07-11-2018, 01:14 AM
Vimes watched from the edge of the floating island, palms itching with urge to chase after the perp himself. If he was smart he would’ve been so much less committed to his job. Officers never got to get their hands dirty in the same way as the average patrolman. Not that he had the ability to get out there right now, mind you, but the thief should never have gotten this far in the first place.
Without any better options, the perp had leapt from the shattering marble chunk to the back of the nearest gryphon, and was now grappling with the half-elf rider while the beast flailed about uncertainly. It was an unfortunately clever stratagem, Vimes realized, as the other two riders couldn’t get a clear shot on the thief without risk of hitting their comrade instead. The gryphon rider and his hitchhiker spiraled through the empty air, the startled beast trying its utmost to be free of the unexpected guest.
Then the Dragon swept in again. The fifteen-foot behemoth smashed into the gryphon with a predatory speed, taking the increasingly tangled collision sideways. Vimes still didn’t know who was in control of the thing, there was someone in control of it right? Vimes grabbed that same dwarf again, and pointed at the confused mass the roiled in the air.
“What’s the plan there, eh? You can’t just throw dragons at our own men in the line of duty!” the dwarf shrank back, stammering out a reply.
“That might be a drake actually, it’s a bit on the small side for a proper dragon and…” here he trailed off, wilting further under the desert sun that was Vimes’ glare, “…and it’s a tossup whether we still have control over it at this point. They’re more of a ‘let it loose and pick up the pieces’ kind of thing…”
“Pick up the pieces…” Vimes repeated this last bit, still withering the poor dwarf with his growing rage. The Guard captain turned away abruptly, lifting a long metal whistle to his lips. He blew hard into it, though no sound emitted from the other end. With the deftness of a man on a mission, Vimes grabbed the discarded maxiphone, and with only the slightest sigh, pulled its ripcord again.
“ALL GRYPHON RIDERS GET DISTANCE ON THE DRAGON!” came his voice from the emerging steam cloud. The two unburdened gryphons wheeled away, as a small shine became visible in the distance, a trail of dark smoke following behind its path. The dragon* looked up just in time for a three-foot bullet of a swamp dragon to shoot directly past it. The ensuing shockwave rattled windows, and made Vimes step back involuntarily, but at close range it was devastating, blasting apart the jumble of aerial creatures and riders.
Vimes cursed as the half-elf was knocked free of his saddle, and started to freefall, his companions diving after him in a desperate bid. Errol would take a few moments to slow down enough to make another pass at the dragon, but the beast seemed to have been stunned. It sailed in a lazy circle away from the city, probably trying to clear its head. Where was the thief? Vimes’ eyes rolled skyward as he spotted the cybernetic suit, dangling by a trapped foot from the startled gryphon’s saddle. The beast was bolting now, riderless and perhaps more pressingly a victim of a surprise dragon mauling, it was clearly just trying to get away from the situation. And taking the thief with it. Vimes punched the nearest wall, then blew his whistle again.
“Go get ‘em, Errol!” he muttered.
The alarms finally shook Demetri out of his daze as IRIS continued to repeat her questioning of his status.
“I’m fine?” he slurred, his ears still ringing from whatever that had been, “Woah, IRIS, when did I get on the gryphon?” the thief asked in alarm as he looked down at the reins in his hands.
I had some limited motor function still in this form creator, and I was unsure of your responsiveness… the AI almost sounded sheepish. Demetri shook his head.
“It’s fine, it’s… hey! Did we get away?” Demetri said with surprise looking behind him as he noticed the floating island was growing steadily smaller.
I think we might have Creator, although I don’t know if- PROXIMITY WARNING! Demetri yanked the reins to the side, and the startled gryphon wheeled sideways as a foul-smelling scaled beast shot past them.
“Is it… is it farting to fly?” Demetri asked, as a clear jet of flame was protruding from the dragon’s rear, trailing a black line through the sky as the beast arced around for another drive-by.
*though it was correctly a drake, if such things are of importance to your story.
Without any better options, the perp had leapt from the shattering marble chunk to the back of the nearest gryphon, and was now grappling with the half-elf rider while the beast flailed about uncertainly. It was an unfortunately clever stratagem, Vimes realized, as the other two riders couldn’t get a clear shot on the thief without risk of hitting their comrade instead. The gryphon rider and his hitchhiker spiraled through the empty air, the startled beast trying its utmost to be free of the unexpected guest.
Then the Dragon swept in again. The fifteen-foot behemoth smashed into the gryphon with a predatory speed, taking the increasingly tangled collision sideways. Vimes still didn’t know who was in control of the thing, there was someone in control of it right? Vimes grabbed that same dwarf again, and pointed at the confused mass the roiled in the air.
“What’s the plan there, eh? You can’t just throw dragons at our own men in the line of duty!” the dwarf shrank back, stammering out a reply.
“That might be a drake actually, it’s a bit on the small side for a proper dragon and…” here he trailed off, wilting further under the desert sun that was Vimes’ glare, “…and it’s a tossup whether we still have control over it at this point. They’re more of a ‘let it loose and pick up the pieces’ kind of thing…”
“Pick up the pieces…” Vimes repeated this last bit, still withering the poor dwarf with his growing rage. The Guard captain turned away abruptly, lifting a long metal whistle to his lips. He blew hard into it, though no sound emitted from the other end. With the deftness of a man on a mission, Vimes grabbed the discarded maxiphone, and with only the slightest sigh, pulled its ripcord again.
“ALL GRYPHON RIDERS GET DISTANCE ON THE DRAGON!” came his voice from the emerging steam cloud. The two unburdened gryphons wheeled away, as a small shine became visible in the distance, a trail of dark smoke following behind its path. The dragon* looked up just in time for a three-foot bullet of a swamp dragon to shoot directly past it. The ensuing shockwave rattled windows, and made Vimes step back involuntarily, but at close range it was devastating, blasting apart the jumble of aerial creatures and riders.
Vimes cursed as the half-elf was knocked free of his saddle, and started to freefall, his companions diving after him in a desperate bid. Errol would take a few moments to slow down enough to make another pass at the dragon, but the beast seemed to have been stunned. It sailed in a lazy circle away from the city, probably trying to clear its head. Where was the thief? Vimes’ eyes rolled skyward as he spotted the cybernetic suit, dangling by a trapped foot from the startled gryphon’s saddle. The beast was bolting now, riderless and perhaps more pressingly a victim of a surprise dragon mauling, it was clearly just trying to get away from the situation. And taking the thief with it. Vimes punched the nearest wall, then blew his whistle again.
“Go get ‘em, Errol!” he muttered.
---
The alarms finally shook Demetri out of his daze as IRIS continued to repeat her questioning of his status.
“I’m fine?” he slurred, his ears still ringing from whatever that had been, “Woah, IRIS, when did I get on the gryphon?” the thief asked in alarm as he looked down at the reins in his hands.
I had some limited motor function still in this form creator, and I was unsure of your responsiveness… the AI almost sounded sheepish. Demetri shook his head.
“It’s fine, it’s… hey! Did we get away?” Demetri said with surprise looking behind him as he noticed the floating island was growing steadily smaller.
I think we might have Creator, although I don’t know if- PROXIMITY WARNING! Demetri yanked the reins to the side, and the startled gryphon wheeled sideways as a foul-smelling scaled beast shot past them.
“Is it… is it farting to fly?” Demetri asked, as a clear jet of flame was protruding from the dragon’s rear, trailing a black line through the sky as the beast arced around for another drive-by.
*though it was correctly a drake, if such things are of importance to your story.
Quote:Alright, you’re away from most of Camelot PD, but Vimes has sent his pet swamp dragon Errol Goodbody of Flynn after you. I’ll PM you with some details about what to expect from this encounter.