[three_fourth]
It was very early in the morning, in the MASH Camp, when Balreth awoke and realized Spike was missing. Balreth woke Rain to help look for him.
Rain groans: Spike’s missing?
Balreth agrees quietly.
Dandd wakes up from the noise.
Balreth: Spike’s missing
Dandd: Really? It’s quiet.
Rain: Yeah, a little too quiet.
Balreth and Rain leave The Swamp and see Spike running back and forth to one of 9 rings he carved in the dirt. Sometimes he would cheer, other times he would fall over and grunt.
Balreth: Look! It’s Spike!
Rain: Yeah, a little too Spike.
Balreth smacked Rain upside his head.
Jora was returning from her Guard Shift with Nyx and Georgia, when she came up to Balreth and Rain. Seeing Jora, Spike ran over to try to Hug Jora.
Jora: Spike, I’m tired and dirty. You’re slimy-
Spike interrupts: It wasn’t SLIME! It was OOZE!
Jora continues, un-phased: and I’m going to bed. Bother me later.
Spike grunts angrily
Rain: A little, you know, Prismatic Mist would clear that out.
Spike storms back to his rings, yelling ‘Ninja! Vanish!’
Balreth and Rain shrug and go back in the Swamp. Balreth, Lalandra, Angel, Rain and a couple Cothic Henchmen were going to make a deep patrol and try to add more Hoolequindustries’ Flags, maybe even find That Monk.
As the men were reviewing the Dandd’s ‘map’ and planning their route, Spike came in the Swamp wearing only a towel.
Dandd: You’re missing tattoos.
Spike: Yeah, yeah. I was told I was too dirty, so I ate some rock candies and tried to climb the waterfall near the Ranik Run.
Everyone in the Swamp believed it, by now. They might have even entertained the thought of him succeeding.
Spike handed a fresh batch of ‘Swampwater’ a cloudy, almost clear, distilled product of whatever Spike gets his hands on. Despite the ingredients list that would make even the stoutest of Shiverpeak Dweller gag, it’s actually pretty good.
Rain was about to drink some when Spike cut him off: Guys! Guys! A moment to reflect!
All four men took a good sniff of their drink and exclaimed “aaaaahhhhhhh” in unison.
The men downed their Swampwater, shivered uncontrollably, and returned their glasses to the still.
As Spike was mashing up something that used to be a plant for the next batch, Angel and Lalandra came in to get this patrol started.
Lalandra: While I’m here…
Lalandra reaches for the still’s container, only to find it empty.
Balreth: You drink Swampwater?
Lalandra: Doesn’t everybody?
Balreth: Angel doesn’t.
Angel: I can speak for myself, you know.
Balreth: And I never said you couldn’t, I was just-
Dandd looks at Spike, underneath everyone else: Fight?
Spike: Fight.
Dandd: Georgia?
Spike: Georgia.
Spike and Dandd leave to go play with Georgia.
As they approach Georgia’s Tent, Jora was just leaving.
Jora: Lookin’ better Spikey.
Spike blushes and turns to Dandd: SHE called me Spikey!
Jora giggles to herself as she walks away.
Nyx, who hadn’t quite dozed off yet from her Guard Shift, let Georgia go play with Dandd and Spike.
Back at the Swamp, Lalandra and Rain were just listening to the Pummeling Balreth was receiving.
Angel: so THAT’s the plan from our GREAT leader? Just sit on our butts?
Balreth: No, dear. I was trying to look at the map when you came in.
Angel hands him the map: Well ‘nuker dude’s’ got 30 seconds.
Rain leans over to Lalandra: Well, this is like meditating.
Spike flies into the tent, knocks Angel aside to grab a toy he made for Georgia.
Angel spins around: What did you do, take CLASSES in INsensitivity?
Spike: Yes, I would like to play some Cricket, thank you.
Angel: You’re a 9 year old, trapped in a Ranger’s body!
Spike leaves with his handmade ball and bat set.
[fading] Dandd: Nobody understands cricket.
Henchman 1 pops his head in: We’re assembled!
Rain, quickly: Bad timing
Balreth, quietly: You’re telling me
Angel: The clock’s ticking ‘dude.’
Balreth: Ok! This is probably our safest route, after that we’ll be in new territory. Lala, Rain, please keep your eyes open.
Angel clears her throat.
Balreth: You are invited to do so too, if you want.
Lalandra jumps in: Get out of here!
Rain follows: I’ll cover you!
Angel scoffs and mutters about ‘let’s just get this over with.’
Along their patrol route, there was little but dark and trees. Naturally, that would open up some time for storytelling.
Rain: Have you seen how quickly Stabbith takes down Spellcasters? Poof to Death in like 5 seconds!
Lalandra: Yeah, her initial target does drop pretty quick.
Rain: When I see that, I want to just stand back and say “It Slices, It Dices, It makes-“
At that point, Balreth silences the group. While it’s hard to make out specifics, movement is definitely visible.
Rain leans to Lalandra: I love this spy stuff.
Lalandra: Normally, we would be able to see them clearly from here…but noooooo.
The patrol group nods.
Lalandra: Normally, we have compasses, quest markers, and a Guild Leader but noooo..aaahh!!!
The loose ground underneath Lalandra gives way and she slides down the side of the hill, alerting the nearby movement.
Angel: should we follow her?
Rain: Is Schwarzenegger hard to spell?
Balreth grins as the patrol group heads down to rescue Lalandra.
Half-way down the hill, Rain yells: KURZICKS!
Balreth roars and begins prepping Rodgort’s Invocation.
Balreth: Death comes to us all, but for some it comes – WITHOUT A REZ SHRINE!
The Kurzick scout party was quickly dealt with, and Lalandra had recovered on her own during the fight.
Now the patrol was on high alert. Maybe, just maybe, after all this time they had finally found Her.
As they inched ever closer, they could hear the tide. Then they saw the ship. Then they saw the other Kurzicks.
Rain rubbed his hands in Glee: Oh Boy, Leftovers.
Lalandra: You take the Ugly one.
Balreth: No, I’ll take the Ugly one.
Angel: Which one’s the Ugly one?
Rain had already begun the attack, yelling “Darkness!” in his now-familiar technique.
Balreth jumped right behind him, yelling “Snippy Snap!” in his very-familiar technique.
Angel turns to Lalandra: You know, Sometimes I hate that guy.
Then the Women rushed in too, having been left behind by the henchman.
The first Kurzick turned just in time to get a glowing hand to the face. The monk who was about to heal him received an arrow through the chest. The last Kurzick tried to get avenge his comrade, and swung wildly at Rain.
Kurzick: Ow, Quit it. [/swing] Ow, Quit It. [/swing] Ow, Quit it.
Angel leans over: What’s going on?
Lalandra leans back, grinning: Spiteful Spirit.
Rain: Gosh, I sure hope there’s more of them.
A voice booms from the top of the ship: Wish Granted!
Eight more Kurzick slide down ropes and quickly form up, a miniature phalanx two rows deep.
Angel runs forward to drop fire magic, but it’s easily absorbed by the shields then healed by an Area Healing Spell – from the Ship’s Captain himself. Angel is then stabbed by a counterattack and falls.
Lalandra runs forward to help, muttering: as if she wasn’t in a bad enough mood as it were.
Rain: BALRETH!!! Let’s do this, just like we’ve worked on.
Balreth and Rain form up abreast, directly in front of the Phalanx, which braces for impact.
Balreth tries to calm himself and waits for the cue.
Rain: Se-Ki-Ha
Balreth: En-Er-Gy
Rain: Ten-Kyo-
Balreth: BLAST!!!
The two techniques combined knocked over the phalanx like bowling pins, it went through them and blew a hole straight through the ship, ending the battle.
Balreth: Didn’t anyone tell you we’re Armor Ignoring?
Rain had to leap to match Balreth’s High-Five.
Lalandra got Angel Bandaged up and sitting upright. The Henchman monk working on the rest.
After Balreth had set the remainder the Kurzick ship ablaze, the patrol sat down, exhausted.
Angel: Having Fun, Cortez?
Balreth managed half of a grunt.
Angel, highly irritated: Still nothing…
Lalandra: Nope, no clue.
Rain: We have to be missing something…
Balreth: Look, let’s just calm down for a minute, and concentrate. Think hard on what we might have missed.
The Officers, and Rain, concentrated on what they’ve seen along their patrol routes, and on Crysania in general.
— Margrid: Crysania, can you hand me that big Hammer near you?
A silent pause goes by.
Margrid: Crysania?
Crysania: Yeah, yeah – here.
Margrid: What’s up?
Crysania: I think everyone else is really starting to do well without me.
Margrid: That’s a good thing, right?
Crysania: Well it is nice to be needed, but I might not be around forever, you know
Crysania grins.
Margrid: pffftt. Like we’d let YOU go anywhere.
Crysania: We’ll see. I’m being summoned, hold on.
Crysania sits down and investigates what all this noise is about.
Margrid, muttering to herself: @#$%ing Newtypes…
— A few moments go by, but an Avatar of Crysania comes out of the flames.
Crysania: So I see you guys are getting along now, that’s good!
Lalandra: CRYSANIA! We’re so glad you’re back!
Crysania: Back? I never left.
Lalandra: then where ARE you?
Crysania: I’m at the Temple of the Black Pearl, where else?
Lalandra: where is that?
Crysania: Paradise City.
Lalandra: Where is Paradise City?
Crysania: Grab Rain, and tell him to have Mikey’s Help.
[a loud crashing noise startles everyone on Crysania’s end]
Crysania: oh @#$% gotta go! [The Avatar disappears]
Lalandra turns to Rain: Mikey?
Rain releases his mini-pet, a siege turtle.
Balreth: This is Mikey?
Rain nods happily: Yep. Michelangelo, he’s one of four brothers.
Balreth: Brothers?
Michelangelo: Totally, dood!
Angel: It talks?
Lalandra: But It’s a turtle…
Michelangelo: of the Teenage Mutant Siege variety!
Rain: Mikey, do you remember how to get to Paradise City?
Michelangelo: Most definitely, dood.
Rain: Where do we go from here?
Michelangelo: Take me to the Quinhalla Lake, I can show you from there!
Balreth pulled out a copy of Dandd’s map. It wasn’t long before Balreth figured out that the Mash camp is South of the Guild Hall Ruins. So were all their explorations up to this point.
Angel, making some guttural noise, towered over Rain who could only mutter “not good” before the beating began. In between the yelps of pain, Angel could be heard yelling about authentic Pink Dyes and new armor.
Nearby, you could hear a shout in unison: God I love being a Henchman!
The beating ended, and left Rain flat on his back: My head hurts, my armor hurts, even my lifebar hurts.
Off to the side, there are several people dancing and chanting: Go Henchman Go Henchman Go!
Angel remembered that the Mash Camp wasn’t an outpost, and they had to walk back. The look she gave Rain added another 15% to his Death Penalty.
The Assemble! Call was given, and it was time to walk back to Camp. At Least this time they knew two things: Crysania was alive and well and Paradise City was within reach.
— Everyone came back from the southern coast and decided to rest, regroup, and sell before they head north.
Balreth and Rain enter the Swamp to much cheer.
Spike: Mikey!
Michelangelo: Spikelangelo!
Spike grinned: Get down with your turtle self!
Spike and Mikey danced for a moment in the middle of the Swamp.
Dandd, sipping some Mountain Dew: Spikelangelo?
Spike turns to Mikey: How did you know my full name?
Balreth didn’t spit his drink out this time, having had practice.
Michelangelo: Raphael told me.
Spike grumbles: I’m going to kill Raz-One next time I see her.
Rain leaps up: You know Razy?
Spike nods vigorously: She and I have survived some pretty stupid decisions before.
Rain: Sounds like Raz alright.
Balreth: Who’s Raz-One?
Angel, Lalandra, Nyx, Jora and Gwen all come in for Swampwater and Storytime.
Rain begins his story, to a packed Swamp.
Rain clears his throat: Clan Anchorwind is comprised of many members and subfamilies – most of who do not wear the name. I’m sure many of your clans are similar.
There were a few nods in the room.
Rain continues: Clan Anchorwind has four Generals, each given a Siege Turtle and assigned a different task.
Some more Swampwater is passed around.
Rain: As the kid of the four, I was given Michelangelo and the task to preserve Paradise City from corruption and invasion. I never left until the grenth-cursed-ink showed up.
Spike waved triumphantly.
Rain: Raz-One is full of attitude and is quick to action. She was given Raphael and the task to soften up those who would do harm to the Clan Anchorwind.
Angel: She?
Rain nods: She likes weird names and tags and such. She’s a bit out there. If you call her Razy and she doesn’t stab you – she likes you.
Lalandra: Well would we know her?
Rain: Certainly! You would know her more by ‘The Stabbith Day’
There was a room full of ‘aaaahhhh’ as the connections were made.
Rain: Then there is Cerulean. Cerulean is the thinker, tinkerer, and tactician. Cerulean is The Elusive Man and I doubt any of you have met him/her. Cerulean was given Donatello and the task to strengthen the Clan through knowledge of the landscape, knowledge of the enemy, etc. I believe Cerulean only talks to Crysania.
Balreth pipes in: Him/her?
Rain: I haven’t met Cerulean that I know of. Nobody has. Cerulean could be an Asuran Golemancer for all we’d know. Cerulean might be a 3rd generation Cerulean and I wouldn’t know either. There might be 20 of him/her, all operating as a single name, and I wouldn’t know.
Many nods in the room.
Rain: Finally, there is Crysania. Her charisma and patience made her a foundation from which people could build upon. She’s a natural leader and for that she was given Leonardo and a task to go and find more clans to build alliances with.
Dandd muttered: And thus The Call of the Hoolequin.
Rain: Exactly.
As the room digests the story, Rain breaks the silence: Maybe you guys can share clan history with me.
Balreth, Nyx, Angel and Lalandra all glance at each other in a mild panic.
Lalandra finds words first: We’ll get back to you.
The other officers nod quickly.
Rain sighs.
Dandd: For the Kurzicks to sail from west of the Amatz Basin, all the way here during Nightfall is impressive. They were probably more lost than we are.
Balreth: How far from here to the Ruins-
Angel, quickly: YOUR ruins
Balreth moves on: of Quinhalla?
Dandd: Probably two or three hours if you don’t get lost. We only have a few flags out there, so do try to be careful.
Rain: You’re not coming?
Spike: Well let’s See. Rain, Lalandra, Angel, Balreth, Nyx and Georgia
Georgia barks happily
Spike: and Two Monks make 7.
Gwen stands up: Count me in!
Spike: there you go. There’s all 8.
Jora rises, kind of, too: Besides, someone needs to watch the camp.
Spike leaps up: Right behind you, Brickhouse.
Jora whispers to Dandd: I thought he was done with that…
Dandd whispers back, smiling: never
Dandd turns back to Rain: Besides, someone needs to pack up what we unpacked from before.
The Officers’ group heads north, towards the Quinhalla Ruins.
The closer they got, the more somber they all became. Even the henchmen were quiet.
Finally the ruins came into view and everyone stopped.
Rain: It’s a Kodak Moment.
Lalandra’s fist balled tightly: WHAT?!
Rain: Kidding, kidding, bad timing…
Rain scurries ahead quickly.
Lalandra growls angrily at Rain, but unclenches her fist.
So rain lets out Michelangelo at the Lake, and they follow along as he seemingly glides along the surface, North-West.
Michelangelo arrives at a fork in the stream, near a cliff. The coast was in view from that high up.
Mikey gathers the party, and yells: Check it Out!
Michelangelo fires a little ball of energy at a tree, and half of it rotates around the other half, revealing a ladder downwards.
A startled party stared in amazement for a moment.
Rain thanked his turtle and was the first down the ladder.
One by one, the party made it down the ladder, and were again stunned by what used to be a thriving city – all underground.
Lalandra, to Rain, muttered: No wonder you never left.
Gwen shouted “HI!” at the top of her lungs, terrifying the rest of the party – all of which were in front of her. “Hi” echoed back a couple times.
Rain, excited, called everyone to follow him and took off towards the City proper.
Rain quickly navigated through his former home, opened up Heaven’s Door and then the Door to the Temple of the Black Pearl.
The officers, and Rain come down the ladder into the Temple, where Crysania and most of the Heroes have been waiting.
Rain spots Stabbith: Razy!
There was a shadow step followed by a small hammer to the chest.
Stabbith: You know I hate being called Razy.
Rain, having been taken off of his feet: Yeah…I suddenly remember…
Crysania: Rain, Razy, Get over here.
Razy bamfs back to Crysania.
Rain struggles to his feet: sure, SHE gets to call her Razy.
Lalandra represses a chuckle.
Rain, Razy, and Crysania sit in cardinal directions, with an avatar of Donatello filling the fourth position.
There are many jubilant noises from the Turtles, and it’s clear they’ve not had any sort of reunion in a long time.
Then Balreth startled himself, which in turn startled everyone else.
Everyone was so engrossed with watching the Anchorwind Generals [and the Turtles!] swap notes and discuss the next step, that they failed to notice the massive ship directly in front of them.
Dandd: My word…
Margrid comes out to greet them: Black Pearl. Ain’t she beautiful?
Balreth: Indeed!
Margrid: well she has a LONG way to go before we get off of this rock. We could use your help you know, we’ve been waiting.
Balreth: Yeah, about that…
Jora grins: this beats guard duty!
Gwen agrees and they board the ship to start helping.
As everyone else moves to follow, they hear from the Turtles: …Cowabunga says it all! COWABUNGA!
There were shrugs, and chuckles, and the guild was reunited. Crysania had confirmed that the plan is to leave the Battle Isle and go and find a place suitable for Quinland, outside the reach of Nightfall.
However, when everyone saw just how much work there was to do, Lalandra spoke first, in a half-groan: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again-
Everyone in unison, equally exhausted: Man, I Love Being a Hoolequin.
— [Aftermath] —
There was much banging of hammers, cutting of wood, and short tempers.
Rain finally had enough.
Rain: This is moa@#$%!
Balreth, irritated: What now?
Rain slams his hammer down: We’re here sweating our @$$ off in this floating coffin and CERTAIN people seem to be exempt.
Balreth, looks around: Who?
Rain snaps a bit: Angel, Jora and Nyx!
Everyone nearby glances around, noticing that Rain is right.
In an effort to quell any unrest quickly, Crysania pipes in: Jora and Nyx are out hunting.
Rain rolls his eyes.
Crysania continues: and Angel is-
Then the aroma entered the Black Pearl.
Lalandra and Balreth exchanged wide-eyed looks. They practically had to wipe the drool off their mouths just to utter a single word: “Meatloaf!”
With but the one sniff of what was to come, the morale of the Quin soared, and work resumed.
[/three_fourth]
[one_fourth_last]
Episode 38
4 Jan 2011
Notes: Full reference list to come.
References: Guild History, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [Movies]
[/one_fourth_last]