Castle Group

Andromeda watched with interest as Achelois continued to talk with the troll. He seemed happy now... and completely harmless. She stared in disbelief as he walked out of sight. She had no idea Achelois could speak troll before now. Her respect for the other senshi just went up another notch.

She couldn't believe it when she heard that the troll was going to help them. "That's amazing! We need all the help we can get. And now I feel bad for attacking him," she said sheepishly. "Sorry. Those damn spiders made me trigger-happy, I guess. Let's continue on quickly." She started following Mossen again, wishing all future obstacles would be as easy as that.

Well, a girl can hope.

The group started jogging again, moving quickly to the crossroads where Trog the Troll had started out; Enyalius took a moment to mark an arrow facing downwards on the tree directly across from the new path, hoping the following team would see it and know what she meant. She then ran to catch up; it wasn't long before Mossen came to an unexpected stopping point, his jaw dropping, as Trog turned to smile at Achelois and Andromeda. The troll was standing at the end of the pathway, where it turned left and right, but rather than head in either direction, Trog raised his mighty club and smashed into the trees at the head of the path.

"Trog is strong! Trog make new path - get to castle faster!" Trog announced in trollish, his tone almost sing-song as he smashed away at the wood. Biting ones swarmed out and started to bite his legs and feet, but Trog just brushed them aside like annoying pests and continued knocking down trees. 

"The--" Mossen stuttered, pointing at the carefree destruction of trees directly in front of them, "Your -- he's --" he seemed shocked and appalled, his finger just pointing repeatedly at the troll and the mess it was making of the forest. 

"No time, Mossen," Enyalius reminded him.

"But -- " 

"Queen Mana is waiting."

Mossen's finger stopped pointing, and with an extra boost of frustration-induced speed, the Fairy flew down the path to the left, avoiding Trog's new bug-covered path and the sing-song the big creature was strumming together with hums and fragments of thought.

"♫Trog is strong~ Trog smash tree~ make new friends~ Trog is strong~♪"

Enyalius took to her wings to avoid the bugs crawling all over the ground, made a hasty left-facing arrow, and flew a few paces to keep get up to speed before touching down in a run. 

"You'll need your wings in a second!" Mossen warned, "Quicksand ahead!"

Castle Group


Achelois understood Mossen’s aversion to Trog making his own path to the castle, but the time it would take to redirect him somewhere else was too much.   He was already going to do his own thing but at least this way he would be helping them out when he made it to the castle.  She smiled as Mossen propelled himself faster down the path using his frustration.

She easily hopped off the ground and flew using her wings past the bugs that came from the trees Trog had knocked down.  Before setting down on the ground she pulled back up when Mossen called out about quicksand up ahead.  It was best to stay in the air.

Castle Group

"Well, that's one way to make a shortcut." Andromeda summoned her wings as the icky bugs streamed out, remembering what Mossen had said about them before. The troll didn't seem bothered by it, though. He must have really thick skin...

Mossen, on the other hand, seemed to be having a heart attack, but thankfully he quickly got over it. They could fix all the planet after they saved the queen, right?

Is the troll actually singing?

Andromeda had no idea what to think, but she just floated along with the others, keeping herself in the air as Mossen warned about the quicksand.

DM wrote:

The Castle Group sails over the quicksand trap and continues around the general curve in the path! As the canopy closes in, they are forced to land and continue running.

As the branches closed in, cutting off the majority of their third-dimensional space, Enyalius landed and continued to run, her white wings disappearing quickly. She reviewed her information quickly - she had information on the Biting Ones, the Big Ones, the Dangerous Ones, and they had heard about the Changed Ones at the beginning of their journey... "How close are we to the castle now?" She asked.

"We're about halfway there from our starting position this morning!" Mossen replied.

Enyalius's brows creased in incredulity - only halfway there now?! They had covered a lot of distance, but it had taken quite some time! She hoped they would get there before it was too late... but thinking of possibilities wouldn't change the future, so instead she put her body on auto-pilot, jogging briskly yet comfortably, and turned her mind to other things. ... like that Dragon they might soon be facing. 

DM wrote:

Castle Group continues running. Castle Group members are encouraged to ask Mossen any questions they have about the planet, the forest, the fairy people, their Queen, or the current predicament before they reach the castle grounds. 

The group will have to slow down and walk for a while at some point to rest their legs and get a drink (they've been running all morning!), but the general plan is to run there, stake out the place and rest, then charge in, and it'd be best to get any information they want out of Mossen now rather than then.


The Footprint Group might be able to catch up with them during the "stake out" phase, depending on how the rest of their night goes -- when and where they sleep, for example -- but they will be able to safely use Trog's shortcut to save some time, if they choose to ignore the arrow pointing around it in favor of running through it (gutsy choice!)(which is good, as they would not know to fly over the quicksand pit).

Already, Sailah Sahtan knew she couldn't maintain her form for much longer. She had used so much magic already in the group's encounter with the goblins. She couldn't afford to keep up the illusion for much longer. She had to take a gamble.

"Behold, my adorable followers, I now present to you a test of faith! I will remove my true and beautiful form to don a less worthy one. This is done so that the other foolish mortals with me do not have to shield their eyes when they gaze upon me. They need to focus in their battles and I know my beauty is to great for them, especially the dwarf planet senshi. She can get jealous sometimes."

The image of Sailah Sahtan faded into mist, revealing timid and cowardly Sailor Leviathan behind it. She grinned nervously and began to sweat as she peered down at the small goblins.

"You guys cool with this form... whatever your names are?"

If the goblins agreed, Leviathan would continue following the group with them. If not, she would try her best to flee them.

Castle Group

The group had landed back on the ground and continued their journey on foot, though that was one time Andromeda actually wished they could keep flying. Unfortunately the trees were too thick and there had to be a reason why Mossen chose not to fly above them. Probably had something to do with the dragon. She ran without thinking now, propelled ahead by their good progress (compared to yesterday's at least) and the lack of significant obstacles. Maybe, just maybe, they could make it in time.

"Mossen, have you ever been inside the castle?" she asked. "And do you know anything about the Evil One? Like, what they look like or what their powers are?"

Castle Group


Mossen turned back to Andromeda with another of his incredulous expressions, "Me?! In the castle?! No way! I wouldn't last a second in that thing! Not with the Evil One and all of its minions! I've only seen it from outside, and just the once, mostly by mistake. We were looking for a healing spring and BAM, evil castle with Dangerous Ones!


"All I know about the Evil One is that they live there, and that ever since they came, our people have been changing and our healing efforts diminished. This forest had been healthy before then - it's all the fault of the Evil One."

Five and Three Halves Footprint Group

Shadow bit his lip, at a loss of words for Leviathan's stunt. Were the gnomes actually following her, now? He suspected something amiss, but decided to keep his feelings to himself. With no further use for a brandished weapon, the weary soldier stowed his sword and prepared to trek back through the woods.

"Let's start working our way back to familiar ground; I feel that we're missing something important. Is there anyone here who cannot see without a torch?"

Footprint Group

Ganymede watched as Leviathan finally came out of the smoke...with multiple gnomes in tow.

"Do I even want to know what you said to them?" he asked. This would be hard to explain to the other group later.

"Like I said before, I can't," Ganymede answered Shadow.

Castle Group

She didn't think Mossen had been in the castle, but deflated anyway when he confirmed it. So they had literally no idea what was waiting for them there, then. They were going in blind and she didn't like it.

"So is the reason we can't fly directly to the castle because of the dragons or something else?" She tilted her head, trying to remember. "Actually, is it just the dragon or are there more than one?"

Castle Group


Mossen nodded, "The Dangerous Ones patrol the airspace above the canopy - sometimes they are there, sometimes they are not, but when they are there, if they see anything they spit fire and eat it. You Tall Ones would be easily spotted, so we will stay on the ground. 


"Sometimes we see two Dangerous Ones, sometimes three, sometimes one - we think the Evil One sends them places around our planet on missions for her. Maybe we will be lucky and she has sent all of them away."

DM wrote:

The Castle Group hurtles down a straight path!

Footpath Group

Soul raised her eyebrows as she watched Leviathan come out of he smoke with some trolls in tow. Honestly, she didn't want to know.

"Not everyone can sell well in the dark as you can. I still prefer a torch light if there's on available then walking around without one."

Castle Group


Achelois listened as they ran along and Mossen answered questions.  They really didn’t know but a small amount of information about their mission and the enemy they were going up against.  And what about their Queen… She was disappointed to find that he hadn’t been inside the castle when she heard him mention a healing spring.

That piqued her interest, if they had found it and it was near the castle, “Mossen I heard you mention a healing spring, were you able to find one?”  If it was possible it would be a good idea to visit one, but they sure were short on time.

Castle Group


Mossen, slowing to rest even his wings, turned to Achelois and addressed her question with an annoyed expression, obviously directed at the subject matter, not at the woman who asked. "There used to be one right around here, maybe a bit more to the north, but ever since the Evil One came and the forest started to decay, the paths that led to it have warped and grown over; given a bit more time I'm sure we could find it, but now..." he shook his head. "I doubt we could do both."

Castle Group


She was disappointed to find they didn’t have the time to go to one.  It would have been a good idea to have their maximum power for the castle.  She knew they would have to make do with what they had, but would that be enough?  Sometimes good doesn’t win and the best ending isn’t always an option.  She decided to proceed with some other questions she had. 


“How exactly was your Queen kidnapped and what happens if we don’t make it to her on time?”  These were loaded questions for sure but they really need to know what they were up against.

Castle Group


Mossen stopped cold.

“Queen Mana… wasn’t exactly kidnapped,” Mossen began, his hands clutched almost guiltily behind his back. “She was lured out of our city of her own free will else they might not ever have gotten her. As it was…” Mossen tsk’d, then crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking annoyed and angry, though his expression was hurt. “They didn’t give her much of a choice. She still shouldn’t’ve left! She knows how important she is! She knows what might happen! She knows that a changed one has never recovered, even the ones we have captured and separated from the Evil One’s influence! She’s tried to bring them back to themselves in safety! I don’t know what she was thinking, what use could she have been out here, but still… I mean… it was Flora…” his voice faded, definitely conflicted. He didn’t seem to know how little sense he was making.

Castle Group

She was a little surprised by the rush of words that poured out from his tiny frame.  She had many more questions but she listened until he was finished.  He wasn’t making a lot of sense but she picked up on a few things that he mentioned in his rush.  He was going to be vague until her questions got more specific and he either answered or didn’t.  She mulled over a few things before continuing on with her questions.  Any information he would give them was worth more than none. 


“So she left by herself and was captured by Flora?”  She paused before going on, “Who is Flora to her; is she someone important?”

Castle Group


“That’s Princess Flora to you—“ Mossen choked on his accusatory words, as though only now remembering who he was speaking with. His form went from aggressive back into complete insecurity. “Er, yeah… Princess Flora – she is Queen Mana’s daughter. … or was. She used to go on scouting missions with us, but one day she didn’t come back and…” he became very quiet, his brown eyes studying the ground. “We searched everywhere. Not everyone made it back. We still didn’t find her.” He was quiet again, his arms dropping to his sides, as though he didn’t know what to do with them anymore.
 
“She reappeared last week, completely changed. She wouldn’t listen to anyone, not me or Leafe or Lillyena – she just started to suck the life out of the trees closest to home, and would attack anyone who got too close. Even Grandmatre Rosen, and even Queen Mana. When she flew away, Queen Mana tried to follow, but Grandmatre Rosen was able to stop her.
 
“She was gone the next morning, and hasn’t been back in the days since. Some of us thought she could do it – Queen Mana loved Flora, and she had her powers to help her, but she hasn’t come back…” He trailed off, his brown eyes tracing the path to the closest tree. Its bark was grey, its leaves mottled black and brown, its smell like wet leaves in late autumn. “If Queen Mana doesn’t come back, there won’t be much hope in combating the rot. The Evil One will win, and we will be homeless. Everything we’ve worked towards will have been for nothing. And where would we go?”
 

He hovered silently for a few more moments, breathing in and out in tiny motions. Blinking twice, he seemed to snap out of his reverie and took a deep breath. “We need to keep moving,” he announced, flying forward at a steady pace. They could run again shortly, but for now, any forward motion would help.

Castle Group


It was a lot of information to consider as they moved on down the path.  So the Queen went after her daughter Flora and hasn’t come back.  The Evil One can turn the fairies dark and put them against their own kind and they can’t change back.  They arrived on the planet yesterday morning and it took several hours to get here.  The Queen’s disappearance was what drove Lillyena to come to find help, so there’s that travel time as well.  How long did it take for a fairy to turn dark?  What if they were already too late?
 
As the thoughts turned over and over again in her head she stopped paying attention to the path and stumbled over a large stone.  She kept her balance pretty quickly but her attention was jarred back to their surroundings.  She looked up ahead at Mossen as they moved along.  She didn’t want to ask him about the possibility but in the worst case, they would need to know what to do.
 
“Mossen, when we reach the castle, if the Queen has already been turned, what is our plan then?”  

Castle Group


Mossen's flight-path drooped at Achelois's latest question. "If she's been changed? I... I don't know." he replied, then picked up the pace again. "Hopefully we'll get there in time."

Castle Group

She recognized that the idea was not something he wanted to plan for, still it’s a good idea to have a backup plan.   The walking was a good respite from the running and she took out her water to have a few sips before putting it back.  She paid a little bit more attention to the path as they walked but she began thinking of contingency plans.  The worst one being, well she hoped they wouldn’t get to that one.
 
Her thoughts turned to their upcoming enemies, at least the ones they knew about.  The hardest ones to get by will be the dragons.  If Trog can make it in time to help them, then all the better, but they still need to think of a way to handle them.  She knew Enya was also thinking about a strategy for them as well.  She smiled to no one in particular as she thought, maybe I could try talking to them.

Pluto walked quickly and silently back the way they same, holding the two torches still in her hand. Her shoulders trembled a little and she was trying not to let her emotions get the better of her, but she couldn't stop thinking about poor Mossen. She paused a moment to hold the torches out to the others. “Here...Someone else take one. Let's keep walking a little longer, then we can settle down for camp. We could all use the rest by now...” He voice was sad, and a little strained. But now they could focus on the mission again. If they were going to try and catch up to the other group, they could use all the rest they could get.

Footpath Group of Sadness and Exhaustion

Soul hummed in agreement with Pluto's idea of moving forward so they could camp soon. She took one of the torches and walked over to Ganymede, knowing that he would need the light rather than some people such as Shadow who had excellent night vision. Hopefully they would find somewhere to camp soon. They all needed rest to face what was to come.

Backpedaling Footprint Group

Shadow turned to look at Ganymede and Soul, making no attempt to contest the ownership of the second torch. After all, he could see perfectly in the darkness ... but he didn't believe he was the only one. Could they just be putting on an act for him to lower his guard?

You just go ahead and carry that beacon. I'll see you before you see me, if it comes to that.

Shadow looked ahead to the yawning night path before them, watching for threats to reveal themselves.

DM wrote:

Three goblins join the Footprint Group as worshippers of Sailah Sahtan. 

The Footprint Group retraces their steps, turning left at the fork in the road where they had first experimented with torchlight and met the Biting Ones, and continuing on through the darkness. 

As they are carrying torches, between now and when they make camp, I will roll to see if any enemies are attracted to the light. 

Is anything attracted?
--DM rolls a 5! 
Something comes crashing out of the darkness towards the Footprint Group!
Nocturnal monsters include Spiders, Spider Mistresses, Poisonous ones, Biting Ones and Dangerous Ones. 
What monster?
--DM rolls a 1!
Spiders!
How many?
--DM rolls a 6!


6 Spiders flee out of the forest towards the walkers, attracted by the torchlight!
Spiders: Speed = 5 -- none of the party members are twice their speed; all will need to roll for hits and misses, base attack on a d6, 10 HP


They attack!
Spider 1 attacks Sailor Pluto!
Did it hit?
--4! Yes!
How much damage?
--4
--Armor bonus -3
----Total of 1 point of Damage!


Spider 2 attacks Shadow!
Did it hit?
--6! Critical Hit!
How much damage?
--3
--Critical hit +1
--Armor bonus -2
----Total of 2 points of Damage!

Spider 3 attacks Soul!
Did it hit?
--5!
How much damage?
--4!
--Armor bonus -3
----Total of 1 point of Damage!

Spider 4 attacks Ganymede!
Did it hit?
--6
How much damage?
--4
--Armor bonus -4
----Total of 0 point of Damage!


Spider 5 attacks Leviathan!
Did it hit?
--5
How much damage?
--3
--Armor bonus -3
----Total of 0 point of Damage!


Spider 6 attacks (random roll) Ganymede!
Did it hit?
--2!
It misses!

The goblins hide behind Sailor Leviathan, squealing to her for protection from the Spiders!


The goblins following their group hang back, nervously watching the shadows for other Spiders.

Enyalius's analysis of Mossen's story came to one simple conclusion: things were even more complicated than they had seemed, and the upcoming battles at the castle, both without and within, just got a little less manageable. If things were at their most dire, tough decisions would need to be made, decisions that would have a lasting effect on the people of this planet. 

She hoped they could make that effect a positive one.

When Mossen started to fly faster, she pulled out her gourd, took another log pull, replaced the cork and took up a jog from before. The path ahead of them now was rather straight, and the trees near the end were shaking. She pulled her sword out and ran faster, prepared to intercept should it be trouble.

Pluto had been walking, struggling with her emotions when dark shadows rushed out of the forest. Her eyes widened and she cried out as she realized it was the spiders again. She tried to defend herself, but the spider attacked her. Forgetting Mossen for the moment, Pluto swung her staff as hard as she could at the spider.