( closed ) bustin five knots, wind whippin out my coat

[champions]

WHO: Marisol, Korrin, Nikos, Ellana, Norrington
WHAT: A group of smugglers have set up shop in a corner of the Wounded Coast, thankfully they are going to be stopped by a beautiful Antivan woman. And I guess some other people help.
WHEN: Cloudreach… sometime…
WHERE: the Wounded Coast
NOTES: ⛵🌊⛵🌊 ⛵🗡️✨🗡️✨🗡️👏👏👏

Sometimes having contacts was very useful. Sometimes it could lead to minor nuisances, as well, and she’d categorise this particular thing as both.

On the one hand, she’s not eager to show too much of her hand to those not of her particular social sphere. In this instance, of course, “social sphere” would refer to her particular brand of alarming mages and relatives. She’s sure these others are quite pleasant, but they aren’t hers. Not everyone can be be perfect, though, so maybe she shouldn’t hold it too much against them.

On the other hand, it is a chance to be useful, on the sea, enjoy some of those things she is very good at and drag Nikos along with her. (Poor Nikos.)

The Wounded Coast, unfortunately, is rather less pleasant than the Antiva coast, but maybe they'd be lucky. Maybe there'd be sharks.

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

Despite her large size, Korrin is actually more capable of stealth than she tends to admit. The Valo-Kas weren't only employed for battle; sometimes their missions required stealth and some ingenuity. So, once they have their information, the Vashoth mage is more than ready to get to work.

Swimming is no problem for her; between her powerful build and a certain ring of Rivaini design, the chances of her drowning are effectively nil. She trusts Norrington to keep pace, mostly, though still spares a glance here and there just to be certain. If he requires assistance, she'll be ready to drag him along. This is a two-person mission, after all, and she's not foolish enough to think it can be managed alone.

[judgemewhole]

Here's something that the Templars, surprisingly enough, do not prepare you for - following your prey through water. Norrington had learned a long time ago that if you were going to fight some blood mages in a flooded cave, it was smarter to remove your armor, bundle it up in some leak-proof leather satchel, and drag it behind you. Fortunately, the son of a fabric merchant had spent his summers by the sea, and knew how to swim like a fish.

Of course, he had to drag his armor and weapon with him, but it was better than trying to struggle through in dragonbone. Or rather, drown in dragonbone.

[gatheringstorm]

That Norrington doesn't need assistance is a pleasant surprise, and Korrin can appreciate the common sense of swimming without heavy armor. (Her own is considerably lighter, so she didn't bother to remove it.) It's relatively easy going at first, though she takes care the further they get inside. After they emerge from the underground tunnel, she'll take a nice thorough look around first, gesturing for him to stop if he moves too far.

"This wouldn't just be unguarded. Damnit, we should've brought a rogue with us. I can try to disarm whatever we find, but it's not my forte." Korrin's method would be blunt force and most certainly alert their enemies, so it's better that they avoid altogether.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington came up out of the water, holding in his gasp. He nods his head to Korrin, crouching in the dark and letting the water dry off his skin. and clothes so he could put on the armor once more without it clenching in the wrong areas.

He frowns at her statement, before he murmurs quietly. "Are they magical or otherwise? If they are magical I can disarm them with Dispell easily enough."

[gatheringstorm]

"Doubt it, I'm not seeing any glyphs. But be ready to do that, just in case I'm wrong." Korrin shrugs, not wanting to put anything past their targets even as it doesn't seem terribly likely. Once he's ready to continue, she does as well, clutching her staff in one hand and spirit blade hilt in the other. The lightning isn't the best, and that makes spotting actual traps a bit more difficult. Korrin immediately realizes a misstep when she hears a clicking noise; a pressure plate must have been triggered.

"Shit!" Casting Fade Step, she tries to blur past before caught...and if Norrington is close enough, she'll bring him along for the ride.

Making some RNG rolls to see how he does....

[judgemewhole]

"Bloody - " He moves forward, half from instinct and half from 'get out of the way get out of the way' rampant thinking. He barely - barely manages to step right into Korrin's Fade Step range and get whisked with her.

He's learned a little from all the rogues he knows, so pulls himself all the way in so he doesn't make a clattering noise when they ... shift, so they aren't letting the whole ruddy place know someone is here with a lot of armor.

"...I really dislike these people."

[gatheringstorm]

"Don't worry, you'll get a chance to show them just how much they piss you off soon enough." Korrin smiles grimly at that, looking forward to the impending beat-down. But there are a few more traps to evade before reaching those rocks, she's sure. More careful testing reveals another pressure plate, and a cleverly hidden net trap that could have lead to the end of the mission right then and there. She doesn't relax upon reaching the rocks, however, resting her hips as she inspects the climb ahead.

"Ready or not, we'd better do this before they find us first."

[judgemewhole]

"This, Korrin, is why we get along so well." James states, as he follows her as carefully as possible. He almost triggers the pressure plate, but just manages to lean the other way in time.

Now, the climb, but this at least he has trained for. Shield and sword hooked on his back, he put his hands together in prayer, to give them both a well needed boost of physical energy, to make the climb easier.

[gatheringstorm]

There's a soft snort from her at that, before she places her staff on her back and blade hilt back in its holster. "C'mon, time won't stand still. Let's see if we can emerge from this next part unscathed."

Easier said than done, as she soon finds out. The sharp rocks jutted out at angles hostile to any climber; one wrong move, and a leg or an arm could be torn open. Even with her powerful build and determination, Korrin finds herself going at a slower pace than wanted, almost slipping here and there. "Fuck, that was close...."

[judgemewhole]

James finds himself doing better on this part of the attack, if only because Templar training was rigorous in keeping one in shape. Plus, his ability helped with the fatigue of climbing in armor.

He finds himself a good outcropping, and leans sideways, to offer Korrin a hand up, to the next set of crags. "We are almost there.... "

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin nods in thanks, but doesn't spare any more effort in talking, when that could be spend ending this torturous climb. The next set goes without incident, at least for herself, and she glances over to check that her companion is making similar progress. Just a little more, and they'll be kicking ass and taking names.

Once they clear the rocks, Korrin pauses for a moment to catch her breath and glance around for signs of trouble. It seems to be quiet, but she never trusts silence. Taking her staff from her back and blade hilt in her other hand, she waits for Norrington. "Time to go crash the party. I bet they'll love us."

[judgemewhole]

"If you mean 'love' as in 'Maker's Balls, how did you get in here, then I would concur." He smirked at her, as he dropped down his helm over his face, ice coating his shield and sword.

"Shall we make our grand entrance, my Lady?"

[gatheringstorm]

"Damn right, let's do this." Korrin waits until they're close enough, then casts a Barrier spell over them both. That added layer of protection accomplished, she now fully focuses on the offensive. Charging forward, she'll cast Chain Lightning as soon as she's within range, provoking screams as the electricity courses through each target. Now it's Norrington's turn for some fun.

[judgemewhole]

So while the bandits are screaming, trying to scramble out of the way of the lightening, two of them are suddenly going to find themselves slammed right out of the way -- and into a wall with a satisfying Thud. And then another Thud.

James swings his shield around, checking it for dents, before he smirks at the gobstocked bandits, and prepares for another charge right into their ranks.

[gatheringstorm]

Thinking fast, Korrin summons a disruption field, the dome of magical energy slowing down their enemies inside. Then she blurs forward to slice at them while their reaction time is limited. Others try to stop her, but she blasts fire at them.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" The point is to send them fleeing toward their allies, so Korrin doesn't go as all out as she could...but not all of the smugglers are needed for that.

[judgemewhole]

James helps by moving to smash them all in the appropriate direction, looking like he's trying to trap them over one side of the cavern so he can finish them off, but instead pushing them right towards the tunnel leading to the ship itself. He shifts his stance, knowing that the light show will be more frightening than the actual power of it, as they aren't demons.

Just thugs.

However, a Pillar of Light from the Maker should do the trick to finish up what Korrin so delightfully started.

[gatheringstorm]

Between two unstoppable forces of nature, the resolve of their opponents seems to be fading fast. They're smugglers, not soldiers, and the relentless assault is much more than they typically handle. Of those that remain standing, most start to flee...but one tosses a pitch grenade on his way out, and another fires from their bow while Korrin is stuck.

[judgemewhole]

"Maker's Bre - " Is all that James gets out as the grenade is tossed. He isn't fast enough to get out of the way, and with his movements slowed he knows he won't be able to jump in front of Korrin in time. So with that in mind, he tosses his shield with all the slow might that he can, hoping to at least deflect the arrow with the shield itself.

[gatheringstorm]

Thanks to James' sense of timing, that's more or less what happens. Thanks to the shield's edge, the arrow doesn't reach its target, instead clinking harmlessly away. The archer tries again, but by this point, Korrin retaliates with a lightning bolt to paralyze said archer. Then she gives a nods of thanks to James.

"This shouldn't last too much longer; if it wears off first, we stand a good chance of making that one remaining asshole flee."

[judgemewhole]

"Good ... because honestly I am not entirely certain I can deflect all his arrows with my sword." James said tartly, but his eyes gleamed with challenge and perhaps a little glee. He was certainly willing to Try at least.

[gatheringstorm]

It would be an interesting challenge, but Korrin wants to keep in mind the parameters of their mission. Maybe later, they can mess around in the training area with pitch grenades when there's time to kill. For now, the Vashoth woman keeps trying to change her feet free. She places a disruption field around the archer to buy them a little more time, as well.

And then-- "Fucking finally!" The lightning bolt's effect has worn off, and the disruption field is soon to follow, so Korrin readies her staff and blade. The archer, regaining some movement, glances between the fierce horned woman and her stalwart templar companion...and turns after their companions.