The orchids were not, in fact, fireproof, which quickly became apparent once the Ancients both had access to Maea's flame and the chance to aim at their petaled opponents. Maea seared Orchid 1 as it lunged again and it fell to ash and cinders at her feet. Orchid 4 had already been killed by Tal previously, so her fire met no resistance as it torched the remaining corpse to a sizzling pile of former-flower.
Thalassa was much more successful once she had fire to draw from and fire swirled around her in a protective cocoon that mere foliage couldn't safely penetrate. The vicious violet orchid that had latched on to her let out a high-pitched keen (or maybe that was just its sap boiling off?) and Orchid 3 joined its compatriot in a final pyre that left little for the Captain's dagger to strike, though she scattered the ashes with a slash of successful vengeance!
That left the littlest flower, which had already realized its error and begun to scamper away on its disconcerting root-feet. Given the mayhem that had swiftly obliterated its fellows Tal almost felt bad about what he did next. Almost. But they really didn't need the weedy fucker coming back when they were dealing with something worse later, so he scowled and made a short, half-hearted stabbing motion with his Dagger.
And missed.
"Hey!" He yelped, annoyance flashing across his open face as he took a few quick steps after the freaky flower--
And it vanished. Not into thin air or anything so dramatic, but ducking beneath a curtain of thick leaves that cascaded down from a low hill. Tal followed, his pride stung at letting it get away, but when he moved to push through the leaves his hand hit stone.
But his foot didn't.
This time it was the courier who slipped and disappeared from view, but there was no splash. His voice echoed up from a crack in the hill, reverberating strangely but not from very far down. "Uh... looks like there's a cave here?" He reported, his Goggles allowing him to see into the darkness within. "An' it leads down. An' it's fuckin'... spooky," he added with a shiver of deep unease. "Like, Void-spooky. An'-- ew, damp?"
One Orchid got away - or did it? Tal has 'found' a cave leading down! What do you want to do about it?
Thalassa was much more successful once she had fire to draw from and fire swirled around her in a protective cocoon that mere foliage couldn't safely penetrate. The vicious violet orchid that had latched on to her let out a high-pitched keen (or maybe that was just its sap boiling off?) and Orchid 3 joined its compatriot in a final pyre that left little for the Captain's dagger to strike, though she scattered the ashes with a slash of successful vengeance!
That left the littlest flower, which had already realized its error and begun to scamper away on its disconcerting root-feet. Given the mayhem that had swiftly obliterated its fellows Tal almost felt bad about what he did next. Almost. But they really didn't need the weedy fucker coming back when they were dealing with something worse later, so he scowled and made a short, half-hearted stabbing motion with his Dagger.
And missed.
"Hey!" He yelped, annoyance flashing across his open face as he took a few quick steps after the freaky flower--
And it vanished. Not into thin air or anything so dramatic, but ducking beneath a curtain of thick leaves that cascaded down from a low hill. Tal followed, his pride stung at letting it get away, but when he moved to push through the leaves his hand hit stone.
But his foot didn't.
This time it was the courier who slipped and disappeared from view, but there was no splash. His voice echoed up from a crack in the hill, reverberating strangely but not from very far down. "Uh... looks like there's a cave here?" He reported, his Goggles allowing him to see into the darkness within. "An' it leads down. An' it's fuckin'... spooky," he added with a shiver of deep unease. "Like, Void-spooky. An'-- ew, damp?"
One Orchid got away - or did it? Tal has 'found' a cave leading down! What do you want to do about it?
