[TASK] Whispers in the Forest (Na'ima/Salbei)

[Eight]

DEATH BECOMES YOU


gaia_crown [ LOCATION ]

Aokigahara, Japan

gaia_crown [ SETTING ]

"The forest of Aokigahara is known as a place that draws from both urban legends and lore, as well as modern fact- a place of death and suicide, people go in, intending to end their lives. As a result hunters regularly go in and either pose as civilians and act to curb those who seek death, or they go in and gather remains, returning them to local officials under the guise of a volunteer group. Anything they can do to try and curb the ever growing perpetuation of FEAR the forest generates from it's notoriety. The land is quiet and has few animal inhabitants. Yet the lack of human intrusion in many parts has made it relatively difficult to trek once off of paths- a fact that poses no problem to the veteran horseman. Hunters reside in small units scattered through the forest, using high grade mobile barrier daggers and gear to protect themselves from the occasionally FEAR saturated forest. "

gaia_crown [ MISSION ]

The forest itself is a place that draws in death of humans naturally. The hunters have long fought a losing battle here in attempting to stem the flow of FEAR from these woods yet now is an opportune moment to strike. Humans are awash in hopelessness as their control of their world slips out from under them; the sound of death calls them like a siren's song. The hunters here will come if they see humans on the move, attempting to save them from their own fate. Herd the humans to their demise to draw the hunters from the safety of their hidden little hole of shields, and destroy them.

gaia_crown [ MECHANICS ]

Stage 1: Drawing out the Hunters

Roll 1d20 for encounters - after three humans have been herded to the woods, proceed to Stage 2.

1. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
   
2. Hunter Encounter! The hunter was scouting the woods and has spotted you. Move onto Stage 2 Immediately!
   
3. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
   
4. A gun, empty sits next to single spent bullet. Oddly, there is no body near it.
   
5. The sounds of a group of humans in the distance calling for someone. They are trying to save a lost soul and thus, are not prime targets. Best to keep moving.
   
6. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
   
7. Signs of Life- tags on the trees show humans that have walked these paths before..yet none are here now. Unfortunate.
   
8. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
   
9. Hunter Encounter! The hunter was scouting the woods and has spotted you. Move onto Stage 2 Immediately!
   
10. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
    
11. An abandoned car on the side of a small dirt road- It looks to have been there a while, and an empty infant's car seat sits in the back.
    
12. Hunter Encounter! The hunter was scouting the woods and has spotted you. Move onto Stage 2 Immediately!
    
13. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
    
14. A small bouquet of flowers sits near a oddly shaped stone. There are no words. Only the flowers- white lilies- that perhaps hint to the meaning of this offering.
    
15. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
    
16. A man with a gunshot wound lays on his back, expression shocked. He must be freshly dead, as few flies have found his corpse. No gun is nearby yet the wound is distinct in it's human origins.
    
17. Hunter Encounter! The hunter was scouting the woods and has spotted you. Move onto Stage 2 Immediately!
    
18. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...
    
19. A well decayed corpse clatters as your foot collides with bone. There is nothing left to really hint who this might have been- other than a very broken pair of glasses and a small now damaged journal rendered illegible by weather and rot.
    
20. Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...

Stage 2: Killing the Hunters

Hunters come in sets of three. Their combined HP pool is 120, though every 40 damage you deal means 1 hunter has been killed.

Having spotted you the hunters begin their offensive, and do 3 damage for each turn. After you take out one group... dark you return to exploring to draw out more?

If you feel up to the challenge, return to stage 1 and herd more humans. Repeat as many times as you like. This mission is considered complete after you have eliminated 1 hunter group minimum.

gaia_crown [ BONUS MECHANICS ]

All Elder horsemen may skip to stage two if they so wish after 1 human encounter, their skills allowing them to herd more than 1 human at a time.

Please apply these bonuses based on your clan:


• Conquest: So long as all 3 are alive, you do +2 damage to each successful hit.
  
• Famine: Last Man standing- When the Last hunter remains, dish out +1 damage for each successful hit.
  
• War: Fearsome Screech- Letting out a battle cry in the silent forest causes the hunters to be alarmed, stopping them from damaging you every 5 turns.
  
• Death: Natural bonus! +1 to damage for each successful hit.

gaia_crown [ REWARDS ]

+1 Additional RP point for completion

 

[Eight]

"I've heard stories of this forest, it holds quite a bit of promise." She turned to Salbei with a sweet smile hidden behind her veil. "Lots of fragile little humans and Hunters here to nobly protect them. Are you willing to play with me again, Mentor?" They could have so much fun in this forest. Perhaps even treat it like their own playground for a few hours.  

[Enoh Love]

Salbei had continued to write as Na'ima approached, giving her only a glance as she turned her sweet tone - and he could imagine her sweet smile - to convince him to explore this mysterious forest. She really was turning her attention to the humans, it seemed. Even the hunter ones. He could not recall her being so adamant about it before, but hey, even horsemen change, he supposed.

"Of course, sweet child. It should be interesting." He acknowledged, finally putting down his quill and closing his book on it. He stood from the stool he sat on and dusted off his robes. "Lead the way, eager one."
 

[Eight]

Na'ima clapped her hands together with delight. Wonderful! She was looking forward to it. Na'ima was very done with sitting back and doing nothing, she had promises to keep and things to prepare for. Of course she was going to eventually turn to humans, they had been her primary focus before the islands were destroyed...the interest in hunters was new, at least. Nodding her head, Na'ima turned to leave the den and lead Salbei out.

When she stepped out into the forest she looked around with a curious eye. "Strange, I do not hear even birds." She shrugged and continued onward. It was only when her foot kicked a bone that she stopped, looking down toward a familiar sound. Huh..interesting.

Na'ima bent down to pick up the journal, opening it to try and find anything useful. Instead she found page after page of..nothing. What was likely a journal filled with reasons for his death was now falling apart into nothing. Ah, well. A shame.

Quote:

19. A well decayed corpse clatters as your foot collides with bone. There is nothing left to really hint who this might have been- other than a very broken pair of glasses and a small now damaged journal rendered illegible by weather and rot.

 

[Enoh Love]

"Not entirely strange, but I will concede it as interesting." Salbei mused, his red eyes searching the area. It was a little strange, but since they were there, it wasn't wholly unexpected, at least to him. When she didn't share her find with him, he could only assume that it was a dead end as far as clues went, and he simply went on to search for himself.

Right when he was getting bored with this venture, something great happened: a little human showed up, looking strangely unsure. From where he was they couldn't see him, and after signalling to Na'ima to be silent, he shifted his shield, hiding himself from the sight of the poor, doomed human.

For this one, all it took was a few quiet words into their ear, and one very gentle push to an abandoned noose of vines. This one had been fairly easy to sway, and it wasn't until their body was doing the same did he drop his cloak, allowing them to see him for the last few seconds of their short, useless life.

"Too easy." Salbei sighed, disappointed, as the light went out in their eyes and the fight drained from their body. With less interest than he would give to a passing ant, he turned and left the body alone.

"Any news, apprentice?"

Quote:

6: Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...

 

[Eight]

The book was tossed aside, dismissed as easily as the bones she then carelessly walked on to continue further into the woods in search of something more interesting, crushing two bones and a skull under her foot in the process. She only stopped when Salbei gestured for her attention, golden eyes scouring the area until she found what he was looking at. She smiled behind her veil and moved to lean casually against a tree, crossing her arms and resting her head against the trunk beside her. He was very kind to that human, it was adorable.

After a few moments of watching Salbei deal with the human she lifted her head, hearing a disturbance in the distance. She pushed off the tree, listening hard for what was happening. When the stallion finally spoke to her again she lifted a hand and made a soft sound to make him stop, stilling completely when she realized what was happening. A loud bang echoed through the nearly silent forest. A gunshot. Na'ima stood a little taller and moved quickly, radiating with excitement. She could feel the fear emanating in the direction she was heading, but it was too late by the time she arrived. The human was dead and already attracting flies. At first Na'ima pouted, but it didn't last long.

"It would seem we have a very naughty little human in the forest tonight. I wonder if we can find them?" She turned to Salbei with an arched brow, nudging the dead body with her foot. "Though I am sure this body can still be of use somehow."

Quote:

16. A man with a gunshot wound lays on his back, expression shocked. He must be freshly dead, as few flies have found his corpse. No gun is nearby yet the wound is distinct in it's human origins.

 

[Enoh Love]

Na'ima silenced him, and in the time it took for the gunshot to go off, and for his apprentice to investigate to find the source, Salbei had already convinced another human to cut their throat with rusted, abandoned knife. He was standing over the corpse with a morbid interest, and only looked up when she was questioning the use of her recent corpse.

"Perhaps…but it's really only worth anything if you are interested in carrying it home." Which was why he left his two corpses where they were. The bloody knife victim was stepped over, the bottom of a couple robes dragging through the blood like a terrible painting. "So you can keep him, if you promise to take care of him." He said sternly, as if she were asking to bring home a puppy.

Quote:

13: Human Encounter! Coax them gently into the woods and urge them to do commit their final act...

 

[Eight]

Na'ima looked down at the corpse. Perhaps she could come back with someone stronger and make them carry it instead. Or just someone else in general even if they weren't necessarily stronger. It had been all of two minutes of thought before she raised her chin. "I am bored of him now." She then stepped over the corpse and continued on her way, paying no mind to the dead human behind her any longer.

Suddenly the air grew tense and she stopped, eyes narrowing as she checked the area around her. There was someone here, someone different from just some pitiful little human looking to--well hello. An arrow suddenly embedded itself in the tree inches from Na'ima's face. She smiled, looking in the direction she had come from. "Mentor, we have company," she called out with gentle amusement.

Quote:

2. Hunter Encounter! The hunter was scouting the woods and has spotted you. Move onto Stage 2 Immediately!

 

[Enoh Love]

"I thought so." Was all he said to her answer, and then he was just as quick to forget about the corpse as she was. Of course it was then that the arrows erupted, and Na'ima made a rather accurate assessment: They had company. Hunter company.

"So it would seem." The older horseman sighed, summoning his bolas between his hands. With a small spin he sent one of the weighted balls at a nearby hunter, clipping him in the chin.


Hunter Group's HP: 118 / 120
Sal's HP: 37/40
Damage: 2  

[Eight]

Her chained sickle was summoned with ease, spinning the weapon to start up its momentum. She threw the sickle just as an arrow was shot her way, grazing her arm and knocking the blade away before it could harm any of the group. She hissed, eyes narrowing.

Hunter Group's HP: 118/120
Na'ima's HP: 37/40
Damage done: 0 =| Really  

[Enoh Love]

"I hope your FEAR is a damage-dealing one." Salbei commented idly, as an arrow knicked his cheek.


Hunter HP: 117 / 120
Sal's HP: 34/40
Damage: 1  

[Eight]

"Of course it is." Na'ima brought her sickle back and let it hang from one arm while she fished a bottle out of her bag, opening it and throwing its contents into the face of a sword-wielding hunter who came too close. He screamed in pain and backed away, shouting curses while pressing a hand to his eyes. Na'ima's brow arched.

"I don't think he liked that very much."

Hunter Group's HP: 113/120
Na'ima's HP: 34/40
Damage done: Tainted Fang: 4 damage  

[Enoh Love]

"Of course he wouldn't." Sal sighed - too few people liked being poisoned. His fear was not damage-dealing, and thus he kept it to himself for now. He did, however, swing his bolas menacingly at one of the three hunters who felt it was a good idea to try and get too close.


Hunter HP: 111 / 120
Sal's HP: 31/40
Damage: 2

eight

 

[Eight]

Na'ima chuckled at Sal's disappointment and shook her head, giving the sickle a quick spin before releasing the chain enough to fling it at one of the hunters. She managed to get him in the arm, slicing it clean before pulling the weapon back to herself. "Much better~." She raised her arm just as the hunter came in to swing at her, blocking the impact with one bony forearm.

Hunter Group's HP: 107/120
Na'ima's HP: 31/40
Damage done: 4

Enoh Love

 

[Enoh Love]

"I feel like this is an interesting way to bond with someone." Sal mused, as his bolas smashed a hunter in the cheek.

Quote:

Hunter HP: 101 / 120
Sal's HP: 28/40
Damage done: 6

eight