The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Attack (Nadia): 60+15 = 75 -> Hit!
Damage (Nadia): (2+4)*12 = 72 damage

All affected Hunters are destroyed.

Attack (Hunters): Miss.

Six more hunters crumbled to dust as a second, even more powerful blast tore through the air. The armored hunter survived again, though this time more as the luck of geometry than by virtue of his armor, along with two who had circled behind Nadia, and the two holding the slaves.

They moved in, and discovered Nadia's almost supernatural ability to avoid their claws, neither of them nearly fast enough to strike her. With this fact - and their agitator now ash along with a total of two thirds the hunters that had originally been in the chamber - they finally seemed to see the error of their ways. The reptilian beasts dropped awkwardly to something like their knees and begged for mercy in barely-distinguishable words. The slave-holders glanced at each other and imitated the pose, allowing the nude women to shy away from what seemed likely to be the site of another explosion in the near future.

The badly-burned leader stopped trying to crawl away and stared at the angel with a hopeless look in his eyes.

Spoiler

105 HP, 85 PP, 62/110 SP; fine, +14 perception, Battle Aura X=6. (Defensive Fighting +10 Perception, +10 Dodge)

Foes:
Armored hunter, badly injured.
4 hunters, cowering

Neutral:
5 slaves

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Nadia found it almost pathetically easy to avoid the attacks of the few remaining hunters, weaving between their claws as they seemed to come at her in slow motion. The angel could hardly think that she minded the easy victory, but then the aliens threw her for a loop by up and doing something that she'd never seen them do before; surrendering. One by one, they simply dropped to their knees in supplication, begging for their lives in a manner that the fiery haired woman had never seen before. Every time she'd fought the creatures they had fought to the last or attempted to flee, and Nadia had always considered them simply too stupid to think for themselves on the subject.

There she was, hands already reaching for her blades, and for just a second Nadia simply froze, unsure of what to do. Parts of her, the pragmatic and vindictive parts to be specific, urged her to follow through and wipe the alien scum from the forest. They were vile creatures, clearly willing to rape innocent victims despite what seemed like a marked increase in intelligence, and they were a threat to her and her charges. Even so, the nature of her very race urged her to stay her hands, and that call from blood and soul led her to do just that. For now.

Gradually, Nadia eased out of her combative stance to one that was guarded but not threatening, at least save for the hand she left on the blade hanging over her right shoulder. "Get away from them. Against that wall," Nadia said, her voice clear and commanding without being cold as she directed the women she'd rescued away from the kneeling aliens. "You, around him, where I can see you. Move slowly," she commanded the hunters once their captives were out of the line of fire, directing them towards their fallen leader. It was only then that Nadia noticed the hopeless look in the fallen creature's eyes, again throwing her for a loop. Up until that point the alien spawn had been mere monsters in her eyes, cold and emotionless save for the cruelty they seemed to possess in dealing with their captives. That one could adopt a look that would allow her to so easily empathize with it, a look so similar to that which she'd oft seen in the eyes of those that had lost their families to the monster's kin.... It was deeply unsettling. Staring back at it with a scowl born of her own inner turmoil, Nadia's glow faded slightly but didn't wink out, and she kept herself ready to react in case the aliens proved to simply possess more guile than she'd imagined rather than some shred of what might be termed humanity.

Clearing her thoughts as best she could, Nadia looked down at the alien leader and allowed her expression to soften just a tiny bit, though her voice was still stern and tinged with hate as she issued a demand to the creature; "You. Smart one. What are you doing here, besides the obvious? Why should I grant you mercy, after what your kind have done to those I aim to protect, after what you yourself were about to do?"

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

The women moved quickly towards the wall, pressing themselves up against it and shooting nervous glances at the angel. The one Nadia had saved first managed a whispered "thank you?"

By then the hunters were moving, apparently following her orders without complaint. At least to her. One of the hunters glared daggers at first the piles of ash and then at their fallen leader. The redheaded angel spoke, offering the hunters a chance for mercy.

"I... we... " The wounded creature shook its head, a look of concentration coming over its face. "We were free. We hid, and grew strong. We watched... learned. The way humans live is good sometimes. But we also saw..." he gestured at the humans huddled up against the wall. "Putting each other in cages."

The hunter glared at Nadia, suddenly angry. "I was born before the Masters fled. I felt their Touch. But humans are their own Masters, sometimes. We freed these ones. But... if we want to grow strong... we need... too long with no new Kin..." It almost looked embarrassed. "Only fair that they pay us... they were weak! And we would let... would have let them free... after..." It seemed to be growing weaker, the speech apparently close to its limits.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

More surprises, albeit ones she'd at least half dared to suspect. So these aliens were free of their master's control? Nadia didn't exactly trust that, but she certainly wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt... Partially. The creature's story added up, as simple as it was, but there were a lot of important "whys" missing that left her somewhat uncomfortable. Still, the angel listened impassively to the creature's response to her fairly important question, her face unmoved. She honestly had no idea if the creatures could even read her facial expressions, as they didn't seem to have any of their own, but she still opted to treat them as if they could since she didn't have any better options.

"You should understand," she began solemnly, "That a very strong part of me wants to believe what you have just said, and the implications therein. The idea that your race could prove to be something other than monsters that need slaughtering is... Innately appealing. It could mean that we won't need to wipe you out along with your masters and their other wretched minions, and that you might even prove useful in ensuring the latter goal if you can somehow resist their control, assuming that that is what you meant by your Master's Touch." She paused, gauging the wounded alien's reaction to her words before continuing; "You should also understand that an equally strong part of me, and a much more personal one after what your kin did to the people of Petra, would like nothing more than to save myself the headache of dealing with you by way of chopping you into soup.

"I cannot leave you here, not after what you attempted to do. You took those women with the intent to rape them, after I'd already killed their captors. That you intended to release them after they'd given birth to your spawn does very little to mitigate that offense. The only reason that I was not there to intercept you when you took them was because I was busy dealing with a different group of orcs that had followed me and those under my protection."

Again she paused, trying to gauge the reptilian alien's reaction to her statements as best she could, before continuing; "So... I have a difficult choice to make, one that will come to affect many beings other than myself, yourselves included. While you weren't behaving in a manner any worse than the orcs in some respects, your supernatural origins dictate that I cannot be so lenient upon you. But... I want to believe that your kind can change. You're coming with me, until I figure out something better to do with you or until you prove yourselves trustworthy... Or untrustworthy, as the case may be. If you behave, and learn to live as we do, perhaps something less intrusive can be arranged, but for now.... You're going to proceed slowly, hands over your hands and in single file out of here. Any attempt to escape or to attack me or any of these women, and you will die. When we get back to my companions, you will be shackled and caged until such time as I figure out what to do with you. Do you understand?"

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Judging the reactions of the aliens was difficult, but there seemed to be a certain amount of confusion, at least up until the angel delivered her ultimatum. At that there was a brief burst of back-and-forth speech in what seemed to be the native tongue of the hunters, unintelligible to Nadia. The leader stared at his hands for a moment before holding them an inch or so above his head and slowly rising to his feet. "You will make us slaves rather than kill us." He sounded pained, but that could have been the burns. The other four hunters, after some hesitation until it was clear that he wouldn't be burned to ash for moving, imitated his pose.

"There are... others. Hunting, scouting, fleeing; at least this many again. They may avoid us, and probably won't attack."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Nadia's scowl didn't shift as the alien made its fairly insulting accusation, but she allowed them to stand and continue, telling of their other kin. Gazing at the hunters for a moment, she finally said; "Incorrect. To say that I am making you slaves implies that I gain something from your presence. I assure you that quite the opposite is true; by not slaughtering you in your entirely I'm taking on further responsibility. If you would prefer death, I can make it so. I hold no more love for you creatures than you do for me."

On the subject of the other hunters Nadia scowled further, and contemplated for a moment before asking; "How long would those off hunting be before they returned? I won't leave any of your kind here just to start this up again, not when these roads are already so dangerous."

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

The hunter glanced at his near-worshipful fellows. "I think I understand. Our honor is not like the Orcs. We will live."

In response to the question about his still-free fellows, the charred leader looked conflicted. After a few moments of thought, he finally responded. "Those hunting should return before dawn, but they will do so..." he made a strange noise, apparently in his own language. "Quietly? Not easily seen. They may not surrender easily."

"If any lived to flee your fire... I do not know. Perhaps soon, perhaps never? I do not think any" he glanced again at the piles of ash "Any still alive would try to work together again without me."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

"Dammit," Nadia muttered quietly to herself, "How likely would they be to walk in here then? Do you have a normal way of guarding your lair?" Waiting for the creatures would involve a lot of trust that she didn't want to give, but Nadia didn't want to leave the monsters out here if she could help it.

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

"We guard our lair by hiding it. And... the spiders in the caverns help somewhat." The burnt leader continued quickly, "Those hunting might walk in as long as nothing seemed wrong." His gaze again drifted to the remains of his fellows, but they wouldn't be easily visible from the main cavern.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

"Spiders!?" Nadia asked irritably, "What spiders?" She glanced at the ashy remains of the other hunters and scowled, but then sighed and said; "We can wait a short while for their return and set off at dawn. If you want them to live, I would advise talking them down before I'm forced to violence."

She then half turned to glance at the women she'd rescued, though not enough to take the hunters entirely out of view, and said; "I won't force any of you stay in here, but I have a group waiting for me near the road, where I attacked the orcs. If you wait here with me, you can be guaranteed my protection, for whatever that's worth."

Assuming the women were agreeable, Nadia was prepared to settle in for a long wait, but her robe was already itchy. Seeing the other women naked, Nadia let out a sigh and casually stripped out of her robe, glad to be free of even the fairly non-restricting garment. She wore absolutely nothing underneath, but didn't seem to care too much for the fact despite that she'd just made herself naked in a cave containing a not insignificant number of rapist alien lizards. Sitting down cross legged face said hunters, Nadia supplied; "You might as well get comfortable, we'll be waiting a while."

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

"The Great Spiders... a wrong turn coming to our home will take you to them soon enough. But they rarely attack us anymore."

None of the women seemed eager to brave the forest alone, or even as a group, with only a single robe and not a single weapon between them. Within an hour or two the group had moved somewhat, Nadia and the hunters in the main cavern while the women remained in the smaller side room. They were positioned such that Nadia could see them but the prisoners couldn't. Soon enough all the women and most of the hunters were sleeping.

One who didn't sleep was the Hunters' leader. He seemed restless, and somewhat recovered from the angel's flames. He had also discarded his burnt armor, revealing basically unharmed skin below. The hunter was lurking near the entrance when Nadia noticed something moving. It resolved just instants before the charred hand, holding a rock, hit it in the back of the head. It reeled, and the leader was kneeling over it, speaking rapidly in the tongue of the Hunters, gesturing at the angel.

After a long moment, it managed to get to its knees and make a gesture of submission to Nadia before joining its fellows. It rubbed its head for a while as the group waited for more of the missing reptiles. An hour later two more had joined it, one carrying an entire deer which would apparently be shared in the morning. "One remains who may return."

It was still two hours until dawn. Suddenly Nadia's gaze, fixed on the cave entrance, seemed to blur somewhat. It took only a moment to realize that the enhancement that Sarah had laid on her before they had parted ways was gone.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

The night passed largely without any significant events. One of the hunters entered, but the smart one talked it down without requiring her intervention, and so Nadia simply remained seated and allowed it to join its comrades. Two more showed up, one with meat to share with the other creatures, but that too went without incident. When the spell enhancing her perceptions failed, Nadia felt a pang of worry despite that she suspected that her lover had only fallen asleep.

When approached by the lead hunter, Nadia sighed and said; "Then we wait longer. I would like to be off by dawn." She made every effort to appear the same as ever, hiding the fact that she would have more problems detecting the creatures now.

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

The in the roof of the main cavern showed that the sky was turning grey, the stars going out in anticipation of dawn, when the final hunter showed up. This time Nadia spotted the scout before the rest of her captives, the leader seeming to have drifted off. The final untamed invader took one look at the situation in the cavern and fled back the way he had come. He was fast, but not as fast as the angel. Unfortunately he was also back into the twisted passageway into the cave, without a clear line of sight.

A swift pursuit could easily end this reptilian creature, or a more careful one might apprehend him. Either choice would leave her captives alone with the still-sleeping women for at least a short time.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

When the last of the hunters appeared and then immediately fled, Nadia scowled darkly and jumped to her feet. It was lucky that she'd seen it at all, but now she had a split second decision to make, and it was made quickly. The angel carefully flitted out, searching for the fleeing alien as best she could without providing it an opportunity to murder her. Hopefully. She also attempted to avoid waking the hunters, though that was something of a secondary concern. If she ended up following it outside of the cave, she would immediately turn back unless she had a line of sight to it. While she would prefer to capture it, Nadia would kill it remorselessly if need be.

Spoiler

Energy Blast X = 12 if she can't capture it. Otherwise, grapple.

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Perception (Nadia): 31+15 = 46

Nadia moved as fast as prudence allowed through the caves, and before long heard the fleeing hunter ahead of her. The echoes of the twisting passages were confusing, but it seemed she was catching up when she reached a fork that she recognized. One way led to the exit, one way led deeper underground, through a series of suspiciously large spider webs.

It looked slightly different than it had before, though. Several strands dangled free where something had hastily cut through them. Even as the angel appraised the situation, something stirred down the tunnel. She could barely make out the shape of what seemed to be a huge spider hurrying towards its disturbed webs. Nadia couldn't make out the hunter itself, and from the way the spider was coming towards her, it apparently couldn't either.

Spoiler

105 HP, 85 PP, 110 SP; fine

Foes:
Fleeing hunter: may or may not still be around, Nadia hasn't seen it.
Big Spider: fine, moving towards Nadia, still about 50 feet away.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

'Dammit!' Nadia thought silently to herself, caught between the oncoming spider and her desire to catch the fleeing hunter. She couldn't see it, and couldn't even detect it, but she knew that it was somewhere. She just didn't have time to pinpoint its actual location. Grumbling inaudibly to herself, Nadia turned toward the approaching spider and waited for it come within range, before drawing her swords and seeking to take off it front two legs at the joint in a single motion.

Spoiler

Wait for the spider to come to her, using full defense on any rounds it takes to come within range. Then Death from the Draw swing at ye spider. Nadia is currently nude, so no penalty from skyclad.

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Attack (Nadia): 83+2 = 85 v 35 -> Hit!
Damage (Nadia, Khazidea): 40+11 = 51
Damage (Nadia, Phantomfang): 40+9 = 49 - 12 = 37
-> Spider is killed

Perception (Nadia): 31+16 = 47

Ichor dripped from the twin severed spider legs, and the beast fell on its face and curled into a ball, dying quickly. Further in the darkness of the tunnel, though, the angel saw something else moving. More red eyes... one set, two, four. They looked bigger than the first, insofar as it was possible to tell by looking only at their eye.

And then moving slowly past the additional spiders, barely visible as a moving outline against the darkness and the stone... the hunter. It was slipping past the spiders, apparently confident in its camouflage against the beasts. Keeping focus on the beast wasn't easy, but as long as Nadia didn't look away it seemed unlikely the fleeing scout would slip out of her vision again.

Spoiler

105 HP, 85 PP, 110 SP; fine

Foes:
Fleeing hunter: ~50 feet away, moving further down the tunnel, towards a bend.
Big Spiders: 4+

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Grumbling inwardly as her shining pale skin was coated in foul black ichor, Nadia nonetheless felt a thrum of relief at spotting the fleeing hunter. It was difficult to track, its camouflaged skin providing plentiful protection from her sight, but she could see it.... And that meant that she could kill it. The spiders on either side, apparently larger than the one she had just slain, were of a lesser consequence in comparison to stopping the alien before it could flee. Raising one hand, Nadia pointed at the fleeing alien's back with two fingers, holding her blade with the other two and her thumb as she took aim between its shoulder blades, at its heart. A streak of white light flew through the midst of the spiders, seeking to end the creature, and after it had landed Nadia would begin to slowly back away, suspecting that the darkwalkers intended to try to make her replace their fallen comrade.

Spoiler

Energy Blast X = 12, with 20 defensive fighting for more Dodge. That's still a +52 to hit ye fleeing hunter. Also back away 17 feet cuz can only move at half speed with defensive fighting.

 

[thetwo]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Spoiler

Attack (Nadia): 52+2 = 54 v 30 -> Hit!
// proposed d10 change attack: 10d10+2 = 67, 3d10 = 11; 78 vs 44 = 6d10+0 -> Hit!
Damage(Energy Blast X=12): (2,2,2+1)*12 = 84 damage
-> Hunter is killed

The bead of light grew slightly as it flew, but it wasn't until it struck the sneaking hunter in the small of the back that it expanded into a ball of purifying light. When it faded, the hunter was gone, and halfthe body of the vast spider that it had been sneaking past was covered in ash. Several others clawed at their faces as if blinded, one stumbled around as if stunned, but recovered once it seemed to realize that it had damaged one of its legs in its confusion.

The spiders as a whole hesitated for a moment as the angel backpedaled. They took a few steps towards her, then hesitated again, this time making some odd chittering sounds. One turned its head sideways, seeming to stare at Nadia's wings. It made a sound, and suddenly the others resumed their chittering at an almost frantic pace. The visible spiders withdrew suddenly into the darkness, though from the sound of it there were even more just a turn or two deeper into their side of the cave system.

Spoiler

The spiders withdraw for no obvious reason! Now you just have to leave the caves and make it back to the group! >.>

 

[Tassadar]

Re: The Angel Angle (Tassadar) GMed by thetwo

Her bolt struck its target and did its deadly work. Just as the angel had expected, and while Nadia took no pleasure in it, there was at least some grim satisfaction that the aliens had been dealt with. As far as she knew, that was the last of the hunters, and her display of power had seemingly given the spiders some seconds thoughts about trying to capture her.

Even so, Nadia knew that she was hardly out of danger. Her pursuit of their comrade had been noisy enough that it may have alerted the sleeping hunters, and they might have decided that ambushing her was a more tempting prospect than remaining surrendered. As such, she returned towards the cave where she had been sleeping quite carefully, remaining as quiet as possible herself and listening carefully for sounds of movement as she retraced her steps. Her less physical senses, more reliable in the darkness and the echoing close quarters of the cavern, were also left on high alert.

Spoiler

Nadia tries to sneak back, and pauses to Full Defense just outside the door, listening.