[ visual :: do it or do not do it - you will regret both ]

[oneofthequick]

The communications system flickers on and displays a man wearing a drab, dusty taglemust but with a recognizable sword buckled at his hip. After a moment of surprise, he skims over a few notes on his tablet before unveiling his face to speak: "My alternate has left notes for me to read, but I would prefer a more reliable source of information."

Comments

[ visual ]

[faderbroderson]

"Doul, you're back." Godric looks happy about it, but not overly happy. He had been fond of En-Doul. He's just equally fond of the usual Doul.

[oneofthequick]

"Good." Then they just won't tell Eric until they've got the animal on a spit? That's reasonable. "To the hatch and the forest then?"

While Doul is eager to hunt with a spear, he's going to bring along his sword just to be safe. Eric doesn't concern him, but he is cognisant of Godric's safety and his ability to move in a body that isn't as responsive as he's accustomed to.

[faderbroderson]

"Yes." He stands, ready to leave and find the nearest hatch. And yes, Eric can find out after the fact, and yell at him then.

While Godric may not be a vampire at the moment, he was a hunter before he was ever a vampire, and boar is familiar game, however dangerous. He's grown used to the slow response and limitations of his human form, and he has little doubt of his ability to successfully bring down their chosen game without injury.

[oneofthequick]

He yells because he cares. Now, c'mon Pops, and let's go get into trouble.

"You should know, that I might be a little slower than usual. I spent the last month fighting in the glad pits to earn my living and I was clipped by a creature some damned fool fished up out of the Cacotopic Stain." Fire-breathing jellyfish, what a bitch.

[faderbroderson]

He does. That's why he gets away with it.

"Then we're both handicapped, compared to usual. That's fair." He's long stopped asking questions about Doul's world. Some of the Brucolac's descriptions defy imagination, so he's decided the only way he'll ever understand Bas-Lag is to go there. Maybe one day.

[oneofthequick]

"And proves the theory that this is a good idea." Everyone should worry when Doul starts making jokes.

Should Godric ever ask, Doul would be more than willing to explain anything about his world. The Cacotopic Stain is a great, corrupt wasteland created by New Crobuzon and Tesh during one of their wars. Much like the Scar, it warps and alters all life within and around it.

[faderbroderson]

See, to Godric, that sounds like a dozen other questions waiting to be asked.

Godric doesn't worry when Doul starts joking, but then, their senses of humor are not so different. He realizes that practically, this is an awful idea, but it's just the kind of awful idea he needs. He needs to be in control of a dangerous situation, and if he loses control, he needs to fight his way out of it and strike back. He possibly has some unresolved issues about his capture and torture, but at least he realizes it.

"Maybe next time we'll just go in barehanded," he jokes in return. Now where's that hatch?

[oneofthequick]

"Not unless I'm being paid for it." Which suggests that he's done just such a thing before. Despite his comparatively young age, Doul has done rather a lot of strange and dangerous things. It is entirely possible that his issues and Godric's are in alignment.

Due to the size of the spears, they're going to need to hatch the tip and shaft in inter-locking pieces. Still, if it's done correctly their weapons shouldn't shatter on impact with a boar's hide.

[faderbroderson]

Somehow, Godric is not the least bit surprised that Doul may have, at some time in the past, taken on a wild animal barehanded for money. He seems like just the sort of person who might do such a thing.

Finding a hatch isn't difficult, after a short walk. The spears are easy enough to create and assemble, and in little time at all they're in the forest, scouting for traces and tracks.

[oneofthequick]

There are tracks for quite a few species and Doul is pleasantly surprised to see that somewhere in the forest, there's a lynx. Still, that's not what they're in search of.

Past one of the smaller waterfalls, there's a brightly lit glen with a few wild crabapple trees and slowly snuffling under one is fair-sized boar. With a smile, Doul turns and nods to Godric. If they had dogs, he'd use them to distract the boar while they speared it, but in the absence of help, one of them will have to act as bait. Shall he?