Seaside

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon continues growling for a few seconds before suddenly stopping, glaring suspiciously at the toad. Uncertain of the situation, he maintains eye contact with the toad as a form of challenging.

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Lenny blinks stupidly at the drifter's arm screen. Oh, of course!

They don't get it at all.

Well, maybe it's just some weird way of processing information. Lenny wonders what that readout might know about them, but that's neither here nor there. They'll let it go for now, but it's still mighty suspicious.

Or maybe Lenny is just out of the loop.

Regardless, this toad is becoming increasingly belligerent. Lenny rolls their eyes, spreading their arms in an exaggerated shrug.

"If you want to discuss land ownership peacefully, I can lead you down to the village and we can all talk it out. But a violent seizure of disputed territory isn't going to fly. Neither is your whole 'amphibian supremacy' shtick. It's not a good look. I could talk about how you look like an overinflated balloon with a skin disease, but insults won't get us anywhere, will they?"

[Reinholdt]

[Fortress Bay]

A bit of algae catches Leah's cheek and she hisses in pain and disgust. The catgirl wipes it off in a hurry, destroying it in the process somehow, though it leaves a bit of a welt where it once stood.

"Oh that's it," Leah's eyes flash dangerously. "Why don't you make like a frog then and HOP on out of here!!" The catgirl exclaims, emphasizing her point by stamping her foot.

It's less of a tantrum and more of a channeling the earth underneath the not-so-noble toad to suddenly and violently jut upwards at a steep angle. Much like a springboard, fully intending to fling Groack the sonorous pearltoad sludgecaller far away over the cliff edge and into the ocean water. It may have less effect than she'd like what with Groack being somewhat semi-liquid. The things she usually uses earthbending to fling are more solid. It just depends on composed and cohesive Groack is.

[Ironsmith]

Codebreaker's Home

CB gives Kyrie a look. A look of care but also genuine confusion.
"Yeah? That's how the rest of us work, Kyrie. We're born into the world and told we have to finish school and then that's it. If you're lucky you have a family business to take over. Otherwise we have to figure out what we're doing on our own. You just have to do it a lot later than most of us have to."
He shakes his head.
"I don't mean to sound callous. But most places don't work like your home. What you're going through is completely normal. You're just...not a teenager, which is when most of us have to go through it. And you have the budget behind you to not have any of your ideas crushed by finances." There sounds like some history behind that last part.

[Codebreaker's Home]

At that, Kyrie can only stop and stare. It... really seems like one of them is still misunderstanding the situation, and it's not entirely clear who. But dissecting these feelings any further doesn't seem like it will illuminate things for either of them.

Besides, there is one bit of clarity in this whole mess, and it seems to be the important part.

"...I suppose the question, then, is... what now?"

[Keeper]

Codebreaker's Home

"Now, you- Codebreaker reaches out to give Kyrie a light little tap on the nose.
"Need to answer that question on your own. I've given you my recommendations. But choosing what to do with your life isn't something that I think I should choose for you. I can but I feel like that's just going to make you feel worse."
Kyrie needs to feel like what he's doing has purpose and value. He won't feel like that if Codebreaker strong-arms him into a career he didn't want to pursue.

[Ironsmith]

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie involuntarily winces as Codebreaker boops his nose. That's a rather delicate organ he's messing around with; and of all people, he should know, having one just like it. But, on some level, he still has to admit he appreciates the gesture... there aren't many people who would even attempt a nose boop, and there are many fewer he would allow to get away with the act.

...Oh, right. They were having an important conversation here.

Kyrie shakes his head and irritably scratches behind his ear. "I suppose that is the truth of the matter, isn't it?" He chuffs, scraping his claws against his palm in an attempt to clear away the loose fur that had caught on them. "...Rather a circular dilemma, isn't it? One can only hope I find a resolution quickly... I would not much enjoy being in this state for another decade or more."

The wolf-knight stands up and stretches. "...If you have need of me, I will be in the study. Perhaps some reading will produce a few ideas. It seems to work well enough for Owena."

...

He's not going to just leave it at that, is he? "Here Codebreaker, let me just dump this problem currently on my mind in your general direction, I'm sure it won't bother you at all to know that your boyfriend is having an existential crisis, now off I go to not talk to you anymore for the rest of the night!"

That would be just rude. At the very least he could say

"Thank you for listening, Alan."

Kyrie manages a small, genuine smile, shuffling back a pace, still not entirely certain that was really enough of a gesture to make before dismissing himself.

...

Kyrie steps forward again and gives Codebreaker a nervous peck on the cheek, before turning and walking away as quickly as he can make not look like he was in a hurry.

[Rebonack]

[Fortress Bay]

Of course of course!

Everyone should have a LOOK bracer. They're pretty common and their integrated nuclear power cell can keep them running for basically forever with only some MINOR hazards of being irradiated.

Groack is about to reply to Lenny, probably by saying something dismissive and rude about mammals again, but then Leah decides that it's time to step in. Mostly by stepping really hard. The toad is unceremoniously launched off the side of the cliff and into the ocean, giving a long and indignant croak as it hurtles through the air and lands with a splash.

"I guess that's one way to solve the problem?" the drifter comments, peering over the cliff.

"I agree," bellows Groack as it materializes once again out of a pool of sludge before vomiting a massive sludge ball at Leah in an attempt to knock her off the cliff.

Whoop!

Fight time!

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon didn't quite have the sense to think "Leah deserved that", thus the only thing going through his mind is that there's a threat in Groack. Standing up proud, he howls into the air and steadily waves his tail, arcane energy cackling and gathering in his fangs.

Moving quickly, Jon snaps forth and scrapes his fangs across Groak's throat (cause frogs have big throats I think), a trail of lightning accompanying the teeth and striking Groak.

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Well thank heavens it wasn't Lenny who started the fighting. Now no one can blame her if she escalates the violence and creates a bloody mess of things. As the toad teleports back, Lenny is already crouching, nails glinting wickedly as she prepares to pounce.

And then Groack sends a sludge ball at Leah. If the catgirl detests dirtiness so much, that would probably not be a good thing for her. Of course, she might simply be immune, if she has some sort of forcefield against the unclean. All this speculation happens in a moment in Lenny's head, and before she can think twice her instincts have propelled her to leap into the line of fire, intercepting the projectile.

The sludge ball splatters against her and sends her flying, bouncing over the sharp rocky ground and coming to a halt right at the edge of the cliff, temporarily stunned.

Let no one say chivalry is dead.

[Keeper]

[Codebreaker's Home]

Kyrie involuntarily winces as Codebreaker boops his nose. That's a rather delicate organ he's messing around with; and of all people, he should know, having one just like it. But, on some level, he still has to admit he appreciates the gesture... there aren't many people who would even attempt a nose boop, and there are many fewer he would allow to get away with the act.

...Oh, right. They were having an important conversation here.

Kyrie shakes his head and irritably scratches behind his ear. "I suppose that is the truth of the matter, isn't it?" He chuffs, scraping his claws against his palm in an attempt to clear away the loose fur that had caught on them. "...Rather a circular dilemma, isn't it? One can only hope I find a resolution quickly... I would not much enjoy being in this state for another decade or more."

The wolf-knight stands up and stretches. "...If you have need of me, I will be in the study. Perhaps some reading will produce a few ideas. It seems to work well enough for Owena."

...

He's not going to just leave it at that, is he? "Here Codebreaker, let me just dump this problem currently on my mind in your general direction, I'm sure it won't bother you at all to know that your boyfriend is having an existential crisis, now off I go to not talk to you anymore for the rest of the night!"

That would be just rude. At the very least he could say

"Thank you for listening, Alan."

Kyrie manages a small, genuine smile, shuffling back a pace, still not entirely certain that was really enough of a gesture to make before dismissing himself.

...

Kyrie steps forward again and gives Codebreaker a nervous peck on the cheek, before turning and walking away as quickly as he can make not look like he was in a hurry.

Codebreaker’s Home

Codebreaker nods with a smile. ”Well, let me know. And don’t forget…I’m here too. We could always do something together.”
And then Kyrie departs to the stairs.
”Love you~.” he mutters.

[Reinholdt]

[Fortress Bay]

If it was, then Lenny would have fallen off the cliff.

Leah's arms being thrown up don't end up mattering much and she gasps as Lenny's hit. A wave of relief hits her as Lenny doesn't go off the edge. She's pretty sure falling off a cliff into the water below isn't as survivable as some movies make. But then again Groak was still alive, so maybe it absolutely is.

"BAD FROGGY!!" Leah proclaims, a wave of purity imbued in her words. With a fresh stomp of her foot, a section of the earth beside her leaps up. She smacks it with her palm, shattering most of it, leaving the rest in the shape of a thick earthen warhammer of stone. She grips the handle with both hands, lifting it with relative ease into a brief pose before leaping towards Groak and attempting to splatter the toad with an overhead swing.

[Rebonack]

[Fortress Bay]

The drifter is already reaching for his rifle when things start happening really quickly. Sadly the giant toad is quickly surrounded by both Leah and Jon which makes shooting the creature without hitting the other two pretty difficult.

And so?

The drifter takes aim and waits for an opening.

He also backs up a little because he doesn't want to get got by a giant blob of algae spit. Because that looks like it really hurt.

The toad, being a huge lump just sitting there, can't do much to avoid getting bit (and shocked) or hammered (and bonked) Both of our heroes will discover that smacking the creature doesn't feel at all like they're striking flesh. It feels more like they're striking a big blob of scummy water shaped approximately like a giant toad. Considering this creature just sort of materialized out of a pool of scum maybe that isn't too surprising.

"Fools. Your idiot mammal weapons can not harm me," the toad boasts before lashing out its tongue and attempting to snag Jon with it!

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon doesn't have the logic of a human, but he knows feeling. Thus, he considers using a type of damage that doesn't rely on physically maiming its target. He's forced to think quickly as a tongue rapidly approaches him, letting out a howl and materializing a sharp burst of light blue cold energy, shooting out all the way towards the frog and pool. This energy would bring the temperature of anything it touches dangerously low, threatening to completely entrap the toad in a formation of ice if it couldn't otherwise resist. If it could resist, though, Jon gets snagged.

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Lenny staggers to his feet, a full body shake getting rid of most of the lingering sludge. He doesn't mind getting dirty, but this is way too much. Wiping his eyes clean, he snarls at Groack. This frog is the absolute worst.

And apparently physical attacks do little to harm it, judging by the fact that Leah's hammer bounced off like nothing. The problem is that Lenny doesn't really have any attacks that aren't physical. At least without a halfway turn, and that would put all his allies at risk. So for now he'll rely on his claws and hope someone else has a better plan.

Dropping to all fours, Lenny bounds forward, effortlessly leaping through the air to land on top of the frog. If he's able to, he'll began raking it repeatedly, razor sharp claws trying to tear down into the toad. Maybe it can be ripped apart from the inside out.

[Reinholdt]

[Fortress Bay]

Leah draws back with a scowl. While Groack is being kept busy she puts a hand on her earthen hammer, a symbol being carved into the face as she does. A three pointed crown under a crescent with five rays extending from it. Extending out from the crown is a pair of cat ears. Leah doesn't know why she's modifying the symbol she knows, but it feels right in this moment. That this was no longer just the sign of Koth. This was her sigil, her symbol, and it carried with it her purity as well. Imbuing the hammer with the same force that cleansed the smaller frogs earlier.

Unfortunately the work is a little detailed and it'll take a bit of time to do, her powers usually not used for something quite so intricate.

[Rebonack]

[Fortress Bay]

Have you ever wondered what it sounds like when a giant toad is frozen solid?

Well!

Wonder no more!

Because a giant toad just got frozen solid. While a monster made of murky, skummy water might be able to resist harm from a wide variety of sources it turns out that getting frozen isn't one of them. The toad, of course, wasn't going to tell our heroes this. But they seem to have figured it out on their own. The toad's lashing tong freezes about a foot away from Jon.

And then Lenny jumps on the toad! He can rake at it pretty good. It feels like digging through a particularly well packed snowman.

Snowtoad?

Whatever.

Leah scribes her hammer with a symbol of sealing and forbiddence! No doubt she'll smack the toad with it next round.

The drifter, for his part, lowers his rifle a bit when Lenny jumps on the toad. Okay he's definitely not going to get a shot but it seems like things are under control?

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

With Groack frozen, Jon calms down slightly and reassesses the situation. With Lenny atop the toad, Jon turns around and sprints away, effectively granting himself a sizable distance from the frog in the blink of an eye with his dog speed. From here, he merely growls and looks intimidatingly at the frog.

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Wow, that dog really is magical. Freezing a whole toad is pretty great, and exactly what they needed. Lenny would continue trying to destroy the beast, but Leah looks a lot more capable of doing that, with the hammer and all.

So they jump down from Groack's back, standing aside to let the catgirl wreak her havoc. It seems like she's doing some sort of spell, so hopefully the amphibian supremacist is banished to gods know where and never gets a chance to annoy Lenny again.

Of course, if they knew it was a strike of cleansing, they might want to get hit too. Lenny is still coated in the remnants of the muckball, and they shrug out of their blazer with a look of distaste, revealing a half buttoned shirt that was once white underneath. Man, that jacket has been through a lot, but it looks like its time to say goodbye.

[Reinholdt]

[Fortress Bay]

What a good doggie. Leah wonders whether it belongs to the cute catboy or her now dirty protector. Maybe both? Were they together? A couple and their dog.

Well Leah's not going to turn down an easy target. Once she's finished modifying her hammer, she'll step up. She'll wind up a heavy swing that looks almost out of place for the normally graceful catgirl, and unleash the full force of her purifying hammer upon this frozen toad of corruption. Without even putting on protective eyegear to guard against errant ice shards. Truly foolhardy.

[Rebonack]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon growls at the giant toad some more!

This is a very important thing to do since the toad might not be clear yet that Jon disapproves of it.

Lenny hops off the toad and removes the oozed up jacket. It's too bad, really. "I can probably get that cleaned off for you," the drifter helpfully offers, holding out a hand for the clothing expectantly. Lenny might wonder how such a thing could even be possible, but no doubt this well equipped drifter has learned many arcane secrets in his travels.

And Leah?

Leah whollops the toad, shattering it into a zillion tiny pieces of ice that melt into pure, fresh water far faster than they have any business doing. Because they loved Groack Leah is now despised by frogs! Even docile frogs will attack her on sight.

Which, given that frogs are mostly harmless creatures, will be pretty hilarious to watch.

One of the nearby shrine frogs will try to jump onto Leah and bite her. Considering the animal is maybe two inches long it probably won't have much success in causing her harm.

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon chases the shards of ice for a second before running around in a circle. He pants, looking in Lenny's general direction. ("Frog gone. Check water?") He points his snout towards the ocean.

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Lenny raises an eyebrow at the drifter, but she hands the jacket over nonetheless. She was planning on just throwing it away anyway, so what's the harm in trying?

She's quickly distracted by the toad being shattered. Now that is a satisfying sight. It seems the catgirl is a lot cooler than Lenny initially thought! Shame about the curse, but of course she doesn't know about that.

Tilting his head at Jon, Lenny sniffs the air. "Yes, go soon. First, talk." She glances at the two cats. Not the allies she was expecting, but she's not complaining.

"Well, good job everyone. I figure we should probably make introductions before we keep investigating this. Everyone calls me Lenny, the dog is..." She glances at Jon, then shrugs. "A good dog. And uh, I don't think I ever got your name," she says to the drifter, frowning.

Well, that should make it clear they're not together at least.

[Reinholdt]

[Fortress Bay]

"Hmph. Serves you r-eeeeeaiaai!!" Leah is rudely interrupted and shrieks as an icky frog leaps at her. She flails her hammer and the rest of herself wildly trying to get the frog away. It's fortunate that everyone backed off. That frog is going to get flung as far away as possible.

"Ewwwewweewwww. Ugh. These horrible frogs have been corrupting the shrines." Leah says as she tries to brush the icky frog germs off her outfit. And then those germs off her hands in an almost never-ending cycle.

"I'm Leah. Thanks for the help," the catgirl says with a slight frown, looking to see if the shrines are any cleaner or if the weather has cleared up.

[Rebonack]

[Fortress Bay]

Dogs are pretty good at being excited and energetic over absolutely everything they're doing.

As opposed to cats, which are generally more reserved.

This is a pretty well balanced party though, right? With two dogs and two cats?

The drifter takes Lenny's jacket in one hand and a canteen of water in the other and applies a small amount of the latter onto the former. Then with some careful brushing and rubbing the slime all just slides right off into a brackish puddle on the ground! Wow. Definitely an adept cleaner! "I'm Namare," he says as he hands the jacket back to Lenny. "I guess you could say I'm a trouble-shooter."

Haha, it's a pun! Get it? Because he shoots trouble?

But then!

FROG PROBLEMS!

Thankfully the frog is zero threat and Leah is able to toss it away without trouble. Several of the shrines have indeed been cleaned and things are definitely looking better! Maybe banishing the big toad fixed the problem and the gross algae clouds will disperse?

No.

Another massive sludgy raindrop comes whistling down from the sky on a direct collision course for the hilltop shrines.

[[brackets lover]]

[Fortress Bay]

Jon pants agreeingly with Lenny. Energetically, he runs up to Leah and stands in front of her, raising himself up on his hind legs and pressing his front legs against her belly. After a few seconds of this, or being pushed back, he takes a few steps back and howls softly. A mage hand materializes and holds up the shooting star-shaped tag of his collar towards Leah, revealing his name: "Jon Terekhov".

[quillpleasant]

Fortress Bay

Lenny watches, suitably impressed as the jacket is cleaned. This drifter is full of surprises. Accepting the garment, Lenny gives him a genuine smile.

"Hey, thanks. You're a pretty handy guy to have around, Namare." He's distracted by the other cat's yowl, and can't hide a look of amusement as the frog goes flying. It's quite a contrast from how coolly Leah was able to handle fighting the big guy.

"Okay, Leah, you have cleansing magic, huh? That seems to be exactly what we need here, so hey, lucky break running into you." He steps smart back as the raindrop splashes the rocky ground, donning his jacket in one smooth motion.

"I'm guessing there's more of this corruption elsewhere, or a source of it. Groack was a symptom, not the cause." Glancing out to see, he shades his eyes, looking for a boat, a rock outcropping, or anything else notable.

---

Deserted Island

Far out in the ocean is a small, barren stretch of land. It's a stretch to even call it an island, as it's only about sixty feet of weathered rock, with a center of gravel and dirty sand. Brackish pools have formed at the edges of the island, and slimy crustaceans crawl around, searching for anything edible. They, in turn, are hunted by the seagulls that swoop through the air above.

And this piece of desolate nature is disturbed in an instant as a figure flies down from the sky, landing effortlessly in the center of the island. The seagulls caw angrily, and the crabs slip into the water. They can tell how unnatural this visitor is.

Nathair looks around, smiling. Nothing in sight, no one to disturb him. He beckons, and a treasure chest comes falling out of the sky, stopping and hovering a couple inches above the sandy ground. Time to figure out what makes this thing tick.

There's a shimmer as Nathair splits, once then twice, becoming three different individuals. The current form, shaped to perfection by phyresis. His old cyborg self, looking remarkably human in comparison. And a regal woman dressed in red, with a spiked crown on her head. Sometimes it was easier to think if he divided his hivemind and helped himself out, and this required his full focus.

With a wave of his hand, the chest dissolves. Since recovering the orb, he's held it telekinetically with his golden hand, not once physically touching it in any way. For the past day or so, it's been locked in the chest, soundproofed and in darkness. Now it's revealed once more, and the three bodies circle it. Pondering.

First, the current Nathair leans in to peer more closely. "Can you hear me, I wonder? You spoke to me before. If you're there, answer me." It's a bold move, but he's already been seen by the dragon's servants. Unless she's incredibly incompetent, she'll have already figured out what he looks like, so revealing himself shouldn't make a difference.

[Shadowcaller]

Deserted Island

The purple mist within the orb swirls before his eyes and as he speaks an singular reptilian eye appears out of the mist glowing aggressively red as it stares back at him.

"If you're there you may start begging for your life, wretched thief." A voice he will recognize from before spits out.

[quillpleasant]

Deserted Island

As he expected. The three Nathairs meet each other's eyes, then nod. The one who spoke before kneels beside the orb while the other two begin to conduct a ritual of some kind, drawing sigils in the air and chanting under their breath.

"Oh good, I was hoping to have a little chat with you," he says, ignoring the threat and smiling widely at the eye. "First off, why is this orb so precious to you? What is it? I'm hardly going to return something without understanding it."

[Shadowcaller]

Deserted Island

Rather than focusing on the Nathair addressing the orb, the eye focuses on the other two. Trying to make sense of what they're doing. "It's a catalog for my hoard." The voice remarks dismissively. "And you stole it from me." It sounds like the theft itself rather than what was stolen is what upsets the dragon.

Or perhaps that's just what it wants him to believe? Hard to tell as he's just interacting with an eye and a voice which isn't human.

[quillpleasant]

Deserted Island

Whatever ritual they're conducting, it's clearly having some effect. A faint network of golden threads is appearing in the air, and the two are slowly circling the orb as they weave them together. The prime Nathair won't be so easily ignored, however. While his gold hand remains focused on the telekinesis, his other hand detaches from his arm, floating over to tap on the surface of the orb.

"A catalog? Oh no, it's more than that. A catalog could be stored on a phone, and this thing is so powerful it made everything else in your library look paltry in comparison. You'll never get it back if you're not honest." A series of multicolored lenses grow in front of his eye, switching from one color to another.

He's examining the item's aura again, but with more precision this time. The first lens dulls the glare so it's not blinding, while the others allow him to see individual aspects of the enchantment, much like seeing the different muscles and bones of a human body. By figuring out how the magic works, he can gain a greater understanding of what it does.