Graded [Ryken City] - The Birds and The Horned Rabbits

[Clyvelle]

Jareth Fletcher​

The beginnings of muscle memory combined with the adrenaline of the moment were assisting Jareth greatly in reloading the sling. The wind up necessary to launch his projectiles was a setback in this particular situation though. A more mild-mannered hunt, like frog catching perhaps, might have been better suited to such a tediously slow process. Jareth knew he was fast, so presumably given the time to train, he could become extremely proficient at reloading and winding up the next shot. That was the problem: time seemed to become a more and more finite resource with each passing second.

On the plus side, the carcasses of the slain rabbits piled nicely. Having such thick frames and musculature, it didn't take many of them to start creating rough terrain. Assuming the team could keep up their onslaught, they might at least make a diffcult patch around them that would cause difficulty for the rabbits to charge them.

"Easier said than done, perhaps, but if we could kill the rabbits on top of the other carcasses, we might at least hinder the rest to some degree. Maybe even get a small barricade going." Jareth shouted as he lobbed another stone at a rabbit charging Regula.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jareth noticed another rabbit approaching with red eyes. Its red leer set it apart from the rest, and its advance seemed more purposeful in nature. Jareth was still reloading from his first attack, however. He wasn't sure if he'd get the sling wound up in time.

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Dahlia Youpi | Jareth Clyvelle | Matt NeramoDJI

Although Regula wasn't convinced by the entire cart plan, it wasn't better or worse than her own ideas, so she figured she might as well go with it. That said, she had a bigger issue to deal with, as one of the rabbits forced her to be on defence. She swayed over her metal-threaded cloak and held it as a shield while having her greaves take care of her lower-body, bracing herself for impact. She wasn't expecting to give her armour-making this much of a field-test, but this was a good 'so be it' moment for it.

Jareth's idea to try stunning some rabbits by using another loud shot while they were close wasn't bad, but there were two issues. There were only two rabbits close (the one after her and the one after Dahlia) whilst the other three were at the other side of the cart and she had no clue how he wanted to use a single upturned car to be enough to start funnelling them. If Jareth's stone was enough to take out the rabbit she defended against, she'd [move] to the other side of the cart, past the three hiding behind it, giving them a short warning “Loud one coming.” She'd then attempt Jareth's idea on group of three by firing an E grade [Combustion Shot] at the three rabbits from relatively close (on the mid-point between the rabbits and the cart), hoping the [attack] would take out the middle one in the group with a shot straight through the head and to deafen the other two.

Were the rabbit before her still alive, she'd instead use an F grade [Combustion Shot] to finish it off directly after defending against it and would [move] to the other side of the cart afterwards without being able to attack again.

• Grade E Ability Cooldown: 1 Post Cooldown
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity E, Combustion Affinity E, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.
• Grade F Ability Cooldown: 0 Post Coldown
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity F, Combustion Affinity F, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade F – 0 Post Cooldown.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: Clyvelle Youpi NeramoDJI Elvario
OOC: combat rules currently in play. Neramo and Youpi will be skipped until they chime in saying otherwise.
Time: 11:32am
Weather: Cool but not cold, clear blue sky
TLDR: threw 3 blades. broke weakest blade cus threw too hard. 3 dead rabbits. one remains attacking regula. 5 more rabbits approaching.
Post Listening:

Northern Ryken Plains

Michael​

Jareth's stone was decidedly not effective by itself against an aware and evasive enemy like the attacking red-eyed horned rabbits. He would need to team up with someone or do something else to be more useful. The stone just missing the rabbit, the bunny would fly unimpeded into Regula's defensive cape...and do nothing. There was impact. Regular could feel it and may have been knocked off balance for a moment, but there was no injury or damaged passed through to armor or wearer. The rabbit shook its head in a dazed state while reorienting itself on the ground before Regula.

At point blank range, the rabbit wasn't quite fast enough to evade Regula's first shot that passed through the head and body into the ground. A bloodied corpse was all that was left before she moved to the cart. The blast of her weapon echoing all around. Anything yet unaware of their presence was unlikely to be so now. That left Michael with the clean up.

"You seem to be good at thinking and working under pressure. Didn't seem so confident early on. Good quality to have, being able to keep your head when plans go sideways,"

Michael praised Jareth before he rose from his crouched position to counter the rabbits. He quickly glanced around to note the 3 rabbits before them and the one assailing Dahlia. Not enough time and not enough room to take out all the rabbits at once, Michael was forced to improvise. Drawing the one blade he kept on his back, it shown blue as it met the light and revealed itself as another mithril blade but it was not nearly as well made or customized as Alpha, his first. With left hand held forward like a guide for action's follow-through, his right hand reeled back and suddenly shot forward, sending the blade twirling end over end. It passed through the rabbit and stuck itself in the ground after it. The blade them promptly broke. It would need repairs at the least. Perhaps reforged altogether. The rabbit, on the other hand, split in half and was no longer a menace. Dahlia would have the time necessary to get to a safer location.

"Jareth, when you find you don't have the time or the ability for something, be sure to rely on your comrades. It's what they are there for, afterall,"

Michael said with a determined expression as he unsheathed Alpha, his last mithril blade, and a mundane sword of similar quality. Throwing both of them at the same time at the rabbits in front of the cart, he was able to impale both of them in the face before they could launch themselves at those crouching behind the tipped kart. He didn't have anymore weapons or the time to reach the ones he threw before the last rabbit saw the approaching Regula and launched itself at her.

Meanwhile, 5 more red-eyed rabbits approached the kart. They didn't have line of sight on any of the team to attack though. Dark-eyed rabbits that witnessed Regular letting off another shot scattered rather than engaging. The situation wasn't good but it wasn't horrible either.

Spoiler: Horned Rabbit

 

[Goran Glacial]

Xack Gransuke

Xack huffed and puffed jogging his way down the tracks the wagon left behind as he made his way to the party, as he caught up with his armor clinking together he slowed down when he reached the group in the plains. Xack noticed a stray rabbit or two after micheal made a move so wanting to make a good impression xack used his stab ability on a rabbit when he got close enough drawing his blade he stabbed forward using his most basic ability, after wards he walked up to Michael "sorry i'm late i didn't follow everyone else and got lost in the woods after that tree demon incident." Xack recognized Michael from his previous adventure embarrassment clearly showing on his face from his previous ineptitude. Xack tapped his longsword a second and then sheathed it after wiping the blood off with a spare cloth.

Dimensional Stab - F - 0 post cooldown.

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Jareth Clyvelle | Xack Goran Glacial

Regula was surprised when another rabbit launched itself at her the moment she reached the other side of the cart. However, before it could reach her, a comrade of Michael cut it down. She was surprised when he showed up with a story about some tree demon she had no awareness of. He didn't introduce himself, or even acknowledge her existence, so she decided to ignore him for the time being as well. There was, however, one thing she noticed, which she wished to share with the others. “Some of them seem to run, rather than attack. Does it have something to do with whether or not their eyes are turning red?”

It looked like more red-eyed rabbits were approaching as they were speaking, so Regula figured she'd give Jareth's plan a chance. “Heads up, I'll be trying to fire a full-power shot at the next group.” With that, she leaned over to aim alongside the cart and to show herself to the incoming rabbits. With some luck, it would make them behave in a manner similar to what Jareth suggested with regards to funnelling them; or in this case, having them group up to come after her. The latter would mean she just needed to aim a grade E [Combustion Shot] at a rabbit in the forefront of the group and hope the shot would pierce through into the others or at the least stun or disorient the rest, or even just inconvenience them with a sudden rabbit corpse they'd need to avoid.

She'd follow up the first shot with a lower powered F grade [Combustion Shot] at whichever rabbit was closest to her. After all, thinning out the herd was going to be a priority while they were still somewhat of a ways away.

As they were drawing closer, she'd [move] back behind the cart if they weren't within attacking range as of yet. If they were, she'd instead stand by and get ready to defend against them, as she didn't wish to expose her back to them.

• Grade E Ability Cooldown: 1 Post Cooldown (CD 0/1)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity E, Combustion Affinity E, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.
• Grade F Ability Cooldown: 0 Post Coldown (CD 0/0)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity F, Combustion Affinity F, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade F – 0 Post Cooldown.

 

[Clyvelle]

Jareth Fletcher​

Jareth's shot missed as Regula received the rabbit's attack. Her protections were effective in denying the impending horned pest. Jareth exhaled sharply through his teeth in contempt for his own inadequacy. Michael's praise gave him the momentum to push beyond it, though, as the overseer and a new arrival cleared the vicinity of immediate threats.

"I'm just...good at analyzing things." Jareth said dismissively. "Helps to have a brain when you're no good at swinging a sword."

The rabbits were fast, but Jareth wasn't far behind. The difference in their speed would leave him on the receiving end of a horn if he wasn't careful though. Jareth had stayed close to the cart since they upended it, putting him roughly in the center of the party. His suggestions thus far had not proven very useful, but all he had at the moment were his eyes and a handful of stones.

Jareth rehearsed what he had observed so far. If the rabbit is caught unawares or flat-footed, a stone from his sling was sufficient to kill it, so neither the stones nor his sling were an issue if the situation was favorable to land a hit. The red eyed rabbits were especially evasive and more purposeful in their aggression. Furthermore, when attacked they are guaranteed to dodge out of the way when possible as opposed to taking a hit. That behavior could potentially be taken advantage of to allow Jareth to land some hits. Time to test it.

Jareth moved to where he could see a red eye. He grabbed two stones, loading one into the sling and spinning it up. Lobbing the stone, he immediately loaded the second one and fired it at the same rabbit after it dodged his first attack.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: Clyvelle Youpi NeramoDJI Elvario
OOC: combat has ended. feel free to check out the bodies, discuss intention of next steps. rp.
Time: 11:42am
Weather: Cool but not cold, clear blue sky
TLDR: greeted Xach, grabbed his 2 swords not broke, dispatch the rabbits remaining. Give the group the option to turn back or do one final push.
Post Listening:

Northern Ryken Plains

Michael​

Between Regula poking her head out and luring the rabbits all to one side of the flipped cart, to Jareth getting creative with his weapon of choice, everyone do good in grouping up the rabbits to knock them all down. Regula blasted through 2 of them while Jareth managed to take out one with his clever stone throws. The two remaining didn't have much of a prayer either.

"What's important is that you are here now,"

Michael noted to Xack briefly before dashing over to the previously stabbed rabbits to draw his blades out before backflipping through the air toward the cart to drop onto the two remaining rabbits from above as they approached. Each sword stabbing through the rabbit, pinning it to the soil. They twitched briefly as they bled before Michael pulled his blades free, sure they would not continue to be a danger. Something notable was the red in the rabbits' eyes faded after they were slain. These rabbis, in particular, still had eyes since they were not blasted to kingdomcome by Regula's gun. With the immediate threat neutralized, Michael whipped his blades to the side to clear them of blood.

(Fast F, Jump F, Acrobatics F - Partial Parkour - Move action)

"The red eyes do seem like something unusual. I do not know what, though. What I did notice was their singlemindedness in attacking us despite the thunder from Regula's weapon. Reminded me of some of the woodland demons and their behavior,"

Michael commented, referencing the demons he and Xack fought in the past. He turned to the low rise where all the rabbits had come from. No more red eyes and most of the regular rabbits were keeping their distance at this point. Keeping swords at the ready just to be safe, Michael would remain alert but give the party a moment to collect themselves. Looking at the rabbit bodies and the number of people in the party and each's condition, Michael nodded to himself before he addressed the party again,

"If we are going to turn back, this would seem as good a time as any to do so. We have close to 3 rabbits per person and I'm confident in giving you guys recommendations after seeing your abilities so far. We could spend the remainder of afternoon, after taking a lunch break, hunting horned rabbits on the outskirts of their territory and call it a day. Or...

We could try our luck and see what's over there. It could be very lucrative,"

Michael gestured with his sword in the direction the redeyes had come from. The numbers of rabbits, the increased hostility, and comments Michael already stated would suggest a horned rabbit nest was likely over there somewhere. The rabbit nests were said to be worth the most money and it would look especially well on them if the rookies could bag a nest on their first outing.

"It will be dangerous. More dangerous than what we encountered so far. Not only are we likely to meet more resistance, but we would potentially have an even harder time to escape. We already determined stealth and caution would not be possible also,"

Michael said, giving Regula a look to make it clear she was who he held responsible for that limitation on the party. Even if she opted not to use her weapon until fighting broke out, she didn't appear to have any quiet means of dispatching the monsters.

Spoiler: Horned Rabbit

 

[Clyvelle]

Jareth Fletcher
|Human|Eyeglass Adept|Scorned|​

Jareth was definitely expecting the rabbit to dodge, but in the heat of combat, it was apparently too distracted. Not one but both of his shots nailed the rabbit, ultimately killing it. As the novice with a sling rose in triumph, his teammates dispatched the rest of the rabbits around them. As the last of the varmints shuddered their dying breaths, a silence ushered in by the wind fell over the plain. They had won, and Jareth had won his first official battle...outside the back alleys of Ryken, that is.

"Is it...over...?" Jareth asked hopeful.

Michael confirmed as much and offered a choice: continue to an even greater challenge over where the remaining rabbits now congregated or bow out and collect their rewards. The Jareth that was currently present would probably vote to pursue the nest, however....

We gave 'em hell! What hell we had to give, anyway.​

We...We did, didn't we?

If you get scared, call on me again. For now, I'm tired. You get us home.​

"I...I think I'll head home, if that's ok, Michael. That was a lot of excitement." Jareth said, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll have to let Mr. Boris know I survived, ha ha."

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Jareth Clyvelle | Xack Goran Glacial

Regula was happy that her plan worked, somewhat at least, as she took care of two more rabbits. Michael's remark on the red eyes only made her more curious. “Do you think someone or something is making them act more aggressive than normal? I don't know anything about woodland demons, but this sounds like what I'd do if I had a way to control monster and wanted to learn how to use it. The rabbit nests would be ideal test subjects.”

Michael then suggested to turn back or keep going. Jareth seemed oddly okay with heading home already, but Regula wasn't as convinced. “At this point, I'm more interested in what makes these red eyed ones do what they do. We could be on the verge of discovering something big or dangerous here. Then again, one or two of them I can handle, but more than that would be an issue, so if they really behave differently and would start attacking in bigger numbers...” She clicked her tongue. “That'd be a bit of an issue~”

When Michael stared at her on the stealth and caution part, she gave him an awkward smile. “I know, I know, finding a way to silence the noise is at the top of my list of upgrades, believe me! If you want to sneak in alone, I'd be happy to sit this one out or just hunt individual or pairs of rabbits on the outskirts on my own.”

After thinking it through a bit more, she had another idea. “Do you think it'd be possible to use the noise to our advantage? If we steadily but carefully draw closer to the nest, we might be able to lure in a few rabbits at a time whenever I fire a shot. That way, we'd be able to thin out the herd pretty efficiently while also approaching our goal. Or do you think it's more likely they'll all be huddled together near the nest and come at us en masse the moment we're closer?”

 

[Goran Glacial]

Xack Gransuke

Xack placed back and forth several times before stopping clearly frustrated at Michael comment, "though I doubt theres a toad it would be ideal if ryke had a forewarning either way..." xack held his chin and assessed his own abilities and what he knew of the rest. Xack sighed before speaking again, "Though I'm a late comer up up for scoping and or taking out the rabbit nest however I do propose that if we hear an odd tune to retreat immediately we are not equipped for what summoned the tree demons". Stretching a bit before checking his armor Xack prepped himself before turning to regula "nice to meet you I'm xack gransuke my strengths are well.. strength and endurance." He chuckled as he lifted a nearby rock the size of a small barrel before tossing onto the ground. Xack pulled some jerky he grabbed from Town before leaving and begun to chew on it hoping the group decided to go to the nest, because even if they didn't clear it it would be a good idea to see what's causing the abnormality at least.

 

[NeramoDJI]

"I'll follow your lead Michael." Matt said while slinging his bow back onto his shoulder. He had been previously just collecting his spent arrows, not wanting to let them be wasted on rabbits when he could reuse them. "So, if we're introducing strengths... I shoot things. That's about it." He said honestly, sticking the bloodstained arrows back in his quiver. "My name is Matt. I don't have a last name." He explained, before looking towards Michael. "I think we should check out the nest." He said with a nod. "It'll be dangerous, but we can't let something like this fester and potentially hurt normal people." He elaborated, not wanting his inaction to be the cause of harm to anyone. "If it gets too dangerous, we can leave and come back with reinforcements or something." He said, sighing a bit.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: Clyvelle Youpi NeramoDJI Elvario Goran Glacial
OOC: Majority wish to proceed toward the nest. We shall continue. Party will now decide how they wish to secure the nest resources and/or area. Michael will back the party up.
Time: 12:30pm
Weather: Cool but not cold, clear blue sky
TLDR: Encouraged Jareth to come, informed the party of what he knew, moved the party and kart with bunnies to the general area of the nest. Boss bunny and rabbits sit between party and nest.
Post Listening:

Northern Ryken Plains

Michael​

Hearing what the majority of the party wished to do, Michael nodded his head in affirmation. Adventurers were risk takers for the sake of fast money. It only made sense that the majority would say yes when given the opportunity. Michael smiled ruefully for asking an obviously question and hinting at his own inexperience again. While the others discussed briefly, Michael turned to Jareth who was the only one to wish to turn back,

"I do not blame you for your decision, but I must accompany the majority of the candidates. I have seen you can take out a rabbit or two if surprise is on your side though, so I expect you'll be safe if you truly wish to turn back. However, it is through testing ourselves with things just a bit beyond our capabilities that we rise to the occasion and grow. This could be that moment for you."

Michael said in a reassuring manner. The senior adventurer had no wish to have people in his charge die nor did he wish to drag the nervous and fearful into situations people were likely to get hurt, but he briefly recalled some of the things he experienced early on and knew what made him what him to grow and what allowed him to stagnate. Turning to the rest of the group, he continued the conversation,

"Let's take lunch and discuss...."

Michael then smelled the blood and innards of the rabbits. Not the most appetizing of smells and could attract other beasts even if it kept the horned rabbits away. They were also in the middle of hostile territory. Not a place to be taking things lightly.

"On second thought, let's keep moving, and clear that nest first. It should give us control of the area enough to collect ourselves for a while after the fact. I don't know of the horned-rabbit enough to know whether or not the red eyes is something normal or not for them. We'll all do better to just stay alert for anything that may be antagonizing the rabbits against us. We have more firepower now, so we shouldn't need to go in quietly. They are unlikely to exercise tactics and surround us. We saw that in our last fight. They will flee from Regula's gun so long as they have someplace to run, red eyes excluded, so we simply pin them to their nest and likely they will be forced to flood out from a singular point we can take advantage of with the about of weaponry and attackers we have present."

Those that wished could follow Michael after the rabbits were loaded onto the kart. He would take the kart over the low hill and deeper into the rabbit territory. A rabbit here or there did not make much difference to the party, clearly able to dispatch them now as needed. It was the aggressive hordes they were especially watchful for. They finally found it after several minutes of walking: A large horned rabbit sat at the entrance of a massive burrow and a couple dozen horned rabbits hopped around in the grass in front of it. They were still a ways off, but the rabbit looked to be 8ft high as it sat on its hind legs. It also had 2 extra horns and glowing red eyes...

Spoiler: Horned Rabbit

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Jareth Clyvelle | Xack Goran Glacial | Matt NeramoDJI

Regula was a bit surprised by the belated introduction, but but gave Xack a reply. “I'm Regula, it's a pleasure to meet you. You've probably already seen and heard what I'm all about, but if you need some smithing done, I'm also your gal~” She also picked upon something else. “What do you mean by odd tune?”

She then took in Michael's advise. Considering he didn't commented on her suggestion to abstain from going along with the rest, she assumed he'd accounted for her going in guns blazing and was okay with it. “That is one big rabbit...” Regula whispered, upon observing the one in front of the nest, with a couple dozen others surrounding it. They had the the element of surprise and some distance on their side, but enemy numbers were pretty high and they didn't know how many more were in the nest.

She sighed and turned to Michael, continuing to whisper. “I don't think we can take them on with just us novices, but I've got no clue how much of this you're ab le to take care of. Seeing how the big one is red-eyed, it might be best to assume all the ones surrounding him will turn red-eyed as well. Without you here, I'd probably have suggested to retreat, but if you're joining in on this, I'm not sure.” She looked again. “If we want to do this, I can draw them all towards me with my gun blasts. I'll fire some strong shots at the big one and lure in the rest along with it. You guys can lie in wait along the way and catch them off guard. I should be able to hold out against the smaller ones for a bit, although the big one might be significantly more trouble. Does that sound any good?”

 

[NeramoDJI]

[CD: 1 Turn]

"Nice to meet you too Regula." Matt commented from the back, knowing he already met her and simply saying it for the sake of saying it, a grin on his face as he moved up to where they could see the large rabbit. He began to combine his Range and Appraisal Skill, wanting to see what kind of monster this here Giant Rabbit was, and to get a bead on where he should be putting his arrows. He was extremely good at bringing down single targets, dealing with groups wasn't his forte. So he figured he'd be the most help in bringing down that giant rabbit, he just needed to appraise it to figure out where to shoot it.

"I can deal some good damage to that main one. I can't really deal with groups that well though. So you guys will need to deal with the little ones, since I can't really do any kind of damage in an area. More needlepoint precision." He informed the others, slowly drawing his arrow from it's quiver, his eye giving a silvery-glint as he began his [Weakpoint-Identify], which was simply a combination of Range and Appraisal.

"If you've got the little ones like you say Regula, I can deal with the big one I think. Big guys like him usually have the biggest weak points." He explained, looking over to the woman with a smile from where he was laying. "What do you think Michael?" He asked, turning to the leader, glancing towards Xack as he did, but focusing particularly on Michael.

 

[Clyvelle]

Jareth Fletcher
|Human|Eyeglass Adept|Scorned|​

Jareth would not be convinced. Today's outing was only a test, and, as far as he was concerned, his portion of the test had concluded. Whatever lay beyond that next hill was not for him. Not today. Not yet anyway. He thanked Michael and the team for their support then headed back to Ryken. On the way, he remembered Master Nolan had mentioned he wanted to discuss something with him....

((Officially leaving thread at this point.))

 

[Goran Glacial]

Xack Gransuke

Xack scratched his head and replied to regula "it was some kind of ritual magic performed by some kind toad shaman... all I know is it wasn't friendly and kept sending waves of tree demons at the nearest town." Xack sighed before following Michael making sure to make light and smooth steps so as to make as little noise with his armor as he could. Even though they couldn't sneak a good ambush was better then an unprepared rush. Xack listened to what was said before saying his piece "I'm glad it doesn't seem as serious as I expected. I can take care of small fry easily but I might be better as a meat shield for the big guy but I'll leave the choice up to you guys" xack drew his longsword getting prepared for whatever they decided.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: Clyvelle Youpi NeramoDJI Elvario Goran Glacial
OOC:
Time: 12:40pm
Weather: Cool but not cold, clear blue sky
TLDR: Thanked and congratulated Jareth on his participation, voiced his willingness to support the team on this extra credit endeavor, and encouraged those with ranged ability to begin opening fire on the targets. He would move forward to intercept any rabbit rush.
Post Listening:

Northern Ryken Plains

Michael​

After Jareth made his intention to leave the party of the day, Michael thanked him for his efforts on behalf of the guild and assured him that his efforts so far were acknowledged and would be reported. He could probably check back with the guild the following day assuming their extra credit rabbit hunt went without an issue. Once Jareth was safely away from the party, Michael would continue planning with the rest.

"The bigger rabbit is too far away to properly gauge its strength and ability. I'd personally prefer we reduce the number of the smaller rabbits first and then focus our efforts on the large one, however, I leave that decision to the ranged members of the party. Since this is extra credit, I will participate more fully. I'll move forward to intercept any rabbits that come our way. I'd rather not lay down and wait for them. Too much risk in getting caught flat footed, in my opinion. I react better on my feet and I don't mind if they target me rather than you guys. Just keep shooting as much as you guys are able so long as you aren't in danger. Feel free to start when you are ready,"

Michael encouraged as he moved forward. He gave himself about 30ft of breathing room from the party. The rabbits were still another 50-70ft off. Once the rabbits started coming this way, he was currently the defacto target, but that was assuming he was alone when they started rushing for the archer and gunner.

The blue swordsman took out Alpha and his mundane blade and held them at the ready. Despite the speed of the rabbits, he was quite fast too so long as he saw them coming. While all the visible rabbits were next to the big one by the burrow, it was not clear that that was all of them. Michael kept looking to the sides of their soon-to-be battlefield just in case some of the rabbits in the area happened to be hiding in tall grass or low hills to either side.

Spoiler: Horned Rabbit

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Xack Goran Glacial | Matt NeramoDJI | Jareth Clyvelle

Regula would've said her “Goodbye! Don't forget to stop by if you need any blacksmithing done~” to Jareth, upon realising he was leaving the rest of them.

Furthermore, Matt's intellect was questioned when he replied to Regula's introduction to Xack, but Regula was still willing to leave the big rabbit to him. However, Michael soon interrupted, wanting them to go after the small ones first. “Small ones it is.”

She also listened to Xack's explanation of the magic he dealt with and his own role in the team. “That sounds like it was rather problematic, but it's good to know we've got an experienced meat shield on board~.” His offer to be a meat-shield was nice. Although Regula was confident her own sturdiness and gear were better, it was still nicer to be able to focus fully on shooting opponents, rather than also having to defend against them.

With all that out of the way, the plan seemed pretty simple. Michael got in position, as he moved forwards. Xack would probably go a bit forwards as well. That left her and Matt doing the back-up shooting. It'd be a waste if they ended up firing at the same rabbit or if they wouldn't manage to cover the entire area, so she had one quick suggestion to Matt. “Considering Michael wants us to deal with the small ones first, how about I focus on the ones more to the right of Michael, you focus on the ones more towards the left?”

With the make-shift division of targets suggested, Regula waited for the rabbits to target Michael before shooting at whichever smaller rabbits were the first to start running towards him, sticking with the ones that were more to the right. At her current capacity, she knew she could fire off two shots of varying strengths (one E grade and one F grade) and that either one would kill a rabbit if she'd hit it in the head. Its why she shot an F grade shot at whichever rabbit to the right was running in the straightest line and was likeliest to be hit dead-on and followed it up with an E grade shot at one that'd be a bit more tricky to hit perfectly, making up for precision with raw force.

• Grade E Ability Cooldown: 1 Post Cooldown (CD 0/1)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity E, Combustion Affinity E, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.
• Grade F Ability Cooldown: 0 Post Coldown (CD 0/0)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity F, Combustion Affinity F, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade F – 0 Post Cooldown.

 

[Goran Glacial]

Xack Gransuke

Xack nodded to Michael's plan and moved forward staying center making sure to keep the big Rabbit in his sights he slowly crouched and walked forward timeing his movements with the ranged attackers to stop any aggressors that may rush regula and jareth, once one got close enough Xack would perform a simple stab movement ability to strike fast and accurately at the head and/or neck to respond to any further threats.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Matt simply nodded at Michael's order to focus the smaller ones down, drawing his bow back in preparation. He already knew the rabbits weak points, but likely he didn't think he'd need to be particularly focused unless they some how got passed their front line. In the meantime, he listened to Regula, nodding a bit. "Gotcha. I'll cover any that get too close as well." He said, giving Regula a big pat on the back before they began, trying his best to boost the morale before aiming towards the first rabbit he saw. He saw Xack move forward, taking a deep breath and loosing his arrow towards the rabbit.

"Alright, here goes nothing." He said, his usual apathy showing through, even though internally he very much cared about how this went. He just was not good at expressing that. With Michael involved however, he didn't really mind what was going on. This was just going to be fun for him. Unless things went south. That would not be fun. After he loosed his first arrow, he quickly drew another and prepared to fire once more, taking aim and looking towards the next rabbit he could see, firing a second arrow within that span of time, the arrow surging through the air like a bolt of lighting. Of course, entirely metaphorically.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: Clyvelle Youpi NeramoDJI Elvario Goran Glacial
OOC: Battle mode. 3 actions per post. Move action during a post will lower the accuracy of ranged attacks.
Time: 12:41pm
Weather: Cool but not cold, clear blue sky
TLDR: Party successfully launched a surprise attack. Xach was too far forward and about to be hurt really badly. Michael moves to intercept.
Post Listening:

Northern Ryken Plains

Michael​

The surprise attack on the rabbits went off without a problem. A series of explosions and 5 rabbits were already killed of the two dozen or so present. The only issue was the rabbits were not surprised. Rather than looking around and swiveling ears to make sense of what was happening as originally planned, they were already aware of Xach and noted the others as consequence. His heavy armor and big red colors in a field of green during a noon sun were hard to miss and that was putting aside his heavy and noisy approach due to his armor and lack of any finesse. Before the dead rabbits' bodies even hit the ground, the rabbits were already moving to defend their warren. The large rabbit in back pounced the ground and released a roar like a lion that moved the field of grass out to Michael. The remaining rabbits now had red eyes as well.

"...He's too far forward..."

Michael murmured out loud as he started to move without thinking. The red eyes grouping up on Xack was: all of them.

"He's too far forward!"

Michael shouted as he rushed headlong forward. Red eyes hunkered down. Their massive legs flexing the way they do before a springing strike. The plains didn't leave anywhere to hide and xack couldn't outrun them. The plan to take them as they come only worked by allowing the rabbits to come to them rather than moving to them.

"[Fast]" (fast E)

Michael covered the ground a second later. Once again Michael was too close to allies to use his abilities and the rabbit missiles were incoming. Too many of them. Swinging his two blades, he would try to bat Xack back with the flats of his blade. The force applied was about twice Xack's ability to defend to ensure distance if it hit. Michael didn't have time to say anything. His expression didn't convey any words either. The moment was too short and he was acting out of frantic desperation.

Whether Xack let himself get launched or not, the remaining red eyes would harpoon the area like a shower of arrows. Michael getting buried beneath the attacks. The large Rabbit in the back seemingly smiled, if that were possible, and started to lumber forward while its underlings started plucking themselves out of the ground to get ready to mount another defense. 19 rabbits remain. Distance to party 80ft.

Spoiler: Horned Rabbit

 

[Volkie]

Pierre Rothel - Interactions open.
Truth Be told, Pierre was not even sure himself on why he currently was barreling through a clear field at max speed, or the fact he was heading right for some sort of commotion up ahead, but it seemed to him that he felt he had something to fulfill there, as prior to this he had gotten a full refueling.

"..Seems the hill before the commotion has an abrupt decline.. maybe I can use it to gain airtime..?" Pushing himself further, the low blaring of his engine filled his sound as he traversed, closer, and closer..

Pierre found himself feeling like he was back in the war, in the midst of a Bayonet Charge gunning right for a German troop...

Until it snapped back to reality, as his treads lost the feeling of the ground for at least a quarter of a second..

And seeing that he was gunning it right at what looked like a rabbit with a horn...

The roar of his engine, muted his battlecry.

"Ils ne sont pas passés!" (They Shall Not Pass!)
​

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Mentions: Michael Novama | Xack Goran Glacial | Matt NeramoDJI | Pierre Volkie

Regula watched as Xack accidentally drew in some rabbits ahead of schedule and got 'saved' by Michael, who in turn got targeted by just about every rabbit and their mother. There was little Regula could do to be of much immediate aid, other than to thin out the herd of rabbits assaulting Michael. “Let's try aiming for the ones most ready to launch themselves again!” To reduce the risk of friendly fire and to scout out the most dangerous targets, she aimed an F grade [Combustion Shot] at one of those that was a bit further off and ready to build up moment and launch itself at Michael, rather than those that were closest to Michael. If Matt were to do the same, they might perhaps make it a tad bit easier on the blue swordsman.

Not long after firing, she was thoroughly confused by the odd metal creature that came running into one of the horned rabbits. “What the hell is that thing?” It looked like it wasn't with the rabbits, considering it was trying to run one over, but that was about all that Regula could conclude. She wasn't even sure if this thing was a [monster] or not, but for now, the rabbits took priority. Not that she had any capacity to fire another shot left... She figured that, after a silencer, an option to fire her weapon more often would be a good second thing to work on.

• Grade E Ability Cooldown: 1 Post Cooldown (CD 1/1)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity E, Combustion Affinity E, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.
• Grade F Ability Cooldown: 0 Post Coldown (CD 0/0)
• Combustion Shot – Magic Affinity F, Combustion Affinity F, combustion gun – Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade F – 0 Post Cooldown.

 

[Goran Glacial]

Xack Gransuke

Xack cussed as he started hearing shouts of 'He's gone too far' so he immediately backtracked attempting to back up enough to consider enough, but apparently it was a tad late as micheal made a move to push him back enough to be safe. since xack moved position he wasn't directly in the line of fire of micheal's move so xack attempted to first move completely out of the way so as to not receive damage, baring that to defend himself from enough of the damage to prevent breaking his armor.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Matt saw Michael become buried by the rabbits, his eyes widened as he realized this was a death trap for their melee individuals, since Michael would likely be focused down by the rabbits until he was dead, since these rabbits seemed to be commanded by the giant rabbit, which meant there was only one thing for Matt to do now. With a deep breath, he stood up and drew another arrow. "He's in trouble, keep doing what you're doing, I'll draw them away from him!" He said towards Regula, before starting to run towards the group, thinking there was one good way to draw the fire of the rabbits, and that was annoy their leader. With rapid breaths he ran adjacent to the group, moving in and firing a pair of arrows towards the rabbits, trying to make as much noise as possible. "Hey! You Ugly Bastard rabbits! Come and get the helpless little archer!" He shouted, not sure if the big rabbit could understand him, but figuring if it could it might work, while using his arrows to bring down another 2 rabbits, One being a regular shot, and the other resulting in a grey glow of his eyes, commenced with a [Slayers Eye]

[Slayers Eye CD: 1]