#support: python

It’s like in the moment that he blinks, they are suddenly within another arena, though slightly different from the last. More metallic, more confining. And the enemies across the way are giant beasts of metal, unlike anything Kurthnaga has ever seen before. Certainly, he has seen things this large, but never any behemoths of metal, of bolts and steels.

He still has his trusty hammer within his hands - he has grown quite used to the bulky weapon and would have been sad to see it part any time soon - but another axe has found itself attached to his hip. And...

Oh.

Oh. His knees feel rather weak as he realises the type of mount that he has now. The creature seems fairly content with the situation, compared to what he’d heard about- no, it was too painful to think about. With a shaky hand, he carefully runs his fingers along the beast’s scales, allowing a moment to get used to his new mount. He fiddles with his second axe, carefully not to scrape his fingers against its purple tinted edge. It seems to be inflicted with poison of some sort. He wasn’t sure if poison worked against these robots, but it was worth a shot. Anything was worth a shot to escape whatever sort of nightmare this was becoming.

Gripping the reins with pale knuckles, he speeds over to the largest robot of the bunch, the one that seems to be their leading. He stands, patting his dragon on top of the head, a silent communication between the two of them as some sort of kin, telling it to stay put for the moment as he leaps from its back to slam his axe into the giant metal beast’s head.

Kurthnaga activates Smash using Venin Axe! Roll 1d20+3= 10! Hit! Critical Damage! (6-3=3) | Alloy Arsenal: Bipedal HP= 17/20.

Minor Poison Damage!

Stunned!

As he falls after his attack, he lands safely back on his mount’s back, and he gives it a soft, nervous pat as a reward for catching him. He glances up, realising the metal beast has been sent into some sort of state of being stunned and turns to his teammates, calling out his advice - though he couldn’t be certain how sound it was with no knowledge of these sorts of giant metal creatures.

“It seems to be stunned for the time being! I’d try to attack it now while it can’t attack back, and quickly! Who knows how much time we will have!”

The Academy, to his chagrin and delight in equal parts, has an infestation problem. Not of vermin, no—though Niles would certainly love to see the chaos that would cause—but of cats. They seem almost to be everywhere he goes, lounging and lurking, sometimes even approaching for a curious circle around him, but the moment he bends down with an outreached hand...

Hiss!

…yes. That.

Niles withdraws with a chuckle, watching the cat dart away. And, of course, footsteps alert him that he wasn’t the only one to witness the rejection.

“I suppose not all kittens enjoy a little gentle coaxing…” He rises, then, and leisurely turns on his heel to look upon his hapless new companion. “...but then again, being gentle was never really my thing.”

“Hey, strategy teacher. Does this feel kinda dangerous to you? I mean, this doesn’t look too far from the stuff they dump from the tops of castle towers.”

Golden oil froths angrily inside the sizable vat in front of them. The lingering smell from others dipping batter-covered treats inside of it is appealing, he has to admit. If he’s thinking of the ways that boiling oil can help during wartime, a trick like this could also make a lot of unappealing rations tastier. Some of the crap scrounged together in dusty catacombs still wouldn’t have been salvageable. But hey, no way of knowing unless you try, right? (No way of knowing what kinds of things your coworkers find funny unless you press, either.)

“...Anyway. This one’s for cooking food, not people, yeah?” He bends down and rips a handful of grass from the ground, then opens his palm to display it to his fellow Deer.

“Five gold if you take a bite of this after I fry it.”

Mark was no stranger to cooking methods like this, even if this was on a scale beyond what he had personally witnessed before. Dipping various foods in pots of flavored oil, melted cheese, or even chocolate was a traditional form of Ilian cooking, and something of a delicacy at that. He had to imagine the warmth provided a pleasant reprieve from the bitter cold in which they lived. It wasn't hard to imagine how it might have come about with that in mind.

This, though... it almost seemed like a perversion of that beautiful culinary art. The roiling oil was violent, angry, hissing constantly and occasionally spitting scalding droplets. One of them struck Mark's cheek as he leaned over the vat, causing him to quickly flinch backwards. Getting too close to this seemed like a recipe (pun not intended) for disaster, even if it wasn't being used quite in the way Python was suggesting.

"...That would be a bit cruel, wouldn't it? Boiling someone alive?" Not that Mark hadn't heard of such strategies being used, but he wasn't keen on enacting the same kind of violence that he'd seen Bern use against Sacaeans. It was one of the many reasons he had elected to take his leave from Bern's service.

"...Um, I have a bit of a sensitive stomach. I don't know if... b-besides, grass isn't edible. And it'll ruin your teeth. I guess frying it would probably make it softer, so that might be... less of a concern, but still..."

“Uh oh. Looks like there’s some trouble in paradise.”

Or sounds like, to be more accurate. A well-dressed woman is shouting at a knight not too far off. His equally loud requests regarding taking it easy and reminders that he’s on duty do little to quell the issue. Python snorts quietly. The crooked grin on his face suggests he isn’t too bothered by the whole affair.

“Who d’you figure messed up there? My gold’s on him. Looks the type to tell a girl that her behind does look big in her skirt.”

(Im)perfect teatime

Lex wasn't really the type to sit idly by and just while away his time doing nothing in particular. People-watching, though? Lex could definitely get behind that. Sure, they were technically on-duty, but watching over the populace of the monastery was relevant to guard duty, he was pretty sure. Just hanging out with a friend cracking a few jokes, having a nice time? Yeah, that could be a pretty alright time, even if Lex did happen to be on the clock. He didn't know the first thing about this Python guy, but so far, the man seemed pretty alright as far as Lex was concerned. He had the right sense of humor to get along pretty well with Lex.

"Aw, c'mon, we can't both bet on the same person," Lex objected, leaning back against the wall behind him as his eyes scanned the situation. "But shit, I don't think betting against you would work out too well. She looks pissed in a way you don't really get without a guy saying something particularly out of pocket. I mean, I guess there's plenty of people out there who'll act like they're in the right when they aren't, sure, but the way he's groveling to her... I dunno. Looks to me like he knows he screwed up every bit as much as she does. Wonder if he's actually sorry or if he's just trying to get her to stop yelling at him."

Another to show concern, and just like the first, Niles feels completely out of his depth. He's fought in plenty of battles. He's fought in a war. He's plenty accustomed to dipping in to save the life of a familiar face, and turning around to have his life saved in turn by another. Returning after a successful campaign—or even an unsuccessful one, all the soldiers returned to camp limping and torn, ash-streaked and bloody—had been a relatively quiet affair for him. The touch of a healer, should he need one; the nod of approval from his lord, because Niles has always checked to make sure Leo is well and in want of nothing before he leaves to tend to his own business.

So this—having someone worry about him, having someone hope he'd return, even if his life shouldn't have any value or use to them—is... new. Uncomfortable, if he's to choose a word; undeserving, if he's to be pressed beyond that. (Warm, if he's to be honest, which is stupid. What do these people know about him?)