Search Posts
Eyes darting back and forth, Rikiru swears under his breath and ducks back from the window just a bit, reaching into his pack. He retrieves a potion and scurries over to the bloodied Durra, holding the vial out. "Here! Healing!" He says, his voice low and his tone urgent.
Blurgh...jokers at work keep slacking so their work comes down the conveyor to me all night...still need to do my taxes too, ugh...
Seeing Durra go down makes Rikiru more than a bit perturbed. He decides another approach is called for and goes for a different window, scanning inside the building before he tries to open it. They can't cover ALL the entrances at once...
Rikiru hisses at himself, darting to the side of the window and getting low against the wall as he draws his blade. "Perhaps we should have knocked..."
Rikiru shrugs as doors are bashed and windows broken, stowing his tools. "Well, no sense being subtle now..."
Rikiru blinks at the lock, then reaches into his pack for his tools. "give me a moment."
Blade in hand, Rikiru stands to the side of the door as he opens it, the sting in his shoulder bringing all his training to the forefront of his mind.
Rikiru nods. "Let's see." He then moves carefully to the door, slower this time, eyes darting about, nose sniffing the air, feet gingerly sweeping the floor after each step.
Rikiru twists with the bolt but still feels the sting as it rakes his arm, nearly biting his tongue to keep from cursing. He scurries up to the wall of the cabin to take cover, staying out of sight of the windows and door. He draws his wakizashi and pulls out a kunai with his other hand, pressing up against the wood of the building.
"Allow me." Rikiru slinks through the snow and up to the porch, slowly lifting his head up to the window...
Trust me I know what you mean, GM. I'm working the holidays and the extended family's up in arms about whose house we're all going to for feasting. The big nominee's about 5 hours drive from most of us though, so yeah...things have been busy.
Rikiru shrugs. "Some men just won't be reasoned with, I suppose." On observing Brugh's steady, lumbering gait for a moment, an idea strikes Rikiru; with a short series of hops and scrambles, he attempts to stand atop the great beast's back to get a better view of the area...
...but between the wind and possibly Brugh's discontent, it apparently doesn't work out...
Rikiru nods and falls in step, staying next to Durra opposite the wind when he can.
Rikiru accepts a berry, tapping his chin as he chews. "Hmmm...I am no tracker; I know the snow works against us in that as well. We may have better luck questioning the survivors. Whatever we do, we need to make haste."
"We do need information, but we don't need anyone running back to their masters and warning them of our attack. If our quarry isn't dead already then they most certainly will be if we let them go." Rikiru helps gather up the weapons and arrows, turning to Durra. "The town would appreciate these more than bandits would, I think. Is there room in your friend's pack?"
Emboldened by the appearance of reinforcements, Rikiru draws his wakizashi and moves among the trees towards a flanking position.
Rikiru curses under his breath, flips another shuriken into his palm and throws it.
Rikiru smirks to himself. Thank you for giving me an excuse, strangers... On reaching throwing range, he flicks a shuriken straight at the neck of of the nearest offender.
Another who thinks he knows best...clearly there's a pattern here... Rikiru peeks around his hiding spot to get a quick look, noting the position and distance of the bandits. Armed with bows and just out of range...wonderful. He attempts to get to a better position, moving to the next nearest tree in an attempt to get behind the strangers without being noticed--while staying in range.
No worries. PBP is good for taking time to do things. We'll be here.
Rikiru scurries behind the nearest tree, draws a shuriken and his wakizashi and wills the shiver of the cold to stop, leaving him still as a statue.
Rikiru helps Asric gather up twigs and sticks, then retrieves his flint and steel, attempting to get the fire lit.
"Do not stop! Get out of the water quickly!" Rikiru shouts as Mina comes back up from her fall. Damn! A fine time to be a small rodent among tall folk...
Rikiru stands next to Mina and coughs loudly, arms folded. When she looks down, he looks up, brow raised. "There are melee weapons that weigh more than I do. Allow me." He removes his pack and sets it down by the group. He then takes one end of Asric's rope and ties it to himself. "If the ice is thick enough to be slippery instead of breaking, it should be thick enough to cross. Make certain I'm secured and keep a hand on that rope, just in case." Once he is properly tied off and the others are ready, he moves to the ice's edge, then makes his way across the frozen river.
Rikiru frowns as the second ice beast is felled, looking down at his weapon. He sheathes it and proceeds to recover his other kunai. Unliving women, creatures of ice, stags that speak...have I ever been so out of my element?
Seeing no way to get a strike in edgewise, Rikiru instead moves southward, stopping next to Rerdahl to observe where the battle next progresses while watching over his still unconscious comrade.
Rkiru again lunges at the creature.
"Surround it! It can't fend us off from two fronts!"
Rikiru presses the formation forward, moving within striking range of the remaining icy monster, then stabs at it with his kunai.
Now in range and frustrated at fighting the thick snow to move, Rikiru glances at his comrades for just a moment, then lashes out at the ice creature (red) with the blunt of his kunai.
Rikiru blinks at the living ice moving against the party, then looks down at the blades in his hands. He pulls out his other kunai and trudges through the snow to stand beside Durra.
Anything that makes a GM's job easier lets the game flow better. I'm good with it.
Unable to ignore the shrieking sound, but not quite deafened by it, Rikiru flips a kunai into his hand and throws it at the (seemingly) screaming snowman.
Rikiru follows Rerdahl through the bushes, keeping a watchful eye out for movement around them.
Rikiru draws a shuriken, ready to throw it at the first sign of aggression as he begins to move towards the brush. "Agreed. We'll circle around it for now."
Italic is also traditionally a good way for a speaker to emphasize he's repeating someone else's words, as in my latest post. Even I forget some literary techniques like that at times...
Rikiru nods. "It was very vague and cryptic, all things considered, but when it departed, it said 'I would hate to see you again.' I don't particularly like the tone it used at that..." He packs up his belongings and prepares to depart. "Still, its posture was calm and it made no move to attack; perhaps we could investigate later. For now though, we have someone waiting for us."
Satisfied the stag is no threat, Rikiru returns to the shelter of the camp. "Life is risk. A life of fear is nothing but a slow death." He takes up his watch position, idly observing the creature as he scans the area for other movement. "Or so my master likes to say..."
Rikiru scratches his whiskers idly. "How is it you speak, then? Magic of some sort, clearly, but from whom?"
Rikiru blinks, processing for a moment. "so it is true then. I had thought you were the tale of someone's imagination; what brings you to this land, then? Has the cold forced you to migrate?"
Rikiru eyes the stag, looking it over for distinguishing marks and watching as it grazes. "I seem to recall, yes," he whispers. Glancing back to his sleeping comrades, Rikiru stands up unhurriedly, brushing snowflakes off his clothes. He takes a tentative step toward the stag, lowering the hood of his cloak. He then stops to measure its reaction. "I wonder if we have you to thank for our survival last time..." he wonders aloud.
Rikiru taps on the newly formed ice. "Impressive trick. That should do nicely." He then rolls out his bedroll. "With the wind blocked, I think we'll be alright for the most part."
"I've lived in worse conditions that a freshly dug burrow. Not the rest of you would fit..." Rikiru scans the area for any large boulders that could serve as a wall. "If we can find at least one good shield from the wind, we could simply pile up the snow around us to block most of it out...not ideal, but better than simply sleeping in the open."
Rikiru treks alongside the massive animal, happy to have something to block the wind from a few directions as they move. He replays the previous battle in his mind, thinking over his actions. Should I have struck earlier? Stayed hidden? Was it simply the snow slowing me too much? Two people very nearly died yesterday. There MUST be more I can do...
On waking, Rikiru loads up his new shuriken and checks his gear. "I did not expect anyone to have any of these; I will have to improve my aim so as not to waste them."
"Potions will not come cheaply; I'm certain I haven't enough for even one. I would like to resupply on weapons though. I doubt they know how to make shuriken, but perhaps they have some extra daggers..."
|
