[WORLD ONE | UVI ATTACK]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The Uvi and coven members
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 32 & 33
Open/Closed: Open to All

For coven members who haven't been in Aimintas very long, the panic of the Palai the past few days may seem like overkill. The day goes by rather quietly and Aimintas looks like a ghost town throughout the morning and most of the afternoon. Not one Palai can be seen, with shops closed and the roads virtually empty, aside from coven members. It isn't until the sky is turning a nice shade of pink that things begin. Observant people who may be gazing up at the ocean will see the very small dots in the sky that begin to approach at a very quick speed. If you're outside, you may get to see the Uvi up close -- but perhaps not for very long. The Uvi have rubbery bones, and they hit the dirt in a curled up position, unrolling themselves and leaping up on long, scaled legs. The shortest Uvi might come in at five feet tall, but most range from six to seven. They're lithe and gilled -- you may think they want to rely on stealth, but the sound coming out of their gills is very loud and raspy. There's no way you can't hear them coming as the ominous and rapid noise follows them everywhere. Some of them are walking around empty handed, eyes scanning and striding up to buildings, banging on the outside and observing the inside of the house as much as they possibly can. Others are carrying large, bleached tools made of fish bone and teeth. Some look like long blades, while others look like long axes. These are used for cutting into doors and other violent tasks they feel the need to complete. A ▢ If your character is wandering the streets, whether of their own ignorance or because they're part of the team trying to protect/negotiate with the Palai, they're very likely to run into one of the Uvi. While left to their own devices they'll only be focused on sniffing out Palai, but they're committed to going after anything they see alive and moving. If your character confronts the Uvi, they better be prepared for an attack. B ▢ Alternatively, maybe your character is caught outside and ill-equipped to handle the Uvi. Running is an option! ...But they better be able to run fast. Maybe your character gets lucky enough to run into someone who can help them, but they'd best hope they find each other fast. C ▢ Your character may also be committed to love and justice, fighting the forces of evil with good. It's very unlikely that Palai blood goes unspilled tonight, but your character may be able to prevent it as much as possible. Just be warned: if they confront the Uvi who are trying to break into a Palai house, they're going to be in for a fight. D ▢ Other characters may already be hiding, whether in the coven house or with Palai in their own homes. They'll hear the Uvi's harsh, gasping breathing before they see them, but if they do hear that raspy noise, they'd better be quick thinkers. Whether the Uvi visiting turns into a brawl or a blood bath, eventually the Uvi will return to the ocean with Palai bodies in tow. At around 4 AM, the Uvi begin to shriek, some making noises that are too high pitched for most ears to hear. From the sky, large flying fish descend from the sky and find their masters. The Palai are hoisted onto the back of these creatures and they take off, flying back into the ocean. E ▢ If your character is committed to defeating the Uvi, they may want to try and target the large fish they'll be flying out of. It's possible to kill them in the air, but watch where they fall. They're incredibly large -- larger than the sharks and bigger fish that have fallen out of the sky before. They can also be killed on the ground, but you'll also have to do with their protective Uvi owners. F ▢ Maybe your character is more into the idea of following the Uvi back home. It's possible! Once the Uvi breach the ocean, they swim fast through the dark water for miles and miles. The journey is treacherous, and some may stop the trek to attack in the water where they're more at home. If your character makes it to their lair, they'll find that it's a dense wad of seaweed that stays static in the ocean. The Uvi are used to the toxicity of the leaves, but trying to enter means touching these leaves that leave large, skin-melting welts as they grow and burst. G ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

A

[guerrilla]

["I should've brought something better to bait the traps with," he said. "I don't know if fish people are gonna fall for these," he said.]

These guys sure don't mess around, huh.

[And rather than help him come up with a quick facsimile of a Palai to lure the Uvi over, Hakuno had selflessly, recklessly volunteered and run off before Robin could even tell her that would be Plan B at best.

Well, it seems to be working well enough, if the crossbow bolt mercilessly fired into the Uvi's head as it reaches for the tiny flying squirrel is any indication. Robin can tell by the fact that his mana supply hasn't been cut off that Hakuno is fine, but he still reaches toward her anyway, inviting her to clamber up into his hand for a moment. They need to strategize.]

We have to move. It looks pretty suspicious at this point.

[Four dead Uvi on top of one another is definitely going to be a problem for hunting anything else wanting a side serving of squirrel.]

[sealeted]

[She leaps from a bloodied head to his fingers, scaling his arm and tucking herself between his shoulder and cloak so both his hands can stay free. Just in case.

He may or may not feel her tiny heart thrumming with adrenaline through his collar.]

Yeah. Should I stay as a human longer next time?

[guerrilla]

[Without really thinking about it, Robin reaches into one of the hidden pockets inside his cloak and pulls out a sunflower seed, offering it to Hakuno wordlessly. He's used to having a little creature that eats seeds perched on his shoulder, even if it's usually a bird.]

Up to you, really, but I like the idea of my Master as a smaller target to hit.

[Though on the other hand, it turns a bite wound into being swallowed whole. There are downsides to both of them.]

You haven't seen any Palai around here, have you?

[It's unrealistic to expect that every Palai will be safe, but Robin can at least do what he can to protect the ones in the immediate vicinity.]

[sealeted]

[My Master.

It's a little thing, still new and frankly a bit strange, but it makes her feel a flutter of warmth all the same. She takes the seed thoughtlessly, cracking it open with a practiced ease she has no reason to have and nibbling as she thinks.]

No. I've been keeping them away from the doors, though, just in case some of them are being very quiet and hiding at home.

[guerrilla]

Good.

[He's been keeping an eye out for them himself, but it seems the Palai are so used to this, they've gotten very good at hiding. On one hand, that's a good thing; it means they understand how to maximize their chances for survival.

On the other hand, it's horrific that they've had enough practice to get good at hiding from the Uvi.]

One of them really wanted my cloak, you know. He didn't even know what it did.

[He wonders if that one's okay.]

...Well, these fishfaces aren't gonna kill themselves. I'm gonna move, okay? Hold on if you need to.

[He's looking for slightly better ground, somewhere that wouldn't be an obvious spot to lay a trap. A simple pitfall, something he could easily reset, would be ideal. Ambushes like what they've been doing so far are working well enough, but having to move every handful of Uvi killed isn't really efficient. If he asked Hakuno to provide a diversion long enough for him to set something up would doubtlessly result in a well-executed trap, but he doesn't dare endanger his Master that flagrantly. Maybe a tripwire would suffice, as long as there was enough time in between Uvi encounters...]

I might have to do a little bit of recon, too, so start looking for good places to hide.

[He hasn't shown Hakuno his own bit of magic yet, but he can't deny that having an aerial view of the place would be great for coming up with a strategy.]

[sealeted]

It's a comfy cloak.

[Or at least, it feels comfy right now. She has yet to wrap herself up in it in her normal form, after all, so it's hard to say for sure. She hunkers down and grasps tightly so she isn't shaken off, as advised, but takes the opportunity to properly admire his swiftness now that it's finally not being used against her.

...he's also smart not to even voice that suggestion as a joke, because Hakuno absolutely would do it.]

Got it. Luckily, I'm small; I've got plenty of options.

[guerrilla]

[After finding an area he thinks is suitable to put something together, he has to look to see if there are any Uvi in the area who might stumble on him while he works.]

...Okay. Go find somewhere to hunker down for a minute. I can't really protect you while I'm...doing what I'm about to do.

[He gives her a vaguely perturbed look, adding as an afterthought:]

Don't laugh too much.

[Once Hakuno has found a safe place to hide, Robin transforms too - into a tiny, harmless bluebird, about the same size as Hakuno's squirrel form - and flutters a little clumsily into the sky to get an aerial view of the area.]

[sealeted]

...oh.

[She takes refuge in a little space between a roof and a drain system for collecting rainwater, recently cleansed of fish guts, thankfully. She keeps one eye peeled for any sudden developments, and as such literally cannot miss his little display.]

Look at that. We match.

[guerrilla]

I'm just glad I'm not the only one stuck with something lame.

[Transformation is cool, but why harmless animals like squirrels and bluebirds...]

Master. If you're not already certain you're in a good hiding spot, find one. There's an Uvi incoming.

[Sure enough, one of them turns the corner, searching for wayward Palai to abduct. Before it gets the chance, Robin turns as sharply as a songbird can - and once he's about ten feet above the Uvi's head, he undoes the transformation, dropping onto it from above and neatly driving a crossbow bolt through the back of its skull.]

...There are a lot more than I thought there would be.

[He sounds nervous. Picking them off one by one is manageable, but if he ever runs into two at once, it'll be trouble.]

[sealeted]

Wow, excuse you, there's nothing lame about this. I love my new power.

[She gets to glide around, people cary her everywhere, her bed is astronomically bigger and more luxurious when she's in that form...]

...I don't suppose there's an empty house we could bring down on them around here?

[guerrilla]

......

[It's a good idea, and one that occurred to him too. But people are still living in those houses. They're ridiculous lizard people, to be sure, but...people nonetheless. They seem to expect houses to be ransacked and ruined, if the amount of empty ones is any indication. It would be easy enough to blame the collapse on the Uvi, or to tell them it was necessary.

It's a good idea. Naturally, that means he hates it.]

...If we could figure out a way to get them to think there's a Palai inside, I bet they'd all come running.

[Preferably not literally all of them, though...]