[crow]

Despite that little setback, they got to the island without any more disruptions, even if it took Nokai watching over Baby for the rest of the trip to make it happen.

That didn't stop Baby from trying, but fortunately Nokai was fast enough to stop him. It made for an almost comical display to see Baby's diminutive form trying to launch himself off, only to be caught one-handed by an increasingly disgruntled Nokai and set back down on the floor of the ferry like a disobedient pet.

[crow]

It was almost enough to distract Rinh'a from the task ahead... Almost. But as the island drew closer, he could feel his stomach tightening again in anticipation.

"Landfall," the skipper called out. "Watch your step, especially the Lalafell." He cast a dubious glance at Baby, who sprinted off the ferry before anyone could grab him, though at least he didn't make a beeline for the water this time.

"Let him run," said Nokai, watching with Rinh'a as Baby booked it into the island's interior...

[crow]

... only to come speeding back a moment later, five whole skeletons on his tail.

"Flip phone," said Baby in a surprisingly conversational tone, tipping his sunglasses (where had he gotten a hold of those?) at the two of them as he passed. "Fenty. How you doin' this evening?"

It was midday, but that wasn't the issue here. "Weapons," Nokai said. He was already drawing his own broadsword, dark energy rippling across the surface of the weapon as he moved to intercept the enemies.

[crow]

Rinh'a hurried to draw his knives too. It was too late to move into hiding, since the skeletons had already locked on to Baby, but he quickly ran through the hand signs for one of his mudras. He could feel himself becoming lighter, as if buoyed by some unseen force, quickening his steps and movements both.

As Nokai rammed his sword into the skeletons, hitting them all in one sweep, Rinh'a darted to the side and sank both his knives into the nearest one.

[crow]

"YEET!" An unholy screech came from Nokai's other side, which they both recognized as Baby, just as a carbuncle careened into another skeleton, its entire body radiating flames. The sickly purple light of Baby's magic rippled around one skeleton after another even as a dark aura engulfed them, courtesy of Nokai.

Rinh'a dragged his own attention away from the two of them, willing himself to focus on the enemy in front of him. They knew what they were doing, and he could trust them to take care of themselves.
[Hunt Complete]

[crow]

He lashed out with one dagger after another, gritting his teeth as the metal scraped against bone. Sinking one blade between the ribs of the skeleton in front of him, he used his other hand to form the signs for another mudra. Twisting the blade free, he jumped back, breathing between the pinched together fingers of his other hand.

A plume of fire burst forth, engulfing the skeleton and all the ones around it. Green wind coursed together with the flames, fanning them to new heights.

[crow]

Baby's red carbuncle was nowhere to be seen, replaced with a turquoise one that danced around them, looking somewhat frantic under its master's directions. Rinh'a took that as his cue and traded his blades for a handful of shuriken, scattering them around himself with impunity.

They were well and truly surrounded now, though Nokai made sure that the skeletons kept their focus on him. His sword swept out and hit several at once, followed by another wave of dark energy that radiated out from where he stood.

[crow]

But between the three of them, they made short work of the skeletons. In the end, their numbers were the only intimidating thing about them. In the chaos of blades and magic, they fell one after another, until Rinh'a was left staring at their shattered and charred remains.

Some of the bones still twitched, as if attempting to carry out their purpose even in their current state. Rinh'a shuddered at the sight of them.

During the fight, there had been too much to focus on, so he hadn't given the nature of their enemies much thought.

[crow]

Now that they had a moment to consider the situation again, however...

"This place really is haunted," Nokai said, toeing a pile of bones. He didn't sound perturbed at all by the prospect. Rinh'a wondered if anything scared him.

"What do you think they want?" he asked in a small voice. The skeletons seemed, at least, as though they were acting with intent, but given the fact that their intent was to attack the three of them, they hadn't exactly waited around to find out the reason as to why.

[crow]

It didn't seem like the skeletons could speak either. They hadn't uttered anything like a battle cry during the fight. There had only been the clatter of bone as they moved.

"I'm more curious as to how they got here," Nokai said, rubbing absentmindedly at his chin. "Well, I suppose this is what happens to the treasure hunters who come here now, but something must've started off the shipwrecks in the first place. Otherwise there'd be nothing to pick over on this gods-forsaken rock."

[crow]

"We could ask around," Rinh'a said. "There's a few people there by the gate." He was surprised to see anyone else in a place like this. Given how many skeletons there were running around, he would have thought that no one would choose to stay here and... live, or work, or whatever they were doing. But whatever their circumstances, they were here.

The men standing near the gate didn't look like there were treasure hunters either, though there were probably some of those wandering around too, from the sounds of it.

[crow]

"Yeah, I guess we might as well," said Nokai. "I have a feeling if we wander around long enough and punch enough skulls in, whatever we're looking for is just going to come to us, but this is probably easier."

Before Rinh'a had much time to process that, something else occurred to him and he hurriedly cast around, looking for something. "Hey, have you seen where..."

"Oh geez," said Nokai. Rinh'a didn't need to say it for him to understand: they'd lost track of Baby again.

[crow]

"Keep a lookout for anything high. A tower, a cliff... That kind of thing," Nokai said. "Let's split up... No, actually, on second thought, we'd better stick together." Shaking his head, he began walking further up the beach, and Rinh'a trotted to keep up with him. Times like this, the difference in heights between them was really telling, but Rinh'a didn't ask him to slow down. Time was of the essence, so he could hardly blame Nokai for not taking their size difference into consideration.

[crow]

Of course, neither of them said so, but their urgency was only half for the prospect of finding Baby in trouble. The other, unspoken concern was that they would have to rescue someone from the clutches of Baby himself. Nokai assured Rinh'a that Baby was essentially benign, but he was strange enough that sometimes altercations happened anyway... and even if he was an odd duck, Baby's spells were no joke. If someone else threw the first punch...

Shaking his head, Rinh'a scanned around, looking for any signs of a naked Lalafell.

[crow]

Normally, Baby's attire--- or lack thereof--- made him easy to spot. He somehow managed to be kind of pasty looking even though he didn't cover up at all, which meant he stood out against most backdrops... But they just so happened to be on a beach, and the sand just so happened to be fairly pale. Rinh'a wasn't confident he'd be able to spot Baby like this, if he was being honest.

Fortunately for them, this time the situation resolved itself quickly. Moments later, Baby came running up to them.

[Hunt Complete]