Fish People [Liandra]

[Rhuryc]

Off the Syliran Shore Summer 56, 508 AV Seagulls. What an odd creature. The cry of the sea-fearing avian echoed across the rock-crested cliffs, dwarfed in turn by the waves as they crashed against the earthen wall. It was a symphony of nature, a chorus only heightened by a clear, blue sky, and the warmth of a summer afternoon. A stiff wind kicked up fallen grass in a subtle trail, the forgotten flora dancing in its last hurrah as it sailed over into forsaken territory, drifting far and fast into the edge of the Suvan. The motion comforted him. There, above shallow incline stood a Syliran, clad in leathers and well kept enough to be a knight; armed with sword and spirit, his shoulders squared to the outbound horizon. The tails of his coat billowed backward from winds off shore, carrying with them the salt crested moisture and the sweet scents of the unknown. With such a day unmarred by the presence of foul weather, Rhuryc found himself in pleasant company. Peaceful solitude. Beyond the man lay the outskirts of the city itself. A fortress for a backdrop, the towering walls and inner heights cast a vast shadow, but here against the echoed sea it seemed like a distant memory. Blasted to the farthest reaches of the world. And all at once it was gone. A flicker of intent drew his attention away from the rolling blue, instead turned to the lapping of water against land. There. Distinct from the terrain lay another someone, or rather, someones. Blast it all. Rhuryc grunted and went to turn his soured gaze away, only to feel himself stop. Something was wrong. Something was always wrong. "Gods be damned." He mumbled to himself as he turned and advanced, one hand idling on the hilt of his blade.

[Liandra]

OOCEmblem has given permission for the use of this monster Liandra was enjoying the warm waters in this neck of the Northern Suvan. She sent Kylayia away earlier to go feed, so she was alone with her gear and a coral torch strapped to her wrist. She was near a town named Syliras, a peaceful town if she remembered right from her years in school. She wasn't feeling very social, so she opted to explore the nearby sea rather than the town. Gracefully moving through the sea, she made her way to the sea bed. There must be a lot of trade in this port, as there was a lot of junk left abandoned here. She saw chunks of wood, shiny yet useless trinkets, and even a chamber pot. Nothing interesting. The currents were calm, and the sand was settled. There was very little coral growing here, so she followed the bed out from the coast. She continued exploring the dark blue waters for nearly a bell, taking a curvy route, not covering much distance, when the sea bed dropped off. Liandra smiled, she loved exploring the dark depths. She peered over the edge, her large pupil-less eyes slicing through the blackness. The depths appeared to be much rockier than sandy. She would have to be more cautious, as this would be ideal hunting ground for giant eels. She pulled herself over the edge and down into the abyss. Her coral torch only allowed her to see about twenty feet or so, and the darkness was closing in around her. She avoided any large holes, and stuck close to the rock face to stay out of sight from predators. A glint ahead caught her eye. She swam toward it and found that it was a bone shaft of some sort with a blue jewel embedded in it. Curiosity dragging her in, She moved in closer. It was some sort of spear, with three prongs in it. And those prongs were lodged into something. It just looked like a smoother section of the rock. Liandra grasped the trident with both hands, and began pulling on it. It slid out a lot easier than expected as Liandra tumble head over webbed feet. Upside down now in the water, Liandra slid the trident down into the tight space between her backpack and her cerulean skin. It would stay in place quite well there. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her gut. She flipped back over in the water, and was surprised to see blood floating about. Her eyes darted around for a source, and to her gaze fell on three aligned holes in the rock. Except now the rock was moving and bleeding. Then Liandra felt a sharp pain in her calf. She looked down and saw long thin tendril had embedded itself into her leg. Panicking, she pulled the sharpened oyster shell that hung from her backpack off, and began sawing at the tendril. The appendage felt so strange and foreign, and she could feel it trying to burrow deeper into her leg. About halfway through the tendril, it began to writhe in pain, and several more like it shot of the darkness. Liandra shot upwards, pulling herself as fast as she could through the water, nearly screaming as the tendril was ripped from her leg. Fear filled her, and the need to survive pushed her forward. She was bleeding in the open sea, a most dangerous situation. But she also was being attacked by a creature she'd never even heard of. As she swam, up toward the lip of the deep crevasse, she looked back. Her eyes widened in horror as several large tentacles were pursuing her, with an uncountable amount of those little tendrils on each end. What was that?!? This spurred her to swim harder and faster than she ever had, and she was seriously wishing she'd brought Kylayia. And she wasn't about to call for him with this beast chasing her. As soon as she passed the lip, she switched directions following the sea bed. Staying fast and mobile would be the only way to survive. As she swam along the bottom, straightlining toward the coast, she looked back to see if it had possibly given up the chase. She saw eight massive tentacles shoot up followed by a large head of sorts. It looked like a giant octopus of sorts, but none like she'd ever seen. The whole creature was easily forty feet long. It turned toward her, probably following the smell of her bleeding leg. She'd never seen any octopus that was large enough to be a danger, and knew that they usually only ate shell fish. So she had no idea how to avoid one aside from leaving the sea. She darted through the debris on the bottom of the sea, looking back to see it catching up to her. She began angling up toward the surface, as the gap continued to close. It was hungry, it was injured, and it was furious. A tentacle shot up past her, and she quickly dove beneath it, feeling the tentacles on her head brush the monster's skin. She could tell she was near the shore from the sloping grade of the sea bed. Liandra felt a grip clamp onto the ankle of her injured leg. It yanked her backwards, then whipped her up and back forwards. Tentacle and Charoda broke the surface, and she felt it let her go. She flew across the sea, landing hard in the rocky shallows. The skin on her ankle had been ripped clean off, and her landing had sent several sharp pains through her body. She tried to pull herself up the beach to safety, but she hadn't recovered from the painful landing. She looked up, bright lights filling her vision to see a man not too far away. She tried to call out to him, tried to tell him get away, but the voice didn't escape her throat. She looked back to see that the creature had manage to somewhat beach itself, half in the shallow surf, half submerged. Why was it so determined to turn her into its next meal?

[Rhuryc]

Holy petching shyke. That was not natural. Metal scrapped against leather in a vicious echo as Rhuryc drew his blade and doubled his pace. He ran. From his back the man withdrew his shield and took to his bounds, arms pumping in tandem with one another as he closed the distance. What in all the void was that thing?! Closer now. He heard ... whatever it was scream, one strange fish set upon another in some oceanic spat. Was it - she? - speaking to him? Son of a bitch. He watched the tentacle raise. Sweeping into the air, the massive limb swirled about and gained momentum before it came tearing down, it's girth aimed to smash the poor Charoda in a pulp. Rhuryc jumped. A sick, twisted screech escaped the creature's maw as sword bit into flesh, the honed edge ripping the tentacle into two pieces and forcing the mass of it to rear back. Rhuryc stepped up, his body covering the Charoda with shield raised in front of his own torso. "Back now, friend, I believe your associate and I have some business to attend."

[Liandra]

Liandra had seen the giant tentacle coming down to crush her from the corner of her eye. She prepared for the killing blow by balling up, hoping to survive it somehow, praying to Laviku in her mind. Then she heard the gut wrenching scream of an injured animal. She looked back and up, and saw a man standing over her, and a damaged tentacle pulling back out of harm's way. The man had saved her! But how long could one man last against this creature? She struggled to pull herself up to a semi standing position. She uttered a small thanks and pulled herself upright fully. It was excruciating to stand now. They needed to get away, and the creature might leave. She couldn't keep standing, and buckled, catching herself on the man's shield. "We need to get out of here!" Her Common was understandable, but would have a strange singsong accent. She tried to push the man toward escape. With her back turned, she wouldn't see the the tentacle slowly snaking up behind her, with the infinitesimal smaller tentacles looking for places to grab or burrow into. The tentacles were slowly moving around the sides of her waist and over her shoulders, looking to gain a grip on the one that disturbed its slumber, as well as the one that had injured it.

[Rhuryc]

"Good idea." Rhuryc grunted and turned about, his hand extending to offer the fish woman aid. The motioned swiftly changed. Instead of playing the part of the gentle hero, Rhuryc grabbed his wards shoulder and hurled her to the ground. He jumped over her and brought his shield up as the second tentacle slammed itself forward. The metal absorbed the brunt of the blow. Something akin to a growl escaped the mans lips. His sword came down in a vicious overhead slash that split the top of the offending limb, sending it scouring back. "Quickly, g-" The man was rudely interrupted as a third player entered the game. The fleshy extension took Rhuryc square in the stomach and sent him flying away from the Charoda. The distance was impressive. He found the beach in sour company. He tumbled with the fall and rolled, stopping only on accord of his own momentum. Prone was no position to be in for a fight. And yet, something caught his eye. The creature was hardly finished. Slam! Rhuryc continued his roll. He felt the earth tear up around him as one tentacle came down, then another. He juked. Forward, he rolled onto his back and thrust his shield out just as another came down. The impact sent him reeling. Tiny extensions, shadows of the larger whole, wrapped around the edges of his shield and latched on, wrenching it out of the man's hold and sending it into the water. Son of a bitch. Up! Rhuryc launched to his feet and brought his blade to bear, the hilt having never once left his grasp. "I don't..." He narrowed his eyes and jumped to the side, avoiding another tentacle as it came down. "...think it's going..." he grunted and seared his blade through the extended limb, spilling a black, sickening fluid onto the beach. "...to let us leave!" Something caught his leg.

[Liandra]

When Liandra saw that extended hand, she had a brief glimmer of hope that everything would be alright. That is, until she saw the look the man's face change. She felt him grab her shoulder, and something cracked or popped under his emergency grip, sending a spike of pain into her near overloaded brain. She was thrown into the sand, and the man leapt over her. She managed to turn and see him split the tip of a tentacle, before another tossed him away like a Myrian tossing away a finished bone from a kill. Liandra saw several tentacles slamming into the ground past her, and one right above her snaking toward the man. She felt something digging into her back, and remembered the weapon that started this all! She struggled to get it off her back and held it up, longways, flat, between her and the tentacle. She'd never used a weapon before, but how hard could it be? Take the sharp end and poke. She pulled it back, and lunged it upward, using her one good arm for most of the power. But without training, she only managed to get a single barbed tine into the murderous limb. She struggled to yank it out, then repeated with another lunge. She felt it sink in deeper, all the tines striking true. The tentacle stopped whatever it had been doing and swung upwards, ripping the trident from her hands. It came barreling down at her, and Liandra knew this was it, Dira had come to claim her. She didn't flinch, didn't try to run, just stared her would be killer down. There was a dull shick, and the tentacle stopped just above her. Confused, she saw that the trident had acted as a pillar, holding the tentacle up. She pushed herself up, thanking Laviku, and Dira, for the save, and struggled as she stood up. Both of her legs were burning in pain, but one didn't pass a test by Laviku by giving up like she almost had. She saw the trident was bent in the center and was beginning to splinter. She hobbled out of the tentacles intended path, and grabbed at the trident, just above the bend. She went to pull it out, when a loud SNAP, followed by a white flash of pain over came her senses. She fell away from the tentacle, the upper half of the trident in hand. She saw a moderate slash on her forearm from the splintered weapon, and quickly began crawling away from her position toward... toward a beak? There was a large, sharp looking beak thing at the base of the tentacles. She continued to crawl towards it, bleeding out, her strength fading with each inch closer she got.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Liandra Skills Weapon: Trident- 3 XP Acrobatics- 2 XP Lores Saved by the Human Nuzem (Partial) The Hazards of Poking "Rocks" Other Shenanigan: Since the thread wasn't completed, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you survived said encounter. But the wounds suffered keep you from doing much action for several weeks. There will also be scars on your legs that will fade over time, although they will never completely disappear. ]Rhuryc Skills Weapon: Longsword- 1 XP Acrobatics- 1 XP Lores Into Action Strange Seagulls Comments : Its a shame the thread never got completed, or else there would probably be more reward for the risk. But good work anyway, if you have any questions or concerns, shoot me a PM.