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Argath just gave the shopkeeper a condescending smile. The guy was basically trying to get rid of some useless equipment, and selling it for far too much. True, the weapons were made of expensive materials, but that wasn't what determined cost. It was called supply and demand.
"Well, this is useless." He said. "We can't afford any of these anyway. Let's just go back to the inn." He made to leave, perhaps a bit slowly. |
Docus caught on, nodded, mirroring argath's smile. "My friend makes a point. . Perhaps we will be back to buy some bait, or other minor supplies. But other than that... So sorry to have intruded upon your time, friend. And a good day to you."
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"Of course, my dear," the shopkeeper said with an oily voice as he steps aside to allow Jade to take one of the weapons. "Pick up any blade you wish and test its balance for yourself. I wouldn't sell it if it weren't the finest quality."
Jade selected the largest blade on the rack and ran it through its paces with a rather intense expression on her face. Her ears twitched as she listened to the conversation going on as she surrounded herself with a golden blur. It definitely was a well made weapon, but still only about comparable to the grossly oversized knife she had slung on her back. "Hrrmm." Jade said, holding onto the blade with her free hand and flexing it experimentally. Definitely softer and copper or gold wouldn't hold an edge that well. "Not bad." the warrior admitted. "But for that price I'd prefer to stick with the sword I'm used to." Then she grinned. "Now then, where would I be able to find these hunters who have encountered the beast?" |
"Oh they're about," the shopkeeper replied, noncommittally, "I'm afraid I don't have their addresses or anything of that nature, however... and business has been a bit down with that beast romping about the woods."
He shrugged a bit dejectedly. "I suppose you might find some around the bar tonight?" ---- And so, having decided against purchasing the wares of the wilely merchant, perhaps to their detriment, or perhaps to their fortune, the small group makes their way back to the inn, so that they may rest and prepare for the battle ahead. |
Leaving the hunting shop, Argath and his two companions made their way back to the inn. As he walked, his hand brushed his hip and he noticed something. Or rather, the lack of something. Looking down, he saw his money pouch was gone.
The last time he remembered having it was... at the inn, he was certain. He remembered something else at the inn. A humorous ruse, a hand around his waist. ... Oh, well played. As soon as they got back to the inn, he headed straight for the room he was supposed to share with Vera. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, he waited for her to return. "Hi Honey, how was your day?" He asked, his tone betraying his words, as soon as she entered the room. He didn't have that playful smile on, either. "I'd like my money back now, if you please." |
Vera raised an eyebrow at him as she slipped into the room, looking bored, although there might be a slight smirk twisting the edges of her mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about." She yawned, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Did you misplace it while shopping? Honestly, this is why men shouldn't take care of their own money, they're bound to lose it one way or another."
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"Oh, right, of course, how silly of me to suspect the Thief." He replied, rolling his eyes.
"I know I lost it here. Clearly it was the old couple that took it. You saw those furtive glances they were shooting each other, they are clearly a couple of master criminals." "So yeah. I'd like it back." He said, extending his palm and trying to keep his temper under control. |
"You've been gone shopping all day," She rolled her eyes right back at him, "Don't you think if I stole it you would have noticed earlier?" She gives his outstretched hand a look that said 'you're crazy if you think I'm going to give you anything.'
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"We didn't buy anything." He replied angrily. "In case you haven't noticed, this town is a hole."
He kept his hand outstretched. "So. Please." He said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. |
"I didn't steal your money. Besides," Her bored look turns into a
She dropped her voice into a mockery of his own, reciting his words, "No, no, I gave you the money just before we left, remember? I told you 'Here's the gil, Darling' and handed you the bag." |
This time, he simply gave her a cold glare. "Last warning. My money, or the nice old couple is going to have to kick us out of their home."
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"If you want your money, you're going to have to talk to that nice old couple." She gave him a sweet grin, "These rooms didn't just pay for themselves. So generous of you to buy breakfast for everyone too."
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"Right." He said simply, though the word was full of hate. "First, you're going to give me what's left of my money, because I know how much was in there."
"And then," the threat evident in his tone. "you're going to pay me back every gil." |
"Mmhmm..."
Her grin turned into a frown as she stood up, "Tell me, after you planned on making me pay for the entire thing, were you planning on paying me back?" |
"Hmmm..." He pretended to think.
"No. I'll give you, oh, ten gil for my breakfast and share of the room. You can ask the nice old couple or our companions for the rest." |
Vera snorted derisively, "If you think I'm giving you anything, you are more delusional than I first though. Oh... on second thought..." She reached in a pocket and produced the bag that Argath had been keeping his money in. It was empty. "You can have this back."
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Docus stretched luxuriously as he stepped from his room. He'd managed to persuade the landlady to bring him a tub (more of a bucket, really) of hot water to his and Prasad's room, and had used his room-mate's absence to wash the stink of wine from himself. Now, feeling refreshed, it was time to consider. They'd managed to get some information from the locals, and the encounter with the shopkeeper had been... interesting, but he didn't feel quit ready yet. They had one last lead, the hunters, and they should employ it.
He was, however, aware that, however great his intellectual prowess, he was, to put not too fine a point on it, not very tall. Or physically impressive. As such, he'd need physically companions. He heard Viera voices from the room next to his, smiled. Physically impressive and female. Success was becoming more likely. The door was ajar, and he knocked on it lightly before pushing it open. He was hardly worried about interrupting anything. Though they seemed to be talking quite civilly. As he stepped in, he realized that in this case, 'civilly' meant 'with thinly veiled mutual contempt'. The matter appeared to be money. He sighed. "If I may interrupt... What seems to be the problem?" |
Argath noticed Docus coming, but didn't bother to turn to look at the Tarut. He drew his spear, taking a battle stance as he faced Vera. "None of your business." He said to Docus dismissively. "Best to get out while you've still got plausible deniability."
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In his dreams Caspin was a chef above chefs. A life of adventure earning him the money to open up his own restaurant where all the recipes he had built through his monstrous delicacies could be spread to everyone who arrived. He was a genius of food, and the world bowed down to his knowledge, no one back home could talk badly about him now. He was famous, more than they would ever be.
Then he woke up. Leaving the paradise behind was a bit saddening, but he took it as premonition. One day he would be that, and nothing would stop him short of death itself. He stepped out of the room stretching ready to go check out the kitchen. He had smelled their items the other day and they had some rather good labor around here, he'd enjoy seeing some of their techniques, but on the way down he noted some kind of commotion coming from the room he'd skipped over before since Vera was in there. He opened up and peeked inside, and there was Argath readying his spear to pierce the thief. He raised and eyebrow and entered the room, "Argie dear why are you threatening poor Vera with your spear?" He walked across the room with nary a thought in his head that Argath might try to stab him, "We need you to save that energy for tomorrow, we have monsters to hunt. And I'd be very disappointed if you wasted your stamina here." He looked up the long piercing implement and ran a finger down the shaft, "I can think of much better ways to waste it anyway." |
Vera watched Argath carefully, prepared to be on the defensive. She wants Argath to look like the aggressor here. She settled slightly when Caspin and Docus intervened. She thinks she might like them.
"He's being completely unreasonable. I don't know if I feel safe sharing a room with him anymore." |
Fie woke up from his dozing in the hall and noticed quite a bit of noise coming from one of the rooms. Interested, he meandered over to a rather interesting scene.
The two Viera looked poised to kill each other at a moment's notice, with a few of his companions trying to intervene. Fie was having none of it. All he'd wanted out of this was something like a bed. Fie stormed over to one of the beds, yanked off a blanket, pulled out one of the dresser drawers, and curled up inside. "Don't wake me unless they're dying. I'll heal through all the monster wounds you want, but I can't cure stupidity." |
He was just about ready to charge Vera when Caspin entered. And then, yes, the Hume had the gall to flirt with him. Argath was just about ready to snap.
"Get the hell away." He growled at Caspin, pointing the spear at him. "You can room alone for all I care, but you're going to give me my money if I have to take it out of your cold, dead hands!" He yelled at Vera. |
"You really think it is that easy to scare me away Argie?"
He produced his knife from his coat and licked up the length of the thing before he moved to rub it against his threatening spear, "I'm a monster hunter, a blue mage. An immortal. You will have to make a proper attempt at stabbing me if you are going to have me take you seriously." He pulled his knife away and gave him a sigh and a shrug, shaking his head, "Besides your threats to the thief are stupid, even if we get the lowest reward possible it will make what you are making such a big deal over look like chump change." |
Docus held the bridge of his nose. Dear god, their group was dysfunctional already.
"I won't call you friends, but I will call you allies. Because, at this moment, that is what we are, whether we like it or not. And in the interest of success, we will aspire to remain allies." His hand dropped from his face, and he glanced around the room, making eye contact where he could. "Argath, Vera, I am sure there are... tensions. But if you refuse to be... mature, at the very least have the good sense to be selfish. I cannot speak for all of us, but I would be surprised if our remaining party members would let the two of you -or anyone- put the party's success and rewards at risk over a petty feud." He paused for a moment. "That is not to say that I do not wish this feud to be carried out. I have always said that there is nothing more entertaining than watching attempted emancipation. But when you start stabbing each other, that is when you threaten the party's success. So Argath, I recommend you drop the spear before somebody gets hurt. Besides, are you saying you'd let a female provoke you this easily? You won't win, you know. At worst you get charged with murder, at best she gets you kicked out of the group and gets part of your share of the reward. Caspin, I think it'd really help the situation if you kept your dagger away from Argath's shaft. I'm sure he's quite protective of his shaft." He paused for a moment, then brightened. "You're welcome to play with my staff, though." His expression totally serious, he offered his weapon to the hume. "Take good care of that, though. I may need it later." Then he turned back to the party. "Finally, Vera, is it? I would talk to you in private." |
"I'm not the one trying to stab a member of our group." Vera muttered under her breath, sneering at Argath before turning her attention to Docus.
"Ah, yeah?" She didn't really know what he wanted to talk about but making some distance between her and Argath would be good right now. She walked over to the door where Docus was, making sure to keep an eye on Argath. |
"Tch." He gave the Tarut a calculating state. "Fine." He finally said, consenting to hold his spear at his side. "But I'm getting what's mine. One way or another."
"And at least try to get both sides of the story." He added. |
Docus grinned at Argath. "You'll find that whatever she owes you, it'll be easier to get it out of her once you both have 750 gil in your pocket. That's something to look forwards to, eh?"
Then he turned to Vera, speaking quickly and as quietly as he could. "Look, I think he's trying to prove himself. I know about Viera and gender, but... give him a chance, yes? He can't always be like this. And..." A pause, a knowing smile. "I'm sure there's better places to get some extra gil." |
Vera frowned, feeling much like a child who had been taken aside to try and reason with. "Maybe you should talk to him about trying to pin the entire inn's stay on me." She hissed under her breath to Docus. In her mind, she wasn't just stealing to be a terrible person, it was in retaliation for his earlier mockery and if he can't handle the heat, he should stay out of the kitchen, so to speak.
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Docus' response was simply the drop that tipped the glass for Argath. "You know what? Screw this."
As he pushed Caspin aside and marched toward the door, he heard Vera hiss under her breath. "Well maybe you shouldn't play games no one else wants to play, princess." He said in response, as he walked out. "I'll see you all tomorrow." Zephyr in tow, he stormed out of the inn, back into town. The sun was already starting to set. He wasn't planning on staying at the inn now. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he swallowed his rage and put on a winning smile. Looking around, he saw his first target. He approached the pretty girl casually with a friendly greeting. "Hi there." ----------------- Check to have Argath spend the night with the girl? |
Docus let surprise creep across his face, partly at her response, partly at Argath's tantrum. Ah well, at least he hadn't stabbed anything. "That's what this is about? You let yourself get tricked into paying? Look, what's the rate per room? 10 gil? 15? By the dragons... give him his money back tomorrow. Or give it to me, I'll give it to him. I'll talk to the others about what is owed. And if you can lend me some now, I will pay you back with interest once we get our reward. The same goes for anyone else who happens to be broke right now, I'm sure. And from now on, if this pops up again, talk to me first. I will smooth things out, free of charge. Or just insult him, I'm sure you've got a wonderful repertoire."
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She just glared at Argath as he stormed out, although she inwardly smirked in victory. She doubted this was over, but he was the one to lose his temper.
"The grand total was 70 gil, thanks to Argath, and it's not just about that." Even though it totally was. It was partially about teaching him a lesson too, in her mind. Her ears perked up at the words "interest" as Docus spoke though. Perhaps it would be beneficial to get along with him. "You need to borrow money? Just for the rooms or did you find something in town?" |
Docus grinned. That had gotten her attention. "Merely my share of the rooms. That is to say, 10 gil, for now. Perhaps more in the future. I hope we will not stay too long. As for the interest... I'll pay back 15 for every 10 you lend me, once we get our well-deserved reward. That is more than I would usually offer, but I... wish to make a point. Cooperate with me, and with this group, and you will profit from it. My friendship has its uses, though they will rarely be financial in nature, and even Argath's support can be valuable. I'm making this point to you, because you seem to have a little more control in that little feud of yours. Avoid antagonizing him, and you will almost certainly be better off in the long run. I will make the same point to him" He held out his palm. "And now, the money, minus that he owes you for the room. That... you must agree, is fair, no?"
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Our icons, they dance.
Vera contemplated this for awhile, debating what would be the most profitable. Surely keeping the 80 gill profit she made from Argath would be more beneficial than the 5 gil profit Docus is promising although there is a benefit to not getting stabbed in the back before she can get the big reward.
Seeming to have come to a decision she looked at Docus, "If I give it back to him, I'll do it in person. And I'd like to know if the others intend on paying their share first before putting myself out 70 gil." |
Clearly the others need dancing icons also.
Docus raised his eyebrows. "Return it to him yourself? That would, I think, not be wise. He'd likely stab you before you got a word out. In the interest of conflict resolution, let me take care of that. Besides, I'm going to be gathering the money, yes? I'm doing the work here. Speaking of which, assuming that our honored allies are broke also, I'm hoping you'd be willing to lend them something also. Perhaps at a rate of 12 for 10. That seems... fair."
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Caspin stared at the staff for a moment. He had thought he had put on his innuendo's about as thick as he could that even A tarut would have been able to see what he really meant, but hey he didn't know how they bred anyway so maybe the idea is thoroughly beyond him.
He shrugged and spun the staff as he proceeded downstairs and saw Argath doing a little flirting with the local wildlife, that just wouldn't stand, "Hey honey, going to help out in the kitchen. I'll make your favorite dish, just like back home." He winked at him and proceeded on his way. The game was called, "Watch Her Walk Away" and Caspin was most definitely the reigning champ. Regardless he was on his way to the kitchen and while he didn't know what he liked he was going to stereotype him as the fish sort, He moved toward the chef with the biggest hat and bowed quickly, "Excuse me. I'm Caspin Shift, aspiring cook and one of the people with lodgings here tonight. Would you mind if I gave you a hand? I always like to have a part in my meal and I could use the practice." It was significantly more courteous than he typically was, but that was because this was a kitchen, and he respected other cooks in their workplace like other kings must in their courts. |
Vera sighed. She better play nice or else the entire group would probably leave her stranded here after they got the Udrafresk. Or worse: they'd use her as bait. That'd be no good. Getting the full reward sounded a lot more pleasant than the amount she got from Argath anyway. Besides, she ought to take it easy on him, poor male.
"Alright, although 15 for 10 seems a lot more fair to me..." She fished in her bag, producing the 150 gil she stole from Argath, minus the 10 he owed for the inn, and put it back in Argath's bag she had mocked him with earlier. |
Okay, that did it. Someone was going to die, and that person went by the name of Caspin. "Excuse me," he told the pretty girl he no longer had a shot with, "I have to go murder someone."
He followed Caspin into the kitchen where he was chatting with the old lady while she busied herself. "Excuse us." He said kindly to the old lady, grabbing Caspin by the shoulder and dragging him outside the inn. Then he let loose a punch aimed straight at the douchebag's face. ------------ STRIFE! |
Though a bit surprised, Caspin was able to easily side step the Dragoon's somewhat clumsy attack. Argath was an experienced warrior, but fisticuffs were outside of his expertise.
---- OOC: Caspin has 10 evasion, Argath rolled an 8, and has no extra accuracy while unarmed brawling. |
Caspin had went along with Argath just to humor him, but when the guy threw his punch he was obliged to get the hell out of the way of it. He was surprised, the way the Dragoon held that spear was full of experience, but he was complete crap with his hands. He brought his own fists up to his face, eyes staring for the next attack while he held himself defensively,
"What's the matter Argaaaaaaath? You mad?" -------- Caspin takes a defensive stance. |
"Yes." Argath replied, his voice full of hatred. He was crap with his hands, so he drew his spear this time and lunged straight at the bastard.
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Argath's attack struck with a speed and fierceness that took Caspin entirely by surprise, forcing him to slide backwards to avoid being run completely through. The wound was still quite serious, however.
---- Argath rolls a critical, doing 19 damage. Woulda been 38 had Caspin not been defending. |
Docus smiled, nodded. "I'm glad that you are reasonable. As for the interest, you can demand what you like. But if you want people to borrow from you, you'll have to be reasonable. I don't think people will go for 15:10 if they can get better rates from their other teammates. If you'd like a profit, you'll go 12:10 at most." He nodded again, gratified, as she agreed. This seemed to be dragging on, and, as much as he enjoyed negotiating with others, he had better things to do.
------ OOC: Speaking of dragging on, can I assume that the rest of the party will pay? I know this isn't great role-playing, but jegus, it's 10 gil we're talking about here, and I don't wanna have the posts flowing back and forth. Docus will approach everyone with a "Hi. Nice rooms, yes? Sadly, they need to be payed for. 10 gil for tonight, plus breakfast tomorrow. If you're broke, Vera will lend you 10, provided you pay her back 12 later. I recommend you agree." If you wanna write a response post, I'll edit each individual encounter into this post. If not, just lemme know in-discussion or via PM how they respond. ------- Money in pocket, smile on his face, he headed out to find the last two party members, Argath and Caspin. The plan was to get the money from Caspin, give the money to Argath, and then give Vera what was hers. All smooth, in theory, and then they could get on with it. But he realized that it it did not bode well that the two were out together, and when he came across their landlady, leaving the kitchen, clearly shocked, he realized his skills would yet again be required. He brushed past a very confused-looking female, entered the kitchen and heard grunts of extertion somewhere near the back door. He hurried through, and brought his hand to his forehead again as he saw his two teammates fighting. And not just brawling, he realized. Argath had drawn his spear, and Caspin was bleeding. Thankfully, Caspin had dropped Docus' staff on the ground, and he stooped to pick it up. Then he raised a hand and drew on the power flowing around him and in him. He hadn't called upon it in a while, but it was there. Familiar, like an old friend. Though in this case, his only friend was an arsonist. He had never bothered to learn many more spells, he'd been too focused on his studies. But he'd learn. And for now, it would suffice, he hoped. He let it flow through his hands, not a lot, but... enough. Enough to feel the heat on his palms and on his face, enough to relish the incredible sensation of magic. Certainly enough to send a burst of flame into the air. And a blast of noise through the inn. With any luck, someone would come to try and help. Until then, his best option was to set Argath on fire unless he stopped. "Enough! Back off or someone burns." ----- Docus uses intuitive magic to create a pretty distraction and try to startle both of them into pausing. |
Caspin wasn't particularly in the mood to be distracted. He was about to die. What he was in the mood for was running away, and that he could pull off. He shoved his finger into his wound to try to staunch the bleeding with his outfit before he turned on the balls of his feet and took off running, jumping off for a nearby awning and pulling himself over.
------ Athletics check for getting the fuck out of there. |
"Grr!" Argath growled, watching the Hume try to run away. "Why the hell do you have to meddle in everything?!" He yelled, turning upon the Tarut. He looked just about ready to attack the little Mage.
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Docus cocked his head, raised his staff in one hand. "Because, my friend, people like you make it necessary. I do not care about insults or grudges. Those petty, those are... irrelevant. What we are here for is real. 750 gil, recognition, power. That is relevant. And I do not intend to let you endanger our party, and with it, our goals, for the sake of proving your manhood." A wry smile crossed his face, one that was not at all warm. "And I recommend you either use that spear or drop it. If you use it, you burn. If you drop it..." He held up a pouch with the other hand. "I've got some gil that belongs to you. Carrot and stick, my friend. Which would you prefer?"
------- This would probably be a good time for an opposed charisma check. |
Caspin put some distance between the two of them then jumped off the rooftop and hit the ground gently, he stared backward keeping a thought of where he came from and began sneaking his way into position. An unfair advantage was just fine for him, he didn't want the bastard to see it coming.
----- Move into long distance. Awareness check to find Argath. If successful, begin casting homing laser. |
"Oh, what the hell do you care?" Argath growled, looking downright feral. "Nobody likes that bastard anyway, and we don't need him! The asshole's likely to get us in trouble anyway. So why don't you just keep your nose in your own business, Tarut?"
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Docus tensed. Time to talk fast. "For one, killing people because you dislike them is not a valid course of action. For another, I'm sure he has his... uses. And if he does get us into trouble, we can still reject him. But, for now, all he has done is antagonize you, and, with apologies to your injured pride, that is not quite sufficient for me to approve of you executing him. Finally, we wouldn't be losing one party member. We'd be losing two, cause if I had let you finish him, you wouldn't be around anymore either. As it is, if you drop the spear, I can... salvage the situation. Come on. Be reasonable. You might get out of this without losing too much."
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"Bah." Argath consented to hold his spear at his side and stand straight, meaning to show he wasn't a threat at the moment. "Nothing's changed. You're still going to give me my money, and he's still an asshole."
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As Argath lowered his spear a beam of light pierced through the darkness, zigging around obstacles in ways that light should never move, to burn directly into Argath's back, piercing cleanly through him, the wounds cauterizing from the heat of the blast as the light dissipated a few inches past his chest.
It, luckily, failed to hit any critical organs, but the dragoon still suddenly found it hard to stand. The light could be traced back to its source easily enough, but neither Docus nor Argath couldn't make out what, exactly, that source was currently. --- Argath takes 22 damage. |
Caspin grinned from his little perch at the sight of the laser pulsing through the dragoon. He clutched at his own wound a moment to remind him why he had to teach this little lesson, if the bastard had kept to fists he would have fought him fair. Would have won or lost, and probably would have respected his boundaries afterwords. But he had tried to kill him, so he had to know that Caspin was just as capable of ending him. He could do it right now, one more well placed laser and it was all over...but he still needed him. So he leapt back down to the streets, landing softly like there had been no distance at all, and crept back toward the inn. He would like to see Fie about that whole patching up thing if he could.
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Docus smiled in reflief when Argath lowered the spear. His expression then turned to shock as a powerful shaft of light pierced the Viera. He had no idea where that had come from, but it had hurt, he could see that from here.. Argath wouldn't survive another hit. He ran towards the Viera, knelt down next to him. "Listen, we need to get inside. Stand, dammit. And then you need to let me smooth this over. That's the only way you're getting healed. It'll cost you, but with any luck I can make you seem like you're not a threat to the rest, cause that's what they're going to assume when they see Caspin. Come on."
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Argath felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a shaft of light had gone straight through him. The pain got worse as he found it harder to breathe and stand, and he fell to his knees, taking gasping breaths. Docus approached him, trying to get him back inside the inn. "No. No. We need to- that was a monster attack. We need to find it." He said between gasps, as he struggled to his feet.
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Docus sighed, tried to help the Viera up. "You're in no shape. We need to find the others, explain what happened, get you healed. If that really was a monster, we can face it then. But primarily, we need to make sure that your firstly, survive and secondly, prevent your getting kicked out. Cause I don't like our odds if we have just 6 people. Even though, if I may add, you are an idiot. Will you let me make sure of that? Now come on."
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"... Fine." Reluctantly, Argath stumbled his way back into the inn, Docus offering what help he could. Just that short walk seemed to have taken a lot out of him. "What now?"
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Caspin stepped through the front door gripping his wound with a grin on his face that was just there to keep him walking. He caught a view of Docus dragging Argath in, looking at the bastard made him feel better. Especially that wound, the Blue Mage had gotten off easy by comparison. He looked to the stairway and started climbing up knocking on Vera's door and then just pushing his way in.
Considering what had happened earlier he figured she could reason out why he had the big red stain on his chef outfit. Certainly wasn't any more wine. He kicked the dresser looking down at Fie, "Sorry to bother you, but I seem to be suffering from an injury. I'd like to do some cooking tonight if I could, so if you don't mind?" |
Docus paused, thinking. "I'll go wake Fie, send him down to heal you. I'll tell the Viera to keep on guard for whatever did this and stay away from you. Then I'll try to head off Caspin, and get to him before you." He picked the moneybag from his belt. "This is your money. Permission to use it to defuse your little feud?"
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"... I'm not giving that asshole anything." Argath insisted. Even wounded as he was, he wasn't going to back down. "Pay the White Mage what he needs."
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Docus nodded, dropped the money back. "Hope you don't regret this." Then he left, headed upstairs, knocked on Fie's door. Time to do some talking.
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Fie agreed, begrudgingly to patch everyone up so long as everyone stopped killing each other, and everyone headed off to bed... AND THEN IT WAS TOMORROW, and what a bright morning it was indeed. The small group helped themselves to their breakfast, which was SURPRISINGLY delicious, and then headed out in search of the Udrafresk.
As they searched Jade heard something moving in the bushes and the group quickly took up their combat stances as a group of six dingos burst out of the shrubbery around them, surrounding the group and ready to attack. ---- Going to assume you were all bright enough to put the mages in the middle. Jade: Short range from Dingo 1 Vera: Short range from Dingo 2 Argath: Short range from Dingo 3 Caspin: Short range from Dingo 4. Everyone else/All other Dingoes: Medium Range. PC group attacks first. |
Caspin stood in his battle stance staring at the dingos, as much as he would enjoy to blast one of these creeps into hell with a laser he knew he should save it for when they saw the stone spitting skinless primates they were after. He only had the energy for a couple of shots after all. So he decided to weight how dangerous the little hounds were and crossed his arms, knife held southpaw, preparing for the closest one to do its worst.
------ Defensive stance. |
Fie grinned ever-so-slightly. The start of combat always felt so loose compared to the later parts where everyone was calling for aid.
He began chanting quickly under his breath, summoning the power of the winds. -- Begin casting Aero on Dingo 4. |
The White Mage healed both him and Caspin after insisting that all the in-fighting stopped, which Argath agreed to only to keep him happy. But damned if he was going to take any crap from the Hume or the Viera. Zephyr had been far too confused at seeing Argath attack someone he had been traveling with, and simply stayed out of the way, though he accompanied his master as he was being healed, offering what comfort he could. After, the entire party turned in for the night.
They started off the next morning with an incredibly delicious breakfast, courtesy of the old lady. Then they set off, entering the woods to begin their search for the Udrafresk. Soon, they were set upon by a pack of dingoes. Finally, some proper action. Facing one of the dingos, he lunged, attempting to thrust his spear right through it. This time, Zephyr knew who the enemy was, and threw itself at the same dingo, attempting to bite down on it. ----------------- Aggrieve Dingo 3! Zephyr attacks the same target. |
Docus grinned. The day had gone well so far. They'd manged to talk everything out, and while there were tensions, he felt those had defused somewhat over breakfast. Vera had her money, Argath had his, Caspin seemed to be keeping to himself. Sooo... not much talking to do, today. But he could make himself useful in other ways. At least now that he had targets.
He reached into himself again, into the bright orb power that he kept, somewhere inside his mind. Just a visualisation, of course, but an effective one. His vision became hazy as he drew off a smidgen, just as much as he could safely handle, and started to focus it. He retained an awareness of the battle around him, though, and, as he felt the air around him start to heat up, he noticed that Fie's attention seemed to be fixed on the animal threatening Caspin. His grin widened as he began to cast fire on the same target, figuring they'd kill one of them right here. ------- Cast Fire on Dingo 4. |
Prasad, who had obviously been there all along and the life of the party the whole time you don't even know don't pretend like you do, grinned nervously at the sight of the hungry, hungry dingos. His first instinct being to back away from the predators, he quickly realized such an endeavor would prove fruitless, and held his position, putting on his best cocky little poker face.
"Good doggies... Nice doggies," he breathed, giving his dice a roll, "You don't want to eat us. We're all tough and stringy and hopefully really, really hard to catch..." ----------------- Executes Ninja's Roll. |
The rest of the night was fairly calm, although Vera was a little sad about returning the money. Alas, today is a new day. She behaved while they got up and got ready, returning to trying to keep a lower profile.
Vera inched towards the nearest fighter as the Dingos surrounded them, drawing her knife. She'd like to get back with the mages and avoid most of the direct combat but one of the dingos was a little close for comfort, so she lashed out with her knife. ------------------------- Stab that dingo. |
The dingo before Argath leaps to the side as Argath lunges forward, but too slow as his blade still catches the creature's flesh, tearing through it viciously. The dingo, however, stands its ground, and charges forward through the blast from Zephyr, teeth gnashing toward the young Dragoon.
Unfortunately, just as Argath moves to defend himself, Prasad's dice come up four and six, and with a flash of light return to the moogle's hands, as everyone in the party feels as though a massive weight has been tied to them. Argath, suddenly feeling the weight is unable to do anything more than throw and arm in front of himself, the Dingo's teeth tearing into his flesh. Vera's knife flashes out, aiming for the Dingo's throat, but the creature is fast and leaps back away from the potentially fatal blow, though the blade still carves a red line across the beast's face, but the wound only seems to enrage it as it leaps toward her. The thief is nimble, however, even with the weight from Prasad's ill luck, and merely dances out of the way of the attack, leaving the dingo to fall to the ground where she had been standing moments ago. Meanwhile, Jade swings her oversized knife toward yet another of the creatures, and it attempts to leap out of the way, but her weapon is too large to evade completely and with a yelp, the creature finds a large gash through the front of its chest, its very bone notched by the force of the blow. These feral beasts seem not to know, pain, however, as it leaps forward, meaning to take revenge. Its wounds slow it, though, and Jade is able to easily interpose her sword between it and herself, pushing the creature away with no injury. The creature near Caspin circles the defensive mage, its hackles raised, before rushing forward toward the mage. Knowing that, with the magical weight upon him, he'd be unable to move out of the way fast enough, the blue mage moves to block the blow and is successful in fending it off to a mere glancing attack. The other Dingos circle in closer, moving toward the most injured prey, as the injured Dingos wounds begin to stitch themselves closed somehow. As the party prepares to move once more, Docus and Fie finish their incantations, the wind catching the fire, swirling it about the poor Dingo who had attacked Caspin, the creature trapped within an inferno from which it can glean no air, its charred body falling to the ground, its breath coming in short pained gasps, body immobile. ----------- Round 1, PC: Argath-13 Damage, Dingo 3 Zephyr-0 Damage, Dingo 3 Prasad-Bust, -2 EVA for everyone for 5 rounds Vera-9 damage, Dingo 2 Jade-15 damage, Dingo 1 Dingo 1- 30/45 hp Dingo 2- 36/45 hp Dingo 3- 32/45 hp - Round 1, Monster Dingo 3-11 Damage Argath Dingo 2-Miss Dingo 1-Miss Dingo 4-6 Damage Caspin Dingo 5-Moves to short distance from Argath Dingo 6-Moves to short distance from Argath Argath- 14/25 hp Caspin- 17/23 hp Dingos Regen 5 hp per round: Dingo 1- 35/45 hp Dingo 2- 41/45 hp Dingo 3- 37/45 hp - Round 2 PC, Fie - 22 Damage, Dingo 4 Docus - 25 damage, Dingo 4 Dingo 1- 35/45 hp Dingo 2- 41/45 hp Dingo 3- 37/45 hp Dingo 4- -2/45 hp |
Although his companion was in danger, sometimes the best defense was a good offense. Besides, he'd likely be incapacitated long before Fie could finish the incantation. It was better to think ahead and salvage the rest of the fight for now.
Fie pulled whorls of air down from above the party, preparing for another blast of air on one of Argath's aggressors. -- Aero on Dingo 3. E: Tactics change. |
Caspin felt the sudden weight of bad luck on his shoulders and felt quite happy he had taken the time to prepare to block. Because no quantity of agility was going to save him from harm this time. The dingo leapt and was pushed off but not without its claws digging a little into his skin. Nothing fatal, but it hurt.
Then came the Taruts with the heavy artillery blasting the damned thing into a fiery whirlwind of death that was beyond its ability to withstand. It fell to the ground, but he could already see its wounds starting to mend. That would not do. His eyes glowed and he grinned a massive toothy grin as the teachings of his old master fell into his hands his knife shaking with hunger. He pounced, knife thrusting into the creature's gut and pulling all the way up to it's chest. His other hand thrust inside and yanked out the innards with reckless abandon. His head pulled back and smashed into the ribs, compacting them so his knife could cut down the sternum. He gripped both sides and ripped open the chest and grabbed the beast's still beating heart and tore it away taking a savoring bite from it before his hands gripped greedily at the ribs. Bones snapped, his teeth tore tough meat from connective tissue, sucked marrow from broken limb, his knife tore at skin strips to be chewed and swallowed in moments. Into the eye, breaking into the skull, sucking out the scrambled remainder of the brain and eyes, cutting off the tongue. Everything was taken. He cackled in a bloody mess where the dingo used to be and turned to stare at the remaining group, knife in hand, ready for the next victim. In hindsight he realized he probably shouldn't have done that since they needed it for bait. But what was one snack? --------------- Caspin uses Devour. |
Prasad sighed heavily at the sight of his roll, the powers that be involved suddenly making him feel like a much easier target, and put the dice away with a defeated shrug.
"Son of a kupo," he growled, quickly drawing his pistols and taking aim at the dingo nearest Jade, "Hey sword girl, incoming bullets!" Squeezing the triggers, he hoped that his aim proved better than his luck this morning. --------------- Prasad attacks Dingo 1. |
Docus grinned at the result of their handiwork and tapped into the power again. Three dingos were threatening Argath; he hoped they could even those odds before his newfound ally (?) was mauled to death. So fire at was...
----- Fire on dingo 3 |
As he tried to defend himself from the retaliating Dingo, the weight of Prasad's unlucky roll came over him and Argath winced in pain as the beast's teeth tore into the arm he raised to defend himself. He shook his arm to throw the beast off, but the damage was done, his arm was bleeding heavily.
Smelling fresh blood, the two remaining Dingos as well as the one that attacked him surrounded him. It did not look good at all. He couldn't reliably jump the ones in front of him, so he'd have to try to get another one and trust his allies to hold their own. Prasad was helping Jade with her Dingo, and Caspin ate the wounded one alive, leaving... crap. It was either attack Vera's Dingo or get mauled by his three Dingoes. He was seriously considering getting mauled. With a growl, he drew on his training and jumped with unnatural strength into the air, a flying arc of blood following in his wake. Soon, his upward momentum gave way and he fell, spear first, at the Dingo threatening Vera. --------------------- Jump on Dingo 2. |
As the mages began their spells, Argath, realizing he was outnumbered launched himself in the air, leaving the dingos near him momentarily unsure of what to do. However, after a moment they made their decision, breaking off, each charging toward different combatants. Two of them charging toward the mages, while another leapt to the defense of the wild dog closest to Jade, whom had just felt the taste of her steel, and the bite of Prasad's bullets, and was barely able to continue to stand.
Vera's blade, too, found purchase in the flesh of the dingo who had been facing her, her blade cutting deep across its ribs as she dodged out of the way of another attack. As the injured Dingo before Jade balled up and prepared to pounce, however, a horrible roar shook the area, and from the trees came charging a great skinless ape, its muscles glistening with the sickly shine of naked muscle, all except its arms. The left being covered entirely in rock, while the right was covered entirely in crystals. It's large hand wrapped about the dingo about to leap toward the warrior woman, and lifted the squirming, yelping dog to its mouth. As its teeth sank into flesh, the dog's body turned to stone, rocks which crumbled from the Udrafresk's massive jaws as cookie crumbs might fall from that of a young child. Turning toward the group it roared just as Fie's magic was released, but he felt his spell pulled away from himself, and away from the target, the careful weave of magic unraveling and being drawn into the Udrafresk's right arm, even as it was released. Luckily, Docus's spell found itself able to escape burning the creature he targetted quite badly, even as Argath's spear tore through the Dingo before Vera with deadly accuracy. --------------- PC Round 2, Cont. Prasad - 14 damage Dingo 1 Vera - 11 Damage Dingo 2 Jade - 13 Damage Dingo 1 Dingo 1 - 8/45 hp. Dingo 2 - 30/45 hp Dingo 3- 37/45 hp Dingo 4- DEAD! Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 ------------- NPC Round 2, Dingos 3 and 5 short range from Fie, Prasad, and Docus. Dingo 6 Short range from Jade. Udrafresk Short Range from Jade. Dingo 1 - DEAD! Dingo 2 - 35/45 Dingo 3 - 43/45 Dingo 5 - 45/45 Dingo 6 - 45/45 Udrafresk - ???/??? Udrafresk Right Arm - ??/?? Udrafresk Left Arm - ??/?? Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 --------------- PC Round 3 Fie - 0 Damage. Docus - 25 Damage, Dingo 3 Argath - 21 Damage, Dingo 1 Argath Short Range from Dingo 2. Dingo 1 - DEAD! Dingo 2 - 14/45 Dingo 3 - 18/45 Dingo 5 - 45/45 Dingo 6 - 45/45 Udrafresk - ???/??? Udrafresk Right Arm - ??/?? Udrafresk Left Arm - ??/?? Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 |
Prasad drew his pistols and took aim at the dingo growling hungrily at Jade, "Hey sword girl, incoming bullets!"
Jade glanced his way with a flash of green eyes and an eager smile and then pulled back her heavy sword. One hand on the hilt and the other steadying the blade, she used the flat of the blade as an imprompt shield for her upper body. "Hey dingo, DIE!" she shouted, following up the Moogle's kuporiffic shot with a crushing blow from her Buster Sword. The dingo was on its last legs, and then suddenly it had no legs at all. Jade's response to having her enemy snatched away, petrified and then messily devoured by a fiend could only be summarised as a mad grin. "Ahahahah! You're here!" she cried eagerly. She stared into the beast's sunken eyes, ears twitching with glee. "Prepare to be beaten to pulp!" The tall warrior swivelled suddenly, sighting on the dingo slinking up to attack her. "Out of my way, mutt!" Jade took a step forward, stomping one heavily armoured foot into the ground and chopped down at it with an abrupt, truncated strike. OOC: Attack Dingo 6. |
"Bad day bad day bad day bad day..."
Fortune was clearly not smiling upon Prasad as he watched their bounty leap onto the scene and devour the dingo he'd been targeting a moment earlier. What his party needed was a plan, someone to step forward and take charge, organizing and executing a brilliant strategy and leading them all to victory. That person, that born leader... sure as hell wasn't him. Seeing two of the dingos coming toward him and the mages, he pivoted around around and unloaded his guns into one at close range, hoping he could find an opportunity to put some distance between himself and the monster lest he himself risk becoming that thing's next meal. --------------- Attack Dingo 3. |
It turns out the born leader wasn't Caspin either, mostly because this scene was a brick shithouse that no one besides the most cunning could organize into something reasonable. So he decided that there was only one real thing he could hope for and ran away. Not all the way away, but he wanted to make sure he could strike at the big bad ape with the same kind of impunity he had shown Argath the other day. That was the power of his only spell, range. He could hit a fly a mile away if he had the telescope to see it with.
And he didn't need any help seeing this big creep. -------- Caspin moves to Long range. |
Well, that didn't take very long. The Udrafresk arrived and ate a dingo that was threatening Jade. Argath just gave his shitkicking grin. This was going to be fun.
With the Fresk around, some of the dingoes would run away if they had any survival instinct in them, so hopefully he wouldn't have to worry much about the fact that the two Taruts and the Moogle were currently surrounded. Still, it would probably be a good idea to take care of them. "Incapacitate the Dingoes if you can, but don't worry about killing them! The mark will do that for us." He yelled to his allies. Shitkicking grin still on, he jumped again, flying arc of blood trailing once again, at the motherfucker. ------------------------- Jump on Udrafresk's right arm. The magic-absorbing one. |
The ground shook as the Udrafresk came through the trees, but Vera had her own Dingo to deal with first.
Vera blinked with surprise as a spear suddenly came down into the Dingo she had been fighting, belonging to none other than Argath. "Nice shot, Boy." She smirked at him. In the adrenaline high, that might have actually have been a genuine compliment. She lashed forward with her own knife, trying to take down that Dingo, they had bigger fish to fry. |
'Turning toward the group it roared just as Fie's magic was released, but he felt his spell pulled away from himself, and away from the target, the careful weave of magic unraveling and being drawn into the Udrafresk's right arm.'
- "Well, there goes that option." Between the Udrafresk's arm and the dingos nearby, it would be nigh impossible to get a spell off, but he wasn't about to retreat. One of them was wounded, and already the moogle had taken aim. Fie turned to face a creature over twice his size and drew back his staff, ready to put all of his marginal strength into the best thwack he could manage. "Tarut's not on the menu!" -- |
Another Dingo closing in on Jade stopped to watch the nearby Udrafresk devour its compatriart. One couldn't be certain what the creature was thinking, or if it even was thinking, but Jade's blade ripping through its flesh awoke it from its reverie and sent it charging at the nearby warrior, it's teeth tearing into the flesh of her leg before she could extricate it from her body.
Meanwhile, Prasad fired his guns into one of the wild dogs closest to him, it's body barely moving forward as Fie cracked smashed his staff into its skull, finishing the poor beast off. The dingo near Vera, didn't fare much better, as her knife cut through it's flesh like butter, leaving it bleeding and wounded, even as Argath leapt away once more, receiving her compliment, or was it a taunt?, on the move. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken her mind off the fight long enough to throw words, however, as she found the wounded creature's claw swiping across her midsection, leaving a deep and painful, wound. The last dingo, by the mages, however, being currently unthreatened, charged forward, toward the Udrafresk. Perhaps it felt they were the greatest threat? The Udrafresk, for its part, was happy to return the favor... or perhaps he was charging toward the mages whose spells his arm had absorbed? Either way the two neared eachother quite rapidly. Docus, however, his target slain, had turned his magical attentions to another Dingo, but as the fire prepared to leave his fingertips, once more, the spell unraveled and he found his spell being drawn into the monster's right arm once more, just before Argath's spear fell on it with shattering force, eliciting a roar of pain from the creature, its eyes turning, hatefully, toward the Dragoon. PC Round 3, Cont. Jade- 15 Damage, Dingo 6 Prasad - 20 Damage, Dingo 3 Vera - 9 Damage, Dingo 2 Fie - Kills Dingo 3. Dingo 2 - 5/45 Dingo 3 - BITCH STICK'D Dingo 5 - 45/45 Dingo 6 - 30/45 Udrafresk - ???/??? Udrafresk Right Arm - ??/?? Udrafresk Left Arm - ??/?? Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 -------------------- NPC ROUND 3 Dingo 6- 8 Damage, Jade Dingo 2- 11 Damage, Vera Udrafresk- Short Range from Jade, Docus, Prasad, and Fie. And Dingo 5. Medium range from Caspin. Dingo 2 - 10/45 Dingo 3 - BITCH STICK'D Dingo 5 - 45/45 Dingo 6 - 35/45 Udrafresk - ???/??? Udrafresk Right Arm - ??/?? Udrafresk Left Arm - ??/?? Vera- 12/23 Jade- 19/27 Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 ------------------ PC Round 4 Argath- 22 Damage, Udrafresk Right Arm. Docus- 0 Damage, anyone. Udrafresk- Short Range from Jade, Docus, Prasad, and Fie. And Dingo 5. Dingo 2 - 10/45 Dingo 5 - 45/45 Dingo 6 - 35/45 Udrafresk - ???/??? Udrafresk Right Arm- (-23)/?? (still alive) Udrafresk Left Arm - ??/?? Vera- 12/23 Jade- 19/27 Argath- 14/25 Caspin- 17/23 |
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