Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
623 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Aug 13, 2023 20:02:08 GMT -5
Just as the pair were reaching the gates, Taki stopped a moment and took a deep breath. She felt her magic coursing as she gathered the spell she wanted to cast in her mind. Letting out a deep breath, she traced a large sigil in light across the air. A wave of magical energy washed across the battlefield as she cast Massive Healing, healing cuts and bruises and broken bodies alike.
"Bring the bodies to a cold room, we'll handle that after we deal with the current problem... many questions need answering." Instructed the shaman, as she passed through the gates of the academy. Inside the gates, she reached out with Geomagnetic Sense again, feeling every tiny fluctuation and vibration like a map in her mind.
Like raindrops in a monsoon, she picked out the pattern of movement amongst the grounds. While rudimentary, the trick was effective at fooling many kinds of detection. Steps so light they seemed to be that of a cat, close together in pairs to mimic their gait. Making their way in opposite directions, they'd split into pairs and were headed to the third floor where the staff were prepared to make a stand. She spent a moment considering their options and the potential outcomes when she noticed something fortuitous and came up with a plan.
"There's a balcony close to the Headmaster's Quarters, we can cut them off easily if you're up for a harrowing flight without proper equipment Astrid. Something I know about Yukina is that she can carry a deceptive amount of weight, including people for short periods. I'm going to use my shapeshifting to take on her form, then carry you up to the balcony as quick as possible so we can cut them off."
|
|
The Tinkertons
IS OFFLINE
26/53
Renown
Dragon's Cradle
We're gonna get Zarius back.
1,876 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Aug 13, 2023 20:14:14 GMT -5
When Taki stops to cast healing, Astrid nearly bumps into her. Narrowly avoiding the collision, she steps around Taki and watches the Shaman perform an incredible act of kindness and camaraderie to protect the people they have been fighting beside. Then she watches as Taki focuses in. This is something increasingly familiar to Astrid. It seems to be a useful ability, but it also means one has to be in tune with the earth. Astrid’s abilities are more in line with the sky. At the mention of flight, Astrid grins. “Ain’t gotta be harrowin’ if ya have wings!” she declares confidently. From beneath her cloak, a pair of wings that seem to be some combination of a bird’s wings and bat wings, with feathers along the limb and webbed fingers extending from the bend. “Meet ya there!” With that, she squats down then launches herself into the air to meet Taki at the balcony so they can intercept the intruders.
Bat Wings [post 1/3] Quest details: Quest Name: Assassins in the halls Chapter: Two Description: Four assassins have managed to sneak into the building and are attempting to take out the heads of the school. With the front line being well defended, you have been pulled back to help cut off the assassins and protect the teachers. You can locate them before they get to their targets, taking them out, or you can head them off, teaming up with the teachers to fight off the assassins. Either way, protecting the heads of the school and removing the assassins is imparative. 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 locate and take out the assassins - Once you complete this mission you have finished this quest line
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
623 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Aug 13, 2023 21:01:25 GMT -5
Chuckling, the shaman shapeshifts into a Snowy Owl and takes off beside Astrid. Keta and Ryu follow the pair, sailing across the courtyard and onto the third floor balcony. Perching on the railing, Taki's form shifts back to normal. The pair open the door to the upper hall and head in with her guardians, as she detects the coming group reaching the third floor stairwell. Down the hall behind them was the office, and likely target for these intruders.
"They'll be here in just a moment, try not to get hit and watch the shadows... one of these four is vicious and doesn't mind shooting friends in the back." Taki warned, taking position on the left side of the hall. With a gesture from each pair of hands, she cast Summon: Seedling on herself and Astrid. The tiny spirits would give a light amount of healing if needed, so long as they weren't hit beforehand. Centering herself, she focused on Geomagnetic Sense again, drawing a sling and loading it with a strange bullet she'd crafted herself. Nodding to Astrid, the group were about to crest the stairs and come into the hall.
|
|
The Tinkertons
IS OFFLINE
26/53
Renown
Dragon's Cradle
We're gonna get Zarius back.
1,876 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Aug 13, 2023 21:11:18 GMT -5
Landing on the balcony, Astrid is neither as quiet nor graceful as Taki. The orochi woman seems to know exactly where to go, so Astrid follows, her hammers at the ready. One of the intruders would stab their friends in the back? “How d’ya know that?” she asks quietly, peeking through Taki’s arms to see into the corridor. She can’t see the intruders yet. They must be moving quietly. They can’t escape Taki’s senses, which means they won’t be able to escape Astrid’s. Quietly, she raps a finger against her hammer and focuses on the waves being returned to her. There they are.
“I’ll take the ones on the left if ya get the ones on the right,” Astrid whispers again. “I’m gonna drink a potion ta help me sneak up on ‘em.” Then she reaches into her back and pulls out a vial full of dark liquid and drinks it. When she steps into the hall, her armor no longer clinks. She’s perfectly silent. Astrid leaps up into the air, flying up into the rafters of the space and perches above with her hammers prepared to strike at anyone who comes up.
Bat Wings [post 2/3] - echolocation Potion of Shadows - all sounds the drinker makes are silenced Seedling
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
623 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Aug 13, 2023 21:31:42 GMT -5
Nodding, the shaman shifted her position and relaxed. Down in the gloom of the hall, the four assassins spread out and moved cautiously. Taki doubted they would be expecting an ambush, but it didn't hurt their chances to wait an extra moment while they bunched up. With coordinated steps, they started down the hall and toward the defending adventurers. Ready with her sling in hand, Taki leaned her body back, gave the leather throng and it's cargo a quick pair of spins for momentum and snapped her body forward with great force. With a thundrous crack as the release rope whipped through the air, the projectile slammed into the right front of their formation. It burst forth, showering the group in arcs of lighting and shards of stone that peppered across their bodies.
Stunned briefly from the surprise assault, the assassins spread out in the hall, two approaching Taki's position, while two more stayed behind to cover them. Loading another slug into her sling, she grinned in the dim hall light as the figure behind the advancing foes lifted their hand crossbows to fire. Like the strike of a viper, the shaman lashed out with her sling once again. The slug whistled through the air, chased by the crack of the launch before striking the assassin fully in the chest. It burst forth, showering his chest in sparking fragments of stone as he slumped against the wall and stopped moving. Crossbows clattering across the floor, the pair approaching moved cautiously as the shaman held her hand up. The bullets returned to her grasp, and she rolled them between her fingers while watching the movements of her foes.
|
|
The Tinkertons
IS OFFLINE
26/53
Renown
Dragon's Cradle
We're gonna get Zarius back.
1,876 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Aug 13, 2023 22:16:15 GMT -5
Taki’s assault on the assassins draws the group’s attention, and as the front pair moves forward, Astrid releases her hammer with all the force of a bull and a baloth. The nearly-invisible, icy warhammer flies through the air, spinning full-force. It collides with one of the defending assassins in the front, striking them hard, a layer of frost left on their chest in the process. The force is so strong that the hammer ricochets off of them and strikes the other, leaving them both heaving for air and struggling to stand.
The remaining assassin in the back looks up and around and sees the hammer returning to Astrid in the rafters above. She gives him a playful little wiggle of the fingers, and he turns his crossbow on her and fires away. Hammer back in hand, Astrid drops herself off the rafters and positions herself above the front man. Her wings flare out then fling her straight down toward him at blistering speed where she slams her hammer into him, hard enough to crack the ground if she were to strike it directly. Hard as he tries to get out of the way, he can’t, and the immense power of the move flattens him in a broken heap yet somehow makes not a single sound as the effects of the potion Astrid drink still linger.
She hops up and gives Taki a thumbs up then looks down the hall at the other two recovering assassins between her and Taki. They decide maybe they should run away. This is not a good place to be caught.
Bat Wings [post 3/3] Potion of Shadows [post 2/2] Resounding Rebound Guillotine Drop [1/topic]
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
623 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Aug 13, 2023 22:47:22 GMT -5
Tucking her sling away, she advanced on the remaining pair who were reeling from Astrid's strike. They each shakily tried to mount a defense, weapons rattling in hand as they stood upon unsteady legs. Taki shook her head and raised her hands to the sides. "This situation has two outcomes: Firstly, you try to escape and are struck down like the rest of your colleagues. Secondly, you surrender and are arrested to face the consequences of your actions through proper channels. Which will it be?" Warned the Orochi, who watched the pair with owl-like eyes. Shifting ever so slowly, the assassin on the left worked their foot across the floor trying to step into a shadow nearby. Pretending not to notice their movement was the easy part, not bursting out in laughter at the shocked and terrified look on their face was truly a feat. The moment their foot edged into the shadow, confusion settled in. With an almost imperceptible tap, they kept trying to no avail. Enshrouded in the Guardian's aura, any and all movement buffs were rendered inert. Taki walked closer to them as the panic began to set in, affixing her gaze to them. The patterns of her skin shifted, swirled and took on a geometric pattern for a few moments before the assassin seemed to calm down, then doze off. Having burned through most of their energy, it didn't take much more to subdue their action. Turning to the final member of the group, she let out a long sigh. "Well? Do you stay and face your crimes or do you flee get struck down?" Taki challeneged.
|
|
The Tinkertons
IS OFFLINE
26/53
Renown
Dragon's Cradle
We're gonna get Zarius back.
1,876 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Aug 13, 2023 23:20:34 GMT -5
Behind their mask, the assassin’s eyes dart between this strange reptilian woman and the bizarre, armored child. When they snuck in, they expected teachers highly capable of magic and were prepared to deal with their spellcasting, not be faced with spirit guardians and effective physical fighters. When their last remaining ally falls unconscious for seemingly no reason, there’s an audible gulp. Despite the dirt and blood from the battlefield on these two, neither of them seems injured at all. He doesn’t stand a chance.
Offering his hands to them, he surrenders. Astrid walks up behind him and pats him roughly on the back. “Great choice!” she says with a grin. "Got anymore friends hangin' around?" After he shakes his head, without warning, she gives him a good bonk on the head, sending him into a state of sudden unconsciousness alongside his friend. “Figured they’d try somethin’ tricky if they had the chance,” she explains. "Let's get the guard and tell the headmaster what happened!"
Head Strike
|
|
Mage's Guild
IS OFFLINE
28
Renown
Crescent Isles
623 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Shitakibo on Aug 14, 2023 17:23:53 GMT -5
"Agreed, let's wrap this up and turn over the survivors." Taki said, pulling a length of rope from her gear and binding the two assailants hands and feet. She had Ryu watch the pair while the shaman headed further down the hall and addressed the contigent of guards gathered and ready around the Headmaster's quarters.
"Greetings, and good evening. We may stand down now, as the intruders have been dealt with."
"Miss Shitakibo? How can you be sure?"
"Astrid and I routed the four who managed to slip in, were able to capture two who are further down the hall where I'm presuming you could here the sounds of our scuffle?"
"So, that was you and Lady Astrid engaging... we wondered what was going on."
"Indeed, please inform the staff and begin cleaning up this disaster if you'd be so kind."
"Right away!"
The guard who'd addressed her often was posted in the library where she'd been studying, so it was nice to see someone else who'd pulled through. Not having to jump through a bunch of hoops to convince the others she wasn't an assassin herself was even better. She let out a deep sigh, turning to Astrid.
"Looks like we make a good team once again dear friend, thank you so much for your help, and your hammer expertise." Taki said, trying to relax after such a wild evening away from the books.
|
|
The Tinkertons
IS OFFLINE
26/53
Renown
Dragon's Cradle
We're gonna get Zarius back.
1,876 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Aug 14, 2023 18:32:11 GMT -5
While Taki binds the two guys who are definitely just unconscious, Astrid checks on the other two. They’re both… Well, they’re not fine, but they’re fine. It’s fine. They’ll live probably. She ties them up and follows Taki toward the headmaster’s office.
“Technically, we captured all four of ‘em,” Astrid adds, then she murmurs, “Though I ain’t sure the other two are gonna wake up.”
“You aren’t sure if they’ll wake up?” the guard asks with a quizzical expression.
“Well, they ain’t exactly in good shape,” Astrid admits. “Bit roughed up at the very least.”
A couple of guards exchange a glance that is somewhere between concerned and disaffected. On one hand, more living captives means more information. On the other hand, dead bodies mean less paperwork probably.
After the guards leave and Taki addresses Astrid, the half-dwarf grins up at the orochi. “Aye, ‘course I was gonna help! This place is important ta me ‘cause all the folks inside are important!” she says cheerfully. “I’m happy ta work with ya again. Hopefully, next time we’re in a scuffle together, it ain’t somethin’ catchin’ us by surprise!”
|
|