[Nexus] CURATOR I: The Evil Has Landed

[The Alexandrian]

[Outside]

"Okay. Let's see here. Can you write or do you need someone to take a dictation for you?"

Percilia produces a membership form and attempts to set it down in front of the lizard.

[Zefir]

[Outside]

I assume there is a pencil as well. the little lizzard opens his mouth like he was going to speak, but instead his tounge shoot out grapping the pen. He walks over and starts writing using his toung as a hand. The writing looks very beautifull mostly to beautifull to read it.

Name: Mr. C
Species: Lizzars stuff animal
Eye Color: Black?
Fingerprint/Pawprint/Tentacleprint/Etcetera: *flatsch* a print of his whle body will be found here, seems like he made a slam against it.
Photo: The photo will be quiet funny showing mostly a big wide background, only in the lower left you see the head of him.
Reason for Joining: Study of old Languages and Documents
Special Abilities: Can fly, tounge use like a wipe
Medical History: ......
Blood Type/Essential Bodily Fluid Type:......
Fears: Everything bigger than himself, so near everything
Regrets: Nothing
Psychological Records: I think we need a Doc for that?

"Right this way?" he says after letting the pen down and the tounge back. You should note that the pen isn't wet in any way.

[The Alexandrian]

[Outside]

There was probably a pen attached to the membership form, yes.

"Alright! You are now a member of CURATOR, Mister C. If you want to, you can accompany me on an information gathering trip right now or you can explore the base. We'll have to install smaller doors for you later, but you should be able to get around well enough for the time being."

Because most of CURATOR's chambers have entryways instead of doorways! They make getting around easier!

[Zefir]

[Outside]

*climb climb climb* He climbs up to his shoulder and places himself there. Now she got a new shoulder pet^^.

"The base won't run away I think."

Seems like he wants t join her.

[Reinholdt]

[Jeep]

The jeep is indeed one of those open-air jeeps archaeologists in movies always seem to drive! Rein might survive this yet!

"Hello! This is your GPS speaking. If you can hear me, please press the green button on my screen."

The GPS built into the jeep intones from its position in the dashboard between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.

If one of them presses the button, the members in the jeep will hear,

"Great! Follow my instructions and we'll be at your destination in no time."

If Aurea has already started driving, the members will likely find themselves passing over a quaint, metal bridge suspended over a tiny river at this time...

"Turn left...in 0.3 miles."

Somebody should hit the yellow options button (that is labeled as such) and invert the order of those infernal directional phrases before they end up causing Aurea to drive the car off a cliff, off a bridge, or into a tree!

But it may already be too late for that...

Reinholdt fiddles with the GPS. Yay, fiddling! By fiddling, I mean he presses the green button once and then holds it and that's about it.

Hopefully Aurea doesn't turn left while they're in the middle of a bridge.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Jeep]

If she tries, then hopefully having a spiked tail put through the steering wheel will be enough to stop her.

[The Alexandrian]

[Outside]

"Well then, let's get going!"

Percilia-prime makes a few rapid, eloquent, fluid movements with her hands.

"Conveniency Technique: Plotclone!"

A black portal (leading to Lester's Saloon in Inside) swirls into being in front of her on the road! She walks through it, presumably with Mr. C accompanying her on her shoulder. If she passes through it without being interrupted, another Percilia will take her place on the porch outside of the main building!

[FireFox]

[Jeep]

... I do not suppose our destination is an invisible castle in the sky is it? Regardless, Aurea does not turn left, focusing on driving and leaving navigation up to Reinholdt. We would probably get there faster if I flew. She mutters under her breath.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Jeep]

"Probably not. Perhaps reprogramming is in order?"

[Reinholdt]

[Jeep]

"Why would we need anything reprogrammed?"
It said turn left just ahead after the bridge and that's what happened. The directions aren't that hard.

"You can fly?" Reinholdt asks Aurea.

[FireFox]

[Jeep]

I was under the impression that the current directions would lead off the bridge...
Ah well, if Reinholdt has the directions, Aurea will just drive.
Yes, I can. I can probably carry both of you as well. But she doesn't elaborate.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Jeep]

So was I...

[Reinholdt]

[Jeep]

I'm reasonably sure that turning left immediately without listening for the 0.3 miles part would cause bridge driving off of. And thus why the order needed to be inverted to in 0.3 miles turn left.

"Shapeshifter or telekinesis?" Reinholdt asks.

[FireFox]

[Jeep]

... Once again, Reinholdt's common sense trumps mine.

Yes. It's an answer as technically correct as it is useless right now.

[The Alexandrian]

[Jeep]

Eventually, the surroundings will begin to change. The differences are subtle, at first. The plants begin to grow larger, from winding green grape vines supported by sturdy wooden trellises to blossoming, fragrant rose bushes to tiny, pruned maple trees to towering redwood trees which extend far into the heavens. The forest the group has found itself in is a dark one. The interwoven branches hang thickly in the air above, blotting out all but the few rays of sunlight which find there way through the maze of trees to the silent, hallowed earth. The pavement of the road transforms into a slippery, mucky path. The driver may want to turn on the brilliant headlights if she wishes to see even the outline of the path ahead. After a time, the trees grow so thick that they block the road, making it impossible to press on by use of the jeep. Guess they'll have to walk from this point. Snapped branches and prints of webbed feet and sharp claws stamped onto the dirt betray the location of another well-traveled path that two full-grown men could enter without difficulty were they standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Hopefully, whatever made this path isn't very territorial. Things could get violent, were that the case. This might make searching the jeep for weaponry worthwhile. Most primitive beings cower and throw themselves to their knees when they first are introduced to the mighty boomstick, after all.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Jeep]

Daetrin draws his blaze. "Checking for weapons might be advisable. There is rarely such a thing as too many guns when going into a potential fight, after all."

[Reinholdt]

[Forest]

Reinholdt looks over his shoulder at the sniper rifle on his back.
"I'm good, thanks."

He says, hopping out and wondering why the heck they're in a cliche jungle. It makes getting to temples such a pain. Though he supposes that's the reason treasure is left in the temples. If they were easy to get to, they'd have been robbed long ago. The Egyptian pyramids disproved that, though, by having lots of traps and hidden chambers still occasionally being found.

He'll let the giant spiky thing lead the way, holding the GPS and looking to see how many miles they'll have to walk. If it's kind enough to tell them.

[FireFox]

[Forest]

Aurea doesn't take any weapons either. She brings up the rear of the little group, but sticks close to Reinholdt, watching him very carefully.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Forest]

I guess Will leads? Reinholdt and Aurea seem to have gotten lucky yet again, since his weapon fries an area, though he would have tried to avoid catching them.

Will is noting the route into his datapad, with one of his lower hands, as they travel.

[The Alexandrian]

[Forest of the Ith]

The muddy, overgrown path is one that curves first left then right and continues on in this fashion for quite a distance. Will will likely find that the path resembles the form of a rapacious addler winding across the dust of the earth. For about a mile, absolute silence and stillness surround the little group of intrepid adventurers. The hum of buzzing insects and the soft rustle of creatures scurrying about that is the mark of forests of this magnitude is entirely nonexistent in this place of darkness and shadow. The atmosphere feels like the great wet eye of a spiteful Caribbean gale.

Suddenly, a dark humanoid figure comes into view, its body encased in the eternal shade of this sanctified forest. He (or perhaps she, for I can only extrapolate in this absence of light) merely stands on his or her branch and watches the group as it approaches. Its intent is not clearly communicated by its body language. It is most likely a primitive, uncivilized thing, so it may be openly hostile toward the group. There is, of course, a chance that it will actually be quite hospitable, but it does not hurt to expect the worst while simultaneously hoping for the best.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Forest of the Ith]

Will aims his blaze at the creature, and says "Hello?", repeating the greeting in Saudar if it doesn't seem to understand.

Also, the Tyr are cave dwellers, so they have pretty good night vision. Would that be enough to help?

[Reinholdt]

[Forest of the Ith]

Reinholdt leans around Will to get a better look. Unfortunately, having his charismatic human form means trading away his kitty's night vision. So he can't see as well. Still, he can see the outline alright.

Reinholdt doesn't take any hostile actions as of yet though, and let's Will do the talking this time around. It's good to see how others do with the talking.

[FireFox]

[Forest of the Ith]

If everyone would please close their eyes for a second. Aurea holds up a hand and magically creates a golden orb of light. It should illuminate a large area around the party, but if anyone was looking at her when she created it, they might be blinded for awhile.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Forest of the Ith]

Will closes his eyes, saying "Are you certain about whatever it is you're doing? He, she, or it, might not understand you, after all."

[The Alexandrian]

[Forest of the Ith]

The orb of light should be enough to illuminate the figure. Will's cave vision would also suffice, allowing him to make out the figure's features even before the orb is activated, though certainly not with as much clarity.

What is the thing that was watching them, then?

It is both scaly and green, with a short tail and snout that resemble those of an alligator. It is female in shape, but its anatomy is nothing like that of a human, as, despite the creature wearing no clothing, nothing even remotely related to reproduction is displayed (thankfully). Its eyes are violent, red dots and its feet are clawed. Its head is covered in more rugged scales. It has no hair of which to speak.

When the ball of light appears, the creature hisses, revealing a sharp toothed maw and a long, thin, saw-like tongue.

It falls out of its tree and hits the mud headfirst with a splurtch. Ouch!

Well, I guess it's time to get acquainted with the locals...

[Lady Serpentine]

[Forest of the Ith]

Will hears the noise, and, after opening his eyes, heads over to the creature.

He scans her for obvious injuries with the datapad, and says, in Common and Saudar, "Are you okay?".

[Reinholdt]

[Forest of the Ith]

Reinholdt closes his eyes! Alas it still takes a few seconds to get accustomed to new lighting conditions.

Regardless of this, he'll stay where he's at and take a look around for others. He's not sure approaching the creature is a good idea at this point.

[FireFox]

[Forest of the Ith]

Aurea watches cautiously. To be precise, she watches Reinholdt cautiously. She feels way less threatened by some reptilian creature.

[The Alexandrian]

[Forest of the Ith]

Will will get no response! Why? Because the reptile-girl has no vocal cords to respond with! She isn't really injured at all. She's just been stunned by the sudden burst of light.

She does attempt to smack the datapad out of Will's hand. She can sense the movement just fine. She can't quite tell what is causing the movement, but does that really matter? No. It doesn't. That thing is moving and it caused her to fall out of a tree. That hurt! The thing must pay!

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt instinctively flinches for his rifle when she makes a sudden movement.

It ends up in his hands, though not pointed at the lizard woman.