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Reforged pt 11

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Unlike most folks from Hearthbridge, Arthur had a decent amount of experience in the woodlands. Having spent years as part of the town militia, the blacksmith had, as a young man, even camped beyond the wooden fortifications while on patrol when the need struck. Still, despite having at least a passing familiarity with the wilds, he had never before encountered druids, nor had he experienced druidic magic, and he was honestly intimidated.

If he was being true to himself, Arthur's first inclination was to fall back and regroup, but something about Harold's insistence to help the people he called his friends kept the blacksmith from doing so. The Gnoll tightened his grip on his bow as he called out "Dad... we have to do something. This isn't right!"

In the time Harold's attention was faced away from it, the huge being made out of storm clouds and violent winds rushed him. A powerful intonation rumbled from the circle of stones and the large mushroom man standing behind the stone altar at its center raised one of its bulbous off-white arms; a split second later the air elemental snapped back to the hill on which it had formed like a guard dog hitting the end of its leash.

Arthur realized that Harold was right; based on the resounding words that kept appearing in his head, the circle was in trouble, and most of them were under some kind of curse or enchantment. Raising his voice, he shouted to the team "Press on!"

The cloaked man with the beard to the mushroom's left shook his head and raised both arms; the wooden staff he held pointed skyward and he then gestured outward toward Orvig with his free hand. The Orc was highlighted in a bright light for a split second and, despite attempting to roll away, Orvig took the brunt of a blast of lighting that arced down from the sky to strike where he'd been standing a split-second before. Although he maintained his footing, Arthur saw little wisps of smoke rising from within Orvig's armor, and the Orc's hair stood out at odd angles from the shock.

Unable to spare the attention, the blacksmith returned his focus to the circle; Harold had run ahead of him and the being made up of the water in the small lake surged forth to meet him. The Gnoll nimbly dodged its first blow, but a surge of water struck him in the chest, knocking him back. Harold rolled with it, however, using the momentum to come back up to his feet, battered, but none-the-worse for wear.

Lucas, ever wary, remained back as he pointed. "That circle of stones is the source of their power, right?" He dipped his claw-tipped fingers into the pouch at his hip. "The all we gotta do is smash it!"

Harold shot a glance back at his younger brother. "Don't you dar-- LUCAS!"

He spoke too late; the Kobold already had a talon out and, with a shout of arcane words, released a blast of glowing green energy which streaked across the battlefield. It fizzled as it went, rocketing past Arthur and right at the closest standing stone... before disappearing without so much as a puff before impacting. The stone glowed a soft, verdant green, and Lucas was not pleased in the least. "Oh come ON!"

Harold finally had his chance to provide input. "The stones are GOOD, Lucas. Don't mess with em or I'll mess with YOU!"

Arthur moved to join the Gnoll, standing carefully as he assessed the situation. The air elemental was apparently confined to the hill on which it had appeared; the elemental made up of fire seemed disinterested in leaving the burning trees; the earthen elemental was staying put, obviously guarding the druids, or at least biding its time. Selecting the water elemental which had hit his son, the blacksmith brought his war hammer to bear, striking it solidly. Although the blow connected he wasn't really sure just how much damage (if any) he'd caused.

It responded immediately by bringing both watery arms down on him in a powerful slam. Setting his feet, the human raised his shield high, and the elementals strike crashed against it like waves on a rock, but it was powerful enough that Arthur felt the impact vibrate through his whole body and make his back teeth ache from the blow; he certainly didn't want to be caught by it unprepared.

Back behind himself, Arthur heard the sound of Peter continuing his fight with the animated tree but he couldn't hazard taking his attention off his own foe. Fortunately, Orvig stepped up beside him to offer support. Harold took the opportunity to step behind them both, putting his bow away as he turned to the wolf cowering beside the bear up by the stones. "Trovir-- I know you. You'd never hurt anyone without cause. You don't have to do this-- you're no slave. Think! Algus wouldn't really approve of this!"

Arthur had heard Harold talk to animals on many occasions; his son often did a better job with them than people in that regard, but he'd never seen such a decisive response. Tail still tucked, the wolf turned away, loping off to hide behind one of the many large stones that made up the druid's circle. The bear actively paused in whatever it was doing, glancing back to growl at the wolf, which continued to cower at the hiding spot it had chosen.

Unable to spare any more attention, Arthur looked back to the water elemental, just in time to see it rush him and his companions but, once again, the mushroom back by the druidic altar intoned, and the living water was pulled back to its small lake, unable to reach them. The mushroom, or 'Sovereign', as Harold had named it, was helping them. It added credence to the blacksmith's impression that there was an evident schism within the circle.

That thought was only further reinforced when the bearded man called down another blast of lightning. Orvig pushed Arthur away from the impact site and used that to throw himself to the side, but his metal armor once again proved to be a lightning rod and he took a majority of the blow. Although he was still standing, the Orc looked burned, winded, and spent. The blacksmith called to the knight "Fall back, Orvig... you can't take much more of that."

Orvig glanced his way, offering a pained, but tusk-y smile. "The more of it I take, the less you and your boys have to, Arthur-- just focus on getting to the circle... these elementals are only keeping us from our true goal."

As if waiting for confirmation that it had been noticed, the elemental stone standing idly by apparently took Orvig's words as a sign that it should finally act and, when it did, the charge was imposing. Arthur barely had the chance to raise his shield in time as the thing put its full weight behind the blow; despite the human's respectable build and physique, he was a feather compared to solid rock, and the attack staggered him, sending him stumbling back several feet until he could regain his footing.

The elemental took a step forward, readying another blow, but the attack was interrupted as a bolt of magical energy smashed into is face. The Kobold then shouted from the back. "If we don't do SOMETHING they'll probably just summon more! We need to do something about their magic already!"

Orvig stepped forward, slamming into the earth elemental with his shield in a vain attempt to push it off of Arthur; somehow it worked. Grunting, the Orc shouted "Do not be distracted! We must disable the man with the beard!"

Harold barked out immediately "Just don't kill him! He's being controlled!"

Peter sunk his sword into the animated tree. "We cannot survive on defense alone. What do you propose?"

Harold, having drawn his axe and hammer, slammed both into the earth elemental threatening the group. "Destroy the tools, not the wielders!"

Lucas, who had stepped closer, mumbled out something with a snort. Although it wasn't spoken at full volume, Arthur was still able to make out his grumbling "Fine... but if that beard guy kills anyone I'm SOOO frying his ass."

Peter apparently didn't miss the statement either, correcting his brother even while blocking a tree branch with a shield. "Lucas-- Language!"

Arthur dodged another swipe from the earth elemental, calling out to the druids. "What's wrong here? You're supposed to be Harold's friends!"

The disembodied voice answered. "They are not themselves, Father of Harold. Their minds are not their own. I know you wish to help, but the Circle is already lost."

The air elemental descended from the hill, attempting to slam into the group; although it was once-again pulled back onto the overlook it did manage to buffet Orvig before being recalled and the Orc stumbled, obviously wounded. To make matters worse, the woman far back with the druids had her bow up and, in the blink of an eye, two arrows sprouted almost simultaneously out of the small gaps in the knight's armor. He fell down to one knee.

Although Arthur wanted to go to his aid, he was stuck facing off against the earth elemental. To make matters worse, the enormous bear standing at the edge of the circle growled, and then bellowed. A powerful aura surrounded the thing, fusing with its body and making its already impressive muscles swell; it then started forward. The blacksmith called out "We have more trouble!"

Beside him, Orvig rested a hand against the plate where the arrows had struck him; a soft glow emanated from the small plates surrounding his fingers and the arrows popped free of his body. The Orc stood up, a little steadier. "Worry not. We shall hold... but we MUST find a way to break whatever enchantment is upon them."

The disembodied voice returned. "I cannot help you for long. He will know you are here. He has enslaved East and West. North is missing..."

As the mushroom 'spoke', its tendril-like arms glowed softly and a similar illumination surrounded Arthur, his sons, and Orvig. It felt warm and cool at the same time, not unlike standing in a breeze during early summer. The pain of Arthur's wounds lessened and, in fact, ceased altogether. Around him, his party responded similarly and he noticed that the large slash on Harold's forearm had disappeared entirely.

Lucas, who had approached closer from behind, spoke up. "It didn't say anything about South. Those can't be compass directions. What's it talking about?"

Harold answered immediately, slamming his weapons into the earth elemental again. "Each direction is a person! It's how they name their circle members."

Lucas blasted the stone being again with another bolt of magical energy. "Does that mean we need to find North? Who's North?"

The Gnoll stepped back, moving out of the wide reach of the elemental. "Never met him. He doesn't matter right now-- we have to deal with this first!"

Rather than fall back, Harold stepped further around the aggressive wall of stone and faced down the boar, calling out to it. "Moki, think of Branson! Would he really want to kill me? Would you kill me? He's better than this... and YOU are better then all of this!

Almost as if understanding him, the boar let out a savage squeal, and charged. Arthur was certain that it was going to head straight at them but, instead, surprisingly, it ascended the rise and ran tusks-first into the solid manifestation of elemental air, and then began savaging it with rapid thrashes and gores from its tucks. The bearded man had been standing next to it, and its sudden departure was enough to make him lose his focus; almost immediately the dark clouds overhead began to dissipate, and thunder ceased entirely.

Peter remained at the back of the party, continuing to hack and slash at it; although his blows were having an effect, it was nowhere near fast enough. "A little aid?"

Lucas spun to face his eldest brother. "Stop playing around already and DUCK!"

The Kobold extended both of his talons and shouted out several words of power. A ray of blazing energy scorched the air between his palms and the tree. Peter managed to leap aside at the last moment and both rays slammed into the plant; it was cinders in a matter of seconds. Peter hazarded a quick glance toward the smoldering wood before jogging to catch up with the front line, offering a terse "Thanks." to his little brother.

A shout in what could only have been elvish caught Arthur's attention and he whipped his head back around just in time to see the woman back at the edge of the circle take aim at the Kobold. "LUCAS! Watch out!"

Arthur moved to try and intercept the arrows with his shield but he was far too slow. His youngest son whipped his head around at the last moment to catch sight of the incoming attack, and quickly covered his face with his talons, using his arms to block the most sensitive parts of his chest and sternum. Three arrows found their mark, and, although one bounced off of the tough hide around his elbows, two of them imbedded themselves into his forearms. He identified his moderate level of wounds with an indignant "Ow!"

Harold stepped up, raising a paw toward the fox that lingered toward the archer's feet. "Zane! You can tell something's not right! It's me, Harold! Please-- help us save her!"

The Fox yipped, sitting on his haunches as he cocked his head to the side. He slid back on the ground and Arthur blinked, unable to believe his eyes as the small vulpine looked like he was fading away into the earth. A moment later, Arthur jumped to the side as the black outline of a fox pulled free from Harold's shadow and the fox climbed up and out of it as if emerging from a burrow. Adding to the surprise, it looked up at Harold and actually SPOKE! "Harold of Man! It IS you!"

The Gnoll looked down confidently at the otherworldly animal. "We're gonna save the circle... you with us?"

The Fox let out an affirmative-sounding yip and lowered himself into what almost looked like a pouncing position. Arthur wanted to stare at the strange creature further, but he still had an earth elemental facing off against him, and he had to interpose himself between it and Orvig, who was still grievously wounded. The blacksmith forced it back, giving the Orc long enough to speak a quick prayer to Hieroneous; more of the knight's wounds closed and he set himself into a battle stance once more.

Finally caught up to the front line, Peter let out a roar, slamming himself horns-first into the earth elemental. With its attention on Arthur, the Minotaur collided into it, sending the stone-bodied being reeling. Vines, roots, and weeds rose up from the ground, burrowing into the earth elemental and entangling it. The voice in Arthur's head spoke again. "The Circle has been broken by the defiler... we have been consumed by him, and my companions have become my jailors. My power is finite. I cannot resist them forever..."

Beside the mushroom man, the bearded fellow scowled, then started chanting. He finished whatever spell he was casting with a loud howl, and it was echoed off to the party's right; two very large wolves loped into view, growling as they approached the group. Arthur was unable to track them as the earth elemental broke an arm free from its bindings and swung it right at him. He blocked it with his shield, reinforcing his stance by throwing his shoulder into his block and even with all his weight behind it he was still shoved back; even defending he knew that blow would leave him bruised.

Behind him, Lucas shouted out his words of power and two fiery rays blasted past, one narrowly missing Peter and the earth elemental, and the other slamming right into the elemental's stone chest. Despite being made of pure earth, it still recoiled from the attack, obviously affected. Arthur seized the opportunity to follow them in, slamming his hammer home twice and cracking off good-sized chunks of scorched earth.

Off to the left, Arthur heard the sound of angry squeals, leading him to believe that the wild boar was still keeping the air creature occupied, which still left the water and fire elementals to address. Nobody in the party was facing off against the fiery foe and yet it was still content to sit and bide its time within the flaming timbers; the thought worried Arthur greatly, especially since its presence was causing the fire to spread even more. He didn't have any time to think about it, however, as he was forced to step back and protect Lucas against a fresh volley of arrows.

Despite Arthur's intervention, the volley of arrows all somehow missed him, and yet found their mark in Lucas. The Kobold stumbled back, struck in the neck, twice in the shoulder, and once right in the chest. The blacksmith cried out "SON!"

The little reptile hissed, wincing as he rested a talon against his chest. Little wisps of fire spread out, burning the arrows and turning them to cinders. He winced as the flames seared his flesh closed. Coughing, he wiped bloody froth off his scaled lips before stating in a tense, pain-filled voice. "Gotta do something about that archer lady... she's really got it in for me or somethin'."

Harold stepped up immediately, putting a paw on Lucas' shoulder. "Alright-- fall back, Lucas. I'm not about to have you get killed."

The Kobold shrugged it off. "I can keep going. It'll take more than arrows to put me down."

The Gnoll glanced around at the elementals, and to the bear, which was starting to approach. "They HAVE more than arrows... You sure, L?"

Lucas nodded. "If they're your friends, they're important!"

Arthur realized that their hectic fighting couldn't continue. He took a step back as he began formulating a plan. "Harold-- go help the boar. Orvig-- Peter: keep earth busy. I'll keep Lucas safe."

There was no argument, which was good because he wouldn't have accepted any. His middle son deftly scaled the smoother side of the slope, charging into the air elemental, which was buffeting and batting at the boar. Harold railed into it with abandon, bringing both his weapons to bear while Orvig and Peter both continued to wail away at the earth elemental, which weathered the blows as it tried to score a hit of its own.

Arthur readied his bow for the next volley of arrows, watching the woman with the bow closely, but his attention was pulled to one of the large stone pillars; atop it, a small green orb appeared, glowing softly as what almost looked like a pupil appeared within it, gazing across the battlefield. The disembodied voice of Sovereign flowed through his head again. "You are in grave danger... he has taken notice."

The blacksmith heard a gasp from behind him as Lucas shivered and a name whispered out of his dumbstruck maw. "Maeryk..."

Storm clouds began gathering overhead once again as the bearded man chanted. Preceded by no warning, a large blast of lightning descended, cascading down a huge bold of electricity right into Peter. The Minotaur groaned out in pain, but remained standing, gasping for air as steam poured out from beneath his armor. He echoed Lucas' earlier statement. "Ow."

The two wolves raced amidst the falling timber, rushing the party from the side and flanking past the front line, charging Lucas. Arthur was just about to shout out a warning when the Kobold acted, apparently having noticed them as well. Gesturing with both talons, he flung his arms out wide and the earth rumbled as a conflagration erupted from it, splitting the soil as an enormous wall of fire rose up, spreading quickly to encircle the lupine threat. Seeing that his youngest had the matter handled, the blacksmith instead turned to assist Orvig and his eldest son.

Charging back into the fray, Arthur joined the Minotaur and Orc, both of whom were continuing to wail away on the earth elemental. Between the three of them, their constant strikes overpowered their opponent and with a moan that sounded like a small avalanche, the living rocks tumbled apart, collapsing into a vaguely humanoid pile before laying still. Orvig, breathing heavily, blood dripping from numerous wounds announced the minor victory with tempered optimism. "One down, but we are not yet done."

Harold brought attention back to combat with his reply, leaping back from the swirling debris created by the air elemental as he shouted "Great! Maybe you wanna offer a hand over here then?"

Peter started forward again, moving toward the circle, but paused as the bow woman raised her weapon again. Her arms became a blur as she fired arrows in rapid succession and the Minotaur raised his shield to protect himself. Almost as if she'd planned it, each and every shot ricocheted off of his defense and bounced off in perfect aim, every arrow, one after another found its way right into Lucas.

Arthur screamed "LUCAS!"

The Kobold swayed on his feet for a few moments, tail drooping down to the ground to provide him more balance as he looked down at the four shafts sticking out of his chest. "Well... that's... really... something..."

Harold cried out as well. "L!"

The Gnoll leapt back from the front lines to race to his younger brother's aid but, in a seamless exchange of position, Orvig moved in to contest the air elemental in his absence. The boar, torn and bloody from constant exposure to the whipping wind and debris, continued assailing its foe with barely any regard for itself, which made Arthur question his place in the battle. Only then did he notice that he had a clear shot to the circle... all except for the massive ursine bearing down on him and Peter.

Almost as if reading his mind, Arthur's eldest son moved to interpose himself, calling back over his shoulder "I'll hold it back-- do what you can, Father!"

The bear collided with the Minotaur, slamming into him with just as much force as one of his own charges. The two titans met, and the bear pulled Peter into a tight hug, claws digging into his hide through his armor, mouth biting down on a shoulder pauldron and denting it. Despite the grievous attacks, Peter held his ground, shouting again for Arthur to act before breaking free by head-butting the bear; it was knocked back with the powerful attack.

Arthur set his eyes on the ring, gauging his best way to approach. He was no wizard and he knew little about magic. If what Sovereign said was true then the druids were being coerced. Could he set them free? How? He began stalking toward the ring of stones, questions continuing to bounce around in his head, but not so much that he missed the sight of the bearded man casting spells again; the blacksmith transitioned his forward motion into a run.

With the spell complete, the bearded man motioned to off to the right and behind Arthur; a loud burst followed by a blast of cold air identified a spell effect, but Harold's call clarified things further. "Fire's out-- wolves are loose. Shit!"

The situation was severe enough that Peter didn't bother correcting his brother's language, choosing instead to continue focusing on the bear. The Minotaur had dropped his sword in the initial clash, meaning he was stuck to using his sheer strength. Even so, it was all he could to do keep it at bay, pushing it back physically with everything he had. Unfortunately, the Fire Elemental chose that opportunity to charge.

The blazing being rushed right at Peter, the conflagration that was the forest fire following right behind it. Just when it appeared nothing would stop it, a brief flash of glowing green energy collided with what would have been its head and it fell back, clawing at its face as if it had just been hit by a blast of acid. Apparently the impression was not far of from the truth as Lucas shouted in glee "HA! I BURNED fire!"

Just as Arthur was trying to figure out what by good fortune the Kobold had recovered from the arrows, Harold barked out the announcement "I'm outta healing potions!"

By the time Arthur had crested the ridge and hustled toward the circle the bow woman had another shot lined up, this time aiming at Orvig, who, with the aid of the boar, had destroyed the air elemental. The moment he turned in the direction of the circle she loosed her shots, four arrows in the air before the first found its way to its target. The Orc, however, was more than ready for it, and he took every last one to his shield. He roared out his battle cry "HIERONEOUS!" and joined the blacksmith in the advance.

Battle behind him forgotten, Arthur continued his own charge. Counting out his every step, he knew he couldn't have been more than two dozen from his target. By twenty, blasts of fire rose up behind him. At 18 there was a roar of pain that could only have been Peter. Despite how much he wanted to turn back to aid his sons, Arthur knew in his heart of hearts that none of them would survive the engagement if nothing could be done to end the fight-- if it had to be with blood, then so be it, but he would not let the circle harm his family.

Fifteen steps away and the archer readied her next volleys. It was close enough that Arthur could no longer delay; tossing his shield aside, he charged full speed. Fortunately for him, he was not her target; unfortunately for Orvig, the Orc was. Arthur found himself alone as he raced toward the circle of stones, the knight falling beneath the stream of arrows. Despite the fact that Orvig was wriggling into a position to take his healing potion, Arthur realized that he would be on his own. Only ten steps away; he was not going to stop.

The green orb atop the nearest stone suddenly burst with energy, and a voice sounding more demonic than mortal rolled out of it. "Ah... there you are, my little kobold..."

Although refusing to stop his run, Arthur looked up at the baleful thing; he'd heard somewhere that wizards were able to create little magical eyeballs through which to gaze at far away places, but what the blacksmith saw was far more foreboding; the green flames licking around the edges heralded a sinister presence, and it was almost enough to get him to pause-- but a moment later a bolt of magical energy slammed into it, followed by a shout from Lucas "Go soak your head, Maeryk!"

So focused on the magical ball, Arthur's mindfulness saved him at the last second as he returned his focus to the archer; she had a bead on him with her bow, and she let her shots fly. Her arm was a blur as the arrows came one after another, and the blacksmith twisted his body, aiming forward with his pauldron leading the way in the vain hope that his armor would take the worst of it. It did, but the metal couldn't hold up against the assault and he winced at the hot sting of his body being pierced by the attacks. He could feel his blood pouring from the wounds, and yet he would not stop.

Taking his final step, Arthur swung his war hammer, not so much with intent to hit the bow woman, but to make sure he had her attention and keep it off of his boys. She backpedaled and he followed, stepping into the circle. The voice that had spoken to them all flowed into his mind again, so much more powerful as a warmth suffused his body, lessening his pains and strengthening his resolve. "Another here with me. You are strong of will, Father of Harold. Together, perhaps we stand a chance."

Arthur was willing to help; it was within his nature. The blacksmith didn't even need to speak; the mushroom man known as Sovereign could tell, and he knew that it knew. He was aware of its plan; together the two of them could combine their will in an attempt to break free the rest of the circle from the aggressor. Sovereign was immune to the mind control due to being something other than humanoid, but it could not act against the will of its fellows-- with another mind, however, it could be possible.

His attention snapped back to the bow woman the moment he heard the twang of the bowstring. He barely even felt the numerous arrows pierce his armor, and his chest, and he suddenly felt very cold. The thoughts in his mind were frantic or, at least, half of them were; the mushroom man seemed unconcerned as it noted "There is a cycle to all things, Arthur, father of Harold. Nature will not be denied, but it is not without grace if you know but how to ask for what you need."

The only thing Arthur thought as he hit the ground was how much he wanted to live. Sovereign bade him choose who should be freed; it was the only way. Names came unbidden to his mind, along with an understanding of to whom they belonged. The archer woman was Liani. The bear was normally a kindly fellow named Algus. The bearded man of great power was named Branson Oakshadow. It was the third name that stuck. Wheezing, the blacksmith felt his vision going, life blood pouring out of his insurmountable wounds as he murmured "Branson."

Then it happened.