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[GiglameshDespair]

The rogue ran for a while, trying to work out what the magician had said. Eventually, she settled for "..What?"
She shook her head. That didn't matter.
"How are.. .you going.. to de- grrgkh! Deal with it?"

[FelixSparks]

As they ran, another figure ran past them, in the direction of the terrible things chasing them.

"FINALLY A FIGHT! Gods, I was worried this trip would be boring! ORA!" The figure drew a longsword from his side and deftly cut through one of the bees, grinning like a madman as the rest started to swarm around him. "YOU TWO GO GET HELP, I'LL HOLD EM OFF!" Upon closer inspection, the figure was a young human male, no older than 20, clean shaven and wearing the ensemble of a small town guard from a ways off. The sword in his arms flashed with wicked intent in the sunlight, already stained with blood from one of the creatures as he swung towards a second.

[Culise]

Mirella had been walking along the road, enjoying a calm and quiet day.  And they were catching up.  Suddenly, she heard a loud commotion behind her.  Half-turning, she saw several people rapidly barreling down the road towards her, and a massive swarm of some sort of weird insect things closing in right behind them.

Quickly. 

Very quickly. 

Just as this bizarre scene was sinking in, another person raced past her towards them, drawing his sword.  "...ah."  She moved forward as well, just far enough to get within range, and with a muttered word, raised her emblem of Selūne to face him.  He suddenly shone with a shimmering glow as her Shield of Faith settled around him, and the second monkeybee struck the light only to bounce off harmlessly.  "If you're going to fight, then two will have a better chance than one," she said as she readied her own quarterstaff, even as she called the power of the spell to her to cast it on herself again.  "We fight long enough for the other two to get away, and then we take our own chance to get clear.  Understand?"

[FelixSparks]

He looked at the light covering him, grinning. A cleric? Perfect! This would be a lot easier with a healer. He nodded to her, his sword finding purchase in another of the creatures. "I appreciate the help, Cleric! My name is Arwen. What is yours?" He chuckles, pulling his sword free of the second corpse as he blocked an attack with his shield. This was fun! He'd have to help strangers more often... "And that's only if we don't slay them all first!"

[Dwarmin]

The rogue ran for a while, trying to work out what the magician had said. Eventually, she settled for "..What?"
She shook her head. That didn't matter.
"How are.. .you going.. to de- grrgkh! Deal with it?"

"With...magic...of course!" She responded confidently.

As they ran, another figure ran past them, in the direction of the terrible things chasing them.

"FINALLY A FIGHT! Gods, I was worried this trip would be boring! ORA!" The figure drew a longsword from his side and deftly cut through one of the bees, grinning like a madman as the rest started to swarm around him.

She moved forward as well, just far enough to get within range, and with a muttered word, raised her emblem of Selūne to face him.  He suddenly shone with a shimmering glow as her Shield of Faith settled around him, and the second monkeybee struck the light only to bounce off harmlessly.  "If you're going to fight, then two will have a better chance than one," she said as she readied her own quarterstaff, even as she called the power of the spell to her to cast it on herself again.  "We fight long enough for the other two to get away, and then we take our own chance to get clear.  Understand?"

Killing just one Monkeybee caused about two dozen of the others to howl with rage and converge on the young warrior with claws and fangs bared-he would have been torn to ribbons if the Cleric hadn't cast a timely protective spell, and Johanna hadn't cast a sudden burst of acid into the air in front of the swarm, momentarily scaring them off.

Of course, behind them were around 200 or so more of the beasts, and they seemed bigger, even angrier.

You didn't have to been a wizard to know that they stood no chance against that.

"You...idiots! Quick! Follow...me! They...will....justcomeon!"

She tugged the warrior and cleric along before they could become monkybee meat.

The four ran on quite a bit, Johanna nudging them all forward, before entering an open field-she motioned for them all to stop and presumably be eaten alive, but her tone was contained a strong, well bred authority that was used to making people listen and obey her.

"This place...should do." She announced.

...

"Stop! And, be very quiet!" She further announced, which was great, since none of thme could run much further anyway.

The Dwarf wizard waved her warhammer in an arcane fashion, and a flash of rainbow light burst from it in a shower around the quartet-then the shower came down in a wave of color...quickly enough, they were encircled in...a tree?

Well, from the inside, anyway-looking out, to the four it seemed as if they were encased in the trunk of a tree made from mist. It certainly fooled the massive swarm of monkey bees, like a tornado made of claws and fangs, who swarmed over them angrily, beating the air with their claws and howling-but didn't seem to notice the Elf, Dwarf or the two Humans standing right in the middle of the field-all they saw was a tree, that looked like any other tree...needless to say, everyone held their breath and didn't make a sound.

In time, the howling swarm buzzed off. Hah.

No doubt, the monkeybee scourge would continue to trouble Adventurers in the Sword Coast for hundreds of years...

...

After she was certain they were safe, Johanna muttered a null word and the tree vanished-indeed, it had never existed at all, being a cunning illusion. The Dwarf cast a critical eye on the others

"Well, that was...an interesting experiment. Observations...Monkeybees...very good eyesight...but...impotent reasoning skills...and thankfully, a poor sense of smell. Easily dealt with a simple illusion spell...though, these were very young, and easy to trick...I'll have to make a note of it...

Oh yes-You three. Are you all quite alright? Sorry, for all the bother." She finally said to them, catching her breath.

Johanna herself was a well rounded and otherwise ordinarily pretty young Dwarf woman with a physical build, and tanned skin typical of Hill Dwarves, with deep forest green eyes, and light red hair, today worn long in a tail that swung behind her. She was wears what looked like quality dark-green wizardy robes, and a pair of rose-tinted goggles over her eyes, currently lifted to her forehead. She still held her...hammerwand? In her left hand, easily, despite it's weight.

[Culise]

She grinned back, despite the dire situation; his enthusiasm was a bit infectious.  "Call me Mirella."  Bringing down a second Shield of Faith around herself, she struck hard with her quarterstaff, knocking one of the bugs reeling away from him just as one of the two came back and grabbed them. 

Following in haste as the four fled, then as the wizard cast her illusion spell to fool the swarm, Mirella relaxed slightly after the swarm departed, though she looked up at where they flew off with a worried expression.  "I hope they don't cause too much trouble."  She turned to face the dwarf wizard.  "Yes, I believe I am well enough.  Thank you for your assistance as well."

[Dwarmin]

Johanna rubbed her jaw. The Human womans casual ease with danger warmed Johanna to her immediately. Here was someone you could rely on in a snap.

"...Well...they should be picked off by natural predators and sickness. There was no Queen in the group...probably...so they won't be able to breed...maybe....once their anger dies down, the swarm should lose cohesion, be much less of a danger. Certainly. I'll deal with them myself if I hear they are causing trouble.

Anyway. My name is Johanna Stonesthrow-I'm from the college of Beregost. I'm ashamed to admit todays excitement is entirely my fault. Attempted a Gating Spell...a bit out of my league, I think, and I doubt I'll be able to find the reagents needed to try again, which is probably for the best...at least no one was hurt.

Might I invite you all to my manor home for a decent meal, and rest? It's the least I can do after...all that. My family is quite wealthy, it will be no trouble. No trouble at all!"

[FelixSparks]

Arwen nodded, cleaning his blade. That had been an interesting fight, and the mage was certainly intriguing... Not to mention the Cleric's willingness to help out at a moment's notice.

"If you're going to get into more tussles like this, I may just have to become your bodyguard. I came looking for adventure, and as soon as I got near the city I got one. That was really a refreshing fight, we should do something like that again! Preferably soon!"

[Dwarmin]

Johanna was aware she really could use a bodyguard-though she was tougher than most wizards, she still didn't like being hit by things. Among her imperious magic using kin they usually called those sorts of people "shields of meat", though she didn't use the disparaging term herself. That the young man was a bit...enthusiastic....he could strong leadership to keep him from being hurt. She noticed coyly how he attended quickly to his weapons, cleaning  and sharpening-a sure mark of a former soldier, or guardsman, who expects to fight at a moments notice. Or maybe a bandit, but she didn't like to stereotype.

"Adventure? Well, that's certainly a word for it...I was thinking of joining the Lords Alliance to hone my arcane skills. They always need good people to keep the peace in the land. Good pay for honest work...well, here I am, sounding like a recruiter! I do tend to go on a bit.

We should discuss this over lunch, if you will all allow me."

[GiglameshDespair]

Sweetpea was bent over, gasping, clutching her chest. How was the dwarven wizard a better runner?
...
Well, she hadn't been stabbed through the lung, for one thing.
"Lunch sounds good." the rogue said when she could manage it.

[Culise]

Mirella nodded slightly.  "I agree.  If it is no problem, I shall graciously accept your offer of hospitality."

[FelixSparks]

Arwen nods, after which his stomach roars like a lion, and he breaks into a guffaw. "I believe my body is starting to speak for me! Yes, please, let's have something to eat, I'm famished!"

[Dwarmin]

"Indeed, indeed! Follow along, then."

...

Stonesthrow Manor

Built in the manor of Hill Dwarves, Johanna's home is built of grey stone, eight floors tiered in a ziggurat fashion around a central shaft. In a sop to human convention, the topmost levels are covered in flourishing gardens, under clear glass domes, complete with copper pipes and nozzles to capture rain water, no doubt for use by the household-while the lower levels seem to be more fort like, overhanging parapets, crenellations, barbican walls and towers-they don't seem to manned, though, and what few guards are seen seem pleasant, portly, and bored-a fair eye will notice this are poor defensive measures, and mostly for looks. It's likely the structure, as wide as it is, extends underground some ways, as well. It's a well designed building, and relatively new, as such places go-perhaps no more than a decade old.

...

Johanna invites the group to the 7th floor garden, to lunch under the glass canopy on an excellent, though simple meal of Sword Coast Cod and deep fried potatoes, along with copious amounts of wines, red, white and even blue? One gets the idea Johanna ordered what she considers "simple faire" for the group. Servants dash in and out with hardly a word, refilling empty plates and cups almost with precognitive flair.

"...You know, I planted most of these flowers myself? Me, a Dwarf! I think they're wonderful though.

And, how's the Rashemi Firewine? It's not as good imported." She chats.

There are quite a lot of flowers around, reds and pinks predominant-they are laid out in neat, intricate geometric patterns that are indicative of Dwarf gardening. It's a good atmosphere here-you can see all the way to the church spires of Beregost from this high. One gets the idea that Johanna rarely receives many visitors. She's going to a lot of trouble here.

"...The glass roofs were my idea, originally. You can enjoy a nice chat or meal, any weather. And we can grow such amazing things by controlling the amount of heat, light, and rain the plants receive...much better than the silk awnings we used to use.

We also get the first rays of sun here, every morning. A treat when entertaining the local clergy of Lathander...I like to watch myself, now and again. A shame I'll be leaving here soon, but you know the saying about birds and nests...well, I don't know it, but I'm sure it's something."

[FelixSparks]

Arwen nods along to her speech as he eats, wolfing down food at a slightly alarming pace, as if he hadn't eaten anything since he left home about a week ago. The truth was very close to it, as he had forgotten to pack food, figuring he could hunt for sustenance on the way, but it had all been quiet. Eerily so, in fact. He shrugged off the thought and continued eating, enjoying the meal.

[Dwarmin]

Johanna smiled. It was so rare to have visitors who were actually hungry. Most of the people they entertained were local nobles who only ate enough to be polite.

"Oh~ Well, you can have as much as you like, sir. Dowell-he's our master of hunt-brought down a deer this morning, though he remarked it was a tough tracking, and not as good as he would have liked. We should have vension, though-pork, beef, chicken, more fish...got a good price on beans last week. Our chef likes to slow roast them in spicy tomato sauce...very good...

What's your story anyway, Mr. Dunwood? What brought you on the road to Beregost, or the environs therein?"