Nerdzul

"Gandalf?" Luke tilted his head a little, growling as the man teased him. In truth, despite being a creature of myth himself, he didn't really know much about the whole Lord of the Rings thing. After all, he was too young to appreciate the first series of movies and the second trilogy, well, he had only watched a pirated copy (perhaps Gas Man was at least a tiny bit right about him after all) it half-asleep with Gabriel, his little brother, finding it quite of a slog. "Great... Whatever..." He waited for the man to drop his weapons and then 'gently' tried to catch him with one of his claws. "Don't worry, I am just helping you out of the ship..." He 'reassured' the man. "Maybe we can use the occasion to talk about the cargo though? I mean unless your intention is to keep evading my questions." He let a bit of smoke escape his lips as he carried the man unceremoniously toward Chimera's position. "I mean, it must be worth protecting, if your boss went all the way to hire a renowned mercenary" Yeah ... sure... "Such as yourself."

"Great." Nightscale nodded. At least it didn't look like anyone was seriously hurt. For now. Which was a start. "Oh... He is definitely not gonna stay alone on this ship." The dragon turned to face Gasman. "Now is it enough for me to ask nicely? Or do I have to be a bit more persuasive?" His eyes glowed, a bit more intensely as he faced, the mercenary. He didn't seem a threat, but there was definitely no need to get him out of their sight. For now. "By the way... You must know what's so precious about this ship, don't you? I'd love for you to share it with us on the way and no more semantics about piracy if you can, or gas... definitely none about gas..." He continued in a no-nonsense tone, in truth, this was beginning to sound a bit too weird. He waited for everything to be settled and then unfolded his wings. "I can carry you if you like... but don't even think for a moment that you can ride on my back." He offered the Mercenary a ride... in his claws...

When Gas Man mentioned the idea of Piracy, the young dragon gave him a "don't push your luck" kind of glare. "Machete max?" Luke chuckled as well. "I got a tip too, that Blowfish wanted to blow up the ship..." He would have scratched the hair on the back of his neck, well if he could at least, as a dragon it wasn't as easy as when wearing his human form. "Damn.... This sounds very much like a trap..." He mused. "Can your friend be moved?" Yeah... Beanpole... "It's better if we get off the ship, before it blows up with us on it or somethin'" Now himself, he could probably tank an explosion, albeit perhaps one of limited power, he could not guarantee for everyone else present though. "Fast... Then we can try to figure this out properly..." Maybe we can also find that scumbag. Blowfish... In truth the young dragon was eager to ask him a few questions as well.

Luke winced as he saw the carcass that much likely used to be someone else beloved pet. Poor guy... There was little they could do about that though, except catch the killer of course. This was old though... hours perhaps, weird... He would have expected their quarry to have killed to sate their thirst for blood on the way maybe, but not hours before. There was... Something else. Then it got him. There was something important around here. Perhaps the creature lair or something, besides, all of the clearing seemed... Well... too neatly organized. Like if the trash that littered it had been there on purpose. "Found you..." He muttered. Now hopefully they still had the element of surpr-- -ise... Luke's heart skipped a beat. Well, perhaps they would have to do without it. Although... Maybe the killer will be to focused on Aquaria to care about him. Plus, honestly speaking, they must have been expecting them anyway. Oh well... Luke walked in the clearing, his senses on high alert and walked toward the place where he suspected there was something hidden under the foliage and trash and began inspecting it more thoroughly. "I think they might be hidden down here..." He sent another message to Diamondlight and Aquaria.

Luke had started their competition with a cocky grin on his lips, but it didn't take much for it to drop from the nineteen years old face. Damn! This guy was freaking strong, at first, just enough to match Luke human strength, that in truth, already wasn't exactly an easy feat, thanks to the dragon-boy intense training. That, of course, hadn't been enough to worry him, but even when Luke pushed himself further than what any normal person would, the fellow didn't seem to relent. Quite the opposite indeed. It was Luke's turn to sweat as well as slowly, although not without effort, the biker boss started to push his hand down. Luke couldn't believe it, at least until he could finally feel the surface of the table brushing against his hand. "F*ck... How..." Golden light flashed in Luke's eyes when the man collected his prize The boy closed his fists, but the biker interrupted him. "There would be no need of that." The grin on his lips showed a playful warmth that wasn't there long before. "I call myself satisfied about the outcome of this little challenge..." He continued, his gaze however met with Luke's and Leon in turn, like if to quietly say them that he knew that something was off with them. "Your friend wasn't lying... that was... really cathartic... you should try sometimes boy..." The grizzled biker grinned and then gave Luke a strong pat on the back. "And it was entertaining enough, that I don't feel like kicking your assess out either..." The huge man continued, his gaze shifting back to Leon. "No offense taken, I hope?" "In fact, sharing a pint might be in order..." He called for the waitress, with a friendly, yet booming, voice, quickly sorting an order for his whole crew. "Get one on me too boys..." He offered. "No alcohol though... I got a feeling that you two might not be of age." The man smirked. OOC - I haven't decided much about what else to do with the bikers, although for why this guy is as strong as Luke, I was thinking he could be an actual minotaur in disguise (I have a band of minotaur bikers in one of my games I thought it would be fun having them make a cameo. If you got any idea about where to go next, go ahead

"Fair enough... you behave and I'll ignore that I haven't had dinner yet..." He grinned, using the occasion again to show his fangs. Gas Man? He shook his head. "Ook..." He replied. "Nah... Why I am here, is my own business. But I can say I did not expect mercenaries. But perhaps you can illuminate me about the reason?" "And you?" He turned toward Chimera. "Are you working for Blowfish?"

Notice Luke can Skill mastery the notice check. As for Survival woah a surprising 22

Blood it is then. Luke nodded and preceded the two fellow heroes toward the dirt path, he tried his best to stay quiet, but he could not avoid chuckling faintly at Aquaria's offer of protection. Come on where are you? Admittedly, this would have been an ideal beginning of an horror movie wouldn't it? A fellow running alone through an off-beaten path in park, a murderer on the loose. While himself, he was far from defenseless, the teenage dragon still realized that he was feeling at least a bit on edge as he followed his quarry...

"Not without also tossing you two from the ship..." Nightscale shook his head, perhaps the wind from his wings could disperse the smoke, but somehow he didn't believe that the guy that the young shapeshifter had just rescued would enjoy it. "By the way... you... You feel familiar you know?" Yep, they have met hadn't they? Luke landed on the deck, using his wings to improve his balance and hopefully not shatter the hull of the ship with the far from insignificant weight of a bus-sized lizard. When he heard the click the young dragon positioned himself to cut the path between the Mercenary and the place where Chimera and the wounded mobster were laying in wait. "No definitely I'm not working for him... And what about you? My bet is... People don't hire mercenaries to guard a ship if there isn't something interesting about the cargo..." Yep, it was worth investigating for sure. He wondered if his hacker 'friend' knew about it. We are definitely gonna have a chat after this is over... "Well, you are still in time to not get eaten... For now..." The dragon grinned. "I'm gettin' pretty hungry, though."

Nightscale 13 Posts Golden Dead 6 Let the body hit the ground 5 Paper Trail to the city of sin 2

Nightscale grinned as he inspected the scene, with most goons running away it would hopefully be easier preventing the ship from blowing up. Although, there was some remaining holdouts, a couple of guys that didn't get the message, apparently, he did not expect that they would stay for long. He swooped in closer to the scene, giving the remaining mercenaries a clear sign that he was coming from them and again letting the glow off his internal flames escape from his lips for show. "Haven't given up already?" He grinned. "Beanpole?" Now if the guy hadn't just been shot, the teenage dragon would have proably teased the gangster with the origin of that nickname. Given the situation though, however, he restrained himself. "Need a hand?" He offered to the two figures. Now, he wasn't exactly certain if Chimera was still an enemy, in truth, but he was definitely not gonna let a guy bleed out on his watch. Even someone working for Blowfish.

Luke followed the trails until they split. "Damn..." This would make things way harder wouldn't it. Whatever, he had no way of splitting up himself, but he could try and communicate with his fellow heroes. Unfortunately he hadn't thought about getting a communicator or something, but that didn't mean that he could not try. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the position of his Aquaria and Diamondlight, conjuring an illusion of his voice. "They split up. Going after blood guy, dirt path down the way. Flesh fellow is gonna through that paved path..." He reported, shaping his illusion to include faint arrow pointing toward the position of his quarries, hopefully, visible enough for the two veteran heroes to see, but still going unnoticed to the people he was pursuing. Now, admittedly, going alone in an off-beaten path at night in a park, trailing a monster, wasn't perhaps the smartest of plans, but well... He didn't have a better one, for now.

Laughter escaped Luke's lips as Sea Devil did her very best in distracting the crowd. Yep. No one was gonna miss that. "Thank you man." Luke smiled enthusiastically as he saw the image surround him. He darted toward the source of the unnatural craving, blood. Yeah... Let's start with that.

Luke is trying to use his terrorizing roar to stop the gangsters from fighting. It is an area Emotion Control 9 - Fear, sense dependent on hearing.

At least she was no longer literally on his back, although the events that succeeded his aerial maneuver definitely left the young dragon with a puzzled expression. "Nah you got this back-wards, it Blowfish that is here to blow up the ship? You workin' for him?" He replied, as his golden gaze shifted toward Chimera again, unwilling to let her be out of sight. "You're some kind of shapeshifter or somethin?" He tossed, after he saw her grow some kind of tail. The sound of gunfire, however, reminded him quickly that there was little time to chit-chat with his opponent. He turned toward the vessel finding it engulfed in some kind of filthy smoke the acre scent quickly assaulted his nostrils. "Damn." This... was gonna complicate things. People firing randomly, bombs, yeah an explosive mix. Now, those people were gangsters and yet... The Soutshide Dragon was responsible for their lives as well... Perhaps... He flew above the ship and inhaled deeply, before breaking into a powerful roar. The call of a primordial predator, of the kind imprinted within the deepest instincts of all creatures that had at any time been preys during their long path to evolution.

Luke grinned at Leon's suggested challenge. "Yeah, I mean, unless you are just a bunch of sissies..." He teased, eliciting a chorus of threatening grumbles from the small crowd of bikers. "Oh definitely." Luke smirked playfully. "And why would we accept? I mean, we don't need a freakin' authorization to punch those smile off you boys..." "It's a deal..." A voice from the back of the room interrupted the conversation. One of the biker, that had remained silent during the whole ordeal. A beast of a man, he towered over his comrades and was a head taller than the two teens, powerfully built, his skin was like tanned leather and adorned by a complex collection of labyrinthine tattoos. "As... Of course boss." The man who had challenged the two teenage heroes grinned as their leader calmly walked toward the boys confidently. His gaze shifted to Luke, who suddenly found himself much less secure in his upcoming triumph. OOC - Hehe if you want to decide how the competition between Luke and the guy ends go ahead perhaps Leon cheats a little to help Luke? Or does he do the honorable thing and sees what happens?

He will go for the scent of blood, for a start

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" This, wasn't very 'scary dragon' wasn't it? Whatever, the flying, sparkly woman had managed to him off-guard, landing on his back and channeling a stream of electricity into his hide. Fortunately though, it was tough enough and most of the energy dispersed. He felt dizzy, but otherwise ok. He shook his head, trying to shrug off the unpleasant sensation. "Hey get off my back... I don't have time for this." He added, as he did a barrel roll, trying to push the unwanted passenger away. Although he was far from a graceful creature in the sky, he was still in his element after all. "There are a bunch of gangsters with freakin' bombs on that ship." He added, unsure however if the words had managed to reach his attacker during the confusion.

OOC: Nightscale will go for the source that his friends suggest him to go for. Does he have to roll to follow one of them? If it's enough, he has Notice at 20 with Skill Mastery.

"No problem man..." Luke rubbed his eyes as reality went back in focus. He... needed to be ready for stuff like that. Yep. Lesson learned. "It's a kind of magic." He grinned. "Dunno... felt like crazy to me and you don't f..." He did not finish the sentence, but well... "It's... well there are two of them I think. I can try to track one, which one you think? Flesh or Blood?" Not exactly an exciting prospect either way. "I think they are roughly ...." He went on describing where he expected their quarry to be. "Can you guys cut their way out? As I go sniffing around?" Unfortunately, even if Aquaria herself had enhanced senses, as far as he knew. There was no real way for him to properly communicate the peculiar scent of hunger. "Unless you can read my mind or something?" He wondered out loud. You never know with supers, right? Especially when dealing with frog-fish lovecraftian aliens... "Oh and... Can you like... hide me out with some like... light shenanigan as I try to get them?" When it was all settled, the young man darted back into the crowd, following the source of the scent.

29 A well spent 20 I see hehe...

Luke chuckled when Aquaria mentioned his abilities in her own way. He resisted the impulse to make a very juvenile joke about the sentence (a task that, given his age, took all of his willpower) and instead replied with an "Yeah... pretty big indeed." He nodded, while ruffling the hair on the back of his neck. He lowered his voice however shortly thereafter. "I dunno about other dimensions, or times..." Although, he had learned that it was not actually impossible for a villain to hide in another time altogether. "But... do you see anything out of the ordinary?" He asked. "I well... I don't exactly, but there is someone with very special craving here... I mean... Flesh and Blood..." He couldn't pinpoint them exactly, for now. But perhaps he could try following the scent. "They are in the crowd, but not close to us, I think... Might escape if everyone scatters away." "Plus there was a strange woman, staring at the scene, a few minutes ago. Maybe she was just curious, but she vanished when I went toward her..." "Woah woah woah." Luke rubbed his eyes after Diamondlight display, having adapted to the darkness, the shift, was dazzling to say the least.

"Max? Noh... I dunn-" It was again Luke's turn to be taken aback. "I mean... no one summoned me. Nor I know this person you are talking about." He growled back. That was... weird? Definitely there was something he did not understand going on around there. If Eye had set me up I'm gonna freakin' eat him... Well. Much likely not. Eating people was a big no (plus... pretty yucky) But that would have definitely been tempting. "Put me down eh? We should see about that..." He exhaled a small puff of flames, to better state the point. Nightscale glance briefly shifted toward the men on the bridge of the vessel. Now they didn't look exactly like innocent sailors didn't they? "Avoid doing anything you would regret down there..." He growled. "I will be back with you in a minute-" OOC- Nightscale would be kinda distracted for a moment by the people on the ship if Chimera wants to use it as an opening.

"Really smooth..." Luke teased his friend beneath his breath... Unsurprisingly perhaps Leon bravado didn't exactly help in defusing the situation. "Look there are two cubs..." The man chuckled. "And both feel like they are in dire need of a lesson..." The other bikers all stood up from their chairs. When Lacey tried to intervene, Luke 'reassured' her with a "No need. I bet you we are not gonna be the one getting lectured here..." Which the bikers replied to with a chorus of colorful expletives as the waitress rolled her eyes and retreated toward the counter. As the men surrounded the two boys any hope of resolving the issue outside also evaporated...

Nightscale winced. "Terrorizing. No I..." He replied, more than a hint of surprise in his voice. Well... admittedly it was not like a dragon was the most reassuring of sight, that he would have to admit it. It took him a short while to recover his composure, but then he continued. "On the contrary. I am guarding this place." He objected, his tones shifted again to the more threatening 'big dragon' speak. "Do you think I'd allow anyone, to blow things up on my watch?" He growled again as his gaze shifted briefly toward the vessel, although the flying woman appeared to be the biggest threat at the moment, he wasn't gonna allow two goons with bagful of explosives being out of his mind for too long.