Fantasy Tales of Raeligard

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten
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Lucia narrowed an eye at Sen, the woman's behavior more and more making her wonder why exactly she was chastised for her own. Clearly, Kriegslowen didn't have to kiss people's feet or even care about helping injured. They were just mercenaries at this rate. Her telling a bunch of rude loggers off and not wanting to test the waters with a mystery creature for superstition alone, however, was what needed correcting.

Folding her arms, she huffed bit, deciding to ignore the rest of the conversation. At least, she was until the "duck".

Lucia spun around just in time to catch a blur battered by the woman's hammer as Falco dove for the ground, followed by Sen's further statements. There were two of these damned things?

She quickly scanned it. Large as a bear, with a thick hide and a prehensile tail with a barb at the end. This was certainly it. Furthermore, if there were two of these creatures, it may have been a stroke of fortune that the hunter found them and led them away. Their little ambush, and plan to capture it, only took into account that there was one beast. How disastrous could it have been if they remained and drew one in only for the second to pounce.

Lucia took a combat stance, one gauntlet held forward to make use of her arcanizer. She grit her teeth a bit, her cocky smirk nowhere to be seen on her visage. Thea's warnings were unnecessary. Anyone that separated from the group now would be dead shortly thereafter. Running wasn't an option.

The Caskarieth was a bit shocked at the knight's sudden charge, but scoffed and was quick to follow-up. The fox was giving some support at least as well. Lucia moved forward with haste, giving some berth between her and Thea so as to target the flank as discussed. As the knight engaged from the front, the elf circled around and clumped the digits of her gauntlet together to stab into the creatures abdomen, still wary of a counter from its tail.

@Team A

 

[AnonyMouse]

Falion "Falco" Cauphix​

Location: Oytenrand Woods, killing grounds​

Stay calm. Assess the situation. Then, react.

Thea charged right at the beast, going for a full frontal attack. Falco couldn't tell if she'd lost it and was throwing herself at the enemy with reckless abandon or if she was sticking to (what was left of) the plan. Lucia was circling in from the beast's left side, probably seeking to flank the beast, which would briefly bring her through Sakura's line of fire. Falco stowed his left-hand dagger and sprinted toward the beast's right side. He could only hope Thea was aware enough to avoid striking him, as this would put him within the zweihander's arc.

We got this, he told himself again, gritting his teeth as he arrived. After all of today's difficulties, they needed to trust one another, cover one another's weaknesses, and --most importantly, stay out of one another's way. The beast is the enemy, not one another.

Thea was the first to arrive, though the creature narrowly avoided her first strike by ducking under and to the side. It was remarkably agile for its size, but with two other combatants rapidly approaching, it would likely be cornered soon... and Falco didn't want to imagine what this thing would do when/if it got desperate.

Lucia was next to arrive and aimed for its abdomen. The blow landed, but its impact was lessened by the creature maneuvering away. Still it howled in annoyance, proving she had at least touched it, and its vicious tail-blade whipped wildly at the Caskarieth, forcing her to recoil or take damage. However, the small space it gained by doing so, allowed Sakura to land a blow.

"On your left!" Falco called out, going low to avoid Thea's swing. He delivered a fistful of sand to the creature's face just as Sakura's arrow struck its left forepaw.

It did not like that at all. The Hooktail spun around, briefly repelling them and changing up the situation. Falco and Thea were now dealing with the beast's tail end, while Its head turned to Lucia, snapping wildly at her through squinted eyes. Its movements were hindered as it swiped at its face with its one good forepaw.

"Grab it!" Falco said as he dashed backward half a pace to avoid the lashing blade. He liked his scale mail coat, but didn't want to test its integrity. The armored knight's plate, however, might give her a decent shot at capturing the tail or slicing it off, vastly increasing their chances of taking this beast alive... or at least giving them an easy trophy to bring back once it was dead.

* * * * *​

The spider's near-instantaneous casting of a barrier came as a surprise to the beast. Unfortunately, the fastest spells are rarely the strongest. The defensive bubble did not survive first contact and crumbled the moment the beasts's full weight landed upon it. The shattering of the shield repelled the beast, causing it to curl backwards through the air. But, true to its feline nature, it landed on all four paws, moving with a grace and fluidity which seemed impossible for a creature of such size.

As the spider took aim with his ballista, the beast ran for the treeline, zigzagging to avoid his shots, and scurried up the nearest tree, leaving deep claw marks in the hardened bark. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the branches above, but the rustling of leaves indicated it was merely repositioning and would burst forth a second time to try again.

Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura) / Huntertabbysandshark3 (Risax)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

View attachment 1037297
Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Woodlands​

Putting faith in her armor, Thea hears Falco's words and says nothing, but gives something of a confused expression. She couldn't just let go of her sword and grab the tail, not while in mid swing, recovering the blade. And even if she could, the question was if she could physically hold out against a raging bear sized cat while holding its tail. Even normal cats got highly pissed about that. "Schuerer Strum!" Holding her blade up high and from behind, with force that could break an improvised or basic defensive structure, she brings the blade down with an angle and highspeed as the tail slammed into her upper breastplate, clanking off with a heavy THUD that withstood a side slamming hit, aiming for the back legs, to broadside hit them with cracking force she aimed to hinder the beast's movement, and if that failed, or the tail decided to defend or simply got in the way, a blow aimed at severing it.

Thea wasn't exactly eager to cast her weapon aside and engage in fist-a-cuffs.

Interactions: EmperorsChosen Thalia_Neko AnonyMouse Huntertabbysandshark3 Topless

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten
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Lucia making contact with the beast was welcome sight, if unexpected. At least, it was for Lucia. Though a stoic face was shown, she was a bit surprised at the damage she did to the creature. She paused momentarily, releasing a relieved huff as the how served to boost her morale.

She jumped back as the tail whipped around at her, the point narrowly evading her abdomen as she lurched to ensure the talon didn't hit its mark.

While Thea struck the creature, Falco deployed some sand into its face, which caused it to react with more volatility, spinning around and lunging at them ferally. Hesitating to meet the maw of the creature while it snapped and swiped, Lucia circled an open palm forward at it. "Carry forward mine flames of ambition. Flammenwerfer!"

The crystal in the arcanizer on her gauntlet gleamed as a torrent of flame spewed forth at the feline's visage.

@Team A

 

[TreasureSniper]

Interaction: Team B Reinhardt​

"You mean the stockeaters? Yea. They're a pretty common bug found in warehouses from my place. Though I never seen ones that have gotten that big. And they don't grow like that overnight." Talio clarified to Cressey while reviewing his notes on what was noteworthy about the warehouse. "In terms of how to effectively exterminate them, the right amount of strong enough pesticide should do the trick. However, it's like we would need a more potent does for ones of the size we've met today." He remembered that his pesticide only manage to dissuade the big ones from attacking him instead of outright killing them. Though there is a possibility that it just took longer to take effect due to the size of the body.

After finishing his own explanation, he listened to the comments of each of Arien's regarding small blunders in the warehouse. In all honesty, he was expecting much harsher criticism from him, but perhaps the group did a lot better than he thought they did. Upon being asked how could the bugs possibly have entered the warehouse, Talio raised his arm and spoke up, while refering to notes he had taken before. "Based on my observation right after our skirmish, there was a large hole dug beneath the floor of the warehouse. From what can be observed from the surface, it looked like it extended into a few long tunnels which could possibly be the initial entry point of the swarm. Additionally, I also found a large female Holzekt, or at least parts of its remains near said openings. I'd say the best course of action is to fill the holes with pesticide ladened food before sealing them up. Its best not to leave any stragglers behind." Talio recommended a very common Ferromanus solution to the issue. As expensive as it can be, it was a good way to ensure there won't be a resurgence of said insects.

Right after that, Talio also suggested a plan on how to best deal with the remaining warehouses if they too were also infested. "Well..if we were to assume the other warehouses would be just as infested, I suggest we draw out a few stockeaters out in the open to be sliced apart in a controlled manner. From can lure out a controlled amount of them to be slaughtered, possibly from a makeshift temporary fortification to give us an advantage as we pick them off bit by bit. Once the horde's numbers dwindle, we can continue the inspection." It was a simple plan, he rather involves pesticides as he feared using such chemicals will contaminate the contents of the warehouse. Not too mention the increase in the cost of this operation.

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

One arrow managed to struck the beast, but only on the forepaw. Not enough. She needed to at least struck one arrow per joint to incapacitate it. Sakura noticed that her companions are having quite a hard time dealing with the beast, especially when it's tail is flailing about. Sakura wanted to shoot an arrow at it, but that won't be easy. For now, she'll have to focus on aiming for the joints of it's legs. She continued to fire her arrows, leaping off branches as she goes.

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen
​

 

[King Crimson]

Current Location: Roadside Inn
​

Cressey listened intently as Arien gave his review, occasionally nibbling at what was left of her meal as he recalled the day's events, giving out the occasional criticism or praise for their actions.
"You performed well, given the circumstances. I would dare say you are even better as a team than the other group of recruits," Arien concluded, and then, much to Cressey's surprise, gave a small, faint nod of acknowledgement in her direction.
She wasn't used to such praise, nor was she prepared for it, and in an uncharacteristic display of bashfulness, she turned away from the guild senior's gaze, idly scratching the back of her scalp to hide away the blushing of her cheeks, and the smile she was all but barely keeping contained
"Oh! W-WelI It really wasn't anything too troublesome...I-I'm sure we'd have persevered regardless! Aha...ha..." she nervously mumbled, stifling a few more fits of giddy laughter welling within her throat.
But, the bubbly elation she displayed quickly soured, as the other unspoken implication within Arien's words dawned upon her.
The other recruits; Falco, Thea, Sakura and the others...
"Are they well? Has something befallen them? Was it Falco's fault?" and several other questions burned within her brain, but she only clasped a hand to her chest, and bit her tongue.
Now was not the time, nor the place.
She would ask him about that and more soon enough.

Next came Arien's request to hear of their own thoughts; how the holzeckt's came to be, if there were any more remaining.
"I've already grown more than acquainted with one possible way they could have entered the warehouse..." Cressey bitterly scoffed in response.
The humiliating memory still stung her greatly; one second, she was following behind Arien and Talio, searching for any remaining signs of the vermin.
The next, she was falling straight down into a cramped, shallow pitfall barely the width of her shoulders, leaving most of her body buried within the earth, with only the roof of her head, and a pair of very surprised, blue eyes still visible aboveground, peering up at her companions like a rabbit springing out from it's burrow.
After pulling her out with considerable difficulty, together they squeezed into the tunnel, only to find a veritable labyrinth of dank, dark, twisting tunnels lying below.
Just the thought of those tunnels made her skin crawl, and with some effort, she shook the vile thought away from her head.
Lupa had entered the lobby at some point while she was remunerating on the memory, her steps carrying a small, slight unevenness, and a thick wrapping of gauze tied around her wrist, where the remains of her sleeve used to be.
For a moment, Cressey was prepared to voice some level of concern for the beastkin's injuries, though such worries died in her throat as she sternly made her thoughts known.
If the injuries were at all bothering her, she certainly wasn't going to show it, a quality that Cressey could very well respect.
"...You seem to be suggesting some sort of foul play is at work here." Cressey remarked, turning towards Lupa, then to Arien, who seemed to be implying very much the same.
Leaning back in her, Cressey brought a hand to temple in mute distress, letting out a small, exasperated sigh.
" Hah...First a bandit commanding dogs, now a bandit that commands bugs?"
"What's next..." she continues with a small hint of mirth in her voice, as she turned a narrowed, sideways glance over towards Arien's direction "A bandit that commands the birds?"
Her suspicious gaze then turned towards the adorable ball of blue fuzz perched atop Lori's head, which was staring back at her with those small, beady eyes, as cute and as innocent as could be.
...Perhaps too innocent.
I'm watching you, she gestured, pointing two fingers towards her own eyes, and then pointing accusingly in the bird's direction, curling her lips in a stern, menacing frown.





Interacting:
Arien ( Reinhardt )
Talio ( TreasureSniper )
Lori ( ERode )
Endymion ( lunar_moth )
Lupa ( Silver Wolf )

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Attacking the cat monster
Thinking: "Kill it!

Location: Oyten
Interacting: AnonyMouse Huntertabbysandshark3
Mentions:


Hyss was completely caught off guard when she saw Risax conjur up a barrier -just in time! Was the spider clairvoyant?! Or just damn lucky? A huge wave of relief passed through the girl. But that relief was short-lived as Risax's barrier instantly shattered.

Just one blow? She found herself astonished.

It flipped back just like a cat, and just like a cat quickly ascended into the trees.

Risax could conjure another barrier, but it proved ineffective already -she had to act now!

The beast probably felt safe up in the trees. It assumed it was hidden. And even though it was camouflaged quite well up in the leaves, in this short introduction Hyss had caught the thing's scent. Not to mention she could clearly see its heat signature. Well, she could see its heat signature amongst the leaves that blocked some of it. It was going to be super surprised for sure!

Hyss unfurled her glaive and sprung from her hiding spot. There was no time to hesitate! With just the two of them here, Hyss was going for the kill! They had no chance of capturing it with just the two of them! In the same motion she quickly threw a unfurled Fangflake at the cat up in the trees with a savage spin. She couldn't tell exactly where it was, or if her aim was true, but she had been trying to aim for its neck or at least its flank. This sharpened blade would cause a lot of damage if it managed to slice true. Or at least she hoped. She had no idea if its hide was tough or anything, but like, she hoped it wasn't!

Right after throwing Fangflake, Hyss dove into cover once more, trying to quickly reconceal herself before it even knew what happened. If all went well, it would get a nasty wound from a surprise attack from an unknown location! If all went well!​

 

[AnonyMouse]

Falion "Falco" Cauphix​

Location: Oytenrand Woods, killing grounds​

Flammen-what? Falco thought, momentarily losing his rhythm as Lucia powerfully announced her spell. The pillar of flames which erupted from her palm a moment later served as a potent reminder that this was, indeed, an incantatinon and not the elf simply bellowing nonsense.

Oh, right, we have magic! Almost forgot, Falco thought with a sly smirk as he sidestepped Thea's downward strike... which also came with a shouted incantation. Was that a spell, too, or just Thea being, umm, 'knightly?' Seeing his friends shoot flames and lightning and water and whatnot was going to take some getting used to, but at least it came with a verbal warning.

The one-two punch of Lucia's fire roaring across its face and Thea's slash severing its tail made the beast howl in pain and anger. Relieving it of that bladed appendage was a huge boon and it wouldn't have been possible alone. Well, not for these rookies. Teamwork! Yes! Falco's adrenaline surged at the sight of his friends finally coming togather. The beast, with its face and upper body blackened by fire, turned to flee, but Falco lunged forward and planted his dagger into its left flank, just as one of Sakura's arrows sank into its right.

No tail: the snake-like appendage was left writhing on the ground, bloodied and severed by Thea's strike. Two hind legs immobilized: one by arrow, and the other by Falco's dagger, which was still buried up to the hilt in the beast's haunch. With fleeing no longer an option, it half-turned to snap at them with eyes half-shut. Its whiskers and much of the fur on its face had been bruned away, though the beast did not seem massively hindered by that.

It's super pissed now and desperate, Falco thought, knowing their next move would be critical. Even with no tail, the beast felt more dangerous now. It still had its claws and fangs and its hind legs weren't entirely out of comission, even if they had wounded them. At times, this monster seemed to run on rage alone, as if the pain had no affect on it, as evidenced by the hunter's arrows still embedded in its hide. With no chance of escape, it would fight viciously, to the bitter end. Taking it alive was no longer an option and probably never had been.

"Shield your eyes," he said as he performed a quick two-step, bringing himself around to the creature's front. Cephilia had told him this spell was meant to be cast in an instant and had trained him well in its preparation. He girded his mind, focused his thoughts, and one simple word unleashed its full fury:

"FLASH!"

The pale jade glow of the arcanizer beneath his shirt was instantly overwhelmed by a blinding white explosion of light, as if the sun itself had winked into and out of existence in the palm of his hand, in a millisecond. With his other hand, he flared his cloak open, using it as a curtain to shield his companions from the light. The beast roared and recoiled from the flash, pawing at its own face in awestruck agony. Crippled, tailless, and now temporarily blinded.

Falco danced back, leaving space for the others to move in for a decisive final blow, something he could not safely do with his short blades.

Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Topless (Sakura)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Woodlands
​

Though highly improvised and missing two of its members the work the four put in, the beast was crippled, disarmed, burned and bloody. Had it been a human there would be no need to continue, the sudden blinding light that Thea had to shield herself from the blast was of advantage. It gave her a few seconds, a few brief seconds to hesitate. Moving around to the front from the tail there was no choice now and she had the greatest reach of them all, asides from the fact it was a beast, too much bad had happened. It had the taste of human blood, it was disarmed, wounded, and wild. Returning it to the wild would be just as good as killing it, provided it didn't have a taste for the spoken races now.

While Thea may have been a bit sympathetic, they were now well and truly past that point, there was but one thing she could do for the creature here and now. That was to end its growls and prowling here and now. She could give it a quick death, but only if she acted here and now. It was a shame, the beast clearly had intelligence, but she wasn't so naive to think a sick wolf could be turned into a sheep dog. Raising her blade up quickly, Thea snarls a bit and yells, "HA!" As the executioner's blade fell upon the beast from the side right across the neck. With the power she placed into the blow, the effects from the tail blow would be reenacted. As the Zweihander parted the head from the torso, the beast in its final moments swiped out with a claw, scratching the surface of steel plate and catching briefly into the lower chain and leather armor.

Looking down at the blood upon her blade as it cleaved onwards to rest in the ground, Thea wondered if there were ever a way around this, more so now knowing there were two targets. But was that it? And there was still much more about this situation that pried at her mind. Was it all too easy? The beast took a lot of damage before then and by them. But still, it felt just like killing those dogs. There was no glory, only necessity. Wiping the blood off of her sword after slinging it downwards, Thea says nothing for a bit.


"Hmm... Good job. We all survived. The blinding and our careful assault allowed for me to take the head. However, ..." It was then that she turned to face the others, looking for rebellion or maybe support as she spoke,

"...We are not leaving this spot; I will make a fire here for the hunter to keep warm. These corpses are all much too young and we know of two beasts. I wish to hear the fate of our comrades, discipline I may give them aside, I want us to search this area for signs of further creatures, how they got to be about here, if there are more of them. This was both easy and yet it gnaws at me, our poor use of information. The guild likely expects more of us. We have a few more days till the ride is out."


Interactions: EmperorsChosen AnonyMouse Topless

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

An arrow had finally hit it's mark. With their combined efforts, the beast has been severely crippled. With no strength left to flee, the beast was left with no choice but to fight till the bitter end. Falco casted a spell that produced a blinding light which Sakura shielded with her cloak. The beast had been blinded as a result and without warning, Thea went in for the kill, severing it's head from it's body. However, the torso was still up and running, not realizing that it's head got cut off.

Sakura jumped off the branch and reached her hand out to the ground. "O soil, grant us your almighty defense! STONE WALL: 15x5!" She chanted and when he hand touched the ground, a pillar of stone rose up beneath the beast's body, hitting it's abdomen which in turn shattering it's ribcage. It sent the body up high and crashed onto it's back lifeless. It was over, they've finally done the deed for now. Sakura let's out a sigh of relief, but the job is still not done. Thea made an order; remain and look around the area for any potential threats that may possibly come. "...Understood." Sakura acknowledged as she began to pick up arrows that had missed their mark whilst looking back at the downed lifeless beast.

And then her stomach suddenly growled loudly...

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen
​

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

interaction: AnonyMouse Thalia_Neko​

the beast fled back into the trees as expected it was likely maneuvering for another strike.. he was.. to put it simply a tad screwed at best. at and worst flat out dead.. what he didn't know was this was a second beast, frankly, he knew he should have kept up with everyone else he'd just assumed the hooktail wouldn't have gone for him, especially with the injured hunter having been a far easier target but it seemed the monster preferred sport over a meal, it was then when he saw hyss burst out of nowhere throwing her weapon towards where the beast ran off to.. while he was glad he was somewhat baffled she didn't try attacking while it was repositioning itself to escape into the trees no matter. "well thank you for providing some help hyss..." he'd comment taking the small amount of down time to grab a next form his saddle bags.. holding it in one hand sword in the other waiting for the giant murderous cat to try and strike again hopefully he could throw the net into it the enxt time it pounced even if it didn't stop it it would at least throw the monster aim off..

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten
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Lucia turned her head and shielded her eye with her arm to not be affected by the blind. Giving it a few moments, she turned her gaze forward in time to catch Thea bringing her blade down on the beast. Lucia stared, in partial disbelief that they had won so handily before a prideful smile graced her features. The previous wrongs, transgressions, and irritants of the day had all but disappeared!

And then the fox came.

Lucia watched as the woman used her own spell to chuck the headless animal, the squelch and cracking all-too-audible now that the Caskarieth was no longer riding the high of victory. Her genuine smile that had graced her features had now replaced itself with a disappointed scowl again. She sighed, but said nothing as Thea gave her commands. The former noble wasn't exactly in a hurry to leave or do the minimum, but there was still Hysydice and Risax out there. Even if Sen was running after them, the younger elf would feel more at ease knowing the second beast was dead and they were not.

"Should we not rendezvous with the others first? We know for certain one is still out there," Lucia proposed before her ears caught grumble of a certain beastkin's stomach.

The pugilist's expression turned to near disgust as she looked over in Sakura's direction, staring at her a few moments as if to convey her urgings nonverbally, but then deciding to speak anyway. "Do. Not. Please."

The "please" was less one of politeness and more of exasperation. Nonetheless, Lucia wasn't going to stand there and wait to see if she would be adhered to. She looked over in the direction of the crevice and positioned herself at the entrance, narrowing an eye as she peered inside

@Team A

 

[ERode]

Location: Roadside Inn
​

Oh, Lori knew what this was! This was a performance review! And even better, it was one that sounded like they did pretty good, given the circumstances! The circumstances being that they never worked together before, didn’t have any actual experience with inspecting warehouses, was beset by a swarm of hardy insects and STILL came out of it mostly alright.

The messy-haired beastfolk nodded with every statement that Arien made, her cheeks quite pink with pride. His remark about developing control and restraint certainly didn’t relate to her in any way, after all, and as far as Lori was aware, his comments about them splitting up leaving them vulnerable to being picked off one by one was, well, pretty unfounded! After all, considering the circumstances, only beasts and bugs would be found there.

Alas, the good times couldn’t last forever though, and soon enough, Arien switched from heaping praise upon a part of a job well done to the more important stuff about how the Holzekts even got there to begin with.

Ahhhhh, maybe she should’ve paid more attention after all. Not that her father would’ve told her much more than ‘bug bad, run fast’.

“Ah, ah,” Lori said, bobbing her head up and down as if to shake ideas out of her skull, “the Holzekts are pretty rare, so it’s pretty unlikely too that all the other warehouses are infested. But they do like eating wood, and the warehouse has lotsa wooden boxes, so hm…naw, it can’t be that likely.”

Right. She knew.

“I heard that Holzekts actually grow much bigger though! The ones we fought were all babies and children, which is good, because otherwise things would go really bad. Ah, and that’s the other weird thing! The hole that was in the floor is like, too big, you know? They don’t need to be that big if the Holzekts were that small, and the mother was scattered around as well…”

Considering all that, what was most likely here?

“Maybe something killed the swarm mother and the adult Holzekts? They probably didn’t know or didn’t care about being messy, so they tore the Holzekts up. Real messy. Left the eggs alone because they were too small back then? The cocoons and eggs grew up and became the young swarm we have now? Without a mom, I don’t think there would be very many freshly-laid eggs. And since they’re in a forest, I don’t think there’s too much reason for them to go just to a warehouse.”

Right. It was the rules of nature, making a mess of things again!

“Arien, is there anything that hunts Holzekts?”

 

[Reinhardt]

Arien Bermille​

Location: Roadside Inn​

Arien observed as the recruits began to respond to his question. His gaze landed on Talio as the young merchant answered Cressey's inquiry then gave his thoughts on the presented matter and additionally suggested a course of action regarding the hole they found in the warehouse. Arien nodded in silence as he listened to Talio's words, occasionally glancing at the notes that Talio referred to every so often.

"Note-taking, I see.", Arien remarked. "A good habit to exercise, especially since you will be giving a report of the mission to the guild once you're finished."

Once Talio was finished, Arien leaned back in his seat. "I see.", was all that he could say to Talio's statements. Whether he'd take it as a good sign or otherwise, is up to the young Valgemian.

Then came Cressey, who hinted upon a supposed foul play - which was certainly understandable, given her previous experience with the unprecedented occurrences at Tylsen's sewers. However, her expressed suspicion towards the small, blue bird that was Zest amused Arien, making him break from his usual stoic expression and smirk, even for a short bit.

"That is a possibility.", Arien said, acknowledging her words. "Regardless of however far-fetched it may be."

The bird that rested on top of Lori's head chirped in response. Maybe it was saying Cressey was onto something? Perhaps it was saying she was completely off the mark? If only someone knew how to talk to magical birds.

Arien leaned forward ever so slightly after listening to Lori's theory. "Hmm...interesting.", he said as he took to a thinking pose, his right arm resting atop the table with his hand below his chin. His gaze darted to the bird atop Lori's head, which chirped cheerily, then swiftly returned to the young beastfolk that had an inquiry.

"Stonetusks, Wurms, and Phasmanders to name a few.", he said. "They are not native to the locale and only one of them naturally digs holes - though it would be much larger than the one Cressey nearly fell in."

Interaction/s: Cresslinde ( King Crimson ), Endymion ( lunar_moth ), Lupa ( Silver Wolf ), Talio ( TreasureSniper ), Lori ( ERode )

 

[AnonyMouse]

Falion "Falco" Cauphix​

Location: Oytenrand Woods​

“’Scuse me, whut?” Falco exclaimed, his face contorting at Thea’s mention of staying here of all places. His immeasurable delight (and mild horror) at seeing the beast’s head tumble from its well-muscled shoulders was immediately washed away.

Thankfully, Lucia chimed in, speaking in favor of the --much more rational, in his opinion-- course of action, so Falco at least knew he wasn’t alone. So many people had rebelled against Thea’s orders today, he was hesitant to speak his mind, but the elf’s words gave him a small bit of confidence. It’s okay to disagree, respectfully.

He knelt to pick up the bloodied tail and held it high, as a symbol of their victory. Admittedly, the head would probably make a better trophy but… those dead eyes and the way the tongue hung limply from its mouth made his skin crawl.

“This fight, this victory, was the first bit of proper teamwork we had today,” he said, gripping the bloodied appendage. Its vicious blade dangled with every syllable. “Look, I don’t know what stroke of… umm, ‘genius’ made Risax and Hyss stay behind, but we ought to show ‘em they’re part of this team, too. It don’t sit right with me, making camp, while Sen looks after our own. Despite what she says, she shouldn’t be running around with that baby. I don’t like it.” He paused to frown. “First, we regroup. Then, we investigate.”

The two hunters had kept their distance while the adventurers battled the beast, but now began to move in once more. “Up to you,” the uninjured one said, supporting his brother as he addressed the Kriegslowen. “I don’t like this place one bit and he seems stable enough to risk headin’ back, if one o’ ya give me a hand supportin’ him,” he nodded to his brother. “Let me lead the way. Y’all have done more’n enough for us.”

* * * * *​

Hyss’s glaive sliced through the air. Her aim was true, but landing a decisive blow on a creature moving through the canopy proved too difficult. The spinning weapon struck a tree limb as the hooktail leapt from branch to branch and became lodged in the iron oak’s dense wood.

The hooktail spotted the weapon, but not its thrower, and growled in the direction from which the glaive had come, as if searching for the source of the projectile. Its ears twitched. Its whiskers bristled. Although it only remained still for a second, during that time the creature appeared to be contemplating something. This one was clearly smarter and more methodical than its brutish companion.

It now understood there were two attackers. It now understood the spider was not alone. And, although it could not see the other adventurer, her scent lingered in the air and it knew it need only attack the spider once more to draw her out. Or…

It weighed its options for a millisecond before quickly swiping the glaive from where it had stuck. The weapon fell to the ground. The moment it touched grass, the hooktail pounced toward the spider once more. But the move was only a planned feint. If the glaive’s wilder revealed herself, it would use its tail to redirect and try to take the smaller target.

Interaction(s): RedArmyShogun (Thea) / EmperorsChosen (Lucia) / Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Topless (Sakura) / Huntertabbysandshark3 (Risax)

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Thea Schuerer
Location: Oytenrand Woodlands
​

As the beast laid dead it went through muscle spasms, attempting to rise, the strength from such would be laughable and it was not even able to see what it would be striking about. It was a pity in a way and of little concern. Or so she would have thought as Sakura shot a pillar of earth from underneath it, the hard crack of bone could be heard as the best rose up beneath the collapsing earth. The head rolled away and now it was dead beyond any metric of the word. However, the way about it displeased the armor clad Kriegslowe, with a look of other contempt, she let out a sigh and things to herself;

And here I was going to leave out the arrow incident, but it is clear you need educating about these lands and customs.

It was then that Falco would voice opposition to her command, taking note of Sakura and her stomach growl and Lucia being less than thrilled with it all, Thea runs her right hand against her head, palm massaging the temples of her head as Zweihander rests against her right shoulder. "My reason for staying is as I worry, we will only get in her way. We also run the risk of passing them in a return trip. And if there is another threat or cause here, it may disrupt the site..." She says with cold, reasoned logic, as she shoots an annoyed gaze at Sakura.

"If you are going to eat it, at least cook it, you damn barbarian Wildling." With that said, Thea reaches into her satchel with her left hand and fumbles around for some dried beef jerky, throwing it over to Sakura to tide her over, before closing it back.

With that and the hunter offering to guide them back, she does not yet accept the offer, as she says yet a few more words. "However, your reasons to go agrees with me. We should not have a mother with her infant doing our work for us, no matter how skilled she may be. And I would know why those fools did not follow. Very well, huntsman if you would kindly, lead us back to the spot." Thinking on who to have help them, the only real choice was Falco and Lucia. At present she needed Sakura's bow, and after the latest display, she did not trust her to not do some feral act against the pair.

"Lucia, I want you to help them. You have no armor nor range, should the beast turn then Falco or better yet I, can physically get in its way. Sakura, we need for archery. And your weapon and fighting style is very close. The hunter's safety on the return trip I leave in your hands. After that, our stragglers can bare that burden." With the orders sent, she takes another look at the corpse and sighs. It would have to wait. Moving her zweihander back onto her back into its sheath, switching to the shortsword for the march back to where they came.

"Our Job is not yet done. Move out, quick as we can." And with that, Thea walks off back towards where they came, if they wished to run or hurried pace, that would be between the huntsman and Lucia.


Interactions: EmperorsChosen AnonyMouse Topless

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Attacking the cat monster
Thinking: "Kill it!"

Location: Oyten
Interacting: AnonyMouse Huntertabbysandshark3
Mentions:


When her glaive got lodged into the tree Hyss winced in frustration. Crap! Even after all those countless hours spent throwing the damn thing to get it right! Of course throwing from this angle was too hard... She should've known! Waiting for the perfect strike, why hadn't she stuck with her initial idea?

It was exactly as she thought. After throwing it, the beast seemed to stall and look around. It clearly knew there was another threat now. Though, since it hadn't immediately attacked her, well, that seemed to mean it didn't know where the other threat was... Phew. One saving grace at least! After thinking on it, this was a true monster, a true predator. Not like those humans from before. Hyss was good at sizing up foes. Maybe too good. Fear was worming its way into her bones. She felt if she made even one wrong move against this thing -she would be dead! Gritting her teeth. That mentality would make her freeze up for just a brief moment, or something similar. She had to steel herself against this beast if she wanted to come out of this alive. She couldn't afford to make a mistake or freeze up!

Risax said something. But there was no time to answer him. Hyss though about retrieving her weapon -she had practiced it enough, but hadn't actually put it into practice in the field yet. However, she dismayed, seeing as how her blade was securely lodged into the bark of a tree. The sign of a true, firm throw, at least. The loss of her weapon worried her -- which was the exact reasoning behind her choice of spell! But then luckily the beast's antics dislodged it, and Fangflake dropped back down to the forest floor! It was a bit out of arms reach, which meant she still needed to use her spell... But at least she could retrieve it! What a stroke of luck!

"The wind.."

Hyss noticed the beast going after Risax once more. Looks like she needed to do so quicker than she had thought!

"-howls!" She intoned beneath her breath, holding up her hand like claws near her chest. Wind kicked up and swirled around her hand. "ASwiftZephyr." Winds blew threw the trees and across the metal of her glaive. "Cyclonewinds. Return!"

The rest of her spell was hastily spoken with nary a pause between words. The winds spun the glaive and lifted it off the forest floor. Then it quickly spun back towards her.

It worked! Exactly as she had wanted. Exactly as practiced! Perfect! Now she overcame that weakness, and could reliably throw her glaive in combat! That opened up much more possibilities! Yes!

Hyss twirled gracefully as she caught Fangflake as it returned to her. With a spin on her foot she stopped, facing the creature once more. It was obvious she was the second adversary now. No hiding anymore. "Yyya!"

She threw it once more. This time with more force, as her body was out in the open, affording her more movement and power behind her throw. This time she would intercept its attack on Risax!​

 

[Topless]

Location: Oyten

Embarrassment is what Sakura had felt after nearly everyone heard her stomach growled. Lucia was the first to speak out bitterly followed by Thea, although the latter was more bittersweet as she handed the fox some jerky for her to munch on. "...Thank you." She quietly said as she ate the jerky. Just then, the hunter brothers offered to lead them out of the woods. However, there is a matter at hand in regards to Hyss and Risax. The group agreed to help them out.

Thea gave Sakura a command; lead the brothers to safety. "Understood." She acknowledged, putting her hood on and then jumped on the nearest tree branch. She turned to the brothers and said "I'll watch you from the shadows. Please proceed." Once they made a move, Sakura set her pace as them so that she won't lose sight of them.

AnonyMouse Reinhardt RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen
​

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Location: Oyten
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Falco spoke up, in favor of her plan, though Thea still found the disagreement irritating given the woman's mannerisms. Lucia rolled an eye at that. They were back to "don't talk back" it seemed, a sentiment the Caskarieth had no intention of following. She was not a brainless soldier with no free thought. She would not simply bite her tongue if she thought of a better option or held a disagreement. She was more than cordial in her suggestion as well, yet it still earned aggravation.

The elf didn't even fully disagree with her logic in this case, but simply proposing the alternative gave the woman a headache, like this whole day had given one to Lucia.

Stepping back from the shelter as Thea threw out orders, Lucia made her way to the hunters, taking the free arm of the injured and hoisting it over her shoulder with little word spoken. "Let me know if you have need to rest," She commented to the two.

Whatever glee or pride Lucia had acquired had been dashed again and she was back to that cold stare mimicking Thea's. Falco's words about their allies stuck in her head for a moment.

A team indeed.

@A team

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

interaction: AnonyMouse Thalia_Neko​

With the beast once again lunging toward him this time Risax was prepared for the monster strike or at least he intended to throw it off course the sticky net being tossed toward the hooktail not neetly draping over it but tangling around its claws paws and tail even it managed to cut the net it’s trajectory would most likely be screwed up resulting in less of a deadly impact Risax quickly steading the longsword with both hand he’d hold it in place a thrust would be foolish to even try with the only moments he had hoping for the beast to simply slam into his blade sure he’d get injured but the monster more so

 

[Silver Wolf]

Location: Roadside Inn
Interactions: King Crimson (Cressey), ERode (Lori), lunar_moth (Endymion), TreasureSniper (Talio), Reinhardt (GM/Arien)
​

Lupa listened to the arguments as she steadily sat down, well as steadily as one could with injuries, but only minor shifts would be needed to distract herself from their pain. She pondered a little of what Arien said then responded.

"So the holes may not be natural, if it doesn't match the description of the animal that makes it, perhaps we can assume then it was made for...other purposes and the Holzekts just took advantage of it. I doubt any animal would enter the hole of its predator unless all trace of said predator was gone, or it had no other option. I for one refuse to believe this is just a coincidence, I don't like all this. A secretly infested warehouse, mysterious tunnels, and whatever was on those rags...eugh."

That's all she really had to say on the matter, so she looked around at everyone else. Talio himself was taking notes, and Cressey was giving her somewhat worried glances that she might be imagining, but whatever. Endymion, well, she couldn't really pin him, but right now she could tell he had been drinking. She knew well what being drunk was like, being a lightweight and all. But she was more curious about what Lori said about the bugs.

"So, assuming this is the single infested warehouse we know of, I think we should ask this question: Why were they even there? We know the most likely point of entry, but we don't know why the Holzekt swarm appeared. Hm...I've heard some insects, in the face of inevitable death, will release their brood in hopes that the brood survives what they couldn't. The ideal answer would be the Holzekt mother simply faced a predator and released their swarm, but as we've said something doesn't add up. I for one am not content until we find out where the tunnels lead, there could be answers down there, and we could save others the trouble of another Holzekt disaster. Whatever the case, we should prioritize the long term safety of those who may have to deal with another swarm should we do nothing."

 

[AnonyMouse]

The Beast​

Location: Oytenrand Woods​

The creature lowered itself to an attack position and braced its sturydy paws against a thick tree limb. Its tail looped around the branch, securing itself as the hooktail inverted its body, preparing to launch itsefl downward at its prey. Every muscle tensed, like a coiled spring ready to explode as it aimed itself at the arachne.

Their eyes met. The air grew still. And, like the loosing of an arrow, the creature propelled itself forward... but its tail continued to grip the limb, pulling the creature back a moment after launching itself forward. The appendage was not strong enough to support the hooktail's entire weight, but it served its purpose, redirecting the creature's attack toward the thrown weapon, rather than the spider.

The feint had the desired effect. The spider tossed its net at the air, where it thought the creature would be. But the sneaky feint caused the hooktail to veer sharply left, toward the glaive... which was now moving of its own volition! For all its intellect and cleverness, this creature knew nothing of magic. The beastkin's incantation was little more than a cryptic battle cry. To its feral mind, the moving glaive was yet another piece of prey --a third assailant-- to be felled.

Too late to adjust its trajectory a second time, the beast was swifly moving toward where the thrown weapon had landed, rather than where it was headed. The hooktail landed gracefully on its paws as its weilder emerged from hiding and caught the weapon. With the spider at its back and the glaive-wielder in front of it, the creature had no choice but to attack, so it charged toward her without hesitation.

The girl was quick to throw her weapon once more, but telegraphed the attack enough that the beast had time to dodge, even at such close range. It lowered its body and sidestepped, yet still took damage as the spinning blade whistled past, lacerating its right side and shoulder. But t'was merely a flesh wound. The beast powered through, unfazed by this close encounter with sharp steel.

As the distance between them became frighteningly small, the beast snarled and pounced toward the girl, swallowing up the last few feet in an instant. Nevermind the spider. it just needed to rip through her and retreat. It could return later to devour what's left. With its claws outstretched and fang-filled maw wide open, the hooktail stretched to its full height. Its monstrous shadow swallowed the girl whole as the bone-knife gripped in its tail coiled forward, like a scorpion's stinger, fully committed to the attack.

Interaction(s): Thalia_Neko (Hyss) / Huntertabbysandshark3 (Risax)

 

[King Crimson]

Current Location: Roadside Inn
​

"That was...surprisingly insightful, Lori. Thank you," Cressey balked, staring at the birdkin as if she'd grown a second head.
Well, at the very least, she was now confident that she knew more about Holzekts than she'd ever expected to learn...Or, at least, all that she ever wanted to learn.
For the seemingly dull, ditzy Lori, of all people, to be her teacher on the subject only made the blow to her psyche all the harsher.
"Hmm..." Cressey hummed to herself, casting that shocking revelation aside as she digested all of the information she had been given, holding her head in her hand as the other drummed it's fingers against the table in ponderous thought.
"...And how inconvenient for us that whatever slew the broodmother made sure to butcher it's body afterwards, meaning we can't study it's body for any identifying injuries..."
Leaning back in her chair, she continues, "Whatever it was, it must have entered through the tunnel. The door was firmly secured when we arrived, and judging from the amount of dust it had managed to collect, it hadn't been disturbed for quite some time. And the windows are far too narrow for anything to slip through, let alone anything the size of a stonetusk..."

"A lot of questions...but frustratingly little answers..." Cressey groans, pinching the bride of her nose.
All of this thinking was giving her a headache.
"Arnold," she says, turning towards Arien.
"Would it be possible for you to send a message back to the guild to quarantine the warehouse for now, and undertake Talio's plan?"
"Perhaps you could also send your bird companion to scout the surrounding forest? It could possibly discover where our tunnels lead to, or find whatever forced the Holzeckts to flee from the forest?"

"In any case," she declares, planting her hands on the table and rising from her seat, "...We need to move forward."
"If there are Holzeckts present at the other warehouses, delaying our investigation will only give them the chance to swell their ranks, and cause any clues we find to grow too old to be of use."
Crossing her arms, she concludes, "We'll know for certain whether this is a pattern, or merely coincidence tomorrow, when we reach the second."

Interacting:
Arnold ( Reinhardt )
Talio ( TreasureSniper )
Lori ( ERode )
Endymion ( lunar_moth )
Lupa ( Silver Wolf )

 

[Thalia_Neko]

Currently: Attacking the cat monster
Thinking: "OW! Oh no, this isn't good..!"

Location: Oyten
Interacting: AnonyMouse Huntertabbysandshark3
Mentions:


Hyss was caught completely off guard as it suddenly changed its trajectory and flung itself her direction. It had feinted!? This beast was smart! A lot smarter than she had given it credit for. But still, she never had expected such a move from some wild monster! Too late, there was no time to contemplate what just happened. It may have avoided Risax's web but it still took a cut from her attack.

Although it didn't appear to phase the beast at all! Although the beastkin felt an intense fear as the huge cat cast her in shadow, Hyss forced herself to act. There was no time to be frozen up! Luckily, once her spell was intoned, it was still "active".

"Return!" She panickedly called, hand outstretched. "Yyyaaa!!" Only for her to release a scream in the same breath when she felt some of the beast's claws scrape down her chest. With new pain coursing through her, threatening to kill her strength, and blood splattering on the forest floor Hyss caught her glaive after it spun like a hurricane back to her hand. In the same motion she brought it up and stabbed it into the open maw of the beast, keeping it from closing its jaw on her. The circular glaive now lodged it its mouth, sharpened blade cutting its tongue and gums. That afforded Hyss enough time to stumble back, just out of its range as it dealt with the new situation.

She grit her teeth, clutching her torso where a nasty clawed slash mark was left. She would need to be strong, despite the pain. She then attempted to re-hide herself. It was dangerous facing off against this monster. Likely, though, even if she could, it would probably be able to follow her blood scent straight to her.​