Dragon!

[heresyandlace]

Who: ANYONE!
Broadcast: If you want
Action: The forest outside of town!
When: Ambiguously around the 23rd

→ Before the mob
[Tek has run out of time. he's pushed his body and spirit to its limit, and his hold over himself finally slips. he's quiet about fleeing the city, but it's a different story once he reaches the wilderness. the sudden release of energy as he loses his human shape hits the atmosphere in a silent wave. the countryside shivers as an aura of death and malaise touches every living thing, even if only in the very back of the mind. and for those more sensitive to such things... it's clear that something has happened. something is here.

for those wandering the forest that day, they may step into an area of the forest gone still with a graveyard hush. and if they linger there, they might happen upon a monstrous beast.

he's keeping to the tallest, deepest copses of trees... because it's hard to keep hidden when you're the height of a three-story building. either creeping and looming between the trunks, gratefully wading into streams, or curling up to rest in roomy clearings, he's there.

and he's hideous. though not actually rotting, the creature is at least designed to look cadavorous. he doesn't appear overtly aggressive... but something looking like that must be far from harmless.]


→ After the mob
[and he can only stay hidden for so long. a band of foresters eventually happen upon him, and a battle inevitably ensues. it isn't long before the remnants of the group run howling into town-- a dragon is less than a mile away, and it has already struck down several of their number!

at once, the bravest warriors take up arms, ring the alarms, and begin to set out in bands to take down the monster!

anyone striking out to find the dragon after the battles have begun is definitely in for a fight, because he is now wounded and angry. and, since he's so large and caught in such a small area of land before he hits the barrier, he won't be hard to find--especially whenever he breaks the canopy of trees and takes flight, to try and find another area of forest not already full of attackers. if you watch the sky and follow him long enough, you're sure to find him.]


(ooc: open to absolutely anyone! just take a look at the ooc post first, and then jump in! also open for any peripherally-related threads--like reacting to the creepy wave of feeling that goes through the town, gathering friends, etc.--if you feel like it!

if you have any other questions, dump 'em in the ooc post!

otherwise, DRAGONFIGHT DRAGONFIGHT!!)

Comments

Before the mob

[justamobster]

[ Ladon couldn't resist a trip to the planet. He had never bothered with Asphodel, the horrible little planet that Sacrosanct orbited. The mountain Zone had met some of his needs, especially when he needed a dark cave to hide in, but there had always been that knowledge. The sun, the atmosphere, everything was fake. So when the temptation of a real, actual, honest-to-God planet with trees and air and shit was dangled in front of him, he went.

He had already tried to dig at the stupid implant in his neck, but couldn't find the damn thing. If he was bugged, he wanted it out. He didn't care who these people were who had him on a short leash, he didn't want anyone keeping an eye on his location. It was worse than having a stoolie singing to the cops. On top of that, he had a feeling that getting the damn thing out would mean freedom. The attempt had left him with a few blood stains on his collar, which meant he smelled of gasoline in close proximity. Best to avoid other people until that aired out.

Rather than play tourist with a bunch of belligerent medieval locals who would likely question his way of talking and dressing, he's opted for a nature walk. And he's actually headed in a different direction when he feels this wave of... well. Magic. It's an alien force for sure, but magic is about all he can compare it to.

And so he seeks it out. What does he have to lose? And besides, there's a small, stubborn part of his brain that reminds him of the last time he'd felt strange magic-- the scent of copper and cut grass-- and he just has to know. If there are fae here, or anything even remotely similar, he needs to know.

The silence is foreboding, but he pushes on, until he's fairly certain he can see something moving amongst the trees. Then he pauses, sniffs the air, and just listens. ]

[heresyandlace]

[the air is empty, waiting, and thick with scent. it's a decaying smell, but not entirely repulsive. more like swamp muck and recently-skinned hides than something outright rotting. forests don't usually smell like this, but it still seems to fit somehow.

and he's certainly not alone. at first, it seems like there might be several animals back there, prowling slowly in the thickest of the brush. the subtle shifts of motion in the shadows hint at shapes maybe the size of bears--some big creatures.

but the longer he waits and watches, the more information he'd gather, until the true enormity of the picture becomes clear.

eventually, there's another movement--this time shuffling softly between branches, something like twenty feet over the other shapes. and when two rosy points of light open up and stare in his direction... it's pretty clear that they are eyes set in some thing's massive skull. the rest of whatever's back there must just be the rest of it.]

After

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris has had a very confusing couple of days, and talk of a dragon has given him some steady footing again. He knows how to deal with dragons. A dragon fight is reassuringly familiar. He can fight a dragon in a way he can't fight anything else he has to deal with right now.

He might even be nice enough to stop off at the House of Sin to tell them all there's a FUCKING DRAGON before heading out to find it. He has a nice new sword and he wants to kill something with it.

Best day. ]

[heresyandlace]

[and especially if Fenris is ranging off by himself for the time being, putting some distance between himself and the other crowds, he'll find him.

it's easier to sneak up on a dragon when you're not a noisy mob.

so, he'll eventually come upon a gap in the tree-canopy where something massive could have swooped down to land, and some of the smaller trees and shrubs are appropriately smashed from what was probably a messy landing.

and if he follows that trail along, it will lead him over a small rise, and then down toward a wide, shallow stream... where a giant cadaverous-looking monstrosity is currently wading into the water. the surface is barely deep enough to graze its belly, but the water will work for covering its tracks, so that's where it's headed.

...and it has no idea that Fenris is there.]

a hunting we will go

[dawnwillcome]

[After the situation is clear, Jove sends out a fleetwide broadcast.]

Alright, so we've apparently got a dragon rampaging around down here now. I can't in good conscience just leave these people to deal with it alone, it's clear they have no idea what they're doing when it comes to dragon slaying, so.

I'll be organizing a group to take it down. I've killed dragons before, but it's by no means something I can do by myself. If you have experience fighting, please meet me by the job board in town. There are a few of you I expect to see, so don't let me down. You know who you are.

[She signs off there, but can be found in a full set of armor by the job board. Behind her is a small collection of staves and a few swords she's managed to round up, but she really is hoping most people will have their own weapons.]

[invigorates]

[ she saw that message, and though tempted to reply to it via video, she decides to go a more personal route...

and shows up at the job board not too long afterwards. furious - though the only indication to such is the way the glowing lines on her skin pulse with her anger and increased heartbeat. ]

You are the one that intends to kill the dragon, yes?

[faithfulwisdom]

[Finrod does indeed have his own sword and set of armor, recently acquired. He has a grim look about him as he approaches, but he still manages a little nod hello.]

Jove.

[ino]

[ Ino shows up, looking ... well, pretty unarmed actually, aside from a few pouches around her waist and leg.

... She just looks kind of grumpy, though, and is muttering something about how we can't have nice things. ]

[innercactus]

Is it very large? Or is it medium large? If its a lieutenant, we should be fine. If it's an Elder....

[ Here is a nervously rambling plantman. He's starting to put out his clothing, because he's grown it to a consistency that counts as armor in his world, but the peasant clothing is... sort of in the way of most of it. ]

... Wait the dragon might not be the same sort of dragon. How do you decide how big a threat of a dragon a dragon is? Other than big?

[dirth]

[ Solas, who finally appears to come at her side, shakes his head before he breathes out and steps closer. His smile is softer, careful, and he reaches a hand to touch her shoulder, gently, getting her attention. ]

Lethallan.

BEFORE THE MOB

[noctiphile]

[The embrace of the night isn't something left forgotten. Not when it clings to you, feeds you, keeps you alive. Mattias dreams of her still. Dreams of the stillness of night. The moment's breath extended to a realm of hours. Surrounded as he had been, it was hard to mistake the sensation and even harder to leave it alone.

A magnet, it drew him closer. Pulled him through streams and rivers, over rocks and logs and through thickets and clearings until, finally, he comes upon it. A great, hulking beast that rivals buildings in stature and ruins in decay. In awe, Mattias watched it breath, sticking to the edge of the clearing as it... slept?

The stillness of night was coming off it in waves in combination with a plethora of other sensations. The silence of corpses, the serenity of death, the confidence of the moon. He bathed in each as they washed over him in his slow circuit around the form, taking in every detail, every scale and scar. Slowly, he spirals inward, daring closer with each lap completed until, finally, he's poised in front of the beast's mouth. Risky, perhaps, but how could anything exuding this aura be dangerous?]

You're beautiful.

[He has to breathe out the words.]

and Mattias lives up to his journal name

[heresyandlace]

[one would think that a beast often hunted would be more ready to stir out of slumber at a moment's notice... but dragons weren't built that way. they had no threats at the dawn of their creation, so light sleeping was never something that was wired into them.

it's become the stuff of legends, really--the dragon slumbering peacefully while thieves and trespassers sneak into their lair. so, Mattias is more or less perfectly safe, all the way up to easy snapping range.

and then he speaks.

at first, the sick-pink glow of its eyes peels open slowly. but then there is a fast blink as the intruder's presence registers, and the dragon swings its head up much quicker than maybe expected from a monster so large--neck curved and poised like a heron's.

the air shudders with a sudden warning growl, aimed right at the little mortal standing in front of him.]

DISPERSAL AFTER-PARTY

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[he is astoundingly calm about this. maybe it's secretly panic--perhaps he's skipped past the shuddering, quaking fear of the unknown and gone directly into emergency fight-or-flight, where his internal chemicals are keeping his mind sharp and his thoughts ordered until he can get out of the way of impending disaster.

he'll break down later, probably, but right now there is work to be done.

Tekhetsio managed to make a mess of the land before he left. the trees are death-soaked, the earth burned in great, acidic swaths near the battleground. how fitting that he couldn't leave without poisoning everything first. there's a lingering decay in the air, a silence. the animals have all gone, save for maybe a wandering corvid.

he sighs, heavily, standing in a patch of ruined grass and gesturing--in that kind of vague way you'd expect to go hand-in-hand with a little magic. his muttering in a long-dead language helps the image. whatever he's doing seems to make the world feel a little less terrible, at least near to where he's standing.]

[lord_wizard]

[By all rights, the shroud of energy that lays over the countryside would be the perfect motivation to stay far, far away. But in the quiet after the storm, he's drawn to investigate just as the path of his feet often bring him to dark places. There's a terrible familiarity about it, combining the hungry maw of the St. Grandin swamp with the forgotten halls of the maze in Klepsydra and the haunted halls of the Mirador's less trod wings. Any one of which should have sent him running.

Except...he can't quite fight the feeling that whatever has been done to Mor as a result of the people from the fleet might have terrible consequences, like dumping poison into their figurative well. The selfish part of him also wants to know what kind of magic set this in motion.

He has no particular plans when he arrives, though he walks silently through the deadly, unnatural calm, his breathing shallow and tremulous. He follows the noirant energy deeper into the woods, not giving much thought to how he'll get back, until he finds the epicentre where Robin is already at work sweeping away the energy like cobwebs.

He doesn't want to interrupt, so he moves closer with measured steps, following the motions of Robin's hands with]

after her horrible thread with jove, and after the mob i guess

[invigorates]

[ she hopes - prays - she can find this supposedly dangerous dragon before the rest of jove's party arrives; that all of this is just some misunderstanding. she hopes, beyond all logic and reason, that she will find this beast and be able to talk some sense into it.

and she does - find it, at least, near the edge of the forest just as a few human stragglers stumble from the thicket. he is bigger than she expected, looks and reeks of death and decay and yet - the elf does not run. ]

Dragon! [ she doesn't know his name, she realizes. how rude. ] Please - you do not need to do this! I will not harm you, but there are others that intend to, others that will come for you! Please, you cannot be here.

good luck little elf

[heresyandlace]

[the beast is not happy.

already wounded, and now caught more out in the open than it would like to be, it suddenly has one more target approaching as the others flee.

and, for now, that is all that registers. seeing the elf failing to run away with the others, its gaze zeros in on her from thirty feet above, and it rises up higher in its stance. its body-language shows nothing but threat. and, jaws parting in a venom-spattering snarl, it snaps its wings open to span the entire clearing with their shadow.

it expects you to run, little mortal. go on and flee.]

DRAGON HUNTING PARTY - Round One

[heresyandlace]

[for those who have banded together to take down the beast, it takes some tracking (thanks, Fenris), but the moment finally comes when they come upon it hunkered down in clearing--strategically advantageous to them. from here, they can swoop in and attack from multiple sides, and there isn't much room for the monster to immediately take wing.

and with being trapped between the nearby barrier and what is immediately apparent as a band of hunters, Tek doesn't hesitate.

as the party comes into sight, the dragon whirls to face them--rising up to its full thirty feet of height. it has already been injured in previous skirmishes, but that does nothing to hinder the way it shows off every intimidating feature it has.

its jaws part in a bellow and rivulets of oily black fluid gush, drooling down, hissing wherever they hit the forest floor. and when it spreads its wings across the full width of the clearing, the air shudders like an enormous drum-skin--decaying energy breathing out in visible ripples of dull light. in response, the forest around them groans... and then begins to buckle.

something saves the slayers from its touch (thanks, Atroma) but branches around them sag and curl, and browning leaves crisp away into the air like ashes.

the message is clear, and the entire forest cries at them with it. leave now, or death will find you.]


(ooc: to help keep the madness of the dragon-hunting party manageable, feel free to start your own threads here and assume that you're part of the group at large! Tek can be surrounded, so it can be implied that everyone is working together on different sides of him. these can be little snapshots of action, sort of a highlight reel, so don't worry too much about continuity or logistics! also, threadjacking welcome!)

DRAGON HUNTING PARTY - Round Two

[heresyandlace]

[the battle has been raging for some time now, and both sides are hurting. with the participants exhausted and beaten, the struggle is grinding down to the quick. both the dragon's blood and venom are the same oil-black color, and it stains everything now. the ground is dark and wet with it, black-slicked armor and weaponry hiss wherever the venom corrodes, and it flings out in splattering arcs whenever the reptile strikes.

it's too wounded to fly now, and its irritated attempts to keep the little warriors at bay have advanced to desperate, writhing attacks.

especially without its main weapon at its disposal--energy occasionally cracks from its jaws or wings in terrifying bolts, but never strikes its target--the beast is running out of options.

there is an end in sight.]


(ooc: same notes as in the round one thread! this is for all your second-half-of-the-battle goodness.)

[dawnwillcome]

[Jove didn't expect this to be easy, and it hasn't been. She's nearly exhausted her mana frost stepping all over the battlefield to renew barriers she's cast or ensure newcomers have appropriate protection, but most of the fight has seen her right up close with the dragon, spirit blade flashing as she took the chance to attack while it wasn't looking directly at her.

She's exhausted, had been starting to worry, but the beast is weakened just as much - if not more - than the groups fighting it. She's proud, in the back of her mind, of this little collection of brave fighters who are willing to do the dirty work to save a population that will probably not even remember them after they go. Proud, but the fight has her attention. She'll congratulate them later, after they win.

Another frost step to get herself out of the way, but then she raises her hand in the air and makes a fist. This time, instead of the purple of electricity she had been using, a lime green orb of light bursts into existence over the dragon, a bright stream of energy shooting out to the creature and starting to slowly suck the life out of it. It's small amounts of damage over time, it won't kill the dragon on its own, but it'll get them there faster.

She hadn't wanted to do it, to put on such a display of power, but they're running out of options now. This needs to end as quickly as possible.]

Hurry, now's the chance! Finish it off!

Before the mob

[goldenglasses]

[Vash did feel a shiver go up his arms and back earlier, but he didn't know what it had been. He does go for a walk later in the woods. Mostly just because he likes being around the trees.

Coming across a dragon? That was just a bit unexpected.]

Whoa.

[He stands frozen. Does he move? Do they sense movement?] Nice dragon.

[heresyandlace]

[and more than the little voice behind it, the dragon senses a presence that sort of... glows more than a mortal should.

so, it turns to meet whatever this little anomaly might be. swinging its head around with a low growl of warning, rumbling deep through the earth, Vash has the beast's immediate attention.]

NECROMANCY PARTY

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[nothing livens up a beautiful evening like having to raise your dumbass friend from the dead. the horrible, grave-like aura is not as bad as it was earlier, what with Robin and Felix blessing the shit out of the ground upon which he'd walked... but something about the air still feels subtly creepy.

a perfect night for spooky magics, really.]

[serpentis]

[Dorian leans on his staff, dressed in black hooded robes and looking entirely like a necromancer should. Which was the point. If he was going to do this, might as well be theatrical about it. Without a little drama it was just another day raising the spirits of the dead and that wasn't as fun.

Dorian makes a little face, surveying the dead grass.]

I think I rather liked it better when you could feel death in the air. This isn't half as exciting.

Pre-mob

[aberrant_type]

[Of course, with a forest to browse through, Hange wouldn't stick to the town. She needs topsoil anyway to continue her microfarm project, and more samples and growing stock wouldn't be remiss...

So, she hangs around town enough to buy a couple of swords, because all scouts dual-wield. They're not what she's used to. In fact, she isn't really even trained to use simple blades like this. But they're better than nothing, so with two blades and a backpack she ventures into the woods.

She feels the miasma, but she isn't overly sensitive to such things, and it doesn't put her off except she's perhaps a bit warier than normal. But nothing sweeps out through the forest to pick her off, so she simply stays alert as she roams as much of the forest as she can. It's probably inevitable that eventually she'll run across traces of him, start to idly track the strange spoor and prints, and then after that come picking through the trees and look up to spot a real live actual-fact dragon, probably slithering in the other direction.

It's obviously dangerous. But Hange's never been one to wilt in the face of peril, so she doesn't go haring in the other direction.

She does draw her swords quietly.]

[heresyandlace]

[it's wading along a stream, either cooling off its legs or... quite possibly--if the monster is intelligent--making an effort to cover its tracks. this forest is too small for it to pass through without leaving a trail, so it must resort to little tricks like this to stay hidden.

...though, the beast is beginning to sense some little presence behind it, dogging after it through the brush, and its paces slows accordingly.]