Eliah, thankful for the distraction, picks up her trusty whip and moves towards the chaotic pile of poultry, orc-shark, and blood; getting just close enough to whip some chickens >=D
Salty enjoys the flavor of the blood running over his lips. Salty, as he has always liked it. He smiles at the arriving enemies, preparing for the feast. But first he attacks the one in front of him.
*Hides laser cannon upgrade box*
---
Oh, and assuming the cockatrice don't do anything drastically different from mobbing the shark, Eliah'll try to trip one that looks hurt when her turn comes up.
1 more round of lingering luck
The other creatures make a run for it, allowing both Salty and Eliah to take parting shots... though Eliah lacks the luck that the half-orc thrives on. He manages to severely damage another hen as they make a break for it.
In the end, the two have a choice to make. Would they chase the chickens?
Eliah let's out a triumphant whoop and cracks her whip in the air a few times, calling out "Gala k'knis aruch si'kni? Alosh bredien haruch Tch'a! Hahaha!"
She then remembers were she is. Eliah gives the orc-shark a sidelong glance-- conflicted between confusion, surprise, and gratitude-- before turning towards her belongings and re-donning her clothes. She throws him a look over her shoulder, "Don't get any ideas, Shark-boy."
Salty, covered in the blood of the cocktrices, and without trying to cover himself, turns towards Eliah, and with a deep guttural voice, very hard to understand, tells her.
"That really opened my appetite... sure don't want to proceed with some other fun activities? We have killed, we will eat our full, and we have to change of having some fun on top of that to round up a great day!"
He smiles, maybe trying to charm the human, but the appearance of that tooth filled mouth is sure a turn off but to a female shark (and maybe for them too!).
Having donned her underclothes, at least, Eliah grabs her armor. Turning towards Salty, she manages to suppress a grimace at his toothy smile. She lets out a wooden chuckle and says, with dry sarcasm, "Aren't you the charmer? But wouldn't you know, that mob of poultry gave me enough excitement for one day." She slips the light chain shirt over her head. "Perhaps you should go cover up. You're moving a little slower than before." Eliah begins returning supplies to her pack and belt. With a softer inflection she says, "Still, I'm glad didn't end up a pair of naked statues in the middle of the jungle. I appreciate your help, even if it is a bit... unsettling." She tries to note his freakish transformation with as much tact as possible.
Salty licks his huge tusks, and smile to Eliah.
"Well, it's an open invitation, just let me know when you feel like it."
He goes downstream to look for his clothes, while reducing his measurements when the mutagen ends it's effect.
She makes a sound between a snort and a guffaw, but otherwise keeps her attention on replacing her gear.
Nothing harmed the duo in their re-robing process, assuming Salty had no inclination to run around with his non-facial cheekage exposed.
After dressing, Salty goes to check the Cockatrices and grab the "cuts" for the meal.
"I can tell you the meat tastes great raw... now we will see how it tastes cooked."
He prepares a meal for himself an Eliah, while musing on his lost dexterity and hoping he can get back to his normal self soon.
Salty yet again manages a decent fare, though you're not quite sure if this sort of meat is supposed to glow when cooked. The smell is heavenly, however.
Another hour passes with no occurrences.
Once clothed and re-equipped (too much shit happening today to wash up now!) Eliah sits down by Salty's fire, grateful for the comfort of it's glow. "...Ya sure it's supposed to do that?" She asks, eyeing the glowing meat over the orc's shoulder.
Assuming no critically important memories, she'll then try to prepare the cockatrice skins for something useful later.
Eliah manages to salvage two decent skins and leave them to dry in the sun.
[ooc]Is there a watch order, then? Will you be sleeping this night?
"So... Xarl... I owe you an explanation about... Tooley." Her silks ripple at the mention of the name.
"I'm not sure how much you know about Varisians. We have a bad reputation, thanks to the Sczarni syndicate. But most of us are good people," she says almost pleadingly. "Proud of our heritage. Close-knit families and clans, lovers of life and joyous in showing it. And talented? My gods, such talent! There's a reason you can expect color and music and dance when a Varisian caravan rolls into town. There's never been a Varisian born who couldn't practically dance in the cradle."
She sighs and pushes a bit of food around on her plate morosely. "Until I came along."
"The spirit is there, but... well, I'm just... awkward. No sense of rhythm. When I was little, the bigger children would make fun of me when I danced, teasing me for my jerky movements. They nicknamed me 'Twitch'."
She prodded another chunk of food listlessly. "You know how kids can be. Cruel and relentless. One gang of six especially. Bullies all, and as it got worse the other children started avoiding me for fear of being caught in their wrath."
"Anyway... on a journey to Asylum Stone -- Varisians are nomadic, did you know? -- our tribe had set up near the foot of the Storval Rise. The children were forbidden to stray near the cliff face because of potential rockfall. But when I was younger and the tribe was near Riddleport, I had a playmate named Mira. She had what she called a magic stone... 'it likes horseshoes,' was how she put it. I know it was just a lodestone, but back then I was fascinated. She'd found it in a scree slope below a cave, and I was determined to have my own, even long after the tribe had moved on and left her behind."
"So I would sneak off to the rubble slopes at the foot of the Rise and dig through the rocks every chance I got. I never did find my 'magic stone.' But one day I looked out across the plain and saw them coming -- the bullies. I was far enough up the scree slope that I could see farther than they could, and I scrambled higher looking for somewhere to hide. I found a big bolder that had come to rest in the jumble of a destroyed tree and hid behind it."
"They came all the way to the base of the scree and began mucking about directly below me. I kept hoping they'd leave, but it seemed they were going to play there all day. And then..."
Tuich falls silent for a long time, and when she speaks again, there's a tremble in her voice.
"... then I made the mistake that destroyed my life." She is suddenly buffeted by a powerful wind that no one else feels. "I know, Tooley. I'm... I'm getting to you, honest."
The not-wind subsides and her voice gets quieter. "I realized there wasn't much supporting the boulder I was hiding behind; only a few tree limbs were stopping it from rolling down the slope. And the adults had warned us about rockslides. I thought if I could break the boulder loose, it would frighten the bullies away and I could resume my hunt in peace."
She hangs her head in shame. "I didn't consider what might happen; I was just a child. But that's no excuse for what I did. I found a loose limb and began prying at the fallen tree... and eventually the boulder broke free and went bounding down the slope."
"It scared the bullies for sure; they scattered among panicked shouts, just barely getting out of the boulder's path in time. But..."
Her eyes grow watery and she begins to choke up. "But there was someone else there, too. Little Tooley Roiat. Such a sweet child, and what he was doing tagging along with those bullies, I'll never know. But he was there. And he wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. And he..." She breaks down in quiet sobs.
After a good while she composes herself enough to continue. "My family stood behind me of course, and our clan as well; that's just how my people are. But the tension within the tribe was unbearable, and I knew that wouldn't change as long as they had to look at me every day. So I... I ran away. Almost died crossing the Lampblack, and again on the Maldorian plain. It's not a place for an untrained youngster. But I survived." She says the last part with a bit of pride.
"After that day at the Rise, strange things started happening, things I didn't understand and couldn't control. Passing through the edge of the Sanos Forest, I came upon a gnomish settlement. I think they sensed... something... and welcomed me to join them for a meal and a good night's sleep before continuing on. But night terrors kept me from rest, and they wouldn't let me continue on in my exhausted state. They were good people, and that brief stop turned into a fortnight's stay."
"Eventually my story came out. What I did at the Rise... Tooley wasn't supposed to die that day, and I didn't mean to hurt him. One of the gnomes said that such a terrible wrong can sometimes 'split the heavens open.' Tooley's spirit became intertwined with mine and couldn't leave, and I somehow became entangled with... another plane or something; I didn't really follow all of it."
"I took 'Tuich' as a name so I'd never forget my foolishness. Tooley and I, we can't talk or anything. But it seems like he usually understands what I'm saying, and he has a way of getting his points across." She smiles sadly. "I try to keep him happy, and I think he tries to look out for me."
"In time I discovered that Ashava will sometimes grant me boons. Although... she's the patron of lost spirits, so maybe she's really granting them for Tooley's sake. But she also watches over dancers and the lonely..." her voice catches briefly... "so I guess it makes sense in other ways, too."
She sighs deeply. "That's... that's most of it. What matters, anyway." She looks at Xarl, then at Max, then around at everyone else. "I'm still trying to figure it all out but, honestly, Tooley wouldn't hurt a fly... in fact I don't think he can even affect anyone but me."
Eyes still watery, Tuich excuses herself and quietly slips outside into the night.
I think Salty would like to follow the river down :P
A walk until the evening betrays nothing but more grass and the river going further south. There are some flowers blooming not far off, and the occasional grove of trees grows on the side of the waters, but nothing, ultimately, finds the two.
Salty looks for a good place to camp, and rest for the day, when the time is right. His plan is the same, follow the river downstream until he reaches the sea. The sea he loves, the sea where he feels like home.
Eliah works with Salty to set up camp. She's wary of his sanity, wondering how much influence those chemicals have had on him. Though she couldn't argue that he was useful, and the following the river still seemed like the best course of action.
Lupi sat there listening to Tuich's story dumbfounded. A carrot slipped right out of her fingertips as the tale came to a close.
"That's... right tragic." she whispers, looking to Max for the intended response, as the tale was directed at him.
Eliah and Salty barely manage to scrape together a camp worth calling a resting place, but they make do. It's close to the water, but that seems to be a balm on the half-orc's senses, if nothing else.
Uuuuhhhhhh high!
Ok, Salty lets Eliah be on top :D
Just joking... High
Hell, and I thought the chickens were bad xD
Xarl stays quiet throughout the entire story listening to every word, and examining each facet of the truth. When Tuich leaves Xarl follows, and offers her his take on the story.
"I will not think that my words will bring any comfort, but I do not see you as being in the wrong. While yes your act had an unforeseen consequence every act will. You meant no harm when you acted you only tried to scare them away a fine way of avoiding conflict. The fact that not only do you feel sorry for this accidental death, and the fact that you have suffered much in trying to atone means that you have tried to make things right, and you are working on it. This is the only action you could have taken, and you have. Be proud of the fact that while others might have just walked away, and tried to get this ghost removed, that you decided to hold on and suffer as you continue to work. You have my deepest respect."
Xarl bows to Tuich, and makes sure that she is okay before going back inside.
"You're right: Comfort is well beyond reach. But, thank you. For you to say such things... it means a lot, Xarl. Really."
She looks up at him. "And I'm sorry for the tiff earlier. This whole situation is just so... unsettling." Her robes start whipping in an unfelt breeze, and she sighs resignedly. "Alright, fine. It's downright scary," she admits, and the movement subsides. "Taking watch, finding those carrots, cleaning the pots, helping with dinner... it was starting to feel like I had some tiny bit of control again. And then to be excluded from the very scouting I'd suggested... that illusion of control was ripped from my grasp. I just didn't deal with that very well."
She moves closer and gives Xarl a brief hug, then giggles. "Hugging a hellknight... now there's something I never thought I'd do."
The sadness returns to her eyes. "I need some time to myself now. And I must attend to my devotionals before retiring anyway." She smiles briefly at Xarl's bow, then turns and heads down the porch steps.
The night wears on as restfully as anyone could imagine considering the presence of a weird, scratching creature and the utter isolation felt from civilization. Still, there was warmth and fellowship, and, in the guarding, at least... companionable silence.
Niu, you hear what sounds like a cry for help outside. It's faint, but right outside on the front porch.
You awaken close to midnight to the sensation of getting a hair plucked off of your head, but see nothing upon awakening.
The two woke the next dawn unscathed, if not for the incessant bites of mosquitos next to the water. The morning is pure, but there are no golden deer to be found.
Salty does, however, watch as a butterfly lands upon a slowly-waking Tuich.
[ooc]Will save. It's an illusion (figment) effect.
Xarl snarls as he feels something touch his hair, but seeing nothing there just goes back to sleep.