Day 2: Monster Arrival

[wizardseason]

Afternoon: 12:00noon - Evening

[ IRL Timeframe: April 1st - April 14th, 2019 ]

Unfortunately for the heroes, only one of them has an easy time when the monsters arrive. In the history of the wizard fights, it was rare but not unheard of for multiple monsters to arrive. Years 12, 22, and 30 had featured three of a monster but only one was real. Year 9 had featured the tenth monster as ten individuals that all came together into one. And, most strangely, years 4, 13, 26, and 37 had featured a monster that had an active and an inactive body.

This year, the second monster appears in two places.

The first arrives in Craydon, its massive body just a ball of metallic spikes with two bright orange eyes in the middle. It looks like a massive urchin, its body easily close to ten feet across where it's sitting on the train tracks ahead of the train arriving. Its spikes stick out easily another ten feet in every direction, making it a gigantic terrifying ball. The party train's arrival to its 12:25pm destination ends with the conductor locking up the brakes to bring the train to a stop. This sucks!

The second arrives in Bamborough, its massive body easily sixty feet up in the air suspended atop dozens of small, thin metallic spikes for legs. Its two orange eyes scan down at the world below, its spherical body covered in smaller spike nubs on all other sides. The eyes aren't fixed in place, either, and they're scanning the oceanfront as it moves around. It's definitely looking for something and it's visible for miles. Good luck, everyone!

Monster Fight Opportunity: Craydon: Luka, Gyre, Web, Olivia, Joanna.
Monster Fight Opportunity: Bamborough: Haizea, Seth, Garrot, Gail, Zafika, Terrence, Matilda.

---

The Weather

• Windy.
• 61°F / 16°C
• The trees are rustling, leaves flowing through the air.

---

Prompts:

• 12:25pm Train Arrival: The party train comes to its final destination in Craydon at 12:25pm. The reason that it's a final destination is due to the monster on the tracks. Oh god, it's right there? Oh god, oh GOD??? When the train comes to a screeching halt, all the non-heroes quickly scamper out of the train to flee for safety. Good luck, heroes!


• 12:30pm, Ramen, Far Haven: Social Media is abuzz that the Wizard has left the power plant and has gone to one of the chain ramen restaurants in Far Haven. The restaurant is known for its decent ramen, but everyone knows it can't compare to the local shops around the island. This is the "I just want to eat" ramen restaurant. But more importantly, this one has some sports bar qualities and has TVs up on the walls to watch. The Wizard is here, seated close to one of the TVs, and she's watching the events unfolding in Craydon and Bamborough. How is she doing that? Who's recording?


• 12:30pm, The Bamborough Monster: Out on the waterfront boardwalk, the monster is lumbering its way along the wooden walkways seemingly in search of something. The few shops that were open are closing up as quickly as possible, the last thing they need is their already minimal business ruined by a visit from this monster. Please, someone come help.


• ??:??pm: Unknown What happens next?

---

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Comments

12:30pm, The Bamborough Monster:

[wizardseason]

Out on the waterfront boardwalk, the monster is lumbering its way along the wooden walkways seemingly in search of something. The few shops that were open are closing up as quickly as possible, the last thing they need is their already minimal business ruined by a visit from this monster. Please, someone come help.

[fop_lop]

Terrence is lying down on a makeshift couch of three folding chairs shoved together when his phone buzzes with a text notification. One of his arms dangles limply to the ground as the other rests on his forehead in classic dramatic fainting position. For all of his theatrics, he really has been going at it hard this morning, surprising even himself. Since the rabbit is taking a break anyhow, he decides to give the message a read.

Fuck.

Shooting up to a sitting position immediately, Terrence waves one arm to flag down the others, "Everyone! The second monster has arrived!" Olivia is the only one to have messaged so far, so he's only aware of a single monster. While they've all moved to different parts of the gym, he's at least still in the same room as Haizea.

[scandeled]

Matilda's got similar theatrics going on in the next room, her goggles pushed up onto her forehead, shoving her bangs in dramatic directions. Her feet were propped up onto the table, and she had been tilting her chair back onto the hind legs, gazing at her phone with a dull, tired expression.

When Terrence shoots up and calls out, she very nearly falls out of her chair. In fact, the chair does clatter to the floor- she's just already teleported to behind Terrance. She leans over his shoulder, trying to snoop at what's on his phone. "Really? Where?"

[silentwords]

Seth on the other hand just buries his face in his hands and makes a silent groan. Hehad sat down in a corner to try and recover from a morning of pretty much nothing but training...he'd been serious about not wanting to be a burden.

And now the second monster was here. Fucking great.

With a sigh he quickly got his phone out to check the message in the group chat, as well as look through social media for possible extra information...

And very quickly finds the social media abuzz, not only from the monster that stopped the train...but from the monster waltzing through Bamborough.

Oh this was just fan-fucking-tastic!

"I got more bad news! It's not just one, there's a second one taking a stroll here in Bamborough at the waterfront!"

[fop_lop]

Terrence had just gotten his heart rate back down when Matilda BAMFs behind him and kicks it right back up again! Prey instincts get the better of the poor thing as he flies out of the chair and a few steps away, whirling around with impossibly wide eyes. Honestly, the girl's lucky she scared the pellets out of him and not one of the fighters...

Before he can scold his fellow rich eccentric Terrence catches Seth's message out of the corner of his eye, which (somehow) causes them to go even more open. "S-Supposedly the train in Craydon and the waterfront of Bamborough, simultaneously," he stammers. "Multiple monsters so soon?"

[tropicalstorm]

Haizea's attention had definitely been grabbed when Terrence first yelled about the second monster, but she'd kept silent, as if deep in thought. When she hears there's two monsters though, one of which is in close proximity, she snaps out of it.

"Looks like we're in the shit now," she says grimly. "If one is here in Bamborough, we should concentrate on taking it out before we worry 'bout the one in Craydon. And if we're gettin' reports from the waterfront, that probably means that the Wizard didn't teleport the civilians away. We need to head over there immediately."

[daddykong]

Garrot had been spending his post-class time cleaning up in the main room, but all it took to draw his attention was some louder voices and Matilda's teleportation. The approach tells him all he needs to know: two monsters.

Second monster in Bamborough. If you're in town, get back to the gym ASAP. Be careful in Craydon!

"So what's the plan? Do we wanna do any recon or just charge in?" Garrot leans his shoulder against the frame of the door, brow furrowed. He was more worried about Craydon, honestly, but this could be tricky.

Team Reckless Endangerment (Garrot, Terrence, Gail)

[daddykong]

Garrot knew he was a big guy, it wasn't something he often forgot. But the fact that he's too big for Gail to safely carry him? That hurts. Mostly because it's an inconvenience. So he and his team have stopped in an alleyway leading to the boardwalk, so they can at least catch their breath before they're in danger.

"So what's the plan? I can distract it on my own if I have to," he waves with the poleax he's acquired when nobody was looking, holy shit, "but what do you two wanna do?" Really, he just wants to know those two won't charge in if he's waving around a long, bladed weapon.

"Unless we want to ride Gail together?" Garrot chuckles, because he may not take that suggestion seriously. And it may or may not have connotations. But hey, jokes are good for morale!

[fop_lop]

After noticing Garrot's weapon, Terrence readies his own shortsword. Even if Sucecq can conjure it at will, the knight has taken to keeping it on his person at all times. It makes him feel ever so slightly safer - he certainly seems less skittish at any rate.

"I... Don't believe there's room for you, big boy," Terrence teases, picking up on the innuendo and laying down some of his own. He gives Gail's side a light pat, "I'll just have to keep you for myself at the moment."

After seeing images of the monster, Terrence has had a bit of a think on the way over. Before they can even really react to his ribbing, the rabbit continues, "It's a rather immense target, and we've quite the space to maneuver... We'd only get one shot, but if Gail and myself can gain some distance thanks to your distraction, I could magnify his muscles as he builds up momentum and throws a javelin or somesuch at it."

"You'd be minus a weapon, but it seems a hard target to miss and surely would cause some maiming. Hopefully, by then Seth will have made progress on entangling it."

He's got an idea for what to do at that point as well, but that's... Probably best left for once they actually get that far.

[partyhorse]

Gail did feel very bad that he was unable to carry Garrot, but the other man was simply too big and heavy for him. He did pick up the innuendo though which made him blush slightly. God now was not the time!!

"Well I suppose I can run around it? I'm uh, pretty fast and can maybe probably dodge the legs? And I can ask for a javelin or something if you guys think it's worth a shot to throw something? It's body is very high up though..." Gail rambled on, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. At least he wasn't running around mindlessly this time but...

[daddykong]

Garrot sees the blush because of course he does, he's an old pro at getting under people's skin! That said, he watches Gail's anxious fiddling and his rambling and decides it's time to step in.

"Terrence, if Gail's going to be without a weapon, shouldn't you be protecting him?" And then the doctor knocks his fist against his ulna (the pinky-side lower arm one) before raising an eyebrow. "I mean, a little sword can only do so much if that throw pisses it off." Garrot also knows Gail is a skittish sort, so making him feel protected will do a ton of good. That said, Garrot brings a hand to his beard, because this is getting the gears turning.

"Is this far enough to throw a javelin if you're making Gail stronger?" But then his eyes light up with inspiration, because he's got an idea! "It might not be able to chase you as well if you attack from the beach!" It also means Garrot won't have to worry about either of them getting in the way of his attacks. Hopefully.

[fop_lop]

Honestly, Terrence is more surprised by the notion that Garrot would consider him capable of protecting anything, let alone someone twice his size and easily spooked. It actually gives him some measure of confidence, even if it is followed up by disparaging his choice of weapon.

"I'm... Not entirely certain exactly how potent I can make others just yet, but I estimate if our equine companion can build up some speed first... Not to mention that there's a pretty vast margin for error with that thing's mass."

Terrence gives Gail another playful pat and an amused look, "I didn't intend for you to get anywhere near the thing in the first place! We could attack from almost anywhere, really, and it seems unlikely to catch up with us after the fact. It'll be harder for us to move in the sand as well, but with those spikes and weight, it might just sink into the ground entirely..."

Planning! This is much better than charging in like before!

[partyhorse]

Gail sighs a breath of relief. As long as he's far away he's fine with this. Somewhat. The general idea of the entire situation was less than good, but what could you do when monster was involved.

Gail offers Terrence a small smile, before he perks up at the mention of the beach. "Beach would be ideal, actually! I uh, I have practised running on the beach recently, at uh, while I'm a bit slower on it it shouldn't be too bad? The only problem would be uh, the, stopping part but I'm slowly getting handle of that as well? Anyway we should go to the beach yes!" This was the most confident this horse had sounded since he came to this island.

Team Livewire (Haizea, Seth)

[tropicalstorm]

Now that Haizea and Seth had been paired up for their monster assault, they had to figure out a way to get there. Haizea exits the gym, Seth in tow, and looks around before her gaze lands on an older model sedan parked on the street outside. Perfect. She heads over to it, gesturing for Seth to follow her. She tries the door handle, but it's locked. If she had more time, she could do this a bit more neatly, but it's an emergency, right?

"Cover your ears and eyes, this is gonna be loud and dangerous," she warns, before swinging a baseball bat she'd brought from inside the gym into the driver side window, shattering it into a million pieces.

Re: Team Livewire (Haizea, Seth)

[silentwords]

Seth blinks in confusion before doing as Haizea asked him, kind of wrapping his arms around his face, good that had to look weird, taking a couple of steps back actually to be safe.

...Annnd then there's the sounds of glass shattering into a million pieces.
Seth can't help but drop his arms slightly to peek over them, and just staring kind of wide eyed for a moment. Did she just...? She did. Wow.

He doesn't quite lower his arms yet though, since Haizea hadn't told him to.

[tropicalstorm]

Haizea reaches through the now glassless window and unlocks the door, then pulls out a switchblade from her boot to use as a screwdriver and removes a panel under the steering column. She pulls out the wires and uses the switchblade to strip the insulation off of a few of them, then twists two of them together. At this point, the radio flips on and starts blaring whatever the equivalent of country music is (she immediately switches it off), so she's finally ready to spark the engine. It takes a few tries, but finally the engine stutters to life and she revs it a few times to keep it going. Yep, she's done it! She's hotwired a car!

"You ready to head to the boardwalk?" She asks, leaning out of the car and grinning sheepishly at Seth. Here's hoping he's cool with this!

[silentwords]

Seth kind of just stares as Haizea hotwires the car...and then at the question he just kind of shrugs. He doesn't really feel like reacting to what just happened, quickly going to the other side of the car, tapping the door, like 'pls open this.'

He seemed strangely nonchalant about this.

[tropicalstorm]

She leans over to unlock the passenger side for him then throws the bat she'd taken from the gym into the back seat. Maybe it'll come in handy?

Once he gets into the car, she starts speeding off towards the boardwalk. She absolutely knows how to drive, but she never got a proper license. On the way, she glances over to him before speaking.

"So, uh. I'd appreciate if you didn't tell people that I know how to do that."

[silentwords]

Seth blinks slightly at the suggestion before nodding...and then motioning to his mouth with an amused twitch of his lips, as if to say 'it'd be kinda hard anyway with being mute'

He's purposefully ignoring the fact he has other methods of communication for the sake of the joke...?

Team Sabotage (Zafika, Matilda)

[zafika]

Zafika has led Matilda a little bit closer to where the monster is, but they can't see it yet, and she can't hear it, while they can. Unfortunate downside to being a human, in their opinion at least. They hold their dagger close as they fix their hold on it, eyes glancing towards Matilda.

"Alright, are you ready? I'll try to do as much as I can, so when the monster notices us it shouldn't try to target you. If it does, do as Garrot told you to, and run. Survival is the most important bit, I can hold off on my own to let you escape, but I promise I'll follow as soon as I can." They pause, and take a deep breath, forcing down their own nervousness over being in charge of Matilda's safety as well. "We can do this. I trust you."

[scandeled]

Matilda’s face is pale as she adjusts her goggles, for once missing her bright flush. There’s something so much more nerve wracking this time- with their team split between two monsters. And now Zafika’s counting on her, which makes the entire thing a billion times worse- people depending on her doesn’t always turn out the greatest. Still, she can’t let Zafika down, so she nods at them.

“Right— I’m ready!” She nods again, more forcefully this time, ignoring the feeling of uncertanty that’s pooling in her stomach, especially when the trust word comes out. That brings the scarlet back to her cheeks at least. “I won’t let you down.” She sounds sure of herself about that at least, as she holds out a gloved hand for them to take.

[zafika]

Zafika pats Matilda's arm quickly, before they lead her to sneak closer to the monster, taking the back alley's and tight passages to have as many chances to hide as possible. If the thing is as tall as it seems, they can't just teleport next to it, they'll never reach it. And soon enough, they have visual on the Bamborough monster, and fucking hell, it is just as tall. They dig out their phone, to give Garrot a quick report.

'Its body is sixty feet up in the air, ten feet wide and covered in dense sea urchin-like spikes, they fan out the further they get from the body. It has six sturdy but thin legs, so either we go for ranged attacks, or we topple it over and immobilize it on the ground. The latter could work better.'

After sending the message they stowe their phone away, and watch the monster for a bit longer. "Matilda, can you get us on top of its body? I don't think we can do enough damage to its legs, we need to get up there to really cause any harm."

[scandeled]

Holy Shit. Matilda gapes up at the sky as soon as they’re within vision of the thing, and just continues gaping as Zafika taps out their text message. When they’re done, and suggest she teleport then both ONTO THE FREAKIN MONSTER. Matilda just kind of stares at Zafika for a moment, then realizes she looks like an idiot and closes her mouth. “All the way up there?”

[zafika]

Zafika feels a little bit impatient as Matilda stares at them for a while, but they also know they're asking for a lot. "Yes. We can go up onto a roof if you think it'll help, but we need to test how well we can damage the monster. Because if it requires more physical strength to hurt it, we're... not the best ones for that. Or we'll need Terrence's help."

[scandeled]

Matilda nods, glancing back at the monster, who is still all the way up there. "No, it shouldn't be a problem. It's just the two of us, and it actually isn't that far." She's teleported further before, it's just high. But they have to do this. There's not really a way around it. So she takes a deep breath, fiddling with her damned goggles again. "I can get us up there. Are you ready?"