[ORP] From the Woods - The Monster Revealed!

[Grey Dragon]

It has been some time since their relocation. Clansmen have come and gone, in and out with new supplies, new equipment, new ideas for their new home. Perhaps some are even coming to terms with it as such. Especially now that the gathering phase has given way to construction, and the hustle and bustle are leaning towards shops, businesses, parks, and yes, Homes.

But Halloween is still a strange area to many. Who knows what truly lives out in those woods?

If one listens closely on this damp, chilly afternoon, they will hear a sound from within the dark trees. A thick, plodding sound. Something heavy is coming this way...


((OOC: Has your horsemen heard the sound?))  

[kuropeco]

He did not like the woods, but he was somewhere in the vicinity of them anyway, considering where he was now living - a horrible place, as Mengyao had started to refer to it in his mind. Making his way along the edge of the forest, his long robes sweeping the ground, he was not entirely paying attention until he heard it -

- ...whatever it was, exactly. Frowning a little, Mengyao paused in his steps, tilting his head and absently tugging at one of the feathers of his fan. Something was making a rather heavy noise within the confines of the trees - a sort of tromping sound that he wasn't entirely certain he could identify.

...he wasn't sure whether he wanted to identify it, but his curiosity was getting the better of him anyway.  

[Boozver]

Heidla heard the sound and startled.

In her head it was throbbing, calling, reminding her of something he could not quite grasp - not that she has been good at grasping things recently. It sometimes occurred to her that the air of Halloween was changing her - and if she definitely become easier in terms of relationships, her curiosity was often left unsatisfied. And that's why she was feeling dumb, and that unsettled her. Why should it be that the world was far more different than she imagined it to be. Now she knew that it was too easy to feel wise and safe in the four walls of the Death Temple when you didn't do anything but studying and cataloguing and researching.... dead work, and though she was raised to see the primal importance of this work (and her status) she now felt it was reeking of dust and lacking real stuff.

Now, here was life and it was calling her. Slowly she let herself turn and follow the call into the woods.  

[medigel]

Tracking required a sort of finesse that Shik was trying to attain, though it was just a little hard to work towards it when, about an hour into stalking a large piggles, his prey was spooked by the sound of something far larger. With a squeal the minipet galloped away, faster than the horsemen liked, and by the time he stood and had his knives in hand, it was gone.

But replaced by what? Shikoba turned his head towards the direction of the sound with a frown, spying nothing yet but feeling wary. The Weeping Forest had shown nothing but malice to him, and now it looked as though he was going to tack on a new example as to why. Crouching, he began to stealth his way through the trees towards the plodding noise.  

[demon_pachabel]

And then Invi was there.

Rather, the once-heir was prone to being nearly everywhere as he watched over the lands with a sort of cautiousness only known to those who had actually ventured out and knew what they were getting into. He was fully aware not all of the clans were of that inclination.

So with the heavy sounds from the trees, he had come to investigate - after all, not everyone of his people was prepared for such things.

He turned his attention only briefly towards Mengyao, nodding in acknowledgement of the familiar face - after all, they had both been of nobility - though his had been of a very different stature. Not that he coveted it in such a blind manner now. But rather with reverence for what had once been the task of his father.  

[LP]

Mjoll had been out hunting for any precious stones she could find. As a jewel crafter, though she was still working up tokens to be able to buy enough land to satisfy her; she was still also doing some gathering here and there.

She had paused in it when she heard the plodding sound. A strange and unusual sound. She hated the forest, it was where all the wild things were. Which meant there was probably something stupid and dangerous coming their way. She walked over closer to Invi and the small crowd gathered. "... What in the devil is that?"  

[Smerdle]

Mmur had never felt terribly comfortable traipsing through large groups of trees while the islands had been around. They still weirded him out, but he had made a point of lingering in the forest more often nowadays, since he no longer had the luxury of rolling his eyes in the horseman equivalent of screw you guys, I'm going home when confronted with stupidly tall vegetation. These woods were home now, at least a part of it, and when there were noises in a part of your home, there was no excuse not to check them out. Plus, whatever was making these noises sounded big enough to ride, and that was enough of a reason to see what it was for himself.

The first thing he noticed was that this particular area was already hopping with horsepeople, none of whom he knew. "I get to ride it first," he muttered. None of them had better get any sneaky ideas.  

[Molten Tigrex]

Mahir bounced from branch to branch, kept in check by his shadowy arms. Near-misses converted to apelike swinging by the dark tendrils, tossing him back up on the next one and the process repeated. He was so short and slow on the ground, but he had never considered himself limited to it. He had wings that let him glide and new arms that could save him from a nasty fall, so he did not need to constrain himself. He enjoyed many things about the canopy. Up here he could see so many plants and animals so foreign to his lost homeland. Even now he would make random stops to carefully pick a spring of a curious plant below and envelope it in his cloak for later examination.

As he tapped his way over low branches, the usual pulse of the forest gave way to other sounds. Heavy noises, which began to mix with the buzz of voices. There was no reason not to stop and see what could be going on in this part of the woods, and no reason not to invite himself into the company of others. Inadvertently he found himself above a voice with that subtle flair of an accent marking them Conquest.

Mahir quickly wrapped his cloak about him with his frail grey fingers hidden. It was a short trust fall straight off the branch. With a creak of wood and a rustle of leaves he was suspended upside-down like a bat. Face to upside-down face with Mengyao and not too far from Lan and Invictus, his shadow arms splayed apart as far as they could go.

"Greetingsss!" he chirped. He gave Mengyao a curious and uncomfortably close look of deja-vu at first, but the thumping sound returned at full strength to distract him and he glanced from Mengyao to Lan and Invictus also. "Are you invessstigating that ssstrange noise as well?"

kuromeez

demon_pachabel

istoleyurvamps

 

[kuropeco]

Apparently he wasn't the only one who had noticed the odd sounding noise. A few moments into his "investigation" (if it could even be called that), and other horsemen had already started to show up. One of them was the dark skinned War one that Mengyao recalled from...well, the incident that shall not be named - but the next was the heir himself, Invictus. Mengyao turned slightly, his hands folded together in his sleeves, and gave the horseman a small, half sort of bow, saying nothing.

"Ah, Lan, he said easily, his attention drawn away from Invictus, towards the horsewoman this time, sliding off of her white mount. "As always, you grace us with your delightful presc - "

That was apparently as far as he was going to get, since the next second something had swung down in front of him, the sound of leaves rustling in his ears. Mengyao, startled, found himself staring into the dark-skinned face of...

...well, he had no idea, but at least it was another horseman and not one of the students. Arching one dark brow, Mengyao took a step back, eyeing the newcomer with an interested sort of expression that bored on exasperation and bemusement.

"Perhaps," he said. "And what exactly are you doing, might I ask? You look like a minipet like that."

iizbot

demon_pachabel

istoleyurvamps

 

[santime]

Eisheth was walking in the forest: she was trying to get some solitude after the busy day. So many things had happened recently, she was still unsure what to think, though her conversation with Aisa helped her clearing her mind from all the rubbish. Who would believe she would be helped by the Heir to Death, which beliefs she always considered to be a rubbish?

Suddenly she heard something. She was still new to this environment, but she was positive she hadn't heard this noise before. It was unfamiliar, it was Other, it was something very different from the nature of this place. A moment later Eisheth realized there were quite a lot of horsemen standing on the lawn; some faces were a bit familiar, some not, but clearly they were all horsemen.

Eisheth rolled her eyes. What's going on here?

The noise was increasing: the alchemist realized it sounded exactly like... like a large animal was making its way through the trees. Mmm?...  

[Blade Kuroda]

Tseng was simply outside in a little open area, practicing a variety of moves and coming up with proper names for them.

"Dancing monkey strike!" he called out, but stopped himself, "No. No. That won't do..."

Shaking his head, he paced in place while trying to come up with something else. His thought process was cut short as he soon heard something strange. And there it was again. Turning towards the general direction it was coming from, he listened a little more carefully. It sounded like something large and heavy was headed in their direction.

"Huh," he started before making his way towards the woods, wondering what it was.

Could it be some majestic beast to aid them? Or perhaps a dastardly foe that must be taken down in the most glorious manner?  

[demon_pachabel]

In turn, Invictus returned the bowing gesture to both his cousin and Mengyao, expression impassive. It seemed as though several individuals had heard the noise and come to investigate. A healthy number of them were from his own clan, even, as he picked out the faces. Perhaps he would have been better to stop thinking as though there was 'his clan' and 'their clans'. But, old habits did have a way of dying hard.

"We are." Invictus answered to Mahir's inquiry as he looked back into the trees. "It would do us no good to have something wandering in there that we do not know about." he continued. Invictus always tried to be informed of things and it was something rather clear in quite a few of his mannerisms.

Kuromeez

Istoleyurvamps

Iizbot

 

[xoxomenai]

The forest outside Amityville was by far one of Kiwi's favorite recreational areas. He wasn't entirely certain why. The forest was damp and filled with flora, whereas Famine had been barren and dry, save for the Oasis. The Famine sands could be harsh, and yet here the forest was strangely quiet and still. Wild and untamed seemed to be something the two shared. Kiwi stared to the wispy leaf in his palm, twirling it by the stem between his fingers. This place was nothing like Famine. He missed spending his days by the Queen's tent, and patrolling the cliffs above the sands for any sign of danger. He missed the subtle sound of water dripping along the damp rocks at night, the soft warm glow of makeshift lanterns in a room filled with his sleeping brethren. The chatter, laughter, and bickering of clansmen that would echo down the cavernous halls. ... This forest was nothing like Famine. He scoffed softly at the thought and dropped the leaf back to the ground, bracing his arms across his knees to stare into the clear cool water of the small brook before him.

Something echoed through the forest. Kiwi turned his eyes deeper into the forest as the sound came again. It sounded a third time. A strange, heavy plodding seemed to be steadily coming this way. The horseman rose to his feet, taking quickly to the trees for a better view.

Nothing. The forest was strangely dark ahead, he couldn't make out anything.

But not far, he caught sight of several clansmen. They seemed to be gathering. And he swore he recognized the bright robes of his cousin in the crowd. And ... could that really be one of the Heirs?? ...

This must be something very grave indeed, he thought. Kiwi dropped back to the ground. No use using the treetops to get there. He would just make an easy target for whatever foe awaited them. Instead, the horseman put on a burst of speed, hurrying through the underbrush to join his clansmen.

santime

 

[Grey Dragon]

The loud plodding began to resonate, each loud step rumbling even on the soft earth as the... thing approached the growing settlement. It wasn't long before the horsemen could see something moving through the trees. A large, dark shape. A big hulking mass shifting and dragging itself through the shadows.

The sound grew stronger, and the first true signs of the beast could be seen through the gloom. A giant mass, with no discernible head nor tail, nor legs or body. Just a shifting behemoth that rose above even those horsemen astride their mounts. It appeared festooned with vines and reeds, ferns and branches emerging from it's grassy back. Long streamers of grasses and moss trailed behind it, occasionally dropping clumps of earth and clay.

A lone flower, surrounded by long stalks of grass, protruded from what could only be described as it's front end.

As the horsemen watched on, the mass of earth and vegetation ground to a halt, the front of the creature shifting and lifting in their direction. As though watching them back.

And then it resumed it's slow, ominous plodding. Straight towards the horsemen's village.


((OOC: The creature is not going to turn back! What will the horsemen do? Will they let this thing reach their new home? If they do, what will IT do?))