World Tree MUSH

    Rydia has been frequenting Kaipo again, of late. Word is that the cave in, in the water cave, is gradually being worked away by the flow of water, and soon the path to Damcyan will be open. But that's not the only issue going on currently.
    It would seem that with the water levels in the cave fluctuating that the desert sahagin have been far more active of late, and have been terrorizing the people of Kaipo and the various nomadic desert tribes of the region.
    It's not something that can really go ignored.
    Traipsing out into the desert is a risk even with the best of preparations, but Rydia isn't alone and she intends to do something to at least mitigate some of the sahagin threat. So she heads out into the sands on her favored chocobo, accompanied by one of the people she knows she can trust the most to have her back in a fight.
    "If we can just scare the sahagin enough to return to their domain that would be best, but honestly I don't think they're going to make it that easy for us, Cecil." She notes to the Dark Knight riding with her. "So I guess a little bit of a culling is in order. Your sword's still as sharp as ever, right?" She says while her bird plods along the sands towards one of the smaller oasis in the area. Not quite as big as the one the Kaipo was built around, but definitely one of the more well travelled watering holes.
    "It wouldn't surprise me if we find a whole nest of them, huh."

    "I'd say I'm a little rusty, but that would be a lie," Cecil says amiably, the Dark Knight surprisingly more upbeat than usual. He's brooding almost 40% less than normal. "I don't think the dark blade actually rusts," he adds, glancing at the deadly weapon at his side with a more somber expression.
    He's also not out looking for a slaughter though. "With any luck, taking care of a few of them will convince the others we're not worth the trouble, at least. Especially if we lead them to believe there are others in Kaipo who can do the same." Not likely, since very few in Kaipo wear FULL PLATE ARMOR in the scorching desert, for some reason.

    "It shouldn't be too hard." Rydia says matter of factly. "We show up, beat a few rowdy sahagin into submission, chase the rest off, go back to Kaipo and we even get paid for our hard work." The Summoner says, flashing a catty little grin as the two approach the waters of the little oasis. So it looks like she's not out for much of a slaughter either here, just to punch the sahagin back into their usually semi-placid state.
    There's just one problem.
    "Huh... It looks like... Someone's already here."
    It looks like someone is already here. The sounds of battle already audible over the soft lapping waters.
    And then even more Sahagin burst up from the sands.
    "Uh. Cecil I think we're surrounded." Rydia points out the obvious as a large group of fish-men draw rusty swords and tridents and bare their fangs and claws.
    "-- Alright, you know the drill, I'll stick behind you and cast the big spells, that should cow them a bit." She says, keeping her head cool and level in spite of the situation.
    There are a lot of Sahagin, though. This could get ugly.

The oasis is small but scenic, a cluster of reeds and gently swaying palms shading a gleaming pool of water that shimmers in the desert. It would be incredibly scenic if not for the fact that there are currently Sahagin lurching up from the sand. Several of them have swords. One of them even has an arrow sticking out of a bleeding wound in its shoulder.

--Wait, what?

The Sahagin promptly sprouts another arrow to the opposite shoulder. It goes down with a shriek - and then there's a sudden movement.

Vaulting up from the reeds not far from the water's edge, a slim shape boosts high into the air - almost dragoon high, flipping legs over head before righting herself at the crest of her jump with a snap of silvery hair. The woman - for it is indeed a woman - snaps one arm across the string of an arched bow.

There's an audible twang. Then a loud *THUD* as the arrow pegs the Sahagin squarely between the eyes. Then a pair of soft thumps, one as the woman touches down in a three-point stance, the other as the Sahagin hits the sand.

"Of course they have been coming up from the damned cave," Itana mutters as she whips an arrow from her hip-mounted quiver, but before she can shoot, she's caught another movement.

Her eyes dart towards Cecil and Rydia, not recognizing either. "You two. Can you handle yourselves in a fight?" She's got a pronounced accent, all the more clear because her voice is remarkably low and steady for someone trying to solo a horde of Sahagin.

    Cecil frowns under his helmet as the sahagin erupt and threaten. "So it would appear," he murmrus to Rydia, slowly drawing his blade. Slow, because he's assessing the threats right now, no need to rush into an attack. He does give Rydia a short glance, remembering not so long ago when she was not at all ready to fight in this way... this is a change that takes getting used to, even if... well, he kind of misses the innocence of the child he was protecting. "Like we always have," he agrees with the plan.

    Before it seems like someone else is helping them out already! Cecil's chocobo rears, and he lightly squeezes its sides to get it under control again, turning it to give him a better chance to bring his shield to bear protectively. Another enters the fray, and rather than answer with words, Cecil siezes the opening he sees, kicking the chocobo forward to bear down on the disoriented sahagin. Using his shield as a ram like this leaves his sword up for another strike.

    That should be answer enough for now.

    It's a drastic change isn't it? Smaller Rydia would have sought cover and played support in an indirect fashion. Now she's edging behind Cecil and getting ready for a knock down, drag out, fight.
    "Huh? That one's injured." She points out the one with the arrow in it.
    Only to watch it get another arrow very pointedly.
    Enter Itana, vaulting almost Dragoon high. That's a feat for certain.
    That explains much, but Rydia isn't going to question aid from a new arrival.
    "We can hold our own, it's why we came out here in the first place." She replies while tugging on the reins of her own bird to keep back rather than charge in like Cecil, who is far better suited and trained for close combat.
    The Sahagin Cecil charges goes down, and more move in to attack both the archer and the knight. This is something Rydia cuts off.
    "Whyt!" She calls out. And the mists surrounding her float towards the fight... Before coalescing into the shape of a great white dragon- its very appearance stunning the sahagin as the dragon lashes out with sharp claws.
    A little more pressure and the fish-men should break.

Itana narrows her eyes slightly at the sight of the Dark Knight wading into the fight on chocobo-back. It seems to answer her question easily enough, as if Rydia wasn't about to provide further clarification verbally.

There's a third chocobo on the scene. It's an ordinary (if somewhat lean) yellow one, adorned with a draped saddle and a pair of loaded saddlebags. Snapping another arrow off, Itana vaults backwards again and takes another leap, shorter this time, to boost herself into the bird's saddle.

She's methodical about things. She doesn't steer the chocobo by hand; she tightens her legs and guides it with her heels. With a wark, the bird jogs back and begins to circle the knot of Sahagin - but Itana holds off on firing right away to make way for the emerging Mist Dragon.

Her eyes dart, for just a moment, to the woman in green.

Then her arm moves. She fires off another couple of arrows, circling the fray to keep out of reach of the Sahagin's strikes. Her bowstring twangs resoundingly as she unleashes a few more shots before whirling one last arrow in her hand and setting it to the string. The arrowhead's not a standard one - there's a pouch of some sort attached behind the point.

Itana fires the arrow off. It arcs into the crowd of Sahagin, hits the ground in their midst - and explodes in a burst of flame and smoke, blasting the Sahagin like a bomb.

    Having a chocobo makes for good mobility, and Cecil is using that for now. Turing it about, he charges right back through the fray, so as not to stray too far from his charge, Rydia. He manages to skid to a halt when the smoke bomb explodes into the midst of the monstrous beings, calling out, "I don't think they were ready for this!"

    He really just has to scare them away. Picking one of the ones that seems to still have fight left in it, he measures his attack carefully... and a dark aura flares around the knight, letting his life force ebb slightly so that he can flick the blade sideways. A wave of blackness streaks out over the clawed sahagin, which does hurt... but more importantly, Cecil knows how terrifying it is for many to see the Dark Knight's power in action.

    "Thanks for the support," he calls out, now close enough to not shout too loud at Itana. "You holding out all right, Rydia?"

    It's a hectic fight that's for sure. But between Rydia, Cecil and Itana, the sahagin are actually outmatched despite their number advantage. Rydia's dragon bats and swats fish-men away with ease, while Cecil's blade deals out precise strikes and that wave of darkness. THAT certainly makes the fish-folk think twice about approaching further, but what settles the matter is Itana's explosive arrow landing in their midst.
    The sahagin that aren't immediately fried break ranks, turn, and flee. The babble and gargle panickedly in their guttural fish-language as they dive into the water, burrow under the sand, and retreat for their cave in the distance.
    Rydia is... Staring. Fingers holding tight to the reins of her bird, hands trembling as she stares where that arrow landed as though she were just as shockeed by the flames as the sahagin were.
    It's a gentle nudge from her chocobo against her cheek that pulls her out of it. "A-ah..."
    A slow huff and she slackens her grip on the reins. "That looks like it did it... I'm fine. I'm fine."

There's a brief tension in Itana's shoulders at the sight of the Dark Knight unleashing that wave of power. The powers of a Dark Knight are not a huge secret, at least at the surface, but they're always impressive to see in action - and slightly unnerving.

At least they are not being aimed at /her./ Thank the gods for small blessings.

With the Sahagin in retreat, Itana lets out a slow breath, her arm falling from her bowstring until she lays a hand on her chocobo's reins. As she turns the big yellow terror bird back towards the pair of adventurers, she answers Cecil instinctively - "Mm." - but pauses as her eyes catch something else.

A visibly unsettled Caller. Itana presses her lips together for a moment, eyes on Rydia, then darting towards the Dark Knight.

"...I am sorry if I surprised you." She guides her chocobo around towards the pair, her voice still low and level, but with a hint of greater softness to it.

"The Sahagin have been coming out of their caves more often lately. A monster has moved in there and it keeps chasing them out."

    "Are you certain?" Cecil asks Rydia, in a voice that sounds very gentle for one coming from that armored helmet. He cleans his blade and sheaths it, coming toward the Caller for a quick check up... and to provide some support, fully aware of her aversion to fire.

    Once he's sure that Rydia is secure, he can turn his attention to the newcomer. "It's a long story," he cites, one that he doesn't wish to share without Rydia's permission. "But you meant well, and we drove them off. It sounds as if it's only a temporary reprieve though. Perhaps we will need to gather some of our companions and find this beast before the situation worsens."

    His voice grows more quiet and serious, as he reflects, "And still the monsters grow more numerous... how strange..."

    "I'm fine. Really." Rydia says a bit more firmly, once she's rallied a bit better. "I'll be fine." She repeats her her dragon dissipates back into the mists from whence it had come, returning to linger around her like a thin fog that just never goes away.
    Protective Eidolon is protective.
    Though for now she doesn't go into the specifics of just what spooked her so. This isn't about her, at the moment.
    "Is that why they've been so rowdy?" She asks when Itana explains the true situation, slowly running a hand through her own hair. "Definitely sounds like a problem we'll have to handle, then, if we want to get through to Damcyan..."
    But that can wait, as she clears her throat.
    "I'm Rydia of Mist. This is Cecil." She pointedly avoids saying 'of Baron' because no one is on good terms with Baron right now.

Again Itana's eyes flick towards Rydia. She presses her lips together a moment, a flicker of uncertainty breaking her otherwise stoic expression for a moment - enough to lend a glimpse of something behind her eyes. A look one could take as an air of guilt for making the lady in green feel this way.

But Rydia seems to be recovering well enough, and that softness in her expression once more surrenders ground to that air of quiet reserve as she crosses both hands atop her saddlebow. As the pair introduce themselves, she looks between them as if to size them up.

"My name is Itana," she says quietly. "I come from Damcyan."

A thought is occurring to her. One that might allow her to get home without having to stoop to something she has not wanted to do.

"Yes. It's a large kraken," she explains. "The main road through the mountains is through the undersea river cave. It's moved in there. Anyone who tries to reach Damcyan from here cannot pass without moving the creature."

Itana brushes a lock of silvery hair back beneath her hood, her chin coming up slightly. "If you are going to try and cross the mountains, you will need help."

    "Hmm," Cecil muses, hearing all this and thinking about it. "Then you know the way, as well." He nods firmly and pats his chocobo. "We have need to go there, we've tarried too long here as it is, and I fear your homeland may be in danger soon. It would seem we have a common goal then."

    He isn't sure if Itana just offered, but it sounds as if that's what it was. "If you would be so kind as to aid us, we'll lend you our blades and spells for this creature."

    Rydia clicks her teeth at the mere mention of a kraken-like beast invading the water cave. That is a problem indeed. But it's one for another day as she wipes her brow. She has recovered it seems, and the looks of concern from both Itana and Cecil cause her to shift awkwardly in her saddle.
    "I'm not a kid anymore, you know." She does note to the Dark Knight at least.
    Funny. A few months back she still WAS a kid. But that's niether here nor there for the moment.
    "Yeah. I'll round up Z- Sheik, Yumi, and Tellah and we can all head that way together." Se decides after a moment of thought. "For now we should head back to Kaipo and get some rest and prepare, after all that."

"Yes, I can tell you are not," Itana answers Rydia with a slight dip of her lashes.

The hint of sass entertains her far more than she lets on. She doesn't dwell on it, though, just arching her brows pensively at the mention of others in the company of this pair. Evidently her chance encounter brought her more luck than she could've hoped for.

Five people to come with her? And /they/ want to help /her/ instead of her having to prostrate herself and beg for it? What more could she want?

"Wise," she says quietly. "If you need provisions, I can supply some. After we cross the mountains, where you go is your business."

Itana doesn't want to let /too/ much on just yet, but really, there's one goal on her mind: Find the bastards who shot down her black chocobo and punch them in the snout.