[Jean] Chapter 13: The Evacuation of Tathi VIllage

[Throndir]

The captain laughed. "I could imagine how that was like, my dragon and I used to be very particular about showing up the rest of the knights in my youth. Anyways, there was a stream we crossed perhaps half an hour back. Let's get our men to check any wounded or injured among the villagers, patch up what we can, then harness up those full wagons of yours to some of our horses here."

[pringerbeam]

     "I guess that will do.  Ren and Dalina you can join if you wish.  Though I don't think it will be quite the same as the regular bath."  Said Jean as he headed off in the direction that the knight had indicated.

[Throndir]

The other two obediently followed. Ren seemed to be giddy, Dalina on the other hand was behind everyone she stared at the ground.

"I guess... I could keep watch?" Dalina suggested. "I wasn't really in the thick of battle like everyone else, so I don't have demon blood all over me."

[pringerbeam]

     Jean made his way through the woods until he came to the stream.  He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the babbling waters.  Spotting a convenient location he went and moved some large stones to ring off and isolate a widening of the stream into a shallow pool.  The stones, while large, felt light in his hands and took little effort to pile.  Soon enough he had his bathing pool ready and with a cast of "Scalding Water" his bath was drawn.  He stripped off his clothes and slipped into the pool with a sigh of contentment and watched the grime and gore wash off his body and into the water.

[info]Let me know if you want anything to happen on the way to the creek[/info]

[Throndir]

Ren had joined you in the pool as well. She didn't strip down, but she did watch you closely when you stripped your clothing off. You caught her licking her lips as well. Once you got into the pool, she decided to sit by next to you, wrapping one of her tentacles around you.

"Master, if you take off your clothes anyways... Why wear them in the first place?"

Dalina on the other hand sat a distance away, her back turned towards the rest of you, keeping a simple watch around the area, as she fed a small form of Gust some seeds.

"Hey Jean? Have you... thought about what we'll do to save everyone? I've seen you fight, and I really feel you can do a lot to help everyone. The other hero, Rosalie too. I wanted to ask if you think... it might be possible to keep an eye out for mother. I've sworn myself to help the hero, but if I didn't have that responsibility... I would be searching for her, to bring her back."

[pringerbeam]

     Jean ran a finger along the tentacle Ren had wrapped around him and put his other arm around her waist as he sank up to his neck in the makeshift rock pool.  "Societal taboos against public nudity are common in humans.  At this point it's a compulsion I guess...  Though I find in these moments of clarity it seems certainly less important and with my newfound abilities I doubt I have any risk of falling to exposure.  The battle with the demons has given me some measure of my insight back.  Not the full glimpse into the brain that being with the master gave me but something close...  Anyways, unfortunately if I am going to play the part of hero I will need to look the part of hero and that means clothes.  The people will probably be resistant to bowing before a nudist.  Speaking of...  Your clothes..."  He said as he ran his hand across her midriff under the water and felt where her navel should be.  "Are they actual clothes or part of your transformation abilities?"  He moved his hand to where her clothes met with the rest of her skin at her bosom and pulled slightly with a single finger to see if it gave way at all.

     He reached over to his clothes and pulled them into the water, letting them start to soak away some of the stains.  "Hey Dalina, could you get some firewood together?  I can conjure flames but without fuel they don't last I think.  I'll need it to dry my clothes."  He asked as he massaged the blood out of his robe as best he could.  "As for my plans?  First we need to find out what the others back at the mountain make of the distance of the demonic horde.  If they have more or less always been at their current distance and only fell upon the village because it appeared nearby then they might not be marching on the mountain as I fear.  If that's the case then we can set out on our own and head for the Idoran Magic Academy, or what remains of it.  I told you before that I was summoned previously?  I need to find my original summoner.  There are promises I need to fulfill.  On the way we will need to look for some of the other temples.  Recovering them will go some ways in helping to bolster your own temple and help Marina out.  I don't see why we can't look for your mother as well.  For all we know, she might have had a similar plan.  You said that the temples had their own libraries.  Maybe your mother went to see if they held the locations of other summoning circles?  She also might have been successful in summoning a hero.  Though...  That leads to my next point of order.  Something that I wanted to keep away from the vigilant ears of the other hero and her entourage."  He finished doing what he could to clean his clothes and stood up to walk down the stream a little to heft a boulder back to the others and set it down where he planned to light the fire, spreading his clothes out on it before returning to the pool, casting Scalding Water once again to rewarm the pool before sitting back down with Ren.

     "I told you before to be careful around the other hero, that there was a game afoot.  Well here is what I know: Ren and I were sent here by a...  being that is extremely powerful but apparently not quite a god.  When I encountered them they told me that gods were playing some game here and judging by the power the other hero displayed, my guess that they have a divine backer seems to be something that at least looks like it's in the ball park.  Their magic is powerful.  Far more powerful than mine and more versatile than what I have been gifted with...  She is dangerous and I think it is no accident that I was summoned the first time in immediate peril.  I was lucky with my second death that I was able to come back but I do not have the luxury of a fourth life, this was made clear to me.  I need to stay alive..."  He looked up to the sky as his arm around Ren's waist caressed her.  "To that end I need you both to sleep with me."
     

[Throndir]

Oh I should have noted you actually do know what Ren's clothes are like due to having used Analysis on her before. We'll just play this off as you confirming in person.

The moment you pulled on her clothes, they didn't quite feel like clothes at all. It felt almost rubbery, the same feeling as Ren's tentacles and the tentacles you summoned. Ren giggled as her 'clothing' did actually slip away, revealing one of her bare breasts.

"Master... They're not really clothes... But they seem like it too. I can choose to feel from them or not. Our other master designed and created me to be who I am. But it's through you that I seem to be able to expand on things I can do." Ren explained as she lifted up one of her tentacles, and transformed it into a shape that looked akin to a shield, then made it metallic. A moment after that, she turned it back to normal. "It's just the same with these..." Ren said as she too tugged on the clothing-like skin. "They are a part of me." With that, showing by example, the 'clothing' you pulled snapped back into place, then quickly got absorbed by her skin. A moment later, she brought the darker colored layering back out.

Dalina continued to keep her back faced towards you and Ren when you spoke, giving the two of you privacy. When you asked her to get firewood, she nodded and said she would, but waited a few moments as you finished talking. When you finished and continued to clean your clothes and set a place for the fire, that was when Dalina decided to get the firewood that you needed. Soon enough she had came back with a pile next to what you had created.

"To that end I need you both to sleep with me."

"S-sleep with you?!" Dalina's eyes grew wide, and she blushed. "I m-mean... if it's needed I would s-spend all night-" Dalina furrowed her eyes, though she was still red. "W-wait... why? Do you just... umm... want to...?" Dalina looked confused.

[pringerbeam]

     "Oh, no not like that."  Replied Jean to Dalina's reaction. "That otherworldly being I mentioned seems to have rendered my sexual function inoperable as far as I can tell.  Even the lust brought on by the battle doesn't seem to be causing a stir in my loins.  Perhaps as a bit of irony that he gifted Ren to me while still keeping that v-card stuck firmly in my wallet."  He cast Conjure Flames on the pile of firewood to ignite the material.  "No...  That shop seems to be closed for the moment.  Though...  I wouldn't stop an underground rave from trespassing if you catch my drift."  He said with a wink to Ren.  "I meant that at night when we are most vulnerable we need to keep close.  Ren and I are interlopers here and unfortunately by traveling with us that makes you just as much a target.  Our guard needs to remain always up but we all have to rest some time.  If not for a need of actual sleep but at least to regenerate our magical powers.  So it's better if we all stay together.  Unlike the other hero, I can't bring any of us back to life and I am reluctant to rely on their generosity always being in stock.  So for your protection Dalina we will need to sleep together.  Anja too once we are on the road." 

     He got up out of the bath and went to check on his clothes.  "For the sake of propriety Anja will of course need to be in the bed farthest away but you and Ren will have your bedrolls right next to mine when we share our tent and when we are staying at inns we will all stay in the same room."  He shook out the almost dry robe and turned it over, then did the same with his pants and jerkin.  "You don't have to follow this course but this is a dangerous road, even without the potential of non-demonic forces working against us.  You did see what happened to the other hero's companion.  You know that danger is everywhere.  I can't have you or your sister dying."  He walked over to Dalina and put his hands on her shoulders.  "Besides, we can't have all of us dying before we find out what happened to your mother.  Our story can't end with all of us being murdered in our sleep."

[Throndir]

Dalina chuckled forcefully. "W-well... I guess if it's for our safety..." She looked down to the ground, her face still flushed, even though you had explained the reasoning. She had been trying to avoid looking at you since you had no clothes on, but you saw her peeking at you. Her gaze seemed distant though, as if she wasn't really paying attention to the fact you were naked, but a moment of clarity came to her as her eyes widened, cheeks blushing again, as she looked away. "But you know Jean, telling me to sleep with you when you're all but naked. Jeez, anyone would get the wrong idea."

Her eyes looked away, she continued to speak, her tone a bit more serious. "There's something I've been curious about... We never really got to talk about it much because everything's been hectic the past week. But this was your second time being summoned, right? You mentioned powerful beings, but who? I still find it almost hard to believe it wasn't any of the goddesses who brought you here. By that I mean.... The Goddess of Light, or even the one of Air, Water, Earth, or Fire. And.... why would things be more dangerous being around you?"

"And your first summoner... I'll be with you on your journey of course, but you know my reason why I would have explored these lands even without my duties. It's for my mother. What... promises did you have to fulfill that's so important? And also... if its the Idorian Magic Kingdom... How do you know your first summoner is still even alive after all this time? From what I remember of the reports we get once a year, the survivors of that kingdom are few."

Perception requested.

[pringerbeam]

[info]Perception Check[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+16 : 8 + 16, total 24[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

Gust perked his ears up, and at that moment, the bird transformed into its larger form, staringly warily at the woods. You too heard rustling. It may have been the wind, but it was coupled with the fact that you swear you had seen one of the tree trunks move. Due to the fact that you had fought with one earlier that day, the moving trees were fresh in your memory. The distance you had seen the movement was perhaps about 100 ft away further into the trees

[pringerbeam]

     "Well the answer to that is..."  Jean paused at his notice of the movement.  He pulled Dalina up against him with one hand and with his other hand put a finger against her lips.  He looked to where he had seen the movement and whispered "Analysis..."

[Throndir]

The moment you had used 《Analysis》, you got more information that was much different than when the tree was 'dead'. But judging from the flood of information, you knew this to be a creature similar to the one you had fought before. The 'tree' if it could be called as one had stopped moving, as if attempting to blend into the background, though your blessing managed to confirm that it was there lurking. There was something else however, much like with examining Ren, where you could find a trace of your own 'SP' in her. There was 'SP' too that was in the tree. The amount was far from what Dalina had. Much like Ren, who had none of her own 'SP', the tree didn't have any either. However, there were faint amounts running through it. It seemed to help the tree move, it was very much similar to amount of 'SP' Ren had whenever she would harden her skin or transform her tentacles.

Creature based off of: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/plants/treant/

[pringerbeam]

     "Damn this place is lousy with monsters."  Said Jean as he tried to keep an eye on the treant so as not to lose it among the trees.  "There's another tree monster out there...  Man, I wish one of us had some more powerful fire magic.  Ren, going to need your help here in a second.  Try cutting the tree.  I think that is the most effective way of dealing with it without burning it."  He let go of Dalina and summoned his spear again.  "Alright...  One...  Two...  Three...  Lets go!  Weight Control!"  With that he sprung into action and charged at the tree.

[info]Expend 6 MP to cast Typhoon Spear and create a +1 Spear with +1d8 cold damage.

I doubt that this will allow a surprise round so I will roll initiative.  Not sure how much is going to be able to be done before the treant reacts so I'll just put up a whole turn's worth of stuff.

Initiative[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+16 : 4 + 16, total 20[/blockquote]
Immediate Action: Using Weight Control to increase the weight of the Treant by 4 steps (should decrease its DEX to 0 and render it immobile)

Full-Round Action: Charge Treant (+22 Base, +2 Charge, +1 Enhancement)[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+25 : 10 + 25, total 35[/blockquote]Piercing Damage (+16 Two-handed STR, +1 Enhancement)[blockquote]Rolled 1d8+17 : 7 + 17, total 24[/blockquote]Cold Damage[blockquote]Rolled 1d8 : 3, total 3[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

I'll be setting the time from last fight to now to 1 hour, meaning after this encounter your defensive buff spell from Rosalie will wear off, along with your weight decrease on self. At the same time, you only earn +8 MP for awake regen.

The moment you cast your spell, the Treant began to move. At the same time, you realized there were other trees in the area that were moving as well that you didn't manage to spot the first time around. Altogether, there were 4 of them. They came primarily from the north as well, from the same direction the rest of the dragonknights had been. When you approached the tree, it attempted to swipe at you, but it missed completely. Your spear struck true, the damage seemed to be resisted a bit, but you still managed to stick your spear into the tree.

Behind you, Dalina started to mount Gust, and Gust soon took off, while Ren was catching up from behind.

The tree was completely immobile. The other trees started to close in. There were 8 more trees that had begun rooting themselves up.

Jean to take turn.

Map: Roll 20
Initiative Order: Jean: 20, Dalina: 15, Ren: 14, Trees: 1
Log
[spoiler]Round 1
Jean charges, hits, and deals damage.
Dalina moves to Gust, and mounts him.
Ren double moves closer.
Tree 1 is immobile. Other trees close in.
[/spoiler]
Status
Jean: Injured, Tired
Dalina: Drowsy, Uninjured
Ren: Uninjured, Refreshed
Tree 1: Slightly Injured
Tree 2: Uninjured
Tree 3: Uninjured
Tree 4: Uninjured