vivala | EVENT #04: SEA MONSTER HUNT AND FEASTING

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EVENT #04: THE GREAT SEA HUNT

With sharpened blades and loaded rifles, the Corsairs fan out across the Eternal Ocean. The Great Sea Hunt has begun once again. As the seas froth angrily from the horde of sea monsters, Corsair ships cut a path through. As the din of battle erupts across the Ocean, the Vault is undergoing heavy activity as other Corsairs begin preparing their grand feast.With the defeat of an Imperial Legion in their belts, all Corsairs are eager to make this hunt and this feast one to remember.

There will be open logs for each major category, as well as a wild card option for players to make their own. While these logs are roughly broken into roles, characters are free to tag in and out of whichever posts suit their fancy. The missions from planning and descriptions are repeated here for convenience:

MISSIONS

Monster Investigation: Characters will investigate where sea monsters are gathering for easier and more efficient culling.
Open to: Infiltrators
Hunt Monsters: Characters will go out on ships, and cull the raging sea monsters in the Eternal Ocean
Open to: Combatants
Prepare for the Parties: Characters will need to arrange and organize for the post-hunt celebration. There will be parties held in all major Corsair cities.
Open to: Negotiators
Provide for the Parties: Characters will need to prepare food, drink, and accomodations for the post-hunt celebration. There will be parties held in all major Corsair cities.
Open to: Suppliers

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From:

upupatomway

A decent number of Flotsam Corsairs had previously seen Atom flying, and some of them also knew about his underwater salvaging without spells. So a few of them had the idea to approach him and ask him to help them lure their sea monster prey closer to the ships. Eager to help, and confident in his speed, Atom agreed to play bait.

It worked alright. Blinking a light at one of the sea monsters caught its attention immediately, and it darted for him. Atom fired up his feet blasters and led it as planned towards the Flotsam ships and the waiting hunters.

Problem is, this sea monster is much faster than expected, and its large size makes it strong enough to heave its head above water to snap like a giant snake at the flying robot. The flames shooting from his feet does nothing to deter such a large beast, and Atom makes the rookie mistake of glancing back to catch a view of the inside of the monster's maw with all its layers of teeth. He might not be digestible, but getting eaten is still a frightening thought.

"A little help?!" Atom shouts as he nearly gets snapped up with the monster's second strike. He's starting to regret being so gung-ho to volunteer this time.

[ ooc: Feel free to approach this prompt with dead seriousness or comedy in mind. Whatever you're feeling! I'm also open to a scene with multiple players if anyone wants to form a group. Full disclosure: no, I do not plan for Atom to die via sea monster. If he gets swallowed, he will escape somehow. ]

From:

newmemorywhodis

Link was moving even before Atom cried for help.

He runs across the deck of the ship. Leaps off, as it sails by the beast. And in the middle of the air, draws his Sword.

The Sword. The one with the purple winged hilt, that Atom himself helped Link to retrieve. The one that only Link himself could wield. And wield it he does, as he stabs down - and right into the beast's nose as he lands.

Which means now Link's holding on for dear life to the Sword that Seals the Darkness as it's embedded into the monster's nose. It's kinda like that one time with Zelda, when she was the Light Dragon. Except with extra potential for drowning.

Good thing Link has plenty of stamina?

From:

upupatomway

Someone in the crowd waiting for Atom's return gives an "Is he crazy?" when Link leaps into battle. The group is really regretting not clarifying which type of sea monster Atom should approach. This is not the common kind they felled with harpoons all season long.

A normal sword might have been a mere splinter to the sea monster, but the wound from the Master Sword has the monster whipping its head wildly, trying to throw off the attacker. Atom hovers midair, trying to keep his eyes trained on where Link is in case he falls. "Help him! Fire your weapons!" Atom shouts to the group waiting on the ships. The other Corsairs start scrambling.

From:

newmemorywhodis

As Link clings onto the sword, he spots something wizzing by in the air - oh hey, that's Atom. Looks like he got out of the creature's mouth then.

Which was exactly what Link wanted, so as far as he's concerned this is going great. Exactly as planned!

Now to just kill this thing. And not die.

The monster is thrashing, but Link still holds on tight. He looks behind him, trying to peer through the sea spray. Does this beast have horns? Zelda'd had horns. Something like that would be useful, right about now.

From:

upupatomway

Atom scans over the monster from his higher vantage point. It has thick scales over most of its body that will make it difficult to stab with anything too small, the Master Sword being a special case. "Forget the arrows! Fire your harpoons!" Atom shouts to the crowd of Corsairs.

The Corsairs rush to aim their harpoons at the beast. Link had created enough of a distraction that the monster was more concerned with dislodging the sword than swimming closer or further away. This provided an opportunity to take aim more accurately.

Meanwhile, Atom shouts to Link, not sure if he can see him clearly, but pointing further back on the monster's head. "Hang on, Mr. Link! Horns! On top of its head! They might be easier to hold-! Woah!" Atom dodges as the monster nearly slams its head into him. "I'll try to catch you if you fall!"

From:

newmemorywhodis

Oh good, there are horns then.

Link doesn't hesitate; he wrenches the Sword from the Beast's nose, and lets himself fall down the monsters face - trusting that there will indeed be something for him to find purchase on.

So as he slides down past the horns, he reaches out with his free hand - and grabs on tightly. For a terrifying moment, he dangles, and it almost looks like he'll fall. But Link's stronger than he looks, and he pulls himself into a better hold - using both legs and his free arm to cling on.

From:

upupatomway

The monster rears its head back to roar at the pain of the sword being dislodged, and it's too distracted for the moment to keep track of where the pesky little attacker is located.

Atom gasps and dives in anticipation of Link falling, but Link starts pulling himself up onto the horn. An impressive show of strength for an organic person, but perhaps Atom shouldn't be so surprised he can hang on so long when the man has purposely ridden on the backs of a bears and the sort.

The Corsairs on the ship fire their harpoons and several hook onto the monster's belly. The beast panics, and flails again, but trying to pull against the harpoons is met with resistance from the weight of the ship and the Corsairs heaving their weapons. It's too late; the hooks have snared on the monster's scales. The Corsairs cheer and announce that they're taking aim again, intending to kill the creature with a shot to the head while it is too confused to think of charging the ships.

Atom notices something near the monster's mouth, however. "Ether?" He can see a glowing gathering in the veins of its gums and cumulating in the back of its throat as a light. "It's a spell caster!" he yells to the Corsairs. Someone in the group curses and others go scrambling to change the sails and grab the wheel. Based on the reaction of the Corsairs, that's not a good thing.

From:

newmemorywhodis

After completing all of the Shrines of Light - and the Sheikah Shrines years before that - Link had more than enough stamina to face this challenge. No sea monster was going to throw him ohh.

Atom's frantic cry does make him pause in faint confusion, however. The monster is...a caster? What did that mean? Was it going to start throwing off fire or lightning or ice, like the dragons did?

He had no idea what this sea monster was about to do. But whatever it was, everyone else seemed really worried about it. So in response, Link slides down the horn until he's closer to the monster's face - and then stabs it, right in the eye.

If nothing else, he figures blinding it a little can't hurt.

From:

upupatomway

As much as the Corsairs scramble to move the ship, they won't get very far in the short minute or two they have left before the monster unleashes its attack. Link's idea is a good one; they can at least keep the monster from aiming easily. Atom realizes this after Link stabs one eye, and he dives to strike the other. The monster whips its head again, even more frantic to shake Link off, both eyes squeezed shut- as much as Link's stab will allow it to. Atom gets hit by the monster's head and gets thrown, toppling towards the ocean.

The Corsairs panic as the light in the monster's mouth reaches a bright flare they can easily see from the ship. It's about to unleash its spell.

From:

newmemorywhodis

There's no attack Link can make right now. Not with the beast shaking its head wildly, not with the Sword embedded into the middle of its eye.

But what he can do is hold on. Keep his fingers clutched tightly around the tilt, and refuse to let go.

And hope that whatever spell is about to be unleashed, they've blinded it enough that it will miss the Corsairs.

From:

upupatomway

Worried about the others, Atom forgets his fear of getting swallowed up and rights himself with calculated thrusts from his feet rockets. He flies back up at the beast. The monster is whipping all over and could spit out its spell in a number of directions; the best option being upward.

Atom flies at the monster's jaw and body slams into it, forcing the monster's head back so its aim is towards the sky. He just hopes Link is hanging in there and that he didn't just send him flying from the impact. The blast of energy escapes the monster's mouth upward, lighting up the sky with a line of white flame until the ether is spent. Exhausted, the monster collapses with a great splash and a wave that makes all the ships nearby rock wildly.

From:

newmemorywhodis

Link's got plenty of stamina - but it's not limitless. It's with Atom's forceful slam that he's finally flung away from the monster's body. At least he manages to keep a grip on the Sword, which slides free to come with him.

Now mid-air, for a moment it seems like Link is doomed to plummet into the sea below. But this is a situation that is very, very familiar to Link, and it takes barely a second for him to sheath the Sword and pull out his paraglider.

As the monster collapses into the sea, Link just glides above, slowly descending down.

From:

upupatomway

Atom turns his head frantically, looking for Link as the monster falls, first downward and then spotting him closer to level with him in the air. He sighs in relief. Maybe he should have known Link of all people would be ready for this kind of danger too.

The Corsairs on the ship cheer and hurry to abruptly change course again, several taking up the large oars to row the ship back toward the monster so they can finish the deed and start packing it in.

Atom flies over to Link and waves to him. "Thank you for coming to my rescue!"

From:

newmemorywhodis

Link's much slower in the air than Atom is, so the young robot easily zips around Link as he slowly glides towards the Corsair ship. His arms are also rather occupied, so rather than wave back Link nods and waggles a few fingers in Atom's general direction.

Atom also gets a rather intense look of scrutiny. "You hurt?" Link says, as he looks for any wounds or signs of damage.

From:

upupatomway

Atom glances aside, looking as though he's thinking about his answer, then back at Link. "Diagnostic is clean. No damage!"

He laughs uneasily. "I don't know if the monster would have been able to break me up by chewing, but the thought of being stuck inside its stomach and waiting for rescue or... You know..." Coming out the other side. "I'd rather not experience that if it can be helped." Atom sighs. "I didn't realize I would draw the attention of such a large monster. I meant to go for something the Corsairs are used to handling. Guess I caused them trouble instead of helping."

His concerned frown transforms into a more positive enthusiasm. "You're brave, jumping in to help me when you could be digested! But maybe this is just another day for you, with all the adventures you've been on." For all the questions he had thrown at Link, he had somehow forgotten to ask what the largest monster was that he ever faced.

From:

newmemorywhodis

Link pauses, head titled to one side as he thinks - considering what might happen if Atom had been swallowed up by the monster. Would Atom really have been completely trapped?

"Your feet are flame emitters," he says. And surely, if said feet flame emitters met the inside of a colossal sea monster's stomach, Atom would soon have a way out of the beast. One that did not involve the dreaded 'other end'.

So really, Atom shouldn't sell himself short. Link helped, yes - but the young construct wasn't without his own arsenal.

From:

upupatomway

Atom actually glances towards his feet and the glow of the flames that are keeping him in the air, as if he forgot such a thing was part of his body. His face wrinkles up and laughter bursts out of him, though there's a clear hint of embarrassment in the way he squeezes his eyes shut for a moment and his brow furrows. An internal Duh! moment.

"I'm so used to thinking of them as being meant for flight! I'm concerned with flammable things in the area where I fly, of course, but not... using them like weapons. I've been in some- I guess you could call them battles- at home, but I never used my rockets that way. Those were usually fellow robots that got out of control and wouldn't burn any way."

From:

newmemorywhodis

"You could land on things," Link suggests. Just a nice, helpfully violent tip for the young robot.

Because just because something wasn't meant to be a weapon, didn't mean that it couldn't be. And fire in particular - fire was often useful. Link had won more than a few battles thanks to some creative use of fire fruit or flame emitters. Or even just a simple torch.

Really, Link kind of wished he had flame emitter feet too. He could certainly glide a lot faster if he did.

From:

upupatomway

Atom's view of fire and similar forces is more complicated. His eyes narrow as he considers it.

"Maybe on things. I don't know about enemies. Fire can be so brutal, especially if it gets out of control... Honestly, I don't know if I could have brought myself to burn my way out of the monster's stomach if I didn't know it would be put out of its misery quickly afterwards. It was only following its nature." He glances back down towards the fallen monster's body and the Corsairs who had already finished the deed after it fell unconscious.

"I'm torn between joining the battle and not wanting to hurt others. Normally robots aren't supposed to harm humans. There are laws back home against it and behavior programming to prevent it in most of us. That's why I've only fought robots and big monsters, or destroyed weapons." Atom frowns, looking worried. "But I also want to make a difference here, and if one of the Imperials tried to kill innocent people right in front of me... I don't know. I'd want to defend them."

He shakes his head. "Sorry. Maybe that's rude for me to fret over in front of an experienced warrior like you."

From:

newmemorywhodis

There's a long pause, after Atom finishes speaking. Not an unusual thing for Link; by now Atom will surely have noticed that the Hylian isn't really one for words. But it's clear that Link wants to think, just a bit, before responding - and it's not until he finally glides over the ship, and drops down, that he responds.

"...All battles are brutal," he says, his eyes glancing over towards the now lifeless body of the sea monster. A monster who'd suffered Link's sword in its eye before it expired. Not fire, but still brutality. "A protector chooses how."

And Link had chosen countless times to bloody his own hands in service of protecting others. And he'll do so again, and again.

But he wouldn't blame Atom for wanting to make a different choice.

From:

upupatomway

Atom lands near Link on the deck, not necessarily expecting an answer, until Link speaks. Atom steps closer and follows Link's gaze out towards the sea monster.

He appreciates the the answer isn't sugarcoated, the way some people would for him, nor dismissive. Atom turns the words over in his mind, trying to give it the careful and serious consideration it deserves before saying anything else.

"You're very strong and brave, Mr. Link. I'd imagine those things are important to your ability to determine how your battles go. How long, how painful. Or when to fight at all."

From:

newmemorywhodis

Violence shouldn't ever be sugarcoated. It was necessary. Important, even. Link used violence as a tool, used it to protect.

But violence was still violence. That shouldn't be shied away from.

In regards to Atom's praise, however, Link just...hums a little. Glances away. Doesn't respond.

He's used to that kind of praise. He's heard a lot of it. It's not something new. But it's also something that, for Link, has also always felt more like...pressure.

From:

upupatomway

"How do you know when the right time is to fight? I'd worry that if I was angry, I would only be fighting because of my anger, maybe even misguided by it." Atom lowers his head, grimacing for a moment at a memory.

"I'm... kind of afraid of being angry, to be honest. I made a mistake- it wasn't that long before I was pulled through the gate- and I fought someone while I was enraged, and I got so distracted by my feelings, I didn't see immediately that that battle wouldn't fix anything."

From:

newmemorywhodis

Link pauses, thinking about what to say.

"...Anger isn't useful," he says. Others used anger, he knew; used it to give them focus, to drive their strikes. But anger wasn't was drove Link, and in his experience it was more of a liability than an asset. "Focus on your goal."

He didn't say what the goal should be. That might change wildly, depending on the situation. But there had to be a reason for fighting. If there wasn't, then fighting wasn't the right choice.

From:

upupatomway

There's an obvious follow up question to that advice.

"How do you stay focused despite your emotions?" he asks. "I'm not programmed with the ability to disable my emotions. I don't think that can be done without disabling a robot's personality, maybe even their sense of self too. Normally it isn't an issue, but I had never felt something so extreme before then."

He realizes it might sounds like he's simply a child who hasn't developed the ability to contain his feelings the way an adult should. But he would argue it was more like a step in growing up, a bitter one, that humans might experience with trauma or suffering.

"You could say, it's the first time I experienced what humans call hatred."

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