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scout and about - Zavien - 05-18-2025
He tried not to look down as they made their way over Hak Etme. It made it harder to 'scout' as Hadama had requested, but it made it easier to forget he was flying high above the ground in a boat that could easily send him plummeting to his death at any second. It was a wonder how he survived living in a floating city.
Swallowing, he glanced quickly down at the shimmering pools of water below. He tried not to plug his nose at the putrid smell, watching as Sol glided next to them on the current of wind. Zavien sent a warm smile at the dragon before turning to his friend, curious if he'd spotted anything that he hadn't. [say]"Tal, you see anything?"[/say] His voice was loud above the wind ruffling his sun kissed hair, the breeze catching the fabric of his white linen shirt, giving him the image of someone on a casual vacation rather than the diligent soldier out to assess for damages.
RE: scout and about - Talyson - 05-19-2025
It was probably for the best that Tal didn't realize how little Zavien trusted the Peregrine - or his piloting. But unlike his friend, the heights didn't both him at all. He kept his Goggled eyes scanning the horizon, moving easily from ground to clouds and keeping an eye on the vultures to read the updrafts and wind currents. The Void corruption wasn't as obvious here as it had been in the Greatwood or Oerwoud, but there were still signs of how far the violet menace had spread through the sand and stone below them. The Sunshine Pools were more like Shadow Pools now, tinged with an inky blackness that somehow smelled even more rotten than before.
"Not yet-- wait, Boreal's got somethin'!" The dragon was flying high above even the Peregrine, her mental bond with Tal attenuated by distance but he still caught her glee as she arrowed in on their prey. "Hang on, Zav!" Tal spun the wheel, curving the skyboat gracefully to catch the wind fully. Her sails belled as he adjusted the altitude, sending the little boat surging skyward. If they hadn't been in Void-owned territory Tal might have whooped with the joy of it, but he was just as tense as the Dragoon and he swallowed down the urge. "Cygnata, just above that cloud. Lemme just grab it for Frey an' we can get back t'scoutin'!"
Cygnata (uncommon) - Cygnata have inspired many poets with their easy grace and beauty. These giant bird-like snakes seem to swim through the air instead of fly. With elongated bodies, lizard-like appendages and small wings, these creatures appear more like oriental dragons than birds. The crests on their heads are made of a hard almost stone-like material and are extremely valuable. Given the heights they fly at, it is extremely rare to be near enough to one to harvest its body. When they die, their bodies explode into a ball of light.
RE: scout and about - Zavien - 05-19-2025
Zavien's head whipped to where Boreal flew nearby, catching sight of her figure just as another draconic form appeared near her. It looked a lot more like a scaled Pipsqueak, long and twisting through the air in a strange twisting and coiling motion through the current.
Not one to be left out of the fun, Sol gave an excited chirp, his wings flapping in a flurry to catch up with the others. Now that he was a tried-and-true soldier back from his first solo mission, the companion was confident in his ability to accomplish this new one.
Clutching the railing of the Peregrine for dear life, Zavien tried to slow his panicked breathing as Tal twisted the boat around. Only once he'd taken a deep breath, sure he wasn't going to tumble off into nothingness, did he call out, [say]"Got it! Just let me know if I can help!"[/say] Not that he had many means to do so, but he'd hold the net if it'd prove useful.
RE: scout and about - Talyson - 05-20-2025
This was not going to be a fun hunt, but given that they were in Void-ridden Hak Etme that had always been understood. Tal took a deep breath of the dry desert air that was becoming Deepfrost-cold as they surged upwards and their prey came into view. Boreal harried it from above, keeping it from gaining height and then Sol darted forward to help the bigger companion, flying circles around the cygnata to box it in.
"Get th'net ready!" Tal called to Zavien, reaching for his Dagger with a reluctant scowl. Flipping it from its sheath, he locked the wheel and then bounded over the deck to the prow, slipping past the Dragoon like an eel aboard the deck he knew better than the back of his own hand. "Boreal, now!"
The pale dragon let loose a stream of flame that forced the hissing cygnata to coil backwards from its attempt to escape. Then she folded her wings and rolled to the side, protecting Sol as Tal lashed out. Thirty feet away, at the very edge of his range, the cygnata flapped twice more and then went limp as its head separated from its body. They only had seconds to grab the crested head before the rest of it exploded into light, which meant Zavien was up!
RE: scout and about - Serendipity - 05-20-2025
And now it's you that they're watching.
As Hak Etme has been taken over by the Family, remaining in this area will be dangerous as the flora/fauna will continue to grow increasingly hostile toward you. Remaining in this thread for a prolonged period of time will likely trigger a KQ.
You’ve encountered Void Infected Cloud Spiders. This counts as an uncommon creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.
RE: scout and about - Zavien - 05-20-2025
Sol played his part wonderfully and with much enthusiasm, corralling the cygnata to the best of his abilities. He twisted and bobbed, only moving away when Boreal shielded him from the death blow Tal dealt. It was because of this that Sol noticed their spectators first. His growl was deep and protective, smoke billowing from his maw as he watched the glittering purple-black eyes below dare to linger.
Distracted by his own role in the task, Zavien lunged after Tal to grab the net. He wasn't thrilled about leaning over the side of the boat, but he'd been given a command and he wouldn't fail his friend now. However, as he reached out to catch the crested head in the rope of the netting, the Dragoon made the terrible mistake of glancing down at what had aggravated Sol. His face paled more from the height than the sight of the spiders, and he threw himself a safe distance back from the edge, gripping the full net tightly in his hand. [say]"Tal! Let's get out of here! I think we got what we needed!"[/say] The cygnata head - and the information that Hak Etme was unarguably infected.
RE: scout and about - Talyson - 05-22-2025
Drawn by Sol's warning growl, Boreal turned her head and spied the corrupted spiders next. She joined her small, fierce friend in letting out a rumbling roar of warning and dove to strafe a line of fire across the floating cloud of violet menace.
"Boreal, get back here!" Tal hollered, already scrambling back across the Peregrine's deck to reach the tiller. Zavien had the crested head in his possession and Tal could separate what he needed later, but for now--
"On it!" he assured his friend, grabbing a rigging rope in passing and tugging on it to adjust the set of a sail before looping the trailing line around a different cleat. He knocked the lock off the wheel and spun it expertly with one steady hand, the other adjusting their altitude with the lever to the left. The skyboat began a tight, graceful turn as she dipped, losing height but gaining speed. The spiders were carried by the wind, but the Peregrine had the wind in her sails and gravity on her side, and Tal tacked the tiller to make the most of both. "Hang on, Zav!"
Boreal abandoned her strafing run as the smoking spiders began to shoot webbing towards the pale dragon. She dodged by a scale's width and flapped hard to rejoin her human, huffing and puffing as she landed in the crow's dragon's nest atop the mast and peered behind them, rumbling a constant low growl as the skyboat sped off to friendlier skies.
~fin