Take What You Can - Age of Sigmar Quest
- Thread starter Kaboomatic
- Start date
Mission 1: To Catch a Thunderfin - Part 4
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[] Wait and Burst: Let the Thunderfin and feeding frenzy savage each other while picking off other hunting packs, building up a lightning magic ritual to draw out the Thunderfin's charge far beyond its limits, finishing off the frenzy and exhausting the already tired and injured Thunderfin. Once it's weak enough, ram and bite it, binding it with ropes and subduing it before escaping the feeding frenzy.
"WAIT FOR IT! HOLD FIRE, SIT BACK, PICK OFF ANY TOO CLOSE!" You bellow out, realizing the urgency of your situation. 124 seconds, not enough time for anything too elaborate. You'll have to trust in your crew to understand what you mean here. "ZIA, RITUAL! THEN WE GRAB IT AND BREAK OUT!"
Your crew rushes to follow your orders, Rakarth urging them onwards. Within moments, Zia's ritual implements are laid out in front of her and ready to be used. They're not used immediately of course, you don't want to fire it off too early.
Instead, you wait and watch as the Thunderfin impacts the gathered hunting packs, at first gobbling down the remnants of the electrified bait, but rushing for the assorted sea beasts immediately after. You see the pack hunters recoil and regroup, temporary alliances forming as the warzone pivots to deal with this new threat.
And then, and only then, do you give the go-ahead. "NOW!" Zia nods, getting into position. Her crystals are placed, the rain spirit's corpse is on an altar in the center, and your ship's mage begins chanting in a primordial tongue as the wind whips her braids in a chaotic cacophony. A thing of lightning and fangs answers her call, a great electric ball that manifests and consumes teeth and claws of hardened cloud. You watch for a moment, making sure that nothing's going wrong, but once Rakarth takes position guarding Zia, you nod and pull your gaze away.
When you turn back to look at the sea, you find blood and death.
The ocean's turned into a chaotic medley of the dead and the dying, as packs of hunters wage lightning assaults against the thunderfin, slipping in between the pulses of electricity, using the corpses of their fellows to soak up the charge. Many still die, either to the fins and maw of the great beast or - more likely - repeated exposure to the electrical aura, and the damage that even a successful assault does is minimal, scratches and gouges against the scales and drops of blood here and there.
But with how many hunters there are, that doesn't matter. The Thunderfin's lightning might fry a dozen beasts at a time, but the thirteenth slips through and bites down, tearing a chunk out of its flesh before succumbing to the charge. Your quarry's enormous bulk makes it comparatively slow, unable to turn and maneuver fast enough to deal with the attacks from all angles. It's death is the death of a thousand cuts. With each new offensive, it loses a bit more blood, a bit more flesh. With each new attack, it slows a little bit more.
You watch with bated breath and gritted teeth as Zia's ritual races the Thunderfin's death to the finish line, the victor determining the fate of your entire mission. With every second, the guttural speech intensifies, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up a bit further as the smell of ozone grows stronger. With every second, the Thunderfin loses more blood, its struggles fade ever so slightly.
Then, as your quarry's breath grows fainter and its blood seeps deeper into the ocean, you hear the crack of thunder emanate from the deck of your ship, as a bolt of lightning slams down into the Thunderfin and Zia collapses into Rakarth's waiting arms.
For a brief moment, the wounded beast glows an incandescent white, as the electricity trapped within its scales is joined by the energy of the storm spirit. Then, in a cracking peal of thunder, every bit of lightning the Thunderfin possesses discharges. Violently.
The effects are immediate, as every beast attacking the Thunderfin floats to the top of the water. Some twitch and spasm violently, some are utterly still, yet more smoke and crackle, and a small minority have exploded.
Incredible as the spectacle is, you're barely paying attention. The moment the ritual concludes, the Scar rushes forward at speed, filled from brig to deck with bloodthirsty pirates and opening its jaw like the maw of a hungry beast.
Your crew whoops and laughs as they go, lost in the joys of getting up close and personal. Some strap themselves to ropes and hang off the side, cutting into anything with the balls to jump out of the water. Others take aim at the flying predators diving down at your quarry, fending them off so you can get closer. The rest just add their voices and energy to the chorus, swept away by the infectious mood.
It takes longer than you'd hoped, with all the corpses in the water maneuvering isn't the easiest, but you finally get there. With a jolt of impact, the Jaws slam into the Thunderfin, carefully calibrated to make sure they don't immediately kill the thing. Before the beast can even think to struggle, your crew rushes forward, hurling iron-tipped harpoons and tossing weighted nets down, restricting its movement and ability to thrash.
For your part, you're not going to wait a second longer. With a cackle somewhere between gleeful and bloodthirsty, you hurl yourself off of the crow's nest, flipping through the air and landing catlike on the railing, before pushing yourself off of that and leaping down to the Thunderfin itself.
As soon as your boots impact its flesh, the beast roars, bucking and writhing as it tries to dislodge you. But you're a Scourge Privateer, born in the heart of a howling storm and raised on sea and salt and spite. This? A no name pissant beast good for nothing but shaking the rust off?
This is nothing.
You're a daughter of the waves, a dealer of death. You hunt monsters and sink ships, raid and loot and kill. There's no port you won't visit, no beast you'll shy away from. No challenge you won't face, no fucking thing on or under this sea of monsters that you'll take a single step back from.
You're Rihoval Deadeye, Scourge Privateer. This? It's nothing but a stepping stone.
Really, there was only one way it could have gone.
At the end of it, the Thunderfin is unconscious and exhausted, defeated utterly. You haven't even broken a sweat.
You take a moment to luxuriate in the feeling of victory, before calling out to the half of your crew currently leaning over the railing to watch you. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LAZY BASTARDS STANDING AROUND FOR?! WE'VE GOT AN ENCIRCLEMENT TO BREAK!"
Naturally, this is when the first of the hunting packs drawn to the battlefield after the ritual's completion decides to attack. Naturally, you cut them in half with a few swings of your blades. Of course, there's even more waiting, watching, bubbling just under the surface.
The Scar turns and begins to speed away, wind and wave spraying in your face as you hand off of a harpoon-line with one hand. Packs of wolf-sharks and razor octopi and other killers of the deeps race alongside you, snapping and biting at your ship's heels. They come from all angles, from the front, from the side, from down below, and skilled as you are, you're only one Aelf.
Luckily, you're not alone.
A thunderous crack echoes out, as two volleys of grapeshot obliterate anything stupid enough to come in from the sides. Bolts of lightning plunge deep into the water, electrocuting the ocean under your ship. And above and over all of it comes the eerie chanting of the drowned and the damned, tempo pulling on the strings of your foes and forcing them to dance to a predictable rhythm.
You watch as hungry monsters approach from the front, snapping and clawing with blood-crazed fury, and you meet them with a grin on your face and an oath on your tongue.
As you duck and dive, slash out in arcs of silver steel, make beasts die while dancing out of the way of their assaults, you can't help but laugh. To all the gods above and below, Sigmar and Gorkamorka, Kurnous and Khaine, Dead Mathlann in his Ocean Halls, you send a prayer of thanks. After all, right here, right now? The sea all around you, a crew at your back and the enemy ahead?
There's no place you'd rather be.
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After a solid day below deck tending to the Thunderfin, Rakarth staggers up the stairs, giving you a casual salute as he moves to report in. "We've got good news and bad news 'Vali, so I'll give you the bad news first."
You nod, despite yourself, and gesture for him to get on with it.
Rakarth takes a deep swig of grog, steadying himself before sighing. "Thunderfin's fucked." Well shit.
You raise an eyebrow. "How fucked are we talking here?"
"Pretty fuckin' fucked, I'll be honest." Rakarth pauses to take another drink before continuing. "The pack hunters did a hell of a lot of damage, and while I'm able to do some rudimentary patchups, it's still inches from death."
Okay, you'll give him the win on this one, that's pretty fucking fucked. "Anything you can do so that we don't lose our investment?"
At this, Rakarth perks up. It'd be indistinguishable normally, to most people the Corsair would look like his normal casual self, but you've dealt with this fucker for over a century. You can tell when he's got good news. And, as always, you're right. "Yep." He says, popping the P. Gods below you hate that. "It'll take most of my time, but with all the food we've gotten and our stores of Aqua, I'll be able to keep it stable and slowly healing."
Tch. Better than you'd feared, worse than you'd hoped. "Only if we don't do anything to open its wounds again?" You drawl out, and are met with a nod from the Blackhand.
Well shit. The seas of Ghur aren't generally known for their calmness, and there's more than one beast in its depths that'd like to take a bite out of a near-death Thunderfin. "Any solutions?" You ask offhandedly, more out of obligation than anything else.
"Well, I could strip some of tha Scar fer parts, get a nice little barrier goin', protect tha Thunderfin from anythin' trying ta get at it." Maureen's voice rings out from right behind you, and only long practice lets you keep your cool.
You open your mouth, ready to shut the idea down- Before pausing. It's… honestly workable, assuming she doesn't take parts from anything too important. "...Maybe." You acquiesce, and clap your hands over your ears just fast enough to muffle Maureen's squeal of excitement. Rakarth isn't so lucky, and your medic has the expression of someone who's had their brain liquefied.
He really needs to get better about that.
In revenge, Rakarth pounces on the obvious question, eyes glinting maliciously. "And the risks?"
Maureen freezes mid-fistpumping, chuckling awkwardly. "...Well, it might cause some damage that we can't fix up easy until we get ta port, but that's it!"
You nod. About what you expected then. "Alright, I'll keep it in mind then. Any other ideas?" You ask, not really expecting a response.
Well, until you see Zia walking up to you. As always, your pint-sized mage doesn't disappoint, opening her mouth to deliver a response. "A ritual is always an op-Captain, are you mentally calling me short?"
…One of these days you're going to figure out how she does that. "Yep." You say, popping the P. It's fine when you do it after all.
Zia blinks. "...Good to know, I suppose." She clears her throat, pretty obviously trying to regain her composure. "As I was saying, a ritual is always an option. With the Thunderfin's scales, I should be able to construct a similar effect around the hull of the ship. It would only last for as long as we had the Thunderfin's passive Azyrite aura to generate it, but it would allow us to proceed mostly unmolested by the various creatures of the deep."
"How'd you stop the Thunderfin from tapping into that shit to get its charge back?" Rakarth asks. You're pretty sure Zia hasn't done anything too bad to him lately, so it looks like this is just him being a dick. Make no mistake, the question needed asking, but even still.
Your mage coughs, dark features hiding her blush of embarrassment from everyone but you. "That is an issue, but only a potential one. There's a strong chance that nothing of the sort would happen."
She pauses for a moment, before firing back a verbal arrow of her own. "In that case, what would you suggest? I don't suppose you've got any alternatives?"
"Yeah!" Maureen adds.
Rakarth blinks, leaning back a bit. "I mean, obvious idea's obvious, isn't it? Have the crew guard it 24/7 in shifts, if there's anything they can't handle, they'll call one of you."
Maureen and Zia blink in unison, taken aback by how Rakarth just had that ready to go already, no thinking necessary. They regroup pretty quickly though. "You're proposing that our crew deal with the beasts of the Ghurish seas alone?" Zia asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Don' get it wrong, I've got a lotta faith in 'em, but there's no way they're gonna get outta this without some sorta injuries." Maureen notes.
"And with you at work on the Thunderfin-" Your mage says.
The train of thought's picked up by your shipwright, who finishes the two-pronged assault. "-There's nobody ta patch em up if shit goes sideways."
Rakarth staggers back, reeling from the combo. But you can't keep a Corsair down for long, and he steps forward again. "Ultimately, it's up to 'Vali, yeah? We've provided the options, but it's up to her to decide as Captain."
Your three officers look at you expectantly, waiting for a decision. After a few minutes of thought, and a few more minutes to trap them in a sea of awkwardness just because you can, you've got your answer.
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[] Maureen's Option: You'll listen to Maureen on this and allow her to build a protective box for the Thunderfin, keeping it safe from anything that might try to eat it. Of course, you'll have to make sure she doesn't take anything too vital apart, otherwise you're kind of fucked. All-around protective box from both the weather and sea beasts. Takes the longest time to set up, and might result in significant damage to the ship.
[] Zia's Option: You're going to go with Zia for this one, allowing her to get a protective ritual set up, zapping anything that comes too close to the Scar with bolts of lightning. There is the chance that the Thunderfin's going to get some energy from the loop of lightning and try to escape though. Magical ritual that offers protection against sea beasts and minor protection against the weather. Takes time to set up, and might result in a Thunderfin escape attempt.
[] Rakarth's Option: You'll take Rakarth's advice here, allowing him to set up a rotation of the crew to guard the Thunderfin from monster attacks via large amounts of murder. You'll have to keep an eye out though, in case someone gets seriously hurt without Rakarth to patch them up. Guard rotation that offers protection solely against sea beasts. Takes no time to set up, but might result in injury towards the crew.
[] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… (Write in idea here). Must be approved by QM beforehand.
A/N: Been a while, hasn't it? I've been writing for C7, working on the whole college thing, generally having a hell of a lot to do, but I'm finally in a place where I can start to think about updating again. Hopefully this is as fun to read as it was to write, and I'm glad to be back.
As always, huge thanks to @Swordomatic and @Xantalos for giving feedback and advice on this. I'd also like to extend a massive thank you to @Solarion and @BlueHelix for giving me the kick in the ass needed to get this done.
No moratorium, Vote's open for at least 24 hours. As always, if you have any questions, ping me.
Once more, thank you all for being so patient. I can't promise anything concrete, but know that this quest will never be abandoned. One way or another, no matter how long it takes, I'll always return.
- Location
- Here & There
YES MORE HIGH SEAS ADVENTURE
- Location
- madison
I'm leaning towards Maureen's Option, we can patch up the damage back at port and we'll get a payday so it shouldn't be an issue if it costs a little bit.
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
@Kaboomatic full coverage is the idea.
People know what they are signing up for, but if the ship sinks or the thunderfin escapes then this was all for nothing. Don't want weather to ruin our efforts either.
@Kaboomatic full coverage is the idea.
People know what they are signing up for, but if the ship sinks or the thunderfin escapes then this was all for nothing. Don't want weather to ruin our efforts either.
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Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Okay, I see what you're going for here.
It has the following risks:
Guard rotation coupled with a ward specifically against the weather. Rotation takes no time to set up, higher injury chance due to Zia being unavailable. Weather ward takes minimal time, minor chance of Thunderfin gaining energy, and Zia will be unavailable until reaching port.
Solarion
For Light and Life
- Location
- From Cybertron
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
Let's goooo. What's life without a little risk?
Excited to see this back!
Let's goooo. What's life without a little risk?
Excited to see this back!
- Location
- PA
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
Block the weather and use the crew. Maureen and Cap's on emergency duty?
Seems viable to me, I think?
Block the weather and use the crew. Maureen and Cap's on emergency duty?
Seems viable to me, I think?
Welcome back and good luck!
How about this @Kaboomatic ?
[] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with…Maureen and Zia work together, with Maureen taking care of the weather and confinement by a roofed cage and Zia does a modified ritual, eschewing the weather protection but making sure the be beast has a harder time drawing on the lightning.
Possibly building the cage and the ritual to work together, with the ritual draining power whenever the cage is touched.
Edit: made it more coherent
How about this @Kaboomatic ?
[] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with…Maureen and Zia work together, with Maureen taking care of the weather and confinement by a roofed cage and Zia does a modified ritual, eschewing the weather protection but making sure the be beast has a harder time drawing on the lightning.
Possibly building the cage and the ritual to work together, with the ritual draining power whenever the cage is touched.
Edit: made it more coherent
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- Location
- Here & There
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Something Else: Best of all three. Have Maureen create something that protects the Thunderfin's underbelly and exposed flanks. Have the crew ready with crossbows and the like to take care of anything from the air; while Zia puts together a last-ditch defensive ritual that she can trigger if the crew are in too much danger.
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The issue at hand with this is that the weather protection Zia's ritual gives is incidental, and the protective field is based on the Thunderfin's own power source, so reducing the risk of the thunderfin drawing on the lightning is near-impossible - at least with Zia's current level of skill in ritual magic.
Viable, with the following risks:
Might cause significant damage to the ship, takes time to set up. Minor risk of crew injury, will use the last of your ammunition stockpiles. Minor risk of Thunderfin gaining energy/breaking out until ritual is triggered, risk of Thunderfin gaining energy/breaking out when ritual is triggered, Minor risk of major backlash for Zia.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Ah, it's only a 3-month absence, we'll have you working your way to multi-year hiatuses in no time flat
Jokes aside, I have an idea that is probably breathtakingly stupid and outside of our capabilities but also really cool if it works. (It won't work)
Can Zia create a ritual that'd summon a storm or something to pick the Scar out of the water so we can essentially fly back home?
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Heh.Ah, it's only a 3-month absence, we'll have you working your way to multi-year hiatuses in no time flat
Jokes aside, I have an idea that is probably breathtakingly stupid and outside of our capabilities but also really cool if it works. (It won't work)
Can Zia create a ritual that'd summon a storm or something to pick the Scar out of the water so we can essentially fly back home?
Unfortunately, no, due to...
Actually, here. This is as good a time as any for me to elaborate on the skill divides.
Of course, there's the stuff I've already put in the mechanics post, but there's some larger groupings that I've got in my head too. Three of them, specifically; they go like this:
Mundane: This is your Untrained to Skilled tier, where the boundaries of mortal ability are. The upper end of this is the incredibly skilled and the inhumanly strong, but those are pretty standard in Age of Sigmar. For instance, the average Scourge Privateer spends their life in the Average skill rank, and individual ship captains probably have 1-2 skills in Skilled. These are career pirates and warriors, the sort of people who survive the seas of the mortal realms for decades and centuries without retiring. Similarly, a Bloodletter, a shard of Khorne and an entity defined around killing potential and martial bloodlust, is Average as well. Skilled is for things like the elites of the Idoneth Deepkin, the monsrous minotaurs and Troggoths, and the rank and file of the Ironjawz. There's no shame in being at this level, and most will never move past the mundane tier.
Supernatural: This is your Veteran to Master tier, where what you can do transcends the level of 'bullshit' and enters the level of 'superhuman'. Both Duardin factions are at this level on average, though for different reasons. The Fyreslayers sit around here due to the fact that they hammer parts of their dead god into their flesh for power boosts, and the Kharadrons have straight up power armor. Similarly, the Hag Priestesses of Khaine - who get their powers from blood and the veneration of their deity - along with the Lumineth Realm Lords - masterful warriors that've made contracts with elemental spirits - are also in this tier. Then of course you have Stormcast Eternals, Ossiarch Bonereapers, Soulblight Vampires, the Megabosses of the Ironjawz, Gargants, and, at the upper levels, Varanguard. All of these guys have reasons for being a cut above the rest. Heroes reforged into lightning demigods, vampire lords of ageless power, the elite troops of Archaon, fucking giants, you get the idea.
The divide between mundane and supernatural isn't something you can cross just by training. The Fyreslayers and Kharadron use relics and machines, the Hag Priestesses, Phoenix Guard, and Lumineth make contracts and partnerships with elemental or divine entities, Orruks are just built different and don't have upper limits. It's easier for mages than martial fighters, but even still, if you want to jump the gap - especially as a Scourge Privateer - you'll need outside assistance, whether that means a magical artifact, a powerful patron, or some other way.
Then we get to the third tier, Champion to Legendary. This is hero units. Pretty self explanatory, you need some more stuff to cross the supernatural to hero divide, but I'm not spoiling that this early into the quest. Get a skill or two up to Master first, and then maybe I'll explain some stuff.
...All of this to say that Zia's definitely not capable of anything like that yet, you'd need high supernatural at the very least for something that huge.
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The problem with that is ensuring the Thunderfin gets enough bodily support to not just be punctured by the Jaws.
Ninja'd by the QM.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
It's back! I hope everything has been going well with the contract work. Thanks for taking the time to update the quest some.
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Vote Closes in about 12 hours, midnight est.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Something Else - (Write In): You have your own ideas, better than what your officers have come up with… Rakarths option, but also have Zia set up a protection ward against the weather.
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Maureen's Option
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Vote closes in about an hour.
Kaboomatic
Where the Wild Things Are
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Alright, vote's closed.