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Post by Veliky on Sept 12, 2022 19:48:51 GMT -5
Day Zero: Veliky arranges a business deal with an eccentric monster hunter named Lloyd that she met in Thunderhoof Village. The deal is simple: learn slime stuff. While Veliky had never seen an ooze in her life, she's no stranger to getting her hands dirty in the name of a few solars. After some cursory (that is, entirely not enough) research into the subject, she starts planning her mission.
Day One: Veliky contacts two of the most resourceful people she knows: Cantio von Lumen, who aided her in the capture of a deadly water elemental; and Tatalia, who did something that need not be said but was impressive nonetheless.
Day Four: The party converges at Thunderhoof Village and Veliky describes the plan: stomp around in the Kingswood until they find a slime.
Day Eleven: The party stomps around in Kingswood until they find a slime. It's pretty big - about 6 feet in diameter - and it's a fairly pleasant light-blue colour. The party begins following it as it slowly slimes its way through the wilderness.
Day Twelve: The slime and, consequently, the party arrive at a large ditch that the slime seems to call home. It slimes inside and then just waits, not doing anything.
Day Fifteen: It's been three days. The slime hasn't done anything. The only indication that it's still alive is the occasional warble, accompanied by a sound like a human sneezing. The idea came up that it might be sick, but Veliky dismissed it with a curt "No, they apparently just do that sometimes." On one hand, it's been uneventful, with little in the way of danger. On the other hand, it's been uneventful, with little in the way of anything to do or even look at.
Now, rays of the morning sun flit through the leaves, landing on the party's faces yet again. Veliky lays lazily on a log, looking up at the forest canopy, hand resting on her forehead. All of her bots are currently in sleep mode, and have been for over a day now because Veliky just seriously didn't want to listen to them anymore.
'Maybe something will happen today:' these words are the only reason the party haven't just picked up and left. Veliky lackadaisically turns her head to her two living compatriots. Maybe they're doing something interesting? Maybe?
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Sept 12, 2022 21:10:43 GMT -5
The first time he had agreed to help Veliky with something, it was by sheer chance: he'd met the halfling in Thunderhoof Village and had agreed (drunkenly) to assist her with some mission she'd been raving on. It had turned out to be a mission to capture a Water Elemental when he'd sobered up, which everyone had been unprepared for. They had only managed to succeed in the end by the skin of their teeth thanks to Ulrich's magic and Veliky's improvisation.
To Cantio, it still felt like a nightmare of a mission, though.
With that in mind, it came as a surprise when he received correspondence from Veliky about aiding her with a different mission: one that she claimed was admittedly a bit stickier in comparison to their encounter with the elemental. Another pleasant coincidence was that the halfling had also summoned Tatalia. The bard could only breathe a sigh of relief; at least he knew how capable Tatalia was from their ventures together.
Veliky, upon meeting her again, seemed to have grown since he'd last seen her— not literally, of course— she was still barely cresting above his knee— but she now had what she called robots following her around at her every beck and whim.
Actually, he felt quite confident about this mission, all things considered.
Day Fifteen:
Dear sweet Solaria he is bored out of his mind. It's been days since they left Thunderhoof Village; days since they stomped around the Kingswood; days since they found the slime; and days since that same slime wobbled its way into a huge ditch, and proceeded to stay there for more days. From what Veliky had told them, they were supposed to be researching it: but so far his parchments held few notes, most of which included the words 'wiggle', 'jiggle', or 'sneezed?'.
He feels they're not very engaging in terms of scholarly study, frankly.
Now, Cantio is lies on a low-hanging branch; the rays of morning sun dancing through the leaves, stamping patterns into flesh, earth, and stone. There's a gentle vibrato in the air as he leans against the trunk of the tree, strumming in pianissimo, idle chords with his eyes closed. There's a parasol resting snug between the crook of his elbow— its paper-like, decorative appearance blocking the morning rays from reaching his eyes as he loiters. Which, loitering is basically all they've accomplished for three days, so he's feeling less awkward about it the longer it goes on. Veliky is, honestly, kind of intimidating to him: so every time she suggests something might happen today, he doesn't have the heart to object.
Cantio opens his eyes, swinging one leg that dangles leisurely over the branch. He lifts himself up just a bit, looking to the great, gelatinous blob still nestled in its hole. He places a few fingers over the chords of his violin, allowing the sounds of the forest to take priority, and— SCHBWSCHLK — the slime wiggles a little in its hole. Cantio perks up.
It settles, and does nothing after that.
Cantio sighs, crumbling back against the branch in a way that might rival the slime in bonelessness. "... Do you think it has stage fright, or something?" he asks, to no one in particular.
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Post by Tatalia on Oct 3, 2022 20:59:59 GMT -5
"I don't believe oozes have the intellectual capacity for stage fright, Cantio," answered a very bored sounding goblin from above Cantio.
Tatalia was splayed out over a tree branch, watching a caterpillar crawl across her forehead. It was the most exciting thing she'd experienced since arriving in the Kingswood besides the time a bird had defecated on her shirt. At least the resulting rage from that incident had produced ten minutes of excitement. Watching the ooze was just mind-numbingly boring. It did nothing. NOTHING!
Of course, that didn't stop Tatalia from doing her job. She'd spent the last few days scrawling voluminous notes about every small shift in behavior of the ooze; every burble, every wobble, every slurping noise and almost sneeze-like whistle. She'd also drawn the ooze in several different states of inactivity, and had furiously taken notes when it actually rotated in its ditch once, high on the anticipation of something actually happening!
Nothing happened, however. The stupid creature just settled back down to its original position.
The caterpillar continued its laborious journey across Tatalia's forehead. Then, slowly, the fuzzy thing made it across the whole of Tatalia's face... and slipped over the branch and down toward the ground, hitting the forest floor with a smack.
Tatalia envied the caterpillar. At least it died in the midst of some action.
"That's it!" Tatalia snapped, slamming her book of research notes shut. She shoved the book into her satchel angrily. "I can't take this anymore! I'm going for a walk," she declared, heaving out an irritated sigh before hopping to the tree trunk, using her sticky digits1 to climb down safely.
The goblin didn't waste any time. She weaved her way between the inert little machine-men ("Robots" or something? Gnomish contraptions, perhaps?) and away from her companions. Tatalia needed to find something to do. If nothing exciting happened, she was going to vomit out her brains. Surely there was some monster to fight, or some hill to climb, or some berries to pick, or at least a stream with rocks to throw. There had to be something!
Five minutes passed as Tatalia went through the forest, having abandoned her task temporarily. She found a stream to take a seat by and let her feet soak in the nice, chill fall water. She didn't find any rocks, but she did find a small piece of wood. Idly, Tatalia began whittling the wood down with her dagger, working at a crude little wooden squirrel. She liked squirrels. Tasty rodents!
Just as she was starting to make something that looked almost like a squirrel (but more like a fat hamster with a bushy tail), Tatalia sniffed the air and caught a strange scent.2 Truth be told, she wasn't sure how she smelled it, but it smelled like... like... like a smoky cat?
The goblin frowned. She stood up, tucking the half-finished little squirrel carving into her pocket. She started heading toward the source of the smell, which meant hopping over the stream and moving up a steep hill. That wasn't a problem for Tatalia, however, experienced traveler that she was.
Another minute more sped by and Tatalia found herself standing at the top of that hill, crouched on down beside a particularly stout tree. She spied a set of tracks3 on the ground looping around in a circuitous route, one that Tatalia suspected led toward her companions. What was truly alarming was the sheer number of tracks. Tatalia was certain there were four - no, five heavily-armored individuals marching through the woods.
That wasn't enough information on its own. Tatalia needed a better look at the group to discern exactly what they were. So, she darted through the treeline after the party, her little feet not making a sound as she went.4
It didn't take Tatalia long to catch up with her quarry. They were all heavily armed and armored. Four of them looked relatively human-like, but a fifth was a strange, gray-furred feline that walked on two legs and looked like it had been burnt a dozen times. That was clearly the source of the smoky smell, too; whenever the creature coughed, it seemed to release puffs of the ashen stuff. There was also a rather rotund fellow in armor that barely fit him with an absurdly large horn resting on his shoulder. There was no way he could feasibly carry that.
Tatalia might have taken careful stock of every member of that band, but then she saw the strangest and most frightening of them all. He had armor that... that looked as if it was made from the hides of unicorns. Strange horns stuck out from his pauldrons, and he was giving orders to his companions, something about a bounty on...
A bounty on oozes.
Tatalia took a very deep breath, then dashed off to find her companions.
"Cantio! Veliky!" came the shrill cry from Tatalia as she rushed back to her group's campsite, her sword rattling at her hip as she ran toward her allies at full tilt. "Boring times are over now! There's another group of adventurers coming, and I think their idea of research involves hacking and slashing! Especially oozes!
Abilities used: 1. Surface Climbing; 2. Increased Senses; 3. Genius Tracker; 4. Silent Step.
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Post by Veliky on Oct 4, 2022 16:05:58 GMT -5
Veliky would be dishonest - which she usually is - if she claimed not to sympathize with Tatalia. She knows how much the goblin loves adventuring; she probably would've preferred something dangerous and daring to... whatever this is. Veliky, however, does prefer this. Exciting though danger might be, and as boring as this job may have been so far, replacing the bots is expensive and they don't have a good track record in terms of survival.
Still, she does consider going along with Tatalia, but she'd probably only make the walk more awkward. So she just continues to lie there on the log, soaking in the golden rays of the sun. As if the boredom weren't yawn-worthy enough, the morning's golden glow is making her eyes heavier with each passing moment. She turns turns slothfully to Cantio. He'll keep watch over the ooze, won't he? There's no harm in closing her eyes for a few moments...
"Cantio! Veliky!"
Veliky barely got more than a wink - at least, that's what it feels like. She jolts awake to the sound of Tatalia's warning. People: both more and less threatening than monsters. On the one hand, they can be reasoned with, which is Veliky's specialty. On the other hand, they could outsmart her - a far-fetched scenario, but a possible one. Either way, haste is optimal.
She leaps to her feat.
"All units, defensive-" Her face sinks. "Ah, damnit."
The bots are still in sleep mode, and they are not what one would call 'morning bots.' It will take at least a minute for the bots to 'boot up,' as it were. Veliky rubs her eyes, then straightens her stance soberly.
"I'll wake up the bots, and also send a replicant to distract those adventurers. Tatalia!" She points authoritatively as Tatalia. "Traps, all of them! Cantio!" She moves to point at the tiefling. "...I don't know. Remain handsome."
She snaps her gloved fingers, producing a thwap. Beside her, an identical clone appears[1], with an identically resolved expression. Without needing to be told, it adjusts its suit and strides into the trees while the true Veliky hops over the log, toward the inactive bots.
It isn't difficult for the replicant to locate the adventurers. They're a group of five, and they aren't being terribly quiet. It also isn't difficult for Replicliky to find adequate coverage, given her stature. She observes them, looking for motives, waiting for a lead on how best to manipulate them...
"So uh, yeah, we just gotta... w-we're pretty, sorta sure the slime's in here so, uh, yeah. Kill it." The one draped in unicorn skins appears to be giving the orders, albeit not terribly well; his voice is meek and slurring. He also isn't draped terribly well, or, at least, not much - almost his entire chest is exposed, revealing tanned, chiseled abs and pecs that do little to match his temperament. On his back, he carries a shield and an obscenely large lance, both blue; the lance resembles a unicorn's horn, too. Still, he doesn't seem very confident. Shouldn't be difficult to fool.
Veliky walks out of the bush, pretending not to notice the adventurers at first.
"Oh, uh, hi. I mean... yeah, hi. Hey. Who?" He considers finishing with 'are you?' but too much time has passed. He holds his tongue like he just ate a sour candy.
Veliky turns toward them, feigning surprise. "Oh! Sorry, I- didn't notice you there," she says with a nervous laugh and smile, both fake. She's gotten much more proficient at seeming emotions. "What are all of you doing in the Kingswood?"
"Oh, uh, we were just... lookin' for slime, izzall..." This is a person that is physically pained by social interaction. Veliky can relate, she supposes.
"Oh..." her fave sinks in false awkwardness. "Yeah... sorry, me and my party already sort of... did that... Sorry."
"...Z'okay, just... yeah... no bad - uh, worries, or somethin'."
The ashstained cat-man steps forward, taking a long drag from a pipe. On his back, he carries a set of bongoes decorated with paw print motifs. His voice is rough and grating, like sandpaper, clear evidence of his habit.
"'Ey meowster, I don't know about this one. There's something shifty about 'er."
"Wha? Oh, yeah, yeah." He says nothing afterward. Did he hear his cat companion? Maybe he's just waiting for someone else to talk. Veliky can oblige, though it grates her.
"...So, uh... oh! Actually, if you still want to kill some oozes, I could bring you to the nest! Maybeee you could pick up a trail or something?"
"...Huh? Yeah. Uh, yeah! That'd be good, I think."
"Great! So, if you'll just follow me..."
One of the hunters is wearing a blend of steel and leather, complete with goggles resting on her forehead, a sword at her hip and a shield in her hand. On her hip is something resembling a lantern, but filled with a lime-green light. Suddenly, a swarm of green, glowing flies swarms out of it, flying into the trees - the same direction Veliky came from.
"Boss, the thing we were tracking went that way. I don't know what this kid's talking about. Come on, let's go."
"Y-yeah, we should probably, uh..."
"Woah! Cool... fly things! What do they do?"
"Oh, yeah, they're pretty cool, they-"
"Boss? We're wasting time."
"Oh, come one, they're slimes, they won't go far-"
"Hey, tuts, we're on a schedule, a'ight? Buzz off."
"No no no, I won't get in your way, I just wanted to-"
"Mistress Veliky, report: the bots are ready."
Everyone in the clearing turns to see the bizarre, spider-like construct that just materialized on a nearby tree. But Veliky's surprise quickly fades, her usual indifference returning to her face and voice.
"That's good, Stalker." She turns to the hunters with narrowed eyes, hands clasped formally behind her. "See you soon."
The replicant vanishes into thin air.
1. Replicant
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Oct 6, 2022 18:18:54 GMT -5
"... Is stage fright an intellectual thing? I thought it was more like a..." Cantio drifts into a lazy pause; he thrums a couple of wayward notes in a tiny pizzicato of sound, and turns his head slightly to look at the ooze as it slimes without purpose in its nest. "...I don't know, a charisma thing?" Another wave of silence drifts past the Tiefling before he adds in a tone of defeat, "I suppose it doesn't have much of that either, though." He sighs, closing his eyes as he leans his head against the trunk of the tree behind him and listens to the natural sounds of the forest.
"That's it!" Cantio startles, nearly dropping his violin. "I can't take this anymore! I'm going for a walk," Cantio rises slightly, holding his instrument protectively; he looks over his shoulder at Tatalia as she climbs down the trunk of the tree just behind him. "O-oh, okay! See you when you get back." he calls after her, one hand cupped over his mouth to carry his voice. She wastes absolutely no time in absconding from their dull situation without another word; and he lowers his arm, sighing once she's gone. He feels similarly, despite being a man who does not revel in conflict, himself.
Granted, he does not really want conflict, he just... wants anything at all to happen.
With Tatalia gone, he leans back against the trunk of the tree; he quietly adjusts himself into a more comfortable position, and places his fingers on the strings of his viol. A soft pizzicato rises from his resting place, his hooded eyes watching the ooze lethargically for any changes in the beast's usual behaviour.
"Cantio! Veliky!"
He startles and hits the world's flattest A with a wince as Tatalia comes flying back into the campsite; the sheer tone of her voice has Cantio sitting up quickly. One of his legs is sleeping on pins and needles; he feels the discomfort as he swings both legs to the side of his branch to face Tatalia. "What's wrong?" he inquires, brows furrowing as she explains quickly that there's another group of adventurers on their way here... without the best of intentions for their slimy friend. "Huh? Ooze hunters?" he frowns, wincing as he slaps at the side of his sleeping leg with ferocity behind it. "Agh... you've gotta be kidding!"
She is not, unfortunately.
Veliky jumps to her feet almost immediately, ready for combat— but her bots are not nearly as ready— and neither is Cantio. His tail sways back and forth nervously, dangling from the branch with his legs, as Veliky begins to give out orders. She points at Tatalia first, directing her to set up all of the traps she can manage; that makes sense. He perks up when Veliky moves her gaze to him, and he waits patiently for his orders.
"...I don't know. Remain handsome."
Cantio opens his mouth, shuts it, then looks vaguely flattered behind the mask.
"You think I'm handsome?"
"I told n'ya there was somethin' shifty 'bout 'er! Mouse-brain!" There's a resounding and empty slap as the ashen cat-man lands a clap of his paw against the back of the unicorn-man's thinly armoured head. The sound is about as hollow as the emotion in his voice when he responds with an awkward, "Uh, yeah... my bad."
A long silence stretches out between the hunters, in which the ash-stained cat holds his head and grumbles beneath his breath in exasperation; nearby, a plain-looking individual fitted with nothing but a single sword circles the tree where the construct had appeared. He taps at the bark experimentally with his knuckles, tracing his sword along the trunk as if looking for evidence that it might remain.
"We need to go, quickly." The woman with the goggles heads towards the spot where the replicant had come from; the unicorn-man scratches at the side of his head, eyes absent of thought.
"She, uh... said it was, uh... already dead."
"Boss, she was bluffing." The woman with the goggles is holding back her temper, "The lantern is still reacting, so there's still a slime in these woods. This way." She gestures with a thumb towards the forest and the underbrush. "We've wasted enough time, boss; let's just go. Tread carefully; we might be fighting for this trophy."
"Uh, yeah.... of course.... yeah." The unicorn-laden man trudges his way after her, pushing through the underbrush and foliage with ease; the rest of the party follows up behind him, with the goggle woman taking up the rear. "Let's, uh.... go get... uh, slime, I guess."
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Post by Tatalia on Oct 6, 2022 22:35:56 GMT -5
"Tatalia! Traps, all of them!"
The order was well-intended, but Tatalia was already preparing exactly all the traps even before Veliky finished speaking.
There weren't many times that the goblin had found an opportunity to pit her wits against others with the use of traps, and she relished any opportunity to show the world just how crafty she really was, and given the large group of hunters approaching with full kit and gear, Tatalia knew that setting up proper defenses was the group's best chance to protect the ooze. As such, she'd already gotten out all her favorite toys from her backpack and was deciding exactly how best to use them, which was far more difficult than it would normally be.
The trouble, really, was the group wasn't facing off against some horrible, evil people or anything. They were facing relatively well-intentioned monster hunters trying to purge the world of another beastie (though Tatalia DID wonder what their stances on goblins was). If they'd been bandits or demons or rampaging dire boars instead, Tatalia wouldn't have to worry overmuch about using too much force. However, they were none of those things, so Tatalia found herself in the unhappy position of trying to offer a measured response, the better to not accidentally kill someone who was just trying to slay a gooey ooze.
Still, Tatalia had a few ideas about how to avoid causing too much harm while still subduing the monster hunters. It would be tricky, however.
The group of monster hunters tread carefully through the woods, prepared to face anything. There'd been some brief conversations about what they might face. Having seen Veliky's display and the weird little robot, they'd settled on shapeshifting, invisible golem spy-mercenaries. It seemed like a reasonable guess, really. However, none of them were quite expecting the chicanery they dealt with next.
It all started when the big, fat guy in heavy armor with a horn stepped into a sticky web1 and suddenly couldn't move. Period.
"MRHHRH! MrhhrhhRHHRHRHHHH!" The onion-shaped man made muffled noises behind his helmet that nobody had any right understanding, but his companions somehow seemed to translate perfectly.
"What do you mean, you're stuck? Don't you watch where you're going?" asked the goggled woman with a roll of her eyes. She drew her sword and stepped forward to cut him loose.
"Rhhmmhhhr RHHH!"
"Stop exaggerating. The web wasn't hidden, you just weren't looking, you big baby." Heaving out an annoyed sigh, the woman raised her sword and took one last step forward... and stepped on a hidden cord.2
FWUP! Up the woman went, cussing loudly as another web snatched her up, this time in a big net!3 She struggled inside her bonds, snapping, "I'm stuck!"
"I, uh... think it's a net?" the awkward fellow muttered, scratching his head.
"Of course it's a net! Cut us both loose! Use your big lance!"
Quietly assenting, the supposed leader pulled his lance free from his back and began to reach out to cut his companions free. But just as he did, something small and green fell down on him from above, swinging the pommel of a dagger down against the back of his helmet.4
"Meowster! I'm coming!" the little ash-colored cat yowled. He played a little jig on his bongoes, then leapt with surprising alacrity and began slashing at the little creature attacking his group.
Tatalia, of course, was doing her best to avoid hurting anyone seriously. As the leader of the group tried to rise and his companions struggled to get free, the goblin parried the feline's claws with her swords, struggling to find an opening to attack. The feline simply didn't let up, making constant sweeps with his claws while hissing and biting. But Tatalia was slowly starting to gain the advantage. She just had to hold on a little-
The sound of wood going taut, a barely discernible noise, alerted Tatalia to what was about to happen a mere second before it did.5 The goblin dove to the side very suddenly as an arrow zipped through the air where she'd just been, blasting a hole through a tree before impaling itself into a second one. The goblin stood slack-jawed and stared in horror at her new opponent.
It was the fifth member of the group, and by far the most scantily clad. The elvish man was wearing nothing but his underwear and a quiver of arrows, and his only weapon was an oversized bow that most certainly shouldn't have been held by anything short of an ogre. Yet he wielded it with unreal ease, leaping and twirling through the air in full rotations, his movements erratic and jerky, unpredictable as the deeds of a thousand vile geese. Tatalia could only watch as he leapt again, twirling no less than three full rotations in the span of a couple seconds before loosing a pair of perfectly-aimed arrows that split open the bonds holding both the fat man and the goggled woman.
The cat began to laugh. His feline eyes twinkled in the shadows of the trees, and he stopped fighting to light his pipe.
"Ya screwed up big time, chump," he said with an evil grin. "Ya ticked off Tah-ree Syxzdee Noh-Scohp."
Tatalia sorely hoped Veliky and Cantio would make a sudden appearance, because suddenly her ambush was looking far more dangerous.
Abilities used: 1. Noose Trap; 2. Camouflaged Master; 3. Net Trap; 4. Backstab; 5. Increased Senses.
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Post by Veliky on Oct 7, 2022 19:17:26 GMT -5
With the goggled woman cutting out of her bindings, the fat hornman yanking his foot free, the leader standing to his impressive height, the cat coughing/laughing and 'Tah-Ree' nocking three more arrows into his bow, the full force of the hunting party stands before the little goblin.
"Hey sweet cheeks," the feline mocks with a scratchy voice, "you ain't winnin' this one. Why don't ya scampa before things get..." He bites his pipe and inhales deeply, before breathing out a puff of black smoke. "...nyasty."
SHIzzzzzzzZZZ!
A crossbow bolt pierces one of the cat's legs. He falls to his knees, clutching his thigh, the muscles of which are spasming uncontrollably from pulsing electricity[1].
"NYOOOOW! Ginma's scrote, my damned leg!"
The party raises their weapons and searches the trees, becoming alert to unseen threats, but taking their eyes off the goblin. The bolt came from somewhere in the trees; in fact, crouching in the foliage is the now-active Bishop, already loading another bolt with its weapon and crimson eyes trained on the hunters.
The bolt clicks into place before firing again with a keh-CHO. It flies between leaves and caresses blades of grass on its trajectory, which leads directly into the feline's widening eye.
But before it can pierce the iris, the unicorn-hunter intercepts it with his blue-pink shield. The bolt only makes a clinking noise and splits at the haft. Eyes narrowed, his stance is brimming with resolve.
"Hey... y-... don't - don't do that."
But it's the mostly-naked Tah-ree that reciprocates, much to his comrades' despair. In one smooth moment, he yanks the bolt from the flesh of the cat's leg and throws it in Bishop's precise direction. The cat writhes in pain again.
"BAH, you mother-..."
The bolt follows its original trajectory in an almost-exact reversal, flying between the same leaves and caressing the same blades of grass before penetrating Bishop's tin hull with an awful screech of metal. Relatively, it is only a minor wound; it's fortunate that the lightning had already been discharged into the cat, else Bishop would now be paralyzed.
But then, there's a rustling in the bushes, and a whole squad of antagonistic machineries - including a humanoid with a crackling katana, as well as a dog, a bat and that same spider the party had witnessed before - charges from the foliage, emanating bizarre battlecries of clicks, beeps, and whirrs.
The goggled woman steps back, raising her shield.
"Leader! What're your orders?!"
The leader in the unicorn skins is currently absent-minded, as he's just imagined a much better retort than the one he gave and is now internally kicking himself for not thinking of it prior.
"Wha? Oh, 'm, yeah, fight 'n... stuff like that."
Frustrated by his indecision, the goggled woman rolls her eyes, is eager to take the reins.
"Horn guy, do your thing!"
As the two forces clash, the rotund man - who, now that one thinks about it, does somewhat resemble a kettle in his armour - lifts his giant horn into the air with shocking ease. He shoves the embouchure into a narrow slot in his helmet, evidently designed for this exact purpose, and blows, sending a reverberation through the forest[2]. It is an ominous, terrible sound that whittles morale, but not for the hunters - for them, it's somehow a calming melody that boosts their spirits.
1. Enchanting Sigil 2. Note of Rejuvenation (Horn Hunter)
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Oct 9, 2022 18:01:02 GMT -5
As the rotund man lifts his giant horn into the air, Cantio feels the vibration beneath the soles of his feet; it is a horrendous and dreadful sound that emits from the instrument. A disgrace to the sound of music. It makes him depressed. Whoever created that instrument should be punished, making such an awful drone! It groans over the sounds of the clash starting beyond the shadows of the forest that he's chosen to make his temporary home in. But... he also knows this quite well, as a man who's practiced the same kind of spells. This is bad news for Tatalia and the bots if they get hit; which means, he should try to ensure that they don't get hit.
"N'yalright!" The little cat shakes its leg, unsheathing its claws as it bangs a clumsy jig on the bongos; it seems refreshed, despite the hits it'd taken earlier. "N'yall have done it now, y'rats! Prepare yousself!" "Uh, maybe... like— shoot," the awkward unicorn warrior drops his absurd lance into the dirt in his preparation for combat, "... them, or something." Yeah, good save; he's proud of himself for that one; that was pretty smooth, he thinks as he dusts the dirt from the handle of his lance.
Tah-ree, meanwhile, takes someone's advice: whether it be the goggled woman's lead, as she pulls her sword from its sheath; or their absent-minded leader's encouragement to shoot. The indecent elf leaps into the air like a rabbit(1), once again performing his mid-air spin— no less than three, of course— and fires his triple-nocked arrows at Tatalia and the crowd of bots who have arrived to join the fray. Thrrrrink!Emerging just seconds before Tah-ree fires, a glowing phoenix(1) apparates into the middle of the clearing, wings expanded to block the attack; a sharp and foreboding cry of a bird-of-prey follows(2) its arrival. While dramatic, the phoenix unfortunately does not last long under Tah-ree's assault; the man is alarmingly strong for a man with no pants.
"What the—!?" The goggled woman winces back; it's enough to startle the approaching party for but a brief moment, at the very least. Horn guy is still going, though; he hasn't even taken a single breath as his horrible drone echoes across the forest.
Cantio feels each impact against his spell deep in his chest; to the point where the breath leaves his lungs, and he wheezes as— beyond his hiding place— the phoenix cracks like glass with the three impacts. It shatters into fragments of light, which descend harmlessly in fluttering embers to the forest floor; but it does its job in keeping the group from being impaled.
Tah-ree is nocking another three arrows, his brows furrowed sharply— he is not pleased.
"Ughh, enough of this! Go, go! Attack!"
"Y-yeah, let's... let's go!" It is perhaps the most inspiring thing he has said all day, as the awkward unicorn man points with his massive unicorn lance towards the party across the way. The goggles woman charges forwards, shield and sword brandished towards Veliky's bots; the cat plays a little bongo jig, and launches himself at Bishop in an attempt to avenge his wounded leg; the unicorn man charges blindly; and Tah-ree Syxzdee Noh-Scohp seems to have his eyes set on Tatalia.
From the darkness, in contrast to the horn guy's extremely long breath (he still has not stopped); sings the sound of a viol. Cantio, recovered from the backlash of his spells, plays forth a familiar note that both Veliky and Tatalia had experienced in the past. Light coils around the legs of his friends— and his friends' allies— and explode into glimmering embers. (3)
They feel significantly lighter on their feet; as they might need to be, with Tah-ree in the fight against them. One hit from that strange, indecent man is certain to take them out.
To the disdain of the attacking party, the same coils lash from the earth and try to restrain their movements in their charge— sticking like tar and clumsy vines to their ankles and soles.
(1) Long Stride
(1) Wall of Light & (2) Minor Trickery
(3) Note of Momentum
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Post by Tatalia on Oct 12, 2022 7:29:51 GMT -5
Tatalia's watched with dread as three arrows flew right at her. It was only the briefest of moments. Perhaps it would have been poetic to say that it felt like an eternity, or to say that her life flashed before her eyes. Perhaps that's what would have happened if someone else had been in her shoes. Yet for all her prose, for all her learning, for all her cleverness and quick wit, only two words came to Tatalia's mind. They rang out loud enough to drown out all other thoughts and actions. Those words were:
Well, shit.
But the arrows never struck Tatalia. Instead, the cry of a great bird rose in the air as a brilliant wall of feather light erupted in front of her, like a protective phoenix guarding the little goblin. She blinked, snapped out of her deathly reverie, and scampered away to reposition as the enemies gathered their own senses and began to wage a full-on assault.
Tatalia wasn't used to fighting in large scale conflicts. Okay, no, that was a lie; she'd been involved in naval combat once, and she'd also taken part in a skirmish between necromantic bandits and a group of desperate merchants. But in those fights Tatalia always kept to the fringes of the battle, using mobility and cunning to isolate and execute her opposition. She was not used to being in the center of the conflict. Tatalia was not used to having some sort of supersoldier archer trying to turn her into a pincushion while she was caught in the open.
Thankfully, a musical note rose into the air that lent Tatalia some magical speed. She evaded another trio of deadly arrows, though it was a bare miss; she could feel the skin of her cheek being scraped off as one of the arrows zipped by. The elven archer landed and nocked another set of arrows, clearly preparing to unleash a finishing blow on Tatalia. But Tatalia had another plan in mind.
"You can't catch me! I'm quick as a FLASH!" Tatalia shouted above the din of battle. This was both to warn her allies that she was about to use a familiar trick and to try attracting the eyes of others on the battlefield. It sort of worked, but it also earned Tatalia a spiteful expression from the opposition.
"Really? One-liners?" the goggled woman protested in annoyance. "This is why we hunt monsters, not people. Gods' sake."
Unfortunately for her, it was those very same complaints that earned the goggled woman a blinding flash of light1 from the jewel of Tatalia's dagger. Unfortunately for Tatalia, the goggled woman was wearing goggles that protected her from such dangers,2 just like Tatalia3. The archer and the unicorn-themed leader, however, both caught sight of the blinding light, and they were not so properly equipped as their companion.
Tah-Ree fell to the ground in a beautiful, half-naked mess, twirling about and spinning on the ground in a spastic fashion, his chiseled abs bouncing as he fired blindly into the air around him. No less than fifteen errant arrows arced into the air, flying in random directions. Most flew at nothing, two flew toward Veliky's bots, and one struck the fat man's armor.4 None of them posed any danger to Tatalia, however, though she did duck her head as the erratic arrows turned the battlefield into a very dangerous place to not have cover.
Tatalia didn't waste any time. Bolstered by Cantio's song, she darted up to the archer and used her sword to snap his bowstring. Then she proceeded to beat the everloving crap out of him with the pommels of both her dagger and her sword, leaving the elf unconscious.
Honestly, Tatalia was probably doing everyone a favor, not just her own team.
Meanwhile, the blinded unicorn-armored warrior stumbled unwittingly into another of Tatalia's traps. An arrow flew out and struck him in the leg, causing him to stumble in his charge toward the ooze-watchers.5 He hit the ground face first and had to get back up, slowly shaking off his daze before wandering aimlessly into the woods. It was ill luck that his sightless course had him moving straight toward Cantio.
Abilities used: 1) Flash Enchantment (Dagger); 2) Sun Sparked Goggles (Swordswoman); 3) Sun Sparked Goggles (Tatalia); 4) Curaiss+Padding (1/2) (Hornblower); 5) Spring Loaded Trap
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Post by Veliky on Oct 12, 2022 11:43:03 GMT -5
Claws against bark: the feline leaps from trunk to trunk, closing the distance to Bishop at thrice the speed of a man. The bot sees the oncoming attacker through crimson lenses, loads a bolt and pulls it back with a grind. The cat leaps, claws glistening, at Bishop. But he lands short, and by intention; instead of digging his claws into the golem's hull, it digs them into the ground and begins burrowing at an incredible speed, leaving a tunnel in its wake.
Bishops knees hiss as it rises to peer down the hole. Even in the few seconds the cat's been digging, the hole has extended several feet downward before turning a corner.
Just then, a furred foe bursts from the dirt behind Bishop. The bot turns, only to have the crossbow knocked from its hands, into the foliage. Bishop trips over the hole, falling onto its back. As it does so, the bolt case detaches from its hip and falls to the ground, scattering a gauntlet of electrified[1] bolts onto the dirt.
"Nyow you're gonna get it!" it rasps, raising a claw.
But before the claw can rake, Bishop grabs the cat with both hands and lifts him into the air. Its metal wrists are scratched and mauled by a flurry of countless swipes.
"Nyaaaa!" the cat cries as he's thrown off.
The cat lands on his feet, of course. Actually, it lands on only one of them; the other is yet paralyzed[1]. Still, a cat on his worst day is as nimble as a human on their best; the cat scurries forward in a mad dash. But, unfortunately for him, his dash is a tad too mad, and slightly more sluggish than he'd hoped thanks to Cantio's magic. He accidentally touches one of the lightning[1] bolts, sending electricity shoot up his leg. This causes him to stumble into another, paralyzing his arm, which leads him to outright fall into an entire heap of the little volts.
"NYABYAYAZZBIOPF."
Bishop stands to watch as the cat convulses and twitches before going still... and snoring. Needless to say, the sight was shocking.
"Local units, report: target neutralized."
Bishop's report resounds through the woods, echoing back to the thicket where the rest of the battle is being held. Tatalia's blinding flash has made the battle rather more chaotic. Most of the bots were able to avoid looking directly at the glow, but Vampire isn't as lucky. It flutters, dazed, in the air before smacking itself against a tree and falling with a tiny clatter.
Tah-ree's final volley soars through the air toward Rook and Lag Switch. Rook's side is punctured, but Lag Switch is completely unaffected as the arrow simply passes through its visible form while it runs toward the hornman.
The horn blower... well, he was was theoretically affected, but it doesn't stop him from doing his job[2]. Even as Lag Switch gnaws at his ankle[3], he continues to blow.
But one of the hunters is still very much a threat. The goggled woman deflects a rapid series of slashes from Rook, creating several noisy scrapes. But her shield is incredibly resilient, seemingly impenetrable, and the damaged Rook is having difficulty keeping up after taking an arrow to its side. It certainly has an advantage in speed thanks to Cantio's magic, but this huntress is just that much more talented than it. Upon blocking a swipe, she skillfully counters, piercing Rook's side with a blade of her own. It is a nasty wound, but an immortal one, and not enough for the bot to relent.
Rook orients its katana to slice under the shield, only to be bashed in its metallic cheek by that very barrier and sent reeling backward.
The huntress scowls in anger; this was supposed to be an easy job! She wastes no time, leaping forward with both shield and sword raised.
Rook only barely reacts in time to deflect the sword, but this doesn't stop the shield, which sends the bot sprawling to the ground.
Rising to its knees, Rook parries a slash that was aimed at its neck - a veritable weak point, even on a Blixtbot™. Another attack, a thrust, actually forms an opening for Rook to exploit. With its katana, it drives the sword directly into the dirt. Finally, Rook has the upper hand! For all of one second before the huntress bashes it in the face with her shield again. Shields are ever the nuisance for combatants without shields.
Dazed and exhausted, Rook's joints are beginning to creak in wear. In a last-ditch effort, it swings with all of its reckless might in a horizontal cleave that impacts the huntress' shield. Lightning courses through the blade and into the shield. But it's ineffectual. No, worse.
Glowing, orange lines form on the shield as electricity is discharged into it. Rook staggers back, trying vainly to maintain a stance. The goggled huntress cracks her neck.
"So, catchphrases?" She wipes sweat from her forehead using her sleeve. "You want to play with fire?"
Without warning, she inserts her sword into socket in the shield. The wings of the shield grind as they fold outward, forming a massive axeblade. Embers dance across its surface.
"Well crackle pop, asshole!"
She turns, and the sword extends into a long haft. She swings the transforming weapon horizontally, brutally cleaving Rook in half. What she now holds in her hand is a giant, sizzling greataxe decorated by glowing lines of superheated metal. She rotates to face the goblin that just took out the best fighter on her team.
"Cheap trick. Try it again, I dare you!"
1. Enchanting Sigil 2. Note of Rejuvenation (Hornblower) 3. Greaves Strike Prevention (Hornblower)
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Oct 13, 2022 19:03:57 GMT -5
It’s chaos. Truly, he doesn’t want to be a coward; but there’s no way for him to play and fight— and right now, he can’t really afford to stop. Cantio quickens the pace of his song; bow sliding across the strings with the ease of so many years of practice. Tatalia zips about the little battlefield of lush foliage and draping branches, narrowly dodging the arrows from the indecent elf as he shoots wildly at her— three arrows at a time. One comes close to her face, leaving a mark; others hit the ground, or impale trees behind her. Cantio’s heart remains in his throat the whole time he watches her; at least, until: “ You can’t catch me! I’m quick as a FLASH!” Oh no. Cantio turns his eyes away; he doesn’t need to see to play; and waits for a couple of moments— until he hears a small chaos brewing from behind signaling the flash having gone off. Peeking open one eye as he drags the bow across the string— instead of witnessing the fight at hand— he witnesses a very large, very confused, unicorn-armoured man tumbling towards him. Cantio startles, taking a pace back as he comes crashing into the underbrush. “ Uh, hello… hel… hello?” The tiefling sidles around a tree, hoping to keep quiet, so he’ll wander by; but unfortunately, Tatalia’s flash doesn’t last quite that long. The man rubs at his eyes, narrowing them against the blur of the flash left behind. “ Who’s… who’s playing that?” Slowly, the unicorn man turns to face where he’s standing; Cantio has not stopped playing, because he no longer knows what’s going on behind him. “ ...hey… red… are you…?” “ ...No. I am just passing by.” “...Ah, okay…. Could you, um… point me back?” The strange unicorn man rubs at his eyes again; Cantio is staring at the ridiculous lance in his hands. “My party, like… needs me…” While he’s talking, the unicorn man rips an arrow out of his leg without flinching.
“ Oh… oh yeah, for sure. I hear it coming from over there.” He points in the direction that the party had originally come, and the man squints, trying to make it out. “ Y… yeah, that seems… seems right, thanks…” Cantio backs away, tail flicking nervously as the strange unicorn-man starts wandering off into the woods. Able to breathe, he turns back to the fight at hand just in time to see the cat down, the elf… oh dear… and the woman in goggles slices right through Rook with ease. He pales, watching her turn towards Tatalia. She steps towards the goblin, and Cantio changes his tune slightly; as his bow screeches across the violin, a thin stream of light shoots from a nearby sunray, and towards the goggled woman. It coils suddenly around her ankles, twining around her knees to lock them together. (1) “ What the—” she staggers, forced to use her great axe as a balance, to keep herself. “ You and your cheap tricks!” she barks as she pulls back, and swings her weapon over her shoulder. Cantio finally steps out of hiding, rising forth another phoenix; it forms from the sunrays peeking between the boughs of the trees, wings outstretched like the phoenix before it had(2). “You—!” He pushes it forwards, using it to knock the woman off of her feet— and with her axe pulled back and her legs bound, she collapses backwards while she’s off balance and knocks into the hornman with the blunt of the axe. He continues to play, despite the end of the super-charged fire axe beginning to smoke the leg of his pants the longer it sits. Finally, after far too long, the horn man takes a breath. The sound of the horn stops. He looks at the fallen woman. “ RrrmmMRMhMhmH?” “No, I’m not okay!”
(1) Binding Light(2) Wall of Light
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