abraxaslogs | out into the unknown (march catch-all)

Oftentimes it can be difficult to tell the difference.

[ Thancred means that genuinely. When someone is injured, desperate and in pain, their calls for help can sound like any other beast's. He knows better than to assume that they won't run into trouble and that there won't be ravenous beasts trying to prey on anyone who's in danger, so he strides ahead, purposefully putting himself in front of Rhy.

Frankly, it's something that comes naturally to him by now. Even among his closest companions, he is generally the ones who takes the lead, ready to accept the blows of any foes they encounter. Himeka, Urianger, or Alphinaud are always there to keep him healed up so that he can take those beatings, and it works like a charm. He won't have them to rely on here, but that isn't going to stop him.

After only a few minutes of walking, Thancred spots ahead of them what looks to be a merchant's wagon that's gotten stuck in a ditch on the forest path. He holds up a hand to indicate that Rhy should halt, allowing his ring to illuminate what's before them in the same motion. ]

It might be a trap. [ He whispers the words. ] Let me go first.

[ Rhy nods, understanding. On both accounts. He falls back, holding the flame-light aloft higher so the glow it casts reaches farther ahead for both of them. It assists Thancred's lantern in illuminating the merchant wagon, but the darkness beyond feels even deeper for it. Rhy strains to hear any sound again, but for now, the area is silent, save for the distance shouts from the city.

He holds his ground, waiting with bated breath, ready to reach for his sword.

Something moves in the shadows, outside the circle of orange light. Startled, Rhy turns toward it, willing the flame brighter in a sudden burst that singes his fingers slightly but manages to push the outer edges of the ring of light further beyond their current scope. ]

[ With a decently lit path to the wagon, Thancred approaches, fingers twitching and ready to grab for his gunblade at the first sign of something amiss. He reaches the wagon door and wrenches it open, immediately met by the terrified face of a merchant, with two other figures huddling in the darkness behind him.

There's something out there in the woods, a terrible beast, the man says, barely loud enough to be heard. Please, help us!

Thancred nods, closing the door just as soon as he opened it. The wagon should serve as decent shelter for the civilians while he and Rhy handle the potential threat. Thancred did hear something as well, and as he turns he can see that Rhy is trying to track it with his flame. It's difficult to see much of anything when it's pitch dark save for their meager sources of light.

He hears it again — movement in the brush. He nods in the direction it came from, a silent signal to Rhy, before he starts to move toward it. He is somehow able to move while hardly making a noise, though he knows the chances of ambushing this creature (or whatever it is) are quite slim. He draws his gunblade, ready to swing or fire it at the first sign of danger. ]

[ Rhy strains to listen, unable to quite catch what's being said from the wagon, but there are no screams and Thancred doesn't seem concerned about the civilians. He'll have to trust the other man's judgement. For now, Rhy turns his attention to the forests, the deep shadows hiding who-knows-what within.

A tree creaks, shuddering in a way that definitely wasn't from the cold but easy breeze. Branches snap under a significant weight.

Large, curved tusks far too high up in the air glint in the warm light of the glow ring and Rhy's flame, attached to a flat-ended snot with flaring nostrils, hot breath steaming in the frigid air.

Despite himself, Rhy gasps, staring at the enormous boar pushing its head through the trees, barely illuminated. It snorts, pawing the ground, shakes its massive body and tosses its head. The nearby trees protest and groan, dumping snow on the creature when they're rattled, though it doesn't seem to care. ]

Wh-what is that?

[ As soon as the creature shows itself, towering over the two of them, the wagon, and even some of the trees, Thancred immediately skids back away from it and out of its direct path. It is massive, and while he has fought other creatures this size, that's not to say that it hasn't taken him by surprise. He hasn't had the chance to venture too far from the castle or its attached town until now, and so while he had heard that monstrous creatures existed in the woods, there had only been so much he could gather from the tomes in the library.

As his brain catches up with his body, though, he does think he read about this one. ]

A mammoth boar, I think it's called?

[ He doesn't want it to get too close to the wagon, and so he steps forward, drawing his gunblade to make a few aggressive slashes in the air. He isn't outright attacking, but also wants to make sure that the beast stays off the road. The boar makes a squealing noise of anger and snorts through its nostrils, pawing at the ground with its hooves. ]

Do you see any other boars around it? Smaller ones?

[ Thancred attempts to look as well, but Rhy's flame is brighter than his ring, and he's focused on facing down the boar for now, ready to spring into action if it chooses to charge. He seems to recall that these things migrate with their young, so it stands to reason that it's protecting its offpsring. ]

[ Rhy stares, dumbfounded. He's never seen a creature like this before. ]

Monster boar, more like...

[ He tears his eyes away, resisting the instinct to flinch back, and pushes himself to move closer to Thancred. The flame-light, simple as it is, is already more magic than Rhy was ever going to be capable of managing back home, and now that he can actually use it, he's been practicing. It still doesn't come as easily to him as it has for some others he's spoken with among the Summoned, but Rhy's been diligent.

Concentrating his focus (easier said than done with a giant boar snorting at them), Rhy takes his other hand and 'pulls' at the orb of flickering flame above his left palm. It expands, slowly, a spinning ball of light between his outstretched hands.

The boar does not seem pleased, but he'll trust Thancred for now, knowing he's not really good enough with a sword to face down an enormous beast. He's here as support; he can be useful. ]

Smaller ones? I can't tell. The shadows in the trees--

Wait. I think something else moved.

[ Does the boar have young with it? That would explain its aggression-- then again, what does Rhy know about monster boars? Maybe they're always like this. ]

[ The boar makes another shuddering noise through its nose as Rhy comes toward Thancred with that light, but they've managed to avoid startling it enough that it attacks, which is one small blessing. Thancred keeps his gaze on it, though he avoids making direct eye contact, doing his best to not make it seem as if he's issuing some sort of challenge or staking a claim on any territory.

With Rhy at his side, he can see the woods beyond the massive boar at least a smidge better, and he's able to spot the outline of a much smaller creature that's half-hidden behind the beast's back legs. There are likely more that he can't yet see. ]

It must have been herding its young somewhere when the eclipse started, then ended up turned around and strayed too close to the city as a result. [ Thancred tsks under his breath. This is quite the sensitive situation, with a wagon full of civilians behind him. He can't just kill the thing, as that would leave a number of young boars who couldn't take care of themselves and could easily cause more problems in their confusion. ]

We need to scare it off, away from the main road, if we can.

[ He risks a glance down at his gunblade. If he expels one of the cartridges into a nearby tree, it might be enough to spook the boar. For now, it's refusing to back away from them, but it also hasn't chosen to attack yet. They're in something of a holding pattern. ]

I can make a fairly loud noise with this thing, if you can distract it for a moment. How large can you make that flame?

Large enough, I think.

[ He nods, understanding. In all honesty, Rhy feels bad for the creature; it was only trying to protect its young, and if Thancred is correct that it's just confused, that's even sadder. He doesn't want to hurt the boar or its little ones. Still, he doesn't want the people hiding the wagon to suffer its wrath either, however misplaced. ]

What's your plan to keep it from running this way if it panics? You think it'll turn around and go?

[ Rhy considers his own options. He's been practicing with the fire, but not with anything very large. Still, he's been getting better at shaping it. ]

I can try to set a temporary line of fire to push it back and make sure she doesn't bolt forward instead.

[ While Thancred's calculation is that the boar will be much more likely to retreat back into the trees than charge out onto a well-traveled road, he certainly isn't going to turn down further assurance of that. A line of fire would give the boar only one option of where to go — that is, away from them. ]

Good thinking. [ He flashes Rhy a brief smile of encouragement, even given the tense situation they're in at the moment. The boar's bright eyes dart between them, and Thancred feels the ground tremor slightly as the beast shifts its weight. ]

I'll move on your signal. Sooner rather than later, if you can manage.

[ He's maintaining his cool quite well, if only because he's been in fraught situations such as this before. The boar will be able to pick up on their anxiety, so the less he can agitate it, the better. ]

[ With a tight nod, Rhy turns his concentration on his magic again. He's never summoned fire this large or sustained before, but putting together everything he's practiced and learned so far, it should be doable. He has been putting his efforts to shaping the flame recently, with Stephen's help of course.

He mutters to himself, something unintelligible that might have been a different language, coaxing the fire. ON his signal-- whatever that may be. He decides to be straightforward as possible. ]

Now.

[ Rhy spreads his arms, pushing forth a bright arc of flame that lashes out like a whip, forming a line in front of them in a brief barricade. ]

[ Thancred does not quite know the ask that he is making. He's friendly with people who can manage amazing feats with their magick, and so a wall of fire does not seem like it should require much. Therefore, when that flame is erected in a dissuading barrier, it's more or less what he's expected.

Besides, it's not as if there's time for them to chat about it. Rhy gives the signal and Thancred springs into action, lunging for the nearest tree that he can access without catching his coat on fire. He shoves his gunblade toward it and then squeezes the trigger, causing a contained explosion that is mostly muffled by the trunk of the tree.

Still, it's a loud enough noise. Between that and the licking flames, the boar has no good reason to stay here and no means by which to come closer to them. It lets out a bellowing noise, somewhere between a squeal and a roar, and then turns to retreat. Along with its thundering footsteps, Thancred can hear a few other pairs following after it. ]

Nice work. [ Thancred nods to Rhy, then returns his gunblade to his back and makes for the wagon. No doubt all the noise has left the civilians inside frightened and shaken up, and he would prefer to ease their concerns as soon as possible. He wrenches the door open once more. ] It's all right now, the coast is clear. We can free your wagon from this ditch and escort you back to the castle. Do you have any injured?

[ To Rhy's surprise (which is stronger than is probably safe, considering what he's just done), it works, and pretty much flawlessly at that. He'll have to save being proud of himself for later though, as the boars' hasty retreat leaves them to tend to the civilians, whom Thancred is quickly rushing to.

Rhy follows him, immediately switching gears to put on his softest, most soothing smile as he peers into the wagon, offering a hand to help anyone out who needs it. ]

You're all right now. Here, let me help you.

[ Thankfully, no one seems to be heavily injured. There are a few cuts and scrapes that Rhy can easily tend to, the minor healing spells he's learned coming in good use. It's more for their morale than out of necessity, but between him and Thancred helping out, it seems they are less frightened. Luckily, no other trouble arises on the way back to the castle either, while Rhy allows Thancred to keep on alert and spends his energy distracting the merchant's terrified young apprentice with quiet conversation. ]

out into the unknown (march catch-all)

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