The Irish Tree

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Short post before I catch some sleep. Sorry if it didn't really contribute anything.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Something Something Pink Floyd

Vani was not a fan of the odds they were facing. One group in an alleyway is one thing, but this was like a group of no-name peasants trying to fight a dragon. ...Well, he had to suppose that Serafaye made it like they had an unbeatable sword. ...Just, one that none of them had any idea how to wield properly. The resident mages were trying to cook up a plan, all the while Vani wondered if he could make some sort of distraction to lure a good portion of the soldiers away. Preferably without dying in the process. Paladins were all about "sacrificing for the greater good", sure, but jumping into a wall of spears and calling it a noble sacrifice wasn't brave. It was stupider than Vani could ever aspire to be.

Funneling the couple dozen guards into a narrow space sounded like their best option, since Serafeye was strong enough to crack heads and-

...Wait.

"...Can't she just...punch the wall behind us down? We could slip out if Ms. ...Serafaye was it? If she can just shove a few of the bricks aside, then we could get out and they'd be none the wiser. ...Of course, if they had any troops on the other side of the wall that could be a problem," he said, pointing to the wall nearest the alleyway. At this rate though, they had so many plans to get through that he'd just follow along with any of them. He wasn't exactly able to lay Kaze down to get into a brawl with a huge sword stuck through him, but he could fight if need be.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Vani is on a special wavelength of stupid

Vani was more than glad at their victory. He was ecstatic. Pumping his shield arm in the air over and over as he mockingly chased after the soldiers until they were well and gone, the elf paladin bore a cocky smirk on his lips before he looked to Serafaye. She was...one strange anomaly, that was to be sure. She looked about as strong as the most bookish woman he'd ever had grace his eyes, and in spite of that seemed to have the magical talents of a farmer's daughter. But...either way, that was amazing. Sheathing his sword, Vani would give her a light clap on the back that made his hand sting just a little bit before he said: "Nice work there! I didn't take you for being so...well, strong! So, how do you do it? Is it like a spell you cast, or did you do some special training?"

Just as Vani got to asking his questions however, the sickening shunk of a blade burrowing into flesh caught his attention as his lizardman comrade had, instead of choosing to remove the blade to have it treated, chose to instead impale it deeper into him to keep it from moving around. What was wrong with him!? ...No, Vani felt like he understood. Rather than having his wound be treated with time, the lizardman had chosen to endure the pain to let them keep going forward. ...What an absolute fool. What a completely foolish action, done in sacrifice to people he barely knew, beyond Vani and their high elven companion.

...What a foolishly brave, selfless being this creature was.

Frowning as he approached, Vani would take the Lizardman's weight atop his shoulder and, even though he knew he probably was only slightly impaired by the pain judging from how powerful he was. Vani would help him walk and run if need be.

"Next time, that is, if there IS a next time, I'll yank the sword out before you even have a chance to think of doing something this dumb again. ...Let's get you out of this hellhole of a ruin. I'm against ...Ms. Serafaye was it? I'm against her just slamming into an army alone. She might be fine, but a volley of arrows is enough to turn US into pinpricks. Let's head through the alleys and get the hells out of this dump as soon as possible," the Paladin said, hoping that everyone would remember that stray shots existed. And sadly, THE BULKWARK was a tad bit occupied supporting their second strongest warrior. Second only to a busty maiden that threw punches unfit for civilized folk.

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

Steppe Archer would get to investigating the best materials to use for their traps, but it by and large seemed to be limited to grasses and sticks. That was fine enough for simple snares to catch a few goblins, but she was dissapointed that there weren't any really good pieces of land to utilize something better. They didn't seem to have time to dig a pitfall, so the best that the nomad girl could think to do was to line the entrance with snares that would be masked beneath patches of moss that she'd gathered. The grasses and fibers woven together into rope would be hard to spot, but she imagined maybe only two or three goblins could fall for something this simple. At the druid girl's mention of them being attacked from behind, Steppe Archer said: "Then it'd probably be for the best if we have a lookout. I have good eyes, so I can watch our backs. ...Or, maybe one of your little animal friends could help. I imagine the stink these goblins make is troublesome for them too. If that doesn't work though, I can do it just fine. As for a location...I'd say sitting above the cave sounds like a smart move. We can catch them off guard and hopefully kill whatever we trap before it calls for help."

Stretching, Steppe Archer would jostle her quiver a bit to check its contents. A little over a dozen arrows, but that should be more than enough if goblin dens were as small as she'd heard. Proudly looking at the traps they'd set, she said: "I think we're pretty ready. If we wanted to, we could also make a noose and try and catch one by the neck as it comes out. Big Red could probably lift a goblin with one hand."

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Hope I'm not making Vani's swordsmanship too much. I just...really, really wanted to End Someone Rightly.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Hit 'em with da MURDERSTROKE

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT!? TAKE COVER!" Vani would shout as he saw Serafeye in the line of fire for the arrows, too slow to move out of the way even as Vani rounded the corner, swift as one could be in full armor. He was too late, and the poor girl was brained by the arrow, scattering...absolutely nothing out of her cranium. Or out of her head at all. ...In fact, it seemed that the arrow did absolutely nothing whatsoever to the girl before she walked right into a spear and broke it, broke all of the line of spearmen's spears, and then landing the kind of punch that would get a barmaid laughed out of her job that sent a man flying with a dented shield and probably a broken arm.

"...What the fuck," he muttered to himself at the sight, before temporarily losing his sight to the Flash spell cast. Furiously rubbing at his eyes, Vani would regain his sight (albeit much blurrier), and find the humongous sack of scales before him and approach, deftly flicking his sword in his wrist and gripping his shield tight. "...Looks like she didn't even need our help," he jokingly said as he walked right beside his lizard ally and ever so slightly laid his hand upon his shoulder, channeling the only spell he could use at the moment. Lay on Hands was unique even amongst divine magic in the way it worked, transferring physical vitality to mend the wounds of the healer. Vani was a stupidly strong individual, so he would only be a bit winded as he tried to weave back together Kaze's broken flesh, directing his energies upon his abdomen to heal the wound that had been delivered there. It wasn't going to fix it all, but it was enough that Kaze could easily clean and treat it later. With that out of the way, Vani brandished his sword and smirked, before shouting out: "THAT'S RIGHT, FOOLS! YOU FACE THE MAIDEN OF LOLAN! HER FISTS ARE THUNDER, AND HER BODY IS AS INVINCIBLE AS A STORM!"

Of course, this was all a bluff. Vani felt a bit bad using Lolan's name in vein like this, but frankly any sort of intimidation tactic to make them target the invincible star-child was a-okay with him. Of course, not every man could fall for such a trick and would instead go for the loudest, most obnoxious elf in the alley. Two soldiers approached, one with a sword, and the other armed with a spear on his front, the elf's smirk evident as he adjusted his footing and sneered at the approaching swordsman, saying: "Show me how the stone tastes, little man," before charging. Fighting two-on-one was something that was ill-advised for any sort of melee practitioner, but in a case such as this with their morale and confidence teetering on the edge, Vani knew that he stood a chance. His lizard friend was busy, and the magicians of their misfit band were occupied with casting, so he was on his own. As the swordsman moved in for a thrust at Vani's gut, he would step in and deftly catch his blade with the cross-guard of his own, before his shield arm impacted with the man's nose and sent his helmet spinning, stunning him long enough for Vani to move in to block the spearman's thrust. Spears had a distinct range advantage, but were sadly insanely predictable. A spear wasn't made for a one-on-one confrontation with a skilled opponent; They were made for an overwhelming defense in a group that could stand up to anything. But, with this little spearman out of formation he was nothing as his spear was batted away, the distance closed in a matter of tens of tenths of seconds before Vani's blade ripped through his neck. Pulling his blade back, Vani let the man fall and flipped the blade in his right hand, holding it carefully by the blade with a measured grip to not cut himself through his gauntlets. The swordsman was charging, but instead of using his sword properly, Vani would unscrew the pommel of it as he waited, giving it a toss and a catch before throwing it straight in the challenger's eye. Baffled by the mass of iron hitting him, he had no recourse when Vani's cross-guard slammed into his temple, all but splitting the man's skull as he was sent flying into the mass of bodies that Kaze had wrought.

Stooping low, Vani picked up his pommel just as another soldier charged. His shield raised up to defend from the strike, and Vani's plated boot would kick his leg out from under him. The man would fall, slamming his face into Vani's shield and knocking himself out cold, giving the Paladin enough time to screw his pommel back on. Smiling in satifsaction, Vani would charge further into the fray, wanting to draw the ire of as many as he could to keep the heat off of his scaled brother-in-arms. Taking a deep breath, Vani would pierce the air with a battelecry.

"C'MON THEN! BOTH ENDS OF MY SWORD ARE THIRSTY! IF I'M DYING TODAY, I'M DYING A BLOODY FUCKING MANSLAYER!"

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

"Welcome back, Big Red," Steppe Archer would say in greeting at his return. She hoped that talking to that old man hadn't worn his ears out. With his newfound information and the combined efforts of the archer and druid, it seemed that finding the den would be time-consuming, but not especially difficult. The stench however would be difficult to stand as the nomad's nose crinkled, her eyes watering a tinge from the raw stank present in the area. It made her want to vomit, but...she supposed she'd dealt with similar enough stenches that such a reaction would have made her father think less of her. As such, she swallowed the rising bile in her throat and shook her head with a shudder. Nasty.

The Druid Girl gave their options of laying an ambush or to storm in while they're asleep, and, being a huntress, Steppe Archer thought that laying a trap and forcing the goblins into an unfavorable situation for them sounded good. "I'm for an ambush. I can trap the entrance, so that maybe two or three goblins would be caught trying to exit. Then, we could simply wait and pick them off. If these goblins are cowardly enough to steal in the night, then we can expect that going in and killing them in their sleep won't as simple as we think, she said, giving her stance and reasoning. Before they even had a plan settled upon however, Steppe Archer would begin finding twigs and grasses to construct her trap with.

They'd already wasted a lot of time trying to track the goblins down, so waiting until a decision was made would mean they might risk being in the middle of setting up the trap before goblins would attack them. At worst, she'd just drop her gathered materials and head inside, but at best, she'd have ample time to make her goblin snare.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

@The Irish Tree
Did Vani consciously ignore that Locke was with Yinha and Sera, or did he just miss seeing him btw? :o

@Xaltwind

Yes. Yes he did. He's that petty.

From Oubliette to Oublioth [R.I.P]

Dude. He's THE Bulwark

Vani's eyes were racing from Carpenter to the sword gradually melting through the horned girl's fingers. What...the hell was happening anymore. Nothing made sense. And, now that he got a good look at him...that scout was wearing armor that looked like it definitely wasn't from the Empire. Were...were they fighting the King's men? They were beyond screwed. BEYOND dead. They were completely, and utterly, without a doubt or shred of objection, dead as a doorknob. But, maybe a doorknob could get them out of this situation. At least, that's what Kaze's statement about Vani's shield being a "bulwark". The word "bulwark" rang in Vani's head for a moment as he looked to his battered and pierced shield, and, just as Kaze started pushing the lot of them, he came to a realization.

...Bulwark...was a pretty fancy title. One that made him feel really, really important and confident.

Not because his shield was needed. Because VANI felt needed.

"Leave it to me!" he would say, bolting from Kaze's reassuring (and rather forceful) push on the back and dashing forward in order to follow the path that Yeena and Sarafeye had blazed, charging forward beside Annabelle just in time to see the soldier's leader smack that poor girl across the face, only to...

to...do absolutely nothing. Vani was quite confident in his ability to take hits, but...that looked like he'd just fakely swatted at her. But the way his arm moved, and stiffened at the end, that blow was full-on, and met as if he'd just slapped a boulder and acted surprised. Vani was not confident in his boulder slapping ability, but he was pretty sure that nobody on the planet could take a slap to the face that easy. Maybe this girl was some secret powerhouse, with a physique so strong that she broke grown men over her knee, and ate mountains for lunch.

...Man, that concussion was making Vani's internal omniscient narration really strange. But, they were still surrounded. Looking to the demon wielder at where she stopped, Vani immediately stepped back behind the corner while the soldiers' eyes were on Yeena and Serafeye. He didn't like these odds...but it seemed that Annabelle had a plan of sorts. But instead of having Kaze toss her up, Vani made a "shh" motion and pointed to his shield, crouching and hanging it over his head for her to step on. He'd launch her up with it as a springboard, letting her make a softer landing than she would have falling from the height that Kaze could throw her. He assumed. Kaze looked like he could throw Vani in full plate down an alley and bounce him off the wall so hard he came back halfway. ...He just hoped that the two girls in the alley were safe. He was certain that the fair elf with the attractive features wasn't some immortal un-slappable mountain of a woman, and his hands shook a little imagining innocent women getting hurt in this.

"Lolan, if you can hear me...please...let the innocent make it out unscathed, and let the wicked fall to your judgement. I am ever your sword, and my strikes shall call your voice down," he prayed, head bowed in silence while waiting for his spring-bulwark to be used.

Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

Steppe Archer had preoccupied her time by walking about the farm, generally taking in the squalor of it all. ...Naturally, she had to assume that this was due to some mix of the farmer's bad luck and bad times, but still. It looked like it had been through so many "bad years" that it was having a bad decade. It was a little frightening, to be honest, since she was used to seeing land that was...well...not exactly "maintained", but at least cared for. She was astonished this man had a crop at all to sell in town. Then again...maybe this is just how it looked after a harvest.

Her eyes would spot her druidic companion beckoning her over from afar, and her legs would carry her on over with a light jog. Taking a look at the footprints, Steppe Archer's expression soured a bit as she puffed a cheek out, bending over to examine the tracks. "...I'm no man-hunter either. But, I can probably follow these. Tracing the tracks with a hand, Steppe Archer would do her thing, examining their size, spacing, and depth to try and piece together exactly how many individuals there had been, and their general sizes. After all, she had to assume goblin feet were smaller than that of a human's, so if they were shallow prints that weren't especially wide, they had to be goblins. ...Unless some very brave children were in the business of stealing from a farmer.