Argos: Angler's Spire

[Moveslikejagger]

Atus merely nodded and with a soft roar of the engines, he directed the skiff on a direct path towards the wounded vessel, not attempting to hide Biff from being seen by either outriders or the ship.

"Do you think me cold and uncaring Tharr?" he asked, and then continued as if he didn't need or want an answer. "Many emotions are squishy things, born from organs, which I don't have, but I am not unfeeling. When I found myself in this form, marooned alone on an iron wreck in the great open green, a great many ghosts would visit me. They would tell me things, their pain, their regrets, their dead dreams. Some left behind children or great loves, some felt they died too soon, some felt unfulfilled having not completed the purpose they set for themselves and never expected failure. Sometimes the dead just need an audience who does not judge them."

As he speaks, a counterpoint of sound is beginning within Atus. Something is spinning inside him at greater speeds than Tharr has heard before, and sparks are crawling over his shoulders as if seeking shelter. "I am already a ghost Tharr. If a leviathan takes me, I won't come back again and the purpose I have set for myself will never be achieved. So I think in terms of risk and speak my mind. I wonder Tharr. If a Leviathan eats you, will something bring you back? Will you need your pain and regret heard before you can rest?"

[Dr Jackal]

"Be brought back?" Tharr says indignantly. "I should hope not! If I succeed, it was destined. If I fail, it was also destined. Either way, what regrets could I possibly have?"

He shakes his head. "Pfeh. If I die and return, it will be only because there is no tea in the next life. That will be the pain my ghost will tell you of. 'Atussss, pleeeease ... a cup of hot darjeeeeeling ... no cream or sssssugar ... perhapsss a small biscuiiiiit.' Also, you should calm yourself. These people will think they are being attacked by a boat full of ball lightning or something."

 

[yxanthymir]

---

Park Stadium | AspectsBloodline: Ardent

- Tough as Nails (4-Track Trait) - You’re a natural survivor. Rolls made to treat or heal an injury you're suffering from treat conflicts as triumphs.

- Ironclad Mind (4-Track Trait) - You are immune to hallucinations, mesmerics and mental compulsions.

Origin: Ridgeback

- Archaeodermis (2-Track Trait) - Your skin (or whatever you have as an outer covering) mimics the mountain you were raised on. You're immune to keen damage, as well as bites and stings from small creatures.

- Shamanic Idol (4-Track Gear) - Holds a sliver of power from a not-quite-god. Deals LR salt damage.

Post: Char

- Taste Test (4-Track Trait) - You're immune to poisons, and can determine their presence and characteristics by taste alone.

- Seasoned Cleaver (2-Track Gear) - As useful on the battlefield as it is in the galley. Deals CQ hewing damage. Increase impact when acquiring dangerous or disruptive specimens. | EdgesGrace, Instinct & Tides | SkillsDelve: 0
Vault: 2
Wavewalk: 0
Hunt: 2
Study: 0
Sense: 3
Harvest: 3
Scavenge: 0
Tend: 2
Concoct: 0
Cook: 3
Rattle: 0
Flourish: 0
Outwit: 0
Sway: 0
Brace: 0
Break: 0
Hack: 0 | LanguagesLow Sour | ResourcesCook Utensils (Salvage)
Bag of Spices (Specimen)
Tonic of Health (Specimen)
Liquid Fire (Specimen)
Carrion Weed (Specimen)

---

 

Parks pulls Tolliver's sleeve preoccupied, pointing at the thing under the leaves. Something big is comin deir way! How we can help? He looks either way trying to find something to do, numerous times. His face preoccupied and tense, but he doesn't have any idea at the moment. Suddenly praying becomes a very practical and realistic idea, even a good one if he could say. If he cannot do anything, at least he could pray for them to return unharmed. That certainly should help them.

He is about to kneel and start praying while holding his shamanic idol when he finally has an idea. Maybe not a good one, but at least something to do. Toll, maybe shoot at our friends. Or near them, as a warnin shot.

 

 

Actions

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by yxanthymir (see edit history)

[CraterShip]

 

Tolliver returns to the wheel while Atus and Tharr board the skiff. He waits anxiously while they ready the smaller craft, hoping the mechanisms are all in proper working order. With a satisfying thunk, the craft is off to the great green on its own and curving off to investigate the wreckage. He immediately realizes some form of communication needs to be added between the two.

The thought is solidified as Park tugs at his sleeve and points to the signs of something large moving beneath the branches.

"You're right, we have to do something! Get the lightning rail up, hurry!" he slams the throttle forward, hoping the sound of the engines will draw attention. He calls to Park, "Fire into the air! We need to get their attention."

OOC

Tolliver angles the ship to follow the path of the waves - hopefully the sound and firing cannon will get everyone to look this way and see the wave disturbance.

 

[Morkskittar]

The Lurker Comes: [/]-[ ]-[ ]

Outriders Approach: [/]-[ ]

---

On the Argos, Park ran to the storm-rail and flipped a switch. The weapon began to hum as it charges. Tolliver started to turn the ship, then realized that the ridge of treetops the ship was resting on blocked the view of the leafy disturbance; the wreck was on one side of the ridge, and the disturbance on the other. Still, the lightning rail was the best way to signal to Tharr and Atus that something was amiss.

The storm-rail was charged a few seconds later, and Park aimed it at the sky. Tolliver aligned the Argos in the direction that the disturbance was heading, and called out to Park to fire.

Park fired.

---

A moment after Tharr compared Atus to ball lightning, real lightning lit up the darkening sky, just for a moment, accompanied by a soft clap of thunder. Tharr's and Atus' attention snapped over to where a burst of lightning shot straight up from where the Argos has been parked. Both the mothryn and ironbound quickly determined that their compatriots back on the ship were trying to signal to them; likely to warn them about something.

The outrider heading towards Biff turned away and began moving at rapid speed towards the Argos, which was no longer hidden. The other outrider, which was saw-powered, also began to head towards the Argos, leaving Biff undiscovered near the wreck. The people working on the wreck began to vanish back inside it, through the hole in its hull.

 

---

On the Argos, Park ran back to the ship's aft in time to see the disturbance stop for a moment, and then move again, now heading directly for the Argos. From his position at the helm, Tolliver noted two lights headed towards them, mounted atop outriders. It seemed that both the people around the wreck and whatever was below the leaves had spotted them.

OOC

Tharr and Atus definitely know that something is up, and that the Argos spotted something. It is up to Tharr/Atus to determine if they think they have a guess as to what exactly Tolliver and Park are communicating through lightning. :) Alas, because there is ridge of elevated treetops between the wreck and the disturbance, the disturbance itself is not visible from the ship; the Argos' height advantage from being atop the ridge makes both the wreck and disturbance readily visible, however.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Moveslikejagger]

"That sounds too fatalistic for me Tharr. As if destiny is preordained and we are just hopeless spectators to existence. As for my lightning-"

Atus stopped at the small clap of thunder and lightning bolt that splits the sky from the Argus. His head swivels rapidly back and forth between the wrecked ship and the position of the Argus, revealed by the lightning. "Hold on Tharr. Aim for eyeballs if you see them." Atus gunned the engine on Biff and changed direction, now heading for the Argus at Biff's top speed. Within Atus, the spinning sound increases until it becomes so high pitched that it is beyond the normal hearing range. The lazy scurrying of sparks becomes a rapid swirling around Atus' torso. With a single hand clenched into a tight fist he points his arm towards the green in the direction of the Argus and with a deep roar from Atus, the swirling lightning is channeled down his arm in a flash, leaving the air smelling sharp and a small thunderclap to match that of the stormrail on the Argus filling the skiff.

"Lightning strikes without warning."

OOC & Actions

Atus chooses to believe that the use of the stormrail and movement of the Argus is a cry for help.

He shoots his lightning into the green in the direction of the Argus, like a depth charge.

Question - Can Atus use both his volotomotive interfacing (+1 speed to the Skiff), and his lightning fingers at the same time?

 

[Dr Jackal]

"The beast comes!" Tharr says as the Argos fires its cannon and Atus turns the skiff toward the ship. "Of course it does. My fate is not for a comfortable chair high in a tallshank," he adds sourly.

"Eyes are not always the weak point. Often the joints have little armoring and large blood vessels," he says, his attention focused on the waves. "Also, many of the more dangerous beasts do not possess eyes. Or blood, to be fair," he admits.

 

[Morkskittar]

The Lurker Comes: [/]-[ ]-[ ]

Outrider Approaching Argos: [/]-[ ]

---

Biff Spotted!

Atus replies to the Argos' lightning with his own, sent deep into the green, and the skiff loses the advantage of cover. Shouts of alarm carry over the greenery from the wreck as Biff speeds back toward their home vessel, and one of the other outriders headed for the Argos - the one with the chainsaw prow - makes a wide arc and heads back for Biff.

The Biff-bound outrider is large enough for a driver (a mid-sized ektus) in the front and has a flatbed in the back that is currently holding a female ardent. A spotlight attached to the outrider's front intensifies in brightness. Before it passes over Tharr's keen eyes, the mothryn notes that both the opposing ektus and ardent are unarmed (save for the hammer and wrench the ardent is holding), that their outrider has no weapon (aside from the formidable saw at its prow), and that the ardent at least looks absolutely terrified. The spotlight briefly blinds the mothryn, who ducks below the deck to rub the spots from his eyes before popping back up.

The outrider approaches Biff at full speed, despite being only a quarter of the size, the spotlight's light making it hard to see much of anything. Biff heads towards the Argos, but the outrider remains directly in the shortest path, charging Biff at full speed. Atus guesses that the collision will likely kill both of those on the outrider, and potentially do significant, but not irreparable, damage to Biff.

There is time to swerveThis will require a basic Tilt test using Biff's rating of 1 (+1 from GM fiat due to volotomotive interface for a total of 2 dice), with another possible bonus if Atus or Tharr come up with a clever way to either increase their maneuverability or derail their opponent's charge. out of the way, or something more aggressive or clever should Tharr or Atus think of something.

 

---

 

The other outrider had only one person on it, and it skimmed across the waves, barely touching the leaves, continuing to head straight for the Argos. The metal barrel of something glinted on its front, which Park could just barely make out from the starboard prow.

Tolliver personally found the muffled roar that came from beneath the leaves after Atus' depth charge more worrying.

 

OOC

Regarding dual-wielding Atus' abilities, I don't see why not. :)

The two trackers have not advanced as Park/Tolliver have not reacted yet, but will next update. However, only one outrider is now headed for the Argos; the other has set itself on a collision course with Biff.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

"These fools!" Tharr says, incredulous. "Do they think we intended them harm?"

He winds a large tuft of crystal-studded spiderwebs around an arrow, humming to himself and seemingly oblivious to the skiff's passage over the trees. He stands up and takes aim at the spotlight ... and then angles a fraction of a degree downward before letting fly.

"Now listen for it ..." he says.

OOC

Using Essence Grinder ability and the Saltspider Cobwebs to add Salt/Entangling damage to the bow, with the intent of fouling their sawprow for a bit. Tharr has Deadeye and does not need to cut for difficulty to make a precision attack on a weak point.

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Dr Jackal (see edit history)

[Morkskittar]

The Lurker Comes: [/]-[ ]-[ ]

Outrider Approaching Argos: [/]-[ ]

---

Tharr Fires!

Tharr's shot flies toward the spotlight, then vanishes from sight. A shout of alarm carries over the waves from the outrider, and then the spotlight vanishes. Blinking away the spots, Tharr (and the unblinking Atus) see that the approaching outrider's sawprow is completely covered in glistened webs strong enough to stop the saw entirely. As a result, the outrider actually flipped around its saw, and then stopped moving sending both of its riders soaring through the air to land (safely) out of harm's way. The webbed outrider was still in the path of Biff (the skiff), but it would now be no problem to dodge it.

However, Tharr's webbed arrows were perhaps too effective; crystal-encrusted webbing was actually spreading from the downed outrider outward, creating a patch of still-growing sticky webs on the treeline directly in Biff's path.

OOC

A conflict! The outrider is no longer an oncoming threat and the riders are safe. However, Tharr's arrows were too effective, and a web of something is covering a growing path of the treetops... and the webs are still growing? Biff can veer around it with a Tilt (+2 due to GM fiat) or else just rip straight through it with a Saws (also +2 due to GM fiat/speed), and then they will arrive back at the Argos.

 

I'll update with the oncoming monster and the approaching outrider on Monday or Tuesday pending Park and Tolliver's decision on actions. :)

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Moveslikejagger]

"That was impressive Tharr." Atus said, "Sticky entanglement strong enough to stop a saw prow and the webbing appears to be going in all directions."

Atus, with lightning swirling around his torso stamped a foot with a metallic sound, like a small hammer coming down on an anvil. Lightning arced down his body and through his leg as Biffs engine sounded louder. The saws dug in deeper, giving a burst of speed towards the sticky obstacle.

Timing his moment with a small green wave Atus ran the skiffbug up the wave, throwing the engine into overdeive and attempts to jump the majority of the sticky puddle, hoping the rapidly spinning saws would chew through any part they didn't manage to clear.

The lightning doesn't stop around his torso as he leans to one side and with another incomprehensible roar that sounds like "Hadouken" he shoots another lightning bolt deep into the green.

OOC & Actions

Uses Volotomotive interfacing on Biff to increase speed and attempt to jump the majority of the obstruction.

Shoots another lightning bolt into the green.

 

[CraterShip]

 

The waves cresting toward the Argos tells the Hacker that he and Park had successfully gotten the attention of whatever is below. Now would be the time to get away from this thing, hoping beyond hope the Argos would not suffer the same fate as the wreckage ahead.

Tolliver yanks the wheel to the side and slams the throttle forward, turning perpendicularly to the path of the waves. Before killing the throttle and reversing the wheel back the other direction and flooring it again. Somewhere in his mind he is impressed with the ship's performance, but has no time to dwell on the thought.

He continues to steer back and forth, careful to never aim away from the crest, he needed to protect the ship, and perhaps the dual saw prow would dissuade the beast, and allow Park to continue to fire the lightning rail accurately.

OOC

Zig-zagging the ship hoping the beast will not hit them broadside or from behind. Sawprow may be able to damage if nothing else.

 

[yxanthymir]

---

Park Stadium | AspectsBloodline: Ardent

- Tough as Nails (4-Track Trait) - You’re a natural survivor. Rolls made to treat or heal an injury you're suffering from treat conflicts as triumphs.

- Ironclad Mind (4-Track Trait) - You are immune to hallucinations, mesmerics and mental compulsions.

Origin: Ridgeback

- Archaeodermis (2-Track Trait) - Your skin (or whatever you have as an outer covering) mimics the mountain you were raised on. You're immune to keen damage, as well as bites and stings from small creatures.

- Shamanic Idol (4-Track Gear) - Holds a sliver of power from a not-quite-god. Deals LR salt damage.

Post: Char

- Taste Test (4-Track Trait) - You're immune to poisons, and can determine their presence and characteristics by taste alone.

- Seasoned Cleaver (2-Track Gear) - As useful on the battlefield as it is in the galley. Deals CQ hewing damage. Increase impact when acquiring dangerous or disruptive specimens. | EdgesGrace, Instinct & Tides | SkillsDelve: 0
Vault: 2
Wavewalk: 0
Hunt: 2
Study: 0
Sense: 3
Harvest: 3
Scavenge: 0
Tend: 2
Concoct: 0
Cook: 3
Rattle: 0
Flourish: 0
Outwit: 0
Sway: 0
Brace: 0
Break: 0
Hack: 0 | LanguagesLow Sour | ResourcesCook Utensils (Salvage)
Bag of Spices (Specimen)
Tonic of Health (Specimen)
Liquid Fire (Specimen)
Carrion Weed (Specimen)

---

 

Park is undecided if he should try to shoot the monster or the approaching vessel with a weapon. Both could be an enemy, but he managed to decide to shoot the monster. It seems more dangerous to the ship at a shorter term.

He yells to Tolliver. What I shoot?

 

 

Actions

Shoot the monter with the ship weapon.

 

[Morkskittar]

The Lurker Comes: [/]-[/]-[ ]-[ ]

¡Outrider Reached Argos: [/]-[/]!

---

Even though the beast was not visible, the thought of something large lurking just below the branches chilled Tolliver's heart, and he immediately engage in evasive maneuvers, making sure to always present an actively revving saw in the direction of what was approaching. Park, meanwhile, had a lot of trouble aiming the rail with Tolliver's jagged motions, which were leading the beast away from the wreck. Park looked back between the approaching outrider and the rustling waves, and then decided the beast below was the larger thread. He aimed the weapon at where the leaves rustled, and a burst of light, alongside the crackle of thunder, briefly illuminated the area.

For just a moment, Park and Tolliver could see a shape, long and sinuous, topped with a baleful yellow eye, just beneath the leaves. Park firedRoll: 4,3, 6 -> Triumph!. A whip of crackling lightning arced from the storm-rail and plunged down into the leaves. The smell of singed wood wafted over the breeze, alongside the smell of very salty cooked meat. Park's nose twitched. It was a smell somewhat akin to cooked lizard, but with briny, brackish overtones.

This time, there was an enraged hiss instead of a roar, and the rustling leaves slowed, and then stilled.

---

Nearer the wreck, Atus pushed as hard as he could, unleashing his inner power in two forms: through his interface with the engine and through his left palm. As the ship picked up incredible speed (nearly bowling Tharr from his feet), Atus steered it over a bump in the waves, and Biff shot up into the air3, 4, 5, 6 -> Small Straight/Triumph!, arcing over the saltspider webbing. The pair were weightless for a moment, and Atus shouted, lightning shooting from his left hand into the green waves in the direction the roar had come from. The two downed outrider-riders watched him in wonder as everything was lit up for an instant...

...and then they were back on the leafy waves, speeding towards the outrider threatening the Argos.

Now that they were closer, Tharr's eyes could easily make out the outrider's features; it was a one-seater powered by some kind of chemical spraying out the back, and a wicked harpoon gun (loaded) graced its prow. A goggled ardent was heading straight for the Argos, which was zig-zagging forward in a very odd fashion now. He glanced back at Biff, then looked at the spiderwebs, then shouted something in a voice that somehow carried over Biff's sawprow. It sounded like gibberish to Atus, but Tharr recognized it immediately as Raka Spit, the language of leviathaneers.

"Are you more pirates come to rob us of what we have left after the beast below crippled us, or have you come as friends to aid us?"

By this point, Biff and the strange outrider had reached the Argos together, and Atus cut the engine so Tharr could respond. At that moment, Park let loose their bolt of lightning in the direction of the rustling, and the enraged hiss echoed carried through the air. The outrider harpoonist cursed in very colorful Raka Spit. "The Cuda, it has stalked us even to here!"

Then he spoke in Low Sour for all to hear. "Are you friend or foe, strangers? For if foe, we must settle our differences quickly, and if friend, we must act quickly before the beast tears your ship apart like it has done ours."

OOC

Both Biff and the strange outrider are stopped next to the Argos. Tolliver and Atus' shots have slowed the beast; it is still approaching (more cautiously now that it has been injured), but you have some more time now. However, another shot at it with the storm-rail will take a single cut because it is harder to pin down and see. All of you can hear the stranger shouting and respond if you wish.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Moveslikejagger]

"Are you friend or foe, strangers? For if foe, we must settle our differences quickly, and if friend, we must act quickly before the beast tears your ship apart like it has done ours."

 

 

With his lightning arcing around his torso, and the high-pitched whine from somewhere inside, Atus stands and looks at the Ardent speaker. "Speaking wastes time we don't have and allows the beast time to kill us." Atus brings his hands together and allows the play of electricity to arc from one hand to another forming a tiny microstorm between his hands as if to emphasize his point.

 

"Parley: after the monster is dead or driven away. Shoot this beast now, live to talk later. Agreed?" Atus speaks quickly but with a tense forcefulness to his voice as if to reinforce the urgency of their situation all the while trying to keep one eye on the Ardent and one eye on the green.

 

OOC and Actions

OOC - Atus would like to press the attack against the leviathan.... but now this guy wants to talk where I feel it's a shoot (at the leviathan) first, ask questions later.

Atus is holding his action and is on high alert, ready to launch lightning at either Dreadlocks or Leviathan.

.