Re: Newcomers to Oak Glen

by **Nara-pyon** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:03 pm

Zoltan clicked his tongue at the horse and flicked the reins lightly, and they set off.

Their travel was uneventful. They continued along the road, rested well that night, and then continued again the next day.

by **Kara Winters** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:19 pm

As the cart traveled along the road the sweet sound of a song wafted through the air. The language was in common, but no one in the party could quite hear the words, but they could feel it as the song held magic. One by one their eyes glazed over as they fell under the spell of the song. The cart stopped as the reins were dropped and each of the party members with their bags in the cart, but their weapons on their person left the cart and began to walk off the road towards some trees.

by **Nara-pyon** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:29 pm

Neither Zoltan nor Aeris had any idea what was going on, or, for that matter, that there was anything odd happening.

They climbed down from the cart and started towards the trees. As they walked, Aeris suddenly had a fuzzy feeling in the back of her head, a sense of unease; and then, with a suddenness that startled her, her mind was clear.

"What ..." She blinked and looked at the others. Zoltan and Reed were still heading towards the trees. Since she was closer to Zoltan, she started with him: she grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to snap him out of whatever had taken him.

"Hey! You two! Wake up!" she said pleadingly. "Something's happening and I don't know what it is! Wake up!"

by **Kara Winters** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:31 pm

Reed was the second person to snap out of the song as a part of his mind recognized there was magic in it. He stopped his walking and turned to see Aeris trying to snap Zoltan out of it, who was still trying to get towards the source of the song.

"A charm spell? No... that's not how it works," he murmured as he went over to help Aeris.

by **Nara-pyon** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:48 pm

Zoltan was still walking towards the trees, but only for a moment more: with a jolt, he also awoke from the influence of whatever had taken over his mind.

"Thet music," he grumbled, frowning. He shook his head to clear it, then looked at Reed. "Is there a way te protect ourselves from it?"

by **Kara Winters** Fri Aug 24, 2018 11:51 pm

Reed shrugged, "Not a clue, this isn't like the charm spell, but the song is still going and we seem to be fine right now."

So he hoped they would continue to be fine. When they looked in the direction of the song, there in the far distance was a speck about 90 feet away, of something perched on a rock. It was humanoid (ish) in size, kind of looked like a woman.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:03 am

Peering forward, Aeris could see that the woman was naked, but she couldn't tell anything else about her.

Zoltan, however, could see better: he could see that this woman - if so she was - had claws rather than hands or feet, and wings like a vulture.

"Harpy," he murmured, his tone mixed with horror and awe. He had never seen one before, but he had heard tales of them. About their looks and their song. Dangerous creatures, they were.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:41 pm

"We're pretty far from it," Reed commented softly.

They were 90 feet away from the creature to be precise.

"Do you think we can stealth up to it and catch it by surprise?" the bard commented.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:53 pm

"As nice as it would'd be te try," Zoltan said quietly, his eyes fixed on the harpy, "considering tha' it's a'ready gotten us wi' a song, I have the feelin' it knows we're here a'ready."

"Still, it never hurts to try," Aeris murmured. She thought about what she had with her. "I think, if I were to move just a little bit closer, I could hit it with my crossbow ..."

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:56 pm

"If we disappear off to the sides and use the trees as cover," Reed replied, "I mean the other opinion is to go for it head on.

It would take them a bit to meet them all the way, but the Harpy would probably meet up to them and and try to attack them anyways.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:59 pm

"It would probably be easier if we split up," Aeris murmured. She headed into the trees to the left, vanishing into them, and headed closer to the harpy.

Zoltan took to the right and tried to do the same, but he had a significant amount of weapons on his person, and they clanked together noisily.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:05 pm

Reed went right as well, but angled himself so he wouldn't be close to Zoltan at all, which was just as well, however he was still too noticeable in the tree line to really stealth that well, and the harpy was able to track his movements. It probably didn't help that there was armor and weapons clanking in that direction as well.

The harpy, having not seen Aeris and too distracted by the clanking of armor took flight and flew 40 feet straight up into the air.

Reed wasn't quite sure if the harpy had really seen him or not so he stays down, drawing his rapier in case of an attack. Though he wasn't sure if the harpy could make that distance.

The harpy makes a large bird cry as it flies towards where the men were, though which one grabbed its attention was unknown. Clearly it was going to target either Reed or Zoltan, whichever it thought it could get to first.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:37 pm

From her vantage in the trees, Aeris was able to focus and aim an Ice Knife at the harpy. Pointing her staff at it, ice shot from the end of her staff, forming into a blade. It grazed off the harpy, cutting it slightly, then burst into sharp shards of ice, showering the creature with icy splinters. It wasn't enough to do a lot of damage, but the harpy didn't seem happy about it.

Angry that the harpy had already gotten him with its music and seeing it approach, Zoltan burst into a rage. Blood pounded in his ears and he grabbed a javelin from his belt.

"Yeeaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh!" he yelled, throwing the javelin with all his might.

The javelin struck the harpy in the shoulder, making it cry out in pain. Angrily, it yanked the javelin from its shoulder, but didn't drop it, instead holding it in its hand.

It was at that point that Zoltan realized it was also holding a club.

"Wotcher!" he hollered to the others.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:51 pm

The Harpy already was on the move as it bomb dived at Zoltan slashing him with its claws. Then with glee attempted to stab him with his own javelin, but it only implanted the weapon into the ground behind him. It screeched, being equally as angry with Zoltan as he was probably angry with it.

Reed rushed over to help Zoltan, stabbing the creature in the side with his rapier.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:06 pm

Aeris began to murmur under her breath, her hands weaving the signs for a magic missile. Three glowing darts shot from her hand, each of them hitting the harpy in the back. The creature cried out in pain, and there was an audible crack, as if it had broken some ribs from the hit. Large bruises were already beginning to form on the harpy's naked body.

Zoltan barely flinched from the harpy's attack, though it left three red streaks across his shoulder. He was so intent on killing the creature that he himself didn't matter. With both hands, he hefted his greataxe high above his head.

"HRAAAGGHHH!" he yelled, swinging it down with all his might. The blade of the axe caught the harpy in the middle of its clavicle, nearly splitting its chest in two equal halves. Blood spurted from the gaping wound, and with a gurgling of blood in its throat, the harpy's body sank, lifeless, onto the ground.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:11 pm

Cleaning and then putting away his rapier, Reed had to admit while dangerous that wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Now that the Harpy was dead, he could see that besides the club there wasn't anything on it. Looking where it had come from, it looked like it had built a nest on top of a rock that was 10 feet high.

"Well, at least we now know why people were abandoning their carts," he commented once he was sure Zoltan had calmed down.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:18 pm

With the harpy dead, it wasn't long before Zoltan's rage left him and he returned to his normal state.

"Yeh, I knew it couldn' be bandits," he grumbled and he collected his weapons back. He looked over and saw that Aeris was coming towards them. "Mi' as well see if there's anethin' worth takin' with us," he growled, taking the club for himself and then heading towards the nest. "Long as we c'n ge' up there, aneways."

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:24 pm

"Well..." Reed murmured, "I'm not sure how we're going to get up there other than hoping there are parts to grab onto and climb."

10 feet wasn't that high up, but it was certainly high enough that none of them would be able to just lift themselves up, certainly not Zoltan. It took a bit to reach the really large bounder that lifted the nest up.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:32 pm

Aeris reached them just as they reached the boulder.

"Stan' back," Zoltan grunted at her. He cracked his knuckles and started climbing the boulder. He could find nowhere to get a grip, however, and he made no progress whatever.

"There's got te be somethin' we could use," he grumbled, looking around. "Wonder if we cou' bring the cart back here an' climb on it."

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:37 pm

"We could," Reed murmured, "There's not a lot in the way to not get the cart, it would give a bit more height."

Though Zoltan would still probably have to climb, Aeris could probably get up from the cart if she really tired he was sure.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:45 pm

"I'll get it," Zoltan offered, frowning. He headed back to the road, where the cart and horse were still safely waiting.

While he went, Aeris leaned against the boulder. "So, that was a ..."

She trailed off and looked at Reed, waiting for him to fill in the blank.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:48 pm

"A harpy," Reed replied, "Tales speak of monstrosities that have the talons and wings of a vulture and the head and torso of a human woman. Their song can lure people to their doom, though normally when you hear of such tales it's often off of cliffs or into rocks if you're a sailor. So I'm not sure what it has done to all the travelers."

He looked up at the rock where the large nest was. Perhaps he shouldn't be so surprised it had a nest, but it was a strange thought that it did.

"We might find out soon though."

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:08 pm

Aeris followed his gaze. "I hope there isn't a pile of skeletons up there," she murmured with a twist in her stomach.

Zoltan was back shortly with the horse and cart, and he maneuvered the cart so that it was right next to the boulder.

"Thet ought'r help," he grunted, moving to the back of the cart once the horse was still.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:49 pm

The cart's back was probably about 4 feet off the ground, making it that if Zoltan stood on it, the edge of the bounder was only a bit over a feet taller than him. If he raised his arms and stood on his tip toes his fingers would probably reach over the edge, he would still need to climb, just less than if he was on the ground.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:52 pm

Using the wall of the cart to give him an extra edge, Zoltan tried again. With a calmer mind and dryer hands, he managed to climb the boulder up to where the nest was located.

"Anyone else want te come up?" he asked, turning and looking at the others over the edge.

Aeris shook her head. "No, I'm quite fine on the ground, thank you. But what do you see?"

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