isleofavalon | Dragoon in July

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Dragoon in July

🧙 WHO: Barbara, you!
⚔️️ WHAT: July adventures (incl one quest)
🕒 WHEN: Throughout July
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot and the farms!
⚠️ WARNINGS: Violence, probably

a. I Didn't Even Get To Touch Lava 🗡

[Barbara's never met a geode slime. But she feels a great deal of sympathy for a creature that's in Celliwig and can't get out. It's too bizarre a place to be taken to against your will, never mind unable to leave.

So that's why she's back here herself. She frowns at the crystal walls of the cavern and the unfortunate creature, occasionally quivering where it's wedged in the facets, and working out how she and her companion will free it.]

Break crystals, get away?

b. Why is it always worms

[Farmlands are important, farmlands need protecting. Moogle knows this is Barbara's view, and always informs her when there's any farm-related trouble either on the questboard or in local talk.

That's why Barbara's been there the past few days, stabbing and using anything but fire against the zombies. That's where she is, fighting alongside you, when the earth shakes--and keeps shaking--and begins to sink.]

Run!

[...an instruction that comes too late, as the ground opens into a very toothy maw. It's too late to jump, gravity's in charge now, and it's sending you right into a cavernous creature.]

c. Unexpected Disney Princess

[Barbara thought by staying in the woods during the loud, colorful, noisy carnival would mean she didn't have to worry about it and she could come back into town after it was over. Barbara was wrong.

Normally she gets along fine with woodland creatures when she's not hunting; she gives them their space and they give her hers. Not today. Not when there are squirrels chattering in her hair and trying to braid it.]

Off! OFF!

[She's doing her best to catch them without hurting them, which means she's dancing around on the sidewalk. An unlucky broom that's too close doesn't get the same mercy, hopefully she didn't just kick it right into you.]

d. wildcard!

[Want to throw down a random starter? Want to plot something else? Go ahead, and/or hit me up by PM or

compassinks!]

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[Jasper scours the rock, every chip and crevice, and sees a small fissure down towards the bottom. The dumb creature probably wandered in out of curiosity and a lack of foresight. Or perhaps not? He doesn't really care.]

Is that sure to work? It might fracture a limb or two, I would have thought.

[Do slimes even have limbs? Such strange creatures.]

Slime round. [Though Jasper's concern still makes her brow furrow. It may not exactly have limbs like they do, but broken crystals are not exactly safe. So her next words, though sparse, have a tone of agreement.] Need care. Broken crystals sharp.

[She feels around the fissure, trying to see if it's wider inside than out. Maybe they can just break open the entrance.]

[Breaking off a sliver of crystal, Jasper looks towards where the slime is stuck, holding the shard in his glove. He weighs it in his hand and feels around parts of the fissure that are being ignored. It hardly feels like anything. Though her words are something and he meditates on them a short while.]

Perhaps we only need fracture a portion of this wall. The creature should be able to squirm his way out.

[Hm... there's a thought. And Barbara would rather not damage the cave interior more than they have to, either. It's pretty and it doesn't belong to them.]

Should try first, yes.

Slimes. Bold or timid, Jasper know?

[She doesn't know if it's going to come rushing out as soon as it has an escape route or if their messing around near it will make it hostile.]

[Jasper looks at the slime. He cannot fathom whether it will flee or fight given its lack of movement and expression. Better to err on the side of caution, perhaps?]

Depends on the breed, I'd say.

[It is not a strange, unknown monster by any means. He almost feels sorry for the position it's in. The beast hardly knows better.]

Do you have a suitable tool for that wall?

[Hmm. Well, if it's a fire slime, it probably doesn't have a reason to be cautious. Not when it can glorp around setting anything on fire that tries to get in its way.]

Hammer. [She pulls it from her belt and holds it up. It's of an unusual design; it's got glowing runes, and it's made of stone rather than metal.] Borrow from Celliwig.

What Jasper magic?

[Knowing that would also help--if he can do something to make the slime's passage easier, or throw up a defense in case it comes out angry.]

[The hammer earns a satisfied look of approval. This simplistic person comes equipped with the right tools for the job - which is more than can be said of most.

Though he hardly wants to share knowledge of what he is capable of. Hmm. Perhaps it's better to share some, mind. To make his work less difficult. He holds his hand over the ground and telekinetically lifts a handful of shards. Then he drops them at his feet.]

The answer should be obvious.

[Kinetic.]

[Barbara doesn't know the word kinetic--she heard it once when being told about the different types of magic and then forgot it since it hasn't been relevant since--so it's just as well that Jasper demonstrated.]

Useful. Barbara smash rocks, Jasper keep slime at bay.

[As she says that, she's already kneeling by the fissure again and sets to work with her hammer, breaking the more fragile-looking bits of crystal away.]

[Jasper narrows his eyes and braces himself for impact; ears pricking as metal smashes into the wall and clangs against crystal. The slime writhes uncomfortably. Unable to flee and with nowhere to go, flames begin warming the crystals surrounding its form.

It is a sight that earns caution. Splinters are redirected by his magic to the floor - kept away from wounding an irate creature even further.]

This should be over soon, I imagine?

[BAM BAM BAM this is not how you're supposed to treat crystal.

She can feel the heat coming up the fissure as the agitated slime begins to flare and works faster, wanting to make sure she's given it as big an escape route as she can before it comes racing out.

The only response she gives Jasper's question is a curt nod, and when she's smashed enough crystal away, she leaps up and backwards.]

Now!

[very now. EXTREMELY now. slimes, as it turns out, do not need legs to move FAST.]

[Darin had decided to meet Barbara at the cavern itself. Since the geode slime was likely trapped in the minerals and crystals, he'd specifically brought one of the pickaxes that he'd forged with him.]

[But upon entering the chamber, the heat from all the volcanic activity instantly made him start to sweat.]

Man, this place is pretty and all, but it's not the most hospitable, is it.

...Anyway, you have any experience with slimes? Breaking it and running might not be enough.

[Barbara shakes her head. She was too wary of the ceremony's requirements to participate, but it's a lot sweatier than she expected in here.]

Never fight slimes. Not at home. [not that... they are here to fight it. that's just the terms she thinks in first.] Darin know slimes?

Huh, really? Yeah, we had them back home.

They're pretty low level monsters but they're dangerous when they swarm. So, we're lucky there's only one here...

Still, it might attack us, and I'm useless since I'm a healer and this thing doesn't seem to have any blood. Any ideas?

[And on that note, Darin drops the pickax and starts to tug off his shirt.]

Gods it's so damn hot! At least last time we hunted it was a beach!

[Darin, she is gonna start calling you Darin No-Shirt.

The information is useful, though. No need to worry about it posing a serious threat, and since Darin's a healer, it'll be all right if Barbara gets burned a little.]

Slimes eat? Maybe distract with food, lure away.

They do eat but...not so much in the traditional sense.

They kinda...absorb things? You don't want one clinging to you is what I mean.

Maybe we can stun it?

[Barbara nods. No, she doesn't want something called a "fire slime" to be hanging onto her leg.]

Stun how? [She looks at her spear.] Hit over head? [...] Slime not have head.

...Huh. You know, I never thought of that. I mean...if you just whack the thing hard enough it should stun it but...

[But that's a big 'should.']

Oh! I know! I have a firework spell! From the tournament back in Camelot a few months ago! If I launch the firework at it, the sound and light should stun it!

[OH-HO. Barbara grins.]

Yes. [that sounds like a GREAT idea, they don't have to physically hurt the slime and they don't have to worry about getting burnt.] Barbara break crystals now.

[She figures she'll say that out loud so he has time to get the spell ready, if that's what in involves. Then she turns to bashing and kicking at the crystals around the fissure with her spear and her armored feet. She can see the slime inside getting agitated, so they probably will need that spell.]

Alright! Yeah! You've got it!

[Darin sets himself up so that when the slime starts to wriggle free, he can hit it with those fireworks.]

[It looks like all that bashing and smashing is really working it up, though. The slime appears to be taking on a more molten appearance...and it's bubbling.]

...Hey, Barbara? You almost done? I don't think it's enjoying the noise!

[BASH BASH BASH... Barbara pauses at the sight of the slime changing shape, and bubbling, and it's definitely getting hotter.

She pauses, makes sure she's positioned to run, and raises her lance to bring it down on the last bit of crystal blocking the entrance. As the rock splinters, she leaps up, and back, landing next to Darin.

None too soon, because the next instant there is an extremely angry blob of lava bubbling right up out of the rock.]

Done!

[Darin really wishes he could jump like that. Because it would be a lot more useful when it came to dodging, especially when an angry lava blob was about to start rushing him!]

[But with Barbara out of the way, he levels his hands and casts that firework spell he'd gotten from the tournaments all those months ago. With a series of flashes and some rumbling booms, a barrage of colorful fireworks spray the area where the slime was erupting from. With the fireworks popping off, Darin heelturns and starts sprinting away. Hopefully the sound was enough to stun the slime.]

Let's get out of here!

[BANG, POW, FIZZ. Barbara actually would quite like to stop and watch the lightshow, it's very impressive, but the heat from the angry slime is an effective reminder not to do that. She leaps backwards, landing near Darin before joining him in his sprint.

A quick look over her shoulder shows the slime undulating in confusion for a moment, more stunned by the noise than the light. After a moment of confusion it begins oozing after them, but they've got a healthy head start.]

Have lead. Good.

Yeah, well...have you ever heard the phrase "Don't count your chickens?" Because I'll feel a lot better once we lose it!

[Which is gonna be a little trickier because that slime is picking up speed. Have you ever tried to outrun a lava flow? Because it's gaining.]

See what I mean??

[what, why would you not count your chickens, how would you know how many chickens you have unless you count them once in a while]

[BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S A QUESTION FOR LATER. Barbara looks over her shoulder, and that slime is going way faster than she thought it would for a blob creature that's been trapped in a fissure for days.

She spins briefly on her heel and hits it with a blast of wind magic, hoping to slow it down. It does halt it briefly, but an angry bubbling noise shows that she's made it angrier.]

[The wind hits it and causes it to ripple like a jello mold in a wind tunnel. It stalls it for only a brief second though...]

[Darin, however, notices the burst of wind.]

Wait! Elemental magic! I've got an idea! Can you make ice and water??

[Ice and water? Sure thing, Darin--Barbara replies by inhaling deeply and breathing out a frosty hail of bona-fide wintry mix towards the slime, though mostly she tries to avoid hitting it directly. It's got enough heat that she thinks it would take a lot to actually hurt it, but she doesn't know enough about the creature that she won't take care.]

[Darin...had a plan. He really did.]

[But then Barb went and did that and he skids to a stop with literal stars in his eyes.]

HOLY CRAP YOU HAVE DRAGON BREATH?!?!?!?!!?

[That was not the reaction Barbara expected. She can't help but direct a very satisfied grin in Darin's direction at that outburst.]

Yes. Barbara, dragoon of Deist.

[Which she would be happy to elaborate on another time for Darin, but the slime is still there. It's put off by the sheet of sleet and cold in front of it, but that won't last forever.]

Keep running!

Right!

[Darin heelturns and heads for the cavern's exit. Maybe if they can get out of its line of sight, they can lose it among the rocks and crevasses.]

This way!

[He hooks a sharp right and heads for a ledge overlooking a steep slope. It was risky but...]

[Nah, he doesn't even hesitate or think twice. He's dropping over it.]

[Steep slope, no problem. Barbara practically launches herself from the edge, calling on the wind magic she's learned to use to imitate the dragoons' jump.

It turns out to be quite a distance from her starting point down to the ground, and she laughs as she drops through the air, keeping an eye on Darin to make sure that he isn't tumbling end-over-end or anything.]

Good jump!

[Oh, he's far from done yet. Instead of attempting to run down the steep slope, he digs his feet into the loose gravel and practically surfs down the steep incline with a wide grin plastered on his face. There was something inherently thrilling about taking on monsters; there was the physical challenge, sure, but often times monsters were required adaptability. That's what Darin loved more than anything; a challenge to rise above through ingenuity.]

[He weaves and slides around the bigger rocky outcroppings as the geode slime rolls over the edge after them.]

['Good jump'...?]

...Good jump...yeah...! Alright!

Barbara! I need height! I know what to do!

[That said, he leaps up off the incline, hoping Barbara can give him the boost he needs.]

[Oh-ho? Barbara doesn't hesitate when Darin leaps into thin air. Thrusting out her spear, she sends a blast of wind magic his way, boosting him up beneath his feet as she continues her own controlled descent towards the ground--keeping an eye on him both to give him another blast if he needs it, and so that she can see exactly what he's doing.]

[That was just the boost he needed. At the apex of his leap, Darin flips forward and brings his heel over his head and down in a magic enhanced, devastating axe kick. He strikes the ground with his heel like a meteor, cracking it enough that a rift splits and opens up into the wider slope further down. With that, he rolls to the side hard, just in time to avoid the geode slime that was quickly gaining momentum.]

[He rights himself just in time to see the geode slime flow into the fissure, then continue rolling down the slope in the crack until it reaches the end, just like the lava floe it resembled.]

Ha! I knew it! It can't climb, it can only flow! It just needed a track to slide through!

[Ah-ha! So that's what he's after. As the slime rolls through the new track, Barbara reaches the apex of her jump and flips her spear around. She can't pull of that kind of kick, but she can score the slope deeply with her spear. With that done, and back on the ground, she works quickly to open the gap between Darin's track and the one she just made, so the slime can continue its journey downwards.]

Smart move!

[Darin catches up while Barbara works, so that by the time she finishes, he'll be meeting up with her, wiping the sweat from his brow.]

Well, that sure was enough excitement for one day. How are you feeling? Hungry?

[Barbara watches the slime ooze away, popping out of the track once it gets up the momentum to ooze over the end. Evidently chasing off its rescuers and pelting downhill in the open air has satisfied its rage, and it continues on its way without a backwards look--if--slime turned around to look.

She grins, satisfied with the afternoon's accomplishment.]

Yes. We earn good food.

[Given that this is Celliwig, she doesn't know how easy that will be to find, but dammit, they'll find it.]

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Dragoon in July

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been on hiatus just got back

Welcome back!

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