Event Major Contract: Queen of Leeches

[The Gatekeeper]

The crows made quite a ruckus as they moved in a flock away from the dock and into the air, cawing and flying with wild abandon. Still, @Ice and @Zero did manage to make it to the dock and Ice was able to climb a tree to look out over the horizon. While she wouldn't actually see anyone in the direction of the gunshots or explosions, for the faintest flick as she climbed the tree, she would think she caught sight of movement not behind them but ahead in the direction of the monstrosity's lair. It was gone as quickly as it was there, and no further evaluation would reveal its source to the huntress.

@Vega had made a calculation, but that calculation was questionable at best. He'd left cover and though his movements were quick, when he did come to a stop, he was still very much not in cover while the hunter he was shooting - the suppressing fire hunter - was, in fact, mostly still in cover.

The shots from the droid slammed into said cover, while the hunter had a clear shot at the droid, firing into the chest where the armor had earlier been rent by the grenade, ending the droid outright while his partner continued to choke. It was an unfortunate outcome for the droid, but such was the nature of fighting at a two man disadvantage when your partner dropped dead at the outset.

 

[Reaper]

Reaper had heard the gunfire on the horizon and he knew how these hunts went. If there were others out here - ahead of him already - his best bet was to bring them down before they could respond. He had no interest in a protracted gunfight of 1vX, but bringing down a single person at any given time... that was far more doable.

He had waited in the bushes for the fighting to subside, partway across the water as they started moving and looking for a way to cross over. His rifle rested lightly on a branch in front of him as he let out a quiet exhale and his finger squeezed back against the trigger.

His Outrider slug thrower kicked against his shoulder, sending a single hollow point round streaking across the open area between them and slamming directly into the head of @Akira Tay, jerking her head backwards in a puff of red.

He racked the rifle and sent another shot at @Logan since she looked like an easier take down than the tree lady, but he didn't remain for long. If he missed, he would immediately melt back into the bushes to either reposition or fall back entirely, long gone by the time the two would attempt to flush him out.

OOC: As stated in the OP, Reaper makes his first appearance to punish a time-out. Nowhere is safe in the Bayou.

 

[Ice]

Ice grimaced behind her mask as she spotted the movement ahead. She quickly signaled for Zero to pursue and possibly lure back whatever it was. He would have to serve as bait. She drew out her bow, taking a vantage point to offer him cover. She wasn’t aware of how many others were in the area, and she didn’t want to risk noise just yet.

If baiting didn't work, she would be forced to climb down and continue on foot.

@Orbit @Phoenix

 

[Ayşe Mataraci]

Team OrcTree​

What the fuck! Ayşe shouted as she saw the bullet tear straight through Akira's head, leaving nothing but a puff of red mist in its wake.

Instinct kicking in, Ayşe dove to the ground to find cover behind a nearby rock, a second bullet whizzing just over her, where her own head used to be a few seconds before. With bated breathe Ayşe waited for more shots to come, but none did. After a couple tense moments she would poke her head from behind the cover and since it didn't instantaneously explode, Ayşe figured that whoever was firing at them had moved on to greener pastures.

Better her than us, I guess. Ayşe said as she walked over to Akira's body and looted anything that looked worthwhile. Namely the pistol with the poison ammo, the proximity mines and the grenade the woman had on her. More useful in death than in life, it would seem. She said before stowing away the newly found items and continuing down towards the lake.

Upon reaching the lake shore, Ayşe would look around for anything suitable that she and Venus could use to traverse the water. Swimming seemed like an ass proposition, but the Orcolan wouldn't be above it if that's what things came down to.

Maybe Venus would have better luck finding a boat or something than she did. Either way, Ayşe could feel the time ticking away as they continued to dawdle. She couldn't help but wonder if any other hunters had managed to find the contract in the meantime.

Spoiler: summary

Ayşe ducks behind some cover to avoid having her head blown off and then continues down to the lake to see if there is any way to cross it without having to swim or walk the entire way around.

@Phoenix @lizziie

 

[Zero]

The crows departed loudly but without obvious consequence yet. They flapped past Zero’s face as not a modicum of his reaction was revealed. It appeared they were still on track.

While Ice climbed to the top of the tree, Zero retrieved his weapons from the boat. The chain was wrapped around his torso once more, while his short sword and knife returned to their sheathe as well. Not needing to give a response to Ice, the pair trained enough, he would just begin to step forward.

Out of all his weapons, the short sword he retrieved would be pulled from his back once again. As he strode down the dock slowly, first he focused on the serum within his blood. If it reacted to whatever caused any movement, he would begin to track whatever monstrosity was out there. If there was no reaction, then he just would continue on his slow pace, his gaze scanning his surroundings professionally. Zero’s other hand would reside around his wait, allowing him free access to his other multitude of weapons if he needed it.

TLDR: Retrieves weapons and then slowly walks after whatever made the movement. Keeps vigilant of his surroundings.

@Phoenix @Sreeya

 

[The Gatekeeper]

As they worked on looting the body of their fallen "comrade" death struck again. This time, rather than the form of Reaper, it took the form of another hunter. Incendiary ammunition from this hunter who was attracted to the gunfire lanced out and into @Venus. The rounds hammered into her barky skin and set her ablaze immediately. One was never truly safe, but they all seemed very comfortable acting as if they were in no danger.

Unlike Reaper, this hunter made no attempt to retreat and in a 1 versus 1 situation, pressed his advantage, and continued to fire from the bushes this time directly at @Logan.

As it turned out, @Ice and @Zero were going to run into their own problems. Zero strode down the docks toward the area of the movement only to have his body shredded by gunfire. Multiple rounds pounded into him without a moment's hesitation and would immediately send him bleeding and reeling to the ground in a dying heap.

Fortune had it, however, that the attacker wasn't great at looking "up" and as yet had completely failed to spot the hunter sitting in the trees, bow in hand. He moved forward to loot the body of the dying hunter and strip him of any useful gear.

 

[Ice]

Ice was preparing for some kind of beast, but instead she was caught off guard by the sight of Zero being shredded by slugs. She cursed internally, but she knew better than to betray her position during the attack. As the other hunter came out to loot Zero, Ice waited to see if anyone else came out. There was no way that a group of hunters would let just one of them take loot. When no one else came out, Ice aimed and fired a single arrow intended to go through the hunter’s skull.

Granted that her attempt worked, she would quietly descend down and walk over to take both Zero and the hunter’s belongings. Ice would remain discreet and quiet the whole time, always aware of her surroundings. She kept in a low crouch to avoid detection, slowly beginning to move towards where the trace indicated.

@Phoenix

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The saying "time is the enemy of us all" took on a whole new meaning on this hunt. Another hunter was cut down as @Logan was shot to pieces by the solo hunter who had come for blood, and her body fell to the ground, burning and bleeding all at once in a gory mess.

Far away and closer to the lair of the monster, @Ice would find that her arrow shot struck home, skewering the hunter's head as he rummaged through the pockets of her downed partner.

Amidst the belongings of the hunter, she would find most notably a pair of proximity mines that were not yet set and she would be able to pocket them before heading further into the swamp. The environment around her would begin to shift and change as the branches seemed to become more gnarled and the grounds seemed to switch between knee deep water and semi-solid ground.

In the distance, across a small clearing of water that could be called little more than a pond, sat the remnants of an old hut. Beyond the hut, the trees seemed to be even larger, merging together in a tangle of brush as if forming some sort of unnatural dome, manipulated and woven inward by unseen fingers. There would be no doubt in her mind that this was the lair of the creature she hunted.

 

[Ice]

Ice quickly pocketed the proximity mines, making her way deeper into the swamp. She couldn’t hear any explosions anymore, which meant the other hunters were stealthily moving in or she was the last one standing.

She didn’t approach the house just yet. At first, she grabbed a rock and tossed it into the pond to see if it caused any creatures to reveal itself. If nothing did, she would make her way around the pond but keep to cover. It was here that she laid down the proximity mines.

Ice drew back into the shadows. From there, she called out and made all sorts of noise to lure anything out towards her and the path of the mines. It was the only path past the pond and she hoped to trap something.

@Phoenix

 

[The Gatekeeper]

As Ice made her way around the pond, nothing seemed to move. There was almost total silence from the pond and from the forests behind her. The proximity mines would remain there, though, as she pressed on: a safeguard against those who might come behind her.

As she moved closer to the shack, she would see that wooden panels had begun to fall off, and the trees had arched in, vines hanging down to almost swallow up the house. As she stepped inside, the place smelled awful with blood - some how still slick and fresh - coating the floor and walls. Leeches crawled along the ground and the ceiling above. It was enough to easily make the weak of stomach vomit.

At the back of the shack was the a door leading out presumably into the arena of trees. Within the house were doors to the left and right as well as a set of stairs leading up, though what was in any of those locations was difficult to say.

 

[Ice]

Fighting the urge to vomit, she slowly entered the house. She didn't immediately take the door that led out. Everything in the journal spoke of the woods being 'evil'. She wasn't superstitious, but she wasn't in a hurry to go there first. Unless the leeches actively sprang at her, she would gingerly make her way towards the stairs leading up. She would give a wide berth, having heard that the creatures could be poisonous.

@Phoenix

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Ice would make her way up the stairs of the shack-house and initially find more of the same. More blood, more leeches, more disgustingness, but then she would spot something else. What had once been a man in a previous life was now a pale and lifeless husk of a corpse, drained of blood, his body had all but merged with the walls of the hut, swallowed up by weeds of red almost as if some unnatural veins that were part of the earth itself.

At his feet, however, was a rifle. Though she wouldn't remember the name, she would likely recognize it as an expensive weapon occasionally favored by hunters who were experienced and not afraid to get very, very noisy.

A side by side, double barrel slug rifle, it was long with slugs that were, likewise, almost as long as her hand. Alas, however, she would only find one of the barrels had a cartridge still loaded and the other... it had been fired, though what it hit - if anything - was a mystery.

Beyond and out the window of the hut, she would get her first glimpse of this Queen of Leeches. A horrific sight, true to her name, leeches hung from all over her body as she dragged herself through the calf-high water of the tree dome and in the direction of the hut.

 

[Ice]

Ice grimaced at the sight of the dead body, but she wasn't entirely surprised. She moved closer to inspect the weapon, already concluding that it was particularly loud. She heard a noise and glimpsed out the window, spotting the target at last. The thing was moving towards the hut and Ice intended on capitalizing on that. She grabbed the slug rifle and aimed through the window, firing a shot and then another.

Regardless of what the queen did, Ice would fire and fall back, intending to keep shooting to make the beast walk through the proximity mines.

@Phoenix

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Ice's attack would go as anticipated, and as the shot from the rifle tore through the creature's body, she would see that an entire, massive chunk had been blown away from the "Queen."

It would begin to chase her, seemingly pausing for a moment before choosing to pursue the hunter. Whatever intelligence the witch-turned-monster had once had seemed to be gone now, and the explosives had never even entered its mind... at least until the shrapnel tore through its head.

The explosions were loud and tore through the clearing, but Ice would be able to see it flop over dead.

As she moved closer, she would be able to start the banishing ritual without any concerns, watching as the body twisted and mangled itself, seeming to compress almost into nothing, pieces melting away into the black smoke of the air itself, rising up like a smoke beacon into the sky.

As the compressed burning continued, it would eventually come to a stop as a small, red kyber crystal fell to the ground, all that remained of the trapped creature's body or soul. It was difficult to say which, but what was evident was that the kyber was very much alive and very much real and very much worth a small fortune.

It seemed that none of the other hunters - so caught up with killing each other - had managed to make it to the lair in time, and she would manage to slip away into the swamps and back to her ship.