To Cure a Cabbit (Closed PS RP)

[Jak Snide]

"Some of us can track auras." he half-lied. He knew he couldn't track auras at range, especially not in such an enviroment. "If you have a better idea of what to do, though, please, share it with us."

[Shinigori V2]

"Well, the chances are that that many people, in a city, will be enough to make the wolves think twice. Why do you think they didn't attack Kelne? They were only interested in the light. It's just a random chance that they're heading that way." Paige said. "Besides," She added, "I thought something needed to know magic for you to read it's aura?"

Edited by: Shinigori V2  at: 2/9/06 8:32

[Kelne]

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Kelne muttered. Perhaps it was just the usual paranoia talking, but the behaviour of the coyotes still struck him as odd. Running away from him he'd buy. But towards the city? He continued to watch their path, seeing if they kept on in the same direction.

So far, the whole 'lie in ambush' plan hadn't exactly been a raging success. But the night had barely even begun, and Kelne was loath to abandon it just yet.

Of course, it would be awfully convenient if the real villain of the piece tried to jump me while I was lost in thought, but they never do it when you want them to.

At the sounds of argument behind him, he raised his voice, "Did you have something else to do tonight, Paige? You certainly seem to think the existing plan is a waste of everybody's valuable time."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kelne>Kelne</A]&nbsp; at: 2/9/06 8:39

[Jak Snide]

"What? You idiot! All living things have auras! Anyway, we can sit here and think "oh, the town will be fine" or we can actually go and check that it will be. If you want to remain behind and ensure nobody burns the barn down, be my guest. Kelne?" he asked, looking for backup on this. Hopefully the whelp would respect his opinion more than Jak's.

[Shinigori V2]

"At the rate wolves move you've already lost them...." Paige mumbled. This was begining to remind her of a certain...Someone.

[Jak Snide]

"So WHAT do we do, girl genius?! NOTHING?! I'm at a loss for what else to do, so if you're amazingly brilliant mind can formulate a plan please do so because I'm drawing fucking blanks!"

[Kelne]

"Enough!" Kelne's voice cut through the bickering, sounding distinctly unimpressed. "Checking out the pack will cost half an hour, tops, and the night is young. I doubt it needs all of us to check out, so Jak and I can handle that while the rest of us reset the trap." Gods knew that wouldn't take long, "You can use the time formulating a list of exactly what we're doing wrong, along with some suggested fixes, Paige. I shall be most interested in seeing the results." Was that sarcasm? It was difficult to tell with Kelne, sometimes.

It was ironic, he reflected as he made his way over to fetch the carpet. In the past, he'd been the one picking holes in other peoples' plans. Of course, by and large, those plans had been sheer idiocy. So the parallel was rather less substantial than it might initially appear.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kelne>Kelne</A]&nbsp; at: 2/9/06 9:23

[Shinigori V2]

Paige's initial reaction was to pull one of her wrenches, and sort of...Brandish it, hoping that it would keep Jak at bay. But when Kelne chimed in, she stopped, and listened.

Better ideas? She had been giving them.

And why should Jak and Kelne go? They were the ones dumb enough to come out here in the first place.

Besides, all they seem to do is make the locals mad.

Mad...

Oh yes. Someone was very mad.

For the first time scince leaving Loake's ship, Paige found herself furious.

So furious that she growled, and...Let that wrench fly, right towards Kelne. "You're acting like Loake, you stuck up idiot!"

[Jak Snide]

Jak's jaw simply dropped as the wrench sailed though the air.

[Reako Somner]

The wrench flies with a twirling sound. Kelne, unable to believe this normally-demure woman had actually flung a wrench at him.

WHUMP!

The wrench impacts solidly with his head. His eyes roll up, and he topples over, blood flowing freely from a gash along his forehead.

(OOC: Paige critted him. I am not kidding. Paige fucking critted Kelne in the head with a wrench. Kelne has taken 30 damage, and is temporarily KO'ed. Oh, and the Coyotes are still running off.)

[Shinigori V2]

Paige's own jaw dropped. Throwing it was bad enough. She never expected it to actually hit him. Bad enough, it hit him HARD. She backpedaled, and quickly fell into a duck-and-cover position. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean for that to hit you I didn't even mean to throw it it just sort of happened oh Gods I am so so so so sorry!"

[Jak Snide]

Jak wasn't moving. His mouth was still hanging open in awe. The crazy bitch had knocked Kelne right out. He had some vague respect for her ability to do so.

Didn't change the fact that she had now placed herself in a world of shit. Of course, he couldn't just go out and blast her right out. Not like she was. Not even with his non-lethal spells.

"Paige. You've got five seconds to get down here and fix this mess or, gods help me, I'm going to make you dance the merry jig of electrocution."

Edited by: Jak Snide&nbsp; at: 2/9/06 10:42

[Shinigori V2]

"I dohn't knoow how-ow-ow!" She sobbed, loudly.

It seems Jak did little more but throw her into a greater panic.

[Jak Snide]

"Gods DAMNIT WOMAN, you get down here now or I'll burn you like Rivans burn witches on the weekend!"

[Shinigori V2]

Well, now Paige was just flat out crying. A grown woman, crying. And mumbling something about not wanting to burn, and the whole thing being a terrible accident.

[Jak Snide]

Jak was fuming. He wanted to blast that uppity wench with a good dose of magic. But that wouldn't solve anything. He told himself that as he turned, biting down on his lip, and went to examine Kelne. He didn't know anything about the fine practice of first aid beyond "clean it, bandage and put pressure on it." Thus he was going for the easy option of pouring one of his own healing potions into the unconscious man's mouth, hoping that'd fix his head.

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">(Jak used a medium healing potion which does 30+1d10 healing. Assuming the weak astral doesn't mess with potions. He had two, and now he's down to one.)</span>

[Reako Somner]

Thankfully, it doesn't seem that the potions have been affected by the thin astral plane. Kelne's gash, as well as the horrid and ungodly bruise that was beginning to manifest, quietly seals itself and fades away. The blonde man groans a bit, and seems to be coming to.

Those paying attention to the coyotes note they are still running toward civilization.

Edited by: Reako Somner at: 2/9/06 12:11

[Besyanteo]

There was loud cursing form Jeridan's own hiding spot. He made his way down with the surprising swiftness associated with his people.

"Jak, I'm going after them! See what you can do here. Dia, if those things are responsible for the other farm then we don't have time for subtlty anymore, and I need you in the skies searching for them with me! We need to make sure they don't hurt anyone, or we're all in deep shit. Let's move!"

Even as he finished speaking the last two words, he was already on his way, and taking full advantage of the scent he'd picked up from the canines earlier.

(Persuing the coyotes, using Track for 3 TP.)

[Jak Snide]

Jak nodded to Jeridan. He'd forgotten about the mutts for a moment. He didn't relish the idea of dealing with the blubbering mechanic, but he couldn't do much else. While a master of the arcane, he was still only human and lacking in the abilities of many of his associates.

He tried to prop Kelne up, leaving the task of dealing with Paige alone for now.

[pd Rydia]

"Fine!" It didn't take much for Dia--who had already been making her way toward Kelne, intending to cast a healing spell--to change directions and head for the city. Without ceremony, she began to shift forms; her features darkened then melted together, her former body seeming to roil about as it grew in size until it settled into the form of a dark green, 12 foot tall dragon.

'Just back me up when I ask them not to stone me, would you?' She added, taking flight and searching for the aura of nearby EF and the AD. It wouldn't be a bad idea, she figured, to give them a bit of forewarning--about the coyotes and herself both.

Edited by: pd Rydia&nbsp; at: 2/9/06 16:30

[Shinigori V2]

Now, in the mind of a panicking woman, there's two things one can do in this situation.

The first, would be to stick around, and take the undoubtfully approaching punishment from the injured man, the mage colleague who had already threatened to electricute her, the woman-turned-dragon that was over twice her height, and the dogman. Of course, this would have to wait till after the confusion, but it was coming.

The second- Take her chances with the wolves.

Paige decided now was as good a time as any to get back to nature, looking for an exit during the commotion. Should she get out, she will immediately try and find a new hiding spot outside.

[Kelne]

Kelne still seemed a little dazed from the whole being clonked with a wrench thing. "Jak, what just happened? Because I know Paige didn't just clonk me with a wrench."

[Jak Snide]

Jak's reply was slightly slowed his reaction to Dia's transformation. It wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this but dragons were still a mighty impressive sight. And terrifying, as the innkeep's concern about stoning indicated.

"Uh...yes, she really did. And she's now turned into a sobbing, terrified wreck." he added, casting a glance around to check on the mechanic.

[Uncle Pervy]

Jeridan find the pack is not difficult to track. The trail is fresh, and they aren't doing anything to hid themselves. It seems they are heading for the settlement, but slowly curving off.

***

Dia finds it's really hard to pick out auras from a distance, even with the lack of background interference. It is similar to trying to read an open book from across a room. All the auras have mishmashed into a general blur of human, farm animal, and pest animal. However, she recalls that the EF may be patrolling on the outskirts of town. Probably waiting to see if the large predator appears.

She is able to pick up the auras of the coyotes in the distance, though. Or at least she thinks they are the coyotes; a pack of auras moving toward the town.

***

Paige deftly slips around the edge of the door and around the side of the barn. After that, a short dash gets the barn between her and the angry mage types. Ahead of her is open wasteland, dark and empty.

***

Jak looks back, and sees that Paige appears to have vanished.

[Jak Snide]

Jak realised that while out here Paige was nothing more than a waste of flesh and bone she was the one who kept the airship, their ticket home, running. He also knew he should probably go find her.

The idea of her being torn limb from limb by angry coyotes, though, was quite appealing. Thus he helped Kelne up, waiting to make sure he was okay before heading off after her.

[Shinigori V2]

Paige simply took the chance to run.

Hey, it was what she was good at.

[Uncle Pervy]

And thus does Paige run.

[Kelne]

"Oh, good," Kelne seemed to be regaining both strength and sarcasm by the minute, "It's always reassuring to know that I'm not the one who's lost his bloody mind."

A brief attempt at rebellion by his legs was swiftly and ruthlessly quashed, with the result that he was soon upright, "And just where is Paige?" He asked, an initial sweep of the barn having failed to locate the object of his ire. Or, in fact, either of the others.

Sheer disbelief was swiftly giving way to considerable anger. In all, it was probably for the best that Paige wasn't making herself an available target right now. Though she might only be making things worse for herself in the long run.

[Jak Snide]

"I think she pissed herself when she saw you coming around and took off out the back door."

[Kelne]

Marvellous. Now he had to go to the trouble of tracking the stupid woman down... No, sod that.

'Alright Paige,' he sent, through the simple expedient of making it a general telepathic message out to a half-mile radius (Or however far he could push it in the present astral environment at least), 'You want to scurry off and hide in the desert? Fine. But I'm not making it my business to come looking for you.' The none-too-subtle subtext was that if Paige ran into something dangerous out there, she was on her own.

Kelne cut the telepathy without bothering to listen for any reply. Jak, of course, being within a few feet, would have been privy to the message.

"I take it the others are checking out those coyotes?" He asked. It wasn't as if there was much else for them to be doing at the moment.

[Jak Snide]

"Yeah. Jeridan's using his nose and Dia's using her wings. They should be able to keep things under control. Or at least inform us if they need help."

He cast a glance out the door Paige had presumedly sneaked through a minute ago.

"As for her, I reckon we should give a minute or two to exhaust herself then go out looking for her. Maybe spook her a little, then bring her in for a good, long talk. Even if she does deserve to get eaten by whatever she runs into, ol' captain Al will throw a fit if he finds out we let his favourite lackey get devoured."

[Kelne]

"True enough." Kelne seemed rather irritated by these inconvenient facts, but willing enough to bow to the realities of the situation. Abandoning Paige to die in the wilderness had never really been an option, though scaring the hell out of her could only have a positive impact.

He stooped momentarily to pick up the offending wrench, pocketing it. It would be a cold day in hell before Paige got that back.

"Tracking her down shouldn't be too difficult, and I doubt she'll see us coming in the dark."

[Jak Snide]

"Well, until we start throwing lightning and fire at her, eh?" he added with a grin.

[pd Rydia]

Dia shared her thoughts with Jeridan. 'Fuck.'

There was a pause before she continued. 'I can't seem to be able to find an EF or AD to let them know to expect us--me, specifically, if you'll pardon the selfishness--or the coyotes. I hope they don't have any nasty devices in store to deal with us "large predators".'

A second pause followed, bringing with it to Jeridan the strangest feeling that he was dipping his wings to adjust for a change in air current. Then, briefly, Jeridan could see a Dia's-eye-view of the situation. 'I can see the coyotes, however--or at least, what looks like their auras. They're about--there. I want to see if I can catch up and grab one. Their auras are funny--maybe they're acting as eyes, or foci? I want to examine it more closely.

'Hopefully--' she added, as she began gaining speed to do just this, '--before getting close enough to guards for it to look like I'm accompanying or guiding them.'

As she figured, she would have enough time to listen for an objection from Jeridan before catching up to the spotted mutts--if none were immediately forthcoming, she could turn her attention to the proximity of EF patrols. However, Dia was hoping she'd be able to catch up and grab one of the creatures relatively quickly--before EF would become a potential problem.

If she were lucky, she might be able to scare them away from the town--however, from the odd way in which they had been acting, she doubted it.

[Kelne]

It was tempting, but... "Better not," he said regretfully, "We've probably stirred up enough of a racket as it is." Gods knew they probably wouldn't get anything useful accomplished tonight. Not unless the coyote angle came to something, at least.

Deciding that enough time had probably gone by, he went to fetch the carpet, floating it back over to Jak.

[Besyanteo]

Rather than an objection, Dia got something like a nod back.

Jeridan adjusted his course to reach the beasts faster based on the information Dia and had sent him, and what his own means of gathering information had told him. It would make sense, after all, for these things to have the only aura that really sticks out in this area.

If you can catch one, that would be excelent. I'll be trying to scare them away from the town on my end. From their attitude towards us earlier, this might entail things getting messy down here... Here's hoping their minds don't have too strong a commanding spell on them.

I'll do what I can if the EF show, but if it comes to a decision between preserving yourself and helping me, I want you to get back to Kelne and Jak. You can lead them here, help me in force and stay out of trouble that way.

He continued his flat out run, hoping Paige was wrong about their speed against his own. This would be damned foolish if he couldn't reach them.

[Uncle Pervy]

Jeridan is not entirely sure... but given how he's followed the subtle curve to their run, he thinks that the coyotes are following a path that wouldn't actually take them into the settlement. Certainly close to it, but not actually getting into it.

While he is fairly sure he'll lose ground against the pack by just following them, he may be able to predict where they are going and intercept them there. Assuming they don't change course.

****

Dia finds, thanks to the miracles of aerial superiority, she can soar ahead of the pack without too much trouble. Thus the choice of intercepting or warning the town is up to her.

****

Paige has made a pretty good clip through the wastes. The barn, if she cares to look, is now too far away to be seen in the weak light.

Then she hears Kelne's telepathic message loud and clear.

[pd Rydia]

Whilst the hunt was certainly an exhilirating experience, Dia was not so far gone as be forgetful of her own precarious position. She makes the choice, then, to warn the town.

She began a cautious descent, searching for EF to contact. As far as Dia could figure, as she neared the town's outskirts it would be sooner rather than later that one would find the other, considering what the group was looking for. The more quickly she could get the EF on the track of the coyotes, the more likely someone--Jeridan, herself, the EF, or even Kelne and the others--could still manage to grab one to play around with.

[Besyanteo]

Jeridan would most certainly try to predict where they would go based on their current path, and cut them off before they could get away. Better to try and be wrong, than to do something you know is utterly useless.

[Jak Snide]

Jak muttered in annoyance, rather hoping to reduce Paige to a quivering wreck with a near miss fireball, and hopped onto the carpet.

"Right, let's go."