It felt like things were slowly falling into place... but he knew, with another glance at the echo scroll nearby, that there was really no telling just how bad things were getting elsewhere. Vega had said another settlement, on another island, was under attack - and the precision needed for boats to appear at the same time at different islands and attack in unison meant that this was no coincidence, and Nir'wei knew, the people behind this must have considerable skill. What if this was just the first wave? Or both the distractions at Faldrass and Saoire's Dream were the real problem, and the pirates at the coastline were the real distractions for whatever they'd already begun?
At least, he could soon tell, he'd dealt with one problem for the moment. Though his trap was hardly quiet - the water quickly filled with the frantic splashes of Muter Fish and Drowners eager for their next meal - it did what he'd expected, and soon he could see the first men disembarking from their ships into smaller rowboats get assaulted by ghostly hands and sharp teeth practically rocking their boat over within moments of it touching the water's surface. "I've changed my mind," he grinned. "I don't feel bad for them after all." Mostly because they were proving themselves more competent than he'd given them credit for. Though they couldn't drop into the water and drive ashore, they also weren't dropping into the ravenous waters and getting swept under as he'd hoped. It was more of a forced stalemate, as he watched the pirates fighting for control of their own vessels and lashing out at the dark waters... the waters lashing back, with what casualties the pirates inflicted quickly replenished and reinforced.
Cyshe must have felt his disappointment. "You've bought some time," she reminded him soothingly. "They won't make it to shore at this rate before daylight, at which point the invasion will lose its element of surprise." It was a fair assessment, but of course missed out the fact ships like those could perform plenty of damage from a distance without anyone leaving the decks. Without insight below the decks, who knew what weapons they could be hiding.
Gaddwin, swirling on his other shoulder, flashed a grin that stretched his beak in unnatural ways. "You could always use this moment of distraction to your advantage." A flare of light turned Nir'weis head towards Traveller. "Ambush them while they're distracted and take them down now." It was an appealing suggestion. Ambush the ambushers in their moment of confusion and wipe them out before they had a chance to regroup and form a new plan... if he was at full strength, he might have even considered it seriously. Already worn down and spread thin across the island as he was, just himself and Traveller... there was no telling how many pirates occupied those ships, what weapons they held or tricks they could pull. Memories flashed again of the last time he'd been trapped on a boat, surrounded by enemies. As much as the first thought on his mind was utterly ruining as many of those boats as possible and offering its inhabitants to the denizens of the deep, he knew he had to wait for the right moment to strike. Like hunting a great beast, this was no act of chivalry and honourable combat... stealth, patience, and teeth straight for the throat would ensure the quickest resolution.
The fire spirit didn't seem disappointed with this conclusion. Nir'wei could still sense the spirit had more to offer, so he drew out a hand and Gaddwin dropped into it. "Then what Cyshe said is right... and what I said is right, too. You've bought some time, and you can still make the most of it, can't you?" Gaddwin's suggestion clicked in Nir's head abruptly. Make the most of it. Start the next move before they started theirs, push whatever advantage he held, time or otherwise. "No more wasting time then." Indeed not.
While the pirates were still struggling with their own ships, Nir'wei opened his eyes to see through those of his companions.Velduris: Lupine Senses Naturally, the first he looked through was Greyhide... and considering they'd reached the mouth of the volcano, he really didn't like what he saw. Black fog. Even the impressive night-time vision of the wolves couldn't pierce it, and it seemed to hover over the entrance of the volcano. That was why it had gone dark, huh... but what ability could produce such a fog? How did they manage to get people ashore to do this, without setting off any alarms, without being noticed? What was its purpose and what were they doing beneath it all? He didn't know, but Gaddwin's usual confidence was wavering at the sight of something possibly awful happening to Faldrass. "Reach Faldrass as quickly as possible and confirm that he's safe." Best case scenario, it could be little more than an attempt to blind the spirit while the pirates invaded. Worst case, whatever they were doing, they likely hoped the distractions at the shoreline would stop anyone interrupting them - the dark of the fog could work for his benefit as much as it would work for theirs.
Greyhide, the largest and most experienced of the three, took point and stepped through the fog, relying more on his sense of sight and scent to navigate deeper into the volcano than his sight. Cold followed suit, and Vabina brought up the rear as extra muscle.
His vision swapped to Sovar next, in Saoire's Dream. The three had easily found the source of the fire... but it was burning a solitary tree in the middle of the courtyard, far away from anything valuable and unable to spread. Just one fire, in one spot? But residents were already trying to put it out with buckets of water and efforts which should have easily extinguished any normal flame... seemed to do nothing but briefly dim its glow, before it was stoked once again. Nir'wei knew immediately that there was no benefit to this other than a well-placed distraction, where everyone would see and focus... while something else happened in the background. "The flame isn't a threat. Explore and secure Saoire's Dream as quickly as possible. Any suspicious activity, handle it." Sovar would know what to do with that, as Nir'weis effective second-in-command. "When you're done, I want you back with me." He could trust Sovar to control splitting up Myrth and Nox to comb through the corridors as quickly as possible and rout out suspicious activity. Would-be-thieves and those that did not belong would earn a swift pair of jaws to the back of the neck and little more.
Squeak had easily completed his check - there was nothing to see, since apparently the pirates had completely missed the Barony on their list. "Join up with Sovar." It was the nearest place to move towards and it'd mean they'd be back quicker.
Finally, Castile. She'd already picked up something unusual, since Haven was silent and dark... footprints, leading towards the gazebo at the middle of the settlement. She'd already begun following them without prompting, and he saw her head lift in time to catch some shady individuals... four, maybe five, clearly sneaking under the cover of darkness with a target in mind. "Any ships?" She hadn't seen any. Another instance of pirates making it to the shoreline before the rest of the invasion forces had been spotted? "Clear them out. Quickly, quietly, and don't worry about leaving them alive." Castile's pace had increased before he'd even finished the order, and he caught sight of the huge wolf launching straight for one of the pirates with jaws aimed at his head at the same time Arle rushed another, her giant mount-sized form looking to crush him against the side of the wall before she tore out half his throat with her jaws. Both of them were hugeAnimal Husbandry Capstone: Alpha Evolution and Dire Evolution and well-trained, looking to take down each pirate with a single crushing blow and then move to the next just as quickly. "Search the area when you're done, then join back up in Saoire's Dream and meet me back here."
Finally, Nir'weis senses returned to his own body, in time to see that the pirates had outright abandoned their attempt to handle the creatures of the water. Funny, considering the creatures still weren't done with them... whipped up as they were by the prospect of food aboard, he hoped they'd linger as long as possible and ensure those boats never got a chance to disembark even if they moved elsewhere. "You know, I could launch another harassment campaign to keep them locked up," he chuckled, glancing up to the dark trees above and trying to guess how many birds might be nesting away inside. "There's just too many of them at the moment though. Too close together, and air would make it easier to chew through an attack than when it comes from those waters." Still, he whistled a faint morning tune, one he'd heard many times before while camping outdoors... and small, sleepy noises replied. "It would make a good secondary distraction though, wouldn't it." It started with a small bird - a robin landing on his shoulder, tweeting a light tune that he echoed. More morning birds soon followed, landing on an outstretched arm when he changed the pitch. Breaking open some nearby bark from an old fallen tree dug out some crawling insects that attracted more. Morning birds were everywhere though... it was the gathering of a few etchwings on the upper branches of a nearby tree that really brought a grin to his lips. Of course, smaller birds attracted larger ones. He might not even noticed, if not for his exceptionally keen sight. "That should do... for now."
There was, however... something off about these birds, he noted quite quickly. The more he began to gather, the louder they became. This seemed like an obvious conclusion to draw, nothing out of the ordinary, but that was just the thing - it was out of the ordinary, just how much noise they began to make, how ravenously they pecked at the insects of the fallen tree and snapped at each-other for the last morsel. Surely they hadn't been that hungry a moment ago.
Well, they hadn't been. He'd just drawn them. He'd drawn something else though, something he hadn't intended and something he hadn't even considered, in fact. Among the tweets and chirps of birds was the croak of a frog, hopping around his feet and eager for its own taste of the insects he'd exposed. Still damp from the coastline's edge and croaking rather aggressively, like the birds had. Like the creatures of the water, when he'd fed them into a frenzy and sent them off. Nir'wei glanced out to the waters again, then the frog. Then the birds, then the frog. Then the insects... and then the frog. "By Moseke's foot fungus," he swore, earning a horrified gasp from Archailist. "I didn't know it'd do that." But it had. It was still going, actually. It was getting worse, actually.
It was going to get a lot, lot worse, actually.
"Oh, this is going to be fun." Even the birds chirping was getting oddly aggressive, much like the frogs and the creatures of the sea. He intentionally ripped open the log a little further to give them a little more food, but at the same time encouraged that hunger, that anger and the need for more. If the birds spread it too, surely it'd travel even faster now, through even more creatures.
His mind already whirling with the possibilities of what this could do, he snatched up the echo scroll for Vega and only glanced at the message she'd sent in turn before beginning a new reply with frantic urgency.
I've held off the ships for now. But problem.
Everything on Faldrass is going to get hungry. It's going to spread to all Scalvoris. You'll hear them. They'll attack anything. Make sure to put the pirates in front of them.
Get everyone indoors quick. Do not send Air Elements. Don't get in water.
We've got like 2 breaks. Tell everyone.
Nir'wei
Everything on Faldrass is going to get hungry. It's going to spread to all Scalvoris. You'll hear them. They'll attack anything. Make sure to put the pirates in front of them.
Get everyone indoors quick. Do not send Air Elements. Don't get in water.
We've got like 2 breaks. Tell everyone.
Nir'wei
Though, as Archailist's eyes shimmered and the Forest Orb within him awakened for the first time in six arcs, Nir'wei found one more thing to do. Well, if he was going to lean into this strategy... it was time to lean into it all the way. A quick snatch of the frog still croaking at his feet and Nir'wei drew an arrow from his quiver with his free hand. "Come on then. I can't have all of you eating each-other. You need a taste of the real thing." The razor-sharp tip of the arrow pierced the skin of his index finger and a drop of blood welled on the surface. It felt almost surreal, feeding a frog his own blood, but then again, he was about to whip an entire island into a ravenous frenzy. Surreal was a perfect descriptor. "There. Good. Good." The more he praised and reinforced positive sensation as a few squeezed drops of his blood fell into the frog's open mouth, the more he grimaced at the thought of this affecting innocents. Vega better act fast. A frenzy was bad. But a blood frenzy...
He dropped the frog back into the water and wondered just how much trouble a craving for blood would cause. Well, that, and Archailist's vision swirling between squirrels in the surrounding area, tuning their eyes to watch the ships disperse. "Tell me where they're going and how long you think before they make it there." [knowledge skil=HUNTING level=EXPERT name=CHAOS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SURPRISE YOUR PREY]The sooner the rest of his team dealt with the miscreants of the island, the quicker he'd disperse the ships himself.[/knowledge] The quicker he invaded the flagship and found its Lord, the sooner he'd be able to use his Scent of the Alpha to find the person really responsible for all this... and the sooner he solved them, the quicker this whole invasion would fall.
Picking off the weakest members was usually the best way for a quick meal, but he was hunting down a pack of wannabe predators now. He couldn't take them down together, but by ruining their coordination by taking down the one in charge, the rest would become weak and limp alone, lashing out in confusion and anger at whatever came near without sight of the real threat closing its jaws at their throat.
Actions
1. Greyhide, Cold and Vabina enter the fog in the Volcano and search for Faldrass using their scent and hearing.
2. Sovar, Myrth and Nox are exploring Saoire's Dream to ensure that nothing else is amiss. If they find nothing and the burning is a distraction for the pirate invasion, they return to Nir'wei through his (still open) School Gateway. If they find the burning is a distraction for something else in Saoire's Dream, they launch into immediate attack.
3. Squeak moves from the Barony to Saoire's Dream to follow the same orders under Sovar.
4. Castile and Arle at Haven attack the mysterious strangers and aim for an instant takedown using brute force and tactical precision.
5. Nir'wei attracts a large amount of small birds to himself, including morning birds like robins and tits, and a few Etchwings - and accidentally reinforces the frenzy he's already started in the process, but then continues to do it intentionally.
6. Nir'wei also sends a message to Vega through Echo Scroll alerting her of the frenzy that he's spreading and telling everyone to get indoors.
7. Nir'wei feeds a frog his blood, intending to turn the frenzy into a blood frenzy - aiming it specifically at people, to avoid them all eating each-other.
8. Finally, Nir'wei waits, allowing the six boats to split into groups of 3 while Archailist uses his Forest Orb to watch their movements through the eyes of squirrels on the island and map their movements, so that Nir'wei can plot to attack the flagship (when it's split from the other ships, and as long as none of the others start attacks that take his attention first.)
2. Sovar, Myrth and Nox are exploring Saoire's Dream to ensure that nothing else is amiss. If they find nothing and the burning is a distraction for the pirate invasion, they return to Nir'wei through his (still open) School Gateway. If they find the burning is a distraction for something else in Saoire's Dream, they launch into immediate attack.
3. Squeak moves from the Barony to Saoire's Dream to follow the same orders under Sovar.
4. Castile and Arle at Haven attack the mysterious strangers and aim for an instant takedown using brute force and tactical precision.
5. Nir'wei attracts a large amount of small birds to himself, including morning birds like robins and tits, and a few Etchwings - and accidentally reinforces the frenzy he's already started in the process, but then continues to do it intentionally.
6. Nir'wei also sends a message to Vega through Echo Scroll alerting her of the frenzy that he's spreading and telling everyone to get indoors.
7. Nir'wei feeds a frog his blood, intending to turn the frenzy into a blood frenzy - aiming it specifically at people, to avoid them all eating each-other.
8. Finally, Nir'wei waits, allowing the six boats to split into groups of 3 while Archailist uses his Forest Orb to watch their movements through the eyes of squirrels on the island and map their movements, so that Nir'wei can plot to attack the flagship (when it's split from the other ships, and as long as none of the others start attacks that take his attention first.)
