Maveda - The Copper Thicket

Fishman

Fishman

Broseidon
Benefactor
The Copper Thicket

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True to its name, the Copper Thicket is full to the brim with herculean oaks all veined with metallic, coppery bark. Because of the shade from the canopy, few other plants grow on the ground and depend on the local troll population to uproot these trees so sunlight can make way to the forest floor.

There are a few villages scattered around the thicket, keeping outside of popular troll territories and placing wards to veer them away. They tend to be simple folk, few of which are warriors, most being hunters, farmers, and mystics concentrated on avoiding danger rather than destroying it. Even so, they have been put under the Sierrans protective list along with all the wildlife of the Copper Thicket, and they lend a hand where they can.
 
The hovercraft came flying out of a massive waterfall on the side of a mountain, where the portal was located. It soared over a colorful canopy of bright yellows and ambers, leaves so thick the forest floor didn't exist from this view.

As they flew Tatiana took out several weapons that were offered, particularly tranquilizer guns and what looked like a bizarre marrying of grappling hooks and an RPG launcher. "This is what we'll use to restrain the Tosserlad. Even powerful drugs can only do so much to a raging, hundred-foot tall berzerker. Unless you have something better to use, I highly recommend these, but be careful. The back end will fire a stake deep into the ground, and the front will fire the grapple at your target and clamp onto it. If you have a tail or anything that wasn't in your application form, keep it firmly tucked. I'm not sure even Vitae Medical can grow back limbs that you've lost."

Tatiana opened both cabin doors, letting a torrent of chilly air in. It was either autumn or some far northern province of this land. Perhaps there were other astral reasonings for the cold air, but until they had a chance to warm up, a coat seemed wise.

She pointed outside, at the trail of trees that had been knocked down in a line, allowing them a glimpse of the forest floor- and how far down it was! A yellow haze covered the area, swirling about as the hovercraft flew by. They followed this trail for several long minutes until the aircraft came to a pause, then began to lower itself to the trees. Again the woman pointed, to a spot of greyishblue skimming the canopy several hundred meters away. "In the pines, that's pretty easy to miss, but during this time they stick out. We're going on foot from here. Don't want it grabbing the craft and crumpling us inside like a can of sardines. Put your masks on before we go down."

Using the same ropes they were familiar with, she lowered herself down to the barren forest floor, right beside the path that the troll carved out. As the rest of the team descended, they would find the yellow haze sticking to their skin almost immediately, and if they directed their attention to the path, they would see it was coming from the giant mushrooms that were growing on the fallen trees, bloating right before they puffed out massive plumes of spores.

In the distance, a low groan vibrated the dirt right beneath their feet.
 
Down a tuft of previously bubble-gummed hair, and none the happier for it, Finn nodded along with the explanation with a slightly perturbed expression. Looking pensive, he put his mask on and slid down the rope when instructed without trouble, after strapping a few of the offered weapons to his back alongside his polearms.

Once on the ground, he slung the RPG and one of the tranquilisers around, holding one in each hand awkwardly - unbeknownst to him, with his fingers dangerously close to the triggers - and squinting at them. "Uh, not to be the idiot," he piped up hesitantly, "but... how do I work these? I've not used anything more fancy than a crossbow before, and I'm kind of a bad shot with those."

The young half-orc looked up with a bashful grin. "I'm more of a big sticks guy. In my defense, though, I did tick 'very poor' on the 'rate your familiarity with technology' question on my form!"
 
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Nat endured the rest of the trip mostly in silence, for no other reason than to avoid picking another fight with Arturia. As they reached their destination, she pulled the visor back down over her eyes and pulled the mask up, covering her entire face with the protective gear. The grappling launcher slung over her back, giving the professional infiltrator a moment to adjust to the added weight to her balance. A tranquilizer rifle remained firmly in her hands as she hit the ground, immediately glad for the mask for the stifling and suffocating thickness of the air in this place. Nature at its wildest -- just what she hated.

"Are you serio--" Nat stopped herself, taking a few steps over and literally popping one of Finn's hands like a misbehaving toddler to reset his fingers. "Like this," she quickly explained, demonstrating the proper grip on her own weapon and taking a moment to explain the basics as best she could. Nat wasn't a trained soldier, but she knew enough about weapons to give a decent introduction. Enough that she hoped would keep the rambunctious boy from accidentally shooting her in the back.

"Good news for you is doesn't seem like we're going to be short on sticks anytime soon," she spoke through the mask, surveying their surroundings, eventually finding the tall form of their third companion.

"Look, as much as I hate to say it -- you're probably the experienced one in all this," Nat said with a swallow, glad her hear masked the pain expression caused by such an admission. "If you've got a plan of attack, now would be a good time."
 
Arturia was silent the entire trip, not making light conversations with any other the other chatter boxes that joined on this journey. There was no point. They may be gone the next day anyway. It was always the case, it seemed, when Arturia got close to a group at any rate. Once the group started to depart, she pulled her own mask on and pulled up her hood. Afterward, she picked up her weapons with distaste before hopping from the ship.

It surprised her that Nat deferred to her, needless to say. She snorted and looked around the area through the swirling mist. "This area looks pretty flat, which.. Really doesn't benefit us wee people a bit of good." She muttered. "If we just start shootin' it up, I believe it's flight or fight response will trigger. Correct me if I'm wrong, Preservationist Tatiana." She gave the woman a look that explained what she thought of that line of thinking. "But I'd think we'd need to trip it up. Try to get it off its feet first so it's less likely to run or turn around an' wipe us out with a kick or swing."
 
As she watched Nat struggle with the half-orc's ignorance, Tatiana's cheeks lifted under her eyes for the third time.

"The plan is for three of us are going to position further down in the brush. Quite far down, at least half a mile. We have good range on the tranquilizer guns, so while one of us-" She paused, hearing Arturia speak up. Hm. That wasn't a bad plan.

"A good idea. We'll need to get it going in one direction, though. Does anyone here have a particularly good set of legs and is feeling brave today?"

She looked around for a volunteer.

After hearing another rumble under their feet among all the puffing mushrooms, she wasn't feeling particularly hopeful.
 
Finn nodded along to Nat's explanation of the weapons, brow furrowed with concentration as he did his best to take it all in. He might not have been the sharpest of them, but he seemed to take well enough to the relatively simple operating instructions once they were explained - they weren't that dissimilar to operating a crossbow, after all.

"Oh, sure, I can do that!" Finn piped up cheerily when Tatiana mentioned looking for someone to volunteer as a distraction. "I'm great at being bait, and I can run pretty damn fast if I need to. It'd take more than one kick for that thing to knock me down anyway," he asserted with a confident grin. "Just point me at where you need me to lead it, and say the word!"
 
"Does anyone here have a particularly good set of legs and is feeling brave today?"

Nat qualified for one of the categories in spades. The other, she could fake well enough.

"I'll can ta--" her volunteering words were cut off by the exuberant volunteering of her verdant vagabond companion, pure volume and excitement drowning her out. She thought about picking the fight on the issue -- there was no doubt she could run with the best of them and phasing in and out of corporeality for an instant here or there would buy her some space as well as make for a captivating and confusing target, but the realization that Finn being the bait would also mean his understanding of how to use the weapon after her crash course wouldn't be the deciding factor in Nat's survival. After the boy demonstrated a losing effort in battle with bubblegum, Nat began to realize that she was more than happy to let him serve as the runner.

"Right," she nodded her almost-entirely-covered face, also picking up on the rumbling beneath them. The pit of her stomach twisted along with the rumbling sensation. Too late to turn back on the job now. "We...we need to move fast," she said, tapping the side of the reflective visor covering her eyes in reaction to what she saw, obviously upset -- at least as much as anyone could tell from the covering.
 
Arturia had opened her mouth to volunteer, but clicked her teeth shut when not just one, but two others started before her. This was not going to be good. She shouldered her supplies and started muttering under her breath in her home land's forgotten language as the rumbling barely swayed her. "Alright! Let's get a move on, shall we? We aren't younger lookin' at pink 'air over 'ere. If we stand by the ship any longer, some of us might flake and 'ead back their mum's."
 
Tatiana was pleasantly surprised as not one, but two, and even almost the third volunteered. Unfortunately, it was first come first serve for the green boy. Maybe if they did this again, she'd lend them the chance, but that thought was made with a chuckle.

"Arturia, Nat, and I are going to set up down this path, southeast-" She pointed in a direction perpendicular to the trail of fallen trees behind them. "We're going to set up this rope and then hide in the brush on either end right before it. We need to be prepared in case the beast trips toward one of us instead of dead center. Let's not forget something that big is going to have crazy momentum! It'll take down any trees it falls over. Finn, you're going to come with us, then when we're done run out and wait for a whistle to know that we're ready before you take the Tosserlad's attention, got that?" She gave him a pointed look. "I don't need our bait squished before we even get the hook. Keep him in your sight, but don't get into his. Lucky for you, they have terrible eyesight."

Motioning to her party, Tatiana departed down the way, climbing oversized roots and all their gigantic, mazelike winding. She was making sure not to make too much noise, and they might have noticed, or not. Either way, forests were loud, and the Tosserlad was far. Their squad leader wasn't worried enough to mention it, so it had to be alright.

The spores would collect heavily onto their skin the more they moved, sticking like velcro to felt. It left a fuzzy texture on anything it touched. Now and again, a shadow would dodge through the spore fog, only to reveal itself as the leaves overhead playing tricks on their eyes- well, that's was the best explanation for the moment, anyway.

They came to a spot where two trees were evenly spaced out and the path was almost flat. The rope had more than enough leeway to be tied, though Tatiana's brow pinched as they worked. The ground rumbled again as the troll shuffled its feet and groaned, a noise that vibrated the air with its low, earthy bleat. A second later, the forest was so quiet it was as though the creature never was.

Raising a brow, Tatiana squinted her eyes and looked through the trees, but the spores were too dense. "I can't get a visual, but we're going to set up. Ladies, are we ready?" she asked, darting of to the side. She looked to Finn. "And you? Ready?"
 
"Hell yeah," Finn held up a thumbs up, grinning broadly. "Ready to make some noise. I'll go get into position. Hope you're ready for some top-tier noisemaking."

With that, he slipped away into the brush, moving closer to the sounds of the troll while sticking to the foliage. He wasn't the quietest, but with the loud rumbling and growling of the troll, he wasn't overly concerned with the slight clanking of his weapons as he moved. Once he got close enough that he reckoned he could get the thing's attention if he tried, he crouched down and waited, listening for the signal.
 
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