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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Apr 11, 2023 19:55:08 GMT -5
For the majority of their trip Fish was content to walk on their own, but as they neared the camp to meet with the guide Fish would climb onto Izzy's shoulders. It helped that they were rarely overburdened with gear and their hollow bones and poor nutrition meant they themselves weighed little as well. The pair had caught wind of this Winged Expeditionary Force in Zeinav, some old guild that was starting up again. Fish wouldn't speak to Izzy's motives, but they were entirely profit motivated. Fish would make quite a bit of gold on the alchemical market selling and collecting monster parts. And this was the exact type of thing a bunch of do-gooders would get in on as well meaning Fish most of the time would just have to hang back and wait for the work to be done then reap the reward. However, this first mission came with a Spire Viper shaped problem. Fish hated snakes and most reptiles, Izzy was the sole exception because she wasn't actually a lizard. Anything that ate birds was enemy number 1 to Fish. Fish shakes the thoughts from their mind as they come up on the camp. Izzy would handle the talking from here since she could, you know, talk.
Quest Name: Prey or Predator Participants: Exactly two Location: Anywhere Post Requirements: 7 post per person, 150 words per post Reward: Entrance into the guild Description: Outriders are skilled trackers and hunters who spend most of their time in the wilderness, living off the land and honing their skills. They are the first line of defense when it comes to the guild, utilizing their skills to collect clues and tracks belonging to dangerous creatures. You and another will join one of these outriders as they trek through the wilderness, hunting a vicious creature. However, it seems the creature was already onto you. You must help the outrider track a creature from the Bestiary whose power level is medium or higher. This includes locating things such as tracks or clues indicating its location. However the creature won't go without a fight, and after tracking it, you must now fight it! Help the outrider fight off and kill the creature before it claims anyone else!
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Apr 26, 2023 2:46:05 GMT -5
Izzy barely shifts her pace as Fish clambers up and onto her shoulder to their natural perch. She gives their foot a light pat as they continue on, knowing their silence-- such as it was, given Fish normally did not vocalize-- was the result of tension for the task at hand. Izzy had faith in her and the little Kenku's abilities; sure, the notice for the Spire Viper was a little daunting, but hey, they'd faced...
...not worse but maybe equitable?
For her part, Izzy is the perfect picture of confidence. Lazy curls of smoke trickle upwards from the corners of her smile as she saunters with Fish on her shoulder, approaching the camp. Her own motives were nebulous, as usual. Izzy's whims were mercurial at the best of times, and this was no different. It was novel! New! Exciting!
And also, Fish was interested and some protective instinct Izzy had for the kid had to draw a line at some point. A Spire Viper? Seriously!?
At least this time, it wasn't her cockamamey idea.
As they stroll up, a guard stands up from where she sits against a crate, putting a hand to the axe at her side and frowning at the giant Fellblood and the giant raven on her shoulder. "State your purpose."
Lodging the cigar between her teeth, Izzy calmly reaches into her chest pocket and pulls out the notice-scroll for the Winged Expeditionary Forces, unfurling it with a snap. "Here to see a man about a snake."
The woman looks them over and grunts, folding her arms across her chest. "The WEF, mm? Both of you? Good. We were waiting for someone to show up. Long and the short of it; there's a large Spire Viper that's moved into the ruins to escape the quakes. It's the perfect set-up for the creature, so we can't drive it off. It ambushes and kills anyone who gets too close, and given the location of the ruins, that's... a lot of people." the woman grimaces and looks Izzy and Fish up and down. "You two think you can handle that thing? I'm not here to risk any more people."
Izzy blows a stream of smoke skyward, glancing sidelong at Fish before answering with an oh so casual nod. "If you've got the cash, you've got our help. Half now, half later?"
The woman huffs a laugh and shakes her head. "Uh, no. All later. If you die on the job, I don't want any idiots going after your corpses. But, you kill that thing, not just drive it away, and you'll get a bonus. You have my word."
Ember irises scrutinize the woman for a long moment before Izzy gives an amiable nod. "Aight, sounds good. Now, where's the main area where this thing is hiding?"
The guide points them in the direction, and Izzy proceeds to start them on the path. She looks up at Fish, and signs quickly to them; You good?
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Apr 26, 2023 19:28:19 GMT -5
Fish quietly narrows their eyes at the guard as they approach. The silence from the bird paid off in multiple ways, getting stared at by anything is always off putting, but getting stared at by a 2 and a half foot tall bird armed to the beak with Solaria knows what that doesn't make a sound? Horrifyingly unsettling.
Pair that with Izzy's incredible height and wild look and you can see why the pair often work together and why it usually ends up in their favor. Plus Izzy's insane luck pairs well with Fish's planning.
"We will charge double when we get back." Fish signs back to Izzy as they start up the path.
The kenku does eventually hop back down to walk on their own once they are out of sight of the camp, let Izzy get feeling back in her shoulder before the fight. Fish hops along, talons no longer making tippy tap sounds as they have entered work mode. It is quite the hike up the path, the surrounding area shows the exact path the viper took up the mountain. A deep scar almost creates another path of its own.
"Fish can get to a higher spot and scout, plenty of structures that look high enough ahead."
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Apr 30, 2023 13:35:15 GMT -5
Izzy nods sagely to Fish's signing, grinning wide. And they'd better pay up, too; they were skilled individuals. You got what you paid for, and Izzy and Fish were the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the corn in the torilla.
Rotating her shoulder a few times as Fish hops down, Izzy also enters work mode. She takes to the mountain relatively easily; despite being a layabout, she's got a lot of experience ascending things, as well as tracking. The path of the Spire Viper is pretty clear; her experienced eyes catch it quickly, but perhaps some coming up the mountain would just see another divot in the earth, or cracks in the trees that had no explanation, but bore no immediate concern.
A fine way to get absolutely nommed on, in Izzy's opinion.
"Fish being in high places while a Spire Viper is lurking about seems like not the very best idea, my dearest befeathered friend." Izzy replies quietly, eyes up and looking around. She would prefer to be close to Fish in case anything should go awry, as well, knowing how much they did not enjoy snakes. She clicks her tongue as she looks around while they carefully ascend. "I wanna scout the damn thing too, but it has the home advantage, you know? The closer we get, there's a better chance it knows we're here. So..." she taps her chin. "We might need to draw it out to ambush us it twice. Once to know where it's lurking so we can lay a trap elsewhere, and then spring the trap the second time around. What do you think?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Apr 30, 2023 20:30:11 GMT -5
"Izzy doubts Fish." They hop forward towards the shadow cast by a tall boulder and make a point to dramatically jump into it, seemingly disappearing into the shadows.[1]
After a moment, Fish appears about ten feet ahead coming out of the shadows of some of the other rubble. They look as smug as their face allows. They were Fish THE SNEAK after all. Never to be caught out in the open.
"Spire Vipers are not known to be incredibly intelligent, baiting it won't be difficult, Fish's concern is the time needed to set something up sizeable enough to effect it. Luring it out could give us time to inspect its lair. Perhaps Fish can find strategic weak points to plant explosives and cave it in, crush the viper."
They had a lot of options between them, the main issue was they worked best against humanoids or things roughly the same size as them. They weren't exactly a team meant for monster hunting really. Fish was just interested by the coin and potential for alchemical supplies. Still, they had a fair bit of skill between themselves, so it's not like they were immediately outclassed. They just had to do a lot more planning than usual.
1. One With Shadows
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on May 7, 2023 18:35:05 GMT -5
"Fiiish, you know I don't doubt you, it's just that-- where'd ya go." she furrows her brow, looking around for the little kenku when they vanish into thin air, essentially. She hears the sound of them moving, coming out of the rubble elsewhere and turns in their direction to put her hands on her hips with a playful smile. "Alright alright. Cheeky."
"Well, I can't argue with results, but I dunno about you bein' bait for a giant serpent thing. I just think I'd be a bigger meal. Literallyyy." Izzy gestures to her whole self with a crooked grin. "Buuuut, I think you're probably right about getting your little concoctions in key places." she thinks it over, pacing back and forth along the width of what passed as a road for a few seconds. "Though-- oh, they probably dont want us like. Breaking the ruins or anything, huh." In as much as they were already broken, at any rate. This was supposed to be some kind of historical site.
Of much more concern to Izz, though, is Fish's safety. Running from cops was one thing-- this was a giant predatory snake.
Izzy heaves a sigh, "Aight, fine, if you think you can stay out of this thing's mouth while you bait 'em, I can keep 'em distracted to give you enough time to go and plant some explosives or some shit. I can even set up something behind you so you'll be alerted if anything tries to come your way. How's that suit you?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on May 7, 2023 20:58:26 GMT -5
"Fish did not agree to be bait, Fish agreed to scout. Bait implies that Fish would be placing themselves in danger and Fish doesn't do that." They hop down from the rock and back towards Izzy. Save them, mainly Izzy, from having to shout across the space and risk waking the snake.
"Fish could mimic the sound of something in the tunnel, food or something for it...Fish could do that from a safe distance." Fish looks over the area once more. There were a lot of things to be careful of they cared enough.
"Compromise." A new word for Fish. "Izzy and Fish can scout, test the area and check for escape routes for Izzy and Fish, then adjust plan from there. Perhaps Fish and Izzy can find a more effective means of luring it out.....Fish thinks we can worry about collateral damage later, most of it can likely be blamed on the snake. Fish doubts they have a forensics team."
If agreed upon, Fish will move towards the tunnel this viper had made. Calling it massive is an understatement, it's tall enough to make Izzy look relatively normal sized. The smooth bored tunnel is at least somewhat of a benefit, it means if they go in then they don't have to worry about tripping over anything. It also means there are no hiding spots, inside the tunnel would mean being exposed. There was enough ambient light to make Fish's shadow hiding a risky bet.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on May 15, 2023 14:10:25 GMT -5
For a few more moments, she remains reticent to allow her smallest and dearest friend anywhere near this thing's layer-- mimicking the sound of a thing WAS the very definition of baiting, but when she hears the word 'compromise', it gives her pause. Adjusting the plan as they went along was precisely the kind of improvisation that spoke to Izzy on a molecular level.
She strokes her definitively unbearded chin in thought as Fish gives her their plan, before tossing them her most rakish grin. "I dunno about a 'forensics' but I think they're probably not dumb. Though, you're right; when in doubt, blame it in the snake. Aight. Let's give this a go, shall we?"
While Fish gets started on their work of the tunnel, Izzy goes about the arduous task of preparing the staging area, best as she could. She covers Fish's six while placing an alarm wire[1] which would notify them if anything unwanted tried to ambush Fish while they were working.
In the meantime, she scouts around their immediate perimeter to find any routes of escape. Some smaller hidey holes to duck into, that probably wouldn't hold up if the viper was truly intent on getting to them. The trees were out. There was a narrow ravine they could slip into that the snake definitely couldn't follow them down, but it was also filled with ashy mountain water-- not a huge amount, but enough that it would pull them quickly down the mountainside. Maybe too fast.
In either case, there aren't many avenues of egress, but enough that they can use better hit and run tactics if the need arose. With that decided, Izzy pulls into a copse of trees to wait and listen.[2]
[1] Alarm Trip Wire [2] Ranger Camoflauge
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on May 15, 2023 17:28:21 GMT -5
Once more Fish would disappear into shadows once Izzy seemed to be on board with the plan. The little pitter patter of their talons on the stones stopped entirely as if Fish was never there.[1,2] Fish always found it more fun when they had the chance to be sneaky and inventive. Thieving was fun and all, but adventuring like this was what Fish enjoyed.
It was only made been when working with Izzy who rarely curtailed Fish's ambitions and even so, if Izzy was telling Fish an idea was bad then it was probably really bad.
Inside the tunnel bored out by the viper, there isn't much to really see. The darkness of it keeps Fish hidden, but beyond that there was little to be seen. The aviankin looks around for any sort of advantage this might give them......Hm...
Their eyes snap to a few sections of the ceiling, some heavy looking earth and rocks seemed to threaten falling at any moment. There it is. Fish starts to skitter up the walls[3] already looking to put their plan in motion. An explosive cask is set against the rocks, some of the sand and earth swirling around to hold it in the ceiling.[4]
As per usual, the bird simply seems to appear beside Izzy. "Fish needs a cigar."
1. Silent Step 2. One With the Shadow 3. Surface Scaling 4. Sand Prison
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on May 22, 2023 17:28:09 GMT -5
"JEEZ," She flinches at the sudden appearance of the bird at her side, signing at her. "Scaring the daylights outta me, ya rascal. What do you want one of these for, even? You takin' on some more of Ya Girl's bad habits?" she winks, but hands the cigar over, as well as a couple of matches for them to light up as needed. Izzy figured they weren't exactly keen to try out the musty flavours of her pocket cigar, and that this had a larger purpose and intent behind it. As always, Izzy was pretty keen to see what it was that the little Kenku was cooking up. "Watch on the left of the entrance you were working on, I left an alarm trip wire there, above your head height. Just be careful not to set it off, savvy?"
For her part, Izzy settles back into the trees to disguise and hide herself. The fact that Fish had located her so easily was... well, it wasn't that surprising, but it spoke pretty highly of how effective the small bird had become over the past few months. Now they were scouting a dangerous snake den.
It was a good thing they didn't have any parents Izzy knew of, or someone might be reaaal upset.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on May 23, 2023 18:06:56 GMT -5
"Fish has a plan." The bird takes takes the cigar and starts to tie it to a bolt. When it is tied to it, the cigar bolt is held in their hand a moment as Fish looks at it, then the cave, then the bolt before nodding.
"Fish can light this and then use it to light the fuses of explosive casks Fish left behind...this will be more reliable than oil and rag...and less noticable....Fish can either trip the alarm wire on Fish's way out after baiting the snake out, or Fish can hang back if we can think of another way to bring it out and then Fish collapses the cave."
The bird loads up the cigar bolt, once more seeming to test its weight before looking back to Izzy. It was a slight adjustment to their original plan, but scoping it out Fish was no longer fully confident in just baiting it out by running in and running out. Izzy had made good points that it was risky and seeing the area they were working with, it made sense for them to do something else. Time to see what else they could come up with.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jun 9, 2023 1:06:10 GMT -5
Seeing that Fish had a plan, Izzy's pointy brow lifts in intrigue as they watch what Fish intended to do with her cigar. Which... yeah, that ought to work. She nods along, impressed. "Yeah, that's one way to do it! I think that'll work nicely. Good thinkin'." Going to need to stock up on some more, though.
She mulls over the idea of Fish tripping the alarm wire on their way out of the cave. It certainly could work, but... "But if the creature stops and decides you're a meal or threat not worth pursuing, we have the wire trip and no idea where it might be after that." she taps her chin as she paces in a circle a few times, the motion apparently jogging the prodidgious wheels in her head that spun so very vigorously.
"I can make a fuck tonne of noise out here, see if that lures it. The wire trips, makes the sound, you pop the barrels. Big explosion, cave comes down on the snake, everyone happy and good. Yeah?" Izzy gives Fish an eager look, nodding her head along as if expecting them to simply agree with her hare brained scheme. Though it did keep Fish relatively out of harms way while in no way-- that Izzy could tell, at least-- affecting their plan.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jun 10, 2023 10:52:33 GMT -5
Fish thought a moment, looking between Izzy, the tunnel, their crossbow, and the general area. It was the familiar moment of silence as Fish does mental calculations that Izzy has likely become accustomed to. It happens a few times a job, Fish taking a moment to reasses what they have in front of them.
They really didn't have too many options. If Fish was working with someone like Astrid, then Fish could just let her wail on the viper while Fish supported from afar. Fish does not doubt either of their capabilities but Fish and Izzy worked best together creating chaos and handling crowds. One on one with a big monster was not their forte.
Someone would have to be the bait for this plan, there really didn't seem to be any other way about it. If Izzy was going to protest about Fish going, then Fish could relent and let her go. They had similar speeds, Fish was quick but Izzy had the stride of a giraffee thanks to her impossible height.
The bird nods towards Izzy, skittering towards a tree to climb up and get a good vantage point on the tunnel. When that snake appears, Fish will be ready.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jun 18, 2023 17:36:24 GMT -5
Her grin widens as Fish appears to reluctantly agree to the plan. As they make their way up the tree, Izzy stands, straightening her jacket. She was going to draw this thing out and get this thing moving, ensuring Fish had the best angle possible for their assault. All they had to do... was not get eaten.
She'd lived this long and not been eaten yet, so the odds seemed pretty good!
"OH BOY, OH GOSH, I SURE HOPE THERE ISN'T A BIG SCARY SNAKE OUT HERE THAT COULD DEFINITELY EAT ME," Izzy speaks out loud in the clearing, dropping caltrops[1] as she went. She kicks a tree hard enough to make the leaves rattle. "STUPID TREE. ANYWAY, SNAKES, YEAH, NONE ARE BIG ENOUGH TO MAKE A MEAL OUT OF ME ANYWAY! BOY THAT WOULD BE--"
Izzy stops midsentence as something moves. They don't see or hear it so much as feel it, a shift in the energy of the air that spoke of being hunted. Izzy starts to move off to the side away from Fish, and kicks a few rocks down the path ahead of her.
And then, the creature begins to emerge.
From Fish's vantage point, they can see that the viper is colossal, made all the more terrifying by the fact that it barely made a sound-- only the faint hiss of its scales rubbing against one another as it slipped its way down the path it had carved for itself. The forked tongue tastes the air for the intruders-- its prey, great head swivelling in the direction of whatever was stupid enough to make noise in it's--
Just as it begins to pass the threshold, the alarm trap goes off, blaring a cacophany in a different direction that causes the creature to whip its head around, exposing its flank to the barrels that Fish had left within the tunnel.
[1] Caltrops (Ranger Trap)
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jun 18, 2023 17:53:43 GMT -5
Fish did watch patiently, albeit begrudgingly. There would be far fewer variables to consider if Fish was being bait, but once again they remember this was the compromise you make when working with a team.
The shift of air displaced simply by the sheer weight of the monster was hard to miss. A small plume of dust trickled out of the caldera it called home like a volcano waiting to burst. It was easy to see why the researchers were desperate to get rid of this thing. It was a threat to their work just by virtue of moving.
Beady eyes watch the tunnel closely to wait for the perfect time to fire. It's not hesitation that holds Fish's bolts, but the chase of perfection. Just as the snake raises its body up, Fish exhales, holds, and squeezes the trigger of their crossbow.
The embers of the cigar brush against the oil-soaked wicks before the bolt crashes into a rock. There is a half-second hiss before the tunnel erupts in explosions and crashing rocks. The deluge of earth pound into the snake's body and head, the viper rolled out of the cave with the mini-landslide the bird created.
For the moment it either seems dead or stunned, it was hard to tell in the immediate aftermath. But it did mean that Izzy had chance to check and finish it off if need be.
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