Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

For in-universe game play. Journey through both familiar and foreign settings, explore lost ruins and forgotten cities, and try to bring light to the darkness of the world... or, you know, blow stuff up. Either way.
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Graybeard
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Now Rip had it figured out. Kobolds. He'd had experiences with one in Goriel that had been ... well ... interesting.

He was in no way a skilled battlemage, but you couldn't get out of Sashi Mu, let alone get an advanced degree there, without at least a bit of combat magic. Yes, he could remember the rudiments of a Force Bolt, and unlike other times in the recent past, he couldn't incinerate what suspended him a mile above the ground if he screwed it up. He muttered to Thurston, "Take cover for a second," and cast.

The Force Bolt seemed to work just fine, he reckoned as the usual ZRRAAAK split the air. As to its effect on its intended target ... well, he'd just have to see about that.
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Tamina's surprise at the unexpected force bolt was dwarfed by the giant creature's reaction to it. The impact of the spell spun the farrenhar ninety degrees to its landing position, leaving it to stagger back to it's feet facing backwards to the kobold party. The southern continent native rallied her senses and dropped her arm.

"Loose!"

A second volley of arrows flew through the air and speckled the beast's back with a constellation of wooden shafts. It screeched in pain and flailed wildly at targets not in range of it's big arms. Surrounded, hurt and surprised by the ferocity of it's intended dinner. The farrenhar decided that perhaps it should seek a meal that wasn't so enthusiastic about not being eaten. It took to it's huge heels with a crashing of undergrowth and was lost to view a moment later. Tamina let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey!" She called, switching to 'yooman' speak and turning in the direction the unexpected shot had come from. "Thanks for the help! That was really brave! It's ok! We don't bite!"

"<Yes we do, Tammy.>"

"<Figure of speech Alleece.>"
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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[OOC: Rip is a fairly undistinguished-looking fellow, and it's reasonable that Tamina wouldn't recognize him at a distance. Thurston, however ... well, there aren't a lot of cigar-smoking parrot familiars in the Errant World. So let's do the reintroduction this way:]

Whether by accident or by walnut-size-brained design would never be clear, but somehow, the beast had managed not to trample Thurston's cigar. As Rip was edging gingerly toward the kobolds, Thurston simply flew into the middle of the road to pick it up, but as he landed, he cocked an eye in Tamina's direction. If parrots had eyebrows, his would have gone up at the call to the "yoomans" ... and then he figured it out.

"RAAAWWK. Hey, we know you! From back at that hell hole above Goriel! Name's Tamina, right?" He picked up the cigar without waiting for a reply, as Rip, in whom comprehension (punctuated by weird memories) was also dawning, advanced into the road.
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Tamina giggled and nodded in happy surprise at the appearance the of familiar faces. She hadn't gotten to know the duo well, but their help in driving off a dangerous predator had immediately bumped them up several notches in wanting to. Familiars were one of the kobold's weak spots; even with the cigar she thought the parrot looked cute.

"Yeah! I remember you! Furr...umm... Thur-ston right? Hi Rip!" She waved. "We saw a big 'splosion before! Was that you? What have you guys been up to?"

"<You gonna introduce us Tammy?>"

"<Where are my manner?> This is Alleece, Riiki, Oolan, Dochi and T'ska." She said, pointing to each of her tribesmen in turn. "Everyone this is Rip and Furr <dammit> Thurston. We met up North, they helped with the bad men."

This got a general wave of approving murmurs from the tribesmen. Tamina beamed at the pair. Maybe today wasn't turning out so bad after all.
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Rip's tongue stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar names, but Thurston, who was hard-wired with a Translation spell, took to them quite easily, at least once Rip had relieved him of his cigar. Pleasantries were exchanged, including odd and probably embellished stories from Goriel that seemed to impress the kobolds. (Had Tamina told them any of these? If so, had she been more ... well ... realistic about them than Thurston? Rip decided not to press the point.)

After a few minutes, Rip got down to business. "Tammy, do you remember Shorty? Great big guy, almost the size of that thing that we just sent packing, well, not really but very big. He was with me when we saw you in Goriel, and he was with us until ... a few minutes ago." He nodded back in the direction of the explosion where the airship had reached the ground. "I'm getting worried about him. Any sign of him? He's kinda hard to miss..."
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Tamina shook her head.

"Just seen you I'm 'fraid. But I think we can take a look-see for him if you like."

"What- bout cargo?" Riiki interjected in halting yooman speak.

"<Umm... well, if you and the others take it up the road we can catch up easy enough.>"

"<You're not going alone.>" Alleece said firmly.

"Fair enough. K Rip, Alleece and I can come with you if want the company."
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Rip smiled appreciatively. "Thanks. That's very kind of you." They started back the way the large predator had come, reasoning that since the thing had gone that-a-way, it wouldn't be waiting for them this-a-way -- leaving one less hideous beast for them to worry about. Maybe.

It started to get dense and difficult not too far off the road. Thurston gurgled something around his cigar, unintelligible because of same, but Rip knew what to do about that. He removed the stogie long enough for the parrot to repeat himself. "RAAWK. AWAC mode?"

Rip had no idea where he'd picked up the acronym, but it worked as "Airborne Warning and Confusing," which seemed to the point. "Right," he said, extinguishing and pocketing the cigar. Thurston took off into the treetops. "He'll scout ahead for us," he told the kobolds. "If he sees anything --"

He apparently saw something, all right. There was a loud RAAAWWK! from not very far up ahead, and Thurston came winging back to the group carrying a shred of fabric in his beak ... fabric that Rip recognized as part of Shorty's parachute.

[OOC: Over to you. This could play out any number of ways.]
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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The kobolds noted the funny parrot with a shred of parachute in it's beak. Tamina gave Alleece an inquiring look; the woman had the better sense of smell after all.

"Pass that over birdie. I think I can help." The hunter took the scrap and pressed it to her face with a deep breath, then closed her eyes, turning and sniffing.

"That way." She said, pointing a claw. "Hopefully your man will be in fewer pieces than his escape transport."

"<That was in bad taste, Alleece.>"

"<Just trying to prepare him, Tammy.>"
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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[OOC: I'm mildly amused at Alleece trying to sniff out info on Shorty in the presence of Thurston's malodorous cigar ... so let's play with this.]

"RAAWWK!" Thurston replied, then he switched to the kobold language; he was hard-wired with Translation Effects, after all. <"No prob, Ally. I was thinking the same thing, and I bet the boss was too."> He turned to said boss, who in fact was looking mildly green at what had been said, but only mildly. "Gimme a quick puff before I head back upstairs, okay?"

Rip rolled his eyes and extracted and relit the cigar, which at least had the effect of getting his mind off pieces of Shorty. Thurston took not one but two puffs before lifting off; but he hadn't even reached the level of the lowest tree branches before he noticed something. "RAAWWK. Incoming, twelve o'clock high!"

By the unholy Weave, what now? Rip wondered, getting ready for another Force Bolt. However, the "incoming" turned out to be nothing more, and nothing less, than another parrot, zinging away from the direction Alleece had indicated at high speed. Thurston banked to intercept, and both birds were lost in the forest canopy .... but not for long, as presently, the typically parrotish "RAAAWWK!" call (it would demean whole generations of musicians to call it a "song") sounded again, this time as a duet, rather than a solo.
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Re: Southern Continent: Picking Up The Pieces

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Tamina giggled. Alleece raised an eyebrow.

"It looks like your parrot might have a date lined up."

"So cute!" Tamina enthused, clapping her hands together. "If a familiar and an unfamiliar have little parrots would they be half-familiars too?"
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