Move 135: The Gleaming Glade at Last
The Gleaming Glade--Night, 29 Eleasias 1374 DRWhen the final bout of conversation broke out, Falgout walked away from the group with a snort. Kuiper followed after him, leaving the others to finish their discussion as they would.
The remainder of the group followed after them; it was less than a quarter mile's walk to the area Arachne had indicated that she found. The ground under their feet grew soft, reminding them to heed Kuiper's tale of forest bogs that suck away a mortal's life, although only Blacky and Daelen, carrying the additional weight of the chests, had an true problems walking through it, however.
In an opening in the trees ahead, glowing moss covered the ground and hung from low branches. The dim light lent an eerie feel to the place, compounded by the twisted, gnarled growth of the trees and the sheer darkness of the night. Even the stoutest hearts among them felt a slight twinge of dread, that tightening in the pit of one's stomach when an unknown something goes 'bump' in the night.
"This has got to be it," Kuiper spoke the obvious quietly as the others rejoined him and Falgout. The light from the glade outlined the slight figure of a woman slumped against a tree on its far side, but other than that, the place seemed deserted.
Rumer shrank back near Falgout. Shudders rippled through her slight frame as she tried to stop from running. With a single look at Falgout, she began quietly trying to skirt the glade, looking for anything that didn't belong.
Aloysius unconciously pulled his arms around himself as if to brace against a cold wind. He knelt down and examined the soft ground. "Methinks it likely that this ground shall soften e'en more the further we go.
The armor-clad amongst us should pay special heed."He then looked intently at the figure by the tree.
"Echo," Jana whimpered. "Stay as far back as you can," she whispered urgently to Etienne, Arachne, Renn and Jyothki. "In that dream, people sneaking around behind her were killed by those invisible things, too." She narrowed her gaze to Jyothki and said in halting Elvish, "There be evil something her next too. Be you careful."
Jana looked around a bit to see if she could spot the man from the dream, too. She never let her true attention stray from the woman at the tree, though. From her expression and the way she practically vibrated, it was clear she wanting nothing more than to charge forward.
Aloysius attempted a hasty translation for Jyothki. In elven he said, "Janathell says that, in her dream
anyone who got close to Echo was torn apart by an invisible force. Be careful.""Who has a light source," he asked. "Methinks it would be best if we relied not entirely 'pon the gleaming moss."
"Those invisible things could have been the bog itself," Renn suggested quietly. "Or the undead the evil one has planted there, also. Either way, we need to be very cautious as you said Jana."
Renn drew a bead of sweat from his brow on the tip of his index finger, and chanted softly as he did so. It were a longer spell, lasting a full minute, and Renn exhaled softly when he completed it. "Now I shall become aware of unknown dangers just a little in advance. I know not if it should be enough, but it it better than no notice at all," he said.
"It is quite dark, which bothers me not but others have not the gift of nightvision," Rennirolas continued. "We have my lantern, should any wish it's light. Or I may also try to summon a light with Corellon's blessing. Either way, I do not believe those who cannot see at night should continue without light."
"Mayhap magical illumination is more favorable to flame, given our circumstances," suggested Aloysius.
He withdrew a dagger from his bandolier and extended it to Renn. "Here Rennirolas, cast thy magics 'pon the hilt of this dagger, and Stargazer shall bear it for we humans. If need be, I can either stick the blade into the earth or place the dagger back in my bandolier and it should still allow us to see. Before you cast the spell, perhaps we should step away from Jyothki and Arachne 'lest your illumination gives them away."Jyothki listened both to Jana and Aloysious as they explained the possibility of danger. "Dreams are not to be shrugged off lightly," she said. "I shall be as careful as possible while still bringing Echo out of there safely." She turned back to look into the glade. "I could probably get to her from here actually."
"So are we ready, then?" Jana asked, peering intently at the figure she assumed was Echo.
"Well, he probably already knows that we're here. Shall I call out to the bastard and draw his attention." Blacky hissed.
Daelen put the chest on the ground and wrapped Snow's leash around his knuckles a few times so the hound wouldn't go running into trouble.
"I don't like this at all..." he muttered to himself but decided not to draw his sword right away as it might spark a fight that might not be necessary yet.
"No need..." Daelen said, seeing that the wizard was moving back, "Just watch my back." he said as he drew his blade with his free hand and started walking towards the glade, trusting Snow to alert him of any invisible people.
With a muttered command, his sword's blade began glowing like an ember before being bathed in flames, no doubt revealing his exact position to any nearby archers.
He quickly pondered if simply taking an arrow would be preferable to taking an evasive dive into the spongy ground and decided he didn't really want to do either.
"This was a stupid idea..." he whispered to himself though he kept walking towards the glade, keeping his body between the sword's light and the party behind him as much as possible.
Aloysius's attention was immediately drawn by the glow of Daelen's sword. "Oh my," he said quietly to
Rennirolas. "Belay the illumination," he said quickly. "Instead, follow me. I may well need thine
aid in a moment or two."The mage began to head off in the opposite direction that Rumer and Falgout had gone, keeping within the trees.
Etienne watched as the others headed off by themselves. He then turned to Jyothki and Arachne and whispered, "This may be your best chance to grab Echo. We've got 3 different groups wandering around so they're attention has to be split up some. Go now and bring her back here. If she needs healing then I'll do it and if it's not her,I'll deal with whoever it is."
Arachne said nothing. She stayed by Jyothki, concentrating on keeping quiet. Not talking and a boggy ground underfoot helped. She shied away from any light sources that others produced. She gave Jyothki one brief gesture to proceed and then waited to find out what would be needful.
With a glace at Etienne, Jyothki cocked her head to the side and said, "If it is not Echo, I shall leave whoever it is inside the tree." Nodding at Arachne, the newly-discovered dryad grinned. "Be back in a bit."
Moments after arriving at the Glade, the group split up into several smaller groups. Rumer, closely trailed by Falgout, moved along one side of the glade. Aloysius, after requesting that Renn fall back with him, abandoned that course of action to skirt around the side of the clearing opposite Rumer. Daelen magically lit his sword and moved straight ahead. Jyothki melded into a tree. The others, Kuiper, Jana, Arachne, Etienne, Renn, and Blacky, stayed put, for the moment, with Snow, who refused to move forward, and the chests.
Daelen quickly closed the distance to the glade. As soon as he set foot upon the glowing moss, the light from his sword extinguished, and the night air filled with inhuman screams and wails. Those on the edge of or in the glade were clearly under attack, although those standing back could not make out the attackers. Rumer, Falgout, Daelen, and Aloysius took varying amounts of damage from their unseen assailants.
"It's just like the dream," Jana said in a strangely calm voice. She drew her sword but stayed put. She forced her attention on the woman at the tree, not those being attacked. "But in the dream, no one tried going through a tree. That's different..." Jana winced at the sounds from the edge of the glade. "I'm waiting for Jyothki," she said softly to those with her. "In case she's followed." Jana kept near the tree through which Jyothki would presumably return, eyes on the target tree in the glade.
Suddenly finding himself under attack, blind and feeling very, very alone, Daelen let out a battlecry that he hoped didn't sound too much like a woman screaming in terror and swung wildly in front of him.
Aloysius let out a cry of shock. He stumbled back and began muttering an incantation.
Rumer yelled, "Drow!"
"Well this is as good a time as any to try this thing out." Blacky said to himself as he dropped the chest and drew the two handed sword from his back. With a growl he lept forward to Daelen's side and attacked the unseen foe.
The woman against the tree on the far side of the glade disappeared into it.
The fights in the glade continued. Blacky charged to Daelen's side, only to find himself under attack by a shadowy form nearly invisible in the dim light of the moss as well. Neither Daelen or Blacky took additional damage, but the swords the warriors wielded seemed useless against the creatures. Rumer and Falgout's attacks were just as ineffectual. Rumer lost her footing in the soft earth for a moment, and though she recovered without falling, her sword tumbled out of her hand. Falgout took another hit from the monster and added a horrified screech to the others filling the area. Aloysius moved off into the dark, casting a spell as he went. The creature did not seem to pursue him, but the wizard's magical energy bolts disappeared at the edge of the glade just as the light from Daelen's sword had.
"Get back!" yelled Kuiper over the increasing howls and screams. "Fight clear of them and get away from the glade!" He tossed his pack on the ground and unwrapped a silvered longsword that he had strapped across his back.
Jyothki reappeared at the tree she had walked into, pulling Echo along with her as the other woman could barely move unaided. Echo was stripped to the waist, with only her smallclothes keeping her from being as naked as the proverbial newborn babe. Even in the dim light, the bruising and battering she had taken was more than apparent.
Etienne quickly rushed to Echo's side. "Lay her down here for a moment, Jyothki." As soon as she did so, Etienne looked her over and layed his hands upon her and softly chanted a prayer over the young woman.
Jana sprinted over to Echo, skidding to a stop beside her. She sheathed her sword and hurriedly fumbled in her pack for a blanket. "Here," she said to Etienne when he finished his prayer, "let me get this on her." Jana knelt down and laid the blanket carefully over Echo. "Echo?" she said gently, "It's okay, you're safe now."
Rumer dropped low to the ground, fumbling for the dropped sword.
Aloysius stumbled back to the main group, breathing heavily. "Was that Echo?" he asked. "If so, let's
depart immediately.""Fall back! Everyone fall back!" Blacky echoed and began a defesive retreat trying to fend off the creatures' attacks with his sword.
Echo looked around in a daze. "How did I get here?" she choked out. She shook her head when the others tried to get her to lay down. She leaned on Jyothki and covered her chest with her free arm. She started to move her other arm to cover the tattoo that covered the entire area of her stomach, an intricately detailed tiger face peering from behind some brush. She gave up on that idea when she nearly fell.
She let Jana put the blanket over her and shook her head, tears starting to fall, "We're not safe! The thing that brought me here will kill all of us! We need to go now!"
Jana nodded and put her hand gently on Echo's shoulder. "Then let's go." The concern/relief on Jana's face was replaced no-nonsense efficiency. The expression would have worked for anyone who didn't look her in the eyes. "Can you walk? Better not try. We'll carry you. That little gyspy girl found your backpack," Jana said, taking the rolled-up pack out of her scrounged pack. "I think there're some clothes inside. Or you can wear the blanket for now. Oh, your book's in there, too," she added. Jana insisted on continuing to carry the pack, at least for now. "My horse isn't far. We'll get you there, then you ride." Jana helped Echo as much as she could and was allowed. She was quite careful; it seemed that she knew pretty much where Echo had been hurt the most.
Jana glanced at Etienne. "Tell 'em screw the chests; she rides. And tell 'em to quit jackin' around over there. We're leaving."
Jana took a moment to look up at Jyothki. "Thank you," she said softly in halting Elvish. Her expression spoke volumes.
Etienne nodded and looked back at the others. He let a shrill whistle and yelled, "We've got who we've come for! We're leaving....now!" He turned back to Jyothki, "Stay with Jana and Echo. I'll lead us back to the horse. If something happens, get them both back to the horse. Don't stop for anything." His face was very determined and serious.
"I . . I . . could not hurt my . .foe," mumbled Aloysius, a far away look in his eyes."
Etienne looked quickly at Aloysius, "Aloysius! Snap out of it! There are somethings in this world that cannot be harmed by magic. Daelen and Blacky could do nothing with their enchanted swords. We are out matched right now. We came here to get Echo and fight Ranchefus. We've got Echo and Ranchefus isn't here. Our job is done. A battle with this creature is one we cannot win right now. If we all get out alive, we can look at that as a victory."
"Wha-?", muttered the mage. "Oh, yes . . . of course. Go we must." With a nervous glance back towards the Glade, the mage stood ready to depart with the others. "So dark . . .," he mumbled.
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