White Iron - The Reaper Corps

[Channelknight Fadran]

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I suppose we can spare another monster.

Kaeni was the first to step into the purple crystalline surface, pulling herself up by a vein of granite onto the thorn-like stones. They glistened a little in the moonlight, showing off the millions of tiny grooves and points that would be gnawing at their footsteps for the next... while, it seemed. It was steep and uneven enough that she found herself grabbing at handholds with each step; half-walking, half-climbing her way forwards. More than once the footing broke or slid out from under her, her grip on the branches of stone acting as the only savior between herself and a long, painful tumble down the spikes of amethyst. A fall from here wouldn't be lethal.

Not yet.

"I don't... suppose... you guys..." She heaved herself up a ledge, already covered in glistening amber-like sweat, "brought any rope?"

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

22 hours ago, Ookla the Perpetual said:

Avi followed Il'anque until they reached a cliff that marked the start of the Second Layer. It was a short climb for this first small stretch, but it would be difficult to reach the Third Layer. And Avi didn't even want to think of what she had to do at that point.

She grabbed a crystal jutting from the small cliff and began to climb.

Best save magical forms of ascension for when I actually need it...

@Ookla the Frustrated.

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Yay! I get to roleplay one of my interests! 

Sorry about all of the climbing lingo.

Il'anque looked at the crystals jutting out from the cliff. There was a crack running up the rock face. That'll do, thought Il'anque. She grabbed the crack, and put one of her feet on the crystals. She quickly used the trad to get up to an area without many good footholds.

Now came the tricky part. She grabbed a crystal, and heelhooked the trad to reach over to a different crystal. She put her feet on a small ripple in the rock, and used it to hoist herself up. After that, it was trivial to ascend the rest of the cliff.

There would be more to come, but this was a good start.

@Ookla the Frustrated.

[Szeth Pancakes he/they]

1 hour ago, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

Kaeni was the first to step into the purple crystalline surface, pulling herself up by a vein of granite onto the thorn-like stones. They glistened a little in the moonlight, showing off the millions of tiny grooves and points that would be gnawing at their footsteps for the next... while, it seemed. It was steep and uneven enough that she found herself grabbing at handholds with each step; half-walking, half-climbing her way forwards. More than once the footing broke or slid out from under her, her grip on the branches of stone acting as the only savior between herself and a long, painful tumble down the spikes of amethyst. A fall from here wouldn't be lethal.

Not yet.

"I don't... suppose... you guys..." She heaved herself up a ledge, already covered in glistening amber-like sweat, "brought any rope?"

“You… didn’t…?” I’ikeq asked, aghast. They were climbing a mountain, for the Gods’ sakes. He heaved himself up, procured a length of rope from a pouch on his belt, and handed it to Kaeni.

[Channelknight Fadran]

30 minutes ago, Ookla the Nerdy said:

Il'anque looked at the crystals jutting out from the cliff. There was a crack running up the rock face. That'll do, thought Il'anque. She grabbed the crack, and put one of her feet on the crystals. She quickly used the trad to get up to an area without many good footholds.

Now came the tricky part. She grabbed a crystal, and heelhooked the trad to reach over to a different crystal. She put her feet on a small ripple in the rock, and used it to hoist herself up. After that, it was trivial to ascend the rest of the cliff.

There would be more to come, but this was a good start.

@Ookla the Frustrated.

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My guy

...

what?

 

12 minutes ago, Ookla the Omniscient said:

“You… didn’t…?” I’ikeq asked, aghast. They were climbing a mountain, for the Gods’ sakes. He heaved himself up, procured a length of rope from a pouch on his belt, and handed it to Kaeni.

"We don't need it right now."

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

1 minute ago, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

My guy

...

what?

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_climbing_terms

Although 'Trad' can also mean a route that involves using a long vertical crack in the rock.

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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I know that those words mean things. But you can't just toss them out there and expect us to understand a word you say.

 

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

Just now, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

I know that those words mean things. But you can't just toss them out there and expect us to understand a word you say.

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Yeah, I know. Hence, the wikipedia article!

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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And then I look up the word definitions

and nothing is clarified!

Like, you could've said anything other than "trad" and it still would've made as much sense as you did there

 

[Szeth Pancakes he/they]

16 minutes ago, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

"We don't need it right now."

“Maybe you don’t, but I personally don’t want to fall and crack my head open on those rocks.” He glanced down meaningfully at where E;la, Ra’nat, and Mercury were still climbing.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Ookla the Omniscient

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

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I don't know.

I mean, I climb as a hobby. I use terms like that all the time. I joke about dynos on a slab, I want beta for that V2, and I have trouble heelhooking that crimp.

When I roleplay climbing, I want to do it well. And I guess I get caught up in doing it, and forget that no one knows what in damnation I'm talking about.

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Omniscient said:

“Maybe you don’t, but I personally don’t want to fall and crack my head open on those rocks.” He glanced down meaningfully at where E;la, Ra’nat, and Mercury were still climbing.

"We'll need it later. Up by the top."

1 minute ago, Ookla the Nerdy said:

 

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Well...

I mean, it's just an RP post. We're both just goofing off, right?

Right?

...right?

 

[Szeth Pancakes he/they]

16 minutes ago, Ookla the [Redacted] said:

 

18 minutes ago, Ookla the Nerdy said:

 

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You both have good points. Since nothing banks on other people understanding exactly what Nerdy means, I think it’s okay if they rp accurate climbing. But, like, maybe specify it next time for us unenlightened folks.

Edit:

“I can use my water to get it back when we use it,” said I’ikeq. “It’s pretty versatile.”

Edited December 18, 2022 by Ookla the Omniscient

[The Bookwyrm he/him]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Nerdy said:

Il'anque looked at the crystals jutting out from the cliff. There was a crack running up the rock face. That'll do, thought Il'anque. She grabbed the crack, and put one of her feet on the crystals. She quickly used the trad to get up to an area without many good footholds.

Now came the tricky part. She grabbed a crystal, and heelhooked the trad to reach over to a different crystal. She put her feet on a small ripple in the rock, and used it to hoist herself up. After that, it was trivial to ascend the rest of the cliff.

There would be more to come, but this was a good start.

@Ookla the Frustrated.

Avi watched as Il'anque utilized the cliff face to quickly climb up past her own position.

How did she...what?

Avi attempted to follow Il'anque's path, but struggled. By the time she reached the top of the cliff and back onto flat ground, she was gasping for breath.

"Where'd you learn to climb like that?" she asked.

@Ookla the Frustrated.

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

8 minutes ago, Ookla the Perpetual said:

Avi watched as Il'anque utilized the cliff face to quickly climb up past her own position.

How did she...what?

Avi attempted to follow Il'anque's path, but struggled. By the time she reached the top of the cliff and back onto flat ground, she was gasping for breath.

"Where'd you learn to climb like that?" she asked.

@Ookla the Frustrated.

Il'anque continued on the path. Avi was asking a good question. When Il'anque climbed, or used magic, or even hiked, it just felt... right. Not an acquired skill, but simply part of who she was.

"Huh. I honestly... don't know. It's just natural, I suppose. I have had a lot of practice, though."

[Channelknight Fadran]

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I need to pick a monster...

 

[Frustration]

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You guys don't need to @ me every post.

Isek drove the metal spikes on the end of his hands and feet into the rock, careful to always have three points of contact. Even that worried him, and more than once he felt the spikes bend. There were some downsides to having a metal body.

[Channelknight Fadran]

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New kids always quote and @. It happens.

 

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

31 minutes ago, Ookla the Frustrated. said:

Isek drove the metal spikes on the end of his hands and feet into the rock, careful to always have three points of contact. Even that worried him, and more than once he felt the spikes bend. There were some downsides to having a metal body.

Once Isek had made it up to the top, Il'anque continued on.

The next climb was a slab route: it essentially was a very steep hill. Il'anque found an area where meltwater from higher up the Inverted Mountain had flowed. This eroded the rock, and made great handholds. Il'anque used that, and a few underclings (ledges which you grip with your palm facing upwards) to offer support, Il'anque climbed the slope.

@Ookla the Perpetual

[Frustration]

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It would probably be best if we did some character interaction, allow the others to catch up.

 

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

2 minutes ago, Ookla the Frustrated. said:

 

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Sure. You want to start the conversation?

 

[Frustration]

"Why did you skin those animals back there?" Isek asked.

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

"Well, lots of monsters are really specialized. The pelts that we took can be used to make invisibility cloaks. When alive, the monsters have a natural way to get Ethereum to power their abilities, but when dead, the powers cease to function. So, if you take the pelts and give them Ethereum, then bam! You have invisibility at your fingertips."

[Frustration]

"You seem to know a lot about this," Isek said, silently berating himself. He would probably know that if he paid more attention. This was exactly the sort of thing his father told him to work on.

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

"Kinda. I honestly have no idea why I know this stuff. I learned a lot of it from my parents, but it just seems to come to me naturally, even if I never learnt it. It's honestly a little creepy."

@Ookla the Frustrated. @Ookla the Perpetual

Edited December 18, 2022 by Ookla the Nerdy

[Channelknight Fadran]

A deep rumbling sounded from just over the next ridge, accompanied by...

Clicking.

"The hells is that?" Kaeni said.