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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 17, 2023 20:59:38 GMT -5
One of Astrid's least favorite places to travel is in the desert, but she was already here doing a bit of study under Kvasir at the apothecary, so she might as well follow up on this special research that the Golden Consortium wants people to do. Luckily, she's not alone! Her new friend, the tiny Kenku named Fish, is also interested in joining the Golden Consortium! She's glad she won't be trekking the desert looking for... Wait, what is it again? Astrid opens her field guide to the page with the Dust Melon illustration. Right, a melon! Inside a specific kind of cactus. "Fish, I'm gonna be honest," she starts. "I ain't that good with tellin' plant from plant. There's a buncha cactuses all in this book, and they all look the same." Astrid, the child who can identify different armor pieces, styles, and the means of crafting them, struggles with plants. Maybe in time she'll get better at this... For now, the field guide Kvasir gave her is going to be the most helpful source of information. She hopes Fish has a keener eye for this kind of thing.
Quest Name: Diamond in the Rough Chapter: One Description: You, the hopeful guild initiate, must venture into Charon, exploring some of the worlds most dangerous regions to retrieve very rare and unique plants that exist in the world. We need you to bring back two rare plants that can only be found in very harsh and dangerous areas, and are often surrounded by dangers, such as wild creatures or natural obstacles. To complete this quest you must participate in two different topics, hunting two of the plants listed below. While this quest only has one part, it must be done twice, going to two different regions and obtaining two different plants.
The obstacles you face are completely up to you. Be as creative as you would like when it comes to what you face or how you obtain the plant. These quest do not need to involve combat, you can detail the difficulties in collecting the plants how ever you want. The quest is considered completed when you have met the requirements below. Requirements: - Requires at least two people (you and one other, the other does not need to be interested in the guild) - You must make at least 5 post with each post being 150 words to complete the mission. - You must do two topics in two different regions listed below - Detail your endeavors in hunting and collecting the rare plants - Once you complete this mission twice you gain entrance into the Golden Consortium.
Regions and plants -Zeinav Desert: Looking for Dust Melons, A fruit that grows inside a cactus and is consumed by local Naga
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 18, 2023 15:51:15 GMT -5
Fish on the other hand seemed quite adept at traveling the desert. The sand was fun to run on and they usually had an advantage with their lighter frame. They tilt their head curiously towards Astrid as she reads over the field guide.
"Fish can help." They try a simple set of signs to see if Astrid understands sign language. If not, they will take to the chalk and slate. Fish offers their own journal a moment, a few pretty detailed sketches of some of the cacti they can look for as potential options.
Once more Fish finds themselves paired with a well armored woman which, if what they knew about dust melons was true, it would come in handy. As a small bird creature they were naturally not a fan of any snake-based creatures. Fish was also thankful for the familiarity of aquaintances between the two. Having mutual contacts was always helpful in knowing how much you can trust someone. Morrigan trust Kvasir and Kvaisr seemed to trust Astrid, Fish tolerates Morrigan so by the transitive property they should be able to tolerate Astrid.
They start off into the desert, hopping along the sand, eyes always scanning the area. An oasis would be a good spot to start, just have to find one.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 18, 2023 21:47:34 GMT -5
In the short time she's known Fish, Astrid has tried to pick up on their means of communication, but there's a lot to learn there. She tries to puzzle it out, getting at least the part where they refer to themselves. The kenku ends up just writing on their slate, and Astrid nods along. She watches over their shoulder as they look through the pages on cacti.
To Astrid, they all just look like pointy plants. Sure, some of them are short, round, tall, or flowered, but they're ultimately all just pointy plants.
Fish seems to know what they're doing, so Astrid motions for them to take the lead. "Alright, buddy, ya got the eye fer this kinda stuff, so I'll follow ya an' keep an eye out fer any danger." She produces an icy, difficult-to-see war hammer and twirls it weightlessly in her hand.
She wants to do her best not to waste the effort Kamille and Kvasir have put into teaching her. In fact, she's diligently studied because potions can be so useful and helpful to other people since her skills with magic don't fall into the "healing others" types. Trying to get into the Golden Consortium is a big step toward that. Besides, fieldwork always keeps her attention better anyway.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 18, 2023 22:09:12 GMT -5
Fish is happy to have someone closer to their size for once. It was annoying to have to look up to people all the time and it was probably just as annoying for people to have to crane their necks down.
They nod firmly at Astrid's plans to be the tank of this little party, Fish would handle DPS. Fish shows off their crossbow to show what they are working with so each of them know what the other is working with.
The bird is fairly confident they will be able to get this done easily enough. All they had to do was find a melon inside a cactus and avoid any nagas that may be guarding said melons. Easy peasy. Right? Please be right.
For now, they are fine taking the lead somewhat. Fish was the local to the area so they would know the best. "Fish knows where to start." They nod firmly again and continue in the path ahead further from the city.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 18, 2023 23:10:43 GMT -5
Astrid's footsteps following Fish are quite loud and clunky. Sometimes her feet slide in the sand unexpectedly. While she manages to keep her footing, Astrid is a STR build, not a DEX build. At least she didn't bring Charles along or the bot would be struggling with every step.
With the desert sun beating down on them, they trek out into the sands. Astrid holds one hand over her eyes and squints through the warbling heat waves, eventually spotting shadows in a dip between the dunes. Maybe those are the cacti they're looking for! Patting Fish gently on the shoulder, Astrid motions down to them.
"Do those look right?" she asks. The sooner they find the cacti, the sooner they can get the heck out of the sun. "The guide says somethin' called Naga like ta eat the melons. Must be tasty if that's the case. Maybe if we find a few of the melons, we can have a taste too! I'm kinda thirsty... It's pretty hot." The heat's making her ramble to someone who can't speak.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 19, 2023 15:23:32 GMT -5
Astrid can see the bird's eyes keep a sharp lookout at the shadows in the dunes, always on the lookout for predators. They clear their mind from that a moment as Astrid points something out. Those certainly could be it seemed.
"It is round enough, it is worth investigating." They note the signs of heat exhaustion in the dwarf, whatever passes for concern in their expression passes over their face. "Do not drink the cactus juice."
Fish warns before making their way over to the bundle of cacti sticking together. They pull out a knife to start carving away at the cactus, careful not to pierce the melon below if there even is one. The thickness of the cactus a bit more of a concern than they first thought. Fish furrows their brow and starts to struggle a bit as they try to work the knife around the rest of the cactus. Their tiny arms strained until they stumbled back, knife wedge half way done with the job. Fish will kill this cactus.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 23, 2023 23:06:43 GMT -5
"Don't drink the juice, got it," Astrid says, pulling her waterskin out and watching Fish work their knife through the cactus as best they can. She's really glad this cactus isn't in a big patch of all kinds of cacti. Fish's keen eyes spotted the right one so quickly. Good, the sooner they can get back indoors, the better. Maybe they should have come out at night? Nah, it's just hot, and she's got a cape. Fish stumbles back, their dagger stuck, and Astrid manages to keep the kenku from falling on their tail. "Ope, I've got ya," she says, setting them back on their feet. "Looks stuck, I can help." With that, she steps over to the cactus and starts to put her hand against it for leverage, but the needles poke through the threads of her gauntlets. "Ouch! Stupid plant." Annoyed, Astrid punches her fists together, and fire wreaths her hands. She makes use of this to sear off the needles from one spot on the plant, then she puts her hand there for leverage and grabs the dagger. Using her strength, she forces the dagger a few more inches through the cactus' thick flesh. It gets stuck again, and she can't shimmy it out. "Ugh!" Forget this. She whips her battle hammer off her belt loop and slams it into the top of the cactus with a powerful CRACK! Well, the cactus certainly splits. The top half breaks off where the knife made a cut and frees the blade. It also reveals a nice melon-shaped sphere nestled inside. There's a muffled thud from the broken part of the cactus hitting the ground. Taking a step back, Astrid hands Fish their dagger, offering it to them hilt-side. "There, that was easy," she says with a smile and not at all tired from that effort. Not at all. Her smile fades when she hears an angry hissing from something just over the dune. Then a huge cobra head crests the top of the sandy wave, and it looks particularly upset. "What'sssss thisss?" it says, brandishing a spear. The rest of the partially humanoid, partially serpentine body emerges, and its tongue flicks in irritation. "Our cropssss...!"
Spitfire gauntlets Bull's Strength Naga stats Power Level Medium Alignment Neutral Description Nagas are snake-like humanoids, serpent bodies with arms and the ability to speak and think. They are agile, fast creatures that live in warmer, dryer environments.
Abilities - Grasping Tail - Venomous Bite - Sudden Lunge - Stealthy
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 24, 2023 17:58:49 GMT -5
The joy from seeing the dust melon is immediately cut short by the snake. Before Astrid can likely figure out what is going on, Fish is already gone. Small bird is not a good mix with a large snake. A small trail of sand marks where they took off too, focusing on putting distance between themselves and the snake.
Of course, Fish did not just abandon the half-dwarf. They had ducked down just below the next dune, still within her eyesight if she took a look. Fish hunkers down in the sand, pulling out their crossbow bolts and a small vial beginning to treat them with something.
--
The naga on the other hand is not waiting as it hisses towards Astrid. "Thievesssssss Ssstealing our food!" It springs forward across the sand much faster than imaginable.[1] The naga aims to skewer the half-dwarf as it thrusts its spear at chest level, the tip of the spear curved just like a snake as well.
1. Sudden Lunge
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 28, 2023 2:33:07 GMT -5
"Thieves? Wha- AH!"
Before Astrid has a moment to process what's going on, the naga lunges forward and attempts to spear her. Luckily, the half-dwarf is battle-hardened and well-armored. Her cuirass makes her hard to see, giving her an afterimage. The spear narrowly misses, striking dead center the image of Astrid before she ducked to the side.
"Whoa! Hang on!" she cries, stumbling back. When her stance sturdies up, she gives the naga a warning expression. "Ya don't wanna fight me." With her battle hammer in her left hand, her much larger war hammer flies into her right hand. She holds them both with confidence, watching the naga with as intimidating an expression as a twelve year old can.
The naga recovers from its thrust, ready to make another one. "Sssssmall child," the naga hisses. "Tresssssspassserssss!" Another rapid lunge with its spear this time scrapes off Astrid's buckler.
"Oi!" Astrid snarks, pushing the spear away and flinging her war hammer toward the naga. The reptilian humanoid is fast though, and it dodges the heavy weapon. A sand cloud explodes into the air from the impact. "We didn't know they belonged ta someone! They're just cactuses in the desert! We need one of the melons fer the Golden Consortium. Tell 'em, Fish!"
Astrid glances over her shoulder only to find Fish nowhere in sight. "...Fish?"
The naga takes advantage of Astrid's distraction and whips its tail in her direction, snatching her ankle and yanking her off her feet.
Bucker - 1/2 hit preventions Diplopia Armor
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 28, 2023 11:08:36 GMT -5
With Astrid flat on her back on the ground, the naga rears up to try and bring its teeth into the half-dwarf. Large fangs glisten in the sun and speed towards Astrid, before they can try to puncture her, the naga is sent reeling backwards screeching in pain from some unseen foe. It tried to scan the area for what happened as it hissed in pain, hand coming to cover its wound only finding several bolts in its side.
Rewinding a moment, while Astrid engaged the naga in combat, the kenku was working on a plan. Over the dune where Fish was hiding, they were now ready. In recent weeks, Fish had been working on redesigning their crossbow to improve how quickly it can fire. Time to see if those labors paid off.
They held the trigger down as five shots came out in rapid succession [1] landing solidly into the Naga's side. Each bolt was also coated in a parasite poison that would cause the snake's flesh to burn away from necrosis.
Astrid had more than enough of an opening now to get back to her feet and go on the offensive. Fish skirted around the dune again, moving into a new position having just given away their last one.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 28, 2023 11:46:08 GMT -5
With the naga surprised by Fish the Sneak's sneak attack, Astrid has an opening. Lightning wreaths her form, and she launches herself past the naga into the air. Her war hammer rushes up to meet her hand, and Astrid pulls back to unleash a devastating blow against the naga as she lands. With a mighty strike, her hammer comes down on the naga's back. The force of the impact sounds almost like thunder as the naga is crushed beneath the weight. A shockwave of sand blasts out in all directions; if the ground were solid rock, it might have cracked. The combination of Fish's poison and Astrid's follow-up on the wounded area just absolutely destroyed this poor snake man.
With the naga dispatched, Astrid takes a step back. Oops. Maybe she put a bit too much force into that blow... It was just someone defending their crops... But they attacked first! She and Fish are justified in defending themselves! Astrid looks over at the dune where Fish is hiding and gives a thumbs up.
"Thanks fer that," she says with a grateful smile. She doesn't admit she thought the little guy ran away - it would be understandable. Birds and snakes aren't exactly friendly toward each other. Her eyes glance at the poison corroding the naga's flesh. Oh, she's seen that before. She's felt that before. She's really glad it's not being used against her this time. Two scars under her armor itch with the memory.
The sound of hissing from the other side of the dune draws her attention. "Uh... let's grab this melon and get the heck outta here!" she says, opening her wings and stashing her weapons. "Grab the melon, I'll carry ya back!" With that, she opens her arms for the kenku to climb aboard once they have the melon so the two of them can make a getaway.
Bullet Dash Anvil Smash (1/topic) - Using the utmost control and expenditure of explosive force, you perform an overhead strike that, if it makes contact with your target, it will bypass all hit preventions and cause massive damage. This also stuns the target for a post, making it difficult to cast any spells or use any skills above Novice level. If you use this technique to strike the ground, you create a twenty-foot diameter hazard around you that makes it difficult to use any movement-based spells or techniques for anyone within it. This also knocks anyone else touching the ground at that moment off their feet. Can only be used once per topic. Bat Wings [post 1/3]
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 28, 2023 14:29:09 GMT -5
As Fish comes to join Astrid after they fight, they don't seem concerned about the morality of whether or not they were in the right or not. They survived, the naga didn't. That was about as much thought Fish put into it. They plucked a bolt from the naga, but seeing how the parasite poison eroded it and Astrid's blow splintered others they toss it aside. Fish does pause to milk the naga fang for a bit of poison. They were going to be alchemists after all.
They look back towards the half-dwarf and nod, hopping over to pluck the dust melon out. It makes a satisfying little popping noise as it is freed. They tilt their head at Astrid's offer, they aren't nearly as tall as Izzy, but they won't turn it down.
The kenku hops up onto Astrid's shoulders, talons careful only to grip onto armor and not their new friend. "MUSH" They bark out a mimicked word they learned up in Frost Gale, ready to mimic more trumpeting sounds like the pair were a knight and steed charging off.
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