The place they awoke in was still the Empire of Fire and Water. The rivers and trees were a perfect replica of the fauna and waterways the group had become accustomed to traveling through. The only difference Alvec could see was that this river was simply too large and too wide. Entire chains of islands seemed to exist within this immense river's bounds, all connected by simple wooden bridges. In the distant horizon, a strange, sickly purple haze crowded the sky. It looked a little as if the sun was setting on some alien world. As strange as that all was, an even stranger truth emerged. A pale purple light shone as Naya opened her mouth to speak.
"What in Sarossa's name was that?" Mavec asked as his mouth emitted the same purple light.
"Do this be happening to all of us?" Illaria asked, her mouth also backlit with the same strange light.
"Bait don't know," He said, giving a toothy smile that was also tarnished by the purple light.
"Didn't Bristlecone say that we were all tainted?" Alvec asked, his mouth also emitting the same purple glow.
"I'm scared to ask..." Sarbie trailed off. Her mouth wasn't glowing.
"Well, Sarbie's safe, at least," Naya said as she glanced over at Echo, whose mouth was also filled with the same light.
"So, no family over here; I guess we should be crossing these bridges here," Mavec said as he took the lead. The rest of the group followed close behind him. It didn't take long for them to see something peculiar come into view. Stuffed animals the size of horses wielding bells on long polls strode towards them menacingly. Alvec seized up as a memory came flooding back to him of a toy he'd worn down so many times as a child that, eventually, there wasn't any use in patching it up. It had been a griffin, a creature he found himself empathizing with, as it too lived in two worlds, not unlike his own tiefling heritage.
Naya scarcely recognized the limping, ragged doll that walked her way. Her last scattered and fragmented memory was of its bright red hair and rough-spun clothing.
Illaria's was two toys strung together: a simple doll and an abacus for learning how to count. She let out a small chuckle. Of course, the spirits here would drum up such old memories. "You'll need to give it a wooden sword, too, if we really want to keep up with the accuracy, " she said as she cautiously drew her wakizashi.
The remaining two left little doubt in anyone's mind as to who they belonged to. The squirrel was Mavec's; the addition of sharp metal gears sewn into the soft, velvety plush of the toy was a dead ringer. The noise the other giant toy made made it clear that it had once belonged to Bait. The toy itself was just a rat and the bell that all the other creatures carried was replaced by a bunch of rats tied to the staff. All hanging around like a loose flail of awfulness.
The toys marched towards the party, brandishing their staves and rat sticks menacingly. "I don't think they want us here," Naya said as she drew her blades.
"Too late for that; we're already here," Alvec said as he quickly cast an array of defensive spells in preparation for a fight.
Illaria dashed forward straight into harm's way and launched into a series of quick flourishes and slashes at the one that had once belonged to her. Her blade scored deep cuts, bringing stuffing oozing to the surface. It retaliated against her, ignoring entirely its own plight. She brought her blade up to intercept and was grateful that she had. The force of the blow, even with her immense skill, was so great it nearly knocked her to her knees. "Do be careful; they have a nasty strike!" She shouted as a warning to the rest of her comrades.
Bait dropped to one knee and took a deep breath, letting it slowly filter out of his lungs. He lined up his sights on the giant rat wielding a rat-stick staff. He pulled the trigger as fast as he could, reloading with his grubby green hands with practiced precision. The bullets hit their mark, and small plumes of stuffing blasted from the back of the stuffed rat. Bait stomped his feet excitedly, celebrating the good shooting before an unseen force wrapped itself around him. He tried to struggle free from it but couldn't. A sharp tug and he found himself sailing through the air and landing into the river itself. The cold water made him howl in discomfort. Its strong current threatened to pull him into the far distance. As he struggled to swim back to shore, the giant jaws of Echo easily slipped around his waist and dug gently into his side.
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The wolf dropped him unceremoniously onto the ground and stood its ground, growling at the approaching toys. The griffin advanced on Alvec, swinging with overwhelming force. The wizard rolled on the ground, ducking below the bar, which swept over his head enough to ruffle his hair. He carried forward with the momentum and sprang out of reach of the staff before he let go of a new spell. Four daggers made of mithril unsheathed themselves, pointed their blades away from him, and began to rotate around him quickly. He made sure to watch his spacing with his allies. He wouldn't want to catch them in these whirling blades. They wouldn't do much damage, but they served a second and arguably a more important purpose. They made it much more difficult for enemies to attack him while he was going through the somatic portions of the spells he cast. With these blades, he could safely fire off spells in close range without fearing retaliation.
"Spirits of air, of freedom, that which shakes the sky, I call upon you to strike my foes," Naya shouted as she moved into position. A bolt of crisp blue lightning jolted into the one that was a perfect match for her childhood toy. Its straw hair caught fire under the weight of her spell. Both blades drawn, she narrowed the distance until she was upon the enemy. It swung at her, the pole striking into her ribcage. She let out a cry as she clearly heard the sound of ribs breaking under the impact. Illaria hadn't been joking; these things were absolutely lethal. She was glad to have a Cleric with them now more than ever. Her healing would be rather tepid compared to what Sarbie could do for the group. They'd be drinking oh so many potions to get the same effect.
Mavec sent Picora in towards the squirrel. With Alusai's targeting system, he could quickly line up the shot. Striking not one but two of the monsters with a bolt of lightning. Their fur singed and smoked as it caught fire and snuffed out moments later. One struck Picora; the bell that slammed into her looked as if it cracked, while Piccora remained relatively unharmed. The other one that Mavec had blasted with lightning rushed towards him. It reared up on its hind legs, towering over Mavec, and brought the staff down with all its might. With a sickening sound, like an egg cracking on stone and a melon bursting open, his head was crushed in. His body slumped to the ground still as a corpse as the battle raged around him.
Illaria took a risk, dashing forward and goading these creatures into attacking her. The abacus took a wide swing at her, but she leaped between its strings, slashing them as she moved past them. Beads came tumbling to the ground around her as she dashed toward others. Moving as swiftly as the wind across a ship's bow, she taunted two more into attacking her. With the same practiced and purposeful movements, she slapped their weapons aside and sliced deep into them. Their bowels, full of stuffing, distended where her blade had raked across the felt.
The one in front of Alvec swung at him again, and he brought his buckler up to intercept. He found his movements a moment too slow, and the bell smacked him in the face hard enough to send him recoiling. He could taste blood coming from his nose, clearly broken by the attack. He moved in close and let lightning arc between his fingertips. The creature tried to swing the bell in at him but found the four spinning daggers too much to overcome; with that, Alvec released the spell. The lightning overpowered the creature, and soon it was lying on the ground, flames leaping from its smoldering corpse.
Bait crawled forward a few feet and took careful aim ahead of himself. The rat was still standing, and he planned to fix that. He unloaded several shots at the creature felling it. Naya, now in front of one of them, twirled her blades as fast as she could, slicing repeatedly into the monster before her. The creature bent its will towards her and flung her into the air. Her blades clattered onto the ground as they slipped out of her hands. She hit the ground hard and almost rolled into the water's swift current. She heard Echo thunder over to it and, with the enthusiasm only a dog could muster, bit into the neck of the toy and shook it till its sewn-on limbs ripped from its main body and stuffing sprayed out all around him. Naya pushed herself up to see Mavec picking himself up from the ground. His hands anxiously patted his neck and face.
He blinked repeatedly as he stood back up and took aim once more, slamming another lighting bolt into one of the creatures. It crumpled and fell, burning to the ground.
The tide had certainly turned, and the threat these monsters represented was fading fast. In a matter of just another thirty or so seconds, the party dispatched the last of them.
"Well, I can't be saying I ever thought I'd fight giant stuffed animals in the shape of my childhood toys," Illaria announced with a laugh. Sarbie stood beside Alvec, gently touching his face and willing divine energy into his nose. She wanted it to heal and set properly after all. It wouldn't do to leave him with a crooked nose. After the delicate work was done, she did the more serious work, helping heal Naya and everyone else who needed it.