The Southern Continent (part 2)

[Alberich]

The naked ex-highwayman yawned and stretched on the floor of Alleece's hut. The first thing that appeared to his bleary eyes was the kobold herself. He almost reached for something to cover himself - then asked himself, "Why?" It was obvious, wasn't it, that they'd become lovers? He couldn't actually remember the act of ecstasy -- actually he couldn't remember much of anything -- but he was undressed in a pretty kobold's hut, and the pretty kobold was right there, and what else could it possibly mean?

Next he took in the fact that she was standing there cleaning paint off her fingers -- and that his body was covered with strange, stylized animals and designs. What the hell...?

Oh, it was obvious. They were symbols of his virility! The snakes, well, everybody knew what snakes stood for, and that thing on his abdomen was a bird, and those blotches there were probably bees or the local equivalent - so this was a tribute to their night of passion! Naturally she'd never had a night like that! Come to that, neither had he. Probably. So he grinned up at her, unashamed and full of joy. Err, grinned over at her. She was rolling around on the floor for some reason. He reached over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"'morning, sweetheart! You were wonderful! Hey, where's the, ah..." - he tried to convey the concept of "latrine."

When she told him, he wore just his loincloth when he went to the place indicated. Why shouldn't he be proud of this artistic tribute to his manhood? It was probably like a rite of passage or something, for the Mighty Hunter who'd proven himself yesterday! Why, that's just what Alleece had told him, if he slew the garlop - and he had slain it, hadn't he? That was settled - everyone needed to know!

Afterwards, he used a basic hygiene spell to freshen up (but not to remove the symbols just yet) and started back for Alleece's hut. If she was still there when he got back he had a surprise for her. While most men would've been drained by the night's exertions, he felt as ready as if he hadn't had it since Goriel City!

Well, Alleece, it seems, had a surprise for him, too. She was outside the hut when he got back - "Hi hi hi!" - she waved and flitted away. Well, it was pretty obvious she wanted to be chased, and why not? So he took off after her. There was no time to get his robe on or wash off the painted tribal symbols, and why would he want to, anyway? The loincloth was almost as much cover as these kobolds wore, and just right now he wasn't ashamed of anything he was showing.

Sometimes she darted around a corner and disappeared from view, but no matter - there was a village full of friendly kobolds who could always tell him which way she was hiding. How accurate those pointers were, now, that was a matter of taste. But everyone was laughing and having a good time, and why not?

[OOC: I haven't had many inquiries about Udo's undies, but I'm picturing something like these, only tied up a little tighter]

[Jack Rothwell]

OOC/ Been busy with work this weekend, another 28 hour slog . I'll try to get something in on monday, feel free to make schenanigans in the meantime./OOC

[Drusia]

I watch the sun rise and clean my blades.

The steel daggers are easy enough - just a little alcohol on a rag and a good wipe down.

The durus blade takes a bit more effort. I clean the crystal in it's compact state first, polishing it to a shine with a water-dampened rag.

Then, flinching, I extend the blade to it's full length. In the heat of combat, I hardly notice, but sitting here, now, I find the hum off the blade to be very unpleasant. It hurts my head, and makes my teeth ache. Nothing for it, though.

Carefully - very carefully - I wipe down the blade again.

I don't think most elves would bother. Durus blades are supposed to be self-cleaning. On the other hand, this one is almost as old as I am. I carried it during the Errant war, and since. And, no matter what the makers say, when I finish wiping it off, the rag I'm using is stained brown.

I power down the durus as soon as I can. The absence of that hum is almost pleasurable by itself. I sigh. And then I enjoy the sunrise.

-- Drusia

[Graybeard]

One of the things about being out here in the boonies, Khoo realized as he yawned and stretched his way to wakefulness, was that he could do something with impunity that would have got him mocked beyond tolerance back in Tsuirakushiti.

The dwellers in the sky city had no interest at all in religion. Khoo could understand that; the city was self-supported by the inhabitants' magic, after all. However, anyone who'd grown up on the seacoast, had been exposed to the capricious furies of the elements, and had seen villagers either semi-miraculously rescued from disaster on the high seas or devoured by improbable monsters from the deep, wasn't quite so willing to ignore the possibility of divine intervention in daily lives. The Sea God of his people probably had better things to do, if he existed, than intervene for (or against) one graduate student tromping through a Southern Continent jungle half a world from home ... but it couldn't hurt to be sure.

He popped open his Pocket Dimension and extracted a small figurine that his mentor had given him before he left home for Sashi Mu. It was entirely non-magical, as far as he could tell, and served only to represent the Sea God, not to personify him or in any way focus his power ... as far as Khoo knew. His mentor had laughingly called the small statue "Yojo." Khoo had no idea why the man thought that was so funny.

He placed the figurine on the ground and started through his village's brief litany of morning prayers, blissfully unaware of the utter horror that this would have produced among a certain other party now preparing to travel to the Southern Continent.

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina's concentration was broken abruptly at the drumming sound of rapid footsteps followed by someone grabbing her roughly from behind. The kobold stifled a shriek as she was pivoted around to face the opposite direction. A voice hissed in her ear.

"<Tammy! Hide me!>"

"Alleece!" The mage breathed a sigh of relief. "<You scared the crap out of me!>"

"<Hide me!"

The younger kobold gripped her tribeswoman's ribs and half-crouched in her shadow as Udo caught up.

"Umm... hi Highwayman." She said, standing stiffly as Alleece held her in place. "What's up?"

[Alberich]

A man less shameless would've blushed to be standing in front of a young lady of his acquaintance, while wearing only a loincloth and painted up with tribal symbols. A man less clueless would've figured out by now that there were some jokes going on here, and they were on him. But a man less shameless and clueless would not've been Udo. He grinned.

"Seen Alleece?" he said. "Which way'd she go?" He licked his teeth. He was eager for the chase.

His best hope may've been that Tamina would fall down laughing at him and reveal the truant behind her. But he didn't know that.

[OOC: Moby Dick references in black-n-white fantasy comix worlds have an honorable (and very funny) tradition. Khoo's old mentor might have a powerful sleep attack available.]

[Jack Rothwell]

"Alleece? She... umm... went... ow! That way." Tamina said, somehow stifling the urge to double up giggling at what the younger kobold had drawn on her travelling companion.

A moment after her burly knight protector had run off in the direction she'd pointed, the mage extricated herself from her tribeswoman's grip. She turned to her and spoke in a quiet, deadpan voice.

"Alleece?"

"<Yes Tammy?>"

"<'Pirate Princess Pickle Bunny?'>"

"<Yes Tammy.>"

The kobold's wild laughter carried through the settlement.

Some fifty feet above them, the front door of the Elder's hut swung open.

[Alberich]

The alarm went quickly through the village -- the Ralkin had sent an expedition with evil intent for the kobolds themselves, and Leli had fortuitously intercepted their signals. Hunters, huntresses, and foreign guests came at a run. One of the first to arrive was Udo himself - unarmed, unarmored, unafraid, and in his underwear.

Ah-ha -- there was his quarry! She was in for a tickling for sure! As the warriors and guests assembled, he was chasing Alleece around the space before the elder's hut -- and once more the Mighty Hunter triumphed! In a trice they were on the ground and his hands were buried in that delicious warm fur and her elbows had tightened up defensively as she shrieked with laughter. What a voice she had! Part of him hoped they hadn't kept up the whole village with her shrieks of passion last night. And part of him hoped they had.

But then Leli called out in a commanding tone -- "Gah! Gah!" -- and the guilty parties were looking up at her, as if to say, "Who, us?" -- and she got a look at Udo's decorated body. She pointed. "What...?"

Udo proudly sprang to his feet. "Yeah!" he said, thumping his chest with both fists, then making muscles on both sides so the elder could get a good look at his new honors.

A lesser leader would've been speechless -- as was Leli herself for a moment -- but there was a crisis at hand and she recovered her composure quickly.

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina hurried over as the rest of her tribespeople finished congregating in the clearing overlooked by the Elder's home. She glanced around nervously, noticing the absense of some of the hunters in the gathering crowd who were likely already on the trail of the days prey, blissfully unaware their home was in danger. If a Ralkin attack could have come at a worse time, it was hard to imagine. Her eyes picked out Drusia in the crowd, and she quickly made her way to the elf's side, taking her hand and squeezing it for comfort. The Elder held her own for silence, and moments later she was speaking with only the background buzz of insects for company.

"<What you hear is true. The Ralkin are on their way here, and they're bringing a troupe of soldiers with them!>"

Fearful murmurs mixed with angry snarls at the news. Some of the more ferocious individuals looked to the spear racks. Tamina and Alleece (now back on her feet after her tumbling with Udo) translated the message to their companions.

"<I don't know their numbers or their armanent, the messages Aleron and his dog exchanged didn't tell. I need scouts to go Grendell immediately and find out. They'll be arriving by ship in half an hour. We must prepare... get our young safe... Soorah!>"

A male kobold raised a hand in the crowd.

"<Take Shisha and Embally and bring the hunting parties back, Tamina!>"

"<Yes Elder?>"

"<Find out what we're up against. Be careful.>"

Tamina bit her lip and nodded as her people started to move.

[Alberich]

Udo, the only one present who couldn't speak or translate the kobold tongue, was quite out of touch. "What's going on?" he asked Alleece.

"Ralkin coming!" she replied. "With bad men."

"Yeah!" said Udo, delighted. "And they don't know we know! Let's ambush their ass!" He looked around for Khoo. He saw him. "Hi, Khoo!" he said - "Got my staff? Gonna need it! Got some victims coming! Meat for the grinder!"