riverviewlogs | [closed] There is a terrible cost to dark magic, but you know what they say

[Magnus.........

Taako follows behind, a hand on the umbra staff but not quite pulling it out, since there's a few spells he can cast without it, but at the end of the day it turns out to be entirely unnecessary.

Once the sword is away, Taako puts a hand on Magnus's shoulder to gently get his attention.]

Sit yourself down, you're a big dude.

[And if Magnus wants the... tiny bear to approach, he needs to cut less of a threatening figure.]

You think that's one of them?

[He stands down when Taako pulls him back. There's that voice of reason he didn't know he was missing.]

I'unno. I was only told about fire dogs and floating lizards and electric horses. Nothing about lil' teddy bears.

[He kneels down in front of the bear cub and holds out some of the pellets he'd been holding. After a moment, the little guy starts sniffing Magnus's hand.]

Hey, Taako! I think it likes me!

[For his part, Taako takes a few steps back and crouches down, pulling out the umbra staff so he can brace against it while he waits to see how all this plays out.]

You're pretty hard not to like, bubbale. [gross, feelings.] Hey, uh, did yo actually get one of the balls to use, or are you gonna carry this little dude back?

Oh, crap. No, I completely forgot about those.

[The bear takes some of the pellets from Magnus's hand and starts to nibble on them. Regardless of his excitement, Magnus remains still to let the little guy eat. Animal proficiency. But it does show on his face that he's enamored with the bear.]

Oh my gosh Taako it's so cute. ... I'm gonna have to just carry this thing home with me, huh?

[Of course he forgot the pokeballs.]

You're gonna have to see if it'll let you even pick it up first.

[That's step one, they'll cross the 'carrying' bridge if they get to it.]

Psh. No problem. Just watch.

[Animal proficiency! He gives the bear time to munch, then gently reaches a hand around to give its head a little pat. It shies away at first, but eventually lets Magnus pet it.]

See? I'm a pro at this.

[What follows is some kind of weird series of noises and hand gestures that seem like Magnus is trying to communicate with the thing. ... And it responds. After some conversing with the thing, Magnus stands, and the bear hangs out near Magnus's feet.]

I don't think it wants to be picked up, but I think I convinced it to follow us home.

[...he says, completely serious.]

[As someone who literally learnt an animal language, this isn't up there with the weirdest thing that Taako has ever experienced, but it's still pretty odd.]

We're really doing this, huh?

[Taako gets back to his feet, moving towards the door.]

I could like - bubble it for ya, if you want.

[Magic!]

[He shrugs.]

Nah. I think he's good. Aren't ya, buddy?

[He glances down at his new companion, who places an hand on Magnus's leg. Fuckin'... adorable. He follows Taako, and his little buddy in turn follows him.]

Y'think we should head back now?

[....that's almost cute.

Shit.]

I'd, uh, yeah, heading back might be the smart move. There's a lot meaner things out here than tiny bears.

[Which is, of course, when Taako hears the sound of something heavy, moving outside. It sounds like its not directly on top of them, but close enough to be a concern.]

Well, dunk.

[When he hears the noise, he immediately draws his sword out another time. Of course it scares his friend, and he quickly re-positions his sword away from the bear and gives him a gentle pat, then refocuses his attention on the door.]

...Actually, do you think you could bubble my boy?

[His bear is clinging to his leg for dear life at this point.]

I got it. [Taako casts resilient sphere, centered on the bear, just big enough to enclose it.

Once it's done, he keeps the umbra staff drawn, ready to be used.] You can carry it, or I can? I dunno if that's gonna make it more upset.

I'll take care of it.

[When he bends down to pick up his boy, it shies away from him. He tries to convince it to play along, but the bear runs back into its corner.]

...Ooooh, I get it. This is his hiding place from whatever the hell's outside. I think he'll be safe in here while we go out and fight that thing.

[Assuming that was the plan, of course. To go fight the thing.]

[That works too.]

Sure, my man, let's go fight that thing.

[Taako waves a hand in Magnus's direction, casting mage armor on him because the last thing he needs is Magnus rushing in to take a hit without considering the fact he's wearing fucking cargo shorts.

There are, honestly, more than a few ways Taako could get them out of this without even needing to go near whatever's lurking outside, but Magnus isn't gonna get better without practice and at least this is a relatively controlled environment. If things start going south, he can drag them out of there.

So Taako steals himself, standing up straight as he stalks forward, leaving the hut and only making it a few short steps before their new friend comes running through the trees towards them.

It's not pretty.]

Here we fucking go.

[Let's roll initiative.]

[Hey, cargo shorts are powerful, okay?]

Hell yeah!

[Taako was smart (as always) to cast mage armor on Magnus, because he runs straight out the door to find this giant lizard monster thing. He flinches—he talks a big game, but really, he's not so experienced with monsters of this caliber. But his hesitation only lasts a split second. He makes a beeline for the creature whilst unraveling the tarp he'd brought with him, throwing it over the creature's head in an attempt at blinding it. This is probably gonna be a really good idea until it isn't.]

[It's almost funny, to watch Magnus pull out one of the ridiculous but creative stunts that he does mid-fight, but Taako will have to save his laughter for later, because this thing is big enough that he's pretty sure it could kill Magnus, given the chance, and that's not how he wants this day to go.

It swipes at Magnus, bringing a clawed hand down towards where it last saw him, and Taako winces from his safe(r) distance, but knows he can't throw a spell in time. It's up to Magnus to dodger.

And then Taako can cast a spell. He's limited by the fact he can't risk hitting Magnus right now, not when he's unarmed and relatively untrained,
so he sticks with a classic.

A bolt of blue energy arcs from the umbra staff, striking the creature, for twenty points of damage, and now he's got witch bolt connected,
so he can just keep plugging at away at this thing while Magnus stabs it.]

[The creature has disadvantage when it swipes at Magnus, but still rolls high enough that Magnus has to dodge to get out of its way. In his attempt at a side-jump, he stumbles and falls down. It's a good thing Taako comes in with his own attack, because it gives Magnus the time he needs to get back up.]

Thanks for that!

[He wastes no more time talking and takes a stab at the monster. He's a little more aware of his position since that stumble he took a moment ago, this time keeping track of the monster's footing so he doesn't get knocked over again.]

I got you, my man.

[That, if nothing else, is true. Magnus might not remember Taako but it doesn't change the fact that this dude is one of the very few on the list of people Taako would take a bullet for. It's lucky, really, considering the creature now turns its attention to Taako after that spell hit.

As it turns out, the amphibious look it has going on extends to a frog-like tongue that lashes out towards Taako, who gets a crit twenty and does a goddamn back flip to avoid getting caught, just in time for Magnus to drive the sword into the creature.

It rears backwards, then throws its weight forward at Magnus, aiming to either knock him away or crush him under its bulk.]

[Magnus drives his sword into its underbelly, and is barely able to dodge the monster, having had to leap forward and land on his front to get out of the way. He suffers some scrapes and bruises to his face and arms, but at least the monster is down now, sword still lodged into it. He pulls himself up, a little winded, but not disheartened.]

Hell yeah! Taako, you were awesome!

[He's in a bit of pain here, but smiles right through it.]

[That's gotta be at least twenty experience points. Nice.]

I am a pretty amazing wizard. [He cuts the witch bolt spell, lets out a breath, then heads over to Magnus's side.] How you doing, not too roughed up?

Doin' great!

[He gives Taako a double thumbs up, revealing the scrapes all up and down his arms.]

Oh, my boy! I almost forgot! [He runs back into the old building, remembering his new friend is inside. He immediately starts consoling the little guy, informing it that its monster is gone. The bear seems willing to follow him again.]

Shall we try getting the hell back into town again?

[Taako drops the bubble around the teddiursa as Magnus heads inside, making a mental note to haul the dude to a doctor once they're back, to get those scrapes cleaned up.]

Heading back seems like a fantastic idea, I would super like to avoid getting eaten.

[Not that they were really in any danger, considering he only needed to burn two spell slots to take that thing down, but - still. Back behind the barrier seems like a good place to be.]

[closed] There is a terrible cost to dark magic, but you know what they say

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