Nac Mac Feegle
First Post
Thane snorts in reply to Ryon, and murmurs "An understatement if anything." Turning to answer Alistia, he shrugs indifferently. "Very well. Assuming Artemisia will stand watch alone, that leaves Erin and Enko together."
Into the New World, Chapter 1: Amongst the Verdant Towers
- Thread starter Zurai
- Start date
Erin shrugs as Quoth flaps to her shoulder. The raven tilts his head towards her and makes a sound that for all the world sounds like whispering. A sort of murmuring noise with occasional sibilants mixed in. Erin keeps her head still but looks away with her eyes. Quoth stops and caws, half-flapping his wings for balance as Erin turns to regard Thane.
"I could take a watch with either. I'm not picky."
"I could take a watch with either. I'm not picky."
Zurai
First Post
Although your minds are telling you that the sun has barely set, there has been only the vaguest hint of light for about an hour now. Thane sets himself up watching over the camp as the rest of the small band quickly make shelters and a small firepit - the hunters showing the others how, as needed. The sounds of night in the forest echo strangely through the trees.
Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! Crkrkrkrkrkrkrkt whhhhhhhhsshshsh rrrrtttrtttcrk!
A chorus of nocturnal insects serenade the unseen moon, and in the distance leaves rustle in the wind and branches creak and snap. Those unused to spending nights out in the wilderness have difficulty drifting off to sleep. Just as the dreamy haze starts to fog their minds ... a branch snaps, an owl hoots startlingly close by, somewhere in the distance a wolf howls only to be answered by Growl - something happens to snap them back to wakefulness. Still, exhaustion eventually wins out and one by one, everyone but Thane falls asleep.
[sblock=Enko, Cleyra, Thane, Ryon]You recognize the insects as thorn-singers by their calls (Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet!). Thorn-singers are about an inch long with a thorn-like spike on their backs; they cling tightly to trees, their shape and coloration giving them effective camouflage from predators. Thorn-singers are edible, but they taste slightly bitter.
[sblock=Enko, Cleyra]Thorn-singers sing at night to attract mates; they're active year round, but usually most dense in autumn, when their calls can approach near-deafening levels at times.
[sblock=Cleyra]Thorn-singers make an effective early-warning device, as they only sing when they cannot see any large creatures. Thorn-singers see very well at night, and they have been known to stop mid-song when a human is moving over 500 feet from the tree they cling to.[/sblock][/sblock]The second insect call (Crkrkrkrkrkrkrkt) is not one you recognize.[/sblock][sblock=First Watch: Thane]Your watch technically began as soon as the group stopped for the night, but it took over an hour for the city-dwellers to finally drift off to sleep. You settle in to start your watch in earnest, keeping your eyes and ears peeled for unusual sights and sounds. The fire casts a faint flickering shadow across the landscape, twisting and distorting the shapes you know - trees, bushes, sleeping humans - into nightmarish caricatures. The sounds of night in the forest also seem ever so slightly off to you, and there are insect calls you do not recognize.
About halfway through your watch, shortly after the last of the party has stopped tossing and turning under their blanket, you get a crawling sensation up your spine, as if something were staring hard directly at your back. With the Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! of the thorn-singers echoing loudly in your ears, you slowly turn, acting naturally, slitting your eyes to keep the light of the fire from ruining your night vision. Straining to see in the darkness, you realize that you're now directly facing the large oak tree that Artemisia was so interested in earlier; it looms in the shadows about a hundred paces down the path, the light from the fire barely making it visible in the darkness. Try as you might, you can't see anything unusual about it from this distance.[/sblock]
Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! Crkrkrkrkrkrkrkt whhhhhhhhsshshsh rrrrtttrtttcrk!
A chorus of nocturnal insects serenade the unseen moon, and in the distance leaves rustle in the wind and branches creak and snap. Those unused to spending nights out in the wilderness have difficulty drifting off to sleep. Just as the dreamy haze starts to fog their minds ... a branch snaps, an owl hoots startlingly close by, somewhere in the distance a wolf howls only to be answered by Growl - something happens to snap them back to wakefulness. Still, exhaustion eventually wins out and one by one, everyone but Thane falls asleep.
[sblock=Enko, Cleyra, Thane, Ryon]You recognize the insects as thorn-singers by their calls (Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet!). Thorn-singers are about an inch long with a thorn-like spike on their backs; they cling tightly to trees, their shape and coloration giving them effective camouflage from predators. Thorn-singers are edible, but they taste slightly bitter.
[sblock=Enko, Cleyra]Thorn-singers sing at night to attract mates; they're active year round, but usually most dense in autumn, when their calls can approach near-deafening levels at times.
[sblock=Cleyra]Thorn-singers make an effective early-warning device, as they only sing when they cannot see any large creatures. Thorn-singers see very well at night, and they have been known to stop mid-song when a human is moving over 500 feet from the tree they cling to.[/sblock][/sblock]The second insect call (Crkrkrkrkrkrkrkt) is not one you recognize.[/sblock][sblock=First Watch: Thane]Your watch technically began as soon as the group stopped for the night, but it took over an hour for the city-dwellers to finally drift off to sleep. You settle in to start your watch in earnest, keeping your eyes and ears peeled for unusual sights and sounds. The fire casts a faint flickering shadow across the landscape, twisting and distorting the shapes you know - trees, bushes, sleeping humans - into nightmarish caricatures. The sounds of night in the forest also seem ever so slightly off to you, and there are insect calls you do not recognize.
About halfway through your watch, shortly after the last of the party has stopped tossing and turning under their blanket, you get a crawling sensation up your spine, as if something were staring hard directly at your back. With the Chrrrr-vhhhhht ... Whhhhhrrrrrrrreeeeeeet! of the thorn-singers echoing loudly in your ears, you slowly turn, acting naturally, slitting your eyes to keep the light of the fire from ruining your night vision. Straining to see in the darkness, you realize that you're now directly facing the large oak tree that Artemisia was so interested in earlier; it looms in the shadows about a hundred paces down the path, the light from the fire barely making it visible in the darkness. Try as you might, you can't see anything unusual about it from this distance.[/sblock]
Nac Mac Feegle
First Post
[sblock=Zurai]Thane lets his eyes unfocus, not looking anywhere, but rather seeing everywhere, alert for movement. He's hunted by night before, and knows plenty of tricks, but every time he gets comfortable his thoughts drift to the others with him, a new complicating factor. The very concept of standing watch is slightly strange to him, really, and the unnatural sounds of the forest don't help him settle down. Nearly an hour after the last city-dweller nods off, he finally decides that before he wakes Ryon he might as well go take a closer look at that tree. Artemisia may not have been at her best, but she was known as a good hunter - as those from the town went - and it bore at least a look.
OOC: Moving stealthily to take a look around the tree. Hide, Move Silently, Listen and Spot are all +9s.
[/sblock]
OOC: Moving stealthily to take a look around the tree. Hide, Move Silently, Listen and Spot are all +9s.
[/sblock]
Zurai
First Post
[sblock=Thane]You let your eyes and mind unfocus, attempting to see by not seeing. As you begin to creep towards the distant tree, you suddenly realize that the thorn-singers have stopped calling, leaving only the occasional mysterious Crkrkrkrkrkrkrkt. As soon as the thorn-singers go silent, the sensation of being watched disappears. By the time you get to the tree, the silence has become even more unnerving than the insectile chorus was.
The ancient oak tree towering over you is wider than a man is tall, its bark gnarled and tough, its roots sinking deep into the ground. Around its base, a deep layer of decaying leaves and plant matter squelches under your feet. You make a careful circuit of the tree, examining the ground around it and the branches above your head as well as the trunk itself. You find depressions in the layer of dead leaves that signify something else having stood here recently, but that's not surprising since Artemisia, Enko, and Ryon have all examined the tree before you. As you near the end of your circle around the tree, something falls from one of the branches and bounces squarely off the top of your head. Looking up, you see nothing but leaves and boughs; at your feet is a sizeable acorn. The wind whistles through the branches, sounding almost - almost! - like distant laughter.[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC Watch Order]
1. Thane
2. Erin and Enko
3. Ryon
4. Artemisia
5. Cleyra and Alistia[/sblock]
The ancient oak tree towering over you is wider than a man is tall, its bark gnarled and tough, its roots sinking deep into the ground. Around its base, a deep layer of decaying leaves and plant matter squelches under your feet. You make a careful circuit of the tree, examining the ground around it and the branches above your head as well as the trunk itself. You find depressions in the layer of dead leaves that signify something else having stood here recently, but that's not surprising since Artemisia, Enko, and Ryon have all examined the tree before you. As you near the end of your circle around the tree, something falls from one of the branches and bounces squarely off the top of your head. Looking up, you see nothing but leaves and boughs; at your feet is a sizeable acorn. The wind whistles through the branches, sounding almost - almost! - like distant laughter.[/sblock]
[sblock=OOC Watch Order]
1. Thane
2. Erin and Enko
3. Ryon
4. Artemisia
5. Cleyra and Alistia[/sblock]
Nac Mac Feegle
First Post
[sblock=Zurai]Thane gives the area one last look before picking up the acorn and, with a more troubled mind than before, heading back to the camp. Leaving his blanket stretched out on an empty patch of ground, he goes over to wake Enko and Erin, before lying down - not in the blanket, but a short distance away in the leaves under a tree, blending in with the dappled ground - to go to sleep.[/sblock]
[sblock=Second Watch: Erin and Enko]When two hours have passed, Erin is woken quietly by Thane's hand on her shoulder. In a near whisper, the young hunter says "Wake Enko, your watch is now," before disappearing into the shadow of a nearby tree.[/sblock]
[sblock=Second Watch: Erin and Enko]When two hours have passed, Erin is woken quietly by Thane's hand on her shoulder. In a near whisper, the young hunter says "Wake Enko, your watch is now," before disappearing into the shadow of a nearby tree.[/sblock]
Erin wakes up with an inhaled breath and a quick startled jerk...then her eyes focus on Thane and she relaxes. As she sits up, there's rustling from the tree branches overhead, and something like a rough black comet falls to the earth next to Enko, to tower over his head like a giant raven. Or, in this case, like an only slightly larger than usual raven that just happened to be right next to his head.
"Awwwwg...wake up!"
"Awwwwg...wake up!"
Dire Lemming
First Post
Enko's eyes snap open and he immediately sits up and looks around. "Huh? What the? Who's there?!" he notices Erin and stares at her for a moment before it clicks and he looks back down to see Quoth. "Ah..." He takes a deep breath and looks back at Erin. "Why'd you have to make him do that... So it's our watch now is it? All right." Enko shakes his head as he stands and picks up his weapons, then heads over to the edge of the camp and faces the giant oak tree. "Keep alert Erin. Tell me if you see or hear anything unusual."
"You mean, act as if I was standing watch?" Erin inquires wryly. "And here I was going to go back to sleep."
She gets to her feet and goes to stand at the other side of the camp, leaning against a tree trunk and shielding a yawn against the back of her hand. Quoth flaps up to her shoulder and regards Enko with a beady black eye.
It's hard to shake the feeling that it would be grinning at him if it could.
She gets to her feet and goes to stand at the other side of the camp, leaning against a tree trunk and shielding a yawn against the back of her hand. Quoth flaps up to her shoulder and regards Enko with a beady black eye.
It's hard to shake the feeling that it would be grinning at him if it could.
Dire Lemming
First Post
Enko remains silent for a while, then he suddenly turns to Erin and says in a quiet voice. "Hey Erin... Are you sure about this?"
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