To their credit, once the surprise of actually being shot at wears off- evidently, not something they were much used to- the cultists respond with admirable speed and coordination. Another bolt flies in from Turilia, keeping up the pressure on the female caster, singling her out as the leader; another bolt buries itself in her other shoulder. This time, she seems much less surprised, though she does stagger at the impact. Albali's bolt lands, and the cultists looks upward sharply at noticing the dimming of light in her vicinity. "Another caster... but where?" After a pause, she calls, "As we discussed! Hold the choke point, I will cut their retreat!" The male cultists respond, hustling forward into a narrow spot in the road before setting themselves against an expected charge. The cheetahs, loosed from their leashes, bolt forward with eager snarls and moving with astonishing speed charge forward to meet the four in their way. Both with open mouths try to snap down on legs; Turilia has a cheetah snap at her ankle and clack down on air, while less-lucky Gorun feels a stabbing pain as the other cat clamps down on his calf. It begins wrenching its head back and forth, trying to put the appetizing bull-man on the ground for easier access to soft parts, but the monk is far too stable for such a thing to topple him. This close, some of the strangeness of the cheetahs becomes more clear; their eyes and mouths are streaked with sooty black lines, and though their fur seems perfectly normal the flesh underneath is slightly discolored. They're not undead, but there's something... off about them still, the proportions ever so slightly awry as though someone were illustrating a picture of a cheetah just from a verbal description. No less fierce for that, though.<br/><br/>In all the commotion, nobody seems to notice Xarithe fluttering down to land on a branch beside the female caster, despite the eagle's size. As soon as he lands, a sudden surge of nausea roils through his system, something in his body reacting to the presence. It's... unclean, somehow.<span style="font-style: italic">She</span>is unclean. As she steps forward, raising one hand and chanting a brief snatch of spell, Xarithe realizes that this woman is some sort of druid, but a perverted, unnatural druid that makes a mockery of all that proper druids should stand for. In response to her spell, the already darkening sky darkens further, and a rain begins... a rain of stones, pelting down onto the heads of those dared attack the cultists. A veritable torrent of pebbles and rocks lashes them, ending insultingly on a razor's edge just short of the cheetahs; the impacts are painful even to those in armor, tenderizing all present. What's worse, the stones accumulate underfoot, turning the path into a treacherous slippery slide of loose stone. Looking closer, Xarithe can see that the female cultist is... some kind of elf, but one he's never seen before. If it was an elf. Her flesh is dark, and unnaturally glossy; little of her body can be seen, but her eyes glow green with some kind of faceted jewel-like structure to them, and her face is a bit more- angular- than a natural one should be.<br/><br/>And there's the massive, fang-filled maw that she reveals when she begins chanting. That's another hint that she's not quite a normal elf.<br/><br/>[[<span style="font-style: italic">Mechanics for the turn:</span><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Turilia: Fires and connects for another 6 damage.<br/>Xarithe: Flies! <br/>Albali: Casts darkness and fires it into the group. Group is now in Dim Light.<br/>Sira: Moves forward to get between Albali and threats.<br/>Ain: (Didn't know what you wanted Ain to do, so I will hold off)<br/><br/>Enemy Action:<br/>Cheetah #1 moves up and bites Turilia. Miss!<br/>Cheetah #2 charges and bites Gorun. Attack hits; 8 damage to Gorun. Trip attack fails.<br/>Both male cultists move up to the choke point and begin total defense. <br/>Xarithe rolls a fort save of 24; no effect!<br/>Female cultist steps forward and casts Stone Call. Concentration check succeeds! Gorun, Turilia, Eiyre and Ambrosia all take 6 damage. The ground under their feet is now difficult terrain.</div></div></div><br/><br/>INITIATIVE LIST:<br/>(Early) Sira, Turilia, Xarithe, Albali, Ain<br/>All Enemies<br/>(Late) Gorun, Ambrosia, Eiyre<span style="font-weight: bold">CURRENTLY UP</span><br/><br/>Status; Gorun, Turilia, Ambrosia and Eiyre are in Difficult Terrain<br/>Gorun: 17/31 HP<br/>Turilia: 25/31 HP<br/>Ambrosia: 27/33 HP<br/>Eiyre: 25/31 HP<br/><br/>New map:<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;"><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/JBR6Qc3.png"/></div></div></div>