Tess and Zatrian scan the surface of the lowered water fearing whatever they just awakened. Zilo watched from the edge of the water, putting away his magic blade in favor of his bow. In an instant Tess was ripped up from the ground she had secured with Zatrian by some shadowy figure.
The figure tears into her with a gambit of razor sharp claw attacks leaving deep wounds on her body. She spiraled to the water and plunges below the surface. Zilo looks to his friend's attacker and fear coursed through his entire being.
Before the bard was an alien like visage of a winged demonic skeleton with shadow like flesh clinging to the body. It's eyes and splintered chest let off an other worldly orange glow. It has a wingspan of at least 8 feet and it's lanky arms hung with sharp claws at the ends. It lacked any legs to speak of, but the tips of it's glider like wings hold twin curved talons of a predator. This was an evil fey known as an Ankou.
Zatrian dives into the water to find and get Tess, leaving Zilo alone with the Ankou. The bard wastes no time, firing a flurry of arrows at the foe. 2 of the arrows hit home and pierce the monster's shoulder and lower torso, but then the beast raises it's hand and points to the bard.
A spiral of black tendrils fly from the monster as it casts Ray of Exhaustion. Ravaged by the King's Sleep and from the last week of travel, Zilo's body crumbled and he could barely manage to lift his bow from exhaustion.
No longer able to pull back Harmony's bow string Zilo set his violin to perform a song of Inspiring Greatness. The Ankou swooped in and tried to stab Zilo with it's wing, but the bard managed to deflect it with his buckler before the other wing stabbed him in the shoulder.
Zilo winced and slashed away at it with his blade as the Ankou flapped it's wings and floated back 3 meters. The beast began to float about the bard when Zilo began to feel a voice speak to him in the back of his head, the voice sounded like it came from a wolf that had cornered a rabbit.
"That blade, that bow. Harmony and Scherzo. You are an agent of that horrid Sayulati."
"So what if I am, we just came to get back our friend, we have no qualms with you."
"You speak like a child claiming lies to hide your transgressions. Your elven friend holds power that the Unseelie can make use of, but you..." The Ankou's sharpened black teeth seem to form into a menacingly grin. "Sayulati's agent and Oberon's chosen. I would think you a far better prize for my groom."
Meanwhile in the realm above realms the man in the hat with Zilo's sheet lowers his head into his hands and says, "WHY JONES! Why are you so focused on getting Zilo hitched!?"
The Man known as Jones let out a grin and short laugh as he pointed to Zilo's sheet and said, "Look a his stats, above average in all physicals and a 20 CHA. Zilo is gorgeous."
"I get it, but people never approach the Attractive folks in real life man, come on!"
The man known as Jones flips about an image out of a hardcover book he had hid behind a table screen. He used one hand to hold up the book, and his other hand to cover up a block of text with a wide range of numbers and abilities. The only thing left to look at was an image of an Ankou and some text that gave a description of the monster.
"Do you really thing THIS cares about social dynamics!"
The man in the hat winces at the sight of the thing and says, "Dude, is that thing even a girl?"
The man known as Jones puts the book back down and says, "Far as this goes, yup. So, you have abysmal CON, DEX, and Strength. Well strength is okay from your spell, but you still got no back up. It's your turn." The man in the hat looked at his sheet and after a moment looked back up to respond.
Zilo reached into his bag and pulled out an item he pointed at the Ankou and shouted, "Nice proposal, here's my rebuttal, Lightning Bolt!" Zilo's wand of lightning bolt sparks up and unleashes it's fury at the Ankou. The monster flicked it's wings and avoided a direct hit, but still was stunned and was forced to land. The Ankou growled as it fluttered up and rose both arms, accumulating more shadow about it's body.
The shadow began to take form around the Fey and 4 more Ankous form from the shadows. All 5 began to rises Zilo sighed heavy and shakily lifted his sword. The monsters all circled about and began striking at Zilo who could only manage to stay up by casting healing spells to remain standing and close the huge wounds he sustained.
The Ankous began to form up for a final attack run before a bolt of lightning shot from behind and vaporizes 2 of the 4 shadow Ankous. The last three turn to see Tess, but with a new addition. Tess flew above the surface of the lake, with Zatrian next to her closing up a book. While still humanoid in form, Tess' back now was sporting 2 huge 10 foot long Wings on her shoulders with electricity sparking from her mouth and the back part of her mythril armor clattering to the ground from her sudden wings.
"Leave him alone!" Tess flicked out her blade and with her blade she slashed clean into another of the Ankou shadows. The last shadow and the Ankou tried to flank up on her, but she suddenly got a burst of power and blocked both. She looked down to Zilo and saw that he now as playing his violin and empowering her with the music.
She spun about, out of blocking both enemies and cut the last shadow into oblivion. The Ankou tried to hit her with a Ray of Exhaustion to even the fight like she had with Zilo, but Tess's blade gambit made the beast unable to fire off the spell again. The Fey knew that her odds had now been severely crippled, so the moment she was able to make a small amount of distance from Tess, she cast Greater Teleport.
Tess landed back near Zatrian and flew him back over to Zilo. Tess looked back at her wings and remarked, "Take a look there, I got wings now Zilo."
Zilo looked over the wings and he said, "Good thing you did... I don't think... I could have lasted... much..." The bard fell forward from weakness. Tess moved in to catch him as he went unconscious. Zatrian helped her put the bard on her back as she lifted him up to rest underneath her new wings. Zatrian spoke as he saw her flex her wings and said,
"Hey, do you think you could lift us both with those?"
Tess glances back and smiled.
High above the treeline with Zilo tied to her back, the Draconic Elf soared, carrying Zatrian in her arms. They made incredible time as they flew and would only take a few hours now to finally arrive at the Wood Elf Settlement. As they flew Zatrian and Tess had been chatting about what the Fey had done to the elf while captured. Once they finished Zatrian asked her,
"So hey, what made you grow those wings? You looked in really bad shape once I got you out of the water, then suddenly, BAM!"
Tess' bronze scales flushed to a darker shade to look more like copper before she glance up to her back at Zilo and she said, "I sorta felt them there under my back already, but couldn't push them out... then when I saw Zilo in danger, sorta... pushed past the limit."
Zatrian nods and says, "Well your dragon blood is tied to your emotional state, so that makes sense."
"I guess so." Says Tess looking back at Zilo again with a smile on her face.
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