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Post by MP on Sept 30, 2022 20:53:12 GMT -6
[ALL]
The offering has been accepted. The door slides open, and the darkness swallows you. There are no walls or ceiling that you can sense in your blindness. Your steps fall silently, meeting no give or resistance. You walk for what seems like an age, or a moment's doze.
When you next come to, you stand in a dim forest. There are others like you, white-garbed, their hands dyed red. These are the only patches of color around. The ground is bare, and the trees stretch tall into the dark, a strange black wood you've never seen before. The woods are spaced wide, but no brush grows, and no trace of moon or starlight reaches the forest floor. Following the tree trunks upward, you realize they end in bowed, shapeless heads and flat white eyes where a canopy should be. Every one is turned your way. The trees stare back, their arms stretching skyward in a twisted parody of branches. Above them, the dark conceals any trace of a sky.
The same gloom hangs in the distance, making it hard to survey the far distance. But ahead of you, you can make out a nearby campfire, the air fragrant with the smell of cooking meat. A ragged woodsman sits by the flame, turning a spit-roast rabbit. He looks over, brow furrowing as he senses your arrival, but beyond resting a hand on the handle of a stained woodcutting axe, he ignores you. At a distance him, an old woman clutches at an oversized shawl around her, hobbling arthritically at the edge of the light.
The camp, a bright spot against the oppressive silence of the woods, seems to have drawn other kinds of life. A golden lizard and a scruffy looking mouse are sitting side by side on the roots of a nearby tree, in easy reach of the fire's warmth.
Where the camp ends, there are three roads leading into the woods, hardly more than worn stretches of earth: the north road, the east road, and the west road. Nothing in the camp moves to engage you. You may be able to bypass the camp altogether and take your chances in the woods.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Oct 1, 2022 0:47:52 GMT -6
[ooc: Kail asks Kazan and Edge if they knows what is happening]
Kail’s pupils swelled in the low light of the forest, which was unlike any he’d seen before. The trees were foreign, and had…eyes? He stared back, unnerved, and glanced at the assembled group of white-robed individuals he’d almost missed entirely.
Immediately he curled his lips back in a snarl, ears flattening. The ghost was one he’d hoped to never see again, and the sight of it bought back memories of humiliation and defeat. He stared hatefully at Bruse, but ultimately made no move to attack.
He looked to the rest of the group, his snarl fading. A man that didn’t quite smell human, dressed in gothic attire. His gaze lingered on the centaurs prosthetics, and then his mismatched eyes. There was also the large, hapless doctor that had once fed his beast-form, and he felt his anger simmer into something more akin to disappointment. A two legged pony, a punk, a giant doctor and a ghost that wanted him dead.
“Hey, ya got any idea what’s going on?” Kail asked Kazan, his tone brusque. The centaur looked serious - knowledgeable. His shoulders were tense as he waited for a reply, all too aware of the eyes that watched them from above.
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Oct 1, 2022 2:15:50 GMT -6
[OOC: Jedidiah frowns before going to the woodsman and skiing questions.]
Jedidiah:
He gasped as he was dragged into the door, before blinking and seeing he along with others were within a dark and tall forest. . . . That he was compelled to walk for was seemed like an along time to get here. An elderly woman and a woodsman were near as well as. . .
He. . . Does not like this at all.
There was an centaur. . A rather grouchy human or humanoid, a phantom- oh hey bruse. . . And edge! Hopefully he doent fall asleep here too. . . At least he knows one of em!. . . That could be a bad thing too. Everyone in the same garb as him more than likely were just as clueless as here as to why they are here.
Welp, might be a good idea to go and ask the woodsman so he carefully moved towards the woodsman, stopping at an respectable distance away as to not make him feel as though he was up to trouble. "Ah, excuse me? " He asked. "I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where we are? My group n I are abit lost I fear." He continued.
He was perhaps 2 or 4 steps away from the group but did not get within arms length of the woodsman either. Only stepping away from the group to single himself out but not straying too far from the group as to not just walk up on the guy either. Better to ask someone who hasn't done anything to them yet outside of Leary behavior. . .
From what he could tell., the guy just seems distrusting but not outright antagonistic of them. . . . Or he could be killed by him too, he has no clue. Better to ask than to wander aimlessly, no?
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Post by MP on Oct 1, 2022 8:54:17 GMT -6
The woodsman’s fingers remain on the handle of his axe, but he seems more interested in the roasting meat than with Jedidiah.
“More ‘n a bit, in rags like that,” he snorts. The rabbit turns and turns on its spit, the smell of it mouthwatering. “Means you’re for the woods now. Find yourself a nice hole and settle in. Your kind don’t last long.”
Some distance behind him, the old woman sighs and tuts to herself, still pacing the edge of camp.
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Oct 1, 2022 9:10:12 GMT -6
[OOC: Jedidiah continues and asks more questions to the woodsman. ]
Jedidiah:
Ok, noted. They are sacrifices. . .fun. "is there a way to remove the red pigment off of my hands?" He asked. "I understand the implications to a degree that these are markers, but do you happen to know why?" He continued. "What is the local folklore? Whom or what should I be weary of?"
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Oct 1, 2022 9:28:16 GMT -6
[Bruse is not happy to see Kail. He shows it. Otherwise, he simply watches the others in silence and also looks towards the other older couple for a bit to take in their odd presence in these woods.]
As Bruse's paw rested against the wooden door, he felt a strong pull towards it and then darkness fell across him and his senses. He let out a surprised growl, rumbling into the void around him in warning to anything waiting there. He kept like this for a moment, and when nothing attacked, he began to move in a cautious float forward, not allowing his feet or hooves to touch any surface at the moment. If there even was a surface... Whether this was the right direction or not, he was unsure, but it was something.
Before long, the darkness parted, and Bruse could see once again. The transition was gradual, but the scene before him was sudden and not at all expected. Bruse stopped instantly, gazing out at the forest that stretched out before him. It was gray, barren, and the trees were tall and cage-like. The others around him may have noticed him looming tall above them, partially see-through but otherwise a visible shadowed beast of enormous size, nearly camouflaged against the drab dark scenery if not for the same snow white cloth across his sides. At the shoulder, he had to be at least 14 feet, and only the giant seemed a proportionally appropriate height standing next to him. The spirit had yet to notice them around him.
His eyes trailed upwards and stuck on the faces atop the trees that gazed down on them. The spirit gave no emotion or reaction to them, but they were certainly curious. He then looked back down to the smaller splotches of white around him. He'd barely noticed them before, huddled about and looking at one another in equal confusion. It wasn't until his own gaze fell upon the Wendigo that Bruse's demeanor suddenly changed. The Wendigo snarled as their eyes locked, and Bruse's mane flared up like raised hackles at the sight. A deep rage roiled suddenly within him, the blood red aura that typically followed flickering like a distorted film at the edges of his form. The spirit returned the Wendigo's snarl with one of his own thunderous growls, a fine seam splitting ominously across the front of his form. Within the thin maw was a sickening green glow that emanated from the opening, but that was as wide as it got. He wanted nothing more than to lunge at the Wendigo in that moment, furious memories pouring into his mind, but something held him back. Perhaps it was the presence of the others, their similar garb, the strange, dead forest around him. But something didn't seem right... Was this some kind of vision? Was the Wendigo real? The spirit's eyes were narrowed to sharp pinpoints of green light locked on the thin, antlered man and he only took one advancing step forward as if in threat. But, the Wendigo did not attack. He instead turned to a centaur, and odd creature among them but not the only one, and asked what they should do.
The spirit watched them all like this, still glowering with a dark anger, but otherwise made no move to attack. He only partially noticed the older couple by the fire in the distance. Their presence, their food, and the smaller animals around them held no interest to him, but as the older man moved, the spirit finally looked in their direction if only to acknowledge their presence. He'd seen plenty of campers and such in the woods of Wathais, usually paying no mind to them and simply going around. Still, they were in stark contrast to the barren woods around them. What was this place?
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Post by MP on Oct 1, 2022 9:31:54 GMT -6
“The hell should I know?” The woodsman snaps. “No one here but us. And I like it that way.”
He glares at Jed, but a crackle from the fire pulls his attention back. He draws a knife from his boot and pokes moodily at the coals.
“Fire’s low,” he mutters, and lifts his axe at Jed. “You want a chat, get me some firewood and maybe I’ll be in a talkin’ mood.”
Jed is offered an axe.
There are no fallen branches, no saplings, no signs of natural forest growth in the area. Aside from the trees, Jed sees no suitable source of firewood if he should take the request, unless he wants to take his chances elsewhere.
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Oct 1, 2022 9:47:38 GMT -6
[OOC: Jedidiah accepts the axe, and the potentialy suicide quest.]
Jedidiah:
He hummed in thought before accepting the axe. "I'll do my best. " he replied. There was no fallen limbs near by. . . Though he could venture into the woods. Use the garb as a means to hold the wood choppings. He will go looking for firewood a soon as he can.
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Post by Vaitris on Oct 1, 2022 13:15:58 GMT -6
[OOC: Kazan answers Kail's question, then asks the old woman where they currently are.]
Kazan's eyes blinked open to darkness and a single blazing point of light. A few more steps forward and it came into focus. Bare dirt floor, column-like trees. A sky that wasn't a sky but a sea of faces peering down at him. Nearby there was a campfire with a pair of halflings and a few forest creatures gathered in audience. It all felt like a stage set for a play.
Down near his fetlocks the plume of his tail swished side to side. In frustration? In consternation? Whatever it was didn't show on his face, the only noticeable change was his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in the sights before and above him. Around him there were others, an assortment of strangers set apart from the scene by their garb and their shared confusion. So he wasn't the only one to end up here unexpectedly. He didn't find that comforting.
“Hey, ya got any idea what’s going on?”
The centaur's gaze cut to Kail, instantly noting the antlers and the hooves. Looming nearby, a hulking spirit snarled at the deer creature, demanding his attention from behind and Kazan took a step back to avoid getting caught in any fight. "Not at all. There is something manipulating this from the shadows, but I know not who. Or for what reason."
He didn't relish the thought of having to interact with the halflings by the fire, but the necessity of information would have to overrule his preferences. The giant had already proven that the man wouldn't be of any use at least, so Kazan approached the old woman after making a brief attempt to wipe the blood substance from his hands onto the gown (though in the end didn't do anything to make him appear less frightful).
"Baarani, ashika." He greeted, having to dig for the old words but finding his native tongue somewhat soothing. He peered more closely at the ancient halfling, searching for detail that might tell him more about her. "Can you tell us where we are?"
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Post by NightshadeVII on Oct 1, 2022 13:46:04 GMT -6
(OOC: Edge is unsettled by the lack of stars and moon, proceeds to be scared of the big figures. He answers Kail’s question and attempts to use his spatial sense to get an idea of where would be best to go.)
Blinking eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. Alert to his new surroundings, Edge looked around to get his bearings. There were other people here, the doctor being the only one who was vaguely familiar to him, aside from him there was a strange, mechanized centaur it seemed, a young man with antlers and a strange, almost known air around him, and a spirit of sorts, looming above, not to mention the two people closer to the fire. None were known to him. The Darai turned his attention back to the forest, hoping it would be more forthcoming than the people in it. At first glance, this forest, wherever it was, seemed better than the cave he had come from. But the Darai had been wrong before and the forest was dark, oppressingly so.
Stars, he remembered, the beast had held stars. He could navigate by those. So instead, he looked up, wishing for constellations he’d recognize. Instead he was met with a starless sky and something much worse.
Massive figures stared down at him with blank eyes, expressionless and foreign, yet awakening an all too familiar fear in the Darai. Instinctively he stepped back, placing a hand protectively over his shoulder. A broken gesture, remains of a broken memory. His purple eyes remained fixed on the figures above, provoking them to move and prove him right, begging that they were dead and immobile. A quiet, inhuman keen began to build in his throat.
Eventually, he ripped his eyes away from the figures. The sooner he could get away from them, the better.
“Hey, ya got any idea what’s going on?”
Edge turned to face the voice, seeing the young man. Up close, the other’s eyes were like pale ice, piercing and cold. But he seemed just as confused and out of place as the Darai. Edge hoped that was a good thing.
“No, I don’t. Woke up in a cave, chose a weird door with a beast on it and ended up here. Don’t particularly feel like sticking around though”, Edge said with an apologetic shrug, his tone soft but rich, loud enough so the group could hear him, but the other residents in the forest couldn’t. The entire situation sounded ridiculous when said out loud, but it was no use beating around the bush.
“I might be able to get an idea of where we should go though, to get out of here. Give me a moment.”
With that said, he crouched down against the earth, cool beneath his feet. Red stained hands were placed firmly against the earth, palms down and Edge closed eyes. From here he tried to reach out with his more inhuman sense. Feeling his way outside himself, along the earth, as far as he could reach, he tried to stretch his awareness as far as it could go, tracing the shapes of earth and rocks and roots, exploring what he could in advance. Perhaps the forest would tell him something about itself, about where they were and why. Perhaps it would tell him nothing. The Darai did not even know if this place would communicate with him at all.
Either way, he rose to his feet again, casting an unwilling look up at the figures. Thank Eda they hadn’t moved. Hopefully it would stay that way.
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Post by MP on Oct 1, 2022 16:10:11 GMT -6
[ALL]
The growling between Kail and Bruse fills the clearing, but for now, nothing responds to the commotion. The dark dampens the echo, swallows it up, and even Bruse's thundering snarl fades with unnatural quickness. The mouse and lizard are staring at them, apparently unconcerned.
Edge finds the same unnatural quality in the landscape. When he puts his hand to the earth, he finds a horrible blankness at his fingertips. No stones, no rise and fall of the landscape, no sensation where his senses should reach. Just the hard-packed earth and a vague sense of dread, like a gaze on your skin. Like something watching
watching
watching watching
watching
watching watching
watching watching
watching
watching
The feeling passes abruptly. Edge's senses haven't told him anything of use. But from his crouched position, he is able to see a small scrap of paper wedged between the stones of the fire pit.
The old woman looks up as Kazan speaks. Her eyes are all but lost amid her wrinkled features and the shadows of her oversized shawl, but they somehow manage to narrow into a beam. She speaks to you as if to a grandchild, her voice warm and fond.
"More lost lambs? Poor little things." She squints into the centaur's eyes for a moment, unfazed by his equine elements, and shakes her heads with a sad tut. "These are the Hunter's Woods, dear. They reach from here until the end of want, and you'll never get out. Not as you are, no."
She squints up at Kazan and waves him closer. When he leans in, she puts a hand to his cheek. Her ragged sleeves drift about her wrists, shadows leaping where the firelight strikes them. After a moment, she smiles.
"But I'll tell you a secret, love," she whispers to him. Her breath is hot against Kazan's cheek. "The Hunter's Woods belong to the strong. Not just the strong of fang and claw. The strong of mind. The strong of will. You can be the hunted, or you can turn the Hunt to your side. And with the Hunt, you may just survive."
She pats Kazan's arm fondly, as she might to a favorite grandchild.
"Go on your way. But look for your chance, and take proof of your feats. Such tokens have great power here. Bring them to me, and we'll see what can be done." She ushers you away with a shriveled hand, the nails long and dirt-stained. "And hurry, love. There are worse things than the Hunt."
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Post by qhostqrowls on Oct 1, 2022 17:22:12 GMT -6
[ooc: Kail inspects the golden lizard and the mouse more closely. Asks the woodsman where the roads lead.]
Kail looked even more aggravated by the others replies, as if he wasn’t equally as clueless.
“Me fucking neither.” He muttered in reply to Edge, watching the man expectantly as he pressed his hands against the earth. When he rose again with an expression more confused than before, Kail waited impatiently for a revelation of some kind before stalking after Kazan.
The wendigo hesitated on the peripherals of the campfire, looking more closely at the dishevelled mouse and the strange lizard. Pets of some kind? His ears swivelled as he listened the old woman, and heard the doctors heavy footfalls crunch away from the camp in search of firewood. He’d heard the tail end of their conversation, and he certainly wasn’t in the mood for errands. The doctor had the axe now, but the woodsman had procured a knife, and the smell of the fat dripping from the rabbit and sizzling in the coals was driving him mad.
But first, he would ask. As much as he wanted to rob the man of his weapon and meal, he knew he was out of his element. They needed more information - all they’d discovered was that they were doomed, hunted sacrifices in an endless forest.
“Where’d those roads lead?” He all but snapped, waving a clawed hand towards the paths. He wanted to leave, now, already feeling that they’d lingered too long, and his impatience and unease came across as a dangerous, seething anger.
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Post by okami1reeka333 on Oct 2, 2022 6:33:52 GMT -6
[OOC: Jedidiah uses axe to cut a portion of his lower garment off to carry wood and cautiously goes into the woods to look for long dried trees or young trees. ]
Jedediah:
So the woodsman did not know, or perhaps just didn't trust. But he did trust him enough to put him on a suicide mission for firewood?
Hes going to need to gather some dried wood for the fire and young trees for himself and potentially the others. . . Especially in the case that he can't keep the axe for the time being. . .
Well, probably yes but if he steals it. . . That wouldn't be nice to the guy who in a way just helped him. . . He carefully used the blade to start a tear at the base of the garment he was wearing. Moves to tear a ring of it free to carry the wood, before carefully heading into the woods. . . Keeping his guard up since he has no idea who or what is lurking. . .
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Oct 2, 2022 9:45:26 GMT -6
[Bruse is idle for a moment but then decides to silently follow Jedidiah from behind, watchfully.]
Bruse watched the others and their exchanges closely, standing still where he was and especially watching the Wendigo. The others busied themselves almost immediately with talking to the older couple, or looking about for answers or anything of use.
Then the giant began to wander away for wood that the older man had asked him to gather. This seemed a risky task, even for a humanoid of his size. And...he was a friend of Sara's. Bruse dropped his aggravated attention from the Wendigo for a moment. The others at least outnumbered the fiend for the time being, and he would return to keep an eye on it when he was certain the giant was safe. Turning instead towards Jedidiah, Bruse followed silently. He did not announce that he was going to do so, but simply lumbered towards the giant and followed at a distance. His flustered and furious appearance had dimmed, but the red aura still flickered lightly at the edge of his form, still somewhat aggravated by the situation. Still, his gaze turned slowly this way and that to the area around them, looking and sensing for any signs of malicious intent from the heads above them or the rest of the forest around them. The only thing Jedidiah might become aware of, is the sudden presence of the massive spirit looming behind him.
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Post by MP on Oct 2, 2022 11:29:31 GMT -6
[Kail]
Despite Kail's predatory nature, the golden lizard and the mouse remain on their perch as you approach. The lizard tips a lazy eye up at you. The mouse stops its grooming and stands on its hind legs to get a better look at you, curiosity in its eyes. Seeing them side by side, you feel that you could easily reach out and take one.
The woodsman raises one shoulder in a sullen shrug.
"Some old shrine off to the east. Think someone's living up north, but I haven't heard back in ages. Maybe off gathering supplies down to the west." The rabbit turns and turns on its spit, the smell of it mouthwatering. "Or maybe they're dead. Who knows these days?"
[Jed and Bruse]
The grey, barren earth of the forest floor stretches on without end. There is no underbrush here, no new saplings or no fallen logs. Nothing living moves, except for the eyes of the trees high above. The dark silhouette of their heads seem to turn to follow Jed as he wanders. Their branching arms you.
It seems that these trees are the only source of firewood in the area. Their trunks are small, and with Jed's size, it should be easy enough to cut one down and bring back sufficient firewood.
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Life happens, but a friendly heads up is always welcome ^_^ Only time I may wait a bit is when another person is absent, I like to give them time to answer before continuing until they return.
