Adventure. Yes, that's going to become a secret codeword between the two of them quite soon. Kell would count the rest of their little field trip group in, but he has a hunch it wasn't quite the adventure for them. If that gets him to see another part of the kingdom, that's actually useful. That and being seen as helpful. He's still pretty shake from his own encounter with the guards.
Kell is currently biased against the whole avian race. But they told them not to murderify the local wildlife while they help the sea creatures. He nodded through the explanation about the enchanted nets and the cages.
"I don't see myself hauling the turtle, and they did leave us the equipment."
He shrugs, then looks up at the source of a particularly egregious shriek.
"Reiterating the obvious, do not kill the birds," he says, looking specifically at Lucifer. Istredd knows he doesn't have to tell Kell that, but it's for the record. The record that's between the three of them. They are there to help the animals.
"You're supposed to be the strong one anyway, Lucifer. You help with the turtle." Lucifer's the fallen archangel who teaches people combat, it should go without saying that he is the obvious muscle when going around with two bookish mages. He takes the ropes they were given and whispers stronger enchantments on them. Not to say Thorne mages don't do a great job themselves, but he feels better when it's his magic in Lucifer's hands than theirs.
He does the same for the enchanted nets and offers it over to Kell. "Do you know of good scare tactics with birds? There are some scatter options."
"I won't kill the birds!" he sings in reply, waving his hands like that makes him any more innocent. "Just keep them off me as much as the turtle!"
But no promises.
He does give Istredd a minor thought of gratitude for the enchantments as he takes the ropes from him. He prefers that magic over Thorne's, and hauls them over his shoulder, backing up through the sand towards the turtle and waggles his brows at Kell.
"Go ahead, I believe in you." If it were to many other people it likely would be completely sarcastic, but there are hints to truths to the words, counteracted by him snapping dual-fingerguns at Kell. "Just don't run after them flailing your arms."
Honestly, Kell could be the muscle of the group, as good as Lucifer is. He was trained in combat since early age. While he doesn't have many chances to exercise this particular skill now, he at least tries to keep himself from deteriorating. However, he actually prefers the task he was assigned, no matter the underlining assumption. Scaring or even catching birds sounds a lot less gross than wrestling a smelly turtle in the mud. He does roll his eyes at Lucifer before turning back to Istredd to answer his question.
"I was looking for something that could make a lot of noise. Like a pan, or actually any flat metal surface will do."
And hoping said noise won't have the unintended consequence of scaring more than the birds. Like it won't provoke the turtle to do something rash.
Lucifer isn't human so he does have a low-key leg up in some places, but his species is not public knowledge, so Istredd just knows well enough that he can handle helping the turtle easily. Since he can't be trusted with the birds. Istredd does look up at them with consideration.
"I know some spells that could disperse them but they'd only come back." So trapping them did seem like the logical option. He has the enhanced nets ready for that purpose. He contemplates Kell's idea and frowns, glancing over his shoulder at the turtle.
"I think it's best not to disturb it. They say small sand crabs will distract them long enough to be caught. I am suddenly struck by the wish to be able to speak to animals, like some of our companions."
He has a real bad feeling about this. Is it the birds? It's probably the birds. He's envisioning Istredd or Kell becoming a crab siren. Just standing in the middle of the beach and an army of crabs popping out and shuffling towards them.
Talk about a useless ability.
And, speaking of useless abilities: "Talking to animals is a useless ability!"
Unbeknownst to any of them (or at least Lucifer), his brother has the ability to speak with animals.
It doesn't make his statement any less true.
"You know, heave-ho?" this is said to some of the others around the turtle, with Lucifer making gestures, most of them not obscene, to try and get things moving.
"But the birds--"
"The knuckleheads will take care of the birds," Lucifer argues. "They know what they're doing, they've been training for this." That gets him many dubious glances. Weird, right? It's almost like they don't believe him. The continued squawking, threatening from above, shadows waiting to dive, is just as bad as the rest of the gathering.
Istredd replies, extremely maturely, to his roommate's opinion about talking to animals.
He knows that Lucifer is probably anxious about the birds and they do look like they could be more than annoying, and he doesn't currently see any crabs. The birds start to swoop and Istredd acts without thinking, creating an instant shield high up over the turtle and the people pulling on it. It's powerful but it won't last forever.
"Kell, maybe they have a bucket with crabs or something. But I have an idea. Get one of the nets and stand to the left over there." He has to focus on what he's doing, it's not as if it's a cast and done, although it's still holding well. "I'm going to let down that part of the shield when it tries to push through, and you can hopefully catch it in the net." It's not the fastest solution, they'll have to do it one at a time, but it's a plan.
Kell rolls his eyes hearing Istredd's and Lucifer's banter. Saints, they sound like an old couple, really. The thought strikes him as weird. Distracts him enough that he doesn't notice when one of the flock circling above them decides to dive. What he does notice is the shield unfolding over the turtle right on time. He always notices magic. Kell blinks away the stupid thought, to focus on the bird, and Istredd's words. Because he said something, right?
"What?" he starts, but then catches up quickly. "Oh, the net. Yes, I can." It's not like he has a plan.
Kell moves quickly, maybe a bit too fast for a human, but he's able to scoop a net from the pile they left them in, reach the right spot in time to throw the net upward. The shield gives and the falling bird dives right in the middle of it. Its own speed helping the enchanted ropes wrap around it before it even realized what is happening. Kell catches it before it hits the sand. The bird too shocked to struggle long enough, so he can grab a cage and toss the bird inside. Only then, it starts to screech and flap its wings in panic.
"And stay there." Kell declares with glee. Stupid birds.
Then he looks up and his mood sours immediately.
"Can you do that again?!" he yells to Istredd. "Because there are more of them up there with a similar idea."
All the ruckus seems to attract more birds, not scare them away. Kell is quite happy they didn't go with his plan.
He had braced himself for bird divebombs and was surprised by the shocked squawks when they didn't make purchase, and he blinks, looking at the shield. ...Thanks.
"See!" he exclaims to the workers. "What did I tell you? They know what they're doing."
Good tag-teaming on Istredd and Kell's part is finally what gets the rest of the crew in gear to work at moving the ropes in unison.
He's going to actively ignore the birds now. If the other two have actually devised some strategy off quick-thinking, he supposes he can trust them to keep at it and just focus on his end of this.
This requires far more precision than it may seem on the outside since picking exact spots to release in a shield is more difficult than keeping it all up. If he did a generic spell shield he wouldn't be able to pull any parts down. Luckily he's been doing magic for a very long time.
"Kell, what I need you to do is pinpoint which birds are in the right positions to make your catch easier and then tell me where. You can see the whole better than I can right now."
Because Istredd's focus is on maintaining it, especially with birds all pushing down trying to get to the delicious aroma and no doubt the people helping the turtle. The first one was just to test a theory, but he knows a partnership is the best idea now. He can't divide his attention more, and he knows that Kell is very smart and competent. Otherwise this would be a different situation.
"So when you see a spot say right or left and then get in position and I'll release it."
"Didn't know you want a pet bird!" Kell yells back at Lucifer.
Yes, it's immature, and absolutely horrible timing. He just can't resist reacting to teasing. Sometimes, Kell even realizes how easy he is to provoke, and it annoys him. Not this time, though.
It's better he focused on the birds now. The clever creatures apparently learned their trick way too fast, and now they dive one by one testing the strength of the barrier, looking for weak spots. It's not even a question of choosing a place. It's more which of them are enough crazed by the smell, so they won't dodge the net in time. There's a stack of cages nearby with a large pile of nets. Enchanted. All of them. Kell picks one that looks the sturdiest.
Sets an open cage nearby too. Far enough so he won't trip over it, but close, so there's less risk the bird is going to free itself before Kell manages to toss it inside.
He looks up. Hm, good news. The birds must have figured out he's a sign of an opening, and like clockwork, one just dives in right above his head.
"Right above me!" he shouts to Istredd.
Two is a charm. Let's see if he can make it work a second time.
Istredd drops it exactly where Kell says and the bird ducks down the moment it can, straight into the net. Good teamwork! There is a little bit of sweat on Istredd's forehead now as keeping this going on sheer willpower would tire most people out, but he's doing fine so far. Once he gets too tired from this he's likely to use an academic shield for a few minutes, but that isn't a problem so far.
"Okay, I could start to really get annoyed at birds myself." Not that all birds are bad, and he has come to adore his random domain ravens, but these ones are very aggressive. He doesn't want those claws near any of them. Way to try and kill a turtle while it's down, scavengers!
"I think if we keep at it, eventually, if they're smart, they'll stop and bide their time." If they're smart is the key.
"If I tried to keep a pet bird I bet Thorne would decide it was a weapon and kill it," he says, but it gets him some strange looks from those helping with the ropes and he laughs it off, faux sweetness, "Kidding, really."
Last thing he needs is that rumor spreading and getting back to Thorne.
There is something of a delight to be said in the birds starting to annoy Istredd though.
"They're not smart," Lucifer says, answering Istredd.
The look that Lucifer gets from Kell for his joke is pure murder. Lucifer, who told him to be careful! Ha!
The real problem though is that he is wrong. The birds may not exactly be the smartest animals, but surely they are capable of learning. By the time Kell bags the third one, the rest just circles above with seemingly no interest in going down. He's not deceived by this supposed indifference. They're still screeching hellishly. The sweet scent hardly any less enticing.
While no expert on birds, Kell suspects they intend to wait them out and drop the very moment when Istredd finally gets too tired to keep the barriers up. So he doesn't feel bad for abandoning his post to cross the stretch of beach between him and the other mage.
"Picking them one by one is not going to work in the long run. We need something better."
They need to update their strategy. Actually moving the damned turtle would help too!
Istredd doesn't need to give Lucifer a look because he has a much easier way of doing so, his dismay clear through their connection. Don't get put under house arrest again. You're difficult when restless. Difficult is the nicest word he can come up with, although Lucifer is rarely bad around him. Just impatient.
He is coming to the same conclusion as Kell though, they are getting smarter. Scavengers can be, when going after a meal. Istredd considers although he maintains the shield for now. Since they're not slamming into it as constantly, it isn't as much pressure. It seems unlikely they're going to get the turtle out in the next few minutes.
"If we can scatter the birds, we can help with the turtle." Three strong people are more likely to tip the odds in their favor than one. "I'm wondering if there is a way to make the enchanted nets bigger. Enough to get many of them at once."
That is one idea, he glances over his shoulder at his roommate. "Any ideas?"
There are many things Kell ruled out before he even started. Like bone magic. Technically, he could control the birds by controlling the bones in their bodies. But birds bones are delicate, and while Kell doesn't lack finesse. He likes to think he's rather graceful in his magic. It's still not enough to deal with living things... and keep them living. They need a solution... less destructive to local ecosystem than a bunch of birds going splat on the sand because he miscalculated.
"They're not stupid, they learn..." Kell starts then cuts himself off.
That's their problem. They're overthinking. Well, not Lucifer, but he and Istredd. Yes, the birds learn but they're not exactly strategy masterminds. They're animals, they react. They do not plan.
"I have a better idea. It will work if we're quick."
Kell proceeds to explain his plan. As it is now, they have the barrier keeping the predators away, but clearly not enough people to move the turtle. He personally doesn't trust the enchantments on the nets enough to risk fiddling with them. It's good they hold as they are. It's already better than his previous experiences with enchanted items of Thorne's making.
So the plan is simple. Istredd lets go of his barrier, they all push the turtle and count on it making enough of a difference to haul the damned animal into the water before the birds realize the invisible wall preventing them from reaching their prey is not there any more.
It's a brute force approach, but to the astonishment of everyone involved - Kell's probably the most - it works. All they need is enough of a push for the turtle to smell the water, and it's downhill from there. The animal starts helping them instead of resisting.
Before the first bird from the flock circling above their heads attempts to dive again, the turtle is gone, and the nauseating, sweet smell lingers only on their clothes. Fortunately, it's faint enough that the birds do not consider them a snack for a change.
Kell has enough willpower to move where the tide cannot reach him, but as soon as he out of water, he drops on the sand. He's dirty, hungry and exhausted. He'd rather not look at an animal for the rest of the month.
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abraxaslogs2023-01-12 03:58 pm
more bad ideas from kell
Kell is currently biased against the whole avian race. But they told them not to murderify the local wildlife while they help the sea creatures. He nodded through the explanation about the enchanted nets and the cages.
"I don't see myself hauling the turtle, and they did leave us the equipment."
He shrugs, then looks up at the source of a particularly egregious shriek.
"Or we could just try to scare them off."
no subject
"You're supposed to be the strong one anyway, Lucifer. You help with the turtle." Lucifer's the fallen archangel who teaches people combat, it should go without saying that he is the obvious muscle when going around with two bookish mages. He takes the ropes they were given and whispers stronger enchantments on them. Not to say Thorne mages don't do a great job themselves, but he feels better when it's his magic in Lucifer's hands than theirs.
He does the same for the enchanted nets and offers it over to Kell. "Do you know of good scare tactics with birds? There are some scatter options."
no subject
But no promises.
He does give Istredd a minor thought of gratitude for the enchantments as he takes the ropes from him. He prefers that magic over Thorne's, and hauls them over his shoulder, backing up through the sand towards the turtle and waggles his brows at Kell.
"Go ahead, I believe in you." If it were to many other people it likely would be completely sarcastic, but there are hints to truths to the words, counteracted by him snapping dual-fingerguns at Kell. "Just don't run after them flailing your arms."
no subject
However, he actually prefers the task he was assigned, no matter the underlining assumption. Scaring or even catching birds sounds a lot less gross than wrestling a smelly turtle in the mud. He does roll his eyes at Lucifer before turning back to Istredd to answer his question.
"I was looking for something that could make a lot of noise. Like a pan, or actually any flat metal surface will do."
And hoping said noise won't have the unintended consequence of scaring more than the birds. Like it won't provoke the turtle to do something rash.
no subject
"I know some spells that could disperse them but they'd only come back." So trapping them did seem like the logical option. He has the enhanced nets ready for that purpose. He contemplates Kell's idea and frowns, glancing over his shoulder at the turtle.
"I think it's best not to disturb it. They say small sand crabs will distract them long enough to be caught. I am suddenly struck by the wish to be able to speak to animals, like some of our companions."
no subject
"Sand crabs?" he asks.
Somehow he missed that particular piece of information. Right, this might potentially make things easier.
"Well, I don't speak to animals either, but I also don't think crabs or birds are amenable to persuasion."
What they need now is not eloquent arguments, but a bucket.
"And where do we find those crabs?"
no subject
Talk about a useless ability.
And, speaking of useless abilities: "Talking to animals is a useless ability!"
Unbeknownst to any of them (or at least Lucifer), his brother has the ability to speak with animals.
It doesn't make his statement any less true.
"You know, heave-ho?" this is said to some of the others around the turtle, with Lucifer making gestures, most of them not obscene, to try and get things moving.
"But the birds--"
"The knuckleheads will take care of the birds," Lucifer argues. "They know what they're doing, they've been training for this." That gets him many dubious glances. Weird, right? It's almost like they don't believe him. The continued squawking, threatening from above, shadows waiting to dive, is just as bad as the rest of the gathering.
Really does remind him a bit of Heaven, actually.
no subject
Istredd replies, extremely maturely, to his roommate's opinion about talking to animals.
He knows that Lucifer is probably anxious about the birds and they do look like they could be more than annoying, and he doesn't currently see any crabs. The birds start to swoop and Istredd acts without thinking, creating an instant shield high up over the turtle and the people pulling on it. It's powerful but it won't last forever.
"Kell, maybe they have a bucket with crabs or something. But I have an idea. Get one of the nets and stand to the left over there." He has to focus on what he's doing, it's not as if it's a cast and done, although it's still holding well. "I'm going to let down that part of the shield when it tries to push through, and you can hopefully catch it in the net." It's not the fastest solution, they'll have to do it one at a time, but it's a plan.
no subject
What he does notice is the shield unfolding over the turtle right on time. He always notices magic. Kell blinks away the stupid thought, to focus on the bird, and Istredd's words. Because he said something, right?
"What?" he starts, but then catches up quickly. "Oh, the net. Yes, I can." It's not like he has a plan.
Kell moves quickly, maybe a bit too fast for a human, but he's able to scoop a net from the pile they left them in, reach the right spot in time to throw the net upward. The shield gives and the falling bird dives right in the middle of it. Its own speed helping the enchanted ropes wrap around it before it even realized what is happening. Kell catches it before it hits the sand. The bird too shocked to struggle long enough, so he can grab a cage and toss the bird inside. Only then, it starts to screech and flap its wings in panic.
"And stay there." Kell declares with glee. Stupid birds.
Then he looks up and his mood sours immediately.
"Can you do that again?!" he yells to Istredd. "Because there are more of them up there with a similar idea."
All the ruckus seems to attract more birds, not scare them away. Kell is quite happy they didn't go with his plan.
no subject
"See!" he exclaims to the workers. "What did I tell you? They know what they're doing."
Good tag-teaming on Istredd and Kell's part is finally what gets the rest of the crew in gear to work at moving the ropes in unison.
He's going to actively ignore the birds now. If the other two have actually devised some strategy off quick-thinking, he supposes he can trust them to keep at it and just focus on his end of this.
"Catch one for me, Kell!"
no subject
"Kell, what I need you to do is pinpoint which birds are in the right positions to make your catch easier and then tell me where. You can see the whole better than I can right now."
Because Istredd's focus is on maintaining it, especially with birds all pushing down trying to get to the delicious aroma and no doubt the people helping the turtle. The first one was just to test a theory, but he knows a partnership is the best idea now. He can't divide his attention more, and he knows that Kell is very smart and competent. Otherwise this would be a different situation.
"So when you see a spot say right or left and then get in position and I'll release it."
Go team go!
no subject
Yes, it's immature, and absolutely horrible timing. He just can't resist reacting to teasing. Sometimes, Kell even realizes how easy he is to provoke, and it annoys him. Not this time, though.
It's better he focused on the birds now. The clever creatures apparently learned their trick way too fast, and now they dive one by one testing the strength of the barrier, looking for weak spots. It's not even a question of choosing a place. It's more which of them are enough crazed by the smell, so they won't dodge the net in time. There's a stack of cages nearby with a large pile of nets. Enchanted. All of them. Kell picks one that looks the sturdiest.
Sets an open cage nearby too. Far enough so he won't trip over it, but close, so there's less risk the bird is going to free itself before Kell manages to toss it inside.
He looks up. Hm, good news. The birds must have figured out he's a sign of an opening, and like clockwork, one just dives in right above his head.
"Right above me!" he shouts to Istredd.
Two is a charm. Let's see if he can make it work a second time.
no subject
"Okay, I could start to really get annoyed at birds myself." Not that all birds are bad, and he has come to adore his random domain ravens, but these ones are very aggressive. He doesn't want those claws near any of them. Way to try and kill a turtle while it's down, scavengers!
"I think if we keep at it, eventually, if they're smart, they'll stop and bide their time." If they're smart is the key.
no subject
Last thing he needs is that rumor spreading and getting back to Thorne.
There is something of a delight to be said in the birds starting to annoy Istredd though.
"They're not smart," Lucifer says, answering Istredd.
no subject
The real problem though is that he is wrong. The birds may not exactly be the smartest animals, but surely they are capable of learning. By the time Kell bags the third one, the rest just circles above with seemingly no interest in going down. He's not deceived by this supposed indifference. They're still screeching hellishly. The sweet scent hardly any less enticing.
While no expert on birds, Kell suspects they intend to wait them out and drop the very moment when Istredd finally gets too tired to keep the barriers up. So he doesn't feel bad for abandoning his post to cross the stretch of beach between him and the other mage.
"Picking them one by one is not going to work in the long run. We need something better."
They need to update their strategy. Actually moving the damned turtle would help too!
no subject
He is coming to the same conclusion as Kell though, they are getting smarter. Scavengers can be, when going after a meal. Istredd considers although he maintains the shield for now. Since they're not slamming into it as constantly, it isn't as much pressure. It seems unlikely they're going to get the turtle out in the next few minutes.
"If we can scatter the birds, we can help with the turtle." Three strong people are more likely to tip the odds in their favor than one. "I'm wondering if there is a way to make the enchanted nets bigger. Enough to get many of them at once."
That is one idea, he glances over his shoulder at his roommate. "Any ideas?"
no subject
"They're not stupid, they learn..." Kell starts then cuts himself off.
That's their problem. They're overthinking. Well, not Lucifer, but he and Istredd. Yes, the birds learn but they're not exactly strategy masterminds. They're animals, they react. They do not plan.
"I have a better idea. It will work if we're quick."
Kell proceeds to explain his plan. As it is now, they have the barrier keeping the predators away, but clearly not enough people to move the turtle. He personally doesn't trust the enchantments on the nets enough to risk fiddling with them. It's good they hold as they are. It's already better than his previous experiences with enchanted items of Thorne's making.
So the plan is simple. Istredd lets go of his barrier, they all push the turtle and count on it making enough of a difference to haul the damned animal into the water before the birds realize the invisible wall preventing them from reaching their prey is not there any more.
It's a brute force approach, but to the astonishment of everyone involved - Kell's probably the most - it works. All they need is enough of a push for the turtle to smell the water, and it's downhill from there. The animal starts helping them instead of resisting.
Before the first bird from the flock circling above their heads attempts to dive again, the turtle is gone, and the nauseating, sweet smell lingers only on their clothes. Fortunately, it's faint enough that the birds do not consider them a snack for a change.
Kell has enough willpower to move where the tide cannot reach him, but as soon as he out of water, he drops on the sand. He's dirty, hungry and exhausted. He'd rather not look at an animal for the rest of the month.
"Saints, I hate nature," he groans.