scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[untethered]

[ belle uses her surprise round to change her short sword out for her excalibur, stepping forward to take a clear shot at the twig blight directly south of her (atk 21, dmg 5). both of the trees that the women shoot out go down. ]

[undealt]

[Yeah, Gold is hoping that Cat's Grace does something for his bullshit aim. He takes a step beside Belle and fires at the nearest tree and... hit (atk 17, dmg 10)

So yes, Cat's Grace is awesome and everyone should try it sometime.]

[bittersweeter]

[ instead of shooting -- surprise, she can do other things -- lila just takes the room at a run with actual cat's grace, none of this manufactured bs. (dex nat 20, 23 total) she doesn't make it all the way to the other side of the room unscathed though, because one of the trees reaches out when she passes, raking its claws down her arm. (atk 19, dmg 9. with her fort save of 9 she takes another point of dmg) but! she does make it to the other side, stopping with her breath heavy between the last two tree beasts. ]

[sternshield]

[ erky goes the long way around to avoid coming close to any of them, winding up a bit short of lila, but following after her in case anything crops up that she might run into alone. ]

[uncurse]

[ emma doesn't believe in going around a problem unless it's emotional. so she's going to shoot at the one nearest her and continue to try and plow through them (atk 16, dmg 9 if it hits). ]

[unhand]

[Hook runs past Emma, stopping just short of the tree directly ahead of him with his sword brandished still. Gonna stab him a tree next turn.]

[untethered]

[ one of the trees moves behind hook to flank him, and both claw at him, although even with their flanking bonus, none of them can hit him. belle moves closer, lowering her weapon at the tree behind hook, but she's too cautious about not shooting him and completely misses (atk 6). ]

[undealt]

[Gold moves up about even with Emma, but also misses his shot (atk 11). It's quite possible he missed on purpose, because man does he seriously not care about Hook's life.]

[bittersweeter]

[ oh hey tree. lila slams a shot into the one to the left of her (atk 19, dmg 10), even as she cradles her scratched arm to her chest because she don't fuck around. ]

[sternshield]

[ lila downs that tree as well as erky runs around the corner, and is surprised to find another tree there. he swings his morningstar instinctively but doesn't come anywhere near hitting it. ]

[uncurse]

[ emma takes the opportunity to fire down at the tree directly in front of her about twenty feet, but no amount of distance can help a bad shot (atk 14, dmg 9 if it somehow hits). ]

[unhand]

[Hook takes a five foot step forward so he's no longer being flanked and shoves his blade forward into the tree (atk nat 18 (21 total) dmg 4). He yanks his blade free while moving forward with his hook, sinking it deep into the bark (atk 21, dmg 12 with penetration).]

[untethered]

[ meanwhile the other trees moves behind hook, burying its claws in the back of his neck painfully (nat 20, dmg 10. fort save dc 16, or one extra point of damage!). the other tree attacks erky who deftly dodges its blows.

belle takes aim at a tree diagonal to her instead and blasts it easily (atk 17, dmg 12), taking it down. ]

[undealt]

[Gold takes a step forward and fires a shot at one of the trees and barely misses it. (atk 14)

YKW fuck guns. This is why he never uses them.] They're not calling for reinforcements. That's either promising or foreboding.

[bittersweeter]

[ lila heard that and she snorts quietly. is gold the lorax? does he speak for the trees? but she says nothing, firing at the tree erky missed and... missing (atk 14). look her pain driven adrenaline only lasts so long. ] Motherfucker.

[sternshield]

[ erky whiffs again at the twig blight he's engaged with (atk 10) ] Stop squirming, ye monster!

[uncurse]

[ everybody look out it's another charming moment as emma crit fails when she shoots at one of the trees ... ]

[unhand]

[Hook turns to face the tree behind him and whooshes his rapier past the branches (atk 10). He follows it up with an attack from his hook (atk 13) that's similarly whooshy. He's bleeding a lot from that attack. It actually hurts quite a lot.]

[untethered]

[ yeah well to make hook's day even better, his not-girlfriend SHOOTS HIM. for 9 damage. yw.

luckily hook's tree thing can't hit him for jack shit so there's that. neither can erky's as it slashes over his little gnome head twice.

belle moves a little closer, taking careful aim, but still misses (atk 12 :( ) ]

[undealt]

[It's okay, bb. Gold's got this- he moves closer with her and takes aim (atk 24, dmg 7)]

[bittersweeter]

[ wow don't touch lila's new gnome friend. her next shot hits (atk 18, dmg 13) and she decides that's enough violence for her until belle can give her a potion, so she's just gonna move over to erky and be in pain, 'kay? 'kay. four against one on the other tree, if they can't handle it... ]

[sternshield]

[ erky will clap her on the shoulder lightly and heal her for 3 dmg in gratitude ] Thank you, friend. ... For not discharging your weapon into me instead of him, for one.

[uncurse]

[ with an attack of 25, this time she shoots effectively into the tree beside hook instead of into her boyfriend for 10 dmg. watching the tree crippled by the gunshot, she hurries to approach hook afterward, lowering her weapon. ]

You okay? [ she doesn't touch him as she approaches, and in fact she looks uncomfortable even asking or drawing near, but guilt wins out and she feels obligated to ask where she'd otherwise just glance over worriedly. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila gives erky a weak smile and fishes out her bag o'drugs to pop some pain killers. though she does add, dismissively, because it's no big deal but he healed her a little so she's not going to absolutely dismiss it, a tired de nada. ] Je t'en prie.

[untethered]

[ belle breaks open her bag of potions, to dole out to anyone who would like one. she casts a look up at the looming top of that tree beyond the stone wall to the south. ] I think we might have found our grove. If there are going to be answers anywhere...