Xalmann walked along the shore, the sound of seagulls in the air and a gentle breeze making the occasional tuft of beach grass sway. He stood out horribly amongst the tranquil scenery. His hood was drawn far over his head, and his cloak pulled around him. It didn't do much to hide his appearance, his lizard-like tail and red, scaled feet still visible beneath the bottom of his cloak, and his reptilian snout extending out of the front of his hood.

The Lizardman had gone into hiding for a while after escaping from the raid on Lilicors Village. He'd fled all the way to the Crescent Isle. Not the farthest place in Charon from the Marsh Flats, by far, but not too close either. Travel wasn't exactly easy with such a recognizable appearance, and not just from being a Lizardfolk. A strong gust of wind blew back his cloak to reveal his left arm was almost entirely gone, just a stump below his shoulder left. A constant reminder of how poorly the raid had ended for him. He grabbed the cloak and pulled it back around him, hiding his missing arm again.

Apparently a report had even come out about the battle. From what he'd overheard, the details were left vague, but it was known that two member of the Fighter's Guild had fought each other. He wished he could read that report himself, but he was still unable to read the common language. If only they released it in Lizardfolk for him.

He just kept walking along the beach, aimless.

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Glide Over the Moon
Participants: Two or more
Location: Crescent Isle (Coast)
Post Requirements: 6 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown, +1 Hide, +1 Water Catalyst

Description: A huge wave flooded the beach, filling up large pools further up the beach with water. Now that the sea has receded, two Manta Gliders have become trapped, stuck in a pool and unable to return to the ocean. While normally docile, these creatures are now angry, lashing out and attacking anyone who even tries to get close, let alone help. The pool will begin to dry up over the next few days, leaving these creatures to die. We need to find a way to get them off the beach and back into the Luna Sea.

It had been a good long while since Del had been this far West, and even longer since she had come back to the Crescent Isles themselves. In fact, nearly fifty years since her last journey back here. It was bittersweet-- her exit from the islands was heralded in fire. Her return, in flood.

Just as it was the first time.

Del pushes the thought from her mind as she treads the natural green path along shore; the Northward beaches were not the white, soft sands of the more tropical areas. They were misty, rocky, parts of the island that the cove had not yet rendered into powder. Cool and fresh in the shade of the mountains, hardly one of the more popular parts of the island for tourists. Light gray clouds shifted overhead, as if unsure in their decision of whether or not to rain.

She had been told that there had been tsunamis that had struck the island, summoned up from the ocean itself by underwater quakes. It had left ruin on the beaches, for the livlihoods of the locals. More and more, Del worried about what this meant for Charon at large. Everything seemed to be changing at a faster pace than she was used to, herself included. Not the least of which the wildlife.

Once more, that which resided in the ocean had come ashore. Del had never seen Manta Gliders before, but a pair had apparently destroyed a dock, two fishing vessels, and a handful of shacks as they struggled in the waves, and had become beached. Worried, Del sought them out... there was enough drift nearby, perhaps she could build a ramp to slide them back into the ocean?

It was a thought. But first, she had to find them.

Mumbling softly to herself, it doesn't take anyone on the beach long to hear the angry snorts and lowing of the creature themselves. As she turns to rush to the sound, Del finds herself pausing, seeing a tall, broad figure in a cloak walking the shore a little ways away; the distant sound of the manta gliders was on her right, and the cloaked figure meandered on her left. Odd. Del hadn't expected to see anyone out here... Perhaps a local?

She takes a step out from the low shrub, raising a hand in greeting. Keeping her distance, of course, just in case, but a friendly smile touching her lips. She left it there for the moment, trying to gauge this unknown stranger's reaction.

At least until he can get close enough for Del to recognize him.

Xalmann looked up as he heard a strange noise coming from the direction he was already headed in. What was that? It sounded like the sounds of some creature. They couldn't be that far. From the sounds of splashing, they could even be right around the bend, just hidden beyond some dense shrubs and trees.

As he walked closer, he suddenly saw someone else walk out of the trees and onto the beach. Damn. He hadn't expected to see anyone else on this beach. It wasn't a tourist hotspot thanks to all the rocks and washed up debris. A few fallen trees even jutted out of the tree line and onto the sand here and there. Would it be alright to just ignore them? Surely, it'd be more suspicious if he'd suddenly turned around. They'd already noticed him. He could tell by the wave they were giving him, a friendly greeting. Maybe he could just act cool and they wouldn't recognize him. The report hadn't actually described his appearance after all.

However, as he grew closer, he suddenly stopped. Of course it had to be her. One of the few people who was actually at the incident and could identify him! That woman he'd spared multiple times who had watched his arm be sliced off and then fled from the scene with the damn Minotaur that did it. Of all the people he could have ran into on this beach, it had to be her.

He placed his hand on his axe handle and narrowed his eyes.

Del notes the stranger's hesitation, but the smile remains in place as the individual appears as though they are content on their meandering path in her general direction. They don't make a beeline for her, rather walking at a slow pace on their original trajectory. Not unusual; perhaps they weren't there to help the Manta Gliders. Del smiles and takes a couple steps forward, when she a flash of recognition enters her mind and she stops dead.

It had been many months since Lilicors, but she remembered it well. That day was etched into her memory, a day full of chaos and destruction and fire. Now, she found herself looking at the face of the lizardkin from that day, the friendliness falling away to recognition and shock, as if she had seen a ghost.

In a way, she had.

The last she had seen of him, his arm had been ripped off after Jagger had sunk his claws into her shoulder. The red lizardman had left the scene not long before she did, though her work was not yet done at that point. She had escorted the remaining refugees to relative safety before taking her own circuitous path away from Lilicors. She hadn't been named in the report-- thank goodness-- but she had read it.

And maybe she was something he would prefer to have forgotten; Del watches him put his hand on his axe, ready to fight.

Del stares back at him for a few long seconds, weighing her options. She knew what this man was capable of. He had made it very clear at the time that he was determined to at least force Del to stop what she was doing.

Del also remembered that he had let her go, twice. And his terrible injury. Her whole goal in Lilicors was to help civilians-- she hadn't been interested in killing anyone, not when the Mud Worms had a fair point about colonialism. Despite the events of the past few months, that conviction held true. It was a relief to see he had made it, too.

Taking a slow breath, Del raises her hands, scarred palms forward, peacably. Funny that she should be echoing her own words from months ago... "I don't want to fight you. I'm here to help the Isles after the tsunami. ...You're an awful long way from the Marsh Flats." She adds after a moment, looking at him with a slight furrow to her brow.

Of course she was just here to help a bunch of people she didn't know again, just like she'd been doing in Lilicors. What else could he have expected, really? With all of the disasters happening all over, there was plenty of work for such soft hearted types. He believed that she didn't want to fight him, but he wasn't so easily trusting as to just assume she wouldn't be a problem for him. He wasn't as confident in his fighting abilities at the moment as he had been. With his left arm missing, he was off balance and couldn't wield his dagger and axe at the same time. And even if she really didn't want to fight him, she could still report his whereabouts to someone or call for some help. Maybe she'd consider getting a dangerous criminal locked up another good deed to add to her list.

Xalmann didn't reply to her immediately, just watching her silently with his hand on his axe, trying to appraise her intentions. The sounds of some creatures continued to come from around the tree line further down the shore as the two stood in their quiet standoff. After a few moments, Xalmann slowly removed his hand from his axe, but stayed on guard. He walked closer. If they were going to fight, then they were going to fight. Having a conversation with such a distance between them just made them have to shout to each other, which could draw more attention. It was better to just get closer and find out what her true intentions were.

Del waited for a reply. Something. Anything. One did not seem especially forthcoming as the lizardman glowered at her with suspicion-- one she had earned, she had to admit, given their last encounter. She doesn't move or break, only relaxing slightly (and with some measure of surprise) as the man slowly removed his hand from his weapon and moved closer. She kept herself even and still, relaxed. Trying to communicate with her body language as best she could that she was not a threat.

Once he was within casual talking distance, Del slowly inclined her upper body in a bow, though she does not lower her head. She, too, was still on guard, though she was very determined not to fight him.

"Now that we seem to be on... similar ground, anyway-- I'm Del." she straightens and gives the Lizardman a once over, remembering that day. "Apparently there's Manta Gliders that need help getting back to the Ocean. I could use a--" Del abruptly cuts herself off, clamping her mouth shut before coughing to clear up the near slip. "--help. I could use help. If that was something you'd be willing to provide."

She doesn't ask their name-- Del's very careful about that. She doesn't want to try and interrogate this person, leading her to be more suspicious than she already was. This was an olive branch in and of itself; she would not demand anything, only accept what he gave her, even if it was nothing.

Xalmann caught the sudden change in what Del was about to say and scowled. She was about to say "a hand" wasn't she? He wasn't an idiot. She'd been so obvious, clapping her hand over her mouth, and that fake cough didn't fool him. He would have crossed his arms in front of his chest if he could.

He glanced past her, down the beach toward where the sounds of animals in distress was coming from. So, they were manta gliders that had been beached here? It wasn't his concern. He didn't really care about those kinds of things. He wasn't exactly an animal lover. If he'd wandered across them alone, he might even have considered killing one to cook for dinner. It would have been easy prey, trapped like it was. But of course, Del was here to help them, so trying such a thing would probably lead to a fight with her. Too bad. He'd never tried manta glider before.

Was her asking for help with this her price for her silence? Was this some kind of thinly veiled threat? He didn't trust her. She didn't seem like the threatening type though. Even if she was just earnestly asking for some assistance, maybe this was an opportunity. Perhaps if he did help out with this, she'd keep her mouth shut about his location. Maybe she might even vouch for him, try to clear his name enough not to be on wanted posters. She seemed naïve enough to think he's a changed man or something like that. He might as well try it. He'd already been seen by her, so he had nothing to lose lending his assistance and a lot to lose by refusing if she decided to rat him out.

"Fine." He said simply, walking past her toward the manta gliders without waiting for her to respond.

And once more, Del was being stared at, scrutinized, by this person who looked at her as though if she could disintegrate into dust before his eyes that it might improve his day by a smidge or two. Which, was fair enough, she supposed, given their last interaction (and the near slip there, very smooth, he probably didn't even notice [he had noticed]), but Del had zero idea why the man abruptly... agreed to help.

She had invited him to do so, of course, but she hadn't expected him to say anything to her, let alone agree to help with the Manta Gliders. In fact, she was fairly certain that 'Fine' was the very first word he had ever said to her. And so, that leaves Del staring after the Lizardman with her brow pressed in confusion before she starts to follow after him. No reason to look a gift Lizardman in the mouth.

"So... what brings you all the way out to the Isles? I didn't hang around after, but I figured Jagger wasn't quite done with his new direction for the Marsh Flats," she speaks up as they walk, trying to fill the silence with some conversation. No matter how unwelcome it probably was. She wondered if that might have anything to do with the arm that had been removed in that battle.

Not far from where they were, locked in the tide pools, the keening distress sounds of the two large Manta Gliders could be heard as they thrashed about, partly beached on the rocky outcropping that served as a wall between the shore and the sea. She clicks her tongue, watching a barbed tail thrash above the water and slam back down into the water with a slap and a splash. Poor things.

The scrutiny did not stop. Xalmann just silently turned his head to look at Del as she was now trying to actually hold a conversation with the extremely conversation inept Lizardman, yet again. And, she was trying to have a conversation about why Xalmann was now on the Crescent Isles and Jagger's direction for the Marsh Flats. Both subjects directly related to the fight that had cost him his arm, which was to say the least, a bit of a sore subject for the one armed Lizardman. Maybe Xalmann wasn't the one with the least conversation skills for once.

His usually emotionless reptilian face looked at Del with an expression that said one thing very clearly- "Seriously?"

Xalmann looked down into the pool, watching the manta gliders thrash in the water. Instead of pitying them, he immediately began trying to devise a plan to get them out without receiving a lashing from one of those barbed tails. Killing them from a distance with some fire magic would be easiest, but that would really defeat the purpose of getting them out of there, wouldn't it? That plan was mentally crossed out.

If he could get close enough to touch them, he could use his magic to drain them of their energy. Perhaps that would tire the creatures enough to stop their flailing and let them drag the creatures back to the sea. It would also heal him if he received a minor wound from one of them in the process. Yes, that did seem like the best plan to him.

Del's lips press into a tight, thin line as the lizardman fixes her with a flat, unamused look. While she had no way of knowing what was going on in his head, Del is keenly aware that she is very, very, very bad at having conversations with people on the whole (with some exceptions, thank goodness), and that this time seemed to be no exception. And, given their previous interaction-- fair enough.

She resolves herself to try and focus on the task at hand then. At least he was helping; she would consider that friendl enough. Del clicks her tongue again as she watches the Manta Gliders. Her silent partner in their mission was not exactly forthcoming if he had any ideas, so she taps a hand to her chin, thinking of how they could go about getting them out of the tide pool.

"I can break the part of the tide pool that's keeping them wedged, so we can drag them out. Though that's a bit risky, at least their focus would be divided so one of us could take advantage of the confusion and try to get them out of here." She looks at the lizardman with a little uncertainty, given... everything. "Sound... good?"

She was doing her best.

Right, if he wanted Del to know about the plan he'd thought of, he'd actually need to convey it to her somehow. That was a problem for him, since the antisocial Lizardman was not only not much of a conversationalist, but also not exactly a master of the common language. He was much better at speaking Lizardfolk. Why didn't anyone else he met ever speak it? It wasn't hard once you got used to how much hissing was involved.

Xalmann looked at Del and listened to her explaining her own plan. Maybe they'd be able to combine their two plans. But now she was speaking to him with such uncertainty. Maybe she thought he couldn't understand her well. He could understand everything she was saying just fine, he just wasn't good at explaining himself. Maybe his lack of speaking made her think he was just plain dumb.

Xalmann held up a hand to show it to her, hoping she remembered what he was capable of from their last encounter. He'd used the spell on her, albeit conducted through his axe, but still.

"I can tire them. Make them less aggressive. Easier to move." He said as he motioned touching one of the mantas with his hand.

The Lizardman lifts his hand, and for a moment, Del thinks it a motion to stop her from talking, which, again, would be fair, all things considered. It clicks a couple of seconds later, realizing it was not a gesture to hush her, but a reminder of their first, ill-fated meeting. She recalled that ability altogether too well; how it made her feel terribly sick, weak with some sort of ailment that swept over her one moment, and was gone the next.

And then he speaks, a surplus of words considering the Lizardman's tacit silence thus far. Now understanding his plan, though, Del's expression brightens a little. She gives him a nod in the affirmative. "Good plan. Alright, I can start us off." With a faint smile, Del moves forward, careful to tread the perimeter around where the Manta Gliders were stuck so as not to get too close and get hit by their flailing, barbed tails.

She will have to hit and run to make it as fast as possible. Skirting the outside still, Del dips her hands into her satchel, withdrawing them so that her hands were now covered in stone gloves[1]. As the Manta-gliders complete one round of thrashing, Del darts in, slamming her gauntlet covered fist into the side of the tide-pool, the jagged shale exterior shattering under her fist in the area she struck.

Water from the tide-pool begins to pour out, and the shift in water makes the Manta Gliders that much more agitated. Del darts in again, narrowly avoiding[2] a swipe of the tail towards her head. Twice in a row, she slams her fists into the rocks, shattering them, and leaving a wide enough gap to drag the Manta Gliders out to sea by.

That was, if the Lizardman's part of the plan went off without a hitch.

---

[1] Ginma's Gauntlets
[2] Float like a Butterfly

With Del going off to break them a path to drag the mantas down, Xalmann prepared himself to go and use his magic on the mantas to make them more docile and easier to drag. Until he did so, the creatures flailed, their barbed tails whipping through the air behind them. It would be dangerous, so Xalmann chose to play it safe and summoned one of his trusted guardian spirits to keep him safe.

As the spirit of the burn-scarred Lizardman manifested beside him, Xalmann suddenly felt a phantom pain shoot down his missing arm causing him to grasp at it, his claws only grabbing the empty cloak. Durumann, the same Lizardman that had been running behind him as he charged at Shaa, looked at him with a mix of concern and confusion. Xalmann shook his head. This wasn't the same as then. The damn Minotaur had shot him with some weird beam that had blocked his magic and sent Durumann away. Some flailing beasts wouldn't be able to do that. He gripped the axe at his side, the one he always trusted to return to him and that had only failed to do so once. He took took a deep breathe and let go of the axe before sliding down into the shallow pool with the mantas, Durumann following behind him.

The nearest manta glider immediately whipped its tail at him, and Xalmann turned so the tail hit the cloak wrapped around his left side, the barbed tail surprisingly glancing off of it as if the fabric was a sheet of solid metal. Dashing forward with the cloak as a shield, he placed his palm against the side of the creature and it suddenly slowed down, all of the energy being sucked out of it. It flopped limply, too tired to put up much of a fight anymore.

One down, now just one more to go. He glanced at Del to see how her part of the plan was going, and saw she was making quick work of the rocks.

---

Guardian Spirit
Rime Mantle
Vampiric Touch

Del pauses in her merciless beating of the rocks as the Lizardman clutches the stump of where his arm once was. It's only for a moment before she goes back to pounding sand, looking out of the corner of her eye at this sliver of insight into whatever was going on in the red lizardman's head.

She had quite a bit of empathy towards that, however unwelcome it probably was. Experiencing something so heavy, and so deeply personal given what had happened to the man, had to take its toll in some way. And he was not longer with the Mud Worms, it seemed, for he was here, in the Crescent Isles. The impact of what had happened must have been larger than she could see.

You know; beyond the obvious.

But seeing as the Lizardman was not wholly inclined to speak or other niceties common in society, Del continued to complete her task, looking up as she heard the creatures flail and groan their protest at the approach of the Lizardman. By all accounts, her job was easy compared to his. She watches as one of the Manta Gliders lashes its tail towards the Lizardman, only to have it glance off the cloak he wore around his arm. She blinks; now what was the secret to that, she wondered?

She doesn't have much time to ponder it, though, as the creature's thrashing abruptly stills. She finishes pulverizing a rock and holds her hand up, indicating she was ready to help pull the creatures out to sea, ready when he was.

Del was stronger than she looks. Certainly much stronger than the last time they met.

And getting stronger by the day.

Xalmann worked quickly. With one manta taken care of and ready to be taken away by Del, he signaled for her to come over, looking to her and pointing at the waiting manta. With it this tired thanks to his magic, it wouldn't be able to put up much fight. As long as she grabbed it by the tail and was careful to avoid the stinger, it was harmless now.

He ran over to the other manta, his summoned spirit right behind him. He didn't want to waste any time. His cloak wouldn't stay magically hardened for that long, so he wanted to use it to the fullest while he could.

This manta glider was a bit smaller than the other, but it was faster. Its tail lashed out and came dangerously close to slashing the approaching Lizardman, aiming for the side that wasn't covered in his hardened cloak. He only turned to block just in time, the impact knocking his cloak away to reveal what remained of his left arm, nothing but a stump that was hardly more than if only his shoulder had been left.

The manta pulled its tail back and Xalmann grabbed the axe from his waist and held it up. The tail lashed at him again, but this time he blocked the attack with the side of his axe head. With a clang, the manta's tail pulled back again as if it was going to lash out a third time, but it suddenly slowed down, as if it was entirely exhausted after just those two attacks.

Xalmann put his axe back into its sheath at his waist. He'd pulled exactly the same trick he'd used on Del when they'd first met in Lilicors, channeling his spell through his weapon. He glanced down at his missing arm, gritting his teeth as he was reminded of that day yet again.

He knelt down and grabbed his cloak off the sand, throwing it back over himself and walking toward the second manta. He placed his hand on it, keeping the spell going to drain it of its energy, not wanting it to regain its energy before Del was finished with the first one.

---

Vampiric Touch
Arcane Focus