Scream from the Alley
It's Variday, Pryntar 27 13:58:07 1019. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and slack. The sky is cloudless and brilliant blue. The northwest wind is icy, blowing snow across the landscape in swirling white gusts.
A07: Lower Alexandria Market District
The Market District. Everyone loves the Market District, right? Well, Lysa certainly does. She finds herself chatting up a Khazad merchant, both of them laughing softly. As she turns away to meander back out away from that stall, she calls back to him, "Tell your littles that I look forward to seeing them at the temple."
Ga'Elian walks away from one of the market stalls, stowing a small pouch inside his shoulder bag. He starts to whistle a tune to himself, then sees Lysa, and offers a smiling nod as salute.
Lifting a hand to wave towards Ga'Elian, Lysa gives him a warm smile. "I am being greeting you my friend!" she calls out amicably. She doesn't really have much of an inside voice, even when inside. Nope. Boisterous and friendly are the words that best describe her personality.
Ga'Elian walks over and says, "Just finishing up some business. How go things with you?"
Just as the words leave his mouth, a horrible scream is heard from a nearby alley way. The elf looks toward the sound, then glances at Lysa, then takes off running toward the alley.
Not even hesitating, Lysa is at a dead run when Ga'Elian looks her way. Some things come naturally to a Sunblade. Speaking of blades, as she reaches the alleyway, her large sword has cleared her scabbard.
Other heads turn, too, but although a crowd starts to gather to watch--from what they hope is a safe distance--the sight that meets the two adventurers as they round the corner is of a half-sil woman seemingly paralyzed with both hands on her face, screaming at the sight of... a trio of large black spiders, a dense web of stickiness hanging across from one building to the next. The woman seems to be scared out of her wits, but otherwise unharmed.
Ga'Elian pulls his bow from his quiver and comes to a stop some five feet beyond the woman. He nocks an arrow and takes aim at the closest arachnid.
Not slowing down, Lysa charges ahead. Her objectives are simple. First, extract the woman from danger. Second, deal with the danger. She rushes forward and seeing the woman paralyzed with fear, intends to basically... as gently as possible, tackle the woman and get her away from these creatures.
Ga'Elian fires a volley of arrows, turning the closest specimen into a pincushion before it hardly registers the threat it faces. This does seem to enrage the other two spiders though, and they both charge up the alley, one on the ground, the other along a wall.
Once the shocked woman is tackled away from the spiders, Lysa gets back to her feet, and gives the woman a nod before turning and charging back into the fray. As the spiders head your way, she comes charging up behind them. With a cry, she gets the attention of one spider... which turns her way only to find her blade swinging in a bisecting arc... *SCHLURK!* is the sound of a spider cut in half.
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls acrobatics: (8)+11: 19
The one racing along the wall toward the archer jumps as if to knock the archer over with its body, but the elf fires another volley into it, so that it is dead before landing, as the elf barely manages to tumble out of its way without doing damage to his bow. At the sudden resolution to the immediate crisis, the crowd in the background cheers and applauds, and the woman's emotions come spilling out her eyes in great tears and her voice, choked by hyperventilating breaths, feebly gasps out a heartfelt "Thanks!" to her rescuers. Ga'Elian rises with remarkable agility to stand upright and stows his bow safely back in the magical quiver slung over his shoulder, and side-steps a growing pool of spider blood as he approaches the woman trying his best to look non-threatening.
Bending to clean her blade before putting it away, Lysa gives a nod. "Being done well." she remarks. But then she looks back to the woman, "Are you being injured?" she inquires. "I've healing magic if y'be being needing it."
As the woman begins to regain her composure, she manages to say, "I'm not injured, milady, but I think I'll go have a lie-down, and maybe some soothing tea. The gods be praised!" She turns to walk back out of the alley, still visibly shaken, but relieved nonetheless.
Glancing back towards Ga'Elian, Lysa gives another nod. "C'n I be being buyin' you a drink then?" she asks the ranger.
Ga'Elian says, "That sounds like a good plan to me," he smiles. "But first, I'd like to look around that web--see if there might not me more of those brutes around." He points as he speaks, then walks calmly toward the end of the alley.
Shrugging, Lysa nods her head. "You are being far more knowledgable about such things." she states as she moves behind Ga'Elian, basically watching his back in case there -are- more of the things. She has a relaxed posture, but her sword is not in hand at the moment. It's scabbarded on her back.
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls perception+urban: aliased to perception+2: (11)+24+2: 37
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls track/wLens+urban: aliased to Survival+4+5+5+2: (9)+17+4+5+5+2: 42
Reaching the end of the alley, Ga'Elian looks around and points at a dark hole under the stairs at the rear of one of the buildings. "I'd wager they came up from the sewers through here, but I only see enough tracks to account for the three of them, and figure they must have come to the surface this morning before sunrise. I think we can just report it to the Watch and let them see to the cleanup and plugging of that hole."
"We should be being sure to tell them to burn any egg sacs they find." offers Lysa. "But odds are they are being knowing that." And she nods before turning towards a local brewer's stall. Why go indoors when you can buy drinks from out here after all?
Ga'Elian smiles, "I quite agree." He follows along. "You know, when I was away from my tribal lands on my Dreamwalk some phase spiders appeared outside my tribal encampment where some of our children were at play and killed them. Upon returning and hearing the tidings of this woeful trajedy, I swore to hunt the sort of creatures that visited this great loss upon my people. That is a part of why I became a ranger in the first place."
Nodding slowly, Lysa inquires, "And yet, are animals such as those being having motivations of such evil? Or are they being simply doing what animals are being doing? Is revenge against others of the same type being helping to punish those who harmed you and yours?" she asks. Stupid paladin mentality.
Ga'Elian smirks, "Well, phase spiders are in fact different from these creatures. They are beasts of extraplanar magic and whether malicious or not, they are certainly dangerous to the innocent. They need not lair near their victims, for they appear out of the cosmic æther to strike their prey, then disappear again into it ere they can be caught."
Gesturing to the Khazad merchant, Lysa says, "Two of your best good friend." before looking back to Ga'Elian, "And yet, how is that being related to hunting other creatures?" She's not disputing so much as... clarifying. "Please do not be being offended. I am curious. I was being feeling a calling from Daeus and more recently from his Lady Wife also. I know why I am what I am. But I am being curious about others."
Ga'Elian accepts the drink with a courteous nod and replies, "Your question does not offend. My people survive by hunting. And in this world exist many dangers as well, such as the spiders we just dispatched. Out in the wilds, these creatures belong, but here where it is the habitat of thinking beings, the survival of the locals is threatened when these vermin take over. In the distant past, perhaps it was the reverse--that the humans who settled here may indeed have displaced wild creatures to build their city. 'Tis not, in my view, a matter so much of good and evil as of survival. That said, sometimes survival is a matter of good versus evil. For example, I am even more dedicated to hunting the fiends of the lower worlds than I am of magical monsters. 'Twas an influx of demonkind that brought me to the City in the first place. I came to stanch the influx of these demons ere they might overspread Ea." He pulls a cold iron arrow from his quiver and says, "Ever am I ready to do battle with the beasts of the lower planes."
"Ah, but aer the 'locals' not newcomers compared to the land itself?" asks Lysa. She shakes her head though and adds, "No, do not be being answering that. It is a stupid question. Me da always said that I was being preferring to argue an alternate side just to argue. I think he was being right."
Inclining her head then, she adds, "And aye, demonic infestations are being precisely the sort of evils that I am being here to fight as well."
Ga'Elian takes a drink and says, "Your da' is a sailor, yes? He seems a decent fellow, by your account."
"Was." offers Lysa as she sips her own drink. "Me da was being a sailor, and a merc. Company was wiped out in battle." She shrugs her shoulders, "Would be being the way they would've been wanting to go. But it was a stupid battle. Me da's company and a company of Oruch mercs were both having been hired to attack the same target. Instead, they fought each other .. and both companies died."
Ga'Elian says, "My condolences. I am certain that he enjoys great honor in the halls of the valiant. Is he named in the songs of your people?"
"My people -were- being the mercs. But aye. I sing of him when I can. Not that my singing voice is being anything worth bragging about." Lysa doesn't seem all that broken up about it. Apparently, they died well.
Her hand reaches up to touch her sword and she remarks, "I am being carrying Da's sword in his honor."
Ga'Elian takes a look at the weapon. "That is well. (beat) Well, I thank you for the drink, but I should be getting along. A friend is awaiting my return. The gods be with you." He bows.
"May the light of Daeus shine when things are darkest." intones Lysa in a very serious voice. But she sips her ale and stays put as you depart.