Damian scowled when the swordsman struck the cleric down and made a move to him him again but when the woman stood up, he paused. Two rays of fire flew towards him and he ducked underneath one but one hit him square in the chest and he cried out as this searing pain washed over him. He instantly ran, heading towards Xana and Jacob, taking cover behind anything he could find. Wincing, he gingerly prodded the wounds, the smallest noise escaping his lips. Unconsciously, he moved his hands in a strange motion, then whispered a short incantation, touching the wound. Instantly the flesh began to knit back together and the mindnumbing pain, the fear of losing his life disappeared. He sighed in relief, becoming aware of his surroundings and peeked at the mage, staying low to the ground and ready to fall prone if she attacked him.

His thoughts swirled chaotically within his mind as he stayed low to the ground, his eyes darted towards Clary and judging by that growing pool of blood; she didn't have long. He hoped someone would get to her soon. The magic that he had just used on himself, the knowledge had disappeared from his mind and he wanted to curse. Even though she spoke very little, even though he knew absolutely nothing about her and she was a fool to not care about the water, she still joined this quest to save Pike. He didn't want her to die. A surge of helplessness rose within him and he wished for a way to aid her.

Suddenly a majestic eagle, one with red plumage and a white head flew in and swiped it's talons at the person who caused Clary harm. Damian felt stunned. This eagle.. It was the same one from before. The one who had saved him.

(OOC: cast cure moderate wounds, 2d8+4 hp, eagle flies in does a talon attack)

Daxos leapt from the roof of the shelter and slashed at the woman in charge of their enemies. He felt his bade meet flesh and wanted to grin. But his happiness was brief when the barrels exploded and the water showered down around him. And then he both heard and saw the ax crash into Clary's chest. And the old cleric fell as well.

He didn't understand the attack on the water. Didn't their foes need the water even worse then they did? And killing the cleric? Where did these fools expect to get their water from? Dax didn't need the water, they did! The death of the cleric also hit hard. He didn't know the old man, but his death felt completely unnecessary. Why would you do such a thing? There were so few people left anyway. And perhaps Clary meant even one less. He really didn't know Clary and honestly hadn't liked most of what had been said so far, but still. Death would be a bad thing and a member of the group was a member of the group.

Of course, all of this went through his head rapidly as he sought out his next target. He'd lost the safety of the roof, and now needed to find spot from which to fire. He rapidly moved backwards towards the part of the shelter that had walls - he would stay on the outside and use it for partial shelter. His target? As it had been with his first shot of the fight, he would aim at the spellcaster. If anyone came for him, he would have to adjust and target them.

Xana knew a moment of pure bliss as both the leader and her pet howled in pain one last time. The barrels of water exploded as they expired, water and the last of life's blood soaking the ground. A sigh escaped the dark faery's lips. In this world of acid rain the loss of any water was felt by all. To destroy it so stung. Still, with priests of their own they could replace that water and she still considered it a price worth paying to watch the wretched woman die. Xana only wished that time had allowed the woman to know the full embrace of the deplorable word. It was a pleasure she would have savored.

There would be time for such fantasies later, for now the battle raged on.

She felt magic. The sensation called to her with desire a mere heartbeat before its release. A flash of light answered its call and Xana turned to see the feral mage standing again, her hands outstretched with an arcane afterglow. That woman had cast her last spell, she would see to that.

A low moan escaped Xana's lips as she reached out into the shadows of the land. The witch felt them answer her chthonic call. Thousands of spindled legs crept out from the deep moving through the hidden places to their new prey. Sped by the fey magic they swarmed around the doomed lovers consumed with rage and hunger. Let them find their end in the spider's kiss.

((OOC: Summon Swarm - Spider Swarm. Targeting the area with the spellcaster and the man that healed her. Will adjust target if they move.))

Geoff moves a step to the northeast, pulling and tugging away from the bothersome and pesky vegetation then strikes at the woman who is still blind in front of him.

She must pay for putting so many lives at risk!

Silinrul howled with rage seeing the human woman who he treated as his own kin fall, blood marring the ground and her armor, moving quickly in front of her he nudging her gently with his nose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jacob was already moving to cover his taciturn ally (Clary, it seemed) when the axe fell. He felt his stomach lurch and fall as she did, thoughts of firing on her attacker fleeing his mind. He watched her companion turn and try and stir her as he moved faster. A wound like that wouldn't hold. Regardless of previous plans, he'd have to cast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silinrul whined softly, nudging her once more. He then looked up seeing someone move forward. Growling lowly, the wolf was unsure who to pick to attack: the man coming towards him or the woman at his back who had originally harmed the human-wolf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jacob's stride shortened. He saw the wolf notice him, and move closer to Clary, looking back and forth between himself and the axe-woman. Jacob stepped as slowly as he dare, not wanting to be too late to save her. He widened his hands some, so that his bow was visibly unable to be used quickly. After briefly making eye contact, Jacob looked away, towards Clary herself, doing his utmost not to show threat as he neared her. If the wolf wouldn't let him pass, Clary might not last much longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silinrul watched the man inch closer, teeth still bared as he weighed the options. Would he trust the man with his human-wolf? Huffing once, Silinrul let out a bark before spinning and going to attack the woman who had hurt his pup, trusting that the man who looked like he wanted to help would bring no harm to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jacob sped up again for the remainder of the short distance between him and the other two. He let out a breath he hadn't know he was holding as the wolf spun around to confront their shared enemy.

Reaching Clary, he quickly knelt, already in prayer. 'Grum, Lord of the Wilds, though your children failed you and allowed you to be driven from your rightful place, please grant this servant a small part of your power, that he might continue along the path of your restoration.'

Casting was tricky under ideal circumstances, and these weren't ideal by a long shot. Now all he could do was wait, and hope that Grum consented.


(((OOC: Casts Cure Moderate Wounds)))

Clary felt a sharp twinge in her ribs then she started gasping as she saw the ground rising to meet her,
that's odd.. she thought as dots blurred her vision, Why is the ground flying? the next moment she saw entirely black unaware that her life was slowing slipping away vaguely hearing Silinrul's howl

,

Silinrul clamped down on the woman who had dared to harm Clary.

,

Clary felt like she was floating, her limbs weightless in the light nether until, she could see images passing her by. A child version of herself yelling for help, flashing to a bigger child version of herself running away and bumping into Silinrul, scampering back begging and pleading for the wolf not to eat her. The safety that she was feeling when the wolf nudged her forward, leading her away from her home - if you could call it a home.

Then.. she was floating again, in the vast nether, dark this time.. Alone. Surrounded by nothing she screamed and pleaded to anyone that could possibly hear her, yet in her fears, she realized that this time her nightmare was real and that no one was coming to help her. Perhaps she should have made friends with the group of strangers, perhaps she should have tried at least alittle to be polite to them. To change who she had grown to be, shaped by the wolf who had become her family. Then remembered why she didn't try harder, why she didn't care to befriend anyone - Silinrul. Silinrul she trusted above all else, he did not trust them so in turn, the woman did not, would not, trust them. Until Silinrul deemed them safe, she would not break her ways now.

Her thoughts turned to her beloved wolf, where was he? Was he safe? Was he alive.. was she? She didn't' know anything in this vast darkness that scared her beyond reckoning. Her gasp echo'd in the silence as the darkness began to fade, the light appearing and then darkness. Sounds were coming through now.. Growls, battle, Was she fighting? What had happened?

Suddenly, flashes came back to her as her eyes snapped open, quickly grapping her bow and getting to her feet she aimed an arrow at the woman Silinrul was currently biting and narrowed her eyes and took a breath,

"Please, let this hit Grum.." she muttered a slight prayer as she let loose the bowstring with a twang.

A fine mist began to take form as the acidic rains blew in once again. Despite the cover it stung every open eye and burned in every open wound like vinegar. The smell was dull, like stone and hot steel. This belied the true nature of Rain: once it began in full, it could dissolve flesh and disintegrate minds.

Athelia looked unsurprised by this new development. She glanced at Geoff's face, sensing a tactical maneuver, and took a quick step to the right. She knew she was giving herself very little protection from the oncoming weather but it seemed likely she wouldn't need to worry about that for very long. Her twin blades came down in dull arcs, both finding skin beneath the blinded woman's armor.

Seeing his ally's quick sidestep, Geoff did the same. He shook off his entanglement and struck the same blind woman with his inherited sword. She fell on the ground and blood ran around their feet.

Jacob had begun moving as soon as he saw Clary fall, perhaps even a moment before. He reached her before the dust had settled where her lifeless body lay, and wasted no time. He needed to pray. The chance the prayer would fall on deaf ears was one he had to take.

"Grum, Lord of the Wilds, though your children failed you and allowed you to be driven from your rightful place, please grant this servant a small part of your power, that he might continue along the path of your restoration."
As he spoke, the axe-woman saw a chance to swing on Jacob. She struck her mark and drew a trickle of blood, but fortunately Jacob's prayer went uninterrupted.

Somewhere, (on another plane perhaps) Grum the Maligned, God of Nature raised his dark eyebrow. A supplicant prayed to him. Nothing unsual, supplicants prayed to him all the time. He wasn't too keen on answering anymore. Something about this one, though. Something stirred within Eternal Grum. This one was embattled, and though this Thistle Brow did not know it, he fought for Slate itself. Worthy enough. Heal the young woman, and...
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Damian Dawnshine found himself facing down two enemies - both the spellcaster and her lover. It was their time to act, and the lover did so first. He took a step toward Damian and swung his greataxe through the air, connecting solidly with the leather armor on Damian's chest. It protected him, just as it was meant to do. He didn't fare so well against the caster, who struck him with a ray of silvery light. The ray didn't hurt, but Damian felt his grip on his quarterstaff loosen.

Fighting the snarling Silinrul, the axewoman swung her weapon with a surety. The wolf was too quick, and avoided her blow. On the other side of the field, the swordsman trudged past the dead priest and brought his sword down over Daxos. Again, a fleetness of foot won the moment as the sword found naught but air.

Clary stood, seemingly confused for a moment. It was, thankfully, only a moment. She took aim and fired on her would-be murderer, and the arrow lodged itself deep into the woman's armor. It was a solid hit. Silinrul took advantage of the moment, and buried her teeth in a patch of exposed flesh. Blood ran from the hole in her body, but the warrior woman did not yet fall.

A cry of panic was the first sign that Xana's spell had worked. It was the man, but his voice was falsetto. All around him and his lover were the tortured creatures that spiders had become. They crawled all over the pair, each creature uniquely twisted by the environment. Some ran on as few as two legs, while others seemed to have hundreds. All of them were the size of a large water token. The spellcaster fell once again to the ground, seemingly overtaken by the swarm. Her lover clawed at his face, still screaming in his high falsetto.

Seeking some kind of cover, Daxos moved toward the walled part of the pavilion. His first target was down, so he took aim and fired on the woman with the axe. He missed, but barely. The arrow struck her chainmail with a ting and lodged into the nearby wood.

The undergrowth was thick, and tripped up Damian as he ran from his enemy. The man, once again without his lover, swung his axe helplessly as Damian moved away. The terrain wasn't enough to cause him to fall, but Damian found he had made it less than half as far as he had intended to go. The prayer worked though. A blessing from Grum today.

A shrill cry split the cooling air. An eagle, majestic and red, swooped in from what seemed to be noplace at all. It swooped low over Clary's attacker, dodging the wolf's teeth and the woman's axe. It slashed at the enemy, and where it had slashed three little lines of blood welled up on the woman's neck.

It seemed the tide was turning, and all it might take to finish the enemy was one final push.

[[4 Damage to Jacob. Damian takes a 4 STR penalty for two rounds. The leader has died. The leader's wolverine has died. Damage to the Sword Woman (downed). Damage to the Axe Woman. Damage to the Axe Man. Damage to the Caster (downed)]]

Daxos dodged the swordsman's blade as he moved backwards firing. He was relieved to see the spellcaster go down again, but watching his own arrow bounce off of the warrior woman's armor didn't help any.

If at first you don't succeed, try again. He moved a couple of steps backwards to allow the large post to offer him some shelter and drew aim again. He aimed at the swordsman that had tried to remove his head earlier. Let us see how he looks as a pincushion, he thought to himself.

Damian felt his grip loosen immensely and instead dropped his quarterstaff. He glanced at the spiders crawling near the woman and soon approaching her lover and he shuddered. Directing his gaze towards Clary, he let out a sigh of relief at seeing that she was fine and his face began tightening in concentration as he spoke an incantation, in his hands a ball of flame appeared and as he finished his incantation, he thrust his hand out and the flame arced towards the axeman near Clary.

Instinctively, Etius attacked the woman, swiping at her with it's claws and attacking her with his beak as well.

Jacob offered another prayer, this time of thanks, as he felt the spell take hold and watched Clary rise. He'd taken a bit of damage to get to her, but it hadn't been in vain.

He swept his gaze across the battlefield. They were falling. It was time for the group to end this.

(((OOC: Fires shot at Closest person. If that person dies, then the next person, et cetera, et cetera.)))

Clary eyed the woman at Silinrul's pain filled howl. Aiming once more she let her arrow fly, Silinrul biting once again at the woman hoping to end her.

((OOC: Sorry it's so short... but there's not much else that can be said... ))

The spiders overtook the lovers, swirling around them. Through their link, hunger and rage poured into Xana. As they pressed her forward so did she urge them on, dark fey magic twisting feral hunger into an unholy rage. She pressed them on.

((OOC: Concentrating on Summon Swarm))

The wind howled and stirred up the fine mist that would soon become deadly. Lightning crashed again, and was followed in an instant by a peal of thunder. The storm was close, and it was angry. The night Jacob had spent in the weather was a lucky one. A big storm could kill a man and leave only a mystery.

Seeing this, Athelia stepped into the protection of the pavilion and toward the nearby swordsman. Her scimitar found a home in the back of his neck, felling him in an instant. Blood ran down her blade in a river. It was a good stroke.

Geoff turned from the downed enemies and joined the fray against Clary's assailant. The woman was completely mobbed, and didn't stand a chance against so many attackers. Geoff's sword drew blood. With a quick step, Jacob was beside him, and fired an arrow straight into the woman's throat. She crumpled like a ragdoll.

This left only the axe-man, barely visible in the cloud of spiders that surrounded him. Damian, seeing his first target eliminated, chose to let the spiders do their work, and closed his hand on the ball of flame, saving the deadly spell for another time. His eagle would do the fighting for him this turn. Etuis moved toward the tortured man, raking with his claws. In the dim light and the fray of battle, it was difficult to tell if the man had been damaged. The spiders continued their work on the man, and he seemed unwilling to fight them or anyone else.

Combat was cooling. Beside the fallen fighter, Silinrul licked Clary's wounds. Clary let a final arrow fly, and the woman who had nearly killed her was dead, joining her companions in the afterworld. The axe-wielding man still stood beside his lover, just outside the pavilion. He knelt, the covering of spiders covering his expression. It seemed he was weeping.

The man turned his face toward Damian. It could have been anyone, but Damian was closest. His voice was barely audible over the oncoming storm. "Just kill me."

[[OK That is it for combat. This guy is barely alive and unwilling to continue the fight. Do what you will with him. You do not get a map update because it's no longer necessary!]]

Daxos looked around at the carnage appalled. So many dead. So many people gone.

He looked at the kneeling man covered in spiders and felt sorrow. "Can the woman be saved still? We need to talk to them. Without her, the man is lost. Get rid of the spiders and see if she can be saved, please."

With that he looked at the body of the priest that had been brutally slain by their assailants. He ran to it shouting, "Someone help me get his body into the pavilion before the rain takes it! It is too late for him, but we need to identify him." Daxos does his best to pull the body into the pavilion, hoping that one of his larger companions will assist.

(OOC: I am assuming that the priest is, in fact, dead. If there is any chance that he is within range of a heal spell to revive the unconscious, Daxos would first check for that possibility. If it is not too late, he would, of course, shout out that information.)

"Just kill me."

Covered in a writhing carpet of spiders, the man's plea came out almost as a prayer to the gods the had forgotten him. Watching this, Xana released her spell. With fey magic no longer driving them forward, the spiders soon returned to the shadows, leaving the shaking man to breath another day.

It was not mercy that stayed her hand. Xana would have been happy to oblige his death wish, that of course was not an option here. With barrels of water destroyed and the captured priest likely dead, their mission had failed before it had begun. If they were to salvage anything, they needed information. The questioning, at the very least, would be entertaining.

"The spell is done and the spiders have fled. Someone bring him in here and see about healing him if we can."

With that she turned and made her way to the hidden clerics. Tully would help them salvage what they could of this disaster, she would see to that.