[cue poor unfortunate souls, or something]

[rebells]

Who: RECON TEAM ASSEMBLE
Where: the toxic seaweed Uvi lair
When: backdated to early Day 33 (8/9)
Open/Closed: if your character can fly and would gatecrash, go for it! otherwise ping prospit and I'll see what I can do for you.

[The flying fish were not precisely expected, but at that sign that the Uvi are preparing to head back to their base, it's time for TEAM RECON to assemble. Members would at least vaguely know one another and may have made tentative ride-sharing plans, but people have undoubtedly gotten mixed up during the night of fighting and there may also be one or two late additions . . . .

Either way, Jay can act as telepathic intermediary if you can't fly and need to hitch a ride. Time for a fishing expedition . . . ?]


((INK IS DECLARING THIS POST THREADJACK-FRIENDLY BY DEFAULT please be courteous and ping if people are off in their own extended thread but otherwise go wild!))

Comments

HITCH A RIDE / OFFER A RIDE

[rebells]

ON THE ROAD / SKIRMISHING

[rebells]

[So the Uvi are probably not happy about a bunch of coven members following them back . . . that is to say, we might get attacked. Once or twice. A few times.]

AT THE LAIR

[rebells]

[The lair itself is a huge, dense mass of seaweed, comparable in size to Aimintas itself . . . there's not much sign of Palai-esque civilization, however.

The seaweed is toxic and will leave "large, skin-melting welts."]

[rebells]

[Jay himself can be found near the edge of the city, looking up at the retreating Uvi and around for--someone, it isn't clear who, but he may be more of a presence via telepathy, as he sends out a message to all the members of the recon team:]

Time to move. If you need someone to carry you up, give me your location and I'll send you to the nearest person who can fly.

[splinten]

So I'm a taxi service now?

[It's the thought before Dirk's presence; swooping down from the air and then dropping in front of Jay.]

Piggyback, princess, or potato sack. Your choice.

[rebells]

I did say piggyback was fine, didn't I?

[He seems incredibly awkward about this whole 'carrying' affair, for some reason.]

And I don't actually know what a taxi service is, but yes.

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo, dragon-shaped and possibly carrying one or two of the party, hisses in frustration as the Uvi vanish into their seaweed lair, taking a futile swipe at the last one with his claws. he misses, and the hissing turns into an angry snarl of pain as he jerks his foot back. it's not as well-protected as the rest of his body, and there's a welt forming along the side of it already, the skin under the small scales swelling and reddening.]

No part of this was going to be easy, I suppose...! Who's got abilities that can help get through this?

[oneandmikleonly]

[there is a very eye-catching dragon here if you want a fancy ride, angling a wing out from his body so someone (you!) can brace a foot and swing yourself onto the part of his back that has no spines]

C'mon, up you get. We'll need to go fast.

[rebells]

I don't, but you know that already.

[He sounds annoyed; this is not a good moment to be reminded of his largely useless power.]

What would be helpful? Something to shrivel or blast them away . . . armor to get through . . . is it some sort of toxin?

[oneandmikleonly]

That seems reasonable, for it to be a toxin? Ugh, it burns.

[he drifts back slightly from the mass of weed to get his breath, wings fanning in dreamy slow motion against the current; the bubble of clear air he's built to keep himself and his passengers breathing has started to shrink a bit while he was distracted, and he reinforces it again hastily]

Yours might not be useless? There might be something you can make them feel that makes them come out again, or at least keeps them from attacking us as we try to enter.

[andsobelow]

[ Carla considers taking off her armor. It could be a huge detriment while trying to swim, but as she watches others get their ugly welts... well. She's clearly going to need it. The beetle plate armor she wears is sturdy but fairly light weight, she is more of a ranger type than a knight, she needs movement and breathability over impenetrability. She'll have to swim harder in the dark glimmering armor, but when has she ever shied away from hard work? ]

( I'll open as wide a path as I can. )

[ Maybe not dragon wide, but she should be able to get some of the other people inside. ]

[rebells]

I'd need to touch them. [But speaking of--to Carla:] I can try it if you open a path--anything else we should attempt?

[Any powers that might be useful, mostly, he means.]

[andsobelow]

( Not mine. )

[ She needs to make that clear now, before they go any further: that she won't share what it is, that she won't use it, that no one should look to her for magicks.

She's willing to swim into these poisonous weeds, but she is not willing to accept her power. ]

[oneandmikleonly]

[he cocks his head at her in reptile askance, but -- this isn't the time to inquire, perhaps]

If you open a path, I can freeze it so it stays open for a bit...it won't go far, though. My range isn't wide.

[a big chunk of power is already going into the manipulation of water to get and keep people here, too; he has to keep some back for the return trip. he's a water seraph, not a god.]

Anyone else--?

[needmetoo]

[Xion hesitates before speaking, but not as much as she might have had the situation not been so urgent. They'd talked about it before too.]

It's... if it's something to do with water, I can try. If you can show me how to.

[rebells]

Right. She opens a path, you two freeze it, I'll go in and see if calming them down works at all. Anyone else who goes in should prepare to be attacked if that doesn't work, at the very least.

[And they might want to go on the offensive, is left unspoken.]

We might also want to find some way to take samples, but anyone who stays behind can handle that.

[andsobelow]

( How long, before we approve the offensive? )

[ She's not trying to hide what she's really here for, at all. ]

[lunala]

I can help. Well, maybe not me, but-- [Moon gestures to Nebby, still out of its Pokeball.] Nebby knows ice beam. I don't know if I can do anything with ice...

[lunala]

[If anyone would like to take the giant bat monster express, Moon is waiting for anyone who would like to accompany her.] I can take two or three people up with me, depending on how big they are.

[deem]

[9S has listened to this discussion long enough that it seems appropriate, perhaps, to speak up]

If we need a wider path, I can use my sword. My only concern is that if they're cut loose, these plants will drift...but if they're frozen, that should lessen the risk of direct contact.

[Provided they want a path large enough for, say, a dragon]

[deem]

[It's impossible to tell, what with the opaque nature of his goggles, but 9S is certainly staring up at this reptile right about now. He's never seen a dragon before, and yet there's some small measure of recognition if only because he's seen a very crudely rendered drawing of one]

...You're a dragon.

[Look, some things simply need be said here. But if this guy can talk in his head, then that means he's one of them? Who knew dragons were capable of human speech? Not this unit, that's for sure]

Um...I'm a little on the heavy side. I'm not gonna injure you, am I?

[rebells]

Try it. [Though this is said with a backward glance to Mikleo, for confirmation.]

Carla first, then the Pokemon. Can you tell it to follow her? [This to Moon; he doesn't want the little girl out front in the weeds of it, if he can help it.] The rest of us follow.

[cadventuretime]

[Oh, that thing is SWEEEET.]

Shotgun!

[oneandmikleonly]

As long as we're targeting the water around them to encase them, it should be all right...it didn't start burning until we touched it directly.

[he hovers at the ready]

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo wrinkles his nose at 9S, which makes a weird expression on a reptile face but is his attempt at a smile]

I'm only shaped like this once in a while. I can carry a reasonably large weight with no problems, but if you're heavier than a normal human, then...

[he's not worried about injury, but he does lower himself almost all the way down to a lying position, so 9S won't have to climb up him and possibly pull him over, in the weird magic equivalent of tipping a vending machine]

Try now.