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 Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:35 pm
CARAVAN RAID Kamalatmika Profile Name: Kamalatmika Stage: Drakein Stats:LVL 1 EXP 0/1 LP: 100 ENG: 100 INT: 3 ATK: 3 DEF: 4 LUK: 1 LUK EXP: 0/3 Inventory: x4 Gold Naia Profile Name: Naia Stage: Drakein Stats:LVL 1 EXP 0/1 LP: 100 ENG: 100 INT: 3 ATK: 3 DEF: 4 LUK: 1 LUK EXP: 0/3 Inventory: ---
As you slink along the outside looking for your prize you spot an Apprentice's carelessly lost [bag of Dragon Orbs] laying underneath a wagon.
Do the rest of you go about stealing what you came about while one attempts to be a distraction and one goes to grab the bag of orbs? Or do you all try sneaking? Sneaking:: (All who try sneaking must roll) Roll a d100:: 80-100 :: You are successful in sneaking and get out scotch free 21-79 :: You get to the orb without being spotted, but are seen as you try to leave. RP your escape. 1-20 :: You get spotted on your way there and must RP your snagging the orb and your escape. Barging in/Decoy::
There is no roll for this, but you must RP an encounter with the caravan's people. Do you try to intimidate them? Or just rush in and out and hope you and your companions all get out safely. How do you try to preoccupy the caravan people while your buddies sneak in and raid? If one of your companions tries to sneak but gets caught, do you run to help them or try to drive off the two-leggers and let your friends escape?
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:50 pm
Kamala did not usually like flying on moonless nights; she preferred seeing the world lit up in either glorious sunlight or gentle moonshine. For one thing, the glow cast upon the fields and the lakes made Serenia seem almost enchanted -- ethereal, and breathtakingly beautiful. Kamala considered herself to be an expert in the matters of beauty, being such a magnificent specimen herself. For another thing, the illumination was simply practical.
Tonight, however, Kamala flew speedily through the black sky, undaunted by the drabness of the view below. It took her a while to find the correct lake, due to the plethora of lakes in the region and the dim lighting, but eventually she landed by the shores of a particularly lovely body of water. The water surface was deliciously smooth and jet black, undisturbed even by the cloud-covered stars. Kamala peered out over the expanse of black, turning her head from side to side, and squinted.
"Naia!" she hissed, the sound cutting sharply through the tranquil night air. An irrepressible thrum of excitement bubbled just below her whisper. "Naia, where are you? I found something fun for us to play with..."
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 9:21 pm
On a moonless night, the shadows may have prevented Naia from seeing above the water line or beneath it, but the darkness also sharpened the other senses. Alert to sounds and currents in the water, a Merkein could do very well; her ample catches tonight were proof of that.
Fish and the other aquatic creatures were not much of a challenge, alas, but they would do well enough until her appetite was sated. Until something better came along.
Even underwater, Naia could recognize the cadences of Kamala's voice. They promised adventure. For a moment after the Alkein's whisper, all was as calm as ever. Then the Merkein's head surfaced just past the shallows, ripples radiating outwards through the lake waters.
Even pitched low, her voice was bright with anticipation. "Just what I like to hear." Shoulders appeared now, followed soon after by torso and forelegs and backsails. "Are you going to tell me what it is, or keep me in suspense until we reach it?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 9:46 pm
The Alkein did not startle when Naia's finned head suddenly broke the surface of the lake. She was used to the Merkein's ways, and had anticipated her abrupt appearance. Kamala's teeth bared in a feral grin. It was good to see her friend again.
"Hmm, I don't know," she said with a playful tilt of her head. "I've heard that suspense can serve to heighten the final -- oh, who am I kidding. It's a caravan!" Kamala's eyes flared green, and her grin widened. "Doesn't look to be too heavily guarded. It's camped about a ten minutes' walk from here, I'd say." She hoped that her estimation was accurate, as she was much more used to measuring distances in terms of flight time.
Kamala closed her eyes, envisioning the area around the lake from a bird's eye view. A slight breeze ruffled her feathers as she calculated distances and relative locations in her head. Then she nodded, and pointed one claw off to the north-west: "...that way." She looked over her shoulder at Naia. "You coming or what?" she said, and without waiting for an answer, bounded off in the direction she'd just indicated.
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 10:34 pm
Naia's answering smile was a shade more genteel, but she was no less glad to see her old friend again. And Kamala had brought the best reunion gift: a caravan ripe for plunder.
She listened to the description, nodding along. "On a night like this, they won't even see us coming," she murmured, her smile crooking into a smirk as she considered all the havoc they could wreak under the cover of darkness. "Perfect. You're a marvel, Kamala." Whether the walk turned out to be ten minutes or longer, the opportunity to raid in good company would be worth it, she was sure.
"Now that I've heard, there's no getting rid of me!" With those playful words, the Merkein glided smoothly to the shore. She barely paused to shake off the moisture clinging to her before racing after Kamala.
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 10:58 pm
The romp through the forest took even less than ten minutes, possibly because the Drakeins were moving at a much faster pace than a walk. Before long, a flickering orange glow sifted through the trees. Kamala slowed to a crawl and indicated for Naia to do the same.
The campfire was shoddily built -- too much wood and not enough flame. The fire maker, a young Orderite who looked to be an apprentice, was snoring peacefully by its side. Apparently, it was his turn for the night watch. Kamala snorted a derisive giggle at the pathetic sight. Then, she leaned forward with renewed interest.
"Look," she murmured to Naia. Peeking from beneath the caravan was an open satchel, ostensibly having fallen from the apprentice's hand as he fell asleep. Through the opening Kamala could see the firelight glinting off something round and swirling: a dragon orb. From the looks of the bag, there was more than one. "Any ideas?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:18 pm
Once they reached the outskirts of the campsite, Naia dropped her pace to match Kamala's crawl. Inching forward to get a better look at what they would be dealing with, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the oh-so-dutiful young watchman. At least he was making their job easy.
The satchel of dragon orbs had a marvelous way of focusing the Merkein's thoughts. "Grab and run?" Naia whispered back, her suggestion undercut by reluctance. It might be the most expedient method, but it was also boring. While the soul orbs were quite a prize in and of themselves, the two Drakeins might as well make some trouble for the Orderites while they were in the area. She studied the campsite.
At this hour, the tents lay in shadow but for one glaring exception. Some distance past the young Orderite on watch, an older Orderite continued to toil in the night, his form silhouetted against the sides of his tent by whatever he was using for illumination. Judging from the hunch of his shoulders and the position of his arms, he was probably preoccupied with writing. He might still notice Drakein shadows cast by the campfire glow as they ran past, though. Perhaps they should keep him busy.
"Collapse some tents and run off in the chaos?" A lift of Naia's chin indicated the one lit tent as a key target, but she wouldn't mind taking down as many as she could along the way. It was all in service of hampering any would-be pursuers, she told herself. Of course.
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm
Grab and run was good. Collapsed tents and general pandemonium and chaos? Even better! After all, the whole reason why they were here was for some fun. The dragon orbs were just a bonus, though they certainly were a particularly nice bonus.
"I like the way you think," Kamala said with a wink. "As much as I'd enjoy running circles around a few Orderites, since you were the one to come up with the idea...I'd say the honor should be yours, if you want it. Besides," and this she said with a chuckle, "I've got a few tricks up my feathers for the young one." There would be plenty other tents to personally mess with in the future, and for now Kamala was simply content with watching the havoc Naia could cause. And the lure of those dragon orbs called...
"Ready when you are," she said. "I'll wait for your signal." With that, Kamala slunk off into the shadows between the trees and the wagon.
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:25 pm
"So glad you approve," Naia replied, an unseen smile warming her low voice. "Your tricks are always worth seeing. Can't wait." As Kamala slunk off, she did so as well.
Instead of making straight for cover, she picked her way around the peripheral tents, slashing some rope here, tugging poles or pegs out of the ground there as she passed by. Nothing that would bring the sabotaged tents down right away. Still, a stiff wind or a sudden movement within would do the trick.
Naia tampered with only a few before taking up position next to the tent she had pointed out earlier. There would be time enough to bring down more, given the deep slumber the caravan members were likely enjoying at this hour. Plus, she was familiar with her friend's hasty nature, and she herself did not care to wait much longer to see what surprises Kamala had for the sleeping Orderite.
Let the chaos begin. She signaled Kamala, all anticipation.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:30 am
Kamala was situated quite close to the sleeping apprentice now. She positioned herself so that his back was facing her. At Yvessa's signal, the Alkein started a low, steady growl, almost a purr -- certainly not audible to the residents of the tents beyond the caravan.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the young Orderite's eyes fluttered open, and he looked blearily from side to side. The growling increased ever so slightly in volume. "Wh-who's there?" the apprentice mumbled, still shaking off the remnants of sleep.
Without warning, the rumbling growl became a single terrifying roar. Kamala flapped her feathery wings with all her might, and a gust of wind blew through the camp. The already dying fire instantly went out, plunging the camp into darkness.
The two-legger's resulting high-pitched scream was possibly the best reward Kamala could have asked for.
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Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:58 pm
Crouching by her next target, Naia watched in growing amusement as the Alkein's growl rose into a roar that, in turn, brought forth an utterly satisfying scream from her victim. Ah, Kamala's tricks never disappointed.
The gust of wind surging through the camp knocked over the tents she had sabotaged earlier. Rudely awoken two-leggers yelled and cursed in their frustration, the sounds only slightly muffled by the canvas enveloping them.
As the fellow writing away inside stirred to check on the commotion, the Merkein leaned her weight against the side of the tent. Under the toppled tent, the man struggled to disentangle himself as she proceeded on her merry way. As she sped toward the satchel of orbs, she made brief detours to knock over a few more tents before their occupants could fully shake off the grogginess of deep sleep.
Would Naia manage to trap every caravan member before she or Kamala got to their treasure? Well, she'd find out soon enough. If it came down to a fight or several, she had never shirked combat and wasn't planning to tonight.
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 2:53 pm
The darkness hampered Kamala's visual acuity to some degree, but she could certainly make out details much better than any two-legger. The apprentice, with a show of valiance that Kamala grudgingly had to admire, picked up a stick and began waving it blindly through the air in an attempt to ward off whatever beast he was imagining in the night. He came close a few times, but for the most part Kamala was able to dodge him with ease.
Still, his constant flailing was proving troublesome. Kamala rummaged around the back end of the wagon as the apprentice continued swinging somewhere off to the side, and hummed as she found a large rolled-up carpet. Severing the cord binding it and grabbing it with her teeth, she shook it until it unfurled inelegantly, then tossed it over the apprentice. He went down instantly with a muffled "oomph!".
Kamala became aware of the commotion coming from the tents. She saw a Naia-shaped figure running in her direction, pursued by one or two of the swifter Orderites who had managed to get untangled.
Looking around quickly, she spotted the bag of dragon orbs which had rolled even further under the wagon during the chaos. Two orbs, now recognizable as Ayrala, had fallen out near the blackened campfire. "Naia!" Kamala called. snatching one of the dragon orbs up in her claws and tossing it underhand toward the Merkein. She grabbed the other in her jaws and took off into the woods.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:06 pm
With Orderites in hot pursuit, Naia still managed to spare a hasty "Thanks!" for Kamala, as well as a forepaw to catch the tossed Ayrala orb. Like the Alkein, she transferred the orb to her mouth, the better to outrun her furious pursuers.
Once in the woods, the Merkein led the Orderites on a merry chase. She tried losing them in some thorny thickets, then again on mossy ground, and yet again on gnarly root-knotted earth. The uncooperative two-leggers simply wouldn't stay stuck for good.
Finally a swampy mire trapped the pursuers long enough for Naia to disappear deeper into the woods, nary a backward glance spared for their struggles. She was sure they'd find a way out eventually once they stopped flailing and yelling (as if that would do any good, really), and she didn't intend to stick around for a continuation of the chase.
Now to find Kamala again. Hopefully her friend had made a clean escape.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:57 pm
Kamala didn't bother looking back to make sure Naia was all right. She had faith that her friend could take care of herself. The moment she reached a clearing where the sky was relatively unobscured by branches and leaves, Kamala kicked off into the night sky. A lone arrow zipped toward her back, and with deliberate nonchalance she flicked it harmlessly away with her tail. Pfft, those puny two-leggers thought one measly little arrow could bring her down?
She gained altitude swiftly, far out of arrow range, and circled above the forest. The trees looked like tiny pompoms dotting the landscape. Gathering her bearings, she spotted Naia's lake and dived toward it, assuming that the Merkein would eventually return home. Landing by the shore, she let the Ayrala orb drop from her mouth onto the ground. She curled around it and waited for her friend.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:19 pm
A safe distance from the two-leggers, Naia slowed down to ponder where Kamala might be. The Alkein had always traveled widely -- where was she staying, these days? Naia couldn't be sure. She could, however, be sure that Kamala knew her lake.
Finding a river coursing in the right direction, she let its swift currents speed the way to her home -- and, with any luck, her waiting friend.
Once home, her head rose from the lake to study the feathered form curled up on the shore. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting for long," she said, her own Ayrala orb clasped snugly in one clawed foot.
Paddling to shore, Naia dragged a sizeable fish along in another clawed foot. "I think we've given the Orderites something to remember -- in their nightmares, especially in your case." A laugh escaped the Merkein at the thought of the young Orderite's terrified shriek. "Stay and share a meal with me?" She nudged the fish forward.
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