I'm Going In (Open)

[Xalet]

62nd Day of Spring, 512AV - Early Morning

Xuphim kept some of his gear back at the camp. His razor, soap, horse, and things not directly related to Jamoura capturing that would simply get in the way. He had to remind himself that it wasn't just Jamoura that needed to be restrained and brought away from the fog, there were other races, even Kelvics. That was going to make things difficult. Xuphim was lucky enough to have direct contact with a Kelvic in Syliras, but being the creatures became animals of any type, that meant literally anything around him that moved and contained warm blood could be a Kelvic.

He checked through the things he did bring. His weaponry was there in case he needed it, but most importantly was the capture pack. That old Eypharian had given him a crash course in how to properly use the various items, and Xuphim made sure to go over those notes mentally one last time before stepping into the fog. Even knowing how the snares, eggs, and smokes worked, the Akalak was still at a loss for how exactly to approach the situation. The citizen's were turning feral, but that didn't mean they were violent and enraged, right? "No problem. There's probably plenty of them wandering around. Our Akalak eyes will cut right through this Djed fog shit and we'll bag some easy."

Xalet wasn't quite so certain, "Xuphim...if they've become more like animals, won't they simply run away from us? When you hunt a rabbit it doesn't sit around and try to wrestle with you, it runs. We'll need to set up a trap. Maybe try leaving out some of our own rations?"

"Yeah, maybe. Lets get inside first and check out the layout of this place. Remember most of it is up in the air, that's going to make things pretty freaking complicated. If it looks like things are keeping a distance we'll try that ration stuff. I don't want to be throwing away good food though." the dark brother made it a point to mention. Xalet had some good ideas when he was sitting in the passenger seat. What little tactical knowledge the pair had was mostly wandering around in Xalet's consciousness. Of course, Xuphim wouldn't admit that too readily, that was all he needed was his kiss-ass brother getting a big head.

"I told the other's we'd be heading in around this time. Hope they plan on showing up. Not that we can't take care of this ourselves, but more bodies on our side means more money. Let's do this." Xuphim affirmed before adjusting the guige strap upon his shield that kept it securely hugging his back. With a deep breath he allowed his huge feet to start stepping into the mists.

[Marcus Braeden]

Two days had passed since the Sylirans arrived and Marcus and Ser Noah had not ventured out into the fog once. The day before they had retrieved there complimentary capture packs, but hadn't really put them to use, except for a crash course in the use of the materials. However today was their chance to finally get something accomplished. The Akalak squire, Xuphim, or was it Xalet, Marcus couldn't remember which one, had informed the others of an expedition into the fog. Both Marcus and Ser Noah agreed that they would take this opportunity and accompany the Akalak. Before heading off to the meeting point, the pair checked their equipment, each bringing their standard weapons, a bow, quiver, longsword, and shield. However they hoped they would not need to use these, except perhaps the shield. There most important possession was the capture pack, which would allow the party to capture citizens alive, which seemed to be a pretty integral part of the objective.

"So, Braeden, you ready for your first 'adventure' with the order?" Ser Noah asked as they walked toward the meeting spot. "Excited! It feels pretty heroic wearing a sword and heading into the unknown!"Marcus said eagerly. Ser Noah chuckled slightly as Marcus' glee, "Well Braeden, you are quite the idealist." One of these days, the boy will realize this line of work isn't as glorious as it seems Noah thought to himself.

The pair soon arrived to the meeting spot to only see the faint silhouette of the Akalak venturing into the fog alone. Ser Noah immediately dashed forwards and Marcus followed with haste. Ser Noah called out "You wern't planning on going alone now were you?"

[Xalet]

OOCAlrighty, that's enough waiting time. Looks like it's you and me, so lets do this!

The Akalak halted in his steps and turned his upper torso to look over his shoulder. He could see, and more precisely hear the clanging of two members of the Order coming his way. The sound of Syliran armor was unmistakable after listening to it for some two decades. It was Marcus, the new Squire, and his Patron. Up until this point Xuphim wasn't sure what to make of Marcus. From what he had heard, the man was some sort of smith. He seemed to be a youthful and energetic sort, Xalet would probably get along with him well. The Patron was one of many Knights, most of which whom Xuphim couldn't name if they stood without a helm in front of him today.

"Heh, someone's got to make the bacon around here...Ser." he added hastily at the end of his sentence. "We'll be hard pressed not to scare away all of these wild animals, which is what I've heard they've become, with all the noise we'll be making. I'm not much for elaborate schemes, but since I'm here to make things right...and to make money I'm all ears. Best to get the layout of this place too. We can talk while we walk." Xuphim spotted a flight of stairs that began the ascent upward toward the petals. It seemed the structures were built into the sides of the trees in segments called these 'petals', and that most of them were interconnected with bridges. Stairs allowed those without sufficient skill in climbing to make their way about.

Once up, high above the forest floor, it was easy to see just how disheveled the place had become. Many things were rummaged through, displaced, or outright broken. Compared to the damage Syliras saw, this was so much more. Trying to recall the various peoples that could have lost themselves to the mist, Xuphim tried to keep an eye out for any additional heat signatures that appeared like they would have belonged to a Jamoura, "Gods damn, they really messed this place up good. Finding anything is going to be a pain in the ass." he mentioned as he looked inside of a home, or perhaps it was a shop at one point? It was difficult to tell. Wooden carved bowls and shelving lay all over the floor.

[Leon Von Strova]

The Thief moved silently through the city, spotting the Knights almost instantly. Still, he kept his cool as he moved towards them, bringing his hand up in greeting, "Hail Good Sers. May I join you?" The Thief wore his hood up, his cloak wrapped around him to hide his gauntlets and his black clothing. His very being was all about stealth currently as he speaks softly, "I am Leon Von Strova, at your service, good sers. A scout that is working for the Spires." He said softly, offering a bow, even as he adjusted the capture pack on his back. "And I have found a little of the city's layout if you need a guide within it." The Thief, of course, would work beside the Knights, never quite able to trust them. But still, he didn't wish to get caught out here alone.

[Marcus Braeden]

As the group wandered through the town, Marcus constantly scanned the scenery. His left hand rested upon the hilt of his blade, as if he was expecting some sort of ambush. That was what always happened right? Maybe bandits or some other group of marauders would appear before the group, in some half-assed attempt to rob them or kill them. That was the scenario Marcus had envisioned in his head anyway. Marcus quickly shook his head and blinked rapidly, preforming a reality check. This was real life. The scenery around him was chaos. Buildings were torn up and various broken items were scattered along the ground. The fog made the world appear much grayer, not allowing very much of the light to penetrate it.

Marcus nodded toward's Xuphim, "Agreed, and I thought Syliras was a pain to clean up. This is just chaos."

It wasn't long after the three Sylirans wandered into the city that they were approached from the rear by an unknown entity who called out to them. Marcus quickly spun around, his right hand gripping his sword, although he quickly released his grip when they found who stood before them. It was a man, shorter than Marcus or any of the others. Black hair and black clothing, he certainly didn't look like one of the most welcoming of characters.

Ser Noah spoke up, "Alright Leon. Another man is always helpful. Just be ready for whatever may get the jump on us."

[Xalet]

OOCMessing around with changing up my post frame. Truthfully Xuphim was nearly ready to tell the man to go screw himself, but Ser Noah interjected. It wasn't even that Xuphim didn't trust the man, he just wanted to keep the glory and the cash for Syliras. It was a twisted way of having pride in your own city, but it was Xuphim's way of thinking none the less. "Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you watch your ass." the Akalak callously made sure to imprint this upon the newcomer. The last thing he needed was to have to take care of some foreigner. It was just after making mention of this that a large crash was heard in one of the petals ahead. "Shyke." Xuphim grunted as he started running across the bridge that connected the various structures to one another. His heavy mail and plates clanged and rustled, probably not the way to approach a situation in hind sight, but true stealth would have been a pain to maintain. Just as he reached the interior of the structure, he found some shelving pulled off from the wall, filled with various bowls containing an ichor-like substance. A Jamoura was dipping its beefy hands into the bowl, and bringing its contents up to it's mouth. "There's one over here!" he yelled as he barreled through the conveyance, getting his hands upon the fur of the creature. With wide eyes the Jamoura fled in the opposite direction, right out a window that was probably not immediately meant as an exit. Xuphim had no clue how keen these things were on survival, and with only patches of fur in his gauntlet covered hands he looked out the window just in time to see the Jamoura climbing to the top of the houses roof. Arcing his head as his upper half leaned from the carved square made in the side of the wall he quickly tried to think of some options, but was coming up blank, "Damn! It's going up top!" he yelled back at the others. From his position he tried to see if he could follow the Jamoura, but there was no way the Akalak could replicate climbing of that magnitude. Someone outside of the structure would need to figure out a way to get the cornered creature on the roof before it found a way to escape further.

[Marcus Braeden]

Soon enough Marcus' constant scanning was interrupted by some form of action. The group had heard some sort of noise coming from up ahead. A bridge connected the surface upon which they stood to the petal from which the noise came. The Akalak lead on, darting across the bridge, while the others followed suit. Well so much for the element of surprise Marcus thought to himself as the they ran forward. Running in full plate mail was a pain in the ass, and keeping up with the others was certainly a challenge. Marcus was not nearly as physically fit as Xuphim or Ser Noah, who had been members of the order for a much longer time. Leon had the advantage of not wearing plate mail, so naturally he was more agile than the others.

As Marcus reached the end of the bridge the others were already inspecting the petal. Even a short sprint across a bridge left Marcus slightly winded, but his breath was recovered quickly enough. The Akalak called out a Jamoura. Once again, the element of surprise was lost as the Jamoura, startled due to the shouting, and Xuphim's sudden grapple, quickly made an exit out a window, leaving the group inside. Marcus raced back outside, to the bridge where he could see where the creature had run off to. He looked up, and saw the furry back of the Jamoura. The creature stood there but it was frantic, scanning for an escape.

"It went up on the roof!" Marcus called out to his companions. Getting it down was going to be a challenge, because if the Akalak couldn't climb the structure, there was no way Marcus or Ser Noah could possibly do it. "It looks pretty desperate, so I would think it won't be long before it tries something desperate. And by that I mean it fights back, it makes a jump for a nearby tree."

[Xalet]

Pulling himself back inside of the structure, Xuphim maneuvered through the debris upon the floor and exited out the front from which he came. Looking up he could see the Jamoura snorting loudly and wandering all about the roof of the housing. Would it try to jump? Just how comfortable was it with the surroundings of the Spires? Given the creature had lived there a lifetime, probably very. The Akalak's dark soul wasn't exactly one for making elaborate plans, but suddenly he looked over at Marcus and something struck him...a hastily conceived but potentially successful plan! "Ok...ok I've got it. Marcus, I'm going to get your ass up there..." Xuphim nodded, mostly to himself as he removed his pack from his back, and his crossbow and shield from their strapped positions. He needed his frame as clear as possible to make this happen. Rolling his heavy shoulders, the Akalak took one last look up the side of the building, then considered his own height, along with the height and approximate build of Marcus. Standing against the side of the building, Xuphim propped his back up against it securely and began interlocking his fingers, creating a foothold. "Alright, put your foot here, I'll boost you up and onto my shoulders, and that should get you up top. Then, what you need to do is shoo the thing this way so it jumps back down here near the bridge. Ser Noah and I will have the slugsuckle nets ready and bam, that's one in the bag." Certainly the plan was full of potential holes, but that was the best Xuphim could do in such tight time constraints. All things considered, the dark half personally thought it was fairly tactical. They had the advantage in numbers and superior equipment and technology, they simply had to apply it. His strength was good for something, but realistically between both Noah and Marcus, there was probably no way anyone could get the purple skinned Syliran's enormous body up onto the roof. With his significant height however, he could put Marcus closer than anyone else. The young man's frame would allow him a relatively easy time in getting him as skyward as possible. "C'mon let's do this. Those things are more scared of us than we of them, right? It's no big deal, just make sure it comes this way, whatever you do. Clang your gauntlet against your chest or something. If things go wrong just, uh...jump. There's nets and stuff below. Quick man, while it's still trying to decide what to do. If we get it out in the open between me and him we can net it for sure. They're not too fast in a straight line." Xuphim continued, giving a quick gesture toward Ser Noah with his head. Not the best method of persuading someone, considering the back up plan was 'jump', but it was either that or get mauled if for some reason the great ape did decide to get physical.

[Marcus Braeden]

"Me? Marcus asked pointing to himself. Xuphim's plan was half-assed at best, and Marcus sure as hell had a reason to be a little bit hesitant about being sent up there only to be face to face with a creature twice his size. "I'm not sure my ass wants to be up there" Marcus quipped. Marcus glanced up at the structure one more time, searching for another way, anything but the one that was proposed, but, unfortunately for him, he saw none. Although Xuphim's plan wasn't exactly brilliant, it was a plan, which was the only thing they had to go off of for the moment. It was obvious that the Jamoura was getting more and more desperate the longer Marcus hesitated. "Ahhh petch it! I guess this is what I signed up for anyway! Alright let's go! Just be ready to bag it when it comes down."

Marcus placed his right on to Xuphim's hand, and then he found himself lifted onto the Akalaks shoulders. From there, he stood up, extending his arms towards the ledge of the roof, where he could crawl up. "Alright, sorry if this hurts a bit" Marcus said as he lightly pushed off of the Akalaks shoulders to latch onto the edge. His right hand firmly gripped the edge of the roof while his left hand slightly slipped, but he quickly recovered his grip, and pulled himself onto the roof. For a moment, he lay there on his back, before the Jamoura pounding on the roof startled Marcus back into action.

Marcus jumped back onto his feet once more. While the Jamoura stood in the middle of the roof, Marcus' companions stood at Marcus' rear on the edge below. Marcus, with his hand on his sword, just as a precaution, began to slowly circle the Jamoura, hoping to put the creature between himself and his companions. As Marcus strafed, the creature's eyes carefully followed him, as if planning an attack, which Marcus also prepared for. But regardless of his stance, he had no intentions of fighting. As Xuphim suggested, a simple jump would be a safer alternative. He just felt better with a hand on his weapon. Luckily, the Jamoura made no such action, and instead seemed to be studying the squire. Marcus soon arrived in the position that he wished to be in. Now he needed to somehow get the creature to jump down below. Marcus wasn't quite sure of how to go about this, so he just went with what was obvious. He began slowly approaching the creature, whilst waving both arms in the air and yelling. "Come on, go back. Go. Go! Come on! Dammit go!" he screamed at the creature.

[Leon Von Strova]

The Thief would watch the two knights milling about for a bit, an amused expression on his face before he moved to the side of the building. He crouched down, tensing his muscles before pushing off, his hand catching the edge of the roof above him. He pulled himself slowly up on the roof, moving silently around behind the creature before him. His moves were slow, almost like each was planned, as his boot barely made a sound. He stepped up behind the creature, speaking directly behind it, in its shadows, "Boo" He whispered, hoping the creature would run for the edge of the roof. Of course, Leon wasn't staying to find it, soon as he spoke, he whirled around, rushing for the shadows to hide and defend himself. After all, a brave thief, was a dead thief.

ooc :

Sorry I've been away for so long guys!