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Post by Javal Zarrias on Aug 7, 2023 2:33:06 GMT -5
Javal had arrived at the Sunset plains after he received a letter addressed to him by some sort of Sol City official requesting that he handle a large flock of Cockatrice that had taken up the Hills as their new territory.
Javal had decided to come alone, deciding that he was enough to take on those foul fowls by himself.
He was sitting behind a rock and observing the local area. His brother Nicolaus always told him to try birdwatching since it was a calm activity to relax the mind but this was much more Javal’s style.
Watching dangerous birds that were actively hunting him as much as he was hunting them.
He searched across the dirt trying to look for any signs of movement or a large crowd together but so far he had found nothing but dirt, dirt, and more dirt.
Usually, this would be a good thing for Javal since he loved eating sand but this was different. He was here on a mission and was finding no luck so far.
That was until he was retracing his steps to rest for a second he found a large talon mark on the floor next to the rock.
“Aha this must be a clue”, he exclaimed, “Now where did this lead,” he thought as he began following a faint trail of tracks.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Aug 30, 2023 23:45:07 GMT -5
As was almost always the case with birds, where there was one, there was usually more. That was never more true than now, as Del finds herself wading through the high grasses of King's Valley, crouched low as she slowly makes her way through the brush. She did her best to go unseen as possible, but birds especially were known for being quite astute. And cockatrice, well... she had tangled with them before, in her never-ending journeys on the road. They were efficient and devastatingly effective pack hunters. But, they usually weren't found this far South... Cockatrice were endemic to Frost Gale and Dragon's Cradle. King's Valley was outside their usual range-- well outside it. To the point where Del, who had been here to see a man about a horse, had found herself waylaid on the road by a pack of them. After finding someone to speak with about these leathery interlopers, she found out what was happening; a convergence of a sort, perhaps. Her original task side-tracked for now, Del took up her new task of finding out what was going on with all these cockatrice's... and how they got here. Either they had been moving down across the desert by themselves to escape the volcano, or, they were being introduced down here. For some insane reason. Though who in any part of society would think that introducing a bunch of birds who could turn people into stone was a good idea was beyond her. Moving the creatures by themselves couldn't be easy, and would have had to have been done in secret, and that didn't seem terribly likely either. And so, in the interest of investigation, Del continues to move forward... until she sees a silhouette. She ducks down in the long grass, watching through the shifting blades as she spies not a bird, but a figure, striding along the path across from her, studiously studying the ground as they went. Were they... familiar?
Quest Name: Violent Skies Participants: Two or more Location: King's Valley Post Requirements: 6 post per person, 200 words per post Reward: +1 Renown, +1 Feather, +1 Fang Description: Several packs of Cockatrice have been disturbed by the recent seismic activity up north, causing them to flock south to foreign lands seeking food and shelter. However these vicious birds are now stalking and attacking people or wildlife traveling through the open fields of the valley. These big, dangerous birds are invasive to the wildlife down south and are causing issues for the local horse tribes. Travel to the Valley, hunt one of these flocks and take out the group of birds.
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Sept 1, 2023 3:25:47 GMT -5
Javal continues forward looking straight down to the floor until he sees that the talon tracks suddenly stop, he then quickly raises his head to look at where they had taken him and his new surroundings. He was currently facing a very huge boulder with sharp claw indents on it surrounded by huge tall grass that was even taller than him.
“Oh”, he whispered as he walked around the boulder slowly, “Maybe I have found their nests or something”, he thought as he looked in the tall grass nearby.
Javal doesn't seem to find anything once I try looking inside the tall grass for the Cockatrice, at least at first not spotting a large spat of blood on the floor.
“Hm”, he thinks as he scratches his head, “What if I go up on the giant boulder? Maybe I’d be able to get a good vantage point and spot them right away”.
Javal then walked over to the giant boulder and started climbing. The boulder was tough and rugged to climb and Javal even fell down the boulder once or twice.
“Thankfully no one is here to see this happen”, he thinks as he pushes forward trying to get a grip on the boulder.
Suddenly as Javal is about to make it over the boulder and climb on top he hears a loud squawk in the distance heading straight for him.
“Crap it’s Cockatrice”, he yells as he jumps off the rock and unsheathes his katana, “Come out me cowards and fight me like a fair fellow”.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Sept 23, 2023 10:19:07 GMT -5
And indeed, the individual is very familiar. Speaking to himself as he walks, approaching the boulder... why, it was no other than Javal, her fellblood friend from Darkveil. It had been some time since she'd seen him last, but it was clearly Javal. A Javal that was falling off the boulder he kept attempting to climb.
Del puts a hand to her cheek where she was watching among the grass, keeping a low profile. Should she come out of the brush to speak to him? Or would it alarm and embarass him?
Before she can make up her mind, his scramble to the top of the boulder this time yields a much greater success-- up until there's an avian screech in the distance and Javal challenges an as yet unseen cockatrice to an honourable duel.
While Del was doubtful as to the willingness of a cockatrice to participate in such gallantry, at least Javal was distracted for long enough that Del could slide out of the grass and shadows to indicate her presence. She shifts through the shadows and approaches from behind a tree, making sure to make noise this time so that her presence would be clear as she held up her hands peaceably to Javal. "Hey, it's alright, Javal, it's me. Though I didn't make that noise." she assures, coming to stand near him and listening closely to the nature around them for signs of the impending bird. She drops her voice to a whisper. "We should try to hide and then ambush. I don't think they're going to care very much about being, ah, honorable."
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Sept 26, 2023 1:56:16 GMT -5
“You dishonorable cockatrice coward's lack of honor disgusts me”, the fellblood shouts as the cockatrice begins circling away the large rock that Javal was standing on.
Javal suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps rustling and a voice call out as he turned behind he held his katana in hand thinking it was another cockatrice trying to ambush him while their partner distracted him in the sky. He lowers his blade as he squints his eyes trying to see among trees before noticing a familiar friend, Del.
He waves his free hand and shouts, “Hello there friend Del, it appears that you too are here to hunt down these troublesome cockatrice fellows that have been giving the nearby merchants some trouble. I’d agree this cockatrice fellow seems to be paying by request of a duel no mind only circling this area in search of prey".
Javal then looks down noticing the long drop as he jumps off the boulder he touches the bottom of his feet before chuckling and saying, “Here I come” and jumping off.
He quickly jumped down three times his normal jumping ability and landed safely in the large grass before shouting, “Friend Del where are you?”.
Soon after Javal makes his way through the tall grass and meets up with Del he says the Cockatrice dive down from his positions and make a straight line towards some small nearby prey.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Oct 19, 2023 2:54:01 GMT -5
She keeps her hands aloft until Javal recognizes her, lowering them with a wry smile. Del chuckles quietly to herself at Javal's vehement disapproval of the character of the cockatrice scurrying through the underbrush. "I am indeed, Javal. Nice to see you again. Though I do wish it were under better circumstances." Del clicks her tongue, listening to the rustling in the tall grass. "I don't believe cockatrice are especially interested in duels, unfortunately."[/color] She waits for Javal to hop down, calling out to him where she was located, so they could meet and speak properly.
An action interrupted by a swooping cockatrice, diving for small prey just off the rock where Javal had been standing only moments before. Del hisses through her teeth, reaching out to grab Javal and pull him down a little to avoid getting buzzed by the creature. The cockatrice makes a series of chittering hisses that vaguely resemble clucking in a way that makes Del's skin crawl. She straightens, letting Javal go so he can stand tall again as well, and looks up at him. "Right. So this flock is clearly a problem." Del furrows her brow as she listens to the scattered noises in the underbrush. "I can make a few snares, but I doubt they'd be as effective as they are on grouse or pheasant. What do you think?"[/font]
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Oct 19, 2023 3:25:45 GMT -5
Javal raised his blade and was about to shout at the coward Cockatrice before suddenly he felt a large tug and pull coming from Del behind him.
He shakes his head in realization of his foolishness and bows at Del whispering, “Thank you my friend for saving me, and yes these guys are a real problem no wonder those poor merchants can’t get anything done if they go through here. Snares sound like a good idea, although I’d be all game for fighting them head-on like I’d normally do, setting up traps and distractions could be a good idea. It’ll just be me and you versus and gods know how many of these things? Can I try to set up a few traps maybe?", He holds his hands up one bright green and another a chilling white.
After waiting for her response Javal decides to get to work he squats down and places his hand on the floor causing the tall grass to suddenly be surrounded by a faint field of thorns and vines(1).
He then moves forward slightly out of the brush and touches the floor ahead, covering it with pure ice (2) hoping it’d at least slow them down.
He then returns to where Del was and whispers, “Alright I think that should be all I can do in terms of set up, we can use the nettles and ice rink over there to slow them down, what should we do now? Lure them to us yet?”.
1. Stinging Nettles 2. Glacial Wall
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Nov 23, 2023 3:28:18 GMT -5
She gives the young man a small smile at his gratitude. "I know you'd do the same for me. Though I am not sure that rushing at them headlong is the best idea, given the ability they have with their eyes. I know it's not exactly honourable, but the Cockatrice have proven they are they will offer us none in kind. Now," Del looks to the field before them, quietly assessing and nodding her agreement with Javal, "Let's get to work, shall we?"
Following Javal's lead, noting the effectiveness in which he prepared the traps, Del instead deviates from mainl creating snares (though she does this as well) to quietly moving and mapping out the perimeter. The magical traps that Javal was implementing might be disruptive to the environment that the birds had come to know, and thus, they might avoid normal hunting grounds. But, using her shadows to help disguise some of Javal's traps, and to create enticing movement to lure them in, together the pair would have the most luck in wrangling these pesky paralytic pheasants.
As she and Javal reconvene after going about their separate tasks, Del gives the young man an encouraging smile. "Great work. Yes, I think we can start to flush them out." Closing her eyes to manipulate the extensions of darkness around them, the shadows begin to move and wiggle. From the brush, a fervent hissing clucking can be heard, growing in volume.
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Nov 23, 2023 13:12:02 GMT -5
“Of course”, Javal says as he finishes looking over his traps bolstered by Del’s ability, “I got your back friend”
Javal nods at Del’s confirmation about shouting for the Cockatrice to show themselves and fight before he sees Del smartly lure them towards the adventurers. He thinks about what Del said earlier, she was right these fellows were not about to play fair. It was a thought that still confused and bothered him in acting sneaky and not giving his opponent the respect of a one-on-one. Alas, though Del was correct at the end of the day these were wild beasts who had no honor to be seen so there was no reason to treat them with such. Javal crouches down sitting on his knees with his katana out ready to strike as he peeks out the tall grass to see the cockatrice emerge from its previous spot and begin investigating around thinking he’d found some unseen prey.
Javal holds his hand out controlling the dirt (1) next to him and raising it quickly moving it towards where he’d set up the stinging nettles. He heard a loud hiss and the sound of rushing steps appear next to them before suddenly he heard a squawk of anguish.
1. Dancing Sand
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 13, 2024 17:22:09 GMT -5
Del listens intently, her eyes half closed in her trance-like state of total focus. The shadows spread and curl, creating rustling to draw the creatures around and forward, creating a mesmerizing effect as Javal adds his own magic to the mix in the form of floating dirt to encourage them towards the nettles. She cannot see it with her mind's eye, but she can feel it in the same way she can feel the shadows seething through the reeds and blades of grass.
She hears the vehement rustling of a Cockatrice come abruptly to an end and grins. She opens her eyes long enough to flash Javal a look of approval, mouthing "Well done," before continuing forward, increasing the rustling to get the Cockatrice more and more worked up to continue to draw them towards the sounds. One more meets their end amid the thorns. Then, a third. When five cockatrice have stopped making their virulent hissing, clucking noises, there follows a tenuous silence.
Del lowers her hands and breathes slowly, relaxing for the first time in several minutes. Either the cockatrice that remained had gotten the hint that they were dying in droves and had taken off, or they had gotten the bulk of the currently active flock, at least in this area. She turns again to Javal with a wry smile. "Great work! Between the two of us, I think we managed to at least frighten them off."
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Jan 17, 2024 12:07:34 GMT -5
Javal continues luring the Cockatrice one by one, holding his hand out and controlling the dirt below, leading them towards their end. He glances over to see Del and matches her grin with one of his. They were doing it; each fiendish foul was simply falling victim to their trap easily. Honestly, part of Javal was expecting it to be more difficult; he was hoping for a real battle against these fiends. However, they seem to be flocking to their trap and subsequently dropping like flies.
Javal is taken from his inner thoughts as he suddenly his sand lure eventually stops working and there seems to be no more squawking or chirps of interest. He looks at Del to see her opinion and notices her mouthing something, he whispers, “What?”, he unfortunately does not know how to read lips.
The fellblood then slowly stands up as he realizes that it is over and gives Del a smile of approval, “Thank you friend Del it appears that we have both concluded with our mission and the cockatrice fellows have met their end”.
Javal walks over to the site of their trap and bows, “Thank you for being alive my foes although I cannot say anything good about you considering all the trouble and hurt you caused. I’m still grateful to have battled against you. I hope in the next life you stop your fiendish ways and find peace”.
Suddenly before Javal can take a step to turn back to talk to Del, two crossbow bolts come flying through the air at an impressive speed aimed right at Del and Javal’s heads.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Feb 18, 2024 18:34:53 GMT -5
Where Javal was hopeful for a real battle, Del was more of the frame of mind that 'you survive all of the battles you manage to avoid': being efficient as opposed to seeking glory. But then, Del was much, much, older than Javal. He was young and spirited, eager to prove his mettle against creature and enemy alike. Though Del herself could not remember her youth, perhaps, when she was younger, she was much the same. It wasn't that far of a stretch, really.
"I said 'well done'," Del laughs, following Javal to their trap site to look over the carnage of the birds. This was well done; nice, clean kills, no one got nearly petrified. She bows in return to Javal, returning the honour. "That we have. Thank you for your invaluable help, Javal. You are as skilled as ever."
Straightening, she watches with idle amusement as Javal respectfully chastises his formiddable enemies one last time. Her mind wanders, drifting a moment to the other task she was in the area to complete. Now. About that horse--
It's hard to describe what happens next. One moment, there is peace in the air as the events start to wrap up. And then, suddenly, as though accelerant poured on a fire, Del is whipping around, shoving Javal out of the way and snatching the crossbow bolt meant for him out of the air without thinking about it. Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she hurls it back in the direction it was fired from, snarling, and yanks Javal back down into the grass with her.
It happens so fast, it amounts to a scant few seconds. And in that time, life or death.
"Are you al-- ah," she winces, looking over her shoulder at the wound. The crossbow bolt meant for her, as she had moved to cover Javal, had grazed past her arm, slicing her open. Grimacing, she ignores it, and refocuses back on Javal. "--alright?"
[1] Fighter III - Fighter's Sense [2] Fighter II - Deflecting Palm
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Feb 24, 2024 3:19:12 GMT -5
Before Javal could even react to the incoming projectiles that zoomed through the air Del shoves him causing him to stumble a couple of inches away. He immediately gets back up and enters high alert as he sees her catch two bolts in her hands and send them back wherever they came from. The man was incredibly grateful that he had come across her; if not, he wasn't sure he’d have the ability to survive that surprise attack. She grabs him and they take cover against this mysterious foe that surrounds them.
He worriedly looks at his friend, “I’m alright but more importantly are you okay friend Del?”.
Before Javal could utter another word a voice broke out from ahead of them, a cruel and jovial tone, “Ey buckos you folks took down the flock I had my eyes on. I tell ya I’ve been tracking those overgrown chickens for days. No matter what, a real huntsman always steps up to the challenge. Next on my list to be hunted is the strongest thing around which so happens to be you two”.
The fellblood peeks out of the tall grass for a second to look at their foe and see them. A muscular person with long red hair, a lion’s mask covering their face, a large animal’s pelt covering most of their body, and armed to the teeth before quickly ducking back down.
“Now either you show yourselves or I’ll just have to pull you out screaming either way let’s have some fun”.
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Post by Delaela Fenastra-Asiliari on Mar 23, 2024 16:39:37 GMT -5
"It's a little scratch; I'll be okay," she whispers, smiling faintly to try and assure Javal, before the person who had fired on them made themselves known. Del remains stalk-still in the grass, glowering out towards the direction of the voice. Well. They just had to go and make things more complicated, didn't they. Couldn't go out and find their own cockatrice to deal with, or just take the loss with grace. No, they had to make it a problem for herself and Javal
Little did they know who they were dealing with.
As Javal pops back down below the grass, Del glances his way, brows lifted. She had no intention of moving out of the grass on anyone's terms but her own. She lifts a hand, holding up her fingers questioningly, as though asking 'How many? Did he have the crossbow?'
This was, of course, to take just enough time to assess the situation; she had a feeling being called out directly like this might inspire Javal's sense of honor to step out and into the open to face his opponent head on. Though this person seemed to have no honour of their own, firing on them out of the darkness like that. To which, Del was not precisely complaining; honour had it's place, in some things, but when it came down to honour or surival, she would always choose to survive.
And, even if Javal hadn't seen others, that did not mean others weren't there, waiting in the wings. In fact, that would be smart if that was the case.
So, all that remained for Del and Javal was to out-fox their own ambushers.
"What do you think?" Del whispers to Javal, already shifting into a spring-loaded crouch in case the man came too close.
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Post by Javal Zarrias on Apr 7, 2024 2:18:08 GMT -5
Javal glanced over at Del after he heard their so-called hunter’s proclamation to kill them for stealing his prey. He placed up a single finger to show her that it appeared that they came alone, and then motioned that they were heavily armored with many weapons hanging around their body. However they were dealing with it it certainly seemed that they were either incredibly dangerous or incredibly arrogant or possibly both.
As soon as he finished communicating with Del he hopped up out of his cover pointing his blade directly towards them exclaiming, “Who goes there foolish hooligan, we have hunted down the cockatrice here fair and square. If it is rewarding you would like you could always hunt some other fiendish birds of prey they are all around Charon already. If you are indeed a respected master of the hunt then you would drop your weapon and look for game elsewhere”, he says trying to de-escalate the situation.
The red-haired hunter scoffs at him chuckling, “Nah you two dingbats came in and stole my prey. I consider myself a hunter who goes after the strongest of beasts in Charon. Can’t have you folks tarnish my reputation plus I’ve been thinking of going into the human hunting business soon anyways”.
The hunter quickly pulls out a spear from her back and throws it straight at the fellblood before getting low grabbing their crossbow and shooting a bolt into the cover towards Del.
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