“…Good thing I didn't hope for dragons,” Cor laughed as he battled a good sized knot of the beasties.

“Watch yer tongue, cleric,” Divot guffawed, “If sayin’ ‘wee beasties’ gets us these buggers, I’s not keen on findin’ out wha’ sayin’ th’ d-word’ll conjure up!”

“By the way,” the Cleric of Odin added, “I expect you to kill at least a third of the beasties. I figure if that paladin of ours could kill 1 to my 3 you should be able to do the same. Not that we ever kept score or anything.”

“Jus’ a third,” Divot roared with laughter as his axe flashed out again, “Hells, Cor, who blinkin’ keeps track? What say we jus’ race ta th’ end an’ count ‘em as the blinkin’ buggers fall, eh?”

"My good halfling, they only count if they fall. We race to the end of course and see whose count is highest. If we don't keep track we won't know who must buy the ale afterwards for it is the loser who buys."

Rayne's search is frustrated by the heavy canopy so she quickly sends Ariel back to the clearing. She would have to go by foot now.

Slinging her bow, she then draws her sword. By the time Ariel touches down she can see no one. She had thought Cynil was supposed to be watching Althena ws nowehre to be seen.

"Cynil!, CYNIL!" she calls out into the empty clearing. Taking a firm grip on her sword she moves forward.

As they move through the thick woods trying to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary they find themselves without warning under attack as a large group of nasties emerge as if from the ground itself to take the pair by surprise. The weird things attack with a fury and attempt to surround each one of them. Ulthok at once sights where Conall is and makes his first attacks in that direction in order for the two to join and fight together and keep their enemies from their backs. Conall I shall try to clear a path towards you pray you do the same so we may fight as one.
So with sword in hand and little time at first to do anything except defend himself and attack back that is what Ulthok does targeting the beast that will let him move towards Conall.

"UP HERE," shouts Cynil, waving from the crook of the oak. "Halia want that way alone, on her onyx horse. She is engaged with something that caused her to use a fireball. Be care if you go that way, something has twisted the tress and plants in the area and they have a dark aspect."

Haila cautiously moved into the trees with Niamedris to her front and her Onyx Dog to her side. The thick forest seemed empty of all life, dark as if on the edge of twilight. Then as if from no where a warning was sent at her by Niamedris of enemies near and with a spell on her lips she was ready as the enemy emerged into view.
Ugly, deformed, some with the features of feral cats and dogs, some with feet shaped as horses hooves, yet others with seemingly no eyes. Some carried weapons while others did not their hands and other body parts shaped as such Haila could see that no two of these creatures the same.
A dozen or more to the attack the Fighter/Mage knowing it was a risk in such a semi-enclosed wood cast her spell and a ball of fire burst forth to explode in a huge flash of light and flames.
The first rank of deformed creatures swept up into the fire’s arms and many of them did die on the spot. For the moment the attack against Haila stopped, yet she could see through the flames that more of the creatures still lived.

Considering her options Haila decided that powerful as she was it was not a good idea to face so many on her own. Haila called to her onyx campanion indicating that this was not the place to confront these opponents. She summoned the powers of water and cold erecting a large Ice wall. As the wind whipped the water droplets into place freezing them solid to create the barrier between her and her enemies Haila backed towards the clearing from which she had just come. It was her hope that there would be an ally or two in that clearing. As she watched the enemy deal with her wall of ice and and continued to put distance between herself and them she pulled her blade from it's sheath hoping that the power it had against creatures of magic would aid her against this foe. And since she knew not how this foe could be anything but magical she felt confidence in her decision.

CONALL & ULTHOK
For the Paladin and the Thief mage the fight seemed not as brutal as to be called a real fight, the Mongrelmen attacked, the Mongrelmen died. Between the two in only minutes they had killed five of the nasty creatures. The first three moving against Conall found themselves at a clear disadvantage as the Paladin moved quickly. His first attack sliced through one creature’s mid section almost cutting the creature in half. His return swing caught the second right at the apex of its skull giving a fatal scalping. Ulthok moving to cover Conall’s backside struck the first of his Mongrelmen from behind, his sword plunging into the creatures back in a classic backstab attack. The second creature turning to meet the Halfling found it was a bit slow as Ulthok’s sword pierced the creature’s eye and drove into its skull. Then he was back to back with the Paladin and between the two of them a fifth mongrel men was killed.
Even with the number of mongrelmen greater then the two, this round neither of each had taken a hit of damage....

COR & DIVOT
Cor and Divot though taken by surprise that first attack came to the ready with a vengeance and both moved closer to each, bantering the whole time about how many each was to kill. Divot was the first to score as a mongrelman rushed him from the left side. The speed of his axe seemingly faster then for one of his size slammed down on the skull of the creature splitting it straight down the middle into two pieces.
Cor though had his hands full as two came straight on and one from his right. The first Mongrelman came in high and found himself on the ground dying, his legs cut out from under him. The second coming low died as he was beheaded by the dwarf’s back hand slash. Yet the Mongrelman to his right manage a quick hit to his arm before Divot, having finished the first Mongrelman, struck it in the chest throwing the creature back a gapping hole in its chest.
With the small wound in Cor’s arm their only damage both Cleric and Tunnelrat were ready for more....

CYNIL & RAYNE
Cynil having tried to Bless the oak before her without success knew within her that even though its nature was dark it posed her no threat. With the flash of light from the direction of Haila still in her eyes she quickly climbed up into its branches hoping to spot the Fighter/Mage again with no success. Here it was that help arrived in the personage of Rayne back from her flight.
Rayne having no idea at first of the fight below her and having no luck seeing through the canopy of the forest below her had turned and flew back to the clearing. Upon landing she at first only saw Althena seemingly resting in peace and no Cynil in sight. Calling out to the Druid she was relived to be answered from the height above her, the Druid having climbed up into the branches of one of the oaks. With Cynil’s telling of the bright flash in Haila’s area of searching it was up to Rayne to decide to go to her aid or let Cynil use her ability of shape changing to go in her stead.
For the moment a choice between the two Elvin females hung in the air....


HAILA (Now being played by JenthLiadon)
Knowing she was clearly out numbered the Fighter/Mage, a new spell upon her lips and spoken, sent forth a Wall of Ice. Shaping it as to delay as many Mongrelmen as possible she drew her sword and started back towards the clearing, both Niamedris and her Oynx Dog close behind. With her sword in hand she moved quckly, the light of the of the clearing before and the safety of her friends. Then suddenly once again as if from out of nowhere before her were 6 Mongrelman blocking her way and moving swiftly to the attack.
The clearing so close, yet so far away...


(OOC: OK everyone welcome JenthLiadon as our new Haila hopefully we can keep him around awhile .
Ok next post next Wednesday as norm and Kyle sends his apologies for not posting as he has been really tired after work this past week.
Also as far as Mongrelmen go there are still at least a dozen at each location so I will not put up numbers killed. Good luck.)

The Mongrelmen came fast, but they died fast also. As the two friends made their way back to back to protect each others backs they took down 5 of the creatures. Now with the protection from each other they can concentrate on taking down as many of the creatures as they can. Ulthok wonders if the others had encountered anything or if just Conall and himself had run into the Mongrelmen. speaking over his shoulder to Conall “Nice fighting there my friend lets keep up this pace and we will dispatch with these nasties in no time.” He chuckles.

Scanning the circle for the best opportunities to strike he will put his boots of springing to their best use. He tries to choose two Mongrelmen that are close together and then swinging his sword from right to left he moves forward to target the first victim, then as he moves back he will try to target the one next to the one he went after first with a back swing from left to right. As he makes his move the little halfling will let out his usual high pitched battle cry “GNIK RUO ROF

“Ha-ha,” Divot half-laughed, half-snarled as his axe cleaved through the first monster’s skull, “There be one fer me!” He tugged the axe free of the quivering mongrelman’s upper torso even as his eyes skipped away to seek out another target.

It sounded as if Cor was managing well, felling two assailants with precise and powerful strokes of his weapon. A third snarling beasty, though, had managed to land a strike of its own on the cleric’s right arm while the dwarf was still in the follow-through of his last attack. Following the motion of his already turning head, Divot let his buckler slide up his arm as he released the thing to get a double-handed grip on the haft of his axe and, allowing the momentum of a smooth combat-pirouette to carry the strike around, slammed the axe into the mongrelman’s chest, opening flesh and sending the corpse flying… “An’ there be two! Oi, Cor! Mebbe I should be a paladin, eh?”

With a flick of the wrist, Divot shook the excess blood and gore from the blade of his axe, then re-secured his grip on his buckler and looked for his next opportunity.

Cynil scrambles down the tree, "Rayne, up there is a good archery perch. There is also a pot of fire to make fire arrows, and twigs and wood to feed it. I put oil on the wood pile so you can light it if whatever that caused Halia to use her fireball comes this way." (OOC: BTW I had posted that Cynil got Althena up into the tree with her.)

"I am going to put up a wall of thorns around the canoes and then go help out in animal form."

Cynil reaches into her components pouch and gathers the need components for the spell. She then goes to the canoes and casts the spell around the canoes. A thick wall of brambles with long thorns grow up araond the canoes

Then she goes out into the clearing and changes into a great brown bear. (Kodiac Brown Bear which is a Grizzly, and the largest breed of bear known).

She has practiced in this shape before, as her mentor had advised her to do. For now she walked about 20 feet and then started to gallop getting the feel of it for a minute. Finally she turned to the forest and galloped off into the line of trees heading the direction of Halia. The Onyx mount left a fairly trampled path with bend and broken vegetation. unlike a true horse which would try to skirt bushes and heavy cover, it would just go through them, for it had no fear of thorns or small branches.

Cor saw Divot dispatch the first enemy, "Well done, seems he was the most eager to die and closed first." Even as he spoke his axe cut the foe before him in half. On the backswing, Cor's axe cut deep into the body of his enemy, ending its life. At that moment he felt a stab of pain in his arm as a lucky blow found its way past him armor. Divot took the opportunity to dispatch the distracted beastie and called out that the two fighters were tied on body count. Cor smiled, "Tis true we are tied. You fight well, hope it isn;t beginners luck. O'course you know it was nigh to cheating stealing that last one from me." he laughed as he finshed. Once more the elder dwarf swung his axe seeking to find purchase for it in the flesh of his enemies.

It seemed the two made a good if not unusual fighting pair.

Haila walked back towards the clearing with horse her dog running beside her. Her attention on the enemies she just left behind. Then feeling rather than hearing Haila became aware of six more of the creatures every bit as ugly as the others.

My their ugly brutes she thought as she summoned her magic and cast a web upon her foes (I'm not sure how many are affected.) Well I hope they don't have any version of lycanthropy I would hate to get hit and wake up one day every bit as ugly. Then bringing her focus back to the scene, as she wasn't as handy with the sword as magic Haila wielded her sword against the nearest beast that wasn't captured in her web.

"No Cynil! I will go, you promised to take care of Althena," calls out Rayne, "I am better suited to fight, you are better suited to protect. Take you bear form but wait here. Just point me in the right the direction. Rayne would have felt even worse and Cynil taken up what should have been her place. The Gentle Druidess might be able to turn into a bear but in Rayne's short time with Cynil she believed Cynil was more a healer than a fighter.

When Cynil does Rayne hurries to help Haila. She should have been by Haila’s side but thought an aerial view would be better. Now Haila was out their on her own and that was her own fault. She left Ariel and Arwen back in the clearing. The heavy growth was not the environment for airborne creatures. They could be of help in the clearing. "Stay here and help."

Sword in hand, Rayne moved quickly in the direction Cynil had pointed her in. Though alert to her surroundings, she used her best speed to get to Haila. This should aid her in avoiding some attacks but that was not her primary reason for it, getting to Haila quickly as possible was. "Haila, where are you?" Rayne calls out.

"Where are you Haila?" Haila hears the cry and hope blooms in her bosom. Truth to tell Haila was a little worried about the odds. Two against six weren't the best odds and when her ice wall came down the odds weren't going to improve.

Meanwhile Haila's faithful companion came to a stop next to her. Baring back his upper lip Niamedris growled at the Mongrelmen. As the web descended covering some and as Haila called out and struck one Niamedris guarded her back attacking another close opponent.

Cor was in mid swing when suddenly it him. "Divot, what if the others have found the wee beasties as well? The two of us are fine and I wager that your brother and Connal will be no worse for wear from such as these but if they find the lasses I cannot be sure how it will turn out. Fun time is over I guess. We need to dispatch these things as quickly as possible and check on the others." Cor's visage changed from that of one happy in his element to one upon whom concern weighed heavy.