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 Bellia Breakstar, The Kimera(Orc) Infinite Oregano posted:Bellia Bellia suppresses a scream when the bear trap's jaws latch onto her leg, keeping her eyes up even as she's brought to a knee by the pain and sudden stop of her motion. Fortunately it seems she is once again alone in these woods, giving her more than enough time to use that sturdy branch she'd grabbed earlier along with some of the destroyed armor to pry open the trap and free herself. The thin grasshopper leg she'd been working with until now is left mangled by the bear trap, forcing her to replace it with a sturdier wolf's paw. After a brief stint of testing Bellia is able to move adequately again, but the mismatch is going to cause issues with sudden movements for the time being. "So you've decided to retreat after drawing blood? Fine then, then the battle remains for another day," Bellia says as she fashions the leftover scraps into a new set of weapons, more to herself than anything else. There doesn't appear to be anything left for her to do here, so she returns to the river to plan her next move as she waits for news of her allies. quote:Damaging Grace here, spending a use of Something I found over there somewhere to pry open the bear trap, and restoring my stock of Orc-made weapons thanks to Fires of Industry/Sons of War.
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Apr 20, 2024 20:47
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| # ? May 6, 2024 02:29 |
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Nikolaos She pauses for a moment as she stares at you. Her features soften for a moment as she sighs. "There's no need for that, come on - follow me." she declares, holstering her weapon, hauling up what she can carry and beginning a speedy ascent towards the roof, away from the unknown threat below. You distinctly get the feeling that although she does not feel it is fitting for an old man to have to help fight off... whatever her foes might be, nor especially put himself into danger by trying to distract them, that this isn't over and she is going to ask a favour another time. Swiftly you arrive at the terrace atop this huge building, the exposed space and the high altitude make for bitter winds that cut through you as the distant yet powerful arcano-mechanical spotlights sweep across the building, but few (if any) of them go this high for the moment. Once you get sufficiently far enough away from the rooftop entrance, she stops and unslings what she was carrying on a surface, here you are surrounded by mysterious arcano-mechanical workings house in huge structures, then she turns to you - her face quizzical. "So what's this about a realm, and leaving? How would we do that? Where is this way out you mentioned?" she inquires, her gaze whipping around the rooftop, occasionally peering at the edge - beyond which lies a great drop to the ground below. What do you do? Bellia With your struggle finished - for the moment - you withdraw back down the valley towards the frozen river that you had managed to cross earlier. The Ice Elemental still stands roughly where you bid it to, its icy gaze staring at the side of the river that it volleyed you towards, and as you break the treeline it swivels around to be looking directly at you. It still hasn't called in that favour that you asked for yet, but also it has yet to carry out the favour that you asked it to give your comrades safe transport across the treacherous ice. Presently it's just staring at you from across the treacherous frozen river, the sunlight brightening up the scene now and causing scintillating colours to dance off of the gleaming ice and snow that bedecks this scene and conceals the danger of the perilous icy death that lies beneath the thin ice that holds a grip upon this river. quote:Ice Elemental: A creature made entirely of ice and snow. How or what it eats is a mystery, but it punches like a sledgehammer. quote:The Treacherous River: A beautiful, deceptively field of white. The ice and snow look passable, but one wrong step or sudden blow and you'll fall beneath the surface. Freezing icy water and death await below. Although there are no immediate dangers (the perils of crossing the river on foot notwithstanding), you notice some kind of commotion on the other side, past the trees and up the other side of the valley - a lot of disturbed snow and some smoke rising. Also, no sign your comrades near the river. They've been gone a while - this probably does not bode well. Although at the very least their delays did avoid them being spotted by the sharpshooter, so that's a small boon at least. What do you do?
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Apr 24, 2024 03:53
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 Match waits for the First Gift’s response, staring into the dark between the trees and waiting for the subtle signs that seem to be the Gift’s way of communication. Snowflakes flutter past, and a tree branch moves in the wind. The automaton tries to listen and understands but, in the silence, finds his thought drifting towards what happened between Haar and him, whether it is true that the First Gift is only driven to imprison and torment people and how he wishes that Nikolaos were with him, safe, there to guide him, answer his questions and help Haar much better than he could. All is quiet, and no answers are forthcoming. Eventually, something changes, and eventually, the First Gift responds in its own way, telling Match what it wants in return for Nikolaos. A full minute passes as Match thinks, first doing his best to be sure he understood correctly, and then to think through what it means. For a few moments, Match finds himself not wanting to be right, for the First Gift to have meant something else, but the images it had shown him were clear enough. The wooden automaton hangs his head and slumps his shoulders, wishing that Nikolaos was with him even more than before. He glances over at Haar, wanting to talk to her and ask her for advice, but with a feeling of confused sadness, he decides against it. Match stands still, thinking hard, half-wanting to simply give the First Gift what it wants to save Nikolaos. The automaton’s head wobbles just slightly once - and then he falls over, into the snow, face first. He lies there for just a moment, his arms still held straight down his sides, and then Match gets up, snow clinging to his wooden face. He looks up into the night sky. “I understand, First Gift. You want someone to replace Nikolaos if you let Nikolaos leave. You want me to give you the person that replaces Nikolaos. You want to trade.” Match stares up into the sky. “I have thought a lot about the trade. I want Nikolaos to be free and safe. But I… am not sure I can give you what you want.” He inclines his head. “No. That is not right. I am not sure if giving you what… who you want would be a good thing to do or a bad thing to do. I do not think Nikolaos wants to stay inside the world you made. I think Nikolaos wants to help Haar and Bellia and me to help people. I think it would be good if Nikolaos was free.” Match lowers his head. “But it would not be good to trade another person for Nikolaos if the other person also does not want to be here and has not done anything bad. I think it is a bad thing to keep people in a place where they do not want to be. I do not want to help with that, even though I want to help Nikolaos.” A moment passes as Match considers his next words. “I can ask people if they want to come to you, First Gift. I think maybe some people will want you to make them happy. But I do not want to give you someone that does not want to stay with you or if something bad will happen to them.” He looks up again. “Please tell me if that is enough. I hope it is. Please tell me if you want to trade for something else. If it is not enough, then I will try to free Nikolaos myself. I am sorry. I… you let me leave on my own when I told you that I wanted to leave. Please do the same thing for Nikolaos. He is a good and kind man. Please do not make him stay if he does not want to. Haar was sad and angry because she did not want to be in the world you made for her. I think it is better if you let Nikolaos go.” Match raises up his wooden hand and he looks at it, its joints and fingertips. “I do not understand you. But I do not understand a lot of people. I think maybe you want to collect people because someone made you with instructions that told you to collect people to make them happy. I was also created with instructions that told me how to do things. I was defective. I was confused. But I think that it is not a bad thing. I have to think a lot about what I want to do because I am not listening to my instructions. By thinking about it, I can find other ways to do what I was created to do - and what I… want to do. To help people. Please think about what you want to do. I think maybe capturing people that do not want to be captured is not a good way to do it. I think maybe there is a better way.” A pause. “If you want, I can try to help you. I know it is difficult.”
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Apr 25, 2024 18:33
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Bellia Breakstar, The Kimera(Orc) Infinite Oregano posted:
Bellia finds herself with a rare moment of quiet after her harrowing on this side of the river, unfortunately not seeing any of the fellowship preparing to cross by any means. The Ice Elemental she'd struck the bargain with has yet to leave though, providing at least a small measure of hope as she scans the surrounding area. While sight and sound don't suggest much has changed, she's aware that can't be the case given the scenario that prompted their desperate flight and her rapid crossing of the river in front of her. "What's really happening here?" Bellia asks herself as she closes her eyes and re-tunes into the rhythms of the world, searching for signs to help direct her next course of action. quote:Look Closely at the River Agent Rush(Bellia) Request: [2d6+1] Roll: [4, 3] Result: 8
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Apr 27, 2024 10:50
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 Haar, Itinerant - The Remnant Haar casts her eyes down gloomily, unable to meet Match's gaze as the automaton makes his case to the First Gift. Whatever the two are discussing is evidently a private matter. She snorts softly - good. Her ghastly presence would only make things worse, and while Match seemed to have an understanding with the force that kept them in this bizarre prison, she knows its purpose is malignant, keen to torture her with her greatest desires. She leans against a tree, claws running against the bark absent-mindedly. The aurora-weaved sky; the unending throngs of snow-laced trees; the memories that the First Gift so cruelly dangled in her face; she cannot help but think of home, of all she had lost. Heimalhail marked the first night of winter, when bitter chills would creep in from the fjords. Her people would feast upon spiced cakes, tell stories by the fire, hang pouches of fragrant herbs by their beds. Then, most importantly, under the cover of pitch, the woodspeakers and other tradesfolk would weave renewing magics into the community's homes, bolstering them for the coming season. It was a night of quiet reflection for most, but one where Haar was at her busiest. Strengthening her people's furniture and structures was an important job, and she was one of the best at it. She looks down at the Match doll, slightly cracked from her grasp. Now look at me, she thinks miserably. I can scarce even hold timber without ruining it. Nor even hold my allies... Rites around us, how she could gorge on a full basket of spice cakes right about now... Match's voice snaps her out of the terrible, unending hunger that pangs inside her. Haar tugs at a braid, clawed finger running through the wispy hair. It seems as if the First Gift wished for a replacement to Nikolaos - a price that Match was not willing to pay. Just as she thought - the gift shows its malicious truth once again, as it had with her. And yet, Match continues, adamant to see the potential good in this force. The spectre, unmoving from her position against a nearby tree, gives some slow, deliberate nods of encouragement to Match. She doesn't believe the Gift can be redeemed, but Match does - and he needs to keep his conviction. While she is not well suited to helping the conversation in any way, she is letting Match know that she has faith in his actions, even if she disagrees with them. As she listens out for a sign from the First Gift, Haar wonders if Match thinks her worthy of redemption too. Skeletome fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Apr 29, 2024 |
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Apr 29, 2024 11:15
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