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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on Apr 28, 2015 15:20:33 GMT -5
Men hacked at the limbs of the trees, ever moving and multiplying. Some of those who'd been trapped had even gotten free and their comrades at first attempted to pull them towards the center of the camp, out of the conflict. None hesitated to get back on their feet at join the fighting again once their friends were off of them. Darrin stood out among all of them. Whenever his men broke rank, he rushed in, sword in hand, cutting through branches and even the trees themselves with a few measured swings, pushing the severed trunk back into the woods. It didn't take long for those who broke to regain their courage and return to the fighting.
Yet the forest did not falter. The branches reached out towards the clearing and the roots hungrily lapped at the groups feet. The company fought well and efficiently, holding the line for the moment, but their adversary was not one that could be defeated by tenacity. Darrin's fighters were slowing. It was subtle; a man staggering after cutting through a branch or a one holding back a little to let those beside him take up the work; but it was there and the forest was not following suit. They were going to lose and Torrence had no idea how to stop it.
The elf stood there, taking it all in. His head darted in every direction, his mind searching for the right thing to do. Getting a sword or axe wouldn't help. Those already busy holding the line hadn't gained an inch, perhaps even lost a few inches; he wouldn't make a difference. He was wasting time, he needed to do something, but it seemed as if there was nothing he could do. Healing and pit traps wouldn't stop something so overwhelming. Torrence realized now what a naive error he had made. Not just with coming to these woods, but with leaving his home. He was a pacifist who'd gleefully walked out into a world filled with war and killing and now he was going to pay for it.
As Torrence retreated inside himself he was brought back to reality as something hit into him from his left. Something wrapped tightly around him and lifted him off of the ground. He struggled against it, kicking and flailing in a blind panic, only the thought of tree animated branches reaching for him enter his mind. He grabbed at whatever it was that had found it's way around him. When Torrence felt soft flesh, warm to the touch, he realized it wasn't a tree.
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Post by Quinnred on May 1, 2015 18:24:52 GMT -5
Neahs ignored Torrence's panicked flails as he bounded off with the elf. He paused quickly, trying to spy out an exit from this chaos.
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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on May 4, 2015 21:26:47 GMT -5
They were doomed. Even when he was panicking he could tell there was no way out. If the trees were moving towards them than Torrence couldn't find a reason to think it stop at the ring. The ones behind those encircling were probably lurching forward as well, filling every nook and cranny. They needed a way to halt there progress. The elf wished his heart wasn't beating so fast, then maybe he could think.
But he couldn't and they were doomed.
"We can't do this" Torrence whispered, his eyes fixed on nothing in particularly. "By all the gods I can't."
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Post by Quinnred on May 11, 2015 22:40:46 GMT -5
Neahs couldnt spot any easy exits, the only way passed the encroaching mass was to wrestle and squeeze right through it. Neahs could possibly do this himself, as all Chennlak could, but this would require leaving Torrence behind. Though Neah's loyalties were to the spores within his amulet, making his own survival priority, he felt he owed Torrence for his companionship.
"We hight." (We fight) he huffed, dropping Torrence to his feet.
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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on May 12, 2015 22:33:13 GMT -5
The mage's knees almost buckled as he hit the ground. He saved himself that embarrassment, leaning on Neahs for support. Torrence might have thought the miniscule amount of relief that washed over him at that moment as funny if he had a clear head. Even so, Neah's words had been spoken with such conviction it had snapped the elf out of his overwhelmed state and he now stared, pleadingly, up at the creature.
"How?"
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Post by Quinnred on May 12, 2015 22:48:12 GMT -5
"I need watah, likid. Is there aneh near hy?" (I need water, liquid. Is there any near by?)
Neahs was trained with a shaman's knowledge of powerful water magic. Perhaps the old arts of his homeland still applied to the current problem.
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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on May 13, 2015 18:28:44 GMT -5
Torrence stared for a moment at his companion. The direct questions had brought him back, his mind now a little clearer. He took his hand off of Neahs and frantically looked in every direction. The elf searched the men holding the line from afar, hoping to find waterskins on their person. At that distance he could see none and it seemed to him they might not understand if he distracted them from their life or death situation for a drink. There had to be a better way, the elf thought, water was nigh on everywhere, it even fell from the sky.
It was then that something struck Torrence, proverbially speaking. The line of thought he'd started led him to following the life of a raindrop. A single drop of water plummeting from the heavens to break apart on the hard earth. The mage then imagined the small pool of moisture slowly creeping into the ground, crawling further and further until it met something that had crawled into the ground as well. Something long and serpentine that had been very familiar to the small rural town Torrence had grown up in.
"The trees!" Torrence exclaimed as the realization came to him. " Can you take the water from them?"
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Post by Quinnred on May 13, 2015 19:45:55 GMT -5
Neahs's spots flared quickly with conformation along with a small nod.
The Chenlakk extended his long arms to his sides and began to hum in old animalistic dialect. The chant focused his thoughts on the water hidden within the trees. He could feel each droplet, shapeless and constricted within the fibers and bark of the roots. Neahs called to them, attracting them to his aid. They slithered and squeezed through every crevice, obeying his old tongue.
Hundreds of droplets popped from the earth beneath Torrence and Neah's feet, appearing as if it was slowly raining upwards to the sky. Neahs steadied the droplets and collected them into long thin ribbons of water. Then, as if he was commanding an orchestra, Neahs guided the ribbons with his out stretched claws and aggressively passed them through the attacking forest. The vines and roots were torn to shreds, sliced gracefully by the sheer speed and concentration of the water. Neahs kept slicing and dicing, snaking the ribbons past the hunters and to the plants.
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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on May 14, 2015 0:58:10 GMT -5
Torrence marveled at the scene unfolding before him. He'd seen magic before, he came from a family of mages after all, but his parents never had cause to use them outside of common household tasks and teaching him. What Neahs was doing was something else entirely. He spoke in a dialect Torrence could not understand, but he could still feel the power emanating from his voice. This was no spell to be whispered under your breath and enchant a lock or something small and easy to practice you could teach a child. This was the raw manipulation of the elements that made common men tremble in there houses; this was the power the gods had given unto the mortal realm.
The men holding the circle seemed to be just as awestruck. Everyone stopped, staring as the strands of water danced gracefully before them, tearing through the ever growing forest. The trees tried to grow still, but they couldn't match the efficiency of Neahs' offense. To Torrence's surprise, they weren't just holding the circle, they were gaining ground.
The elf was broken from his state of shock when he heard a voice cry out.
"C'mon you dim sots!" Said Darrin. "We'll build a fucking wall out of their corpses!"
Torrence turned to find the man had already started his attempt at creating fortifications by carving a stave out of a large log that one of the decimated trees had left. Others had apparently been snapped out of their trance as well and were running around, looking for large enough logs to make a decent wall or digging holes to fit them in.
The young mage suddenly realized he was moving toward Darrin. He didn't really recall thinking about it or at what exact moment he'd overcome his fear, but at some point during that time he'd decided to finally help. When he got to the man, he and a few others had finished a crude line of tall sticks standing beside each other in tight formation. Looking up at him, Torrence saw Darrin to the fortification he'd built to the rest with a rather forlorn expression, before settling on Torrence.
"Looking well on her way doesn't she, lad?" Darrin said, his sad expression suddenly brightening. Torrence couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic.
"Maybe not as good as your friends magical display, but if the trees have any kind of sentimentality we may break their moral with such barbaric displays being performed on their kin."
"Perhaps we won't need to depend on making the trees sad to hold out the night. I've got an idea."
Darrin leaned in, suddenly intrigued. "What've you got?"
Torrence held his open hands up. "Earth magic. I just might be able to turn your shoddy fence into a proper wall."
Darrin gave off a mocking oooo, before continuing. "Is that a challenge? Let's see what you have then."
The man moved out of his way. When Torrence stepped up to the fence, he found himself smiling as if all the tension of the situation had passed from him. He counted himself lucky that he could perform at his best before moving on.
Torrence began by reaching down to the ground and closing his eyes. What he was about to do was a little different from creating the holes he usually did, but it was still just moving a bit of the earth. The earth elf let his mind sift through the ground beneath him, feeling the the stubborn flesh of the world with his hands as if they were deep underground. Then he spread the hold he had on the earth underneath him even further for his hands weren't hands anymore, but the earth itself. Torrence took a moment to get used to the feeling of his hands being massive inanimate piles of dirt before beginning to pull upward. His entire body strained to bring the block upwards and he visibly ground his teeth. His knees began to wobble at the same time he began to think he'd approached this entirely wrong. Then he felt himself start to rise, slowly at first. Excited, Torrence kept on pulling, feeling the dirt rise around the planted sticks, the mass leaning on them for support. He kept going till he was just above the tallest post, then fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.
He'd made a ramp with it's back melded to the fence. He managed a smile as he panted, involuntarily showing some pride at his own ingenuity.
"Right." Darrin piped up."Not bad. Now get to work on the rest of the wall."
"
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Post by Quinnred on May 18, 2015 19:53:27 GMT -5
It was now morning. Verily anybody got any sleep, except for the now dormant trees. The wall had taken a herculean task to build during the night but it looked ready for a sturdy siege.
Neahs was exhausted from his water magic and had slept secluded from everyone else. His species might have been socially dependent but he didnt trust the hunters enough to strike conversation. To him, it was likely one of them knew the hefty price of rare Chennlak carapace. He had seen many Chennlak corpses torn apart for the tough yet light material. They would stay in his head forever, give him reason to fight and defend his race till the end.
So despite his sleep, he was as alert as a cat. Ready for anything.
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Post by Lord_Fartknuckle on Jun 1, 2015 23:10:18 GMT -5
Torrence had collapsed after he'd finished work on the defenses. The last thing he'd remembered was seeing golden rays shining through the entangled net of branches and thinking he would have given anything to have been done before morning. His sleep was deep and without dreams, like a black cloth had been placed over his eyes.
That cloth suddenly dissipated and the world became full of light, blurred shapes moving in and out of his vision. Torrence was awake, but still groggy and left guessing his rest was nowhere near long enough to make this day a good one. He attempted to sit up, a groan escaping him as he positioned himself. His whole body was sore. He'd never used his abilities to that extent and now he was paying for it.
Torrence reached for his staff, which was laying next to him and used it keep upright as he stood up. He leaned heavily on the expertly fashioned pole as he observed the area. The campsite was awash with talking and men walking back and forth. The first thing he noticed was that the tents weren't anywhere to be seen, however he spotted a few people carrying colourful rolls of cloth over their shoulders. The rest were similarly moving about and putting belongings in bags. As Torrence watched carefully he thought he saw a pattern amongst the groups. There were those who carried the equipment and supplies, getting to work in the middle of the great circle that Torrence had fashioned and there were those on the outskirts, fitting themselves with leather armour and weaponry, mostly short swords and bows.
Torrence looked over to where one man, as shaggy as a bear and only half as burly, was picking up bottles from the ground. "Sir. Sir!" The elf croaked finding his voice only loud enough for himself to hear. He headed over to where the big man was working and tapped on his shoulder.
"Hm, Whats a' matter?" The man growled turning around. As soon as he turned his mouth peeled back into a wide and crooked grin, his dark brown beard hiding his mostly yellowed teeth.
"Ah there's th' lad who saved our sorry arses from those fucking plants. Yew sorcerers sure as shit come in handy!"
"Happy my work was appreciated." said Torrence smiling weakly.
"Yew an' yer pet did our sorry hides a bleedin' favour. Twern't fer yew two th' trees'd be nippin' at me cock by now!" The hairy man howled, followed by hearty laughter.
"He isn't my pet."
"If yew like, lad. Ugly son of a whore isn't he? Then I'm not fit to be talkin' about who's ugly and who isn't. Not whoresons either. specially considerin' I'm one thrice over!" He laughed again.
"mmm" Torrence murmured. "So..." he began.
"Buddy Haestlefut, lad! Me mother called me that cuz then I'm everyone's buddy and the cocksuckers can't do nothin' about it!"
"Buddy, is your band leaving?"
"What?" Buddy roared."After getting a bit a' guff from some grabby trees? Me an' me fellow Followin' Crows been through scraps that makes clingy wood look like blackflies!"
"So, since you're not going away, then you're going further into the forest."
"How it is, lad. Have t' bag that damn deer."
"Then I'm coming with you."
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Post by Quinnred on Jun 17, 2015 23:14:59 GMT -5
Neahs decided to wander the camp, scouting for an occupation. He was nervous, but the whole water display last night was a reminder he could handle himself amongst the troop of humans. Though perhaps that was why he noticed a few eyes studying him as he strutted around. Though it was more likely they were trying to figure out exactly what Neahs was.
Neahs spotted Torrence striking conversation with a large man. He could notice the fatigue in his posture, but also an essence of urgency. This made Neahs curious, and hopeful it meant they could leave the damn camp.
"Elth!" Called Neahs to Torrence.
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