brought his blade up. As soon as the hound charged, he sidestepped, then struck the creature’s neck. The sharp blade went through easily, almost severing the beast’s head as its limp body dropped to the ground. With lightning reflexes, Jagred turned to engage the hounds that had circled behind him. Before either of them could charge, he went in first, striking a beast to his right. It leapt out of the way, but just barely. His sword had caught its side and left a long cut from its midsection up to its right eye. The wounded beast let out a yelp as it fell to its good side. He would finish it later.

For now, with only one opponent left, Jagred loomed over the beast, ready to deliver an overhead strike that would surely part the beast with its head. It was then the bat attacked. They took him by surprise just for a few seconds, but it was long enough for the hound to realize its chance. The creature leapt, its mouth full of razor sharp teeth was wide opened. There was no saving it now, so Jagred thrust his sword toward the beast, half-praying he catch flesh. In the end, he did. The creature’s life blood stained his gloves as he retrieved his blade from its gaping, unmoving maw.

However, there was still the threat of the bats. Some surrounded him, stubbornly clung to his exposed skin with sharp claws and teeth, drawing blood. They did not bother him that much though, aside of obscuring his vision. But in such a hostile place, he needed his vision, so he began to work on clearing out the bats, relying on his speed and superhuman stamina. His black blade was a blur as Jagred turned and slashed repeatedly at the bats around him, blood and flesh began falling like snow.

-Jagred finished off three hounds then began chopping up the bats-

@Pyromania99@Superman@ERode



The large bird's attack missed completely, and it didn't seem to bother it. IT carried through with its attack, twisting its body and spiraling into the sky. With a squawk, it flourished its wings and looked around. It seemed somewhat confused that its prey had managed to avoid it, but after quickly looking around, it found the knight that had attacked it. It eyed him carefully, before losing altitude and coming back towards the ground. If the flapping of its wings in a similar manner as before, it was readying another charge.

Tetras' plan was good.

Get elevated above the bird after taunting it, jump onto it and attack. It likely would have worked, if he could have gotten more help from those that were with him.

Isabella simply watched from the side lines, still unsure whether to intervene. The creature was obviously a great deal outside the realm of their skill level, but...she couldn't also let Tetras get killed by it. So she'd help him, then. Enough standing around weighing the options.

Brandishing her sword, she eyed the creature as it swooped down, intending on striking swiftly with her blade. It was focused on Tetras, so it would likely not notice her.

Just one, small problem occurred.

The entire forest seemed to come alive. The roots of the trees sprang from the ground, cracking the earth as they broke free of their natural forms. The roots wrapped themselves around Isabella's leg, ensnaring her and preventing her from moving. The same thing seemed to be happening to Ophene and Tsukiko, roots trying to ensnare them and prevent their movements. Small, looking trees covered in small foliage seemed to even break from their roots...and started talking?

Isabella tried cutting the root with her sword, but before she could a strong hand grabbed her sword arm, twisting it somewhat painfully and causing her to drop her weapon.

She craned her head towards the thing...and came face to face with a jungle troll.

Anyone who knew the forest would realize the trolls liked camouflaging themselves as trees to ambush travelers, and it seemed as though the adventurers were now falling victim to such a scheme. The trolls were at least two heads taller than Tetras, with lithe green-skinned bodies. They all had long legs, with three toes, and in their arms were equally long, most carrying spears or a simple shield. It was clear their bodies were built for speed, probably for nimbly running through the forest. On their heads, they had black hair, and most were adorned with headdresses made of toucan feathers, and their bodies were adorned with simple leather and bone armors that had various leaves and things from jungle trees tucked into them.

"Grusha...brave one, fighting will only get you killed." Though the one she was facing spoke in a way she could understand, it was clear this was not their native tongue. Not like she had a whole lot of choice in the matter either. The Trolls had been upon them in a matter of moments, and whatever shamanistic/druidic magic they were using to command the trees to ensnare their party was already done.

Even if Ophene and Tsukiko managed to avoid getting ensnared, they were already surrounded by at least ten of these trolls, whose spears looked ready to defend themselves at a moments notice should they try anything funny.

Tetras was however, managed to avoid the root. Being on top of the rock freed from from being ensnared by the magic so easily. The roots climbed the rock, but for the most part didn't reach the knight. Unfortunately, his target was being dealt with by the trolls.

As the Toucan moved swiftly in towards Tetras, definitely aiming to finish off the one who had attacked it. Unfortunately for the bird, the trolls intervened just as they did with the Adventurers. A troll who seemed to have climbed a tree, jumped, leaping onto the back of the bird as it dove. With a harsh whack to the back of the things head before it could react with a staff, the bird squawked, falling to the ground in surprise from the attack. The bird, and the troll, who was dressed in similar attire as the others, though wearing a headdress adorned with several colorful feathers, landed right on the ground in front of Tetras.

"...fool." The troll simply said, shooting a glare in Tetras' direction without regard for the fact it had just ambushed them. "Fighting sacred bird alone. Lucky we had been near."

The troll stepped off the bird, who cawed weakly. A few words in an unknown language was spoken to a few others gathered, who began tending to the bird. Any bindings done by the trolls seemed to dissipate as well.

"Suggest leaving before other tribe finds." The troll said to the group.

It seemed that despite the ambush, the trolls weren't entirely hostile...and they apparently, in fact, had very little interest in them aside from the bird.

For a second time, Isabella was unsure what to do here. She was quickly freed from the root that snared her, and she was surprisingly allowed to retrieve her sword. She did have quite a few questions though, especially about that magic, but she also had a job to do and she doubted these trolls were behind the attacks on the wagons, either.


@RedDusk@Ariamis@Lauder

This time, Ankt's intimidation worked quite well. The hounds, animals as they were, definitely were put off by the loud roar. Those that hadn't attacked yet, whined, shirking away from the lizard as the bats cleared out from around him. It seemed like the hounds knew that attacking, would likely be a very bad thing indeed. The hounds, unwilling to continue their assault after that, bolted out of the room, past even Nazr. Most, leaped into pools of water. Ones that likely connected to the sea as they made a swift, and hasty exit.

Thankfully for everyone gathered, the bats proved to be of little annoyance for long, and soon their panicked shrieks were little more than an echo towards the entrance of the cave. The guards stationed outside were likely in for a nasty surprise quite soon.

Aside from a few lingering hounds who were too stubborn or prideful to leave their territory completely, it seemed the trio was in the clear for now. The hounds that did remain, watched from within the clear pools.

would they press on? Or would they keep investigating the area? It seemed one of their party was missing, after all...

@Black Alice

As the owners of the voice finally made it to Em, it was quite clear the speakers weren't human. They looked a bit like a smaller version of Ankt. Standing at about five feet tall, covered in green scales with a lanky but agile looking build. A small tail extended from their tailbone, and their feet were clawed, as were their hands. There were two of them, dressed in makeshift metal and leather armor. One wielded a rusty looking blade, and the other a heavy looking club.

The two looked quite surprised at the skeleton before them, but soon turned to a growl.

"It's just a kid." One growled, leaning on the heavy club of his. "And a tasty snack for the hounds."

"Bah, doesn't matter. We kill anyone who knows about us." A somewhat annoyed sounding hiss came from the other one, but no more was said. "They'll both be tasty snacks for the hounds."

With a final hiss, the one with the heavy club leaped forward, swiping at the skeletons midsection with the blunt weapon. The other, stayed back for the moment, seeming to observe before getting involved.

Encounter:
Kobold Guard
Number: Two
Threat: Low-mid.

As the last of the lingering bats were chopped into bite sized pieces, Jagred lowered his blood-covered sword. After a quick glance to take in his surroundings, he noticed how the lizard’s roar had scared most of the hounds off. Some remained though, he could spot their snout through the clear water. Jagred frowned slight as he flicked his sword, sending droplets of blood onto the cavern walls. His entire apparel was also dotted with bat blood, and his white hair was marred with streaks of red.

“Damned critters…”-He mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair; the frown deepened when his hand came back red.- “Got blood in my hair.”

He would prefer to press on now, since nothing was blocking the path anymore. However, after a quick look at the members of his group, he noticed the young woman was missing. Did she got dragged off into a pond by hounds? In that case, she was good as dead, unless necromancy allowed the user to breath under water? That was certainly not the case, as far as he knew. There were corpse raisers among his people as well, rare as they were, and he was pretty sure they drown just like everyone else. Regardless, he wouldn’t want the hounds to bite their backsides as they moved further into the caverns. Quickly grabbing one of the skittering crabs on the ground, Jagred hurled the poor creature at the hounds, hoping to irritate them enough to attack him. If they didn’t, he would just move on down the path, with the occasional look behind his shoulder of course.

-Jagred used crab toss to draw agrro. If it does not work, he will move on.-

"Cowards, the lot of the hounds," Ankt said with a slight grin of victory as the hounds and the bats began to run after he had let out his roar. Though, the battle was no challenge to the likes of him or anyone on this party so there would be no true celebration. However, he would take a prize of the battle by cutting the head off of one of the bigger hounds. It was a small skull, but it would do as a prize. Ankt sheathed his sword before continuing into the cave, he did not even bother to see if the entire group was still alive. There were noises of commotion ahead and so that meant someone could be in trouble, not to mention there was the scent of that girl going down; the scent of decay. He made haste, running down the corridor with large steps though it was equivalent of a fast walk for humans.

Ophene barely had the time to pay attention to Tetras. The plant vines curled up around the legs of her horse and as much as it would have loved to rear back and run away, it could not. As the trolls surrounded them, Ophene gathered her a fire at her fingers, ready for an intense fight. The trolls out numbered them, so it would have been a battle that ended in their deaths. . . Except it didn't go that way. They took the giant multicolored bird and left with a warning as a gift.

Ophene watched them with her fire still lingering above her finger. They left peacefully, so she let them simply walk away. No reason to start a needless fight like their swordwielding companion. . . In fact, Ophene had half a mind to reprimand the man for running off like he did, but that could wait for later. "Well, I suppose it's time we get a move on. I think it's safe to say that the thing making these caravans disappear is that giant bird. We should just carry through to our objective and plan accordingly." She ended the statement with a sigh. Now they needed to reattach the horse to the wagon. . . She just hoped the others agreed with her.

As Tsukiko watched the battle progress, she didn’t notice the ensnaring roots until it was too late, the magical entanglements racing up her long legs and squeezing her thighs, restraining her temporarily. Before she could tear the bindings off her legs with brute force, the priestess stopped, realizing that she was surrounded by large, humanoid beings. The jungle trolls, huh? Eyeing them warily, she wondered just how Ophene was unable to hear them coming at all, but kept her comments to herself.

From above, the leader of the trolls dispatched of the ‘sacred bird’ and reprimanded Tetras. Soon the bindings disappeared, merely suggesting that the party leave before any other, less friendly tribes found them.

Tsukino closed her eyes, before loosening her grip on the weapon at hand. The Pheran had decided that the giant bird was the only cause of the disappearances, while the dark-skinned girl was as indecisive as ever. It would be easy, really, to say that the giant bird did it, but the Priestess of War was sharper than that. There were too many questions. And the trolls were too valuable just to give up on for the time being.

“Wait,” she called out, walking up towards the leader of the trolls, “What’s this about other tribes? Have they been attacking caravans? And your sacred bird, is it something that is raised and trained by your kind? We’re here to investigate the disappearance of supplies travelling from Oar’s Rest to an outpost. If you have information, explain.”

Nazr chucked to himself once the morale of the beasts was broken, and the filthy fauna routed. He dusted himself and took a look at the quivering hounds, and then at Jagred.
"They have now learned to fear us. Any further antagonism is superfluous."

He then realized that Em was missing, and noted that the others were starting to go ahead to look for her. "I will be among you shortly, I just want to take a...clossser look..." The bat brains, though numerous, were unfortunately quite tiny, and the illithid wanted a morsel that was a bit more filled with instinct and visions of terror. He crouched down before a dead piranha hound with his back turned to the others, and horrible slurping could be barely heard as the dark scholar engorged himself in the cerebral cortex. Once he was done, he rose back up and followed the others, now brimming with psionic energy from all that he has consumed.

Tetras was bracing for the jump when suddenly vines came up to try to get him from the rock, but he was able to evade them and have them not trap him. Why were vines trying to grab him? As he looked up to try to jump onto the bird, it looked like a troll had taken to the bird first. It came crashing down, looking stunned as the troll with a lot of feathers scolded Tetras. Looking confused, he kept his swords ready, but not necessarily hostile as the man did help him. "Sacred bird? It looks like it was trying to take our sacred cart over there buddy." I sigh, looking over to the cart. It was flipped over, but the others seemed intact as he caught a glimpse of them being released by vines, more troll people around them. It seemed as though they weren't being ambushed, and he was glad for that. Today was already a bit rough.

Glaring at the "sacred bird", and wishing he had slain it before the trolls bailed him out, he walked over and easily flipped the carriage up right, going over and tying the horse back to the wagon. The girl made a good point, questioning the trolls, and although not much help was given to him fighting the bird, he decided to shrug off their lack of help. Most people weren't suited to fight such a creature, although Tetras felt at the time it was important. "Thanks for the help, I guess, but she brings up very good questions. We are trying to investigate some disappearing carts coming from oars rest across this forest, and I'm sure you could help us out. At least give us an idea who, and point us in the right direction."

~Reef Grotto: Kobold Challenge~

Having expected two worthy opponents for her newly formed Evil Skeleton, Em was surprised and just a little bit exasperated when it turned out the enemies were nothing of the sort. They weren't even that much taller than her. Taking a few steps back so that she had more room to maneuver, Em watches the sword-bearing Kobold with a look of distinctive distaste, wondering how he was planning on challenging her.

If it was planning, at all. Could Kobolds even do that? She'd forgotten.

Meanwhile, her Skeleton was under attack, but it was by no means in any sort of danger. The instant the Kobolds showed themselves, and one approached it, only one thought would go through the skeletons mind. Its mistress's instructions. It knew what it had to do, faced with enemies trying to stop it from accomplishing its oaths.

KILL.

The Evil Skeleton charges with shocking speed, dancing past the club-wielding Kobold's effective range and turning the fight into a purely melee struggle. It registered the existence of makeshift armour, but discarded the fact as redundant. Armour was made to protect against many things. The sharp fingerbones of a Skeleton was not one of them. Hands lunging out, the Skeleton plunges its fingers into the place where it would find the Kobold's eyes, intent on blinding it.

Following up instantly and with an almost mechanical flow, the Skeleton pulls its right hand back and seeks a weak point in the Kobold's stomach, where it would then thrust its hand to attempt to tear into the monster's flesh. Its skeleton teeth chatter dangerously, and with a second sudden lunge, the Skeleton thrusts its head forwards and attempts to bite into the Kobold's neck, if it was uncovered. Otherwise, it just frustratingly clacks its teeth, waiting for an opening to deliver the killing blow.

It begins.