Kepler lowered a spyglass from his eye.
"My starrs and garrterrs..."
He placed his spectacles back on and blinked heavily at the upper twilight. Off in the distance, three conjoined specks were struggling to outfly a giant, belly-flopping behemoth.
"I do believe they have angerred it."
Seraphimus was likewise squinting at the scene from where they both stood at the wagon. "I cannot help but wonder, wyvern, if your penchant for stating the obvious is some poorly-constructed defense mechanism."
"Ha-HAH!" Kepler nodded without looking. "That you should choose to give psychiatrric advice!"
Seraphimus pointed with two bound wrists. "They're almost here."
"Surrely, you jest!" Kepler looked over at her. "They arre a good thrree minutes away—at least—even at top speed!"
SWOOOOSH! A heavily-sweating Ariel touched down clumsily with a limp Flynn. "At last!"
"Gaaah!" Kepler hopped in place, nearly losing his spectacles.
Seraphimus calmly glanced his way. "I was referring to them."
Ariel threw Seraphimus a look of surprise. "So you did survive."
A dull sigh escaped the former Commander's throat. "A pity to disappoint you."
Ariel frowned. Clenched her teeth. Shook. "... ... ...Whatever." She twirled to face Kepler. "What do we have left to work with?"
"Mirraculously, most everrything!" Kepler gestured at the wagon. "Only one crrate was lost, and we've scavenged most of the materrials!"
"Cool." Thwump! Ariel unceremoniously threw Flynn's groaning body into the wagon and began rummaging about. "Any narrow blades? Swords?"
"What forr?" Kepler craned his neck. "Does ourr unicorrn frriend need a tracheotomy?"
"No!" Ariel spat, searching frantically. "To stab that friggin' wyrm, ya sky monkey!"
"Have you gone mad, frriend?!" Kepler grimaced through his tusks. He waved a nervous claw towards the interrupted horizon as the rumbling drew closer. "Even the entirre arrsenal of Rrohbredden's finest couldn't pierrce that abominable manifestation's hide!"
"I beg to differ," Seraphimus grunted.
Ariel rolled her eyes, then looked at Kepler. "I just saw—with my own eyes—Rainbow and Wildcard making the damned thing bleed with just a sword and a metal fist!"
"Ach..." Kepler nodded nervously. His glasses reflected a fresh column of debris and ash rising in a line towards their general vicinity. "...and quite a fine job it did of slowing the crretin down, too."
"Yeah... well..." Ariel gulped, donating the distorted horizon a worried look. "...have you any bright ideas?"
"Indeed." Kepler coughed. "We could outrrun it on the wagon..."
"Uh huh—"
"...for apprroximately half a minute beforre it crrushes us to a pulp underr it's monumental weight."
Ariel cringed. "Any... brighter ideas?"
"Absolutely!" Kepler gestured. "We glide towarrds it so that the suspense won't last as long."
"Keps!" Ariel's voice cracked. "What gives?! You're supposed to be the optimistic one!"
Kepler bore a bittersweet smile. "All things must eventually rrun out, my dearr."
"Cheese and bacon," Flynn slurred, eyes shut. Ariel's tail swatted him in the face. "Pffffft!"
"Well... guh..." Ariel looked again, wincing. Her twitching blue eyes caught sight of Rainbow, Wildcard, and Logan in the far, far distance. "We c-can't just give up! Not after all we've accomplished to get out of that stupid thing's clutches!"
Seraphimus cocked her head to the side. "Do you not possess an ample supply of alchemic materials?"
Kepler blinked. He looked at the crate.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Ariel fidgeted.
Seraphimus breathed in deeply, frowning slightly. "Such concoctions did wonders to my fellow soldiers back at the Edge..."
"It... simply isn't enough to thwarrt a monsterr of this magnitude," Kepler said in a sober tone. "I doubt it could even singe the crreaturre's outerr shell."
"Then perhaps if you had some blighted tool to magnify the chemicals' effect?" Seraphimus suggested. "You all pretend to be soldiers... warriors, yes?" She cocked an eyecrest. "Such tenacity requires a certain degree of... improvisation in the field. But I can't expect you to know that."
"Kepler..." Ariel whispered, as if to hide the fact from Seraphimus. She leaned towards the wyvern. "...the lunar runes."
"...!" Kepler looked at the crate chock-full of heavy moonstones.
"Could a Midnighter spell amplify some of your alchemy?" Ariel hissed.
"I... think therre might be a rrelevant command orr two that could be employed," Kepler thought aloud. "But... it could rrisk immolating all fourr of us and ourr arrriving companions in the prrocess."
Ariel bit her lip.
The earth rumbled.
The stars quivered as the beast approached.
"I'm all for that," Seraphimus droned.
"Hrmmmmm..." Flynn smiled and drooled. "...buttered toast."
Stakes are up, will they all live? Or will they all die?
Edit1: Find out next time on Ofolrodi!
Hmm, well alchemically whipping up some kind of giant explosion is slightly more plausible to work than just stabbing the thing.
I still think the scent angle is probably the best one to work with. Explosions, even big ones, usually only serve to slow down or annoy kaiju sized things. But a magically amplified stink bomb? That might scramble the thing's senses enough to allow the party to escape, and isn't too outside the bounds of being believable.
Hey Doomsday.
Wake up and smell the Sun Flower.
This got a giggle out of me.
8455220
I think sending it into a panic is a worst case scenario for alchemy, cause it could just as easily whip into a frenzy.
I think the opposite of a stink bomb would be the best bet, a lure.
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
Next time, we find out how big the explosion might be.
Sometimes you gotta roll the hard eight.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/462/945/a98.jpg
8455250
But then who's going to set the lure? If its going to go after a lure, wouldn't that kind of mean somebody would have to carry said lure somewhere away from the rest of the group? Well, Dash is certainly fast enough to pull that off, if she ever remembers she can fly past the speed of sound, so not a bad plan actually. Kepler whips up a concoction that smells like the irresistible scent of a fresh baked Digiorno pizza, Dash flies it off somewhere away from the group with Wrymzilla following her. Once she gets it far enough away she can drop the lure then basically go full speed away back to the group.
Giant explosion? Sounds like a solid plan to me.
I loved this, this was the best part of the chapter. Hopefully, they can come up with some concoction to throw at this thing.
8455282
Dash and Ariel are the two fastest members of the group, but Dash would volunteer anyway.
..though if she weaponised the Sonic Rainboom again, but on a grander scale than she did against the central guard back at starkiss, the concussive force might be enough to force the chitin down a bit, crushing the wyrm with it's own armour.
Explosions are on the way it seems.
8455390
That could be cool, if only because Dash doesn't use the Sonic Rainboom nearly as much as she ought to. Girl can break the sound barrier, but sometimes it feels like the story forgets just how fast that really is, or that Dash can do it pretty much at will.
Let me guess...
3:27
8455282
Send it off on the Hoverplank.
I have a feeling they'll do that, with an explosion, into its mouth.
8455282
Didn't someone suggest the idea that the worm is attracted by the chemicals? If so, then setting up a trap will not be an issue.
Is Kepler feeling green of others' abilities? I think he feels useless because he isn't all that physical like the others(Yes, even Flynn has him outmatched on pain tolerance)?
For good reason was Mustang one of the best characters. He understood motif.
First rule of using exotic chemicals against giant worms, wyrms, fire-breathing lizards, carniverous plants, and other flagrantly furious fauna and assorted gargantuae? Their Bullet-proof Scales don't line their stomachs.
Bottom's up!
WWWRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRMMMM*glomp*
BOOOOOMF!
*splut*
8455446
Considering that most of the conflict comes from Dash trying to keep a low profile, the sonic rainboom is kinda the opposite of that.
Granted, since she can break the sound barrier, it would make tracking her pretty difficult considering how fast she'd be moving by the time they reached the point of her hitting mach 1.
and like you said, it's not like she has to be pushing herself to do it, back at the central guard she bragged about being able to do it in her sleep, and at the same time, that she is somehow able to control the concussive force of the shockwave.
8455528
Yeah, in certain situations she doesn't want to advertise her presence like that, but there are definitely plenty of times where that kind of speed and power would've ended certain conflicts before they could really be conflicts.
I mean, the speed of sound is what, 340m/second? Per second. What could catch her at that speed besides another physics breaking flier like Seraphimus? Heck I'm not even sure Sera can fly that fast. Although if she could a Sonic Seraboom would be pretty cool, maybe it'd be silver colored instead of rainbow?
Anyway, its a move Dash should bust out more often. I understand it can make conflict resolution seem too easy, but at the same time you got to plan your conflicts around the characters' established abilities, rather than just make the characters forget they can do certain things to make conflicts seem more threatening than they should be.
8455544
Sonic Silverboom, like the fanon name for Spitfire's Sonic Blazeboom.
I totally get what you mean.
Yes indeed. Nothing will believably kill or disable that thing, but this would do for either scaring it off or staging an escape.
Yay! Explosions!
Keps, stop hanging around Seraphimus so much.
Luna flavored pop rocks
snopes.com/horrors/graphics/poprockshead.jpg
No closing quote? Just wait until the chapters get so cliffhangery that they finish mid-senten
Ram that bomb right down it's throat.
You know things are bad when the optimist embraces death
Ah, the good old "Make it eat grenades" plan.
Initiate Plan Lunar Alchemical Sonic Enhanced Rainboom (LASER).
is that the first time Kepler didn't roll a R?
You don't say.
The world went mad. Staying sane would be crazy at this point.
Welcome aboard murder turkey. Glad you could finally join us.
I wanna hug Sera now...
Flynn is making me hungry as hell. 😂 Hopefully, they get to have a fine meal on this side of the plane sometime soon. They need it.
8467791
I just ate so im good. Lol
EE&E? A new alter ego? What massive story will he write?
Dude, Sera's pessimism is rubbing off on ya
When Kepler loses hope you know you’re screwed.
I find it comforting that in his delirium Flynn is having a good breakfast.
Flynn is brain damaged
I have to admit, I kinda like the way Seraph is actually giving some decent advice and suggestions and then just goes, "But if we die, that's fine, too."
I don't think I've ever laughed so much in what is supposed to be a deadly scenario. It appears the more battles they fight, the loonier they get.
Well...no one asked you?