abraxaslogs | [ CLOSED ] into an ocean

Istredd agrees they don't need to waste time and it is supposed to only be a few hours there and back, so they might as well get started. It probably will be easier on the way back without their baggage to worry about. He gets on a horse as well but keeps a close eye on the wagon as they go, automatically a little neurotic on the inside about jostling the bodies inside too much. The enchantments are strong but they don't last forever.

They are not going very fast in order to keep said bodies safe, which makes it easy for someone to follow along for any reason. Istredd misses it entirely at first until Claude says something, having planned on bringing up a topic with his friend and confused. He turns his head around to look behind them and sees the sharkman there. He's genuinely startled. He's only had brief interactions with the creature, like seeing his drawings occasionally across his view, and his commentary on his costume at the masquerade.

He returns Claude's look. "Did they mention this to you?" he asks him in a whisper, having not heard there was another coming with them. Istredd doesn't know what to make of this.

To the question from Claude, Nanaue simply nods in affirmation, seemingly oblivious to the confusion. In fact, he starts to jog in order to close the gap between him and them.

The carriage horses flick their eyes back toward the sound of his lumbering steps, snorting nervously. One of the Lunae escorting them does a double-take, eyes widening at the approaching manshark. The other, perhaps having seen Nanaue selling his 'wares' in Oleuni Square before, just sighs.

"Where go, friends?" he asks, waving as he slows down.

Somewhere exciting?

There's a twitch of Claude's mouth when Nanaue starts jogging towards them which might betray his amusement, since - he's not sure what other reaction to have. Confusion filters in there somewhere too, but the potential for this overrides it. His own horse sidesteps a bit as Nanaue draws closer and he reaches to pat her neck in reassurance.

Perhaps they're all on the same page here, though Nanaue with less uncertainty as Claude shakes his head in response to Istredd. Even if there's just as much internal confusion on his end, his answer comes with far more amusement when it follows Nanaue's question in return. Never turn down a chance for added adventure, or something like that.

"We're headed to Luna with this wagon and we might get to see some interesting sights along the way. You wanna come along and help out if no one has any objections? The more the merrier, I always say."

There's a mumble behind them he ignores in favor of looking to Istredd with raised eyebrows to await his answer. Claude meant it, at least, about there being a benefit in more escorts along for this trip. It can't hurt. Probably.

Istredd checks on the horses and the Luna people to see if there's anyone who one hundred percent is against the sudden appearance of the sharkman. He can't really see any reason not to allow him, and also put in the awkward position of what to say to him if the answer is no. Ah well. He exchanges a look with Claude and shrugs his shoulders to indicate he's on board, if confused. Nanaue probably can't hurt the journey as he seems content to jog behind them. Istredd doesn't think they can get him up on a horse.

"We need to make sure the bodies in the wagon stay safe and untouched. They have ...." Contaminants as a term is probably reaching. "Sickness in them, bad things could happen if we don't get them there. Is that okay with you, Nanaue?" That way Nanaue understands what the priority is. Although he can also sightsee as they go if that's better.

Nanaue's flat, black eyes skip from one horsed person to the next, and then then wagon itself. He lifts his snout, as though tasting the air. The pungent smell that had drawn him down to the gathering seems to be coming from within.

"... bad sick. Okay."

He seems uncertain, and perhaps disappointed to be told - yet again, that there are no nom noms here.

"I go Luna..."

He's never been there before!

Nanaue turns from the wagon to stare a little too long at one of the horses...

"There, it's official! We'll be the best team of escorts by far, and see some interesting sights along the way." More than likely. Claude's not entirely sure what traveling with a shark entails as he watches the investigation of the air, but he's ready to find out as he sends a grin Nanaue's way first and then Istredd's.

By the time he looks back, though, he's noted that look at a nearby horse right before the horse itself notices and sidesteps. Well - maybe some distractions are in order as a forested area approaches ahead on the road.

"Hey, I bet there's probably some interesting things up ahead once we get into these trees. What do you think's in there? I'm betting on there being some sort of game."

It's the sort of thing that after Claude says it aloud, it occurs to him maybe he shouldn't tempt the fates, the gods, or whatever else. But things have been going smoothly so far, so he's going to hold onto that positivity of hoping for the best (and the confidence of having a shark on their side) instead of retracting it.

That explanation seems to have satisfied the sharkman so Istredd's glad that if he's coming, he generally knows what to expect. He is keeping an eye on the wagon pretty closely, certain the enchantments will hold but it doesn't hurt to have attention on it in case.

"I swear if one of the Nocwich beasts shows up in those trees, I'm never letting you hear the end of it, Claude." It is partly a joke and partly serious, as he never really misses an opportunity to say 'I told you so.' One of the Luna escorts smiles wryly at him as if to say same.

"I've hunted many of them with Lucifer, they're not exactly easy, so be ready just in case." Istredd joins his partner in the hunting grounds occasionally to let off some steam and make some money. He's been there enough times he knows the common predators. There are plenty who will just do their own thing and not get involved otherwise.

"Do you know how well the returning of bodies has gone in the Free Cities?" This to Claude. He'd ask Nanaue but he's not ultimately that certain how aware the sharkman is of what happens in Solvunn. He's welcome to answer himself though, as Istredd didn't note a specific person to be polite.

Game? He wonders what kind of game...

With the horses moving, Nanaue keeps an uneven pace with the little group. Sometimes he lags behind by some meters, distracted by a bug or bird, and has to jog to catch up again. If they've never seen him in action before, they might be surprised how fast and quietly he moves, as though he truly is a predator suited for land and sea - minus how easily distracted he gets.

At some point he starts collecting little flowers, attaching them to the back of the wagon.

Most of them fall off.

Claude keeps an eye on Nanaue here and there as they go, unable to completely smother the smile which appears when the flowers appear and become part of the wagon. Or mostly so since they don't seem to want to stay, but it's an endearing gesture all the same.

"Well, I think," he answers Istredd after getting a bit distracted by that and as they enter the woods proper since for all his casualness, he sits up a little straighter in his saddle to be alert for what might happen. "I helped deliver some of the letters to loved ones though I wish there was more that could've been done but just that. At least it's closure of a sort. How's Thorne been handling it?"

Something he's genuinely curious about, but also: "And don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for what I might've brought on us if there is anything also watching us right back in here. Just in case it's -"

A sentence he won't get to finish since there's an ominous cracking noise after they travel over a particularly bumpy part in the road, and one he recognizes from many a war march. Something on the wagon just broke and it's with a wince he brings his horse to a halt. "Ah. Let's hope that's not as bad as it sounded."

Istredd glances back to see the flowers Nanaue brought and despite his usual overly serious personality, he smiles faintly. He looks around them as the move into the woods, ready with protection spells if they need it, and turns his attention to Claude. The Luna guards with them also tense up, although this is their land so they're prepared, they're just getting ready.

"Much the same. We did manage to identify a decent amount of bodies, in part thanks to arcana symbols they kept." Istredd found a few talismans and pins on the bodies. It didn't necessarily mean anything, there were a lot of Empresses after all, but they were able to correspond missing people with missing arcanas and locations. Thorne cares a little bit more about the arcana than the Free Cities, for example.

He jumps a little at the cracking noise and they stop the wagon. The Luna guards take a look and say they could push on, but it runs a risk. Istredd shakes his head. "We don't want this to crack open if the wagon crashes, I think we should repair it." He glances to Claude for agreement but it seems like the best idea for all of them.

One of the Lunae is in the midst of doing just that when they can hear the sound of a woman crying at a distance. Istredd's head whips that way but then there's more than one. He and the Lunae exchange a sharp look. "Don't be fooled, the Ceknias hunt like this." They nod at him, clearly agreeing with much longer experience.

In the dark, they'll see bright eyes shine. Seven different pairs, all staring at them, surrounding the group. Istredd has a sword but it's not his instinctive reaction, it's magic. He puts a protective shield around the wagon and the bodies atop it, following it up with a light spell that hovers in the air and shows the pack of Ceknias closing in on them.

"They hunt to kill, be careful!"

Oh no! Even Nanaue is startled out of his self-appointed tasks to notice the broken wheel. The others look like they are taking care out it, though, so he doesn't bother them. Instead, he starts wandering around, looking for more pretty flowers... or rocks... or birds...

"Sad lady...?" he asks, glancing around curiously toward the noise. The many sets of bright eyes look like lights - little fairies? Or bugs? But he gives a sharp, annoyed grunt when it becomes clear they are larger beasts. Predators baring their fangs at them. Irritated, Nanaue lets out a roar in response - for all his child-like speech, there is nothing human about this loud noise that seems to shake the tree branches. He stomps one foot in challenge, like an angry bull. Some of the strange, mean deer seem to hesitate for a moment. Calculating, the way most predatory creatures do, the odds of injury or death versus success. One of them, perhaps younger and less experienced, drives the charge and launches at Nanaue, two others not far behind.

The first one he catches by the throat, easily lifting its body with his other hand and ripping its head off. He throws the body at one of the creatures charging toward him.

At that cry, Claude's instinctively reaching for his bow to ready it with one hand going to rest on his quiver as he stares out into the trees. "I remember them from the hunting grounds. Nasty little ones, aren't they?"

Said with casualness which belies just how closely he's watching those eyes as they appear to stare back at them just as forebodingly, and which covers up that he's sizing up the distance while drawing an arrow to nock it. The odds - they aren't impossible but they aren't great, and when Istredd lights up the area he readies a shot. Instinct would have him letting it fly in practically the same instant, but what he's not ready for is what happens next.

Nanaue's roar makes his horse sidestep again, but Claude doesn't miss that it does the same to the Ceknias. Before he can take advantage of that, what happens next almost goes by too quick to register as one Ceknias is in the air, headless, and then launched right back. If it wasn't for the remaining predators rushing their way he might've stayed frozen in astonishment a bit longer, but instead the arrow at his bow finds its home in that third rushing Ceknias which screeches in response.

"Drive them back a bit if you can!" That's to whoever responds first when some habits of taking charge to organize a fight come up by instinct. If they could get a bit more space it'll help with staying on the defensive, and he's already reaching for another arrow to send flying with deadly aim towards one menacing Istredd. "And do that again, Nanaue!"

"Very nasty, and they don't give up easily. There also might be more than we think, being pack animals." Basically, they shouldn't let their guard down. The eyes are giving very good indicators of where and how many there are ... for now.

He almost wishes he didn't put a light spell though when he sees Nanaue rip the head off one. Istredd has a very weak stomach for gore but luckily the adrenaline of danger will keep him from focusing too much on that. He's gotten better at it after Lucifer ripped and tore bodies apart enough around him. It might be a gruesome attack, but Nanaue's impressive strength might make this less of a challenging fight, so they're lucky he's there.

"Brace yourselves!" Istredd can use a sword if he needs to, he's very good with them these days, but his instinct is battle magic always. Telekinesis is one of his strongest abilities so he slams his hands together and a burst of power slams from him to push several of them backwards as they try to run closer. It could catch Nanaue if he's not braced, although the shark is far sturdier than anyone else.

The Ceknias rear back and start circling them, playing it smart and attacking their Lunae friends instead of the three strangers. The fight shifts to the right, so they'll have to move to defend the rest of the party.

Edited 2024-02-08 03:39 (UTC)

Nanaue crunches down greedily on the skull in its hands and gives out another ground shaking roar in response to Claude's command.

He can take that as a solid 'okay'.

A blast of invisible energy slams into his side, upsetting his footing and sending him staggering into another unlucky beast. He simply opens his jaws and bites down, in the blink of an eye there's another headless Ceknias corpse in their midst.

In the blood and feeding frenzy his eyes have turned all black.

That roar is enough for Claude to direct his attention elsewhere what with taking that as confirmation - even before another Ceknias meets its end and the magic blasts between them. It's brutal all around, but Claude'll consider the implications of that later like all the other times post battle. For now this clears a path for him to direct his reluctant horse around some of the chaos in order to take one shot after another, enough to slow some of the onslaught as it forces the Ceknias back to regroup again.

Unfortunately, they choose to go against the Lunae once more rather than being dissuaded to focus on them. With a curse under his breath Claude fires another arrow then nudges his horse forward again, and this time with the reins in one hand and bow resting on the saddle so he can retrieve the collapsible sword stashed in the sash at his waist.

From there Claude swings and connects with the Ceknias looming over the nearest Lunae. An assist from his horse with a well timed kick clears enough of a path to defend where he's at until their traveling companions time to go on the offensive. That's enough for him to go back to disrupting whatever the Ceknias have planned, but not quite as much as someone else can.

"Istredd, hit them with that magic again if you can!" An arrow takes out one more which goes crashing to the ground in what he hopes is luck turning further to their side, and another forceful attack might just do it.

The roar is startling and frankly impressive, and he luckily is a master at concentration or he could get distracted. He is pointedly not looking at the head chomping, although somewhere in the back of his mind he has seen it and won't forget it.

The Lunae are used to fighting these creatures but perhaps not so many at once, given that they usually can get through this area peacefully. They are also focused on getting the wheel done and protecting the wagon, so the timely intervention by Claude is helpful.

"Everyone go as close to the wagon as you can." The horses and Lunae are already close and since he's unsure if Nanaue will listen to him, he reaches out with a hand and tugs him hard back toward them. That is the best he can do before he focuses his willpower on one of the strongest spells he knows in Academic Magic, his own Chaos too dangerous. A powerful shockwave pushes out to snap the creatures backward, scrambling their wits as well as so they seem dazed.

This makes them vulnerable and probably easier to pick off. "Now, while they're confused," he says, a little out of breath.

Nanaue's feeding frenzy has his mind clouded in red mist, he doesn't hear the warning and is startled to find himself being pulled back by some invisible force again, this time knocked on his ass. He rises next to one of the Lunae guards on his horse, snapping powerful jaws dangerously close to the beast's legs. The horse startles and nearly throws the poor rider.

His dark gaze lingers for a moment on the pair as they back off, and then he's launching himself back toward the Ceknias as they try to recover from the daze of the blast. He isn't just killing and moving on now - the beasts are smart enough not to charge him at this point and so his attention remains fixed on one meal at a time. Nanaue tears a chunk out of a Ceknias' ribcage and continues eating, its corpse disappears shockingly fast beneath his rows of teeth.

That Istredd sounds out of breath gets a sharp but momentary look of concern sent the mage's way and with it the fleeting thought of friends from home worn out from overuse of magic, but - now isn't the time

It takes but a second to make a decision: if the Ceknias won't go to Nanaue, then it's time to herd them that way. Back to his bow and arrow it is since there's less room to move on horseback and each swing of his sword will require more calculation than it's worth. Instead he takes aim, this time to (mostly) intentionally miss the creatures but with the arrows singing a silent warning to them to move.

The confusion Istredd's cast on them helps as they scramble away from the arrows to let Nanaue approach ever closer and take ever more bites with fearsomely sharp teeth. Their numbers are considerably less than those initial glowing eyes peering out at them, and the momentum's changed to be in their favor. "Give it everything you've got!" To who he's calling out to - all three of them, really, as he changes to swift shots meant to kill.

He's fine, it just takes willpower to protect the group of them while pushing external violent spells. If he was using pure Chaos it would be harder too, Academic Magic is far simpler, which is why he uses the two of them interchangeably during combat. Istredd is still pointedly trying to ignore the shark eating openly, he knows he has a weak stomach, this is the worst time to get distracted by that.

Guiding the Ceknias toward Nanaue is a good game play because they are clearly cowed by him, losing their bravery to a superior predator. The Lunae guards learn from Claude and do the same thing, attack them so they spring to the side and end up in his vicinity. Istredd shoots fire from his hands but they too are to scare them into the shark man.

Eventually they smarten up. While the beasts rarely back off prey without a kill, they seem to understand how few are left and are scared off by the sharkman ripping them to bits. After some skitters and snaps on the outskirts, the remaining two (only two left!) Ceknias rushes off. If they have more of a herd farther away, it's unknown, but they have lost this battle.

The Lunae are relieved and the one from before goes back to focusing on the wheel. Istredd intentionally keeps his eyes off Nanue still, looking at Claude. "I'm pretty sure I said I'm never letting you hear the end of it."

Nanaue does not react to the concerted effort around him, other than to continue messily consuming the beasts as they're herded within his significant reach. The sounds are no better than the sights, unfortunately for poor Istredd - the crunch of bone, the tearing of flesh, the death cries of the Ceknias as they're torn into more manageable pieces to be consumed.

He doesn't notice when it's all over, other than to sit down and more slowly eat his meal as its spread all around him in leftover pieces. It becomes less of a frenzy, and slightly more recognizable intelligence returns to his flat, black eyes - like the world's most grotesque toddler at the seat of its own tantrum.

It may be difficult to convince him to move for a little while - but there's still the wheel.

"Hey now, at least you'll never let me hear the end of our victory!" It's because it is a victory that it's easier to joke about: they're all in one piece if not in varying states of adrenaline from the sudden attack, and the Ceknias are most certainly not all thanks to Nanaue. Claude's vaguely aware of the Lunae exchanging a look off to the side though he doesn't check if it's out of relief or something like annoyance thanks to his cavalier attitude. "That counts for something, right? Let's take stock of what's going on here now that the Ceknias have... ah, departed."

That's first paired with looking towards Nanaue. The shark's seated which is something Claude takes as a good sign now that things have calmed down. Istredd seems okay as he looks to the mage next with a grin somewhere between pleased and sheepish, and it's reassuring to that brief worry he'd had about the use of that intense magic being too much. The Lunae also seem alright as one of them kneels down by the wagon, and that's all the encouragement Claude needs to get moving.

With one fluid motion he dismounts from his horse and ties the reins to the wagon to prevent her from wandering off, something she offers an unimpressed snort to as he pets her nose afterwards. "Unfortunately, I can't claim to be good at fixing anything except clocks and that's only because Viktor's taught me," is what he continues with while crouching down next to the wheel investigation and adjusting his gloves, "but I can gladly grab whatever's needed to help those who know what they're doing here."

Istredd knows the second he looks at Nanaue and the body parts he's chewing on, he'll get sick, so he's pointedly not observing any of that. The sounds he can't stop, but he tries to keep it in the back of his mind and focus on what they're doing instead. The Lunae are focusing on the wheel and figuring out next steps themselves; if they look unsettled at the shark a few times, they don't say anything about it. Probably for the best.

"It is a victory, they usually don't run away." Istredd's pretty certain they get stubborn about that, but survival still counts higher in a situation like this. He has gotten his wind back from exerting his willpower. The good thing about magic is that it refills in strength, for people who knows how to contain it well. He's hoping they won't end up with another conflict though.

Istredd has no ability to help with the wheel, but he does go to the wagon, looking concerned. "The enchantments are going to fade, they weren't set to last much longer than our expected time." He tests out the wards thoughtfully, considering in his head what would be needed. The Lunae use different spells than he does. "I can probably fix it."

"Will it hold until we get to our destination?" Though he'd been cheerfully kidding around mere moments ago as if this is the sort of thing which happens to all of them collectively or individually all the time, Istredd pointing this out immediately shifts Claude back to seriousness.

With a hand braced on the wheel to keep it from splintering while one of the Lunae goes to retrieve some tools since he can manage that much, he looks up to Istredd with concern he finds matched on the other man's face. A glance back over his shoulder to make sure Nanaue's still doing alright is next, but then it's back to business here at hand. With the tools and spare parts being set out - some of which he recognizes and some of which he doesn't, though now's no time to ask despite his curiosity - he shifts again to help slide the wheel out to give access to someone who does know what they're doing so they can get right to work.

That comes with the promise the fix isn't an elaborate one but that'll be enough to get them to where they need to go where a better repair can be done, so that's a relief. All that leaves is the other obstacle which is far more critical than the wheel.

"We've got this so you do what you need to do, Istredd. Hopefully we can get moving before too long and a bit faster at that, just to be safe."

"I'll make it hold." Istredd is not going to take any chance that it wears off before they get there. The bodies here are being escorted because they have potentially dangerous waste elements. Considering they know all too well how horrible the taint of the island can leave on people, on these corpses in particular, they can't run the risk.

He moves around the wagon as he thinks, waving one of the Lunae over that he knows has some magical knowledge. They talk quietly for a moment as Istredd makes certain he knows what the spell originated from and he nods. It won't match up entirely but that's fine, as his Academic Magic is powerful. This is not nearly as impressive a spell as a shockwave, although it requires just as much effort, the effect settling onto the wagon and securing it tightly. Istredd takes a deep breath in again, letting it out.

"Nanaue, we should be up and moving in a few minutes, do you want a ... towel or something to wash off ... all that?" No Istredd is not looking at him, he just knows.

[ CLOSED ] into an ocean

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will message you about next step :D

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I figure we can do this round and then next round start the conflict :)

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cw animal death and gross stuff

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cw for shark eating things and other gross stuff

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please skip the shark while the wheel is being fixed

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poor istredd is suffering

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You guys can do little ending taggers if you want or this is wrap!

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