To Cure a Cabbit (Closed PS RP)

[Besyanteo]

Jeridan raised an eyebrow.

"What bait is this? We have nothing with us that would make any one farm more attractive than another. Without that, we we need a way to cover each outlying farm in the city, as any one of them could be attacked. Even if we assume that should a new attack take place it will be relatively near the site of the first attack, there is still a great deal of ground we would have to cover: The beast, as we suspect it to be, could easily deviate several miles from it's last attack point before finding another site it finds suitable.

"All that said... we need something to bring the odds into our favor. ... All we seem to know so far is that there was mage of some sort in the building at the time of the attack. I don't recall hearing about the rest of the contents. I don't know how likely it is that there would be a magically sensitive beast here in Thalsia, so perhaps we should request an inventory of the destroyed farm to see if it holds a more likely culprit?"

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=besyanteo@rpgww60462>Besyanteo</A]&nbsp; at: 1/15/06 2:20

[Kelne]

"The bait, Jeridan, is us. Since every other farm on the perimeter is going to be deserted, if the creature wants an easy meal, we'll be it. Whether it takes the bait depends on how smart it is, and what its motivations are." If it wasn't too bright, simple hunger might draw it to them. If it was smart, it might avoid them or it might decide to make an example of them.

Either which way, making themselves the obvious target represented a challenge. One which Kelne suspected would be answered.

"I rather doubt the locals are going to be able to tell us anything more than they already have, but by all means, ask," he continued. If nothing else, it would get Jeridan out of his hair for a while. And you never knew, he might actually uncover something.

It would be nice to have more of an edge, but he was confident that whatever the creature was, they could deal with it. It was just a matter of finding it or getting it to come to them.

[pd Rydia]

Dia hmmed. "Maybe the magic we felt was from both the beast and the FR. Or rather, I'm thinking if the FR was working on any magic at the time, maybe that made the farm 'more attractive' at the time. That could be to our advantage."

Silently, Dia mused on the difficulty of casting spells in this country, the relative wisdom of summoning in this settlement, and whether or not the supposed beast they were hunting liked to eat magic carpets.

[Uncle Pervy]

The party, as they make their plan, find themselves heading for the edge of town. If they were going to make a decoy farm, it may not hurt to pick one out and prepare.

(OOC: People with plans, IM me to speed things along.)

[Jak Snide]

Jak headed off to pick one of the abandoned farms he felt was most suitable for the task ahead of them. He had no inclination to deal with any of the people around here again this day and, for that matter, probably all week. He tried to keep Kelne's plan in mind when choosing one, but the astral environment was wearing down on his ability to concentrate.

[Uncle Pervy]

The place picked has a barn, which has been cleared out for the most part. It seems to be home to a number of goat pens; still smelling of their departed occupants. A plowshare rests in the corner, by a harness. Little things like tools have been taken; the mind can conjure any number of reasons why. A wooden loft runs opposite of the door, it too curiously empty. Judging from the dust on it, it hasn't been used for awhile.

A large door opens into the enclosed fields, whilst a smaller door stads opposite of it. It is almost odd to see a building with actual doors, after so much time with brick houses that use curtains.

Kelne's plan is a simple one, put the mages on the loft; so they can cast without difficulty, whilst placing a magical light near the door to attract the attention of the predator.

But no one knows how to use a light spell! What a horrid oversight to find among the a group of skilled mages, none have been able to make their own light. Kelne finds that he could enchant a bit of something with heat or lightning, but it would take time, and may be more difficult than it's worth. Before he can really contemplate this, Jak volunteers, in the sense of just doing it, to conjure a tiny flame and hold it aloft. It's not that hard, even here. Just a bit tiring.

Soon, the sun sets, and the party begins to hear what sounds kinda like barks coming from the wastes, a number of them. No one recalls hearing any such barking on the other nights that they've stayed here. It's not quite a dog sound, or a coyote or wolf sound either. Though, it sounds closest to that of coyotes. How strange...

[Jak Snide]

Jak keeps the flame burning, though he's paying closer attention to his surroundings. He's feeling rather exposed, being right next to the door and all, but he's dealt with horrors enough before to squash fear without a thought. His dagger is in hand, though, and he's double checked that his magic ring hasn't stopped working due to the harsh environment. And if worst comes to worst he knows he can rely on his companions.

[Kelne]

Not for the first time, Kelne's magical handicap had proven inconvenient. While he could have managed a decent light, to maintain it in such a thin astral environment, he would have needed to keep a hold of the lit object. Which would have left him visible and given the whole game away. Thankfully, Jak was under no such restrictions.

And now it seemed they'd attracted the attention of a pack. The idea of a single marrauding creature had seemed a bit of a stretch. That of a pack was... Still a stretch, come to that. Individual or group, these things had to have come from somewhere. Following anything that ran away from the coming confrontation seemed the best way to go about finding answers.

For now, of course, there was the minor issue of surviving the confrontation itself intact. Kelne abandoned his comfortable spot against the wall for a position to one side of the door, and brought his sword into low guard. At the moment, he was inclined to let the first couple of creatures in to be dealt with by the group as a whole. The third, however, would be running into a spot of bother.

He resisted the temptation to try for mental contact. They still weren't quite sure what they were dealing with, and there was always the chance he'd be detected. For now, patience.

[pd Rydia]

Dia looked strangely at home in her loft perch. She crouched to the side of the loft, making comfortable in shadows provided by the scant light from Jak's spell. For the time being, she kept her own small weapon sheathed, to prevent it from catching and reflecting the light; no sense in unnecessarily betraying her exact location--or existence, for that matter.

She listened closely to the barking sounds, trying to match it to anything she might have encountered in the past. More importantly, however, she kept ready for any signs or opportunities to tell that the creature or creatures they were up against were either shadow-aligned or summoned.

[Besyanteo]

Jeridan seemed right at home in his hiding spot. He sat and waited patiently, ears perked and facing towards the approaching sounds. It helped that Griff had put him on a number of missions that required this kind of waiting in hiding, concealed in the dark. His own knuckle gloves sat in his pockets, for reasons similar to Dia's own.

And most importantly, as the day had worn off, that damn drug had worn off. Or as near as anyone could tell it had: He'd stopped talking like a fool some time around late afternoon, and his mild haze in response to the thinness of the local astral had returned. It was less pronounced now, however. Perhaps he was better acclimated to it now than before? Whatever the case, he was now making himself that much less a wear on Kelne's nerves.

[Shinigori V2]

Paige had chosen an out of the way hiding spot- She needed the protection the others provided, and had to come along, but she was worthless if anything actually happened. Although she mused to herself that Jak was having to make a light. Had someone asked....Well, she would have shown that mages aren't always the brightest people around. "...You know..." She spoke up after awhile. "...Um...Not to sound disrespectful? But this is the worst possible way you could do this."

Edited by: Shinigori V2&nbsp; at: 2/4/06 21:26

[Uncle Pervy]

The barking draws closer and closer, until Jak can make out about half a dozen small shapes from the darkness. They seem to be quadrapeds, a bit smaller than wolves, and certainly seem to be canine.

Dia, who is fairly certain the barking is coyote-like, is the first to note that they've all fallen silent. The rest pick up on the silence quickly enough. Jak observes they are keeping their distance, and seem to be observing the barn. Or perhaps he's just being paranoid about them watching, it's hard to tell in the darkness. But they are definately not moving about anymore.

[Jak Snide]

Jak took a precautionary step backwards, looking to minimise the angles from which something might strike, but not retreat entirely. He was feeling very exposed now. Especially if there was something sentient out there with a bow.

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">(Can Jak spot anything, assuming a spot check hasn't already been made?)</span>

[Uncle Pervy]

Jak cannot see anything that looks like it could be holding a bow. All he has seen, so far, are quadrapeds.

He withdraws into the doorway, getting some nice baked clay walls between him and this previously-exposed flanks.

[Jak Snide]

"Four legged things." he says, just loudly enough for his companions to hear him. "Either they're scared, or they're up to something."

[Kelne]

"I'd bet the latter," Kelne murmured. This had all the hallmarks of intelligent behaviour. Both sides, he suspected, were waiting for the other to make the first move. He couldn't really get a good idea of numbers, but he suspected the answer would wind up being more than he'd like.

At this point, he was beginning to wonder who'd set the trap for whom? Still, even in the event that the other side had set up this situation, he doubted they had any idea what they were up against.

[Besyanteo]

Jeridan just watches and listens for now. Speculation wasn't going to earn them much of anything here. If the wind allows, he's going to try to get a good whiff of those creatures outside from his hiding spot. It's always useful to have a reference for later...

[Uncle Pervy]

Jeridan, in his current position, can't see around Jak all that well. But the wind seems to be playing in his favor, and gives him a smell of what seems to be something like a coyote. There's something else involved, something canine. Perhaps a distinct breed?

Jak, his eyes adapting to the gloom, notices that their dog-like friends, ten in number, are simply waiting. A few are wagging tails and panting, most are sitting down in the sand. a good twelve yards seperates the canines from the barn doorway now.

[Jak Snide]

"They're definitely up to something. Keep an eye on the other entrance."

He took a quick glance around himself, checking that nothing was sneaking up on him.

[Uncle Pervy]

Jak is about as certain as he can comfortably be that nothing is sneaking up on him. One of the canines makes a thoaty cough sort of noise, and shakes its head.

It is noteworthy that the larger barn door behind them all is closed.

Edited by: Uncle Pervy&nbsp; at: 2/6/06 5:15

[Jak Snide]

Jak wasn't quite certain what to do here. He took an experimental step forward, to see if it provoked any reaction at all from the creatures.

[Uncle Pervy]

All of their eyes are on him, now. A few tails seem to be wagging.

[Jak Snide]

"Hey, Kelne. Try telepathing them."

[Kelne]

"Right. Don't let your guard down." Kelne was certainly poised for action. He didn't trust this apparently innocent behaviour in the least.

He started small, going for a basic telepathic connection with the nearest before attempting to get a message across. Gaguing both intelligence and mood was high on his list of priorities.

[Uncle Pervy]

Kelne feels himself make contact with one of the canine. He finds it is indeed an animal, with no higher intelligence than satisfying its own urges. However, as he tries to dig deeper and figure out what is motivating it, he overextends his reach, and the Astral is not able to support the connection any longer.

Still, he knows that he is dealing with beasts, plain and simple

[Kelne]

Kelne frowned, "Definitely just animals. There's no major intelligence to speak of. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out what they're doing here. You certainly don't see ordinary wild animals sauntering up to human habitations with their tails wagging." He considered a moment, "Take a look at the astral, would you? I'd like to know if there's something more to be seen there."

So far, the situation didn't seem to match the previous attack at all. Rather than a single large predator, they seemed to be looking at a bunch of medium ones. Were the two separate? Unlikely. But what was the connection here?

[Jak Snide]

Jak felt a twinge of annoyance at the request, but tried none the less to scan the astral with his comparatively weak ability to read the magical plane.

[Uncle Pervy]

Jak finds he simply isn't close enough to read them at all.

[pd Rydia]

Dia herself didn't feel a need to join in on the conversation. However, she did give her own try at reading the astral plane for anything funny--a casual glance at the creatures themselves, at first, then the area surrounding the farm itself.

Choosing the farm itself as a starting point, she would spiral outward in increasingly-larger circles until she was satisfied with the information she had gathered. This was the technique she had used since her training, back in the day, under Dragan--an adaptation of a similar meditative and training exercise--and she briefly wondered how well it would hold up under such thin astral prescence.

[Uncle Pervy]

Dia, analyzing the area, notices nothing that really strikes her as out of the ordinary. However, the canines are another matter. She gets the feeling there is something off about them, astrally. She would need to get closer to figure out what.

[pd Rydia]

'Kelne,' Dia telepathed the group, keeping still and alert for any changes yet. Her interest piqued, she wondered if the dogs would react to the magic. 'There's something strange about the coyotes. If I could safely get closer, I suppose I might be able to tell what.' Curiosity leaked fairly heavily into the message, as well as a bit of the feeling that Dia did not, in particular, feel motivated to move from her comfortable spot.

Edited by: pd Rydia&nbsp; at: 2/8/06 20:08

[Jak Snide]

Jak looked up at Kelne, waiting on him to make a decision.

[Shinigori V2]

"Do you know what attracts animals sometimes?" Paige said, quietly. "Light does!"

[Kelne]

'Alright, if somebody has to get close, that person's going to be me,' Kelne responded, transmitting his words to the group as a whole, 'For the simple reason that I have a plan in case they turn on me.' Said plan involved engulfing a ten foot radius in a raging firestorm. Kelne had great confidence in the plan, even if it would severely deplete his reserves. Thankfully, he'd had the foresight to wear his fireproofed coat for the occasion.

Of course, he'd have to get even closer than the others for an astral reading, 'I'll have to be touching one of them to get anything useful, so this may not work. If not, we'll go from there.'

So saying, he sheathed his sword and walked out of the barn. He approached the dogs at a measured pace, gaguing their reaction to him.

[Jak Snide]

Jak had turned to point a finger at the lippy mechanic, about to say something before Kelne's telepathic message interrupted things. He swore, if the beasts did turn hostile, the first thing he'd do would be to throw Paige to them.

[Uncle Pervy]

Kelne steps out, and walks toward the pack. The canines all watch him. There is a definate tension in the air, as they stay mostly motionless. A few pant, but otherwise they do nothing.

With slow, measured paces, Kelne walks across the wasted soil toward the pack, until he is no more than four paces away. At this dstance, he can tell they seem to be an odd breed of coyote, bearing curious black spots on their hides. Then, the pack leaps to its feet.

On instinct, Kelne readies hmself to bring fiery hell upon them, but he finds this instinct disappointed as the pack doesn't charge toward him. Rather, it seems they are running away from the barn and toward the city.

[Jak Snide]

"What the flying..."

Jak shook his head. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Let's get moving. Even if those things aren't off to cause any trouble they're still heading towards the city. And any beast problem is our responsibility."

He had a really bad feeling about this.

[Shinigori V2]

"...And how are we going to keep up with a pack of wolves?" Paige asked, actually sounding curious rather than snarky.

[Jak Snide]

"A flying carpet, perhaps?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Okay. How do you plan on seeing them? From the air? In the dark?" Paige asks again.