Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 10, 2016 16:29:14 GMT -5
"Only a small faun village, so far, that I know of. Barely more than a hundred people, but still more than enough. Gods know how many travelers and would be adventurers have perished at its hands. Buildings were leveled by what I assume was a single blow from the small tree the creature carries as a club, so try not to get hit," Jack replied easily, eyes on the jungle around them. A growing sense of unease was budding in the back of his mind. They must be getting close.
"I'm not entirely sure how tough its hide is but I'm excited to find out. But don't worry. Even if you can't manage a kill shot, something less deadly but crippling like a shot to the knee or wrist will be helpful. I can handle the rest," He assured her confidently. The young mage never would've set out on this hunt alone if he'd believed that he wasn't strong enough to take the troll down. "The troll is mainly a threat if you don't have sufficiently powerful or skilled ranged attacks, since it doesn't really have any ranged attacks of its own. I've got the firepower to take it down without much trouble."
After running for a short time, the sounds of the jungle were becoming noticeably more quiet. Whatever they were getting closer to, the Nysa's native critters seemed inclined to hide from until it was well out of the area.
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 11, 2016 2:00:37 GMT -5
"Hm. Interesting." She mumbled. "Uh..I can heal small woulds, like cuts and bruises. And I can open it's doors if it has any." Lae laughed half-heartedly.
"Oh, I can fly too. Pretty fast if I do say so myself." She swelled with pride. "I have a small knife. But that probably won't help. It's made of amber, not metal, since..y'know. Iron kinda burns my skin. A lot. And that sucks."
"There is another thing. Fae have this inborn ability- at least all the one's I've met- to make things..appear. My parents call it 'manifesting'. I can make anything up to the size of a small table, but nothing conscious. It's where my arrows come from. Does that help? I could try and drop an anvil on it." She chuckled at her joke. 'Man, I'm hilarious,' the Fae thought.
She looked around, then at the man "So..what can you do?"
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 11, 2016 23:12:32 GMT -5
She could heal? The young man glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the path ahead, glad the tinted lenses in his mask kept his eyes invisible. Sure, the fae had expressed that her healing ability wasn't terribly powerful, but it was more than Jack could manage. So far he'd been limited to destructive magicks, for the main part. He didn't have too much trouble grasping the concepts behind the spells for healing but some sort of internal block kept their mastery out of his reach.
"My powers are vast and varied," Was Jack's cryptic response, his tone making it clear that he was only joking. He wanted to tell her. He really did, but he couldn't. So he'd have to just tell her a little bit. Enough. "But more seriously, I can create and manipulate ice, in addition to being able to sense danger. And recently I've learned a shrinking spell that should come in handy."
Truth be told, Ten was slightly disappointed to be accompanied on this hunt. He'd wanted to cut loose a bit and flex the arcane muscles. The young mage hadn't even come close with any of his previous encounters except for when he'd jumped into the middle of a frenzied Death Wyrm pack, where he'd almost felt challenged. Perhaps if he hadn't been accompanied by Nyght, a powerful magic user in her own right... Jack inwardly shook his head at such thoughts. It didn't do him any good to think of what might have been.
"Your abilities should be more than useful during our fight. Just do what you can and trust your instincts."
The young mage tilted his head slightly to the side and began to slow to a stop, motioning for Lae to do the same as he listened to the sounds of the jungle. The troll wasn't far away now, closer than he'd expected, in fact. Clever beast, Jack mused. It had been trying to lead them any possible pursuers into the fungal patch on purpose and had veered out of it shortly after passing through the thickest spore clouds. Less cautious adventurers might have charged headlong into their deaths.
"Heads up," Ten warned her, motioning toward the jungle as he readied his magicks. "We've got company."
Out of the brush, three fungal hounds charged them. Perhaps they'd been enraged by the troll's presence, or perhaps the pair had been traveling too close to the fungal patch. Or perhaps...
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 12, 2016 12:32:02 GMT -5
".......Cool." She grinned, then went quiet as she was told to stop. She listened, and heard a few scuffles. She swung her bow off of her back, nocking an arrow in it.
The fungal hounds shocked her, but she narrowed her eyes and aimed carefully, just above an ankle, and letting loose, pinning one of them. She then clenched her free hand, and multi-coloured light was shining from between her fingers, the glow constantly changing hue, and it grew brighter and brighter.
"Cover your eyes, Tenebrous! This is gonna be bright!" She hoped they had eyes, because otherwise this wouldn't work.
She splayed her hand, and rainbow coloured light exploded out, in a wide arc in front of her. She opened her eyes, and muttered a profanity. The hounds were unaffected. She pulled another arrow from her quiver, and pulled the string taut.
"Any tips? Noticeable weak points? Maybe a big red button?"
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 12, 2016 20:27:39 GMT -5
Lae sprung straight into action and Jack held back while she attacked, repeating the wizards creed to himself while he waited for the opportune moment to interject with his magic. She pinned one of them with an arrow and warned him to cover his eyes. Ten assumed she was about to use the blinding flash of light she'd mentioned earlier. The young man covered his face halfheartedly with one forearm, still trying to decide what to do. And just in case they were unaffected by his companion's spell, Jack prepared himself to raise a wall of ice to hold the other two hounds at bay.
A sort of high pitched ringing sound could be heard, what the young man assumed was the fungal hounds screaming. Whether or not they were permanently blinded by the light wasn't important but they were definitely affected. They began to panic. Jack cut off their retreat by crafting a fence of ice behind and beside them, leaving only one direction for them to stumble in. And a treacherously uphill one, at that, once the young mage covered the ground in front of them in a thin sheet of ice, sloped to send them sliding back into fence he'd set up, blind and helpless.
Almost as an afterthought, Ten froze the torso of the fungal hound who'd been pinned earlier, constricting the ice to crush it. That was one down, two soon to follow.
"Tips? No. None, really. Careful of the poison emitted, though. Don't want to get too close."
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 13, 2016 1:57:49 GMT -5
"Don't kick the shroom puppy. Nice to know." Lae let an arrow fly, hitting the side of one, and then pulled another arrow out. She then had a thought.
She fired the arrow, but held her hand out, and caused a boulder to form around the arrow head, and flattened the head of one of the remaining fungal hounds. The ice wall cracked a bit, but didn't make a big hole.
"Nailed it. I'm a genius." She grinned. "I've never done that before, I actually just thought of that. I'm so cool."
She pulled out another arrow, and eyed up the last dog. "You want him? Or do you wanna save your magic up for the swamp troll?" She questioned. She wasn't sure if it was like in video games, where there was a limit to magic, but if not, she didn't want to take all the glory from him.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 13, 2016 12:19:06 GMT -5
"It's ok. I've got it," The young mage assured his companion. Ten waved his hand contemptuously and the fence he'd built broke apart into several spears that impaled the final fungal hound. He grunted satisfactorily as he eyed their work. All of the fungal hounds had been killed, quickly and with minimal effort Well, maybe could've used a bit less effort. "Well, that'll do it, I think. Now let's finish chasing down this troll."
The encounter had taken only a small pittance of Jack's energy but the young man couldn't help but be slightly irked at the time and energy that had been wasted on something that wasn't the Swamp Troll. He reminded himself to be patient. They were close now.
After travelling a short distance later, the vibrations in the ground would become more apparent. Through the foliage, a massive form moving amongst the trees could be seen, its every step causing the ground to shake slightly. Every so often, a resounding crack would sound out as the great beast would swat at a tree with its club, breaking it down, in an attempt to crush some poor animal or perhaps just out of sheer joy for the destruction it caused.
"Well, that's it," Jack whispered to Lae upon coming into view of the creature. "The legendary Swamp Troll. And careful, just like the hounds it emits a poison. So don't get too close."
The young man inched closer, his breath quickening in anticipation as he readied his magic. "On my signal, alright?"
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 13, 2016 14:56:50 GMT -5
"Wow...He is ugly." Lae whispered. "Pretty big too. Don't wanna get hit by that."
She pulled her bow from her back, and loaded up an arrow. She took a few breaths, and aimed. She also began charging up colour in the hand on the string. "I'm ready. Nothing we can't handle. Hopefully." She smiled, and quietly laughed.
She looked around for an area of cover, spotting a large, knocked down tree to hide behind, and some standing ones to fly up on...Height was safer. She spread her wings slowly, and took a few steps closer to one of the trees. Fairly high. Good vantage. Not too many leaves. Clear view. Perfect. She sought out the perfect branch, or at least one that could support her weight, and give her a good angle on the troll.
"K. Now I'm definitely ready. I've got a vantage point up in a tree set up. Let's get crackin' Tenny." She winked.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 13, 2016 15:50:33 GMT -5
Once Lae was in position and ready to attack, Jack approached the troll, breaking cover. He'd be the distraction for a bit and, if his plan worked out the way he'd imagined it, the fight would be over fairly quickly and neither of them would be injured. The Swamp Troll, of course, would be very dead.
"Hey ugly!" The young man called out, giving a shrill whistle. The Troll spun toward him and snarled as it squinted down at him from where its head towered among the massive Nysan trees. He stopped some distance away from the great beast and waited for it to lumber over to him with a toothy grin on its face, club obviously raised and ready to swat. Hm. That was close enough for what he intended.
"Pee-Yew!" Jack exclaimed, pinching his nose. "Mind taking your stink somewhere else? You're ruining all this beautiful scenery. And on your way back to momma's basement, tell her to stop humping rotten trod dung. It ain't exactly gifted her with a looker!"
The troll roared and swung its massive club at the young man. The club itself was made from massive bones and one gnarled old tree trunk and was bigger than Ten himself. But he was neither scared nor worried. As the creature swung, the wizard muttered a short phrase and the club shrunk to a tenth of its size. No longer being long enough to reach him and far to small for the troll's grip, the club went flying out of its hand and landed among the trees.
"Now!" He shouted, taking a few quick steps back to put some distance between himself and the off balance creature that glanced at its hand, wondering what had happened to its weapon, as it attempted to regain its balance after the failed swing.
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 13, 2016 16:16:12 GMT -5
As Ten was running to distract the troll, Lae had ascended into the tree, and waited for the signal. She smirked at his joke, and on cue, fired an arrow into the hulking bugger's ear, getting deep inside and rendering it nearly incapable of hearing from that side. She then jumped off of the branch and flew past it's face, letting loose the coloured light right in front of it's face, and landed on another tree, already firing another arrow into it's arm.
"Wow, man, you need to see a make-up artist. I've seen Silent Death's that look better than your ugly mug." She gagged, and shot it in the hand. "Not to mention, they had much better breath."
She moved around it, firing shots, never staying in one tree too long, and kept it moving, trying to stop it from being able to focus; if it ever did, she would fly by and blind it, making sure it couldn't see anything.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 13, 2016 21:52:01 GMT -5
The Swamp Troll roared and swatted in Lae's direction but was far too slow to hit her. Beneath all its bluster, the monster was pained by her attacks and after being blinded and deafened, it began to panic somewhat, its motions becoming less controlled and more enraged. Its roars were tinged with pain and a hint of fear. Most of her attacks were mere inconveniences, slight stings. But the ones that hurt, hurt.
"Oi!" Ten called out with feigned indignation, muttering the trigger to his shrink spell. The Troll was shrunk down to one tenth of its size and the young mage threw the spear he'd picked up, impaling the creature in the thigh. The young man could feel the effort of the magic to contain its size and knew he would not be able to maintain the spell for very long. But he could do so for long enough. "Don't forget about me!"
The young mage froze the ground, creating a thing sheet of ice in a swathe between himself and the troll. Already off balanced and panicked, the monster fell to the ground and would quickly find the ice growing up over it, trapping its limbs. Although it had been weakened by the shrink spell, the troll was still quite powerful and thrashed at the ice, breaking free from its attempts to trap it though the creature was still unable to climb to its feet, especially with its injuries.
"Careful now," Jack warned Lae. "The shrink spell makes it smaller and a little weaker, but it also increases its speed a little bit."
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 14, 2016 11:57:53 GMT -5
"Aw. It's almost cuter." She went dead serious. "Almost." She flew directly above it, put her bow on her back, closed her eyes, and focused, holding her hands out, palms down. She then slammed them downwards, and rocks formed from glowing light, of all different sizes, but all very big.
They plummeted downwards, towards the troll, like an avalanche. "Sayonara, swampy!" She yelled over the sound of falling boulders. Some missed, and hit the ice. Others didn't.
Those ones slammed into the troll, pinning an arm, breaking a leg, cracking some ribs. Lae took the roars of pain with a grin, like getting a gold star for good work. She came down to earth, landing near Ten.
"...Think we got him?" She asked. "I'm not a troll biologist, but...ow." She panted. Manifesting that much in one go was difficult. Very difficult. Took a lot out of her too. "That was pretty cool. D'you think we'll get a reward?"
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 14, 2016 12:48:07 GMT -5
The young man watched as Lae delivered what seemed to be the coup de grace, crushing the miniaturized Swamp troll with manifested boulders. The creature seemed to be quite dead, but Jack approached anyways, his sharpest most bestest knife in hand. The young man set the blade to the creature's neck and got to sawing away, subtly using his magic to enhance the force of his stroke so the job would be finished more quickly.
"It's totally dead, but," Ten grunted with the exertion of his activity. The troll's neck was quite thick and tough, even shrunk down like it was. "Just in case it was merely concussed, and also for the trophy. Dibs, by the way."
The Swamp troll's head came off and sent gore gushing all about the place, making quite the mess. Ten stared into the dead creature's eyes while holding the head up solely by its hair before setting it on the ground. With an exhale, the young mage released the magic that was keeping the body shrunk and it quickly grew back to its original size. Of course, the mess increased proportionally.
"A reward? I've got just the thing." Jack picked over the massive corpse, eventually coming up with two dagger sized barbs, the only ones not destroyed by the boulders that had been dropped on the monster. The young mage had noticed that the barbs covering the troll's body had seemed to be the source of the poisonous aura surrounding it and a few more observations had confirmed the reports he'd read of an accounting provided by a troll killer long ago. The barbs did indeed emit poison and, properly removed, could be wielded as weapons by the troll's slayers. He walked over to Lae and handed her one.
"Here. Point it in a direction and squeeze the end, poison will come out of the tip. Careful, though. I mean, it's a cloud of poison. Try to be upwind when you use it. And maybe wear gloves."
Post by Laenieya Valistien on Oct 17, 2016 12:04:18 GMT -5
"Ewwww!" She chuckled. "That's so disgustingly awesome! Nice trophy." Lae flicked the nose of it.
The fae took the barb, and examined it. "...Sweet." She grinned, and slipped it next to her dagger. "Another tool in my arsenal. A pretty cool one at that. Thanks Ten."
"I guess we should head back now. Tell people that the troll is out of commission. I'm sure people are gonna sleep a lot easier knowing that." Lae motioned back the way they came. "And I wanna find somewhere to get a bite to eat. And then brag about how I took down a swamp troll so that I look cool. Yeah, I'm that person."
"You wanna come with? We can blow the story way out of proportion for free drinks." She chuckled. "Nah, but seriously, you comin'?" She said, walking backwards to stay polite and address him properly. They weren't friends, she didn't think they were yet anyway, but they did take down a damn swamp troll together.
Jack is an average, unassuming guy. He stands bashfully, avoiding eye contact as he looks around at everything except the person he's speaking with. A closer look. however, will reveal more.
Beneath this carefully neutral appearance, Jack's body is lean and efficient. He's slow to anger and behind his bashful demeanor is an assertive individual observing his environment with an almost predatory nature.
Post by Jacksoπ Flεtchεr on Oct 17, 2016 23:12:05 GMT -5
Jack scratched his chin, wondering how he was going to transport the massive corpse of the Swamp Troll without completely exhausting himself. Was probably gonna be a pretty busy process, involving a chainsaw and multiple teleports. Until then, he needed to figure out what he was gonna do with it. He s'posed he could have Lae go on ahead without him while he stayed back to carry out his business. Or maybe she'd be willing to help or wait.
The young man shrugged, figuring there was only really one way to find out. "Sure. Sounds like a solid enough plan. Only... Well, I wanna transport this carcass before any scavengers get to it."
Waving his hand at the corpse, Jack shrunk the thing down as much as he could. The young mage removed a hatchet from his pack and stood over the thing, ready to get to work. "I could use some help if you're willing, or if you want to wait. Otherwise it'll take me a minute and you might as well go on ahead."