It's The Little Things in Life[Private]

[Eldon Sunkiss]

OOCNot quite Monty Python Eldon stayed, he decided, only long enough to watch the rabbit killed, skinned, and then the Pycons to be mercilessly mocked for this stupid quest. Eldon had never before seen what was to come, how could he have expected this? Eldon was sitting tall on the back of Vanah as he watched, the arrow hit, as expected of Kayiri. What? Not deeply, hardly a scratch. Eldon leaned forward as he squinted, trying to see if something foul was at play here, some sort of magic or something? No, it wasn't a rabbit, not some typical forest bunny without defenses or threatening capabilities, this was something gruesome, a true monster to be feared even. Eldon felt this stomach churn as he realized how he assumed wrong, so many times, about these little clay men. Eldon could only watch, stunned in some sort of entranced shock as the rabbit-thing vaulted clear over the group. By the time Eldon had his spear in his hands, ready to strike, and Vanah turned around, the thing already had attacked his cousin without success, thanks to the Pycon creature. "Vanator! What is that thing?" Eldon didn't know whether to charge it, head first into combat with hooves beating the earth and spear-thrust leading the whole way or try to devise some sort of plan. "How do we kill this thing?"

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el's guard came up, scimitar in hand, but the little Pycon seemed to wield more power than he did, and quicker too. When the monster crashed into the pillar of earth, it seemed stunned, disoriented, and he knew this could not last. He didn't have the distance or the time to seek safety in order to loose arrows at the thing, and he was better with a blade anyway. He made a decision, whether foolhardy or brave, and rushed the confused creature, slashing with all his might at its face as if he could cleave it in twain, loose its brain from its bony throne. A scream tore from his throat, a mixture of fear, defiance, and rage, but while he tried to modulate it toward the scary, battle yell sort of noise, there was an undeniable note of the little girl in his scream. Scary bunnies were scary!

[Vanator]

Vanator leaned on the haft of his ax as the rays of the dawn illuminated Kayiri's target. One arrow should do it. Rabbit dead, clay people indebted to the drykas and an alliance is born. However, the projectile did not hit a vital area. Alright, two arrows then. But the eerie cry that came out of the white rabbit was not the sound a rabbit makes. Squinting, Vanator saw the body of the rodent ripple, stared dumbfounded as the thing expanded. It was changing, but not like a kelvic. Pygmy's transformation was a beautiful myriad of lights. This was a grotesque twisting and bloating of the small creature into a giant monster that only vaguely resembled its former shape. Van found his ax in his hands, but his feet stood planted, stunned by the sight and unsure if retreat or attack was the best choice. To his horrified surprise, the beast leaped over them in a single sailing bound. As it landed, the older drykas spun around, just in time to lean back and avoid the powerful kick as the thing lunged towards Sam. The Pycon queen saved him, the column of dirt enough to thwart its assault. Instict kicked the drykas hunters into action. Vanator saw Sam drive foward with his curved sword, and Eldon swing around with spear in hand. As he raised his battle ax, the Denusk yelled over the chaos to the mounted man. "I have never seen this before, but I bet sharpened iron will kill it!" Rushing towards the hideous creature, Vanator came in at an angle, just to the side of Sama'el's position. His ax raised over his head, the hunter brought the heavy weapon down, hoping to cleave open a chuck of the thing's neck.

[Baku]

It may have been the sudden movement or just the screaming almost girly that caught the attention of the beast, but as Sama’el charged, the giant rabbit spun towards him, letting out a growl. It lunged at Sama’el, just as the sword was being swung towards the beast. The resulting collision found the beast’s left eye cut cleanly into, causing a blood curdling howl as Sam’s blade was knocked free from his hands, Sam himself being knocked back to the ground, left with the choice to either go and retrieve his weapon, or continue on hand to hand. Just as the transformed monstrosity was shaking the burning pain of the Sam’s attack from it’s body, a second attack came as Vanator’s axe came swinging down on the great beast, digging firmly into the flesh of its neck as a spray of blood splattered against’ Vanator’s chest, and another echoing howl raged out from the monster. Just as quickly as things had began, they soon began to end as the giant rabbit suddenly began to drag its neck along the ground, in a primitive, vain attempt to somehow heal its own wound. The Pycon took advantage before anyone else, swarming over the creature like locusts on a field, stabbing into it with miniature spears, knives and the jagged edges of their own bodies. Some went so far as to begin biting the creature, but only managing a mouth full of fur. Eventually the creature laid still and silent along the ground, its blood pooling and its continuing shallow and slowing breaths marking its end was near. They Pycon all began to gather around the cave the rabbit had emerged from, a few of them going in. Before long, the sounds of grunts and something being dragged could be heard and soon the small clay people could be seen dragging a sack out from the cave. Alliria slowly approached the sack, unwinding the rope that held it closed before she began crawling inside, the sound of coin clinking around as Miza’s began being flung out and scattering along the ground. Eventually, the Pycon backed out of the bag, holding in her hands a small miniature statue of the wizard who had created their race. All of the Pycon’s fell silent, dropping to their knees for a moment. Alliria then looked to the gathered group, a soft smile forming along her clay lips. “We thank you for you aid in the slaying of this creature. Hopefully the one who stole our item and set this creature here to guard it will trouble us no further. Please, accept the coin remaining in the sack as reward for your efforts and as further apology by us for the thefts. We have no need of such currency.” As the Pycon troupe then began to move past the rest, returning to their own caves they had emerged from, Sama’el was the first to feel the slight tug along his pant leg. Looking down, he saw a small Pycon standing there before him, a wry smile on his face. “I find you interesting for some reason. Think I’ll tag along with you for a while. My name is Pip.” The Pycon said, before abruptly crawling into Sama’el’s nearest pocket, begin no larger than three inches tall. Soon, Eldon felt a tugging along his pant leg as well, looking down to see a four inch, female Pycon standing before him. “Hi, my name is Sylvi. I haven’t seen much of the world beyond the caves. Would it be alright if I traveled with you? I can help you in some way and won’t be a bother.” And before even being answered, the Pycon soon began climbing Eldon’s pant leg, finding a pocket of her own to travel in. Other Pycon would be seen forming partnerships of sorts with the others in the group who hadn’t left the field early on, each of them introducing themselves and finding a small resting place along the party member’s person to travel in. And thus the party was left with coin and the trophy of an odd beast to claim as their own. Their travel had been met with certain oddities throughout, but in the end, they had set out what they had meant to. Sort of.

[Baku]

Thou has written, and thou has completed, so I award thee the following.... Sama’el Skills: +3 Tracking, +5 Riding, +2 Leadership, +5 Observation, +5 Rhetoric, +2 Scimitar Lore: Impromptu Hunting, A Time For Talking and Time For Moving, Pycon Mischief, When Cute Animals Attack(After Turning Horrifying), The Spoils of the Hunt Additional Rewards: 125 Gold Mizas NPC Traveling Companion: Pip : Stealth - 10 Trapping - 20 Personality - Curious to a fault, pip is one to poke his nose where it doesn’t often belong, just to ensure that his curiosity is sated. He’s never one to hold back what he is really thinking, even if such would be insulting. In all, however, he shows a fierce loyalty to his companions and will often help them out however he can, given his small stature. Eldon Skills: +5 Riding, +5 Observation, +5 Rhetoric, +2 Wrestling Lore: Impromptu Hunting, A Time for Talking and Time For Moving, Pycon Mischief, When Cute Animals Attack(After Turning Horrifying), The Spoils of the Hunt Additional Rewards: 125 Gold Mizas NPC Traveling Companion: Sylvi : Stealth - 10 Glyphing - 20 Personality - Once the assistant to the Pycon troupe leader, Alliria, Sylvi was often found creating scrolls for the leader to store her earth magic in, and as such never found much time to socialize with the rest of the troupe. She is shy in nature, but has a wonder about what exists outside of the cave. While her self esteem is sometimes lacking, she often shows promise in Glyphing, and is obviously a kind hearted Pycon. Additional Notes: It was a long road indeed, and the blame lies with me mostly. For that I apologize. However, I felt this one needed to have a closing to it, rather than just strait awards. It was fun while it was going though, and I hope you all enjoyed what was provided. It is my understanding that those whom I haven’t awarded are no longer with the game. If I am mistaken in that assumption, drop me a PM and I will add the awards.