[PurpleXVI]

(OOC: This is how it's going to go. While I know most of you won't care about the mechanics of it, after every "round" of combat, I'll update with everyone's hit points, whether you hit or not, etc. Basically the numbers behind the pretty words, just to show that I'm actually using your character sheets for something and not just making it all up.)

Everyone

Amid howling winds and pouring rain the battle was joined.

As the tentacles methodically neared the shore, waving back and forth in near-hypnotic patterns as they did so, the defenders steeled themselves for combat.

Evon approached the shore, and one of the nearest limbs, carefully, keeping his eye on it at all times. It seemingly sensed his approach, for when he walked towards it, it twisted about and stopped heading for the lizardmen, instead setting a direct course for him. It closed with deceptive slowness and then lashed out like a striking serpent, instead of some sort of wide sweep, it just bunched up it's tip like a fist and rammed straight into his stomach, knocking the wind from him and sending him staggering backwards until he fell on the sand, leaving his leather armor covered in some sort of slime. It then retracted it's limb and continued to waver a bit away from the shoreline, seemingly waiting for his next action.

With no one else yet in range, the creature in the lake then focused it's attention on the lizardman defensive line. Javelins rained down on the approaching tentacles, but they weaved and dodged with surprising agility for their size, avoiding most of the projectiles. The few that hit were seemingly ignored, even when they stuck half-way through the limbs.

In close combat, the villagers seemed to have more luck, keeping their attacker at bay with their long, stone-tipped spears that the creature seemed reluctant to get too close to. There appeared to be more than animal intellect to the creature, however, for while the other tentacles were hovering about at head and torso height, feinting and dancing, occasionally attempting a side smash to knock a lizardman to the ground, one last one slithered out of the water, flush with the ground and at about the same height.

Before anyone could warn or yell out, it wrapped itself around the ankle of a lizardman and dragged the poor creature, kicking and screaming, into the lake. The water was churned up by his resistance, but that ended suddenly with a blossom of red and purple just below the lake's surface around where the tentacles were emerging from. Despite the horrific death of one of their number, though, the villagers continued to hold their ground.

Watching the action carefully, Tamora nocked an arrow to the string of her shortbow and took aim at the tentacle which had knocked down Evon, then let it fly. However, despite her best attempts at correcting for wind and rain, it didn't score anything more than a glancing strike. Thanks to the rain and the lake water dripping from the tentacles, it was impossible to determine whether she had even made it bleed.

Standing not too far from Tamora, Lorath chanted arcane syllables while waving his hands in mysterious patterns, as he finished his incantation, bolts of pure shining light streaked forward to impact the same tentacle that she had attacked. They didn't seem to do any visible harm, the tentacle did not wither and collapse, parts of it didn't fall off, but it pissed the creature off and, ignoring the fallen Evon, it extended to strike at the elven spellcaster.

Before it could reach him, Gan interfered. Leaping into the fray with his blade drawn, he cleaved the tip off of the limb before it could reach Lorath, it recoiled, spraying some sort of ammonia-smelling transparent ichor on Gan and the ground as it did so, but didn't retreat any further than the edge of the water. Several of the tentacles harassing the lizardmen redirected their attention to the party after this.

While the others were fighting, Anne and Bas held their distance, Anne apparently sizing up her opponent and Bas for some reason examining one of the huts.

(Evon: Action interrupted, 7 HP lost, 25 HP remaining.)

As his attacker backed off, Evon slowly got up into a crouching position, he seemed to be recovering his breath and waiting for the tentacle to make the first move, as he sat there. The attack he'd suffered had left him extremely sore, it hadn't just hit his stomach, but it had also bruised the lower half of his ribcage, meaning that every time he took a deep breath it was painful enough to half make him consider just not breathing any longer.

Not wanting to give the thing a chance to recover and strike again, Gan moved in front of Evon to defend him, while Lorath and Tamora used their spells and archery, respectively, to strike at the tentacles.

Again, the elven ranger took aim with her shortbow and waited for the opportune moment to fire, and as luck would have it, the perfect moment came along. For barely a second, the violent gusts of wind stilled and the damaged tentacle held still while two more formed up on it. She took the chance just at the right moment and sent an arrow plunging deep into the damaged tip. It thrashed wildly, apparently trying to dislodge the projectile, and then withdrew the limb underwater.

The two remaining tentacles went straight for Gan. One of them came in low, apparently attempting to pull him into the lake like it had done to one of the lizardmen, but the half-elf saw it coming and stepped out of the way of it's attempts to grab his legs. Being busy with that prevented him from dodging the second tentacle, though, it lashed out at him in a wide sweep at head-height, connecting with his left cheek and sending him sprawling with it's violent force. For a few seconds he couldn't hear, it felt like his brain had been dislodged and he knew he was going to have a killer headache in a few moments, but as the initial sensations passed, he knew something worse was coming. The entire left side of his face was both in agonizing pain and completely numb at the same time.

While he couldn't see it, it had already started swelling into nasty-looking blisters, each almost as big as a hen's egg. This was quite visible to the other combatants, though.

Seemingly not one to change a winning formula, Lorath repeated his chant and gesture, sending more glowing missiles towards the tentacles, making them recoil in pain as they were about to make a move for Evon while Gan was down.

Further along the beach, the lizardmen were still holding their ground, though a lucky smash by a tentacle had left one of them lying unmoving on the sand, either dead or unconscious. Several of the javelinners had made their escape after seeing that, apparently not too thrilled about risking their lives any longer.

(Gan: Down 8 HP, 36 HP remaining. Poisoned.)

With Gan out of the way, the tentacle that Lorath had briefly warded off was after Evon again. Staying in his crouched stance until it was almost upon him, he clumsily threw him out of the way, leaving the tentacle to slam into the sand as it tried to crush him.

The limb that had originally sent Gan down came after him again, apparently intent on finishing the job, and despite his pain, and the fact that the numbness was slowly starting to spread to the rest of his face and down his neck, he managed to get to his feet. Again, it tried a sideways knockdown, but this time he saw it coming in at chest height. Keeping his blade lowered until the last moment, he raised it to meet the strike, holding it vertically as the tentacle smashed into him.

It still sent him stumbling backwards, but this time he didn't fall, even though he was starting to feel immensely weary. His right elbow and shoulder felt like they'd been a recipient of unwarranted abuse when they resisted the attack, and even using them normally was painful.

He wasn't the only one who'd been hurt, though, a deep gash had been hacked into the tentacle and about a foot of it's length was hanging limply. It seemed to consider it's options for a moment and then withdrew into the water.

It wasn't fast enough to escape another arrow from Tamora and magical strike from Lorath, however, and by the time it was under the waves, it was leaking transparent ichor from a half dozen places.

(Gan: Down 5 HP, 31 HP remaining. Poisoned.)

The thing in the lake tried to snatch another lizardman, but they were prepared for it this time around and leapt on the sneaky tentacle, pinning it to the sand by impaling it with their spears and javelins, then viciously attacking it.

This seemed to be too much for the creature, and it withdrew all it's tentacles to focus on them. With wild, spasmodic and easily-dodged blows, it forced the village defenders away, plucked the spears from it's abused limb and withdrew every part of itself into the lake.

A minute passed, and then another, with no one daring to breathe easy for fear that their attacker was going to be upon them again as soon as they relaxed. But as the wind eased off and the sun shone timidly through a few cracks in the clouds, it soon became apparent that, at least for the moment, they were safe again.

(OOC: Apologies for the abysmal quality of the post, but it's been a long time since I last wrote some sort of big battle post. Please bear with me while I ease myself back into the swing of it.)

With their attacker gone, at least for the moment, the lizardmen who had been hiding in the trees returned and began tending to their wounded, as well as slowly getting back to things. With the rain slacking off, they started to light their cooking and campfires again. One of the lizardmen, which they recognized as among the hunters that had originally stalked them, made a campfire some distance from the others of his kind and gestured for the group to come to it and sit down. He did not, however, hang around at the fire himself.

(OOC for Calaethis: Gan's blisters and numbness have stopped spreading and growing, but they're still present.)

[ 01-22-2007, 08:10 AM: Message edited by: PurpleXVI ]