Ch.2: "Trouble in Paradise" / Volcanic Paradise Island Arcadia

[Legendary Sidekick]

Jenny says, "Yeah, I'll listen. His explanation better be good."

The men agree that it's best Kell puts her clothes on. Some drop their spears, hoping this will prove they are compliant. Some keep them in hand, but don't move at all. One turns toward the hole at the center of the volcano.

Suddenly, a mountain lion emerges on a rock formation just above the women. It pounces toward Jenny!

"Eeeeeeeee!" Jenny shrieks.

There is a rumble! The ground quakes! Due to Kell's poise and grace, she is able to maintain her balance. Sonja also has no trouble.

Colleen and Maribelle stumble quite a bit, while Jenny flails her arms wildly and finds herself on her back watching the mountain lion drop toward her, claws out. Fifteen of the men fall, and one almost ends up in the volcano with his boss. Of the men standing, Wilbur is the only one who is sure footed—though he is clearly making an effort to remain upright while Kell and Sonja are not.

Wilbur draws his weapon, his eyes on the mountain lion! But as soon as he shoots, his bullet is vaporized by a column of lava and flame bursting from the mouth of the volcano!

((@Ireth,
Leto can either continue the eagle's attack dive to intercept the pounce, or she can switch to the mountain lion before the pounce lands. As long as I don't roll a 12, you succeed at any attempt to switch animals.

@tbgg,
We can assume Kell had her Aqua Scrunchy in hand, and it will dry near-instantly due to the sudden wave of heat coming from the eruption. If you'd rather have her grab her staff and remain naked, I won't stop you.))

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto continues her dive toward the lion, aiming to keep it away from Jenny and the others. If the eagle's offensive doesn't work, she'll jump into the lion itself to make it flee.

((I'm assuming my roll from before is still valid?))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Trusting Leto to deal with the mountain lion one way or another, Kell pulls Jenny out of the lion's path, then pauses to wrap her Aqua Scrunchy around herself, quickly reimagining her hiking outfit, only with full length orange leggings and boots. She debates about casting Vine Armor, but isn't sure how much protection it can offer against an exploding volcano. She decides to hold off for the moment.

She tells Sonja, "Try to carry Mari to the other side of the pit. I'll take Colleen. Try to go between rumblings." And she signals Colleen to bend at the waist so Kell can carry her over her shoulder.

She asks Wilbur, "Can you help Jenny to the other side of the pit?"

She looks at Ben and Jerry and points toward the side of the pit where their friends are. "Let's get away from this pit," she tells them.










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[Legendary Sidekick]

The eagle rams into the mountain lion. His claws hardly scratch the large predator, but the collision does knock the big cat slightly off course, sparing Jenny. The mountain lion licks her lips, ready to bite the eagle's head off. But she has a sudden loss of appetite for birds and scampers off with her hair standing on end.

Soaring out of the column of fire is another bird answering to Kell's call: an orange phœnix! The flame-feathered creature circles the area as the people below contemplate their options…

Kell notices that Sonja's ability to remain elegantly postured even during an earthquake makes her seemingly as graceful as a nymph. Sonja offers to carry Maribelle. It seems everyone agrees this volcanic peak is not the place to be…

Or almost everyone does. One of the masked men shouts, "Throw the virgins into the vaaaaAAAAAAAH!" But as he speaks, a blast of steam penetrates the ground beneath him. Blood pours from between his legs as the flesh melts from his body. More bursts of steam shoot out from the sides of the mountain. Vin, Nissa and Hanna quickly run toward the peak, which is soon surrounded by hellishly hot clouds of steam.

Bridgette grabs Leto's unconscious body only a half second before the huntress suffers the same fate as the masked man (who is now a skeleton in a pool of his own boiling blood). In Bridgette's haste to get Leto to relative safety, the bow slips off of the Huntress' shoulder. If Leto wakes up to fight in human form, she will need to use her Hand Cannon which is currently loaded with a Warning Shot.

The remaining masked men are in a panic. Two grab Jenny, but the unmasked man helps Wilbur stop the masked men. The unmasked man is gutted by a spear as his own guys converge on him. Wilbur shoots one man in the back of the head, and the phœnix sets two masks on fire.

Hanna shield bashes a masked man aside and delivers Sonja's sword to her. Nissa stands by Bridgette who is still carrying Leto.

The remaining goons split up, some circling the volcano's mouth on the north side to go after Kell and Collen, others heading around south toward Sonja and Maribelle. The four women are on the west side of the volcano. Vin, Nissa, Bridgette and unconscious Leto are furthest east. Wilbur, Ben and Jerry are engaging the goons from the east side. Hanna is engaging the southern squad and the birds are flying over the north squad…

---

Kell KO===== ===== =OK Leto KO===== ===== =OK Helix KO===== =====OK Vin KO===== =====OK The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==-OK Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==-OK Hanna: KO===== ==-OK Sonja: KO===== ==-OK The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== =====OK Ben: KO===== =====OK Jerry: KO===== =====OK The Brides Jenny: KO=====OK Colleen: KO=====OK Mari: KO=====OK The Birds Eagle: KO==-OK Phœnix: KO===== ==-OK

Goon Squad, North == == == == == == == ==XX Goon Squad, South == == == == == == ==XX

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Still inside the eagle's mind, Leto swoops at the nearest goon, hoping to rip into him with her talons.

((Ouch. Guess my luck was too good to last!))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell curses. "Blight-brained bozos! Imbecilic idiots!"

Laying Colleen down as gently as she can, she again rips off her clothing, shoving the turquoise fabric in her backpack when the cloth transforms. She doesn't know if the masked men will expect it or not, but the effect is so powerful that she feels she has to risk it, despite the danger to herself. It can potentially make every man her friends are fighting easier to kill.

The ground is a lot hotter. She fears her feet will be burned before this is all said and done. But if she can get to Helix, her feet won't have to touch the ground. Until he can get to her, she just has to be a naked fury.

She calls to the blue-green unicorn, Helix, come on around toward me - but support those fighting on the east if you can't get through yet. Use your superior size to push or kick the goons over into the pit. She doesn't tell him about the ground being so hot. She's sure he can probably sense the heat himself. She also doesn't tell him she's stripped again, though she thinks he may be able to tell. It's crazy, especially on a volcano, but what was that quote Niobe had so favored again?

'Some men would call it brash, foolhardy, suicidal. The world was rarely changed by men' - or, Kell thought, women - 'who were unwilling to try being at least one of the three.' She wishes she could remember who to attribute it to.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The eagle misses its target, but before the masked man can swat the bird out of the sky, Kell wets her chiton using the canteen in her purse. Within seconds, the purse is all she is wearing.

The men are caught off guard by this. Though testing showed the effect is not as potent the second time, it seems to stop the goons on the north side of the volcano. Sonja follows Kell's lead and whips off her clothing as well. Maybe the combination does something—because now the men on the south side of the volcano are also freezing up.

Hanna doesn't care for the way they look at her sister. Her attack is weak, however, and her shield just thuds against a man's chest. Ben shoots a man in the face, but only manages to shoot his mask off. Jerry wounds a man and Wilber fires two shots—finishing the wounded man and killing another.

Bridgette is ineffective while carrying Leto in her arms. "Wake up!" she says. She tries shaking Leto awake, but cannot.

The phœnix sets a mask aflame. Vin fires, but his shot deflects off of the mask.

The brides rush two men. Jenny stops short of hitting her target, apparently disturbed by his visible arousal. Colleen and Mari each give their target a shove, sending a man into the volcano. There is a sizzling sound shortly after the masked man tumbles into the mouth.

Though disturbed by the nymph effect, the goons attack. The man engulfed in flames manages to collide with Kell. Several men surround Sonja and attack. Both attacks are weak, and though unprotected even by clothing, the women just have unnoticeable bruises. ((Kell & Sonja are "Not OK."))

---

Kell KO===== ===== = Leto KO===== ===== =OK Helix KO===== =====OK Vin KO===== =====OK The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==-OK Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==-OK Hanna: KO===== ==-OK Sonja: KO===== ==- The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== =====OK Ben: KO===== =====OK Jerry: KO===== =====OK The Brides Jenny: KO=====OK Colleen: KO=====OK Mari: KO=====OK The Birds Eagle: KO==-OK Phœnix: KO===== ==-OK

Goon Squad, North = == == == == == ==XX Goon Squad, South == == == == ==XX

 

[Ireth]

Leto

When the masked man fails to swat the eagle from the sky, Leto urges it to attack him again.

Maybe she'd be better off going back to her own body and using that hand cannon.

((Not sure if Leto can willingly jump back to her own body right now, or if she has to wait until the effect wears off on its own.))

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell raises her staff and decides to try casting her Entangle spell, though she's unsure how well it will work on this volcano.
Kelleia:2D6 → 7(5 +2)#Entangle spell

Helix, she calls, where are you? Where has her unicorn gotten off to? And why isn't he responding to her? It's not like him to ignore her thoughtcall. She hopes that he hasn't fled in fear, and that whatever's he's doing, it helps, eventually.

Kell wonders if Sonya is part nymph. But that's a mystery to sort out later.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((@Ireth,
She can be awake next turn. If you want, I'll jolt her awake when the eagle collides harmlessly against a mask, and you can have Leto attack next turn.

I rolled a bunch of fives in the GM round. Those were the flying masks and other harmless defections. Then I went and rolled 8s for the enemies who are heavily penalized by the nymph effect! That's 8 after subtracting the penalty.))

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Vin and Hanna strike their targets; Bridgette is still holding Leto protectively, while Nissa skewers a man who gets too close. Sonja clobbers a man while Maribelle finishes him off. Only Ben and Colleen miss their attacks, and Wilbur curses as his bullet embeds itself in a totem mask without penetrating it.

As for Helix, he stands majestically on a rock formation, backlit by the late morning sun as she rears then charges down the slope! He skewers a masked man on his horn and rams into another! Both men tumble into the volcano. Helix skids behind them, hooves flailing a desperate tap-dance as he tries not to follow the men into the pit. His attempt is in vain. ((Helix is not OK.)) He thinks to Kell, Kell, I am NOT OKAY!

Panicked whinnying is heard, but the sound is getting louder. Helix isn't falling inside of the volcano. He's rising!

Kell's spell takes some time, but there is a rumbling beneath the masked men. The plants should stop the rest of them. At the moment, they are too disturbed by Kell and Sonja to hit anyone.

Leto's eagle tries to take advantage of a masked man's failed attack, but the eagle smacks into the mask. Leto is jolted awake. The eagle is okay, and it soars into the sky. The phœnix sticks around, and sets a mask on fire.

---

Kell KO===== ===== = Leto KO===== ===== =OK Helix KO===== ===== Vin KO===== =====OK The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==-OK Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==-OK Hanna: KO===== ==-OK Sonja: KO===== ==- The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== =====OK Ben: KO===== =====OK Jerry: KO===== =====OK The Brides Jenny: KO=====OK Colleen: KO=====OK Mari: KO=====OK The Birds Eagle: KO==-OK Phœnix: KO===== ==-OK

Goon Squad, North = == == ==XX Goon Squad, South == == ==XX

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto jerks awake, back in her own body, and takes a second to find her footing. Unsure where her bow is, she pulls the hand cannon from its holster and aims it at the nearest group of goons. She remembers what Wilbur said about the Warning Shot, and tries to aim between the masked men, not at any of them.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The warning shot sticks all of the remaining men the south in place while Kell's plants trap the others. The man with the burning mask tosses his mask, and all seven men drop their spears.

As for Helix, he rises from the volcano. As soon as he can leap to safety, he does, but two fireballs blast him as he leaps! ((12 damage to Helix!))

Rising from the volcano is an odd creature whose mane is made of vermillion, gold and electric blue tongues of flame. Its face bears odd marking identical to those on the chief's mask, and when it bears its fangs, the fangs throb in the direction of everyone it faces—except for Wilbur, Helix and the phœnix!

As its head continues to rise, the funnel like mouth of the volcano begins to invert itself, as if the Lava Demon isn't coming out of the volcano. It IS the volcano!

---

Kell KO===== ===== = Leto KO===== ===== =OK Helix KO==== Vin KO===== =====OK The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==-OK Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==-OK Hanna: KO===== ==-OK Sonja: KO===== ==- The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== =====OK Ben: KO===== =====OK Jerry: KO===== =====OK The Brides Jenny: KO=====OK Colleen: KO=====OK Mari: KO=====OK Phœnix KO===== ==-OK

Lava Demon, Head ???HP

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto stares in horror as the volcano itself is revealed to be a monster, and scrambles to reload her hand cannon. She puts six of the normal bullets inside, wanting to save the other special shots for opportune moments.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell thinks, OK, Helix, disengage and stay out of the fighting for now - that was a big hit you took. Watch for those who need help and if anyone takes a big hit, try to pull them to safety. I'm counting on you to be our angel of mercy. I don't think your hooves or horn can affect this thing anyway.

Realizing that this creature will consume her staff if she tries to fight with it, Kell grabs a spear from one of the nearby men trapped in her plants and races across to the east side of the pit. Thrusting at the hideous thing, she starts hacking at the demon with it.

Kelleia:2D6 → 8(6 +2)#attack goon with staff

((LS, I made this roll before the demon rose and you posted before I could - I forgot the spells take 2 rounds to take effect. If I can still use it, I will, otherwise, let me know and I'll roll again.))

She watches to see if her nymph effect affects the demon at all. She's guessing - or maybe hoping - that it won't, and if she's right, she decides right then that she'll cast Vine Armor as soon as she can, assuming she survives this first wave of attacks.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((The 8 counts.))

Guns are blazing and blades are swinging. Kell gets a solid thrust between the demon's eyes and Nissa leaps up onto one of the monsters horns, stabbing him twice. Lava sprays from the wounds, but the nimble little Barbierian leaps to safety unburned. Only Wilbur misses his attack. The brides step back, and Helix protects them… or tries.

Lava bleeds from the throbbing mound of rock for a moment—then two huge arms burst out. Jagged stones fly in every direction. ((No one is OK; 4 damage to Kell, Helix and Sonja.))

There are now three target to attack. The head is bleeding lava. It may be the only part of the beast that needs to die, but it's also possible that the arms can be severed more easily than the head…

---

Kell KO===== ==== Leto KO===== ===== = Helix KO== Vin KO===== ===== The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==- Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==- Hanna: KO===== ==- Sonja: KO===== - The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== ===== Ben: KO===== ===== Jerry: KO===== ===== The Brides Jenny: KO===== Colleen: KO===== Mari: KO===== Phœnix KO===== ==-

Lava Demon Head = ?? HP Left Arm = ??? HP Right Arm = ??? HP

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto finishes reloading her hand cannon and takes aim at the lava demon's head. If they're going to kill this thing, better to finish it quickly.

 

[tbgg]

Kelleia

Kell yells, "We need a coordinated attack on this thing. Van Donk sisters, you attack the right arm. Grooms, you attack the left arm. Everyone else, keep attacking the head." She thinks to the Phoenix, Attack this thing's head and gouge its eyes if you can.

Then she pauses a moment to cast Vine Armor.
Kelleia:2D6 → 6(5 +1)#Vine Armor

As relieved as I am to be covered again, I really wish I could cast this spell on all of my allies!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The grooms all hit their marks, but Wilbur will have to reload. Two of the van Donks land solid strikes. Helix and the Phoenix each tear into the demon's head, but the most damaging attack comes from Leto as she expertly fires two shots. The demon's left eye explodes in a ball of flame!

((There are 4 shots remaining in Leto's gun.))

Kell casts a spell that will soon cover her up...

The lava demon retaliates. One arm comes crashing down on Vin's head while the other swats Sonja! ((4 damage to each!))

As for the head, it lunges at Leto, neck stretching impossibly from the pulsating stone! Its teeth sink into the Huntress who is bleeding profusely as the monster lifts her off the ground! ((10 damage to Leto!)) Though clamped in the beast's mouth, Leto keeps a death grip on her weapon, which is pointed down the lava demon's throat!

---

Kell KO===== ==== Leto KO===== = Helix KO== Vin KO===== === The van Donks Nissa: KO===== ==- Bridgette: KO===== ===== ==- Hanna: KO===== ==- Sonja: KO===- The Grooms Wilbur: KO===== ===== Ben: KO===== ===== Jerry: KO===== ===== The Brides Jenny: KO===== Colleen: KO===== Mari: KO===== Phœnix KO===== ==-

Lava Demon Head = ? HP Left Arm = ??? HP Right Arm = ?? HP

 

[Ireth]

Leto

Leto cries out as the demon snatches her up in its jaws, and squeezes the trigger again, sending more ammo right down the demon's throat.