The Sylvan Realm #6 (#50)

[GM Mad]

Sylvan Realm #6

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP


The Heroes of the Mother Tree have gone in search of the missing Chandra and those who followed him. They have reached ancient ruins to the north of the Sylvan Realm that the orcs called home. However other beings also called this place home. A horde of insect-like creatures that seem to use others as hosts and transform them into their own kind. They called themselves the Hive and they don't seem to be picky as to who they use as a host.

A wave of the flying insects that sit on their victims head and control them have already been destroyed by Kylie and Lilia. Orcs already controlled and being transformed by the insects rush up the stairs to capture the elves! They are met with great resistance.

On one of the stairs, Talen placed a Grease spell and it caused any bug orc to slip and fall away. Lia has already taken two out with her Magic Missiles. Talen tries his luck with his longbow. His first arrow hits the target, but does not slay it. The second does. Lilia comes in, still under the effects of her Flying spell. She hovers over the twins and pulls the string of her Manabow. As Lilia does so, an arrow made of magical energy comes into being. This enchanted arrow strikes true and the bug orc goes down. Another soon follows.

At the landing of the other set of stairs, Laucian and Valena continue their 'competition' of taking out the enemy. Each Priest of Ehlonna takes out two more of the approaching enemy, leaving only a few left. Kylie hovers overhead and takes one of the approaching orcs out with a Frost Arrow. Kylie takes down the next one with a Fire Arrow.

That just leaves two bug orcs on the Priests of Ehlonna's side. Laucian and Valena each take one out before Kylie can even fire.

Back on the twin's side, Talen fires his longbow once more. His first shaft misses, but the second takes out an orc. Lia casts her second Magic Missile and two more orcs go down permanently. Lilia fires two more times and her Manabow takes out two more orcs. That leaves only two bug orcs and they go down in the next round as the Grease spell continues to keep them at bay.

Just like that the fighting is all over with. There is no more buzzing sounds nor the clacking that was heard. There is still distant noise from further down the shaft, but no immediate threats are noted. You cannot see the bottom of the shaft. It fades into darkness once past your infravision range.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Welcome to the 50th post in the elf games!

No damage was taken as none of the orcs were able to reach hand to hand combat range.


Spell Activity:

Lilia has 61 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell, 1 2nd level spell and 2 3rd level spell thus far. She also has 34 Priest Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell.

Talen has 10 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Valena has 34 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Lilia]

Lilia:

The battle is decidedly one sided and the enemy falls from spells and arrows. The noise that they makes fades, as does the sense of danger Lilia is feeling.

“Is everyone alright?” Lilia asks of her companions. Seeing that no one is injured, its time to move deeper into the tower.

“Fortunately, these hive insects are not quiet and can be heard a safe distance away,” Lilia states. “Let us continue on after our kin, but proceed as quietly as possible. Let the enemy reveal themselves to us.”

“Laucian, take Talen down one flight of stairs, Valena and Lia will go down the other stairs. Kylie and I will fly down the shaft and we'll land on the next bridge down. Once we all one level down, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing dangerous is around. Then we all advance to the next level and so on until we find something.”

“Let's move out!”

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Flying over to join Laucian and Valena, Kylie nearly loses her lunch at the sight of the hideous hybrid orc-insect creatures coming up the stairway from below. Readying her bow, she fires 2 enchanted arrows, each of which destroy one of the creatures. The elves kill the remaining hybrids with more arrows.

Moments later, the fighting is all done and they meet up with the other half of the party. Kylie has never been one to get any enjoyment from killing, but a certain sense of satisfaction sweeps through her at the destruction of these abominations.

“Is everyone alright?” Lilia asks of her companions.

"We're fine; they never reached the top of the stairs and didn't seem to have any ranged capabilities," Kylie replies.

Lilia lays out a plan for progressing down into the tower in a balanced formation while emphasizing stealth. "Ready," Kylie says with a sharp nod, her voice grim and resolute. Floating over to the central shaft, Kylie takes a position to the left and slightly behind the queen as they begin to descend.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“Is an orc ugly?” He says a slight smirk across his face, as he draws an arrow and nocks it to his bow.

“Is the sky blue?” Valena counters with a laugh as she continues to fire.

More bug infested orcs appear and right after that they fall to arrows. Valena notes Kylie assisting them while hovering overhead. In short order, the enemy is all downed. Valena stores her bow and draws her short sword.

“So it ends in a tie,” Valena tells Laucian. “Five a piece. We'll have to continue this later on. I'll make sure that they are down for good.”

Valena moves down the stairs towards the fallen enemy. She'll look to recover any arrows that were not broken during the attack. As she gets closer to the orcs, she'll stab each of them in the head to make sure they are no longer a threat.

“This is almost like fighting zombies,” Valena notes to no one in particular.

After completing her task, Valena goes back up the stairs. Lilia lays out her plan to advance down the tower.

“Fortunately, these hive insects are not quiet and can be heard a safe distance away,” Lilia states. “Let us continue on after our kin, but proceed as quietly as possible. Let the enemy reveal themselves to us.”

“Laucian, take Talen down one flight of stairs, Valena and Lia will go down the other stairs. Kylie and I will fly down the shaft and we'll land on the next bridge down. Once we all one level down, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing dangerous is around. Then we all advance to the next level and so on until we find something.”

“Let's move out!”

As Lia moves closer, Valena equips her bow once more. With an arrow at the ready, I slowly start down the stairs hugging the outside wall.

“Let's see what we can find,” Valena whispers to Lia. "And if its nasty, shoot it!"

[Talen]

Talen:

“Let me assist you,” Lilia tells the twins as she fires her Manabow.

Talen glances back and up and finds Lilia hovering above them. “We'll take any help we can get, your majesty,” Talen tells her.

The fight drags on, but there never was any real danger as the Grease spell keep the mutating orcs far away.

“Is everyone alright?” Lilia asks of her companions. Seeing that no one is injured, its time to move deeper into the tower.

“Other than being grossed out, I'm fine,” Talen reports.

“Fortunately, these hive insects are not quiet and can be heard a safe distance away,” Lilia states. “Let us continue on after our kin, but proceed as quietly as possible. Let the enemy reveal themselves to us.”

“Laucian, take Talen down one flight of stairs, Valena and Lia will go down the other stairs. Kylie and I will fly down the shaft and we'll land on the next bridge down. Once we all one level down, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing dangerous is around. Then we all advance to the next level and so on until we find something.”

“Let's move out!”

“I finally put those longbow lessons to good use,” Talen tells Laucian excitedly as he draws closer. “Managed to pick off a few of them!”

Knowing that he cannot compete with Laucian when it comes to bowmanship, Talen draws his sword once more as they start down the stairs.

“I'll keep an eye on the rear,” Talen says as Laucian leads the way down the stairs.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Is the sky blue?” Valena counters with a laugh as she continues to fire.

“Unless there is a storm.” He says back letting loose his shaft and drawing another and taking aim. Within moments. The arrows find their homes sending the target to forever slumber.

“So it ends in a tie,” Valena tells Laucian. “Five a piece. We'll have to continue this later on. I'll make sure that they are down for good.”

“For the moment.” he says in return, Drawing an arrow and knocking it, Laucian makes his way toward the stairs covering Valena with his bow as she stabs the insect things to make sure they are dead.

Lilia wrote:“Fortunately, these hive insects are not quiet and can be heard a safe distance away,” Lilia states. “Let us continue on after our kin, but proceed as quietly as possible. Let the enemy reveal themselves to us.”

“Laucian, take Talen down one flight of stairs, Valena and Lia will go down the other stairs. Kylie and I will fly down the shaft and we'll land on the next bridge down. Once we all one level down, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing dangerous is around. Then we all advance to the next level and so on until we find something.”

“Let's move out!”

“Lilia, I was thinking. If they are a hive, would there not be a queen? Remove the head and the body dies?”he calmly states his bow and arrow comfortably at his side.

Lilia wrote:“Is everyone alright?” Lilia asks of her companions. Seeing that no one is injured, its time to move deeper into the tower.
“Aye, they did not reach us.”he says in return.


“I finally put those longbow lessons to good use,” Talen tells Laucian excitedly as he draws closer. “Managed to pick off a few of them!”

Knowing that he cannot compete with Laucian when it comes to bowmanship, Talen draws his sword once more as they start down the stairs.

“I'll keep an eye on the rear,” Talen says as Laucian leads the way down the stairs.
Laucian looks back at the young thief. “Nicely done. You will rival the best of us soon enough!” he says encouragingly. Laucian will nod in reply and slowly make his way forward, trying to make little noise and listening for the bug sounds along the way.

[Lia]

Lia
Lia casts her second Magic Missile and two more orcs go down permanently. Lilia fires two more times and her Manabow takes out two more orcs. That leaves only two bug orcs and they go down in the next round as the Grease spell continues to keep them at bay.

“Is everyone alright?” Lilia asks of her companions. Seeing that no one is injured, its time to move deeper into the tower.

“Fortunately, these hive insects are not quiet and can be heard a safe distance away,” Lilia states. “Let us continue on after our kin, but proceed as quietly as possible. Let the enemy reveal themselves to us.”

“Laucian, take Talen down one flight of stairs, Valena and Lia will go down the other stairs. Kylie and I will fly down the shaft and we'll land on the next bridge down. Once we all one level down, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing dangerous is around. Then we all advance to the next level and so on until we find something.”

“Let's move out!”

Lia watches as the bug creatures fail to rise and the battle is over. Lia looks to the other side to see that the other side had similar success. Lia draws her sword and looks to Valena, “Shall we?

As Lia moves closer, Valena equips her bow once more. With an arrow at the ready, I slowly start down the stairs hugging the outside wall.

“Let's see what we can find,” Valena whispers to Lia. "And if its nasty, shoot it!"

“And if it’s really ugly whack it!”she says with a grin and a giggle, Tapping the flat of her blade against her open palm.
Lia will move slowly down the stairs her sword at the ready.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP

The battle against the Hive forces is over with and has been decidedly one sided. The flying insects seem easy to destroy and those being changed by the Hive have limited combat skills. All were easily removed by magic and bows. With the way clear, Lilia directs the group to continued down while being as quiet as possible.

The fliers reach the next bridge down first and look inside the openings. The set up is identical to what was above. Immediately there are stairs going up and down. A second opening leads to a curving hallway and off this hallway are entrances to more suites like was passed through up above. The only difference this time is that there is no outside exit as the back chambers are still buried beneath the earth. There are some signs of habitation in the chambers closer to the central shaft, but no one is here right now.

The elves move one more level down. Lia and Talen can just now make out the bottom of the central shaft with the superior version of infravision they possess. This new level is pretty much the same as the one above. The only real difference is that less of the six suites per level of the tower remain buried. The earth reaches into the middle chambers and there is less signs of habitation.

Down one more level and the dirt reaches the entrances to the suites themselves. At this point, the orcs only cleared the stairs and the central shaft. The next two levels down are similar to these ones.

At this point everyone can now see the bottom of the shaft. That area is mostly open but there are piles of earth here and there. These do not seemed to be planned areas, but rather simply where dirt fell down the shaft and landed. The ground area is open as the walls of the shaft end. In their places is a series of normal, red-glowing pillars that ring the shaft and provide support. No living beings are seen at the bottom of the shaft.

The elves continue on and as they near the third level up from the bottom of the tower, they start to hear sounds clearly. There two distinct sources of noise coming from different locations. One sources sounds liking crying and whimpering, much like children would make when frightened. The other is cries of pain and torment, but a normal voice is just barely heard mixed in. These two sources are coming from opposite sides of the tower.

Reaching the second level of the tower, those in the central shaft can see that the bottom of the tower does not have any suites like the floors above. The ground floor is mostly wide open. Six wide walkways lead away from the center of the shaft to the outside of the building. The sounds of pain and torment seem to be coming from the outside of the building.

The second floor of the tower seems to be the source of the whimpering and crying. When those close to these sounds take a quick look into the hallway that the suites branch off of, they see what looks like a humanoid ant that is red and black in color. It's appearance suggests that this is what these creatures look like once the host is fully transformed. It stands above five feet tall and has something like a spear in its 'hands'. The creature is standing before the entrance to one of the suites and the noise is coming from inside the suite itself. There are two of these 'ant's guarding the entrance. These Hive ants are making the clacking noise you heard before and have a sickening sweet odor to them.

On the other side of the tower, those exploring here will see that this level is not as buried as the ones above it. One of the suites is partially cleared and you can see the balcony. The area beyond the balcony is open, suggesting that it has been cleared of earth creating something like an underground cavern. The noises you are hearing on this side is coming from this underground cave.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

The twins infravision extends for 90' instead of the normal 60', so they can see a bit farther.

Valena moves down the stairs towards the fallen enemy. She'll look to recover any arrows that were not broken during the attack. As she gets closer to the orcs, she'll stab each of them in the head to make sure they are no longer a threat.

Valena will recover three arrows from her search. Two are ones that Laucian fired and the last is from Valena. The arrows Kylie used were spent upon impact when their magical affects went off.

The open underground area and the place where the ants are guarding are on opposite sides of the tower. So it is possible to sneak up to the balcony and take a look into the underground cave without being noticed by the ants on guard duty. The ants are on the second floor of the tower while the other noise is on the ground floor, but outside the tower itself.


Spell Activity:

Lilia has 61 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell, 1 2nd level spell and 2 3rd level spell thus far. She also has 34 Priest Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell.

Talen has 10 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Valena has 34 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“So it ends in a tie,” Valena tells Laucian. “Five a piece. We'll have to continue this later on. I'll make sure that they are down for good.”

“For the moment.” he says in return, Drawing an arrow and knocking it, Laucian makes his way toward the stairs covering Valena with his bow as she stabs the insect things to make sure they are dead.

So they're having a competition in the middle of all this horror, Kylie thinks to herself. Odd, but maybe that's how they keep their spirits up. Shrugging, she turns away to rejoin Lilia in the central shaft.

They descend one level, and then another. The floorplans appear to be about the same on each level, though less of the side rooms have been dug out on each level compared to the one above. By the third level down, the excavation is limited to the stairs and shaft.

A couple more levels down, and they can see all the way to the bottom of the central shaft. There appear to be exits from the bottom of the tower on the ground floor, though any exits at that level would surely be below ground level. Continuing to descend, sounds can be heard from multiple sources, none of them good.

Eventually, they reach the second level. Most of the noises they heard from above seem to be coming from this level, though from opposite sides. Some kind of hybrid ant-creature appears to be guarding the rooms on one side, from which are issuing a woeful noise. Across from it, a hallways passes beyond the balcony and into what appears to be a cavern of some kind. The sounds of pain seem to be coming from that direction.

Kylie looks over at Lilia and whispers. "What's our strategy here?"

[Lilia]

Lilia:

The others report their status after the fight is over with.

"We're fine; they never reached the top of the stairs and didn't seem to have any ranged capabilities," Kylie replies.

“Other than being grossed out, I'm fine,” Talen reports.

“Aye, they did not reach us.”he says in return.

“Their combat skills appear to be limited,” Lilia agrees. “But we should not underestimate them. They were in a transitional stage, they might be more potent fully changed.”

“Lilia, I was thinking. If they are a hive, would there not be a queen? Remove the head and the body dies?” he calmly states his bow and arrow comfortably at his side.

“I don't know,” Lilia admits. “My field of studies were our people, magic and mages. What you suggest could be true. There's only one way to find out.”

Slowly, but quietly, we descend the tower. Each level seems to be the same as the other. Just how buried it is being the only difference.

“Maybe dwarves built this,” Lilia whispers. “Every level is the same design repeated over and over. No originality at all.”

The bottoms is nearly reached and sources of noise are detected. One source seems to be something like children crying and they are being guarded by humanoid ants. Are these creatures what the orcs were changing into? Who are they guarding? All questions that we do not have answers to.

There seems to be an outside area to the bottom of this tower, as if what was once buried had been recovered. The worst of the noises are heard coming from there along with what sounds like a human voice. One of the suites has been unburied enough that the balcony can be reached to look out into this underground area.

Kylie looks over at Lilia and whispers. "What's our strategy here?"

“To learn all that we can and then decide upon a course of action,” Lilia answers. “We need to get to that balcony and see what is going on outside. Let's keep an eye to the rear to make sure none of those ants discover us before we are ready to act.”

Lilia will fly low through the suite and will slow as she reaches the balcony. Once at the low wall, she'll dare a quick glance to see what is going on down below. Hopefully our kin will be there, if any are left that are not infected by this Hive.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“For the moment.” he says in return, Drawing an arrow and knocking it, Laucian makes his way toward the stairs covering Valena with his bow as she stabs the insect things to make sure they are dead.

Valena silently moves down the stairs and makes sure the enemy is dead. A few arrows are recovered. The one that belongs to her she replaces in her quiver, while she hands the others back to Laucian.

“I believe you can use these again,” Valena notes. “The others were not salvageable.”

Not long after that, we're moving deeper down the tower. Lia trails behind me with sword in hand.

“And if it’s really ugly whack it!” she says with a grin and a giggle, tapping the flat of her blade against her open palm.

“As long as you do it quietly,” Valena whispers back as she moves down the stairs.

We transverse level after level, but no one is found. More of the tower is in the process of being cleared of earth, but the deeper we go, the more dirt there is. Not unexpected.

Finally, the bottom of the tower is seen and the sound and smell of the enemy are noted. Valena takes a quick glance and spots what looks like man-sized ants standing guard! She ducks back before she can be spotted and warns Lia of the danger. Quietly, Valena makes her way towards the others.

“We've got guards over here,” Valena reports. “Ant-men about my size. I could probably drop them before they realize they were in danger. They guard whatever is making those crying noises. Orc women and children would be my guess. All those orcs with bugs on there heads that I've seen were male.”

Lilia expresses interest in seeing what is going on outside the tower, as it seems a cavern was dug out or somehow created out there. Valena keeps her bow at the ready and keeps watch back to where the ant-men were standing guard.

[Talen]

Talen:

Laucian looks back at the young thief. “Nicely done. You will rival the best of us soon enough!” he says encouragingly.

“You really think so?” Talen answers excitedly. Guess all that practice did pay off.

Talen follows Laucian down the stairs. The next floor is reached and quickly searched. This pattern follows for the next several floors and finally the bottom of the shaft is seen.

“I can see the bottom,” Talen whispers while looking down the shaft. “I was beginning to think that it was going on forever!”

As we get near the bottom, ant-like guards are noted as is an excavated area outside the tower. While Lilia moves closer to take a look, Talen, his sword at the ready, takes a position near Valena.

“Another set of eyes never hurt,” Talen whispers to Valena. “So, you really saw man-like ants? Gross.”

[Laucian]

Laucian

Valena silently moves down the stairs and makes sure the enemy is dead. A few arrows are recovered. The one that belongs to her she replaces in her quiver, while she hands the others back to Laucian.

“I believe you can use these again,” Valena notes. “The others were not salvageable.”

“Thank you.” Taking the arrows and placing them in his quiver.

“You really think so?” Talen answers excitedly. Guess all that practice did pay off.

“All things are possible.” He says stoicly, “You merely have to work towards your goals.”

Talen follows Laucian down the stairs. The next floor is reached and quickly searched. This pattern follows for the next several floors and finally the bottom of the shaft is seen.

“I can see the bottom,” Talen whispers while looking down the shaft. “I was beginning to think that it was going on forever!”

Not being able to see as far as Talen, Laucian can only make out the shapes of the stairs and shadow, “See anything moving?”he says back looking into the darkness. Within several moments. He does see the bottom

“We've got guards over here,” Valena reports. “Ant-men about my size. I could probably drop them before they realize they were in danger. They guard whatever is making those crying noises. Orc women and children would be my guess. All those orcs with bugs on there heads that I've seen were male.”

Can the ant men not reproduce? They need hosts in order to do so? The elf thinks to himself as he puts back his normal arrow and knocks a stunning arrow. “If we are seen, I’ll make sure I do not miss.”

Laucian will keep the ant man in sight his bow ready to bare.

[Lia]

Lia

“Their combat skills appear to be limited,” Lilia agrees. “But we should not underestimate them. They were in a transitional stage, they might be more potent fully changed.”

Lia listens as Lilia makes some valid points. “Let us hope they are not.” She says evenly in return.

“As long as you do it quietly,” Valena whispers back as she moves down the stairs.

“A longsword to the back can be quiet enough, though if they raise the alarm. …” she says letting the consequences hang in the air.

Seeing Lilia begin moving forward to scout, Lia looks to the guards then to Lilia as she begins to fly forward, not liking the idea of having the queen by herself, Lia begins to move silently toward the balcony incase the queen runs into trouble.

[GM Mad]

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP


The Heroes of the Mother Tree have reached the bottom of the tall tower and discovered the source of the noises that they have been hearing. On the second floor of the tower several man-sized ants standing upright have been found. Sounds of crying and whimpering are heard from the area they are guarding. It is suspected that the source of these noises are orc women and children, as the only orcs that have been fought so far have been male.

Different sounds are heard from the other side of the tower. A balcony is discovered that leads looks into an underground chamber is found. Cries of pain and agony are heard from this direction. Mixed in with this is a human voice that cannot be clearly made out just yet.

While Laucian, Talen and Valena keep an eye on the ants on guard, Lilia slowly flies towards the balcony to see what is going on down below. Lia follows Lilia with Kylie bringing up the rear. The three reach the balcony and slowly move out on to it. They are low so as not be seen by those below.

The first thing the group notes is that this underground chamber is huge and somewhat oval shaped. The far end is around 150' away and its over 100' wide. As the trio watches they can see dirt falling from the ceiling here and there like drops of water. Piles of earth are all over the chamber below and the sounds of the earth rumbling can be heard now and then.

Daring a look over the low wall, the trio spot several things of interest. At the far end of the chamber is another formation of pillars much like the ones Kylie and Lia found on the top of this tower! However, these ones are much larger and are roughly three times in size! These pillars are three feet wide and nearly twenty feet tall! The spacing and the platform that they stand are are also roughly three times bigger then the one above. The area around these pillars suggest that in the distant past that this was a grand open plaza. Back in those days, this was ground level.

After taking that sight in, two other areas down below stand out. Along the right hand side of the chamber and closer to the tower you are in than the large pillar formation there are many more man-sized ants guarding a collection of individuals. It appears to be a collection of male elves and orcs! Most of the ants guarding these prisoners are the same size as the one spotted earlier. However, there are a few even larger ants among them. These ants are closer to seven feet tall!

The last area of interest is closer to the middle of this underground area. More man and giant-sized ants are there standing guard over two individuals who are both down on their knees. One of these individuals is Chandra and the other is a uniformed orc like the one found on the surface. However, this version of the uniform is much grander. Both individuals down on their knees have the flying insects on their heads actively burrowing into their minds! That is the source of the screams of pain and agony.

Pacing before these prone individuals is a figure in dark robes that obscure their body. It's not one of these man-sized ants and seems like like a human rather than an elf or orc. Elves tend to be thinner than humans, while orcs thicker.

“Welcome to the Hive,” the robe figure states happily while pacing. Its clear to those listening that the speaker is a human female. “Everything you are, everything you know is now part of the Hive.”

The voice sounds vaguely familiar, but the watchers cannot place it just yet. The robed figure stops before the orc as if listening to something that you cannot hear.

“How interesting!” The robed figure proclaims. “You call yourselves the Scro and you come from beyond this world! This just opens up many new lands for the Hive to conqueror! We never imagined that when we absorbed the last of the Chiliz that so many new possibilities would arise. That their methods of moving around this world would allow us to expand so fast.” The robed figure glances at the larger pillar formation when saying that last part. “They not only opened up this world, but now many others!”

The robed figure then moves before the prone Chandra. “My such hubris,” the robed figure notes in amusement. “You sought to do great things, and now that you are part of the Hive, great things you shall do. What is this? The Mother Tree? What an interesting notion. Our power will increase when the Hive when the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm joins the Hive.”

It is that this moment that Kylie puts it all together and her eyes go wide in shock. The voice of the robed woman is known to her! It belongs to her fellow apprentice Argent!

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Shocking, isn't it? Or is it. I actually teased this happening over 5 years ago in that Champions 2012 story I wrote and posted on the forum. Here's the relevant quote.

“It finally dawned on me how to explain why there are two Argent's in the series now”, Jim answered excitedly. “In fact there are more than two of them! And the third one is going to just be plain creepy!”

And that answers that mystery and opens up many, many more.

Lilia briefly met Argent when they overlapped for a time in New Frontiers during the incident in the Beleme Swamp and then later during the stop over in Corunglain. Lia met Argent in passing while in Corunglain.

I should also mention that none of the characters in this game are aware of the multiple Argents situation. It's not something that she openly talked about in game during the time anyone here crossed paths with her. The last time anyone here saw Argent was when you left Corunglain at the start of Elfquest. That was one month ago, so what happened since then is a mystery to your characters.

The ants on guard duty on the 2nd floor haven't moved as of yet.

Also the Hive was mentioned before in the World of Cynalon History thread in the Campaign History section of the forum. It's in the appropriately labeled “Strange Happenings” section that occurred some 425 years ago.


Spell Activity:

Lilia has 61 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell, 1 2nd level spell and 2 3rd level spell thus far. She also has 34 Priest Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell.

Talen has 10 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Valena has 34 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“Maybe dwarves built this,” Lilia whispers. “Every level is the same design repeated over and over. No originality at all.”

Kylie chuckles. I wonder what Grondar would say to that, Kylie thinks to herself as she recalls her dwarven friend from the earlier days of their adventures.

“We've got guards over here,” Valena reports. “Ant-men about my size. I could probably drop them before they realize they were in danger. They guard whatever is making those crying noises. Orc women and children would be my guess. All those orcs with bugs on there heads that I've seen were male.”

"If they're not currently being harmed, they should be okay for the time being," Kylie says. She thinks back to the orc women and children that they sent home from the fort and wonders if these might be the same, having gone from a bad situation to one infinitely worse.

“To learn all that we can and then decide upon a course of action,” Lilia answers. “We need to get to that balcony and see what is going on outside. Let's keep an eye to the rear to make sure none of those ants discover us before we are ready to act.”

Kylie nods and follows along behind the queen as she flies toward the balcony.

Reaching the balcony, they find a huge cavern beyond. Kylie glides silently up to the edge of the balcony wall near Lilia and peeks over. Her eyes are drawn to the large pillars on the far side of the cavern. They are similar, but far larger than the ones the found at the top of the tower.

Kylie's eyes then drift to a group of elves and orcs being guarded by a number of the hybrid bug-creatures, some of which are much larger than the others. It seems somehow odd to see elves and orcs so close together and not trying to kill each other. Clearly they have set aside their animosities for the moment because of the insectoid abominations.

A strangely familiar voice pulls Kylie's attention to the center of the cavern. There, another group of ant-creatures stand guard over Chandra and what must be the orc leader. They scream and cry as the strange bugs dig into their heads. Chandra is a poor leader and a bloodthirsty hater of orcs, but even he doesn't deserve to die like this.

The lone human in the group moves casually about the suffering pair, taunting them and making known her intention to destroy the Sylvan Realm. As she moves, Kylie catches a glimpse of the woman's face, and recognition hits her like a giant's club.

"Oh, gods above!" Kylie murmurs in shock to no one in particular, her voice slightly too loud. "It's Argent! What's happened to her?" Her mind is drawn back to the young woman she knew for a while while studying with Jallarzi. She would never have guessed that Argent was capable of something like this! Kylie glances over at Lilia, then Lia, to see if either of them have also recognized the young mage.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"If they're not currently being harmed, they should be okay for the time being," Kylie says. She thinks back to the orc women and children that they sent home from the fort and wonders if these might be the same, having gone from a bad situation to one infinitely worse.

Lilia nods in agreement with Kylie's assessment. As long as things remain unchanged, then they should remain safe.

Reaching the balcony, Lilia takes in her surroundings. It seems to the elf maiden that this chamber was dug out of the earth, much like the tower itself. But for what purpose? While she is no dwarf, even she can see that this area is not stable. Occasionally dirt falls from the ceiling and there are piles of it on the ground below. With proper prodding, the ceiling could collapse and crush anyone or thing down below.

A series of engraved columns are seen at the far side of the chamber. They are nearly twenty feet tall and stand on an elevated platform. They are a curiosity, but Lilia's gaze moves away from them quickly. What remains of Chandra's followers, and the orcs, are seen off to the right. At least we'll be able to bring some of our kin home. They are being guarded by the ant-men that Valena spoke of earlier. Even taller ant-men are mixed with them. This might be what the orcs with the bugs on their heads where changing into. Are these ant-men changed orcs or did they come from somewhere else?

The center of attention is where all the noises are coming from. Chandra is found and he has a bug on his head. The screams of pain and agony are his! Another uniformed orc is also being taken over. Lilia can't help but grimace at this development. Her anger at Chandra softens, but she can't help but think that he brought this foolishness all on himself.

“Ancient evil from the depths of the earth”, Lilia softly mutters. That's what the priestess' divination revealed and that has certainly come true. Unfortunately, like most divinations, it's true meaning isn't revealed until you're in the thick of things.

Pacing before the Hive converts is what appears to be a human female wearing concealing robes. She is the one speaking. Could this be the queen that Laucian spoke of? Lilia strains to hear what is being said.

“Welcome to the Hive,” the robe figure states happily while pacing. Its clear to those listening that the speaker is a human female. “Everything you are, everything you know is now part of the Hive.”

“A collective”, Lilia thinks to herself. Also what Laucian mentioned earlier. This Hive does seem to work like a highly advanced ant colony. Each time someone joins, more information is learned by the whole.

“How interesting!” The robed figure proclaims. “You call yourselves the Scro and you come from beyond this world! This just opens up many new lands for the Hive to conqueror! We never imagined that when we absorbed the last of the Chiliz that so many new possibilities would arise. That their methods of moving around this world would allow us to expand so fast.” The robed figure glances at the larger pillar formation when saying that last part. “They not only opened up this world, but now many others!”

“The Scro?” Lilia notes silently as the robed figure is seemingly reading the orcs mind. Lilia has never heard of these 'Scro', they simply appear to be a different type of orc to her. But they come from beyond this world? A month ago, Lilia would have considered that to be crazy. But since that time the wreck in the mountains was found and a Spell Engine acquired. It was this device that allowed the ship to fly like a bird and even venture among the stars. The Hive gaining this knowledge is not good. Having them menace just one world is bad enough!

“The last of the Chiliz?” Lilia repeats to herself. She's never heard the name before. Were they the builders of this place? Are these ruins their city?

The robed figure then moves before the prone Chandra. “My such hubris,” the robed figure notes in amusement. “You sought to do great things, and now that you are part of the Hive, great things you shall do. What is this? The Mother Tree? What an interesting notion. Our power will increase when the Hive when the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm joins the Hive.”

Much to Lilia's horror, the robed figure plucks information from Chandra's mind revealing the existence of the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm to the Hive! The Hive has to be stopped right here and now! A plan of action comes to Lilia's mind that should allow the group to rescue those uninfected. With luck it just might work.

"Oh, gods above!" Kylie murmurs in shock to no one in particular, her voice slightly too loud. "It's Argent! What's happened to her?" Her mind is drawn back to the young woman she knew for a while while studying with Jallarzi. She would never have guessed that Argent was capable of something like this! Kylie glances over at Lilia, then Lia, to see if either of them have also recognized the young mage.

“Quiet!” Lilia snaps loud as she dares. “Don't give us away!”

Lilia dares a look back to see if the outburst has drawn enemy attention.

“Argent you say?” Lilia says in a softer tone. The Elf Maiden does recall the invoker, Kylie's fellow apprentice while they were being trained by the Lady Sallavarian. Lilia and Argent traveled together for about a week during the mission in Rennydale. Later, Argent shared her spellbook with them during the brief stay in Corunglain. “Are you sure?”

Lilia takes a longer look at the robed figure. The voice does seem to match what Lilia remembers.

“What happened to your home since we left?” Lilia wonders looking back to Kylie. “How did your friend end up as part of the Hive? Do we even have a home left to go back to? Let's regroup and plan.”

Lilia moves away from the balcony and reunites the group.

“Chandra has been enthralled by this Hive and has revealed our secrets,” Lilia reports. “They know about the Mother Tree and our lands and plan to take them from us. We must stop them here and now. The ceiling in that chamber is weak. Using magic, we should be able bring it down and crush anything underneath. We also need to rescue the survivors of Chandra's arrogance before we do so.”

“But there is a complication,” Lilia continues. “The leader of the Hive, the queen, seems to be none other than Kylie's friend Argent. I don't know if we can save her or not. Nor save any who have joined the Hive.”

“Thoughts?”

[Lia]

Lia

The first thing the group notes is that this underground chamber is huge and somewhat oval shaped. The far end is around 150' away and its over 100' wide. As the trio watches they can see dirt falling from the ceiling here and there like drops of water. Piles of earth are all over the chamber below and the sounds of the earth rumbling can be heard now and then.

Lia looks to the ceiling then to the floor noticing the piles forming on the ground. She can’t help but wonder if the roof is unsafe or perhaps something is up there digging about causing the rumbling.

The last area of interest is closer to the middle of this underground area. More man and giant-sized ants are there standing guard over two individuals who are both down on their knees. One of these individuals is Chandra and the other is a uniformed orc like the one found on the surface. However, this version of the uniform is much grander. Both individuals down on their knees have the flying insects on their heads actively burrowing into their minds! That is the source of the screams of pain and agony.

Lia’s lavender eyes go wide upon seeing the captives on their knees, bugs borrowing into their heads. Gripping her sword tighter Lia looks to the others seeing them as watchful as she as the robed figure begins to talk about Scro and traveling from other worlds and the Chandra’s secrets of the Mother tree.

“Welcome to the Hive,” the robe figure states happily while pacing. Its clear to those listening that the speaker is a human female. “Everything you are, everything you know is now part of the Hive.”

“A collective”, Lilia thinks to herself. Also what Laucian mentioned earlier. This Hive does seem to work like a highly advanced ant colony. Each time someone joins, more information is learned by the whole.

Lia wonders silently as thoughts of what you are and know are no longer yours. You are no longer an individual but part of a whole. Lia shakes her head, “Perhaps there is a way to infect the collective?”she says softly so that t her companions can hear her.

"Oh, gods above!" Kylie murmurs in shock to no one in particular, her voice slightly too loud. "It's Argent! What's happened to her?" Her mind is drawn back to the young woman she knew for a while while studying with Jallarzi. She would never have guessed that Argent was capable of something like this! Kylie glances over at Lilia, then Lia, to see if either of them have also recognized the young mage.

Lia lets out a shhh! Hoping it was not heard, Lia gives a quick look seeing it relatively safe she looks back at the others as Lilia says

“Argent you say?” Lilia says in a softer tone. The Elf Maiden does recall the invoker, Kylie's fellow apprentice while they were being trained by the Lady Sallavarian. Lilia and Argent traveled together for about a week during the mission in Rennydale. Later, Argent shared her spellbook with them during the brief stay in Corunglain. “Are you sure?” follows the queen and Kylie back to the others. Lilia quickly tells the others what has happened.

Lia gives a shrug. The name sounds familiar to her but she couldn’t be sure. “Friend or not she will have to be dealt with. She seeks to enslave our people.” She says softly then follows the others to Laucian, Valena and Talen.

“Chandra has been enthralled by this Hive and has revealed our secrets,” Lilia reports. “They know about the Mother Tree and our lands and plan to take them from us. We must stop them here and now. The ceiling in that chamber is weak. Using magic, we should be able bring it down and crush anything underneath. We also need to rescue the survivors of Chandra's arrogance before we do so.”

“But there is a complication,” Lilia continues. “The leader of the Hive, the queen, seems to be none other than Kylie's friend Argent. I don't know if we can save her or not. Nor save any who have joined the Hive.”

“Thoughts?”

Ïf this Argent is a mage like you say, she needs to be dealt with quickly and decisively.” Looking at her companions, “She maybe known to us but we are talking about the greater good, our race and home will suffer if we fail.”(more to come after some other posts.)

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Chandra has been enthralled by this Hive and has revealed our secrets,” Lilia reports. “They know about the Mother Tree and our lands and plan to take them from us. We must stop them here and now. The ceiling in that chamber is weak. Using magic, we should be able bring it down and crush anything underneath. We also need to rescue the survivors of Chandra's arrogance before we do so.”

“But there is a complication,” Lilia continues. “The leader of the Hive, the queen, seems to be none other than Kylie's friend Argent. I don't know if we can save her or not. Nor save any who have joined the Hive.”

“Thoughts?”

Laucian listens stoically as Lilia explains what transpired. “Argent? Wasn’t she with the others when we left on this quest?”

“We can try to hit the bug heads in the bug. Perhaps it would free them from the embrace of the hive. But to do so we will expose ourselves if we take to much care. I can silence the area near Argent. But the moment I do so she will know something is amiss. The Guards are a concern, we do not know how they fight but a stunning arrow may work on them. As far as Chandra is concerned it might be better to end his suffering then suffer the same fate trying to save him.” Laucian says evenly looking toward the others.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lia wonders silently as thoughts of what you are and know are no longer yours. You are no longer an individual but part of a whole. Lia shakes her head, “Perhaps there is a way to infect the collective?” she says softly so that her companions can hear her.

“No idea,” Lilia comments with a shrug.

If this Argent is a mage like you say, she needs to be dealt with quickly and decisively.” Looking at her companions, “She maybe known to us but we are talking about the greater good, our race and home will suffer if we fail.”

“In principal I would agree,” Lilia says. “But we are dealing with those that we know. Can they be freed from the Hive or is this their fate? This would be so much easier if they were strangers.”

Laucian listens stoically as Lilia explains what transpired. “Argent? Wasn’t she with the others when we left on this quest?”

“Back in that human city, Corunglain,” Lilia says. “I have no idea what happened after we left. Maybe they ran into this Hive afterwards?”

“We can try to hit the bug heads in the bug. Perhaps it would free them from the embrace of the hive. But to do so we will expose ourselves if we take to much care. I can silence the area near Argent. But the moment I do so she will know something is amiss. The Guards are a concern, we do not know how they fight but a stunning arrow may work on them. As far as Chandra is concerned it might be better to end his suffering then suffer the same fate trying to save him.” Laucian says evenly looking toward the others.

“I had the makings of a plan of attack in mind before Argent was identified,” Lilia states. “Here is the gist of it. We split into three groups of two. Kylie and I would attack with our spells to get the Hive's attention. We'd target the central area where the leaders are with Fireballs. The Fireballs going off would be the signal to start.”

“The second group would be Valena and Lia. They would overpower the guards where we suspect the orc women and children are located. Once the guards are gone, have them flee to the surface.”

“Laucian and Talen are the last group. When the Fireballs go off, the guards by the elves and orcs should be drawn away. Laucian will take out any guards that linger while Talen helps the captives get away and run as fast as they can to the surface. Once our kin are free, Kylie and I would target the ceiling with damaging spells. Hopefully we'll trigger a full collapse and anything that's left down there will be crushed. Then we all flee up the tower and to the surface.”

“I don't know if anyone can be freed from the Hive,” Lilia says after a pause. “Can the transformation be undone or is it permanent? It is like Lia stated. This is for the greater good, regardless of those we know are caught up in this situation.”

Lilia pauses, waiting to hear what her companions think.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“Another set of eyes never hurt,” Talen whispers to Valena. “So, you really saw man-like ants? Gross.”

“That is one way to put it,” Valena says wryly.

Lilia returns with the others after their scouting mission bearing grim tidings.

“Chandra has been enthralled by this Hive and has revealed our secrets,” Lilia reports. “They know about the Mother Tree and our lands and plan to take them from us. We must stop them here and now. The ceiling in that chamber is weak. Using magic, we should be able bring it down and crush anything underneath. We also need to rescue the survivors of Chandra's arrogance before we do so.”

“But there is a complication,” Lilia continues. “The leader of the Hive, the queen, seems to be none other than Kylie's friend Argent. I don't know if we can save her or not. Nor save any who have joined the Hive.”

“Thoughts?”

“I concur,” Valena states. “This Hive must be stopped here and now before the situation spirals even more out of control. Sacrifices have to be made, be it those we know or even one of us. The safety of the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm takes precedence over everything else, even our own lives.”

Valena listens to Lilia's plan of attack. It is a reasonable strategy given that she's had very little time to form it.

“I see one snag with your plan, Lilia,” Valena speaks up. “I do not speak orcish, so I cannot instruct the captives to flee and I doubt any orc would follow the instructions of an elf. Unless Lia can speak to them.”

[Talen]

Talen:

“All things are possible.” He says stoically, “You merely have to work towards your goals.”

“There's always a catch,” Talen mutters.

Not being able to see as far as Talen, Laucian can only make out the shapes of the stairs and shadow, “See anything moving?”he says back looking into the darkness. Within several moments, he does see the bottom.

“No,” Talen reports. “It's clear.”

The others return and Lilia reports what they saw.

“That's weird, there was a group of pillars at the top of this tower too,” Talen notes. “Could just be art, I guess.”

It is revealed that Chandra has been taken over by the Hive and that their leaders seems to be someone Kylie knows! That names sounds familiar.

“Oh, Argent,” Talen says when he meet the lovely woman in the hallway in Corunglain and proceeded to trip over his own tongue. “We were introduced, but that was about it.”

Lilia lays out her plan and Valena talks about making sacrifices, including ourselves. Talen lets out an audible gulp at that point. He's just glad that he doesn't have make these hard decisions involving the lives of others.

“I can cast Fireball as well,” Talen will speak up. “I can also put a web up once the elves are inside the tower to stop the Hive from chasing them. If you think that will help.”

[Lia]

Lia

“That's weird, there was a group of pillars at the top of this tower too,” Talen notes. “Could just be art, I guess.”

“I don’t think it is. There were etchings or writings on the one above all the same minus one area on each pillar.”

“I see one snag with your plan, Lilia,” Valena speaks up. “I do not speak orcish, so I cannot instruct the captives to flee and I doubt any orc would follow the instructions of an elf. Unless Lia can speak to them.

Lia looks to Valena then to Lilia, “She’s is correct, While I’m sure we can remove the guards by bow blade or claw.”taking out her lioness statue. “If they speak undercommon they may listen but most races hate and fear drow. They may cower in fear or think it’s some kind of trick. But I’ll try. if that does not work we can always direct them with hands."

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“Quiet!” Lilia snaps loud as she dares. “Don't give us away!”

Lia lets out a shhh!

Kylie claps a hand over her mouth at her friends' admonition, her eyes wide. She nearly gave them away! That could have been disastrous...

“Argent you say?” Lilia says in a softer tone. The Elf Maiden does recall the invoker, Kylie's fellow apprentice while they were being trained by the Lady Sallavarian. Lilia and Argent traveled together for about a week during the mission in Rennydale. Later, Argent shared her spellbook with them during the brief stay in Corunglain. “Are you sure?”

Kylie nods as she recovers from the shock. "Short of magic, it has to be her," Kylie whispers softly.

“What happened to your home since we left?” Lilia wonders looking back to Kylie. “How did your friend end up as part of the Hive? Do we even have a home left to go back to? Let's regroup and plan.”

"I don't know, but it cannot be good," Kylie whispers in reply, her mind agog at the possibilities and fear for her friends they left behind.


They retreat and rejoin the others back in the hall. Lilia lays out a plan of attack, resulting in a number of comments from the rest of the team. Kylie decides to add her thoughts as well.
"I don't know what happened to Argent, but from what she said, she seems to have fully joined the bugs - even if she doesn't have one in her head. She may be too far gone to save. I agree with the others that the Mother Tree and the Realm must come first." Though her heart aches for her friend, she sees no way to save her and still protect the Sylvan Realm.

Kylie looks at Lilia. "Your plan is reasonable, though I'm concerned by the complexity and about dividing the group. Also, I don't have Fireball as a learned spell right now, though I do have Lightning Bolt. I'd like to suggest what may be a simpler approach, if anyone besides me has a Wall of Ice available." Kylie pauses for a second, then continues on. "If we can cast two of them in a tent-like formation," she says, demonstrating with her hands, "anchored to each other along the top and to the ground at the bottom, that should protect the captives. Then, we bring down the roof as you suggested. As the dust settles, we take out the two bug guards back there," Kylie gestures toward the hallway on the other side of the central shaft, "then return here and dig out the captives."

Kylie shrugs. "Of course, this assumes that the slanted walls of ice can deflect the pressure of the cave-in sufficiently to hold up. Also, a few of the guards may end up within the ice tent, though it's hard to say whether or not they would attack the captives."

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

I goofed. I had imagined that Argent was wearing robes with a hood, but never mentioned the hood in what I posted. So naturally you posting based on their not being a hood, while I thought there was. So a few things that made me go 'huh?' had go back and read what I wrote and found out that I forgot the hood. Not a big deal, as the mistake was on my part.

Those looking at Argent, can see that there is something on her head in her hair, but it is not the same kind of bug as the ones on the orcs that is changing them. Apart from her behavior and the bug in her hair, Argent does look mostly the same. From what you can see, she does not appear to be or have been physically changed. This bug is more silvery and gold in color.

Carry on!

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“I concur,” Valena states. “This Hive must be stopped here and now before the situation spirals even more out of control. Sacrifices have to be made, be it those we know or even one of us. The safety of the Mother Tree and the Sylvan Realm takes precedence over everything else, even our own lives.”

Lilia will simply grimly nod in agreement at that statement.

“I see one snag with your plan, Lilia,” Valena speaks up. “I do not speak orcish, so I cannot instruct the captives to flee and I doubt any orc would follow the instructions of an elf. Unless Lia can speak to them.”

Lia looks to Valena then to Lilia, “She’s is correct, While I’m sure we can remove the guards by bow blade or claw.”taking out her lioness statue. “If they speak undercommon they may listen but most races hate and fear drow. They may cower in fear or think it’s some kind of trick. But I’ll try. if that does not work we can always direct them with hands."

Lilia lets out a small sigh as her plan hits several snags. How did Sherwood make this look so easy?

“Repeat after me,” Lilia tells Valena and Lia. The Elf Maiden then proceeds to say a word in orcish to the two. She repeats it several times and then has Valena and Lia repeat it back. “That is the orcish word for run or flee. Remove the guards and then tell those inside, assuming that they are orcs, what I just told you. That should get them to move. Once done, move into the central tower to back the rest of us up.”

“I can cast Fireball as well,” Talen will speak up. “I can also put a web up once the elves are inside the tower to stop the Hive from chasing them. If you think that will help.”

“That's a good notion, Talen,” Lilia says. “Blocking the way once the captives have passed by.”

"I don't know what happened to Argent, but from what she said, she seems to have fully joined the bugs - even if she doesn't have one in her head. She may be too far gone to save. I agree with the others that the Mother Tree and the Realm must come first." Though her heart aches for her friend, she sees no way to save her and still protect the Sylvan Realm.

“While I do not know Argent anywhere near as well as you do,” Lilia states, “I too find it difficult to believe that she would willing serve this Hive. I thought I saw something in her hair. Perhaps a bug, but a different one since she does not appear to be changing. Maybe it is like Laucian suggested, that she is functioning as the Hive Queen and is controlling all the other insects here.”

Kylie looks at Lilia. "Your plan is reasonable, though I'm concerned by the complexity and about dividing the group. Also, I don't have Fireball as a learned spell right now, though I do have Lightning Bolt. I'd like to suggest what may be a simpler approach, if anyone besides me has a Wall of Ice available." Kylie pauses for a second, then continues on. "If we can cast two of them in a tent-like formation," she says, demonstrating with her hands, "anchored to each other along the top and to the ground at the bottom, that should protect the captives. Then, we bring down the roof as you suggested. As the dust settles, we take out the two bug guards back there," Kylie gestures toward the hallway on the other side of the central shaft, "then return here and dig out the captives."

Kylie shrugs. "Of course, this assumes that the slanted walls of ice can deflect the pressure of the cave-in sufficiently to hold up. Also, a few of the guards may end up within the ice tent, though it's hard to say whether or not they would attack the captives."

Lilia listens as Kylie offers an alternative idea.

“As we have witness, it seems that Argent is the one controlling the Hive,” Lilia states. “When we strike, she'll know and act to counter our threat. Based on that, it seem prudent to me to directly attack her first. That would put her off balance, and if she does control all the other insects, they should go to defend her. Making the task of the other groups all that much easier and ideally drawing all the Hive into the cavern when we bring the ceiling down on them.”

“The problem I see with your ice tent idea, is that I doubt that it would hold back the cave in we are seeking to create. While I can't be sure exactly how far down we've come, we are at least 8 or 9 levels below ground. By my estimation, there is at least 80' of earth between the ceiling of that cave and the ground outside. That much weight will simply crush the Walls of Ice and anything underneath it. So we need to get our kin out first before everything comes tumbling down.”

After a thoughtful pause, Lilia says, “Taking all that you have said into consideration here are some modifications to the plan. Kylie will start everything off first by dropping her Wall of Ice on top of Argent in the central area. Right after that, I'll place a Wall of Fire between the captives and the guards. That will give our kin the cover they need to flee. Like before, Laucian and Talen can deal with those guards that still remain.”

“After the loud crash of the Wall of Ice landing, Valena and Lia take out the guards by the women and children. Once the guards are dealt with, move to back up the rest of us. I'll throw a Fireball at those hit by the Wall of Ice. The sudden heat should melt the ice and fill that area with steam, blocking their sight. That should buy use enough time to get the captives out.”

“Once everyone is out, Kylie and I will trigger the cave in. Talen webs the bottom of the tower to keep the Hive from follow. Then we all head to the surface and hope that the tower stays in one piece.”

“Does that sound like a better plan?”

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“Repeat after me,” Lilia tells Valena and Lia. The Elf Maiden then proceeds to say a word in orcish to the two. She repeats it several times and then has Valena and Lia repeat it back. “That is the orcish word for run or flee. Remove the guards and then tell those inside, assuming that they are orcs, what I just told you. That should get them to move. Once done, move into the central tower to back the rest of us up.”

As Lilia teaches the orcish word to Valena and Lia, Kylie does her best to commit it to memory. The ability to speak other languages is often useful, even one as ugly and uncouth as orcish.

“That's a good notion, Talen,” Lilia says. “Blocking the way once the captives have passed by.”

Kylie gives her friend a smile of encouragement; it really was a fine notion, and she is glad that the queen agrees.

“While I do not know Argent anywhere near as well as you do,” Lilia states, “I too find it difficult to believe that she would willing serve this Hive. I thought I saw something in her hair. Perhaps a bug, but a different one since she does not appear to be changing. Maybe it is like Laucian suggested, that she is functioning as the Hive Queen and is controlling all the other insects here.”

"Your eyes are sharper than mine, as I had missed that," Kylie replies. "I was too focused on her voice and face in my attempt to identify her. Either way, she is certainly in charge, and seems to be intentionally so. It did not seem that she was being controlled like those others we encountered."

Lilia spells out a revised plan of attack. Kylie nods her understanding as she follows along with the various steps of the plan. She doesn't have much experience testing the strength of anchored ice walls, so she really cannot disagree with Lilia's assessment. A Wall of Force would be a much better option, but Kylie is not aware of anyone in the group that can cast spells of that sophistication yet.

“Does that sound like a better plan?”

"Sounds good to me," Kylie says, her face shifting into a questioning look. "I do have one question, though. What kind of spells do you think will be most effective for collapsing the ceiling? I don't really have much experience with attacking dirt and stone."
__________________________________________________________
I had actually envisioned Argent wearing a hooded robe as well. I assumed that at some point during her rant that she would have turned to face in their direction, and that's how Kylie got a look at her face. She hadn't seen any bug legs or any sign of changing or being controlled, so she made the assumption on that evidence that there wasn't one. Of course, she hadn't seen any of this other type of bug previously and didn't consider the possibility of other smaller bugs with possibly different functions.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Repeat after me,” Lilia tells Valena and Lia. The Elf Maiden then proceeds to say a word in orcish to the two. She repeats it several times and then has Valena and Lia repeat it back. “That is the orcish word for run or flee. Remove the guards and then tell those inside, assuming that they are orcs, what I just told you. That should get them to move. Once done, move into the central tower to back the rest of us up.”

Laucian watches the interaction between queen and the elf maidens, he can’t help recall being taught the orc language by his elven elders. It was such a foreign tongue but one he quickly learned out of necessity. To know one’s foe is the first step in overcoming them. His thoughts turn sober as he thinks how little they know of their current foes.

After a thoughtful pause, Lilia says, “Taking all that you have said into consideration here are some modifications to the plan. Kylie will start everything off first by dropping her Wall of Ice on top of Argent in the central area. Right after that, I'll place a Wall of Fire between the captives and the guards. That will give our kin the cover they need to flee. Like before, Laucian and Talen can deal with those guards that still remain.”

“After the loud crash of the Wall of Ice landing, Valena and Lia take out the guards by the women and children. Once the guards are dealt with, move to back up the rest of us. I'll throw a Fireball at those hit by the Wall of Ice. The sudden heat should melt the ice and fill that area with steam, blocking their sight. That should buy use enough time to get the captives out.”

“Once everyone is out, Kylie and I will trigger the cave in. Talen webs the bottom of the tower to keep the Hive from follow. Then we all head to the surface and hope that the tower stays in one piece.”

“Does that sound like a better plan?”

“It does, let us begin the more we linger the more we will likely be found and less of our kin will be alive to free,”

Laucian will nock and Fire arrow to his bow and look to Talen. “I’ll take the closest guard when the time comes, with any luck they will rush to the queens aid.

[Lia]

Lia

Upon seeing the bug, Lia eyes narrow, this is going to be difficult she thinks to herself.

“Repeat after me,” Lilia tells Valena and Lia. The Elf Maiden then proceeds to say a word in orcish to the two. She repeats it several times and then has Valena and Lia repeat it back. “That is the orcish word for run or flee. Remove the guards and then tell those inside, assuming that they are orcs, what I just told you. That should get them to move. Once done, move into the central tower to back the rest of us up.”

Lia repeats the word in orcish. The word seems foreign and alien to her. But she does her best to commit to memory. “It will be done, as you say.” Lia says with a bit of confidence, And repeats the word again with a smile as she begins her first steps in learning a new language.

“If all goes well with the plan you may not need us. But this queen will probably throw every bug at us once we are revealed. When Valena and I are done with our task, I’ll do as you ask. If the queen lives, I’ll seek to occupy her with my Lionesses.”

As they separate, Lia will say, "Good luck."

Lia will be ready with the plan, before the signal is given Lia will call upon her statue. When the signal is called upon she will move forward blade in hand and lionesses in toe.

[GM Mad]

Small Update:

As the elves discuss their strategy for dealing with the Hive, something out in the underground cavern catches their attention. A soft golden color is noted and it grows brighter. Those who dare to go back to the balcony and look out will see the six large pillars at the far end of the cavern starting to glow in a bright golden color! Electricity starts to arc along the pillars and it grows in intensity. Peals of lightning start to shoot off the pillars and it strikes the area in the center of the pillars.

This action has attracted the attention of all those in the cavern. Hive Queen Argent turns towards the pillars and takes a few steps closer to it.

“Finally, reinforcements.” Argent says aloud. “Now we can take control of everyone else here and deal with those pesky elves.”

After one last tremendous bolt of lightning strikes the central area, a hole appears in mid-air! Right after that, a swarm of the flying insects emerge and start to buzz around the chamber. More of the ant warriors appear, most of them are 5' tall with a few 7' versions mixed in. As the new arrivals step down from the pillar platform, the golden glow begins the fade the the lightning starts to lessen. The hole in mid-air in the center of the platform closes. Dozens of the flying insects and ant warriors have arrived!


GM Notes:

I had actually envisioned Argent wearing a hooded robe as well. I assumed that at some point during her rant that she would have turned to face in their direction, and that's how Kylie got a look at her face. She hadn't seen any bug legs or any sign of changing or being controlled, so she made the assumption on that evidence that there wasn't one. Of course, she hadn't seen any of this other type of bug previously and didn't consider the possibility of other smaller bugs with possibly different functions.

I am in agreement with the above that it was possible to catch a glimpse of Argent's face. The way I wrote it was that it was her voice that gave her away, not seeing her face. It was the part where it was said that no bug had been seen in Argent's hair that made me look back and see the err I made. Its a case of I knew what I meant to write versus what I actually did write. At any rate, its not a big deal and really doesn't change how things unfolded. I just wanted to clarify things to avoid any confusion.

Combat will start with the next update, so get your plans finalized.


Spell Activity:

Lilia has 61 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell, 1 2nd level spell and 2 3rd level spell thus far. She also has 34 Priest Spell Points left and has cast 1 1st level spell.

Talen has 10 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Valena has 34 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"Your eyes are sharper than mine, as I had missed that," Kylie replies. "I was too focused on her voice and face in my attempt to identify her. Either way, she is certainly in charge, and seems to be intentionally so. It did not seem that she was being controlled like those others we encountered."

(Keen Eyesight trait for the win!)

"Sounds good to me," Kylie says, her face shifting into a questioning look. "I do have one question, though. What kind of spells do you think will be most effective for collapsing the ceiling? I don't really have much experience with attacking dirt and stone."

“I had planned to use either a Lightning Bolt or a Fireball for the task.” Lilia answers. “The ceiling does not seem to be stable, so, hopefully, a little prodding is all that is needed to trigger a collapse. Once it does start coming down, turn and fly back up the central shaft. None of us will want to be here with the ceiling comes down.”

“It does, let us begin. The more we linger the more we will likely be found and less of our kin will be alive to free.”

“Remember, once our kin are safe, both you and Talen need to run as well,” Lilia emphasizes. “Kylie and I can fly, so we'll be able to move faster then those on foot. There is no telling how much damage this collapse will cause, so don't been anywhere near it.”

“If all goes well with the plan you may not need us. But this queen will probably throw every bug at us once we are revealed. When Valena and I are done with our task, I’ll do as you ask. If the queen lives, I’ll seek to occupy her with my Lionesses.”

“You may not want to use your lions,” Lilia replies. “While I do not know just how they function, if they end up buried then they could be lost to you forever. We'll keep the Hive Queen busy.”

As they separate, Lia will say, "Good luck."

“To us all,” Lilia starts to say. Then she notes the light show going on back in the cavern and moves closer to take a look. Before the Elf Maiden's surprised eyes, the large pillars off in the distance start to glow a golden color! Lightning plays around them and strikes the middle area. In that spot a portal appears and more bugs start to pour in!

“Finally, reinforcements.” Argent says aloud. “Now we can take control of everyone else here and deal with those pesky elves.”

“Pesky elves?” Lilia repeats, raising an eyebrow in the process.

After regaining her composure, Lilia says a bit more forcefully, “We need to move now!”

After the others rush off on their tasks, Lilia will nod to Kylie. “Go ahead and cast your Wall of Ice over the enemy forces. I'll follow up with a Wall of Fire to separate the captives.”

A few seconds after Kylie starts to cast her spell, Lilia will start to cast hers.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“Repeat after me,” Lilia tells Valena and Lia. The Elf Maiden then proceeds to say a word in orcish to the two. She repeats it several times and then has Valena and Lia repeat it back. “That is the orcish word for run or flee. Remove the guards and then tell those inside, assuming that they are orcs, what I just told you. That should get them to move. Once done, move into the central tower to back the rest of us up.”

“Hopefully, that will solve this problem,” Valena says. It doesn't solve the probably of the orcs trusting the word of an elf, but not much you can do about it under the circumstances.

Lilia changes the plan slightly, but Valena's role in it is unchanged. Lights and lightning are noted in the cavern and more of the Hive arrive!

After regaining her composure, Lilia says a bit more forcefully, “We need to move now!”

“On it,” Valena says as she starts to dash back to where the ant men were seen. Once there and after the signal is heard, Valena will fire on the ant men trying to take them out.

[Talen]

Talen:

“I don’t think it is. There were etchings or writings on the one above all the same minus one area on each pillar.”

“Oh,” Talen says. “I didn't take a close look at them before.”

“That's a good notion, Talen,” Lilia says. “Blocking the way once the captives have passed by.”

“Thanks!” Talen replies with a goofy grin on his face.

Laucian will nock and Fire arrow to his bow and look to Talen. “I’ll take the closest guard when the time comes, with any luck they will rush to the queens aid."

“I'll back you up,” Talen states. “When the time comes to leave, I'll block the enemies path.”

“Remember, once our kin are safe, both you and Talen need to run as well,” Lilia emphasizes. “Kylie and I can fly, so we'll be able to move faster then those on foot. There is no telling how much damage this collapse will cause, so don't been anywhere near it.”

“You bet I'm going to run!” Talen adds. “Just wait until you see how fast!”

“Pesky elves?” Lilia repeats, raising an eyebrow in the process.

After regaining her composure, Lilia says a bit more forcefully, “We need to move now!”

Talen chuckles at the 'pesky elves' comment, but then gets more serious when Lilia has the group move. Talen rushes after Laucian down the stairs and waits for the spells to go off.

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“I had planned to use either a Lightning Bolt or a Fireball for the task.” Lilia answers. “The ceiling does not seem to be stable, so, hopefully, a little prodding is all that is needed to trigger a collapse. Once it does start coming down, turn and fly back up the central shaft. None of us will want to be here with the ceiling comes down.”

"Okay," Kylie replies as she absorbs the information. "I'll be ready to follow up with Magic Missiles if it seems to need more prodding."

“It does, let us begin the more we linger the more we will likely be found and less of our kin will be alive to free,”

Kylie nods in agreement, though she has nothing meaningful to add.

“Remember, once our kin are safe, both you and Talen need to run as well,” Lilia emphasizes. “Kylie and I can fly, so we'll be able to move faster then those on foot. There is no telling how much damage this collapse will cause, so don't been anywhere near it.”

“You bet I'm going to run!” Talen adds. “Just wait until you see how fast!”

Lia's mention of her lion figurines jiggles loose Kylie's memory. Stepping over to Talen, she pulls the Ebony Fly figurine from her enchanted Girdle, hands it to him, and tells him the activation word. "In case you get in any trouble, please use this," she says. "It can fly very fast."

As they separate, Lia will say, "Good luck."

“To us all,” Lilia starts to say.

"To us all," Kylie repeats, just as her attention is drawn away by new activity in the cavern.

The large pillars on the far side flare to life, lightning crackling all around. Moments later, a swarm of bugs and bug-men stream in through a gap in space created by the pillars. Kylie's eyes go wide at the new horde of opponents, even as her mind captures the function of the pillars. The ones at the top of the tower must have a similar function...

After the others rush off on their tasks, Lilia will nod to Kylie. “Go ahead and cast your Wall of Ice over the enemy forces. I'll follow up with a Wall of Fire to separate the captives.”

Kylie pauses for just a moment to let more of the new bugs reach the area in the center. Casting as quickly as she dares, she drops the ice sheet on the group in the center of the cavern, centered on Argent and the two victims.

[Lia]

Lia
“Better them then us.”she coldly states. “I’ll only use them if the need arises.”she finishes putting away her statue.
Drawing her blade, Lia hears Lilia’s call to action. Eyes narrowing, Lia advances on her target, making sure not to screw up Valena’s view. “Let’s see what your made of!” she calls out bringing her sword to bare.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Remember, once our kin are safe, both you and Talen need to run as well,” Lilia emphasizes. “Kylie and I can fly, so we'll be able to move faster then those on foot. There is no telling how much damage this collapse will cause, so don't been anywhere near it.”

“We will do our best.”

Peals of lightning start to shoot off the pillars and it strikes the area in the center of the pillars.

This action has attracted the attention of all those in the cavern. Hive Queen Argent turns towards the pillars and takes a few steps closer to it.

“Finally, reinforcements.” Argent says aloud. “Now we can take control of everyone else here and deal with those pesky elves.”

After regaining her composure, Lilia says a bit more forcefully, “We need to move now!”

Laucian looks back as lights erupt in the cavern then evil bug mage calls out. Letting out a curse in elvish that loosely means suck an orc( Sorry was watching 10th kingdom recently) Laucian has a fire arrow ready and moves forward upon the signal. Laucian will take aim the closest ant man and proceed to put arrows in it!( Alternate fire and Ice arrows.)

[GM Mad]

Post Closed