World Tree MUSH

    The last time the party had tried to head through the Water Cave connecting Kaipo to Damcyan, a cave in prevented passage through to the nation beyond. Now, the cave in has been cleared, but another problem has arisen...
    The Sahagin of the desert have grown agitated due to something moving into their territory, and though the passage beyond should be clear in theory, there's no guarantee that the passage will be safe.
    The meeting point had been just outside the gave proper, and when everyone had finally arrived who was going to arrive, it was time to move into the caves. Rydia stands at the back of the group, helping herd the chocobos through the wide open spaces of the cave, keeping the birds wrangled fairly effectively while letting others scout ahead or take up the fore of thr group. There are too many unknown dangers after letting the cave and its denizens fester as long as they have.

Rydia and Cecil had more friends than Itana expected. It works out. She's got a small army behind her and she doesn't even have to debase herself for it.

The green-clad summoner has surprising help with the chocobos: Itana has a rapport with them and coaxes them along with relative ease, though her hand is never far from the reins of her own bird, a lean yellow one with a draped saddle and a pair of plump saddlebags. The woman squints ahead into the darkness of the cave, shifting her free hand's grip on her bow. She's been fairly quiet and alert, watchful for more Sahagin - or worse down here.

"If we stay clear of the water for awhile, it will be better." She keeps her voice low, trying not to let things echo as she looks back towards the caller in green. "The creature that moved into this cave... it cannot really fight on the ground."

A beat. "I think."

    Uni's known Rydia for a while, and so, when Bravette got the message the pair shifted from their 'help people on the street' doldrums, and headed over to Rydia's world. She's never gotten used to the bird mounts they use, but the ride is largely smooth, and she dismounts after arriving. She summons a short, bullpup rifle, racks the slide and checks the magazine. She's largely quiet, as she checks her gear.

    Bravette does much the same, floating beside her Master, summoning gear, checking it over then dismissing it back into Slipway again until she equips a pair of SMGs akimbo and a slightly heavier chestplate armour piece.

    Cecil pats the riding bird he came in on, as it won't be useful in the cave, and shoulders his pack. The Dark Knight is suited up for battle again, which means his face is hidden behind his helm, his blade is at the ready, and he's looking pretty formidable and dangeorus now. From within his helmet, the voice is murmuring darkly, "Too many unknowns..."

    But, he glances at the group. "WE have a good mix of ranged, magic, and melee here, so we should be able to handle anything." Stepping forward, he readies to enter when the others are prepared, probably expecting Duncan to be joining him up there as the 'wall of tanks' they make together, possibly with Yumi joining.

    There isn't much to speak of when it comes to Tellah.

    When pressed, he will introduce himself as the Great Sage of Mysidia. That is, when pressed. But the closer the group gets to traveling the less he appears interested in speaking. At the risk of sounding irascible, he contents himself with making sure he can keep up with the rest of the group. It may be a surprise to some when the septuagenarian doesn't slow them down!

    In one of his rare moments of speaking aloud, he says, "If we see it again, I will cast lightning again. It will be defeated again. It is a minor inconvenience that stands between us and Damcyan." Well, him and Damcyan. But he tries to be inclusive all the same.

    Wall of tanks indeed. Yumi was not there for the last trip through the Water Cave; but if there's something agitating the sahagin, it's probably a good thing she's here this time. Whatever has them unsettled, she'd like as much armor between it and Rydia as possible. So naturally, she's on the forefront with Cecil, her massive runeblade in hand and resting over her shoulder. She does keep one ear towards the back, though, listening for Itana's instructions.

    That 'I think' isn't very reassuring, but Yumi accepts it in stride. "I'll just assume it's going to surprise us by coming out on land after us. That way, the only surprise will be a pleasant one if it doesn't."

There is another Dark Knight in the party besides Cecil. That would be one Duncan Ritter, formerly of Baron's Dark Knight corps. Fortunately there's probably enough people here who know his story to vouch for him if questions of his allegiance come up.

It's also worth mentioning that one of those chocobos that Rydia and Itana are wrangling is his -- the one with the pale feathers. It's not actually a white chocobo, no. Just pale. 'Nemesis' is her name, she has a chipped beak and a bad attitude. Though she's notably calmer than is usual for her being separated from her master. Likely this is thanks to Itana's presence.

Duncan himself is closer to the front of the group, though. He's wearing armor, so it makes sense for him to be in front. That way if anything attacks them from that direction, it's almost certain to run into him first. Itana's words draw a response -- "It would behoove those of us who are armored to remain out of the water as much as possible anyway," he agrees.

To Cecil, he nods. "Still, best to stay alert," he notes. "Though I doubt I need to remind anyone about surprises from unknown enemies." Tellah, however, gets a look. Though Duncan is wearing his helmet, so whatever expression might be there is hidden. "Hopefully that's all it will be," he notes, at the words of 'minor inconvenience'.

    "A only serious problem I can think of might be the Sahagin." Rydia notes. "If they're being pushed out of their territory, the monster in the water is probably driving them to land." She says, letting the trio of Cecil, Duncan, and Yumi lead the way.
    It's pretty dark in the cave, but Rydia planned ahead for this.
    She has a FLASHLIGHT equipped and the group should have a few lamps at hand as well, so it's just a matter of proceeding cautiously.
    With Rydia and Itana wrangling the birds, the tanks up front, and Uni, Bravette, and Tellah along, the Sahagin that CAN be seen quickly retreat into the shadows of the cave, choosing discretion over valor as they find the group too large and well defended to even try and pick off the smallest (which would be a bad idea because Uni and Bravette would fill them with holes) or the oldest (which would be equally bad as Tellah would fry them where the stand).
    The fact of the matter is, it's oddly smooth going until the party reaches a shallow pool. The path beyond is the way to go, but there's a vast expanse of water between the party and the further reaches of the cave.
    "Well. The sahagin have left us alone... Let's try and cross quickly and see if we can avoid whatever's in here."

    None of them are faces Itana recognizes. She did, at least, introduce herself as Itana el-Zayl and profess that her destination is Damcyan.

    She glances back at Tellah and presses her lips gently together, then lets her gaze track to Cecil again. "Magic will have to be someone else's contribution. But there are things I will be able to do."

    Uni's weapons draw a slightly baffled look from her. Itana has no idea what a gun is. The flashlight's also pretty hard for her to figure out; she just talks it up as a torch.

    Now and then, a Sahagin ventures close. Itana plays her part in keeping them at bay: She snaps an arrow off at one or another now and then, but other than that she keeps quiet save for murmured conversation. But there's no pitched battle.

    Itana should find that more suspicious.

    The water awaits, flowing persistently. Hand on the reins of her chocobo, Itana steps towards the edge. She pauses for just a moment to coaxingly slip the terror bird a handful of greens, then glances back again.

    "If you feel anything slimy brush against your leg, say something."

    The old sage Tellah does not react much in the presence of the Sahagin. Not overtly, anyway. His eyes covered by shaded lenses, it is hard to tell whether or not he is tracking their movements. However, there is the occasion where the amulet around his neck begins to glow. It coincides with the old man's whispering words of power.

    But time passes, and nothing comes of the mutterings of the Sage. There is simply his stalwart consternation of getting through the tunnel a second time, and wanting to be clear of it. No Sahagin need to be harmed, but that is their choice.

    "Almost there," he says, fingers tightening together. "I cannot afford another delay."

    With Duncan and Cecil both alongside her, Yumi can rest a little easier that nothing will get to the back lines easily.

    Rydia does get an amused look, though, when she brandishes her special cave-delving equipment. "...you know I'm pretty much a living flashlight, right? Bring a stick and I can imbue it with light." As they proceed, she watches the Sahagin warily, but the fishmen seem to be wisely leaving them be. That's good. Less good is the huge expanse of water between them and where they need to be.

    Speaking of her ability to imbue things with light.

    "Hang on a second, folks. I've got an idea." The magical girl begins picking up several good-sized rocks from the ground, and holding them all in her hands, begins imbuing them with a steady, warm gold-white light. And then, one by one, she starts to hurl them out into the water, spreading them out, in such a way that their light provides dim luminance in the shallow pool.

    "If anything's moving around under water, that'll make it easier to spot. Those will only last a few minutes, so we should hurry."

    She's taking a few more rocks just in case, but she only has one hand to carry them with. She won't be able to replace many if they all fade before the group finishes crossing.

>> SUMMARY[Yumi Tachibana] >> Imbuing a bunch of rocks with sunlight, throwing them into the water so it's easier to see anything moving around.

    Uni attaches a taclight to the rail on her rifle, joining Rydia's flashlight in scanning across the shadows, following some of the Sahagin as they retreat from the group. "Skyeye, give me an area scan, thermal." she says as the group arrives at the water expanse. She does look at Itana quirking a brow at the look. She gestures with her weapon. "If it helps, think of this as a really loud, weird shaped bow." she ventures while her Shinki lifts a bit higher, visor snapping down over her eyes and emitting a soft whine as it powers on the thermal vision mode.

    Unlike Itana, Cecil has been out and about on the Tree enough that flashlights and the like don't really startle him. There's a good chance he has a gadget or two in his pack somewhere, though flashlights don't seem to be one of the ones he brought with him. Being 'familiar' with those isn't the same as being comfortable with the strange technology. A younger one like Rydia adapting more quickly isn't a surprise.

    Given his heavy armor, Cecil has no choice but to wade out in the water. "I'm afraid my armor makes feeling anything like that difficult..." He trails off as Yumi throws glowing rocks though. "... good idea, Yumi." He's always a little impressed at how much different she was than the clumsy amateur that he was training not so long ago.

    KNowing the importance of speed, though, he wades quickly, possibly a little less carefully than he might otherwise.

Can't have EVERYTHING go well, right? After all, most of the Sahagin seem to have left them alone for the most part -- that's probably all of the group's good luck used up right there! Rydia's words of avoiding whatever's in the water get a nod. "Perhaps if we don't splash around too much, we won't draw its attention," he replies.

He goes give a bit of a disgusted shiver at Itana's mention of something slimy brushing against a leg. But he just agrees, "Understood." And with that he'll be trying to slowly get into the water to cross. Nemesis, of course, senses the danger in the water and it will be a bit before she can be coaxed to cross with them.

Yumi's idea draws a thoughtful sound from Duncan. And he echoes Cecil's words with a nod of his own. "Indeed," he offers. Though yeah, he's doing to have the same difficulty Cecil is with feeling things moving past his legs in the water. Maybe Yumi's sun-rocks can make up the difference?

    "Come on, Nemesis, we'll be quickly- quicker in fact if you just hurry." Rydia gently coaxes Duncan's warbird to start crossing, her own bird hopping into the water with an obedient "Kweh~!"
    Yumi tosses lit stones into the water, illuminating the path ahead. The water is crystal clear-- it hasn't been disturbed by anything in a while apparently until the party begins to move through it, kicking up silt and dirt and mud from the bottom. But like this it should be easy to see anything coming from a mile away if the team keeps their eyes peeled to the water.
    "We're hurrying as fast as we can, we'll be at Damcyan in no time, old man." Rydia says. She's very gentle with the way she says 'old man', from her it's more a term of endearment to the great sage than an insult or a jab at his age; knowing full well what he's capable of in spite of his advanced years.
    Keeping to marching order, the group makes it maybe half-way across without incident. It seems almost too convenient that whatever is in the water hasn't made an approach.
    Probably because it was already here laying in wait.
    No one sees it until it's just too late.
    A bright orange and green-mottled tentacle lowers crom the ceiling and coils aroun Rydia's neck.
    "Wh-?!"
    And yanks her up violently!
    Kicking and flailing, Rydia gasps as she's pulled up to where a massive squid-like monster waits hanging from the stalactites above, fumbling for the dagger belted at her waist she stabs and cuts at the tentacle to no avail while sputtering!
    It's almost as if it knew the party was coming!

    Bravette's looking down at the water, so doesn't see anything on the ceiling until it's too late. She pings an alert. "Contact!" Her voice is a stoic deadpan, but the exclamation point can be felt in the tone regardless. Twin SMGs spin up and start spraying bullets at the tentacle holding Rydia, aimed so she's not shooting directly at the summoner.

    Uni, meanwhile joins in, bringing her rifle up and aiming for the creature's center of mass. Her rifle barks in staccatto bursts, spraying three rounds with red tracers at the monster. "These are specialy made bullets. Hope you like them!" she snarls. Each bullet explodes on impact with a directed flame pulse.

    The pace is steady. The water is still aside from them. Nothing moving, nothing lurking.

    Yumi's instincts quickly start nagging at the back of her mind. Something's not right.

    The coin drops right as they reach the middle. Whatever-it-is can't just be gone. It's something dangerous enough to drive the sahagin out. But they're not seeing it. It's somehow just... not there. Which means it has to be somewhere not in the water.

    That's about when something snatches Rydia up. By the neck. "RYDIA!" Yumi yells out, turning around and kicking off the ground hard enough to raise a plume of water from her launching point.

    By the time she's halfway between the water and the tentacle, Prominence has already burst into light, a bright and simmering radiance suffusing each rune on the blade's faces. She means to slash for the tentacle as hard as she can; with no real ranged attacks, it's questionable whether she can get within blade's reach before it becomes too dangerous to swing the weapon around Rydia.

    "Oh, that's how it works?" Itana's eyebrows come up shallowly as she nods towards Yumi.

    Having no clue what a Skyeye or a visor are, she just takes them as a Weird Tree Thing and assumes they'll do something useful. But it's Yumi's strategy that draws the most approval from her. She nods as she begins to wade into the stream, letting the water ripple around her thighs. "That will help."

    It doesn't help as much as they all hope. Largely because the creature isn't /down/ there.

    "What th-" Itana snaps her gaze upwards as Rydia is suddenly snagged by the lurking orange horror. Immediately she sweeps an arm out to coax the chocobos behind her - and to free her hand up to dart to her hip. She whips an arrow out with a quick twirl and begins to strafe to one side to try and pull herself into a firing position. It's hard going when she's thighs-deep in water.

    "Rydia, /wiggle,/" she calls up to her as she pulls herself partway up out of the water, perching on an outcrop in the underground stream. Her arm snaps with startling speed. There is the sharp *twang* of a bowstring and a quick shout.

    "Sar!"

    She's fired an arrow off - an arrow with a sharp, barbed point glistening with something pale and green. The arrow impact itself, aimed to sink into the root of a non-Rydia tentacle, might be innocuous.

    The real threat is the fast-acting, blood-burning poison coating the arrowhead.

    Tellah's appreciation of Rydia's kind words are short-lived. He offers her a hard-earned smile underneath his bushy beard and moustache as they tread through the water. However, it is an utter surprise when a tentacle wraps itself around Rydia and lifts her up out of the water.

    "Damnable, wretched beast!" he shouts, glaring from behind his sunglasses. His words snap through the air, probably welling up within him during the entire underground trek. With the arrival of the vile creature, Tellah has something to direct his long-repressed ire.

    His fingers immediately clutch around his amulet while his lips utter incantations long-learned and oft-forgotten. He then releases his amulet, which glows with arcane power! "Languorem infirmitas!"

    The incantation ripples out from the very core of the Sage, hands raised to indicate that the words are meant for the creature.

>> GAME >> Tellah spends an Edge for: Casting Virus on a wholly inconvenient adversary

    "RYDIA!" Cecil shouts, while internally reflecting that the girl seems to have a bizarre tendency to attract kidnapping sea monster tentacles. It turned out all right last time, but this time she might come back middle-aged! He turns about with surprising speed, though the water splashing around his thighs does slow him down more than he'd like.

    "Be careful not to hit Rydia!" Cecil calls out to the others. "Lightning might-" Oh. Tellah didn't use lightning. That's... good? A surprise, but good. It does leave Cecil without an easy attck... he knows how to use a bow, but getting that out in the water would be a problem and probably damage it. Which just leaves one option.

    "HYAH!" He doesn't need to call out his attack name, but the 'slash' of dark power is summoned anyway, at an angle away from where Rydia went up. It's also good for coverage... "Duncan, can you get into a better position?" He knows the other Dark Knight is more mobile than he is, but does that apply in the water?

"I thought things were going too easily..." Duncan mutters, though he waits to draw his greatsword. With the thing being on the ceiling of the cave, he's not exactly going to be able to just start hacking at the thing. No, he has another way of attacking.

Quiet words muttered under his breath -- maybe familiar to the magic-users in the group -- soon give rise to a middling-strength fire spell. It's aimed at the body of the monster rather than the tentacles; he doesn't want to risk hitting Rydia with it. Besides that, he figures someone else in the group will try to sever the tentacle that's holding her, and he doesn't want to get in their way.

Though the OTHER reason he hasn't drawn his sword yet will become apparent when Cecil speaks -- almost before the words come out, Duncan is already moving. Though he makes to position himself about where he figures Rydia would fall if dropped.

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> FIRE on squid-breath, moving to try to catch Rydia if she falls.

    Rydia kicks. Rydia flails. Rydia wiggles, doing her best to free herself from the Octomammoth's grasp as the leering squid monstrosity slowly begins to draw her towards its gaping maw.
    Thankfully she is not alone in this journey or it may have ended prematurely.
    Everyone swiftly moves to her aid, which is good. Bravette's fire upon the tentacle holding Rydia makes the squid-beast gurgle, wriggling a little looser around the Summoner's neck before Yumi severs it entirely.
    And then the party lights the beast up.
    It starts with Uni's fiery rounds pelting the monster upon its main body, making it raise several tentacles to try and deflect the fire- only to eat a poisoned arrow that makes one tentacle wither and die. Fire and Darkness slam it next, searing and necrosing its skin--
    Until Tellah makes the beast so very, very, sick.
    Losing its grip, Rydia plummets with a yelp, right into Duncan's waiting arms, both hands on her neck as she sputters and coughs. "Ugh...!" She grunts hoarsely. It sounds like she won't be casting any spells this fight with those sucker marks ringing around her throat as she splutters.
    Octomammoth falls from the cave ceiling, landing in the water with a loud splash as it tries to just outright land on varied members of the party, tentacles lashing out weak and sluggish thanks to the terrible Virus spell afflicting it, to try and recover by pulling the unwary to its fang-lined maw.

    A little wiggle-wiggle-wiggling goes a long way. And it does, in fact, help that there are people there to help.

    "I will try not to hit her," Itana answers, a picture of calm as she glances towards Cecil. Water spills down her limbs as she boosts herself the rest of the way out of the water. She lies in wait, another arrow held at the ready.

    Rydia falls. Then Octomammoth does. Itana glances towards the woman in green. "...Are you alright?"

    Duncan's got her, at least - and Octomammoth won't be sick forever. Gauging distance with a look, Itana brushes back her hood and shakes long silvery hair free. And then, with a sudden movement--

    She jumps. It's a high, soaring jump - the kind of leap that'd make a dragoon whistle. Flipping acrobatically in midair, Itana arcs high through the cavern, her course taking her directly over Octomammoth and leaving her upside down in the air at the very apex of her jump. She's poised even with her head aimed downward, her arm moving as she seems to float in slow motion. The arrow in her hand glints as she flicks her wrist.

    There is a loud, resounding **BOOM**. A shock of displaced air.

    A force ring bursts out from around the arrow as Itana fires her shot off straight downward at a speed fast enough to smash the sound barrier. It's a single, lethally fast arrow, aimed to bury itself squarely in Octomammoth's forehead, before she finishes her flip and sails downwards towards a landing on the octopus's far side.

    "Sanchir," she says simply upon touching down.

    Bravette thumbs up to Yumi, flitting a bit lower and dismissing her SMGs. She instead summons her Gattling, the minified Autocannon's three barrels spinning up with a growing whirr, before it starts spitting bullets out at a terrible rate, hosing down the fallen squidmonster. She's mostly trying to fend the tentacles off to give the others a better opening to get in and finish the thing off.

    Uni , meanwhile, stows her rifle, literally 'dropping' it and letting it vanish into inventory as she rushes over to Duncan. She pulls a bottle with a stylized N on the label, offering it. "Hey, drink this, it should help." she says to the summoner, offering to take her off Duncan's hands so he can go take some swings at the beast, should he want to.

    Prominence cleaves through the tentacle holding Rydia - and for a second, Yumi is preparing to try and catch Rydia before the summoner hits the water. She's not sure how she'll manage it. But Duncan is already on the case. She gives him a grateful look as she comes down, and then turns to return Bravette's thumbs-up-

    -at which point the Octomammoth comes crashing down.

    For a second, Yumi seems to be buried under tentacles. Then a radiant gold-white light begins pouring out from between them, and the sizzle of searing octopus fills the air. There's a sudden, fierce, "YAAH-!" and through sheer brute force, the armored senshi throws the weight of tentacles off herself.

    And then, she goes to town.

    If her runeblade was shining before, it's absolutely blazing now. The warmth is noticeable even to those a bit further back, the entire massive weapon a searing brand of solar fire adorned with runes of light down either side. She swings the weapon with far more speed and dexterity than a weapon that big has any right showing, slashing and hewing about herself with impressive grace for all the power in her strikes.

    And every once in a while, one hand comes free of Prominence's grip, extending a palm out and summoning forth a sudden explosive burst of flames somewhere close to her. Like a small sun, bursting into being then quickly vanishing.

    And down it goes.

    "Ryd- Ah." Duncan was one step ahead of him, as he'd hoped, and Rydia is safely caught. Cecil now has a free shot at the tentacled horror that's still recovering from the bullets from Uni and her shinki, and the poison from Tellah and Itana. Good. He immediately wades into battle(a bit literally, in this case), with his blade slashing left, right, left again. Reducing the tentacles as much as he can before trying to move in for the kill, just in case it doesn't die as quickly as he'd like.

    Then again, this is a death sword with the power to instantly kill some things, maybe that will help.

    Either way, the dark-armored knight is tromping forward, shield up and ready, while slashing at the tentacles to keep them away from Yumi.

    Tellah's fingers clutch his amulet as he sloshes through the water, other hand clutching his staff. His brows crease against his glasses, darkened even moreso in the low-light environment. It's anyone's guess how he can see anything, especially with presbyopia.

    He seems prepared to send another spell at the horrific creature, but he instead has to deal with a tentacle coming down on top of him. He makes a yelping sound of surprise--quite unlike the commanding tone he had used earlier--and tries to hustle out of the way of the tentacle. It comes crashing down within two feet of his body, splashing him with water.

    Covered from head to toe in water, Tellah's priority now is to hurry himself away from the writhing tentacles while others attack the creature. "Excellent!" he calls out to the rest assembled. "We have not won yet! A wounded beast is a dangerous one!"

"Got you," Duncan assures Rydia as she falls. He is, however, not putting her down yet. No, he dashes out from under the falling monster first -- towards Uni, since she'll presumably be not-under the beast herself -- THEN puts Rydia down.

He nods to Uni. "Thank you," he says quickly, since it looks like Uni can see to Rydia and make sure she's not hurt too terribly badly. Because yes, it does look like he wants to take a few swings at the be-tentacled beast.

Tellah's words are very true, as Duncan well knows, and that means this thing needs to die FAST. It's here that Duncan draws his greatsword finally. He pauses, holding the weapon in a one-handed 'high' stance, and murmuring more words under his breath. And as he completes the incantation, the blade lights up with a fiery aura.

Then he dashes back at the monstrous be-tectacled creature and gives a great big SLICE with the fiery blade! He is, of course, aiming at a side where he's not going to hit Cecil or Yumi. But between the three of them it could make a quite powerful three-pronged attack of Darkness, Light, and Fire.

    "Kuh!" Rydia's reply to Itana is a hoarse grumble, but the wave of her hand at the massive monster says shell be fine enough, as she takes the NepBull from Uni, opens the bottle and slams it back like a pro.
    She's drank some pretty gnarly tasting potions in her time and the magical energy drink probably tastes like candy by comparison right about now as it rejuvenates her sore and crushed throat, the suction marks on her neck already beginning to vanish as Duncan sets her down out of harms way.
    "-Thanks." She does manage once the NepBull is downed.
    And then. Then everyone lays into the Octomammoth.
    It all starts with Itana's rail-gun shot from her bow slamming the beast dead center in the forehead, pinning it down as Bravette pelts it with shinki-sized fire. Rydia actually has to shy away from the melee as Yumi brings Prominence to bear, and with the great runeblade those blasts of fire. Between the Triple-Tech of Yumi, Duncan's flaming greatsword and Cecil's wrath, seared tentacles are flying everywhere while a shaking Rydia helps Tellah back to his feet.
    Soon enough the cavern quiets and Rydia huffs.
    Dagger in hand she cuts up a big hunk of seared tentacle.
    "Looks like dinner is takoyaki tonight."

    Itana pulls her hood back up with a soft puff of breath, looking back towards the rest of the group.

    Trying to tackle Octomammoth on her own had been nigh impossible. With a group, it feels almost trivial. As the three melee fighters demolish the huge mollusc, Itana prowls back towards the chocobos, checking on her bird first and then looking to ensure the others are still intact.

    For all that it held her up before, the creature did no harm to the flock of helpful terror birds. She breathes a quiet sigh of relief.

    As Rydia holds up the hunk of tentacle, Itana dips her lashes ever so slightly before reaching into her saddlebag. She emerges with a few containers of something. Glass decanters of spices, and one of some sort of oil.

    "If one of you is willing to start a bonfire," she says quietly, "I will cook it."

    If there's one thing Itana knows how to do, it's eat monsters. Survival skills are important!

    In the aftermath of her fiery assault, Yumi stands, holding her posture, keeping her weapon ready for another assault while steam from the water rises around her... but it appears dead at last.

    Yumi practically slumps, the sunlight fading from her blade, taking the heat with it. "...I can start a fire, but I'm not dicing the meat if we're really doing takoyaki. Too much work."

    Tellah is helped to his feet by a very courteous Caller, other gnarled hand wrapped about the staff. "I believe," he begins, "that it was far less pleasant the second time around." He readjusts his glasses as the cavern quiets down, then looks at the mayhem left in the wake of those assembled. This includes the remains of Octomammoth and the various sights and smells of both magic and technology used to rip through the creature.

    Satisfied that there is no longer a threat, he starts to trudge through the water amognst those assembled. Of all that are collected, he places a hand on the shoulder of Cecil Harvey. "Just what I expected from a Dark Knight!" He half-harumphs and half-laughs in spite of himself.

    "It was a minor inconvenience, made possible only by cooperation and swift action. Good work, everyone," he says, using his free hand to wipe his wet hair away from his face. "Now I believe if we hurry we can make it to Damcyan by nightfall."

    Uni nods to Rydia, moving to assist Tellah as well. "Skyeye... make sure there's no more surprises clinging to the ceiling ahead of us."

    Bravette dismisses her gattling, gives a nod to Uni, then flits off on her jetpack to go scouting ahead.

Once he's sure the squiddy beast is dead, Duncan lets the flame fade from his sword. Though Rydia's statement gets a quiet chuckle. "I'm not sure I've ever eaten an octopus this big," he notes. And to Itana, he asks, "Can it be made safe? It could be poisonous." He's deferring to her in this case, since she seems familiar with the idea.

Yumi gets a smirk. "I believe this is 'slice off a piece, spear it on a blade, and hold it over a fire'," he assures her. "I don't believe anyone will be dicing anything into small pieces."

A reminder from Tellah that they really need to get moving, that gets a nod. "Perhaps we should move on after all, and save the culinary adventures for when we are not so pressed for time," he suggests. They can just hack pieces off and bring it with them, right?

    Slowly cleaning the blade, then sheathing it, Cecil grunts at the final result of their work. And then they're talking about eating it? "Just make sure it doesn't need buried for six months to remove the toxins or something. Maybe Tellah can rem- knows a spell that can cleanse poisons or something."

    It's worth a shot, right? For now he chuckles, "I was glad to help. We're lucky to have two, not just me, on the front line. It makes me think..." Trailing off, he decides not to voice his concerns about Baron just yet.

    "We can," Itana answers Tellah with a look back towards the old man. "I do not know what business you have at the castle, but good luck with it."

    She slings her bow over her shoulder with a low huff before moving to spear a chunk of tentacle with the aid of a big knife. "The poison can be boiled out of it. It is a fairly simple process."

    Itana'll start cooking once a fire's ready, with the aid of a large pot full of water. As she gathers the squid for dinner, she looks up to Cecil and Rydia, eyes lingering a moment on the tandem.

    "I will guide you as far as the castle," she says simply. "After that, where you go is your business."

    She'll be home, after all - home in the lonely deserts around Castle Damcyan. Surely nothing more could disrupt that.

    Right...?