(Vi'lea is going to be in the back, last (or at least one of the last), so that she can keep an eye on everyone else - especially Lea - and so that she will have more time for casting spells if they encounter any enemies.)
(Last. I'm more useful with plenty of distance between me and the fighting.) EDIT: (Also, staying as close to the center of the path as I can.)
(Front. Andreas said he wanted to be in the back for Vi'lea's reasoning, but after seeing her and Kamran in the very last with Lea nearby, he'll wander near the front and/or with Silvan.)
(Ummmm. Everyone seems to not realize that I was having Silvan away from the group and trying to hide. He wouldn't have been able to hear the plan and wasn't planning to actually be with the group, but shadowing them from a distance.... Since everyone seems to know he is Silvan will stay near the front for the plan I guess....)
(Oops. Hmm, well, it could still work. Just consider a time gap in our conversation. So the order of the day could be: Andreas, Riekan/Pepper, Lea (figure they'd hang out with each other), Vi'lea, Kamran. Silvan hangs around in the shadows, and Andreas realizes he's talking to no one in a second, which works perfectly for his haplessness.)
(I'm going to assume Andreas has the map then since he seems to be leading the way) You set off to the north, leaving the misty morning and the village of Hommlet behind you. The going is actually fairly rough. The way is mostly uphill and the rains have loosened the soil so that pads of moss slip under your feet. After the first couple of miles, you've all had at least one fall. All except for Lea and Tila, who are both supernaturally sure-footed. Though Silvan is not with the group, you can sense him shadowing you through the trees. Following close enough that he would hear a shout. Kamran in particular is ill at ease in this environment. You are not used to traveling these damp, cold primeval forests and every sound in the undergrowth, every snap of a branch or the cry of a strange insect, has you look at around. While the rest of you are moving along normally, Kamran hears a rush of movement deep in the woods. He sees something moving, upright and humanlike. Maybe more than one. They are swiftly advancing on Andreas. Silvan does not see this, but he hears Tila growl. In the midst of the group, Lea stops moving. "Fiends," she whispers. Kamran, Silvan, and Lea have actions before whatever is coming reveals itself.
Andreas rustles the map as something else rustles around him. He crams it into his satchel to protect it from his rapidly heating hands. "Guys, what's going on? Talk to me!" He holds a flame charm just in case.
Kamran draws an arrow from his quiver, one with a flame charm tied to it. The nice thing about home, he thinks as he nocks the arrow, is that when the shimmering heat off the sand reduces your enemy to a blur, you know they're still so far off that you have time to prepare for them. Not like here, with the mist and thick trees. "Something at our flank, coming towards you," he calls back to Andreas. To the figures in the forest, "Stop where you are! Declare yourselves!" Kamran lifts his bow, draws, and aims for the best-defined silhouette in the trees. How likely is it that any human, or nonpredatory creature, is living in these woods alongside the plant creatures? Not at all, he thinks. Best case, these things go back into hiding after finding their prey well-prepared for a knockdown fight. Worst case... Well, there's no disadvantage to getting in the first shot. And the recent rain should save the whole forest from going up in flames. Kamran changes his mind, and rather than wait he lets the arrow fly towards the stalking figure's feet. A warning. Go back before you catch one with your face.
Silvan draws his bone handled knife and has his monsters prepare to move if needed. He, like Kamran, launches an attack. He tries to aim for a leg with the knife and throws. Hit or miss, he would use the enchantment to call it back to his hand.
Riekan draws his sword and gets into a defensive stance. He glances at Pepper, both to check for her safety and to see if she had her thunder gun ready. He then looks at Lea, very curious to know how she would act in a battle situation.
It all happens so quickly, at least to Andreas. A burning arrow whistles over his shoulder and thumps into the ground, bursting with fire that lights up a woman that seems to be half tree. No, not half-tree. The leaves and branches are all part of a disguise, carefully covering her lithe body as she rolls away from the warning shot. Two more of these figures launch an attack from the sides. Silvan catches ones and bowls her over, landing with his bone-handled knife at the woman's throat. She kicks and hisses. Lea moves with shocking speed, launching from your midst and catching a third figure in the midsection. Her cloak lifts as she lands and reveals her shapely legs, bending impossibly around the woman and pinning her more slender legs down. Two more figures seem to materialize from the woods around you, one of them has a bow raised and aimed at Riekan. The other is larger than the other women, bustier and wider in the hips, but no less exotic and comely. She holds dual curved swords and appears ready to attack Andreas. These women appear to be elves of some sort, though by their dark eyes they are clearly tainted or possibly possessed. (OOC: Everyone who has not already acted can now act simultaneously with the remaining women.)
Riekan ducks behind a nearby tree. Seeing as he didn't have a ranged skill, it was better to take cover for now than catching an arrow on the head. Not for the first time, the ex-knight curses his lack of a helmet.
The... treewoman creature shocks Andreas. "That's new." Dusty tombs covered in decayed vines in the library suddenly snap into sense in his head. His stomach lurched. With barely any time to react, Andreas notices the busty creature lunging at him with dual scimitars. He chucks a flame charm in her direction with every intent on landing it square in her forehead, but his aim isn't always accurate. Rolling along the dewy undergrowth, moss clings wetly to his clothes. He mentally remarks about how he'll have to wash them soon, and a pleasant image of Winona assisting him in the meantime slides into view. He shakes his head. Time and a place you fool. He scrambles for cover, preparing another flame charm as he goes. The worst part of this is that he knew their features. They are elven... or at least were. Now that have stems and frawns. His mouth twitches uncomfortably again, thoughts of corrupted souls and bodies dancing through his mind.
Silvan gives the one he pinned a wicked smile. He wasn't sure if they could capture these things, but Andreas had slipped him one of the weaker crystals earlier. He might have to try it out later. For now, it was time to work this little hottie over. She was kicking and hissing, so he decided to try some of his taking techniques on her. If needed, he would slit her throat since the knife was in place. He brought his mouth down and latched on to her throat, letting his fangs pierce her skin. Slippy should be moving now as well, having stuck with him. She should now be working her way between the woman's legs to tease her while Silvan works on the upper portion. Tila on the other hand had been given orders to protect Andreas. His fire magic was the best offense they had against slimes, so Silvan wanted to make sure he was ok if the ooze made a move.
Just before you duck behind one of the trees you hear a loud THUNK as an arrow pierces the tree trunk near your head. When you peek your head out again, you see the elf woman has already notched another arrow and is searching for a new target. Pepper gives a shout and fires off her thunder gun, hitting the elf archer and bowling her off her feet. You know from experience it will take a long time for Pepper to have that gun reloaded. Incredibly, the elf shit hit rolls back to her feet. The woman is singed and peppered with scratches from shrapnel, but her leafy armor seems to have absorbed the worst of the damage. The leaves crumble from her body, exposing the elf's golden skin and her pert breasts. The elf draws a whip from her belt and advances on Pepper. You hurl the flame charm at the woman and she swats it aside with her sword creating a shower of embers. Tila, acting on Silvan's command, yowls and leaps at the sword-wielding woman. You hear hissing and spitting and the elf's grunts of effort as they fight and you escape from the melee. Tila lets out a screech of anger and pain and goes flying from a kick to her chest. The poor cat girl thumps her head against a tree and is knocked unconscious. The woman with the twin swords advances on you, anger burning in her black eyes. Slippy drops from your body and slithers between the elf's kicking legs. You sink your teeth into her flesh and to your surprise the woman lets out a sharp cry of pleasure. She grabs your back and scratches your back, no longer fighting to get you off but instead wrapping her thighs around you. She curses in the sharp tongue of the elves and her hands fall to your buttocks. She pulls you against her body, the heat of her cunt apparent even through the leaves the cloak her supple flesh. There is a sharp, unpleasant tang to her blood. You feel Slippy wriggly between your pressed body and the elf's.
"Tila!" Andreas calls to her, but it's far too late. She slumps against the tree, unconscious but still breathing. Unfortunately, he wasn't so sure how long he would be. In scenarios when such vital functions are challenged, people often resort to talents they never knew they possessed, and truly don't until the situation calls for it. In this, Andreas made his ape ancestors proud by leaping onto a low-lying branch and swinging himself into a tree. He snaps off a particularly dead branch and cups his palm around on end. He thrusts the resulting torch below, towards the rampaging elf-tree-creature.
Noticing the former archer is slowly advancing on Pepper, Riekan retrieves his dagger from its place inside his right boot. Peering around the three, he waits for a clear shot. When the swordsman thinks he has it, he throws the dagger towards the elf's left breast in a swift move.
