[There's a blessed moment when he thinks it will go smoothly. When Yennefer comes over to him next to the horses to wait, and after Thancred's planted the device down and it starts to quietly rotate, he thinks to himself, Good. We're close to being done.
He should know better, of course. Stephen spots a contour rising from the water, something that looks like a wave until it draws concerningly near enough to be recognized as not quite that, and he knows that can't be anything but good. He curses under his breath, begins to push himself off of his mare's saddle when Yennefer shoves all of the horses' reins in his hands-]
Wait!
[Dammit. She's already darted off, as impatient as he is, brandishing a plain sword in her hands, and when the creature rises from the sand of the shore, tentacle-like limbs writhing, Stephen can't abide by simply standing here and watching it all unfold.
Thankfully, whatever it is seems to have more interest in the thaumametor than Thancred, latching onto the device with its long, sticky limb and uprooting it from the sand, lifting it in a slow swing in the air. It begins to sink back down and he knows that isn't good; one missing thaumametor at the hands of a sea creature still counts as a failed mission, and the fact that they are seconds away from wasting so much time catapults him into action.
He releases the reins. They will have to deal with spooked horses darting off this way and that later, because Stephen needs both hands for this. He casts with sharp and hurried gestures, his spiking adrenaline a balm for his aching middle, and lengthy crimson bands of magic burst forward and coil around the monster's thieving limb, wrapping around and tightening like a whip. Stephen holds onto his end with both hands, pulling. The magic does most of the heavy lifting, and he doesn't have to do much more than dig his feet into the sand and be stubborn about letting go. But he's tired, and still recovering from a fresh wound, and even his create-a-plan-off-the-cuff way of thinking hasn't really evolved past "keep it bound and don't let it run off with their thaumametor". This will still be a trial.
Seemingly surprised by its bound limb, the monster thrashes its other towards Thancred, the closest.]
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He should know better, of course. Stephen spots a contour rising from the water, something that looks like a wave until it draws concerningly near enough to be recognized as not quite that, and he knows that can't be anything but good. He curses under his breath, begins to push himself off of his mare's saddle when Yennefer shoves all of the horses' reins in his hands-]
Wait!
[Dammit. She's already darted off, as impatient as he is, brandishing a plain sword in her hands, and when the creature rises from the sand of the shore, tentacle-like limbs writhing, Stephen can't abide by simply standing here and watching it all unfold.
Thankfully, whatever it is seems to have more interest in the thaumametor than Thancred, latching onto the device with its long, sticky limb and uprooting it from the sand, lifting it in a slow swing in the air. It begins to sink back down and he knows that isn't good; one missing thaumametor at the hands of a sea creature still counts as a failed mission, and the fact that they are seconds away from wasting so much time catapults him into action.
He releases the reins. They will have to deal with spooked horses darting off this way and that later, because Stephen needs both hands for this. He casts with sharp and hurried gestures, his spiking adrenaline a balm for his aching middle, and lengthy crimson bands of magic burst forward and coil around the monster's thieving limb, wrapping around and tightening like a whip. Stephen holds onto his end with both hands, pulling. The magic does most of the heavy lifting, and he doesn't have to do much more than dig his feet into the sand and be stubborn about letting go. But he's tired, and still recovering from a fresh wound, and even his create-a-plan-off-the-cuff way of thinking hasn't really evolved past "keep it bound and don't let it run off with their thaumametor". This will still be a trial.
Seemingly surprised by its bound limb, the monster thrashes its other towards Thancred, the closest.]