Solo or RP Format Can be used toward Battle req (or RP req only if done with a friend) Solo word minimum is 500, RP post minimum is 7
There were places in Tendaji that were used to the rain, like Jauhar; others saw it as a blessing, getting so little in their day to day lives, like Tale and Oba. Then there were those individuals who saw to it that they used the rain to its full advantage. The sheets of rain came down and it was easy enough to use the cloak of it as a cover for raiding and looting. With everything seeming so gray, who would be able to see the misty figures dip in and out of a home within a matter of moments? Bandits were on the move and scouring Tendaji for targets.
And it isn’t long before they become your problem.
This prompt can be played from either side: your character can be a looter, or they can be a victim.
This battle prompt will be resolved by rolling 1D100. xxxxxPrentice must roll 70-100 for success. xxxxxStage 2 must roll 60-100 for success. xxxxxStage 3 must roll 50-100 for success. xxxxxStage 4 must roll 40-100 for success.
|| Success will result in 50exp in addition to the versatile point || Failure will only allow for the versatile point credit.
As soon as winter cleared out, Lucijah packed her bags with what small amount of food was left over from the harsh winter, that her family kitchen could spare, and headed on her way towards the borders of Jauhar and Oba. This would take her south, to Neued- which was becoming a hub of activity as Oban settlers built homes in the town they’d shamelessly invaded. It should have been simple - Neued was south, through familiar territory, and for a Shifter -a child of the forest - it should have been a cinch. Instead, it was far from it. The winter had been harsh on the forest, and what plants hadn’t frosted in time to preserve themselves had begun to wither. Smaller saplings of crystal trees, their roots too shallow to thrive, had been starved out by the harsh cold and fallen, smaller than their cousins but still massive - destroying old trod paths that had been followed for generations.
Soon, Lucijah became quite lost - and low on supplies. Which would have been nothing, to a Shifter used to gathering, had the flood of rain not followed. Fruit that had eagerly appeared in the canopies for spring were quickly rotted by too much rain - nuts dwarfed by cold lingered in a state of green ripeness, and even the maglardilla, hid away, hard to catch even with their membranes bogged down by rain. Only the spitorog flourished, sinking themselves blissfully into the mud, eyes rolled back in semi-euphoria, and unexpecting of a rock of punch to the back of the head. But even killed, it was impossible to light a fire unless she lucked into a copse of covered ground, and that only ended up in smoked, gooey half-cooked meat that she quickly grew sick of.
So when she stumbled signs of life in the forest - traps for food, fishing nets in rivers, her first instinct was to waltz in and beg for handouts. Until, in the distance she spotted not the nests of shifters - but Alkidike, emerging from tree roots to check their traps. They all seemed merry - plumb and curved as usual, unwanting with their spears. Their nets teamed with fish, but Lucijah was untempted by the catch - fish would be a good change from spitorog, but if she brought raw fish along with her it would spoil quickly, and she would be in the same situation. Beyond that, if she had hit an Alkidike town that meant she’d headed west, and not south - and that meant a farther journey than even she had expected.
Creeping closer to the settlement, Lucijah watched, squinting. Many of the older women were out hunting - now, she could only see young alkidike girls playing in the rain, uncaring, while elderly alkidike women (still a threat, Lucijah reminded herself) watched, fondly. Near the edge of town was a system of roots that, within it, held an Alkidike house - whatever those places looked like. And inside MUST be cooked food - the fat bellied girl children looked too healthy and full of joy to be truly hungry! And they were BUG women - and Lucijah’s fondness for enemies only stretched as far as Nera. Inching closer, it was a simple matter to steal from the edge of the forest and into the root system, shuffling through the roots and wincing as she squeezed through small spaces. How did those giant women get through this, if Lucijah couldn’t? Eventually, she squeezed her way inside - but even then it was no house. Instead, it was what looked to be an area carved into the inside of the tree - racks of nets, simple spears, leather kits filled with sharp knives made of bone, curved for gutting and filleting fish or other hunted creatures. Upwards from the pantry of sorts was a curving staircase - to what she didn’t know.
Stealing a quick glance over her shoulder towards the network that led back to the rainy forest, Lucijah took a deep breath and slowly started up the stairs, one hand braced against the smooth curve of the wall, eyes turned upward. The stairwell curved in lazy circles along the outside of the tree - which was huge and thick in true Jauharian fashion. Eventually the stairwell opened up into a room - tall, at least twelve feet tall, enough that an Alkidike could step around inside with little fear of their heads hitting the ceiling. It was crowded, well lived in and intimately decorated, a home, not a pantry as Lucijah had expected. And, just feet away - clutching a small ragdoll that was well worn, was a tiny Alkidike girl. Lucijah couldn’t read her expression, but even if she couldn’t decipher, with those alien eyes, just where she was looking, Lucijah knew she had to have been spotted. The girl had been knelt upon the floor, facing the stairs, trotting her stuffed aldabuck as if in mid-gallop - only to snap her head up, mouth opening as someone appeared. Then the two were caught in a deadlock.
One move - one move and the frozen child would call for help. Lucijah’s lungs screamed for air, but she held her breath, staring at the girl - until finally she raised a single finger to her lips and slowly, carefully, back stepped into the stairwell - and out of sight. Once away, the shifter turned on her heel and took the stairs down as quickly as she could, despite being unfamiliar with such things - her breath fast, eyes wide in panic. What had she been thinking?! Sneaking into an ALKIDIKE hut -- what a fool she was! And hungry, surely! She was a prentice, if she was spotted she would be KILLED. For a brief moment, the girl considered turning back and grabbing the child for leverage, but as much as she disliked the bug women, as much as her fellow shifters at least, such a low course of action felt ridiculous. Somehow, though, the girl hadn’t call for alarm - perhaps there was no one else in the tree, and the magnificent hugeness of the stairwell and lived in equipment pantry belied how many Alkidike actually lived here.
Shaking her head, the girl finally scrambled down the last few steps, winded, but wasted no time in shoving her way through the roots to her exit - roots scraping at her hair and limbs as she broke free, and sprinted, dead on, into the neighboring forest.
Still hungry, still sopping wet, and ashamed from her being frightened off.
Reply
