Onward: Purple

[voidtreckermods]

The second night of their trek is interrupted by the shaking of the ground. It only lasts a few moments and all the tunnels hold, but it is enough to be a frightening experience.

And it seems to have agitated the monsters. A wave of crabs attack not long after the shaking has stopped, emerging from the rocks around them.

They are close to one of the sandbanks and as they emerge, for a moment out of the caves they will find darkened skies and choppy seas. There is a feeling of a storm approaching. It is cooler then it has been.

But that is the least of their problems. As they cross the sandbank, wading in the water a giant squid attacks. Tentacles reaching out of the sea, to wrap around limbs and pull the voidtreckers and those they are escorting off the sandbank and into the ocean depths.

The tentacles at least seem to withdraw if damaged enough, hopefully they can be fought off before anyone drowns.

Comments

[sendiintheclown]

When the crabs started coming for him, Trowa used the spear like a bat. He was swatting them away, backing closer and closer to the the priests to make sure none of the creatures got behind him. He heard Glorfindel's comment about incapacitating the things, and drew one of his larger knives to cut the joints below the large claw on the crabs that were flipped on their backs. The joints were the weakest points, and a lack of functional nerves would make those claws useless.

[laurefindil]

"Nice job!" Glorfindel said, seeing how Trowa was dealing with the crabs.

"Pass the word about the crabs? Ad see if anyone needs a break." He paused for a half moment and looked at Trowa. "When was the last time you had something to eat or drink?"

[sendiintheclown]

Nodding firmly, Trowa passed the message through the comms about flipping the crabs. "Not since before we landed. But I'm fine, I've gone longer before in worse conditions. Save your supplies for the locals." Trowa took out another crab before turning back to Glorfindel. "Do we have any thing to gather the meat up? Or do we know if the meat is even safe to eat?"

[laurefindil]

"The locals have their own supplies," Glorfindel pointed out. "And we need to keep our strength up so we can protect them. Here." He handed a paper wrapped item over to Trowa. It was about the size of a pack of cards. "A bite or two should give you the energy to carry on for a while. It's called Lembas. True Lembas, made by an Elvish woman, can sustain the soul as well as the body on just a bite a day."

He then turned and smacked another crab out of the way. "I'm sure it's as safe as the pork we got on the last planet?" he offered.

[sendiintheclown]

Taking the item he’d been handed, Trowa removed his helmet and took a few bites. It was tasty enough, and he made sure to stash the rest safely before pulling the helmet back on. “Thanks. Do we have anything to carry the claws in at least? They should have good meat, but these bags will fit one each at most.”

[laurefindil]

"Why don't we just string them together on rope and carry them that way?" Glorfindel asked.

[sendiintheclown]

Trowa nodded in agreement. "You have rope? I didn't grab any myself."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel looked at him. "We were tasked with travelling through caves. Even if we thought they'd be mostly underwater, which they haven't been, bringing rope is always a good idea." He reached into the waterproof bag he was carrying with him and pulled out the rope he'd brought.

[sendiintheclown]

Trowa chuckled a little. "It seems you're more used to these types of environments than I am. I'm not used to wanting to risk leaving evidence of being around at all."

[laurefindil]

"Proper Elven rope can be easily carried and you just ask it to let go and it does. Evidence is never a good idea when dealing with orcs and goblins." Glorfindel wasn't aware why Trowa might not wast to leave any traces, evidence was an odd word.

[sendiintheclown]

A rope that would let go upon request? That did sound very helpful, but there could still be issues with that. "Do the fibers fray and leave any traces?"

[laurefindil]

"Not in all my years it did not," Glorfindel said. "If the orcs saw any trace of our passage, it would have been very bad."

[sendiintheclown]

"I take it you would need some traditional plants in order to be able to make that?" It sounded like something that could be very useful.

[laurefindil]

"Well, I wouldn't call them traditional per se, but yes, you do have to use the right plants. I mean, I certainly wouldn't make a rope out of wheat," Glorfindel said with a chuckle.

"But mostly it is skill and intent. Perhaps if I could get the right seeds, I could grow some."

[sendiintheclown]

"I do know how to make braids, so I'd be happy to help if you are able to grow the plants."

[laurefindil]

"Mm, you could try," Glorfindel agreed. "But it isn't just the braid, it's also how you sing to it."

[sendiintheclown]

That got Trowa to raise an eyebrow. "You sing to your rope as you braid it?"

[laurefindil]

"...yes?" Glorfindel looked at him questioningly. "You don't? That might explain a bit about non-elven rope."

[sendiintheclown]

"Honestly, most of the rope in my world is made with machinery. Raw materials are fed in at one end, they get processed into fibers, and woven together." Trowa shrugged, taking one end of the rope Glorfindel had pulled out and tying it to a crab claw. "That looks secure, yeah?"

[laurefindil]

"That is magic of a different sort," Glorfindel pointed out. He looked down at the claw. "Quite. You know your knots."

[sendiintheclown]

"Thanks. Do we have any others that we need to include on this rope, or should we look for some seaweed to improvise?" Trowa looked up as he tied on the only other claw he could reach to the one he'd just done. The rope from the train wasn't very long, sadly.