[2018-06-30 15:52:03] <TWDuke|GM> ||||
[2018-06-30 15:57:11] <TWDuke|GM> The sun dips low, ducking behind the hills to the west. The sky is still lit up in glorious pinks and oranges, though over the sea behind you it is darkened with ominous indigos. The cool southerly has taken on a hint of a bitter chill, but not enough to counteract the crackling blaze before you.
[2018-06-30 15:58:57] <TWDuke|GM> To your right, Jasmine shifts her position. She dusts the sand off her sarong absent-mindedly, her eyes watching as the first few stars come into sight. "Mars is bright tonight. Violence."
[2018-06-30 16:00:56] <TWDuke|GM> "Yeah, no shit, Jas." Clay, standing across from you, spits into the fire. He rubs his hands together and holds them close to the warmth of the flames. His denim jacket will smell of smoke later. He shoots you a glance through the haze - he's still not convinced this isn't just suicide. But if Jasmine says tonight's the night, then tonight's the night.
[2018-06-30 16:03:03] <TWDuke|GM> "You've got this, Quint." From your left, Angelique turns over her shoulder to offer you a thin-lipped smile. She turns back to the work in front of her - final adjustments to the ropes and lines. It's a lot of gear - too much to fly with all of it, but she's always telling you how much better it is to be overprepared than underprepared. "Third time's the charm, right?"
[2018-06-30 16:03:07] → Pink|Hana joined (Pink@net-vqhtj6.dyn.optonline.net)
[2018-06-30 16:03:39] <TWDuke|GM> The sea laps at the sand, darkly. ||
[2018-06-30 16:05:44] <Olive|Quint> A large blond man, heavily scarred and tattooed, quietly grinned to himself at what he thought might have been a Harry Potter reference. He'll let Jasmine keep her mysterious air though, she's always been like that.
[2018-06-30 16:07:00] <Olive|Quint> "Yeah." This wasn't the time to be nervous, this was the time to be psyched. "Third time's the charm."
[2018-06-30 16:08:06] <Olive|Quint> She was coming tonight, and she'd eat him if he hesitated. So there was no point in worrying about it.||
[2018-06-30 16:09:56] <TWDuke|GM> As the darkness continues to sweep over the sky, the sun being swallowed by the land, Clay grows restless. He scratches at the back of his neck - the blue-black ink on the back of his hands blending with the pattern sticking up out of his collar.
[2018-06-30 16:11:08] <TWDuke|GM> "Alright, feels like it's time we got going. I'mma go get that sprig from the Flame Tree, Quint's on the lighthouse, Angie tends the fire, and Jas..." He falters.
[2018-06-30 16:12:27] <TWDuke|GM> "I manifest the augment of the eighth house." She blinks, her eyes still upturned, then looks at him. "To make sure no-one comes to see a man fighting with a goblin."
[2018-06-30 16:14:02] <TWDuke|GM> Angelique grabs the lantern - an old-timey thing, with a large iron ring for the handle - and offers it to you. "I'll be here with the fire, as long as you need me. Never too late to call it off, yeah?" ||
[2018-06-30 16:15:16] ⇐ Thay|Mobile quit (uid129619@hathersage.irccloud.com): Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
[2018-06-30 16:16:38] <Olive|Quint> "I kinda wish we could call it off." Quint hunches over a bit, rubbing his hands in the cold.
[2018-06-30 16:17:11] <Olive|Quint> This really wasn't a great idea, he knew it wasn't, but there really wasn't a better plan than what they had.
[2018-06-30 16:18:00] <Olive|Quint> It was too late, it had been too late from the moment she had first torn him apart.
[2018-06-30 16:20:35] <Olive|Quint> "Thanks, Ange." He looks away for a moment. "If this goes bad,  I want you to know that this isn't your fault, okay? None of you. You saved my life, and if you guys hadn't-" 'brought me into the magic fold? No, that would be a lie.
[2018-06-30 16:20:45] <Olive|Quint> (('))
[2018-06-30 16:21:11] <Olive|Quint> "-brought magic into it, I would have died."
[2018-06-30 16:21:56] <Olive|Quint> He meets Clay's and Jasmine's eyes too.
[2018-06-30 16:22:15] <Olive|Quint> "So yeah, one way or another, no regrets."||
[2018-06-30 16:23:54] <Olive|Quint> ((He still hasn't taken the lantern.))
[2018-06-30 16:24:08] <TWDuke|GM> Clay snorts. He's never been one for sentiment, but you think he might be taking this pretty hard. He bends down to grab the bottle he'd left in the sand, and tries to get the last few drops out.
[2018-06-30 16:25:53] <TWDuke|GM> "This is the ideal evening for the Eighth House augment, but we could try for... in three weeks there's a Neptune ascendency that could be promising?" Jasmine turns to you, her eyes reflecting the firelight. Her eyebrows are knitted together in concern.
[2018-06-30 16:29:52] <TWDuke|GM> Angelique rolls her eyes at Jasmine. "Another three weeks of stewing won't make any of us any less nervous. Quint's gotta do what he's gotta do."
[2018-06-30 16:29:52] <TWDuke|GM> She locks eyes with you. She's radiant, in the light of the bonfire. "Thanks Q. We wouldn't be the same without you, either. Let's do what we can to keep things from going bad, yeah?" She continues to hold the lantern out to you. ||
[2018-06-30 16:34:31] <Olive|Quint> He grins again. "Yeah." He takes the lantern from her, and seems to shove it into a tearshaped scar on his arm, right next to the other six. An obscured Yin-Yang symbol is framed within them.
[2018-06-30 16:34:57] <Olive|Quint> A bottle of Jack appears in his hand, then just as quickly disappears. No, not yet.
[2018-06-30 16:35:40] <Olive|Quint> 'I'm going to do my best, I promise.' No good, what's his best?
[2018-06-30 16:36:04] <Olive|Quint> "I'll do what I can." Always true.
[2018-06-30 16:38:19] <Olive|Quint> He walks over to the mechanism that Angelica had worked for him. Maybe the best thing she'd gifted him with, other than his life. ||
[2018-06-30 16:43:16] <TWDuke|GM> As Clay cracks open another stubby, and Jasmine lies back to watch the stars come out, Angelique walks you through the various extra gear she's prepared for you.
[2018-06-30 16:43:16] <TWDuke|GM> "This rope's for if you get too low over the waves - it should repel the water for long enough for you to catch an updraft. This one's for untangling - don't let it get in reach of her, if you've got her tied up, but if /you/ end up getting in knots it's a quick way out. Now these ones..." She hefts over to you some fairly hefty lines. "These are your best bet for holding her. If you have them out, they'll probably add too much weight, so keep
[2018-06-30 16:43:16] <TWDuke|GM> them tucked away until you're ready to use them, yeah?" ||
[2018-06-30 16:47:07] <Olive|Quint> "Wind runes and metal cores?" Quint asks. Almost rhetorical, but even though it was better to not worry, for /some reason/ he was more terse and shaky than usual tonight.
[2018-06-30 16:48:30] <Olive|Quint> After slurping up the ropes like spaghetti, he starts buckling himself into the harness.
[2018-06-30 16:49:15] <Olive|Quint> "The winds are pretty nice tonight, that should help."
[2018-06-30 16:49:19] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 16:50:53] <TWDuke|GM> She nods. "Yep. Not worth going for water again, and I'm not strong enough in anything else. Besides - in my work, sea and sky are opposed enough... hopefully." She hesitates for just a moment, fingers idly dancing over the patterned skin of the glider's sail.
[2018-06-30 16:52:04] <TWDuke|GM> "Yeah - Jasmine sure knows how to pick them." She grows quiet - you can tell there's something she wants to say. ||
[2018-06-30 16:56:14] <Olive|Quint> "Hey, we've done dangerous stuff before."||
[2018-06-30 16:56:21] <Olive|Quint> ((-||))
[2018-06-30 16:58:02] <Olive|Quint> He tries to reassure her, but his scars ache, one pulling across his eye. A shudder threatens to give away the game.||
[2018-06-30 17:01:12] <TWDuke|GM> She stops fussing with the bags and buckles for a moment, and puts one hand on your shoulder. "You're right. You're the strongest fighter we've ever seen come through our little Circle. Facing our fears is our bread and butter. You've done the prep work, now it's just time to make it happen."
[2018-06-30 17:03:06] <TWDuke|GM> She notes how little sunlight is left. "Better get going soon." Whatever she might have been thinking of saying, it seems the moment's passed. ||
[2018-06-30 17:07:00] <Olive|Quint> "Seeya soon." Quint pushes off, and feels the wind swirls around him, as if by chance the wind happened to lift him up. As if hang-gliding from ground zero was a normal thing to do.
[2018-06-30 17:10:54] <Olive|Quint> Hands on the bar in front, he hooks his legs into the bag slung under the glider. Over the sea, probably lower than was wise, he stares into the depths for a moment before he turns towards the lighthouse in the distance. Searching for the riptide goblin.||
[2018-06-30 17:11:45] <TWDuke|GM> For now, at least, the sea seems cold and empty. The wind carries the glider up and away, turning it towards the lighthouse.
[2018-06-30 17:14:23] <TWDuke|GM> It stands, tall and solemn, jutting out like a silent watchman guarding the town. It's gleaming gaze sweeps over the ocean, warning of dangers, guiding sailors home to shore.
[2018-06-30 17:15:55] <TWDuke|GM> The course isn't a straight one - climbing from the sea level up to the clifftop is a tricky matter, even for an ensorcelled glider. The wind is with you, and eventually you make your approach. ||
[2018-06-30 17:17:00] <Olive|Quint> ((Its))
[2018-06-30 17:17:33] <TWDuke|GM> ((Yep, you got me :P))
[2018-06-30 17:20:14] <Olive|Quint> Quint readies his legs for impact and lands on the ground, a gust of wind blooming away. He'd always loved the pyrotechnics of magic, it made everything cooler. The hooks caught a bit on his t-shirt, but after a bit of fiddling, he was out.
[2018-06-30 17:21:11] <Olive|Quint> He knocks on the lighthouse door. Ivo was a pretty nice guy, if a bit weird. It would be weird if he didn't let Quint have some fire.
[2018-06-30 17:21:40] <Olive|Quint> ...Then again, maybe Quint was the weird one, going up to a lighthouse for a light.||
[2018-06-30 17:23:32] <TWDuke|GM> An intercom at the side of the door buzzes to life. "What? Who- who's there? Step over so I can take a look at you." You see a tiny camera above the tinny speaker. ||
[2018-06-30 17:26:57] <Olive|Quint> He moves over to the camera and waves.
[2018-06-30 17:26:57] <Olive|Quint> “Heeeeey Ivo, my,’  Quint stops and thinks furiously. Would calling Ivo ‘my man’ be lying? How about ‘my dude’? This practitioner thing was ruining the whole way he spoke. Was he really cut out for this? “-yyyyyy favorite gravekeeper, it’s Quint, what’s up?” He decides not to worry about it, smiling at the camera. Good of him to take care of the dead. If he died today, at least he’d have a nice dude to talk to.||
[2018-06-30 17:28:55] <Olive|Quint> ((Depending on whether or not Quint knows Ivo is a practitioner, that last bit might have to change to 'to keep him company'.|| )
[2018-06-30 17:29:10] <TWDuke|GM> ((Nah, you know he's a practitioner))
[2018-06-30 17:30:18] <TWDuke|GM> The speaker crackles with the sounds of Ivo stooping down to peer through the camera. You can almost feel his gaze, scrutinising you through the device. "Quint... oh, the goblin boy? What are you doing here, at this sort of hour?" ||
[2018-06-30 17:31:11] <Olive|Quint> The goblin boy, yep. Greaaaat.
[2018-06-30 17:33:56] <Olive|Quint> "I've got a goblin I want to bind, she's water-aligned, and I kinda need some of your fire if you don't mind. No rhymes intended." Quint says, facial scar pulling at his smile.
[2018-06-30 17:36:16] <Olive|Quint> "Anyway, if everything goes right, she'll be hunting me tonight." ||
[2018-06-30 17:37:42] <TWDuke|GM> The low-fidelity voice mutters something unintelligible. "Right. Well, as long as you're not planning to be risking any innocents, I can't see why not. Do you have a vessel of some kind?" ||
[2018-06-30 17:40:39] <Olive|Quint> "I wouldn't risk innocents, not unless there was, like, some sort of Godzilla coming in. Stopping that would probably be worth the risk," Quint says. "Anyway, yeah, I've got a lantern," he pulls it out.
[2018-06-30 17:41:22] <Olive|Quint> "Thanks, man. This means a lot. Might save my life." Might also kill me, he thinks.||
[2018-06-30 17:42:42] <TWDuke|GM> "Alright. Hang on a minute." There's an electronic squeal as the line goes dead.
[2018-06-30 17:42:59] <TWDuke|GM> A few minutes pass. You guess it's probably just a lot of stairs.
[2018-06-30 17:43:34] ⇐ Teruzi quit (uid43982@ealing.irccloud.com): Quit: sleepy
[2018-06-30 17:44:29] * Ryneron|sleep → Ryneron
[2018-06-30 17:46:00] <TWDuke|GM> The door finally opens. Ivo le Brocq stands before you - pale in the moonlight, his hairless head almost skull-like in the glow. The effect is softened by the plush, robin's egg blue dressing gown and slippers. Knobbly, pale hands reach forward. "The lantern, lad." ||
[2018-06-30 17:48:06] <Olive|Quint> "Here ya go." The lantern's old-fashioned, bits of soot caked on everywhere. Well-used.||
[2018-06-30 17:49:48] <TWDuke|GM> He grasps it tenderly, gently taking it from your hands. He spends a short while peering at it before looking back to you. "Won't be a moment." He recedes into the gloom of the tower, and the door swings shut.
[2018-06-30 17:51:42] <TWDuke|GM> Minutes pass. The sea-breeze is cool - pleasantly so, given the warmth of the day. You can just about make out where your Circle's beachside bonfire is dwindling down, ready for the next phase.
[2018-06-30 17:52:46] <TWDuke|GM> Suddenly, the door flies open again. Ivo is there, one hand clutching his gown to his bony frame, the other holding the lantern. Within the four glass panes dances a warm, inviting flame.
[2018-06-30 17:53:56] <TWDuke|GM> "Shall we call it a gift, then? We're birds of a feather, in a way, you and I." He blinks at you with damp, rheumy eyes. The light catching his face from below is almost amusingly spooky. ||
[2018-06-30 17:55:36] <Olive|Quint> "Sure. I'll bring you back something appropriate, Ivo," Quint says readily.
[2018-06-30 17:56:50] <Olive|Quint> He reaches out his hands to accept the gift of flame.||
[2018-06-30 17:58:05] <TWDuke|GM> The older man nods, at Quint's reply. There's a little glimmer in his eyes - who knows what dark thoughts lurk there.
[2018-06-30 17:59:24] <TWDuke|GM> "Make good use of it. It'll be of little use if you let it go out before you find your prey. Good hunting!" His laughter comes out as something like a cackle. You can't tell if he's playing it up, or halfway gone. ||
[2018-06-30 18:03:41] <Olive|Quint> "Thanks. You said- no wait, you implied, that we were similar. I can see it, both of us are a bit away from the gen pop, both of us deal with things other would prefer to ignore. How do you see us as alike?" Don't let the light go out? Yeah, definitely. The whole point of this flame was to bring people to where they wanted to be.||
[2018-06-30 18:06:38] <TWDuke|GM> The laughter dies a little in his throat. "Ah, mostly the things you said. That, and... well, the smile. You should have a few good years of that left, at least." He puts on a grin, and you notice how it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
[2018-06-30 18:07:16] <TWDuke|GM> "All right. I'll get back to my dinner and you get back to your goblins. Have a good one." The door swings shut between you. ||
[2018-06-30 18:09:22] <Olive|Quint> Well. That was ominous, and not in the usual way. He'd try to hold onto happiness as long as he could.
[2018-06-30 18:09:34] <Olive|Quint> Showtime.
[2018-06-30 18:10:19] <Olive|Quint> He pushed the lantern into a rib scar, and headed back down to the beach.
[2018-06-30 18:10:22] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 18:17:36] <TWDuke|GM> The trip down to the beach is faster than the trip up, though darker. The sun's gone completely now, though the night is quite clear. You're left in the shadow of your own wings.
[2018-06-30 18:17:36] <TWDuke|GM> The bonfire's embers now. Already, Angelique has started setting up the wider circle - spacing things out, clearing the sand of broken glass, sharp rocks or any other nasty surprises underfoot. Rolls of wire sit nearby, along with three scarlet fronds - Clay's been and gone. Jasmine's vanished too, to do whatever it is she needs to do.
[2018-06-30 18:17:36] <TWDuke|GM> Angelique stops work to watch your landing. She stands there in the starlight, hands in her back pockets. ||
[2018-06-30 18:18:15] ⇐ Olivedoggy quit (Olivebirdy@net-acg.b8k.46.185.IP): Ping timeout: 181 seconds
[2018-06-30 18:19:32] → Olivedoggy joined (Olivebirdy@net-acg.b8k.46.185.IP)
[2018-06-30 18:23:34] * Pink|Hana → Pink
[2018-06-30 18:24:35] <Olive|Quint> He exits the glider, and heads on over to her. "I've got the fire," he says, taking out the lantern. "I like Ivo, he doesn't seems to have had a great life." He fiddles with the catch as he speaks, and a match appears in his hand, which he lights and with a slight wince, pushes back into a scar.
[2018-06-30 18:25:18] <Olive|Quint> "He doesn't hold high hopes for mine, either. I'm a bit worried about that." The lantern goes back in, too.
[2018-06-30 18:25:52] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 18:29:17] <TWDuke|GM> "Yeah, he's an odd one. Caused a bit of a stir when he arrived, from what I've heard. Nice of him to help out, though." She helps you with your rigging, neatly stepping around the whole topic of your future.
[2018-06-30 18:29:17] <TWDuke|GM> "Looks like we're basically good to go on this end, too. Just got the last bit of setup, unless there've been any last-minute changes of plan?" ||
[2018-06-30 18:35:40] <Olive|Quint> "Got any good ideas about how to get her into the circle without me either pushing her in or acting as bait? Because I think it would be better if I didn't have to fight her, even if she'd be on land." Fingers ghost across raised and roughened skin. That shark had toyed with him, he'd been helpless. And she'd laughed...||
[2018-06-30 18:41:49] <TWDuke|GM> She shrugs, as she sets about finishing what she'd started. "I don't know. You know her better than the rest of us, and you're the one who does the whole monster hunting thing. Unless you've got better bait than yourself... and I'm not volunteering." She flashes you a smirk.
[2018-06-30 18:41:49] <TWDuke|GM> "You've got the tools you need. Clay's given you that extra needle, the one with the hydrophobia curse. You've got my ropes. Jasmine's making sure you don't accidentally get any randoms involved. You've got this." ||
[2018-06-30 18:43:57] ⇐ Olivedoggy quit (Olivebirdy@net-acg.b8k.46.185.IP): Ping timeout: 181 seconds
[2018-06-30 19:18:51] → Druza joined (uid209687@stonehaven.irccloud.com)
[2018-06-30 19:33:00] → Olivedoggy joined (Olivebirdy@net-acg.b8k.46.185.IP)
[2018-06-30 19:35:12] <Olive|Quint> Right then. First, demonstrate that she couldn't catch him.
[2018-06-30 19:36:48] <Olive|Quint> "You might want to get clear of the ocean, Ange. We don't know how far she can jump out."
[2018-06-30 19:38:12] <Olive|Quint> As he says this, he starts heading to the surf. "Shark that savaged me, I call you." Bare feet sinking into sand.
[2018-06-30 19:38:59] <Olive|Quint> "Monster that fed on my blood, I call you."
[2018-06-30 19:39:38] <Olive|Quint> ((Stick this on the previous line.)) Sea breath on his face.
[2018-06-30 19:41:13] <Olive|Quint> "She-goblin I almost caught in a cage, I call you." Waves washing over his calves.
[2018-06-30 19:41:46] <Olive|Quint> "Come and get me if you're hard enough!"
[2018-06-30 19:42:04] <Olive|Quint> The connection between them springs taut.
[2018-06-30 19:42:30] <Olive|Quint> As if every one of his scars was tugged on from the sea.||
[2018-06-30 19:47:08] <Olive|Quint> ((Might need to nix that 'demonstrate that she couldn't catch him' line.))
[2018-06-30 19:59:16] <TWDuke|GM> The night grows tense as you step towards the water. The gentle sea wind continues to slowly sap the warmth from your bones.
[2018-06-30 20:01:20] <TWDuke|GM> Angelique's voice grows faint, as though she were fading into the background. "I think you've got to handle this one alone, Quint. I'll finish up with the circle, but then... yeah."
[2018-06-30 20:01:44] <TWDuke|GM> Your senses hone on the ocean, as you feel it's chill creeping up your legs. Your proclamations ring out in the dark.
[2018-06-30 20:02:12] <TWDuke|GM> And then, finally, you see it in the moonlight: a dark fin, poking up above the water. ||
[2018-06-30 20:07:11] <Olive|Quint> He heads back out of the sea, exits her preferred territory. He'd prefer not to have to wrestle her out of the ocean, she'd rip him apart. Again.
[2018-06-30 20:10:24] <Olive|Quint> He might have gone in to join her if he'd had an enchanted parasail. Taunt her by jumping over her, being within her range but not her grasp.
[2018-06-30 20:10:49] <Olive|Quint> He didn't have one though. He had an enchanted hang glider.
[2018-06-30 20:13:02] <Olive|Quint> "What's the matter, don't want to leave the water?" He calls.||
[2018-06-30 20:17:16] <TWDuke|GM> The fin turns back and forth, lazily swimming in circles. Your eyes are drawn to the details you can recognise - the notch, where something took a chunk out of her. The still-not-quite healed scar, where she scraped it against your cage. The cage you'd thought would bind her, but proved little more than a speedbump. She'd eaten the best weapons you'd had, back then. You were stronger now... but who could say whether it would be enough.
[2018-06-30 20:17:16] <TWDuke|GM> For now, she seems happy to pace back and forth in the water. Behind you, you hear Angelique dragging the rolls of wire into position. Your wet legs are freezing in the air - evidence of your, albeit small, retreat. ||
[2018-06-30 20:23:49] <Olive|Quint> There was a dangerous silence, a fear-silence. The blood pounded in his ears. "I called you to catch you again. I'm giving you another chance to eat me. I've got power now, I'm stronger than I was when you gave me these." He stamps and leans forward, indicating the places where she'd torn at his flesh. "Metaphorically, I'm fucking /tastier/."
[2018-06-30 20:24:46] <Olive|Quint> He can feel himself growing angrier. She's taunting him, as he's taunting her.
[2018-06-30 20:25:04] <Olive|Quint> 'Come and get me,' they each say.
[2018-06-30 20:26:16] <Olive|Quint> "Talk, damn you!" ||
[2018-06-30 20:29:04] <TWDuke|GM> After another moment of tense silence, the fin vanishes below the waves.
[2018-06-30 20:29:42] <TWDuke|GM> You hear Angelique's footsteps growing softer - she's walking away, up the dunes, no doubt to where her car is parked. You're alone with the goblin.
[2018-06-30 20:30:17] <TWDuke|GM> You can hear your heart, pounding in your ears, feel the cold air on your wet skin. Your scars itch.
[2018-06-30 20:30:48] <TWDuke|GM> The monster erupts from the water, mere feet away from you, her teeth glinting in the moonlight.
[2018-06-30 20:31:08] <TWDuke|GM> ((Roll Guts for me, to stand your ground))
[2018-06-30 20:31:23] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6-1 Guts
[2018-06-30 20:31:37] <TWDuke|GM> ((Oh, right.))
[2018-06-30 20:31:57] → [ATM] joined (ATM@net-vum.2cu.138.174.IP)
[2018-06-30 20:32:06] <TWDuke|GM> ((Try that again :P))
[2018-06-30 20:32:14] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6-1 Guts
[2018-06-30 20:32:14] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Guts" [5] -1 = 4
[2018-06-30 20:32:50] <TWDuke|GM> You flinch, as the spray splatters against you, but you don't lose your footing.
[2018-06-30 20:35:50] <TWDuke|GM> In the moonlight, you see her clearly for the first time. She's big - as big as she was in your nightmares, the ones you'd hoped were your mind exaggerating. Her long, sleek back runs flat from head to tail; it's smooth, but matte, like a wetsuit. The pale grey stands out on the inky blackness of the ocean.
[2018-06-30 20:40:01] <TWDuke|GM> Four legs with predatory claws dig into the sand for purchase. You can see the spines of bone sticking out of her knees, in rows down her flanks, ready to catch and tear at flesh. Her arms are powerful with muscles like steel cords, her hands clawed.
[2018-06-30 20:42:16] <TWDuke|GM> Her face is strangely human - elongated, and coming to a point, but with an intelligence of eye. You can't help but see the rows of glinting teeth, still shedding seawater, as anything but grinning.
[2018-06-30 20:42:25] <TWDuke|GM> "You came back." ||
[2018-06-30 20:47:23] <Olive|Quint> The culmination of his nightmares, the horror haunting his thoughts. The reason he never felt safe anymore. And all he could do was grin back.
[2018-06-30 20:47:39] <Olive|Quint> "I did. And you did too."
[2018-06-30 20:50:41] <Olive|Quint> He charges at her, slamming her back into the sea. The point of a cursed needle hidden in his shoulder. ||
[2018-06-30 20:50:57] <TWDuke|GM> ((Roll Blitz))
[2018-06-30 20:51:25] <Olive|Quint> $roll 3d6+1 Poison Tackle!
[2018-06-30 20:51:25] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Poison Tackle!" [6] [1] [4] +1 = 12
[2018-06-30 20:51:41] <Olive|Quint> ((yay, I got a twelve))
[2018-06-30 20:51:47] <TWDuke|GM> ((You want 3h6, not 3d6 :P))
[2018-06-30 20:51:55] <Olive|Quint> ((:D))
[2018-06-30 20:52:07] <Olive|Quint> ((Should I roll again?))
[2018-06-30 20:52:14] <TWDuke|GM> ((Yeah, go on))
[2018-06-30 20:52:24] <Olive|Quint> $roll 3h6+1 Poison Tackle!
[2018-06-30 20:52:24] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Poison Tackle!" (1) (2) [5] +1 = 6
[2018-06-30 20:52:54] <Olive|Quint> ((that was close))
[2018-06-30 20:53:17] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 1d6+1 Dodge
[2018-06-30 20:53:17] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Dodge" [1] +1 = 2
[2018-06-30 20:54:39] <TWDuke|GM> The monster is caught aback by your sudden charge - whether she was anticipating further banter, or simply greater reluctance to head into the water, she's too slow to leap backwards. The exposed needletip glints in the moonlight, and sinks into her flesh.
[2018-06-30 20:55:28] <TWDuke|GM> Immediately, she begins to roll and thrash, a pained scream coming from her throat. She lashes out at you with one claw as she scrambles for the beach.
[2018-06-30 20:55:39] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 1d6+2 Claw
[2018-06-30 20:55:39] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Claw" [6] +2 = 8
[2018-06-30 20:56:02] <TWDuke|GM> ((Feel free to roll to dodge or block. It won't do you any good :P ))
[2018-06-30 20:56:32] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6+1 Oh no the claaaaw
[2018-06-30 20:56:32] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Oh no the claaaaw" [4] +1 = 5
[2018-06-30 20:56:50] <TWDuke|GM> $lesser cut
[2018-06-30 20:56:50] <[ATM]> [Head] [Part] Blinded: BLINDED by blood in eyes.
[2018-06-30 20:58:14] <TWDuke|GM> ((REDACTED))
[2018-06-30 20:58:17] <TWDuke|GM> $lesser rend
[2018-06-30 20:58:17] <[ATM]> [Leg] [Part] Sprained Leg: Limb DISABLED.
[2018-06-30 20:59:54] <TWDuke|GM> The claw slashes straight through the muscle belly of your calf, sending you tumbling back into the shallows. The salt water burns your exposed wound, as your blood taints the water. Your vision swims with the pain.
[2018-06-30 21:00:58] <TWDuke|GM> Crawling onto land, she seems much slower. She rolls, trying to rub the water off her, agonised by its touch. ||
[2018-06-30 21:02:20] <TWDuke|GM> $lesser bash
[2018-06-30 21:02:20] <[ATM]> [Torso] [Any 2] Bashed: Knocked 10' away and back. STAGGERED.
[2018-06-30 21:03:50] <TWDuke|GM> ((As it turned out, her attack was only a 7, not an 8. Even so, it did the trick.))
[2018-06-30 21:03:57] <Olive|Quint> (boo)
[2018-06-30 21:05:52] <Olive|Quint> Quint starts taking potshots with a high-tech-seeming slingshot that appears in his hand, dipping the string into the water before firing.
[2018-06-30 21:08:39] <Olive|Quint> "I can keep this up for a while, goblinette, and by the time your new curse wears off, you'll be full of holes!"
[2018-06-30 21:09:36] <Olive|Quint> ((ugh, needs to be rewritten, truthified.))
[2018-06-30 21:09:45] <Olive|Quint> ((treat it as a threat.))
[2018-06-30 21:10:07] <Olive|Quint> ((well technically, she's already full of holes))
[2018-06-30 21:10:25] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6 Dex
[2018-06-30 21:10:25] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Dex" [6]  = 6
[2018-06-30 21:10:51] <TWDuke|GM> ((Roll the d6 for ammo type?))
[2018-06-30 21:11:13] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6 contents
[2018-06-30 21:11:13] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "contents" [5]  = 5
[2018-06-30 21:11:27] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 2h6+2 Withstand
[2018-06-30 21:11:27] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Withstand" (1) [5] +2 = 7
[2018-06-30 21:11:35] <Olive|Quint> ((jeeez))
[2018-06-30 21:11:50] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 21:12:18] <Olive|Quint> ((pain?))
[2018-06-30 21:12:27] <TWDuke|GM> ((Yep))
[2018-06-30 21:13:11] <Olive|Quint> ((she doesn't know how long the curse will take to wear off.))
[2018-06-30 21:13:39] <Olive|Quint> ((Might be five minutes, might be an aeon.))
[2018-06-30 21:14:12] <TWDuke|GM> With a frantic whirring noise, the slingshot produces a sharp-pointed screw, the thread glinting all down the length. It is hurled with stunning accuracy towards the creature's face. She brings up one meaty hand to block the thing - it glances off her hide. She winces at the contact - not only from the metal, but from the sting of the water.
[2018-06-30 21:14:55] <TWDuke|GM> "Oh, little fool. You've done it now." When she speaks, it's so low and smooth it's almost a purr.
[2018-06-30 21:15:26] <TWDuke|GM> Her whole body slips down into the sand, parting it like water. It ripples briefly before solidifying in her wake. She completely vanishes from sight.
[2018-06-30 21:16:00] <TWDuke|GM> ||
[2018-06-30 21:17:54] <Olive|Quint> Fuck, fuck, fuck! What to do, what to do? Make a run for the glider? She hadn't gone for it yet. He couldn't exit the water, and even if he could feel her with his scars, Garglenut's slingshot wouldn't be able to penetrate,
[2018-06-30 21:18:08] <Olive|Quint> Bait her out with giblits? She wasn't that dumb!
[2018-06-30 21:18:18] <Olive|Quint> Fuck.
[2018-06-30 21:18:41] <Olive|Quint> Time to gamble.
[2018-06-30 21:20:15] <Olive|Quint> "Like this, you can't catch me, and I can't get you," Quint calls, eyes following the source of the tug.
[2018-06-30 21:22:52] <Olive|Quint> “Here’s the deal. Not counting weapons, the two of us enter that ring over there…” With a thought, he summons and slams a pair of grey boxing gloves together, jets of rancid milk jetting out of puckered nipples smattered around the outside. “Only one of us leaves. Do you accept?" He ignores the pain in his leg. He's not going to be running around anymore anyway.
[2018-06-30 21:23:04] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 21:24:52] <TWDuke|GM>  ((Roll Wits to follow the connection with the Sight? It's a fairly strong one, but it's still a fairly foreign skill to you.))
[2018-06-30 21:25:18] <Olive|Quint> ((Add in something about the fire being out and the ring unactivated, description.))
[2018-06-30 21:25:57] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6-1 Sight
[2018-06-30 21:25:57] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Sight" [4] -1 = 3
[2018-06-30 21:26:34] <Olive|Quint> ((redact 'following' to 'trying to find'))
[2018-06-30 21:27:30] <TWDuke|GM> When the voice reaches you, you're not quite sure whether it's coming up through the sand, or straight along the connection that you spot too late. "Little manling, that's where you're wrong."
[2018-06-30 21:27:49] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 3h6+2 Bite
[2018-06-30 21:27:50] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Bite" [6] (1) (2) +2 = 8
[2018-06-30 21:28:08] <TWDuke|GM> ((I'm going to skip over the defensive roll, if you don't mind :P))
[2018-06-30 21:28:45] <Olive|Quint> sure
[2018-06-30 21:29:19] <Olive|Quint> ((She's coming up through the water?))
[2018-06-30 21:30:03] <Olive|Quint> ((Does this mean I lied, or does the 'like this' cover my ass?))
[2018-06-30 21:30:30] <TWDuke|GM> ((Being wrong isn't the same as lying))
[2018-06-30 21:31:12] <TWDuke|GM> With an explosion of sand and water from directly beneath your feet, the shark goblin emerges. Her jaws are too wide, too massive - they grab you by the torso and haul you into the air. You can hear the hiss of breath emerge as she passes through the thin film of water, stinging at her flesh.
[2018-06-30 21:31:34] <TWDuke|GM> She's shockingly gentle - your skin is not broken. ||
[2018-06-30 21:31:47] <TWDuke|GM> ((You are grappled. You have a chance to take an action.))
[2018-06-30 21:32:13] <Olive|Quint> ((... yay, being gentle))
[2018-06-30 21:44:15] <Olive|Quint> Not again. Not again, not again not again not again, "LET GO!" he screams, pushing at the familiar indents of her maw, uncaring of the new scrapes he was taking.
[2018-06-30 21:44:35] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6+1 Brawn Struggle
[2018-06-30 21:44:35] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Brawn Struggle" [5] +1 = 6
[2018-06-30 21:44:53] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 3h6+2 Hold Tight
[2018-06-30 21:44:53] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Hold Tight" (3) [6] (5) +2 = 8
[2018-06-30 21:45:04] <Olive|Quint> (pffft)
[2018-06-30 21:45:13] <TWDuke|GM> ...
[2018-06-30 21:45:48] <TWDuke|GM> Your struggles are for nought. The nicks and scrapes you give yourself against her jagged maw give way to the exultant freedom of flight.
[2018-06-30 21:46:11] <TWDuke|GM> $roll 3h6+2 Throw
[2018-06-30 21:46:11] <[ATM]> TWDuke|GM "Throw" (1) (1) [5] +2 = 7
[2018-06-30 21:46:30] <TWDuke|GM> ((Roll Guts for me?))
[2018-06-30 21:47:15] <Olive|Quint> $roll 1d6-1 Guts ow
[2018-06-30 21:47:16] <[ATM]> Olive|Quint "Guts ow" [4] -1 = 3
[2018-06-30 21:47:27] <TWDuke|GM> $moderate bash
[2018-06-30 21:47:27] <[ATM]> [Torso] [Any 2] Walloped: Thrown 10’ back or to one side and knocked down, staggered on the ensuing turn.  If the individual cannot be thrown at least 5’ due to intervening obstacles, they instead suffer an added, temporary moderate bash instead (no associated effect, fades after one round).
[2018-06-30 21:48:29] <TWDuke|GM> You sail through the air, and /bounce/ against the sand, finally rolling to a stop against a fence of wire and ash. Everything hurts.
[2018-06-30 21:49:47] <TWDuke|GM> Dazed and confused, your back is to your quarry. You can see only the beginnings of a magical circle - or arena. ||
[2018-06-30 21:50:03] <Olive|Quint> Ugh. Even this.
[2018-06-30 21:50:17] <Olive|Quint> Even this was better. Than in her mouth.
[2018-06-30 21:53:19] <Olive|Quint> He rolls over the wall, and starts heading to the opposite side from the monster.
[2018-06-30 21:54:40] <Olive|Quint> "If you enter this ring, you'll be accepting my deal!" He tries. ||
[2018-06-30 21:56:57] <TWDuke|GM> She emerges from the ground, just outside the ring, opposite you. She slowly paddles around the edge, her lower half still submerged in the sand. You see how space distorts around her, then reforms once she's passed.
[2018-06-30 21:59:22] <TWDuke|GM> "What a tasty morsel you make of yourself, manling, served on a platter. I know what a trap looks like, little bitch. I concede that this one seems better-formed than your last. Tell me, before I consider accepting your pitiful excuse for a challenge - what drives you to such madness?" ||
[2018-06-30 22:01:44] <Olive|Quint> Breathing heavily, he circles the inner edge, as far away from her as he could get. "I need you safe. I'd bet you've killed over a dozen people. You need to be bound, and well. I'll be honest. I'm still afraid of you." Almost there.
[2018-06-30 22:03:57] <Olive|Quint> He pulls out his benippled boxing gloves again. He's not ready, but well. This was the best shot he had left. He wasn't going to get Angel to go up against her. "What's your name? I've been calling you the riptide goblin." ||
[2018-06-30 22:06:42] <TWDuke|GM> She tilts her head, the motion displacing a little dusting of fine sand. "A dozen? Oh, my little fool. Do you think me so young?"
[2018-06-30 22:07:23] <TWDuke|GM> She laughs, and the laugh chills you to the bone. Without the burbling of water in your ears, you hear it clearly - ragged, hacking, like her gorge is stuffed with fresh bloody meat and saltwater.
[2018-06-30 22:09:23] <TWDuke|GM> "That's as fine a name as any. The last time my name was spoken was... hmm, perhaps not long after you were born."
[2018-06-30 22:10:28] <TWDuke|GM> She stops, and changes direction. You can't see anything that would have prompted the change - she didn't pass the Flame Tree fronds woven into the wire, for example. Your best guess is that she's simply keeping you on edge.
[2018-06-30 22:10:49] <TWDuke|GM> "If I accept your challenge - do you honestly intend to fight me in good faith?" ||
[2018-06-30 22:17:11] <Olive|Quint> "I will contend with you to the best of my ability. Is that good enough?" Almost there...||
[2018-06-30 22:18:12] <Olive|Quint> ((-||))
[2018-06-30 22:18:45] <Olive|Quint> The ring of wood he was in would blaze and activate when he dropped the flame he got from Ivo onto it, creating a threefold working, specially made against her. The flame tree wood brought from Anyport’s busy town square, the ashes of his Circle’s communal beach bonfires, and the lighthouse fire bringing people back home from the waves. All set against her water and isolation and threaded with metal wire.
[2018-06-30 22:18:45] <Olive|Quint> It was meant to bind her, or as a plan B, weaken her.
[2018-06-30 22:18:45] <Olive|Quint> ||
[2018-06-30 22:20:16] <TWDuke|GM> She dives again into the sand, and emerges on the closer side of the ring. "I accept your challenge, manling. Do your worst." She bares her teeth, and moves slowly towards you with insidious purpose. ||
[2018-06-30 22:21:11] <Olive|Quint> "Awesome." Quint steps back out of the ring, and flops backwards onto the sand. Victory.||
[2018-06-30 22:29:08] <TWDuke|GM> The Riptide Goblin hesitates, briefly. She tilts her head to one side, then the other.
[2018-06-30 22:30:09] <TWDuke|GM> With mounting frustration, she splashes her way through the sand to the edge of the ring. She looms over your prone form, her torso and forelegs visible above the ground, her hindquarters and tail beneath.
[2018-06-30 22:31:26] <TWDuke|GM> "Manling. This was not the challenge I was hoping for." The sultry hum has gone out of her voice, replaced by an angry rumble. ||
[2018-06-30 22:32:04] <Olive|Quint> "Yeah, sorry." He really was, but only like, a tiny tiny bit.
[2018-06-30 22:33:13] <Olive|Quint> "Contending with you to the best of my ability when I can't run would be using trickery and words."
[2018-06-30 22:34:03] <Olive|Quint> "Which I did." His blood was still pounding and he ached all over, but the stars looked beautiful tonight.
[2018-06-30 22:35:25] <Olive|Quint> He reached over to the ring's edge, and dropped the match onto it. "Let's talk." ||
[2018-06-30 22:42:17] <TWDuke|GM> Flame from the lighthouse licks the bonfire's ashes and springs to life. Flaring up as it consumes the branches of the Flame Tree, the wire glows in an incandescent halo. The Riptide Goblin shrinks back from the heat, growling.
[2018-06-30 22:42:53] <TWDuke|GM> The circle of flame complete, she now truly has nowhere to go. She circles, seeking respite from the blaze, but finding none.
[2018-06-30 22:45:20] <TWDuke|GM> "Idiot manling! You think yourself clever, for binding me so? Dawn will come, and with it, the people of this town will gaze upon my form and tremble. And who, then, will be responsible? Why, the one who bound me, of course." She hisses, and snaps her jaws. ||
[2018-06-30 22:51:22] <Olive|Quint> "We could put up a tarp. Also, you look like a shark. I think my friend who is right now keeping people from seeing you could do something to lengthen the effect. How much would it take, do you think? We could build up the fire, cook you alive. You do deserve it, probably. And I know what being bound in charged metal does to goblins. How long do you think you'd last?" Shaking's down now, and his friends should be arriving soon, with the
[2018-06-30 22:51:22] <Olive|Quint> bonfire around her. Quint generally wasn't this cold-blooded, but she'd agree to be bound before she got hurt too badly. Probably.||
[2018-06-30 22:51:35] <Olive|Quint> ((Fix the line break))
[2018-06-30 22:57:09] <TWDuke|GM> She thrashes, her tail slapping at the surface of the sand, causing it to splash. She turns and circles in the opposite direction, unable to lie still. Her body lowers into the sand, away from the heat, her head and shoulders visible. "The... the ring will break, in time. And then I would be leaving nothing, and your foul, cheating 'deal' would be null. And I would come and find you and tear the flesh from your bones."
[2018-06-30 22:57:09] <TWDuke|GM> She rolls in the sand, furious but impotent. Her eyes flash wildly, searching for solutions but finding only flame. ||
[2018-06-30 23:05:20] <Olive|Quint> "We can keep feeding the fire. The ring might break in time, but you'd die first. Of dehydration, burns, of simple spirit loss because of the charged metal." There's really not much else she could do. "Way I see it, you have three ways to get out of this. First, the circle somehow breaks before you die. I find that unlikely. Second, you agree to be bound as a weapon or tool, you'd get out eventually. Third, you agree to bound to my will. This
[2018-06-30 23:05:20] <Olive|Quint> includes the possibility of a Familiar ritual. You'd lend your strength and experience to me, I'll lend my friendship to you. Of course, you know, no killing my friends, innocents, people I don't want dead. We'll hash out the details." ||
[2018-06-30 23:07:14] <Olive|Quint> ((be bound to my will, dammit))
[2018-06-30 23:09:05] <TWDuke|GM> She continues to wither before the blaze. You think it might be the light as much as the heat that makes the fire's presence felt. Her eyes narrow almost to slits as you present your offer.
[2018-06-30 23:09:05] <TWDuke|GM> "Familiar ritual? Friendship? I am... unfamiliar with these things, both." Her grey face is hard to read, with unfamiliar lines, but her voice betrays a glimmer of curiosity. ||
[2018-06-30 23:10:04] <Olive|Quint> ...what?
[2018-06-30 23:12:30] <Olive|Quint> "You're not familiar with friendship? Part of it is when people enjoy having specific other people around." Quint would have been aghast, but as he looked at the fire-wreathed four-legged mass-murderer shark, he kinda thought, 'Well, yeah.' ||
[2018-06-30 23:14:31] <TWDuke|GM> She's so low within the sand that only the top of her face is visible, along with the tip of her tail. Her eyes flick from your face to the flames. "And this is how you treat those whose company you enjoy?" ||
[2018-06-30 23:17:50] <Olive|Quint> "Are you trying to guilt-trip me? No, generally not. While you enjoyed my company, I was mostly terrified at yours. Even if I did enjoy the fight and your company a little bit, I still have nightmares over when you first mauled me. Why did you let me go, then?" He's propped up on his elbow now, looking at her. ||
[2018-06-30 23:19:01] <TWDuke|GM> She glances down, then back up. She waits a long time before answering. "I wanted to know if you'd come back." ||
[2018-06-30 23:21:19] <Olive|Quint> ...She had enjoyed his company. And of course, she wanted him back. Of course, he hadn't enjoyed her company one bit back then, as she was busily ripping him and throwing him around... She had no idea what friendship was.||
[2018-06-30 23:21:42] <Olive|Quint> (-||)
[2018-06-30 23:23:24] <Olive|Quint> "When you're trying to have someone come play with you, you need to make sure they have enough fun that they want to come back." No, why was he feeling bad for the murderer? Was it really murder? ||
[2018-06-30 23:24:26] → Steve joined (uid289075@brockwell.irccloud.com)
[2018-06-30 23:26:21] <TWDuke|GM> She doesn't quite manage to hide a smirk. "Well, you did come back, didn't you?"
[2018-06-30 23:26:21] <TWDuke|GM> She hauls her torso up onto the sand, resting on her elbows. "Now, what about this Familiar ritual you mentioned?" ||
[2018-06-30 23:32:06] <TWDuke|GM> ||||