Mage's Guild
IS ONLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
635 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Jun 3, 2023 22:49:18 GMT -5
Nodding her agreement, Taki quickly hopped on Cirice's mount. "Shuna, Keta, the two of you stay with the double. See if you can start gathering up the folks who've surrendered, and keep everyone from running off. We'll be right back." Said the shaman to her companions. She'd heard of deer that could fly but never expected to see one for herself. It was a marvelous creature, with a horse-like body, slender neck and broad rack of velvet covered horns. Switching from her daggers to her bow, she signaled Ryu to follow them and held on with her lower arms.
As the group sped off and climbed over the summit, Taki quickly spotted Yukina soaring down the mountain side. She pointed it out to Cirice, who gave chase, wheeling her mount in a graceful arc to intercept. Their descent was swift, and it only took a few minutes to catch up to the snowy owl and her target below. A man, dressed in bright colored robes ran below. He struggled to cover the terrain, slipping and sliding on the rocks as they showered the side of the slope below. Taki let out a long whistle, followed by two short whistles. Yukina banked away and headed back up the mountain at the signal, giving the shaman a clear view of her quarry.
Gripping with her thighs, she loosened her grip and stood in the saddle. "Try to circle him if you can, this won't take long." Taki asked Cirice, grinning deviously as she nocked the first arrow and let it fly on their approach. She'd not hunted from the air before, but it reminded her of bow fishing with Keiga out on the open sea. Circle your prey, and aim more at your target than you might expect to. The difference in height, as well as their speed, meant there would be less deviation to each shot, less drop. She pulled the laminate limbs taut, made a last second correction to her aim and loosed the arrow with a soft exhalation. The man was scrambling down the mountain, unaware his pursuers had caught up. The arrow punched into the back of his thigh, causing him to stumble face first into a flat boulder. There was a strange crackle of magical energy as the man attempted to cast a spell of some kind, which the arrow promptly devoured with it's enchanted effect. While that shot might kill the man, it would be a slow and torturous death. It wouldn't be the way of the hunter. She signaled to Cirice to come around again so she could line up for the final shot.
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
20
Renown
Female
Moon Elf
mater impera aeterno noctum
746 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jun 15, 2023 1:20:05 GMT -5
As Cirice and Taki head off to hunt down the last of their prey, Cirice’s double heads back into the cave with Shuna and Keta. The cage is still full of prisoners and together the three companions free them. The double then steps over to a particularly shadowy part of the cave and opens a door directly out of the shadows1.
“Through here please,” She directs the captives. “The door on the other side will take you directly to Darkveil City. Please wait for us there. It shouldn’t be much longer. From there we can try to get the rest of you home.”
The captives make no pause at the strange sight of the door and pile through the opening in a rush, pushing against one another in their haste. Inside they find a very cozy study full of books and pillows and another door. Through the door they tumble out into the shadowy remnants of the Rookery.
“There we are.” The double says to Taki’s friends, “That should be sufficient for now. They’re all out of direct harm.” She nods and walks out to guard their own prisoners.
Meanwhile in the sky above Cirice is watching Taki with awe as she gracefully shoots the fleeing man in the leg. She brings Hitia around once more for her friend to line up another shot and marvels at just how skilled the orochi is.
“I need you to teach me how to shoot like that sometime, Taki!” Cirice laughs, “You make it look so effortless.”
She brings Hitia to land in front of the fleeing man so that when he falls they can grab his body and quickly return to the others.
“It was a bad idea to run.” She tells the man with a wicked glint in her eye. “Mother Moon keep you in death.” 1 hyl's Shady Shelter
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS ONLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
635 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Jun 15, 2023 2:23:51 GMT -5
As they were descending, Taki swapped her bow for a pair of sharp metal spikes that served as her Shuriken. She stood a bit higher in the saddle, aligning her shots before tossing the projectiles. They struck the man and ended his suffering a moment later, then zipped back to the shaman's hands. She returned them to the pouch on her side, saying a small prayer to the spirits in Druidic as he fell and was scooped up by Cirice's mount.
"Such wasted life is always a sad occasion, but we were able to save those kidnapped and arrest the vast majority of those who'd participated in this horrific event. Let's get back and see that everyone gets home safely, and our prisoners are handed over to the guard. Thank you for all you've done Cirice, this would have been many times more difficult without your expertise and decisive actions." Said the shaman, who settled back into the saddle as they went galloping skyward once more.
From the air, she spotted something strange as they were approaching. There was a dark fabric, stretched taut over the grey hued rocks below, and within she could hear the soft cries of a creature struggling. She tapped Cirice and pointed to the spot.
"Would you kindly mind dropping me off there? The spirits are restless in that area, and something is trapped within... another prisoner of some kind, but I doubt it's a person. Such a large covering would house more people than have gone missing and I'm not keen to leave a creature to starve untended and caged." She pleaded to her friend, concerned that whatever was within would either be hostile from the poor conditions or weakened and need care of some kind. The closer they got, the more she was able to catch glimpses from between the gaps. Some sort of large being, whose skin had a sheen that seemed to shine with the light of stars within...
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
20
Renown
Female
Moon Elf
mater impera aeterno noctum
746 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jun 20, 2023 17:38:44 GMT -5
“It was my pleasure to join you in saving people, Taki!” Cirice grins, “Its unfortunate that this happened, but the fact we could do something makes me happy. All of this was so weird and unnecessary. Kidnapping people and bringing them all the way here…? So weird. It feels like the whole world is going crazy.”
Taki taps her shoulder and asks her to land and she nods quickly and complies, “Of course!”
Once they’re on solid ground Cirice follows Taki down the steep embankment to the rocks and sees the trap. She motions for Taki to stop and uses telekinesis to peel back the fabric and reveal the struggling creature within. Some sort of manta glider, it shines with soft starlight and makes the water around it glitter.
“It looks upset, it might hurt you or itself. Be careful. If anything happens I’ll be right behind you.”
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS ONLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
635 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Jun 22, 2023 5:31:34 GMT -5
Taki approached the creature carefully, walking up along it's left side so it could watch her as she held her hands out and open. Taking a look at the restraints, they were cruel but simple slip-knots of spiked chains. A pair were looped over the Manta's wings, a pair through their gill slits and one around the tail. The creature seemed weakened, probably from the restricted breathing and blood loss of the spikes biting into it's body. If she didn't think the person responsible was already either dead or captured, she would hunt them down and wrap them up with these horrid creations and hang them from the tallest tree she could find... but that was for a later time.
"I may need your help, I'm going to free these restraints, but she'll need healing as I do to prevent more loss of blood. Would you mind Celeste?" Asked the shaman, who moved to break the anchors free from their posts. Carefully, she used the vicious spikes to increase her leverage and rip the chains loose of their bonds. The Manta shifted about, and she did her best to keep them calm as the weight of the chains shifted around. With their tension loosened, she could see the spikes give up much of their grip on the majestic being. Afterwards, she made ready to remove the pair wrapped through the creature's gills first, as they were the most dangerous and delicate to handle. She rested her upper hands on the creature's side, cooing them into a lull as she carefully plucked the spikes away from the gills and inner tissues of the slits. The creature shuddered gently, too weak to fight back any further. Blood began to pour in a steady stream that would have exsanguinated most creatures in a matter of seconds. She finished unbinding the chains and slipped them free from the creature, who looked distressed but focused on the shaman.
"This is the worst part, if you please? The rest of the chains shouldn't bleed so badly, though I fear the tail will have a lot of mechanical damage from being wrapped several times over."
|
|
CCS Courier
IS OFFLINE
20
Renown
Female
Moon Elf
mater impera aeterno noctum
746 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jun 22, 2023 10:49:22 GMT -5
Watching Taki handle the injured creature so gently, Cirice slowly makes her way down to her side, careful to stay as out of the water as possible. She perches on a rocky outcropping and leans down to touch the manta softly. The runes under her ruined gloves glow a soft violet shade and the creature seems to calm down even further, allowing Taki to get it undone without causing it to stress out1. As soon as the creature is finally free Cirice pets its head and sends another wave of magic over it, healing its injuries as if they were never there at all2.
“There, good as new.” She smiles, “Even its tail should be good now I hope. We have manta gliders back home, but I’ve never seen one like this. I didn’t know they got this big… It's beautiful. Terrible that those awful people were treating it this way.”
“You have nothing to fear now, friend. The bad people will not hurt you anymore.” Cirice reassures the manta in a whisper.
She steps back, climbing back up the embankment with hurried care to watch to see what happens next. 1 Calm Emotion 2 Massive Healing
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS ONLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
635 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Jun 22, 2023 15:10:53 GMT -5
Stepping away from the freed Manta, the beautiful creature took to the sky. It rose overhead with long sweeps of it's luminous wings, letting out a gentle call that sounded like a whispered moan. As Taki and Cirice walked back over to her mount to head back, the Manta banked back towards them and came to a stop. Inky black orbs watched the shaman as it gently glided up to her and pressed it's cephalic fin against her. She ran her hands over the slighty bumpy skin of it's fore, smiling softly.
"You are free to your life great one, to soar and swim as you please." Said the shaman, but the Manta seemed insistent. Tilting her head to the side to look into it's eye, she tried to understand it's gestures and intuit it's wants. Her first guess was most obvious, food, so she retrieved a wrapped, smoked fish treat that she often kept in her pack for traveling with Keiga. Elated with the food, the Manta burbled and cooed happily as it snacked.
Taki waved to the floating creature as she stepped back, hoping it would return to it's life at sea. The Manta however had other plans, and this time scooped the shaman up with it's head. She yelped and rolled to a crouch, clasping it's back with four hands and straddling part of it's body with her thighs. She blinked, unsteady without some way of harnessing herself. Before she could move to get off, the creature was gliding back to the tank and it's boxes where it had been freed. With a sharp, whip like crack, it's tail shattered the largest crate to reveal what looked to be a crude harness of leather and buckles.
"Go on ahead Cirice... it seems I've made an insistent friend. This harness needs a bit of refinement, but I'm sure we'll be along shortly... perhaps toss the prisoners in one of those fancy cages they're so fond of. I think she will be able to carry it if it's not too large to harness about her body." She called out, cupping two hands over her snout to ensure her words reached her dear friend. She carefully climbed down from the Manta's back, then pulled the harness and it's bits from the debris left over and laid it out on the ground to examine.
"We'll have to give you a name, sweet one, and a proper way to ride that is far more comfortable than this disaster."
With deft hands and a bit of work, she removed the spikes that were meant to subjugate the poor Manta. Whomever was responsible for this was likely also responsible for it's treatment, which perturbed Taki greatly. Taking some of the finer goods from smaller crates about, she used supple leathers and any other materials she could find that would stand up to the seas. After a good bit of work, she'd built something that would allow her to ride in the same fashion she might ride Keiga, plus plenty of room to mount harnesses or crates for passengers and cargo. As she was doing this, she shared names with the Manta until it picked one that was satisfactory with a nudge and a rub against the shaman's back.
"Hanehiko it is then, come my wonderous friend, let's try this out and see if it's comfortable for traveling." She said in a soothing voice. The manta settled close to the ground, hovering with gentle strokes of it's fins as Taki saddled the new harness. Securing the straps and checking her harness and reigns, the shaman was satisfied it would at least get them home where it could be improved. She climbed onto Hanehiko's back, secured her harness to the saddle and stretched briefly before taking the reigns.
"Show me your world, your grace Hanehiko. To the mountain top and our companions!" She exclaimed, her voice echoing off the stone below as the Manta kicked up great gusts beneath. Together, they spiraled up the mountainside until they reached the summit. The pair came soaring over the ring of jagged rocks, gliding gently down into the crater that was the base. Taki stood atop the crisscrossing leather saddle, reigns loosely held in her lower hands while she pumped her fist triumphantly with a free hand. Gliding to a stop on the edge of camp, she reached down, undid her harness, and hopped down from the Manta's back. Walking over to Cirice, the shaman couldn't have looked more elated by the outcome.
|
|