She is coming straight towards you as you thrust the burning branch down to ward her off or possibly stuff it in her face. The voluptuous elf woman side steps your attack and with a windmilling swing hacks her scimitar into the branch you are standing on. The branch shakes and starts to bend. She windmills her sword again and THWACK the blade bites deep. You lose your grip on the torch as the branch begins to give way. The woman grins cruelly, sheathing her swords and preparing to catch you. If you pitch the other way off the collapsing branch you are going to end up in the fire. A sadistic elf bitch or an inferno of your own creation. It's your choice. The elf woman lashes her whip at Pepper, cracking it over her shoulder and against the girls arms. Pepper drops her thunder gun and winces in pain as a red welt scores her shoulder and bicep. Before she can do much more than react, the elf lashes her around the throat and pulls her close. The move effectively shields the elf from a thrown knife. The elf is backing away with Pepper captured and struggling with the whip. You might be able to get in close on the woman if you skirt around the path, but you don't know what is happening elsewhere in the battle. You have been focused on Pepper and the elves in your immediate vicinity.
(OOC: Sorry, guys, I was a little busy today. I should have my post ready shortly, just give me a few minutes to re-read everything that has happened since last night.) While the group is traveling Vi’lea takes the time to prepare the ice trail spell again, since it proved so useful last time. She still has the two spells she did not get to use against the slimes, so this is the third and final spell she needs to prepare. The dark elf’s spell is finished not a moment too soon as the group gets attacked by… elves pretending to be trees? Well, this is new. Vi’lea thinks as she pulls back a little bit. If she’s not mistaken there are at least five elven women, one of them armed with a bow, but fortunately they all seem focused on her companions, allowing her to act undisturbed. Vi’lea takes another step back so that if she gets attacked and forced to use one of her "surprises" she won’t endanger her friends (or Lea), then crouches down and casts the ice trail spell. To her surprise three trails shoot out and head towards the elves closest to her. Three? Is it because the area is moist and that somehow boosted the spell's power? She wonders briefly, then begins casting a low-level shadow spell that will deflect or block any arrow that is about to hit her. The spell has enough power to deal with 3 or 4 – 5 if she’s lucky – arrows so it’s practically useless against a group of archers, but if there’s just one or two bow users it will prove adequate defense. At the same time she waits to see the results of her ice spell and tries to decide who to help.
Your ice trails crackle out across the damp earth, catching the more shapely elf woman by surprise. She is apparently protected from magic to some degree as it only makes her yelp and produces a glittering trail of ice up the leaves that cover her lower legs. One trail shoots out past most of the combat and hits an elf you had barely seen who was taking aim with her bow. The crystals sheath her body. She drops her bow and tries to move away, but the process is too quick and she falls back to the ground, steam gusting from her mouth as she struggles to breath in the sheath of ice. Your third trail is less successful. The ice trail glitters as it shoots towards the elf holding Pepper hostage. But the elf sees it and turns Pepper into the spell's path. You watch in dismay as the redheaded teen is struck with the full brunt of your spell, ice crawling up her slender legs and frosting her leathers as her eyes go wide with shock. Thin, silvery fingers of ice crawl up her neck and cradle her face. Her breath steams from her mouth in a gasp. The elf continues to muscle her away from the group and towards the woods. You are in the process of preparing your defensive spell when you are struck by a whip around your neck. You've been attacked from behind! Two more elves emerge from behind the group with whips in hand, one already choking you and the other preparing to attack Kamran. Most everyone else is so focused on the combat that they don't even notice the sneak attack from behind. But Pepper sees and even through her ice she manages to gasp out a warning, "Behind us!" that is heard by Riekan and Lea.
Sorry, Pepper. I’ll try to make it up to you later. Vi’lea tells herself as she sees the result of her spell. The dark elf continues to prepare her shadow spell when the attack from behind comes. She curses in the elven tongue as she sees the two attackers and allows herself to be dragged closer to them. When she is close enough she unleashes her spell. A sphere of pale blue light, its radius one-and-a-half times Vi’lea’s height, surrounds the dark elf. As the caster she is immune to the effect, but any other living creature within the area of effect is instantly frozen in a solid block of ice that is constantly renewed, keeping the victims trapped. It is a spell that cannot tell the difference between friend and foe, hence why she had pulled back from the rest. But the sphere is not just a trap – it also acts as a shield that will block attacks from the outside and will freeze anyone who tries to get inside. Unfortunately it is a complicated spell that takes several seconds to cast – too long in the middle of combat – and after 5 seconds have passed it begins to drain the mana reserves of the caster. The longer the sphere remains active the more difficult it becomes to sustain it. Vi’lea wastes no time. She takes out a dagger from her right boot – fortunately the whip does not restrain her hands and feet – and frees herself from the weapon, now frozen solid along with its wielder. Then she takes out two of the crystals Lyssa gave them and touches the two elven women. She waits to see what will happen… (OOC: I’ll add the detailed description to Vi’lea’s character sheet as well. I added the description. It includes an important detail that was not mentioned in my post because as far as I could tell these elves are not immune to ice spells.)
(OOC: Sorry if I wasn't clear, the whip and strangulation interrupted your casting of the protection spell. Not sure exactly what you need to do to prepare a spell, but I'm guessing being able to breathe is part of it. Since I wasn't being clear, I'll let you decide what to do. You can try a different action or attempt what you wrote and let me tell you what actually happens.)
(OOC: Sorry if I wasn't clear. This is one of the spells Vi'lea prepared while on the way to the slimes but never used. Once prepared it needs a single thought to trigger so not breathing is not a problem but a confusion effect might be. The other two spells - the ice trail spell that Vi'lea used and the attack spell she has not used yet because it is pretty useless in the open - both need a thought and some way to designate a target (usually a hand gesture). The shadow spell she was trying to cast to protect herself from arrows will have to be restarted. As far as I could tell Vi'lea is not confused and the whip has not yet strangled her to the point where she will have trouble thinking, so there should be no issue with using the spell. But once the spell has been ended it will need to be prepared anew, likely after the combat if Vi'lea is not too exhausted by then.)
Somewhere in the midst of his mind, a conversation appeared. Well, one part of it. A merchant once tried to sell him a wriggling bag of things, with the tagline "Live or dead, you choose." Given the situation he now faced, it seemed rather poignant. Though now, it's more like "Death or death, you choose." Maybe he could dive through the fire. His clothes were wet enough, and who knows what kind of magic exists in the forest that his pyromancy could leech from. Then again, that would almost be certain death... but then who knows what the elven tree woman thing would-- In the end, the branch decides for him. Andreas pitches wildly as the wood snaps. He caterwalls down, the flames streaking his vision to his left as he lands neatly into the elven woman's cruel arms. "Um, well then." he coughes desperately. A faint blast of cool air rolls over him, and he simply hopes that Vi'lea is faring much better than he is. "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot!" He clasps his hands to her arms. The sharp tingle of extreme heat pours through them. "I'm Andreas Osiander, natural philosopher, part time adventurer and nascent fire mage." His hands glow with the searing light of blackbody radiation. "My pleasure to meet you!"
The whip wraps around your throat and jerks you backwards as you begin to choke. You cast your prepared spell and a field of magical energy pops up around you, encasing your attacker in as solid block of ice. Her eyes go wide and she does not even have time to cry out as she is trapped. However, her whip is also encased in ice and so too is your throat. A tight collar of ice tightens around your neck, completely cutting off your flow of air. Startled by your apparent extreme power, the other elf turns and advances on you, drawing some sort of egg-shaped weapon from her belt.
The elf catches you in her arms and your landing is further cushioned by the soft mounds of her breasts. Though her expression is cruel and her eyes strange there is no denying the beauty of her face. She pulls you tight against her and introduces herself with a kiss that catches you by surprise. You react to the warmth of her lips and her thrusting tongue, but before you can really savor it, she bites down on your lip and blood gushes into your mouth. She pulls back, her teeth and lips decorated with your blood. She's stronger than you and when she sees your hands begin to glow she grabs your forearm and twists your arms behind your back. She speaks to you in her elven language, something cruel with her lips pressed against your ear. She finishes with the distinctly understandable phrase, "Take you to be milked." She starts to shove you roughly away from the group. Her back is turned if anyone sees you being captured and manages an attack on her.
I hope I got them both… As she thinks that Vi’lea manages to get a dagger from her boot and starts trying to free herself from the frozen whip. While the lack of air for a few seconds won’t be a problem the mana drain from her spell if it remains active too long might become a serious issue if she is not quick enough. If she is able to free herself from the whip Vi’lea will first check to see how many people were frozen by her spell and then will attempt to use a crystal on the frozen elf in the hope of freeing the woman from whatever power is affecting her.
Getting your dagger under the tightly bound, ice-encrusted whip is not possible. You start to chip away at the ice as the other elf removes a stopper from the egg-shaped device she took from her belt and runs her finger over the top. There is a rasp and a spark of fire. She smiles evilly and tosses the egg at you. Burning liquid explodes over you, encasing your ice shield and causing your mana to drain rapidly. The fire also spreads to the elf's companion. Apparently she doesn't care about friendly fire as the heat from the flames begin to boil away the ice.
Andreas knew enough elven languages to cast a vacant, horrified stare. He also vows that, should he live to tell the tale, he would declare a new lactose intolerance. With his hands quite literally held behind his back, he decides that maybe the fire was the better option. He sweats from the terror welling up in him, feeling intensely hot as his clothes send off whiffs of smoke and-- Wait, hold on. An ember falls from his hat. His nose starts to shine like a that of a mythical reindeer. Who knows why, though perhaps some last ditch attempt at preserving itself, his pyromancy sparks across his body. He feels it surge across his arm as he glances at the elven woman for a hopefully favorable reaction.
As your clothing begins to smolder, the elf shifts her grips on your wrists so only one hand is holding them pinned behind your back with so much torsion on your arms and shoulders you cannot find the strength to break free. You feel a crackle of electricity from that hand and from where her breasts are touching your back, as if your field of magic is interacting with another field of magic. Before you have time to wonder too much about the meaning of the sensation something thumps against the back of your skull. It feels like... either a mule kicked you... or you've just been hit in the head with the pommel of a sword... Dizzy darkness begins to close in around you. (You can try to fight it off if you have some last trick up your sleeve)
(OOC: No, no I think that's it. Andreas consciously controls his pyromancy, so if he's out, then he's either doomed to his upcoming fate or he needs to be rescued, which seems increasingly unlikely. Which is worse than bad because he has the map, unless he lost his satchel in the whole mess.)
Riekan never felt so much anger than when he saw the elf girl hurting Pepper with the whip. With a roar, a yellow glow comes from his satchel as the yellow rune he carried flew to his body and attached itself to his armor. His blade started cackling with electricity and, before he could be in awe by it, he realized Pepper is more important. "Lea, help me with her!" he bellowed, charging towards Pepper's kidnapper.
Pepper has stopped fighting and is now mostly encased in ice as the elf tries to drag the young woman back into the woods. You feel the power of your rune as you charge towards the elf. She sees you coming and snarls with anger. Her free hand flies to her belt and she draws a dagger. You'll have one action before she might be able to either threaten Pepper or stab the helpless girl. Behind you, Lea disentangles herself from the elf she had tackled. The elf she leaves behind is delirious and naked, a glistening wetness on her thighs and the bare mound of her sex. Whatever Lea was doing in her grapple has left that particular elf out of action. But as fast as Lea is, you will get to Pepper first. It's up to you to make your move. The elf is trying to keep the redheaded teen between you and her.
The last thing you hear is the elf chuckling triumphantly and promising to "take lots of your milk" as you are dragged into the forest. (Your satchel and the map were left behind)
(ooc: I'm going to assume the elf is carrying a bounded Pepper and her feet aren't touching the ground.) Roaring in anger, Riekan stabs his sword into the ground. "Die!" he screams as a bolt of thunder races towards the elf's feet, with every intention of electrocuting her.
Andreas blissfully enjoys the thought of Winona giving him a nice tall glass of milk before lapsing into complete unconsciousness. (OOC: Uh oh. Bad moon rising!)
(OOC: No! Pepper is definitely on the ground. The elf might have tried to pick her up but she's encased in ice right now so the woman is dragging her by the whip around her throat. Imagine almost the classic human shield scenario in a gun fight. That is what the elf has done to protect herself. Definitely reconsider flinging that lightning bolt.)
