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Tarak Tales: Into The Unknown

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Chay had spent the silence in his own, listening to the peace and quiet as he sat on an edge with his hood down and finally feeling the heat of the sun apon his head. "Oh... nothing... has ever been so rewarding," he whispers to himself as he relaxes under the weather before letting his tail unravel from his belt, beginning to stretch out and enjoying how his tail is free and unrestrained.

Later, under the mood to speak from the others, he sits up and makes his way to the group. "Shieldbiter? What's this about something named after breaking shields?" he asks, guessing on the name since it's the first thought that was somewhat pushed into his mind from the sound of it. Kill or capture? It might be something more than just breaking from the Guild... he thinks before sighing and averting his eyes to the side of the raft, watching the water ripple against the structure of the ferry.
 
Lucca remained silent throughout the journey. She remained seated, arms and legs crossed while the cloak draped over her entire form aside from slivers of flaming red that hung from beneath the hood. Reaching a meditative state, time seemed to pass with ease as it wasn't before long she heard chatter. Her piercing green eyes slowly opened and was welcomed by nightfall. A hand rose to the hood and pulled it away from her red tresses. She inhaled sharply as she stretched her arms upward before carefully eying the riverbanks.

" Anyone know how much longer? " She mumbled while keeping her gaze on the banks of the river.​
 
Cersei's "read" of the amulet was indicating the same direction, downstream and bearing south, but as they drifted, she noted the strength actually hadn't changed significantly since shortly after they left the city. Perhaps the impression of strengthening was a by-product of leaving the interference of so many other minds and essences. The short of it was, though she had initially thought her target could be close, she was now not sure.

In a way, a distant hide-out made sense. There wasn't a lot of travel, and not a lot of exploration, but hunters and scouts did range around the area, looking for evidence of Night Plague hordes and lost travelers and the like. Stonebreaker and Shieldbiter had left the city a hundred years ago; if they had been close, it seemed likely someone would have found evidence of them before now. However, the farther away from a city one went, the broader a range of places one could find to settle. It was just a question of how far away the two ended up establishing their research base.

At the moment, the indicator led still downstream. It was likely to do so until they came abreast of their target, when the "arrow" would point inland from the river. That point was not yet, and the farther from Tarak they got before it came, the more potential for a serious hide-out there was.
 
"It'll be a while still from what this thing is telling me. The signal strength hasn't changed much since we left Tarak." Cersei took her eyes off the device for a moment, lessening her focus on it just so she can still tell generally what direction it was pointing so she might take a look at her surroundings. "It's far, the tracker still points almost straight down the water, but it gives us time to prepare." Despite all the preparations she had done just to leave the city, there was still more to do. The sheer power these rogue mages could control still frightened her as it did when she landed the killing blow on that beast in the mines. "We have to be prepared for absolutely anything. Any spells, and traps, and t-terrible beasts." She stuttered the word as an unsuccessful attempt at hiding her fear.
 
Lucca's eyes immediately fell upon Cersei when she heard the stutter. She wasn't concerned. As a matter of fact it seemed that Lucca had a bit of a death wish. Nothing around her ever seemed to be of worth anymore, which is why she became a sword for hire. It fed her desire to be needed. Alive. Not to mention paid. However, when she would lay eyes on Cersei, all of it seemed to melt away. Lulu felt as though she belonged...and to her it was a potent drug.

She soon made way to Cersei's side. She couldn't help but feel as though she needed to be there for her. Lucca slowly rose a hand and ran her fingers up and down Cersei's back in a gentle manner while leaning in to whisper into her ear.

" I won't let any harm come to you. "​
 
Kohdeki crossed his legs and set his elbows on his thighs, then rested his chin on his hands.

He wanted to go to sleep, but all the frantic adrenaline rushing through him would barely let him blink. It wasn't hard to catch Cersei's stutter, but Kohdeki wouldn't make fun of her for it; he was also scared, but for more than one reason.
 
Night had crept over them as they talked quietly, and soon the night insects began to chirp and drone. On the river there weren't many bugs, but after a short while, there was an odd kind of slapping splashing off to the left of the raft, in the deeper portion of the river. The moon peeked over the edge of one of the nearby mountains, and flashes of silvery scales could be seen.

It seemed the fish sensed the few bugs in the air, and were leaping out of the water to catch them. As they watched, more and more fish started to do so. It was oddly beautiful, in a way, and kind of inexplicable. The noise even roused Vorman, who got up from the tiller and came toward the edge of the raft to see what was up, himself.

(pause for individual reactions before I continue)
 
Lucca's touch brought pleasant shivers to her spine, and she whispered a small thank you in return. She put her arm around her with a smile as she watched the sun set and the moon come out to light the shiny scales of the fish jumping from the water. The sight was stunning though their sudden appearance had startled her at first. She sighed happily as she tuned out everything other than the sounds of the fish jumping, only keeping the bare minimum of her attention on the amulet so they could still go in vaguely the right direction.
 
Kohdeki jumped a bit at the first sound of a fish hopping into the air to retrieve its snack, but once he had found out what was going on, he felt silly.

The sight of many fish hopping out of the water amused Kohdeki, but at the same time reminded him of his current situation.

He was outside of his natural environment.
 
Her piercing green eye shot over across the water and silently watched the display. Then, she noticed something: though there were insects for the fish to catch, there weren't nearly enough for the amount that were jumping. Something wasn't right. She immediately stood and turned to the Vorman.

" What's your plan, there Vorman? " She mumbled in a husky tone.​
 
Vorman grunted. "Depends on if this gets worse. If it's just a bug swarm, they're feeding, but if it gets worse..." and at this point, the entire school of the fish started leaping, a silvery moonlit torrent of scales and fins. "Crap."

The man gestured to the group. "Keep an eye out for something big in the water over there. I'm gonna get the bait; hopefully there's not many."

He went over to his stool, and next to it was a small wooden chest. He opened it, and the magical stasis field ceased, and the rich bloody smell of fresh-killed meat wafted out. He took out a couple of sheep's legs, and handed one to Koh, who happened to be nearby. "Here, wing that out as far as you can out that way, the other side of the fish. I'll sling one over here. That ought to draw off the river squids, if there's only a couple."
 
Cursing under her breath, Lucca kept her eye on the water where the Vorman had gestured. She placed a hand on Cersei's as she stood her ground as best as she could. Then the coppery smell of blood hit her nose, so potent. To her it was like an aphrodisiac. Her breathing became slow and deep, her posture slouched slightly but she maintained her eye upon the water. She then pulled Cersei's hand and led her to behind Lucca, a low growl escaping her lips as she spoke.

" Any day now. "​
 
Chay had silently paid attention, noticing that his question wasn't heeded but also not giving much of a care. If anything, noticing that Koh was being somewhat quieter than usual was taking more care at the moment, other than Cersei's aquaintence, who apparently wants to be closer to her for the time being. "Eh," he mutters slighlty before the fish jump up out of the water for a moment, then drawing his sword at the words "river squid" since his mind just jumped to the imagination of a kraken, hoping that he's just imagining that thought. Stepping away from the edge and being closer to his comrades, Chay also draws his dagger just in case he needs to cut himself or someone else out of a tentacle. Feeding time, he thinks to himself, knowing that his sword will enjoy some sea food, especially since it's hungry. If anything, the serrations and designs of teeth on his weapon seem to glimmer a slight red already, but that could just be from his imagination again. There's been alot of imaginings lately...
 
Kohdeki looked at Vorman, his face making it quite clear that he wasn't amused.

"Ugh." the young thief grumbled a bit before turning to the edge of the boat and positioning his footing for maximum balance.

Once he was in position, Kohdeki drew back the leg of raw meat, and threw it as hard and far as he could. The feeling of dead meat on his hand made him want to wash off in the river, but sticking any appendage in the water was the last thing he intended to do. He prayed to no god or goddess in particular that the trip would smoothen out from this point on.
 
Koh's experience with throwing let him huck the meat almost all the way across the river, while Vorman wasn't quite so energetic. They still managed a fairly wide dispersal, and Vorman seemed pleased when he heard a louder splashing/splooshing entirely distinct from the fish. "It's their damn migration season. What it is about mountain pools upstream, I have no idea, but that's where you get the squid eggs, yet they live most the year down on the floodplains. Mudsharks, they call 'em down there. Damn nuisances."

He muttered back to his navigation stool, and dropped the propeller assembly into the water. The thrust would speed them along faster than the current, which would make a bit more noise, but given the presence of the squid, apparently he judged it worthwhile now. His eyes scanned the river ahead and he tried to steer far enough from the still-leaping fish while keeping a distance from the near shore, as well. The moon went behind a cloud again, leaving them illuminated only by starlight.

((Perception rolls: Cersei rolls 3, 5, 4 = 12; Chay rolls 5, 3, 6, 2 = 16; Koh rolls 1, 6, 4, 1 = 1 on the wild die, judging it a penalty so remove that first 1 and the highest die, 6, so what's left is 4 & 1 = 5; Lulu rolls 6, 4, 1, 5 = 16, reroll the 6 on the wild die for 4 = 20.))

Amid the splashing and the river's burbling and the sloshing of the wake at the front of the raft, only Lulu's sensitive ears picked up a sussuration of smooth flesh sliding on wood, a slight hint of noise from the back edge of the raft.
 
Lulu remained still when what sounded like something sliding against wood caught her ear. Refusing to remove her attention from the rear of the raft, she slowly drew one of her short swords from the sheath on her thigh.

" There's something there. " She muttered as she repositioned herself so that she was between Cersei and the edge of the raft where something was waiting.​
 
The moment the moon hid behind a cloud, Chay used his dagger hand to lower his goggles over his eyes even though he could have seen without them just fine. 'Things in water don't like fire... especially squishy things... he thinks to himself before Lulu speaks up, turning his gaze to look to the back of the raft, taking in a slight breath to ready the word 'Ignite' though letting it out since he won't want their form of transportation on fire. Damn wooden raft... he thinks again, taking off his goggles and handing them to Koh. Chay then replaces his empty hand again with his dagger, ice-picked, while he moves towards the back of the raft, with slow steps to keep his balance. The dagger is more set along the lines of just in case he needs to keep a grip on the raft, while his sword is readied to cut whatever it is back there if it strikes towards him.

(Passed fire goggles to Koh, readied to use dagger to stay on the raft [jic] and readied to attack whatever it is at the back of the raft. Yay darkvision!)
 
Cersei turned herself to face the edge of the raft so she might be able to see what Lulu had seen. Once she caught a glimpse, she drew her sword and already began muttering a shield spell, taking her precious moments that they would have before the creature eventually attacked to use a slow ritual. Her sword glowed with a magical energy as the spell flowed through it and her other magically enhanced equipment.
 
Kohdeki readied his throwing knives at Lulu's words. He gladly took Chay's goggles, figuring that he might instinctually yell out 'ignite', and set the raft on fire, if the battle were to get serious. Kohdeki put the goggles on, figuring he could benefit from both its abilities, should things get real bad.

"Vorman, watch yourself. It looks like we have trouble." Kohdeki said in a low tone over his shoulder.
 
Once his attention was drawn to the spot, Chay saw it right away with his darkvision. With the magic goggles, Koh saw it immediately afterward. The others had to wait a moment before the moon peeked out from behind a cloud.

On the back corner of the raft was a river squid, a man-sized octopus-like creature with a slim, long body and many lenthy, strong tentacles. It was clinging to the edge and casting about for a better grip. Its human-like eyes angled and glittered, and the point of its beak was visible when its two primary tentacles reached up toward the horses.

Vorman had drawn his dagger at the warning, and as soon as he saw the squid, he shouted, "There's only one! Quick, kill it before it inks!"

((Cersei's Mystical Shield spell: 3D Energetics + 1D sword/wand +1D Guild medallion +1D bracelet amulet + 1D+1 slow ritual: 4, 3, 6, 2, 1, 3, 4 = 23 +1 = 24, which is successful on its own and large enough to protect a couple of people while they fight the thing (which is good, because no more than a couple of people can get close enough at a time). People protected by the shield add 3D to their Resistance rolls.))
 
It took a moment for Chay to think of a impromptu plan. "Koh! Start throwing things at it! Aim for the base of the tentacles!" he calls out while quickly moving to the horses, aiming to take out those tentacles for the moment. 'Here's your dinner, lunch, and breakfast! he thinks to himself with a grin, standing between the tentacles while watching their movements to see if he can find anything close to a pattern to help him attack and defend better. He readies himself with both his dagger and longsword in each hand, still, and his plan of opportunity attacks is to strike with the dagger before his longsword, as the first is meant to open up the tentacle and the latter to cleave it off as best he can.
 
Lucca watched closely as Chay made his way to deter the creature from the horses, studying the movement of the squid before finally giving a faint smirk. She bit her lower lip slightly as her single emerald eye burned into the creature. Lulu then placed a quick glance at Koh before flipping the blade around in her left hand.

" Stay by her. If she gets hurt, it's your head. "

Lucca immediately left her position beside Cersei and sprinted toward the squid, aiming to drive one blade directly between its human-like eyes while using the other to, if at all, decapitate the ugly thing before it inks. She didn't want to stick around to see what would happen if it did.​
 
Kohdeki moved in next to Cersei, his throwing knives at the ready. He didn't appreciate Lucca's words, but he also didn't want Cersei to get hurt.

The young thief silently followed the order given to him, ready to put a throwing knife into a tentacle, should any come their way.
 
((Sorry for the delay, but I'm on the case now.))

((Breakdown: Chay is moving toward the horses to intercept the two major tentacles, the really big ones. He's declaring two attacks, essentially, assuming at tentacle comes near. Which it will. Lucca is moving in on the body, with a stab and a chop, which translates to two attacks. Koh is ready with a throwing knife for a target of opportunity; should he have a chance, I'll let him pop one off. Cersei is maintaining the shield, but hasn't declared any other action; I'll have her set up initially to protect Lucca, as the one getting closest, but if she really needs to, I'll give her a chance to shift her protection as events warrant.))

((The river squid is focused on the horses, and he sees Chay moving, he's going to stay exploratory. So his action is basically to crawl farther up on the raft. Congrats, you guys get your chance to act first in the battle.))

((Chay rolls a dagger attack and a sword attack. Dagger 7D+1, -1D multiple actions: 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 3, = 23 + 1 = 24, a friggin' sweet hit. Sword attack follows up 7D+1, -1D multiple actions: 1, 5, 4, 6, 6, 6, = there was a 1 on the wild die, which I'm going to judge a complication, so total = 27 + 1 = 28, which even with the complication is an awesome roll. Damage is Dagger: 4D Strength + 1 dagger = 3, 3, 3, 6 = 15, Sword: 4D Strength + 2D sword & enchantment = 2, 4, 4, 4, 1, 5 = 20.))

A tentacle comes slithering near Chay, who lashes out with his dagger, spearing the rubbery tendril with just the dagger-tip against one of the suckers, not really doing any damage but succeeding in dragging the tendril forward and pinning it for a moment as he chops down with his sword. Unfortunately, the tentacle slithers away at the last instant, receiving a nasty gash, but not severing it. The chop, however, embeds the sword in the deck of the raft, wedging it tightly between two of the cured logs. It's stuck!

((Lucca moves in with two short sword attacks: each 5D Melee Weapons + 1D enchantment -1D multiple actions: 3, 4, 1, 3, 1 = 12 on the first, 4, 5, 2, 1, 4 = 16 on the second. Both hit. Damage is 4D Strength + 2D sword & enchantment = 4, 3, 4, 2, 1, 1 = 15 damage on the first, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1, 1 on the second, and the 6 on that wild die means a reroll for another 6, which means a reroll for a 3 = 29 damage total on the second))

Lucca stepped up sharply, planting a foot almost right next to the creature and jamming downward with one of her short swords. The blade hit, but slid off the rubbery, slick skin and just pinned an errant wrinkle of flesh momentarily. It was long enough, however, for her other blade to chop downward. Her mystically-sharp blade bit into the thing's neck just in front of the chitinous protective carapace, sinking deep into the soft flesh and releasing gouts of dark blood, black in the monochrome shine of the moon.

The thing began to screech, a strange burbling sound made by a thing without real lungs, and thrash in pain, the blood spreading over the wood, too fast to be survivable, but it wasn't dead yet; it could still release its ink sacs, sending pheromones into the water to attract the attention of the other squid, drawing them to the raft.

((Koh's Thrown Weapons skill is 5D+1, 5, 4, 3, 6, 2 +1 = 21, but the target is quite small, so +4D to the existing difficulty of 10. A successful dagger hit would do 4D Strength, 6, 3, 5, 5 + wild die reroll 4 = 23 plus additional damage for hitting the target))

In the dimness of the night, aided only by the magical torchlight vision granted by the borrowed goggles, Koh's throwing knife spins through the air and plants itself hilt-deep in the creature's human-looking eyeball, hitting just above the incongrously blue iris. The weird screams stop abruptly, the thing shudders and goes entirely limp.

Vorman, the rudder set and the propeller pushing them as fast as it can go, gets up and takes hold of Koh's knife like a handle, using it to swing the squid back into the water and letting it slide off the blade. He stepped back to the thief and handed the knife back, nodding to him silently. Then he turned back to his small gear store over near the horses. "Here, swordsman; when you get your blade out, help me with these buckets. We'd best get that blood washed off the deck before anything else smells it..."
 
Kohdeki stood triumphantly with his hands on his hips after he took his knife back from Vorman.

"'Fuckin' right, ya' squiddy bastard. That'll teach ya' to fuck with us!" Kohdeki said arrogantly.

He was proud of himself for having helped out more than he did during their last encounter.

"Good work everyone. I think we're gonna' need a few rounds of ale once we find a tavern to stop at." Kohdeki said as he lifted Chay's goggles up.
 
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