[Event] Investigate Crann Mor [Closed]

[pantsgrey]

Lo and behold! Crann Mor! The great tree! Such awe and wonder at a tree of such size! Well, it is probably a tree, that is likely, but what trees are like this? It stands tall above the other trees, but more strangely, is hollowed out. How does it support its massive size without a filled interior? More importantly, what is on the inside? For the sake of answering this question, you are here.

At the base of the tree on the north side is an opening. Not gaping or gigantic, but just big enough for a person to fit through, or numerous people could they go one at a time. Should you peer through the gap, you will see a large, circular area, somehow lit up, though there is no obvious source of light. The large area seems barren, with the exception of a few cobwebs, dust, and a round, wooden pedestal at its center. Is that part of the tree, or artificially added? Who knows? From your outside position, it is not possible to see any sort of ceiling to this area within the tree.

Before any of you have the chance to volunteer to be the first to enter the tree, there is a rustling in the branches above. A dead and bloodied squirrel drops in your midst. Three large batlike creatures swoop down from the branches. With a wingspan of ten feet and an oval body roughly four feet in diameter, the branches of the smaller trees sway as the monsters swoop past them and brake to circle above the group. Their furs are a deep scarlet, their wings a leathery purple. One of the three holds a rabbit in its massive jaws, its jagged teeth tearing and grinding through the smaller creatures body. However, at the sight of new prey in its black beady eyes, it drops the wounded (yet miraculously still alive!) animal to the ground, a pale-green saliva dripping from its mouth. The three monsters let out a screech, with echoes answering from the surrounding forest and from within the tree. Or were those sounds within the tree really the same echo...?

What will you do? Will you enter the tree? Investigate the pedestal? Or will you do battle with the bats? Save the rabbit? Cook it? Run away and forget you ever wanted to do this? Some other option I haven't thought of? The choice is yours!

The Investigation Begins...

(More event info here: illuminessence.proboards.com/thread/362/event-recruitment-investigate-tree?page=1&scrollTo=620)



Update: Curious about the bat monsters? Learn more about them here: illuminessence.proboards.com/thread/369/skoteini-ropalo?page=1&scrollTo=626

[Danyal Brights]

Ah, Crann Mor. Danyal had wandered around this area more than a time or two since moving to Dorcha Hollow, but he'd yet to explore it extensively. He had the same reasons many before him had, he was sure; too busy, no good reason to waste the effort, et cetera, et cetera. For most, the truth was that the place scared them. And while he would never admit it, it scared Danny too. Not because of the chance of some terrible monster; he'd seen those before. Not because of the spooky noises; hell, he was fascinated with ghosts and things. No, he wasn't scared of those things. Truth was, he couldn't place exactly what had him so spooked. And now, it was time to face up to the nerves and get out to scope out the place. He was Danyal Brights, the best goddamned scout in the world, the Nightwatcher, for cryin' out loud!

And so, with confidence and a hopeful stride, Danny made his way to the edge of Crann Mor, intent on finally scoping the place out. Little did he know how eventful the locale would be; he certainly didn't think it would draw in others from town! Danny was in "Job Mode", which for him meant that he had social inklings in his body right now. He was here to do his job.

So he approached Crann Mor itself by skirting around through bushes and behind trees, always sticking to the shadows. When he neared it, he closed his eyes for a moment, willing a bit of magical energy through his body. He took a deep breath, calling on the element of Wind to encase his feet in a cloud of silence, and as he walked, he made no noise, even over leaves and twigs. It was from his position in the darkness that he witnessed the scene before him; that bloody squirrel dropping, the large batlike monsters swooping down, the massacred rabbit. Instinctively, the scout ducked down, crouching from his hiding spot, keeping his concentration on the spell to remain silent. When the screech happened, it took everything he had to hold concentration, and he felt like his eardrums would burst.

Surely that would draw some attention, and Danyal was not a fighter. He knew how to fight, yes, but he was not a front line fighter, especially not when he was alone. If others arrived, he may assist, but for now, he had no business diving into a suicidal battle against those creatures. The best option was to sneak into the tree itself when the creatures were otherwise occupied - perhaps the delicious rabbit would hold their attention long enough for him and his magical silence to sneak inside. He took a deep breath, steeled himself against the fear he felt of those creatures, and moved around the large dead tree toward the opening. Finally breaking away from his hiding place, he moved to the "door" and slipped inside.

There, he saw that pedestal, but he was unable to discern its nature or purpose. His eyes darted all around the interior of the tree, and he noticed he was able to see despite being inside. That wasn't all that odd in this glowing miracle of a forest, but it was still something to note. Very slowly, he stepped toward the pedestal. As he walked, he drew a pair of  daggers out of his jacket, holding one in each hand. He inspected the pedestal as he approached, allowing the spell around his feet to subside, making soft footsteps until he reached it.

[pantsgrey]

The bats continue to shriek outside, but do not follow Danyal into the tree. The sheer size of the tree becomes more apparent within, as the "ceiling" of the opening seems incredibly high up, and even then, that is not the top of the tree. How can you tell? In the ceiling, there is a rectangular opening that seems to lead to a higher area. Various sounds seem to be coming from this opening, but it is an indistinguishable and barely audible mixture of sounds. What could be moving around up there? How could one reach that height?

Upon investigating the pedestal, Danyal notices the top of the pedestal to have a round indentation in the center. Carved around the rims of the pedestal in an ancient language is the message: "Place a seed blessed by your power, and it will be you who grows to new heights." The carved message seems to be undamaged by time, which would seem strange for a tree so ancient. Also strange is that the pedestal seems to be not installed, but a part of the tree.

The "room" is bare with the exception of the pedestal, giving it a more distinct feeling of spaciousness. What's that?! Part of the wall seemed to move. That can't be right, can it? Perhaps its just paranoia from entering this strange place, but you can't shake the feeling that something is watching you...

[Maaren]

Crann Mor. Maaren had never ventured this far in the forest before. He never had any need to. No one had investigated the area so he didn't know if there were herbs he could collect for the Hollow. Of course, that was part of his reason for coming. An investigation group would need a good herbalist in case there were any useful herbs around. Maaren wasn't much of a fighter of course, nor did he like getting himself into conflict. Some part of him said that helping would be the right answer though. It was usually a good idea to listen to that little voice in his head, rather than the cold, uncaring ones that were usually there. Maaren was an herbalist for two reasons after all: it was something he knew how to do, and it was helpful. If investigating this tree, discovering its resources, and helping his fellow mages was helpful, then he knew he should do it. It wasn't a matter of want, because Maaren didn't want very much these days. He just felt that he should, and that was that.

Upon arriving at the tree, he saw another heading toward the great goliath that was Crann Mor. Perhaps another from the Hollow that was to accompany him. Maaren was about to call out, at least try to, when he heard noise from above. It was a dreadful noise, as Maaren noticed three large batlike creatures flock to the space above the tree's entrance. Maaren pulled his wooden staff closer as it rested in the crook of his arm. As much as he hated the relic, another "gift" from the Witch of the Wispwood, he would be needing it for this investigation, and much earlier than he had anticipated.

Maaren saw that the creatures were attacking something, a small creature of some sort. Either way, with larger, tastier snacks around, like the man Maaren saw before, they wouldn't stay concentrated on the forest creature for long. The warlock moved closer to the entrance, to the monstrous bat creatures. He was almost just below them as he began to whisper under his breath. Maaren never knew how he knew the proper words, the hisses and the guttural sounds that triggered the flow of magic through his body. He rested his head against the top of the gnarled wooden staff as he muttered his incantation, and his eyes shifted to a bloody red shade. A dense black mist started to seep up from the forest floor, and rise to envelop the bats in its dark haze. Even if Maaren knew now how he could trigger such power, he did know one thing: that mist would drain the creature's strength so if they tried to harm anything else, they would be much less effective.

With that, Maaren made a run for the entrance to the tree, hoping that the haze would be enough to distract the bats too. He certainly couldn't fight them, but it was the least he could do. Inside he found the man from before, and looked around the great tree's interior. There was a pedestal, and an opening above.

"I would offer my greetings, but I fear there is danger about." Maaren said to the man before the pedestal. "What have we here?" The warlock moved to look at the riddle on the pedestal. He did not notice the movement on the wall at all for he was too focused on the tree's first riddle... 

MADE BY MINNIE OF GANGNAM STYLE

[Danyal Brights]

The sound of the bats screeching outside the relative safety of the tree was definitely frightening - Danny didn't consider it cowardice to have a healthy fear of things that could kill you. Bravery was fine and dandy when it didn't get you killed, and Danny wasn't a moron. He took a moment to catch his breath and glance around, looking up, up, higher and higher, to the ... ceiling? Interesting. Those noises reached his ears and he wondered what they might be, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He'd keep his wits about him and deal with whatever came down from there, but for now, it was irrelevant.

He peered down at the pedestal and the indentation, leaning forward just slightly to read what it said. He mouthed the words as he read, raising an eyebrow. Interesting. The fact that it was still pristine wasn't that out of the ordinary; after all, he was a mage, living in a city full of mages, so magic wasn't really shocking anymore. Still, it was something to note. "Seed blessed by .. huh." Wonder what that could mean.

Suddenly, his eyes darted to the movement on the wall. His daggers came up before him at the ready, and he narrowed his eyes, trying to pierce the darkness. Mental note; work on a spell that lets you see in the dark without creating a fire. Not that it would help him now, but it would undoubtedly be useful in the future. He sighed, shaking his head, letting that watched feeling sink in. Once again, he'd be ready; if something came for him, he'd respond appropriately, but until then, there was no sense in staring down shadows.

When he heard the light footsteps of the Warlocke enter the tree, he jumped and turned toward Maaren, daggers at the ready in a threatening stance. "Aaah!" He let out a very manly yelp of surprise, then laughed aloud at himself, shaking his head. He -knew- there would be others coming to investigate, and he mentally chided himself for being so surprised when one showed up. "Hah.. Whoa, shit, I'm sorry, I uh .. It's a bit tense in here." He smiled. He recognized the Warlock from town, obviously, but he couldn't place the name. His hand slipped into his jacket, where he deposited one of his daggers (the left hand still held one), and he let that hand hang at his side.

"Hey, man. I'm Danny."

He stood beside Maaren at the pedestal, nodding. "Yeah, weird, right? Have any ideas?" He peered at the riddle once more, sighing, taking a long breath and considering. "A seed.. Could it be as simple as casting a spell on a seed, and placing it here? That seems to easy, right?" Maybe it meant .. maybe Plant magic would do something? Better to try and fail than not try at all, right? So, that dagger in his left hand, he touched the tip of the blade to his right palm and made a small cut. He allowed a drop of blood to drip on to the pedestal, concentrating on the effect of his Green Thumb spell. "If you wanna make an omelette, right?" He chuckled.

[pantsgrey]

The shrieks outside quiet down somewhat as Danyal's Green Thumb spell seems to take effect as normal...at first. However, the results quickly become radically different. Instead of the small plant he was used to seeing from this spell, a gigantic vine emerged from the pedestal, growing taller and taller, and widened to the point of enveloping the pedestal it had been born from. The vine thinned out towards the top; just enough for it to fit through the opening in the ceiling, and leave enough room for a few other human-sized entities to squeeze through.

However, the vine does somewhat represent the spell Danyal knows and loves, as berries begin to grow from it...but these berries are MASSIVE compared to what he usually gets; certainly too large to pick up and eat, but one creature in the tree doesn't plan on having it as take-out. The odd spot on the wall unveils the illusion around it, revealing a Crann Chameleon! The massive lizard launches its tongue at the ceiling, using it to swing from its current perch on the wall to land on the great vine, and begins digging in to one of the berries, putting up a sloppy camouflage as it feasts on the giant berry. As it eats, a few seeds fall to the ground. The seeds are only slightly larger than sunflower seeds, but are a light purple color. There are not many seeds for how massive the berry is, but who knows what they could be used for?

In any case, the way onward has been revealed, but that path has now become the territory of the Crann Chameloen.

Maaren and Danyal each receive 2 Crann Berry Seeds.

[Maaren]

The man Maaren had seen sneaking into the tree jumped when he approached. Of course he did. Maaren was a quiet fellow, and he did sort of sneak up on the man. It was tense? Yes, Maaren supposed it must be. There were such large creatures outside, ones that he could no longer hear, and this great tree was rather dark and mysterious. If Maaren could feel his pulse quicken, his brow sweat, or his jaw ache again, perhaps he would be able to agree. But, no such feelings of tenseness stirred within the young warlock. Perhaps at a time like this, that was a blessing? Maaren could not say.

When the man, Danny, introduced himself, Maaren merely nodded. "Maaren," he replied. "It's a pleasure." That was simply for formalities sake. Maaren didn't care about meeting a new companion. Though his head did tell him that two would have more luck in this tree than just weak little Maaren on his own. Plus, the man held a dagger, so Maaren assumed he knew how to use it. Yes, things would go much smoother with two mages.

As Danny pondered the writing on the pedestal, Maaren tried to peer into the space on the ceiling. It was too dark though. Even a warlock with control over the darkness like himself had no luck seeing up that far. Before he knew it, he felt a rumble as a giant vine grew up from the pedestal and through the gap in the ceiling. Maaren looked back to Danny, seeing his cut hand.

"What a useful spell," Maaren mused. He could feel magical residue from the blood and the vines. Magic indeed. But before he could say anything further, or even ponder how he would manage to climb up those vines with his useless arms, Maaren saw a large lizard leap from the wall and onto the vine. As it tore away at the large fruit Danny's plant produced, seeds fell to the floor. At first, Maaren was too busy concentrating on the Crann Chameleon to grab the seeds, as he should. Even if he could climb this vine, that creature was in his way.

"I don't know if this will be of much help, but..." Maaren concentrated on the creature, let his eyes slip into that blood red shade, and allowed the chill of his magic to run through his veins. Solid, shadowy hands shot up from the floor of the tree and grabbed at the Chameleon's eyes, hopefully blinding the creature long enough for the two of them to either slip past it somehow, or defeat it. Maaren looked to Danny, then to his limp arms at his sides. "Finish it off if you can or not. This is all I can do. I cannot climb this vine, for my arms are mostly useless." He did not want to disclose this information to a stranger, but it was the only way to continue further. With that, Maaren reached down and tried to pinch at the seeds. After he failed to at least three times, he resorted to pulling out a small leather satchel and brushing the Crann Berry Seeds inside. Good thing an herbalist such as himself was always prepared with the proper bags. He would have to study those seeds later...

(PS: That was Maaren's Blinding Shadows Spell)

MADE BY MINNIE OF GANGNAM STYLE

[Daja]

At first, Daja was quite hesitant about investigating Crann Mor. She was no trained soldier and what little she knew revolved around fire magic, and she figured that the elders wouldn't be too happy if she accidentally burnt the entire forest down. Rather dangerous and what not.

Still, let it be known that Daja Algierz never shied away from a call to arms. If she couldn't supply the defenders of the Hallow with weapons, she could at least lend her own. Monsters always looked less scary from the business end of a sledgehammer, she always said.

Okay, she had never, yet been able to say that, but she was eagerly awaiting the day. Besides, today was as good as any day to begin saying that, so without further hesitation, Daja grabbed her sledgehammer and made her way into the forest. She knew she was headed in the correct direction, when she heard the mind-numbing screeches. Resisting the urge to book it, she pressed forward, until she came in sight of the big tree, in full view of the big bats. Also just in time to catch sight of a blonde head slipping into the tree. Daja had always prized herself for having an eye for faces (well, backs of heads in this case) and she was pretty sure she recognized that one as the herbalist's. Or at least she recognized his purple headband.

Deciding that it would be much safer to travel in numbers, Daja made a b-line towards the opening of the tree. She was in no mood to deal with the three bats all alone. Hopefully, they'd just pick their rabbit and squirrel back up and be on their way. Besides, who'd want to eat a blacksmith? They probably just tasted like metal and smoke. Very unappealing. At least, that's what Daja hoped.

Scuttling into the tree, she immediately realized that she had made the correct choice. With her free hand, she jerked a thumb towards the growing vines. "Your work?" she asked the two men with a grin. Her grin only grew larger when Maaren cast his magic. She shouldered her sledgehammer. "Woulddya look at that."

Assuming that the Crann Chameleon didn't immediately lash out in retaliation to the blinding, Daja'd scratch the back of her head. "Doesn't seem to be the angry type. Let's let it have it's berries and skedaddle." she gestured to the vines. Up seemed to be the only way.

Maaren's weak protests would be met with a derisive snort and a wave of the hand. "You ain't that heavy, and I ain't leaving you with those bats out there." It was true that Daja was a strong woman, and Maaren was a slight man, but provided that he man wasn't heaver than he looked, she should be able to help him up.

Unless Danyal had any objections about not attacking the blinded chameleon, Daja would give him a big grin, and gesture upwards with her thumb, "Up, you go, Green Thumb!" She gave him one last grin, before rounding on Maaren. Assuming that the man didn't struggle (or blind her as well), he'd find a pair of calloused hands around his waist, "Up we go, kiddo!" Grabbing a hold of the thick, vines Daja began to move upwards--it was the only way out of there after all, and if Danyal did want to attack this lizard Daja definitely wanted to take advantaged of falling damage.

[Dakota]

If there was a puzzle to be solved, Dakota was there. And by the sounds of it, this Crann Mor tree was one big mystery waiting to be unraveled. Though she left the Hollow alone that morning, she soon spotted other mages who must have had the same idea. She couldn't help but grin to herself at the prospect of beating them to the punch and figuring out Crann Mor before them.

From a distance she spotted the gory squirrel drop to the ground, and it did not take her long to see what dropped it. Dakota recoiled slightly in fear of the three large, bat-like creatures, and for a moment she merely stood there, watching as one of the other mages ducked into the tree. As another mage conjured up some sort of black mist, Dakota snuck towards the opening, only to stop short when she spotted the bloodied rabbit on the ground.

She hesitated, glancing up through the murky black spell at the monsters above. Hopefully, the black fog would be enough to distract them for a moment. Dakota removed her vielle and its bow from her satchel and, kneeling close to the injured rabbit, began to play a slow, soothing melody. Though her Rhythmic Recovery spell was not the best, she hoped it would be able to heal enough of the rabbit's wounds that it would live. Replacing her instrument in her satchel, Dakota carefully attempted to pick up the small creature and carry it with her as she entered Crann Mor. After all, it would have been useless to simply leave it outside for the bat-like creatures to snag again.

The shock of the sight that greeted her halted her for a moment. Dakota stared at the giant vine that snaked its way to the top of the tree, and she marveled at the colossal lizard that snacked on the huge berries. Hopefully still holding the rabbit, she inched towards the others, just as one of the mage's spells grasped in an attempt to blind the chameleon. She watched as the others began to make their way up the vine, impressed. But just how was she going to follow them?

After a moment's thought, Dakota loosens her scarf, and places the hopefully-not-struggling rabbit snug between her neck and the scarf. Taking a moment to make sure the creature is secure, she begins her ascent after the others up the vine.

[Danyal Brights]

There was a lot going on all at once, and Danny was trying to figure out how best to respond. His spell had worked, and he was honestly a bit shocked by that - he didn't figure his first guess would be right, but there we have it! The giant berries blossomed and grew right before his eyes, and he was taken aback. He'd never seen that happen before, and wondered what kind of magic was coursing through the old Crann Mor.

Suddenly, that massive lizard started toward them, and though the scout obviously didn't know what had been there, he had suspected something was watching them. When it swung into view, Danny instinctively activated his "NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON'T" spell, disappearing and reappearing a few feet backwards, safe from the Chameleon's reach. Though, truth be told, it didn't looks like the chameleon was particularly interested in him, or the warlock. Danyal breathed a sigh of relief, and, when he spotted those seeds on the ground, he darted forward. Never know what kind of magic one could rustle up out of these! Into the pockets they went. If he couldn't figure anything out, perhaps he could trade it to an herbalist later.

He moved backward to his safe spot once again, looking over to Maaren. "Yeah, it suits me pretty well. Never thought it'd answer a riddle, but hey, versatility, huh?" He chuckled and grinned, speaking in hushed tones as he took a few steps toward the man. When the warlock's eyes went red, a smile unconsciously slipped over Danny's face, and he followed Maaren's gaze to the chameleon. When the creature was blinded, Danny's eyes widened, and he grinned. "Wow. Nicely done, friend. Seems we've got similar abilities." Though his own blinding spell drew on different abilities, they had the same end effect.

Daja entering the tree made Danny feel a bit better about the situation as a whole. It would seem that she added an element of muscle that the two men didn't possess. It also gave Danny the chance to focus on the lizard without worrying about Maaren getting hurt; after all, he had no idea how strong or able the warlock was, although Daja looked quite capable herself. "I respect wantin' to live and let live, lady, but I don't want it waiting down here, all pissed off. You get Maaren up there, I'll be up in a jiffy."

Without hesitation, Danny pulled the second dagger from his jacket, holding one in each hand, and turned toward the creature. He leapt forward through the air, coming in behind the lizard as it stood there, blind and confused, and he landed on its scaly back, plunging both daggers into its spine, trying to land both blows in killing spots. He knew this would kill any other creature, taken by such surprise, and as painlessly as he could manage. He wasn't sure if it would be enough now. But he could hope.

[pantsgrey]

A group of four mages were now assembled (plus one very weak but thankful rabbit), making further venturing into the tree a wiser choice. The Chameleon began releasing loud growls as its attempts at camouflage became more chaotic. The mages began their ascent up the vine, causing it to sway ever so slightly. The Chameleon began to get annoyed that its new turf was moving, which added to the agitation of its sudden blindness. Can't an oversized lizard eat a giant magical berry in peace? Whoever these intruders were, the Chameleon was gonna give them one hell of a-

WHAM

Danyal struck the Chameleon on its back just as it was about to turn from the berry and lash out in the direction it felt the sources of the vibrations in the vine's movement from. Danyal's daggers barely scratched the Chameleon, but the force of impact momentarily stunned the creature, as it let out a much louder yelp of pain. The Chameleon's confusion turned to panic, and it became unable to hold a consistent camouflage, wriggling wildly. Its frantic movement caused the vine to sway much more violently, causing the climbers to need to cling for dear life. The situation had grown dire...

...and then gotten worse.

Alerted by the noise within the tree, one of the bat creatures outside, initially fooled by the spell that had affected it and its brethren, gained a vital clue as to the location of its stolen rabbit. The monstrous Ropalo slammed into the opening in the tree, clawing and screeching as it was just barely too big to squeeze through on its own, but it soon got unwanted help. The panicking Chameleon was waiting for some indicator to show it where to attack in the absence of its eyes, and the screeching bat monster seemed the most viable option. Its tongue lashed out at the bat, and with a pull, yanked the Ropalo through the opening. The required effort sent the bat hurtling into the Chameleon with enough force to knock it off of the vine. The Chameleon, Ropalo, and Danyal began to fall.

The Chameleon hit the ground with a hard snap, twitching a few times before going limp (and Danyal had better have good reflexes to avoid a nasty fall himself). For the Ropalo, its size that had just been a detriment became an advantage. Too large for the Chameleon's mouth, the Ropalo had recoiled off of the lizard's maw, free from the sticky tongue, and managed to right itself mid-fall. Though battered and bloodied from the endeavor, the Ropalo had steadied its flight. Its eyes quickly surveyed its surroundings when it found Dakota holding on to the vine, and there it saw the rabbit.

THIEF! PAIN! TRICKSTER! KILL! KILL! KILL!

It's rage and hunger gave it the strength to ignore its wounds and Maaren's curse. The bat fiend surged upward, screeching with fury as it moved in to attack Dakota...

[Dakota]

A sudden yelp of pain from the chameleon caused Dakota to turn towards it in surprise. Seeing one of the mages with his daggers out on top of the giant lizard, she only had a moment to stare in amazement before the vine began to shake violently as the chameleon struggled. She clung desperately to the vine, tucking in her chin to prevent the rabbit from falling in the chaos. Until the screeches from the gap in the tree alerted her to the return of the bat creature.

Dakota glanced at the behemoth flying monster, only to see it rocketing towards the chameleon, dragged on by the lizard's long tongue. She looked on fearfully as they collided and began to fall, hoping the mage who was falling with them would be undamaged. She had been about to start climbing back down to check on the fallen wizard when the bat righted itself and surged up towards her.

There was no time to worry about the others now! Her eyes went wide and it took a good bit of effort not to panic, especially with the creature's loud screech breaking her concentration. Wait... its screech! Thinking quickly, Dakota let go of the vine with one hand, rotating her now free hand in rapid circles. She shaped and weaved the monster's own sound into a small knife with her Object Orchestration, barely managing to catch it as it began to fall. Now wielding the small weapon, she slashed out at the quickly approaching bat.

She could only pray her makeshift dagger would be strong enough to survive the collision with the colossal beast, and hopefully ward off the creature's attack. Dakota glanced desperately at the others, her eyes wide and pleading, hoping their ideas were better than hers.

[Daja]

She nodded and gave Danny a quick thumbs up. "You got it." With one quick motion, she hosted the young herbalist up over her shoulder fireman style. Not trusting the man to keep his balance on her thick shoulder, she steadied him with her free hand. Shoving the sledgehammer into a loop on her belt, she hopped up grabbing at the vines with her free hand. It wasn't hard to scamper up the vines. After a few moments, she glanced down catching sight of Dakota. She gave the smaller dark haired girl a cheery grin (as if they weren't being attacked by monsters) before continuing to scamper up the vines.

She was almost at the top, when Danny struck the chameleon. "Shit!" She growled as the vines began to sway. One hand tightened around Maaren's waist, while her legs swung trying to lock onto the vines. "Got another trick up your sleeve, buddy?" She growled at Maaren. Though, at this point Daja wouldn't mind any tricks that Danyal or Dakota had either.

She swore again, when she heard the bat-thing's screeches. Looks like they were going to have to deal with them anyway. Well, if they didn't fall to their death first. She let out a little sigh of relief when the Chameleon let go of the vine. Sure she hadn't originally wanted to kill it, but hey, she also didn't want to fall to her death either. She waited half a moment, for the vines to stop shaking as violently, before beginning her furious scurrying.

If anything, the Ropalo's angry shrieks made her climb faster. "Don't worry, buddy!" She yelled over the bat's angry calls to Dakota, "I gottcha." Under her breathe she added, "Just gotta make a quick delivery."  Her shuffling continued.

After a moment, she patted Maaren's back. "Don't worry buddy. I gotta. Just gotta take keep going up." She said slowly. The exit out of the room drew closer--almost close enough to touch. "Keep on going up." She patted his back again, "Keep on going, up and now you fly, buddy!" She shifted the herbalist, giving him a firm push up. There had to be a ceiling--well floor--above for Maaren to grab a hold of. She gave him a swift kick in the rear. Hopefully, it'd be enough to get him over and up (and that there wasn't something worse waiting for him up there).

Package delivered, Daja turned swung round. With her free hand, she grabbed the head of her hammer, slipping it free of it's loop. "Hold tight kiddo!" she yelled to the young woman.  Then positioning herself right above Dakota and the Ropalo, she, quite simply, let go.

As she fell, she pulled back her hammer, curling her body. As she (rapidly) approached the bat, she'd uncurl, swinging her hammer at the bat's body. If she did collide with the bat a powerful burst of heat would be released, hopefully catching the stupid screeching bat thing on fire. If not, the weapon-smith would do her best to break her fall on the bat's body.


((OOC: the spoo Daja used here was Hammer of the Forge Lord. Also Chamo was okay with Daja picking Maaren up last night, as he was in desperate need of a mount.))

[pantsgrey]

Dakota swiped at the Ropalo with the makeshift weapon. In retrospect, this shouldn't have worked. A small weapon swung at such a large beast with an intense level of momentum behind it shouldn't have worked. Even if the dagger struck true, the thing still would have collided with Dakota, either knocking her off the branch or clenching its teeth around her body. By all rights, this act of desperation couldn't have saved her life.

But it did.

With eerily perfect timing, Dakota swiped the dagger through both of the beast's eyes, and for all of its rage, for all of its hunger, for all of its pain tolerance, the Ropalo recoiled from the attack. It seemed impossible for it to hit the brakes so fast, but it did. The Ropalo screeched in pain, and if it weren't for all of the shaking on the vines right now, Dakota could have sworn the rabbit nuzzled her neck.

And then Daja made it rain...bat guts that is.

Daja's hammer connected with the Ropalo and the weapon as well as gravity forced the beast downward while its body caved in on itself. Its shrieks grew louder and died out as it became engulfed in flame. A fang flipped out from the monster on impact and landed neatly in Dakota's scarf. The rest of the Ropalo gradually burned up before bursting on impact with the ground. The mess remaining of what had broken Daja's fall was no longer recognizable as a bat monster, but another fang was salvageable from the splatter. Speaking of salvaging monster remains, it seemed as though a few scales had been knocked off of the Crann Chameleon as well...

Up top, Maaren was able to see the upper levels of the tree. This area was much less barren. There appeared to be ramps and platforms jutting out of the walls of the tree, leading to higher areas that Maaren could not quite see as this part of the tree was somewhat darker. What Maaren could tell, however, was that this area was thinner than below, and could notice a few openings in the walls that seemed to lead to other rooms. In the center of this room seemed to be another pedestal. Interesting...

Dakota and Daja each receive 1 Ropalo Fang.
Daja and Danyal each receive 4 Crann Chameleon Scales. (You can redistribute them if you want, its just that those two are in the best position to claim them.)

[Eldak]

I SEE FIRE

♛ 324 ♛ TAGGED

Ah, Crann Mor. The elf had always avoided this place, hating the dark feeling that came with it. The reluctance of his new familiar also added to this, the little hummingbird stayed nestled within messy blond hair as he approached the tree, booted feet making little noise, but enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Moving with an eerie cat-like grace, the elf stepped forward, staying concealed in the shadows. He watched quietly as several others brushed past, not noticing or merely ignoring the blond. It suited him just fine, for the bat-like monsters struck an icy chord of fear.

They resembled the nightmarish creatures that had once struck him down in his home forest, giving him jagged scars across his back. Of course, these were just one set of scars out of many, but they ached just thinking of it. He did not realise that almost everyone had been involved in the fray, only actually seeing the scene before him a while later, once he had convinced himself that he would not die. Not today.

Eldak darted forward, moving soundlessly past the monsters, his eyes taking on a wild gleam as he skidded the last few feet, coming to a stop at the of the vine, breathing erratically. Green eyes looked over the corpses without blinking, though the wild look faded slightly. Good. They can be killed. 

The same vivid green eyes slid over the mages in the tree, calling a greeting as he did so. They all looked vaguely familiar, so that was good. "Am I a little late to the party?" Even as he spoke, he assessed the vine that spiraled upwards. "I'll be joining you guys and girls, if you don't mind." In one fluid motion, the elf leaped upwards and caught hold of the vine, hoping that it didn't wobble too much. He started his ascent, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened. "By the way, name's Eldak."

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE