[Mutant Future] Raiders of the Mind Lord's Tomb

[Shayuri]

Abruptly an arrow wings from the gloom over towards the cavern entrance, narrowly missing both Pickles and the mutant weasel. Before either can properly process this, another arrow socks solidly into the weasel's malformed body.

From the shadows in that direction steps a young, apparently unmutated woman wearing a gunmetal grey mesh of chainmail like an improvised poncho, with a hole ripped in the middle for her head and hanging down to just past her beltline. Her pants were ruggedly made, lots of pockets, and a dark olive green in color. She carried a bow, a quiver of arrows on her right hip, and a stubby little sword on her left. Her hair was dark brown, windblown and cut short. Her face was pretty, but not spectacularly so...most striking were her bright emerald green eyes; a feature not found on many truly unmutated human beings.

"Missed," she muttered as she lowered her bow slightly, bringing another arrow to nock. It wasn't clear if she meant the first arrow...or if she hadn't been aiming for the weasel. Then she glanced up at Valla and called, "I'm on your side. Wayfarer's truce."

 

[Electric Wizard]

Pickles snaps the weasel's neck with a decisive bite. The beast goes limp and releases his foreleg.

Before anyone can relax, though, the newcomer sends two arrows into the cave and declares her peaceful intentions.

OOC: Great job on knocking out the first combat so quickly! I think we can cover a lot of ground.

 

[Vertexx69]

Stupid laptop mouse trackpad Double post

 

[Vertexx69]

With the girl looking directly at the mysterious person, the flying, masked, cloak vanishes from sight. Then from behind the archer comes the dulcet, down home voice of Valla says from right next to her, "Well darlin, I guess we'll just about that one now, won't we? That's an interesting... scent you're wearing." there's an audible sniff as she walks past the girl back toward the raccoon and albino from the entrance to the cave. Her beautiful wings folding down gracefully into the voluminous pleats of her dark cloak, and she hangs the clear riot shield on top of them like a hook.

She passes the pairs of friend and foe alike, going instead to her pack against the cave wall. She squats down in front of it and begins rummaging through its various contents. "Can you take care of those bites on your own there Mr. Pickles, or will you be needin a bandage?" She holds a rolled length of cloth over her shoulder while still digging for something else. The golden mask gives Valla's voice a slightly metallic ring. "They call me Valla by the way. I'm known in some parts of the wasteland, as well as here in the Vinelands."

After a little clicking a small light source reflects off the vine wall. Valla stands back up and turns holding a lit candle in one hand and putting the other on her curvy hip. This parts her cloak, revealing her own armor and amply smooth cleavage. The slightly smirking beautiful woman's face of the golden then turns toward the fallen weasels. "Bet there ain't more than a few belly-fulls of meat on those fellers, but it beats choking down dry tack." She offers the candle to the albino, and cracks her knuckles. The fire from the candle shines on her slender, scalpel-like claws. "Shall I carve?"

Meanwhile beneath the deep folds of the floor-length cloak, the usually rigid fin vines of Valla's tail soften and animate like dozens of fine and newborn worms. The tip of her tail invisibly moves toward the weasel she has begun working on, the tiny roots dart to the myriad pinholes that her exploding fruit made in the beast's thick hide. Valla quickly draws in the precious blood before it can either drain away or pool in the carcass and spoil what little meat there is.

 

[Shayuri]

The newcomer put her bow away into a case behind her shoulder, and came cautiously into the room to collect her scattered arrows.

"I'm Ivy," she said, then sighed and added, "Are any of you named Edward Michael Irwin, or do you know him? It's...well, I realize he must be dead by now, but I have to ask."

The woman, Ivy, watched Valla's tendrils for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry. Haven't heard of you. I'm not from this area originally."

She addressed everyone in the cavern, fairly quickly, as if eager to leave her first question behind. "There was an explosion or something over from this way. Was that you guys?"

 

[Vertexx69]

OOC: Did we already lose our albino and giant raccoon? Can the raccoon even talk?

 

[Mark Chance]

The newcomer put her bow away into a case behind her shoulder, and came cautiously into the room to collect her scattered arrows.

"I'm Ivy," she said, then sighed and added, "Are any of you named Edward Michael Irwin, or do you know him? It's...well, I realize he must be dead by now, but I have to ask."

Yella frowns, looking toward the dark passage from which the beasts came. He looks at Ivy, saying, "Edward Michael Irwin? That name seems familiar. I met an Ed Irwin a few weeks ago in a market. I can't say if it's the person you seek, but...." He trails off, looking back to the dark passage. "If that passage was blocked off until just recently, how'd those creatures get down there?"

 

[Shayuri]

Ivy shrugs, giving the bodies a closer look as they're skinned and filleted.

"They look skinny, like they could get through narrow openings. They probably have a den nearby. The explosion riled them up. Not so mysterious."

She looks at Yella again. "Not nearly as mysterious as the explosion...which you still haven't said if you caused or not."

The young woman chews her bottom lip for a second then adds, "Which market?"

 

[Mark Chance]

Yella shakes his head. "We didn't cause the explosion. I don't know what did. Thunder?" He scratches his pale chin, and then answers Ivy's question, naming the market.

OOC: I don't know what to say about what specific market?

 

[Vertexx69]

Valla listens as the two speak for a moment, as she carves off a few decent size steaks. "Our newest storm-truce companion must have the right of it. These things could have really come from anywhere." The cloaked woman looks around for a moment and then drapes the meat over a relatively clean vine that sticks up a few feet higher than the floor of the cave. "But as to the explosion that wound up the whole area, it came from a hillock about 300 yards thata way." She indicates with a thumb in the proper direction. "I couldn't tell if it was an attack or just some ancient ruin finally collapsing in on itself. I didn't have a chance to go take a closer look before these beasties scampered in for lunch. Could be worth a look now that the rain is letting up, but I don't know the soundness of climbing down that dark hole there first, or leavin an avenue for critters to sneak up behind us unexplored darlins." She gets up and gathers a bit of dried out vine into a pile, then picks up the candle to get a cook fire started. In the light, even though she was just elbow deep in weasel not a moment ago, there doesn't seem to be a drop of blood on her hands or arms.