The Merry Behemoth Expedition

[Shuai Chisuo]

With the cold still biting at him, Shuai had to envy his bodyguard. Though the armor Ruborudean had would increase how hard the unforgiving weather would hit someone and make it harder for them to trek through the snow, the thrall bodyguard was not affected by it at all. In fact if not for the saddle which was only on the thrall for Shuai's benefit, no doubt Shuai would end up with some difficulty in continuing the Chisuo lineage in the future. That said with Shuai's reluctance to have the bodyguard along with him but for 'official' family business such as this expedition, this turned out one of those rare moments he was glad the thrall was normally forced on him because or he would be the one walking along by himself- not going along with the search by the comforts of horseback.

In fact for the sake of increasing the efficiency of the search, it was suggested to Shuai by one of the other rangers that he allow Ruborudean to join a more mobile team. He did not need the thrall to help him around as he had other means but nonetheless Shuai refused with the excuse neither of the pair would be able to explain to the Chisuos if something happened to the other while they were apart. "If it's all the same to you, we could always..." actually no, forget making that suggestion because it would only make things tougher for him but as he still wanted to join the search, gave the wasteful suggestion that "...guard the camp if you think that me and my partner are unnecessary for the search? But that's if you think we are really going to be useless for the search which I don't think we are, are we?" An idea which was affirmed by Ruborudean- not that they were to stay in camp but that they were not going to be useless for the purposes of the search.

But truly as it was pointed out by the more experienced ranger, mobility was the bigger benefit to both Shuai and Ruborudean and so he simply said "I'd just let our leader decide where he'd rather have us. I'm quite sure my family would love it if I worked with him more because of who we serve, my partner would prefer it if we stay in camp" or no, not really since it would actually make the family look bad and other than considering his charge's safety, the bodyguard was quick to point out how important it was to maintain the family's reputation by making a more active contribution, "and I myself would like to get into some action but we are still here as part of the larger effort so it would be better if we can act accordingly and together with the person who has the overall plan in mind." The fact Rickter also brought a lot of equipment, though distributed, meant he knew how to use them best as well and Shuai was not really too keen on cracking his head on figuring the how and when to use them, if someone else could do it for him.

[Nnerka]

Well, now she had to make herself useful. The first thing the fae did, though, was assess the rangers that would come with her. Not in utility — no. Nnerka had other things in mind, like the way her stomach might churn with any measure of work she would need to do. She eyed the gear they wore; how much effort would it be to take them apart? How much effort to swaddle them into a silk ball, and have them sit in the venom from her fangs? They would be nice and fluid by the time she returned, right? But — that probably wouldn’t be a good look. Joining a rescue mission and eating the rangers that had come along.

Her attention shifted to one of the others — what was his name? Not that she hadn’t been paying attention, but primarily that she had not cared. Now, she still didn’t, but it did cause a brow to raise as he offered to stay behind and guard camp. Like that would do anything. Shirking responsibilities as soon as he had come out? Her smile had only lessened a little, leaving her still the picture of an otherwise friendly face. How exciting this one was.

“I am sure they need you scouting with the rest of us, small man.” Well, he was small, to her. Like most everyone else here. As much as could be obtained with her current form, her hands rested on her hip as she shifted weight from one side of her body to the other. Attention shifted to the rangers that would be coming with her. “And you all, will be coming with me, yes?” Her breath ghosted in the air in front of her; a momentary distraction as she attempted to formulate the vaguest of action plans.

The spider was a hunter, not a rescuer. Anything she might want to find would be for a meal, and yet — here she was. She was moving before she really thought of it. “I will look from a vantage point, if that is alright with you.” And even if it wasn’t — she would still do it. An easy pull of her frame up a tree without hesitation or wait for response.

[Rickter]

Rickter's focus was more on the volunteers gathered before him now, for they were in extreme hazardous conditions under his protection. He could only hope the preparations they'd made prior to this would help, because weathering that storm would not be easy on them for a while. Thus the wolf paid each one special mind when they checked in, Urs being the first that he eyed diligently with patience. Urs had taken the time to prepare for this trip as well, Rickter could see that with the gear he wore down to the smell of aetheric concoctions in his luggage. Alchemy truly marveled the wolf. Needless to say he grew a confident look toward the scholar, and nodded when he confirmed the team he would be scouting with.

"Aye, the Captains of your squads know their duties. Stick around for a moment, Urs, I'll have something for you to carry along when you dispatch." He assured the scholar with a brief pad on the man's shoulder, before giving his attention to Shuai and his bodyguard. Pavilion tents were already being strewn up as the base camp was being set up in short work, and it seemed as though he had a brief disagreement with one of the ranger's suggestions. From what he understood the volunteer and his bodyguard were a pair, which, Rickter understood the necessity of that since he did urge them to come prepared. Needless to say, the wolf eyed the boy curiously when he started to suggest something, but then canceled his own thought for whatever reason.

"We could??" The wolf inquired with a couple of nods of his head, patience still in his voice as he waited for Shuai to finish that thought. What he suggested was being a guard within the camp? Initially, the wolf raised his eyebrows by that suggestion, curious if the young lad knew just how essential he was to the cause. Even Nnerka had the balls to suggest what they'd all come here for, not just the rangers that would help protect them along the way. "Now Nnerka, he'll see how important his role is soon enough." The wolf highlighted as he started to reach into the side pouch of his bag, before pausing to listen to what the boy had to add afterward.

Respectively he nodded with a contemplative thought, and a passing Hannah couldn't help but giggle when she noticed it. "There'll be plenty of action, mate, trust me on that." Right as he resumed reaching into the pocket Nnerka flexed her diva muscle before climbing up the tree, to which the wolf sighed immediately when he straightened back up. "For fuck's sake..." He muttered to himself before his voice raised just enough to a higher call. "Stay low for a minute Nnerka, before you go, put this around your neck!" Taking something from the hand he'd dipped earlier, a chained necklace with a round Mnemonosyte stone glowing softly within the snowfall. He waited there for her to take it, and hopeful that she'd bother to listen to the details of it at least.

Once taken he'd then distribute the other two between Urs and Shuai, and then the last one toward another Captain of the Rangers when she approached the group. "As mentioned the captains know their duties on this expedition, so ours is to aid their endeavors to the best of our abilities. These lorestones that you're wearing around your neck? They transmit a signal back toward a beacon here at camp so while you're out there surveying, you're also giving us insight as to what is out there. Rest assured the moment danger strikes, my team and I will be ready to assist you at a moment's notice." He looked among the two that were down there and then to the Captain at his side. "Be mindful of your surroundings, and work alongside your units. The sooner we find our missing person, the sooner we can all pack up and go home."

He assured them with a hopeful grin as he felt the breeze in the air, snow particles already stuck in his hair and beard as he nodded to them all. "Good luck. And remember we're with you." He encouraged before moving to help setup the remaining tents, as well as stocking them with their stored resources.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah"

[Aegis]

Now that the teams and duties had been decided, the Rangers wasted no time in moving out. Lotus Team, which included Urs, took a sector to the southeast of camp. Snowdrop Team, including Nnerka, took a sector south-by-southeast of camp, with Bluebell Team, including Shuai, took the southwest sector. Lilac Team went south-by-southwest, and Dogwood Team, including Rickter, took the southern sector, giving him a central location among the search parties.

Dogwood Team took the due south sector. Their route led through a large, empty, white plain. The visibility from the blizzard was already low, but this endless existence of nothing but so yielded not even the distant blurry shapes of forest or mountain. Once the camp was out of sight, the world was split between the dazzling white of the ground and the grey of the sky above, and the falling snow between made for blurring the distinction. The winds were incredibly powerful here, whipping back and forth, finding any little opening to pierce through and bring the frigidity and bite of the winter. The scouts informed Rickter that due to the lack of landmarks, this would be incredibly slow in searching for the airship. Wreckage would already be covered here, and snow appeared to be accumulating faster here than elsewhere. And, just barely through the winds of the storm, Rickter would be able to hear a slight, metallic whining noise that seemed to be growing generally closer, though it would be hard to tell if it was directly toward him and the team or not.

Bluebell Team took the southwest sector. After a long and arduous hike through the growing heaps of snow, one of the older rangers had to catch Shuai by the arm, just before he took a step into a deep ravine. The winds here were howling and screeching as they whipped about violently. "Careful mate. I almost missed it myself," in a gruff voice. It had been impossible to see until they were right on top of it. But now, there at the ravine's edge, they could see that it extended as far as their limited vision could make out, in both directions from their place. It was wide, "Wide enough to lose an airship in. Might actually be good shelter for a captain to set down in." The ranger gathered up the team, looking at Shuai, "Half of our sector is on the other side of this ravine. We can try to go around, or try to climb down, explore it, then climb out the other side. We can split up or stick together. What do you think?"

No flares had been sent up yet by Lilac Team, who had taken the south-by-southwest route.

Snowdrop Team took the south-by-southeast route. It was a hike, increasing in elevation, rocky, with a smattering of trees. The wind was less severe here, the snow less deep. The trees and underbrush would make for less straight lines of travel and reduced distant visibility, though the midrange and closer sights were more clear due to it. Eventually one of the scouts would inform the group that she'd found a cave, a large one. The group convened together, the rangers discussing the details they'd found so far. It appeared that half of that sector was still left to be searched, but the cave was an unexpected find. Looking to Nnerka, "A cave would be good shelter for survivors. Do we explore the cave as a group, finish the sector as a group, or split up to do both?"

Lotus Team took the southeast route. This one was the rockiest and highest in elevation of them all, with dense forest growing over it. The hike would be arduous, and treacherous, and slow. The team would have to follow various animal trails to avoid injury and those were often winding. However, as they came around one bend, ahead on the trail, they would see a section of the forest where the trees appeared to be gone, many yards across and went for as far as visibility would allow in this storm. A quick dig into the snow revealed stumps that were spiky and jagged, trees laying under the snow nearby. The scouts gathered up, "It's hard to tell what caused this. It could be winds, it could be an airship coming down hard. We could try to scour this area, or continue searching the other half of our sector? Stick together or split up?" This was asked to Urs as the scouts looked on.

[Rickter]

When met with his team for the search party Rickter greeted them with a firm nod, determined to make sure he was fully prepped for the trek ahead. Out there in the wilderness they would be exposed to the elements, and all the dangers of the world if they weren't careful about it. Therefore the wolf took it upon himself to make sure his other companions, Telion and Hannah, were ready as well in the event action needed to be taken back at base camp. Afterward the wolf setout with Team Dogwood into the open space, soon feeling the cold breezes once they left the safety of the wards in place.

Before too long those breezes were backed by frigid gusts, warning the wolf that they were now headed into the thick of the blizzard, with minimal to no coverage other than whatever resources they brought with him. He'd made sure to pack a Pyrolith shard in the event he'd need one, as well as an Illumite wand for his own signal flares, but already started focusing on honing his aether reserves while the team slowly made headway. Covering ground was not going to be easy for them at this rate, not with the winds beating down on them and threatening to freeze everyone. Between the Skyforged Raiment and the natural defenses of his body temperature, due to Deference and his Rathari half-blood, the bitter cold didn't threaten him as severely as it did those around him.

Therefore as they carried on Rickter made sure those on his team were relatively together, their search already fanned out to cover a bit more ground in the southward direction they were headed. Against a blizzard of this magnitude his shields were useless on a large scale, but the least he could do was prepare a few for those he searched with. Immediately after they had spread out to cover more ground, Rickter's attention shifted between his immediate team members, and then down to the lorestone beacon that remained in his left hand. The others had began their advance into the storm as well, Shuai already about to fall off a damn cliff when Rickter observed his end of the feed. "Fuckin' gods..." He murmured before pressing a thumb on one of the flat panels beneath the lorestone, seeing that Nnerka and her team were scouring a forested area several clicks away.

Urs seemed to be doing fine on his end, for the time being, so Rickter returned his gaze back to those around him; doing a brief survey of the area around him to make sure all the other rangers out there hadn't released any flares. No signals and no whistles, which was to be expected since they had only started making tracks. Carrying on with the group it looked as though the plains ahead of them were endless, with hardly anything to obstruct the winds and snow that blanketed the area. "This shit's worse than any other storm I've seen." He admitted to himself in recollecting upon the blizzards throughout the year. Kalzasi has always been cold and of all the snowstorms throughout the year, this one by far was the worst he had ever had to endure. Without magic or any gear to accommodate for this, he would've certainly been severely tested against the elements.

Within the winds that battered the team the wolf craned his head for a moment, his ears picking up on something in the distance that didn't sound normal. Was that whirring? It sounded like metal groaned somewhere further up ahead, but the snowfall clouded so much of the area that visibility remained poor. He could only hope that it was a sign, and a good one at that, related to what they had come out here for. "Captain, Soraka!" One of the rangers called out above the roaring winds, the wolf quickly looking to the pair that had started to kneel and uncover snow. "We found something!"

Pressing closer to reach the two Rickter met with the Captain to observe what they'd uncovered, as a royal insignia resided within the layers of snow beneath them. It was the House Novalys star but catered to a more personal coat of arms, likely belonging to Kisorika, with a pair of bloodstains frozen in the snow around it. "Looks like someone was here." Though with the temperatures it was hard to say since they couldn't determine how long ago the bloodstains were left.

"They were at least." Rickter weighed in as he focused on the bloodstains, channeling aether into his nostrils as he activated the Rune of Semblance on his back. With such little practice, it was difficult to glean anything substantial from both of them, however, the wolf could detect residual traces within them to distinguish one thing at least. "One male... One female. There were two people here." He pointed out as he looked from the ground toward the captain next to him. "What do you think the odds are Kisorika's found shelter if she's been injured?" The inquiry came with a concerned look.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah"

[Shuai Chisuo]

Seems like there was a misunderstanding with Shuai's disagreement but while those wanting to prove themselves would surely argue, Shuai knew that his actions would would reflect everything he had said and, action also meant the chance to punch some Zaichaeri scumbag in the face which would solve all issues- all of them. Shuai took a quick look at the necklace and simply nodded before putting it around the neck as working a lot with the dragonshard meant he already knew what they were for and roughly how he could mess with it if he really needed any privacy. "Well then..." he said after the briefing was concluded, quickly jumping right on his bodyguard's back and pointing right ahead for the team leader in front to follow. No words were necessary between the pair if it was that much.

While initially it had been easy to follow along, all thanks to his bodyguard doing most of the work in their travels with Shuai being quite proud he had the foresight to shield the other's hooves to get through the snow, the only thing which should be credited really, all that work became for naught when even the weather had it really hard for Ruborudean to trudge along and the cold became a little too much for Shuai to tolerate despite the Pyrolyth. Hence the new arrangement of the bodyguard continuing without the extra baggage and said baggage walking closely beside him so the thrall could bear the brunt of the elements. As Shuai considered whether or not to make another shield just for him, no matter what it would mean to the other nearby or, get some help from some of the local elements, his distraction nearly had him fall into a ravine. At least the rangers were actually good right about now and decent company so Shuai despite the earlier challenge did not even pause to express his appreciation for the other's quick actions which prevented him from falling down below.

Not that it would matter much because seeing how deep down it was, if Shuai was quick enough he would be able to recover quick enough on his own. How exactly? Acknowledging that the possibility of the airship being down there is sound, Shuai continued to volunteer "I'll fly down there to check it out, pass me one of those Illumite Wands in case I need you guys rushing down and make sure my bodyguard doesn't slip and fall in there to follow me, yeah?" Obviously that was a confusing statement until Shuai kicked into his halberd for a steady descent down the ravine, keeping to the walls of it just in case there are other peo- things watching which may not be too friendly and having his shield inside out as he hugged his weapon in a poor attempt to blend in with the darkness of it. His other hand sliding along the ravine walls so he could sense if anything in waiting which had the same idea he did, which was to hide in there too.

[Aegis]

REVIEW TIME

The Expedition to locate the Merry Behemoth in time was not fruitful, but also not a complete failure. Urs and the Lotus Team found the crash site, and recovered a handful of survivors who had been left behind because their injuries were too grave to move them with the rest of the group to a safer location. A few healthier soldiers stayed behind to care for and defend the injured. Twelve were found, seven of those managed to survive. It was known that Urs was leading the rescue team and Kalzasi awarded Urs with an open invitation to the throne, effectively giving him the ability to make a direct ask of how to be rewarded for his efforts.

Team Dogwood and Rickter managed to find Kisorika’s insignia and followed a trail to a location where a dragon had lain and a large amount of blood had been spilled. But neither Kisorika nor her dragon had been located. The failure of Rickter in the eyes of the crown resulted in his banishment upon returning to Kalzasi.

Bluebell Team and Shuai explored the ravine but came up largely empty handed. Shuai was given 200 gold avens for his help but no commendations.

Snowdrop Team and Nnerka managed to get separated from one another and they were ambushed by the Zaichaeri “Trackless Train”. Several members were captured and taken back to Zaichaer, two were killed. Nnerka and one other managed to make it back, largely to not having been discovered in the blizzard. Nnerka was given 200 gold avens for her help, but no commendations.

Many days later after the blizzard subsided, search teams found the location of where the remainder of the crew had sought shelter. Several bodies were found and obvious signs of trouble. The Zaichaeri forces had found them first. It seemed many had been captured and those that had been killed had been stripped of all belongings and left to the elements.

The status of the captured soldiers is still unknown to this day. The status of Kisorika and her dragon is still unknown to this day.

Ricky
Lores:
10 Skill Lores

Loot: +1 Banishment from Kalzasi (overturned later obv but slow finish )
Injuries: wounded pride?

Points:
12 Points, May be used for negation or semblance

Comments: shame we couldn’t see this to the end but it was truly a delight to see Rickter taking charge and coordinating the efforts. I hope to see more of that moving forward!

Urs Wardell
Lores:
8 Skill Lores

Loot: 1 Audience to the Crown of Kalzasi to ask for a reward for locating and helping to save survivors.

Injuries: None

Points:
10 Points, May not be used for magic

Comments: Would have been nice to see this to finish but I enjoyed writing with you and seeing Urs, hopefully we can do it again next time, and see it through.

Shuai
Lores:
8 Skill Lores

Loot: 200 GP
Injuries: None

Points:
10 points, may not be used for magic.

Comments: Looking forward to the next time we write and I hope we can see it to the end.

Nnerka

Lores:
4 Skill Lores

Loot: 200 GP
Injuries: None

Points:
5 Skill Points, cannot be used for magic

Comments: Looking forward to our next time writing together.