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[RP] Cataclysmic


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#121
themantarays

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As quickly as it came, the sunlight dimmed. The immediate cause was a small, wispy cloud down the shoreline, but as they gazed, a slice of the light seemed to vanish, as the great dark orb of the moon - larger than they had ever seen - slowly edged up from the hazy horizon across the sun, . Its movement might even have been visible to the naked eye, but nobody would look directly at the sun long enough to be sure. It might have been an atmospheric illusion, but it seemed as if the darkness was cast out upon the distant sea horizon in such a way as to embellish the curvature of the planet itself. The distant darkness contrasted with the gleaming near shore revealed by the low tide, sand littered with coral and square rocks and shells glittering like they had never seen the light of day before and were determined to make the most of it for their unexpected audience. It was as if the island was telling them not a danger existed in the universe, while the sky and the sea's horizon slowly swallowed up every comforting illusion they had.

 

The sooner they leave this place, the better.



#122
siegetheday

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Just then, Shawn heard a rather loud gurgling sound. Scanning the area to see where the sound would have come from, she noticed a sheepish grin on Reza's face.

 

“I must be hungry,” he responded to her quizzical stare. About to roll her eyes, Shawn realized that she was also hungry.

 

“Alright then,” she replied, “let's go find something to eat.”

 

They wandered around for almost an hour in the jungle looking high and low for anything that could be passable as food. Finally, they came across a incredibly tall tree that seemed to have bright pink teardrops hanging from some of the higher branches.

 

That's got to be fruit, yeah?” Reza asked as he pointed at the  pink teardrops.

 

Hopefully. Looks like we will have to climb for it. Can you climb?

 

“Not really.”

 

 

Well, we both need to be at the top of that tree if I'm going to use hoti vayu to teleport us closer to the others. Let's see...

 

It was then that Shawn saw some long thick vines halfway between her and the fruit.

 

Alright, Reza. I'm going to climb up there and get some of those vines to help get you up the tree. How does that sound?

 

I'd rather you didn't. What if something happens to you? I don't want to be stranded here by myself.

 

Don't worry about it,” Shawn replied. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

 

If you say so.” The worry in Reza's voice was evident, but it didn't concern Shanaka too much. She had been climbing trees ever since she was little, and easily started up the tree. When she was about three quarters of the way to her destination, she heard a loud gasp at the base of the tree. She looked down and saw a large furry creature with sharp claws approach Reza, who was still stranded on the ground.

 

Reza,” Shawn called out loudly enough to get his attention, but not loud enough to attract the attention of the beast. “Work your way behind the tree, slowly, and duck down.”

 

As Reza did what he was told, the creature continued to advance, and Shanaka wrapped her arms and legs around a branch and prayed, calculating as fast as she could while still taking enough time to specify a general area.

 

Hoti Agni.”

 

A swarm of fist-sized meteorites rained from the sky in the general vicinity of the beast had been trying to sneak up on Reza. Several hit the surrounding trees, which sputtered a bit from catching on fire, but were too wet to cause any real damage to the trees or other foliage. A good number of the meteorites managed to hit the beast and felled it to the earth. Several tree branches also fell to the earth, but none on the tree she was currently in. She had tried to concentrate her attack on the area directly in front of her, which seemed to work out well. Shawn shimmied back down the tree and plopped down next to Reza. A few of the smaller meteorites where still continuing to smolder on the ground when she reached the spot where the attack had taken place.

 

Well,” she said “I guess that means we have fresh sura for lunch instead of fresh fruit.”



#123
siegetheday

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Well,” Shawn said “I guess that means we have fresh sura for lunch instead of fresh fruit.”
She looked from Reza to the dead sura and back.
I don't suppose you would know how to skin this thing would you?
I, uh, I can try. I think I saw one of the trappers do it once when I was younger. Gave me nightmares for weeks.” It was obvious from Reza's expression that he really did not want to have that experience again.
I know what you mean. My dad was an adventurer and he brought home stuff like that all the time. Beggars can't be chooses though, right? I'll prep the meat over there if you want to start to get a fire going from what's left of the hoti agni and the branches that fell.
As Reza started collecting the wet branches and got them starting to smoke, Shawn dragged the dead sura to the other side of the tree and pulled out one of her throwing knives.
It's a good thing I just sharpened these, she thought. It's going to be so dull by the time I'm done. This really isn't what it's made for.
With that thought, she tried not to think about the task ahead of her. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
By the time Reza had got the fire to do more than smoke, Shawn was up to her forearms in blood, but managed to slice off quite a bit of meat and cube it. She intended to make skewers so they could roast the meat over the open flame. While Shawn was more than a little squeamish, she managed to get through her task without puking by breathing through her mouth and taking short breaks when she needed to.
Peeling some loose bark off a nearby tree, Shawn put the cubed meat on it and brought it over to where Reza had got the fire going and sat down. Reza looked up from what he was doing.
Shawn, you've got something on your face. Oh, uh, you should probably wash up.
We can go find a stream or something once we are done here.” She wiped her knife on the ground and started sharpening two thinner sticks so they could use them as skewers. They speared the meat onto the skewers and roasted it over the open flame, eating as the pieces finished cooking.
It was then that Shawn noticed that the sun had moved closer to the horizon.
Let's go find that stream after we finish up roasting what we have left that's cut up. That should hopefully be enough for tonight and dinner tomorrow. Then we can get a drink and wash up and head back towards those mountains and camp up there for the night.”
How are we going to get all the way to those mountains before it gets dark?” asked Reza.
Hopefully we find a clearing with a good enough view of the mountains to use hoti vayu. Otherwise, we are stuck in the jungle here for the night.”
With that, they finished roasting the meat they had cut up, wrapped it up in a couple large leaves, stuffed it into Shawn's belt pouches and doused the fire. The sura they left because they had no way of carrying it.
They talked as they went in the direction Shawn remembered being towards the mountains in search of a river or stream. Reza caught Shawn up about what happened on the airship before their sudden departure from it. They walked, and talked, and searched some more, and finally they came upon a small creek. It wasn't much, easy enough to jump over, but it was running water, and that's what they needed. Shawn washed up as quick as she could and Reza helped her get the smudge that was above her eyebrow. They kept walking and getting to know each other as the sun kept getting lower and lower. They did manage to find a clearing in the jungle that let Shawn see to use hoti vayu to teleport them just over halfway up the mountain. She placed her hand on Reza's shoulder.
Hoti Vayu.”
This was where the journey got more difficult. They hiked up the slope, slipping occasionally, but they continued to persevere. The sun was just starting to set as they reached the summit. They took a brief moment to appreciate the view and Shawn scanned the horizon for their next destination using hoti vayu. She wanted to make as much distance as they could while they still had even a little bit of light. She picked out the next summit that would be on the way to the shore she had seen some of the others land near and used hoti vayu the second time. They successfully reached the second summit and still had some light left. Shawn quickly scanned the landscape for one last summit that she would be able to hoti vayu to get to. With almost all of what was left of her vigor for the day, Shawn cast her last hoti vayu just as purple dusk was overcoming the golden sky. They safely made it to the third summit and just beyond, Shawn could see a bright light in the distance.
That's got to be the others, she thought. We're almost there. We're almost there.
They picked a campsite that had relatively few small rocks on the ground and a large tree stump in the middle. Shawn summoned what was left of her vigor and cast bhavati agni on the stump to set up a campfire for the night. Utterly exhausted, Shawn slumped to the ground with her back to a flat boulder that helped to prop her up.
Are you okay with taking the first watch?” she asked Reza.
Well, it looks like you're all out of steam. Don't worry. This time, I've got you.”
With that, Shawn unbuckled her belt, threw it over to Reza so he wouldn't have to wake her when he wanted to eat dinner, and snuggled up to the rock behind her to get some sleep.