With arrows flying and blades drawn, there was little doubt which direction this would take. The spilling of blood would be inevitable. Facing one another, the tension that arose had been pulled so taught that a single prick would make it burst.

Xana would be that needle. They were past negotiations and mediations, there was naught to do but act.

Snapping her fingers, Xana released the fey magic within. A brilliant, shimmering rainbow of dust blossomed above the feral men to fall upon them. Everything it touched remained covering in a scintillating skin of faerie dust.

Let them fight without sight.

Retreating deeper into the hull the fey woman smiled as she readied her next spell. Already her companions peeled away layers of secrecy, revealing morsels to be enjoyed later. Perhaps the journey would be a good one after all.

((OOC: Casts Glitterdust. She'll try and target as many of the feral men with as she can without hitting any in the party. Priority to hit the female mage or the changed, but looking to catch as many as possible.))

Daxos held his position on top of the shelter. He didn't think the other group knew he was there and that could work to his advantage if a fight broke out, which seemed extremely likely. He was happy this group seemed to have some quality fighters in it.

It wasn't hard to spot the enemy spellcaster. That would be his target. He was in no position to take part in any dialogue, so he would have to wait and see what happened. But he was ready to shoot arrows if needed.

Damian stepped forward to intimidate them throwing back his hood to reveal his ruined face. "Leave. Trust me. This is not a fight that you'll win. But if you dare fight I'll make sure you feel the sting of the rain"


Hideous laughter erupted from every member of the group. Several of them shifted their posture and revealed their similar faces. The feral men lived their lives running from the elements, and it was practically a rite of passage for them to get a few acidic scars.


As though in response to the laughter, what little plant life there was began to twist and grow, seemingly centered on Damian. The entire pavilion and the ground nearby became a morass of clinging vines and sharp sticks, entangling several of the feral people, but also wrapping around the legs of Geoff and Jacob.


"That was a stupid move, boy," she said with acid in her voice. Then she shouted "Kill them all!"


Thunder exploded through the air. On the flats, you could see rain coming for miles. This rain was closing on them fast. It was coming from the east tonight, and cut off all visibility in that direction. The weather would be on them in less than a minute.


As one, the group began to close on the pavilion. Two noises happened a snap and a hiss from above - Dax's arrow. Another snap-hiss from inside the pavilion, and two arrows planted themselves deep in the young mage's chest. She cried out, just once, then she she fell to the ground, her life's blood quickly running out.


"Ylena!" Called one of the men, the one with an axe. His legs were tightly wrapped with vines, preventing him from running to her side. She gaped like a fish, her mouth forming words that couldn't be heard. The man grimaced and bared his teeth. The others took a few practice swings as they approached.


A burst of golden dust exploded in the air. It was a potent one, and when the dust cleared the leader's eyes shone with the stuff. The girl with a sword looked the same, and so did the strange creature. Blinded and slowed by the vines, their movement was severely hampered.


Athelia was ready for them. Her twin scimitars flashed in the dying light, one bouncing off the leader's armor and the other finding a place in her flesh. The woman snarled at her incoherently.


Just as quickly, Geoff drew Broy's Arm from its scabbard and struck a decisive blow against the woman. Blood ran in a river from the side of her neck, but she was not to be felled so easily.


Jacob had intended to fire upon the mage girl, but his target was downed and his legs were wrapped in vines. Kicking them off, he moved behind the horse cart and prepared to fire on the enemy.


There was a flash of black fur in the air as the changed creature leapt forward. Its eyes shone gold with glitterdust, and it missed Geoff by almost a foot. The leader, clearly the master of the strange thing, swang her dire flail wildly. Her aim was so bad that it wasn't clear whether she meant to strike Athelia or Geoff.


The woman with the axe ran into the pavilion, and took a big chunk out of Clary. In response, the wolf bit the attacker's leg. Blood ran down from the wound and into the animal's teeth.


Damian felt a whoosh of cold air as a greataxe split the air beside his head. The man had advanced on him; now Damian could see the pained look on his face. His eyes were red and tears ran down his face. Behind him, the woman with a sword struggled, still outside the pavilion and unable to break free of the vines.


The last feral put her sword away and drew her bow. Her eyes, like the others', shone gold with glitterdust. She fired blindly into the pavilion. It was a stroke of luck that her arrow found Geoff, even at this range. It stuck deep into his armor, and blood ran out where it stuck.



((OOC: XX damage to leader. 11 Damage to Clary. 6 damage to Geoff. Mage girl bleeding out on the ground. Sorry I can't do a map update this week. This will be my last post on the Inn until Saturday/Sunday but I'm watching.))

This was not the first time Daxos had watched as the rain raced towards him. Nor was it the first time that his arrows had found their mark in living flesh. But he didn't really like either situation much. Especially human flesh. They should be on the same side.

But the fight had begun and there was nothing for it. His first arrow had found its mark. The spellcaster was neutralized. There were two targets still available to him - the man with the ax and the woman with the bow. The others were too far under the shelter and out of his sight. Since the woman was blind, his choice was easy. He grabbed another arrow from his quiver and lined up the shot. The ax wielder would fall just as the spellcaster had.

He hated shooting people. There were so few left . . .

Having a good blow struck against the woman, Geoff presses with his attack against her.

Damian was shocked at first but when he noticed that the plants didn't entangle him, he stared in awe as the plants seemed to.. respond to his anger, he called out to nature.. and it answered. He was slightly perturbed that his companions were tangled up. Putting the thought out of his mind, he faced the swordsman on his left, sizing him up and preparing to dodge. His quarterstaff appeared to grow in size and it seemed to hum with mystical energy, as he prepared to swing it at the swordsman

(OOC: Cast Shilleigah, designate swordsman as dodge to get that plus one AC. Preparing for an attack. )

That spell is a standard action so you can move and cast, but not attack

The world exploded as she breathed the last word of her spell. Warped plants quivered to life, writhing around limbs as if to steal the life from them. It would have been a clever move had the magic been focused on the feral folk. It was not.

That sudden magic had been born from rage, and she could see clearly that although the boy from Pike was its source, he was as shocked as any. Somehow he had stumbled upon a bond with the land. From here on out he would have to be watched, closely.

For now though, the twisting vines served their purpose. As the battle raged around them, more than a few of the feral men found themselves ensnared. It would buy them time.

Taking care to keep free of the enspelled plants, Xana moved to take cover by the cart. All the while, her golden eyes surveyed the battle. It was the roaring changed creature that drew her attentions. Though blinded, it was still more dangerous than the rest.

Xana uttered a single, horrible word of power. It spun out before her to wrap the changed creature in its nightmare embrace. With it came pain, a horrid unending pain. Her lips twisted in a cruel smile as she lay her curse upon the creature. Blinded and now wracked with pain, she wondered what sort of nightmare its own mind would create.

((OOC: Power Word Pain on the Changed Creature))

Cursing Damian for a fool, Jacob kicked free enough of the vines that had sprouted to take cover behind the cart. Looking over with harsh words on the tip of his tongue, Jacob let go of them seeing the shock evident in the boy's stance. Either his magic was out of control, a truly terrifying thought, or it was his first casting. Either way, it would be troublesome moving forward.

Looking back around the shelter turned skirmish-grounds, Jacob took in what he could. The mage he'd intended to target had already been put down. Others had noticed what he had and decided to put down the threat. Or perhaps it was coincidence, who knew?

He next intended to put an arrow into the Changed approaching, but stopped when Xana ensorcelled it somehow. Trusting her to deal with it at the moment, he sighted down the shaft of his arrow, taking aim at the axeman further out. It'd be a nice change if he could manage to take the man out before he became a serious threat.

(((OOC: Firing at axe wielding man to the west.)))

Though the sun was gone, enough light lasted to see the battle, now picking up in earnest. Battle cries and clashing steel met with the desert thunder.

Swinging her twin scimitars at the leader, Athelia found her mark once. A glancing blow, but it looked like she was getting the better of the wild woman. Blood dripped from the edge of the blade as she drew it away.

In that moment, Broy's Arm cut the air between Geoff and the same woman, dealing an overhand blow to her face. She grimaced, she grinned. She looked as though she were barely able to stand.

"I'll make that mistake your last, city boy," she said through clenched teeth. Geoff could see she had something up her sleeve, but the battle raged on around them. She would make her point soon enough.

With another snap and a hiss, Jacob's arrow found the Axeman's shoulder. It didn't seem to phase him - his eyes were locked on the fallen mage. With a swing of his axe the vines around his legs fell to the ground, and with what seemed a single step covered the distance to his love.

The feral man who carried a longsword looked Damian in the eye and sneered. With a quick flick of his wrist and a thrust of his arm, he drove the blade into Damian's side. It went deep.

There was a shout, and Geoff felt a whoosh of air beside his head. The woman carrying a sword had charged against him, but unlike her male counterpart she was blind and missed her mark completely. In the same moment, though, Geoff was attacked by the snarling deformity who seemed attached to the leader somehow. His bite found leather, as did his first claw. The second claw found flesh and raked him soundly. The creature's superfluous limbs were nearly useless, pummelling him only gently.

An axe planted into Silinrul's fur, and the woman wielding it drew it back with a grin. She should have expected what came next: in a split second, two of Clary's arrows planted themselves deep in her chest. She was badly wounded, but still able to defend herself against Silirul's bite that followed.

Another thwap echoed off the side of the old ship. Dax's arrow had found a new home in the Axe-weilding man's side, just as he began to kneel beside the mage.

A word passed Xana's lips, unspeakably horrible. The twisted creature she spoke it to howled in pain. Damian, too, spoke a word as he recovered from the harsh blow he had been dealt. This wasn't so horrible, but it seem to come to his lips unbidden. His staff twisted and grew much as the plants around him had. He would be ready for the next bout.

A voice rose above the clamor. It was the leader woman again. "That's enough. This fight is done. One more move and I'll break those barrels with a spell. One more attack on me or my crew and we will end the old man as well. You will not survive without your precious pure water."


(19 Damage to Damian [Crit]. 6 Damage to Geoff. 5 Damage to Silinrul.)

Damian let out a howl of pain as the blade bit into his skin and he prepared to swing his quarterstaff as his side ached but as he heard the yell of the blinded woman, he let exhaled sharply and lowered his quarterstaff. He was on the alert though, standing still when he heard a voice, one of his new allies.

"The old man's life is not my problem. I'm that type of person."

Then the twang of a bow and an arrow being released and he thought: The fool! She may not care about the man but the water should have been on her mind!
His mind racing he shifted his attention to the mage. He had to stop her and unknown knowledge surfaced within him. He ignored the man beside him and walked forward slightly, getting a look at the spell caster, chanting an incantation quickly, a fire beginning to form in his palm. The shadows danced along his face, heightening the scars. If that woman dared speak, dared open her mouth to cast a spell, he would hurl the fire at her in the hopes of silencing her. He had to save the water.

( OOC Edit:Changed based off of Clary. Gets a good view on the man and prepares to hurtle a produce flame at the woman if she casts which I assume she will)

Daxos heard the woman yell out and call for a halt. He knew such a thing was extremely unlikely. What would stopping now do that would be any better than surrendering when these people first arrived? Not a whole lot. No, surrender wasn't an option - it wouldn't solve anything and it would only give them time to get over the blindness and other spells his compatriots had cast.

But it still wouldn't be good if the woman carried through with her threat. She needed to be stopped right away and Daxos felt that he was in the best position to do something about it. He quickly switched to his shortsword as he moved to the edge of the shelter above the shouting woman. And he jumped.

His plan was simple. He would land directly behind her, either swinging as he jumped or as soon as he landed, depending on how the jump worked. He needed to be quick - he hoped to further wound her, but his most important goal was to disrupt whatever spell she might be preparing. If need be he'd barrel right into the back of her legs, whatever it took to disrupt whatever she was up to.

There would be no spell if he could help it.

Besides, this would get him into the shelter before the rain hit, right?

Clary saw blind rage at the sight of Silinrul bleeding, quickly setting two arrows off rapidly she smirks at they hit home then frowns slightly when it did nothing to stop her defense of Silinrul's bites. Suddenly a voice vaguely was heard from the fog of anger,

"That's enough. This fight is done. One more move and I'll break those barrels with a spell. One more attack on me or my crew and we will end the old man as well. You will not survive without your precious pure water." Clary's eyes narrowed as she raised her bow and aimed towards the woman who was fighting the wolf. Silinrul growled and continue to bite at the woman who had dared inured the human he saw as wolf.

"The old man's life is not my problem. I'm that type of person." With her remark she let her arrow fly towards the woman trying to wound her further so Silinrul could finish her.

War swirled around them, but a shrill voice rose up above the clamor. "That's enough. This fight is done. One more move and I'll break those barrels with a spell. One more attack on me or my crew and we will end the old man as well. You will not survive without your precious pure water!"

Xana sniffed in derision. Not long ago the wretched woman had been calling for all of their deaths, and now that her own life's blood she offered them clemency.The bravado was empty and irksome. The gall tugged at dangerous chords within the fey woman. In that moment, she wanted the woman dead. If it cost them the life of the bedraggled cleric or a barrel of water, Xana would gladly pay it.

A dangerous light danced in her eyes as her gaze focused on the blinded leader. Once again Xana spoke the deplorable word, sending into all terror of a thousand moonless nights. Soon her curse would sap away the woman's life just as it would her beastly pet.

((OOC: Power Word Pain on the Leader. Will continue to move to take cover behind the carts, unless that it no longer viable.))

You will not survive without your precious pure water.

The womans words died in the evening air, having nothing to echo from. Her hair whipped in the rising wind, still desert-hot and unforgiving, but now carrying the distinct acrid taste of Rain. She saw in her mind's eye an image of the barrels, still sitting on the cart. Yes, she could break them both. She held the spell taut in her mind, waiting for the precise moment, or waiting to release it back into aether.

For a moment, nobody seemed to breathe. On the inverted hull, Daxos of Clan Turin crept noiselessly toward the ledge. The twisted creature whose ancestors had been called wolverine, snarled. It broke the moment's silence like a clap of thunder. Then everything seemed to happen at once, as if the entire battle was hinged on the release of a single bowstring. In fact, it was.

A woman's voice followed the creature's snarl. "The old man's life is not my problem. I'm that type of person."

The swordsman who had struck a blow on Damian shouted at his blinded leader. "She draws on you!"

The spell flew. Clary released her arrow. Dax leapt down from above, sword slashing wildly. Xana spoke the deplorable word. There was a wild creak and a pop. Water was everywhere. Blood was everywhere. Pain was everywhere. The leader and the barrels all laid on the ground spilling out their contents.

The swordsman was eager to follow his leader's last command, and so broke off from combat with Damian. Damian struck out with his quarterstaff and hit the swordsman in the chest as he moved away. Undisturbed by what little damage he had taken, the swordsman approached Father Maarten and with a single stroke of his sword seperated the old priest from his life.

Athelia took a step toward the fallen leader's pet, and with what appeared to be one motion both her scimitars crossed its hide. Geoff followed suite and stuck Broy's Arm deep into the creature. It howled in pain, both from the cold steel and from the terrible thing Xana had said, then fell onto its side helpless.

Hardly noticing the combat, hardly feeling the weather turn, the man who knelt beside the fallen mage was pulling something from his pouch. It was a potent salve. He applied it to the woman's wounds with an out of place tenderness. She stood up, and they embraced. It was a mere moment before she saw what had transpired, and she was no stranger to battle. Two scorching rays flew forth from her hands, one striking Damian full in the chest and the other missing him by less than an inch.

The last to act was the woman with the extra-large axe, but she made it count. She glared at the wolf, then at Clary. With an underhand motion, she brought the axe up into Clary's ribcage. The axe landed there with a sick thud. The woman drew it back with some effort. Clary landed on the ground, blood pooling all around her. She could only last a handful of moments without aid.

[[OOC: Tough round for you guys. 25 points damage to Clary (Crit). Damian 16 points damage. Hate to down anyone this early, this is just how the dice fell today.]]