The Hordes of the Blight - The Adventure

And so it is. Once again, the soldiers follow Paladin's command, most of them recognizing him from the previous battle - either that or simply succumbing to mob mentality. In any event, the groups fan out, a few circling around the town walls to cover the angles not facing the gate. Behind them are are various farmers and field workers, eager to return to the fields after being cooped up in the town for a day.

Meanwhile, Ghost Tracker crouches over and examines the road and finds tracks - namely, those of the blight giant as it shambled towards town. She begins to follow the tracks southwest, following the road out of town.

(I dunno what direction I originally said you guys traveled to get to Outreach, but it's retroactively northeast.)

Mitsuna followed along behind the Blightscorned with relative ease. She was a decent tracker herself; but she could see that... He? She? She, Mitsuna decided arbitrarily. She was apparently a prodigy, and Mitsuna wanted to take notes.

Not that there was much challenge. The giant's footprints were wide and deep, and she wondered how the rest of the party couldn't notice the smell; a blind man could've followed.

"I mean no offense," she said quietly when, at one point, the tracker stopped, apparently to weigh route options. "I've never seen a Blightscorned up close before... How did you...?" She let the question trail off, not sure how to word it delicately.

"Hmm?" the pale Blightscorned responded. She could possibly guess at the Channeler's meaning, but was focusing on the tracks. And for good reason, too - for the tracks suddenly took a sharp turn to the north.

"Looks like you were right," Quill says, "About them not nesting in the same direction they attacked."

"This isn't typical of lesser Blightspawn," Ghost Tracker added. "Someone more intelligent is directing them."

"Hmmph. Wonder who could do such thing. Blightscorned don't usually listen to command."

Group 1 (Zakhar, Mitsuna, Ghost Tracker, Quill)

Ghost Tracker continues following the trail north, into the forests surrounding the farms. She continues like this for some time, before suddenly Quill calls out, "Ambush!"

On cue, a number of Blightspawn appear from behind the trunks of the trees. Unlike the previous Blightspawn, these were once human, though disturbingly, obviously no longer so. Their flesh is twisted and pockmarked, blackened and torn, and their eyes glow bright green, the flesh around them cracked and seeping.

There are seven in total. Three of them, teeth bared, charge forward with a feral shout, hands overladen with scythe-like blades of bone. Two others follow close behind, each with a hand replaced by a writhing mess of tendrils and needles. Another tries its best to stumble forward, its flesh disgustingly bloated, with oversized pores leaking pale green gas. The last seems the most normal of the group, if "normal" means anything to the Blightspawn, but his hands seem to glow green with power.

[Initiative Time!]

Group 2 (Paladin, Aparix, Bellator, Lorez)

With no objections, the group proceeds northwest, into the forest, as other groups fan out as well. For a while their search yields no fruit, and it feels like they're just stumbling around trying to find something.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, something finds them.

That something takes the form of a man who teleports in front of the party, dressed in ragged robes, with shaking hands and glowing green eyes glowering with hatred at the party - specifically at Paladin.

"You!" He points a shaking hand at Paladin. "You're the one! I saw! You're the one who ruined my attack plan! You don't know how long I've waited for this"

He pauses a moment. "Actually, it's only been a day. But that's not the point!" He stamps his foot. "Do you know what trouble you've been for our dear Queen?"

Group 2

Lorez also prepares for combat, electricity arcing between her fingers as she prepares for battle.

The man, meanwhile, continues to rant. "You... at least I think it was you... rallied the guards and somehow drove the Brethren back!" He glared daggers at Paladin, the effect all the more pronounced by the glow in his eyes. "You won't get away with it..."

Thanks to Paladin's alertness, he notices a yellowish-green cloud - or perhaps fog - behind the group, slowly floating towards them.

Talents:

Mitsuna backpedaled, maneuvering herself to the back of the group so as to allow the fighters to do their work. She put her hands together and implored Noxa to lend her strength and cunning...

Status:

Zakhar readies his hammer, prepared to fight off the oncoming monsters.

Spoiler:

Group 1:

Initiative Order:

Group 2:

Lorez stares suspiciously at the cloud. "I ain't no druid, I can't do a thing about it."

The Blighted man, meanwhile, growls. "Gah! You weren't suppose to notice that! ...Yet!"

"Well, now that we have, let's move on into the next topic of rational discourse," Aparix said, drawing attention to himself after several minutes of laying low (a lot for him, really, but apparently people in this town didn't appreciate economics). He raised his weapon into the air, menacing it as best as something below median height and blue could. "Gas stops or slug between the glowworms. Which one you prefer?"

Zakhar rushes in to fight the bloated monstrosity. "I have not seen one such as this before. Such unholy abominations must be purged from world."

Spoiler:

Group 1:

The bloated Blightspawn lets out a pained wheeze as the hammer strikes it, unwholesome fluids leaking from the point of impact.

A few moments later, there's a hissing sound, and an explosion of yellowish gases erupts from the Bloat, getting into the lungs of everyone present and causing them to choke. Exploiting the confusion, one of the scythe-armed freaks darts forward, slashing at Zakhar before leaping to the side and attacking Ghost Tracker. The Blight mage, meanwhile, points a hand towards another scythe-armed monster, and a rush of bright energy flows into the beast.

Then it's the Blightscorned's turn. Ghost Tracker lets out a screech, shovels a handful of dirt into the air, and expertly swipes it into the eyes of all the foes present before taking to the air out of reach of the enemy. Quill meanwhile... stares really hard at the enemies, arrow at the ready.

The rest of the horde then strikes. One Scythling does the same double-strike manuever its comrade used. Meanwhile, one of the Blightspawn with the mutated hands injects a needle into the Bloat, steadying it slightly while its tendrils mend its damaged flesh. The last Scythling swings, but misses wildly and is sent off-balance, preventing it from following up on its strike. The other Blighted surgeon charges towards Zakhar, driving its needle into his skin and injecting something that... actually doesn't seem all that bad.

Combat Details:

Group 2:

The man lets out a wild laugh, seemingly oblivious to the marvel of technology pointed at his head. "You think... you think I have any control over it!" He stops laughing abruptly. "Okay, I do. Indirectly. But that doesn't mean I'll use it. Because you're already dead."

Meanwhile, Paladin could see traces of movement inside the fog...

Spoiler:

Combat:

Mitsuna dodged back nimbly to avoid the Blighted's scythe. Nonetheless, the sharp edge caught her by the shoulder, making a long gash down her bicep. She felt Noxa channeling, and willed herself to focus it; she had no desire to disappear underground again. She focused on her hide; Noxa's will found her Therion hide malleable, and she seemed to vanish as her skin and robe shifted color to match the surrounding rocks and trees...

Status:

Aparix allowed his natural body language to take over, but tried to focus such into the parts that were thoroughly covered up by rags. Didn't want the old guy to guess that he was...

...not bluffing. He was pretty sure. Probably. But he'd never shot anyone that wasn't a monster before. Not many monsters, either. Even if this old guy wasn't human anymore, he was humanesque. Ish. Humanish, that was a better term.

Aparix grit his teeth. Focus.

Spoiler:

Zakhar continues to fight the bloat.

Combat:

Group 1:

The Bloat seems relatively unfazed - or maybe just oblivious - to Zakhar's strike. Nonetheless, it responds by letting out a plume of purple gas that seems to sap the strength from those it touches. Meanwhile, the first Scythling lunges at Quill, narrowly missing him, while the Channeler sends another wave of strength to the second Scythling.

Meanwhile, Ghost Tracker returns from on high, scratching and slashing at the Channeler and its nearby allies. She then takes back to the sky. Meanwhile, Quill lets loose a well-aimed arrow at the Channeler.

The sand free from its eyes, the second Scythling deals a powerful strike against Zakhar, before lunging to the side and dealing another strike to Quill. One Surgeon attempts to mend some of the damage to the Channeler, but doesn't make much progress. The third scythling lunges and slashes at Quill, cutting into the barkeep's midsection. The last foe, the second surgeon, jabs at Zakhar again... with the wrong needle.

Combat Stuff:

Group 2:

"I'm not old!" The man protests loudly. he glares at the cloud, meanwhile. "And I said-"

Seemingly out of the blue, Lorez fires a sweeping bolt of electricity into the cloud. Coinciding with this is a feral screech, while those who were paying attention can notice movement within the fog.

More Combat Stuff:

Combat:

Mitsuna felt Noxa's moment of will. She stepped forward into view, her skin returning to it's normal hue and her robe taking on a foreboding black color. She began a complicated sort of dance, ending with her hands outspread towards the various Blighted. She allowed herself a smirk as she watched the results...

Status: