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Post by masterblade007 on Apr 13, 2018 16:05:48 GMT
Lootbox frowned, at least as well as croco-head would allow. He wasn't expecting a mobile perch, though now that he's seen how amazingly cool it is it was quickly added to the list of things he'd need once the empire started rolling along.
[Charm Roll: 12]
That being said, the mimic was not about to give up. Not while he had a bag of DRIED FOODS! He reached into the satchel of packed supplies; one meal for a mascot wasn't too bad a bargain. Grabbing a small piece, Lootbox waved and flaunted it over by his side of the shore as a means of luring the Lily Platform and its sitting king back over.
"Come on, you don't want to be over there!" He called out to the sandile. "It's wet and cold over there. Not like the dry, warm castle! With food! Come on back..."
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 13, 2018 19:17:18 GMT
Giving all the muck and dirt clinging to her a look - this would all have to be cleaned later - she turns her attention back to the dragonfly, reaching out her mind towards it, to feel what it is thinking. Sadly, despite its appearances, it is not belonging to a hive, but maybe she can find something out about it. "You remind me of home," she says, towards it, "And I am in need of those willing to aid me. Preferably outside this insufferable swamp." She tries to gauge its reaction. Telepathy: 16
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Post by Nocturne on Apr 14, 2018 19:26:09 GMT
This Lootbox really was a masterful thief. Their first step outside, and he'd already chosen a prospective member of her Vanguard. Rion shook her head in amusement. When Iwakashi spoke to her, she nodded gracefully. "I'll keep an eye out for Lootbox." She floated closer to Lootbox, though not too close. She had no desire to enter his personal space after all.
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Post by Bowyer on Apr 15, 2018 18:30:58 GMT
The swamp was oppressive but at least it wasn't freezing. It was a small blessing as Iwakashi slowly sinks in the muck waiting for Crimson to secure a Vanguard member. She seemed to be going about it in a more familiar manner than he might have. The method worked for some but his were a bit more direct.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Apr 15, 2018 23:08:01 GMT
The sandile again scratched at the broad leaf upon which it rests, the platform shifting direction and again returning to Lootbox's side. As it reaches the shore, the lilypad reveals itself to be an odd, blue duck-faced quadruped.
The dragonfly's impressions of the immediate encounter are that Crimson is quite large, and therefore scary. The telepathy aiding her expression of solitude it seems to understand, folding its wings against the long tail it sports, it considers her for a long moment before flitting to the Queen's shoulder. It considers this place comfortable, and home.
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 16, 2018 2:36:41 GMT
Crimson looks towards the bug as it flits towards her. She mentally signals satisfaction over to it, 'saying' +I see that you are smart, and clever. Aid me, and I will give you home. A place of comfort, safety, and family. I will not hurt you.+ Even though it is not like the hive, the sheer act of even weakly mentally connecting with another of whom she could claim kinship with is calming. In this strange place, and stranger circumstances, it gives her something to hold on to.
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Post by masterblade007 on Apr 16, 2018 16:54:55 GMT
It's a minion with minions! How incredibly resourceful! Unfortunately, Lootbox had no intent to deal with several tiers of hierarchy at the moment. He offered the food scrap to Sandile only, letting it have a few nibbles before hoisting it up off its perch. The mimic then took off his cloak and wrapedp it around Sandile with the dry-parts inward as to rub off any excess swamp moisture.
"That's better, isn't it?" Lootbox commented, giving the small crocodile a pat on the head.
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Post by Bowyer on Apr 17, 2018 0:01:00 GMT
As Crimson's efforts meet with what Iwakashi must call success, he begins to free himself from the mud with a sickening squelch. If she was no longer in danger, then he ought to search for a subordinate of his own."I'll continue having a look around," he says his buggy companion, "I'll stay in sight."
And with little further fanfare, he sets off. He begins to circle around where the others are, brushing through the swampy foliage that grows in abundance. Surely there was something more worthy than whatever was burbling in the pool.
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Post by Nocturne on Apr 17, 2018 2:27:19 GMT
Rion observed Lootbox' recruitment methods, before turning away. Idly she wondered if she should have kept the information to herself until she had acquired a new aide, but she paid no heed to that line of thinking. A stronger group was a boon either way. It wasn't as if she was on a short time limit either, she had the rest of the day to search for a subordinate.
Though she doubted that whatever it was would be a suitable member of her Vanguard, Rion had always been the careful and inquisitive type, so she was somewhat curious about the creature beneath the surface of the water. Something that created such a disturbance may not be a simple fish.
Deciding to take a risk in order to lure it out, she floated over, took some of her own food scraps, and threw bits into the water where it eddied, careful not to use too much force as to scare the thing away. If the lurking creature was smart enough, it should realize that the food, which wasn't meat, just to be safe, was coming from above. Of course, it would most likely wait to see if any more free sustenance would arrive, but perhaps when it didn't, it would come to the surface, if that was a thing its species did. It was a gamble, using the creature's intelligence against it, but Rion didn't like not knowing what was around her.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Apr 18, 2018 2:46:47 GMT
The small gator protested with a soft hiss, and began to fidget to find it's footing against anything. Being carried by something much larger was not something it had anticipated, or enjoyed. That is, until it was wound in heavy cloth. The swamp was not as warm as the desert, but Lootbox's bodyheat held in the cloak. It stilled, and considered him with those glossy black eyes, the faint hint of a smile at the edges of that long jaw.
The blue quadruped has had quite enough of being bossed around, and disappears back into the safety of the other plants in the water.
Crimson's new companion buzzed its assent. Those were things it could appreciate. The concept of family was foreign to it, being young but never having had a mate, of a solitary species that survived by equal parts mobility and paranoia.
Iwakashi finds a purple, black, and red frog sitting cross-legged on a stone. The Pokemon's eyes open with his approach, the slow expansion and contraction in the croagunk's bright cheeks marking the creature's breathing. Those sallow yellow eyes with their black slit pupils follow this new 'guest'. "You are searching for something, but you do not know what it is." It stated plainly.
Rion watches the food drift into the murk, and a moment later, a small crustacean surfaces with it's three pronged crown and rounded claws. It eyes her, and the remainder of the scrap she still holds in her hand.
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Post by Bowyer on Apr 18, 2018 4:11:41 GMT
Iwakashi halts in his tracks as the croagunk speaks to him. The day was full of surprises. Still it didn't quite top the first of actually being alive. "How are you? Never mind," he swats the question away along with some reeds. It was less important than to actually answer the frog. "Something? Perhaps someone is more apt. I search for one to be the first of my new Vanguard. I do not need to know what."
He surveys the creatures form for some seconds more. "Perhaps what I seek is already found," Iwakashi rumbles thoughtfully. "You might do. Would you test your mettle? Or would you join me without a fight? I go through you or with you." He hefts his oversized club over his shoulder and readies his footing in the muddy ground. It was the best way to test this potential ally and perhaps temper himself.
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 18, 2018 18:06:24 GMT
With her companion balancing on her shoulder, Crimson begins to make her way back towards the others, still ruing the swamp, and not able to wait until she can get somewhere cleaner. She had enough of the filth back when she had to help dig tunnels. The hive itself was clean, as was most of the surface, and that was something that she had begun to take for granted.
Seeing the other godlings interacting with creatures of their own, she holds back, content to just watch and see at how they handle things.
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Post by masterblade007 on Apr 18, 2018 21:33:09 GMT
"Well, this has gone well enough. I'm returning to the castle to probe the upper keep." Lootbox commented, looking over the progress of his other compatriots in acquiring minions. Crimson seemed to have been sufficiently successful! "Your assistance would be appreciated, Crimson, if you'd be so kind." With lizard wrapped warmly in arms, the mimic would make his way back to the castle entrance.
His Enchanted Key was a bit of an oddity of function. It could summon a vanguard, yes. 'The key to their hearts', or some sentimental name long forgotten. Lootbox had stolen it from a particularly keen wizard long ago who had once used it to keep a small collection of familiars. Its original bound creatures were killed to make more space, though with an army of thieves there had hardly been a need for bound animals. At least, until now.
Binding vanguard members was a simple enough procedure. Once he returned to the castle, Lootbox sought out a door with a lock; any would do. He then placed the key inside, spreading its enchantment to the doorway. Any lesser creature that went through would be bound to the key, to be summoned from 'spectral doors' at will. That is, if the original owner's notes proved true.
Lootbox would place his lizard ball back down to the ground and motion for it to go through the passage. "Go on then; take a peek. It's nice in there. Nicer than out here at least."
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Post by Nocturne on Apr 20, 2018 0:24:30 GMT
Rion eyed the crustacean critically. Resisting the urge to tilt her head, she wondered whether this was what she wanted. Making up her mind, she decided to grab the chance at a servant. There would always be more and who knew, perhaps there was more to this creature than met the eye. With this in mind, she smiled at it, her smile just a little predatory. "Hello there. I am in need of an aide, a warrior by my side and I believe you fit the bill. Now, we can do this one of two ways. I can give you more food, a taste of the good life to come, if you will," she waved the scraps in front of the crustacean, "or I can make you submit in a contest of power. If you ask me, the first option is far more delicious."Charm: 13
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Post by Robot on Apr 20, 2018 11:22:13 GMT
An intense ticking fills the air, Rion freezing in place as a circle of light with a dial just inside it surrounds her body, then a second, and a third. The spherical cage surrounding her folds in on itself into a singular line in space and then phases out of existence entirely. The Corphish stares into the empty space in front of it, as if to ask 'but where did the food go?' otherwise unflapped by the entirety of the scene as it had unfolded.
The only door remaining in the keep was the one to the lodgings, but it served its purpose. The gator waddled inside once free of the cloak it was comfortable in, vanishing as it crossed the threshold. Lootbox's keg suddenly adorned with a large glittering onyx at the apex of it's ring.
"If you'd come closer, I might consider it. You are so tall, it is like staring into the sun to look at you." The Croagunk offered. "You'll see no fight from me, I am comfortable."
VHyIXtvh4d6
Intuition and Survival please.4d6
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 20, 2018 19:28:34 GMT
Confident that the others could handle themselves, Crimson happily escapes back to the (dry) castle with Lootbox, insect in tow. She watches with curiosity at what exactly he did, startled at the sudden disappearance of the creature as it went through the archway.
As she sees the stone appear, though, she realizes that it must be in... storage. Perhaps that is also the purpose of that thin chain bracelet, with its solitary gemstone, that had appeared on her wrist while she... slept. She brings that arm up to her face, and looks at it, before glancing at the dragonfly, and back. She isn't... quite sure what's supposed to happen. If anything. Or if she's just wasting her time and looking silly.
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Post by Robot on Apr 21, 2018 11:27:44 GMT
The gem on Crimson's bracelet resonates as a psychic focus, the Yanma perching itself on her forearm lightly before disappearing into the accessory.
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Post by DataNinja on Apr 21, 2018 13:56:36 GMT
Crimson's attempts are rewarded, as the bug disappears, and a small dragonfly charm appears next to the crystal. "How convenient," she states to Lootbox, nodding. "Such curious magic, though. I wonder if it's something along the lines of what happened to us, between our demise and subsequent revival." Nothing she could do about it in that case, though, so she lets the idle thought slide, concentrating instead on focusing, and bringing forth the dragonfly once more into reality.
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Post by masterblade007 on Apr 21, 2018 14:14:18 GMT
Lootbox's eyes sparkled at the new gem on his key; no finer object demonstrated how valuable he saw this new member of his vanguard. No time to dawdle however; there was a keep to infiltrate!
"Right then, back to bushiness." The mimic stated, head reshaping back to its standard humanoid configuration. "Breaching the upper levels via the stairwell is likely a doomed effort; I wouldn't want to risk collapse of our new home by removing a supporting structure. Clearing should be done from the top, which we will have to reach from the outside."
Decorations and ornaments were a funny thing. All nobles of significant power often bore a desire to flaunt their stature through architectural marvels. Castles are designed as both art pieces and as fortifications in the hearts of their empires, designing exploitable weaknesses in the name of aesthetic. Gargoyles that provide grapple points, balconies and tiered roofs that provide platforms for climbers, wall carvings that make great footholds. They might be able to keep an army out, only to leave a door wide open for the individual rogue to sneak right in.
In that regard, this keep's upper levels need not be inaccessible simply because the stairs say so. Other feasible entrances were likely to exist. "I'm going to take a look around the grounds for ledges, extruding structures, and other rampart pieces we could exploit for exterior entry. In the meantime, you figure out how one accesses the powers of the divine beings we killed."
Occult Ed Rank: Pathetic
"...because I have no idea how any of that works."
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Post by Bowyer on Apr 21, 2018 23:05:52 GMT
A ticking noise from the way he'd come distracts Iwakashi for a moment but the Pokemon in front of him took some precedence. Whatever the others were doing could wait until this task was complete. There was no clashing of arms so they probably weren't fighting. "Comfortable? All of Ransei is too comfortable, " Iwakashi rumbles at the Croagaunk's words. "Likely for only a little while longer." Nevertheless, he does begin to walk over to the frog in a mostly nonthreatening manner. His mace is still upon his shoulder but his grip is not so tight upon the grip. Perhaps a closer look at Iwakashi would further sway the Croagunk to join him? He had nothing to lose and it isn't likely the Croagunk will be really be able to say no. He stops just before the Croagunk, only a few plodding steps away. "Is the sight of the sun so close too much?"Intuition: 2 Survival: 8 Nice rolls
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