2099/Inquisitorial Bug Swatting

Inquisitorial Bug Swatting
Date of Scene:	26 April 2015
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	Faruja and acolytes take Toph bug squashing in Ivalice.
Cast of Characters:	20, 152

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Faruja (152) has posed:
It's a nice, sunny day in Ivalice, a small breeze making the sun far less irritating that it would be. Faruja waits at the gates to Lionel Castle. The castle gates are wooden and stone affairs, completely lacking in the careful aesthetics of Mullonde. This is a place built for war, knights, and soldiers.

And Faruja isn't alone. There's a vieran archer in robes bearing a cross on her neck not unlike Faruja's, and a knight in golden plate mail. His hair is swept back, and a ruffled shirt can be seen poking out of his armor.

"...Should hardly be a problem, Inquisitor! So calm down! Why, I fail to see /what/ could possibly challenge the three of us with a few handfuls of insects! And if this 'eathen is half as good as you make her sound, then we're good as got!" Extolls the man. He laughs a touch, voice loud and boisterous, and the wind tossles his greased-back hair.

The viera rubs her forehead in silent irritation, while Faruja does his best to /not/ look like he wants to swat the older knight on the back of the head.

"Ser Geoffrey, please. They hath already devoured one group of mercenaries sent to deal with them. So /do/ try to show a touch of humility and not get us all killed, hmm?"

Geoffrey just grins.

"Oh ye of little faith, my dear Inquisitor!"

It's about then that Faruja turns to greet Toph, teeth gritted, and feeling about two steps from strangling the man for tempting fate and possibly mocking him unintentionally.

"...Ready to get this done, Toph? I shall keep introductions short. Sister Illyria, healer and archer...."

The viera crosses her chest. "Blessings, Miss." She says quietly.

Then the armored man is grinning towards the blind girl. One can practically /feel/ the cheer and sheer overconfidence in this man.

"Geoffrey, Geoffrey ARchibald at your service!" Beams the man.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Unlike the armored man, the 'heathen' that arrives might not appear to be very cheery. But one thing she does seem to exude is unrivaled confidence and an air of seriousness that might surprise Faruja. All in all, the blind earthbender looks about same. Though there are some dark circles under her eyes nowadays, and there's also a tiredness to her. But Faruja asked her to come and fight, and if there's something that Toph is good at, it's fighting. And if the enemy has them outnumbered, then they will just have to outmatch them in return.

    The viera and the knight earn a brief nod of Toph's head, and her voice is steady. "Toph Beifong," she gives as a brief introduction, though it's clear that her focus is on the task at hand as she turns her head slightly. For her it's easy to sense what's going on in the area, even the movements of the large insectoids. "What are these bugs like?" she asks, getting straight to the point. Might as well ask so she won't be surprised if they have any particular abilities that could be a problem.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Geoffrey, perhaps to his credit, manages to recover from the decidedly /not/ cheery young girl. He even shoots her something close to a warily concerned look.

Before Geoffrey can potentially exacerbate the sleepless girl's issues, Faruja steps in.

"Large, heavily armored with a shell that makes plate armor seem as paper, and very, very angry. Able to burrow through the ground, see through the vibrations of the land..." There's a very, very pointed stare here at Toph.

"And hath a ponderous taste for human flesh. Imagine a cannibalistic badgermole with a horrible attitude and jaws that canst rip an automobile in 'twain."

From there? Faruja waves to the others, and they start up a marching order. Geoffrey up front, Faruja just behind, and then the healer of the group a bit away. Plenty of room for Toph to find herself a spot.

The viera speaks of as they get on the road. "Twelve of them. Not too far from the castle right now, I did some scouting. They usually try to pop from the ground and devour travelers right from under their feet."

"Which is precisely why we need ye, Toph." Faruja ends. Geoffrey laughs.

"What, can you really detect these things, girl?"

The party comes across a fallen cart soon enough, its contents strewn about and the cart split in half! Geoffrey, in his self-confidence, blindly walks towards the cart! The trio of Churchies don't seem to realize, but there's suspicious vibrations as one starts to get close to the cart! And ones that only grow, as something starts to burrow its way up, right towards Geoffrey!

Two long, dirt brown pincers suddenly burst forth from the ground, aimed to capture the knight in its jaws!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    When Faruja compares the creatures to badgermoles, Toph lets out a huff, clearly not liking her favourite creatures being compared to man eating bugs. "Sounds like their ability to burrow through the ground is the only similarity," she points out. The pointed stare is missed, though Toph can tell what Faruja is thinking. And yes, the best way to deal with these things seems to be to bring in a master earthbender.

    As they head out Toph does indeed find herself a place in their little procession, falling into step next to Faruja on the way down the road. She nods when Faruja points out why he asked her to come along, though she arches an eyebrow when Geoffrey laughs. "I can see them better than you can," she states firmly, not feeling like explaining her bending and seismic sense to the man for now. Unlike him, her mood isn't as light, nor are her spirits high for obvious reasons.

    The fallen cart does tell a lot, doesn't it? Considering what the viera said earlier Toph does come to the conclusion that something happened here, and she also comes to a halt as she becomes aware of something. With the knight stepping forward, Toph's eyes widen. And rather than simply calling out, the blind earthbender acts! Quickly raising her foot she /stomps/ down on the ground, and an earthen pillar shoots out from underneath Geoffrey, launching him up into the air just in time! The pincers barely miss the man, and Toph lashes out with her hands, throwing them forward quickly three times, building up power as she launches earthen spikes at the large insect to throw it up from the ground and hopefully stun it. "There are more of them coming!" she calls out in warning before she kicks the ground again, raising up pillars underneath the viera and Faruja to get them /up/ and keep them relatively safe. They are not melee fighters after all.

Faruja (152) has posed:
That huff is a little closer to the Toph he knows. Faruja squeaks dismissively. "Bah. Ye know what I am getting at!" His tail flicks, that slight grumpiness coming into his voice.

Oddly, he realizes he's missed feeling that way.

"What in...!!!" Geoffrey doesn't get much time to quip, as a pillar rises up and the antlion ends up chewing on hard stone. It makes a frustrated roar that has Faruja's ears folding back and the viera openly wincing. Spikes of earth fly for the creature, and it doesn't have time to try to dig back under ground! The first few impact it hard, sending it flopping over, but otherwise doing little. The last one? Goes straight through a rather soft underbelly, and it lays there twitching.

To his credit, Geoffrey has a sword in hand, is on his feet again atop that pillar, and swinging it in an arc.

A fiery red pillar of magic rises from under the thing, rending it in two.

At least they all know /where/ it's weak now.

And then Faruja and the viera get the same treatment; up they go, perched aloft as eleven other of the damn things burst from the ground. Rather than being content to chew on pillars, these ones seem to get the idea of the party.

Things get very, very shakey as three of the things burrow under ground. The viera fires off arrows, exploding as they hit when filled with her magic. It sends one of the things on its side, to which Faruja quickly casts a spell. Horrible crunching sounds from within followed by insect blood everywhere is the result of a banish spell inside of the creature. The rest of the things then quickly attack their fallen compatriot, leaving an even ten of the things left.

But Toph can feel the earth shift beneath them, as it softens, and then begins to rotate! Those pillars begin to sink as a massive whirlpool of dirt forms! A swift float spell saves the archer from losing her footing, but they're all sinking fast!

From the yelps of surprise and alternating prayers to God, it seems like the churchies weren't aware of this particular ability!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Man, that roar hurts her ears. Toph frowns even as she feels the bug rolling over as one of her earthen spikes seems to have hurt it. Good to know, really. Which should make it easier to deal with these things! Toph falls into a defensive stance, her entire focus going into sensing what's going on around her and being ready to react at the smallest vibration that carry throughout the area and up through the sensitive soles of her feet. Just in time as even more of them arrive. Eleven...

    Cannibalistic indeed. Is that a look of disgust crossing Toph's face when they begin to eat their fallen comrade? Quite possibly. But Toph uses the opportunity, striking out with both hands as she splays her fingers, focusing on sending several earthen spikes from below to impale them. Due to their speed however it's not easy to get all of them, and perhaps she might not be able to fully dispatch them. But even if they are only slowed down it will help.

    What's more distressing though is when it's clear that these things can manipulate earth as well, and Toph looks surprised as she feels the whirlpool start up. "Hang on!" she calls out to the three, twisting her foot to stabilize the earth she is standing on. Sure, it starts to get drawn into the whirlpool as well, but as long as she can stand steadily on an earthen plate then that is better than nothing. The young girl throws her arms out to the side, her hands shaking slightly as she grunts and concentrates on the earth, enforcing her will on it. Slowly the whirlpool slows, and Toph raises her arms more before she abruptly yanks them to the side, seeking to send whatever bugs she can sense underground flying up with the loosened dirt from the whirlpool itself! "Get them!" she calls out to the others.

Faruja (152) has posed:
EArth spikes in the swirling dirt is quite difficult to avoid, and three of the things get impaled enough to be devoured by their fellows! But there's still one left working with the earth as the others crowd the party on their pillars of stone sinking into the soft ground!

But then the whirlpool slows, and bugs go flying everywhere! Flaming swords, exploding arrows, and gravity spells fly as bits of bug coat the landscape. The area around them is already ruined, and so the group hardly holds back. As the spells end, there's only a quartet of the things left!

These things might be smarter than originally thought, as soon they're burrowing back beneath the earth, leaving their dead comrades as they try to make a hasty retreat! Faruja chants, then calls out to Toph!

"Canst ye trap then, Toph? We must finish them off!" Whatever spell he's working on is taking quite a bit of mana, the strain and uncertain footing not helping matters.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    In the end these things are not as strong as badgermoles, at least not in Toph's opinion. Then again, the girl is biased. Besides, badgermoles are not hostile unless they are threatened. And few people are stupid enough to threaten the original earthbenders.

    Toph works on keeping the bugs in place, knocking them back with pillars so the others can finish them off. Though she does frown when she feels four of them burrowing underground. By the time Faruja calls out she is already working on it, her arms in motion. "Do you even need to ask?!" she calls back. Shouldn't Faruja know that there is nothing Toph can't do when it comes to earth? If she can stop a large building from sinking into a desert, then she sure as hell can handle four insects!

    Throwing her arms up over her head, Toph causes an upwards explosion of earth, seeking to throw everything around the bugs up into the air, including the bugs themselves. And as this happens she clenches her fists together, seeking to tighten the dirt and earth around them, which will hopefully constrict their movements and make them easy targets for Faruja and his companions.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja doesn't spare a quip, though oddly enough he seems to be grinning. A good fight seems to be /exactly/ what Toph needed, to at least get her blood pumping. It might be for a moment, but hearing a confident Toph over a mopey Toph makes the rat's day.

Now if only he can /not die/. Three of the bugs are caught in the ensuing blast of earth, and Geoffrey and the archer viera make quick work of the bugs. But the remaining one is a little faster as it rushes along the road, still beneath the earth!

Faruja finally finishes his spell, and gravity in the air twists. A massive meteor crashes down, splitting the earth and burrowing in just in time to squash the remaining Antlion. Try as it might, it's a little /too/ much rock, the resulting attempts at destroying the meteor by the antlion only resulting in framented rock flying /everywhere/. With the earth solidified, Faruja and the archer make a timely leap to the ground proper, ducking behind the cover of pillar to avoid getting pelted. Toph might want to do something about the deluge of rock coming her way too!

"Heads down!" Faruja yells.

Geoffrey gets beaned on the noggin, a touch too slow, knocked unconscious in a heap. By the time the storm of meteor-splinters ends, the antlions are dead, the archer-healer is working on poor Georffrey, and Faruja surveys the pathways they've worked to defend.

The road is utterly destroyed, with massive dips, and a meteor crater about the size of a parking garage.

Faruja sighs. "...Cardinal Freitberg is going to bloody crucify me." Laments the rodent. Then he turns to the others.

"Everyone alive?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Good, they are handling this. Toph focuses on keeping the earth tight around the bugs, though she frowns as she feels the fourth one running off. But by what she can tell, Faruja is working on it. The blind girl turns her head a bit. While she can't see the meteor, she has learned from having a meteor summoning chocobo of her own. Besides, meteors are kind of space rocks. Sensing the earthen material from above she tenses as her eyes go wide, then she reaches up before yanking her arms down, throwing the earth and some of the bug remains downwards as she shapes it into a solid wall. Like Faruja needs to tell her to get some cover! Even tiny meteors can be problematic if you're close enough.

    The blind girl presses up against the wall she made, able to avoid all the flying meteor splinters. And it's only when she senses that there are no more flying meteor-splinters that she steps out from behind the wall, letting out a heavy sigh. "... we're all alive. The bugs are not," Toph points out, then snorts as she turns her head to address Faruja. "You don't think you kinda went overboard there?" Even so, she hears his lament, and she can guess what it was pointed at. So the blind girl sighs before she cracks her knuckles and assumes a wide stance. As she raises her hands the road starts flattening out, and Toph continues working on fixing the road with firm movements of her hands. That's the important part, right? The crater isn't too bad, at least not parts of it that aren't directly on the road.

Faruja (152) has posed:
"God be praised! I shan't be taking up exterminating methinks." Quips the rat, wiping bug guts off of his robes. He tries to /not/ think of another dry cleaning bill. He may as well have one on retainer by now.

Faruja squeaks in pure indignation! "I merely acted to ensure that no more citizens or pilgrims shall be hurt! A little bit of road damage is a small price to pay."

The viera shakes her head, staring at the massive crater.

"Little?"

"Oh stuff it, mine Lady."

And then Toph manages to get the road back together, Faruja's jaw hanging for a moment as he watches her go to work. It's almost beautiful, seeing everything just flow back together. It'll need a little smoothing on the new pavestones, but the end result is likely far better than it was, given the country's financial situation.

Faruja coughs. "...Hath ye ever considered a career as a road builder Toph?" Comes the rat finally, before he walks over to help the viera with the sack of armor that is now the unconscious Geoffrey.

"Right. Well done, Toph. Back to the castle with the lot of us! Find dear Ser Geoffrey a bed at the least." A job well done! Then, the rat shudders.

"...The Cardinal will likely want to thank ye in person." There's naked /dread/ in Faruja's voice here.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "There's such a thing as overdoing it, you know!" Toph huffs. "You don't need a huge rock to squash one bug. Even if it's a big one..." The earthbender can't help but feel slightly amused at how Faruja tells the viera off, though it hardly shows as there's a faint tugging at the left side of her lips only.

    No, let's focus on bending the road back into shape. It is indeed quite a sight, and Toph works with ease, making the earth shift and blend together, her movements sure and firm. But even so, she arches an eyebrow at the question. Or is it a suggestion? "If I wanted to make roads I would not have joined the Union!" she reminds Faruja. "I love fighting, it's far more interesting than doing something every novice earthbender can do!"

    But what matters is that they got rid of the threat, and Toph follows the duo and their unconscious companion as they head back to the castle. As for the comment from Faruja, Toph shrugs. "I don't really need thanks. I came here because you asked me to, that's it," she shrugs. With the fight over she seems to back to her more pensive self. During battle it's easier to forget what has happened, the rest of the time it is harder to forget and ignore. "So what's so scary about this cardinal guy...?" she asks after hearing the dread in his voice.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja, for his part, manages a nervous smile.

"Oh. He is..." Pause. What's the best way to put this?

"A pious, stern man. I am not so afraid of him directly." He'll leave the rest unspoken. The thought of /Toph/ and a man more stick-in-the-mud than himself in the same room is frightening.

"I shall write a letter just in case of...misunderstandings." Mutters the rat. God help him.