open | does everybody have it together

[sterngaze]

Who: Liem Talbott & various
What: Setting update catch-all
Where: Alenroux
When: Throughout March

Liem is fully committing to assisting with Meridian's invasion of Alenroux, so he will be present there throughout the month, hunting monsters, scouting the woods, and keeping watch at Meridian encampments. At the beginning of the invasion, and potentially later in the month, he will be suffering from blood-withdrawal and will be more likely to accept blood donors so he can keep being properly useful. He's still keeping his drinking habits from public knowledge, though, so he won't be outright canvassing for volunteers.

Starters below are all closed, but if you would like to do something with Liem this month, please hit me up on discord or at Sporelett. I will happily write a starter for whatever nonsense we decide to get up to.

Comments

for Sasuke — monster investigations

[sterngaze]

[For the first few days of the occupation, Liem spends his time cautiously: scouting during the day, when the danger from roving monsters is less; sticking close to Meridian outposts at night to keep watch and defend them alongside the others on guard there. The shadows seem to follow him wherever he goes, but even when cloaked in gloom, his pallor and general ill health are apparent.

Until, all at once, he recovers his vigour completely. At this point, he can finally go about the business a man like him is meant to be conducting. At this point, he can finally hunt.

It is wiser to go with a partner; it means better hunting in the best case, and someone to watch his back in the worst. All the better if his partner doesn’t need light to see in the forest depths, where the canopy overhead blocks out every last sliver of moonlight. Those with no need of light are in somewhat short supply among Meridian’s shard-bearers — but there is a new face in the ranks who fits the bill, and Liem is just as content to work with strangers as with those he’s come to know over his months-long stay in Kenos.

It does not take long, once they penetrate into the cover of the trees, to find signs of monster activity. The creatures in the wood seem drawn to shard-bearers somehow; until every one has been culled from this forest, he does not doubt that they’ll continue to emerge in search of people to hunt. After only an hour, the quiver of crossbow bolts at his hip is lighter, and the leather of his gloves is stained with the blood of unidentifiable creatures, each one different from the last.]

This infestation stinks of arcane tampering. [Liem wipes a slender, shadow-dark blade on a fallen beast’s mottled hide, then sheathes it as he regards the gutted corpse. Even the entrails of the creature are alien — and he has seen the insides of many creatures in his life.] I have never seen such a motley assortment of creatures dwelling in a single stretch of forest.

[eyeforaneye]

[ Sasuke's a young man given to silence, speaking through action over words, and thus when groups are organized to carry out this strategic culling he has no arguments to make against his partner. It's just as well. The man has quickly proved his competency, moving fast under cover of darkness and executing his attacks efficiently and accurately. A solid partner to have around for an operation like this one.

In a mirror of Liem he too cleans his sword, though it's with a crackle of electricity and sparks that arc down steel to burn away flecks of blood nigh instantaneously. It remains unsheathed, gripped tightly in a gloved right hand – his left arm, or what very little remains of it, stays hidden beneath his cloak. ]

"Arcane tampering", huh... You mean you believe these creatures are part of the native population but have been warped into something else? Or brought here from elsewhere? [ It's by far the most he's said all night. ]

[sterngaze]

[Liem is content to have a taciturn partner for this outing, pleased to focus on the mission without being distracted by idle chatter — but he's equally pleased to have another person with whom to discuss his observations, especially given their concerning nature. He looks up briefly from the creature's insides as he answers, giving Sasuke a small nod.]

It could be either — though recent events at the Tree of Life make me think the latter is more likely.

[After one last look, Liem finally concludes his investigation of the carcass in front of him and rises from his crouch. There's no reason for them to linger, especially when the night is still so young.]

The monsters summoned there were not entirely unlike these. They were just as varied, certainly.

[eyeforaneye]

Similar in their dissimilarity, then.

[ It's not much to go off of but it's something, and for Sasuke who spent so little time at the Tree of Life and certainly has no frame of reference for Liem's experience it's even more. His head turns, the eye visible and uncurtained by hair sizing up a nearby tree. Tall enough to provide a good vantage point. ]

... for the next few, can you disable them instead of killing them? I'll be doing the same. If left alive, and with their minds more or less undamaged, I should be able to see more. [ It's a vague plan that certainly requires more finesse, but in conjunction they're perhaps a little too good at sighting and taking out their targets. No reason not to embrace a mild added risk for more information. ]

[sterngaze]

[Now what does that signify? Communication of some kind with the creatures? Or, perhaps more likely, some form of mind reading? That would explain more than not, though Mr. Uchiha himself remains unhelpfully vague in his request. Still, Liem remains interested in gleaning whatever helpful information they can from the creatures they manage to encounter tonight.]

That shouldn't pose too much difficulty — physiology permitting.

[Sometimes a monster has no discernable body parts, or it attacks with its brain, and then there's really nothing for it but to exterminate the thing as efficiently as possible, by whatever method proves effective. Happily, those kinds of creatures don't seem to be the majority.

There is nothing left to do but continue the hunt — though Liem prefers to do so from the ground, at least when their prey is not going to come to them. He is far more used to stalking and fighting over solid ground in any case. Checking the bolts still left in his quiver, he glances at his companion before continuing on, noting the direction of his focus.]

At least with the level of aggression most seem to show, it won't be hard to flush more out.

i am so sorry for the age of this tag, life caught up with me so hard

[eyeforaneye]

Given the variety in them we should have a greater chance. I won't need many. [ So he says, at least, unable to make the promise in good faith and yet he does so anyway. He's nothing if not determined.

Liem moves and thus so does he, but it's not the ground he sticks to. The tree he'd sighted is instead glanced up at before a burst of chakra at his feet has him leaping for its lower branches, silent and fluid in movements that have him quickly scaling its trunk. Vantage point secured his visible eye bleeds to red, quiet only for a moment or two longer before he's calling back down to Liem. ]

Two o'clock. There's a cluster of three, not far from our current position.

[sterngaze]

[Liem can't deny the usefulness of having a partner so easily able to spot from above. It makes their progress swifter as they make their way through the forest's monsters, culling those they come across in an effort to dent Alenroux's considerable monster population and make the vast island safer for inhabitants. It takes only a short while, once Sasuke has called out their next targets, for Liem stalk close enough to be able to catch sight of movement through the trees.

It's a cluster of lumpy-bodied quadrupeds sporting tough, armoured-looking hides. Other than the eyes in their broad, misshapen heads, nowhere on the creatures looks obviously vulnerable to attack — but they have eyes, and they have limbs, which suffices for now. Surely they can take at least one without killing it, once Sasuke is in position as well.

Liem doesn't have sufficient magic to use it all night long during his hunts, so there is nothing supernatural about the bolt he silently aims at the first of the creatures. He simply chooses a promising target — the rear of one squat hind leg, where the hide looks thinner — and lets his bolt fly.]

[eyeforaneye]

[ He's accustomed to working through silence, but in Kenos he's found they have certain significant advantages he doesn't intend to ignore. ]

Stay in contact, [ comes the message through communion, paired with no emotion or any genuine concern for their chances. He's confident, but not overconfident, not with the results he's already seen from their work in tandem.

Sharp eyes follow Liem just as they had followed their respective targets, and it's when he hears the whistle of that bolt that he immediately moves. Fast enough so as to seem like little more than a blur, he's in range from the treetops above when the creature lets out a bellow of rage and indignation at the pain it's forced to experience at Liem's hand. It's a perfect set-up; the monster is already charging his partner when Sasuke drops down from above, sword piercing into its back only deep enough to create a foothold.

And to serve as a conductor for the electricity he suddenly forces down into its body, causing it to abruptly halt its rampage for a sharp jerk to the side and useless spasming of shocked limbs. ]

Two more, this one won't move for a while. Stay sharp.