Red Tide
It's just before nightfall, and you stand on the docks of Alexandria with a clerk who has clearly not gotten enough sleep lately. He stand there with his arms crossed and tiredly stares at each of you as if you've somehow managed to personally offend him. "One of the wizards at the Arcanist's guild has given warning of an unusual event occurring tonight. Some sort of bad omen preceding a serious of naturally occurring disasters. Something like that."
The clerk pulls out a scroll from his pocket and reads it. Nodding once to himself. "Not really sure what this particular natural disaster is supposed to be, he wasn't very clear aside from it poses a general danger to the city. It's not considered a big problem though, so! You'll probably be fine." He starts to roll up the scroll.
The little mul known as Fizzy looks around at the folks gathered, but only recognizes one of them. Her face lights up. It's not cold enough right this moment for her to have completely buried herself in cold-weather gear. She still has layers and an funny bulge that reaches slightly past her right knee, under those layers. No scarf, though, so the delighted smile is apparent to everyone. "Luke! It's good to see you! Maybe not under these circumstances, but we can be social some other time."
Fizzy smiles at everyone else. "Hullo, I'm Fizzy. Well, that's short for my much-longer given name, but Fizzy's what I go by." There's a slight pause and then her smile changes a little, maybe more affectionate, as she pats her right leg. "Here's Xote. He's from warmer climes, so I keep him bundled up right here as long as possible."
Schara was not doing much at the moment, standing in place ominously the way that a being covered in mechanical bronze armor might while they waited for everyone else and some form of explanation. The artificer nods once to the clerk, the mouthpiece behind a metal grille lighting up with a low, staticky voice.
"That is concerningly vague, but so be it. I hope we will be capable for the task, whatever it may be."
Daniel stood there in silence where there wasn't much need for him to say anything, he was only there to keep the incoming goods safe from the said natural disaster. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, paying the best attention as he can. It's just another night to stay up during, he’s used to it, it'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen? He watched as the few others gathered around and the socializing began to spark. He continued to hide in the quiet; he wasn't much of one for a chat when he didn’t need to be.
"Oh cool," Magpie says, hopping up onto a crate and grinning at the clerk. Either the gnome is blithely ignoring the look the clerk is shooting at each of them in specific, or she genuinely doesn't notice; it's impossible to tell.
"Vague is right, but, y'know, prophecy," she says, accompanied by a spoooooky wiggling of the fingers. "They're practically impossible to figure out until they happen, you should *see* some of the liner notes from people trying to decipher past prophecies. I didn't know elves *knew* some of those words!"
As the Shadow Elf introduces herself, Magpie spins on her heel, grinning wide and sticking out a hand. "Hi! I'm Magpie! It's not short for anything, I'm short enough for three! And... I'm not sure what's going to happen with the water, but trust me when I say; I hope I can help."
Standing next to his mount Thunder, Lucius nods earnestly. "We'll be prepared for anything," he assures the clerk. He smiles back at Fizzy and waves to all present. "Nice to see you all as well."
"The lack of specific information concerns me too," he murmurs to Schara. "Let's emphasize flexibility and discipline in the face of unexpected complications. We'll just have to do our best."
The clerk nods slowly finishing up rolling his scroll and tucking it into a pocket before walking away. Albeit a bit hastily. It's the haste that makes you a little uneasy. Anytime a clerk moves that fast... it's not usually a good sign. Above you the moon is rising, a bright red color that reflects off the water. It makes the dark inky surface turn an unusual shade of orangy-crimson. The surf crashes against the wharf, and for the moment, all is peaceful.
GAME: Lucius rolls Perception: (11)+6: 17 GAME: Magpie rolls perception: (9)+8: 17 GAME: Fizzy rolls Perception: (5)+5: 10 GAME: Daniel rolls perception: (18)+5: 23 GAME: Schara rolls perception: (6)+9: 15
The info from the clerk registers for Fizzy, but she kind of glosses over it. That's probably a shame. In addition, she's so interested in potential friends, she's not looking at the water or the docks or the clerk any more. Her lump of a familiar adjusts or something underneath her clothes.
"'Discipline?'" Magpie echoes, looking like a dog that just heard a new sound. "Is that like some kind of Khazadi snack?"
The gnome seems about to go on in this vein, but blessedly, something off the side of the dock catches her attention. "Hey uh... Any chance something particularly lively got away from the otyughs? Only I *think* there's a floater, over here..."
Staring off into the water Daniel squinted his eyes, disbelieving and rubbed them one more in case his eyes were faulty. Realizing his sight was just fine he gave a rather irritated sigh muttering to himself, none of importance just bitter words. “Well isn’t that just ‘perfect’.” His question was rhetorical and heavily sarcastic. “None of you have problems with shell-fish do you?” He rolled up his sleeves slightly readying for the red crustaceans.
"Discipline as in rules and behaviors being followed. That is a good idea, however." Schara nods to Lucius. "What is floating however? I see nothing amiss, but others are a bit concerned by the way they are acting. Could someone explain what they are seeing?"
Luke's right eye twitches. "It's not a — " Then the movement beneath the red surf catches his attention as well. He instinctively takes a step forward and squints at the water, but checks himself when Daniel appears to have identified the source. "Shell-fish?" he repeats dubiously. "Are these of a particularly menacing variety? I'm not sure if a threat of this magnitude would cause the clerk such grave concern."
As you discuss the oddity in the water, a swarm of interestingly-hued crabs pour over the dock. Most crabs are a brownish color, but these ones are certainly not that. The crustaceans are fairly small all told, but the clacking noise that comes from them as they wash over the boardwalk and pour toward you all is oddly ominous.
GAME: Lucius rolls attack: aliased to 1d20+BAB+Strength: (9)+2+3: 14 GAME: Lucius rolls bite: aliased to 1d20+1: (19)+1: 20 GAME: Lucius rolls bitedmg: aliased to 1d4+3: (1)+3: 4
Almost immediately, Lucius springs into action, drawing his greatsword and slashing at the nearest crab. His blade swings wide, but his ever loyal companion Thunder moves his side and crushes a crab in his jaws.
GAME: Magpie casts Grease. Caster Level: 5 DC: 15
Daniel turned to face the group still unaware of what was among the deep red waters slowly making its way. “Apologies, I figured it was rather clear what those are, there crabs, and quite a lot of them I’d say it’s pretty menacing.” Daniel paused for a good minute understanding the situation to the best of his ability. “Wait- are we actually gonna just punch a bunch of crabs?...” Watching as the first crab gets crushed it's decided, yes they're fighting little crabs. He pulled out his punching dagger ready.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (6)+4: 10
"Hey, if they're foretold as a natural disaster menacing the city, then yeah we're gonna have to have a crab bake," Magpie says with a shrug. Hopping down off the crate she'd stood upon, the sorceress shakes out her sleeves, scooping a dun-colored mass composed of tiny glowing lights out of the air, working them in her hands as if kneading clay.
Filling her lungs, the little gnome tips her head back to the sky and looses a single, unintelligible symbol, then tosses the mass of light into the air...
...And when it falls, it splashes into a greasy, rainbow-shimmering slick that covers the entire end of the dock being used as a platform for the little crabs.
"I mean, if I don't have butter, gonna have to improvise..."
GAME: Schara activates her Titan Armor, gaining: +4 Dex GAME: Schara rolls 1d20+8+1: (14)+8+1: 23 GAME: Schara rolls 2d6+4+1: (9)+4+1: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (15)+4: 19 GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d6: (3): 3 GAME: Fizzy rolls Perception: (15)+5: 20 GAME: Lucius rolls Perception: (2)+6: 8 GAME: Daniel rolls Perception: (3)+5: 8 GAME: Magpie rolls perception: (7)+8: 15
Schara steps back as the mass of crabs show up, and the artificer takes another step back. "That is a lot of crabs. Too many to attack normally." The artificer states, unfolding the weapon on her left arm and exposing the various wires underneath, glowing red hot and erupting into a stream of fire, flash boiling at least a few of them.
GAME: Schara rolls perception: (20)+9: 29
The small crabs manage to make their way over Lucius' form, snapping and pinching the man as they move inevitably forward. Thankfully they haven't gotten to his mount yet…
GAME: Fizzy casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14
Fizzy frowns as people start to observe and comment on something going on in the water. Looking out at the waves and froth, her eyes widen in horror as the crustacean invasion begins. "Oh... Oh shit. I'm not prepared for this..."
A long second's dither, and the Shadow Elf decides to let Xote move freely so he can get to a safer locale when he needs to. He's a fast little dude. Fizzy, for her part, steps back and pulls out her mace to smash shells. Gotta protect Xote and Alexandria! Home is home, and needs to *stay* that way.
Some soft muttering and a small halo of light that quickly fades will tell those nearby that the dusky-skinned elf now has mage armor activated. A bit of hasty movement and she's now wielding her mace and Xote is behind her, as Lucius would know is customary. She steps backward, too, and yelps, following that with, "Giant.. BIG, Giant crab! Right there!"
GAME: Lucius rolls bite: aliased to 1d20+1: (6)+1: 7 GAME: Daniel rolls weapon1: (2)+3: 5
Luke does his best to defend himself as the crabs approach, batting away the creatures where he can reach them. Thunder bites at the swarm again, but comes up empty this time.
With his dagger ready, he saw one crab after another slammed, crushed and smeared across the dock. He attempted the same or at least similar. Unfortunately with the swing of the blade in hand he misses by far. Daniel cussed under his breath with irritation in his tone.
GAME: Magpie casts Burning Hands. Caster Level: 5 DC: 15 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (17)+4: 21 GAME: Magpie rolls 5d4: (18): 18
"You're doing great, kiddo!" Magpie may not be a bard in any sense of the word, but one look at Fizzy's face as the big crab burbles out of the water, and it's clear *some* kind of inspiration is in order. Even if it's only to echo her own father's encouragement.
Slipping *forward* toward the oncoming sea-bugs, Magpie plucks red-orange motes of magical energy out of the air, gathers them up to her mouth, and with a sharp exhale, sends a sheet of green-and-pink flames washing outward over the oncoming menace.
"Hey, I'm feeling like crab cakes after this, like they do up in Redridge. Who wants some?"
GAME: Schara rolls 1d20+8 +1: (18)+8+1: 27 GAME: Schara rolls 2d6+4+1: (8)+4+1: 13 GAME: Aftershock rolls 2d6: (7): 7 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (13)+4: 17 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d4+2: (4)+2: 6 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+8: (19)+8: 27
The little crabs remaining cling to Lucius diligently, trying to get... somewhere. The largest one however leaaaans out of the water and grabs Magpie up, staring at her intently with a few scorch marks marring its carapace.
GAME: Fizzy casts Ear-Piercing Scream. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+5: (5)+5: 10 GAME: Fizzy rolls 1d6: (5): 5
Schara continues moving backwards to keep a decent distance, while others seem to be moving closer. "Be careful! Many small foes can overwhelm you just as one large foe might. And stopping to hit them one at a time is a bad idea, but I have none better at the moment. A flask of acid perhaps, but that will not be enough.
The artificer sends another blast of flame crabwards, attempting to clear at least some of them out. "There is one much larger coming as well, which is concerning."
The elf orders, "Xote back! Stay behind me!" And backs up a step, trusting her familiar to do as he's told, which he does. Fizzy's trust isn't misplaced. That giant crab is probably not as bad as the swarms are for her, but the little guys are all occupied by Luke. That Thing with the mace she'd equipped before heading here, she considers the better part of valor and casts a spell! She opens her mouth wide and appears to be about to let loose an absolute wail of abject terror.... but no one can hear anything, except the king of the crabs. And he doesn't seem to like what she said! He suddenly looks very groggy and stumbly, or at least very distracted.
GAME: Lucius rolls attack: aliased to 1d20+BAB+Strength: (6)+2+3: 11 GAME: Lucius rolls bite: aliased to 1d20+1: (5)+1: 6 GAME: Daniel rolls weapon1: (15)+3: 18
Luke winces as the onslaught of the crab swarm continues. "Seems that I underestimated these creatures," he mutters, as he looks at Thunder and points to the king crab. The pair attack together, but their efforts both prove ineffectual.
GAME: Daniel rolls 1d4+2: (4)+2: 6 GAME: Magpie casts Grease. Caster Level: 5 DC: 15
Once more he attempted to swing at the crabs, his frustration showed as he swung the blade with an exasperated expression. One by one the last of the crabs once desperately clinging to Luke now left to the floor on their backs like whipped spiders. Daniel sighed relieved that the last of the little ones were gone. All that was left was the big guy.
"Wha--hey--GAAAAAH!" Magpie says, hauled off her feet by the giant, slightly singed crab. Peering down into its bestaked eyes, the gnome tilts her head. "Was it something I said?"
And then Fizzy's spell staggers the creature, and Magpie looses a delighted laugh. "Perfect! *Awesome* work!" Clapping her hands together, she gathers more of the dully-colored magic, slapping her hands against her own robe, covering it in the same greasy sheen as the docks.
"Looks like we're almost done!"
GAME: Schara rolls 1d20+8+1: (13)+8+1: 22 GAME: Schara rolls 2d6+4+1: (9)+4+1: 14
"Just hang on, please! Or do not do that, as you will want to escape the grasp of the crabs as soon as you are capable of doing so. Do not worry, I am fairly certain magical grease is not flammable, but I have healing magic if needed afterwards, and we are close to the sea regardless." Schara shouts back to the others, steadying their weapon again, and sending another blast of flame at the last, large crab, turning a large swath of the exoskeleton even more red before it tumbles into the sea.
Her eyes wide in dissipating fear, Fizzy darts over to Magpie, "Are you hurt?" And gives the gnome a once-over. "Did he break any ribs, hurt you? I can help!" As if she needs to ask again, or even share that she can heal; it's probably obvious. It's not like she thinks Magpie *needs* the question again, but she's just... getting used to things attacking her or her friends. Fizzy waits for a response before thinking of checking on anyone else. I mean, big squeeze from big crab is likely more harmful than little dudes!
"Yaaaaaay!" Magpie cheers, as the crab's grip slackens, and she slips right between the claws to splatter against the docks.
"...No I stand by that, yaaaaaay!" One tiny fist thrusts skyward, victorious. As she starts to shove herself to her feet, she chuckles in the face of Fizzy's panicked offers for aid. "Seriously don't worry about it, I've been hurt way worse by way uglier. It's just the job! Speaking of..."
Wavering a bit, as she finds her balance among slippery, oil-heavy robes, she cups her hands around her mouth, looking behind them. "OI! IS THIS THE PART WHERE THE PROPHECY MENTIONS CALAMARI? OR ARE WE DONE?"
Luke breathes a sigh of relief as the other adventurers dispose of the last few crabs. "Thank you all for saving me from that swarm," he manage. "I hope that was the last of them."
He smiles shakily at Magpie. "I'm not sure I can so much as look at another crustacean for the next few days," he admits, "but I could definitely go for some food right about now."
Daniel placed back his punching dagger, he figured this should be the last of it - thats a hope. He gave the deceased crabs across the dock a good look and back up to Magpie’s gestures of victory. “Hopefully it’s over…. I could see a report to my boss about the crab laying around for new menu ideas…Food does sound pretty good.” He dusted off his hands. “ I know a good place for a bite, just so happens I work there.” He gave a slight grin relaxing slightly.
There's the sound of a crunch from behind you. A little golden dragon sitting on the dock viciously eating a crab. She's about the size of a cat, and she looks up as everyone turns toward the sound of her eating. "Fish?" She inquires, and... another one is pounced upon and quickly vanishes. It seems that the clean up crew is here.
Schara sighs and doubles over for a moment as their armor ceases whirring around. And another moment to catch their breath before they stand up and pull a melted mass of wires out of their left arm. "Three uses seems to be the limit of those metals for the moment." The artificer notes. "I would rather not eat any crab cakes, making a cake out of crab sounds unpleasant. Curious that there is a small dragon here however. It is a good thing I did not poison anything with acid in that case, although crabs are crustaceans, not fish."
-End