The Center of Time

[iamrpgdm]

Antor feels himself being pulled through the air and then he sees flashes of colors and objects and land as he zooms past them. His eyes close. He feels a bit weak and just as he's about to pass out, he feels himself slowing down and eventually stopping. The ground now beneath him, he opens his eyes and takes a deep breath as he looks upon the ground and vomits.
[OOC - he has an inability of balance, so I figured this kind of thing would affect him a bit more than others.]

Wiping his mouth off and looking around to see if the others had seen, Antor stands up. He sees the mountain and realizes the have reached the place they've been looking for. As his eyes lower to see the city below the mountain and the area around it, he sees a purple creature in the distance amid streams of color.

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan had followed the group through the town, through their meetings with others, and finally along the road, a mute companion. At first his silence seemed normal, but as time went on he seemed to drift away from the others, unresponsive, his mind... elsewhere. Even the encounter with the auger saw him standing some distance away, watching the others but not engaging in the combat.

Spoiler: But in the mind of the glaive

Duncan's thoughts were on an endless replay of the abhumans in the compound, their last screams as he pulled the lever to shut them down. The justification, saving the lives of those the army would have crushed in their path, spoke up now and then, but the images in his head replayed again and again, drowning them out. Along for the ride were images of the battles in the arena, of those slaves Duncan had hunted and crushed beneath his blades, or even his hammer-hard fists, screaming, falling, begging.

Duncan was slowed by the thought, the despair, self-hatred. His body, his tactical mind computer, followed the band out of reflex, and because his control rod was held by his companion. His mind, his thoughts, however, were slowly fading. Duncan's spirit was quieted, falling into a deep depression.

The travelling device engaged Duncan's mind, and as the group was transported, something seemed to light up inside the Glaive. Whatever was keeping him quiet before seemed to have rebooted itself, and as the group landed he took a deep breath and looked about. His glowing disc irises, and the discs on his augmented body, lit up more brightly as he did so, and he looked around with new eyes.


"I... what happened? Where...? This is the mountain from the vision."

 

[doghead]

Wisco, A Tough Nano Who Lives in the Wilderness

Wisco and Ohm Eleven can quickly bury the Augur, giving him the peace he was not able to have in life.

"Thank you Eleven. The idea of just leaving the body by the roadside did not sit well with me."

Whoosh!

"I... what happened? Where...? This is the mountain from the vision."

Wisco gives Duncan a slap on the shoulder. "Welcome back my friend. You have been away from us for a while. It seems we have found the Upside Down Mountain.

"So," Wisco says, turning his attention back to the city. "What do you make of the creature in the field of energy? Guardian? Gatekeeper? Intruder?"

 

[Shayuri]

"Scavenger," Echo guesses. She takes the map out again, but her attention remains focused on the purple insectoid. "It's consuming whatever that 'energy' is. I expect normally there'd be defenses to stop it, but that seems to have broken down. It might react if it sees us as threats, but it doesn't look like it's looking for meat."

She unrolls the map then and peers at it to see if it's changed with this new venue.

 

[Guest 11456]

Ohm Eleven, A Mechanical Nano who Talks to Machines

At last the group had made it to the upside down mountain. As the others wonder about there next action, Ohm Eleven's demeanor changes suddenly. He seems more confident and maybe even a little taller. His voice is different as he speaks as if addressing a crowd. "The great machine tried but was unsuccessful in extracting the information from me. It utterly failed in the task. Now I have arrived at my destination and it shall be a time reckoning. For I have arrived. Omega..." But then he trails off, gets a far off stare and seems to be back to his usual quirky self. "Wow! What should we do now?"

 

[doghead]

Wisco, a Tough Nano who Lives in the Wilderness.

"Scavenger," Echo guesses.

Wisco considers Echo's suggestion. Intruder or Scavenger certainly seem to fit the bill.

[sblock=OOC]Wilderness Lore (Trained) [roll0][/sblock]

But then he trails off, gets a far off stare and seems to be back to his usual quirky self. "Wow! What should we do now?"

"I suggest we take a closer look at the field. And keep our distance from that thing."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Wisco, you believe you've heard of such a creature before, and considering the strange nature of the glimmer-visions you've been having, and the tree on your back, you do feel certain this is a chronal feeder, a creature that feeds on time anomalies. They're difficult to fight as they can skip through the spaces between time, appearing where they are not wanted... or making you appear when you didn't want to be.

Echo, you examine the map and find it has indeed changed, the scale reducing so you can actually see part of the city streets as well as the great field outside. The heavy point of the mountain gleams over the eastern part of the city, over a spot of pulsing red. A little south of it, still within the city walls, also pulses red, and faint lines of red connect them and several other places. There is also a very faint network of green lines, but they're very small.

Curiously, there's also what seems to be the swooping lines of some sort of bridge that should stretch from near where you seem to be and the city gates.

Antor, the nausea slowly fades as you find yourself back on solid ground and away from all this flying nonsense. This place seems to have a straight shot to the city, barring the insect creature. What lies inside the city, well, that's another thing entirely.

Duncan, the roving insect-like creature in the field rears up to tear at one of the lines of color with a savagery you haven't seen since someone put you in the ring with a ravage bear.

Ohm Eleven, the source of your dreams is close, and not getting much closer for your standing here. The answers lie ahead, the mountain lies ahead, the failed experiment lies ahead. Possibly your doom also lies ahead, but that is up to you.

Seregal, the key you had been given is now quiet, dark, and quiescent in your hand.

Behind all of you, the duracha quietly says, "Eep."

 

[doghead]

Wisco, a Tough Nano who lives in the Wilderness

"It is a chronal feeder," announces Wisco after giving the question some thought. "A creature that feeds on time anomalies. They're difficult to fight as they can skip through the spaces between time, appearing where they are not wanted... or making you appear when you didn't want to be.

"Perhaps we should find another place to investigate the field?"

Behind all of you, the duracha quietly says, "Eep."

Wisco turns to see the duracha behind them. "Ah, that was unexpected."

 

[fireinthedust]

Duncan nods, assessing the necessity of combat.

"It is fierce, but will it get in our way or follow us if we try to avoid it? And can it disrupt our business in the Mountain of Time?"

 

[doghead]

Wisco, a Tough Nano who Lives in the Wilderness

"It is fierce, but will it get in our way or follow us if we try to avoid it? And can it disrupt our business in the Mountain of Time?"

Wisco shrugs. "Generally it boils down to whether it sees you as food or a threat. I don't think we have any time anomalies among us, and distance usually reduces threat."

Wisco turns to the duracha. "How did you get through the field last time?"