The Next Crisis

[darkknight61189]

"Eh, I got it." The break was in her lower arm, and was only excruciatingly painful when she moved her elbow and wrist. She grittedher teeth and got the arm through the sling. She then got up, sheathed one of her swords and stood next to Seryntas.

[Seethe347]

While nobody was looking, Jeshua got back down out of the tree in the same mysterious way he got into it. And that way shall never be known. (Actually, he climbed.) The group being ready, they set off.

The journey was fairly uneventful since nothing wanted to mess with a bunch of orcs, but it did last for quite a while. The party wound through the valley until several hours after the sun had gone down, then came to the foot of a high, craggy mountain. Up this they went, taking a natural path through a narrow defile that wound its way to a point high above the tree-line. At this point, the crack widened significantly, and a number of pavilions made of animal skin were found here in a circle, beyond which the crevice narrowed again and continued upward. Several orcs stood at various points on lookout, several more bustled about the camp, and a few met the group at the entrance.

The leader of the gate-guards and the leader of the squadron the party had come with exchanged a few grunts which must have been words, and then the group entered. The leader of the squadron turned to his followers and grunted again. The squadron members grunted back, split up, and disappeared into the camp. And finally, the leader turned to the party and gave one last set of grunts. This time, of course, the meaning of the grunts was discernable.

"This... main camp," he said. "You... safe here... Now... come... see boss."

The orc turned and started towards a pavilion close to the back of the hole.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long had walked along easily enough, using her bow as a walking stick to help her with her balance during the more harrowing portions of the journey. Once they reached camp, she marveled at the size of the orc camp. She had always thought of orcs as evil brutish creatures that would sooner beat you to a pulp than provide any help. She was still having difficulty understanding the grunts issuing from the leader's mouth, but the general point of it was understandable. Since no harm had come to them yet, she was willing to follow along.

(OOC: I would like to make it known that I am going on vacation this weekend and will not be back until Wednesday, the tenth. That is all.)

[Seethe347]

The group followed the orc through the camp. As they went, Kilisha watched a few of the patrolling guards making their way about the surrounding rocks with far greater ease than she could have managed. She thought that this position was far too inaccessible to be used as the camp of a human army. But the orcs seemed to traverse this mountain as easily as humans would have traversed flat ground. It seemed that the orcs who had led the party up only traveled by the crevice for the party's sake. Or perhaps it was for the sake of secrecy.

Inside the pavilion, a single orc sat waiting. The muscles of its arms seemed quite robust, even compared with those of other orcs. But its stomach was also quite prominent, making it obvious that the orc was well fed. The orc was further decorated heavily with impressive feathers and gold jewelry, and held a longspear across its lap the head of which seemed to crackle with a magical enchantment. Clearly, this was the chieftain of the tribe.

The orc that had led the party quickly gave a solemn obeisance before the leader. Not wanting to upset her host by breaking ritual, Kilisha also knelt down. Jeshua, however, gave only a smarmy snort, which was fortunately ignored. Upon rising again, the warrior then moved to the side and assumed the position of a guard.

"So you have come as our shaman predicted," observed the chieftain, speaking fluent Common in a voice as deep as the creature's size warranted. "I would send for him, but I am sure he is already on his way."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=seethe347>Seethe347</A] at: 8/10/05 3:07

[Spleen]

Seryntas inclined his head rather than knelt, on the basis that a sedentary person was so much easier to kill than one standing up.

[Seethe347]

(OOC: I know I said I'd try to pick up the pace, but Finals Week knocked it out of me.)

Kilisha returned to her feet as the orc chieftain spoke. Not a moment after the words left his mouth, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the tent. Turning, Lisha saw another orc as it made its way through the entrance. This one was noticeably shorter than the other orcs, but still quite strong-looking. Its hair ran in a tangled mess down its back, with several small bones tied in it, and the top of its face was hidden behind a mask crafted from a large, horned skull.

This orc passed by the four travelers and bowed before the chief. He then rose and spoke.

"I see that they have come," said the shaman.

"Yes," replied the chief. "Ralik found them."

"Then we will begin the ritual tomorrow," the shaman declared.

[darkknight61189]

"Hm," Xiao Long had reacted to the word ritual. "Ri... ritual? What ritual is this? I don't like the sound of that." In her mind, rituals usually involved the killing of an innocent, or a virgin, or something including blood and pain.

[Spleen]

Seryntas was reasonably certain he didn't like the idea of a ritual, either, but as yet he had no way of knowing that this wasn't the reason Jeshua had hired them in the first place.

[Seethe347]

Kilisha also became fairly worried upon hearing the word "ritual." She started to consider whether the group would be able to escape if the orcs attacked them. It didn't seem likely, considering the numbers.

"You do not know of the ritual?" the chief asked, surprised.

"They were called here by the spirits, but they are not aware of the state of things," explained the shaman to the chief.

"I see. Then you had best inform them, as they appear to be unsettled," said the chief.

"Yes, I will," said the shaman before turning to face the group. But before he started, his eyes suddenly fixed on Kilisha as he looked her over. "... You are a succubus, correct?"

"I... am," Kilisha replied.

"But you were not always so?" the shaman asked.

"No... I wasn't," Kilisha replied, shaking her head slowly.

"Hmm... So that is why..." the shaman mused thoughtfully for a moment.

Kilisha started to feel more uncomfortable, but not out of the fear of violence.

"Well, on with things," the shaman finally said. "As your mage knows, the flow of energy known by the civilized studiers of magic as the mana stream has been gathering in a place to the north of here for some time."

Jeshua was gritting his teeth as the shaman said this. The great mysteriousness of the mission was about to be lost. Plus, he didn't trust that punk Kilisha not to run back to the nearest town and tell everyone she could find about what was going on, thus creating a widespread panic, just to spite him. However, that did not prove to be Kilisha's plan.

"This gathering of mana has in truth been happening for thousands of years, but it has until now been like the beating of a heart," the shaman continued. "Mana flows into the pool until it solidifies into a single perfect gem, a Mana Heart, then dissipates into a vapor again. For ages untold, we tribesmen of this land have worshipped and guarded the spirits who gather the mana, and the mana has blessed the land deep in these stony mountains with fertility and abundance. But there has now arisen a grave threat.

"One hundred years ago, a nation of demons emerged from an evil forest far to the north and settled in a great but secluded valley in the west. They surrounded their land with four strong mountain fortresses and built a city at its center which they named Kor Nong. At the center of their city, they dug a tunnel which wound into the depths of the underworld, and there they carved out a mighty kingdom.

"We traded with them, and no tribe of our land ever did more than skirmish with their army. But almost two years ago, they came to make war on us without warning. Many of our warriors fell in battle, and we were driven out of our villages and into the wilderness. They took control of the Place of The Gathering and have created there an unholy shrine for the capturing of lost souls, which they use to fuel their black magic. Their rock-destroying creatures have carved several mountains into dwelling places for their Gatekeepers, one of which you have already encountered, which amplify the channeling of souls into the Mana Heart. But they have not allowed the Mana Heart to dissipate. It throbs ever larger and will one day shatter. When that happens--"

"Everything on this continent will be brought to ruin," Jeshua interrupted, intent on proving that he had known something.

"Yes..." the shaman confirmed.

Two years ago, Kilisha thought. It may have been far-fetched, but... could this have had something to do with Selnu or the Circle of Zahlzath?

"The Gathering Spirits do not desire this," the orcish mystic continued. "But they have been unable to free themselves. So they have called the three of you here to be their... champions... A succubus that was once human, a warrior of Krad, and an elven girl of unknown origin. I know not what the ritual will entail, but the three of you will drive the darkness away from the Mana Heart. And... the mage may play a role as well."

He paused to give his audience time to react.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long couldn't help but chuckle at Jeshua's diminished role. Nevertheless, she was a little worried about the whole saving the world deal.

"If you'll help me fix up my arm," Xiao Long said, "Then I'd be more than glad to help. Heck, this might even be fun!" She smiled and turned to Seryntas and Kilisha.

[Seethe347]

"Worlds get saved every day..." Jeshua scoffed indignantly after noticing Xiao Long's chuckle. "But this does seem to be what I hired you three for."

"Then, if no one objects... I suppose we have an agreement to cooperate," said the shaman. "If that is the case, we can end this meeting."

The orc then looked down at Xiao Long.

"Just follow me to the healing tent and we can work on your arm," he said.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long looked at the shaman and smiled.

"I'd be glad to go. Thank you for helping me." She then walked over to the shaman and was ready to follow him.

[Spleen]

(OOC: Well, yes. I suppose Seryntas would have to remain a Kradite for the duration of the RP. In official Elemaer canon, he no longer exists, which means that on Gaera he's just a normal bounty hunter, now.

Also, I'm not really back, I'm just checking in because my parents aren't home.)

"Another fucking destiny, as if I didn't have enough of 'em," Seryntas grumbled under his breath. "So, what?" he asked out loud. "The three of us plus the old man plus a bunch of orcs versus a demon army? Please say this isn't one of those destinies where our death sets something in motion."

[Seethe347]

"There have... probably been worse odds," said Kilisha.

The shaman led Xiao Long out of the tent. After a moment, Kilisha decided to follow too. Making their way through the camp, the three soon came to the healing tent.

"Don't trust me, eh?" the shaman asked Kilisha upon arriving.

"I just... don't know yet," replied the succubus.

"Hmm..." the shaman nodded slowly. "I suppose that is prudent. Wait here."

The orc disappeared into the tent. A few seconds later, the sound of his rummaging around could be heard.

[Spleen]

(OOC: I can assure you that neither me nor Darkknight have a response to this.)

[Seethe347]

(OOC: I've been too busy procrastinating to post.)

After some time, the shaman finally emerged from the tent, carrying what looked like the molted skin of some kind of large snake. The skin was about the length of Xiao Long's arm and filled with an oily, murky, brown liquid that smelled like a rotten egg.

"I have prepared this with the necessary forces," said the shaman as he held the skin out to Xiao Long. "Wear this on your arm until morning. Then the bone will be healed."

Kilisha shuddered, more than a little weirded out at the thought of wearing that thing, especially for a whole night.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=seethe347>Seethe347</A] at: 11/19/05 5:23

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long looked at the snake skin, hesitant. "Uh... are you sure that thing isn't going to pop up and bite me? And that stuff inside it looks gross!" Neverthless, she put it on her arm and grimaced as the squishy feelign touched her arm, slightly wierding her out. "Thanks... I guess..."

[Seethe347]

The shaman watched silently as Xiao Long pulled the skin onto her arm.

"Just be sure not to remove it before morning," he said after she had it on. "Otherwise, it won't work even if you put it back on."

He then turned and started back towards his tent.

"You may wonder about as you like now," the shaman said as he went back inside.

At that, Kilisha turned and looked over the camp again.

"Maybe... we should try to figure out... where we're going to sleep tonight," she finally said.

(OOC: And now that I've finally posted, I don't have anything more planned for this day. We can advance to the next if it's agreeable.)

[darkknight61189]

((No problems here))

Xiao Long looked about for a tree to sleep in, but was a little unlucky in the endavour. She decided to just follow Seryntas around. If the big guy could find a place to sleep, then she would too.

[Seethe347]

(OOC: I'm sure Spleen would have objected by now if he were going to.)

Going off to find a resting place of her own, Kilisha found that Jeshua had already set up his own tent. Right in the middle of the camp, as if he owned the place. But despite its presumptuous location, Kilisha decided that sleeping near the mage's tent would would still be the safest thing to do. If the orcs pulled anything during the night, there probably wouldn't be anything anyone could do about it regardless. Furthermore, if anything attacked the camp at night, the center would probably be the hardest place for it to reach.

Fortunately, the orcs didn't pull anything and nothing attacked the camp that night. Morning came along and Kilisha was awoken by the sun. Most of the orcs were now eating breakfast which was being served near the supply tent. Others were already lining up at various points on the edge of the camp in marching formation. Jeshua's tent, meanwhile, had already been taken down.

Climbing to her feet, Kilisha glanced around searching for the mage. The mage, however, tapped her on the back of the shoulder with his staff. Kilisha turned around to face him.

"Go eat," he said. "The group we're going with will be among the first to march out."

Kilisha nodded, then went to join the breakfast line. Meanwhile, Jeshua went off to find his other two mercenaries.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long was up and about in the as soon as the sun had come up, and was watching the orc armies march about. Her arm, as the orc healer had said, was completely healed when she woke up that morning, and she had actually taken the time to test her arm. She had used her sword, practicing and sparring with one of the orcs she's met. They're pretty nice, once you get past the snarling face and the wrinkles, she thought to herself with a giggle. Her arm had worked fine, and she was able to spar with the orc without holding back. It probably would have been extremely humorous to watch a little girl fight with a huge full-grown orc, but she'd given the orc a run for his money. Her stomach lightly grumbled as she sat watching the army. Hm... where am I supposed to get some grub around here?

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=darkknight61189>darkknight61189</A]&nbsp; at: 1/30/06 21:31

[Seethe347]

Jeshua eventually found Xiao Long and approached her.

"Go eat," he said. "The group we are going with will be among the first to march out."

Without another word and without bothering to tell her where the food was being served, the mage walked away to find Seryntas.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=seethe347>Seethe347</A] at: 2/1/06 0:26

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long was quite thrilled that there was going to be food served, and so rushed off recklessly to try and get some food before the orcs ate it all (the way she saw it, they were bigger than her, so probably ate more than her as well). Suddenly, though, she stopped. She had not idea where she was going. At all.

She turned back to ask Jeshua where she was going, but the old man had disappeared. Great.

Xiao Long wound up taking a good half an hour searchign the camp and finally found the place where they were serving food, but got there so late that all the good food had been eaten, and what was left had already gone cold. Still, she grabbed as much fod as she coudl and ate to her hearts content, thoroghly confusing the orcs she was sitting with and eating. As far as they could tell, the little girl had eaten more food than any of them had, and was wondering where it all went on/in the little girl.

[Seethe347]

After breakfast was over, Jeshua brought the group together again and led them to their assigned unit. Leading this unit was Ralik, the same orc that had led the group that found them in the forest the day before. Most of the other orcs in the unit had been in that group as well.

Without wasting much time, the orcs soon marched out. Again they journeyed for several hours across mountains and valleys, keeping themselves hidden the entire way, until they finally came within sight of a deep and wide depression surrounded by a ring of high mountains. Most of the depression was taken up by a large fortified structure.

Around the outside of the structure stood a high wall carved of black obsidian with an iron gate in the center of each of its sides. Behind that wall stood a second similar wall, and the corridor between the two walls, which appeared to be filled with incubus soldiers whose spears glinted in the sunlight, was about 50 feet wide. Inside the second wall, a ring of round obelisks of obsidian could be seen. And in the center of the circle of oblisks, a large bluish-white crystal protruded from the ground. The whole fortress was about 1000 feet wide.

Currently, Ralik's unit stood on a mountainside overlooking the fortress, hidden by trees. Ralik led the four travelers to a place where they could see the view.

"Gathering place... not good place for fortress," he said. "Can see whole inside... from here."

"Yes, we could have retaken it a hundred times over the past year," said the voice of the shaman as he rode up on the back of a large black wolf, his own unit following behind him. "However, we would not have been able to remove the incantations of the shrine and reverse the Mana Gathering, so it would have been pointless."

"But we can?" Kilisha asked.

"Possibly," said the shaman. "Only the Spirits know what the ceremony would entail."

Well, I hope the spirits don't have any unpleasant surprises for us, Kilisha thought.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long looked at the fortress and was amazed at the sheer size of the structure.

She listened intently to the things that the shaman was saying, but she just couldn't make sense of any of it. Then again, she didn't really care, so....

[Seethe347]

"It is an impressive structure," said the shaman. "But..."

A storm of stones suddenly began to fly out of the forest near the castle and over the outer wall, raining down onto the troops inside. As the orc catapults continued to pour the stones into the fortress, many of the guards inside scrambled about like ants. However, it looked like most weren't even reacting at all.

"Those guards are... really stoic," said Kilisha.

"Straw dummies," replied the shaman. "This castle is built to intimidate. Out of pride, they wanted it to be big so that it would be worthy of being the center of their mana gathering machine. However, they knew that this location would be difficult to defend and they didn't want to commit the manpower to do it. They tried to turn the fact that we can see right over their walls to their advantage by making their castle appear to be something we would not want to attack. But, that was all in vain."

"So, you have called their bluff," Jeshua remarked.

Just then, the obelisks in the center of the fortress began to glow brightly. A moment later, a bright beam of light shot from them into the sky, ala Minas Morgul. Startled, Kilisha jumped back and almost fell down.

"And would that be their distress signal?" the mage speculated.

"Yes," answered the shaman. "However, we currently have their main force tied up elsewhere. Every last one of our soldiers who isn't here is fighting the demons at their fortress on Mount Anduas. Sadly, that battle won't go very well, but it will give us the time we need here."

Listening to this discussion on strategy was starting to make Kilisha's head swim, so she turned her attention to the battle that was going on below. Mostly, all she was seeing was a bunch of rocks being thrown over the wall while the guards inside continued to scramble around. This may have been a battle to save the world, but it was boring to watch.

Then, Kilisha heard a crackling sound behind her. She turned to see where it had come from, but didn't see anything but trees. Then, she heard the sound again, but wasn't sure if she believed what she saw.

"Trees... don't normally... move around here... do they?" she asked aloud.

"No," said the shaman, his attention turning to the succubus.

Suddenly, one of the nearby trees shot out of the ground and into the air, then came back down beyond the edge of the overhang that those present were standing on. A moment later, one of the familiar giant spiders crawled out of the hole under where the tree had been. Kilisha reached for her bow as that spider was followed by three more. Then the crackling sound began to emanate from several more trees.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long was having fun watching the stones get hurled over the wall, and was having even more fun watching the guards scramble around like headless monkeys. She was especially delighted when one of them was struck by one of the rocks and squashed.

Then she heard the noise behind her. Before Kilisha and the shaman had realized what was going on, Xiao Long had already drawn her sword and had run at the first spider,completely disregarding the others that popped up. They'd just have to wait their turn.

[Spleen]

"Gods damn it!" Seryntas yelled. "I hate these fucking things!"

He hurtled at the nearest spider, greatsword over his head, preparing to leap into the air and bring the heavy blade whirring down on the creature's head.

[Seethe347]

Seeing Xiao Long coming at it with her sword, the first spider to emerge from the hole immediately darted toward the wood elf, the mandibles of its mouth open to sting. Kilisha had pulled back an arrow by now and had it pointed at that very same spider, but it had already gotten too close to Xiao Long for Kilisha to risk firing at it. Instead, she turned her attention to one of the three other spiders and sent the shot at it. The arrow drove in just above one of the spider's legs, knocking that limb off. The spider drew the rest of its legs up together around itself and let out a squeal that ended in a gurgle, then died.

As the shaman grunted orders in his own language, the orcs, with their weapons now ready, began positioning themselves around the trees that looked like they were about to explode out of the ground.

[Spleen]

(OOC: For future reference, if I ever state Seryntas' action followed by Seryntas' intent, I'm leaving it up to you to figure out what goes on, for the sake of expediency and good GMing. Do you want him to reach the spider and hit it with the sword, or do you want him to be waylaid before he can even get there? It's your decision, which is why I leave my battle posts so open-ended.)

[Seethe347]

Seryntas' blade came down on the spider that he had made for, crushing its head beneath the sword's weight. The spider that had charged Xiao Long, meanwhile, met its end by means of the girl's sword, having made the mistake of attacking her head-on. The last of the four spiders to emerge from the hole made a dash for Seryntas, the largest target nearby and therefore, by its reasoning, the most dangerous. The creature's jaws were open and ready to bite.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long, after finishing with her spider, saw the thers dash towards Seryntas. She quickly dropped her two swords on the ground and pulled out her bow, nocking an arrow in place in the process. She pulled back on the bow and fired off one shot at the spider taht was farthest from Seryntas. She then dropped her bow and bent over to pick up her two swords and again enetered the fray.

[Spleen]

Seryntas held his sword up, aiming a thrust straight into the creature's maw, intent on skewering it on the heavy blade.

[Seethe347]

This fourth spider was something of a hero among its people. However, it was only an unsung hero, considering that its breed possessed neither the language nor the mental capacity to appreciate heroism. Even so, over the course of the creature's life, it had developed a great deal of agility and alertness. It did lack the pure strength that the previous three had been endowed with, which had warranted their emergence from the hole before itself. However, that strength had not served them at all, for they had been slain within seconds of their emergence and therefore had been completely ineffective as bloodthirsty killers. This spider, however, was not fated to share the same fate and die without having accomplishing anything of note. This spider's shining moment had come.

Though the creature was currently concerned with charging the massive warrior, it did not fail to keep the big picture in mind. As a result, it saw the arrow coming the moment Xiao Long released the string of her bow. Reacting immediately, the creature stopped on a dime and sprang backwards, dodging the deadly missile. Then it saw Seryntas' sword thrusting towards it and, still keeping its presence of mind, threw itself aside, out of the way of death. It now came to pass that Kilisha, having nocked her second arrow, fired upon the spider. But even this attack was avoided, as the monster dashed towards its target again and out of the way of the succubus' bolt. Having accomplished this amazing feat of skill and daring, the spider leapt at its enemy and bit down on him with its poisonous mouth pincers.

Of course, this act just resulted in its jaws breaking off against the bounty hunter's armor with no harm to Seryntas himself.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=seethe347>Seethe347</A] at: 2/26/06 5:21

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long saw her arrow miss its target, and was slightly miffed. Thus she decided to make up for the miss by killing it with her own two hands. And two swords. She dashed at the spider and ran underneath the thing without ducking and, as she ran, she thrust her two swords up into the belly of the spider.

[Spleen]

Seryntas watched the slavering jaws break off against the layer of mithral plating shielding his body. "Damn!" he yelled. "Now I need to polish my breastplate all over again!"

Trying his hardest to move quicker this time, Seryntas rushed the beast and attempted to drive it back with his shoulder.

(OOC: This is what we D&D players call a Bull Rush. Oh, yeah.)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=spleeninfinity13>SpleenInfinity13</A]&nbsp; at: 2/26/06 15:53

[Seethe347]

Distracted by the pain of its pincers breaking off, the spider didn't dodge quickly enough this time, and Xiao Long's blades stabbed into its abdomen. Seryntas' shoulder then hit the creature as well, driving the creature back over the blades, elongating the holes made by the weapons into long and deep slashes. As this occured, the creature could do nothing but flail its legs about, but the flailing stopped after a few moments and the creature grew still as the life left its body.

Of course, the battle wasn't over yet. Within seconds, several more trees finally exploded out of the ground. Unlike the first tree, not all of these new trees to be tossed up made their way over the edge of the cliff or to any similarly harmless distance away. Quite a few of them, in fact, were directly above the band of orcs, wizards, and mercenaries when they began their descent. While some of the orcs stoically trusted to fate and held their positions around the holes left behind waiting to waylay the spiders within as they emerged, the majority broke into a panic and began scrambling about just like the demons in the castle below.

[darkknight61189]

Xiao Long watched as the rocks fell on the crowd. "Hey, they look like the guys in the fortress." She then laughed and clapped her hands in glee, totally unaware of the fact that rocks falling on her allies was a bad thing. Xiao Long then went over the Seryntas and poked him.

"I like fighting these spiders. They're easy to kill, and they do funny things when they die."

((Is that all of the spiders?))

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=darkknight61189>darkknight61189</A]&nbsp; at: 2/27/06 22:20

[Spleen]

"Kid, watch out!" Seryntas exclaimed, try to call Xiao Long's attention to the trees flying at them.

[Seethe347]

(OOC: There are still more spiders left.)

Kilisha watched the trees above herself to see if she needed to spring aside or not. However, it wouldn't have helped. The tree directly above her, she learned, had turned completely upside down so that the leafy top part was destined to come down first. All she had time to do was drop down into a curled up position with her knees under her body, her head tucked down, and her hands over the back of her neck. Fortunately, the trunk of the tree wasn't directly above her.

In an instant, Kilisha heard the tree come down over her, and winced as a few of the smaller branches snapped on her back, opening a few painful cuts. Fortunately, when the noise stopped, she could still feel her legs. So, she stood up and began pushing through the mess of leaves around her, making her way to the place where she had seen the other two mercenaries before the trees came down. Her movement was slow, though, since each step required her to squeeze through a fence of branches.

Not surprisingly, the ground in the area was now littered with fallen trees. What had been the leaf cover overhead that had formed the "roof" of the woods now lay on the ground, looking like a giant shrub. Most of the orcs were still alive, but several were pinned down. Leaves rustled as orcs tried to find their way through, and this sound was joined by noise of their voices calling out to one another, those who could move looking for others and those who were trapped calling for help.

Then, the sound of a confused battle broke out. It began with the furious shouts and roars of several of the orcs who had remained in their ordered positions around the new spider holes, soon joined by the clatter of weapons and the injured squeals of quite a few spiders.

However, those sounds soon began to spread. Most of the holes hadn't been surrounded to begin with, and many of those that were had been abandoned by the panicked orcs. Occasionally, an orc would cry out in pain as well, bitten by a spider that had been able to sneak upon it unseen through the leaves. The first four arachnids hadn't been so dangerous out in the open and with no rocks to throw. But now that they had the fallen trees for cover, the creatures held a dangerous advantage.

As Kilisha was about to reach the location where she hoped to find the other two waiting, she heard a rustling sound approaching her from behind. Spinning around just in time, she found a spider perched on a branch at shoulder level, just about to spring at her to bite. Unable to jump back or dodge aside with the branches thickly around her, she quickly reached up and grabbed the creature's jaws. Luckily, she was able to get her fingers around the monster's open mandibles without gouging her skin on one of the poisonous barbs at their end. The creature still pushed forward with a force that she found hard to fight against. In a moment, the succubus was pushed back against a large branch while the spider's mouth continued to close in on her face.

"Help!" she called out desperately, hoping that her friends were still nearby.