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

[undealt]

[yeah did anyone really think Gold was gonna make that reflex save. he has to keep an iron grip on his cane or it's gonna be Ke$ha up in here. HIS STRENGTH CHECK IS SHIT TOO, SO

THAT HAPPENED.]

[untethered]

No! [ belle finally snaps out of it enough to try grasping onto the plants winding their way around gold, but every time she breaks some off, more grow in their place (str... 16). ] We have to move out of their path! [ indeed, now that she points it out, it's just a large area of the ground that seems to be alive - everything beyond it looks totally okay ]

[unhand]

Swan! [With his reflex save of 18, Hook avoids the plants easily enough, but he's more worried about the fact that he STABBED EMMA (dmg 4). He raises his gun and levels it at the druid (atk 17, dmg 6). Then he moves either out of the plants or as far as he can get within a single half speed move action.]

[sternshield]

[ the remaining tree follows to slash at hook again, and this time it manages to rake him across the face hard enough to leave a trail of blood (nat 20, 20 dmg, fort save DC 16 or 2 more damage). the druid lowers the wand again to once again heal himself for 5 of that damage.

unfortunately, the plants keep up their crawl, and hook can only make it fifteen feet out of their forty foot spread. everyone who is not currently still entangled must make a new reflex save (also DC 14) or be entangled on this round. this means that the vines erky managed to escape twine back up his legs again and this time he can't manage to break out on his turn... and as belle struggles to free gold, some of the plants turn on her and wind up entangling her also. braford turns to attack emma again, but he's struggling in the wake of the plants as well (atk 11).

hop hop hop goes the frog as the druid speaks up, unbearably calm.

"I meant to give you a choice, but you have forced my hand. If you will not allow those of your number to volunteer to be supplicants, I'll take those of you I can alive - to bestow this gift upon you." ]

[bittersweeter]

[ again, lila manages to keep herself from being snared by the leafy tendrils (reflex save 17) and while she wants to help belle and erky get out, she also wants to shoot this guy in the dick so... she tries to. there aren't enough of them free to not take action when she can. (double tap atk 23 & 21, dmg 10 & 15) ] Yeah, funnily enough I'm not all that enticed anymore.

[uncurse]

Yeah, I don't think so.

[ emma dodges the vines as they try to ensnare her once more (ref 16), then makes a move for the patch of grass that isn't moving. while she moves, she manages to fire off a shot at the druid himself. so much for her plan to keep him alive. grudgematch initiated (atk 28 - critted on 19, 18 dmg). fuck yo concentration check.

she has this theory going that if he stops, the vines stop, and possibly even his tree/frog/half-people minions. she's a glass half full type rn. ]

[undealt]

[WELL, GOLD'S FUCKED STILL, despite his righteous fury at Belle getting caught too. (str 8) It's enough to make him say fuck the police and try to cast a spell from where he is, but he fails his concentration check and wastes a spell. Things are not going well here.]

[untethered]

[ belle tries to slip her own vines off (escape artist 14), but to no avail, again... but she hears the crack of three gunshots in a row and looks up to see lila and emma riddle the druid enough times that he collapses to the ground, dropping his sickle to the ground beside him as he crumples. he appears to be still moving slightly, but blood rapidly stains the front of his clothes as he groans on the ground. ]

[unhand]

[WOW OW THAT HURT. Hook lets out a shout of pain... thought he manages to keep his footing as he does so (reflex 23). He growls and slashes forward with his hook (atk 23 dmg 3) before stepping back five feet and raising his gun (atk 14, dmg 4 if it hits).]

[sternshield]

[ hook downs the final tree blight as the druid continues to bleed out over there. braford follows in emma's wake, finally connecting with a critical blow across her back (atk 25, 10 dmg), while erky continues to struggle free. the tree frog starts to try to drag itself away, because fuck this shit. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila moves forward toward the druid, because she wants to have words with him -- words -- firing at braford as she moves. (atk 23, dmg 18) sorry, erky, she'll get back to help you in a second, stg. ]

[uncurse]

[ having 7 hp is a bad time. emma looks ready to drop, but thankfully bradford does first because lila is a champ. she dodges the vines again and continues toward the druid while firing off a shot at the retreating poison frog (atk 26, penetration dmg 14). ]

[undealt]

[Meanwhile, Gold's still struggling with these vines. SO CLOSE. (str 17)]

[untethered]

[ the frog and sir braford go down as well, as belle continues to struggle bus it with gold over here (escape artist 17). ]

[unhand]

[Hook evades getting tangled again (reflex 26) as he heads over to help Belle. Of the people currently tangled, she has the most healing potions. Also she's the smartest. If anyone can figure out a good next step that involves them not dying from all the wounds, it'll be her. He grabs the vines with his hook to try and rip through them. (atk 23, dmg 5 if that's what I do to attack... vines...)]

[sternshield]

[ the druid keeps bleeding out, pale enough that he's clearly close to the edge of death, as hook manages to rip some of belle's vines loose - enough that there's access to her pack, but the plants keep regrowing so it won't be long until it's covered again. this time, however, belle MAKES HER ESCAPE ARTIST CHECK (just barely) as the vines do their thing again. new reflex saves, escapees. erky continues to struggle in vain over there, leaves twining into his big beard. ]

[uncurse]

Toss me a potion!

[ emma continues to struggle towards the dying druid. who knows if she finally reaches him; she can't cure him either way at this point. but she will explain why she's trying. ]

We lose him, we'll never get that apple!

[bittersweeter]

[ meanwhile, lila's excessively good reflex scores keep her barreling toward the druid, but she doesn't much care if he dies tbh. she just wants to keep the wand out of his grasp so, maybe, his magic will be disrupted if he makes a mad scramble for life. ] There's got to be a druid at the castle, can't we just trade him for a while? He's not going to give us the apple now.

[unhand]

[Belle's covered again gdi. Hook drops his gun, more worried about getting the potions than losing it forever right now. He grabs the bag out from under the vines (escape artist nat 20) while evading the vines again (reflex 15). He throws the bag in Emma's general direction (ranged atk 13).]

Swan, catch!

[sternshield]

[ emma catches the potion, as erky continues to struggle in vain... right as the druid fails his final save, managing to croak out in his last breath.

"Two... supplicants... they must... be... aliv--" and then his eyes roll back in his head. /init ... the entangle effect will stay on for about another three minutes (unsure) ]

[uncurse]

No. [ she catches the bag (ref 14) and then drops down to the ground beside the druid, yanking the zipper open and hurriedly trying to produce a potion. it's too late, though, and it sinks in as she pulls out one of the miniature bottles, staring at the empty whites of his eyes. her shoulders slump. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila skids to a stop. for a moment she just stands there, still and unmoving, until the vines start trying to creep around her, causing her to move back the way she came. (reflex save 17) basically fuck this, she'll help erky because they've fucked up the rest of this mission splendidly, might as well keep the one good thing to come out of it safe. ]

[undealt]

[Gold still can't roll a strength check to save his life, so... that's still happening. He's pretty well occupied with the task of trying to free himself and Belle and doesn't notice how fucked they've managed to become.]

[untethered]

[ belle lets out a strangled sound of despair when she realizes the druid's dead as well, but maybe not for the same reasons, who knows. she can't get free either so they're just gonna be over here a sec while the effect wears off. ] Do you have any dispelling effects?

[undealt]

[Gold looks momentarily humiliated and casts DISPEL MAGIC. Let's see if it works.

HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT.]