Finding Purpose (Hafnium)

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Attacks: Every one of them misses. XP

Attack (Tamonten, next round) : Slaywind strikes again!
Sadist Pleasure: 1 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 19 PP = Orgasm.

Gain yourself 10 experience.

Whether the monsters understood Tamonten's taunt or not, they all reacted to it. The two massive things didn't seem to have any "planting" on their mind's, however, as they charged with massive fists raised. She side-stepped the first and walked under the attack of the second, neither of them even coming close to actually touching her. What's more, the two behemoths became entangled together, their bulky forms jostling against one another as they tried to reorient themselves toward her, as she remained more or less in the middle of them.

The scrabbling of claws and a scream from Krig is all the warning that she gets before one of the stalkers leaps at her, and as the possessed warrior turned around, and then limbos underneath it, she gets a very good view of something that suggests that the cats are definitely more than happy to try and take her up on her offer. It flew over her and landed perfectly on it's feet, spinning around and getting ready for another charge.

She righted herself just in time to dodge aside from another lunge, but this one smacked into one of the behemoths who were now on either side of her. The thing took a moment to right itself, and this time Tamonten jumped to the opposite side, avoiding a sliding tackle from one and a hop similar to the first feral stalkers attempt at the same time. All of them were more or less clustered together now, and with a single wrenching motion, Tamonten whirls, draws her greatsword, and slashes outward. Three of the four cat-like creatures and both of the juggernauts were cut down by her blade, the smaller creatures slashed in half while the larger ones had their legs cut out from under them. Both massive monsters tumbled down... Onto the only creature that had avoided her strike. With a shriek, the last stalker was crushed under several tons of living wood.

At that point, Tamonten got her half-felt wish, as pleasure surged through her body, the climax she experienced at least powerful enough to make her shake while held in it's grasp. She felt more of her love juices flowing down her legs, but as she came down from her climax, the arousal she'd felt from the multiple blasts of shorn weed pollen had lessened slightly. Not completely, but enough that, instead of threatening to drive her to strip naked and relieve herself on whatever was closest, she only felt horny enough to consider getting herself off again before she kept fighting. As all of the immediate threats were gone, she might actually have the opportunity.....

"Tamonten! C'mon!" Krig's voice called out to her, and she turned around to find the barriers that the other woman had set up gone. The screams of four women came to her attention a second later, and she rushed over to watch as the four fey they had come to rescue birthed a series of small, plantlike pods. Each of them was about the size of a ripe apple, perfectly round, and had two tiny tendrils that they used to start dragging themselves away from their mothers just as one of their "siblings" was being born. The gruffs and satyrs were spearing the little things on their blades before the could escape, and tossing the dead things aside without a second thought.

A few moments later, before anything else had come to attack them, they were ready to move again. She'd got a lot of admiring looks, particularly from Krig, who seemed to blush slightly whenever she looked at Tamonten. The knights, after offering their thanks, suited up, and the other two women grinned at her had promised their "thanks" later with a deep kiss on the lips the likes of which she hadn't ever done with anyone besides Jasmine. Looking slightly jealous at that, a blushing Krig said; "Alright, what now?"

Before she could even answer, one of the knights said; "We finish this! The black oak awaits us!" The rest of the fey nodded, and one of the scouts came up beside her and said; "The beings you destroyed were the guard whom we would have encountered. More will be coming, but for now we have a chance to strike at their leader. It lies up ahead, unguarded and alone. We have a straight path available to us, but it will not remain so for very long." It was about then that Tamonten felt the power of the spell that had been used to enhance her abilities wear off, leaving her slightly tired and achy, but otherwise still able to fight.

"The clearing that the black oak lies within is massive, and we will have little cover. We can expect more foes to be upon us shortly, and this will likely be our only chance to escape. What are your orders, Commander?" She heard reverence in the satyrs voice, and he stared at her waiting for her response. Similar expectant looks came from the rest of her allies. Whatever else happened today, she had earned the Fey's respect.

Tamonten's Escorts Stats

Spoiler

Krig, has taken 2 damage and has used 20 EP.
Three fey sorceresses, all uninjured and one has used 6 EP, one has used 8 EP, and the last has used 12 EP.
Five satyrs, all uninjured.
Three gruffs, all having taken 6 damage each.
Two Sirens, both uninjured and at full energy.
Two Knights, uninjured and at full energy.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

It had all gone by in a haze, Tamonten could barely register what had happened. She had done it, she had slain the entire group by herself and bought the necessary time. Embarrassingly, she had climaxed on the spot, the unnatural pleasure induced from the feel of her blade biting into flesh, plant or otherwise, sending her over the edge. Krig had... blushed? The sirens had done a bit more than that. Then a set of words snapped her out of her daze.

"We finish this! The black oak awaits us!" Tamonten couldn't agree more.

"There is no other course in this. We go now to remove a blight from this land. Only when that is done can we retreat from this place." Tamonten gave the orders that would likely be among her last on the journey solemnly. "Satyrs, you will see to the safety of our sorceresses and Krig in the event of enemies striking at us from behind. Sorceresses, do what you can to the oak, but focus yourselves on healing the wounded. The sorceresses and scouts must all live if we are to survive after the black oak is destroyed." She left no room for maybes, that particular blight would perish from the world in mere minutes, even if she had to die to see it go. "The rest of us will hit the tree with all our combined might. I have trusted all of you through our journey and it has gotten us here, within striking distance of our goal. I trust that you will do what must be done in the desecrated clearing and I will only truly order one thing of any of you," she glanced from fey to fey, stopping for a few extra seconds when her gaze met Krig. "Do not die. It is not enough for me to see this creeping death ended, I refuse to see any of my allies perish. If I am truly your commander, then take that to heart and keep yourselves alive, that is my order." A naive order, she knew. Even as young as she was in comparison to the fey, Tamonten couldn't deny that it was beyond reasonable expectations that all would make it out of the forest alive. The swordswoman didn't care, though, and she certainly didn't leave her 'order' open for objection or interpretation. "Now let's go chop down an overgrown tree."

With that, the possessed swordswoman nodded for the group to continue to their target. Despite it all, the girl's heart pounded in her chest from nervousness. Who could really say what the coming battle would bring?

Tactics

Spoiler

Should you want to accelerate things a bit.

Tamonten will request another buff from the sorceresses with the least energy used for herself and the knights right before the battle begins.

Basically, her general suggestion will be that the groups stay fairly loose, trying to avoid that untold magic that Jasmine warned her about, and hit the black oak with everything they've got to try to kill it as quickly as possible.

Additionally, any ally that takes moderate wounds (anything over a quarter of their HP, basically) should try to get back to the sorceresses for heals and then rejoin the fray. Though I imagine this won't matter much for round 1.

Satyrs are to try to stay away from the black oak, concealed if they can manage it, watching over the sorceresses and Krig and falling upon anything that would threaten them (including the black oak if they get grappled).

Sorceresses can toss spells but their main priority should be to heal targets that take 12+ damage when possible.

Tamonten's first attack will be a 20 hit:damage supreme might, with 20 hit:dodge defensive fighting as well (assuming she gets that buff).

Her stats would be (with buff): 92-20-20 = 52 to hit.
2d12+75 slashing damage.

Tamonten would have (with buff): 80 body, 76 dodge, 28 speed, 40 resistance, 2 Armor (25 TP 3 DU Cloth), sadist, masochist.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = +24 Body Buff

Rolls

Spoiler

Pre Fight Preparations.
Casting: Success.
Tamonten gets +24 Body.

Those assembled around her nodded grimly at Tamonten's words, but at the same time, many of them were grinning slightly. Her words, however naive, had had an uplifting effect, particularly on Krig, who was grinning broadly, and whom Tamonten was beginning to guess wasn't exactly experienced in such things even as much as Tamonten herself was. They set off for what would be the most important battle of the day. As they went, the sorceresses used minor magics to heal the few wounds that any of them had received, and one of them also poured more of her magic into another bit of strength for Tamonten. Surging with magical might once more, Tamonten felt as ready as she could be for the coming battle. The knights, saying that they had their own power to use, and that the other casters should retain as much energy as possible, declined.

There was no cover from the... Thing, within the center of the glade. It most certainly wasn't a tree anymore, that much was certain just from looking at it. Its base was easily twenty feet in diameter, but despite the massive bulk, much of it seemed to be made up of numerous cancerous tumors, each of which had an eyeball the size of Tamonten's entire body. The bark of the thing was as black as midnight, a color frighteningly similar to her own blackened, corrupted arm. It dwarfed all of the neighboring trees, each of which was dead and rotting, in height. Black leaves sparsely covered its branches, and dozens; nay, hundreds of vines writhed and twisted around its limbs and trunk. The canopy of the black oak covered the entirety of the clearing in which it stood, and even stretched out beyond it.

There was at least two hundred feet of empty, open ground from the edge of the trees, where Tamonten and her party stood, and the trunk of the tree. A lot of open ground, and all of them could already feel the malignant intelligence of the thing they'd come to destroy. It was like a horde of insects buzzing around her, none of them quite touching her, but still tactile against her skin.

Suddenly, Tamonten spotted movement above her, and she saw something else, hanging from the upper branches of the tree. Corpses. Dozens, maybe even hundreds, of lifeless bodies hung from the branches of the tree. Most of them were recognizably of the fey, satyrs and gruffs and trolls and kobolds. At least four other figures in tarnished golden armor, identical to that worn by the knights, hung from the tree. She even spotted a nude women who, horrifyingly, reminded Tamonten of Jasmine. A few were not so recognizable. One figure was clad in armor that matched that of the fey, but that armor was pitch black, and spiked. A few women in red gowns, now rotting off of their hanging carcasses, also hung from the tree. Her possessed arm began to shake violently as the movement she'd seen became more apparent, and one of the limbs descended toward her.

At first, she thought the the body attached to the limb that slowly descending down toward her was just a normal woman's corpse, disgusting certainly, but not the worst thing in the world to look upon. Then, however, Tamonten spotted the rotting, skeletal wings that hung from the body's back, which still had a few white feathers clinging to them, and she realized what she was staring at. An angel's corpse hovered down in front of Tamonten, getting to the same level as her and her companions. In life, she had almost assuredly been beautiful, a being of grace and purity and power, but now, as vines twisted and writhed through her plainly visible intestines, and much of the flesh of her chest and arms was covered in maggots and worms, such was definitely not the case. A vine suddenly attached itself to the back of her head, and the dead angel's rotting eyes swiveled slightly, and then oriented themselves on Tamonten. Mostly.

The corpse began to speak, its voice harsh, hoarse, and wheezing; "Trespassers..... Killers. Of. My. Kin...... Flee. Or. Join. Us........ I. Care. Not....." It paused between every word, with longer pauses to draw breath into the rotted lungs of its mouthpiece between sentences, but once it had finished, something about the body changed. Suddenly, the corpse's eyes focused on her, and it said, more clearly and quickly; "Young one. I can take It from you. It would be a trade. A gesture of peace. Let me take It. And then you may leave. And no more will my kind hound the fey. And no more would it hound you."

The fey (and Krig) were silent, most of them clearly too horrified to even move, much less speak.

Tamonten's Escorts Stats

Spoiler

Krig, uninjured and has used 20 EP.
Three fey sorceresses, all uninjured and one has used 12 EP, one has used 8 EP, and the last has used 12 EP.
Five satyrs, all uninjured.
Three gruffs, all uninjured.
Two Sirens, both uninjured and at full energy.
Two Knights, uninjured and at full energy.

(Yes, I totally forced you to cutscene through that, even though you were probably screaming; "OMZG KILL IT NOAWWW!!!!!")

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

I still remember that day...

Horror filled every nook and cranny of her consciousness in looking at the tree. The swordswoman shook with fear and revulsion. Countless corpses in the malignant tree, among them beings of unimaginable power, and she thought she could defeat the oak with such a small group? Had she led them all to their deaths? To share a fate with their kin in the tree? The possessed girl felt queasy, she was sure she was going to vomit at any second, sure that for all her strength and abilities the only thing she would put them towards now was to flee. Then she noticed the corpse of the sidhe that reminded her of Jasmine. The pale girl couldn't run, she reminded herself. She had made a promise to Jasmine! Why did that promise seem so pitiful in comparison to what she stood against? Remember! The frightened girl screamed at herself in her thoughts! Remember what brought you here!

Floating in a sea of darkness, the demon's aura so thick that I couldn't breathe...

Despair mixed with horror as the corpse of the angel came into view. It was almost certainly Kasumi. Jasmine had heralded her as the strongest among the fey. The swordswoman was not so egotistical as to think that she could ever be as strong as the defiled body in front of her had been in life. The girl's possessed arm, the constant reminder of her own creeping death, shook ferociously just from being in the tainted clearing. She could feel the blackened tree's power and intelligence in the air. The cancer's aura was overwhelming, just like the demon's own had been. The pale girl felt weak in the knees, she just wanted to go home. She wanted to hug her father and never let him go. Why had she ever come there? Why had she ever left?

Trapped within my own body, chained inside my mind...

Surprise compounded on all of the other emotions as the decaying puppet issued its master's offer. In moments, fear and despair vanished, replaced by utter disbelief. The swordswoman stared blankly at the puppet and then at her own arm. Freedom? At long last? An offer from the vile creature that had tainted the land? An offer of peace? From the black oak? The confused girl looked at her arm, the similarity between it and the oak. What would be its trade? Why would something so powerful arrange that deal with a party much weaker than the ones it had already destroyed? Would the demon be free once it was out of her? How would the oak accomplish it? The questions flooded into her head uncontrollably, only to be suddenly replaced with another feeling.

Waking to find my father over me and hearing those four words.

Joy. The pale swordswoman would be free! She would be able to become the weaponmaster she had always dreamed of being! Knightlings and nobility would pay top denarii for her to train them and their kin! No weapon would be beyond her! Her blackened arm wouldn't hold her back any longer! Who cared what happened to the demon as long as it wasn't in her anymore? With a restored body, she could purge even more evil! Like... like...

It wasn't a nightmare...

The wolves. The corrupted wolves who had done nothing more to the world than to be tainted by the existence of creatures such as the oak in front of her. The swordswoman's thoughts turned outwards, to her allies. Would the tree really allow the fey to live in peace? She could see the evidence against it in the canopy of lifeless corpses that even now it desecrated. What of Jasmine, the first to have shown her kindness in so many years? What of Krig, the one who could understand her corruption? It had even offered her peace and freedom through the rotting body of a creature that had undoubtedly once been unimaginably beautiful, before the tree had taken her. The pale girl trembled again at the realization.

Never again...

Tamonten trembled with rage. Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Fury overtook her and she could see little more than red and the cancer, even then insulting her. The swordswoman was so lost in anger that she had forgotten about her allies. "You offer me peace," She spoke lowly, her voice shaking and faltering as if to keep the pure hatred from spilling out. "You offer me freedom I've so desperately desired...through a defiled corpse!?" Rage suddenly overwhelmed her and Tamonten unsheathed her sword to swing wildly at the vines holding, even then desecrating, the angel's body. A flurry of cuts to leave nothing of the tree touching the maggot covered flesh. "How dare you even touch something so pure!? How dare you even exist!? I'll destroy you myself!" Tamonten rushed at the base of the tree, as fast as her legs could take her across the vast distance, great sword raised in defiance and intent on striking.

She gave a roar filled with rage and sorrow as she charged. "Never again!"

Spoiler

Purge the cancer! Destroy any vines that are touching the angel first and then begin charging at the base of the tree.

Supreme Might 20:20, Defensive Fighting 20:20 for the vine cuts. I don't even care if it doesn't do damage to the tree proper, Tamonten is done watching it defile its angelic puppet!

92-20-20 = 52 to hit.
2d12+75 slashing damage.

Tamonten has: 80 body, 76 dodge, 28 speed, 40 resistance, 2 Armor (25 TP 3 DU Cloth), sadist, masochist.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = +24 Body Buff

Rolls

Spoiler

Tamonten charges! (I'm giving you cutting off the dead angel for free, as it won't do any actual damage.) She gets a total of 112 feet, needing to cover another 88 feet in order to reach the base of the tree.
The gruffs charge, getting 52 feet each. They will need another 148 feet to reach the tree.
The knights activate Battle Aura X = 10, and charge. They get a total of 42 feet, needing another 158 feet to reach the tree.
The satyrs just sort of sit around, waiting.
The sorceresses fire an opening volley.
Casting: All three succeed.
Attacks: All three hit.
Damage: 3 + 1 + 6 = 10 * 4 = 40 - 20 = 20. Three hit, so a total of 60 damage.
Krig shoots a laser at it!
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 1 = 2 * 10 = 20 - 20 = 0. God dammit min damage.....
The sirens just sort of sit there as well, not being particularly useful in this battle.

The tree responds. With some not so nice magic.
Casting: Success.
Attack: All are hit.
Damage: 3 + 13 = 16 * 4 = 64 damage.
Krig, all three sorceresses, and all five of the satyrs have been knocked unconscious.

Tamonten's sword sliced through the branch holding the angels body with ease, and the rage and magic fueled swords-woman practically flew forward across the flattened clearing. A white and black blur, holding a shining steel blade, Tamonten covered half the distance between herself and the tree before even her comrades could react. The fey seemed to take heart at her fury, however, and began to take action. The satyrs fanned out around their comrades, and the sirens stood behind the rest, watching for more enemy reinforcements. The gruffs charged, but the goat-men didn't have nearly the fleetness of foot that Tamonten currently did, and lagged well behind. The knights issued a short prayer, and then surged forward as well, their bodies armored, shining blurs. Krig and the three mages promptly opened fire, as there were no wounded to heal now.

A ray of bright violet light reached out from the fox girl, but it struck against the black oaks bark, and simply rebounded off into the woods off to the side without any visible effect on the tree. Three bolts of green flew past as well, but unlike the violet ray, these touched against the tree, and began to rot the blackened surface of it away. All three struck in a rough triangle, and a sizable portion of the tree simply decayed away, until a glowing crimson stone was revealed underneath. It was at least the size of Tamonten's head, and pulsated with dark energies, tactile against her sense even from this far away, and with the oppressive attention of the tree itself.

The limbs of the tree began to shake, and stale blood and rotting, maggot-covered gore began to rain down onto the charging warriors from the corpses in the canopy above, along blackened leaves and branches. Several sections of vines dropped around not only Tamonten, but the knights and gruffs as well. The writhing things immediately began moving to block their path, like snakes moving through the grass, but Tamonten and the knights might be able to get past them before they could converge. The gruffs were not so quick as that, however, and would likely get bogged down chopping through the plants.

That, however, was merely a distraction. The air around the party who remained outside of the glade suddenly stilled, and then was violently torn upward. All those who had remained behind suddenly gasped for air, inaudible to Tamonten over the sound of the falling debris, and collapsed. Gasping for breath that would not come, the lot of them were left helpless, and blacked out in mere seconds from the sudden lack of oxygen. The air did not return, as the tree kept a hold upon its dire magic, and branches creaked as the reached down toward Krig and the fallen faerie warriors.

Tamonten's Escorts Stats

Spoiler

Krig, unconscious and has used 30 EP.
Three fey sorceresses, all unconscious and one has used 18 EP, one has used 14 EP, and the last has used 18 EP.
Five satyrs, all unconscious.
Three gruffs, all uninjured.
Two Sirens, both unconscious.
Two Knights, both uninjured and having used 15 EP.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Gruffs, to the fallen, she might have ordered, if the possessed girl hadn't been so lost in her fury. The pale girl might have looked back and noticed their plight. She might have given them the same warning before her charge that Jasmine had given her before they journeyed out. She might have done any number of things, but at the time she only raged.

Every new inch of corrupted soil that crunched underfoot only made Tamonten more berserk. Every step further into the clearing made her blood boil more fiercely. The ones who she was supposed to protect, supposed to lead, supposed to keep alive, were left behind to the tree's limited mercies. Those who were behind her, joining her charge, were forgotten. There was only one thing on the possessed swords-woman's mind, destroying the tree itself, the enemy in front of her.

The pale girl did not care about the gore that rained upon her. She did not care that her unnaturally white hair became covered in the filth dropped by the tree. Her body, already growing weary from the events of the day, screamed at her to slow down and she didn't even seem to notice that. The only detail of the sudden burst of chaos that had not gone past her notice was the stone that had been revealed, a target.

Tamonten continued her blind rush, completely ignoring the vines that attempted to stop her progress. The fury felt like it would overwhelm her entirely, as though any moment her blood would become so wild that it would froth from her mouth. All that issued from her throat, however, was a howl of unbridled hatred as she continued to close the distance with her steel cutting through the air.

Spoiler

Continue the charge!

Edit3!: Supreme Might 20:20 + Slay! KILL IT, KILL IT, KILL IT! (Should Tamonten somehow get into range to attack in the next post. I can't see it happening unless she grows some wings or hits the energy drinks but better safe than sorry!)

2d12 + 75 (*2 from Slay, apparently. >.>) slashing damage.
92-50=42 to hit.
Tamonten has (Slay, Supreme Might, and Buffs accounted for): 80 body, 46 dodge, 28 speed, 40 resistance, 0 Armor (25 TP 3 DU Cloth), sadist, masochist.

Poor fey and Krig. I hope they make it even if I couldn't justify Tamonten snapping out of her berserker rage enough to notice their plight and go back to do anything about it! ;_;

Tamonten might have a hard time recovering from this one even if she wins.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 43/72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Injured, Grappled, +24 Body Buff

Rolls

Spoiler

Tamonten charges! She gets a total of 112 feet, and is now at the base of the tree, ready to swing at it.
The gruffs run, but need to stand and fight. They get another
Attacks: All three hit.
Damage: They cut down 3 of the 10 vines.
The rest grapple them.
The knights charge some more! They get a total of 168 feet, and reach the tree.
Krig, the satyrs, the sirens, and the sorceresses are all grappled.

And the tree attacks Tamonten:
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 4 + 2 + 25 - 2 = 29 damage. Armor at 15/25 TP.

2x Vines:
Attacks: One hit. Tamonten has been grappled.
4x Vines: All miss the knights.

Tamonten's charge was uninterrupted right up until she reached the base of the tree, the black and white blur stopped only when a branch reached down and slapped her aside just before her sword would have swung down toward her wooden adversary. The knights charged right along with her, moving even faster, and circled around the tree, not allowing the thing to target all of them at once with a single blow. As Tamonten stood up, having been sent flying by the blow to her chest, rents appearing in the garb that Jasmine has given her, the tree above shook further. Vines dropped down, but the possessed girl spotted them, and dove aside as they landed where she'd been. Unfortunately, they hadn't been the only vines to fall, as another section of writhing, fibrous tentacles fell right on top of her, wrapping around her shoulders, neck and waist.

More tentacles fell toward the knights, but the glowing, agile warriors had little trouble in avoiding them. The gruffs, on the other hand, tried to continue forward, but got trapped by the vines trying to block them off. They began chopping desperately through the mobile plants, trying to push through, but even though all they cut into were sent writhing away, each of them were quickly swamped in tentacles, and dropped to the ground unable to fight any further. Branches slowly began descending down toward the helpless gruffs, as more vines began dropping....

The branches extended more vines down to Krig, and all of her other down allies. They were slowly lifted from the ground, and into the trees grasp, as they were covered in writhing vines that continued to choke the life from them, even as the magic they were under prevented them from drawing breath. A few more moments, and they would all suffocate, and join the corpses hanging from the canopy of the black oak above, though Tamonten, enraged still, had no idea of that.

Injured, barely able to draw breath herself, and entangled, Tamonten was still at the base of the black oak. Every one of its eyes was focused on the possessed swords-woman, and she could feel the power behind that malignant intelligence as if it were a physical weight upon her shoulders. The glowing red stone that the magic of the fey had unveiled pulsated brightly, and Tamonten knew that to remove that, would be to win the battle and destroy the monstrosity forever. Her sword was in her hands still, even as the vine around her attempted to strangle her into submission, but she knew that any attack would be hindered by its attempts to bind her. But, with the blood boiling through her being, that might be the only thing she could think to do, the vines covering her body be damned.

Tamonten's Escorts Stats

Spoiler

Krig, unconscious and has used 30 EP. Grappled.
Three fey sorceresses, all unconscious and one has used 18 EP, one has used 14 EP, and the last has used 18 EP. Grappled.
Five satyrs, all unconscious. Grappled.
Three gruffs, all uninjured. All grappled by 2 vines each.
Two Sirens, both unconscious. Grappled.
Two Knights, both uninjured and having used 25 EP.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

The tree had struck back, its heavy branch smashed into her chest with enough force to knock the air from her and send the woman flying. Wind wasn't the only thing it had knocked out of the pale girl, however, as Tamonten found that it was quite difficult to hold onto her fury when it felt impossible to breathe. Her impetus had ended with the powerful blow, her rage seemed to leak out, replaced by nothing. It took her effort just to replenish her supply of oxygen, breathing in pained gasps as she was. The swords-woman looked down at her chest wearily, though for only a second, seeing the damage the malevolent tree had caused to her clothing.

Then movement happened overhead and the girl instinctively rolled out of the way, much slower than she had before. Her body was becoming weary with the day's efforts, her peripheral vision was darkening. Tamonten did not notice the second grouping of vines that had fallen and was promptly entrapped by one. The mad dash had taken too much out of her, even with her empowered body, she never had a chance of dodging both of the new vines. It isn't supposed to end this way, she dimly thought as she fought against her entanglement.

Tamonten felt only the smallest hints of rage as she forced herself into a stance more appropriate for striking the tree, though in terms of pain she felt everything. Every ache, every pain, every throb, she felt so pitiful that she wasn't sure she would have been able to cut into a loaf of bread, let alone the tree in front of her. It isn't supposed to end like this, the swords-woman angrily reiterated in her mind as she struggled to bring her sword out and into the air. The vines wrapped around her, squeezing out what precious little oxygen she was managing to take in. The hero is supposed to win and rescue the princess, the swords-woman still wasn't aware of the plight of her allies and so the words applied more than even she knew. Tamonten was too sluggish to look back and check their fates, doubtful that she could dodge a blow from the tree if she did. For all she knew all but the knights had perished. Is this evil triumphing over good or just the cycle of nature? She moved her steel blade again, slipping it in between her body and the vines trying to constrict her at the waist. Honor, promises, allies, I don't know if I can even care about it right now...but I still hate the enemy in front of me.

She spoke lowly, an emotionless whisper all but lost in the vast emptiness of the clearing, "... just die already." Then she swung outward at the tree with all the remnants of her strength, trying to cut the vines along with it. The sword's arc was a simple one, aimed for what she believed to be the very heart of its corruption. Her destiny depended much on the next few moments.

Spoiler

Tamonten uses Whirlwind, Slay, and Supreme Might 8:8, targeting the tree and the vines but avoiding the fey.

92-10-30-8 = 44 to hit.
3+40+12+8-10= 2d12 + 53 (*2) slashing damage.

80 body, 46 dodge, 28 speed, 40 resistance, 0 Armor (25 TP 3 DU Cloth), sadist, masochist.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 43/72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Injured, +24 Body Buff

Rolls

Spoiler

Grapple: The tree automatically wins.
All of the grappled fey have been penetrated.
Attacks (Knights) : Both hit.
Damage: 3 + 5 + 40 + 30 - 20 = 58 damage each. The tree has taken a total of 176 damage.
Attacks: Both hit. Both knights are now grappled.
Grapple (Tamonten vs Vines) : Tamonten wins handily.
Attack (Tamonten) : Hit.
Damage: 3 + 7 + 53 = 63 * 2 = 126 damage.
The gruffs are unable to move.

Tamonten gains 10 experience!

Unknown to Tamonten, who struggled not only with the vines holding her, but her own mounting despair, as she tried to rise and bring her blade to bear on the corrupted tree, her captured allies were lifted further from the ground. Vines writhed around them as they were held by the black oak's branches, and suddenly, one tendril pushed itself into the mouth of each and every one of the already choking fey, as well as Krig. The vine forced itself deeper and deeper down the throats of its victims, each of them staring wide eyed and helpless, as the black oak extended its vines painfully into their bodies, reaching slowly toward their hearts.

As she gasped for breath, Tamonten watched as the fey knights whirled around the tree, dodging the falling vines with ease, before suddenly stopped at opposite ends of the tree, and leaping toward it. Both of them sunk their greatswords into one of the eyes that grew cantankerously from the tree. Had it had a voice of its own, Tamonten suspected that the thing might have screamed. As it was, the tree groaned and creaked ominously, and quaked powerfully. More debris fell from the canopy of the monstrous thing, but none of it fell near Tamonten, so she barely noticed it. Fluid, black and ichorous, sprayed from the ruptured orbs, coating the two glowing knights, shining armor and all, as they forced their blades deeper and deeper, while also shaking them around violently. It was not to last, however, as the branches of the tree suddenly reached down and slapped both knights aside, but instead of sending them flying, the tree wrapped both women in vines, and started pulling them up to the canopy of corpses.

Tamonten was unaware of the plight of Krig and her allies, far behind her. She couldn't see the three gruffs, struggling ineffectually against the vines wrapped around their bodies, being lifted into the trees mobile branches as well. With the knights being pulled up and away, to their doom, Tamonten was all alone against the tree. All alone.

But not helpless. She forced herself to her feet, her body screaming in protest as she ignored the vines wrapped around her throat, cutting off the return of the air that had been knocked out of her along with her rage. She stepped toward the glowing gem, which pulsated with power, as every twisted eye upon the surface of that black, dead tree turned to watch her, and she could here more branches descending down toward her. To be taken up within the embrace of those branches and vines would be to join the corpses up in the canopy of the tree. Not only would her body be consumed by that thing, leached of its minerals and left hanging from the branches, to be fed upon by maggots and crows as the dead angel, Kasumi, had been. The tree would take her soul, and consume it, just as the demon within her would have. She felt her blackened arm shake as she pushed forward, and for a moment, the connection to the thing that had been trying to take control of her since she was only a little girl strengthened, and Tamonten felt something she hadn't expected from the demon. Fear. The demon faced the same fate as Tamonten herself, in the clutches of that tree.

Regardless of what she did with that knowledge, Tamonten pushed her sword through the vines holding onto her, and swung with all of her fading might as the shadows closed in around her, both of her own consciousness fading from lack of oxygen, and from the branches and vines coming closer. Her blade dug into the wood of the tree, just below the crimson stone, and sawed through it like it was nothing more than butter. The tree shuddered again, as she cut through it, her blade going deep. It creaked and cracked, and its movements suddenly ceased, as did the squeezing of the vine around her neck, giving her access to air once more. As she gasped in breaths, however, the stone suddenly pulsated brightly, before going dark, and falling from the tree at Tamonten's feet. Immediately after that, every one of the eyes in the surface of the tree exploded, emitting massive waves puss-like, black liquid, which instantly covered her (mostly) pale form from head to toe, staining into the clothes Jasmine had given her and soaking her completely. It was difficult for her to tell what was worse about that, the smell or the feel of it on her skin.

Thumps sounded from all over the clearing, as the bodies held by the tree dropped from its now limp grasp. The gruffs cut the vines from their bodies, and turned to aid their fallen brethren. All of them, now able to breath, were weakly pulling the vines from their throats, and with the gruffs aid, Krig and the others all found breath once more. The knights fell next to Tamonten, and quickly stood back up with a grunt of pain. They were covered in the vile goo as well, but they still took the time to salute to Tamonten, before going to retrieve their swords from the dead tree.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

It was with one final cut that the battle was won. Struggling against exhaustion, strangulation, and crippling despair, Tamonten had struck the killing blow. Yet, as the stone fell to the ground and rolled to her feet, she could only think one thing.

That went low, I should have been cleaner about that.

The strict critique of her own swordsmanship was cut short when the multitude of eyes burst, spraying her with the foul fluid. The swords-woman raised her arm to protect her face as best she could but only got it halfway up before she was coated in the stuff. Tamonten was exhausted, she was slightly delirious from the loss of oxygen, and most recently she was filthy.

Even as the knights saluted her and moved for their swords, the pale girl brought her hands up to look at them. Covered in the disgusting gore of the tree, both hands looked the same. The thought dimly crossed her mind and then...she laughed. A mirthful chuckle at first at the realization. Perhaps it was born of her lack of oxygen, maybe the danger of the last few hours had broken her mind, or maybe it was something deeper. No matter the reason, Tamonten's giggle fit only grew as the seconds passed.

The demon was afraid.

With that thought, she only became louder, cackling uncontrollably in the mostly silent air of the clearing. Even as the corpses continued to rain onto the ground from the tree, she continued. She sunk to her hands and knees, cracking up all the way. As though the tree, with all its stolen spirits and malevolent knowledge, had told the funniest knock-knock joke to have ever been iterated in the forest before its demise. It seemed unlikely that any but a mind reader would be able to puzzle together just what was so funny to the possessed girl.

The creature that has hounded me for so many years, that drove me away from all I have ever loved, that cursed me with such loneliness, knows fear...

Suddenly, she snapped out of her laughter. She was not alone, Tamonten realized, she had comrades now. Comrades that might have perished in the fighting. Her green eyes widened and she jumped to her feet. The swords-woman, still covered in the foul smelling stuff and wiping it off of her face as she moved, went dashing to the group of fey and Krig. Unlike on her sprint in, Tamonten could distinctly feel her aches and pains as she retreated from the center of the clearing. It wasn't hard for her to ignore it at the prospect of losing those that had allied themselves with her, however, and she even left her sword and the corrupt stone behind in her haste to check on them and offer aid.

Spoiler

Tamonten rushes to check on her fallen comrades, helping however she can (mostly using her hunting knife to cut the remaining vines, probably). She is also available for CPR! (Fox girls preferred! She's not picky though!) >.>

Tamonten will want to take one of the feathers from Kasumi's body, her sword, and the stone that the tree left before leaving. It's probably the kind of thing that I should write out in my next post but I just wanted to make sure it was certain that she didn't want to egress from the clearing yet.

Edit: If Krig hasn't gotten back to her feet by the time Tamonten gets back then Tamonten is so doing a bridal carry to help her to her feet. :3

She might also make a few embarrassing comments and jokes. Completely on accident, of course. >.>

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 43/72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Injured, +24 Body Buff

The two knights didn't comment on Tamonten's hysterical laughter, but the possessed girl did notice that the two armored women shared a meaningful glance as they walked away from her. The rest of the fey were too busy with other concerns to worry overly much about her, at the time.

Tamonten rushed to the aid of her fallen comrades just as the gruffs reached them, and the much faster moving girl got their well before all of them had been helped. Tamonten pulled Krig into her arms, and helped the weakened fox girl yank the vine from out of her throat. The tip of it was coated in blood, but as Krig gasped for air, in Tamonten's embrace, she didn't cough any more of it up. Indeed, even though her breaths were exceedingly weak, the girl didn't seem to have been too badly harmed by her brief lack of air. After a few moments, during which the rest of the fey were all seen to, and during which the two knights returned carrying their own weapons, Tamonten's sword, and the stone that had fallen from the tree, Krig opened her eyes, and gazed up at Tamonten with a slight, but still breathless, smile. She seemed to relax into the embrace slightly, almost curling up into Tamonten's arms, before her eyes suddenly widened as she looked out into the forest. "Oh... Shit...."

Following the fox girls gaze outward, into the woods, Tamonten could only repeat the sentiment. Gathered around them, watching them silently with emotionless eyes from the trees, was an army of plant creatures. Hundreds of them. Dozens of the hulking wooden behemoths, scores of the cat-like plants, and hundreds of alruane surrounded them on all sides save the one next to the clearing, which remained empty save for the corpses that still tumbled from the branches of the tree. All of them were perfectly still, as they watched Tamonten and her group of fey allies, who had all seemingly noticed at about them same time as Tamonten and Krig.

Suddenly, one of the alraune stepped forward, her green, feminine body reminding Tamonten of Jasmine slightly, and hesitantly said; "You.... You killed the great voice? We cannot hear it anymore........"

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Tamonten wordlessly echoed Krig's sentiments. It had all been for naught, she was sure, just because the oak was slain did not mean that they would survive the day. All her comrades, she had watched them stand up simply to watch them be cut down moments later. Too weary, too defeated to hold it back any longer tears began to roll down her cheeks again. "I'm sorry, Krig. I'm so sorry." The swords-woman babbled out her apology to the woman who was still cradled in her arms, lowering her head in remorse. "I should have sent you to the fey, away from this danger. I shouldn't have...I shouldn't have..." The pale girl trailed off, sniffling in an attempt to stop herself from crying. "Krig, I won't let any harm come to you," the change in her tone was sudden, Tamonten becoming stoic and serious even before the tears had dried. "I can't let any harm come to you. If they attack, I need you to live. I need you to escape this grove, somehow, even if it means leaving everything behind, but take as many of the others as the safety as you can." Let this tarnished being pay the price for your survival, she thought, even as she pointedly avoided talking about her own escape.

The pale girl slowly lowered Krig to the ground, though she did not stop supporting the spirit caster until she confirmed that the violet haired woman could stand. "The scouts will find you and the others a safe path out. I'll talk to the plants and buy you some time. Just stay with the others and get out of here as soon as you can. Explain it to the fey while I'm talking." Without thinking about it, Tamonten moved to kiss Krig, a small peck on the cheek, and then hugged her for but a brief moment. "Do it for me. I wouldn't be able to live if you didn't make it." Then her attention turned to the knights. If they were close enough and it seemed like she had the opportunity, she would take and sheathe her greatsword. Otherwise, she would have to rely on her sheathed hunting knife as a weapon as she walked forward and addressed the plants.

One foot in front of the other, Tamonten fought to keep her fear and anxiety from showing in every step. The plants would know her as a fearsome demon before her death, her pride demanded it. This was it, though, the possessed girl knew it to be true, this was the end. She would die there, though it was unlikely that it would happen before she had been used to replace every plant that had been slain along the way and more. Would they be able to grow another of the foul oaks in her? The morbid thought zipped through her mind before she had a chance to suppress it. Jasmine had suggested that the trees were magically corrupted preexisting things, but Tamonten sincerely hoped that if they tried she would die in the attempt. It didn't matter, though, it would all be worth it if only she didn't have to see the light drain from Krig's eyes, or the satyrs, or the sorceresses, or any of those who had fought under her that day. As long as she didn't have to see them become as Kasumi had, she would meet her end happily.

"I am the one who slew the black oak. The father," she recalled what Krig had said earlier and ventured a guess that it was what they called the vile thing, hoping that she hadn't made a mistake in reminding them of their reverence of the tree. "I have no quarrel with you or your kin beyond the toll I have already taken from the oak. However, I can not claim to know that what I did was in the name of justice, so I am willing to peacefully resign myself to your punishment," she lied. Tamonten refused to allow the rape they likely had in store for her end in a net gain for the plant people. As soon as Krig and the others were safe she would kill until her blade had broken and then attack them with her hands. "But I will not do so unless the others are allowed to go. They had no hand in the death of the tree, it was myself alone that destroyed it. Its blood is on my hands." Literally.

Some small glimmer of hope remained. Maybe the plants would be too awed to attack. Maybe she would be able to find a way out after Krig and the others had fled. Perhaps the black oak was as much of a blight on the plants as it was on the other forms of life around it. Tamonten's heart hardened, however, her journey, and life, might end in mere seconds.

Spoiler

Pretty self explanatory! Take her sword from the knights if she can. Regardless of that, engage in diplomacy with a horde of rapist plants offering herself as a bargaining chip!

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 43/72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Injured, +24 Body Buff

It became quite evident to Tamonten, as she held the violet-haired girl, that Krig wouldn't be standing on her own any time soon. While she could breath again, whatever the tree had done to her had weakened her far more than just a momentary lack of oxygen could have, and Tamonten knew that she'd have to buy the girl time to get back on her feet. The satyrs, and the sidhe other than the knights, weren't doing much better than the mortal girl themselves. Krig looked startled and confused at Tamonten's words, and at her sudden shift in tone as she became so utterly stoic, as did the rest of the fey. The purple haired girl blushed slightly at the peck on the cheek, and quietly whispered; "What.... What are you... doing?"

She was near enough to the knights that she could retrieve her greatsword, but the plants had remained totally docile as she regained her far more fearsome weapon. As she steeled herself for the battle which she knew that she most certainly could not win, and would likely cost her not only her life, but her sanity, and even her own immortal soul to the demon that possessed her, Tamonten could feel the fey around her preparing to face a similar fate. The knights moved to stand beside her, and as she was waiting for the reply of the plant's apparent emissary, the fey woman quietly said; "Don't be a fool, mortal. We are not cowards, to abandon our own to such a fate, even if given the chance. Not a one of us would leave you here to such a fate, even if it were to be allowed, which I doubt it will be."

The gruffs moved to surround the wounded... But as there were only three of them, that left some rather gaping holes in their defenses. The satyrs managed to get, albeit unsteadily, onto their feet, but Krig and the other fey women were still stuck on the ground, unable to even move. The plant woman's expression hadn't changed in the slightest as Tamonten spoke, and she remained silent and immobile, as did the rest of the plants, for several extremely tense moments.

Then, however, the plant girl spoke again, her voice holding a great deal of confusion; "Punishment? Why would we punish you? You have removed the poisoned fathers voice from our ears.... That is a thing to be thankful for! It would have spread its poison to the rest of the world, but we could not have stood against its will, as hard as we might have tried to. We will send this one with you, as thanks, and in order to ensure peace with the forest dwellers. We did not wish to be their enemies. What the father did is not what we are. Not what we would choose."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Tamonten had simply continued walking away at Krig's question, she had no response for the violet-haired girl, there was nothing else to be said. When the fey had questioned her, though, she felt some small measure of anger flare up. It was as though there was a remnant of her rage at the oak in her body that had not vanished. The swords-woman coldly glared at the knight. "Not a coward, no, but you are being a fool," she furiously and hastily whispered, trying to avoid the notice of the other fey, Krig, and the gathered potential enemies, as she awaited the response of the plants. "I am already doomed," she briefly raised her blackened arm as if to accentuate the point. "The rest of you have no time limit. You would have to be a brazen idiot to see sixteen with full lives ahead of them die here when it could be just one with nothing but uncertainty ahead," Tamonten lectured the knight as though their roles had reversed and she was the one with countless years of experience speaking to a young and brash swords-woman. "You will retreat and you will save as many wounded as you can in that retreat, even if I have to attack you to make you do so."

It became a moot point when the plant diplomat issued its response. Tamonten let out a low sigh of relief. The swords-woman immediately regretted her sigh, her first fear was that it would make her appear weak to the plants, her second was that it felt like the warm air she had exhaled had been the only thing keeping her upright. The pale girl almost wanted to give in to her weariness and simply collapse on the spot. Almost. Instead, she spoke up trying to maintain the stoicism that she had found before to respond to the emissary. "I know what it is to be poisoned. I hope that the father can rest in peace, freed from such an existence." She felt a strange empathy towards the plant then. As could only be evidenced by feeling sorry for an oak tree, the day was becoming very, very odd. "All have suffered this day and under its reign, it seems, no matter what matter their bodies were made of, be it plant or flesh. Maybe if peace can come of it then that suffering won't have been for naught. I would gladly accept an accompanying diplomat."

"We wish to go home now. There are those among us wounded and exhausted." Feeling weak herself, the swords-woman looked back to Krig and the others. Tamonten didn't know whether she could truly trust the plants or not but she would see her comrades through it no matter what. With a boost in determination, the pale girl continued, trying to finish strong. "But, I promise I will return here one day. Not with fire or sword, but with the tools necessary to turn this shrine of terror into one of peace and remembrance for the fallen, be they plant, fey, or human." With that, unless the diplomat had something else pressing to say or reply to, Tamonten would return to where she had laid Krig, scooping her up once more in her arms. With the violet-haired girl cradled in her grasp, the farmer-turned-commander would nod for the fey who were strong enough to do so to carry the ones who weren't able to walk. Unless stopped or something the emissary said necessitated a reply, the exhausted pale girl would gather up her comrades and begin their egress from the clearing.

Most importantly, they would begin their trek back to the grove that had been the closest thing to a home Tamonten had found in years. Because the pale swords-woman really needed a bath and a nap.

Spoiler

General Note: Tamonten is basically rushing to get out of there just in case the plants get back in touch with their inner rapist. >.>

That said, she will remain if something needs to be answered. Otherwise, she'll nod to whatever declarations are made by the plant emissary, take her latest in a large group of future debauchery partners (oh yes, little alraune, you are both safer than you know and not as safe as you might think), and leave, letting the soon-to-be hedonistic plant diplomat and Jasmine (or any that might be qualified to do so) figure out the details of the return of the captives, etc. when she gets back.

Should it come up in the next post (for general RP purposes): She will, in fact, not let go of Krig for the entirety of the journey unless she has to in order to murder something threatening the group. If Krig says she can walk...pretend not to hear it! Barring that, Tamonten will request that she be allowed to continue carrying the violet-haired girl back to the grove. Specifically, she will say to Krig; "I have seen you in peril too often today. It comforts me to feel you alive and safe in my arms. Please humor me by allowing me this, if only for this journey." Of course, if the fox girl is uncomfortable in her position, Tamonten is willing to go for the piggyback ride instead! >.> She won't push it farther than that if Krig really wants to walk on her own though.

Now to begin working the plant person in to Tamonten's busy hedonism schedule...

Edit 2: Huh, the plant people got adopted by the fey for DG3 as of the current race fluff... >.> This is obviously a sign that I should expect Tamonten's unique brand of human-fey-plant "diplomacy" to work and pursue it relentlessly!

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Fine

The knight didn't have time to respond to Tamonten's angry chastisement before the plant responded, and was too stunned by the response of their enemy to offer any afterwords. The point was, indeed made moot by the peaceful intentions of the plant, and the emissary nodded at Tamonten's empathetic response. As she looked back to her comrades, the plant woman moved closer to her, and allowed Tamonten to finish her oath before saying; "We can offer you aid, when you return. We would return the dead to the soil, but if you would wish to do it yourself, so be it. The corruption of the father will take many days to pass from the soil around it."

Krig gasped as Tamonten lifted her up, but as she was carried away form the plants, she wrapped her arms around Tamonten's neck and rested her head against the possessed girl's shoulder. After her nod, the gruffs and knights each lifted one of the fallen women, and the group set off, moving much slower than before. The plants moved aside, and seemingly dispersed as the group moved past them, and the emissary that had been sent with them followed along behind Tamonten silently.

The hike back to the glade where she had met Jasmine wasn't a particularly long one, but with their wounded, it wasn't particularly easy either. After about an hour, during which Tamonten's arms began to burn with effort of supporting Krig's weight, all of the others had recovered enough to walk unassisted, but the girl in her arms had seemingly fallen asleep. It took almost another hour to cover the last mile, and by then, darkness had begun to close in around them. Twilight had settled in full as they broke the tree line, and Jasmine's voice called out from right next to Tamonten so suddenly that it almost made her jump. "You're back! And not only victorious, but with new friends, I see!" She sounded delighted, but even though she was barely a foot from Tamonten when she spoke, the curvy fey woman didn't try to embrace Tamonten while she still carried Krig in her arms. The rest of the fey promptly stopped in their tracks and bowed low to her, but she waved her hand to them dismissively, and they quickly dispersed.

"I suspected that you would be successful, and it seems that my other assumptions were correct as well. Come! You must be tired, and there is a place for you to lay the mortal girl down for a time. She will be alright, given a short rest." Jasmine continued, smiling at her, but then placed a hand on Tamonten's lower back and led her toward the stream. After a short walk, she paused next to the flowerbed where she had met the other woman, and pointed down toward it with a smile. "She can rest here, for now." After laying the girl down into the flowers, Tamonten noticed that the emissary had followed them over, and was looking at Jasmine with, strangely, a frown.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

The return trip felt so much more difficult than the trip to the clearing. By the end of the first hour the pale girl's arms felt like limp noodles, completely numb and wobbly. Tamonten refused to let go of Krig though, as long she was in the swords-woman's arms then the violet-haired girl was safe. As long as the fox girl was in her care and the fey were around her, she knew they were going to make it home. Tamonten was, for lack of a better word, relieved. At the same time, there was more to the comfort of holding Krig than just protecting her. The possessed girl felt connected to her, somehow. It wasn't just the strangely arousing aura of her fellow mortal, either, though with Tamonten as weary as she was, she was starting to have issues ignoring it. There was something more.

It was with the help of that strange mix of weariness, the desire to protect the fox girl, and pleasant daydreams that the pale girl marched on, ignoring her exhaustion. When she saw the telltale trees that suggested she would soon be at her impromptu home, Tamonten was so happy that she could have cried, had she not already shed so many tears that day. Krig and the fey were well and truly safe, the possessed swords-woman had done it, she had kept everyone alive. Then Jasmine seemingly appeared out of nowhere, startling the pale human enough to send her jumping if she hadn't been so weak and carrying the other woman. How does she do that? The thought was born of a complete lack of consideration for who the green fey likely was, but Tamonten hadn't been clever enough to put two and two together when she was fully alert, let alone then.

The pale girl could only wearily nod at Jasmine's proclamation and ensuing instructions. After being led to the familiar flowerbed, the swords-woman leaned down to lower Krig to the ground. The human lowered her counterpart gingerly, with some noticeable reluctance, as though the violet-haired woman might shatter on contact with the rest of the world. Only when the fox girl was finally comfortably laid upon the flowers and the possessed girl had confirmed that she was breathing did she pull her hands away from Krig's body. With that done, Tamonten straightened up, giving one last concerned look at Krig, took a few steps away...and then promptly fell backwards onto the ground, away from the flowerbed.

The exhausted mortal landed as though she were trying to make a snow angel, arms and legs outstretched, dirty white hair haphazardly across the ground in every direction. "Sorry," the pale girl said a few seconds after her one-woman trust fall had ended in disaster. "A little tired, just need a few seconds," she explained through such hungry gasps for air that it might have sounded as though she hadn't breathed in the previous few hours. I wonder if it's okay to introduce a diplomat while laying on the ground? Unfortunately for Tamonten, no amount of attempts to convince herself otherwise of proper etiquette would get her sense of duty to stop pestering her and let her rest. That and her sheathed greatsword wasn't exactly a soft surface to lay on.

The tired swords-woman forced herself to her feet once her breathing had normalized, a little more than a minute after her fall, and continued, rubbing her back where the leather sheath had dug in. "I trust you, Lady Jasmine, but I don't wish to venture too far from her side until she is better. She means a lot to me," The pale girl didn't expect the fey to disrespect her wishes but gave her vocal reasoning anyway. Then she gave a courteous gesture as if to introduce Jasmine to the frowning plant. The pale girl wasn't sure what the cause behind its expression was or what to do about it so she avoided that subject for the time being. "This is a diplomat. Once the black oak had been purged of its corruption her kin came to offer peace. I believe that the poisoned oak was as much a blight on them as it was on the other peoples around it." Of course, had Tamonten put two and two together before, she might have guessed that Jasmine probably already had an idea of the purpose of the plant emissary. "But I don't wish to deny Krig," she motioned towards the fox girl with her pale hand, "her rest, so I would tell the rest of the story elsewhere." Especially the part about Kasumi and the others...

"Plus, I think I really need a bath," Tamonten motioned to herself. Covered in plant 'blood,' the ichor of the black oak, the effects of the shorn weed's pollen, sweat, and a bit of her own blood, the swords-woman had become quite filthy.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Fine

Krig, even though she was asleep, clutched desperately to Tamonten even after she'd been placed on the ground, cooing quietly as she was laid down in the bed of flowers. Jasmine gently pried the girl's hands from around Tamonten's neck, smiling broadly the entire time. As they stepped away from Krig, she curled up, her breathing steady and free of any hints of pain despite the day's ordeal. "She's adorable! Where did you find her?" Jasmine said, whispering quietly.

The fey woman giggled as Tamonten tumbled to the ground, and a glance at the emissary she'd brought along from the plants revealed that she was grinning as well. "Perfectly understandable." Both Jasmine and the plant girl said at the same time. The two paused, and blinked at one another, before laughing, the first time she'd heard it from the previously emotionless plant woman. Both of them helped Tamonten to her feet once she'd decided that her rest had been long enough, and Jasmine nodded as Tamonten spoke of her wishes to not move too far from Krig, explained about the emissary, and then asked to move off and allow the girl her rest. "Come. My people shall see that nothing disturbs her rest, and there is a place where you can bathe, and watch over her as well. There is much to be discussed, between we three."

Jasmine led Tamonten and the alraune she had brought a short ways down the stream, holding each by one of their hands. She stopped as the reached a circle of trees surrounding a pool, and the fey woman released them and pushed through it like nothing. The plant woman did the same, but it took Tamonten several moments of fumbling to get herself through the narrow, springy trees.

The mildly embarrassing fumble through the barrier proved to be worth it when Tamonten saw what lay within, however. Within the circle, the stream that wound its way lazily through the grove ran into a pool. Within the moderately sized pool, dozens of scattered crystalline structures glowed softly, each a slightly different color and ranging from blue to green. The effect was invisible from outside of the small, sandy area just within the circle of saplings, but once she got close enough to look down, Tamonten could see everything within the small eddy. The fish swimming within it, the handful of plants scattered across the bottom, and the flat, sandy floor of the pool were all plainly visible to her.

"This is much more impressive at night than it is during the day, else I would have taken you here before you left." Jasmine said, and then gently lowered herself into the water, a shelf of flattened stone slowly extending out from the sides for the fey woman to sit on. Jasmine sighed lightly, closing her eyes in pleasure, and said; "Come, join me you two. Don't worry about getting it dirty, just keep your feet away from the crystals. They're sharp."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

"She was among the other captives," Tamonten offered as a whispered response regarding Krig's origin. It was the only response she offered besides dutiful nods until they had made it to the water.

I think she does this on purpose, the swords-woman sulkily thought during her embarrassing fumbling. "Fey with their grace and charm and beauty and breasts that make mine look like mosquito bites," the pale girl immaturely muttered under her breath, just a little too frustrated and caught up in her fight against the obstructions to consider that the plant and Jasmine could probably hear her. But, while she had frowned at her inability to easily follow the two more graceful members of the trio through the saplings, her expression quickly became one of awe at making it through and seeing the pool. "Wow..." she said, amazement present in her tone, as she stared in wonder at the crystals. Tamonten could see what Jasmine meant by impressive.

As the green-skinned fey took her place in the pool, the impressed mortal found herself wondering whether the pool or the sidhe was more beautiful. Definitely Jasmine, the possessed girl decided with a small grin after a few seconds of deliberation. Krig, too, for that matter. Maybe even the plant, she gave a short, appraising glance to the leafy alraune, as though to compare. When Tamonten realized that she was, to put things simply, checking out a plant person, however, she quickly averted her eyes back to the pool, a slight blush rising on her cheeks. I guess no matter how beautiful the crystals are, they just can't compare to my...friends? That made her wonder.

Tamonten couldn't wait on the edge forever, though, she realized. The immature girl felt some inhibition at shedding her clothes, some remnant of concern at being nude in front of the other two. Her worries were quickly balanced by the consideration that the other two were already naked, although whether that counted or not for the plant girl she had yet to determine. Plus, after what she had done with Jasmine earlier, it seemed a little ridiculous. Despite the argument Tamonten was having in her mind about the rationality of it all, she still felt nervous as she moved to disrobe.

First, her gear came off, sword, hunting knife, and other removable accessories neatly laid on the ground. Most of her apprehension came from removing her weapons, although she couldn't imagine anybody attacking her in the grove. Still, it was only with reluctance that she parted with her steel. Next was the task of removing her shirt, something made more difficult by the manacle on her left arm. Tamonten's pale arm slipped back into the fey fabric and lifted it up and over her head, exposing the top of her lithe body and her small breasts to Jasmine and the plant. The clothing was removed from her blackened arm last, carefully slipped off so that the manacle wouldn't damage it. Thankfully, her arm didn't seem like it was shaking nearly as badly as it had been in the tainted clearing, making removing the shirt easier. The pale girl's pants came off last, and slowest due to inhibition, sliding down her pale legs before hitting the ground, revealing her hairless lower lips.

Once she was nude, Tamonten blushed nervously and averted her eyes from the fey and the plant, instead busying herself by folding the filthy clothes to lay them with her other gear. Something of a pointless action as it would all need to be cleaned, eventually, but getting some of the nasty stuff off of her was first priority for the possessed swords-woman. Strangely, she felt an acute sense of nervousness at leaving her clothes. A mental image of some satyr sneaking in and making off with her clothing as some sort of practical joke manifested itself in her mind, leaving her slightly worried. Nudity might have been fine for the fey but the mortal girl wasn't quite so free-spirited. But, it didn't seem likely that Jasmine happened to have some more secure solution handy, so she supposed it was a choice between vulnerability to a prank and leaving the ichor on her body, an easy enough choice, she guessed.

With a final shedding of her reluctance, the naked girl put a toe into the water to test the temperature. After swirling her foot around in it for a bit and getting used to the water, she made the plunge, careful to avoid the crystals. She had been bit, scratched, grabbed, filled with shorn weed pollen, and punched by a tree in about a day's worth of time, Tamonten wasn't about to lose her foot to an inanimate crystal. It was only when she was in the pool that the pale girl had finally overcome her inhibition enough to look at Jasmine and say something. "You were right earlier. Krig is adorable, it's part of why I don't want to leave her alone. I know how charming some around here can be," she joked, trying to overcome her nervousness. The possessed swords-woman's lips curled into a small grin. "I guess it would be unfair to suggest that I didn't enjoy being charmed," she added, blushing faintly as she recalled the intimate encounters.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

Spoiler

HP = 72, PP = 49, EP = 55, Status = Fine

Jasmine watched and smiled broadly as Tamonten stripped off her gear, her eyes appreciative of her body as it was slowly revealed no matter how much smaller she was than Jasmine. The alraune didn't seem to mind how lithe Tamonten was too much either, as the plant woman couldn't keep her eyes off Tamonten as she stripped. The emissary had joined Jasmine in the pool while Tamonten unbuckled her gear, sitting directly next to Jasmine so that the two of them were touching. Jasmine glanced coyly at her, but then redirected her gaze back to Tamonten as the possessed girl pulled off her top. They fey clothing was almost distressingly easy to remove, and seemed to flow off of Tamonten's body faster and more easily than she thought was reasonable, but as it hadn't yet mattered, she would ask about it some other time.

Jasmine's grin widened as Tamonten's pants came off, and as she bent down to fold her clothing, she heard the both of them giggle and coo slightly. "I can call someone to get those cleaned up for you, if you like. They're almost as dirty as your poor white hair!" Jasmine said, as Tamonten was sticking her toe into the water to test it. It was cool, but not cold, and as much as a hot bath would be nice right now, it didn't seem likely that she would be getting in. It was warm enough that slipping in didn't make the lithe swords-woman shiver, at least, and as she sunk down, a bench of stone much like the one Jasmine and (presumably) the plant girl were sitting on. The stone was heated, oddly, and highly relaxing as it touched against the tense muscles of Tamonten's back and thighs.

When she finally looked back at the two, Jasmine was smiling pleasantly at her, clearly pleased at her mere company but also clearly quite willing for the chance to push for a repeat of their first encounter. The emissary was smiling at her too, and Tamonten learned a few things about their biology in the process. Firstly, their nudity did seem to matter as much as it would for a more normal creature, as the tips of her breasts were hardened as the peaked out of the crystal clear water. Her breasts, while not quite as large as those of the fey sitting next to her, were still pleasantly rounded and large enough that Tamonten might feel a hint of jealousy at them. Secondly, leafy tendrils were slowly spreading from her body and out into the water, some of them wrapping around some of the glowing crystals while others simply floated aimlessly. None of them got too close to Tamonten, and Jasmine didn't seem to mind them at all.

After she had explained about Krig, Jasmine giggled knowingly, and replied; "Yes... You do seem ever so vulnerable to our charms, don't you Tamonten? Don't worry too much about your friend. So long as she sleeps, she will not be disturbed, just as you were, and I will warn my kindred away from giving her a wake up similar to the one that I offered to you. It's good that you said something though, as the Sirens that you returned to us were looking quite peckishly at her. One or both of them might have tried for her while they thought you were distracted!" She giggled again, but the plant next to her didn't seem to get what she was talking about. "Why would she be concerned about birds? There are none here large enough to threaten a being of her size."

Jasmine glanced sideways at her, stifling her giggles as she adopted a bemused expression for a moment, before she turned back to Tamonten and said; "Well... As you have brought me such a creature, and returned alive, I assume that your encounter with the tree didn't go too terribly. Tell me, Tamonten, what did you see there? You did not return with Kasumi, and there are many others of not only our kin, but mortals and demons who strayed too far into the woods who are still unaccounted for. Do you know their fate?" The alraune next to Jasmine suddenly looked slightly uneasy, her expression turning into a frown, but she waited for Tamonten to speak before offering any further explanation.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Tamonten (Hafnium)

I was worrying about the wrong fey stealing my clothing, thought Tamonten after noticing Jasmine's gaze, the ease with which the fabric was removed, and the offer to have them cleaned. Another image of someone sneaking off with her clothing came to mind, only the culprit in her newest daydream was a certain curvy green beauty, tiptoeing off and hiding them somewhere. The thought was so absurd that the swords-woman couldn't help but openly giggle, bringing her pale hand to her mouth in a halfhearted attempt to hide it. Though, if asked, she would assure the other two that she wasn't thinking about anything important.

Emboldened by the humor, prideful at how the other two had looked at her, and a little envious that even the plant's chest was larger than hers, Tamonten folded her arms across her stomach after her giggle fit. The lithe swords-woman adjusted, as best she could given the irons on her left arm, to accentuate her small, perky breasts with the pose. The pale girl hadn't thought it through very well, however, and the shaking of her blackened arm had the unfortunate effect of making her chest appear to be slowly vibrating. The realization that her nipples were stiffening as much from arousal slowly creeping through her body as the cool air and water was enough to make Tamonten abandon that particular pose.

But, a little bit of embarrassment wasn't enough to dissuade the human girl from putting on a show for her two more supernatural partners, as she made a point of groping and rubbing at her pale body while 'idly' cleaning off some of the ichor, mainly the areas around her most sensitive places. The pale girl certainly didn't move to obstruct the fey or the plant from looking at whatever part of her lithe form that they liked. Given how she was teasing, Tamonten could only blush as Jasmine spoke of her particular weakness. The possessed girl's tail, which she had almost forgotten about while it was covered by her pants, wrapped coyly around one of her pale legs as Jasmine spoke. The swords-woman's cheeks burned with shame at how willing a consort she was for the fey, even more so at how much she was enjoying putting on a provocative display for the plant and the priestess. But, her skin also burned with arousal. Despite herself, everything about the situation felt right, the swords-woman could see herself becoming used to spending more time as a lover. Tamonten blushed even more fiercely as she realized that she would do much more than tease at Jasmine's request.

"Peckish?" The pale girl finally forced herself to say, unaware of that particular nature of sirens. "Should I be worried? They offered to thank me later," her voice wavered a little, although whether it was in nervousness or anticipation even the swords-woman couldn't say at that particular moment. The possessed girl began to wonder if there was any limit to what she would indulge in if she spent enough time around the fey. Plants? She was already putting on a show for the emissary. The fey? Jasmine and the satyr had already given her quite the welcome and she couldn't deny finding the rest that she had met attractive. Plus, Tamonten had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't say no to a threesome with the sirens, or a threesome with Jasmine and the plant, for that matter. Krig? The daydreaming swords-woman felt her entire body begin to flush with arousal as she imagined taking the violet-haired woman as a lover. I think I have a problem...

That particular line of thought was interrupted by the matter of Kasumi. Secretly, the weary girl had hoped that it wouldn't be brought up, that she would be able to stay away from that topic until the next day. She would be stronger the next day, the shaken girl had assured herself, she would be able to handle thinking about it after some sleep. But, it wasn't to be, she wouldn't deny Jasmine the answer, it might be too important to the fey who had lost others, it was duty. The swords-woman looked down and frowned, her expression not far off from that of the diplomat. Tamonten considered briefly closing her eyes but was too afraid that she would see the angel again, sapped of the light that had made her beautiful. Too afraid that the images of gore and death in the canopy would haunt her mind, even long after the terror itself had been destroyed. "They...didn't make it," Tamonten started, never looking away from a spot on the bottom of the pool. The swords-woman's muscles tensed as though her body was still locked in battle with the cancerous oak, the warmth of the bench did nothing to alleviate the new tension. Hands returned to her knees as she prepared to recount the story. The woman's tail returned behind her, apparently preferring to be out of her sight as she spoke of the battle.

"There were hundreds dead...I couldn't save any of them," despair and exhaustion intermingled in her tone. "The oak talked to me through Kasumi's body. It invaded her to issue a message to me. It offered me freedom, it offered to take my demon." It was then that Tamonten realized that she did have tears left to shed as a few rolled from her eyes. "It offered me the something I've always wanted in a way that I could never accept, never abide. To have done so many things that could have never been forgiven and then offer me that...I hated it. I hated it so much. I wanted to tear out its eyes." The girl's hands grabbed tightly at her legs, both her blackened and her pale arm shook equally badly as she remembered. "In my rage, I almost left the others to their deaths. When the time came to strike the final blow, I couldn't remember the promise I made to you or them, I could only remember how much I hated the oak. I couldn't even provide a feeling of justice as the accursed thing died. No justice, no honor, just more hatred and mindless violence." No blame was placed on the plants, the pale swords-woman seemed perfectly ready to shoulder all of the guilt herself.

Tamonten continued to stare at the floor of the pool. The possessed swords-woman was afraid to look up, afraid to see Jasmine's expression, afraid of her disapproval. But still, she continued. "I couldn't even offer the dead a proper burial or proper rites before I left, I was too weak. The alraune offered but I did not feel that it should be their burden alone. Now the dead still remain where they fell, awaiting peace much as they were before I set out. I promised the alraune that I would return, that between plant and fey that desecrated clearing could be turned into a symbol of new-found peace and I will not abandon that promise. But I do not know that I can ever atone for what happened there, or forget." The pale girl's gaze blankly remained transfixed on that spot, even after she finished.

Spoiler

Ack! All of my posts keep ending up much longer than I intend for them to be!