The Endless Hunt: Season 2, An Explosive Island

[Ravana]

HEVERIK

—definitely heads toward the sound. After all, there's a King Cobrathon back there; perhaps someone can aid in killing it for him.

Besides, it would be ignoble not to.

When he arrives and sees the struggles of the men, he cries out "Oh, good! You've caught it! Hold it for just a moment longer! And do try to keep your vital pieces away from its head.…"

He draws his sword and moves in, giving the pirates one more thing to worry about.

Two, when it becomes apparent he's far more accustomed to the thrusting work of fencing than to hacking away at something.…

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

SIGRELYN is the only one ay Hanna's Tavern who's NOT surprised to see her husband return with a handful of tusk earrings and three Roku-Roku girls dragging the corpse of a 31'7" King Cobrathon.

"Looks like I owe you another weapon... make that TWO!"


(Sigrelyn and Heverik now have the Valkyrie Blade, Heaven's Thunder and the Pirate J Axe.)


Rose approaches the royal couple. "I think we have the pirate problem under control now, so it is perfectly fine that you spared the men. We captured Captain One-Eared Jack, who told us of another problem.

"It turns out the the seven women you rescued were to be virgin sacrifices..." Rose glares at the women--girls--who were far too young to be on a so-called pleasure cruise in her opinion. "...well, sacrifices anyway."

She raises her voice to get the attention of every hunter in the tavern.

"It seems that the men of the Roku-Roku want their island back. They dwell in the volcanic caverns.

"I could use some strong hunters to join me at the peak."

Rose looks around the tavern and sees several hulking masses of muscle... all sipping beer, trying to be invisible.

 

[Reaver]

Ducking the devil?

REAVER-

Before I could say anything to Manimus’ asinine remark, he dashed off toward a large copse of thing vines and leapt onto one, swinging around and singing a surprisingly good yet somehow disturbing rendition of a popular opera song. Perhaps I found it disturbing because the hulking gladiator sang the song in falsetto.

Much to my surprise however, the agitated bear stopped its growling and began to sway gently back and forth in time with Manimus’ lilting tune. I cautiously approached the massive beast, which ignored me completely, and slowly removed the thick chains whilst humming along.

The massive tutu clad bear stood swiftly and began to pirouette around and I could swear that I saw that the beast was beaming. This went on for several minutes when Manimus swung back to the plateau and stopped singing. The bear instantly went into a rage and thundered toward me.

“Start singing!” I yelled at Manimus.
“What?” he asked stupidly.

“SING!” I barked, drawing my runic blades and praying that I didn’t have to use them.

By the grace of The Almighty, Manimus somehow grasped the deadly seriousness of the situation and started to sing in his lilting, high-pitched tone and the bear danced:

Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets

And little man, Lola wants you

Make up your mind to have

(Make up your mind to have)

No regrets (No regrets)

Recline yourself, resign yourself

You’re through

I always get

What I aim for

And your heart and soul

Is what I came for


(1955 by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross)


Manimus and I continued to sing operas and show tunes as we led the smiling, dancing creature back to lovely Hanna’s Pub. A beautiful Flower Ranger (I’m not sure which one) took custody of the bear and returned it to its rightful owner.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Rose, the Red

Hanna purposely seats Reaver and Manimus at the table next to Sigrelyn and Heverik.

Rose address the four of them as Bouldergut lays Sigrelyn's new weapons on the table.

"Before dawn," she begins, "I would like to ask the four of you to head to the peak. I believe both the missing men from The Love Boat? and the demon stones like the one Manimus delivered can be found at the peak."

Bouldergut steps in. "This is not going to be an easy task. If not for all those narrow passageways in the volcanic, I'd join you all. The best I can do is recommend that each of you weild one of my weapons. They are designed to enhance your natural strengths, or," turning to Heverik, he adds, "compenstate for your weaknesses."

"The Pirate J Axe, the katana Heaven's Thunder and the Valkyrie Blade are all rightfully yours. However," Rose pleads to Sigrelyn and Heverik, "if you choose to accept this dangerous task, would you also consider lending Reaver one of your weapons if he is interested? I have faith in Bobo--"

"Stop calling me that!" Bouldergut blushes.

"Please. I'm just saying you make some of the finest weapons. It would be a shame if they weren't brought along on this mission." Rose turns to the four hunters. "Of course, if you'd rather just go after the liger and wish me and the girls good luck, I would understand..."



(Ravana, Reaver,

I would like to bring Season 2 to an end on April 1st, but I'd like to end it with one final adventure.

To save time, here's what I'm asking of BOTH PLAYERS:

#1 Choose to accept the mission.
#2 If you accept, tell me what path you will take to the volcano.

Possible paths are:
2-1-3-9-10: past the beach, through the cave, through the volcanic cavern
2-1-4-7-10: past the beach, through the woods, up the mountain road
2-6-3-9-10: past the falls, through the cave, through the volcanic cavern
2-6-8-7-10: past the falls, acrss the bridge, up the mountain road

Each path has a chance of an obstacle or two. At the top of the mountain, the battle will come down to the roll of dice. The roll needs to be in the favor of two party members to win.

The Roku-Roku are there as back-up in case things don't go well.)

 

[Reaver]

(Reaver & Manimus accept! They will take route 2-6-3-9-10.)

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 2 => Area 6 => Area 3

Reaver and Manimus follow the Roku-Roku to their home by the falls. Bouldergut joins them for now along with Master Rubi, though neither of the men will travel to the peak.

"I still can't believe I'm too old to make the climb," Rubi grumbles.

"Cheer up, old man!" Bouldergut replies. "I can't fit through the norrow passages in the upper cavewalk. I just wanted good company."

* * *

As they walk through the cave, Manimus sees a boulder that he's pretty sure he can push.

(Reaver, ignore the boulder and head to AREA 9, or let Manimus try to move it?)

(Ravana, if your characters accept the mission, they will either be on the same path or you can choose a different path. In any case, it will be assumed that your characters are as far as Reaver and Manimus and that Hanna, Rose and two other Roku-Roku are guiding your characters if you're not with Reaver and Manimus. All four paths can lead to the peak just as quickly.)

(I'd like to run the final battle tomorrow. However, in case you guys can't post on weekends, I'm happy to extend the Hunt until the 4th.)

 

[Reaver]

REAVER & MANIMUS-

Manimus: Dude, I can like, totally push that big rock outta the way.

Reaver: Boulder.

Manimus: What?

Reaver: It's a...Oh, never mind. Proceed, gladiator.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Manimus moves the boulder. There is a small tunnel.

"Well, you guys can try that route if you want," Bouldergut says, "but I won't be able to follow."

Ivy examines the tunnel. "This probably leads to the mountain road. That's area 7 on the map." She turns to Reaver, who is clearly the brains of the duo. "Either way is just as..."

A loud, rumbling sound interrupts Ivy.

There is a bright orange glow seen through the northwest tunnel that leads to area 9. The light fades, but now whooping and chanting can be heard from the north.

"As I was saying," Ivy continues, unfazed, "either path is just as quick. So the choice seems to be whether to go around them..." She gestures toward the fifty or so grunting voices coming from area 9 before adding, "or through them!"


(Your choices:
AREA 7 = avoid the 50+ chanting men, but ditch Bouldergut who's too fat to fit in the small passage
AREA 9 = go toward the 50+ chanting men, who are probably not in any mood to talk

Just tell Ivy which area you want to go to.)

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN and HEVERIK

…will definitely go along. (Since the one party has already made some progress, they'll take a different path and try to catch the miscreants in flank.) They take route 2-1-4-7-10.

Heverik in particular is quite pleased with his new weapon—he's kept the Valkyrie Blade. It's bigger. He's given the Axe to one of the others (Reaver, presumably); he can't really see what he would do with it. Sigrelyn is now wearing Heaven's Thunder, in addition to her assortment of other implements of destruction.

"Dear, what is that distressing noise?"

"Either threescore constipation victims or an impending sacrifice. Take your pick."

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll take the sacrifice. The other doesn't sound nearly as interesting."

"We'll head toward the sacrifice, then," Sigrelyn says, carefully concealing her expression as she strings her bow.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 2 => Area 1 => Area 4

​Rose leads Sigrelyn and Heverik across the beach. Aside from the tourists staring at Rose, Lily and Heather in their floral attire, nothing of interest happens until the party arrives in the woods.

The sound that the prince and the baroness hear is not constipation at all. The only problem the three former pirates seem the be having with their bowels is that they've been disemboweled. The Red-Maned Liger is taking its time finishing them off.

Rose approaches the liger, her switch-axe in its sword mode but pointed behind her.

"There is still a bounty on this animal," she reminds Sigrelyn, "but Lily and I may be able to calm the creature so it won't attack us."

"You don't need floral attire to not get mauled," Lily adds, "Just let him eat."

Heather shields her eyes from the carnage. "That's terrible, Lily!"

"Enemies or not, there's nothing we can do for those guys."



(Your choice:
Attack the Liger here in AREA 4,
or leave the Liger alone and head to AREA 7.

Just tell Rose what you want to do.)

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN and HEVERIK

"It's more important we stop that sacrifice," Sigrelyn says to Rose. "We can always hunt ligers later."

Heverik nods agreement. "Besides, it would hardly be sporting, five of us against one liger, now would it?"

"Nope. Not sporting at all." Sigrelyn now holds a pair of arrows against her bow, in addition to one already knocked. "Though I have to disagree with our guides on the other point.…"

"What oth—" Lily's question is cut short by a staccato of thwacks.

"That there's nothing we can do for those guys," the baroness says. "Think you can still calm it? I'm afraid it looks a bit startled." A fourth arrow is on her string.

"It's startled?" The guides gape. "Was that really three kill shots in under five seconds?"

"Well, they weren't exactly dodging much."

Once upon a time, a weaponsmaster of a somewhat mystical bent was tasked with instructing his land's finest warriors. He placed a bird-target in a tree branch, then asked each of the men to stand, one after another, and sight in on the target. When each did so, he asked each one what he saw. One after another, each responded that he saw the bird sitting on the branch in the tree; each was told to sit back down… until one answered "I see an eye." To which the teacher responded "Shoot." The target fell from the tree, neatly pierced through the skull.

The liger—which had indeed taken a hop back as the first shaft struck home—appears to have received similar instruction in martial philosophy… at any rate, all it sees in that particular moment is the point of an arrowhead. Which, upon further consideration, it decides is unlikely to prove palatable. Besides, there's plenty of food to go around.

"That's my honey," the prince beams.

•

Behind Sigrelyn and Heverik, a small voice murmurs "F--k me." A second whispers back "He's married." The first mutters "I wasn't talking about him." The exchange is, however, soft enough it does not impress itself upon the ears of the highborn.

As they move on, it continues even more quietly: "What do you think she sees in him, anyway?"

"At a guess? I'd say she sees a man who will stand at her side, his weapon still in its bloody sheath, for crying out loud, and smiles, while we're trying to figure out if we can skirt the liger without drawing its attention."

Silence. Then: "Okay. Yeah, I can see that."

•

The group heads toward area 7.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 2 => Area 1 => Area 4 => Area 7

Sigrelyn and Heverik continue up the mountain road. Heverik uses his great sword as a walking stick on occasion.

Susan and Violet continue to express their disbelief as Sigrelyn's skill with a bow.

"I do not understand why you are so shocked by her marksmanship," Rose says. "I told you she is a Huntress, not the typical tourist that we are used to seeing. Why do you think I specifically asker her to join us?"

"I understand why you invited her, but..." Heather is hushed by Rose's signal.

"They are a package deal."

A low growl is heard from behind.

Lily laughs. "The Liger is following us. We must be near his lair."

Rose asks, "So what do you want to do about him?"

"Can I pet him? I mean... on the way back?"

"I see no reason why you cannot. I am certain that the beast will be calm again once we stop the nonsense at the peak."

* * *

Rose joins Sigrelyn at the head of the group.

Lily and Heather walk on either side of Heverik. Lily catches Heverik staring, but understands from Rose's explanation that he's interested in her floral attire.

"I spent over an hour trying to get my body paint to match the designs of the flowers," she explains to Heverik, not entirely convinced that she's responding to anything close to his thoughts, or that a man would even glance in her direction while Rose is around.

To Sigrelyn, Rose warns her, "The Roku-Roku tradition is to sacrifice seven virgins. However, judging by the class of young women that you rescued earlier, my guess is that the men must think the Lava Demon isn't as picky since his dry spell is a decade longer than usual.

"What this means for you: even though you are married, the men may attempt to capture you alive. You are quick with a bow. But with Heaven's Thunder, you will find that you are quicker than usual with a blade. If you find yourself surrounded, drop your bow. Let the men get close. You and I will fight back to back if we must."



(The group continues up the mountain road to Area 10...)

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 2 => Area 6 => Area 3 (=> Area 9)

"Hey, Manimus!" Bouldergut points toward the shadows of spear-wielding masked men exiting the tunnel to area 9. "Let me help you with that."

Manimus sees a clear path that leads downhill toward the tunnel. Though curious about the small passageway he found, Manimus realizes that exploration will have to wait. He gives Bouldergut a nod. "F--k it, dude. Let's go bowling."

Bouldergut abides.


(Reaver, write the battle scene.

Allies: Bouldergut (hammer), Master Rubi (katana), and 3 Roku-Roku girls: Susan (bow, katana), Ivy (bow, great sword) and Violet (bow, sword and shield)

Enemies: 10 masked men - 9 who can use spears for close or ranged combat, and 1 who carries a katana and runs very quickly.)

 

[Reaver]

REAVER-

Both Manimus and Bouldergut swung their war hammers in perfect unison, slamming them with almost god-like strength into a massive jutting rock. The towering rock exploded into three colossal pieces with a thundering crack tumbling down the hill with earth-shuddering speed toward our rapidly approaching foes.

The spear-wielding fools stood frozen in abject terror, their feet seemingly anchored into the loamy earth, their eyes wide with the horror of impending doom. I couldn’t help laughing with glee as the three gargantuan, jagged boulders rolled over six of the ten men, squashing them like bugs.

Master Rubi, Susan, Ivy and Violet set upon the three remaining spear carrying foes with astonishing speed, effortlessly parrying any attempt of attack and cut them to ribbons in a in a blur of flashing silver blades, crimson blood and tattered body parts.

The last of our foe, a masked man wielding a well made katana rushed toward me with alarming alacrity, the sword poised for the traditional Oki-Ra attack. I parried the first seven thrusts and swings quite easily, although I must admit that I was quite impressed by my opponent’s strength and skill.

Our battle continued for quite a while, each of exchanging offensive and defensive attacks. It was about halfway through our fight, however, that I discovered a flaw in my enemy’s style.

I feigned a stumble backward, tricking my foe into thinking that I had giving him the opportunity for a killing blow. He took the bait and moved in quickly with a well-executed Kumi-Yo overhead swing. I rolled forward, narrowly dodging the strike, and thrust my runic blade up and through my enemy’s chest, piercing his heart and severing his spine.

My enemy’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly and he made a small coughing sound as his katana fell to the ground with a dull clang. My runic weapon made a low sloshing sound as I yanked it out of my foe’s torso and delivered a Hokai-No-Garu: the honorable end: cleaving his head from the neck in a shower of blood.

“Well,” I said to my companions, wiping the blood from my blade and returning it to its scabbard, “that was easy.”

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 2 => Area 6 => Area 3 => Area 9

Bouldergut gives Reaver a look of concern.

Instinctively, Reaver checks himself for wounds, but then sees that Boudergut is actually staring at Reaver's fallen opponent.

Barbarian Blade​

"That's Hanna's katana."

Rubi picks up the weapon. "That would explain how such a fine weapon would get into the hand of these simpletons."

"Simpletons?" Bouldergut is furious. "My sister's weapon wasn't just stolen! The only way her weapon would end up with someone else is--"

"She's alive," Rubi reassures his friend. "I now understand why the men of the Roku-Roku fought the pirates. The pirates captured beautiful women, but..." Rubi looks at Manimus. "...I'd be surprised if there were any virgins on that cruise ship. Never mind seven." He turns back to Bouldergut. "Hanna has been taken alive. The whole island knows how protective you are when it comes to your kid sister."

A brief silence gives Manimus time to contemplate Rubi's seven virgins comment. "So, like, if the Roku-Roku dudes are lookin' for seven virgins... um... where are they gonna find six more--?" Manimus is about to finish the sentence with that are as hot as your sister, but Master Rubi interrupts.

"We're delivering them." He gestures toward the Roku-Roku girls.

Manimus is speechless.

Rubi says to the Roku-Roku before him, "You can turn back if you want."

"What do we have to fear?" Ivy asks. "The belief is that the Lava Demon wants us alive and in one piece."

Violet adds, "It will be very easy for us to provide back-up while they try to kill Manimus and Reaver. And I'm not worried about them!"

Master Rubi hands Reaver the barbarian blade. "Neither am I, Reaver. But with one of 'Bobo's' katanas in your hands, I would worry less."

(Reaver has the Barbarian Blade.)

Susan sees Manimus staring. She unsheathes her Katana almost instantly. "'Bobo's' katanas are the perfect weapon for those who master the quickdraw. Or is it not my weapon that you were starting at, but me?"

"I, like, um..."

"You find it hard to believe that the girls and I look the way we do and have chosen to live like nuns?"

"Well, yeah, like... I was thinking something else, but either way, it means no dudes."

* * *​

Reaver and Manimus lead the Roku-Roku through "Firewalker's Folly," carefully stepping across the River of Fire. Chants can be heard from Black-Eyed Peak, but as the party crosses the area, a couple dozen men come out of hiding and charge.

Bouldergut blocks the narrow passageway so the others can't turn back. "Rubi and I can handle these clowns! Head to the peak and rescue my sister!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Area 10: The Lava Demon and Chief Torashishi

Sigrelyn, Heverik, Reaver and Manimus arrive at the peak with the six Roku-Roku girls.

Up ahead, Hanna is tied to a stake clad in a gown of white flowers.

Several masked men are standing near her. There are others manning a large contraption affixed to the volcanic peak. The contraption resembles a large, horned head. Its maw is a cannon, apparently the same cannon that has been launching demon stones across the island.

One of the men carries a staff enveloped in black-and-white-striped liger hide. His body mask has a bright red mane.

"I am Chief Torashishi, the true ruler of this island. It was ten years ago that this virgin's brother disrupted a sacrifice and lay waste to my father and the adult males of my tribe. Then he had the nerve to marry one of the Lava Demon's virgin brides and let the other six turn this land into a tourist trap."

Addressing the Roku-Roku girls, he adds, "I am glad you are here. After we dispose of your 'hunting buddies,' the Lava Demon will be pleased to see you are still pure after all this time. Hanna will take the place of the one who gave herself to the fat man until her child is born. Then, we shall sacrifice the newborn as an eighth virgin to make up for lost time."

Before anyone can act, Heather falls flat on her face. Reaver and the Huntresses notice she has been hit by a blow dart. Most likely, it was fired from where the chief is standing. He is standing near a billowing cloud of black smoke. It's impossible to know who or what is behind him.


(Here's how the game works. You have targets available. Some targets cannot be defeated or destroyed by your hunter. For other targets, it may be a sure thing or a roll of the die. Everyone is carrying a special weapon, meaning the odds are likely to be in your favor.

Targets to choose from:

1. Chief Torashishi
2. The Men Near Hanna
3. The Men Manning the Lava Demon
4. The Lava Demon's Maw
5. The Lava Demon's Left Horn
6. The Lava Demon's Right Horn

About failure, if your hunters do something that should probably get them killed, a Roku-Roku girl will bail you out, but as Heather has demonstrated, the men are targeting them. Here's who's left:

Roku-Roku girls remaining = 5

1. Rose - axe
2. Lily - hammer
3. Susan - katana
4. Ivy - great sword
5. Violet - sword and shield
6. Heather - zzz...

Also note that ranged weapons are not very useful against the men's body masks. Any Huntress who fires arrows will be able to slow a few enemies down or disarm them with shots to the arms and legs. Feel free to bark orders at the Roku-Roku girls... but if you want Lily to do something, ask nicely.

Okay, enough talk! Reaver, Ravana, I await your first moves!)

 

[Ravana]

SIGRELYN and HEVERIK

"Laid waste to the adult males of your tribe, did he?" Sigrelyn inquires, arching a brow over the arc of her bow. "So, all these… men… of yours? Ten years ago, they were mere children? As were you?"

Heverik may not be much of a hunter, but no one ever accused him of being slow-witted. "Hmm. Indeed. I wonder how particular this 'Lava Demon' is regarding the gender of his virgins?"

"Oh, I'm certain he's more particular than that, honey. I believe it got mentioned to us at some point. In fact, now that I think about it, I clearly recall the word 'lasses' being used in the story. 'Lasses between the ages of sixteen and nineteen,' I believe it was."

She looks around significantly. "Not between the ages of twenty-six and twenty-nine."

"Ah. You're right, of course, dear. Very specific criteria, indeed. Which leads one to wonder.…" Heverik drawls.

"Wonder what he might do to a high priest that tries to pass off false wares?"

"Just so. And then throw a newborn into the bargain—regardless of gender, since it hasn't been born yet. So, really," the prince continues, "we have three different criteria to consider. One: whether the sacrifices must be female; two: whether they must be virgins; and three, whether they need to fall within a certain age range."

While it is difficult to look uneasy while wearing a mask, the body language of at least a few of Torashishi's followers suggest they are beginning to feel just that. Or perhaps it's the evident lack of concern on the part of the bantering couple.

"No, come to think of it, you were right the first time, honey. If he's so certain an infant of unspecified gender would make an appropriate sacrifice, then the only real requirement must be that the sacrifices be virgins."

"Which, of course, means…" the prince prompts, grinning.

"That we need to be careful only to maim our foes. Then we can make inquiries as to which ones are eligible. Any who can produce a woman willing to swear she's had intercourse with him—assuming we can find such women—can be left to beg on the beach." Sigrelyn grins too. "Where they can provide invaluable assistance to the tourist industry. After all, the tourists don't need to be able to outrun a liger.…"

"They just need to be able to outrun you." The prince levels his sword at one of the masked men. "Shall we, dear?"

"Let's."

The baroness' bowstring thrums twice. Both arrows vanish neatly into the maw of the cannon, pinging sharply as they come to rest within. Then she lets the bow slip to the ground while drawing her sword with her other hand.

Silently she addresses her patron: Goddess, make my day complete. Let them fire it now. Out loud, she calmly but firmly adds: "Charge."

•

Almost as if they'd actually planned it that way, Heverik heads straight at the priest; Sigrelyn deals with anybody who tries to slow him down.

(In point of fact, no planning was required… Sigrelyn knows exactly what her husband's thinking is. He intends, firstly, to attract attention to himself—that's a given with him, and adding a monstrous sword to his usual mode of dress fairly guarantees it—and, secondly, to keep anyone else from engaging the priest, knowing how difficult it is to get blood out of fur. He'll seek to tie the man up until she can finish him neatly.)

 

[Reaver]

(Reaver and Manimus attack the men near the lovely Hanna with the fury of a thousand angry dancing bears.)

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

The Lava Demon and Chief Torashishi, part II

One of the younger masked men, barely out of his teens, asks a comrade, "If you charge a golden-haired tourist, it still counts, right?"

"Yes," replies a masked man in his mid-twenties, "but the one who rented you out was more silver-haired."

"Shut up, you--!"

* * *​

"Charge," Sigrelyn says in a calm but firm voice.

Heverik, Reaver and Manimus all rush their targets.

Every masked man not operating the "Lava Demon" is either charging with his spear forward or throwing his spear. Violet and Ivy easily deflect the thrown spears, but are not so lucky when it comes to the blow darts.

Susan and Sigrelyn, each with a Heaven's Thunder in their hands, easily mow down anyone who gets in Heverik's way. Susan follows Sigrelyn's suggestion to spare the men, despite remembering that most of them were cheering as she was led up this same peak ten years ago. The back of her blade makes a satisfying crack as she snaps another limb. Better they live to remember this, she thinks, smiling to herself...

(Ravana, feel free to add details about your hunters' successful attack.)

* * *​

Lily follows alongside Manimus. A body mask cracks every time a Lava Core Hammer is swung, and presumably, skulls and ribs as well. Reaver runs ahead of Lily and Manimus, leaving a wake of halved masked and partial corpses in his direct path, and severed limbs from those lucky enough to have sidestepped his charge...

(Reaver, feel free to add details about your hunters' successful attack.)

* * *​

Rose is alone between both groups, using the paralysis phial of her Pirate J switch-axe. As she mercifully jabs the body masks, stunning and dropping--but also sparing--her enemies, she notices the Lava Demon is aimed in her direction. She drops her weapon and stands among the pile of defeated foes around her. She waits.

*BOOM!*

The men who were operating the contraption fly high into the air. More than seven of them topple into the volcano, virginity or lack thereof unconfirmed.

Nice shot, Huntress.

* * *​

Cracks form in the rocky ground, throwing Susan and Sigrelyn off balance. Sections of the peak begin to rise and fall. Small pools of lava fill the small cracks. Black smoke billows from the larger crevices, including the one that leaves Heverik standing face to face with Chief Torashishi.

"You have insulted the Lava Demon by forcing Him to dine on men!"

The Lava Demon starts to rumble and move on its own.

"Forgive me!" he shouts in a panic. Then to Heverik, he cries, "I will kill you myself!" The chief's staff clashes with the prince's Valkyrie Blade...

(Ravana, Heverik just found himself in a deadly game of King of the Mountain with Torashishi! The two are sharing a very small space--roughly ten feet in diameter--on the apparently unstable peak. Feel free to write the first half, but with neither man clearly winning or losing.)



Targets available to Sigrelyn, Reaver and Manimus:

• Chief Torashishi - unseen, engaging Heverik
• The Men Near Hanna - all dead, wounded or KO'd
• The Men Manning the Lava Demon - burnt to a crisp
• The Lava Demon's Maw - engulfed in flames
• The Lava Demon's Left Horn - slowly moving target
• The Lava Demon's Right Horn - slowly moving target

Roku-Roku girls remaining = 3

• Rose - axe
• Lily - hammer
• Susan - katana
• Ivy - zzz...
• Violet - zzz...
• Heather - zz...
• Hanna - z... (rescued, but still unconscious)

 

[Ravana]

HEVERIK

Most people don't realize it, but the reason single combat is a difficult endeavor is because you're trying to do two things at once: strike your opponent, and defend yourself. If, however, you reduce this to only one of these tasks, it becomes much, much easier.

Of course, if you and your opponent both happen to select the offensive option, it also becomes much, much shorter.

On the other hand, if it becomes obvious to your opponent you've elected to defend, he's likely to abandon his own efforts at defense in order to press his attack, a tactic which can prove detrimental to your own plans. The trick is to keep him thinking you're interested in killing him, in order to forestall this.

Or, in the alternative, make him think about something else entirely. Such as his shoelace being untied.

In this case, that isn't an option. Heverik has, inevitably, taken a complete inventory of his opponent's accoutrements during his headlong charge, and has concluded that apart from the liger-skin body mask, the priest isn't wearing anything of interest. And has probably never even heard of shoelaces. Still, growing up in the environment of Imperial Court generally provides a thorough education in all forms of distraction and misdirection.

Thus, while clumsily parrying the priest's first few blows—and yet smiling while he does so—he breezily opines: "If you think he's insulted now, how do you think he's going to feel when we fall in? I, for one, don't fit any of his criteria: I'm a thirty-one-year-old married man." And that's my wife over there amputating the limbs of your followers. He decides to leave that part unstated. Formal introductions can be made later. He tosses a halfhearted feint in amongst his parries to maintain Torashishi's respect of the possibilities regarding sharp objects intersecting his own skin.

"Besides, we haven't forced your Lava Demon to dine on anyone. It was the incompetence of your own subordinates in discharging that… device…" (—That grotesque overcompensation for your phallic inadequacy complex, he thinks) "which led to the unfortunate gastronomic distresses your patron is evincing at present." Heverik makes the beginning of a seemingly absent-minded gesture in the direction of said device, followed by a last-second recovery into another parry.

"So, really," he continues, for all the world the voice of perfect reason, "if you want your patron to forgive you, I'd propose the first thing you ought to do is avoid further exacerbation of the situation. Your patron is going to obtain possession of your immortal soul following your demise, after all." Here's hoping at least that much of theology is standard across cultures. "Should his final impression of your service really involve receiving a long-winded foreign popinjay and a fur-covered hierophant with a broken stick?"

This parry, unlike previous ones, snaps the massive Valkyrie Blade full-force into the now somewhat notched staff.…

•

SIGRELYN

…hopes her husband knows what he's doing. She's fairly certain his intentions hadn't involved them getting separated.

In fact, she only maimed the first couple of opponents. Once they saw she was serious about doing so, they began to adopt more defensive postures—that is to say, out of her immediate path. Then began to adopt positively charitable interpretations regarding what constituted "her immediate path."

Especially once the machine she'd shot blew up.

Thank you, goddess.

Now let's hope they come to the obvious conclusions. God is dead. Or God is pissed. Either will do. Both would be a bonus.

Sigrelyn, too, grew up in the environs of court life. However, her primary exemplars were less prone to meaningless banter and legalistic double-speak than her husband's were. So while she can readily understand both, her own first impulses do not trend those directions. Mother would bluster. Hogar would reason.…

She quirks one corner of her mouth. And both would be a bonus.

"Who wants to live?" she roars—completely out of character, but any daughter of House Drachteving is going to inherit a healthy set of lungs, and she discovers channeling her mother is less difficult than she imagined. Or cares for… but that's a thought for another day. Besides, she's held field commands, and while she encourages the use of hand signals precisely because hearing over battle noise is difficult, troops aren't all that effective if they constantly have to be looking at their commander rather than the enemy. Which, actually, is just what I want. "Your so-called 'chieftan' has misled and failed you, and now the Lava Demon lashes out in anger! Only speed will save you from his wrath!"

She points her sword at the largest remaining group of demon-followers. "But it will not save you from mine. Anyone seeking that pardon"—she swings her sword now to point to where her husband is, presumably, engaged in battle with Torashishi—"go put a couple of darts into your ex-leader's legs. Quickly. NOW!"

She stalks forward, to put the fear of her into anyone wavering on his fear of god.

At least his ridiculous fashions ought to serve him well in this instance. He may walk away looking like a pincushion, but there isn't a chance a blowdart is going to make it through all those puffed-out layers. She hopes.