The ratatosk’s whiskers twitch as he studies Ludwig’s wavering talons. With deliberate calm he prises a whet-stone from his belt, draws one claw across it—shhhck—then lets the stone vanish again. His thoughts ripple outward, precise and toneless: “Marquis von Graff.” A faint inclination of the head acknowledges the title, though the crossbow remains half-raised. “Not long ago, a band of black-feathered cut-purses fell upon us outside the road. Was that you?”
He lets the implication hang before continuing.“We patched the ‘random ass deer-thing’, as you style him. He answers to Starry in this shape, and he is calm in our company. Your approach drove him into the dark; your friend should note that.”
Syed’s tail coils tighter round the stock, but the muzzle dips a finger-width lower—an overture of truce rather than threat. “State your intent, Marquis. If you plan chains or vivisection, we part ways now. If you seek a cure—or simply a safe escort—speak it plainly. We will not hunt your brother’s kin for you, yet neither will we hinder a just retrieval… provided your knives stay sheathed and your flock leaves travelers unmolested.”
To his party he adds, softer, “Hold perimeter. He quavers, but cornered birds peck sharply and viciously.”
Mellow shifts, planting himself squarely beside Ludwig’s dropped dagger; one heavy paw settles on the hilt with a quiet clink. Syed’s black eyes never leave the wereraven’s.
“Choose, Marquis. Parley and partnership—or vanish into the treeline and pray Endra still trusts the shape that frightened him.”
The silence that follows is razor-keen, waiting for the bird-man’s next move.
Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
The ratatosk’s whiskers twitch as he studies Ludwig’s wavering talons. With deliberate calm he prises a whet-stone from his belt, draws one claw across it—shhhck—then lets the stone vanish again. His thoughts ripple outward, precise and toneless: “Marquis von Graff.” A faint inclination of the head acknowledges the title, though the crossbow remains half-raised.
Then it tightens again once the whet-stone is brandished. Before even the claw is driven across, Ludwig winces in anticipation, which only worsens when Syed actually does it. The wereraven looks up once he hears his name, eyes searching the room seemingly still unused to the telepathic voice.
He lets the implication hang before continuing.“We patched the ‘random ass deer-thing’, as you style him. He answers to Starry in this shape, and he is calm in our company. Your approach drove him into the dark; your friend should note that.”
Syed’s tail coils tighter round the stock, but the muzzle dips a finger-width lower—an overture of truce rather than threat. “State your intent, Marquis. If you plan chains or vivisection, we part ways now. If you seek a cure—or simply a safe escort—speak it plainly. We will not hunt your brother’s kin for you, yet neither will we hinder a just retrieval… provided your knives stay sheathed and your flock leaves travelers unmolested.”
He stops himself from talking when it becomes apparent that ratatosk was continuing and instead swallows. "I didn't mean to..."he whispers this solemnly to himself, glancing over at the door. Within a sudden move, he then looks up with eyes sharp and with disgust. His mouth hangs open at 'vivisection.'
"No! Of course not!"he waves his taloned-hands in the air. The wereraven looks contemplatively at 'cure' and 'escort' before continuing. "They are NOT my kin or my floCK-"His voice ends in a near squawk as he gets riled up, feathers sticking up out of his head. He grunts and puts his hand up to his mouth, shifting slight to cover the entrance with his wings. "They did this to us. They cursed me. Cursed him! Their damned spellcaster. That's all those mages ever do. Those blasted Edicts! I would have ripped them to shreds-!" He huffs, his own talons piercing at his palms. "I have no intention of ever speaking or ever being near them again. I wouldn't even know where they are. Those bandits stole my life! I-I- I can't go to my family looking like this!"
"Let alone- look at him! He's just an animal now!"He shouts, pointing over to where the elk had ran. His conviction seems to waver at the end when he notices you already know that. Ludwig's wings start to fall down. It seems to sink in now that the very elk in question who had run away from him has been silent for over a few minutes now. Slowly, he points his daggers down. "Would- would you really? If you find a cure... Could you really do that?" There's a hint of snark at the end, though overall it seems generally hopefully. He even seems to catch himself, looking a bit sheepishly down at his mistake. With an exhale, he looks at your mix-matched group with wide eyes. "I would help you find them. Hunt those bastards down."
“Choose, Marquis. Parley and partnership—or vanish into the treeline and pray Endra still trusts the shape that frightened him.”
The silence that follows is razor-keen, waiting for the bird-man’s next move.
At this he extends a hesitant taloned hand for a shake before it is interrupted by an animal cry and the sound of shattering glass.
Molded wood and glass bits stain the floor of the cabin as a writhing tentacle smacks against the sides of the former boarded up window, its color like flesh as it scrapes against the sharp edges of the broken glass without abandon.
"VOS!" Ludwig shouts and ducks under the scattering of glass, some lodge in between his wings as he yelps and pulls them back, only blocking the sudden burst now with his hands.
With one hand on the floor, he is back on his feet and jumps up to go check on the source of the scattering. A wave of water hits him from behind, knocking him off his feet. Suddenly a shout comes from the back of the room. "You brought the plague into my house?!" bellows Haley.
A sudden wall of water surrounds her and only her. Eren steps away from the water circle that enveloped the saytr woman, holding their crossbow and looking caught in shock between the wall of water and the amassing tentacle, which has grown to stretch further into the house now and nearly flips over a small candle in the doorway. Ludwig scrambles away from it, trying hard to get back onto his feet.
Then he bolts it out the door.
((sorry this took forever. I think I'll be able to start a more balanced schedule soon, so maybe 2-3 times a week updates. Sorry I know I've been posting slow, so thank you for bearing with me))
((Y'all are not in initiative yet but will soon be! probably after the next post but yeah oh no tentacle))
((if anyone wants to know what it looks like it's based on the dog thing from The Thing (1982) which a gif will be located in the spoiler))
((If you want to know the Stat Block of the tentacle creature you can either roll an INT Arcana, WIS Insight, or WIS Perception check!))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Sparkles gives a slightly stressed grunt. A lot has happened incredibly quickly, but at least now she can put her focus towards something that comes naturally: fighting. She raises her fists into a defensive stance, ready to beat away this foul beast.
"Finally... our group is already quite... Diverse... What's one more member of our crew..." William replies before adjusting his pack.
The ratatosk’s whiskers twitch as he studies Ludwig’s wavering talons. With deliberate calm he prises a whet-stone from his belt, draws one claw across it—shhhck—then lets the stone vanish again. His thoughts ripple outward, precise and toneless: “Marquis von Graff.” A faint inclination of the head acknowledges the title, though the crossbow remains half-raised.
“Not long ago, a band of black-feathered cut-purses fell upon us outside the road. Was that you?”
He lets the implication hang before continuing.“We patched the ‘random ass deer-thing’, as you style him. He answers to Starry in this shape, and he is calm in our company. Your approach drove him into the dark; your friend should note that.”
Syed’s tail coils tighter round the stock, but the muzzle dips a finger-width lower—an overture of truce rather than threat. “State your intent, Marquis. If you plan chains or vivisection, we part ways now. If you seek a cure—or simply a safe escort—speak it plainly. We will not hunt your brother’s kin for you, yet neither will we hinder a just retrieval… provided your knives stay sheathed and your flock leaves travelers unmolested.”
To his party he adds, softer, “Hold perimeter. He quavers, but cornered birds peck sharply and viciously.”
Mellow shifts, planting himself squarely beside Ludwig’s dropped dagger; one heavy paw settles on the hilt with a quiet clink. Syed’s black eyes never leave the wereraven’s.
“Choose, Marquis. Parley and partnership—or vanish into the treeline and pray Endra still trusts the shape that frightened him.”
The silence that follows is razor-keen, waiting for the bird-man’s next move.
Sorry, I'm beginning to enter a vacation period and while I will try to check-in at least daily, I cannot promise that I will always be able to do so. From September 1, I should be back to normal.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus ||
Ludwig near chuckles at that. It honestly catches him off guard and his stance loosens.
Then it tightens again once the whet-stone is brandished. Before even the claw is driven across, Ludwig winces in anticipation, which only worsens when Syed actually does it. The wereraven looks up once he hears his name, eyes searching the room seemingly still unused to the telepathic voice.
He shakes his head wildly. "No. No. No. That wasn't me. That was-"
He stops himself from talking when it becomes apparent that ratatosk was continuing and instead swallows. "I didn't mean to..." he whispers this solemnly to himself, glancing over at the door. Within a sudden move, he then looks up with eyes sharp and with disgust. His mouth hangs open at 'vivisection.'
"No! Of course not!" he waves his taloned-hands in the air. The wereraven looks contemplatively at 'cure' and 'escort' before continuing. "They are NOT my kin or my floCK-" His voice ends in a near squawk as he gets riled up, feathers sticking up out of his head. He grunts and puts his hand up to his mouth, shifting slight to cover the entrance with his wings. "They did this to us. They cursed me. Cursed him! Their damned spellcaster. That's all those mages ever do. Those blasted Edicts! I would have ripped them to shreds-!" He huffs, his own talons piercing at his palms. "I have no intention of ever speaking or ever being near them again. I wouldn't even know where they are. Those bandits stole my life! I-I- I can't go to my family looking like this!"
"Let alone- look at him! He's just an animal now!" He shouts, pointing over to where the elk had ran. His conviction seems to waver at the end when he notices you already know that. Ludwig's wings start to fall down. It seems to sink in now that the very elk in question who had run away from him has been silent for over a few minutes now. Slowly, he points his daggers down. "Would- would you really? If you find a cure... Could you really do that?" There's a hint of snark at the end, though overall it seems generally hopefully. He even seems to catch himself, looking a bit sheepishly down at his mistake. With an exhale, he looks at your mix-matched group with wide eyes. "I would help you find them. Hunt those bastards down."
At this he extends a hesitant taloned hand for a shake before it is interrupted by an animal cry and the sound of shattering glass.
Molded wood and glass bits stain the floor of the cabin as a writhing tentacle smacks against the sides of the former boarded up window, its color like flesh as it scrapes against the sharp edges of the broken glass without abandon.
"VOS!" Ludwig shouts and ducks under the scattering of glass, some lodge in between his wings as he yelps and pulls them back, only blocking the sudden burst now with his hands.
With one hand on the floor, he is back on his feet and jumps up to go check on the source of the scattering. A wave of water hits him from behind, knocking him off his feet. Suddenly a shout comes from the back of the room. "You brought the plague into my house?!" bellows Haley.
A sudden wall of water surrounds her and only her. Eren steps away from the water circle that enveloped the saytr woman, holding their crossbow and looking caught in shock between the wall of water and the amassing tentacle, which has grown to stretch further into the house now and nearly flips over a small candle in the doorway. Ludwig scrambles away from it, trying hard to get back onto his feet.
Then he bolts it out the door.
((sorry this took forever. I think I'll be able to start a more balanced schedule soon, so maybe 2-3 times a week updates. Sorry I know I've been posting slow, so thank you for bearing with me))
((Y'all are not in initiative yet but will soon be! probably after the next post but yeah oh no tentacle))
((if anyone wants to know what it looks like it's based on the dog thing from The Thing (1982) which a gif will be located in the spoiler))
((If you want to know the Stat Block of the tentacle creature you can either roll an INT Arcana, WIS Insight, or WIS Perception check!))
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Kolette is taken aback by the appearance of tentacles,. She readies her mace and settles her shield.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Sparkles gives a slightly stressed grunt. A lot has happened incredibly quickly, but at least now she can put her focus towards something that comes naturally: fighting. She raises her fists into a defensive stance, ready to beat away this foul beast.
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist , The Hunt for the Balowang and Surviving Tempest City!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!