07.14b: Burning Spiders

The goings on of courts
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

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Unfortunately - perhaps as a result of cats* - this section of back alley is fresh out of conveniently placed piles of whatever. On the "plus" side, the kitten is absolutely fascinated with the toy, and easily lured to a slightly less inconvenient location, such as a shoulder or a coat pocket.

Also unfortunately, the assassin takes this as an opportunity to attack again, rushing in to slice with his poisoned dagger - and it is immediately clear that he used the smoke to cover quaffing at least one potion, as he's moving an order of magnitude faster than he was before; unless the Raven takes truly drastic measures, he's probably going to have to take a hit.

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* Okay, more likely as a result of a particularly cunning assassin having set it up to try to trip up any small-animal**-based-shapeshifters that might have been following him...
** Read: cat-food-sized.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

Well, as dodging is (more or less) out of the question, the only real viable option is a trade. As the Raven also has a poisoned dagger in one of his hands, rather than try to dodge the blow he just blocks it with his left arm, and uses his right arm to stab co-conspirator #2, preferably in the leg. The Raven's poison is a numbing agent, though it would be strong enough to paralyze anyone below amber-rank endurance. (though running with a numb leg is NOT easy.)
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

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The Raven's arm feels like it's on fire where that dagger hit - and, indeed, there's a rising plume of noxious green smoke; whatever poison the assassin is using is surprisingly vicious stuff. (The kitten skitters warily back to the Raven's right shoulder, away from the smoke, tiny claws scrabbling to maintain purchase.)

In the meantime, the assassin's leg is literally on fire, blood bursting into dull orange flames where it hits the air, the leg of his pants ignited by the energetic reaction. His face holds a pained expression - but he's still moving just as fast*, and doesn't seem to be numbed at all. Apparently the fire burned off your poison before it could take effect?

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* This can't be good for his health. Though, of more immediate importance, the fact that the assassin is still moving seems unlikely to be good for your health, either.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

"Oh great, now he's on fire" the Raven comments, annoyed. "Well, I guess I sort of am too, in a way. Curious poison, that one. A bit too potent for my liking." Raven comments, admiring the damage his arm has taken. As long as Co-Conspirator #2 doesn't seem to be trying to put himself out in any way, he is content keep his distance and fight defensively. Raven doesn't want to test his flammability any more than necessary.
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

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Conspirator #2 doesn't seem inclined to take action about being on fire, going all-out offense instead - though after a matter of seconds it becomes clear that the fire will burn itself out on its own, cauterizing the injury and leaving his pants only slightly scorched.

Full defense seems to be working out reasonably well, however; even with the superhuman speed he's demonstrating, the assassin can't get past your guard.

There's only one small downside: the assassin's energetic movements have scattered a few drops of burning blood against the walls of the alley - and, this area being roofed over, there's no convenient snow to stifle the fire before it can catch. It's small, yet, just a few smoldering spots... but smothering them without getting stabbed would be... tricky at best.
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

"You know, I'd prefer you didn't burn the city down. It would attract... unwanted heat." The Raven chastises co-conspirator #2 as he puts out a single nearby ember. As his adversary doesn't seem to be terribly interested in fire safety, the Raven unfortunately has to ignore that problem for now. Raven suspects his enemy might burn himself out fairly soon, but due to the circumstances he tries to add fuel to this process by keeping him moving as much as possible.
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

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It takes about five minutes of combat and bad puns for the assassin to conclude that this isn't working and he needs to do something else.

A series of quick maneuvers will - if left unopposed - result in the following five-ish events:
1: Dousing the Raven in catnip. (Why does he have a vial of weaponized catnip on him? "I'd wondered why I needed this." Apparently he doesn't know either.)
2: Feeding the kitten a potion - you're not sure what, exactly, but it's got to be something like giant growth or berserker power or the like. (Well, okay, more like 'dousing the kitten with a potion', but the end result is the same.)
3: Scattering a set of small bombs to take out critical supports, collapsing the alleyway.
4: Using the distraction of the above events to run away.
4b: If running away fails, stabbing himself with his own poisoned dagger. Given the whole burning blood thing, this is likely to be explosive.
5: Setting off what looks to be some sort of signal flare.

The Raven can stop any one of these events with ease. Any two with some difficulty. Any three at the cost of a second non-trivial* injury. Anything more than that would require increasingly escalating cost; you'd survive stopping four of the items on the list, but it wouldn't be pleasant.
If you want the assassin captured alive, you'll need to stop both 4 and 4b. Stopping number 2 could, if you like, include gaining the effect of that potion yourself.

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* Non-trivial, in this context, meaning you'll be operating at below peak ability for about a day - as opposed to the few hours it will take you to completely recover from his first hit with poison. You can always** shapeshift injuries closed, but that doesn't completely negate the stress and damage done.
** Except when you can't, of course.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

The Raven's goals for plan-thwarting are twofold. One, steal the potion, because Giant Growth potion! Two, make sure the explosion doesn't set everything on fire, because he doesn't know the fire department's address. He's happy to let the assassin escape, for now. He can always hunt him down later.
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

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A few careful deflections, and the bombs go off in patterns that neatly drop snow from what used to be a roof into the resulting flames; there's a sizzle and some steam, but no harm done... well, aside from the wanton property damage.

By the time the Raven can dig himself out of the wreckage, however, the assassin is long gone*, and the signal flare is fading; it's a bit hard to see from this angle, but it seems to have burst in a pattern resembling a spider...

Also, there's a kitten purring in your jacket pocket (and chewing on the edge of said pocket), along with a number of feral cats orbiting the area, cautiously parading across the wreckage and sniffing out the source of catnip.**

Oh, and there's some random guy waving a greatsword around and yelling something about his studio; some broken picture frames poking out of the jumbled mass of timber suggest that there used to be an artist living here.
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* He's got maybe a three minute head start if you want to pick up the chase again.
** This would be the Raven.
*** Oh, and since it didn't get mentioned elsewhere: yup, the Raven has acquired a potion. OOC, yes, it's a giant growth potion, keyed to magic-of-Amber. IC, however, you can't be entirely certain of that without taking a bit of time to analyze the stuff.
The Raven
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Re: 07.14b: Burning Spiders

Post by The Raven »

The assassin has a significant head start, so the Raven is not optimistic about his chances of picking up the trail again. However, the more pressing concern is to make his escape from the scene before a commotion starts. (well, a bigger commotion.) Also, he needs to flee from the approaching cats. However, in the current situation he first needs to find a scapegoat for this situation (as he certainly won't be taking any blame for it!)

Thinking quickly as he dusts himself off, he declares to the studio owner "I'm from the cat shelter. This area was apparently unstable, if my little noisemakers can knock the whole place over like that."

Before anyone can respond, he goes off to see if he can pick up the assassin's trail, though he's pessimistic about his chances so he won't look for the trail for that long. He'd kind of like to see how co-conspirator #2 got out of Amber, if possible.

Also he needs to move quickly before he's covered in cats. It should be noted (as this is not normal Raven behavior) that he is remaining in human form for the time being, as having a melted arm hurts aerial mobility.
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