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Here There Be Monsters... (Open)

Started by SethYuikora, October 26, 2017, 01:22:07 PM

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SethYuikora

---La'Marri:  Outside of Rho's Cottage---

"Only a couple of animal people to show up...That's about my luck." Rho mutters under his breath as he walks out of his home to greet his make-shift hunting party.  "Good Morning!" he spoke, tipping his large hat to the Lynxman and Ferret.

Rho eyes the two of them again at close range, having only met them in-passing prior to this meeting.  "As you both know, due to unknown circumstances, monster activity as of late has increased heavily in the last few weeks and attacks on the roads have become more common."  Rho unfolds a map of the surrounding area from a satchel, motioning for the two of them to observe it with him.  "It seems that the north-eastern section of the woods is where the more ferocious monsters are concentrated, and we are going to search for clues in the area to help figure out why.  I hear you're a hunter Mr. Kalak.  I'm sure your expertise will come in handy out there.  Do either of you have anything questions or concerns?"

Kalak8538

Kalak's heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for the man to come outside. He always handled suspense poorly, but this was much harder with the presence of only one other. Even a small group would be better, since there were others to draw attention from him. The Lynxen stood stiff, almost perfectly at attention as his nervous eyes focused on the door in front of them.

At a loss of anything better to do, he shot the occasional sideways glance at the ferret beside him, snapping his eyes back forward at the earliest sign of a return look. It was nothing more than curiosity that made Kalak observe her as he did. The Lynxen had seen her occasionly on the roads of La'marri, yet he knew nothing about her. Never did he think it polite to ask about someone behind their back, and he was too timid to introduce himself directly.

That did not matter anymore. Whether he was ready or not, the two of them were going to work together. Interaction was impossible to avoid now. This only riled his nerves further. Just as Kalak thought he would burst, the door opened...

"....Good morning!" he managed to squeeze out in response to the greeting.

If the nervousness was not already apparent, it definitely was now. Kalak was able to calm a bit once he could shift his attention to the map. He scanned it thoroughly, noting his favorite hunting spots in his head. The dangerous area was not too far off from one of these locations. It would not be hard at all to navigate this area.

Fur stood on end at the mention of his name. This time however, the lynx was able to steel himself and swallow his nerves. He looked up at the human.

"Please... Just Kalak is fine. I am no mister..." he said as calmly as was possible under the circumstances. His eyes found the map again, the only place right now where his sight felt comfortable.

"I have hunted Niahi for many years. I will do my best."

Wrathwyrm

In contrast to the lynx's high-strung intensity, the ferret was relaxed and calm.  This is weird because you would expect more of the opposite from both.  A lynx is general wary, but chill, when on the prowl.  A ferret is often seen moving rapidly and excitedly.  Call it an effect of their upbringing and personalities.  Keefe had been raised in Serendipity by an elderly woman.  You learn to relax in a situation like that, mostly because very few other options may exist.  Whereas Kalak had apparently been here a very long time, Keefe moved here less than ten years ago.  They never talked.  Honestly, she felt a bit guilty about not reaching out to a fellow Beastkin, but he always seemed pre-occupied.

Seeing him now, It seemed likely that he was that way all the time.  A real shame.

No matter.  They were the only ones who seemed interested in dealing with the excess monsters in the area.  La'Marri had the benefit of alot of magic and other noteworthy skills to protect it, but magic would attract some creatures.  It is, Keefe assumed, why they were hear to deal with it.  If not, then discovery of the cause would be rather important.  Rho didn't deserve to be ignored for his concerns, and what they lacked in quantity, the two fo them would make up for in quality.  Like the man said, the uncommon occurrance of attacks in the La'Marri area were increasing.  Many could defend themselves, but not everybody.  La'Marri was the road less-traveled, not never-at-all.

Rho appeared to have the plan of finding an explanation over simple extermination, as well.  Smart man.  For now, she had simply smiled and nodded at his greeting, then let him speak his peace while looking at the mao.  Her input was for when he was ready for it.  After all, it was his show.  He noted that Kalak was an excellent hunter, and...well...he would be.  He has all the right instincts, likely the necessary strengths, and - given what he was - the right implements even when he was unarmed.  Even still, both he and her could track, most likely.  They had the nose for it, and the instincts.  Keefe felt pretty good about their chances, even if Kalak was rather nervous right now.  That just left questions, comments, and concerns.

"I know the woods here well, myself.  Not often hunting, but I get around.  I do have one question: What sort of creatures have we been getting more of, or unprecidented appearances of?"

A definite valid concern.  They have the 'where', and they're looking for the 'why'.  Having the 'what' would certainly help.

SethYuikora

Rho's eyes snapped up at her questions.  "Mostly the large and buggy types from what reports I've heard, among others." he said, hurriedly folding his map back, "I'm sure we'll see when we get closer to the answer we seek.  Hidden caves dot the area, as a word of caution Miss Ferret.  As such, we could be under ambush at any given time.  So I'll be relying on both of you for early detection."  He cast them both a big, even chastising smile.

"This concludes the briefing then.  Shall we be off?" The man spoke, beginning a stride for the edge of town.

"Remember, their kind have astute senses." a voice chimed in Rho's head.  "I'm sure they noticed how nervous you're acting~"

Kalak8538

"Wait... bugs?" asked Kalak with some amount of surprise.

There were many predatory beasts the lynx knew how to track or avoid, but he admittedly knew very little about insects. He pondered what difference there could be in the way a larger version of such creatures would act, as opposed to the quarry he was familiar with. Kalak dismissed it after some internal debate, wondering if it had been wise to do so. He would just have to be open, looking for the usual clues as well as any new ones that could present themselves.

"Yes. Ready, sir!" the Lynxen responded, snapping out of his thoughts. He then followed after the man.

Wrathwyrm

Keefe's reaction was closely akin to Kalak's on this, but with less commentary and more head-tilting in confusion.  When did the area have giant bugs?  Or was this just an effect of the magic around here?  It WAS stronger around here than in others.  Still, the habits of bugs, she...didn't pay all that much attention to.  Ella, the old lady who raised her, taught her a little about certain bugs and arachnids, but how much of this would apply on the large scale...  This would be a new thing for her.  So, as she received a word of warning...

"Please, call me Keefe.  And yes, I believe we're ready here."

Yes, even though it wasn't apparent just what she was packing in her all-black hooded attire, with the hood drawn back for now.  Truth be told, though, she didn't have to carry heavy things when her magic involved - for instance - transforming something very small and metal into something BIG and metal...and send it off at great speed.  So, they were following Rho, now.  Keefe was keeping an eye on their surroundings, but the town's defenses would practically insure no attackers until they were properly outside of town.

SethYuikora

After exiting town the trio traveled a short distance on the road, getting out of sight of town before Rho decided to make a turn off the beaten path into a shallow ditch along the edge of the forest.  "I was once attacked by a group of bandits along this road.  Not content to let me pass, we began fighting, which led to the unfortunate death of a good few of them."  Dropping into the ditch a bit further, he eyed a tree and made his way toward it, still talking.

"After about a week, I hear tale in the tavern that the same group is still operating in the same area.  Myself and a couple of others decide to rid the town of such troublesome pests ourselves.  We walked through the forest and up to that cliff-side there."  He points to small rock-face for clarity.  "The three of us lay on that cliff for a good while before the bandits showed up.  Same spot as when they'd attacked me.  They sat in ambush for a time before some travelers showed up for them to accost."

Reaching the tree he'd been eyeing, he circles to the back of it, lifting a leather flap.  "They captured the travelers, tied them up, and removed their belongings.  Before we moved in to save them, I noticed one of the bandits took the smaller and more valuable items to this tree, acting as some sort of stash."  Rho takes out of the tree several empty bags with straps, handing one to each of his compatriots.  "Now, with no more bandits to worry about, it's my stash."

Noting their confusion regarding the bags, he continued talking.  "Have either of you ever seen a giant bug?  Or a giant anything for that matter?  Venom glands, unfertilized eggs, chitin, anything we can gather that is small and light-weight.  That's reason number two for this outing."  He strapped on his pack and looked to his party.  "I'm an alchemist by trade.  I can compensate you for your work if I can make something of value from what we gather.  We're still going to gather information on the source of the sudden influx of monsters, but two birds with one stone is nice too."

"Greedy as ever, aren't you?" the voice in his head whispers once more.

Kalak8538

Kalak accepted his bag without question. He inspected it diligently as if it was expected it to be something more. He took a quick glance about, scanning the area for anything amiss. This area definitely looked like it had been well-traveled until recently, with nature already starting to fill back in. The lynx looked back at Rho.

"I have seen some giant things. When something is bigger, it is more dangerous. We should only fight with these bugs when there is no other choice..."

Kalak tied the sack around his belt, so it would be ready and more accessible.

"We should not risk injury before we find any good information..."

Wrathwyrm

So, they were moving along and Rho decided to take a little detour, telling them about a pack of rogues he'd had to deal with at some point.  She tried to remember if anyone mentioned it to her when it happened.  She quickly surmised that she'd been out on one of her little excursions at the time.  Keefe felt she would've probably killed such people and left them for the animals and the normal-sized, if she had ever found them.  Nobody messes with the people of her town.

What this was all leading to was a tale of the bandits and their special secret tree stash, which Rho and his friends had relieved them of when they cleared them all out for good.  From it now, he produced some sacks and handed one to her and to Kalak.  Clearly, he had other goals in mind, besides the information-gathering and extermination.  A three=fold mission...  Intriguing...  He asked them about the bugs now, or of giant things in general.

"I've seen Dire Wolves and Basilisks.  Seen a huge pain in the ass, one time, but that doesn't count."

She hadn't seen many huge things you could consider a threat.  Really, the threat need not come from a big thing to be dangerous.  Among her travels, Keefe had once - Once! - stumbled upon the grove of the Vorpal Bunnies at the center of the Draconi Forest.  It's no joke that if she hadn't left immediately, she would never get out of there alive.  She held the bag over her shoulder and smirked at the alchemist's ambition.

"Well, you've got guts, Rho, or you soon will.  If at all possible, I'll do this for you, but if any tinctures catch my eye that you're selling, you have to give me a deal."

That was actually a good thing, for him.  While Keefe didn't exactly draw much attention to herself, there were things that stood out, sometimes.  One was that she'd taken in that human lad, Sano, for a while.  Another was that she left town every now and then, and that she had potions with her in case of emergencies.  She was a good customer investment.

SethYuikora

"Well, as I don't hear any objections," Rho stated, "We can get back to our little hike."  The trio returned to the road and started towards their objective once more.  It was late morning when they decided to leave the roadside in favor of traveling through the woods.  "This is as close as we'll get to the concentration without leaving the road.  We're already well within range of recent sightings, so let's all stay alert from here on."

He reached down and drew his rapier slowly before stepping into the shrubbery, watching his step closely.  The group traveled together, stealthily, further into uncertainty.  Rho was pleased at how well the others could conceal their presences.  Suddenly, something caught his eye and he froze.  Broken branches and scattered leaves littered the ground ahead.  The others had caught his gaze or noticed the discrepancy on their own, as they also halted immediately and began surveying their surroundings.

Rho stepped toward the seemingly stomped path.  The earth was jabbed all over from several hundred pointy legs.  "Any tracks you recognize?" he asked in a low whisper, looking to Kalak.  "There may be a hundreds of them."  Looking closer, the tracks seemed almost uniform, as though they were made single-file.  "Or maybe...just one..."

A guttural clicking chirped in the woods down the path, and as Rho reacted to the sound, another could be heard, more audibly.  He stood from inspecting the tracks to notice a mass off in the distance, behind the trees.  Another click, louder and more directed towards the group.  A sapling is snapped in two as the massive creature writhes violently, winding towards them.  "Run!"

Kalak8538

Kalak stayed low as his alchemist compatriot took the lead. His bow was off his back, but no arrow was readied yet. As the Lynxen slunk through the underbrush, he relied equally on his instincts, training, and natural camouflage to stay hidden. The wind did not blow too strongly in these moments, which was good not to carry their scent very far.

Before too long, they came upon an area of forest that was ravaged by larger creatures. The destruction, although not extreme, was obvious enough for anyone to pick up on. Thus, this was an appropriate place in which to stop. As if commanded, Kalak moved in to inspect the area for clues as to what had come through here. However, he was not given the chance.

Before anyone had time to react, the trio had been detected by a massive creature. With cacophonous haste, it advanced on their position. The only thing the Lynxen could do was flee in the opposite direction with both his partner and employer.

Wrathwyrm

She didn't need any coaxing to remain alert.  What these two didn't know about her was that ever since Keefe had moved into La'Marri, she had been an assassin.  Using the town as her refuge, she went out into other countries - such as Connlaoth - and killed corrupt and despotic people.  Also, Mordecai, because she hated anti-magic laws.  For the moment, she didn't have any weapons out, because her form of attack and her magic could be such a split-second thing.  It didn't need her to keep something ready.  Just keep something on her.  A scrap of metal alone was enough, and she had more than that in her pockets and hidden away.

Keefe tended to be very quiet during situations like this, where it could be very tense and a twig-snap could mean the difference between life and death.  Being rather skilled, she made not a sound, and kept her thoughts to her own until something needed to be said.  There was an area ahead which had been disturbed, possibly trampled.  If those were the footprints, then the bugs were indeed big.  She didn't recognize it, of course, having not seen a giant insect...until now.  Just as Rho was declaring something important, a very important thing made its presence known!

Run?  Yes, that would be a good idea!  Of course, even as Keefe did, she palmed a small blade and flung it back at the approaching mass.  She focused her magic upon it, and the little knife became a long javelin, which flew at the thing as though an athlete had flung it and hard.  Since Keefe had managed to produce cannonballs and fling them off with her magic like the real thing, we can safely say that the javelin was hitting some great velocity as it approached the target.

SethYuikora

The spear tears into the side of the creature as it nears the party.  A loud crunch is heard, but Rho does not turn back to investigate, as the other two are no doubt lighter on their feet than himself.  "There should be some caves up ahead!" he hollered mid-sprint, "Look for something we can hide in!"

The creature recovers from the blow it took and let loose a roar before continuing after the party, even faster than it had previously, tearing through the foliage like an enraged boar.  The clicking noise it made was definitely getting closer despite the wound, and they wouldn't be able to outrun it for long.  Rho drew back his sword and wreathed it in a dark energy, creating a 'shell' of sorts around it, shaped into some demonic great sword.  He sliced into a large tree, cleaving a deep gash into it, and having it collapse onto the trail between the party and their pursuer, with rock walls covering either side.  If that didn't slow it down, he hoped one of the others found a place to hide soon.

Kalak8538

(Sorry for the long wait. Busy week...)

Kalak broke off from the party, electing to use the available terrain around him to fight off the giant insect. He utilized a tactic he had perfected being chased by creatures much larger than himself.

Feline claws were unsheathed, and used to hurry up a tree. He did not wait there, instead leaping through the air to another much larger tree. The Lynxen planted himself in and let arrows fly from the temporary safety of the second tree's bough. His arrows were tiny compared to the hulking creature, an advantage he was quick to exploit. Kalak targeted the fleshy gaps in the chitinous armor of the marauding insect, probing for weak parts within the body. Should any area prove an effective target, the lynx would know to place arrows there in the future.

Wrathwyrm

Okay, so the javelin only slowed it down.  Rho suggested that they take to some caves that were around here.  Yeah, that might be good, provided they weren't big caves, right?  He cleaved down a tree and Kalak decided to go up one, which left Keefe to go find this everloving hiding place.

Let's see...  Need a musty-damp smell...  Where are you?  Ah!  That seems right!

She wasn't exactly sure, because other things smell dank and musty.  In the meantime, while heading in this promising direction, she pulled out another knife, shaped it into another javelin pointing back towards the enemy, and let it fly of its own accord right towards it once he heard the downed tree snap.

SethYuikora

((Whatever my dude, life happens.  On that note, I may be having to move at the drop of a hat within the month, but will strive to return promptly and continue the RP as quickly as possible, as I do have some plans you both should enjoy))

The javelin bolted through the air towards the beast, but with some ungodly reflex and strength, its massive tail smashed into it, deflecting the projectile into a nearby cliff side.

Following his Ferret compatriot, as Kalak seemed to have a plan, going his own way, Rho was pleased to find that after throwing the blade, Keefe darted to the right, through some shrubbery and managed to land both of them near a cave opening too small for the large creature to fit through.  The two ran in without a second thought, Rho flickering a small flame in his palm to light the interior.

The bug smashed through the shrubbery, angered and wild as it snapped it's head at Kalak with venom dripping from its fangs as the hunter leapt through the trees to avoid it while returning shots at the exposed gaps in the creature's armor gaps.  Frustrated at the fruitlessness of the current hunt, the monster disengaged with Kalak, rushing off quickly for the grounded prey that was escaping.

With no warning, the ferns surrounding the entrance to their hiding place were torn asunder and the beast's maw smashed into the cave opening repeatedly at different angles, trying to get at the morsels within.  It was definitely a giant bug, with mandibles and long antennae feeling around vigorously.  With each smash, the thing's head drove a few more inches into the cave.

Rho removed from a pouch on his belt a small vial and tossed it with all his might at the creature's face.  The glass shattered and a hissing smoke rose from the bug's face.  That same roar from earlier echoed through the caverns around the two as the acidic substance ate a hole in its face near its left mandible.

Kalak8538

Kalak watched from his perch as the great insect made wild lunges at his newly met companions. Seeing that his arrows did not have any immediate effect on the beast, he needed to change to a more extreme tactic. It was his only choice to keep the frenzied monster from getting any closer to them.

The bow was stowed on his back, before the lynx put a hand on the grip of his sword. He held it firm with two hands and steeled himself for what he was about to do. With the agility of the feline he resembled, Kalak leapt from the high up branch and plummeted towards the giant insect. He landed on the back of the feral beast, using the force of his fall to drive the steel point through its armored carapace.

Wrathwyrm

It was what she worried might happen.  The creature had some level of survival instinct about it, enoughto tail-parry her second javelin.  She would have to be inventive from then on.  However, for the moment, it had been Keefe's job to find the cave in question, and she had succeeded in that task.  And as their reward, they were seemingly trapped in there now, but beyond the immediate reach of the massive insect's jaws.

From this perspective - looking straight on into the thing's mandible-laden maw - it was a little hard to see what it was, buuut...let's put the facts together.  First, it was very clearly a runner, and not a flyer or a jumper.  Either of those other things would hunt by its strength, rather than keep itself at a disadvantage.  Again, Keefe was no expert on insects, but she knew how creatures in general were.  You don't ask if the tiger is going to maul you or trample you.  It was built for tearing things to pieces.  So, this thing was a runner, and there had been many footprints before, right?  That actually narrowed it down considerably.  It was some kind of centipede.

Now, did this newfound knowledge really help them, at all?  Not really, but it was nice to know what's out to get you.  Now, Rho had melted a hole in its face.  Perfect.  It had done this while trying to ram itself further into the cave.  Since it wasn't leaving, Keefe decided to try her next move.  She pulled out a small coin, and changed it into a small spiky ball, no bigger than a shelled buckeye.  She held it between thumb and index finger with a smile...and tossed it into the hole, guided by her mastery of metal.  With it unable to close its face, there'd be little to prevent it getting into the thorax and...many spears suddenly grew out of it in multiple directions to pierce it from inside!

"Now, I don't know much about how bugs work, but being impaled several times from the inside is still bad for one, correct?"

SethYuikora

Reeling from the sudden sting in its back and hissing near its face, the monster clawed backward from the cave mouth to devour the Lynxman currently embedded near its spine, but not before the tiny ball of metal penetrated the hole in its face.  Reaching the cave's mouth and wrapping itself around towards Kalak, the eruption of sharpness from within the centipede's body shredded it from within.

Tearing the top third from the rest of itself, the back portion went limp with a crash while the part with the brains writhed, curled, and flailed before eventually falling over itself.  The mouth of the cave suddenly much more friendly than it had previously been, Rho stepped out after a moment, nodding.  "Yes, that will do it."

Approaching the corpse of the now mangled creepy-crawly, he began to examine it closely.  Wary of it springing to life for a last meal, he motioned silently for the other two to be ready to hit it again if it moved.  Examining the creature up and down, he became more and more fascinated and excitable.  "That settles it." he said in an almost giddy chime.  "Do either of you know what this is?  Not just a centipede, no.  Classified as 'Scolopendra La'raanica' specifically."  Looking to the reactions of his compatriots he clarified, "Is the study of poisonous creatures so strange for an alchemist?  Point is, this specific centipede is native to the area.  Though this particular creature should only ever be the length of a hand, this one is well the length of a home, and as round as a horse."

Stepping away from the dead creature, he concluded his statement, "A colleague of mine had two possible theories as to what was going on here.  Either the large creatures in the area migrated through the cave systems around to this one location from somewhere as of yet unseen.  Or, as seems to be the case, something has caused the creatures already present in the area to grow at an exponential rate, far exceeding the base size they should hold."  Rho removed the empty satchel from his back before opening it and drawing his blade.  "As a researcher witnessing a mutant resident fauna, I will condone the latter theory."  With a few strokes, he cleaved the remaining mandible from the creature's face.  "If we'd been bitten, I have no doubt our blood would have boiled from the intense reaction with the venom."

Carefully stowing the poisonous gland into his sack, Rho looked to Kalak.  "If there are such large predators lurking, then surely there would be prey.  Where is the nearest water source, like a pond or lake?"

Kalak8538

Kalak circled the corpse, inspecting more closely while he had the opportunity. Even in its death, the Lynxen was cautious of it. A sudden spasm of its nerves sent him through the air several feet backwards. After this seemingly comical reaction, he was back up close and resuming his visual examination.

As his employer had stated, this was a native species of insect. The lynx knew this. He had rarely encountered them during his hunts in the wilderness, although he always kept his distance. Despite this personal knowledge, Kalak had a hard time believing this creature that lay before them was in any way related to its much smaller counterparts.

"I do not tread that far north normally..." Kalak replied, not shifting his gaze away from the bisected monster for even a moment.

"But, there is a creek I know that flows that way. I will show you."

The Lynxen look eastward, his ears twitching in other directions to pick up any sounds he could. The day was getting later, and there would not be much more time to move before they would have to start working on a campsite.

"Collect what you need, sir. We must leave soon..."

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