The bartender accepts the widgets quietly, tucking them under the table. “Now, the one you’re looking for is named Jevis. He was-”
The bartender is cut off as the door slams open, a Fire Okotan breathlessly dashing inside. He immediately turns around, slamming the door closed and bolting it shut. The entire bar turns their attention to the door, going quiet except for a few hushed murmurs.
“Spiders!” the newcomer calls over his shoulder. “A whole bunch of them, maybe a minute behind me!” In a moment the silence is gone, replaced by an uproar of panic and outrage. The bartender bangs his fist against the counter, gaining at least some attention from his patrons.
“Everyone, in the back! We’ll lock everything up and they’ll go away within the hour!” Slowly the other patrons comply, and the bartender pulls a scrapped-together tri-barreled elemental blaster from beneath the bar. “That includes you two,” he adds, glancing to Capella and Dax in between loading crystals into the blaster. “Hide in back, we’ll make sure they stay outside and you stay inside.”
Ekimu finally comes within range of being able to see those surrounding the campfire himself. He raises a hand, waving it in greeting. That tall one could only be one being: the Lord of the Storm. Good, hopefully he had appraised the travelers of the situation at hand.
If she would take a second look at Skipper she would notice him having aquired a suprisingly well crafted disquise in a matter of seconds or so it seemed. Completely capturing every detail of the guard even how his voice sounded had changed however his speaking skills hadn’t really improved. “Stay… me enter alone secret fort… you wont come… would ruin my disquise.” He whispered back ready to leave as soon as his visitior had buzzed off.
Virky continued working on her chores, she had almost forgoten about the strange nonokotan from earlier.
Domau began to quit his work and went out of his basement on his way he wrote down the results of the days testing in a small note pad. Domau seemed quite pleased with the test results.
@meepinater
Tarkur continued searching they were nearing the regions edge and in the horizon they would see the sea surrounding the island.
Reige moved towards the jungle region he had found a source of emotions that he had found most interesting. They were a mixture of negative and neutral emotions and had a touch of familiarity to him.
“You shouldn’t make an assumption about a runes meaning based on a poor carving.” Tarkur says he turns to Streke, “There’s alot of things that can kill an Okotan in this world but I’ve got this feeling your friends fine. We just need to reorganize. Maybe take the night of and continue in the mornin’.” He tries to be uplifting.
As they leave, the stranger drags a table across the bar, planting it squarely in front of the door. The bartender finds himself a chair, sitting to face the door with the blaster laid across his lap. By the time he sits the door jerks violently, like being hit from the outside. The banging continues intermittently, joined by a soft skittering noise. The newer Okotan crosses the tavern, closing the door to the back room.
The Okotans there are quiet, exchanging nervous glances.
Lync shakes her head. “Nah, bad idea. They catch you, then what? Look, we’re trying to do the same thing you are. We work together, we all have a better chance of getting out of there alive. Agreed?”
“Haste is for the young,” the Mask Maker quips back. “Am I to assume that The Storm has appraised you all on the… situation.” After scanning around the assembled group, his eyes come to a rest on Blaze. @BlackBeltGamer98
@Runa
Gladius narrowed his eyes at Vra’axinni. “What is your intent… Hunter?” He glanced at the slightly cowering Bramble, who straightened himself at the glare and tried to appear proper.
@jayzor17@Jcton
The Lord of the Undying Storm squinted angrily at the water. The ripples in the entrance pace of Erebos shot across rapidly and noiselessly, but the moon showed them clearly.
“Put out the campfire.” He growled. “He’s entered the-”
Turning around, the Storm jumped at the sudden appearance of Ekimu, and his close placement to the ledge meant he didn’t come down with the same footing. After half a second of pointlessly reaching his hands out to try and tip himself forwards, he disappeared over the lip of the crater, leaving his axe behind at the edge. A thunderous splash was heard a few seconds later.
“I simply wish to find the one who killed my people.” He answers. “She is one who needs to be taken down, and since those chosen by Ekimu were too busy with other things to be sent to help, I set out to take care of her myself.”
Skipper scuffs in annoyance and looks at lync with the face of a muaka whose fish just been stolen, “Me go alone, stuff to do there… not safe for you, me have disquise me be safe.” Skipper said in a direct manner.
Tarkur landed with the gucko and motioned streke to help with putting up camp.
Azure stood guard swords drawn in case of a fight intently looking at Bramble and Vra’xinni
“Well, how about this: you go there ‘alone’, I go there ‘alone,’ and we end up meeting inside anyways. Sound good?” She raises one eyebrow, standing confidently in front of Skipper.
The crowd goes conspicuously quiet at his declaration. Even the strongest hecklers seem less antagonistic now.
Ekimu is drawn from his unintentional staring contest by the noise, and he rushes to the crater’s edge to investigate. He crouches near where the Storm had last stood, peering into the gloom below in hopes of getting a glimpse of the massive warrior.
“Unshakable revenge is not something Ekimu wishes to support.” Gladius retorted. “And the death sentence is a verdict only Ekimu can declare. Ally with him, or else before long you may find yourself in deep water.”
Bramble glanced at Vra’axinni for a response. He had the feeling Gladius was hinting at something much larger, but he didn’t know what.
Ekimu didn’t need to strain his eyes. Far below in the water, there was a violent churning of bubbles and foam as the Lord of the Undying Storm was half-choking on sea water, spitting out vile words of contempt for the crater which were muffled by his gagging.
Eventually he smashed his fingers into the wall enough to create something resembling a handhold enough for him to grab on to. “Hi.” He coughed before registering it was Ekimu at the ledge. If I only had my ice right now…
“He’s in the water, I think.” He spat, swinging his hand out in the direction of the rest of the crater. “Not much good I can do here; swimming was never my strong suite.”
“I will not ally with someone who will ignore the plight of my people, all slaughtered at the hands of this menace and her horde.” Vra’axinni responds, shifting his grasp on his staff. "Since he left me to my own devices anyways, it is no business of his what I do now. She will fall, my ancestors will be appeased with the revenge they will be given, and the whole of the island shall be safe from her doing what she did to my people.
Hitora glared at the two newcomers. “I’d watch it if I were you.” He said to them.
Vinum crosses the giant, ornate bridge into the Ancient City, admiring the design in awe.
Xol and Melody look at each other. Xol points to his pickaxe. Melody shakes her head, “no”.
Dax, “Well if it is about Erebos then I believe we have the same idea, but perhaps not the same knowledge.”
Erebos watched from underneath the water’s surface. He dived deeper searching for any clue of Makuta. If he could not find anything then he must leave and find a way of doing so.
“That I’m lucky to be alive and have little time before I get a fate akin to that of your brother?” Blaze asked solemnly, accepting whatever judgement his master has prepared.
“You will wait,” Gladius said, stalking further forwards. “You will be patient in your doings, and you will not interfere with Ekimu or his doings. The fate of the woman you speak of is for him to decide.”
“But you already attempted to kill a prisoner of war.” Gladius’ voice grew more serious. “You attempted to defy the word of Ekimu, and now you are promising to do it again. No, Hunter, if you so much as dare to reiterate that concept and the method of it, we will remind you of Ekimu’s authority over this island, over you.”
“Get new friends.” He murmured to Bramble as he turned to leave, who had backed up considerably during Gladius’ speech. The young Hunter looked on nervously, wondering if he should follow his advice or no.
“My ancestors’ wishes are of more importance to me than those of a man I’ve only once met. They wish for this woman to be brought to justice.” He says, shifting the strap of his bag of supplies so it was now below his arm instead of on his back.
Hitora activates his gauntlets. “One wrong move.” He warns.
@Ghid@Runa Vohman slips to the middle of the crowd, rolling his eyes.
“I hate to intrude,” he drawls, “but the Elders are going to have my mask if I let you guys start a fight in the middle of the city here. If you would be so kind, could we take this outside?” He gestures down the street, presumably to the route that will lead them out into the jungle.
The muffled banging continues from outside, acting like a stuttering metronome as the minutes drag on. It’s hard to tell how much time passes before a skittering can be heard from the ceiling above, growing from isolated clicking to a sound almost like rain. The villagers stare up in mute horror.
Ekimu glances back to Blaze in momentary confusion before remembering what had happened before the Storm had fallen into the pit.
“We will discuss that in a moment.”
“Are you able to scale the crater?” Ekimu asks. He examines the cliffside, wondering whether it would be worth the effort to combat the Traitor in the water.
[quote=“Jcton, post:3430, topic:47931”]