Outside 40: It's all downhill from here

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

In a large hill standing in the middle of a dark, thick wood, all animals appear to have been evicted. Instead, some dark, creeping shapes appear to have moved in. Currently, anyone who passes by there for some reason might spot a hunched, malformed figure perching on a tree overlooking the hill.

Walking as consistently as he had for the past few days had dulled his motivation. Suscipio opted to take a quick break before continuing onward. Finding a small rock next to a thickening wood brought him more than just rest, however. A familiar eerie feeling made his hair stand on end, though he didn't know why. Looking around, he realized the wildlife had thinned as the trees became more abundant. There were no sounds to accompany his small break; no noises he'd been accustomed to on his way here at all.

Alright. Take it easy. Something's wrong here, but is it dangerous? I know I wasn't followed. The trees look healthy and normal, though I can't see anywhere that looks like a potential ambush point. At least from the ground...

Looking up, Suscipio notices the silhouette of some...crouching...thing in the branches not too far from him up overlooking a hilltop. Immediately, Suscipio grips his weapons and tenses, but shoots a more inquisitive look the creature's way.

[Morty]

[Hill]

The creature perched on the tree has the vague appearance of a malformed bird. It's dark up there, and the thing seems to draw shadows towards it, obscuring it further. How much detail Suspicio can make out depends on how well he can see in the dark. His time-sight will have trouble recognizing the thing's age - it appears blurry and indistinct, as if it came from someplace there time holds little sway. In any event, the creature also takes note of him. It shifts and twitches slightly, and utters a high-pitched hiss that sounds like a warning.

[Lost_Deep]

Sophia slowly lowers herself down to the castle top, landing with grace and surveying the location.

The houses along the edges are scrunched and mutilated, it's like they were one normal houses and now are jammed together along the walls. The top of the castle is intact, but it looks like the bottom is slightly mangled. Paint has long since stripped away, but given the dry climate and the protective membrane above the wooden buildings are not rotted.

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The creature perched on the tree has the vague appearance of a malformed bird. It's dark up there, and the thing seems to draw shadows towards it, obscuring it further. How much detail Suscipio can make out depends on how well he can see in the dark. In any event, the creature also takes note of him. It shifts and twitches slightly, and utters a high-pitched hiss that sounds like a warning.

Under further study, the creature appears to ruffle something similar to wings. It's a bit hard to make out in the dark, from what he can tell. His expression turns from inquisitive to stern as the creature lets loose a hiss loud enough to whiten Suscipio's knuckles. After a second, he reconsiders. He releases his grip on the katana and drops his demeanor to be a lot less threatening. Rubbing his pocket-watch he thinks of taking a glance. Deciding against that as well, he smirks for a quickest second. Instead he simply focuses on the creature, trying to determine it's age. The outlines of the creature seems to blur, making it slightly more difficult than normal. Doing so, Suscipio resumes sitting on his rock, just looking at his bird-like neighbor, saying nothing.

And what might this be?

[Morty]

[Hill]

The age of the bird-like creature can be vaguely pinpointed as rather young. It seems it was created relatively recently... but it may have existed in some other form before that. As Suspicio examines it, it makes more noise, this time managing to produce something coherent... it sounds a bit like "get away".

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The age of the bird-like creature can be vaguely pinpointed as rather young. It seems it was created relatively recently... but it may have existed in some other form before that. As Suscipio examines it, it makes more noise, this time managing to produce something coherent... it sounds a bit like "get away".

The creature makes further sounds. At a couple particular ones, a frown forms on Suscipio's face.

Did it tell me to leave? It can speak, so it would seem. Some force is at work around it, hiding it's form, I'd think, but how? Curious beast.

His brow furrows in attempts to piece out what kind of magic or ability it might be using, seeing as it's new to him. He'd seen many different kinds of magic used to make people harder to see, but normally that either made them disappear completely or blend with their surroundings. This was new, and piqued Suscipio's interest. Now he had to learn about it. He calmly sat, took out his pocket-watch and focused for just a moment. With a very brief, very dim glow, it showed him the past of the hill and dense glade in which he now sat. In his mind, he looked to see when and how the creature got here, in this secluded and shadowy forest.

[Morty]

[Hill]

The creature seems to be a fae, if Suspicio is familiar with them. It seems to have come here recently, together with others of its kind, from some dark, deep not-quite-a-place. They chased away or killed the animals that lived here and prepared the inside of the hills as a lair for someone other than them, who will be coming along later.

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The creature seems to be a fae, if Suspicio is familiar with them. It seems to have come here recently, together with others of its kind, from some dark, deep not-quite-a-place. They chased away or killed the animals that lived here and prepared the inside of the hills as a lair for someone other than them, who will be coming along later.

After the vision fades, Suscipio blinks a few times in disbelief. There were others. He didn't expect to find any faefolk here. The research he'd undergone didn't mention much about the elusive creatures. Books and stories only amount to so much anyway. What's more is that he'd only read that they're whimsical and normally difficult to predict; some form of wild magic always about them.

Intriguing.

Suddenly alert, he keeps an eye out for the others he'd seen in the vision. giving the treeline a more thorough scan.

They killed the other inhabitants, which means they're at least territorial. Curious to see how long they'll tolerate my presence. I wonder, are they mortal?

Suscipio looks again at the bird-like fae. He focuses his magic and a dim glow appears in his eyes. Tapping into the creature's natural pattern, he looks to see how long it has to live until its natural death, if such a thing would occur.

[Morty]

[Hill]

The lifespan of the bird-like Fae seems highly dependent on the will of its creator. Theoretically, it may persist indefinitely if its master wills it so and is strong enough to keep it existing. It's a lesser, subservient faerie creature. As Suspicio examines it, it gets anxious again. It chirps and squeaks, trying to communicate something, but this time cannot produce coherent words.

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The lifespan of the bird-like Fae seems highly dependent on the will of its creator. Theoretically, it may persist indefinitely if its master wills it so and is strong enough to keep it existing. It's a lesser, subservient faerie creature. As Suspicio examines it, it gets anxious again. It chirps and squeaks, trying to communicate something, but this time cannot produce coherent words.

Frowning once again, the glow from his eyes diminish and Suscipio rubs the bridge of his nose as the light recoil hits. From what he could gather, the beast seemed...channeled.

Some energy gives life to this creature through a duration; its mark in time is blurred. Not quite immortal, but more like spawned and kept.

The fae makes further sounds.

Perhaps whatever created it might not be too far away. Would that make this creature a sentry of sorts? It'd explain why I haven't seen any others quite yet. It scouts the area from above and alerts the rest. Hm. It did speak. Isn't it likely that it can understand speech as well?

"Good day. Care to tell me where exactly I might be intruding, or why you need me gone?" Suscipio called out.

[Morty]

[Hill]

The thing flutters its wings. As it spreads them, the body between them is revealed to be skinny, hunched over and somewhat more human-like than you'd expect from a bird. Its head is still indistinct, but it is now visible that it's rather big in comparison to the torso. The Fae produces more sounds, this time managing to make itself understood a bit.

"Danger! No place f' mortals! Bad! Bad!"

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The thing flutters its wings. As it spreads them, the body between them is revealed to be skinny, hunched over and somewhat more human-like than you'd expect from a bird. Its head is still indistinct, but it is now visible that it's rather big in comparison to the torso. The Fae produces more sounds, this time managing to make itself understood a bit.

"Danger! No place f' mortals! Bad! Bad!"

Suscipio scratches the back of his head wearing a puzzled look as the Fae elicits more noise.

"Dangerous how? Bad how? Does your master wish me gone from here?"

[Morty]

[Hill]

"Master... not know... you here!" The Fae screeches. "Master big and bad! He find you here... you trouble!"

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

"Master... not know... you here!" The Fae screeches. "Master big and bad! He find you here... you trouble!"

The puzzled expression transcends to that of concern.

Is this creature warning me? Why? If it were under service of something sinister, why would it warn me from harm? Is the creature not also as sinister as its master?

"I see. You wouldn't be here against your will, would you? If you tell me a bit about your master, I will gather my things and take my leave directly."

If it would warn me, then it either wishes to refrain from the effort of combat, or it wishes I would not get harmed. Hopefully the latter, that I might get a bit more information before moving on. On the off chance it's being held here, I could use the information to better any chances of freeing it.

[Morty]

[Hill]

The fae twitches and shifts slightly on the branch.

"No will. I go where master wills. Master is King. King in Rags. Terrible."

[Lex-Kat]

Melody's Island

"It's good. Your soup is always good," Happy says. She looks at Melody. "Be careful with that acupuncher stuff. They make me pass out." Actually that was Happy's player. This was about 15 or so years ago that I had acupuncture. I never felt the needles, but about two minutes after they were put in, I fainted. The assistant caught me - they removed some of the needles, and had me lay down. The doctor says it was because I had very low chi, so that's why redirecting it with the needles had that effect.

I really don't know what I believe about all that, still.

Derek smiles and nods, use to that reaction. "Well my acupuncture is probably a little different then what you might be thinking of. Where I am from it is one of the more popular ways to focus healing magic. It takes a bit of time, but I would say we could have that bone fixed in an hour or so. Just so long as you aren't scared of needles.

Melody reaches out with her good arm to touch Derek. I'm not scared of needles. Besides, not too much choice, right? she says with a smile.

With the sun getting low in the sky, three figures come down near the cottage. I will let them describe themselves. One is an unconscious young girl, about 15 or so. Another is a pink kitty, who as soon as he drops the other two off, he flies away, quite posibly to never be seen in the Nexus again (()). The third, I will allow her to describe herself ((unless she too is leaving the Nexus. )).

((For the adventures on Grandpa's Secret Island, QuickTopic.))

[Solidarity]

[Hill]

The fae twitches and shifts slightly on the branch.

"No will. I go where master wills. Master is King. King in Rags. Terrible."

As I thought. It's just under orders. A conjured beast of sorts.

Suscipio closes his eyes for a brief moment and gets up.

"Thank you, kind fae. Bid your master well for me in that case. I'm not too sure if you eat normally, but if so, here." he says, rummaging through his equipment.

Out from a small bag Suscipio pulls a wrapped hunk of venison, and lays it on the ground in front of him. He then appears to etch something into the stone he'd sat on, and turns back toward the fae.

"As we agreed then." With a smirk, he gathers the last of his things, about-faces and walks off.

King in Rags, eh? Very interesting.

[Hattish Thing]

The Frozen Forest:

The place was cold. Bitter cold. Unfriendly. Not a place for a person to be at, especially at night. Especially not alone... Dark things were buried here, and terrible deeds were done within the depths of the forest. It was a night of specters, spirits, and things that go bump. The stars shined down upon the forest, but their light was dampened by the thick, dead trees. A man and his partner wander the cold forest, taking in the cold air and shivering with each breath. Shoyler had been informed of some horrid beast of undeath and fire. A terrible creature that could steal the warmth out of a man with a single touch of the skin. The monster supposedly lurked here, in the depths of the cold, dead forest. Shoyler walks forward, his heavy armor covered by a long fur trench coat, his body protected from the bitter cold. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the weather from being incredibly uncomfortable. He walks with his hammer on his back, a lantern in hand.

Deep in the forest, things stir.... Watching the pair of vampire hunters walk about, on the hunt. Always watching, never acting.

Shoyler speaks out to his partner, his words somewhat slurred by the cold and raspy wind. Guh... I don't like it here...

[Aric Kale]

The Frozen Forest

The Mourning Hoplite fits in perfectly with the setting, especially with his fireproof hawthorn golem trudging along behind him. The Athenian vampire hunter shivers in the cold, a thick coat not unlike Shoyler's covering his black armor. I agree entirely, let us kill this creature and be on our way...
In addition to his golem, Zander has been reoutfitted with two xiphos, one of steel and the other silver. He was ready to slay the undead...

[Ionbound]

[Frozen Forest]

The pair of hunters might see a bright light in the distance, and, if they are very sharp of hearing, they'll be able to hear a cry of, "...Hello?! I...I think I can see someone! Can...Can you please help me!? Meanwhile, the outside temperature has dropped significantly, and, more alarmingly, the cold seems to be penetrating through the hunters' layers.

[Hattish Thing]

The Frozen Forest

The Mourning Hoplite fits in perfectly with the setting, especially with his fireproof hawthorn golem trudging along behind him. The Athenian vampire hunter shivers in the cold, a thick coat not unlike Shoyler's covering his black armor. I agree entirely, let us kill this creature and be on our way...
In addition to his golem, Zander has been reoutfitted with two xiphos, one of steel and the other silver. He was ready to slay the undead...

[Frozen Forest]

The pair of hunters might see a bright light in the distance, and, if they are very sharp of hearing, they'll be able to hear a cry of, "...Hello?! I...I think I can see someone! Can...Can you please help me!? Meanwhile, the outside temperature has dropped significantly, and, more alarmingly, the cold seems to be penetrating through the hunters' layers.

Shoyler strides forward, the snow building up to his boots as he walks, more than a little bit grumpy. He didn't want to be here. For someone so used to hunting for undead in strange and exotic places, he never did get used to the bitter bite of cold. As soon as he got back home, he was going to take the longest bath.... The head of his warhammer had even began frosting over! He speaks again, his gruff voice somewhat inaudible. The wind was extremely loud.

Problem is that I don't even know exactly where the thing is. Supposedly there's some sort of temple in here where the thing drags it's victims. A vampire prefers their victim's living during draining. Tastes better, usually, or something. Soooo. Chances are, if we find a building somewhere in this hellish place, we'll find the monster.

But... Beware. Vampire's are tricky bastards...

Then, some sort of yelling can be heard! Unfortunately, due to the distance of the cries and the loudness of the wind, Shoyler misses most of what the voice says. Something about help. Someone seemed to be asking for help! Shoyler, however, is not amused. ...Did you hear that? That's no human being, I'm sure of it. No one would head into this place of their own free will. Perhaps it's a trick. Some kind of trap to lure us in. Hmm. we should probably go towards the lights, just in case. I don't want some innocent, if foolish camper's blood on my hands. Stupid campers. Probably some idiot teenagers coming out here. Or people trying to film a ghost or something.

Shoyler will then grumble, and continue to trudge forward to the light, taking out his heavy crossbow as he moves close.

[Recaiden]

[Silver Keep]

Or maybe they're simply more inclined to appreciate dramatic gestures from people who aren't unknown, possibly dangerous and on fire.
"I'd rather believe you're a liar, than be eaten by a dragon." The guard shoots back, applying the sharp grasp of probability that comes with staring down unpleasant death."But put that down, His spear turns to point at the strange gun on Ashna's hip, "and any other weapons, and we'll have you inside. Figure out what all this is about."

Crossbows bristle from the walls now, and more steely footsteps sound down the way. The options narrow, one way or another.

That would be, well, reasonable of them. They're probably living in the time before this place was part of the Nexus. The traveler bets that dragons are about as strange as it gets here. Ashna nods, and takes her hands away the trigger of the gun, lowering it, re-engaging the safety, and strapping it away.
"Very well." She raises a hand, waiting for him to open the way in.
"When I will have come to this keep, it is the stronghold of a band of criminals. I had hoped to pass through it in a time when it was in better hands."

[Earl of Purple]

Outside the Village of Peacefield

A massive, flaming rock is descending from the sky at quite a pace. The inhabitants of Peacefield, used to fighting off marauding beasts, confused bandits and many other threats that wander in from neighbouring realities, see this and flee to their basements and a small tower in the centre of their town that serves as a small defensive position. These precautions would be pointless if the massive meteor hits the village, but it's better than nothing. And it seems to be destined to land about a mile to the south.

When it does land, the shockwave destroys several large fields, flattening and burning the crops, fences, hedges and in one case cattle. The stout stone cottages of Peacefield withstand the blast mostly untouched; the Temple to Meridia has had all its windows broken, and the houses nearest the blast no longer have any roofs, but that's it.

The cautious villagers emerge from their hiding places and assess the damage, turning south to see the meteor itself. Only, it isn't a meteor, it seems. Instead, it resembles a massive skull made of a mysterious black substance. It has left a large crater, yet the vast skull isn't in the crater. It seems to have bounced, only without coming down- it's floating, two storeys above the fields, and gazing balefully upon the community of Peacefield with its vast, empty eyesockets. The skull is about four storeys high, proportioned much the same as a human's skull on a massive scale, and a motorcycle could fit in the eye socket.

[Aric Kale]

[Frozen Forest]

The pair of hunters might see a bright light in the distance, and, if they are very sharp of hearing, they'll be able to hear a cry of, "...Hello?! I...I think I can see someone! Can...Can you please help me!? Meanwhile, the outside temperature has dropped significantly, and, more alarmingly, the cold seems to be penetrating through the hunters' layers.

Shoyler strides forward, the snow building up to his boots as he walks, more than a little bit grumpy. He didn't want to be here. For someone so used to hunting for undead in strange and exotic places, he never did get used to the bitter bite of cold. As soon as he got back home, he was going to take the longest bath.... The head of his warhammer had even began frosting over! He speaks again, his gruff voice somewhat inaudible. The wind was extremely loud.

Problem is that I don't even know exactly where the thing is. Supposedly there's some sort of temple in here where the thing drags it's victims. A vampire prefers their victim's living during draining. Tastes better, usually, or something. Soooo. Chances are, if we find a building somewhere in this hellish place, we'll find the monster.

But... Beware. Vampire's are tricky bastards...

Then, some sort of yelling can be heard! Unfortunately, due to the distance of the cries and the loudness of the wind, Shoyler misses most of what the voice says. Something about help. Someone seemed to be asking for help! Shoyler, however, is not amused. ...Did you hear that? That's no human being, I'm sure of it. No one would head into this place of their own free will. Perhaps it's a trick. Some kind of trap to lure us in. Hmm. we should probably go towards the lights, just in case. I don't want some innocent, if foolish camper's blood on my hands. Stupid campers. Probably some idiot teenagers coming out here. Or people trying to film a ghost or something.

Shoyler will then grumble, and continue to trudge forward to the light, taking out his heavy crossbow as he moves close.

Frozen Forest

The hoplite doesn't bother responding to his comrade, instead gesturing for his golem to scout ahead. This cold is unnatural, even for an icy wasteland such as this. Stay warm, lest the frost bite through thy fingers... He breathes into his gloves, rubbing them together vigorously. I would not be surprised if the noise was caused by our prey...let us wait while Hawthorn investigates. The short wooden construct trundles on ahead, looking for signs of life...or unlife...

[Ionbound]

Frozen Forest

The hoplite doesn't bother responding to his comrade, instead gesturing for his golem to scout ahead. This cold is unnatural, even for an icy wasteland such as this. Stay warm, lest the frost bite through thy fingers... He breathes into his gloves, rubbing them together vigorously. I would not be surprised if the noise was caused by our prey...let us wait while Hawthorn investigates. The short wooden construct trundles on ahead, looking for signs of life...or unlife...

The wooden construct trundles off into the woods. If it is programmed to come back if it enters a situation that would threaten it's existence, it returns, and will tell the hoplite that the closer it got to the light, the lower the temperature got until it could go no further. However, it did manage to get a look at it, and says that there was the upper torso of a young woman wearing winter gear floating in a corona of orange light.

If there is no self-preservation programming, however, it simply never returns.

Meanwhile, the light grows closer, and the temperature drops even further.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Lost and Found Temple]

"And when you die as an angel you become a werewolf? We probably can test that out in here." Dena replies. "But yeah, you're right. It's enchanted out of the wazoo though. Necromancy, evocation, transmutation... and I just barely know what those names mean. I'm no mage you know? Just rich enough to afford a lot of toys." She looks around. "However, the treasury should be near here. My goal here is to empty it, once we have done that we could just plant a bomb here and watch this place be blasted into bits and pieces."

"I get the feeling something as, ah, mundane as a bomb probably won't be enough to deal with this place. You know how it is, the bad guy never goes down that easily." Well, at least she can't imagine it being that simple what with the super-enchanted door and spooky magic voice and all.

Seems like they could really have done with some powerful magic-y person to try and disenchant some of this stuff.

"Looting the place and running and hoping for the best is...well, I'd almost be willing to bet money on something going wrong. Almost." The angel smirks, "So can that toy of yours see if they've got any fancy magical fields or something covering the whole temple? Oh, and I want a share of anything we loot from this place, of course."

[Shadowcaller]

[Lost and Found Temple]

"What? It always work on horror movies, well unless there is a sequel of course." Though you really shouldn't base your plans on horror movies. "And things always go worg, you can't bet money on things that are guaranteed to happen, sister. But to answer your question, it can in fact detect there are no fields in here that prevent us from teleporting out. Which is why it's my plan B. If that changes, you have a plan C? Always good to have more plans." Dena will now turn around and look for the treasure room which should be located nearby here judging by her last visit. Violet go first, scanning for traps and enchantments. "Keep scanning for demons by the way, don't want them to get a jump on us." Dena retrieves a 11 foot pole from her pocket (yes, really) as they go, you'd never know when it could get in handy.

[Ionbound]

[Lost Temple]

Violet flies along the tunnel unmolested, though she is able to detect high amounts of ambient magic, and, if Dena is paying close attention or if she has the programming for it, several mechanical traps. Once she reaches the treasury, however, Elereshur is waiting there for her, grinning, and extends a clawed finger at the drone unleashing a blast of energy at the drone that will likely destroy her if she doesn't manage to avoid it.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Lost Temple]

"Oh? You can't bet on things that are guaranteed to happen? Like, say, the exits getting sealed behind us?" Ithuriel chuckles and shakes her head, following on after Dena.

Plan C...plan C. Ithuriel isn't sure what exactly plan A is. Is plan A just hoping that the doors will be open for them when they run out? If there's no way out through the actual exits, and they get locked off from teleporting out, what other options do they have?

"Hmm. Yes. Yes I do have a plan C, if it comes to that. And don't worry, I'm not going to turn my demon scanner off." Though it can't pick up on anything as specific as the type of beings being scanned, Ithuriel is keeping her good/evil radar up. Which means she'll probably have memorised exactly what shade of good/evil grey Dena is by the end of this, but...also probably means she'll pick up on the presence of Elereshur from a fair way off.

[Hattish Thing]

Frozen Forest

The hoplite doesn't bother responding to his comrade, instead gesturing for his golem to scout ahead. This cold is unnatural, even for an icy wasteland such as this. Stay warm, lest the frost bite through thy fingers... He breathes into his gloves, rubbing them together vigorously. I would not be surprised if the noise was caused by our prey...let us wait while Hawthorn investigates. The short wooden construct trundles on ahead, looking for signs of life...or unlife...

The wooden construct trundles off into the woods. If it is programmed to come back if it enters a situation that would threaten it's existence, it returns, and will tell the hoplite that the closer it got to the light, the lower the temperature got until it could go no further. However, it did manage to get a look at it, and says that there was the upper torso of a young woman wearing winter gear floating in a corona of orange light.

If there is no self-preservation programming, however, it simply never returns.

Meanwhile, the light grows closer, and the temperature drops even further.

Shoyler continues walking forward, his crossbow aimed straight ahead, ever vigilant. Catching the veteran vampire hunter off guard was quite the feat! As he moves forward, he'll begin to shiver more and more, obviously becoming quite uncomfortable. This wasn't ideal hunting weather. They could get caught in a blizzard or something horrible. He didn't like it. This was dangerous. However, as the golem moves farther and farther ahead, he does pause, holding his heavy crossbow with one muscular hand as he spoke to his hunting partner.

You're right... This isn't normal. I've endured cold... But this is more. This is unnatural, as you said. Let me see here if there's something I can do...

He sniffles a little, snowflakes all over his beard and eyebrows, before casting "Endure Elements" on himself and The Mourning Hoplite. This spell ought to briefly cover the pair in a warm yellow light, before fading away. Once the light has vanished, the pair might find themselves incredibly comfortable. Even warm. There we go... That did the trick. Your golem okay?