Mysterious Kidnappings

The small group of adventurers departed into the jungle, following the vague directions that the city guard scouts had given them (which basically boiled down to "that way"). All had been into the island's wilderness before, and were familiar with the litany of potentially lethal threats that inhabited every square foot of the untamed jungle. But as they proceeded deeper, even they were struck with a sense of foreboding by their surroundings.

The outer jungles, while dangerous, were vibrant and full of life, birds chirping and insects buzzing (not to mention the larger creatures). But here, it grew darker and quieter with every step. The canopy overhead had grown thick, allowing only scattered beams of sunlight down, and the sounds of life surrounding the group had faded. The party continued in silence, picking their way through the dark jungle with only a loose idea of where they were headed.

The silence was disturbed by a loud rustling in the undergrowth nearby. Those with well-trained darkvision could see a shape moving past in the bushes, but could not make out any details save that this creature was large. Teheboq had spent enough time in the jungles of Lustria to be familiar with this phenomenon: The group was being stalked by something, he was sure of it. He could not know what sort of beasts inhabited this deep jungle, but it was certain to be lethally unpleasant.

The sound ceased abruptly, and no further movement could be seen. The brush was still and silent again, but the silence had a certain tension to it now, as if the jungle itself was watching and waiting for something.

The silence lasted for only a moment, and then the group's hidden foe came hurtling out of the jungle, roaring a challenge. Teheboq's already cold heart froze solid at the sight of a wild carnosaur, a deadly foe in Lustria and surely just as lethal here. Fortunately, this carnosaur was clearly not fully grown, so they may have some small chance of defeating it.

Always especially cautious in order to avoid charging ogres (who are only being friendly, of course), Paelic used the same set of skills to notice the Carnosaur rushing out of the undergrowth an instant before his allies did. He shouted a quick warning to them, and the group turned to face the sudden threat. Although they avoided being completely surprised by the charging lizard, no one in the party was able to respond effectively before the carnosaur barrelled towards them, closing much of the gap between them.

_____	______	Carnosaur	_____	_____	Paelic Teheboq Maelkur

Everyone's turn!

Rolls follow, for those interested:

Spoiler:

Teheboq's mind reeled. The carnosaur was the ultimate predator in Lustria. The only two creatures that had even a hope of fighting one off were the massive Stegadon and the mythic Thunder Lizard. With a carnosaur, even an immature one, it was likely that the kidnapped were already dead. Food for the predator's massive appetite.

Regardless, Teheboq had a mission to perform and he would not let anything, not even a carnosaur stop him in his quest.

*Teheboq moves to the left 1 zone*

Paelic judged the distance between himself and the giant lizard quickly. He had had enough with the giant lizards in this god-forsaken jungle and he wanted it dead quickly. He could tell the beast was still out of range of his fireball. Noticing the giant saurus was striding out in front to meet the beast head, he had a feeling the beast would attack it first. Excellent but he had little time. Drawing in the red wind he focused all its energy into his blade.

(*Sword of Rhun)

Heedless of the saurus taking a position ahead of it, the baby carnosaur continued charging directly towards its desired prey. Whatever else they may be, Teheboq thought as he adopted a defensive posture, carnosaurs were not master tacticians.

Behind him, Paelic attempted to conjure a flaming blade into his hand. A thin wisp of fire appeared, but it did not have sufficient mass to coalesce into a usable weapon, and simply fizzled out a moment later. Maelkur simply observed the beast bearing down on them, seemingly awaiting his moment to strike.

_____	______	_____	_____	Carnosaur Teheboq	Paelic Maelkur

Rolls:

Spoiler:

Puzzled by the Carnosaur's strange lack of bloodlust Teheboq pulled back for a moment. Perhaps it would be wiser to for him to allow the Carnosaur to attack its desired target while Teheboq took the time to continue on towards their original mission. No, that wouldn't doo. Teheboq hadn't called Talibah out from wherever she was hiding so that when they confronted the kidnappers he would have at least one fresh fighter to deal with them. It wouldn't make any sense to sacrifice one of the other, more skilled fighters at this juncture. Roaring, Teheboq lunged forward at the Carnosaur's underbelly with his spear.

*Teheboq attacks Carnosaur*

(Also totally forgot about poisons last time because I was vomiting and stuff, any chance I could have Ws and S reduction from my Black Lotus poison?)

"Hold the beast as long as you can Saurus!" Paelic stepped backwards trying once again to summon the flames of the red wind in his hand. This time he would try another approach. The flames began to form into a ball as Paelic took a step forward hurling the magic towards his foe. The beast would burn.

(Paelic casts fireball!)

Flames of Asuryan, what is with this part of the world and massive reptiles?! Thought Maelkur as he stepped back and snapped out his blades, carrying with him the tooth of the Cold One that they had slain together as a trophy-weapon. Perhaps he would claim a tooth from this beast as well to complement it! As it focused on Teheboq, the vampire-elf moved in for the pounce...

Charge Carnosaur. Overwhelming Assault active[/i]
[Black Lotus on MH, Dark Venom on OH]

As soon as the Carnosaur entered range, the group rained attacks down upon it. Teheboq lunged at it with his spear, only to find that it was lunging back at him, jaws gaping wide. Quickly falling back a step, the saurus reversed his grip on the weapon, shoving it into the monster's mouth and holding its jaws open as it tried to bite down on him. The beast shook its head angrily, throwing the spear and its wielder away. Teheboq did not fight the momentum, rolling lightly back to his feet and assuming his combat stance again. Neither had struck a significant blow against the other, but Teheboq knew that if he could survive the creature's attention long enough, his allies would bring it down for him.

Indeed, as the Carnosaur was distracted, Maelkur had moved in behind it, carefully ducking an accidental tail swipe and slashing a dozen small blows on the exposed sections of the creature. The beast did not seem to even notice the wounds, but the elf's poison had begun working its way through its massive veins. Soon enough, it would realize.

Standing behind the melee, Paelic conjured the flames of Aqshy again. His focus was more than sufficient, as before, but once again the flames were too weak. His fireball curled lazily through the air before splashing harmlessly on the Carnosaur's thick hide, leaving only a patch of scorched scales to show for his effort.

Everyone's turn!

_____	______	_____	_____	Carnosaur Teheboq Maelkur	Paelic

Status:
Teheboq 30/30 Perfect
Maelkur 20/20 Perfect
Paelic 20/20 Perfect
Baby Carnosaur -1 Good

Rolls:

Spoiler:

It seems Teheboq had managed to grab the Carnosaur's attention. Good, if he could keep the beast distracted his allies should have little problem wearing the beast down. Roaring again, Teheboq charged at the Carnosaur again.

*Teheboq attacks Carnosaur*

This simply was not working. None of his attacks were having any effect on the beast. Paelic cringed as he hoped his allies could hold out against the great beast as he channeled more energy into his hand. The fireball he had conjured had been weak and pitiful. He would need to redouble his efforts. Taking in a deep breath he ran his hands towards his chest and formed the seal of rhun. He felt the lock inside body open as magical energy flooded into his body. Power was no longer an issue, it was simply one of control.

(*Lets try this again. Sword of Rhun*)

Scowling a tad, Maelkur took a moment amidst the chaos to examine his handiwork. He'd wounded the lizard, that much was clear. He could see thin red lines on it's sides where his blades had punctured the scales... but the creature seemed unperturbed by the wounds. Figures, he thought to himself as he moved in for another attack.

Attack again.

The carnosaur continued its furious assault on Teheboq, but to no avail. The saurus had spent years training to fight beasts like these, and that training was serving him well. The creature thrust its maw forward again, a powerful but clumsy attack that Teheboq easily sidestepped. Looking calmly at the carnosaur's thrashing head, its teeth snapping wildly, he jabbed his spear into one of its eyes, provoking an unearthly roar as the monster reared back.

Maelkur returned to the thin wounds he had just made. Not being able to feel ones own injuries could be a weakness, one that enemies could exploit, just as Maelkur intended to. He stabbed both blades into the breach he had cut with his previous attack, cutting muscles and tendons inside the creature's flank as well as dosing it with poison again. It would take some time, but this line of attack was working. The beast was wounded.

Meanwhile, Paelic tried once more to form something useful out of the flames that came so easily to his fingertips. His full power unleashed, Paelic was momentarily dazed by the incredible force of Aqshy rushing through him. Carefully channeling the power back where it back, avoiding the disaster that can so easily accompany a lapse in concentration, the mage steadied himself and prepared to harness his power once again.

_____	______	_____	_____	Carnosaur Teheboq Maelkur	Paelic

Status:
Teheboq 30/30 Perfect
Maelkur 20/20 Perfect
Paelic 20/20 Perfect
Baby Carnosaur -10 Good

Spoiler:

Paelic tossed his arms down in disgust as he felt the magic leave him once again. This was getting him nowhere and his allies needed him more than even before, not just standing around trying desperately to be useful. Drawing his blade Paelic charged forward raising ready to cut his foe to the ground.

(*charge*)

Clearly the Carnosaur was worthy of its dire reputation. What would have been several mortal wounds on another creature had barely done more than enrage the great beast, and this was only a child. Still, the Carnosaur was in a bad situation, already Teheboq could see the various poisons in its body weakening the creature, slowing it down. Now was not the time to get overconfident, sure strikes would end this creature, but it would only take one bite from those massive jaws to make even Teheboq struggle to survive. Teheboq readied himself to attack the Carnosaur's undamaged eye, then struck.

*Teheboq attacks Carnosaur*

So you can feel pain. Excellent... Smirked Maelkur as he crossed his short blades. Small though they were, both of the edged weapons carried with them deadly poisons brewed by the Dark Elves of House Balor'ai. As long as it kept it's attention on Teheboq it would not last long. Maelkur's expertise with blades was mostly limited to killing humanoids but... it would suffice for this.

Warding off Teheboq's attacks with a swipe of its giant tail, the carnosaur dodged Maelkur's attacks as well, stepping out of the way with surprising grace. The monster seemed to have finally got the measure of its two assailants, and was preparing to consume them. At that moment, however, Paelic charged in, trying in vain to breach the beast's scales. His blow did no real damage, but seemed to strike a nerve, enraging the creature even further.

Furious at the dozens of tiny wounds covering its body, the carnosaur stepped back from the three tiny figures attacking it, threw its head back, and let loose a deafening roar. The sound hit the party like a shockwave, knocking them back several steps, bursting eardrums and blood vessels. Paelic seemed mostly unaffected - too much time spent drinking with ogres had permanently damaged his inner equilibrium already, this could do little more. Teheboq and Maelkur, however, were staggered by the blast, throwing off their balance and aim.

Despite this setback, the party could not help but notice that the beast was truly wounded now. They could win this fight.

Status:
Teheboq 25/30 Good
Maelkur 15/20 Good
Paelic 20/20 Perfect
Baby Carnosaur -12 Wounded

Spoiler:

Teeboq gripped his spear tightly as he used it to support himself. The Carnosaur's ear-splitting roar had destroyed Teheboq's concentration and he was finding it difficult to stand unassisted. The Saurus had never heard of a creature's roar to be able to do so much damage, but it seemed that the Carnosaur's fearsome reputation was well deserved. Regardless, Teheboq could not allow the Carnosaur any time to regain its composure. Slightly wobbly, Teheboq charged at the Carnosaur with his spear.

*Teheboq attacks Carnosaur*

Paelic almost smiled as the giant beast let out a deafening roar. The wind from the roar nearly pushed him over but he stood nearly unphased. His allies were less lucky as they stumbled backwards clearly disoriented. This wasn't actually so bad. Paelic had fought much worse in Tameria. Flipping his blade around he slashed as the beast lunged forward snapping its huge jaws at him. The beasts reflexes were slowed from the poison while Paelic's were heightened from adrenaline and the rush of battle. Blade resounded off teeth as he fell back blocking several of the beasts bites. With a spin of the blade Paelic rolled forward under the snapping jaws and lunged forward underneath the great beast aiming for its heart with the point of his sword.

(*Attack)

Feeling the effects of the strange but undeniably intense roar that the lizard had let split the air, Maelkur staggered for a second as he recovered but as he did he could not help but smirk to himself. They were winning. This fight was not going nearly as bad for them as the battle against the man-eating cold one that had plagued the wood yard for so long. Perhaps it was time to finish this at last. Whirling his blades together as he reached out into the aether to draw forth the High Wind, Maelkur slashed his main handed sword outward at the carnosaur as sparks and flame leaped around his body in concert to his call.

Cast Khaine's Fury on Carnosaur.