Seaside 6: Six at the Beach

[Rebonack]

[Team Quest]

Looks like hiding is the order of the day!

Lapis likewise dives into the pits they've dug out, peering up between crenelations at the pirate ship. Her gun is pretty well balanced as far as its effectiveness at various ranges go, but that ship is REALLY far away. So instead she focuses on a SCAN! of the pirate ship! The information she gathers is fed to her allies.

Goblin Pirate Vessel
Threat level: Moderate
Range: Medium to Very Long
Resilience: Moderate
Weakness: Powder Battery
Pirate Vessels carry a compliment of thirty large cannons and numerous small arms. They are crewed by one hundred and eighty goblins of varying strengths which will engage any close quarters combatants. Direct hits to the vessel's powder battery can cause secondary explosions, potentially destroying this foe. Be aware! Destroying the vessel will not always destroy all the goblins crewing it.

The powder battery at the rear of the ship is highlighted in bright orange for the benefit of our heroes.

"Oh! There! Aim at that thing!" Sappeerel says as she pops up above the crenelations, gripping her sword like a lightning bolt as the weapon grows into a distinctly lightning bolt-like shape right before she HURLS it at the rear of the ship!

And misses.

The projectile goes sailing off and detonates on the base rock sticking out of the ocean, scaring the gulls that were perched atop it. Whoops!

Arukhael, meanwhile, lines up A Moment, Fractured with the ship. Infusing the projectile with Motion and Quality he lobs a temporal distortion toward the ship! It sails through the air and detonates on the upper deck, scattering chunks of everything caught the blast seconds into the future before accelerating them toward other foes when they reappear with perfect accuracy. Suffice to say the effect is unpleasant for the goblins on the deck.

The growth projectiles pepper the side of the ship, causing wood and metal to bulge and warp. One of the cannons takes several direct hits and grows shut, causing the next shot to backfire and the cannon the explode. Good shooting, Mishnehel!

[bc56]

Team Quest
Batsael lines up her diamond lance at the powder magazine. Her weapon is perfect for this. With her upgrades, it could punch right through the hull, and guided by her Will, strike the right place. She just needs a clean shot despite the cannon fire... Which just blew apart the platform she's standing on.
Batsael tumbles into the shallows and desperately erects a new crenellation to cover her while she re-aims her weapon.

Selekhael unfortunately has much more close-range weapons. She crawls out of her hole in unbound form and tags Arukael with a talon. Time ripples around him, accelerating his perceptions and motions. Looks like she'll be playing a support role for the longer ranged teammates this fight.

[Earl of Purple]

Team Quest

Mishnehel will move her focus of fire to the highlighted weak point, pelting it with manipulated growth. She also works on her cover, adding a domed roof of oily rainbow-coated solid bubbles over her head. She's quite an obvious target, since she's staying put and pelting a stream of pellets down at the ship in the bay, but she's also adding to her own cover so if they do shoot at her she's got more obstacles in the way. Hopefully there's no sniper or other accurate shooter with a scope, since she still needs to shoot out of her cover.

[Rebonack]

[Team Quest]

This is why you don't stand out in the open when you're being shelled, Batsael. This is what cover is for!

Sappeerel, meanwhile, is really annoyed that she missed. She's going to have to wait for her Radiant Lance to recharge now! She's seriously considering putting her next talent point into Radiant Lance III just so it doesn't have a cooldown anymore. She's so garbage with guns being able to attack with her sword from range is really important!

So instead?

She just focuses on reinforcing their little fort while seering on the crew. Namely the biggest goblin who looks like he's in charge!

Barfstain the Ruthless
Combat stats: HIDDEN
Barfstain is a powerful melee and close range combatant; a lieutenant of Admiral Chumbucket. Beware! Destroying Barfstain's vessel will cause him to swiftly engage with the party directly.

Meanwhile!

Arukhael gets accelerated!

That's actually pretty helpful since it allows him to reload and fire his artillery weapon again right away! Another projectile bound to an invocation is lobbed at the ship, blasting through the upper deck and peppering the goblins manning the cannons with bits of high velocity wood and metal.

Mishnehel, meanwhile, begins firing upon the rear of the ship! That portion is pretty well armored for obvious reasons and her weapon isn't great for penetrating armor. It is, however, weakening the structure of the ship there once someone actually manages to hit it.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

Codebreaker seems still apprehensive but mollified.
"Well, fine. It sounds like you've got this all planned out. I guess we can get back to the walls now. Though I don't know, I can't exactly stay up as late as you." Codebreaker isn't fully nocturnal like Kyrie. But he has noticed his sleep schedule drifting wildly so he's not actually sure what time his species is supposed to be active. And well, he doesn't need to have a job anymore so he's very much enjoying sleeping whenever and wherever he wants.

[Shrine]

A few hours pass as Kyrie continues to work on the shrine, eventually reaching a good stopping spot for the night. He'd managed to rebuild the other two walls and apply an even coat of blue paint to the whole structure; most of what was left amounted to detailing, which would take up a lot of time. More time than Kyrie had left tonight.

So he gathers himself up and goes to let Codebreaker know he's heading home for the day, and to expect him again the following oh great he's asleep, isn't he?

Kyrie walks up to Codebreaker and tries to shake him awake, if he isn't already.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker isn't a very heavy sleeper at the very least. Not in the metaphorical sense at least.
"Wh-huh? Oh, done already Kyrie? Cool." he shakes his head and stands up.
"Looks cool, dude. You do a good job for a knight. You could retire from fighting and do this if you wanted to." he says with a chuckle.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"Probably should. The kids are less likely to end up orphaned again if I'm not throwing myself in harm's way." Kyrie points out.

He could probably use a little more practice first, though. The shrine looks... better. Not great, but better. It hasn't been neglected, at least, but it's not quite a shining example of the platonic ideals of carpentry.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker looks up at the shrine. He can see all the little flaws but he doesn't care much. This is a shrine to protect his patron's basin from the rain. He knows a doesn't care about opulence and perfection. And he's not trying to impress any parishioners. He doesn't really have any.
"Well, it's looking decent. I know you're doing this to pay me back but still. Thanks. You need something you let me know, ok?"

[bc56]

Team Quest
Selekhael retreats back under cover and begins to slowly expand the fort, digging a trench out from her position towards where Batsael is lining up her sniper rifle for another shot...
She fires. A diamond dart flies straight and true. Not for the powder magazine. For the goblin captain that's so helpfully illuminated by Sappeerel's scan. She needs to keep her kill count up this quest if she wants to make Copper Host anytime soon.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

Codebreaker looks up at the shrine. He can see all the little flaws but he doesn't care much. This is a shrine to protect his patron's basin from the rain. He knows a doesn't care about opulence and perfection. And he's not trying to impress any parishioners. He doesn't really have any.
"Well, it's looking decent. I know you're doing this to pay me back but still. Thanks. You need something you let me know, ok?"

[Shrine]

Kyrie shuffles uncomfortably. He's not the type to call in favors when offered, and Codebreaker handing him that kind of blank check was a little awkward; especially since it was in response to Kyrie himself paying off a debt. "Ah... don't worry about it." He says finally.

Fortunately, if Codebreaker needed any prompting, Kyrie chooses this moment to stretch and cool down from all the work. His shirt sags enough in the back that Codebreaker will get an unwelcome eyefull of Kyrie's knotted spine, and a reminder of how uncomfortable it must be.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker winces. Right, that.
”I was meaning to ask. You think about my offer? I don’t think I made it clear at the time, but the Boss isn’t a god in the usual sense. I don’t think letting Them take a look would look bad on you.” he says gently. Kyrie’s family did indicate he is dedicated solely to his own god.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"I have." Kyrie replies. And he did; Codebreaker's offer to fix his spine and other deformities had certainly been tempting. They caused him pain on a daily basis. They got in the way of basic living. If he was ever put in a position where he had to defend his family against something life-threatening, they'd probably make the difference between life and death.

"...And I accept your offer."

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker blinks in surprise. He isn’t going to complain but it was rather unexpected.
”Okay. Well. That’s good. But I feel the need to warn you that the Boss doesn’t always have an exact grasp on material plane problems. This is a bit of a brute force solution. There might be some side effects while They’re trying to mess around in there. Does that well, sound too risky to you?”
Arthfael did say in no uncertain terms to well, make sure there were no uncertain terms.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"I see no reason to fear." Kyrie replies. "Absum's grace will protect me from the worst results. If your friend can heal me, I should at least allow him to make an attempt." He takes a steadying breath and approaches the shrine proper.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker nods to this. Sounds good to him. But don't get mad if it's not perfect. Then again, if Allen's spine had looked like that he'd happily have knowingly taken his current body.
He bows his head and pours some water from the cooler into the basin in the middle of the dais.
"Hey Boss? This is the friend I mentioned earlier." You know, the one you had to rescue me from? "Do you remember the problem I told you about? The internal support structures of his geometries have been compromised and are working inefficiently. He needs something more functional like mine or the other people you've seen. But he doesn't need the excess mass and circumference I have. Just the skeleton. The supports, I mean." He's doing his best to explain this in a way that will make sense to a.

[Earl of Purple]

Team Quest

As soon as Mishnehel realises her gun isn't great for penetrating armour, she re-aims and rakes the spinning barrels and pellets of malignant Growth across the deck, trying to force the crew to duck or potentially die. If there's no crew, she'll focus her fire on another cannon instead. She knows she can wreck those already. More bubble-pillars and branches erupt from the sand around her, spreading out to obscure the ship's view of her position.

[bc56]

Shrine

a appears and seems to examine Codebreaker and Kyrie closely. "Correct. His structures are highly inefficient. Correcting.
A flash of red and blue light surrounds Kyrie as a works. It only lasts a few moments. The sensation is indescribable.
When it ends, Kyrie's back is straight, as desired. He's also a bit closer to Codebreaker's size and shape, with a little bit more flab on him. But among the most notable changes is his tail, much like Codebreaker's, a bushy wolf tail.
Finished. a states.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie lets out a little sigh of relief as his back straightens out, the perpetual pain from his horribly-mangled spine slowly fading away.

Then he realized he could barely breathe. Why was his chest so heavy all the sudden? Heavy and tight, all squished up in his shirt. And his knees were suddenly on the verge of giving out, and what was that growth on the back of his hips?!

"This was... not what I had in mind."

Meanwhile, thunder rumbles and clouds gather in the distance; there's a hell of a storm inbound.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker...well he'd love to say he winced in absolute guilt and horror but frankly this is actually much better than he expected. He was kind of expecting a to mess it up more.
"What do you mean? You look great." Kyrie might realize to his horror that Codebreaker is absolutely sincere. He actually seems to realize what he said and backpedal a little.
"I mean, yeah, sure you went up a shirt size. Maybe two shirt sizes." That's certainly several less than he had to go through! "But hey, exercising and losing weight is a lot easy than fixing a broken spine! And now you don't have to wear shoes anymore either! Trust me it's an expense you'll be happy to leave behind." Codebreaker lifts a paw-like foot but he doesn't lift it too high since he just knows he'll fall over and ruin his point if he tries too hard.
He's not going to mention that Kyrie's legs definitely look less toned than they did before but hey he can get that back right?
"And your voice even sounds clearer! Everything's working better! You'll just need to work to get back those abs." he insists. Well, and pecs. And well, everything. But hey some of it is probably still there, just covered!

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

Codebreaker...well he'd love to say he winced in absolute guilt and horror but frankly this is actually much better than he expected. He was kind of expecting a to mess it up more.
"What do you mean? You look great." Kyrie might realize to his horror that Codebreaker is absolutely sincere. He actually seems to realize what he said and backpedal a little.
"I mean, yeah, sure you went up a shirt size. Maybe two shirt sizes." That's certainly several less than he had to go through! "But hey, exercising and losing weight is a lot easy than fixing a broken spine! And now you don't have to wear shoes anymore either! Trust me it's an expense you'll be happy to leave behind." Codebreaker lifts a paw-like foot but he doesn't lift it too high since he just knows he'll fall over and ruin his point if he tries too hard.
He's not going to mention that Kyrie's legs definitely look less toned than they did before but hey he can get that back right?
"And your voice even sounds clearer! Everything's working better! You'll just need to work to get back those abs." he insists. Well, and pecs. And well, everything. But hey some of it is probably still there, just covered!

[Shrine]

Kyrie gives Codebreaker a look. There was a lot wrong with what he just said. "When I arrived here, I was in pain, but at least I could touch my own toes." He begins grumpily. "Have you tried to use a sword lately, Codebreaker? You need a good sense of balance. You need a lot of mobility. You need to be able to get your arm over your head without getting winded. I don't have any of those three now! And what in Absum's name am I supposed to do with this?!" He gestures toward his tail, which was hanging limply between his legs. "It's already at least as bad as the spine, which combined with everything else, makes this a definite step down!" He steps up to a. "Change me back! This is ridiculous!"

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker looks...decidedly unamused.
"Kyrie, I'm still at least twice your size. How do you think I feel? And you know exactly how to work for something. You can lose weight in a few months. You can't fix a spine with exercise."
He looks down at the tail being pointed at.
"It's a tail. You wag it. You're literally already a walking wolf with a muzzle and paws why does this bother you?" Codebreaker is actually kind of annoyed for his patron's sake. They did a decent job, darn it! He warned Kyrie and everything!

[bc56]

Shrine
This Geometry meets your Specification. a confusedly replies. "I-We detect reduced Self harm." It doesn't really understand why Kyrie wants to be changed back.

[Rebonack]

[Team Quest]

Batsael lines up her perfect shot and-!

The cannons on the ship fire another broadside, causing the whole vessel to sway sideways a significant distance.

Which means that perfect headshot knocks the pirate hat off Barfstain's head, revealing the red cap below. He seems very angry about his fancy pirate hat being ruined.

This in turn means that our heroes are shelled with another barrage of cannon fire! Hastily built fortifications are blasted away at and yet the fort as a whole still stands. It doesn't look like it's having a good time, though.

Arukhael is busy reloading his launcher, ducking back behind the fortifications and wincing at the sound of the explosions. There are definitely lots of explosions.

And Sappeerel?

She forms another radiant lance in her hand, this time evoking the Law of Blades!

Then?

She hurls the lightning bolt at the back of the ship.

Swift and decisive, without hesitation or doubt.

A pure motion.

The projectile passes right through the hull of the ship as if it weren't even there. This is followed by an explosion, bits of wood splintering from the back of the ship as it rocks forward and catches fire.

"Yay! Direct hit!"

As goblins begin running aft to extinguish the flames Mishnehel straifs her weapon across the deck, laying low several of the goblins and forcing others to take cover.

[Ironsmith]

Shrine

Codebreaker looks...decidedly unamused.
"Kyrie, I'm still at least twice your size. How do you think I feel? And you know exactly how to work for something. You can lose weight in a few months. You can't fix a spine with exercise."
He looks down at the tail being pointed at.
"It's a tail. You wag it. You're literally already a walking wolf with a muzzle and paws why does this bother you?" Codebreaker is actually kind of annoyed for his patron's sake. They did a decent job, darn it! He warned Kyrie and everything!

Shrine
This Geometry meets your Specification. a confusedly replies. "I-We detect reduced Self harm." It doesn't really understand why Kyrie wants to be changed back.

[Shrine]

"Yes, but at the cost of utility." Kyrie growls. "The body you've given me is... healthier, but useless. I-"

As Kyrie speaks, the clouds part, letting through a single shaft of golden dawn, lighting up Kyrie and the area immediately around him. Kyrie throws up his hands defensively, his skin smouldering under his fur, sending up trails of foul-smelling smoke.

Then, just as quickly, the clouds close again, covering the shrine in overcast darkness.

Kyrie buckles and collapses onto the ground, panting heavily. Oooh, that did not feel good.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker’s reaction time is actually surprisingly quick. Unfortunately his body can’t really keep up with his brain and by the time he manages to stagger to the door and slam it shut Kyrie is already pretty badly burned.
”Not cool, dude! This is someone else’s shrine!” he yells angrily at the sky. Because bolts of sunlight don’t just fly out of clouds this early in the morning.
”You okay, buddy?” he asks Kyrie, standing protectively over him.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

"...Ooowww..." Kyrie moans pitifully as the smoke trail slowly dies away. Fortunately, it doesn't look like there's going to be any permanent damage; his skin is already healing from the burn, and he doesn't seem to have been hurt any other way.

Meanwhile, off on the distance, there's a flash of lightning among the clouds, followed by a loud peel of thunder.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker winces.
”Okay so we might be here a while. That’s no problem. You just take all the time you need.” Maybe if things get bad he can go through the trunk of his car and see if there’s any blankets in there.
”Don’t even think about it.” he mumbles at the sky as he closes the shutter on the shrine’s only window.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Kyrie shakes his head. "I need to get out now. Before the storm dissipates. The alternative is staying in here for the next twelve hours." He glances around the room, in all its amateurishly-rebuilt glory. If he spent the next twelve hours going over every mistake he made while building this place, he was going to go crazy.

[Deathkeeper]

Shrine

Codebreaker looks between Kyrie and the door and sighs.
"Fine, come on. I'll drive you home." he'll try to at least hurry Kyrie as they go. And get that box of loot into his trunk. It's going to be significantly harder now that neither of them has quite the same amount of muscle mass.
Kyrie of course still has much more than Codebreaker but he'll probably complain anyway.

[Ironsmith]

[Shrine]

Thankfully, having a moment or two of dealing with the actual, practical effects of the transformation seems to have calmed Kyrie down from it. The added fat still weighed significantly less than his old armor did, so it turns out mass wasn't as much of an issue as he thought it was going to be.

However, he's still not used to the tail, and his new gut still distributes weight very differently from his old armor, which means that when he goes to help Codebreaker lift the chest, he ends up faceplanting into it.