I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul...
The decision was made, actions taken. Consequences, both positive and negative, would come. Some, of course, would arrive sooner rather than later.
Qit'ria
Qit'ria walked, whilst they debated and decided. This was not her type of thing and the Sev'ryn had no patience for it. Her actions, or lack of them, were noted. When she walked off as they were dealing with the corpse and deciding what to do, where to go, Treloar spoke to her.
"We are here to protect you," he said.
"If you leave the group, I do not protect you. Stay with the group." He did not look happy when he said it, in fact he had a look on his face which told a lot of what he thought of Qit'ria's actions thus far.
I work alone unlocked. NPC reaction adjusted!
Kura
The council member and the ranking Air Troop seemed to be getting on well and he nodded his understanding of her words. As much as he was annoyed at the lack of compassion by those who were not helping, he seemed to like Kura. He certainly worked with her and although he kept command of his people, he included her in the discussion about what to do and how to do it, dealing with her with respect.
There is no "I" in team unlocked. NPC reaction adjusted!
Tio
Tio couldn't remain as the dark and sombre dude all the time, he soon reverted to his usual happy self. When he teased Kali about her fangs, it was a return to form. Thankfully for him, none of the
moss-monsters mossters were attacking him! Luck was on his side!
The funny one always dies first! unlocked. NPC reaction adjusted!
Kali'rial
Kali'rial was a quiet and earnest group member, not stopping for idle chit chat, although she kept a focus on the others and watched out for them. Her actions were that of a quiet huntress.
Silent, but deadly unlocked. NPC reaction adjusted!
Pash
And Pash was more than willing to help with taking care of the dead woman, before moving with them. He too made sure that he was watching the others, observing and learning. He almost seemed quiet and stern, but then Tio spoke to him and Pash couldn't miss the opportunity!
A bard for all seasons unlocked. NPC reaction adjusted!
Kura asked about the skills and abilities of the troops with them and Treloar nodded.
"Of course, that's very sensible, ma'am." He considered it carefully then answered.
"We are all skilled with melee weapons and bow. The animals are combat trained, so will not panic in a combat situation. They're better trained than horses, less jittery or likely to be distracted." Was there anything else, he wondered politely.
It had to be said, he raised an eyebrow when Tio called Kali'rial 'Cupcake' and asked about making out with fangs. Treloar had a good 'game face', but the twinkle of amusement in his eyes was obvious, albeit only for a brief second. He gave Pash a grin at the bard's response, but then fell back into serious. He, much like Kali, kept an eye out around them.
And then, there was a rustling noise and they were attacked within moments. As that happened, a number of things happened simultaneously.
Qit'ria flung her javelin at a small flying rabbit.
Kura got her bow and fired. The other thing that Kura did, though, was take away some of her own concentration by talking ~ and she gave out an order or two along the way. This meant that, considering her skill level, she got one arrow off but it flew with accuracy.
Whilst that was ongoing
Tio dropped and got his tinder box. He was still in the process of lighting his torch, but he had a plan ~ hopefully everyone was still alive when it came to fruition! At least if they weren't, they wouldn't have to worry about the jungle burning down!
Now, Qit'ria was not, in fact, particularly skilled with a javelin and so choosing a relatively small, fast moving target in a melee might not have been the best idea in the world. As her javelin struck Kali'rial in the shoulder, that probably seemed quite likely - especially for Kali'rial. Kura's speaking to the animals didn't exactly stop her from moving, but it inevitably split her focus. Her arrow, however, hit, embedding in the face of the humanoid. That gave the group something which they could learn from.
Apparently, whatever drove these moss-monsters, they could take an above-average amount of damage.
An arrow directly to the face would normally, at least, slow a person down. Not these.
Kali'rial shot an arrow into the torso of the moss monster bearing down on her and it was here that her superior skill with the bow showed ~ she was about to get a second shot off when she felt the javelin which Qit'ria had thrown embed into her shoulder. It was immediately painful, slicing through flesh and blood started to pour. Thankfully, the javelin didn't stay stuck in there, but she was injured and, since it was her shoulder, the huntress would not be using her bow again in a hurry.
Pash, meanwhile, was forced to go hand to hand with his moss-zombie. Despite his excellent skill, he found that it and he were more or less evenly matched. Which was probably a bit of a worry to anyone who was watching, because he was good. Speedy, accurate and fearless ~ that was what it was that this creature was and Pash had it, and it's very big and unpleasant dog on him too. Phelan was fighting the dog-thing, so Pash and his opponent were locked in combat.
By keeping things hand to hand, Pash was able to act defensively, to keep his moss monster busy. Neither one of them had the upper hand - but he realised his mistake when he swung his dagger. He might have been able to act
entirely defensively and hold it at bay, but when he swung the dagger, he hit the creature as it, too, hit
him. Dagger sliced through moss-flesh as it returned the favour.
Then, of course, once one had worked out what it was that our heroes' attacks had done, there were the return attacks of the moss monsters. Long talon-like claws at the end of rotting and moss-covered fingers were coated in a strange liquid. As Pash's dagger embedded in the neck of his, ice-pick style, it sliced long claw along his ribs, left open to being attacked by the motion of his attack. He, too, felt blood start to flow and a strange burning sensation where the claws sliced at his flesh.
The dog which was with Pash's opponent turned snarling fangs towards Phelan as the large beast attacked. The two of them went down together, matched in size and strength. There were snarls and growls and the sound of teeth ripping into flesh - on both parts. As Phelan bit into it, it bit into him. Fangs and claws flashed and moved.
Sarkis, too, jumped to the one which was attacking Kali'rial, aiming to rip out its throat. This was a good thing, in truth, as Kali'rial was vulnerable from the friendly fire she'd been injured by. Still, as Sarkis jumped and ripped out a chunk of flesh, the moss-zombie not only did not stop, but long liquid-coated talons sliced into the wolf, down his left flank and raking open his flesh. The flunny, currently uninjured, continued to fly directly at Kali'rial with the aim of ripping off her face. It was scuppered in this by the unexpected movement from Kali'rial as the javelin hit, but alongside the damage to her shoulder, she had what appeared to be a undead rabid flunny swipe a small but very sharp claw at her, opening up a gash across her chest.
The one on Kura reached the mortalborn and sliced at her, it's long fingers reaching, easily enough. Kura's arrow had done nothing to slow it down and with the bow in her hand it was, or seemed to be, about to rip off one half of her face when it's left hand and arm literally fell to the floor as Teloar sliced it with his sword. It didn't slow the beast down, but it meant that it couldn't use that hand to open Kura's flesh which had been it's aim. It turned, lifting it's right arm.
On observation, it seemed that Round 1 went to the Moss Bros.
1.
Don't Die!!
2.
Keep each other alive!
3.
Avoid friendly fire! 
