Seaside 4: Where Every Week Is Shark Week

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Seaslug

The demon bats her long tail back and forth as TTN speaks, its eyes darting between each member of the group with an amused grin on its face.
"Ignore it, it might want the opposite. Demons know we don't trust them." Sargera states, the gnolls ready to fire their rifles.
"Oh no, demons can be nice when you get to know them!" Tammy argues back as she grabs her imp and lifts it up as if to present it to the group. "Just look at this little cute guy!" "Whatletmegostupidgob!" The imp shrieks as it uselessly nibbles on Tammy's fingers.
I'm not sure your imp is the best example of a 'good' demon, Tammy.
The demon lady's attention lingers on Sam however. "I cannot, even now the binding keeps me-" But it interrupts itself as soon as TTN mentions the word 'scared', a frown breaking its alluring facade. "You know nothing about my master-" And its interrupted for a second time, can't get a full sentence out can it?

As Titania's defense field activates, panic now evident in its once so calm demeanor its eyes turning pitch black as it starts to scramble to get away. Its too late though, lighting shooting through the body as its scream starts echoing through the room, making all manners of pained expressions as the electricity courses through its body. But as TTN attempts to grab its face she will find that it almost seem to melt in her hand. So as she manages to slam it into the door, the demons body shatters into a million black pieces that quickly turn into smoke that seem to come to life and quickly retreat into the sarcophagus that suddenly slams shut.

"Oh no!" Tammy exclaims as the smoke starts clearly, her mouth covering her mouth, looking at the spot TTN slammed the demon into a moment ago. "Poor, poor, gal..."

Sargera nods approvingly at TTN however.

[Tropical Island]

"Not about whose best, just for training." Anika assures with a nod. While she did care for winning she preferred other measurements than sword fighting, or punch fighting for that matter.

She lets out a small giggle as Ilpholin squeezes her rear and grins widely as she backs away as well. Putting her hands behind her head as she stretches her back a bit. "Guess I can't help being wonderful." She replies confidently at Ilpholin's inquiry. "But others are missing out then, sand is great to have a fight in. Especially if you aren't wearing layers, upon layers of clothes." Or perhaps just more than a bikini.
Anika leans forward, giving Ilphholin a fierce gaze. "So, does this fight have any rules? Or are we just going free for all?"

By now, it does look like they've gained some of the more curious villagers attention again who are gathering to see what this was about.

[Deathkeeper]

[Operation Sea Slug]

Will winces and watched the demon-smoke go. Ouch. Guess it was a demon bed instead of a vampire bed.
”Um. Harsh, Titania. But maybe warranted. Sooo. What now? Do we break something else?”

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

"You picked a fortunate day for you then," Ilpholin warns with a smirk. "A skintight wetsuit is practically my lucky clothing. Nothing feels more natural to fight in. I'll be at the top of my form." The nymph somewhat misses her old attire, even if it carried misconceptions.

Ilpholin shakes her head and settles into a defensive stance, one hand transforming into a crackling purple quarter staff held behind her. "Rules? Hah! There are no rules to combat. Anyone claiming otherwise is trying to conceal a weakness. Though I guess I'd appreciate it if you didn't literally bite my head off." She is most attached to her head. Ilpholin's free hand is held out palm side up and folds in a few times, inviting Anika to come hither.

[UncleWolf]

[Raider's Cove]

Stripping off what little clothing she's wearing is meant to make things less awkward? In fairness, Ithuriel looked about as awkward and uncomfortable before as she does now. It's not like she couldn't have managed to resist the call long enough to throw something on, but she'd figured it was Ambriel (in which case hopefully she'd get to see his jaw drop at the sight of her) or someone in Intersection (in which case it'd be important and she could explain herself easily enough).

With everything going on, being completely honest with herself, she'd rather forgotten she left Brokenfang with a horn at all. And now she's just standing there, staring at Brokenfang, water slowly pooling at her feet, holding her towel. Awkwaaaard.

...

Okay, look, it's more awkward if you just keep standing there dithering.

With a sigh of defeat, Ithuriel discards her towel and lies down beside Brokenfang. "Just finishing for the day, so thankfully you've caught me at a point where I do have time to take a break. You're right, it's a mess there at the moment."

Raider's Cove

"If you keep staring, I'll just send you a signed pin-up or something. Some of my people want to issue a calendar sometime anyway." Brokenfang jokes before sitting up enough grab the wine bottles. She's about to grab glasses but just stops after a thought. "Eh, we'll go through the bottles anyway." She mutters before using the claw on her thumbs to pop out the corks in each. "Sweet red or sweet white. Your choice." The bottles are offered to Ithuriel before the Wolfen lays back and closes her eyes again.

"But as for Inside, thems the breaks sometimes. We might be busy out here from time to time, and the work might be hard, but at least it ain't crowded. Don't know how you can stand all those noises and smells. I can't imagine how your blood pressure might be."

Operation Sea Slug

TTN glares at the sarcophagus before looking over at the other helps. "Someone needs to get ratchet straps or bindings around that. Quickly. We can always take it with us if there's an issue here, but I don't trust it not to hop out again later." She explains before turning her mechanical eyes to Sargera.

"If that demon spoke truth about opening this door leading to disaster for so many people, I'll see to it that you don't survive myself." She warns before turning back to the door and placing her hands on it. "Will, just be ready to run if this goes badly."

With that, she pushes the door open and will use every bit of her strength if she must.

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Sea Slug

"No need, in this kind of situation I'm more inclined to trust magic than any rope." Sargera inclines her head towards Tammy. "You know what to do. We don't want to have to hurt her more, do we?"

Tammy sigh. "Okay, okay... but it will only last a couple of hours. Can't leave her trapped in there forever." The little warlock moves up to the sarcophagus and pushes the imp against it who, despite constant muttering, starts drawing a symbol into it with its bare claws. The sound of the imp-claw digging into the stone of the coffin is making the gnolls ears twitch, yet they endure.

Sargera is too busy glaring at TNN though, she doesn't even seem to hear it. "Death-threats is not something I'd go for in this situation, Titania. Let's be clear here, there are no trigger wards on this door. Breaking it down won't awaken anything. I've threaded upon countless of these tombs, I know what I'm doing and so do all these people." She gestures at the rest of the group. "This is your first time so I understand that you're worried, but we're professionals. I wouldn't ask you to break down a obviously trapped door."

"Uh, how do you know that, boss? And what if there is a trigger ward on the other side of the door? We've seen that trick before." Captain Chip cautions.

Sargera smiles. "There is not, captain, it's quite obvious that this door has no normal alarms on it as it has recently been opened, and and probably not for the first time either." The gnoll the wall near the door with her claw. "I think our demon friend has just been through here for whatever reason. Perhaps she's bond to occasionally to go through these doors to check up on her master or to secure some ward. There could be special circumstances of course, but we'll be careful."

[Tropical Island]

"Then you're on!" Anika exclaims and takes a step forward as if breaking into a sprint. But as she moves forward she suddenly disappears in that green swirling cloud again and once she appears there is only bear.
The huge furry animal roars, causing the villagers to step away as the bear comes charging straight at Ilpholin to give her a proper bear hug by tackling her to the ground if it succeeds.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Raider's Cove]

"Hah. Edit some wings into the picture, and I might appreciate it." Ithuriel chuckles. She's joking, of course.

Well, that's what she tells herself anyway. She'd rather not test out the level of truth behind that statement just yet. Or ever.

"Oh, I'll take the re- the white. I'll take the white. With a place like Inside, you just sort of get used to it for a while. It's not as overcrowded as you might think. Being an angel helps too. I don't think I'm capable of suffering from high blood pressure."

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

Ilpholin didn't know which animal Anika would turn into, but expected one. At least it wasn't a war elephant. Not that bears are that much easier to deal with. The quarterstaff fades away for now, better utilized for faster, lighter opponents.

Unlike the townsfolk, the nymph doesn't flinch, waiting patiently and composed as the mass of muscle barrels in her direction. At the last moment, she leans to one side before spinning to the other, a light feint designed to draw one's eyes in the wrong direction. Ilpholin tries to utilize her new position to one side to hook her arms around Anika's neck in that hug she wanted, her own head dangerously close to Anika's teeth. The follow comes with throwing herself down and backwards like a professional wrestler, using strength far beyond what her small frame should allow in conjunction with gravity to not stop Anika's momentum, but rather redirect it so she's going forward and down. If Ilpholin's maneuver is successful, Anika will be digging her own face into the sand. Ilpholin will be dragged alongside her of course, but not in nearly as painful a way.

[UncleWolf]

Operation Seaslug

"I am glad that we understand one another but it is not a trap I am worried about." TTN tells Sargera as she opens the door. When she sees the tunnel beyond she frowns and activates her lights as she steps in. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." She decides after a moment before stepping forward and going where the tunnel leads.

Raider's Cove

"I dunno." Brokenfang admits, frowning slightly as she takes a drink directly from the bottle of red wine after she's passed the white over to Ithuriel. "The edited wings I mean. They look pretty obviously fake for the most part from other calendars I've seen. But hey, I'm pretty sure your wings would look good on me. Or next to. Or around me even." She says smoothly, closing her eyes and laying back to enjoy the sun and company.

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Seaslug

As TNN heads inside the corridor beyond the door which turns sharply to the right after just a couple of meters, she and anyone following her might notice that there appear to be a lot of bugs crawling around on the floor. They seem harmless but considering where they are, no one in the group dares to step forward except TNN herself and the imp of course.

The corridor will get darker as she continues inside, until it abruptly stops in a dead end.
That's strange.

But things will get stranger as everyone that is standing anywhere in the corridor and the room will be subjected to a powerful magical effect.

Everyone, including their equipment, clothes, etc. will suddenly shrink down to approximately the one of a ant (while still remaining the same size in relation to the others) which apparently ignores any of the bodily issues shrinking down to that size would actually have.
In addition to this, everyone who is deeper inside the corridor will discover that the "bugs" are in fact insect-like demons which now appear huge compared to them. The monstrous creatures behavior suddenly changing completely as they see the group shrinking, roaring loudly before starting to charge towards them like blood-crazed ultralisks (from starcraft, which is the closest thing they could be compared to).

But finally, TNN will notice that the dead-end is in fact not a dead end as there is hole in the wall that she easily would have missed while being normal-sized as its mouse-sized. But from this perspective it becomes clear that this is a clearly carved out door leading deeper into the complex. She'd need to force this one open too though, not that it would be harder than the last one. The issue is of course all the "bugs" around them...

[Tropical Island]

The bear was clearly not expecting this manner of trickery as it continues on like a furry train in Ilpholin's direction.
She is trying to redirect her fat bear-ass so that it falls on Ilpholin as they both tumble into the sand. Either way, that's going to hurt, ouch.

[UncleWolf]

Operation Seaslug

There were many things that confused TTN. The first was the dead end, the second was all the bugs in a seemingly lifeless corridor, and the final was the question of why she was suddenly shrinking. But all those questions are dashed aside when she sees that the bugs are actually now quite real and tangible threats...that were charging her and the group.

"FOR HONOR! FOR MAN! FOR THE GLORY OF THE DINOCHROME BRIGADE!" She shouts at max volume before charging towards the nearest one. Her sensors go into overdrive, her defense field crackles to life at it's maximum setting. She pulls her rifle from her back as she charges, unleashing plasma bolts to one she wasn't running directly towards with her left hand. Her right grabs the long vibro-blade from her back as well which she'll use to cut the legs out from the one in front of her like so much melted butter the moment it gets within arm's reach.

"FACE ME! FACE ME AND FACE DEATH INCARNATE!!"

Titania sounds ecstatic to suddenly be facing insurmountable odds. Hopefully the rest were smart enough to possibly retreat instead...

[Deathkeeper]

Operation Sea Slug

Will does not take these proceedings well. In fact he becomes completely terrified almost instantly, especially as the only one who cares to defend him goes charging away.
Will begins unloading with his laser pistol. Luckily he doesn't need to aim here.
"TITANIA! YOU WILL DEFEND YOUR COMMANDER!" he screams, in a blind panic, backpedaling as he tries to reign in Titania's glory-lust.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Raider's Cove]

Midway through taking a drink, Brokenfang's words cause Ithuriel to splutter into her wine, coughing and setting the bottle aside. She was not prepared that!

...which seems a bit daft considering they're both lying naked in the sun, drinking. Seems like the perfect recipe for a little more than just putting her wings around-

Okay, well now there's a tinge of red to Ithuriel's cheeks as well. Geeze, what had Naku done to her? Why is she entertaining these thoughts at all?

"I, uh, don't think I've looked at the same sort of calendars as you."

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Sea Slug

The shrinking causes the group to become completely separated from one another as all dimensions suddenly expand around them, including the distance from one another.

Great confusion follows as everyone doesn't immediately realize what is going on. Indeed, at these greater distances it will be difficult to hear one another.
So, sadly, Will and Tammy are likely the only ones that hear Titania's battle cry as they were the only ones that were following her closely.

However, at least her cries are drawing the bugs attention as they're drawn towards the Bolo. Which is when they will learn another fact, unlike ultralisks, these demons can fly as a number of them lifts up their beetle-like shell to reveal enormous wings that lifts them into the air as they move towards TNN.

The first one TNN encounters don't need to fly to reach her however and instead just charges, its huge scythe-like appendages shifting to side to side as it charges, each one likely able to cut Will right in two as if he had been made out of paper. Once Titania is in range it will simply swing it scythes, attempting to cut TNN in twain.
However, despite their heavily armored forms, plasma is still as effective despite the drastic size reduction. The bolt cuts through the creature and it roars loudly in pain as it tries to remain steady.
Tammy, who was holding one of the bugs in her hand when everyone shrunk, now has to deal with it in quite a different fashion as she is attempting to outrun the creature which has started chasing her. "AHHH! NICE BUGGY! NICE!"

Will, so far, has drawn very little attention to himself thanks to TNN, but as soon he fires off his laser pistol those flying beasts are coming towards him.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

It's pretty hard to avoid the fat bear rolling on at least part of Ilpholin, given how close she put herself for that earlier maneuver. With minimal effort, Anika will have pinned the nymph's left leg even as Ilpholin starts trying to disentangle herself. She's extremely fortunate to have durability upgrades in conjunction with soft sand displacement. It keeps the leg from being crushed in very literal way. Still, Ilpholin would rather have it returned to her.

So Ilpholin uses her other leg to try and knee Anika hard in the back to encourage the bear to roll back onto its feet via the application of pain. Ilpholin also lets go of the bear's neck and turns her hands into a pair of maces in the form of smooth round balls, one large, one small. The large one goes to rain blows down upon the bear's side and shoulder. The smaller one Ilpholin holds close to her but does nothing with.

[UncleWolf]

Operation Seaslug

"What do you think I'm doing?!? The only way out is forward! Grab Tammy and go! Get to the door! I will draw their attention!" TTN shouts to her Commander. As she's shouting, she lets her rifle fall to her side on its sling, the current ammo expended. Her blade reaches over, stopping the demon's own. The force alone causes it to dig into her side, but with her own blade causing a small crack in it, she slams her other fist down to snap the growth off of the demon. She grabs it, twists, and slams it point first back into the Demon's face.

As she fights in melee, plates on her back open up, revealing an array of tubes filled with micro-missiles and flares...as well as a speaker which pumps out metal music. From half the tubes, bright red and orange flares shoot out high up, signalling others about combat and helping to draw attention to herself in conjunction with the music. With a quick glance around, she marks the four closest demons she's not in combat with and launches a micro-missile each. They lock on to their chests will explode on impact, letting loose the napalm that's in each warhead.

Raider's Cove

"Must not be looking at the right calendars then." Brokenfang tells Ithuriel, smiling ever so slightly in her crooked way. "But perhaps with a bit of work you could help me make a proper one." She adds.

[Deathkeeper]

[Operation Sea Slug]

”I am not losing you after two days! You’re pulling back after us!” Will shouts back. Will is not the most tactically experienced but he refuses to lose someone...again? Hrm. That doesn’t seem right.
Will flicks his pistol into auto. Unleashing a spray of bullets he sprints for Tammy. He pops the battery pack and slams a new one home before trying to grab Tammy by the shoulder.
”We are leaving!” he yells.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Raider's Cove]

Ithuriel coughs and reaches for her wine bottle again to give her a moment to compose her thoughts.

It's not easy.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not the sort of business you brought me here to discuss. It- it is business you want to discuss, isn't? And not, just, uh..." Her cheeks are still a little flushed. If this is just some sort of negotiation tactic from Brokenfang, it's probably working rather well.

[Shadowcaller]

Operation Seaslug

The first demon staggers backwards as its impaled by its own scythe but is then thrown aside as another of its kind darts in towards TNN once the first have been stopped in its tracks.
Though before it can engage the bolo it gets one of her plasma missiles in the face, a fate suffered by the two creatures that were coming after Will, and one that seemed getting ready to swoop down at TNN from above.
Blinded and in pain, the creature roars as it attempts to land upon TNN while trashing around aimlessly. The two chasing will have bit hit in the side and their wings and flight seem to suffer for it, crashing loudly to the ground before they can reach him.

The last one is hit right in the underbelly which opens up wide, raining gore and black essence down on TNN as the creature itself starts going down like a damaged fighter jet, still struggling to remain in the air.

There are dozens of bug-demons still moving towards them, but it does seem like TNN have caught their attention for now.

When Will shoots the demon which is coming for Tammy, she throws her arms out and yells. "WAIT! WILL! LOOK!" Stopping dead in her tracks, refusing to be pulled by him, she gestures at the demon which have now stopped its chase.
"See? I already convinced it I'm a much better master than its old one. It doesn't really want to be here." She claims as the enormous demon continues staring at them like a homeless dog begging for treats.
The imp, which is now really tiny, sticks out its tongue in apparent disgust. "youconvinceditwithslavemagic!"

[Tropical Island]

Ow! Ow! OW!

As she keeps slamming her mace-fist the bears side, she will note that its fur while soft seems to be socking in the blows in a way that suggests magic is involved. This, while making them less effective, is still clearly hurting the big brown bugger though as in winces with each blow.

In response, the bear pushes its paws and hind-legs into the sand and makes a push to roll itself over on Ilpholin. Trying to use its sheer strength and mass to counter the foot Ilpholin has pushing against its side to potentially have her completely pinned by its weight. But that also means she might be able to escape as it moves around or potentially be able to hit the bear in the stomach once it exposes its under-belly.

[UncleWolf]

Battle Of New Gettysburg Operation Seaslug

When the demon is shoved aside and another appears only to be hit in the face with a micro-missile, Titania will slam her blade to the hilt in its face to try and kill it even as she's thrown back several body lengths. She breaks her tumble and comes back up to her feet, rifle in hand as she hurridly reloads. "Tammy! He is not listening to me!" She shouts. "Get Will onto that bug and GET TO THAT DOOR! NOW!" She booms. "I'll keep them busy, draw them aside and clear the way!"

With her gun reloaded, she shoulders it and fires three more shots aimed at demons that are anywhere close to Will. As she shoots, the remainder of her micromissiles all launch at once, as well as her flares. The missiles don't arc towards demons however. Instead, they fly towards the door, exploding just above the ground into two lines of burning gel in the hopes that they will ward off the demons and provide a clear path for Will and Tammy.

With that, hopefully the flares and the music and firepower would be enough to draw attention to her. She makes a lunge forward, trying to grab her sword before running off to the side, away from Will and Tammy, and more importantly away from the door.

"OVER HERE, YOU UGLY PILLBUGS!!" She shouts, banging her chest and causing arcs of lightning from where her defense shield connects with itself.

Raider's Cove

Brokenfang sighs, a bit disappointed by having business being brought up but eventually she relents and nods. "Fair enough, yes. I called you here to ask of the Letter of Marque I had asked for. But if you would rather leave that discussion for another time, I would be fine with it."

[Deathkeeper]

[Operation Sea Slug]

”I’m listening just fine yet all I can hear is ‘I’m getting myself killed ten minutes into the first mission.’” Will snarls, probably not loud enough for the bolo to hear through the din.
Will attempts to haul himself and Tammy into the bug though he doesn’t really know how.
”We need you to come in after us, Titania. Neither of us is strong enough to hold that door shut if they come after us.” which they probably will after they pick TTN apart if she doesn’t come too.
Well maybe all the gnolls working together would be but Will has kind of forgotten they exist right now due to all the life threatening peril and them not being in the immediate vicinity.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Raider's Cove]

"Ugh. Sorry, I'm not used to-" Ithuriel winces and shifts to a sitting position, "I would've just shrugged it off before a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm thinking about how I feel about something like that and I don't know and it's...weird."

The casual nudity probably isn't helping.

Ithuriel hasn't asked for either of them to put clothes on though.

"I think it would be very disrespectful of me to try and put it off any longer when you've summoned me here though. I've got the best answer I could out of Inside and it, well, it's not nothing. But it's less than I'd hoped for."

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

It wouldn't much do to be entirely pinned. She'd have to get into much sharper weapons. Though this bear form seems to have some magical protections involved so Anika might be ok with that. Could she lift a bear? Probably not while in soft sand. It would be a stretch even with solid footing.

So when Anika tilts away from Ilpholin just a bit in order to dig her paws in to push and roll over, Ilpholin jams that smaller mace between the bear's fur and her leg and expands it rapidly, forcing herself to pull free from the bear. She scrambles to her feet a few meters away, wincing and patting her semi-crushed leg to get some circulation flowing there, working it back into the fight.

[Shadowcaller]

[Tropical Island]

The bear have to catch its bear-ings as well. Having to steady itself on the sand after that enlarging mace put it off balance.
It doesn't take too long before it starts moving towards her once again. Like before its attempting to bullrush her but is more cautious for tricks this might pull this time around.

[Operation Sea Slug]

Tammy climbs up onto the bug on her one power as it lowers itself down so she, Will and the imp can all get up. Might be difficult to find a good place to sit however as there spikes coming out from everywhere. The best place would be between the demons plate-ridges, but that would hardly be comfortable either, especially once it starts moving.

Either way, once they managed to climb up she turns to Will. "Don't think she can hear you, Will! I can barely hear myself with all those explosions!" She yells. "Let's just do what she says!" The warlock continues yelling to be heard over the explosive fight nearby.

The bug suddenly spreads its wings and takes flight, moving towards the door as the demonic-bugs continue their onslaught.

Even as TNN managed to completely decimate the second wave of bugs the third wave is already approaching, far larger than the precious ones.
The three shots she fires finds their targets, nearly causing them to kill themselves outright as their suddenly crippled mobility cause them to fall over in their own charge, further damaging their heavily armored bodies. But the rest simply continue on, actually bumping into one another as they move as they're all going towards the same tiny target.
With loud roars a wave of scythes and bone pikes are washing over TNN now however as at least three of the creatures are coming at her at the same time, their demonically strengthened blades attempting to find contact with her armored body.

But as they gang up on TNN, her load-out blasts open the door, opening the way to whatever is on the other side. But Tammy and Will have to cling on for dear life as it isn't exactly easy sitting on this creature. Down below the fight still rages and they will need a few more moments before the can close the gap and fly inside.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

Ilpholin responds by crouching and switching back to a quarterstaff, driving one end into the sand and pointing the other end forward, as if bracing to receive the charge and use Anika's momentum against her again. Instead, the forward end suddenly shoots forward, becoming sharp and pointed as Ilpholin attempts to bury a harpoon-like weapon into one of the bear's legs.

[UncleWolf]

TTN's Drift

The Bolo dives forward, trying her best to avoid the uninjured wave of demons by hunkering down next to a dead or injured one. It should allow her to avoid the first, and she shoves her rifle into the face of the second before activating its power core to blow it up, but the third will undoubtedly be able to grab her and rip off her now damaged left arm at the shoulder. Thankfully she'd shut off her pain receptors before it could be done, but even so she staggers to the side. Thankfully the demon should be busy enough with the arm for a couple seconds, and if so that'll allow her to open her chest plate to reveal her final guns. One large cannon and two smaller barrels next to it open fire at the first she'd avoided. The two smaller barrels are just light machine guns and probably don't have that much effect unless they are lucky and hit an eye, but the cannon fires a single penetrator shell designed to pierce through armor and then explode violently once it is past.

It takes just a moment for all three guns to run dry though, leaving her one-armed and with her sword against the third demon and any that remain behind it.

Raider's Cove

"If you learn nothing else from my company, never apologize. It's alright to be confused and unsure, just don't let others know that." Brokenfang points out as she takes another long pull from her wine. "If the answer is less than you hoped, then I imagine there is no letter." She reasons as soon as she's finished wiping her muzzle off on her arm. "But I am not surprised. What is the city's counteroffer? Just an offer to keep my head off the chopping block?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Operation Sea Slug]

”Titania!” Will shrieks, tears bursting from his eyes. Barely able to hang on to the demon bug, he empties his pistol on full auto into the backs of the demons menacing TTN. Well, he tries. He’s shooting with one hand, riding a moving bug, and trying desperately not to hit the bolo. So really his aim is rather terrible. But he’s trying.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Raider's Cove]

"Never apologising is not my way, Brokenfang." Ithuriel sighs, shifting position slightly to better capture the sunlight. She might as well at least try to enjoy herself, even if this entire situation is a bit uncomfortable for her. "Basically, because of your reputation, there's no way I could reason them into letting you act in any sort of aggressive manner to support Inside, because it could be viewed as supporting your acts of raiding. Adding in any clauses to try and get around that doesn't really change the reality of what they'd be allowing." Ithuriel shrugs. She doesn't like it, it felt like there had to be some sort of more favourable solution in there, but she's no diplomat. "However, there's no point in threatening you or trying to buy you off by offering to "spare" you either. So, it's not much, and I don't have it on me-" She shrugs. She doesn't have anything on her right now. "But they are willing to offer payment for you to act in a strictly defensive capacity on the basis that in any such case anyone you send falls under Intersection's command, can be dismissed and expected to leave at a moment's notice, won't commit any crimes within Inside, and...there's a very long list of conditions to it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Operation Sea Slug]

The demonic creatures are relentless.
The first misses its mark as she dives forward.
The second manages to scream in pain before collapsing dead on the floor as she blows a hole through it.
Yet the third is still undeterred as it rips off the Bolos arm with its scythes, sending it flying into the air.
Then comes the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh...

Will and Tammy can hear the creature screech loudly as an explosion louder than the others echoes through the room, only to be drowned by the sound of all TNN's guns firing at once.

A barrier of twisted appendages and broken bodies have been created around her as the guns falls silent, making it nearly impossible to see TNN or what demons that are that and which ones are only wounded. A scythe attempts to cut off her other hand as the rest have to dig through the remains of their fallen and wounded to even reach Titania. She can see their spiked legs and scythes reach for her, cutting through their own just to get an opportunity at her life.

If they even notice Will's attempt do distract, the young man won't know as the demon he's sitting on suddenly swoops into the door and he finds himself flying through a dark tunnel. As they emerge on the other side, the two will find themselves in a, to them, gigantic black chamber. As their eyes slowly start adjusting to the dark, they can see a faint source of light. It appears to be an unfathomably large stalagmite made from a transparent crystal-like material that pulses with grey light. It's so faint that they can't make out anything else of the room beyond faint contours, but these does seem to be a dark shape inside of it.

Tammy is uncharacteristically quiet even as the demon-bug settles down just by the stalagmite. By now they can hear that its emitting a faint hum and be able to tell that the surface of the giant pillar seem to be reflecting things that shouldn't be there. Will can see himself and TNN as they were a few hours ago, on the boat relaxing, them meeting at the bunker and them getting on board the goblin ship. But he can also see disturbing demonic visages moving about within the crystal that are hard to look away from as they seem to draw his attention as they appear and disappear again on the surface. The humming now turning into faint whispers, voices which just are audible enough to make out but still impossible to actually hear.

[Tropical Island]

The bear sprints forward with another roar as it nears the nymph and then takes a small leap. While this does exposes its stomach and more vulnerable parts, it might also come as unexpected to Ilpholin as Anika is actually attempting to pounce on her like a gigantic dog.

[Deathkeeper]

Operation Sea Slug

Will panics, looking around and digging an old military flashlight out of his bag.
”Tammy we have to do something or we’re all dead. And fast or Titania is very dead. Can you do any of your demon stuff?” Will could maybe help TTN if the demons don’t rip out her memory core or whatever she has. But he doesn’t know where that is or what it looks like.

[Reinholdt]

[Tropical Island]

The harpoon cannon misses the intended forward leg and slams into an exposed rear one instead. This clearly did little good in slowing the bear like Ilpholin had intended. Bears climb. Bears swim. But since when do bears leap?! Ilpholin is already springing to roll out of the way, reacting efficiently, but she is clearly caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed and power as she's clipped and sent sprawling to the side. It's her turn to eat a face full of sand for being a half-second too slow as her movement scrapes to a sudden halt by the length of chain connecting her arm to Anika.

Ignoring the screaming pain, Ilpholin rolls face up and performs a short series of kicks and flips to get herself back standing and facing Anika in the shortest time possible as she can manage. Blood mars her face and she favors one side, but most prevalent seems to be that her eyes are closed tight. Sand must have gotten in them.

There's no time for reprise to process this as she darts forward, back towards Anika, letting her training in the Underdark take over. Once close enough, her free hand turns into a pole which slams into the ground so she can rapidly rotate around it and attempt to deliver a heavy kick to the bear's throat.