|
Post by Noa on May 4, 2020 19:30:07 GMT -6
There was even less time for Aster to cover his ears this time around, but he also had the sense to do it as soon as he gave Avander the go ahead. And the roar wasn't as bad as the sonic blast had been, either in volume or in impact, so there was that. Aster did wonder if he was headed on the path to tinnitus, training up so many creatures to make noise like this, but... Well, if that was the price of safety...
It did come in handy, so tinnitus it was, he supposed. In a place like this, there might be a magical way to cure that kind of mundane condition anyway.
The silence in the wake of the roar was almost as unsettling as the roar itself. Aster and Avander stood there for a moment, waiting to see what response there was to be had, if any.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 4, 2020 19:48:51 GMT -6
At first there was nothing, but Aster was content to wait a while longer. Maybe it was simply taking the Nyssa some time to react. And then, they heard it--- a rumbling noise not unlike when Grunty stomped his feet, rhythmic and pounding. It came, as Aster suspected, from the copse; and now he could make out the movement of one particular canopy shaking among the rest.
"You see that too?" Aster said. Avander gave a wordless assent. Aster grunted. "Well, that settles that. At least we know which one it is." They had a general idea of where it was in the copse, and it couldn't very well move around without attracting their attention. They had lured it into giving away its location, which was nothing to scoff at, all things considered. Aster owed Avander for that one; if the Wiurn hadn't suggested roaring at it, Aster might not have asked him to, in the end.
|
|
|
Post by Lethalia on May 7, 2020 4:15:32 GMT -6
[ 7-13 ] At least the massive beast has been tracked down - now how how to deal with it? [Nothing happens]
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 13, 2020 0:59:03 GMT -6
The only question now was one of deciding their approach. The roar hadn't been enough to scare it away, though it was a bit optimistic, if not a bit naive, to expect that the problem would be so easily resolved. Noise was cheap, and if that was all there was to it, then the woman who had hired them on could have just bought a recording of some roars and used it to keep her garden safe. It wouldn't be the most elegant solution, but it was certainly simple, and less of a hassle than keeping a creature that was capable of going toe to toe with a Nyssa.
Of course, for Aster, the added assurance of having Avander around couldn't be dispensed with, but not everyone saw it that way. Some folks just preferred to keep to smaller, cuter, more harmless creatures, who did admittedly take fewer resources to care for.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 13, 2020 1:01:11 GMT -6
But, well, that kept people like Aster in business, so he could hardly complain.
"Let's go," Aster said, shaking his head. The sooner they got to the thing, the sooner they could get it over with, at least in theory. He still didn't know what they would do once they got there, but if it came to a fight, Aster was confident that Avander could come out the victor, especially the way he was now. And if that wasn't enough, Aster had some magic of his own, with which he could conceivably back Avander up if the Wiurn found himself in a pinch.
Avander led the way this time, though the going was slow, picking his way through the narrow paths of the gardens. Flying would have been easier, but the problem of where to land would have simply presented itself again, and the distance wasn't so great as to necessitate it.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 14, 2020 0:59:40 GMT -6
They stopped when they reached the edge of the copse. Unfortunately, that hadn't been nearly enough time for Aster to formulate a game plan. His mind kept wandering to battle strategies, since they were what he knew best, but the woman hadn't necessarily asked him to kill the thing, and that meant there were at least decent odds that she might be cross if that was what the outcome was when they were done here.
It was funny. People kicked up a fuss about all kinds of pests, but most folks were still squeamish about death when it came right down to it, especially if they thought it could be avoided. Not that he didn't understand where they were coming from, but still.
They would just be playing this one by ear, he supposed.
"It's really a shame that we're trying to scare it off," Aster muttered. "There's plenty of places for you to hide here for an ambush."
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 14, 2020 1:03:21 GMT -6
{Well,} Avander informed him cheerfully, {I could still do it. We could always say we got a bit too overzealous with the pruning.}
"No, we'd better not," Aster said, though he didn't know whether Avander was joking about it or not. "Let's just take it slow, and---"
Whatever he might have said next was cut off by another bout of rumbling, this time much closer to where they were. Alarmingly close, even. Aster was suddenly filled with a sense of dread, and turned to sprint several meters away--- not a moment too soon either. Roots closed over where he had been standing just moments prior, thick and woody, threatening to tie down anything that came within their grasp.
"Looks like someone decided they'd rather make the first move," Aster said.
{I've got this,} said Avander. Before Aster could give him any further instructions, the Wiurn took a deep breath, then breathed over the newly grown roots.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 14, 2020 1:07:48 GMT -6
It was nearly summer now, and with the warmer weather, Aster could see the frost misting the air that much more clearly as Avander breathed out the chill within himself. The roots, bearing the full brunt of his attack, froze solid. A sweep of the Wiurn's tail, and most of them shattered, raining frozen splinters, which Avander shook roughly from himself. Aster could only block his face with an arm, though fortunately most of it stayed well clear of him.
There was a roar, and the Nyssa came smashing out of the trees. As it bellowed at them, Aster tried to figure out whether it was simply upset, or if they had managed to genuinely hurt it with that little stunt just now. When Rhys summoned vines, they were clearly not a part of himself, but Nyssas were plants in and of themselves, so maybe it was different when they used the same tactic.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 14, 2020 1:11:52 GMT -6
Aster didn't get much time to contemplate this problem though. Whether or not the Nyssa was hurt, it was very clearly angry, and it launched into another charge at Avander almost immediately. The only saving grace in their current situation was that even an angry Nyssa was still a slow, lumbering thing; Avander neatly sidestepped its charge, and was ready for it when it wheeled around to try again.
"Wait!" Aster said. "Hold! Don't just attack it!"
His command came in just soon enough to bring Avander up short, and he leaped to the side again as the Nyssa tried to barrel into him a second time. {I'm waiting,} Avander said, {but we can't do this all day. If you got a plan, now would be a great time to share!}
Aster wanted to spit back a snappy comeback, but there was no time. It was taking almost all his attention to study the Nyssa, see if he could find anything... wrong with it.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 21:35:12 GMT -6
Of course, that was a lot easier said than done, seeing as the Nyssa was moving around, trying to get at Avander. And Aster had to watch out for his own safety too, even though it wasn't trying to attack him in particular. It was so big, and its movements so unwieldy, that even getting clipped by the follow through of a missed strike would probably knock him out. He wasn't big enough to take a hit from something of that size.
Aster ducked to one side, scrambling around so he could see the Nyssa from a different angle just as the Nyssa turned, swinging at Avander again. Avander sidestepped, then launched himself aloft with a great leap, though he stayed low enough to provide a target for the Nyssa still. Aster knew that Avander was trying to coordinate with Aster, or rather, that the Wiurn was doing this to protect him.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 21:37:52 GMT -6
If he flew out of reach, after all, even the Nyssa would wise up sooner or later, and then it would likely look for other targets. And who would be within easy reach then but Aster, trying to poke around like he was? No, Avander had to keep its attention on himself, to provide a distraction if nothing else.
But he couldn't keep it up indefinitely. And Aster wasn't seeing anything obvious, like a splinter or burn marks or anything else that might indicate some sort of physical ailment. He grimaced; he didn't like the idea of having to go back when they had gotten here and aggravated the damn thing, but he was starting to feel more and more like the best option here would just be to fall back for now. He was sure the woman was going to be real happy about that, though with any luck she wouldn't find out.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 21:40:24 GMT -6
... Granted, that was a bit farfetched. Now that the creature was worked up again, Aster was sure it would go on another rampage, and cause more damage in the process. Queen's grace, but it just wasn't their day today.
"Retreat," Aster muttered under his breath, trusting the ribbon to carry the word to Avander. Really, he didn't have to speak it out loud at all, but it felt more comfortable for him to do so, and anyway the Nyssa was making enough of a ruckus to cover anything Aster might have been saying anyway. But Avander got the signal immediately; Aster could sense a change in his flight patterns, even if Avander didn't immediately pull out.
That was because Aster had to pull out first. Again, if Avander stopped being a viable target, Aster would likely be noticed that much sooner. So the Wiurn roared again, just to make sure the Nyssa was still on him.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 21:43:04 GMT -6
Aster, for his part, now concentrated on getting away. Fortunately, the Nyssa's attacks were slow, and telegraphed well in advance by its wide, deliberate movements. It was an easy matter to get out of the way if that was the only thing Aster was focusing on, and easier still to slip away while it was distracted, once he had gotten out of that critical melee range. The Nyssa's reach was formidable, but it wasn't infinite, and after sprinting a few meters, Aster felt that he was in the clear.
It was also all the leeway that Avander required before he dropped the act of trying to still engage with the angry Nyssa, and dove at once for Aster. The Nyssa turned, but its movements were exceptionally sluggish compared to the Wiurn's, and in short order Aster found himself lifted by Avander's claws, one arm on each side, as the Wiurn beat steadily upwards.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on May 18, 2020 21:45:36 GMT -6
It wasn't a comfortable arrangement, not by a long shot, but it was the easiest way for Avander to get him without having to go through the longer process of getting down and having Aster swing up. Aster could vault onto his back and mount up pretty quickly, but this was still quicker, and time was of the essence in that particular instance.
But once they were a safe enough distance away, Avander set him down, and Aster got onto his back properly for the rest of the flight home.
Gods and angels, but he was tired. The entire encounter had, realistically, probably only lasted a matter of minutes, but he still felt as though he had run a marathon. "Thanks," he said, patting Avander's back with one hand. Credit where it was due, Avander had really held on in there, and Aster knew that he would be in much worse shape if not for the Wiurn.
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on May 19, 2020 20:35:53 GMT -6
You've managed to defeat the nyssa! Or at least show it what for, so far. Feel free to keep going at it!
[You have rolled a success! Feel free to keep roleplaying. Your QP will be added shortly.]
|
|