Duty Session 180: The Tides of Summer

    The sun is shining, the smell of the ocean is being carried by a light breeze and the sound of joy and laughter echo's for all to hear. It is a wonderful day during the festival as so many have came out to enjoy the summer beach fun. Even a particular lizard man was enjoying the moment as he basked in the sun by the water's edge , a towel laying over his head to block out the sun, his feet and tail positioned just right that the waves wash over them. His normal wear replaced with a blue pair of board shorts, surprisingly made to size. Yep everything was absolutely peaceful until a rather loud horn begins to blow, alerting those who may need to feel a sense of heroism, it was time to be heroes.

This time Vertina really was just trying to relax and enjoy the beachfront. She'd picked up a game of volleyball with some of the people that had learned to play last night, and was again wearing her sport haltertop and trunks instead of a 'girly' bathing suit. The game was going pretty good.

Up until the horn blows.

As soon as she recognizes what horn it is the Salamander lets out a groan. "Oh not again!" She tosses the ball to one of the other people and sprints down to the open shore to investigate.

    In spite of everything going on, sometimes... Sometimes you just have to take a break.
    That's why Amalthea is at the beach enjoying the summer warmth and seabreeze. The old paladin is clad in a very modest one-piece sky blue swimsuit with a waist wrap, likely acquired from Gwen at some point.
    Currently lounging on a towel under an umbrella, this doesn't mean her sword and shield are out of reach, because...
    Well, they're practically a part of her now.
    It's the sound of the horn that makes her sit up, a frown forming faintly across her features.
    "What's all this now?"
    Ah there's Vertina.
    "Not -what- again?"

Erufu has been enjoying the sun, the surf, the food. The swimware. She's been quite the happy Elf (Pooka), and just been enjoying herself.

"Wait what's this? Oh come on! This was suposed to be some time off!"

She'll quickly pull up her weapons but doesn't have time to get outof her beachware at all.

She look to Amalthea and will fall in behind her and Vertina.

"Let's get this over with but hey it's going to be a great adventure to tell people about!"

    The lander's horn blows over and over as he shouts as loud as he can "MONSTER! MONSTER!" The panic in the watcher's voice spreads to the beach patrons as they begin to panic and scatter shouting for their loved ones to get out of the water. However from the beach edge all anyone could possibly see is the thrashing white water of the panic and the beach goers starting to trample each other to get out of there. It would seem the panic was getting to everyone.
     Rizadoman pulls the towel off his face as he sits up looking at everyone running and screaming in panic around him. Jumping to his feet he looks over at his elven friend. "We have to manage the people first or they will do the work of any sort of beast that may be in the water."

"A duty to protect the beach that keeps randomly happening during the Event," Vertina quickly explains to Amalthea since she asked. "I guess something to keep the more combat oriented players content during an otherwise primarily social world event?" She shrugs a bit. "Award is worth it though." She's done this already apparently. But that doesn't mean she's not sticking around to help out.

She jabs a thumb at the non-Salamander lizard person. "He's right. Gotta get the Landers and the Lowbies," the Adventurers that are still low level that is, "out of harms way. Clear the beach of anyone besides us. Then we can deal with whatever the ocean spits out." She's explaining, figuring the paladin is better suited for getting people in order.

    Whatever it is, it can't be good as the Landers begin to panic and scramble, Amalthea picks herself up.
    It's the call of 'monster!' that makes the old paladin frown.
    Then she gets the long and short of it from Vertina, and picks up her sword and shield. "Well I guess we're doing this, then."
    "EVERYONE CALM DOWN." Amalthea bellows /loud and authoritative/.
    "Find your loved ones, and quickly and -calmly-" She emphasizes calmly very hard here, "retreat to the edge of the beach away from the water in a neat and tidy fashion, and we'll take care of the monster."

    As the landers begins to listen to the adventurers around them, Rizadoman follows his elf friend's lead as he continues with his own singing voice and trying to cast the magical song over the crowd to calm them. Eventually the crowd disperses at a orderly pace
     It would appear just in time as small monsters begin to make their way on to the beach, crustacean like creatures with annoying pincers and hard shells. They seem to be running towards the stragglers who haven't left the beach yet. One of the crustacean seems rather close to getting into claw's length of a young child who is just standing on the beach crying, apparently forgotten in the rush.

"I mean, the interruption is annoying, but I'm not complaining about the chance for a workout either." She does like brawling after all. A scaley brow raises a bit as the big shelled crabs crawl out of the water. "Huh, they're larger this time." Vertina dashes towards the first one she can... and just as she throws a punch it ducks into the shell. *WUNK* "Aaaah!" Vertina jerks her hand back with a yelp from hitting the hard shell. "That's like punching a tank! Dammit!" That's what she gets for not putting her cestus on first.

With a huff she grabs the thing by the shell and starts hauling it back towards the water, but it's being stubborn and resisting the entire way. Eventually she finally gets to the water, heaves it up, and throws it out into the sea.

... And then notices the crustacean scuttling off because it crawled out of the shell while she was dragging it down the beach. "Hey get back here!"

    And then come the monsters. The various crabby-lobstery sea louse styled monsters that rise from the waters mean the group is going to have to work faster to get the Landers and lowbies out of the way.
    The old Paladin storms forward to start calling attention onto herself, spamming her Taunt skills to try and get the beasts focus on her rather than the straggling remaining landers.
    "That's why you don't punch tanks and let them spam their taunts first." She says in a mild tease.

Monsters are ruining things here and Erufu will sing, shockingly she can sing well normally. Rizadoman would be aware of this but as she sing it's just not enough to get through to the panicking beachgoers she's singing, isn't bad it just isn't working and she finally catches on to it not working.

    As the crab monsters charge the beach , Rizadoman spots the young lander just standing there crying. He roars loudly as he leaps into the air putting his claws through the crustacean shell and looks over at Vertina, " Lead with the sharp claws first, to pierce the tank." His tail slams down on another as he lashes out and takes out his rage on the monsters around him. The rest of the crusteceans are pulled in by Amalthea's taunt and its almost like they have lined up nicely for others to crush.
     As the last of the crab beast are dealt with , there is a lovely calm now. Perhaps the crabs were the only problem. Even the sea it self was calm. With its nice blue water and its sharp shapely giant fin before rising up and a giant wave appearing, people were about to get wet and possibly dragged out into the ocean.

    This certainly is... A fight. Battling crab monsters while in swimwear. Amalthea feels pretty out of her element in such light 'armor', but she isn't going to shirk her duty as a Tank because of it.
    So with the crab monsters handled, the sudden rush of water is... Concerning to say the least.
    "...?"
    Amalthea looks up.
    "--Incoming! Brace!" She declares warningly to the others as she sees the massive fin and tsunami of a wave headed for the beach, planting her feet as her shield comes to life with a white glow and she pours every ounce of her strength into her defenses as she can. "Get behind me and set up barriers!"

Okay, the crabs are dealt with. Next should be the wave, right? Yup, there's the brief passing of the Leviathan, and the wave that follows threatening to flood the beach and drag people out to the briney depths.

Yeah, no, we're not going to let that happen. The Salamander martial artist puts her earthbending abilities to use, slamming both fists into the ground and causing a large formation of stone to rise up from under the sand to form a rocky wave break to shield against the onrush of water. "Already on it!" she shouts to be heard over the rumbling rock to answer Amalthea.

As thing just keep ramping up she'll see there's a wave coming. she hears Amalthea's idea and she moves.

"EARTH CRUSH!"

She cries out trigging one of her few elemental melee abilities. She'll start seeing up walls behind Amalthea to make additional cover for people who don't have time to run away from this incoming wave.

"Here it comes hang on!"

    As the giant wave approaches Rizadoman steps up and looks over his shoulder, " I can hold it for a moment but we will need something more ." Taking a deep breath as he begins to pray to himself, " By my naga ancestors, grant me the power to hold back the water. " The wave seems to be fighting back against the magic for a moment before Rizad's power fails and he has to stop. Fortunately everyone else had the defenses ready, Amalthea's shield and the rocks seem to hold well. No one is loss to the sea, or worse to the levithan beneath it.
     As the water receeds back it reveals the sea had decided that it was not done torturing the adventurers. Fishmen now stand on the beach, armed with rusty blade's and spears and with one unanimous cry they charge the adventurers.

    Amalthea is the wall the wave crashes upon. And between a force of nature and an unshakeable tank... The tank wins, with the aid of the defenses propped up behind her by the others.
    If not for the fact that she's in swimwear, Amalthea would be looking very much like a wet cat right about now. But her expression sets into a grim line when the water recedes and the fishmen stand there to greet her.
    "Hoh... So you're the one's who decided to ruin our beach day?" She says, voice colder than a tundra.
    Before her sword gets hot. So very very hot as it comes alife with flame.
    "I think fish cutlet's on the menu tonight, folks." The old Tank says. "How do you like 'em? Breaded and battered? Minced into fingers? Sushi cut?"
    "... I miss sushi." She decides after a beat before laying into the fishfolk with her flaming blade.

More monsters are coming and things out of a horror manga are now on the beach. Erufu will just start shooting them, she keeps firing them. Arrow after arrow is let fly. It does show Erufu does seem to know her stuff with archery. She keeps moving though and is leaping about when it comes down to it.

"Don't stop! They can't last forever."

Vertina did this Duty once already, and it doesn't appear to be changing in its progression. Which is fine, because she knows what to do when the fishmen arrive on the beach when the water is receeding.

"Alright you jerks." Vertina has already started to form a rather large ball of pyrokinetic energy. "Time for you to pay for disrupting the beach party!" Vertina tosses the fireball high into the air. Then just as it peaks and starts to fall back to the ground, she leaps up towards it, winding up with one arm.

"RAGNAROK SPIKE!"

And hammers the fireball back towards the beach and crashing into the fishmen below!

    "Butter and lemon ," Rizadoman says in response as he looks at the fish people, " I summon the ancient fire of my dragon ancestor." He raises his claw hand up into the air and ?nothing . It would appear his prayers have gone unanswered. However it seems others have brought the fire. Fireballs rain from the heavens, Amalthea in the thick of it with her white hot sword. The arrows of Erufu striking any cowards trying to escape. Again victory seems assured.
    As if to remind the adventurers it wasn't over yet a lone straggler seems to make it to the sea, before it is flung back on to land. Moments later a large bulbous creature rises out of the sea, a giant angry octopus looking at the adventurers as it's legs begin to thrash about trying to catch the adventurers.

It's big, it has tentacles there isn't much conscious thought the elf just speeds the hell up and starts weaving through the attacks of the massive hulking monster.

"What kind of twisted gods made something like this!"

She laments between arrow shots at it, then something dawns on her.

"Wait I bet if we kill it we can eat it!"

Suddenly she is far more motivated to act and she keeps bouncing about. She'll fire a shot, then move and keep coming at one point she's running up one of the creature's tentacles... and shoots it in the face.

    Handling a mob of angry fish men is one thing.
    A giant octopus that washes upo on shore is... Something else entirely.
    "..."
    Amalthea stands there for a beat just staring.
    "This is like something out of an anime beach episode." She says flatly before raising her blazing sword.
    "Looks like takoyaki is on the menu tonight, folks." delcared as she holds her shield aloft and taunts, body coming to life with a blazing glow.

    "ANCHOR HOWL!"

Vertina feels better after violently fireball spiking the obnoxious fish men. But of course there's still the giant octopus to deal with. So she amps herself up with some wind essense, and runs back and forth amongst the tentacles. It sort of works, but the Megactopus catchs on at the end, and slams a tentacle down on each side to trap the speedy Salamander. "Uh oh. Um.." Then it tries to slam one down on top of her.... only to yank it back with a pained cry as an arrow is shot through it, giving Vertina a chance to dash the hell out of there. "Nice shooting!" she calls back to the elf in appreciation.

Erufu gets her wish at this, as she sees the drop and the smile on her face could melt a glacier she's that happy at this as the last of the monsters finally fall. She looks over to Vertina for a moment grinning.

"It's what I do it's right in my name!"

She gives a V sign at this.

"We need to find a cook and have a feast!"

    The octopus turns to the tank of the group and begins to pound against the shield of Amalthea. Rizadoman looks at the creature and charges forward, if his prayers were going to be ignored then so be it. He would take it by hand. However it seems his prayers was heard just took a moment, as a large fire ball rains down on the creature.
    With the adventurers slaying the beast, from somewhere an army of landers appear. Each one trying to run out and take the octopus meat before it disappears and like a million fire ants they truly go to town on it working quickly taking the meat and forming into a giant assembly line and at the end , wonderful festival Takoyaki for all. Free of charge.

Vertina laughs, partially at Amalthea's remark about takoyaki earlier. "Told you the reward was worth it!"

    With the octopus handled, Amalthea stabs the tip of her sword into the sand and lets out a slow breath.
    "... I mean it. I want me some takoyaki."
    Oh man she's eying the dying octopus with fire in her eyes.

Erufu looks to Rizadoman for a moment with a grin.

"Going to try yours with some cheese?"

    The lizard man grins and gestures towards the line making Takoyaki, "That sounds like a marvelous idea. Let us fetch our reward." With that he would accompany the elven lady to get their takoyaki, and just perhaps try it with cheese.