Life After the Apocalypse

>>> Piphany's screams would probably carry over the sound of battle even without the Party chat system carrying them into everyone's ears. Those screams galvanize everyone into frantic action, turning their attention to the 'Knight' Stalk - the melee battle segment of the Triffid creature - as it tries to crush her.

>>>Grace, Maxime, Raquel, Atalanta and Calamity all rush the Stalk as it crushes Piphany. Blades, fists and an Instrument assail the creature leaving grievous wounds. Ice and fire, conjured by Arga and Isbjorn leap at the creature. Isbjorn's Ice Spear strikes the Stalk while Arga's Flare Arrow is intercepted by the thick leaves of the Castle segment of King Triffid.


>>>The Guardian dived out of the way of another wrecking ball-like slam attack from the 'Castle' and caught the closed bulb with an upper cut swing of his huge mace. Catching it totally off guard, the blow swung the Triffid's own organic flail back onto itself... Crashing into the 'Knight' segment with the sound of two trees falling into each other and forcing it to drop Piphany. "Woo!" Haha!" Guy yelled, pumping his free hand in the air. Take THAT!"

>>>From the back line, Tina and BradL33 cast their spells. BradL33 invokes Healing Wind to bring Piphany back from the brink of death. A refreshing breeze flows over the Party, reinvigorating them as well. Tina has less success as the power of King Triffid resists her Brain Vice.
>>>Fren sunk his blade into the Crown again, narrowly avoiding the Castle's fronds as it passed over his head. The spiky, thorned tip of the Crown's stalk lashed at the Fox Tail, striking him hard. The vicious thorns cut and tore at him and the impact unseated him from his perch on the Triffid stalk and sent him flying. He hit the ground nearby and rolled, his body knowing instinctively how to right itself. The rush of BradL33's healing spell washing most of the damage away.

>>> I'm not specced for Healing... This is about all I've got." he called over Party Chat. "The thing that had Piphany... It's HP bar is in the red and the others aren't looking great either. Look out because it's probably gonna change attack pattern or do something dramatic. These Raid Bosses always get ugly when low on HP!"

>>>As is to illustrate that point, the central stalk, the Crown began swelling and shaking violently as the Castle segment unfurled its flower again and raised high...like a serpent ready to strike.

---

---

King Triffid

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
12	Castle	???	-158	???		WEAK
9	Crown	???	-83	???	-20	WEAK
6	Knight	???	-235	???	-26	none
Defense:	10
Magic Defense:	10

Attacks: Ensnare, Petal Smash, Thorn Slash, Thorn Spray,

"Let's finish this part off quickly, then move to the Crown," Raquel suggests. She slices upward at the Knight stalk once again. She may have once been a regular guy in her previous life, but now Raquel is a Blade Master, and her skills reflect that. She delivers a telling blow to the mighty Triffid!

Grace steps back a bit and uses the last of her MP to echo the ice attack, hoping to finish off that red HP bar before the monster can act!

Fren grimaces through the pain and stands up again. "I agree Raquel! Let's finish it!" He will cast Healing Forge, his blade flares up again with light. He attacks the Crown stalk.

Clara charges forward with the others, swinging the sword with all her might.

Atalanta decides to Guard Isbjorn , "Let it have it Isbjorn, I'll cover you!"

"Thanks, kid!" Isbjorn shouts to Atalanta, with a huge grin on his face. The young monk's actions reminds Isbjorn of the first time his son Ulrik covered for him as well in the game, despite the two of them still not knowing much about each other. A huge burst of parental love fills him as he confidently calls forth another ice spear to strike another blow at the Triffid.

>>> The concerted barrage against the Knight stalk of King Triffid brings it down in a spectacular fashion as the magical efforts of Grace, Arga and Isbjorn freeze it solid and Arga's Flare Arrow shatters it into a pulpy rain of vegetable matter.
>>> Witnessing the devastation of the Knight, the other Adventurers are able to retrain their attacks towards the remaining two stalks but not before both undergo some sort of...change. The 'Castle' segment rears to its full height and unfurls its bulb into a corpse-white colored flower and jets a cloud of inky black pollen that saturates the Aleflower field. The orange flowers in the area wither and die as the noxious pollen engulfs the field and everyone in it. The 'Crown' shakes violently before disgorging a rain of seed pods that break open across the field and vicious little Triffid Fauns issue forth from the broken pods eager to attack.



>>>Already committed to the attack, Calamity, Guy, Maxime and Raquel move in to deal their damage...adding to the rapidly falling HP Bar of King Triffid. Fren activates his Healing Forge spell and immolates the field with healing light for the Party and searing fire for the Triffid and its 'fauns'.

>>> "Crap! It's changing tactics!" BradL33 swore. He's predicted something would happen but King Triffid radically changed the battlefield by strewing minions across the field and breaking the attack lines the Adventurers set up. Now, everyone was at risk instead of just the front line...

>>> "FAUNS? Really?" Tina complained as she scanned the Status Boxes of the new monsters in the field. "Not 'Spawn' or even 'Pawns' to stick with the Chess theme?? That's just some bad localization right there..."

---

---

King Triffid

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
12	Castle	???	-214	???	-30	WEAK
9	Crown	???	-205	???	-40	WEAK
6	Knight	300	-343	???	-26	DEAD

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 10

Attacks: Ensnare, Petal Smash, Poison Pollen, Seed Storm, Thorn Slash, Thorn Spray,

Triffid Faun

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
10	Faun 1	???	-20	???		none
10	Faun 2	???	-20	???		none
10	Faun 3	???	-20	???		none
10	Faun 4	???	-20	???		none
10	Faun 5	???	-20	???		none
10	Faun 6	???	-20	???		none

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 6
Attacks: Bite

Raquel coughs and chokes as the pollen rains down on her. She grits her teeth when the fauns appear. "Somebody tank the adds. I’m going to focus on burning down the boss." She slashes again!

The monster’s defenses are tough, but she was a consummate gamer in her previous life. She isn’t about to let an overgrown plant ruin her winning streak!

Grace cheers Raquel on!—adding lyrics to the melody on her healing song (or the boss music, since what she played seemed to harmonize with that)—

Raq brought hell down
On the crown…

She leaps to join the attack!!The lyrics, "and Grace came bumbling after," enter her mind as she overshoots her target.

Okay, Grace. You call yourself ‘a slayer of audiences who rolls with punches?’ Well that Raquel-rhyme’s gonna SUCK if you can’t land your punch!

Now do as Grace O’Keys always says at the start of the second set: HIT IT!

..and Grace
The Tumbling Smasher!

She KABONGS! the crown with an aerial overhead strike!

Isbjorn curses as he stares in helplessness at the new monsters the King Triffid spawned. He doesn't know yet how to target multiple enemies at once with his magic, so he could only grit his teeth as he hurls another bolt of ice towards the Castle stalk to take it down faster, lest it let rain another batch of seed pods on them.

" I think those Elixirs could fix poison,". Atalanta calls out. "I’ll get into the…adds, and keep the little things busy.

"I’ll use my Elixir when I have time."

Atalanta stumbles into the new creatures in a clearly in-advised way.

Fren will cast another Healing Forge on the Crown as he coughs black spores and dark blood drips from his mouth. "Lets dance!" he yells.

>>>The seed pods spewed forth from the Crown all break open to reveal the Triffid's minion monsters inside, all hungry to take a bite out of the Adventurers and their friends! Six seed pods land just ahead of King Triffid and usher forth the creature's spawn. Surprisingly, both the Crown and the Castle whip the tops of their stalks down and gobble up one of their own Fauns. Green light surges through the stalks as they do so.

>>>"What the bloody...?" Guy dodged aside as the Castle dropped down next to him to goble the Faun racing at him. "Now I see why you wanted to do a tutorial for Enchanter, Tina. That Class really sucks!" He stood to take a position between the Fauns and Piphany. "Have you even managed to land a spell yet??"

>>>"Oh, I'm sorry..." she retorted sarcastically. "I'm currently frightened beyond the capacity for rational thought".

>>>"Damn! They're using those little ones to restore HP!" he watched as the Health Bars for both stalks climbed. "My spell won't stop the big ones... You got anything to stop the Crown?" he looked over to Tina. She shrugged noncommittally as her mind raced for something to do.
>>>"Willow Spirits!" BradL33 chanted, hoping to snag one of the Fauns in his spell.


>>>"Here goes nothin'... she murmured. "Thorn Bind Hostage!"


>>> Arga's Flare Arrow goes wide, missing the barn-sized King Triffid by a mile. Tina exclaims loudly as the Crown is ensnared by two glowing magical vines that wrap around it and constrict it tight. The follow-up attacks from Raquel and Grace activate the Spell's effect, detonating the vines and plunging the Crown's HP Bar back into the red.
>>>Hauling herself up to her knees and holding her scythe high, mutters a bit and yells: "SWEEPER"! In a flash, she's across the field and standing just behind Guy who sets his shield to intercept whatever King Triffid has up its sleeve next. Piphany's scythe cut across the field, hitting Faun & King Triffid alike.
BradL33's spell completes and vines snake out of burning field to ensnare one of the Triffid Fauns heading at them. The Heads-up display marks it as Faun 3. It snaps impotently as the normal looking vines lash it to the dirt , immobilizing it.
>>>The Fauns attack en masse, one taking a bite from Grace, one ineffectually dancing with Atalanta as she side-steps the thorny creature's maw. Another attacks Maxime and he parties the chomp with his blade. The words 'Parado Riposte" flash briefly over his head as he skewers the nippy little seed pod. Maxime, himself, seems oblivious to the sudden appearance of the tag above him as it quickly fades.
>>> Another Faun takes a nibble at Piphany on its way towards the Party's back lines. Nimble and evasive, it slides past Guy's readied mace to sink it's thorn-like teeth in the Assassin's thigh. The remaining three Fauns gambol and roll towards the Party's back line. The raging Aleflower fires force the minions into a narrow gap between the flames...occupied by the Pirate Cat, Calamity, who blocks their way. Eager to pass, the Fauns attack, only one getting last her guard and sinking it's thorny maw into kitty cat flesh

---

---

King Triffid

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
12	Castle	???	-108	???	-30	WEAK
9	Crown	???	--241	???	-40	DAZED, WEAK
6	Knight	300	-343	???	-26	DEAD

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 10

Attacks: Ensnare, Petal Smash, Poison Pollen, Seed Storm, Thorn Slash, Thorn Spray,

Triffid Faun

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
10	Faun 1	???	-74	???		none
10	Faun 2	???	-80	???		none
10	Faun 3	???	-74	???		HINDERED
10	Faun 4	???	-74	???		none
10	Faun 5	???		???		DEAD
10	Faun 6	???		???		DEAD

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 6
Attacks: Bite

"Grace!" Raquel shouts as the faun takes a bite out of the bard. Luckily, it doesn't seem too bad. The assassin continues to slash at the Crown stalk!

Clara can feel the Triffid's poison weakening her, intensified by the bite from the Faun. She opens her inventory and takes out an elixir. Luckily, she is prepared this time, but this may get dicey if the situation prolongs and they run out of antidotes.

"Ouch… I mean, umm, ’tis but a scratch?"

Really? You’re quoting a guy who got all four limbs chopped off?

Grace isn’t whether her lame Holy Grail quote alleviates Raquel’s concern. What she is sure of is that she and the assassin made some kinda connection, and maybe finishing off the crown together would—

"This instrument blunt enough for ya?—YAAH!!"

Would what? she honestly asks herself after landing the blow, would prevent the crown from eating its own? Just focus on keeping everyone alive!

"Dam…darn, I guess you should cure statues quick."

Atalanta whips out her one Elixir and consumes it.

The battle is getting more and more chaotic, and Isbjorn struggles to not let his worry for the others distract him. He hastily checks the Triffid's status box and once he notices that the Crown stalk's HP bar is at red, conjures another frost spear, hoping it'll kill it for good.

>>>The battle turns pitched and deadly with the Knight Stalk down and the lingering effects of the Triffid's poisonous pollen wearing down the Adventurers and energizing the Triffid Fauns. The Adventurers focus down the central Crown Stalk in an effort to even the odds.
>>>Determined to press the current advantage, King Triffid wastes no time in avenging it's fallen segment and unleashed a withering hail of thorns at the pair of Sorcerers in the back line... failing to hit them even as death comes for it by blade, instrument and ice spear. It's last but of spite spent, the Crown Stalk folded in on itself like a rotten tree succumbing to entropy. Not so eager to go down easily, the Castle Stalk plunges down to absorb the Faun trapped by BradL33's Willow Spirits spell, consuming it while the remaining three Fauns plunge towards the back line.
>>>Arga, having no love of being bitten, unleashed his Flare Arrow at an approaching Faun while BradL33 moved to block another from getting past Calamity. The Guardian Wolf he'd summoned earlier guarding him from it's gnashing mouth. The last remaining Faun tangled with Guy and Piphany as it sought to finish the job of killing Piphany. Meanwhile, Tina attempts to land Thorn Bind Hostage on the Castle Stalk to restrict King Triffid's options and give everyone a moment to regroup before the final onslaught but fails to land her spell.

---

---

King Triffid

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
12	Castle	???	-38	???	-30	WEAK
X	Crown	300	-322	???	-46	DEAD
X	Knight	300	-343	???	-26	DEAD

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 10

Attacks: Ensnare, Petal Smash, Poison Pollen, Seed Storm, Thorn Slash, Thorn Spray,

Triffid Faun

Init	Segment	HP	Damage	MP	Spent	Status
X	Faun 1	???	-110	???		DEAD
10	Faun 2	???	-80	???		none
X	Faun 3	???		???		DEAD
X	Faun 4	???	-117	???		DEAD
X	Faun 5	???		???		DEAD
X	Faun 6	???		???		DEAD

Defense: 10 | Magic Defense: 6
Attacks: Bite