Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Mon Aug 07, 2023 1:33 pm**

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

Kay found some small relief in knowing that they weren't completely outmatched, and quite honestly, she certainly didn't have the guts to commit such an act against nature. Some might consider her soft for that but Kayleigh had never hunted animals, not when she hardly had reason to before leaving her home at least. It was undoubtedly a risky situation and one that Imogen likely didn't wish to deal with, but for the safety of everyone back at camp, Kay felt confident that dispatching the feathered beast was best. At this rate anyhow.

The bookworm did her best to try and come up with a plan of her own, uncertain where she'd be helpful to the cause, other than perhaps luring the massive condor in closer somehow. That thought terrified her greatly though, since the idea of getting pecked at by a massive beak wasn't appealing at all. That or those talons would probably rake at her, which also didn't cater to the imagination at all when Kayleigh thought about it. And then, the vacancy in Imogen's eyes seemed alight with an idea.

"You've thought of something?" Sure enough she did. And the deliverance of it fell with immediate bad news from the get-go. "I- what?!" That was when she realized Imogen had looked a little funny just now, her head tilted and eyes completely out of alignment. Was that normally something the Orkhan did? It would've undoubtedly set Kay's nerves into a jitter, that is, if her heart wasn't already pounding from the sudden development of this plan unfolding between them.

"Seriously!?" The bookworm remarked at the last bit of insight, baffled by the tip of ducking as that seemed a rather easy thing to deduce. But when the woman smiled and shrank into her very clothes, Kayleigh had to remind herself to breathe the moment she realized she was alone. Well. Appeared alone anyway. Her eyes moved from the pile of clothes toward the soaring condor, the feathered beast making a steady change in the flight pattern, and flying in closer to the nest now that only Kay remained visible. "Bloody mages..." She muttered before turning to run, seeing that there was only one real place to run to of course.

The bookworm made a break for the large egg within the nest, desperate to close the distance between it and her so that she might seek shelter from the condor. Well, not that she would find shelter with it, but something told her hiding close to it would suffice. If the feathered fiend above were ready to raze the nest apart for her, then so be it, Kayleigh would see to it that the egg remained her only defense until otherwise. The beat of wings unleashed softer gusts compared to before, marking the approach of the condor as Kayleigh about ran straight into the large shell.

Oh please, she beckoned to whatever powers out there might hear her thoughts, let this work! As she pressed her back into the egg, Kayleigh squinted her eyes and used a hand to shield them from the wind. She waited as the Condor almost landed, until Imogen might strike the moment the Ork had found her opening.

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

Posted: **Thu Aug 17, 2023 8:17 pm**

The condor made landfall at the edge of its nest with its eyes fixed on her, huge orange eyes narrowing to black pupils, each the size of one of Kayleigh's hands. Even if she'd brought a gun, the hulking bird would hardly have noticed the caster shells. Deprived of its mystic, buffeting winds, the monster was more than muscular enough to rip the young woman in half using only beak and talons.

The creature stalked forward slowly, its pace almost leisurely. Perhaps it was still concerned for its egg, unwilling to make any sudden moves that might knock the fragile treasure from its high perch? If so, that was a double-edged blessing. As deliberately as it stalked Kayleigh, she had no doubt that it would not retreat now. If the bird did not think of her as prey before, it was sure she was a threat now.

The lunge came suddenly. Natural tendencies lead one to picture large creatures as slow and plodding; in civilization, the only large creatures one was regularly exposed to were docile, herd animals and the like. This thing moved like lightning, crossing the space between them in the next in the time it took Kayleigh to blink twice, its curved beak aimed at her legs, trying to knock her down without cracking the shell of its own egg.

But as quickly as the condor approached, it stopped. The young scholar could smell its rotten breath washing over her as its head jerked upright and away. It jerked again, wobbling, then a third time. And then it fell.

When the bird fell over, Kayleigh could at last see the reason; its back was pierced by four spears, each one awash in a nimbus of pale white fire. The shafts disintegrated as it crashed to the nest, its body coming to rest against its own egg, which tipped precipitously. Within seconds, the weapons had broken into motes of light and faded to nothing, the only sign of their passing the burnt holes in the creature's breast and back.

It lay there for a moment, seemingly killed in an instant... before it shifted. The huge bird jolted, shifting from side to side, and one of its wings lifted sluggishly.

"I imagine," came a muffled voice from beneath the wing, "Something this heavy needs that elemental magic just to keep itself airborne. Heaviest bird I've ever seen, and that's Raxen's own truth."

A few more shoves, and Imogen managed to free herself from the bird, rolling out from under the wing. She looked quite disheveled- she'd managed to get trousers back on, but both her head and one of her arms was protruding through the collar, while the other hadn't managed to find either arm. After wriggling free, the Orkhan witch resettled her garment, managing a near return to presentability (save for all the grime, feathers and tiny sticks still covering her).

"Phew!" she exclaimed, "That's better. Sorry for making you bait, but nothing better came to mind just now."

Imogen brushed some of the debris off her forearms and sidled over to the edge of the nest, peering down the steep drop.

"Going to be nasty to get the bird down, though, unless you happen to favor ground chicken. Or scrambled egg."

Posted: **Sun Sep 17, 2023 1:17 am**

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

The sight of the enormous predator had already terrorized Kay to a near standstill, her heartbeat drumming hard in her chest as she hugged her entire back against the outer shell behind her. Not that clinging to the egg was going to actually protect her, one swipe of those massive talons or precise pluck with a beak, and that condor could easily shred her in two with a mere whim. That was probably why the bookworm was so scared right now, knowing she was helpless and stood no chance against such a creature.

Thus the creature made its move, which caused Kay to gasp before turning her head aside. She did not wish to see the end that likely assailed her, hoping that Imogen would cut in at the opportune time she'd found. As soon as the putrid stench from its throat had wailed her, Kayleigh grimaced hard to avoid gagging in response to the assault. Yet if it were just that, then she would be thankful after the fact. The dramatic reeling of the oversized bird's head led her to stare in wonder. Sheer horrified wonder before the creature finally seemed to keel over, and show no further signs of life after whatever gods awful pain it experienced.

While the bookworm wasn't sure how she also felt she didn't want to know either, Imogen had managed to dispatch it effectively with impeccable sufficiency. In good time as well, Kayleigh feared what might've happened if the beast had actually gotten close enough to knock her down. "Heavens forbid." She then muttered to herself with a handful of hair scrunched at the front side of her head. The muffled sound of Imogen came from beneath one of the wings, which led the bookworm to eye the dead creature alarmingly, if only to relax when she realized the Orkhan had released herself.

"Not so surprising, avians usually rely on wind anyway in order to fly." Be it the wind they rode naturally or the wind which they created with their wings. But the sheer size of this bird definitely would've implied a heavy reliance on the wind magic, which led Kay to question the circumstances of its very evolution. Whether it was merely a biological or environmental one, and if such a thing was prevalent enough with the rest of the wildlife found here. The chances as they were did not prove favorable to Kayleigh. Either way, she could visibly relax now, even chuckle a bit as her heart still raced from the excitement of it all.

"Not the most ideal tactic but one that worked nonetheless." She remarked with her hands reaching out to help Imogen, pulling off the extra feathers and sticks that clung to her from the nest. When the Ork looked down from the heights they were at, it became apparent that she didn't have any sort of magic to help get their food to the ground. The thought of either two she implied did merit a brief giggle out of Kayleigh, before she tilted her head and looked from the glade floor to the beach beyond the tree canopy.

"Well, we could always ask one of the others if they might have magic. Seems to be the best way for getting anything done here." She admitted with a bit of reluctance, still hesitant to let her curiosities on the subject consume her. Despite her feelings to magic in general, she was determined to smile it off with another amused suggestion. "Otherwise we're going to need rope, or a lot of woven fiber, and even then I honestly doubt the two of us would find means of lifting this carcass or egg out with such leverage." And that was putting it lightly. Kayleigh knew for certain she had no strength nor weight to her body, therefore, Imogen would've been sorely challenged just to yoink either bird or egg from the nest.

"Unless you think you can get the next to fall to the ground as well. That could potentially cushion the descent when they make impact." Finally she started chuckling aloud, baffled by the fact she was even entertaining this notion. They were about to bring a giant dead bird back to camp, along with its egg, and here she was already conjuring ideas on how to get them both down. "Whatever we decide, I'm interested to see how it pans out." Because either way, Kayleigh didn't know how they were going to cook such massive things.

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

Posted: **Sat Sep 23, 2023 2:12 pm**

Review

Kayleigh

Lore: None, as Lores no longer exist.

Points: 10xp, may not be used for magic

Injuries/Ailments: Well, good luck getting to sleep tonight, Keyleigh!

Loot: One enormous condor egg, to do with as you desire

Notes: I guess you'd have to say Kay's first foray into forage was successful, though I don't think it went quite as she'd hoped.

~~~~~

Imogen

Lore: 800,000 lores for my antique lore collection

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

Injuries/Ailments: None

Loot: I'm taking that bird's feathers, they're going to make a hell of a pillow

Notes: How do you cook giant condor anyway, do you roast it or does Captain Kynne have a giant sous vide bag somewhere...?

Legend of Ransera

Foraging In the Jungle

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