Raging Buck

The Wilderness, Late Afternoon

GAME: Skielstregar rolls survival: (7)+14: 21

A lone buck grazes upon an empty field. Fall coming in has made most of the shrubbery unedible. A stick cracks. They look up.

They're suddenly bowled over from something impacting their side, impaling and pinning them to the ground. They bleat once in pain before a silver blur streams forth and a viscous axe head bites into their neck.

Skielstregar huffs, pulling the weapon up. "Sloppy throw!" the weapon cackles.

"Buh. Thisss one'sss hand ssslipped," the makari grumbles. "Besssidessss, we have two more bagged."

GAME: Murder rolls stealth: (17)+12: 29
GAME: Skielstregar rolls perception: (12)+15: 27

In the aftermath of the kill, the surrounding countryside goes silent. Nothing moves, aside from the odd dead leaf, and the tall grasses, in the wind.

The Goblin creeps closers, her eyes on the kill, and then the silvery Sith and the weapon.

A short time later, a pale green face peeks out from dead brush nearby, within view of Skiel. "Nice kill, but uhm, you scared a few of the others away."

Skielstregar pulls free the spear with a wet sound, him flicking off the viscera with a huff. "Why can thisss one just not throw you?"

"Nothing is stopping you. That sounds fun," Malefic quips. "I am totally not balanced for that!"

"Yesss, yesss," Skiel waves it off, reaching down to pick up the game by the horn as he lifts it up with a grunt-

"Gah!" He falls over to his rear dropping everything, including Malefic.

"I said throw! Not drop!" Malefic complains.

"W-Warrior Murder!" Skiel greets after shaking off his surprise. "Thisss one, uh, thanksss you, and they apologize. Thisss one isss getting tired assss they have been hunting for the better part of the day."

Murdsr moves to Skiel's side, offering the large Sith a hand to stand up again.

"Sorry, I didn't want to make any noise, to not worry your prey annnnd then I was close and didn't want to startle you into tenderizing my behind. So uh yeah. HI Skiel!" Her cheeks are rosy red, being exposed to the chill, while the rest of her is covered in black leather and furs, and every so often she appears a little blurry, almost blending into the background.

"So how've you been, Skiel? And you as well, Malefic?"

Skiel takes the hand in two talons, carefully pulling himself up to a crouch before giving Murder a pat on the head and rising to his full height. His tai thumps the ground. "Saaa. Thank you. They understand. Thisss one appreicatesss you waiting."

"I'm doing great! Going to go to His Holy Site soon! I'm excited!" Malefic beams.

"Ketsalkuetspaltahtepetl. A place in Am'shere dedicated to the Dragonfather, we both are going to... to..." He squints at her. "... thisss one apoloziesss, are you..." He blinks. ".... turning into a ghost?"

She giggles at the pat to the head, and she returns it by going to pat his tail gently. "Oh, a holy site?" The Goblin blinks, and chuckles. "Bless you! Uhm.. Ketsalkespatapetal? In Am'shere, hmm?" She rubs at the back of her hooded head. "Is it a long journey? Is Am'shere still warm at this time of year here?"

Her head cants and Murder ohs. "My leathers are enchanted, they help me blend into the background. Shadows, tall grass, forest, stuff like that... I could hide in your shadow even!"

"Ketsalkuetspaltahtepetl," both Skielstregar and Malefic repeat, as if it wasn't a massive mouthful for softkins. "It meansss Great Dragonfather Mountain," the silverscale explains with a light grin, tail swaping from the pat. "Am'shere isss alwaysss hot. Seasssonssss aren't very much of a thing there. We are going becaussse ssshamansss fear there isss going to be problemsss sooon from... Charn..." he growls.

Then shakes his head, lean over to peer down at the hides. "... oh! That isss very helpful! Thisss one doesss not know how well it would work for thisss one. They are too shiny!" he laughs heartily. "What are you doing out here, Warrior Murder?"

"Goodness, such a mouthful. Great Dragonfather Mountain is much easier.", she says with a grin, attempting to hug at the tail. "Glad I'm wearing gloves!"

Her expression darkens. "Do you need another sword, warrior Skielstregar?", she wonders, more formally.

"Just ask and I will lend my strength. And fire."

Murder nods, her grin returning. "Oh yes, it is very helpful. I mean, I already get overlooked being small, but this armor helps quite a bit." She giggles and snorts. "Yes, I imagine that your shininess would make hiding you more difficult. But uhm, I think if you used campfire ash to smear over your scales, you could make yourself less shiny. The upside is, it's easily washed off, and you probably don't have any problem with cold water, or breathing in it!"

The tail was frigid, the cold air not helping at all. Thankfully it wasn't winter yet, so it wasn't overbearing. Yet. "It helpsss when you have the mouth to sssay it," Skiel rumbles warmly before his tail stops swaying. "Thisss one would be honored to have your blade, Warrior Murder." He bows his head. "We are preliminary forcesss. There will be more caravansss you can hitch a ride on for reinforcementsss once we have an idea of what isss going on."

He pats her head one more time before standing upright. A snort leaves him. "That isss a good idea! Thisss one usually paintsss themssself with gold colored paint when going into a righteousss battle. But maybe can mix in asssh to make it more subtle!"

The Goblin grins at the tail, and returns to face Skiel, her hand running along that tail as she does so. "I suppose that is try, it'd probably help a little if I knew how to speak Draconic, I'd have the pronunciation down pat for certain. Sadly, I only know crude, gruff languages that are better suited for swearing and insulting people with."

Murder hops from foot to foot and claps her hands together. "Excellent, just say the word and I'll be there! Though uhm... if you need more preliminary forces..", she trails off. A giggle is had at another headpat, and she nods. "Well, if you're using paints, you could find a colour that matches the background of where ever you're going. Match it if you need to sneak... paint yourself gold, or just shine yourself up really good if you want to be seen. That's a good way to intimidate people. Much how I like to sometimes paint myself up in red Goblin symbols, and then run in frothing at the mouth."

The tail sways. Skiel snorts. "Thisss one underssstandsss. Draconic isss hard for sssoftkinsss. Just like how Trade isss hard for thisss one!"

He bobs his head once, pulling out a rag as he cleans his spear off. "Mmmm," he rumbles. "Thisss one worksss better assss the distraction, asss you are well aware. Perhapsss will just sstick to being sseeen."

He shifts a bit. "Thisss one doesss not like running in, frothing at the mouth. But alasss, it worksss well." The makari watches Murder for a moment, as if pondering something. "... Warrior Murder. Thisss one musst ask sssomething. Lasst time thisss one fought, the magicssss... when thisss one did their... thing. The magicsss went off without thisss one invoking them. Do you know of thisss? It isss strange."

"Yes, just so. I have thought about learning Draconic. Perhaps... you might tutor me?" Murder's eyes open wide, imploring the Sith to say yes. Her eyes then shift to the Malefic momentarily. "Well, when you're angry and holding Malefic, that's a pretty big distraction. But sometimes, surprise is the better option, you know? Sneak up carefully, then like... BAM, quickly attack and kill. Much like hunting, yes?"

Her expression becomes guarded, almost shy, and she peers down at her boots, shifting her stance slightly. "Yes, I experience this too.", she says softly. "I can't do anything powerful, but still some useful magics are possible. Have you noticed that you cannot invoke magics while the red mist clouds your mind and vision? You have to use them before you get mad. But I guess you have learned, as I have, how to do it while giving into the mist."

Skielstregar goes to haunches as Murder speaks. A bashful look crosses his face, eyes closed as he rubs his neck. "Ah. Thisss one isss no Ssspeaker, but they can try to teach!" he agrees.

Malefic grins. "And that's exactly what we just did here!"

Skiel couldn't argue that, him conceding that point. "Exactly like hunting." But his head quirks to the side briefly before understanding washes over him.

He sits on the grass in front of her. "Interesssting. Whenit happened to thisss one, their magicsss that make them grow larger manifesssted. But it went away when they calmed down."

It was the makari's turn to tilt his head to the side. "While you are in the missstsss, you should be able to. For thisss one it feelsss like a fleeting thing, but enough anger makesss will manifest if you have enough attentino to focusss on it. Thisss one knowsss how to... what wass it? Make a big sssmash on the ground and make a big wave knock a bunch of thignsss over? They did that while, erm, transsformed."

"Well, I don't think you have to be a speaker to teach someone. You understand and speak both languages, so you could explain what different words mean. Help me learn how to say conversational things. Like, my, what a big tail you have. Or, wow, your scales are so shiny, I just want to polish them." Murder nods in agreement with Malefic. "Yeah, just like that. See, sometimes, it'd be a good thing to do. For example, I've been to Am'shere. I think if you use green and black paints, you can blend in with the jungle very well. Don't the green-scales have an advantage there? You could have that too!"

She giggles, "You got bigger? Is that even possible? You're already huge, you make some of your people look small, and me? I'm puny next to you!" She laughs. "Did your foes poop themselves and run away? That seems like the smart thing to do."

Her grin suddenly spreads, showing many teeth. A possibly familiar gesture is made, and she hops into the air. As her boots hit the ground, the ground ripples outwards towards the Sith. "Like this?"

Skielstregar bobs his head, grinning and laughing. "Very well! Thisss one can teach you when thingsss are not asss busy." There's another nod. "Sssa! Thisss one underssstandsss. Their Chuiaa isss better at ssuch thingsss. And getsss the attention on thisss one jussst in case! And sssa. Greenscales are very good Huntersss! Usually!"

There's a snort. "Well, thisss one can be quite ssscary if they have to be, they don't like doing it. But it worksss. But yesss, thisss one can be twice as big! Very helpful for hauling treesss!"

"I like being big!" Malefic quips.

He tilts his head to the side, not recognizing the gesture, but the effect- Skiel stumbles, his seated position turned into falling on his side! "Bwahaha, yesss, that!"

He gets up. "It looksss more like..." He inhales deeply. Black miasma encircles his arm as he raises it up high. "Fall!" he barks, fist coming down and slamming into the earth.

A rolling shockwave of black ink roils forth, past Murder and knocking a few dead trees over behind her.

GAME: Skielstregar casts Greater Thunderstomp. Caster Level: 11 DC: 16

"How is she doing, Skiel? I have not seen her for some time, you know? Used to see her running around hereabouts, with her swiftclaw. Funny little critter!" Murder grins at his excited-ness over being larger, and snorts at Malefic. "Oh, you get larger too? Hah, impressive!"

The Goblin gasps and squeaks as the ripples knock her up, and then over, rolling her a short distance.

She lays still a moment before hopping up, laughing and holding her side. "Again again! That was amazing!"

"Vaera isss doing well," Skiel smiles warmly, tail thumping the ground. "Ssshe isss helping much with Mictlan. And Wyrmere isss growing very big! Have to wresstle them to the ground sssometimes, very playful!"

Malefic looks proud at being called impressive, as much as a metal weapon can emote. The makari just laughs and laughs as the goblin rolls away, him doubling over. "Thisss one... thisss one, hahaha-! Thisss one cannot do it very often! Very taxing!" he explains. "It isss asss ssstrong asss the flying magicss! Hard to do! But isss helpful when friendsss circle enemiesss!"

GAME: Murder rolls acrobatics: (1)+18: 19 (EPIC FAIL)

The Goblin is up to something once more, hands gesturing, mouth voicing something, and then she runs towards Skiel.

And then scoots right up Skiel's front, her boots and gloves sticking to his armor. Murder attempts a little flip, intending to land daintily upon his shoulder, but instead lands with a THUMP, her behind connecting hard, before she topples over with a grunt of pain, which is echoed as she tumbles into the ground.

"You saw nothing!", she says, raising a finger. "Ow."

Skielstregar tilts his head to the side. "Oh. Thiss one thinks they know that one too! But it uh, iss very sscary looki- ack!" There's a gobber on him!

Before he can say anything, they do a flip! Aaaand they fall over!

The silverscale snickers, leaning down and grabbing the entirely of Murder's back with one hand before picking her up and planting her on his shoulder. "There you go, thisss one sssaw nothing but a perfect move!" he grins. "Would you like to help thissss one hunt the other bucksss? Thisss one knowsss there are a few more bucksss around. Need to stock up for the trip! Thisss one can give you one for the help?"

Murder squeaks as she's easily hefted onto th Sith's shoulder, and she squirms gingerly, her behind smarting from her fantastic move.

"I'm actually glad you're a frosty Sith, the coolness helps my behind.", she says with a laugh. Her expression picks right up then. "Oh sure, I'd love to help. Let's find me a couple of good, straight sticks to use as spears!"

Skiel chuffs in amusement at that, tail thudding the ground. "Thisss one iss very helpful for bruissess!"

He ponders, then grins, offering the spear he has in hand. It's twice as tall as Murder. "Here, can ussse thisss. They know you can throw it, even if it iss too big. They have more ssspearsss on their ssteed."

The large silverscale grunts as he picks up the buck with one under his arm, and scoops Malefic up with the other.

He marches back into the woods. "Onwardsss!"

-End Scene-