+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: [PQ+] [SE] Push it way back (/showthread.php?tid=9764)
[SE] Push it way back - Talyson - 07-09-2024
Everything needed to start somewhere, even if it was getting started a little late.
The Greatwood, Feverlands, and Oerwoud had fallen to the Void, and Tal might not have cared too much if the desert joined them. Anything that made the Void and Family stronger, however, was to be avoided, and anyways, Maea had shot down his idea to hunt out Void infection in King's End while the weather was still so nippy.
Suvahasi was the compromise; a trip to hunt down the tendrils of Void corruption leaking over from the Greatwood in a region that was warm even in early Flowerbirth. And protecting the desert would protect King's End from the north... or so the courier's haphazard rationalizing went.
And it was training to eventually push back into the Greatwood someday. To try and regain the ground that they'd lost while they'd all been running around underestimating the invaders and their ability to not just spread into but swallow whole entire chunks of the world.
Tal exhaled hard and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly waiting for the rest of his crew to arrive. Requests had gone out to several people he and Maea knew, but in the end Ru and Sah hadn't been able to make it. Now the desert stretched away to the west, pale sand reflecting back the bright sun. The Peregrine floated a dozen feet above the ground, visible from a distance. Her ground anchor was set in a pile of rocks and Boreal perched in the dragon's nest to mind the ship while he was gone. Tal stood in the shadow of the first trees of the Suvahasi, the bizarre rainforest a riot of fresh growth to the east. His Goggles were pulled down to shield his eyes as he shifted from foot to foot, impatient but trying not to show it.
This is a PQ+ to clear Void corruption out of the Suvahasi!
Please post your characters arriving and any items or weapons they'll be bringing along to deal with the plants and animals they're planning to encounter!
As a reminder, PQ+s must be completed within 1 month of the initial posting, so please post promptly so we can finish before August 9th.
1. Tal
2.
3. Thalassa
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Maea - 07-09-2024
He would have to wait a little longer. Maea was busy double and triple checking her gear one final time before they got too far from the ship. She had tied a black kerchief drenched in oil over mouth and nose to at least try and keep the potent fumes from the plantlife out of her lungs, and with her hair tied up and hands gloved over, she had taken on a rather sinister looking aura of pure efficiency.
Securing the backpack to her shoulders, she patted down the sides of the armored dress to check that the belt strung over her hips was secure, that her chakram could be easily reached, that the plain bow and quiver of arrows wouldn't tangle into anything as she walked, that waterskin and anything else of essence was exactly where it should be.
[say]"Everything is here. Alright, now I'm ready."[/say] Nodding to Tal and sparing Thalassa a subtle wink - she thought the Messenger was being impatient, and made no attempt to hide it - she went to join her friend. Stepping beneath the canopy eased the strain of her eyes against the sun, but she sighed when the blazing heat from the sigh faded a touch. Talyson probably found it pleasant, though.
Maea brings what she has on her profile, plus a bag of food and first aid supplies, a regular bow and arrow and water. She has tied an oil-soaked rag over her face to mitigate hallucinogenic spores/fumes from the local flora.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Thalassa - 07-10-2024
Thal had been right behind Talyson as he exited the ship. She was also eager to begin their task of clearing the desert, but she didn't show it as she leaned casually against a tree. The only sign was the light tapping of her foot to a tune playing through her mind. Her daggers were sheathed at her hips, hugging the black leather of her attire. Her signature cloak covered her body despite the heat, even though the hood was down to expose her dark curls and near black horns. Only a small bag sat across her body, containing a few essentials. She wasn't much of a packer.
As Maea finally emerged from the ship, her gear securely strapped across her body and a rag over her face. Thal gave an amused smile in response to her subtle hint. Talyson's fidgeting had started to grate on her own patience and she pushed off the tree to anticipate their departure with glee.
Sighing loudly, she said, [say]"I don't see why we can't just raze the place to the ground."[/say] Maybe some would call her a pyromaniac, but Thal preferred the term 'fire enthusiast.' Now that her own abilities had awakened, she had the urge to light anything and everything on fire. Especially Void nastiness. Hopefully she would have multiple opportunities today.
Thalassa has her daggers and a single bag containing rope, food, and water.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Talyson - 07-10-2024
Maea might have been the last one to join them, but she looked like she was the most prepared by far. Tal eyed her makeshift facemask with a flicker of envy before he firmly quashed it and grinned at his friend with a mix of bravado and assurance.
Thal's contribution, on the other hand, earned a snort. "'Cause we don't know if breathin' in all that Void ash would just spread the infection further an' faster," he explained for what felt like the fifth time it was only the second. "An' we're tryin' t'protect this place. Not destroy it." He paused, then shrugged with a grimace. "But it's wet an' humid enough in there that I don't think a fire would stay burnin' anyways." In contrast to the dry air of the open desert just a few hundred yards away.
But they had their supplies - Tal's Bag of Holding contained rope and rations as well, and included a fighting axe, a trio of throwing axes, and a first aid kit in addition to various odds and ends of bits and bobs like dragon treats - and their weapons. Tal drew his Dagger and nodded to the Ancients before turning to push his way into the deadly jungle.
"Spread out a bit an' lets see what we can find," he instructed. "But stay close enough that we can help each other out if somethin' nasty tries t'jump us." And once he'd edged far enough into the undergrowth to be obscured from view he pulled a bandanna from his Bag and quickly tied it over his nose and mouth in imitation of Maea. Totally suavely.
Round 1: Spread out and start hunting!
Void encounters will be rolled for based on post actions.
No posting order
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Thalassa - 07-10-2024
She hid the roll in her eyes at 'protecting' the place. Sure, she'd agreed to assist, but her main reason for joining was the opportunity to kill Void stuff and watching the world burn. Now she would just have to make an excuse to do so. Something that sounded reasonable. With a snarky smile, her voice drawled out thickly. [say]"Suuure."[/say]
Putting aside her ulterior motives, she nodded at the directions. Thal's feet moved quickly to eat away the open expanse before her in search of something to do. Taking a page from the others' books, she pulled a soaked piece of cloth from her bag to cover her face. As she tied it to the nape of her neck, her blue eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for any purple hues or suspicious clues. She made sure to glance back occasionally to keep her companions within range.
Thalassa scans the surroundings but stays close to the others.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Maea - 07-10-2024
Opting to take the spot on the opposite flank so that Talyson could be the anchor and provide aid in both directions should the need raise, Maea set out alongside her friends. Keeping her thoughts firmly on the task at hand, she found the jungle to be a fascinating place. A veritable treasure trove of vegetation, there was no end to the number of plants and insects she had never seen before. While they were here to root out anything void touched, she was glad to have brought her notebook. Whenever they stopped to rest she'd make sure to sketch out what she saw; and maybe come back at some later time, when there was time to engross herself in study.
For now, her initial observation only led her to finding a nice stick. After making sure it wasn't poisonous to hold, she cut it down to size and peeled off the bark while she walked, occasionally using it to part vegetation around her or test the ground for soundness.
Maea spreads out with Tal in the middle. She finds a stick and uses it to part vegetation around her in search of Void taint.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Talyson - 07-10-2024
Tal huffed at Thal's sass and rolled his own eyes, though the effect was somewhat ruined by his Goggles hiding the reaction. "Great," he grumbled, before leading the way into the lush and occasionally poisonous undergrowth.
Flanked by the two Ancients, nothing seemed terribly amiss to the courier at first. There were hoots and howls and chattering birdsong from the canopy above them, but nothing sounded out of place or particularly spooky in the way that Void creatures often did.
Perhaps, then he should have been paying closer attention to the ground and the foliage around him. Tal put his foot down on something that squooshed and deflated abruptly, releasing a cloud of spores that exploded up around him. His instinctive gasp came a moment too late and he inhaled some of the spores that slipped beneath his hastily-tied kerchief. The courier started coughing, stumbling to a halt as he shook his head against the blurred vision that came from the sudden rush of tears to his eyes.
His flailing wafted some of the spores in
Thalassa was far enough away from Tal to avoid the spores, luckily, and the bramble patch didn't extend that far. Instead her keen eyes would find a hint of purple in the shadows off to her left. Something glimmered with a dark amethyst hue at the very edge of what she could see through the thick forest undergrowth, hidden beneath the large, tropical leaves of another plant. It would take her father away from the others if she went to investigate it, but they were kind of busy at the moment.
The hunt is off to an unlucky start for Tal and Maea!
Tal is having a hard time breathing. And seeing. And thinking clearly at the moment.
Maea has been trapped in a large and very thorny bramble patch!
But Thalassa has spotted something that might be their prey away from the others... or could just be a normal purple flower.
What do you do?
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Maea - 07-10-2024
Oh, wonderful. Trapped in an actual cage of vines, just as her ears caught the start of Tal's coughing fit. She couldn't see the spores, per se, but suspected they were there. Perhaps later she could be smug about pointing out how good it was to step into things only after prepping thoroughly, but for now -
Switching the stick to one hand, she hauled a chakram from the belt and began to hack at the thorny vines. The way they ripped through her gloves had her muttering curses under her breath, besmirching the honor of them, their seeds, their flowering parents and whatever bird or bee or stink-attracted fly that pollinated them into existence. It might have been a good time to use her magic, but Maea was reluctant to start tapping into her energy reserves before they'd even come across a voidling.
[say]"Tal?"[/say] she called as she hacked and sawed at the vines, [say]"you alright? I'm coming your way, don't move, okay?"[/say]
Maea uses her chakram to try and cut her way out of the vines and towards Tal.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Lasracha | A pair of chakrams. The outer rim of these throwing discs are sharpened to a razor's edge, and glint with a curious crimson. Imbued with fire, they burn as well as they cut.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Thalassa - 07-11-2024
Drudging through the undergrowth, Thal was excited to finally spot something more interesting than sand and leaves. An amethyst glow filtered through the foliage, casting an enticing purple hue that promised discovery. Her foot hadn't even left the ground when she heard Maea's shout and noticed Tal's struggles.
A strangle cloud of something wafted around him and Thal had to sigh at the inconvenience of leaving her point of interest. It would have to wait for now, but that didn't mean she wasn't tracking every step away. Securing her own face shield tighter, she waded towards Tal and Maea. [say]"Follow my voice this way. It's clear over here."[/say] In case he didn't hear her, she reached out to guide him with a 'gentle' hand.
Thalassa backtracks to help the crew, noting her path to return to.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Talyson - 07-11-2024
It was a tossup whether
Thalassa was wise to secure her face shield to prevent the spores from sneaking into her lungs, but she couldn't protect her eyes from the dancing motes that wafted around Tal. As she came up to his side she would find several landing with a vague flutter and itch on and around her eyes, causing her to tear up. Their hallucinatory effect was mostly blocked, but enough of their chemicals seeped in to affect her vision for the next full minute. It would be hard to aim or focus on anything as the world became blurred and filled with a strange multicolored haze that reduced everything around her to vague shapes and shadows moving through a rainbow mist.
"Wh... what's..." Tal shook his head, blinking rapidly to try and clear his own eyes. He pushed his Goggles up to rub at them, and when he looked over to the first garbled voice that called to him he swore loudly and stumbled back. "Fuck! Look out, Thal! No one said anything about Wicker Women!" He grabbed for a weapon on his belt and - thankfully for everyone involved - his hand fell on the handle of an axe instead of his Dagger. He drew it and waved it... well. More or less in Maea's direction, though his wild eyes didn't seem to be quite focusing right either as he tried to push Thalassa behind him.
Maea is free from the brambles and currently the only member of their party unaffected by the spores!
Thalassa is experiencing mild hallucinatory effects on her vision, but can still think clearly and has her other senses!
Tal is hallucinating from the spores' poison, but at least recognizes Thalassa! He seems to think that Maea is a Wicker Woman, however. Oops?
No posting order!
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Maea - 07-11-2024
[say]"Who are you calling a Wicker woman, exactly?"[/say] Thoroughly unamused, Maea plucked pieces of vine out of her skirt as she came striding towards the other two. Squinting at the motes drifting through the air, she surrendered against the greater need and summoned a spark of flame and began to guide it through the air, casting a fine meshed web to try and clear away the spores. Then an axe was waved in her general direction, and with another curse she attempted to dodge away and back up out of reach.
[say]"I'm not going to cut myself this early into the game. Heal yourself, Talyson."[/say] The note of command in her voice was perhaps not entirely helpful. She didn't know if he really was seeing things - just to be safe she glanced around several times to make sure they weren't actually under attack - but in case he was, she hoped that his ring could solve this issue. [say]"Thalassa, are you alright? Can you get to his ring, if he won't do it himself?"[/say]
Holding on to her chakram just in case she would end up needing to use bloodboon after all, Maea hoped it wouldn't be necessary. The more she used it the harder it was getting, as her body remembered the pain with increasing reluctance.
Maea uses fire to attempt to clear away the spores, and tries to dodge the axe waved her way.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Thalassa - 07-12-2024
The spores that invaded her eyes cast a kaleidoscope of colors across her vision, leaving only vague shapes in their mist. It completely disoriented her and Thal found herself closing her eyes against the onslaught of colors. Within minutes, all possible chaos had ensued.
Tal's outbursts in addition to Maea's own statements (along with the violent swinging axe movements), had her piecing together the gist. [say]"Tal! Get a grip! That's Maea!"[/say] Not able to see much, she reached her hand forward to work her way from his shoulder down. If she could contain his arm, she could keep him from decapitating the pale Ancient while also feeling for his ring.
Thalassa attempts to contain Tal's flailing and activate his ring.
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Talyson - 07-13-2024
Tal's inability to focus clearly on the 'Wicker Woman' made it easy for Maea to dodge his flailing attack, but he didn't seem to recognize her voice or understand her words. "I think it's got Maea!" he yelled instead, fear for his friend driving the adrenaline in his blood... and raising his heart rate, which only caused the poison of the spores to circulate more swiftly within his system.
It was up to Thalassa to deal with their hallucinating leader, and though her own vision was still affected by the previous effects of the spores her groping hands were able to find the courier eventually. It wasn't pretty but it was effective in the end. Though she wasn't strong enough to hold the courier's arm down she was able to reach his hand and activate the healing properties of the silver ring on his finger.
And luckily for all of them, the magical Healing did cleanse the effects of the spores from his system in a rush of warmth that started at his hand and washed through the rest of him. As it reached his eyes the nightmare vision of bramble-clad Wicker Women solidified into a single entity who was not, in fact, a tree after all, but a rather annoyed Ancient who he was aiming his axe at. The courier froze and then stopped fighting Thalassa, letting her pull his arm down as he looked around in confusion and then sheepishly hooked the axe back on his belt. He couldn't quite meet Maea's eyes as he swallowed hard and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "I, uh... sorry. I think? I thought you were... y'know. Someone else." He glanced back to Thalassa gratefully. "An' thanks. For stoppin' me from hurtin' her."
RE: [SE] Push it way back - Maea - 07-13-2024
The struggle for the ring was brief but chaotic. Maea kept well out of the way until the fierce flailing of the axe ceased and Talyson returned to his senses. There was of course a boatload of things she wanted to say go him, burning on her tongue, but she swallowed them down one by one. It was not his fault. He had been hallucinating. She had experienced that, knew how vividly real visions could be.
In the end she let out a long breath and rolled her shoulders to ease the tension. Coming over to the others, she placed a hand om Tal's arm. [say]"It's alright, you did not hurt anyone. Thank you, for being such a loyal friend."[/say] The panic in his voice when he'd thought she was caught up in danger still rang in her ears, heartbreaking and moving. [say]"Why don't you put on your googles, and keep them on, from here on? That way you can help us if this happens again."[/say]
Looking up at Thalassa, Maea extended a warm smile to the younger woman as well. Over the edge of the kerchief only the crinkle of her eyes were visible, but the sentiment was there. [say]"You're very quick. Thank you for reacting so promptly."[/say] She had no doubt that the intervention had saved her from getting cut down by that axe.