@Mctoran, @rainsong, @Ghid, “Can someone brief me on what is going on?” Tarkur interupts the group.
Bramble sat down and gripped the oar, causing the wood to creak and groan under his strength.
“I-I-I-I c-c-c-can’t swim.”
“Ow!” Morrus recoiled despite it not actually hurting. “Careful with the feath- the Leaves, they’re not exactly…”
Morrus stared at her in confusion and then at his arm in shock, his mouth spewing out soundless air in the vague shape of words as the conversation continued without him.
Morrus finally managed to catch his jaw. “We… Are…”
“One at a time.” He looked at Risa. “The Lord of the Undying Storm. Really big. Dark armor. Literally can’t be missed. Will probably kill me. Now you,” He whirled around towards Tarkur. “I…”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “Anyone want a whatever this is?” He waved his lower arm around.
“A-and you won’t have to, okay? Wood floats on its own, w-we can hang onto that if nothing else, right?”
“Yeah, that guy! We can both fly, so he should be pretty easy to spot if we fly around. What about you guys?” @meepinater
“They’re really good.” She takes another bite.
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Bramble looked completely baffled. Trees were heavy; how would wood - how could wood float?
“Uhh,” He looked at the oar, thinking about how he could stop the water coming in. “Wait, did she say siege?”
“More on point,” Morrus said, glaring at their probably still miffed Gukko. “Who do you think your friend would be following?” @meepinater
“I don’t know what the heck they are.” Morrus whispered. “Or how I’m growing what I had for breakfast off my arm.”
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“I mean why not” Tarkur shrugs as he plucks a fruit from Morrus arm.
“W-we can worry about that when we get back. Can you start rowing right now? V-vraxinni and I can see what we can do about the boat.”
“Right right right right right.”
Bramble grabbed both oars and began rowing with all his might - which might require some intervention from Tathel because he was just rowing in the direction they were pointed last.
Tathel drops the bucket, grabbing his shoulder. “We need to go the other way.” He points back towards shore.
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Bramble banked hard, mostly in response to his shoulder being grabbed. “Oh. Right.”
Bramble resumed rowing vigorously, facing in mostly the correct direction this time.
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Tathel picks up his bucket and gets back to bailing out the boat, trying to earn them as much time as he can.
OOC:
IC:
Malakai, who himself had no idea at all, simply shrugged. “You likely know more than me, pal. I feel like I hit my head so hard that I’ve forgotten an entire year of my life.”
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“Some guy named Erebos. Although I know who you’re talking about… Maybe they’re looking for both. I know they caused some trouble back in the City of the Mask Makers.”
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Morrus tapped his chin for a moment and then started. The remaining fruit on his arm started to shrivel and his leaves began to turn brown.
“Say that name again.” The air around the crater seemed to grow dark… At least, for Morrus.
Risa looks back and forth between the two of them. “Huh, I guess we’re getting somewhere.”
“…Erebos?” Streke answered, shifting uncomfortably.
OOC:OOF I meant to ping meep tbh
IC: “Now I’m confused who are you?” Tarkur asks
He hadn’t misheard it. The kid from the Gukko had actually properly pronounced the name Erebos.
One hand stole to his face, running down his cheek and leaving gashes in the surface as it went. There appeared to be an audible rattling noise coming from Morrus’ chest.
“You stand in front of that wall and you HOLD THAT LINE, Do you understand?!”
Morrus watched in silence as his father began shaking like a leaf under the violent verbal assault of the drill sergeant. “Yes sir. Yes sir. Hold the line.”
With that, the commander of the region of Jungle’s defensive forces marched back across the border of the city, barking vile language into the ears of everyone there to encourage them to hold the line. Morrus would have approached but one of the other guards dragged him off towards the building at the center of the town. Some mention of how children shouldn’t be on the front line flew past his head as he looked back in terror at the wall.
It exploded.
Rubble zipped forward, clubbing Morrus on the cheek and sending him flying out of the guard’s grip, leaving deep grooves in the metallic skin. He looked up in a daze as a shadowy figure practically flew over the heads of everyone there and an unknown force gripped Morrus by the throat, dragging him towards the city’s edge.
The dark figure stopped, whirling about and listening, although to what it couldn’t be certain as the air was full of the noise of wounded soldiers and crying children. Suddenly Morrus’ throat was released as the dark figure shot towards the treeline, disappearing into the forest.
Morrus reawoke in the Elder’s home, his mother gripping him by the arm and sobbing. A gold-armored individual with a wicked-looking warhammer was talking with him, and noticed his awaking.
“He’s going to be alright.” The figure seemed to be attempting to reassure, but the sentence came out as a command. “Erebos will be cornered before very long.”
“Thank you, Makuta.” The Elder placed a withered hand on the young Okotan’s shoulder. “Continue your search, and may the stars be with your journey.”
The talk continued into muffled noise as Morrus’ vision of that fateful day eased out of his mind. With an effort he pulled his fingers out of the grooves in his cheek, jolting at how precisely he had instinctively replicated them. “This is a dream, a bad dream.” His hand quivered as he stared at it. “You can’t mean Erebos. You must be wrong. You have to be wrong.”
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“I know what I saw. He’s gotta be the one they’re going after.”
Streke peered at Morrus carefully. “Sounds like you’ve had an even worse experience with this guy.”
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Vra’axinni’s bag, still on the boat, might stand out to Tathel. “Look inside my bag. There is a green bottle, open it and pour it over the cracks. It will not fully seal it but it will make it manageable.”
Vinum nods, thinking as well.
“I’ve only heard his name in passing from tales told by my grand father” Tarkur starts as he contemplates over the name, “but seeing your reaction to his name, is it true you have a history with him?” Tarkur asks Morrus @Ghid