The Gray King

[EvolutionKB]

Oliver, Human Binder

Oliver walks to Valerian. "No need for you to get any closer to it, I'll do the dirty work for you." Oliver holds out his hand.

 

[stonegod]

Irthos lets the other deal with the squirming thing. It had something better to talk to.[sblock=Draconic]<We will kill the nasty thing, great wyrm. Is there any other way we can assist?>

OOC: Diplomacy first. [/sblock]

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Maavnod holds the gutslug firmly in its hands, despite its terrible thrashing. For a horrible instant the goliath thought he'd lost control of the horror, but at the last second squeezed it harder and kept in control. Arrgha'n applies his sword with surgical precision, nearly opening up part of the gutslug lengthwise. Oliver, never backing down from a bad situation, takes Valerian's salt and pours it in the wound. The gutslug renews its silent struggles. writhing in agony, and for an instant, one almost feels sorry for it.

Yatrax, seeing that Kurst and Irthos seem to have keen eyes on the dragon and its company, points a momentarily blackened finger at the gutslug, sending an arrow of dusk to penetrate its fading flesh.

After a long instant, Maavnod finally puts it out of its misery, pulling the thing so that it rends with a sodden popping sound. In an instant, it ceases everything and dissolves into a stinking, greenish slime that soaks into Maavnod's hands and the ground, leaving the latter with the grass dying and the former with stained palms.

It perhaps gives some of you a pause for thought that you were able to dispatch the creature so relatively easily... yet the dragon was in such terrible straits.

Irthos speaks in polite tones to the dragon, who raises its head and gives him a measuring glance before responding in the same language.

[sblock=In Draconic]"It came upon me when I was resting, and my thorns were out seeking information about a disturbance with the locals..." the dragon starts, nodding its head at the faerie creatures that he names "thorns." "I could have bit the wretched thing in half, but there was something on its skin, something that nearly paralyzed me. Poisonous flesh, I can only assume, and only poisonous to dragons, or at least, to me."

The dragon shakes its head slightly, and then faces Irthos again and nods.

"I owe you and your servants a debt, Copper-kin, rather than the other way around. I am known as Kuvarax'ivexin, but the thorns call me Lathail-imani, Greengem."[/sblock]

 

[FreeXenon]

Arrgha'n (Half-Daelkyr Kin-Hunter)

Arrgha'n pats Maavnod on the shoulder and says "I am glad we are on the same side."

Then the hunter says matter-of-factly "This gutslug does not bode well. If their traditional Daelkyr masters could get to the blood this drains quickly, it is sometimes used in experiments.

This could just be a random creature that escaped their control, and many have since their fall. In either case this had to come from somewhere in the area. I am willing to bet that whereever this came from we will their friends." He smiles happily at the thought.

He then starts to look around for a trail (Survival +9/+11).

 

[stonegod]

Irthos nods, and bows again to the great creature in its service.[sblock=Draconic]<I, Irthosiejir, am honored to be of service. Let me convey your gratitude to those whose ears are deaf to the great Tongue.>[/sblock]The kobold looks to the others looking... happy? "The honored wyrm Kuvarax'ivexin thanksss uss for removing that pesst. Tainted againssst dragonss, poissoned ssskin."

Back to the wyrm, it asks:[sblock=Draconic]<We seek passage over the mountains, on the trail of one of the madborne of Xoriat. Perhaps he is responsible for the abomination. Have you seen other signs, or seen clear passage over the peaks?>[/sblock]

 

[EvolutionKB]

"I'm happy that it seems like the dragon isn't going to eat us..." Oliver mutters as he waits for the dragon and the kobold to finish their convesation. "True enough though, things are not looking well for the Eldeen are they? Luckily we are the answer to any Daelkyr that may be looking for a fight!"

 

[Erekose13]

Maavnod looks shocked at the stains on his hands. Sure he had seen blood many a time before, but these were too close to the chaos stains that covered his body. He immediately set to trying to wipe them off his hands with his pants or the grass or what have you like a man possessed. His hands being touched by chaos, of course, managed to attract and stick to the things he touched not helping in the least. He became oblivious to the discussions taking place between Irthos and the dragon.

 

[Forgefly]

Kurst, Human Wlk/Art 2/1

While listening to the Irthos and the dragon, Kurst wanders over to look at what remains of the gutslug. He seems to be taking care not to let the hem of his cloak drag in its ichor.


OOC: Specifically looking for any familiar staples closing recent wounds, using his ability to detect magic at will to guide his investigation

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Kuvarax'ivexin's face grows somewhat alarmed at Irthos words, and the green faerie creatures converse with him for a moment in their musical tongue, their tones urgent. He finally waves them to silence and speaks to Irthos. [sblock=Draconic]"Your service is welcome Irthosiejir. This madborn of which you speak, I believe he has been through my woods recently. There have been many disturbances; traps, maulings, deaths, poisonings, all seemingly random, yet in a peculiar string towards the mountains. I was closing in on a locus of the disturbances when I lay down to rest. It seems this madborn cares little for being hunted." [/sblock] Kuvarax'ivexin looks over where Arrgha'n is searching the ground and makes a small appreciative sound in his throat. The half-blood searches the ground very carefully and thoroughly, eyes trained to pick out the nuances of his unnatural kin, and, after many long minutes, finds a slight slime trail coming from the west. Seeing Arrgha'n's sudden expression of success, the dragon nods in that direction.

[sblock=Draconic]"And it seems you fight fire with fire to hunt this madborn. Irthosiejir, this is my territory, but I am at the far western edge of it. To go beyond would be to spread my strength thin and invite more attacks against those under my protection. Copper-kin, this is your hunt. Greesa, give him the fire," he says, the last to one of the thorns.[/color][/sblock] One of the green faerie creatures steps forward at a comment from the dragon and gives Irthos a peculiar metallic beetle. [sblock=Draconic]"A little thing I made. Looks like nothing, but hold and press the thorax, and it burns your enemies like a red's breath. A few of the other sick things we find here I like to clense with fire. Take it with you, and use it against this madborn, to let him know who desires his death for the insult he has given me today."[/sblock] The dragon's expression is particularly fierce as he utters the last comment. Yatrax seems rather impressed by Irthos as well as Kuvarax'ivexin. She keeps her eyes downcast in an apparent show of respect as the two talk.

"I'm happy that it seems like the dragon isn't going to eat us..." Oliver mutters as he waits for the dragon and the kobold to finish their convesation. "True enough though, things are not looking well for the Eldeen are they? Luckily we are the answer to any Daelkyr that may be looking for a fight!"

The dragon makes a soft snorting noise that may or may not have been a repressed laugh, but nods at Oliver's brave words with every indication of sincerity.

Maavnod quickly finds a clear patch of earth and tries to clense his hands. Some of the ichor is rubbed away, but he notices something a bit odd as he rapidly crumbles earth in his hands. The earth is full of earthworms. Lots and lots and lots of earthworms. In a variety of colors. Dull colors to be sure, but lots of them. Red and blue and green and purple and pink and...

Valerian joins Kurst in examining what remains of the gutslug. While Kurst notices no magical aura about the ichor, he does find two things of note. One is a few strands of spider silk woven through with a strand of silver, steel, and crystal. Another is what seems to be a pink metal spike, maybe an inch long. Valerian purses his lips and makes notes in his book.

"Rather like the other two meshes, though not exactly. Like they were all individually made by different people," Valerian notes, gesturing to the strands. Of the spike, he can make no heads or tails, and neither of you is certain what can make metal that particular vile shade of pink.

As Kurst pokes at the spike with a stick (having seen what Maavnod is going through to get rid of the stain on his hands) he feels [sblock]an odd ache in his chest. The burning mark there throbs slightly as he leans over the patch of ichor. It's almost like a sympathy pain... or heartburn. One of the two.[/sblock] He also sees something peculiar. Some earthworms are wiggling out of the ground in the patch of slime and are starting to crawl over the spike.

 

[FreeXenon]

Arrgha'n (Half-Daelkyr Kin-Hunter)

Arrgha'n nods to himself finally satisfied that he found the vile creature's trail. As he looks to inform everyone he sees that the dragon knows that he knows.

He looks to the rest with a slight smirk, points lightly to the west, and nods.

The Hunter then moves to see what the others are investigating, perhaps his knowledge can be of service.