[center][h2][color=bc8dbf]Ramattra[/color], [color=salmon]Ace Cadet[/color], & [color=FF5349]Tenna[/color][/h2]Word Count: 2353 (+3 exp)[/center]

Following the small caravan behind the stagecoach that now made up White Team, Ramattra gazed at the beautiful plateaus that made up the frozen pool before him, and the assortment of territories and ominous threats that awaited him. Between leaving Gründachdorf and arriving at the jagged terrain before him that denied any ordinary physics of nature, Ramattra had sat down with the now inconsolable Television set, who introduced himself to the Omnic as “Mr. (ant)Tenna” and explained the unordinary nature of the World of Light after having been pacified and freed from Galeem’s Gleaming by Sectonia’s Friend Heart. 

The CRT, while dazed and confused from the sudden rip of reality that brought his consciousness to this new world, was easily brought back into spirits at the promise of fitting in with the rest of the team for… “entertainment”. Ramattra was not entirely pleased with the idea of carrying a jester aboard the team of such a larger-than-self cause, but Tenna at least seemed to have enough motivation to carry on, and as far as the Omnic was concerned, getting him to his goal of “fame” somewhere in Galeem’s world meant getting rid of this now increasingly annoying ally faster. 

Once the group had taken the risk to pass through the ominous barrier that made up the middle of the frosted waterways, Ramattra and Tenna alike were hit with a sudden, unpleasant hazing of their mental well-being. The oddball duo was able to shake this horrible feeling away, but with the dangerous task ahead, their minds being in the right place was of utmost importance. Ramattra particularly advised against crossing one of these barriers in the path they were forging ahead in the future; however, there was a mutual understanding that crossing through the Loathing again might be a necessary risk for the crew to take.

The group stopped in the midst of the plateaus, adjacent to an ore settlement nearby that other members of the group may wish to harvest. When the world is a bunch of worlds smashed together, you never know what might come in handy. Though now that the Seekers stood between the Loathing, a nearby nest of large serpentine monsters, and a faction dispute, there was little option but to make a pathway forward. Ramattra, while capable of leading an effort to take the creatures down, knew the group was pressed for time and that the longer they wandered, the more dangerous the rest of their travels would prove to be. 

For the time being, it was best to let the Stagecoach continue forward without obstruction, and Ramattra, after reconnoitering what he had scoped out to Sandaphlon about the two large sleeping serpents, had been advised to create a distraction to allow the Stagecoach to continue on. The only issue with that plan, however, was the intelligence these creatures seemed to possess, and would absolutely not allow the Seekers to pass without a fight. Through word of mouth, this line of communication led Ramattra to seek the aid of the member in the group, hailed as “The Ace Cadet”, who was a professional monster hunter and one of the humans Ramattra fought alongside during their battle with the Puppetmaster Markiona. 

Ace would feel a stern and steeling - yet reassuring grasp clutch his shoulder as the Omnic spoke to him in a level, robotic voice. [color=bc8dbf] “Human… The path ahead homes two large serpentine creatures. I have been informed you are… quite the expert in this domain? We certainly have the numbers and firepower to take them down, but we are quite strapped for time.”[/color]

Completely unfazed at being called by his race, the hunter turned his head from where he'd been studying the now sleeping leviathans to give Ramattra a wide, almost cocky grin. [color=salmon]"They don't call me 'Ace' for nothing!"[/color] he said, before nodding at the Omnic's later sentence. 

After returning to the group with Ganondorf and Tenna (who Ace had given a sympathetic pat on the back to when he'd realized both that the strange man was recently destoried and that he was having a hard time of it) just as the coach was blazing a new path towards a small village, the Cadet had been content to simply travel and help out in little ways wherever he could - and it was around then that he'd informed Geralt that the icy orb he was inquiring about looked sort of like an element-producing organ. The Cadet had also taken the time to, finally, sample some of the stagecoach's stew, though not to his fill. For one, even if it replenished itself the rate at which is seemed to fill was slow, and he didn't want to drain the whole thing like he could. For two... well, the pot itself was rather off-putting. Not to mention there was the question of [i]how[/i] it refilled itself.

The stew did taste good, at least.

And after leaving the town of Gründachdorf where Ace had struck out in looking for a replacement wheel for the Seekers' mobile base (what they needed simply too large for any ready-made ones to be available, and making a new one would take too long) and the group had picked up two more travelers, it was much the same for the Cadet, just listening to Adam and Eve's explanations and trying to enjoy the ride. Up until the carriage began to maneuver through the ice and salt swamp that is, and then (following it passing a small wall of ghostly fire, which Ace had protested, though his preferred "straight through" route by feuding monsters and into a dark cave was not an attractive one. He really, really hoped that awful feeling of dread actually was an illusion like Edward stated.) he'd hopped off to walk alongside the coach instead. Just in case, they should be ready to act at a moment's notice, and his armor skills prevented the shallow water's frigid cold from seeping into the hunter.

Which brought them all to here, awkwardly parked half in a narrow space between two huge sheets of ice and half in a larger tundra bordering the lake, with two mermaid-like wyverns whose soporific ambush had been handily foiled. For the moment. They would definitely wake the monsters by moving the entire caravan through the space, and dealing with a chase - or worse, risking damage to the coach by fighting with it parked next to them - was not ideal. With that in mind, two options presented themselves: slay the creatures as quickly as possible, or draw their attention away so that the carriage could move on... and [i]then[/i] slay them as quickly as possible.

Either way, Ramattra seemed more than ready to take on the challenge. Ace was glad the Omnic had approached him, though he was going to volunteer regardless. The Cadet liked new experiences just fine, but when something like this was within his wheelhouse, there was no way he was going to avoid it. 

Ace shifted his pack so that he could fetch something out of it - a small barrel, not more than a foot in diameter. As he did, he spoke to Ramattra. [color=salmon]"This is really just a guess, but judging by their size and shape... I doubt they're gonna be trying to eat us, unlike that big leviathan earlier. So we're at an advantage if we want to distract 'em! If we're not prey, then we're invaders - and we just have to make ourselves the most dangerous intruders in their territory while the rest of the team moves on."[/color]

Ramattra nodded at the plucky human’s words. It would be simple, really, for the large Omnic and the beast hunter to come up with a worthy distraction to allow the stagecoach to safely cross the den. Whatever Ace was producing from his bag seemed to be the solution to said problem, and rather than lead the assault, Ramattra thought it best to let Ace guide it, since this was in his direct line of expertise… The thought of Monster Hunting being an official profession to Ramattra sounded ridiculous, given the context of his world, but since his recent awakening, he’s had to part with this ignorance quickly. [color=bc8dbf]“I am assuming you have something in mind?”[/color] The omnic asked plainly, examining the miniature barrel in the Hunter’s hand. His first thought was that the Cadet was carrying an explosive, which was definitely a reasonable distraction.

Before Ace even had proper time to respond, a booming voice called for the two from the Stagecoach (thankfully the two sirens didn't wake, though they did stir). It was Tenna, trying to get their attention as he approached from the still vehicle. How Edward managed to get the Reindrix piloting the metal contraption to cooperate with their idling was beyond Ramattra. [color=#FF5349]“Yoohoo! Mr. Ramattra!”[/color] A low sigh escaped the omnic’s mouth-shaped vent, seemingly already at his wits' end with the newest addition to the Seeker’s ranks.

The television set was waving goofily as he approached, joyful to interact with the two members whom he had… “befriended”. Ramattra thought the TV-man was worryingly aloof, while Ace figured he was just one of those types that were hard to keep down, if a little eccentric. Or, a lot eccentric. Nonetheless, he turned a smile the entertainer's way.

[color=bc8dbf]“For the last time, ‘Mr. Ant-Tenna’.” [/color](There was an air of sarcasm in his voice)[color=bc8dbf] “The formality is not necessary. Ramattra will do.”[/color] The TV set did a mildly mocking “stop” gesture with its hand, insisting that the name stuck with the Omnic. Whatever the Omnic told Tenna back before they reached the large plateaus seemed to resonate with him! He turned to Ace cautiously after staring irritably at their acquaintance. [color=bc8dbf]“He was… like this before we freed him, right? [i]All I told him was that we’d drop him off at the next village…[/i]”[/color] It seemed the CRT had a bad tendency to blow things out of proportion… Ramattra just hoped he wouldn’t get in the way of the task ahead of them.

[color=bc8dbf]“So, Mr. Ace Cadet,”[/color] Ramattra said, now speaking at a volume loud enough for their begrudging alliance with Tenna in the upcoming area. The TV had space to prove itself soon, and trusted that this encounter wouldn’t be wasted by his foolishness. [color=bc8dbf]“The plan, my apologies for getting distracted.”[/color]

Amused at the two polar opposites, and especially Ramattra's formality right after telling Tenna it wasn't needed, Ace gave the both of them a grin.

[color=salmon]"It's nothing complicated; we'll circle around behind them, closer to the water they probably live in, and then give them a gnarlycuga wake-up call. Combo of that, proximity to their lair, and some threatening movements should be enough to keep their attention on us... if it's not, the others can fend them off while we try something else."[/color]

Ace’s lingo and mannerisms were incredibly fascinating to Ramattra. After learning of the nature of Edward’s world, and the curiosity it piqued in the Omnic, it would definitely be something for the two to discuss later. And surely it’d be something for Tenna to get show ideas for!

Hopefully they wouldn't need to come up with a plan b, though. He glanced at Edward, who still had command over the carriage. [color=salmon]"Hear that, Ed? Once we got them far enough away and focused on us, get moving!"[/color]

Ramattra gave a polite wave to Ed from the edge of the frosted canyon between which the three stood. It is clear to both Ace and Tenna that they had a mutual trust in one another.

Ace then pressed a button on the side of the barrel that resembled a pale yellow gem, and in an instant the container grew to its full size a good three times bigger. The hunter's expression was nearly gleeful as he set it on the ground in front of them. It had been a while since he'd gotten to use the Alchemy Barrel for more than basic ammo creation. 

[color=salmon]"Help me dump some raw materials in here and we're groovios to go."[/color]

It seemed that the pseudo-canyon of ice muted sounds from other open pockets, so hopefully that held true and the noise they were about to make didn't end up drawing anything else towards them. After the three of them put handfuls of scrap ore from Sectonia's previous acquisitions and some materials from Scrapbeak’s Sack, a few pieces of flint and tinder from the camping supplies Ace had purchased in Snowdin, and a few other stuff thrown in 'for fun,' they proceeded to quickly but carefully make their way around the sleeping somnacanths. While they moved, Ace held the barrel in his hands and was shaking it to jostle around the items inside. Once in position he glanced down at the Alchemy Barrel's gemstone to note its brightness, then at Ramattra and Tenna.

[color=salmon]"Ready?"[/color]


The Omnic would nod, with an affirmative gaze. [color=bc8dbf]”Ready.”[/color] He said with stoicism in his voice, almost as if… he were trying to sound cool intentionally. Whether it was or wasn’t was to Ace’s discretion. Tenna struck a fantastic pose, pointing in the air as he exclaimed alongside Ramattra, [color=8dc73f][b]”RRRRREADY!!”[/b][/color] This, obviously, received a well-deserved glare-down from Ramattra.

Wasting no more time, Ace gave the barrel a few more vigorous shakes and then shoved one of its sides out to face the duo of leviathans. A moment later the barrel shuddered and expelled a large fireball that arced towards the monsters, exploding on impact. As they registered the heat and pain the somnacanths woke up rather viciously, swinging their tails and claws out around them. Their heads swiveled in the direction the attack had come from, and with reddened eyes twinkling they bared their teeth as they hissed and lunged.

It would be less than a moment before the three of them would become targets of the Siren’s attacks, their glaring anger surely to hone on the source of the explosion. With a firm wave, Ramattra would look directly at Ed, signalling to go full throttle while they lead the fight away from the general pathway. [color=bc8dbf]”Go! Now!”[/color]