Event: Day 301 [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone who wants to be involved, plus a ~*~surprise guest~*~
Open: Open
When: Day 301
Where: Roathus Lagoon
What: oh look it's time for a core
Format: action
Warnings: none yet

[When Nathaniel calls for one of the all-too familiar meetings regarding cores, he looks pretty unhappy. In fact, he looks like he has some bad news to give. Whatever it is, everyone should come listen, because it's pretty important!]

Comments

[four_quarts]

[Rest assured, dear Zuko, everything he's doing is very, very deliberate.]

Paarthurnax is considered a vital source of wisdom, and I believe many consider him something of a surrogate grandfather. Ryu is... a rather different sort of dragon than Paarthurnax or you, but he is a good boy. I imagine they both will be pleased to hear of your existence.

[amphibian]

Paarthurnax is the best! He's probably one of the nicest...anythings [not people, he is not a person] I've ever met. And yeah, there's Ryu, and he's...part dragon, I guess? He's a really good friend. There's Kizuna, too, right, Zuko? She's still just a baby but she's adorable!

[legendary_can_opener]

[Wow excuse you Aoi, dragons are people too]

[The dragon seems to relax a bit as Ghaleon spoke... but then Aoi... oh Aoi...]

[She unconsciously digs her claws into the muddy ground as the tanned human starts speaking in such a... sickeningly cheerful fashion (good thing Ibuki isn't there too-). It was as if she didn't understand the situation she was in. The human was either very brave, or very foolish. Mitellux wasn't about to jump to conclusions either way about it.]

[Though, yes, the black dragon does agree that cute little babbu dragons are cute-]

[but wait, no, she realizes what bothered her so much about Aoi... or rather, what she represented in this group. This party had the cool and charismatic one, the 'honorable' one, the stupidly energetic and cheerful one... though the dragon couldn't pin down the personalities of the rest, all current evidence pointed to this being a ragtag group of dreaded adventurers]

[The dragon tenses further as old memories began to bubble up, but she forced herself to calm down and pay attention to what they had told her: A baby dragon, and two others that were referred to with large amount of respect.]

... I will see this Bastion, then. I assume there will be no objections that I will hold onto this core you seek until my suspicions are truly put to rest.

[daughterofursa]

[Mitellux might also notice a slight smile cross Zuko's face at the mention of Kizuna because yes she is very proud of her baby dragon daughter.

But no, this is a serious situation, and the dragon actually doesn't seem too fond of Aoi's exuberance. That sobers her up again, and she takes a step closer to Aoi.]

Of course. I don't see any problem with that.

[After all, they're being completely honest about how much they love their dragons, so she should have nothing to be suspicious about after she sees the Bastion, right?]

[twinked_witch]

I see nothing wrong with this... Other than the polite advisement that you'll want to bring the core with you so other creatures do not try to claim it as soon as you leave, and that as soon as you start moving it, we're going to have a lot of monsters coming this way. They seem to react to it being moved.

[Megaera had managed to cheat that last time by just teleporting the core back, but... Somehow, she didn't think that'd work here.]

[four_quarts]

[Ghaleon drops his arms, one at his side and the other with hand on his hip.]

We will, of course, help you fend the pests off along the way. It's only fair.

[legendary_can_opener]

[the dragon let out a low rumbling breath, her wings relaxing to a more neutral position finally]

I am well aware of the attention the core attracts.

[She had been there for some time, after all]

Then we have an accord. I will transport the core and the... shards. Should you require it, I will lend what aid I can as well.

[She slowly backs away, off of the half-eaten corpse of the anklegator, before turning towards her small hoard to gather it up]

[daughterofursa]

Thank you.

[Zuko relaxes, too, and glances at the others. Chances seem good they're not going to be eaten by a dragon today.

Plus they even seem to be getting her help taking the Core back.

...

Something is going to go horribly wrong, isn't it? She never has this kind of luck.]

[bastionpc]

[Yeah, about that....

Remember how Mitellux was nomming on an anklegator?

Yeah it had a mate, and said mate happens to be tunneling right towards the group now. It's not close enough to immediately reach them, but it's coming, and it's mad. Oh, how it is mad.]

[twinked_witch]

... Ground rumbling. Loudly. We've got something approaching.

Probably another Anklegator. If we don't coordinate a bit... Well, I'd prefer not to be in the way of a dragon's breath if that's how we're gonna deal with this thing. Just saying.

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[Rob's been standing there quietly, but unfortunately he's been focusing on the dragon and not their surroundings, so it's only after Megaera speaks up that he notices the approaching threat. He draws his sword and brings it to the ready, facing the approaching Anklegator.]

I'd rather not experience dragon breath firsthand either. I'm not sure it'll do much until whatever that is surfaces anyways, but coordination would still be a good idea.

[legendary_can_opener]

[Mitellux let out an annoyed snort, turning away from the pile of shards and a core to face the incoming threat. Her senses were keen, so she didn't need Megaera's warning to hear the incoming anklegator. She normally worked alone, and certainly not with humanoids.]

These things are not worth wasting a use of my breath weapon. I dispatched the first without, and unless I am mistaken these beasts have no intelligence to differ their strategy.

[She flexed her wings again, eyes narrowing slightly. If the anklegator was coming for her... so be it. She planned to launch herself in the air just as the thing would come out of the ground at her, and then forcibly drag it out into the open; just like she had done to 'lunch']

[This shouldn't be too difficult... unless the others decided to take advantage and attack her]

[four_quarts]

[For his part, Ghaleon looks utterly unsurprised at the prospect of needing to fight a giant monster. A bit irritated at the timing, yes, but not surprised.

Sighing, he draws his sword.]

I suppose I shall refrain from casting any spells for the time being. All of the most effective ones are liable to catch someone aside from the anklegator in its radius, and I'm sure we would all rather avoid that.

[Not that he couldn't exclude them from taking damage, but that requires rather more time with a group this large than he'd like to take.]

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko is only surprised by how prompt the response was to her thought that things were going too well.

She draws both her swords now, preparing to face the anklegator.]

Let's not underestimate it.

[True, they have a dragon on their side, but they chose to run from the last anklegator they ran into. Zuko doesn't know first-hand what it takes to bring one down.]

[twinked_witch]

[Megaera quietly drew her sword, observing how Mitellux was tensing to, presumably, launch into the air.]

Well, we agree on that much for sure. Area magic isn't safe, for sure... Precision strikes are going to be the key. Beyond that... We're gonna have to call it as we see it.

If we get positionally separated-

[A fancy way of saying "Someone ends up inside the beast like happened the last time she joined a run"-]

I'm going to try and communicate telepathically...

[bakegarasu]

Fine.

[Otoha draws his sword as well, letting his limbs fall a bit loose so he can dash in whatever direction he needs to. He doesn't sound too worried.]

I can make a distraction if we need to.

[Granted he... hasn't actually fought an anklegator before.]

[amphibian]

[Hey, wait, no one told Aoi everyone was bringing swords? Everybody has a sword except Aoi and the dragon, this is awkward.

She looks no less prepared for it, though; she's gotten good enough with the magic abilities she's acquired that between them and her own strength, she can keep herself—and hopefully the others—safe.]

M-me too! But be careful, everyone!

[bastionpc]

[But Otoha, how can you make the distraction when the distraction is already you?

Faced with several opponents, the anklegator tunnels deep underground, leaving only a tiny bit of horn sticking out of the ground as it moves. Rob and Zuko just happen to be in the way of said horn, so unless they want to get speared somewhere on their person they will want to jump out of the way. Even if it's only the tip, it's still a good 3 feet up out of the ground.

But Otoha gets the brunt of its attack. Meaning it's going to burst out of the ground at Otoha's feet and try to swallow him whole.]

[daughterofursa]

[If Zuko's instinct were solely for self-preservation, she could get out of the way easily, but a good leader also considers the safety of her team.

Between Otoha and Rob, Rob is closer, injured, and has a considerably slower reaction time. Zuko moves to try shoving him out of the anklegator's path, probably not getting herself completely out of harm's way in the process.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[By the time Zuko shoves Rob he's starting to react himself, attempting to leap out of the way. Zuko's contact knocks him off-balance and his leap turns into a tumble, sending him rolling away from the anklegator but unable to get his sword out of the way in time, causing him to cut himself and leave a trail of blood behind him.]

[bakegarasu]

[Anklegators are fast, but Otoha has the benefits of over a decade and a half of training and fighting. He dodges to the side and attempts to slash it in the eye as it comes up. If he can blind it, he can at least make it easier for everyone else fighting.]

[legendary_can_opener]

[Mitellux paused some in confusion as she realized the anklegator wasn't headed for her. She was the one clearly covered in anklegator gore, after all, so why...? Was it just hungry, then?]

[She mentally shakes the thought, before letting out a loud roar-]

MOVE!

[-as she charges forward. The dragon moves deceptively fast for her size, quickly closing into range of the now revealed anklegator. The dragon attempts to strike her claws into the exposed creature, with the intention of either dragging it out of the ground with her superior strength or holding it above ground for the others to strike]

[four_quarts]

[Welp. This sure is going pretty much exactly as Ghaleon expected. He's just... going to try and stay out of the way for the moment and duck in to help the injured when there's a good opening.]

[twinked_witch]

[As Mitellux declares to move, Megaera immediately decided that she was not in the mood for annoying a dragon by disobeying their orders, leaping up and taking wing to get into the sky and out of the dragon's way, circling loosely to observe the Anklegator's response and result. Let it get angle, then...]

[bastionpc]

[Rob, in addition to stabbing yourself, Zuko pushing you has sent you tumbling towards the edge of the chunk of Skyway everyone is on. Falling off the edge is a very real risk here.

Zuko, pushing Rob out of the way may have saved him from the anklegator, but you got in the way and will have at least gotten clipped by the horn. Impaling won't have happened, but that much force may have broken ribs at the very least.

Otoha manages to avoid getting eaten, though, and gets a good slice into the anklegator's face. The pain makes the anklegator writhe, so Mitellux won't be able to get a firm hold on it, but her claws will definitely gouge a line of claw marks into it as it dives back underground. The scent of blood from it may make it easier to track as it tunnels around, moving itself into position to try to get underneath someone again.]