Roll for surprise!

Posted on Sun Jul 14th, 2024 @ 5:53pm by Lieutenant Betaras K'ner

Mission: Starbase 364
Location: Starbase 364
Timeline: Current

ON:

{ Somewhere in a valley, in the world of Eclipcis Ecos }

K'ner hunkered down in the bushes, letting her senses extend outward. The hazy square next to her head advised she could smell the creatures ahead, but something was off with it.

Since she was still new to this ability, she looked back, taking a moment to clock Tark, who was almost as good as she at moving quietly through the forest. She motioned that something was amiss. He nodded and slowly backed away, disappearing from sight. She could've vocally updated everyone at once via the Vocal Penny, but she was very close to their quarry and didn't want to give herself away.

She tightened the cloak around her, effectively cutting off her own scent and blending in perfectly to her surroundings. When she moved, her boots wouldn't leave any tracks either. She gave it long enough for Tark to stop the others from getting closer. Surprise was paramount if they were to get an advantage, they would need it if they wanted to come out successful.

Leopold was rather light on his feet for a minotaur, but he was also the proverbial bull in the china shop. Bashing things with his head or his maul seemed to be the range of his attention, so best he wait in the wings to charge in.

Thomas, on the other hand, could be lithe and subtle when the moment called for it, a trait borne mostly from his catfolk lineage, but K'ner thought that maybe the caster cultivated other skills he hadn't yet shared. In his case, while subtle, he was more comfortable in the city, mingling among the aristocracy and socializing. The wilds were a little... well, a lot out of his comfort zone to be sure.

Claren, however, while purporting to be a simple trader looking for an exclusive agreement for some kind of rare commodity, was very stealthy when he tried, but he too, like Thomas, was more accustomed to urban environments where he had no idea what to avoid, or what would normally avoid him. Same with the traps he always waved everyone away from, half the time he triggered them while trying to disarm them! For one with elven ancestors, he was better paired up with the minotaur, especially when he wanted to use that dang booming bow of his!

It was Cally that K'ner had yet to really figure out. Her role as the bard and all-around backup seemed straightforward, but K'ner sensed another thread wound throughout her backstory, and weaved an uncertain future. She did seem to attract undead, coincidental? Perhaps... but still, something would be coming to a head at some point and K'ner was determined to be prepared.

Tark's rough voice sounded quietly in K'ner's ear from the penny inserted there. "They're braced at the cross of the willow and birch where you made your trail mark. I'm going to change to the giant frog and move upwind with the package."

K'ner relaxed and concentrated... well, actually she reached up slightly to tap the gauzy display and triggered her mental abilities to connected with the druid. ["Frog or toad?"]

She could feel Tark laugh through the mental link. ["Only a ranger would ask such a question. On second thought, I might not be able to wrap one with my tongue if they're too large, so I'll go with the wolf spider. I rather like that one anyway, multi-versatile."]

K'ner avoided shaking her head, concentrating on maintaining her stealth. Even though she was downwind, there was always a chance they would detect her if she wasn't careful. She would have one chance to get one, preferably the one she had chosen previously, her mark still indicating where it was ahead.

["You know, for some solitary figure of nature who rarely talks to people, you are a bit of a chatty Kathy eh?"] K'ner knew that was the pot calling the kettle black, but it still applied. The druid seemed to be thinking to himself when the mental link was up and broadcast every little detail...

K'ner felt the connection break, hoping it was because Tark had shape-changed and not because he'd decided to take umbrage at her comment.

In any event, she waited. As soon as the creatures caught wind of the beast-shaped druid and the bait sack he now carried, things would move rather quickly, to whatever end it would...

The display hovering at the edge of her peripheral vision suddenly emboldened: "ROLL FOR SURPRISE!"

K'ner sighed...

...now to invite the Fates, and hope their skills carried them through.



OFF:

Lt Betaras K'ner
Hazard Team Medic TL-B / CMO
USS Chuck Norris

and part-time Ranger

:o)