Sylvia nodded to everyone with a small smile. She then said quietly, "Alright, guys. Let's take out these harpies," She then snuck on ahead. She moved as close as she could, and when she was about thirty feet away from the tree, she looked back at her friends, making sure they were ready. Once she was sure, she took her chance. She held out her hand, and focused on her ki, gathering the energy towards her hand. The ki manifested into light and when she felt she had enough, she fired that ki at one of the harpies.

Knowing that after that her cover would be blown, she stood up and got into the Satyr Style stance.

You move in quietly, not even a pebble was turned as you lightly stepped closer towards the harpies. Ducking behind a rock you concentrate the ki into your hands just like you were taught last night. It felt oddly familiar despite doing this the first time, physically, but soon you would truly have a ball of light in your hands, ready to fire. You launch the orb towards the nearest harpy; it was a bit messy due to your unfamiliarity and the range, but your sun bolt right into the chest of the harpy, causing it to yelp in surprise. That help signaled the rest of your team to attack, focusing on the harpy you attacked. Shortfang's crossbow bolt sped through the air and shot the harpy right into the chest, causing it to scream in pain. Pylia summoned forth a divine bolt as she too sneaked closer to get the harpy in range of her spell, scaring the harpy from her roost but failing to actually harm her. That's when Buddy's harpoon came out of nowhere and nailed the bird right in the wing, tearing off flesh and feathers as the harpoon stuck into the tree with a solid thud.

The harpies screeched as the battle commenced, but your allies were ready! Shortfang whistled loudly now that stealth was broken, commanding Syfr to fly towards the wounded harpy. The bird saw the black owl and was ready to slash at it, however Syfr was merely a distraction. At the last second the bird turned away just as it was within range of the harpy, and replacing him was one of Shortfang's arrows! It nailed the harpy right in the eye, causing it to fall from the tree as she struggled to gain her bearings. Pylia walked up beside you with a slight look of surprise. "Since when were you able to use magic!?" She just chuckled as she summoned a small ball of fire at the tip of her war club, using it to direct her fire orb right into the wounded Harpy to finish it off. The bird burst into flames and fell to the ground in a sputtering, burning heap.

But now it was the Harpies turn to attack! They were furious at their sister's death, and the one that was close to her charged straight towards the closest target, being you. She flew fast and furiously as her talons cut into your arms when you tried to defend yourself. Her follow up rake would've sliced your eyes had you not stumbled in such a way that the claws were literal centimeters away from your face. You could feel the force behind the claws that could've potentially blinded you. The other two harpies rushed into battle, not quite close enough to immediately start attacking but they certainly wasted no time closing the distance.

One harpy down, three left to go! Four against three looked pretty good to Sylvia right now. She answered Pylia with her own smile, "Buddy just taught me that last night! First time I actually used it! Pretty cool, right?!"

She then let out an "Uh oh!" as the harpies angrily came after them. She winced when a harpy's talons slashed into her arms. She stumbled a bit, and as she did her eyes widened as the talons came too close for comfort to eyes. If she hadn't stumbled as she did, she would've been blinded! She muttered "Oh man! That was close!"

She then attacked the harpy that lashed out at her, first striking with her quarterstaff before finishing with an Unarmed Strike, a kick to the stomach.

Your staff managed to strike the harpy's leg, but just as you went for the kick she flew upwards, causing your kick to hit empty air. As you were fighting, Buddy charged right into the thick of things, striking the harpy next to Pylia. His blade cut deep into the bird's hind leg, causing some notable bleeding. But he wasn't finished yet; just as he finished his slash his body turned with surprising speed for a robot his girth, allowing him to stab the smaller spear end of his urgrosh into the stomach of the bird, who screamed in pain. "Focus on that one!" Shortfang shouted out as Syfr flew in to harry the harpy. He flew with great agility, easily able to avoid the harpy's attacks as well as Shortfang's crossbow bolt as it sailed right into the Harpy's wing. Syfr continued to distract the harpy, allowing anyone else a chance to exploit it's distraction and perhaps land a critical blow onto it.

With all of these birds clustered together Pylia had a plan. Though the rocks near here would make it harder for her to maintain her footing, she quickly climbed onto it as she touched her holy symbol. ^SMITE!^ She roared as light radiated from her holy symbol to blind and burn the harpies around her with radiant energy. It wasn't as much damage as say, a crossbow or axe, but the fact it could hit all of them was something worth doing in this thick melee. However this didn't go unnoticed by the harpies.

Though one got hacked up badly by Buddy and Shortfang, it knew it couldn't do much against the robot's armor. However Pylia was much squishier, or so it thinks, and so it tag teamed with it's sister to attack Pylia in a flurry of claws. She ducked under her shield to ward off the blows, however her footing caused her to drop her guard and allow a harpy to claw her forehead. Meanwhile the one you fought hadn't given up trying to kill you, swooping low to sink it's talons into your leg. Fortunately your boots managed to prevent an actual cut, however the harpy still did some considerable crushing damage. She tried to follow it up with another claw kick, however you wisely managed to avoid getting slashed thanks to your quick reflexes and your strong stance.

Sylvia heard Shortfang's call to focus on the weakened harpy. She saw Syfr distract the harpy, and that same harpy was ganging up on Pylia! Ignoring the one that was attacking her, Sylvia decided to attack the one that was bothering Pylia. She called out to the harpy angrily as she aimed her attacks, the adrenaline and the pain motivating her to fight desperately, "You leave her alone!!!"

She struck the harpy's wing with her quarterstaff before kicking it in the chest and sending it flying away. Two harpies will be easier to deal with than three.

Your staff lands a solid, bone breaking blow against the harpy, sending it tumbling to the ground. Or it would've, were it not for your quick feet that plant a solid and equally bone shattering kick into the sternum of the harpy, causing it to crash into the rock wall behind it so hard the harpy was embedded in a small crater in the wall. Sufficient to say, it was as good as dead. Buddy locked eyes on the harpy that had been solely fighting you, moving around to attack it with his urgrosh. Aside from Pylia's holy word, it wasn't too injured. Buddy planned to change that. His axe dug right into the chest of the bird, splitting flesh from bone like a butcher carving up a bird. Shortly after cleaving through it's body, Buddy reversed his weapon and impaled it through the leg, holding it in place as Shortfang fired a crossbow into it's chest, narrowly missing it's heart. The harpy pulled itself off Buddy's weapon, only for Syfr to fly right into it's face as swing at her eyes, causing her to focus her defenses against him. Naturally this was just a feint and a distraction, allowing Pylia to leap off the rock, into the air, and pulverize the harpy's skull with her warclub, reducing it to a bloody stain. "Three down! One more to go!"

Indeed, what was an equal four-on-four battle was not a four-on-one, and while the girls were fairly bloodied, the harpy knew it couldn't defend itself against an onslaught of four adventurers. However it wasn't about to abandon the battle either, not after what happened to her sisters. She screeched in fury and flew out of melee. Pylia tried to take a swing but her bad footing caused her club to whiff. Your footing was just fine however, and you manage to smash your staff against the bird's foot, causing her to wince in pain. Even Syfr managed to get a claw in as the harpy flew past him. However while she flew far from the four, she didn't leave them alone as you could hear a strange noise coming from her. It sounded like... Singing. Pylia knew what was about to happen.

"Beware the Harpy's song!"

Sylvia certainly hadn't expected to have the harpy she attacked cause a crater, but it was still pretty cool. She then turned her attention back to the battle at hand, and soon enough, there was only one harpy left. She managed to land an attack on the foot, but it wasn't much.

Sylvia could only watch as it flew away from them and started...singing?

Her mind immediately recalled Greek Mythology...

Of course...just as she was trained by a Satyr last night, of course she would encounter something that could be akin to a siren! At least, that was her guess.

She closed her ears with her hands, with her staff in the crook of her elbow, and she called "Get ready to restrain anyone who starts acting weird!"

Buddy looks at the harpy that flew away, knowing that he lacked the means to attack it from his position. He only had his axe and no other thrown weapons, so he simply waited for the harpy to try and come back so he could hack it down. Shortfang ordered Syfr to fly in and try and harry the harpy, however with the tree partially covering the monster, Shortfang's arrow inadvertently struck a bird's nest, sending a few eggs tumbling to the ground. "Whoops." Pylia seemed to be the only one listening to you, so she readied herself to try and grab Shortfang if he ends up getting enthralled by the harpy.

Then the harpy began to sing. Her song was sweet and ethereal, like an orchestra that made you want to just stay a while and listen. However knowing what to expect you covered your hears. You could still feel the magic in the monster's song, however you steeled your mind and was easily able to ignore it. However it seemed like someone else in your party couldn't. Buddy's eyes went from green to yellow as he lowered his guard and took a step towards the harpy. You immediately reach out to grab him, however it was easily apparent that you could not physically restrain a juggernaut like Buddy all by yourself. Pylia and Shortfang were fortunately able to resist, but they saw what happened to Buddy. "Dammit! Buddy got charmed!" The Siren continued to sing her ethereal song, trying to lure Buddy off the cliff and to his doom, as well as staying out of melee reach of the rest of the party. If she could kill at least one adventurer, she could feel satisfied with her revenge!

Sylvia heard the song and it was very beautiful. She could see why Odysseus would want to listen to it in Homer's Odyssey. It looked like Pylia and Shortfang were able to withstand the song as well as her. Unfortunately, Buddy seemed to have fallen for it if the yellow eyes were of any indication.

Sylvia started swearing mentally, panicking over what to do and how to save Buddy.

Shit, shit, shit! What can I do?! I can't restrain him! He's too strong! At this rate, he's going to fall!

Then she recalled something he said last night...

The ring made her his Master...

Could that mean that...she could command him and he'd obey her?

The thought made her sick...She'd be taking away his free will! But...if it'd save his life...it'd be worth trying right? She can apologize to him after the battle.

She groaned at the thought "Oh god...I'm sorry, Buddy,"

She then ran forty feet so that she could be closer to the siren, but she faced Buddy. She held her hand with Buddy's ring on it out towards him, palm facing him and she called to him in an authoritative tone, "Buddy! As your Master, I command you to STAND STILL!"

She wasn't sure if it was going to work.

After seeing whether or not that would work, she turns to face the harpy, with her quarterstaff ready just in case the harpy flies towards her.

You run alongside Buddy who seemed all too eager to run to his doom chasing the harpy. As you turned to order him to stop it looked like he was just going to charge right through you until his eyes began to flicker. They slowly changed from yellow to green, and Buddy seemed to flinch as if he had just been surprised. His eyes continued to flicker as if blinking, confused but at least his mind was back. It seemed like your words had some effect.

Meanwhile Pylia and Shortfang knew that the harpy was still a threat even after her song failed. They charged forward and began to fling as much firepower as they could. Shortfang fired his crossbow into the wing of the harpy, loading one more bolt before immediately shooting it as soon as he pulled back on the crank, sending the second bolt into the same wound as the previous one. Pylia summoned fire through her club and batted it towards the bird beast, burning feathers and flesh, causing a lot of pain. The harpy itself, furious that her song failed, blinded by anger, charged right at you. However you were prepared. Despite her furious attacks none of her talons could even scratch your clothes as you dodged and parried her blows with ease. Now she was weakened, and this battle was coming close to an end!

When Sylvia saw that her idea worked, she sighed a breath of relief and said "Oh thank god!" When her attention was on the harpy, she was ready when it flew towards her. She dodged, ducked, and weaved out of the talons' way, parrying the attacks with the quarterstaff. The harpy was weak and desperate. Now was the time to end this battle. So Sylvia gave a battle cry, and struck the harpy with her quarterstaff, before giving a front kick to the siren.

Shortly after the harpy tried to eviscerating you, you gave the bird a one-two blow that slew it. The staff strike alone broke the harpy’s neck, but the follow up kick ensured no recovery as you punted it’s corpse off the side of the mountain. With the last of the harpies dead the path was clear. Shortfang and Syfr did a quick look around but aside from some more dead goblins and their rusty equipment, there wasn’t anything of particular value at this tree. Though they did manage to recover about seven old silver coins so worn down you couldn’t see their minting anymore.

“These things are practically worth less than their weight in silver now that you can’t even tell if they’re kingdom coins or not.” Pylia helpfully pointed out.”Glad we managed to get out of there no worse for wear, though that cut looks bad Sylvia. I have some herb balm, let me use it on you when we get back to the wagon.” After Buddy retrieved the harpoon he joined with you and the others ready to leave. They’d follow your lead for now, though Shortfang would stay here to keep an eye out and continue scouting.

Now that the battle was done, Sylvia could feel the wounds on her. She also felt pretty tired. At the mention that the coins were worn down and are probably worth less than the weight in silver, she commented, "Then let's leave them be," When she mentioned she had herb balm and wanted to use it on her when they get back to the cart, Sylvia nodded in agreement, "Sounds good. Thank you. Let's head back to the others and let them know we've taken care of the harpies,"

She looked to Buddy and she told him, her voice no longer authoritative, "Come on, Buddy. Let's head back,"

With the harpies dead the party returns to the caravan. It was fortunately unharmed, though Ferric and Andras had their crossbows at the ready. Seeing you four come back out their mind at ease however. Soon you were trudging along once more as Pylia chews on a goodberry and applies some herb balm to your wounds. It had a strong odor and stung when it touched your wounds, but Pylia assures you that the medicine is suppose to feel like that. Sure enough after she bandages the cuts the stinging feeling becomes a cooler, less painful one.

“How are you feeling? Do you need another?”

Sylvia made it back to the wagon, and she sat down in the wagon. She let Pylia apply the herb balm and bandage her wounds. The herb balm stung, but Sylvia wasn't surprised that was the case. Medicine like the herb balm back home also stung, so she was expecting that. She had to admit that the cool sensation she felt a little after felt nice. She answered Pylia, "I'm feeling better, thank you Pylia. I think I just need to rest a bit,"

“Of course. Just sit tight and we’ll handle the rest of the way.” The rest of the way was a rather bumpy, somewhat uncomfortable ride. The wagon didn’t exactly have any cushions but fortunately it was free of dangers, sans steep and muddy inclines. The party would travel for roughly two hours before they reach a major obstacle; it seemed like a landslide had tore up a steep incline up the mountain, creating large divots and holes in the ground that would make it impassable for the carts and wagons. For this the vehicles stopped as Ferric and Andras tried to figure out how to get up.

“Suppose if we use some tools, we could try and fill the holes, make them easy enough for the mules to climb up.” Ferric offered.

“With this terrain and this incline that just means more a risk of our wheels sliding back down hill. We should try and secure pitons and ropes to the side, climb up while pulling our vehicles.”

Shortfang confirmed no hostile in the area, though he’ll keep Syfr on the look out if anything comes back. Pylia and Buddy stood by the carts watching and waiting for what would be done.

Sylvia nodded at the answer, and she rested in the wagon. She was in a bit of a daze while she rested, not quite asleep, but not quite alert either. She did feel guilty that she had ordered Buddy like he was nothing more than an object, but she was also glad that it kept him alive. She also couldn't help but think of home.

How were her grandparents doing? They must be worried sick! And her friends...surely everyone must have noticed she was missing by now...

She snapped out of her daze when the cart stopped, and she looked around to see that the cart stopped at an incline. She hopped out, feeling well rested and ready to face whatever else may attack. She watched and listened as the others tried to figure out the conundrum in front of them.

She stood by Pylia and Buddy, unsure how she could help out...

It was eventually decided that they would try Andras’s idea to hammer pitons into the wall and try and use a system of pulleys to get the caravan up the hill. However they needed one of the more capable adventurer to climb up there, as the current footing was too treacherous and Syfr himself wasn’t strong enough to hammer the pitons into the walls. So it was up to Buddy, one of the more physically powerful to try and climb, though he also looked at you. As if he was wordlessly suggesting you too could do this, if you so choose. Meanwhile Elena points out there were storm clouds coming and that they should hurry, less they get caught in the rain.

Sylvia looked to Buddy when the others suggested that he go up. After Buddy looked at her, she nodded in agreement, knowing what he was thinking. After Elena mentioned that the storm clouds are coming, she spoke up, "I'll go up and hammer the pitons in. Buddy may be strong, but I can get up there faster,"

Once she received the pitons and hammer, she walked up to the base of the incline, and once again got into the Satyr Style stance. In a blink of an eye, she started making her way up the hill, hopping from one point to another upwards.

Like a mountain goat you quickly ascend up the slopes. Each step was solid, leaving an imprint in the mud, yet despite that you moved with speed and swiftness so much that you leave everyone except Buddy in awe. And even then you just couldn’t really see his facial features for a lack of them. It took you only about five minutes to ascend to the top of the incline, hammering pitons into the wall with the hammer and securing the ropes to them. At the crest of the incline you could see that it would go slightly down hill, and then you’d spot an interesting sight; a small log cabin, with no windows but a chimney with no smoke. That must be the shelter you were told was up here. It did look quite small indeed.

Thanks to your quick feet and swift strikes, the caravan was slowly able to make its way up. Here Buddy’s strength would work best as he physically pushed the wagon up the hill, with the mules pulling, and eventually he’d pull the cart up as well. With the ropes giving him something to hold onto even when his footing faltered he was able to continue his climb. In about an hour the caravan was able to reach the crest of the hill. Just in time too, as it started to rain with thunder and lightning crackling in the distance.