Yes! Malboros!

Yes! Malboros!
Date of Scene:	14 April 2013
Location:	Golmore Jungle
Synopsis:	"I work hard for the money! So hard for the money! Something something money, give me lots of honey!" Shiki and friends go monster hunting. Gotta pay the rent somehow.
Cast of Characters:	Lily, Shiki Misaki, Evja, Serah Farron, Fran

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Shiki Misaki has posed:
http://tinyurl.com/ck6ekjk

Here we are in the Golmore Jungle! Or, to be more precise, underneath it.

Deep in a jungle cave, we have headed off into a spelunking adventure. 'We' being Shiki Misaki, her friends, and whoever was interested in an adventure at the time or followed them out of curiosity.

It's an overgrown jungle cave filled with odd plants and luminous crystals, and perhaps with good cause- it has been rumored that a world shard is hidden here. Mind you, rumors are all over the place about them... but you can't afford not to look into one...

Mind you it's also rumored that the weird magic in this cave has given rise to a particularly fierce mutant mark.

Serah Farron has posed:
A White Before

Among the people that came to the jungle, there's a young, pink-haired girl. Looking a bit lost as she roams through the jungle, she's following the path, scratching her head a bit as she looks at the map. She had heard that she could find a decent bow from the jungle's inhabitants, but she hadn't had much lucky actually finding their village. And yet she was pretty much where it should be, yet no visible village around.

She sighs, might not be as easy as she thought now, huh. But being lost, she decided to follow a few steps behind a group that passed through. With some luck, they are going to the village, right?

Not a chance apparently, since they are going in a cave... maybe the village is inside the cave?

Stay positive, Serah.

Now

Serah finally decided to come closer to the group and ask them upfront "... are you all heading to a village? I was told there was one around here and I can't find it..." Its a bit late to ask, honestly, but she's starting to think that she made the wrong decision here.

Lily has posed:
Thankfully, ever since the restoration of Manhattan Lily has grown a little more adventurous. It's hard not to, when she saw just how much the survivors could appreciate having their home back.

After coming to love her home in Fluorgis, the safety, the sense of belonging it brought, she can now relate.

A journey through a mucky, sticky jungle's not a lot of fun though. After the initial novelty's worn off, you're left with sweat and dirt and hot sun in muggy air. And now, apparently caves, where it's much cooler to be!

Lily doesn't need a torch, thankfully. As she tags along behind Shiki, small flames flicker into existence in the air, levitating and traveling along to cast light on the insides. As they aren't burning anything, there isn't any smoke either...

"Would people really live in a cave? There's not a lot to see in this one so far. Rock, rock, and more rock!" She answers back to the other traveler.

Evja has posed:
It wasn't actually by intent that Evja had even planned to be here. At least, not with the group as he was. The Judge was actually in Luca earlier in the day while enjoying himself in the form of 'Not doing anything terribly important and staying away from the crazies'. But that nasty smell on the wind that no one else seemed to be able to smell made him wonder. Of course, Vieras did have amazing noses.
And ears.
And eyes.

Really, they were quite adept at tracking things. And the scent of a Malboro /somewhere/ off a ways wasn't exactly... well, a good thing. Foul beasts and the likes. Thus Evja hopped atop his Chocobo and made his way towards the woods only to run into the group that seemingly had the same intention. Might as well go along with them instead of trotting ahead and making it seem like he had intent to steal their mark.

Today had found Evja wrapped in the same warm white Judiciers Cloak he ever had on and looking quite female, just as ever, with his face partially masked with a veil and long hair and otherwise feminine form.

She only really spoke when the others began to regard the cave and said rather simply, "Caves are quite safe and nice if taken care of. Though..." Before he entered the cave properly he heard Serah speak and turned to look at her before stepping down off his Chocobo. "I am not sure about a village within these woods, but far to the south is a city by the name of Luca. The woods are a bit dangerous though. I could leave my Chocobo here with you and you could wait for us to return if you cannot care for yourself, and you could always ride him out of the forest should danger come up. There is a beast within that we are looking to remove, so... we hopefully should not be long." The Chocobo looks to Evja a moment before looking back towards Serah as if waiting for some kind of instruction.

Fran has posed:
The jungle is considered a dangerous and forboding place for many reasons. Almost no natural sunlight filters through the massive canopy created by the interwoven branches of collosal trees, leaving the paths often dark and treacherous due to the heavy carpets of moss that coat the surface of the ground and the wood, making the footing difficulty and slick. So tall are the mighty trunks that grow here that they are paved over with bridges and well-worn pathways, their wide boughs often serving as the roads themselves.

Monsters of the most nasty sort make their homes here for this is a place that has been avoided by most of the civilized world. Only a lone village of the mysterious viera tribe call this place home and, while not outwardly hostile, they are very secluded and protective of what they consider to be their land. Outsiders are not trusted and very rarely welcomed beyond the outer borders where a few rugged trails skirt the edge of the jungle providing paths to the lands beyond.

That is not to say that no one ever tries to get in, as evidenced by the adventerous group present this day. However, barriers of solid magic prevent their advance very deep into the dark gloom of the jungle and it is only the proximity to the edge of the forest that has allowed them to delve into the dank and forboding cave.

Fran watches silently from on high, perched atop one of the hundreds of heavy branches that criss-cross in an elaborate web thousands of years in the making. Upon arriving in Flourgis, alone and confused, she has spent the last couple of days gathering information on the strange situation she now finds herself in. Multiple worlds convergent upon each other, some bearing familiar sights while others bringing even more dark tidings and threats of war. Balthier would likely be pleased when she found him again for conflict always gave rise to opportunities that enterprising people such as themselves could exploit.

For now, however, her attention was focused on ensuring that her ancestral home had made the transition intact. Thus far she has seen no cause for alarm. The old familiar paths are open to her and she found her way to the edge of the village with little trouble. However, she avoided being noticed to prevent a commotion; this was no longer her home, even if she was still sometimes plagued by the pangs of lonliness that came with being seperated from her sisters.

Her nose twitches as she catches the hint of something foul. While she can no longer hear the voice of the Wood, she natural senses are as sharp as ever and the faint reeking scent of corruption is sharp in her nostrils. Her eyes drift down to the adventurers again, taking note of their armaments. Perhaps they had come to deal with whatever the source of this corruption might be and if that were the case she owes them her aid.

For now, however, she merely contents herself to watch and see what they are about, following silent as a shadow through the forest until they reach the cave entrance. It is here that she is forced to take to the ground in order to maintain her vigil and she drops from branch to branch with a grace that few humes could ever hope to match, her body blending into the dark greens and blacks of the foliage with nary a sound.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Serah isn't getting any answers out of Mr. Mew, who points her perhaps more helpfully to Shiki.

"Village? I haven't heard about any village."

Oh, or not.

"We're here searching for a Mark. There's supposed to be something deeper in this cave... a Malboro has been stealing treasures and one of them is supposed to be a world shard," she explains.

"I don't think there are people here... but the magic is strong, and there might be monsters."

Indeed, there are all sorts of weird plants and strangely shaped mushrooms here, and lots of glittering pollen and spores floating in the air.

"If you want, you could come with us! More help's always welcome in situations like these when there's a big monster to tango with."

She lifts the brow of her hat up a little. "And this place looks so weird... weird places breed weird things. Come along with us, if you want! We're going to go in deeper."

And off she trots. Maybe we'll find some underground monkeys! Or underground Powerwilds.

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron looks over to the different answers. Lily first, she shrugs her shoulders "How would I know, it cuold be just a path to the village too... although this place doesn't look like its used often either..." She's not an airhead, just a pink-head.

Then she look sat Evja that offers her the ride out, considering it for a moment... but then she looks at Shiki for her answer "Oh... uhm... monsters huh..." She's not totally at ease with those yet... "but I guess I could help. I can use some magic, some healing too." It all depends on what's needed of her there, she's still only learning WHAT she can do exactly.

She nods her thanks to Evja's offer though, offering a soft smile. "I do like chocobos though." She reaches to pet its mane lightly.

Evja has posed:
"Suit yourself." Evja remarks rather simply before taking the head of the group and pressing down into the caves rather boldly. The Chocobo warks contently at the petting and leans down to bump against Serah's cheek happily before raising up and trotting away a distance to wait.

Lily has posed:
The cave is full of magic all around, and Lily rubs her a few times here and there. It doesn't help, because her sight's not truly visual, but sooner or later her sight settles in a single clear direction.

This does lead her, at one point, to walk straight into a cave wall as if in a daze. Thunk. "ow ow ow...!" Wobble.

Rubbing her noggin with a whimper she gets herself back behind SHiki again. "Something's in here, it's true. Something bright and powerful!"

Fran has posed:
The unpleasant scent of something rotten intensifies as Fran draws near the mouth of the cave. She takes care to avoid being seen. Decades of living among the trees and the inherent natural grace of her people allows her to tread softly across the mat of fallen leaves and dried out sticks that litter the ground, despite the sharp metal claws that comprise the unusual footwear sported by many of her kind.

The echoing of their voices within the cave makes it a simple matter for her long ears to pick out the details of their conversation which affirms her suspicions about their reasons for being here. Unlike those of her village who still dwell within the comforting shield of the forest, Fran is unafraid of mingling with people she does not know and she strides confidently into the cave behind them.

"The Wood is home to many things, both beautiful and foul. From the scent, I would guess the latter is true of this cave," she says as she draws near. She pauses a moment to allow them to handle her sudden appearance, lest some of them be the jumpy sort. Lily atleast proves to be the clutzy sort which puts a tiny trace of a smirk in the corner of the pirate's lips.

"You must proceed with care lest whatever foulness has taken residence here make you its next victims."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki isn't sure why Lily is rubbing her or why this affects her sight. She puts Mr. Mew on her head, which might help when she crashes into a wall.

"You're the expert when it comes to magical stuff," she says. Looking to Fran, she asks, "Do you know if there are people deeper in this cave?" as she looks at Serah, because hey, she has no idea! She's just here for the Malboro.

Of course, in a place with a rotten monster like this, it might be dangerous for people- and rotten-ness will always attract Heartless. Creeper Plants provide an unpleasant contrast to the more ornate and bizarre natural formations. You'll have to think fast! It's not a huge threat, but it's an enemy nonetheless, and it's up to you whether you take cover or jump into the fray- you'll be committed to it!

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron shakes her head "I don't know, never been here. I was told there was a village nearby that had good bows, so I came to look. But I couldn't find it, and I just ended up following you." Not the smartest of decisions here it would seem, considering the situation.

She keeps pacing down along the other people, glancing around. She sniffs a bit "Something smells too." She pinches her nose, trying to block some of it at least, but probably won't do much either.

Lily has posed:
"I don't know if there's people, but if they are they can't be human or normal. There's something powerful down there. Something WRONG." LIly complains, still rubbing her head. And then... plants.

Plants from nowhere.

Lily leaps back, stumbles over her clothes and tumbles, then comes up with her hands both covered in flame! It roars and rages about her, but the typical 'aura' of power that normally surrounds her when she's casting is much subdued. Seems she's getting better at this. "Shiki, look out!"

Fran has posed:
Fran shakes her head. "The only bodies you are like to find within are those unfortunate enough to wander where they should not have. The forest has little in the way of pity for those who do not belong."

Her tone is rather calm and matter-of-fact, lacking much in the way of emotion as she explains what they are like to find up ahead. The slain corpses of would-be adventurers and merchants who had tried to save a few days by skirting through the jungle had been a common enough sight when she lived here in times past. There would never be a shortage of those unwilling to heed the warnings of danger.

The viera turns her head to regard Serah with an appraising look. "The forest will not allow passage to those who are not of the Wood. You will not find what you seek here." Even she could not pass through unopposed any more and even if these people somehow managed to breach the barriers and reach the village, they crafts of the viera seldom are granted to outsiders.

The foul smell grows stronger yet and Fran turns her head to regard the crawling plant monsters as they emerge from the shadows of the cave's depths. Her eyes narrow upon catching sight of them. "I have never seen such a creature before." All the same, it's clearly not the cute and cuddly sort of forest critter.

Reaching over her shoulder, the viera unslings her powerful short bow and within the span of a heartbeat two arrows sail out to embed themselves in the faces of the heartless plants.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shiki listens to Fran with a shiver. Augh, no! She's in a good mood and in good company and she hangs out in Fluorgis and Traverse Town a lot, she likes the idea of the bright, colourful world where working together can do anything. Not the world where people get lost in the jungle and die.

"Well, I've heard that's kind of how it works... the smell, y'know. Malboros are so nasty that if one of them dies then they melt into this gross... ~stuff~ and you can never get the smell out," Shiki supposes, to Serah.

But we don't have for that! Fortunately, if you are pegging your nose you may be in a good position to defend yourself from a seed pod to the face, like the ones the Heartless will be spitting at you. There are lots of stalagmites and plants to hide behind, but the same can be said for them! It's like it's going to become a shootout or something. Well, at least Heartless don't leave behind bodies, so that's cold comfort, right?

Speaking of which, Shiki's got an ice pin with their names on it!

pchoo pchoo pchoo

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron blinks at Fran, but then nods, sighing "Well then why did they tell me I could get a bow there." She throws a hand up, wondering what's wrong with those people sometimes.

She's still holding her nose.

But then SEED ATTACK! She acks as she ducks for cover, trying to avoid the pelting. The first one hits her hand, which crushes her nose just a bit since she was holding it like that. That made her react to avoid the following ones at least, moving out of the way "What are those!? Plants attacking us now?"

Evja has posed:
"Heartless, be ware!" Evja calls out sharply before the Viera vanishes from sight and reappears roughly beside where the nearest heartless was with two spears in his hands, one in each. A swift spin later he attempts to whack the heartless away before saying to those here, in case they weren't familiar, "Keep a strong heart and attack them to win! Weapons of metal are best, and if not, magic may work! Put your heart into it, and I will explain why later if you do not know!"

When Evja swirls it becomes apparent what lay beneath the cloak. The Viera, while helmless, was in full plate armor of a deep black and red with what looked to be a fairly Archadian Judge make.

Lily has posed:
"That sounds nasty, Shiki!" Lily thrusts her hands forwards, directing twin bolts of flame to go scorching through the air, doing this neat double helix spin for the plants!

Fran has posed:
Another pair of arrows swiftly follow the first, each one striking unearringly into the bulbous head of a different Heartless. Fran weaves to the side to avoid being struck by the flying seeds but instead of falling back as might be expected of a lightly armored archer, she moves foward closer to the fray.

Close ranged bow shots are mixed with a variety of sharp snapping kicks puncuated with the black steel claws of her high-heeled armored sandals. The viera flows smoothly from each strike to the next, skirting the edges of the fight where she can attack and then fade back before too much attention falls upon her.

She does pause a moment, however, to scrutinize the armored form of the so-called Judge she meet previously in the desert city. Now exposed in his armor, Evja looks all the more like one of the deadly Arcadian warriors and she cannot help but wonder what business one such as he could have dirtying their hands with the removal of a monster from a path that sees almost no use. Such questions will have to come later, should she seek to pursue them.

"These plants are not of the Wood," she asides to Serah when she has a moment. "I have never seen their like before."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"They're Heartless!" Shiki says to Fran and Serah, a part of her a little surprised that they might not be familiar with them.

Who knows? Maybe the people who told Serah about that were eeeevil and trying to lure her to her doom. Heck, if we didn't find her, who knows what terrible things might have happened!

Not that there's a chance terrible things still might not happen to you, as one of the Creeper Plants shoots the tip off a stalagmite.

Shiki doesn't notice because she's too busy going starry-eyed over Evja. So cool *_*

"You heard him! Lily, let's shoot 'em!" she says to her fellow Seeker, making a Pact just to be on the sure side. Man, there's gotta be something good if the Heartless are involved in this dark creepy place, right?

Doves might as well be flying through the air as Lily and Fran open up, fortunately those plants have a pretty obvious target-esque face to go right for. Just take cover at the right time and make sure you don't get tangled up by the occasional grasping root! Shiki moves forward, trying to gun and run!

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron knows what heartless are, but these are somewhat different. They look like plants, for one thing. Those that attacked her before were like monkeys or dogs, not plants spitting seeds at her. She ducks for cover, nodding to Fran "I don't think they are really plants at all if they are heartless." She closes her hand, and summons some of her magic. "But if they are close to plants, then fire should do the trick, right?" She tosses a small fireball, which spreads into more flames on impact of the plants. "I know what they are, but not this kind!" She answers about it finally, more focused on tossing out her spells right now, really, priorities!"

Evja has posed:
The 'him' remark goes unresponded to as one of the seeds impacts the armor and... bounces off, even if it knocks the Viera back a bit. "Too weak!" and then Evja pounces and attempts to thrust the spear beneath the plant to rip it upwards and out in hopes that it'll be an easy enough target for the others before he turns and aims the same spear that he tried to fling the heartless with towards another heartless.

"If any need to retreat, call out and the others shall aid you how we can." Teamwork was, at least in the Viera's opinion... key. But then again he had a background with clans, so... that was to be expected.

It's finally at this point that Evja realizes who the Viera was that had joined them. That was the one from Fluorgis... enh, time for questions can be later.

Lily has posed:
Lily does seem to have gained a small bit more control of her magic. No more are her blasts shooting off wildly. They're tighter, more controlled, as she unleashes more and more bolts of fire in rapid succession from her palms from a distance, out of the things' range!

"Why... these things are everywhere. Heartless, always Heartless!!"

Fran has posed:
This is Fran's first encounter with the Heartless and as such she's pretty clueless about many of the things that might be common knowledge to those who've been battling the darkness in their own worlds for some time now. However, the attacks of the plants are clumsy and slow by contrast and her incredible speed and agility sets her dancing through their ranks with ease, taking only a few minor hits here and there as the sheer volume of seed-fire makes it difficult to evade everything. Her scant armor proves remarkably effective for how little of her body it covers, deflecting most of the painful projectiles away harmlessly into the air as her protected parts seem to always manage to intercept them.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Maybe she likes you, Evja! It is a mystery.

Completely without trying, he manages a little root ravaging action, which is sure to send those little green globs of HP flying and knock the others for a loop with the resulting shockwave. As you might expect, super-effective attacks are the way to go, but even without it these guys are really only chumps even if they didn't have the terrain to consider. And when you're using fire, you don't even need to worry about that!

Even if Fran takes a hit, there'll be enough sweet loot dropped afterwards to make up for any boo-boos. And Mr. Mew didn't even have to use his machete!

I'm starting to worry about that cat's attachment to that knife.

Once we all make it past the rocks and rough patches, there's going to be a treasure to be found. A rather pleasing-looking pod is nestled in the far end of the cave, with a sheen of multiple colours, near to some cracked earth and more weird plants.

But... it doesn't seem to feel powerful at all...

The feeling Lily might experience beneath it certainly is, though! And this is assuming you didn't already smell it coming. That would be our Malboro!

http://i.imgur.com/PEDL1N9.jpg

It appears from the glowing earth, chomping on that shining pod- and swallowing a rather beautiful gemstone right in the middle of it. There's a Heartless symbol on its back, but check out those wicked teeth! That's more of a worry.

"Hey!" Shiki shouts, shaking a fist.

Lily has posed:
"This isn't a World Shard. There's nothing like that in here... now that I'm closer..." She points a finger, growling angrily all while she moves it to point at the Malboro. "It's all THAT thing!"

She doesn't seem too concerned about the gemstone being gulped down, because to her it's not a special or valuable thing. Just shiny and pretty!

"Are we going to run or beat it up?!" Her body suddenly flares with power, orbs of magical power streaming down her hands and power gathering. Energy sizzles, forming into much more potent flames than before in preparation!

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron blinks a bit as she sees the gem "So that's what you came here for? A gem?" She doesn't know anything about the world shards either, too new to the area. She might want to learn more about it later though, never know, maybe she can find her world with those.

But then the malboro appears... along with the smell "Ewwwww... is that what's stinking so badly here?" She points at the big thing. "Do we really want that gem?"

Fran has posed:
There's that smell again. This time when Fran's nose twitches the scent is heavy enough that she is able to place its origins. The particular odor emitted from the horrid breath of the marlboro is difficult to mistake and Shiki gets a restraining hand on her shoulder as the vile creature shuffles to life with its massive snapping jaws.

"Beware: this one is dangerous. It may be more prudent to withdraw." Her gaze shifts over to the three young girls and she is forced to hold back a sigh. More deaths would only serve to fuel the anger of the Wood. Balthier would be practically throwing a fit over having to babysit so many children of late and she is not terribly inclined to be their warden either.

Fran curses her misfortune for being burdened with such an altruistic nature. The smart thing to do at this point would be to turn and leave. She's given them their warning. But unless she knows they've heeded her advice, she can't just leave them to face such a beast alone.

"Battle or egress, make your choice, but be swift about it."

Evja has posed:
All seemed good and great, munny and such popping out here and there until that foul odor grew strong enough to cause the Judge to step back a little and clenches a hand over his nose as if to try and hold out the smell. Fran, of course, takes point and steps forward to warn them. How strong must this Viera be to withstand such an odor?

"As she said. I do not know her capabilities, but if you wish... we should be able to rout it while the remainder of you stay back and keep safe." Though he wasn't entirely sure of this given the odor. If that thing spewed a 'Bad Breath' at him... he's not even certain he could keep from retching.
"It is... your choice." and Evja finally stands upright and pulls a helm out from beneath his cloak to slip onto his head, a large amount of padding and cloth around the nose to hopefully protect from such smells.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
It's actually a rather impressive jewel. Tube-shaped, facet-cut, it shines in golden yellow and green with a smoky purple and yellow core. You get a look at it for about half a second before the Malboro swallows it.

Shiki is incensed. "I didn't come all the way out here to have that thing eat it!" she snorts. "That might not be a world shard... but if I've learned anything from being an adventurer, then it's not to go away empty-handed! Come on, Lily, let's get that treasure back!"

She looks at Fran for a second, and gives her a smile and a thumbs up. "Don't worry! I've gotten good at this!"

The smell doesn't even seem to faze her! Shiki and Mr. Mew are ready for action, even as the Menacing Malboro chomps its teeth and wriggles its roots. Shiki flashes her The Eyes Have It pin!

The huge monster tries to hock a loogie at the group. Super gross! "Hey! I heard this monster ate a bunch of treasure before we got here!" she shouts to Serah. "I bet you could fish out a prize if you can get to it!"

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron doesn't really want to be monster chowder... but she hates even more doing nothing while other people would become the same. "... Alright then, let's take it down." She's not exactly attracted by a prize enough to risk her life... but shiny things! You know, glitter +_+

She acks as she rolls away from the loogie, ewwwing "If you want to toss things at us, then eat this!" She sends a small salvo of fire spells toward its open mouth. It must be a weak point, right?

Lily has posed:
With the Malboro getting riotous, Lily makes a squeamish face but bravely holds her position while gathering more magical power, waiting for some kind of plan. Flames rage around her fingers, and are swiftly joined by an aura of crackling lightning that sparks wildly, ionizing the air and giving it that ozoney smell.

Then she launches similarly, straight through the incoming goo, fire and lightning all curled up and joining with Serah's for an even bigger blast at the mouth!

Fran has posed:
Bravado was a common trait among the young Fran found. She hopes it is backed up by a modicum of skill. There is no more time to debate it now, the choice has been made: fight.

The viera leaps into action along with the others, drawing out several arrows which she lets fly in a punishing barrage, unleashing a powerful alpha strike in the hopes of throwing the deadly plant beast off its balance. The turbid plegm launched by the marlboro lands with a wet splat and she knows enough from her time living in the jungle to ensure that none of the foul liquid is allowed to touch her body, a task that proves easier said than done when it goes splattering in all directions upon impact.

"Beware its foul breath," she says calmly, as if this were little more harrowing than an afternoon stroll. For her, it might as well be. The jungle had its fair share of vicious monsters and being plant-based, marlboros weren't a terribly uncommon sight. The strange symbol it bears, however, does pique her curiosity.

Fran moves away from the others, slipping off to the side to ensure that the creature cannot fell them all in a single attack. Her bow continues to pepper its vines and mouth with short arrows though against such a foe, they do little more than harass it.

Evja has posed:
And the Judge has, in the meantime, moved into close range to try and distract it as best he could. At least, if he remained in close range the thoughts in his head was that the Malboro would be fighting against /him/ while the others picked it off - mostly.

Of course this meant he was much closer to the fray and able to be hit with smelly bits, but hopefully that wouldn't happen given how smoothly he was flashing in and out of sight and around the Malboro, trying to confuse it while constantly poking it to keep the attention as much as possible.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
After being doused in slime oil by Priel way back when, perhaps Shiki has a higher tolerance for smelling awful.

That's a big monster with a lot of teeth, but we're a bunch of plucky girls and rabbits and rabbit girls with a lot of guts and not much sense! We'll either make it out fine somehow or all get eaten. Fortunately, Shiki's got experience with being eaten too!

She pumps her fist- and then all of her brave gesture is ruined when the Malboro keeps on spitting. That's a sticky end if ever there was one! Shiki flinches and runs for it. "Atatatatata--"

EXCELLENT DISTRACTION. Evja and Shiki's wild movements are sufficient to confuse it a bit. Fran's luck is better than she thinks, pinning the Malboro to the ground with some of her arrows through key tentacles. When Serah and Lily double-tech, they create enough fire to really smoke its skin. It crackles and lolls back for a minute, mouth open and kind of groggy, which will give Mr. Mew a chance to skitter over there and make a grab for something!

"Be careful!" Shiki suggests. "If we knock that thing into mulch before we get any treasure it'll totally smell way too bad to be worth taking!"

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron blinks as Shiki just goes and reaches in "... I... uhm... are you sure we can stick our hand in there?" She sees that it got knocked out, but its not dead yet either... She gets closer, and peers inside... plugging her nose again x.x "Ugh, so foul..."

And then she TENTATIVELY, like very carefully not to stir the monster back to its senses, reaches inside with her arm to try to get the first thing that isn't squishy like malboro guts or something... "uuuuuugh!" This is terrible x.x

Fran has posed:
Fran is quite certain that anything fished out of a marlboro's mouth is going to be pretty foul whether it's dead yet or not and she declines to partake despite her piratey profession's general love of treasure. She is fairly surprised to see the monstrosity so easily staggered, these massive balls of viny tentacles were typically among the most sturdy of the jungle's inhabitants; something is off here.

The viera keeps a wary eye on the creature from a safe distance. If these kids want to go sacrificing their limbs for adventure, she's not about to stop them. Might give them an interesting story to tell when they're drowning their sorrows in a bar later in life.

Lily has posed:
Lily holds her own nose with the creature's mouth open, her magic idling down to a low growl of flames, and aura beginngin to show. A faint blue glow surrounds her, a shimmer of light coming from her forehead gem, but the important part is how she's now holding her nose and waving her arm as if to ward off the smell. "Hyuuuugh... wy does it stink so bad?!"

Evja has posed:
"..."

Evja stands there, /staring/ at them, before looking at Fran with an 'Are they serious?' look only to shake his head and stand ready to seemingly strike down the Heartless if it seems to pose some immediate threat. That and they seem certain that if they don't do this now, what they came for will be pointless.

"Let not your greed get the best of you." In fact, Evja waits until there's a clear shot and pulls out a vial of perfume. It's worth a shot. "Let us see if this foul beast likes bad tastes." and he throws the bottle into the maw before spinning a lance and striking it to try and see if it will hack out the contents of its' guts. ... and hopefully not all that nasty goopy crap that was there before.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
"...I don't think it smells that bad..." Shiki says, then she suddenly feels self concious.

She looks around worriedly, glances at Lily, then wrings her hands. "Lily, am I broken?!"

Don't worry! It's frazzled and scorched and surely safe to walk up to and poke around in!

Serah's delicate attempts score her one Ruby Ring. It's got a nice big square ruby on it! With this, you will never be turned into a pig. So that's nice.

Evja scores a Beaded Brooch, which is also what it sounds like. A handy item that protects against being silenced or blinded.

The perfume bottle causes it to spit that up, but it also shakes it back into angry life! It didn't like it at all. It seems turning it into a Heartless perhaps robbed this chunky monster of some of its famed vitality?

But on the other hand, it gave it the ability to call in more Creeper Plants, which appear to back it up. Let's rumble a little more!

Shiki makes with the spear action using Nikkari. Hey, she thinks, I could use this to jam this thing's mouth open! And so she does, leaping on to ride the big beast, one leg on each side of the mouth. She pinwheels her arms a bit, but remains stable! And she can try and fish something out herself.

"Lily, heads up! Let's keep going! We can totally get this gem back!"

Fran has posed:
Well that pretty much settles the fact that Shiki is completely insane in Fran's mind. The gods must hate her for some past transgression to foist such a suicidal person into her lap, knowing full well that she can't just walk away and leave the fool girl to her inevitable fate. Evja's look is met with her usual frigid stare, her wariness regarding his presence refusing to relent despite the shared danger they face.

With Shiki riding atop the malboro Fran has no clear shots to take at the thrashing beast so she instead turns to meet the fresh wave of creeper plants with a hail of arrows. Her ammunition is beginning to dwindle quite steadily, however. She had not come prepared for an extended engagement such as this.

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron fishes that ring out of the monster's belly, and stares at it. Well, its going to need a good wash to get the stink out of it.. She looks over to Shiki and hmms "Well... do you think its safe to get more? It doesn't seem like its moving yet..." She's just very careful of it right now, its not a good feeling after all. She reaches inside again carefully... "What do you think that big one is?

Evja has posed:
"Fools, let us end this! Your treasurepicking can wait until we are not in danger of having our coils shuffled!" Spears in each hand once again Evja dives towards the Malboro and goes for a deathblow, ignoring the Heartless around for the time being in favor of trying to keep these suicidally greedy girls from getting bitten in half, or losing a limb.

Lily has posed:
"I think sticking your hand in a toothy smelly monster's mouth is really silly!" Lily complains to the others, although she's really mostly bewildered. What are these things for...?

She then answers Shiki. "Why would you be?! The smell must've plugged your nose up, Shiki!"

WHOOOOSH. Flames again course about her, firing off in large plumes... twisting columns, like horizontal tornados, drilling themselves at the offending plants!

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Crazy like a fox, Fran! Crazy like a fox.

Serah wrestles for a double dip as Shiki does that old cartoon trick, and comes up trumps again- it might look like an old boot, but she's managed to score not one but two Sprint Shoes. Those wings on the back will help you run really fast! Shiki, to her credit, is not spinning her hat around on her hand and cheering loudly, but she might as well as the Malboro Menace strains its jaws underneath her trying to snap her created spear. Eventually, it will in fact give! And Shiki is going to have to NOT jump into any Malboro gak.

Shiki fails at landing in Malboro gak.

Lily, if she checks by her foot, will also find a Gold Choker for her trouble. For everyone's trouble, really. It stops you from being blown away in strong winds!

Eventually, however, with Evja and Lily doing their best to chew through the Creeper Plants and Evja making far more effective use of his spear, Shiki is going to have to concede that, OK, maybe we should stop treasure hunting.

But she's not gonna be happy about it. "S'not my fault we can't fish the big gem out first try..."

So she does her best to freeze it solid, slowing it down for Evja's attack. She's not going to be able to necessarily do it fast enough- the Malboro Menace is going to unleash its green, smoking Bad Breath any second now! Act fast!

Evja has posed:
"Viera! Where do you think the stomach of this beast is?!" Evja calls out, then waits for a moment to see if she responds by attempting to help the girl out - the Viera vanishes and reappears behind the Viera with both spears in one hand, raring back before they begin to glow and charge with a seemingly holy energy.

SMASH! Doing a backflip the Vieran Judge attempts to quite literally hit the Malboro at the same time as punch through to the stomach and try to hopefully hit something in the belly and launch it up and outwards with the attack.

It really was a blind shot, with a guess at where the stomach was at best... but hopefully his double spear could hit something and shoot it out.

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron blinks and jumps back at the Malboro ROARs back to likfe like that. ACK! That's what she didn't want to happen! She sees Shiki unleashing some ice though... Wait, that's an idea! She aims both hands toward the malboro's open mouth, as its about to exhale... she shoots several shots of cold energy straight to it. Nothing seems to happen, but then, the energy solidifies, creating 3 large blocks of ice, attempting to stop the mouth from closing and blowing out the breath. Its not keeping it from breathing per say, but it at least won't get to blow it as hard if it works.

Fran has posed:
"I have never had cause to investigate the bowels of such a beast," Fran shoots back. It's not like hunters go around skinning malboro all the time. He'll just have to guess. Besides the entire thing looks like a stomach with teeth to her.

The last of her arrows are spent to whittle away at the creeper plants though a few still linger, lobbing the odd seed into their midst. Falling back on her reserve weapon, the viera pulls out a long curved dagger and moves in close to carve the Heartless apart with deft slices that severe their 'heads' from the thick stalks in a single stroke.

The groaning rumble combined with the sudden increase in the foulness of the air acts as a warning beacon to the experienced hunter and she whirls around, eyes narrowing on the thrashing bulbous monster as it prepares to unleash its devastating breath.

"Be wary of its breath! It can lay low even the stoutest warrior."

Lily has posed:
Lily's flames die down, and then the air around her chills. Frost coats the cave walls and she swipes a hand. A big barrier of ice shoots up from the ground, forming a wall in front of the Bad Breath to part most of it!

Some gets around though, leaving her coughing...

"This thing... why is it like this?!" The ice, thankfully, is perfect for her next tactic. She puts a hand out, and shoots LIGHTNING through the ice straight at the Malboro, right at its forehead. The ice mostly melts, but doesn't stop the lightning!

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Covering someone's mouth just before they're about to let something out of it generally speaking tends to be a bad idea. It can cause all sorts of ugly things to happen and stuff to spray everywhere.

Nonetheless that's what Serah ends up doing, with the help of Shiki, and the Menacing Malboro Menace's menacing mouth is mashed full of mice. I mean ice.

So it's kind of unfortunate, just as Evja goes in for a gut shot it sort of starts to inflate like a balloon...

A rather loud POP shakes the stalagtites as Evja quite literally rips the Malboro a new one. A really nasty gout of gas flies out, along with various items- a tied-together pair of Gillie Boots smacks him in the face (they're so clean and shiny! Naturally, they're Oil-resistant), but the rather nice looking tube gem goes flying out as well, along with some other crystals.

And just like Audrey II, although without Stubbs' profane denouement, the Malboro is lit up by lightning in one last attack. It crackles, snaps and explodes into flames, disintegrating into a nasty slimy mess.

The secret gem smacks Shiki in the head.

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron phews. Well, that could have went better, but... She still tries to flee out of range of the soul smell as it explodes. Not to mention the flying guts! Well so much for grabbing more loot. She got a ring and some boots at least. @_@

After a moment, she pokes her head back from around the corner of the caves "... Well, it won't be eating more treasures..."

Fran has posed:
Fran shields herself from the putrid explosion with a grimace as plant guts begin to shower the area. Not the most elegant manner of disposing of the creature but atleast it's dealt with. Brushing foul goop from her gear, she slides her bow back onto the hook at her shoulder and begins to collect the arrows which now litter the ground after the Heartless evaporated into thin air.

"More to the point, no more shall foolish wanderers fall to its hunger." She moves back over to the group, eyeing their haul with a measure of curiosity. "But that does not mean that you are free of danger. Take what you will of the spoils and leave this place. The Wood is not for you."

Evja has posed:
Clunk.

"..."

Evja's expression is blocked by the helm, but one can imagine it isn't happy given he is now covered in gunk. Especially since he wobbles a bit before saying simply, "I need... to get some air." and quickly the Viera simply begins to trot fast enough towards the entrance of the cave while flickering in and out of sight on his way up there thanks to his boots. God this was going to be a horrible headache later.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
The treasures you have just retrieved are not the only remains of unfortunate victims! Nope, the Malboro just ate a train full of items before it was turned into a Heartless. After all, this is a Disney movie! Picking foot bones out of a pair of boots is no good.


Shiki picks up some of the gems that were left over, and offers them to Fran if she'll take them for helping them.

The big gem'll probably pay for the upkeep of the ol' Fluorgis base for a month. It's very very nice. And everyone made it out with some fancy treasure! And isn't that what's really important? Killing monsters and getting loot.

Man, it feels good to be an adventurer.

"There's monster drool inbetween my toes."

Serah Farron has posed:
Serah Farron sighs softly as well "I think I'm going to need to burn my clothes to get the odor out of them now." At least she avoided most of the gunk from the explosion.